《Death's Son Desire》


 Prologue

    The man took in a simple breath to calm his aching nerves, an experienced action contradictory to his situation. Anybody else would have panicked and fallen to nothing short of death.


    He donned an expensive white and golden knight suit which had known better days. Years of dents and scratches covered a previous luster seen on the armor of younger men. Additionally, the runes he personally inscribed into his breastplate flickered with the face of a scowling owl, a signia for a clansman.


    Vast rolling waves of mana crashed out, violent as a hurricane and layered in pressure. A man of wisdom out of his depth as chunks of his skin peeled off at a visible rate, each bigger than the last. If somebody had just arrived at the scene, they would never have guessed the worn down man to be a battle hardened mage that slaughtered his way to power.


    The mage staggered up a nearby hill and propped himself upon an overgrown tree. While his own mana reserves pushed back the sweeping tide, he collected a sliver of mana to reinforce his eyes, scanning for the source.


    A youth covered in rags radiated the devastating aura, the unconscious body in the corner of a mid sized town. Despite the clearly tranquil face, thick swirling mana swaths manifested from the teenager in pulses, a maw that swallowed everything in its wake.


    The humble town previously housed two-thousand hardworking souls, sounded eerily silent, forcing a deep seated chill to run through the mage. While attempting to piece together what happened, the mage withered with each passing moment. Frustration and anger seeped through the white mask that covered the man''s pale face. Slowly backing away, he branded the memory of his stupid mistake deep within the recesses of his mind. A mistake he vowed never to forget or repeat.


    0---0


    "Mithros, I demand an explanation."


    Avoiding the death glare, Mithros slowly turned to face the current reigning emperor, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. Before he could figure out what to say, his brain started to kick into overdrive, forcing him to panic and stumble for words.


    "I..I... "


    "You what?"


    "I''m sorry Imperial Majesty."


    A sharp jarring pain struck Mithros, but he dared not utter a cry. The man in front of him was not one known to show sympathy or much of any emotion for that matter. Looking down, six-inches of Korlann steel dagger was embedded in his abdomen, a wound sure to fester if left alone. Falling to his knees, he grimaced in pain, taking a soft slow breath to organize his thoughts.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "We were robbed Imperial Majesty," Mithros said, clutching his fists.


    "Robbed?" the Emperor questioned, raising a single eyebrow.


    "Avarum, Kathid, and I were escorting the artifact back to you Imperial Majesty."


    "Are you telling me three Archmages were beaten in combat?"


    Slamming his forehead into the cold marbel floor, Mithros spat out, "No Imperial Majesty, it was stolen by a young man."


    "A young man?"


    "We were on guard against enemy knights and cullthors, but I would never have guessed a commoner youth I had previously bumped into may have snatched the pouch containing the artifact."


    "So you were bested by a pickpocket brat?"


    Mirthos contemplated continuing¡ªdeath was surely fact in the light of his failure.


    "Yes, Imperial Majesty."


    "Continue," The Emperor''s voice thundered throughout the grand hall.


    "At first, we left the town without realizing the artifact was stolen. That was until there was an explosion of mana. I quickly put up my defenses only to see Avrum and Kathid were not fast enough; they were blasted into oblivion by pure mana. Nothing of them remains, Imperial Majesty."


    "I see..."


    The Emperor paced before his high throne, his footsteps reverberating throughout the massive room. Probably thinking of all possibilities, the Emperor studied Mithros for any hints of deception, which most likely included betrayal.


    "Everybody in the town was vaporized. It remains a ghost town besides the kid. He continues to emit unnatural levels of mana. I think he has possibly fused with or ingested the artifact."


    "He ate it? You can eat it?" The Emperor eyes opened ever so slightly, as if more amused than shocked.


    The mysterious artifact was written in royal historical records several times, everytime during events where the plane itself almost shattered. However, being eaten was never a way described to use the object. An item of such power was presumed to surely destroy whomever was dumb enough to swallow it.


    "That is my assumption Imperial Majesty."


    The Emperor adjusted his robes and sat upon the towering throne, looking down on the mage as if he were nothing but a tool to command, something Mirthros was used to.


    "Take a contingent of soldiers from sixth imperial battalion along with two of my royal guard. Lock down the area. If the town becomes approachable, find the young man and bring him directly to me."


    Through the many years of working for the Emperor, the thought process of the man before him was all to clear. Making a move personally as Emperor would alert the surrounding nations. His imperial majesty must rely on his subjects to retrieve the artifact discreetly or risk telegraphing his intentions.


    "Yes Imperial Majesty."


    Mithros, having received his orders, was silently stunned at the fact that his head was still attached. He quickly turned to leave the grand hall and started scurrying off before the Emperor had a change of heart.


    "... and Mithros. "


    The mage cringed at the sound of his name but turned his head back in a bow.


    "Fail me again and I will rip out your soul for the deeplars to consume."


    Mithros shuddered and nodded. 300 years of service to the Emperor and he was still just a disposable pawn.

 Chapter 1

    Did hunger finally get me this time?


    Opening my crusted eyes was a chore in itself.  Realization that I was still in the land of the living was not a joyous one, at least death carried all the pain of life with it.  On numerous occasions I''ve awoken wondering if the reaper had taken me for a ride. Today, it doesn''t seem like I had a ticket as raw soreness permeated throughout my entire body, leaving me aching with every attempt at movement.  All I could hear was the rickety wheels of a wagon and feel its many attempts at hitting every bump in the road.


    "Daddy he moved!"


    A small child, with a horn sticking out the backside of her head which curved over the top, poked me with her pointer finger to confirm.


    I slowly sat up straight to glance around my surroundings and see what misfortune had befallen me this time.  It took a moment to ease the throbbing headache latched to my brain, never have I ever had one so intense. Sitting on the side bench of a rocking covered wagon, I saw full wooden crates packed to the brim with fruit.   Sparrow Kingdom agricultural goods by the looks of it; they have the best peasant management farming techniques to date. Made sense considering that was where the town I blacked out in was located. With all this potential loot around me, I couldn''t help but feel the greed in my eyes start to shine a bit.  It''s a decent haul that would sell for enough to keep a family of four alive for a cycle or one man alive for four if you catch my drift. I know this information comes fresh because i¡¯ve hit several wagons in my day. When you''re an orphan which nobody cares about on this brutal plane, you can easily find yourself deep in shady shit.


    Tilting her head forty-five degrees, the Shale girl who couldn''t be older than five cycles looked at me with her curious purple eyes.  Shales, native to the west¡ªor was it the south? Her plain cotton sundress against her slightly darkened skin screamed the west, but then again, it could have been imported.  The Empire was vast and held a multitude of races and creatures, anything was possible. Pretty cocky to call your empire ''The Empire'' though when you were not the only one, nevertheless, The Empire has power and power rules.


    I took a gander outside the back to see endless rolling green plains, a pleasant sight compared to most.  Beefy guards on standard horses straddled the bouncing wagon on both sides, each big enough to take on two men.  There were more similarly covered wagons in front and back, but I wasn''t in a viewable position to count how many.


    "You awake boy?  Ellie get da boy some grub will ya?" A hearty voice boomed from the front drivers seat.


    "Hi I¡¯m Ellie."


    I thought for a second about lying but that seemed pointless.


    "...Esried."


    Ellie smiled and pulled out various fruits from a brown sack nearby.   Not caring for my rudeness, I snatched the bruised but colorful fruit from her dainty hands and ate them whole.  Juices ran down my lips as I savored the sweet natural flavors, something that hasn''t happened to me in a long time.  Hunger has been my mortal enemy as long as I can remember, and any day I can shove my middle finger up it''s posterior was a win in my book, damn etiquette.


    After eating what I felt was way over a modest amount for a guest, I climbed over some of the wooden crates to reach the front and sat next to my savior¡ªor captor.  Slavery exists in The Empire but so does chivalry. In my opinion, it''s a weird combination to be fighting for honor and to own another person, but chivalry just has different definitions to different people I guess.


    While tying the reins down, the massive man sitting in the wagon''s driver seat looked over to me.  Both his burly hands holding the thick reins are large enough to crush my neck with ease. His chiseled body announced himself as a very physical, capable man.  His horn, similar to the one that came from what I assumed to be his daughter, also protruded from the back of his head. A really worn but sturdy brown vest with simple blue shorts completed his image.


    "Hello Esreid!  How are you feeling?" The man spoke loudly as if I was across the room.


    "Fine, thank you.  Where am I?"


    "You are on the Kitchroale Caravan my boy!  We were passing by the town of Poleman. It was completely void of life except for you lying on the empty road.  We picked you up, then we left quite quickly. Creepy stuff really. Care to explain what happened to the town?" The man squinted ever so slightly.


    The town was empty?  Before I passed out, there were tons of people moving about.


    "No sir.  I was knocked unconscious one moment and then I woke up here next.  Thank you for picking me up sir,¡± I said.


    Not a complete lie but not the entire truth either.


    "Hmmm. I understand..." he said.


    Shit.  Fuck.  He knows im withholding information, and my excuse has no substance.  Well... don''t panic. He won''t push you; He doesn''t want to corner you.  Desperate people do desperate things.


    Despite my panic, we continued with the casual small talk, each prying the other for tidbits of information.  Apparently the man''s name was Tolgaudhster Kitchroale, ninth son of Slaellots Kitchroale. The family had been a traditional trading merchant caravan family for generations, traveling the plane making good money.  Tolgaudhster himself had been working the wagons his entire life under his older brother who was the chief of this particular caravan. Thankfully, he had offered to drop me off at the next sign of civilization.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Hopefully the next village will earn me more than the last, mainly because variances in village wealth are at an all time high.  I will have to keep on the move since you never want to stay in one place too long as a thief, even if I find a top coin village.


    When I was just about to give him a bullshit story about myself, the swaying wagon convoy lurched to a complete stop.


    "Leave half your wagons and you may pass!"  A voice from the right side of the caravan yelled.


    Dreading the prospects of what was said, I poked my head out forward and turned toward the voice hoping to be wrong.  I saw roughly forty scattered men, ten of which were on horseback. Every single one was wearing the same matching red shirts with hatchets and machetes in hand.


    Back on our side, about nineteen decently armed guards swiftly lined up arms width apart, backs straight, and facing the forty unruly bunch.  Their clean cut green and black uniforms were a stark contrast to the rugged bandits.


    A man who looked similar to the one next to me, who I assumed was Tolgaudhster''s older brother, stepped forward to speak, "We will not be leaving our wagons nor giving in to any of your demands.  As chief of this here caravan, I strongly advise you to turn back or there will be consequences. I will also have you know that I have a very strong mage under my employment."


    A mage?  Hell yeah!  Mages weren''t particularly rare and their strength varied greatly from person to person but having one versus not having one was all the more better.


    Eyeing their comrades for assurance, each and every bandit took some time to reconsider their stance on this hit.  A capable mage could easily turn a two to one advantage even, however, it mostly depended on the price you were willing to pay when hiring one.  The bandit in front on horseback and presumably the leader cursed in frustration, further dropping the initial excitement in the raiding party''s eyes.


    A moment of silence amplified the peaceful swaying prairie grass which had no concern for the matters taking place.


    "IT''S ONE MAGE.  FUCK E''M UP! MOST HEADS GETS FIRST DIBS ON THE WOMEN!"  The leader started the charge before any of his men had time to think further.  Fortunately for him, they followed: For in their mind, pussy matters. At least, that was what I''ve seen other bandits fight for.


    As the horseback bandits charged first with iron weapons raised high and poised to strike, the caravan guards stood steady unsheathing their longswords.  The rest of the caravan crew grabbed whatever weapon they could find and filed in behind the guards, including Tolgaudhster. Meanwhile, most of the women and children were herded into some of the more sturdy looking wagons for a quick escape in case things went south, telling me they''ve lost in situations like this before.


    Damnit, I don''t want any part in this.  Trusting my instincts, possible escape routes started forming as the two opposing sides were about to clash, when a brilliant idea suddenly hit me.  Although it''s a bit of a bitch move, why don''t I just take a wagon? It''s only one wagon, which isn''t that big of a loss. To be fair, there was a chance for the bandits to win and take all the goods, calling it morally grey sounds about right to me.


    Smelling the cache of delicious fruits, the decision in my head was more than confirmed, solidifying my choice.  To be honest, I don''t really know these people. We literally just met. Without further hesitation, I grabbed the reins to the two large oxen and continued to usher them forward with the best of my ability.  Unfortunately for me, several horseback bandits took notice and broke off for the hunt, spurring their horses for a quick catch.


    Wasn''t the caravan suppose to be winning?  They have a freaking mage for crying out loud!  Continuously taking looks behind me, I counted three thugs with snarling faces catching up at a rapid pace.  Not that I was moving very fast in the first place, considering I had no wagon driving experience.


    "DADDY!  WHERE ARE YOU?" Ellie cried out with a muddled voice.


    Turns out she never left, her small body hidden by a couple stacked wooden food crates.  Fuck, really?  Ellie jumped out and bounced on the ground mostly unharmed, rolling like a tumbleweed.  The wagon wasn''t moving very fast to begin with due to my poor driving skills and pulling the reins required muscles I don¡¯t have.  It also helped that Shales have thicker, studier skin than humans.


    Galloping rapidly, three horses at least four times Ellie''s size were directly pounding their way toward her, getting closer every second.  I quickly jerked on the reins to halt the wagon, irritating the large oxen enough to actually stop. Even though I may be a scummy thief, there are limits to how low I will go.


    Right as I jumped off to run to the back, a machete swung over my head splitting a few of my head hairs.  Two bandits encircled me as I saw the third standing over Ellie who was trudging away from behind the wagon.  One of the first two riders got off their horse and pinned me to the wagon with ease, a little pressure which locked me down completely.  I guess this is where it ends, like a minor character in a shitty novel. So who is the main character?


    Wearing a perverted smile, the third man raised his clearly unsharpened machete over Ellie¡¯s head for the kill.  What the fuck?  This isn''t right.  You are supposed to kill me and enslave her.  Don¡¯t you idiots have it mixed up?


    To be real, I didn''t choose my path.  The plane was a lonely place, and there are more people than there are caring souls.  Thievery was my main profession because it was all I was ever good at, taking as much as I could so I didn''t have to later.  Theft was as far as I would go because my body demanded it, but today I wanted to kill. A person that beheaded children deserved death.


    "Stop!" I screamed.


    Struggling helplessly with all my might, physical strength alone wasn''t enough to break the bandit''s grip over me.  The third bandit''s blade swung down in what felt like slow motion ignoring my shouts of desperation.


    *Boom*


    A wave of pure mana violently crashed out ripping the three bandits apart into a bloody mist.  Before I could assess the situation, a hacking cough overtook me along with a dizzy spell that hit me.  Did I do that? Shit.  What was that?  Kicking dirt up in the process, I quickly dashed toward Ellie who was lying on her side.  Turning her over, half her face was melted off. Her left eye was completely missing while large sections of cheek were vaporized beyond comprehension.  The girl was undeniably dead.


    Smelling raw flesh, my stomach churned momentarily but settled just as quickly.  Lucky for me, death was no stranger.


    Assessing my situation, I really needed to leave, staying at the location of the crime was bad for self-preservation.  Choosing a random direction away from the caravan, my legs kicked into high gear, never stopping.


    After a good chunk of distance, I heard the most grueling cry of anguish, twisting my heart.  The fight must have ended, and Tolgaudhster had found Ellie left mutilated in the empty plains.  Like a swift kick to the gut, my human side hit me with some empathy. Losing somebody close was a memory far to known.


    Today, a little piece of me died and a little piece of me grew.

 Chapter 2

    "Come brother, we must light the life fire so little Ellie may drift into the eternal dream."


    With solemn eyes, Vichaarfeancof gently patted his younger brother Tolgaudhster''s shoulder.  Standing tall for all to see, he steeled his emotions for both him and his brother, a burden against his grief.  Before her body''s death, little Ellie was the spunky light of the Kitchroale caravan and the youngest of the children.


    Dragging Tolgaudhster toward the wood pyre, Vichaarfeancof motioned gently for the rest to gather around, taking up his mantle as chief.  He suddenly thrust his arms out with palms open and slowly raised them over his head, only to lower it back down after. A soothing, rhythmic hum started to reverberate throughout his throat, easing the dreary atmosphere.  Others also started to meld in until every member of the caravan was joined together in a balanced wave of motion and sound.


    0---0


    Tolgaudhster sat there defeated.  Actually, broken was more likely a better word, something to describe his state of mind.  The pain subsided, but what was left was a husk of a man. He went through what happened a million times in his head before, during, and after the attack, reliving the moment with every detail he could remember.


    Esried.  White hair, black soulless eyes, and wearing filthy rags.  After searching the entire area, the boy was gone and all that remained of the bandits surrounding Ellie were bits and pieces, an impossible feat Tolgaudhster couldn''t fit together.  He knew the caravan should never have picked up the odd child from the empty town, but his older brother insisted based on virtue.


    "Brother, pick up the fire.  It is time." Vichaarfeancof paused his humming to remind his brother the ritual was to be completed.


    Remembering Ellie was not enough for Tolgaudhster, nor would finishing her ritual.  He needed answers, however, the boy had fled without a trail.


    Money.  Growing up in a caravan all his life, Tolgaudhster was a merchant and he knew business, dealing in the art of trade was his weapon akin to a soldier''s sword.  It was about time he sharpened his blade instead of sitting back behind his older brother, a seat which stunted his growth.


    With a passion budding and a goal to seek, he grabbed the nearest lit torch and approached the wood stack with deep heavy strides.  He then lowered the flaring torch into the kindling and watched as the fire slowly expanded throughout the entire pyre. The scorching heat licked his face, but he dare not flinch: the heat was a passing for Ellie.  Tradition was king, and the fire represented the strong and vibrant life the girl held. The roaring flame would not die anytime soon, but Tolgaudhster would wait until every ember faded. He would see it to the end so Ellie''s chapter may fully close.


    Afterwards, his would begin anew.


    0---0


    Stiggs kneeled down to move the dirt through his hands, a gesture his father used to do.  The soft fine earth hugged his hands as he pushed his calloused fingers through it, grabbing a handful.  How such a beautiful town could suffer such a tragic fate, the man would never know. While no destruction of any kind could be seen, food and drink left untouched and spoiled littered the homely dwellings, making for a haunting ghost town.  Additionally, wooden lodges and businesses two stories high lined the main road which cut through the middle of the desolate town. Standing on that very road made it seem that much more haunting.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    To the west spread open grasslands further than the eye can see.  To the north stood tall a lush forest with enough game for a varied diet of meats and fancy fungi.  To the south laid farmland yielding multiple vegetables and grains infused with natural mana. Last but not least, to the east came the road to higher civilization, The Empire''s capital itself.


