The village was in absolute chaos. Argenti troops lept from the flying barges, cutting down anyone in their path, civilian or military. Lauren pulled herself onto a roof, drawing back her longbow. I lept straight into the fray, cutting down the Argenti invaders. We clearly hadn't expected the Barges.

                      I quickly had the Argenti's attention.

                      "Yeah, look at me." I muttered, and Coulter's training kicked in. I slammed the hilt of berserker into one piglins face as I kicked another in the chest. In one quick slice, both of them fell.

                          A war cry echoed behind me, and I was just barely able to avoid a spear. Twisting, I quickly grabbed the spears shaft and swung the piglin towards me and cut him down. I picked the spear up and hurled it into the sky. It nailed the sail of one of the oncoming barges, and it fell with a massive explosion.

                  A building in front of me collapsed, and a hoglin mounted piglin burst from it, brandishing a flamethrower. Cursing, I kicked an abandoned shield up just in time to block a scorching burst of fire. I could feel my eyebrows crisp a little bit. I charged forwards, slamming the shield into the hoglins tusks. I felt them snap, and the hoglin screeched as it threw its rider from its saddle.

                  I swung around, and met a half-gold, half-netherite sword. Cole. We looked at each other, surprised.

                  "What are you doing out here? I thought Coulter would've been keeping you safe in the bastion for his propaganda." He asked.

                   "I would ask the same of you." I said. He looked confused.

                    "Are you seriously here by choice? My dad's been saying Coulter's been holding you hostage, and we needed to come get you." He said, stepping back. I raised my katana, ready to keep fighting at any moment.

                      "Who else would I be fighting with? Every gut feeling I have screams not to trust Argenta. The Tartarus? That's who I'm trying to destroy. I don't know who the Ghast Khan is, so of course I'm not with him." I said.

                   "But why Cardonia? They're literally in rebellion against us."

                   "Because they're fighting for the same thing I am. Freedom." I said. He lowered his sword and jerked his head to the side.

                    "Go. I didn't see you." He said. I nodded and ran the other way to continue the battle.

                                                         .  .  .

            The day dragged on. Argenti forces pushed us into the inner walls and dug themselves in for a long battle. Ivorytusk had managed to push the Argenti ships from the bay, although Ivorytusk was beaten down with smoke pouring from it. The Argenti ships were just outside of the harbor, nursing their own wounds. We had sent the most backup we could help them with repairs with one of the Argenti barges that Cardonia had stolen. Me, Coulter, Lauren, Desmond, Sadie, and Claireese stood in the command tent over a map of Soulfire City, discussing our next moves.

                                "We've already lost over a quarter of our force here. Argenta's sunken two ships from Seagaurd and one battlecruiser from Soulfire. They've taken half the city and entrenched themselves for a battle that could last months. What can we do?" Sadie reported. Coulter sighed and put his head in his arms.

                  "Those barges are a major issue. Set up as many ballistae as possible and target those. And if we can, steal them and use them against Argenta. Send one to the builders and see if they can reverse engineer one. We have no allies, so we can't send for outside help. Post as many guards as we can spare. Anyone else left, we launch Guerrilla strikes on their most valuable positions. And luckily for us, the biggest snowstorm of the century is coming. They're used to fighting winter fights with the warmth of the lava sea. But the oil here's only gonna make the air colder. They'll be so focused on not freezing to death that we can use the repurposed barges to cruise in and bomb them back to the hole they came from. Once they evacuate to their ships, Ivorytusk and her fleet can set up a blockade at the bay entrance and trap them. We flank them with the barges and annihilate them." Coulter said. Desmond looked up.

                 "Send Dean and Lauren." He said. Coulter frowned.

                 "Send them where?" He asked.

                 "South with one of the barges. Assemble the best fighting group possible, spread word about Argenta's barges, and tell the world of Argenta's ruthlessness to their own species. They'll lose allies, and we may just gain them." Desmond said.

                         "Sounds like a good idea to me." Lauren said. I nodded, two people to pick up already in mind. Coulter thought and nodded.

                          "Wait, so our survival will depend on two undertrained kids? No offense, Dean, I respect you, but I don't think you're ready for this." Sadie said.

                          "They're as ready as they'll ever be. Besides, we won't know until he's on his own." Coulter said. Lauren cleared her throat. "Er, on his own plus Lauren." Coulter amended. She nodded, satisfied.

