《To Rhial》 Glossary of Recurring Characters Glossary of Recurring Characters Adam Lewandowsky- One of the five protagonists of ¡°To Rhial¡± and the most detail-oriented narrator. In Rhial, he is a jinian man. Similar to more traditional fantasy orcs, he has muted green skin, small tusks, black spiky hair only on the top of his head, and yellow eyes. Alwen Amser- Quartermaster of House Amien. A man with a hunched back and a bum left leg. Al¡¯Li- Close friend of Miriel and knowledgeable about sonic jzanmah. She is a creature with blond curly fur, kangaroo-like legs, a pudgy stomach, and a head like that of a Teddy Bear. Her race¡¯s vocal capabilities cause her to have a lisp when speaking in Triali. Brenden Jace- One of the five protagonists of ¡°To Rhial¡± and the most reliable narrator. In Rhial, Brenden is a nyadin man. Similar to traditional fantasy elves, Brenden has longer, pointy ears. His cranium, neck, and eyes are uncannily large compared to his human counterparts. His skin is described by Adam in chapter 1 as ¡°like amber honey¡± and his eyes are fully sky blue, with a swirling effect around the pupils. Captain Andris Raizzen-Korte Zev- Captain of the Amien guard corps. Simira¡¯s most trusted officer. He is described as appearing aquatic in nature, being blue with seaweed-like tendrils of hair, large black eyes, gills on his neck, and extra joints on his arms and legs. Count Jeun Wey- The count who oversees Vehfirn and the ruling viscounts within Vehfirn. His primary domain is a wealthy village north of Vehfirn proper, where three massive silver spires oversee the surrounding area. Dante- Brenden¡¯s favorite red-furred corty. Desmond Fischer- One of the five protagonists of ¡°To Rhial¡± and the most perceptive narrator. In Rhial, Desmond is a human man with scraggly blond hair, suntanned skin, emerald eyes. Dex- Dorstun man with unrequited affections for Miriel. Best friend to Zerick. One of the few dorstun still alive. Often gets them in trouble due to his lack of accountability and strong sense of pride, though he is trying to be better. Djoteided- An ancient Triali philosopher whose teachings and experiences are collated in ¡°Djoteided¡¯s Beat.¡± Eulin Amien- Younger brother to Simira and Tarynn Amien, often secluded because of his developmental disabilities. He is non-verbal. Fehle- Diligent sociologist and researcher of human and animal behavior with a goal to make the world a better place. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Fera Hallax- Daughter of Lord Hallax and renowned actress in Vehfirn. Geren- A yeffen man living between Poikla Village and Vehfirn. Former fireblood hunter and cartographer who mentors the protagonists before their first fireblood hunt. Hestrel- A fair-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed jorlad fireblood hunter from the north. He is a stoic man with a strong moral compass and acts as the primary bodyguard for Miriel when on the road. Larmeonip- Larmeonip. He appears in ¡°Djoteided¡¯s Beat¡± counter to Djoteided. Lotti- Young daughter of Montak, around six years old. She is a pale, sickly girl with strawberry blond hair and hazel eyes. Madam Diona- Accomplished businesswoman and owner of many businesses in the Hallax Quarter of Vehfirn. Most well-known for her ostentatious persona and keen eye for fashion, rarely seen out of her golden make-up and dresses. Miriel Sueri- Nyadin woman of traveling age. In a traveling mercenary party with Al-Li, Hestrel, Zerick, and Dex. currently serving as Lord Hallax¡¯s court regenerator. A curious, scientific mind with reservations about being swept up in jorlad days. Montak- Hard-working jorlad farmer on the outskirts of Vehfirn. Father of Lotti. Pale, weary man with blond hair and brown eyes. Mother Yeline- The elderly healer woman of Poikla. Rezyn- Smooth-talking jorlad sleuth of House Amien with slicked-back hair and natural swagger. Richard- Emissary of the Great and denizen of the Elysian Halo. A crimson lonsu man with a seemingly immense amount of jzanmah potential. Riviera Kataw- Yeffen woman and head of the Zeltem Order of yeffen. Riviera is her Triali name, Kataw being her birth name. She directly serves Lord Hallax as the bridge between yeffen and the legal sphere of Vehfirn. Her beak is gold, her feathers lush and naturally bronzed. Simira Amien- Heiress to the Amien Estate and fraternal twin sister of Tarynn Amien. A tall jorlad woman with tanned, freckled skin, and her signature half-halo braid. A hot tempered fighter and accomplished soldier. Tarynn Amien- Fraternal twin brother of Simira Amien. A tall jorlad man with tanned, freckled skin. A passive playboy who rarely sees eye-to-eye with his sister. ¡°Tells¡± Samson- One of the five protagonists of ¡°To Rhial¡± and the most introspective narrator. Tells was a man prior to death on Earth, Tells being a street name. In Rhial, Tells is a human woman with violet irises, a warm tanned skin tone, dark brown hair, and is the second tallest of the group. Vetia- One of the five protagonists of ¡°To Rhial¡± and the most unreliable narrator. Vetia was formerly a man by the name of Rowan before death. In Rhial, Vetia is a half-lonsu woman who is incredibly pale. She has blood red hair and irises, pupils like a cat, and fangs. Vergil- Brenden¡¯s favorite black-furred corty. Viscount Hazjiken Amien- Viscount of the Amien Quarter of Vehfirn. A sickly man who rarely gets outside and appears much older than his actual age. Viscount Olori Hallax- Viscount of the Hallax Quarter of Vehfirn. A man of godly physique, golden accouterments, and a love for music. Zerick- Dark-skinned, green-eyed jorlad man from the north with an uncharacteristically high voice for his large frame. Extremely patient best friend and life coach to Dex. Glossary of Known Concepts, Places, and Things Glossary of Known Concepts, Places, and Things Bimunaekat- A combination of the Triali words for fire (bimuo) and crystal (naekat). Crystals infused with jzanmah to produce constant light, which gradually decay. Divine Body- The predominant religious belief in Triali culture. Parts of the body are associated with values, stories, superstition, and celestial objects. The body was once whole, but was fractured into individual pieces. It is believed that the body is scattered around Rhial, and only when the body is reunited in full can peace be restored to Rhial. Divine Body followers believe that jzanmah is a gift from the Divine Body. Elysian Halo- The ring of floating islands which orbit Rhial, inhabited by the Elysians, a mysterious group of the most powerful beings in Rhial. Gossy- Slang for gold coin, the least valuable coin. One gossy is equivalent to twelve sennos. Jzaeti & Kzjae- The Triali equivalents of husband and wife. Though in concept, the jzaeti (male) and kzjae (female) are more permanent because the marital ritual binds the lovers by their souls, which are thought to carry into the next life together. Jzanmah- A word spoken like a breath, a mysterious immaterial force that is channeled into sigils to produce effects. Jzanmah Tejuh- A scholar or practitioner of jzanmah. Jzonuto- One-handed Triali scimitar used by most people. Jzonutik- Three-handed heavy Triali scimitar used by cavalry units and heavily armored soldiers. Ketzey- A type of alcohol made from fermented fruits that grow underwater in the Poikla Village lake. Kun- An herb which, when smoked, acts as a mild depressant. Peep- Peeps are the next step up from sennos. One hundred forty-four sennos per palladium coin, although palladium is called pipviul in Rhial. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Peturi- The continent which the Triali Empire is built on. The Poikla- The lakeside village introduced in chapter 12, inhabited by small hominids with four eyes. Rhial (REE-ahl)- The untranslatable Triali word for their universe which has been adopted into other languages and cultures in Rhial. It is often used to reference their world, nature, the people of the world, or the overarching universe. It is both everything and the individual pieces which make up everything, but specifically in the context of everything. Salufo- A wooden, short-necked, eight-stringed instrument with a thin but wide body that produces a naturally higher sound than a guitar. Senno- Slang for silver coin. Twelve sennos is equivalent to one peep. One senno is equivalent to twelve gossies. Shape (In regard to jzanmah and sigils)- A design or piece of a sigil. There can be any number of shapes in a sigil, each one adding a layer of complexity. Shazgadj- Derogatory word for half-breeds. Derived from the Triali phrase ¡°shazat gadji,¡± meaning roughly ¡°unwanted beast,¡± with the word ¡°shazat¡± meaning exile or outcast, and ¡°gadji¡± being a term that often refers to rodents, pests, and beasts which produce nothing. Sigil- A manifestation of the will through jzanmah to produce an effect. Sigil (Volatile)- Overcharged sigils that produce stronger effects which overwhelm the wielder and cause adverse effects like exploding effects, loss of control of the body, and brain damage. Triala- Triala is often referred to as the Triali Empire. It is the foremost nation on the continent of Peturi, ruled by Emperor Senik Gossam. This is where the story takes place, in East Triala Triali- The language spoken in the Triala Empire. Uisukaifo- An instrument similar to a piano, with seventy-two keys, short housing, no cover, and a generally harsher sound due to the strings being brrzit twine. Vehfirn- The first city that the protagonists arrive at. The city is split into quarters: three distinct sections overseen by the Viscounts Amien, Hallax, and Muria, and the outlying farmlands overseen by Count Jeun Wey. Yazjikurn- The city in which the dialogues of Djoteided and Larmeonip take place. Zeltem Order- The order of yeffen on the outskirts of Vehfirn in the Hallax Quarter. Riviera Kataw is the spokesperson for the order. Zenstak- An atheistic belief practiced outside of Triala. The belief goes that jzanmah is a naturally occurring phenomenon, and living bodies are vessels for jzanmah, or the immaterial force which grants life. This is commonly referred to as the soul. Glossary of Known Plants, Creatures, and Races Glossary of Known Plants, Creatures, and Races Brique- The cheapest and most plentiful fruit in Vehfirn. It¡¯s a tart and crisp fruit, similar to an apple in feel. Its bright green fruits grow in the center of tube clusters and they¡¯re most widely known for being used in brique cider, the easiest to make, cheapest, and most abundant alcohol in Triala. Brrzit- The insectoid people which make up part of Vehfirn¡¯s population. Brassy, golden toned exoskeletons and thousands of tiny legs along their centipede-like bodies are their most defining features. They have large eyes, and their ability to speak Triali is limited by their ability to vibrate sounds clearly. Brrzit are widely known for being weavers of clothes for those with good enough sap and stories, but many make a living in Vehfirn by selling their naturally golden and brass clothes and string in the Hallax Quarter. Corty- The primary pack animals of Triala with long, heavy fur. Herbivores with six-legs and ears like elephants and heads similar to squirrels with elongated, flat-toothed jaws. Their legs are long and thick, with three little fingers on each paw. They are often used in jokes and insults regarding promiscuity due to their excessively high capacity for mating, having almost year-round mating seasons in which they loudly groan searching for mates at all hours of the day. Their noise disturbances are remedied by jzanmah-powered shock collars. Dorstun- A dwindling race wrought with inbreeding and health issues due to their small population. They have pinkish-red flesh, white hair, wide chins, thin faces, long heads, pits for ears, and weak bones. Farn- Like pigs, their body transitions from body to head with no neck. They use their downturned noses and droopy mouths to eat grass and refuse. A bowl-like mound of bone extends from the top of their skulls, from between the downturned ears to the blubbery snouts that drip snot. The noises that come from them are as if a chicken bocked with the vocal cords of a pig. Culturally, farns are viewed as more disgusting than pigs are viewed on Earth, but they are so loved for their tasty meat and milk which is used to make cheese. Fireblood- Undead, soulless creatures which survive by consuming jzanmah from living creatures, often by drinking the blood. They are incapable of using jzanmah. There are many variations that depend on the race of the fireblood, but they are categorized as scouriad and sevoan. Firebloo (Scouriad)- Less intelligent firebloods that heal intrinsically. Fireblood (Sevoan)- More intelligent firebloods that require jzanmah to heal. