It was night by the time they reached the harvesting camp. It was small. Smaller than the foundry or the farm. That made sense. They didn't do anything here other than collect the mana forest resources and then have kin ship it out. It was their final target. That was good. Tabatha was utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically.

She looked up at the starry sky as they lay in the tall grass. The heavens were filled with countless lights that twinkled down at her.

So pretty, Tabatha thought. So why does the world have to be so ugly?

She looked at her Master. Her hero and the first cultivator, the Azure Magebane. She lay there staring blankly up into the night sky. Tabatha didn't understand how Azura kept going. She wasn't much help. Tabatha knew that, yet she had insisted on coming. She had thought it would be an adventure… technically, it was. She just didn't realize how real it was going to be. The stories didn't prepare you for the sight of a corpse. They never portray the smell of viscera and shit that was left over after death. The realization that, in the end, you're just meat. She understood that now. Yet, Azura kept going. Was this what it meant to be a cultivator? The cost of having power? Was she going to have to step over a field of corpses on her path too? She hoped not.

"They're asleep," Hamal said. Tabatha held back a squeak as he appeared out of nowhere. Her Master wasn't surprised. Of course, she wasn't. She was the Magebane.

"How many are on watch?" Azura asked.

"None," Hamal said.

"None?" Gerald asked. None sounded wrong to her, too.

Hamal shrugged, "They barred the door and aren't expecting trouble. The kin are kept in separate housing. Why would they need a guard?"

"That'll change after tonight," Gwen chuckled darkly. Tabatha avoided looking at the kin. She gave her the creeps.

"It'll change everywhere," Hamal agreed.

"What's the plan?" Azura asked. "Do we just attack them and take the kin?"

"Just burn down with mages in it," Gwen suggested.

"That would damage the tools we want," Hamal said.

Tabatha was sick of all the deaths. Worse still, she saw it in her Master's eyes. She was tired of the deaths, too. Tabatha understood it might be necessary, but there had to be a better way. As the other argued, she considered possibility after possibility until she settled on one.

"I've got an idea," Tabatha said timidly.

Gwen scoffed, but Azura laid a reassuring hand on her back.

"What is it?"

Tabatha looked right at the Magebane. "Go knock on their door."

Gwen laughed. "What kind of stupid ass plan is that?"

Gerald growled softly at the half-badger-kin, before addressing Tabatha. "Can you explain more?"

"Well, the trouble is that the kin are in danger as soon as we attack. So why not have the Master knock on their door while the rest guard the kin. She can demand their surrender. We can then take all the goods without killing anyone."

"Fuck that," Gwen scoffed. "We should kill them all for what they did."

"We don't know if these mages did anything. The kin aren't exactly under lock and key," Tabatha countered.

"They don't have to be with slave runes!" Gwen snapped.

Hamal tapped his chin. "The idea has merit. It might save more kin in the future if Azura shows that she'll let mages go if they give up their kin. It might also reduce the risk of mages trying to take hostages. I think we should try it. In the worst case, they attack Azura, and she finishes them. At least we can say we tried a better way."

Gerald patted her on the head. "Good job."

Azura looked at her before nodding. "It's worth a try."

This time, there was no stealth. Instead, Azura walked right up to the main door. Tabatha and the others stood guard by the kin housing. Housing was a generous term. It was more like a barely held-together shack. Azura looked back at them before knocking. Knocking. Who would expect the terror of mages to knock? After several seconds, the door opened, and Azura stepped inside before anyone could protest. The door closed, and Tabatha waited, breath held.

Shouting and angry demands were followed by several spells that blew away parts of the wall. Tabatha's heart sank. She was so sure this would work better. Another spell, then nothing. Tabatha was torn between rushing to her Master's side and not wanting to see the carnage again. The door opened, and several mages marched out, hands on their heads. Azura came after them unharmed.

"You did it!" Tabatha shrieked in delight. Azura gave her a sad smile.

