On certain mornings, even the sun seems hesitant to rise above Xavareth's Hold.

However, such was not the case today.

Beyond the barracks windows, a slender, hesitant ribbon of pale gold waded through the soot-stained clouds. It was as light as the edge of a blade, sharp where it should have been warm.

Commander Kaltainasia Veyrahn sighed into her hot cup of spiced kaveth and repositioned the faded cuff of her Hunter's Corps jacket. The aroma grew bitter and sharp. It was useless. Not right now. 

With her fingers smeared with old ink and her braid messy from sleepless nights, Aloisia peered over a spread of mission reports on the little officers' table. Once more, she had been reading through the night. 

"Are you still looking for a pattern?" With a voice hoarse from sleep, Kaltain asked.

Aloisia didn't raise her gaze. "There are no patterns left by Titans. That is the issue."

With a flick of her wrist, she turned the page, a glint of dawn capturing her blazing eyes. Like a razor almost sheathed, there was always that restless energy about her. Although by not very much, Aloisia was younger. And not in any way that held significance. 

After taking a sip of her kaveth, Kaltain allowed the silence to linger. The reports were just as bad as the previous one. Hybrid occurrences. Breach of flare. The pressure of too many layered dimensions seeping into the wrong places is causing another region to become unstable. 

It was impossible to kill the Titans. Everyone was aware of that. They were living universes, with truths piled high and realms layered upon realms. ZXZ-ZXZ-117eterniviuminity levels of eternal life, each one more mysterious than the one before it. 

However, they occasionally broke. 

The creatures imprisoned between those strata then clawed their way into what should have been their home. 

The Hunters Corps stepped in at that point. Not to murder. Not to prevail. To preserve. To keep in check. To try to remind the Titans of their former selves, if they could be reminded at all, and to clean up the blood and ash. 

Stiff from the flight training yesterday, Kaltain rolled her shoulders. "Today, we'll have to patrol the outer quadrant once more," she stated. "A hybrid flare has been reported close to the Northern Bastion. Another young juvenile."

"This week's third one."

"Mm." After drinking all of her kaveth, Kaltain got up and put on her partially armored jacket. The light was caught by her Hunter's emblem, which was silver-black and carved with a faint fractal of an unidentified geometry. 

When she did look up, Aloisia's eyes were as keen as the edge of any weapon she was carrying. 

"Kaltain," she murmured.

"What?"

"Are you aware of the most recent council directives?"

Kaltain hesitated, her fingers lingering on the straps of her gauntlets. "Not just yet. Why?"

Rarely, Aloisia hesitates, "They had been sealed. Top priority. No council announcement was made public."

Kaltain furrowed her brow. Slowly, she put on her gauntlet. "You read them, too."

Aloisia's lips briefly curled into a smile. "Obviously."

Kaltain gave a grunt. "And?"

With a simple shake of her head, however, Aloisia got up from the table and threw her braid over her shoulder. With purposeful ease, she collected the various reports. "Later," she said. "Commander, one mission at a time."

Kaltain didn't press, but her jaw did work. Not in this place. Not right now. 

Outside, the barracks floor was covered in great beams of ash-shadowed light as the first true slant of sunlight burst through the clouds. The day has started.

And beneath it all, the weight of objects that Hunter's swords couldn't reach continued to pulse through the Hold.

Not quite yet.

Kaltain observed Aloisia leave the mess hall with her braid swinging and reports in hand.

Mission by mission

Saying that was simple when you weren't responsible for approving each corpse that was brought back from the field.

Exhaling through her nose, Kaltain ran a hand through her long, honey-colored mess of hair. Her head was pulled by sleep. She disregarded it. She never paid attention to it. 

She saw a glimmer of movement.

The barracks doors creaked open again down the corridor, and two of her squad's troops slipped in, their boots covered in ash. When they noticed her, their conversation abruptly stopped. 

"Commander." Stiffly, they saluted. Too rigid.

"At ease," Kaltain stated bluntly. "You're off rotation."

Derin, a wiry young scout, shuffled uncomfortably. "Indeed, Commander. I just learned that the supply lines were operating once more. We thought we'd make sure."

Supply lines. Right right. These days, that justification was getting old. The rumors had been heard by everybody. Even in the Hold, where mouths were meant to remain closed and walls had ears. 

Kaltain nodded, eyes narrowing, and let them go.

Of course, the rumors were accurate. Although there aren't any official orders yet, the high council's decision to seal a message and send it through Hunter's channels signaled an impending, nasty event that Kaltain wished she didn't have to worry about. Her bed had been untouched most days, and she was craving blissful sleep. 

And Maeve was typically the target of ugly things.

Unbidden, her throat constricted.

Pay attention.

With boots making a gentle reverberation against the stone, Kaltain headed back toward her chambers. She could feel, rather than hear, the faint pulse of the Hold beneath her feet. For months, the Etherstone beneath the center of the city had been doing just that. 

No one publicly discussed it. Not even the Hunters. But it was felt by all. 

It was not intended for the stone to be there. 

Behind her, a door clicked open.

"Kaltain."

This time, Aloisia's voice was quieter, lacking its usual bite.

Urgent. 

With her sister's cheeks flushed from her long walk, Kaltain turned as she caught up. The reports had vanished. A small, sealed strip of black flare paper, reserved for the most urgent requests, was in her hand.

Aloisia's fingers shook, but only slightly. Sufficient for Kaltain to observe.

Kaltain thought grimly, that's new.

"All right?" Her voice was low as she spoke.

Aloisia looked about her. The hallway was deserted. She leaned closer nonetheless.

"We're being sent," she muttered.

Kaltain's heart rate decreased.

"Where?"

"You are aware of the location."

Before the name could get out, it got stuck in Kaltain's throat.

Xavareth's Hold.

Not merely one incident involving Titan. Not only a hybrid.

Something larger. A worse thing. 

She steadied her voice. "Mission brief?"

Aloisia swallowed. "Categorized. Complete specifics won't be made public until the strike teams are established."

"Strike groups?" Kaltain said it again. Unconsciously, she curled her fingers at her sides. "Not only Hunters?"

Aloisia gave a single, thin-lipped nod. "Containment is not the only thing at risk."

That meant something to each of them. It was colder than any ash storm, and Kaltain could feel it seeping through her bones.

TCOSA would send joint forces into its own territory for only one reason: to a Hold that was already clinging to its allegiance. 

Someone who wasn't intended to be there was present. 

Someone who has no right to touch the pulsing stone underneath, let alone step foot into TCOSA territory.

And Kaltain was certain of whose face would be waiting in its center.

Maeve.

The sister who had previously broken them.

The bitterness rose in Kaltain's throat, but she swallowed it back. Not in this place. Not quite yet.

"We'll see," she remarked abruptly. "Team leads have not been named by the council."

Fierce and defiant, but not shadowed, Aloisia met her stare.

"They will be," she declared.

They were both aware of who that meant.

Kaltain's shoulders went square. "Get your kit ready. Use the second unit to conduct drills. Until the council gives the order, no word escapes this chamber."

With a nod, Aloisia moved away, her hair snapping like a whip behind her. 

The Etherstone's pulse thudded softly beneath Kaltain's boots as she stood by herself in the hallway. 

Not today, she reminded herself. Not quite yet.

However, the ash always preceded the blood.