1 Year Earlier
Heavenly Tower, Song Domain
Ethereal moonlight lit the stone hall, bleeding from the stained windows.
''You're really going to leave?''
The woman sat morbidly on a throne, glancing down at a young man who knelt on the cobble beneath the steps. Two clan guards stood at either side of the throne and either side of the entrance to the hall.
She bit her lip. Dell had forced an environment that required decorum.
''Aye, the Antarctic expedition will fruit many opportunities.''
The throne-lady paused. ''Opportunities…'' she whispered. The lady looked betrayed.
''Aye, my liege, many opportunities to grow stronger. The clan needs it. I'll be leaving NSQC with the First Evacuation Army within the week.''
The guards shifted. The lady broke a disappointed frown.
''The clan is fine as it is. Sure, things have only gotten harder since…. Master Riddick passed-''
The young man cut her off. ''The war between the domains is coming. Sooner than later. And a clan that can't capture even its own gateway will surely be replaced with a rival clan that can.''
The room grew tense, but the young man persisted.
''I am afraid that you've been deluding yourself, my liege. Might makes right, and might alone. I'll conquer the second nightmare, then the third. And I'll lay waste to the labyrinth that houses the gateway. If not, then Clan Sorrow or one of the others will be appointed here, and what you father died for will have been for naught.''
One of the guards retorted. ''Silence your tongue, Awakened Dell-''
''I will not.'' The young man stood up and bowed. ''This will be the last you see of me for a long time, my liege, but I shall return.''
With that the young man spun, and exited the hall.
If only he knew how his words were to be truer than he intended.
-----
Present Time
Morrowmound Outpost, Song Clan Territories In East Antartica
Dell arrived at the gates of the Clan Stronghold.
The guardsman looked at him from the top of the wall.
"State your business."
"Ascended Dell of the First Evacuation Army."
The guardsman's mood sank. The visitor was in uniform, but he had not expected First Evac. The horrors that the army had faced were unparalleled in the Antarctic campaign.
"An envoy from the government?"
"No, I have business with Song Seishan."
The guardsman grimaced.
"Do you have papers? Commander Seishan has marched out."
Marched out?
"Is that so?"
"Aye, the highest ranked officer we have here is Ascended Reyvan. It'll be a while before she returns."
Dell paused, processing this information.
"It's regarding a cohort of yours that had been hunting a Fallen Tyrant. The Drowned Leviathan, three clicks south."
The soldier grunted, then beckoned Dell over his shoulder, disappearing behind the parapets.
The gates slowly opened, their mechanisms powering up and firing their Spelltech cylinders.
Dell walked through.
Dell found himself in the middle of the courtyard of the stronghold. Unlike other strongholds in East Antarctica, this one had only been recently constructed as a military outpost for the Song detachment. Therefore it wasn't very heavily populated. In fact, if Dell had to guess, this current detachment seemed to only number ten awakened at most.
Sora told me there would be more. Where is the rest of this detachment?
The captain had arrived from his post to greet Dell himself.
"I hear you were after Song Seishan herself," he said, grinning.
Dell glanced at the first guardsman. Was this outpost linked together by telepathy?
"Aye, I have information for her."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "What business does a government envoy have with Song Seishan?"
Although the captain was presenting an amicable facade, he was hiding a darker, confused emotion.
No government soldier should have known that Song Seishan had used their outpost as a stay over on her march to meet the Valor dogs.
"Information regarding one of your cohorts."
"And what is that?"
Dell met his eyes directly. "They're dead."
The captain's mood dimmed and the guardsman's eyes widened. The words hung in the air like a physical weight. Dell watched as the captain processed the loss—first disbelief, then a flash of grief, finally settling into grim acceptance.
A heavy silence settled over the courtyard. Several other Song awakened began to appear at the outskirts, drawn by the tension.
"How so?" the captain asked quietly, his voice carefully controlled.
"A Fallen Tyrant. It weaponized soul damage." Dell let that sink in before continuing. "I doubt any awakened, Great Clan or not, would have had the means to counteract it."
The captain's jaw tightened. Dell could see him running through the implications—not just the loss of the cohort, but what it meant for future operations.
The captain's expression soured further. He took a moment to absorb the loss before speaking again.
"And why come out of your way to tell us, or meet Song Seishan? Why not just report this to your government superiors?"
Dell studied the captain's face, weighing how much to reveal. The man was clearly suspicious now, but that was expected.
"I had planned to make a trade with her."
The captain's eyebrow arched slightly. "What kind of trade?"
Dell paused, letting the moment stretch. Around them, the other awakened had drawn closer, no longer pretending not to listen.
"The creature was a Gate Guardian, and I know the location of its seed. The location of a Second Nightmare."
The effect was immediate. The captain's eyes widened, and Dell heard one of the nearby soldiers draw a sharp breath.
Realization finally dawned on the captain. A lone government Ascended coming out of his way to inform high members of the Great Clan Song was highly unusual, especially to request Commander Song specifically. But the locations of Nightmare seeds had been especially coveted and valuable in the past. People would trade a lot for the location of one, especially members of the Great Clans. Though given the nature of the Antarctic campaign, finding Nightmares had become somewhat more common, they were still rare prizes.
What did this government soldier want in return?
"Well, come to my office. We can go over the details there."
"I had hoped to meet Song Seishan herself. Or at least Beast Master."
The captain looked irritated. Who the hell did this guy think he was? He was only a government envoy, and yet he persisted in demanding to meet the commander of the Song detachment.
The captain reluctantly extended his hand. "They won't be coming back for a while. A long while, even. So you'll have to make do with me. I am Master Reyvan."
Dell gripped his hand. "That is disappointing. My name is Dell."
The captain seemed to settle and began to turn to lead the way, but Dell's grip tightened.
The awakened began to move closer to the pair.
The air around Dell began to grow heavy.
The captain looked back, this time with tension written across his face.
The guards on the parapets turned their watch inwards.
"But I don't think you can help me," Dell said slowly.
As he spoke, Dell opened his mouth and a turquoise glow began to fester within it.