Having studied the Dominion for some time, the way their technology has developed is strange at first glance. Through the revolutionary ideas brought forth by the First Champion, the Dominion has created amazing wonders. The airships, for example, were a massive boon when it came to delivering supplies and goods. Not to mention for travel. Air conditioning was another well beloved invention. No surprise there given the unrelenting heat of Axis Mundi. Other technology making use of electricity, such as the television, from which the citizens get their news, is another wonder. Yet… why has there been little to no progress seen with something like explosives?

  -Excerpt from Arvad Malachi’s Musings

  Aria woke up with a sense of dread.

  She didn’t know what evoked that feeling, but it left her uneasy.

  It was after she’d gotten some breakfast with Sana and Onas that a messenger came to her and informed her that Zareb and Lusha wanted to see her.

  Her sense of dread only seemed to worsen after that.

  As she walked to their tent, she wound up running into Daxton of all people. She flushed, remembering yesterday’s happenings in their training together.

  “Daxton,” she greeted with a nod, managing to keep her stoic expression despite her slightly reddened cheeks.

  “Ah! Morning, Tufani!” he returned the greeting.

  He did a much poorer job at hiding his abashment than she did.

  Unbeknownst to her, that had made her smile.

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “Oh, I was told by a messenger that Aleksi and Lusha wanted to see me.”

  Aria frowned, “Strange. I was told the exact same thing.”

  Daxton raised a brow, “That’s weird… It can’t be coincidental. Must be something important.”

  They began to walk together, but a few steps in, he asked her, “Do you… do you have a bad feeling about this?”

  “So, you feel it too, then?”

  He nodded before letting out a groan. He muttered a series of words in a language that was gibberish to her, though she could guess they were swears or curses of some kind.

  Noticing her questioning look, he cleared his throat, and explained, “The last time I had a bad feeling like this, it ended with Ignis getting vaporized.”

  Aria’s breath hitched at that, “Well… Void.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Daxton sighed, “let’s hope whatever this is won’t be as eventful… Damn it. Better not have jinxed it just now.”

  The two walked the remainder of the way in silence.

  ***

  When they made it to the tent, they found Zareb and Lusha waiting for them.

  “Ah! So you’ve both arrived,” Zareb noted.

  The general took a deep breath as he looked to his wife, who nodded at him encouragingly.

  “What’s this about, Aleksi?” Daxton asked.

  Aria crossed her arms, waiting for the human to respond.

  “It’s about time,” Zareb began with a resigned sigh, “that I give you two an update as to what’s been happening outside the hideout.”

  Aria tensed, and Daxton frowned at the announcement.

  “It’s about time, Barus!” Aria hissed, “every time I’ve asked you, you’ve shrugged me off. I’d begun to grow suspicious.”

  “I don’t fault you for that, lass. I admit that perhaps I should have informed you both sooner. However, I wanted to get a better grasp on the situation before I did.”

  “Well?” Daxton asked, looking nervous but resolute, “what’s been happening?”

  “I will need you both to remain calm and let me fully explain,” though Zareb spoke to both of them, he was only looking at Aria.

  She huffed, “That will depend on what you have to say.”

  “I figured you’d say that,” Zareb cleared his throat and explained, “As you both know, the Rebellion has been doing its best to help the elf slaves escape as the Dominion retaliates for Ignis’s destruction. This is not the only thing we’ve been doing, however. We’ve also been gathering intel.”

  Zareb stood with his back straight, hands behind his back like a soldier, “This is what we’ve found out. As expected, the Dominion has their forces searching for their missing Champion. The Shadows of Athanasius are currently split between that mission and another.”

  “Another?” Daxton asked, brow furrowing, “you’d think they’d focus all their efforts and resources into finding me.”

  “That is the logical assumption,” Zareb agreed, “however, the Dominion isn’t thinking logically. At least, not entirely. They’ve just been dealt a severe blow. The capital of this Realm was wiped out, lad. And it was done-”

  “By an elf,” Aria finished for him, her sense of dread growing by the second.

  The general nodded, his expression grim.

  “Tell me!” she demanded, taking a step towards him, her mind flashing with images of all the elves impaled, burned, and hung back at the town where they’d met with Norman, “what is the Dominion doing to my people?!”

  “We only learned of this recently. The retaliation against the elves was even greater than we initially believed” Zareb answered reluctantly, “apparently, orders have come in from Athanasius himself. The Dominion in Axis Mundi is to enact a genocide against its elf slaves.”

