Silence reigned in the atrium, but it was swiftly deposed. Bedlam broke out. It seemed every member of the Order was suddenly determined to have their voice heard, and their shouts blended together into an incoherent cacophony. The crowd around them surged, trying to get closer to Valerie, to hear what she had to say.

  Even some of the Masters were shouting, several of them moving closer. In the chaos, there were only a few people maintaining their composure. Valerie was one of them, and she appeared to be locked in a staring contest with another: a tall, pale woman with a shaved head and an abnormally long neck was glaring at her with such naked contempt that it took Lucas aback. Her lips moved, and he somehow heard her over the thousands of other voices vying for dominance, despite the fact she seemed to be speaking at a volume that was barely conversational. She had a soft, sibilant voice, and even though he’d never met her before, her words immediately informed him who she was:

  “Are you so determined to bring this place to ruin, Demon-touched?”

  The atrium fell silent once more, like the entire room had sucked in a sharp breath. The air itself seemed to fall still.

  So this would be Master Iwuni Meyah then, Lucas thought, doing his best to show no outward hostility towards the woman. The master who advocated for ‘destroying’ Valerie when she was first brought to the Moontower.

  He hadn’t heard much about the woman beyond that, but he felt he didn’t need to. Florence had tried to explain that the Master of Security wasn’t a bad person, she was simply forced to be cautious by her experiences and the position she held.

  Lucas understood that. He could even understand why a skycloak would argue to eliminate someone who’d been infected by some kind of demonic taint, even if it was a child. Horrible as the idea was, it made sense. He would’ve been against it, and he was glad the Order hadn’t taken her advice, but he understood.

  However, bringing it back up after Valerie had served the Order faithfully for over a decade seemed spiteful in the extreme. What was her angle here, even?

  “My goal always has been and always will be the destruction of the Demon Lord and all his Blighted forces on this planet, Master Meyah,” Valerie said coolly.

  “And how do you imagine your current actions assist you in this goal of yours? As far as I can see, sending the most populous and defensible city known to humanity into a panic is rather counterproductive to that aim.”

  “The city will not panic if we make announcements—”

  “Will the people listen? Or will they see the Order’s forces return from Harwyck and erect the barrier less than a day later, and come to their own conclusions? And what will the rogue elements you’ve described think of this? It’ll only be a provocation to them!”

  That was, admittedly, the whole point. But it was hardly as if Valerie could say that.

  Valerie stared at the woman for a moment. “As Master of Security, I’m sure you’re aware of many of the hostile groups out there in the city.”

  “Of course I am,” Master Meyah snapped. “And thus I know far better than you what threat they pose.”

  “When Lady Claire returns to the Moontower,” Valerie said, raising her voice once more, “she will have the means to summon Lucas Brown right here to the Order’s place of power. That is what her mission into the Blighted Lands sees her pursuing. There are many groups in the city and beyond who wish to gain one of the Great Powers for themselves, and they would undoubtedly take rash action upon learning of his arrival. Before that occurs, I believe it is best to deal with these enemies before they can become a true problem, directly posing a threat to Lord Lucas himself.”

  “You want the Order to hunt down its enemies in Dawnguard, in other words,” Master Meyah sneered.

  Valerie tilted her head. “Why do you act as if that’s something new to you? Is it not your job to see to the security of the Order? I know for a fact, as I was told by Lady Claire herself, that your department has carried out assassinations on enemies in the past.”

  “My predecessors’ methods are not my own.”

  “Then the current situation is your doing,” Valerie said, with the first hint of emotion creeping into her voice. “These dissident groups should never have been allowed to grow to pose any kind of threat.”

  “Lady Claire did not consider them a threat at all!”

  “Because she has far too many things to focus on, and thus can’t devote the proper attention to a subject that she considered to be adequately handled by you!” Valerie took a step forward, jabbing an accusing finger in Meyah’s direction. “Remember that you are Master of Security. Not the Master of the Front Lines, not the Master of Defence, not the Master of Exorcism. Your job is to deal with human threats, and you have failed dismally.”

