Eyes of Despair

1

“Wah. This is bad.” Lilac rubbed a paste onto her hands. She and Emily peered down on an unconscious Akari, lying on a laboratory table. Lilac delicately lathered the paste onto affected areas of Akari’s skin, but with every movement, her body tensed up in pain.

“If I was looking at a typical case, I’d say the flesh was necrotic and we’d have to amputate at least an arm and leg, and probably part of the shoulder. But I can tell that the limbs are still operational. If you can get rid of this blight, we could salvage that part of her body. I read the files you sent me about His Excellency and the general…Jon, I think.” Lilac recalled. “Each of these cases seemed unique in their own right, and this one has its own differences too.”

“So, what now? Can we save her?” Emily asked.

“Not a clue. I’ve already thrown everything I know at it.”

Vivian curled up in a corner holding a wooden doll. A small five-petaled flower appeared in her hand and she placed it within the doll’s hand. “Lady!” she called out.

“Hm? What is it?” Emily replied.

“It’s hot.”

“I think it’s fine. How about you, Lilac-”

“It’s hot!” Vivian cried out in a loud voice.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Viv. Go back to playing with your toys.”

A low rumble shook the floor. As the air rapidly heated, Emily felt a rush out of her lungs. The laboratory wall quickly gave way and thick flame poured into the room, stopped only by a thin blue barrier extending from Vivian’s hand.

“Ah…Lady, help me…” Vivian asked as she concentrated. The barrier quickly dissolved at the edges and flames once again poured into the room.

“Low ground! We need to find a place to take cover.” Lilac shouted. She covered her mouth to stifle a cough. With a grunt of effort, she hoisted Akari’s unconscious body atop her shoulder and gripped a sack with the other hand.

Emily nodded. Tree roots swallowed the room and pulled them below. The prickling heat on their skin died down with their descent.

“Where…is this? Emily?”

Emily waved her hand to clear the dust knocked up from their entry. “The basement of the dining hall. You will wait here.”

“Wait here? Until when? I can’t imagine the city above is looking its best.” Lilac asked.

“Ugh. I’m going to put out the source of the fire. I’d like you to stay down here to keep Viv occupied and make sure Akari’s condition doesn’t worsen. Can you do that for me?”

“No problem. Best of luck, your High Excellency.”

“There’s no need for that anymore.”

2

Emily fell to her knees. A wasteland of melted glass surrounded her. Not a charred bone remained of the defenders of the city.

“How utterly unfortunate. This is your fault, you know.” A hand gripped her shoulder. “It is all a result of…hm. Your indecision.”

Emily remained silent as she looked up at Isa’s face, smugly overlooking the razed city around them. For the first time, she felt an urge she had never felt before. It was a desire to kill. A burning desire to make someone suffer consumed every corner of her mind. Even the ghoul in the spire was nothing more than a cockroach to be crushed underfoot. This was a personal rage, a feeling that closed in on her neck and trapped the voice in her throat.

With a swing of Emily’s open palm, a skeletal arm erupted from the ground. Its outstretched length reached higher than a castle wall. Each joint was held together by a milky white film, and as it clenched its fist and swung downward, one could hear the clacking of bone against bone.
Isa caught the blow with the edge of a flaming longsword in her left hand and counterattacked with a dagger in her right. It all occurred in an instant, a matter of pure reflexes.

“That Elkroot girl. This creature was hers to control, was it not?” Isa taunted Emily as she dove out of the way. A hairline crack in the giant skeleton’s index finger popped and cracked with explosive force, and with a crushing roar, the bone itself burst into several fragments. “I heard she deserted. Know she was felled by nothing more than an ember.”

No time was spared as Emily called out to the wasteland of glass behind her. A frigid blast of air, cool as the surface of a tombstone in a misty graveyard, crept beneath her dress and raked along her skin.

“You take the knowledge of the dead as your own? Or…perhaps it was created by you, and you only seek to reclaim it.” Isa looked down at Emily’s face, twisted with anger. “It’s a waste of talent. Producing such beautiful things only to entrust them with the rabble.”

“It may look like that to you. Someone who was only able to master a fraction of the knowledge this world has to offer. Your creations only exist to destroy and rob the earth of its beauty.” Emily muttered weakly.

“That isn’t true! Every lick of flame was crafted with attention and care. As I’m sure you know, fire is formless. It is soft and flexible like clay. I can use it to make whatever I’d like. Every lance, comet, and blade that sears the skin is crafted with beauty in mind. I don’t waste my talent on the undeserving. My work is for mine and mine alone.”

