I grabbed Redagga’s thread as soon as I was fully in the Dream again and flew along it as fast as I could. I threw myself into her dream and nearly crashed into the pyground behind a huge log . Looking around I saw a bunch of children, ord dwarf hybrids. I had a pang of guilt, if it had been a nightmare I wouldn’t have felt bad about interrupting it.

  “RED!” I cried out, managing to just barely tamp down my panid sound more in trol of myself.

  Moments ter the orc came out of the house and looked at me blinking. “Esme? Wait, this is… oh, I’m dreaming. At least it’s a nie!” She smiled and ughed happily as she looked at her now possible future.

  “Yeah, and I’m sorry but this ’t wait.” I waved my hand and the se ged to the Elders’ cil chambers. Then I examined some of my hreads, grabbed the one I was looking for, and pulled. A moment ter Elder Avarin stumbled in and grabbed a chair to keep from falling.

  “What in the name of the gods?” She grunted out as she drew a sword from her hip.

  “Elder Avarin, you’re dreaming. I brought you here with Redagga the Wall so we could discuss something important.” The Elder blinked and took a breath, calming somewhat as uanding hit her. “Please, both of you sit.” I pulled out a seat myself and flopped into it. I know I sounded a bit manic, but the ideas I had of what could be happening were not fun ones and I had a family to worry about.

  Red and Avarin didn’t hesitate to sit. Red trusted me and Avarin uood the o get on with it. The Elder cleared her throat and spoke first. “This is a very strange means of meeting, I assume it’s something of extreme importance.”

  I nodded and turo face my tribe mate. “Red. I am asking you to accept Elder Avarin’s request.”

  Redagga’s face was a mask of fusion. Avarin’s as well but in a less personal manner. Red took a few moments to think before she spoke. “Esme, I’m not sure I’m fortable with that.”

  Avarin also looked somewhat off put by the situation. “Saint Dreamsinger, I appreciate the attempt, but I don’t want to impose on someone like this. No matter the be.”

  I took a breath aered myself before I responded. “Saint Dreamsinger is exactly who is asking. I am not Esme right now. I am not your friend and lover and member of your tribe. I am the Saint of The Dreamer formally requesting that you aid in the military recruitment drive.”

  Red’s eyes slowly wide the implication of my words. “What happened?”

  I shook my head. “Nothi. But something is ing. I don’t know what, but it’s enough that two gods just told me to make sure the alliaween us, Uvtrayl, and Pitrak is formed as quickly as it be. Even suggesting that Willow Creek giving one or both nations some of our territory would be worth it.”

  Avarin steepled her fingers and stared at nothing for a few moments. “That could mean an attack from the Empire is more certain than we might have thought. But I worry it’s more than that.”

  “I agree Elder. It feels worse. They couldn’t tell me what was ing and I don’t know why they wouldn’t be able to warn me about something as simple as a military invasion. Simple for the gods at least.”

  Red sat bad crossed her arms, squeezing herself as thoughts ran through her head. “That’s… I don’t know that I would actually help that muyway.”

  I looked at her with as apologetic a tone as I could give. “Red, you’re a hero. Even if you don’t like it, even if you disagree, to Willow Creek you are The Wall and you are what young warriors aspire to be. Everyone knows you and even people who look down oh look up to YOU.”

  “I don’t think I -”

  “Redagga. Please. If it was just us that would be ohing, but you and Brigga have a child ing now. Gods, I have at least one ing now too. The thought of us not being prepared for whatever has gods worried? I’d do a lot worse things than make a couple of speeches to keep my family safe and I know you would too.”

  “That’s maniputive and low Esme.” She gred at me, but beh it was the same worry I felt.

  “That’s how scared I am.”

  Silence hung in the air as my words sank in. Red put her elbows oable and sat her head in her hands. “Fuck.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  The day was difficult for my tribe. We didn’t tell the party goers outside anything, but I think seeing Red, Dekarru, and I leaving the District mid m and looking serious killed a good bit of the vibe.

