Daniel enters the tent meant for the Fievegal’s command structure. While the plan was to use the airship and the shuttles to access it, the Stalvaltan Guards deployed to aid Rikuto already had a large command tent set up, and they hastily constructed a bed meant for Aramellianna, the highest ranking person that they expected to remain anywhere near the battlefield.

With Hekate unconscious, and the sudden “boon” of easily harvested mana snuffed out by the airship’s destruction, limiting Xyreko’s wanton use of what magical energy they did harvest, everyone will be remaining on the battlefield for the foreseeable future. Daniel is more trusting than he should be, but he’s not foolish enough to rest in a nobleman’s estate without a full detachment of his own soldiers in a kingdom that is not already allied with the Fievegal. He has already been nearly assassinated several times. He probably wouldn’t even stay in Castle Mornistae without being able to completely secure an annex or something at this point.

The mechanic sets Hekate down on the bed, and Floria jogs in along with Veiranoei and Bellphine.

“Your Grace,” greets Floria.

“Floria, please check over Hekate,” states Daniel, stepping out of the way. “I think she depleted her mana, but she has taken a beating today.”

“Understood, your majesty,” replies the goblin. She’s “formally” trained in medicine that aligns closer to first aid than true medical expertise, but that first aid comes from Daniel and his phone, immediately leaping this world forward by centuries. Just basic anatomy and hygiene theories alone have set Floria up to be one of the world’s foremost medical professionals on Zenkon, at least for humans and goblins. Obviously, Daniel has coroners working on anatomy comparisons for each race with permission from their families and payment for the funeral services, since anatomy maps will be crucial to ensuring medical practices can be adapted to each race and their unique morphologies.

In a false form like Hekate is now, it should mostly emulate a human, meaning the most important checks can hopefully find any organ damage. Daniel doesn’t really want to know why Hekate can survive so much punishment, as if knowing will make the magic vanish. The dragons are similarly tough in their small forms, and Kera’tai survived a point-blank fuel-air explosion from the drake killed at Fort Peony. Magical prowess does seem to be at least partially proportional to defensive durability.

But, Hekate was born sixteen years ago. It is unlikely truly immortal beings that can never die would have a need to reproduce, meaning, with the exception of the divine beings Chaos and Order, there are no other true immortals. Hekate is being protected by something, but once that protection is overcome, she will be nothing more than a little girl.

I’ve set a bad example, haven’t I?

Daniel approaches the other two, and Bellphine dips her head respectfully, while Veiranoei asks softly, “Is she alright?”

“I think so. Unless Zuzia punched her, I don’t know what it would take to kill her. At least, nothing short of an Alamogordo Special.”

“Good,” replies the gatonine with a nod. She then adds, “And, I found Bellphine. She was helping with triage.”

Daniel looks at the young woman’s bloodied sleeves. Most injuries that were already being dealt with are bone or joint breaks or mana-related toxicity-like symptoms. If she’s this bloodied, then she was doing her best to stop bleeding or help the surgeons not long ago.

The mechanic asks softly, “Did you keep your hands sterile, at least?”

Bellphine smiles and nods. Floria benefitted directly from the medical lessons, since she wanted to be a combat healer in spite of having no affinities for magic with which to cast her own healing spells or anything of the like. Some potations are fairly abundant, so Daniel has instructed his people to use them to sterilize their hands and certain wounds for first aid. Some of the potation’s effects will sometimes activate, but the high alcohol content is an effective sterilizer in a world that usually relies on magic without really knowing why it works.

“Good. Let’s step outside for a bit. Veira, I won’t hold you up if you need to go.”

“Is it a secret?”

“No. I just want to ask her if she has seen anything new regarding the mana fire. She mentioned something a while ago, but we were more focused on the other part of her foresight, which seems to have been Yaulander firing the void artilleries at us.”

“I’ll stay then, if that’s alright. I-I’m curious as well.”

