Twirling her butterfly sword around her index finger, Tina faced down her opponents while timing her steps to the beat of the music.

  A shame only she heard it since she was playing it inside of her head, but she knew her audience would’ve appreciated it immensely. The theme from was just perfect for the occasion. The high-pitched, ghostly whistle that goes high low high, followed by the howl of a lone coyote to set an eerie and desolate tone. It was the perfect mix of suspense, grit, and cowboy action, or at least that’s what daddy used to say. Heard tell that he’d even play the song or other Western movie hits when dancing with Abby, blaring it out in the background with Bardcraft to ‘inspire the troops’ while he gamboled and goose-stepped a merry jig around his inhuman foes. Was the stuff of legends these days, a story told by a hundred different people in a hundred different bars over the course of a week, the legend of Raleigh Walker, Harlan Ranger versus the Feral Bugs of the Divide.

  Now Tina was fixing to write her own legend and get it out onto the Frontier, but the sergeants would tear her a new one if she were to ‘engage in frivolous frippery’ during training. They was watching real close too, Sergeant Dixon and Begaye, the two most no-nonsense Rangers of the lot, a pair of strict, sour-faced, stogy sticklers who did everything by the book and expected the trainees to do the same. Which was fair enough, since they was all still learning the ropes, but Tina never read nothing in no handbook that said no music during fights.

  Still knew better than to try, even if she had good reason, as the music got her blood pumping and helped her maintain her Concentration Spells by keeping her mind off them. Seemed counter-intuitive, focusing on a Cantrip to play music to help maintain a continuous Spell effect, but she didn’t know why it worked, only that it did. That’s why she played the song in her head instead, moving to the beat of the drums as she gave a hop, skip, and a twirl to escape the hulking 6-foot 5 linebacker charging her way with a massive, Spectral tower shield held out front. Big Alfred had gotten even bigger, hitting a growth spurt post Pleasant Dunes despite already standing at 6-foot 2 before the fact and being older than Tina by a month. That extra height came with plenty of padded muscle too as he filled out into his massive shoulders and barrel chest, but luckily for her, he was still adjusting to all the changes and nowhere near as fast or nimble as he ought to be, which let her dance around him without so much as feeling a breeze.

  Standing in at a lean and modest 5’5”, Kacey was much faster, and shiftier too as she launched herself across the sparring ground with blades drawn and teeth bared. A sword and a knife to Tina’s single butterfly sword, one even shorter than Kacey’s knife. A tanto, she called it, to pair with her longer wakizashi, and there wasn’t a Ranger trainee deadlier than she when it came to close quarters combat. That’s why Tina didn’t even try to engage, just unleashed her Spell to scatter in all directions after giving Big Alfred the run around. Two of her used him to block Kacey’s line of sight, while a third backpedalled away at all speed, leaving the other two to skirt around the sides brandishing their butterfly swords like they were about to attack and offer a threat where none existed.

  Yeah, Mirror Image was one of those Spells that could be oh so frustrating to go against, which was a big part of why Tina loved it so dearly.

  Especially when she wasn’t up against Howie, who could always figure out which one was the real her. Would even explain how he done it too, though it never made no sense. How could he know a Mirror Image is the fake by looking at the creases in her boots or the way her hair flowed about as she moved? It was a Mirror Image, meaning the illusory copies of her were just that. Copies. As in exactly the same, with no discernable difference unless you reached out and smacked one.

  Truth was, Tina suspected Howie relied mostly on his Portent to ferret her out, using that magical Spell-like Ability that granted him an intuitive sense of things and making up nonsense about his keen skills of observation to throw her off his tracks. She couldn’t prove it, not exactly, but the fact that Kacey didn’t have no Portent and didn’t know which Tina to chase had to be some sort of evidence against Howie. Despite specializing in Scouting, the Nipponese beauty was on track to become more Conjurer than Diviner, which she proved by waggling her fingers and throwing her tanto out towards the two Tinas on her left. The blade hurtled through the air, seemingly aimed between the two Images, only to shimmer with an Aetheric glow as it split into a dozen similar blades which fanned out in a volley to strike both Images clean in the chest.

  Them weapons passed right through both Tina’s of course, since there wasn’t actually anyone or anything there, just two Illusions who grinned, winked, and stuck their tongues out before circling around to mix in with the other Images and get lost in the crowd.

  Not before Errol struck though, as he was watching and waiting for this very moment. Tina couldn’t say how he chose his target, but his lasso went straight towards the Image standing in the middle of the bunch. If that’s why he picked her, then it was a rookie mistake. Only an amateur Illusionist would stand in the most obvious spot, or an expert looking to trick another expert, and while the Tina standing in the middle certainly went to great lengths to dodge big Alfred’s charge, that was all part of the show to keep the audience guessing. Misdirection was the key, not just hiding your own actions, but drawing your opponents’ attention to what you wanted them to see, and Tina wanted them looking at the her standing front and centre.

  So when Errol’s lasso passed through empty air, Tina’s Mirror Image beamed to see it, jumping backwards while 4 more exact copies of her criss-crossed in front and behind the exposed Illusion before mixing themselves up and scattering once more.

  In Tina’s experience, most people she went up against always thought they could pick the real her out from the crowd, and few ever could. Part of it was due to her fast footwork and countless hours of practice with the Mirror Image Spell, but the real trick was the second Spell she was running at the same time. It was all part of the misdirection see, making everyone watch closely at the Second Order Mirror Images and never noticed her weaving Minor Illusions throughout the whole fight. They were subtle and hurried illusions, ones she threw out and modified on the fly as her Mirror Images shuffled and scattered all about. Minor Illusion was only a Cantrip, which meant it was sorely limited in scope, but it was enough to blur the lines between reality and illusion just enough to make anyone watching trip up ever so slightly. Her three opponents had eliminated 3 possibilities out of 5, since their attacks had gone clean through those Mirror Images, so of course they fixated on the remaining two, tracking them in the crowd and pursing them after the fact because they were certain she was one of the two remaining Tinas.

