The Unsung Edda: And Yet Ever We Fight On Подписаться

What does a losing nation need that a winning one doesn’t? Heroes. As the tide of war turns against a nation, each battle becomes a wave of defeat after another wave of defeat. Boisterous propagandic talks of victory eventually fall flat as each passing moment as yet each day is yet another reminder of the bloody humiliation the soldiers are subjected to. They stand against the rising tide, fighting hopelessly in an effort to stave it off, to protect what little they have left, to protect their people from drowning in it. But in hopelessness and despair, one could only struggle so much. It may be all the easier to simply cease all resistance and accept whatever fate that may come. In surrendering, there is the ever so slim hope that one may live to fight another day, perhaps if such a view is too optimistic, then there is hope that their enemies will show them mercy.

But that is when the hero comes in. The hope that stands against all despair. The ray of light for the losing people to reach out towards, the ray of light that leaves the once confident enemy dumbfounded as their tide of victory has been broken. With this sudden breaking of the tide, the hero rallies the people as they realize that hope has not been lost, that the day will come where there will no longer be a need for heroes. As after all, there is no need for heroes in a winning nation.

This is a tale of heroes. A tale of our humiliation, of us having to stand to lose what we have left to an unbreakable tide, growing larger and firmer the harder we fought. One where the war we fought for was merely in the name of pride, only to leave the world that shunned us knowing that at the very least we did not go quietly. And yet once again, this is indeed a tale of heroes. Facing this tide, we knew of the hardship to come, we knew of the humiliation that we were soon to be reminded of, we knew of the futility of resistance, and yet ever we fight on…

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March 24, 395 Anno Rexi,

On the outskirts of the Thorgilsson Air Force Training Academy, in the Vanaheim Province, the Kingdom of Rosaris.

“Ah. It’s starting to come down…”

The snow had started falling, despite the seemingly clear sky. A little over 12.4 kilometers Westwards, just ahead of us way up high over the cold black sea, four black specks streak across the deep orange sky. From this far away, you could just barely hear it but make no mistake; those jets are ripping through the sky at speeds faster than the speed of the sound of their roaring engines.

About 4.6 kilometers southwest, the fiery roar of the offshore chimeric fuel refineries are a testament to the brilliant flames that they produce. Always running, at night they stand as lone candle lights at the edge of the black horizon.

0.35 kilometers directly northwards, one of the Grand Cannons lightly sounds off an alarm as the crew prepares for another round of simulated firing exercises. As the sun sets, one could only see the silhouettes of those gigantic turrets outlined by their red warning lights.

14.9 kilometers Northeast, one of the Irminsul pillars adjusts its bearings, arms along the tower extending from one hundred to five hundred meters long along the five kilometers tall superstructure. Its metallic creaking makes it sound as though it is just about to snap and come crashing down.

2.1 kilometers northwest, a cargo ship from Jotunheim Province is preparing to dock. It sounds off its mighty horn as it announces its arrival.

0.005 kilometers directly westwards, 5 meters away from where I stand… As deafening as all those noises may be, all that I could hear was the soft sound of the waves breaking before me. The sea’s waves struck at the shore without any relent, as it had done so for all of eternity. They washed up the sand, almost reaching up to me, before slowly retreating back into the sea, only to do so again, and again. Snowflakes fell and dissolved into the seawater, never having the chance to stick to the surface, such is their fate. But all I could think about was one thing:

How is she standing in this freezing water?

She stood, shin deep in the icy sea water. The waves would brush against her knees, but she still stood unflinching. She was facing away from me, all I could see was her long, voluminous black hair, and the back of her uniform, a dark steel grey overcoat that blended all so easily with the sea but stood out against the horizon like a monolith. Her arm was outstretched towards the sun, reaching out to it not as to bring it back, but as to grab onto it and follow it wherever it is going. She spoke, with a calm, unwavering voice.

“Hey, Vitya… I was thinking just earlier… What Instructor Satie told us at the start of the year has been in my head all day, about the world beyond the ocean. What do you think about it?”

“I… never thought about it.”

“Nothing? There’s so much out there. Endless fields and deserts as far as the eye could see. Forests with trees so tall you couldn’t hope to climb them. Cities like ours spanning from horizon to horizon, with glass towers reaching into the sky. There are so many nations, with their own languages, cultures, their own songs and dances, some like ours, many completely different. Out there, the world is so big, and you couldn’t bring yourself to think about anything?”

I… really couldn’t. What importance does the world beyond hold? In our almost four hundred years of history we never cared about the world beyond our own, so what is there to think of? That it exists? Well… it’s not anything that we have something to do with.

“For me, it’s the warm waters. On a shore of a faraway nation, you can stand in its waters without the ocean itself sapping the very life out of you. Imagine that, an ocean that won’t reject you, but will embrace you with its blue warmth”

The black sand we stood on was claylike, not even the waves can wash away the footsteps of the few who decided to go to the beach. But warm water… I never thought of that. Who would? In Vanaheim, the place we took to calling our new homeland, an island of perpetual cold, it is only a miracle that such an idea can come to the mind of one who has never heard of the outside world.

“For our hundreds years of history, we’ve never been blessed with the warmth of the sun. To think that none of us has ever stepped into warm waters, that isn’t out of the question either. So, for me, it’s that. So, Vitya, right now, what is it that stands between us and the warm waters? It’s not the gigantic body of water, neither is it the sun that refuses to bless us with its warmth… What stands between us and warm waters is the world itself…”

As she said that, two more aircraft zoomed over us, their jets ripping through cold, thin air. Her cap flew up in the air, and so did her hair fly wildly, only to come back down to gently wave against the breeze as she looked over to me, her complexion pale, almost grey. Her smile was cold, enigmatic, at the time, I couldn’t understand what she was thinking. And yet her golden orange eyes gave off a fiery glint, one that seemed to scream that there will be nothing that will stand in between herself and those warm waters. My eyes were set up at the two jets, which were already reduced to two dots flying off into the sunset, and before I knew it, her cap had landed at my feet.

