Victor of Tucson

Victor hung the flag, or banner, he supposed, over his shoulder and looked around at the expectant faces of the soldiers gathered in the courtyard. “Well done, everyone! We’ve captured our first outpost and driven the enemy deeper into their conquered lands. Once again, the legion has the exploits of the Glorious Ninth to live up to!”

The soldiers cheered his words, pumping fists and weapons in the air, slapping each other on the back, and, generally, creating quite a din. Edeya stepped closer to Victor and gestured at the treasures arrayed on the flagstones. “What will we do with these?”

“Right.” Victor cleared his throat and held up a hand for quiet. As the raucous celebrations died down, he yelled, “We need to examine these items to find out their value, but they’ll all be going into the Campaign Token Exchange.” Some of the soldiers’ faces fell at that announcement, and Victor heard some grumbling, so he followed up with, “Cheer up! You all just fought a battle and won! You’ll gain a token for that, and Sarl has my permission to award another sixty tokens for exceptional skill and bravery displayed during the fight!” Victor turned to Kethelket. “You too, Captain—three extra tokens for your scouts to use at your discretion.”

“Thank you, Legate.” Kethelket saluted, and Victor saw something like approval in his eyes. Victor hadn’t called him a captain before, but it made sense; he had more than three hundred flying scouts and killers under his command.

“Edeya, you have the book. Take note of the awarded tokens, collect these treasures, and make sure the quartermaster hears of it.”

“You heard the Legate! Get back to work, soldiers!” Sarl barked, and then the moment was over, and the outpost was abuzz with activity again.

Edeya leaned closer and, in a voice pitched low, asked, “Victor, um, Legate, I know the token system is fair, and the soldiers appreciate it, but don’t you think some of these items might better serve the army if they were awarded personally by you? Or, I guess, used by you?”

“Well . . .”

Valla stepped in, where his words faltered, “She’s right, but we can work within the system you’ve created. You should be sure to award yourself tokens for your various victories. You’ve personally destroyed many of the most dangerous combatants and dozens or hundreds of lesser creatures. Not even Kethelket and his kin come close to your impact on the battlefield.”

“All right.” Victor shrugged. He wasn’t going to argue about what sorts of treasures he deserved, and if he claimed a prize, it didn’t mean he had to use it. He could always gift it to a captain or commander if he thought they deserved it more than he did. Edeya began to gather up the treasures and scribble notes in her Farscribe Book. “Should I tell the other commanders you’ll be returning?”

“Just a minute.” Victor grabbed the shoulder of a passing sergeant. “Hang this over the gates, will you?” After he’d handed off the new banner, he turned back to Edeya. “Tell them we’re staying here with the Ninth for the night to assess the keep and surroundings. We’ll check in tomorrow.” Victor turned to Kethelket. “When we depart tomorrow, will you leave some of your people here with Captain Sarl?”

“Of course. Will five suit the outpost’s needs?”

“Yeah. I just want some capable scouts with good mobility here. Sarl has his captain’s book, so he can keep the rest of the army updated on his situation here.”

“That’s right, sir.” Sarl nodded, but then his eyes narrowed, and Victor could see something was bothering him.

“What is it?”

“We won’t be stuck on garrison duty, will we? Just because we took the outpost?”

“No, Sarl. You’ll hold it until we settle on something more permanent. I’m sure Borrius will have some ideas.”

“Very good, sir.”

Victor looked around the courtyard, then at the new door the engineers were installing over the entrance to the tall, narrow interior keep. “I think I’ll have a look around in there.”

“Good idea.” Valla’s words said something different than her actions—her eyes were on Uvu, still licking his scarred-over wounds in the shadows near the gate.

“Talk to me. What’s the deal with your cat?”

“He’s . . . we aren’t the same, our connection, I mean. When I lost contact with him, it was the first time in nearly a decade. Now I can feel him, but,” Valla paused, taking a deep shuddering breath and slowly shaking her head, “it’s not the same.”

“Maybe it needs time. Maybe whatever that pinché jelly monster did to cut you off will continue to fade.”

Valla nodded, pressing her lips together firmly. “Yes. Yes, I’m sure that’s it. I need to be patient. Let’s have a look around in there.”

“Legate.” Kethelket, who’d been lingering, perhaps waiting for the right moment to interject, stepped up to Victor as he, flanked by Valla and Edeya, began to ascend the short flight of steps to the keep. “Would you mind if I sent some of my people out scouting? I think it would be wise to determine the extent of the lands we freed from the mist by claiming this keep. Perhaps they might set eyes on the next fortifications we need to target.”

“Yeah. Of course, that’s a good idea. Keep me posted, all right?”

“I will do so. If you find time before you retire, I’d still enjoy sparring a bit.” Kethelket bowed this time rather than salute, and Victor noticed he almost stopped himself halfway; perhaps it was an old habit of a culture he’d left behind. As he straightened, his broad, shadowy wings fluttered rapidly, and he ascended to the parapet where some of his people waited.

“It’s strange, this ancient keep being here.” Edeya paused near the top of the steps and looked around once again, and Victor followed her gaze. “I haven’t been many places in my life, but I always thought we built up the cities and castles around the Empire long after the System joined the worlds.”

