82. Frighteningly Human

The war room was silent.

Yna and I sat quietly while I ran through the miniscule possibilities of victory I could think of and the countless ways we could experience defeat.

It was all too much, but I maintained my grip on things and plotted accordingly.

"Mmm." I droned in an attempt to break the silence.

My racing mind then turned to Ower, who had suddenly appeared next to me with widened eyes.

"Caligo has returned. He wants to speak with you. Him and his entourage are standing in the Kommátia planes." He reported.

I nodded before hopping off of Yna's legs.

"Gather everyone-"

"They are already waiting for you."

"Good." I said and it wasn't long before Yna and I were standing on the stretch of broken land that was the Kommátia planes.

What was once acres upon acres of grass, had been turned into a wasteland of glass and mud.

Caligo and his group stood atop of floating platform, like before.

Yna, Thneia, Llana, Umbris and Ower stood behind me and we all walked towards them beneath the pale grey morning sky.

I stopped about ten meters away from Caligo and the Helma were all in battle mode.

I looked to my sides and saw that Yna and the others were also ready to strike.

Caligo walked up to the edge of the distorted platform along with a certain mysterious woman.

He helped her down onto the ground and the two walked towards us.

Yna and I walked towards him and we once again stood face to face, but something was different.

Caligo looked… sad? Tired?

"Hello, once again-"

"What do you want?" I snapped.

We were still at war and he was my enemy.

Getting everything over with as quickly as possible was preferable.

"Oh- I would like to request a ceasefire." He said softly.

I raised an eyebrow before glancing at the Helma who were all releasing so much light, that their armors were practically glowing.

I turned around and saw that Thneia and the others were also releasing insane amounts of magical energy.

"Everyone stand down!" I said while making chairs for Caligo, Yna, the mysterious woman and I.

We all sat and all but one of the Helma appeared to calm down.

Caligo and I stared at each other for quite some time but all I could see was the countless Rendaro this war had taken.

My anger- no, my rage aside, I needed to stay calm.

"The Kauretia Valley shall mark the new border between Lanceberg and the Expanse, is that acceptable?" I asked while raising my right hand.

Ower then brought a map and placed it on top of a table I created between Caligo and I.

He eyed the map before looking at me again.

"That is acceptable."

"Anyone who crosses the border will be detained and questioned before either being further detained or returned, is that acceptable?" I asked.

"That is acceptable. Expect the same on our side."

I nodded before looking at the map of the continent.

I didn't know what Caligo was up to but I knew for certain that he hated this.

I'm sure he hated sitting down and speaking to me as though we were equals.

He hated the Rendaro and I knew without a doubt that this wasn't over.

That being said I could also see that the war had taken quite the toll on him.

The once perfect golden man now appeared more human than ever and this made the hairs on my back stand in terror.

"Are there any terms and conditions you would like to add?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Mmm… I would like to request the option for future trade."

"What do you have that we don't?" I asked.

"I… I am not sure, but I think that allowing trade may help foster an air of coexistence-"

"Ah… funny that you say that after so many of our people have died."

"Doest thee not want peace?" Caligo asked with a frown but I slammed my small hand on the table.

"THATS WHAT I'VE BEEN FUCKING FIGHTING FOR!" I yelled.

A certain knight then began glowing ever brighter but I ignored them before crossing my arms.

"Don't you remember anything from our first conversation? Or did you care that little? I said that there was another way! Go to Araena, I suggested. Rebuild your kingdom using the resources up there, but no." I snapped biting my tongue several times in the process.

Caligo's face twisted into a scowl, but his eyes remained dim.

"I want peace more than anything and yet you have the nerve to insinuate that I'm the stubborn one."

Caligo lowered his eyes.

"You want a ceasefire? Fine. Do you want to trade with us in the future? Fine, but don't pretend for a second that I am then reason all this happened!"

Silence befell the Kommátia planes as we sat.

Caligo nodded to himself before eventually looking into my eyes.

"I… I will take my army and leave, then." He said but I didn't respond.

Caligo nodded once more before standing and returning to the platform with his companion.

They then disappeared along with the army in the distance, filling the Kommátia planes with even more silence.

Yna and I stood while I destroyed the chairs and table.

We then turned to Thneia and the others who cautiously approached us.

"It most definitely isn't over. What should we do?" Thneia asked, but my mind was fried.

I couldn't speak.

Couldn't think.

Yna picked me up.

"Stay on high alert. Katsíki will brief us all once he's had some rest." She said.

Everyone nodded before Yna teleported us to the heart where she placed me on the ground.

I let out a groan as Yna teleported away.

I then rubbed my aching temples but nothing was working.

I could barely keep track of my thoughts let alone articulate kr sort them comprehensively.

Yna returned with a change of clothes and we eventually entered the stream where we bathed in silence.

