Pursuit of Happiness

While following a military formation seemed difficult in concept, it certainly was helpful that Erebos and Jiron didn’t need a single light to find their way. As long as Jiron could see the caravan’s lights and make sure they didn’t wander too close, Erebos was able to guide them through the gentle hills between the mines and mills of northeastern Rafda.

Both of them became a little panicked when they realized that they’d probably be traveling along the Aqueduct to the contingent's destination, but that actually proved to be less of a problem than they’d thought. After waiting for the caravan to ascend the long ramp to the tunnel leading through the mountains, Erebos and Jiron followed at a distance ensuring they wouldn’t be spotted under a streetlight or something similar. After making their way to the tunnel and seeing the caravan in the distant end, they noticed that the waterflow in the channel had stopped completely. After the caravan disappeared once more, they emerged from the opposite end and saw the issue.

The Rafdino military must have realized that the Capital was going to use the Aqueduct and destroyed it. A section as long as a mile must have collapsed, with massive stones piled around its original path. All the ramps leading up to the deck were also broken, and the only way the caravan must have made it down was along a preexisting road cut into the side of the mountain. Trailing down to their right, Erebos and Jiron had descended down this presumably unlit path and started what would be the longest stretch of the journey.

The mines that they had passed on their way into the capital were mostly shut down, with only a sparse few operating. It looked like fierce battling had occurred even here, with the ground cratered and the occasional building collapsed. This meant that they’d have an easier time staying out of sight considering that most of the lights around the complexes must have been out. It was still a bit depressing, though.

Food was also a bit harder to come by than expected, with most of the roadside inns also abandoned. After coming across a small town and resupplying without any questions, Erebos and Jiron found themselves rationing far more. After five days of heavy travel, they seemed to be encountering fresher signs of battle. The cratering in the ground was far more intense around whatever villages they passed, and the buildings were riddled with holes. The holes were probably from rifle bullets, but Erebos wasn’t sure what kind of weapons or artifices made the gaping craters.

The caravan always stayed clear of the towns, however, so Erebos and Jiron had to make dashes to the inhabited ones to try and restock. Most men were off fighting on Rafda’s side, but the women and children left were already short on food and water. Money didn’t mean much to them if they had to sell what they would be eating.

The direct cause of those shortages also prevented Erebos and Jiron from scrounging it up for themselves. The large swaths of farmland that normally covered the country were picked clean and burned, probably to prevent the advancing Capital army from taking the food for themselves. It was hard to think that the soldiers ahead of them had enough to eat regardless, but they passed enough returning cargo wagons to show that there was some kind of supply chain.

The battle aftermath continued to get more recent and rear supply wagons only got more frequent, and by the eight day Erebos could see the edge of the Kalchatkino Forest far in the distance. The Confederal City and the rise in the Aqueduct also became visible, with the armies of Rafda and the Capital clashing somewhere between them and the city. Once the city itself was captured the objective for this southern push would be achieved, so the most intense fighting would be occurring at this very moment.

Another day of walking passed, and before long the contingent settled for its final night before joining the other soldiers. The besieged city’s skyline was in full view now, the distant sound of explosions reaching them from at least 20 miles away. Constantly rumbling through both the air and ground, it’s source felt far more powerful than any mere rifle.

Feeling the vibrations in the ground, Erebos and Jiron laid in a soft patch of grass. This was probably the last night of camping before they made it to the frontlines. Although they had made it this far, neither of them had actually put forward an idea to find Rumina.

Jiron: “I’d really hoped that there’d be a chance for us to sneak in and find her, but they’ve had their camps lit up every night. How are we gonna find her if we can’t sneak in?”

Erebos couldn’t think of anything either. How could someone find their way into a tight military formation before or during a battle? The idea to follow the contingent was to find a way to slip in and talk to her before they made it to the frontlines, but they never found a single opening.

It seemed to be an inevitability that Rumina and the other students would enter the fray. There just wasn’t anything Erebos or Jiron could realistically do to interfere.

Well, there was an option Erebos hadn’t thought too much on. As far as stupid ideas went, this would be even worse than going on this journey in the first place, and he didn’t want to make a habit of going along with them. But he couldn’t dismiss it, either. There would just be an awkward explanation in order.

Erebos: “Jiron, were there any weird rumors about me before I left? Like about me and the Headmaster or something.”

Jiron: “Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess there were. I don’t like spreading rumors, especially ridiculous ones about my friends, and these ones were pretty out there. Something about how you were conspiring with the Headmaster and making these fights happen, just ‘cause you were called by him after the attack on the Capital and right before the First and Second Towers fired off.”

