Fereren and I reminisced about old times and the adventures we had as children. Our journeys never took us further than the palace grounds, but in the minds of children a cell can be a world. This one particular memory we, mostly Fereren, laughed about was one where the three of us, Caius, Fereren, and myself, climbed a tree. We were all on one branch. I felt something push me, but I landed on Fereren, and we fell together-

"And after you had once again fallen on your butt-" Fereren grinned. I rolled my eyes. "I put you into the dirt. You were crying so much like a girl."

"Of course, I was crying. I broke a bone."

"I can't help that you break like a woman."

"Maybe there was a reason you were assigned as our bodyguard."

"Yeah, because you fight and cry like a girl." He continued to grin, driving it further.

"Fighting is not my battlefield. Never was. Words is our weapon. It took words to save you when father heard. If Caius hadn't taken all the blame, your training wouldn't have amounted to anything."

"Fair, fair." Fereren admitted, while retaining his teasing grin. But a thought came to me that drew my smile away in melancholy. Fereren noticed and lost his smile. "What Night-Blood snatched your light away?"

I sighed, and asked, "What happened to him? Caius, I mean. My brother and I were becoming distant towards the end, what with our assigned duties going far and wide apart, but what I found on my return was... something else. He changed."

The subject mattered drew shadows over us and we were in silence for a moment.

Fereren answered, "That's just it: Nothing. Nothing happened, nothing changed. You changed, but he didn't. He had no reason to."

I looked at what remained of our wine glass. Fereren picked it up and poured me some. He said, "When we are done with this, it'll be about long enough. I'm sure the kids are off having one hell of an adventure, but eventually you have to stand before your father and explain why you're all covered in mud."

-------

"Run!"

Caius stopped and looked up at the sound. Who was it speaking on the roof? Who were they talking to? Why was the person to run? He had many questions, but a light outside a distant window drew his attention. A brief flicker of flame from the grass rose above the window frame.

Oh.

Caius made it out the door when the first explosion came, and he managed to make another three steps before the cascade started one after another. The explosions started on the otherside of the building and by the end of it ripped through the rest, filling the air with smoke. The final series of explosions tore the building apart and he fell to the ground feeling something hit him across the face. 

When he came to, he was surrounded in men. His employed men, he realized after a moment, and he was dragged away from the warehouse. A pillar of fire rose high into the sky and waved around in the wind.

The men were yelling. Some of it was directed towards himself and some towards each other, but he paid them no mind. His eyes were drawn towards the light. In the distance loomed the white tower of the Ne's god emperor reaching to the sun proudly, and in front of him was a tower of fire looming just as high from his standpoint overtaking it and beautiful.

An omen.

His vision turned red and he blinked. Blood fell down his face. Reaching up, Caius found tiny fragments of metal coming out of his face at certain places, cutting his nose and lips and eyebrows, and the right side of his face was crusty and painfully sensitive.

His conscious mind drew away from his visions to the present moment and burning pain seared through his face. Clutching his face, he shoved everyone side and stood to his feet.

"What happened?" Someone asked. "Who did this?"

"Who do you think?" Caius replied.

The blindfolded Numerenai appeared at the end of the street with a number of Imperial guards. A number of the men who worked for Caius were in the distance, having fallen from the explosion. They lifted themselves, and the Numerenai ordered the guards to arrest them. Caius' men, however, did not take kindly to it and fought back. Within seconds the fires of combat spread across the street. 

Caius hissed to himself. 

There were players in the game he did not account for. Pieces and pawns his plans did not know. But now he did.

One of his captains had taken on an extra hand, a white haired boy and his Soran-Blood. The only reason Caius heard of it was how significant a Soran-Blood was that far north. Valspear lived in the white tower. Valspear had taken in the white-haired boy. 

The boy was the Emperor's son.

"Well played, brother." Caius whispered, grinning madly despite the pain. His blood boiled with competitive excitement. "You nearly ripped my plans out from under me! Father'd be so proud!"

Directing his attention back to the matter at hand, Caius ordered those who would listen to withdraw. "Regroup! We cannot fight them here! Scatter and regroup!"

Meanwhile the tower of flame rose above them like a god of destruction bidding its followers onward.

---

"Run!"

Izthark turned back at the sound briefly. Was someone being chased? He saw nothing, and so turned his face forward and continued on.

Shockwaves of air and fire swept through the air, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him to the ground. All those around at the end of the day were also fallen and shocked by the sudden earthquake. The explosion was followed by more, one after another, until the air was filled with a chorus of screams of tongue and flame.

