“Dex!” Zephyr exclaimed, his astonishment lining his face. “Dex, I thought you were dead!”

Dex groaned as he came to, a weak smile curling his lips. “You didn’t think an arrow could stop me, did ya?” he laughed.

“Maybe not one, but a few,” Zephyr laughed. “Come on, let’s get you to the medics.”

Zephyr helped the boy up and walked through the town, talking to the boy about his adventures since he had fallen. Dex refused to talk about anything before the fall of the Valice Academy, but he was not as a loss for words regarding that battle.

“The Empyreans aren’t beaten yet, Zephyr,” Dex warned the boy. “They’re stronger than you could ever imagine; their fall at the Academy was less than a scratch. If you’re going to take them on, you’re going to need the biggest army you can get, and you’re going to need to be able to fend off countless assaults.”

“Can we cut off the head of the beast?” Zephyr asked hopefully, knowing he could enlist Leon’s aid.

“Killing Kratos would be a nice start,” Dex agreed. “It would certainly dent their morale and expertise. Kratos has fallen off the radar, though. Rumour has it that most of the Empyreans are engaged in conflict with the Hellians, so they’re only sending small forces to wipe out the Academies.”

“You think if we can fight off the Empyreans in defence we can mount a decent attack?” Zephyr questioned the boy.

“Well, with the forces stretched as they are against the Hellians, I don’t think they could handle being attacked from both sides. That, and if we build up a sizeable force, we should be able to finish off the remnants of the Hellians. Remember, the Empyreans are at war with the Hellians, so we’re just thorns in the side. They’ll focus their attention on the Hellians before they concentrate their forces on us.”

“Hmm…” Zephyr mused.

“Zephyr, I know that look. What are you thinking?”

“Well, Vattican said we can’t take on both the Empyreans and the Hellians. You’re saying the Empyreans can’t handle the Hellians and the Academies. We fly under the radar, and at the moment we’re taking heat from both sides. Is there a way we can use the common enemy theme to win us an ally?”

“Shit, Zephyr, be careful. You know the Hellians aren’t the most just of armies.”

“The Empyreans aren’t that great either, Dex…”

“Yes, but they’re peace through conquest. The Hellians are control through conquest.”

“Hmm…”

Zephyr pondered Dex’s words carefully. The Academies would need an alliance to survive, but they would also need to destroy the Hellians after the truce, before the Hellians destroyed them.

“You would need an army far greater than the Academies to win the war,” Dex advised.

“Maybe we don’t…” Zephyr thought out loud. “The Empyreans control the north. The only way they can get to Portica is through the Monarchy across the water. Maybe we can win their favour to stall the Empyreans.”

“The Kingdom doesn’t see eye-to-eye with our system, so you’d be hard-pushed to win their favour. Then again, I don’t suppose they’d be a stranger to the war going on. You might be able to use the Hellians against them.”

Zephyr nodded, going silent as he pondered the line of thinking. “And the Empire to the south stands between us and the Hellians. Without the Empyreans we should be able to tackle the Hellians head-on. I’m not too sure how we’d go about the Empire, though.”

“The Empire’s in decline. If you can throw their politics into disarray, you should be able to take control.”

“Surely that would give us the advantage over the Hellians. Or at least a fighting chance…”

“It’s risky, but it sounds like it could work.”

“Oh, and Dex…” Zephyr said as he watched the medics tend to his friend.

“Yeah?”

“Who’s the girl in red?”

Dex curled his lips in a smile. “She’s a friend,” he teased. Knowing Zephyr would press further, Dex added, “I met her after you last saw me, and we travelled together. We’re not really friends, more allies for the same cause. The difference is, I came back for the Academies, she came back for you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, it’s no secret that you’re the key to the war, more than you know. Leon’s another one, but he’s a one-man army, so she’s looking out for you specifically.”

“And her name?”

