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.

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

release of breath he pushed out the grief that rose within him as his thoughts dwelt on what had been lost. It had grown easier to bear over

mind away from Morrelia and back to the numerous papers scattered across his desk. Administrative work was the backbone of the Legion, and though he would rather charge into a horde of demons without armour on, the commander would do his duty and defeat the enemy that rested on the

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 knew just how important each of these were to the successful running of a military force. This was the

his fist down on the table

commander?" Aurillia burst through the door, his old comrade looked around the room as if expecting

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

in a breach of protocol. "Is something bothering

demanded it. After a long moment where he took hold of his temper, Titus breathed out his tension once more, his expression softening imperceptibly as he

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

the Dungeon?"

Titus frowned.

doesn't mean I want

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

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

her concerns. "We've seen her stumbling into camp once every few days, covered in ichor and half dead on her feet. She

Titus didn't blink.

did she say?"

her decision and the rest of

"There it is."

is your daughter we're talking

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

what it takes to succeed at that

insane! She

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