  So when she used Minor Illusion to project a bright flash of light, they was watching real close and got hit with the full effect.

  Didn’t blind them, not the way a real bright light would, but their blinking kept them from seeing her switch her Mirror Images right in front of their faces. Was a simple change up, with the two Tinas on the left moving right, then stopping and going left again, while the two from the right did the same in reverse. Ended up with the Images moving to the same sides as before, but Errol, Kacey, and Alfred were all convinced the targets they’d just eliminated from the pool of suspects were the only remaining possibilities. So simple, but so effective, because it was easier to convince someone they were right than to convince them they were wrong. As for Tina herself, she hummed along to the music under her breath, and her Mirror Images all did the same, stepping to the beat of the song as she continued dancing circles around her opponents.

  To further frustrate them, she played a few minor tricks, like covering Kacey’s thrown tanto in a Minor Illusion just as she dove aside to grab it, an Illusion that hid the real weapon where it lay on the mat and placed an illusion of it about a foot to the side. Really threw her off when Kacey did a double take and pivoted to grab it, only for her fingers to close around empty air and get nothing for all her efforts. Worse, she reacted as if she simply missed and tried to twist and stretch for a second try, only to stumble over her own feet and take a couple seconds to recover. Then Tina goosed Alfred with Prestidigitation as she ducked his charge again, hitting him with a cold, wet, and slimy sensation on the small of his back and making the big man literally jump and squeal in surprise.

  A trick she learned from Noora, who was a she-devil when it came to utilizing the Cantrip for more than just colouring her hair, lips, and nails purple. Random sensory effects were only a start, as the real trick was in smells and tastes, because there wasn’t nothing like the smell of a corpse flower in full bloom to stop a man in his tracks, or in Errol’s case, mid-lasso as he bent over double and gagged on sheer reflex. Was downright rude is what that was, but in Tina’s defense, the surly, scowling Paladin in training had been none too shy about badmouthing Howie ever since he was allowed back into Basic, and she was tired of hearing all of his smarmy insinuations about this or that.

  Which was why she eliminated him first, charging over to sweep her foot and catch his heel while clotheslining him mid-gag, only to cradle his head on the way down to make sure he didn’t bump it as she sent him hurtling back into the mat good and hard. As Sergeant Dixon announced Errol was out, Tina stood and waited for Alfred’s third charge. She’d clearly given the real her away with her actions, as her Mirror Images couldn’t actually hurt no one. Made it look like she was gonna take Big Alfred head on until she sent a Minor Illusion of herself darting to the right while cutting left into the blindspot of his tower shield and poking him hard in the ribs as she passed. Didn’t get him good enough, as he had a Mage Armour and Aid Spell that made him tough as nails, but his Spells were so effective he didn’t even notice the tap from her blunted butterfly sword. Left her free to follow behind as he chased a Minor Illusion of herself and put some real muscle into her next thrust, one she aimed at his liver since it was right there.

  That did the trick, or at least enough for Sergeant Begaye to call Big Alfred out, who stopped in place and stared at Tina’s Minor Illusion because he had only just noticed how crude and hastily sketched it was. That’s how people were though, always convinced they was seeing what they thought they saw, and never once noticing that the Minor Illusion Tina had thrown out moved like she was unaffected by light or physics. Her hair didn’t bounce, expression never changed, eyes never moved, and cast no shadow, but even then it was good enough to fool Big Alfred for several seconds until Tina let it dissipate to focus on Kacey.

  Who finally had her tanto back in hand, and was approaching with the most adorable scowl etched across her pretty, porcelain features. Tina almost swooned to see it, beaming bright and bobbing to the music as she mixed in with her Mirror Images to face off against her third and final opponent. Caught herself twirling her sword too, keeping one finger in the hand guard while flourish the weapon about, movements so natural they were second nature now. That’d get her dinged for points, and she knew Howie would never let up if he heard about it, so she put on her game face and pointed her sword at Kacey to take a defensive stance.

  Because even though it was a sword, it was still a defensive weapon.

  That’s what Uncle Ming drilled into her head when he taught Tina how to use it. The sword wasn’t like a knight’s sword, but more like a cavalry sabre, only much shorter and slightly wider than what you’d expect. The blade was exactly 11.5 inches long, but with a 6-inch handle and a cross guard to protect her hand. Uncle Ming said that most used these weapons in pairs, but Tina preferred keeping a pistol in her left hand or leaving it free to sling Spells. The sword was single edged, with a protruding piece of the hilt running parallel to the back edge which she could use to block, catch, or hook any weapons, talons, or horns coming her way, while the flat blade that was wider than her full handspan could be used to block in a jam.

  Wasn’t ideal, but it was possible, and even if the blade broke, it was better than getting hit by a Bolt direct.

  Problem was, Tina didn’t even get two years of lessons from Uncle Ming, since he gifted her the sword on her 12th birthday and was gone before her 14th. More to the point, it wasn’t his weapon of choice either, just the ideal one for her given her gear and skillset, so his lessons were more about teaching her how to teach herself. Lessons she’s skimped on in the years since, but when she was filling in the form asking what her fighting style was like and her preferred role in the Rangers would be, she’d written ‘Butterfly Sword’ under melee weapon proficiency, as close combat was a required class for prospective Vanguards like herself.

  A few months of training with Sergeant Dixon and sparring with Sergeant Begaye had Tina feeling like a real pro with the sword in hand, but she knew her skills were nothing compared to the brunette beauty before her. Kacey didn’t see her swords as a backup weapon, but her primary ones, and only broke out her bow or an Aetherarm when she had no other choice. You’d think seeing a slender, petite Nipponese beauty pulling out two swords would be laughable, but wouldn’t no one be laughing soon as Kacey gets serious, just like she did in the here and now since she didn’t have no one getting in her way anymore. Flourishing her swords in a criss-cross routine of twirls, Kacey charged on in and hit the first two Mirror Images with a single swipe before backhanding the Minor Illusion mixed into the crowd. That wasn’t the end of it, only the beginning as she continued her advance with a chopping right, then a left thrust followed by a sharp pivot to dodge all three of Tina’s defensive swings, one from her and two from her Mirror Images.