“Well, you know better than that. Remember the mines? The ancient shit we dug up down there?”

“Oh, aye, that’s a good point.”

“I wonder how many places of power the Empire has snatched up, painted over, and claimed as their own accomplishment.” Valla nodded to the Engineer attaching the latches to the new doors, then passed inside. Victor followed, watching her closely. He hoped things were okay with Uvu, but he could see the strain in her shoulders and neck. His thoughts fled, though, when he saw the strange but elegant construction inside the stone keep.

A vaulted hall opened directly behind the doorway, a delicate, molded, circular stone stairway dominating the center of the space. Victor couldn’t see any seams in the stonework of the stairs, and he wondered what sort of magic must have been used to carve or shape or join so much stone into the graceful shape. It fit in well with the rest of the entry hall—tall, shapely pillars held up an arched ceiling that would seem high even to his giant alter-ego. The design of the interior was, in effect, the polar opposite of the exterior. Where the building’s outsides were sturdy, square, and utilitarian, the interior was a masterpiece in filigrees, spirals, shapely curves, and smooth, almost seamless joinery. “Shit, this is a lot nicer than I imagined.”

“The light playing over the stonework from the high windows is a masterpiece in design. Look how the afternoon sun highlights certain carvings.” Edeya pointed with one slender arm, and Victor marveled at how, even now, he was seeing a new side of her.

“You have a good eye.” He turned to take in what she’d pointed out, noting how a circle of light fell on a stone tree, its branches heavy with meticulously carved bunches of tiny fruit.

“Aye, she does.” Valla’s voice was hushed, and Victor was pleased to see some of the tension leaving her posture.

“Legate, sir, you should see this,” one of Sarl’s Lieutenants called down from over the stone banister at the top of the circular staircase.

“Coming up,” Victor grunted as he mounted the steps, taking two at a time. He could hear the softer footfalls of his companions behind him as he rounded the stair and emerged on a wide landing that ran the length of the rear and two sides of the entry hall. Just as below, everything was smooth stone with arches and delicate carvings at the focal point of every viewing angle. Soldiers were scattered about sweeping, dusting, and mopping, bringing the ancient keep back to life, and the lieutenant who’d summoned Victor, a tall, lanky young Ardeni with shockingly bright yellow hair, gestured to one of the arched openings leading toward the back of the keep.

“Sir, I think it’s a System thing.”

“Oh?”

“Aye, it has them runes, like the ones in the stone in the courtyard and in the town and city stones.” He fidgeted slightly, taking a step back, reaching up to tug at his uniform collar.

“I’m just a man, Lieutenant. You don’t have to stress out in my presence.”

“Aye, sorry, sir. Begging your pardon, though, sir, you aren’t just a man. We . . . me and the lads in my division, we’re damn grateful to be following you into battle out here.” He ducked his head several times as he stepped back, making room for the trio to pass by.

“At ease, Lieutenant,” Valla said, pushing Victor’s shoulder, propelling him forward past the soldier. “Do me a favor, though.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Don’t forget the soldiers in your division aren’t all ‘lads.’ Give the ladies some credit, hmm?”

“O’ course, ma’am! I’m sorry!” Again, he ducked his head several times, touching his knuckles to his forehead. Victor smirked and kept walking, torn between wanting to laugh at Valla’s very valid point and feeling sorry for the soldier. “Just straight down that hallway, sir! It’s the circular room at the end.”

Taking the man at his word, Victor ignored the four side passages and aimed straight for the arched, sunlit opening at the end of the long corridor. When he stepped through, he immediately saw what had caught the lieutenant’s attention. The room was circular, about ten yards in diameter, and lining the upper third of the left-hand wall, west, if Victor’s sense of direction hadn’t failed him, smooth, seamless glass let in the setting sun’s light. That, alone, was noteworthy, but the center of the room was what made him catch his breath and proceed into the room with great care.

“Ancient Grandfathers,” Valla hissed, following him in.

“A . . . map?” Edeya breathed, close behind her.

“Sort of.” Victor walked around the slightly raised platform and eyed the golden runes lining the perimeter. They shifted and pulsed inside the stone—a sure sign that this was something left for them by the System. On the platform itself was a miniature model of, if Victor had to guess, the area around the keep. He could see the tiny, square edifice situated in a green vale. North of the building were the jagged rows of the Granite Gates and, amazingly, a tiny representation of a partially built fortress at the mouth of the pass. More importantly, the area around the keep was modeled with tiny, lifelike trees and blue, silky ribbons representing water and lakes.

“Is it clay?” Edeya began to reach toward the rough, realistic spikes of the mountains, but Victor snatched her wrist.

“Don’t touch it. I doubt we can do any damage, but let’s not risk it. I think we can learn a lot of shit from this map. Look.” He gestured to the area outside the keep’s influence, at the weird, cloudy smoke that clung to the majority of the space. “I think this is the invaders’ territory. You can just make out the land at the edges of it, though.” Victor leaned forward and tried to blow at the smoke, but his breath had no effect. “Yeah. Sorry, I grabbed your wrist, Edeya. I’m pretty sure we can’t do anything to affect this map; it’s System magic.”

