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.

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 work herself to the bone in order to achieve her ambitions had filled him with powerful emotions. He had dearly wished his

It had grown easier to bear over the years, but only a little. His acute awareness of how fleeting joy could

into a horde of demons without armour on, the commander would do his duty and defeat the enemy that rested on the flat surface before him. Once more focused

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

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

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! Knowing him for as long as she had, Aurillia could tell he was

wrong, Titus?" she demanded, using his name in a breach of protocol. "Is something

Legion, she was prepared to face his wrath if the moment demanded it. After a long moment where he took hold of his temper, Titus breathed out his tension once more,

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

about your daughter out working hard in the Dungeon?" she grinned. "I

Titus frowned.

course I'm proud, but that doesn't mean I want to

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

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

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 time in the field they are rotating three squads to accompany her. She's doing

Titus didn't blink.

she say?"

and the rest of us should leave off,"

"There it is."

can't be serious, Titus! This is your daughter we're talking about, don't tell me that you

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

the advanced 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 worked any less, she wouldn't have a chance of

insane! She could

will support her choices. She understands the