Hara leaned over a canvas, lightly brushing an orange streak onto the canvas. The setting sun cast a myriad of warm colors across the cloudless sky which he worked to capture in painstaking detail. Strokes up and down layered across each other to mimic the view as Octavia gazed off into the distance. A small book lay splayed open on her lap, flecks of scattered paint laying on the page.

The two of them sat on a balcony above the training ground in silence. Za'Nahi and Na'Muri's booming voices echoed from the adjacent room in the serene silence. Even though the sun hadn't fully set, stars shone in the sky like Octavis had never seen them before under the smoke and lights of Xenon. It was such a wonderful tapestry of sparkling lights. They streaked slowly across the sky, leaving faint trails in their paths.

She leaned backwards into her seat and remembered the time she saw Xenon from afar at night. It shone with thousands of lights, but the sky itself was faint. Like Xenon had stolen the stars for themselves.

The thought brought a slight chuckle to Octavia’s lips. Not even the most magical of nations could claim to own the stars. Perhaps that was for the best though. The lights aren't nearly as pretty when you're among them. Looking at the sky she considered that maybe they grew prettier the further away you moved.

She wondered what the stars were like as you grew closer. Perhaps there's a city out there beyond the clouds shining down on us all, so far away we could only see the lights.

Hara placed down his brush and examined his work. Gentle strokes beautifully captured the tones of the sun disappearing below the sand dunes.

"Are you finished? It's beautiful."

"Sometimes I hate being a soldier. My purpose is to destroy and kill. It's nice to take a break and try to capture some of the world's beauty. I can feel less like a monster."

"It's a necessary evil. Nobody in this world will change unless forced to. They will exploit and kill anyone if it furthers their own lives. That's why the Origin gave humanity violence, so we can keep ourselves in check."

Octavia frowned as her eyes wandered into the distance. The regent had told her their objective during a meeting days ago, but the anticipation of what lay ahead weighed down her mind. The destruction of Subjugation Walker.

"That's an interesting perspective. I could never see it that way though. Violence is ugly in any form."

"So why do you fight? To protect your nation?"

"I fight to end war before it can consume everything in its path. To keep it contained to the borders. The Origin gave us violence, its appearance is inevitable. All I can do is make sure it finishes quickly."

"I don't think this is a war we'll be able to end quickly. Xenon's advantage is overwhelming. Although it's not an impossible battle. If we hold tight to the reasons why we fight, we can beat them."

"It's not my place to question the emperor, but we can't win this alone. These aren't armies or beasts, it's a new kind of warfare. A kind of warfare we aren't prepared to fight."

"We're can't win the war alone. The regent is quite stubborn though. I can't blame her completely. She needs revenge for the emperor to be completed by her nation's hand. Besides, I've been waiting for a rematch."

A manic gleam shone in the depths of Octavia's eye. Shifting uncomfortably, Hara dropped his brushes into a cup of water. He stood up and glanced back at Octavia with tired eyes.

"You need to learn from the regent. That kind of violent stubbornness will get us all killed. Just because your cause is just doesn't mean you can sacrifice soldiers for no reason but pride. Wars should only be fought to win, not just so you can call yourself the victor."

Octavia sat alone on the balcony as Hara went inside to the cheering voices of their party. Muri looked her way as if to beckon her inside, but she simply leaned further back into her seat. The stars seemed to grow close enough to touch the longer she stared at them.

Some of her friends would die in her quest for revenge. There was no question of that. However the thought seemed to barely phase Octavia. Drive for revenge and glory separated her mind from rational thought. By her hand she would make this assault a success, no matter the cost.

- -

On the first day of the following month the assault on Subjugation Walker had passed. Octavia stood before hundreds of politicians dressed in fine colored silks and jewelry. They gazed down in contempt at the girl as she struggled against her restraints, eyes burning with rage. The filthy knight uniform she wore was scarred by soot and bullet holes.

