Jarvus stood before the mayor's office fuming.

The office itself looked like a house. From the outside it gave off a feeling of warmth, but also authority due to its size. If it was considered a house then it would be the biggest in the village.

As Jarvus stomped up the steps his hand subconsciously drifted to one of the beams that stood next to the top of the steps. He usually did it for good luck. Be that for whatever he requested from the man inside, or for himself. He got more emotional than he wanted to in this place.

A beautiful woman with long flowing golden hair and bright green star eyes appeared in his head. Despite her beauty she held a hard face, one that had seen many things that one could only imagine.

Jarvus shook his head with dejection, as he forced his hand away from the pillar. Somehow he regretted it after he had done so.

Jarvus came up to the door where two guards stood watch with spears in their hands. They watched him with caution. They wore iron scaled armor with a banner of a hand holding out a sun over it.

Despite the guards' glances, Jarvus did not hesitate. They knew that they couldn't turn him away. If they did not only would it cause a scene, but they would also get scolded by the mayor himself. They had figured that out the hard way in the past.

As Jarvus barged through the doors the whole office was unfolded to him. There weren't any hallways besides the ones behind the mayor's desk which led to rooms that were used to store documents.

The Mayor's desk sat in the middle of the spacious room, while lines of benches were placed in front of it. Most often it contained at least one person who sought an audience with the mayor. At the moment it was filled with complaining merchants

To the side of the mayor's desk was a staircase that led up to an open living quarters. The Living quarters itself was a large balcony with only some railing separating it from the room below.

a displeased merchant was talking to the mayor, "I will not pay that ridiculous tax! I had no part in that idiot Bombal's actions. Don't punish us just because he ran right after what he did. Anyway you're lucky we're still here at all after you attacked a holy man."

The mayor rubbed his eyes, "He was a part of the Ceartas order. Do you really think I would let someone like that stay in town."

The merchant groaned, "Says who?! Why would you be that keen on throwing him out of this village anyway. It's not my business since I'll be leaving soon, but it's almost like your..."

"Oh! Jarvus."

Jarvus had not seen the mayor so happy to see him in years.

The mayor waved his hands to the merchants, "That concluded our meeting. I won't be seeing anyone else today."

A raucous protest came from the merchants.

The mayor's voice was imbued with authority, "I will lower the tax, but not get rid of it. I will not hear any more words on the matter."

All the merchants marched out of the house in anger. Some tried to persuade the mayor, but he sent them away with the rest of them.

As the door closed behind Jarvus the mayor spoke up, "What brings you here so early in the morning? Have you finished my order?" The mayor perked up, "Did something happen to Alyze?"

Jarvus stood near the door with a scowl on his face, "What is he doing here?"

The mayor let his head drop, "Oh. that? It seems that he was ambushed by a large force of tenebrage," He shook his head, "Those tenebrage with their dirty tactics."

Jarvus's stare did not change, "You know what I meant. Why are you letting him stay? He'll only bring us trouble. I thought you wanted to stay out of the war."

The mayor put his hands up at a loss, "What was I supposed to do Jarvus? Turn him away? That would be suicidal. From the other day we know that the Ceartas order is snooping around. If we refused the general, then Lucel would be swarming with them, eager to find any evidence to pin us with heresy."

Jarvus raised an eyebrow, "So you are just letting him stay until he is healed? When do you think he'll leave?"

"To be honest with you he could leave right now if he wanted to. If you thought we might have used your elixir don't worry. I would never have used it. Fortunately he was able to nearly fully recover after a night's rest. We did give our best efforts in healing him after all. The medicine woman wants him to stay another night so he can be back to full strength."

Jarvus made his way to the desk, his eyes filled with anger, "You want to let him stay another night!"

The mayor shook his head, "No, if it was up to him he would leave immediately."

Jarvus stood over the desk looking down on the mayor. He was always taller than most, but now it looked as if he had grown a foot, "Why isn't he then?"

The mayor averted eye contact with him, "He says that the tenebrage are moving on Sangai, and he needs soldiers to stop them, so he's awaiting the preparations..."

He was not able to finish as Jarvus slammed his hand down on his desk, "You want to send your guards into battle under the command of General Amian!"