                           "I think it's a great idea. Her and I already make a great team, and with some of the people I have in mind, we'd be essentially unstoppable." I said.

                           "Wait... who are you thinking of?" Lauren asked.

                            "I'll tell you on the road." I said, nodding at her.

                        We took a vote, and in the end the only one of us against it was Sadie.

                         "It's not a good idea, I'm telling you!" she said. Lauren grabbed my shoulder and motioned outside of the tent. I followed her, leaving the piglins to argue.

                          "You wanna get Doug and Sarah, don't you?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest. I winced.

                           "That easy to tell?" I said.

                           "No, you hid it quite well actually. I'm just good at reading people." She said. I nodded.

                          "I agree with that completely. Doug could seriously swing an axe when he wants, and Sarah was insanely stubborn. They've also been doing really well at avoiding the Legion over the past few weeks." She said. I nodded. That sounded like them. Then I frowned.

                     "Wait, how do you know that?" I asked. She winced.

                     "Let's just say I'm not the only Tartarun that doesn't like how The Warlord runs things." She said, and before I could respond, Coulter came out of the tent.

                       "We can send you with basic provisions. They're on the barge. But other than that, you're on your own kids." He said. I surprised him with a massive hug.

                        "Thank you for everything." I said. He laughed.

                        "This isn't the last you're gonna see of me, kid. I may be old, but I can hold off a few piglins." He said. I let go and nodded.

                         "Good luck, man. You're gonna need it." I said.

                         "Likewise." He said, and a pair of guards walked towards us.

                         "They'll show you to the Bay Glider. It's yours now." Coulter called over his shoulder. Before I could respond, he was gone.

                                                            .  .  .

             The Bay Glider wasn't very impressive. It had enough room to sleep at least seven people and their stuff, a single furnace, and two cannons. Two small ballistae were mounted on the guardrail, so small they took normal sized arrows. It was narrow, explaining its insane speed. It was made of crimson wood enforced by silver lining, and its sail was made of hoglin skins. The steering wheel was at the same level as the rest of the main deck. It wasn't that impressive, but it would work well enough.

                    "Fastest one we have. Coulter said it can outrun the fastest Ghast, even if it had help." One of the guards said. I nodded, and with Lauren behind me, climbed up. A piece of paper was nailed to the control panel. Instructions on how to actually fly the thing.

               "Here. I'll fly it." Lauren said, and reluctantly I stepped away. The ship jerked slightly as the chains were released. Lauren eased a lever forwards, and the sail unfurled. The barge slowly moved forwards, pushed by the guards and some wind in the sail. We slowly picked up speed until we were slowly bouncing up and down. Two smallish wings unfolded from the sides, and we started hovering a few inches off the ground. My heart pumped in both nervousness and excitement. Throughout history, no species except the ghasts had taken to the skies. Until now. Now, the piglins had that advantage.

                      With a jolt, I realized something.

                       "Yo Lauren! We're the first of our species to fly!" I called back over the sound of the wind rushing by. And judging from the massive smile on her face, she heard me.

                We shot forwards suddenly, and we were airborne. Flying! I leaned up against the front rail, looking down. The height made me slightly dizzy. Ignoring it, I whooped loudly. Cardoni on the ground heard me and looked up. They cheered. I couldn't stop smiling, even if I tried. This was a bigger thrill than surfing by far.

                  "I've always wanted to fly. I watched ghasts all my life going in and out of Arcent Flo, wanting to just fly away with them. I feel like a little kid again." Lauren said. I looked at her, surprised. She never talked about her life. She was smiling widely.

                 "My brother, before he joined the Legion, always told me stories about The Angel of Death. He was a wither skeleton that was born unable to move his legs. His family and village shunned him, and he had this black mat he sat on under a dead tree to beg for food. Wither took pity on him, took his mat, and gave him wings. He didn't need to walk. When the Legion came to recruit him, he refused and instead took to protecting the very village that shunned him from skeleton raiders. My brother used to hold me above his head whenever he got to that part and spin me around, so I felt like I was flying." She said. I couldn't help but smile at that a little.

                    "What happened to him?" I asked.

