Thetastewasstrong, taking another chug from the purple mixture I gag in disgust,happy to finally be done with theaccursedbrew.If the craft worked for me like it did in my younger days, everything would go as planned. "Mother I don''t understand why this slave is so important to you, there isn''t anything special about him as far as I can tell." Sitting upon my stool my son sat lazily, arms folded behind his back.


    "You wouldn''t understand the value in araresoul such as his, maybe if you had listened and learned the craft you wouldn''t be asking mesuchfoolish questions." The stubborn boy refused to learn the ways of ourpredecessors, he was just like his father carefree yet sadistic. What she both loved and hated about herson. "Nevermindthat, didyou remove thependant likeI told you?"looking up with the familiardevilishsmileWickumrespondedin a casual tone, "Of course mother,thenecklaceis no longer around theboy''sneck,you are free to do whatever craft you like."


    "I can do no suchthing!" Isnapped, "His will remains unbroken, stilltoopowerful to control. You''resupposedtohavebroken him by now." Sitting uphestridesbehindme, placing his hands onmyshoulderstenderly. "Youneed not worrymother;his spirit is nearly broken and if you command it,I''ll be sure he doesn''t last the day."Withagrin, Wickumwrapped hisarms aroundmefrombehind,before I slaphis hands away. "Well,be quick about it, we don''t need another escape attempt costing us precious stones."


    Sitting down I feel the fatigue from the brew and knew it was beginning to takeeffect. "What news do you have of the Liberators? What is their current location?"A deep frown sat upon his face as he satupfrom his chair. "The beasts losttheirtrail, the incompetent fools. We have no clue where their hiding, or where they''ll strike next." This couldn''t be happening at a worse time, gazing into my crystal ball I search the void for clues to the fate of the boy, and ifthere will be any interruptions with the ceremony.


    Watching me theboyhoversoverlooking intotheclear crystal,sighingwith boredom,"There''s nothing to worry about mother, I''ll tighten the patrol around the camp. They won''t slip past us." Peeking up from myball, I look at my na?ve son for a moment before continuing to gaze into the void, "Do yourememberthe stories I would tell you as a child, about the 7moons who possessed 7 stars."


    It was a warm memory, before the war, before his father was taken soabruptlyfromhim. Whenhis eyes still carriedradiance. Walking over to the table he sat beside his mother awaiting the remainder of the fable he had long forgotten. "No, I don''t think I do. There are no moons inLayfrontmother, night never comes. It hasn''t for over 50 years.


    Lightly chuckling I halt my search andcaressmyson''s boney face,"Of course, it was the time beforemagic.When crafts were learned from gods,over 500 years ago." Giving me a strange look, I could see he didn''t understand. He was such a bright boy growing up, I don''t know where I went wrong. Sighing I continue to tell the tale, "It''s said that before the age of magic there were 7moons, who eachpossessed7stars. The people of the land worshiped these moons as they each radiated a different cooler in the night, each day a different moon would glow lighting up the sky, until the 29thday where all the moons would glow at once."


    "On this day it''s said the moons would pick a faithful being and teach them thebasic''sof the craft,whiskingthem away in the night and granting them the abilities. But soon it was realized that each moon granted different abilities for the 7 stars theypossessedwere thebeaconsof different crafts." Pausing I watched as he seemed too quiet, strangelyhe seemed to be intently listening to the tale, unlike hisusualbrash and hot-headed self.Smiling Icontinue,"It''s said that our ancestor waschosenby the moon of Crimson, alsoknownas Zazeland was placed on star 4. Granting her the ability of witchcraft. With it, our family has never suffered from misfortune for nearly 300 years."Stolen novel; please report.


    "What happened? Why do we suffermisfortune then?" He replied a small grin on his face, slightly rolling his eyes. Adjusting mystool,I mutter, "It''s said that the beings had neglected to worship mother nature. The lands of the people became jealous of the moons for having theirdevotion and love, and it''s said through that jealousy, magic wasborn on our planet."


