Kommora had only intended to give the new mage some back-up after reviewing the tasks assigned to the probationary mages that day. She barely had a break since returning from her trip to Acrise but evidently things were getting out of hand. It was ridiculous to give an eighteen-year-old girl a task to quell uprising in one of the most depraved cities in the south-east, never mind one who has barely graduated from King's Academy.

Flanked by her two military personnel, Liore and Ash, she made her way off the train at Danaway and activated tracking runes, targeting the girl's magic signature. At least she obeyed the protocol of marking her arrival in Danaway per Council rules, using the violet rune tattoo on her shoulder. It made Kommora's job much easier. Her eyes narrowed, seeing the zigzag path Seiren Nithercott had taken when she got off. What the hell was she doing, training for athletics? What a peculiar journey.

Seiren's footsteps lit up in varying shades of the rainbow, as expected from someone blessed with magic. The glow was impossible to miss in the semi-darkness. Cries and moans became musical accompaniment as Kommora made her way down the streets, sweeping her eyes left and right for a wandering eighteen-year-old girl who might need help. She only made her way round two corners before the sound of runed weapons caught her attention. Several cracks snapped through the air from not too far away. Around her, the homeless shifted, unnerved by the sudden noises.

"What was that?" said Liore, looking alarmed. She raised her runed weapon, scanning the skies.

"Sounds like guns to me," said Ash, withdrawing his. "Military ones. They're definitely runed."

They increased their pace. The shots became louder and then military personnel came into view in their dark green uniforms. Kommora raised her hand. Liore and Ash paused, looking to her for instructions.

Just behind those personnel was a blonde in a black cloak, looking both terrified and disgruntled.

"Mage Nithercott?"

Nithercott jumped. She swivelled round, seeking the speaker. She spotted Kommora and visibly deflated with relief.

"Kommora Haigh?"

She elbowed her way past the military men. She looked like hell: her hair was frazzled and sticking up at odd angles. Her cloak dirty and dusty. Grazes could be seen in the runed light held by the men, on her face and hands.

"Well you look like shit, Seiren Nithercott. What happened?" Kommora squinted at the military men passing. "And what's with all the men?"

Nithercott relayed the events of the day. Kommora's dark eyebrows rose further and further until they almost vanished into her greying hairline. Quelling uprisings alone for a first task? And this girl's speaking manner was quite odd. She paused after every third sentence or so, as if pondering what to say next, even when the context did not require further contemplation. At two stages she looked almost conflicted, having an internal argument with herself. Her behaviour reminded Kommora of people under the influence of indigo runes where the host resisted commands from the runes to act against their wills, except she couldn't sense indigo coming from her.

"That's an unusual task for a probationary mage, let alone a first-timer," she said, wondering who was brass enough to pull this off. Was there someone so against Nithercott they wanted her to fall in the line of duty so early? "I'm surprised the council even permitted that to be allocated to you."

A taller figure rounding the corner towards them caught her eye. Tall, well-defined features and broad shoulders. And enough medals on his chest to feed a family of Danaway homeless for a week.

"Is that King Pollin?"

"He..." Nithercott seemed dazed and pointed a vague finger over her shoulder. "He just passed and went that way."

"Why is King Pollin involved in a small thing like this? Hardly safe when the guy's past middle-aged already."

"Am I not supposed to succeed at my task?"

"No, it's not that. Danaway is a small city, but there's been a lot of insurgence and people rebelling, uprising, and lots of lives lost. It's not been a kind few years. I'm sure you remember from when you were young the magic festivals here?"

She nodded.

"Well, those disappeared about five years back and the city has been drained dry since. People do what they need in order to survive, and the gangs have risen from that. But they're still too much for one young girl, whatever your talents."

Liore and Ash snapped into alert behind her when King Pollin came into range. He cast those dead green eyes over them and moved past without a word, his footsteps light as a whisper. What an odd man. Eight years on the throne, holding the city down with a tight military fist for six of those, and after two years of vocal peace advocacy, withdrew completely from public speaking.

