Paramythi I: City of Glass

Kane had not been informed on the attack in the city until after the events had subsided.

He had never attended the recruiting parties once during his time as the Rebellion’s captain. He never wanted to watch the faces of his to-be companions smiling and acting so energetic to the point he may begin to feel an ounce of sorrow or sympathy for dragging them into this kind of lifestyle. The trust and loyalty he had put into his fellow units would be enough to ensure him that they would always be able to provide him with worthy souls and capable assets.

If he had a choice, however, Kane would never offer to take up young boys and girls just to prove a solid point to Emvolo's capital. If he could do it on his own with a course of subtle, evident words and even be threatened with a jail sentence just in order to reform the Kingdom’s long, lost alliance; he would do it.

Life, unfortunately, never proved to be quite so simple.

“Were there any casualties?” Kane called out over the sounds of heavy winds ruffling his dark hair. He stepped out onto the docking bay’s exposed rooftop, clouds and stars mingling together in the skies all around them. He was greeted with Zyki hunched against a small aircraft, talking to one of the engineers on hand. “Tell me everyone’s okay, or at least give me something to hold against Capitol throats in our next meeting!”

Zyki acknowledged Kane with a tilt to their head. For once, the somewhat mocking and scheming expression was not present in their face and it was more than enough for Kane to realise just how dire the situation presented itself to be. Someone had died tonight without his hand or words to guide and save them.

Times like these made him wonder why Ciiria had thought making him captain would be a good idea.

“The list is long, sadly.” Waving their hand, Zyki's sharp tips of their false, metallic claws glittered in the moonlight as they dismissed the engineer they had been speaking to. Standing straight, they respectfully approached Kane with an ever-present smile.

They were nervous and had every reason to be.

“I have the names. But might I suggest we prolong their identities on your behalf just a tad longer, captain-“

“Tell me who we lost, Zyki. I shan’t ask again.” Kane’s demands cut through the air quicker than the blades of their aircraft’s base. His eyes were nothing but serious and the tone in which he chose made certain to remind Zyki of their position in rank.

Zyki was not one to even leave their own quarters or study unless they needed to attend a meeting, pass along information or coordinate certain pieces of information and planning with new recruits; it raised the seriousness of the situation and Kane could feel himself frowning long before Zyki began to shift and he watched as they pulled out a piece of paper with neat handwriting scribbled over the surface.

The captain sighed. “…the list was necessary?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to remember them all off hand, otherwise.” Zyki whispered. Their eyes had refused on meeting Kane’s this far into their conversation; now it seemed almost instinctual to focus elsewhere and they begin reading the list.

It started with the names of all the young men and women who had signed up earlier that afternoon. Kane had never heard of them before, yet he was sure his mind would be unable to forget them after tonight.

“…the last two names are, hm, were, rather…” Pausing, Zyki clicked their tongue and folded the paper back up, finally lifting their head high enough to meet the eyes of their captain. “Ivana Vallis and Syra Rhines.”

Kane would be lying if he said hearing those names had not affected him. It was a sickly feeling he would never get used to. Times like this he wondered why he was not already custom to it. Losing someone, a friend, during a rebellion and fight for peace was not unheard of. Nor was it bearable.

“Captain?” Zyki’s voice killed the dread. It was enough to give sense to the situation and remind the captain to dwell at a later date. “An aircraft is waiting to take you down.”

“Thank you.” Kane’s nod appeared stiff, along with every other little move he made. His thoughts rested with Enzo and Kaira, hoping terribly that the Gods above would be kind enough to offer them time and peace to mourn for their loved ones. “Zyki, be sure to inform Ciiria on the situation at hand. Make it so she has that list in her possession, too. Capitol’s doing or not, tonight will not be forgotten so easily.”

Zyki’s head tipped and they bowed, eeriness and fluid limbs to complement the gesture as per usual. “Yes, sir.”

Turning their head, a skip in their step, Zyki trudged along the docking platforms and ducked into the small lonesome elevator off to the side, away from the small aircrafts and engineers. Before their bony forefinger could brush over the button to take them back down into the Base, they paused and watched Kane in the distance.

Zyki found themselves waiting for the moment their captain was out of sight and flying off towards the starry sky before doing anything further.

“…humans.” Muttering in a voice so distant from audible, Zyki jammed their finger against the small button on the wall and the elevator doors closed, hissing sharply.

“The casualties were almost unpreventable.” Reidonn’s enlightened comment spared no ease to the groups of startled faces staring up at her.

Clearing out the Prowlers had been quick once she and her companions had sprung forth to take them out. Tovi was still lurking in the shadows, yanking out the silver arrows he could spare to use in his next battle while Reidonn tried her hardest to calm down the few survivors they had managed to save.

Elias was among them, sitting in the back row. Beside him sat a girl not much older than him with blonde hair and serious eyes. Kaira was sitting at the front, closer to Reidonn, with her balled fists pressed painfully to her sore, tearful eyes.

