Vadeen awoke from a restful sleep feeling light and alert, ready for the event he had spent the past several weeks perfecting with his military comrades. Sitting upright, he cracked his neck, ironing out the kinks with a small smile. He never ceased to feel better after a night in the slums.

After washing for the day, he dressed into each piece of his ceremonial uniform with meticulous grace, the motions so familiar, he could have executed them with his eyes closed. As he dressed, his raven watched him from its perch, cooing softly at him.

The last of the articles he donned was a ruby sash around his waist. Tanzanite and silver tassels dangled from it, indicating his rank as a second lieutenant. He fixed his red gorget and connected mask, lowering the red cloth-like material over a beaded necklace, and adjusted his freshly dyed hair to keep most of it in his uniform hood. He hooked his sword onto a sash, then glanced at the mirror on the far side of the room while tucking the weapon into the sash for extra security.

Lastly, he placed a communication device in his ear while exiting his room. Entering the hall adjacent to his room, he closed the door behind him. Soldiers walked from other living quarters into the lit hall, and they nodded toward him with soft greetings. They were all dressed in ceremonial military uniforms; flashes of red, tanzanite, silver, grey, and gold passed him en masse.

One such soldier he recognized immediately by the bright grey eyes that focused on him, and he smiled back as she came closer.

"Wuan-wakil," she greeted with a large smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Baek-heikar." He walked in step with her, leaving the hall to continue down a series of others, all colored mahogany and light green. Gold accents on the walls glimmered in the light of the lanterns, and he glanced up at the high windows to see it was still dark out.

They exited the barracks in companionable silence and inhaled the cool air of early spring, continuing onto the concourses of the bracket grounds and into the open dining hall. He almost immediately spotted another comrade among a myriad of other soldiers, a second lieutenant like himself and his companion's older brother. Unlike his sister's standard low ponytail, he bore an unusual hairstyle that put his long blond hair in a tall braided ponytail.

"Ruosala-wakil," Vadeen called, bringing teal eyes to him after a moment of wandering.

With a cheeky grin, the older man sauntered over. "Deen. Tō. Couldn't see you two above everyone else."

"Very original." Vadeen nudged him out of the way to walk into an assembly line for breakfast. "Good morning, Zhen."

Zhen laughed, taking up the rear behind his sister in the line. "I'm thinking...I'm not going to eat much this morning."

"We have more than ten streets to travel down, not counting the Isé Bānen!" Zaraio said, smacking his chest. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm gonna eat as much as I can." Vadeen broke into a small smile as he inhaled the warm, tasty air, then gave his friend a strange look. "Since when do you 'not eat much'?"

"Is it that weird?" Zhen asked.

"Yes!" Vadeen and Zaraio chorused, deadpan.

"Zhen, you eat like a pig," Zaraio scoffed, then immediately shielded her hair when her brother went for it in retaliation. "Not the hair!"

"I do what I want," her brother declared with a sniff.

Vadeen rolled his eyes, then all but snatched up a steaming hot plate of his choice, chicken okonomiyaki, atop a tray. He giddily moved to sit atop pillows on the floor before one of many long, low tables situated a distance from the assembly line. Zhen and Zaraio shortly joined him along with a third friend, Rorimi.

"Oi, where were you?" he asked her, tapping his thigh. "You're usually here first."

She blew long strands of hair out of her face, moving to sit across from him. "I don't want to do the procession today…"

"You don't want to possibly move up in rank?" he questioned, raising a brow in surprise. When she shook her head, he realized he shared the sentiment though likely for a different reason.

"I'm not looking forward to this, either," Zaraio sighed as she sat beside Rorimi. Her eyes were downcast, and she poked at her plate of donburi. "I'm going to miss you two when you leave," she said to Vadeen and her brother.

Vadeen shrugged. "I don't intend to advance in rank." It was impossible to miss how she perked up upon hearing this.

Zhen, sitting beside him, nudged him with a curious hum. "Not that I don't agree, but why not?"

Vadeen looked off in brief thought. "I'm fine with being a wakil. It's more than anything I thought I'd manage to achieve growing up, so…" He shrugged noncommittally.

Zaraio smiled while Rorimi and Zhen nodded in understanding.

"You all going to eat or what?"

Vadeen grinned as his older brothers, Lanad and Abramu, with Soren, another second lieutenant, approached their table with small trays in hand. "We were waiting for you."

"Nice." Abramu sat opposite to him, inevitably ending up between Zaraio and Soren, while Lanad sat beside Vadeen.

