17 years ago, Benover, Karma.

Another screw-up. The council needed to do something about treating all mages as interchangeable whether they be fresh out of the oven or have thirty years beneath their belts. They simply weren't the same and when it came to experience in managing civilian conflict and as human weapons in battle, the new mages stuck out like a yellow rune at night, their burst magic erratic and unreliable and their runes poorly-drawn and unpredictable. Their inexperience was a liability and people's lives were lost as a result of it. The mages assigned to the Teirrin royal family should have been more experienced, even rivalling those of the Karman king's mages, but instead, two of them had graduated King's but three years prior. If they were better trained, perhaps the devastation could have been limited.

Sallows had been gone for over two weeks since Teirrin blew up, which was said to be from a deep underground source of energy awaiting mining being triggered by some unknown cause. The result was a rippling explosion tearing through the entire country, stopping just short of the Karman-Teirrinese border thanks to the magical barrier against external threats. Bovaria and Solmin were meant to return from their trip the day after the incident. Now they would never return, and Kommora was all alone.

This must never happen again.

Storming down the corridor towards Sallows's office, her feet flying over the marble floor stained grey and white by the moonlight shadows, Kommora ran over the things she would say to him. He'd always listened to her thoughts and suggestions. Out of all the other king's mages, Cronin Sallows was the only one who took her advice seriously about freshly-graduated mages needing a probationary period before gaining full licensure and being available for state service. Kommora hadn't slept since the Teirrin incident. The thoughts spiralled through her mind, never letting her have a moment's rest. All the barriers that should have been in place, all the communication, all the safety measures — and the cumulation of the failures meant this incident occurred. Sallows was due to return from Teirrin tonight and Kommora would be damned if she let her thoughts rage for another day.

A sudden flurry of movement and a hush in the air made her pause. The courtyard was empty, the ghastly topiaries cast in sharp relief beneath the moonlight. A crisp winter chill hung in the air. There shouldn't be anybody else except night guards here, and Kommora knew the routines of the guards well enough to know their patrol shouldn't bring them to this part of the building for at least another hour. Something wasn't right. Pressing her back against one of the pillars, she eased out a breath and took a piece of rune paper and chalk in her hands. She'd been developing and then trialling this rune as a means of supporting inexperienced mages — just as well.

She set it on the ground and flicked her finger. The rune glowed violet before a subtle light rippled outwards. She'd have to risk getting found if these unwelcome visitors were mages. The chalk etchings within the double circle drifted as the scanning continued, orientating themselves with respect to Kommora's position in the centre of the circle. Four, all standing near the corridor leading to the offices of the king's mages. Kommora waited, anticipating detection and an attack. Nobody jumped her. If it had been Sallows — or any mage, really — her detector rune's effects would have been discovered.

She had the element of surprise and magic on her side. Darting into the shadows and camouflaged with her black cloak, she took out sheets of rune paper and drew modified red runes, silencing their effects and amplifying the powers with sigils. She spotted the first trespassers, barely visible in the shadows of one of the pillars, a gun in his hand. The violet runes on the side of the body of the weapon glowed faintly. His companion stood several metres away, facing another direction. Kommora found the last two based on the information from her detector rune. All armed.

Dashing forward, she pressed the first two runes on the ground and activated them, the opening aimed at her nearest two targets. The runes barely gave off any light due to the dampening sigils she'd used. Red energy tore out of the paper and struck the trespassers. Kommora shot past the bush depicting a bird in the middle of spreading its wings and slipped a rune into the body of intertwining twigs. The men slammed into the nearest solid surface, emitting surprised cries.

The two remaining men stiffened at the sound, their guns pointed forward. Kommora slipped into the shadows, grateful for being so short as the men swivelled their heads about, seeking the assailant. She had to be quick and tidy this up; if they had more backup for this group of four, there would be trouble. If Sallows's team arrived now, there would be a shootout and casualties — and little chance of survivors for questioning, for guards at the Council operated on a "Kill first, question after" policy.

Kommora flicked her finger. The bird-shaped bush glowed violet from the front of its chest. Magic rippled through its body before it spread its wings. One of the men spotted it and swore. Kommora took the chance and scampered forward, crouching a few metres away from the two men backing away from the advancing bush bird, which flapped its wings menacingly.