Daniel nods, glancing at Hekate. Floria states, “There is blood from her ears, but I think she already used healing magic on herself. As you said, I believe her condition is mostly from mana depletion, but I will keep checking what I know.”

“Thank you,” replies Daniel. “If you need help, please let us know.”

The real reason he’s stepping outside is because Hekate will need to be checked over thoroughly, just to be safe. Floria is a professional, and Hekate wouldn’t mind either of the other three seeing her in a state of undress. Daniel had to help her put on her first sets of actual clothing when they first met, since she had never had actual worthwhile clothing prior. But, Daniel still refuses to cross any lines if he can help it. She’s in good hands for now, and the conversation isn’t top secret, other than she’s likely going to tell him that the future holds a finale Daniel ultimately knows is going to come to pass.

The three step outside, and Daniel says gently to Bellphine, “Take your time to write it, Bellphine. I just want you to know if you saw anything helpful… Anything alternative to what I… fear will need to be done.”

She nods, withdrawing her notebook and pencil. She has gotten better and better at writing, and Daniel ensures she always has enough paper, since it’s his fault she struggles to speak now.

Yaulwembor stalks up behind Daniel, looking over his shoulder curiously. The mechanic chuckles, petting her head. “Thank you, Yaulwembor. Good work.”

The faormyr lets out a noise that Daniel is fairly certain is the apex predator’s ‘purr’ of affection.

As for Bellphine’s most recent Dawnseeing effort, it does what all Dawnsights seem to do.

It leaves a lot of unhelpful room for interpretation.

***

Bellphine can feel the mana washing over her in waves. She has felt it since the moment she departed the metal shuttle that brought her and Daniel to the command post. She knows she has to be close to Daniel to tell him something at the right time, because she foresaw it. But, she’s not sure what she’s supposed to tell him.

She’s currently within an intentional Dawnsight, though it is so close to the present that she risks ‘drowning’ within the vision.

Especially because her rampant, uncontrolled visions have been out of control. She has trouble being certain that she’s even conscious anymore.

“Your master taught you, didn’t she?” asks an elderly woman’s voice.

Bellphine whirls, and she finds her master standing near the command tent. Time seems to have stopped all around her, with the soldiers and nobles frozen in the last action they were taking. Bellphine’s not sure anymore when she arrived at the tent, but she quickly reminds herself that she’s within a Dawnsight.

Focus. Don’t let your focus slip.

“My master taught me a great many things,” replies Bellphine. As usual, in the current Dawnsights, she no longer has her stammer.

Or, perhaps the Dawnsights and reality are backwards. What if the stammer is the turmoil? Like when Daniel confronted Fal… N-No. No, I can’t trick myself…

She bows respectfully to the visage of her master. Obviously, the old woman wouldn’t speak of herself in the third person. Or at least, she never did.

“I have the utmost respect for my master, and I would kindly ask you to take another form, whoever you are supposed to be.”

The visage grins with an almost scary smile that shows the old woman’s well-aged teeth. “Very well. How about this, then?” In the imperceptible moment when Bellphine blinks, the woman has suddenly taken the form of a person whose face the young Dawnseer thought she would never see again. She stumbles back a step in horror.

Bellphine’s parents are wealthy nobles of Mornistae. Though not especially highly-ranked, they are a well-established, long-stable aristocratic family.

And, more importantly, they are shrewd aristocrats.

Bellphine was her family’s treasure when she was on her way to becoming the Royal Court’s Dawnseer.

And, when she was hit by the pulses that she later learned were from Daniel’s ‘God-killers’ or ‘Alamogordo Specials’ in the midst of a Dawnseeing, she was driven to the brink of madness and developed the stammer shortly after, making her family believe she had become an imbecile, neither marriagable, nor a candidate for Court Dawnseer.

Bellphine’s mother was especially incensed by Bellphine’s sudden severe loss of value as a familial asset.