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Grent- White watermelon-shaped roots. Lightly bitter with a minty aftertaste. Used to make clear liquor called mizise, similar to vodka. Human- In Rhial belief, human is the overarching term for intelligent races which have been acknowledged and accepted by the Elysian Halo. Jinian- A race of taller, burly hominids. Their defining features are muted green flesh, short tusks, affinity with gravitational sigils due to their robust and stronger form which was enhanced by their early connection to jzanmah. Once the ¡°protectors of Rhial,¡± they are now fractured and isolated from the rest of the world. Most Trialis have never seen them. Jokadulg- A beast with a spiked shell, thagomizer, and canine-like head with massive sharp teeth. Foreign to Triala. Ket- Little rodents with fat bodies and no eyes, known for burrowing through the stone foundation of houses in Rhial with their heavily acidic saliva. Lonsu- A race of hominids closely related to jorlad. They are different in their angular features, varying amounts of scales in places where hair doesn¡¯t grow, horns, tails, and wings. They have an affinity for thermal sigils and are more resistant to extreme temperatures due to their history of flying and living high in the southern mountains of Peturi. Their relations with the jorlad are poor due to a long history of lonsu using jorlad slaves. Mau- A nomadic and mysterious race of shapeshifting beings, rumored to be hunted due to their spiritual practices that are kept secret from outsiders. Geren encountered them when he was young, having met a bakhonsu, a rare mau being who travels between lives. Nyadin- A race of shorter hominids with large craniums and eyes. They have the supernatural ability to share memories with each other through their unique connection to jzanmah. They generally have darker, metallic brown skin tones and hair colors from white to black with little in the ways of natural color, often appearing similar to silver, pearl, or obsidian. Nyadin are regarded highly by the other humans of Rhial. They have affinity for all schools of sigils due to their enhanced connection to jzanmah. Pomi- A fruit that grows as green bulbs. Inside is pink, soft fruit with a sweet, nectary flavor. River Rizmumir- Bird-like creatures with taloned feet that curl into cages used for catching fish in their river habitats. They have thin bodies with jagged fins of bone emerging from their backs and webbed arms. They have serrated hooked beaks and massive wings used to propel itself in the air and water. Their lizard like tails with razor-sharp bones running down the length are used like a whip to fight beasts rivaling their size. Tyranewt- A tasty flower used in teas to assist with digestion. They are thin blue flowers with long stalks that diverge into two spirals of DNA-like petal formations about halfway up. Yeffen- The most recent addition to humanity. A race of feathered knuckle-walking creatures with powerful bodies, taloned hands, and large toothed beaks. They have heightened senses and an affinity for spectral and sonic sigils due to their unique adaptations of jzanmah. 0: Weavers 0 (Feint- Weavers) A note to the reader, from the very end This is a memoir of our lives in Rhial. This is a question that we answered in our own way. This is our lives on full display. In the beginning, we died. Then we awoke at the dawn of our second lives. So begins the story of those lives belonging to the five of us, who you will meet shortly. As I lay on the precipice of death, I still ponder the circumstances for us dying and coming to this world with our memories preserved. It seems the universe has a cruel poker face and no inkling to show its hand, so I am left to wonder. I have theories, but I feel those are better left to be discovered in the recounting. As for this story, I would ask you only a few things to please consider while you read. Have empathy. We were already struggling people who were brought into a place that was as unforgiving as it was foreign to us. It beat us down and pressed us to our limits with nobody to fall back on except ourselves. We did not always have the luxury of morality, but I wish we had. I know some of my friends went to face death carrying burdens that no other mortal soul could help them shoulder. Face the uncomfortable. We are people too. We made plenty of mistakes. We were unprepared and immature when we were brought into this aching world. We hadn¡¯t learned the lessons needed to be the people we grew into. The words on these pages pale in comparison to being where we were and seeing what we saw. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Enjoy this. We messed up. A lot. We invite you to laugh with us and at us. To witness our despair and revel in our love. There¡¯s no better way to understand another soul. To do this, you must release yourself from the preconceptions, assumptions, and world views of Earth. They simply don¡¯t fit in Rhial, where there are far greater powers at large, comparable to that of ancient myth. We learned that the hard way. As for the content of this volume and the following volumes- should my days be long enough to dictate them- translating from the languages of this world into English is no easy task. The languages are beyond just different, they are downright alien. In spelling, I will try to replicate sounds more than spelling and accuracy of ideas because Triali, the dominant language, just has so many more letters and unique specifications of ideas than English. Untranslatable names of things and colloquial phrases will appear and you will not understand their cultural implications. Neither did we. I encourage you to learn with us. It may help you step into our boots for even a moment. I am honoring my friends¡¯ wishes by recounting the stories exactly as they remember. It¡¯s the only way that you can truly understand their lives. I apologize in advance for the frustrating moments. Early on, mental lapses and repressed memories/feelings were not uncommon to us, so if details are strange, inconsistent, or downright stupid, then that may be the fault of my friends and myself. Or rather, your unreliable narrators. Perhaps by a miracle, this story will reach our loved ones and they will see what we have made of ourselves. I hope they will be proud of how our story ends. I really do. So if any of you are reading and you recognize us through our mannerisms or our names, know that every day we wish we could have given a proper goodbye. Dijzat, yamso uihzen reukjzoli. Ji, hiken to. Pata- Rati ka hell imso zostaktjo? Muo, zost- zost fwet nini, uhfrekint ses zostihinih paktakt, reukjzoli- Apologies for the break in tone. Don¡¯t look at me like- oh¡­ yeah you can leave that part untranslated. Hah¡­ I suppose it reminds me of how we were. A group of crass, cocky little shitheads that somehow managed to change the world for the better. I don¡¯t want to spoil anything, but I wouldn¡¯t change any of it if I had the chance. Well¡­ no, that¡¯ll be in a later volume, though. This first volume becomes dark and bleak, as our lives were back then. Don¡¯t let that fool you. Our greater tale is one of hope. Hope, which pushed us forward until the end, when we gave everything to Rhial. 1: Wake Me Up 1 (Avicii, Aloe Blacc- Wake Me Up) Adam Patches of sunlight drifted through the gently swaying leaves above me and I filled my lungs with air. The air was crisp, clean, and dry like a late-summer afternoon in the shade. It was serene and beautiful. And then I realized something. My fuckin¡¯ back hurts. As I tried bending my neck to look around, jolts of pain shot up my stiff back. It felt like a rock was driven into my lower back, but it hurt too badly for me to stay there and think. I tried slinging myself up, only to cramp and seize. Rolling off of whatever hard, uneven surface I was draped over, I landed on my hands and knees. My hands swept over the forest floor, which was littered with dead leaves and tiny green shrubs. Holy shit, why am I so buff? I didn¡¯t even realize I muttered this as I examined myself. My muscles were rippling and huge. Even the loose off-white tunic covering my torso was stretched by the sheer size of my chest and back. It was everything I ever wanted, but never tried for. All for free. Well, I died, but technically it was free. I pushed myself up. It was so easy. Like nothing. I lowered again just to be sure I wasn¡¯t fooling myself, and then pushed my body up with ease. In fact, I pushed so hard that the momentum carried me to my feet. I bounced on my toes, getting a sense of the noticeable change in the power my muscles could exert and an astounding lack of fat. I had on a shirt like an old medieval tunic with some rudimentary gray pants and leather boots. My skin was a natural green color with gray undertones and I could feel large bottom teeth, like tusks, just two of them poking out from between my lips. Even though it would have been jarring before, I didn¡¯t even notice they were there until I prodded at them with my massive sausage fingers. In front of me was a tree line and a large rock that I had been laying on. I reached a hand to my lower back to rub at the wide bruise while I took in the rest of the scene. My eyes passed over the dark tree line where spindling branches were ominously towering above me. Behind me was what looked like a small clearing of ferns, grass and shrubs illuminated by the morning sun, a strange bright pink tone to the stems of the grass and shrubs. Oddly enough, there was a covered wagon with what looked like crates in it, but no horses in sight. I moseyed into the clearing and let the warm breeze brush over my skin. This, whatever this is, is real. This body is real. This¡­ place¡­ is real. A woman¡¯s cheery, slightly deep voice drifted from behind some shrubbery on the other side of the clearing. ¡°Hey, you, you¡¯re finally awake. Good. Some monsters attacked me, tore up my clothes. Could you grab me something from the wagon?¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± I was certainly startled by the voice, but it didn¡¯t sound hostile so I complied. I awkwardly stepped around the wagon, casually glancing where the voice originated from. I pulled the rough burlap cover off a box of what looked like some strange green bulbs. My nose caught the sweet, almost candy-like scent of these fruits. I turned around and tossed the burlap tarp to an extremely pale hand poking out from the bushes. I slowly wandered toward the bush. ¡°Who are you?¡± After a few moments of the bush rustling, a pure white, almost translucent, soft featured but thin face popped up and scanned the pasture. It was outlined by a head of full, deep crimson hair that gently waved down past her shoulders. Vertical slitted pupils surrounded by bright ruby red irises locked onto me curiously. Then she smiled, showing off her expressive red lips with two very prominent fangs peeking out from between them. She shot up and postured like a femme fatale. ¡°The name¡¯s Vetia. Vetia the vampire hunter. Half vampire, half hunter. And you?¡± her smile broke as she pulled the poorly wrapped tarp up higher around her curvaceous figure. ¡°You¡¯re Adam, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡­ you know my name?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± She pointed casually. ¡°You¡¯re the hero that was sent to save us.¡± I¡¯m- I¡¯m a hero?! Fuck yeah! ¡°Right. I woke up weird after having that conversation with a god.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. She tilted her head curiously at me. ¡°A god? So it really is true?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°What¡¯d the god say to you?¡± Shit, I¡¯m terrible at lying! I just need to act like Ryan Gosling. It always works. I didn¡¯t say anything, just shook my head slowly and mysteriously. ¡°No memory or¡­ you can¡¯t say?¡± I nodded slowly, trying to seem as distant as possible. ¡°So, Adam, what do you do? What skills do you have?¡± I dramatically gazed over my shoulder, furrowing my brows just a little. ¡°That¡¯s behind me now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a real clean slate, eh?¡± She squinted at me as if piecing together my persona. I have to be more convincing. ¡°Something like that.¡± She smirked. ¡°You¡¯re the hero, smile a little.¡± I can¡¯t. It¡¯s like she¡¯s testing me. He would never just smile like that. ¡°Or not, Mister cool guy. I see how it is.¡± She peeked over her own shoulder and stepped out from the bushes. ¡°I¡¯ve got a problem. I¡¯m not exactly strong, but my mates are in there. Mind getting them out for me? I need to check on them.¡± ¡°Mates?¡± Why is she looking at me like I¡¯m- ah fuck, I guess I¡¯m still autistic. ¡°Friends, Adam. They got a different word for that in your world?¡± I silently nodded and climbed into the wagon, which bowed heavily under my weight. Two bodies were strewn over the crates of the wagon. I grabbed hold and pulled at their legs, readying myself to lift with everything I had. My legs planted firm and pushed back as hard as I could, but I may as well have been pulling nothing. I tumbled backward out of the wagon with both of their legs in my hands. She stood over me in approval as I stared up at the sky in shock. ¡°Nice.¡± I nodded awkwardly, clumsily picking myself up and setting them down in a patch of short ferns. They weren¡¯t waking up. One of the figures on the ground looked like a person with thinner features, long, pointed ears and slender but toned muscles. He had skin like amber honey and hair the color of the night sky with a strange, wispy sheen about it that fell down to about his shoulder blades. His head was strangely large with a neck much thicker in the back. In fact, his whole head seemed a size too big for his small and thin, but broad body. I prodded at his neck looking for a pulse to no avail. Vetia stepped up and carefully pulled back at his eyelid, checking for a sign of life. His entire eye, except for the pupil, was light blue and seemed to gently roll like waves in the ocean, or maybe it was an optical illusion from the sunlight. She nudged at his side with her foot and shrugged. I turned to her. ¡°By the way, this body is¡­ new. Mind telling me what color my eyes are?