  Daxton gasped, and Aria went completely pale.

  She took a step back, shaking her head as she broke out in cold sweat, “No… no, that…”

  She wanted to deny what she’d been told, but she couldn’t. She’d known this was a possibility, hadn’t she? Yes, she’d expected some level of retaliation, particularly after her mother had destroyed Ignis, but… a GENOCIDE?! Wasn’t that going too far?!

  Aria felt herself going numb from shock, and found she couldn’t hear what Zareb and Daxton were saying. No, it wasn’t that she couldn’t hear them. The words simply weren’t registering.

  Mom… she thought with terror, what have we wrought upon our people?!

  ***

  “Genocide?!” Galen cried out, horrified, “the Dominion is going to commit genocide?!”

  Aleksi nodded.

  “That’s… that’s crazy!” he yelled as he began to pace back and forth, “why would they-”

  “You are aware,” Aleksi interrupted, “of who Tufani’s mother is, right?”

  Galen nodded, “Yeah, she told me yesterday. What does that have to do with this?”

  “Did you know, lad, that it was her, Anila Tufani, who destroyed Ignis?”

  His jaw dropped, eyes going wide as he turned to look at Tufani. She, however, looked completely spaced out. Her blue eyes, usually so intense and strong, were dark and hollow and her skin, pale. That was a worrying sight, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like she was having another panic attack. Rather, she simply seemed shocked at the earlier news.

  “No…” Galen told Aleksi, “she… she didn’t mention that part. Though… now things make more sense…”

  He really should’ve connected the dots when Tufani had explained who her mother was yesterday. If Anila Tufani truly had been so powerful that she’d rivaled the First Champion back during the Human-Elf war, then it made sense that only she could’ve wiped out Ignis.

  A shudder went down his spine as he got a slightly clearer view of the scale of power in this world. If Anila Tufani had been one of the most powerful people in Avani, then that means those on a similar level of power each had the destructive capability to vaporize an entire capital city.

  Which would mean people on that level are essentially walking, talking nukes… he went pale at the thought, am I seriously going to have to reach that level of power… can I even get to that point?!

  He realized then that that was a moot point. His predecessor, the First Champion, had been a rival to Anila Tufani. Which likely meant that Galen himself had the potential to reach those heights.

  He hoped.

  It was a terrifying kind of hope.

  It did make him wonder, however… just how powerful was Athanasius Durai himself?

  “Anila,” Aleksi continued, shaking Galen out of his thoughts, “was among the First Generation of slaves. From what I’d been able to gather, it seemed the Dominion hadn’t realized that she’d still been alive. Is that right, lass?”

  He’d directed the question at Tufani, who was still unresponsive.

  Aleksi frowned with concern, “Lass?”

  He waved a hand in front of her face, and she seemed to snap out of her daze.

  And had immediately begun to panic.

  “I… I need to help them! My people are in danger!!!” she whirled and had begun to run out of the tent.

  That is, until she saw Lusha waiting by the tent’s entrance.

  “Out of my way!” Tufani demanded.

  Lusha simply stood there with arms crossed, “Just what do you plan on doing?”

  “Isn’t it obvious half-blood?!” she spat, “I’m going to-”

  “To what? Get yourself killed in a futile attempt to help your fellow elves?” Lusha shook her head, “do you even know how to help them? Sorry, kid. There’s nothing you can do. Besides, you know you won’t be able to get by me.”

  “To the void with you!” she hissed.

  “The best thing you can do to help is to complete your mission,” Lusha pointed out.

  Tufani hesitated, an internal struggle no doubt warring within her.

  Aleksi chose that moment to speak, “She’s right, lass. That’s part of the reason we called you both here. One was to update you on what’s been going on outside the hideout. The other was to discuss our plan moving forward.”

  He paused, waiting for them to focus fully on him before finishing, “It will soon be time to leave the hideout. And time to help Tufani reach the Boundary of this Realm.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Galen gulped. The realization that the rest he’d been enjoying was at an end began to hit him.

  “It’s about voiding time,” was all Tufani said.

  Despite her bravado, it was clear she was feeling nervous.

  “So,” Tufani began, “what’s our plan of action? How do you plan to get me into the Void Sea?”

