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 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 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

grown easier to bear over the years, but only a little. His

charge 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

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 sort of discipline that the

fist down on the table as his thoughts strayed

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

must be seriously 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 the commander appeared

in a breach of

if the moment 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

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

hard in the Dungeon?" she

Titus frowned.

proud, but that doesn't mean I want to

she was a young lass? Why

"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 three squads

Titus didn't blink.

she

and the rest of us should leave

"There it is."

This is your daughter we're talking about,

concerned, but that didn't mean he

know what it takes to succeed at that level. If she worked any less,

insane!

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