The horror obviously paints her face, because the figure’s expression softens some. It doesn’t become ‘gentle’, since it’s the harsh, hawk-like face of her stern and fickle mother, but the malicious mocking grin dissolves, leaving behind whoever it is wearing the face of the last woman Bellphine was ever hoping to see again.

“You are losing yourself in fiction, Bellphine. Both the future, the past, and the present seen through Dawnseeing, in truth, is fiction. The reason is simple. I’ll get someone scolded for Fourth Wall breaks if I address it too directly, so ignoring that obvious reason, what you see in a Dawnsight is the living embodiment of the world’s perception. It’s a living thing, in the simplest sense, and when it senses it is in danger, it cries out.” The face, body, and clothes changes to those of Queen Orphelexia, who Bellphine always had a more neutral interaction with, since she never really had the chance to get to know the Queen of Mornistae, who has since become Queen Mother.

The strange being continues, “A child will see a face they don’t like and become fearful. A child will hear a sound under their bed and cry. A child will believe an animal larger than themselves is a monster. The world does not possess ‘wisdom’. It is more like a child afraid of the things that frighten it, but which it doesn’t understand.”

Bellphine listens with a sort of conflicted awe. The woman isn’t wrong. The greatest danger all Dawnseers preach is an overreliance on the Dawnsights themselves, because, especially with the future, it can change based on various factors.

The woman adds, “That is not to say that a child is never right to be afraid; quite the contrary. But, you’re not here to see what you already know, you’re here to cheat, aren’t you?”

The figure next turns into Daniel, capturing everything about him perfectly, just like the others, including his voice.

“You want to know what to say to me in order to save the world in the perfect way.”

Bellphine stares up at her human Liege Lord, who treats her very well and with a great deal of patience in spite of her disability. No small amount of that is guilt over his own involvement, but he doesn’t treat her like a cripple. He simply works around her disability.

“I-... Is that so wrong?” asks Bellphine softly. “If the world is in danger, I… We can’t afford to mess up.”

“Sure you can,” replies Daniel’s doppelganger. “If you are looking for magic words to say, such that I will act in a certain way, you are taking responsibility in steering me. And, I would be taking responsibility for carrying out the action itself. Such is the nature of all living interactions. Such is the nature of chaos itself.”

‘Daniel’ turns and looks at the mana fire, saying softly, “This conversation will shape the world. It may even save it. But, do not mistake the actions of we, the tiny little humans, as a miraculous full-day heart surgery, when it is the debridement of smashing away rotten flesh with a big rock.” She looks at Bellphine. “If you have a big rock and a dying patient, you still have to choose. If I step into a massive fire with nothing but a sword, I will burn to death as an idiot. Leeches, holy water, and prayer have a solid place in history. And, if you have nothing else, and everyone will die,... Well, then, what are you doing asking a figment of a changeable future how to save the tangible present?”

Bellphine stares at ‘Daniel’ for a long time, and he smiles gently, which is his admirable way of reassuring everyone, even when he is carrying burdens of his own. “But, because I do enjoy this world as it is, I suppose I’ll do this much.” Daniel starts walking towards the mana fire, and a flash comes from deep within the heart of the black and white inferno all but spraying mana violently in every direction. The bright flash itself illuminates a terrible shadow of a titanic monster within the mana inferno itself. It looks like some sort of titanic reptilian coated in sharp, flickering spikes as it breathes a “black” ray breath that spreads the mana fire further.

“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...”

When Daniel turns back, Bellphine, who followed him a few steps, gasps in horror. The right half of his face has vanished, leaving only the skull beneath, while the left side of his face is intact and wearing his burdened smile. “Good luck, Bellphine.”

With that, Daniel disintegrates into wisps of smoke from the inside out, briefly leaving a black outline of his figure in the last moments before vanishing entirely.

Bellphine drops to her knees, retching onto the ground while roars and screams fill the air, and the rolling darkness that everyone associates with the God-killers sweeps over her.

***

Daniel reads the notes that Bellphine scribbled down. She actually had much of the Dawnsight already written, knowing Daniel would want to know it, and she did her best not to miss a single detail.