¡± Vetia stepped right up to me and squinted into my eyes, slightly smiling with interest. ¡°Hmm. They¡¯re a¡­ how do I put it¡­ eh, like hot pink. Kinda cool.¡± The other person was a human with rigid, but handsome sun-tanned features and short, scraggly blond hair. He had a rough goatee parted by a river of drool. His body was like that of a well-trained rock climber. She pulled his eyelid back and it was normal, but he had vibrant, verdant irises. ¡°His pulse, can you check it?¡± She put a hand up to me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re alive.¡± We both stood there awkwardly waiting for something to happen. My distant eyes zoned out on them. ¡°So, what now?¡± ¡°I thought they¡¯d wake up faster.¡± She bit her thumb, then sneered at the tarp she had on. ¡°I¡¯m gonna change. In the meantime, get your bearings. This world is probably different from the one you know, hero.¡± I slowly glanced up, then back down and examined the world around me. Fuck! Am I gonna have to keep this up forever?! Small green plants rustled around my feet. They were shaped like ferns, but the leaves got longer toward the top and shorter at the bottom. Their stems were thick and vine-like, wrapping around whatever tree it was lucky enough to sprout near. I tilted my head all the way back, gazing up at the trees with almost black bark and deep green needles. Even the smallest ones rivaled redwoods in size. I shook my head and gave up with a sigh. This wasn¡¯t gonna help me figure out anything. I paced around the two guys on the ground and tried to discern whatever I could about them. At the very least, they were alive. The human has on a green tunic and brown pants with an archery glove. The elf is in a black cloak with a really nice white shirt, black pants and boots. I¡¯m gonna say the human is a ranger and the elf is a rogue. I shrugged and looked over at her for answers. ¡°Who are your friends?¡± She poked her head out from the wagon and chuckled. ¡°The human is my adventuring party¡¯s archer. The other one is our rogue. In fact, the archer¡¯s been a real pain in the ass recently. You¡¯re big, and he doesn¡¯t know you. Couldja give him a nice scare for me?¡± She turned her head downward and gazed up at me, almost shattering my persona. Awkwardness is setting in. Just say nothing and nod mysteriously again. I nodded, a little too rigidly for my liking. She smiled and winked. ¡°Thanks, hotshot!¡± Then she retreated back behind the crates. Holy shit, here I am. A hero. In another world. Life couldn¡¯t get any better. I¡¯ve got an adventuring party, a cool body, a hot vampire hunter in my team, and a world to explore. Life really can¡¯t get any better, can it? What an awakening. Words can¡¯t describe the reality shock. Being here is like waking up from a disorienting dream and having a constant sense of confusion at everything around me. I¡¯ve never been so far out of my element before, so everything is a shock sending my heart into panic. But I can¡¯t worry now, I¡¯ve got a world to save, starting with scaring this guy. 2: Wake Me Up Part 2 2 (Avicii, Aloe Blacc- Wake Me Up) Desmond I could have laid there forever, letting the gentle sunlight warm me in peace. Grass softly brushed against my arm while the breeze whisked the scent of damp earth and evergreens into my nose. I gently rubbed my eyes and straightened my back. When I opened my eyes, I saw the bright overhead sun and a shadowed shape next to me. A massive shape. A creature double my size with massive teeth and a massive pale green body was menacingly hulking over me. ¡°HOLY SHIT!¡± I rolled to my feet, away from the thing trying to kill me. It bounded forward, closing the distance in a single step. The creature crossed his arms as a deep belly laugh erupted from his mouth, and he decreed in his low gravelly voice, ¡°What is wrong, puny human? Are you scared of the mountain crusher?!¡± I screamed out in fear as one of his massive hands wrenched my arm and pulled me into his locking grip. I punched and kicked at him, but all that did was make him yank me around. Adrenaline raced through me. My head swelled in shock and no openings for escape were present. I started beating at his arm with my free hand until his hold locked it upward. The creature pulled me in to crush me or eat me, I didn¡¯t know. Its warm hungry breath berated my face as it bellowed out its words. I couldn¡¯t even form a response through my whimpering gasps. ¡°I asked if you are scared, Human!¡± A horrific ear to ear smile stretched across its face as it opened its rancid, salivating mouth. What a load of shit! Where am I?! What the fuck is going on?! This monster is trying to murder me and I can¡¯t do anything about it! I AIN¡¯T DYING YET MOTHERFUCKER! I braced my body to try and resist the crushing hold it had, but that was a long shot. I was as good as dead if I couldn¡¯t do anything, but then I felt something. His dick was right in front of my knee. I swung my leg back, desperate for breath, and slammed my knee forward, right into the punching bag between his legs. The creature¡¯s grip broke and I stumbled backward, noticing some unflattering wetness in my pants. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. He made me piss myself? He¡¯s as good as dead. It screamed out like it was begging for forgiveness. ¡°No! Wait! I¡¯m-¡± I didn¡¯t process anything it said. Adrenaline rampantly surged through my bloodstream too much to care. I planted myself on top of the monster and started pounding away with my fists. His pale green body was built like a strongman with plenty of muscle and a healthy layer of fat. Short jet black hair spiked out from the top of his slightly small, but tall ovular head with a seriously wide jaw. His smile relaxed into a casual grin, two oddly thin tusks poking out from his lower lip. He had no hair on the sides of his head and a cleft chin with patchy stubble. In fact, he only had stubble on his jawline and neck, none above his thin-lipped mouth. His irises were an unusual lemon color, but strangely gentle. They shone radiantly on his slightly bulbous large eyes. My punches weren¡¯t doing much, so I wrapped around into a headlock. ¡°YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE GONNA GET ONE OVER ON ME YOU BIG GREEN FUCK?!¡± Something was off. How am I taking down a guy this big? Wait a sec, these aren¡¯t my hands. These aren¡¯t my clothes. What? How? ¡°AYOooOO! Desmond stop! That¡¯s Adam!¡± A panicked, yet oddly soothing voice called out from behind me. I turned around and saw one of those Oregon Trail wagons, packed to the brim with crates. And then I saw someone step down from the wagon. Ten out of ten. Absolute hottie. She had one of those old timey loose white shirts with collar ties pulled tight by a belt around her waist and fitted tan pants. By God, the adrenaline rush had me absolutely struck stupid by her. I loosened my grip on the green dude tapping my arm, who was apparently Adam. Holy tits. ¡°Take it easy on the new guy, wouldja?¡± She worriedly smirked, then hopped down from the wagon and strutted to me. Holy shit, them¡¯s some real honkers. ¡°Get up newcomer. I¡¯m Vetia the Vampire Hunter. Half vampire, half hunter.¡± She reached down toward me and extended a hand to help pull me up. Everything about her then, reaching to me while the morning sun shone on her hair. I didn¡¯t know if it was the lightheadedness from the adrenaline or the confusion of not knowing where I was, or a combination of both. Either way, there was only one thought going through my head. I stared up with a dumb, awestruck expression. ¡°Woah mama.¡± 3: Wake Me Up Part 3 3 (Avicii, Aloe Blacc- Wake Me Up) Brenden It never got old watching the guys be stupid, but there was always some kind of messy cleanup. This time, the cleanup was a little more literal. Not my problem. I had been awake for a few minutes just quietly listening to everything. They didn''t notice me, thank God. That chick collapsed against the wagon, wheezing while the big green guy hooted and hollered loud enough to wake half of the forest up. But alas, they weren¡¯t just any dipshits. They were my friends, and I was starting to get a read on who was who. I¡¯d picked out Adam and Desmond, but Tells and Rowan weren¡¯t anywhere. But that only if we all really did get sent here. And I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the vampire hunter. I don¡¯t wanna get up. The kids don¡¯t need me to take care of them yet. They can bicker and play all they want and I¡¯ll have to get all their bullshit in order as usual. Okay, maybe not always, but I¡¯m not getting up yet. I¡¯ll listen in and rest my eyes before I have to be their handler again. Or maybe I¡¯ll just lay here and never wake up to deal with figuring things out until they do it all for me. Fuck, that sounds nice. Vetia explained that we were in a different, magical world. Adam and Desmond were eating it up. The only issue with that theory was that nobody had any skills or magic, and her explanation wasn¡¯t all that useful. I didn¡¯t really understand why they were pretending to know what was going on, so I stopped paying attention. My thoughts drifted into the near past, when we were all in the car. Is it my fault that we died? Should I have stopped Adam from driving? Sure he said he wasn¡¯t drunk and he was acting fine, but was he really? Gah, I hate knowing I might¡¯ve been able to do something. Then again, I was in the backseat with a mouthful of 18-wheeler grill, so Adam probably wasn¡¯t at fault. And that dream, what does it mean? I woke up a little later than them, so maybe the dream is the cause for that¡­ all those fleeting colors and emotions. ¡°By the way, you all have boxes,¡± Vetia chirped. ¡°There¡¯s six of em. One of them is mine, but there¡¯s only three of you here. Odd. Do you have two more coming?¡± Adam thought he was being slick, falling in and out of his mysterious persona, but even I noticed how bad it was. ¡°Rowan and Tells aren¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Huh. Hopefully they show up. It looks like everyone was left some extra clothes, a bedroll, a backpack, food and water. This box is yours, Desmond. Here, there¡¯s a bow and some arrows for you, and a hunting knife.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Desmond loudly squelched toward her. ¡°Shit, I wanted to shoot things with guns, not a bow. What do I look like, a fucking caveman? What is this piece of shit? By the way, how the Hell do you know who we are?¡± ¡°I was told that the Hero Adam and his friends would be arriving. We need you to slay the demon king. I¡¯m just here to get you situated.¡± Desmond muttered to himself, "Cool, whatever. Guess I''ll just have to invent guns then." ¡°A bigass sword and like basic supplies?¡± Adam whined. ¡°That¡¯s it? No shield, no overpowered death blade or something? Three out of ten, shit world. I¡¯ve never even used a massive sword like this.¡± Clumsy whooshes alerted me to Adam swinging his sword through the air. ¡°What¡¯s in the other boxes? Anything better?¡± ¡°One has a shortsword and some kind of book, the other has a pretty big buckler and a scimitar,¡± she said. ¡°I think this one with the book belongs to the elf. The gem on the box is the same color as his eyes.¡± I heard her rustling around in the boxes, clanging the swords against wood. It wouldn¡¯t hurt for her to leave my stuff alone. ¡°What¡¯s in the book?¡± Desmond asked. He would go through my book, wouldn¡¯t he? I almost started getting up before I heard the woman tell him off. ¡°This is Brenden¡¯s stuff. He¡¯s the first one to get to see it.¡± I heard her walking over and then a thump in the ferns next to me. ¡°He¡¯ll notice it when he wakes up. He isn¡¯t awake already, is he?¡± ¡°Slap his nutsack and find out,¡± Desmond stepped toward me and I braced to stand up and knock his block off. Adam stopped him in his tracks. ¡°Might wanna change your pants first, pissboy.¡± ¡°You know what, I think I will. Gimme my box.¡± I thanked God that my eyes were closed when I heard Desmond yank his pants down. ¡°Put your dick away, dude, that¡¯s nasty!¡± She covered her eyes. ¡°Yeah, wrangle that hog back in its pen.¡± Adam yelled out. I didn¡¯t even want to see what was happening, because I heard Adam¡¯s pants rustle for a second, and then he quietly said, ¡°money.¡± ¡°Yeaaaah! I got my foreskin back!¡± Desmond fastened his belt. ¡°What about you, Adam, you peeked at your dick yet?¡± ¡°We¡¯re so fuckin¡¯ back, bro.¡± There was a long pause as they tossed around each other¡¯s belongings and I listened to the trees. ¡°Do you feel that?¡± Desmond hushed everyone. ¡°Something big is coming from the woods on the other side of the wagon.