The armanite is the demon's answer for their apparent lack of Calvary. They appear to be physically almost identical to centaurs, save for how their armor is a part of their body. Something that baffled diabolists as the armanite is clearly a centaur that was altered for optimized combat contrary to the general trend of monstrous races being mutated by fiendish will.

Unlike all other demons they are all but inept at magic. Another oddity pointing towards their manufactured state of being. – Common Monsters

Abagail

I wake up held by Bryan in his sleep, I don’t mind where his hands have wandered after whenever it was he finished the second watch. I feel warm and safe and would like little more than to just stay here.

One of our stomachs growl reminding me of just what is going on, we are almost out of food and there has been small groups of monsters bothering us.

There were always a few small fry that would get past Adrian running around at night but never as many as we are dealing with now. He also made sure that we always had enough food and water something that we are now short on.

I manage to get out of Bryan’s embrace without waking him and go to get some of what little is left to make a breakfast for us.

Once outside I stop, staring at a scene that makes no sense to me. Adrian’s little brothers have set up what looks like a small forge out of the rubble of the collapsed buildings.

They are melting down the steel rods that were in the concrete and brick and the other is gouging out the shape of a sword in a large piece of concrete I am unable to believe they moved.

The two frown and look over to me. They must have used magic like Adrian, I take a breath and just stop questioning this oddity as I do when Adrian heals everyone after fights.

Another thing we lack without him. Lysan and Bryan can heal but they get tired and it takes up mana that could be spent in other ways.

With a sigh I prepare what little breakfast there will be, I never thought Adrian did so much that we can’t get by without him.

I don’t see Kathrine, I think she is fasting and praying for her son to come back. The twins don’t seem worried though, though I am beginning to think there is quite a lot that they have hidden from their mother and brother.

They are just too competent in so many things. They don’t ever seem to call an alarm while on lookout but they certainly saw something as some dead creatures have been found that nobody else killed, not to mention that they have set up an apparently working forge out of building rubble.

They don’t panic and talk like they were already adults. And there is how skilled they handled weapons when fighting those demons. . .

Adrian

I feel great aside from the guilt over what I can guess that the others have been going through the last few days.

I glance at K as she finishes gathering the scattered scales and bones from the crude butchery we just did on the dragon.

I frown at the blood stains, there are not very many sets of clothes left for either of us in void cache. It didn’t help that I only kind of fit in many of the clothes I had at home and that everyone else has had to scavenge whatever they can.

I take the handful of scales held out in K's hands, as she brings up a subject that I am worried about.

“So why didn’t you shift into a werewolf under the moon, and what was that moonlight wolf that fought with us against the dragon?”

With a forced smile I store the scales and begin to answer.

“I did some magic, that wolf made out of moonlight is my lycanthropy. That’s all that will happen I think.”

There is immediately a frown on K's face. I knew she wouldn’t like it.

“What do you mean, what did you do?”

I try to calm her down by holding her, it doesn’t seem to work but I do like holding her.

“Well I made him a familiar, I think.”

There is a little bit of pain and anger in K's voice she asks me, “why would you do that? Don’t you know what he was going to be?”

I hug K tighter, I didn’t ever ask if it meant something special to her. I am starting to feel guilty but I would still make the same decision again. That was the only way I could go . . .

“I’m sorry but it was the only way for him to stay. My dragon side didn’t like the idea of sharing and my magic told me it would cause problems if my body started being warped by him.”

“Your magic told you? Is that another person in you?”

“Yes, she told me how the wolf from your lycanthropy could stay.”

“She? Are you sure? Shouldn’t everyone match your gender?”

“Yeah, me-but-not-me is female. Why would she supposed to be male just because I am?”

I don’t see why there would be a requirement to match. Aren’t there plenty of schizophrenics that have personalities that are the opposite gender? Do I count as one even though my voices actually are real?

“What gender is the spirit of the wolf in you?”

“It was neuter at first but after the bond became a he, why? Is that important?”

“Neuter?”

“No gender”

There is some confusion in K but she seems less ill at ease than earlier.