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As I look back at Vitya, I just knew it. It was going to happen…

I’m not sure what it was, even now, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know when it was all set in motion, whether it was at that moment, or whether this was fated to happen all the way back since the start… All I know what that on that day, I just knew it… There was nothing that is going to stand in the way between me and those warm waters.

What about you, Vitya? What is your reason to fight?

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“Heeeeeeey! What’re you doing out there?!” A voice called out from behind. The two cadets on the shore turned around and looked up over the waterfront. There they were, Larissa Harberg and Anders Tracz, two promising seniors from the Academy, hollering at them to come over “Vitya, Kali, come on up, we don’t want our two little aces to be catching a cold now!”

“Ahhhh! My legs! I’m soaked all the way down to my socks…!” Kali jumped slightly as she stepped out of the sea and onto the sand, the cold breeze bit into her wet legs and feet. She ran out over to the staircase, climbing it up to meet with Larissa and Anders. Vitya slowly followed behind, eventually catching up with her. The four all looked similar to one another, with pale, greyish skin, eyes with a color range of yellow to red, hair from black, to silver or grey to white. Vitya’s hair was a silvery grey, his eyes a bright yellow whereas Kali’s hair was black with golden orange eyes.

“It’s been already two hours since classes ended, what’re you doing out there?” Asked Larissa, looking down on the two. Despite being only three years older than Kali and Vitya, they towered over them. Larissa’s eyes were a rare gradient between orange and red, her hair white with a red highlight, Anders was even taller, with black hair and amber yellow eyes.

Hmm… I wonder if I’ll be that tall by the time I’m their age… Kali has already caught up to my height, I wonder if she’ll end up outgrowing me…

Nearly everyone in this nation looked alike in this sense, with the rare exception being the outsiders hailing from other countries from around the world. The vast majority of Rosarians were kinereus, people of ash, named after their pale or greyish skin. They and their counterparts, the traditus, traditional people, fall under the same species as the human race. The kinerea’s biology differs greatly from the traditii on almost all levels, but what stood out most were their eyes; besides the color, they had a bioluminescent trait that they could control, their irises dimming and glowing according to their alertness. Historically, the kinerea and the traditii have been at war for centuries. Eventually, the hatred and distrust between the peoples had subsided and now they generally enjoy a peaceful coexistence.

“A-ahm… We were just watching the sunset. We’ll be back home by sundown.” Kali answered, maintaining a polite tone with her seniors as she spoke. Both Kali and Vitya were popular students in their academy, owing to their sociability and excellent grades. They both were also descended from powerful people, so they appeared to be as the go-tos for any sort of insider news from the government and military. But that came with its own disadvantages, as that only makes them not much more than mere well-connected commoner maneuvering an ferociously anti-nepotistic minefield. Anything that appears as condescension from them will come off even more negatively than from an individual with no connections.

“Eh? You can’t just be doing that right now. The practical exams are coming up next month, and you two wouldn’t want to go and catch a cold when you should be studying!” Anders advised, bowing slightly to level with the two condescendingly, but it was all in good faith coming from him, “You two are the best students the Academy has produced in years. If you pass those exams with full scores, you might end up being put in a squadron by the time the school year ends! You wouldn’t even have to do an extra year!”

“Mhm, mhm! We might end up being put on the same squadron as well!” Larissa continued, “I heard that this year, the Air Force is looking to create a bunch of new squadrons, so it just might happen!”

They talked back and forth with the seniors. In recent years, the age gap between the cadets and commissioned airmen started to close. As the Air Force continues to expand at an exponential rate, many of the older pilots, veterans of the Ocean War, would look at them wondering why kids are now mounting twenty-ton machines of war going faster than the speed of sound. But there was still no real reason for discrimination, most of those that graduated from the Air Force youth training academies were surprisingly fast learners, even faster than those who would enlist at adulthood. Anders and Larissa were both eighteen years old, three years older than Kali and Vitya, and yet they were only one year apart in terms of training. The seniors’ class was known as the ‘Sun Eaters’, as they managed to ace each combat test by thinking out of commonly accepted doctrine by manipulating the simulations and exercises into high-altitude, beyond visual range engagements that push the limits of the service altitude. It was Anders himself who came up with the strategy, using the sun, loitering air-to-air munitions, and the thin air to his advantage while forcing his opponent into needing to climb in altitude to engage and then stalling mid-air. By now, he was already putting the strategy into paper, making it so that for the first time in fifty years, beyond visual range combat will be viable for Rosaris again.

“Still, it’s strange isn’t it? Five hundred new pilots just this year alone… Vitya, Vitya, has the Lieutenant General said anything about this?” Asked Anders as they entered a tram that was to take them into the city. It was mostly empty, just used to bring people to and from the Academy. Most of cadets lived in the Academy, but depending on the time of year, some could just stay at home.

“Nothing really… Just that the Air Force needs more pilots. Apparently they’re building more planes for the new pilots” I responded. This is where Vitya being “well connected” comes in, that he was the son, more correctly, the adoptive son of the Chief of The Air Force, Lieutenant General Haakon Wiberg. If there is one thing he had to suffer through, it’s the accusations of nepotism. That, and constant questioning regarding my knowledge of the Rosarian Royal Air Force’s secrets.

Nepotism was indeed non-existent. And to the rumors, he really knew nothing that is beyond already open secrets that constantly leak out of general staff meetings.

“Oh, but I did hear this once from the Lieutenant General!” Kali perked up, she always gleamed at the topic of the Chief of The Air Force, looking up to him as her role model. Haakon Wiberg was viewed as a hero for the of Rosaris, by the virtue that his intervention narrowly averted the nation’s destruction during the Ocean War. He also was the father of the Rosarian Royal Armed Forces Reform Plan, which transformed the entire nation over the course of just twenty years. It was nothing out of the ordinary for a girl like Kali to idolize him, “He did say that this generation is the most promising generation that the army has raised! When he said that… it could really mean that things are changing. When we graduate, we just might have good days ahead of us!”

“That just might be… The most promising generation, huh. I suppose that means we’ll be sent to take back the lands that we lost soon enough, huh.”

