“Now, Nate…” A familiar stony Sculpted said cautiously, his hands raised in front of him, as if he could ward off my anger with only his palms. The pockmarked surface of his face stretched into a wary, tentative smile. “Let’s all keep calm, yeah?”

  I felt my hands curl into fists, and I took a single step towards the Sculpted pirate. “Calm?” I said in a quiet, furious voice. “I’ll show you calm, Pete. Just…c’mere for a moment.”

  Renauld, as one of the only other people here who had experience with Bella’s crew, stepped forward and got in between me and old Porous Pete. “Alright, alright,” He said soothingly, raising his hands to stop me. “Don’t do anything hasty, Nate.”

  I heaved for a moment in frustration, as I saw the people around us react in different ways to my unexpected rage. Just the sight of the Thorny Reef once more, after all these months, was enough to get my hackles up, and for what I felt were understandable reasons. But when Bella apparently didn’t have the fucking balls to come down from her Captain’s cabin to meet with everyone down here on the docks, and had instead sent Pete here down to parley with us?

  Well.

  That had really pissed me off.

  Lord Wersk and his aides were understandably baffled by my anger, while the Bluebacks were as stone still as ever. On the other hand, I could see that there were differing reactions among my people. Maria and my accompanying soldiers were just as confused, while Bleddyn was starting to square up himself, immediately ready to back me up. Isolde, meanwhile, had a sharp, calculating glint in her eye at my hostility, but Sylvia…

  My partner just looked worried.

  She laid a gentle arm on my bicep, and that worked better than anything to stifle my anger. I took a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and let it out. “Alright, alright. I’m calm. Cool, even. I won’t be turning anyone here into gravel just yet,” I said, with a nonetheless sharp glance at Pete. He cringed slightly under it. “So. I’m guessing the Thorny Reef and her crew were the contribution of the Bluebacks.”

  “Yes, Marshal,” One of said spy Admirals uttered calmly. “Your association with them is well known to us, and the decision was made that their cooperation would be beneficial. Additionally, we will be supplementing the Thorny Reef with further assets to the cause. This is the most optimal solution.”

  Wersk shot the indifferent Blueback a sharp look and then shook his head. “Optimal or not, if this is a problem, Marshal, I’m sure we can find a suitable ship to replace these…privateers.”

  I restrained a smirk at the distaste in the old sea dog's voice, pondered his question.

  Could I work with the crew of the Thorny Reef again?

  …maybe.

  Fuck, maybe I could. I knew those people. For all of their questionable morals, I knew they were competent sea men and women. I’m…pretty sure I could count on them in a fight, if it came down to the wire. And I’m sure it would, eventually

  But I wanted to say something first.

  I nodded to Renauld, and he got the hint. When he had moved away from in front of me, I jabbed a finger forward, pointing at Pete. “I just want to get one thing straight, first,” I said with narrowed eyes. “You left us, Pete. You, and Bella, and Morlow, and Laryn…you just up and abandoned us there on that beach. I thought we were friends, Pete.”

  Porous Pete gestured helplessly with his hands. “Mate, we are. It’s just…when the Captain says jump, ye ask ‘how high'. That’s just how things are done. Ain’t nobody was happy about it, I can tell ye that.”

  “But you still did it, and that’s the point,” I said grimly. Pete looked away at my words, and I shook my head. “We…aren’t friends anymore, Pete. At best, we’re colleagues. If it wasn’t for a Kawamaran Captain that did keep his word to us, we would have been stranded on Goryuen. I can work with them, don’t worry about that, Lord Wersk,” I nodded sharply to said frowning Lord. “But the Reef will be taking up the front position, where everyone can see if you decide to run again. If that’s all, we’ll be going now. I’m provisionally satisfied with the efforts of the Navy and have no formal objections. I’ll let you gentlemen get back to work on our most important duty.”

  My people got the hint and fell in alongside me as I turned to leave the Boot behind. I stopped, though, after a moment, and turned to look at a morose Pete. “Oh, and Pete?” I said, almost casually. When he looked up, I deliberately cut my eyes to the Thorny Reef, and the shuttered window on the Captain’s cabin that I could feel a familiar heartbeat standing behind. “You tell Bella…she’s not forgiven, and I’m not interested in speaking to her in any manner besides official.”

  With that statement aired, I left, followed by friends, subordinates…

  And a woman whose loyalty I had no reason to ever question.

  …………………………………

  It took both the forces of Herztal and my own Order of the Polaris Reach another two weeks to finish all of our preparations for the expedition to the north. All of the personnel and supplies had already been assembled within a single week, but there were other matters at play.

