-Varia-

Why?

Varia spent the long, uncomfortable hours in the bumpy cage thinking of why.

He knew why, really. He knew how threatening he was to the council and their reign. They feared him and a takeover, and they weren’t wrong to fear that. Varia could, if he wanted. A significant portion of Legion would follow him, if he broke from the council. If he marched on the capital, Akranes, where the council sat and ripped it from them, the common folk would not revolt. They loved him, and were familiar with him.

But he did not want that. He had no desire to rule, no desire to turn on the council. Despite some things he did, like allow Legion to whisper their grievances about the council without punishment, or allowing deserters to leave whole and alive, he was loyal.

But they did not see that he was loyal, they only saw him as a threat. They sent men to kill him, instead of to free him. There was no mistake, there was no misunderstanding. They meant to kill him, to retain the power that they gained by standing on Varia’s shoulders. To protect that power from him.

He hadn’t meant to be seen as competition, but he could not help it. His actions were too loud, reverberated too much within Legion. His exploits were revered back on the ice with the common folk, and they loved him. The council made certain to paint him as a hero, and they were quick to claim his work as their own. They made Legion, the common folk, and even him believe that he was not like the others. He was special, he was needed.

But he was as expendable as every other soldier, as every other person. How easy it must have been for the council to turn on him. He had done unspeakable things for them, and they cast him aside so easily. The reason he was regarded the way he was, was because of them. They painted him as a hero, as a commander. They did this, but he was the one being punished for it.

But that was how they did things, wasn’t it? That was always how it was done. Breeder children like himself, raised in those towers of horror with one purpose, were always the first to go. The first to be taken out back and put down like rabid dogs. But they were what the council wanted them to be. They were fodder, they were drones to be thrown at an enemy, and when their purpose ran out, they were disposed of.

“Forgive me, commander. This is my fault.” Brom broke the silence, his soft voice snapping Varia from his thoughts.

When Varia lifted his gaze from the floor of the wagon, the sun was beginning to wane. How long had he been sitting there, unmoving, lost in his own mind?

“I should be killed for my mistake. Your influence within Legion, with the people… I should have anticipated this. I should have stopped this.” Brom continued on. He reached a hand forward, as if he were going to take Varia’s, but Varia pulled back.

He flexed his hand, which had been fisted tightly in the cloth of his trousers. His throat was dry, and his chest was tight with a rage he was unaware he was feeling until just then. There was a buzzing in his ears, distant, but indicating that he was slipping into his anger. He wet his lips, his eyes sliding across the cage, to the other two prisoners who sat with them. To the Nihalian who rode ahead of the cart on a paint mare. To his enemy, to Maddox, the Golden Hero of Er Rai who rode beside him.

Varia felt his anger swirling, resting heavily on his shoulders. He focused on the ache in his back and rear, on the lurching of his stomach with every bump in the dirt road. His mind was still trying to delve into those darker places, to the atrocities he committed for nothing.

His eyes flickered back to Brom’s face, to the gaze that locked with his without fear. Brom had been with him for nearly 8 years by then, and one of two people he could call a friend, the other being his right hand, Kia. Where Kia gave him little choice in getting to know him, and becoming a friend, Brom understood him. He knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. He could drag him away from the cliff he so often teetered on, on the edge of those dark places in the recesses of his mind.

The way he was looking at him then told him that Brom sensed that same darkness creeping up and threatening to swallow him. He was there to steady him, to ground him to this world, and to remind him that there was light in the world.

"How could you have convinced me of such a betrayal, even if you had foreseen it? I would never have listened." He finally replied. It was true. Brom had mentioned before that he feared how the council would view him. He noticed subtle things, like barring Varia from returning to the ice, the slow decline of correspondence from the council. They were all things that Varia saw as well, but refused to acknowledge. Why should he? He was not an enemy one would willingly choose.

The look Brom gave him was one of barely disguised pity. It made Varia clench his teeth, and he felt that anger rising in his chest once more. His arms trembled with a need to inflict pain on someone.

“Perhaps… perhaps it wasn’t them. Perhaps it’s a ploy. A trick to make us think we’ve been betrayed. A trick to make us divulge information.” Brom offered, though Varia knew the truth of things, and it was likely Brom did as well. “I didn't recognize the soldiers. We only assume they are Arcturian because of the uniform...but as we’ve seen, it would not be hard for our enemies to get a few uniforms and pretend. Maddox may not have been informed… strengthen the ploy…” Brom murmured to his commander.