Limestone pillars lined the ancient room, each adorned by tile mosaics depicting the twelve orbital deities. A central podium was decorated by an impression of the Hexxan, a legendary artifact representing the Origin god. The relic was once said to be the bridge between the Terran Fundament and the Higher Planes. By placing the emperor's podium upon its image, they showed his authority over the mortal world.

Rows of benches ran behind the twelve front seats, representing the lowest level of the Okean parliament. Seated politicians whispered among themselves while shooting scornful glances at the knight.

Shame and anger rushed through Octavia's mind as she kneeled in defeat. Piercing insults came from each direction, fueling a seething bloodlust within her. Failure wasn't acceptable. Subjugation Walker needed to die for taking the lives of her comrades, and Okea's incompetent government wouldn't hold her back.

The emperor ascended his podium, followed closely by the regent. Fanfare sprung from all sides as the boy sat upon a grand throne. Octavia bit her tongue to stop the stream of curses she held within her.

One of the twelve major figures rose to his feet with a scroll of parchment. His aged eyes ran down the letters as he shouted the words shriller than a bell.

“Octavia Servius, you return in shame. We granted you every boon available to us, and yet you failed to destroy the Subjugation Walker. The only causes for this are simple. Negligence…” He set the scroll down on the table and stared into Octavia’s unblinking eyes. “...or betrayal.”

Murmurs flowed through the court in increasing volume. The old man sat down as the eleven other grand senators looked on with indifference.

“The only incompetence here is your preprations. The mission went exactly to plan under my guidance.” Octavia locked her eyes onto the Regent, voice filled with contempt. “Your plan went up in flames. If you want to point blame for this mission’s failures, maybe stop blaming people who actually get things done and blame the people mindless enough to plan that failure!”

The regent held Octavia’s gaze, uninterested. All she saw before her was a raving lunatic from an enemy nation writhing in their defeat. Such flimsy words were little more than an annoyance.

“The lord regent herself crafted this plan. Your disloyalty will not be tolerated in this court.” The rightmost grand senator shouted. He slammed his staff into the ground, signaling guards to grab each of Octavia’s arms. They began to carry her away until the regent motioned for them to stop.

She leaned forward as the knight dropped to the ground unceremoniously. “How exactly did my plan fail then?” Her voice mocked Octavia as if laughing at a child. “Metal or flesh, a beast is a beast. We’ve hunted armored dragons and granitoise this way for centuries. Failure has only occurred through ineptitude.”

“We placed the bombs inside the machine’s heart. We shattered the hull to pieces." Octavia said. "But in the end, it simply got back up."

- -

Octavia and Hara pressed their backs onto an iron scaffold, attempting to quiet their breathing. Automatons clacked past both sides, carrying boxes of metal parts. Directly down from where the two were hiding sat the inactive chassis of Subjugation Walker. The hole Octavia had cut into the roof was half repaired and covered in construction materials.

After the attack on the border, the pit from which the Walker had attacked was investigated, revealing a tunnel system running underneath Xenon for transporting the immense vehicle. The tunnels spread to a myriad of locations, however the paths all converged at a single place.

They had infiltrated the most dangerous place outside of the Xenon’s capital walls, Subjugation Walker’s hangar. The hangar sat in the center of rolling green plains, a mass of concrete and steel scaffolding to cover the flowing grass. This was where the walking fortress slept between missions.

Heavy machinery left over from the Walker's construction littered the walls and ceiling. Hanging chains hooked onto the metal plating, revealing the mess of pipes and gears within the armored shell.

The complex mechanics reminded Octavia of the inner workings within the royal palace's walls. Familiar clicks and creaking of steam pipes caused memories to bubble to the surface of her mind. Only a few months ago her biggest worry had been avoiding her father's insistence for her to wear a royal gown, now she was sitting in the grime of industrial machinery beside a foreigner, fighting to bring down her own family.

