A DRINK BEFORE BATTLE (MxM)

“I NEED TO SEE LIEUTENANT THELAN! DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE THE HELL HE IS!?”

Sevei grabbed a passing Fourth Martial Line officer. “He is leading your unit now, isn’t he?”

The officer paled and quavered. “I can find Captain Geir for you,” he offered nervously.

Sevei released the man’s sleeve with a huff and waved him on his way. After a moment of thought, he felt bad about harassing the officer. His irritability was getting out of control. The past week had kept him too busy to spend every moment fretting about Yeresym, who was still lying unconscious in the infirmary, but that only resulted in everything bottling up until he exploded once in a while.

Caravans streamed in from Valesk and from Tharlburg: more tents, more weapons, more equipment. The camp bustled with the activity of a rushed expansion. In the wake of the caravans came an influx of soldiers. Some of the new units Sevei had worked with before, and there were reunions with old friends. Some units were unfamiliar, and so there were introductions and orientations and joint training exercises to integrate the newcomers.

And then there were the funerals. The fallen must be identified. Their bodies were burned in pyres outside of camp with the full ceremony of the traditional rituals. Those rituals must be witnessed and documented, and the ashes must be carefully packaged for return to their families.

It was a lot to organize, and Sevei barely had time to breathe let alone indulge his personal worries. He still hadn’t been allowed in to see Yeresym. Several days ago, Meira had been allowed and now he hadn’t seen much of her since. He did feel better knowing that she was with him, at least, but she’d also been his most trusted liaison to the Fourth Martial Line. Lieutenant Thelan, ostensibly the acting General now, rarely made himself present, and when he did, he still wasn’t exactly present – even less so than usual.

Sevei sighed and resigned himself to finding Captain Geir, another Alchemist under Urskatha’s command. She was a cold and contemptuous woman who unnervingly reminded him of the one who had dropped him in the river, but she did seem to be the most competent of the lot. He turned around to find Meira standing behind him She looked exhausted. Sevei’s mood shifted abruptly.

“Is he...?”

“Not awake yet...” Meira interrupted. “But you can go see him now, when you have a moment.”

Sevei’s face lit up as he nodded fervently. “I have a moment,” he said, turning toward the infirmary.

“Didn’t you have something...” Meira called after him.

Sevei waved a dismissive hand. “Yan can take care of it.”

“Wait.” She jogged after him and caught his arm. “Slow down. Walk with me.”

Sevei was impatient, but when he noticed Meira glancing about furtively, he did as she asked, slowing his pace to match hers. When they had put some distance between them and anyone who might overhear, she leaned in conspiratorially.

“Lieutenant Thelan has been treating Yeresym,” she said in a low voice. “That isn’t something he wants everyone to know.”

Sevei’s brow rose. “Oh,” he said. “So that’s where he’s been. Why the secrecy?”

Meira sighed a bit sorrowfully. “Lieutenant Thelan is not a Martial Alchemist,” she explained. “He’s a Chanter. That’s a different specialty. The Chanters use... a revised form of older magical techniques. Spells, charms...”

“Witchcraft?” Sevei asked. A chill went up his spine as Meira hushed him.

“What the Chanters do is far more structured and standardized, but its roots are from there, yes.”

“What is he doing to Yeresym?” Sevei questioned darkly.

“Helping him to draw ethereal energy from outside himself, to replenish what he lost more quickly than he can generate it himself.”

“That needs... that kind of magic?” He had almost said ‘witchcraft’ out loud again before Meira glared at him.

“Most people can’t draw in energy from an outside source,” she said. “They only have whatever they make in their own bodies.”

“That’s a relief,” Sevei laughed. “These Alchemists are creepy enough; can you imagine if someone could suck all the energy out of you like...”

“I can,” Meira said quietly.

Sevei stopped walking and took a step away from her, eyes and mouth open in wary surprise. Meira only nodded, her mouth set in a firm line.

“I can draw the ethereal energy from a person – all of it if I want to,” she affirmed. “Ethereal energy works differently in my people. We can’t harness energy for use like the Alchemists can, but we have that one defense.”

Sevei’s brow furrowed in thought. “Then why don’t you all rebel, if you have that power?”

“We tried once,” she answered grimly. “A great number of us were killed. There are plenty of ways to subdue us, and plenty of weapons long enough to keep away from our touch.”

“I’m sorry,” Sevei sighed. “I’m sorry that your people are treated like that. It’s wrong.”

“Well,” Meira said, cheering a bit as she began walking again, “my ability has allowed Lieutenant Thelan to craft his spell, based on the same principles, and he’s been using me as a sort of bridge to transfer energy to Yeresym.”

“Is that why you look so tired? Lieutenant Thelan wearing you out?”

“Mm.”

“I feel like I should revise my opinion of the man,” Sevei laughed. “I’m just not sure if it’s better or worse.”

“Don’t think too harshly of him,” Meira urged. “The work Chanters do can disorient them. It’s like they’ve always got one foot in the Otherworld.”

“So that’s why he’s like that?” Sevei asked wryly.

Meira smiled lightly. “He really shouldn’t be in his position - and he doesn’t want to be - but he’s the King’s nephew, and his father wants him to make a name for himself, so here he is. One thing I will say for him, he knows his limitations. When he must take command, he always delegates to those more capable. Seek out Captain Geir if you need anything. She knows what to do.”

“I should probably apologize to a few of your officers, then,” Sevei laughed ruefully.

“These days have been frustrating for you,” she replied, lowering her voice further as they reached the infirmary quarter. “I’m sorry you’ve been kept in the dark, and that you’ve been kept away from him.”

“Well, it’s not like I can demand to see him and tell everyone I’m his... “ Sevei sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t really know what I am to him... Hey! You can... feel people’s emotions, right?”

“It’s not my place to tell you what he hasn’t even admitted to himself yet,” Meira said with a cryptic smile.

“But there’s something for him to admit to?” he smirked.

Meira shrugged and looked away, still smiling.

“He may find it easier if you were to admit it first.”