Chrysalis

by Kayne Sampson

  That must be the gate leading to the Xegin territory, Keta thought to himself. They were so close to being able to get to Xuan, only this one obstacle prevented them. That, and the Xegin army that lay beyond.

  Keta was led to stairs that climbed until they reached the very ceiling of the structure, passing through a door that took them outside. They were atop the mighty gate now. The Humans were ducked behind small barricades, sneaking glances from their vantage spots. And in the midst of all this, there was a man wearing a uniform similar to Giselle’s.

  “Someone mind telling me what in the hell is going on?” the man asked on their approach, glaring at Keta and Max.

  The soldier with them rushed forward and whispered something to the man. After a moment, he nodded. He walked forward until he was close to Keta and Max. “Well, let’s see it? You have something to show me as proof that you are on our side?”

  When Keta held up Giselle’s item, the soldier took a good look. “Lieutenant Leclair would have to be dead for you to have this otherwise. And that young woman is the toughest thing I’ve seen for her age. Lieutenant Kae Oliver,” the soldier said, extending a hand.

  Keta shook the man’s hand first, followed by Max. After they had introduced themselves, a loud bang rang out. Kae looked briefly, then returned his attention to them. “Well then, what brings you here?”

  Keta quickly brought the man up to speed. “You are a fool,” Kae said after the tale had concluded. Keta had been hearing that a lot lately.

  Max came up to his side. “He’s trying to do something good with his life. Don’t insult him,” the Demon said.

  Kae snorted loudly. “I only say what is true. These Xegin will stop at nothing to destroy us. They’ve refused all communications, and have sent their Imperial Generals to the field. They are their most elite soldiers. They won’t rest until they’ve ground us beneath their heel.”

  Max stepped toward the soldier. “Look…” he began, but Kae raised a hand to stop him.

  “I never said I wouldn’t let him attempt his little mission. If anything else, it will buy us some time until we can get a real plan set up. Do what you will.”

  And Keta watched as the ornery lieutenant walked off to speak to one of his soldiers. “He’s unpleasant,” Max said beside him.

  “No, that is simply how soldiers are. They need to assume that fighting will happen when the enemy is in sight. We are the odd ones in this situation,” Keta said sadly.

  Looking around at the haggard soldiers, Keta noticed that they all looked terrified. Some of them held weapons in shaking hands. Erisda had mentioned that they were a military in name only, as most of the soldiers were volunteers.

  Keta wanted to protect these people, but he also wanted to protect others from them. The only way he could stop this fighting was to reach out to Tianna. It was his one chance.

  “Fancy seeing you two here,” a voice called to him, and Keta saw Erisda strolling towards him.

  “Erisda? I thought you were going to try and talk to the Xegin?” Keta asked.

  The man let out a sad laugh. “Tried and failed. They would not agree to any negotiations. Now I can see why. They were planning this. I arrived right before the Xegin army did, and only because one of them warned me. ”

  Keta didn’t understand this at all. The Xegin he had heard of had always seemed like peaceful folk. If the opportunity to end the fighting arrived, shouldn’t they have taken it willingly?

  Unless the Brotherhood is somehow behind it, Keta came to the conclusion. And if that was true, it was all the more imperative that he try to diffuse the situation.

  When he explained this to Erisda, the man regarded him with tired eyes. “Keta, I have very little faith in that plan, but I can see no greater alternative. You do what you must. I have to return to Aurora and report back. Between the reinforcements and the gate’s fortifications, the Xegin will have a hell of a time trying to break through here before I return anyways. Good luck.”

  Erisda bade the two farewell, and made his way down the stairs. Max was staring out into the distance, leaving Keta to his thoughts. Pent was still missing so he could not even ask the boy his opinion.

  It really didn’t matter. It was up to him. He had to try and reach Tianna. The two had come to an understanding back in Frostclaw Village. She would help him. He was sure of it. “Can you take me to the front gates?” Keta said to their guide.