                    "The Legion grew bitter that he didn't join them, and had his family tempt him to try and land. Once he did, they would put him in a weighted net and kill him. He was so desperate to come home and have a family he listened. And The Legions plan worked. After this, Wither granted him the title of 'Angel of Death' and another life to get revenge on the soldiers that had taken his life. He killed them and dedicated his new immortal life to protecting all of Tartarus." She said. I winced. She shook her head, and straightened the ship and flicked a little lever. She walked over to me and leaned against the rail.

                           "We have a long way to go. You should go get some rest." She said, looking over the bay area where Ivorytusk was reengaging the Argenti fleet. Funny, I didn't realize how tired I was until she said that. I nodded and went below deck.

                                                            .  .  .

              I woke to the feeling of falling. Jerking awake, I rolled out of bed and pulled my shirt on. I ran above deck where Lauren was waiting.

              "We're landing." She said calmly. I let out a panicked breath.

              "Next time, please wake me up like thirty minutes beforehand." I said, relieved we weren't crashing. She exploded into laughter.

              "Noted," she wheezed, trying to compose herself. I glared at her, but laughed too.

              It took us a few moments, but we were able to pull ourselves together. Lauren took a deep breath.

             "You should probably stay on the ship. I'll go get some supplies, and possibly a recruit from the underground." She said.

              "What if you need backup? You shouldn't go anywhere solo." I protested.

               "I can handle myself, Dean. I'll be fine. No one's gonna give me a second glance. You, however, with that garb across your face, will arouse a ton of suspicion. Don't argue with me. I know what I'm doing." She said, and grabbing her bow, climbed down to the ground. Blazetown sat ahead of us, hazy in the heat.

                  "Yeah, sure." I grumbled and sat down. I drew Berserker and saw a bunch of nicks in it. I cursed and leaned over the rail.

                   "Hey, can you grab a whetstone while you're in town?" I yelled at Laurens retreating form. She gave an annoyed thumbs up and kept going. I sat back down and started cleaning the blade.

                                                         .  .  .

                A few hours later, I was feeling restless. I wiped the sweat from my brow and pulled my cloak around my face. I sheathed Berserker, stood, and hopped off the boat. The gravel ground crinkled under my feet, and I started walking into town.

            The gate was wide open, and a massive caravan was walking through. I slipped in, and one piglin gave me an odd look.

            Two Legionnaires stood at the gate. I felt their gaze burning into my back, and I kept my eyes down. The piglin leaned over to me.

            "Ah. Hiding from the legion?" He whispered, "Me too. Don't worry, I won't turn you in."

              "What's going on?" I asked quietly.

              "Didn't you hear? Blazetown offered sanctuary to everyone running from the war." He said. I shrugged.

             "Didn't hear much of the outside world where I came from. The Legion came to my family's farm, took our crops, killed my family, and burned everything. I barely got out alive." I lied. He whistled.

              "Dang, kid. I'm sorry." He said, and hesitantly slipped me a piece of paper.

              "I feel like you're trustworthy. There's an underground fighting arena here that's arranging a rebellion here to drive the legion out of Blazetown. You may wanna talk to her." He said as we entered town, and before I could respond, he was gone. I pocketed the paper, and pushed into the crowd.
                  A platform stood in the middle of town square with a trio of wither skeletons standing on it. The biggest one had a squared jaw, a netherite gauntlet on his left fist, and stood with a cocky swagger. I stared, a cold feeling of anger expanding in my gut. This was the commander with the nether blade who had been at the Cavern of Great. My hand went to my katana without me even realizing it. The commander cleared his throat, and the square went dead silent.

                 "I come with terrible news. The terrorist Dean Blackstone from Cardonia is here." He said, and my heart stopped. How?

                 "Well, he was some time ago. And intelligence says he plans to visit again and destroy this amazing city. If you see a pigman, turn them in immediately before they destroy your beautiful town. I'm one of the Nether Warlords Chosen Twelve, and he has sent me and my comrades from the table on a nether-wide manhunt for the last of the pigmen. There's only four left. Three of them are traveling together, and my hunt for them led me here. I'm close to finding them after two months. Dean Blackstone, if you're here, or reading the public address, I will kill the last family you have. Then I'm coming for you. Thank you, Blazetown." The Commander said, and his eyes found me. I froze and shrunk further into the crowd. He frowned and stepped back. He barked a few orders to the legionaries next to him, and they ran off. I cursed and ducked into an alleyway. I hid behind some barrels, holding my breath as they ran past. One stopped in front of the alley I was in and whistled. I pulled myself into an empty barrel as they walked past.

