<span style="font-style: italic">The Divine Light won’t ask more of you than you can handle.<br/><div style="text-align: right;">little liar!</div><br/><div style="text-align: center;">our hands may be small, but they. . .</div><br/><div style="text-align: right;">Captain, I don’t want to die.</div><br/>Where is your Thea now?<br/>Where is your Thea now?<br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold">Where is your<br/>RUN LETHE</span></div><br/><br/>When blue eyes opened, it was to the sight of a shadow-cast room.  The room was draped in darkness, faint yellow illumination casting a rectangle of light along her ceiling.  It was before sunrise then.  Lethe’s head lolled tiredly but despite her exhaustion, she knew any further sleep was impossible.  After a few minutes of just lying there, she reluctantly pushed herself into a sitting position before listing sideways to rest her head against her bed.  Her nice, comfy bed that she hadn’t slept in.  A sigh escaped her lips at the missed opportunity.  With another sigh, she slowly got to her feet, absent-mindedly rubbing a hand against her chilly arm.  Goosebumps freckled her skin and she wondered vaguely if it was from the temperature or her dreams.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">RUN LE</span></span><br/><br/>She yanked one of her shirts from a hanger, the clatter of the metal knocking against her wall disrupting the half-formed memory.  Yes, there was no way she was going back to sleep.  She was sliding her closet door closed when the sight of a wrapped box caught her eye.  Placing today’s clothes on the dresser, she reached up and pulled the package down.  Unwrapped and opened, it revealed a familiar looking sword.<br/><br/>The white-haired Knight lightly traced the length of the blade and then lifted it out of its case.  Compared to Luna, it was on the heavy side, but the weight was familiar.  Two experimental slashes cut through the air before a smile broke out on Lethe’s face.  She had an idea of what she could do until it was time to report to the Grand Cathedral.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>[[Day 6 of Month -3 :: Lindela]]<br/><br/>“Valiar… Valiar..” The familiar call and the sensation of hands combing through his hair drew the dark-haired cleric from his rest.  Sleep heavy eyes blinked slowly as the man slowly sat up, feeling sore muscles protest at the movement.  Where was he? Had he fallen asleep in the squad room?<br/> <br/>“Valiar.”  Marielle’s voice rung out and Valiar wondered why his wife was at the Grand Cathedral.  She was busy enough on Lindela that she rarely ventured to Gless.  Finally, black eyes focused on his surroundings and he realized he was at home.  Petite hands dug into the knots in his shoulder and Valiar groaned in relief.  “Shh, you might wake Annabelle.”<br/> <br/>Suitably chastised, Valiar turned his attention to their daughter who remained peaceful under the covers.  It had been a long night of nursing to get her comfortable enough to rest and despite his aches, he was glad to see his angel finally getting some sleep.  Resting his hand against her cheek, he noted her fever was still present.  They’d have to make sure her temperature didn’t get too high.  A glance at the window, and the dull white light it allowed in, had him grimacing as he amended his thought: Marielle would have to make sure Annabelle’s temperature didn’t get too high.  He unfortunately needed to get going to work.<br/> <br/>Discontent puckered his mouth before he let them--both the emotion and the expression--go.  Other people needed his help as well. Being a Pristine Knight was about caring for more than just himself--or his friends or his family.  Pressing a kiss to his daughter’s face, Valiar reluctantly stood up.  His wife watched him with equal reluctance; she too wanted him to stay but she too knew he had to go.  Being a member of a Seraph’s squad was a burden they both shared, though only he wore the armor.<br/><br/>“You go take a shower.”  Marielle murmured with a reassuring stroke on his arm, “I’ll go make some breakfast.”  With one last regretful look at his still sleeping daughter, Valiar nodded and left to do as bid.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>[[Day 6 of Month -3 :: Palaugrim]]<br/><br/>Pale fingers drummed restlessly against her chair’s arm, the <span style="font-style: italic">click click click</span> an oddly soothing sound.  It was a terrible tell to pick up and she’d have to break the quickly-forming habit soon; it wouldn’t do to let others know so easily if they had disturbed her.  