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I opened my eyes. I had to take action. Fast. I didn't know how I could stop Lord Himmel, but whatever he was doing was going to be the death of us all. I whipped my head around, searching for a means of escape. The splinters of wood continued to jab into me, and I cursed mentally.

Before I started praising the saints mentally.

Lord Himmel had clearly thought right about squeezing me in between heavy barrels. But he hadn't foreseen my determination to set myself free. With splinters of wood slicing up and down my arm, I moved. I selected a sharp end that looked sturdy enough to my right, and enduring the pain, I sliced the ropes against it.

Front. Back. Front. Back. I sawed the ropes against the splinter frantically, adrenaline pushing me to move faster. The barrels were pressed against me, and the wood drew thin lines of blood as I continued to saw. But I didn't care. I kept working with the ropes.

And it snapped.

The ropes fell away from my wrists. I wanted to revel in the moment of respite, but I had no time to lose. I snapped the sharp end from the wood—accidentally cutting one or two fingers in the process—and started to saw at the ropes binding my ankles together.

It fell away too. I pushed myself out of the tight space, launching myself onto my feet. I didn't bother to access myself for any further injuries.

Lord Himmel was chanting by himself this time. I gritted my teeth, feeling my pouch. It was empty. Didn't matter now. Keeping to the shadows, like I always had done, I slipped away into one of the streets away from the town square. Then I chose a door that didn't seem locked, and stole away into the house.

It was deathly quiet; not a single sound stirred the air, save for Lord Himmel's ominous chants. "Liohtia," I said, summoning a steinlioht to illuminate the way.

The area looked like a combination of a reception room and a dining hall. With a start, I identified the place as the local inn, Helga's Home. There should have been plenty of people here—or at least, a sizeable amount of people. It was the only inn available around, after all. Someone should be awake, woken up by the sorcerers' chanting, if not by the sudden flash of light that spiked into the sky.

"Hello?" I called out tentatively.

I was met with nothing but silence.

My Core stirred with urgency. Lord Himmel was close to finishing whatever spell he was casting. Without wasting another moment, I hobbled up the stairs, breathing heavily. I had to find someone—anyone to help. I couldn't stop Lord Himmel alone.

When I reached the upper floor, I tried the first doorknob I saw. The door wouldn't open, and in my desperation I drew on energy I never knew I had and sang, blasting the wood apart. I stepped into the room, kicking splinters aside, attention on the figure snoring on the bed.

I walked towards the figure. A man, with heavy set eyebrows and a crooked nose, probably broken once or twice. I shook his shoulder and said, "Wake up."

He didn't wake up.

I frowned. "Wake up," I repeated, a little louder this time.

He still didn't wake up.

"Wake up!" I screamed. I pounded my fists against his chest. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

He didn't wake up.

I finally gave up, snorting. This man was totally dead to his surroundings. But how was that possible? My shrieks should have been drilled into his ears. Unless...

My insides turned cold, matching the temperature outside.

Frantically, I went to the other rooms, calling for its occupants to wake up again and again. But they didn't. They all yielded the same effects: nothing. The people didn't so much as stir at my voice.

I gritted my teeth, letting a low hiss loose. I headed back down the stairs, almost tripping over the last step in my hurry. I had to try the other houses. There had to be someone who was awake in this madness. Lord Himmel couldn't have put the whole town to sleep.

Or could he?

I'd witnessed the extent of his power. Why couldn't he? Why shouldn't he? It was the logical thing for him to do. It wouldn't do for one of the most highly regarded Magi in Aschein to be caught in the act of something so...perfidious.

An explosion ripped my body apart.

I felt it first: through the soles of my feet, through the alarm of my Core, through the vibrations in my head. Then I heard it, a monstrous boom tearing through the air, striking harder than lightning and crashing louder than thunder. I was thrown off balance, and I fell backwards onto the ground. I knocked my head against something, and I could see nothing but black for a moment.

When my vision recovered, I grabbed the counter—the treacherous thing I had fallen upon—and pulled myself up. My Core was crying out a warning, and through it I felt around for strands of magic.

Millions of them.

Thousands of pulsing Cores in Hamelin.

I ran out of the door and to the sight of sorcerers filling the streets.

They stood motionless, eyes fixated upon the town square. Several of them cast a glance at me. But apparently the sight of a dishevelled, blood-stained girl was uninteresting compared to what was in the town square. Their bodies were tense, waiting to act upon a moment's notice. And they were all wearing overcoats with the insignia of a gryphon stitched upon their chests.

Lord Himmel's sorcerers.

I threw my hands over my mouth, choking back a scream. Lord Himmel had just sacrificed thirty of his best sorcerers to teleport his whole army here. Thirty for the assistance of hundreds. Strategically speaking, it was practical. A small sacrifice was nothing compared to this much power.

But theoretically speaking, this meant war.

Lord Himmel had obtained the power he wanted, and he was going to march to war.

"My sorcerers! You've all been trained since young for this day—to claim what is rightfully ours!" Lord Himmel's voice rang out, echoing throughout the streets. "Today, we shall march on Starkfurt. We shall defy the Council which has been leading us into ruin. Together, we shall make Aschein rise from the ashes and usher in a new era of glory!"

I'd expected cheers from the sorcerers. Instead, dissension rippling in their midst; murmurs were secretly exchanged with one another, and they started to look doubtful.

