“Be careful dear,” Said Calista while hugging me tight. “Use your foresight as best you can. Sahalians could be anywhere outside our walls.”

  “Yes, mother, I know,” I placated her as she released me.

  “Return as soon as you can, Dearest,” she said to Aristocles.

  “We will return when we have an alliance or are kicked out by the Polemians,” he promised.

  I watched Ella say goodbye to her husband, Luke. When Luke kissed Ella and then his ten-month-old daughter Id said “I want that.”

  “You soon will.” I assured her. “When our body sees us, he will surely pick us up and declare us to his and one else’s.”

  “I certainly hope it will be that simple.” Commented Al.

  This concerned me. “Why wouldn’t it be so?”

  “Nothing of stone.” Al admitted. “But I suspect our play is not a comedy. There is the possibility he is already involved with someone.”

  “Then we shall kill her, whoever she is.” Insisted Id.

  Eth rebuked. “We shall not.”

  “There is no use making plans before seeing the battlefield.” I interjected to prevent an argument from forming. “Besides we are two halves of the same whole. I seriously doubt securing our marriage would be so difficult.”

  “Philena?” Said Ella who was now standing in front of us holding her child.

  “My apologies.” I responded as I pulled her into an embrace. “I was already on the road ahead.”

  “You always are everywhere except where you stand.” Ella ribbed, then her face turned serious. “I beg you, my dear friend, protect Luke.”

  “He shall not loose a single hair.” I promised.

  Ella gave me a knowing look. “That’s not what I mean.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Then what are you asking of me?”

  Ella rolled her eyes “You’ll be in a foreign city for Gravity knows how long. Filled with strange women who have Gravity knows what courtship rituals.”

  I smiled “I doubt Luke is even capable of faithlessness.”

  Ella bit her lower lip and looked to her husband. “I agree, but I don’t know what sort of temptations there will be.” Turning back to us and shifting her hold on her daughter. “Please promise me.”

  I raised my right hand “Should it ever come to that, I will secure Luke fidelity.”

  Ella kissed me on the cheek “Thank you.”

  Aristocles hopped onto his horse, using the front-right horn of the saddle as an aid. Everyone else followed suit.

  “Open the gate!” shouted Aristocles. The four men at the top of the wall obeyed.

  The pillars that formed either edge of the city gate extended up through the floor of the battlements. Two men on each pillar all grabbed the holds and lifted as one. Slowly the gate rose, and once they were open the Sofian envoy rode out into the countryside.

  “This is incredible!” exclaimed Id.

  “It is?” I asked.

  “The wind in our hair, the speed we are moving at, no walls that surround us – just open country,” she described, as if I were not the one riding the horse. “I’ve never felt this free my life!”

  I splayed our arms wide to indulge Id.

  “Oh, that feels amazing!” she said in way of thanks.

  I allowed Id to express a laugh. It was the second most genuine and joyous laugh I had ever heard; second only to Humanity’s.

  “Gravity below! Why hasn’t Father taken us riding before?” asked Id.

  “That is an excellent question Id” I answered. “Why hasn’t Aristocles taken us riding before? I will ask him when we get the chance.”

  “Philena. Do you foresee any trouble on the road?” asked Aristocles.

  “There are bandits on the direct road to Polemos,” said Id, remembering her duty. “We can avoid them by going directly east and then continuing southeast. We will arrive at Polemos in six weeks.”

  “In that time I’ll teach you what I can about Polemos and King Xander.” Said Aristocles.

  “Uh teacher? What’s a king?” asked Evander.

  “I have I really taught you that little of Polemos?” Aristocles wondered. “Our system of government isn’t all there is. Instead of a democracy, Polemos is a monarchy. Under monarchy, a king has full authority: no votes are ever cast, and his word is law. When he dies, one of his sons will be king. Which son is decided in his will,” explained Aristocles

  “What if people disagree with the king’s decisions?” asked Evander.

  “Same thing that happens to the minority after a vote,” answered Aristocles. “Nothing.”

  “But a minority, by definition, lacks the required numbers to effect change. It’s perfectly possible for everyone to disagree with the king,” countered Evander.

  After a moment of thought, Aristocles said, “I’m not familiar enough with monarchy to answer. I guess we could ask King Xander what happens. At any rate, Polemos has been a monarchy since its inception so it works for them.”