  Aleksi took a deep, contemplative breath, “After that meeting on your first day in this hideout, I had Neldor and Komdar depart shortly after to do several tasks. One was to help aid as many elf slaves in escaping the Dominion’s wrath as possible. Neldor volunteered for that role. The other was reconnaissance, which Komdar was tasked with. Ignis’s destruction was a major turning point, and we need to be prepared for what is to come after that. The final thing I had Komdar do was find a way to get us an airship.”

  “An airship?!” Galen perked up.

  In spite of the grim situation, a feeling of childish excitement swelled within.

  Tufani frowned, “Why do we need an-”

  Her eyes lit up, no doubt recalling the entire purpose of their creation.

  Lusha nodded at her, “That’s right, kid. An airship will be needed to help maximize your odds of survival in the Void Sea. Problem is, every airship that might be up to the task are owned directly by the Dominion. The ones able to be bought and used by the citizens won’t be able to withstand a voyage there.”

  “So, what do we do about this? Do you have one in mind we can take?” Galen asked.

  Aleksi smiled with a twinkle in his eye, “As a matter of fact, we do.”

  He walked to the table in the middle of the tent and pointed at one of the maps, “According to Komdar, in about a week’s time, there will be a military airship being dropped off here for maintenance and upgrades. If we can manage to sneak in, we’ll have a short window between when the maintenance is done and the Dominion coming to take it. That will be our chance to steal it for your journey, lass.”

  Tufani nodded, looking eager.

  Galen, however, frowned, “Uh… are these things easy to pilot? Or sail? Or whatever term is used for flying an airship.”

  Aleksi shook his head, “No, operating one properly takes training. And you will want a trained sailor pilot for a voyage into the Void Sea.”

  “Seriously? Sailor pilot? THAT’S the term you guys use for someone who operates an airship?” Galen asked, incredulous.

  Aleksi shrugged, “I don’t make the terms, lad. The Dominion were the ones who came up with it.”

  Galen sighed with disappointment, Leave it to government to make up such a lame term.

  “It makes sense when you think about it,” Lusha interjected, “an airship has the ability to fly through the sky AND sail on the seas. It seems only natural that, to operate one, you would need training in both areas. Hence the term sailor pilot.”

  “That’s still dumb,” Galen insisted.

  Lusha gave her own shrug in response.

  “Enough about that!” Tufani snapped, “how will we find a trained sailor pilot? And, that aside, we’ll also have the issue of finding one willing to enter the Void Sea, in spite of the high risk of death.”

  “That won’t be a problem, lass,” Aleksi assured her with a smile, “what do you think we’ve been doing these past weeks? And how do you think we found out about the airship available to steal?”

  Galen gave him a wide eyed look, “You mean to tell me you have a, damn I can’t believe I’m actually using this term, sailor pilot in the Rebellion?!”

  The man nodded proudly, “That’s right, lad. We have all kinds of people in our ranks.”

  Tufani nodded approvingly, looking visibly impressed, “It seems I’ve underestimated you and your Rebellion, General.”

  Lusha took a deep breath, “I hope you’ll be able to focus your attention on your mission, Tufani. Leave the matter of your people to us. We’ve been helping them longer than you’ve been alive, after all.”

  Tufani looked hesitant, but eventually nodded.

  “Now,” Aleksi spoke, “naturally miss Tufani will be going on this journey.”

  “As will I,” Galen stated, “I promised I’d help, after all. If you’ll have me, that is.”

  Tufani met his gaze for several long moments. He didn’t waver. Not one bit.

  She nodded again, looking appreciative of his offer.

  “And to both ensure your safety lad,” Aleksi said to Galen before turning to Tufani, “and to maximize your chances of success, lass, I will be going with you.”

  “You will?!” Galen asked hopefully.

  His mentor smiled broadly in confirmation.

  “Having you with us would be assuring,” Tufani frowned, “but what of the Rebellion? Don’t you have other duties to help them with?”

  “Lass,” Aleksi answered, “helping you succeed would be a MASSIVE help to us. If you succeed and make it to Vindanna, then we potentially acquire the aid of an entire other Realm, one that opposes the Dominion and Athanasius. That is worth the risk, I believe.”

  Lusha drew her lips to a thin line. She grew tense, clearly not liking the idea of her husband leaving again.

  Aleksi noticed her reaction, and grew somber. He gently grabbed his wife’s wrist and pulled her into a tight embrace.

