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.

long been dead was once again full of life. Not that anyone could tell looking at his face, of course, to the world at large he appeared as stone faced and duty bound as ever. Ever since Morrelia had been selected for accelerated development his pride had almost been ready to burst out of his chest. It would seem odd to most people, but watching her earnestly

grief that rose within him as his thoughts dwelt on what had been lost. It had grown easier to bear over the years, but only a little. His acute awareness of how fleeting joy could be only

charge into a horde of demons without armour on, the commander would do his duty and

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 knew just how important each of these were

his fist down on the

door, his old comrade looked around the room as if expecting to see a

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 from Abyssal Iron!

name in a breach of protocol.

most officers of his Legion, she was prepared to face his wrath if the moment demanded it. After a long moment where

as he waved a hand towards the piles of forms and applications in

in the Dungeon?"

Titus frowned.

proud, but that doesn't mean I want to hear gossiping amongst

About little Morrelia who we trained when she was a young lass? Why would we?"

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

to admit to you Titus, a few of us are concerned about the pace she is setting. Overwork is a real issue and she is clearly 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

Titus didn't blink.

did she say?"

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

"There it is."

we're talking about, don't tell me that

was concerned, but that didn't mean he got

what it takes to succeed at that level. If she worked any less, she wouldn't have a chance of making

insane!

as steel. "I will support her choices. She understands the risks and is willing to shoulder them.