“Look.” Valla pointed to the misty area west of the keep. “If you observe closely, you can see the trees of a forest at the edge.”

“And here.” Edeya pointed to the eastern edge. “Mountains.”

“That’s different. Look how the mountains are at the very edge of the map—I think they’re part of the boundary of this ‘conquest’ we’re all a part of. Not the forest, though.” He nodded to Valla. “Those look like contested lands.”

“Right.” Edeya nodded. “I see why—there’s a lot of map area beyond, a lot of mist. So, if you really think this is the extent of the contested lands, we’ve only conquered about . . .” she ran her hand above the visible part where the keep and the pass were represented, trying to calculate.

“About ten percent,” Valla helped.

“Shit,” Victor laughed, “I’m not complaining about conquering ten percent of the invaders’ lands in one day.”

“It’s strange, though, isn’t it?” Valla walked around the large, mostly foggy, magical map.

“What?”

“Why is the System showing us this? It’s like . . .”

“Like a game.” Though Valla nodded at his words, Victor knew she wasn’t thinking of the same kind of game he was. “I mean, we’re given a clear goal, and now we get to see the board. The System . . . it’s like we’re the pieces it plays with.”

“Well, we know the System loves conflict.” Edeya shrugged as though that was all there was to say.

“Right, because we release Energy when we kill each other.” Victor spoke sarcastically, a definite edge in his voice, so he wasn’t surprised by the puzzled glances the two women sent him. “Look, I’m not arguing against the idea that the System leeches some of the Energy away when we kill each other. Think about it, though; before the System came around, people used to cultivate, gather, and claim their own Energy from those they killed. Do you even know how to do that? I mean, if you killed a . . . bone juggernaut—Victor used his internal name for the undead monster out loud for the first time, but the two seemed to know what he meant—would you know how to claim its Energy if the System didn’t gather it up and send it your way?”

“No.” Valla shook her head, and Edeya shrugged.

“So, like, if the System just wants Energy, why doesn’t it just kill us all and take our Energy? Why do we need to fight each other so it can steal our Energy?”

“Could it?”

“Kill us? I mean, it’s pretty damn powerful, right?” Victor gestured to the map. “It’s everywhere.” He gestured around, indicating the world at large. “It knows a hell of a lot more about everything than any of us. Nah, I’m not buying it. I think there’s more to the System than it simply wanting to leech off us.”

Edeya surprised him by nodding. “I agree, Victor. There’s more to it. Why do we call it a ‘system,’ after all? We all accept the name, but . . . it must have had more meaning in the beginning, don’t you think? A ‘system’ for what? The very name implies complexity; it also implies impartiality. You don’t set up a system for things to be random or arbitrary. You don’t make a system for something you want to display sentimentality or favoritism. Whatever the reason, the System is in charge of many aspects of our usage of Energy, and . . . well, I don’t know where I was going with this, but I think I agree that it’s got to be a much more complicated than some of the detractors make out.”

“Yes. I’ve listened to many debates about it. We all have our jaded viewpoints, but I think, deep down, most of us know there’s more that we don’t know than we do.” Valla shrugged and gestured back at the map. “But back to the original topic. What’s the point of this?”

“I dunno.” Victor squatted down and pressed a thumb onto the keep that represented their current location. It was like pressing onto a stone—jagged and hard and not at all moveable. “Maybe to incentivize us, to keep our interest. We can see the progress we’re making, and, I’m guessing, so can the invaders, especially if you’re right, Edeya, about the System’s impartiality. When they see this area we’ve liberated, what do you think they’ll do?”

“Send another army. They likely have victory conditions just as we do,” Valla said, smacking her fist into her palm.

“Edeya,” Victor turned to the plucky lieutenant, still clutching her Farscribe Book, “tell Borrius I think we’re going to need reinforcements here. Tell him if he’s smart, he might be able to smash another undead army between his forces and the walls of this keep.”

“On it!” Edeya snapped the book open, and a magical pen appeared between her fingers. Victor watched her scribbling for a few seconds, and then he started back down the corridor.

“Where are you off to?” Valla followed close behind.

“I want to talk to Kethelket. I want him to send a scout into the forest we saw at the edge of this keep’s territory. I want to see if there’s another keep in that direction. If we can capture it, we’ll have the northern section of the ‘conquest territory’ locked up.” Victor noticed the corridor and the beautiful hall beyond were much dimmer than when he’d first come in. “Sun must’ve set.” He saw some of Sarl’s soldiers hoisting an Energy lamp up to one of the stone arches and followed the pulley line with his eye, wondering how they’d secured it to the stone, hoping they hadn’t bored a hole in it. He sighed with relief when he saw the ancient ceiling was carved with elegant hooks, almost like they’d been designed to hold just such a contraption. “And why not? They had holes for the door hinges.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. Just kind of wondering what this place looked like when it was new.”

“I imagine much like it will when we’re done fix . . .” Valla’s words were cut off by a sharp horn note blaring from the courtyard. She locked eyes with Victor. “They’re here already?”

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