“This is madness!”

  For a time, all sense of proper conduct vanished. For a few minutes, I wasn’t “Lord Bloodsword.” There were no titles, no respect. Formality dissolved in the face of outrage.

  We stood in the field camp on the hilltop. I had only been minutes back in the field after recovering in Boston, and already I had caused more upset than I had imagined.

  Darkwater paced in front of me, vibrating with rage. “This hasn’t been done! It’s never been done! What were you thinking?”

  He was an older man, a man of authority, respected in the city. He had the experience of many Fallings behind him. It took a lot for me to remind myself that I was not only his peer, but his nominal superior. He may have been a lord of the land, but I was a fucking Griidlord. I had to keep reminding myself of this in the face of his dissatisfaction. A large part of me wanted to cower and hang my head.

  But I stood firm, making my voice louder and stronger than I truly felt. “Lord Darkwater, I appreciate your counsel—”

  Darkwater turned on me, “My counsel! My counsel? You must undo this! How could Baltizar have allowed—”

  I raised an armored hand and let a flicker of the deadly light of POWER touch my visor. The display might have been rude; it may have been excessive, but it stopped him and caught his attention. It was a reminder that I was the Sword.

  I spoke evenly, “Lord Baltizar has no place to allow or disallow the action. He made no objection, but he is no more in a position to make rulings on this action than you are, Lord Darkwater. I will remind you that I have this command, by traditional right. As much as that reality may have been up for discussion in the War Council, what has never been questioned is the right of the Sword to lead the Griidlords of Boston. Am I mistaken?”

  Darkwater slowly shook his head, trembling with suppressed anger.

  I said, “This is an executive decision. It’s time we made changes, and this is the first.”

  Beside me stood the reason for the outrage. As I finished speaking, Alya added her voice, “The city needs success. Out there, on the fringes of the world, with conflicts already drawing attention to the south, Boston is in little need of my protection.”

  Darkwater said, “But the city is defenseless, with the army and now even the Scepter in the field…”

  Alya said, “She’s not defenseless. She still has her walls, still has her troops. The fact of the matter is simple. There is nothing anyone can want in Boston. We don’t have a horde of Flows to capture; we don’t have stockpiles of treasure. Boston is a prize for no one. She only needs protecting if there are those who would take her, and frankly there are none that would. My presence here makes all the more sense.”

  Darkwater worked his mouth like a fish. Then he said, “But you’re too vulnerable, too precious. You’re our most powerful Griidlord and you’re out here waiting to be smashed by the first suit that gets close to you.”

  Alya said, “Lord Bloodsword has instructed that I remain in the camp, adding to its defensibility, for most of the duration of the Falling. I won’t travel with the other Griidlords through terrain likely to give rise to ambush, nor will I adventure aimlessly. But our city needs Flows, and I can make a difference in the right situation. I trust Lord Bloodsword to make the right decisions. More than that, I trust him to hear my counsel, and your counsel, on the wisest ways to deploy my abilities.”

  Darkwater looked from her to me and back again. I could see the gears turning in his head. It was time to go big or go home, and having a level 63 Griidlord in the field could rewrite the entire script. I saw him thinking, knew what he was contemplating. He could send more troops out from camp with a long-range weapon like Alya present to defend it. She could move with bodyguards of knights in the field and alter the shape of the battlefield.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  I said, “I won’t ignore all your advice, Lord Darkwater. I value your experience and trust your counsel. But Boston has suffered long enough; now is the time to take chances. I think this a gamble worth taking. You might say this is an action no experienced veteran would take, but maybe that’s the point. Maybe my lack of experience comes with unconventional thinking. Convention has gotten the city nowhere lately.”

  Darkwater tightened his lip. “I must consult Lady Ironveil and Lord Farseer.”

  He nodded curtly and turned away.

  As she watched his back, Alya smiled. She said, “He’s in. He’s just stomping off in a huff to save face now. He’s realized the advantage of this.”

  I said, “I don’t know why more cities don’t do this. Why leave a fifth of the Griidlord power in the city during the Falling?”

  Alya said, “It’s truly wiser than you might think. I have terrific power, but even at my level I am slower and physically weaker than you are. Any Griidlord that can get close to me will have a huge advantage. But you are right, when a city has such great need, risks need to be taken. I wonder if this will force other cities to do the same. We are about to have significantly more firepower than most units in the field.”

  I said, “For now, at least, it’s an advantage. And a surprise. We can hold you here, available, until the right Orb falls. Even moving with the army, you can be well protected while still being able to use your power. For now, though, it’s probably most useful to keep you in the fort to maintain our element of surprise.”

  Alya nodded. She said, “You might have been very right with your assessment of your inexperience being an asset. As obvious a thought as it should be, this wouldn’t have occurred to any experienced soldier. It’s madness, but the kind of madness that could change our fortunes.”

  I said, “Thank you.”

  She said, “For what?”

  I said, “For supporting me. For coming so willingly. This is your life we put on the line.”

  She shook her head. “My life is for Boston. I’ve lived decades feeling useless. We squander my power keeping me in the Tower. I want to fight as well. I want to help change the city’s fortunes. This is a risk well worth taking. I take the risk fully aware of the possible consequences.”

  “Thank you,” I said again.

  The older woman seemed to hesitate for a moment, as though she wanted to say something more. It was easy to look at her face and see someone hardly older than I was. But Alya had been in the suit for more than 50 years. For all the smoothness of her skin, for all the youthful grace, this woman had a lifetime’s experience in the world.

  I said, “Yeah…”

  Alya said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  I was confused. “I thought you agreed with me. You just made it sound like you totally believe I know what I’m doing. I mean, yeah, that would be overestimating it. I’m not sure I understand.”

  She shook her head. “No, not about deploying me. I’m with you on that. I mean about the other things. I know Baltizar has his grip firmly on you. I hear things as well. You seem close to Morningstar. I’ve seen you walking with Ra in the gardens. A fortress of the Green Men was annihilated recently, and your Griid-train would have been suspiciously close to it. Other things too.”

  I didn’t know what to say. That was a lot.

  Alya went on, “Be careful, Tiberius. You might be aware, or you might not be aware, but you’re a prodigy. Boston has reason for real hope for the future with you as the Sword. I can see what you could be capable of. But fighting on the field and delving into the plots and puppetmasters are different games. Everyone has an agenda—everyone. Baltizar may or may not have the best interests of Boston at heart, but he is very good at controlling and manipulating people, whatever his true goals are.”

  I was slow to respond. I said, “Do you have an agenda?”

  She smiled, maybe a little bitterly. “I’ve lived a long time. I’ve grown powerful in the suit. I’ve gotten this far in part because I don’t play games or go messing around with agendas. Boston needs Griidlords to win Flows—that’s my agenda. To play my part, fill my role. Consider that maybe that should be your path as well. Fight for Flows, run your Griid-trains, and then just enjoy your life. There’s a lot of happiness and luxury to be had for a Griidlord. Especially a young man like you, lots of good times to be had. Getting wrapped up in the machinations of our Lord Supreme, or others like him, that could be the fastest way to living a very short life. Or a long and unhappy one. Do you see what I’m saying?”

  I said, “I think so.”

  But I didn’t really. I didn’t grasp the scale of what she could imagine.