Chapter 10: Chapter 9

"We lost this battle. Will you try to stop me?" Jekaterina asked, looking at Ofelia. The Soultaker still had her hand on the weapon but had not removed it from the ground yet.

"Nope," Ofelia smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible, "But there is one thing that I would have liked to talk to you about. By now, it is clear that the resistance will lose the war. Why make unnecessary sacrifices to your tribe? If…"

"Let us agree that this conversation never happened," Jekaterina simply said, taking out her weapon and putting it over her shoulder. She looked at the eastern mountain range, "I do have a plea, however. There are some of my people who were captured today. There is a condition about them…"

"We know. Doctors were warned," If Ofelia was upset about the refusal, she had not shown it, "We can’t save everyone, but we will try to preserve whoever we can."

Jekaterina nodded and ran from the place, running to the positions of the Resistance. Wyrm Lord noticed her and looked for Scorpio. The black wyrm simply shook his head, landing on all four. Unlike his master, Scorpio preferred to walk on all four limbs.

"This may not be my place to ask… but what this all was about?" Aranea asked, coming to Ofelia.

"Beat it, friend," Ofelia said, waving her hand to allow Aranea to speak freely. She glanced at Janine and gestured, causing the body of the warlord to disappear. Foulsnout looked back in surprise, "I sent her straight to the hospital. I am sick of your kind ignoring their wounds. Anyway, as for you… who are you again?"

"Aranea." The wolf hag bowed, unsure about the rank of this strange woman.

"Ah. My condolences," Ofelia looked at Aranea in a strange way, "As for your question, it is self-explanatory. We wanted to get Jekaterina on our side and take Soultakers out of the picture with it. Didn't work, despite the picture that our glorious commander brushed them so generously. Now more people will die."

Aranea wanted to ask something more as transport vehicles broke through the skies, landing behind allied forces. Most were bringing elite forces, the pack of the warlord Dragena was among them. The warlord was in her brand-new power armor of solid night color, she was flanked by her pack members, all of whom quickly moved to the front lines. Six short blades were behind the back of the warlord, her tall form was nearly as large as Janine's. Dragena only nodded to Valerye while she passed through the ruins of the defensive positions. Aranea wondered where she could have been going. Ranked only ten in power rating, Dragena, however, had one of the highest success scores in missions, staying behind only Alpha and Valerye. Another vehicle broke through the clouds. Unlike the previous machines, this one was shaped in the form of a circle, its form was surrounded by a shield. The machine was landing near the hospital, and Till Ingo stormed from the inside, surrounded by two mechanical guards. He looked in the direction of Aranea and shook his head disapprovingly.

"You will send your armor to me later today. Also, Sly asked me to say "Hi" from him to you. I texted it, should be good enough." A message on Aranea's terminal, while Till ran inside the hospital, unconcerned about his appearance. The temperature in the air was harsh enough to cause most people to sweat the moment they were exposed to the harsh and unforgiving climate of the Ravaged Lands. Till however, seemed to be fully fine without wearing an anti-heat suit. He was more annoyed by the guards who checked his ID in front of the hospital, rather than by the hellish temperature around him.

"Excellent, the chief vulture of the First Army is here." Ofelia said in a sour tone, looking at the back of Ingo.

"Vulture?" Aranea asked in confusion. The First Army was an elite force in the Reclamation Army. Commanded by the dreaded Outsider, the strongest new breed member in the entire state. The First Army was the first military force formed by the state. Their record of conquest was unmatched even by Ravager.

"One of the top eggheads from the First Army. He is well known for his poor work ethics. You can count on his stuff always working, but by spirits, the man is an ass!" "He claims that there was nothing else he could do for First and Outsider at the time, so he requested transfer to Third Army to teach the Wolf Tribe!" Ofelia exhaled deeply, shaking her head, "Imagine this idiot working as a rural teacher near one of your villages. He claims that he left the Core Lands partially for this, but I know his true goal is..." Ofelia looked at Aranea and calmed herself, "Sorry. Confidential information."

"I see…" Aranea had so many more questions, but the signal came to her armor. With the giant steel behemoth down, communications were restored and now chatter flooded the com network, as reports about losses and new positions poured in. Aranea half expected orders for reposition, however, this signal was coming from Tiny.

"Wolf hag!" Tiny was speaking through the pain, Aranea could hear the noises of medics and soldiers who arrived at the shield station, "We have a situation. Leila left the medics and started walking toward captain Ivar. I tried to contact her, but she is not responding. Two of her pack members told me that she has weird glass like eyes."

"Understood. Call everybody back and stay with the medics, I will handle the situation." Aranea responded with visible worry and looked at the battlefield. The blue wyrm landed on the plains. Dead and dying bodies surrounded him. Ivar landed on all four, his long neck twisting as he looked at his injury. A thin tongue showed up from his long mouth, licking away blood. The wyrm critically examined his wound, while a figure in broken armor was walking towards him. Leila's wings were dragging on the ground behind her, clearly causing her pain, and her left hand dangled like a rope, while the half-wyrm walked to her father like a marionette on a string. Aranea contacted her on the network, but Leila utterly ignored the incoming call. Maybe her communicator was broken along with the upper half of her helmet. Or...

