In High Aurulean, the echo of rebellion had not settled. Dust still drifted from the fractured wall where Solace's punch had launched the King like a cannonball. The surrounding stone was spiderwebbed from the impact.
His robes were torn, his crown was crooked, and his breath was shaking in his throat. Below him, the arena floor was littered with dropped weapons, and soldiers Thiago had taken apart in seconds. Arlenna's blades still dripped, the last cut she gave the Prince forcing him to surrender.
The King's insult, "Crazy Frog," thrown out in anger, had already left the walls of Asteria and spread like wildfire. It became a whisper, then a chant, then something heavier, belief. Belief that someone could hit royalty and live, belief that the impossible was not impossible anymore.
Solace's chest heaved with each breath. Her knuckles stung, and her eyes kept moving, sweeping the space for the next threat before it could find her. This was not a revolution to her, only survival.
Arlenna flicked the blood from her blades, droplets scattering across the sand as she stared up at the broken wall. Thiago wiped the blood from his wrist and spun his weapon in his palm like he was just warming up. They did not look like heroes, they looked like problems, and Astara was about to treat them exactly like that.
From beyond the broken gates, a horn blew, a deep sound every local recognized. Solace did not know the name yet, but she would hear it soon enough, "Department Of Public Order."
The horn shocked the air, and the effect was immediate. The crowd surged to its feet in a wave of panic. People shoved past one another, voices rising into shouts. Parents hauled children along by the wrist, not slowing even when they stumbled.
The few guards still standing tried to restore order, but the sound of the horn carried authority of its own. Within moments the arena began to empty, but Solace didn't move. She stood still amid the chaos, turning slowly, her gaze sweeping the exits.
Her pulse quickened, senses sharpening as the air itself seemed to shift, heavy with expectation. Whatever was coming didn't want witnesses, It only wanted space. Solace exhaled, the fight wasn't over, It hadn't even started yet.
A shadow slid across the arena, and her eyes lifted just as a Department Of Public Order airship broke through the haze above the stands. Its hull was patterned in stark black and white panels with a long red stripe, red and blue lights were pulsing along its sides in slow, predatory flashes as banners snapped hard against the metal.
The side bays opened and one by one, Crown Guards dropped from the air ship. They wore black tactical vests with deep red patches stitched across the chest and back. CROWN GUARD was printed across each one in bold white letters.
White DOPO patches were fixed on the left shoulder. The right shoulder carried a solid red Northern stripe, the continent's mountain insignia stamped in the corner. Red trim lined their gloves and striped their shin guards, while black helmets hid their faces behind faint crimson visors.
Their advance was slow, they were the kind of wall you were swallowed by. Weapons came up in a single motion, some carried reinforced staffs wrapped in red grips. Others carried shields, and shock batons dipped in crimson metal faintly at the tips.
Their armor clattered with every step, announcing their presence long before the first swing. Their gear was heavier, these were not the guards Thiago had bullied through. Two Crown Guards moved at once, both menders.
The first climbed the cracked stone and pressed a glowing hand against the King's ribs. Golden light flickered across the broken wall. The second dropped to one knee beside the Prince, who was lying in the sand whimpering, and pressed a hand to his face and shoulder to stabilize him.
Above them, the first Crown Guard shouted down, "The King is stable, keep them contained!"
Solace watched, eyes narrowing, counting all the people, and still thinking about possible exits. The airship's shadow lingered above them, ready to deliver more if needed. As the Crown Guards advanced, Solace knew with cold certainty that it was only going to get worse from here. More Crown Guards moved into formation, shields out now, and batons drawn, tightening like a net.
Solace grabbed Thiago by the front of his shirt. "Thiago, go!" She jumped up and launched him clear out of the arena with a spiked heavy density throw.
His body sailed high and far, arcing over the stone wall and into open air beyond it. Thiago spun mid air, reached into his pouch, and yanked out a shrunken flat shield, a standard rectangular Department Of Public Order defensive shield. He threw it downward letting it expand just before impact.
The shield slammed into the dirt at a sharp angle letting Thiago land on top of it in a slide. When it slowed, he hopped off, grabbed the edge, shrank it again, and shoved it back into his pouch without breaking stride. He sprinted toward position.
Inside the arena, Solace ducked under a Crown Guard baton and blocked another. Arlenna intercepted the next Crown Guard, blades and staff crossing with a sharp metallic ring. Solace glanced toward the wall. Thiago was too far to hear, too far to shout to, and she did not have time.
Solace took a deep breath, "I hope he is ready."
The arena was tearing itself apart around her, Crown Guard boots thundered through the sand, shouts from every direction, and engines droned overhead. Solace moved fast, she cut through the chaos and slipped behind a broken section of stadium near the lower wall.
There was barely any light but that's where she found the kids. They were all huddled together in the shadows, ankles bound with chains too heavy for their small frames, eyes wide with terror. Some were crying, and some were frozen so still it looked like they had stopped breathing completely.
Solace dropped to a knee in front of them. "Hey," she said, voice low but steady enough to cut through fear without feeding it. "Look at me, not over there, me." A few pairs of eyes shifted. One child flinched as a distant explosion rattled the wall. Solace held their gaze. "You hear all that?" she continued, one earmuff off now, glancing toward the chaos. "That's not for you, that's bad adults making bad choices, but I'll get you out." They stared at her, confused and shaking. Solace continued, "I'm going to get you somewhere safe, but I need you to help me, okay?" She reached out, gently gripping one small shoulder. "When I pick you up, don't fight me, don't hold on, and let me do the rest, okay?"