  By early evening things were ready to go and Redagga was only slightly freaking out as she stared at the podium she was going to be standing at a few mier. Word had bee out ho both through Beaver Valley and over radio to the rest of the nation that there would be a major official annou. People were gathering in the tral square iemple District where a stage and ample area for people to gather was there for holy days already, and the idea that gover officials would have to give their speeches and promises uhe gaze of the gods was f to the popuce.

  I imagihat radios all around the natiourning on, probably a few outside the borders even, listening in on what the neighbors were up to. I could only hope enough people listehe words of a hero went far, so I had hope.

  After several minutes passed with the crowd near capacity, people started murmuring, the sound slowly growing louder. This was the signal that things were going to be as full as they got and waiting longer would have people turning away out of boredom or frustration.

  Redagga took to the stage, her nerves better under trol than mine would have been. Though I suppose staying calm under pressure is an important skill for a warrior. She stepped up towards the podium and the microphoop it and took a breath.

  “To the people of Willow Creek, I thank you for taking the time to listen tonight. My name is Redagga. I am a member of the Mother’s Path Encve of the Oracle Dekarru. But many of you know me as The Wall.”

  Gasps came from the crowd. Even if they didn’t know her face, The Wall was a h weight.

  “For those who do not know me, I will tell you my story. I was once a member of an encve in Wavecrest, ohat was friends with a nearby vilge. That vilge was attacked one night by an army of goblins lead by a hobgoblin warchief. When my people saw the fmes in the distance we rushed to their aid. Hours of brutal fighting followed, fighting where I stood at the town gate and prevented moblins from entering, where I earhe name many of yoday. My encve and the people of the vilge mao rally, clear the town out, and chase down the hobgoblin, saving many lives and the town as a whole. But all at the cost of nearly my entire people. Out of a forearly one hurong, only three of us survived.”

  There was a hit her void she cleared her throat before tinuing.

  “I lost my adoptive family, my parents and brother. I lost my best friend, my mentor, almost everyone I knew was gone in a single night. My heart was torn out and I lost my home. Though the Encve lives on, it does so with too many unfamiliar faces and too many memories of those I lost. The vilge we aided, aided us iurn and gave the Encve hope of survival, but I could not remain.”

  Tears streaked her fad she took a shuddering breath.

  “I tell you this story, not for your pity, or your admiration, but so you know that I uand what it means to experience loss. Personal, profound, devastating loss. A loss we may all be fag in the near future.”

  The crowd became animated, loud, scared, angry. It was expected. Redagga raised her void spoke on, the people quieting to listen.

  “The world is ging, and not all ge is good. Demon numbers and strength are rising, angels have attacked our citizens within the very borders protected by a Fae Lord, and the weakening of the Hegemony has given terrible fideo the Empire’s dreams of expansion. War is ing, and we are unprepared.”

  There ike in anger from the crowd and Redagga smmed her hands onto the podium, the eg boom givihe silence she needed.

  “NO ONE is questioning the might and ce of our warriors! Willow Creek and her people are strong and brave and no one would dare fight us in an even test. But war has ged as the world has. Our warriors’ axes and arrows do little against armored vehicles, artillery, or air ships dropping explosives with impunity from far far above the battlefield. Shamans and druids spells are mighty, but fmethrowers and poison gasses smother them with creepih. We are strong, but the world has grown around our strength. We must grow as well to survive the ing days.”

  The quiet in the crowd was more pronounced, deeper.

  “We of Willow Creek have long had little need for a tral military. When we are attacked the tribes rally and desd on our invaders with greater warriors ier numbers. But aricraft advas have made death dealers of even the weakest soldier. Many have seen the power of guns alone, few have seen the more powerful managuns that tear through a dozen armored warriors in a single shot. Bombs that kill aire tribe in a si. Powerful ndships that ignore all but the stro blows aurn fire with their own deadly arsenals.”