Varia huffed at that, his eyes tilting back towards the sky, before returning to Brom. It was foolish he would even imply that. “I recognized the man. Ewal was his name. He was with us years back. He was sent by the council, not by Maddox, or Nihal, or Er Rai.”

Brom frowned, his eyes drifting to the front of the cage, where Maddox and the Nihalian rode ahead, before he returned eyes to Varia. “We should be cautious in what is said. Until we have more concrete—“

“I hear ya’ll some big bad generals. What’re you doin’ here with a bunch of thugs? I ‘spose ya’ll are killers, eh?” Brom’s attempt to placate Varia was cut off by one of the other prisoners, who slid uncomfortably closer to Brom, closing the distance between them on the bench he shared with Brom.

He was a large man, with only wisps of hair atop his head and one eye that was swollen completely shut. He was missing teeth, and even as he spoke Varia could smell the rancid stench of rot wafting from his lips. His friend sat in the corner still, thin lips twisted back in a smirk. But he did not move to speak to them, he just watched his friend taunt Brom.

“Dunno how such pretty things like ya’ll could be so important you need such fancy jewelry.” The grotesque prisoner reached out then, his bound hands reaching for Varia’s bound hands. His fingers barely grazed one of the talismans on Varia’s wrists.

Varia turned his hellish gaze up to the man who so boldly spoke and touched him. He did not want to seem too complacent, did he? He was certain Maddox did not expect him to come so quietly.

In an instant Varia lifted his boot and smashed it into the prisoners’ chest, slamming his back against the bars of the rolling cage. A sickening crunch sounded, followed by a pained wheeze of air. The prisoner lifted his hands to defend himself, but Varia was on him, tearing him to the floor and pinning him below himself. His knees pressed on either side of him, and he lifted both hands together, then slammed them downwards into the man’s face. His shackles clanged with each blow, and soon the man was groaning, blood spilling from his nose and lips, his single eye rolling back.

But Varia was not finished. His hands found their way around his neck, pushing under the mane of fat the prisoner had, and then they squeezed. Brom leant away, shifting his legs casually to put distance between himself and the brawl. The other prisoner had no intention of helping his friend, and pulled his legs up onto the bench, scrambling to get away, though the cage was small and there wasn’t much room.

The cart stopped, and Varia heard shouting. His eyes lifted briefly, and through the haze of red that clouded his vision, he could see the soldiers near the cage door, key in hand, but they were stopped by the Nihalian. Maddox was turned towards him as well, his face impassive as he watched Varia choke the life out of the other.

The man’s eye was bloodshot, bulging in his head. His face was beginning to turn purple, and though he kicked and attempted to pry Varia from him, and his hands from his neck, he was growing noticeably weaker. He could feel the life slipping out of the man, he could feel his body quivering, seizing, desperate for air. The man’s tongue flopped out of his mouth, pitiful whines and whimpers leaving him.

Through the hum that now roared in his ears, he heard Maddox speak. “Now, now, Varia. That’s enough. You’ve proved your point. He’s meant to be delivered alive, and I don’t much feel like being reprimanded. Be good and let him go, would you?”

Varia would not normally have listened. He would have rather Maddox be reprimanded by whatever person he answered to. Anything to put him out. But he could feel the energy now aimed at him. It smelled and felt like drowning, like crushing, cold water flooding into his lungs. He lifted his head, and stared at the blade now pointed in his direction. At the white energy, appearing more like smoke, swirling along the blade.

He nearly didn’t move. He nearly didn’t stop choking the man, but he saw the feral glee in Maddox’s eyes, and knew his own gaze mirrored it. Maddox didn’t care if this man was killed, he would be glad to suffer the reprimand if it meant harming Varia.

So, with noticeable effort, Varia pushed away from the man on the floor and sat back on the seat. Maddox smiled at him, a smile that reeked of danger, and then looked to his Nihalian companion. Varia had seen the Nihalian before, but he did not know his name, or his purpose with Maddox. The Nihalian had a sour look upon his face, and Maddox gave him a pat on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry so much. With your pace, we’ll be at our destination in no time.” Maddox said cheerfully, and his friend scowled at him, sucking his teeth at him.

“So you say.” The Nihalian murmured, and then they were off once more.

It was a long march to the capital, and soon, the waning sun dipped below the forests and mountains, throwing the land into darkness. The Nihalian refused to continue on in the dark, and so they stopped next to the road, where the trees parted just enough to camp comfortably. Emeriss was visible from where they stopped to camp, shining bright against the darkening sky.

