Moonlight bathed the now-empty streets of the capital city of Shinkotsku in its silver shimmer.
Where most of the citizens had long gone to sleep, the ones who ran it were yet to catch even a wisp of it.
At the heart of the capital city rose the mansion of Fugen's highest seat of military power.
Inside the General's mansion, a tall woman walked through a corridor of polished wooden floors.
Her blue-white armor of enchanted Mithril glinted in the blend of moonlight and mana lamps as she walked through the corridor with the heavy thuds of metal-plated boots.
On one side of her was a meticulously tended garden, while on the other were the sliding paper doors.
She walked with focus in her blue eyes before finally coming to a stop before one particular door.
And before she could even announce herself, a calm voice carried from the other side.
"Come in, Commander Dove."
[Annoying old man…]
Dove thought with a small smirk on her face before sliding the door open and stepping into the study of the General of the kingdom of Fugen.
And there he sat, behind a large table and a mountain of paperwork, all related to the coming Night of the Red Moon.
Despite his age and the days he's spent behind a desk, the General's body retained the definition of a warrior who has refused to come home.
White wolf-ears sat atop the shoulder-length white hair he let loose as he sat with his back straight, and eyes skimming the report a Thunderbird had brought a few hours ago from the southern border.
"Take a seat." The General said as his amber eyes looked up at Dove.
"Yes, sir." She nodded before pulling a chair.
And as she sat, the General slid the report he was reading across the desk, and spoke, "This is the urgent matter I wanted to discuss with you."
Picking it up, Dove began skimming through it, "Tier-1… Nature and Metal? Interesting… all classical affinities except Light and Darkness, Tier-5… a Greater Dragon too?... Demands Asylum in exchange for fighting Night of the Red Moon..."
-Ptfff – Haha-!
Dove couldn't help but burst out in laughter as she said, "Pantheon couldn't have been more obvious even if they tried… Did they get an intern to plan their little infiltration?"
Even the General let out a rare little chuckle.
"So, what are your orders, sir?" Dove asked as she plopped the report onto the table, "Deportation? Execution may send a clearer message."
"My order for you," The General said as his smile faded, "… is to arrange asylum for them."
Frowning, she just stared at him for a moment before leaning forward slightly, "Years behind the desk really have made you… softer, dear father."
"Wiser… is the word you were probably looking for. Then again, fault lies with me…" The general said as he picked up a new file from the mountain on his desk, "… Perhaps in my race to make you the finest warrior Shinkotsu had ever seen… I neglected the development of your language skills."
Dove stared at her adoptive father's smug smile, completely speechless.
And after a moment's silence, the General closed the file and took a deep breath.
"Look, Dove," He said as he looked at her with a solemn expression, "… Lady Amaterasu's Crusader is dead… He died protecting this country from last year's Night of the Red Moon. And the goddess still hasn't chosen a new Crusader… None can force the divine hand, even if this year's Night of the Red Moon is barely a month away."
"And what about it?" She argued back, " With or without a Crusader… We'll still fight. And the Goddess knows… We will prevail against those abominations!"
"But at what cost?" the General sighed, "To compensate for a Crusader's absence, we will be forced to concentrate an even larger percentage of Priests and High Priests into Shinkotsku, weakening the defences of other cities… Because no matter what happens, the capital of our country cannot fall. The lives we would lose… will be astronomical."
"So we just open our door to Pantheon?" Dove fired back, "Hug out, Arlen Hale's betrayal? Forget what we got in return for our unwavering trust in him and Pantheon? Father… Nobody will support this. They will be lynched the moment they set foot in here."
The General let out a deep sigh before he spoke, "You know… My father fought beside Arlen Hale, four thousand years ago… After Arlen's death, when the Nights of the Red Moon began manifesting, my father said, 'If Arlen Hale were alive… He would've ended this charade in less than a week.' I was barely more than a child back then. Thought the same way as you do… argued the same way you are arguing, like a –"
"Like a what?" Dove spoke as she glared into his eyes, "A sheep? A simple-minded commoner? A –"
"Like a soldier," The General replied, "Like a soldier who had his world torn apart by the consequences of Arlen Hale's deception. Like a soldier who saw his countrymen, comrades, his… family get slaughtered by the Night of the Red Moon."
"Yeah, because that's what I am," Dove said softly, "That's all I am."
"No…" the General said as he shook his head, "You're a Commander. You can't afford to see the world in black and white as a soldier can… You're not a soldier fighting to win a single battle, Dove. You're a Commander who must win the war."
"Even if I agree… to let them in here," Dove sighed, "What about others? Does his Imperial Majesty agree? Does he… even know about this?"
"It will be just us."
Dove's eye widened as she leaned forward, even her voice dropped to a whisper, "Father, if anyone finds out we even talked about this… what about the Border Defence officers? Everyone there probably knows a Greater Dragon had shown up."