Then it was quiet, semi. The shaking stopped.

Izthark picked himself off the ground and looked around. People were bloody and shocked. The young cried and the older fled. In the earthquake a wagon had fallen on someone and a group worked together to lift it. In the distance a building split and half fell ontop others. Izthark jumped up and ran to it along with others and together they worked to remove the rubble. 

"Move!" Izthark barked. He removed a spear from his back and used it to prop up a heavy beam. Hands grabbed it and were able to expand the gap enough for those within to be dragged out.

From the distance a group of soldiers entered the street and set to establishing some semblance of order. A red glow filled the air and Izthark removed his blindfold. A pillar of fire rose into the air. One of the soldiers stepped forward and saluted him. "Numerenai!"

"Captain, how many men are in your command?" Izthark asked.

"One hundred." Not all of them were here. Izthark counted twenty. "My men are scattered and on patrol, but with this-" The centurion nodded to the pillar of fire. "They will know to come."

"Good. The town's guard should also be marshaling. Leave a man here to direct the crowd away. The rest of you follow me." Izthark ordered him. The centurion saluted and stepped in behind him.

Izthark returned to what remained of Caius' portside warehouse. He had a bad feeling before, but now it was confirmed. He recognized the explosion's nature. It was similar to the kind he experimented with to fight the Night-Blood, and similar to the cannon powder used by navy vessels.

Weapons and combustible materials were not technically illegal, yet, but arson, rebellion, and conspiracy sure were.

Caius' men were knocked down and struggling to come to their senses. A part of Izthark wondered if it was sabotage by a rival of the Kes King or if Caius allowed his men to be ignorant. It did not matter. His instincts told him Caius was dangerous, and this was the chance they wanted to be rid of him.

Izthark motioned to Caius' men. "Arrest of them all! Declare to everyone that Caius'Ronlin'Kes is to be killed on sight for rebellion against the Empire and the Aeterna Emperor!"

----

Koj'Ineh'Mirrad fought against the undercurrent, but little could be done in the wake of the explosion. The shockwave was weakened under the water, but he still hit the river bottom. His Mirrad-Blood eyes allowed him to see in an environment with virtually no light. Looking down he saw a rising wedge of a rock coming. Slamming his arms to his side and his legs together, he managed to lean into it and direct himself into the rock. He landed feet first. Looking up, he saw the two youngster fight against the tide. They waved their arms about blindly.

He was about to kick off, but stopped, shocked. 

Nearby caught in weeds was another boy. Aelius. The boy wasn't moving.

Looking between the three, he had to make a snap decision. He kicked off and joined the tide. He swam upwards. He grabbed the two boys in his left hand and swam to the surface. They gasped for breath. The air was warm with fire and ash going downwind. Wasting no time, he grabbed hold of the surface wall and threw the boys up where they collapsed coughing. He took a deep breath and dove back down.

Fighting against the current was tougher than joining it and he did not make progress quickly. The boy was caught in the edge of the water weeds, but the weeds had expanded further along the bottom. He reached down and pulled at them to gain leverage, climbing as it were towards him. When Koj reached him, he looked him over quickly. The weeds were large. Large enough that only two were needed to wrap him down. Koj reached for his knife, but found his waist empty.

Damn.

Improvising, he wrapped one arm in the plants and used the other to remove his helmet. The helmet had an open spaces for his mouth and eyes, and with the mouth was a nose guard. It was sharp enough it had cut his nose on more than one occassion. He wrapped the bottom of the planet as best he could inside the helmet and tugged against it, ripped the planet string by string until, at last, it ripped off and the boy flowed back into the current deeper in the weeds. 

Koj grabbed him and swam up.

As soon as he exploded out of the water surface, he grabbed the ledge and lifted them both up.

"Aelius!" The boys yelled. They ran to them.

Koj'Ineh put his hands to the boy's lips, but felt nothing. "Do you have a knife?" Koj demanded. The boy's did not, but Slavian reached down and lifted a long shard of broken glass from a shattered window. "That'll do!"

Taking the glass, Koj cut the weed and freed Aelius. He still was not breathing.

"No." One of the boys whispered. He fell to his knees staring at Aelius. Water poured down his face and not all of it was river water. Slavian grit his teeth and looked away.

Koj was not so quick to count him out. He pushed down on the boy's heart and forced it to beat.

"What are you doing!" The boy gasped. "Don't hurt him further!" He tried to push the Mirrad-Blood away, but Koj was much stronger and wasn't up to taking the time to explain. He shoved the boy back hard. The boy jumped to his feet and looked ready to fight, but Slavian grabbed him and held him back.