¡± They all stood up and snuck out of earshot, whispering to grab weapons and be quiet. Then we heard pounding. Massive thuds trembling the ground around this area and rustling the trees. The animals chirping and calling through the forest went dead silent. A high pitched breathing crept in through the pounding feet of whatever the massive creature was. Then I heard a cacophony of unintelligible fearful exclamations and screams. I guess I gotta get up and take care of the shitheads now. 4: Wake Me Up Part 4 4 (Avicii, Aloe Blacc- Wake Me Up) Tells Soil stirred beneath my foggy head. Quaking blasts shot through the ground and in a second I was sitting up. Slapping shrubs out of my face, I finally opened my eyes to the thick and hairy stomping legs all around me. Above me was a mess of thick, deep brown fur matted on the bottom of a beast the size of an elephant. My legs pressed off of the ground and out from under the beast, an odd dizziness taking hold of my head. Gray blots obstructed my view and my brain lost connection for a second while I stumbled through the brush and into its coarse leg fur. Holy shit, am I taller? The massive figure flinched while I caught my senses and whirled around, knocking me back to the soft soil with a graze of its foot. Six black eyes peered down at me through its matted fur. The satellite dish shaped tip of its trunk hovered over my face. Just gotta stay calm and it¡¯ll be over soon, right? Out from the center of its trunk, a little snake-like appendage slinked out and approached my face. I couldn¡¯t help yelling and scooting away. The mammoth creature did not take well to that. The trunk recoiled, whipping upward while it stomped craters into the dirt around me. Nope, not happening. My legs shot out and I scrambled up, darting as fast as my legs would take me. The forest shuddered around me with every quake erupting from its thunderous running steps. How the fuck did I get out in the middle of this terrifyingly dark and looming woods?! What is chasing me?! Streams of sunlight leaked through the thick canopy, just enough to avoid huge roots and strange blue spires. This forest seemed alien and confusing, detached from anything I knew. Razor sharp tree needles slit my skin. I dodged between trees as much as I could, trying to get this thing to hit one and stop moving or something. The trees cracked like lightning and thundered on the ground. Somehow, through all of it, I heard laughter in the direction I was running. It was like a deep bellowing laughter, but that was good enough for me. I just kept my legs moving as long as I could. Finally, I was approaching a treeline and light. I kept running, panting, my lungs were¡­ fine? Why isn¡¯t my asthma acting up? Why can I run so fast for so long? Damn, maybe adrenaline really is crazy. And seriously, why do I feel taller? Something sharp grazed my side. It tore away a strip of skin, and the big fella behind me blew hot air onto my back. I grasped the bleeding wound with my hand. It was deeper than I thought. The massive animal was panting hard though, so it must have been getting tired. Just a little longer and I might be able to get away. I burst through the treeline, hurdling over a bush almost my height and into a clearing. People! Yes, people! Why are they running?! Oh, yeah, the mammoth. I shot to a stop when I got into the clearing and jumped to the side just a tad too late. Its massive trunk slammed my back. It was just a graze, though, so I was knocked hard into the dirt but managed to avoid breaking anything. I tried lifting myself off the ground, but aching pains throughout my entire back refused to let me push up. More warm blood ran down my side where it grazed me earlier, just as I got a glimpse at the giant maw of crushing teeth and two ivory tusks, sharpened to points. Its trunk was rearing up to crush me. I readied myself to roll away from its trunk, but it was going to be close. Come on! I can take it! I mustered all my strength to move because I most certainly could not take it. A whistling sound pierced the air and my eyes followed an arrow from behind some wagon. It pierced the mammoth¡¯s thigh on its front leg. That was just enough for me to roll out of the way from its trunk that swooped sloppily through the air and crashed down, stirring up a cloud of dust around me. My back and ribs must have been seriously bruised, but they could keep going. The mammoth turned its head toward the wagon, where a few people were holding weapons. The guy with the bow pulled the string back and let another arrow fly. It hit the mammoth, but really pathetically tinked off and fell to the ground. The mammoth lumbered forward, waving its trunk around like it was ready to slam anything that walked near it. ¡°Get away from the wagon!¡± the archer yelled as the mammoth took off in a charge attack. It plowed through the wooden wagon with a massive crash that sent shards of wood into every corner of the clearing. The archer dove out of the way and the two guys with swords broke off in different directions. They stumbled and tripped through the shards of wagon and dense brush, trying to spread out. Wood, green bulbs and whatever else was in the wagon was sent flying through the air or crushed beneath the weight of the animal. The mammoth reared on its hind legs after destroying the wagon and I noticed massive splinters of wood that were driven into its feet during the charge. The beast flailed around, swinging its trunk and stocky tail into the rubble, more bits of wood and metal shooting around the clearing. It raised its trunk wildly and groaned before charging off into the forest. The rumbling of its running eventually faded and I lay there on the ground, feeling the wound in my side for the first time. The tusk tore a massive chunk out of my waist. I peered at the blood and ripped flesh, dizziness slowly overtaking me. ¡°Tells?! Tells! Look at me!¡± A blurry white face surrounded in bloody hair leaned over me. I was seeing double and couldn¡¯t make out what she was saying, but whatever it was, it did not sound like words. She held something above me. A book? She turned the pages frantically, then tossed the book down finally and started whispering to herself. Her hands traced a green light through the air, and then she plunged them toward the hole in my side. A flash of searing pain shot throughout my wound when her hands pressed into the bloody gash. She yelped in pain and gritted her teeth through the long process. As soon as feeling returned to me, I shot up and screamed out in pain. I pushed away from her and grabbed at my gaping wound. It was completely sealed up. I looked down and there, bordered by my ripped and bloody shirt was my skin, perfectly fine if not a lightly scarred. My back was still sore, but it didn¡¯t feel like it would last too long. The three men and the woman that had been by the wagon walked over, all of them looking relieved and worried. They weren¡¯t all humans, though. One was a large looking greenish orc and another was some kind of brown elf with a big head? I did see the two other humans, one man and the woman who apparently saved me and was laying on the ground, holding herself in the same spot on my side that I was hurt. I stared at them awkwardly, not sure what to say. They all stopped walking forward and looked at each other. ¡°That chick is Tells?¡± the archer said. ¡°No, yeah, that¡¯s Tells alright,¡± the redhead said between pained breaths. ¡°I can sense it. Don¡¯t worry Tells, you¡¯ll get used to¡­ you know.¡± She gestured pretty generally at me. The green guy squinted at her. ¡°How do you know that¡¯s Tells?¡± Still facing away from them, her face curled into a worried smile, like the jig was almost up. She peered at me from the corner of her eye and quietly made a shushing sound. ¡°Th- the vampire hunter priest told me. He heard of your arrival from the heavens.¡± What the fuck are they talking about? Who are these people? How do they know my name? Chick? Oh fuck. I pushed up and worriedly looked down at myself. I was taller than everyone but the green guy. My soft, straight hair descended past my shoulders. A higher pitched voice slipped of my mouth as I started speaking, no, it was mine. Absence struck between my legs. My head started spinning and I couldn¡¯t help looking around frantically, taking in everything that was going on for the first time. ¡°Huh? Huh?! What is-? Why?! How did-¡± The redhead stood up and looked up at me. ¡°Whoa, take it easy. Damn, you¡¯re tall drink of water.¡± She put a hand on my arm when my shaking legs started to give out. The big green guy walked up to me, ¡°Come on, sit down and we¡¯ll fill you in with everything we know.¡± * * * * * After scavenging through the remains of the wagon, we found my gear and several of the fruity bulbs that weren¡¯t busted open or smashed. Luckily, Vetia had gotten most of our individual crates out of the wagon, so we all had backpacks and water skins, along with the gear we needed just to survive. ¡°So Adam became a fat orc, Desmond is just a guy with a bow, Rowan is missing, and Brenden is a dumb elf?¡± I couldn''t help thinking out loud, being so stressed out. I couldn¡¯t process anything else. This isn¡¯t where I¡¯m supposed to be. I don¡¯t¡­ I stopped thinking and went back to talking. ¡°And you¡¯re¡­ Vetia the vampire hunter.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Half vamp-¡± ¡°Uh huh, yeah.¡± Desmond scoffed. ¡°Just a guy with a bow? Bitch, please.¡± Everything was starting to make sense to me, but there was a big adjustment getting used to seeing my friends in a new way, not to mention getting used to myself. I¡¯d known them all for so long and I suddenly had to get used to calling completely different looking people by names that I didn¡¯t associate with those bodies. We spent most of the day salvaging whatever we could from the wreck, Ro- er- Vetia and Brenden reading from their books as we wound down for the night. Desmond spent a while yelling for Rowan until he finally caught on. ¡°Do we have a fire starter or something?¡± Adam asked the group. ¡°It¡¯s getting late and I don¡¯t want one of those things attacking us in the night.¡± Everyone searched their belongings for a few minutes, but there was no fire starter to be had. ¡°Man, Rowan still hasn¡¯t shown up yet. Should we go out and look for him?¡± I stared deadpan at ¡°Vetia the vampire hunter,¡± waiting for her always-ready insight on the matter. She, in fact, did respond. ¡°It¡¯s probably too late for him. If he appeared out of the woods like T-T-Tells,¡± she caught my deadpan stare and almost broke down into laughter. ¡°If he really did, then it might just be too late for him.¡± Desmond shot up. ¡°Nah, we ain¡¯t leavin¡¯ him behind. We¡¯re searching until we find a body or die trying.¡± A confused, worried expression came over Brenden. ¡°I know we can¡¯t just leave him out there to die, but what good is it if we die too?¡± Desmond glared at Brenden. ¡°I ain¡¯t givin up. Come on. We¡¯ve gotta get out of here anyway.¡± Adam held a hand out to Desmond. ¡°No! I want to find him too, but we have a duty to save the world! What good will it do us to go out there and die?!¡± His emerald eyes met the ground, searching for answers in a passionate display of friendship. ¡°Fine, you guys may have given up on our friend, but I never will! Come on Tells, let¡¯s go find Rowan together!¡± Vetia winked at me, so I got up and followed him toward the woods, then Desmond stopped me. ¡°You too, Vetia, you know this world better than anyone else.¡± She nodded stoically and rose. ¡°Keep the camp safe. I¡¯ll make sure everyone comes back in one piece.¡± Brenden and Adam sat there in confusion until Brenden finally yelled out at Desmond. ¡°No! It¡¯s a two and two split for who wants to find him. Vetia doesn¡¯t count. She¡¯s not part of the crew. We¡¯re not deciding until everyone agrees to something!¡± It¡¯s my time. I can feel it. I intensely nodded. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, Brenden. We need Rowan, but we need to come to a decision with the homies only.¡± I turned to Vetia. ¡°What do you think, Rowan?¡± Rowan pushed her red hair back and posed like the Thinker. ¡°He¡¯s a goner. Let¡¯s leave him.¡± ¡°Good enough for me!¡± Desmond smirked and chuckled under his breath, sauntering back to the others. ¡°Now we can get back to business.¡± Rowan held her fist out and naturally, I bumped it. Adam and Brenden stared dumbfoundedly at all of us. Not sure what to believe anymore. Rowan pointed at me, snickering with a huge smile across her face. ¡°I thought you were gonna figure it out from the shitty cliches and one-liners. I knew I¡¯d get Adam, but Brenden?! Really?! Bro. You¡¯ve fallen off hard.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not the hero?¡± Adam¡¯s world fell asunder around him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Adam, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll still do cool stuff at some point.¡± Brenden shook his head, squinting schemingly at her. ¡°You become a woman and immediately start lying. Typical.¡± ¡°I was born after 1993.¡± I stopped in place. ¡°Shit, me too.¡± Brenden glared over the group with a newfound blatant frustration. He slowly pointed around to us. ¡°Adam is big, green, and has tusks. Desmond is a surfer dude minus the whole being cool part. Rowan looks like a redhead vampire. And Tells looks like he drinks Starbucks and wears Uggs now.¡± Damn, that hit harder than I was expecting. Adam gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Fuck me, I gotta remember that shit now.¡± Rowan mocked him. ¡°Oh noooo! You have to remember our names! I¡¯m sure that¡¯s gonna be soooo difficult.¡± ¡°Piss off.¡± She smirked and pushed up invisible glasses, making sure to get plenty of lisp in her voice. ¡°Erm¡­ Ackchually, if you remember correctly, I¡¯m Vetia the Vampire Schlayer.¡± A quick snort escaped her as she stifled laughter. ¡°You know what, fuck you, we ain¡¯t seen Rowan yet to be sure. You¡¯re an imposter, so I¡¯m calling you Vetia from now on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just mad that you got baited.¡± Adam cut in with some real venom in his words. ¡°You¡¯re sick, Vetia.¡± She mocked them. ¡°Hmnininini- fuck you. You know what, it works out perfectly too! A new nickname for the new me with new¡­ thangs.