Before Dawn Breaks
It was, without question, a dangerous undertaking.
It might even be one that demanded they steel themselves for total annihilation.
"Say that again."
"We move toward the center of the cliff walls enclosing the canyon gorge, destroy a section of the wall, and drop the rock straight down onto their heads."
If boulders suddenly came crashing down on them while they slept, the enemy would plunge into utter chaos.
"The moment that happens, the main force advances and we drop down to punch through the ones blocking the canyon… We can settle everything before dawn breaks today."
"…You're out of your mind."
Even Isaac could not simply nod along this time.
End this entire war in a single night?
And destroy the cliff wall, no less.
How, exactly?
But Arteon drew a sheet of paper from his coat.
Every eye in the unit, Isaac's included, turned toward him.
"Look here."
The darkness made the details hard to make out, but they could still discern the faint shape of a map.
Arteon tapped a finger against a point on the eastern cliff wall — roughly a third of the way along the canyon gorge — and spoke.
"Because of the bitter cold of the North, ice walls form between the rock faces of Helikel Canyon."
That ice melted and refroze year after year, slowly swelling and carving cracks into the cliff walls.
"And the temperature up north has been rising quite a bit lately, hasn't it? A solidly frozen ice wall is far stronger than ordinary rock — but when the temperature climbs like this…"
Of course, the current northern weather was still more than enough to kill an unprotected man.
Compared to the true depths of winter, though, it could almost be called mild.
At Arteon's words, something flickered in Isaac's eyes.
The plan itself was astonishing enough — but how did this man know Helikel Canyon in such detail?
Still…
"Even so, the risk is far too great. Finding a wall face that actually has those cracks is impossible to begin with."
"I know the location."
"…Even granting that, for this operation to succeed, the main force has to enter the canyon the instant the wall comes down."
Only a perfectly timed strike from both front and rear could finish this.
And for that, they would have to fire a signal flare and call the main force in before the cliff wall collapsed.
They didn't even know where Arteon's weakened ice wall was — and forcing their way to the center just to break it was an enormous risk in itself.
Isaac shook his head.
"If this fails, thousands of soldiers die."
"No. We fire the signal flare, draw the main force here, confirm that the cliff wall has been destroyed, and then advance. Done that way, there is no risk."
"The second we send up a flare, our position is exposed. Are you saying we should all just go die?"
His voice was low and edged with threat.
Arteon fell silent and simply looked at him.
But then…
"I will destroy the cliff wall myself."
"…"
Isaac's mouth clamped shut.
His expression no longer even held surprise — as if he had already known those were the words that would come next.
"All right. Everyone, gather up."
He didn't bother asking whether Arteon could do it.
The answer would only have been that he could.
The risks of the operation were undeniably severe.
But if it succeeds…
They might seize Helikel Canyon in a single day.
The thought alone sent a thrill through him — and that was precisely why he had to think colder, sharper, now more than ever.
Isaac looked at Arteon.
"I can't help you. If you fail… or if you can't bring the wall down fast enough…"
His voice was absolute.
"You die here."
"I'm prepared for that."
Meeting Arteon's unwavering gaze, Isaac turned to the rest of the unit and pointed to a spot on the map.
"The moment Sergeant Arteon moves out to destroy the cliff wall, we relocate to that position over there and go to ground."
Snapped to sudden alertness by the shift in circumstances, the soldiers sharpened their focus and hung on Isaac's every word.
Every one of them understood how serious the situation had become.
"And once the wall comes down and I give the signal, we enter combat immediately. Anyone unclear on their orders?"
"…"
No one answered.
They had all taken it in.
Isaac let out a short breath and looked at Arteon again.
By rights, the task of destroying that cliff wall should have been his.
His odds of success were higher than Arteon's.
But without knowing where the cracks ran, he would only waste precious time searching.
…Is this the right call?
In that brief span his mind reversed itself dozens of times.
If the operation failed and he lost Arteon, he was not sure he could forgive himself.
This was the real thing — the genuine article, the kind of soldier he had not met in a very long time.
If a man like this kept growing, he would become a monster.
…But.
The decision was already made.
He had known the man only a short while, and yet Arteon had already pulled off one impossible feat after another.
For now, I'll trust him.
It might be an irresponsible choice. It was still his choice.
Isaac spoke.
"Arteon — turn back the way we came at once, take the stakes and rope, and head for the cracked section. The rest of you will tighten the perimeter so Sergeant Arteon can reach his objective. Not a sound. When you kill, aim for the lungs first and cut off any cry."
"Understood."
"Yes, sir."
Isaac pulled out his watch.
Roughly three hours remained until dawn.
The bitter northern cold had bought them a little more night — but only a little.
Dawn comes earlier than it does in midwinter.
Even three hours was a generous estimate.
Everything had to be ready before then.
Isaac looked over his men.
"We move."
At the order, Arteon broke into a run in the opposite direction from the rest of the unit.
