The house's yard was a small grassy area blocked off from the rest of the world by a tall picket fence and trees. It was early morning, so the greenery was vibrant, almost offensive to the eye.

  Vin pulled branches from one of the trees in the yard and used them to shape a chess set. Once complete, he sat on the prickly grass near a patch of magenta-colored flowers, peering up at the bright sky and taking in the blossom-scented air. He enjoyed the stillness for a while. On the other hand, Gideon was tense about what to expect from the human and the contraption he created.

  Vin shut his eyes and let out a deep, well-deserved yawn, telling the guard, "Sit, relax."

  The slick-haired Ravenour's wings were tucked but fidgety. He sat near the placid Human who rested on the grass, seemingly vacant of worries or thoughts.

  "Alright," Vin said, pointing at and explaining what each piece on the board did. After Gideon understood the basics, they began to play. Because there wasn't much time, Vin had to devise and present a plan while they played. Luckily, Casty had already given them all the information they needed to succeed.

  Vin knew touching the vines around the bridges would lead to an army entering the market and seeking intruders. So, the plan was for the Ravenours to cross by water instead. All but one person- who would purposely cross the overpass on foot and draw the enemies' attention.

  Like last time, an announcement should make all the civilians flee, and the knights will chase the only person tagged by vines. While that individual is being hounded, the other warriors can quickly loot the now-empty market.

  Vin shared the plan while playing the game, concluding, "The only difficulty will be finding someone to be a decoy and draw attention away from your group. You can figure that out on your own."

  "Did you come up with this plan yourself?" Gideon asked, trying to remember what each chessboard piece did.

  "Why? Are you mad that I want one of your people to be bait?" Vin asked uncaringly.

  The guard shook his head, explaining, "It's just hard to believe you devised this strategy in the little time we've been sitting here."

  "Quick thinker," Vin remarked, his face utterly deadpan. Jazzy looked at him skeptically but returned his gaze to the battlefield below.

  They played several one-sided games before Vin began to move the same pieces in the same pattern each time. He at least wanted Gideon to try and find a counter on his own. It wouldn't make the Ravenour a war commander, but at least it'd train his critical thinking and that each action he took had consequences.

  His past teachers would find it laughable that he was giving someone strategy advice. He didn't do well in school or read many books in his lifetime. It was a slap to the face of actual scholars that a delinquent skater was endowed with the most extraordinary mind on the planet.

  Playing against Jazzy was so effortless that Vin doodled on the air using the Marking spell, drawing things he hadn't thought of until his flashback. He even borrowed and archived their clarinet at one point, knowing it would hinder his ability. In a flash, Vin absorbed four years of the instrument's existence, which disoriented him enough to make him lose his queen, though he still won.

  A dozen frustrating losses later, Gideon flipped the board and stood. He didn't yell but calmly criticized, "Playing with this human toy is pointless. People don't move like chess pieces; real enemies aren't predictable."

  Vin reset the board exactly as it had been, knowing that if that was anyone else, he would give up on them and leave, but Gideon was different, determined, someone he respected. "That's not the point. You need to learn to be patient and consider options, something you Ravenours are bad at."

  "You've gotten past the first six moves, so sit down and finish," he said, seated calmly with his legs crossed. "Or, do you not want to become Maeve's general?"

  Gideon's brows tugged inward, and he soon pacified. He sat back down and stared blankly at the board. An edgy silence settled between them as the game resumed. Jazzy was tense, forcing himself to comply as his hand hovered over a knight. He didn't move it immediately but looked at the playing field. A moment later, he withdrew and grabbed a rook instead.

  Vin watched the move, leaned back, and dryly remarked, "You're thinking for once. Progress."

  He moved his next piece, asking, "Why do you put yourself through all this for her? I know Tristen's story and how she helped him after his parents were killed, but what's your deal."

  Gideon's hand stiffened, hovering over a pawn. "Why do you care?"

  "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want," Vin stated. His tone was casual, but he was curious about the man he'd seen often the past few days.

  ...

  A moment of stillness later, Jazzy rubbed the back of his scale-covered neck, "It's not an interesting story."

  Vin shrugged, "I didn't ask because I wanted to be entertained."

  The winged man moved another chess piece and then sat still in thought. Minutes later, he confessed, "I wanted to be an Artisan."

  "Hmm?" Vin sounded, glancing at Jazzy with piqued interest.

  Gideon pulled a blade of grass from the ground and fidgeted with it, "An inventor named Amirin raised me. Because of her, I learned to use a screwdriver years before I could read or write the language."

  "I didn't go to academy, and we lived inside our workshop, so I was with Amirin every hour of the day. She was talkative and strange, but I loved that about her."

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

  Gideon suddenly crushed the grass in his hand, and his face tightened, "I was with Amirin when elites barged into our workshop and forced her to take on one of their projects. It was something about building a weapon powerful enough to breach Elven's defense."

  "Even though she was threatened, she worked diligently, running around in those ridiculous baggy pants..."

  "After a year, she completed her work. She had built a large iron bolt launcher capable of breaking down stone walls within minutes of operation."

  Gideon smiled softly. "I had never been more impressed by her. That same day, Amirin ran through town shouting about her creation and boasting about it to other inventors."

  "The people who had forced her to build the weapon were extremely eager to use it. They spared no time discussing its operation and how it could penetrate Elven defenses. However, as Amirin explained, the mood in the room soured."

  "Naturally, those war-hungry men were too foolish to grasp how to operate the launcher, let alone handle its maintenance."

  Gideon moved his bishop and knocked over one of Vin's rooks, "So, they took her."