  Meyah’s eyes narrowed, and she took a step forward to match Valerie’s. “You dare question my judgement, while your own mind is so clouded by a demon’s influence you must have your emotions magically dampened to even function as a human?!”

  “Enough!” Master Haddem barked, stepping between them. He glared Meyah down until she returned to the line of Masters, all of whom looked rather taken off guard by the confrontation they’d just witnessed. Then he turned to Valerie. “Captain Vayon,” he began, then his mouth hung open for a few seconds. He closed it, then grumbled something unintelligible under his breath before continuing aloud, “You truly believe Lady Claire can summon Lucas Brown?”

  “She will have him here upon her return, yes,” Valerie said with absolute confidence. To be fair, she’d phrased it so she wasn’t technically lying, but it was still a massive and deliberate deception anyway. “Sending the Order to Pentaburgh would be an enormous waste of resources.”

  “Why have you not brought this up before now?”

  “Because I was ordered not to.”

  There was another moment of silence, Haddem staring at her wide-eyed.

  Another of the Masters, a man with a long silver beard that had been tied into several braids full of black beads, spoke up, “You defy Lady Claire’s orders for this, then?”

  “There are circumstances where defying Lady Claire’s orders are acceptable, Master Kym. She’s said so herself. This is one such time,” Valerie said. “She would not have appreciated my loyalty and obedience if I prioritised them over potentially hundreds of my brothers’ and sisters’ lives. You could say that keeping quiet on this matter would be defying another, more important order of hers: to think for myself and employ my better judgement in times of crisis.”

  “Judgement?” Master Meyah hissed. “How can you talk of judgement?”

  “Enough, Meyah!” Master Haddem bellowed, sending the woman a glare. “This hostility is beneath the both of you. We are all on the same side here.”

  Master Nhiti spoke next. “Are you certain of your words, Captain Vayon?”

  “Categorically,” Valerie said. She paused for a moment, turning her head from one side to the other, and Lucas could see she was meeting the gaze of multiple people in the crowd. She raised her voice again when she continued, “I’m sure my reputation precedes me. Many of you surely know that, even while on the Front Lines, I advocated strongly for my belief that Lucas Brown would one day appear, and the tides of the war would change. Ten years there did not crush my hope. Quite the opposite, it strengthened my conviction. I saw a world worse than any of the five hells, and I refused, despite the affliction Master Meyah has reminded you all of, to give in to despair. I had to have hope, because I wouldn’t have been able to fight otherwise.”

  “We know all this, Captain,” Master Haddem said softly. His voice still carried in the silence. The whole room seemed to be holding its breath.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “I say this to remind you all of how strongly I believe, and hope that reminder will emphasise how significant it is when I say that retaking Pentaburgh would be a costly mistake, with no ultimate benefit. It does not need to be done. I will not go so far as to reveal the details of Lady Claire’s current mission, for reasons that should be obvious. But know that everything will change when she returns. Lucas Brown will be here at her side. The Great Star will walk among us.” She paused, turning her attention to the Masters once more. “And I believe we should be doing everything we can to prepare for that moment. Foremost, we have to ensure this city is safe for him.”

  Lucas did his best not to draw attention to himself, but couldn’t help thinking it was inevitable when he was standing so close to the woman who seemed to have enraptured the entire Order right now. There were people lingering on the grand staircase, even, watching them from above. Surely no one would be paying attention to him.

  “This is dangerous talk, Captain. The action you advocate for is not out of the question, but instigating that kind of conflict in the city under the current circumstances seems reckless.” Master Haddem frowned as he glanced between Valerie and Florence. “I would expect talk like this from Wynn, but it is unlike you.”

  “Then take this as further proof that I truly believe things have changed,” Valerie said.

  “For what it’s worth,” Florence added, “I have seen evidence that’s convinced me of her words.”