“Soon enough…”

They looked over to the city, Norresarene, the capital of the Kingdom of Rosaris. It was home to over seven million people, smoggy and crowded with tightly packed buildings with industrial complexes scattered about and sometimes mixing in with residential zones. There were some skyscrapers similar to what Kali had described earlier, glowing in orange as they reflected the sunset. Massive ships hovered high in the sky, imposing their presence over the entire city as they were impossible to miss. They knew they had crossed into the city limits as they passed over and through the densely packed buildings. Cables extended around everywhere, and it was nearly impossible to spot the ground with how dense the city was.

“You sure you can’t spare time to go out with the rest of us?” Larissa asked as they were switching from the military tram station to the civilian one.

“No, we really have to get home early… But we can still meet later on, right?” Kali apologetically responded. She enjoyed her time with the seniors, even becoming a peer among them with her abilities warranting respect in the Academy. Vitya was just about the same as her, although on the quieter side, not wanting to stand out too much as the son of Haakon Wiberg.

“Well, Anders and I will be gone for a while. But we’ll be rooting for you in the practical tests!” She looked at the interface in the tram, checking the stops in the city “Hm, we’ll be going to Goeltvalt. Your stop… hm, Viktorre District is it? Ah, wouldn’t that be a nice place to live. Kali, I’ve always been thinking, your parents weren’t from Rosaris. How’d you end up living in such a nice district?”

As the tram set off, it was quickly populated with more people looking fairly similar to the four in their general traits.

“Ahm, it’s complicated…” Kali said, looking over to Vitya, “My parents had a relationship with the Lieutenant General. We both came from the same city in Edelweiss. Before the Ocean War, my father and the Lieutenant General fought in the Third Rosarian Revolution. So, when he came to Rosaris first, he recommended that my father join the ministry…”

“Oh… I never knew your father was that close to the Lieutenant General. But why didn’t he join the military?”

“I’m not quite so sure. I never knew what my father did in the war, or how my parents lived in Edelweiss through most of the Ocean War… I just know that they were important people in that revolution, which is why they are taken seriously.”

If there was any real nepotism, it was more on Kali’s end of things than Vitya’s. Most people that move to Rosaris reasonably end up in the subsidized homes that the majority of the population lives in. For outlander who have immigrated to Rosaris, called Osslendristern, to move into one of the very few wealthy neighborhoods in the nation right off the ship was reasonably unthinkable. Though, in this case Kali had a comfortable government life lined up for her, so everyone wondered why she would instead enlist in the Air Force, arguably the most dangerous branch in the army…

“Then, we’ll be seeing you around, Kali, Vitya!” Anders and Larissa stepped off the tram onto the platform, a few more civilian passengers entering and taking their place.

“Until then!” Kali waved at them as they disappeared into the crowd. The tram eventually started on to Viktorre District which was the next stop. Goetvalt District was considered to be one of the wealthier parts of Rosaris, as shown by the various roads underneath along with the bridges overhead. The district itself was a large, open shopping center with office and apartment spaces extending both a dozen floors above and below ground. Signs glowing in orange and red lights pointed to various shops or offering directions around the district, occasionally there would be the odd sign glowing in blue light pointing to a pharmacy or an outlander owned shop. Rosaris was much like this, having never stopped embracing the fiery colors of orange and red. For the most part the starkness of those colors was great for attracting attention, though for a minority such as the Traditus, the overload of those colors was such an eyesore that they would be caught staring at the blue signs as a way to relieve their eyes. Living in Norresarene was a struggle for many outlanders and particularly the traditus people, who were forced to wear masks out as their bodies could not handle the smog.

“So, dropping the act?” Asked Vitya, still not having forgotten about her monologue earlier today.

“What act? Is it that hard for you to believe that I admire my seniors?” Retorted Kali, “The problem between you and I is that you hardly ever speak to the other cadets. That’s why you have so many rumors around you, Vitya.”

“But all I have to do is disprove them. I’ll show them all in the practical test. We’re airmen. All we have to do is follow orders and defend the homeland. Anything else is just theatre, that’s why the rumors and accusations have never bothered me.”

“Dutiful to a tee, huh, Vitya. You’re going to become the model airman, I can just tell.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“No, really. I can hardly ever get a good score when it comes to following orders.”

“Uhuh…”

“Eheh”, Kali chuckled, looking over to a sulking Vitya sitting by her side. He looked back at her and chuckled back. The two were very different but were fated to complement one another. Kali’s fiery personality and aggressive tendencies could only be offset by Vitya’s cold and calculated demeanor, where she was reckless, he was cool, where she should go out of control, he would be the one to diffuse the situation. At the academy, the two were inseparable, and cadets would wonder what is it about those two that would make them so close. She lay on his shoulder and the two silently waited until they reached their destination.

Eventually, they reached the Viktorre District, stepping off onto the platform. Being a historical district at the heart of Norresarene, the district was comprised of buildings designed after traditional Vanaheim Rosarian style, being constructed out of polished concrete but decorated in ornamental engravings and inlaid metals. The architecture had an archaic yet modern and stark feel to them, feeling as though they were instead from a civilization from thousands of years ago that continued to exist into the modern era, that each building was a monument of its own. Most of the district was made up of apartments, though near the center were Rosaris’ administrative buildings and the parliament building that once served as a royal palace up until eighty years ago.

Lining the street were vermilion red trees and blue grass that were unique to Rosaris’ environment, thriving in the nation’s perpetual cold. Walking uphill alongside those trees were Kali and Vitya, reaching an apartment building which Kali had to open with a key.

“Ahm… I still can’t believe there’s just one more month until the practical tests! I’m so nervous…!” Kali could barely contain her apprehension as she walked up the stairs, her voice echoing throughout the building.

“It’s the last step to us getting our wings. If the simulations hold any weight, you’d be our best pilot. Ahhh… I’m still jealous of that… You never follow doctrine and yet…! Agh, whatever.” Responded Vitya, still keeping a sulking tone.

“Well, here we are” Kali opened the metal door to her apartment unit with a key, opening it she was met with another wooden door that she also had to open “We’re baaack!”