Admittedly, the American has to rub his eyes for a moment. He has had more than his comfortable amount of liquor trying to keep the edge off of his soreness, pain, and terror all vying for his attention. Though he has faced seemingly-impossible things in this fantasy world, he is still fundamentally a very weak human. His instincts are screaming at him to get very far away from everything, but his rational mind knows that it is inescapable. In his 33 years of life on Earth, there was never a true apocalyptic event the way politicians would pretend there was every time a snow storm or hurricane happened or their person didn’t win an election. The closest would be “local apocalypses” in the form of earthquakes or tsunamis, the hurricane and snowstorm where they actually impact, or even manmade disasters like Chernobyl or Fukushima. To this point, Daniel didn’t have to take “world saving action” for any of these, nor did he have to flee his home for fear of what would happen because he wasn’t in the area of devastation.

But, Zenkon has forces in play that make nuclear weapons seem like 9mm pistols; still wildly deadly, but fractional in scope to the terrifying power of magic at full tilt. Apocalypse is a possibility on Zenkon far more readily than it ever was on Earth.

If Rikuto is right, and Daniel has no reason to believe otherwise, the deeper the mana fire burns, the closer to true doomsday they approach. Not only is the fire burrowing down to the mantle, it is widening the hole that will be blown open at the time of breakaway.

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Daniel feels exhausted, and the crushing weight of everything is making him want to sleep for the rest of his life.

Veiranoei finishes reading Bellphine’s notes, and she asks Daniel, “What is this saying, Daniel? Do you know what this means?”

“I have some ideas, but no proof. It’s not how I would talk, but… given the Lurker’s interference already…”

“What does the last phrase mean, though? Does this have something to do with Fal? That’s what you called him at first, right?”

Daniel nods gently, looking at Bellphine. She watches Daniel for his deliberations on her answer, looking to Veiranoei when the feline woman speaks. But, both of them are focused on what Daniel makes of it.

“Well… the wording is peculiar in this language, since… translated to English, it’s directly from a poem that was often taught to children even more than a hundred years later.”

“A poem?” asks Veiranoei curiously. Bellphine has her head cocked, and she nods in agreement. Yaulwembor, who is listening idly, studies the words, now that she has some idea how to read in the most basic sense, but Bellphine’s writing isn’t in English, and it’s far too long for the faormyr to understand.

But, Daniel recites the poem in English as best as he remembers. “[‘Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.’]” The mechanic makes eye contact with both of the women who he can speak directly to. “Just a gentle little fantasy for making wishes upon the first star visible in the night sky.” He looks up, but it’s actually late morning now, so there are no stars visible. Even if there were, he doesn’t remember what the typical first star visible on Earth was, let alone if there are names to the stars on Zenkon. It’s on his list of goals to map the stars so that the Fievegal can make use of sextants for global navigation, but to properly do it, at least an entire year of record collecting will need to be done, and the astronomy teams have only just started being assembled out of the Uhl’tall, Oni, and some humans that have started to immigrate to the Fievegal.

“It does sound cute, I guess,” remarks Veiranoei, scratching her cheek. “I… haven’t learned much of your mother language…”

“I don’t expect you to,” replies Daniel with a smile. “I just used English to preserve the rhyme and rhythm as I knew it.”

“D-D-Doe-oes i-i-it m-mea-m-mean…?”

Daniel looks at Bellphine and she gives him the ‘look’; ‘please fill in the rest’. The mechanic nods. “Does it mean anything to me?” She nods, and Daniel answers, “It suggests that it’s not the Lurker, unless she can read my mind, or did so during that last skirmish.” Daniel looks down at his hands. The bandages are crusty with blood and tug on the scabs and flesh with every movement of his fingers and palms. His head is partially swirling from the rum, but thankfully, both of the two who can speak are discreet about Daniel’s secrets, what few there are that he keeps from the rest of the Empresses.

“But, if it’s the only other person I can think of who could have influence, I don’t know what they’re trying to say.”

