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Sefi leads ars that once held Bellona warcraft Within the stone caverns, a nation of people is set to one industry: knowledge Obsidian youths labor beside old wo skills that ten years ago were forbidden to theeastral trajectories and training in flight simulators They ith Green coders, Yellow doctors, and Red builders It is an odd sight

Sefi says nothing as alk, and by the tiarden of broken Bellona statues,to stay narrowed in conteestures fortable set for two Pale faces arden Skuggi A chill goes down er on them before he sits on the rubble of a statue

The chair is a relief forA bowl of ater filled with black flowers is brought for h as I dipwith a peculiar tingling that aze in the water before wandering to the garden

Night is co The sun ebbs in the sky Battered Olyle Rest toward Loch Esmeralda like a centurion’s wet cape and I sit with the queen

“You’re breaking with the Republic,” I say, tightening my fur coat “That’s what you“You already united Obsidians in war, pro thelance down at Olympia, but Sefi’s eyes are on the horizon beyond That’s trouble

“On the ice, when a limb is sick, it is cut away to save the body The Republic rots from inside eakness, like you before we cured you My people must prosper This is the burden my brother set upon me To prosper, we dom for my people, for all Obsidians”

“Volkland,” her Valkyrie whisper, rattling their torcs at the holy word I begin to laugh First the Reds, now the coldbloods

From his seat at the base of a statue, Valdir pulls his axe

“He does not ht, Mr Horn?”

“Close enough You’re buying yourself another war”

“We knoar,” Valdir says in dismissal

“With your old pal the Reaper?” I ask, causing him to stand up “Ask Gold how fun that is”

“Valdir is a warrior Honest and proud,” Sefi says, waving her mate down Valdir simmers in discontent, and I don’t think it’s just aimed at me “He speaks truth, because he lives true We knoar But it is not all we knoill know Seven centuries, they say kill So we kill Seven centuries, they say send sons to stars So we send sons Republic says we are free Then Senate says obey Send sons and daughters to stars Kill for us Die for us

“We ask only for hoive rocky islands on Earth We ask for city, because we are not savages ant to fish all day” She waves at Eagle Rest and Olyive broken ruins, and say be satisfied What is there for us on Mercury? We cannot live under weight of sun We are hated there So noe say the word Ragnar taught us: no Noe eiven, destiny is taken”