¡± She slapped her tits and winced in pain, crossing her arms over them. ¡°Til I figure out a better name, at least.¡± Desmond smirked. ¡°I think it¡¯s stupid, but I see two reasons why it might just grow on me.¡± His eyes couldn¡¯t defeat the primal urge to ogle at her. She covered her chest even more and leaned away in disgust. ¡°BRO!¡± ¡°All I¡¯m sayin¡¯ is you¡¯re hot as fuck, dude. Like look at those things and tell me I¡¯m wrong.¡± Her aggressive scowl ensured me that she wanted to punch him, but also didn¡¯t want to get closer. ¡°I know, but seriously! Don¡¯t talk about me, to me like that, man! It¡¯s just weird! WHAT THE FUCK YOU DOIN?! I¡¯M STILL YOUR BOY!¡± Desmond snapped back into reality. ¡°You know, I kinda keep forgetting that. Like, I know I¡¯m talkin¡¯ to ya, but I¡¯m not lookin at ya. My brain¡¯s all messed up trying to adjust, I guess.¡± Brenden groaned. ¡°Desmond, rein your shitey pecker in already.¡± Desmond lowered his head and put his hands up. ¡°I¡¯ll concede. My bad, bro.¡± ¡°Dude, this is so cool.¡± A bellowing laughter escaped Adam¡¯s mouth and he stood up hooting and hollering like a cowboy. ¡°This rocks! I ain¡¯t gotta go to work tomorrow and I¡¯m a beefed up strongman and I don¡¯t have to worry about saving the world?! Hell yeah motherfucker! I can be happy again!¡± Rowan, or rather Vetia, shot up and screamed in gleeful unison, throwing her arms up and high-fiving Adam. ¡°RAAAAAAH! We¡¯re free!¡± Adam puffed out his chest. ¡°Yo, punch me bro.¡± She slammed her fist into his abs and squealed as the excitement turned to searing pain. ¡°AAGH FUCK!¡± The reaction only bolstered Adam more and he flexed like a bodybuilder. ¡°HELL YEAH!¡± While they reveled in their idiocy, play-fighting, Brenden exasperatedly stared on from my left side. Desmond, sitting on my right side, tapped my shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t you think about changing your name, now. I¡¯m still just gonna call you Tells.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°And your actual name doesn¡¯t fit how you look.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what I look like, man.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± He stared at me. ¡°Honestly, you got it pretty good. Like a solid nine, fit, and like, same height as me.¡± ¡°Then why am I sitting shorter than you?¡± ¡°Probably just got a lot of leg.¡± I looked over Desmond¡¯s new face. It wasn¡¯t super far from how he used to look, aside from less scars and way less thin and an actual full face of hair. ¡°Your face is wider and you got a good jawline.¡± ¡°What color is my hair and eyes.¡± ¡°Blonde and green.¡± ¡°Rad.¡± I waited for him to tell me how I looked, but he didn¡¯t. ¡°What about my eyes?¡± He stupidly squinted at them, then nodded in approval. ¡°Shit, they¡¯re purple. That¡¯s cool.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Deadass.¡± ¡°Epic.¡± Brenden groaned like he just stepped in shit. I stared at him until he turned to me. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± I pointed into his face. ¡°Knife-ears.¡± ¡°You know, I was a bit happy to hear you guys here at first. Then I realized I¡¯m stuck here with you.¡± Desmond rolled his eyes. ¡°Jesus, man, take it easy. It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be back to working jobs and being poor in no time, just like you want.¡± Brenden¡¯s face grew even more annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m talking about those two. I¡¯m not worried about work and shit. I¡¯m worried that they¡¯re gonna get us killed while we¡¯re out here in the woods cause they¡¯re acting like children.¡± I nodded because I knew what he meant. ¡°You¡¯re just mad still, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, man,¡± Desmond comforted him. ¡°If you look at this like a crabby asshole, you¡¯re gonna hate it. It¡¯s not hard to take things seriously and have a little-¡± I slammed my fist into his ballsack. Desmond reeled over and moaned in pain. ¡°Dammit, Tells!¡± I chuckled and grinned. ¡°What are you gonna do? Punch my balls?¡± He looked up with mild fear and held his hands over his crotch. ¡°Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t cuntpunch you, bitch. I don¡¯t miss.¡± ¡°Nuh uh.¡± ¡°Yuh huh.¡± ¡°Nuh uh.¡± He made a move. What a fool. An absolute buffoon of the highest degree. I saw his game the whole time. Desmond feinted a ¡°yuh huh¡± and went for a slam at my crotch, but because I saw it coming, I caught his arm mid-swing and slapped him across the face. ¡°Nuh uh.¡± Desmond dejectedly stared down to brood and plan silently, a new red spot adorning his face. My whole body jumped from Adam¡¯s booming declaration of victory. ¡°I¡¯M ADAM THE MOUNTAIN CRUSHER! GET YOUR TWILIGHT ASS OUTTA HERE!¡± Vetia punched at him, but having her face stuffed in his grip, she couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him from picking her up and launching her. Her face briefly filled with regret as his push knocked her into the air and she ragdolled into a thicket of grass. ¡°Uuuuuuuuh,¡± she painfully moaned from the grass. Adam¡¯s victory was short lived, realizing he may have seriously hurt her. ¡°Oh, my bad.¡± He bounded over toward where he threw her. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were so light.¡± Brenden stood up and flexed his jaw before finally snapping. ¡°Can you guys stop acting like a couple of retards so we can actually figure out what we¡¯re gonna do?!¡± Desmond giggled, ¡°Brotha, we ain¡¯t actin¡¯.¡± Adam turned around embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s just a bit of-¡± ¡°Just a bit of you almost taking her head off! Adam and what¡¯s your new stupid fuckin¡¯ gay little name-!¡± He turned to Desmond and I. ¡°What¡¯s that name she said?¡± I stared at him blankly, forgetting the second he asked. Desmond had a similar blank stare. ¡°I know I said I¡¯d stop, but I¡¯ve been staring at her tits too much to remember.¡± She dizzily sat up in the grass and glared at Brenden. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll probably be dead before any of you actually call me-¡± 5: Wake Me Up Part 5 5 (Avicii, Aloe Blacc- Wake Me Up) Vetia Brenden¡¯s stupid blue eyes stupidly stared at me like I was stupid. ¡°It sounds like a bad D&D name.¡± ¡°Fuck you, ET. I¡¯m gonna be real, I panicked and my gamertag was the first thing that came to mind. So I said it like a vampire and WetYaBed420 became Vetia. It was a joke. You¡¯re the one who decided to start calling me Vetia.¡± Brenden conceded to not caring anymore. ¡°Well it¡¯s stupid." I smirked. ¡°Okay, whatever you say Megamind. Do you want me to choose some basic bitch name like Chloe or Ehmaleigh? I ain¡¯t using my old name, that¡¯d just be disrespecting my old body callin¡¯ this bitch Rowan. It¡¯s a fantasy world, I don¡¯t give a shit. I¡¯m just tryna have fun with what I got.¡± Desmond countered. ¡°I kinda get it, but how do you know this is like other fantasy places?¡± I pointed at Adam the orc and Brenden the elf. ¡°Fair enough.¡± He turned to Tells to whisper a joke. Adam chuckled. ¡°All of us look like some 14 year-old¡¯s self-inserts except Brenden. He¡¯s the joke character with stupidly big ears and eyes.¡± That really struck a nerve in alien Brenden. I trudged out of the grass and plopped down across from the three of them. "I¡¯m kinda pissed, but it ain¡¯t that bad, all things considered. Can we just try to have a little fun with this? I get that you¡¯re in a constant state of bitching and moaning, but maybe now you don¡¯t have to be. Try to think of it like we¡¯re actually in a fantasy world, cause, ya know, we are. Hell, if anyone should be mad, it¡¯s Tells and I! We gotta learn new bodily functions! I don¡¯t know when my pussy¡¯s gonna start bleeding but I know it¡¯s gonna scare the shit outta me!¡± He stared me dead in the eyes like he was getting pissed off again, so I lightened my tone. ¡°You¡¯re that mad about a little joke? Really?! I get that this isn¡¯t an ideal situation, but who pissed in your Wheaties, Brenden?¡± "Pissed in my Wheaties? Bitch, we straight up died today! I think that''s plenty piss-enough for my Wheaties! I don¡¯t care about the fucking prank! You¡¯re gonna carry that name like a seal of stupidity now for all I care! But dude, we fucking died today!¡± Brenden stood up and everyone went silent. ¡°Is it cool and fun that we all died in a car accident, then woke up in completely new bodies, only to almost get trampled to death by a fucking wooly mammoth in the middle of nowhere?! I want to figure out what the fuck is going on. I didn¡¯t ask to be put into this body and I¡¯m sure none of you all were either, but I want to know what is going on!¡± He paused, looking over all of us, who could only respond with silence. ¡°What the fuck happened to you guys and why are you acting like everything is okay?! Has it just been your dream to brutally die and then get sent to Hell because of all your shitty Chinese cartoons?! Because that¡¯s what it¡¯s looking like! Why do I sound like the delusional one for not being happy and giddy that we all died ''n shit?! Have you all forgotten that we had families and lives back there?¡± I¡¯ll shut up. I don¡¯t feel like arguing with him. Desmond put out his hand. ¡°Hold up, lemme be clear, I don¡¯t watch that gay shit, I¡¯m just having fun. But Brenden, be honest, what the fuck are we gonna do about it? We can sulk or we can move on and try to be happy about it. I had it really good. Really fucking good. Do you honestly think I¡¯m happy about losing everything? No. I¡¯m really not. But what am I gonna do about it now?¡± Adam sat down next to me. ¡°You may not have wanted this, but I hated life back home. Working and saving money, only to not be able to afford anything I actually want? Fuckin¡¯ sucked. If you¡¯d have told me I¡¯d get a fresh start by killing myself, then I¡¯d have been the first self-abortion. But we¡¯re all here because of an accident. Not because we wanted to be.¡± Brenden seemed genuinely offended and disgusted at us. ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t hate my life. Guess I¡¯ll just go fuck myself.¡± Okay, maybe I do feel like arguing now. I shrugged. ¡°B, I was in a good spot in my life, like Desmond said. But lamenting about what I don¡¯t have isn¡¯t gonna bring it back. There ain¡¯t much we can figure out til we get somewhere either, so why not just lean into it for now?¡± I can¡¯t explain why, but Brenden¡¯s overflowing anxiety and stress is palpable. Like, I can actually feel it. I keep almost giving into feeling those things myself until I take a few breaths to calm myself. He isn¡¯t being unreasonable. He¡¯s just scared. I cooled my head and softened my voice. ¡°Come on, Brenden, let¡¯s figure this out. Rationalize, I guess.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. His eyes were like those of an animal in a cage. Frightened and confused, but he sat cross-legged and leaned forward while we reflected. All of us remembered our previous lives just fine. We had been best friends ever since we were young. When we died, we were out for the night, all finally 21 and out getting shitfaced at the local dive. Adam was our designated driver. On the way back, we passed a nasty drop-off and got our side slammed by a semi-truck. I didn¡¯t really remember dying. None of us did. Brenden rubbed his hands over his eyes and pushed his shimmering black hair off his face, slowly processing everything. This is it. This is our new reality. Our new selves. Our new world. I gotta keep everyone in good spirits. They don¡¯t need to be afraid like me. I stared at my hands, clenching my fists. ¡°Damn, I really am stupidly pale. Ugh, it¡¯s so weird not having a dick!¡± A tingle ran up my spine and my entire body shuddered to undo my dissonance. I glanced at Tells. She tugged at her dark brown hair, staring at it with almost fluorescent purple eyes contrasting her golden wheat skin tone. I tossed a clump of grass into her lap. ¡°What¡¯s your take? Yea or nay on being a chick?¡± She tugged at her bloody ripped sepia shirt and dusty black slacks. Upon realizing I was talking, she shrugged dismissively, a sensation of shock still gripping her. The mood became speculative and reminiscent. The strange high wore off and we were all confronted with the truth of this place we were in. I didn¡¯t want everyone to be miserable, though, and that¡¯s how they seemed to be getting. ¡°Alright, new body check. I don¡¯t know what you guys think about yourselves, but I think I''m looking real good.¡± Desmond and Adam chuckled, and even Brenden cracked a smirk and broke the silence. ¡°Maybe being a lil fuckin elf will have its merits. Don¡¯t know for sure, though.¡± Adam, the beacon of positivity smacked Brenden¡¯s back. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. In all honesty, you¡¯re a handsome guy even if your features aren¡¯t exactly the same as other humans. Your face is a bit thinner and longer, but it kinda works.¡± Brenden lightly chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll take the compliment. I never thought I¡¯d see the day where Adam got all roided up.¡± Desmond cut in. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying, bro. We are so fucking back.