Chrysalis

The rest of the new Legionaries were gathered together in a cluster at the end of their ward under the watchful eye of a few Centurions.

The young soldiers felt restless. They still didn't know how to feel towards the Legion and the seniors who had cared for and trained them for so long. The pain of the Baptism was still fresh in their minds, the scars still raw. Many of them felt a strange dual emotion towards the people they had once admired, equal parts anger and respect.

Aurillia stepped forward to address them.

"Thank you for gathering young Legionaries. You have endured the pain of the Baptism and suffered the loss of friends, as have we all" she looked each of them in the eye directly, letting them see that she knew of their pain, shared it.

"I'm sure you've felt it already, the changes in your body. You are no longer what you were before. Your very flesh has been infused with mana and this means a few things will change. Firstly, you can never live on the surface without regular doses of liquid mana to support your body. The mana there is too thin. Here inside the Dungeon you'll be fine but in the upper levels you'll begin to feel a bit weak".

Murmurs erupted from the new Legionaries at these words. Unable to live on the surface without liquid mana? If the Legion were the only ones who knew how to make it, isn't this just another way for them to be controlled?

"It also means" Aurrilia interrupted their thoughts, "that so long as you are able to absorb enough mana you will be able to do things that you had never imagined possible before".

Now she glared at them. Impressing her will on them. All of them wilted before the strength she held in her gaze.

loved ones from the horrors of the Dungeon, then you've come to the right place. The Abyssal Legion stands on the frontline against the true threats and for thousands of years we have done battle far beneath the surface, an unending war

at

"Come".

open the heavy wooden doors that separated their ward from the rest of the Legionary building before marching briskly through. The former trainees followed closely behind, trying to not stare at the bustle around them. Legionaries in their customary blackened leather armour stood in guard positions down every down corridor or passage they moved through, auxiliaries dashed about, delivering papers, meals, equipment or any of the million other tasks that the Legion needed done in order to operate. The new Legionaries were hardly spared a glance as they followed behind Aurillia, escorted by

things the Legion constructed it was built on very clean lines, straight corridors and square rooms, giving the entire structure a very austere feeling. It was easy to tell that the structure

the shocking realisation than this base, indeed, the city of Railleh itself, probably predated Liria by a considerable amount of time. The Legion had been here long

of her family and their humble history, working hard to carve out a life for themselves in the frontier kingdoms and the pride they

here! Long before her

her conflicted feelings the passage they were travelling through suddenly opened into a vast hall. Mirryn gasped, shocked out of her thoughts by the grand scale of the space they now occupied. A high arched ceiling, buttressed by powerful columns

causing Mirryn to squint against the sudden glare. Down the center of the room, between the columns stood two rows of stone statues raised on marble plinths. Each of the

women in full battle armour, weapons in hand, standing ready. Most of them were of advanced age, clearly senior officers or veteran soldiers. Scars criss-crossed their faces and arms and their expressions were hard, as if there was little they hadn't seen. So lifelike were they that it felt as if they could jump down from their plinths and stride into battle at

hall of remembrance" Aurillia said over her shoulder, "here the greatest members of our branch have been immortilised in stone, preserved for history and for

room as they continued to stride through the hall. "Over there

Legionaries felt their heads snap around to stare at the statue in the distance. A tall, bull shouldered figure stood there, a great two handed hammer resting on the plinth and held casually in one hand. Even at this distance Mirryn could see that the

a father. They'd felt as if he'd walked fully