Nestor was alive, but the mood in the crashed ark didn’t improve much by any stretch of the imagination.  The body of Exallos lay on the table, with the bodies of all the others killed in the fighting nearby—potent reminders of what had just happened.

For a while, Nestor went quiet—likely out of some measure of fatigue rather than propriety, Leon guessed—so after taking a few deep, steadying breaths, Leon got to work getting everyone moving again.

“All right,” he said, drawing everyone’s attention.  “Let’s get to work.  We have to mourn later.  Start packing everything that can be moved and destroying what can’t.  I don’t want so much as a single rusty nail left behind for the Sunlit Empire to salvage.”  As he spoke, Leon made meaningful eye contact with those who were in charge of the various groups on board the ark.  Valentina and his researchers, Valeria and his retainers, the captain and the ark’s crew, Sar and the remaining Tribal delegates, Alix and the two remaining Tempest Knights, and Cassandra and her guards.

All got moving to varying degrees of alacrity, with those leaders getting their people organized.  The ark was quite advanced and quite overloaded; there was a lot of magical engineering to ruin and luggage to secure.

Sar got his people moving but remained in the main room with Exallos’ body.  Leon didn’t begrudge him that, it was where he could monitor his people’s work as best as he could.  Leon knew that he had to help out with the asset denial operation, but he spared a few minutes to join Sar at Exallos’ side.

Neither of them said a word, but Leon laid a hand on Sar’s shoulder in solidarity with the man.  Sar nodded gratefully to him, and after those minutes, Leon got to work himself.

Leon didn’t have too much luggage out in the ark; he kept most of that in his soul realm, as did most everyone else in the ark.  Still, the ark’s cargo hold had been filled, but fortunately, it wasn’t that difficult to get everything in it secured.  After that came the harder part: destruction.

The ark’s main systems had to go.  This was the most advanced ark built by the Ravens-of-Hail-Hall, letting anything fall into Sunlit hands was utterly unacceptable.  Leon let the idea of leaving anything that could be studied behind to be seized fuel his anger, which in turn fueled his black flames.  With his power, and that of his followers, the ark’s magic engines were slagged in short order.  After that came the weapon and shield systems, and then the ark’s stealth enchantments.  Once that was accomplished to Leon’s satisfaction, they moved on to the less critical systems, and eventually down to anything and everything that could channel magic power, including the lights.  The Jaguar’s ark fleet would arrive in a matter of hours, and Leon wanted their work finished before then.

Throughout all of this, Alix and the remaining Tempest Knights maintained an active patrol outside the ark, ensuring that their work remained undisturbed.  Once the interior of the ark had been destroyed to Leon’s satisfaction—or rather, begrudging satisfaction since they couldn’t render the entire thing a mass of molten metal—everyone joined Alix and the knights outside.

There, while waiting for the Jaguar, Leon had the battlefield policed for anything and everything that could be salvaged or had to be collected.  Anything that couldn’t be salvaged was destroyed on the spot.  The remains of two of the destroyed MALLs were judged to be salvageable, so Alix took them into her soul realm.  The other two were melted into unrecognizability.

At the same time, a small shelter was constructed for the wounded, and Alcander soon woke up as his wounds were healed.  Leon immediately went to see his retainer when he heard the news.

“Leon…” Alcander gasped when Leon walked into the simple stone room jutting out of the salt flats.  He struggled a bit as he tried to sit up, but Marcus, who’d been helping to heal him, and Sofia, his wife who hadn’t left his side once the battle was over, pushed him back down.

“Stay down, friend,” Marcus glibly said.

“I’m being babied,” Alcander complained as Leon walked over, though the bravado he attempted to put on didn’t quite come through with how deathly pale he was, or the effort it clearly took for him to speak, and the obvious pain in his expression.

“Let them baby you,” Leon replied.  “I remember when I lost my arm and feeling similarly frustrated, but trust me when I say that rest is for the best.  You don’t want to damage yourself any further, do you?”

Alcander grumbled a bit, but he eventually said, “No.  I get it.  I just feel useless right now.”  He absent-mindedly rubbed his shoulder where his arm had been severed, a look of muted terror on his face.