Perhaps this was always the path her life was meant to take. Ever since the day her royal guardsman snuck a young Octavia outside the palace into the soot blackened city of Xenon. As he pulled a cute leather hat over her eyes with a wink to hide her identity, her life changed forever.

Hara shook her shoulder with an excited vigor to draw her out from deep inside her mind. She jumped slightly in surprise, landing lightly on her feet.

"The Automatons have left for refueling, we've got a few minutes before the next batch of them get here. Let's get this done."

He passed her a handful of brittle iron spikes. The cold metal froze her bare hands as she dropped a pile into her knapsack. Magical circles were roughly carved into the back surface of each spike, devoid of all glowing power. They were waiting to be activated.

According to the Knight Captain, these were ancient Kelkarii tools designed for killing armored demon beasts. They were made using the same alchemic powder that propelled Xenon's gatlings.

Having grown up around guns and machinery advancing in power with each passing year, the stagnation of Okean technology felt like entering another world. They had used the same methods and tools for nearly three millenia. Perhaps she was the one who didn't belong, an alien to the planet she called home.

Hara rushed forward beside the Walker, shoving a spike into the exposed pipes on the Walker's side. Octavia ran up the side of the machine, flipping into the interior through the half repaired hole she had cut. The cramped hallways were lined with spanning jumbles of dials and pipes. Despite the roaring blast of fans, the interior was swelteringly hot. Air shimmered around Octavia as she pushed deeper into the interior, searching for weak points.

Hara stuck the last of his spikes into the exterior of the machine, ramming it into an exposed exhaust vent. Wiping her brow with the side of a filthy gray sleeve, Octavia navigated the cramped maze of the interior. Despite the design of the area resembling the palace tower's inner workings, it couldn't be more different while actually traveling. The wide horizontal area was confusing to search through, and she had no idea what she was really looking for.

Sweat dripped into her eyes, blurring her vision. The magical lens in her right eye flicked slightly as the sweat ran down its surface. Blinking her eyes clear, an idea crossed her mind. She activated the lens, causing the walls to fade into transparency with a red flash.

The path forward was clear, if she followed it she could drop down into the engine room. Sprinting across the steel grate floor, she dropped down a back ladder into the fortress ship's lower level. Cylindrical machines pumped up and down, pouring choking loads of exhaust into the air. If anywhere was the beating heart of the Walker, this had to be it.

She slammed her spikes into the surface of the engine, pushing them in with the heel of her boot. Spotting a broken pipe lying on the floor next to a leaking drip of oil, she jammed the pipe into a spinning system of gears. The machinery groaned in protest, attempting to push against jam.

Octavia grinned happily to herself as she climbed out of the lower decks. It was satisfying to hurt System, but this was more than just damaging some grand enemy. There was a deeply personal gratification as she destroyed the creations of her father's regime. He had betrayed his people, his wife, even his daughter. In the end he became little more than a puppet for an insane overlord.

Her journeys outside the palace had taught her the failures of the palace. As a teenager she held the same cap the guardsmen had given her so long ago down over her eyes. The puffy black leather hat was beat down, small amounts of stuffing popping out of cute cat ear designs adorning the top. It didn't fit the tall silhouette of the princess, but she grasped it as her last memorabilia of the man she idolized.

She dealt with the shops, even picked up a few small jobs. With each day below the gleaming heights of the tower, her hatred for her father grew. When the queen fell ill he took it as an opportunity. Without her holding him back, the policies only grew harsher.

Taxes grew as more rights were taken away from the populace to fund gargantuan projects. Her friends in the city were extorted, working to the bone so Xenon could build the walking fortress she was about to destroy.

The Okean Regent believed Octavia wanted revenge for her attempted assasination, for Xenon taking her arm, mother, and the cushy life of a princess. Octavia chuckled to herself at the thought. She had hated the royalty long before Zeran had killed her mother and kicked her from the palace window. In the past she had thought that reform meant becoming monarch and changing things from the top, but that was foolish. Maybe this is for the best, she considered, her specialty was never politics to begin with.