¡± I laid back and zoned out the conversation they were having. They seem like they¡¯re at least somewhat at ease. This world, this body, it¡¯s scary¡­ but so thrilling in a weird way. I have all of the experience from my old life with none of it holding me back. The night sky is so beautiful. There¡¯s a huge moon giving off an ethereal blue glow. It¡¯s calming, laying back and just basking in the moonlight. What do the people here call that moon? Surely it has a name. The constellations too. In this small clearing, I can see more stars than I¡¯ve seen in any night on Earth. A dazzling galaxy, just like how I imagined the Milky Way would look. But so much more colorful and shimmering like glitter in the radiant light of the universe. Maybe we finally have an opportunity to make something for ourselves, a second chance at life, even if we are leaving some good lives behind. I need to believe that to keep my guilt at bay. I don¡¯t even know why I feel guilty. None of this is my fault, but now my parents and sister are probably preparing for my closed casket funeral. I¡¯ll never see them again. I¡¯ll never be able to properly torment my sister for no reason again. I¡¯ll never find out if we were actually about to discover ruins by that river in Pakistan. God, what the fuck is going on anymore? How did I get here? Did God do this? Some other creator(s)? Is this how the universe works and we just didn¡¯t know? So many questions. So many things I¡¯m leaving behind. Having my friends here is better than nothing, though. Some familiarity is better than none. But that can¡¯t undo the emptiness in my chest or the worry prodding at me. Adam¡¯s voice broke through my thoughts. ¡°Hey, Vetia.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say it like it¡¯s a disgusting spider.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I had been laying on the ground, quietly crying into my arm without realizing it. I sat up and glanced at everyone, who all had matching worry in their eyes. They knew what I was thinking about, because they were thinking about it too. I wiped away my tears and tried to put up a strong front. ¡°Woman emotions, probably. Thought about my family." I paused and peered into the soil, trying to think of anything to change the subject. "I think I¡¯ll take the first watch tonight, if any of us will even sleep at all. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to sleep for a while. You guys should get some rest though. We have a whole new life ahead of us.¡± The air around us grew colder as thoughts of our lost lives began slipping into our heads. Everyone grew a little mournful. Brenden ran his hand through the ferns, ¡°I feel that. I¡¯m worried about them, but I don¡¯t know what we can do. Maybe there¡¯s a way of getting home?¡± Tells tossed a stick at him. ¡°It is what it is. Can¡¯t change anything now.¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Desmond said, ¡°gotta take it one step at a time. We had our fun earlier, but no bullshit now. We¡¯re in the woods and we have to survive. Gotta take it a little serious, at least.¡± Nobody had a response, exhausted, probably just as overwhelmed by the new information like I was. We all turned inward and the conversation died. I sighed and stretched out my back. ¡°Welp, sleep tight.¡± I stood up and walked over to the remains of the wagon, sat on top of one of the crates, and gazed out into the darkness. I couldn¡¯t explain it then, but I sensed every living thing around us, their locations, their feelings. The rest of the night, nothing meaningful approached as I sat there with my thoughts, quietly muttering to myself in contemplation. I didn¡¯t sleep. I didn¡¯t even get tired. Just hungry. Fuck, this is gonna be a problem if I don¡¯t figure out what¡¯s going on with me. But I don¡¯t wanna start doing shit in front of them. Some alone time would be nice, alone time where I don¡¯t have to keep an eye on them. When the sun rose, I knew I had to start this new day without regrets. I already felt bad enough for keeping information from them, but I didn¡¯t know when the right time to tell them would be. Hell, I didn''t even fully understand what was going on with me. 6: Another Day 6 (Dabin, Outwild, Nevve- Another Day) Desmond The warmth of her arms, the calming sensation of being in bed became a crackling fire and chilled earth. Alone, up for the rest of the night. I had nodded off for a couple minutes only to reawaken to whispers. Video didn¡¯t wake anyone up for another watch. I would have heard it. Hell, I heard damn near everything in the forest all night long. The woods around us were so alive and painfully loud. Every chirp from what sounded like frogs and insects was grating on my ears, a hundred decibels louder than before. Her whispers were like a soft breeze between the grating chirps and I couldn¡¯t stop my ears from focusing on them, even though she was facing away from me and by any right I should not have been able to hear her. Once the migraine set in, her voice was the only thing I could pay attention to without going nuts. Every now and then I would nod off again, returning to that bed, to my happy place, then I would be rudely awakened by some distant screech of an animal. Between her whispers and the grating noises of the forest, I never got a chance to put my mind to rest. We all missed our families, me probably the least. To be whisked away out of nowhere and dropped here jarred me. I didn¡¯t want to be alone with my thoughts. They hurt more than the unbearable cacophony of noise. If it was bad for me, it had to be bad for the others. My only goal was to get everyone to safety in one piece. I didn¡¯t exactly have many worries aside from their own dipshittery. ¡°Get up cocksuckers! It¡¯s the dawn of our new lives!¡± I shot up straight and the world spun around me like I was a top, sending me back onto my ass in less than a second. My head pulsed harder as the migraine took hold and my stomach twisted. I propped myself up and slowly rose to not provoke the head pain, but it worsened yet. I painfully glanced around and saw everyone laying down, but sure enough their heartbeats were rapid after I yelled. And fuck all if that wasn¡¯t the most unsettling thing I had ever heard. It was like listening to their heartbeats through a stethoscope, except everything around me was amplified to that oppressive level. I covered my ears and let my eyes do the sensing. So much shit everywhere. The sun¡¯s excessive light burned into my corneas, but when I looked down I could see for miles through the forest with complete clarity. My eyes strained like they were being squeezed violently, like they wanted to pop right out of my head. I fell to my knees, grasping at the sides of my head. I covered my eyes and ears, only to realize my nose was just as strong. The forest didn¡¯t smell particularly bad, but I picked up on scents from all over. I couldn¡¯t explain it, but I could recognize the scent of my friends. Adam smelled like damp earth, Tells smelled similar to pine, Brenden smelled like milky flowers, and Vegemite smelled like sulfur and roses. In and out, in and out. Deep breaths. Fuck! It hurts. I can¡¯t even clear my head. Are they getting up? Yeah, and two of them are coming toward me. Sulfur and milky flowers. A rosy hand fell on my shoulder and my eyes locked with the two across from me. Brenden¡¯s light blue eyes and Vasectomy¡¯s deep red eyes with vertical pupils locked on me in worry. I snapped backward, pushing away from them as their smells overwhelmed my nose and my own heartbeat pounded in my ears. ¡°Stay back! Just, fuck off for a minute, please! I can¡¯t-¡± my breathing sped up and I didn¡¯t know if I could slow it down again. My head was on the verge of exploding. All of a sudden I couldn¡¯t hear or see, and the only smell around me was damp earth. It reminded me of being back home, on hazy summer days where I would go to the firing range and shoot to my heart¡¯s content. Walking through the mud to put out targets and feeling the damp mist on my face. The scent of soil and gun smoke washed over me on that quiet range out in the woods. Just me and my rifle. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I opened my eyes, calm as I have ever been. Adam had me in a tight bear hug. I pushed away from him, realizing my senses were gone. I stared into his sunlit eyes for a moment. He put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°You good?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, no homo.¡± I realized that I had blood on my fingers, looked up at him, then felt around my eyes and ears, where I had been digging into my own skin because my senses were so overbearing. ¡°Peachy.¡± I turned around and Velma was already taking out her book. ¡°Alright, Squiddy, lemme fix those eyes for you.¡± She waved her hands in some strange motions that made a bunch of weird shapes in the air and then reached out to touch my face. I instinctively pulled away. ¡°Bro, just let me fuckin¡¯ heal you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste the magic. We don¡¯t know how much you have. I¡¯ll wipe it up, I barely scratched myself.¡± She furrowed her brows dismissively. ¡°Yeah, okay then.¡± I remembered everything she had been muttering to herself in the night and I couldn¡¯t help keeping my distance. My old friend is still in there, right? Rowan¡¯s still in there even though he looks different? I glanced at Adam and Brenden, then Tells. They¡¯re all different. Me too. She¡¯s still him. Guess I¡¯m still just getting used to it. I sighed and looked up at the group, who were making a spectacle of me. ¡°While I was looking around, I saw the forest end and some kind of clearing in this direction. A few miles out I think. It¡¯s where the wagon would have been coming from, so maybe it¡¯s where we¡¯re supposed to go.¡± Everyone turned away to look at the area except Brenden, who I had lost. I couldn¡¯t hear him approach, but his hand touched my shoulder anyway and I damn near jumped out of my skin. Couldn''t I hear everything? Brenden¡¯s hushed voice pulled me away from the group. ¡°Fucking shit!¡± I put a hand on my chest and let out a deep breath. He shot back in response to me being scared. ¡°Shit, man, take it easy. Did you see what was ahead of the wagon?¡± ¡°Yeah, it seemed like it was a cave or something, but we got our shit rocked yesterday. I don¡¯t think getting lost in a cave system is exactly the best plan.¡± ¡°Maybe. Best thing for us might just be to get some gear and learn how to use our weapons better. I know you prefer blasting shit with guns, but that bow might be the only thing we can rely on for now, considering you¡¯re the only one of us who¡¯s shot a bow more than once.¡± I popped my knuckles one by one as I thought, then flipped the flimsy wooden bow in my hands. Sure, there was plenty of tension and it was crafted sturdy enough, but it completely relied on the strength of the one pulling the string and would take a lot of training to used effectively for long periods of time. ¡°I use compound bows, not this garbage primitive shit. I can pull it back, but it¡¯s gonna kill my arm fast. And aiming with it is gonna take some time to learn. And look at this.¡± ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m gonna be reading through this book to see if I can find any magic to help you fight, but don¡¯t count on it. Adam is strong, but he doesn¡¯t know how to use his sword, or really his body at all. Tells has been really quiet, so I don¡¯t know if she can be of much help with her weapons cause I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s having an existential crisis. And Vetia seems pretty useless aside from her healing.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s her name. Sure. If you can help, that would be great. I wanna get the hell out of this forest though. I like forests that aren¡¯t homes to gigantic wooly mammoths, forests I can chill in and hunt without worrying about some fantasy bullshit. If the mammoth is native to here, then there¡¯s gonna be other shit that hunts those fuckers and I do not want to get caught out by one.¡± ¡°Me too, buddy. There¡¯s gotta be civilization nearby.¡± Brenden gazed off into the forest longingly and then back to me. ¡°Well, you¡¯re the eyes. Lead the way.¡± ¡°Word. Break.¡± I walked back over toward the others, whistled, and pointed in the direction of the forest. We packed all our shit up on Adam and started off toward whatever was on the other side of the trees. 7: Another Day part 2 7 (Dabin, Outwild, Nevve- Another Day) Tells I love my friends and all, but this whole mess is killing me inside. I have no clue how to use this sword and shield. Sorry, I should be more exact. Scimitar and buckler. Adam keeps telling everyone ¡°Just keep swinging your swords so you get the feel for them,¡± but I¡¯ve been swinging since I woke up and there¡¯s been no difference. Adam seemed like he was even getting a little bored of it. On top of that, everyone except for Vetia was on guard and being quiet so we wouldn¡¯t attract predators, but she was certain that there were none because she could apparently sense them. ¡°If we get attacked by another mammoth because of all your racket, I¡¯m feeding you straight to the goddamn thing,¡± Desmond said. ¡°Straight to the goddamn thing¡­¡± Vetia retorted, as if expecting follow-up. ¡°What?¡± Desmond looked confused for a second. ¡°Straight to the goddamn thing¡­¡± and then she mouthed something toward him. ¡°No. No. No. No! I¡¯m not doing this again. No. Fuck you. Fuck your weird hair. Fuck your massive tits. That¡¯s not what I meant and you know it.¡± She snickered, ¡°Did widdle Desmond get scawed of da big gween guy and wants to cuddle up with mommy? Is Dezzy Wezzy gonna pee-pee himself again?