NOVEL NEXT 137 - Sudden Change
"You really aren't showing enough progress," Emerios stated as Div stood up, leaving his test subject lying on the table. "I've provided a number of prisoners to you, and you still haven't gotten an inkling of control over the resulting bloodline."
Div grimaced. As if it agreed with Emerios, Chorus of Renewal hadn't leveled a single time since he started practicing.
"I'm tempted to force you to change the bloodline of someone you care about… But I won't, it would be counterproductive if I ever wish to get something out of you."
"Thank you," Div said, his voice weary.
"You'll thank me when you actually master your skill," Emerios scoffed. "Now, let's get back to work."
With months having passed since the siege began, summer had long given way to fall. Kheironite soldiers were bored and were becoming increasingly unmanageable for the Trabinites.
As such, Emerios enacted harsher disciplinary measures. One of those was Div and the threat of their bloodline being modified. As it turned out, with pity as the driving emotion behind Chorus of Renewal, the change was rarely positive.
That is, if changing a bloodline could ever be a good thing. The more Div experimented, the more he realized that adults had grown into their bloodlines. Their skills were tailored around it. Changing it was throwing them off balance.
They would be a lot less effective as soldiers until they adapted. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed they could ever return to their peak.
Pushing back his distaste for the situation, Div got to work on another captive. A hoplite who, unsatisfied with the standard ration, had stolen food.
Div hovered his hands over the captive, feeling the pull of the Chorus of Renewal. Erratic, unstable, it was refusing to harmonize with the man's soul. He had no idea how to steer it. Every attempt felt like grasping in the dark. The skill resisted him, or perhaps, it was never meant to be controlled.
Emerios suddenly narrowed his eyes, stepping forward. "Stop," he barked, his tone sharp. "Something's wrong."
"What is it?" Div asked.
A runner burst into the chamber, panting. "Elder, the mountaineers, they're gathering. Looks like they're preparing for an assault."
Emerios chuckled. "There it is. They can't sit still any longer. Gaumil… your attempt at transcendence was doomed from the start."
Div listened to Emerios order the runner to gather his officers. Then, he turned his attention back to Div. "You're dismissed."
Walking fast, Div crossed the Kheironite camp that had burst into action. Far from the sluggish state it had shown until now, it was alive with urgency—soldiers donning armor, officers shouting orders, siege engineers abandoning their makeshift taverns to reinforce defenses. The lethargy of a prolonged siege had vanished in a heartbeat.
Div kept his head down, weaving between supply carts as the war machine awakened. Every clang of steel, every barked command made his stomach knot. He was no soldier, but the storm gathering beyond the walls would drag him in all the same.
Outside the camp was no better. Everyone in Trabine was doing their best to prepare. The local warriors left their houses, hurrying to the post they had long been assigned in the event of an assault.
He was fast enough that it took less than half an hour for him to get home. Dana, Gennorina, and Lugsellos weren't there. He, too, donned his armor and picked up his weapons. Then, he made way for the walls where he was regularly on watch duty.
It was crowded. Too crowded. Like everyone in Trabine, they had decided to gather there and watch the enemy attack. Not the brightest idea, but he wasn't the one responsible for maintaining order.
Squeezing between people, he made his way to the top and saw the mountaineers' camp down the hill.
The neat rows of tents were still there, but their inhabitants weren't. The army was gone.
Div frowned. It wasn't normal. Emerios seemed certain that an assault was coming, and the attacking army wouldn't have left without packing.
"Div!" Dana caught his attention. She was also standing on the wall, a few paces away from him. Div pushed a few people aside to make his way to her.
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"Dana, what's going on?" He asked.
"I don't know," the explorer shook her head. "We haven't received news from the elders."
"Gennorina? Lugsellos?"
"Gennorina is with the builders. I don't know about Lugsellos," Dana said, her gaze scanning the horizon.
Div focused on his senses. Mana, rotlife, Trap Detection, he didn't want to let his guard down.
"Something smells fishy," he said.
"Yeah, and for once, it's not you," Dana agreed.
Before Div could reply, a sharp blast from a horn rang out behind them.
A Kheironite officer, broad-shouldered and grim-faced, emerged from the stairwell onto the wall. He was flanked by a squad of hoplites in full gear, weapons already drawn. Their polished armor glinted under the gray sky, their movements crisp and precise. There were no wasted steps.
