Elucard sat on the railing of the quarter deck, watching the waves churn and splash as the Sea Sprinter forged its path towards Ghostoc Port. Trailing behind the ship, Elucard observed a pod of dolphins playfully chasing after the ship. Elucard chuckled.

The reprieve was what he needed most after his first Skyborne mission. Although he fell in love with devil jumping and dragon riding, it was when he experienced combat with those aspects that terrified him. Fear? How could this be? He had been born through the trials of fire and blood since he was a child. He killed more men and women than he could possibly recall. He tasted cold steel upon his flesh and now he felt fear? Why? Why was killing in the sky any different than killing on foot?

I have no control in the sky… I am at the mercy of gravity and the winds up there.

Between smoke and the jaws of a dragon, Elucard needed to regain his battle hardened wits or face a gruesome death.

He shook off his worries and focused on the strange water creatures. At least they didn't have a care in the world.

“What amuses you, my student?” Legion pawed Elucard’s shoulder with his taped up hand. The aging elf leaned against the railing beside his apprentice and grinned as he also saw the dolphins click and crackle their voices as they dove and jumped into the sea. “They are called dolphins, Elucard. We do not get them near the Long Whisper shores.”

“Dolphins,” repeated Elucard. He turned to his master. “You survived the night, I am glad.”

“We were lucky—”

“Luck had nothing to do with it, blade brother!” Malady stepped on the other side of Elucard. He had a bowl of stew in one hand and a spoon in the other. He continued to voice his opinion between loud slurps. “Alanna was with us. We are too valuable to her to be killed in a pathetic lizard battle.”

Lizards. Mave would strangle Malady for saying that about Maisy and the other drakes. Elucard kept the thought to himself, choosing not to warn his former enemy about mispeaking of dragons and their imposing size.

“Malady, it is good to see you alive and well too,” lied Elucard. He did his best to hide his scowl by lifting his mask to the brim of his nose. “Chilly out today.” An excellent cover, Malady would surely be fooled.

“Heh? Chilly? Back in my day, Long Whisper’s winters lasted six months and we wore nothing but our Black Rabbit gear. The nights were so cold that birds froze in mid flight. Dahlemar’s fury! We didn’t even wear footwear, because we weren’t wimps like you!” bragged Malady.

Legion shook his head. “We only had one winter that lasted a few weeks more, but it most definitely wasn’t six months. And if I recall, you refused to train outside, opting for indoor exercises instead.”

Malady grumbled. He stuffed his spoon into his mouth to disguise his embarrassment.

“Shut up, Legion!” Malady stormed off cursing under his breath.

Legion smirked. “You must excuse my blade brother, Elucard. He is threatened by your position over him.”

“He only annoys me, Master. Why I agreed to let him join us, Ruens only knows.”

“Given the chance you will see him as a valued asset,” said Legion. He wrapped his arm around Elucard. “Are you nervous about the coming battle? Taking Ghostoc Port will prove much more difficult than that little skirmish last night.”

“Truthfully?” Elucard turned to the scarred elf. “I am.”

Legion lowered his head and pulled Elucard closer. “I am too, my son.”

“You?” Elucard scoffed. “You have seen more battles than anyone else on this ship. You may have even shed more blood than Wiccer’s father! How could you be nervous?”

Legion paused. He stole a glance to Elucard before hiding his face. He walked away, whispering just barely enough for Elucard to hear him, “If we survive this war, perhaps I shall tell you. Something for you to look forward to.”

Elucard took a hard look at his master, deciding to pay him no mind. He turned back to the animals. “Dolphins,” he muttered to himself.

***

Elucard sliced a long gash into the side of the passing Estinian drake. The creature screeched in agony as it banked to the side, bleeding profusely as it fell from the sky.

“Excellent move, Elucard!” exclaimed Mave as she wrapped her hands around the dragon’s reins. She kicked Maisy’s ribs and leaned forward. The dragon arched downward picking up an unnatural amount of speed. Together Elucard and Mave ducked and dodged through a labyrinth of dragons sealed in combat. Fire sprayed and exploded in the sky, but down they continued. Faster and faster!

Mave reached backwards and slapped Elucard’s thigh. Elucard responded by patting her shoulder. His moment had arrived.

“Get ready!” she shouted.

Mave pulled out a black and blue banner from a collection of other banners. Each represented a command for the drake riders to follow. It flapped in the wind, proudly bearing the symbol of the Skyborne Military Operations, the familiar dragon wings flanking a halo.

“Three!” counted Mave.

Elucard raised himself off his saddle in preparation.

“Two!”

Elucard caught a glimpse of Timber and Elisa in similar positions on their respective drakes.

“One! Go, go, go!!!” Maved waved her flag back and forth signaling Elucard and the rest of the Watchers to leap off their drakes and take flight in the air.

Elucard flew backwards, his webbed wings catching a flurry of wind as he tried to slow himself down. He looked around him, finding his team falling into a v-formation behind him. Once locking himself at the vanguard, he steadied his body and slightly adjusted his arms until he was flying smoothly.

“Remember!” Elucard called to his squad. It was difficult to hear himself, much less for them to hear him, but Elucard knew where vocal commands might fail, they had practiced these techniques over and over again. He was sure they were now ready for the real thing. “We need to drop into the city and open the gate!”

Each ARO member made a small nod of understanding. Even if they couldn't hear him, every soldier knew his place. The plan had been chiseled into their brains until they knew the strategy by heart. Elucard lowered his head. Over by the shore the Alliance army led by the Varisian marines disembarked their landing boats and clashed with the Estinian army that waited for them. The enemy wouldn’t hold such a force for very long, and the troops guarding the beach head were most likely placed as a delaying force. The Estinians would very likely consolidate their defenses at

Ghostoc Port, where they would be able to hold their ground indefinitely, unless a weakness in the city's defenses could be found and exploited.