She activated her two red runes. The energy shot towards the men, striking them both. One of the guns discharged, shattering the silence of the night. They hit the wall and then the ground, bouncing once, and lay still.

Kommora swore under her breath, moving towards them. She turned the nearest unconscious trespasser over with the toe of her boot, staring as moonlight fell onto his face. Blood trickled from a gash at his temple where the rune had sent him flying into the stone wall. Clad in all black, this wasn't a man she recognised. Not a mage. Not a soldier she'd worked with before.

She sketched violet runes to modify the ground, sinking each of the unconscious bodies beneath the surface until their hands, feet, and head were visible. That would ensure they behaved until the main guards arrived. She headed towards Sallows's office, readying the verbal report for when he arrived. She froze, spotting a faint light flickering behind the glass of Sallows's office, to the right of the door. Kommora couldn't peek in due to the frosted effect on the glass, but it was obvious another figure stood inside. A trap. The gun firing must have alerted them to her presence. He must also be armed.

Kommora picked up one of the discarded guns. It still had five bullets. The violet rune continued to glow on the sides. She tucked it into her belt. A repeat detector rune showed there was just one person inside, and they weren't magical. That would make the situation easier — no magic to be concerned about. But there was just one door and the man was armed.

She paused, studying the heavy oak door with its circular bronze handle. She was a military mage. Tricks like these didn't faze her. She had no intention of killing any of these people — there was no joy in peeling information from corpses afterwards and she had too many questions already. A thin draught swept past her feet through the gap beneath the door. Behind it, the man likely already had his gun trained at the doorway, ready to fire the moment she opened it.

She fished out rune paper and sketched a light rune on the first piece, and folded it. She followed this with a new rune on the second piece of paper — another type of rune she'd been trialling for a while and itching to use in combat. She didn't expect to put it in action so soon. A third rune she applied to the door, activating it so the violet light spread over the surface of the polished wood before dissolving away. The door was now reinforced, bulletproof.

Standing to the left, she eased out a breath and, in one smooth movement, flicked her wrist. The folded light rune scooted through the gap beneath the door. There was an intake of breath from inside.

Kommora waited for the shuffle of footsteps to stop, gave him another three seconds, and then activated the rune. A sharp burst of blinding white light illuminated the corridor through the frosted glass. A yelp came from the inside. Kommora's hand flew out and turned the bronze doorknob and, with all her strength, she rammed against the door. It flew open, its bulletproof surface slamming against the head of the man inside, sending him flying into Sallows's work desk and paperwork flying everywhere. Kommora didn't give the man a chance to recover and instead reached for the nearest sturdy but light enough furniture — a study chair with a rigid back — and swung it at the man. She was aiming for the head, but it struck his upper back instead, sending him face-first into Sallows's large mahogany table. The chair broke, legs flying in every direction. His forehead bounced off the surface, his head jerking back. A flailing hand swept across Sallows's desk, sending books tumbling to the ground and sheets of word puzzles flying in the air. Kommora slammed her experimental rune on his back and flicked her finger. The violet rune spread throughout his body. On cue, he swung back wildly. The butt of his gun struck her cheek and she careered into one of Sallows's shelves, sending pain jarring up her shoulder into her neck. She collapsed against the bookshelf, disoriented and her cheek throbbing, her heart ramming against her ribcage. Heavy tomes rained around her, bouncing off her body. The man was much taller and broader than her, clad in black with a scarf over the lower part of his face. Even with her hand-to-hand combat training, there was no way she could take him head-on.

She grabbed the nearest book and slung it at him. He brushed it away with his other hand.

"Piece of shit!" she yelled, hoping her voice would attract attention. "I'm going to ram a rune up your ass—"

"Kommora Haigh?" The man froze.

She knew that voice. "Edden Rummage?" she said incredulously. "What are you—?"

"Halt!" A third voice cracked like a whip through the air, making them both jump. There was the click of weapons being pointed at Rummage. Rummage spun around to face the door, colour draining out of what little she could see of his face. His hand trembled, clutching the gun.

"What the hell is going on here?" Cronin Sallows's voice wafted over from afar, in disbelief. "Who are these people?"

"I'm sorry," whispered Rummage, his voice breaking. "I can't be — I'm sorry, Kommora."

