《Exile: The Child of Light》 One Matins, Ides of April Cloakroom, The Ivory Tower The changing of guards was a swift and silent procedure. Only four guards were stationed at any given time in the room wryly called the ¡°cloakroom¡±. Each guard faced outwards towards his designated cardinal direction. When the bell rang softly for Matins, four guards entered, exchanged a few curt words with the guard they were relieving, then took their post. The relieving guard for the northern post, Jeremiah, had been an incumbent of this role since he was sixteen years old. He was now coming onto fifty. Every shift had been the same as the next. But that day Jeremiah felt that something had changed. He felt that something was very wrong. At first he remained unmoving at rigid attention. But soon the discomfort became so great that he had to turn his head. He coughed into his left shoulder and in doing so looked over his shoulder at the podium in the centre of the room. For a moment he was frozen, unable to move or speak. Then he said, almost as a mutter, ¡°raise the alarm¡±. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The east-facing guard turned to look at him. Then he looked behind him towards the podium. He dropped his spear, which landed onto the floor with a loud clang. Only the west-facing guard was able to regain his composure and rush out of the cloakroom and call for Lieutenant Cole, overseer of the Ivory Tower, and deliver the message: the Black Cloak was missing. Prime, Ides of April Main Hall, The Ivory Tower Lieutenant Cole stood, his usually plethoric face blanched white, his moustache trembling, in front of four guards. In his left arm he held a lance. Then, with the accuracy for which he had made a name for himself during his days as a knight, he struck each man in the heart with four clean, successive, devastating blows. Then he threw the blood-stained lance onto the floor and retreated to his chambers. Lieutenant Cole¡¯s Private Chambers, The Ivory Tower Lieutenant Cole opened the bottom drawer of his bedside armoire and produced from it an obsidian dagger, a gift from the Rinehart Family from the time when he briefly trained their only child, the daredevil Kate. He unsheathed the blade and stared at it for a while. Then he looked at his bed, where his wife, Catharine, lay sleeping. She was a beautiful girl of just seventeen years old, now two months pregnant, in a flowing peignoir, her brunette hair sprawled elegantly. Lieutenant Cole reached forward and undid her top bottons to reveal her pale breasts. Then he stabbed her nine times in the heart with the obsidian blade. Catharine awoke at the first stab, her mouth opening in a silent scream, but was already dead by the third. Turning around swiftly, Lieutenant Cole unwrapped the bedside curtains and deftly hung himself. Two Sext, Ides of April Cabinet, The Ivory Tower One moment the cabinet of the Ivory Tower was empty save for three large easy chairs that all faced a delicately designed central pedestal table, the leg of which curved to form a statue of Death vomiting out an infant Heion. The next moment there were two men in the room, one a young man with unruly hair in full ceremonial dress and the other a middle-aged man in a simple evening gown. The young man took his hand off the older man¡¯s arm, took a step backwards, then promptly disappeared, leaving only the older man in the room. The older man immediately collapsed onto one of the chairs, leaned forward, and covered his face with his hands, shaking his head slowly from side to side. Then the young man appeared again, this time holding the arm of a much older man, also in full ceremonial dress, bearing on his chest the cardinal and gold emblem of Maple. ¡°Thank you, Spark,¡± said the man bearing the emblem of Maple. ¡°My honour, Councillor Viltik,¡± said the young man in a bright, squeaky voice. Then he took a step back and promptly disappeared once more. ¡°Keys,¡± said Councillor Viltik to the middle-aged man still crouched over his chair. ¡°You seem to be in a state of sorts.¡± ¡°Councillor Viltik,¡± said the man named Councillor Keys, still with his hands over his face. ¡°One would be of unsound mind to not be in a state of sorts.¡± Councillor Viltik made a sound somewhere between a cough and a chuckle and took a seat next to Councillor Keys. For a while they sat in a tense silence, until Councillor Viltik said, ¡°Floyd is late.¡± Councillor Keys raised his gaunt head and looked around the room blankly. ¡°Of course he is,¡± he said. Then, as if on cue, the young man appeared again, this time holding the arm of a tall man of indeterminate age, somewhere between his thirties and sixties, who looked lean and stocky at the same time, and had a solemn yet playful gaze. He delicately balanced in his free arm three glasses of dark red wine. He wore a flowing baize-coloured cloak. ¡°Gentlemen,¡± said the newcomer, placing the three glasses on the pedestal table. Then he produced a conversation piece, a small red flower, from within his cloak and placed it on the centre of the table. ¡°I apologise for my delay,¡± continued the newcomer. The young man with unruly hair, who seemed paler than before, stepped back silently and disappeared. ¡°Floyd,¡± said Councillor Viltik. ¡°Councillor Viltik, a pleasure,¡± said Councillor Floyd, taking a seat. ¡°How is Lady Viltik? A healthy baby girl, I heard.¡± ¡°Thank you, Floyd,¡± said Councillor Viltik. ¡°But now is not the time for felicitations.¡± Floyd smiled ambiguously at Councillor Keys, who returned an equally ambiguous stare. ¡°I suppose we should begin,¡± said Councillor Floyd. ¡°First, I was heartbroken to hear of Cole. He was a good man.¡± ¡°He killed the guards before they could testify,¡± said Councillor Keys. ¡°Where will we begin our search? We have no suspects, no witnesses.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Still, I believe you are the best equipped to conduct the search,¡± said Councillor Floyd, flatly. ¡°No?¡± Keys looked at Floyd, then at Viltik, who nodded briskly. ¡°He is right,¡± said Viltik. ¡°Councillor Floyd, your Connexion is far superior to mine,¡± began Keys. ¡°Councillor Keys,¡± said Floyd. ¡°Were you not a prodigy? Did you not create that ruckus by discovering your own mentor¡¯s infidelity when you were merely seven? There is none in all of Kaps who Senses Minds as you do, Councillor Keys. My specialty is in Transcending Minds, which is of little use for us here.¡± Seeing that Keys had nothing left to say, Floyd continued. ¡°What I can do, however, is to keep this tightly guarded. We do not want the people to know of this. That would cause unnecessary panic ¡ª¡± ¡°And more to join the Young Kardas,¡± said Viltik. ¡°I have reliable sources confirming that Drina¡¯s mercenary band has joined them.¡± ¡°The Child of Light,¡± said Floyd. There was a brief, tense silence before Viltik began again, haltingly. ¡°And they have published their manifesto. It is circulating amongst the people rapidly.¡± ¡°I have read it,¡± said Floyd. ¡°It is heresy. It denies Heion. It denies the Rites. They ought to be executed under the Common Law.¡± ¡°And I believe,¡± continued Floyd, the cadence of his voice rising. ¡°That finding and executing the members of the Young Kardas may lead to us to gain useful clues about our initial point of discussion, about who has stolen the Black Cloak. For are they not prime suspects in this matter?¡± Viltik nodded grimly and Keys remained silent, gazing steadily at Floyd. ¡°I am concerned,¡± said Viltik. ¡°About the relationship of Drina, the mercenary leader, with a certain Logan Floyd.¡± If Floyd was flustered he did not show it when he said, ¡°and what are you concerned about, Councillor Viltik?¡± ¡°They are known to each other,¡± said Viltik. ¡°Are they not? If Drina has joined the Young Kardas, what is to say that the boy has not? You know your boy¡¯s power, Floyd. The Young Kardas, until now have merely been a group of riffraff, posing no real threat, but with Floyd in their hands ¡ª¡± ¡°You are worried, Councillor Viltik,¡± said Floyd. ¡°About one young man?¡± ¡°That one young man killed one hundred men in Reyken, Councillor Floyd,¡± said Keys, his voice trembling. ¡°He killed them all himself. Not a single one of our men could land a strike on him.¡± At this Floyd was silent for a while. ¡°Kate Rinehart,¡± he said finally. ¡°What of her,¡± said Keys. ¡°Councillor Viltik is concerned about the friendship between Drina and Logan Floyd, but we too have a close friend of Logan Floyd. We can send her to bring him back.¡± ¡°Councillor Floyd,: said Keys. ¡°That Rinehart child is impossible to control. I do not think it would be wise to bring her into this¡­ situation.¡± ¡°And who would you suggest, Councillor Keys, is better suited,¡± said Floyd. ¡°One of your daughters, perhaps?¡± At this Councillor Keys stood up, his lips trembling. ¡°Keys,¡± said Viltik, firmly. ¡°I am merely saying, Councillor Keys,¡± said Floyd. ¡°That there are only a few in Drum who can match Logan Floyd in strength. Kate Rinehart is one, your eldest daughter is the other.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send Rinehart,¡± said Keys. ¡°Good,¡± said Floyd. Keys sat back down uneasily. ¡°Well, I believe that covers everything we had to discuss today,¡± said Floyd, rising from his seat. ¡°Councillor Keys will find us a lead regarding the Black Cloak, I will ensure that word does not spread about its disappearance, and¡­ I suppose Councillor Keys will also send Rinehart to recruit Logan Floyd.¡± After a moment of hesitation the other two Councillors also rose. ¡°Councillor Viltik,¡± said Floyd. ¡°Perhaps you would like to go first? I need to have a word with Councillor Keys, privately.¡± Keys¡¯s jaw tensed. Viltik nodded grimly. The young man with the unruly hair appeared again. Viltik stepped forward towards him and held out his arm, which the young man held deferentially, and the two of them disappeared. ¡°You have been attempting to Sense my Mind throughout that entire meeting, Councillor Keys,¡± said Floyd. Keys did not answer, only looked with wide eyes at Floyd. ¡°I understand our relationship is built upon mutual respect,¡± continued Floyd. ¡°I would advise against attempting such a brazen and, of course, futile act again.¡± The young man with unruly hair appeared again. He took Floyd by the arm then disappeared. Soon he appeared again and took the dazed Keys by the arm also. Then they disappeared and the room was empty once again, save for the untouched glasses of wine and the conversation piece on the pedestal table. Three Sext, Sixteenth Day Before Kalends of May Main Courtyard, Greghorn Castle (Anselm Family Residence), Drum Jack Anselm, the only child of the Anselm family, aged twelve, sat on the grass, barefeet, wearing a simple grey tunic, eyes closed. Sitting before him was Kate Rinehart, the daredevil child of the Rinehart family, aged twenty, in light armour. Her eyes were open, staring intently at the boy. ¡°Loosen your Connexion with your Body,¡± she said, softly. ¡°Consider your Body merely one among infinitely many Bodies. Let go.¡± Jack managed this with ease. This step had taken the two of them daily work for the past three months, but he now found it easy to detach his Mind from his Body. His body went limp. ¡°Keep your eyes closed. Extend your Mind outwards. Find Connexion with the grass underneath you.¡± Jack did this, his Mind groping outwards, blindly. His Body tugged at his Mind to return to it, but his Mind firmly turned away, and when he did he found that he could Sense the sprawling grass beneath him. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Feel the shape of the blades of the grass. Feel the wind rustling these blades, as if you are the grass itself.¡± And Jack was the grass and he could feel the wind amongst the blades. ¡°Now Transcend it. Grow!¡± And the grass grew, all around them, and the prickling sensation jolted Jack¡¯s Mind back to his own Body and he opened his eyes. The grass stopped growing. ¡°Oh!¡± said Jack. ¡°Good,¡± said Kate. ¡°But you must not let loose your grasp. You must harbour a¡­ kind of possessiveness. A vicious possessiveness. Like a wolf that has caught its prey. You must not let go at all cost, even if the other is squirming under your grasp.¡± Jack stared at Kate with large, unfocused eyes, and Kate realised that she was Transcending the young boy¡¯s fragile Mind. ¡°Oh,¡± she said, and let go. Jack smiled confusedly and said, ¡°I will try again.¡± And once again he closed his eyes but the two were interrupted by a call from the arcade. Both raised their heads to look. There was the usual crowd of servants that often gathered to watch these daily lessons, but the crowd was parting deferentially to give way to Lord Ainsel himself. Kate rose to her feet and bowed. ¡°Lord Ainsel,¡± said Kate. ¡°What brings you out here?¡± ¡°Rinehart,¡± said Lord Ainsel, seeming uncharacteristically agitated. ¡°I am afraid we must draw today¡¯s lesson to a close. Councillor Keys has visited. He wishes to speak to you. Now.¡± ¡°Councillor Keys?¡± said Kate. ¡°Yes, he is in the Main Hall. Do make haste.¡± ¡°Of course, my lord,¡± said Kate, smiled at Jack, and made leave. Lord Ainsel noticed Jack staring at Kate as she walked away and said, ¡°My boy, you must not stare like that.¡± Jack flushed red and turned away. Four Vespers, Twelveth Day Before Kalends of May Eastern Sthruls, Estrul, Tarrin, Drum Logan Floyd, the illegitimate son of Councillor Floyd, engaged in the same ritual every night. He bathed, shaved, then polished his sword, which took upwards of three hours. While he polished his sword he did not think about anything. He was not resting, either. He was polishing earnestly. But his polishing was disturbed this particular night by a soft thump from above, seemingly from the rooftop. Logan stopped and listened. Another thump, this time softer. His Mind let go of its Connexion with his Body and grasped around the walls of his small house, then up to the roof. He could Sense nothing. Either it was an animal that had scurried away or the intruder was trained in Connexion and was resisting being Sensed. He stood up and quietly moved towards the door. As he did so his Mind tightened his grip over his Body, feeling each muscle tense and feeling the pressure of his body against the floor, to prevent his Body from being Sensed by any others. He flattened himself against the wall next to his door and waited. He was not afraid. He had never been afraid of combat. It was this confidence that allowed him, when nothing happened for a while, to burst out of the door. As soon as he did so a cloaked figure descended over him. He narrowly ducked away. He Sensed two strikes coming from below and dodged the first and parried the other with his newly polished blade. Then he stepped aside, and from his forearm and hands arcs of lightning formed. These arcs then shot out towards the figure, who promptly dodged by soaring up into the air. Seeing this, Logan hesitated. ¡°Kate?¡± he called. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. But then came three blasts of wind, sharper than any blade in all of Drum, and struck his cheek, his left abdomen, and his right thigh. It was the first time he had been wounded in a very long time. Arcs of lightning formed in his hands again, which immediately shot up towards the figure, who dodged it again. Then more arcs came, and the figure narrowly dodged each one, before disappearing into the shadows. Now, left alone in the silence and the darkness, pain racked Logan¡¯s Body. Logan tried to Sense for Kate in the darkness, and Sensed five more blasts of wind coming his way. But the pain fuelled within him a terrible malice, a malice he had learnt from hundreds of battlefields. Instead of dodging the blasts he shot an arc of lightning towards the figure, who was struck, and fell to the ground. And now Logan pushed forward, past his pain, and when the figure landed he was on top of it, the tip of his blade held to her throat, the blade crackling with arcs of lightning. Then Logan hesitated. He hesitated because he was unsure if it was Kate. The assailant had Connexion with Wind, that was certain. So it was either Kate or Kate had died and someone else had usurped that Connexion. And the assailant took advantage that moment of hesitation once again, swiftly tangling its legs with Logan¡¯s, and now it was Logan who was pinned under the figure. But in this process the hood that had covered the figure¡¯s head had come down, revealing bright blue eyes under locks of roughly cut blonde hair. ¡°Kate,¡± breathed Logan. Then another silence. For Logan it was a silence of incredulity. Why would Kate wound him so? Pangs of pain spread through his body with each breath. For Kate it was a silence of victory. She smiled. She leaned close to him, so that her hair draped over Logan¡¯s face and he could feel her warm breath against his cheek. Then, without warning, she licked the length of his wound on his cheek. Logan bristled. Then Kate raised her head again and her brilliant blue eyes were burning into Logan¡¯s. ¡°Hello, Logan,¡± said Kate. Her voice reminded him of his younger days, where Kate and Logan spent their days in training under Lieutenant Cole and engaging in mock battles. So that was it, thought Logan. This was all a game. And Logan closed his eyes, smiling despite himself. He did not awake as Kate carried him back into his home. He did not awake as Kate tended to his wounds. He did not awake as Kate left, as swiftly and silently as she had come. Five Matins, Eleventh Day Before Kalends of May Eastern Sthruls, Estrul, Tarrin, Drum Logan awoke at dawn, as he always did. As he sat up his wounds ached deeply. As he inspected his dressed wounds he remembered last night¡¯s dreamlike encounter with Kate, whom he had not seen for several years. ¡°Good morning,¡± said a voice from the corner of his room. He looked up to see Kate in lotus position, floating about a foot from the ground. Her eyes were closed but was smiling. ¡°Why are you here,¡± said Logan. Kate opened her eyes and her bright blue eyes made her smile all the more unsettling. ¡°To see an old friend,¡± she said. ¡°Who sent you.¡± ¡°Hazel Drina.¡± Logan hesitated. He had heard the rumours in the streets, about Hazel Drina. She was planning a revolt, they were saying, a coup! And though it was unlikely that the people truly believed the utopia that the Young Kardas claimed was possible could really come into fruition, they perhaps adored the idea of it. Hazel Drina was often called the Child of Light, whom the Old Philosophers prophesied would defeat man¡¯s eternal oppressor. The light would cleave the darkness in two, and there will be a new world, claimed the prophecies. And when a young woman, who was braxin, meaning not of noble blood, appeared with the Connexion with Light, the Young Kardas spared no moment to claim that this was the arrival of the messiah come to topple the nobility and bring freedom to all. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°You know Hazel Drina,¡± said Logan. It was an unlikely acquaintanceship. Kate shrugged. ¡°What does she want.¡± ¡°Let her tell you herself,¡± she said, and handed him a folded piece of paper. He gingerly opened it and grimaced at Hazel¡¯s unschooled script, full of errors and odd phrasings. The letter began by reminding of the debt Logan owed. This was true. He owed her a debt for when she had helped him defect from the nobility two years ago by hiding him in her personal carriage as they passed from Cyrill to Drum. They had made love that night. Logan remembered this clearly, because that was the only time he ever made love. The letter continued, asking him to pay her a visit. She had a mission for him and if he completed the mission she would consider the debt settled. ¡°Go back,¡± said Logan, handing the note back to Kate. ¡°Tell Hazel that I am already employed. I will settle the debt another time.¡± And just like that, Logan left for work. Kate was left alone and she bit her lips until they bled. Why did she not stop him? It was not because she did not think she could. He was badly wounded, after all. It was rather because she desired the thrill of making him acquiesce by his own will. She would get at him, little by little. She had time, anyhow. Logan was needed for everything to begin. Yes, to her the thrill of the act was more important than the act itself. Six Prime, Eleventh Day Before Kalends of May Southern Hills, Tarrin, Drum Logan¡¯s employer was Garret, who was the head of the largest underground weapons trade in Drum. His job was to protect the carriages carrying the arms. He had worked with Garret for six months now, but he had only been ambushed once and even then the ambushers immediately fled when Logan revealed his Connexion. And thus Logan had no reason to suspect that he would come under attack as he rode on horseback at the front of the line of carriages. Alfred, a young man from Cyrill whose stubble made his rakishness all the more charming, and who often claimed to be a direct descendant of the venerated rustic poet Ronan, pointed out Logan¡¯s injuries when they were setting off. ¡°I will be fine,¡± said Logan. ¡°Yessir,¡± said Alfred. They rode side by side, as they always did, and Alfred talked to Logan incessantly to which Logan replied curtly but warmly, as he always did. Logan, though he did not show it, greatly enjoyed Alfred¡¯s company. The day Logan joined the weapons trade he was regarded with distrust and fear, and Alfred had been the first one who approached him and cajoled him with various high tales and jokes. The man was a collection of fables, seemingly having travelled all across Kaps, having even hiked the Drum Mountains and ventured into the darkest parts of Cyrill Forest at some point. Logan enjoyed these tales, as well as the exuberance with which he told them. So in this way the two men were able to become close without divulging to each other their past or their hopes for the future, Alfred¡¯s (if that was even his real name) obscured by his high tales and Logan¡¯s obscured by his reticence. This was for the best, as being a mercenary was dangerous work and it was best not to reveal things about oneself that may later become weaknesses. Alfred did know that Logan was a defected noble, of course, and that he was the man who had single-handedly killed a hundred men at Reyken, but everybody knew that. Today Alfred was telling a story about how he encountered the mystical Deer Lops in Cyrill Forest, who gave him a prophecy that he will become the nation¡¯s hero one day. Alfred had told Logan that story before, and Logan noticed with wry amusement that many of the details were different this time around. But Logan was also somewhat disturbed by the way Alfred¡¯s eyes, which were usually filled with rueful jest, glinted as he spoke of his prophecy. He had never spoken of such ambitions before. Logan could not recall the prophecy in Alfred¡¯s earlier version of the story, but it was not tinged with such brute ambition. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I think I will be leaving here soon,¡± said Alfred suddenly. ¡°Leaving?¡± said Logan. ¡°Yes,¡± said Alfred, and was silent. Logan was taken aback. He realised in that moment that he had stayed at the weapons trade for so long because of Alfred, because he was fond of his stories and his mirth, but most of all because Alfred had reached out to him and treated him as an equal. ¡°Why is that,¡± said Logan. ¡°Perhaps we should make a stop,¡± said Alfred. ¡°We are almost halfway, and there is nowhere to rest when we reach Jollock¡¯s Hill. I will let the rear guards know.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Logan. Alfred turned and headed towards the carriages trailing at the back, leaving Logan feeling lonelier than ever. He was now recalling all of Alfred¡¯s high tales, smiling at them despite himself. And so he was too busy Sensing his own Mind to Sense the conniving scheme that had blossomed in Alfred¡¯s Mind, nor to Sense Alfred unsheathing his sword as he returned to him. Only when Alfred was just behind Logan and raised his sword did Logan Sense the sword as it descended, and turned his body to dodge it. However, he turned too late and the sword sliced his shoulder, the same shoulder had borne injuries courtesy of Kate. Logan cried out, and when he turned to look at Alfred, Alfred instinctively knew that as he had failed to kill him in one blow he would now die. There was a flash of lightning after which the Body of Alfred, now charred and smoking, fell from his frightened horse. Logan turned to see several other men behind him who had now unsheathed their weapons. And just like that, it was battle for Logan Floyd and he killed every man that had conspired with Alfred. In battle he was one with the rhythm of his sword, the path of his swing fractionating into a thousand arcs of lightning. He could barely smell the burning flesh or hear the guttural screams of his enemies, all of them men he had spent many nights encircled around a fireplace, listening to Alfred¡¯s tall tales or Johann¡¯s growling songs. O Johann, that beautiful bass! He fell during this skirmish and would enter an eternal silence, his lilting voice remembered by none. Soon enough silence descended the scene, save for the screams of the terrified horses that kicked and reared up but could not break free from their harnesses. Logan found himself alone amongst fresh corpses of his colleagues, drenched in the blood of his colleagues. Not a single one had survived. For a moment he stood there, motionless, then turned and left the scene of massacre. Seven Terce, Eleventh Day Before Kalends of May Underground Tunnels of Garret, Tarrin, Drum As Logan walked down the hallway towards his employer Garret¡¯s office, only a few dared to glance at his way. All else looked away and pretended to busy themselves. So they all knew, thought Logan. He reached the end of the hallway, where there was a large black door with ornate golden bas-reliefs that twisted and turned into the shape of a golden double-edged spear, the weapon that Helion himself had supposedly wielded. The guard had seen Logan approaching and had already fled. Logan kicked the door open, breaking its golden lock. The room was small and poorly lit, containing only a minute desk piled high with paperwork. It smelled oppressively of Grayan tobacco. A large, bearlike man, about fifty or so years old, with a full, grizzly beard, sat hunched behind this desk, making the desk look all the more dinky and ridiculous. He was hastily scribbling something, and held out an impossibly large palm towards Logan, signalling him to wait. When he was done he looked up and met Logan¡¯s eye. He gave Logan a devilish grin. ¡°I heard of what happened,¡± said Garret. ¡°I apologise on behalf of my men.¡± Logan stood, motionless, staring at Garret without a word. ¡°I assume they are dead,¡± said Garret. ¡°Alfred, he was a clever young man. To think he would be foolish enough for something like this¡­ Greed blinds all men. Perhaps it cannot be helped, as your bounty easily exceeds one year¡¯s wages.¡± ¡°Did you know,¡± said Logan. ¡°No,¡± said Garret. ¡°Do you know who paid him.¡± ¡°I do not know of anything like that,¡± said Garret. ¡°But this is my responsibility and I must pay for it. I cannot surrender my life passively, however. That would not be honourable, since the livelihoods of many men depend on me. But I would willingly face you if you were to make an attempt at my life, and no doubt you will be successful. Before that, however, I must give you this.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Garret reached under his feet and produced an incredibly long fauchard. ¡°I made this for you personally,¡± said Garret, stepping forward from behind the desk. ¡°At first I wanted to give you a spear, but since you¡¯ve wielded a sword all your life the transition may be too abrupt. Think of this as an intermediary step. You need to be a spear-wielder. Striking manoeuvres augment your Connexion more than slicing manoeuvres. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Logan did not reply, taken aback. ¡°Take it,¡± said Garret. Logan took it. The spear was light to the point of making him uneasy. Not only the blade, but the shaft also was forged of metal, allowing the whole weapon to conduct Logan¡¯s lightning. Logan loosened his Connexion with his Body and his Mind explored the weapon with new, tentative Connexions. It was always exhilarating exploring a new weapon like this, Sensing all its edges and continuities. Then he placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword. Connexions that had formed from its many swings, including from the massacre earlier in the day, made his Mind surge.¡± Garret reached his arms around Logan and fastened a leather strap on his back. Logan slid the fauchard into the strap. He turned his body left and right and found that the fauchard was fixed to his back without the slightest discomfort. ¡°You never cease to amaze me,¡± said Logan. ¡°I could say the same to you,¡± said Garret. ¡°Now, challenge me into a duel, if you wish.