Aelius violently flailed around suddenly, his entire body acting like it had been struck with electricity, and his sudden movement only became more desperate as he coughed out water. Koj threw him onto his side and punched his fist into the boy's gut as hard as he could, causing water to gush out of his mouth. 

Aelius took in breath.

Koj released his breath. The boy's stood stunned. A second passed as the world around them disappeared and they were still while Aelius caught his breath.

"Aelius?" The unknown boy whispered.

Aelius nodded, shivering. He coiled up against the cold. Like a burst dam, the boys collapsed on him crying.

Koj stepped back. The world spun a bit but he caught himself and took a moment. He forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. As the moment continued, he became more aware of their surroundings. They were in the shadows against a collapsed building, but the air was filled with the light of fire. Just in front of them was some people running away and others running in, and there was the sounds of metal on metal.

Conflict had broken out.

The conflict spread into the street just in front of them, but one side quickly won by sheer numbers as the losers fled before them. The winners moved down the street. On high alert, they noticed Koj and the boys. 

Koj wished he had his knife.

"Koj, is that you?" One of them asked.

Recognizing the voice as questioning, and not hostile, Koj confirmed it. "I am."

"Hey, boss! We found Koj!" 

Out of the group stepped Caius. He smiled on seeing Koj and stepped forward. Koj's eyes dashed down to the boys and just as quickly up to Caius. He stepped in front of the boys. 

"Koj! There you are!" Caius greeted happily. "You had me worried there. What happened to your helmet? Bah, it doesn't matter! We'll get you another."

"What is happening?" Koj asked.

"Sabatage! The Empire caught on slower than expected, but were more decisive than expected. We have to go, regroup, and get ready for the final stages."

The final stages. Koj nodded. He had already reported to Caius his progress with Fereren. The Kes General's officers were already planted in the largest groups of slaves and spreading the word amongst them.

Soon the slaves would be free.

Caius came closer, and his eyes fell on the children. His smile dimmed ever so slightly, but just as quickly shot up. "Of course, you had to save the children. That is just like you."

Unsure how to take it, Koj said nothing and did not move as Caius stepped around him to get a better view. Koj did not want the children around him, but nor could he move them without hostile actions, where likely one or all of them would die. For hopefully the last time, Koj felt trapped in the Kes king's presence.

Caius's eyes widened on seeing the boys more closely, and for the boy's part, now noticing him, they had the guts to shield Aelius defiantly.

"Now, now. There is no need for that. He is family, after all." Caius's smile turned warm. His eyes, however, had lost none of its sharpness. He stooped down slowly towards them, and Slavian lunged at him, but Koj put his hand out and grabbed his shoulder, pinning him in place. 

Caius' eyes slid towards Senec and scanned him up and down. On the boy's part his eyes widened and he struggled to breath under the Erl-Blood's scrutiny. It seemed to pierce him through and leave him vulnerable and exposed. It took all of Senec's strength to stand behind Slavian and Senec felt if he moved it would leave Aelius even more vulnerable than them both. The Kes-Blood had a familiar eye for Aelius, and something about he said 'family' set him on edge. Slavian, unlike them, was defiant and whatever amounted for common sense or fear was overriden by anger. He was kept back only by Koj.

"An Ire-Blood in the land of Ne with Erl attire, yet too dirty and poor to acquire such silk three countries away. No, you have lived in my homeland." Caius mused. "With no land to root you, your family must be strong and capable. What is your blood name, my young traveler?"

"R-Revue." Senec answered.

"Revue." Caius repeated. He smiled. It did not reach his eyes. "Tell your guardian if they could use some work, I have much that needs doing and there is no shortage of coin in this new era for aspiring entrepreneurs."

Reaching past both over the other two boys, Caius put a gentle hand on Aelius' shoulder and said, "Everything will be alright, son."

Aelius flinched violently away from him, smacking his hand away. His sudden action broke Slavian and the older boy rose to his feet to attack Caius, but Koj increased the pressure on him harder, keeping him in place.

"Don't!" Koj whispered. "It will do you no good."

Caius looked at Slavian in amusement, as if it was a just a show just for him. He scoffed, turned, and walked away. "Koj, get them home, and tell Fereren he knows where to find me." Then as he was about to step back out into the light, he stopped and said, "Oh, and, uh, you really should learn self-control. It wouldn't do for a king to have poor composure. When you show anything, love, anger, hate, joy, at the behest of others, you give them control of you."