“In some aspect, tonight has been a painful first-hand experience for reality. This…” gesturing to the wrecked tables and chairs around them, Reidonn sighed, “this is what the city's capital does to people who do not play by their rules. Once upon a time, when the Rebellion was at its first stages, we were often executed and arrested. Honestly, we had every warning and last notice to stop there. But we didn’t. We grew stronger because of our losses because we knew that giving up meant everyone we had sacrificed would have died in vain. Signing up to join the Rebellion means you were prepared to sacrifice your friends and family from the start; I hope tonight will not discourage you as much as it will push you to try and avenge the deaths of those who will not see tomorrow. But if you cannot will yourselves to remain, then please walk out those doors now. We will all understand your decision, either way.”

Some ran for the door while others appeared reluctant to take Reidonn’s offer. The harder looking recruits who Elias had been wary of were the first to leave. Some of their friends had been the victims only hours ago and many tears and mourning words of prayer had already been spared for their wandering souls. The less tough and unsure recruits whispered among themselves in a group, until they too, made their way out the door. High numbers tumbled and Reidonn was left with a maximum of six recruits sitting together in front of her; including Kaira.

“Welcome to the Rebellion,” Reidonn forced the smile onto her face as she spoke. Deep within, she had hoped none of these recruits would have stayed and then she would not need to keep up the front of determination and hope. Without Kane, and with Enzo in the state he was, it fell upon the woman’s shoulders to reassure everyone that somehow, through the bloodshed, there could be light at the end of a long struggle. “I’ll be back shortly and then we will discuss your interviews. Excuse me.”

Turning away seemed the easiest thing to do and yet it set a visible cringe upon Reidonn’s face to know just how relieving it was to erase those frightened, searching faces from her line of sight. She strode over the wreckage and exchanged glances with Tovi, silently telling the archer to keep a close eye on their new recruits in case any Prowlers were lurking nearby, or if one of them decided to play the ‘hero’ and do something stupid. The heels of her red, leather boots clanked miserably against the broken wood and metal beneath her and she disappeared into the small room where Neoma was dealing with an injury Quincy’s had gained from the attack.

“Why is it always the kids who stay behind?” Reidonn sighed. Her arm reached up, resting idly against the low frame of the door above her short mess of hair. “The older ones always turn tail in the end.”

“You know why, Reidonn.” Quincy spoke up gently. His left eye twitched, a reasonable reaction to the thin needle Neoma was threading just above his left eyebrow. Without his glasses, long hair loose from his usual ponytail, and blood running down across his cheek; he actually looked more like one of the Rebellion’s finest. “Unlike children, adults have already been made aware of all the bad in the world. Children have no fears in that sense…they need to teach themselves about the scary stuff on their own. You were no different when you joined the Rebellion.” In the midst of his sagely wisdom, he smiled kindly to warm the dreariness around them.

“…I guess.” Reidonn grunted. She pinched the bridge of her nose with a forefinger and thumb, eyes screwing up and a sigh rattled her bones. “How are you feeling? You took quite a beating. That’s what happens when you haven’t been out on the battlefield for a long time, ya know?”

Quincy’s smile was a timid one this time. He was thankful to note the amused volume of Reidonn’s voice, at least, which meant the tense atmosphere was beginning to ease and he would only cause it to return if he refused to humour the topic.

Laughing, he raised a hand and waved it through the air lazily.

“True, true…I’m a headless chicken in the heat of battle. Although you guys would be lost without my skills back at base.” Quincy’s smile grew, and sadly, such a gesture only caused the side of his face to throb and surge with a new ounce of pain. “Ah-!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Neoma cringed, teeth biting down on her bottom lip. Her nimble fingers slowed, thread and needle tightening around the gashed split as she double-stitched for good measure and snapped the end off with an experienced twist. “I did my best but I’m pretty sure it’s going to scar…”

“No worries.” Quincy smiled with his eyes to avoid any more unnecessary pain and collected his glasses from the surface of the round table beside him. It was odd to think how calm they had been only hours ago, laughing and playing cards. “I’m grateful, Neoma.”

“How’s Enzo holding up?” Reidonn interrupted. “I lost sight of him the moment Syra was surrounded.”

“Use your imagination,” Neoma replied shortly. Her sigh and rolling shoulders assisted the exhaustion in her breathy words. Gathering up her medical supplies, and storing them neatly into her emergency kit, she backed away from the table and faced Reidonn respectively. “He took most of the Prowlers down before I was able to take even one of them out. When he reached the stage he just snapped, so Theo had to knock him out before he became just as much of a threat as the Prowlers.” Gentle eyes reflected on the early memory and she shook her head to erase it. “He woke up a minute ago. Theo’s with him...”