“Welcome back, Kali, Vitya!” Kali’s mother, Ida called out from the kitchen, the briny smell of seafood welcoming the two as they enter.

“Kaaaaliiii!” Isiah and Ezekiel ran out to embrace their older sister, Kali laughing as she hugged her younger brothers back. Vitya smiled, looking down at her brothers then back down the hallway, but he was suddenly jostled as the brothers moved on to him “Vityaaaaaa!”

“Isiah, Ezekiel, hello.” He patted their heads and they walked over to the dining room. There, two older men in different types of uniform sat. One wore a black and dark grey decorated military uniform, with red collar tabs indicating his rank as lieutenant general and the Chief of The Airforce, the other wore a long dark blue and grey coat with a golden ornamental chain running from shoulder to shoulder. Kali couldn’t contain her excitement as she jumped at her father who stayed seated, Vitya wondering how she still has this much energy.

“Papa! I’m back!”

“Ahah, welcome back, Kali…” He smiled back, ruffling his daughter’s hair before she turned to the Lieutenant General.

“Lieutenant General!” Both Kali and Vitya saluted him, he raised his hand in response, gesturing for them to be at ease. He was still in uniform, so military formalities still applied unless stated otherwise, even if the superior's subordinate was his own son.

“Good evening, Vitya, Miss Krovenblum.”

The two quickly took their seats by the dining table, Ida entering to set the table. Kali got up to help out but nobody would let her push herself any harder.

“Ahhh! Lobster! It’s been so long since I had one…! Thanks Miss Krovenblum!” Vitya was already excited to dig into the meal. The table was an assortment of the usual Rosarian dinner, being steamed shellfish, fried fish, and various seafood soups. In the center was the main dish; a large cut-up slab of whale steak.

“Wh-wha…” Kali’s mouth watered at the sight of it, “Is it really okay if we…?”

“Mhm! I wanted us to have it after the exams but I couldn’t wait for any longer. Hm, it’s the first time in a while that I cooked whale stake so… I hope it’s good!”

“It’s just like regular steak, isn’t it Ida? I’m sure it’ll taste great.”

“No it isn’t! It needs a lot more care than a regular steak! Lieutenan- ahm, Haakon, you already know the difference between whale and regular steak.”

“Oh, hm… well land meat is definitely much easier to cook… But that’s just because people put a lot more care into cooking whale meat. It’s very expensive, after all. Even in the outside world, it's even more of a luxury food there than here.”

As time passed, the conversation shifted from the meal to the cadets, Kali and Vitya being the top of their class as expected, and how their lives were like in the aademy.

“Still waking up at three or four in the morning… I still can never get used to it…” Complained Kali as she drank a spoonful of soup, "The training is fine, but the sleep schedule..."

“Me neither, really. Even if we don’t have classes or exercises, we’d still have to be awake at that time…” Followed up Vitya, “Is the military going to be the same?”

“Well, it’s a lot more easy-going once you get your wings… though you’ll still have to be at base for a lot longer, and your schedule will end up being far more irregular.” Responded Haakon “This year’s graduates will be deploying at three bases, and how easy it’ll be depends on where you’re deploying…”

“But Haakon, isn’t there a way for our Kali and Vitya to stay in Norresarene?” Asked Ida.

“This is not up to me to decide. It depends on what squadron they’re in and the needs of the bases. They could stay here, or end up in the Yggdrasil Complex or even the Gliessa Air Force Base. Though, you’ll be fine. Most of the bases aren’t too different from one another. Between the three branches, the Air Force is the least regimented.”

“But the most dangerous, right?”

“Ahh, I don’t like when people use that word, Jan. The Air Force is the spearhead of Rosaris and our first line of defense. Our navy won’t be worth much without an air force and the army? Miss Krovenblum, Vitya, would you join the ground forces?”

“And just wait for the enemy to arrive at our shores?! Never! We’ll have to take the fight to them!” Kali declared, carrying a sort of disdain for the ground forces who have nothing to worry about except for the final days of Rosaris.

The Army only exists so that we could say that at least we went down with a fight! I’ll… never, ever accept that!

“Justice could only be done by the spear, not the shield. The Army protects the oppressed, the Air Force takes the fight to the oppressor” Responded Vitya, carrying the ideals of justice that he had learned from his adoptive father.

“Well done, Vitya. You too, Miss Krovenblum. You have passion, but don’t let it get to your head. A pilot needs a cool head when in the air, rage has never done well for anybody in war. Vitya’s biological father was just as fiery as you were, Miss Krovenblum. In the operation to put an end to the development of Excalibur, he was the first to join in on the fight, fought like a demon but emptied his reserves after seeing one of his closest squad mates shot down. Even after Excalibur was destroyed he continued to fight, and that’s how he got shot down. I don’t want to see you going down his direction. He was an excellent pilot, but tangoes with death all the way through…”

This girl may ace the simulations, but in real life, she won’t last… I can’t have her going down this path but…

They all talked late into the night, the conversation turning to Rosaris’ military and administrative plans. Kali went to help her brothers off to bed, Vitya was just finishing up what’s left of his dish.

“The scale of production, you wouldn’t even believe it… We’ve went beyond the production goals but we’re still going. There won’t be a shortage for pilots or planes for years.”

“I’m happy but… another fight broke out today. This is the fourth time budgeting and we still can’t even meet a quarter of this year’s housing quota. Mister Kollier, the agriculture minister, went as far as to say we should slash the entire housing budget so that this nation won’t fall into famine again. I’m stumped, really. In August, we’re going to have to slash the benefits for the soldiers in the Ground Forces. Next week… I’ll have to submit this to the General..."

Jan’s spirits were visibly crushed. It wasn’t even a secret anymore that the Kingdom of Rosaris was stretched to its thinnest in recent years. No matter how much propaganda was published, almost every citizen has become an expert in the matter of governance and finances, each day speculating over when the house of cards will finally come tumbling down. Hoarding has been the norm, and so were crackdowns to seize hoarded goods.