Just under my breath, I hummed a song and wrapped the shadows around myself. I kept close to the walls, afraid that my lack of magic would make my illusion infinitely weaker, and Lord Himmel would spot that I had escaped. I made my way towards the town square, careful to not bump into anyone along the way. Once I had tucked myself into a relatively safe corner, I began to observe.

Lord Himmel was still in the middle of the town square. The portal was gone, but there were remnants of it in the atmosphere: an occasional twinkle of purple, the lingering of magic on the tip of my tongue, the emptiness that was left in place of something that had been so magnificent.

There were more sorcerers than I'd originally assumed. It occurred to me that I didn't really have a chance to interact with any of them, as I had always been personally trained by Elise and Elise alone. The only sorcerers I'd truly come in contact with were the elite guard—now dead—and Frederick, the gruff old trainer.

They now filled up every inch of the little town. Or at least, it seemed like it. The town square wasn't very big, in either case. Their faces were a mix of expressions: some were in total adoration of their leader, some were confused, and others showed plain doubt.

Lord Himmel, noting that his army wasn't as enthusiastic as he'd like them to be, raised a fist into the air and shouted: "Will you all stand with me?"

Some cheered this time, but most of them held back. None of them voiced their opinions. I understood why. They were bound to Heidelberg, and to Lord Himmel. To speak against their lord was to betray everything they stood for. However, I wished that at least one of them was brave enough to stand against him. That was the only hope we had left.

"Milord, if I may be so bold to speak?"

One man towards the front stepped forward. It was old Frederick himself, the scar on his face gleaming under the moon. Plenty of daggers were strapped to his body, and he looked as intimidating as I'd first seen him.

Lord Himmel narrowed his eyes at Frederick. "What is it?"

"We're confused. All our lives, we've been told that we should always obey the Council. And now you are telling us otherwise, milord," said Frederick. Brave, brave man. If I could give him a hug now, I would. "We have dedicated our cause to fighting the monsters, not our brethren. Why turn against Starkfurt? Wouldn't this civil war only bring our land into more ruin?"

Mutters of agreement spilled forth from other sorcerers' lips. Lord Himmel's expression shifted ever so slightly, the mad joy that had been lighting up his features now dimmed with something akin to incredulity. "Did you not hear me? The Council has been far too indecisive in dealing with the plague for far too long!"

"I don't think it's the Council's fault, milord."

"Well then, you have an obligation to me, and you must carry out your duties as a citizen of Heidelberg," said Lord Himmel. "Or are you turning your back upon us now, at this moment of truth?"

Frederick paused for a bit, considering his next words. "I don't know..."

As soon as Frederick gave his reply, Lord Himmel sang.

The old trainer started to cough, and I saw blood frothing at his lips. He doubled over, coughing even more violently, then I sensed his magic being drained out of him. It was done deliberately, slowly, meant to prolong Frederick's suffering. His face grew sunken, and his whole body shrivelled up, crumpling like a paper.

He collapsed onto the ground, eyes black, dead.

Dead.

Images of the old man smiling at me flashed in my mind. I didn't even know him that well, yet his death was a staggering blow to my head. Just like that, dead.

Someone started screaming. It took me a moment to realise that it was me.

Everyone, who had at first been staring at Frederick's body, were now all turned towards my direction. Lord Himmel was one of them. I locked eyes with him across the distance.

"And to anyone who doubts me, this"—he gestured towards Frederick's limp corpse—"is what will happen to them."

Then he smiled.

"So now, with me and your Lady Klaudia at your head, we will march on Starkfurt!"

Everybody cheered, not a single soul hesitating to yell war cries. One of the sorcerers gently took me by the elbow—I was too dumb to react to anything—and guided me towards Lord Himmel. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but he made quite the show of the ever-loving fiancée, taking me in his arms and planting a kiss on my lips.

"Once you have served your purpose, you better give me a new one to keep you alive for," he whispered into my ear. I trembled in his grip.

He pulled away from me, and I stepped away from him. Suddenly, an orange glow was emitted to his right. The brilliant dot in the air expanded into a vertical circle, and out of the portal emerged a slender, dark-haired woman.

Elise.

Her hair fell around her face, freed from its usual braids, making her seem more youthful. Her face was haggard, but it held a grim determination in it. She risked a quick glance at me, before turning her full attention to Lord Himmel.

She curtsied.

"Elise. Just in time," said Lord Himmel, delighted. "How is Starkfurt?"

"As usual. Josef is settling in wonderfully," she replied coolly.

"Ah, too bad we are just about to wreak havoc, then."

"I'm not too sure about that, milord."

Lord Himmel narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

Right on cue, fire rained down from the skies above.

Chaos erupted. Some sorcerers panicked, shrieking and running around in circles. Others remained calm at the ambush, instantly throwing up barriers and putting out the fires. One of the fireballs caught the ends of Lord Himmel's coat, and he quenched it with a wave of his hand, mild annoyance on his face. The heat clashed with the cold, but it didn't quite touch me.

Then a figure climbed up onto one of the roofs, golden hair whipping around in the wind, features as poised and as ready as ever, and clad in a tunic and breeches.

Lady Anya.

"Let us see who wreaks havoc upon whom," she declared.

The sorcerers from Starkfurt appeared out of their hiding places, vengeance written all over their faces.

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