“Don’t worry, I’m me and the lycanthropy spirit is not hurt.”

I just hold K silently until she finishes calming down.

“Ready to go back to the others?”

She nodes her head and before she can ask why I take a step back from her.

I store my clothes as I send the command towards dragon-me to change us into a dragon.

My vision only lowers by a few inches, I’m about the same size as my human body. I was hoping to be a bit larger than this but this should be big enough, at least to carry a single person.

Though strange sounding I do manage to speak to K, “find a place you can hold onto on my back without impeding the wings.”

As K moves to do just that I feel resistance to the idea from dragon-me.

[No! We aren’t a beast of burden!]

[Shut up, we will be whatever is needed to fix the mess you made. Besides, there is nothing wrong with carrying K, she’s done the same for me.]

K shifts around on my back as I feel dragon-me almost start cold shouldering the situation.

I jump into the air and K manages to hold on, there is a strained sensation from the muscles connecting my wings and back but I slowly manage to gain some altitude.

I don’t know a straight line to the others so I begin to follow the roads we took in the cars.

Within minutes I feel muscle fatigue from the extra weight that is K. All I can do is accelerate my healing factor. Hopefully it will recover faster than it moves towards tearing or cramping.

I need to figure out some gravity magic . . .

Anthony Ravnos

I frown looking at the blade Fabricio and me are crafting, it is too good for us to show and give the others to arm themselves.

It looks bad but the balance is still almost perfect for being made of scrap steel.

“It needs to be worse if we are not going to blow our cover.”

“Making them at all is going to lead to questions that will do the same, besides isn’t it more important to keep all of those Adrian cares about alive than hide our skill?”

My frown deepens. That is a very loaded question. If he finds us able to have done something to save his friends' lives and we didn’t when he eventually does learn of our family secrets could cause him to be upset. But so could 'we are not really little brothers but old magi from the past'.

“We need to somehow accomplish both.”

“I agree that that would be the best, unfortunately as things are going it isn’t going to be possible.”

I sigh, my twin is likely right. Things have not been going well, and if this pattern continues even if we were to act in what currently is our full power would not be enough to keep everyone alive.

I heat up the blade and strike it against a piece of concrete. The temper should be shit now and the blade no longer straight.

It hurts my heart to damage even such a poor creation of mine. I never want to let my rival smiths find out about this.

Fabricio and me cease most of our actions as we notice some of Adrian’s friends have walked into sight of our cobbleconcrete smithy.

“Are those supposed to be weapons?” asks one of the knife ears that Adrian has taken to his bed.

I frown but nod my head, those were weapons before I had to ruin them. Four longswords in the European fashion.

If only I could have left them at least halfway decent, but I see Fabricio run away in tears of shame with what she says next.

“Don’t worry they look okay for someone of your age and skill.”

I find myself storming off as my twin did. If only you knew just what masterpieces I’ve made, you would beg for one . . .

Bryan

I am starting at the pile of food rather what was a pile of food that I thought would last for far longer before it was gone as it now is.

“I know we have been eating more than usual the past few weeks but are we really already out of food?”

“How much did you really think seven people would eat every day?”

I feel a bit embarrassed by the retort from Abagail. I just saw a large pile and thought it would last a long time.

Before I embarrass myself further the war horn of what I assume is the main group of the goblinoids whose scouts have been attacking us for the last few days.

With a sigh I pick up the crude almost sword Adrian’s younger brothers’ made and motion everyone to take what little cover we still have in the collapsed buildings.

Adrian’s little brothers may be able to handle themselves, but his mom cannot. Abagail can’t either, though she is getting better at manipulating the flow of a battlefield with emotion inducing magic.

I’ve never heard the goblins use a war horn before but they are the only creature that any of us have seen recently. That and the numbers in their scouting patrols has been increasing.

We will hide in the rubble and wait, there is no way we can handle the numbers of a goblin hoard, or any other army made of these creatures from Althrá.

They will pass by without noticing us or we will fight in the most defensive manner we can.