    The Empire encompassed many kingdoms including the prosperous Sparrow Kingdom, a place known for its fertile boon.  While smack dab in the middle of empire territory, the quaint little town of Poleman lay just between the Sparrow Kingdom and The Empire''s capital.  It was supposed to be a safe waypoint for weary travelers. A place with a cozy lodge, mug of dark beer, and a little gambling to pass the time.


    With earth still spilling from his hands, Stiggs stood up to face the cranky aging man, focused on each dirt particle slipping through his grasp.


    "What are we looking for Archmage?"


    "A child, about sixteen cycles old from what I remember.  He was the sole survivor of what took place here. We are to bring him back to the Emperor.  So do your job and find him Stiggs."


    Keeping distance, Mithros eyed him with caution, most likely believing himself, a Royal Guard, to be an extended hand of the Emperor no doubt.


    "Are you sure the old pedophile doesn''t just want a new fuck toy?"  Kallie chimed in with a devilish grin.


    Several imperial soldiers standing at attention in a group nearby winced at the remark, most likely imagining the seconds toward death if they were the ones to make such a statement.  With rumors flying around all the time, it was quite well known that the Emperor collected young women for his personal entertainment, a hobby he never even tried to be subtle about.


    Stiggs glared daggers at Kallie, his vixen of a colleague in the Royal Guard, one who he believed didn''t deserve her post.  She was a complete head shorter than himself with sharp eyes and a figure one can only describe as flexible.  Black hair flowed down her back without a frizz in sight. Also, her skin tight black leggings accented her slim legs and a white crop top held her modest bust.  How she fought in those garments confused him to no end.


    His full silver adamantite suit of armor, a standard familial knight setup, and dirty brown hair was a complete one eighty from her visual image.  Furthermore, he rocked named brand goods, gold trimmings, and blue etched floating runes for a superior quality, taking him down would cost any enemy dearly.


    "Speak ill of the Emperor before me again and I''ll cut out your tongue," Stiggs said with hand on hilt.


    Mirthos stroked his long beard in amusement on the side as the two bickered, chuckling while knowing their status.  Royal Guards were brought in because of their strength, not their loyalty. Half consist of overpowered individuals sent to do the Emperor''s bidding for a life of luxury.  On the flip side, the other half were soldiers who raised through the ranks on military exploits such as Stiggs himself.


    "Enough.  We must find the child or else all our heads will roll,"  Mithros interrupted.


    As if assuming command, Stiggs created a simple plan of action.


    "We came from the east so that leaves the north, west, and south.  Mithros you take the north, Kallie you take the south, and I will go west.  The imperial battalion is only going to slow us down. Leave them here for support while each of us takes twenty riders to search for the child.  Report back here in two months."


    Nodding in approval, Mithros moved in front of each of them, closed his eyes, and tapped both Stiggs and Kallie in the forehead.  With little effort, a spark flashed from his finger to their minds painting a vivid picture of the child in question, a little trick Stiggs knew the old man was proud of.


    "May I remind you that the Emperor wants the boy alive," Mithros added.


    Kallie skipped away while giving a wicked eye smile and said to no one in particular, "He looks kind of cute..."


    Immediately after, Stiggs saluted across his shiny breast plate and marched off to gather his squad of imperial soldiers, ready for the hunt.

 Chapter 3

    Waking up alone as usual, my mouth tasted like an elldro''s ass, a creature that made its home in the sewers of large cities.  With nothing better to do, I continued my endless walk toward who knows where, tracking down civilization has been a bust on all fronts.  The vast grassland has yet to cease with days upon days of walking. Who knew there could be so much grass? Every step I took reaped a toll on my already fragile body.  To be honest, I''m surprised the stagnant green pools of murky water I drink from hasn''t killed me already.


    To pass the time, I''ve tried reproducing the explosion that killed the bandits, but absolutely zero luck has headed my way.  Nothing was there when I reached deep inside mentally, but I don''t have any formal training so my process might be wrong. I thought I might have awakened as a mage, however, I''ve been told it''s impossible to not know if you are one.  Maybe I am, and I''m just too stupid to realize it.


    Lets just review the basics, or at least what I think are the basics.  Everybody knows that mana is nothing new. It''s everywhere and every creature on the plane can use it, even I have lit a few mana candles before.  The difference between a normal person and a mage was that while everybody could manipulate mana, mages could produce it. Once one could produce mana, it becomes thick enough for devastating battle applications.  This means that all mages are living breathing weapons, capable of the pew pew. Pretty simple right?


    Pushing with all my might, I visualized myself creating mana, but the only thing that comes out was from my rear end.  Quite disgusted at myself, I took a break and searched for something to eat. Teased by chirping birds, hungry me bumbled around into a great forest until I stumbled upon some wild mushrooms, the only thing remotely edible in sight.  These could possibly kill me, but then again, I don''t really have much else going for me.


    To be honest, munching on shrooms isn''t that bad.  They taste a bit bitter and mushy, but i''ve had worse.  Keeping an eye out for more delectables, I shuffled forward and things started shifting.  Attempting to keep grounded, my arms reached out for anything stable. The trees moved in disturbingly human ways to counter, tipping my balance.  Green, so much green.  Randomly, I decided to look up, a direction as good as any.  Herds of fluffy clouds came down to greet me, snuggling close for affection.  As if nurturing my body, im hugged on all sides by the pillows of white. I laid there for a while just embracing my existence, a nice change from the constant crippling depression, something I''ve longed to get rid of.  After what seemed like a lifetime, I feel like I''m being dragged on the floor. Roots wrapped around my legs as I am being lead into the cosmos...


    "Snap to it.  I don''t like waiting."


    What?


    *Splash*


    Out of nowhere, a chilling blast of water broke me from my warm trance, melting my bed of clouds.  Fuck.  I want to go back!  Please let me go back!


    While still lying on the damp cold ground, I finally got around to see who was speaking.  With long ears twitching at the slightest bit of sound, her toned carved abs popped out like a cast iron mold.  She also has several scars, which have long since healed, randomly lashed throughout her outstretched arms. Silver hair cascaded down her shoulders around a green skin tight tunic.  A simple but thick bow hung from her back along with a brown tanned leather quiver full of feathered tailed arrows.


    If I had a wilder imagination, I probably would have gotten a decent rise just looking at her, but her cold penetrating eyes put an end to any frivolous thoughts.


    "Hi?"  I respond hesitantly.


    *Smack*


    Owe!  The bitch slapped me.  I couldn''t help but feel a little flush after being slapped by such a beauty.  Based on what I''ve seen in local brothels, most older men would be in heaven if they were in my position.


    "Who are you?" she asked.


    Still as a rock, the beauty''s silhouette barely moved besides her fluttering hair.


    "Esried.  Who the fuck are you?" I asked.


    "Not your name idiot.  Your status."


    What does that even mean?  Holding eye contact, I just stared back hoping she''ll eventually explain or leave me be.  The beauty clicked her tongue and began to saunter deeper into the dense forest.


    "Follow me."


    Of course my mind raced and I think of a million reasons why I shouldn''t follow, but her backside painted another picture.  One that I could not turn from for nobody could refuse that ass.


    0---0If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Craving a decent hot shower and a nice warm meal, Sun regretted taking such a boring post.  Previously she thought infiltrating another nation would bring her honor, but to this day she had no exploits to speak of.  She danced along the treetops, hair flowing wildly. Each leap from branch to branch burst with power yet still maintained a natural silence, one others only hoped to achieve.  Control was key as she funneled mana into each step with skill and grace.


    Patrolling the area, a loud boom shook Sun almost causing her to misstep.  Shooting off full speed into the direction of the blast, she infused mana into her ears for further information, a technique almost now second nature with practice.


    One, two, three, and four different sets of footsteps.  Sun observed from above as a peasant woman maybe thirty cycles old broke into her line of sight.  The woman was clearly in distress with half torn clothes and blood dripping down her forehead, shifting eyes in clear panic.


    A moment later, three men wearing bright red shirts also burst through the very same clearing.  Sun had seen similar men before; that particular gang of bandits had risen in the past few weeks, growing in numbers over time.  Seeking easy targets, travelers on the road just outside the forest''s edge have been raided by them consistently, leaving no survivors.  While Sun had the power to help, her objective was to stay hidden which meant staying in the confines of the forest. Except this time, the bandits came to her within the woods, a pity there weren''t more.


    "Catch and kill her! Quickly bichakos!  We don''t have time!"  One of the red shirts with a mustache shouted.


    A deadly smirk rose from Sun''s lips as she found her first target.  With bow in hand, she pulled its drakion sinew string back as far as she could.  Keeping her hands steady, her eyes painted a virtual target over the mustache man''s forehead, the largest target she could find.  Mana passed through her fingertips into the bowstring with each passing second, charging it to its maximum potential. While maintaining target, flickering sparks of lightning emanated from the notched arrow, giving it a slight glow.  Releasing the arrow flashed a light which confused the pursuing bandits, causing them to halt in their tracks. Immediately after, a loud crackle thundered out before one of the five men''s heads exploded in a rain of red gore. Though she yearned for a more challenging fight, she repeated her motions until every man fell, littering the forest floor with brain matter.  Despite her attackers all mysteriously exploding, the peasant woman kept running full speed deeper into the forest.


    Sun was about to give chase to the woman until she felt a chill run down her spine.  Never in her life had she felt like this before: fear, dread, and unease washed over her all at the same moment.  Her instincts told her to run, anything that would cause such a reaction in her was bound to be more powerful than her.  Keeping her emotions in check, Sun resisted the urge to flee and moved toward that very thing. It was her duty as an infiltrator to maintain observation over her designated area, never had she half-assed her job before.  Slowly approaching, she used every stealth technique that came to mind, even those mana inefficient to use. What she saw next utterly baffled her¡ªit was a boy.


    Examining from a distance, the stranger part was that around him circled large pockets of dense blue mana, floating aimlessly in orbit.  To top the bizarre encounter off, he was rolling on the floor giggling. Even though Sun has never seen physical manifestations of raw mana before, the mage in her knew what she was looking at.


    Mana was usually transformed into fire, water, earth, or whatever a person could possibly imagine, never was it seen before raw with the naked eye.  Sun made an educated guess that it was most likely due to its ridiculously high concentration. It even completely overshadowed the quality of her master''s mana, a man deep in his mage years.


    Out of pure interest, Sun watched the boy twirl around in the dirt for hours until the mana pockets finally started to evaporate, grateful that she could finally soon speak with the boy.  Walking forward, she approached with caution as she studied the boy in question, noting his physical features; the white hair and skeletal structure implied human. He had no notable half breed features, at least not yet, some hid these features within their clothing.  Most mixed races had a dominant physical aspect that showed a feature from each race it was comprised of, an easy way to identify where they might have come from.


    While focused on the boy, a floating mana pocket grazed her, throwing her off guard.  While back-flipping away, she was hit with a burst of ecstasy that made her moan uncontrollably, anybody around would think of other things happening in the forest if they heard.  Panting heavily, she made a mental note to avoid those pockets of mana like a plague. To ensure her advantage, Sun grabbed the boy by the ankles and dragged him further away into the forest, deeper into her domain.


    "Snap to it.  I don''t like waiting."


    After fiddling with her emotions, Sun''s eyebrows formed a vee shape while her lips curled inwards, but maintained her perfect upright posture.  The boy still had a stupid smile on his face so she pulled out her water skin and poured fresh river water on his face, effectively soaking him.  Sun could see him finally pulling himself together as he scanned her with his pitch black eyes, a racial feature she missed before.


    Half Demon...


    "Hi?"


    The boy finally spoke but, Sun could definitely see that his head was still not clear.


    *Smack*


    Ughh... The boy has an erection, and he isn¡¯t even trying to hide it.  To be fair, innately demons were never good at being subtle with their lust.  This boy is also at the age where his body was growing most. Great, she was dealing with a youth who was going through puberty.


    The boy''s a mage with a unique mana constitution.  Critically thinking, he had to come from somewhere, be it a noble family, royalty, an academy, or even a wandering Archmage.


    "Who are you?"  Sun needed to know.


    "Esried.  Who the fuck are you."


    With left hand on her hip and right hand on her chin, Sun sighed as the answer was not the one she was looking for, getting the right information wasn''t going to be easy.


    "Not your name idiot.  Your status."


    Waiting for a reply, Esried doesn''t say a thing, staring pitch black eyes to poke at her soul.  Maybe, the child doesn''t belong to anybody. If that was the case, then she should just take him....


    "Follow me."


    Sun walked further toward the heart of the woods planning her next move.


    A child mage that can produce large amounts of high quality mana has got to have some value.

 Chapter 4

    "Burn the bodies and fan out for any lingering hideaways," Stiggs commanded his squad of imperial soldiers.  Then, he wiped his bloody claymore on the disfigured body of the corpse he just created. Bodies litter the grasslands leaving a stain of visceral red on the natural green background.


    "Yes sir!"  Captain Wendy saluted arm over chest, then barked repeated orders to the rest of the squad.


    While moving west, they have ran into three bandit groups in the past few days all deep within The Empire''s borders, grouping in sizes large enough to raid a small village.  Stiggs'' party encountered no mages which meant that he was being slowed down by mere peasants with toothpicks, a serious hindrance to his duty. If he had more time, he would conduct a proper investigation, but his mission was one from the Emperor himself.


    Returning from the search, Captain Wendy pulled forward a rope tied to a beaten and bruised red shirt bandit, diseased scum of the earth that besmirched The Empire in Stigg''s opinion.


    "Kneel."  She pressed her standard issue imperial sword against the skin of the bandit¡¯s throat, just enough for it to slightly break and bleed.  The man compiled without any hint of resistance as he seemed resigned to his fate.


    "Whose bidding do you follow?" Stiggs looked down on the man as if he were a fly, insignificant and worthless.


    "..."


    "If you tell me who you serve, I will not only let you live, but I will give you a horse and this here coin."


    Stiggs threw a small leather pouch in front of the bandit which jingled as it hit the ground.


    "... Lord Barlormor my Lord."


    Without concern, Stiggs casually swung his sword severing head from shoulders in one swift movement, splattering fresh blood all over Captain Wendy.


    "Sir?"  Captain Wendy asked with a raised brow, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe off her newly recolored armor.


    "Lord Barlormor is dead.  Our spies sent messages saying he was poisoned last week.  Somebody is playing games and we''ve been killing pawns."


    A man who stood against violence, Lord Barlormor was a baron in the Tellfuir Kingdom which bordered the Sparrow Kingdom to the west.  Tellfuir Kingdom belonged to the Sovereign Queen, a title very much earned.


    "We continue west.  The longer this takes the harder it will be to find the boy."


    Remounting his war horse, Stiggs steered for the Sparrow Kingdom''s capital, a place with the resources to speed things along.


    0---0


    When I really think about it, The Beauty isn''t so bad, mostly because she hasn''t killed me yet.  Correction, a few days ago I changed her nickname to The Beast, calling her a powerful mage was underselling it.  With both eyes barely registering her movement, I''ve seen her in action and it''s like brenda doll meets super soldier.  Whenever she moves, she flies around the treetops without disturbing her surroundings, clearing all stray animals in our path.


    Because of her pointy ears, I have deduced that Elf clearly ran through her veins which means she''s from the northern forest.  I''ve never been there myself, but stories say they are super racist. Unlike The Empire which welcomes every race, the northern forest only allows natives to come and go as they please, an informal rule enforced by penalty of death.  To counter wandering people, the elves propped up trading and war outposts right outside their forests, a smart way in my opinion to keep in contact without allowing others to step into their home. It has been like that for as long as anybody can remember so nobody seems to question it.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Sooooooo, what''s for dinner?"


    My stomach grumbled loud enough to back my claim, a growing hunger everyday.  Clicking her tongue, The Beast rolled her small eyes and darted off to find something, usually berries or nuts.


    I have no idea what im doing with this woman, but she brings me food on demand.  Only an idiot wouldn''t use it and abuse it to the fullest. Sitting down on a rotten log to rest, a dead rabbit was tossed in front of me, furry coat and all.


    "Skin it," she voiced directly overhead, crouching on a high branch.


    With little noise, The Beast landed gently and sat cross legged on a similar log across from me, expecting work to be done.


    "Uhhh... how?"


    With another audible click of her tongue, she muttered several what I believe are elven curse words.  Without knowing my purpose here, I don''t know what she expects from me, maybe to become her pet. Not such a bad thing if food keeps getting thrown toward me.


    Previously, I lived on the small scraps of richer men, those who never knew hunger.  On many occasions, other children and orphans like me banded together to steal from such merchants.  Traveling from village to village I would meet with total strangers and group snatch what was within reach, a skill easily learned.  Hunger bonded us and words were rarely exchanged. Fortunately, the best part was that the rich didn''t care enough to retaliate. They made so much profit that what we took was considered meager losses in their eyes, since most were contracted to the Emperor himself.


    "Do you have any worthwhile skills?"  Her face read that it was a rhetorical question.


    "I know how to steal stuff..."


    Immediately, The Beast frowned and I have a terrible feeling wash over me.  I realize that for some reason she found value in me and that value was plummeting at a rapid rate, one I cannot afford to lose.


    "I''m also a mage!"  I blurted out before she decided to ditch me in this forsaken forest, death would surely follow quickly if that option were pursued.


    Oh how fast her frown turned upside down, almost disturbingly quick.  Was she there when I left the caravan? Did she see me kill those men?


    "Show me."


    Rubbing my palms, sweat starts to form and drop down my forehead as I think of an excuse to get me out of this one.


    "I don''t know how...."


    Better tell the truth now I guess.  It''ll only get worse later. Except, contrary to what I thought would be her reaction, her smile grows wider.


    "Does this mean you have no master?"


    "Nope, just good ol me."


    This seems to re-raise my value because The Beast was absolutely beaming.  Does this mean she thinks I''m a mage? How come I don''t know if I''m a mage or not.  This is way to confusing, being a mage should come with a manual.


    "Close your eyes and feel the mana within your body."  The Beast isn''t blinking so this means serious business.


    I do as I''m told and look inward toward my soul.  Holy shit, why is there so much mana in here?  This wasn''t here before, at least I don''t remember it that way.


    The Beast¡¯s voice drifted through, "Follow the flow until it all intersects."


    My mental projection glided down the dark blue stream like pathways until several streams converged.  This kind of felt just like my mushroom trip. Tehehehe....


