by Ryan Tang
Adrienne hissed angrily.
"Think about it this way. When we fight one on one, you always win, right?"
"Well, not always. You win when I don't use my Familiar."
Lonely loved her for saying that, but it wasn't the point he was trying to make.
"Well, when you have Adrienne, you guys always win. But what if it was two against one? Then it might be harder. What if it's three against one? The thing is, my personal machine is only as strong as any other Sinsworn, so I don't focus on it too much. You keep trying to get me into single combat, but I have 51 other machines. You'll never get to me in time."
Gallant frowned.
"But then doesn't that mean my machine is useless?"
"No! Not at all! You just need to be more judicious. If it's a full force - fifty-two against fifty-two, then one super strong machine doesn't make that much of a difference. But if it's five against five, then it does make a big difference, right?"
Understanding blossomed across Gallant's face.
"I got it! I just need to keep trading off machines until there's few enough that I can mop up!"
Lonely grinned.
"Exactly!"
"Here, let's practice that. Let's fight the AI again. We'll do the maximum difficulty and put us both on the same team. That's probably the best practice. In the House battles, we'll always be a team."
Gallant beamed and Lonely smiled back at her. For once, the admiration in her eyes felt earned.
It would be even better once they challenged someone for real. Once Lonely won his first House battle, nobody could ever doubt him again. He could finally be a real big brother.
____
Just a week ago, Lonely had thought that his attempt to ambush The Tooth Man had been the most complex battle operation possible. But now he realized there was so much more. The House battles provided infinite strategic challenges. There were fast-paced hit and ran attacks and incredibly intense infiltrations. There were mind-numbingly slow sieges, which were attempts to starve a Castlecraft's defenders. Hiding in your Castlecraft would disqualify you in a Ransom battle, but a House battle was a real war. It was just as Bringer said. These were the battles they'd fight in the Conquest. The cowardly Ignorants wouldn't come charging out either.
Lonely and Gallant were finally nearing the end of a long and arduous Castlecraft siege. Although Gallant wanted to simply crumple the fortress with a direct attack like The Tooth Man's, Bringer's texts suggested slowly removing resources rather than risking a head-on assault. If you had a significant advantage in military force, a siege was the most reliable way to capture a Castlecraft and defeat the defenders huddled inside.
The two siblings had literally followed the textbook, propping it open beside the simulator so they could consult with every step.
First, they'd strafed the Castle from outside, patiently probing for weak points in the massive Eternium structure. It was important to balance the benefits of discovering information with the risk of exposing themselves to the Paragons inside. The texts named several weak points for them to target first, such as thrusters and maintenance tunnels. They'd forfeited a few Sinsworn in the process, but that was the only way to expedite a siege. After that, he and Gallant had led several frontline raids on their gardens and water reservoirs, slowly cornering the inhabitants so that they had no choice but to fight or starve. Their massive army encircled the Castlecraft to make sure no supplies could get through. That had all happened in the first thirty minutes. It'd been three hours since.
Lonely looked at the numbers whirling up in the corner and shook his head in disbelief. The simulator was speeding up the passage of time because it was their first siege. Had they been playing this on the regular difficulty setting, it would have taken them two weeks just to reach this point.
"Big Bro. This sucks."
They were only in the simulator, but it was obvious how antsy Gallant was getting. Her jellyfish Paragon jerked back and forth, almost like it was dancing in space.
"Look, we're going to have to play a real-time siege soon."
"What?!"
Lonely sighed and laughed at the same time.
"Just bring a video game to play, so you don't get bored."
"It's going to be like this in the Conquest."
"What!?"
"Think about it. We're going to be attacking the colonies, right?"
"Yeah."
"What do you think the Ignorants are going to do?"
The sieges were just another example of how the Constellation wasn't preparing for the Conquest. The Lords lionized attackers, but it was defenders who held the advantage in a real war. The Ignorants were sure to fervently defend their stolen home by any means necessary.
"Wait. No."
Lonely burst into laughter. Gallant sounded utterly horrified at her realization.
"Wait. No. No. No! No!"
"It's going to be all sieges!"
"Nooooooo!"
Gallant pounded her cockpit in frustration. Then the Castlecraft's Gate opened.
"Wait! Get ready!"
Gallant let out a cry of excitement.
"Finally!"
The defenders streamed out, guns blazing as they charged towards them. The battle was over in moments. The enemy Castlecraft only had a single Gate, and the two siblings had stacked their forces right outside it. The torrent of gunfire had immediately eviscerated the defenders.
Lonely frowned, remembering Drowsy's Castle with all its alcoves. The goofy design was more valuable than he'd originally thought. They were lucky that Gallant's abilities meant their Paragons could simply permeate through Brightwalls. They'd always have an advantage against a siege, but it'd be a different story if they were in a Castlecraft with a constrained entrance. There'd be no escape.
The young Noble shuddered.
"Yo, Gallant."
"Yeah?"
"It's not all bad. That might have seemed boring, but can you imagine being on the receiving end?"
"Oh man."
Gallant shook her head.
"I don't even want to think about it! Just as boring, except you might die at any time. And you'll be hungry and thirsty too!"