Aranea remembered her words about imprint and the strange order that came to her during battle. She turned to Ofelia just as Leila was getting close to her father.

"Can you move me to captain Ivar? One of my subordinates is in trouble." Aranea allowed pleading notes in her voice. She was tired, her left arm was almost broken, her entire body was hurting. She could care less about looking impressive. Right now, she had to figure out something.

Ofelia quickly glanced at Ivar and frowned. She looked toward the black wyrm, and Aranea could have sworn that something forced Scorpio to turn and look at them. The black wyrm nodded and reached for the communicator with a claw, while the woman turned back to Aranea, gesturing with her hand.

Aranea expected to feel anything strange. She expected to feel her body disappearing or something like this. Instead, all she felt was a cold shiver across her body. Like a scene from the movie, the landscape around her was changed as she was now staring at the left foot of captain Ivar. She was a good thirty steps away from him and yet his shadow covered her. Wyrm turned his neck and deemed it worthwhile to look at her. Blue eyes sized her, like one would look at a dinner on a plate. Then his gaze focused, he was reviewing each crack and scratch on her body, judging her based on some unknown merit. He briefly looked at the pass, the pupil of his eye tracing the form of Ofelia for a brief second. The head nodded, as if Ivar had made some decision or come to some conclusion. He inhaled air through his nostrils and said in a calm voice:

"Wolf hag Aranea. Bearer of a crimson eye. You are injured and in need of medical help. Your report can wait, see to your wounds first." His voice was not booming, not threatening. The wyrm was simply stating facts, growing bored by the end of his speech. His head turned as he was looking at his wound again.

Leila finally approached her father, stopping a dozen steps away from him. Her expression reminded Aranea of the look of one of the junkies that she once saw. Bland and obedient, as if she existed in another word. Ivar did not even bother to look at his daughter when she blinked in surprise, before twitching her face in pain. Her breath, calm before, became tense, while her conscious returned to her, along with the pain from her injuries.

"Captain Ivar," Leila made herself bow, throwing a surprising glance at Aranea, "You are injured…"

"Doctors will remove this taint from me in no time," Nearby, an injured Regulator groaned in pain, the lower part of his body was missing. Even if the medics get to him, this wound was fatal. The man was clearly in horrible pain. Ivar glanced at him and said the words, "Stop your heart, feel no pain," in an annoyed voice. The eyes of the fallen soldier closed. Wyrm looked at his daughter, "And you are dirty, injured, and still useless. You were promoted to the rank of scout, remind me, how many troops did you lose today?"

"Two members of my team died. One is unconscious and being cared for by doctors." Leila refused to lie. She clenched her teeth, looking directly into the eyes of her father, her voice was still calm, despite the massive being that towered over her.

"Half of your team is gone, then. And when I gave you the order to kill the one responsible for this, you chickened out. Is this correct?" Ivar asked, looking directly at his daughter.

"It was impossible for me to interfere in the fight with the enemy. I was saving my…" Leila responded with an unreadable expression.

"Truth, scout." Light glowed in the eyes of Ivar. Leila was covered from head to toes in blue light. Her eyes gained an emotionless expression, all life was stolen from them by the power of Ivar.

"I was saving my teammates." Leila said in a hollow voice, her expression was bland.

"Captain Ivar. Please refrain from using your power on my people," Aranea forced herself to step forward, and the light ceased. The wyrm turned his head to look at her, "She was acting on my orders…"

"And on my orders as well," Ivar blinked in surprise, turning his head to see Valerye Foulsnout, who was coming closer. Aranea was surprised as well. Either Ofelia teleported her, or Foulsnout had some way to go unnoticed when she wanted. The armor of the warlord was ruined, yet not a scratch was on her full closed helmet. As the warlord continued speaking, loud breathing could be heard from underneath it, "According with my judgement, scout Leila could not help me in any meaningful way and thus I gave her the order to preserve the lives of other soldiers."

"Your actions are also subject to scrutiny, warlord. I had given you exact orders to rest and sleep before my arrival. "Yet, despite the fact that you haven't slept for the past eight days," Ivar said, sounding like a judge reviewing a case, "I am willing to overlook your stubbornness. Your timely arrival saved several important lives. I am well aware of how much you are afraid of your prime. You are redeemed. As for your order… This is where you are wrong, warlord," Something slid into the eye of Ivar from his communicator. A screen that showed the video feed of the recent battle with Chort, "I watched the fight through cameras on the scout’s armor and through cameras on your body. Had she taken the hit from Chort, it would have allowed for a free attack for you."

"Take the hit? Chort would’ve killed her in a flash!" Aranea felt her voice rise in anger.