“And so I’ve heard. The food problem needs to be addressed over all. There’s no people angrier than a hungry one. The Radical and Reform factions are denying it but the truth is on the wall. Support for the military will collapse as soon as the people go hungry… When that happens, Rosaris is done for…”

“Is it really?” Asked Kali, back in the living room “How could you…? Lieutenant Genera-”

Tick!

The apartment was plunged into darkness. Everyone looked around in momentary confusion before realizing what had just happened. Ida flipping the light switches, it was clear that the power had been cut off.

“Could this be a normal cut or…?”

A faint orange light shone through the windows, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Oh no…”

“It’s the third time this year…”

The sirens started blaring across Norresarene, across the entirety of Rosaris. As everyone huddled up, Kali stepped forward to the windows, stepping out to the balcony.

“Kali, stay away!” Her mother cried out.

She looked up to the night sky, an orange aurora shone and flickered like a series of gigantic curtains spanning across the sky, shining at their brightest around the Irminsul pillars. There were two faraway towers visible from where she looked, both having long arms that had begun to slowly spin, their creaking being heard across the city. The sight was mesmerizing, and way up in the sky, white streaks started making their way down, exploding midair in dazzling sparkles. This had been the reality of Rosaris for the past twenty years, this beautiful sight being a result of the people’s ingenuity, but they couldn’t be enjoyed in the least. Despite always having been warned to go underground at a time like this, there still were thousands of eyes looking up to the sky, wondering how many of those streaks the Irminsul will intercept.

One of the white streaks was missed, making landfall in the far distance with a bright flash that disappeared as fast as it came. Several seconds later, another white streak made its way crashing down, the white flash lit up the entire room and what followed was a flaming explosion reaching way above the buildings. Raising a hand to her face to shield herself, the shockwave blew her back and shattered the glass.

“KALI!”

She looked back up, black plumes were rising from the ground that was struck.

“That was the…”

“The Goetvalt District… They’ve never hit so deep in the city before!” Haakon stood up, pointing out of the window.

“Kali! The Sun Eaters class is there!” Vitya ran over to Kali, grabbing her by her shoulders, “Anders, Larissa… everyone is there!”

“There’s no way… this late into the night?”

Another white streak exploded midair as she gazed out in terror. These strikes have become a fact of life but… never has one been so close…

“The whole class is there?!” Haakon ran over to the two, “Vitya, don’t joke like this, there’s… why would they…?!”

“We need to go there.” Said Kali.

“What? No! Kali, you’re not going there!”

“You’re staying right here, it’s too dangerous to go out!”

“LIKE IT MAKES ANY DIFFERENCE!” Kali screamed right back at her parents, tears streaking down her face, “We’ll be dead anyways, whether we stay or go!”

“Kali Krovenblum! You’re not leaving! That is an order!”

Kali stormed out of the apartment before anyone could stop her, the objections, the cries did absolutely nothing to faze her. Not even the Chief of The Air Force could stop her.

“I-I’m going after her!”

Vitya ran out after Kali, jumping down the staircase and seeing her already making a sprint down the road towards the black pillar of smoke. One of the ships hanging over the city beamed its searchlights down on the site of the explosion, as to beckon any help to come this way.

“Jan, go to the parliament. I have to get to the base. The strikes should have stopped by now!” Ordered Haakon.

“How do you know?!” Shouted back Jan.

“It’s been three minutes, enough time to launch a volley of forty-five rods… tch, Vitya and Kali will be fine, just go! These two are soldiers and so are we, we have a duty to fulfill!”

“Kali! Kali!” Vitya shouted after her as they ran down the road. At some point the raid sirens have quieted down, but the air was now filled by chaotic shouts and cries of the people who were shocked by the proximity of the explosion. The sirens of emergency vehicles were quick to follow, rushing down the streets towards the Goeltvalt District.

It was almost twenty minutes of running to get to the site of the strike. They saw a familiar face as they got near, a senior in the same cadet’s uniform as them.

“Evan! Evan is that you?!” The two stopped by the senior, who was already in a panic barely able to contain his tears.

“Vitya?! Kali?! What are you two doing here?!”

“Where are- where are the Sun Eaters?! Where is everybody?!”

“They’re…!” He cupped his hands over his face “They’re all gone! They’re gone! I-I was leaving and then…!”

“Hey! You three! You’re all soldiers, right?!” A voice called out, one of the emergency workers running over to them.

“Vitya Wiberg and Kali Krovenblum, 26th Air Force Cadet’s Compa-”

“Good enough! We need all the help we can get! There still are people alive over there that we need to rescue!”

“You heard her, Evan! Let’s go!”

The electricity was restored as they got closer to the site, a crowd had already formed that the military and emergency workers could barely get to disperse. The buildings immediately surrounding the crater were reduced to rubble, rescue teams were working desperately to pull bodies out, whether dead or alive. Some people pitched in to help by removing the rubble, soldiers shot blanks in the air to disperse the crowd. Several ambulances were at the scene and a field hospital was already being set up, though there was still barely enough space to separate the living from the dead.

Many were barely clinging onto life, missing limbs, having their skin scorched off, in so much pain that they couldn’t even think about death, let alone ask for it. Kali and Vitya watched as one dug himself out of the rubble with his stump, two emergency workers rushing to pull him out. Despite the terror written on their faces, they nodded at each other, running over to the rubble to help out.

“Vitya, there’s one here…” She pointed to a foot, starting to lift the rubble.

“WE HAVE ONE!” Vitya called back out then quickly went to assist Kali.

“Please, please, please… is… is he breathing? Vitya, is he breathing?!” She eventually pulled the body out, a soldier ran over to inspect it.

“No pulse… he… no good, he’s gone” The soldier responded “Keep digging, there still are people alive down there…”

“Send him over here! We can still resuscitate him!” Another called out.

“Why is this happening…?”

After several more minutes of digging, Kali looked over to the crater where emergency workers and soldiers were already moving bodies upwards. She ran over, sliding down the crater and seeing that the underground section of the district had also collapsed on itself. Even the people who were taking shelter weren’t spared.