Understandably confused as to how this related to their current problems, Jiron looked expectantly at Erebos for an explanation. He knit his eyebrows wondering how he’d go about explaining his involvement in the least incriminating way possible.

Erebos: “Let’s say these wars were going to happen anyway, and I was just involved in certain bits after the fighting already took place. As for those rumors, that much is true.”

Glancing to his right and examining Jiron’s expression, Erebos was ready to see anything ranging from confusion to disdain. All he saw was the side profile of Jiron’s face looking towards the city. After a moment of silence, Jiron picked up the conversation.

Jiron: “I never said whether I thought they were true. The timing was pretty strange, and I figured there must’ve been a reason you were acting a little distant. It’s fine if it's too painful to talk about, but what does that have to do with right now?”

It was a little too easy to take Jiron’s tact for granted, but Erebos was ready to give a full explanation, more or less.

Erebos: “No, it's about time I stopped moping around and explained myself, if only to you. The Headmaster did ask me to do something. I was the one who released the light from the Towers, and I still have to do it for the ones in Rafda and Torgempra. The war was going to happen regardless, so I went along with it. It was pretty much something only I could do, so it really seemed like some kind of fate.”

Jiron: “Honestly, I figured as much. I didn’t think you’d start a war, but it's nice to hear from you that it was gonna happen no matter what.”

Erebos couldn’t ask for a more understanding response, even if he still held a little blame for himself. But as long as Jiron was willing to listen, Erebos figured that he’d use this duty of his as a way to achieve their current objective.

Erebos: “So, this battle is to capture the Tower in the Confederal City, right? The plan was for me to go in after the fighting was done, but since we’re already here, what if we switched the order? If I go in now and release the light, there won’t be anything left to fight for.”

Jiron rubbed his chin and pointed his head straight up, breaking into a grin and casting aside a glance to Erebos.

Jiron: “I like it, but how do we get around to the tower? Surely it’ll be guarded, so we need a way around whatever Rafda has to throw at us.”

That was the most uncertain part of the plan. Neither of them thought that they could realistically fight them, especially if an entire Capital army couldn’t break through. Their sneaking around had been pretty successful up until now, but getting through a stationary target would require a new strategy.

Getting onto his feet, Erebos recalled a bit of advanced artificery he had heard mentioned briefly. It was a feat of the highest level, requiring one to inscribe in the air to fire off a directed beam of light, one that could interact with and charge inscriptions at a distance. If Erebos’ inscriptions did more or less the same things, just with an energy opposite to flux, he should be able to make a beam of that energy as well. And maybe, just maybe…

He didn’t want to start a panic in the camp and risk them getting found out, but for just a test, Erebos unsheathed his wand and faced a single pole in the middle of the camp, aiming towards a lantern hanging from it. Writing out the characters in the air, he felt Jiron look him up and down, trying to decipher what he was getting at. Jiron followed the tip of the wand and gazed off into the camp, just at the right moment for Erebos to finish his inscription with a flick.

And sure enough, the soldiers gathered around that light eating their supper looked up in confusion. Jiron grinned even wider than before, lifting their fluxcloth cloak and casting it around himself dramatically.

Jiron: “With our powers combined, we shall breach that tower and end this battle once and for all!”

Joining him underneath, Erebos couldn’t help but join him in his enthusiasm and smiled as well.

***

After another long day of marching, the revised objective of Erebos and Jiron came to its first obstacle. The source of the constant blasts were revealed to be a weapon similar in operation to the rifles but on an entirely different scale. The bullets these weapons fired were the size of Erebos’ fist, arcing their shots into the air and coming down onto the outskirts of the city. The weapons recoiled back with every shot from their immense power, and each time the projectile landed a massive cloud of smoke and rubble erupted from the spot.

The combat artificers brought in were split between these weapons and the frontlines, taking up a support role at the moment. They seemed to be repairing parts for the broken weapons, specifically the internal artifices that made them function. It would make sense that some combat artificers would take up a more rear position like this, but it looked like Rumina had been part of the group sent to the front.

Dug into a long network of trenches before the city, the Capital’s forces were presumably waiting for the barrage to end and the lower city to be leveled. Pushing through the close quarters of those streets was probably a death sentence, so someone had probably made the call to do away with them.

Alongside their concern for the civilian inhabitants that were hopefully evacuated, Erebos and Jiron had to find an alternative route that avoided the destruction. Sneaking behind the long line of trenches to about half a mile to the right of the city, Jiron led them to an unlit spot. They jumped down and clambered up the other side, making their way across the land between the opposing sides’ trenches. A few rifle shots rang out from either side while they were crossing, but they luckily weren’t aimed at them. They crossed the other side and officially made it into enemy territory.