"Blood is the currency that we pay to win wars. To win, superiors often send their soldiers to their demise. Good commanders know how to minimize losses and preserve lives. It was and still is not certain that Chort would have managed to kill the scout. Wyrms are built different from others, even such useless samples as she is. It is, however, certain that any future life that Chort will take from us is the result of the decision of the scout to disregard my order. My rank puts me above either of you, thus she had no right to refuse," Ivar responded to Valerye and Aranea, before turning to look at his daughter, "All actions have consequences. You have chosen to disobey your superior. You did not finish off Yasen. You have nothing to show for your disobedience. You lied to me. Because of you, this battle was not as perfect as it could have been. Now you will pay the price of your choice. Shatter your right arm and feel this pain tenfold." Light once again appeared in the eyes of Ivar while he gave command to his offspring with a simple voice, sounding like he was ordering another drink in a restaurant.

Leila’s expression did not change this time. She bit her lower lip and looked at her right hand in something akin to panic. Then she forced her panic to leave her as she lifted her hand over her head, putting her knee in front of herself. Aranea leaped to her, grabbing her by the wrist, but even now, Leila was too strong for her. Foulsnout continued to voice her objections to the punishment while the half wyrm broke her arm free from Aranea’s grasp. But before she could crash her arm at the knee, golden light fell on them all, banishing the blue light of the captain, releasing his hold on his daughter. The glow in Ivar’s eyes stopped, and the golden light disappeared. Once again, the world changed to darkness as shadow fell on Aranea and everyone who surrounded her, even Ivar looked tiny before the presence of Wyrm Lord. Countless scales were torn from the commander's chest, belly, and legs, revealing gleaming wet red meat beneath. Rivers of blood were falling down from him, rivers that looked like drops on such a massive body.

"There will be no physical punishments today. Was my order unclear, captain?" The golden eyes of the Wyrm Lord were looking at Ivar. Despite his injuries, the commander was speaking in a calm, relaxed voice. Against her will, Aranea frowned, and Leila pressed one ear to her shoulder, closing the other ear with her good hand. The words of the commander thundered with the sound of an explosion. The blue wyrm looked up in the eyes of his brother without fear or worry. The black wyrm Scorpio was on the eastern mountain range, the purple light was shining from his eyes onto the prisoners arrayed before him. For a brief moment, the light stopped and the black wyrm turned to look at the scene. A smirk appeared on his lips, disappearing fast enough to look like a mirage. The black wyrm turned back to the prisoners from the ranks of Soultakers, wielding his power once more.

"I was punishing my offspring not as captain, but as her father. She offended me with her lie. Our kin's traditions allow for it. The laws of the state allow me to put traditions over your orders, sire…" Ivar quickly made an excuse, invoking one of the most hated laws in Aranea’s view. The state had countless tribes and people in it. Unless they are directly opposing the rule of the Dynast, traditions were respected and allowed. This was the reason why blasted pits still existed and why the Wolf Tribe continued their cruel practices. The commanders of the Second and First Armies were gradually removing the most heinous practices from their lands. Wyrm Lord tried as well, but his nickname "Weakling-In-Chief" was well deserved. Instead of commanding, he tried to persuade. Only once did he use his power to change one of the laws within the Wolf Tribe. People claimed that Wyrm Lord was afraid of becoming another tyrant. Meanwhile, Outsider blatantly used his own might to change one of the state's religions to a calmer and somewhat more gentler version.

"I see, my brother," Wyrm Lord looked around at the countless dead and maimed bodies all around him. His neck moved low, carrying his head down. He stopped before several injured members of the Regulators and Bento tribe members, making people freeze in fear when the golden eye, bigger than all of them combined, looked at them, judging their injuries dispassionately. The claw reached the communicator, and the commander summoned medics, pinpointing this location. Then he looked back at Ivar and said, "This battle offends me, brother. We lost so many lives."

"The enemy has lost far more, commander," Ivar bowed to his brother respectfully. Aranea wondered why they looked so different from each other. The head of Ivar looked flat and elongated, there was no horns on his long head. Wyrm Lord, on the other hand, was the polar opposite. Even the way they held themselves was different. Ivar was always dignified, whereas Wyrm Lord appeared tired, "Nothing is certain in war, but we made the enemy bleed. Their secret weapon is destroyed, their force thinned, we are free to advance…"

"Your inability to be certain on matters of war offends me as your brother," The hand of Wyrm Lord grabbed Ivar by the head and slammed him into the ground, causing slight tremors. The blue wyrm made no attempt to break free, while the massive hand of his brother fully covered his head, pushing him deeper. This action sent a shiver across Aranea's spine. This time, Wyrm Lord decided to use force for persuasion. The ease with which he subdued one of the strongest members of the Third Army was... unnerving, "As leader of our bloodline, I am carrying out the punishment. Do you wish me to continue?"