  “Lusha,” he began, “I-”

  “No need, love,” she pulled back just a bit to look him in the eyes as she returned the hug, “we’ve already been over this. Just… stay safe, okay? And come back to me… please…”

  “I will do my best,” he answered her, “I vow it to you.”

  She seemed to accept that, as she buried her face in his chest.

  Galen felt a bit awkward seeing them like that. When he noticed Tufani’s reaction out of the corner of his eye, however, his awkwardness faded into amusement.

  She was blushing furiously, clearly flustered by the display of affection. Her hands covered her eyes in embarrassment, though he could clearly see she was peeking through her fingers.

  Aleksi and Lusha noticed as well, and both began laughing, their somber tension evaporating.

  Galen began to join in on the laughter as well, which only made Tufani’s blush reach her ears as she glared at them all.

  “Void,” Lusha wiped a tear from her eye as she regained her composure, “I keep forgetting just how prudish you elves are.”

  “Prudish?!” Tufani gave her an incredulous look, “no, you are just indecent!”

  That made Lusha laugh even more.

  Tufani seethed at her reaction, “Have you no shame, half-blood?! Despite being tainted by ashborn blood, do you also not carry elf blood in your veins?!”

  “I do,” Lusha confirmed in between chuckles, not looking offended at all, “but I only act as I do because I genuinely love and care for Zareb. AND I don’t really care what others think of me. I guess that’s both bloodlines at work in me.”

  “HOW? All I see is the hume side of you,” Tufani hissed.

  Lusha smirked, and pointed out, “Ah, how young you are. Kid, let me let you in on something about your people. And before you say anything, I heard this from other ELVES. Yes, your people are extremely reserved when it comes to public affection and physical contact. HOWEVER, for those they’ve chosen to open up to, I’ve found they are extraordinarily affectionate.”

  Tufani flushed, but Galen noted she didn’t deny it.

  He put a finger to his chin in thought, and blurted out before his mind could stop his mouth from saying, “So elves are closet perverts?”

  Lusha snorted in surprise and began guffawing at his remark.

  Aleksi did a spit take, having apparently taken a sip from his water-skin right as he’d said that.

  Tufani simply stared at him, wide-eyed, looking completely appalled and flabbergasted.

  Galen flushed deeply, though he began chuckling at seeing how Lusha was still cackling, now bent over on the table and slamming her fist repeatedly on it.

  “You…” Tufani hissed, her ears going red.

  “Wait, don’t tell me there’s truth to that?!” he asked her with disbelief upon noting her reaction.

  Lusha did her own spit take at hearing that, and cried out in between fits, “HA! Please, stop! I can’t… I can’t take it… anymore. Hahahahaha!”

  It took ten minutes for Lusha to finally regain enough composure to speak, though the occasional chuckle still escaped, “Okay… okay… I’m good… I’m good…”

  “Are you sure, love?” Aleksi asked, an amused smile on his face.

  “Yeah…” Lusha took a deep breath, “I think…”

  Tufani was beet red and refused to even look at either her or Galen. Though, when she did, she simply shot them murderous glares.

  “Oh, come on, Tufani!” Lusha gave her a sly smile, “that was FUNNY!”

  “No, it was not!” she shot back.

  “You being angry doesn’t refute the fact that there’s a kernel of truth in what he said,” Lusha snickered.

  “So it IS true?!” Galen asked, nearly sending her back into a fit of laughter.

  “NO!!!” Tufani shrieked.

  “Somewhat,” Lusha refuted with a mischievous smile, “there are perverts in every race, after all.”

  Tufani groaned, rubbing her temples, “Can we PLEASE talk about something else?”

  “As amusing as this was, I have to agree,” Aleksi stated.

  “Killjoys,” Lusha protested, though she was still smiling at Tufani, albeit in a more genuine way, “thanks, kid. Intended or not, I needed that.”

  “I think we all did,” Galen noted, feeling some of his nerves had faded.

  “Hmph!” Tufani turned aside her head with a pout.

  “So,” Aleksi clapped his hands together to bring their attention on him, “are we all in agreement with the plan? And that Tufani, Galen, and I will be the ones going?”

  They all nodded.

  “Very well. We will leave in three days.”

  Galen raised a brow, “That’s a bit soon, isn’t it?”

  Aleksi nodded, “Yes, apologies for that, lad. However, part of the reason is that this hideout will be abandoned by then as well.”