Once situated, they simultaneously placed their palms together before them and closed their eyes. Quietly, Vadeen made a simple prayer of thanks to Sahī, their deity: Sahī, śiéni noci śīabei. He then murmured, "Duyen."

His words were echoed by the others at the table, and he opened his eyes to see all but Zaraio had finished supplication. They waited only a few seconds more before she finished and murmured her prayer. The moment her eyes opened, Vadeen took up a single khopt utensil and cut into his pancake.

Some thirty minutes later, a voice over the loudspeaker brought their attention to the announcement the dining hall was soon to close. After covering their bowls with small transparent tops, Vadeen and his friends stood from their table to leave.

The mess hall slowly emptied as the soldiers walked onto the navy, hooded concourse between the barracks and the dining hall to the officer buildings. Rorimi and Zaraio said their goodbyes for the moment, parting with the men to meet with their respective units. As second lieutenants, the men were all gathering in the same building to meet with their captain and bracket lieutenant before the procession's commencement.

Passing through the large ceiling-high doors of the meeting room building, Vadeen smiled upon seeing other second lieutenants of their two sister brackets alongside their captains. All wore their ceremonial uniforms, and the gem-green eyes of their captain flickered over each of them as they entered. She then nodded before returning to her conversation with the captains of the 21st and 23rd Brackets.

"Good morning, yakuāni," lieutenant Haniban greeted, breaking from their captain's side to approach them. "We'll be meeting at the assembly grounds in approximately thirty minutes. Until then, feel free to mingle."

Someone nudged Vadeen from behind, and he glanced back to see second lieutenants Soha and Konie giving smiles. "Good morning," he greeted, turning to face them.

"Good morning! I'm looking forward to this!" Soha grinned, hooking her arm with Konie. "We want to move to a division."

"Good, you're annoying," Zhen yawned, then ducked in time to miss a swipe from Soha's free hand.

Rolling his eyes again, Vadeen sighed. "I hope it works out for you, then. The division sebuani kinda freak me out."

Abramu rested an arm on his shoulder. "Why? They're pretty nice. Nicer than most bunkal sebuani, even."

"Have you seen them, though?"

Konie tutted, shaking a finger at him. "Judging by appearances, Wuan?"

"Like you, yeah. Ow!" He rubbed his shin after she kicked him—hard.

"Ha. Keep your rakśadō up, shorty."

He scowled as he lowered his leg. "Oh, shut up."

"To be young," someone chuckled behind him.

He looked back and straightened, turning to face the captain of the 21st Bracket. "Zafahr-sebuan. Good morning."

Kind grey eyes slightly slanted as the older man smiled. "Good morning, Wuan-waki—"

"Eh? What was that about being young, Zafahr?" Captain Wasihl, Vadeen's captain, peeked over, a brow raised in suspicion. "You're the young one here."

"As are you," sighed Captain Araulo of the 23rd Bracket with a shake of his head." When did this become a competition?"

Vadeen broke into an amused smile as the other two captains turned to face the older man. "Oh, please. 1000 is nothing," Captain Wasihl scoffed.

"Yes, but eighty-eight is a most impressive age for a heikar, let alone a yakuān," Captain Zafahr said with a smile towards Vadeen.

"Huh, if I had my way, none of you would be here," she said, using a finger to motion to Vadeen and his comrades. "Most of you, anyway."

Vadeen scrunched his mouth. This was a common argument he found himself in with his captain. Not just her, even; several captains shared her sentiment.

"Regardless," Captain Araulo continued, "age has little importance at the end of the day, wouldn't you say, Zafahr-sebuan?"

"I agree." The younger captain nodded sagely.

"Whatever." Captain Wasihl focused on Vadeen and his comrades, some of whom were snickering. "Once any of you become captains, you'll know what I'm talking about."

As the banter continued, Vadeen shook his head to himself. Much as he wished to say otherwise, his captain was right. Just a thousand years ago, eighty-eight would be seen as painfully young to be a soldier—and to have reached the rank of a second lieutenant? It was just unheard of.

He glanced away in thought with a slight frown. Sometimes I agree with them…

"What're you thinking about, Deen?"

He shook his head and flashed a small smile at Zhen. "Nothing."

Teal eyes narrowed at him. "Right. As if anything with you is ever 'nothing'."

"Oi."

Muscular shoulders rose and fell. "Truth."

He punched his friend's side, which did absolutely nothing as the older man shrugged it off.