“She never told me.” Dex paused, his brow furrowed. He was unsure whether or not he should reveal this last piece of information, but clenched his jaw and continued. “Don’t lose sight of Olivia. She’s the reason for your strength.”

“What?” Zephyr asked, his confusion evident.

“Find her. You might end up going through Hell in the process, but you need to keep drawing your strength from her.”

“What do you mean, draw strength from her?”

“Never forget,” Dex replied, resting the blunt side of his axe on Zephyr’s chest, pointing to his heart.

Knowing he was dismissed, Zephyr left his comrade and walked through the streets. He soon came across Leon, who was crouching away from him in a small alley.

“Leon?” Zephyr asked. The boy stood up and turned around. Zephyr threw a glance at what was in Leon’s hand. He caught sight of a rose, before Leon scrunched it up in his hand, the thorns causing blood to drip from the boy’s hand. “Leon…” Zephyr said softly, “you look like you’ve seen a ghost…”

“Maybe I have,” Leon grunted, before bumping past Zephyr and walking out of the alley.

“Wait, Leon,” Zephyr called after him. Leon stopped, but did not turn around. “Do you know anything about magic?” Leon snickered, and Zephyr could already see the curled grin on Leon’s face. Leon seemingly flickered closer to Zephyr and turned, holding his hand out as three silver dagger-like projectiles flew from his hand and past Zephyr’s face.

“Thank your steed for that one,” Leon smiled. “Ever since I saw it I’ve been able to use magic.”

“Does it take its toll on your body?”

“Eh?” Leon asked, for the first time showing a slight confusion.“I mean, when I used it, I collapsed after the fight. Does using magic ever affect you?”

“Not in the slightest. Takes a bit of concentration though.”

Zephyr shrugged, and Leon saw that as his cue to leave. He turned and left the alley; Zephyr knew he would not find him if he tried.

A week passed and the Syntians still had not retaliated against the Academies. Zephyr was certain the Syntians thought they had a bigger army than they did, thanks to Leon’s stealth and their quick overrun, and so he knew they were waiting to amass their forces before they struck again. It had worked entirely to Zephyr’s advantage; Quentac was now heavily fortified and secured, and citizens from all around had flocked to join the Academy.

Zephyr had spent his spare time in the training ground, trying constantly to summon the magic he had used in previous battles. Without the threat of danger, he had been unsuccessful in trying to reproduce it, and he slumped as he failed once again.

“Are you Zephyr?” Zephyr turned to see a couple standing before him, clearly smitten with one another as they held each other closely.

“Yeah,” Zephyr replied, feeling his back arch. He did not like the couple at all, despite not knowing them in the slightest.

“My name’s Dwarde,” the boy introduced himself, “this is Alleb.”

“And?”

“And I want in.”

“To?”

“Your army, of course.”

Zephyr did not trust the boy’s creepy face, or the girl’s threatening expression. He could see her gripping her partner, almost in a means to hold him back.

“Can you fight?” Zephyr asked, his piercing gaze never leaving the boy.

The boy snickered to himself. “Can I fight?” he scoffed, before giving his partner a proud smile. His smile quickly fell from his face and anger replaced it as he charged towards Zephyr, clearly insulted.

Zephyr jumped to the side and caught the boy’s leg with his own, grabbing Dwarde by his shirt as he fell forward, and bringing his dagger to the boy’s throat, holding him up mere inches from the blade.

“If you’re going to fight in my army, you’re going to have to do better than that,” Zephyr hissed. “She may think you’re the world, but I don’t.” Zephyr twisted his wrist, so his dagger was not by the boy’s throat, and dropped him.

Dwarde stood up and brushed himself off, clearly looking to strike again, but Zephyr’s venom warned him off. He knew he was no match for Zephyr, so he proudly composed himself.

“Who do you think you are?” Alleb screeched at Zephyr as she ran to Dwarde’s side, “you’re not anything special! You’re lucky Dwarde went easy on you!” She then turned back to her partner. “Calm down my precious angel, you don’t want to hurt him.”