  She trembled for a moment.

  “I tell you all this, because the gods have granted my wish and I will soon be a mother. It is selfish, I know. But I want our nation to be as strong as it be for the ing days and that will not happen if we do not grow as the rest of the world has. I want my child safe, my lover safe, my tribe safe. I never want to lose my family as I did long ago, ever again. A fear I think we all have.”

  A slow breath before the push.

  “So I ask you, people of Willow Creek. Follow me in joining our military forces and defending our home, our people, our loved ones. If you have a bat css, scout css, observation css, healing css, or otherwise think you might be able to help, go to your military recruitment outpost as soon as you . If you are young and wish to be trained, we would happily take you. Those who gain military csses will be guaranteed a position with our forces and taken care of for all of your days. You are all important to the defense of our nation and our efforts to make sure that our strength tinues fes to e.”

  That was ued. I hadn’t realized she was officially signing up. Fuck but it made sense. How could she ask people to do something she herself wasn’t doing?

  “Thank you people of Willow Creek for your time and attention.”

  She bowed and stepped away from the podium, making her way to where the Elders remaining in Beaver Valley were waiting, along with myself and a few military officers.

  Dekarru gave Red a worried look. “You didn’t mention being a solider yourself.”

  Avarin spoke up. “Not to me either.”

  Red shrugged, weariness clear in her movements and voice. “I figured ‘Join me’ is more moving than ‘do this thing I won’t’, I guess.”

  Dekarru nodded slowly and sighed. “That’s a plication to things.”

  “And an uping war so serious gods warned us to prepare for it isn’t?” Red’s voice was filled with emotion, fear, anger, worry, resignation.

  I hung my head in shame. “I’m sorry Red, I didn’t want to-”

  “You just delivered the warning from yoddess. Not your fault there was something to be warned of. I’m not angry at you, I’m angry at fate for being a bastard.”

  Layanta stood on a crate and looked over the crowd for a moment. “Upside? It’s already w. That recruitment booth we set up has a lih at least a hundred people in it and more are joining it still.”

  “Small forts,” Redagga grunted out and shook her head. “ we go home now? I miss my wife.”

  Things were so heavy that no one eveiohat she’d called Brigga her wife. We just silently agreed and headed back to the District. The trip was quiet, the weight of the words prior sitting on all of our minds. But it did give me some time to think.

  “Elder Avarin?” I turo speak as roached out yurt, the Elders had e with us, more o be discussed in light of Red’s annou of military service. It was obvious the Encve District had been listening to the speech as well because the party was repced with a somber mood and people looking at roup with something akin to dread in their eyes.

  “You gonna tell me you got another brilliant idea in that pretty head of yours?” Her tone spoke of humor c her worry, poorly.

  “Redagga’s position in the service, make it Dekarru’s personal guard.”

  She gave me a look of flicted feelings. The request reeked of special privilege after all. “That seems a bit-”

  I cut her off. “I know, but hear me out. In addition to being a member of the Elder cil, Dekarru is the only oracle of the Green Mother, she’s incredibly important to Willow Creek. She’s also not a pacifist and when whatever is ing hits us, we both know she’ll rush to the front lines. So we have the mighty and feared Oracle and Shaman Dekarru bringing power to a fight, and The Wall keeping her protected. This both keeps her with her tribe, and looks good from an outside perspective.”

  Dekarru grunted. “You’re damn right I’m not sitting out any war.”

  Avarin nodded slowly as we all sat in the ter of the yurt. “I agree to that. On the dition that I announe things about you, Oracle.”

  The shaman sighed and gave Avarin a look of tired annoyance. “Let me guess, publiou of my pregnancy as well as my direvolvement and support of military matters?”

  Avarin gave an apologetic grimace. “I don’t want to make your personal life a public spectacle.”

