The song of the day is "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns. There's also a specific place to start playing the song while reading. I'll leave you all to speculate as to why this is the song for this chapter.

So, this chapter was actually written ~2 months ago, tbh. XD I had a really good idea for it, and I was excited to write it. So I skipped ahead and did. That also means I got to edit it a ton. I am very pleased with how it came out. :3 I hope you all enjoy.

Warnings: Battle, bloodshed, and death ahead. Prepare your feelz. >:3

*Tucker's POV*

Well, we just got Wag back, and what did he do? He ran off into the wilderness when none of us were looking. Donella told us not to worry about him; he needed to blow off some steam. Martha had been acting guilty ever since he left. I bet they had a fight. I don't see what else could make Wag so pissed. I wasn't too concerned. I mean, he did have his teleport home spell if he got himself in another jam, and Jordan had sworn not to use any of the curses in his witchery books against us from now on.

Everyone had gone back to whatever they had been doing before the mess with Wag started. For me, that meant fixing more of my rituals that I had found disturbed by the recent earthquakes. I was really frustrated that the massive summoning ritual I had started a week ago had been ruined. That thing took forever to set up the first time, and now I didn't even have the energy necessary to restart it.

I had spent most of the morning and early afternoon at my blood altar, though I didn't get much accomplished. I had gotten maybe 10 hours of sleep out of the past 3 days; there was simply too much to do. I hadn't taken my armor off since the day we'd found Wag, and I knew the second I did take it off, I'd be out like a light. I probably wouldn't wake up for a day or two either. I grinned imagining the sweetness of sleep. Sighing, I set my sacrificial knife down on the rim of the altar and headed outside. The longer I put it off, the longer the recovery time will be. Might as well do it now.

As I walked the path through the dojo's courtyard, a familiar voice echoed through my mind, causing me to stop in my tracks. Jericho, may I speak with you at my home?

Of course, my lord. I'll be over in a few minutes. Mianite was calling me. Rest would just have to wait. I turned from my home and instead walked to my teleposer on the wooden platform I'd set aside for portals. I knelt next to the gold and black device and swapped out the focus for one linked to the house Mianite had grown up in.

I closed the cover panel and hopped onto the device. When nothing happened, I stomped on it. Don't tell me this thing got messed up by the quakes too! Thankfully a second stomp started it humming to life. A few seconds later, my ears popped as I teleported. A familiar quaint house and a few small fields of wheat met my gaze. The sound of small waves gently lapping at the lake shore was almost foreign to me after Dagrun had dried out more than a week ago. I didn't realize how much I'd missed the sound. Thankfully the magic dome surrounding Origin Ranch had kept it safe from the apocalypse thus far.

I walked up the path and steps to Mianite's front door. I was about to knock when the door swung open. "Come in, Jericho. Please, sit. I have an important mission to discuss with you." He stepped away from the door to let me enter. The wooden door swung shut behind me as we walked to the kitchen table and sat down. "You can take off your armor; we'll be here a while."

"Um. No disrespect, Lord Mianite, but this armor is the only thing keeping me awake right now," I admitted, slightly embarrassed. I wanted to go on this mission and please my god, but it was getting to the point that it was hard to focus, even with my armor on.

Mianite studied me with his glowing white and red eyes for a few moments. Finally, he nodded, having decided something. "I'll help you with that. This mission is rather time sensitive, and I need you thinking clearly. Now take off your helmet," He commanded.

Maybe he knows some magic to relieve fatigue, I thought. Either way, I trusted the dude. He'd been inside my head once already, and I was his champion, after all. He wouldn't do anything to hurt me. I reluctantly lifted my helmet off and set it on the table before me. All the energy my armor provided left me a few seconds later. Sleep dragged my eyes closed as I slumped in my chair, dead to the world.