However, in the peace of her own house, she was damn well going to do what she pleased, including drumming her fingers.  Orphelia sniffed imperiously and ignored the sidelong glance Rhett threw her away.<br/><br/>More important than her bad tells was the information they’d just received.  For once it seemed as if Nakuru had been telling the truth.  <span style="font-style: italic">Someone</span> was building an army against the Pristine Knights.  The force had been marching westward by the last account they’d gathered and given the time it would have taken for the message to reach them, the Palaugrimian wouldn’t be surprised if the attack had already started. Or ended, perhaps.<br/><br/>“Dear…” The tight voice of her husband drew her from her ruminations and she turned cranky blue eyes in his direction.  Couldn’t he see she was thinking?  “Is your hand okay?”<br/><br/>Nonplussed by the seemingly random comment, the blue-haired woman turned her gaze to her hands.  Sure enough, the joints on her fingers were turning an alarming shade of red.  Had she been knocking them against the chair?  A scowl crossed her face at the thought of <span style="text-decoration: underline">another</span> unwanted habit before she discarded it in favor of more important topics: “Who in the world is Aura-Auruan--”<br/><br/>“Aurungzeb”<br/><br/>“him anyways?!” She complained with a huff.  “I’ve never heard of him before and yet somehow, he summons an army out of nowhere!”  Pale hands flailed in the air to emphasize her words.  “A well equipped, well trained army!”  Her hands collapsed to her sides as she sulkily crossed her arms over her chest.  “I want an army..” she added petulantly under her breath.<br/><br/>Rhett ignored his wife’s grumblings as he contemplated her question.  Who <span style="font-style: italic">was</span> Aurungzeb really?  It was an interesting question that he didn’t have an answer to yet, at least not one that satisfied him.  “A former lieutenant in the Royal Palaugrimian Army, he had no particular distinctions.  He joined about seven years ago when Palaugrim first declared its sovereignty from the Church.”  The brunet flipped over the paper he was reading from and checked the back of it.  It remained empty.  “He’s apparently about six feet six with a stocky, heavyset build so probably around 110 kg though I’d guess mostly muscle instead of being obese.”  Rhett set the paper, which summarized all the information their network had been able to gather on the man, back down in his laps and spread his hands.  Unspoken went the knowledge he knew nothing else.<br/><br/>The answer did little to appease Orphelia’s ire and she irritably kicked her legs out, uncaring for how indecorous she looked. After a few seconds of angry musing, she suddenly sat back up, a gleam of excitement twinkling through her eyes.  “Nakuru knew about Aura-Auranga--whoever before <span style="font-style: italic">we</span> knew.  Since our associates clearly haven’t gotten sloppier, then Nakuru must--”<br/><br/>“No.”  Rhett interrupted, knowing where his wife’s mind was headed. “No.” He repeated even as he bit down on his next words--<span style="font-style: italic">I forbid it</span>.  Such a phrase would make his mulish wife even more adamant about her plan if only for the sake of being contrary.<br/><br/>Watery eyes turned in his direction and the pout quivered in disappointment.  “But it’s such a good idea,”  she whined. “We need to know about Aurangatan; Nakuru knows something about Aurungatan.  Clearly, I should pay her a visit.”  The disapproval on Rhett’s face made clear he didn’t agree with her assessment and the facade of sorrow vanished.  With a frown of her own, Orphelia mentally buckled down on her idea.  Her plan was great, it fulfilled her need for more information, and she was a pregnant lady.  She was 100% getting what she wanted!<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~</div><br/>[[Day 6 of Month -3 :: Lindela]]<br/><br/>“How are things going?”  Adair blocked the lazy swing headed his way and retaliated with his own.  Lethe had unexpectedly dropped by the Golden Sun this morning, seemingly in search of a sparring partner.  Given the lack of notice and today’s shade of lipstick, the amber-haired Knight was fairly certain something was amiss.  However, whatever it was, Lethe was, as usual, refusing to speak about it.  Not even an offer to wake Grisia had appealed to her though it had elicited an amused smile and a raised eyebrow.  