¡± ¡°You know I would not do that,¡± said Logan. Garret smiled. ¡°A good gift can save a life.¡± ¡°I did not come here to kill you,¡± said Logan. ¡°I came here to say my farewells.¡± He held out a hand to Garret. Without shaking it, Garret said, ¡°and there is no possibility of you remaining. ¡° ¡°No,¡± said Logan. ¡°You must work,¡± said Garret. ¡°To work is the reason all of us were born. Without work there is nothing. In that alone there is inconceivable value in work.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Logan uneasily. ¡°So I ask once more,¡± said Garret. ¡°Stay with me.¡± ¡°I cannot,¡± said Logan. ¡°I cannot afford to kill any more of your men.¡± Garret nodded. He seemed to think deeply about something for a moment, then shook Logan¡¯s still outstretched hand and gave him a strange little smile. ¡°If your fauchard breaks, you know where to find me again,¡± he said. ¡°I know that it will never break,¡± said Logan, smiling back. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, taking in the bittersweet moment of a farewell, Logan turned and left. He did not look back, out of respect. Eight Vesper, Eleventh Day Before Kalends of May Estrul Marketplace, Estrul, Tarrin, Drum And so Logan Floyd was once again a vagrant and, though he did not know it yet, now the man with the highest bounty on his head not only in all of Drum, but all of Kaps after that morning¡¯s incident. He found himself wandering the crowded marketplace that lined the eastern border of Estrul, a small town on the outskirts of Tarrin, Drum. He stopped at a fountain. At its centre the fountain had a statue of Helion vomiting out the Stones, each Stone its own small fountain. There was a small boy on the edge of the fountain, but when Logan sat down next to him the boy¡¯s mother emerged from the crowd and led the boy away hurriedly. And so Logan sat alone, watching the mountain sthruls faintly reflecting the light of the setting sun. Just behind the sthruls rose the sharp cliffs of the treacherous peaks of Drum. Drum was a foreign land for Logan Floyd. He was from the country of Cyrill, to the South. His father was the Councillor of Cyrill. Thus, we was of noble birth, a descendant of Helion, a helia. Yet he had rejected nobility. It was not an intellectual rebellion, like that of the Young Kardas, nor a rebellion for the people, like that of Drina¡¯s mercenary band ¡ª it was simply from disgust and ennui, from the endless days of training only to point his blade at some beetroot farmer at Turuk who was not able to pay his taxes. What had pushed him to run away had been the war seemed just around the offing between Cyrill and Drum. The beginning of the dispute had been when a few young children of Drum had been caught crossing the border to steal from residences at the border of Cyrill. Councillor Floyd, with his usual iron fist, had ordered the execution of these children and their families. Drum was outraged. There were a few small civilian-led skirmishes at the border. Logan knew that he would be called upon to slaughter hundreds if war broke out. And so he left. He fled from Cyrill. At the border he met Hazel Drina. She gave him safe passage from Cyrill to Drum. And now she was reaching out to him for the first time since then. He had heard of her joining the Young Kardas. Everyone had. He could Sense the agitation of the nobility all the way from where he was sitting. Not that all of this changed anything for the people in Estrul. No, they were too busy to occupy themselves with such matters. They had mouths to feed. And to feed those mouths they would do anything. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Alfred ¡ª he did tell Logan once that he had a young daughter. Logan did not know if this daughter was another fabrication of his, or whether he had thrown himself at Logan for her. Logan did not blame Alfred. The deep hopelessness he felt had nothing to do with blame, however. Finding the lives of the nobility horrendous he had fled to the common people, only to find their lives so very much worse. Where was he to turn to now? ¡°I know where you should turn,¡± said a voice to his right. Logan turned to see Kate, in civilian rahl, sitting beside him, looking up at him with eager eyes and a devilish smile. Logan was flustered. Not only had he not Sensed Kate getting so close, but he had also allowed his Mind to be Sensed! He could not allow such carelessness, not he of all people. ¡°You have gotten better at resisting your Body from being Sensed,¡± said Logan. ¡°And you have gotten better at resisting you Mind from being Sensed,¡± said Kate. Then Kate rested her head on Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I heard what happened today,¡± she said. Logan jolted and pushed Kate off of him. ¡°How so,¡± he said. ¡°Could it be that ¡ª¡° Kate was unflustered, and said, ¡°no, that had nothing to do with me. I just heard from the streets. Many times, actually. It is quite the talk of town.¡± ¡°Word will travel to the ears of Councillor Keys, no doubt,¡± said Logan. ¡°It probably already has,¡± said Kate. ¡°Anything the people know, Keys knows also.¡± ¡°If you believe,¡± Logan began. ¡°That such empty threats will make me come with you ¡ª¡° ¡°What else can I give but coddling and threats,¡± said Kate. ¡°What business do you have with Drina,¡± said Logan. ¡°Business is private.¡± ¡°You threaten me with Keys,¡± said Logan. ¡°But are you in turn not afraid of Keys prying into this private business of yours.¡± At this Kate smiled. ¡°Keys cannot catch me. I will fly away. Like a bird.¡± And Kate soared up into the air and twirled around one of Helion¡¯s Stone-fountains. Logan, aware that people were beginning to stare, grabbed Kate by the sleeve and pulled her back down. ¡°Well I cannot,¡± said Logan. ¡°Listen,¡± said Kate. ¡°There is a famed fortune teller in Estrul. Why do we not seek her advice on what path you should tread?¡± ¡°And since when were you inclined towards such things.¡± ¡°Since this afternoon,¡± said Kate. ¡°She told me such wondrous things I have in store for the future.¡± Kate, indeed, had visited the fortune teller just past Sext. The fortune teller, who went by the name Baba Nush, had foretold that she faced an eternal darkness. At this Kate slipped her a gold coin under the table, and Baba Nush added that the one destined for her love will appear as a torch that would guide her way. Another gold coin, and Baba Nush agreed to help her on her sly little plan. Nine Compline, Eleventh Day Before Kalends of May Baba Nush¡¯s Cottage, Estrul Marketplace, Estrul, Tarrin, Drum And so the two nobles found themselves sitting on the dusty floor of Baba Nush¡¯s Cottage. She emerged from behind a curtain, a tiny, ancient woman with large, blind eyes, holding a kettle and two porcelain cups on a tray. She sat before them and poured the Logan and Kate tea with a shaking hand. ¡°Thank you Baba,¡± said Kate, smiling. She took the cup and drank the tea in one long gulp. Logan looked down at the tea, murky brown with kinked tea leaves. As he looked down at it he felt that the leaves were moving now, grasping each other with crooked fingers and pointing inwards, where the leaves had now formed a small bed of flowers. And it seemed now that blood was pouring out of this bed of flowers, soaking the tea redder and redder ¡ª Baba Nush snapped her fingers and Logan looked up at her large, blind eyes. ¡°Drink,¡± she said hoarsely. And Logan found himself reaching forward to hold the cup, then his Mind once again gained control of his Body and he put the cup back down. ¡°You know Connexion,¡± said Logan. ¡°Connexion, that is what you helia call it,¡± said Baba Nush. ¡°We braxin call it Magick.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Only helia can know Connexion.¡± said Logan. ¡°That is what helia say,¡± said Baba Nush. Logan turned to look at Kate. She shrugged and smiled. He could not understand how she was so calm. This was no mere trickery. The braxin woman had Transcended both his Mind and Body. Such Connexion required years of training to master, and most importantly one needed to be a descendant of Heion, or helia. If this old woman was correct, that meant that the Young Kardas¡¯ claims, too, were correct, which meant that the revolutionaries were justified in their anger. But before he could untangle these thoughts in his head Baba Nush began speaking. ¡°You are destined for the Child of Light,¡± she said. ¡°Hazel,¡± said Logan. ¡°The woman will die,¡± said Baba Nush, her voice quivering. For a moment there was a tense silence. ¡°On first name terms with Captain Drina, are we,¡± said Kate. ¡°Well you heard Baba, you are destined for the Child of Light. Follow me to your destiny.¡± With this she flew out of the cottage. Logan turned to follow her, but Baba Nush said, ¡°there is death around the corner.¡± Logan could not help but smile, and he said, ¡°do not worry Baba, I have faced death all my life.¡± Then, as he left the cottage, he added, ¡°perhaps I have already died.¡± Tenth Day Before Kalends of May Tarrin, Drum Logan and Kate set off at dawn the next day. They paid off a farmer heading north to Bahim territory, where Kate claimed Drina and her mercenary band were hiding. To Logan¡¯s surprise, and much to his relief, Kate did not speak throughout this journey. She merely looked out at the rolling hills of northern Tarrin. With each bump along the rocky road, Logan felt pain burst forth from the injuries. He had not been injured so badly in a very long time. But he was used to pain. He fell asleep before night fell. Ten Lauds, Ninth Day Before Kalends of May Bahim, Drum When he awoke he was in Bahim. The carriage had stopped. The sun had not yet risen. Kate was nowhere to be seen. Logan cautiously stepped out of the carriage, Sensing for any Bodies nearby. He Sensed the driver ¡ª he was fast asleep. Here, said Kate, and Logan turned to see her lying on her back on top of the carriage. What are you doing, said Logan. ¡°This is Karda territory,¡± said Kate. ¡°I am keeping watch.¡± Only now did Logan notice three bodies at the foot of the carriage. Their long hair and drab garments were unmistakably those of Karda. ¡°Why did we stop here,¡± said Logan. ¡°Why not some place safer.¡± ¡°Kardas have good blades,¡± said Kate. ¡°Good armour too, sometimes. Drina¡¯s men would do well with them.¡± ¡°And just what is it that you are doing,¡± said Logan. ¡°Fetching me for Drina. Collecting weapons for her men. I would not have taken you for one to occupy yourself with such chores for another. You are the daredevil child, but you are still of nobility.¡± At this Kate was silent for a while, then said, ¡°I am like you. I am sickened by them all.¡± ¡°I hear you are now conducting the Rituals,¡± said Logan. ¡°I have always been sickened by Them, and not from seeing the child¡¯s body devoured by the Mind of Heion, no. It was from looking up and seeing the smiling faces of the parents. As their child was writhing in agony before them, they were gathering wool about the wealth and leisure awaited them! A child was a small price to pay.¡± ¡°No,¡± said Kate flatly. ¡°I quite like the Rituals. It is the only moment of excitement in the entire year. Those false jousts and courtly niceties are simply so tedious. I have not seen blood shed on those courtyards since you left.¡± Seeing Kate¡¯s smile glinting in the moonlight recalled within Logan¡¯s mind a terrible memory from his childhood, when he found Kate, who herself was around six or seven years old, behind the lumber room drinking the blood of the pigeon. The pigeon was still alive and fluttering weakly in her hand. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The Houses of Drum have treated me leniently,¡± continued Kate. ¡°Yet Drina treats me all the more leniently. Also, I prefer rugged men over the flowery boys of the Houses.¡± ¡°Do the Houses know what you are doing,¡± said Logan. ¡°No,¡± said Kate. ¡°How can you be so sure.¡± ¡°Drina is not the only one who sent for you. So did Keys. And not about Cyrill. No, they are afraid that you will join Drina.¡± ¡°You are saying that you have hidden such treachery to Keys,¡± said Logan. ¡°Did you face Keys. Did he look into your eyes.¡± ¡°I gave him nothing.¡± ¡°You cannot suggest ¡ª¡± At this, the driver gave a grunt, and Logan realised that he had raised his voice. More softly, he said, ¡°you cannot suggest that you protected your Mind against Keys.¡± ¡°I think,¡± said Kate. ¡°That Keys does not wish to Sense my Mind.¡± Logan could not help but feel entirely convinced. ¡°Get rest,¡± said Logan. ¡°I will keep watch.¡± Kate smiled. ¡°Make sure to clean the blades before you put them in the back. The Kardas have such terrible diseases.¡± Logan did not respond as he watched Kate float lazily down into the carriage. There was rustling for a while, and then silence. Logan was left alone in the night. He thought again about the scene from his childhood, when he had found Kate drinking the blood of a pigeon. He had been too terrified to even scream. Kate had smiled and offered him some. At this point he had begun sobbing. ¡°There, there,¡± Kate had said, approaching him. She had then ripped out some of the pigeons entrails and had stuffed it in Logan¡¯s mouth. Logan, trembling in terror, had swallowed. Even to this day, Logan felt that a bitter taste remained in his mouth. And what horrified him more was the arousal that always followed the recollection of this event. He closed his eyes. He could Sense two Bodies approaching from the north, through the dandelion fields. They were approaching at a speed faster than that of a horse. Logan did not move, and pretended to be asleep. When they were almost upon him, at the edge of the road, they stopped for a moment. Logan could Sense them drawing their blades. Logan drew a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. The two Bodies dashed forward and Logan drew his fauchard. When Logan open his eyes once more, there were before him two dead Kardas. Nones, Ninth Day Before Kalends of May Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Hazel Drina was waiting for them when they arrived at the small town of Eastpoint. She was exactly as Logan remembered her, though perhaps a little more tanned and a little leaner. She had the same grizzled blond hair, the same auburn eyes, and the same wry smile. She was a small woman, much shorter than Kate at least, but she carried herself as if she was taller than all the men in her mercenary band. She was, like Logan and Kate, wearing a civilian rahl. ¡°Hello Logan,¡± she said. This was why Logan was so wary of Hazel Drina. She had the charm of an older woman that Logan found worryingly irresistible. Logan also suspected that Hazel knew of this, which made him all the more flustered. ¡°Captain Drina,¡± said Logan. ¡°I heard you wished to see me.¡± Kate was hovering about a foot above Logan¡¯s head. ¡°Hullo Hazel,¡± she said. ¡°Hello Kate,¡± said Hazel. ¡°How was the journey.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± said Kate. ¡°As you are well aware, Floyd here is the most excellent of conversationists.¡± At this Hazel smiled. She was certainly a beautiful woman. ¡°Come,¡± said Hazel. ¡°We have been waiting for you.¡± Eleven Vesper, Ninth Day Before Kalends of May Unnamed Quarry, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum The three of them went around the outskirts of Eastpoint and up a hill into a small coal mine against the base of one of the three peaks of the Drum Mountains. At the entrance of what seemed to be an abandoned shaft stood a tall, well-groomed, and darkly handsome man who was not in a rahl but a drab military gown, under which Logan could see he was lightly armoured. His eyebrows were perpetually furrowed, the effect of which Logan could not decide was gravity or sensuality. ¡°Jerome,¡± said Hazel, smiling. ¡°You waited for me.¡± Jerome kneeled and kissed the back of Hazel¡¯s hand. As he stood back up he gave Logan a look of suspicion. Logan was almost offended until he saw that Jerome then gave Kate, who was lazily drifting a foot above the ground, a look of unambiguous distaste. Kate did not seem to notice. ¡°Hullo Jerome,¡± said Kate. Without speaking a word, Jerome let the three pass. Hazel opened up her palms and a small orb of light appeared before them, which guided them down the tortuous mineshaft. Though Hazel was deftly manoeuvring herself down the uneven slope, and Kate of course was bypassing the entire issue by floating down the shaft, Logan was having difficulty maintaining his balance. ¡°How do your men travel up and down these shafts if they do not have you to illuminate the way,¡± said Logan. His voice echoed slightly. ¡°It is not as if they know Connexion.¡± ¡°There are ways to know the world other than Connexion,¡± Hazel¡¯s voice echoed back. ¡°Besides, some of my men know Connexion.¡± ¡°You believe that braxin can know Connexion,¡± said Logan. ¡°I do not believe,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I know.¡± Logan was taken aback. Hazel had not adopted the ideologies of the Young Kardas when he had last seen her. Logan had taught Hazel some Connexion then, which she had been able to learn because she was of mixed race. She delighted then, at the opening up of another world, and had urged him to teach her more. He had promised to teach her more if they met again. He had Sensed her Mind then, brimming with unadulterated joy. Perhaps he had fallen in love with her then. It mattered little now. What was for certain was that Hazel¡¯s Mind was now completely hidden from his Sensing. She had been practicing Connexion on her own, there was no doubt about that. And it seemed that she was also teaching braxinConnexion as well, the thought of which filled Logan with the most ambiguous of feelings. After a moment of silence Hazel said, ¡°you will see.¡± They walked the rest of the way in silence, until Logan saw light from around the bend, and suddenly he was in an open space, a cavern of sorts, where a dozen or so soldiers were playing a game of cards. The space was illuminated by four orbs of light, in each corner. The soldiers looked up in unison at Hazel. One of the men, a broad-shouldered man with a visible scar running across his chin, stood up and whispered something in quick Bahim dialect to Hazel. Hazel nodded and said ¡°yes, you may.¡± The man walked past Logan without acknowledging his presence and it took Logan all he had to not flinch when their shoulders brushed against each other. The large man climbed up into the darkness of the mineshaft through which Logan had just passed without any light. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Let us keep going,¡± said Hazel. Logan and Kate followed her through another series of tunnels, passed a few more rooms populated by not only soldiers but also civilians and some children, until they finally reached Hazel¡¯s private chambers. It was illuminated by a single orb of light hovering in the centre of the room. ¡°How do you maintain all of these orbs,¡± said Logan. ¡°Surely you are not maintaining them when you are away.¡± ¡°I do maintain them,¡± said Hazel. ¡°It is a kind of exercise, I suppose. Another benefit is that if the orbs begin dying out, my men know that I am in danger.¡± ¡°Has that happened,¡± said Kate. ¡°Once,¡± said Hazel, but said no more regarding this. Then she turned to address Kate. ¡°Thank you for bringing Logan here all this way,¡± said Hazel. ¡°You can stay the night, in the spare chambers, but you should return the following morning.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Kate. There was a moment of silence, in which Hazel must have spoken something to Kate using Connexion, at which Kate¡¯s face fell and she floated glumly out of the chambers. ¡°So,¡± said Hazel, turning to Logan. She suddenly looked much, much older. It was perhaps the effect of the singular orb of light that formed a chiaroscuro over her face. ¡°You owe me a debt,¡± she said. ¡°So I heard,¡± said Logan. ¡°What is it that you want.¡± ¡°I have a job for you.¡± Then Hazel stepped forward closer to Logan, very close to the point where Logan could feel her soft breath on his neck. Then she put both hands on Logan¡¯s eyes. Logan allowed her to Transcend his Mind. Hazel showed Logan¡¯s Mind the image of a young boy, with unruly hair and a robe marked with the emblem of the Anselm family. ¡°His name is Jack Anselm,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Bring him to me.¡± She removed her hands from Logan¡¯s eyes. ¡°You will begin a war,¡± said Logan. ¡°Not if you are not caught,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Why do you need him.¡± ¡°You do not need to know that in order to carry out this task.¡± ¡°Hazel,¡± said Logan. ¡°Why are you doing this.¡± ¡°Doing what.¡± ¡°Why have you joined the Young Kardas. Why do you risk the lives of your men for their mad ideologies.¡± ¡°Mad ideologies¡­¡± said Hazel, smiling. Then, turning away from Logan, she continued, ¡°You must have tasted the sufferings of braxin. Disease, poverty¡­ What do you believe will be the solvent for these horrors. Sound government? You know yourself that to suggest that would be in jest.¡± And now Hazel¡¯s voice fell into a whisper. ¡°The people need freedom, Logan. Connexion is freedom.¡± ¡°tt will cost hundreds, if not thousands of lives.¡± ¡°You are concerned about lives now?¡± said Hazel, turning sharply back to face Logan. ¡°Hundreds? How many lives have you taken by your own hand, Logan Floyd?¡± Perhaps Logan¡¯s face acquired a severity beyond what Logan had intended, as Hazel¡¯s voice suddenly softened and said, ¡°the freedom will be worths a thousand lives.¡± ¡°How can you be so confident of your victory?¡± ¡°We have loyal, competent men. We have Kate Rinehart. We will soon have Jack Anselm.¡± ¡°I am happy that you are not including me in that list,¡± said Logan. ¡°I know you would be unwilling,¡± said Hazel. ¡°If I did not already know your answer, I would have extended a hand for you to join me.¡± ¡°I am not interested in freedom,¡± said Logan. ¡°I think you are afraid of freedom.¡± Logan did not know how to reply. ¡°You are running away from everything that is worth fighting for,¡± said Hazel. ¡°It is not a sin to desire peace.¡± ¡°You are right,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Once you return with Jack Anselm, I promise you peace.¡± ¡°I wish for a cottage near the woods.¡± Hazel smiled at this and leaned closer to Logan. Logan thought that she was going to kiss him, but she instead reached out and touched the scar on his cheek. ¡°Is this from Kate?¡± said Hazel. ¡°Yes,¡± said Logan. ¡°That daredevil child.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Go now,¡± said Hazel. ¡°It is indecent for a man to stay in a woman¡¯s chambers for so long.¡± And so Logan went. When he left the room he discovered Jerome, the tall, dark man who he had seen at the mouth of the mineshaft, standing beside the door in the hallway. Logan was not one to offer a greeting first and so he stood gazing steadily at the man. Jerome gazed back without turning away. Then Jerome said, ¡°Will you join us.¡± ¡°No,¡± said Logan. Jerome smiled, as if he expected that answer. ¡°You will have no choice,¡± he said. ¡°War calls for warriors.¡± ¡°It is up to the warrior whether or not he responds to the calling,¡± said Logan, turning away. ¡°Not if you are the Child of Light.¡± Logan turned back towards Jerome, but he had already begun walking away. Twelve Matins, Eighth Day Before Kalends of May Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan awoke at dawn. He found that most his wounds had now healed. He left the mineshafts to take a walk around Eastpoint. He had never been to this town. He had only briefly passed through Bahim a few times during his time at the Tarrin weapons trade, but had never stopped at any of its towns. The streets were empty, save for a few stray cats. Logan pet a few of them, but after one of them bit him he steered clear of them. Only after he had walked around the whole town once ¡ª there was not much to see, as it was simply a less arid version of Estrul ¡ª did he encounter the first resident of the town. It was a wizened old man, sitting at his doorstep, drinking liquor with a minty smell that Logan could not recognise. When he saw Logan he said a few words in Bahim dialect. ¡°I do not speak your dialect,¡± said Logan. ¡°Oh,¡± said the old man. ¡°You are one of the soldiers.¡± Logan nodded and was about to turn back and return to the mines when the old man said, ¡°do you fight for us or against us.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After a pause, Logan said, ¡°I cannot say.¡± ¡°Your finger is bleeding,¡± said the old man. ¡°Come closer.¡± Logan obliged. The old man held out his hand, and Logan placed his hand in his. The old man¡¯s palms were fiery warm. The old man tipped the flask from which he was drinking and allowed a drop to fall onto Logan¡¯s finger, where the cat had bit him. The wound burned. ¡°You are a good man.¡± said the old man, smiling. ¡°The young in these towns do not have the courage to become soldiers. It is easy to fight when you know what you are fighting for. You do not know why you are fighting, and yet you are giving away your life for it. You are a good man.¡± After this the old man¡¯s words became slurred beyond comprehension and soon he collapsed to his side and began snoring. Logan undid his cloak and lay it on top of the old man. As he walked back towards the mineshafts he could not help but smile. The old man truly believed that there was honour in fighting! Logan, too, had romanticised war in his youth. That romance quickly died the moment he felt another human being¡¯s warm blood rush down his arms and smelt the scent of burning flesh. No, war was not beautiful. War was not noble. War brought death and destruction and despair. If he was caught during this task, he would bring about war without a doubt. The thought sent an immediate shudder down his spine. No, he could not think such thoughts. He had to succeed. He had to think of this as yet another job. He recalled Garret¡¯s words. Without work there is nothing. Yes, there was nothing else for him. For what else could he do? Walk away? Logan knew that would be impossible. He had nowhere left to go. In some ways he had already resigned to himself that the stench of death would follow him for the rest of his life. Thirteen Terce, Eighth Day Before Kalends of May Tea Room, Whitestone Castle (Keys Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum ¡°You were unsuccessful,¡± said Councillor Keys as Kate Rinehart entered. He was sitting at a table, drinking ryanim tea. ¡°Yes,¡± said Kate and sat down at the chair opposite Keys. ¡°Stand,¡± said Keys. Kate did. Keys looked up at her. Why were you unsuccessful, said Keys into Kate¡¯s Mind without moving his mouth. Kate bristled. It was always the most unnerving of experiences to have her Mind Transcended. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I met with him,¡± said Kate, out loud. She did not dare Transcend the Councillor¡¯s Mind in return. ¡°But he stole away.¡± ¡°Hm,¡± said Keys. Then Kate could feel him Sensing her Mind, probing for memories of her misadventures in Estrul. But Kate knew how to stop him. She Transcended her Mind to bring forth the various memories and interlaced them with the memories of the past few days. Yes, there was the memory of Kate on top of Logan outside his sthrul. But this was superseded by the memory of the two jousting a few years ago, where Logan had sent Kate hurtling through a wall with one swing of his arm. This was in Cyrill, under the supervision of the late Cole, former overseer of the Cloakroom. Kate was adept at this kind of deformation of her memories. Her Mind was naturally tumultuous, and all she had to do was to push it a little further. Kate saw Keys furrow his eyebrows and knew that she was successful. Kate Rinehart, how will you pay for your failure, said Keys, again into Kate¡¯s Mind. At this Kate smiled. ¡°Gladly with my life,¡± she said. Keys sighed. ¡°You may take leave.¡± As Kate was turning away, Keys said, ¡°Rinehart.¡± Kate stopped. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Do you know of anything regarding the Black Cloak,¡± said Keys. ¡°No, sir?