"I can see your point clearly, my brother," Wyrm Lord released him, and Ivar stood up, shaking dust and stones from his head. Stones the size of a car fell from him as Ivar scrutinized himself, using his own shining scales as mirrors and removing all the dust from his large body. The blue wyrm glanced at Leila, "You are a grown-up woman. Since I cannot educate you as I see fit anymore, I have no more need for you and, frankly, I can't tolerate seeing you any longer. You will not bear my family name. You will not receive any inheritance from me. You will receive some funds from me, so worry not, you will not be homeless. You are free to do as you wish now. Leave the army or continue to serve, I care not. Your role in my plans is over. Word of advice, though, to you all." He looked at a confused Leila, Aranea, and Valerye, "Upon coming to a near-death experience, some wielders of power can evolve further, their power..." Ivar became lost for a moment, looking for a right word. Wyrm Lord looked down on his brother with a minor worry, "... Their power becoming more varied. Chort may be one of such people. Valerye, you are to face Chort fully rested next time. There will be no more mistakes. Unless he is willing to surrender, Chort will die the next time you face him, and that will be the end of it."

The blue wyrm flapped his wings, intending to lift off. Aranea darted forward, throwing herself on the ground before the commander and captain. She looked at the ground and tried to speak calmly, putting her arms before herself and baring her neck to Wyrm Lord. She was making a plea to him the same way one would make an unreasonable case to a warlord:

"Wyrm Lord, my liege and commander," Aranea bowed, trying to show as much submission as possible. She was unsure how the golden wyrm would react to her request, "I have a plea to make…"

"Stand up and be at ease, wolf hag Aranea," The voice of Wyrm Lord sounded confused and tired, "Your pack will be awarded for your valiant participation in today's battle. You should help your comrade get to the hospital."

"About my comrade! Sir!" Aranea felt worry and fear in her mind. She was about to make a decision for someone else, but...She licked her lips, deciding to regret it later, "Scout Leila told me that she holds two imprints, permanent commands…" The golden wyrm stopped her, showing that he knew what she was talking about, and Aranea continued, "For her to truly be free, they must be removed!"

"Ah, yes," Ivar shook his head, "It is annoying to forget that the scout can't remove something so minor on her own."

"That is fair." The golden wyrm casually agreed, and golden light appeared in his eyes. He looked at Leila for a brief moment, and she stumbled back, her eyes widened, not in shock, but because of something else. Then the light stopped, and the commander nodded to Aranea.

Ivar looked at the scene like he was making a note in his head. He lifted his hand to the communicator near his ear:

"Scorpio. What is the situation with Jekaterina?" Upon hearing the answer, he nodded and said, "I told you not to bother. Someone like her will never bow to us willingly. I will take her apart in due time," He looked back at Wyrm Lord and bowed low to his brother, before addressing him, "We will need to send a message to Iterna and Oathtakers about the fact that the enemy used faulgnaiten round. Time to starve the resistance of all humanitarian aid from our rivals."

"This will only cause more pointless deaths. Aid is not sent to the resistance directly, it is going to their cities instead. The citizens of the Resistance are relying on medicaments from Iterna and Oathtakers…." Wyrm Lord looked at the ruins of the steel behemoth with something akin to genuine hate. He was hesitating, and Aranea caught herself that she was hesitating as well. Before this day, she would be the first to argue for depriving the enemy of resources, but after seeing how many people died on this day... Surely all of them had families back home, families that relied on them to provide water and food. How will starving the young help the goals of the Reclamation Army?

"Can we not… hide this? We dealt with weapon, it should be…" Wyrm Lord asked, lost in thought. Aranea smiled at his idea against her will, covering the smile with her arm.

"Commander!" Ivar allowed his voice to rise for the first time, "Gas attacks are remnants of the past. The Resistance used power to destroy the city and planned to blame us for this. They planned to use a forbidden weapon, a weapon that causes flesh to be melted from the bones of the unlucky victims. Weapon designed to depopulate entire cities in the past. I say we have had our fill of their war crimes. The state must be perfect in following the treaties that we accepted. If citizens of the Resistance rely so heavily on outside assistance to survive, they should join us sooner. If we hide this event and Iterna learns about it, imagine what kind of scandal it will cause."

Aranea allowed them to continue arguing while she herself helped Leila to stand up. There was a mix of confusion and relief on the face of the woman. The half wyrm took a deep breath, pressing her hand to the wound on her belly. It was bandaged, but still a red ring was spreading across it. Valerye lightly tapped Aranea at the shoulder, showing her the armored transport that was hurrying to them. Two wolfkins jumped from it and stood at attention as Valerye walked toward them, gesturing for Aranea and Leila to follow after her. The battle was finally over, and the state had won the day.

As Aranea was helping Leila get in the car, she glanced at the plains one last time. Can this truly be called a victory with so many people killed on both sides?