    "Focus!" the beast shouted.


    Mystical powers at play, how she found out I''m not focusing is beyond me, a seventh sense only she possessed.


    "I''m here, at the center of the flows."


    "Do you see a core?  It''s almost impossible to miss and can also be seen in many different shapes and sizes."


    "...No?"


    "Interesting... Now what do you want."


    "What?"


    "Answer it."


    What kind of question is that?  I want lots of things. I want delicious food.  I want a big house. I want a girlfriend. I want a Dad.  I want a Mom. I want a hug. I want you to stri...


    It takes me a moment to leave lala land and really think about things.


    No... I know exactly what I want.


    A large flame ignited where the mana streams collided, and my entire soul went dark.  The flame reappeared alone with a flawless black glass bead directly in the middle. Burning strong, it kept folding and molding into a solid blue sphere; this was no ordinary sphere.  If I looked close enough, I could see white glowing engravings. While entranced by their mysterious glimmer, the secrets of the soul were engraved within dancing before me. Unfortunately, it was all out of reach.  It was as if I would never be able to read those secrets for as long as I lived.


    "Congratulations Esried.  You have been reborn."


    If that were the case, then why do I feel like this wasn''t the first time?

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    After yesterday, I figured I was a bonafide genius, considering I transformed into a mage and all.  Turns out, I''m not so special. Apparently, anybody can become a mage but most don''t have the mana accumulated in their body to be worth it.  With enough drive, you could literally create a massive army of mages, but the resources would be astronomical. Additionally, they wouldn''t be much stronger than the average soldier because of how little their core could produce, like ashamed levels of little.  Through years of experimentation, people found out creating power was much more efficient by pouring said resources into a select few, producing mages who could do some real damage. How I got the resources to spark my mana core confused me to no end, as a matter of fact, it mostly just appeared out of nowhere.


    Wait, does that mean I am special then?  To be honest, strange things started happening after I ate that bean from that gullible old man''s pouch, maybe I should eat more foreign objects...


    The good news was that The Beast was now much more open to me.  She told me we''re headed to the closest elven training camp, almost near the elven border.  I think she intends to train me but haven''t yet to find out what she wants in return.


    After weeks of nonstop travel through the forest, The Beast informed me that we''re close.  As time goes on, I could feel several extra pairs of eyes hidden in the treetops locking down on me, more out of interest than a threat.  The Beast stopped and whistled a lovely melody in which another female elf came out of the woodwork. If I hadn''t known better, I would have guessed they were sisters, all elves tend to look the same.  They don''t usually breed outside their own race so mixed races with elf heritage are rather rare. After some hugs and greetings in their elven language, The Beast motioned me over with a wave of her hand.


    "This is Esried.  I brought him to be trained under our order, hopefully becoming family as well.  Esried this is my wonderful sister Windcharm, Warden of the training camp you are going to attend."


    Well shit, now I''m just being fucked with¡ªthey really are sisters.


    "Welcome Esried.  I heard many things about you, including your unique mana situation.  I hope you don''t disappoint."


    The Warden even has the same stupid smirk The Beast has.  When did they have the time to communicate? I was with The Beast the whole time, which most likely pointed to some type of elven voodoo magic.  Maybe they will even teach me some of it considering I am to train with them, one can only hope.


    The two sisters casually talked as I followed a few paces behind.  As we moved forward, totems twenty feet high were seen sparsely scattered throughout the area.  These totems almost look lifelike which probably meant they were enchanted in some way, or some really good artist just fooled me.  Each totem had a different animal at the top which looked down at all whom cross its path.


    "They contain the souls of the animals they represent," The Beast said without looking back.


    I nodded even though her back was turned to me, for some reason, she can always tell.  We broke into a clearing where there were a multitude of large oak buildings, each larger than the next.  The area was full of elves moving to and fro. It is a little strange seeing so many identical looking people in one spot, almost as if they were cloned.  The males don''t look that much different from the females to boot. What a weird orgy that would be.


    Long blonde hair, small eyes, sharp chin, pointy ears, pointy nose, green tunic, brown tights, leather shoes, and bow with quiver on every elf the eye can see, except one.  An elf with silver hair came barreling in at what looked like mach one.


    "Hi mother!"  The elf launched herself in and wrapped her arms around The Beast, squeezing with visible intensity.


    "Mother?"  A puzzled look plastered my face.


    "Hey mana buscuit!"  The Beast hugged back with what looked like twice as much force.


    ¡°I told you to stop calling me that.  I¡¯m way too old,¡± the girl said.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Wait a minute, how old are you?"  I asked the Beast.


    "I''m two-hundred and ten this cycle."


    HOLY SHIT!  The Beast was bangin'' for her age.


    "Ya know, it''s rude to ask a lady her age."  The girl clicked her tongue just like her mother, kind of hate her already.


    "You know what else is rude?  Calling other people rude," I spat back, asserting dominance.


    "Be nice mana biscuit.  You two are going to be partners for the next few years."  The Beast interrupted our little tit for tat argument.


    "What?  You can¡¯t be serious.  He is not even an elf! I¡¯d much rather go solo."  The girl crossed her arms in defiance.


    "You two are of similar age and you don''t have a partner yet.  Esried, this is Moon. Moon, this is Esried. The camp has a mandatory buddy system so you both are stuck with each other."


    The introduction gets me thinking, we have been traveling together for weeks and I don''t even know the Beast¡¯s real name.  I better ask before I start meeting even more people.


    "I apologize for asking, but what is your name anyways?"


    Tilting their heads back, The Beast face palmed and the Warden chuckled.


    "The spirit named me Sun.  Last name is elven but it directly translates to the word Light."


    "What?  He didn''t even know your name?  I¡¯m required to partner with this idiot?"  Moon pouted with puffy cheeks and stomped off after realizing the decision was final.


    "You better chase after her.  This training camp is no joke.  You are going to need her" The Warden said with a stern face.


    Shit.  I started jogging in the direction I think she had gone, looking for her distinct silver hair.  This place was fucking huge! Brown oak structures everywhere tower over me with crazy scribbles and pictures etched into their sides.  Eventually, I ran into a circular running track that had a multitude of elves training on it. To the left of it, smaller elves were firing arrows at circular targets, and to the right, slightly older elves were holding leashes to various carnivore looking animals, ones big enough to eat a human whole I might add.  Continuously scanning, I eventually spotted Moon''s silver hair disappearing into a small cabin near the back of the camp. Despite looking completely out of place, no elf minded my presence as I power walked toward her position.


    *Knock* *Knock*


    Quickly thinking of possible conversation starters, I waited patiently for her to answer.  There was no reply so I slightly opened the cabin wood door and took a quick peek. The room was very plain with two single beds on opposite sides and two desks with chairs against the back wall.  Additionally in the corner, a small washroom sat snug near the front door.


    Hunched over, Moon was sitting at the right desk with pen in hand, scribbling or drawing I do not know.  I slowly approached not wanting to spook the creature from her natural habitat.


    "Go away,"  Moon spoke to me without looking.


    Was this an elf thing or a Light family thing where you don''t look at who you spoke to?  Moving up to close the gap, I ignored her initial demands and pulled up a chair next to her, scratching up the wood floor in the process.


    "If you don''t like me so much then why don''t you get your friends to beat me up," I chortled, but my attempt at a joke to lighten the mood fell short of anything but funny.


    "...I don''t have any friends."


    Moon''s eyes started to swell, her hand slightly trembling.


    Shit.  What do I say now?


    "Errr... Why not?"


    I winced at my own hasteful remark, prying into her personal affairs.


    "Because nobody likes my hair."


    She started weaving her hands through her hair, hunched over as if carrying a large weight on her shoulders.  Moon¡¯s tears silently dropped onto the paper she was writing on, sniffling in between breaths.


    I paused for a moment and took a real good study of her.  Her silver hair slightly shimmered in the sun which poured through a glass window.  Height shorter than most elves based on what i''ve seen outside but not by much. Her face was slightly rounder compared to the sharp chins of the others.  A button nose accented her smaller more delicate features. And her eyes.... Looking deep inside I could see a sparkle. A glitter of light I could only describe as magical.


    As she sobbed I noticed that we were very similar;  Both of us alone in our own way.


    "I like your hair," I joked a lot, but this time I spoke with sincerity.


    Moon paused her silent reflection and looked me straight in the eyes.  Surprisingly, she dove headfirst into my chest for a very tight hug. I softly patted her head on instinct and placed mine upon hers returning the hug, each enjoying the other''s presence.  After what felt like seconds but in reality was minutes, I realized something.


    Well fuck me.  This is the start of a love story isn''t it.

 Chapter 6

    Captain Wendy felt really out of place within the establishment.  Right before her eyes, scantily dressed women moved from room to room providing their many services.  Their perfume mixed with a heavy musk lingered in the air, a smell she could never get used to. Drunken men, wearing nothing but their underwear, stumbled back and forth until they reached their overpriced playpens.  There were also men with square pectorals, arms sculpted out of stone, and lower bulges big enough to give horses envy for any patron with enough coin. Normally Wendy would never have entered such a place, but wherever Stiggs went she would follow.


    "What type of service would you like?  May I suggest a flying wheelbarrow popper for the lord and maybe a tickle tuner for the lady?" a red lace covered woman with a thin veil offered with a seductive smile.


    Stiggs still in full silver armor replied, "We aren''t here for pleasure.  Take me to Worpwood."


    The woman immediately dropped all pretenses to bow and lead the two toward the back of the brothel.  She tapped twice, paused, and then tapped three more times on a back panel one would normally see as a wall.  Opening in a slow almost dramatic fashion, the panel swung out revealing a room on the other side, larger in size than the entire brothel before it.  Stepping inside, sunlight layered in from symmetrical slits rooted in the ceiling with delicately carved pillars lining the room in a rectangular pattern.  At the very center sitting in a velvet bean bag chair, a lean shirtless man with grey baggy pants smoked a long tubular shaped pipe with one hand and ate an apple with the other.


    "Greetings Stiggs, I never figured you for a lustful man," the man said with rolling eyes.


    Stiggs grunted.  "I''m looking for a boy Worpwood."


    "Oh my, that is going to cost extra."


    Worpwood giggled lightly, playfully revolving the apple in his hand.  Wendy cringed at the implication, but quickly regained her composure.


    "White hair, black eyes, wearing brown rags, and around sixteen cycles old."


    Captain Wendy knew Stiggs would not play Worpwood''s humorless games.


    "Like I said before, it''s going to cost extra."


    "Name your price."


    "A favor, one I intend to collect.  That or the beautiful woman standing behind you."


    Looking her up and down, Worpwood started eye raping Wendy, lingering longer on certain parts.


    "I am not for sale," Wendy growled, clenching her fists into a ball behind her back, pushing back the desire to punch the man.


    Taking a moment to blow a few rings of smoke, Worpwood said, "What a shame...  We could have went to wonderland together...¡±


    Previously scowling, Wendy''s face went flush red.  She had no idea where wonderland was, but she was smart enough to know it wasn''t anything proper.


    "One favor and I want the information by next week," Stiggs said.


    "You''re no fun, but.... we have a deal, my good man.  You may enjoy the many pleasures my brothel has to offer at my expense until I get you your information.  Especially you, my dear lady. Believe me when I say an orgy is more than cock and tit." Worpwood licked his lips and then took another long puff from his pipe.


    "What do you know about the red shirt bandits raiding the Sparrow Kingdom,"  Stiggs asked before leaving.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Becareful Stiggs, many men fall into debt with me.  Lucky for you, I cannot answer that. Only know that war is coming to the western border."


    "You have information about a possible war and you do nothing to stop it?"


    Wendy noticed Stiggs was getting visibly irritated.  A sign usually pointing to future dead bodies.


    "Listen here Stiggs.  I deal in whores and information, both of which profit from war.  It is your station to do something about it, not mine."


    Stiggs grunted again and quickly marched out with Wendy in tow.  The Empire was already locked in a one hundred year war on the eastern front.  Another war on the western front would surely tip the balance against them.


    0---0


    *Slap* *Slap* *SLAP*


    "WAKE UP ESRIED IT''S ALREADY PAST SUNRISE!"


    Panic fully covered Moon''s face.  It was her first day with a partner at camp, and she didn''t want to be late.  She never really knew why nobody wanted to pair up with her, but today that would change.  She was going to show them all that she was a great partner, one they would regret to have passed up.


    As if the spirit herself wanted to make things difficult for her, Esried would not get up from his bed.  In fact, it was a bit disturbing to see him with a twisted smile when she slapped him.


    "If you don''t get up within the next few seconds, I¡¯m going to tell my mom she brought you here for nothing."


    Moon knew how scary her mother could be.  It was one of the only things they shared in common.


    With renewed energy, Esried shot up and hustled off toward the bathroom.  Minutes later he reappeared in elven clothes, dripping wet like a fool. A little odd but a nice change from his previously disgusting rags.  If he didn''t look so uncomfortable, Moon might have thought he was a little handsome.


    Walking out toward the instruction fields, Moon scanned for her objective.  She spotted several of her classmates and Quickstream, her teacher, sitting in a circle by the edge of camp.  Looking back to make sure the lazy boy Ezried was with her, she pulled him by the hand lest he fall behind.


    "Hello Moon and Esried.  Please have a seat and cycle your mana.  We are still waiting for Flora and Stillrock,"  Quickstream greeted with a calm voice.


    Quickstream was much like the various other elves in every feature, the only difference being his grandly warm demeanor.  It was as if each word he spoke wrapped you in a relaxing breeze. Moon couldn''t ask for a better teacher; there were others that took training down more vicious paths.


    "Errr... How do you cycle your mana?" Esried asked.


    Hearing the question, Moon crumbled a little.  He doesn''t even know how to cycle his mana? Quickstream waved his open hand toward Moon.


    "Moon will show you.  She is a bit of an expert when it comes to that."


    A few other classmates rolled their eyes to which Moon mostly ignored and turned to Esried.  Both of them sat facing each other criss cross about a quarter foot away from each other. Putting her serious face on, Moon raised her right hand in between them.


    "Hold my hand.  I am going to show you what to do."


    Complying, Esried interlocked his left hand with her right.  Mana was gently poured from Moon into Esried sending a visual of her soul to him.  Her mana lines were refined and tight like canals which connected to a bright silver core.  She started slow as an adult would show to a child, better teach him right, or she''ll be blamed.  A gentle push and the flow moved faster slightly spilling mana into her muscles and bones. Eventually, Moon pushed harder and harder until there was visible strain on her mana canals.  Her body tissues hungerly drank the mana that spilled over causing them to contract. She then cut off the connection to Esried, completing her demonstration.


    "Now you try," said Moon with a big smile.


    Esried closed his eyes even though he was never instructed to and not even a few seconds later he started coughing up blood.


    "Slowly!  It''s your first time.  There is a balance between pushing hard enough to spill as much mana as you can and pushing softly enough as to not rupture your mana canals."  Moon was trying really hard to keep a straight face despite the other classmates giggling at their failure.


    Esried took a moment to think and then closed his eyes again for another try.  Again, not a few moments later does Ezried start coughing up blood.


    "It''s ok Esried.  Try again tomorrow.  Too much pressure can leave permanent damage in the body."  Quickstream interjected before Esried tried again.


    Moon turned her back to Esried, giving him the cold shoulder.  This was way too embarrassing; My partner can''t even cycle his mana.


    If he can¡¯t even get through today, how in the spirit¡¯s name was he going to get through the rest of his life.

 Chapter 7

    Tapping on the table with the tip of her fingers, Sovereign Queen Olivina refused to acknowledge the sweating messenger, hoping to put off national affairs for another day.  She chose to wear an all black ball dress with high boots today just for the sake of fun.


    "You are looking very extra today my queen," a voice within the shadows spoke.


    Eight legged hairy spiders clung to her maroon shaded red hair.  Also, a solid black nose ring stood out against her pale white skin.


    "Give me something juicy that isn''t politics and I may forgive the fool standing there like a buffoon."  The queen pulled up a forty-six inch rapier and placed it on the table before her.


    The messenger trembled but remained silent.


    "Spymaster Worpwood sold me information about a boy being tracked by a Royal Guard of The Empire.  He claims the guard to be Stiggs my queen." The shadows twisted and whispered, never giving sight of the voice''s true origin.


    "Oh?  My dear Stiggy is on a quest?  Send Kariam and a few of your shadow puppets to take what Stiggy wants."  Olivina practically started dancing in her chair.


    "Yes my queen."


    "Also send word of what you told me to the Klorian ambassador.  It is time to make things interesting before the war. What am I to wear?  Maybe something fabulous or at the very least sexy for my dearest Stiggy."


    Darkness collapsed upon itself, and the lurking shadow slowly dissipated leaving no trace behind.


    "You messenger, tell everybody I am not to be disturbed.  I would hate for you all to ruin such a good day." Olivina quicky left through a side door leaving the messenger alone in the room.


    Opening his mouth, the messenger''s face started to melt.  The warping layer shed into clumps until what was left was a dark grey skin.  Glowing green eyes with crooked nose poked out from the dissolving face. After fully shedding his disguise, the naked orc backed up into the shadows disappearing with a cold sneer.


    0---0


    Owe. Owe. OWE!


    "WAKE... ESRIED... SUNRISE!"


    Can you not?  Why does mini-Sun have to be so much like her mother?  Do elves not know that beauty sleep is essential to a long healthy life?  Can she slap me again? Wait, what?


    "If you don''t get up within the next few seconds, I¡¯m going to tell my mom she brought you here for nothing."


    Okay, im up!  Mini-Sun ain''t so scary yet but mama-Moon was previously nicknamed The Beast for a reason.  Feeling the local flies pick at me, I headed into the washroom to see a green tunic and brown tights.  Can''t the elves just have a little bit more creativity? I mean, I understand that green and brown are the best for camouflage in the forest, but a man''s gotta have some personality. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    In the bathroom, I see a metal cone sticking out of the wall about knee high pointed upwards at a forty-five degree angle, with plastic knob above it.  Out of curiosity, I fiddle with the knob and water suddenly blasted from the metal cone, drenching me in water. The contraption seemed like an artificial fountain or some sort of water feature.  To have this installed in every cabin, the elves must be super rich. Figuring out how to turn off the device was simple, but now I''ve wasted too much time.


    Quickly I fumbled to get dressed, the green tunic slipped right on while the brown tights took a minute to squeeze into.  Do they not realize that certain parts need to breathe? Maybe male elves just have smaller ding dongs and nuggets.