“Please be alive, a-ah! B-breathing! Can you hear me? Stay with me, you’re going to be okay! You’ll be okay, just please stay with me…” Kali had unearthed a living body, shouting for a worker to help her. Vitya was laying an injured woman against a wall, offering her a drink of water.

Why would anyone do this…? I’d never wish this on anybody…

“A fire broke out in that building over there! Can’t we get the truck any closer?!”

“We got to move the bodies first!”

“Then hurry! The fire might spread! I’ll get into contact with other squads!”

Kali found an arm, scorched off right above the elbow. She immediately noticed that it was a woman’s arm, with a tattoo on the forearm of a crescent with rays shining off it. More accurately, it was the sun, with fragments falling off the concave section as though a bite was taken off it. She didn’t have to even think of it, Larissa was the one who thought up the tattoo and did it on herself. It caught on with some of the cadets in her class, but she was so proud of it that she would show it off whenever she could.

“No, no, no, no, no, no…” She continued to dig through the rubble but there was no body to the arm.

“Kali, they identified Shem and Anders! They’re…!” Vitya stopped as he found Kali in the state that she was, quickly recognizing the arm. She broke down weeping as she heard his voice, falling into Vitya’s arms who desperately tried holding his own tears back.

“What’d we do to deserve this…? What’d they do, Vitya?”

=====================================================================

In the following morning, as the sun rose and the fires died down, the search and rescue effort was still going on but at a slower pace. The field hospital was fully set up, and the injured were finally able to be properly treated or hauled off. Vitya and Kali both slept, huddled up next to a bus stop a short distance away from crater. Not having a minute to sleep, Jan looked over the two, not wanting to disturb their sleep.

“Sir Jan Krovenblum. You’re here…” One of the officers approached him, quick to recognize the minister, “By any chance, are those...”

“They’re my children. My daughter, Kali Krovenblum, and Vitya Wiberg.”

“They’ve been up all night helping us, sir. They’re… very, very strong. They were heroes that night, they only went to sleep two hours ago on our orders.”

“Did they?”

“We have their names written down for public decorations, sir. Their name will be known across all of Rosaris.”

“Don’t.” Jan looked over to the crater then back to the two young cadets.

“Sir?”

“Rosaris has no need for heroes. They’re just soldiers who did their duty. That is all.”

Rosaris has no need for heroes. In the face of the entire world, we have no heroes, just Rosarians.

“Do you know anything about the 26th Air Force Cadet’s Company? The third class?”

“We counted the bodies and contacted the academy. Out of the twenty two cadets, only one survivor was found. They were right under the strike when it happened. There are two other cadets who were still at the academy at the time.”

“I see…”

The best class of the Thorgilsson Training Academy has been wiped, then… This is a dark day for the entire Air Force…

=====================================================================

Two days after that night…

I never thought it would ever be so close to us. I never thought it was something that could happen to us. I felt humiliation each time it happened, just as how everyone else felt whenever it happens, but this time, I felt hatred. Not my hatred, but the hatred the world held against us. It wasn’t that hard to understand why… We’ve been taught that very well.

The world is a cruel place, and forgiveness is not a virtue, but a privilege reserved for those in power. As I stand here, it was more clear than ever that we were headed to war. Maybe it is just like what Lieutenant General Haakon Wiberg said, Rosaris will not last at this rate. Something has got to change with how we react to this.

=====================================================================

What we saw yesterday, was the height of human depravity. Innocent people, people who have nothing to deserve such cruelty, people who simply wanted to live were deprived of just that. Oppression is a law of nature, the dynamic between the strong and weak. But as rational beings, it is our duty to rise above the cruel nature of this world. Humanity is the greatest virtue. When justice is dealt, they will understand how better we are than they are.

Nobody deserves such injustice. As such, the spear of justice must pierce the oppressor wherever he is found, so that nobody will have to live in sheer terror ever again. Without justice, hatred and bloodshed will become the eternal rule of the world. As Rosarians, we know most about this. Justice is our lesson to learn, and if need be, we would need to administer it ourselves.

As I stand here, my only hope is that a day will come where the world will live free of this hatred that shackles our hearts.

=====================================================================

“…and it will bring us an endless pain that we will have to endure, for us to lose our brightest cadets like this. Even in death, they will continue to fight, watching over us along with the millions of our martyrs. A month from now, many of you will be getting your wings, and know that the Sun Eaters Squadron is there flying alongside you, on whichever sortie that you take. For each one of us here, cadet, or airman, we all have that one guardian wingman watching over us. They may have left the physical world, but in spirit they still fly alongside us. The 26th Air Force Cadet’s Company’s Third Senior Class, the Sun Eaters Squadron is not dead! The Sun Eaters Squadron never died!”

Haakon Wiberg’s speech was met with chanting by the cadets in the academy. Three jets flew overheard in a flypast salute. One Ha-63, referral name Su-35R ‘Flakner’ having a black color scheme with crimson red wing tips, from the Jormungand Squadron, the other being a grey and white digital schemed RKK-152, referral name JAS-39 ‘Gripen’ of the Cascade Squadron, and the last being a Ha-44, referral name MiG-35 ‘Fulcrum’ with a navy blue, black, and white splinter scheme. The last plane was flown by one of the three survivors, one of the cadets that was in the academy at the time of the strikes.

The news of the tragedy had not been made public, not even to the other branches of the military, nor even to the cadets from other academies. Everyone’s hearts were filled with hope as they heard Haakon’s speech, but now a lingering sense of terror has creeped in, wondering if they too will be struck down before they even get the chance at their first sortie. Kali looked over to the flags of the Kingdom of Rosaris that were waving along the wind, a black banner with a white bar running down it with a red stylized rose at the center. She couldn’t be cheering as she was reminded of the Chief of The Air Force’s demeanor just moments before the attack.

“…Rosaris is done for…”

Will there be a day where we can’t even so much as even fight back?

“We’re going to be on the clock in five minutes,” one of the older trainers told an instructor as they looked over the crowd from one of the academy’s buildings, “is this really alright?”

“Hope’s hard to come by for the cadets. For us, we lost three whole years of training our brightest class… It’s still hard to believe that we still have to do training on a day like this.”