You are reading story Duty, empty dreams and trying not to become a monster. at novel35.com

***

Eight hours later, feeling like she was about to die from exhaustion, Aranea returned to the hospital to visit the injured. She spent all her free time giving reports to captain Osero, helping count the losses and sending requests for repair of the damaged equipment. While Janine was out cold, the doctors continued to operate on her. Her wounds were life-threatening this time, one of Jekaterina's slashes reached all the way to the lung, another slash cut a femur of the warlord. Shamans tried their best to help, but there were so few of them left. They were in charge of spiritual and everyday life, their skills, martial prowess aside, were not great when it came to logistics. Aside from Aranea, out of six wolf hags, only one more wolf hag was left alive in Janine’s pack, and now they had to work hard together, trying to mend the wounds. Janine's three other wolf hags from Janine's pack, who were not involved in this battle, were far away on their own duties and could not help. Aranea had to make a speech, shaming the fifty-four injured soldiers from Janine's pack, who lost their limbs and were too afraid to accept augmentations. Allowing so many wolfkins out of combat was the height of stupidity in Aranea's view, and she gave it her all, persuading them to accept the help of the state in full, instead of becoming members of the Crippled. The wolf hags from Martyshkina's and Valerye's packs were of great help, offering advice and help, taking a large load off Aranea's shoulders.

Eventually, it was Scorpio who sent the message, giving the order to Aranea to stop her work and have a rest. The agents of the black wyrm, led by a woman called Kassandra, took charge of the remains of Janine's pack for now. The pack was in dire need of reinforcements, and the black wyrm took it upon himself to refill the ranks with fresh recruits. Meanwhile, according to rumors, Ivar was in a quiet rage due to the fact that many soldiers from the Wolf Tribe died because of a lack of skilled medical personnel. The regular soldiers were accompanied by the field medics, while only a few packs in the Wolf Tribe had trained medics in their ranks. Soldiers had basic knowledge of first aid, but skilled help could have saved more lives. The blue wyrm vowed to hurry up some "plan" to end this stupidity once and for all and to preserve the lives of the wolfkins. Aranea was afraid to even imagine what this monster was up to this time.

Meanwhile, darkness was falling on the plains. The sun has set, but the night has failed to bring the soothing breeze. The scotching heat still ruled over the stone, even at this late hour, countless people, trapped within the caverns of the eastern and western mountain ranges, still suffered the overheated stones being pressed against their bodies. And with the nightfall, so too came the predators. Ivar had to take the field himself, knocking away a prowling skinwalker, the madwoman encroached onto positions of the state, curious as to what caused the daily cacophony of sound. The stubborn creature had to be sliced several times for it to finally lose interest in the Chokepoint A. Cruel as it might sound, this was the only reasonable way to deal with the skinwalkers, for these beings were fully unpredictable. One such being lived with a village for over a year, protecting it, before slaughtering everyone one night, once the mood of the skinwalker shifted. The skinwalkers were utterly mad. Other predators would soon arrive as well, sand reapers had enough brains to evade the smell of the wyrms, yet insectoids would undoubtedly try and snatch a few bodies. Thankfully, this was not Aranea’s task to keep them at bay.

Wyrm Lord was lying on his back dozens of meters away from the hospital. He ignored offers of help from the doctors, instead giving them orders to help other wounded. Granted, the golden wyrm was resilient enough to heal wounds on his own and eventually restore his wings. But it was unsightly for the commander to walk around with wounds, and the black wyrm wanted to post honorable guards around him, who were meant to keep others away from him while he was healing. Wyrm Lord refused this idea as well. The reporters from Iterna were busy trying to ask him questions, while the golden wyrm pretended to be asleep, the skin on his wings was slowly moving, expanding, and healing itself. Figures in black power armor, looking more like robots than humans, were busy examining the remains of the fallen metal behemoth, working side by side with the agents from the state. These were the Shadows, the secret force of Iterna. Their helmets resembled metal skulls, according to rumors, they were freaks who removed all biological parts of their bodies, leaving only brains within their mechanical bodies. Aranea was unsure whether this was true, she only knew that they appeared here far too quickly. Aside from that, she could care less about them.

One more transport vehicle arrived, bringing inspectors from Dynast himself. Half of them moved toward the remains of the warmachine, while the remaining inspectors surrounded the golden wyrm. They demanded to know, why exactly Dynast received information about the lack of teachers in schools from the warlord of the Wolf Tribe and not from officials of the Wyrm Lord. Apparently, Dynast got angry about this event and offered double the payment to teachers who would be willing to work in the Ravaged Lands. And now the ruler of the Reclamation Army wants to know the answers. Wyrm Lord was the ruler of the Wastes and lands in the Ravaged Lands. Any shortage of personnel or medical supplies, anything of the sort, should have come from him to the Civilian Council, the ruling form of government in the Core Lands, people who were in charge of managing the lands of the Third Army and supplying them with food, water, medicine, and other important items and people. If they are unable to handle the situation, Wyrm Lord should seek help from Devourer, the ruler of the Core Lands, and then from the Dynast. The Dynast set up this system in order to ensure that the Reclamation Army would function even in the event of his demise. Wyrm Lord opened his eyes, confused about the situation. Upon hearing from the inspectors' rightful accusation that the Core Lands never withhold anything from the lands under the protection of the Third Army, the commander tried to explain that no one had reported him about a shortage of the education staff. Reporters from Iterna became silent as ghosts, eagerly recording each word. The inspectors continued to grill the commander with questions. Wyrm Lord looked even more confused, yet refused to call for either Ivar or Scorpio, intending to solve the situation himself. Aranea just shook her head, walking into the hospital. She felt bad leaving the commander, but it would be better for Janine herself to explain the situation when she is healthy enough. Aranea would only mess up the situation, of this she had little doubt.