  A half-hearted attack meant to drive the other woman away, but Kacey wasn’t one to back down. Barely even slowed as she followed her pivot through with a wide slash, one that cut clean through a third Mirror Image. Tina almost missed seeing Kacey eliminate the fourth and final Mirror Image, only caught the flash of steel as her thrown tanto pierced through empty air instead of impacting against skin and flesh. Seeing victory at hand, the fierce and relentless woman brought her wakizashi forward in a two-handed thrust, one that shot out fast as a Bolt and pierced through the fifth and final target.

  The girlie was so fast and skilled, Tina couldn’t even block the attack, which was bad because Kacey wasn’t attacking a Mirror Image. The good thing is that she wasn’t really attacking either, and she couldn’t help but giggle at Kacey’s perplexed expression when she struck something solid that looked like Tina, but melted away into the Immaterium upon impact. So cute, with her narrowed eyes, furrowed brow, and pouty lips in full bloom, but Tina knew better than to press her luck and tweak Kacey’s nose like she wanted to. Instead, she sidled up behind and gently poked her in the spine with the tip of her sword, and both Sergeants called out the hit, putting an end to their little exchange with Tina coming out on top 1 against 3.

  “You almost had me,” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Kacey in a supportive hug. “You so durned fast now, I can’t do nothing to get away on open ground.” Nothing needed to be said about the girl’s fast hands or faster mind, processing all that information in a heartbeat to plan out her route of attack while avoiding retaliation all the same. Sounded simple, to just dodge all three swings Tina threw her way, but Kacey tracked all three threats and came up with the perfect solution, one that involved minimal disruption to her non-stop offensive while keeping her safe and sound.

  That there was the Alacrity Spell in action, or rather, the Gift of Alacrity Spell, which was a mouthful to say and a doozy in action. Improved the caster’s insight, initiative, reaction speed, and rate of cognitive thinking, essentially supercharging their brain so they could think faster in real time. Was an easy to overlook or even miss entirely, since it only affected the caster’s thoughts, but it gave Kacey plenty of time to spot the trajectories of Tina’s swings and figure out the right response. Also gave her time to inspect Illusions more carefully and plan out her attacks in advance, but there were plenty of downsides too. Tina had never used it, but Howie said it made him feel like he was moving through molasses, with his brain going a hundred miles a minute while the rest of him was just ambling along. Made it really easy to send his body conflicting directions, like aim here or swing there, only to change him mind and try something else. Problem was, his body couldn’t keep up with his mind, and while he was changing tack mid-swing, his body was fully committed, which led to a disaster on both fronts when he couldn’t commit fully to either one.

  Plus it made him motion sick, which was a real bummer. Had a delicate stomach on him, which he considered his greatest weakness, but only when it came to movements and perspective. A bad smell wouldn’t shake him one bit, and Tina couldn’t even imagine seeing him upchuck his lunch over any sort of horrific sight.

  Either way, Gift of Alacrity was Kacey’s most utilized Spell, one she kept on at all times pretty much. Was easy since one casting lasted an hour and she could stretch that out to 4, but oftentimes made her appear irritable and impatient. Wasn’t entirely her fault, since she was thinking 10 times faster than the world was moving, meaning she made her mind up quick and got frustrated when people took a second or two to decide things. Was all part of her charm though, like a surly marty demanding to play and getting mad because Tina didn’t have the time.

  “How?” Kacey demanded, putting her fetching glower and adorable pout to full effect. “You create 4 Mirror Images with the Spell, and there were only 5 bodies on the sparring mat. I hit all five in quick succession, so how can they all be Illusions? And where were you hiding the whole time?”

  “In plain sight,” Sergeant Dixon responded, ruining Tina’s chance to tease the other girl with nonsense. Sergeant Begaye, Alfred, and Errol all fell in for the after-action report, with the latter shooting her a sullen glare than was neither fetching nor adorable, so she paid him no mind and stood at attention, grinning as she basked in the limelight while Sergeant Dixon explained, “We’ve talked about Spell-like Abilities before, and now Errol’s not the only one in possession of one. Recruit?”

  Nodding at Tina, he gave her the go ahead to share their pre-determined explanation, one that told the general gist without giving up all her secrets. “It’s called ‘Manifest Echo’,” Tina began, snapping her finger to dismiss her Mirror Image and bring her Echo front and centre while resisting the urge to point out that Howie had a Spell-like Ability first, and same with Elodie, making Errol third at best. “I can magically Conjure an Ectoplasmic copy of myself that is typically grey and translucent.”

  That got everyone staring, because Tina’s Echo looked exactly like her, down to the expressions it was showing and gear it was carrying as it stood there striking poses as everyone watched. “Dunno why mine is so lifelike,” she continued with a shrug, but they had some guesses. Could’ve been a bloodline thing, because Daddy’s Echo was the same way, but Abilities tended to be more about learned skills rather than inherited ones. Meant it was more likely that their mastery of Minor Illusion, Mirror Image, and a dozen other Illusion Spells was the reason they both had the Ability, even though Mama was the real Illusionist in the family. Either way, it made the Echo far more useful than normal, as it was the perfect, indistinguishable decoy she could manifest in the blink of an eye for as many times a day as she liked.