Hara greeted her as she flipped out of the machine's interior. The back of her rough gray uniform was damp with sweat and her face was black with soot, but her face held a brimming smile.

"I stabbed it right in the heart. Not even a metal monster should be able to get back up after that." Octavia said. "Now, where's Zeke?"

"He's waiting in the shadows near the entrance with Nahi." Hara said, notching an arrow onto his bow. "The attack vanguard is in position under the machine. As soon as we say the word, they'll cut down the legs."

Octavia nodded, checking the small silver pocket watch Keith had bought her a lifetime ago. The automatons would return to continue their repairs within the next ten minutes. If they found the spikes this entire mission would end in disaster.

"Let's hurry then. Time is wasting, and I really don't want to get caught while the Walker is right next to us."

The two knights ran from cover to cover, carefully checking that no unscheduled patrols were passing by. They slipped down off the upper floor of the hanger, rolling onto the concrete surface of the ground floor. Shadows in front of the entrance shifted slightly, signaling the two over into the darkness.

"Are you guys ready? I can't stand this place. It feels… unnatural." Zeke said, emerging from the shadows as if he was melting in reverse.

"We're ready. Enchant the arrow." Hara said as he presented his bow to the young wizard. Zeke whispered onto the tip, causing it to glow with faint white energy.

"There should be enough mana in that burst to activate all of the magical circles on the bombs. Get ready to cover yourself when they detonate."

Octavia and Zeke crouched behind the outer wall of the hanger, covering their ears. Hara drew his bow, aiming at the back of an iron spoke. With a whispered prayer to the gods, he loosed the arrow.

The arrow impacted the spike, releasing a wave of blinding white energy. The spikes exploded, shooting shards of brittle iron into the exposed pipes and vents of the fortress. The sound of blasts echoed from deep within, blowing the engines to pieces. Without power the Walker became unable to hold itself up and buckled under its own weight.

From each side of the hanger, a wave of soldiers activated burning sigils on their weapons and charged the machine's legs. Their flaming axes pierced the armored surface, but did little more than scar the steel surface with crossing slash marks.

Octavia grinned from ear to ear in elation, drawing a sword from her hip scabbard. After the shame of her defeat at the border, her retribution was at hand. The engine within her heart roared to life, coating the edge of her sword in flames.

"Backup power generator online. Status: under attack. Infantry extermination protocol activated. Beginning purge."

A monotone voice echoed from the inside of the Walker. Flashing red light poured from the gaping holes in its armor as the legs found strength again. Ringing alarm bells announced the reawakening of the machine. Despite all they had done, Subjugation Walker had survived.

Bullets rained down on the countless soldiers attempting to cut down the machine's legs. Rockets shot from the sides of its chassis, reducing the knights into clouds of red mist showering the room.

Octavia stood still, staring at the front of the Walker. Her mind flooded with too many thoughts and emotions to handle. Hara gave up on shouting and tackled her from the side. The two fell behind a stack of crates as countless bullets rang against where they stood moments before.

"Get your head into reality, princess!" Hara shouted, violently shaking Octavia’s shoulder. Her eyes focused out of the cloudy mist that had covered them as she recoiled.

"How the hell did it survive? We blew up its heart!" Octavia screamed into the air. The madness in her eyes had morphed into rage.

"Apparently it had more than one. You said it yourself, we can't defeat this alone!" Hara said. "Now, run! The only way we can make sure the Empire doesn't make the same mistake is to survive and tell our tale."

The hangar's roof collapsed into explosions as Subjugation Walker butchered the soldiers. The best and bravest of the empire collapsed before the roaring barrels of its gatling guns.

"Pull back to the tunnel, we can hold it back while you retreat!" Za'Nahi shouted to the soldiers as he emerged from behind Zeke. "Zeke, it's up to us now. Think we can survive Xenon's abomination long enough?"