That was why it was imperative for Elucard and his Watchers to succeed at their mission.

The Devil Jumpers lowered into a descent as they passed over a massive steel wall surrounding Ghostoc Port. Their shadows swam over the many houses, apartments, and shops until they grew closer to the gate. However a strong gust of wind propelled them backwards.

Elucard tumbled and spun head over heels as he tried to recover mid-flight. Then he felt his entire body get sucked forward to the battlements above the gate. He grunted as he fought the vacuum. One by one invisible arms grasped the Watchers until they dangled in the sky, their arms and legs spread apart held by bonds of wind lassoed around their arms, ankles, and waists. Elucard struggled against his restraints.

“Vell, vell, vell. Vhat do ve have here?” On top of the battlements three human mages within alabaster robes held out their hands. Wind streamed from their fingertips. The center wind mage cackled and spoke once more. “It seems Southail has stepped up their game. Vingsuits, how clever.”

Elucard gnashed his teeth and flailed helplessly. “Who are you?”

“From the lack of rabbit ears and fur, I vas about to ask you the same thing,” responded the mage.

Elucard closed his eyes and took in a long breath. He concentrated on only his arms and with all his might began to pull them close to his chest.

The strain burned his muscles but he fought through the pain. His hands quivered and sweat beaded down his forehead. Finally he broke the wind chains that wrapped around his arms. Elucard felt a rush of air flow around his wrist again, but he only needed a small moment! A second! An opportunity!

He palmed a dagger from under his sleeve and snapped open his eyes. With lightning reflexes he launched the dagger at the mage that imprisoned him.

The dagger coursed through the air fast and true, sinking between the eyes of the center mage. His legs wobbled beneath him before he collapsed to the ground.

Immediately the wind that held Elucard exploded in a burst of air and the elven assassin dropped to the city below.

“Kill them! Kill them all!” cried one of the mages.

The remaining Watchers still trapped by the mages were whipped violently through the air. Kyzo smashed into the side of a building, Timber was thrown through the window, and Essie came crashing through its roof.

“No!” shouted a distraught Elucard. He bit his lip as he gazed at the winch that opened the gate and then back to his mangled comrades.

Memories of his fist bludgeoning Blayvaar senseless flooded his mind.

The mission or his men? The mission or his men?

Elucard gripped his head as he screamed for the memories to leave him alone. Nightmares resurfaced of his hands around Wiccer’s neck.

Elucard’s vision blurred as he clenched an imaginary knife and stared blankly at Jetta’s lifeless body before him in a pool of darkened blood.

The mission or his men? The mission or his men?

Elucard collapsed to his knees as his hands shook uncontrollably.

“Elucard, help!” Essie’s harrowing pleas broke Elucard from his cruel trance.

Elucard snapped his head away from the winch and took off into a dead sprint to the damaged building where his men were sprawled all over.

Leaping onto a nearby cart, he latched onto the rocky wall and scrambled up the building to its highest floor. He slid his hands side by side across a ledge until he reached the crumpled body of Kyzo, collapsed in a partially broken wall. The boy was barely conscious by the time Elucard found him.

Kyzo’s once pure white hair was now damp with red blood. Elucard gingerly pulled him inside of a smashed window. There he saw Essie tending to an unconscious Timber. Elisa propped herself against a wooden post, cradling an injured hand.

“What’s her status, Es?” Elucard asked the medic.

Essie cracked a smelling salt under Timber’s nose. The wolf scrunched her muzzle and coughed. She rolled onto her hands and pushed herself onto her feet. Immediately she stumbled to the stairwell banister, favoring a sprained ankle.

Essie knelt next to Kyzo and wrapped a deep blue bandage around the young elf’s head. A chill rushed through the boy’s body. Kyzo groaned and muttered as he slowly opened his eyes.

“That’s not blistercloth, what kind of bandage is that?” asked Elucard. He watched in amazement as Kyzo slowly recovered, seemingly completely healed.

Essie took out a thin roll of the dark blue linen. Small runes glowed dimly within the fibers themselves.

“Runecloth.” Essie put the roll back into her medicine bag. “Kyzo will make a full recovery with some rest. Runecloth doesn’t raise the dead, but it will mend recent injuries. The window for a runecloth dressing is short, so it is not always practical to use it. In this case it seems we were in time to save Kyzo. It's rare, expensive, and can only be used in the hands of an expert. Every Runecloth is precious, and we should not use it carelessly. I can only use it on larger, life-threatening wounds.” Essie turned to Elisa. “Sorry Elis, a splint and some tape will have to do for your broken finger.”

Elisa winked. “Growing up as a Black Rabbit, you get used to surviving much worse injuries.”

“And the rest?” Elucard asked, trying to get back to his assessment report.

“Right, some cuts and bruises. I had to use a runecloth on a nasty gash along Timber’s side. I pulled out a piece of glass the size of my hand.” Essie displayed her hand and pointed to it. Like everyone else, Essie had her own share of scrapes and bruises covering her palm and small frame. “She’ll also need some rest before we start moving.”

Elucard shimmed his back next to the open window and slightly leaned his head to see outside of it, but still remained hidden. Outside he witnessed soldiers march down the streets, each platoon flanked by a wind mage. He counted at least five mages and sixty men from his vantage point alone. The two mages that dealt his squad such a devastating blow still stationed themselves along the battlements. His chance to open the gate was long behind him.

“Damn,” he cursed. He looked around the dark attic, lit by only the hole in the ceiling and what little light that beamed through the window, their SMO uniforms blended perfectly with the shadows. If they waited until night, they could slip to the docks and steal a skimmer back to the Cypress forces.

“Well rest here until nightfall,” decided Elucard.