  “I think I like Monarchy,” commented Gregory. “It’s like running a city as though it were an army. Makes sense why Polemos uses it.”

  While staying in the city of Megara, Aristocles saw fit to ready me for the obstacles ahead which were not Sahalian.

  “There are a few things that you must prepare yourself for in Polemos.” He stated.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Have you not been preparing me for this my whole life?”

  “I have prepared you for the larger things. How to search through time. How to secure victory in battle. How to shape history. However, I have not prepared you for the smaller matters.” Aristocles clarified. “Privileges were given to you in Sofia which you must earn in Polemos.”

  “You are unable to secure them for me?” I asked with slight confusion.

  “While King Xander and I were on good terms when we last spoke, I will be but a foreigner in his house.” Aristocles admitted.

  “What rights must I now pay for?” I inquired.

  “Like all cities, Polemos doesn’t allow women in their army, so your mere presence on the battlefield will need to be proven worthy of accommodation.” Aristocles provided.

  I nodded in understanding. “If King Xander is at all reasonable, then convincing him to make an exception for one who can see the future shouldn’t be formidable.”

  “King Xander himself? Not at all.” Aristocles agreed. “The plebians of Polemos? That is a different matter. People do not take kindly to having their way of life challenged. And men rarely follow the orders of a commander they do not trust.”

  “But I will not be challenging their traditions, merely requesting an exception.” I pointed out.

  “People often fear that the exception will become the rule, which isn’t unfounded as that is typically how changes are made. Make it clear in your words and actions that their customs will remain untouched and they will follow you more readily.”

  I nodded. “Very well.”

  The walls of Polemos were more modest than Sofia’s. They were shorter and thinner, but they had many attributes that the Sofian walls lacked. Integrated into the wall itself were several towers; on top of each of these towers was a contraption that I had never seen before. The top edge of the wall was a pattern of spaced rectangles whose purpose was obvious: slingers could get behind cover quickly after shooting.

  Once we reached the gate, a voice came from one of the adjacent towers. “State your business,” it said.

  Aristocles produced a speaking trumpet. “We are an envoy from Sofia,” he announced. “We seek an audience with King Xander.”

  “King Xander is on campaign and not in residence,” the voice told us.

  “Id…” I began.

  “Already on it,” interrupted Id. “… Found them. They are mostly to the south and a little farther east.”

  “Follow me. I know where they are,” I said as I turned my horse and galloped away. The rest of the Sofian envoy followed.

  When we arrived, the Polemians and Sahalians were already locked in a melee. The battle took place on a hill range with the Polemians having the higher ground. The hills were surrounded on all sides by forest, the front line running the full length, so flanking maneuvers by either side were impossible. The line was roughly seven hundred men long; the Polemians were five ranks deep while the Sahalians were seven. At the crest of the highest hill were a few men, one of which was clearly King Xander as he wore a purple plume on his helmet. On the side of the hills opposite the battle were other Polemians. Some were on horseback and were idling about waiting for orders. They were armed with what must have been spears, from the descriptions given in the Polemian books. Those that were not on horseback were engaged in constructing those same contraptions that were on the towers of the wall of Polemos. There were perhaps twenty of them in various stages of construction, and each of the construction teams consisted of five men.

  I rode up the hill, quickly followed by Aristocles and the rest. The man at the top of the hill got King Xander’s attention and pointed to us approaching. King Xander’s face quickly went through fear and relief before settling on confusion.

  “Sofians! This is no place for you. We are in the midst of battle,” called the king.

  “We are exactly where we intend to be, your majesty,” replied Aristocles.

  “Aristocles?!” exclaimed the king as we reached the crest. “It must be desperate if they sent the only honorable Sofian to me.”

  “My business here can wait until after the battle,” said Aristocles before turning to the rest of the envoy. “Students, I want you to pay close attention to the events here,” he told us. “Treat what is before you as today’s lesson.”

  “I see,” said King Xander, “you are here to learn the ways of war. About time you Sofians started pulling your own weight.”

  “That is a mere piece of why we are here,” answered Aristocles.

  “Where is Maximos?” I asked.

  King Xander turned to us and blinked twice, as though he just realized I was here. “You brought a woman to a battlefield, Aristocles? I thought you had the most sense of anyone, but it seems you have the least.”