"Only some of them surrendered. It took several examples for that to happen. At least I got some blood essence out of it."

Tabatha stopped, not wanting to go inside. She had already seen too much today.

Gwen scoffed and went in, followed by Gerald. Hamal approached the mages.

"Give me the key to kin's shack." Hamal stuck out his hand, waiting. One of the mages looked fearful at Azura before doing what he said. In minutes, the kin were free gawking at the captured mages.

A slew of questions flew out. What was happening? Who they were? Was that really the Azure Magebane? Tabatha waited for Azura to respond. Instead, Azura pushed her forward.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"It was your idea. You handle it."

Tabatha gulped. She summoned all the fake confidence she had and addressed the group. Gerald must have sent the signal as more kin arrived to loot the building. Before she was done answering all the questions, a roaring fire was all that was left of the harvesting camp. The mages watched it burn as the kin left them there.

***

As soon as Azura awakened all the kin's mana pools, the group left to reach their new home. Azura couldn't wait to sleep. She didn't physically ache. Her ki-powered body wouldn't succumb to something so mundane. Her pain was emotional. The deaths replayed in her mind as they traveled. She almost wished something would attack to remove her thoughts from all that had happened. Tabatha walked next to her, stumbling slightly. Hamal had rushed off to report to his mother and to get more rat-kin to help escort them back. Under better circumstances, Azura would've told him she'd do it. However, with her mental fatigue, she might react slowly if needed. She had lost enough kin already. Gwen looked satisfied as she followed along. At least someone was. Gerald was tired but still aware and ready. He was doing better than she was.

Thankfully, their adventures were over, and they arrived without incident. It was early morning, and the sun was cresting the horizon when they got home. Home. It wasn't much of a home. Not much more than a series of holes in the ground. But it wasn't a muddy, uncomfortable hole. It was a hole made by mole-kin, and you couldn't ask for anything better. Unless it wasn't a hole, then it would be better. But it wasn't, and… Azura's thoughts about holes and moles, and moles that made holes, got so turned around she nearly stumbled. Her mental dialogue continued to spill nonsense from her fatigue as she walked.

Several kin were already awake, doing various tasks. The nearest kin spotted them waving in excitement. More kin arrived, helping to take the supplies and guide the new kin to where they could rest. Soon, it was just Azura as the others sought out their beds. She stumbled down the tunnel to the small room she and her mother shared. Her mind was in a fog. It took her a second to notice when her mother and Fatania appeared from around a corner. Her mother beamed at her while Fatania nodded in approval.

"Good job," Fatania said.

"Good job… Good Job!? We lost kin! I could have saved them! If only I had rushed on ahead when we were spotted. I could have saved them!" Azura snarled, her fatigue vanishing as a sudden rage took over. "My bad choice caused them to die. HOW IS THAT A FUCKING GOOD JOB?!"

"Hamal said the same when he reported to me," Fatania said calmly in the face of her fury. "He made a bad call. It happens. None of you have experience with this sort of thing. None of us do. Hamal's a great assassin. But this wasn't work from the shadows. This was a soldier's fight. So yes, you did a good job. Perhaps you could have saved more if you had rushed ahead. Perhaps not. We'll never know."

"KIN DIED!" Azura wailed in a fury, churned with sadness.

"LOTS OF KIN DIED JUST A FEW DAYS AGO! MORE WILL DIE TOMORROW AND THE DAY AFTER THAT!" Fatania snapped, and Azura flinched. "This is a war! Don't expect victories without blood on both sides. KIN WILL DIE! You should hate it. But if you do nothing, they will spend the remainder of their miserable lives slaving away for their mage masters. Losing a few now is better than leaving them to that fate." Fatania gazed soften, as did her tone, as tears welled in Azura's eyes. "The cost of war is high. But the cost of doing nothing is even higher."

The words drained the fight from Azura. She didn't know why she snapped in the first place. It wasn't Fatania's fault. She was just so tired.