I woke up to feel renewed energy coursing through me and enough determination to climb a mountain without my sigils if I had to. I blinked a few times and realized Mianite was standing behind my chair holding my head between his hands. The metal of his robotic hand was cold against my skin. He was concentrating and hadn't noticed that I was awake yet. It would most likely be a bad idea to disturb whatever he was doing; so I didn't move either. Interrupting magic generally didn't have good results. I'd learned that the hard way from a few of my early blood magic rituals blowing up in my face.

Mianite released my head a few seconds later. The cold from his metallic hand lingered. "That should keep your fatigue at bay for the time being. It's no substitute for real rest, of course, but it will keep you going for a few more hours."

"Thank you, my lord," I said with a slight bow of my head in respect. I straightened my posture in my chair as Mianite walked back around the table to his own seat. I really did feel a lot better. I was ready to focus and get things done. "So, what's the mission?"

"Do you remember Allister telling you about a group of rogue blood knights a few months ago?"

I thought back over my time here. I faintly recalled that happening. "Yeah, he didn't have any leads on their location though."

Mianite nodded before continuing. "Correct. We did get a lead yesterday. We'll need to move quickly before they realize that they've been found out. They are very good at disappearing if given a head start."

"I'd be happy to go fight them for you, but how many of them are there? Should I bring Sonja and the others?" I asked, trying to think of everything that could go wrong. Champion or no, I was still one person, and they'd likely have had experience fighting other blood mages. If we only got one shot at capturing them, I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Mianite shook his head and replied, "Don't worry about reinforcements. I've already sent some of my troops on ahead. I'll teleport you to them once we go over strategy." With that he unrolled a map sitting to one side of the table. We discussed terrain, weapons, and how to ensure none of the deserters escaped the snare we would set. We would avoid killing anyone if possible, but Mianite warned me they were unlikely to surrender.

No one betrayed my god and got away with it. "Well, let's do this! Send me on over," I said, itching for a fight. I slid my helmet on while waiting for Mianite to teleport me.

Mianite gave me a final once over and seemed satisfied with what he saw. "Let no one escape," He instructed before sending me to his troops.

Slight nausea accompanied the teleport but disappeared as soon as I arrived in a forest at the foot of a hill. Mianite's troops had been silently waiting for me. Wow, he sent a lot of men. How many knights are we fighting? I felt momentarily out of place among so many battle-trained soldiers. The confidence that had been present while I talked to Mianite returned with the reminder that he had given this mission to me. He could have had one of these lieutenants lead the charge, but he didn't. I smiled behind my visor and let everything that wasn't the mission leave my mind.

I turned off my communicator so it wouldn't distract me or give away our position if someone called. Stealth would be key here—not the easiest thing to do with this many people and all of them in terrasteel armor. That shade of green stood out like a sore thumb amid the greys, browns, and oranges of this autumnal woodland. Whose bright idea was that? I quickly relayed the plan to the lieutenants and the small army started to carefully move into position, splitting into its separate divisions before dissolving into the trees. I had the troops rub their armor with mud and dirt as they went to at least dampen the brightness of their gear. The enemy camp was on the far side of the hill we'd met at. We would surround them before moving in.

After painstakingly creeping into position, I surveyed the enemy camp in the clearing before us. There weren't as many as I had expected given the force Mianite sent. Most of the men I saw sported at least partial blood mage armor; a few had full sets. Most of it looked worn and weathered. Then again, they had been on the run for more than a decade. It looked like they had been moving around frequently to avoid detection. Everything I saw could easily be torn down and packed in under 20 minutes, and that's exactly what they were doing now. Mianite was right about this being time sensitive. Another half hour and we would have missed them entirely.

