Dodge: Serial 71

The time has come; Losha breaks free from Navaran as Henron is beset with unrest

Serial 71: Flight of the fugitive

March 18th, 33 S.D.     07:26     Navaran, Henron

    “Did you hear about what is going on near the capital?”

    “No. You know we never get any news around here.”

    Two guards walked down the length of a hall, wheeling along a large shelf truck. On board, meals, clothes, and wash-buckets for the inmates were stored on various tiers. It was as tall as they were and difficult to steer, requiring both of them to maneuver. One worked in front while another did so from the rear.

    “Well, I heard this when I was waiting in the warden’s office. Everyone there is always connected to the outside, unlike us.”

    “Sa, sa, so what is this all about?”

    “They say there have been a lot of disturbances lately among Ano Taksat’s order. Quite a bit of unrest and open insubordination. Some think it is even getting to be unruly...”

    “Unruly, like say desertion or...”

    “Sa, mutiny. You have to remember that he now commands Liveta’s old order. They are not too happy with the way he carries himself as an officer. Plus, there are those rumors...”

    “What rumors?”

    The other guard glanced up and down the path, ensuring no one stood within earshot. “During the battle of Totul, they say Ano tried to burn a number of his people while they were still inside the city, all in an effort to damage Sventa. His own soldiers supposedly abandoned him after that, refuting his authority. We did not lose that battle, contrary to what the higher-ups keep spouting; we quit.”

    “So you say... These are just rumors you know.”

    “Hey, it is more than just me. A lot of whispers are floating out there. You heard about that avalanche at the Ganglan Pass? The talk around that implicates Ano as the cause of it all. He did that just to capture the Wolf of Sventa.”

    “And bury half the Henron army? That sounds a little extreme. Was it not the Wolf’s fault? I mean, she certainly has the power to cause disasters like that.”

    “No, no, no. This here is the rub. I heard she stopped it, using her serialization science or whatever. How else do you explain the lack of casualties from something like that? Was it pure luck? Anyway, you have half of our forces none too keen on the guy in charge, to describe it lightly. In particular, the predicament has only gotten worse these past few days. Feels like something has to give, and soon.”

    Eventually the men approached one of the most restricted and isolated corridors.

    “Hey,” said the first one as they turned around the corner. “If you do not believe me, why not ask the two in there? They would both know what Ano did on the battlefield. They would know how the others feel about current circumstances.”

    “Honestly, that sounds like a bad idea. You know the rules. Besides, recall the last time we let ourselves get lax around the Wolf... Just stick to what we do everyday: minimal eye-contact, no chatter.”

    “Shrieks, no fun for you, sa? I mean, she has been caged up all of this time though; where is the danger in asking her a question or two?”

    They opened the door like countless times before. The pair brought the cart down the aisle, stopping in front of Losha’s cell first.

    “Breakfast time!” one of them called out loudly. Losha lied upon her bed, looking at the ceiling. Her hair ran over her face, obscuring her eyes. Motionless, she remained there with her lips slightly parted.

    “Hey, wake up! If you do not take it now, we leave with it. You just have to wait for lunch in that case.” The guard paused for a second, but Losha continued as she was, neither speaking nor stirring. Both men merely grumbled and moved on a moment later. As they went towards Liveta, however, they stepped into a carefully devised trap.

    “Hey, Core Lead, eating time,” one of them said, sliding a wooden tray through a slit in the bars. Liveta got up and grabbed it as if she were going to accept the food.

    “On further consideration,” she said, narrowing her eyes, tightening her grip around the slab. “I am not feeling hungry myself.” In an instant, she thrust the meal back at the guard. The blow struck him squarely in the gut, tossing him back against the cart. Rocking to one side, everything slid off their shelves and onto the other guard.

    “Agh!” he cried as items toppled over him. He managed to escape only after being pelted with water, bits of bread and meat, and a series of dirty clothes. Grappling with the cart, he threw it down in a clatter.

