Caught in the Eye

The sound of tires and asphalt played like a loop once they were underway. In the back of an armored personnel carrier bearing walls thick enough to withstand a bombing run even without all the sigils and runes inscribed into the polished walls, followed by a tight cluster of similarly painted black transports, their marshalled forces were finally underway.

John’s party took up the bench in one half of the rear compartment, while Kim, Moira, and Etriyya took up the other. Kim’s father Kwang was somewhere in the vehicle behind them; Kim’s lecture on the strategic foolishness of placing all their most powerful mages in a single vehicle was sound, but her smirk spoke of much less strategic reasons for his absence here.

The last few hours had passed like the days before a hurricane’s arrival—lightning fast, with far too much to be done. John always felt as if he could work twice as hard and still not accomplish half of what he wanted. Now inside the armored confines of the Order's transports, the tension remained, but there was no longer a way to release it. They were in the eye of the storm, with nothing to do but wait. Wait, and talk.

Just as soon as he was cleared for such a strenuous thing as conversation.

"Vitals are normal. Slightly elevated blood pressure and cortisol levels, but no more than any of the rest of you." Tricia's dull tone warbled as the drone backed away from John, taking up a sentry position between the parallel benches lining both sides of the van's passenger compartment.

"Is this going to be a regular thing now?" John sighed. "I feel more like a bomb than a person."

"John, I've seen you explode. You're pretty good at pointing that shite toward the other side." Etriyya laughed. "This is more like a building inspection. We just found out which of your walls are load-bearing, you daft sod."

"I like her. Why don't you bring me to visit more often?" Lerianna elbowed John’s left side hard enough to make him lean against Sophia for balance. She earned only an eye roll in response.

"I've been dealing with things fine since I had my rest." John grimaced, more frustrated by how valid their concerns were than any medical scans. At least Etriyya had been in far better spirits towards him than he expected. Or deserved. "Go ahead, Moira. I'm ready."

"Right. The precise details are vague until we assess conditions at the front lines," Moira began. "Our immediate goal is to reunite with Adantia and my father just outside the Great Plains alliance border. Once we've reunited, we'll cross together to ensure safety."

"Do these 'Great Plains' mages know we're coming?" Shishun asked. She was sitting against the back doors in a position that was just a little too formal; for all the practice she’d put into her disguises, John was beginning to notice the subtle indicators of Shishun’s snake nature beneath the veil.

"No. We intended to have Adantia inform them, but that was before she fled the battlefield without warning. We intend to contact them shortly before arrival, but we're not anticipating a warm welcome." Moira let out a sigh. "I can't say I blame them. We're marching a convoy on their lands while they're at war, claiming to want to help guilds we've no reason to be friendly with. Adantia has at least been aiding them already, and she claims to have been recognized by some of the older mages there. I suspect her extended disappearance from the front lines will have garnered some ire, but it will still be better to have a familiar face with history present."

"What about Julianna and the Forgotten Legion?" John wasn't sure there was a good answer to that question, but he needed to know it, regardless.

"We asked them to travel alongside us, but Julianna refused." This time there was no sigh, only a frustrated growl. "She would not share her route with us, either. She claims she does not trust us to handle ourselves competently, despite our actions convincing her to return to Springfield in the first place. I have no idea if she will arrive at the battlefield or be repulsed by the mages we seek to aid. At this point, I do not care. I am surrounded by enough brash fools without another adding to the mixture."

John pursed his lips quietly. It was his fault, and Julianna wasn't entirely wrong. He'd made an ass out of himself, both in his response to her attitude and how he handled himself in battle. The idea that he might have cost them an ally was a weight in John's stomach that seemed set to linger.

"As I said, we will need to assess the situation directly before formulating long-term plans." A map of the Midwest region projected from the drone into the center of the transport. Red seeped in from the north end, engulfing the green and blue regions that had risen nearly to the borders. Moira gestured to it. "This is where the front line was the last time we received accurate updates from Adantia."

"Would have been about a week ago, then?" John clarified.

"Eight days," Moira corrected. "That was when she was injured and retreated to recuperate, before she contacted us. That said, between rumors and informants, we do have an idea of how things have gone in her absence."

John's stomach dropped as the red surged over the map like pooling blood. There was a meager section overtaken by blue in the east, but on the southern front, the Great Plains guilds were mercilessly pushed back. The Northern Ashes engulfed nearly all of Montana and South Dakota, while still clinging to half of Minnesota. They had taken in eight days what had required weeks of dedicated efforts before—and after being ground to a halt for nearly a month by Adantia.

