Shadow Slave

Changing Star was in a watchtower near the outer edges of the camp, observing the ongoing battle. Her gaze was locked on the lustrous figure of Summer Knight, who stood like a fortress amidst the attacking Nightmare Creatures, cutting them down with his flowing lance.

Sunny approached and stared at the slaughter, as well, wondering how was it that the Saint had not gotten a single drop of blood on his armor. Was that a skill one could learn? The black silk of the Graceless Dusk always remained pristine, rejecting any kind of taint, but the same could not be said about his skin... and hair, especially hair. Washing blood out of his hair was a real chore.

Which was one of the reasons Sunny had enjoyed the few months of being a scout and never getting his own hands dirty, instead relying on shadows to do the killing for him.

"That guy, Summer Knight, is both deadly on the battlefield and nice in person. Makes me wonder if he really is a Saint... every other Transcendent I know is either the stern stoic type, vaguely sinister, or completely insane. He really doesn't fit."

Neph glanced in his direction and smiled with the corner of her mouth.

"Maybe you just attract these kinds of people."

Sunny coughed.

Come to think of it... stern and stoic, vaguely sinister, and completely insane were all words that could be used to describe Nephis, as well.

She looked back to the battlefield and added:

"But you are right. Sir Gilead is somewhat of an outlier among the Saints. He is too... straightforward. What you see is what you get. Honor, valiance, loyalty... and all that. He is the picture of a noble knight."

Sunny remained silent for a moment.

"Is that a bad thing?"

He certainly thought that it was. A person who proclaimed these virtues was either a hypocrite or dangerously naive - gods only knew which option was worse.

However, Sunny wanted to hear Neph's answer.

She shrugged.

"Not usually. But in the case of Summer Knight, it presents a contradiction. What is a person like that doing serving the King of Swords? And not just as a vassal, but as a direct retainer of clan Valor. A tool in their machinations."

lingered for a few moments,

to do with his

at

are you doing serving

subtle smile grew a little wider, and

but I am not honorable, valiant, or loyal. I am just

He scoffed.

I know it

the alloy watchtower and watched

same time, he sent Neph

Morgan want to talk to

leaned on the alloy bar by his

to the siege capital. She warned me to be ready. There is also the issue of the Nightmare Gates within the city. There are sixteen of them, at the moment, and keeping each one contained is a drain on the resources. Once we are back, the Awakened

for

Keepers? Are they

lowered her head

long saturated their cores, and have more than enough experience. So, yes... Shim's cohort will enter first, followed by two others. A month later, two more cohorts will challenge the Second Nightmare. The last two will go

Sunny blinked.

that plan worked... then in less than a year, Changing Star would potentially command close to fifty Masters. Some might die in the Nightmare, but still... that was a staggering force. An inconceivable force, even, by the standards of

the return of the survivors of the Forgotten Shore had made so much noise for this exact reason - not because they were powerful Awakened, but because each had a substantial chance of becoming a Master... and maybe even a Saint,

that Cassie had built had the potential to dramatically shift the balance of power between the great clans. No wonder Nephis seemed to be in a hurry to send the Fire Keepers into the Seeds... the emissaries of Song knew what

in earnest, Beastmaster would without a doubt aim to

'How complicated.'

for a while, choosing his words carefully.

happened to eavesdrop on a

Nephis glanced at him.

pure accident,

He smiled.

however, the smile

pretending