"Your Highness: may I inquire as to the reason for your presence?"

Not to mention, he was alone. He might be flanked by military personnel, but none of his mages was with him. The guards might have their runed weapons, but they stood no chance against a mage who knew his stuff. This was a breach of national security. If Kommora were to attack him there and then, he would be utterly vulnerable and at her mercy. Not that she would consider something so brash.

Not yet.

Pollin acted as if she hadn't spoken. The closest military personnel shot her frightened looks when her question went ignored, but they didn't dare presume over the king and just hustled after him. Kommora stared after them, burning holes in the backs of their heads.

"Liore, kindly escort Mage Nithercott back to her quarters in Benover. It isn't safe to stay in Danaway tonight."

"Y-yes, ma'am."

The girl seemed reluctant to leave.

"What's the matter? You want to stay in this hell-hole?"

"No. But..." She hesitated. "I want to see what happened. Those guys... they are a rival gang here. My task was to quell the uprising. They're part of it."

Kommora raised her eyebrow again at the young mage. She was rather naïve for someone who speaks like she was twenty years older. "There is nothing to quell now. Pollin took care of it. You can claim your reward."

"I want to see."

"But you'll leave afterwards. Danaway is no place for a young girl, especially after dark."

Kommora fished out her book of runes and ripped out a small sheet. She flicked her fingers at it and a light rune ignited, floating in the air above her hand. It angulated in a way that wouldn't blind her group, bathing the way forward in a piercing white light.

Nithercott gasped when she saw the aftermath. Pollin and his men didn't clean up. They left a slaughterhouse. The group of about twenty thickset men lay on the ground, their innards spilling onto the grimy path. The stench of blood mixed with malodorous unwashed bodies hung thick in the air, making Kommora's nose wrinkle. She kept her cloak high off the ground. A few of the men gurgled, the last breath of life still lingering. They were beyond help.

The girl rushed forward, not caring that blood and bodily fluids smeared onto the bottom of her travel cloak as she stomped past the small piles of bodies. She turned at the top of some stairs that disappear into the wall, out of Kommora's line of sight, a rune withdrawn. She activated it with a snap. It glowed golden before becoming a ball of yellow light.

"They're just children," she whispered, her voice breaking. "No, I didn't care, but... that's not the point! They're just kids!"

"Who is she talking to?" said Ash, delicately avoiding his eyes and tilting his head at the probationary mage. "There's... nobody there."

"I heard she's a bit odd," said Liore in a low voice. "Apparently she used to talk to herself a lot back at King's Academy. I guess that's not changed."

"If you've seen enough," called Kommora, "then it's time for you to go home."

"But these people..."

"They're gone. Let them go. This will be cleaned up come the morning."

Liore escorted Nithercott off the premises as instructed earlier. Kommora watched them disappear into the darkness in the direction of the train station before turning back to the massacre at hand. Pollin's men spared nothing. The burly men were hacked to pieces, most of them soaking in puddles of their own blood, in spite of the evident gunshot holes in their foreheads. She lifted the rune from her hands, allowing it to attach to the wall to provide a constant source of light, and did the same along the rest of the alleyway.

She caught sight of what shocked Nithercott earlier. A tiny room, barely big enough for one person as a bedroom, but filled with young children. The one in the centre, a skinny, long-haired girl, was slumped over a boy lying supine on the ground. Kommora's light bounced off the other bodies, none of them moving or vocalising. All dead.

She shook her head. How on earth did Nithercott get herself caught up in something like this? The killing of a group of children and one of the largest gangs in Danaway... and what was Pollin's involvement in this? And his grim silence despite being caught in such a peculiar place at this hour. The king out without his mages as escort, without a means of defence against magic should he be attacked. That was some gall, wandering about. There was nothing important enough about a group of ruffians or a gang that would warrant his own personal interference, and for a probationary mage, no less. The gang must have known or done something quite severe to warrant his personal involvement. Kommora would never know now.

She let the light rune die, plunging the place into pure darkness. She had a feeling she might have just dug into something she didn't really want to.

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