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  The return flight home to Raritan was bizarre. Nothing really happened, and that was strange. Otaes listened to Archer grunt in exertion as he tried his best to remain airborne, still wounded but no longer afflicted by that horrific gash that the cursed sentry had given him. Temetet was also oddly quiet. His curly silver hair fluttered in the passing wind; the young elf’s eyes frozen on the landscape. His bare face, no mask, only his dark skin and Raritan tribal tattoos. Forlorn was the feeling that came to her mind. At first, she couldn’t understand why. They were going home. And to be fair, Temetet had just had the adventure of a lifetime all in one day. But then she remembered… the mask. His status as one of the Kitchi had long been erased.

  The rule was simple, she supposed. Nobody was allowed to see a Kitchi warrior maskless. While she was willing to spare Eli’s life given that Temetet was only a student, and since Misfit were friends, it was at a great cost. There was little in the way of exceptions to be made to the rule. Otaes’ circumstance was bizarre, sure, but nonetheless it violated the Warrior Elf creed. The sacred creed. The one she’d sworn all those years ago to dedicate her life to defending…

  But, all this time spent defending it… and what did she have to show? It was the Council of Elder’s who had sent them into Helena in the first place. If it wasn’t for them thrusting Temetet onto the frontlines because of their own desperation, this wouldn’t have happened at all!

  It was the chiefs who were willing to sacrifice Temetet’s life to this stupid war that should’ve been buried years ago. Eli was twice as concerned about her safety as her own tribe. What then did that say about what she was fighting for? What was she fighting for? What if the chiefs demanded Otaes to kill Misfit for violating the rule? Misfit – a squad of convicts from another planet of all things – had done more to protect her than her own tribe had since her mother died nearly a decade ago. Ever since then, Otaes had just been “The daughter of the Mirage”. Someone expendable. Important, but expendable, nonetheless.

  For the first time in her life, Otaes was without purpose. Of course, she’d defend the Warrior Elf people. They were her people, and she belonged to them just as much as they did to her. But the chiefs and the people were not the same. Especially, Grand Chief Ani…

  ‘Nothing she could’ve done’, Otaes muttered under her breath, unsure if she was mocking the Grand Chief or not. It was Ani who’d said those exact words to her. There was nothing Ani could’ve done to protect Temetet from nearly being slaughtered. He was never supposed to be in Helena, much less on the frontlines against the NSE of all things. If it weren’t for Eli, Temetet would be dead.

  And what would Otaes have done if he had died?

  “What?” Temetet asked, hearing her.

  Otaes bit her lip, surprised Temetet could hear her over the rushing wind and through her mask. She wanted to tell him why she was so concerned, but she didn’t want to terrify him even more. He knew that his review by the chiefs was coming, and once they realized that he had no mask, he would lose out on his lifelong dream. Better not to scare him any further, right? “Nothing,” Otaes lied.

  “I know that I’m in trouble. And uh… I’ve accepted that. Don’t feel too bad about me, I should’ve known…”

  “There was nothing you could do,” Otaes told him, her voice sounding surprisingly weak even to herself, “It’s not your fault.”

  “Then whose fault is it?” The answer was clear to Otaes. She ignored the question, hoping to drop the subject but still thinking about it. It bounced around her mind, trapped within her skull and the mask.

  “No matter what the chiefs say or do, in the end… I’m proud of you Temetet. Really.”

  And just like that, Temetet’s forlorn expression was erased. His eyes snapped form the landscape to her, looking up at her eyes. His were so wide open they almost sparkled, the eyes of a kid still, or an adult who hadn’t quite lost his youth, “Really?”

  And underneath her mask, Otaes was smiling too, “Really. You did good out there, Tem. Whether you become a Kitchi or not doesn’t matter. So far as I’m concerned, you’ve already fought like one.”

  And now Temetet was smiling, a grin so wide his crooked teeth stretched from one side of his face to the other, “Even after I almost… you know, died?”

  “Especially after that. You’ve been through a lot Tem, and you’re still here. That’s what matters in the end.”

  “Heh… yeah I guess so…” Temetet trailed off until he returned with another grin that was somehow even wider than his last, “Like, when I helped Sparrow’s rebels with the civilians? That was good!”

  “Yup! That was!”

  “Oh and when I was stuck with Eli and we fought through an entire horde of Imperials by ourselves! I was the one who made the bomb drone! That was so cool of me!”

  “Yeah it-“

  “And like in the end when I hacked the recon drone and flew it into the Avonians! I saved Misfit!”