A doctor led Aranea to the room of Leila and Tiny. They shared a room with six other patients. Sonya and Ursico were supposed to be here, but were currently away on treatment. Ursico nearly lost one arm and a leg, and now the doctors were working overtime to nurse him back into fighting shape. How this man kept all his limbs was a mystery. Sonya was a slightly easier case due to her superior body, but she still required proper care. Warlord Foulsnout was lying on one bed, covered by her cloak. Her helmet was still on her head, her power armor, now clean, repaired, and shiny, was standing near her bed. Both of her arms, covered with unusual red fur, were crossed behind the head of the warlord, while the woman was sleeping silently, breathing easily. If not for the movement of her chest, the woman could have easily passed for a corpse. Aranea was still confused about just how small the warlord was. Her hands were barely bigger than the hands of normies, and she was barely taller than the average wolfkin. The last patient was wolf hag from Martyshkina’s pack, a confused looking individual with part of her left shoulder missing.

Tiny was sitting on the bed, her shattered knee was covered by the simple oval sphere filled with fluid. Tiny bit her lips as her eyes were mad with pain. Leila was sitting on her bed, both her wings were bandaged and held by a metallic shell constructed around them. The half wyrm was listening to the warrior from her pack. Upon noticing Aranea, Tiny quickly nodded to her, biting her lips even harder from such simple movement.

"Shall I call the doctors or something?" Aranea asked in confusion, "We might lack something, but we should have painkillers."

"I am stuffed with them," Tiny's eyes appeared to be on the verge of popping out of their sockets, "It's because of mister Till Ingo and his "experimental cure." He said that he could fix my knee in two days tops. I agreed, and he injected my knee with nanomachines, which are currently rebuilding it…" The scout had to close her mouth with both paws in order not to scream from pain. Finally, she took a breath and removed her hands from her snout, "Sucks, but I need to be back on my feet as soon as possible."

"Wolf hag," The warrior bowed to Aranea, frowning from the pain in the broken shoulder, "I thank you for my rescue. I failed my pack and created a problem for both you and scout Leila. You are free to punish me as you will."

"At ease, we are not in the field anymore. Just call me Aranea," It took halfbreed a moment to understand that this was the warrior whom Chort used to knock out Aranea. The woman survived, and hopefully, in a few weeks, the ruined bones in her shoulder would heal enough for her to rejoin the force, "No crime was committed, thus no punishment is needed."

"I must disagree," The warrior said quietly, clenching her good fist, "Scout Leila gave us the order to watch over the door. I glance away just for a moment, and then… They were all dead. Maybe if I just…"

"You couldn't even see his movements," Leila said, taking the wolfkin by the shoulders, acting gently when touching the wounded shoulder, "And I know it because I couldn't see them. This blasted mercenary killed the shaman. We all lost friends and teammates today, let us not sully their memory with a sense of guilt. Instead, remember them, train to improve yourself, and always try to stay alive. Now leave and take a rest."

The warrior only nodded and left. Leila took a deep breath, looking at her own ruined hand covered with bandages.

"You know, for someone who told me how important it is not to mess with someone else’s mind, you sure were quick to mess with mine," Seeing how Aranea tried to make excuses, Leila only laughed, showing that everything was fine, "I am just teasing you! I would have preferred that you ask someone other than Wyrm Lord to remove the imprints. Our glorious commander never trained his power over the mind, it is leaking from him like water. He did not so much as take commands from me as he tore them out brutally. Eh, what’s done is done." She frowned and tapped the side of her head with a claw, took a deep breath and tried to lean back on the pillows, before cursing from the pain in her wings and kept sitting upright.

Aranea sat on one of the empty beds, as her legs could barely support her anymore. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to believe that she had survived this day:

"This was quite a day."

"You can say this again." Tiny said, moaning ever so slightly. Leila looked at her and Tiny raised her paw, "No, I want to keep up the pain."

"I never saw so many people dying," Aranea admitted. So far, it has been estimated that the resistance has lost over eight thousand people. The Reclamation Army lost three thousand, five hundred, and sixty-five people. And these were just the confirmed deaths, who knows how many people were vaporized or are still lying under the rubble right now? "To think that all of them had their own stories, their own lives and hopes… No, I can’t imagine this, nor will I try to fake it. What happened was horrible," She was silent for a moment. Then she understood that she wanted to talk about anything and asked Leila, "What was the story between you and Chort? Why in the abyss does this fucker hate you so much?"