  “What evidence would this be?” Master Meyah cut in, eyes narrowed on Florence. “If it’s only your word added to hers, you surely must understand it’s not enough, Wynn. You’re a skilled fighter and a good ranger, but you do not have the influence to move the Order itself.”

  Florence shrugged, unbothered. “My word might not move the Order, but I’d like to think it does have some weight among my peers. As long as my fellow rangers understand it’s not just Captain Vayon who believes Lady Claire has found something in the Blighted Lands that may change the course of this conflict.”

  “There’s a reason she took all of her most trusted warriors with her,” Valerie said.

  “And why were you not included in that cohort?” Master Haddem asked. “I must admit, I was under the impression Lady Claire preferred to pick you for these missions, due to your unique ability to resist the Blight. Was I wrong?”

  “As I said, I stayed behind to deal with the situation we find ourselves in now,” Valerie said. She eyed the masters one by one. “What’s done is done. The barrier is active, and the whole city will be able to see it. What the people will think of that and how they’ll react is difficult to predict, but we can say with some certainty that our enemies will begin to enact their plans. Perhaps they will even rush. If nothing else, even if we don’t take direct action out in the city, we should maintain the barrier to protect ourselves.”

  “But you believe we should go on the offence,” Master Haddem said grimly.

  “I do,” Valerie said, squaring her shoulders. She reached into her cloak and withdrew a familiar scroll, which she held up above her head. With a flick of her wrist, it unrolled, showing the masters its contents. She gave them just enough of a look at it to realise what it was, their eyes all going wide, even Meyah’s, before she snapped it shut and withdrew it beneath her cloak. “That, as many of you have just surmised, was a copy of the Great Summoning Array.”

  The room burst into chatter once more, but this time it was a subdued, disbelieving hiss of traded whispers. None dared raise their voices. Even the masters were taken aback, though their reactions varied somewhat.

  Shock was written across all their faces and demeanours, but it seemed to manifest in different ways. Nhiti looked like she wanted to cross the distance to Valerie and snatch it from her grasp. Meyah’s fingers clawed, like she wanted to tear into Valerie for withholding something so vital. Even Master Kym, who had spoken little but with much composure, had taken a step back, one hand frantically pawing at his silver-braided beard.

  Master Haddem, however, closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. His eyes seemed older and slightly unfocused when he opened them once more. “Lady Claire gave that to you, then?”

  Valerie said nothing. Apparently, there was a limit to how much she was willing to outright lie, but she wasn’t about to tell the truth, either—that she’d drawn it with her own hand, copying down the array in the Summoning Hall itself. The fact she’d been inside Pentaburgh had to remain secret, for now.

  Her silence was taken as an answer, and Master Haddem sighed again. “And if she has recreated the array as you say, then it may truly be that she has discovered some secret of the summoning that would lead her to believe she can bring Lord Lucas here to us.” He shook his head, giving a rueful smile. “When I gave my speech this morning, I knew times would be changing for the Order. I had no inkling this is the new road we would be walking.”

  “What are you saying, Zahyr?” Nhiti asked, looking at him askance.

  “If all Captain Vayon has revealed today is true,” Master Haddem said, “then I believe the course of action she has suggested is, broadly speaking, also correct. If Lord Lucas is soon to arrive, then the Order should take action to make certain any danger to his person is minimal. He will be vulnerable, for a time. A Great Hero yet to reach his greatness. Just as it was for the First Order with Lady Claire, Lady Aarya, Lord Rian, and Lord James, it is the Order of Five’s duty to ensure Lord Lucas has the resources and space to achieve the destiny laid out for the five great heroes so long ago.”

  “This is reckless, Zahyr,” Master Meyah warned.

  “It is necessary,” Master Haddem replied, giving her a cool look. “Even if it turns out Lady Claire is wrong, and Lord Lucas cannot be summoned, it’s still prudent to eliminate enemies of the Order.”

  “Taking an aggressive stance may make matters worse,” Master Meyah repeated an earlier argument, but it was obvious her heart wasn’t in it.