                     "I swear..." One said, and the other punched his shoulder.

                    "Idiot." The other grumbled, and then went back into the square. I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled myself out slowly. That was close. I slowly peeked over the barrel and made eye contact with the guard.

'Trap' I faintly thought and took off running.

                 "He's here!" The guard yelled and gave chase.

                  He caught up quick, tackling me into a pile of netherwart.

                  "Gotcha, Pigman." He growled, attempting to put me in a pair of handcuffs. I struggled, throwing elbows in his face and pushing up.

                   "Don't resist this. It's only gonna make things worse." He said. I kept struggling.

                    "Leave him alone." A deep, gruff voice behind us said just as the guard managed to slip the cuffs on. The guard stood, planting his boot on my chest.

                     "Fugitive of Tartarus. I am well within my rights to arrest this pigman." He barked.

                     "I know. Leave him alone or you won't like where this goes." The voice grumbled. I looked up at the voice.

                      He was clearly a Piglin Brute, towering over the guard. His arms were folded over his broad chest in a relaxed manner. He wore no shirt but had the black cloak uniform given to all brutes. A hammer sat on his waist.

                       "Alright buddy, hands above your head. I'm bringing you in." The guard said, lifting his gladius. The piglin sighed and grabbed his hammer. It expanded at the handle, electricity flickering up it.

                      "My name is Thor Hawkson. Stand down and I'll let you live." The brute said. The guard let out a battle cry, and Thor sighed. He swung his hammer one handed into the guards' skull, and it shattered. He grunted.

                        "That could've ended well for you. Ah well." Thor grunted, crouched next to me, and pulled his hood off. I was surprised at how young but so very old he looked. He grabbed the chains of my handcuffs and crushed it in his palm. He hauled me up.

                       "You ok?" He grunted. I nodded.

                       "You shouldn't be here." Thor said and took a swig from a flask. The strong aurora of mead hit me like a wave.

                          "...How old are you? WHO are you? You look like you're sixteen." I said. Thor grunted.

                          "Yes. Now follow me. No more questions." He said and straightened his cloak. He lumbered off.

                           "Wait! Who are you?" I pressed. He grunted and kept walking. He stopped in front of a brick wall and put his hand in a gap. A rich gold rune floated above the wall for a moment before sliding open almost silently.

                "Come." Thor grunted. I hesitated. He sighed heavily.

                "Laurens inside. Come." He said. This time I followed. The wall slid shut behind us with the same golden rune engraved in it. The hall was dimly lit with candlelight. Laughter, chanting, singing, and music echoed down the hall. Thor lifted his hood and led me to a heavy crimson door. He swung it open, and I stepped into a tavern. A band played like there was no tomorrow, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. A crowd was gathered around a pit, and Thor led me to it. The crowd parted respectfully for him, and a hawk landed on his shoulder. A wither skeleton pushed through the crowd.

                  "Thor! Just in time! Your brother's about to fight!" He said. A dark look crossed his face.

                  "Why did you let him?" He asked with a dangerous air. The wither skeleton held his hands up.

                   "Whoa, easy, he said you approved of it." He said.

                   "You know I would never approve of this!" Thor roared.

                    "It's too late now. The crowds hyped up to see Odin Hawkson, the brother of the legendary Thor Hawkson, have his first arena fight. And you know the boy wants nothing more than to follow in your footsteps." The skeleton said.

                         "You and Odin both know I don't want him to follow me. I want him SAFE." Thor said and pushed to the edge. I followed, and so did the wither skeleton. At the bottom of the pit stood a small piglin who couldn't have been more than thirteen, holding a battleaxe in one hand and a shield in the other. He was circling around, keeping his eyes on the meanest, nastiest looking hoglin I'd ever seen. It had a muzzle, metal-tipped tusks, and was branded with that rune. The hoglin roared and charged.

                     The piglin ducked to the side, and the hoglin twisted around. It collided with the shield, putting two holes in it and sending him flying to the other side of the pit.