"Okay, story time!" Leila said enthusiastically, pressing a claw to her lower lip. Then she got serious, all traces of fun gone from her face, "It all started when I was young. The old demon tried to off me, but Wyrm Lord stopped him. He put an imprint on me, making me immune to verbal commands like "kill yourself". Sadly for me, Ivar is a crafty fellow and managed to convince my uncle that this was just a phase, that he simply freaked out… He was lying, of course, Ivar never freaks out. The old demon hated me because I was spoiling his perfection. You saw how bright his scales are, right?" Aranea nodded, and Leila continued, "He overuses rejuvenation to always keep himself as young as possible. Yet, having an illegitimate kid like me… It was a sign that he could not resist the pleasures of the flesh, that he was human just like all of us."

"What's wrong with being human?" Tiny asked, wiping out tears of pain.

"Nothing, he is just an idiot," Leila responded off-handedly and continued, "He will never forgive me for this. A lot of stuff happened, and mom eventually died from illness," Leila briefly skipped this part, clearly unwilling to say more, "And this allowed the old demon to lock me out from the outside world. The only fun I had was on the net. Believe it or not, I once spoke with someone who served warlord Zero over the net. As I grew scales and wings, he started training me. How to shoot, how to fight, how to use my power. Each time I made a mistake, he used his power to make me punish myself. Eventually, he put a second imprint on me and sent me off into the Wastes and the Ravaged Lands. Kill a cannibal here. Come back. This kind of thing."

"If he could control your mind to such a degree… Why is it that he never put an imprint on you to serve him as a slave?" Aranea asked, feeling disgust at the question. But she had to know.

"You saw the reason earlier today. Imprint turns you into a dummy. The old demon needs only smart followers. That, and he always gave me a choice," Leila responded darkly, "I could always refuse a kill. This called for punishment, but I could always do it. Several times, I spared my targets. Only for him to show what these people caused later. He did it to beat it into me that every death they caused was my fault, that every choice has consequences. While I was out, his agents started spreading rumors about me. You know how people like to compare things, right? People compared me to Chort, and as a result... The mercenary got angry. Chort worked so hard and now people speak about someone like me…" Leila looked down, "Ivar used me as bait to lure out Chort. Through me, he hurt your pack and…"

"You mean this whole battle was just to kill the mercenary?" Aranea asked in confusion.

"What? No, the old demon is as evil as it gets, but he is not stupid. I have no idea what goals he pursued, but now we have Wyrm Lord who showed that he is equal to other commanders. The resistance is crippled at the moment. Their wonder secret weapon is crushed. Chort’s death was merely a part of his design," Leila almost spat these words, "I understand if you would like to throw me out. If I had just figured out everything before…"

"You said it before. Let us not sully the memory of the dead with a sense of guilt. You saved members of my pack today, of course you can stay." The wolf hag stated truthfully. She understood Janine's rage now more than ever. Wyrms were using them. Yes, the strategy made sense, dammit all! But serving as pawns… Aranea clenched her fist. She will never use her fellow comrades like that.

"Your turn now," Leila said as she sat back on pillows, frowning from pain and trying to place her wings carefully, "Tell me your story, if you're ready."

Aranea wanted to refuse. What rights did others have to know of her sins and her past? But then she calmed her mind. Honesty for honesty. As briefly as she could, Aranea told the story of the past to Leila. The half-wyrm made no comment, only nodded as Aranea finished.

"This leaves only you," Leila looked at Tiny, "Care to tell us about your past?"

"There is not that much to tell." Tiny gritted her teeth, speaking through pain. Yet she was happy to do something, instead of simply taking pain, "In Tribe records it is written that my mother is Alpha. Warlord Alpha."

"Impossible. This cannot be true, Tiny. Alpha is infertile," Aranea said, surprised, noticing Leila's gaze. "No, she can’t have cubs. Alpha even visited Iterna. Despite all their advanced technologies, even they confirmed that without massive body modifications, Alpha can’t bear a cub."

"Maybe Tiny is a clone?" Leila made a suggestion, and Tiny laughed at the idea. Aranea smiled as well. She knew Alpha by rumors, but someone like her would never allow herself to be cloned. Besides, the default mode of Alpha was anger and rage. Why would someone like her even want a cub?

"No, stupid!" She finally stopped laughing, wiping tears off her eyes, and said, "First thing first, have you even seen Alpha?" Tiny raised her paws and said, "See, mine are normal ones, nothing like hers. You heard Scarred One. There is something else. All my life, I tried to find an answer. If Alpha is not my mom, why was she always around to support me? She cared for me more than once, helped me with training, helped me when I was all alone, bought medicine for me… Why did miss Valerie teach me stuff as well?" Tiny nodded at the sleeping warlord, "I asked her about it, but she refused to answer. I just don’t know. Everyone in the pits ignored or beat me, as I grew older, I was an outcast due to my illness. I was surprised when Yuki finally helped me and dragged me away from all of this. She helped me find friends and she taught me stuff as well. Later, after Yuki became the scout, she picked me, me! For her pack. The weakest of the weak," Tiny looked forward, grabbing her good knee, "I literally have no idea why people help me. But I will do my best to find out. As for right now, all I can do is to be worthy of their trust."

