Downfall.

"Lord Alexander!"

Elise shouted, placing Alexander—raising to her feet.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Alexander frowned. "I asked to be alone."

Elise turned to Marcus with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay Marcus?" Elise asked, stepping towards him.

"Why are you checking on him?!?" Alexander asked angrily. "He started this mess, you shouldn't—"

"Silence yourself!" Elise hissed—looking back at Alexander with a conflicted expression.

"Before you say something you'll regret."

Alexander fell silent—his scowl and heavy breathing remained.

Elise knelt beside the weeping Marcus.

She reached a hand for his cheek and wiped his tears with her thumb. 

"We… were friends,"

Marcus said softly between sobs.

"I'm his friend and he's mine, so… why?"

Elise's expression softened as she pulled Marcus into a hug.

The tense atmosphere that had befallen the courtyard dissipated.

In its place was a somber silence.

Alexander watched Elise comfort Marcus.

He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and grief, his world slowly crashing around him.

What have I done?

Alexander massaged his temples—closing his eyes. 

This wasn't supposed to happen, the rage, the fight, everything. 

If only Marcus had just left him alone.

No.

If only Alexander had been honest with himself, he wouldn't have lost control. 

Alexander's expression softened as his eyes welled with tears. 

He gritted his teeth as he averted his gaze.

"Fuck." He hissed under his breath.

I shouldn't be here.

Alexander slowly stepped towards the entrance.

Crushing the golden leaves beneath his feet as the sky continued to darken.

Long shadows cast across the courtyard as the wind rustled the leaves of the massive tree behind him.

Stepping into the mansion Alexander made his way upstairs to his room.

Quietly closing the door behind himself and locking it. 

Alexander then grabbed the book that contained Ava's letters—before climbing into bed.

Around three days later, Alexander's father returned home from the war front. 

His carriage halted before the stables.

He stepped outside—draped in a worn and dirty Pathfinder uniform. 

His hair was unkempt.

His eyes were sunken and glassy and he reeked of blood.

"M-my lord!"

Elise said in panic as she quickly approached him—supporting his wobbly stance by placing her hands on his sides.

"Are you alright?"

Lance slowly looked down at Elise, his eyes filled with pain.

"I'm sorry." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry."

Elise's eyes widened with confusion.

"What… what are you saying, my lord?"

Lance brought Elise into a hug.

One arm around her back and the other—placed around the back of her head. 

Elise awkwardly returned the hug.

"I tried to save her,"

Lance whispered as he tightened his grip.

"But… there was so much chaos, so many soldiers, and I… "

Tears rolled down Lance's cheeks as he choked on his words.

Elise's eyes grew wide with awareness.

"No…" she said with a shaken tone.

Her lips trembled as she began to pull away from Lance. 

Lance kept his grip firm, refusing to let her go. 

"No!" She spoke again, her voice rising as she continued to pull away from Lance. 

"Your sister fought bravely, Elise." Lance said softly, "If it wasn't for her, we'd all have died–"

"No!"

Elise shouted as she finally broke from Lance's grasp—shoving him as she backed away.

"She's not dead, tell me she isn't dead!"

Lance's expression softened as he averted his gaze.

The sight of Elise in distress was unbearable, especially after seeing her sister die. 

"How!" Elise cried out in anguish, "how could this have happened?!"

Her voice broke as she pointed a trembling finger at Lance—tears rolling down her cheeks. 

Lance struggled to find the words.

"Elise you need time to–"

"Tell me!" Elise shouted as she grabbed at her chest, as if she were collecting the shattered pieces of her heart.

"I… I need to know."

Lance closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"We were sent on a mission into the western empire…"

— — —

Lance took a breath as he and his squad reached the other side of the mountain range. 

"My lord, are you getting old?"

Sophia teased as Lance surveyed the open flatland before him. 

Lance looked at her with a grin.

"Old? I'm only 42."

Camilla chuckled softly as she watched them.

"So, old man Lance, do you have an idea of where this weapon factory is?"

Lance nodded.

"Should be in the center of Sehunka city."

He pointed in the distance.

"It should take us about six hours to reach the city, but we need to avoid imperial civilians or patrols." 

"Yeah." Sophia chimed in, "If we get spotted we'll be trapped between the mountains and the frontline."

Camilla nodded.

"Alright then, to Sehunka city."

Lance and his unit moved with speed.

The landscape was open plains for the most part—as the unit traveled deeper however, the landscape shifted drastically.

The ground grew coarse and muddy.

Hollowed-out villages—bombed by war zeppelins began appearing regularly. 

As they progressed, the sky darkened and the sound of artillery began to roar in the distance.

"We're getting closer to our target."

Lance informed.

There was a well-traveled road between their current location—a bombed-out village, and Sehunka City. 

"Hold up," Sophia tapped Lance's shoulder.

"Enemy convoy dead ahead."

Lance looked at where she pointed.

He saw several carriages and wagons on the side of the road.

There were about a dozen horses, with about a hundred imperial soldiers wandering about.

They were dressed in long purple coats and caps.

Most were armed with flintlock rifles.

However, there were a few armed with Single-shot lever-action rifles.

"Looks like a company-sized unit."

Camilla peered out the window of the bombed-out house.

"Are they heading to the front?"

"I doubt it."

Lance answered.

"A company is too small to make any real difference and there isn't a single mage here. These men are part of a search party or patrol."

"Search party?"

One of the pathfinders asked curiously.

"Could they be searching for us?"

Lance nodded.

"Maybe not us specifically, but this wouldn't be the first time pathfinders infiltrated past their lines."

"Should we move to assault their position?"

Camilla asked.

"It would be one less company to deal with."

"No,"

Lance shook his head.

"What's one company amid thousands?" He asked. "Besides, we'd risk drawing attention."

"It'll be safer to wait for them to pass."

Sophia added.

"Saves on our grenades too."

Lance nodded, his eyes fixed on the soldiers.

"Breaktime over ladies, let's get moving!"

A man dressed in a slightly different uniform from the others called out. 

He could be identified by the difference in his coat, which was shorter, and his hat, which was a tricorn.

"Hooah!"

The soldiers roared in unison—smacking the butts of their rifles against the floor of the wagons.

"Damn straight!"

The man said with a grin, mounting his horse.

Camilla flinched at the sound of their rifles clicking loudly. 

Lance looked over at her hunched under the windowsill and chuckled.

"It's just a tradition of their army, no one is shooting."

A wry smile crossed Camilla's lips as she looked up. "O-oh."

A round of soft chuckles filled the hollowed-out building.

As the sound of wood creaking and hooves clattering faded, Lance signaled to his team.

"Let's get moving." He said quietly,

"The faster we destroy this factory—the faster we get home."

The pathfinders continued through the desolate landscape, their movements swift.

They soon reached the outskirts of Sehunka city—a large sprawling urban area. 

The streets were wide and barren.

On either side, were large stone structures.

Some reaching up to five stories. 

Large signs hung about—painted with the strange words of the imperial language; Romlish.

Fortifications surrounded the city, manned by dozens of guards in purple uniforms.

Lance and his team knew this was it.

The city of Sehunka was teeming with imperial forces.

Lance had his team split up to avoid detection—any missteps could lead to death.