“Piss off,” Zephyr growled.

“You almost sounded like Leon then,” Dex teased as soon as the couple were out of sight.

“I didn’t like them.”

“We could’ve used them.”

“Maybe. Did you see the way he went from eager to proud to aggressive in an instant?”

“Yeah, and the way she clung to his arm. I see your point.”

“Those kind of mood swings aren’t natural.”

“I bet he’s a stalker, too. He doesn’t like letting things drop.”

“Yeah, hopefully that’s the last we see of them, though.”

“Maybe someone’ll write a book about ‘em,” Dex laughed.

Zephyr rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. The only one that would write a book glorifying that couple would be the obsessive girl.” Zephyr shared laughter with Dex, before turning solemn again. “Anyway, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

“What about?”

“Magic.”

“Ah yep,” Dex replied. “What do you wanna know?”

“I wanna know its limitations. I wanna know who can use it and how. I wanna know how I can control it.”

“Ah,” Dex realised. “You wanna know why you pass out if you use it.”

“Pretty much,” Zephyr confirmed.

“Anyone can use magic,” Dex shrugged. “You don’t have to be born with elven blood or any superstition like that. Anyone can use it, but only certain people can handle it.”

“Go on.”

“Well, it takes focus, for one, and it’s up to your alignment to determine what elements you can summon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there are the basic elements, fire, water, wind and earth, then there’s healing magic, which is what the medics are trained in and the only known existence of magic nowadays, and there are all sorts of elements that don’t even have names. The classification was lost when the arts were lost. If your body isn’t aligned with the element you use, it takes its toll. Might knock you out, could even kill ya.”

“So what magic can you use?”

“Fire and healing.”

“How do you know?”

“I can’t explain that yet, you’ll have to figure it out for yourself, but it’s mostly just a case of what comes naturally. Yours is obviously influenced by your staff and your beast, so they’re probably the reason you instinctively summon magic that’s outside of your alignment.”

“Everyone keeps saying the magic returned with Harmony,” Zephyr explained, “is that true?”

“Nah, not really.” Dex stopped to look Zephyr in the eyes. “Me and you, the girl in red, Leon, we’re all different. From the rest, I mean. We’re stronger, faster, more agile, more adept at fighting and handling pressure. The Empyreans talk about us like we’re gods or something. Zagan too, actually. They said something about him failing, though. Don’t know what they were talking about.”

“I killed him.”

“Ah,” Dex acknowledged, but he did not seem entirely convinced. He opened his mouth to add something to the subject, but bit his tongue instead. “Anyway, magic comes naturally for us, that’s why we can use it instinctively and other people need to learn it.”

“And I pass out because I can’t handle it?”

“Pretty much. I’d be careful if I were you. If you use it too much you’ll probably end up dead.”

“So you can use it indefinitely?”

“Well, it is mentally draining,” Dex conceded. “I can use it as long as I have the energy to concentrate. I only use it sparingly, though.”

“Why?”

“Look at my armour. Fire makes it an oven.”

Zephyr looked at Dex blankly. “Couldn’t you just stop wearing it?”

“Zephyr, I’m a warrior, not a wizard. Magic’s great and all, but it’s not the greatest thing in the world. To use magic as effectively as I fight, I’d have to give up the blade and dedicate myself to mental training. Magic’s only useful for me when I have no other choice. It’s a bit of a boost, that’s all.”

Zephyr shrugged. “I just wish I knew how to harness it.”

“Well, magic may just not be your thing.”

Zephyr sighed and walked back to the Academy Barracks. “Griff, Luan, when you get a moment.”

The two men instantly stopped what they were doing and walked over to Zephyr. “The Grivalder Academy fell today,” Griff informed Zephyr. “The survivors have just gotten word out to us. They’re on their way now.”

“Grivalder’s not too far from the Valice Academy, send a squad out to escort them.”

“Already have.”