A small voice cracked through the noise, "You're… you're going to throw us?"
Solace gave a reassuring smile, just enough to hold them together. "Yeah, over the wall, It looks scary, but it's clear on the other side. I've done this before."
Another crash echoed. The chains rattled as the kids flinched closer together, solace put the earmuff back over her ear. "Listen to me," Solace said, urgency threading through her calm. "You trust me for three seconds. That's all I need, three seconds, and you're safe."
One by one, they nodded, small, shaky movements, but they nodded. Solace grabbed the nearest chain link and yanked it apart with ease, then she rose. The chains fell to the ground with a clatter, and she walked them toward the opening. She braced her stance against the shaking sand, and drew a breath as the world roared around them. There was no more time, so she threw, one after another.
As Solace threw bodies over the wall the Crown Guard closed in. Arlenna moved and stepped into their path before they could reach her. Two hands, Two swords, no hesitation.
"Touch them, and I cut you down," Arlenna said.
She clashed with the first Crown Guard, their movements were sharper, trained for real threats. Another Crown Guard engaged, then another. Arlenna fought them in tight circles, moving like she had trained for this moment her entire life. Solace kept throwing as Thiago kept working, and the Crown Guard kept coming.
Thiago grabbed the second pole and jammed it into the ground beside the other. It expanded at an angle and almost knocked him over. "Come on!" He said while trying to wrestle it straight.
He was bracing the pole with one hand while the other hand was in a pouch struggling to grab a net. He grew the rescue net and stretched it across the poles, letting it hang loose and angled so it would slow the fall. He reached for the anchor spikes, but saw a shadow move across the ground.
Thiago looked up, A kid was already in the air, his jaw dropped. "Solace, no!" The kid slammed into the high end of the net, and the entire corner ripped free ready to dump him straight onto the ground.
Thiago quickly threw his spear and shrank it mid throw so it slid clean through the net, on the other side he expanded it again. The net caught on the expanded spear, snagged, and redirected the kid's fall into a slide instead of a drop. Thiago jogged under and caught the child as they slid down.
Thiago exhaled "No more surprises, please." He looked up to see two more kids were already flying in his direction. His eyes widened "Solace, you have got to be kidding me." He shoved the child behind him and ran to the spear.
He hauled the loose corner up, yanking it tight until the whole setup stopped wobbling. When kid number two dropped in, Thiago steadied the net and helped them down, kid three followed right after. Thiago caught them the same way and pushed them toward safety. The net was fixed, the spikes were in, and Thiago was tired of dealing with it.
Back inside the arena, Arlenna's blades spun once, just once, before she lunged straight into the Crown Guard line. Steel rang out as she cut past the first Crown Guard, twisting her body sideways to slip through a gap.
She slashed another Crown Guards chest, stepped over a low sweep, then darted toward the next Crown Guard before the first even hit the sand. Another Crown Guard charged, Arlenna ducked under his attack, spun around his body, and came up behind him.
Both blades tapped the back of his knee, one, two, quick and precise. He collapsed, his leg refusing to respond. She did not watch him fall, she was already moving. Another staff swung at her head. She bent backward letting the staff rush past her nose. She snapped upright and sliced the joint at the attacker's elbow, he froze, arm hanging useless.
A shield crashed into her, Arlenna sidestepped, twisted, and carved a line across the guard's thigh and his stance buckled immediately. She pivoted again, spinning between two Crown Guards, both blades flashing as she slashed at exposed joints, never stopping, It looked choreographed.
One guard slipped past her and charged a child running but Arlenna saw it. She threw herself in front of the kid and took the shield hit with her shoulder, then slammed her pommel into the guard's head, and even with his helmet, the impact forced him to drop.
The child stumbled behind her. Arlenna pivoted, hooked the back of her knee around the child's waist, and with a small, controlled kick to their side, forced them into a stumbling run toward Solace. "SOLACE!" she snapped.
More guards rushed in. Arlenna's breaths quickened, but her movements didn't slow. Spin. Lunge. Slash. Dodge. Step in. Slash. Pivot. Block. Slash. Even surrounded, she carved space with skill alone, breaking the formation apart piece by piece. The Crown Guard kept coming, wall after wall closing around her.
A shield slammed into her back and a staff smashed into her ribs as more boots pounded the sand, more vests marked CROWN GUARD filled her vision, and the pressure closed in from every side. Then suddenly the air rushed sideways, and a blur slammed into the formation.
Solace hit the Crown Guards like a battering ram. The impact blasted guards off their feet, sent shields and batons flying, and armor skidding across the sand. She ricocheted through them, clearing space around Arlenna in an instant. Arlenna gasped, half standing, half falling.
Solace grabbed her forearm and hauled her upright like she weighed nothing. "You good?" Solace asked, eyes already tracking the next wave.
Arlenna sucked in air "Not for long."
Solace saw more kids who needed help, but she couldn't see Thiago or the net, only heard the screaming as bodies flew through the air. "I hope he is catching them," she muttered, then clicked her tongue once.
She turned light density, sprinted past two guards, scooped up three kids, and flung them toward Thiago. Another guard tried to intercept, but Solace ducked under his swing, turned heavy density for a split second, and shoulder checked him so hard he was hurled off his feet into two other Crown Guards.
Then she grabbed two more kids and launched them. Without slowing down she grabbed the last cluster of Kids, spun, and threw them in rapid succession, each body sailing toward safety. Now that the kids were safe, Solace turned fully toward the incoming wall of Crown Guards. She sighed, her hands dropping into her pockets.
"Finally," Solace said, "I can focus."