My hair had grown quite a bit and so Yna braided it before joining me as I dried my body, but even as we stood in the clear of day, I couldn't focus.

Yna picked me up before taking me to our cabin where we sat on the bed in complete silence.

She then took a deep breath before singing a certain song.

"I'll tend to thee

For all eternity

Your love protected me

As I fought desperately

I'll hold you gently

Till you awake again

So close your eyes and sleep

And know I love you."

"You… you changed the lyrics." I said as tears filled my eyes.

"I know." She whispered.

"I… I love you too." I cried as Yna held me ever tighter.

"I know."

.

..

I awoke with a weak yawn.

The sun was setting and I assumed Han and the others had spent the whole day working.

If anyone deserved some rest it was them, but I needed to give them their orders first.

"Ower, gather everyone in the war room." I said as Yna stretched her arms.

We both stood up before teleporting to the war room where we were eventually joined by everyone.

I then shared my thoughts on Caligo's sudden desire for peace.

It felt sincere but Dammit, I couldn't trust him.

Or any of them.

We'd need to keep our guard up just in case the were plotting something.

"Caligo's true intentions aside, we should focus on rescuing as many people from Eimval as possible. I'm hearing that things are going quite well in Eimvu, although I think you may want to speak with Anda personally about the specifics." Han suggested and I nodded before looking at the map.

"How are things going in Rahadiya?"

"Swimmingly. Serylea and her men are working very hard and have since begun harvesting fish that'll be teleported to Eimvu after we establish a proper network. Also, as you ordered, we are minimizing our interactions with the denizens of the Western Wilds." Han said.

"Good. We have far too much on our plates and I'd like to sort our problems first before establishing any kind of relationship with them. Yna, I'd like you to ramp up production on Kommáti. Is there anything you need or are lacking to do so?" I asked.

"Well, yes and no. Yes, I would appreciate more official support from Han and everyone else, but I have everything else under control. We are currently making use of two abandoned Cavumium mines. I'm also getting a steady supply of men." Yna said.

"From where?" I asked.

"Many places. Mostly volunteers, so yeah." Yna explained.

I nodded before looking at Thneia.

"What about you? Is there anything you need?"

The Draconic Knight crossed her arms while eyeing the map.

"No, sir. Nothing at all."

I nodded before looking at Han, who documented various things in his book.

"And you, Han?"

He looked up in thought.

"I'm fine, I suppose. Although I'm getting reports that we lost almost a thousand men in lower Coh."

My heart shook, but I simply nodded.

"And civilian casualties?"

"We've yet to receive concrete numbers but we lost about fourteen thousand people in Eimval and about a hundred civilians were killed in lower Coh."

I nodded again before realizing that a large chunk of our food production was based in Eimval.

"What's the situation like in Eimval right now? We have a lot of farms on the outskirts, how are they doing?" I asked and Han flipped through his book.

"Surprisingly, they were relatively untouched by the attack. Oh and the enemy forces have been completely dealt with. The Kommáti are proving yet again that they are an invaluable part of our forces which is why I instructed that many of the enemy soldiers we captured be absorbed to support future Kommáti production."

"Good. Yna, let's go talk to Anda. We'll handle everything else after."

Yna nodded but before she stood up, my stomach loudly growled.

"Oh." I sounded.

"I suppose I should eat first." I said with a feint smile.

Everyone left the room and Yna teleported us into Shiru's house which was dark and empty.

I sat on my chair as Yna cook up something for me.

I looked at all the vacant seats and recalled where everyone was.

Shiru and Erna were in Eimvu, the town where we had sent all civilians in Coh.

Farin was on an archaeological expedition a few kilometres west of Eimval.

Serylea was in Rahadiya.

Han, Volta and Dama were working tirelessly in Coh while Deag and Fìora were taking care of the soldiers in Cohval.

Yna eventually gave me a bowl of vegetable stew and I ate it silently while Yna sat by my side.

"Why does it feel like this isn't over?" I asked but Yna simply subbed my back.

"Just eat up for now."

I nodded and it wasn't long before I was finished.

We then left Shiru's house before making our way to a Teleportation platform.

We were then taken to Eimvu and in my rush, I'd forgotten that the Mt. Jivu was actually quite cold.

Several soldiers walked up to us before standing attentively while countless people went about their business behind them.

Eimvu was a mountainside town and it was made almost entirely from darkness.

I looked up the road and saw the large house that belonged to Anda and the Custodians.

"Good evening sir! Are you here to meet Elder Anda?"

One of the soldiers asked.

"Yes." I said before following the soldier towards the large building.

We entered it to find countless Rendaro working on various things.

Mostly documentation.

We were then led to Anda's office where he sat next to Tasha, who held in her arms a baby.

The two noticed me and made expressions that I did not want to see on the faces of two new parents.

Expressions that were a combination of grief and dread.