  “You will be thanking me that I brought her here,” Aristocles said. “She is Maximos’s mirror.”

  King Xander paused before asking, “She fights?”

  “No. She thinks as well as Maximos fights,” clarified Aristocles.

  King Xander chucked. “You haven’t seen Maximos fight before,” he said.

  Aristocles countered, “You haven’t seen Philena think before.”

  King Xander huffed his disbelief before turning to us. “To answer your question Lady Philena,” he said, “he’s with the airborne company.” The king pointed to where one of the contraptions were being built.

  I didn’t need to ask which one of the men was Maximos.

  “Ooh… yes…” Id drooled. I could understand Id’s reaction.

  “Very well, I suppose I will give up on Evander,” sighed Eth. “Poor boy.” Eth’s resignation made sense.

  “Are we all in agreement, then?” asked Al redundantly.

  “Yes, we are,” I said.

  Maximos was a full head and shoulders taller than any of the other soldiers. His arms were like the branches of an ancient oak, and his legs like the trunk. While his torso was hidden by his cuirass, it stuck out a few inches more than the others. From his brow to his nose, jaw, and chin, every feature of his face was strong and well-defined. His hair was long with an almost golden color to it; his eyes were large and a deeper blue than the sea.

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  “I have yet to meet a woman who wasn’t taken in by Maximos,” said the king off-handedly. “By Gravity, even some men are.”

  “I beg your pardon,” I said before I realized the context of his statement. I had been staring.

  “No pardon needed,” said King Xander. “It’s a perfectly natural reaction for your sex.”

  “Oh,” I exclaimed, realizing what he was saying. I hurriedly deflected, “No, that isn’t it. I was wondering why Maximos has that hair and eye color. I’ve never seen it before.” I figured that it would make for better negotiations if I appeared somewhat disinterested.

  “How can you tell what his eye color is from here?” asked King Xander “He’s not even facing us.”

  “I can see everything from any angle within about thirty miles,” I answered. “I can see farther if needed, but that requires sacrificing detail.”

  “Can she really?” King Xander asked Aristocles for confirmation.

  “Sir, that is the least of what I can do,” I answered curtly.

  “Then can you tell me where the Sahalian mirrors are?” the king requested. “They have yet to make an appearance.”

  “Could you, Id?” I requested in turn.

  “They are hidden in the cover of the forest past the line of battle,” Id told me. “They are fully assembled, and there are enough of them to make a line all the way across the clearing. However, the Sahalians aren’t moving them.”

  I relayed this information to King Xander.

  “They are saving them for some strategy,” he concluded. “Let’s force them to use them at a time inconvenient for them.” He shouted to his troops, “Alright ladies, that’s enough foreplay. Push these Scalies off this hill! Put your Gravity-given weight into it!”

  At this, the soldiers in the first rank prepared their giant shields like a wall. The second rank reached over the first with their shields to fill any gaps in the defense. The rest of the ranks sheathed their swords and put both hands on the one in front. King Xander raised his hand with all fingers extended. With exact timing, he tucked one finger away, then another. When he was left with a raised fist, he brought it down and yelled, “Push!”

  The push forward propagated through the line like a wave, and the Sahalians were forced to take a step back. King Xander raised his hand again. This time, all the minor commanders had the rhythm and the whole line stepped forward in unison. Slowly and methodically, the Sahalians were forced to march backward down the hill towards the border of the forest. With each push from Polemians, the Sahalians were able to recover less of their footing in order to brace against the next one. Each push resulted in a larger loss of ground on the Sahalian side.

  Once they were halfway down the hill Id had something to report. “A flicker of light just passed over the line of Sahalians in the forest,” she told me.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “It flickered rapidly,” she said, “but they’re moving now.”

  “The Sahalians?” I asked.

  “Yeah, who else?” retorted Id.

  “King Xander, the Sahalians hidden in the woods are moving forward now,” I said aloud.

  “Excellent.” The king turned to face his hidden troops. He opened his mouth give an order but stopped when he saw Maximos was lying down in the grass. “Gravity below,” King Xander cursed before riding down to face him.

  “Id, let’s witness their conversation,” I ordered.

  “You got it,” said Id.

  In the vision, King Xander dismounted and kicked Maximos in the side.

  “Hey!” said Maximos, seeming more annoyed than angry.