    “W-what the hell!” he fumed, looking at the mess, then Liveta. As soon as he glanced up, however, he saw his partner being strangled by the Core Lead. In the chaos and confusion, she’d managed to grab him firmly. From behind the bars, she wrung her forearm tightly around his neck, pinning him in a choke-hold. The guard squirmed about, clawing his fingers at Liveta but failing to reach her.

    “Easy, soldier. I am not going to kill you,” she said, drawing around her back. Quickly, she pulled out the gun Losha had her hide. With a snap, she raised it, extending her hand all the way past her cell. “However, I am not so sure you get to be so fortunate.” The barrel aimed directly at the remaining guard; a clear, perfect shot to center mass was only a trigger away.

    “N-no! Wait! I... I-!” the man pleaded, unwittingly retreating. Regrettably for him, he bumped up into Alant’s cell. Cool and circular, the end of yet another gun pressed against the base of his skull. With a click, Alant spoke up.

    “Stay right there. Great, just like that. Nice and still.” The rebel agent swiftly launched his hand into the guard’s pockets, deftly diving and rummaging about. For a second, he gripped the gun in both hands while he switched which one held the pistol and which one searched his hostage. On the right side, his finger wrapped around exactly what he’d been after.

    “Found them,” Alant said aloud, pulling away a large ring with numerous keys on its loop.

    “W-what is this?!” the guard asked as Alant worked a key into the lock.

    “Sa, good thing I remembered which one you guys use for this cell block,” he said, turning his wrist until he heard something unlatch.

    “You would have only seen that once, right when they put you away,” Liveta observed.

    “Once is all I need, Core Lead. Photographic memory is what they call it.” Pulling aside the door, ever pointing his gun at the guard’s back, Alant stepped out of his cell. “You, get in there,” he commanded, grabbing the soldier by the shirt. With a jerk, he tossed the bewildered man into his new holding pen. A moment later, the door shut in on the prisoner.

    “Excellent. Hurry over here. Do mine,” Liveta said rapidly.

    “On it.”

    Within seconds, the bolt securing Liveta’s cell was undone. Though the officer released the guard from her throttle, she kept her pistol trained on target. Alant as well kept watch with his weapon.

    “You too. Go on,” the spy said, gesturing to the side in curt motions. The guard gasped and coughed, touching his throat all the while. Losing patience, Liveta dragged him by the collar into her former cell, slamming him across the floor. Without delay, she closed the door.

    “That takes care of us,” Liveta said. “Now it is Losha’s turn.”

    Before they could free the serialist, however, the guard occupying Liveta’s cell snatched at the bars, raising himself off the ground.

    “What... what do you think you can do?” he asked before hacking up a fit. “You guys will never escape. Not here, not from Navaran.”

    “Se?” Alant said, tilting his head. “We have the Wolf of Sventa on our side,” he nodded over at Losha.

    “We do not have keys for her shackles... Only the warden does. She is useless without her powers. Besides, what can two guns do against this place? You will be outmatched as soon as you step outside that hall.”

    “I think he is telling us to give up,” Liveta noted flatly.

    “Heh, not really an option now, is it?” Alant asked as he turned towards Losha. A smile crept over the serialist’s face before she threw herself out of bed.

    “47 days... Far longer than I would have liked to stay.” She walked over to the bars and touched them lightly with her fingertips. By her will, the barrier twisted and pulled apart as a simple kinetic series tore open a hole for her.

    “Sa, guess I can skip unlocking your door,” Alant said.

    “Y-you can serialize?” Liveta breathed, lowering her gun as she looked at Losha in wonder.

    “Of course,” Losha said. A flash ran through her shackles, like a blue line cleaving through metal. With another kinetic series, her bonds fell to the floor in pieces. She wrung her wrists, feeling them for the first time in over a month. “I do not need my hands to serialize. Thankfully everyone else thought I did.”

    Liveta started waving her hand at Losha. “Wait! You mean to tell me you could have left here a long time ago?”

