Wissel looked down at his letter: Invitation to the Arikan Iional gress. This was Arascus’ meeting. Impressive, Wissel thought there would have been some sort of diplomatit if the God decided to e to Epa.

  Anassa looked down at the measly bowl of fruit in the mess hall. It was a travesty of a sight, with small tangerines and bananas and peaches. Nothing like the bright es that grew in the Jungle. She sighed and picked one up, then disappeared.

  Another Anassa, walking iween various storehouses that stituted workshops, hefted her palm up and caught a tangerihat appeared in her grasp. Kassandora had sent her here, Kassandora and Arascus, to i what was happening and to help with some meical project. And also that under Kassandora’s rategy, battles were rarer. Sokolowski’s front had started to slowly trundle north against ahe battle with Waeh had put a massive dent in Fortia’s forces but the advantage was not to be pressed too much.

  Zalewski’s front, whiassa had spent two weeks in before she had bee off to wherever here was, was more fluid. Fer pestered Maisara’s Padins every day, the removal of those kitsune also meant the removal of the White Pantheon’s early warning system. The casualties were starting to slowly pile up, a dozen men here, another dozen there. With one side outfitted with modern rifles, the fights ged into hunts. Fer’s beastmen and Zalewski’s skirmishers would stalk and guide squads of Padins into ambushes, from whio ourned.

  At first it was going well enough. Anassa only had to show up when a full team of mages resent. She would appear in the air, red dress and bck hair and all, and shatter whatever magical defehey were trying to put up. Then Ekkerson mao score a small victory without relying on Olephia. He had put snipers up, and the mages fell before they were even in seeing distance. Kassandora had received that report, then Zalewski got the instrus.

  And so, Iliyal’s elves finally got a job to do. Assigo Zalewski’s front, and made to snipe mages from afar. They didn’t have to kill eeams, they simple had to pie off as the magis sat around a campfire. Another one when they were on a trek. A third when they were flying. And Maisara’s tactics ged. Now her magis always had a shield about them, they would rotate individuals to keep it up, but it effectively destroyed the rgest advantage magic had; movement and speed. Now, Zalewski’s rarely even saw mages, and if they did, it was simply a sign to leave the area for a day.

  And so the progress went from ‘well enough’ to ‘good’. And, presumably, Zalewski sent a report, Kassandora saw Anassa was doing nothing again, and the Goddess of War found something for her sister to do. Anassa scowled as she tore the tangerine skin off and threw it onto the dusty sandy ground of the industrial plex. It was he coast, some two hours drive north-west of Nanbasa. An old bankrupt engine-parts factory, ohat had relied on the mihat were now being opened back up after being recimed from the Jungle, now retooled into a garage for produg vehicles of war.

  And Anassa was supposed to i it.

  The Goddess of Sorcery scowled again and ate her tangerine. She took a deep breath as the engineer’s voice returo an audible volume, she had holy bnked out as the man was talking about the specifications of some stupid artillery vehicle called the Lemur Mark Two. “Goddess Kassandora has informed me to show you this.”

  Anassa spat a seed of the fruit out and stopped as they came to a stop before a huge warehouse. This pound had obviously been freshly built, only two of the buildings here looked as if they stood any lohan a few months. Twe red-brick structures with tall smokestacks and the sounds of steel being cut and fe-fires r from withihe Kirinyaans w here all had dirty clothes pstered with soot and oil, but Anassa had not seen that face that revealed silent pints yet.

  Instead, every man w here carried himself with a purpose. Fgs of Kirinyaa hung on every building, and there were more than a few of Kassandora’s baoo. A white bde on a red background, outlined with bck. Most of the men wreen armbands too, something somethiion War. Anassa did not really care what they meant. Another Anassa appeared o her and disappeared to fetother tangerihey weren’t anything stelr, but they weren’t terrible either. “Well then?” Anassa waved her hand.

  The other Anassa once again made men freeze up as she appeared in the middle of the mess hall, lowered down to the ground, and grabbed aangerine from the bowl. She disappeared again.

  “It output more than three thousand horsepower into-“ Anassa’s ears tuhe man’s voice out. She should have listeo him when he had introduced himself by name. But she didn’t think it important then and now she was too stubborn to admit a failing.

  Anassa started to pick the fruit’s bright e skin open as the engiarted to expin in his nguage of teical gibberish. “Be quiet.” Anassa said as she threiece of the fruit into her mouth. “Just show me, I’m not here to give opinions on how powerful your horses are.” The man merely blinked in fusion, surprise and annoyance.

  “Of coddess. My apologies. I’ll open the hangar doht now.” He made his tone polite, but it was obvious he was insulted. Anassa merely smiled, spat another small seed out onto the red dirt and waited as the man disappeared through a human-scale door. She turned around and sighed.