  “How many times do I have to tell you?” the king chastised him. “When your squad finishes assembling your trebuchet, you help the other squads build theirs!”

  “Not my fault everyone is so slow,” Maximos shrugged. I giggled, recognizing the feeling of frustration with how slow everyone else seemed.

  “This isn’t about you,” King Xander shouted, “this is about us!”

  “I’m here because I like fighting,” Maximos shot back while standing up. Then looking down at his king he said, “I don’t need you.”

  “Battles and wars are collective efforts,” the king pointed out. “No matter how strong you are, alone against that Sahalian army you would lose.”

  “Says you,” Maximos said, rolling his eyes at the king.

  “Don’t get full of yourself,” King Xander spat. “You may be the strongest, but you are still one man. Now go help the other squads.”

  Maximos shrugged. “You can’t make me do anything,” he said.

  “I can cut your wine rations,” threatened the king.

  Maximos paused, seeming to take this seriously. “Fine,” he finally agreed.

  King Xander rode back up the hill just in time to see Sahalian line of mirrors emerge from the forest. I no longer needed Id’s vision to see what he was doing.

  “Cavalry, line up!” he ordered loudly. The order was repeated up and down both sides of the hill range. The cavalry on the hidden side lined their horses up at the foot of the hills, while the rear ranks of the infantry made their preparations and the march halted.

  Once all the cavalry soldiers were in position – perhaps five hundred of them – King Xander yelled again. “Your target is the line of Sahalian mirrors coming out of the forest – break them! Ready… charge!”

  The horsemen galloped up and over the crest to thunder down the other side. When the rear ranks of the infantry saw this, the rearmost rank stood up straight and held their shield above their head with both hands. The fourth rank picked up the third, who mimicked the fifth. In essence, they formed a giant staircase.

  Just before the cavalry ran into the infantry, the horses leapt and landed on the shields of the fifth. Maintaining their upward momentum, they leapt again and landed on the next shield-steps. Just like before, there was no pause between landing and leaping to maintain both upward and forward momentum.

  The whole cavalry force flew over the infantry battle below. Once in the air, all the horsemen dismounted midflight. When they landed, the men used their blessing of Gravity to maintain their speed and remounted their horses. They continued their stampede down the hill and toward the mirrors that had just finished being set into place.

  Most of the Sahalian mirror unit was stunned by the incredible maneuver, but then one of them shouted something in their tongue. They stopped bestowing the blessings of Light unto their comrades and focused the sun’s rays instead on the charging human cavalry. The men and their horses were blinded; the charge broke apart as the horses ran wildly in all directions.

  “Clever bastards,” said King Xander before turning to the other side of the hills and asking, “How are the trebuchets coming along?” Seeing only ten of the twenty were completed, he said, “Damn it, at least Maximos is helping. They won’t finish before the cavalry is destroyed! If the Sahalians are able to confer the blessing of Light upon their main force, it will nullify the airborne company!” After moment’s pause, he shouted another order, “Infantry, re-engage melee. Arsenio! Rally the cavalry.”

  “Yes sir,” shouted the man to his right – Arsenio – as he sped away. He shouted as he galloped down the hill, “Give me a boost!” The column of infantry directly in front formed the stairs again, and Arsenio mimicked the previous maneuver.

  Id showed me what happened after that.

  In the vision, the Sahalians had abandoned the mirrors and were approaching the scattered horsemen but were trying to be quite about it. As Arsenio galloped to his men, he drew out a horn and blew. Immediately, the horses and their riders turned to face the clearly-familiar sound. Before he reached the blind cavalry, Arsenio made a sharp left turn, blew again, and shouted, “To me! To me!” They followed the order.

  Arsenio kept blowing the horn, then stopped when he noticed a problem. The horsemen were getting closer together, which meant they were in danger of stabbing each other with their spears.

  “Spears up!” ordered Arsenio. The horsemen all raised their spears so the points faced the sky.

  “If you can see, raise your spear high,” shouted Arsenio. One person raised his spear.

  “You there,” Arsenio pointed to the man who had regained his sight. “Come to me!” He handed the man his horn and ordered him, “Keep blowing this and ride in a circle around those Sahalians.” He pointed to the Sahalians who had exposed themselves by abandoning the mirrors.

  “Yessir,” said the horseman.