Once a fire was built and the two additional guards wandered off to hunt, Maddox approached the cage and smacked the bars behind where Varia sat, brooding.

“Sulking still? You should be honored that your masters turned on you. You should see this as them acknowledging your skill, but I suppose that you would never sit and die quietly for that small victory.” Maddox’s eyes slid to Brom, and Varia’s gaze followed. Brom tensed under both gazes, and turned his head away from them. “Besides. It’s not like you didn’t know you were in bed with traitors and liars from the start. Perhaps you would like to make Arcturus feel the same pain. It isn’t betraying them if they cast you out first.”

The implication Maddox threw at Brom was not lost on Varia, and he looked to his left hand for a moment, before he focused on what Maddox was saying. He predicted that Maddox would make him an offer, then he would seek information from him. Varia had not quite decided yet what he was going to do. He had nowhere to go, he was wanted in every country, but Arcturus, and now… now he did not know any place he could go.

Varia did not respond, instead he turned his gaze forward once more, ignoring Maddox. Maddox sighed, turning away and shrugging his shoulders to his friend. His friend, who sat near the fire, rubbed a hand against his short beard, watching Varia from where he was.

“Why would Arcturus try to kill you, Varia?” The Nihalian spoke, and Varia’s gaze slid to him, but he remained quiet. He knew why, and he knew that Maddox and his friend knew why as well. He was trying to start a conversation, and hoped it would open negotiations. Instead of answering, he watched the shadows flicker across the ground from the flames of the campfire.

“Perhaps you aren’t as effective as you used to be. Becoming soft.” After a quiet spell, the Nihalian offered his own explanation, though he and Varia both knew it was not true. It was a jab, intended to garner a reaction. Varia was not interested in playing the Nihalian’s games, so he remained quiet.

Maddox, though, knew how to annoy Varia. Even before battles, when they met on the field under a white flag to negotiate. It was simply for show, neither intended to negotiate a truce, but even then, Maddox knew what to say, what to do to get a rise from Varia. He climbed to sit atop the cage, a small pack under his butt for cushion. He reclined as if he were comfortable, which he surely wasn’t, and then drew the elven sword from his back and stabbed it down between the bars until the hilt caught on the top. It was long enough to nearly pierce the bottom, and effectively separate Varia and Brom from the other two, now quiet, prisoners.

Varia turned his gaze upwards and met Maddox’s. The blonde leant over his sword, smiling down at him. The sword thrummed softly, vibrating against the metal bars.

“More than likely they just got tired of him losing to me all of the time.” Maddox suggested, his smirk widening.

That did it. Varia, while he generally thought he had a good grip on outwardly expression any emotion, was weak when it came to Maddox and his stupid taunts, and cocky smirk.

“Losing to you?” Varia spat, craning his neck upwards to scowl at Maddox. “I have never lost to you. I am a living, breathing example of your weakness, Maddox.”

He heard the Nihalian chuckle, though he sounded strained and tired. “Look, Varia. Maddox mentioned it, but we’re willing to give you a chance to help bring Arcturus down. We can offer you-“

“Shut up.” Varia snapped to the Nihalian, and then returned his vitriol to Maddox. “If you are going to kill us, get on with it. I don’t have the patience or time to deal with your taunts.”

Maddox’s grin grew, crooked across his otherwise handsome face. It was a cruel grin, a mocking one, but his eyes were alight with a barely contained bloodlust. “Well, that’s not an incentive for me to kill you, is it? I’d much rather inconvenience you. If you wish to be killed, you’ll have to do better than asking.” Maddox drawled, and Varia bared his teeth at the tone.

“While you’re taunting us, could you at least provide food and water? This climate is not exactly ideal for being carted around in a metal cage.” Brom spoke up, soft voice rising to be heard.

Maddox, who had locked eyes with Varia in a battle of will, exhaled a breath. Around the cart, the energy that had been storing around the blade, cratered, creating a perfectly round indentation under the cage and dropping it a few inches. The other prisoners whimpered, but Varia did not move, and neither did Brom.

Maddox turned his attention to Brom, who raised a thin eyebrow at him, like a mother scolding a child. Then, to Varia’s surprise, Maddox gave a sharp whistle. One of the other two soldiers who were not hunting rose from where he sat, gathering stale bread and waterskins, tossing them into the cage. Brom grabbed both greedily, offering them to Varia, who only accepted the water.