    I popped out of the bathroom and Moon was already halfway out the door itching to go.  She scanned the field and spotted who she was looking for. With a strength disproportionate to her body, she vice gripped my hand and dragged me toward a group of elves similar in age.


    "Hello Moon and Esried.  Please have a seat and cycle your mana.  We are still waiting for Flora and Stillrock," said the adult I presume was the teacher.


    I should probably ask for his name, but then again, I''ll probably forget it later anyways.   At the minimum, asking how to do that cycle thingy was a more important.


    "Errr... How do you cycle your mana?"


    "Moon will show you.  She is a bit of an expert when it comes to that."


    Seeing everybody roll their eyes, I can tell why nobody was buddy buddy with Moon.  Apparently a few whispers tell me she is somewhat of an overachiever, a nerdy mage if you will.  Moon sat down pretzel style and I mirrored her.


    "Hold my hand.  I am going to show you what to do."


    Moon raised her hand toward me, an obvious invitation.  I locked my left hand with her right and all I could focus on was her soft smooth hands.  Waiting for more instructions, a gentle flow of mana tapped my hand as if asking permission to enter, quite intuitive if you ask me.  I mentally nod and it continued on its path toward my brain, kind of felt like being wrapped in a fire warmed blanket. Our classmates and teacher drop one by one, the grass disappeared patch by patch, and the sky shrinked section by section until all that''s left was me and Moon''s soul.  Her soul was a spitting image of her except it was more illusory and transparent, naked too. Looking closer, mana canals ran throughout her entire body connecting to her silver core which lay in the middle of her soul, glowing and revolving. The first thing I noticed was that her core was much bigger than mine, probably twice as big.   I suddenly felt an invisible hand push the mana making it move faster and spill off into her muscles. Before I get the chance to really understand, the connection closed and I feel like I lost something.


    "Now you try."  Moon smiled like a master just gave a profound lecture to their student.


    Giving it all or nothing, I closed my eyes and look into my own soul.  The blue core with glass bead was still there except mana canals have now replaced the mana streams I saw during my awakening.  My canals looked pitiful as they failed to hold the massive amounts of mana passively spilling onto my muscles. The huge difference I noticed was that the color of my mana was several shades darker than Moons, as if it was comprised of completely different things.  With deep care, I gave a little push emulating Moon''s demonstration. The small push caused a wave of dark mana to add to the already passive spilling mana onto my muscles drowning it completely. Blood rushed up my throat, and I hacked a cough to clear it.


    "Slowly!  It''s your first time.  There is a balance between pushing hard enough to spill as much mana as you can and pushing softly enough as to not rupture your mana canals," Moon said with a straight face.


    Our souls look completely different!  Don''t you think you should take some blame for showing me incorrectly?  Whatever, let''s try again.


    This time I take a deeper look at my soul, some analysis might do some good.  Mana already spills easily onto my muscles and bones. What I need is for my mana canals themselves to strengthen.  Instead of pushing harder to bolster the flow, I pushed the mana down into the canal itself; that should do it, right?  At first it seems to work, the canal absorbed a large amount of mana and grows infinitesimally sturdier. Then reeling in my success, I press harder to find my limits, go big or die trying.  The canal tore from the pressure causing large amounts of dark mana to flood my muscles again, which made me cough up more blood in return.


    "It''s ok Esried.  Try again tomorrow.  Too much can leave permanent damage in the body."  The teacher intervened before I can celebrate my semi-success.


    I opened my eyes to a pouting Moon who then turned her back to me.  What did I do? The girl was complicated to no end.


    If I can get through today, the rest of my life is going to be easy.

 Chapter 8

    Brent stared out over the muddy trench wall that encircled Glory fortress.  Covered in dirt and grime, the thousand year old fortress was anything but glorious.  It stood north of the eastern war front between The Empire and the Klorians. Propped directly against the northern mountains which extended to the west, a strategic spot to hold.


    Long ago, the fortress started as a mining town that eventually birthed immense natural wealth, which has long since been depleted.  Over the years, both sides have traded this particular fortress dozens of times in hopes to gain territorial advantage against the other.  Almost a tragedy once one saw what the mechanisms of war did to the landscape. To the south rolled hills as far as the eye can see, sparse patches of grass fed with the blood of ancestors and dirt pounded flat from the stomps of battle.  Brent recognized this similar sight dozens of times throughout his tour of the eastern border, a man made disease festering vast expanses of land.


    Stretching with his arms fully extended, the familiar sounds of officers shouting drill commands filled Brent''s ears.  He hated every minute of this place. The smell alone drove him crazy as sweat and shit mixed into the air. Tired of standing upright in full gear all day, Brent simply tossed his helmet aside, sitting down onto a pile of dirt.  There hasn''t been an attack on the fortress in months and every scout has returned with no meaningful reports. He tilted his head full of brown hair back into the mud wall, closing his eyes for a power nap. Even with three more weeks of guard duty, his service to the Empire wouldn''t end for another year, then he would be transferred to another similar fortress for another similar guard duty assignment.  Initially roped in by his brother Stiggs''s success, Brent joined the imperial army long ago hoping for grand results, a hope which never came.


    After hours of the mundane, the defense bell rang throughout the compound, men running everywhere.  Brent immediately perked up and gathered his helmet for the upcoming battle. Flashes of elemental magic and sounds of swords colliding could be heard due east in another trench.


    "Form up you slags!  We push to help our fellow men," an officer not much older than himself commanded.


    Climbing over the trench wall, Brent found his fellow brothers in arms lining up to stampede into the fray.  Imperial training taught him to push back the gripping anxiety, but failed to reign in the flooding adrenaline.  He quickly joined a position one row back from the front and took out his sword for the clash ahead.


    "Rise to your potential!  We are imperial soldiers! Charge!" a voice shouted.


    "AAAHHHHHHHH!" A roar from the line boosted moral as every soldier started throwing one foot in front of the other.


    Approximately twenty feet from the east trench, Brent could see people fighting tooth and nail.  Large balls of flame started streaking across, pounding into their lines and burning flesh in the process.  They screeched an unnatural pitch, before exploding into a reign of molten slag. Mages were the number one source of death, and the enemy was definitely not holding back.


    The initial confrontation with the enemy was the worst.  A pike six meters long impaled the man in front of Brent leaving a wide view of the chaotic battlefield.  To his left, an enemy mage was carving his way through, as well as to the right, soldiers were bashing and stabbing each other every chance they got.  Lives were taken as fast as they were put forth, two hordes of men and women throwing everything and anything they had.


    A wise man once told him that combat was the most exhilarating thing known to man, yet over the years, Brent has realized his father was no wiser than the man he is today.  While his father fought for the thrill, he fought for the prize thereafter. Do not all men want prestige? Do not all men want recognition? These questions were as rhetorical as they were natural.


    "PUSH THEM BACK FOR THE EMPIRE!"  A mana infused shout boomed across the warzone.


    Brent pressed forward knocking an enemy pike out of the way.  A swift slash cut one man''s left hand off at the wrist while another sliced the inner right thigh.  Cries of pain and torment surrounded him, but his trained mind filtered it out. Breathing heavily, he continued onward stabbing and swinging until he had gathered a considerable body count.  A loud cheer of fighting spirit uplifted his energy as he realized that many of his brothers and sisters were watching his performance. While drunk on praise from his allies, Brent attacked with renewed energy reaping more and more lives.  Eventually, he found himself two men deep into enemy lines deflecting attacks and countering with blows of his own.


    Noticing the closest enemies clear a path, a man across from him dressed in vibrant blue leather armor locked eyes with him.  A giant feathered mohawk graced the man''s head with red warpaint smeared across his face. Mana heavily leaked through the man¡¯s pores, as if it longed to do his bidding.  Brent seized up and slowly backed away knowing full well the man was a mage, suggesting a battle he would rather not get into.


    Dodging right, an icicle the size of a bird shot through the air impaling the man behind Brent.  Frosty mist still lingered in the air, temperatures dropping a few degrees. Before he could regain his footing, the mage was upon him, too close for escape.  A fist to the right shoulder staggered Brent''s ability to lift his sword, throwing his momentum awry. Burning sensations flared throughout his shoulder until it became completely numb.  Clutching his shoulder, frost rapidly emanated from the point of contact as he drew in mana from the air to counteract the effects. Before allowing him to recover, the mage followed up with a leg sweep to Brent''s left foot knocking him down and causing yet another source of frost to invade.


    Knowing full well the man above was playing with him, Brent closed his eyes and reminisced back to the days his family got together under the sun for picnics.  He regretted following in his older brothers footsteps, a path to glory they said. All he wanted was approval, something that his brother was showered in with every step taken.


    Ever since he was little, his life wasn¡¯t his own. His parents suffocated his freedom, denied access to the mistakes his older brother grew from.  In such a controlled environment, he never bloomed. Although he resented how they raised him, blame could not be so easily be pinned, for he still loved his father and mother.  It was no contest to say he was also to blame, wallowing in self-pity most days instead of fighting back.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The mage took one last look before forming a large shard of ice, jagged ends with a smooth body surface.  With a wave of his hand, the shard ingrained itself deep into Brent''s nearly frozen body, finishing the job.  The surrounding imperial soldiers, ripe with fear, turned and ran for their lives.


    Brent will never find the approval he sought out.  For now, he was just a corpse in a sea of dead men.


    0---0


    The aches and pains in my legs, lower back, and shoulders dissolved away as the camp''s healer works her magic.  This past month I''ve been nothing but a punching bag for Moon during our training. Ever since the first day we met, Moon had been sticking to me like white on rice, never letting me out of her sight.  I wish I could say it was because of me, unfortunately, after getting to know her better, it''s safe to say she has some deep seated issues lingering within her mind. There are times when she''ll crawl into my bed for comfort and hold me tight for hours on end.


    "Have you tried fighting back at all?"  Scatterwisp chuckled and handed me a glass of refreshing water.


    "Nope.  I don''t want to tick off the demon more than possible."


    I took a big gulp and sighed deeply.


    "HELLO.  I''m sitting right here!  Not to mention, you are literally part demon."  Moon gave her signature pout with puffed cheeks and glared at me from atop another bed not three feet away.


    "Thank you for healing me Scatterwisp.  I''ll bring a couple chocolate pudding cups next time," I said while ignoring Moon altogether.


    Scatterwisp nodded with a smile; she then shuffled off to help other patients.  Scatterwisp and I have become good friends due to Moon''s excessive use of force during daily exercise sessions.  I hopped off the examination bed and exited the medical lodge despite the large amount of verbal insults flying my way, rubbing my arms hard to relieve the tenderness that comes with healing magic.


    "We have the rest of the day off.  What would you like to do?"


    While her eyes lit up, Moon''s frown flipped one-eighty at the mention of free time.  "Let''s go swimming! We can invite Leaf and Stillrock to come too!"


    As if she had forgotten why she was mad in the first place, Moon skipped away to find the others, bubbly as can be.  Jogging to keep up, Moon headed directly for the cabins which housed all of our classmates. Most days she would never try to do such a thing, but apparently the hate Moon received only applied during training.  Knocking on the door with a big bang, voices could be heard inside scrambling to answer. The door abruptly swung open while one Leaf and one Cherry stood at attention.


    "Hi Leaf!  Hi Cherry! Me and Esried are going to the lake.  Would you two like to come along?"


    "Oh my spirit Moon!  We thought you were the Warden.  Last time we got a knock like that we were punished for ¡®uncleanliness¡¯."


    Leaf took a deep breath in a sigh of relief.


    "Sure Moon.  We would love to come along," Cherry said from behind Leaf.


    Our group grew by two as we headed to the next cabin holding Stillrock and Swiftbreeze.  Outside Swiftbreeze was sitting in a meditative position; her hair changing colors rapidly.


    "Hey Breezy girl.  You''re getting really good at that."


    Leaf moved in for a hug, eyeing the Swiftbreeze''s chest.


    "Ughh.  I can only change it to one color at a time.  If I want to use it for camouflage then I need to be able to change it to multiple colors simultaneously."


    Swiftbreeze hopped up to return the hug, giving Leaf exactly what she wanted and a little bit extra.


    "Well, come take a break.  We are all going to the lake for some fun.  Where is Stillrock? The more the merrier."


    "I''m down to go, but Stillrock left with a few of his buddies to do whatever guys do."


    "How come they didn''t invite Esried?"  Moon interjected.


    "Because they don''t want you tagging along.  We all know wherever Esried goes you follow," Swiftbreeze replied.


    "Yeah, you two are practically married already,"  Leaf stated while nodding as if it were fact.


    "NO!  You guys can be so stupid sometimes."


    Immediately Moon stormed off toward the lake, stomping with each step.


    "Better go comfort your wife.  Fufufu," Leaf teased.


    I shrugged and started walking in Moon''s direction.  Previous Esried would have snapped back with a snide remark, but ever since arriving at this camp I''ve been unnaturally calmer.  A warm bed, good food, and people that actually care about me has made drastic changes to me. Most days I would choose to do things with reckless abandon, such as pickpocketing or conning.  Now I weigh my choices as if my life has value. To be honest, it''s a nice feeling and I''m a little afraid to lose it.


    After a while, the group reached the lake and took in the beautiful view.  The sun reflected off the twinkling crystal clear water. Large tree covered mountains sat in the back, protecting the area from harsh winds.  In the middle was an island of protruding rock, a centerpiece that brought it all together.


    Squealing in delight, Leaf threw her sleeveless shirt into the air bouncing side to side.  Cherry followed suit and suddenly started unbuttoning her own shirt, kicking off her pants too.  One silver and three blonde haired female elves are nearly down to their bras and panties.


    Lightly attempting to avert my eyes from the four women stripping down to their undergarments, my lower region was hit by a wave of heat.  I actually talked to Scatterwisp about my urges which have been compiling ever since Moon''s snuggle sessions. Apparently, demons have low fertility rates and that means biology gave us a stronger libido to balance it out.  The good thing was that I''m only half demon meaning only half the struggle, but Scatterwisp also told me that it''s only going to get more potent over time.


    Moon eventually found a rock to dive from, going head first into the refreshing water.  Her body weaved like a fish blasting from one side of the shore to the other. In a wild splash of steps, both Leaf and Cherry ran into the lake holding hands.  Each one kicking water at the other trying to soak one another. All while Swiftbreeze lay front down on a nearby large rock for a nice sunbath, exaggerating curves in all the right places.


    A smiling Moon waved wildy to me from atop a rock formation in the middle of the lake, attempting to get my attention.  I sit down on the shore waving back, relishing in the moment of everybody just being happy.


    I can''t say this is what i''ll want forever, but right now this is exactly where I want to be.

 Chapter 9

    Nervously pacing back and forth, Kallie fidgeted with a sharp dagger in her hands.  Her finger twirled the blade along its handle, spinning it in the air. Were she standing before any other door, her usual sarcasm could get her through the day.  Eyes twitching and stomach upset, her mind flew through several possible excuses that could ease the Emperor. Usually, she faked her way forward or relied on her personal strength, but this time, she was facing a man who could see through her facade and overpowered her on multiple levels.  Too focused on how to present herself, the large wood doors opened and an attendant layered in white embroidered robes stood waiting for her to collect herself.


    "The Emperor is ready for you now."  The attendant bowed and gestured past the ornate doors.


    Though she wasn''t ready to face the Emperor, making him wait was in no way a better option.  The last man who made the Emperor wait upon them ended up being chucked into the mouth of a deeplar, with his soul being painfully chewed to pieces.  The image of grinding teeth to spirit caused Kallie to shudder and quickly increase her pace.


    The chilling air of the throne room made her skin form raised bumps along her arms.  Mana powered chandeliers lined the stone ceiling illuminating the room in a pale moonlight.  Less than a minute ago, she had been stressing over how to explain her failure in her quest, now, she struggled just to keep her composure briskly walking down the ludicrously long throne hall.


    It reminded her of the long journey to her current status, a Royal Guard to the Emperor.  She was once one of those bimbo nobles, attending parties for apparences and kissing the hands of richer men for reputational gain.  Her home city, Dawncraft, hid an untold treasure trove of wealth within its politics, and more than a fair bit of corrupt bureaucrats played the game.  Women such as her mother, sold themselves to such men, a sale that produced a litter of children known only as collateral waste. Kallie fought among hundreds of others who wanted nothing but to claw their way into a name.  Once one had a name, they had power and access to a portion of the resources.


    Not to say you were clear of threat with a name.  Pandering to the wishes of higher ranked nobles was a daily ritual and the opportunity for another to take your spot was an ongoing endeavor.  Bribes, assassinations, and shifting alliances all took place at a moments notice. Both her mother and father fell to such grim fates, but Kallie excelled above all else to take a position among the inner circle.  The fact that she did it without selling her body further bolstered her pride. She herself never lost in political fencing, however, things took a turn when the Emperor himself flipped the board. The man spontaneously slashed civilian government power in favor of military run management.  One needed the support of a high ranking officer instead of a lustful suit jockey or a sophisticated brain. Being near the top, Kallie fell from her short lived life in the inner circle and crashed like the rest of the noble elite. It was the first of many large humps to her current position.


    Having reached the actual marble throne, Kallie kneeled to the man casually sitting upon it.  His regal white and golden robes popped out, dark black silky hair lifted a jewel encrusted crown, and hands covered in gemmed rings relaxed upon the oversized armrests.  Upon closer inspection of the throne, she saw the heads of previous emperors carved into it. Below, each step leading up to the throne contained known war stories throughout The Empire''s history.  Any other day she might have wanted to study said stories, but not any day the Emperor was looking down upon her. An erie awkwardness drifted as she noticed that she and the Emperor were alone within the absolutely massive throne room.


    "You have returned," the Emperor spoke amusingly.


    "Yes Imperial Majesty."


    Kallie continued to keep her head down.  Inwardly she cursed Stiggs and Mithros for disappearing.  Both had missed their appointed follow up meeting two months from their start.  Stiggs was well known in The Empire and his absence could only mean he was caught up in something else.  Mithros on the other hand wouldn¡¯t hesitate to leave her hanging. She once caught the old man hidden in a closet smoking an assortment of herbs and spices just to avoid teaching a class of children, but that is a story for another time.


    "Rise and let me take a look at you."  The Emperor stood up and took his time taking one step after another toward her.


    Kallie rose as well and silently watched as the man before her slowly approached.  Deep inside she trembled at the thought of being beaten within an inch of her life after revealing her inability to find the boy.  She had burned many bridges and sacrificed tons of time to get where she is today.


    "I can expl..."


    "Shhhh...."