¡± said Kate. Keys could tell without Sensing her Mind that she was telling the truth. Fourteen Sext, Eighth Day Before Kalends of May Guest Chambers, Greghorn Castle (Anselm Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum Kate Rinehart was sitting in a chair facing a window looking out north, towards the rolling hills, towards Bahim. Though Kate Rinehart¡¯s Body was sitting perfectly still, her Mind was a maelstrom, one hasty emotion collapsing against the other, thoughts too fleeting to be captured in words. She was thinking about Logan. She was thinking about how the men looked at him. She was thinking about how Hazel looked at him. She was thinking about the way her voice quivered when she told Jerome that Logan wants nothing to do with the revolution, the way her furrows deepened. And she was thinking about the way she had Logan pinned outside his sthrul. She had defeated him! Why was Hazel so concerned about Logan? Logan Floyd would be here in two days, in this very castle. Hazel had given Kate explicit orders to stay away from the castle when this happened. After Kate herself had prepared the scene piece by piece, enter Logan and he was now the hero of this tale. Oh, she could not bear it any longer. She stood up and opened the window with a push of Connexion. She was just about to clamber out the window and fly out into her freedom when a small voice called out from the doorstep, ¡°Kate?¡± She turned to look. It was Jack Anselm. He was alone. ¡°Hullo,¡± said Kate. ¡°Where were you, for the past few days?¡± ¡°In Bahim. Doing something for the Councillor.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Then silence. ¡°What is it, Jack?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Jack did not answer. Without even consciously Sensing Jack¡¯s Mind, Kate could Sense a terrible sorrow. She walked over to Jack, pulled him gently into the room, cast a quick glance at the hallway and, seeing no one, closed the door. She pulled Jack into an embrace. ¡°Do you want to show me?¡± she said. ¡°Show you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Kate. ¡°Transcend my Mind.¡± ¡°I do not know how.¡± Kate knelt down so that she was eye level with Jack. She took Jack¡¯s hand and placed it on her forehead. ¡°Show me,¡± said Kate. And so Jack did. Kate saw the hallways of Greghorn Castle from Jack¡¯s viewpoint. He was standing in front of a door. The door was tall, too tall, and slightly ajar. Jack peered inside. Lord Greghorn and Lady Greghorn were having a row of some sort, but Jack did not understand what they were arguing about. Jack had in his hands a drawing. It was of him, his older brother who had died, his father and his mother. Jack pushed forward with a bout of courage and entered the room. ¡°Father¡±, he said. Lord Greghorn paused and looked down at his son. ¡°Jack,¡± he said. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jack was too afraid to speak and silently showed his parents his drawing. Out of the corner of his vision, Jack could see Lady Greghorn smiling, but she said nothing. Lord Greghorn perused the drawing without taking it from Jack¡¯s hands. Then he said, ¡°You are the sole heir of the Greghorn family. You understand what that means, do you not?¡± And terror, sheer terror, clouded this memory and Jack broke away from Transcending Kate¡¯s Mind. ¡°Oh,¡± said Kate, holding Jack tight in her arms. ¡°Poor thing.¡± Kate could feel Jack¡¯s shoulders racking as he tried to hold back his tears and realised that despite all that was happening, despite the glory that the Anselm family wished Jack would bring, despite Hazel¡¯s plan, despite the war he would probably begin, Jack Anselm was still a child. ¡°Oh child,¡± said Kate. ¡°They want so much from you.¡± But after a few minutes Jack was able to dispel his tears and push away from Kate¡¯s embrace. ¡°It is nothing,¡± he said. His cheeks were crimson red. Kate smiled. ¡°Let us go outside,¡± said Kate. Above the Southern Towers at Greghorn Castle (Anselm Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum And the two were in the air. Kate spun, swooped, and ducked under Jack as he flailed his arms helplessly. ¡°Place your trust in me,¡± said Kate. ¡°I am holding you.¡± Kate took Jack by the hand and they soared towards the sun. ¡°Oh!¡± cried Jack. And then he was laughing. His laughter, though muffled by the wind, was bright and beautiful. He let go of Kate¡¯s hand. He was flying. ¡°Oh!¡± cried Jack again. Yes, Kate thought. Jack Anselm was still a child. Fifteen Vesper, Eighth Day Before Kalends of May Floyd¡¯s Private Chambers, Fowther Castle (Floyd Family Residence), Wilton, Cyrill While such schemes were being played out in Drum, Floyd, the Councillor of Cyrill, was in his private chambers, composing the final stanzas of his History of Kaps. Despite the title it was less a historical text and more religious propaganda. The people of Kaps, a nation composed of the three states of Cyrill, Drum, and Maple, had one god, Heion. In his History of Kaps, Councillor Floyd was describing in verse the story of Heion. The story went as follows. In the beginning there was a lifeless World. The first Mind was Life. She Connected with the World and gave birth to Death, another Mind. Death consumed Life as he was being born. The crumbs that Death left were swallowed up by the World. The larger crumbs became humans and the smaller crumbs became animals. Once Death had finished consuming Life, he had a stomachache and vomited out Heion. Heion feared that Death would consume him also, so he shared his Mind with three humans, allowing them to use Connexion. These were the First Philosophers. Together, Heion and the First Philosophers defeated Death, splitting him into three Articles: the cloak, the scythe, and the lantern. And now Councillor Floyd was documenting the death of Heion. Succumbing to his wounds, Heion died. As he died his blood carried part of his Mind and imbued them into the stones that were scattered around his dying Body. These, of course, became the Stones. This text was written to give authority to everything that Young Kardas were challenging. Helia were the descendants of the first Philosophers and so only they were able to use Connexion. In extension the Stones, which carried the blood of Heion, was rightfully the property of helia. But before Councillor Floyd was able to finish his final couplet, there was a knock on his door. ¡°Enter,¡± said Floyd. The large, ornate doors swung open and in entered Virgil, the most hideously deformed man in all of Kaps. The story was that Virgil¡¯s mother had dropped a pot of boiling water on Virgil¡¯s head in shock when he spoke his first word at the precocious age of three and a half months. The left side of head was caved in and the right side was covered in grotesque bumps, some as large as a walnut. He was missing his left eye and his right eye was small and watery. His lips protruded, cracked and bloody. He was the height of a small child and was always swaddled in many layers of black cloth. ¡°Councillor,¡± he said. His voice resembled the croak of a toad. ¡°There is a matter which requires your counsel.¡± ¡°The Ansolfini family,¡± said Floyd, without looking up. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Yes, Councillor,¡± said Virgil. ¡°They are claiming that this is a so-called exceptional case of the twenty-seventh Common Law.¡± ¡°Give them impunity.¡± ¡°Councillor?¡± ¡°The Ansolfini family is integral to our trade with Maple. Give them impunity.¡± ¡°Councillor,¡± said Virgil. ¡°It will be very difficult to argue that this is an exceptional case.¡± Only now did Floyd look up. He had finished writing. ¡°And tell me, dear Virgil, does ease of argument dictate our ethics?¡± ¡°I apologise, Councillor.¡± ¡°I did not ask for an apology. I asked you a question.¡± ¡°No, Councillor,¡± said Virgil. ¡°It does not.¡± ¡°You are quite incorrect,¡± said Floyd, smiling. ¡°Ease of argument does dictate our ethics. Consider the case of the Fanen family. And just recently that of the Giandi boy in Maple.¡± Virgil bowed his head and remained silent. ¡°You must recall the text published in Maple regarding the normative theory of law. It was upheld as a sound justification of the Common Law. This is why weak thinkers publish in Maple, where readers are still drunk off the wine of Ronan and cannot tell cause from effect. Common Law? The only Common Law is the fear of death. Death is the sole authority. From death should come all actions, all right and wrong, all good and evil.¡± ¡°Yes, Councillor,¡± said Virgil. Floyd dismissed Virgil with a wave of his hand and Virgil hastily made way. Floyd himself withdrew to bed. That night Floyd was struck by a sequence of dreams that had periodically plagued him for the last twenty-five years of his life. In the first dream he was once again a young man, a promising heir of the Floyd family and soon-to-be the next Councillor of Cyrill. One day, after he had finished sparring with Cynthia Ferrons, a fellow noble, he had challenged her to a race down to the small town of Winders. They set off running, splattering mud on their ankles, laughing freely. Floyd was in the lead. When he reached the large oak tree that marked the beginning of the town of Winders he let out a large guffaw. He turned around to see Cynthia still quite a distance away. He turned back around to look at the oak tree then saw between its great branches a woman looking at him through a window. Floyd expected her to look away, but she continued to steadily gaze at him. Then the next dream was her by a fireplace. She was smiling bitterly. Her father had died. Floyd reached out and touched her shoulder. She bristled. Then the next, they were making love. She was beautiful. Then the next, she was laughing at a joke that he had made. He could not remember the joke, only her laugh. Then the next, she was holding in her arms a small infant. She was weeping from happiness. Her hair was greying. Then the next, her house was in flames. Floyd watched as the rafters gave way and collapsed. He did not dare turn around. He knew that she was there, behind him, on the pike. He closed his eyes. He could not show his tears, not now. He was to be appointed Councillor the following spring. He could not be seen weeping for a woman who had broken the seventh Common Law. Floyd awoke, gasping for breath. Maria, he cried. But she was not there. He was alone. Floyd returned to his desk. He swept aside his History of Kaps. He produced a fresh page and began writing an aubade. You tread on fallow soil, O sinless child, On which the fruit of life will never grow, And though by love begot, your mother¡¯s smile, That love, now gone, revealed, will nothing show. For change there must always be a sacrifice, thought Floyd. The boy is key. He will be the rot for a fertile land, where the people will be healthy and sing songs of gladness. Sixteen Vigils, Sixth Day Before Kalends of May Jack¡¯s Private Chambers, Greghorn Castle (Anselm Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum Logan Floyd stood at the foot of the bed. Jack Anselm was sleeping. He Sensed the guard stationed in the floor below. According to Kate there would be a change of guards at any moment. Then that would the only guard that Logan would have to kill before leaving via the stairwell down to the stable, from where he could steal a horse and return to Bahim. But for now he had to wait for the change of guards. Logan was uneasy. He was still unconvinced that Kate had hidden her schemes from Councillor Keys, whose Sensing of the Mind was unparalleled in Kaps. It was very possible that he had just entered into a trap. But there he was, trespassing, at the foot of the Anselm child¡¯s bed. Doubts were not going to help him now. And so Logan waited. Logan disliked waiting. He would always occupy himself with something, such as training his Connexion or sharpening his blade. He did not like the feeling of waiting, as waiting made him think about the meaningless horror of it all. But Logan waited, trying to push away these useless thoughts. Once Logan had waited for a while and the change of guards had still not happened, Logan¡¯s uneasiness grew threefold. And then when Jack Anselm made a whimpering sound and turned over in bed to face Logan, Logan simply could not take it any longer. He snatched the child up from his bed and pressed his palm to the child¡¯s forehead to Transcend his Mind, bringing it to an unshakeable sleep. Then Logan went out of the room, down the stairs, and with a rapid charge forward, killed the guard. Only then did he sense a Body about the round the corner towards the corridor where Logan was standing. The change of guards! Logan threw his fauchard, which impaled the relieving guard as he rounded the corner. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. There was a cry. Jack Anselm had awoken as Logan¡¯s Transcendence of his Mind loosened momentarily. Logan pressed a palm to Jack¡¯s forehead but before he could Transcend his Mind again Jack let out another cry, louder this time, and began kicking. Logan looked down the corridor, where the dead man still stood impaled by his fauchard. He could Sense movement upstairs. Logan dropped the boy onto the ground and rushed to retrieve his fauchard. But as he reached out with his hand, a vine shot out from the wall and wrapped around his hand. Logan turned around and saw Jack, eyes closed, hands outstretched and violently shaking. It was then that he understood why he was to bring back Jack Anselm. Kate had told him that the boy¡¯s Ritual had only been three months ago and his Transcendence was remarkable given his amount of training, but Logan had not expected this much from the boy. Logan grabbed his fauchard with his other hand and sliced the vine away, but now he found vines wrapping around his ankles. By now guards were making their way down the stairs. One saw Logan standing over the body of the dead guard and cried out. With one burst of electricity from an outstretched hand Logan killed the first three guards. He tore his legs away from the vines and lunged at Jack, tackling him to the floor. He could Sense more movement, all throughout the castle now. And then rang from the belfry a thunderous peal ¡ª the alarm had been raised. Logan cursed. This was the one outcome that Hazel had urged him to avoid. Logan pressed his palm firmly against Jack¡¯s forehead and once again put the boy to sleep. Then he stood up to meet the oncoming guards. When morning came there was not a single soul alive in Greghorn Castle other than the agitated horses in the stable. One was, of course, missing. Seventeen Vigils, Sixth Day Before Kalends of May Jack¡¯s Private Chambers, Greghorn Castle (Anselm Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum Logan Floyd stood at the foot of the bed. Jack Anselm was sleeping. He Sensed the guard stationed in the floor below. According to Kate there would be a change of guards at any moment. Then that would the only guard that Logan would have to kill before leaving via the stairwell down to the stable, from where he could steal a horse and return to Bahim. But for now he had to wait for the change of guards. Logan was uneasy. He was still unconvinced that Kate had hidden her schemes from Councillor Keys, whose Sensing of the Mind was unparalleled in Kaps. It was very possible that he had just entered into a trap. But there he was, trespassing, at the foot of the Anselm child¡¯s bed. Doubts were not going to help him now. And so Logan waited. Logan disliked waiting. He would always occupy himself with something, such as training his Connexion or sharpening his blade. He did not like the feeling of waiting, as waiting made him think about the meaningless horror of it all. But Logan waited, trying to push away these useless thoughts. Once Logan had waited for a while and the change of guards had still not happened, Logan¡¯s uneasiness grew threefold. And then when Jack Anselm made a whimpering sound and turned over in bed to face Logan, Logan simply could not take it any longer. He snatched the child up from his bed and pressed his palm to the child¡¯s forehead to Transcend his Mind, bringing it to an unshakeable sleep. Then Logan went out of the room, down the stairs, and with a rapid charge forward, killed the guard. Only then did he sense a Body about the round the corner towards the corridor where Logan was standing. The change of guards! Logan threw his fauchard, which impaled the relieving guard as he rounded the corner. There was a cry. Jack Anselm had awoken as Logan¡¯s Transcendence of his Mind loosened momentarily. Logan pressed a palm to Jack¡¯s forehead but before he could Transcend his Mind again Jack let out another cry, louder this time, and began kicking. Logan looked down the corridor, where the dead man still stood impaled by his fauchard. He could Sense movement upstairs. Logan dropped the boy onto the ground and rushed to retrieve his fauchard. But as he reached out with his hand, a vine shot out from the wall and wrapped around his hand. Logan turned around and saw Jack, eyes closed, hands outstretched and violently shaking. It was then that he understood why he was to bring back Jack Anselm. Kate had told him that the boy¡¯s Ritual had only been three months ago and his Transcendence was remarkable given his amount of training, but Logan had not expected this much from the boy. Logan grabbed his fauchard with his other hand and sliced the vine away, but now he found vines wrapping around his ankles. By now guards were making their way down the stairs. One saw Logan standing over the body of the dead guard and cried out. With one burst of electricity from an outstretched hand Logan killed the first three guards. He tore his legs away from the vines and lunged at Jack, tackling him to the floor. He could Sense more movement, all throughout the castle now. And then rang from the belfry a thunderous peal ¡ª the alarm had been raised. Logan cursed. This was the one outcome that Hazel had urged him to avoid. Logan pressed his palm firmly against Jack¡¯s forehead and once again put the boy to sleep. Then he stood up to meet the oncoming guards. When morning came there was not a single soul alive in Greghorn Castle other than the agitated horses in the stable. One was, of course, missing. Terce, Fifth Day Before Kalends of May Bahim, Drum When Jack Anselm awoke he found himself strapped haphazardly with rope to the back of a horse, his arms and legs flailing out on either side. He could feel that there was a man sitting just in front of him. Before Jack could cry out, Logan said, ¡°Quiet, child.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. And with those words Logan Transcended Jack¡¯s Mind with such fear that Jack immediately fell silent. ¡°My name is Logan Floyd,¡± he said. ¡°We are in Bahim. I am taking you to Hazel Drina, Captain of the Aegis.¡± Jack Anselm did not understand these words. After a pause Logan added, ¡°I killed everyone in Greghorn.¡± What followed was a very long silence. Logan did not speak any further. He was preoccupied with his own Mind, which was remembering again and again the slaughter at Greghorn Castle, and was raising the persistent question ¡ª did I just begin a war? There was no doubt that Councillor Keys Sensed the massacre as soon as it happened, or perhaps even before it happened. There could potentially be an army that was pursuing them this very moment. Then another question, which was perhaps even more disturbing to Logan than the first ¡ª was the slaughter necessary? In the moment Logan had thought that it would be better to leave no witnesses, but if Logan was honest to himself, he would have to admit that he had not thought much too carefully about the matter once the slaughter had begun. He had just given himself over to the rhythm of his blade, just as he did at Estrul. And so, only when the two were very close to Eastpoint did Logan turn around to look at Jack Anselm. Logan saw that the boy had been silently weeping for a long time. ¡°Anselm,¡± began Logan. Then the horse collapsed. Logan leapt forward off the horse and rolled to his feet. When he looked back at the horse he found it with all four legs tied down by tree roots that had sprout out from the ground. And when he looked at Jack he was filled with even more amazement, as sharp vines had grown from the ground around the boy and was sawing away at the ropes that bound him. Soon enough Jack had freed himself and was up on his legs, facing Logan with fierce fury. ¡°Anselm,¡± said Logan. ¡°You do not wish to do this.¡± Even before Jack thrust his arms forward Logan could Sense the vines sprouting from underneath his feet. Logan closed the distance between him and Jack in three rapid strides and tackled the child to the ground. He pressed his palm to the boy¡¯s forehead and once again put him into a deep sleep. Vesper, Fourth Day Before Kalends of May Unnamed Quarry, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum One of Drina¡¯s men entered hurriedly into the room where Hazel Drina, Kate Rinehart, and Griffin the Dwarf, a key member of the Young Kardas, sat at a makeshift table made of three crates bolted together. ¡°Captain¡±, said the man. ¡°The Anselm boy is awake.¡± ¡°Bring him here,¡± said Kate. The man looked at Hazel for confirmation. Hazel sighed and gave a sharp nod. ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± said the man and left. ¡°I have never seen you look so troubled,¡± said Kate. She was eating a Bahim pear, known for its sweetness. At this Hazel buried her face in her hands. ¡°I suspected that this would bring war,¡± said Hazel. ¡°But Keys is not rash. He would have spent time in preparing his attack. He may perhaps have sought a diplomatic approach. But now that Floyd has killed the¡­ entirety of Greghorn Castle, the noble families of both Maple and Cyrill will have their eyes on us. We may not have enough time.¡± ¡°Time,¡± said Griffin the Dwarf. ¡°Is the only thing that is outside our grasp. It cannot be Sensed and it cannot be Transcended. But all else ¡ª¡± And now with a dramatic gesture he placed the newly published Tractatus Connectus onto the table. ¡°All else can now be Sensed and Transcended, even by braxin.¡± As if to demonstrate this, Griffin flicked his hand above the book and the book flipped open. ¡°And I, of course, am of pure braxin heritage. The age of subjugation is over.¡± And so it seemed to be. Just that morning, Drum had declared war on the Aegis. The very same morning the Young Kardas had published the Tractatus Connectus, which detailed how braxin could attain Connexion. It was distributed not only in Drum, but in Maple and Cyrill also, where anti-helia sentiments were also growing. The not only delineated Stone Connexion, but also Force and Barrier Connexion, which could be used without being a Stone user. Force Connexion allowed the user to Transcend Bodies along the path of a particular movement, and was the Connexion just used by Griffin the Dwarf. Barrier Connexion allowed the users to Transcend Bodies by repelling all Bodies from a particular area. Not only this, but it introduced a new type of Connexion called Impact Connexion, which allowed users to Transcend Bodies in a pulsating manner around a particular point. ¡°It is war, then,¡± said Hazel. It was then that Jack Anselm entered the room. ¡°Kate?¡± he said. ¡°Jack,¡± said Kate. ¡°How do you feel.¡± ¡°Jack¡ª¡± began Hazel. ¡°Kate,¡± said Jack. ¡°I do not understand.¡± At this Kate stood up, walked over to Jack, and brought him into an embrace. ¡°I know that you have questions,¡± said Kate. ¡°Come with me.¡± And Kate took him away to her private chambers. ¡°Captain Drina,¡± said Griffin the Dwarf. ¡°We will emerge victorious. You are the Child of Light, after all.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Hazel. But she was not looking at Griffin. She was looking out towards the south, the direction in which Logan Floyd had left. Eighteen Compline, Fourth Day Before Kalends of May Unnamed Quarry, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Jack Anselm could not sleep. He was recalling the events from earlier that day. He was recalling the warmth of Kate¡¯s embrace. His face burned. What Jack felt for Kate was not love. He was far too young and far too afraid to love Kate. It was not simply childlike curiosity, either. Perhaps something in between the two. Kate had taken him to her chambers. She had explained everything to him simply. She was part of a rebellion. The Councillor had declared a war on the rebellion. Jack had been brought to the rebels to help them in their war efforts. And Logan Floyd had not lied. He had killed everyone at the castle. At this Jack had burst to tears and had once again graciously received an embrace from Kate. Jack still did not understand. He did not understand why there was a rebellion. He did not understand why Kate was there. He did not understand why he was there. He did not understand why his parents had died. But he was weak from sorrow and Kate¡¯s embrace was warm. He wept for a very long time. And now, laying in his new room deep underground, Jack¡¯s sorrow had subsided somewhat. He was now being attacked by a vivid memory, the memory that attacked him again and again in quiet nights such as these ¡ª the memory of the death of Richard, his older brother. Even now he could see clearly before his eyes, Richard, about the same age as Jack was now, laying on the Bed of Ritual, blood flowing from his chest, which was splayed open, a fate that was often met by those who was rejected by a Stone. As the blood trickled down onto the Bed, flowers of various shapes, colours, and sizes sprouted in its path. It was a savagely beautiful sight. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. This same memory had taken him so strongly during his own Ritual that he had almost slipped off the Bed of Ritual in horror, but his own parents were on either side of him, pinning him down to the Bed. When Jack had wept he was unsure if they were tears or blood. And now Jack remembered the conversation between his parents he had overheard from the corridor, just days after the Ritual. ¡°You speak of the boy as if he had never existed,¡± Lady Anselm had said. ¡°He is dead,¡± Lord Anselm had said. ¡°Simply because the Stone had rejected him ¡ª¡± ¡°Silence!¡± Lord Anselm had cried. Then a dull thud. After a moment of silence, Lord Anselm had said, ¡°The boy will buy us our future.¡± It was only years later when Jack understood why he had undergone the Ritual, with the same Stone as Richard¡¯s. The Schaher family had fallen, and if the Anselm family failed to take the Stone and secure the newly vacant position as one of the Great Families, one of the other Lesser Families would take their place. Richard had been an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice. Did Jack despise his parents? No. Despise is too hateful a word for what Jack was feeling. It was simply this ¡ª the realisation that he had never been loved. A better fate, however, than Richard¡¯s. Lord Anselm had forbidden all mention of his name after his death. When Jack had drawn his family in the memory he had shared with Kate, he had originally included Richard, standing beside himself. Yet, with a shaking hand, he had torn Richard out of the drawing. Jack wanted to be loved, and to do so he had to let go of Richard. And yet, he had been met with little that could be called love. Jack remembered his mother embracing him afterwards. Perhaps that was love. But now the memory of the warmth of that embrace made Jack think once again about Kate. He was afraid of loving her. He was afraid of losing her. He was afraid of being spurned by her. And yet there was nobody else he could embrace. Her arms were the only arms in which he could weep. Nineteen Vesper, Third Day Before Kalends of May Cyrill Forest, Near the Border of Paxen, Cyrill It was Logan Floyd¡¯s first time in Cyrill Forest. In all his years in Cyrill he had only been in Wilton, the state furthest from the Forest. All he knew about Cyrill Forest were rumours, of which there was a great lot, and the texts in the library of Fowther Castle. Cyrill Forest was, according to these sources, a forest cursed with creatures that were half-man and half-beast. Citizens of Cyrill were forbidden from entering the Forest at night, and could only enter the sparse areas of the Forest during the day for authorised purposes only. And now Logan had just passed from the last of the sparse areas and was entering the first of the dense areas. It was darker than Logan had expected. The trees, which seemed to have lives of their own, twisted, turned, and sprouted branches and leaves to obscure the last of the sunlight. Logan found himself having to use Connexion to Sense his way through the Forest. So why was Logan here? He was running. He was running from Hazel. He was running from the Anselm boy. He was running from the massacre in Greghorn Castle. He was running from himself. He thought that the best fate for someone like him would be to die in some dark corner of Cyrill Forest. At least then he would save anyone else from meeting the fate that befell on the inhabitants of Greghorn Castle. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Logan was tired. He had entered Cyrill on horseback. The horse, which Hazel had given him, had collapsed from exhaustion soon after he had crossed the border. He had run the rest of the way. He had not eaten for a long time, but he did not wish to stop. If he stopped, the horrors of his massacres would assault him again. But soon Logan¡¯s Connexion faltered for a moment and he tripped on a tree root. He fell face-first, but then found that he did not have the strength to get back to his feet. His exhaustion carried his crushed Mind gently into sleep. In his dream, he was killing. He was killing without thought, as he always did. He killed without knowing who he was killing. There was no resistance. Only the rhythm of his blade. But then he turned and his fauchard impaled a woman. It was Hazel. She looked at him with wide eyes. Logan screamed as he awoke. ¡°No,¡± he said, scrambling to his feet and covering his face with his hands. ¡°No, no, no.¡± Then he heard a rustle behind him, too close for comfort. Steadying his breath, Logan Sensed the Bodies around him. ¡°Oh,¡± he said. He could Sense six Bodies, all towering at least three heads above him. What was most horrifying, however, was that they were not human Bodies. They were spiders. Large, monstrous spiders. So the legends were true. Logan drew his fauchard. As his fauchard began crackling with lightning, he could now see in the faint light the monsters surrounding him. Black, furry spiders, each with eight small, wet eyes. ¡°Go on,¡± roared Logan. ¡°Kill me!¡± The monsters lunged at him, all at once. Twenty Sext, One Day Before the Kalends of May Unnamed Road Leading from Larkins to Eastpoint Along the Margin of the Drum Mountains, Bahim, Drum From a lacuna in a rock formation of the Drum Mountains, some height above the ground, Hazel Drina watched the heliaarmy march to the steady beat of drums, in perfect formation, their armours shining bright in the midday sun. Hazel Sensed Jerome approaching from behind, but did not turn to face him, even when he crouched beside her. ¡°You are not supposed to be here, Jerome,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I bring you news,¡± said Jerome. ¡°Plarin is dead.¡± ¡°Plarin?¡± said Hazel, her eyes widening. ¡°How so.¡± ¡°They claim it was a natural death,¡± said Jerome. ¡°But helia work, no doubt.¡± Hazel¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. Plarin was one of the founding members of the Young Kardas, but his identity had not been known to the Council, unlike those of Griffin the Dwarf, Jonathan Dewey, and Frederic Ross. Jonathan Dewey had already been executed in Tarrin two days ago for his well-known involvement with the Young Kardas. Frederic Ross, who was in Cyrill, seemed to have been spared. Griffin the Dwarf had gone into hiding. There was a sizeable bounty for his head. ¡°But some good news also,¡± said Jerome. ¡°Rinehart was victorious in Larkins.¡± ¡°Good,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Go now.¡± Jerome nodded, and retreated. Hazel looked back down at the army below her. Half the army had already marched past. Hazel estimated around five hundred men, made of five battalions of a hundred men each. The number of men in one battalion alone was around the number of men Hazel had in her entire revolutionary army, and it was twice the number of men she had brought today. Hazel unsheathed her sword, took a deep breath in, expired through her mouth, then leapt off the rock formation into the middle of the third battalion. She landed at the feet of a young soldier, who jumped in shock. ¡°Erm,¡± he said. That was the last thing he said before his head promptly fell off his body. There were cries of shock and panicked bustling. Hazel raised her left hand, which began to glow with a fierce light. ¡°I am Hazel Drina,¡± cried Hazel. ¡°The Child of Light. Behold the Connexion wielded by a braxin!¡± Then she shot out three beams of light from her hand, dealing fatal burns to three soldiers. At this point the first of the soldiers began to attack her, thrusting at her with their spears, which Hazel avoided with ease and countered with a slash of her sword in the air, which carried out her Connexion in an arc and sliced through her enemies. The skirmish lasted only a few minutes as Hazel ducked and weaved and slayed a dozen or so soldiers. At this point the leader of the third battalion had reached the scene and cried out, ¡°it is only one woman, surround her!¡± The soldiers slowly formed a formation around Hazel, pointing their spears towards her. Hazel smiled, then raised a fist up high. A flash of light blinded the ring of soldiers, and in that moment Hazel shot forward, jumped up, decapitated the a soldier, and broke through the ring. She ducked away behind a rock formation and fled. ¡°Follow her!¡± cried the battalion leader. The the entire third battalion clambered forward between the rock formations and chased Hazel some distance into the Drum Mountains. The dense columns and ridges that characterised the Drum Mountains in the Bahim region suddenly gave way to a large valley. Hazel stopped fleeing and turned around. The pursuing soldiers hesitated, then approached slowly, spears pointed at Hazel. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Then the arrows came. Revolutionaries in beige and white garb to camouflage into the rock formations slipped in and out of view, but the flurry of arrows continued. Though their armour protected the soldiers from the brunt of the arrows, a dozen soldiers fell from the first volley. Then revolutionaries armed with blades of all sorts leapt down from above and began cutting down the soldiers. And now Hazel Drina herself charged at them, firing bolts of burning light. The soldiers were thrown into panic. After a few attempts to push back, they began to retreat. They had no orders to follow ¡ª the battalion leader had fallen from one of the arrows. But those who turned around to flee found that the entrance to the valley was cut off by more revolutionaries. ¡°Kill every last man!¡± cried Hazel. The revolutionaries rushed in to claim their victory, when suddenly three revolutionaries leading the charge fell, cut down by invisible blows. ¡°Stop!¡± yelled Hazel. ¡°Keys told me there would be rats in this cave,¡± said a voice from above. ¡°That man is never wrong, is he?¡± Hazel looked up to see a bald man donned in a black hood, holding a longsword in one hand and the corpse of a revolutionary on the other. The man dropped the body of the revolutionary, which tumbled lifelessly down the valley. ¡°Boash,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Hazel Drina,¡± said Boash. ¡°It has been a few years, I believe.¡± Hazel Drina had indeed met Boash a few years ago, during the war between Drum and Cyrill. They had fought together as allies when Keys hired Drina¡¯s mercenary band for the war efforts. Boash was from the Ramani Family, one of the Lesser Families of Tarrin that consistently produced masters of Force Connexion. Boash was not only the authority figure for challis, which allowed the user to extend the cut of a blade through great distances using Force Connexion, but also created a new technique, rechallis, which allowed him to produce multiple challis cuts at once. This was the technique that he had just used to kill the revolutionaries from a distance. Hazel herself had learned challis by observing Boash during the war. She had not yet stolen the Stone of Light at this time. ¡°If I had known that you were helia, I would have taught you rechallis myself,¡± said Boash. ¡°I am braxin!¡± cried Hazel. ¡°Captain,¡± said Jerome from behind her. Hazel took a deep breath, then cried, ¡°All forces, retreat!¡± The revolutionaries quickly retreated, ducking in and out of rock formations with ease. ¡°Go, Jerome!¡± said Hazel. ¡°No, Captain,¡± said Jerome. ¡°If Keys Sensed this ambush, there may be forces waiting to cut off our retreat. Go with them, Captain. You are the Child of Light. Your men need you.¡± Boash leapt down into the valley, among soldiers who stood around anxiously, unsure of what to do. ¡°Besides,¡± continued Jerome. ¡°I want to test out my swordsmanship against the best there is.¡± Hazel bit her bottom lip. ¡°Come back to me alive, Jerome,¡± she said, then went off after her men. ¡°Aye, Captain,¡± said Jerome, stepping forward to meet Boash. The soldiers now uneasily pointed their spears at Jerome. Boash raised a hand and said, ¡°do not interfere, this is a duel.¡± Boash initiated the duel by sending forth two rechallis, which Jerome Sensed and parried with his blade using Barrier Connexion. With each parry his sword shook with the force of his impact. ¡°Oh?¡± said Boash. Jerome then allowed his Mind to Sense his blade, then Transcend it. He sliced upwards, Transcending the Bodies in its path, thus sending his own challis at Boash. Boash parried the challis easily, but seemed unnerved. Jerome took this opportunity to dash forwards towards Boash. They exchanged several blows, and Jerome grimaced as he felt his sword shake with the impact of each strike. What amazed Jerome was that Boash used a one-handed grip to parry all his two-handed blows. ¡°Not bad,¡± said Boash. ¡°Braxin.¡± Then Boash thrust his hand forward with Force Connexion, impacting Jerome¡¯s abdomen and sending him hurtling backwards. When Jerome regained balance Boash was right in front of him, and it was now his turn to deliver blow after blow with his sword strengthened with Force Connexion. Jerome managed to parry each, but only just by using Barrier Connexion, and he felt his strength already depleting. Finally Boash struck Jerome at an angle that he did not expect, and Jerome momentarily lost balance. He steadied himself again, but in this split moment Boash struck forwards with challisand tore through Jerome¡¯s left shoulder. Jerome cried out and stumbled a few steps backwards. Ah, he thought. The fight was lost. There was only one thing remaining that he could do. ¡°And what does a two-handed swordsman do when he loses one arm?¡± said Boash. Boash pushed forward and thrust his sword into Jerome¡¯s abdomen. The blade penetrated cleanly through. Boash hesitated, unsure why Jerome allowed this fatal attack. Jerome dropped his sword. Then he placed both his palms on Boash¡¯s abdomen. ¡°Watch,¡± breathed Jerome. ¡°The Connexion of braxin.¡± Jerome, with the last of his strength, gathered Connexion in his palms, then shot it outwards in waves of Impact Connexion. Boash was thrust backwards, his body convulsing, blood spewing out of his mouth. He collapsed some distance away. With a shuddering hand, Jerome bent down and picked up his sword. With Boash¡¯s blade still embedded in his abdomen, he staggered towards Boash. ¡°What are you doing,¡± cried Boash. ¡°Kill him!¡± The soldiers around them returned to life and charged towards Jerome. Jerome raised his sword to strike down Boash, but a spear impaled him from behind, then from the side, then from the front. And thus, impaled four times, the warrior Jerome, second-in-command of the revolutionaries, drew his last breath. Twenty-One Sext, Four Days Before the Nones of May Main Hall, Fowther Castle (Floyd Family Residence), Wilton, Cyrill ¡°My lord,¡± Vigil was saying. ¡°Regarding the dissent that the Young Kardas are stirring up in Paxen¡­ will it not do us well to take action? As you know, Frederic Ross ¡ª¡± ¡°We will wait,¡± said Councillor Floyd. The two were walking, Vigil trailing slightly behind Floyd. ¡°We will see how the situation in Drum plays out. We shall see for whom fortune smiles.¡± ¡°Surely you do not mean there is a chance that the revolutionaries will emerge victorious,¡± said Virgil. ¡°I meant us, dear Virgil,¡± said Floyd. ¡°We shall see whether fortune smiles for Keys or for us.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± said Virgil. ¡°I hear Keys is doing well,¡± said Floyd. ¡°The rebels has been quelled in all except Larkins and Eastpoint. But he must not underestimate Kate Rinehart. He would have to send his daughter, eventually.¡± At this point a messenger ran towards the two, stopped in front of them, bowed, and said, ¡°Councillor Floyd, Lord Pierce requests your audience.¡± ¡°Let him in,¡± said Floyd. The messenger nodded and retreated. Soon enough Lord Pierce, a handsome middle-aged man with dark blonde hair, made his appearance. He knelt in front of Floyd and kissed his hand. ¡°My Councillor,¡± said Pierce. ¡°Mark,¡± said Floyd. ¡°It has been a while. What brings you to Wilton?¡± ¡°It is regarding the Ansolfini family, my Councillor,¡± said Pierce. ¡°I understand that you have given the family impunity for their¡­ actions. And I am not here to challenge your decision, my Councillor, far from it. However, the people of Eldergrove do not trust them anymore. Trade is suffering, my Councillor. I am here to¡­ extend the humblest suggestion that it may be an opportune moment for the Pierce family to take over and oversee trade between Ferns and Eldergrove? Our family is the most equipped ¡ª¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Your daughter is here,¡± said Floyd. ¡°Is she outside?¡± Pierce hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°Yes, Councillor. She wanted to see the dandelion fields of Wilton and I ¡ª¡± ¡°Bring her in,¡± said Floyd. ¡°Yes, Councillor,¡± said Pierce, bowing. ¡°It would be proper to meet the people who will secure the future of Ferns, would it not?¡± ¡°Oh no,¡± said Pierce. ¡°My daughter ¡ª¡± ¡°Bring her in,¡± said Floyd. Pierce nodded, then went away. Some time later he returned with his daughter, Gabrielle Pierce, who had just turned nineteen. Her hair was a lighter blonde than her father¡¯s and her eyes were bright green, as opposed to her father¡¯s dull brown. Gabrielle bowed. ¡°Councillor Floyd,¡± said Pierce, his voice trembling slightly. ¡°This is my daughter, Gabrielle.¡± ¡°You have a beautiful daughter,¡± said Floyd, taking her hand and kissing it. Gabrielle gave a taut smile but said nothing. ¡°You are trained in Connexion,¡± said Floyd. Lord Pierce let out a small sound that was halfway between a gasp and a whimper, then said quickly, ¡°Yes, my Councillor. A teacher from the Thorne family visited, and he taught both the Ansolfini boy and also Gabrielle, so she joined for one of the lessons.¡± ¡°Show me,¡± said Floyd. He reached from inside his cloak and produced a long swan-feather quill. Gabrielle, without a word, trained her bright green eyes onto the feather. Silence fell in the Main Hall. Then, the feather bent. ¡°Good,¡± said Floyd, then turning to Lord Pierce, said, ¡°I will have your daughter here at Fowther Castle for awhile to learn Connexion. I will teach her myself.¡± Lord Pierce¡¯s face turned pale and he said, ¡°yes my Councillor. It would be an honour.¡± He then bowed so low that he was almost prostrate. ¡°She will be of great use to Cyrill,¡± said Floyd, looking back at Gabrielle. ¡°Especially during such trying times.¡± ¡°I do appreciate the offer, Councillor Floyd,¡± spoke Gabrielle for the first time. Her voice was firm and pointed. ¡°But it would not be wise to leave home at such a crucial time for my family.¡± Silence befell the hallway. Lord Pierce¡¯s face turned even paler. He made gestured with a trembling hand as if he had suddenly become mute. Eventually he sputtered out a few words. ¡°My dearest daughter, this is an offer from the Councillor ¡ª¡± ¡°I would like to go home,¡± said Gabrielle. Lord Pierce looked as if he was about to burst into tears. He looked timidly towards Floyd, whose face betrayed no emotion. ¡°Very well,¡± said Floyd. ¡°Go.¡± Lord Pierce hesitated, wondering whether he should ask again about trade with Maple, decided against it, bowed hastily, and began to lead his daughter away. ¡°Mark,¡± said Floyd. Lord Pierce turned around uneasily. ¡°You may oversee the trade with Eldergrove.¡± Lord Pierce¡¯s face filled with an expression of relief and horror. Twenty-Two Vesper, Five Days Before the Ides of May Town Hall, Larkins, Bahim, Drum Kate Rinehart, now Vice-Captain of Aegis after the death of Jerome, had accomplished the extraordinary feat of holding Larkins against four attacks, each of which had consisted of least two hundred men. She herself led only fifty revolutionaries. She was not satisfied with this, however. She wanted to push south towards Gulldon. Taking Gulldon would open up a path to infiltrate Tarrin. She was discussing with a few of her men a dawn attack to break through the enemy siege. ¡°By Sext,¡± said Kate. ¡°Gulldon will be ours.¡± ¡°Kate,¡± said Jack Anselm, who had been standing behind her. ¡°I will go with you.¡± Kate turned to look at Jack. His eyes were wide with fear and yet his jaw was clenched in fierce determination. Initially Jack had spent most of his days alone in his room, distraught at the unfolding chaos. Yet when he had ventured outside and seen the indiscriminate slaughter of the helia, led by the Morrow Family, Jack had begun asking Kate whether he could fight alongside her. Kate had declined each time, saying that he was far too weak. This had led Jack to train his Connexion every day, without fail. ¡°Very well,¡± said Kate. Jack¡¯s eyes widened further. It was then that the messenger bird landed at the windowsill of the main hall and tapped its beak on the glass. Kate retrieved it herself. As she read the letter, she became paler and paler, and by the time she finished her hands were shaking. ¡°What is it, Kate?¡± said Jack. ¡°We are to retreat from Larkins,¡± said Kate. ¡°Captain¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Retreat now?¡± said one of the men. ¡°We can defend Larkins. With you, Vice-Captain ¡ª¡± ¡°I am to go find Logan Floyd,¡± said Kate, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Silence befell the town hall. The air turned icy cold. Kate turned and walked away. ¡°Kate ¡ª¡±, said Jack. She did not look back. Cyrill Forest Logan awoke to soft lights dancing on his eyelids. He sat up but was struck by a tearing pain in his abdomen. He coughed up black blood. He tried to steady himself with his hands to get up to his feet but found he had no strength in his legs. ¡°I would suggest that you get more rest,¡± said a female voice from his side. Logan turned his aching head to face the direction of the voice but his face was so blurry that he could only just make out a vaguely human silhouette. ¡°Where am I,¡± said Logan. ¡°Cyrill Forest,¡± said the voice. ¡°Where else? Lie down.¡± A soft hand pressed him down and Logan found that he had no strength to resist. It was then that Logan remembered his encounter with the spider-monsters. He remembered their terrible faces, but remembered little else. ¡°So I did not die,¡± said Logan. ¡°No,¡± said the voice. ¡°But you were very close.¡± ¡°Did you bring me here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You saved my life.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why,¡± said Logan. ¡°That is what we do,¡± said the voice. ¡°We Deer Lops, we are the healers of this forest.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do with me,¡± said Logan. ¡°Once you have rested and you have healed,¡± said the Deer Lop. ¡°You are free to go.¡± ¡°You expect nothing in return?¡± ¡°As the Forest gives to us, we give to the Forest,¡± said the Deer Lop. ¡°You did not need to save me,¡± said Logan. ¡°I wished to die.¡± ¡°Do you still wish to die.¡± Logan thought about this for a moment. No, of course he did not wish to die. But for him, to live meant to kill. From childhood he had been on the battlefield. He was sent out to war with Drum from the age of fourteen. The war had lasted five years, reaching a ceasefire only when Logan defected. Then had come three years of drifting from town to town, running from bounty hunters. And now here was a revolution. He was too weary for life. ¡°You are right to be afraid,¡± said the Deer Lop. ¡°The war will spread, through Cyrill and Maple.¡± ¡°How do you know of the revolution,¡± said Logan. ¡°We know a lot more than that,¡± said the Deer Lop. ¡°We are Seers.¡± Logan managed a chuckle, but then bent over and coughed out more blood. ¡°And what future do you See for me.¡± There was a silence, long enough to make Logan turn to look again at the Deer Lop. His vision was slightly clearer now. He could see an olive-skinned woman in a headdress made of briars. In the centre of the headdress shined an emerald, but the woman¡¯s deep green eyes shined even brighter than the gemstone. ¡°Logan Floyd,¡± said the woman. ¡°You already know your future.¡± ¡°You know my name,¡± said Logan. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What is your name.¡± ¡°Esmeralda,¡± said the woman. ¡°Esmeralda,¡± said Logan. ¡°You look nothing like a deer¡±. The woman smiled, then left him. Logan fell again into his slumbers. Twenty-Three Terce, The Ides of May Town Hall, Larkins, Bahim, Drum ¡°Lord Marrow,¡± said Jeremy Wynn, First Knight of the Marrow Family. ¡°The army is prepared.¡± ¡°Is there nothing,¡± said Lord Victor Marrow. ¡°To rid of the stench of braxin?¡± Jeremy Wynn hesitated, unsure of how to reply. ¡°Forgive me, my Lord,¡± he said at last. ¡°How many?¡± said Marrow. ¡°Pardon me, my Lord?¡± ¡°How many men,¡± said Marrow. ¡°To go onto Eastpoint?¡± ¡°Eight of our battalions,¡± said Jeremy Wynn. ¡°All but one. As per the orders of Councillor Keys.¡± Marrow spat onto the ground. ¡°And he sends none of his rats to our aid.¡± Jeremy Wynn chose not to reply to this. ¡°Very well,¡± said Marrow. ¡°We depart at Sext.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± cried a soldier as he entered. ¡°Logan Floyd!¡± ¡°Logan Floyd?¡± said Marrow. ¡°He is at the front gates,¡± said the soldier. ¡°He has turned himself in!¡± Victor Marrow pushed past the soldier and stepped outside, where a commotion was already arising. Jeremy Wynn followed hastily. Main Gate, Larkins, Bahim, Drum Lord Victor Marrow found Logan Floyd standing at the entrance to Larkins. Logan was knelt at the ground with his hands tied to his back. His fauchard was on the ground in front of him. Soldiers surrounded him, spears pointed at his head. Mercy, Second Knight of the Marrow Family, stepped forth and greeted Victor Marrow. He paid her no heed and walked straight to Logan Floyd. ¡°Logan Floyd,¡± he said. ¡°What brings you here.¡± ¡°I have come to turn myself in,¡± said Logan. ¡°I believe I have quite the sizeable bounty on my head.¡± ¡°And so you do,¡± said Marrow. ¡°Tripled, actually, since your misadventure in Greghorn Castle.¡± ¡°That bounty is yours,¡± said Logan. ¡°How generous,¡± said Marrow. ¡°The Councillor would like to see you, no doubt.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No doubt,¡± said Logan. ¡°But you see, Logan Floyd,¡± said Marrow, now leaning in close to Logan to whisper into his ear. ¡°You fascinate me. You are known as the strongest warrior in Kaps, but I have also heard that you know very little Connexion. You cannot produce a single challis, and you do not even know Barrier Connexion. Is that correct?¡± ¡°That matters not,¡± said Logan. ¡°Take me to Keys.¡± ¡°You have won all those battles not by technique, not by swordsmanship, not even by Connexion. You have won those battles by simple murderous malice. And they call Kate Rinehart the Devil Child.¡± Logan did not reply. ¡°But no matter. What matters to me is that if I am to do this,¡± said Marrow, stepping back away from Logan and holding out his left hand. A ball of water appeared above his palm, initially clear, but then it began boiling and hissing and turned a crimson purple. ¡°You will not be able to defend yourself.¡± The ball of water burst into a thousand fragments and shot forwards towards Logan. Marrow was right about Logan. He had little to no knowledge of or experience with Barrier Connexion, and could not stop Marrow¡¯s assault. The only defence Logan knew was to kill his opponent before the assault could even be made. The water droplets, or more precisely the droplets of poison, ripped into Logan¡¯s skin, burning his clothes, which he had been given by the Deer Lop before he had left the Forest. Logan grit his teeth to prevent himself from screaming, but he could not help but let out a low grunt. He felt blood dripping down his arms and torso. Morrow laughed. ¡°This is the greatest warrior of Kaps?¡± he said. He raised his hand again, then stopped. Through Logan¡¯s ripped clothes he could now see the wounds that Logan had sustained from his battle with the Spider Lops. ¡°You ¡ª¡± said Marrow. Then he Sensed the figure catapulting towards him from the sky and looked up. He raised his arms with Barrier Connexion just in time to block the collision with Kate Rinehart. Even still Marrow was sent hurtling backwards. When Marrow returned to his feet Kate Rinehart was already slaying his men, parrying their spears with the blades fixed onto her wrist and sending challis in return. Marrow formed two balls of poison with his hands and sent them hurtling her way but she dodged them with ease. They found their mark on a soldier instead, whose face burned away to reveal his skull. ¡°Kate,¡± Logan said. ¡°Pick up that damn fauchard,¡± said Kate as she impaled a soldier through the neck. Logan looked at the bodies now piling up at his feet. Kate saw Logan staring blankly and grit her teeth in anger. She grabbed Logan by his hair. ¡°If you are not going to help,¡± said Kate. ¡°At least get out of my way.¡± She then hurled Logan into the air with incredible strength. Logan flew up to the sky, over the heads of the terrified soldiers, then landed with a thud on the ground, outside of the scene of chaos. He coughed and saw bright red patches on the grass. ¡°Blood¡­¡± he said. He looked up and saw through his blurry vision Marrow clashing with Kate. Kate fought with dazzling speed, thrusting herself up into the air and forming beautiful arcs of challis down onto her opponent. Marrow, himself a challis master in his own right, had abandoned using his Stone completely and was facing her with his swordsmanship alone. But Kate was able to slay more of Marrow¡¯s men in between the blows she exchanged with Marrow. More bodies scattered all around. What had gone wrong? He had come here to prevent all of this. But no, more death¡­ He could hear the footsteps of the soldiers cautiously approaching him. He did not have the strength to get up, but he Transcended their Minds with fear, making them halter and fall back. Yes, this was the best he could do. If the men attacked Logan, there was no doubt that Kate would swoop in and kill them. Ah, Kate¡­ she had no doubt taken more lives than Logan, but she was not burdened by them. No, she felt most alive in battle. She took thrill in the feeling of her blade cutting flesh, and the spatter of blood on her cheeks as she took life after life. Perhaps it would be all the easier of he let go, like Kate. He remembered once again the taste of the pigeon¡¯s blood. And why not? It was hopeless for him already¡­ But now he was already falling unconscious. Twenty-Four Terce, Seventeen Day Before the Kalends of June Unnamed Quarry, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum ¡°Sixty-eight men, Captain,¡± said Brendan Garth. The scar that covered the left side of his face twitched as he spoke. ¡°Sixty-eight¡­¡± said Hazel. She was sitting with her back against Brendan. ¡°Seventeen have deserted,¡± said Brendan. ¡°And ¡ª¡± ¡°Fifty-six killed,¡± said Hazel. She knew each of their names. ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± said Brendan. When Hazel did not say anything in reply, Brendan bowed and left. Hazel buried her face in her hands. Having lost Larkins, the revolutionaries once again occupied only Eastpoint. She did not need to use Connexion to know that Keys would send Marrow to wipe out Eastpoint in the coming days. Hazel bit her bottom lip until it bled. Logan Floyd was coming. She would convince him to fight for them. She had to. A drop of blood trickled down her chin and fell onto her knees. She looked down at the stain. She felt a deep feeling of unrest. Since when had she felt queasy at the sight of blood? It had started during their retreat from Larkins. She was fighting off Marrow at the tail of her retreating men when she stumbled over the body of a fallen revolutionary. She looked down at the body. Its abdomen was splayed open. She could see the man¡¯s spinal column. In this moment of hesitation, Marrow hurled a ball of poison towards her. Another revolutionary, a seventeen-year-old girl, Mary, jumped in front of Hazel. The ball of poison burned right through her chest. ¡°Captain!¡± Brendan cried. Only then did Hazel tear her gaze away from the dead man and attempted to send rechallis towards Marrow. She formed the first one with a shaking hand but the second one did not form. Marrow blocked the challis with ease. Hazel could not focus. She was now looking down at the body of the seventeen-year-old girl who had died for her. Brendan Garth stepped forth in front of her. ¡°Go, Captain,¡± he said. ¡°No,¡± she said. Marrow sent two more balls of poison. Brendan Garth blocked the first but the second found its mark on the left side of his face. Brendan cried out. Hazel cried out too, in rage and horror. She leapt forward and sent a challis laden with burning light. Marrow attempted to block it with Barrier Connexion but the challis broke through and Marrow was sent hurling backwards. ¡°Do not worry about me, Captain,¡± said Brendan. ¡°We must go.