"No — wait—"

"I said, halt!" yelled the aide at the door, but Rummage had already pointed the gun to his own jaw and pulled the trigger.

There was a click, but no bang. Tremulously, Rummage lowered his gun in shock. Sallows's military aides rushed in and subdued him within seconds. His weapon lay on the ground, the violet runes on the sides no longer glowing. He heaved shuddering sobs, arms twisted behind his back, his head bent forward.

"What happened here, Haigh?" Sallows shook his head in disbelief, stepping over the books littering the floor. "Is that my chair?"

Kommora pulled herself up by one of the shelves, groaning. The chair she'd hit Rummage with lay in pieces. One leg was still by her side.

"Heard you were coming back from Teirrin today," she said, breathless. "Needed to talk to you. Found some unwelcome visitors. Most of them are buried outside."

"Yes, we saw," Sallows said dryly. He had a most exasperated look on his face. His greying black hair, worn parted down the middle reaching his chin, was tangled and stuck together as if he hadn't had a wash in days. "I didn't expect to find four people sunk into marble outside my office at eleven at night, I assure you."

"You didn't like my welcoming committee?" Kommora said, her eyebrows raising.

"What is this man doing here, Haigh? Who is he?"

"You can tell him," Kommora fired at Rummage.

"I can't say, please," Rummage murmured. "She'll kill me."

"Who's 'she'?" Sallows said.

Rummage stayed silent.

"Have you got an indigo rune infused into you?"

"No."

"Then why can't you talk?"

"If I do, she'll find out later. I can't... my family..."

Inara and Loren. That would make sense. A family-oriented man like Edden Rummage would do anything for them, even if it meant attacking a king's mage. But being the military aide of a king's mage himself would surely offer his family more protection than anything—

"I know who it is."

Sallows studied Kommora with his piercing, narrowed dark eyes. "Pray, tell."

Kommora jerked her head at the door. "Ears."

"Right." Sallows pressed his lips together. He turned to his aides and dismissed them. They disappeared without another word, taking the assailants with them. He shut the door and runed all four walls, preventing eavesdropping and unwelcome visitors. Kommora sat in one of the other, still intact, wooden chairs to ease her shaking legs. Sallows gave her a nod.

"It's a king's mage, isn't it?"

Rummage kept his head down, but Sallows stiffened.

"I recognise you." Sallows took a closer look at him. "Rummage, isn't it?"

"Who is it, then?" Kommora barked.

"Kristen Harred." It was Sallows who uttered the name. Kommora stared at him in disbelief.

"Harred?" Kommora turned to stare at Rummage again. "But you're assigned as her aide, aren't you? Why—"

"If he talks, she'll find out from him later via indigo runes, isn't that right, Rummage?"

Rummage nodded without a word.

"That makes things a bit more difficult," said Sallows, frowning. "Unless... no, that's too risky."

Kommora followed his train of thought.

"Unless you tell us and then we wipe your memories with an indigo before she gets to you."

"That's very a very high-level indigo rune you're asking for there, Haigh," Sallows said, a warning tone in his voice. "Neither you nor I have the skills to try something on that scale without risking damage to this man."

"We don't have any other choice, unless you're happy letting him leave even though they were all waiting to ambush you, Sallows!"

"We have our own methods of extracting information—"

"I won't let you torture Rummage. He's a good man."

"Many good men have gone down a path of darkness, Haigh. We can't exempt them all—"

"No, I'll do it." Rummage's steeled voice surprised both Sallows and Kommora. "If you... if you save my family."

"You know what you're signing up for?"

"I don't have any other choice." Rummage heaved a shuddering sigh." Mage Harred said she'll kill my family if I didn't do what she asked — but I failed anyway. I don't care if I die as a result of whatever you want to do to me, but Inara and Loren... they're innocent. Please, Mage Haigh, Mage Sallows. They're good people. I'll do whatever you want."

"Well, you don't have to die, necessarily..." Sallows became thoughtful, stroking his chin. "Haigh, light a fire, will you? The chill's getting to my bones and I'm not getting any younger."

Kommora complied, frowning.

"And after that, untie Mr. Rummage here and send a message to Edgard Woodbead. Ask him to come here at once as a matter of urgency."

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