    The Emperor stopped right in front of her, inspecting her face too close for comfort.  He moved his hand to gently caress her smooth face. In a quick and unexpected fashion, the other hand wrapped around her waist pulling her in.  Tongue penetrated her mouth exploring to its contentment. Seconds felt like hours as the Emperor entwined his face with hers. His hands grabbed all over her body each clenching hard into flesh once it found what it wanted.  After taking what little pride she had, the Emperor finally released her, grinning wide. Then as if it were a normal day, he moved around her, exiting the throne room at his leisure.


    Overwhelmed in shock, Kallie collapsed to the hard floor.  Brain spinning at what just happened, the Emperor took the one thing she wasn''t expecting, punishment no judge or jury should ever conclude.  Etched into her mind was each hand roaming about her body, unlocking its personal secrets. Feeling absolutely filthy, Kallie curled up into a ball, arms around legs.  Being violated in such a way seared a pain somewhere that couldn''t be healed. She always prided herself in being a strong independent woman, but all that was just stripped away.  A look of emptiness settled on her defeated face as tears silently flowed, dripping to the already cold damp floor.


    Physical pains she could handle, it was the mental ones that left an everlasting scar.


    0---0


    Scanning the ceiling treetops from below, I crouched low with sword in hand.  A soft tipped arrow flew straight at me, but I dodged by rolling to my right. In the direction of eight o''clock, I heard a faint noise of a broken twig.  Before I could process what came next, a rope bola shot at me from behind wrapping my legs tight. Falling to the ground wasn''t what hurt, it was the bash to the face that came after.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Reeling in pain I looked up to a pair of elegant eyes.  One eye was more blue than the oceans themselves while the other was more green than the trees that surrounded us.  As my view panned out, shown below was a smile so wide and white that it almost looked exaggerated. Topped with Moon''s radiant silver hair, she was the embodiment of a full canvas of colors.


    It''s been a full two months since I started training and I can''t get a handle on this mana thing.  Whether it be shooting flames from my hands or enhancing an arrow, nothing seemed to work. Oh well, becoming firelord was never on my to do list anyways.  On the bright side, large amounts of mana have been constantly spilling into my muscles and bones, completely erasing my previously anorexic body. Every chance I get, I pushed the dark blue mana into my mana veins to strengthen them even though I cannot for the life of me use them.  For some reason whenever I try forming an element with my mana, it just seemingly falls apart.


    Moon was the complete opposite of me, as well as most of her peers.  She handled mana like it''s her bitch. Turns out, her silver hair actually has meaning.  A silver haired elf was one born with a mana core. Most mages form cores in their early youth, but being born with one takes natural affinity for mana control to a whole new level.  It was also the real reason why every one of her classmates alienates her during training. Envy was a strong emotion that existed in every living creature with elves being no exception.  To make a comparison for non-mages, I assume it''s similar in feeling to competing with another person who was born filthy rich. Her control over mana allows her to easily cover her feet and push off with insane bursts of speed.  Running circles around me can be taken both literally and metaphorically. For this reason, our little daily duels always end up with her on top.


    What frustrated me the most was that the elves won''t teach me any of the finer techniques until I prove I have the basics.  Many of our classmates can light their arrows on fire with ease while everytime I try, the arrow disintegrates from my mana.


    "I win again!"  Moon reached out a hand to help me up after cutting me free.


    "Can''t you go a little easier?"


    "No.  My mother says going easy is a disservice, and I agree with her.  You just need to figure out what your fighting for, so you can fight the good fight.  What do you want?"


    "I don''t know what I want.  Before it was to not starve and now I have no idea."


    "Well, I want to eventually be good enough to beat mother.  You are just a very small stepping stone for me."


    "I''ll beat you eventually," I said with wavering voice betraying my words.


    "Haha, sure...  Let''s go get lunch I''m famished."


    Moon rubbed her belly then interlocked her arm with mine.  Before we managed to take two steps, a man nearly twice my size in height and width appeared twenty paces in front of us.  His towering figure imposed a wall of an aura causing both me and Moon to freeze in place.


    "He looks different than I remember... Not so skinny anymore...."   The man doesn''t move but watched us like an eagle.


    "Who is the girl?"  A female reply caused us to look behind.  A shoulder length cut, brown haired woman with full standard imperial armor and several shiny accomplishment medals molded to the front stood also twenty paces away.


    "Doesn''t matter, leave her and take the boy."


    With unnatural speed, Moon chambered an arrow and fired it into the sky.  The arrow exploded into a symphony of light and sound, echoing for miles. Me and Moon like our privacy so we tend to travel a decent distance away from camp.  Even so, the elves have watchers everywhere and one was bound to see our signal, which meant that this will be a battle of time rather than power.


    "That complicates things..."  The man started to move forward bringing his full unbreakable line of defense aura with him.


    The woman from behind pulled out her sword and also started enclosing the distance one step at a time.


    I took off running perpendicular to the two unknown attackers while Moon pushed off with both feet launching up into the treetops.  Barely seconds into my escape the woman caught up and reached for my back. Two soft tipped arrows zoomed down at my attacker but were slashed away just as quick.  It did little but pause the woman for a mere moment.


    Who are these people and what do they want from me?  I turned in an attempt to fire off a fireball but nothing happened.  Damn it, what''s the point of being a mage if I can''t use any of this mana?  I finally found a place I like and now i''m going to be taken away by some mysterious wackos.


    Moon continually fired arrows from above more out of desperation than dealing any real damage.  I know she was seriously trying but the two chasing me are years our seniors in just about everything.


    The man appeared out of nowhere in front of me and landed a punch right in the gut.  The wind was knocked out of me and I clutched my chest to breathe, unfortunately, two months worth of training has done little in the way of combat.  I didn''t even get to throw a single punch.


    Lifting me by the collar of my shirt, the man looked me straight in the eye and mumbled, "Now what does the Emperor want with you..."


    Meanwhile, Moon abandoned all hope with her arrows and charged at the female knight.  A fury of punches and kicks missed their mark as the female knight parried every single one with ease.  With a sweep of the legs, the female knight retaliated dropping Moon on her ass and a follow up with a knee pinned her to the ground.


    "Release them!"  A wind enchanted arrow fired from the Warden flew at the female knight with unrelenting speed.


    The female knight rolled off of Moon to avoid being hit and properly put up a solid guard.  Two more arrows came spiraling toward the knight as Moon disappeared back into the trees toward the warden cursing in elven at the same time, watching as both arrows missed their target.


    "Halt!  I am Royal Guard Stiggs of The Empire.  I am just retrieving what belongs to the Emperor."


    The male knight switched me to a headlock with my back to his chest, effectively using me as a shield.  In response, the Warden ceased her actions and lowered her bow.


    "You are in elven territory.  What makes you think you have the right to take anything?"


    Out of nowhere, fifteen elven archers revealed themselves with bows at the ready, a decent show of force.


    "My orders come directly from my emperor.  I will be taking this boy back with me. Whether blood fertilizes this forest or not is up to you."


    Nineteen imperial soldiers stepped out from behind trees decked in full shining imperial armor.  Well there goes the number advantage. Seriously, why do they want me? What possible reason could an emperor want with me?


    "Wait here.  I need to speak with my elders," the Warden threw out to stall for reinforcements.


    "No.  We are leaving."


    Stiggs chucked me over his shoulder and casually walked away.


    "NOOOO!"  Moon screamed in defiance.


    The Warden grabbed her and pulled her back before she could do anything.  With arms and legs flailing, I looked back to see her eyes start to water.  I''m weak and pathetic. Moon was my first real friend who I ever really got to know, even though our time together was rather short.  It burned me deep inside that I didn''t have the power to fight back.


    "I''ll be back!"  I shouted out.


    This time Moon broke out in full tears knowing full well we may never see each other again.  Our distance apart continued to climb. Everybody in my life always gets torn from me, I should really expect it at this point, but it still hurts nonetheless.

 Chapter 10

    ¡°Esried has already integrated himself into our society.  Are we to abandon one of our own?" Sun stood patiently, waiting for a response.


    "The spirit will deliberate on the matter,"  Standing before Sun on a raised platform, a hazy mist spread throughout.


    The spirit was their great guide, an entity that had never led them astray.  To contradict the spirit would be to fight the hand that fed them. Wars were a thing of the past due to how reliable the spirit was when conflict arose.  At one point in history, the elves were thought to be the most powerful race because they never lost. Sun lived to see through some of those miraculous wins, evidence the spirit was not a sham.  Lucky for the rest of the world, the spirit never guided the elves past any forest edge, an odd, informal law of nature.


    "You pull the same political crap every time an outsider is concerned,¡± Sun said.


    "Like you said, he is an outsider.  Elves do not concern themselves with outsider matters,¡± the mist vibrated.


    "Enough of this nonsense.  I will go and bring him back myself."


    "You will not.  You are bound by elven oath.  You will obey elven interests."


    No matter how much Sun wanted to argue, the spirit was right.  At a young age, she had always wanted to become a Shelna, becoming oathbound was a requirement.  Shelna were the last line of defense, respected by all and held authority only second to the council.  A plethora of resources and training showered all who took the oath at the cost of their freedom. Esried was a concern for her but definitely not enough to betray her oath, breaking it would only come if Moon''s life was at stake.


    While Sun could do nothing personally, there were options already floating in her mind.  She had friends in high places, calling in some favors was a viable option. Better yet, this could be a great learning experience for Moon.  Sun''s own first adventure took place only a few years after Moon''s current age. She had to make an attempt to take back Esried. Plus the boy was a special oddity, forming dense mana before sparking a core.


    "Lets go Moon, it is time to accelerate your training."


    0---0


    "What is a mage''s favorite snack?"


    "..."


    "A baMana! AHAHA."


    "..."


    "No need for applause.  Esried out."


    Tough crowd this imperial troop.  Before I was number one with most times being kidnapped, my jokes killed in all the local taverns, made a killing with tips too.  Of course, the clientele was mostly drunks and resting adventurers, which made life so much easier back then.


    Most days Stiggs and Captain Wendy discussed logistics while the rest kept to themselves, bunch of sticklers if you ask me.  I kindly asked what their plans for me were, but all I get is silence and a few grunts, even when I tried to be super annoying about it.  The o''l broken record strategy of repeating the question for hours didn''t even phase them, training to block out torture techniques must be standard amongst imperial troops.


    The shear amount of boredom drives me crazy, hours of non-stop horseback riding with nobody to chat with sucks.  They didn''t even tell me their names, I learned them from eavesdropping in on conversations. Each passing day, my kidnappers followed the same damn routine with Stiggs and Captain Wendy being the worst of the lot.  Wash face, morning exercise, light breakfast, get on horse, move on horse, get off horse, eat dinner, night exercise, and then sleep. If I hadn''t known better, I would have guessed they were mana constructs, those would more likely have been friendlier in this case.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "We break for camp," Captain Wendy shouted.


    Hopping off my mount with ease, it dawned upon me that I''ve been growing at a rapid rate.  The mana spilling into my body was working wonders. There are muscles I didn''t even know I had, sometimes flexing in different positions revealed more each time.  I wish I could ask them questions about how it all worked in detail, except ignoring me seems to be their favorite hobby.


    If they aren''t going to speak to me, I guess I could just practice using my mana.  At first, frustration was getting the better of me, turning mana into a basic element wasn''t working.  It''s been roughly two and a half months since the spark of my core, and I have had no improvements in the combat department.  Although I''ve been making little progress there, my veins have grown considerably, allowing me to exert more mana out of my body.


    Sitting straight, I raised my right hand forward and pushed mana into my palm.  For a chunk of time, the dark blue mana built up into a fist sized ball. When it reached its maximum build up, the excess slowly dissipated while the continuous flow I provided replenished it, maintaining its shape and form.  In spite of doing something with my mana, i''m not sure what to do next. Throwing it at my enemies would be step two, except it falls apart before moving not one inch from my hand, talk about performance issues. Sighing in defeat, the mana ball slowly unraveled apart as I stopped providing it mana.


    "Do that again," Stiggs said as he stepped in closer.


    Not aware of my surroundings before, everybody was looking at me like i''ve done something extremely unorthodox.


    Repeating the steps, the ball I created was a duplicate of the one before.  Stiggs took a nearby branch and stuck it into the mana ball, probably hoping for a reaction.  At a noticeable rate, the branch was consumed as fast as it entered.


    "Yeah... That is really all I can do."


    I scratched the back of my head with my other hand.


    Stiggs sat down next to me asking, "What did the elves teach you about mana?"


    "Well, mana is energy.  It can be used in a few ways, pushing the flow hard enough to spill into your muscles and bones for body strengthening is one.  Pushing the mana into your veins to grow them is two. Also, you can push the mana outwards to manipulate it for fireballs and stuff."


    "Is that it?"


    "Yeah, they said my control is not good enough to move on to more difficult techniques and topics."


    Stiggs lightly grunted.


    "They teach you like an elf and expect results.  Bunch of closed minded racists if you ask me."


    "You can do better?"  It doesn''t hurt to try and provoke him into teaching me something.


    "Of course I can.  Back home I have three disciples, all who could knock you on your ass ten times over.  Listen here, the problem is the elves themselves are born with a natural affinity for controlling their mana.  Their standards for it are too high for a half human, half demon such as yourself. Demons have the passive trait of their mana growing with age, older demons are generally much stronger than younger ones.  Humans have the trait of adaptability, it makes us one of the strongest races on the plane due to the massive amount of flexibility in the way we use mana. You just need to figure out how to take your particular set of talents and grow them to your needs."


    I got a lot more than I had expected from the silent grunt master turned personal mentor.


    "Based on what I just saw, you have the foundation for something greater.  It is also a high possibility the Emperor wants to recruit you for this exact reason.  Training you for The Empire will bolster our ranks, the mana you produce is unnaturally dense with endless applications.  It is also the reason why you can''t convert mana into various elements. Normal mages work with more gentle mana allowing them to shape and control it.  Your mana is unique because it is concentrated and volatile making it ill-suited for basic transformation." Stiggs usual soldier demeanor was replaced with one of wisdom.


    "Does that mean you are going to teach me?"  I replied fiercely, looking directly into his eyes as a show of determination.  Soldier types like that.


    Stiggs put his hand on my shoulder, enough weight to make my body go lopsided.  "Yes, I believe you can become a great influence. I don¡¯t usually accept students on a whim, but the Emperor also sees greatness in you.  Swear that you will serve The Empire with all your might and I will grow you to become a powerhouse none can contend with."


    "I swear upon my mother and father that I will serve The Empire with all my might."


    "Welcome to the fold my fourth disciple.  We have much to work on." Stiggs tilted his head back and roared in laughter.


    Idiot, my mother and father abandoned me, dead for all I know.  Breaking a vow in their name means nothing to me. This isn''t the first time i''ve skirted the truth and it won''t be the last.


    As soon as im strong enough to leave, im going back to the forest for some mana biscuits.

 Chapter 11

    Before, I thought violence was to be avoided at all costs.  Now, I thirst for it.


    Spitting out a mouthful of blood, sweat dribbled down my back as I retook form¨Cfists up and eyes forward.  Adrenaline surged unrelentingly throughout, filling me with uncapped energy. I''ve never felt so good in my life, and I almost forgot what being mortal felt like.


    Arrogance converted into respect with each swing I threw, a new experience for the imperial soldier in the dirt ring with me.  His arms red from being repeatedly struck over and over again. Despite my inability to cause any real damage, the soldier eventually resorted to military technique to counter my sloppy aggression, an advantage he knew I couldn''t compete with.  In my mind I have already won, but for the sake of learning the beatings must continue.


    The man feinted a jab to the right and shoulder checked me into a tumble, following it up with a roundhouse kick to the side.  Bruised and battered, I lay sprawled upon the ground, raising and lowering my chest in fatigue.


    "Well I''ll be damned, kid gave Willner a run for his money," said Cospal.


    "Silence Cospal.  He hits as hard as Sir Stiggs.  Where in the Empire did he gain that kind of primeval brute force?"


    Willner extended a hand to help me to my feet, which I graciously accepted.  The man previously held his nose an inch higher than everybody else, but quickly lowered it once blows were exchanged.


    "Nice work disciple, forcing a veteran to play his cards.  You are growing," Stiggs complimented, standing on the side with hands behind his back.


    For the past few weeks, it has been all about practice, a routine Stiggs had whipped up.  Daily duals with the imperial soldiers have started to seep into muscle memory, giving way for more sharp instincts.


    Not only was he teaching me to fight, he also gave lessons on magic theory.  Apparently, synchronizing mana flow to blood flow amplifies basic physical strength, allowing a mage to crush skulls and bend metal with only their hands or feet.  The better part of all this was that I am part demon, a race with an overall stronger body constitution; This includes faster flowing blood, implying a higher synchronization boost.


    "I can see that you have almost perfect control of your mana cycle speed.  Time to test your knowledge disciple. What are the pros and cons of blood flow matching?"


    "Uhhh...  The obvious pro is a stronger physical boost.  And uhhh... A con would be uhhh..."


    I think of a few possible answers, but they seem too common sense to be right.


    "If your mana cycle speed is matching your blood flow, then mana output is limited to blood flow.  In battle, you must choose between physical strength and magic power," Captain Wendy stated stealing the limelight, albeit coming to my rescue.


    "Why can''t I just use mana to increase my blood flow?  Wouldn''t that increase physical strength and mana output?  Seems like something a mage can do."


    "Good, you are using your brain.  Increasing blood flow through magic is step two but be warned my disciple.  Using magic directly on the inner body can have adverse effects, including death.  Many warriors push their blood too hard and rupture their veins into a mess of internal bleeding.  The mountain brutes to the north practice pushing their blood flow matching to unprecedented levels, enabling them to easily smash stone with their bare hands and create avalanches the size of mountains.  Usually, one or two die every so often to training due to their reckless practices," Stiggs said.


    "So if I''m getting this right, I can just use mana to solve the cons of blood flow matching.  Isn''t that a little overpowered and convenient? Kind of feels like double dipping."


    "Of course it is.  That is what makes mana so powerful.  Mages rule this plane and any advantage you find¡ªyou take.  I guarantee your enemies will be doing the same."


    While I silently think it all over, a brown feathered messenger hawk landed on one of the shoulders of an imperial soldier; a mana locked scroll inside a pouch bound to its back.


    "Sir, East General Tai has requested reinforcements to the eastern front.  The Klorians have broken through our defensive line at Fort Glory."


    Stiggs grunted.


    "We head for the eastern front," he commanded, looking east.


    "Aren''t we supposed to bring Esried to the Emperor?"  Captain Wendy reminded Stiggs.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "That will wait.  If it was urgent the Emperor would have sent me a message already.  Here, have a drink disciple. We have a long road ahead of us."