    “I am certain I said something to that effect earlier. I do not think you believed me at the time, however. We never told you directly because you cannot speak Gandian. We could not risk getting overheard.”

    “So, why wait until today?”

    Losha began stretching as she spoke, raising her arms high overhead, behind her back. “Sa... We will explain more once we leave. For now, just know that there is an insurrection happening in Henron, and we are part of it all.”

    “An insurrection?” the Core Lead repeated. “S-sa... But if you could have serialized your way out of here, why did we just pull off this little stunt right now? You could have taken care of everything with a snap of your fingers.”

    “True,” Losha admitted as she arched herself backwards, twisting from side-to-side at the hips. “Yet, there is no fun in that,” she laughed.

    “Fun?” Liveta’s brow furrowed as her mouth opened. “I am sorry to inform you that we are breaking out of one of the most secure facilities in the land. We hardly have time to account for fun!”

    “Relax,” Losha assured her. “This is going to be a quick, clean operation. Things will get serious enough at any rate.” She straightened up, rotating her arm several times at the shoulder.

    “Lighten up, Core Lead,” Alant said. “It took an avalanche to even slow her down. I think we will be fine if it is just Navaran.”

    “You know, getting cocky gets you killed,” Liveta sighed.

    “No one dies today,” Losha declared as she turned around to the end of the hall. “Not around me. We have talked enough as it is. We have to leave immediately.”

    She held her arm to the side with an open palm. A bright, azure aura gathered at her behest, culminating into a single form. Her servai materialized as visible raw seras, however, this time she applied a special series over it. Having mastered the manipulation of light during her fight with Avil the Noven Hawk, she could project images wherever she wanted. As such, she changed her servai’s appearance to that of a true sword. From the tip all the way down to her hand, the servai transformed, as if bits of it were torn away only to be replaced by steel.

    “Did you just make that out of nothing?” Alant whistled, never having witnessed serialization firsthand.

    “No. This is my seras. I merely turned it into a formidable tool: the servai. It is not a real sword. The appearance is merely cosmetic. I... saw my master use this technique once before. It has no function other than acting like a sort of mnemonic device to help me control its movement. As I said, we have talked enough.”

    Losha swung her servai forward, pointing it at the door ahead. Though it stood some meters away, Losha flew up to it in a single speed-step. With one swipe of her free hand, she cast a powerful kinetic series that ripped the exit clean off its heavy hinges. It exploded outwards and crumpled noisily onto the floor. No seras frequencies were presently nearby, but the racket she’d made would surely inform the others.

    “Come, both of you,” Losha waved behind her. The two Henron raced to her position. They whipped their guns upright, checking their sides as they left the prison wing.

    “Alright Wolf, what next?” Liveta asked. “What is the plan?”

    “I intend to cause a significant amount of damage here, let them run around in panic, disarray. After that, we can depart for your capital.”

    For a moment, Liveta closed her eyes as she hung her head down. “So, people really are staging an uprising...” she murmured. Traces of a faint smile grew.

    “Correct,” Losha said. “And they will need someone to lead them, Core Lead. Someone they can trust. Now, I have placed shields around us all, kinetic force-fields. You cannot see them, but they will stop most attacks, even bullets. Do not push it though. You and I are not invincible. Let us move out.”



    A sub-squad of guards rushed down a wide pathway, clanging along in heavy armor. Each carried a long spear in hand, readying it for action at the slightest notice. From various other sections of Navaran, bells tolled loudly, ringing urgently in the air. Hustling forward, the guards soon approached a junction, but before they ever came upon it, a figure calmly stepped in front of the threshold. Losha turned to the side and revealed herself. The guards braked into a harsh, full stop.

    “Is that?”

    “Shrieks... She is the escapee?!”

    “You fools! On your spears, now!” the leader barked. Seeing no choice but to battle, the soldiers shifted stances, directing their weapons at her.