I saw a tall figure in blood mage armor walk between the deconstructed tents talking to three individuals that did not fit in with the others. These three were not knights or warriors at all. They were three girls. The youngest had white hair, navy robes, and blue grey eyes; she was carrying a sack over her shoulder. The slightly older girl had brown hair with purple ends, black robes with purple trim, and striking violet eyes. The oldest girl appeared about my age; she had red hair held back in a ponytail, freckles, green eyes, and a scar across her right cheek. I could see multiple burn scars peeking above her fingerless gloves, and she was dressed in leather and metal plated armor and a red cloak over her dress rather than robes. What did Sonja call that style again? Steam punk? As far as I could see, they held no weapons, but I suspected the two with robes could wield magic. I held off attacking as the strange group walked close enough for me to eavesdrop.

"Thank you for coming, Ilanna," The blood knight said to the girl with brown and purple hair. "Tell Kay we appreciate the warning. Hopefully we'll be out of here long before those troops arrive."

"And thank you for the herbs and medical supplies. We've been running low for a while," Ilanna replied. She and the blood knight bowed to each other and parted ways. "Come on, Charlie and Annika; we need to get back before the others start to worry more," she said to the white haired girl and the redhead in turn. "Kay nearly had a heart attack when she realized you were out on your supply run."

These girls aren't part of the blood knights. It looks like they're civilians who chose the wrong day to trade, I decided. I whispered to the lieutenant to my right, "Try not to hurt the girls; they aren't part of this." One of the rebels was approaching the tree line we hid behind, completely oblivious of the fight he would spark. I would have preferred to wait until the girls were out of harm's way, but things rarely went the way I wanted them to. I unsheathed my kikoku and nodded for one of the troops to give the signal to attack.

The soldier carefully unwrapped a watermelon-sized device Mianite had sent with the army. It was some invention the Deviser had cooked up that neutralized all teleportation and telepathic magic within a mile radius while active. No one would be escaping that way or calling for aid. The soldier gingerly set the machine on the ground and pressed a button on the side of it. I glanced back up to see the enemy mage only a few steps away from discovering us. The machine hummed and whined before releasing a bright flash of light. We had known to expect it and shielded our eyes. The poor sap five feet away from me wasn't so lucky.

I knocked the blinded mage out with the flat of my blade in one fluid movement and yelled, "Charge!" The woods surrounding the partially disassembled camp erupted in similar battle cries. The blood knights were caught off guard but recovered quickly, grabbing their weapons. I lost sight of the three girls as they fled back towards the center of the camp when we charged. I had more important things to worry about at the moment.

The battle was quickly joined, and everything turned to chaos. I had my air sigil, but many of the traitors did too. They were doing the most damage, moving quicker than the Mianitees could react. I could see why Mianite had wanted me here. It's time to even the playing field. I targeted those blood mages first. I had managed to knock out a few when I saw the soldier who had activated Deviser Gaines' trap fall a few feet from me. A blood knight held his bound sword up to deliver the killing blow. I moved without thinking and nearly sliced the man in half, his scant armor no match for my ancient blade. He was dead before he hit the trodden grass of the clearing.

(Start song here)

I helped the Mianitee to his feet and we both went back to fighting without exchanging a word. He still had his life flashing before his eyes, and part of my mind was hung up on the fact I had just killed someone who couldn't respawn. He likely had a family or a girlfriend somewhere in Ruxomar. They didn't know it, but their lives now had a hole in them. I continued fighting despite my inner turmoil. I had to continue fighting. These men were traitors and would not hesitate to kill me. I had already lost track of the bodies piling up as I flew from one target to the next.

Is this really the right way to handle this? After 10+ years, maybe these former soldiers are tired of their exile. Maybe we could have talked, The part of my brain regretting the bloodshed thought. I recalled my years in the Realm, when none of the people I knew died permanently—well, aside from Capsize. The more reasonable side of my mind argued, Mianite knows what he's doing. If these men were allowed to return peacefully, what message would that send? He'd have deserters and rebels left and right. He needs his empire to know he is not to be trifled with. He needs to maintain order, and sometimes that means no mercy.

