“Sir, we have received word that there’s an outlier in the King’s Valley.”

 

The garish room was dim other than the fireplace. A long-haired man sat in an armchair in front of the flames, an open book in his lap. He didn’t look up as the messenger approached, his head down, presumably scanning the contents of the page before him. But the man gave no indication that he’d heard her words at all.

 

“Lord Zephyr…?” the messenger ventured, wiping sweat-plastered bangs out of her eyes.

 

The man lifted his index finger slowly, to quiet the questions of his underling, but kept his eyes to the pages in his lap. After a few more silent moments, he slowly reached to the table next to him, selected a leather bookmark and slid it into the crease to mark his place. He closed the book and casually turned. His eyes were bright, and he peered back at her through a curtain of blond hair.

 

“Yes?” He asked.

 

“An outlier…” she said again, feeling anxious to be addressing the Lord at all, “in the King’s Valley.”

 

She stood at attention as she spoke, nervousness creeping into her muscles.

 

The commander studied her countenance carefully, as if trying to decipher if it was particularly worth his time. The messenger felt the sharp pinch of the muscles in her back spasming, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to look weak in front of her superior.

 

“I see,” Lord Zephyr finally said, and slowly rose. He was wearing his nightrobes, and had clearly been preparing for an easy night and an early rest. He swept around the chair and table, his movements graceful, and stood in front of the woman.

 

“Lydia,” he said simply, and the messenger tensed up.

 

“Yes?” she asked tentatively. She could feel a hot flush overtaking her face.

 

“Thank you for the report, gather anyone in the Sign that isn’t currently occupied.”

 

“Yessir!” She bellowed, shamefully, in her opinion, and saluted Lord Zephyr.

 

“By your leave, Lord Zephyr?”

 

Her commander nodded, and she relaxed.

 

“Tell Wallace to get my armor ready.”

 

Lydia puffed her chest out and gave a curt nod.

 

“Yessir!”

 

She disappeared through the doorway, leaving the man standing there. After a moment, he smirked.

 

“An outlier…” he said softly, and chuckled, “well, hopefully it gives us a good fight.”

-----

 

There was a rumble outside of the house, and Kaja stood, holding her mother’s broken blade. The children cowered, crying out, and she silenced them with a look and an open hand.

 

“Quiet down, young,” the raven haired woman commanded, “lest the Keepers take you.”

 

The children grew silent. There were six of them, all under the age of ten. Kaja pointed to the door.

 

“Fen, I’m going to investigate,” she said, motioning to the next oldest-- a boy of nine with a patch over his eye, “do not let anyone other than me reenter. If I don’t return, I want you to wait until morning and then take the children to Smick, to grandfather.”

 

The boy had tears in his eye, but he nodded bravely, and clutched a hatchet close to his chest.

 

“You’re in charge,” she warned, and crossed the room to the doorway, turning back to him, “so don’t let them get killed. There’s coin in Mother’s urn, and it should be enough to book passage across the Thell.”

 

The boy sniffled, and Kaja opened the door, and was gone. The children cried silently, in fear, but Fen shushed them, and gathered them near the wall.

 

“Be silent,” he commanded, “Kaja will be back soon, and when she returns, she’ll punish us if you’re mewling like infants.”

 

The other children regarded him meekly, and cleared their eyes and noses, nodding.

 

“Good,” he said, taking control of the chaos, “now let’s practice being still and quiet. First one to make a sound has to clean the cellar.”

 

---

Chronos struggled to stand. It was an embarrassment to his station to have been abused so easily by a simple attacker. He lost his balance as he came to full height, but caught himself before tumbling against the ground again.

 

My damn equilibrium is off.

 

There was a ringing in his ears, but he fortified his constitution and took a deep breath, standing again. His eyes were closed and the ground lurched beneath him. He fought back against the spinning world around him, and after a beat, felt that he was back in control of himself. He opened his eyes.

 

He could see flashes of light as what appeared to be a little boy fired a vibrant column of magical purple energy toward a point. Then the boy was moving fast, streaking across the ground like a demon possessed, firing bolt after bolt of magic. Chronos tried to follow the display, but it was far too wild, and his head was clouded with vertigo.

 

Chronos could feel the firmness of his polearm, and stabbed one of the blades into the ground, grasping tightly.

 

“This condition will not belay me,” he said to himself, and closed his eyes again. He let magical energy course through him, as his wounds began to heal over. He’d need to be at full strength to combat whatever this was. He opened his eyes.

 

The boy he’d seen was now hurling patterns of energy at a dark specter to his left, only just missing. The assailant ducked beneath one such blast and performed a magnificent flip over another. Chronos could see a brilliant, flickering pyre of green flame in the center of it all, and a sound unlike he’d ever encountered echoed through the streets. The townfolk were wailing, trying to escape the chaos. Behind him, in the darkness of the valley, Chronos could hear a booming crunch, as something large approached at a great speed.