    Stiggs tossed a water skin to me and left to pack camp.  Opening the container, I took a long swig and mentally prepared myself for the journey ahead.


    0---0


    "A corpse a day makes a good foundation they say," Grohhar sung while ripping out a gorgeous heart from a decaying dead soldier, depositing it into his leather brown backpack.


    Rising to a stand, he stepped over the mutilated body to the next, examining it from head to toe.  Several fetishes hung from his long blackened staff, glowing a bright unearthly purple.


    "Oh?  You like this one?  A mighty fine specimen.  Body firm, check. Soul burdened, check.  Eyes whole, check. Oh have I got a plan for you beautiful."


    With proper preparation, a fresh corpse could turn into a strong zombie fighter, and with Grohhar''s special techniques, it could become a hulking killing machine.  A good corpse, such as the one he just found, only came with certain souls. Furthermore, to create an undead soldier, a necromancer had to bind a portion of his mana reserves to the soul itself, forming a master and slave bond.  Unfortunately, souls generally dissipated upon death, unless, they had major unsolved grievances keeping it tied to the mortal plane. After losing half his flock to a holy crusade, Grohhar spent many months scouring battlefields for workable corpses, slowly building up a solid army.  There will be a day where his minions devour those overzealous holy cretins that purged his beautiful creations.


    Grohhar nodded to his apprentice, Weldom, tightening his black robes to fit his muscled body.


    "Take special care for this one young apprentice.  He has far more potential than you do."


    Lifting the corpse from the ground, the eighteen cycle old Weldom strained to carry the adult body in full armor over to the wagon, already filled with several other prospects.  Sneering in disapproval, Grohhar moved on with his search, ignoring the struggling boy.


    "Master.  Why are we taking so much time here?  There are bodies everywhere to choose from.  Plus, the smell is making me sick," Weldom complained, face twisting in disgust.


    Having long grown accustomed to his apprentice''s constant nagging and moaning, he dreamed of the day he could rid himself of the human tumor.  Two years ago, a Klorian tribal elder offered Ghrohhar his grandson, a friendly agreement meant to bond the tribe with the powerful mage. At first, the good intentioned offer was appealing in every way, rejecting the deal hadn''t crossed Ghrohhar''s mind.  He could train Weldom to bind even more minions for an even larger army, and he would gain an apprentice that could take over his legacy in the necromantic arts. However, Weldom was anything but ideal, a servant for physical labor at best. Weldom treated Ghrohhar''s teachings as mere guidelines, while every ritual was completed with absolute disrespect.  A fortnight ago, Ghrohhar caught his apprentice eating flaky corn crisps during a binding ceremony, a blasphemy which filled him with an uncontrollable rage at the time.


    Necromancy was a delicate art, forged in the pain and suffering of others.  Such a shame his apprentice couldn''t see the beautiful strokes required to create the works of art he envisioned.  It had been long ago since he found his skills in manipulating corpses, something he hoped to pass down to a worthy apprentice.


    "As long as it takes.  Quality enriches us and quantity dilutes us.  Something you are painfully unaware of," Ghrohhar ended sarcastically, knowing full well Weldom understood every part of it.


    Like a gentle lover, several whispers suddenly caressed Ghrohhar''s ears, tugging his soul toward the other side of the trenches.  With a quick chant, "Elnor fel dari." Ghrohhar sensed the origin of the whispers, and took several entranced steps forward. Not too far away, he spotted a nearly frozen corpse, one shining like a beacon among its compatriots.  Various blends of colors and fluctuations twisted in harmony, melding together in an exhibition of light and power.


    Arriving at the miracle before him, Ghrohhar firmly planted himself into the ground to reach out with his soul.  Immediately after inspecting the soul tied to the corpse, he knew he had found the biggest treasure of his life¡ªa feldorn.  Named after the one that made it famous, a feldorn was an undead soul that could grow with power; Most undead naturally fought with the same vigor and strength at their time of death, but feldorn were the exception.


    Overcome with excitement, Ghrohhar closed his eyes and immediately started the binding process, taking deep calculated breaths.  Slowly forming fine threads, mana stitched itself into the shining soul claiming more and more as its territory. Even if it took days or weeks, the process would finish and nobody could stop him, not if they wanted to keep their lives.  With each thread of the needle, he breathed life into the dim fire, washed away meaningless impurities, and commanded a bonding of the feldorn. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, and hours became days. When the last stitch finished, he felt a resonance like never before, harmonizing to an unprecedented level.  After weeks of meticulous stitching, Ghrohhar freed his mind, a god complex washing over him after just having conceived life.


    Watching the feldorn closely, the body picked itself off the ground, chest out, and eyes forward, assessing its surroundings.  The sunlight bounced off of the feldorn''s brown upswept hair with textured bangs and highlighted frosty blue glowing eyes. Deep inside, Ghrohhar knew it would never truly bow to him, but it would obey most commands given, pros and cons of such a powerful work of art.


    Admiring his new toy, he imagined the heights he could rise to, the epitome of power wasn''t out of reach.  Steady planning and a little luck was all he needed. Gripping his hand firmly to his black staff, he willed the feldorn to display its prowess.


    The feldorn swiftly pounded the ground with open palm causing earthen cracks to spread.  Seconds later, behemoth glacial spikes erupted in a spiral pattern, impaling an odd twenty-one corpses high into the sky.  The necromancer broke into a grin and revelled in his newly found power.


    He was Ghrohhar Meltrata, Shackler of Souls, Catalyst of the Undead, Archmage of Necromancy, and now Creator of Feldorn.

 Chapter 12

    Oh look, a village on the horizon.  Maybe we''ll finally get a decent roof over our heads and a nice bowl of hot food to warm our bellies.


    Holding my train of thought, I began to realize my butt was rampant sore from the long hours on horseback, but it was a lot better than the swollen feet that would have come from walking the entire way here.  With that said, the imperial soldiers riding alongside spoke a different story through their body language. Backs straight and eyes forward; their upper bodies seemed as if they were hovering, never bobbing or weaving, all while their lower bodies rotated hypnotically back and forth as one with their mounts.  To me, it was absolutely bonkers that the entire squad made traveling look so damn easy with a full set of imperial armor. The amount of endurance and focus these guys had was straight up insane.


    "While we have time, I need to speak with you alone Esried,"  Stiggs spoke loud enough for everybody to hear.


    Every soldier in earshot immediately slowed down to accommodate, giving Stiggs and me space for a private conversation.


    "Is there something wrong?"  I asked, fearful that I did something bad that I wasn''t aware of.


    "No, but I need clarification as to what happened in Poleman village."


    "Oh, that... "


    "I was initially sent alongside another Royal Guard, Kallie, and an Adviser to the Emperor, Mithros, to investigate.  The specifics were not clear, however, Mithros told me you were the only remaining survivor in the disappearance of the entire town.  At first it sounded like he was implying that you were the cause, but I fail to see how that is even remotely possible. You just don''t have the power nor the mindset of a person that could wipe out an entire town.  You did nonetheless survive such an ordeal¡ªwhich could be another reason why the Emperor sent me to retrieve you. Can you recount what happened for me?"


    "Maybe?  I''m not exactly sure.  I was..." I mumbled, attempting to pull together a quick recount of what happened.


    "Here comes Cospal, we will continue this later,¡± Stiggs said.


    Trotting rapidly past travelers leaving the village, Cospal could be seen coming back from his forward scouting position.


    Hanging a U-turn to match paces with Stiggs, Cospal gave his report, "Sir, there is a great commotion in the village ahead.  From what I have gathered, there have been several murders and the villagers are blaming the local authorities for their inability to catch the person responsible."


    "Let us have a look," said Stiggs, flicking the worn leather reins to increase his pace.


    Upon entering the village, people were naturally moving about, eventually stopping to stare at us while we made our way deeper.  Each face lit up with excitement and pride as we marched down their little main road. Occasionally, I could spot a regular soldier here and there, wearing guardsman attire;  Their leather based outfits color coded in The Empire''s white and gold looked far inferior to my riding company''s imperial mounted armor when directly compared side by side.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Minutes passed in hushed whispers as we pulled a large wake of villagers behind us, swelling larger and larger into a mass wake of people.  After reaching the center of the small village, a crowd filled with pumping fists located in front of a giant stone building chanted, "No perp, no work!  No perp, no work!"


    Stiggs, Captain Wendy, a couple imperial soldiers, and I demounted, taking even paces toward the entrance and putting a pause on the protesters.  Seeing us approach, the visibly distressed villagers parted ways with palms over their hearts and eyebrows unfurling from their previously locked positions.  A wave of ease washed over the crowd as if their prayers had been answered. With a loud three knocks, Stiggs'' hammered the wooden doors, denting a large hole the size of a fist.


    "Royal Guard Stiggs,"  Stiggs announced with a mana infused voice, clearing the air of all uncertainty of identity.


    Not a few seconds later, the locking mechanism behind the doors clicked and the doors swung open inward at the hand of two guardsmen.  The room inside was packed with benches before a raised platform, each holding a handful of villagers. Moving forward behind Stiggs I could see guardsmen lining the entire room and more importantly, clustered around the man standing in front of a podium in the middle of the platform.  Inspecting the man, he stood six feet tall with a round face and tired eyes, wearing a black silken robe. A sash crossed his chest with several shiny medals pinned in a row.


    Bowing a full ninety-degrees, the man said, "Hello my Lordship.  I am Lashpirt Somonier, Mayor of Daggerhelm in the town nearby. I sincerely apologize for not welcoming you into the land.  As you can see, I have been quite busy as of late."


    "Give me a status report," Stiggs commanded, directly moving to formal procedures.


    "Ah yes... yes... There has been a string of murders in this village recently.  About a week ago, a farmer was stabbed to death in his barn basement, and a few days later, a pair of local merchant twins were found with their throats slit in their wagons.  And finally, yesterday an entire family was butchered in their own home which abruptly lead to today''s protests. I have done everything in my power to find the culprit, but there has been no concrete evidence toward any particular individual,¡± Mayor Lashpirt reported.


    Shooting to his feet, a dark skinned rathnoc shouted, "No you bloi''dy didn''t!  You only ah-rived di¡¯s morning! Oi! Don''t loi''k so surprised. We here call out bullshite'' when we see it."


    Lashpirt coughed and tugged at his robes before addressing the now clamoring group of villagers before him, "Settle down everybody, one farmer and a couple merchants hardly calls for the calvary.  It is not feasible for me to come down here every time a person passes away."


    "How can you say that?  We pay our taxes just like everybody else in The Empire!  Just because we are a small village, you think our lives matter less?" a woman growled in defiance.


    "Enough.  I will be taking over this investigation," Stiggs said, removing rising hostilities.


    "Of course my Lordship.  All my resources are at your disposal,"  Lashpirt compiled, sighing in relief.


    The crowd of villagers went into full gossip mode, clearly excited that a Royal Guard was taking the mission personally.


    OoOo a muder mystery!  This is gonna be fun!

 Chapter 13

    Mithros''s back abruptly spasmed as the long hours on horseback finally caught up to his physical limits.  He tried regaining control through the reins only to succeed in causing the horse to revolt and launch his body straight into the air.  With a resounding splat, he landed back first into thick wet mud. Sprawled out, the muscles in his body had been sapped of strength from his arduous journey.


    Suddenly, Mirthros started laughing hysterically, a sight any normal person would assume psychotic.  Traveling as far as he could, he had left the Empire behind. Even the greatest of trackers would need lady luck to find him.


    It was his final straw, something that took years to break.  The Emperor ground down his will with every command, and every task put a pressure no man should live with.  Many saw Mithros''s position, Archmage Advisor to the Emperor, as one of power, or at least one of respect. In reality, it was mainly a front for servitude.  Mirthros couldn''t live by his own rules, because the iron grip of the Emperor was self-regulating. If he were to succeed in his endeavors, more would be asked of him, creating a never ending loop of work.  Yet, if he were to fail, the punishment was harsh to the point of death. So a younger Mithros had previously made it a mission to never fail, raising his status and power to impressive heights. Unfortunately, with each step higher he fell deeper into the grueling cycle.


    Though he survived many years within this cycle, he had finally decided to make a break for it, mostly because failing to find the boy would be his second strike.  There was a chance Stiggs or Kallie had found the boy, but it wasn''t a risk he was willing to take, knowing full well exactly how deeplars consumed their prey. He could put in the work to get in contact with them, but a large part of him just didn''t want to.


    Mirthros laid there in the mud, dirty and tired, but finally free at last.


    0---0


    "I don''t get it..."


    Desperately trying to breathe through my mouth, I tiptoed over pieces of rotting flesh, attempting to identify which chunk of flesh belonged to which dismembered body;  My shoes are already the quality most consider trash, but they are the only ones I''ve got. Captain Wendy watched my little dance with raised brow, breaking her normal stoic character for a slight curl upwards of the lip.


    Poking at a deformed head, Cospal said, "What don''t you get?  Somebody sliced up this family all willy-nilly. There isn''t much not to get really."


    "No, I''m talking about the villagers.  Why do they revere you and despise the guardsmen?" I clarified.


    "Ho?  You are thinking about such things?"  Stiggs asked, laying back oddly relaxed in a puffy feathered recliner.


    "I noticed it as soon as we entered the village.  They look up to you like heroes but look down at the guardsmen with disgust.  Aren''t you both from the same side?"


    "Let me ask you a question before I answer yours.  Do you know the duties of the guardsmen versus the duties of a member of the army?"  Siggs asked going into mentor mode.


    "One defends locally while the other defends the whole empire?"  I asked with a contorted face.


    "Yes, but it goes deeper than that.  Guards act double as government officials and police.  Their job entails gathering taxes and settling any community disputes.  While all taxes go toward the Emperor''s pocket, the guardsmen are the faces who show up when it''s time to collect.  It''s hard to like the person that is literally taking money from your pocket."


    "Hmmm... I see..."


    "And of course the army has been successful in keeping the only conflict it has ever known to the borders, with the exception of the recent rise in bandits.  The citizens know peace and pride to which the imperial army brings both."


    "As much as I love the elementary school lesson, should we maybe get back to the bloody mess ladies and gents?" Cospal asked holding his nose with pinched fingers.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Any thoughts Esried?" Captain Wendy inquired.


    "Well I think it''s a safe bet to say this was a crime of passion.  The corpses have been mutilated beyond any simple killing. I count four bodies which lines up with the information given by the mayor.  One father, one mother, one sister and one brother. Everything else looks normal except for the carnage and broken down door," I said while scanning for more clues.


    "Good.  I doubt you''ll find more.  The killer most likely forced his way in and murdered the family as his primary objective,"  Stiggs nodded firmly and started moving toward the exit.


    "So what''s next?"  I asked while stepping outside, taking a deep breath to clear my system from the previously foul air.


    "We question the neighbors.  Based on how evenly spaced these farms are, the closest person lives approximately a mile down the road," Captain Wendy answered, already prepping her horse.


    Steering my horse down the beaten dirt road, I couldn''t help but notice how calm the world was.  The sparse thick trees swayed as one with the light breeze, the sunlight radiated a healthy warmth, and the endless farm fields brought a structured landscape to a natural land.  Murder in such a place was a step beyond belief.


    As we pulled up to the neighbor''s house, the sound of metal on metal thunking entered our ears in rhythmic beat.  A woman with aged wrinkles came into view, holding a hollow cylinder in one hand and what looked to be a cowbell in the other, swinging back and forth in her rocking chair to boot.


    As if on cue to entertain my curiosity, the woman shouted, "God is just!  God brings peace!"


    Cospal rolled his eyes before dismounting and asking, "Ma''m.  We are here to investigate the death of your neighbors. Could you tell us of anything suspicious going on with or around the family?"


    "Haha!  Suspicious?  Everything about that family is suspicious!  That evil satanic family has been dealt with by god personally because of their suspicious ways!"  The woman smiled proudly as if she were the messenger of god herself.


    "How do you figure Ma''m?" Cospal continued the line of questioning.


    "Every week I see people come and go from Mr. Strudder''s farm, you know the farmer that got stabbed.  Dark screams and incessant moans come from that there area. They the devil''s worshippers I tell ya. I also seen dem son and daughter from dat suspicious family passing from time to time toward that very farm,"  The old woman announced chin up.


    Before Cospal got a chance to ask anything else, the woman went back to clanging the two objects in her hand with renewed enthusiasm.  Even if there were more questions to ask, Stiggs was already moving toward Mr. Strudder''s farm. Conveniently, the farm in question was just another mile down the road.


    "So this must be the dead farmer''s home.  According to the Mayor, the body was found a while ago in the basement of the barn,"  Cospal stated, flipping through a little notebook with various scribbles.


    Walking to the rear of the house, we spot the entrance to the basement of the large white barn out back.  Thick wooden doors locked by magic lay flat to the surface of the earth. Cospal stomped downward and quickly smashed the handles with his foot easily destroying the lock of the door, producing a hole the size of his foot.


    Inside, the room was pitch black making the cold stone stairs down hard to navigate.  Coming from behind, Captain Wendy startled me with a glowing orb that illuminated every corner, a neat little magical device.  Looking around, I immediately noticed large barrels stacked in a corner as well as a rack of weapons. In the middle of the room lay a large human shaped table, complete with leather restraints and mechanical crank.


    "These barrels reek of Rathium.  My younger brother was addicted to it.  Took my family years to wean him off the drug,"  Captain Wendy said with solemn face, hiding a rising anger which I perceived through the tone in her voice.


    "Are we going to talk about the torture devices all around?  These people were clearly doing crazy stuff," I asked, trying to address the elephant in the room.


    "These things are here for torture all right, but I dont think you clearly understand what was really going on down here," Cospal said while fiddeling with some tools laid on a stool next to the weapons rack.


    "Can you please give me a straight answer?"  I asked, a bit tired of all the half rhetoric and half philosophical replies I usually get during training.


    "Well... Look closer and I think you''ll figure it out," a smirk flashed from Cospal giving me a weird sensation in my gut.


    The weapons rack I previously passed as normal torture tools contained various whips, knives, and batons.  The nightstand next to it held various objects of different lengths and sizes. Cospal held one of them up and walked over to the center human shaped table, pulling everybody¡¯s attention.


    "Ya place this doohickey here..."


    "Ya place the little farm girl lass here..."


    "And then... Ya turn this doohickey here."


    Rotating the manual hand crank caused a loud clacking sound while the object Cospal attached started to violently thrust back and forth.  Immediately my eyes widened in horror while my mouth formed the shape of an O.