  From there, all it took was a focus effort to direct it to move, or she could give her senses over to it and move as it. Which was what she did from the very start, using Minor Illusion to keep the others from noticing her as she stood safely off to the side and sent her Echo and Mirror Images into the fight. That’s what made it so useful, the ability to attack since it was a Conjured Construct of Ecto and Illusion. She could even target it with Spells, like the self-targeted Mirror Images to really kick things up a notch by creating 4 illusory duplicates that moved alongside it in a way that mimicked the target without copying it move for move. The duplicates would dodge, duck, run, jump, even swing or jab to attack depending on what Tina herself wanted to do, like they could all read her mind and knew the best way to distract their opponents without getting got themselves. Took a lot of practice to get right, but between Daddy, Mama, and Uncle Ming, Tina had some of the best teachers to show her the ropes and she was a quick study to boot.

  “So the whole fight,” Big Alfred began, in his customary slow and steady cadence, “We were fighting Mirror Images and an Echo?”

  “Yup,” Tina replied, beaming as she watched the gears turn in Alfred’s head. Not because he was slow in the head, as so many assumed after seeing his size and hearing him speak. No, Alfred was just careful is all, the polar opposite of Kacey, always one to consider every angle and never one to rush. Howie was dead centre between them, because he was one to think things through, only he did it much faster than most. Without the Gift of Alacrity mind you, and Tina had been pestering him to practice the Spell after seeing just how effective Kacey could be.

  He was a stubborn one though, so fixated on his Mage Hands, Wildshape Ability, and Scouting Spells that he didn’t have time to practice a First Order gem of a Spell like Gift of Alacrity. As for Alfred, he figured it out soon enough, because he failed to find the moment she’d made the switch and arrived at the only conclusion there was to make. “You were hidden from the very start,” Alfred exclaimed, giving her a measured look full of respect and wariness, so different from the looks most boys gave her. Made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, because he was seeing her for her skills rather than her appearance, and she appreciated it greatly. “It stabbed me though, your Echo, and Sergeant Dixon called me out.”

  “Because you would’ve gone down bleeding if she was holding her real butterfly sword,” Sergeant Dixon supplied, “Instead of that blunted practice weapon in her hands. That’s the danger of an Echo. It’s not an illusion, or more accurately, it’s an Illusion so believable it becomes real through Conjuration.” Waving his fingers and intoning a chant, the Sergeant flourished his hand to coalesce the shadows into a solid, black sword, a proper longsword he could swing with one or both hands. “Same principle as this Shadow Blade here,” the Sergeant continued, stabbing the sword into the dirt floor to show how sharp the weapon was, before letting go of the weapon and holding his empty hand up over top it. The shadowy sword shimmered, then melted away into a dark mist, one that flowed back up to his empty hand to form into a sword again. “It’s a mix of Illusion and Conjuration, but more the first than the second, and dangerous as solid steel if it hits you. Same goes for her Echo, which gives you two reasons to never discount a Mirror Image, like all three of you did multiple times during the fight.”

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  There was more to it, as getting her Echo to attack was another Ability, one that came in tandem with the first. So long as she focused her emotions and intent to attack into the Echo, it was able to ‘Embody’ an attack if it were real. It had to be an attack using something like a sword, its fists, or even a bow and arrow, but not with an Aetherarm. Had to do with the fact that Aetherarms were Artifacts far too powerful and complex for her Manifest Echo Ability to copy in anything outside of appearance. Same went for something like a flashbang or potion from her belt, or even a mundane chemical explosive assuming she ever got her hands on any, so the ‘Embody’ ability wasn’t as useful as you’d think. Even then, she could only use it a handful of times a day since it really took a toll on her mental and emotional self, and nothing short of a proper sleep would get her back on her feet.

  One interesting thing to note was that her Echo was fully capable of using a Shadow Blade, assuming she were the one to cast it. Didn’t even need to use the Embody ability to do it, just wave the Shadow Blade around like she would. Was a real versatile Spell, one Sergeant Dixon was pushing Tina to use more often, but wasting a Second Order Spell to call up a weapon, even a highly effective one like Shadow Blade, seemed like something of a waste. Especially since it also required Concentration, and she’d much rather have Mirror Image while relying on cold, hard steel instead.

  Sergeant Dixon had plenty more to say about the spar, pointing out their flaws throughout the match and showing them what they could’ve done instead. Even Tina wasn’t spared from his critique, and she appreciated it immensely, because like Uncle Ming used to say, you learn more from failure than you do from success.

  “All in all,” Sergeant Dixon concluded, after making it clear in no uncertain terms that they were all sorely lacking and disgraceful failures, “Was about what I’d expect from raw recruits.” Said with a scowl of course, and followed up by spitting a wad of chewing tobacco into the dirt. Tina didn’t let none of it bother her, because this was their way of not letting success get to their heads. Confidence was good, but overconfidence got you killed, so she knew there was always room for improvement. The whole time though, she was fixated on Sergeant Dixon’s Shadow Blade, which had once again coalesced into a dark mist that was very obviously circling his right hand, while subtly circling his left too meaning he could summon it to either hand. Tina knew enough to know he didn’t usually fight with a sword either, because the Shadow Blade could take any form the caster desired, including the shadowy bladed whip the Sergeant used to great effect on the battlefield.

  Not in close range though. His primary role on the battlefield was mid-line Support and Disrupter, standing behind the Vanguards and in front of the ranged specialists like Sharpshooters and Evokers. He could go toe to toe and serve as a Vanguard in a pinch, but he really shone when working alongside a Vanguard partner by distracting foes, creating openings, and generally causing chaos amongst the enemies from a good distance away.