"That far, that fast?" Vallya leaned to the side, half-embracing Lerianna to get a better angle on the map. Her eyes glimmered with something that could have been respect or worry. Her lips curled down as the animated map returned to stasis.

"They had already been redirecting the bulk of their forces stationed in the east, likely to aid in toppling Adantia," Moira explained. "Between her absence and the disarray left by the sudden absence of a major player, collapse against their marshaled forces was inevitable. Adantia herself said she did not trust them to back her in an offensive push for exactly that reason."

"War's funny like that," Etriyya mused. "Take a few inches in a month, then a hundred miles in a week."

"We should consider ourselves grateful they're necromancers," Kim remarked from near the rear doors, legs crossed and eyes closed. "It limits their range of operations and makes it difficult to capitalize on unexpected turns in battle. Their Barrier line must be maintained, even during forward pushes, lest they expose their most valuable resource—the necromancers themselves."

"Which is why we'll need to see the direct state of things before making a decision on our overall strategy." Moira gestured to the slightly lighter area of red that had been overtaken. "Our number one priority has to be stabilizing the front. Once that's done, we won't need to worry so much about subterfuge or unexpected night raids. Particularly now that you're on the front lines."

"You think Bella might try to pay me another visit?" John quirked a brow at the Warden.

"Bella was interested enough to trek across the country for a chance to snatch you once already." Moira frowned deeply. "She prioritized you even over her duties in an ongoing war. Establishing a firm, unyielding defensive line will help us sleep a little easier at night. It won't eliminate the possibility entirely, but I'd wager you'll next face Bella on the battlefield, not in the dark of night."

"So don't go running off on your own," Lerianna growled at John. "No matter what crazy ideas you get stuck in that head of yours."

"I have no intentions of 'running off on my own'," John affirmed dryly. "Besides, the way Adantia was talking, I'm not sure she intends to let me leave her side."

"Given how her last encounter ended, I am not sure that is something to hold up as a shield." Moira grimaced. "And beyond that, it may be necessary to divide our forces. Kim's father, my own, and Adantia together comprise a large portion of our total might; it will not always be prudent to move our entire **** to handle a single threat when one of them can provide quicker and more efficient solutions."

"But the rest of us will remain unified." Kim's voice carried an edge pointed in John's direction. "Adantia slipped from the clutches of their strongest forces, even caught unaware. I am quite certain none of us could perform such a feat. We will need to protect each other. I believe our bonds are strong enough for us to succeed in that regard."

"Assuming I don't put myself at risk and need to be pampered. Wouldn't want to tick the Gamer off and get screamed at again." Etriyya chuckled darkly until she noticed Moira's glare. "Apologies, Lady Warden. My mind is up to ninety with everything going on now that the battle is nearly upon us. I'll make a better effort to watch my tongue."

"No, by all means," John encouraged despite the matching glower Moira turned on him. "I've gotten off far too lightly for what I did. I thought I was going to have to wait until we reunited with Adantia to get chewed out properly. Even these two have been acting like they're walking on eggshells around me."

"I'm simply being considerate of your condition," Moira sniffled. "If you'd prefer a proper beating, wait until the war is over."

"You were berating me before the marathon for how stupid it was. Yet when I actually prove how half-witted it was by example—"

"You bear a scar to remind you of your mistake." Moira's voice was quieter than usual, her eyes drifting over the armor covering his navel. "You do not need me to hold it before you as well."

The softness the Warden so rarely showed left John in contemplative silence. Kim soon slipped into the stillness.

"You've proven time and time again you're far too stubborn to learn lessons you're not yet ready to accept on your own," Kim said. The corner of her mouth gave the faintest twitch upward. "We will be relying on each other in the days to come. Our bonds are more important than attempting to drive home the lesson. No matter how gratifying the gloating might be, my desire for your safety outweighs any drive for self-satisfying smugness."

"Besides, you're in good company." Heat entered Moira's voice, but the fiery Warden shot her gaze over at the women seated beside her. "You're only the third in this van to nearly get themselves killed out of exactly that breed of stubborn stupidity—third that I know of, at any rate. And one of them is among those I thought I had taught better…"

John's first training session with Kim came to mind quickly, but Moira's gaze gave away the second offender. Etriyya stiffened, looking as if she wanted nothing more than to curl up and die, but with too much pride to shrivel away before her Warden.