“Good. That’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you about.” Zephyr looked at the two men and continued. “Clearly we underestimated the Empyrean occupation in Portica. We need to start protecting the Academies. The Board isn’t doing anything about it, so we’re going to have to recruit the Academies, fortify them if need be, or bring them back here. If we can wipe out the Empyreans in Portica and get the Monarchy on our side, we should be able to stall them.”

“To get to the Monarchy you’re going to have to go through Syntia.”

“I know.”

“What are you thinking, then?”

“I’m thinking I’m going to take Jed’s squad and recruit as much of Portica as I can. Academies and towns. If we can figure out how the Empyreans are attacking, we can head to those places first and fortify them. Then we can move them to Quentac. Once we have enough we can take Syntia and head up to the Monarchy. I’m going to need a scouting party with me, to keep an eye on the Empyreans, and eventually I’m going to need an ambassador. It’d be damn nice if we could get an Empyrean insider to track their numbers and their movements.”

“You know that’s not going to happen.”

“I know. We might get lucky.”

“So let me get this straight. You want to fortify Quentac to bottleneck the Empyreans, eradicate the occupation in Portica, then push the Empyreans back as far as the Monarchy, and use them to block the Empyreans?”

“Pretty much.”

“And what about the Hellians?”

“Well, as far as I know the Empire and the Empyreans are holding them back, so if we can move fast and get there before the Empire’s overrun without the Empyreans, we should be able to avoid Hellian occupation in Portica.”

“That’s risky.”

“It’s better than being hit on both sides. The Empyreans are targeting us, not the Hellians, so they’re our biggest threat. I’ll leave the Vrael Academy fortified in case the Hellians break through.”

“Assuming all goes to plan.”

“The only thing stopping me from getting the Academies on board is the Board itself. Fear should be enough to persuade them.”

“Then it’s decided.”

“Not quite,” Zephyr shook his head. “If Jed’s squad is going to be my roaming army, it needs to be able to hold its own. I don’t want any rookies in it. I’d rather take the experienced soldiers from the numbers than have inexperienced soldiers in the most important squad.”

“I’ll see to it. Graduates only.”

“Good man,” Zephyr nodded, but soon sighed. “The longer we wait, the more Academies we lose. Get them ready to leave by tonight.”

Fidel knew what was coming. He recognised Zephyr’s stance, the tone of his voice, the way his brow was furrowed as he ordered his troops around. They were leaving again. Zephyr had barely reached the boy when Fidel pre-empted his orders. “I’m fighting,” Fidel said bluntly.

“I know,” replied Zephyr, equally familiar with his friend’s stance. “I need you to.”

“Oh?” Fidel replied, for once taken by surprise.

“Battlecry is the only horse that can keep up with Harmony. I’m going to need you to rush any armies we come across with me; scatter their forces so they don’t wreck ours.”

“Sure thing.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s me.”

Zephyr paused momentarily as Fidel’s words sank in. “Whatever happens out there, you look after yourself. If it gets too heated, turn and run. I only need a little heat taken off me.”

“I’m small enough that Battlecry can shield me, and she’s fast enough to dodge anything coming her way.”

“Nevertheless…”

“Fine.”

Zephyr dismissed Fidel and made his way back to the Barracks.

“If I know that look,” Dex interrupted his thinking, “we’re off to fight again.”

“It’d be damn nice if we had a choice at any stage of this,” Zephyr muttered.

“Stay vigilant, and we’ll get some breathing room soon.”

“Fingers crossed.”

“Anyway, you’ll have to do without me for a bit.”

“Oh?”

“I’m going to get myself another horse. Don’t take it personally, but your cavalry sucks.”

Zephyr shook his head. “Y’know, wherever you’re getting your horses from, we could use more than one of ‘em.”

“Sorry Zeph, that’s not gonna happen. Where I’m getting these things, you don’t ever want to end up.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’ll be there sooner than I expect?”

“I hope not,” Dex muttered to himself. “The Academies are lost without you…”