  Those were the roles he wanted her to take up, Support and Disrupter, as he kept saying her skills were wasted in the front line. Said it again after dismissing the rest for winter break and asking her to stay behind with him and Sergeant Begaye. It was all old hat though, and Tina shook her head without giving voice to her reasons, because she’d said them so many times before she was starting to sound like a broken record. “I know you got your hopes still, so I’mma tell it to your straight, recruit,” Sergeant Dixon began, putting the same harsh tone on the last word as he did to ‘boot’. “The chances of Howie ever working on a Ranger operation are exactly zero.” Holding up his hands to forestall her outburst of pique, he continued, “I get it. There’s no proof it was him, he had his reasons, he did what he had to do, whatever. Blah, blah, yadda, yadda, it’s all water under the bridge, one he done burnt and demolished before flooding the river and turning it into a god-damned ocean. Can’t no one mend that now, and it don’t look like he’s even trying to, so there’s the facts you gotta face when deciding your future livelihood.”

  Which wasn’t fair. If the whole fiasco in Brightpick had been a Ranger operation, they’d have been singing their own praises over the whole thing. A full-night of extended action that dismantled a well-established criminal enterprise with minimal civilian casualties, that’s what the papers would’ve been saying if they was impartial and non-profit. Instead, they was all fixated on the cultist angle, whose only notable crime was slaughtering a bunch of criminals mind you, with not so much of a whiff of a hint regarding the existence of a Deviant because wasn’t no one alive who knew for sure. No one besides the cultists themselves and Howie of course, not even the Rangers if he hadn’t come clean about it, without ever admitting he’d come into contact with it of course. Could’ve zipped his lip and kept it quiet, but he did the right thing instead, and now he was being punished for it like he done raised that Deviant himself.

  “Howie might never get to work in a Ranger operation,” Tina replied, crossing her arms and squaring her shoulders while doing her best not to pout. “That don’t mean I can’t ever work with him though. There’ll come a day when he goes under dark with a team of his own to clear out a nest, and I mean to be a part of that team.”

  “You still can,” Sergeant Dixon replied, his answer locked, loaded, and ready to retort. “Only you’d be joining as a valued Supporter rather than a Vanguard, which any experienced Ranger can tell you is an upgrade.”

  “Easier to slot a Vanguard into a team than a Support,” Tina replied. “Even discounting inherent resistance to Spells like Bless or Heroism, a proper Support needs to know their team like the back of their hand, while the team needs to know their Support. If I’m joining as a pinch-hitter, it’ll be easier on us all if I take a more independent role, not to mention how a good Vanguard is harder to find than a half-decent Support.”

  All of which they’d gone over before, but they went through the motions for a while longer before Tina huffed and put an end to it all. “This ground been tread and trampled flat, so ain’t no sense hashin’ it out for the umpteenth time,” she declared. “My mind’s been made, and ain’t nothin’ anyone can say to change it, so best to move on.” Which was about a hair’s breadth from insubordination, but gruff Sergeant Dixon was a big old softie who was arguing because he wanted to be her Mentor, instead of passing her off to Catfish Kairi in about a month’s time for field training. The other woman’s skills were better suited for teaching Tina how to be a Vanguard, because even though Sergeant Dixon could put on the shoes if need be, Vanguard was his tertiary role, with Support and Disrupter being his primary and secondary.

  As for Kairi Hamilton? She was a Disruptor first, which was pretty much an offensive supporter, someone who cast debilitating debuffs onto her foes to make it easier for others to land powerful Spells or pinpoint shots. That was Tina’s preferred secondary, while Kairi’s was Vanguard, meaning her Spells and skillset were better suited to teaching Tina than Sergeant Dixon was, even if they shared all the same roles.

  Didn’t matter if the Catfish was a miserable harridan of a woman who looked like she’d swallowed a lemon she was deathly allergic to. Tina wanted to be a Vanguard and Disruptor same as her daddy, and Mama could only teach her the second role, since she was a Disruptor, Supporter, and Medic. Yeah, every Ranger gotta wear three hats, that’s how it was, because they worked primarily in small, 5-man groups, so they needed plenty of redundancies should the worst come to pass.

  Heaving a long sigh of defeat, the salt-and-peppered Sergeant Dixon looked to Sergeant Begaye for help, but the Native American Ranger just gave a shrug. “You heard her,” he said. “Stubborn as a mule, this one, almost as stubborn as Howie.” A statement Tina took as a point of pride, until the unreadable man fixed her with his gaze and saw through to her innermost thoughts. Least that’s how it felt, so she shied back and fidgeted in place until he was ready to move on. “On that note,” Sergeant Begaye began, “I hear he’s bringing you out into the badlands this year. Showing you the ropes and making sure we trained you right.”

  All delivered in dry and neutral tones, while his unblinking eyes held Tina’s in an unnerving staring contest. One she lost as she blinked repeated and stammered, “Ah, um, I wouldn’t say it like that, and I know he wouldn’t either.”

  “But it is what he intends to do all the same, correct?” Sergeant Begaye asked, and though he didn’t do nothing special, it felt like he done just cranked up the heat full blast.

  “It’s a family thing,” she countered, not arguing the point but not agreeing with it either. “He taking us all up to pay our respects to Uncle Ming and Aunty Lina, Mama and Chrissy included.”

  “I heard,” Sergeant Begaye said. Then, after a long pause, he continued, “Tell Howie this. If he’s 100% confident of seeing you all safely there, then he’s an even bigger fool than I thought. If he’s less than 90% certain, then you let us know, and Sergeant Dixon and I will help see you safely to the mesa and back again.”

  Which was a surprise, because didn’t none of them have anything nice to say about Howie in the last few months. Mostly, they used him as an example of what not to do when talking ethics and standard operating procedures. S.O.P, as she should call it, but it was difficult keeping track of all the T.L.A’s the army used. T.L.A being Three Letter Abbreviations, which was something of a joke as far as she could tell, and not a very good one at that. Still, she appreciated the offer, because most Rangers avoided the badlands like the plague. Not just because it was a hotzone or anything like that, as most trips went off without so much as a hitch since Abby activity wasn’t all that active most of the year. It was those rare occasions that made it a nightmare though, the dormant bug ambushes or occasional army coming out of the Divide, rare occasions that whipped all nearby Abby up into a frenzy and saw them coming out of the woodwork in droves.