Coralline wrapped her daughter in a tight embrace as she swayed. Fatania continued, her voice now gentle.

"You can't save everyone. Even when we all get as powerful as you are. We still won't be able to save everyone. Facing loss and trying to learn from your mistakes is the best we can do. You will make more mistakes that will cost lives. I'm sorry, but that is a fact. All I can promise you is this. This burden isn't yours alone. I'll do my best to help you. We all will. You're not alone."

Azura trembled in a combination of fury and guilt as the damn holding back her emotions shuddered, then broke. She broke down crying as her mother clutched her. Azura wept into her mother's soft fur much as she did when Toren had died. She continued to weep even as Coralline escorted her to bed.

***

The hours passed, yet Azura lay awake despite her fatigue. The screams of the kin melting wouldn't grant her any rest. Even the gentle ear massages from her mother couldn't help.

"Honey," Coralline said hesitantly. "Can you make a fantasy? You know, like you did before all this began?"

"I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I don't think I have it in me to play out some adventure."

"Not an adventure. I want you to fantasize about a happy, peaceful life where everyone lives and no one fights."

Azura was silent for a long moment.

"I'm not sure I can."

"Please… For me?" Coralline said, holding her tight.

"I'll try…" Azura closed her eyes and called on her magic. Not some magic powered by mana. Nor the great strength offered by ki. But the first magic. The purest source of all wonder. A child's imagination. It was hard. It had been so long, and she had seen so much. For a long moment, she thought she couldn't. The burden of reality was almost too heavy. Then, it began to settle into place.

The family relaxed as the noon sun shone overhead. The day was warm. Not too cold or hot. It was the perfect temperature you only find before the peak of summer. The mother and daughter rested under the shade of a willow tree near a happily gurgling river. A picnic was laid out before them with far too much food for the two of them. Fortunately, they weren't alone. Fatania and Alenina held fishing rods, gossiping about whose donation to the picnic was most popular. Fatania insisted that her potato salad counted as a legendary dish. Alenina retorted that her carrot cake received the most attention from the children. Burton, Gerald's father, was standing by the river laughing. The joyous bear-kin was tossing Toren's many sisters into the water. They screamed in delight as they rushed back to the large bear-kin, eager for another.

"Yahoo!" Tabatha screamed as her turn came up. The little rabbit-kin did a flip before she crashed into the refreshing stream.

And he was there. Toren ran with Hamal and Gerald, young children again, each brandishing a stick and pretending they were great adventurers. Azura watched them for a moment. She tried to join them on their quest. However, she could no longer do so. A wall of experience, barbed with blood and death, barred her way. Instead, a younger Azura materialized, joining her friends. Azura leaned against the tree with her mother, watching a younger version of herself play. The children ran, poking at bushes with their imaginary swords. They dove into the water, catching frogs as they declared them hostile orcs. The slippery amphibians would escape their grasp only to be captured again, taking up a new role. Toren decided that the frog was a prince this time and that only a pure maiden's kiss could break the spell. So he asked the young Azura to fetch Tabatha. The frog was freed when she bopped him on the head.

Soon, the children left the water exhausted as their parents brought them squished sandwiches. To them, they were travel rations after years on the road as they made their way to a dark lord's dungeon, where they would challenge his reign of terror. Far too soon, it was over.

The children stopped playing as their parents came to collect them and return home. Only the young Azura was left, her mother waiting atop a small hill. Next to her was an indistinct figure. A man she had never met. Her father. In the fantasy, she could not distinguish any of his features. She could see his smile and arms spread out in a welcoming hug. The young Azura rushed forward into her parents' loving embrace. Azura watched the family chat merrily as they headed home, leaving her behind. For a brief moment, the young Azura turned back to look at her older counterpart. She waved goodbye for the final time as the family faded from view.

The fantasy ended as Azura's tight embrace with her mother loosened.

"That was nice," Coralline said, her voice scratchy and eyes watery.

Azura didn't answer. She was already asleep.

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