  Arsenio then rode alongside the mass of Humans and gave orders to the men nearby to make the formation a line. Once he had worked his way to the back, a proper circle was formed around the Sahalians, who had themselves formed a circle and locked shields.

  Arsenio slowed down to come next to the man who could still see, took the horn, and ordered him, “Ride alongside us and keep them in formation. I’m going to have us charge them.” He then began repeatedly blowing into the horn again, leading the cavalry out of their circle and lining them up for a charge and turning back to the circle of Sahalians. “Spears to the right!” shouted Arsenio. This order was repeated down the line.

  The charge crashed into the side of the Sahalian formation. Their shields, only having a thin shell of bronze over wood, were easily pierced by the Polemian spears. The horsemen’s side swipe managed to peel away some of the Sahalians from the formation.

  Capitalizing on this opportunity, Arsenio turned the charge around, heading for the hole in the formation he had just made. “Spears left!” he shouted.

  The Sahalians tried to fill the gap but couldn’t form up in time. A greater number of the enemy lay dead than from the first pass. Arsenio repeated charging the Sahalians, and each time more were felled than the last until the Sahalian mirror company lay dead.

  “Halt,” said Arsenio after giving himself a few moments to catch his breath from blowing the horn and barking orders. “Has anyone else regained their sight?” A majority of the horsemen raised their spears in answer.

  “That’s my boy!” cheered King Xander from next to me, pulling me back to my surroundings, before he turned to see the progress of the trebuchets. They were all completed, and the airborne company were all in position.

  “Alright hatchlings, it’s time to fly!” shouted King Xander.

  One man each from the five-man teams fit themselves into a net at the base of the trebuchet and held their shield with both hands. The other men from each team lifted the counterweight into place. Once there, one soldier from each team moved a lever. Then the four from each let go and the weight stayed in place.

  King Xander raised this hand and shouted, “Get the fuck out of my nest!” He brought his fist down sharply.

  The soldiers pulled the levers, the weights dropped, and the airborne unit flew. Twenty Polemians arched through the air like stones from a sling. They held their shields in front of them, with the edge in front, and were able to steer their way through the air. When they had aligned themselves with each other and had flown past the Sahalian line, they turned their shields perpendicular to the ground and did the same with their bodies, slowing their forward speed dramatically while increasing their descent. They landed with a loud thud, locked shields, and drew swords.

  This did not go unnoticed by the Sahalians. Their rear rank turned to face the twenty Polemians but they did not advance, knowing that their enemy had a great blessing of Gravity at their disposal. Instead, they looked somewhere in the distance behind the twenty. A light flickered across the Sahalians’ faces. They turned to look at the Polemians, hesitating for just a moment, and charged.

  However, their charge was interrupted when another twenty Polemians landed just in front of the first. Some of the Sahalians looked back to that place in the distance, while others looked to each other, uncertain. That same light flickered across them again. There was a greater hesitation and a slower charge, which was interrupted again, by a third twenty landing. Some of them shouted back at their compatriots in their tongue, likely requesting help.

  The light came again, but this time no one moved. When the fourth wave of Humans landed, the Sahalians began walking slowly back to their original place. Then the fifth landed, with Maximos in the center.

  Maximos drew his sword and stepped forward, exposing himself. He pointed his sword at the Sahalians and yelled, “Charge!”. His voice was deep, like a lion, and carried across the whole battlefield. It was a pale shadow of Humanity’s voice, but it still carried a small portion of its qualities: authority, familiarity, and weight among them.

  Maximos and the hundred Polemians charged the Sahalian rear. Using their blessing of Gravity, they collided with incredible force; however, they did not break the line. The Sahalians used their the Blessing of Light that they had accumulated throughout the day to halt the Humans’ charge, but this left them drained and their posture slackened.

  Maximos, using his superior height and reach, thrust over the Sahalian defenses and stabbed the enemy soldier in front of him in the neck. He then stepped into the gap he had created, voluntarily surrounding himself with foes. The ones on his left he blocked out with his shield; the ones on his right he threatened with his sword.

  One of the Sahalians in front of him gathered his courage, stepped forward and thrust at Maximos’s neck. Maximos responded by kicking him, preventing the attack from connecting and sending him flying backwards into his compatriot. A dent was left in the Sahalian’s armor.