The blond former Advocate was well known for his vengeance on those who interrupted his beauty sleep.  Instead, the two were exchanging indolent strikes as a warm up.<br/> <br/>“In general, as well as could be expected.  Some of the redeemed Sinners are still struggling with construction work—a combination of re-familiarizing themselves to being bipedal and five fingered again and general fatigue from their bodies being ridded of Sin.”  The frown on Lethe’s face paused the rest of his status report.  She clearly had something she wanted to say and as predicted, a question followed shortly.<br/> <br/><span style="color: silver">“And what’s their opinion about helping with the reconstruction effort?”</span>  There had been some discussion about whether or not to have the redeemed men and women help with rebuilding Lindela.  On one hand, it felt a bit too much like conscription: captured in the battle, absolved back into humans, and then immediately drafted into hard labor.  On the other hand, it was meaningful work and could help the redeemed men and women forgive themselves by rebuilding what they had destroyed while under Sin’s influence.<br/> <br/>“Most seem okay with the manual labor.  There are a few…” Adair paused to determine what words to use next.  The sad truth was that some people chose to embrace Sin and unfortuantely there were a few of those such people among the redeemed.  However, even after Palaugrim, such a concept was still inconceivable to Lethe.  “A few are having a harder time adjusting to Lindela.”  Silence draped between the two, broken only by the clash of metal against metal as they continued their lethargic sparring.  The long sigh had Adair prompting, “Yes? What do you wish?”  A smile quirked his lips at Lethe’s surprised look.<br/> <br/><span style="color: silver">“You’ve clearly spent too much time with me, Adair,”</span>  she chided good naturedly.  Then again, Adair had always been able to predict what she wanted; it was what made him such a good Vice Captain.  <span style="color: silver">“I’ll be sad to lose you when you lead your own squad.”</span>  The amber-haired Knight nodded in response but said nothing.  He had no desire to leave Squad Ten but Lethe had made clear already she wanted him to start his own squad.  It was a disagreement he planned to postpone as long as possible.  <span style="color: silver">“I just wish I could speak with them.”</span>  Lethe finally responded as she returned to their previous conversation.<br/> <br/>At this, Adair could only sigh as well.  Lethe had tasked him with monitoring the progress of reconstruction.  He knew that in large part, it was because she trusted him to ensure things were running as she would have wanted them to be done, had she the time and freedom to oversee the situation herself.  However, it happened to also place him in a leadership role away from her shadow that gave him greater exposure to the general public and other Pristine Knights.  Convenient, given he might one day become a Seraph as well if all went according to her wishes.  Though he didn’t particularly care to, he still offered: “I’ll speak with them, Lethe. Don’t worry about it.”  His half-hearted smile grew at the sight of her thankful smile.  It had clearly been the right thing to say.<br/> <br/><span style="color: silver">“Thank you, Adair.”</span>  Conversation paused as Lethe deviated from the practice pattern they had unconsciously fallen into.  She struck downwards with her Judgement and then switched immediately to slice him from hip to shoulder as if hoping to catch him off guard.  Though his first instinct was to move his shield into place, he remembered its absence in time to knock the second attack away.  He countered with a thrust which she hopped away from, catching his sword where her blade and hilt met before she forced it aside.  Though his Judgement veered to the left, he kept his footing and withdrew safely.<br/> <br/>They circled each other warily as Adair resumed his status update: “Valiar and Marielle are doing fine, though he’s had to stay over at the clinic the past few nights.  Combination of night shift and an influx in patients.  Seraphim says most of the demolition work is done; if you don’t have another task for her, she’ll continue helping with the construction.”  A shake of the head confirmed her approval of the proposed plan.  “Okay; I’ll tell her.  Deimos is… trying.”<br/> <br/>His diplomatic wording sparked a laugh from Lethe.  