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.

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 had been selected for accelerated development his pride had almost been ready to burst out of his chest. It would seem odd to

pushed out the grief that rose within him 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

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

his new Legion after the members had been recalled from their 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 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 their officers! It was also something Morrelia would need

down on the table as his

old comrade looked around the room as if

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 she had,

demanded, using his name in

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

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

about your daughter out working hard in the Dungeon?" she

Titus frowned.

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

a young lass? Why would we?" the old

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

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

Titus didn't blink.

she

it was her decision and the rest of us

"There it is."

daughter we're talking about,

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

advanced officer’s 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 have a chance of making it

is insane!

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