Nicolas never thought he would be so glad to see the walls of Deepmere. The fearful symbol of oppression was now his herd's only hope.

"Hurry, we're almost there," he gasped at the others. The two deer-kin children he was carrying were bobbing up and down on his shoulders as he ran on. Their mana was exhausted, much like they were. If they made it to Dageth, he would ensure a more vigorous training regimen for the herd. Many have gotten too lazy. Regardless of the herd's fitness, they arrived in impressive time.

Calvore waited for them at the gate with a broad grin. They made it. Nicolas eased his pace as they reached the gatehouse.

"Ah, Professor Nicola, welcome back. I assume everything is all set?" Calvore said, extending his hand. Nicola set the children down, and they scrambled protectively behind their mother.

"Yes. We're ready to leave immediately," Nicola said, giving the mana forest a fearful glance as he quickly shook the hand offered.

"Of course. The next scheduled gate transport is tomorrow. We can…"

"Now," Nicola said firmly, giving the forest another glance.

Calvore frowned. "It takes a great deal of mana to power the gateway. Unless it is an emergency, I rather…"

He was interrupted by a loud bellow that created a minor shockwave.

"KINSLAYER!!" The pure rage that imbued the voice made every mage stationed on the wall tremble. Terrified, Nicola glanced back at the distant forest. The rat-kin wasn't visible, but it hardly mattered. The pure killing intent could be felt even from here.

"Now!" Nicola shouted as Calvore went pale.

"Uh… yeah…uh, let's go. I distinctly feel like we're no longer welcome here."

The mage displayed his intelligence as he ran, barking out orders as he did. The gates began to close as they rushed for the gatehouse. As the doors banged shut Nicola sincerely hoped Hamal wasn't foolish enough to attack the city. Then again, he was a liquid cultivator trained as an assassin. Could they even stop him? He might very well be more dangerous than the Magebane. Perhaps he could urge the herd to go a bit faster…

***

Hamal ground his teeth as Deepmere came into sight. He was too late. With his vision improved by ki, he had sight better than an eagle. He saw Nicola entering the city despite the distance.

"KINSLAYER!!" Hamal bellowed, reinforcing the call with his ki. Kinslayer was a title reserved for kin who murdered kin. It was the most horrendous title a kin could be given. When his cousin found him, he couldn't believe what had happened. He was sure it had been some type of mistake or an illusion. Kin simply didn't do that to each other. He kept thinking that until he'd seen his elder sister's body. That had made it all real. The kin had traitors among their number. His confusion was so profound that he had simply stared at the bodies. That was when he'd found Tallous. His confusion had turned to black rage. A quick conversation with the hurt kin had told him all he needed to know. The kin had changed without anyone realizing it. Before, they were the powerless collective united to hold back the thumb of oppression that was attempting to smother them. No longer. It was different now. Any liquid cultivator could easily take control of a village or sell their services for a fortune to those willing to pay.

Now, it was too late as the city gates began to close. Such a paltry obstacle couldn't stop him. However, stop he did. Hamal wasn't foolish enough to attack the city to get at a single kin.

They had ways to enter secretly. Hamal would use one of those. He doubted it would matter. The deer-kin had been clever, blindsiding him and his family. There was almost no chance that Nicola wouldn't have a plan. A plan… Hamal's eyes widened in horror as the pieces fell into place. The timing, the presence of a gateway, and most of all, the information Nicola gave them. Nicola was joining Dageth or perhaps the elves, but that was unlikely with their racist views.

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He used inside information to misdirect their attention. Between the excitement of the new liquid cultivators, his personal training, and the rat-kin investigating Dageth and the elves leaving, their vigilance was at an all-time low. They were watching for outside threats. The ones inside had escaped their notice. Worse still, the Kinslayer left shortly after Azura finished their advanced training. Hamal did not doubt that the deer-kin had been spying on them. With access to the resources of Dageth, getting a magical device that could listen in was probably easy. Now, the secrets of cultivation would be out. He knew such a thing was inevitable, but not like this. Not at the cost of his elder sister and one of his cousins.