“If… the… ‘you’ that Bellphine saw was talking to… this ‘you’, then… isn’t telling you to make a wish… a bit malicious?” asks Veiranoei.

Daniel glances around, confirming the audience is minimal. He says softly, “With Ryukana and Amalaskae, it’s not impossible, but it has a bit of a cost. I ‘cashed’ mine in already, and I doubt they can give one out on loan.”

Veiranoei’s ears flick as her curiosity jumps up even more from hearing this. “Wh-Why not?”

“They have a system they mostly abide by, and it’s a bit of a ‘contract’ the more power they use. If… the ‘me’ is who I believe it to be, then she wasn’t taunting us, per se. She told me what I need to know, I just haven’t pieced it together yet…”

Daniel massages his forehead with his left hand, which is less-wounded than his right.

“You had too much rum, didn’t you?” asks the gatonine as she gently touches his bicep due to their height difference.

“Yes, but no.”

He tries to smile at his Empress-at-Arms, but Bellphine states, “N-N-No s-s-sle-sleep.”

Veiranoei gasps lightly, glancing at the Lady-in-Waiting and then back to Daniel himself. At once, her feminine empathy kicks in, and she replies, “Oh! Daniel, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize…”

“Don’t be,” replies Daniel sincerely. “You’re still a technical Empress, my Empress-at-Arms. You’re still free from wifely duties.” He chuckles to try to reaffirm the last part as a soft joke. He doesn’t expect any of his companions to pay so much attention to the nuances of his own being; it’s a pleasant luxury to him. But, at times, it’s a burden because they might try to stand in his way. And, Veiranoei was brought into the Fievegal as an ‘Empress-in-Name’ on a subtle level. She’s allowed to live and act like an Empress of the Fievegal, and even Daniel will lie about their level of intimacy that actually doesn’t exist so as to preserve her honor as Empress, but she’s not his romantic partner. If anything, she’s a military partner, hence his new decision to call her ‘Empress-at-Arms’.

Regardless, the feline woman steps in front of him and places her hands on his chest with a sort of firmness that will prevent him from going any direction other than. “No. I know you’re treating me this way at Grandfather’s request, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. We’re friends, right? And friends don’t watch friends overextend themselves in the face of danger. Everything is as it was yesterday now that Sayrdarralouche is dead. A-Again. So,...” She looks at Yaulwembor, who is watching her suspiciously. Veiranoei swallows her saliva in a nervous gesture, and her ears expressively ‘soften’ to a more timid position. But, she does her best to click her tongue to mimic the sound of Yaulwembor and the dragons ‘sparking’ their teeth. It honestly sounds nothing like it, even when Daniel does it, but Yaulwembor knows it’s a communication for her when they do. Veiranoei then waves a hand across her face, having her eyes closed for a moment. She then points at Daniel, and then into the tent.

Yaulwembor, the apathetic titan that she is, ‘purrs’ with a gentle growl and sparks her teeth a couple of times in acknowledgment as she turns her gaze to Daniel.

The mechanic knows Yaulwembor is smart, she’s just wholly uneducated. Like a feral human being introduced into society, especially one too late to learn during a child’s developmental period, she probably long ago lost the full cognitive ability to ever speak normally, or even write clearly. She’s closer to a dog than a human because she does have some social cues, probably developed from her father in ancient times, but she mainly focuses on what benefits her in the moment. The most important factor is, because she’s an apex predator and Daniel keeps her fed, her only other priorities are peace and survival.

And, while she can’t say it in words, her gaze seems to have grasped Veiranoei’s instructions with ease.

Veiranoei says as she grips the top of Daniel’s chest armor, “Come on, Daniel. Let’s get you some sleep. I’ll let everyone know after you’ve laid down.”

She peeks inside the tent once more, where Floria has finished her inspection of Hekate. The goblin corpsman states, “No injuries to speak of, your Graces. Please enter.”