The mayor turned to look Jarvus defiantly in the eye, "What was I supposed to do? If nocturnals were moving on Sangai I had to help stop it. Just imagine what they would do! On Galaris no less!"

Jarvus thought he had some questions for his guest in his home.

"But under Amian! We've both heard the stories. Those boys won't come back the same."

The mayor sighed, "They won't be under his command for long. Only until after Galaris. Though I can't say they'll all come back. If you saw some of the young ones you might think they're going on a grand adventure."

Jarvus bit his tongue. He knew nothing of what went through the heads of young men these days. They must not know what's right for them if they are eager to be under Amian's command.

From the corner of his eye he could see an ornate chest behind the mayor. Jarvus had seen it many times before, but he didn't know what was inside it. He doubted even the mayor knew. One day a friend of Alicia's had just dropped it off one day, putting it under the mayor's protection.

Jarvus leaned down so that he was eye level with the mayor, "Just make sure he stays away from Alyze. I've heard he is especially fervent, and if he sees her golden eyes...well I want her to achieve her dream of getting out of here, but not with him. Anyone but him."

All the color went out of the mayor's face.

Jarvus smiled and turned to walk out of his house, "So you hadn't thought of that. Well, I guess that can be a good incentive to get him out of Lucel."

As Jarvus walked down the street back to his forge he heard much gossip of the night before, and all eyes were on him as many saw him exit the mayor's house after he had kicked out the merchants.

Jarvus sighed. Lucel was supposed to be peaceful, and now all this? He had begun to think they were in danger when the mayor started to increase security around the village, but now that there was a general here in the flesh-Amian nonetheless-he was beginning to feel that a fight was inevitable. It would take a miracle for them to come out of this unscathed.

There was also the problem of two tenebrage. The girl's appearance had probably been the biggest surprise in his life. In regards to the two though, what would they do once they left? The mayor said Amian had gone on about nocturnals heading to Sangai. Were Umbren and the Hand going to head over there once they left?

Alyze seemed to trust them though, but Jarvus didn't know. Umbren had fainted right after he had dragged the Hand under the table. Jarvus didn't think he was weak enough to faint just because a general had shown up. No he had to have met him before.

Jarvus sighed before his thoughts led him to any hasty conclusions. Thinking about it wouldn't answer any of his questions. It's best to just go back to the forge and work normally. He would deal with the nocturnals later.

A more pressing issue would be where General Amian currently was. He had vanished after last night. Jarvus was sure he wasn't in one of the inns. If he was, it would be swarmed by travelers and residents alike. No, the mayor had to have hid him away somewhere. Jarvus regretted not asking the man during their conversation.

***

Umbren laid under Jarvus's bed.

After the prior night tensions in the house were at their peak. Alyze almost ran outside at the sight of Dilem. It took all Jarvus had to contain her.

Of course that's only what he had heard from Mistress Kagi. He had fainted shortly after pulling her down under the table. He felt a little guilty about doing it so forcibly, but then again under the circumstances he thought his actions were justified.

He had woken up in the middle of the night. Someone-probably Jarvus-had laid him on the bed, after he had passed out. In the quiet room he could make out the distinct sound of someone breathing close by. Umbren had looked around the darkroom and found Kagi sleeping on a bedroll.

He felt the most guilt about this. The girl must have been exhausted. Based on their previous conversation right before Dilem had arrived, Umbren knew she had been through a lot. She had to have been to cry on the shoulder of someone she had basically just met.

Based on all that she at least deserved to sleep in a bed for a night, however uncomfortable.

After debating if picking her up and putting her in the bed then sleeping in the bedroll was a viable option, he opted not to. Despite sleeping on the floor, she looked as if she was enjoying the best sleep of her life.

That night Umbren's thought only of Dilem. Why did he have to be in this small village at this moment in time? Despite his thoughts of meeting the insane man again, Umbren would have been fine if he had never seen him again. No, he actually preferred it.

There was also the reason as to why he was here. Umbren heard him yelling about a green cloak and a Hand. Umbren thought that he pretty much knew who the green cloak was. Faldrid was one of the few that he saw in the camp before he had left. It could have also been one of the other ones, but a part of him hoped that Faldrid had made Dilem bleed, or had done something that would make the general that pissed.