“And that is why you’ll be forgotten. Only your dear friend, the one who crushed you in combat and banished you from this world, will be remembered as the founder of the Academy. Your work, everything you strived for, was lost with your death. Make no mistake, you won’t be lucky enough to have another revival after this is all done.” Emily forced a weak smile.

Isa spun around and pressed her dagger against Emily’s neck. The glowing metal sizzled as it burnt black the surface of the skin. “Don’t speak any more. My mercy might find itself limited should you open your mouth further.” Isa’s words dripped of malice. Her natural composure was tinged with an aura of hostility.

“This will be the last time.”

3

Anastasia and her companions approached the army camp. The sweltering mid-afternoon sun was blocked by the roof of the wagon; pulling it along with a new set of mannequins was an easy task. It was a busy scene. Uniformed soldiers ran back and forth, paying the group no heed. A gruff voice called from outside.

“Halt!”

The captain slunk down a ladder to the wagon’s attic. She was in a full white officer’s uniform, freshly tailored. She made her hand into the shape of a gun and winked at Anastasia, who was nervously covering her face.

“Let me handle this.” the captain said. “Reporting!” she yelled in a commanding voice.

“Captain Yavokhaev, reporting for duty.”

“Yavokhaev, hm? I can’t say I’ve heard that name before. No matter. State your business.”
“I require an audience with your commanding officer. We have two foreign representatives as well as high-ranking scholars present to provide tactical aid.” the captain said.

“You hear that?” Maria whispered. “Delanor and Canary, you’ve been promoted to foreign representative. I hope you speak a second language.” Delanor puffed out her chest and mimed an adjustment to an invisible monocle.

“Understood. Allow me to briefly inspect your vehicle and we will permit your entry.” the voice outside responded.

“That won’t be necessary.” The captain denied his request.

“We must. The risk of foreign meddling is high, and I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you before. Please consent to the search or you will not be provided permission to enter..”

“Very well.”

A man poked his head through the curtains of the wagon. A thick mustache covered his mouth, the head having the same shape as a rounded boulder. At that moment, Canary bent down and grabbed his head with both hands, peering into the man’s head with his golden-black eyes.

“You see nothing of note. Two foreign diplomats carrying no weapons as well as scholars who harbor no ill intent.” Canary whispered in his ear

The man took a deep breath as Canary pushed him back out of the wagon. Behind the curtains, he said nothing to the captain as his footsteps trailed off into the camp.

“I owe you one, Canary.” The captain laughed as she poked her head inside. “I’ll lead you through. There’s an important-looking tent over there.”

Anastasia searched through a small opening in the side of the wagon. Outside, a mass of thousands of soldiers, stretching into the horizon, marched about. Some carried weapons, some snacked on baked crackers in the shade, and some ran towards the southern horizon, where the great city of St. Keres stood just moments earlier.

As the mannequins creaked and meandered their way to the tent, Anastasia closed her eyes. Surely the man she’d seen would be here. Would he acknowledge her, now that she was in broad daylight before him? Or would he ignore her and only approach her when they were alone? The thought of his voice calling for her in a crowded meeting hall, in full view of all sorts of strangers, made her tense up in excitement.

Maria scowled at Anastasia’s excited fidgeting. Whatever was going through Anastasia’s head, it was undeniably distasteful.

“Stop, you can’t come here!” A young man’s voice, nervous and unassuming, stopped the wagon at the entrance of the tent. Maria could see his face through a crack in the curtain. He was no older than her, and the oversized uniform hung off of his body.

“Oh? And why’s that?” The captain asked. It didn’t take a look at the pin on her cap to know that she held a rank superior to his.

“You-You don’t have the clearance. This is his High Excellency’s tent, and you-”

“Step aside. I am your superior, and you will act as such.”

He hung his head and moved from the entrance. The captain made a waving gesture to Maria, who proceeded to motion to the others. It was time to leave.

4

Streaks of sunlight breaking through the tent’s folded slits dimly lit the interior of the tent. A man in a black military uniform paid them no attention as they piled into the room. He was hunched over a map. It was a crudely reproduced topographical representation of St. Keres, but as the city was constructed on mostly flat desert, there was little to see. A thick black mantle and buckler were hung on a wooden rack to the side.

“You stand before the emperor. Kneel.” without looking up, he commanded.

The captain fell to one knee and looked back. “Go on, kneel!” she whispered to her companions. “Our greatest apologies, your High Excellency. Please forgive our rude-”

“You will grant passage to the Southern Territories-” without a pause, Canary walked forward and gave his own command, his eyes gleaming with an ominous power. No later did he find the bolt of a crossbow buried in his chest, and the emperor facing him wielding a weapon. “Guh.” A throaty sound escaped from Canary’s mouth. Blood trickled from his lips as he fell to his knees, barely able to hold himself upright.

