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.

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

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

from Morrelia and back to the numerous papers scattered across his desk. 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 hold of his pen, dipped it in the

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

down on the table as

commander?" Aurillia burst through the door, his old comrade looked around the room as if expecting to

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,

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

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

difficult to concentrate," he admitted as

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

Titus frowned.

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

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 three squads to accompany her. She's doing three times the work of a normal legionary! You can't be

Titus didn't blink.

did she

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

"There it is."

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

didn't mean he got to overrule

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

much is insane! She could

support her choices. She understands the risks and is