The Hand could literally be any Hand of Morta. However long Umbren spent thinking he would still have no idea as to which Hand it was. Though Umbren only knew a handful, he wouldn't even know all the people that Dilem might be talking about. The only Hand that he knew Dilem wasn't talking about was Kagi. Umbren was sure she would have mentioned running into a General while looking for survivors.

Thoughts like these drifted through Umbren's head until he fell asleep.

Early in the morning he was woken up by Alyze as she kicked Umbren out of the room without even looking at him. She had no doubt been eager to question Kagi, and wanted to do it privately.

The best place Umbren could come up with as to not being seen was under Jarvus’s bed, though he hadn't considered how uncomfortable it would be.

He wondered what the girls were talking about in the room without him. Amazement and awe all of a sudden filled him, but the emotion’s weren’t his

Things seemed to be going well for Alyze, he didn't know what that meant for Kagi though. She had become timid after they had calmed her down the night before. The image of Alyze prodding deeper and deeper with every question she asked with an uncomfortable Kagi came to mind. Umbren didn't know if that was what was actually happening, but it felt accurate.

The feelings he felt were foreign to him, but strangely close. Like a guest in your home that you didn't want to leave. He only felt these from time to time, more often when he was face to face with Alyze.

After a night's rest he was able to properly feel the bond that he now had with Alyze. He somehow felt whole in a way. It was as if he had been alone all this time without realizing it. Even though he himself was under a bed tossing and turning in an attempt to get comfortable, it felt as if a part of him was somewhere else. The bond was something that he savored despite the short time it had been in place.

He shook head trying to dismiss the thoughts. They were ones he could not afford. He had to break the bond with her before they left, and with the arrival of Kagi he knew it would be soon. Alyze had wanted to experience what being bonded was like, and Umbren had given her that.

He had to break the bond; there was no question in his mind. It was something intimate to share with her. Besides, she didn't understand the importance behind it. A part of Umbren felt like he had deceived her while another part of him protested that the bond was meant to be. Though he tried to ignore those ones because they stemmed just from how fulfilling the bond was, they weren't rational at all.

The most blatant reason of all to break the bond was that she was a luxcian. Umbren had never heard of such a thing happening. If anyone found out, He was sure he would be banished for many reasons ranging from heresy to treason. Lord Mortis probably wouldn't even bother with the formality and just send his head flying through the air.

Umbren shuddered at the thought. Regardless he had to break the bond between them.

"How do I do that exactly?"

Umbren had been taught how to form a bond in case he needed to do it with an attoka, but he had never really figured out how to get rid of one. He at least knew from his seniors who had to cut their bond with an attoka-before it died leading to both of their deaths- that the process of undoing a bond was more difficult then forming one.

Umbren was confident that he would be able to do it though. However, the voice of protest in his head still persisted.

"What if I told Mistress Kagi?"

The thought was put down almost instantly. He might as well commit suicide. Then again she was a Hand so she might know more about the matter than he did. That he could not deny. Besides, she seemed to be really grateful to him for reasons he did not fully understand, so she might not kill him or sentence him with any crimes. Though it was still possible that she might.

"I guess I'll only tell her if I need to."

Eventually gratitude filled his heart. It must mean that the two girls had finished their conversation.

Umbren eagerly rolled out from under the bed and stood up and stretched, popping multiple of his joints at the same time. As he went to open the door, another one down the hall opened at the same time.

Alyze walked out of it looking extremely satisfied and proud of herself. Though at the sight of Umbren she turned away.

Umbren felt something unpleasant. He couldn't quite describe it as the feeling was complex, but he knew it wasn't his.

Umbren had only suspected when Alyze had kicked him out of the pantry, but now he was almost certain. The two could feel each other's emotions when they were face to face. When they weren't it was sporadic.

Umbren naturally began to worry that he had done something wrong. He had done many things that could be called, "wrong," but nothing that he could think of recently that would make her try to avoid him. It was almost the same that morning when she had barely even looked at him for the brief time they saw each other.

As these thoughts began to run through his head, Alyze gave a panicked jump and quickly spun around, "Don't worry you didn't do anything wrong. It's just that..."

"I knew it! You liar!"

Umbren had only caught a glimpse of Kagi through the opened door, and she had looked dazed and worn out, but she didn’t sound like that anymore. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her.

