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.

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 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 son had survived his initiation, so he could have seen both of his children rise

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 made his current appreciation for his daughter all the

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

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

on the table as his thoughts strayed once

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

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

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

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

he admitted as he waved a hand towards

out working hard in the Dungeon?" she grinned. "I know how

Titus frowned.

mean I want to hear gossiping

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

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

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

Titus didn't blink.

she say?" he

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

"There it is."

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

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

training Aurillia," he told her, looking her straight in the eye, "you don't know what it takes to

insane! She could

steel. "I will support her choices. She understands the risks and is