  Everyone in the room could see where the winds were blowing. All the whispers echoing through the great atrium were on the same subject: how the Order was going to eliminate the enemies of the Great Five. That they were going to take action seemed increasingly inevitable. The only question was what action.

  Lucas, meanwhile, felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. This plan had been reckless in the extreme, and its failure could have been disastrous. But it looked to have worked. Valerie had played her role well, showing not a hint of the reluctance she’d displayed when they’d been planning it.

  The masters moved away, huddling close together, falling deep into quiet discussion. A small gap formed around them, the rest of the Order giving them space even as the rest of the atrium filled up. It felt like there were more people here than there had been even this morning, drawn by the sudden activation of the barrier.

  Looking around, taking in the countless warriors who’d be his allies for the foreseeable future, Lucas was struck by the sheer variety of people present. People from every walk of life, every region. Little bits of knowledge he’d picked up in Florence and Valerie’s lessons over recent weeks popped up, and he recognised people from all across Aureon and beyond.

  Mountain clansmen from Palais in the far west of the continent, identifiable by their long earlobes. The dark-skinned, lanky people of long-fallen Aeyem. Uniquely yellow-haired folk from Caelunn to the south, which had never seen the Blight encroach upon its borders and yet sent countless noble warriors to fight for people of Aerth. He even spotted a few Raelar, with those triangular red tattoos on their foreheads and cheeks that reminded him so much of Aly. There were so many more races and ethnicities on display, too. Dozens of them.

  And they were all going to risk their lives to make this place safe for him.

  All of a sudden, he didn’t feel quite so triumphant. The realisation didn’t completely kill his mood, since he could tell himself that many more would have died, and in much worse circumstances, if they had tried to retake Pentaburgh. But there was always the other option. He could have allowed the Order to give up on his arrival. It would have made things more complicated for himself in the long run, but it probably would have led to less conflict.

  But he couldn’t afford to think that way. Already, thousands of people had paid the ultimate sacrifice to give him this power, and many more would throw their lives away for his sake in the future because of it. Whatever he thought of the circumstances, the fact remained that he had been given immense power, and he was going to have to be worthy of it.

  The only thing worse than the thought of people giving their lives for him was the idea of wasting that sacrifice. Like it or not, he was important now. For the moment, he was going to have to prioritise his own survival, training himself up until he was worthy of the Great Hero moniker.

  Then, he’d repay them for their sacrifices ten times over.

  Lucas’ fists clenched at his sides, determination filling him. Valerie glanced over, and they exchanged a nod.

  The masters didn’t confer for long. It was surely obvious to them that most of the skycloaks present were eager to take action, and it seemed plenty of the masters themselves were amenable to an aggressive stance, too. There was a predatory look in Nhiti’s eyes, and several others looked ready to sally out and start a battle right now.

  But Master Haddem’s voice calmed them all, bringing the atrium back to a ready silence as everyone stopped to listen. “The Order will take action,” he said gravely, then held up his hands to quiet the roar of approval that responded. It didn’t come from every corner, but it had to be the majority. “We cannot wait until Lady Claire’s return to act, and so we will seize the initiative ourselves. Tumultuous times stretch ahead of us, and it will be imperative that every member of the Order pulls their weight. Our plans have only just begun to form, and we will not rush into reckless moves.” He paused, once again having to hold up his hands for quiet as the room erupted. “Until then, all will be expected to run missions for us. Resources and intelligence must be gathered, members must be called home, and much more will need to be done. We will be asking you all to work hard in the coming days, my friends.”

  That was met with another roar of approval.

  Meanwhile, Lucas was left with mixed feelings. It sounded like no one was going to be getting out of running missions, as long as they wore a skycloak. Notably, his two companions. Both of whom were extremely unlikely to leave him alone while they were forced away to work.

  Lucas couldn’t hold back a wry smile. It hadn’t been his intent, but it looked like he might end up leaving the Moontower after all.

  Discord :)