  “But the hat the Oracle line is tinuing will be good for morale,” the a runted and rubbed her face. “Fine, I live with public scrutiny if it keeps us all safe and together.”

  The military Elder then turo me. “Saint Dreamsinger, I know that yoddess wants to keep things under s for now, but it would help us a lot to annouhere is a Saint on our side.”

  “I think in a few days you’ll have what you need on that front.” I spoke as I took a seat in Luvetra’s p. Everyouro face me at the statement. “Oh uh… I don’t know for certain what my Goddess and her pantheo pns are, but some things just make a lot of sense in text.”

  Jaina spoke up then, her eye widening in realization. “They’re ing to Uvtrayl. To bey people’s new gods.”

  I nodded slowly. “I think so too.” My Healer chewed on her lip in thought at this, staring at her p while the implications ran through her head.

  Elder Avarin looked at me with raised brows. “So when the envoy arrives you go public?”

  “Probably not immediately? But if I’m reading the situatiht, with a week most likely.” I shrugged and leaned back against my giant love. “Also, despite other issues cropping up, I was told, directly, again, to keep increasing my level. So we o tinue heading out to go hunting, probably a lot.”

  As ued as it was, Ephirin actually spoke up at that. Which caught me off guard because I thought she had gone home by now. But she and Flyt were still here in the yurt, which made me happier than I expected if I’m being pletely ho.

  The elf girl spoke up “If yoing out, maybe, um, maybe I help?” She hesitated as all the eyes ient were suddenly on her. But she swallowed her nerves down and tinued. “I have a bat css.”

  Flyt’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what? You said you had an administration css!”

  Ephi looked down at her p. “I was ashamed. My family, they wouldn’t approve. I e from a long line of knights.”

  I nodded in uanding, remembering the slip she’d let out in our early meetings. “So when you got a magic css, you were afraid they would disown you?”

  She nodded slowly in response. “Seems stupid now, sidering, well, you know.” She gestured at her body. “But I’m a Mage Adept, I have a few bat spells.”

  Flyt looked at her girlfriend with warmth and love and uanding. She ed her arms around the other elf’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Well I’m proud of you, and I know yoing to be a great spellcaster.”

  I gave Ephi a warm smile as she blushed at her lover’s attentions. “I would be happy to have you join us then, if you’re sure you’re up for it.”

  Ephi’s face lit up for a moment before she cleared her throat and tinued. “And, and maybe if I do good enough, do you think um…” she trailed off and blushed, her gaze downcast in wain. I read her and Flyt with my Skills and fought back the urge to grin.

  “Dekarru?” I spoke up before Ephi could get more nervous from the silence. “Do you think we have room for a couple of cute elf girls iribe?”

  The shaman nodded slowly. “We certainly have room, though we’ll have to take a vote on it. Everyone has to agree. So dies, how do we all feel about Ephirin and Lafylit? If you think they belong with us, raise a hand.”

  All of my tribe’s hands reached high. Redagga even gave an ho and warm smile to the elven couple, despite how heavy things were for her. Jaina’s face was still a mask of worry, but she gave her vote for them as well. Weren actually let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank the gods! I was worried I’d never get to watch her plow Esme. I was so pissed I missed that!”

  Ephi’s face turned beet red and she hid it against Flyt’s chest. Both elves were bright smiles at being accepted though, with Wen and Carmil oher side of them hugging and quietly weling them.

  I smirked but returned my attention to the matter at hand. “That should actually help us level faster actually, having a mage with us will certainly expand our capabilities.”

  Then I heard a throat clear and turo see Azuriel look at me. “I… I help as well, if you’ll have me. Even without mana, if I have a sword I fight.”

  Avarin grunted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  The angel pushed the matter, her tourning surprisingly fearful. “Please, whatever you think of me, I o grow in level as well. I need wings if I am going to survive in this realm. I’m—, I don’t want to be corrupted.”