“Good,” replies the gatonine Empress. “Daniel needs to sleep, so I’m going to lay him down for a bit. If you would, let Treia know. She’ll sort out who else needs to be told.”

“I thought you…” starts Daniel, but Veiranoei presses her finger to his lips. “I realized immediately that you won’t just fall asleep. So… I’ll try to sing you to sleep.”

“You realize I’m almost old enough to be your father in this world, in spite of how I look, don’t you?”

“I’ve seen how you sleep when the princesses or Hekate are with you,” retorts the gatonine. “Peace and comfort are the least I can do. Plus… Do you want Yaulwembor chasing off intruders?”

Daniel scoffs, and she helps him remove the majority of his armor, which Yaulwembor assists with the few simple parts she knows how to take off.

Just before they finish, Jeavana ducks into the tent. “I heard Har-... Oh, Harbinger. And… is Fuzzy alright?”

Daniel smirks at the golden dragon, who has resumed human form. She’s limping, and she seems to be favoring her back, but he’s glad she seems to be in alright spirits.

Veiranoei explains, “Hekate overused magic and fell unconscious, and Daniel is about to faint himself. Are you injured?”

“A-A bit,” replies the blonde, keeping her voice low to not disturb Hekate, who is tucked in peacefully on the bed. “I just…” as she tries to stand up straight, Daniel sees it and tries to move, but Veiranoei is faster.

Daniel has strained his back in the past moving heavy items that he was careless with. He thankfully didn’t cause permanent injury, but just the smallest movements for a day or so afterwards would shoot a spike of pain, rather than just the bite and ache of other injuries. Jeavana’s knees buckle, and Veiranoei catches her narrowly. “Jeavana!”

Daniel rushes over as fast as his own battered and drunken weariness will allow, with Yaulwembor apathetically following behind. “Jeavana!?”

She is gritting her teeth hard, trying not to scream as the muscle-headed battle junkie she is, lest she appear weak. But, groans and pained moans slip through her teeth, which are cutting into her tough, fireproof gums.

Daniel sighs. He squats low, taking her arm over his neck. “Veira, get a healer with magic or potations in here quick. Potions too. Whatever we’ve got. I’ll get her to the bed.”

“No, I should…”

“She’s heavier than she looks,” replies Daniel. While she’s not several hundred or several thousand tons in her human form, as her real body would be, she does probably weigh almost as much or more than Daniel given her build, height nearly the same as Daniel’s, and the extra, heavily-muscled appendage that protrudes from her posterior that probably adds twenty pounds alone.

Gatonines are a little stronger, pound for pound, than humans, but not enough that Veiranoei would likely be able to carry Daniel or Jeavana.

The mechanic is worn out, but he’ll move slowly and carefully, and he does manage to get to his feet with the wounded dragon on his shoulder. She winces in pain, but she’ll be better off on the bed than on the uneven ground if it’s a back injury. She and the others took some massive blows from Sayrdarralouche, so it’s impressive that she was able to walk back to camp safely enough and transform back into her humanoid form. Daniel glances at Yaulwembor. At worst, she seems to have lost some scales and teeth, both of which grow back relatively quickly, given how she’s behaving.

“I’ve got her. I’m just gonna put her on the bed next to Hekate.” The mechanic slowly walks carefully with Jeavana, making sure to keep his balance while Veiranoei hesitates. “Please get a healer,” says the human to remind her.

“R-Right! I’ll return with haste.”

The gatonine jogs out of the tent, and Yaulwembor makes her warbling sound, ‘talking’ casually.

“Yes, yes, Yaulwembor. Let me just…” As Daniel starts to pivot Jeavana onto her back, the dragon’s grip tightens on him.

“W-Wait!” hisses the woman through her teeth. “M-M… W-Wings! Wings!”

Daniel pauses, managing to keep his balance since he had just started to shift her hefty weight to roll her onto the bed. He can feel her relax a bit on his shoulders as she catches her breath, now that he has halted.