Kagi rushed out of the room and jabbed her finger at Alyze with her back to Umbren, almost as if she was guarding him, "You said that you weren't going to meddle with my mind, and you hadn't done anything to Umbren, but you obviously just read his mind. so explain yourself!"

Umbren tried to give a quick excuse, "Mistress..."

Though Alyze cut him off her face red as she tried to cover it with her hand, "Well we sort of have soul bonded."

For a moment nothing moved and all was silent. Kagi turned to face Umbren with a contorted look of disbelief, shock, and awe.

Umbren tried to say something, but Ayze went on, "I really didn't know that it would feel this intimate, but what else should I have expected."

She was embarrassed. Umbren could tell just by looking at her, he didn't need to feel those foreign emotions to know. She was really too open about their current situation!

Kagi kept her gaze on Umbren, "So...Sou...Soul Bonded!!"

Before he knew it Kagi had pulled him into the pantry and locked the door. The last thing he felt from Alyze was concern, she was also apparently still embarrassed. When the door closed he felt like he had lost something. He didn't really enjoy the feeling.

Kagi threw her hands into the air, "You soul bonded Umbren! With a luxcian!"

Umbren put up his hands defensively, "I can explain."

Kagi's emotion seemed to flip as thought flew through her head. She clutched her cloak and squirmed, "I know how you must feel. But you've only known each other for a couple of days, it's too soon. Besides, you're too young to do such a thing."

Her voice became lower and lower until it was just a mumble

Kagi's expression also was slowly being overtaken by envy, "For you two to lov..."

Umbren jumped up and covered up Kagi's mouth, "It's not like that."

Kagi looked to be more disappointed than relieved, "What's it like then. I mean you could have done it just based on looks. She is quite pre..."

Umbren once again covered the Hands ' mouth, preventing her from talking. He was afraid what else she would come up with, "Mistress I simply did it as a gift."

Kagi froze and her mouth went agape, "A gift!"

Umbren nodded, "She wanted to know what it felt like after I explained how we bonded with our attoka."

Realization spread across the young Hands face, and she leapt at Umbren with her fist flying, "Your irredeemable! How could you make her think that going through the ritual was the same with an attoka as it is with a person. That poor, poor girl. She had her whole life ahead of her and you just..."

Umbren tried to block Kagi's punches, "I'm going to break it before we leave."

Kagi stopped with her fist in mid-air, "Huh?"

"I was going to undo the bond. She just wanted to feel what it was like, and after she's done so much for me I felt that I had to oblige."

"Umbren are you an idiot?"

Umbren looked at her with a curious expression, "What do you mean?"

Kagi clenched her fist even harder, "You can't break that bond with her."

"Sure I can. I've heard of married couples getting rid of their bonds."

"Yes, two people that could control their respective souls. They could do it cleanly. Though Alyze can't control her soul can she?"

Umbren smiled dryly as reality started to hit him, "Then I'll just do it myself."

"You fool! You just tied a knot so thick that if you tried to undo it you risk harming the other strand."

Umbren chuckled uncomfortably, "There as to be some way right?"

Kagi shook her head, "There's only one person I know that can control her soul, and I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."

Umbren's eyes widened in realization. He couldn't help but smile more at just how sardonic it was. Has an image of the man that he had been constantly debating would kill him at their next meeting filled his head. As the disciple of death, Mortis, filled his head.

***

The mayor worked diligently hunched over his desk.

So much had happened in such a short time. Not only had the Ceartas order shown it's face but now a general shows up at his doorstep saying he's been attacked by nocturnals.

"And he might have led them right to us."

On top of all that Alyze was starting to act like she did all those years ago. He really didn't want to deal with that again. The girl just didn't know what was good for her. Once she set her mind to something she would do everything she could to accomplish it, regardless of ethics.

The mayor dropped his quill that he had been writing with and put a finger to his temple out of stress.

"Oh! Mr. Mayor, what are you worrying about? I hope it isn't my arrival. I think any small village such as yours should be honored to host such a venerable guest. Besides, I wouldn't want your current mental state to impede the preparations for my departure."

The mayor jerked his head up at the new arrival. He knew who it was by his mocking tone. The man eyed him as some plaything. His expression looked as if he found something hilarious.