                     "Duck at the last second Odin, danggit!" Thor yelled. Odin didn't seem to hear him and stood shakily. The hoglin reared up to charge again, and Odin charged with it. He slid to the side at the last moment and swung the axe into its hide. It squealed in anger and kicked him away with its rear legs.

                     "Aim for the neck!" Thor bellowed, and this time Odin heard. He nodded up at Thor and prepared for its next charge. Right before it trampled him, he slid under it, and sliced its throat. It screamed and fell to the side. Odin jumped up and chopped its head all the way off. The crowd erupted into cheers, and he lifted the axe above his head.

                           "Stay here." Thor said and walked off. The wither skeleton put his hand on my shoulder.

                          "Dean Blackstone?" He asked. I tensed up. How?

                           "Don't worry, you can trust me. I'm a friend of Laurens. She's over at the bar with Rod and his son. Rod'll be happy to see you." He said and pointed over at a counter. I nodded my thanks.

              "Oh, and you don't have to hide your face here. Everyone here is an enemy of the warlord." He said, and I warily removed it. He nodded.

                "It's an honor." He said and walked off. I walked to the bar and slid into an empty seat next to Lauren and two blazes. The older of the two looked at me.

                 "Dean. Last I saw you, you were a squirming little thing in Colter and Lucy's arms. And, I'm sorry. I miss them too. Your parents were great friends of mine. My name's Rod. I'm the owner of this place." He said. Lauren looked at me.

                   "...How did you get down here?" She pressed.

                   "This piglin, his name is Thor Hawkson, found me and killed this guard trying to arrest me. He brought me here." I said. She nodded.

                     "I've been trying to work up the courage to talk to Thor about joining us. He's a legend around here." Lauren said.

                     "And that brings us back to our business. You want me to join you as well. I'm sorry, but I can't. I have a place to run here. And my adventuring days are over." Rod said, and using one of his blaze rods lifted the flask of mead to his lips. Lauren sighed.

                     "I understand." Lauren said and started to stand when the other blaze spoke up.

                     "I can go." He said, and Rod whirled on him.

                     "Absolutely not. You're too young, Blazer." Rod barked.

                      "I'm sixteen, dad. I can handle myself." Blazer snapped.

                      "I'm sixteen. I've only had two months of training. Laurens sixteen. So's Thor. Personally, I think he should." I said. Rod glared at me.

                      "I agree with Dean. I've seen Blazer fight. He'd be a good choice for that quest." Thor's voice came from the side. He sat in the chair next to me, his brother right next to him. Thor took a deep drink from his flask.

                       "Rod, the only way to know Blazer is ready is to send him into the field. He should come." Lauren said, and I turned to Thor and Odin.

                      "You should come too, Thor. We need all the help we can get." I said.

                       "I'm not letting Odin out of my sight after today." Thor said and put his hammer on the counter. Runes were carved into it, veins of glowstone running through it.

                        "He can come too." I said, and the bartender walked up.

                         "What can I get you, pigman?" He asked.

                        "Get him a flask of mead. On me." Thor said, and the bartender nodded. I started to pull some coins out to pay with.

                        "Absolutely not." Thor said and slammed some gold coins on the desk. The bartender took them and handed me a flask. I took a drink, and nearly spit it back out. This was way stronger than what we had back home.

                    "I'm ready, Thor, you saw my fight today!" Odin protested.

                    "I did. That's why I say no. You almost died." Thor said.

                     "The best way to learn is to go and do it. I think he's ready. He did great today." I said. Odin looked at me gratefully. Thor grunted.

                      "Fine." Thor said, and Odin perked up excitedly, "But you stay on the ship." Odin sagged slightly.

                      "That's still an important job. Guarding the ship from hijackers." I said and took another drink. The second one was more bearable than the first.

                      "When do we leave?" Thor grunted.

                      "That's... a good question. Lauren? I said and turned to her. She looked up.

                      "What?" She said, exasperated.

                      "Thor and Odin are coming. When do we leave?" I asked. Rod sighed.

                      "In that case, fine. I guess Blazer can go. Thor, protect my son." Rod said. Thor nodded.

                       "We leave whenever you're ready. I have the supplies and gear we need. How long will it take you to get ready?" Lauren asked.

                        "I'm ready." Thor grumbled. She nodded.

                         "Let's go, then." Lauren said.