¡± Remembering the way Brendan¡¯s lips trembled as he said this, the left side of his face melting away, Hazel could not help but let out a grunt. Tears began falling from her face, washing away the blood from her lips. ¡°Oh¡­¡± said Hazel. And now she was weeping, her shoulders racking. ¡°Oh,¡± she said. ¡°I simply wanted to save you all.¡± No, she could not save anyone. She remembered, with devastating clarity, the serious face of Jerome. ¡°Jerome¡­¡± said Hazel. ¡°Hazel?¡± said a voice from behind her. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She turned. It was Logan Floyd. Another Chamber in the Unnamed Quarry Kate Rinehart was drinking with three revolutionaries: Damien, Yidd Geraldson, and Kimberley Jones. They were drinking wine from Tarrin, the type that has warmth that reaches to one¡¯s soul. ¡°On surviving Larkins,¡± Damien said, raising his glass. ¡°On surviving Larkins,¡± the others said, laughing. Then they all drank. Brendan Garth was passing by when he saw this. He stopped at the entrance of the chamber. Kate saw him and returned his cold stare with bared teeth. ¡°What do you want, Garth,¡± she said. Brendan Garth opened his mouth as if to say something, then decided against it and walked away. Kimberley Jones made a disapproving sound, shaking her head. ¡°Captain¡¯s new favourite,¡± said Yidd. ¡°I miss Jerome,¡± said Kate, taking another long draught. At the mention of Jerome¡¯s name there was a brief moment of silence. ¡°Jerome was a good man,¡± said Damien. ¡°A little serious at times, but good nonetheless.¡± ¡°He saved my life at Tarrin,¡± said Kimberley. Yidd laughed nervously. It had been no secret since the mercenary days that Kimberley was in love with Jerome. Seeing that Kimberley was about to begin weeping, Yidd changed the topic. ¡°So you bring the Logan Floyd here, eh?¡± he said. ¡°I do,¡± said Kate. ¡°What does Captain want with him,¡± said Damien, picking at a dent on the boulder on which he was sitting, seemingly uncaring that his bruised hands were bleeding all over it. Kate stared at the dark red drops of blood. ¡°A new Vice-Captain, I suppose,¡± she said. Kimberley Jones once again made that disapproving sound. ¡°We do not want helia leading us,¡± said Damien. He stopped picking at the boulder. ¡°I, too, am helia,¡± said Kate. ¡°But you are for us,¡± said Yidd. ¡°That Logan boy is afraid,¡± said Kimberley. ¡°We have no place for cowards.¡± ¡°You are for us,¡± said Yidd again. ¡°That I am,¡± said Kate. ¡°You are,¡± said Yidd, nodding gravely. ¡°You saved my life.¡± ¡°Your life?¡± said Kate. ¡°In Larkins, as we were retreating, you caught an arrow in your wrist,¡± said Yidd, nodding at Kate¡¯s bandaged wrist. Kate looked down at it as if seeing it for the first time. ¡°That arrow would have gone through my skull had you not caught it.¡± The others nodded in eager agreement. Kate looked into Yidd¡¯s eyes with an ambiguous smile. ¡°You do not look convinced,¡± said Yidd. ¡°I do not fight for others,¡± said Kate. ¡°I fight for myself. I do not fight for a cause. I fight for the fight itself.¡± Yidd furrowed his eyebrows, as if genuinely troubled by this statement. ¡°No,¡± he said at last. ¡°One fights for love.¡± ¡°Love?¡± said Kimberley, and gave a short crackle. ¡°I am not ashamed of love,¡± said Yidd. ¡°It is love I feel every day, when I open my eyes and see my wife sleeping beside me. When I step out and see my children playing. When I see the sun and gentle winds.¡± ¡°You have read too much Lender-Wynn,¡± said Kate. Lender-Wynn was a philosopher who wrote on love some five decades ago. Yidd did not know who Lender-Wynn was, but continued nevertheless. ¡°You can choose love, in any moment,¡± he said. ¡°Look, I see my fellow brothers and sisters, and I could feel disdain. I could feel jealousy. I step out onto the battlefield and I could choose to feel hatred for the enemy or fear for my life. But I choose love.¡± Damien smiled at Kate. She could not tell whether the smile was sharing or mocking Yidd¡¯s sentimentality. ¡°Love must be sought,¡± said Yidd. All three of them looked at Kate. She nodded slowly. She did not smile, like Damien. Nor did she furrow her eyebrows, like Yidd. ¡°Yidd ¡ª,¡± she said, but then Hazel Drina entered the chamber. They all turned to look at her. Yidd and Damien slid their bottles behind them, but Kimberley raised her bottle and said, ¡°Captain, try some ¡ª¡±, then stopped when she saw Logan Floyd behind Hazel. ¡°He does not wish to fight with us,¡± said Hazel. If she was angry, she did not show it, but her eyes were still red from her weeping earlier. Kate stood up and let out a long sigh of rage. Logan calmly met Kate¡¯s fiery gaze. ¡°I have a job for him,¡± said Hazel. Kimberley spat onto the ground. Twenty-Five Sext, Seventeen Day Before the Kalends of June A Dried Creek at the Edge of Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Jack Anselm had attacked Logan Floyd eighteen times during the twenty minute walk from the quarry to the creek. In one of the attacks Jack had managed to make a nick in Logan¡¯s trousers, but the rest of the attacks had been unsuccessful. By the time they reached the creek the boy was almost in tears. ¡°I am to teach you combat,¡± said Logan. ¡°Kate teaches me combat,¡± said Jack. ¡°Well,¡± said Logan. ¡°I am to teach you as well.¡± ¡°Says who.¡± ¡°Says Captain,¡± said Logan. Jack Anselm charged at Logan for the nineteenth time, brandishing a dagger in each hand. Logan drew his fauchard. Jack thrust forward, but Logan swung his fauchard, easily dislodging a dagger from Jack¡¯s hand. Jack pushed forward with his other dagger, but Logan struck Jack in the chest with the handle of his fauchard and the boy fell onto his back. He scrambled to his feet, but he was taking shallow, pained breaths. ¡°Breathe slowly,¡± said Logan. Jack huffed and puffed in anger. ¡°Retrieve your weapon,¡± said Logan. Jack hesitated for a moment, but then reached down and picked up the fallen dagger. ¡°You are a dagger wielder,¡± said Logan. ¡°But you are attacking like a sword wielder. Dodge first, then attack.¡± Logan swung his fauchard at Jack. Jack dodged, but the blade still nicked some of his hair, which fell in dark brown strands around his feet. ¡°Faster,¡± said Logan, swinging again. Jack dodged the blow cleanly this time. But the third swing found its mark on Jack¡¯s cheek, dealing a superficial cut. Jack cried out. ¡°You cannot let such a thing disturb your focus,¡± said Logan, but he withheld his attacks while Jack wiped the blood off his cheek and returned to his stance. ¡°Again,¡± said Logan, and began delivering more swings. Jack dodged the first two, then before the third he stepped forward, swinging his right dagger. Logan kicked out gently, and the bottom of his boots found the boy¡¯s chest and the boy once again fell onto his back. ¡°Hide your intention,¡± said Logan. ¡°You cannot allow me to Sense your Mind so easily.¡± Jack got to his feet and growled. Then from the ground shot forward two great vines, as thick as Logan¡¯s forearms. Logan Sensed this too, of course, but the vines were faster than him and both his arms were wrapped up in them. They were strong, pulsating against Logan¡¯s skin. Jack leapt up, higher than Logan imagined a boy his age would be able to leap. Jack had his eyes locked onto Logan¡¯s neck. Logan realised in that moment that the boy would not hesitate to kill him. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Logan had no choice. From his arms came forth arcs of lightning that shrivelled and burned the vines. Some of the arcs hit Jack and he was sent hurtling backwards. He landed on his stomach. His back smoked slightly. Jack raised his head and glared at Logan with a fury that he had never seen before, not in all of his years on the battlefield. ¡°Is that how you killed my parents?¡± said Jack. Logan turned and walked away without answering. Unnamed Quarry, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum ¡°What is your plan,¡± said Kate. ¡°I did not call for you,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Marrow is coming,¡± said Kate. ¡°I need to know what your plan is.¡± Hazel did not answer. ¡°I am your Vice-Captain,¡± said Kate. ¡°No, even if you rid of me and make Logan the Vice-Captain, it matters not. The men need to know. They are growing uneasy.¡± ¡°Eastpoint can be defended,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I am not speaking about the defence of Eastpoint,¡± said Kate. She was almost shouting now. ¡°Defend Eastpoint? Then what? Die down here like rats? We had Larkins. We almost had Gulldon. Tarrin would have been next. You withdraw from Larkins, killing dozens in the process, to retrieve Logan, for what? For him to teach the Anselm boy? Teach him arithmetics and the classics?¡± Again Hazel fell into silence. ¡°You are afraid,¡± said Kate. ¡°I joined you because of the fierce flame in your eyes. That flame has long since died out.¡± When Hazel did not reply, Kate turned to leave, but then stopped, produced a small bottle of Tarrin wine, and slammed it onto Hazel¡¯s desk. ¡°Here.¡± she said. ¡°Kimberley insisted that we save you a bottle.¡± Then she left. Hazel sat still for a very long time, looking at the bottle of Tarrin wine. At last she uncorked it and poured a glass into a dusty chalice. She looked down at the viscid wine and saw in it a distorted reflection of her face. Kate was right. The flame in her eyes were dead. Hazel had never tasted alcohol. She had vowed not to. Even in the most lively of celebrations during the mercenary days, she had kept her vow. She had maintained to her men that this was because she believed that a leader should always be sober to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. The truth was that her mother had been an alcoholic. Hazel had seen what alcohol could do to a soul. She still held memories of her mother in her youth, smiling and radiant. Then her father had slept with another woman. She had withered, physically and mentally. She had become cruel, both to Hazel and herself. Eventually she became insane. She exposed herself in public. She beat Hazel. She sang foul songs. The only time she seemed to be at peace was when she was drinking. Hazel looked down again at her reflection in the wine. She liked to think that she now looked like what her mother looked like in her youth. She raised her hand and conjured before her an orb of light. She then lowered it into the chalice. The wine began to boil. She covered her hands over the chalice. The orb glowed faintly under her palms. She placed her forehead onto her hands and felt against the warms of the orb. She could hear the faint bubbling of the wine. Kate was right, she thought. She was growing afraid. She had known that a revolution would bring numerous deaths. She had known that the chance of success would be slim, and that annihilation would be the most likely outcome. And yet she had been firm in her resolution. So why was she faltering now? She was no stranger to death. She had taken numerous lives. No, she had to be strong. Her men needed her to remain resolute. ¡°Hazel,¡± said a voice. Hazel looked up. It was Logan. ¡°Teach me Connexion,¡± he said. ¡°Challis, Barrier Connexion, all of it.¡± Twenty-Six Prime, Sixteenth Day Before Kalends of June Aurora¡¯s Private Chambers, Whitestone Castle (Keys Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum ¡°There, that¡¯s it,¡± said Councillor Keys. ¡°Expand your Sensation.¡± Sitting opposite Councillor Keys was Aurora Keys, the second and youngest daughter of the Keys Family. Her eyes were closed and her jet black hair spilled over her shoulders in disordered locks. ¡°Go beyond this castle,¡± said Councillor Keys, closing his own eyes as well. ¡°Out to the whole of Tarrin! Beyond the present, out to the future! Sense ¡ª¡± Abruptly, both of them opened their eyes. ¡°You Sense that too,¡± said Councillor Keys. ¡°Aurora.¡± Aurora nodded. ¡°The tide of war is shifting,¡± said Keys. He closed his eyes once more, then reached his hand out before him. The tips of his fingers began to shake. Then the shaking stopped and Keys opened his eyes. ¡°Rinehart.¡± Main Gate, Larkins, Bahim, Drum Kirke, the Third Knight of the Marrow Family, was on watch. He was agitated. He thought that the order to attack Eastpoint would have come earlier. He needed to prove himself by killing Hazel Drina. That would save him from the dishonour of being the Third Knight, behind Mercy, a woman! After that was settled, he could plan for overtaking Jeremy Wynn, the First Knight of the Marrow Family. For that, he would need to prove himself once more, perhaps by killing Kate Rinehart ¡ª Kate Rinehart landed on top of Kirke with a thud. Before he could grasp the situation he was pinned to the floor with three broken ribs. ¡°Where is Victor Marrow,¡± she hissed into his ears. He was about to cry out, but then a swift punch to his face silenced him. ¡°Where is he,¡± Kate said again. ¡°He stays in the inn near the Town Hall,¡± said Kirke, coughing out blood. ¡°Please, spare me.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Kate drove a blade into his throat. Kantor¡¯s Inn, Larkins, Bahim, Drum Victor Marrow had just risen. He bathed himself in warm, salty water. He wiped himself down with a foxhound towel and stood before the full-body portrait of Helion that hung opposite his bed. He gazed into Helion¡¯s eyes for a moment, then kneeled before the portrait and closed his eyes. ¡°O Helion,¡± he whispered. ¡°Give me stillness, so that I may see. O Helion, expand my sight ¡ª¡± Suddenly Marrow opened his eyes. He stood up and grasped his sword from his bedside. Still unclothed, he slowly advanced to his door. He tried to Sense for any Bodies outside in the hallway, but he Sensed nothing. So what was the disturbance he had Sensed? Then the window exploded from behind him. Marrow turned just in time to parry Kate Rinehart¡¯s blows, which came in flurries. She had blades fixed to both her ankles as well as both her wrists, and attacked with her legs as well as her arms. This allowed her to attack from unpredictable angles, which usually allowed her to ambush and kill her enemies within the first few strikes. However, Marrow was no regular enemy. He was thoroughly trained in close combat on top of his extensive training in Barrier Connexion and Force Connexion. Marrow parried each of Kate¡¯s attacks by Sensing which direction her next attack would come. Despite this, with each parry he was getting pushed back towards the door to his room. And so after parrying one of Kate¡¯s blows he held out a hand and pushed a wave of Barrier Connexion towards Kate. This was a feat that required incredible command over Barrier Connexion and could only be performed by a handful in all of Kaps, let alone Drum. Kate staggered backwards, and in this brief moment Marrow turned the tide of the fight and began sending challis after challis towards Kate. Kate, herself trained in Barrier Connexion, parried these blows, but unlike Marrow she pushed forwards towards him. In doing so she received numerous lacerations all across her body. But, one step after the next, leaving behind a trail of blood, she was eventually able to reach Marrow. They went back to returning physical blows again, and once again Marrow was getting pushed back towards the door. He once again held out his hand to push forward a wave of Barrier Connexion, but this time Kate sent forth her own wave of air towards Marrow. Though Marrow¡¯s command of Barrier Connexion was close to unmatched, it could not compete over Kate¡¯s control over her own Stone Connexion of air. Marrow had to focus all of his Connexion to defend against the fierce current. And they were in that impasse for a little while, Kate pushing all of her Connexion towards Marrow and Marrow defending with all his Connexion. But eventually Marrow¡¯s Barrier Connexion began to falter. As soon as Kate Sensed this, she sharpened the air currents to such an extent that it could pierce through Marrow¡¯s Barrier Connexion and then pierce his flesh. And after the first laceration Marrow¡¯s Barrier Connexion faltered further, and more lacerations followed. Blood spurt out behind him, carried by the current of air to create violent patterns on the walls. Kate cried out and pushed forward with all her strength, giving Marrow innumerable lacerations all throughout his body. At last Marrow¡¯s Barrier Connexion collapsed and Marrow fell to his knees, but Kate¡¯s assault did not stop. By the time Marrow collapsed to the ground, dead, all the blood in his Body had been ripped out of him. Only then did Kate lower her arms. She, too, fell to her knees. She remained there for a while, taking deep, painful breaths. Then she stood up with shaking legs. Twenty-Seven Terce, Sixteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Hazel Drina¡¯s Private Chambers, Unnamed Quarry, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan stood with his right arm outstretched, palm facing outwards. Hazel stood before him. Her blade was drawn and pointed at Logan. ¡°First, I will attack without any Connexion,¡± said Hazel. Then, slowly she pushed her blade forward. When the blade was close to Logan¡¯s palm she felt some resistance. ¡°Good,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Continue to repel the blade.¡± The blade creeped closer towards Logan¡¯s palm. ¡°Stop it!¡± said Hazel. The blade nicked Logan¡¯s palm and drew blood. Hazel lowered the blade and sighed. ¡°I do not understand,¡± said Hazel. ¡°You can produce such impressive attacks with your Stone Connexion, create arcs of lightning that holds the destructiveness of a dozen challis, but you cannot use Barrier Connexion?¡± ¡°I have never been able to produce Barrier Connexion,¡± said Logan. ¡°Even during my trainings as a child.¡± ¡°Is it not instinct to protect yourself?¡± said Hazel. ¡°I learned Barrier Connexion on the battlefield. When you have been disarmed and an axe is coming down onto your throat , you thrust out your hand and repel it, to protect your life. Have you not experienced anything like that?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Logan. Hazel shook her head slowly. ¡°Why do you want to learn Barrier Connexion now,¡± she said. Logan was silent for a long time and Hazel was about to continue on when Logan said, abruptly, ¡°have you ever saved a life.¡± Hazel hesitated, then said, ¡°yes, I have saved the lives of some of my men.¡± ¡°What will you do with the Anselm boy,¡± said Logan. ¡°I do not understand what you ¡ª¡± ¡°What will you do,¡± said Logan, gazing at Hazel steadily. ¡°Will you make him fight.¡± ¡°If he wishes to fight.¡± ¡°How old is he.¡± ¡°I do not know,¡± admitted Hazel. ¡°Has he seen battle.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Why do you ¡ª¡± ¡°He wishes to fight,¡± said Logan. ¡°You know that.¡± Hazel shrugged, then felt a deep ache in her stomach when she saw the look Logan gave him. ¡°I did not know you were so worried about the boy,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Is this why you wish to learn Barrier Connexion? To protect the boy?¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Yes,¡± said Logan. Hazel grit her teeth. ¡°Then use that. Use that fear, indignation, whatever you are feeling.¡± She then swung her sword and Logan parried it with Barrier Connexion. Her eyes widened. She swung more times. Logan parried them, more fluently now. She then used Force Connexion to break into Logan¡¯s Barrier Connexion. At first Logan resisted, but his Barrier Connexion broke and Hazel¡¯s blade sliced open Logan¡¯s forearm. Bright red blood dripped down the wound. Hazel took a step back, suddenly remembering the battle at Larkins, the fallen man, the sacrifice of the seventeen-year-old girl, Mary. Shaking her head, she said, ¡°so you wish to fight now, to save the boy. I pled for you to stay. But you fled. To Cyrill Forest! After everything, you would not fight for me. But for this Anselm boy you wish to fight.¡± ¡°I do not fight to save the Anselm boy,¡± said Logan. ¡°I fight to save myself. For what I did at Greghorn Castle.¡± ¡°It is war,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Such childish sentiments ¡ª¡± But suddenly Hazel found that she could not finish her sentence. What was she feeling now, if not childish sentiments? She felt that the focus, the courage, the unshakeable resolve that she had during the Aegis days had fallen from her grasp and were nowhere to be found. She felt her knees buckle. She stepped forward and collapsed onto Logan. ¡°This burden,¡± she said, burying her face into Logan¡¯s chest. ¡°Is too heavy.¡± It was now that Kate Rinehart stepped into Hazel Drina¡¯s private chambers, covered in blood, every joint in her body shaking. She looked at Logan, then at Hazel, and the look she gave Hazel was one of pure disgust. ¡°Ah,¡± said Kate. ¡°Kate ¡ª¡± said Hazel, stepping away from Logan hastily. ¡°I killed Marrow,¡± said Kate. Logan and Hazel stared at Kate as she opened her mouth again, as if to say something else, but then collapsed to the floor without warning. Hazel stepped forward towards her, but stopped when she saw what rolled out of Kate¡¯s palm. It was the Stone of Water. It rolled lazily and stopped at Hazel¡¯s feet. Sext, Sixteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Larkins Larkins fell within the hour of the arrival of Hazel Drina, Logan Floyd, and a small group of revolutionaries. Though Jeremy Wynn attempted to hold down a defence, Mercy¡¯s betrayal immediately broke down the formations. When Mercy kneeled before Hazel Drina to present to her Jeremy Wynn¡¯s head, Drina beheaded Mercy without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Hazel gave the soldiers the opportunity to join the revolutionaries, if they wished. She allowed the others to flee. ¡°They will help break morale in the whole of Drum,¡± she said. Vesper, Sixteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Larkins The night was ripe with revelry. It had been the first victory for the revolutionaries in a long while. Hazel swiftly made her way through the crowd, gracefully accepting pats on the back, dodging questions, and smiling this way and that. She found Logan behind the inn, drinking mead. ¡°You are not joining the others?¡± said Hazel. ¡°Hello Hazel,¡± said Logan. ¡°Hello,¡± said Hazel. ¡°What will be next,¡± said Logan. ¡°Onto Gulldon,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Rinehart will be able to defend Eastpoint.¡± ¡°And who will you send to Gulldon.¡± ¡°I will send Garth,¡± said Hazel. ¡°And along with him the Anselm boy.¡± Logan nodded slowly. Only half his face was illuminated by the dim glow of lights from inside the inn. ¡°I will remain to defend Larkins,¡± said Hazel. Logan made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a cough. ¡°If you wish to say something,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°What did you tell Garth,¡± said Logan. ¡°If the boy dies, secure the Stone?¡± And now it was Hazel who did not reply. ¡°You are doing well for yourself,¡± said Logan. ¡°Five Stones against one now, is it not?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I am doing well. But not for myself. For all.¡± ¡°And by all, who do you mean.¡± ¡°All who look to me to free them,¡± said Hazel, stepping closer to Logan. ¡°Including you.¡± Logan looked away from her. ¡°You belong to me, do you not?¡± she said. ogan remembered their first and only night together, two years ago. After he had climaxed, she had whispered into his ears, ¡°you belong to me.¡± Logan, despite himself, had nodded. ¡°I belong to nobody,¡± said Logan. But now Hazel was leaning in too close. She placed a hand on his chest and her mouth was by his ear. ¡°No,¡± she whispered. ¡°You belong to me.¡± Logan pushed her away. ¡°Before I came here,¡± said Logan. ¡°I received a prophecy, from a braxin woman who used Connexion.¡± ¡°And what did she say,¡± Hazel said, noticing with anger that her voice was quivering. ¡°She said that you will die,¡± said Logan. He placed the jug of mead on the windowsill of the inn, then walked away. Hazel grit her teeth. She looked down at her reflection swimming in the mead. She grabbed the jug with both hands and swallowed down the mead in greedy gulps. Twenty-Eight Prime, Fourteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Fountain in Front of the Town Hall, Larkins, Bahim, Drum Hazel Drina conducted the Ritual for Garth. Garth stood in the fountain, naked, submerged up to his waist. At the centre of the fountain was a statue of Dorin, one of the First Philosophers. Hazel produced a blade from inside her ceremonial cloak. Garth held out his left hand, palm open. Hazel sliced open his palm in one clean stroke. Garth squeezed his hand into a tight fist, and blood began dropping into the water, exploding into red clouds. At this point in the Ritual, the conductor would say a prayer to Helion to ask for him to accept this body as a new vessel for His Mind. One wrong syllable and the Ritual would be deemed futile. However, Hazel omitted a prayer completely. This, in itself, was a small act of rebellion against the helia, who would find it heresy for a conductor to conduct a Ritual without proper prayer. It was said that the death of the older Anselm boy was due to some error on the part of the conductor, though what this error was was never identified. Logan was watching Jack Anselm. Jack was standing beside Logan, a little distance away from the fountain. Jack¡¯s hostility towards Logan had disappeared suddenly after the victory in Larkins. Logan suspected that Hazel was involved somehow, but had not questioned the boy. Jack¡¯s eyes were fixed onto Garth. Hazel placed a hand on Garth¡¯s bare chest and slowly pushed him down, until his entire Body was submerged underwater. Then Hazel reached within her cloak again and produced the Stone of Water. She held it up for the crowd to see. ¡°Behold,¡± she cried. ¡°The Stones that now belong to us, the braxin!¡± She gave a knowing look to Logan, then dropped the Stone into the water. For a moment nothing happened. Then the fountain exploded. The crowd cheered. Garth was screaming. Logan looked down at Jack. He was shaking. Logan put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at Logan. Logan cocked his head back and Jack nodded. They slipped away from the chaos. Dwarf¡¯s Hills, Larkins, Bahim, Drum Logan and Jack exchanged blows as the first of the sun spilled onto Dwarf¡¯s Hills. Hazel had, of course, been right about Jack. He had improved drastically in just a few days. Every now and then Logan could not Sense Jack¡¯s next attack. Were it not for his much greater reach he may have been struck multiple times already. Logan struck the ground with his fauchard, indicating that they should take a break. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. They sat, side by side, taking deep, painful breaths. ¡°You are improving very rapidly,¡± said Logan. ¡°I wish to protect Kate,¡± said Jack. ¡°And the others.¡± Kate Rinehart was still at Eastpoint, recovering form her injuries. Logan had not spoken to her since her return from Larkins. Logan and Jack sat in silence for quite a while. Only when Logan made to rise to his feet once more did Jack speak. ¡°Do you believe that we will win,¡± said Jack. Logan thought about this for a moment. Until the day that Kate had returned, covered in blood, Logan had not thought once that victory was possible for the revolutionaries. But now, as Logan himself had said, it was five against one. Gulldon would fall soon enough, then after that, Tarrin. It was more than possible, if not inevitable, that the revolutionaries would take over Drum. ¡°Drum may fall,¡± said Logan. ¡°But there still remains Cyrill, and Maple. It will not be easy.¡± Jack nodded gravely. ¡°Why do you wish to fight,¡± said Logan. ¡°I wish to repay Hazel and Kate,¡± said Jack. ¡°And you.¡± ¡°Repay me for what,¡± said Logan. ¡°For saving me,¡± said Jack. ¡°Hazel told me what had happened.¡± Logan turned to face Jack. ¡°What did she tell you.¡± ¡°That Marrow had betrayed my father,¡± said Jack. ¡°That he killed all those at Greghorn Castle. That you saved me from him.¡± Logan felt a tightness in his chest. He could not speak. ¡°It is a strange thing to begin a war,¡± said Jack. ¡°I am grateful that everyone is fighting for my sake, but I see their deaths, I see Kate injured, and I feel horror. I must avenge them, and repay my debt.¡± Logan grabbed Jack by the shoulder. ¡°Did Hazel tell you all of this,¡± said Logan. Jack nodded, staring at Logan with wide eyes. Logan loosened his grip on Jack¡¯s shoulder. So this was Hazel¡¯s plan. She knew that Logan could not tell the boy the truth, for that would destroy him. The lie, though it was cruel, though it was simply a tool to have Jack fight for them, was the only thing that had rescued Jack from the horror of what had happened. But to leave this child with a lie, such a simple, beautiful, and dangerous lie, would be a horror in its own. ¡°Do you believe that the revolution is right,¡± said Logan. ¡°That we are good, and they are evil?