  We needed a surplus of APD’s for the journey, and those were delicate work. The entirety of the research project team, even those with minimal experience with Abjuration, were instructed to drop what they were doing and help in the production of more. Because we weren’t just making them for the crews and soldiers of the five ships leaving for the Barren Forest.

  No, we were making enough that we could drop off some at every city, village, and town we could find along the coast. We had no reasonable timeline for just how long it would take to lift the Skyfall and the corrupted Aether that lingered in the air. If we had the ability to travel far and wide, and distribute the fruit of the research teams to those in need, they we had a responsibility to do so. It was my understanding that, while it was on its caravan trips, the Gigant of the Throng would be doing the same thing.

  Just because I was gone didn’t mean the research teams would be stopping.

  Which had left me in a quandary. Who was I going to appoint to lead them in my absence? I had initially thought to appoint Meia Itzelan to the post, to the half-Orc woman’s surprise. After all, she was one of the most advanced students we had in Abjuration, and the APD’s were based on that school. I was confident in her technical skills, if not her people skills.

  However, to my surprise…

  Itzelan turned me down. She had something else in mind.

  …………………………….

  “I’m going with you,” The towering, grey-cloaked woman told me bluntly. At my raised eyebrow and the almost inaudible sigh of relief from one of the other researchers here in the Bastion’s lab, her eyes narrowed. “Why is this a surprise? You need all the high-level fighters you can get your hands on, and I can assure you. I’m more than competent as a Sorceress.”

  My other eyebrow went up at that. A Sorceress, eh? That was an uncommon term. It essentially described a combat path that some Magi took. Sorcerers and Sorceresses were people who disdained the use of a weapon in favor of a form of battle devoted solely to active cast Skills and Spells. Typically, they were well versed in Evocation, the school of Magic devoted to outright battle, and something I only had a marginal understanding of. I’d never fought alongside a Sorceress, but they were supposed to be quite the sight to see in a fight. Not even Grey was considered a full Sorcerer.

  Hmm.

  “Alright,” I shrugged, uncaring that Itzelan was essentially dictating terms to me. She was right, after all. We did need competent, high-level warriors to join us.

  One more couldn’t hurt.

  “But if you won’t take on the leadership here…,” I said, tapping my chin in thought before I snapped my fingers. I spun on one heel and maneuvered my way through the tables of our lab to stop at one in particular.

  Simeon Veyl looked up at me from his personal work desk, where he had been inscribing a new ADP. There was a dread on his face as he saw me standing over him that I felt…a little bad about.

  But not enough to change my mind.

  He knew what this was about. The lab wasn’t that big. He'd been able to hear us.

  I reached down and patted him on the shoulder. “Sorry, Simeon. You’re going to have to step up again. I know you won’t let me down.”

  The bony researcher just sighed.

  ……………………………………

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Finally, our preparations were finished, and the commanders of the expedition to the north were finalized. I had been correct when I theorized who was currently leading the remnants still in the city of the Eclipsed Dawn. Nyx, a Sculpted woman hewn from onyx stone, had been left behind from the horde expedition to mind their chapter house. She had been more than willing to join our quest and would be captaining the White Gull with Sylvia at her side. With her would go all of the extant Orders still left within Blutstein, all of them packing together into our largest ship.

  The Captain of the Herztalian Navy’s Steel Resolve was a man going by the name of Gustave Wersk. Yes, of those Wersk’s. Apparently, the young man was the nephew of the High Lord of the Sea. He wasn’t quite wet behind the ears, but he was younger than I would have liked. I had nearly protested the appointment before Isolde had pulled me aside and told me to shut the hell up. With our forces stretched as thin as they were, and the amount of resources the Navy in particular were providing for our use, something needed to be done to appease the man.

  I…understood. This was just how noble patronage worked in Herztal.

  At the very least, he didn’t seem useless, from my single meeting with him so far. Just a bit…unexceptional.

  He’d have to do.

  As for the Gnolls…to both Renauld and my dismay, Marcel was appointed by the Matrons to Captain the Ashen Bride. It, in a way, made sense. The older Gnoll was the outright leader of the Throng’s warriors, and we would be needing all of the martial might we could find if we hoped to slay the Mad God. This appointment, I also accepted reluctantly.

  Then there was Bella.

  The less said about her, the better. I’d caught a brief glimpse of my former lover during the meeting with Wersk, where I found out about his nephew. She’d waltzed in like she owned his office mid-conversation, only to freeze in place at the sight of me. The pirate hadn’t even spoken a word, just stood there while I ignored her and finished up with the mildly uncomfortable High Lord.

