Grand Game 595: Claimants

You have teleported behind Safyre.

I stepped out of the aether and into Safyre’s shadow, and for a split-second went unnoticed.

“…must coordinate with Sedgwick,” she was saying. “It’s imperative that we—”

“He’s back,” Nyra blurted, the first to spot me. Unlike Safyre, she was facing me fully. The rest of the forerunners’ command group—Adriel, Farren, Ceruvax, Shael, Anriq, Lucius, the twins, Regus, and Duggar—were also on the barge, along with some fifty other forerunners.

Breaking off, Safyre spun around, her eyes widening as she caught sight of my grinning face.

Before I could say anything, she threw herself forward and wrapped me in a hug. “Michael,” she whispered into my chest. “I thought…”

I closed my arms around her. “It’s done,” I murmured soothingly, understanding her unspoken fears. “And I survived. As did most of the brotherhood.”

Giving me one last squeeze, Safyre stepped back. She was as aware of our watching audience as I was. We’d talk again later—in private. For now, there was forerunner business to attend to. 

“The void tree?” she asked.

“Dead,” I confirmed.

That drew heartfelt sighs from everyone. “Then it is done,” Teresa breathed.

“Mostly,” I agreed.

Ceruvax’s eyes narrowed. “Mostly?” he repeated, latching onto my qualification.

I waved aside his question. “There is a lot I must tell you all, but none of it is urgent. We can discuss the void tree and sector 30,199 later.” I turned my head left and right, taking in the circle of barges and the island they ringed. “For now, let’s concentrate on this sector. How are things going?”

“Slower than we hoped,” Adriel replied. Stepping forward, she brushed her lips against the side of my face. “You did well, Wolf.”

Surprised by her unexpectedly warm greeting, I shrugged uncomfortably. “I couldn’t have done it without any of you.” 

The lich smiled. “I’m not so sure about that.” Before I could respond, her tone turned more business-like. “But as for why things have been moving so slowly…” She gestured at the lake. “The water is the main reason for that.”

I nodded. “You had to build the barges and maneuver them into position. I get that. But they all look to be in place now?”

“They are,” Farren replied. “As always, you have impeccable timing.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you deliberately dodged the grunt work.”

I chuckled. “The timing of my arrival is coincidence, no more, I assure you.” My amusement faded. “But tell me: how did the battle end? I didn’t see any forerunner… bodies on the shore. How many did we lose?”

Somber faces and dark eyes greeted my question. It’s bad then, I thought.

“Two hundred and ninety-seven,” Safyre said softly.

I blanched. That was nearly ten percent of our total force. I’d known we would lose people, but I’d been hoping our losses would be more akin to the brotherhood’s. “Why so many?” I whispered, my voice sounding half-strangled to my own ears.

Safyre squeezed my hand. “Six separate packs of hydras broke through the western cordon while we were busy dealing with the harbingers.”

“It was my fault,” Terence said, his eyes downcast.

“No, it was not,” Ceruvax retorted sharply.

“I should have stopped them,” the young knight persisted.

“And I’ve told you a dozen times already, boy, you could not have,” the envoy replied, looking vexed. “None of us could.” His eyes lifted to mine. “It was a pre-planned maneuver.”

“The timing was suspicious,” Lucius agreed. “The tree must have been preparing the offensive in secret, and the harbingers’ arrival provided the perfect opening.” He shrugged. “But as devastating as the lesser hydras’ counterassault was, ultimately, it failed. Terence and the dwarves stopped them before they could shatter our lines.”

Still looking unhappy, Terence opened his mouth to protest, but Teresa kicked him in the shins, silencing him.

I shook my head slowly, still unable to verbalize my own feelings on the matter. Three hundred and ninety-seven dead. It was a veritable butcher’s bill. 

So many. 

The others had said the hydras had broken through while we were preoccupied with ambushing the harbingers. But how many had died after that? How many could I have saved if I’d not pursued the tree into sector 30,199?

“Michael?” Nyra prompted.

Raising my eyes, I found and held Shael’s gaze. “Who did we lose?” As the forerunners’ bard, it would’ve fallen to him to record the names of the dead.

He shifted uncomfortably under my stare. “Uhm… The Bane Wolves suffered the most grievous losses. A few wolfmen perished as well, and some wolves too…”

My gaze drifted in Duggar’s direction.

“The Pack survives,” the dire wolf alpha replied serenely. “The fallen will be missed.” His eyes drove into mine, as if willing me to believe. “But the Pack survives. And that is what counts the most.”

Neither disputing nor agreeing with Duggar’s sentiment, I turned back to Shael. “Tell me the names of the dead.” 

“Huh…”

Safyre touched my arm gently. “Shael has everything written down and recorded,” she assured me. “We can go over it all later and mourn them properly. But right now, we need to focus on—”

“No,” I interjected. “I want to know now. Tell me.”

Safyre flinched.

