“The Fortified Waypoints are stacked together,” Spellweaver Blodwen reported. “The Interdictor Sphere is within the stack. We’ll have to push through all of the intervening Fysalli to get to it before we can move on.”

Jiro jiggled his leg in irritation.

More delays. They’d already spent days punching through or bypassing the occupied Waypoints, and now this. This stacked Waypoint was the closest nexus point to enter Faron’s Crossing’s Tidelands. There were two more intervening, according to the sensors, but those were behind this one. And with the Interdictor Sphere, all other paths would lead here. The Sphere had a range of two Waypoints, and it managed to latch on to the Tideland’s entry point too. Hence, it was a bottleneck they had to go through.

What were the other options?

The fleet could bypass the Tidelands entirely and attempt to breach the Veil. But that was only if they didn’t want to keep Rumiga afterwards. Such a breach could lead to a catastrophic cascade that could crumble the plane, but only if they could pierce it in the first place. With the Gemheart within the Watchtower and the City, the Veil was strengthened to a large extent. Without a Gemheart of their own, it was nearly impossible. Not without spending more time than it would take to enter through the Tidelands.

Legate Jiro Segawa could breach it if he wanted to. But he would have to spend weeks, or Ancestors forbid, Seasons, in the attempt. Far faster to go through this thing.

He could also come out of the Green Swan and delve into the Fysalli himself. But that would leave the fleet unprotected. He had the hunch that something was watching them, and only the artefacts and the ships prevented them from having their way. And his presence, of course. All of those magnified his combat strength that he could punch above his Anima strength, which was needed to survive the Chaos Sea with impunity.

Chaos Dukes were rare, but with the might of the Legion Vagaris, he could contend with them. Not so much if he left all of that behind.

As for why he didn’t just have the fleet go inside the Fortified Waypoints? Well, he could. But they would go in blind. Fysalli each have their own strange rules, and one of those could cripple the fleet if encountered without foreknowledge.

“How long?”

“Just a day to scout the outer Fysalli. Then a day each for each stack. We can’t tell how many stacks there are yet.”

Jiro sighed. “Well, get to it then.”

_______________

“The battle was a success, and a failure, of sorts,” Tara Andersen said to the Knights’ Council back in the town centre. Yuriko huffed in annoyance but settled on her seat.

Knights’ Council wasn’t accurate anymore as Finan had taken a seat on the long table. He had a banal smile on his face, though the edges of his eyes twitched every now and then. Swordmaster Kinohara had also joined, but Finan’s Praetorian guard had not.

“What do you mean, Tara?” Alderman Rivos asked curiously. “By all accounts, we were successful in destroying the encampment.”

“Yes, but their leadership had escaped, saved by the Kadracki Ranger reinforcements.” Tara sighed. “Those Chaos barons, nameless, had been cut in half, but unfortunately,” she gulped and glanced at Yuriko and Finan, “more have appeared from the south.”

“How many?” Yuriko asked.

“A squad. Ten.”

“That’s not so many…” Alderman Rivos mumbled then gasped. “Wait, Chaos Lords?”

“A single baron is enough to form a Will of the Wave,” Tara said grimly. “Your Highness, the Watchtower?”

“Still standing. Don’t worry. It will take more than a Wyldling Wave to bring it down. Although…if these Chaos Lords join the siege…”

“Where are they coming from?” Tara asked angrily. Yuriko had wondered that exact same thing for days now.

“If we don’t do anything about it, I think we’ll be overrun by them,” Yuriko pointed out.

“Impossible…” Alderman Rivos muttered. “Too many Chaos Lords in the plane… they’ll starve themselves to death.”

“Clearly, they’re capable of surviving a long time here,” Yuriko argued. She withdrew one of the amulets she retrieved from the nameless. “Desire said that something about this thing is enabling them to survive without needing to feed.”

“Then we have to find its source and destroy it.” Armsmaster Byrne slammed a fist on the table.

“All signs point towards the fact that these creatures come from the south, into Federation territory,” Tara Andersen said. “That being said, over the past weeks, ten nameless have reinforced the besiegers every day, and I expect the same to continue. They, that is, the Federation combined forces, have pulled back to Cierra, but the Kadracki Rangers continue to harass us. Only the fact that the planting hasn’t begun yet is the reason we aren’t more concerned. But come the Season of Earth, then we’ll have a problem.”

That was only six or so weeks away. Yuriko clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Where could she do the most good? She could help fend off the mounted rangers but they move significantly faster than the rest. She could probably chase after them but she’d be alone. If they piled up on her again… Well, without support from her allies, things could get more dangerous. On the other hand, what would the council’s response be?

“Alright, let us divide and lay out our objectives.” Alderman Rivos said, “We need to secure our farmland or we’ll begin to starve come the Season of Fire. Centurion Jake, any word on when the legions will come?”

Veran Jake started and glanced around, his tanned face reddened slightly. Yuriko blinked at him, then held in a chuckle. The older man had been napping with his eyes open.

“Er, yeah. Hmmm.” He coughed into his fist and leaned his elbows on the table. “Commander…Knight-Captain Adeline Perry had the command in the Frozen Camp, but since that battle group has been dissolved, we revert back to our original units. Legion Agminis’ leadership has given no directive and since I’ve been stationed to support you…” He shook his head. ‘Uh, that is, to say, there has been no word.”

“With the crane towers down, I don’t doubt it,” Tara said curtly. “Commander Perry did not give any indications?”

“No. I believe her next command was to the south, in the Aegeas plains. The Ivalans, like the Haveenians here, have also stepped up their aggression. I could send a runner to Rumiga City if you wish to ascertain, but by all indicators, we’re all you’ve got.”