  “Yes, of course,” the young man said, and he led them back down the stairs back into the main area of the gate. Before long, he brought them before the closed gate. Other soldiers had begun to take notice of Keta and Max, watching the pair carefully.

  “Max, I need you to stay here,” Keta said.

  For a moment, the Demon didn’t react. He just turned and looked at Keta. But after seeing his grim expression, he frowned. “Huh? You can’t be serious. You don’t expect me to just let you walk out into a warzone by yourself, do you?”

  “Yeah, I do. I appreciate the concern, Max, but if I’m going to go out there to try and speak in good faith, I need to do so alone,” Keta said. Time was of the essence, from what Erisda had told him.

  Max glared at him, before looking down at his fist. “Where is Pent to talk you out of madness like this,” he growled.

  Keta smiled, though the thought of not knowing where that boy was disturbed him. “When you find Pent, tell him to stand by until I get back, all right?” Max didn’t respond, so he said a little louder, “All right?”

  Max sighed and raised his hands in defeat. “Fine fine, I’ll let you go do this. But at least do me a favor. If it looks like all hell is about to break loose, take off. I don’t need you to be on the opposing side of those Xegin weapons.”

  Keta placed his hand on the Demon’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you have my word,” Keta said. He wasn’t technically lying. If all went as planned, he wouldn’t need to do anything else after all. But…

  Keta shook his head. He couldn’t think like that. The old Master had always thought positive, even when things look the darkest. Keta would try and emulate the same. And so he made his way forward, to speak with the guards to let him pass.

  So that he could face the Xegin army alone.

  9

  Tianna took a drink of warm water from her canteen. The Xegin army had been camped outside the Imperial Gate for the last hour. They had not been able to get close without snipers taking shots at them.

  The Humans have set up their defenses well, Tianna noted. Enough of their soldiers were perched at vantage spots, making it difficult to approach without being fired upon. At the same time, their elevation would prevent them from being targeted so easily.

  How would they even get through the gate? Concentrated fire from their weapons would be particularly slow. They could try ramming the gate, though they would take heavy casualties doing so.

  But it seemed like this was the only way to continue. The way the gate was built, there was nothing but walls even into the water surrounding it. Whoever had created this place had been master builders.

  And yet, because of this marvel of a fortification, they couldn’t even starve them out. They could simply receive supplies from their cities, and the Xegin would have no way to stop them.

  No, the only way they were going to win this was to knock the Imperial Gate down.

  Something was bothering Tianna. They had spent nearly all their aether supply arriving here to surprise the enemy. And yet, their enemy had managed to not only be alerted to their presence, but had time to set up an appropriate response. Had their plan been leaked somehow? she wondered.

  She had sent some of her soldiers to scout the area. When the soldier in charge finally returned, he made his way over to her. “Report.”

  The soldier saluted. “Ma’am. The Humans have likely received reinforcements. Their numbers are greater than our last count.”

  Tianna folded her arms across her chest, deep in thought. “Keep an eye on their movements and let the army rest.
We’ll wait until General Delta and the remainder of the army arrives and begin to coordinate our attack plan.”

  Tianna dismissed the soldier, but he remained back. She nodded to him and he gave another report, one that made Tianna flinch.

  “What do you mean a man with a sword is blocking our way forward? A man with silver hair?” Tianna said, repeating what she had just heard. The soldier would not understand the implication of such a report, but she knew all too well what was happening.

  “Yes ma'am. He was no Human so we attempted to ignore him, but he was adamant he come to speak to you. He would not allow us to pass otherwise. We did not wish to act before we had orders.”

  Tianna sighed. So this was what she got for letting Keta Night run free. General Delta had admonished her for that after she had given her report. In theory, Keta and the Xegin should be on the same side. But Delta believed that the Kitaan was too chaotic a variable.

