Note from the author: The events in this chapter take pce just before and after Trace released the virus.

  *****

  Ambassador Craven Wickedbreed stepped closer to the parapet of the Wall, breathing in the full chest of a fresh breeze passing from the west. He was a Troll, a New Breed, as the Recmation Army misguidedly called the Blessed. His long arms reached all the way to his ankles, his skin shared the same gray of his outdoor clothes, and his face was ft and serene. Such was the nature of his group; the Trolls struggled to articute their feelings through facial expressions.

  But deep inside his chest, there was a storm of awe. In the past, this entire region had been a single megapolis, home to billions of souls living in habitat blocks and vast skyscrapers. Steel and crete, like a skin, had covered every timeter of the ground until the Extin struck, rendering supercity into a necropolis subjected to the merciless whims of nature. The sober reminder of mortality didn’t disappear; the bastions of the Walls were partially built from its remains, while the earth swallowed the rest.

  It was a surreal visage. One side of the border had green pastures, crete roads, and open stores. Beyond the dividing line was rocky ground, with bunker’s empts entwined by creepers. The aragedy had doomed ecological boratories in the area, and their products had escaped. Humanity had eradicated the most dangerous spes, aient Blessed joined settlements scattered around the globe.

  But dark blotches, green vines, crimson creepers, and more of the man-made flora stubbornly grew from barren soil, bringing happio the distant kingdom through their sheer abundance of edible and medial pnts and annoyao the Recamiers who had to burn them off the wall each m. The oxygen produced by the Old World’s unfierraf projects filled Craven’s lungs, and he broke from his reminisg to face a group of children.

  “What do you think about the light show imosphere?” Craven asked in an even voice, stepping aside so the children could see.

  “It’s… magnifit.” Young Halina pressed her fists to her chest, her mouth agape in amazement. Behind her, Sister Défenseur Peggy Dimont, heavy armor, smiled cheerfully and patted the girl’s head encingly.

  Peggy beloo the a and respected Six Lames Order of Oathtakers. Charged with proteg youth by the Taker of Oaths himself, they slowly evolved into mentuides, and teachers as civilization had rekindled aheir sisters and brothers traveled the nds, words of advice to parents, smiting svers with the uing fury of their secrated Heretie mae guns, aurning lost or abducted children by force when necessary. Scars marked Peggy’s face like medals and age bleached her hair, but there was genuine kindness in the sister’s face, and she spent her journey engaging the little ones in games to build bonds.

  Halina Jovi? was the never-ending source of her worries, as the sister admitted to Craven. The girl had retly learned of her father’s brave sacrifid had shut in herself, not responding to either teasing or attempts to befriend ing from the orphans. Uhe rest of the kids, she wasn’t an orphan. Her guardian had sent the girl on this trip hoping to shake her up a little and to break this prison of solitude the girl had erected around herself out of worry of losing another dear person, and Peggy bmed herself for failing the child.

  To see her show emotion pleased the ambassador. He had e here to survey the Recimers’ reach as their nations peted for the kingdom’s allegiance, but the girl’s joy was a reward in itself.

  “Tch. Seeer,” grumbled T, a slightly ht child, tugging at his colr in an attempt to appear serious. No matter Peggy’s efforts, T had refused to tell her his full name.

  “Where?” Halina blinked, and T startled at the genuine question, hastily trying to e up with a believable lie.

  “Yeah, where?” Jay pyfully elbowed T. Lanky and long-haired, he often assisted Peggy in bridging members of their little group together. “, big guy, admit it. You never seen anything like that.”

  “Fi is something,” puffed T, surrendering. “What is that?”

  Clouds obscured the entire horizon. Not the usual, heavy and bck storm clouds and not the deadly, fshing sand pools of the Ravaged Lands—no, these clouds had bd blue ingled with red and purple, yellow and green, and glowing spheres, smaller white clouds, dotted this tapestry. The clouds swirled, jumbled, f a living painting of a iebu imosphere, hiding everything behind them.