“I suggest you talk some sense into your master. This offer only lasts until we reach the capital. After that, you’ll die right alongside him.” Maddox said to Brom, and Varia scowled, his eyes shifting to Brom once again.

He had seen the two interact before, but only in that same, necessary way that they would interact before battle. This was different. They were acting familiar, though he supposed that they were familiar by this point. Something was off, though, and he was growing wary.

“What do you owe Arcturus, Varia? They’ve done nothing but abuse you your entire life, and now they seek to kill you. After all you’ve done for them.” The Nihalian spoke again, not relenting in his pursuit of information.

“I don’t even know who you are. I said to shut up.” Varia snapped back, and the Nihalian’s lips set in a straight line, the humor on his face suddenly gone.

“Tell me about the weapon.” The Nihalian said, voice stern. Varia hesitated then, eyebrows raising.

How would he know about that? Why was that even a conversation at this point? The weapon was nowhere near ready to be put into use. Varia lingered in silence, all eyes now upon him. He raised the water skin to his lips, drinking from it as he considered his next words.

“Ah, I see.” Varia murmured once he was ready to speak. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand, staring up at Maddox, not the Nihalian. “Is that why you’ve kept me alive?”

The Nihalian’s golden eyes were bright, even from a distance, and he seemed to relax just a bit. Maddox, above him, sucked his teeth in mock annoyance. “Damn, I suppose you do know something about that then. Shame. Now you’ve earned yourself an extended stay in Emeriss.”

But Maddox’s gaze was no longer the cold, blood hungry gaze it had been. Now it was cautious, disturbed even. It was not the same caution he had seen in Maddox’s gaze before, this was new. He believed Varia, though Varia was not surprised by that. He was never a good liar, and did very little of it when he could help it. Maddox knew that, and he now… he was scared of whatever information Varia may have.

“Aye, it’s the Er Rian crown’s interest, as well as the Nihalian’s. There have been rumors, whispers. It’s something we believe you could assist us with.” The Nihalian was speaking again, and had stood from where he sat, creeping closer to the cage. The soldiers were waved away with a flick of his hand, and they gathered around the fire instead. Somewhere in the deep forest, the sound of an animal screaming its final scream sounded. The other two would return soon.

“Reaper, you know their treachery better than anyone. Tell me...between the two options, which is more likely? One: you and the demon here are actually the trigger for the weapon, allowed to come into our custody in order to get you into the city and use it on the royal family there… or two: sacrifice you to ensure all of your enemies, Arcturus’ enemies, would gather in one place to see your demise, so that they could use the weapon and kill everyone, including you two with them?” Maddox looked down at Brom who quickly looked away. Varia was also curious what Brom thought, and tilted his head. Brom’s eyes turned to him briefly, and Varia lifted his chin, indicating he should speak.

“They wouldn’t need to kill everyone, only you. Once you fall, so does much of the resistance and worry of Arcturus. I’d say we’re a trap for you more than the crown. So it might be a good idea to abandon us here, now, while you have the chance.” Brom suggested in a calm and reasonable voice, but Varia could sense his stress. He was speaking slowly, and with that same, odd caution Maddox spoke with.

He understood it, now that Brom spoke his concern. Whether they were the trap for Maddox, or a lure for a bigger haul, neither option left them alive. They would easily seize upon his death, no matter if they caused it or not, and rally Legion with it. Varia would become a martyr and no one would know otherwise.

Arcturus wanted them both dead, and the sudden reality of it hit him like a ton of bricks. A defeated sigh left him, lowering himself back onto the seat, small hands rubbing at his face. Varia knew everything, or at least he thought he had. Up until recent events, he had never once thought of the possibility, or at least given it any real thought. He was too important, too valuable to Arcturus' cause. Without him, they had no one able to stand up to Maddox, and no one willing to commit the atrocities needed to secure their conquest.

As if by magic, everything he had been given in secrecy over the years bubbled in his throat. He had never even humored the idea of sharing such important information before, but there it was, resting on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spilled.

And so what if he did? Could it even be stopped at this point? Who knew how long ago they had stopped feeding him proper information, he hadn't been to see the weapons in months, and as far as he knew, they did not have the proper mages to launch them.

But those weren’t the only secrets he knew. There were many, many more. If Arcturus was so adamant to see him dead, perhaps the information he held frightened them... or perhaps just his very existence, his vengeful, powerful existence frightened them.