  Regardless, as she dismissed the soldier a second time, Tianna noticed that Sephiel was nearby. Her companion had a helmet on, so there was no way to tell for sure, but Tianna knew that there was a scowl underneath.

  “You understand what you have done by letting that one go free, yes? At this rate, the operation will be in jeopardy, ma’am,” Sephiel said bluntly, still as official as ever.

  “I know. But there is a chance that he is not here to hinder us,” Tianna said, though she herself didn’t believe it. If Keta, a member of Sanction, was present on a battlefield, there could be only one reason.

  “If you are having doubts, then you should not engage him. Permission to sortie to deal with this,” Sephiel asked.

  Tianna pondered for a moment. Sephiel had nothing but contempt for Keta. It would be a mistake to allow those two to come to blows, at least for now. No, the best course of action was for her to meet with the Kitaan and try to come to an accord.

  “The army will stand at the ready. I will meet with Keta to ascertain his intentions,” Tianna said as she placed her helmet on, walking away before Sephiel could argue against it. She made her way out of the small encampment and headed in the direction of the gate. Several of the mechanoid soldiers followed her at a distance, apparently set on a guard protocol. She would have to figure that out later. She had not programmed such a thing.

  Tianna cast out with her mind and could clearly see the figure waiting for her. She hoped that Keta would be in a compliant mood, but things were never that easy. He stood nearby, holding the strap of the sheath he carried at his side.

  “Keta Night. When I’d heard a swordsman was restricting our advance, it never occurred to me that it could be you,” Tianna spoke first, still closing the gap between them. She stopped at a good distance away from him.

  “Tianna! I’d hoped you would be a part of the soldiers with the advance force,” Keta said, and he began to drop his guard to walk towards her. Tianna raised her hand to stop him.

  “Indeed?” Tianna said, her arms folded. “Then tell me, what did you hope to accomplish by angering my army? Because I’m fairly certain that makes you an enemy of the nation.”

  Keta stopped, a look of hurt in his eyes at the words. But his eyes became determined once again when he spoke. “I’ve no wish to anger anyone. I’d rather no one would have to fight at all.”

  “Your idealism is admirable. However, the battlefield ill suits such things,” Tianna pointed out.

  “Please, Tianna. If you were to call off your forces, the Humans would do the same.”

  Tianna scoffed. “Well of course they would be on board with a plan like that. They are the ones losing this war. Any cease in hostilities is to their advantage. They are just using you, my friend.”

  This did not deter the Kitaan. “Tianna, there are too many things that aren’t right with this. The Brotherhood of Shadows are up to something. It’d be best if we were to…”

  Tianna was certain that the young man would continue trying to convince her. And she would continue to try and tell him that it was futile to defy the Xegin military.

  One way or another, Keta would be defeated. It wasn’t a matter of skill, it was of numbers. They had an army, and he was just one man. And if he continued to antagonize them, he would end up in a world of hurt. Or worse, with General Delta in command.

  Instead, she thought of a way to try and win the Kitaan over. It wasn’t like she had to hide her powers any more, and Keta was trustworthy enough. Even considering the fact that he was jeopardizing her first mission as a general.

  “Keta, I think it’s time I revealed one of my abilities to you,” Tianna said, interrupting the young man. She began stepping forward, holding out her hand. She continued to close the distance between the two of them. “If you will allow me.”

  Keta’s face reacted with shock at her advance, but he did not flinch or step back. “What are you doing?” he asked simply.

  Tianna kept her pace. “Will you trust me?” she asked. It was a tough question, and though the two had only known each other for a short while, she felt a sort of bond with Keta, borne of the events in the Frostclaw Village.

  Keta looked surprised hearing this. After just a moment’s hesitation, he nodded. “Yes.” With his permission, Tianna moved forward until she reached the young man and she took his hand in hers and. Focusing, she was immediately flooded with images.

  Her psychic abilities allowed her to reach inside another person’s mind and pull memories or thoughts from it. It was a harrowing process, as she saw all the events from the eyes of the person she was telekinetically linked to, with all the emotions that accompanied them.