"If the princess can escape it alive, so can we. Now get ready, it's looking at us." Said Zeke.

Nahi slammed his shield down before his body. The countless magical circles carved along the shield's body glowed with energy as Zeke began to chant into the air. The hair on Za'Nahi's arms stood up, crackling with static.

“As the arm of the Origin, I shield his creations from the sinners outside our border. I call upon the Hexxan’s power to bring down the objects of the higher plane, Wall of Exitern!” Nahi screamed into the sky, calling to the legendary symbol of the supreme deity.

The sun’s light shone across the battlefield, gazing down at Nahi. A shape began to form at the front of Nahi’s shield, tracing a transparent golden rectangle with indented sides. Countless miniscule lines crossed the surface of the ghostly projection, converging at the center into a single unblinking eye that held a vision of the infinite cosmos within its pupil.

“The Hexxan…” Octavia whispered. The outline of the object was unmistakable. She had never seen this kind of magic before. It was a rare incantation held close by Blackhall, a legacy left by Old Caynan. They had constructed an Emulator of the lost holy object and created spells to remotely harness its power. Even though the Emulator had vanished millenia ago, it could still be accessed for the most powerful of magic.

Blinding white energy flowed from the cosmic eye of the Hexxan’s projection, creating a flowing wall of pure light. The surface resembled the stormy surface of the ocean, flowing with heavenly waves.

“How the hell…” Hara trailed off as he stared into the projection. To a man as religious as him, it was as if he had seen the face of the Origin with his own eyes. A roar of scraping metal poured out from Subjugation Walker. The red light pouring from the machine’s broken surface coated the wall in crimson as its front leg slammed into the shield. Nahi staggered backward under the impact, but held the shield strong.

“I taught it to him. For when the time came his shield couldn’t protect us all alone.” Zeke shouted over the blasting winds of the wall’s flow. A cascade of bullets melted on contact with the shield as Zeke strained to pour his magical energy into Nahi. The last remnants of the soldiers ran behind his barrier while Za’Nahi screamed in agony. Pure energy rushed through his body, dissolving his flesh and liquifying his bones.

“Run you goddamn idiots!” Cried Nahi. “I’ve got it, now get out of here. If a single one of you dies after this, I’ll beat your ass when we reach the higher planes.” The soldiers dropped into the pit they had entered through one by one. Octavia turned at the last moment, holding her fist above her heart. As a child she had learned it as the Okean salute of ultimate respect. Nahi simply cracked a pained smile in response.

“I never thought it would end like this.” Said Zeke. “But I suppose this isn’t too bad. Thanks… for protecting me. It’s been quite the ride.” Tears streamed down his strained face. The memory of the Okean military academy’s boot camp burned bright in his past. Alone and afraid, forced into a corner by the warrior students. He was alone in a harsh world, until a hand stretched out to him.

“Remember what I told you when we first met? That I’d protect you to the end of my life, because that’s what knights do.” Said Za’Nahi. “I’m at the end of my life… but why stop now?”

“Huh?”

Zeke was shoved back by Nahi’s elbow, stumbling backwards into Hara’s arms. He screamed and clawed at Hara as they retreated backwards into the pit. Nahi’s eyes burned as he struck the shield into the ground with the last of his mana. The wall flickered and faded, leaving Nahi standing alone in the face of the grand machine.

“Do your worst, bucket.”

Nahi raised his shield above his head as the Walker’s leg thrust down towards him. The flimsy wood splinted on the moment of impact as the gargantuan spike crushed him instantly, impaling his remains onto the blood stained tip.

Octavia sprinted past Za’Muri while shouting. “Detonate the tunnel’s entrance!”

Hara passed by them, leaning Zeke onto his shoulder as tears ran down the young wizard’s face.

“Where is Nahi? I can’t detonate it until he gets through-” Za’Muri’s voice filled with horror. She wasn’t so blind that she couldn’t tell what had happened, but her mind refused to accept it.