    “Hmm... Which one will do first?” Losha hummed to herself as she directed her servai at them as well. She scanned from left to right, then back again. “That one,” she said, picking the closest to the wall.

    Without hesitation she sped towards them. As blue light surged beneath her feet, she met them in only two short speed-steps. Taking her target by surprise, she lashed out with her servai, curving upwards into his chest at an angle. The servai passed through metal, bone, and flesh, striking her opponent in the very soul. Pierced by her weapon, the guard’s seras splashed onto the ground, pouring out like liquid light, evaporating in an instant of brilliance. Deprived of this vital energy, the guard collapsed as sparks seemingly danced across his body. The others backed away but did not back down.

    Keeping their distance, they attacked her using the lengths of their spears. Ducking and pulling away, Losha avoided their thrusts as she cast a kinetic series. All at once, the spears curled up, rolling themselves into tight coils. The guards, suddenly unarmed, looked aghast at their new equipment. Losha swept in while they stood there amazed. With servai in hand, she leaped at the nearest of them. Pulling her arm back for a moment, she plunged her tool straight into his visor. As seras exploded wildly, the man lost consciousness that very same instant. While his slackened limbs splayed across the hall, his comrades threw away their useless spears.

    “Shrieks! There is nothing for it now. Retreat and report in!” Leaving their fallen brethren behind, the guards turned around and sprinted away as fast as their armor permitted. Losha, however, did not let them leave in peace. Waving her hand out widely, she summoned an additional kinetic series. A fierce wind blew down the corridor, tearing through their ranks. It caught them by the legs, chucking them forward. Together, they slid along the floor in a heap until they crashed into a wall. With a flick of her wrist, she gently pushed the two she had taken down to the end of the hall.

    “You know,” Alant said, coming up behind her. “You are taking all of the action for yourself.”

    “This is not about fun, remember?” Losha said with a brief grin.

    “Even so...” Liveta began as she came around a corner. “We thought we would at least have been able to play our part.” So far, neither had taken a single shot yet.

    “Leave these things to me. You will have your chance soon enough, both of you, once we arrive in the capital.”

    As they stopped to speak, another squad emerged. This time, a dozen sharpshoots stormed in from the far side of the passage. Without delay, they took up position and opened fire. Several shots bore down upon the trio, however, they were silently deflected by the force-fields Losha had established. Fighting on instinct, Alant and Liveta wrenched their guns up, aiming to retaliate. Losha intervened, holding up her arm in front of them.

    “Stop. Save your ammunition for the real struggle.” Blue light shrouded her other hand as she stooped quickly. Slamming her fist into the floor, she performed a devastating series. Using yet more kinetic energy, she shattered the ground, breaking it into wayward fragments. The soldiers cried out as they fell through cracks and chasms. Losha stood up while Alant and Liveta peered into the gaping abyss.

    “They should be fine, relatively speaking,” Losha began. “Navaran consists of three main levels and a basement. At the moment, we are on the third, the topmost. Horses and transportation will be somewhere on the first. If we need to make a route for ourselves, this should not prove an issue.”

    Below, on the second floor, dust and debris filled the air, blinding and choking all.

    “What was that?” A soldier coughed, covering his mouth and eyes as he stepped towards the destruction.

    “Shrieks,” said another.

    “Did the ceiling just collapse?”

    “What the hell is going on up there?”

    “Get a hold of the warden,” someone bellowed.

    “What a mess, what a mess. You okay?”

    “Oww! Shrieking rock fell on my head.”

    This talk did not last long, however. Alant and Liveta dropped down first, followed by Losha.

    “Who goes there?” A guard called out, blinking at their hazy outlines. Losha turned around at once, springing upon the closest foe. In one stroke alone, she carved into the soldier with her servai. Seras gushed from the wound; she did not linger but jumped at the next one. Taken by surprise and overwhelmed by the power of serialization, an entire squad lost against Losha. In moments, she managed to single-handedly slice them all into submission. As the space cleared and settled, the hallway showed 14 knocked-out soldiers scattered by the walls.