A cold wind threaded through the canyon's crevices with a desolate hush.
Beneath a sky slowly staining toward red, Bractus watched the forward line with eyes as sharp as a blade.
But then…
"…"
His head turned toward the eastern cliff wall.
Something had seemed to flicker and move through the thin veil of mist.
It might have been nothing. A bird, perhaps.
Even so, Bractus called for his deputy.
"Turak."
At the low summons, Turak came up from below.
"Yes, Bractus."
"Over there. What's the situation?"
Bractus kept his gaze fixed on the eastern cliff as he asked. Turak looked that way as well.
"No one can approach from that side. It's a sheer cliff, and a river with tremendous current runs beneath it. The span alone is well over forty meters."
They had limited warriors and needed every one of them on a strict watch.
They could not spare the strength to cover a place that absurd.
Bractus knew the terrain of the eastern wall himself. He gave a silent nod.
"…True enough."
And yet.
Why this strange, creeping unease?
Bractus rubbed his jaw, sinking into thought.
The deep-cut lines of his face did not ease.
A cliff… a river with a savage current…
And Turak's assurance that they posted no watch there because it was unreachable.
Not one word of it was strange — and that was exactly why it looked like a blind spot.
Bractus spoke.
"Station warriors there. Immediately."
"…What? Climbing that side isn't easy even for us."
"But it isn't impossible."
Approached from their own side, the slope was steep — but climbable.
Turak made no effort to hide his disbelief.
"You think the Empire's dogs could actually infiltrate from there?"
"I am merely refusing to rule out the possibility."
"…Those weaklings would never make a decision like that. Still — an order is an order. I'll post them at once."
Turak raised a hand and called the warriors ahead of him.
"You lot — climb up there right now and stand watch. If you find anything, signal with the flute at once."
"Understood."
"Yes."
Even the warriors who received the order could not entirely mask their confusion.
They did not argue, though. They set off at once toward the heights of the eastern cliff wall.
Watching their backs, Turak turned to Bractus again.
"You seem more on edge than usual. Perhaps you should rest a little."
"I will not ease my guard until our warriors are reinforced."
Turak was not wrong. Taken one by one, the Empire's soldiers were no great threat.
But every so often — truly only every so often — something impossible clawed its way up out of that pack of fools.
Bractus had fought on this battlefield long enough that he could not dismiss the Empire's capacity for the unexpected.
And they still had the leisure to keep this war grinding on even while exposing their own intelligence.
The reason this war still isn't finished, for all of that…
Was the Empire's talent for the unforeseen — and the variables no one saw coming.
And now a heavy air pressed down on the tents… and for no clear reason, tightened around Bractus's heart.
He spoke.
"Dawn cannot come soon enough."
It was a night that felt wrong in every bone.
Bractus stared at the eastern cliff wall in silence, his face set hard.
His heartbeat thudded heavier and clearer than it had in a long time.
He could only hope it was nothing but empty dread.
Piiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Not long after, a flute's cry split the air — and the canyon began to stir.
Thud!
Once he was moving, there was no time to waste.
Arteon kept his body as low as he could and scanned his surroundings as he went.
…Is the fog helping me?
The mist that had been faintly veiling the lower reaches was climbing higher and higher up the canyon, becoming a screen.
The cover it offered was not much — but far better than nothing.
"Hnh!"
Grrrnnnd!
Arteon reinforced his body with mana and wrenched free an iron stake driven into the canyon rock.
The stake, buried a good two handspans deep, came free with a grotesque grinding, rising slowly from the stone.
And then…
Clink.
He coiled the extracted stake and rope around his body and spun at once toward his new heading.
This was where it truly began.
— If you fail… you die here.
Isaac's words still rang in his ears.
But…
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Arteon's mouth.
His heart hammered. Blood surged toward his head.
It was a dangerous operation, no question.
Fail, and death would not spare him — just as Isaac had said.
But he had never once run an easy operation in the North.
A commoner by birth. A soldier of a penal unit. I was always thrown into the most dangerous assignments.
He had ground through this battlefield for ten years that way.
And he had survived.
Over an operation this small…
Was he supposed to die?
Tap!
Arteon raced along the top of the cliff wall, body pressed as low as he could hold it.
Then, just as he was passing the place he had come from—
"…!"
Two Kar tribesmen lay sprawled on the ground.
Their lives were already gone. They lay motionless in spreading blood.
One bore the clean mark of a thrust from behind that had found the lung; the other, the line of a cut throat.
So they've…
Started posting a watch here.
Arteon's gaze dropped toward the depths below.
If this was the Isaac he knew, then without a doubt…
Damn it.
Arteon tore along the cliff wall. At the same instant, a flute's cry rose from below.
Piiiiiiiiii!
Isaac must have moved to draw their eyes.
Which meant—
"I have to hurry."
There was no time left.
And in Arteon's stride along the cliff wall, a desperation keener than any he had shown before burned like a brand.