Twenty-seven days until the Grand Campaign, and the war room was silent.
Brenn stood over the massive map table, his face carved in shadow. Around him sat Lysara, Joran, Thea, Dorn, and eight regional commanders. The map told a grim story:
Silent Bloom: 1,500 square kilometers, spreading like crystalline rot. Stonecross would fall within ten days.
Dominion Forces: 80,000 troops mobilizing at the Heartlands.
Covenant Forces: 45,000 ready, 55,000 in training.
Brenn presented the mobilization plan. "We need every able body. Three-column formation. March in twenty-seven days."
Lysara leaned forward. "League supplies confirmed. But coordination requires unified command structure. We need—"
"I'm leaving in two days."
Draven's words landed like stones in still water.
Stunned silence.
A regional commander surged to his feet. "Warden, we're about to launch the largest campaign in Theia's history—"
Draven placed a crystal on the table. Light spilled from it, projecting a map: the Obsidian Archives, three hundred kilometers northeast. Glowing inscriptions flickered across the ruins: Anomaly Codex. Chain Origins. Fragment Records.
"This vault contains knowledge we need," Draven said calmly. "Anomaly zone maps. Safe evolution protocols. The origins of every chain we're trying to break. I'm taking a small team. Two weeks, maybe three."
Brenn's voice was carefully measured. "Two weeks is half our preparation time."
Draven met his eyes. "Which is why you'll handle it. You, Lysara, Joran. This is what we built—a structure that doesn't need me to breathe."
The tension in the room thickened.
After the council dismissed, only three remained.
Brenn paced. "I understand what you're doing. Testing us. But the timing—"
"Is perfect," Draven said. "If you can mobilize an army without me, you can lead one without me. This is the proof we need."
Lysara crossed her arms. "And if something goes wrong? If Silent Bloom accelerates? If the Dominion attacks early?"
"Then you adapt. Make decisions. Lead. Isn't that what we agreed?"
A long pause.
Brenn exhaled. "You're right. Damn it, you're right. But I'm still angry you're leaving."
Draven smiled faintly. "Good. Channel that into drilling recruits."
Lysara's expression softened. "What do you expect to find in this vault?"
"Answers," Draven said. "The Dominion built their empire on chains. I need to understand where chains came from. How they were made. Maybe... how to break them permanently."
She considered. "If you find that knowledge, bring it back. We'll need it for what comes after the war."
"After the war," Draven agreed. "When I stop being Warden and start being what I'm meant to be."
Agreement reached. Draven would leave. Brenn would command mobilization. Lysara would handle politics.
That afternoon, Brenn walked the parade grounds.
Five thousand new recruits assembled for review—farmers holding spears awkwardly, merchants in ill-fitting armor, teenagers barely strong enough to lift shields.
One sergeant whispered, "Half of them won't survive first contact."
Brenn's reply was hard. "Then we train them so well the other half wins before first contact happens."
He addressed the recruits without grand speeches or false promises:
"Most of you aren't soldiers. Neither was I, once. I was a village elder who watched children starve because the Dominion took our harvests. I learned to fight because I had to. You're here because you chose to. That choice makes you stronger than any conscript."
He paused, letting that settle.
"We have twenty-seven days. I can't make you heroes. But I can teach you to stand beside each other. And that's enough."
The recruits straightened—not perfect, but trying.
By evening, the parade grounds echoed with ten thousand feet learning to march as one. Not perfect rhythm, but living rhythm—breath matching breath, heartbeat finding heartbeat.
The next morning, Draven's expedition assembled at Ashen Hollow.
Twenty-seven people total: Draven, Sylvara, Ryl with eight scouts, Mira with her Falcon, Zor circling overhead, four engineers, and twelve guards. Servitors and Nobles for support.
Feyra stayed behind—the Lightfield anchor.
Draven knelt before her. "Keep them steady. If anything happens, call through the network. I'll come back."
She pressed her nose to his forehead. Trust. Go. Learn.
Petals drifted around them like blessings.
On the ridge overlooking camp, Varyn appeared—massive, mane flickering with molten light. He didn't approach, just watched.
Draven looked up and raised his hand in acknowledgment.
Varyn's mane flared once. Understanding.
Not coming on the expedition, but guarding home territory.
Dorn provided the final intelligence brief. "Obsidian Archives are in neutral territory. No Dominion presence confirmed, but the area is unstable. Anomaly residue. Ruins attract scavengers."
He handed Draven a sealed scroll. "Veil safe-routes. Encrypted. Burn after reading."
Sylvara struck her staff against the ground three times. "The vigil begins. May roots guide our path."
The column moved northeast at dawn.
Through the Lightfield, Feyra's warmth spread—a farewell pulsing through every bonded soul in the Covenant. Mira wrote in her journal as they marched:
He walks away to prove we can stand. Perhaps that's the hardest leadership of all.
Back at Bloomring Hold, mobilization accelerated.