“Then, what’s your schedule like? I got three empty class slots. I’m going to take in the second year cadets. So for me, it’s going to be business as usual.”

“It’s always business as usual with you, Elric, huh…”

“I’ve lost a lot of people. Got nothing else going for me but to move forward.”

“I guess so. I’m keeping my schedule free. I’m going to return to active duty when this month is over. I’ve got better chances saving lives out there than on here at this rate.”

“It’s not any prettier out there. If I were you, I’d stay and teach those kids how to survive longer in the air. That’s why my old bones are down here rather than up there.”

“Well, I’m nowhere near retirement age to think like that. My job is just to keep our pilots alive for as long as possible, it’s a lot easier working with them. Had I known this was all part of the package well… Whatever, it’s time to break the news then.”

A loud bell rang as to mark an end to the cheers. The cadets all quieted down, surprised that there still were classes and training sessions despite the occasion. To address the confusion, an instructor in his late thirties stepped over to the podium, he stood out from the almost everyone with his fairer skin, dark green eyes and brown hair, a man who was clearly not a native to Rosaris, a traditus outlander. William Satie, a man descended from Iris, an Air Force officer and instructor in the Training Academy.

“To all cadets. I’ve had the honor of instructing the Sun Eaters Squadron for the past three years, as I had with all of you. For us to honor their memory, our duty is to pick up the torch they left for us, and live as they had, with our eyes to the sky and the defense of our homeland in our hearts. Today, and for all instruction days from now, you come to this academy to become airmen in their honor, in the honor of all who have fell in the line of duty. As such, we have decided that today will be another regular instruction day. Our army has never taken a break in the past century, and neither should we. Report to your classes to receive your schedules. That is all, cadets.”

“Ah… well Instructor Satie has spoken. Can’t be helped then.” Matteo bumped Vitya’s shoulder, smiling in resignation as he had hoped that today could have been a day off.

“I’d have thought they’d give us some room to breathe…” Responded Vitya, walking alongside him and Kali to one of the classroom buildings of the academy. Like the buildings in the Viktorre District, most of the academy was made of stone, warm yellow lights were shining through the windows beckoning the cadets inside “…to think we’ll walk past the Sun Eaters’ class, completely empty.”

“The way I see it, it’s everyone’s way of coping here. Can’t go around dwelling on it for too long. Honestly, if I was given another day to think about it I’d probably sign up for the Ground Forces.” Matteo responded.

“The Ground Forces?! Seriously?” Kali raised her voice in shock.

“Why not, Kali?! A comfortable life is all we’re looking for, alright?! Isn’t that what everyone is fighting for from the get-go?”

“Matteo has a point there… But Mat, if your case, wouldn’t you still prefer being in the Air Force? Yeah, you have the risks but, the pay’s a lot better… The prestige too.”

“You got a point, you got a point.”

“Tch, I can’t believe you of all people are talking like that, Vitya…” Kali scoffed at Vitya’s tone, wondering how this was the same boy that was raised under Haakon Wiberg’s roof.

Walking down the hallway, the three entered their classroom. There were just twenty two cadets there, the back and side walls were lined with bulletin boards, two flags hung along the sides of the whiteboard, the first being the national flag or Rosaris, the other being the flag of the Royal Air Force, white on the bottom half and dark blue on the top, separated with a thin red line and a white rose on the top left of the flag.

“Looks like we’re the first, huh.” Matteo ran over to the back of the class, looking up at the bulletin board where notes and drawings made by the cadets had pinned up “It’s feels like forever since we pinned up something new here…”

“Well, the year’s ending. No point in adding anything to the board.” Kali responded, looking over to note that she had pinned.

Across the sea, across the fields and sands! Freedom, we’ll find you there! - Kali Krovenblum

A two-panel drawing was pinned underneath it, signed by Matteo. It was Kali looking off into the sunset. There were other drawings that he had signed and pinned on the bulletin board underneath the notes of other cadets. For Vitya, it was him sitting on the wing of a jet, looking off into the sky.

We’ll fly together down the endless horizon, fighting until the day the skies are ours too. -Vitya Wiberg

There were several other notes, at least one had to be left by each cadet.

There’s no such thing as pulling too many Gs – Matteo Barca

To Fiar Island and beyond! – Alcina Goetfrit

Marry me, Vitya! – Irene Chunakov

“Egh… this gives me the goosebumps each time I see it…” Vitya pointed to the drawing of him in uniform carrying his fellow cadet Irene who was in a red wedding dress, “You didn’t have to draw that.”

“Still, it’s nice isn’t it?” Matteo said “I went into a loooot of detail trying to get the dress down!”

“Hmph! It’s good but not that good… You don’t even have the face markings down correctly!” Kali pouted at the sight of it, wondering how Irene got to have this drawing.

“Awwwhhhh look who’s jealous!” Irene crept up on the three before jumping on Kali from behind.

“W-wah! Ire-get off! Get off me!”

“Wahahah! You get so cute when you’re angry!”

“Stop laughing! You’re not funny! You’ll never be funny! Die!”

Kali tried to shake off Irene, but she clung onto her back as though her life depended on it. Matteo started to laugh while Vitya held us hands up in concern, wondering if he should get involved.

“Irene! I’m serious!”

“Then fight me! Ahahahah!”

“Th-that’s enough, you two!” Vitya went and tried to separate the girls, but as soon as he grabbed Irene by her sides.

“K-kyah…?!” She went red. She froze up and fell off Kali into Vitya’s arms.

“Tch… I told you to get o- Vitya, what the hell are you…?!”

“A-aeh?! Attention!” Vitya shouted as he noticed an instructor enter the room from the corner of his eye, Irene still in his arms. Everyone immediately stopping what they’re doing, going to their respective seats, the professor keeping a watchful over them as he unpacked his files.

“Pssst! Irene…! Instructor is here…!” Vitya whispered into Irene’s ears, but it was no good.

“Well, it’s good that some of us are a little lively this morning… Then, texts books to page 347. It’s time we conclude post-stall physics right this week. The exam is coming soon now, don’t forget.”