¡± ¡°The helia have taken away Connexion from the braxin,¡± said Jack. ¡°The helia have taken away their freedom.¡± Tell a child a story and they will believe it. Feed a child an ideology and they will become its mouthpiece. ¡°Do not be swept up by all this, boy,¡± said Logan. ¡°You are not part of something bigger. No, your sole responsibility is to survive.¡± Jack bit his lower lip. To survive has been his only task, his only purpose. Survive the Ritual. And in doing so allow the Anselm Family to survive in the politics of Drum. ¡°I do not wish to survive,¡± said Jack. ¡°I wish to fight.¡± ¡°Then fight for yourself,¡± said Logan. ¡°Do not be part of the illusion that you are fighting for a cause, that you are fighting for freedom. Become your own person. That is the only way.¡± Suddenly Jack swung upwards. Logan, who had not Sensed this attack, dodged, but his left cheek received a superficial cut. He felt a thin line of blood drip down from this wound. ¡°I will show you,¡± said Jack. Before Logan could respond, he Sensed someone approaching from behind. He turned. It was Hazel. ¡°Eastpoint has been attacked,¡± she said. ¡°The Ramani Family. Keys is beginning to act.¡± Twenty-Nine Terce, Fourteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum A storm was brewing over Eastpoint. Kate sat crouched on one of the large elms that overlooked the town. Her nausea had not settled and her joints still burned. The hand that gripped the branch above her was shaking. Thirty men. That was all she had. They were all scattered at various locations around the entrance to the quarry, some up in trees like Kate, some on the roofs of tall houses, bows loaded and aimed, and still others crouched behind rocks, wheelbarrows, and bushes. Kate closed her eyes. The flurry of wind around Eastpoint grew stronger. Town Hall, Larkins, Bahim, Drum ¡°No,¡± said Logan. ¡°I will go to Eastpoint.¡± ¡°I could not sense an army greater than a hundred,¡± said Hazel. ¡°And a larger army could not have passed by us undetected. It is likely a diversion.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Kate watched the army appeared over the horizon. At least three hundred. She steadied her breath. Town Hall, Larkins, Bahim, Drum ¡°And how many men does Kate have?¡± ¡°That does not matter. It is Kate Rinehart.¡± ¡°She is injured.¡± ¡°Who is left that can stand against an injured Kate Rinehart? None of the Ramanis ¡ª¡± ¡°The eldest daughter of Keys,¡± said Logan. ¡°The final one.¡± ¡°Keys would not leave Tarrin unprotected,¡± said Hazel. ¡°And if he did, then all the more reason to strike Gulldon.¡± ¡°You said that you are sending Garth and Anselm,¡± said Logan. ¡°So send them. I will return to Eastpoint.¡± ¡°Once Gulldon falls, we will abandon Eastpoint and attack Tarrin in full force,¡± said Hazel. ¡°That is the only way.¡± Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Kate cried out. The first volley of arrows were fired, but only two soldiers at the vanguard fell. A flurry, as the revolutionaries changed positions and prepared for the second volley. Kate flew from the elm to an ash nearby. Town Hall, Larkins, Bahim, Drum ¡°Protect Rinehart or protect Anselm,¡± said Hazel. Logan grit his teeth. Sext, Thirteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Main Gate, Larkins, Bahim, Drum ¡°What took you so long,¡± said Logan to Garth as he hurried up to him. ¡°The Anselm boy,¡± said Garth, panting. The scars on his face rippled as he spoke. ¡°The Anselm boy is gone.¡± Thirty Vesper, Thirteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Jack approached the Eastpoint slowly, creeping from one shadow to the next. He kept one of his hands rested on the hilt of his dagger. Even as a boy, inexperienced in battle, he could sense that something was wrong. It was quiet, too quiet. When Jack reached the border of the town, where there was a small windmill, he saw two men walking towards him and hid behind a bushel of wheat. The men were laughing. Only when they got closer he could see that they were dragging something behind them. It took a moment for Jack to make out its shape and realise what they were dragging. A dead body. Inadvertently, Jack drew a sharp breath in. The two men stopped. They turned towards where Jack was hiding. They dropped the body they were dragging. It fell onto the ground with a soft thud. One of the men drew their blade. Jack drew his dagger and readied himself for battle. Then rush of wind, and both men were decapitated. Before Jack could react, a cloak flashed before him and he was taken off his feet. They were flying. ¡°Kate,¡± Jack whispered, as if in a daze. He grabbed onto Kate¡¯s arm and held on tight as the wind rushed through his hair. They landed on an oak tree some distance away. Jack stepped away from Kate. His feet felt unsteady, but when he reached out and touched the bark of the oak tree, he felt somewhat calmer. He looked at Kate. She was crouched down, perched on the oak tree like some great vulture. She had in her eyes a glint that Jack had never seen before. ¡°So, to save us,¡± said Kate. ¡°Hazel sent you.¡± Her voice was hoarse. And quiet, too quiet. ¡°Hazel did not send me,¡± said Jack. ¡°I came by myself.¡± Kate made a sound that was halfway between a chuckle and sob, and turned away. In doing so her neck was illuminated for a moment by the moonlight, and Jack saw that it was covered in blood. ¡°You are hurt,¡± said Jack. Kate¡¯s body withdrew again into the darkness. ¡°Go back to Larkins,¡± she said. ¡°I wish to fight,¡± said Jack. He took a step forward towards Kate. ¡°I can fight.¡± Kate turned to look at Jack again. ¡°Logan taught me how to fight,¡± said Jack. At this Kate laughed. She laughed in bursts, some short and some longer, at times throwing her head back and at times shaking it slowly. Some of these bursts of laughter sounded genuinely mirthful, some bitter, and still others despondent. Jack simply watched in amazement. Eventually Kate stopped. She looked at Jack. Jack saw in her eyes again that unfamiliar glint. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Then go,¡± said Kate. ¡°Fight.¡± Bahim, Drum Logan¡¯s body was pressed flat against the horse, as if the horse would somehow feel his thundering heart and go faster, and faster still. As they soared across the plains they left behind faint traces of lightning which disappeared with a faint sizzle into the air. Compline, Thirteenth Day Before the Kalends of June Alleyway Outside the Town Hall, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum The alleyways were heavy with the stench of beer. As Jack crept up to the Town Hall he felt his boots sticking onto the cobblestone ground. He could hear muffled speaking from inside the hall. He maintained a strong Connexion between his Mind and his Body to prevent whoever was inside from Sensing his Body, just as Logan had taught him. He pressed his Body to the stone wall of the Town Hall. He listened for a little while, but still the sounds from within the Town Hall were muffled. Jack crouched down and pressed a hand against the ground. Soon a vine grew out, climbed up the stone walls, reaching the window a little above Jack¡¯s head. He climbed the vine cautiously up to the window. He peeked over the windowsill and saw two men drinking by the table. Jack did not know who they were, but from the way they were dressed he guessed that they were not common soldiers. One of them bore the emblem of the Lesser Family of Ramani on his lapel. Jack drew a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. Become your own person, Logan had said. That is the only way. Jack gathered up Impact Connexion in his hand and struck the window, shattering it. The two men looked up. Jack threw one of his throwing knives at the man who bore the Ramani emblem, but the man had already drawn his blade and deflected it with ease. Without wasting another moment, the Ramani sent a challis towards Jack. Jack jumped away from the window and took off running. Behind him he heard the impact of the challis like the crack of a whip, then shortly after he heard the doors of the Town Hall burst open. Without looking back, Jack jumped up. The oak tree above him bent one of its branches down. Jack grabbed the branch and lifted himself up just in time to avoid another challis. Jack knew instinctively that there was no time to stop and reassess, let alone attack back. He had to reach the forest. With his heart pounding in his chest, he fled, jumping from branch to branch, from one tree to the next, dodging, weaving, and ducking to avoid the flurry of challis unleashed after him. Prime, Twelveth Day Before the Kalends of June Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan¡¯s horse collapsed as soon as it reached Eastpoint. Logan put his hand against its neck. It was dead. Logan stood up. There was no time to waste. Logan closed his eyes and detached his Mind from his Body, Sensing outwards. He Sensed many Minds, sound asleep. He went further, but still nothing. He Sensed outwards to the quarry where the revolutionaries had been based. He Sensed the Minds of a few women and children who were still trapped there, but nothing else. Perhaps Jack was not here after all. Logan opened his eyes. He almost collapsed from fatigue. It was no easy feat Sensing the whole of Eastpoint, let alone after such a long travel. Logan steadied himself and began walking towards the centre of the town. Even now the streets were heavy with the stench of alcohol, which for Logan was mixed in with the stench of his own sweat, for he was completely drenched from the panicked journey to Eastpoint. Logan pushed his legs to go faster, but they were now so fatigued that they were shaking. Even worse, his prior wounds seemed to have opened up on the journey here. Pain shot through Logan¡¯s abdomen with each step Still Logan pushed on. In a mindless haze Logan reached the Town Hall. But when he saw the broken window he gasped, because there was a wilted vine leading up to it. Logan ran up to the window and looked into the Town Hall. Not a soul in sight. He then saw the imprint of the challis on the wall behind him. Then more challis imprints leading down the road, towards the forest. Ah, thought Logan, and took off running. Thirty-One Prime, Twelveth Day Before the Kalends of June Henderson¡¯s Woods, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum ¡°Time to come out, boy,¡± said the Ramani. ¡°This has gone on long enough.¡± The Ramani stood in a clearing in the forest, breathing heavily. His arms and legs were covered with bruises and lacerations from vines, tree roots, and Jack¡¯s daggers. One of these daggers, in fact, was lodged into his right thigh. The Ramani¡¯s blade was pointed towards the trees above him, but he could not Sense where Jack was. Jack was hiding in a tree behind the Ramani. He too was injured, much more gravely than the Ramani. There was a deep laceration on his left side where he failed to dodge one of the Ramani¡¯s challis. He was soaked with blood, all the way down to his trousers. He was already feeling light-headed. He knew that he had to finish this fight soon. He took a deep breath, wincing from the pain. Become your own person. Despite everything, Jack smiled. He had succeeded at that, at least. He leapt off the tree. A vine sprung out before him. He grabbed it and swung, charging at the Ramani. Sensing Jack, the Ramani swung around and kicked. His boot made direct contact with Jack¡¯s injured flank and Jack was sent hurtling until he slammed into a tree. He instantly lost consciousness. And it was at this moment that Logan entered the clearing and saw Jack slumped at the stump of a tree. With a roar, Logan sent an arc of lightning towards the Ramani, which hit him square on the back. The Ramani collapsed, but before collapsing he had already sent out a challis. Jack¡¯s body rippled at the impact of the challis, showering the tree behind him with blood. Logan charged towards the Ramani, who had gotten back up to his feet. With his fauchard he impaled the man seven times. The Ramani fell again, this time dead before he hit the ground. With trembling legs Logan reached Jack and fell onto his knees. Jack¡¯s eyes fluttered open for a second. He saw Logan and smiled. ¡°No,¡± said Logan. But the boy had already closed his eyes, and was dead. All around the boy flowers began to grow. Flowers of all colours and of all sizes. They covered Jack in a final embrace. Logan buried his face into this bed of flowers and wept. When he finally raised his head, the sun had risen, and where Jack¡¯s Body had been there lay the Stone of Plants. Terce, Twelveth Day Before the Kalends of June Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Boash woke to the sound of screaming. He tumbled out of his bed and his hand found his blade in the darkness. Donning a simple gown, he stepped out onto the street. Dozens of Bodies scattered the street. His own men. And at the centre a single man, holding a fauchard. Even without a close inspection one could see that the man was heavily injured. It was a wonder that he was even standing. Logan turned to look at Boash. Before Boash could even draw his blade he was sent hurtling backwards by an arc of lightning. Boash staggered to his feet. ¡°That is not a man,¡± he muttered. ¡°That is a monster.¡± Without even stopping to pick up his blade Boash opened the window with shaking hands, clambered out, then fled. In this manner all the men who had occupied Eastpoint either fled or were slaughtered at the hands of Logan Floyd. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Border of Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan fell to his knees when he reached the outskirts of the town. His head was dizzy with fatigue, but with some astonishment Logan realised that his heart was not full of the deep dread that always accompanied these massacres, whether it be at Estrul or at Greghorn Castle. No, his Body may have been shattered, but his Mind remained clear. Logan did not know what to make of this. Had he finally become inured to the horror of murder? Was that not a tragedy in itself? No ¡ª perhaps it was a salvation. For the first time, his rage had been for another, for Jack. Did that not give some hope for redemption? Mere excuses, thought Logan. How could one bring forth such a flimsy argument with mountains of corpses at their feet? It was a simple fact ¡ª killing was easy for Logan. Perhaps like Kate killing had now become easy for the Mind as well as for the Body. The thoughts of the Mind have a strange way of translating to the world around us. As soon as Logan thought this about Kate, a cloaked figure came fluttering down and landed before Logan. ¡°Kate,¡± said Logan. ¡°So you have been here all along.¡± Kate opened up her arms wide. ¡°So Hazel has sent us another saving grace,¡± she said. ¡°Where were you,¡± said Logan, his voice shaking, almost a whisper. Kate dropped her arms to her sides. ¡°Do you know that Jack is dead,¡± said Logan. Kate said nothing. Logan could not tell from her eyes whether she had known or not. ¡°Where were you,¡± said Logan. He was shouting now. ¡°When Jack died. Where were you.¡± Then Kate did something so incomprehensible that Logan found himself stunned into silence. Kate began laughing. She doubled over and went on laughing for a long time. Then the laughter died out into a silence. Kate raised herself back up. ¡°So he went, after all,¡± she said. ¡°What,¡± said Logan. ¡°He told me that he wished to fight,¡± said Kate. ¡°And you,¡± said Logan. ¡°And you let him go?¡± Kate did not answer. She simply smiled. Logan let out a roar of horror, anger, and despair. He shot out his fauchard and out came an arc of lightning. Kate leapt up into the sky and landed on top of one of the houses. The lightning hit another house, which exploded. ¡°Another duel,¡± cried Kate. ¡°To settle the score.¡± Then she sent out three rechallis. Logan did not defend with his newly learned Barrier Connexion. Instead, he sent out rechallis of his own with wide swings of his fauchard. ¡°Oh?¡± said Kate, defending with Barrier Connexion. Logan sent out another arc of lightning towards Kate, which she dodged by leaping to the roof of another building. Kate did not show it, but she was shaken. She had not known that Logan had learned Force Connexion. At Estrul she had overpowered him with the help of the element of surprise, as well as Logan¡¯s greatest weakness, his inability to defend from challis, which was Kate¡¯s main mode of attack. But now, how was she to defeat him? Logan sent arc after arc, and Kate leapt from one building to the next, until the town of Eastpoint was collapsing all around them. The debris from these buildings covered the Bodies strewn about in its streets. Still Logan and Kate went on. As Kate dodged these arcs she sent challis from one angle, then another, trying to find a weak point. Logan defended each by sending out his own challis. Some of the challis, which Kate expertly sent out in twisting or oblique motions, broke through and splayed open Logan¡¯s skin, but Logan stood ground and continued on. Kate thought that enough of these injuries and Logan would surely fall, and focused all of her Mind onto crafting these complex challis. And so she did not Sense the storm brewing slowly over her head until a large, black cloud had gathered. Only then did she Sense the change in the current of the air and looked up. Kate let out a laugh that was more like a scream. Then the lightning struck. Within a second Kate was on the ground. For a long time she was still, her body letting out a thin line of smoke, and Logan would have believed she was dead if not for the faint trace of her Mind that he still Sensed. Then that trace grew stronger and stronger. Logan watched on, without moving, simply because he knew that if he took one step forward he would collapse. Then, Kate lifted one arm, which shook violently. She gripped the ground with that arm. Then the other arm. Supporting herself with both arms, she raised herself. She faltered and collapsed to the ground. A few moments passed, then she steadied herself again and raised her upper body. She managed to support herself with her knees, then got up to her feet, slowly, shakily. But in the end she was on her feet. With his last remaining strength, Logan sent a challis. Kate dodged, but her broken body was too slow. The challis ripped into her face. With a shaking hand, she touched the left side of her face. Her fingers groped around. She no longer had her left eye. ¡°No,¡± said Logan. Kate reached with her other hand into her cloak and produced a dagger. Before Logan could react, Kate plunged the dagger into her right eye. ¡°Oh,¡± said Logan. Kate ripped her right eyeball clean from her socket. Logan watched, horrified, as Kate put the eyeball into her mouth and began chewing. He could taste, once again, the pigeon¡¯s blood. He looked at Kate¡¯s face, now mutilated, and remembered their childhood together, training with Cole, running off into the vineyards and eating grapes before they were ripe, hiding from the Blue Ones, religious scholars called so because of their blue cloak, to avoid another lecture, mock duelling, serious duelling¡­ but now Kate had finished chewing and had swallowed. ¡°Ha,¡± she said. ¡°Ha, ha, ha.¡± Then she collapsed onto the ground. Logan took a step forward, then the wounds in his abdomen burst open. ¡°Logan!¡± cried a voice from behind him. He turned to look. It was Hazel, on horseback. ¡°Ah,¡± said Logan, then he too collapsed. Thirty-Two Inconsequential Time Logan¡¯s Mind Logan did not know when his consciousness left the darkness and entered the light of his Mind, the Dreamworlds. He was aware, but only half-aware, as one is in dreams. He saw things without question. In this way of being, observing and experiencing were one and the same. And so when he saw the shadowy figure before him, he did not hesitate to identify the figure as Lieutenant Cole, not recalling that he was, in fact, dead. Not only this, but Logan could not identify whether Cole was standing, sitting, or walking, whether he was close to Logan or far away, but all this did not matter. Logan called out to Lieutenant Cole. He did so without speaking a word, but Lieutenant Cole heard him. ¡°Logan,¡± said Cole. Logan stepped forward towards Cole and reached out his hand, but the shadowy figure evaded his grasp. Once again Logan tried to call out to Lieutenant Cole, but found that he could not produce a single word. ¡°Logan,¡± said Cole. ¡°You are hurt.¡± Logan looked down at his own abdomen and saw that it was splayed open He could see his intestines, mangled and necrotic, swimming in a viscid pool of pus. All at once Logan felt unspeakable pain rack his body. He grit his teeth and began to convulse, every muscle in his body twisting in agony. Still he could not scream. Then the shadow of Cole enveloped him and waves of gentle warmth washed over him, and they washed his pain away, little by little. Logan was on his knees, trying to grasp at the shadow around him, but still his fingers found nothing, nothing at all. Logan felt running down his face a single tear, burning hot, that reached the edge of his chin, hung there for a moment, then dropped. Cole reached out a shadowy hand and caught the tear. ¡°Show me why you are hurting, dear child,¡± said Cole. Cole held the tear close to Logan¡¯s face, and the tear became larger and larger, until it enveloped Logan and everything he could see. Then Logan was in Estrul again, and before him was Alfred, the man who had tried to kill him, and he was stabbing him in the stomach, again and again, showering his arms with the man¡¯s blood with each stab. He could not stop himself. Then he dropped Alfred¡¯s lifeless body and went onto the next man, stabbing him again and again, eviscerating his body, crushing his life in his crude hands. Then another. For they kept coming, and Logan could not stop them from coming, and Logan could not stop himself from destroying them. No, it was not that he could not hold himself back. It was that he did not wish to hold back. He did not wish to stop himself from destroying. Rather, he wished to destroy everything so that he would not have to see or hear or feel anything anymore. And so he did. He destroyed everything. He destroyed Estrul, and he destroyed himself. And there was a darkness. Darkness and peace, for the longest time. In the beginning Logan was not aware of the darkness, let alone himself. Then slowly he became aware of the darkness as an entity distinct from himself, and then, naturally, he became aware of himself. And once he was aware of himself Logan opened his eyes, and the darkness was gone. He was in a small wooden cottage, sparsely furnished with a few drab wall hangings. A table took up most of the space, on which there was a wilting centrepiece. In the corner, a hearth was breathing out the last of its warmth. Logan stood up. He was barefeet, and he enjoyed the coarse sensation of the wooden panels beneath him. He then stepped outside.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Outside were the woods, but not Cyrill Forest. The trees did not hold silent terror. No, they basked in the warmth of the sun and in the underbrush some flowers had begun to blossom. Yes, Logan thought. This was home. He turned back around, but no, the cottage was no longer a cottage, for it was too far too big. And the walls that Logan could have sworn were wooden were now big slabs of stones stacked up high, culminating in a watchtower. No, this was not the cottage. It was Greghorn Castle. ¡°No,¡± said Logan. But he had already stepped back inside the Castle. The lights were dim and the halls were silent but before him there were a hundred men, all staring at him with wide eyes. And once again Logan found himself charging, letting out innumerable arcs of lightning as he stabbed and sliced. Each man looked the same as the one before, their faces frozen in that same, dreadful look of shock as Logan ripped and shredded their Bodies. Blood, intestines, and tears. Logan tore through it all, barely feeling, barely thinking. Then, another strike, the same as the innumerable strikes that came before, but something was wrong. His fauchard was impaling the small Body of a child. The Body of Jack Anselm. Horrified, Logan withdrew his fauchard. It left a clean hole in Jack¡¯s chest. Logan collapsed to his knees and cried out. He felt spears, swords, fists rain down all around him, but he felt nothing. He was looking at Jack¡¯s lifeless Body, the blood that trickled down his waist, staining the flowers that were erupting out underneath him. Logan¡¯s heavy tears fell onto Jack¡¯s Body and were swallowed up by the blood, but then the blood began to dry and Logan¡¯s tears formed droplets all over his small chest. Then the tears stopped, for Logan was dry of tears. And there was nothing. There was no Jack, there was no Lieutenant Cole. There was simply nothing left. But then there was the voice. First it was soft, and Logan could not distinguish it from the amorphous noise of the darkness. But then, slowly, it gained strength and became louder, and Logan could make out the words. ¡°How long will you sleep,¡± said the voice. It was a female voice, somehow coarse and sensual at the same time. It was strangely familiar. Logan did not reply, although he was not certain whether it was because he could not speak or because he did not wish to. ¡°The war is greater than you think it to be,¡± said the voice. ¡°You cannot run from death. Wherever there are men, there will be war and death.¡± Logan wished that he could return to the darkness, to hear nothing, to be nothing. ¡°Logan Floyd,¡± said the voice. And then Logan recognised the voice. The Deer Lop he had met in Cyrill Forest, the one who had saved his life. ¡°Esmeralda,¡± said Logan. Logan turned and was faced with a light. The light was Esmeralda. ¡°You must fight,¡± she said. ¡°I will not fight for this war,¡± said Logan. ¡°I must end it.¡± ¡°This war will only end with the freedom of the people,¡± said Esmeralda. ¡°Freedom,¡± said Logan. ¡°You speak of freedom, Hazel speaks of freedom. A grand and noble word! But it seems to me it is but a feeble excuse¡­ for bloodbath!¡± Suddenly Esmaralda¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°You do not understand the weight of the word.¡± ¡°Of freedom?¡± said Logan. ¡°Tell me. Freedom from what?¡± ¡°Very well,¡± said Esmaralda. ¡°I will show you.¡± At first Logan did not notice a change, but then he felt an uneasiness building in his very soul. The feeling grew and grew until it eventually felt as if he was suffocating under his own skin. He searched desperately for the source of this feeling but he could not find it. ¡°What is this,¡± said Logan. ¡°Your Mind without Connexion,¡± said Esmeralda. Then Logan realised. He could not Sense anything beyond his own Body. He was deaf to the rhythm of the world. He was not part of the ebb and sway of all things. He was a prisoner to himself. ¡°Give it back to me,¡± said Logan. ¡°Then fight,¡± said Esmaralda. And suddenly all that Logan could see were her eyes, her deep green eyes, which seemed to swallow and emit everything at the same time. And Logan understood for the first time that Connexion was Life and Life was Connexion, just as the Old Scriptures had claimed. And Logan understood that he must fight. He must fight for the people, and their Lives. ¡°Yes,¡± said Logan. Thirty-Three Sext, Two Days Before the Kalends of June A Room in One of the Few Standing Buildings at Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum ¡°Taylor Keys,¡± said Hazel. ¡°We must be ready for her this time.¡± ¡°What of the Councillor himself,¡± said Yidd. ¡°Will he grace us with his presence?¡± Hazel bit her lip. ¡°It is possible. The men need to strengthen their Connexion. If they allow Keys into their Minds, the battle is over.¡± After a pause she added, ¡°it will all be over.¡± ¡°And who will do that,¡± said Yidd. ¡°Do what.¡± ¡°Strengthen their Connexion,¡± said Yidd. ¡°Oh,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I will do it personally.¡± Yidd nodded and left. Damien, who had been in the room the whole time, chuckled. ¡°This is it then, Captain?¡± Hazel turned to look at him. He took a swig from his bottle. ¡°You ought to stay sober, for what is to come.¡± ¡°I mean no impudence, Captain,¡± said Damien, smiling. ¡°But may I ask what is in that flask of yours?¡± Damien laughed when he saw Hazel turn pale. ¡°Not a worry, Captain,¡± he said. ¡°I will not ask for a taste. I am satisfied with my lot.¡± ¡°I ¡ª¡± began Hazel, but Damien dismissed her with a wave. Before Hazel could find the words to explain herself, the door burst open. Damien and Hazel turned around. It was Kimberley Jones. ¡°Captain,¡± she said, paused to catch her breath, then continued, ¡°Floyd is awake.