    Laughing aloud he pounds the table frantically. "Youcan''t be serious mother, youactually,believe such fairytales?" Standing up while chuckling he walks towards the exit, "worry not mother the boy''s spirit will be broken tomorrow, and then you can play with your spirits." Laughing one last time he exits the cave.


    "Foolish boy" If only he believed perhaps he would survive, themisfortunethat she saw present in his future. What appears throughthe crystal cannot be changed or altered, this I know alltoowell.Forthe boy''s spirit would not break tomorrow.


    *****


    "Da''inwe can''t just run in and slaughter all of them, not all of them are slave handlers!" Folding her arms indefiance,Da''inrefused to agree to herfather''sterms. "Like I said we should handle it the same way we did inAlhmarVillage, save the slaves and purge the sick fucks in the mines!!"


    "Watch your mouth! You may bea warrior but I''m still your father and you will do as I say!" Glaring at the old fool I storm out of the tent into the sun, ignoring all who watched me as I kicked through the sand. If he wasn''t so stubborn maybe he wouldn''t have lost his arm all those years ago, and mom would still be with us. Plopping in the ground I take a deep breath trying to calm myself.Itwas always like this the night before an attack, yet they always were successful with her plan.


    And the one time they had listened to her father, they had lost morethanhalf their men. He still refused to own up to his mistakes, which was the reason many of the Liberators came to her, although she was only the 2ndin Command. Brushing off the sand from her sword she unsheathed it raising it to the sun. Her brown skin, slightly blending in with the yellow sands around her. Looking at the black metal she could see her eyes shining back at her, the bright emerald that many people seemed to remember about her.


    The sword, a relic of hermotherswas all she had left of her. The raiders had abducted her along with herfather''sright armwhen she was still a baby, and her father has been looking for her ever since. Turning around a subordinate approached from camp, wearing theLiberatorsusual uniform, "Da''inthe infiltration meeting will start soon, yourfath..the captain requests your presence." Following the man into the tent, everyone gathered around the table where the map ofLayfrontdesert rested. My father hovering over it, his eyes glued to the table.


    "Listen up, thepreparationsfor the liberation of Row''s Peakareready. Unit''s 1 and 2 will wait on standby north of the mountains, while Unit 3 infiltrates the camp''s mine''s, releasing the slaves. Once the mines have collapsed, we repel the enemy until all the slaves have escaped the camp. From there we head east towardsUmbakVillage, it''simperativethat we do not engage the enemy until unit 3 has successfully made it out of the mines. Is that understood?"


    Looking at the small group of 50 men and woman they allrespondedin unison, "Yes Captain!" I simply scoffed silently at the plan. It was dangerous, and far more riskthanneeded, yet they followed his orders blindly. Even if it resulted in their deaths. Ending the brief meeting they all exit the tent leaving me and my father alone.


    "Are you sure this plan will work? the last time we did this we lost 25 men." I mutterfoldingmy arms his eye''s continuing to trailover the map. Looking up at me he wore a tired expression, "this is the planDa''inend ofdiscussion, now get some rest we''ll beleavingin a few hours. "Puffing mychest,I snarl at him, "how do you know they aren''t expecting us? This plan has too many risksinvolved!"


    Sighingdeeply,he walks over placing his hands on my shoulders, "I didn''t tell the men this but we have a spy on the inside. They won''t be expecting us for at least a few days, everything will be fine." A spy? In a slavecamp? My eye''swidening,Imurmurto him, "A beast-men? Are you putting your trust in a beast-men? Areyoucrazy father? What if this is a trap!"


    Pushing his arms away I stare at him indisbelief, but his gaze remains firm as he looks back at me. "This doesn''t leave the tentDa''in." Walking out of the tent I stare up at the blazing sun, gripping my katana in my right hand firmly.


    "No matter what happens, I''llslaughterall of them, for the crimes they havecommittedagainst my people.Not onebeast-man will escape my wrath..."