=====================================================================

Today was just another day as usual. There was hardly any talk about the speech earlier today, about the Sun Eaters’ class. When I was alone, I walked into their classroom. Nobody was there, I took the time to go over their bulletin board, looking at all the pins that they had left behind. Their desks all had books in them, Larissa still had the Sun Eaters’ emblem drawn on hers. In Anders’ desk, one of the drafts of his combat theories was in there. While I was the only one in there, others had passed by earlier, leaving a mural on the whiteboard in their honor. Two desks were emptied, belonging to two of the three survivors. The third, Evan, still hadn’t shown up since that night, having injured himself during the rescue operation.

Matteo walked in, greeting me with a stack of papers in hand.

“They’re going to be taken down someday, right? I’ll have to make some drawings for them too. You’re free to stay if you want to…”

“I think I’ve seen everything that I wanted to see. I’m heading back out.”

“Then, see you later, Vitya.”

=====================================================================

I couldn’t walk into the Sun Eaters’ classroom. It hurt too much just to think about it. I saw Matteo sitting in the back of that class, drawing something. The other fourth years were also generally quiet today. We smiled and greeted each other, but none of us were so much in a talking mood.

The Sun Eaters were cool, popular, we’d all go out to watch them in their practical exams and training sessions. Anders would take the lead, flying all the way into the sky, disappearing into the sun only to come thundering down on his opponents. Larissa would pull insane Gs regardless of the aircraft that she flew in, even the instructors had to laugh when they found her landing with parts of her plane missing. Those same instructors came warning me not to act like her, one even said I was a hopeless case, that I might shatter the plane in the practical exams.

I walked out of the fourth years’ building, not being able to bear being there any longer. It was still a good day outside, it was still the usual cold but just the right weather to enjoy stew in the outdoors with some of the classmates. I couldn’t find Vitya anywhere. He could be with Haakon, or he might be in the living quarters.

“Hey, Kali, you good there?” Asked Halfdan.

“Ah? Oh… Just a little spaced out, that’s all. How’s it going for you?”

“Keeping my mind off things. How’s the stew? I could’ve sworn the taste was different last week…”

“Oh, you noticed? There’s a little less flavor in it, not sure if it’s less broth… it feels diluted” Now that I think of it… it did taste different.

“So it’s not just me!” Joined in Alcina, “All I’ve been having is stew because getting anything else is getting too expensive! Now I can’t enjoy this either?!”

“Calm down, calm down… It just might be a temporary thing. Come on, it’s not too bad!” Added Irene “Also, there’s that aelyo. It’s still pretty cheap and doesn’t taste bad at all.”

“We’re Air Force! Why are we being reduced to eating aelyo?!”

Aelyo, food made by cultured and modified algae. Nearly the entirety of Rosaris subsists off it. Foods made from it don’t taste particularly bad, they generally do reproduce the flavor of what they’re supposed to be substituting, but they’re simply missing the gaminess that comes with authentic food.

"What’s that supposed to mean? My family eats aelyo each other day.” I said, there really was nothing wrong with eating aelyo!

=====================================================================

It was high noon as the second years’ practical flight exams were underway in the Thorgilsson Air Force Base. The cadets all cheered as two planes landed on the two opposing runways, both passing with marks of excellence. Standing in the control tower, instructor William Satie clapped for the two as he congratulated them.

“Who would’ve thought that Matteo would be so eager for a dogfight?”

“It was unexpected but Aaro was prepared for it. He stuck with the doctrines to a tee. Though, in Matteo’s case… He could’ve done a lot more in the long range section of the test. Realistically he’d struggle a lot more” Responded Elric as he looked over the flight recording, a three-dimensional display of two blue and red arrows approaching each other and maneuvering about, launching virtual missiles denoted by a small moving white dash.

“Well, I already cited his lack of evasive maneuvers. But his electronic warfare and general countermeasures use were notable… Though, he should hold his own, even if his actions are a deviation from the manual. We’ll see how he truly shines in the squadron practical exams. Ah. One moment…”

Thorgilsson Control Tower:<<CT Thorgilsson, Sparrow 1, you’re taxiing too fast, slow down.>>

Sparrow 1:<<I-I was…? Understood, adjusting speed. Thanks, Thorgilsson.>>

“Alright, and it looks like the next pair of planes have taxied over to the cadets… Let’s see who’s next on the list again…” William looked over the list of cadets. Under the names Matteo and Aaro were Vitya and Kali “…alright, this is going to get interesting. What gave you the idea to put them together?”

“Oh? They got the best scores in class, it’s only fair to pit them against each other.”

“It could get dangerous real quick, you know.”

“We won’t know until when we find out.”

=====================================================================

As two aircraft were taxied over to the cadets, the canopies opening up for the next pilots. The planes were RKK-104M, referral name SAAB 35 Draken Ms, delta-winged aircraft which at a time were once considered to be the state-of-the-art fighters famed for their speed and mobility. Their sleek design, their ability, made them quite the attractive pick as trainer aircraft. With Rosarian modifications added to the aircraft, the RRAF’s Draken’s avionics could even hold the plane up to modern fighting standards at both long and short range.

“Alright, next up are cadets Vitya Wiberg, and Kali Krovenbrum. Wiberg, you’ll be taking the thirty-two marked Draken. Krovenblum, you’ll be taking the thirty-five.” William’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

Vitya and Kali were standing at the front of the crowd, the two already suited up in their light grey flight suits.

“Ahhh! It’s our turn! Come at me with all that you got, Vitya!” Kali flashed a challenging half-grin at Vitya as she started walking to her plane.

“You won’t be so cocky after I knock you down a notch, Kali!” He returned the grin, raising his fist up, Kali bumping it in return.

=====================================================================

And so on this day, we finally takes the test that decides if we get our wings. Our first real step forwards. If we pass this test, then the skies will be ours. Those horizons we look over each and every day will no longer be out of reach, we’ll be free to chase the sunset, free to tear through the clouds, free to see lands beyond ours. We’ll be free to fight back.

=====================================================================

If we live long enough, if we go far enough… Will we finally reach those warm waters?