    Ohhh... OHHH! I get it...  OH FUCK ME, I GET IT!

 Chapter 14

    *Nom*


    *Nom*


    *Nom*


    For starters, whatever i''m currently eating is pretty dope.


    *Crunch*


    *Crunch*


    *Crunch*


    I''m not exactly sure what it is, but it has definitely got some fried bits with a little dash of seafood bonanza going on. Like a zesty beach vibe with a modern heartiness to it. Or maybe a seaside boat adventure with some sassy teenagers. Okay, the last one doesn''t make sense, however, to be fair, with each bite im slowly losing my sanity over how damn good this warm cooked meal was.


    Stiggs had graciously paid for all of us to sleep at the village hall instead of our usual dinky tents, a gesture of goodwill for a day of hard work investigating. Before, I couldn''t figure him out, but now I see just a regular dude playing the role he enjoys doing. Even though I only met him weeks ago, I could see the man for who he is. He wears himself proudly and doesn¡¯t hold it over anybody else. I''ve gained mad respect for him despite the whole kidnapping thing, especially since his rank separates him from his peers and his job removes him everything else.


    While still inhailing my food, I asked, "So the murder location of the merchant twins was cleaned up long ago right? Where does that leave us?"


    Also dropping proper dining edicate for another crunchy bite, Captain Wendy said, "A small village like this only has one seller for a drug like Rathium, which was most likely the farmer. I think it¡¯s safe to bet the merchant twins were the transportation mules for smuggling contraband into the village. What we need to do now is find their customers. In a tight-knit community such as this, there are bound to be people who know who take the drug."


    "Esried, go find the village head," Stiggs ordered, not even facing me to continue his meal.


    Frowning at the prospect of not being able to ask for seconds, I got up to search for my objective. Around the village hall were several long tables lined in parallel, each with a group of villagers chatting away. Decades of use had worn down every edge, transforming them into smooth, homely areas of congregation. At first, my thoughts drifted me in the direction of a group of nice looking young ladies my age, but I shot that idea down as soon as one of them made eye contact with me. If I had to rank my social ability by how well I could speak to a particular category of people, they would be at the bottom. Instead, I opted to try for the woman behind the food counter at the backside of the hall, and if possible, maybe I could nab that second helping.


    As I shuffled my way through cross traffic, a small, dainty kitchen lady spotted me heading in her direction and opened up with a smile. She wiped her hands clean on her apron. "Hi, how can I help you?"


    "Do you know where I can find the village head?" I asked, sticking my chest out, better to form a habit now lest Captain Wendy drill it into me later.


    "Of course, but can I ask you something first?" The kitchen lady¡¯s eyes shifted to the table I came from, then waved me lean in.


    Confused, I complied. "Uhhh... Sure?" I replied.


    "Does your traveling companion over there have a girlfriend?" the lady asked in a low whisper.


    Following her eyes to the squad, unease washed over me. "Errr... Which one?"


    "The gentleman with the brown hair,¡± she replied, not so subtly pointing with one of her fingers.


    There were a couple brown hair soldiers, even an Ithrop with brown tipped bumps on his head, but I already knew who she was referring to. The man at the front, projecting an aura that radiated heroic candor. While I saw the real Stiggs, everybody else perceived a perfect charismatic man.


    "Oh Stiggs? I don''t know." I said. A headache setup camp right next to my brain, ready to do its dirty work.


    "Well, can you find out for me? I''ll personally lead you to the village head if you do."


    The fervor in her eyes told me no was not an option. "Okay...."


    Heading back over to Stiggs, I could feel myself gaining an audience as I moved back across the room. Sun shafts snuck through side panes to light my way, highlighting my every move in grand fashion. The treacherous light cast bright enough to dim the rest of the surroundings, a play in a natural setting, complete with lowered volume and growing expectation. Stiggs and the rest of the imperial squad watched my triumphant return, expecting fulfillment of my very first task, a quest soaked in simplicity and designed to minimise the possibility of failure. Little did they know, my incompetence loves theater.


    "Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked facing Stiggs, cringing once words left mouth.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Willner immediately spat out a mouth full of food while Cospal and a few others began giggling uncontrollably. I knew I messed up, not because of Stigg¡¯s deadpan face, but due to Captain Wendy¡¯s deep frown. Her emotions rarely took a peek, hidden underneath military discipline. Last time she formed a full facial expression, Cospal played a prank on Willner and she was caught in the crossfire, costing both men a series of physical torments.


    "I told you to find the village head and you come back asking if I have a girlfriend?" Stiggs replied.


    Like what the fuck man. I''m just trying to do what I''ve been told. No need to kill the messenger.


    I quickly turned back to the kitchen lady and once again made my great trek across the room. Again, sunlight illuminated my aisle, seemingly spotlighting me and only me. This time, a woman soaked in anticipation waited patiently for my arrival, hope and desperation lining the soft curves in her drooping eyes. Seeing my approach, she raised both hands with fists clenched to her chest.


    "He''s gay," I announced.


    Arms falling and shoulders dropping, she winced, "You can return to your friends. The village head lives in the house behind the hall. I will retrieve him for you."


    Before returning to my seat, I snaked my way behind the food counter and made a bowl of some more seafood special. I''ve done my job, damn any who attempt to stop me from filling up.


    Arriving at the same time as me to our table, the kitchen lady brought in tow an elderly euldar. A long grey robe with a hood covered most of his features with the exception of his naturally sharp eyes and skinny fingers long enough to touch his knees standing up. I¡¯ve seen one or two before, and they usually place themselves in managerial positions.


    "I''m being told you require my assistance," the euldar said, folding his arms across his chest.


    "We wish to acquire a list of drug addicts who reside in the village," Captain Wendy said.


    "I''m not at liberty to divulge that information. I have an obligation to protect the people of my village."


    "You are impeding an imperial investigation. You will give us the information or else the penalty of death," Stiggs said, without batting an eye.


    Taking an unconscious step back, the village head quickly said, "You are looking for Jonaca. He arrived only several months ago so he isn''t a long standing villager and I have no qualms about you going after him. He is the one selling Rathium to my people."


    "You only bring this up after threat of death?" Cospal asked, "Why protect this guy?"


    "In short, he is blackmailing me. You have visited Mr. Strudder''s farm already so you know what he has on me," the village head said while lowering his head.


    Holy banana boat! Even the village head is in on it, I wonder how many people go to the kinky sex dungeon.


    Everybody at the table suddenly shifted their gaze to the kitchen lady for her reaction.


    "Oh don''t worry I already know," she said, holding her hands out in front of her, "I also visited Mr. Strudder''s farm frequently, but i''m not the village head so nobody really cares."


    What the acutal fuck. . .


    0---0


    "Fresh goods. All harvested from the east," Slickdeal said leaning on a wall, all while picking his teeth with a toothpick. Merchants always came looking for good deals. The desperate flocked to him in droves, and he always had the upper hand in negotiations. It was the nature of his type of business and business was good.


    "I know," a voice projected, firm and solid behind a black hood. The man stood a staggering seven feet, a large frame to boot.


    "The name is Slickdeal. You get to lick the D between the seal." Slickdeal loved his moniker, a play on words based on a crazy story back when he partied with a group of pirates. There were certain tales that needed to be told and ones that were to be kept locked away until their body was firmly planted into the ground. Slickdeal¡¯s name was derived from the latter rather than the former, people died and lessons were learned. Let it be known, seals have one nasty bite.


    "I know."


    "I haven''t seen you here before so you must be new to the business,¡± Slickdeal probed. Usually anybody buying in volumes this large had a face known in the trade.


    "I know."


    Slickdeal leaned in as an attempt to take a peek behind the cloak but saw nothing besides pitch black. He didn¡¯t really care who was behind the hood, a negligible bit of negotiation power if he did know the identify of the man before him. There were other techniques to deal with these types of people.


    "You see this here red shirt? It means you''re dealing with the big leagues,¡± Slickdeal said, throwing out a power play.


    "I know."


    Slickdeal had a reputation to uphold, trades thought impossible fell to his schemes. He was a warrior of economy, slashing costs and conquering profit margins. Options were running low against this unknown merchant.


    "Got this ''mysterious'' vibe to you going on but don''t let it get to your head bichako." Slickdeal said, running his thumb across his neck and snarling with a flare.


    Turning to face Slickdeal, the hooded figure stepped forward too close for comfort. His towering height casting a dark shadow, so threatening it made Slickdeal¡¯s scalp tense and tingle.


    "I know your real name is Jacknep."


    Suddenly the figure''s hand shot out gripping Slickdeal''s throat.


    "I know you use to live in Scarletvale, Tellfuir Kingdom."


    The hand tightened as Slickdeal clawed at it for any inch of reprieve.


    "I know you have a son and daughter named Harlo and Mibi, respectively."


    A second hand from the figure shot out striking Slickdeal right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.


    ". . ."


    Falling on arms and knees while hacking a serious cough, Slickdeal looked up to see the man hovering over him. Fear stiffened every muscle, causing him to crawl away more slowly than he would have liked. Any man not afraid of the red shirt he wore was a man far above his stature.


    Not to distant from where the conversation was taking place, hundreds of people were being loaded onto large boats. Each neck was tagged with a searing brand designated by number. Grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters all linked by iron chains.

 Chapter 15

    At the top of a cloud covered mountain, two men stood face to face in a large ring.  Static randomly popped in the dry, elevated air. With tensions lingering, each slid into fighting stances, both barebacked and outfitted in only training pants.  A spark of erratic energy zapped off one man''s back while chunks of loose earth floated around the other''s.


    Without holding back, Lathrathus kicked out two golden bolts of lightning shattering the earthen walls thrown at him in retaliation.  The sheer force of the attack sent dirt debris rocketing in all directions, pelting Hominum into falling back. A large piece sliced a valley just above his right shoulder, and another smaller fragment lodged itself into the lower right abdomen.  Shrugging off the shock, Hominum proceeded to clap his hands to the floor, causing two seven-feet tall clay golems to rise. The golems both charged forward, bellowing a roar of intimidation. Though troublesome, Lathrathus ducked low and bolted past the first golem to send the second flying with a solid punch to the center of mass, its stomach caved in with sharp cracks emigrating from the point of impact.


    While he was focused on taking down the lumbering golem, the dirt below Lathrathus turned to slush, gripping his feet.  A series of fist sized rocks shot down from above, striking in a relentless rain. Lathrathus attempted deflecting the falling artillery, but only ended up taking a shot above the eye and upper arm.  Slight traces of blood leaked from wounds, dripping warm blood down his taunt skin.


    "Your mind must be in the deep.  Under normal circumstances, that would have never worked," Hominum said, waving his hand to remove the dirt stuck to the bruised man.


    "It''s that eccentric bitch Olivina.  She is throwing chaos into my lands. I cannot even send out a message without it being intercepted by her fucking shadow puppets," Lathrathus said, launching a golden bolt into Hominum''s second golem for an explosive display.


    "Sounds like you''ve got your plate full, but don''t forget that you cannot retreat from our agreement."


    Buttoning up a clean white shirt, Lathrathus said, "Just keep your side of the deal clean and i''ll handle mine."


    Some day he might be pushed into desperate measures, but the situation was still salvageable.  The artifact was still within reach and unknown to all those who posed a threat.


    0---0


    "Jonaca!  Step outside!  You are wanted for questioning." Cospal said, sword unsheathed for any violent response.


    "What do you want?  I''ve got nothing to hide!"  Jonaca could be seen peeking out a window adjacent to the front door.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "We know you have been dealing in Rathium which is illegal under imperial law.  Come out quietly with answers and your transgressions will be evaluated lightly."


    Opening the door slowly, Jonaca stepped out in front of the single room cabin.  Sweeping his head to see himself completely surrounded, the upper twenty cycle age man dropped his sword and walked right up to Cospal.


    "I''ll surrender for clemency.  Ask your questions. Selling Rathium was honestly just a means to an end.  I can handle a few years in prison,¡± Jonaca said.


    "A few years?  You are going to rot in prison for life.  We have evidence you murdered the farmer, the twin merchants, and the family of four," Captain Wendy kicked Jonaca in the knees forcing them to buckle.


    "What the fuck?  What evidence? I demand to see this so called evidence!" Jonaca shouted.


    "In the home of the family you massacred, your name was written in blood.  Also, the stab wounds had matched across all victims. This is all tied together with the fact that you were involved with selling the farmers supply of Rathium to the family.  You are the last missing piece to the whole thing," Captain Wendy said, locking Jonaca''s hands in a magical brace.


    "So why did you do it?  You''re connected to it all and your name written in blood is enough to convict you for life.  Might as well tell us your motive," Cospal casually said.


    Hair disheveled, Jonaca responded, "That slut was cheating on me.  We met by chance when I started selling to her brother. She told me she loved me!  It was all great until one day I showed her where I kept the stash of drugs. There at the farm she met my connection, the farmer, who I was paying to store the Rathium."


    "All this because of an affair?" Cospal asked.


    "YOU HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA!  I went to check on the supply when I saw her strapped onto that disgusting table.  She was choking on that farmer¡¯s fat cock while being repeatedly pounded by that ridiculous machine.  You can''t possibly fathom the amount of pain I felt at that moment. I left, but I returned later to pay that bichako farmer in full.  After that, I got rid of the merchant twins;  They were just loose ends honestly. And then, that stupid bitch''s brother caught wind I was cleaning up so he threatened to turn me over to the authorities.  So you know what I did? I broke in and fucked up their entire family. You happy? You get all the answers you were looking for? Send me away already. I''m done," Jonaca spat on the ground, laid on his back, and closed his eyes.


    "Carry him to the mayor.  Tell him this murder is a gift," Stiggs ordered.


    Two imperial soldiers lifted Jonaca over their shoulders and headed to their mounts.


    "Wow.  What an interesting few days," I said, smiling like an idiot.


    "Yup, this one was definitely a unique one for me too," Cospal nodded.


    Scratching my head I asked, "So how did you know he was the killer?  I don''t remember finding his name written in blood. You didn''t even look at the bodies very closely.  That was all me and Sir Cospal."


    "It''s an old interrogation technique.  Basically, you act like you already caught him.  Sometimes you need to make minor false adjustments which they sometimes will correct, indirectly validating their involvement.  This time, he sang like a bird without any assistance. It''s rare when it comes out this easy though," Captain Wendy said, shrugging her shoulders.


    "So... You bluffed him into a confession?"


    "Yup."


    Times like this make up for all the boring days traveling.


    I kind of wish there were more murders.

 Chapter 16

    A short toot of the train¡¯s whistle woke me.  Never having ridden a train before, I peered out the window to see a massive metropolis. The main street, large enough to fit ten wagons side by side, lead into the city with hundreds of people entering and leaving.  One giant wall stood melded into the earth, surrounding the entire circular city, but wasn¡¯t tall enough to hide the many multistory structures towering into the sky. Each building matched with white washed stone walls and blue cupolas.  As we approached closer and closer, soldiers could be spotted littering the area, blending in with the crowd.


    ¡°Why are there so many soldiers?¡± I asked, mentally counting every group we passed.


    ¡°They are here for the same reason we are.  Fortune City has a transportation portal. Men and women in service to The Empire from around the region gather here in the case of a large military operation,¡± Stiggs said with eyes closed.


    Similarly, Captain Wendy sat across from him, meditating with legs folded and crossed.  Yoga was never that appealing to me, but she looked so damn serene that I might just try it later.  I¡¯m not really that close to the Captain, however, im sure she¡¯ll help me get into it if I asked.


    Taking another look through the window, we had reached the outside of the city wall, entering a large tunnel that burrowed to the other side.  The suburban houses leading up to the city disappeared and blackness enveloped the entire train. Eventually, we popped out the other side, lightly burning my eyes after being adjusted to the darkness.


    With several loud whistles, the train slowed pace and headed into the station that was not far away.  As we docked, a steady bunch of soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, all at attention. Next, the train came to a grinding halt, opening its doors to empty its many riders.  Like clockwork, the passengers filed out in an orderly manner, avoiding the soldiers still standing in place. Before I realized it, Stiggs was already carrying foot out the carriage, followed by Captain Wendy and the rest of the squad.


    Leaving the train myself, I heard, ¡°Welcome Sir.  Your presence is requested by the governor. I can take you there immediately if you like.¡±


    ¡°Very well.  Before that, this is my disciple Esried.¡±  Stiggs shoved me front and center. ¡°Get him cleaned and some decent civilian clothes.¡±


    A knight saluted with hand over chest and shouted, ¡°Thesi step forward!¡±


    A girl approximately the same age as me does as commanded, bowing slightly.


    ¡°Escort Sir Esried around the City for whatever he needs,¡± the knight commanded.


    ¡°Yes Sir!¡± she replied.


    Before I realize I¡¯m being left alone with this girl, all the soldiers and my companions marched out of the station toward the center of the city.  The girl never moved a muscle, still bowing. A few people walked past, but gave no more attention than one would a bystander.


    ¡°Are they gone?¡± the girl asked, probing the area with her eyes.


    ¡°I think so,¡± I said.


    The girl straightened and nodded to herself.  Her bright eyes examining me from head to toe.  It didn¡¯t stop there as she circled me for a full three-sixty view.


    ¡°So why are you so special?¡± she asked.


    But before I could answer, the girl grabbed me with hand in tow toward the station¡¯s arches.


    ¡°Sorry, but I didn¡¯t catch your name the first time,¡± I said, struggling to keep pace.


    ¡°Thesi, daughter of house Polona, pleased to meet you,¡± she said, tugging harder.


    It was when I stepped outside the station that I found myself overwhelmed.  The air blew cold, dry, and brisk. I saw civilians, garbed in various colors, bodies moving quickly to their destinations.  Thesi fixed her gaze onto the street a couple buildings over, then counted the coins from a weighted purse. She only handed me a quick nod before diving straight into the crowd going about their business, weaving through with each step.


    I followed, my eyes holding onto the back of Thesi, watching as she entered a large building.  Inside, the temperature raised several degrees, giving comfort from chill outside. Before me, lounge chairs were occupied by people wearing only towels, sipping drinks with leisure.  I moved toward the desk Thesi stood at, watching her argue about something regarding prices.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma''am, but we do not negotiate here,¡± the man behind the desk firmly stated.


    Thesi slammed six coins onto the desk before pulling me to the side.  ¡°Cheap bastards¡­ The entrance is over there, get yourself cleaned up and meet me back here in half an hour.¡±


    I watched Thesi disappear behind a curtain entrance on the left, then moved over to an identical entrance on the other side.  Within the room, men of all ages were either stripping down or dressing up. Immediately I found myself a locker to throw my clothes into and placed my hand on top the door for a satisfying click.  I pulled on the door just to make sure it was locked, and exited the locker room to a large bath.