The reasoning, confident side of my brain won, and I pushed my doubts and misgivings to the back of my mind. I noticed one of the enemies I had knocked out early in the fight had gotten back up and now stood over a group of dead Mianitees. See?! This is what mercy gets you. My anger flared. Those men's deaths were my fault for holding back. These men and Mianite trusted me to lead. The voice in my head that had urged restraint had no answer to that and stayed silent.

The rest of the battle flew by me as a calculated slaughter. Any time I started to waver, I remembered Mianite's directive to let no one escape, or I remembered the soldiers who had died because I knocked that one knight out instead of ending him. I kept pushing my guilt down and fighting on. By the time the fighting died down, the only blood knights left alive had injuries serious enough to keep them out of the battle should they wake up. The vast majority of them never would. I landed on the blood stained ground and deactivated my air sigil. I sheathed my kikoku before removing my helmet and assessing the damage in the light of the westering sun.

I felt nothing as I looked over the bodies which were now being heaped into two piles. There were too many to take the soldiers home for burial. Groans and cries of pain echoed across the clearing; medics now tended the fallen Mianitees that were not beyond saving. The soldiers who were still in good shape cut branches from the forest for a funeral pyre, moved the bodies of the fallen, and guarded the prisoners. The blood knights were secured in magic-neutralizing restraints with crude bandages over their worse injuries. The prisoners' armor had been stripped and weapons removed. These were piled in the center of the clearing. I spotted two of the girls from earlier bound slightly apart from the other prisoners, and the guards near them seemed nervous.

My apathetic survey came to an abrupt end when a soldier walked past me carrying a body much smaller than the others. It was the girl in navy robes; her pure white hair was now marred by blood. Charlie, her name was Charlie. I mentally groaned. The confidence that had sustained me through the battle shattered into intense regret. I sank to my knees in the mud that had formed where blood pooled on the ground. I watched as the girl who shouldn't have even been here was lost among the other bodies in one of the growing piles. I messed up. Why did I ever lead these men? I asked myself as tears rolled down my face.

A hand rested on my shoulder, and the regret and shame I had been drowning in seemed to abate. I quickly wiped away my tears and looked up to see Mianite standing next to me; he was looking out over the battlefield. "Battle is never a pretty thing, but sometimes it is necessary for the greater good. There will be far fewer battles in the future when word of what happens to those who betray me spreads." Mianite turned to face me as I stood up, sickeningly red mud now caking my leggings. He still had a hand on my shoulder and slightly tightened his grip as he continued, now looking me in my eyes, "You did well leading. You protected my followers once you realized the danger. You acted decisively rather than crumbling. Do not regret that."

Mianite's reassurances calmed me. That certainty I'd had earlier steadily replaced the sorrow gnawing at my heart. The Mianitees had families too, and they would get to go home today. They would hold their loved ones again, because I wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done. This was a victory after all; I shouldn't be beating myself up over it.

"You should get some real rest. I have more I wish to discuss with you later. Meet me at Origin Ranch at sunrise," the god said before teleporting me. I found myself back inside my bedroom in the dojo. I numbly removed my armor and set it on its stand. I'll have to clean it later, I thought, noting the evidence of battle written all over it. I gazed out my window to see Jordan chasing the Ianitas in circles on the parched field between the base of his mountain and my house. I grinned as he caught one and brought her up over his shoulder, to the delighted screams of the little girl. Jordan was laughing with her. I shook my head at their antics, envying their ignorance of the lives lost today.

I turned my communicator back on and set an alarm on it to wake me up for my meeting with Mianite while listening to my friend and his "daughters" outside. I walked over to my bed and let myself fall into the messy sheets. I slowly felt myself drifting off to sleep as whatever Mianite did earlier wore off. One of the last coherent thoughts I had was how I'd felt numb for most of the battle. That should worry me a little, right? I'd ask Mianite about it later.

Okay, I know a lot of people read much quicker than I do, but the little girl at the end of the song should have been singing while you were reading about Jordan and the Ianitas. :)