Anand was missing for eight hours straight, buried beneath the dead and undead, thankfully, mostly uninjured.

   He woke up in a jolt, his eyes snapping open only to be greeted by the darkness of the night.

   "Look for him again!" Kamil's voice traveled with the wind instructing once they were able to secure their area and long enough to assist Duke Quyên in his plan to escape the city with the princesses.

   Yeom-Ra was still in the west, dealing with more undead coming from the Sheela Barony or was it the Leffom County? The undead could even be coming from the Capital, just dying and coming back to life like they liked to do.

   He'd gotten so used to burning bodies that the smell of death was like smelling flowers to him. Considering the peace he'd grown up with, he was surprisingly nonchalant about the wafting stink.

   "It's only been seventeen hours, you know," he laughed, maniacally as he slashed and burned away.

   "I hope you're not having fun."

   Yeom-Ra's sword met another's.

   "Viscount Ørjan..." Yeom-ra dropped his sword and kneeled.

   Though Yeom-Ra was the second son of a Marquess, he had yet to be bestowed a lord's title and was simply a knight to the lord thirteen years his senior.

   "Have you any news of the missing Merewen?"

   The Viscount helped him back up.

   "Missing?" Yeom-Ra hadn't heard about Anand.

   "Yes, your friend. Duke Genos has handed down a command to keep our eyes open as we pass to our respective borders."

   "You are headed to the mountains then..." He looked over the Viscount's shoulder. "With the third prince? Is that not the job of the Damyanov Duchy? Where is Prince Elio?"

   "Elio has volunteered to go to Damyanov," the third prince informed him.

   The third prince mulled over saying more but was redirected to a cleared path.

   "We must make our way, Prince Ethan."

   Ethan bowed before leaving.

   "But it is the safest to go to Shijiu, Your Highness!" Yeom-Ra shouted after.

   "Yes, it is! Which is meant for the eldest!"

   However, Yeom-Ra felt otherwise.

   "You could be beheaded for that implication," the Viscount commented. "You're lucky that I'm used to hearing it."

   Yeom-Ra tilted his head with a smirk.

   He was used to being able to speak his mind even with Elio around.

   "You may be friends with the second prince, but it doesn't absolve you of treason if you're ever heard outside of private conversations... You never know who is listening and when." Viscount Ørjan reminded him once more.

   "My allegiance-"

   "Is to the Empire, just as mine is."

   They looked at each other before Yeom-Ra finally conceded and ceased making uncomfortable statements.

   They both knew Viscount Ørjan's allegiance wasn't to the Empire but to the Duke of Damyanov. That was not a well-kept secret. The same could be said for any vassals of the Dukedom.

   If anyone would be tried, it'd be that entire part of the Empire, however, it's too large a portion to wage a war with. Considering also they are one of two leading players in technology. The second was a Conservatory in the Capital. The Emperors before have never felt the need to reign in the Damyanovs and their vassals. Even now, their trust in the duke and his people was unwavering, only deepened by how readily they came to the Capital's aid.

   Not unlike them, the Merewen Duchy was quick on its feet, clearing anyone healthy to reinforce their walls and isolating anyone and everyone who seemed to have gotten infected as soon as the news arrived.

   Later, they'll be celebrated for having the least amount of life lost in the empire. Unfortunately, the Capital had the most since they also had the highest population.

   Ground Zero had yet to be identified, but for a long time, it was believed to have been the Capital due to the great loss the empire incurred in the first few months of the outbreak. 

   "What about Anand?" Yeom-Ra remembered.

   "Ah, he's been missing since the morning. Rendezvous with Kamil at the center of the Capital. Sir Allistair has already been assigned here by brother." The second prince interjected, ready to head out on his week-long journey.

   The Firebird would've been nice to have going North Eastern, though thankfully the third prince's entourage was left with a herd of war horses.

   "So, Kamil's looking for Anand, huh..." Yeom-Ra circled about, wondering what his next step should be.

   "Go," the third prince waved him off. "There's no need to send us off."

   "Thank you, Your Highness."

   Yeom-Ra didn't spend another minute at the border of the Capital and rushed to the center of town, not minding the knights still fighting off straggling infectus.

   He lit the lamps as he passed them, lighting the dimming town as the day slowly turned to night.

   As troubled as his friends were, Anand was not.

   He pushed the pile of bodies off him. Then, he checked his body for any open wounds that he may have sustained during his battles that he couldn't recall at the moment. There was one small cut on his face, but he felt no different from a few hours ago.

   His clothes were a bit tattered, but nothing else seemed amiss.

   He let out a grunt once he got to his feet. He sat back down, a little winded.

   In the inner pocket of his jacket, he reached for his milligen and called on his commander, Elio.

   "Reporting-"

   "Where have you been!" Elio connected his line to the other two.

   "Fu-" Kamil bit back their curses, "what happened to you?"

   "Got knocked out," Anand showed them the pile of corpses behind him currently tied down to the ground with his magic.

   Some of them were trying to regenerate while the others lay limp.

   "Just get back safely," Elio rubbed his forehead and hung up.

   "I'll come meet you," Kamil told him.

   "I'm nearby," said Yeom-Ra.

   "Stay near the center and help burn the dead," Kamil instructed him.

   Yeom-Ra groaned but looked around him. There was a growing pile of the dead everywhere and knights hesitating to burn them.

   "Fine."

   Anand hung up soon after, too busy himself with the bodies behind him.

   Since he didn't have a fire with him or Ignis magic, he accessed his carnelian stone and a pre-drawn magic circle to start his fire, building it like a campfire to a bonfire. As soon as it was big enough, the pile lessened to ashes.

   There wasn't much he could do but pray for the lives he'd taken.

   "Pious," said a whispy voice beside him. "So many died, but only a few have prayed for them."

   Fairies that lived peacefully at the Capital emerged from their hiding soon as the infectus were only a few left.

   Some younger fairies gathered around the fire, casting light magic that only Seeds could muster.

   "They are the worst of the Creatures of the Night," the whispy one said. "Will you rid of them all from this country? What does the Emperor have planned? We've yet to see our Chief return..."

   They all looked at one another worriedly.

   "They held a meeting of the Elders at the FarnWandour Palace. The Chief will return soon, I presume." Anand answered.

   "No, he did not go to the meeting. He went earlier to warn the Emperor of what the children saw outside the Capital."

   "What they saw?"

   "The burning white smoke on skins of others... those."

   Anand watched the fire briefly turn white, then back to a flaming red. It sparked a little with white flakes that he'd assumed were simply ashes.

   "You've seen them before?"

   They all nodded.

   "We see them all," They said before retreating from their hiding places.

   Different faeries lived on the continent, but the nymphs settled with the people. Their affinity with Unda magic in an Unda empire gave them a comfortable home. They dug a little niche for themselves and placed their eldest in one of the Elder seats, those who gave counsel to the Emperor and his vassals.

   "You the Merewen boy!" An older knight shouted across the shopping district.

   The knight waved at him, arms swinging.

   "I found the young lord!"