He was wrapping himself in his own mind once more, and feared for what this could mean. Could the weapon be ready? If it was, if what he knew was true, then nothing would save them. Nothing he could tell anyone would save them from… that. He had seen the destruction the weapon wrought, he knew what awaited any who were near. There was no way to survive it.

"If this has been their intention all along, then I'm afraid my information may no longer be of any relevance to you. If the weapons are ready, then I was cut from the inner circle months ago." Varia suddenly uttered, his voice soft and small, no longer stern and confident as it normally was.

The Nihalian moved closer, closer than he had been the entire time. Varia felt the eyes on him, Brom’s, the Nihalian’s, and Maddox’s. All of them were heavy, and caused him to shrink lower, attempting to curl into himself and just vanish.

The Nihalian crouched, now eye level with Varia. “Anything you tell us could help. Anything could help us bring them to heel. After all you’ve done for them, after all they’ve done to you… You wish to see them burn, don’t you? We can do just that, with your help.”

The Nihalian was sly, Varia would award him that. That was why Maddox kept him near, most likely. Varia was not so weak he would fall to those words so easily, but the Nihalian spoke what Varia himself thought. He did wish to see them burn for what they did to him. He wanted to avenge himself, all of those he was forced to kill, all of his men who were buried in the sands of Nihal. He wished for the council to suffer. But…

“If you’ve been hearing whispers of the weapons, then nothing will save you. If they were to attack, the explosion would kill us all.”

Maddox’s face dropped into shock. The Nihalian seemed surprised as well, but Brom did not. That was not unusual, for Brom was aware of the same things Varia was, though less so. He knew what the weapon was, he knew what it could do. Maddox did not, and neither did his friend.

“Explosion?” Maddox murmured. Varia was sure that the Captain did not understand the magnitude and implication of what he was calling an ‘explosion’, but he didn’t need to. All he needed to know was that if they were targeted, they were doomed.

That same, lost feeling Varia had suddenly flashed over Maddox’s face, and he turned from them. “It was all for nothing then…?” Maddox whispered softly, in Arcturian.

Varia lifted his head to the other, and Brom suddenly reached upwards, smacking the bottom of the cage below Maddox’s rear. “Is this as far as your resolve goes? I will not die in a cage beneath your stinking feet because you cannot accept a small outmaneuver!” Brom snapped back in Arcturian.

It was a strange form of Arcturian. Varia could understand it, but it was not low Arcturian, nor was it high Arcturian. It was somewhere in the middle, in a dialect that was not… proper, or used. It was the same Arcturian Maddox spoke in whenever he did, but hearing Brom use it was… odd.

“Have you forgotten? Your purpose was never to save or serve Er Rai, but to defeat the council!” Brom continued, even though Maddox was now staring down at him in surprise.

He was not the only one, the Nihalian watched, confused, and Varia also watched. What did Brom know of Maddox’s purpose? He had always been a pawn for Er Rai, always aimed to defeat the council. Both were not separated, but Brom spoke as if they were. He spoke as if he had intimate knowledge of Maddox. Knowledge he should not have.

“If… they have this weapon, then they would no longer need you, Varia. Am I understanding that correctly?” The Nihalian asked, and Varia tore his eyes from his second and looked to the bronze man instead.

“Aye, though both would be ideal, in my opinion as commander. The weapon is not something that can be used often, on every enemy. They would target cities, large cities. Where there were heavy concentrations of people, and where Legion could not reach.” Varia said, then he stopped, his brow creasing.

Large cities with many people, many innocents. Where Legion was not, could not be. Where they may have men that they wished dead. Varia would not be able to live if he were attacked with the weapon, that he knew. If he were planning something like this, he would wait until his target was within the walls of a city, an impregnable city, and then unleash the weapon then. Two birds.

It seemed Maddox had the same idea he did. Maddox was staring down at Varia, with wide eyes, and then he looked to his second. “Sabre, if we hadn’t been slowed during the ride, if we had continued on… when would we have reached Emeriss?” He asked, voice quick, panicked.

Varia stood, as much as he could, in the cage, and gripped the bars. “Maddox-!”

There was a sound, a resounding crack in the sky. And then, the darkness split open to reveal the sun once more over Emeriss in the distance.

The land lit up before them, and then all air was ripped from them. A great hum sounded, and then the light faded away. Then, like how a tsunami pulls the water to sea before engulfing the land, the wind engulfed them. In the distance, the sound an oak tree makes just as it is hit with lighting echoed, and where Emeriss once stood before them, shining against the night sky, was only fire.