  “Mhm…”

  “I did so much! I’ve gotta be like a hero or a legend by now-“

  “Okay,” Otaes huffed, “Now you’re pushing it.”

  “Sorry,” Temetet withdrew meekly.

  Otaes couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, Temetet would do just fine. He was still a kid after all, he’d learn. No matter what the chiefs said.

  But what about Otaes?

  She would find her answer soon enough as the familiar shape of Raritan appeared at the horizon through the jungle canopy…

  Landing on the roof of the Tribal Palace was equally as bizarre as the journey to get there. She braced herself, expecting the usual snarky remarks from Pakena. Even fearing them to be extra-vitriolic due to Temetet’s mask being notably absent from his face after returning home from a mission in which his mask would most certainly be necessary. But as Archer precariously touched talons on the roof of the Palace, Pakena was nowhere to be seen. Neither was his griffon. Nor, any of the griffons and their riders for that instance.

  Otaes and Temetet were quickly accosted by a few palatial guards, before being brought into the innards of the building, out of the scorching Kiote sun. No sooner had news of the duo’s arrival spread, than the stares from the servants inside of the palace. Whispers, rumors of their involvement in Helena…

  It seemed that everyone knew that something major happened there. They may have lacked finer details, but they were aware. And by the scowls and poorly-hidden looks of disappointment, they knew just how big of a failure it was. Otaes could feel her ears sink a little in embarrassment, though ultimately she knew that what happened in Helena was not her fault, nor was it Temetet’s. Misfit’s, perhaps. But most likely, it had something to do with their bosses. “Overwatch” as Eli called them. And even more likely, it had something to do with Otaes’ own superiors. “The Chiefs” as she called them.

  Temetet was not taking it well at all. With his mask missing it was very easy to discern just how red his face got from the negative attention. Again, Helena was not their fault. And most of the servants and guards inside of the Palace were most likely unaware of what really happened in the city, meaning they truly had no reason to suspect that Temetet allowed foreigners to see his face. By the goddess, half of them probably didn’t even know that Temetet was a warrior. To many he was just the younger brother of the daughter of The Mirage. Irrelevant to most. But the weight of the situation was clearly taking its toll on him, and the fact that they’d been missing sleep for a day and a half was most certainly not helping.

  And finally, the grand event. The duo were hustled into the central throne room, kneeling before the seven thrones of the Chiefs. As per usual, each of the chiefs emerged from the depths of the palace. But one chief was missing…

  Grand Chief Ani was also nowhere to be seen. Otaes lifted her head in confusion, before remembering that she was supposed to be prostrating herself in front of the chiefs as a symbol of respect. But Ani’s absence couldn’t simply be ignored. She was supposed to be here. Ani was a lot of things, but tardy or absent without just cause was certainly not among them. She couldn’t fathom a reason for her absence until Chief Zee, the red leader of the Tappa Tribe spoke to her – directly.

  “Warrior Otaes. Warrior-In-Training Temetet. I acknowledge that the current meeting may seem unorthodox, however for now, and indefinitely, Grand Chief Ani will no longer convene with us. At least, not as The Grand Chief of the Warrior Elf people,” The elf said with narrow conviction. He spoke with a lot more authority than usual. With Ani out of the picture, Zee was now the most powerful Chief among the Warrior Elves, mostly due to his leadership of the second most powerful tribe – the Tappa.

  “May this Warrior make a request?” Otaes asked, calming her erratic mind enough to formulate a question that would satisfy the traditional behavioral protocol within the palace throne room.

  Zee nodded his head, “You may proceed.”

  “Why – where is our Grand Chief and my Mother Ani? Is she absent willingly?”

  Zee chortled, surprisingly. He exchanged a few knowing glances with the other chiefs among the throne room. Otaes couldn’t help but look up to watch them, but it seemed traditional protocol was either relaxed or pushed to the wayside for now, “My dear Otaes… the humans have a saying that there are decades - centuries even - when nothing happens. And then there are days when centuries happen. Yesterday was one of those days,” Zee began.

  “The position of Grand Chief is now vacant,” said Chief Wuni of the Ximac, “The council has voted to dethrone our ex-Chief. Voting will soon begin.”

  And like that, Otaes felt a wave of something wash over her. Fear, confusion, relief, regret…? She didn’t know. It was all of them and none of them at the same time. What did she feel upon hearing those words? Chief Ani acted as the parents of Otaes and Temetet since both their mother and father had perished. Her position of authority had kept the two safe within the traditional culture of the Warrior Elf people. She’d protected them from a lot, and though Otaes had some mixed feelings about her in general, she had to at least appreciate the effort Ani went through in order to protect the daughter and son of The Mirage. That’s how Ani saw the two, anyways.