  That’s the terrifying thing about the badlands. It wasn’t packed shoulder to shoulder full of Abby, like it was over in the Coral Desert at times. No, Abby were few and far between, mostly Drones going about their business and scouting for water or rearranging the terrain, but once you kicked the hornet’s nest, you could find yourself surrounded on all sides as them dormant Abby dug themselves out of the dirt with a hunger for what done disturbed their sleep. Howie was a top-tier Scout though, one who’d made the trip every year since he was 8, and made his way home solo less than a week after turning 14. By necessity, because Uncle Ming had been shot and killed up on the mesa, but that didn’t change how impressive a feat it was for a boy as young as Howie.

  And in little more than a week, they’d all celebrate Howie’s 18th birthday together for the first time in a decade, up on the mesa Uncle Ming claimed with his dearly departed wife, Aunty Lina.

  An occasion Tina was sure they wouldn’t want Sergeant Begaye and Sergeant Dixon intruding on, but the offer was much appreciated all the same. She said as much, and added, “Didn’t think either of you were his biggest fan.”

  “The boy is a fool,” Sergeant Begaye retorted, without missing a beat, and Sergeant Dixon grunted in wordless agreement. “One who threw his future away in anger and refuses to see the error of his ways, much less take steps to correct them.” That got Tina to bristling, which earned her a glare from Sergeant Begaye as he added, “I expect you to learn from his mistakes, because should you choose to follow in his footsteps, I will be the first to push for your dishonourable discharge from the Rangers. We cannot afford to excise the rot from the old guard, not until after the Watershed and we have new blood enough to replace them, but that doesn’t mean we’re obligated to train up a new generation of hot-shot mavericks eager to take the law into their own hands.”

  To ease the sting of Sergeant Begaye’s condemnation, Sergeant Dixon patted Tina’s shoulder and said, “I get why he did what he did, but that don’t make it right. That’s what doesn’t sit well with me, the fact that even after all that was said and done, he still thinks his actions wholly justified. Some of it might’ve been, but plenty wasn’t, and there’s no two ways about it. You might not see it now, but I’m confident you will once you’ve seen more of the Frontier, and I hope that one day, you can make him see the error of his ways by showing him how it’s done right.”

  High praise from Sergeant Dixon, who coughed and went cherry red because he was embarrassed to be caught out in a genuine moment. “Anyway,” he growled, as if to overcompensate for his praise, “We kept you behind to give you this. Early prize for finishing extended Basic before moving on to field training.” The Sergeant handed her a pouch from his belt, and gestured at her to open it up. “It’s not yours, just yours to use. Government Issue gear, as it were. Rangers aren’t just the best Military Spellslingers around, we’re also the best equipped, so this here is an early taste of the perks of the job.”

  Opening up the pouch revealed a pair of leather wrist cuffs, ones which shimmered with Aether before Tina’s eyes. “Oh wow,” she exclaimed, pulling one out to try on. They were almost like gloves, in that a portion stayed looped around her palm and thumb before wrapping around her wrist without affecting her range of motion. There weren’t any wires or doodads attached to create the Aetheric glow, nothing besides a patch of gel-like substance on the inner lining that rested against the base of her palm and inner wrist. “Spell Storage Matrix?” she asked, because that’s what it looked and felt like, the same sort of thing on the inner soles of Howie’s boots.

  “Second Order,” Sergeant Dixon replied, giving her a nod of encouragement for figuring it out so quick. “One on each hand, and one Spell per. You know what the best part of this particular Spell Storage Matrix is though?” Tina shook her head, and Sergeant Dixon grinned. “If the Spell stored within requires Concentration, once activated, it will last for the full duration without the need for Concentration.”

  Tina’s eyes went wide as she gasped in surprise and delight, because that meant she could have 3 Spells that required Concentration going at one time. Mirror Image and Shadow Blade were the obvious answers, but she could put Invisibility, Bless, or Heroism into the bracers too, while manually maintaining a Hypnotic Pattern at the same time, which was huge. Or would be once she learned the Third Order Spell, assuming it ever happened. “There is a downside though,” Sergeant Dixon continued. “They require Attunement, so you’ll be the only one capable of Storing Spells inside the matrix or activating them after the fact.”

  “Oh?” Tina asked, looking the bracers over and realizing the Aetheric flows entwining them were closed off to her, inaccessible because the magic within refused to acknowledge her. “How do I Attune with it?” She’d only ever heard of Attunement and never actually done it herself, so this was all new to her.

  “Wear it and focus on it whenever you can,” Sergeant Dixon replied, shrugging like he wasn’t sure either. “Could take a few hours, or even days, but you’ll Attune to them eventually, and then no one else will be able to use them so long as you maintain that bond. Keep in mind, you can’t Attune to more than three items, because that’s the limit. No idea why, but it is what it is, and trying to Attune to a fourth typically just doesn’t work, though there are edge case scenarios of success and plenty of disasters where the attempt drains your Spirit dry and leaves you a drooling, mindless mess.”

  There were a few more instructions, like how to unattuned by setting the item aside in a lead-lined container for at least a week without touching it, but otherwise Tina was set. She tried to hug Sergeant Dixon as thanks, and got gruffly pushed aside and told soldiers don’t squeal or hug. Not to mention how it wasn’t a personal gift, even though Tina was all but certain Sergeant Dixon had gone to great lengths to get the fit right, not to mention requisition her this Imbued item that was no doubt in high demand. Two extra Second Order Spells that could be used without Concentration was huge, and Tina skipped on back home while going over all the best Spells to put inside, so she’d have the right answers for Howie when he inevitably quizzed her about it.

  And he most certainly would quiz her no doubt, because Spell selection could make or break an encounter before it even started.

