Tipping the Scales

28

"What are you doing here?" Lukas couldn't control the grin that spread across his face. He jumped from the crate and approached his friend. It had only been a couple of weeks but a lot had happened since they last spoke. Lukas had been worried he wouldn't see his friend again after his refusal to fight in the Ascension Exams, but once again it felt like fate had played its part and brought them back together.

Ellis looked just as shocked to see him, and even more so when he saw the uniform he was in.

"The Solar Dawn are here?" He mumbled under his breath before furling his eyebrows into his signature scowl. "Hi Lukas."

Lukas didn't know whether to clasp hands or just say hi, and instead pulled him into an awkward embrace.

"I joined the Garrison," Ellis said as he followed Lukas back to the crate where they sat together.

"I mean, you did botch any attempt at joining an elite squad," Lukas said. "Why'd you refuse to fight?"

"Joining one of the squads never interested me."

Lukas waited for him to elaborate, before remembering it was Ellis he was talking to. "It would've been a waste for you not to join the military. And you're sure to advance with your skills."

Ellis didn't respond, instead staring into empty space.

Lukas sat there for a while and just enjoyed the company of his brooding companion, until Ellis uncharacteristically broke the silence.

"Why are you here with the Solar Dawn?"

Lukas thought the answer obvious, only to remember that Ellis had been taken away before his fight against Erik in the Exams. "I have magic Ellis."

Ellis looked at him, staring intensely into his soul as if assessing whether his words were genuine.

Lukas continued. "In the arena, I used a magic I wasn't even aware I had. No one is exactly sure what nature of mana it is, but it's not fire. Look." He conjured a small pool of deep, purple mana in his palm and showed Ellis, who studied it intently.

"Never seen it before," Ellis said in a daze.

"The Ferlandian's have all said the same. They intend to use me - or rather the mana within me - to break the siege and get inside the city of Caldara."

Ellis looked deep in thought as he digested the information, his mind elsewhere. "They don't tell the Garrison of this. I know I've only just got here but it would be nice to know these kinds of things. So, what's the full plan?"

Without hesitating, Lukas began to describe the Solar Dawn's mission.

"Not here," Ellis stopped him, "you don't know who could be listening."

Lukas agreed and led him back to his tent, past the members of the Solar Dawn. Leo and Ellis didn't even acknowledge each other as they passed by. Once inside, Lukas unravelled the plan bit by bit; mentioning the role of Apollo's squad and his very own personal mission, as well as where it was taking place and what time.

"It sounds like the Garrison are just on clear up duty then after the heavy hitters go in," Ellis said after Lukas had finished summarising.

"This is why I wanted to join an elite squad, to make the difference," Lukas conquered.

"Even though your actions are going to lead to mass genocide?" Ellis flared his nostrils, as if struggling to come to terms with the gravity of the war himself.