    “That sure was quick,” Alant said. He’d barely had any time to assess the situation before Losha had taken care of it.

    “Let us press further,” she said, running off. They came into another junction where two more soldiers were hurrying along their way. Catching them unaware, Losha took the opportunity to strike first. With a speed-step, she propelled herself at them both, bashing into them with her shoulder. Losha couldn’t exactly throw around what little weight she had, but she used her agility to compensate. With a blitz and a blur, she knocked them over. Kneeling over one of them, she grabbed and yanked him up to her face.

    “Where do you keep your horses? Where do you store them?” she demanded in an even tone. Her servai drew close to the man’s cheek, hovering but millimeters from his skin.

    “Ah... aah! E-east side, first floor, n-near the watchtower!” he said frantically.

    “Hmm... It seems you are lying,” she noted before pushing her servai through his chest.

    “Grrah!” the guard gasped as his seras spewed and spilled. While lightning coursed over him, he could but helplessly slide to the side when Losha extracted her weapon.

    “You,” she said, swinging her servai outward. Its reach stopped at the very gap between the guard’s eyes. The poor fellow seized up as the end of the servai skirted dangerously close. “Tell me where they really are.”

    “H-he was telling the truth, I swear! Just as he said. E-east side. You will see the s-stable!”

    “Sa,” Losha mused, standing up and pulling back her seratic blade. “I believe you now. Your friend will be alright, as long as our paths do not cross again. Take him and get out of our way. We are trying to save your clan from itself after all.” The guard tended to his comrade before scampering out of sight.

    “Why did you attack the first one?” Liveta asked.

    “We need to get out sooner than later, thus we cannot afford to wander around. Animals have no seras frequencies that I can track, so I asked where they were to save us time. In case the first was indeed lying, the second would surely reconsider. It may seem excessive, but my servai neither killed nor caused him great pain. He will recover in time. We, however, are short on time. We can play with Navaran a bit more, but the capital requires us. Are you two ready to advance then?”

    Liveta and Alant nodded in unison.

    “Sa. Stay with me,” Losha said, taking up her servai. With that, they charged headlong into the brewing fray.

Author's Note

In the reaches of Aste, deep within the grasslands of the Central Plains, 14 warring clans mount constant warfare against one another. Through endless bloodshed, the people are forever rooted in a cycle of conflict. Returning to the place she once called home, Losha leaves Palostrol to go back to her family. Yet in their embrace she finds a world teetering on the brink of devestation. As King's words echo through her mind, she must decide if serialization holds the answers to peace. But are the consequences of failure are worth it? The path of the Continent's greatest struggle has only just begun. The Age of Serialization starts now.

The next installment comes May 20th, 2015. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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* Some of the dates for the past few serials were INCORRECT :( They've been fixed now, sorry about that and any confusion this may have caused.

* The armor descrived here is not full-body armor like middle-age European style, or even middle-age Japanese style. The armor of the guards do encompass key portions of the body, but it still leaves them exposed in places. This was a tradeoff they made to slightly increase mobility. Armor in the Central Plains is infrequently used, however, Navaran employs it in case of emergencies, being a prison and all that.

* Here we see Losha taking on a more aggressive role than she previously has. Even so, she still retains a sense restraint. She does not kill anyone, though she does injure a handful pretty badly. Despite all of that, she makes sure twice that the Henron don't abandon their comrades.

* Losha's attitude has clearly evolved since she first joined the war effor some 50 serials ago. She quickly assumes command of the escape, even though Alant is older than she is, and Liveta holds more seniority and experience. They defer to her in this serial, however, because of her prowess as a serialist and the fact that she seems to fit the role of leadership easily. Losha was born to guide people, both as a teacher and as a fighter.

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Any feedback is welcome. Just writing because I like it. Always wanted to make a weekly series, so I'm doing it.