Sofia quickly took his hand, though, and kissed it a few times, bringing Alcander no small amount of comfort.

“Don’t worry about it,” Leon replied.  “Alix has the rest of the Tempest Knights in hand, so just focus on yourself.”

“How are they, by the way?” Alcander asked.  “I confess I wasn’t able to keep track of them as I wanted to after…”

He trailed off and Leon didn’t ask him to finish.

“Four dead,” Leon answered.  “Killed when the MALLs they were piloting were destroyed.”

Alcander sighed in dejection.  “Four…” he whispered.

“It could’ve been worse,” Leon added.  “As far as I’m concerned, you performed your duties admirably.  We were just caught off-guard.  That part’s on me.”

Alcander grimaced while Marcus looked set to object, but Leon waved him silent.

“Just get some rest, my friend,” Leon said with a bitter smile.  He glanced at Sofia and added, “Make sure he stays down, all right?”

Sofia smiled and pinched Alcander’s good arm, drawing a look of surprised and unserious reproach from her husband.

“He’s not going anywhere,” she promised, a grin spreading across her face.

Alcander gave her and Leon exasperated looks and made a show of getting settled back on the stone slab he was resting upon.

And with that, Leon said his goodbyes, went around the room to check in on the other wounded and then headed back outside.

Once there, he glanced to the south, noting that the Jaguar’s fleet had closed to within five hundred miles, more than close enough that he and the Jaguar had been in contact with darkness magic.  The Jaguar was briefed completely on what happened, though he didn’t lessen the pace at all.

So, with nothing else to do, Leon found a shady spot in a temporary pavilion established for their use while they waited and took a seat.  It didn’t take long for him to be joined by his ladies, but no one said much, everyone coming to a tacit agreement to just sit in silence for a while.

Xaphan, however, was under no such agreement, as he displayed not too long after Leon sat down.

[It shames me that that fuckboy got away,] the demon crackled, surprising Leon a bit with how willing he was to share.

[It shames us both,] Leon replied.  [I suppose we ought to be proud that we met a tenth-tier mage in battle and managed to fight him off, but it’s hardly satisfying, is it?]

[I’d be much more satisfied if we’d left him nothing but ash on the wind,] Xaphan groused.

[Aye, that would’ve made for a better ending.  But I don’t think we had the capability to do so ourselves.  Got a few good licks in, though, didn’t we?]

Xaphan darkly chuckled.  [We’ll get in more than that in our rematch.  We are having a rematch, aren’t we?]

[Hells yea we’re having a rematch!]  Leon had to control himself not to let his sudden burst of killing intent spill out of his body, but it seemed that Maia, at least, noticed as she sidled up a bit closer to him, remaining silent but making sure that Leon knew that she was there.  A little calmer, Leon continued, [After this, the Sunlit Emperor will have to pay.  He’s an irreconcilable enemy.  He won’t stop, so neither can we.  And after the losses we took today, my pride—and I doubt anyone else’s back on Kataigida—will allow this to go unpunished.  Get ready demon; once we’re back on Kataigida, we’re going to be preparing for war.]

Xaphan chuckled again, but this time, it was his bloody anticipation that came through.

After a moment of silence, Xaphan quietly stated, [You made the right decision, saving Nestor, much as it pains me to admit.]

Leon blinked in surprise, wondering for a moment if he’d heard the demon correctly.

[Could you… repeat that?] he asked.

[You heard me the first time, boy, don’t force me to speak those words again,] Xaphan spat in reply.

It was all Leon could do not to just sit there with his jaw open like he was trying to catch flies.  [Are you trying to mess with my head right now, demon?]

[I meant every word.  Nestor will benefit your cause more if you utilize him well.]

Leon stared into the distance in shock.  [I would’ve thought you’d jump on any occasion to get rid of Nestor.]

[Some days I’d agree with you.  But he’s been more agreeable since he was moved out of your soul realm.]

[You’ve hardly spoken to him since I let him out.]

[Exactly.  Not having to hear his shit-licking voice prattle on and on about shit that doesn’t matter makes him far more tolerable.]

[You say all that after claiming I did the right thing by giving up Exallos and saving him?]