  “A side effect of a series of aerosol toxins released after the Extin.” Craven stretched out his hand as if to hold the painting in his palm. “The deadly reagents that doomed our aors are no more, but nanomae agents still permeate the air in the region, creating this majestic sight. Such is the lesson of our world, children. Human hands fed a tool of doom, and God, in His infinite wisdom, reworked it into a thing of beauty to spare the geion.”

  “I wish God had saved the living today,” Halina said bitterly. “None here deserved to lose… to lose…” Her lower lip trembled.

  “This is the drum of our existence, Halina.” Peggy lowered on a knee and hugged the girl. “God gave us free will, the most precious gift of all. It is thanks to it we are able to love, grieve, and persevere, to overe obstacles and build a better world, not because we follow chemical cues and physical stimuli like ants, but because we want to. It is thanks to it that some it cruelty, and many bring light to where darkness reigned. Like a loving parent, God ’t just take it away or viote individuality, even if it means stopping the wicked, as it would forever scar our souls. But in His mercy, God had sent us powers and the Blessed to help humanity recover from the catastrophe, thus subtly saving us.”

  “Bah. Religious superstition,” T said haughtily. “Those who died were weak. There is no God, no afterlife. Some people…” he ched his fist. “… are simply not strong enough, not smart enough, or unlucky.”

  “T.” Jay spped him. “You make Haly sad.”

  “It’s true!” T insisted. He gred at the rest of the kids. “I’m not saying it’s our folks’ fault, but it is undeniable! Sweet lies don’t help ahey are dangerous! If you are strong, you live. So I’ll bee the stroo protect you all. That way I… you won’t lose anyone again!”

  “Thanks, T. You are very kind.” Halina wiped a tear from the er of her eye.

  “An iing perspective, T.” Craven nodded amiably. “It is very noble of you to grow into a protector, but you are missing a crucial point.”

  “Yeah? And what is it?”

  “There is a settlement to the north. Back when our story takes pce, it was little more than a bor camp that sprang up iin's aftermath. They lived modestly, trading mieel and fouronics for food. Until one dawn, when a Blessed approached them, boastfully demanding women and children as tribute. A defender fired at him, and the bullet barely scratched the man’s skin as his cws sshed across the brave soul, and fear rived the unity.”

  “See?” T stated smugly. “Strong and weak.”

  “But a priest rose.” Craven raised a finger, asking not to be interrupted. “He beseeched people not to engage in svery. Inspired by his religious fervor and for their fellows, the miners armed themselves. And when the Blessed returned, he learhat while a single gun could do little, hundreds were aory entirely. Yours truly stands here in part thanks to their decision to resist.” Craven id his long fingers on his chest. “Do you see that individual strength is not everything, T? Faith had kept that unity together, guiding them toward the right choice.”

  “That’s just smarts and strength of human spirit!” T proudly spped himself over the chest. “It wasn’t belief in God that saved them, but cooperation. And the Recmation Army has that in spades. Strength of spirit! Intelligend might! These are the things that save nations!”

  “Well said!” A voice thundered.

  Two soldiers marched through the regurs to the group. Though their size was no different from the thousands of Normies manning the Wall, Craven immediately reized them as fellow Blessed. The first one wore a rock-colored camoufge coat, a breastpte, and a lieutenant uniform. Blond and smooth-skinned, his hard gaze resembled the mighty bastions under his and. This was Lugal-marada, the regional ander of the Provincial Army in this sector. Beside him was a sergeant of the Exotic Ptoon, Sagit Wolf, a lithe and almost ephemeral woman whose coat was buttoned and bck sungsses hid her eyes. Occasionally, yellow streaks fshed briefly from behind the sungsses.

  “You are wise to trust your judgment over mindless dogma, boy.” The lieutenant pressed two fio his cap in salute. “Far too many have been led astray when the ao what is good or evil lie on the surface for all to see.”

  “What is strength of spirit if not spirituality?” Craven asked, shaking hands with the man. “Church has nurtured the best qualities in mankind sihe dawn of time.”