A small smile appeared on the General's face as he said, "Amaya is already headed there. She'll cast a mass memory wipe on the entire Southern Border Defence."
"She is alive?!" Dove stood up from her seat as her eyes widened, "Didn't she – You!"
All the General replied with was a sly smile.
"But- " She stammered as she plopped back down, "But that still doesn't mean I agree with any of this!"
"Look, child," the General said, "Pantheon has multiple military bases in almost every country in the known world. And 3,000 years of history are a testament to the fact that they've never interfered in geopolitics unless it was to prevent a war between two nations. And that too, through trade deals and peace treaties."
Dove flicked her gaze away as she bit down on her lip while the general continued –
"Yes, it is the consequence of their own deception and arrogance that the very phenomenon of the Night of the Red Moon exists… But you must also admit… they've dedicated their entire 3,000 years of existence to combat it."
"You almost sound like a Pantheon operative yourself," Dove scoffed, "Don't tell me you're –"
Dove froze mid-sentence as she saw the General's expression getting colder and realized the meaning of what she had just said to her own father.
"Are you implying that I am a tra-"
"No!" Dove shouted before he could say that word, "No, I didn't mean – I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that. I'm… sorry."
The General glared at his adoptive daughter, who was looking down in shame for a moment longer before letting loose a deep sigh.
"Dove… Child," He said, "Amaya is going to erase those three from the memories of everyone in the Southern Border Defence. They will be given IDs that will prove that they're from a little village called Yonshiro, far east of the mainland. People of that village will also have their memories altered. With a few more pieces of planted evidence and paperwork… I will have legitimized their existence."
Dove looked at the General with eyes widening by the second as she listened to how he would erase and alter memories of his own countrymen and fellow soldiers, and fabricate paperwork, all to sneak three Pantheon operatives in.
Watching the obviousness on her expression, the General continued, "This way… everyone will get to keep their face. And we will get to keep our people safe. If we had a Crusader with us… I wouldn't have to stoop so low. But we don't. Maybe they knew a fool like me would fold… so they made their entry this obvious. Whatever the case, their joining us against this year's Night of the Red Moon will allow us to compensate for the lost Crusader. We won't have to concentrate most of the Priests and High Priests into Shinkotsku."
"But one's a Tier-1, and the other a Tier-5. Even the Greater Dragon is somehow a Tier-5," Dove replied with a frown, "To bet so much on them…"
The General chuckled as he said, "You know how advanced Pantheon's Magecraft is… Do you truly believe they'd have nothing to bypass mere lie detectors and even other scanners?"
"I…"
A big yawn escaped the General as he carried on with a stretch, "The wheels of this carriage have already begun to spin, Dove. The question is… Are you on board?"
Dove stared at the report on the desk for a long moment before taking in a deep breath and -
"Fine," She nodded, "For nothing else but to make sure this doesn't blow up on your face."
The General let out a chuckle before another bigger yawn escaped him.
"I'll take you to your room," Dove said as she rose from her chair, and made her way over to the General, "It's hours past midnight anyway…"
Grabbing onto the handle of his chair, she released the brake on its wheels before pulling it back.
"Come on, I'm not so crippled that I can't even get to my room," The General said as he shook his head, though there was a slight curve to his lips.
"Of course you're not," Dove said as she gently adjusted the cloth on General's lap that hung so low that it was barely covering the absence of his legs.
As she began pushing the wheelchair, the talks of the adoptive father to his adopted daughter turned mundane.
They spoke about their work, took each other's wisdom on the challenges they currently face, the co-workers they couldn't hate more, and that restaurant that just opened up near Dove's home.
Nearing the General's chambers, when they reached a certain section of the mana lamps and moon lit the corridor, a soft smile appeared on the General's face as he pointed towards a small pond in the garden and spoke –
"Remember when you were little… You fell into that pond, trying to catch the koi fish in there with your bare hands? The fish is still there, you know."
"Yeah… That thing was just as smart as it was slippery. And I almost had it too." Dove chuckled.
"No, you didn't," He chuckled too, "Doubt can still catch it… You're still just as clumsy."
"Father…" She said with an eyebrow raised, "If the Knight's Commander of Fugen can't even catch a koi fish with her bare hands… we're all doomed."
They both laughed out loud.
And soon they reached the General's chamber. The two guards quickly opened the doors leading in before the duo went in.
Dove gently helped her father to his bed and covered him with a blanket. After making sure his jug of water was full, she turned around to leave.
As she reached the door, the General's voice, gone a little hoarse, came from behind.
"Dove," he said, "I am tired… my child."
Dove froze where she stood while the general continued –
"Get stronger, Dove… Much stronger." He said as his voice trembled slightly, "… I don't want to hold on much longer."
Dove curled her trembling hands into fists as she took a deep breath and spoke.
"Good night, Dad."