    After days of only sponge bathing, the dip into the hot water was a cleansing no man should be without.  Scrubbing with a brush I found lying around, my skin became sore from the rough bristles. There were days I would go without a bath, at most weeks, a luxury resigned to people with homes.  My very own bathtub will be a milestone in my life, soap and all the amenities with it. With so many places to wash, I forgot about the time and had gone over Thesi¡¯s deadline by thirty minutes.  Cursing my lack of time management, I left for the locker rooms.


    As I jumped back into my clothes and bolted out the exit, Thesi was standing in our appointed spot frowning.  The disappointment was obvious, a score against me. Yet as I approached, no words were thrown. Instead, she shoved a bag into my hands,  its content containing a new set of clothing.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I ran to the bathroom to rechange.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Thesi¡¯s taste in clothing blew me away.  Within the bag, a linen white button-down and grey dress pants held together with a dark brown belt, an ensemble which made me look more mature.


    I returned to Thesi feeling confident until I spotted her.  The previously armored girl switched to a red casual sleeveless dress.  To say she was beautiful was an understatement and a disgrace to beauty itself.  Her dark auburn hair, pink lips, and sharp jawline made me physically pause until she waved me over.


    ¡°You are lucky my eye for sizes is spot on.¡±  Thesi¡¯s hands went up to straighten my collar.  ¡°Let¡¯s go eat. I want to spend the rest of the money before returning.¡±


    We both headed out into the busy streets and stopped at the closest restaurant.  The place was packed with people, both city residents and soldiers, all clamoring about the upcoming military operation.  The wait time isn''t that long though, as a waiter notified us that a table was being cleaned as we speak. Not a moment later, the same waiter lead us to our own little corner, a spot fitting four.


    ¡°We would like two salads, a rack of ribs, a plate of barbecue pork buns, roasted corn, and a side of apples,¡± Thesi ordered, smiling politely.  ¡°Oh and two glasses of water.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±  The server bowed and left.


    ¡°You seem like you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve lived here my whole life.  I fully intend on joining the offensive to retake Fort Glory though.  It¡¯s going to be amazing!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure I would describe war as amazing¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me?  My entire family is made of proud knights.  This is my calling. My armor was even tailor made for me just a week ago just for this fight.¡±


    ¡°What happened to your armor anyways?¡±


    ¡°I sent it back to my house.  In this city, there is a service for literally anything for the right price.¡±


    Our food started to arrive one by one, and my taste buds tingle at the sight.  Fresh salad, juicy ribs, and steamed pork buns are the first to come out.


    Before I get a chance to dig in, a soldier backed by three of his friends walked up to our table only to say, ¡°Excuse me, but I would like to ask for your table.  My comrades and I are due to the front lines tomorrow so I would like to treat them to a good meal.¡±


    Still shoving a pork bun into her mouth, Thesi managed to spit out, ¡°No way.  Wait like everybody else.¡±


    Frowning, the soldier offered, ¡°How about we share the table.  A young noble lady such as yourself would¡­¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Thesi interrupted.


    ¡°Can you at least let me finish spea¡­¡± The soldier put his hand on Thesi¡¯s shoulder, applying enough pressure to make her skin turn red.


    A straight palm from Thesi to the soldier¡¯s face knocked him back.  ¡°Get your dirty hands off me.¡±


    ¡°Restrain her!¡± the soldier with a now bloody nose shouted.


    The soldier¡¯s three buddies moved to corner us, but I kicked one of them while still sitting in my chair, his body flying through a wall and into the street.  If our fellow diners weren¡¯t looking before, they were now. A deafening silence lasted at least a minute before every soldier from the other tables stood up to back their brothers in arms.


    ¡°I usually turn a blind eye in civilian establishments, but attacking a soldier is unacceptable.  You are under arrest!¡± a man with military officer clothes said.


    Before anybody could take a step, Thesi started laughing uncontrollably, ¡°HAHAHA!¡±


    ¡°You think this is funny?¡± the officer asked, hesitating in the face of insanity.


    ¡°Yeah I do.  I¡¯ve never heard of a disciple of a Royal Guard getting arrested before.¡±


    Everybody could see the moment the officer¡¯s heart dropped.


    ¡°Which Royal Guard may I ask?¡±


    ¡°Lord Stiggs.  AHAHAHA!¡± Thesi continued to laugh obnoxiously and sometimes slapped the table for an exaggerated scene.


    Falling to one knee and bowing his head, the military officer said, ¡°Apologies sir.  I will punish these men personally and pay for the damages.¡±


    ¡°No, no¡­ it¡¯s okay.  Just pay for the damages and leave us alone please,¡± I said, a bit surprised by the one-eighty turn around.


    ¡°As you wish.¡±  The officer took off to presumably take care of business.


    ¡°Royal Guards have that much sway?¡± I asked.  ¡°He kind of just took your word for it...¡±


    ¡°Mostly just Lord Stiggs.  He was the military¡¯s poster boy for a while.  Then, he saved a bunch of soldiers and became a legend.  Or something like that. It¡¯s all in stories so i¡¯m not sure what¡¯s true or not,¡± Thesi explained.  ¡°As for taking my word, nobody would impersonate Lord Stiggs¡¯s disciple. If rumor got out you were a fake, expect your head on a plate once verified.  They take titles very seriously in the military.¡±


    Despite the destruction and side glances, we stuffed ourselves until everything we ordered was gone.  The officer had taken care of the bill, leaving us free to search for Stiggs.


    The once overcrowded streets shed their weight, while the stall vendors closed shop.  Down the road lay the city¡¯s towering achievement that was the citadel, looming over all its inhabitants. As we walked further to the castle at the top, here and there residents went from rags to riches.  By the time we actually reached the citadel gates, the light was fading for a starry night.


    ¡°Hey Stropna.  Got Lord Stigg¡¯s disciple here,¡± Thesi called out to one of the men standing guard.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been expecting you.  A bit late though, no? Are you sure you two didn¡¯t have a bit of fun before coming?¡±  Stropna chuckled, waving us through.


    Holding a side glare, Thesi kicked the man¡¯s shin as she strode past, annoyed at the guard¡¯s lack of professionalism.  Several other guards also manning the post laughed at their friend¡¯s misfortune. I¡¯ve never been on any sort of watch duty, but I¡¯d imagine it would be boring as hell without a few laughs.


    Both Thesi and I headed down a long courtyard, one filled with freshly trimmed hedges and a colorful assortment of flowers.  There was no door to the massive castle before us, but I could feel the magical barrier cling to my body as I passed through the front door.


    ¡°Evening, Squire Thesi and Sir Esried I presume?¡± a standard looking butler asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±  Thesi nodded.


    ¡°The Lord Governor and Lord Stiggs are still discussing plans upstairs in the main conference room.  You are authorized to enter.¡±


    Thesi continued onward while I followed behind, passing by through several groups of soldiers either moving about or looking busy.  Finally, we reach solid double doors lined in steel. The doors rumbled open with each of us pushing on a side. Those inside turned their heads, approximately one-hundred more pairs of eyes than I was expecting.


    ¡°Did I hear correctly when I was told you kicked somebody through a wall?¡± Stiggs asked.


    ¡°...Yes,¡± I said, fidgeting with hands in front of the audience.


    Stiggs grunted, Captain Wendy smiled, Willner winked, and Cospal threw a thumbs up.


    Returning his attention to a miniature battlefield model, Stiggs addressed the room, ¡°We launch our attack plans in two days.  Have your men rested and prepared for teleportation at noon tomorrow. Once we meet with the rest of our troops outside Fort Glory, we will reorganise ranks based on the strategy we talked about today.  You are dismissed.¡±


    I watched as all the soldiers filed out in an orderly manner, including Thesi who followed the man who greeted us at the train station.


    ¡°She seems nice,¡± Cospal said, putting his arm around my shoulder.


    ¡°Who Thesi?  Yeah, I guess so.¡±


    ¡°You know intimate relationships between two people in the military is highly approved of.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you have a girlfriend?¡± I asked before slipping out of his arm to meet up with Stiggs, leaving him dazed and dumbfounded.

 Chapter 17

    The guard could not find focus to consume the flowery words on his favorite book.  Its hard leather binding was withered to the touch. A small tea stain, soaked dry into the title page among others.  The words handwritten out into neat little lines, weighted more heavily in personification and metaphors than gravity.


    Above perched a hawk, searching every corner for a snack skittering the open field.  Quilo heard his fellow guards drinking in the room next door, the men choosing to celebrate joyously before their inevitable deployment.  He sat up straight on his stool, removing himself of his bad posture. The morning cold dulled his senses, and his alertfullness fell with it.  This was the undoing of many a morning, but Quilo would have none of it. He jumped to his feet, to stretch sleeping muscles¡ªthus warding off any unwanted negligence.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to join us?¡± his buddy Tripo asked within an archway, half indoors and half under the rising sun.  ¡°A drink to Lady Luck is never a bad thing.¡±


    ¡°No thanks friend.  This book has given me more than alcohol ever could,¡± Quilo said, dragging his fingertips across the book¡¯s cracked face.


    Loudly in the sky came the screech of the hawk, flying full speed into the horizon.  Quilo watched the soaring animal exit view. That particular hawk has never left so far from its perch, its hatchlings due by the end of the week.  A curious change in behavior.


    ¡°Okay, your choice.¡±  Tripo raised a bottle to his mouth and knocked back a swig.


    A subtle stir that evolved into an earth shaking, jarring rumble shook the two.  Tripo rushed inside up the tower stairs. His metal armor clanged and banged with each step.  The air rushed past Quilo back and forth like a great tide and the ambient mana vanished from the air.  His stool flailing around, thrashing anything in its path.


    ¡°The portal is activating!  Ring the alarm!¡± Tripo shouted from atop the tower.


    Not a moment later, sirens blared and soldiers scrambled.  Without thought, Quilo surged his mana to match his blood flow.  Then, he launched himself upon the walls connected to the tower, and stared out toward the glowing portal.  It flickered periodically, a heart beat of magic, synchronized with the rushing wind.


    The guards have never been in a situation like this, but it was what they were trained for.  All gates closed as per procedure, including any secondary doorways. The men lined up waiting on the walls surrounding the portal, bows or spears at the ready, imagining what was to come, not quite mentally prepared.


    Quilo made one last check of his gear, patting down for his knife belt and marble pouch, then tied a bundle of javelins over his shoulder for easy access.  He couldn¡¯t help but look over at Tripo who already had an arrow locked and loaded, a man less powerful but more driven than he.


    With a final roar, the teleportation circle beneath the portal erupted, revealing a grisly sight.  Flayed flesh dripped from face, strapped in imperial armor and weapons, the undead howled with fury.  A large group, unhindered by the shackles of life, charged the defensive walls. The squad of archers upon wall turned fear into fight.  At the sound of the commander, arrows released from tension ¡ª pelting bodies but doing little work.


    Nerves steady as a rock, Quilo surveyed the attack, noting eastern and northern incursions, undead fodder clashing against fortified ramparts, morning sun turning frost into dew.  A few faint screams could be heard, a breach among the hold. The wind slapped Quilo¡¯s cheeks as he bolted for the eastern gate.


    ¡°Quilo the northeastern gate has been opened!  We need to release the portcullis!¡± Tripo yelled from behind, barely keeping pace with him.


    Arrows continued to rain, barbed ends ingrained into rotting flesh.  Ahead on the wall, the dying screams of men entered Quilo¡¯s ears. He saw a Klorian mage, drenched in blood, a sword protruding out the back of a young archer.  Dashing with javelin at the ready, Quilo hopped over allied formed guards, weapon launched at full might. The rocketing missile impaled the already dead young archer and Klorian mage with it, a small patch to fight a bleeding situation.


    Continuing forward, Quilo passed the eastern gate, eyes spotting several more Klorian mages battling their imperial counterparts.  Undead were spilling into the city every second, a few groups of soldiers could be seen here and there blocking major roads, but small side streets and alleyways bred as enemy highways.  To top it off, a large flash from the confiscated portal marked a second wave of horrors.


    ¡°Status report!¡± Quilo commanded a nearby archer.


    ¡°Enemy mages have opened the northeastern gate and the tower is under their control.  Our own forces can¡¯t push through,¡± the archer reported.


    Tripo and Quilo moved onward, arriving just below the northeastern tower.  A battle of three Klorian mages, two imperial mages, and a handful of guards.  Death layered the ground they battled on, both sides taking heavy casualties. Quilo¡¯s right hand reached for a javelin, gripping its shaft for a short throw, then fished for a marble with his left.  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    One of the Klorian mages swung their greatswords, cleaving an overwhelmed imperial mage in two, blood splattering across the cold stone.  Two other Klorian mages engaged the last imperial mage while the greatsword user took a defensive stance for the upcoming Quilo and Tripo.


    ¡°Throw me!¡± Tripo demanded.


    Quilo threw a javelin for distraction, and grabbed the nape of Tripo¡¯s armor, locking hand to metal.  Spinning once, he heaved Tripo up to the tower¡¯s edge. Before allowing the enemy mages to respond, Quilo slid forward, flicking marbles at the three mages.  A greatsword crashed down chipping floor, barely missing with sparks flying, then raised for a second strike.


    Having dodged the deadly strike, Quilo snapped his wrist with knife in hand, piercing the man¡¯s shoulder.  Not pausing, he threw two more, the blades sank deep hitting neck and heart. The warrior collapsed leaving his allies backs exposed, an opportunity ripe for the picking.  A few quick stabs with a javelin on the unsuspecting Klorian mages left holes for death to burrow into. Seeing the chest of one of the warriors still pumping, Quilo slid steel across the man¡¯s throat, blood seeping down his neck.  More a service to a dying man than a vengeance against a hated enemy.


    With all obstacles before him removed, Quilo checked the injured imperial mage, then rushed up the tower only to find another Klorian mage, fire dancing in palm, burning skin from Tripo¡¯s arms.  Surprised at the unwelcome guest, the Klorian hurled Tripo into a corner and flared a bright orange. A stream of unending fire shot out, forcing Quilo to back away. Countering with a knife throw of his own, Quilo targeted the man¡¯s face, but it was blasted out of the air.  He searched for remaining things to throw, but eventually found none. Trapped as a mouse against a cat, Quilo could see the man¡¯s grin grow wide.


    ¡°I guess you win,¡± Quilo said, secretly unlatching the book hooked to his belt.


    ¡°You imperials are¡­¡±


    In a last ditch effort, Quilo threw his book, smacking the Klorian in the face.  Through fire and smoke, he tackled the dazed man glueing hand to throat. The Klorian¡¯s head was vigorously pounded to the ground, skull splintered and brain matter oozed.  Exhausted of stamina, Quilo trudged over to the portcullis lever and released it from its locked position. After achieving his goal, he laid down to rest, in between two dead bodies ¡ª one friend, one foe.


    0---0


    ¡°Wake up Esried!¡±


    Moon?  Couldn¡¯t be, I would have been slapped by now.  With first light piercing through a nearby window, the soft bed contoured to my every curve, melting fatigue I previously carried.  The sheets, cleaned and silky soft to perfection, coddled silently like a mother¡¯s embrace.


    Thesi¡¯s pretty face entered stage right, her electric green eyes looking directly at me and her lean, muscled arms taunt from shaking my shoulders.  It was only then I realised this wasn¡¯t a social call.


    Having woken from a deep sleep, my mind still slogged through Thesi¡¯s explanation, ¡°... leave ¡­  attack.¡±


    I threw off my sheets and hopped out of bed, hopefully convincing myself that I needed to be faster. Eyeing the mirror on the side, I looked like hell, sagging eyelids, bed head, and ruffled clothes.  The only thing going for me was the bath I took yesterday.


    Thesi must have lost patience during my awakening because she was now dragging me by the hand out the door.  Eventually, we ended up in an armory, stocked with standard armors and weapons of all shapes and sizes.


    ¡°Put this on,¡± Thesi said, handing me one of the shiny armor sets piece by piece.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked, slipping into each one with Thesi¡¯s help.


    ¡°Earlier this morning the Klorians used the city¡¯s teleport circle to invade the city.¡±


    No more words needed to be spoken, we finished dressing me and made our way to the previous conference room.  The door was already propped open, filled with half the previous day¡¯s numbers. We slid to the back, inside unnoticed.


    ¡°A report from the south portal gate states the west portal gate has been breached,¡± the governor said.


    ¡°They failed to hold?  The city was designed to protect against this sort of thing.  How did this happen?¡± an officer asked.


    ¡°This is no small attack, they are launching a full invasion.  Other reports say the northeast gate was compromised but closed using the portcullis, since then our men have retaken that section of the wall.  The city guards are doing their best,¡± Stiggs replied.


    ¡°We need to deploy immediately.  Every second is a life lost,¡± the governor said.


    ¡°Of course, but we need a full assessment before jumping in,¡± Stiggs said, ¡°The portal is located in the northern tip of the city, surrounded by ramparts.  They have breached the west and northeastern gates of those walls. Many of those are undead along with Klorian mages. Any more details?¡±


    ¡°Klorian foot soldiers have been spotted with the third portal use.  It¡¯s safe to reason the amount of undead already here are most of what they have,¡± another officer chimed in.


    ¡°Good.  Knight Strut, you are to reinforce the southern wall to the portal,¡± Stiggs ordered.


    ¡°Yes Sir!¡±  The officer saluted and left.


    ¡°With Knight Strut and his troops holding the wall, that leaves us the remnant undead on the northeastern side of the city and the breach on the west side,¡± Stiggs said, pointing at small figurines on a mini city model.  ¡°The weakest undead can be stopped by our foot soldiers, the issue is containment more than power. Knight Kraama and Knight Sarum, you are both tasked with cleaning up the remains of the northeast breach. Knight Zarl will stay here and rally all incoming soldiers for a counter attack at dawn.  The rest of us will be the vanguard and contain the western breach. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Good.  Dismissed!¡±


    Stiggs walked over.  ¡°Esried, you are to follow Knight Kraama and Knight Sarum to the northeastern side.  The biggest threat there are undead foot soldiers. Gain experience and protect the people.¡±


    He patted my shoulder and left right after, followed by a large portion of the room.  Honestly, I¡¯m ready to put everything I¡¯ve learned into practice. Pumped and ready to go, I spot Thesi returning from speaking with her superior.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting stuck with you¡­¡±  Thesi said, chin falling to chest.


    Is that not a good thing?