Hamal turned toward the secret entrance they had dug over a year ago. If, by any chance, he could catch the Kinslayer before he escaped, he'd pray for a quick death. Hamal would be sure to deny him that.

***

Trisva yawned as she watched the gateway from her hidden vantage. Why her mother had her keep track of the comings and goings was beyond her. At this point, it was clear beyond a doubt. The Elves and Dageth mages were leaving. Already, a large portion of their forces were gone. A quick look at her notes showed that not only were they leaving, but no one was coming back through. It appeared the deer-kin was right. However, there was no way Mother would just trust any information. She needed verification. Always verification. So Trisva was stuck here. All day. By herself. On a roof. At least it wasn't too bad. Plenty of time to cultivate. It wasn't like the gateway was silent. It gave off a high-pitched whine that was impossible to ignore whenever it was powered up. So she lay in the shadows atop one of the buildings nearby, gazing into the sky, cultivating.

A sound from below drew her attention. Trisva leaned forward to get a closer look as a group of mages ran toward the gateway. She was cautious not to be seen. Her chosen location positioned the sun behind her hiding spot. Anyone looking in her direction would only see a smear of darkness with the sun shining behind it. She was just as invisible as if she had a cloaking spell active. She frowned as the mages began yelling, pointing at each other and then toward the gateway.

"What's this?" Trisva whispered to herself. She'd done some research on gateways before arriving on site. They were amazing constructs. Despite this, they had severe limitations. Each gateway could only be connected to one location at a time and had to be powered at both ends to create a pathway. There were horror stories where the receiving gateway wasn't connected or powered up. Those that entered simply vanished or were sprayed out of the receiving end, resembling a pureed tomato. Trisva shuddered at the thought. That was why only trusted allies or cities under the rule of one nation had gateways. The gateway in Deepmere could be connected to one of the elven gateways. No one she had asked knew which one, and the gateway in Dageth. These were Dageth mages. She watched as the runes on the gateway were adjusted, aligning with the Dageth location. As they worked more and more, Dageth mages arrived. Each of them had stacks of goods. Then came the kin. She watched as large processions of kin arrived carrying supplies.

Trisva looked at the kin in confusion. They didn't seem beaten down like other slaves. They were… hopeful. What the fuck?! Soon, the gateway was powered up. She wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't for the kin to be gently escorted through the gateway as the mages supplied it with power. Mages rotated in and out, keeping a steady stream of mana available, powering the gateway. They… they were leaving. That had to be nearly every Dageth mage left. What's going on? Then she saw him.

Calvore was walking toward the gateway with a deer-kin at his side and a herd behind him. The deer-kin was instantly recognizable. Nicola. He was a high-ranking cultivator.

"Gods below, no…" Trisva trembled as her mother's worst fears played out before her. A cultivator was defecting and not just defecting anywhere, but to a magical combat academy that was a significant regional power. She briefly entertained the thought of a suicide attack on the traitorous kin but held back. The deer-kin was one of the elites. There was no way she could stop him. Trisva watched, helpless, as hundreds of kin were led through the gateway. It took around ten minutes for all those present to leave. Before long, it was Nicola's and his herd's turn. The deer-kin gave one glance back in the direction of Azure's Rest before stepping through. Then the mages, exhausted from powering the gateway, went through. All were gone except Calvore. Instead of immediately stepping through, the mage did something to the runes on the gateway. Then he stepped back, inspecting his work before stepping through. The gateway closed seconds later. Trisva stood up, ready to run back to Azure's Rest. If she was fast enough, perhaps they could sneak in to slay the traitor with the next batch of mages leaving. Her dreams were dashed as a shrill cry came from the gateway, and the runes to Dageth burnt out in a flare of white-hot magic. She stopped, her mouth open in shock. It was over. The traitor had escaped…

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