His sister got up and stretched.
"Man. It's tough sitting in the chair for so long."
Now that she mentioned it, Lonely could feel the knot in his back. He hastily stood and joined her.
"I can't wait to do a House battle. It seems perfect for us! We can use your plans, and my Sinsworn won't dissolve! Who should we challenge first?"
Before Lonely could speak, a voice he knew very well answered the question for him.
The Tooth Man crowed outside.
"Battle for ransoms! Battle for ransoms! Battle for ransoms against the No Familiar Freak! Battle for ransoms to show him his place!"
He giggled between every word. It was just as Lonely predicted. He would try to assuage his loss to Bringer by fighting against foes he knew he could beat.
Lonely's hatred surged. His hatred for this world and its hypocrisies. His hatred for a world that would prop up the weak and cringing. He thought about how meek The Tooth Man became in light of the Namers. The little man must have been the same when faced with Bringer.
But there was no beating him down through Ransom battles. Even if Lonely were strong enough to win, The Tooth Man would only hide and avoid him. He would just continue to prey on the Lords he thought he could beat. Beating The Tooth Man through a Ransom battle would have saved him and Gallant, but it only would have redirected the runty man's rage elsewhere.
Lonely turned and locked eyes with Gallant. His sister grinned fiercely. Lonely fingered the sphere in his pocket and clutched it tightly in his hand.
He hadn't told Gallant about the sphere. He'd only showed her the Sinsworn and the simulator. He was worried she'd think of the sphere as cheating. But everything was fair in a House battle, and a House battle was the only way to remove scum like The Tooth Man for good.
____
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Lonely and Gallant emerged from Brightwalls together. Their two Paragons stood side by side. Their Sinsworn - the one hundred that Bringer had given them alongside the two they had remaining - were waiting in the hangar.
The Tooth Man's machine had been completely repaired. He'd captured so much Eternium that he could restore his Paragon as many times if he wanted. If Lonely beat him, that Eternium would belong to him and Gallant instead.
"Well, are you going to try and fight again? And I can't believe you're dragging your sister into this? What? Not even the losers want to side with you again?"
The Tooth Man's voice was taunting on the surface, but Lonely could hear the fear beneath it.
"What? Are you scared of her?"
The Tooth Man made an angry guttural noise.
"At least I don't have to hide behind my little sister! The Tooth Man stands alone!"
The teeth flickered in and out of his machine as he continued boasting.
Lonely's disdain grew. What kind of strong warrior only preyed on people he thought he could beat? What sort of pride was that? He clutched the sphere tighter. It seared against his fingers, and he could have sworn that he saw The Tooth Man's Paragon slowly flaking apart. It was the slightest trail of dust, so thin that he wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been looking for it. At this distance, it was a good deal slower than what he'd collapsed Bringer's wall.
"Standing alone is the sign of a weak House. What will you do when you reach Old Earth? And you have no wife and no heirs. The House is what matters when we begin the Conquest. You'll be a failure."
It was the same as what he'd done during their fight. He had to attack The Tooth Man's pride. He wanted The Tooth Man angry and stupid during their House battle. As far as Lonely could tell, the brutish man had never practiced fighting with Sinsworn. It was doubtful the idiot could piece together even the beginning of a strategy.
The Tooth Man took a moment to respond. It seemed like he didn't understand what Lonely was saying.
"The Conquest? You dare to talk to me about the Conquest?"
The teeth flickered out and stayed there.
"You're just an Ignorant! You don't even have a Familiar! I should just kill you! That would be the Conquest!"
Lonely drew his sword and wagged it from side to side.
"You let an Ignorant smack the crap out of you the last time we fought. And now you're telling me you're scared of a little girl too?"
The Tooth Man roared.
"Accept my challenge then! Just accept my challenge, and I'll show you who's scared! You must accept my challenge! That's the law!"
As the lower ranking Lord, Lonely did have to accept his challenge. But he had a chance to escalate it too.
"It seems to me like you're the one who's scared. I almost beat you with the weakest collection of Lords anyone has ever seen! Seriously man? Drowsy? Scry True? Forever?"
The Tooth Man screamed again.
"I made them pay for that! Accept my challenge! Accept it now!"
His Paragon's fists were already joined together, ready to attack.
"How about we make it even better? How about we do a House battle instead?"
He'd half-expected The Tooth Man to hesitate, or even to suggest that both of them keep a cooler head. That was what all the examples he'd read about said would happen.
But The Tooth Man accepted at once. Lonely immediately sent the recording to the Hall, carefully marking the challenge as a House battle. His fight was immediately registered. The entire Constellation had forgotten about House battles, but the Namers must have remembered.
"This is going to be a joke! It will be ten thousand Sinsworn to...how many do you even have? One? Two?"
"If my count is correct, you have less than ten thousand."
Lonely knew the strength of every House. The Tooth Man had just over nine thousand.
The Tooth Man bellowed.
"You! You dare question my Sinsworn? I'll kill you! You're going to die! You and your stupid bratty sister! I'll take that stupid Castlecraft of yours and tear it down! I'm going to turn your Paragons into trophies! I'm going to kill you so many times you'll never forget your place again!"