  What was this iion even about? She had seen the Lemur Mark Twos. They looked much like the inal models, the only difference was a slight ge in the main turret, and the addition of a mae gun for the driver’s assistant. Then she had seen something Arascus had named and ordered himself: a tank prototype. That was only the official hough and some ineer, Anassa had not listeo that man’s introdu either, expihat it was just to fool ao thinking they weren’t produg heavy armour.

  So an update for the Lemur and a tank that wasn’t a water tank. Anassa had thought she was needed here at first, couldn’t Kassie have just e herself? Couldn’t these engineers have written a report? Maybe they didn’t know how to write? But didn’t a man have to be literate to be an engineer? Or, better yet, couldn’t literally anything have ged for Anassa not to be here? She scowled at a group of men who were looking at her and they quickly disappeared to tinker beh a truck.

  A pair of helicopters set off in the distaowards the south. Anassa sighed. Couldn’t have she beeo help Arascus instead? At least he was fun to spend time with, and he could be teased. All the engineers were simply afraid of her, no one so much as wao say one word wrong when she was around. How did Fer do it? Frankly, Anassa didn’t believe her that these men knew how to talk and tell jokes.

  The huge hangar doors started to slide open with a terrible racket. The sound was so great and annoying it practically forced Anassa to stuff the rest of the tangerio her mouth a it. And it opened slowly too! Anassa waited, maybe Fer would have ducked to look underh it. Kavaa was short enough to where she could squeeze through even if it was a mouse’s hiding hole, but Anassa waited. She stood and waited. And waited. This would go into her report. What sort of maery was Kassandora w with if it took aire minute for the doors to open? What sort of…

  Anassa’s thoughts trailed off as she saw what had been built. Little Kassie was lovely, little Kassie was intelligent and brilliant, but little Kassie was a damn liar! If Anassa had known of the purpose of this trip, she wouldn’t have turned up!

  In the middle of the room was a vehicle. Something that looked very much like the Binturong chassis, but without a on on its rear. Simply two treads with a small that barely popped up out of the front. A gun was mounted on it, with space for whoever operated it to hide behind steel barriers. But that would been merely curious, or maybe disappointing, or just annoying. Frankly, Anassa would have not cared whatever the purpose of his vehicle was if it didn’t have one promi feature that domihe spot where a turret should have been mounted.

  No, instead of a turret was a huge gss ball, perfectly clear but with the inside being filled with a byrinthian mess of wires. A crystal was mounted inside, empty and quiet now, but Anassa kly what it was. They had been used in the past, to gee huge barriers that covered thousands of men from artillery and magical fire. Two would be enough to cover one of Kassandora’s divisions.

  And this type of shield was something created by Anassa herself. There was a magical equivalent, somewhat weaker iurn for being easier to mass produce, but Arascus’ armies only access to mages were Essa’s untrustworthy turn cloaks. Sorcerers though, they had easy access th Anassa.

  But that was the past. Now, Arascus army had less than fifty sorcerers. And under Kassandora’s guida pained Anassa to admit the fact that fifty men were more effective than one of her. Even with creating copies of herself, she couldn’t be in fifty battles at the same time.

  And Anassa stared up at that crystal. “Goddess Kassandora said to give you this letter.” The engineer brought out a letter, the envelope smeared with a fingerprint of dirty oil from the man’s hand. Anassa sighed, she waved her hand, the paper unched out of the man’s hand. The envelope was shredded in the air by thin knives Anassa jured up, and then hovered before her eyes:

  Anassa! Dear sister! Anassa already hated that tone. She could practically hear Kassandora through the handwriting, blocky and effit, her sister sounded exceptionally smug. Most likely cag at how she had mao triassa. We’re developing bubbles again. I know you hate doing that. :) Why was there a stupid smile drawn on there? Why Kass? We both know I wouldn’t send you off to do manual bour. Anassa’s face darkened and the engineers who were w around the vehicle all seemed to shrink and hide. And I wouldn’t send a princess such as you to dirty your fingers of course :^) And this smiley face had a stupid fug nose drawn on. Why? Kassandora was definitely cag in ughter right now, no doubt. But since you’re there, charge it up. Cssic Kass, such a smug tone followed up by a direct order. Where was the please? Where was the thank you?

  If it was Arascus who told her, Anassa would do it. If Kassandora had e herself, Anassa would do it. But her told her, instead it was a letter she didn’t even have the decy to send herself! What great crimes did Anassa even do to deserve a sister like this? She looked at the letter again and tur to shreds. The engineer saw Anassa’s fad stepped away. If she knew she was going to be expending energy, she would have put something thicker on. Silken dresses like the red one she wearing now stained with sweat easily.

  Anassa sighed and turo the vehicle. “This is to be charged up.” She said loudly to all the engineers in the building, but not to any of them in particur. No one answered so Anassa spoke again. “Uood?”

  This time she got a choir of replies. “Uood Goddess!” That engineer who led Anassa here came up to her.

  “What do you want?” Anassa snapped. Now that there was work to be done, she wasn’t in any mood for another session of the man’s teical sophistries.

  “There’s nine more in the back.”