“He’s not coming, so detonate the damn passage!” Hara yelled, holding Zeke tight.

Muri hit the wall with a warhammer, slamming a spike bomb jammed into the surface. A chain reaction of explosions from an arrangement of a dozen spikes shook the massive concrete tunnels, caving in the entrance into a pile of rubble.

Octavia watched the dust settle on her defeat. The mad arrogance that passed her mind earlier was little more than a memory. Defeating Xenon was impossible, a joke. How could she win against monsters like that? The other knights watched as she collapsed onto the floor in insane laughter.

“What was I thinking? Of course this would happen. We never had a chance to win in the first place.” Octavia cried as she laughed, staring wide eyed at the broken ground. “Is this what my homeland has become? Is this what you want Xenon to be, father? I’ll fucking kill you!”

Her fingers closed around the grip of her sword and wildly swung it onto the ground. Each time it bounced back, she swung again. The ring of steel filled the tunnel as Octavia foamed at the mouth, screaming.

- - -

“We can’t stop these machines with soldiers and bombs. No matter how much you scratch the armor, no matter how many vital organs you detonate, they just get back up.” Octavia said to the senators above her. “It doesn’t matter if it just stands back up like the Walker or if it gets repaired with new parts. A single automaton is worth a thousand soldiers without my level of experience in fighting them.”

“So what would you say we do, princess of Xenon? Surrender to your masters?” A grand senator yelled down, eyebrows furrowed in rage.

“I’d rather join Za’Nahi in the higher planes than serve Xenon again. You can’t destroy them with armies, but that isn’t the only way to fight.” Octavia rose to her feet, overpowering the guards attempting to hold her into a kneel. “We were able to survive because of not only Za’Nahi’s bravery, but the Hexxian Emulation magic he cast. That’s the ultimate weapon you have, despite your refusal to use it. The grand spells of Blackhall, able to harness the power of the holy artifact. Kelkarii’s tamed demon beasts and mobile ballistas the size of buildings created for felling demon beasts. Enchanted weapons from Kureta in the far east, sharp enough to cut through anything that exists. Your hope of victory lies with the surrounding nations who face just as much of a threat from Xenon as you.”

“With the support of the church, an alliance would be effortless. I can guarantee Blackhall’s allegiance in a combined offensive.” Keith appeared behind Octavia, escorted by a troop of prison guards. His chains clinked together as he was shoved down.

“Okea is the strongest nation in the world, we have no need-” Started the Regent.

“We are living proof that you do need them! The Okean Empire may be strong in standard warfare, but this is anything but standard.” Interrupted Octavia. “You asked me earlier what I propose. My proposal is that we send out envoys to Blackhall and Kelkarii, gather their strength and attack together. Xenon has killed your emperor and massacred your soldiers. Don’t you want a little… retribution?”

Octavia’s eyes regained their shine as she mentioned revenge. She was shamed, beaten, betrayed. There was only one way to pay this back to Xenon. The complete and utter annihilation of her homeland.

“Would you become that Envoy yourself, my dear knight? Could you single handedly draw these nations to our cause?” The regent chuckled at Octavia, mocking her. A single diplomat couldn’t bring such an alliance together. However, the regent mused, if the impossible was achieved, perhaps that would be for the best. An alliance of unseen scale since Saint Kaenith had overthrown the mad Sorcerer King in the Battle of Seven Lands and established the nation of Caynan. The idea tickled her fancy deep within.

“Without a doubt. Whatever it takes, I’ll achieve it. I won’t stop until my sword pierces my father’s heart in the fires of victory.” Octavia shoved the tip of her blade into the marble floor and reached out a hand to help Keith to his feet. “I trust you were telling the truth about Blackhall’s willingness to join?”

“Of course.” Keith laughed. “Although I may have to spend some time convincing my father.”

“Then let’s not waste any time. We have an alliance to build.”