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.

time that Titus had thought his daughter would never return to the Legion, that the untimely death of his son had robbed him of both his children. Now that he'd been reunited with Morrelia and she had integrated into the Legionem Abyssi a part of him that had 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

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

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

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

Titus crashed his fist down on the table as

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

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

name in a breach of protocol. "Is

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

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

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

Titus frowned.

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

a young lass? Why would we?" the old tribune innocently spread her

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

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

Titus didn't blink.

she

and the rest of us should leave

"There it is."

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

mean he got

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

is insane! She

as steel. "I will support her choices. She understands the