I was being unnecessarily harsh, I knew. And it was not even Safyre and the others I was angry with. Only myself. It was I who had insisted we claim the sector in nine days. It was I who had left to chase down the tree. 

And in the end, it had cost two-hundred and ninety-seven lives.

There was no running away from that fact. Two hundred and ninety seven people who I’d sworn to protect were dead, and it was all my fault.

Adriel stepped forward. “Go,” she said gently to Safyre. “I will handle him.”

“But—” Safyre protested.

“Go,” the lich insisted. “You have important things to do. All of you do,” she added, raising her voice. She turned back to Safyre, a wry twist to her lips. “And believe it or not, I’ve seen my fair share of death. This is something I know how to deal with.”

Safyre hesitated a moment longer, then with a decisive nod, stepped away.

“I’m sorry, Saf,” I said, speaking to her privately through my telepathy. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It’s just…”

Midmotion, she paused and looked back over her shoulder, a sad smile on face. “I understand. It hit me hard too. Speak to Adriel. We’ll talk later.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Adriel wasted no time in sitting me down in what she termed the bow of the barge, which was empty but for the two of us. The barge’s complement of soldiers congregated at the far end—the stern—and the forerunners’ command group had dispersed to the other barges, no doubt to enact whatever final preparations remained.

“You know the dead are not your fault, right?” the lich asked once we were alone.

I sighed. “They were my responsibility.”

She nodded. “They were, but not entirely.”

I glanced up at her. “Meaning?”

She shrugged. “They had free will, the same as you do. They chose to follow you. They chose to fight here today.”

My lips twisted. “So, what? You’re saying they chose to die? That their fate is their fault?”

She didn’t back down from my stare. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Mostly, anyway.” She paused. “This is the first time you’ve commanded a battle, isn’t it?”

I shook my head. “I’ve led others before.”

“But this is the first time you have had so many die under your command, isn’t it?” she persisted.

I sighed again. “Yes,” I admitted.

Adriel nodded. “What you are feeling is normal.”

“Normal?” I asked, a sour cast to my face.

“Normal,” she repeated firmly. “As a scion, it is your duty to lead your people responsibly—to not spend their lives frivolously. It is not your duty to save everyone. Sadly, that is impossible to do.”

I bowed my head. “Rationally, I understand what you’re saying. I agree with it too. Hells, before the battle, I even warned myself something like this might happen.” I exhaled. “I thought I was prepared.”

“But the reality is different, isn’t it?” 

I laughed hollowly. “It sure is.”

Adriel sat down beside me. “Have you spoken to Ghost? Sometimes the best remedy is simply sharing the burden.”

I nodded, knowing she was right. “Ghost is asleep, creating her astral simulacrum.”

“Ah,” the lich exclaimed, and although she looked intrigued by my words, she didn’t pursue the matter. “Well, when she awakes, I suggest you have a long discussion with her on the subject.”

“I will. And with Safyre too.”

The lich smiled. “You should do that.”

I patted her hand. “Thank you, Adriel.”

“You’re welcome, Wolf.” She rose to her feet. “Now, if you’re done moping, there’s work to be done.”

✵ ✵ ✵

It took another hour to finish our preparations, and I spent that time, traveling from barge to barge, reacquainting myself with everyone. Despite our losses, the mood amongst the army was upbeat, jubilant even. 

They had done the impossible and survived. 

And they were justifiably ecstatic about the fact. In the face of such happiness, my own dourness evaporated. It would have been churlish to try to hold onto it, really. And Safyre, Adriel, and the others had the right of it. 

While the dead should be mourned, the living came first—always.

Thus, when the moment we had all been waiting for arrived, I greeted it with as much excitement as the others.

A faction has staked a claim to sector 18,240!

The Forerunners have established a cordon of more than 1,000 soldiers around the sector’s safe zone. If the cordon remains unbroken for another 24 hours, ownership of sector 18,240 will transfer to the Forerunners.

“We’ve done it!” Anriq exclaimed fiercely.

The command group had gathered anew on a single barge, and this time around, the various captains had also joined in. 

“Not quite,” Regus cautioned. But despite his words, the wolfman was grinning broadly. “We still have twenty-four hours to go.”

“Bah, it’s a done deal,” Sedgwick retorted. “There’s nothing that can stop our claim now.”

I said nothing, but privately I agreed with the dwarven merchant’s assessment.

“What now?” Nyra asked, voicing the question on everyone’s minds, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it was not to me they turned to for answers, but Safyre.

The aetherist, standing shoulder to shoulder with me, glanced in my direction, fielding the question to me.

I shook my head minutely. “You should answer,” I told her privately.

She arched one eyebrow in silent query.

“You are as much their leader as I am, and you earned their trust during the battle. Let’s not return to the previous status quo. Lead them.” I inhaled. “And besides, this sector will be yours. When it comes to matters relating to it, you are the ultimate authority.”

 Safyre did not refuse the responsibility I thrust upon her. “We wait,” she said aloud. Her gaze found mine again. “And while we do, perhaps we should hear Michael’s tale.”