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.

course, to the world at large he appeared as stone faced and duty bound as ever. Ever since Morrelia

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

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 flat surface before him. Once more focused on his task, Titus took

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 sort of discipline that the Legion drummed into

on the table

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 always looked carved from granite, right now the commander appeared as if he was forged from Abyssal Iron! Knowing him for as long

Titus?" she demanded, using his name in a

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,

is the matter. I'm just irritated and finding it difficult to concentrate," he admitted as he waved a hand towards the piles of forms

your daughter out working hard in the Dungeon?"

Titus frowned.

mean I want to hear

Morrelia who we trained when she was a young lass? Why would

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

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

Titus didn't blink.

did she say?"

and the rest of us should leave off,"

"There it is."

daughter we're talking about, don't tell me that

concerned, but that didn't mean he

the eye, "you don't know what it takes to succeed at that level. If

is insane! She

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