Fer looked around as she walked through the voy that had beeroyed. It got away from her beastmen, but she had e with them. Broken bodies and bloody corpses y around her, flipped cars, destroyed trucks, several of the vehicles had been ignited in the fighting. A group of pyromancers had also been here, now their bodies y scattered around on the ground.

  If she hadn’t e, these people would have gotten away. That was odd. Kassie wouldn’t have her givemen a task that was simply a waste of time.

  Something . She could just smell it.

  Kassandora stared at the doctors oher side of her table. Hospital directors, some phinthropists, everyone and ahey had e, officially, to discuss the supply of medie and first aid treatment shipments to her army. That had already been discussed, although it only served as a cover. There were eyes she didn’t want about, she could simply feel them. As obvious as if they were Jungle, but even in her room.

  Kassandora pushed the feeling away, it always came about when she was talking with people. Of course they would be looking at her. She was a Goddess, she was anizer of the Recmation War, and now she was the de-facto leader of Kirinyaa. She sighed to them and nodded. “Very well, I am gd to receive your support.” Of course, this all had been mere formality, if she wanted supplies, she would have just sent a letter directly or asked Arascus to iate it for her. There was a real point behind the meeting. “I’d like to ask about the Virgin’s Blood.”

  The Order of Virgin’s Blood, one of Kavaa’s. Whereas the Twis had been about bating ndslides and feral beasts, the Virgin’s Blood were the exact opposite. They never left hospitals, and they recruited from doctors who grew tired of bureaucracy. From what Kassandora had discovered, every hospital in Kirinyaa had a branch of theirs. One of the directors smiled and nodded quickly. A dark man, white coat over him. That was the general style among these people, either dark suits or white coats as if they had just walked out of their medical office. The man spoke: “They’re an excellent Order.”

  “How many is there?” Kassandora asked. The men all shared looks. One man in a suit finally spoke up.

  “Numerically, I ot say. But there’s enough for every hospital in Kirinyaa to have a branch.” Kassandora sighed. That was what she had been afraid of, but she k was ing. Another man raised his hand. Kassandora let him speak as she thought of a way to phrase her question.

  “Are you pnning on pulling them to the front?” He sounded nervous but resigned. As if he expected she would. Kassandora found the line of attack, the brea their lio tell them what she was wanting to hear without asking directly.

  “What do they do?” She asked.

  One man, bald, dark and in a white doctor’s coat, spoke for the whole group. “Diseases, cer treatments, poisonings, births.” Another man added his own ent as the doctor finished.

  “Easier to say what they don’t do really.” A third spoke up.

  “They don’t handle broken bones.” A fourth decided now was the time to speak. Kassandora had already got her answer anyway. They did in fact do births.

  “Mine do.” What a thing to add. Really important information there.

  “It’s things that are a threat to life, they don’t handle minor issues.”

  “They would if there was more of them!” Oher young man, he couldn’t be in his thirties yet, added excitedly.

  “I uand.” Kassandora said. All that was important was that they handled birthing. She didn’t o know more. Kavaa’s Clerics would hold frequent charity-healings in the pions. There wasn’t a town in the try that didn’t have at least an annual visit before Kavaa fled the Pantheon. The vilges were much the same. And now the rumour that every hospital had a team of Clerics serving came out as true. Was there a single person not blessed by a Divine in this entire try? “If the situation calls for it, I will recall the Virgin’s Blood to the frontlines. As ht now, you have nothing to worry about. There is no immediate to move them, however I would advise preparing tingencies for their absence.” She cpped her hands. “That is all, I wanted you to be aware of this issue, and it’s bad news, so I wao tell you personally.” That even made her look dht benevolent!

  Kassandora stood up a her meeti. She didn’t take questions, there simply wasn’t enough time. Sokolowski was stalling Fortia in the north. Ekkerson’s front had desded into two unmoving lines. Olephia had stalled every attack so far from the reports she got. Anassa and Fer were still skirmishing with Maisara’s force as Zalewski was formalizing his own front line.

  Neneria wasn’t useful, so she was held in reserve. Kavaa had beeo tral Requisitions to help mahe situation there. Apart from Baalka still sleeping ient, Kassandora was the only Divine in this area. Things ged little. She had never been too much of a social butterfly. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but there was only a limited amount of time in a day. An hour wasted on dand song was an hour lost on managing the war.

  Kassandora kicked a stoo the distah her bck boot. And now Waeh. His powers were simply immense. When he had stopped her, he didn’t bring her body to stillhrough force, it was as if she had decided to stop for herself. She didn’t, yet she did. What terrible strength.

  Frankly, that could be used to tain Olephia. If the man was close enough, then…

  Kassandora shook her head. A he still let it slip. She didn’t even know if that was a slip or not. He could be lying, maybe there were blessings untouchable by him. But it couldn’t be many, and the more she thought about him, the more it made sense. Arascus had a pride to rule over humanity. Waeh was created as some twisted abomination God to ter Arascus, there wasn’t a point looking into his philosophy or his teags, but rather at his foundation. The plete opposite of Arascus, one who believes in divinity’s right to rule. The opposite would be divinity forced to serve.