“That doesn’t bode well,” Armsmaster Byrne grumbled. “Either way, we have to drive away the Kadracki. As for the Haveenians, well, all of the Steam Cannons have been destroyed, and the remnants were carted back towards Cierra. We should strike at the village, take it back under Imperial rule.”

“But the Watchtower…” Elder Ramus protested. “We should consolidate our position first. The Watchtower remains under threat and if we don’t help them…”

“It will remain standing,” Finan interjected. “That old relic is quite strong. Nothing less than a Chaos Highlord, like a Marquis or a Duke, could threaten it. Not without greater forces. Which is why we have to find the source of the nameless and stop it. If there are thousands of those things, then Western Rumiga will fall.”

“The bigger question is, how do we track them?” Armsmaster Byrne interjected. “We know they come from the south, based on scouts’ observation. Farther south than Cierra. There are no entrances from the Chaos Sea until the Chaos Channel near the City-State of Uaran. That’s nearly a hundred leagues southeast of Kadrac. There’s the desert bordering them too. You propose we send a group through hundreds of leagues of Federation territory, across barren wastes and heavily defended passes?”

“Well, what would you rather do?” Finan asked heatedly. “Invade? You Faronners are outnumbered, and only your fortifications keep you safe.”

“Fin,” Yuriko said softly.

The prince sighed and shook his head. “I understand your reluctance, but you can either wait for help or do something about it. When the Implacable Jade arrived here, we had to skirt through several fortified Waypoints. The battle across the Rumiga City Waypoints is locked into a war of attrition. Realmheart needs some time to juggle the legion assignments and it would take a year or so, minimum, before another legion can reinforce us.”

“Why does it take so long?” Yuriko asked in surprise. “I…”

“There are several dozen frontier planes, my dear,” Finan said easily, “and each one is protected by a legion. A wandering legion can be called to come over, but crossing hundreds of Waypoints will take time. But the fact of the matter is…Rumiga just isn’t that critical in the Empire’s map.”

Yuriko exchanged glances with the other Knights. She saw that they weren’t surprised, but were nonetheless disappointed. Still, help would come. They just had to survive until then. And it looks as if finding the source of the nameless was quite critical to that end.

The meeting dragged on for quite a while longer, but Yuriko excused herself to go visit the infirmary.

She found her friends Krystal and Mikel inside the Temple. Both of them had bandages wrapped around their wounds. Krystal surfaced from her meditative trance and gave her a small smile.

“Yuri, you’re here.”

“I came to see how the two of you’re recovering.”

“All good,” Krystal insisted. “The assistant healers stitched me up. With Recovery, I’m looking at a couple of weeks rest.”

“Mikel?”

The red-haired boy was still in the midst of his trance and didn’t react to either of their voices.

“Burnt skin takes longer to heal.” Krystal sighed. “Four to six weeks before he’s a hundred percent good.” She shook her head. “How’s the battlefront?”

“Camps are abandoned but the Kadracki are roaming the countryside…” Yuriko relayed to her friend what news she had.

“Hmmm, at least we aren’t going to be overrun anytime soon,” Krystal smirked, then winced when she pulled at her side. “How are things with you and Heron, recently?” she asked slyly.

“Hmm? Nothing? We’re still friends. He wasn’t wounded, was he?”

“No. Well, minor scrapes and gashes. Hmmm, what about you and Gwendith Sharine, then?”

Yuriko arched an eyebrow. “Why so nosy?”

“Oh ho, so something happening there?”

“Nothing much.” Yuriko shrugged. “A siege isn’t really that conducive, you know.”

“Oh, but if there isn’t a siege?”

“Still nothing,” Yuriko insisted. “Well…”

“Hmmm, I see. Well, enjoy yourself, eh, Yuri? Hie hie!”

Yuriko sighed and patted Krystal’s shoulder. “Focus on Recovery. I’m going home to bring news to Maru.”

“Buh-bye!”

On her short walk to her home, she noticed a palpable change in the town’s atmosphere. The Dome was still up, preventing the rain from drowning the town, but the overcast skies still made Faron’s Crossing gloomier. However, she saw people loitering in the streets, their faces hopeful. The siege was broken, but the danger hadn’t passed. But it was only a matter of time.

With an optimistic heart, Yuriko arrived home and briefed Marron on what happened, both during the engagement and the follow-up council meeting. He nodded thoughtfully as he ate his dinner. Niamh was spoon-feeding him in his bedroom, despite the fact that he was mostly recovered from his injuries. Well, he was still blind out of one eye and had trouble breathing when he exerted himself. He could still defend himself, but he can’t go gallivanting off to adventure.

She could see the strain on his face. The Davar wanderlust must be gnawing at his heart. She needed to bring him to Rumiga City, and from there to Realmheart to get treated. Hmmm, Finan also offered his Chaos ship to transport him, should she wish. She knew she’d have to accept, but not until after the plane was secured. Besides, neither she nor the ship should leave Rumiga right now.

“Master,” Desire called out to her from the hallway. Yuriko noticed her Chaos Lord looked worried.

“Desire. What is it?” She asked curiously.

In response, Desire showed them what she carried in her hands. It was a pile of amulets from the nameless. “I’ve delved into these with my perception, and also the Corpus of those left on the battlefield. These nameless…they’re all newborns.”

“What do you mean?”

“They aren’t even a Season old,” Desire said, “all of them. They bear the signs of the Watcher, and all of them were recently created. And they’re made from humans.”