  “And brought human sacrifices iimes of ignorance. Spirituality has no corretion with an innate uanding of what is wrong and right and refusal to quit.” The lieutenant replied, gng briefly at the ambassador. “I grant you that the houses of prayer served as pces of uanding of nature, and their prophets taught important values at one point in history, but humanity has long sigrown that crutch. Your assumption of a divine in for the powers rather thaing them as unexpined geialies is ridiculous. Shackles of your Oath are more of a hindrahan help. These days, to learn more about acceptand uanding, a person could simply glean it from the .”

  “’t imagine any dowo such a method,” Peggy said sarcastically, and a er of Sagit’s mouth twitched, but the sergeant maintained her posure.

  Craven paid no mind to Lugal-marada’s words or his admission about spying ohey weren’t enemies, for everyone here wanted humanity to prosper. The lieutenant didn’t trust him, likely believing that the ambassador was seeking to persuade soldiers to swear the Oath. It was fiheir nations rivaled in the past, and there will be skirmishes iure. Time will heal these wounds of mistrust. The Oathtakers never lied. If Craven promised not to vert anyone here, he’d keep his word. It was Lyudochka’s task in Houstad.

  The Recmation Army put too much emphasis on individual traits and charisma. It was the Dynast’s ambition that saw to the rapid restoration of vast tracts of nd. But between faith and ambition, faith always triumphed in the end. It was iable, for faith was an idea handed down by God, while ambition stemmed from an individual. And those ayed around for too long. A tury, even a millennium, of waiting was nothing. While faith had survived in various forms to this very day. Individual religions died, cruel practices disappeared, but faith, a belief in the benevolent Creator, persisted. If that wasn’t a sign of celestial interference, Craven wasn’t sure what was.

  “But I oor host,” said Lugal-marada. The man introduced himself to every child, shaking their hands, and stopped at Halina. “My deepest dolences. Your father is a hero.”

  “I know.” Halina forced a nod. “It’s just… I’d love to have a dad, not a hero! I know it’s selfish; he saved lives, but…”

  “But nothing.” Lugal-marada stopped her, taking the girl by the shoulders. “What you feel is human. It is not selfish, it is n, and you are not a mae. Grieve as much as you o. What matters is how you deal with it. Don’t dishonor the memory of your parent; don’t sink into despair and live to the fullest. Find a way to be happy, for you deserve it, and in doing so, you will also honor Mirko’s memory.”

  “You knew my dad?” the girl asked.

  “No.”

  “But then how do you…”

  “Because seeing our children grow in peace is every soldier’s dream,” Lugal-marada told her softly. “It rarely happens. But you should give it a try.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Halina said.

  “About the tour… sir,” Jay began, and the offiodded. “These clouds! The ambassador told us they are harmless. Is that true?”

  “Correct, but you won’t see them up close today. I offered you a tour of our territory, but I had to postpo, and I wasted too much time dealing with mundane problems.”

  “Nothing serious, I hope?” Peggy inquired.

  “Remains to be seen,” Lugal-marada answered. “Our scouts failed to report in time, but such things are not unoo the cloud phehat interfere with unications. However, we found a panicked family twenty minutes earlier who cimed to be from the kingdom, and I sent them to the Iigation Bureau in Houstad. Their statements are ing.”

  “Is this why the Wall is on full alert?” Peggy pressed on.

  Craven blinked, looking around. He wasn’t a military man; short of basic self-defense courses, he had never even been in a, thank the Oath. To him, the busy marg of soldiers, the w of radar antennas, and the almost zy trag of artillery seemed normal. What else could one expect from a military base?

  “Best not to take any ces. Not when there are lives on the line,” said Sagit, breaking her silence for the first time. A crack apanied her every sentence, and the woman smirked at the wide-open eyes of the children as they noticed electricity sparking from her lips. She raised her palms, and arcs of light left her hands, coalesg into images of rag horses over the woman’s head to the gasps and cps of the children. “We’ll explore the bowels of the Wall today while our forces firm security outside.”