“Still standing? You are commendable.” He set down the crossbow. “Four fugitives, I assume, and a runaway from the Archive. State your purpose, and show respect.”

The captain was frozen in fear. Dlanor’s tail stood straight up as her paralyzed body refused to move. Maria shifted her eyes in Anastasia’s direction, who was clearly so excited she could barely contain herself. It should be possible to strike the man down. An icicle through the eye and into the brain would kill him instantly. However, it was likely that he was prepared for such an encounter. In a single motion, he had reached under the table and removed a heavy wooden crossbow with one hand, aimed, and fired it through Canary’s heart. If he had another in reserve, she might meet the same fate. This was without consideration of Anastasia’s feelings, either. If he were to fall in battle, Anastasia might accept it. If Maria were to slaughter him before her eyes, Anastasia would be upset.

“Hrm.” The captain cleared her throat. “We request passage to the southern territories by the path leading through St. Keres.”

“Denied. You are a fool. There is a battle occurring as we speak to the south, and a city was just razed to the ground, and you ask to cross it all the same? As pleasurable as spilling the blood of the feeble-minded might be, some of you are still quite young. If that is all, then begone.”

“With all due respect-”

“I said, begone!” he slammed his fist onto the table.

“Captain, let us leave for now. I doubt there is any use in persuading him further.” Maria whispered into the captain’s ear. She gave a brief nod to the rest of the group and left without a word. The rest followed, Anastasia’s eyes making contact with his a final time.

5

Delanor stood to the side of the wagon to take shelter from the early afternoon sun. Droplets of sweat formed around her sides and shoulders, which she took a few moments to wipe away with her hand. The group formed a half-circle, with Canary’s head poking slightly into the sun. The bolt was still lodged in his chest, but he seemed back to his old self, standing without help.

“Captain,” Delanor ducked down below the captain’s cap to see her face. It was downcast, staring off into nothing, as the captain sunk deep into thought. “We are a mobile group. I would ask that we approach the southern front to ascertain the situation from a safe distance.”

“It is better if we don’t. If a line collapses and we are overrun, I’d like to avoid bumping into whatever just burnt a city to the ground.”

“I agree with our dear Delanor here,” Maria said with a glint in her eye. “Besides, this encampment appears to be in a state of relative dormancy. I doubt the enemies pose much of a threat at the moment.”

“And? What happens if we run into whatever burnt down St. Keres?” the captain asked.

“Do you not remember the Snowbank offensive? Anastasia performed a similar feat. In a fair fight, I am confident in my chances to defeat such an enemy.”

“The overgrowths in sparse numbers are no match for an organized force, captain.” Delanor chimed in.

“Overgrowths?” the captain responded, confused.

“After the flood of reports of monsters in the south, it was a term coined to refer to this particular plantlike entity, of which had not been seen prior. They can crawl up walls and devour living things whole, but extra-hot fire is effective for driving them back.”

“You are certain they are no threat?”

“Besides the long-range artillery, yes.” Delanor stated.

“They have long-range artillery?” the captain exclaimed in surprise.

“Overgrowths with the shape of tree logs, expelling burning masses of material high into the air. A barrier of sufficient quality can prevent damage to a position.”

“I can stop something of that strength with no difficulty.” Maria preemptively answered the captain’s next question.

“Anastasia? Canary? Any thoughts?” The captain looked at her last two companions. Canary had succeeded in pushing the bolt out the other side of his body and grasped it in his hand. Anastasia stared off at the ruined city.

“If that is what Maria wants, then I will go too. It is a battlefield, so I will be unable to produce drivers for the wagon.” Anastasia answered.

“Anything that finishes this journey faster.” Canary blanky said.

6

The first thing Anastasia noticed about the battlefield stretching before her was the line of guns, their polished barrels in three rows. Each soldier, holding a single musket, only fired if they were at the front of their row, and once their round was released they would quickly retreat behind the other two, placing the one originally behind them at the front. This rotation would continue to continuously fire at the dispersed mass of overgrowths dotting the desert landscape. They fell one after another, forming piles of dead peppered with blackened holes.

The sound of popping gunfire filled the air, followed by the occasional shout or yell. Odorous powder smoke snuck all the way to Anastasia’s position, the grey miasma in the air had grown so thick.

“What a mess.” Maria commented as she observed the battle line in the distance.