  That’s the whole reason Howie suggested they set out a day early after all. Not so they could have a fun night of family camping in the safety of New Hope’s shadow before setting out into the badlands. No, he wanted time to check, double check, and triple check their gear while making sure everyone knew what to do in case of any and every emergency. If it were up to him, the next 15 hours before they set out tomorrow morning was gonna be full of pop quizzes, inventory checks, emergency drills, and briefings, but Tina knew him well enough to have a counter plan in place. Was simple really, as all she had to do was invite the other recruits and Danny to a winter barbeque, supposedly so they could catch up with Howie but mostly to buy her a few hours to unwind and relax before he kicked into full gear as Drill Sergeant and perfectionist.

  Most of the invited guests were already at home waiting for Tina when she arrived, keeping Chrissy company out on the front porch. The girl was all dolled up in a thick sweater, heavy jacket, and multiple skirts to keep her warm as a bug in a rug. Had her a pair of sunglasses on too, thick, Aberrtin reinforced glass lenses set in a heavy-duty brass frame with Darkvision built in to boot. They cost a pretty penny, but Howie insisted they buy a pair for each and every one of them for this trip, so wasn’t nothing to be done except go along with his demands. They looked real fetching though, and aside from protecting Chrissy’s sensitive violent eyes from the harsh glare of the sun on snowy plains, it also did a bang-up job of concealing her vacant expression. Combined with her long, silver locks all flowing free and slightly reddish tint to her nose and cheeks, she looked like a cool ice queen making ready for a photoshoot for the papers as she leaned against the porch banister like she couldn’t wait to hop over it and run away.

  Ruined the chic image by waving like a little girl though, with a little pinwheel in hand that lit up in patterns when it spun and glowed with a weak Aetheric light. Chrissy’s expression was all but glowing as she hustled down the stairs with a duffle bag in hand, eager to get going because she was so excited for this trip. “Hi Tina,” Chrissy called, in a rare show of initiative. “Early is on time, and on time is late.”

  A reminder of how Howie loathed tardiness, but it wasn’t Tina’s fault the sergeants kept her back. Kacey and Alfred were already here with spare horses for everyone, though there were still a couple people missing. Including Errol oddly enough, even though Sarah Jay was standing ready with her dainty doll of a little sister and cherubic little brother by her side. Danny was here too, but he barely even glanced at Tina, just pointedly stared at his books after they made eye contact for a brief moment, and she couldn’t help but pout to see it. Had no idea what she’d done to make Danny hate her, and it hurt since they used to be close as siblings, same as him and Howie were now.

  Didn’t help to learn that Chrissy’s new pinwheel was a gift from Danny, which Mama made sure to let Tina know. “Made it himself he did, and thought Chrissy would love it,” Mama said, all smiles for Danny as she threw an arm around his shoulder and patted his chest. “Ain’t that sweet? Also, you notice how much he grown? I swear, I almost didn’t recognize him when he came a knocking, not after he done filled in his lanky frame and grown these big biceps.” All but stripped his jacket to show his lean but muscular frame under his too-tight button up, one that was Ranger issue beige meaning it’d fit perfectly a few months back when he first started Basic. “He keeps up like this, and he’ll be a bonafide body builder soon enough, which he’ll need to fight off the girlies that come chasing after him in droves. A real catch this one, sweet, handsome, thoughtful, and fit.”

  Tina didn’t say anything, just grinned at Danny who was redder than red as he blushed so hard it reached the tips of his ears, and she let Mama keep going on about him without any intension of helping him out. That’s what he gets for clamming up every time they hung out these days, instead of telling her all about his fancy gizmos and making gadgets for her to play with.

  Luckily for Danny, he didn’t have to suffer long, as the rest of the crew arrived soon enough. Michael, Gabriella, Ike, and Antoni, that was every Ranger recruit still in New Hope. The rest either never signed on or were off training for non-combat roles, like Saheed who got tapped for Aetheric Foundry and was brought away to be trained up as an Artisan, Artificer, Alchemist, Arcana technician, or Arcanist. Essentially one of them egg heads who built things like Tina’s new bracers, potions, radios and cameras, or whatever else the Rangers might need.

  Which was where Danny was most likely bound for, come January when boot camp finished. Not that Tina knew, since they barely talked these days, but not for a lack of trying on her part. Was like pulling teeth trying to get a full sentence out of him, and even asking him to invite Noora had been tougher than tough. She didn’t ask him outright, but after Sarah Jay said Errol had been called into a meeting by Captain Jung and might not be coming out, Tina took Danny aside to ask about Noora, and he gave her a small shake of his head to say she wasn’t coming.

  Probably because she knew that if Howie wanted to talk, he would’ve invited her out, not Danny. A shame really, considering how Noora and Howie left things off so poorly, what with that horrid guard getting involved for no reason at all. Tina still didn’t understand what went on between the two of them and dearly departed Josie, but she knew Howie was miserable as all heck and Noora was one of the only people capable of shaking him out of his funk these last few months, if only for a bit.

  No help for it though, so Tina brought Mama, Chrissy, and everyone else out towards the gate, riding on horses borrowed from the Rangers that her friends would bring back into town since Howie took all their horses when he was Exiled. Not without reason, since Mama still couldn’t bring herself to tend to any horses after what happened to daddy, and Tina wasn’t around often enough to take care of them herself. Least the wallies were easy enough, and in good hands with Sarah Jay who volunteered to look after them while the family was gone. Was good people, Sarah Jay, putting in the effort to maintain her friendship with Howie despite his apparent indifference and Errol’s obvious animosity for him. It wasn’t that Howie didn’t want to be friends with Sarah Jay though; he just didn’t want to make things awkward for her, so he kept his social distance as best he could even though it made him come off as cold and standoffish.

  Was probably the same reason why he’d given up on Noora too. She’d made her choice, and he figured it’d be easier for the both of them if they cut all contact and moved along. Out of sight, out of mind, that was Howie in a nutshell, and Tina feared their little family might well suffer the same fate. That’s why she was so eager to take this trip, so they could all work together to remind him that they were still a family even if they wasn’t neighbours no more.

