Selati, a big construct forced to work in the cobalt mines of Ilmare, is terrified of the overseers. Danger dogs his every breath, somehow the leader of his ragged work crew, and he finally has enough when the mine itself almost kills him. Humans or no humans, he refuses to let his crew die down in the dark. As his crew takes their stand in their bid for freedom, rescue comes. Freedom in the light and a whole new life awaits.<br><br>It’s a duty Aleledai takes great pride in, saving his fellow Caniean. Humans might have created them to mine and nothing more, but like all things, the Caniean are not the mindless beasts humans intended to work to death for resources. Selati’s rescue is probably his greatest accomplishment, because something about this one becomes everything Aleledai was missing, that made freedom perfect.<br><br>Humans don’t let go of their things easily, though and war is coming, no matter what the Caniean want. The price of freedom is always high. Aleledai only hopes the price isn’t everything he’s found worth living for.

A Soldier's Horizon

“I will have a route drawn up for you,” Aleledai added. “Find a second you can trust and I will hand it over to them.”


They all parted ways after that. Selati went off to receive orders from his group leader, Opati, and Aleledai had a monumental list to tasks to complete before they march off to war. Three days.


If Aleledai bothered to dwell on his time leading up to the battle, he would have cried in frustration. Three days was a blur of sleepless nights and worrisome days, gone too fast to be real. At the same time, three days crawled by with each problem sticking in his mind like a thorn, irritating him to the brink of quitting, if only for a quiet moment to gather his wits.


Chapter 36