Lirius Thanred inspected his reflection in a small, handheld mirror closely. His tanned, heart-shaped face smirked back at him proudly. He was an attractive man, he was very much aware of that and he knew exactly how to play it to his advantage. Shapely, but not too high cheekbones, unique, white hair and full lips made him fit all the standards of imperial beauty. The only slight blemish was the red of his eyes, but even that had its perks. It told the world that he can’t do magic, and those who couldn’t didn’t have to fear being branded a heretic, which made him safe from the gaze of Bright Father’s inquisitors.

Appearance was crucial to people of Lirius’ status. For he was an imperial Commander, one of the nine people in the nation with the honor of bearing the highest military rank possible and working directly under the orders of His Radiance himself. And the only thing His Radiance would be satisfied with was absolute perfection. Lirius knew he fit the bill. He never met a man that could best him in a sword fight - to his slight chagrin, because he did like a challenge. He mastered chess when he was still a youngling, amazing all of his old teachers. And his looks spoke for themselves, the effect of his care and attention to detail… Wait. What in the deepest hells was THAT?! He stared wide-eyed at a lone hair, rebelliously shooting out way beyond the line of his meticulously groomed goatee. How long had it been there?! It was long, at least three millimeters, he realized and immediately felt cold sweat on his back. It meant that it was there for days. What a complete and utter humiliation. People must have seen it!

“Reth?” - He spoke up and turned to face his second-in-command, a young woman with just a single tattoo, but with a very promising career ahead of her, who was currently studying the map of Perin, planning an optimal route for their patrol of the mortals’ kingdom. - “Did you know about this?!” - He pointed to his cheek.

“About…” - She narrowed her brows. - “...What exactly, Sir?”

“This!” - He tapped the hair in exasperation.

She came closer, taking an inquisitive look.

“Oh. At the risk of sounding insolent, I’d say you should consider changing your barber, Sir. This is truly a tragedy.”

“Reth, I am my barber!” - He threw his hands up.

“I know and I stand by what I said, Sir.” - She grinned widely, no longer able to hold it in.

Lirius sighed heavily seeing her expression.

“I see, this is funny to you. One day, when you are a Commander, and I know you will be, you’ll see that this is no laughing matter. You might not care about my facial hair, and neither might the rest of our squadron, but you know who will? Every high-ranking officer on our way from here to the border. We want decent supplies for our journey, not the brown goop they call food. And to get that, I need to command respect. I can’t do it looking like this.”

“Of course, Sir.” - Her tone changed to serious. - “Forgive me, I got a little too playful.”

“I’m not mad at you.” - He said, while retrieving a razor from his luggage. - “And I know that this is not your world, yet. But sooner or later, it will be. You need to realize, at last, that you’re no longer a street rat. A tough adjustment to make, but a necessary one. I’ve been there, Reth.”

“I know you have, Sir. I’ll pay closer attention to both your appearance and mine.” - She said with a little respectful bow of her head and Lirius could tell she was being genuine now. Mentioning his past always brought her down to Earth.

It wasn’t a good past by any means. The Thanreds were a disgraced family, Lirius’ parents having been executed for ties to the Rebellion shortly after he was born. He found it hard to share the details of his childhood with other people, and he never mentioned his adoptive family by name, but when Reth joined his squadron, he made sure to let her know that poverty and hunger used to be his old friends. She reminded him so much of his younger self that it sometimes hurt, and so, he wanted her to be aware that despite the fact that he bore a surname while she did not, they weren’t so different.

“Should I hold the mirror up for you while you get rid of that scoundrel of a hair?” - She asked with a smile and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“That would be most kind. Thank you, Reth. Let’s get this over with before we are late for the meeting.” - He shaved himself carefully. The only thing more embarrassing than the stray hair would be a razor cut. A man like him should be in complete control of his hands at all times, after all.

When it was gone, it was time for the final touches. Straightening the collar of his shirt, a quick brushing of his hair and finally, putting on his cape. Made from velvet in the color of deep claret and embroidered in the pattern of fully blooming roses with a glimmering silver thread, it was one of Lirius’ favored pieces of clothing. So much did he like it, that sometimes he would mourn the fact that having it enchanted to stand the test of time was very much against imperial doctrine. He quickly pushed the heretic thoughts away every time they came, though.

Holding true to what she said a moment before, Reth took care of herself too, tying her long, brown hair into a neat bun, held together by a jeweled pin.

“Let’s go.” - Lirius said solemnly once she was ready and they made their way out of their makeshift quarters to the captain’s office. He didn’t feel good about the meeting ahead of them.
The city guard of Aen-Kador knew him well, being the last big metropolis before the border with Perin. He made his incursions into the imperial fiefdom every four years, like clockwork. This time however, the hundredth time at that, something had to go wrong. The guard had a new leader, the young and spoiled Sephar Traxis. Being the son of Lord Yrron Traxis, the de facto owner of Aen-Kador and surrounding villages, accelerated his career swiftly to say the least. Lirius even had his suspicions that the old captain of the guard didn’t really die in a freak carriage accident. But it wasn’t his job to investigate corruption, he reminded himself, knowing that the mission His Radiance entrusted him with four centuries ago should be his sole priority.

The guards in front of the door saluted him and Reth and let them inside, where their glorious leader appeared to be piecing together a ship in a bottle with a bored expression on his face. He didn’t notice them at all, or perhaps even ignored them on purpose. Lirius’ bet was on the latter. He cleared his throat loudly, making sure he sounded as annoyed as possible. The army etiquette said clearly that the lower ranking officer should be the one to initiate greetings. To let go of that would be a sign of weakness that Traxis wouldn’t soon forget.