  So to hear that she’d been dethroned, and it was almost certainly because of the failure in Helena...

  Otaes wasn’t clueless after all. Ani had warned her that her position as Grand Chief was tenuous, and it seemed that she had been gambling on success in Helena to secure her position and inspire a wave of morale among the Warrior Elf people – and perhaps the greater Kiote Union. But with defeat in the River Republic’s capital, there was absolutely no chance of a quick victory as Ani hoped with the Coalition's support. It must’ve caused the entire nation to turn their back against her, before voting her out of her spot as Chief Matriarch.

  And to think that Otaes had some part in it… well, not really. She was certain of that much. It wasn’t their fault. Not in the slightest. It was ultimately Ani’s own doing. She’d placed too much faith in the Coalition to save them. But judging by what happened in Helena, not even The Coalition’s own fighters had any faith in them acting properly. Not if Eli was to be believed. And she trusted Eli wholeheartedly.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “And for your mission in Helena, I wouldn’t worry personally too much on the specifics. Our now ex-chief Ani led us to a ruinous defeat in the battle, and to think she was the same Grand Chief who guided us during our darkest hours years ago,” Zee seemed to scoff, “But I’m aware that it was not you, but Temetet, who had something to prove to the council? The mission in Helena was his proving ground, and given the fact that he’s alive…” The attention of the chiefs drifted from Otaes to Temetet just next to her. He was doing his best to remain small and to keep his head bowed low. Perhaps they wouldn’t notice the obvious…

  “You. Boy. Where is your mask?” A threatening voice boomed from Zee. Otaes could visibly see Temetet jump at the line.

  “Chief Zee, it was a bizarre circumstance. There was a lot of confusion and-“

  “I’m not talking to you, Otaes! I’m talking to the boy,” Chief Zee narrowed his eyes, “It is indecent for a Warrior to speak out of turn!”

  “B-but Temetet fought so har-“

  “I do not care about his merits. All Kitchi warriors fight hard, and bravely. That is their job. But all Kitchi warriors also ensure that they are not seen by outsiders without a mask on, and given that Temetet is lacking his I can only wonder if he had been careless,” Zee resting a head on his fist, looking down at the two like a iron tyrant gazing upon his servants, “Now speak, boy. Where did your mask go?”

  Temetet’s pupils were tiny, and his quivering body shifted up to sit on his knees though his gaze was still locked onto the floor in visible fear. Temetet looked to Otaes, unsure of what to say.

  “Chief Zee, please-“

  “Warrior Otaes, one more word out of turn from you and you’ll be escorted out of the room,” Said Chief Kianako of the Manatappa with a very bored sounding drone.

  “It would be quite a shame for the Mirage’s daughter to be disciplined because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut,” Zee spat once more, “Now, can the boy speak? Or did he lose his tongue too?”

  Defeated, Otaes turned back to Temetet. His eyes once again met hers, looking for an answer. Otaes gave him a nod, though she didn’t like it… Temetet would have to confess. Temetet’s quivering looked pathetic in the scrutiny of the chiefs, but he seemed to force himself into talking, “I… uh… I dropped it… the mask. I lost the mask, sir – uh – my lord, Chief, sir…” Temetet immediately went back down to staring at the floor as soon as he finished.

  “Ah… then you have failed the exercise?” Zee said, his voice betraying a hidden strain of vitriol. Temetet said nothing as Zee turned to the other Chiefs, “Brothers, sisters. Look at what Ani has bestowed upon us as her gifts, her legacy. A pathetic runt who can’t even keep his mask on, and a loud mouthed girl lacking discipline because of her oh so legendary status as The Mirage’s daughter. These are the defenders that Ani has demanded we place our trust into, while selling us out to The Commonwealth and the Belford Alliance. We’ll become weak puppets while the Humans protect us with their glitterbomb arsenal. How lovely.”

  Otaes gritted her teeth, her nails were practically carving into the floorboards. Zee dared called Temetet a runt? After what he went through? And Otaes was the one lacking “Discipline”? After all she’s done, everything she was forced to endure to defend Zee’s comfy position as Chief, Otaes was the enemy… it was a humiliation beyond anything else that the Imperials could ever put her through. And it was compounded given the fact that it was coming from her own tribe’s council.

  “She played us right into the hands of the Ostraland Commonwealth,” Said Chief Wuni, agreeing wholeheartedly with Zee, “Weaken our own defenses while enticing the Commonwealth and Oceania to place their weapons on our territory. She wished to destroy our cultural legacy in exchange for their protection.”