"You, all of you!" the officer barked, pointing to the crowd. "Off the wall! Now. This is a military perimeter. If you're not ready to fight, get moving."
The order hit like a slap. Civilians blinked, hesitated. The hoplites didn't. They surged forward with practiced authority, gripping arms and shoulders, dragging confused folk toward the stairs whether they moved willingly or not.
"What the hell—?" Dana muttered, tensing.
Div didn't move, and neither did she. Neither did a handful of other warriors. He frowned. Where were the elders of Trabine? Why were they letting Kheiron take control of the walls?
Granted, they were allies, but those were the walls of Trabine.
Div nodded. Dana simply pointed to her gear.
"An explorer, I see. Then hold your position. Maintain visibility over the slope, but do not engage unless ordered. If you see anything unusual, you report it through me or another officer. Understand?"
"Yes, sir," Dana replied flatly.
The officer didn't wait for more. He turned on his heel and moved down the wall, barking more orders as his men cleared the last of the civilians. The atmosphere shifted again, less chaotic now, but colder.
Div's hands tightened on the stone edge of the wall. The mountaineers' camp was still empty.
"Where did they go?" Dana murmured.
"Maybe… Underground? The eastern range is known for its stone mages after all," Div suggested.
"If the entire army's underground…"
Dana didn't finish the sentence, and she didn't need to.
Div's mind raced through the possibilities. A tunneling force could bypass the outer defenses entirely, emerge inside the city, behind the walls, or worse, underneath vital structures. But if that was the case, why hadn't Trabine's elders sounded the alarm?
Unless they hadn't realized. Or hadn't been given the chance.
"Something's wrong," Div muttered again. "This doesn't make sense."
"None of it does." Dana adjusted the strap on her shoulder.
Div didn't answer. He was already moving, stepping down from the rampart and slipping into the stairwell. No one tried to stop him; he wasn't important enough to warrant attention. Dana was right behind him.
Back at ground level, the Kheironite presence was overwhelming. Their officers barked orders not just at their own men, but at Trabinites too.
He spotted a familiar face—one of Panos' aides—being marched away under guard.
Div froze in place, then ducked into an alley, pulling Dana with him. "They're not just helping us brace for an attack. They're isolating the leadership."
"Seems like Emerios is playing his move," Dana whispered. "Is he collaborating with Gaumil and his invaders?"
"It didn't sound like it," Div said, shaking his head. "But I can't be sure."
They stayed silent, slowly leaving the walls' vicinity and returning deeper into the oppidum. Div didn't want Trabine to fall, but he also didn't want to be caught up in Kheiron's plans.
"What do you think?" He asked Dana. She was more familiar with the Kheironite army than he was.
"I'm not privy to the details, but as you can imagine, Kheiron's elders aren't helping the Lienien settlements out of the goodness of their hearts. They stand to benefit from it, one way or another."
They moved quickly and quietly, weaving through alleys and side paths few Kheironites would bother patrolling. Every shouted order in the distance made Div flinch. Soldiers were tightening their grip—not on an enemy, but on Trabine itself. The air reeked of betrayal.
"I don't like this," Dana muttered. "This isn't just about defending the city. It feels like... preparation. Like they're bracing for something internal."
Div nodded grimly. "A coup, maybe. Emerios always wanted more control. If the elders get removed or silenced—"
"Then Kheiron runs Trabine. Openly," Dana finished.
They ducked beneath an overhang, listening for nearby patrols before crossing into the heart of the village. People were still out, but hushed now. Conversations died as soldiers passed, faces turned away. A quiet, fearful obedience was settling in.
Dana clenched her fists. "With the invading army, there might not be a peaceful way out of this."
"We need to find Gennorina," Div said. "And Lugsellos, if he wants to be found."
But before they could take another step, a deep rumble shattered the quiet.
The explosion cracked through the air like thunder, followed by a column of smoke rising from the upper hill, where the council chamber stood.
Gasps echoed down the streets. Screams followed. The silence was broken.
"No," Div breathed.
"That was the council," Dana said, already running.
Div chased after her, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Questions spiraled through his mind. Was it Gaumil's doing? Kheiron's?
Whatever the truth, one thing was certain: Trabine was no longer just under siege from the outside.
Now, it was burning from within.