 

“What is happening here?” He said aloud.

 

---

 

I raged.

 

The energy that engulfed my body spilled out of me and cracked the cobblestones beneath my feet. Whatever this creature was, it had some connection to the beasts I’d been battling for the last year.

 

The figure in all black slashed at me, their black blade shining in the moonlight, and I took a step back. The razor sharp edge whistled by my face, and I felt the wind whip against me. The attacker made to move again, and I moved.

SNAP!

 

My opponent’s dagger shattered as I slapped its blade out of the air. The individual’s eyes widened in a flaming red panic, and struck out with the other weapon, slicing a gash across my arm. They bounced backward, readjusting their position. My eye burned, and I reached up to soothe it. Thorny flesh met my touch, hard as steel, and I felt a dread wash over me.

 

It happened again. This curse of a Class.

 

I unfurled the rope around my torso, and released the weapon strapped against my back.

 

My climbing hook.

 

The tool was similar to the one I’d used against the beast in the cavern, but modified. Father had crafted it in such a way as to make it usable for combat. Now it had a leather-wrapped handle, molded with wood, allowing me to wield it like a cudgel. I spun it in my grasp, and as the assailant moved against me again, I flashed out with the hooked barbs, catching their dagger in my parry. I yanked.

 

The blade left their hand, spiraling to the ground and sticking into the dirt, blade down, and I grasped on to the fringe of the scarf obscuring their face and pulled down hard.

 

The fabric ripped, and my enemy’s face was revealed. A young woman’s gaze met mine, her eyes burning with red fury, and a gruesome scar parting her features from eyebrow to chin. Her shock set me to pause, but her anger got the better of her, and gathering the torn fabric, she lashed out with a wild kick that caught me unawares in the side of the head. My world exploded with white light with the connect, and I felt myself strike the ground. I could taste the color of pain in the back of my throat, an earthy, copper flavor.

 

I opened my eyes as the woman bore down on me, having procured another sharp blade somehow. She was aiming right at my head.

 

BOOM!

 

A brilliant violet blast of magical energy struck her square in the chest and she went cartwheeling into the darkness with the force.

 

Nox.

 

The blond boy appeared in my vision, and though I was reeling, he was able to grab my shoulders and jerk me to my feet.

 

“Thanks,” I muttered, but my voice sounded as though it was under water. He didn’t wait to respond, but opened his arms wide, a majestic symbol appearing in the air in front of him, and fired a blast in the direction the woman had flown.

 

I stood, and could see the guard from before staggering toward me, his weapon spinning almost unconsciously around him as his eyes were focused on me. He reached me, and snapped the polearm into a defensive gesture in front of the both of us, his eyes searching the darkness for our quarry.

 

“What is it? A demon?” He demanded, his eyes moving back and forth, but never landing on me.

 

“The demon is helping us,” I said demurely, finding my footing and raising the climbing hook.

 

“What?” He asked, but we were interrupted as a loud crash sounded beyond the edge of the city. In the moonlight, I could see a huge form, lumbering toward us from out of the darkness. It was the size of a house, and as fast as a chariot as it sailed directly toward us, bellowing in a deep and thunderous burble.

 

Nox was there, suddenly, next to me, his hands out and glowing with the familiar purple hue that I had now learned was the color of his magic. He breathed heavy, and I could see a few slashes had connected with his cloak, the fabric only holding together by stitches.

 

“Is that a godsdamned Giant?” the guard demanded, leveling his weapon at the creature’s approach.

 

Despite the severity of the situation, something in my blood sang a sweet song of confirmation. The beast grew near and I could see the outline of its massive frame and I knew the murderous intent with which it brought to this town.

 

“Yes,” I said, and butterflies of hopeful anxiety danced in my chest and stomach.

 

I may have been a piss-poor fighter when it came to other humanoid beings, but this… this was something I was built for. My voice rumbled out of my chest and from my throat, and I almost felt as though someone else was speaking for me.

 

“On my mark,” I began. Adrenaline flooded my body. There was something absolutely invigorating about this encounter. I’d never faced one of these without Father, and now was my chance. I smiled, I think, as the Giant got closer and closer.

 

Sixty feet. Forty feet. Twenty feet.

 

I felt the thump of my heart and at the same time, saw the shimmering green energy inside the creature’s body as well, highlighting its life organ.

 

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

 

Now!

 

I lifted the hook and shot forward, brandishing the weapon in a wild arc as flew at the swiftly approaching beast.

 

“ATTACK!” I screamed, and leaped into the air.