Deimos had been tasked with ensuring all the clinics and refugee camps had sufficient supplies.  While it did draw on his history as the squad’s supply officer, it also happened to put him in the public eye as well, much to the grey-haired Knight’s clear discomfort.  Deimos wasn’t one for talking when nonverbal cues worked just as well.  Unfortunately, most everyone else couldn’t read his silent responses which had forced him in the conundrum of speaking more or being less effective.  The last time Adair had seen his colleague, the man had been in a staring match with an increasingly irritated camp leader before Adair had stepped in and mediated.<br/> <br/><span style="color: silver"> “Alright.  YunQiao and Leon are working on a project for me with Romauld and Omi, a scribe.  Cricket is spreading out the crystals as YunQiao proposed.”</span>  Lethe finished the squad update, knowing that even apart, everyone would want to know how the others were doing.  <span style="color: silver"> “Now then, down to business? Swords only.”</span><br/> <br/>“Points match then and at least ten unique sword techniques.”  Adair agreed, receiving a nod of confirmation in response.  Both wanted to improve their swordplay and while his brothers might be better teachers in that regard, both enjoyed the chance to simply spend time together again.  Readjusting his grip on his sword, Adair swept forward with his first attack.  <br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~</div><br/>“Thank the Light you’ve come in!”  Valiar paused at the unusual greeting, a look of confusion passing his face.  Normally he just got a “good morning”; why was Cleric Jenna looking <span style="font-style: italic">that</span> relieved about his coming into work today?  “Sabah and Amelia both called in sick today and today’s line-up queue…” The young woman shook her head in disbelief.  “It’s like everyone decided today was ‘visit the clinic’ day or something!”<br/> <br/>Valiar frowned and glanced back at the waiting room.  “It does seem a bit crowded for nine am,” he agreed, “but it’s not that bad.”<br/> <br/>Wide eyes darted towards the waiting area before Jenna shook her head emphatically.  “No, half of those are only the recent arrivals still filling out their paperwork!”  She dragged her older comrade to the window and jabbed a finger at the tent across the street.  Already, a crowd had gathered and Valiar wondered who the chef was today to attract so many people for breakfast.  Perhaps Alfrei?  “That’s the rest of the queue!”<br/> <br/>“For breakfast?”<br/> <br/>“For us! For the clinic! They all need to see a cleric and it’s only you, me, and Seika today!”  Hysteria turned Jenna’s normally pleasant voice screechy.  Valiar stared at the large crowd, suddenly unsettled.  <span style="font-style: italic">Half the other children and most of the elderly are as well…</span>  Black eyes scanned the crowd and confirmed that a worrying number of children were in it.  An uncomfortable sense of deja-vu tickled the back of his mind.<br/> <br/>“Get me last night’s duty logs.”  Valiar commanded abruptly, striding away from the window.  “Request the duty logs from all of the nearby clinics as well.  Also, send someone to all the major refugee tents in this quadrant and tell them I’m looking for Deimos.”   When he didn’t hear footsteps behind him, he turned around to see Jenna looking at him in unsure confusion.<br/> <br/>“Uh.. what?”<br/> <br/>Reminding himself that Jenna was just a recently graduated cleric, and most certainly had not had Pristine Knight training, Valiar forced himself to pause.  “Jenna, can you ask Reception to start two separate lists?  One for any children or elderly here due to shivering, a fever, or nausea that has lasted several days.”  He listed off the symptoms Marielle had reported their daughter suffering from.  “Especially if any of them had been cured or boosted with holy magic within the last month or so.  The other list will be everyone else.  I need to go outside for a bit.  I’ll be back soon!” He hastened to reassure.  Jenna’s eyes had grown impossibly wide and she’d looked ready to faint at the idea of being the only cleric with such a long line of patients.  “I’m going to go find us some help.”  With one last reassuring smile, Valiar turned and left the hallway before his coworker could protest.<br/> <br/>Slipping into Seika’s consultation room, he found a fierce looking medic despite the heavy bags under her eyes.  “Something’s not right.”  The old woman stated, levelling a displeased look on him.  “I’ve had at least eight patients with fevers this past evening and morning.  Most have been sweating enough to fill a bucket and are burning up.”<br/> <br/>“Where are they now?”<br/> <br/>Seika shook her head angrily, “The last three I have sitting in the spare building next to us under observation.  The first five I didn’t think anything of and sent them back home.”  The scowl on her face was chastisement for herself.  “They should have signed in.  We need to call them back.  Clean sheets, hot water, disinfectant.”<br/> <br/>“I’ll get a squad to prepare the building then.  Cloth or wooden screens?”<br/> <br/>“Curtains should be fine for now.  We won’t have enough beds, will we?  Mats then; surely we can find something.”<br/> <br/>“I’m on it.  You get together a list of everything else we’ll need.  I’ll see about getting you a messenger if I can find a body to spare.”  Without a parting word from either side, both professionals left to complete their tasks.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>“I’m sorry Knight Valiar, but I don’t have any spare men.”  District Commander Carey shook her head apologetically even as she skimmed a request for additional supplies.  With a frown at the absurd request (really, as if she had lemons hiding in the District’s basement!), the blonde stamped a [Denied] on the form and placed it in the outgoing tray.  “Most are already helping with construction; the rest are patrolling, resting, or undergoing remedial training.  As it is, we’re racing to get enough shelter up before winter arrives.”<br/> <br/>The cleric of Squad Ten clenched his fist in frustration.  While he could understand the District Commander’s predicament, he also needed to get a quarantine building prepared as soon as possible, especially if the clinic’s queue had been any indication of what was coming.  “District Commander, it’s imperative that I get at least ten men or women, at least for today,”  he wheedled.  There was the chance he’d need them longer, such as for however long the quarantine needed to be maintained, but he was playing the optimist here.  Besides, revealing that would hardly encourage the other Knight to agree to lending her men.<br/> <br/>“And I’ve told you,” the response was filled with exasperation even though the woman didn’t even look up from the report she was reading.  “It’s not—”  The rest of her words were cut off by a knock on the door.  Before she could response, her guest helped himself in.  A grey-haired, yellow-eyed man glanced over the room.<br/> <br/>Deimos tilted his head questioningly at the sight of his tense teammate.  He had recognized Valiar’s voice from outside the room and the increased volume had warned him whatever discussion inside was unpleasant.  Observing the District Commander’s blatant dismissal of Valiar, the rear guard of Squad Ten entertained the thought his squadmate was, for some reason, upset by the blonde’s lack of attention.  However, it seemed so uncharacteristic of his easy-going friend, he couldn’t imagine that was the case.  What had he missed?<br/> <br/>“Deimos.”  The sight of his teammate helped Valiar relax.  He didn’t doubt the abilities of his fellow Pristine Knights, but the veteran was glad to have someone he knew he could trust by him.  “I need your help.  I also need at least nine other adults to help me, preferably Pristine Knights.”<br/> <br/>A groan interrupted them and irritated eyes stared balefully at them.  “I have <span style="font-weight: bold">said</span>--”<br/> <br/>“District Commander.”  Deimos interrupted, “I need nine adults, preferably Pristine Knights.  Send them all to..”<br/> <br/>“District Fifteen’s clinic, intersection of Brook and Spruce Roads.”<br/> <br/>“that address, within the hour.”  The grey-haired man was not enjoying the current task Lethe had given him.  It required way too much speaking and socializing and spending time with people he didn’t care to spend time with.  However, it did also give him the authority to override pesky Knights, Captains, and Commanders as he wanted.  Conversation done and (even better!) less-talkative job acquired, Deimos turned and headed out the room.<br/> <br/>Glancing between his leaving squadmate and the now fuming District Commander, Valiar chuckled nervously.  “Uh, thanks for the help, District Commander.  We’ll make sure Adair and Lethe know why your District might be behind schedule a bit.  Have a good day!”  And with that, he beat a hasty retreat.  Carey was looking a bit too much like a PMSing Marielle to be safe around.</span>