“Oh.” - The captain glanced at him with a wide grin. - “Sorry. Didn’t see you there, Commander. How embarrassing of me.”

“Indeed.” - Lirius deadpanned.

“But please, sit down! What an honor, to host the Hero of Khaede in my little garrison.” - The stupid grin wouldn’t leave his face and it made Lirius boil inside. Why did pricks like that always have to mention Khaede?

“Undoubtedly.” - He hissed and didn’t sit down. Instead, he glanced intently between Reth and Traxis, letting the rich brat know that introductions weren’t over yet.

“Oh, of course, how rude of me! There’s the lieutenant, too!” - He took a piece of paper into his hand, squinting at it. - “It says here your name is Reth, but I wonder… Reth Who, exactly?”

“Just Reth.” - She said sternly. This was a farce. Her rank was higher than the prissy lordling’s too.

“Just Reth! Ha! You truly are as eccentric as they say, Commander Thanred!”

“I don’t follow.” - Lirius said flatly.

“Well, surely you had other choices for your second-in-command than a street rat.” - Traxis explained, as if this was a perfectly valid thing to say.

“Lieutenant Reth got to where she is now through her determination and talent. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You will show her proper respect, Captain Traxis.” - Lirius stroked his thumb across the knuckles of his other hand to drive his point and only then took a seat. Reth followed.

The youngling cleared his throat, evidently at last feeling some actual embarrassment.

“Of course, of course.” - He mumbled. - “Let us start anew. May I offer you both a glass of wine?”

Reth glanced at Lirius questioningly and he nodded in approval. He usually didn’t allow his men to drink on the job, but meetings like this were a different story. And if she was to ever join him and the other Commanders, she would have to learn how to suffer them with dignity even when being drunk.

Traxis pulled out three intricate, crystal glasses, poured the wine and glanced at his paper again.

“It seems like we will be working together closely, Commander. You venture into Perin every four years, no? That’s very often…”

“As often as it needs to be. You’re not questioning His Radiance’s judgment, are you?” - Lirius smiled faintly. Just like that, brat, let me corner you…

“No, of course not! But I am wondering… It must be very tiring for you. This routine and being aware that in the end, your efforts are futile.”

He couldn’t believe how arrogant the captain was.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you were a hero. I grew up on the stories of your valiant stand against the Shadow Knight, of your glorious victory…”

Lirius went pale in the face, trying hard to stay focused on the present. But the hill, the oak and the nauseating feeling of his sword cutting through flesh and bone all pushed themselves into his mind, tearing away at his composure.

“...And now? Well, let’s be honest, officer to officer. You’re His Radiance’s glorified hound dog. Baited with the scent of prey that is long dead.”

Tendrils of scarlet magic, grasping at his weapon, and then seeping down, reaching the ground, staining it forever, changing the landscape, felling everyone it touched, everyone but Lirius and her, screams, shrieks of a woman who lost her husband, complete chaos, people running, portals opening, and him, with Thorn still lodged into his chest, frozen, barely being able to comprehend that it is all real…

“The Princess is still alive, we are sure of it.” - He heard Reth say, her voice quiet and distant, as if she stood meters away, instead of sitting right at his side. But it was enough to bring him back from the Red Forest. He took the glass and downed it in one go. The terrible taste of imperial piss-like wine grounded him even further. He felt anger swell in his chest. The little shit cornered him after all.

“I assure you…” - He began slowly, trying his best for his voice not to tremble. - “...I know what I saw. And Silarisa escaped the battlefield unharmed. His Radiance wants his daughter back, and I will deliver on it, no matter how long it takes.”

“Eyes can play tricks on a man.” - Said Traxis with a sly smile, taking a small sip of the wine. - “Especially when he is not in the best state of mind. And I heard The Shadow Knight was a childhood friend of yours, Commander. It must have been hard, watching someone who you used to be close with become the worst of the rebel scum. And then to have to slay him yourself?” - He smacked his lips disgustingly. - “I admire your sacrifice for the good of our nation, but I’d take what you “saw” with a grain of salt. No offense.”

But Lirius took great offense to that.

He jumped up from his seat, reaching for the captain’s collar in a fraction of a second and throwing him against the wall behind him. His back hit the stone with a loud thud, dazing him. Unable to pick himself up, he soon felt Lirius’ fist slamming repeatedly into his face, breaking his nose and ridding him of his front teeth.

“Commander!” - Reth yelled. - “You’ll kill him!”

Lirius stopped in an instant.

“Apologies, Reth. We wouldn’t want that, of course. We still want our supplies.” - He glanced at the man, mangled but still conscious. - “Best you have, Traxis. Enough to feed twenty-five men for two weeks. And when I’m here again on my way back from Perin, I want the same without even needing to see your stupid face. Your father might rule Aen-Kador, but His Radiance rules our nation. And if you ever annoy me again, he will hear of it all.”

The man nodded, as much as he could, letting out an incomprehensible moan. Lirius graciously took it as a “yes, Sir”.

He was heading towards the door when he noticed that the little ship in a bottle fell down from the desk to the ground. With a smile of pure pleasure, he crushed it with his sole.

Once they were outside, Reth sighed heavily.

“Well… That was a complete disaster.”

“Quite the contrary, dear Reth. I think it was a very valuable lesson for you.”

“A lesson, Sir?”

“Mm-hmm. No matter your rank and how good you look, some people just won’t respect you. And then, you always have your fists.” He said, completely calm by now, wiping his knuckles on a lace-bordered handkerchief.