  Maximos stepped forward again. Two Polemians followed behind him, filling the gap he left by facing to the side. The Polemian strategy was now made clear: cut the Sahalian line in two. A light flashed over the Sahalians again, but more complicated this time. The enemy surrounding the airborne company then began to counter the Polemian tactic. The Sahalian rear rank broke off to surround the Polemian contingent, forming a double-circle.

  “In anticipation of interference from the cavalry,” Al explained, seeing the reason behind the strategy.

  The Polemians locked shields on the sides and back, forming a defensive square. Maximos continued to cut through the Sahalians, but now they rushed to fill gaps left by their fallen to slow Maximos’s march. The Sahalians also locked and raised their shields to defend against his blows.

  Maximos swung his sword down upon a Sahalian shield, which forced him back but also broke his own sword. Unfazed by this, he dropped the now-useless handle and drew a second sword. This time, he punched another Sahalian’s shield with his own. This broke the enemy’s guard, allowing Maximos to stab him in the neck. One of the Sahalians to his right took this opening and – using all of his blessing of Light – chopped off Maximos’s sword arm. Maximos, undeterred by this development, dropped his shield and drew a third sword with his remaining left hand.

  If he was aggressive before, Maximos was now a rabid beast. His flurry of kicks and slashes made him a blur. The Sahalians tried desperately to counterattack by severing another of his limbs, but Maximos’s attacks were so fast that their swords either hit his armor or open air, always missing the gaps. The airborne company was a spear, with Maximos its head, being plunged into the heart of the Sahalian formation.

  Once Maximos cut down the last Sahalian between himself and the Polemian line, the airborne company pushed against the Sahalians to allow a column to pass through. Once the gap was made, Maximos led the charge to the other side with the rear rank of the Polemian line following behind. The Sahalian circle was occupied with fending off attacks from the cavalry and so were unprepared when Maximos cut them down. Once out in the open, the Polemian column split into two and began to circle the divided Sahalian line with Maximos leading the left.

  Some of the Sahalians on the right realized what was happening and were trying to escape the encirclement, so Arsenio ordered, “Half come with me! We must buy time for the infantry to surround the enemy. The other half, ensure the same happens on the left!”

  The horsemen galloped away, charging at the Sahalians closer than the encircling infantry. They cut off most from escape and impaled the ones who had made it the farthest. Once the cavalry reached the forest, they turned around and charged again to keep the Sahalians contained. They repeated this until the Polemians completed the encirclement, cutting their enemy off from running to the forest. The cavalry leapt over the infantry as they closed in.

  “This is a mighty field of wheat I see before me,” screamed King Xander, “all green and amber. Bring in this harvest and we shall feast tonight. Now! Cut! Them! Down!” he ordered.

  The Sahalians had no chance. Divided, surrounded, and dealing with attacks from the horsemen meant there was no defense they could possibly muster. It took time to kill the last of the Sahalian soldiers, but once it was over a cheer went up from the Polemians.

  King Xander spotted Maximos in the crowd – which wasn’t a difficult task – and waved him to approach. Maximos wiped his blood-soaked sword on his cape and began walking to our position, but when he came to where he had originally penetrated the Sahalian line he stopped and began searching through the corpses.

  It was now that I realized something. “He isn’t bleeding,” I said to the others in my head. “His arm was cut clean off, yet there is no blood leaving the wound. Was he bleeding before?”

  “Nope,” smiled Id.

  Maximos seemed to find what he was looking for: his severed arm. He picked it up and held it against his stump. The arm started to slowly knit itself back in place, as he continued his march up the hill.

  When he reached us, King Xander asked Aristocles “Do you still say she thinks as well as Maximos fights?”

  “Yes, I do,” replied Aristocles with a quiet confidence.

  Maximos looked me over and asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “What are you doing here?” I countered.

  “I am here for victory,” he replied. “I ask again, why are you here?”

  “I am here for future victories,” I answered.

  “Who does she think she is?” Maximos asked King Xander.

  “Your equal,” I answered.

  Maximos raised an eyebrow. “Is that a fact?” he asked, disbelieving.

  “It is,” I told him.

  Maximos seemed irate at my reply. “Get off that horse so I can pound you into the dirt,” he said sharply. Letting go of his arm to point at the ground, which now looked as though it had never been cut at all.

  “I would love that,” Id commented.

  “Is the fighting not over?” asked Aristocles rhetorically. “Let us at least tend to the wounded before we make more.”