"Bunkal 21, proceed to the assembly grounds," a voice announced over the loudspeaker.

"21st Yakuāni!" Captain Zafahr called, turning to his officers. They responded with a chorus, standing at attention with their lieutenant in front of them. "Move out!"

He turned forward and led them out of the building. They walked in step, and lieutenant Haśīd began to vocalize a song.

Watching them leave, Vadeen caught his captain grinning out of the corner of his eye. "I love this shit," he heard her murmur to herself.

"'Shit', Sebuan?" chuckled lieutenant Haniban as she came to her side.

"Yeah. Shit." The captain's bright green eyes turned to sweep over all of her soldiers. Her grin widened, putting all her sharp teeth on display. "There won't be anything like this for another cycle!"

Vadeen's own lips spread into a large smile. He fed off his captain's excitement, and he heard some of his comrades humming their bracket's part of the song. His heart abruptly spasmed, and he placed a hand over his chest in a futile attempt to calm himself.

"You're more excited than usual, Vadeen," his raven spoke to him.

Grinning, he nodded. "Yeah. I don't know why, but I'm all for it."

"Are you sure you don't want to move up in rank?"

He sighed but it didn't diminish his grin. "Maybe," he whispered. "Just maybe…"

The rush of excitement and raw, unfiltered anticipation boiled within Vadeen. It tickled his brain, made him restless. If he could, he would have paced back and forth. Instead, he walked with his head held high, singing their bracket's militant song while he and his unit marched in ranks down the long white street in the City of Feasts, Faifeleth.

Along with the colors of red, tanzanite, silver, and black, gold-trimmed armors gleamed in the blue tint of day. In the sky, large military ships shot empty rounds, creating sounds of ear-popping booms followed by the sounds of awe from civilians. Above the cannon fire, the power behind his voice as he vocalized with his fellow soldiers resonated in his ears, a sound that kept the already contented smile on his face.

As the leader of his bracket's 5th Unit, he stood ahead of two hundred soldiers, and his amplified voice as a member of royalty carried a particular sting that harmonized with that of his captain. It didn't take from the unison of their vocals but gave it a unique undertone only a few could match in the entire military.

Far ahead and standing atop a small airborne ship, the Empress of Sahīleth and the faifeth, Saynab Rākhirah, circled the procession. Her menacing vermilion eyes glowed in the plane's shadows, and her powerful voice rose above all others to lead the troops in song. Vadeen's skin would tingle when her gaze so much as turned into his direction. It rightfully frightened him but simultaneously made him proud and respectful of his people's leader.

Standing on either side of his empress were two individuals dressed in gold, black, and red, the only ones in the entire plane allowed to adorn themselves in so much gold aside from the empress herself. They were the Yerō'yan, the High Generals, an order comprised of only two people at a time.

He shuddered at the thought of their power, yet his smile somehow grew wider. A soft stirring within, brought to life by his excitement, whispered the desire to fight them one day…

Insane.

But insanely tempting.

Internally, he laughed at himself. He was in a ridiculously marvelous mood.

A strange scent made his nose twitch. Something about it came across as…smoky.

He jumped at the sudden blaring of an alarm in his ear, then his eyes widened in shock while blood drained from his face.

Terrorist attack…in the city?!

"Units 1 - 5," Lieutenant Haniban's voice screamed over the communicator, "board the ships to Byayakoi immediately!"

At once, orders brought the entire military into action. Civilians' sounds of confusion rang out as the procession broke apart, and Vadeen was one of several second lieutenants leading their units onto airships that had lowered for boarding.

"Wuan!"

He came to a stop, seconds before boarding. "Sebuan?" he said, focusing on the communicator in his ear.

"Belay those orders! Lead your unit to intercept the indrahti escaping the scene in the Gukui!"

He nearly paled. The Gukui district was even closer to the central city. "Understood!" He spun around and barked at the ship's pilot, "To the Gukui, NOW!"

"Understood, Wakil!" the pilot responded, and the second Vadeen and his unit were aboard, the ship took to the sky.

As they traveled at high-speed, Vadeen caught sight of a large black bird following them higher in the air. He almost smiled to himself, glad to see his raven, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

Turning forward, he walked to the higher deck to see their destination in the distance. All he could make out from this far away was the black smoke rising high into the sky. He gritted his teeth, fingers tightly grasping the metal that coated the ship. His heart spasmed for a second time but not from excitement. A slight red burned in the center of his pupils, and he softly growled with passionate hate.