"I'm sorry General Amian, but I did not notice your arrival. I hope that you didn't let anyone see you on your way here. I wouldn't want another scene similar to the pandemonium that we had the night before."

The general lacked his scaled armor that he arrived here with, but still wore his military coat as if it was his most prized possession. He sat on a bench to the right of the mayor just far enough to let the light of his desk lamp uncover his face.

General Amian waved his hand with a pompous air to him, "What do you take me for Mr. Mayor. I would never be so careless as to do such a thing. I simply came in through the window."

"May that be as it is, but to what may I owe the honor of your presence tonight."

The general rose from his seat, but one of his arms noticeably trembled as he supported himself on the bench in front of him, "I simply wanted a report on the progress of the preparations."

The mayor could understand to an extent why the general wanted to get out of Lucel so badly, but he had been constantly pestering the mayor when he was ready to leave.

The mayor shook his head, "I wonder what has you so eager to leave us. I almost feel insulted."

"Don't be like that. I simply have a duty to protect Sangai from those beasts. You have no idea how low they are willing to go to get what they want."

The mayor grimaced at old memories, "Believe me I know."

General Amian waved his hand matter of factly, "Then you should understand why I need to leave, so when will I be able to."

"At this rate by morning or noon tomorrow."

The general looked as if he had just tasted chalk, "That is too late."

The mayor grinned as if he had just got ahead in some game, "Hmm? Why so? I doubt that the nocturnals will run through the night, even if they need rest. If they do reach here we will take care of them. They must not be large in number since you took care of some of them, and I doubt it was a large force to begin with."

Anger spread across the general's face, "Don't you dare talk to me that way."

The sudden anger vanished as quick as it came on, "Sorry. What I mean to say is that I don't want the party to be taken care of," His eyes could have been mistaken for a wolf's, "I will be the one to take care of them. Especially a certain girl that was among them. I doubt I will be able to do so at the moment, but after I heal further, I should be up to the task."

"A girl? Why does a mere girl have General Amian running."

The general slammed his fist onto the bench in front of him, "I AM NOT RUNNING!"

The mayor put his hands up, he had to watch his words more carefully. He heard that Amian put people's heads on pikes for less, "Forgive me general. I misspoke. What I mean to say is why do you take such an interest in the girl."

General Amian panted heavily, and his tone was bitter "I must have misspoken as well. She is no mere girl," The general straightened his posture as if to look more dignified, the mayor could tell that he did not believe a word to say, "Mr. Mayor I am convinced that you are knowledgeable about the world around you. If so I will only say this. My daughters are no match for this mere girl."

The mayor gulped and Amian smiled in satisfaction.

The mayor had only heard rumors, no, whispers about the daughters of Amian. It was said that anyone who realized who they really were, did not live to tell others. The worst part of it all was that some even said that they were tenebrage. The mayor didn't believe it, but after witnessing the man before him, doubts began to creep into his mind. They were almost as taboo to talk about as the Hounds of Mortis.

General Amian sneered at the mayor, "So you understand my thoughts now, don't you Mr. Mayor. I would love to get my hands on the girl, break her if I could, but I am in no condition to do so at the moment. A real pity it is, but it can't be helped."

"I do understand, and I wouldn't want a battle to take place in town anyway."

"So now with that out of the way, will you hurry..."

The mayor put his hand up, cutting the general short, "I have told you that we are going as fast as we can. There is no way I can get enough guards and food together to be able to send you off tonight. Don't worry no nocturnal will come near if they were wise. I've made sure that the village's parameter is lit up so that we can see anything that can move."

The general clenched his fist, "Is that so? Well then I guessed it can't be helped."

General Amian walked into the aisle and turned his back to the mayor, "Then I guess that's all. May you have a goodnight."

"You too. Don't worry you'll be able to get out of here soon enough, and no later than needed."

Just when the general drew near to the door he looked back with a beastly smile, "You know mayor you should really watch your tongue more when you talk to people. Some might kill you for slip ups like the one that occurred tonight, but I am merciful."

"What are you..."

Shards of light flew all over the house scorching the walls and furniture, and threatening to set the whole building a light.

The mayor looked over his desk which he had hid behind after the shards ceased, and found General Amian gone. He immediately looked behind him at the chest that had been entrusted to him. Luckily it seemed to be untouched.

"That madman!"