"Good enough," Aranea nodded, "If you want to, I can also ask around."

"This is something I want to do myself," Tiny shook her head, "And to be honest, Aranea, we are all going to have our paws filled in the coming days."

Aranea smiled and started to stand up when the member of Martyshkina’s pack finally spoke, addressing Leila:

"I heard that wyrms can take away memories." The fellow wolf hag asked in a careful voice.

"We sorta can. It’s not as much as a memory wipe, as we make someone not think about stuff anymore." Leila weakly explained.

"This… could be enough," The wolf hag licked her lips nervously and said, "There was an idiot in my pack. Always weak, always last in the line. Even for a male, he was useless. I tried to make a proper soldier out of him, beat him proper and all. But he was no good, not a soldier. Yet today he saved me, dragged me away when the blasted Huntsman bit my shoulder off," Huntsman was the name of the mysterious man armed with a sword spear. Not even command fully knew who he was, just that he was a dangerous member of the Resistance and that he was involved in some arena business in Pearl, "I can't stop thinking about this fool. He died before my very eyes, speared by Huntsman. Maybe if I had pushed him harder, he would have moved into exile and be fine? Where did I go wrong with him? I can’t let thoughts about him distract me. Can you make me forget about this fool?"

"I could…" Aranea wanted to stop Leila, but the next words of the half-wyrm surprised her, "But memories, good or bad, make us who we are. Some memories must be removed, I will admit it. Still, try to reflect on what happened. You were saved by a male member of your team. Now, I am not wolfkin like you, but maybe it is a sign? Times change, maybe it is better to honor his memory not by forgetting him, but by trying to make the world a better place?”

"A sign…" The injured wolf hag wondered for a moment, "It is true that cubs nowadays are different from what I used to see in my youth. How am I supposed to honor his memory?"

"Just treat everyone in your pack the same. And make them follow you by using words rather than your claws. If they fail, try to explain stuff to them, don’t just go slashing and hacking with your claws," Aranea offered the ideas to the other wolf hags, "If someone needs to be punished, come up with ideas for manual labor tasks instead of leaving scars like before."

"To be more like normies." The wolf hag responded with disgust.

"Hey, you saw what they built. No shame in adapting something. The blessed mom even said so, we gotta adapt to survive," Aranea pointed out the obvious, "I mean, you saw their mechanical suits? Even Janine relied on their help during this battle, if the warlord relies on normies to help her in battle, then times have truly changed."

The injured wolf hag said nothing, and Aranea stood up. She wished everyone the swiftest recovery and left the room. She needed to get back to her bed, or Aranea would fall right here and lose consciousness. All things considered, this will be... quite embarrassing.

Outside the room, she saw the scout of Olesya lying on a stretcher. This was the same scout who was with Tiny a few days ago. The body of the scout was riddled with wounds from bullets, and she breathed with difficulty. A wolfkin, dressed in the white uniform of a doctor, was taking care of the wounded while they waited for a free operating room.

"Wolf hag," The wolfkin in doctor’s uniform, addressed Aranea. This woman was tall, easily the same height as Aranea. Her fur was spotted with spots of black and grey. And yet she smelled weird, not of the pack, but of the normies, nostrils of Aranea caught the pleasant smell of a perfume. She lacked scars on her body. Gloves covered her paws. The badge on her chest indicated that she was a noncombatant, "You look like you are about to fall."

"Tell me about it. I am sorry, are you a member of Olesya’s pack?" Aranea asked, remembering how Olesya once boasted that the command assigned someone special to Siri's pack, and Siri tasked Olesya with keeping the newcomer safe and sound at all costs. If Aranea remembered right, it was something about an experiment.

"I guess you can say it. My name is Svetlana, I am not with the Wolf Tribe, actually. Grew up with a family from the Core Lands," Seeing Aranea's surprised look, the nurse smiled and said, "Long story. I am temporarily assigned to Olesya and her pack. With the wolf hag injured, I am currently treating her subordinates and waiting for up…"

"Wait, Olesya is injured? How badly? Is she needs any help? What is…" Aranea demanded to know, all weariness gone from her in a flash.

"Wolf hag Olesya really saved her pack today, by all rights, she is a hero and deserves a medal. As for her injury, she will tell you herself later. Don’t worry, wolf hag, Till Ingo personally oversees her operation. I am sure that she will be just fine." Something akin to guilt ran behind the eyes of Svetlana when she said it.

Aranea wanted to ask more, but the door to the operating room opened and Marco, partially covered in blood, showed up. He nodded to Aranea and called for Svetlana to bring the patient inside. 

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