  I hadn’t even acknowledged her, and I had no intention of doing so. She had something to do herself, before I would even consider such a thing.

  Was it petty of me?

  Yes.

  Would I stop doing it?

  No.

  Not unless it was a life-or-death situation.

  And as for myself, I would be commanding the expedition from the center in the Astray. With me would come Renauld, Maria, Bleddyn, Fade, and all of the Polaris Classers we could fit in the hold of my ship. Every single bunk would be occupied.

  Notably, there was one absence in the list going with me.

  Isolde would not be coming on the expedition. At least, not initially. Someone of authority needed to stay behind here, with the rest of our forces, if only to protect Blutstein and the research teams. I didn’t necessarily expect either to come under attack, but you could never be certain.

  It’s not like anyone had expected the Skyfall in the first place.

  My Commander had, initially, protested. That was until I gave her a task.

  “Find Grey,” I told her. “Find Honoka and all of their forces. Go out with the Gigant if you must. And when you do, find a way to follow after us. I’m certain Grey will have figured something out about what's going on. I have a feeling we’re going to need them all, in the end.”

  She’d understood.

  Isolde always understood duty.

  ………………………………….

  I stood at the helm of the Astray, the day the expedition was meant to depart. All around me, the Boot was an absolute hive of activity. Each of the five ships that were departing for the north was swarming with deckhands performing last-minute checks, dockhands shoving just one more bag of provisions into the holds, and soldiers and Classers checking into their berths. All of my officers and friends from within the Polaris Reach had already boarded by now and had settled down into their personal rooms. For everyone else, I could see many of my fellow Captains standing at their own helms from across the waters of the dock.

  I exchanged a nod with the coal black form of Nyx, standing at the wheel of the White Gull with Sylvia standing at her side. I received one in return, while I did my best to lock eyes with my lover across the distance, short though it may be.

  We exchanged wan smiles.

  Still…it was nice to know we wouldn’t be separated once more, even though we were on different ships. The Gull was just a short flight away, if I needed her.

  I had already stored all of my arms, armor, and personal equipment that I could possibly need in my cabin. That included both gear I had made on my own and what I had collaborated on with Azarus. Though I had been benched for nearly six months now, we had both known that wouldn’t last forever, and had worked on some things that were…fun, to say the least.

  I hoped he was doing well.

  But by far the most important weapon I’d brought along on the trip was now lying in a custom-made holster at my hip. After all, with the excess of Flux Cores I had, and having solved the mystery of their power, I didn’t have to be sparing with their use anymore.

  I fondly pat the laser pistol for a moment, comforted by its mere presence.

  I didn’t get the chance to bask in its glory for long, though. A muffled sniffle at my side reminded me there was one last goodbye for me to make before I left. I’d already done so with everyone else that I truly cared for, staying behind in Blutstein.

  I looked down and did my best to smile for my daughter. It was…hard, though, considering the faint tears I could see in her shimmering emerald eyes.

  I sighed faintly and knelt upon the deck, opening my arms as I did so. Immediately, Aveline fell into my embrace, burying her face in my chest. I let her cry quietly for a moment, because this…this was a sad, regretful moment.

  I didn’t want to leave her behind…but I had to. It would be beyond irresponsible of me to take a little girl on a desperate military mission. Not only that, but this needed to be done.

  I wouldn’t suffer a world where Aveline had to grow up fearing the world outside Blutstein's walls.

  I would either change it or die trying.

  Hopefully the former, but if the latter came to pass…

  I’d made arrangements.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go…” Aveline finally whispered, her voice muffled by my shirt. “You’re…going to miss my b-birthday…”

  That…normally would have been true. Before the Skyfall, I’d already been making plans for the occasion. It was barely more than a few months away by now.

  However…

  Before she could descend into tears once more, I tightened my grip on her. “Not…necessarily,” I said with a smile. Cautiously, as Aveline raised her head to look at me in confusion, I winked at her. “Watch this.”

  I concentrated and first activated Umbra Gemina Exactoris, but only its lesser state. As the small Sprite formed in midair, I then did something new.

  I triggered the active portion of my new, evolved mental Skill.

  The Lattice of Heaven and Earth.

  In a distinctly odd sensation, I felt it as an entire separate consciousness spun up within my soul. This wasn’t either my Middle or Core Lattices, no. It was something…lesser. More animal-like than a full sapient being.

