Chrysalis

The shadow falls like clouds, like rain;

Creeping dread begins to stain;

Shudder the heart, freeze the brain;

Ring out the laughter, again and again;

Call of you lover, daughter, son;

Sinks into your ears, your will undone;

Forward you step, your soul is wrung;

Cannot resist, Gon has come;

Who can defy that fateful call?

Who can escape the shadows pall?

Forward you go, heedless to stall;

Into the depths to meet the fall;

Lament the brave and pity the meek;

None can flee the song of the freak;

• Rinnidan children's rhyme.

as stone faced and duty bound as ever. Ever since Morrelia had been selected for accelerated development his pride had almost been ready

dwelt on what had been lost. It had grown easier to bear over the years, but only

would rather charge into a horde of demons without armour on, the commander would

the members had been recalled from their postings during the wave was a monumental task. Thousands of soldiers and thousands more auxiliaries needed to be accounted for, equipped, fed, billeted and kept happy. Promotions, training, Skill development, Class upgrades, managing morale, all of it demanded the careful attention of the commander in charge and Titus

it!" Titus crashed his fist down on the table as his thoughts strayed once

Aurillia burst through the door, his old comrade looked around the room

commander didn't lose his temper. He just didn't! For him to yell like that, something must be seriously wrong! As she glanced back to the face of her old friend and superior, she froze when she saw the hard lines of his expression. Though he always looked carved from granite, right now the commander appeared as if he was forged

name in

if the moment demanded it. After a long moment where he took hold of his temper, Titus breathed out his tension once more, his

just irritated and finding it difficult to concentrate," he admitted as he waved a hand towards the piles of

about your daughter out working hard in the Dungeon?" she grinned. "I know how proud you must

Titus frowned.

doesn't mean I want to hear gossiping

Morrelia who we trained when she was a young lass? Why would we?" the old tribune innocently

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

pushing up against the boundary," Aurillia grew serious as she laid out her concerns. "We've seen her stumbling into camp once every few days, covered in ichor and half dead on her feet. She spends so much time in the field they are rotating three squads to accompany her. She's doing three times the work

Titus didn't blink.

she

it was her decision and the rest of us should leave off," the

"There it is."

is your daughter we're talking about, don't tell me

was concerned, but that didn't mean he got to overrule Morrelia's choices. Or the

officer’s training Aurillia," he told her, looking her straight in the eye, "you don't know what it takes to succeed at that level. If she

is insane! She

understands the risks and