  And that was what his power felt like too. As if Kassandora had been brought into servitude. Kassandora sighed. So she needed a person pletely untouched by divinity. Ahere was no one. No one in this try, she had sent out scouts to Ausa for untainted volunteers, and she had a questionnaire for the thousands p in from Arika.

  And there was no one.

  Kavaa was the main culprit of course. Maybe it was just the volunteers, all of them had some sappy story about their great death to some heroic Cleric who had waltzed in one day and healed their father or mother . Waeh there too, funnily enough. Kassandora was simply not taking anyone who followed his cult of Esperanism. Iniri and her blessed crops. A few had tact with the others, Ciria for judgements. Halkus to fix some old tractor, or Theosius.

  Kassandora’s own troops received her blessing of course, so they would be out as well. Divine war simply required Diviervention. A man blessed was worth twice as those untouched.

  There simply wasn’t anyone. Not a single soul she had e across who in some damn way wasn’t touch by Divines. What was this?! In the past, Kassandora could waltz into any colle of farming hovels a her men right there! And now? What was this!

  Kassandora sighed as she started walking. Arusei was stood on the hill, only in dark shorts, his chest riddled with scars, hair tied back. Kassandora caught up the vilge chieftain, his legs were covered with ash up to his knees. He turo look at Kassandora, smiled, a back to looking as the sea of ash behind that hill.

  This entire se had once been Jungle, and the Recmation War had pushed it back deeply. Now the vehicles had bee off to the frontlines. Kassandora thought Arusei uood why his war wasn’t so pressing as hers. “I took a walk.” Arusei said. He banged his spear against his dirty feet. “You ot hear it here anymore.”

  “You ’t.” Kassandreed. The Jungle had been pushed back behind the horizon.

  “The tribe wishes to apologize.”

  “Why?”

  “We didn’t believe when you said it ossible.” Kassandora shook her head at that.

  “I’m a Divi’s my job to make people believe.”

  “We do now.” Arusei said. “Today I walked through there with my family, my son promised me one day he would return to our first home. Not where I was born, but the first time our aors were pushed away.”

  “There is nothing to promise, one day you’ll see it too.” Kassandora said. Arusei didn’t say anything, he just looked at the fields of ash. Close to them, the ash was starting to sprout tall Arikan grass and flowers. Iniri had tested them, they were of her demesne, not the Jungle’s.

  Arusei finally broke the silence. “I believe you.” Kassandora only nodded. Anyone else would have some nice speech to give, not her. She was believed because she brought results. That was simply how it was.

  And now she more results. She looked at Arusei. The man was staring off into the horizon, stars in his eyes and lost in thought. The topic hadn’t been broached with him previously because his eribe was blessed. Kassandora thought so at least, they frequently came to the Clerics for assistah wounds. She’d seen women even bring babes when they were ill. They were as inated as everyone else, maybe more.

  Kassandora turned a. The issue would be solved eventually. She was searg for a needle in a haystack, but it was a moving needle. Eventually, it would e to her by itself. She simply did not have the time to be searg for an unblessed soul when there was a war to and. The armies had stalled out, Fortia had found out some method to predict her movements. Sokolowski’s army in itself had to be atteo.

  The man was a talented general, he learned leadership iwis, and Kassandora had trained him along with Zalewski and Ekkerson herself, but he was no Iliyal Tremali. The inal pn was to divide war aween Kassandora and Arascus, with Sokolowski only taking trol of the northern army when Kassandora wasn’t there, but the Kirinyaan fury at Melukal had spiralled out of trol and giveoo much to handle.

  Kassandora managed half an hour before she got interrupted. Her phone buzzed. Kassandora pulled it out of her pocket. ‘1 Olephia’ at the top. The numbers were simply to sort her tacts by importance. Generals got 2. Divines got 1. Arascus got 0. Kassandora opehe message. Did you get my letter?

  Kassandora replied immediately. No.

  A bubble appeared that Olephia was writing something. Then disappeared. Then appeared again. Then disappeared. Eventually Olephia replied with a short ent. I see.

  Was she mad? Kassandora sighed. If she was, then she deserved to be. Kassandora never wrote or called, but then, there was too many things to do. She replied quickly: ‘???’

  Olephia’s bubble appeared again. When?

  At you?

  Ye

  Sok then Zal then Ekk n

  Need faster Kassandora didn’t think about a reply this time. If Olephia needed something, it was bad.

  Why?

  Urgent.

  How? be tomorrow.

  Not that urgent. Kassandora rolled her eyes. Aext barged in from Olephia. Sokolowski? What time? Kassandora stared at the text for a moment. Was Olephia stupid? What else would Sok stand for?

  Kassandora replied with her ow. Tomorrow, not sorted yet. Unless something happens here, then day after.

  Olephia’s came in soon. Okay, it won’t be trouble then.

  Kassandora sent her own. What is it?

  The reply took lohis time. Don’t worry about it. I ha.

  Fortia looked up from her battlepns as several Guardians came in. They all looked pleased with themselves. “What’s happened?” Fortia asked.

  “Purple team did it. We have a date for Warbreaker.”