"I apologize. I only wanted to make the most of my training, Lady Warden," Etriyya recited in her most dutiful tone.

"If I ever have to personally stitch your tendons back together because you incurred a debt with Morrígan, I can assure you, training will be the very last thing on your mind," Moira warned, discipline mingling with concern.

The words left no impression on John when they reached him. It took a lengthy stretch of looking over Etriyya's chastised posture before his mind dredged up a hazy page he'd only half-read.

"Morrígan? Do you mean the goddess of—of..." The proper title failed to return to him.

"The goddess of fate and fortune herself," Etriyya supplied. A flicker of pride relaxed her features. "An old Irish myth that turned out to have some truth to it, at least in the Abyss. Even got the bit about the birds right. She's a-"

"A Shard of Gaia." For the first time since taking up the pose, Kim's stiff posture wavered. Her hands tightened on her blade's scabbard, and one eye cracked open, zeroing in on Etriyya with intensity that made even John lean back. "Etriyya's ill fortune was no matter of luck. It was her debts coming due—debts that she continued to incur, despite the fact that anyone with half an ounce of sense should know how that would end."

"She's—well, she's not wrong." Etriyya grimaced, shame lingering behind her eyes. "The magic I use borrows power. But it comes at a cost, and whatever you use it for, you end up eating proper shite in equal measure soon enough. 'Swhy I haven't laid into you properly, truth be told. Hard to get good and pissed for you mouthing off about me getting torn up when that's exactly what I was inviting. Especially once I knew what was going on in that head of yours at the time. We both buggered it, yeah? Bygones, and all that?"

"Yeah, I can live with that." John gave a smile that Etriyya put a valiant effort into returning.

"If this magic ends up backfiring, why use it in the first place?" Vallya asked. The air of indifference she usually wore like a well-fitted jacket had evaporated the instant a Shard was mentioned. Her eyes were wide, her slitted pupils fully alert.

"Because she is a fool," Kim interjected before Etriyya could respond.

"I wanted to make the most of the time we had," Etriyya argued. Now that it was Kim accosting her rather than her commander, some of her usual spirits returned. "That's why I used it. We only had eight hours a day with the lad. Eight hours that made more impact on me than weeks of driving myself to the edge. Doubling that progress in exchange for a few hours in the infirmary? Easiest trade of my life."

"You made bargains for paltry gains, paying prices you could not predict," Kim corrected in a biting tone. "We are fortunate your injuries were not worse, or permanent."

"Oh, bollocks," Etriyya huffed dismissively. "I didn't push myself far enough to wind up crippled. And now I have the strength to make a difference without that accursed magic. Besides, you heard the Lady Warden. You're as bad as I am."

"That magic is not something learned in an afternoon," Kim countered, both eyes open now. "Moira spoke of how rapid your improvement has been of late. You have been studying this magic since long before John returned to Springfield. Whatever arrogance and desperation might have driven me the first day I trained with him, it pales in comparison to tempting fate itself."

"Not all of us can call the lad up any time we like, you know." Bitterness dripped from Etriyya's mouth. "We can't just go bash skeletons around when the fancy strikes us and magically get tougher. We have to find other ways to speed things along—especially when time is as precious as it is these days."

"Whatever shame you carry from your homeland must be severe. But you are still a fool if you think it justifies such recklessness." Etriyya's eyes widened when the Slayer called her out. The look of shock lingered only a moment before it turned to angry suspicion, swiveling to John. Kim caught the look. "I know nothing of your past, but you have done little to hide how **** you are to return home."

"None of us want to go back," Etriyya protested in a hushed tone. "Especially with our tails between our legs, chased out by necromancers, of all things."

"That's enough on the matter," Moira warned. "Kim may not be your direct superior, but she is a valued ally. I will not have the two of you at each other's throats as we ride off to battle. The lesson has been learned, and the matter is dealt with. Leave it at that."

"We will be relying on each other in the days to come," John repeated Kim's own words evenly. "Our bonds are more important than attempting to drive home the lesson." The dual reminders worked well enough to ease the friction, though they were still far from at ease.

"Though if you wouldn't mind, you've hardly explained what you actually did." Vallya paid no mind to the **** calm that had only just descended. There was a glint in her eyes that would not be denied. "Since when do Shards make bargains and offer debt?"

