Livia was outside again. The wind had stopped howling the second she had come out, the second Jokasta had stood next to her. Livia was not sure if she had made the wind blow in the first place for dramatic effect.

  “My children.” Jokasta's voice thundered impossibly loud.

  In front of them tens of thousands of furtives were arrayed. All of the inhabitants of the fortress. The large frozen field that had been used for their drilling practice was now covered in smooth stone with not a single spot of snow to be seen on top of it. All that could be seen were the large number of furtives on it. Those furtives that had listened to Jokasta's message and had agreed to join their cause.

  None of them would be here without me.

  Livia felt an odd sense of pride at that. Amongst them Livia saw furtives of every kind. Sirens, dragoors, dwarves, humans, gesherin, sparrowlings, she even saw furtives she had never even seen before. Some that were small with green smooth skin and large bulbous eyes.

  Those must be the tribe that Artesh had just communicated with.

  They were all armed. The majority had rifles, but there were also cannons arrayed through the field.

  My designs.

  Once again the pride within her heart overcame Livia. She had spent so much time toiling away on all of their designs, on the intricacies of how to devise these machines so that they would function in every environment the furtives were expected to fight in. All leading up to this.

  “Tomorrow begins in earnest our campaign to overthrow the yoke of the Titans! Tomorrow you, all of you, my children, will take the first step in the creation of a new world! A world where furtives can prosper without fear! A world that is yours to shape as you see fit! Years from now when your children ask who helped free them from the tyranny of the Titans you will proudly tell them that it was you, you brave furtives who took on the challenge of the time to fight against the monsters who had oppressed your kind for ages! But no more!” Jokasta accentuated.

  The furtives in the field began to cheer her on, enthralled by her every word.

  “No more shall furtives fear the Titans! Now it is the Titans turn to fear the furtives!”

  The cheers grew louder. Artesh who stood next to Jokasta raised his spear high into the sky and joined the cheering. Livia herself could not help but feel overcome with emotion. Her heart raged with a sensation unlike any she'd felt before. If she saw a Dragon right in front of her she felt as if she could fight it with just her bare hands.

  “Your brave Commander Artesh, a skilled warrior unlike any this world has ever seen before, has already slain two Titans!” Jokasta said.

  “Artesh!” “Artesh!” “Artesh!”

  The cries rang in the crowd.

  “And this is only the beginning!” Jokasta added. “As the war progresses the Titans shall whisper his name in the silence! They shall know what true fear is! They will hope that Commander Artesh spares them from his fearsome spear, but to no avail!”

  The furtives began howling once again as they cheered.

  “And along with Commander Artesh, High Onsiel Zhi will join him on the battlefield along with her cohort of Onsiels!”

  “Onsiel!” “Onsiel!” “Onsiel!”

  “The first to heed my call!” Jokasta added.

  Not true, but that is not an important detail.

  “High Onsiel Zhi has faced down two Titans by herself and emerged victorious! She, who was the first to go out and spread the word of your Goddess! She will join you all in battle, along with the other Onsiels! To strike down the Titans using their own powers!”

  “Artesh!” “Onsiel!” “Our Goddess!”

  The chants were all over the place. Nobody could agree on what was being chanted. All that mattered was that they were all ready for war.

  “But you possess something more than just raw strength! More than just raw power!” Jokasta added. “You possess something within you that can never be replicated by any Titan! You possess ingenuity, tenacity, grit! You whose lives have been defined by endless struggle, who have tasted defeat innumerable times and are still eager to fight! You have with you weapons that no Titan could have ever devised! Weapons which already strike fear into the hearts of the enemy! Weapons devised by your own Quartermaster Livia! She who has toiled endless hours to arm you for this fight! Quartermaster Livia who exemplifies the unique soul of the furtive! The same soul that you will all bring to war!”

  “Livia! Livia! Livia!”

  The chants echoed throughout the field.

  Livia was left breathless. Her heart beat faster and faster as she saw the throngs of furtives chant her name. Her heart beat with such fervor, such zeal.

  I know now. Waging this war. This is my purpose in life.

  “Commander Artesh!” Jokasta spoke.

  Artesh dismounted his horse, walked to Jokasta and knelt.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Do you vow to take this army into the field and fight the Titans? Do you vow to deliver unto your Goddess victory against the Titans? Do you take command?” She asked him.

  “Goddess Jokasta,” Artesh began his voice echoing through the field “I promise that I will lead this army personally. I promise that the scourge of the Titans will be stricken from the face of this world. I, Artesh, see no greater honor, no greater privilege than to command these furtives into battle!”

  “Commander Artesh,” Jokasta spoke, “Rise. Rise and take your place at the head of your army!”

  Artesh mounted his horse once more and rode to the front of the army. He raised his spear high into the air.

  “Tomorrow, my comrades, we march out and bring in the creation of a new world! Tomorrow our fight begins! Our fight for freedom! Freedom that you will provide to your children, to our future!” Artesh announced.

  All furtives clamored loudly. Livia had never heard a group of furtives ever be this loud. But it wasn't just them. Even Livia, who only hours earlier worried about the upcoming conflict, now chanted with the others, eager for the upcoming war.

  ***

  Livia walked outside once again.

  The fight will begin in earnest shortly. But there is still work to be done.

  Her boots crushed the snow. The fortress was empty. The army had marched out in the morning, leaving all but a few furtives behind, Livia and Pavan among them. Although it would be a slower effort there were still Jokastans messengers going out in search of uncontacted furtive tribes. Livia would be there to equip those that came and teach them how to use the various weapons of war that they would bring to bear against the Titans and Pavan would drill them in how to work together.