  This was what separated my new Skill from my old one. The ability to create simple minds that could follow basic orders and exist entirely independently, with just a small application of Mana. The cost was always tiny and didn’t change no matter how many of the almost robotic minds I created. Each one had a set cost of Mana that never changed.

  Normally, that alone would have been incredibly useful, considering how mentally taxing Magic could be. The added almost computational ability of these false minds was really something I was enjoying.

  But the combination with my Sprite and Clone Skill…

  These lesser minds could occupy a Sprite.

  The subordinate mind leapt into the Sprite hovering before me, and jerked to life. And the surface of it…softened. Thorns retracted, and flames dimmed, until what floated in front of me was a strangely solid, tiny humanoid figure of crimson wood the size of a small doll, with tiny azure flames for eyes.

  It knew my will, and flew down to rest in Aveline’s arms, perching upon them not unlike a cat.

  Aveline looked up at me in confusion through teary eyes. “What…?”

  “I’m leaving that behind for you,” I said softly, resting a palm on her head. “I believe…that through that, I’ll be able to contact and speak to you, no matter the distance. I still have a link to it, and with a little flex of will…”

  And probably a ton of Mana. This part did have a cost.

  The mouth of the Sprite opened, and my voice echoed out. “I can see and speak through it.”

  “I won’t forget your birthday, Aveline,” I finished. “I won’t be here physically…but part of me will be with you.”

  Stunned, all Aveline could do was fall back into my arms again, the Sprite crushed between us. I leaned into the embrace, more than happy to comfort my daughter.

  There were…all kinds of moral implications about my new ability. I could really saturate an area with Lesser Sprites, as I was coming to call them. They didn’t need upkeep, and I’m not sure I had a limit on the amount I could create. They were fragile, of course, and had no way to defend themselves. But with The Lattice of Heaven and Earth, I could become a one-man global spy network.

  The power and temptation of such a thing…it was too much for one man. I was frankly terrified of the possibility, and had deliberately chosen not to dwell on it too much.

  I could ponder the implications of potential near-localized omniscience…later.

  With that promise made, Aveline finally departed the deck of the Astray and ran into the arms of Rachel down on the docks, waiting for her. I exchanged solemn, understanding nods with the woman I’d come to think of as a sister, and then faced forward.

  Just in time, too. The loading had finished, and everyone was on their assigned ships. The supplies were in the holds, and the weapons were in their armories.

  It was go time.

  The massive bronze bell, resting at the top of the arch leading out to sea here in the Boot…rang. The frantic work in the docks stilled at the sound. All around me, workers and guards and soldiers stopped what they were doing to stare at the five ships chosen to bear all of their hopes and dreams. Not just for the people of Blutstein.

  But for everyone on Vereden.

  Everyone knew what that sound meant.

  I took a deep, deep breath, tensing every muscle in my body as I did…

  And shouted, gripping the wheel of the Astray.

  “WEIGH ANCHORS! LOOSE THE SAILS!”

  Immediately, the call was repeated all up and down the Boot, across every ship that was leaving.

  The White Gull.

  The Ashen Bride.

  The Steel Resolve.

  The Thorny Reef.

  And…

  The Astray.

  Shipmen worked together across them all to reel in their anchors, unwind the vessels from their moorings, and unwind the vast sails wound around their masts. Dockworkers did their jobs, pushing each ship out into the greater waters of the dock as they did. There was an almost simultaneous snap heard across the Boot, as all five sails unfurled at nearly the same moment.

  Each of them bore its own insignias across the canvas surface, to better distinguish them across the flotilla.

  For the White Gull, an ivory sea bird at flight upon black sails.

  For the Ashen Bride, a blackened Gnoll handprint upon yellow sails.

  For the Steel Resolve, a grey mailed fist upon white sails.

  For the Thorny Reef, a jagged blue skull nestled within an almost bouquet of coral.

  Ever since I’d gotten the Astray, I’d thought long and hard about what I wanted the sails of the ship to bear. For a time, I’d thought about using the very symbol of the Polaris Reach upon them. But no, this ship didn’t belong to my Order.

  It was mine instead.

  Upon the waving, dark blue sails of the Astray was something else instead.

  The crimson red skull…of a hart, its flesh stripped from the bone. A stag, with tall, proud, sharp antlers.

  I thought it fit me.

  The Astray was first out of the gate of Fort Providence, and gripped the handles of my wheel hard.

  An equally hard smile crossed my lips, then, as the wind caught my sails.

  I’m coming for you, Fynneas.

  Count on it.