  “Erroneous calculations breed horrific results,” Noted Chief Locus of the Hannawa, “The Kiote War will only continue. It is imperative that we withdraw ourselves from the war immediately if defenders like these,” she glanced at Otaes and Temetet, sending yet another wave of hate flowing through the Kitchi’s veins, “Are the ones we place our trust in.”

  “Agreed. In fact, I plan on doing exactly that. If you’d give me the chance to, I’ll reverse this long decline of our people. Wean ourselves off of Commonwealth dependence before we become another colony of theirs like the Oceanians or Katudanites. It’ll be necessary, but only if we can get out of this war before it goes any further and any more of our people are killed,” Zee boldly proclaimed to the rest of the council and to the audience assembled before them, before turning to Otaes and Temetet, “Now… Kitchi Warrior Otaes, be grateful for the fact that I’ve decided not to punish your transgressions in the throne room today. You are still a honorable warrior, so I am told, but your behavior needs to be corrected. Fix it, or we will,” Zee warned.

  Otaes bit her tongue, resisting to urge to scream insult after insult at the elf acting as the chief of the Warrior Elf people. Zee was a staunch traditionalist, that much was clear. She had noticed hints of that before from her previous interactions with him in the court, but of course they were always usually tempered by the more harmonist leaning Ani who held ultimate authority. With Ani gone though… Zee could mold the Warrior Elf tribes into his vision, and with the state of war currently between the Kiote Union and the River Republic, should he also get nominated and elected as Ani’s successor to the head of the Union, the entire peninsula would effectively become his domain just as it was Ani’s.

  “As for you, Temetet,” Zee addressed him by his real name for once, rather than using ‘boy’, though it was very clearly not a acknowledgement of compassion of sympathy. Rather the opposite, for the name was hissed as if it were spoken between the fangs of a venomous wyvern, “I believe the council is on agreement with me on this, but your carelessness cannot go unpunished. As the acting chief of the Warrior Elf People, I hereby declare that you have been disqualified from achieving the rank of Kitchi Warrior. I’d request that you turn in your mask, but I’m assuming that it is long buried in Helena, correct?”

  Otaes turned over to see her brother, hunched over in his submissive posture of kneeling before the chiefs. It was difficult to make out from the way he was hiding himself, but there were definitely tears glittering in the faint light trailing down his cheek and onto the floor. Still quivering in fear, now probably heartbreak, it must’ve taken everything in his strength not to start crying like a baby, “Y-yes…” he whimpered.

  Hatred. Rage. Otaes’ fingers were shaking they wanted to strangle Zee that much. She could probably kill him. She was definitely faster than the guards placed around her, though of course… unfortunately… she had to remain calm.

  It was heartbreaking, utterly, to watch Temetet in that state. Small, frail, and broken into tears. That someone would do such a thing with so much spite in their heart to her brother was unbearable to Otaes. Temetet didn’t deserve that. She knew that much.

  “What was that, boy? I can’t hear you!” Zee shouted at him.

  “Yes! Y-yes sir! I lost it in… in Helena,” Temetet again whimpered.

  “Ah,” Zee turned to the other chiefs, “Let’s get this over with. All in favor of disqualification…” Every chief raised their hands in unison, “I suppose I don’t need to call an ‘all oppose’ vote then. Temetet, you are officially barred from the Kitchi. And Otaes, I don’t want to see or hear a peep out of you until you properly train your brother in the art of fighting and until you get your act together. Now both of you are dismissed.”

  Both Temetet and Otaes stood. Otaes kept her eyes closed as she did so for fear that if they were open, she would lunge at Zee. Until she noticed Temetet trembling. Immediately she reached down to help her brother up, and as the two left the throne room – humiliated – she cast a final glare at Zee.

  But it was doubtful Zee could see it as he turned to the other Chiefs to discuss politics.

  Tranquil pondwater. Skittering water striders zoomed across the algae covered surface, zapping up little grubs and critters lurking just beneath the water’s surface. Dragonflies danced with mosquitoes above the water’s surface, as a guppy nibbled at the leaves of a flower dipped into the pond.

  With the jungle surrounding her, Otaes could once again get her thoughts in order. Her back was rested against the furry body of Archer, who was reclining in the tropical sunlight afforded by the clearing. He seemed to be healing just fine, and already was back to his normal playful and loyal self, even if he was being a bit lethargic. For that at least, Otaes was grateful as she idly patted Archer’s feathered head. It was a lazy day today. Nothing to do except think about the past. It had been two days since she’d come back home to Raritan, and somehow the days seemed shorter than the few hours she’d spent with Misfit. The time felt hollow now, somehow.