Daniel looks at her back, since she’s in her human form. Daniel knows that the dragons typically hide their wings in their human forms just so clothes fit easier and because they aren’t as durable as their tails and far more crucial than their horns. Jeavana’s back is smooth under her normal outfit, with the regular human contours instead of the distinct folded-in shapes of her wings.

But, Daniel prides himself on not being a complete idiot. If she felt so strongly to cling to him desperately and cry out, it must mean that bones directly related to her wings, or however they are ‘hidden’ in her magically compressed humanoid form, are still ‘present’ and very painful in the wrong position.

Since she seems to be all but literally melting on Daniel’s shoulder, the posture seems to have alleviated the pain a bit, like an inversion table helping a bit with some injuries.

Daniel sighs. “Do you think you can lay on your front?”

“Y-Yeah… I think so…” murmurs Jeavana.

“I’ll ease you down. Take your time and lay on the bed.”

“R-Right… Th-Thanks, Harbinger…”

Daniel helps Jeavana onto the bed, and she flops down with a groan. “S-Sorry, Daniel…” mumbles the dragon with her cheek squished against the bedding. It’s closer to a cot than an actual bed, but it’s better than the floor.

The mechanic pets her hair gently to reassure her. “It’s fine. I slept on a solid steel floor with a thin layer of plastic over it when my ship was in drydock. The barge was too much of a hassle to go to. I can handle this cushiony-soft ground in comparison.”

She scoffs and hums. “Fuzzy’s going to be upset at us…”

“Not as upset as if I was the one in bed with you,” retorts the human sarcastically. He waits until Veiranoei returns with one of the human healers from the Empire, who has a couple of healing potions at the ready.

While not as potent as potations, potions are easier to drink, non-alcoholic, and can be ingested in as high of a quantity as can fit in one’s stomach.

That said, because she’s face down, the healer hesitates to feed the potions to her.

Jeavana states, “Harbinger… I need you to feed me the potions.”

“What is he supposed to do differently?” retorts Veiranoei.

“Feed them to me mouth to mouth…” replies the foolish dragon with as much playfulness as her exhausted and wounded body will allow. Pain is apparent in her expression, but she’s managing to smile at least.

Daniel rolls his eyes. He approaches the bedside and picks up a simplistic magic tool that’s nearby. While Daniel does have some experience working on various magic devices, he doesn’t know what all of them do. This one, he’s pretty sure, is a tool intended for drying a person’s armor and boots by blowing air from a wind crystal through a relatively small pipe. The mechanic dismantles the device for the pipe, requesting, “Breathe fire on this.”

“Huh?”

He holds it in front of Jeavana’s mouth, saying, “Just a small flame to sterilize it for a minute or so. Give me some fire.”

“C-Can’t you just go with my suggestion?”

“I could, but Hekate would wake up at that exact moment, most likely. Come on.”

Jeavana pouts, but she obeys, rolling her lips carefully and shifting just enough so her face is hanging off of the bed for when she sparks her pilot flame and then breathes a small, sustained flame. It’s not as stable as a bunsen burner or a normal lighter, but it is far hotter and more intense.

Just as he’s looking for water, Veiranoei holds up a pint mug filled with water. “Here, Daniel.”

“Perfect, thank you.” He dips the heated end in the water quickly, and then does the same for the other side. Once satisfied, he requests the potion from the healer, and she hands it over, watching curiously. Daniel drops the metal tube into the potion, and he holds it for the dragon to sip from.

She gives him one more pouting look, but she obediently drinks the potion, and Daniel swaps the straw to the other potion when she finishes the first one. He even pours the last drops of the first one into the second, just to be as conservative as possible.

The healer explains as Jeavana is drinking the second one, “I don’t know how well potions will work on beings more powerful in magic than humans, your Grace. If you need more, please let me know. We’re trying to conserve our mana for critical injuries, so we don’t have much to spare.”

“When Kera’tai gets back, we’ll have her take a look,” replies Daniel. “In a worst case scenario, I’ll send Jeavana back to the Citadel, where she can be treated thoroughly.”