  There was a moment of silence where neither spoke but just played the game. After a while, the guard sighed and continued, "Apparently, she was captured by Elves. A week later, she was presumed dead."

  "I was furious at the higher-ups, but they were too untouchable. However, I knew the King's daughter was never guarded- it was always just her and another kid with bright hair. So, one day I grabbed a carving knife from our workshop, waited till they left the castle, and followed them."

  "I was young, and unskilled, so I lost them on a turn but somehow but found them again behind a bakery. When I located them Maeve was on the ground, covered with bruises and dirt, while Tristen was pinned down, struggling against a group of older boys who beat him because of his heritage."

  Vin stopped him, asking, "I've been wondering about that. Casty and the mute woman are the only other people with colorful hair. Does that mean they aren't native to your town?"

  Jazzy nodded, "A colorful appearance and smaller body are traits from far Northern tribes. I was told their ancestors fed on another creature besides dragons, which caused a different kind of mutation. Our nations are at odds, but the King made some exceptions for specialists like Tristen's parents, who studied magic."

  "I see..." Vin murmured, staring at the early-day sky in contemplation. 'I thought it was too savage even for Ravenours to kill a couple for making low-grade magic, but they already disliked Tristen's parents because they were from a rival tribe. They probably would have killed Tristen too if Maeve didn't get involved.'

  "Being different only made it worse for them," the guard stated. "When the bullies were bored with Tristen, they attacked Maeve again, too, calling her names like tainted blood, mongrel, and that her kind had killed their families in war."

  Gideon's red eyes lowered onto the bright green grass, and his shoulders sunk, "That was the first time I saw her cry."

  "I remember thinking how weird it was that none of the adults that passed tried to save the princess or the young boy. And how it was stupid that those bullies were attacking her as if she was the Elf that killed their loved ones."

  "But, then it dawned on me that I was doing the same thing. I was holding grudges against her- as if a sad princess was responsible for Amirin's death."

  Gideon watched Vin take one of his pawns, and he clicked his teeth. "I was just so angry... I needed someone to hate, and that happened to be her."

  The young man made his next move, continuing the narrative, "I followed them the next day too but I made a mistake, and one of the bullies saw me and pulled me into the fight."

  "For some reason, even hurt and teary-eyed, Maeve tried to defend me... Of course, all three of us were beaten together, but I didn't forget that she stood up for me, a stranger."

  "I don't know why, but after the fight, we ended up talking, and I told her my story. She cried and promised to make things right on her father's behalf, but after watching her I knew she was the one who needed help most."

  Jazzy slapped his bicep, which wasn't impressive for a Ravenour; "So, I began to get into fights with them more often. Back then, we were all just friends. In those days Maeve still smiled, cried, and enjoyed things like sweets and flowers."

  Gideon was upbeat as he recalled fond memories of him and his friends. But, then, his mood dampened, "It didn't stop with me and Tristen. Maeve saved many people well before being recognized as the princess. Every tragic tale she heard made her more bitter of her father, and she gradually became resentful."

  "By the age of twelve, her number of retainers jumped from two to ten, including Northern Ravenours like Casty and her father Vauntis."

  This was a new name that triggered the start of Maeve's rise. As Vin listened, he learned that Vauntis was originally an assassin for hire who moved away from the Northern nations after poisoning a king. He was allowed to live in their town despite his and his daughter's appearance because he was an Expert-ranked adventurer. He was in their good graces until Casty came home beaten one day, and he raised hell at the academy she attended. Maeve stopped him from being executed, instead praising him for his love for his kin. The man became loyal to the young princess for her mercy, becoming the first real warrior in her ranks.

  The next time Maeve and her friends were attacked by the usual bullies, Vauntis found out and spent the next day hunting them all down. Gideon said he clearly recalled what happened next. He and the rest of Maeve's retainers were led to a remote location in town and entered an old building where they saw the group who attacked them in shackles with their mouths covered. Casty tried to persuade her father to let them go, but Vauntis held out his blade and told Maeve that a ruler who hesitated was a ruler destined to fail.

  Gideon picked up the queen chess piece and held it toward the sun, "That was the last time I saw her cry.

  "Vauntis taught me how to be ruthless and kill... I'm sure he was brought up the same way; after all, Ravenour culture destroys innocence in children."

  "We may be ruined, but I follow Maeve because I know she can create a better life for the coming generations."

  Vin saw Less, Hughton's granddaughter, at the back of his mind. How numb she looked, so void of emotion. He never imagined being thankful for being raised Human, a creature encouraged to smile and enjoy life's simple pleasures.

  "She'll do it," Vin said, taking another victory against Gideon. "If anyone can save your people, its her."

  "I know," Jazzy replied. Ten games later, his brain gave out, and he groaned. Vin Archived the chessboard, telling them, "That's enough for now."

  His opponent was quiet, massaging away a headache.

  They walked back to the house together, and both stopped at the door in amazement. Vin's eyes widened when he found Tristen and Casty executing perfect ollies on their boards.

  He'd known Antsy was a natural at skating, but for them both to grasp the skill that took him days to learn was phenomenal. Thinking about it, the fact that Tristen taught himself to skate without guidance is incredible; if Vin personally trained him, they could be on par with Olympic athletes.

  "Good job," he praised, his tone even more tender after hearing about their struggles. He walked up with soft applause. "Let's move on to the next lesson."

  He demonstrated how to do a 180 ollie. He did so with practiced ease, snapping the board off the ground and rotating his body and the board 180 degrees before landing with a satisfying clack.

  The two skaters restrained their awe, promised swift completion of this lesson, and began to practice together. With them taken care of and Gideon gathering his allies to explain their new game plan, Vin was on to conversing with Maeve about his absent power.