The Tooth Man ranted on and on as he flew away. Each word simply built up the hate inside Lonely's heart. He clutched the sphere tighter and tighter as Bringer's words echoed in his ears.
The sphere burned red hot in his hand, so hot that the heat traveled all the way through Lonely's body and into his brain. He let out a cry of surprise and trembled in his chair.
The Tooth Man rattled on and on.
"Just wait! I'm going to come with all my Sinsworn at once! You're dead! You're dead!"
He left a long trail of Eternium dust behind him.
CHAPTER 8: THE LOYAL SISTER
Lonely was doing something bad.
Gallant didn't know what it was, but she could feel the evil seeping through the darkness of space. She shuddered and let out a high-pitched cry. Adrienne was trembling inside her tank. Even her Intuition was feeling sick.
"Are you alright?"
She took a deep breath before responding.
"Yeah. I'm okay. Shouldn't we chase him?"
Technically, The Tooth Man had made an enormous mistake accepting their battle. It was one of the first things the tomes warned about. A House battle was an all-out war. As soon as the battle was accepted, you were free to destroy your opponents by all means necessary. A House battle couldn't be refused, but the Lord who received the challenge was usually given a two hour grace period to prepare.
That meant Gallant could just destroy him now.
It was hard to focus, but Gallant did her best. The Eternium responded with cold determination, and the revolvers emerged from her tassels. She didn't have to worry about getting too excited, not with the evil swirling around her.
Gallant let out a shaky breath. She liked the revolvers. She liked how the chambers spun around as the bullets fired, and she liked how cool they looked. The sight of the pistols made her feel better, but not by much.
The Tooth Man was in her sights when Lonely waved her off.
"No. I will not have it said that our first House battle was won on a technicality."
Lonely always said the Constellation was stupid and backwards, and he was right. According to the Constellation's rules, The Tooth Man was a better person than her big brother. But despite his big words, Gallant knew that Lonely still cared what the other Lords thought. Shooting The Tooth Man in the back would be considered dishonorable.
Gallant gulped and shuddered. She could hear the runty man's Eternium wailing. It screamed and screamed as The Tooth Man flew back to his Castlecraft. She didn't know what Lonely was doing, but she knew it was wrong. The other Lords wouldn't notice, though. They couldn't see the scraps. They couldn't talk to other people's Eternium. Their Intuition wasn't strong enough. Nobody would think her big brother was being dishonorable. He might not have thought so either.
"We already have the advantage. Remember how hard it was to break the siege? We just need to stay here and make him impatient. He said he was coming to get us. If we force him to attack us, Brightwalls is a force multiplier."
It took a moment before Gallant understood what Lonely was talking about.
"I thought we didn't want to do a siege. Didn't we just say it'd be hard to survive under one?"
"The Tooth Man isn't smart enough to do a siege. And even if he does, he can't command the Sinsworn like we can. Trust me. He can't win a siege."
"Right."
Gallant stared at the trail again. It was so small that you couldn't see it unless you were looking for it, but she thought there was another reason why The Tooth Man couldn't win a siege. It was hard to win when your machine was melting.
Why was it melting?
"You ready to go back inside?"
The trail begged her to help. The Eternium screamed for the torture to stop. Something was forcibly ripping the holy metal away from The Tooth Man'
s mind, and the horrible man was too dumb to even realize it.
"You should tell Lonely to stop. It's obvious he's the one that's doing it."
Adrienne argued with her Intuition, trying her best to stay positive.
"Maybe it's not him. Maybe The Tooth Man is going insane!"
"Nope."
Her Intuition had no interest in playing along.
It repeated itself.
"Ask him to stop."
"I can't do that!"
"Why not? He'll stop if you say it bothers you."
"Because it's his plan!"
Lonely always had the best plans. If he thought this was right, then it was right. If she asked him to stop, it might have been like interfering with his last fight.
"Hey, Gallant?"
"Yeah."
"Are you ready to go inside?"
"Oh! Sorry! Yeah."
That always happened when the three of them started talking too much. They'd ignore everything around them. People always thought she was being weird when she told them about it. The kids at school couldn't talk to their Familiars, and it sounded like they didn't have much Intuition either.
As they stepped back inside, Gallant took another look at the dying dust and shuddered. She could almost smell it. It smelled like rotten food and dead bodies. She didn't even know what a dead body smelled like, but Intuition did.
____
"Tell him to stop. Tell him to stop."
"No, stop asking me."
"We need to step outside. It'll be weird if we just sit here."
Adrienne wasn't sure what to think, but her Familiar's Aspect was Vanity, and she was always careful about appearances.
"Right. Good idea."
Gallant stumbled through the layer of her Paragon and onto the bridge. Lonely stalked out the door, his hand clenched tightly in his pocket. His face was hardened with anger and hate. Seeing her big brother like that made Gallant want to kill The Tooth Man then and there.
"Maybe it's not bad what he's doing. The Tooth Man deserves to die. Didn't we say we'd do the same thing?"
"Hm."
That got her Intuition thinking. Adrienne agreed with her at once.
"That's right! It's alright that he's doing that. Anything to get rid of that guy."