¡± Without replying, Hazel took off. Kimberley Jones had to jump to get out of the way. Outside, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Hazel almost ran straight into Logan. Logan caught her in his arms. She looked up at him. He looked different. Hazel looked into his face to try to ascertain what had changed, and eventually came to the uncertain conclusion that something in his eyes had changed. His eyes looked deeper, and perhaps slightly greener.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°How are you feeling,¡± said Hazel. Logan smiled, and when he did so the unfamiliarity in his face eased slightly and Hazel felt a rush of relief. She looked down at his chest, which was slightly exposed through the tunic. He saw that it was clean. ¡°Your wound,¡± said Hazel. ¡°It has healed already?¡± ¡°It appears so,¡± said Logan, without looking down. ¡°There is no scar,¡± said Hazel, running her finger down his chest. ¡°Hazel,¡± said Logan. Hazel looked up. ¡°Tell me what is happening,¡± said Logan, in a tone that Hazel had never heard before. Hazel withdrew her finger from his chest. ¡°After you left for Jack,¡± she said. ¡°Brendan Garth went to Gulldon and took it. But Keys knew everything. He always did. While I left Larkins to find you, he sent his eldest, Taylor Keys. She took Larkins, easily. Garth was surrounded. He tried to push to Tarrin but he was routed.¡± Hazel hesitated for a moment, then said. ¡°The few that escaped Taylor Keys is here. Garth and the others¡­ I do not know what happened to them.¡± ¡°Taylor is coming,¡± said Logan. ¡°Yes,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I will face her,¡± said Logan. ¡°You ¡ª¡± ¡°How many men do you have,¡± said Logan. ¡°We have thirty-four,¡± said Hazel. ¡°You take them,¡± said Logan. ¡°Rout them from behind.¡± Hazel could only nod in reply. Logan turned to go, but Hazel grabbed him by the wrist. Logan stopped and turned. ¡°I need to talk to you,¡± said Hazel. An Old Ironmonger¡¯s Shed Now Used as Hazel¡¯s Private Room, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan looked around the shed. It was empty except two dozen rusty tools pushed to one side and a frayed straw mat on the other. It smelt faintly of a dead animal. The only window in the shed was smashed open, and streaks of dried blood ran down its edges. Hazel sat down on the straw mat, and Logan sat down beside her. Logan waited for her to speak, but when she did not he turned to look at her, and saw her eyes welling with tears. ¡°Hazel ¡ª¡± said Logan. ¡°I am afraid,¡± said Hazel. Logan watched as a singular tear ran down her cheek. ¡°I am afraid that I was wrong,¡± said Hazel. ¡°I am afraid that what I have been fighting for, however noble, however grand, cannot measure up to the number of men who died for it. And I am afraid,¡± Hazel turned to look at Logan. ¡°That I am sending the rest of them to die. And for what?¡± Logan said nothing, and Hazel continued on. ¡°And I know that it is absurd saying this to you, when you have been telling me all this time what I am only realising now. And especially when you have now decided to fight for reasons I cannot comprehend. But I need you to tell me that this was all worth something.¡± Hazel placed her hand on Logan¡¯s. ¡°Please, Logan. I need you to tell me that.¡± ¡°No,¡± said Logan. Hazel breathed in sharply. ¡°I cannot tell you that,¡± said Logan. ¡°Nobody can tell you that. Nobody can tell you whether your path is righteous or evil.¡± Then Logan placed a hand on Hazel¡¯s chest. ¡°But you have begun this journey because you believed. There is a part of you that still believes.¡± Hazel looked into Logan¡¯s eyes and thought, yes his eyes may be different, but it is Logan, unmistakably so. She nodded. Then suddenly both of them lifted their heads up sharply. The battle was close, whether they wished or not. Logan stood to leave, but Hazel pulled him back down. She threw her arms around Logan and kissed him. Logan raised his hand to her waist, but then dropped it back down onto the mat. Hazel reached her hand into Logan¡¯s tunic, but Logan pulled away. Hazel looked as if she was going to erupt into tears again at any moment. ¡°Meet me here again,¡± said Logan. ¡°After the battle.¡± Hazel grit her teeth. Then, after a moment, she nodded. Thirty-Four Vespers, The Kalends of June Hills Overlooking Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Kate Rinehart watched from a high branch of a yew tree as Taylor Key¡¯s army stopped at the top of the hill overlooking Eastpoint. She had with her at least five hundred men. She was to quell this rebellion once and for all. It was getting dark, and the men began to erect torches around them. A few of the battalions were beginning to set up their tents already. As Kate saw all this a familiar rush of battle filled her heart. The urge to dive into the ranks below and cut down the enemy rose up from the core of her very being. She knew that to do so would kill her. She was too wounded, too outnumbered. Taylor Keys could kill her with one challis from her blade. But Kate had never been afraid of death. No, out of all the pleasures of the battlefield, the greatest of them all would be to sacrifice one¡¯s Body and Mind to battle. And yet, though the opportunity presented itself to her so clearly, she hesitated. Why? She herself did not know. In the past when she was faced with the chance to be killed in battle, she did not hesitate to throw herself into it. Take, for example, her battle against Logan in Eastpoint. She was by then already injured and knew that she could very well die in that battle. But that, for her, only gave her all the more thrill. But this time she felt something else other than the thrill. A desperate hollowness, one that she had never felt before. Why do you fight? This was what the hollowness was asking Kate. She did not have an answer. All this time, it had not mattered. Kate bit her lip. No, it had never mattered, and should not matter now. She looked back down where Taylor Keys was and realised that she was already looking up at her. Yes, it would be remiss for her to think that the daughter of the Councillor would not be able to Sense Kate watching her. None of the other soldiers had noticed her, however. Taylor gave her an ambiguous smile. Kate steadied her footing on the branch, ready to leap off. Then Taylor looked sharply away from her, down towards Eastpoint. Kate looked also. It was Logan Floyd. He was coming up the hill, alone. The archers that formed a line behind the first few rows of Taylor¡¯s army readied themselves. Taylor raised a hand. ¡°He is mine,¡± said Taylor. And so all of them, Kate, Taylor, and her whole army, watched as Logan made his way up the hill. The only sounds on that hill was Logan¡¯s slow, heavy steps. Eventually, he stopped a few feet away from Taylor. Taylor drew her longblade. ¡°It has been a while,¡± said Logan. ¡°Taylor.¡± ¡°I did not think I would be seeing you again in this way,¡± said Taylor, with a smile. ¡°The Lanques Ball is just two moons away. I thought you might have entertained me with a dance.¡± Logan smiled also. ¡°The Lanques Ball,¡± said Logan, drawing his fauchard. ¡°The last one I attended, the wild dog took Lord Thorne¡¯s boots, no?¡± ¡°It was his hat, I believe,¡± said Taylor. The air around them was becoming cooler and cooler. Cracks of frost began to appear on her blade. ¡°Your memory fails you.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Logan. Sparks of lightning began forming on his fauchard. ¡°Stand back,¡± said Taylor, to her men. They both swung their blades and the air exploded in ice and lightning. They rushed towards each other and exchanged blow after blow. Taylor Keys was trained in the traditional Ramani method of swordfighting, which taught precise, efficient blows. She was on the offensive, delivering blow after blow that Logan defended with the Cyrill school of thought, which was looser, with a stronger emphasis on the rhythm and the path of the blade. Little by little Logan was pushed back. Then Taylor Keys found a gap and sent out a challis towards Logan. He defended with Barrier Connexion. Taylor raised her eyebrows in surprise. She, too, had not known that he had learned Barrier Connexion. However, Taylor never lost her composure in battle. She followed with the manoeuvre she was best known for. With a double-handed grip, she swung her blade upward, sending out a path of ice that erupted out of the ground. Logan had faced this technique before. It was the reason he had lost the a friendly duel with her three years ago, the night after the Lanques Ball, the one that featured the wild dog¡¯s attack of Lord Thorne. That was the last time he had seen Taylor. Logan drove his fauchard into the ground, and when the trail of rice reached his fauchard the ground erupted out into shards of frost and arcs of lightning. Before he could withdraw his fauchard from the ground, Taylor Keys had already closed the gap and had leapt above the eruption. In a single-handed grip she drove her blade down onto Logan. Logan dodged just in time, but the Impact Connexion from Taylor¡¯s blade splayed open the side of Logan¡¯s left arm. Crying out, Logan ripped the fauchard out of the ground just in time to block another of Taylor¡¯s blows. Taylor did not withdraw to strike again. She pushed forward with Force Connexion. Logan strengthened his own Barrier Connexion, but already his left arm was faltering from the pain. The point of the fauchard that was in contact with Taylor¡¯s blade was already turning white with frost.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Why do you only defend,¡± said Taylor, through gritted teeth. Logan did not answer. All his Mind was directed towards strengthening his Barrier Connexion. ¡°I am disappointed,¡± said Taylor. ¡°I thought you would hold out longer.¡± With a cry, Taylor pushed forward with an even stronger burst of Force Connexion, and Logan¡¯s Barrier Connexion broke. Logan¡¯s shoulders buckled, and he could not react in time to stop Taylor¡¯s next challis. It tore a wound in Logan¡¯s chest, and Logan was sent hurtling down the hill. Down and down he went, seemingly forever, until he stopped at the foot of the hill, covered in mud. He could hear cheering erupting from Taylor¡¯s army. Logan let out a deep groan and looked up at the hill, which was already bright with burning torches. He could make out the silhouette of Taylor Keys, standing tall and proud. He could feel lighting begin to crackle around him. No, he thought. He had to control it. He could not let himself loose, not in front of so many people. But the more the wound in his arm and chest ached, the more his heart pounded. He felt as if he was back in Cyrill Forest, facing insurmountable death, where he closed his eyes and lost himself to the dance¡­ But no. This was his last chance at redemption. He raised himself up and stood on unsteady legs. He took one step, then another. He went on, towards the silhouette of Taylor Keys. She did not move, just watched him with savage disinterest. By the time he reached the top of the hill Logan had to use his fauchard to support him as he climbed. The cheering of the army had died down into uneasy whispers. Without a word, Taylor sent out a challis. Logan blocked it. Taylor sent out two rechallis. Logan blocked them too, but the force of the second rechallis sent Logan¡¯s fauchard flying. It landed somewhere back at the foot of the hill. ¡°I wanted to give my men a show,¡± said Taylor. ¡°Though it was underwhelming at best, I can at least give them an exciting finale.¡± Taylor sheathed her longblade. Then she spread out her arms, palm facing forward. The air around her danced with fragments of frost. Taylor¡¯s men watched in awe as the frost fragments gathered together to form small feathers, which then merged into something resembling two flapping wings. Taylor joined her palms together, and the frost erupted upwards into a shape of a great bird. There were shouts and gasps all across the hill. This was talia, a form of Stone Connexion that channeled the spirit of one of the Lops, an ancient technique that was said to be exchanged for a Stone from the Lops during the First War. However, it was something of a legend and no helia had been able to conjure a full talia since the First War until Councillor Viltik himself, who was able to conjure a bear talia. And yet here was Taylor Keys. Though, it must be noted, it was an incomplete talia, constantly in flux, breaking down and reforming. But it was certainly a finale indeed. ¡°Die,¡± said Taylor. The bird talia shot down towards Logan, opening its beaks in a silent scream. Logan knew instinctively that he would die if he did not fight it with all his strength. He felt the bloodlust, the rage, the senseless killing, rise up within him again. Logan closed his eyes. He saw before him Jack, bleeding out in his hands, smiling. Logan opened his eyes. The lightning that Logan produced could not be described as an arc. It was more a pillar. It destroyed the talia into a thousand fragments which fell like snow, glistening in the dancing light of the torches. The next burst of lightning was directed towards Taylor, which she blocked with her two palms. She cried out, and took one step back, and another step. Then Logan could see that her arms were beginning to give way, and that sooner or later she would yield, which would no doubt kill her and half a dozen men behind her. Logan redirected the lightning towards the ground in front of her, which led to an explosion. Cries rang out from Taylor¡¯s army, but even when the debris of the explosion subsided the cries continued, and if anything began to grow. Taylor turned to look behind her. The ranks had broken at the flank of the army, which faced the Drum Mountains. It was an ambush from Hazel and her men. Taylor swung her blade across the ground in front of her, creating a wall of ice between her and Logan. She turned sharply to her second-in-command, Francis Gilmore, son of Lord Gilmore, and said, ¡°Go assist with the flank. Take the Councillor¡¯s Guard.¡± As the army flurried to rearrange its ranks, Taylor waved her arm and the wall of ice fell down. She realised with horror that Logan was gone. ¡°No,¡± she said, and looked frantically around. The hill was already ablaze with the sounds of battle. She saw him, some distance away, skilfully disarming her men but not killing them. He knocked the blades out of their hands, incapacitated them with a blow with his fist, and then sent them rolling down the hill. He was doing all of this, of course, bare-handed, as his fauchard was still at the bottom of the hill. Taylor took off, pushing past her men to reach Logan, her violent exhalations fogging up the warm air of the night. Compline, The Kalends of June Hills Overlooking Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Taylor¡¯s army had yet to set up all of the torches at the flanks, so soon enough her men were plunged into darkness, save for the flashes of light when Hazel¡¯s attacks found its target. The revolutionaries seemed to use the darkness as a cloak, moving in and out of ranks, slicing at the soldiers, then disappearing again. This was, of course, because by this time the revolutionaries were more adept at Connexion than the average soldier. Whenever a soldier tried to set up a torch, they were shot down by Genevieve, the revolutionaries¡¯ finest markswoman, from somewhere among the dark pillars of Drum Mountain. By the time a few torches were finally set up as Francis Gilmore and the Councillor¡¯s Guard arrived, the flank was decimated. ¡°Fall back!¡± cried out Hazel. Francis Gilmore was the Leader of the Councillor¡¯s Guard, the most rigorously trained heliaof all of Drum. Hazel would not find it easy to dispatch any one of them, and to face Francis Gilmore she would have to give it her all. And she could not afford to lose any lives. And so the revolutionaries disappeared into the darkness again. Francis Gilmore, a large man with a pointed beard and a scar running across his left eye, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, ¡°They¡¯re heading for our rear.¡± The Councillor¡¯s Guard began moving without another word, leaving the soldiers in the flank collapsing and groaning from fear and exhaustion. Thirty-Five The Rear of Taylor¡¯s Army ¡°Stop here,¡± said Hazel. The revolutionaries who were moving silently through the Drum Mountains all stopped. Hazel peered out and saw the soldiers at the rear of the army, standing uneasily in formation. Hazel let out a long exhale. ¡°What now, Captain?¡± said Yidd Geraldson, who was panting by her side. He had sustained an injury to his side. ¡°We do what we did to the flank,¡± said Hazel. ¡°We do not have the cover of darkness,¡± said Kimberley Jones. ¡°No,¡± said Hazel. She closed her eyes. She Sensed herself, reaching recursively into her Mind. Yes, there was still a part of her that believed. She opened her eyes. ¡°We go now,¡± said Hazel. And once again the revolutionaries moved in unison. Then they were upon the soldiers, who, despite having the privilege of the torches, were still just as disoriented. Yidd Geraldson, despite his injury, held his ground against the soldiers. Damien, whose throwing knife skills were unparalleled in all of Drum, did not miss a single mark. Kimberley Jones covered Damien with her battleaxe. Hazel weaved through waves of soldiers, sending off beams of burning light from her palms and sending rechallis after rechallis. The soldiers began falling back, and were colliding against the soldiers from the front and the flank who were rushing to join them. Chaos was building upon itself and could not be stopped. Hazel struck down a soldier then sent out a challis, which found its mark. Then she sensed a challis coming towards her and turned to block it. It was Francis GIlmore. She had not Sensed him coming. It was time to execute the plan. ¡°Fall back!¡± cried out Hazel. ¡°Towards the town!¡± The revolutionaries retreated back into the shadows of the Drum Mountains, then back towards Eastpoint. ¡°Your rats move quickly in the dark,¡± said Gilmore. Without replying, Hazel sent out three rechallis towards Gilmore, who blocked them using Barrier Connexion without even using his blade. Advancing towards Hazel, Gilmore said, ¡°This is why you cannot speak to braxin. They know nothing of civility.¡± Hazel let out a beam of light from her palms, but Gilmore deflected it with ease with his blade. Gilmore was now already in close range. Hazel struck with her blade. Gilmore parried, and the force of it nearly knocked Hazel off of her feet. How could it be? Gilmore was using a one-handed grip. Hazel struck again, and once again was thrown off balance by Gilmore¡¯s parry. ¡°This is Hazel Drina?¡± said Gilmore. ¡°The Golden Child?¡± Gilmore stomped his foot on the ground with Impact Connexion and the earth shook. Hazel had to bend low to keep her ground. ¡°You are a woman in the end,¡± said Gilmore. Hazel grit her teeth. She began gathering her Connexion, the strands she always kept loose to vaguely Sense the position of her men, as well as the orbs that she still sustained for the wounded and the children in the mines of Eastpoint. She felt the Connexion flowing back through her, like a river meeting the sea, and she was renewed. Her blade now brimming with Force Connexion, she struck upwards.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Gilmore, taken by surprise, blocked without sufficient Barrier Connexion and his shoulder erupted with blood. Crying out, he struck at Hazel, but she parried, and the force knocked Gilmore¡¯s blade out of his hand. Hazel drew back to deliver the final blow, but then a sharp pain erupted in her side. Hazel steadied herself and let some of her Connexion Sense her surroundings. She turned around to see a hooded figure holding two short daggers. It was the anonymous assassin nicknamed Shadow, the newest recruit of the Councillor¡¯s Guards. She looked down and saw blood blossoming out over her waistband. Francis Gilmore had not let this opportunity go to waste. He retrieved his blade and began attacking again. Hazel turned and blocked his blow with Barrier Connexion, but she still had to preserve some Connexion to Sense Shadow, who was charging towards her for a second attack. She tried to parry Gilmore¡¯s blow and turn back to face Shadow, but Gilmore was pressing down upon her with all the Connexion he had. She pushed back against him, but already she Sensed that Shadow was almost upon her. She braced herself for the attack. But it did not come. With a cry, Hazel managed to push away Gilmore¡¯s Connexion. She turned to see the wounded Yidd Geraldson engaging Shadow. Though he was one of the most skilled swordsmen in the Aegis, he was having difficulty grounding himself with his left foot. Shadow, having noticed this, was striking him again and again on the left side. But as Hazel stepped forward to help Yidd she Sensed Gilmore striking again. Hazel turned and parried, but Gilmore did not yield. Realising that this was the only chance that he had of defeating Hazel Drina, Gilmore had swallowed his pride and was drawing all his Connexion into his blade. He struck again, and Hazel felt her entire body reverberate when she blocked it. She reminded herself that this was one of the strongest men in all of Drum, and that she had to give this fight her all. When Gilmore struck again Hazel parried to her side, then a flash of light erupted from her palm. Gilmore withdrew slightly, blinded, and Hazel twisted and pushed towards Gilmore¡¯s side, driving her Connexion into his waist, which erupted in a shower of blood. Gilmore cried out, but having regained his vision, immediately struck down towards Hazel again. Hazel rolled out of the way, but as soon as she stood up she had to parry another blow. She glanced towards Yidd. He was still holding his ground, but she saw that Shadow had inflicted another wound in his chest. But Gilmore was striking again, and so Hazel had to look away and parry his blows, one after another. Gilmore¡¯s face was locked in a grimace of pain and fury, raining blow after blow lined with both Force Connexion and Impact Connexion, and with each blow the earth shook. Hazel parried and dodged, trying to find an opening, but Gilmore did not yield. Then she heard Yidd cry out from a distance. Gritting her teeth, Hazel raised her hand up. Anticipating another burst of light, Gilmore pushed forward to deliver the final blow. Hazel, however, did not produce a burst of light, but rolled under GIlmore¡¯s swinging blade, stood up, and drove her blade into Gilmore¡¯s back, into his heart. Driving her boot into his back, Hazel withdrew her blade. Gilmore collapsed. Hazel turned immediately towards Yidd. It was too late. Yidd was on his knees, his blade lying a few feet away. Shadow raised their arm to deliver the final blow. ¡°Yidd!¡± screamed Hazel. Kate Rinehart was watching all this, still, from the yew tree. She saw Yidd, kneeling, his head bloody and bowed. She saw Yidd, who had told her about love, who had told her that he fought for love, about to die. Perhaps love must be sought, thought Kate. Just as adventure must be sought. Just as life must be sought. She leapt from the tree. Hazel raised her hand to shoot a blast of light towards Shadow, but she knew she would be too late. But then there was a flutter of a cloak. Yidd had collapsed to the ground, but so did Shadow. Hazel ran towards them, forming in front of her an orb of light. A cloaked figure rose from Shadow¡¯s body. It was Kate Rinehart. Hazel knelt down to Yidd and put a finger to his neck. After a few tense seconds, she could feel a pulse. Hazel breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up to face Kate. She tried not to look horrified. She could not tell the extent of Kate¡¯s wounds because she was just about completely covered in dried blood. ¡°Captain¡ª¡± said Kate. ¡°Will you fight for us?¡± said Hazel. Kate looked down at the dead Shadow, and then at Yidd. Then she said, ¡°yes.¡± ¡°Take Yidd to the mines so that he can have his wounds tended to,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Then join us again. The battle continues in Eastpoint.¡± Kate nodded, lifted Yidd up in her arms, then flew off, though with some difficulty. Hazel watched them for a moment, then sprinted towards Eastpoint. Thirty-Six An Abandoned Altar Near Cyrill Forest, Paxen, Cyrill Lord Thorne, who had been a prodigy in Connexion and had once been a sure contender for the Councillorship of Cyrill, was now stepping into old age. His hair was thinning and his face was beginning to hang limpidly. In addition, his skin was becoming yellower with each year, which had started rumours that he was under the influence of some toxic concoction. He tried to offset this by wearing robes with muted colours. And so he was wearing a beige evening robe as he stepped forward to meet Councillor Floyd. ¡°Councillor,¡± said Lord Thorne, coming to his knees. ¡°Stand, Lord Thorne,¡± said Floyd. He was holding a small, plain chest in his hands. ¡°For what purpose might you need my presence, Councillor?¡± Thorne asked. ¡°You are the greatest authority in the matter of the Artefacts of Death, Lord Thorne?¡± If Thorne was taken aback, his expression did not show it. ¡°If it is not too presumptuous to say so with my own tongue, then yes, Councillor.¡± Then, after a moment of hesitation, he said, ¡°might it be that you have called me out because you have learned something of the recent disappearance of the Black Cloak?¡± Floyd laughed a low, growling laugh. ¡°You could say so,¡± he said, then he produced from the chest, without so much of a dramatic flurry, the Black Cloak. ¡°Ah!¡± cried Thorne. ¡°You have reclaimed it. Might I know from where?¡± But Floyd remained silent, gazing steadily at Thorne. Thorne¡¯s eyes widened, and suddenly he felt paralysed with fear. ¡°Lord Thorne,¡± said Floyd, gently, as if to a child. ¡°I want you to oversee a Ritual. You can do that, can you not?¡± Lord Thorne realised that he had come unarmed, but then thought that it would not have made a difference either way. ¡°Of course, Councillor,¡± said Thorne. Floyd smiled. ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°I knew you were a wise man.¡± Thorne led Floyd towards the altar, which was little more than a slab of stone, its bottom half covered in moss. It had been used as a sacrificial altar in the Ancient Times, when Philosophers could still converse with the Mind of Helion. The sacrifice was a symbol of the superiority of Mind over Body. The sacrifices had been banned for many generations now, and was still a topic of contention for some Philosophers. Floyd lay the Black Cloak on the altar, while Thorne watched on fearfully, his lips paler than his yellowed skin. Floyd produced a sacrificial dagger and held it out to Thorne. With a shaking hand, Thorne took it. Floyd raised his right sleeve and held out his hand to Thorne. Thorne looked down at Floyd¡¯s palm, smooth and broad, not betraying the Councillor¡¯s age. The grooves of his palms, however, ran deep. Thorne steadied Floyd¡¯s wrist with his left hand and then placed the tip of the dagger to Floyd¡¯s palm.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°My Councillor¡­¡± said Thorne. ¡°Do it,¡± said Floyd. Thorne made a clean cut with a practiced flick of his wrist. It was a cut he had made many times throughout his years as Overseer of the Rituals. Floyd pulled away from Thorne¡¯s grip and clinched his fist tight. A drop of blood fell from his fist down to the Black Cloak. For a moment it seemed as if the blood disappeared into the Black Cloak, swallowed up completely, but then tendrils of black smoke began emerging from the spot where the blood at dropped. The tendrils arched back on themselves, swallowed back up by the Black Cloak, which produced even bigger tendrils. The arches grew larger and larger until eventually the entire Black Cloak was teeming with tendrils that danced and wrapped upon themselves. Thorne looked over at Floyd who, without a word, disrobed himself. Thorne looked away from Floyd¡¯s naked Body. Floyd stepped forwards in front of the altar, turned around, then spread his arms out. ¡°A prayer first, Councillor?