The wind hit them hard, snuffing their camp fire. Maddox had foresight enough to grasp his sword, and hung on when the cage rolled backwards. He shouted a word that Varia could not hear, for his ears were ringing, threatening to burst with the sudden pressure.

The fire rolled over them so suddenly and with such violence, the cage and all in the camp were flung backwards. The trees, ancient, old trees, were flattened, cracking in half. The cage rolled, and Varia’s world went dark for a moment.

He woke to the same crashing he had fallen to, and then a jarring heat. The cage had crashed against a tree, an old tree, that had managed to hold root and keep itself upright.

Varia blinked, his eyes readjusting to the darkness. It was too dark now, beyond the smoldering remains of Emeriss in the distance. He felt wetness on his face, and looked down to the ground just as a drop of blood fell between his two hands, still bound together, though the shackles were twisted and cracked.

Below his hands, though, the shadows twitched, snaking around his fingers. Varia blinked, dizzy, and then looked up at the path the cage cut when it was flung back. The ground was streaked with viscus gore, the remains of the other prisoners, who were mangled and wrapped with metal and trees. Brom was no longer in the cage either, doubled over where Maddox sat on his rear near the Nihalian, who was standing, but barely.

In the path of gore and disturbed dirt lay the talismans. Most, if not all of them. Varia was free. He slowly shifted to a crouch, and crawled through the hole in the cage, where the door had once been.

In the distance, now visible beyond the shattered trees, was Emeriss. Or at least where she had once stood. It was too far to properly judge the extent of the damage, but the glow from the city assured the group that Emeriss was burning. It stood stark against the blackened sky, glowing a deep, blood red. Though the forest had grown eerily silent, it was almost as if they could hear the screams. Varia wiped at the blood on his face, turning his back on the glow, and looking to his enemies.

The explosion was meant for him. That weapon, the horrible weapon, was ready, and he was their first target.

He felt the anger bubbling again, heard the drone in his ear and felt the tightening of his chest. The shadows lifted from the ground, wrapping around his arms and legs as he rose to stand proper. His hands flexed, his toes. He could feel his body, and knew he was not wounded. Perhaps several bruises, a few scrapes and the bash he took to the skull. But he was whole, and he was angry.

Maddox was hissing in pain, cradling his arm, and Brom was applying pressure to his own side where blood blossomed. The Nihalian, Sabre, stood with his hands in his hair, staring in the direction of the city, or the ruins of it.

Varia began to march towards them, certainly too aggressively, and Maddox reacted, rearing away from him when he approached. Sabre whirled to face him as well, hands up in a peacekeeping gesture. “That… explosion was meant for you too, Varia! We can help you, you know we can! Don’t, please, don’t ha-“

“Shut up.” Varia cut the Nihalian off, and crouched near Maddox. Maddox scowled to him, cradling his arm, which was clearly broken.

Before the explosion took them, Maddox had created a barrier of energy. It had not saved them from the shock waves, but it prevented them, all of them, from being killed. Besides the prisoners they were with, of course, who were crushed under metal and tree.

But how easy it would be to kill Maddox then. He was broken, weakened. He used so much energy then, he could not fight back. Varia was unharmed, and his shadows were spreading from below him, poised to strike down his enemies.

Maddox saved him, though, despite their history. And despite how they felt about one another, they were now all likely considered dead. This was a foreign land to him, and Maddox was wounded. They could help one another, at least for a bit.

He was tired, anyway. Varia sighed, his eyes moving to Maddox’s broken arm. “I have had enough death for one evening.” He murmured, and Maddox visibly heaved a sigh. He did not relax, not that Varia expected him to.

“How… many people lived there?” Varia asked quietly.

It was the Nihalian who answered. “H-Half a million… around there.”

Varia did not flinch, did not react. Half a million lives, ended in an instant. All because Arcturus wished to see him dead, and to bring an end to the war. Varia snorted, wiping at the blood dripping from his brow, and he stood.

“Get up. They will send people to assess the damage.” Varia ordered suddenly. His newfound companions stared at him for a long moment, even Brom seemed surprised, but it was Maddox who first moved, struggling to his feet. He did not speak, his mouth drawn in a thin line. He looked to Varia once risen, and gave him a single, solemn nod.

Varia did not return it, he simply drew a breath. He turned away from Emeriss. Away from the city that was never meant to fall. Away from half a million lives, gone. Away from the proof of Arcturus’ betrayal.

He did not look back.