After that, Xerxes met the soldiers under Stratos’ command. Of the nine members other than Stratos, eight were men. The sole woman, whose name was Vadamerca, had broader shoulders than most of the men, and looked like she came from a culture similar to that of Bel and Fal back on Mannemid. However, instead of fair skin and light hair, her complexion was that of oak, and her nose was wide.

“Fall in and introduce yourself to the Lieutenant,” Stratos barked.

The soldiers lined up.

“Mazlauwa of Sin-Amuhhu,” said the first soldier, a tall man with curly hair.

“Hes-Ra from Ku-Aya,” the next one said.

Xerxes immediately forgot all the names, but promised himself he would memorize them as soon as possible.

After the basic introductions, they practiced some maneuvers. Stratos was a veteran, and the soldiers he commanded were well-disciplined. They knew moved with fluidity, and Xerxes could tell that he wouldn’t have any trouble fighting alongside them.

Units One, Two, Three, and Four were the Asgagu mage units: Xerxes with Unit One, Kashtiliash with Unit Two, short-haired Kuri with Unit Three, and Teucer with Unit Four.

The other two heavy infantry units—Five and Six—had Balatu healers, those being Katayoun and the skinny Ningal.

Gandash gave a speech about the basics of mage-integrated formations. Much of it was familiar thanks to Mystic Rabyas. Then he went into further detail, specifying some of the main formations he wanted the Asgagu and Balatu units to use.

The Asgagu mages were the powerhouses of the entire company. However, Gandash made it clear that he wanted them used with precision and planning. They wouldn’t lead the troops, but would wait until key moments to attack, whereupon the heavy infantry with their armor and shield would act like escorts and protectors.

“Under no circumstances do I want any of you Asgagu mages to run off by yourself,” Gandash said. “No heroics. Stay with the line. That’s how we’ll all keep alive. As for the Balatu mages, they’re our lifeblood. As long as they’re safe, we can afford to take more risks and absorb more damage. And that’s why Units Five and Six have only one primary mission: keep Lieutenants Katayoun and Ningal safe and alive, while at the same time facilitating their efforts to heal the wounded.

“We should’t have to deal with any Abhorrent other than potential stragglers. But there could be bandits, rebels, or even trained soldiers opposing us. As such, I’ve prepared three combat scenarios to practice the formations. We’ll start with the one I like to call Open Curtain….”

The soldiers were skilled and experienced. The mages had gotten to know each other well in the past months. All-in-all the training went well.

The days flew by.

Deployment day was Sixthday. There was to be a parade through the city to the Gateway complex.

The ‘graduating’ students were given two uniforms, a set of armor, and a ceremonial dagger. They were also assigned horses. Xerxes recognized his, a spirited fellow named Red that he’d always enjoyed riding in training.

There was a lot of pomp and ceremony. After all, though their company had sixteen mages and over a hundred and fifty soldiers, there was a lot more to their traveling group than that. The mages all had horses, plus there were five units of cavalry. That was a total of seventy-five horses, plus pack animals. There were also carts, servants, attendants, and Gandash’s personal guard. And that was just Black Jackal company.

There were twelve other companies.

The streets had been cleared from the school all the way to the Gateway complex, with the avenues and streets lined with armored city guards.

Truth be told, the process was boring to Xerxes. Everything moved at a crawl. For much of the time he found his thoughts wandering. Juggling his various friendships and relationships was becoming more and more difficult, to the point where he felt overwhelmed. Almost every plan he came up with for how to balance everything seemed to reveal a new problem. And now that he was a High Seer, he needed to think about striving to the level of Mystic. Would it be possible to make any progress while deployed?

After what seemed like hours of sweating on top of Red, they reached the complex.

Yet that was only the beginning of another long stretch of doing nothing.

The sun was setting by the time Black Jackal Company entered the Gateway to Ku-Aya.

On Ku-Aya, the Gateway complexes were far apart, and Gandash kept pushing them. There were no parades slowing things down, and the time difference between the two locations made it possible to reach the next Gateway before evening.

Once on Ira, things became easier. They marched across the complex to the Humusi Gateway, and then over to the one leading to Jehannemid.

By that point, everyone was exhausted.

Lining up in front of the Jehannemid Gateway complex, Gandash gave his final orders.

“We’re to be met by the Head Mage as soon as we arrive,” he said. “Barring unforeseen circumstances, we’ll strike camp and have a formal dinner. The get some rest. After that, we’ll start the march across the continent. As usual, be prepared for anything and everything. No Abhorrent have been sighted there for months, but there have been occasional meteor showers. We can’t afford to be complacent.

“Heavy infantry will go in first, starting with Unit One. Make sure the platform is clear, then fan out.

“Let’s go.”

Gandash led the way inside. However, the shimmering Gateway didn’t open as expected. Gandash looked at the operators. “Something wrong?”

“Sorry sir,” the shift commander said. “Hold on a moment.” The soldiers fiddled with the various controls for about two or three minutes. Then the shift commander said, “It seems the other end isn’t set for a receiving connection. We can override their settings, of course, but it will take another few minutes.”

“Fine. Hurry up.” As the operators worked with the controls, Gandash said, “Let me repeat, be prepared for the unexpected. It could mean many things that the Gateway isn’t ready, and I can think of few that are good.”

The ‘few minutes’ the shift commander had mentioned stretched into nearly an hour. But eventually, the Gateway opened.

“Keep your eyes and ears open,” Gandash said. “Proceed!”

Stratos turned to Unit One. “You ‘eard the Captain. March!”

They entered the Gateway.

And when they came out the other side, it was obvious things weren’t going to go as planned.