Two thousand new volunteers arrived daily from liberated territories. Fifteen thousand drilled in active formations. Supply chains stretched across eight settlements.
And then came the beasts.
Three thousand newly-freed creatures arrived from the western territories—most traumatized, handlers nervous.
Brenn assigned the Beast Speaker cadre to integrate them.
One young woman named Kira approached a scarred Stonehide. She didn't use commands. She knelt beside it and breathed, matching its fearful rhythm. Thirty minutes passed before the creature allowed her touch.
She whispered, "No one will hurt you again. But we need your strength. Will you walk with us?"
The Stonehide rumbled low. Consent.
Brenn watched and understood: This is why Draven insisted on understanding, not control.
He ordered all beast integration to follow Beast Speaker protocols. No forced bonding.
Result: 2,400 beasts successfully bonded. Six hundred needed more time and were given sanctuary—not forced.
The next day, Lysara hosted an emergency summit at Stonecross.
Five neutral kingdoms. Three merchant guilds. All watching the Covenant carefully.
She showed evidence: Gray zones spreading, proto-harmonic sightings, Dominion mobilization.
A merchant guild leader leaned back. "Why should we trust you over the Dominion? Both of you want our resources."
Lysara smiled. "The Dominion takes. The Covenant offers partnership. Watch."
She demonstrated Bloomscript v2, sending a message to Bloomring Hold two hundred kilometers away.
Brenn's response arrived instantly: Supply convoy dispatched. ETA 6 hours. No payment required—we share the burden.
The guild leader stared. "You... give freely?"
"We build together, or fall separately. Choose."
Three kingdoms pledged support. Two guilds provided supplies. Two kingdoms remained neutral.
Progress.
One hundred kilometers from Ashen Hollow, the expedition made camp.
The terrain had changed—grass giving way to rocky hills, then obsidian outcroppings. Volcanic glass glittered in the moonlight.
Ryl's scouts reported: "No hostiles. But wildlife is... odd. Watching us. Not threatening, just aware."
Sylvara nodded. "We near the wound. Anomaly resonance touches all life here. They sense the Fragment you carry."
Draven sat with his field journal, cataloging creatures:
Glassback Lizards—scales like obsidian shards, reflecting light.
Ashen Deer—gray fur with ember veins pulsing beneath skin.
Silent Ravens—fly without sound, always watching.
Mira joined him. "You're happier here than in war rooms."
"Because here, every discovery is wonder. In war rooms, every decision is death."
"But you'll go back."
He nodded. "I promised. I'm Warden until the war ends. But after..." He gestured at the horizon. "This is where I belong."
That night, Zor perched on the ridge, lightning flickering restlessly across his feathers.
Draven climbed up. "You feel it too? The strangeness here?"
Mental imagery from Zor: Storm building. Not weather. Power.
"The archives?"
Older. Deeper. Waiting.
They sat together in silence, watching stars. Beneath them, the ground pulsed faintly—an echo from the Heart Stone, or something else entirely.
The next morning, Mira's Falcon returned from a relay flight.
It carried a sealed note in Brenn's handwriting:
Warden—Mobilization ahead of schedule. 60,000 combat-ready, 20,000 beasts bonded. Silent Bloom reached Stonecross outer districts; Joran's barriers holding but stressed. Varyn burned through a proto-harmonic scout unit yesterday—first active combat for the Covenant. No casualties our side. We're managing. Don't rush back. Find what we need. —Brenn
Draven read it aloud.
Ryl frowned. "They're fighting without us."
"As they should," Draven said. "We're not the only ones who can protect what we've built."
Sylvara's voice was gentle. "The roots grow deep when the gardener steps away. Your friends learn strength you could not teach by presence alone."
Draven folded the note and wrote his response:
Brenn—Proud of you. Trust your instincts. If Silent Bloom breaks barriers, evacuate civilians first, territory second. Lives matter more than land. We're two days from the archives. Will send findings via relay once inside. Keep breathing. —Draven
The Falcon launched, arrowing northeast.
The expedition broke camp and continued deeper into anomaly territory.
Draven looked back once—toward Bloomring, though it was too far to see.
He whispered, "Hold the line. I'll bring back answers."
Then he turned forward and strode into the unknown.
Behind him, an empire learned to stand without its founder.
Ahead, ancient secrets waited in obsidian ruins.
The path had divided.
And both journeys had only just begun.
Notes:
Timeline: 27 days until Grand Campaign; expedition estimated 2-3 weeks.
Mobilization Progress: 60,000 troops ready; 20,000 beasts bonded; target 100,000 total.
Silent Bloom: 1,500 sq km; reached Stonecross; Joran's barriers stressed.
Varyn's Combat: First active fight for Covenant; burned proto-harmonic scouts.
Expedition: 27 people, 1 Lord, 1 King; exploration-focused, not war party.
Communication: Falcon relay (3-4 days round trip); Bloomscript relay towers being installed.
💖 Enjoying the story?
👉 Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/sa2quasar