[Don’t mistake my words, Leon; I hate that fucking ghost.  But he’s going to give you far more than that other one ever would.]

Leon sighed.  [You’re not helping, demon.]

[Funny, I don’t recall ever intending to be helpful in this matter.]

[Maybe you should try it.  Might make for a nice change of pace.]

[Hmmmm, on further reflection, I’ve decided that I was mistaken earlier.  You should’ve left that bodiless runt to die.  Sticking that ruby up a filthy asshole would’ve derived far greater use of it than letting that arrogant stain on humanity’s honor inhabit it.]

[You don’t sound serious.  Are you embarrassed that you just advocated for Nestor?]

[Purely pragmatic recommendation, I assure you.  Just know that I think you did the right thing, no matter what other empty-headed morons might tell you.]

[‘Other’ empty-headed morons?  Sounds like you’re counting yourself in that group, Xaphan.]

[As if.  Don’t squander my goodwill, boy; receiving it was the greatest bit of luck you’ve ever had in your life.  Or will ever have, for that matter.]

[Speaking of lucky…] Leon continued, [I felt… well, the Iron Needle kind of acted on its own, coming to our aid.]

[I was going to ask about that later, but yes, I was quite surprised you used it.  I would’ve thought such an exalted thing would refuse to be wielded by some human.]

[That was weak.  Put more effort into it, demon.]

[Just because you lack the mental faculties to appreciate my barbs doesn’t make them terrible, Leon.]

[No, it’s the fact that they’re terrible that makes them terrible.]  Leon paused a moment and, as Xaphan seemed readying himself for another shot across Leon’s bow, he moved on.  [So, the Iron Needle.  What did you make of it?]

Xaphan was silent for a moment before grunting and responded, [I’m still collecting my thoughts on that matter, but my first impressions are ‘impressed’ and ‘wondering how long it’s going to take for you to use such a weapon on a more regular basis’.]

[Hmm.  Well, thinking of it like a weapon will probably extend that time, so I’m not going to do that.  Instead, I’ll just concentrate most of my creative efforts on learning how to make proper Adamant.  That’s my real bottleneck.  If I could make my new sword right now, I’d embed the Iron Needle into it and hopefully be able to wield it properly, as my Ancestor did millennia ago.]

[If you want my advice, Leon—and who doesn’t, I am one of the wisest and more humble beings in all creation—work faster.  Having that thing on call would make challenging a tenth-tier mage again, or anyone stronger than you, much less nerve-wracking.]

[Is that… is that concern I hear in your voice, demon?]

[Yes.  Concern for my current refuge.  Try not to damage it if you’re in trouble, all right?  It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally grown comfortable here.]

[I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.]

[Typical human response.  Fine, do what you will.  Just don’t fuck it up, boy.]

Leon lightly snorted, then, recognizing that the conversation was over, turned his attention back to the Jaguar’s rapidly-nearing arks.

---

When the Jaguar’s arks arrived, the Jaguar himself led the sortie out to secure the area.  To say that he was angry would’ve put it mildly, and that was after having had hours to cool down and have Leon assure him that the situation had been handled.  If Leon hadn’t immediately ordered everyone to get back to Kataigida, he felt like the Jaguar might’ve made for Thunderhaven right then and there to do his best to kill the Sunlit Emperor.

As it was, though, the force that the Jaguar brought, while quite powerful, wasn’t enough to threaten even a single Empire—something which became quite obvious when, on the edges of his magic senses, Leon detected another force of Sunlit arks gathering.  While what the Sunlit Empire had lost in the battle represented a not insignificant portion of their combat capabilities, they still had other deep reserves to draw from.  Getting revenge right then and there—something his furious side demanded he do and damn the consequences—would have to wait.  He needed to get his people back home before thinking of true retaliation.

So, he ushered all of his people into the Jaguar’s arks as quickly as they were able, and once the area around the crashed ark had been emptied of people, the Jaguar had his arks open up on it.  Anything that might’ve remained after Leon and his people salvaged and destroyed the ark was obliterated with a few salvos of Tribal Flame Lances.  There would be no useful pieces of salvage from that ark, Leon was certain of that.