  “Aw,” T said disappointedly, then collected himself, as if surprised that the word left his mouth.

  “Don’t worry, d, the freak show won’t be disappearing anytime soon,” Lugal-marada said. “There will be plenty of opportuo wahrough it.”

  “I wasn’t…”

  “Is it true that the Wall is ected to the underground ruins?” Halina asked and looked down as everyouro her. “I’ve read it in a magazine.” She tapped her index fiogether. “There are supposedly immense domes filled with various biomes deep underground and caverns filled by ruined cities.”

  “What, really?” Jay’s eyes fshed. “ we check out the ruins? we take anything we find… I mean, souvenirs, sir! A skull or an aV…”

  “No, you ’t, gover’s property,” Lugal-marada stated.

  “And taking skull?” Peggy’s fingers drummed on Jay’s head. “Kiddo, you must learn to respect the deceased. These fallen souls had their dreams and desires; desecrating their helpless remains is an aworthy of a human.”

  “Oh, I po honor them; trust me, sis!” Jay csped his hands together. “I was going to a skull, coat it in bronze, paint it dark, and then sell it for... Use it as a talisman, I mean! That way, a ghost could see the world and calm itself with the knowledge that life remains!” The boy finished dramatically.

  “Even I don’t believe it.” T frowned.

  “Yuck.” Halina raised her hands. “Jay, do you really okens so badly that you are willing to it grave robbery?”

  “Halina’s right; there is a way in; we eve to grow fresh vegetation, but the area is not safe,” Lugal-marada tinued as if nothing had happened, steering the argument away from the morbid topic, while Peggy sighed and scrubbed notes in her notebook.

  “Have to pry exotic fruits from the stalks of fauna trying to murder us,” Sagit expined. “Good enviro for honing the survival instincts of New Breeds. Not so much for children.”

  “Agreed.” Peggy and Sagit exged nods.

  Ear-pierg cries of warning sirens interrupted the further discussion. Crave to the kids, unsure of what was going on, but Peggy was already he orphans, and a group of soldiers surrouhem. The ambassador heard humming, and the very air outside the bastions trembled as the force shield bubble activated. Hundreds of feet stomped around them, taking up defensive positions; meic crews brought in projectors, surprising Craven.

  “Situatio!” demanded Lugal-marada, gng down at his terminal and hiding it in the pocket of his coat.

  “Sir! unications with Houstad and Regional and are down!” A younger soldier saluted him. “We tried the emergency el and couldn’t reayohe is unavaible either!”

  “Send orders to use radios and recall the bueams.” Unafraid, Lugal-marada stood otlement and surveyed the orderly preparations of his men. His voice, used to giving orders and being obeyed, boomed loudly, overing doubt. “Artillery crews target the cloud front; mortar crews stand by to support the withdrawal of our forces. Re team Alpha-1236, start an immediate sortie into the Core Lands, deliver the news of this interfereo the Third, and…”

  “Oy vey,” said Sagit, joining the lieutenant. “Something massive is approag.”

  “Affirmative!” shouted a soldier showing from a door. “Sensors have detected seismic activity to the west!”

  “Ahquake?” Lugal-marada inquired.

  “ive, sir! Not…”

  “Your scouts have failed.” Syic speech came from the west, pierg through the clouds. There was ion in it, but every single sylble sounded loud enough to potentially deafen even a Blessed or explode windows. A sed ter, the dynamics of the fortress repeated it. “Your security has failed. You are cut off, alone. As I speak to you, your leaders are about to be felled, and your city is burning. The only thi for you to decide is whether to bend your knees and live, or to be brought down with your wall. The Gilded Horde is here to cim everything. Choose your fate and give your answer.”

  Then a new noise reached the defenders. A deep, low rumble that grew louder by the sed, followed by the avanche of stones being pulverized by something incredibly massive. A titanic shadoeared in the clouds.