There was a great dragon. Fashioned of clouds and mist, it beat its massive wings as it slithered through the air in an ephemeral aerial dance. As fireballs rained down upon the sky it dove to catch them in its jaws and swallow them whole. They burst within its body, releasing a muffled boom. Each of its eyes were a glistening droplet of water.

“Oh, it’s another dragon. I thought you were the only one making dragons, Anastasia.” the captain said.

“They aren’t so rare among the independent dolls, such as I.” Maria explained. “Only if you are the rabble, one of the truly unremarkable dolls, are you stuck in a battle line, firing those incendiary bullets.”

“Those are dolls at the front?” the captain asked, surprised.

“Each group of three has one doll. She produced the ammunition used in the fighting. Have you seen one of them in person, captain?”

“Who, the dolls on the frontline?”

“Yes.”

“Is there something about them I should know?”

“Their arms and legs are replaced with prosthetics. Without it, they’d barely be able to conjure a puff of smoke. As for me, I have no doll parts, as I had no need for them. We grant the dolls with no parts the title of ‘pristine’. If you see one, she is likely to be formidable.”

“Always talented, I see. I don’t remember the girl you fought in the north having any parts as those.”

“She was strong. Yet her right hand, the one holding her saber, was a device of steel and hardwood.”

Officers on horseback patrolled the ranks, pacing back and forth. At their orders, the line inched forward, slowly closing in on the ruined city.

“There is a battle in progress, as we speak.” Maria said, staring off.

“Yes, this is a battlefield, after all.” Anastasia dully responded.

“Within the city itself. Two unstoppable forces clash. The conclusion of their meeting will mean more than those…unremarkable soldiers.” Maria pointed in the direction she looked. “The one who wiped that city off the map is unmistakably there.”

“How do you know this?” the captain asked.

“The line formation is far too conservative for the number of enemies. If the ‘city destroyer’ had already been dealt with, I imagine the retaking of the territory would be quicker. Also, there is just one person who I would call stronger than I, who traces her domain back to the city. I doubt she has sat back and watched as it fell.”

7

Akari looked up at the night sky. The stars shone with an otherworldly radiance. The fire at her feet popped and sizzled, shooting sparks into the infinite expanse of hilly tundra. She was in the recess of her own mind, conscious and aware, yet her body was far away. Twitching even a finger of her real self would be impossible in this state.

She wasn’t alone. A boy sat across from her. His hair and eyes were stained black. He smelled metallic, a burning odor that pervaded the nostrils. It was a familiar look. The same as that girl, that one that came demanding their surrender. Purple woven cloth hung off of his frail body.

He blinked twice at the fire. His mouth opened briefly to say something.

“It is freezing. You consider this place your home?” his voice was dry and cracked.

“A crude abstraction of it. The real thing would chill your bones.” Akari said. She was unafraid of the intruder. As he existed within her domain, he held little power in this sphere. Some of her nosier friends had once overlooked this fact when approaching her as she slept. The space was shaped in a way she might find comforting. If she wished it, the skies could bleed and the ground could erupt in flames.

“Defeated, completely. Your swordsmanship is truly something to behold. I was hardly a match for it. Even something not living as I sensed the danger lurking in your blade. I am Echen. This form is again a falsehood, a mirage formed by coincidence. The armor you saw is my true being.”

“Thanks, but it wasn’t enough. You’re still here.” Akari looked back at him. “Your speech seems clearer here. You are talking unimpeded.”

“Speaking with no mouth is a challenge. I prefer to keep my words short in that state. I am nothing more than a few pieces of metal, given a soul through the acclimation of power in a vessel.” Echen stood up, and with a swift motion, grasped Akari’s throat with one hand. His bony fingers held an otherworldly power. As his grip tightened, Akari could feel the ligaments in her neck stretching and breaking under the pressure. She sunk her knee into his abdomen in counterattack, yet the blow left him unfazed.

“How?” Akari choked out a word.

“This mind has come into my possession. These empty hills are no longer under your control. However, it is not your time to die. I have come with a proposition, swordswoman.” he said. “Submit yourself. Yourself and your allies. Submit to the great lady and you will be spared. Your body will be returned to you, I will continue to dwell within. As a guarantee you will keep your word.”

“Fine.” Akari agreed without hesitation through choked gasps. Her attachment to the city was far less pronounced than Emily’s, and there was no saving it. Salvaging what life was left was as noble a decision as any. “Now, let go of my neck.”