  Why exactly? She wasn’t sure. But every time she initiated that line of thought, she always came back to one person in particular. Eli. She wondered if he was alright. Had they killed him already? Probably. If so, he would have probably gotten off easy. For if he was still alive and held captive by Overwatch, well there wasn’t much stopping her from fearing the worst. Eli suggested torture as a joke, but they both knew that it was a real possibility. She could only hope he was safe. She had tried to offer him and Misfit a chance to flee. They could’ve escaped to Raritan where they would live free, why would they voluntarily submit themselves to being the Coalition’s prisoners like that? But then, she remembered that Narva was - once again - not their home planet.

  Eli wanted to go back home to Earth. She couldn’t fault him for that. To imagine being a prisoner of war, one day shipped through a portal and forced to fight in a new world... she wasn't sure how technologically advanced Earth was, but it seemed that the concept of being to "different worlds" was one that had remained completely alien to them as it was here on Narva. His existence sounded terrifying when she thought about it. His home was not here on this planet, and he’d been brought here against both his knowledge and will. Everything he’d done while by Otaes’ side had been coincidence. The wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, There wasn’t much good here on Planet Narva anyway.

  ‘Let the human go home’ she thought to herself as a form of self-assurance.

  She could only hope he was holding well. If he was still alive anyways. Why was it that the people she cared about always ended up dead, or worse?

  Speaking of which, in the two days since they’d been back from Helena, she had only seen Ani once. She was distressed, but ultimately confirmed everything that Otaes had figured out – among other things. The Chiefs had voted her out because of the war, something Otaes already knew or at least suspected. Ani had broken her promise, “Never Another Kiote War”, and in her hasty attempt to extinguish the spark, she’d only spread the inferno. Emperor Kirk had already announced a surge of almost one hundred-thousand Imperial Soldiers into the River Republic after the Emperor declared a State of Emergency. And while an official response from the Commonwealth hadn’t materialized yet, they were likely to intervene soon.

  Another Kiote War. Just like that, years of work to end one disastrous conflict had been relegated to the wastebin. Thousands of dead innocents for nothing. And thousands more certain to join them in their graves. The Kiote Union’s attempt to capture Helena had failed, and the Avonians were back in the Peninsula to shore up their Riverlander puppets. There was no doubt that the Ostralands were getting ready to intervene themselves, and though they were allies with the Union Otaes couldn’t help but wonder how much of this was their fault? “Chief” Zee had obviously been wary of the Commonwealth’s extreme influence in not just the Warrior Elf tribes but across the entire Union.

  On that, Otaes may have strangely agreed with him. Just this once. The Commonwealth was not acting out of benevolence when they loaned their support for the Union. But then, who would protect the Union from the onslaught of the Imperial Army. There were the Sevillians and their guns, and they might prove an equal match against the Riverlands’ militia and Republican Guard on a good day. But they were nothing compared to the Avonian Empire’s war machines. The Kitchi Warriors were a proud and ancestral people, but there was no fighting the fact that the world had moved on from a world where warriors could defend their homes with the guiding wisdom of their ancestors and the weapons native to their people. This was a new world where machines ruled, where warfare was cruel, and where suffering had become weaponized and refined down to a science. The Avonians were masters at it, and if the Warrior Elves couldn’t adapt, they too would wind up like the Riverlands. Puppets. Or worse. Slaves. Chief Zee may have wanted to wean the Warrior Elves off of Commonwealth influence, but it would have been for nothing if the Warriors could not change.

  The only question now for everyone, Otaes especially, was what happens next?

  No future. No goals. Nothing. That’s all she had to look forward to now. Nothing. At least back in Helena she was fighting for something. The survival of herself, Temetet and Misfit. But here, what was it for. The people? Yes, of course, the people deserved to be saved. But what about the chiefs? What about the nation that had forgotten her, labelling her as “Daughter of the Mirage” and tossing her aside. What about the forces who’d used her – and now her brother – as a living, breathing, weapon? The forces she’d dedicated her life to?

  Perhaps that ended now, she thought, resting her head against the slumbering body of Archer. Her gaze lost in the infinite blue above. Maybe somewhere in the skies, The Mirage was there, looking back down at her. Guiding her. Still alive and flying high. Otaes would need her desperately if she was to be strong again. Her mother, hopefully, could hear her silent prayer.

  But it was doubtful that she’d say anything in response.