“Kane would have pried the names out of Zyki by now. Our captain is not going to be happy when he gets here.” Quincy’s comment summoned a sickly dread. He would have been guilty for it if he did not think it was necessary to dwell on. Kane was their friend, but at the same time, they needed to be ready to face him if he reached his wrath. “I could speak with him on arrival.”

“No, it’s okay, I can do it,” Neoma said. “I am the medic, after all.”

“You’re also a fighter, just like the rest of us.” Reidonn corrected sternly. “We’ll tell him together. It’s not like it was our fault, or anyone’s, asides Capitol’s. Got that?”

Neoma and Quincy were encouraged to exchange a look of uncertainty. Eyebrows furrowed and lips quivered with the feeling of disobedience nagging at their instincts. They ignored these feelings and chose head over heart when they looked back, nodding and agreeing in unison to approach Kane together.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Affirmative.”

Elias and the other handful of recruits sat in a small group, soaking up the silence and grief hanging amongst them. Should it have been any other kind of atmosphere to the situation at hand, Elias might have been subjected to try and at least start a conversation.

Kaira was not a total stranger compared to the other faces surrounding him. His soft, blue eyes were keen on the girl huddled just a few feet away from him. His sympathies went out to her, able to relate in terms of loss, especially at such a young age. Part of him wanted to shift and sit by her to offer his condolences and reassure her that, even though it hurt so much now, it would get better in due time.

Elias did not find himself move anytime soon, however. His legs were heavy and he only seemed capable of making up next-move-scenarios in his head without carrying them out physically. He was relieved when someone made a noise; when someone finally spoke up and blocked out Kaira’s softening sobs.

“Do you think we’ll still be recruited, even after this?”

Elias pulled his eyes away from Kaira’s face to identify the boy sitting in front of him. His features resembled a Faeman’s characteristics with bright green irises and yellow scleras, which searched keenly between Elias and the blonde girl sat beside him.

When Elias said nothing, the girl uncrossed her arms and pulled her intense gaze from Tovi — who stood off at the side — so she could lock eyes with the Faeman’s colourful orbs.

“We’d still have to take interviews from their captain, regardless. Unless massacres change the rules, it should still apply to whatever answers we give.” The level of calm present in the girl’s voice somehow eased the Faeman boy she spoke to. Nonetheless, her eyes appeared far too fixed and intimidating to hold for long. “…I hear their captain’s pretty strict.”

“Captain Kane is a righteous leader, despite all that.” Elias cut in; much to his own surprise, as well as those around him. He knew his cheeks turned a beet red when those serious eyes were focused upon him now. Swallowing thickly, Elias attempted his first impression with a stern clear of his throat and bravely held the girl’s burning gaze. “I mean, someone like him has to be strict, right? Leading the Rebellion isn’t all fun and games. His title must be pretty tough to maintain.”

“But if he was so devoted to his title,” the Faeman started, keeping his voice low to a whisper for only the three of them to hear, “then why wasn’t he here to prevent the attack?”

Elias had wondered the same in the beginning. When the Prowlers had made their entrance, he had been safely tucked away in the corner of the room away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd engulfed with Syra’s dancing and singing. Ivana’s fate had not been neglected from his sight, nor had Syra’s, and the only thing Elias kept thinking to himself at the time was how the Great Captain Kane would stride in and wipe out the Capitol’s lapdogs before his eyes. As if seeing the man in action would dispel the images of everyone around him being torn apart. But he never came.

“That’s him.” Whispering lowly, yet loud enough for Elias’ thoughts to break, the Faeman nudged him and cocked his head towards the direction of the pub’s broken-down door.

Elias held his breath, anticipation running down the curve of his spine and pulse quickening in time with the thumping of his head. Meeting your idol was always an aspiration for every child and adult in the world; yet when the time actually came, no-one ever seemed to know exactly what they should do or say. For Elias, it was not his place to act out or speak up as Kane stepped inside the pub.

Kane was tall and broad with a serious aura and unmistakable determination plastering his person. Dark strands of hair fell over the piercing depths of his blue eyes; eyes that found Elias and the other youthful recruits sitting on the floor.

The day and time Elias Kara met Kane Ruskin passed by in a moment. For Kane, Elias was just a boy huddled and dwelling in fear, while Elias viewed Kane as a righteous hero. The captain dismissed the group almost immediately when Tovi skulked out from his corner of the room and gestured for Kane to follow him. Together, both men – two of the finest fighters within the Rebellion — turned from the youthful group of recruits, trudged through the ruined pub, and ducked into the small room Reidonn had disappeared through earlier.

It seemed pointless for the recruits to try and crane their necks or narrow their eyes in attempts to catch a tasteful glimpse of whatever could be going on in the next room. Kane was thorough in closing up the doorway, blocking out any harsh encounters or unkind words he would share with his fellow fighters.

Without recognition, Kane was already protecting Elias from the bad in the world; as if the boy had always been one of his recruits from the very beginning.