8

“And they’re off. The two maniacs with their giant explosions and all that.” Lilac and Vivian peered out of the trapdoor, side by side. Waves of smoke and dust assaulted their field of view, but the slit in the exit was small enough to obscure them from sight. For extra protection, Lilac held a glass tray in front of her; it was one of the defunct implements taken from her sack. From their position, they spectated the battle unfolding between the two sorcerers. “That fire girl has sprouted wings. She darts around her opponent…but is shot out of the air by an exploding arrowhead. Somehow she’s still on her feet. One of the wings looks damaged, but the hole is rapidly closing, and now she’s flying again. She points her blade straight at the Lady and charges, but she is stopped by a wall of earth coming from the ground…just how long are these two going to fight it out?!” Lilac exclaimed.

“You don’t have to talk like that. I can see it myself.” Vivian complained.

“I know, I know. By the way, how old are ya? Last I saw you, the lady was holding you in her arms like a bag of milk.” Lilac prodded.

“Nine. I am not as good as the lady, but I can still do things like this.” Vivian’s left hand erupted with orange flame and she hit Lilac’s bottom with it. Her hips reflexively jumped from the heat. Vivian’s giggles softly escaped her mouth.

“Hey, quit it. I’m older than you, even if we are…roughly the same size.” Lilac grumbled. “I’ve known your mom since she was a teenager. She was a lot more normal back then.”

“Has she changed?”

“Of course she has. She’s out there fighting the burning apocalypse and holding her own. Thinking about it, she was more nervous before she got into all of this Academy stuff. Tripping over her own words, tripping over her own shoelaces, getting into fights with the supply shop. That supply shop which, if you didn’t know, is owned by me. At least it used to be.” Lilac recounted. Thinking about the past in St. Keres that she’d shared with Emily only reminded her it had all been burnt to the ground. Only by the providence of being next to the lady at the time of the fire had she escaped with her life. “Those were sweet times. She got by working odd jobs at an office, so we saw each other a lot. When this all ends, I hope she will be able to leave this place and find somewhere that doesn’t weigh her down this much.”

“Can I come too?” Vivian asked longingly.

“How wouldn’t you? She wouldn’t leave you behind for any reason. Speaking of which, I was surprised when I found out she had a kid. I never thought she would find the time. I’m also afraid to ask who your dad is.”

“I don’t have a dad. The lady is the only parent I have.”

“Figures. It’s the way she always does things. Completely alone, throwing us aside when she’s done with us. Not that I fault her for it. People who leave their marks on history tend towards their fate, and leave everything else behind. That is why you are special. Rejoice, Vivian. Simply by being born, you’re recognized by the most accomplished scholar the empire has seen in centuries.”

“I don’t understand, but thank you. I am happy that Lady brings me along with her so much.”

Lilac gave Vivian a morbid laugh. “That would normally be a good thing. Because of that both of our lives are in danger. Instead of just me.”

“No. Lady will win. She will win and we will be safe.” Vivian rebutted.

“Wait, Viv.”

“It’s coming!” Vivian shouted.

“What is?” Lilac asked. Emily had gone completely still. The enemy’s attacks passed through her, leaving nothing but minor disturbances in her silhouette.

“Her rem-reminiscence. No one can beat it. I told you she would win. I saw it. She called it a Field of Ephemeral Flowers.”

“But what does it do?”

“I don’t know. But we are inside it now.”

They stood in a flat grassy field, dotted with daisies in bloom. Emily could be seen exchanging words with her opponent. She knelt down, plucked a flower, and placed it above her own ear.

A twisted, enraged voice yelled from behind Lilac’s position.

“Cease this, woman!” Akari yelled as loud as she could. Her voice was coarse and rough, as if someone else were speaking through her mouth.

Emily’s face, streaked with sweat and blood, looked at the three across the field.

“These lives hang in the balance!” Akari shouted again.

9

Anastasia awoke with her head resting on Maria’s lap. She was on the second floor of the wagon; the two were alone with an assortment of miscellaneous supplies. Outside of the window, the sun had long set, and only a passing star offered a light upon Anastasia’s half-shut eyes. The pain in the back of Anastasia’s head throbbed and ached as she sat up.

“Maria.” Anastasia said.

“I am here.” Maria replied softly.

“Please let me hear what happened. I do not remember falling asleep here.”
“From the beginning?” Maria frowned.

“Yes.”

“We were planning a way around the front to travel further south before a powerful enemy unit appeared and routed our forces. We were betrayed. The traitors worked to slaughter us all, and we were only given the chance to flee by the desperate orders of his High Excellency himself, who lounges on the first floor of this wagon. The traitor’s name was Emily. Emily Wehrhardt, the seventy-fourth pristine doll, and the acting head of the Academy.”