“You promised to do what I wanted,” grumbles the dragon in her triage position.

“No, I promised…” Before he even finishes, the blonde makes a pitifully sad face.

“I’m wounded following your orders, Harbinger. You have to take responsibility…”

“Shameless,” retorts Veiranoei dryly. She has little investment in the outcome, but it is pretty obvious.

“It’s true,” pouts Jeavana. “Daniel spoils everyone else he sends into danger…”

“And, there it is. My name comes out when you want something…”

“J-Just affection!” whines the dragon. The Imperial healer watches awkwardly, and Daniel sighs.

“Let me at least get a nap in first. Bellphine enters the tent, having left at some point, and she holds up a note that reads, “[I have informed Treia and the others. They will retrieve you if the situation changes.]”

“Thank you, Bellphine. Sorry to leave so much on everyone else.”

“You’re going to get us killed if you make a terrible decision while dru-tired,” growls Veiranoei. “Lady Jeavana, go to sleep. Daniel needs rest.”

“Very well…” grumbles the dragon as she gets comfortable. “But, I’m not letting this go, Harbinger.”

“Sure, sure…” moans Daniel. He does yawn, now that sleep is on the table.

Veiranoei asks the healer, “Will Lady Jeavana need further healing?”

“Assuming they’ll work on her as intended, she should recover over the next couple of hours. If not, as I mentioned, please retrieve me and I’ll bring more. I heard a rumor started by some of the troops that were teleported in by Empress Hekate that Lord Neith and Sir Magnir had a fair amount of success with a preliminary strategy.”

The healer smiles more gently, adding, “My… brother was among the people her Majesty transported back to camp to avoid that monster… I’d like to thank her, if I get the chance.”

“She’s a heavy sleeper, but I’ll let her know you said so,” replies Daniel. He nods towards the other side of the bed, and the healer turns her gaze to the slumbering teen.

The healer gasps and covers her mouth. “F-Forgive me, your Grace. I-I had no idea…”

“It’s fine. We’re here to stop the mana fire, not to rule the world. If you have any potions that restore mana, we’ll buy them from the Empire.”

Veiranoei whispers, “Daniel, mana potions aren’t effective enough to work on Hekate. They restore a portion of a typical easterner’s mana, not the massive amount she has.”

The healer confirms this gently, “She speaks the truth, your Grace. I don’t know much about western magic potions, but eastern potions have a finite amount of effectiveness based on the mana that is added during production.”

“Fair enough. Thank you. If we need further help, we’ll let you know. What was your name, so we can ask for you?”

“Hantaryn, your Grace. And thank you. Please, do.” She bows and excuses herself.

Veiranoei then drags Daniel to a nearby rug in a shaded part of the tent, all but dragging him to the ground, though mindful of his injuries and weariness. “Now, then, Daniel. Get some rest. I’ll handle anything that comes up for now.”

He nods, and she settles him onto his back, letting him use her lap as a pillow. Yaulwembor lays down next to him, plopping her head down on his chest to keep him hostage, while also ‘cuddling’ with him in her own way.

Veiranoei smiles as she watches, and Daniel says, “You don’t have to do this, Veira. I’ll be alright on the floor.”

“Shh. Just rest, Daniel.” She begins humming the tune of one of the lullabies Daniel shared for Fal.

Jeavana is watching them enviously for a moment, and she teases as she flops her tail a few times, “You could lay your head on me, Harbinger…”

“Go to sleep, Jeavana,” growls Veiranoei. The dragon snickers, since the gatonine is getting more and more brazen with a dragon who is no longer restrained by a magic contract.

“Only because I’m tired,” retorts the dragon as she gets comfortable, letting herself drift off.

The feline Empress-at-War continues to hum and gently pet Daniel’s head, and he finds himself relaxing surprisingly quickly.

Before he knows it, and in spite of his doubts, he manages to fall into slumber as well.

***