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.

thought his daughter would never return to the Legion, that the untimely death 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 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

It had grown easier to bear over the years, but only a little. His acute awareness

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

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

on the table

commander?" Aurillia burst through the door, his old comrade looked around the room

yell like that, something 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

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

wrath 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

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

daughter out working hard in the Dungeon?" she grinned.

Titus frowned.

that doesn't mean I want to hear

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

"Hmph," Titus snorted.

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

Titus didn't blink.

did she say?" he

rest of us should

"There it is."

we're talking

mean he

what it takes

is insane! She could

her choices. She understands