King blows loose strands of hair out of her face, growls, and tosses her head back into braids of tightly knotted locks. The cosmetic change works, freeing her vision to peer into an enchanted orb on Lumina's mirror table. Fingers tap and drag across the orb as she hops from one undead perspective to another.

The sun has only begun rising at Dersen, and with the natural fog of morning dew, King's left squinting at the picture her ghasts present. She resists the urge to ball her fist and bears with the working conditions she has at her disposal. Besides, the view isn't as important as the ability to command the undead horde of Dersen.

King shifts the orb's picture from one ghast to another and orders them into better positions to see what or who could be approaching the city.

"I'm telling you, Nil, it could be our child," King says to me. Aware that I'm watching and won't speak, she indulges her fantasy. "I know exactly what you're thinking, and why not? Why couldn't it be that simple? It's happened for others, so it can happen for us too!"

It's a struggle not to point out her obsession with this past. If anything, it's more likely Reinmer picked up on her trail and is there to finish the job. Keeping my opinion to myself, King finally switches to the right ghast—minimal fog atop the ramparts allows the ghast a clear view of an approaching trio.

To my surprise, King only hums, curious enough about the trio to hold back on an attack order.

"Closer."

The ghast leaps off the ramparts, smashes onto the brick-tiled roofs, and kicks off running toward the main gates. As the ghast makes its way, King whispers to all the others it passes by, "Follow. Follow. Get closer."

When the orb's picture is steady again, King and I find a trio of strangers standing yards away from the gate, the tallest of which wields a flame-licked halberd in their right hand and a wide, triangular shield in their left. With the helmet, strapped metal chest plate armor, and shin guards, I'm torn on whether this is an adventurer or a mercenary.

"Doesn't she look… suspicious?" King asks, drawing my attention to what could be the lone woman of the group. She stands entrenched underneath a billowing black cloak, and a bright twinkle of light glitters beneath her plain white mask. She has a necklace of a praying goddess.

The last of the trio happens to be the least interesting. A satchel and a half-bow mark him as a Ranger, but he's the only one with his face out in the open. He stares right up at the ghasts and ghouls King's called to the gate, all waiting for her order.

He mutters something, but another of the orb's shortcomings is a lack of audio beyond King's undead. She curses under her breath, "I'll make it better next time."

The trio seem to converse, not moving from the spot they've stopped at until they reach a conclusion. The Ranger salutes the ghasts and ghouls before huddling close to the others.

Darkness spills out from under the woman's cloak, swallowing the Ranger first, then the adventurer, and finally imploding in a burst of blinding white light.

I'm tempted to goad King for waiting. Now they're gone and to hell knows where, but I know better than to stoop so low.

A door swings open and slams against the wall, startling King to a start. Valery stands at the doorway, arms folded and glaring. "What are you doing in her bedroom?"

King looks around Lumina's spacious arrangement of chairs, tables, a bed wide enough for three, a fireplace, and the bright, glass-windowed veranda just across and grins, "Looking for where I'm comfiest. Think I found it."

Valery growls but hangs by the edge of the doorway. "Get out. Gertrude is back with the Warrior Mages you asked for."

Hearing this, King picks up the orb and hesitates for a second as she stares at the spot where the strange trio were a moment ago. Pulling it close to her lips, she whispers, "Guard. Protect. Patrol," then swipes to a single ghast to order, "Search."

"What's that about now?" Valery sneers.

King maintains a smile as she walks out. "Nothing you need to bother yourself with, much like most things."

Valery shuts and locks the door, pocketing a key. King chuckles, but Valery steps in on her, waving a finger in her face as she says, "I don't know what you're scheming, but whatever you're up to with Lumina, it won't work. I've made sure of that."

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"Have you?" King narrows her eyes down at Valery but soon gasps. "Hahah, you're an annoying bitch, aren't you?"

Valery doesn't let up even as King tries to loom over her. "Whatever you're planning to hatch at Kyis, it won't change how quickly I'll put you down if a hair on her head goes missing. Your gentle suggestions won't work anymore, King, Nil… whoever you are."

Not waiting for a response, she starts off down the hallway, forcing King to follow. Within the Crystal, I sense King tug on large amounts of Essence, all funneled into a single attempt of [Mesmer].

Suddenly, Valery halts right in the middle of the hall, looks over her shoulder, and says, "The wards I've put up let me know what you're trying to do, King. Take care I don't consider it assault."

Sheepishly, King relents her attempts at brute forcing the wards guarding her mind. I can't help being joyful at this. Lumina is certain to have the same or possibly stronger wards set up, making King's life a lot harder than she wants it.