Navigation in total darkness probably wasn’t a threat that was considered, allowing them to circumvent all defenses and explosive barrages. They made it near the outskirts of the main hill until they couldn’t find an unlit part to sneak through, and Erebos prepared to attempt his newfound attack.

Taking out a series of lights leading up to an alleyway, Erebos and Jiron made as quiet of a sprint as they could manage while Erebos led him by hand. They moved up the hill in this manner one street at a time, waiting for soldiers to pass and hearing commotion from the streets they left. They progressed quickly before someone could discover the long trail of broken lights, and before they knew it they arrived at the walls of the academy. Another broken light caused the patrols to get distracted, allowing them to slip through a side entrance. The building had a similar layout to the Capital, just on a smaller scale, letting them navigate quickly to the central courtyard and to the base of the Tower.

There was no one to be found inside any of the halls or the Tower’s lower chamber, making their progress much easier. But after stepping onto the transporter platform identical to the Capital Tower’s, Erebos realized a major flaw in their plan.

Erebos: “Ahh… I don’t… actually know how to work these.”

Jiron: “Huh…? Well, I’m sure we can fi-i-gah!”

Jiron tried to reassure him, but before he could finish the thought, the transporter activated on its own. The usual prickles and pain accompanied the activation, and a moment later the upper level materialized. The first dissimilarity of the tower appeared before him, in the form of a series of bars enclosing the two and a ring of soldiers pointing their rifles at them.

“Looks like we got 'em, ha!”

Jeers and laughter rang around them as they shook their rifles. This might have been the worst outcome possible, but it's not like Erebos didn’t have any options. He should have expected an ambush to be waiting if the enemy knew the true objective of the Capital’s offensive. But If he were to break the seal immediately, the light would go out as it did in the other Towers. He still had the wand in his hand as well, so he discreetly tried to write out the letters…

“Don’t think we can’t see ya twiddling that either, boy!”

A soldier came up and grabbed the wand out of his hand. Erebos reached after but was shoved by his other hand, slamming against the other side of the cage and sliding down. Jiron kneeled down and tried to help him up, but it was already too late. Without the wand, there wasn’t any hope. He feld another cool rod being discreetly pushed into his hand, but another soldier snatched Jiron’s wand from between them as well. They all stood back and laughed at the two kids who thought they could breach the tower all on their own, and at how they had been so easily defeated with the confiscation of their rock crystal rods.

Desperation was setting in for Erebos, and he vainly tried to wave his hand in the shape of letters. If he could do high level artificery with his wand, maybe he could grasp the art of using your finger? Anything was worth trying at this point, even if his vain hand motions incurred more laughter from the soldiers. One was typing out a message to send below the tower, presumably to call down the two and the cage to the lower transporter once they’d been stripped of any weapons or tools.

This was their last moment before total failure. He put more effort into his desultory hand waving, pointing his finger and focusing his energy into the tip. Rationally, nothing would happen without the proper discipline and training. But if this whole journey was founded on irrationality, why stop here?

A thick line emerged from his finger, and in awe he traced out the first letter of his name. The soldiers bore no reaction, so he kept at the letters and tried to keep a defeated expression. He could feel his strength being poured into his letters, more so than with the two Towers before. If this wasn’t effective, there would be no other chances.

The final letter in place, Erebos felt a sudden emptiness in his body. The sensation that usually followed the prickles and pain of absorbing opposite energies engulfed him, as if draining all feeling and leaving only numbness.

The letters of his name responded to this draining, breaking their form and erasing all edges they touched besides the most basic of outlines. The soldiers ceased their laughing and stumbled backwards, prodding at the dissolution and yelling. Jiron had no way to escape, blocked off by the bars behind them. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he fumbled around until he pulled out a pocket watch. Pressing it into Erebos’ hand, he tried to keep a composed expression as the dissolution washed over him as well.

The numbness reaching into his brain, Erebos couldn’t quite process what was occurring. Why was this happening now? Was the inscription too powerful? Why did Jiron give this to him?

As the dissolution reached the floor beneath him, the ground gave out and sent Erebos into a free fall. He didn’t notice that the watch was the same one Jiron had been given at the Confederal City a year prior, nor that it was now ticking in precise seconds. Nor did he see the intricate details beautifully inscribed into the case, done with painstaking effort by Jiron, along with a heart and the initials of his and Rumina’s names. Dissolving from the touch of Erebos’ hand, those inscriptions faded away with their maker and the world around them.