Once that was finished, without any further delay Leon had their task force fly with all haste back toward the Sword.  Stealth was no longer a factor, and with their entire group no longer crammed into a single overloaded ark, they made spectacular time.  It was barely two days before they were back in territory controlled by the Ten Tribes.

Those couple of days were nerve-wracking, though, since Leon was paranoid about the Sunlit Emperor getting other forces to pursue them, or arranging some other ambush ahead of them using the forces that had been gathered to combat the Ten Tribes.  However, despite some obvious scouts keeping an eye on them from a great distance, they received no challenge on their journey back to Kataigida.

As they flew out over the eastern Veins of Vigilance, they were finally able to relax and mourn their dead.  Sar and the Jaguar were particularly affected by Exallos’ loss, but to Leon’s relief, both of them independently assured him that they didn’t blame him for anything.  Leon didn’t feel like he needed to be told that, but he still didn’t mind hearing it.  He assured them that this wasn’t going to end with just that battle.  They had a truce with the Ilian and Sacred Golden Empires, and without those two providing support, the Sunlit Empire would be vulnerable.

Both ninth-tier elders brightened up a bit when Leon declared that they were going to ensure that the Sunlit Empire never threatened them again.  This would be no war of conquest, but one that would deprive the Sunlit Empire of their ability to wage war, and ideally, their Emperor.

Leon’s biggest concern on that front was the Sentinels.  His relationship with them was quite poor, what with the Keeper having attacked his home with the intent to murder him some years ago.  He imagined that asking them to be neutral would be far too great of an ask, especially since it seemed the Sentinels and the Sunlit Empire had strengthened ties ever since then.

But Leon was confident that they would be able to surmount that obstacle.  Nestor woke up not long after they got underway and spent most of his time in Leon’s soul realm helping Leon prepare another golem body for himself.

He didn’t make any apologies or offer any more thanks, but Leon did notice his usually-acerbic tongue had softened considerably.  Leon had even greatly appreciated it when the first words out of Nestor’s nonexistent mouth upon waking up was to find out how his cat was doing—the large tiger was doing just fine, though understandably a little on edge with having been cooped up in arks for days on end, especially since one of those arks had been shot out of the sky.

With Nestor and Leon’s researchers from Heaven’s Eye teaming up with the Ravens, he could only speculate what marvels they might come up with.  For the time being, though, he’d have to concern himself with establishing the logistic for the coming campaign on the mainland, setting up his household and Tikos’ tree groves, and continuing to cement his Royal authority and building up his government.

It was painful for him to admit, but not only would the coming campaign have to wait for a few months at the least, but he’d have little time to spend on his hobbies during those months.  He’d be buried up to his chin in paperwork and dealing with political dignitaries during that time.

But all such dreadful thoughts were driven from his head upon their return to Kataigida.  They arrived in Raimondas, the capital of the Screaming Eagles, and it was with great solemnity that Leon handed over their dead.

To his relief, neither Ipatameni nor Chrysi, the two remaining ninth-tier Eagles, were angry with him.  They saved their vitriol for the Sunlit Emperor, taking great pleasure in hearing how Leon had left battered the man and put him to flight—though Leon kept the specifics regarding the Iron Needle secret, for the moment.

When Leon broached the topic of assembling an army to retaliate, they were immediately on board.  The entire Tribe, they claimed, would want their pound of flesh taken out of the Sunlit Emperor’s hide.

That statement was proven true just a couple days later when Leon presided over Exallos’ funeral.  His body, and those of the Eagle delegates that had fallen during the battle, was taken on a long parade through Raimondas, during which Eagles of all sorts came out to witness and pay their respects to the man.  Massive were the crowds and dry eyes were few and far between.  Men and women wept openly, and during the funeral ceremony itself held in front of their Tribal Totem before a crowd of tens of thousands, Leon announced that the Ten Tribes would be retaliating in force.  His announcement was met with cheering that felt like it would shake the city so hard that it would slip off the island and slide into the sea.

Following the funeral, Leon and his people didn’t remain long in Raimondas.  He made sure to introduce Elise to all the most important people in the city, and they paid her due deference as one of their Queens, and once that was done, they departed for Stormhollow.  Much work was ahead of them, and too little time to do it in, so he wanted them to get started as soon as possible.

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