"They don't. Not in normal circumstances." A grim pride returned to Etriyya's strained expression. "But the MacGabhanns, well, I suppose you could say we've a special place in Morrígan's heart. Somewhere back down the line, one of my clan made a deal with her. To borrow her power that they might break away from the path before them. In doing so, they cut themselves free of their fate."

"When you speak of fate, are you implying that all that befalls us is predetermined?" Sophia spoke up from the corner. "I cannot believe that. We have striven for all that has come to us, and rallied against all that would have been taken from us. Did that effort have no meaning?"

"Fate is not predetermination. It is causality." Kim shifted, returning to her meditative pose. "If I were to flip a coin, I would know with absolute certainty that it would fall to the floor. That would be its fate. Even if it were a living thing, if I knew the precise limits of its abilities, I could toss the coin so that it could not reach the bench, or otherwise escape that same fate."

"And what if I were to reach out and catch it?" Sophia asked.

"Then you would have intervened in its fate. If I knew you would intervene, I could adjust the throw. Or, if you were Morrígan," Kim added, her features drawing in with distaste, "you might save the coin from its fate of falling to the floor, only to laugh and hurl it against the wall with twice the ****."

"You seem to have a pretty good understanding of this. How do you know so much about fate, if it's Etriyya's family that made the bargain?"

"The magic of a Slayer is not so distant from that which our knight dares to wield." The admission was terse. "I will not discuss the nature of our abilities freely, but I will allow that it follows a similar vein. The difference is that ours is our own, not borrowed power, and not subject to the whims of a Shard whose motives have fallen into legend and obscure familial histories."

"Alright, alright, enough of the whinging." A gauntleted hand waved dismissively. "I've no intentions of continuing to use the bloody magic. If I do, it best be to save the Warden's life, or something else as pressing. Besides, call the gamble what you will, but I'd say it worked. What's the verdict, John?"

"Verdict? Oh, uh," John stumbled for a moment, “yeah. We're a lot stronger, definitely. I mean, I haven't actually checked for the rest of you specifically, but going by how many points I had to distribute—"

"Oh, for the Lady's sake, you're the one who can magic everything into a blasted spreadsheet." Etriyya threw a hand up in frustration. "Gaia didn't give you the rotten things to wank one off to. At least, I sure hope not. C'mon, lad, give us the numbers—how do we hold up to a week ago?"

Moira Brighton
Level 84 Paladin
<Warden of the Golden Rose>
6,170 / 6,170 HP
Relationship: 123
Alignment: +92
Status Effects: Blessing of the Golden Rose

"Very favorably," John admitted. "I can't see full stats except for those I've Purified, but in terms of levels, it looks right in line with them. Moira's nearly doubled her health."

Kim Moon
Level 79 Slayer
<Silver Crane of the Moon Clan>
3,845 / 3,845 HP
Relationship: 62
Alignment: +38
Status Effects: Slayer's Pinpoint Precision

"Kim's up there too. It also looks like you've gotten more skilled, I think? You went from having 'Slayer's Precision' to 'Slayer's Pinpoint Precision' since the last time I looked."

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Kim's eyebrow lifted without opening the eye, but John could offer little more than a shrug she could not see.

"Not sure. Doesn't show me the details of the buff." John tried tapping the Observe window to be sure, but there was no description forthcoming. "Going by how it affects your damage readouts, though, I think it makes your critical hits more effective. That's how my abilities interpret it, anyway."

Kim nodded silently, leaving John to move on.

Etriyya MacGabhann
Level 67 Magiknight
<Order of the Golden Rose>
HP: 2,880 / 2,880
Relationship: 7
Alignment: +68
Status Effects: Held in the Crow’s Eye

"...So..." John's tongue drew out the word as he futilely tapped at the status, hoping that it might yield what Slayer's Pinpoint Precision did not. "...Etriyya, you're sure your debt is paid off?"

The air in the cabin stilled. The air pressed a chill over John's skin. Kim's brown irises emerged reluctantly, her gaze torn between John and Etriyya.

"Sure as I can be." Etriyya's usual look of bravado was more **** than ever. The pallor that fell over her was a new, alarming look for the brash knight. "You see something worrying, eh?"

"I don't know. It just says, uh, 'Held in the Crow's Eye'." John's eyes flickered over the readout, then back to the Magiknight. "I don't suppose you've a better idea of what that means than I do?"

"You of all people should have at least the notion," Kim muttered. She **** her posture rigid, but there was not even the pretension of peace to it now. "You're in good company now, John."