  And Keta’s memories were scattered about everywhere. She had to focus on one of his recent memories, as she waded through his mind. She saw him fighting an older man in dark clothes (for a lack of a better word, as the whole thing had been pretty one sided).

  She saw him meeting a young Demon girl, and his feelings of sadness and compassion. She saw a fight between him and the son of Peter Telim. She knew the rest of what happened during his stay thanks to him telling her the story, so she delved further.

  And then the more recent memories. An Empire lab, fighting against a Human and a monster. The discovery of his birth, which she could relate to as a Xegin. She was shocked when she realized that Keta had cooperated with members of the Brotherhood of Shadows, but was defeated when their alliance came to an end.

  The Brotherhood of Shadows...they had captured another young girl with otherworldly powers. And then...an encounter with another of their number. The northern border had been completely destroyed. There was no doubt about it. The Brotherhood of Shadows were operating in Teforia.

  She withdrew her hand from Keta and stepped back, her head spinning. The process was...taxing as always. But at least she had a better idea of what was going on. The Brotherhood of Shadows were indeed up to something, and Keta was telling her the truth. Or at least, a truth he believed himself. It was difficult to ascertain fact from fiction when one could blindly follow their own beliefs.

  “It seems you are not lying to me.”

  Keta, who had been waiting patiently while Tianna explored his mind, finally showed some signs of confusion. “I...what exactly did you just do?”

  “Do you recall I told you back in Frostclaw Village that I was able to fight regardless of my blindness. Well, the reason for that is that my mind works differently than yours. You see, I am a psychic,” Tianna explained.

  Keta’s reaction was immediate, as he grasped the hand Tianna had held with his other. “What? Are you serious? I had heard that those were just a myth, a fairy tale told to children to discourage them from lying to adults.”

  Tianna let out a small laugh. “Of course they would say that. The Empire was desperate to keep their existence a secret, to be used as a weapon. As far as I know, I am the only one. And how eager they were to turn me into one of their all powerful Xegin.”

  Tianna could still remember the day her parents had brought her to the doctor, concerned by her errat
ic behavior. She had been born blind, but her powers had begun to manifest when she was young, and she had begun claiming that she could see. It didn’t take them long for them to understand just what they had stumbled upon. And in true Empire fashion, they had begun to exploit this.

  Tianna shook her head. This was no time to be reminiscing the past. “But I digress. I know you are not lying to me about the Brotherhood of Shadows. I can trust your information,” she said.

  This news seemed to calm the Kitaan, who breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Tianna.”

  Tianna smiled at her friend. “Of course. I will use all of my new power as Imperial General to assist you in revealing the Brotherhood’s machinations. Just as soon as I have finished subjugating the Human army.”

  She waved over another soldier from the distance, intending to get her men in position to set up for the siege of Imperial Gate, when Keta said, “Wait, what?”

  The words confused Tianna. She thought that their conversation had come to a conclusion. “What is it?”

  “You believed me about the Brotherhood of Shadows, right? All signs point to their involvement in this war. The Xegin and Humans should not be fighting,” came his reply.

  Oh, was that all? “Keta, I believe your story. But I am a Xegin. Duty comes before all else. I cannot rescind my orders. Fear not, this war shall end shortly, you have my word. The Humans cannot resist us any longer.”

  She had seen Delta’s projected data. Within the day, the gate would fall, and within three days, the Human colonies would be taken and the war would be over. The end of it all was in sight. She began to walk past Keta to get closer to the gate.

  To her surprise, she heard Keta run in front of her. Her mind’s eye told her that he had spread his hands out to halt her advance. “Tianna, stop!”

  She felt a twitch of irritation. “Keta...I already explained everything. And now I am warning you. I am in command of these soldiers and this mission. As a Xegin soldier...no, as a Xegin general, if you get in the way of my orders...I will be forced to remove you.”