¡± said Thorne with a shaking voice. ¡°No need,¡± said Floyd. Then he fell backwards onto the Black Cloak. Before his flesh even touched the Cloak, the tendrils reached out hungrily towards him, grasping at his Body, consuming it. Thorne turned back to look at the altar and cried out in horror. The Councillor¡¯s Body was no longer recognisable, with thick, rope-like tendrils of the Black Cloak wrapping around him again and again, forming layers upon layers. Thorne felt instinctively that at that moment the Councillor had stepped beyond humanity. Then, as if nothing had happened, the Cloak wrapped itself around Floyd gently. Floyd¡¯s face, which Thorne had not dared to look at, was covered by its hood. For a moment all was still. Then Floyd lifted himself off the altar and stood up. Thorne stared, wide-eyed. Floyd raised his arms and lowered the hood. Thorne saw that the Councillor¡¯s face was unchanged. Floyd smiled. ¡°Thank you, Lord Thorne,¡± said Floyd, stepping towards him and holding his shoulders with both hands. Thorne was frozen in place. He did not move when Floyd¡¯s hands crept up his shoulder and onto his neck, clasping it firmly with both hands. Abruptly, Floyd swung Thorne around and slammed him onto the altar. Looming over Thorne, Floyd began drawing Life out of Thorne¡¯s Body, taking in greedy gulps, as Thorne began to wilt away, his skin becoming yellower, his wrinkles deeper, until in the end he was nothing but a corpse. A Cemetery Nearby Floyd reached out with both hands, which now resembled the bark of the black oak, and took the urn, grey and unadorned, down from its resting place. Floyd placed it down gently onto the ground and opened its lid. Then he placed his palms on either side of the urn. Black tendrils, the Life that he had just drawn out of Throne¡¯s Body, emerged from his palm and latched onto the urn as if desiring to devour it. The ashes began to rise. They rose in amorphous pillars at first, sprouting out of the urn like water from a fountain, but never spilling over, keeping bound to each other. Then these pillars began to take, crudely, the shape of a woman. A face formed, continually dissolving then reappearing, then sockets for eyes, a feeble nose, then a mouth. The mouth opened, as if to say something, but then collapsed. Another attempt, but again it collapsed without a word. With a low grunt, Floyd lifted his hand from the urn. The ashes collapsed. With shaking hands Floyd placed the urn back on its resting place. He turned with a swish of his Cloak and left. Thirty-Seven Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Given only the vague command to take Eastpoint, and with Taylor Keys and many of the Councillor Guards occupied with the pursuit of the revolutionaries, Taylor¡¯s army marched in unsure formations, split up into the narrow and irregular streets of Eastpoint. The streets were pitch dark, without any source of light other than the faint stars, and littered with debris, waste, and at times human remains, leading many of the soldiers to stumble and fall, slowing the march down to a sluggish pace. One such line of soldiers were trickling down the easternment alleyways of Eastpoint. These alleys were even darker than the rest of Eastpoint, as some of the peaks of Drum cast over them shadows that swallowed up any remaining light. Many of the torch-bearers were dead, and there was no man left that was brave enough to light another torch. Then, a sudden flash of light blinded them and the soldiers, knowing what this signified, began to retreat in panic. Some could be heard crying out ¡°Drina! Drina is here!¡±. In the confusion, many were cut down by Hazel and the revolutionaries, but when the lesser commanders rallied them and attempted to launch a counterattack the revolutionaries disappeared again into the darkness. In this way Hazel and the revolutionaries went from alleyway to alleyway to disorientate the enemy. From now and then, the few residents that remained in Eastpoint made their small contributions by throwing bricks from their windows or dowsing the passing soldiers with freezing water. By now Hazel reached the southern alleys of Eastpoint, which the first of the soldiers were reaching. She stopped and tried to Sense for Logan, but she couldn¡¯t find him. Hazel was holding Logan¡¯s fauchard, which she had retrieved from the bottom of the hill, and was putting it to good use. Already it was dripping with fresh blood. Sensing the oncoming string of soldiers, Hazel released a flash of light and charged, but was abruptly stopped when her first swing at the commander was parried with ease.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Drina,¡± said the commander. Hazel assumed a defensive position, but an attack did not come. She looked up. The commander was Boash Ramani, the challis master, the one who had killed Jerome. Hazel threw the fauchard aside and drew a second, longer blade that was tucked underneath her own. It was Jerome¡¯s blade. ¡°Oh?¡± said Boash. ¡°The boy¡¯s blade.¡± ¡°You recognise it,¡± said Hazel. ¡°Yes,¡± said Boash, his smile glinting in the light that was beginning to envelop Jerome¡¯s blade. ¡°I was the one who sent it to you, as a present¡­ Or should I say compensation? It was the least I could do after killing your boy.¡± Hazel cried out and charged. Knowing that he was disadvantaged in close combat, as his specialty was challis, Ramani parried lightly and attempted to create distance between him and Hazel. However, Hazel was unrelenting. She pushed forward, seemingly swinging blindly, releasing flashes of burning light with each swing. None found their mark. Seeing this, Ramani cried out, ¡°kill her!¡±. The army behind him charged nervously as Ramani himself stepped back. ¡°Get back!¡± cried Hazel. And by doing so she, without consciously intending it, Transcended the Minds of the advancing soldiers. They lost strength in their legs and crumbled to the ground. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be,¡± whispered Ramani. Hazel charged, wielding Jerome¡¯s double-grip blade with just her right hand. Ramani sent a challis her way, but she pushed through with her entire Body enveloped up in Barrier Connexion, and collided into Ramani. He took a few steps back and attempted to strike her side, but Hazel was faster. She struck Ramani¡¯s blade, which fell to the earth with a clang. By now the soldiers who had fallen to their knees had regained their balance and were rising to their feet, only to see their commander disarmed, staring helplessly. ¡°I am Hazel Drina, the Child of Light,¡± said Hazel. ¡°You took one of my men from me, one of my finest men.¡± Hazel raised her blade. ¡°Blood for blood,¡± she said, and struck down. Thirty-Eight Grisdon Castle (Viltik Family Residence), Nest, Hearthridge, Maple One moment the pitch-dark hallway was empty. In the next moment there stood Councillor Floyd, donning the Black Cloak, and beside him was James Sparks, who looked even more pale and jittery than usual. Councillor Floyd immediately let go of Sparks¡¯ arm and stepped forward towards the great auburn doors before him, but Sparks, in his characteristically squeaky voice, started speaking softly but rapidly, ¡°Councillor, I know that it is not in my place to say this to you, but as you know from the Common Law, it is not lawful for a citizen of a country to enter another without the appropriate permits, and transportation is strictly restricted to and from, or within, the Central City, and so I feel that this ¡ª¡± Councillor Floyd placed a palm onto Sparks¡¯ forehead, which Transcended his Mind and left him standing tall and stiff, gazing blankly ahead. Councillor Floyd then waved at the doors, which creaked open. He stepped in, taking the utmost care to conceal his presence with Connexion. Councillor Viltik¡¯s bedroom was pitch black, and Councillor Floyd had to Sense his way across the stupendously large room until he stopped beside the bed where Councillor Viltik was fast asleep. Councillor Floyd hovered his hand over Councilor Viltik¡¯s chest and when he Sensed the man¡¯s heartbeat he was almost overwhelmed by Viltik¡¯s vitality, astonishingly powerful despite his age of almost sixty. Then Floyd Sensed the Life pulsing through Viltik¡¯s blood and began to Transcend It, pulling his Life away from his Body, drawing it into his palm. The tips of his fingers began to vibrate from the sheer force of Viltik¡¯s Life. But as he tried to move the Life up his own arm and into the core of his Body, Floyd felt a resistance. He tugged harder, but the Life was strong, heavy, and dutifully attached to its rightful Body. Floyd gave a rough tug, but this snapped the thread of Life running from Viltik¡¯s chest to his palm, and some Life rebounded back into Viltik¡¯s Body. Viltik¡¯s Body rocked and his eyes flew open. Floyd raised his arms up with Barrier Connexion just in time as Viltik arose and hurled his fist towards Floyd. The thunderous sound of the impact reverberated through the halls. Floyd was sent barrelling backwards and hit the wall on the other side of the room with a thud. When Floyd returned to his feet, Viltik was marching towards him, his Body ablaze from head to toe. His hair, usually wild and unruly like a lion¡¯s mane, was now a hundred flames dancing and licking the air like whips. His eyes was a smouldering red like two burning coals. With each exhale smoke billowed from his mouth. This was Kaelen Viltik, the most powerful man in all of Kaps, who became Councillor not by leadership or even by Connexion, but by brute strength alone.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. But when Viltik came close enough to recognise Floyd, he stopped and said, ¡°Floyd, what are you ¡ª¡± Then he saw the Black Cloak and growled, ¡°So it was you.¡± Floyd did not reply, but instead drew his blade, which had been hidden underneath the Black Cloak. ¡°You are a fool to face me in combat,¡± said Viltik. ¡°You are no warrior. You are a Philosopher, a poet. And yet you sought the Black Cloak. I suppose that makes you a fool.¡± Floyd said nothing, simply standing his ground. ¡°I suppose it is a good thing that you have come to me then,¡± said Viltik. ¡°By the Ancient Laws, the one who claims an Artefact of Death must die. I doubt Keys could have done the job.¡± Viltik then hurled a flaming fist towards Floyd, but the fist passed through Floyd, who seemingly disintegrated into a thousand fragments. Realising that Floyd had Transcended his Mind and planted a mirage, Viltik turned around to face the real Floyd, but Floyd had already sent out a challis, which struck Viltik in the chest and ripped open a wound. However, Viltik recovered quickly and sent a ball of fire towards Floyd, who dodged it with surprising agility. Floyd reached out his arm and Sensed Viltik¡¯s Life, already becoming more adept with his control over the powers of the Black Cloak. Floyd pulled Viltik¡¯s Life away from him, more patiently than he had before. Viltik shuddered, and Floyd took this moment to Transcend his untrained Mind. Viltik attempted to charge at Floyd but faltered, losing control of the muscles in his limbs. Viltik roared, but even his voice was stifled. Floyd Transcended Viltik¡¯s Body so that he was looking straight into Floyd¡¯s eyes, which gave Floyd even greater access into Viltik¡¯s Mind. Viltik was now frozen, his muscles bulging and straining, his face contorted into agony. Floyd began drawing the Life out of Viltik again, patiently but steadily. Thus the strongest man of Kaps began stepping towards Death. Then, rushing towards the two of them from behind Viltik was a large ring, larger than Viltik himself, and inside that ring was another world, a forest at night. Floyd instinctually stepped aside, but the ring swallowed Viltik up and then was no more. Viltik was gone. Floyd looked up and saw Sparks at the doorway, his hand outstretched, his face pale. Floyd saw that Sparks was about to disappear himself, and looked straight into Sparks¡¯ eyes, again Transcending his Mind. Sparks fell to his knees. Floyd stepped up to him, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the wall. Sparks made a gurgling sound in his throat, his eyes bulging with fear. ¡°Our journey is not yet over,¡± whispered Floyd. Councillor Keys¡¯ Private Chambers, Whitestone Castle (Keys Family Residence), Tarrin, Drum Floyd stepped into the pitch-black chambers and surveyed the room with his Senses, but he Sensed only the crumpled bedsheets, the luggage strewn across the floor, and not a single Mind. Councillor Keys had clearly left in a hurry. Councillor Floyd smiled. ¡°Oh¡­¡± he said, then recited the Old Verses. ¡°And the children of Life will remember what was done to its Mother, and swear an oath against Death¡­¡± Then he turned to leave with a swish of his Cloak. Thirty-Nine Southern Alleys, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Hazel effortlessly sliced through men that were following Boash, who, struck with fear after their commander¡¯s death, were retreating, disorderly and panicked. She had again in her right hand Logan¡¯s fauchard, and with her left hand she sent beam after beam of burning light. Then, all of a sudden, the alleyways were consumed in a flash of blinding light. A bolt of lightning. Hazel stopped and turned towards the source. It had come from the north. A moment later, a rumbling thunder followed. Hazel took off running. Northern Alleys, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan stood, lightning crashing down all around him, dancing in a hundred arcs. Taylor and two more of her Councillor¡¯s Guards stood around him, weapons pointed towards Logan but unable to advance because of the lightning. ¡°You cannot do this forever, Floyd!¡± Taylor cried over the sound of crashing lightning. Logan said nothing, though already the lightning was beginning to falter. Taylor sent a challis towards the wall of lightning, which again faltered for a moment before strengthening itself again. Taylor gestured at the Councillor¡¯s Guards to wait. They were Timothy Geneham, the eldest son of the Geneham Family of Bahim, and Penelope Lister, second daughter of the Lister Family of Bahim. They obeyed Taylor and took a step back. Damien and Kimberley Jones were close by, crouched behind an abandoned wagon, watching them all. What they felt first and foremost was fear. Near them stood some of the most powerful helia of Drum, and they knew that they could be Sensed at any moment. Not only this, but Logan¡¯s wall of lightning was so loud, so brilliant, so bestial and its power that they found themselves shuddering almost as an involuntary reflex. ¡°We must help him,¡± said Damien. Kimberley grit her teeth. ¡°That Floyd¡­¡± ¡°It is for Hazel,¡± said Damien. ¡°It is not for Floyd.¡± ¡°We will die,¡± said Kimberley. ¡°We are revolutionaries,¡± said Damien. ¡°It is our destiny.¡± Damien stepped forth and threw a dagger at Timothy Geneham, who, Sensing it, turned and dodged. Taylor Keys turned and almost immediately hurled three shards of ice towards them. Damien ducked, but Kimberley stepped forth and swung her battleaxe, shattering these shards. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°You braxin¡­¡± said Taylor, stepping forwards, but Timothy Geneham stepped in front of her saying, ¡°I will¡ª¡± But he was cut short when his head toppled off from his shoulders. A shadowy figure landed beside him ¡ª Kate Rinehart. Kimberley took this opportunity to lunge towards Penelope Lister, with Damien following closely behind. Taylor herself faced Kate Rinehart. ¡°Scavenging here like a broken vulture,¡± said Taylor. ¡°This is no place for you. You are a Rinehart!¡± ¡°That name means nothing for me,¡± said Kate, and sent two challis towards Taylor. Taylor parried them with ease, and cried, ¡°what do you stand for!¡± Kate hesitated. Then they were all plunged into darkness. Logan had collapsed from exhaustion, and his barrier of lightning had fallen. Kate Sensed him, laying on the ground behind Taylor, and beyond Logan she Sensed Damien and Kimberley Jones engaging Penelope Lister. Kate Sensed all this, and said, ¡°I stand for those who love me.¡± ¡°Now is not the time for sentimentality,¡± said Taylor, and raised a trembling hand, again forming again her talia, smaller this time, but a little more stable. Kate shot up into the air. ¡°A bird for a bird,¡± said Taylor, laughing with her teeth bared, and launched the talia towards Kate. Kate knew that she could not engage Taylor for too long, since she knew that Damien and Kimberley Jones, even together, could not hold back Penelope Lister. And so she went for a direct approach and, coating her entire Body with Connexion, launched herself also towards Taylor¡¯s talia. The impact shook Kate¡¯s Body to its very core, and she felt for a moment as if each and every one of her bones were fractured. She found herself falling, like a rag in the wind. No, she thought. She had to save Damien and Kimberley. She tried to Sense the ground, but her Mind was weak. She could do nothing except fall. But then she was caught, gently but firmly. It was Hazel Drina. Within moments, she temporarily blinded Taylor, making clever use of the reflectiveness of Taylor¡¯s own frost, laid the now unconscious Kate gently onto the ground, and threw the fauchard towards Logan, who had recovered somewhat and was standing up with shaking knees. Then she cried at Damien and Kimberley to fall back. Penelope Lister charged forward towards Hazel, but within moments she fell, a hole burned through her chest. This was Hazel Drina, the Child of Light. And now it was Logan Floyd and Hazel Drina against Taylor Keys. Logan and Hazel began encircling Taylor, breathing heavily. Taylor smiled. ¡°You are in no condition to kill me,¡± said Taylor. Taylor looked dead into Hazel¡¯s eyes and Transcended her Mind, sending a burst of weakness from her core down her limbs. Hazel faltered, but then gathered herself and stood steady again. Logan sent out a burst of lightning from his fauchard, but it was clearly weaker than what he was usually capable of, and Taylor parried this with ease. Damien and Kimberley, having withdrawn back into the darkness, watched with fearful eyes this confrontation, almost historical in its scale, between Taylor and Hazel and Logan. But then the confrontation would become even larger in scale when from the darkness emerged Councillor Floyd. Forty When Logan had taken Hazel and Taylor away, Councillor Keys disembarked from his horse. He placed a palm on the side of the horse, which whinnied and took off into the darkness. Almost immediately Keys and Floyd both sent a challis towards each other, and the two challis met in the middle, making a sound that was as if the heavens cracked open. ¡°To think you would deliver yourself to me like this,¡± said Floyd. ¡°What a delight.¡± Then they charged towards each other. If one was watching this battle, one might think it was choreographed. Both Councillors were experts in Sensing the Mind and could foresee each of the other¡¯s next attack and defend accordingly. They fought without bearing Connexion on their blades, because they knew that it would be a waste. Both of them were looking for a manoeuvre against which, even if it was Sensed, the opponent would find no way to react. But neither yielded, and the darkness echoed with the rhythmic sound of clanking metal. After many such blows they stopped and stepped back. ¡°What are you trying to do, Floyd,¡± said Keys. ¡°Do you wish to see history repeating itself?¡± Floyd said nothing, just smiled. It was then that Keys began to Sense movement all around him. They were the dead, both helia and braxin, who had risen. Keys¡¯s eyes widened. Floyd began his attack again. Again there was the rapid exchange of blows, but now, between every few blows Keys had to dodge to strike down an undead. Each time this happened, Floyd pressured him with rechallis and drove him deeper into the corner, towards where the undead were gathering. Eventually Keys retreated abruptly then began to send rechallis after rechallis all around him, and the undead fell silently like crumpled paper as Floyd watched on. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Near the Northern Border of Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum Logan could go on no longer and lowered both Hazel and Taylor to the ground. Hazel rolled over, groaning. Taylor was still whispering to herself. Logan first checked Hazel for any major wounds. She had a few lacerations, but her biggest wound was internal, from Councillor Floyd¡¯s Impact Connexion. She was likely losing blood from within. Hazel groaned again and attempted to get up, but Logan pushed her back down, saying, ¡°I will carry you. Just allow me a moment to gather my strength. We are almost at the Mountains.¡± ¡°Who is still alive,¡± whispered Hazel. ¡°We will see who is alive, when we reach the Mountains,¡± said Logan. Hazel nodded weakly, then closed her eyes. Logan turned to Taylor, who was on her knees. A singular tear was running down her cheek, but it froze into a small orb of ice halfway down. ¡°Taylor,¡± said Logan. ¡°Can you walk.¡± She did not reply. She stared at Logan blankly. ¡°Taylor,¡± he said again. Then all of a sudden Taylor stood and sprinted back towards where they came from, back towards the two Councillors. Logan watched her disappear in horror. He then looked down at Hazel, who now seemed to be unconscious. He could not leave her. ¡°I will look after her,¡± said a voice. It was Kate, emerging from the darkness. ¡°Kate,¡± said Logan. A surge of complex emotions arose within him, and it took all the faculties of his Mind to calm them. ¡°Can you fly,¡± he said. ¡°If I could fly, I would not be on the ground with all of you,¡± said Kate, smiling. Logan could see Kate was mortally injured. She could barely walk. Logan looked down at Hazel again, whose eyes had fluttered open. She reached out her hand, and Logan grabbed it. Hazel¡¯s mouth opened, and for a moment it looked as though she was going to say ¡°fight¡±. But the word that came out, with much effort, was ¡°live¡±. Then her arm went limp and she closed her eyes again. Logan leant down close to her mouth. She was still breathing. Logan stood up and said to Kate, ¡°look after her¡±. Kate smiled wryly, then watched as Logan took off after Taylor. Forty-One Northern Alleys, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum When Logan reached the scene he first smelt the stench of dead Bodies before he saw them, mounds upon mounds piled up. What massacre had occurred here, in the brief moment he was gone? Then, turning the corner, he saw Councillor Floyd crouching large and beast-like on top of Taylor. He was drawing away her Life. He looked up at Logan. Logan could not see Floyd¡¯s face, but this shocking vision, paired with the knowledge that the creature before him was his father, made his body contort with nausea. He turned to the side and vomited. ¡°Logan,¡± said Floyd. Oh ¡ª that voice was still so familiar. Logan had heard his name spoken by that man for years, for years! He thought he had left behind that life, but that singular word brought a torrent of memories crashing down on him. His father telling him to hurry to his lesson. His father teaching him how to use a bow. No ¡ª he had to do away with it all. Logan cried out and charged at Floyd, who leapt off of Taylor and charged as well. And when they met it was not just blades clashing, but Connexion, laden with fear and disgust and horror. All the Connexion that Logan had been holding back when he was fighting Taylor¡¯s men, so as not to kill them, was unleashed. Floyd did not use Barrier Connexion, but rather allowed Logan¡¯s lightning to rip and tear his flesh. Floyd¡¯s Body was, however, coursing with so much Life that the wounds closed immediately. Logan did not even notice this as he pushed forward in savage rage. And then, with a scream, Logan pushed his fauchard forward, impaling Floyd through the abdomen. Logan stopped, breathing heavily. He looked up. The hood of the Black Cloak had fallen, and Floyd¡¯s face was visible, but he looked young, too young, even younger than Logan. Logan bristled. Floyd smiled and, to Logan¡¯s horror, began pushing himself foward towards Logan, driving the fauchard deeper through his own abdomen. Logan almost let go of his fauchard in horror, but Floyd¡¯s claw-like hands gripped his hands and pulled him in closer. Then, when their faces were almost touching, Floyd reached out and grasped Logan¡¯s neck with his hands. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°You could have been the child of the new world,¡± said Floyd. His raspy voice made his youthful face even more surreal. ¡°You could have stood by me. You could have seen an ordered world, a true world. But you had to scurry away like a rat.¡± Floyd started to squeeze, drawing Life away from Logan, and Logan felt now an agony unlike anything he had felt before, a shocking cold ripping into his Body, drawing away his very being, his very existence. ¡°You could have seen your mother again,¡± said Floyd. ¡°And we would have been whole.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes widened. He started kicking with his feet, but they were already weak. He was already losing grasp of his Body. ¡°Very well,¡± said Floyd. ¡°Die.¡± Logan was at the border of consciousness. He knew that if he fell, he would never return. The light was flickering, and an infinite darkness threatened to descend upon him. And then, a light ¡ª or perhaps an idea, or a memory, of a light. It was light in the form of a voice, and it said: ¡°fight¡±. It was the voice of Esmeralda, the Deer Lop. Logan gave a final struggle. He swung his arms about, trying to find his fauchard. ¡°Oh?¡± said Floyd. ¡°Fight,¡± said the voice. Then the voice changed, and the voice had a face. It was Hazel, and she said this: ¡°live¡±. Live. Logan wanted to live, despite it all. The acceptance of life was one of relief and fear and horror and love, and Logan erupted into a thousand bolts of lightning. Floyd cried out in surprise and let go of Logan, shielding himself with Barrier Connexion, but Logan was relentless. He had become one with his Connexion, his lightning. It was as was written in the Old Scriptures. At his dying breath, Helion exploded into a burst of Light which shredded Death into three pieces, the three Artefacts of Death. And thus was the Old Scripture repeated. Floyd stumbled back, and tried to draw Life away from around him, but all that surrounded him were Bodies of the dead. Floyd felt his limbs ripped away from his torso, his organs spilling out, and all of his Body burning, letting out a filthy stench. Then at last the lightning died down and Logan stood over the dying Floyd, who was now just a head attached to half a torso. Logan picked up his fauchard and raised it over his head. ¡°Goodbye, father,¡± he said, and plunged it down onto Floyd. Forty-Two (FINAL) Prime, The Day After the Kalends of June The Northern Border of Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum The air still seemed to be shaking. Everything smelled of smoke. The silence was only broken every now and then by timid coughs. Despite the rising sun, the sky remained charcoal. All had seen the burst of lightning. The helia, who knew the Old Scriptures, knew what this symbolised. The braxin, who did not know the Old Scriptures, were still awestruck and whispered amongst themselves. They were all together, both the remaining revolutionaries and Taylor¡¯s army, at the border. They all knew that it was not the time or place for them to continue in battle. Kate was at the front of the crowd, on her knees. Laid down with her head on Kate¡¯s laps was Hazel. Kate was stroking her hair softly. Then Kate looked up and saw a figure approaching. ¡°Logan,¡± said Kate. Excited whispers welled up among the crowd, then died down again into a silence. Logan was carrying Taylor Keys. When he reached the border the last remaining Councillor¡¯s Guard, who was named Wein, took Taylor from Logan¡¯s arms. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°She is still alive,¡± said Logan, before Wein could even ask. Then Logan walked past him and continued on towards Kate and Hazel. Once he reached them he fell down onto his knees. Kate saw that he was paler than she had ever seen him. Logan did not look at Kate, only down at Hazel. He lay his face close to hers. There was no breath. With a trembling hand, Logan felt for Hazel¡¯s pulse. There was nothing. Logan looked up at Kate. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. For a moment Kate thought that Logan would strike her, but instead he reached out and grasped Kate¡¯s collars with both hands. ¡°Why,¡± said Logan. ¡°Why.¡± Kate shook her head. She had already wept all her tears. ¡°You said you would look over her,¡± said Logan. He was trembling all over, and his voice was no louder than a whisper. ¡°So why. Why.¡± Then he was silent, looking down at Hazel again. Her expression was like that of a sleeping goddess. ¡°You told me to live,¡± said Logan, to Hazel. ¡°So why did you go. Why.¡± Then he screamed. A hand fell onto Logan¡¯s shoulder. Logan turned. It was Damien. Damien said nothing. He knew that there was nothing he could say that would lessen the tragedy of that moment. He simply lay his hand there. Logan did not pull away. Instead, he turned back towards Hazel and buried his face into her chest, and wept. He had loved her. Northern Alleys, Eastpoint, Bahim, Drum The Bodies of the dead were still. Most of them were charred, and many defaced beyond recognition. But the smoke had already begun to clear. And the air near the ground began to shift and turn, and black wisps began to dance, slowly coming together¡­