"If anything, I should be picking your brain, King. Kyis is the Emperor's second seat, what do you think you'll find there?" King doesn't respond, looking straight ahead at the courtyard coming into view. Valery shrugs, "I'll find out in the end."

Spotting three Mage Warriors assembled, King picks up her pace. "Don't fret, little Valeria, I'm only waiting for a bigger audience. Introduce me, will you?"

The three continue to discuss the war, families, and the Queen, even as Valery and King approach. The Countess Gertrude, who's sitting off to the side of the court, taps her cane in warning and they straighten up—if only at the last second.

Valery gives a curt nod to the tall, dark-skinned Elf of the trio, a nod he eagerly returns as she relegates herself to the sidelines. Gertrude taps and taps the three into line, much to the dismay of a loud and large snow-haired fighter.

"Mage Warriors, this is King, she will be at the tip of our offense and setting point for each of your regiments in the battles to come. Turlens!" The snow-haired Elf steps forward, her eyes boring into King's already. "Make yourself known!"

Throwing a loose strand back, she takes an extra step forward. "I'm Navi… Turlens. My family have mastered and remastered elemental manipulations through a single millennia." The leather corset, single-armed sleeve, and metal shin and knee guards don't tell a thing about that nugget of heritage. "I've never served in a militia, or a guard or anything that required me to report to some—"

"Okay, that's enough!" Gertrude snaps. "Revens! Come up before Turlens loses her tongue."

The dark-skinned man Valery nodded to steps out this time. He glances at Valery, who's watching attentively. He's significantly taller than the other two and presents himself in thin white robe that speaks of a connection with Vuius.

"I am Kelv Revens. My… abilities aren't something you need to bother yourself with, but I have extensive experience with guerrilla tactics from my time as a… rebel." He casts a sidelong look at Valery as he clears his throat.

"What does that mean? The most significant thing you can tell me is what you're capable of, what you're bringing to this war," King says, dissatisfied with the crumbs of information. [Mesmer] isn't working on either of the three or Valery. All she's got is Countess Gertrude, and she's mining her mind for all the information she can get already.

"Through Vuius' grace and guidance, I provide everyone involved with support," Kelv stresses, unwilling to divulge any more than that.

Gertrude must not know a lot about Kelv, because King hums and lets it end at that. Hescai, one of the last Hescarian ancient dynasty, steps forward, and she waves off the Mage presenting himself.

"Jerad, isn't it? You're Lumina's cousin or something along those lines, aren't you?"

While Jerad is taller than Navi, his constant hunching would make you think otherwise. His slim, soft-faced appearance makes him look far younger than he is as well. King grins down at him, "You're the one with the Dragon, you were there… at Dersen, or at least close to it."

He gives a hesitant nod as he admits, "Yes, I was. Lumina brought me to set you on fire if you… disobeyed."

King bursts out laughing and wraps an arm around his shoulder before anyone can stop her. "You're going to be fun to work with. Quiet but truthful, a quality I love so much."

"Enough," Valery sighs, walking up to King and the group. "Kelv and I will work closely together, as we have in the past. He'll coordinate with Navi and Jerad as well when needed and relay active information about the battlefield before time."

"Ah? So is that his true use? Some form of clairvoyance?" King pokes.

Valery doesn't bite the bait; instead she demands, "Kyis, explain it now."

King grumbles about not having her fun but gets to the point, "Kyis then. What can I say? It's our goal, and with me at the tip of this army we'll burn through Sainid, knock at the Emperor, and go a bit further."

"Knock at the Emperor and go a bit further?" Navi snorts. "Why go further when we've already knocked the Emperor? And that's assuming this really goes as easy as you're saying. Which it won't, because the Empire isn't going to stand around while we and an undead army trample its citizens."

"Of course not, but the Empire is three times as large as Hescaria and likely has an army just as large. That's why we're splitting ourselves up. Small, contained fights rather than big ones. The faster we kill and march, the better. In this war, we won't hold any forts unless we're cornered and unless we're undead."

"And what happens when we reach Kyis, all the way deep in the heart of the Empire? Do we look around? Take a shit and piss our way out of annihilation?" Navi presses.

"In Kyis I will find an item or a person that will make annexing the Empire possible."

Valery's eyes go wide at this. "You mean to annex the Empire? Into Hescaria? Humans? The same Humans?"

"You're a half-Elf—it's not that crazy, and it's only an option. What you should focus on is that the war will be over." King claps her hands and studies the expressions on their faces. "Any other questions, or can we start winning?"

Kelv, Navi, and Jerad all exchange looks with Valery, waiting for her permission to go along with King's mad and frankly vague plans for conquering. But she's done it all before, so why not?

"What's the next move then?"

Grinning, King says, "First? Let the undead multiply."

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