  But Livia was not satisfied with what they were bringing to bear against the enemy. Their weapons were mighty, but so were their enemies. She did not merely want to even the playing field and give the furtives a chance to win, she wanted to crush the Titans. To ensure that any chance that the Titans may have at winning would be snuffed out.

  Leander has just returned from his expedition. I need to see what he brought.

  She continued to the storehouse. Earlier in the morning it had been the main Nexus of activity in the fortress, but now it was devoid of activity, save for a single furtive waiting outside.

  “Quartermaster!” The single furtive called out to Livia, as the furtive bowed to her.

  Livia did not recognize this furtive. It seemed like a member of the latest tribe that had come along with Artesh. Due to all the activity, Livia had not been able to learn anything about this latest group. All she knew was their race, the Gruttos.

  “Is Leander inside?” Livia asked the small creature.

  “Yes Quartermaster, umm, Scoutmaster Leander inside depot.” The furtive replied, her voice soft.

  Livia walked past the still bowing furtive and opened the door.

  “Are you coming?” She asked the Grutto.

  “Oh,” the Grutto seemed taken aback. “Yes!”

  Livia went into the large empty storehouse and near the center saw Leander and six of his siren cohort.

  They were all standing around a smattering of rocks placed on the ground. The rocks were strewn about instead of being placed all on top of each other. Livia could see streaks of metal in them.

  Livia felt giddy at seeing them.

  “Was this all that you found?” Livia asked Leander as she approached him, staring straight at the rocks on the ground.

  “No greetings? Just right down to business!” Leander smiled at Livia as she walked to him.

  Livia looked at Leander and the rest of the sirens.

  “Don't you normally travel in groups of twelve?” She asked him.

  “The others are still bringing in the rest of the ore.” He replied.

  “Oh there's more!?” Livia replied, almost jumping at him.

  “Of course there is.” He replied.

  “May I?” She asked.

  Leander stepped out of the way and Livia walked over to the ore on the ground.

  Livia knelt near the ores. She studied each of the various rocks on the ground. They were of different sizes, all tinted with metallic stripes. She grabbed a stone that was about the size of her hand and lifted it.

  “Oh wow.” She exclaimed.

  “Heavy isn't it?” Leander said with a laugh. “That's why we are having such a hard time bringing it in.”

  Livia grabbed another rock and brought it close to the one in her hand. She felt the rock get warmer in her hand. She took them apart, dusted some snow off her clothing and poured it on the metal. It immediately sizzled.

  They all stared at the material, completely amazed at what they had just seen.

  “Did Jarrik look at the metal?” Livia asked without looking.

  “He sure did.” Leander replied.

  “And?” She eagerly awaited an answer.

  “There is nothing magical about these rocks or the metal within them.” Leander replied.

  Livia looked over the rocks in front of her. She recounted the story she read from the slab.

  ‘...Perhaps a large collection of these metals led to the resulting event that destroyed the mountain?’

  That was what the author of the slab assumed. A large enough grouping of this metal caused an explosion that could destroy a mountain. But there has to be more to it. How do you actually make it happen?

  “You didn’t happen to find any other artifacts near the rocks?” Livia asked still fixated on the rocks.

  “No, there was no sign of any other artifacts near the ores.” Leander replied.

  “I see.” Livia muttered. She was in her own head now.

  I don't understand what this is, but I know I need to be careful with it. What should I do with it?

  “Well what do you want us to do with it?” Leander spoke, breaking the silence.

  Livia turned to look at him. In that short time span she had decided.

  “Send it to Habres.” She replied quickly. “Tell him to smelt the metal from this ore but to be careful about it. He will need to ensure that the ingots he produces are smaller than the ones we normally build.”

  “That works for me.” Leander replied.

  “One more thing.” She added.

  “Yes?” He stopped.

  “Is this one yours?” She asked as she pointed at the Grutto. Thus far she had been standing behind them observing without saying anything.

  “She has been assigned to us, that is correct.” Leander replied. “Artesh thought she could be of assistance to us.”

  Livia turned to her.

  “Are you a good swimmer?” Livia asked.

  “Oh well, Grutto's normally good at swimming, but not me.” she replied.

  Livia smiled.

  “Not much for you to do in a sea survey squadron I reckon?” She asked the Grutto.

  “I try helping where they think I can.” The grutto replied unsure of what was happening.

  “How would you like to help me?” Livia said. “I am going to need someone that can help me read through a lot of the Titans artifacts, to help me try to find something else about these metals that we can use to our advantage.”

  “But I never read before.” The grutto replied.

  “That's not a problem, I can help with that.” Livia added. “What do you think?”

  The grutto turned to Leander.

  “It's fine by me.” He said. “I don't want you to be stuck guarding a storehouse in the middle of the winter if you don't want to.”

  The grutto turned to Livia and nodded.

  “Good, now come with me.” Livia said as she quickly turned around.

  “Oh yes Quartermaster!” The grutto replied as she began following Livia.

  “Alright you all heard the Quartermaster let's get this over to Habres.” Leander said in the distance.

  “By the way, when it's just the two of us, you can call me Livia.” She added without looking back. She was hurrying over to Jaco.

  “Yes, Quartermaster.” The grutto replied but quickly added. “I mean, Lady Livia.”

  “Just Livia.” She replied.

  “Livia.” The grutto said.

  To this Livia stopped and turned around to look at the Grutto. It seemed there was something the Grutto wanted to say.

  “Is something the matter?” Livia asked her.

  The Grutto looked around and shook her head. She seemed scared.

  “I thankful for you asking for my help.” The grutto said.

  “Oh of course.” Livia. “Oh I just realized. I don’t even know your name.”

  “Me?” The grutto replied confused.

  “Yes, I’m sorry what is your name?” Livia looked at the Grutto with a smile.

  “Oh, my name Daya.”