  So much had changed in the last year, from Tina signing on for Basic and Howie going through the wringer. She was still reeling from all the changes, so she could only imagine how difficult this must be for him…

  Rather than waiting right outside the gates, Howie had sent word that he’d be setting up camp across the Highway in a clearing well away from the standard campsites travellers used when arriving too late to head into town. Ostensibly so he could have everything ready and waiting, except there wasn’t anything he had to do besides get a campfire going. The real reason was because he didn’t want to risk getting into a spat with the guards, and Tina couldn’t blame him all things considered. He’d been even more wound up of late than usual, but not without reason, though she was a little surprised to see him come out of the trees when they entered the clearing, having taken cover upon hearing a whole crowd approaching instead of the three people he was expecting.

  Her fault for trying to surprise him, and doubly so since he looked liked he’d already been travelling for days instead of only a few hours to get from the quay to town. Though wearing his hat and duster same as always, they both sat askew atop his frame and not on purpose. Sloppy that, and doubly so considering they both looked like they could use a good wipe down and conditioning. Underneath the duster, his button-up was about as wrinkled as could be, and his boots were caked in mud from all his time spent on the lakeshore.

  A far cry from the high standards Uncle Ming used to hold him to, and for a few years, Howie maintained without need for encouragement. Now he was all grungy and disheveled, not exactly dirty or smelly, but lacking that neat and tidy look she was so used to seeing on him.

  No matter though, because she wasn’t here to nitpick his appearance. “Surprise!” she exclaimed, going in for a hug and beaming brightly as he gave her a brief squeeze before moving on to greet his friends with hand slaps, fist bumps, and a muted, but genuine smile. “Figured you could use the extra company, what with you spending all your days in solitude lately.”

  “Ain’t all that bad. I got the animals to keep me company,” Howie replied, helping Chrissy down from her horse and making a big show of complimenting her glasses and pinwheel. As for her, she was fascinated by Howie’s prosthetic, which Tina only just noticed was glowing the same as the pinwheel, only much brighter and with prettier patterns. He had a leather bracer on under his duster too, and that was actually glowing, as in real, visible light. “Oh yeah,” Howie said, when he noticed their fixation on his new accessories, and he gently extracted his wooden hand from Chrissy’s grasp and held up in front of her as if to say stop. “I finally got this working. Check it out.”

  It took another full second before it did. Work that is, as the wooden hand waved from side to side without any movement from his arm, then folded up in a second sort of wave after the fact. Gave a little whir as it did, one barely audible over the background noise of people dismounting and setting up, and Howie grinned when Chrissy took hold of it again and traced her fingers across the Aetheric flows, ones so dense and multifaceted unlike anything Tina had ever seen.

  Like her new bracers, they had some Aetheric heft to them, with weighty, significant flows to it like a fast-running river. In contrast, the flows from Howie’s prosthetic weren’t half as substantial, but there were so many layered together she imagined it was something like fine lacework that’d been rolled up and interwoven together into a coiled bundled of intertwining threads.

  “Ooh, fancy,” Tina exclaimed, drawing closer for a better look. “What else can it do?” A lot of things it seemed, as Howie demonstrated his new hand for everyone to see. He could doff his hat, button his jacket, play rock, paper, scissors, and even fire a gun, though they had to take his word on that last bit for now. Keen as it was, Tina noticed it was nowhere near as good as a regular hand, since it seemed like he had to stop and focus to make his prosthetic do anything at all, and what it did do wasn’t all that useful. Like, doing up his jacket buttons, as he had to line the fingers up manually before setting the hand into motion, and even then it took a few tries to get it right. All part of the growing pains, according to Danny, and the two of them started talking in tongues about number arrays, conditional statements, and rubber duck debugging.

  Which was good to see, Howie coming out of his shell to talk with a friend, even if it was all about work. Or training, new gear, and other stuff like that as he reconnected with the rest of them, all while building up the campfire to roast their dinner over and organizing seats for everyone there. Was second nature for him to take charge and keep busy, though it looked like he’d been so busy he’d forgotten to do his ironing or polish his boots. Could also use a shave, as he had a fair bit of fuzz on his upper lip, and stray hairs poking out along his chin and cheeks. Not enough coverage to call it a moustache or beard, but what little was there was not at all flattering. The dark bags under both eyes didn’t help, like he wasn’t getting enough sleep, and the weight he’d gained over the summer had all been lost and then some, as he was looking leaner and gaunter than ever.

  In short? Howie looked like he’d been ridden hard and put away wet, dragged down a dozen miles of bad road then left to bake in the sun. A far cry from the neat and well kempt image he usually kept, and it hurt Tina to see him so out of sorts, especially since she knew he didn’t have no one to help him through it up at the quay. Well, for the next two weeks, he had the whole family, Tina, Chrissy, and Mama too, so they’d have to work together to set him straight and sort him out before sending him back home to the quay.

  It would do them all good, this family trip of theirs, for more reasons than one. Though no one was happier than Chrissy to take this trip, Howie might well be the one who needed it the most, because while his daddy might’ve taught him more than enough to take on the Mafia single handedly, Tina was all but certain Uncle Ming never prepared Howie for any of this.

  Because what was the Firstborn supposed to do when he didn’t want to be the Firstborn no more? Tina thought the answer was easy enough, to live his life as Howie Zhu, but her sorta-brother was struggling to figure out what that meant, so it was high time the family stepped in to help him out. Come hell or highwater, Tina meant to sort Howie out, and with a little luck and persistence, they’d have this all figured out in time to share the good news with Uncle Ming and celebrate Howie’s 18th birthday and welcome in the new year for the first time in over a decade.

  This trip would kick off a new chapter in all their lives, and while it wasn’t starting off all that great for Howie, Tina was of a mind to turn that right around in the here and now.