  “Wait, why?” he asked.

  “We’ve spent too much time in this location,” Lusha answered, chin resting on the palm of her hand, “that and we’ve brought a lot of escaping elf slaves here. Our whereabouts will be compromised soon if it hasn’t already. Thankfully, we didn’t take all the slaves we helped here, as we have multiple hideouts that constantly change. If we had, then we’d have been discovered already.”

  “One more thing,” Aleksi added, “pack your things in a single pack as soon as you can. Both of you. Then, make sure you get those to me the night before our departure.”

  Galen and Tufani nodded in understanding.

  I better make sure I pack THAT, he thought.

  He was referring to the pistol that he’d had on his person when he’d first been summoned to Avani. He’d had it with him throughout his last trip into Ignis, during his trek to the hideout, and had then made sure to had it hidden in a bag he’d been provided. Hopefully he wouldn’t need it, but perhaps it would give him an edge and help him catch an enemy off guard.

  A thought then struck him. Several actually.

  Hold on… how effective would my pistol actually be in this world?

  It was a fair question to ask, particularly after hearing how Tufani’s mother had single-handedly wiped out Ignis. If Ethereans of her level could output that level of destruction, then what good would a gun do against them?

  He bit his lip. He had to know. Maybe do a test or something. But with who?

  The answer was obvious as he glanced to Aleksi. Despite knowing he could trust his mentor, he still hesitated to show off a working firearm, particularly since he hadn’t seen any evidence of the Dominion developing that technology for whatever reason.

  Stop being stupid, he admonished himself.

  If he couldn’t trust Aleski with this knowledge, then there was no one he could trust.

  “Hey, Aleksi,” Galen took a deep breath, “there’s one more thing I think you should know about.”

  His mentor nodded, “What is it, lad?”

  “It’s something I want to show you. If you can spare the time to come with me? I also want to run a test that I’ll need your help with.”

  Aleksi blinked, surprise and confusion evident on his face, “Very well. What exactly is it you want to show me?”

  “It’s a piece of technology from my world,” Galen answered, “a weapon. One I’ve secretly had on me every since I was summoned.”

  “A weapon you say?” Lusha asked, curiosity clearly peaked.

  “Yeah, but before you get too excited, I don’t know how effective it actually is in this world,” Galen rubbed the back of his neck, “after hearing how a single person was able to wipe out a whole capital… well…”

  “No, it’s good you brought this up, lad,” Aleksi smiled, “much of the technology the Dominion developed was largely inspired by the technology of your world. The ideas of which were brought by the First Champion. If you can tell us about this weapon you brought, perhaps we can prepare for any hidden tools the Dominion has yet to show.”

  Galen nodded.

  “Can I come see this?” Lusha asked excitedly.

  “I as well,” Tufani added, “I ought to know about any potential weapons the Dominion might have up their sleeve.

  “Uh…” Galen hesitated.

  “Lad, if you trust me, then you can trust my wife. I give you my word,” Aleksi promised.

  Galen nodded, then looked to Tufani. She frowned, and opened her mouth to speak.

  He beat her to it, however, “I trust you too, just so you know. So if you want, you can come along to see this.”

  That stunned Tufani, and she opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water before regaining her composure and nodding gratefully.

  With that, they adjourned this meeting and began to follow Galen out the tent.

  He froze, however, when the first sight that greeted him was Komdar of all people grinning broadly at him.

  “By the riches of the earth!” he cackled, “a chance to see technology of an entirely different world?! Ya best count me in, mud-walker!”

  “Hold on… when did you-” Galen began.

  “I got back yesterday,” Komdar interrupted, “how do ya think Zareb found out about the intel he just gave ya? Also, I might have eavesdropped.”

  “Might have?” Tufani glared.

  Komdar spread his hands apologetically, as if to say “Whoops.”

  Galen looked to Aleksi, who simply shrugged, “It’s up to you, lad. But if you were to ask me, Komdar is trustworthy as well. I’d trust him with my life. And he’s one of the best craftsmen we have in the Rebellion. Perhaps you could use his analytical eye.”

  “Well, there ya have it, mud-walker!” Komdar beamed as he gestured for Galen to lead.

  Galen sighed, If Komdar figures out how to make guns and makes them widely used technology in this world, then that will be on Aleksi’s head, not mine!