¡± At this point Desmond looked like he was ready to put an arrow in his own skull with how annoyed he was. Something finally clicked for me. ¡°That¡¯s why Desmond smelled like piss?¡± ¡°Oh my God, shut the fuck up!¡± He stormed forward as everyone let little chuckles slip through. We kept walking for a while. Desmond led the way in sheer anger. Brenden read his book the entire time, practicing hand motions in the air while little sparks of energy were crackling around his hands. At some points it looked like lightning, and other times like brief flames. Adam recounted the story of Desmond waking up, but I was barely listening. I was still trying to process everything. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I¡¯m supposed to be in Heaven, right? We died and ended up here, but why? Is this supposed to be purgatory or limbo or something? I don¡¯t know. Am I not worthy for Heaven? Am I not pious enough? Was I wrong about it all? Where will my family go? Where does everyone else go when they die? Does this happen to everyone? Is this a test from Him? Punishment? Vetia snuck behind me to my side as Adam finally finished his retelling. ¡°Yo Tells. You feel- look like you¡¯re goin¡¯ through it.¡± I kept my eyes on the ground and let silence hang until the wind swept it away. ¡°Where do you think we are?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°As in¡­ geographically? Chronologically? Cause I got no fuckin¡¯ clue on those.¡± ¡°We did die, right? This is what comes after life?¡± Adam groaned and walked ahead with Brenden and Desmond. Vetia put a hand on my shoulder and chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll reiterate: I got no fuckin¡¯ clue. We don¡¯t know much of anything yet. So don¡¯t lose faith, not until we see more.¡± I shook my head. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± ¡°Yeah, chief, I¡¯d be more confused if it did make sense. I mean, the fact that we resemble hominids and not some other form of life is mind boggling to me. What are the odds, right? All I know is we got an opportunity for something new, so why not make the most of it? Isn¡¯t the most important thing to trust in God?¡± She smirked and patted my arm, slipping into my line of sight with the ground. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want you turning into a filthy heretic like Adam.¡± Opportunity. I reluctantly raised my head and barely mustered a smile. ¡°Whatever you say, sister.¡± She grimaced amusingly. ¡°I ain¡¯t your sister, bro.¡± ¡°Well you ain¡¯t a bro no more, sister.¡± I could tell by her expression she¡¯d just been reminded of herself. ¡°Heh. You¡¯re killin¡¯ me Tells.¡± She shot me a finger gun, then bounded away to join the others. Maybe I¡¯ll try to follow everyone else¡¯s example. Go at this with an open mind. I didn¡¯t even realize how long it was before the forest opened up to blue sky ahead. ¡°Ay, ay, stop!¡± Desmond¡¯s voice bellowed out as we stepped toward the edge of a rocky cliff. Just then, I heard something like a chittering bug and darted up to join everyone else. Desmond¡¯s fearful eyes locked on something in the woods behind us. 8: Street Fight 8 (Adam Jensen- Street Fight) Adam Walking through the woods reminded me of being in school together, or when we would shoot the shit on a car ride somewhere. It wasn¡¯t serious or stupid, just us being us. I had a lingering fear that it might change given the new circumstances, but it seemed we¡¯d be able to stay the same for at least the time being. Ahead of us was a cliff which opened up to the sky above. The stunning sky that we¡¯d been searching for this whole time. Brenden mindlessly walked forward while reading straight toward the edge of the cliff without a care to glance up. I lunged out and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to reality. He looked up at me and then off the cliff, then back up to me like a deer in headlights. ¡°Um, th-thanks.¡± The red glow on his index finger dissipated. ¡°How about we save that for later.¡± I pushed the book closed in his hands. The u-shaped cliff descended straight down into a lake. The water was clear and vibrant. The lake dazzled in the sunlight, surrounded by swaying trees that were just as big as the ones deep in the forest. A sandy beach ran along the far side of the lake in front of what looked like dozens of spread out wooden cabins with tall gray chimneys. Several row boats with fishing nets gently bobbed in the water below. A river flowed into the lake from down by the beach, the left side of town from where we were. We weren''t that far from it, maybe only a few miles. As I was enjoying the view, Desmond screamed out ¡°Ay, ay, stop! Get your asses off the edge! Behind us!¡± I turned around in time to feel a sharp pain behind my left knee shot all the way up and down my leg. What caught my gaze were three green insects, each the size of a person, one yanking its talon-like pincer out of my leg, ripping my tendons out with it. A guttural roar escaped my throat as my knee buckled and my hands fumbled to grab the sword on my belt. ¡°Fucking shit!¡± Fear welled up in me as I fell to eye-level with this thing. Its massive black eyes stared straight into mine with bloodthirsty intent. I froze in shock at the sight of the giant locust standing on two legs, snipping its four pincered arms at me like it was searching for an opening. Its arms were thin, but armored by a jagged exoskeleton that extended into crablike pincers. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. What do I do?! What do I do?! I have to do something, but what?! It reared back its pincers to slash into my throat, but no part of me could unfreeze. As much as I wanted to move and act, my arms and legs could only shake. A cold sweat ran down my forehead. I¡¯m gonna die here without even fighting back, aren¡¯t I? Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past my head and crashed into the creature¡¯s exoskeleton, shattering. Desmond yelled out to me. ¡°Adam! Get your shit together!¡± The creature tilted its head to the side and hesitated. Without a second thought, I was sent into survival mode. I sloppily drew my longsword and wildly swung toward its neck. The insect lunged at me, grabbing my sword with its two upper arms and it began slicing into my gut with its lower arms while it held my blade. My skin tore and ripped as its arms ceaselessly eviscerated my abdomen. My skin was thicker than when I was human, but that didn¡¯t stop it from digging away at my core. I gritted my teeth through the excruciating pain and pushed down on my sword. My arms, my chest, my neck all flexed aggressively as I poured every ounce of strength into pressing the sword forward. Its upper pincers cracked and snapped as my blade slowly carved toward its neck. It suddenly screeched like a cicada. Yellow ichor spilled out of the gashes and down my sword. I yanked the blade back and used my whole body to swing straight down at it, lodging my sword where its neck met its torso. I pressed down, lifting myself onto one leg and leveraging my height, but the locust met me with equal bloodlust. Its lower arms ravaged my stomach, grabbing my flesh and organs and tearing them out, shredding them more with every snip. Darkness creeped into my vision in blotches. My world spun and the taste of iron permeated my mouth. Its jagged mandibles shook and chittered in rage, in a brutal resolve to kill me. I won¡¯t die! I can¡¯t die! I won¡¯t let you kill me, not until I kill you! Something warm and wet slapped against my thighs, but I was too scared to lower my head and look down at the intestines hanging out of my body, on the ground, torn to pieces as this bug and I were racing to see who could kill the other first. All I did was scream as my vision slowly faded. I raged and yelled and frothed at the mouth, growling like a rabid animal trying to cut the bug¡¯s head off. The sickly yellow paste slopped out of its wound, coalescing into the pool of my blood and organs on the ground. Crack! Snap! I finally felt some give. With the last of my consciousness, I pressed the sword through, tearing its head from its body. The chittering cranium clacked as it dangled against its body, hanging by only a shred of sinew. I yelled as loud as I could, fighting to keep myself awake, but that wouldn¡¯t last long. I can¡¯t feel it, my stomach- The world suddenly went quiet and my upper body lost all of its strength. My torso folded in on itself from losing so much of its structure and I collapsed on the ground, into the sickly pool of my eviscerated organs and yellow gore. 9: Street Fight Part 2 9 (Adam Jensen- Street Fight) Brenden I relaxed my senses, easing my mind and focusing solely on my index finger. The air fell still and my attention locked onto the dull hum of the universe around me. The hum pulsed through my mind into a point of focus. My finger, illuminated and vibrating, gently traced embering lines in the air while I walked. The book calls magic jzanmah. A word spoken like a breath. A combination of the words for create, jzanas, and destroy, mahkit. Jzanmah is the magic of this world and to harness it, all I need to do is will it to a point on my body and create a shape. A sensation like resonant static tingled from my brain, down my neck, through my arm, and into my finger until it glowed neon red with heat. The sensation of channeling jzanmah into my body was unexpectedly natural and invigorating. The feeling of energy was like taking caffeine shots on a day where you don¡¯t need them. Even though I was already awake and mentally focused, my eyes took sights in more clearly, my ears filtered out background noise, and my mind honed in on that electric feeling. I was lost in my meditative place, walking blindly when a massive hand grabbed my arm and yanked me backwards. My foot dangled off the edge of a sheer cliff over a shimmering blue lake. When I looked into the water, all I saw was the sky, and I thought about to dive off the cliff and up into the clouds until my mind came back to reality. ¡°Um, th-thanks.¡± I stumbled backward, grabbing Adam¡¯s arm to steady myself. ¡°How about we save that for later.¡± He awkwardly smiled and closed my book, his cheerful yellow eyes shining like the sun. For being such an imposing figure, there wasn¡¯t a shred of intimidation in that man. Suddenly, Desmond yelled out. ¡°Get your asses off the edge! Behind us!¡± Out of nowhere, a pincer slashed through Adam¡¯s knee and splashed my lap with blood. He yelled as he turned to face the massive grasshopper creature. It flared its mandibles just as one of Desmond¡¯s arrows collided with its exoskeleton. Shit! Adam can¡¯t fight that thing alone. I need to help him. The moment I drew my sword, another of the insects skittered out from behind the one attacking Adam. It darted up to me on all six legs and snipped at my ankles. I jumped backward at each attack, losing balance each time. It backed me toward the cliff and rose to its hind legs, standing a whole head taller than me. It raised all four of its pincered arms like it was about to launch simultaneous attacks at all of my vital points. We locked eyes and entered a standoff, each of us waiting for the other to make the first move. The thousands of tiny shimmering lenses on each of its eyes were focused on me alone. Its mandibles dripped viscous saliva as its mouth clicked and chittered. My heart raced and the electric feeling of the jzanmah coursed through me a thousandfold. If I couldn¡¯t act, it was going to mercilessly kill me. The wind calmly blew through, stirring up leaves and debris between us. Suddenly, the creature lunged forward. The top pincers went for my arms, and the lower pincers went for my legs to snip all my limbs in one attack. I ducked to my right at a speed I wasn¡¯t expecting. My mind barely had time to catch up with my body by the time I had switched places with the bug, which whirled around in confusion. Its back was to the cliff. I had that small advantage, so I needed to leverage it. It was then that I noticed a burning sensation in my shoulder. It had cut almost the whole way through the muscle above my collarbone. The book fell from my left hand as I lost grip from the pain. Panic was starting to set in. I was already an arm down and I didn¡¯t know how to use a sword. I slowly backed away from it, toward the forest, praying that it wouldn¡¯t lunge like it did before. However, it was already raising its pincers like before. My breath quickened and trembled as I flinched at its every step toward me. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Then it lunged again. I slammed its two upper pincers away with the sword, but its lower ones drove forward only cutting skin deep because I backed away quickly. It didn¡¯t stop the attacks. I flailed the sword in an arc after the first hit, smacking away its lower pincers, then again deflecting its uppers. Its ravenous attacks weren¡¯t going to stop until I was dead. Each time I deflected, I got slower and it got closer, cutting shallow like paper cuts, then deeper, then stabbing into my sides and tearing strings of skin off. Oh my God, I¡¯m gonna die. If I can¡¯t do anything, I¡¯m fucked. In a desperate attack, I drew my sword all the way back and turned my body to dodge its attack. Its attacks carried it forward and into my arc as I used everything in me to slash in a downward strike, severing its upper pincers. The top right one dropped to the ground while the top left pincer dangled from a gooey yellow tendon in its armor. It showed the first signs of weakness, screeching and recoiling backward. My brain stopped thinking and I lunged forward at it, slashing up toward its head. The creature tried backing away but it couldn¡¯t match my speed. My sword glanced across its exoskeleton about to miss until Desmond¡¯s arrow shattered on the back of its head. Its head lurched forward just enough for my blade to cross through its right eye with a grotesque squelch. The bug screeched and chittered wildly as the force from my attack knocked it onto its back. It stood up, not on the verge of death yet, but definitely wounded. The lakeside breeze chilled my left arm, which was now coated in blood from shoulder to fingertip. I knew the bug recognized my labored breaths and sloppy steps. It knew I was hurting, but it was hurting just as badly. Out of nowhere, Tells stumbled backward into the right side of the bug, into its new blindspot. It recoiled madly, flailing its two good pincers out at Tells, who managed to slam them out of the way with her buckler. Adam was to my right, screaming for his life. Desmond was to my left shooting arrows rapidly at what I could only assume was another bug behind a cluster of trees, where Tells came stumbling in from. We didn¡¯t have much time before we would lose. I had to try something stupid. ¡°Tells, can you hold it off for a second?! I¡¯m gonna try some magic!¡± ¡°We love casting spells,¡± Tells raised her eyebrows and gave an unconvinced side nod, never breaking eye contact with the chittering bug. She raised the sword and buckler, pumping her arms and bouncing on her toes like a boxer. Her expressionless face concentrated, letting out a deep breath to hone her senses, but a trembling anger was breaking through her unfazed visage. I stuck my sword into the ground and followed Tells¡¯ cue. I breathed deep into my lungs and held out my hand, the sensation of static crawling from the back of my head to my arm and into a coalesced point on my fingertip. I just had to remember what the book told me to do. This was one of the simplest sigils in there, I had to be able to do it. Tiny flames licked off the end of my finger as I began the first step. I traced my hand in a half circle, topping it with three triangular points, the middle point rising highest. The line started as a red, fleeting flame, following my finger until I joined the ends and it flashed into a white hot shape, like it was emboldened in the air. It was time for the next shape. I let out a breath and willed the energy into each of my fingers. With each of them glowing, I channeled the energy to create shape and flicked every finger up at once, like I was drawing lines of smoke that the geometric fire was giving off. The lines shimmered for a moment, and then emboldened in the air. The sigil was ready to be activated. All I had to do was grab fire and my hand would ignite. I hadn¡¯t done it yet, but I couldn¡¯t be afraid now. Determination coursed through me, jzanmah exhilarating me, helping me forget my fear. I grunted and threw my hand through the sigil as if grasping for a sword. Flames burst out of the sigil and wrapped around my hand and wrist, but I couldn¡¯t feel any heat at all. The static sensation curled through my head and coursed down my arm. The jzanmah spread over me like a thin glove keeping my body safe from the fire around my hand. Tells was still fending off the monster, actually giving it a hell of a time. She bashed at its lower pincers and slammed its exoskeleton with her sword, doing more bludgeoning than cutting. The bug was getting hits in, though, using the broken, jagged shell of its upper arms to get sneaky stabs into her upper body. They weren¡¯t deep, but she was staggered and heaving. She glanced over at me and I nodded back. She lunged forward, bashing its pincers aside, but one managed to glance off and gouge her shoulder. She pressed her sword beneath its head, forcing it to lean backward. At that opening, I sprinted forward, wrapping my flaming arm around its head and into its good eye. Tells pushed up while I pulled it down, and the bug fell backward onto the ground, its pincers pinned by Tells¡¯ buckler and shoulder. My hand burned through its eye, melting the flesh into a bubbling paste and pushing further and further. The bug screeched and lurched, bound and helpless, trying to grab at my wrist with its mandibles in a desperate attempt to stop me. I wouldn¡¯t let myself stop. My body was invigorated, angry and energized. I twisted and ripped at anything I could find until my fingers latched onto a fleshy mass the size of an apple, which slowly melted to goop in my palm. Finally, the bug stopped fighting back. I yanked my hand out and fell backwards. Losing focus, the jzanmah dissipated. My body shuddered as the fleeting static left me drained, or maybe it was the blood loss. I couldn¡¯t tell anymore. My head was in the clouds with my weak breath. I tripped backward into the dirt, unable to move. Tells stumbled down next to me and groaned, clutching her bleeding stomach. We both laid there, struggling for life as the battlefield fell silent. 10: Street Fight Part 3 10 (Adam Jensen- Street Fight) Vetia I was just chilling, having a relaxing walk through the woods with my friends. Nothing to worry about. The day was warm, and the sunlight warmed the forest floor until brisk breezes slinked through the trees, cooling us off. But what really grabbed my attention was the wildlife. I was intrigued by how dissimilar it was from the wildlife of Earth. Hell, the size of the trees made the forests feel prehistoric, like we were millions of years in the past when forests were allowed to grow completely unobstructed. The tree leaves were easily two to three feet long with thick stems and shaped like long jagged teardrops. There were needle trees mixed in, but they were hardly needles. They gently swayed with the breeze, dangling like strings. When I ran my hand over them, they hardened and the stringy fibers shifted so that the needles were like sharp little swords that would cut you if you kept messing with them. I stopped at a cluster of trees by the edge of the cliff and poked at one, running my fingertip against the jagged edge of the strange needles. A clean, fresh and earthy aroma wafted off of these little swords as they calmed back into their loose bunches. Around most of the trees were pale blue fungal formations that twisted upwards into little spires. They jutted out of the ground and got as high as three feet tall, but always pointed straight up. Large collections of them grew from the tree roots that broke the surface. I leaned down and stepped on a smaller one, which snapped like brittle styrofoam. The fungus bursted, emitting a cloud of light blue spores into the air that smelled oddly like cotton candy. ¡°Stop! Get your asses off the edge! Behind us!¡± The hell was Desmond yelling about? I turned my head toward the group I had wandered away from and before my head finished its pivot, a terribly cold sensation ran down my spine. Three of those things. They shouldn¡¯t have¡­ but- those things- they followed me? My head spun and that same fear curdled my blood. I caught myself on the trunk of one of the sword trees and glanced toward my friends as the bugs rushed them. Adam¡¯s knee buckled from being slashed. Brenden got chased into a standoff. Desmond took bow shots at them, and Tells was running toward me. There was a third, somewhere. A chill shot down my left arm. I quickly looked over my shoulder as one of the insectoids charged me on all six of its legs. I didn¡¯t have any weapons, and none of my sigils were useful in fighting. All I could do was run. I raced around the side of the tree cluster with the bug close behind. Little yelps escaped my throat as I danced away from its snips at my ankles. Around the tree it chased me. One rotation around and it countered to cut me off, catching my shin with its pincer. I haphazardly turned and staggered away. I couldn¡¯t run fast enough to get away, not in this body. So much for all that exercising last life! Now I¡¯m gonna die because I got stuck with an unathletic woman¡¯s body?! What a load of- An arrow zipped between us and lodged into the tree cluster, giving me a little extra distance from the bug. Suddenly, I clipped shoulders with Tells and screamed in shock as she darted past me. She jumped into the air and slammed both her feet down on the insect, crunching its abdomen, but not causing any noticeable damage. The creature chittered at us and wriggled under Tells¡¯ feet, trying to free its pincers as Tells wailed on the back of its neck with her scimitar. I stopped and raised my hands to do something, but what the fuck was I supposed to do? Intervene? Cheer on Tells? I couldn¡¯t do magic, I hadn¡¯t memorized any of it yet. Gotta find something to use¡­ some sticks, a couple pebbles, leaves, tons of needles. Great! Just what I need! Or maybe¡­ I grabbed onto a thick branch that was dangling just enough for me to tear it off. As I yanked away, Tells hopped off the insectoid and stood between me and it. I tugged and tugged, and just when I felt some give, Tells¡¯ back crashed into me. She tumbled to the side and caught herself, but I fell into the dirt while the creature shot up to finish me. The bug lurched at me, pushing against the stick I held to its chest. I held it at bay just long enough for Tells to send a wild swing at the back of its neck with her scimitar. A crude snap erupted and chunks of exoskeleton exploded from the wound. The insectoid rolled off the branch and turned back to Tells, who followed up with a buckler bash to its head. The bug stumbled backwards and fell into its skitter. It rushed Tells with wrathful intent, lunging up and snapping at her with all four of its claws. She caught two on her shield and deflected one more with her sword, but it shredded her side with the last one. I clutched the branch and clenched my teeth. Tells wasn¡¯t going to survive its onslaught unless I did something. ¡°Raaaaaaah!¡± I screamed maniacally and rushed the bug with the branch, going for a slam to its head. The branch was right on target until it turned around at the sound of my scream and caught the branch in its pincer, snapping it in two. Tells grunted at being slammed with the stray chunk, which hurdled behind the insectoid and right into her head. It knocked her away, sending her into the one that Brenden was fighting. Tells ain¡¯t coming back over here, she¡¯s already fighting the other bug. I¡¯m alone. I panicked and hucked the other half of the branch at its head, but holy hell I could not throw for shit. The branch flipped through the air, a hair away from hitting Tells¡¯ head again. The insectoid loomed toward me, wiggling its mandibles and chattering while flicking its barbed yellow tongue around. It happily snipped the air with its pincers, trying to intimidate me from running away. Suddenly, the creature lurched and its body twitched violently. Its pincers wildly attacked the air while its neck involuntarily jerked sideways. The bug¡¯s body twisted independent of its legs, forcing it off balance as it frothed and clicked. An arrow gouged the exposed back of its neck. Then another arrow whizzed by and snapped on its head, leaving an oozing gash on its left eye. Desmond knocked another arrow with a pissed off expression, which the arrows littering the topsoil explained pretty clearly. He whistled at me and shot the next arrow, missing high by a country mile, but still grabbing the spastic bug¡¯s attention. What should I do? Run? Desmond¡¯s gonna get killed if none of the others are up. But what can I do to help? I¡¯m an untrained healer. God, my blood is boiling, being so fuckin¡¯ useless. These bugs are here because of me, because they followed me, and I ain¡¯t gonna let them kill a single one of my friends. What¡¯s that? Rage. Oh a rage, and so primal, filling me to the brim. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I lost control of my body. The wound on my leg wasn¡¯t as deep anymore, but I didn¡¯t want to stand. Instead I hunched on all fours into a pouncing position. My lips stretched and split apart. Gnarled fangs extended over my normal teeth. Claws the length of half my finger shot out from the tips of my fingers. Pressure filled my head, like my eyes had gone bloodshot and all of my instincts became that of a rabid animal. Kill. Pouncing forward, I latched onto the bugs back and sank my claws into its eyes. My fingers wrapped around the bulbous balls of goop and yanked. Yellow ichor spurted out, then slow streams like tears ran down its face. Not dead yet. I wrestled it forward, throwing my body weight around to knock it down, but it wouldn¡¯t give in. I clung to its back, growling in animalistic rage as the insectoid threw its body around wildly. I clutched the bleeding eye holes and drove my fangs into the open wound on its neck, yanking out chunk after chunk of putrid yellow flesh and blood. Its movements became slower and weaker as I ripped and tore into its neck. It screeched and clicked madly as it lowered onto all sixes and slammed against a tree, but not hard enough to break my death grip. I held it down and wrestled until it finally went limp. My senses returned. The claws and fangs receded back into my body and my eyes darted around wildly. Desmond¡¯s petrified stare locked on me, and I couldn¡¯t blame him. I wiped the yellow guts from my mouth and hopped off the bug. I spit out a piece of exoskeleton. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna pretend to know what just happened, but keep it on the DL.¡± Desmond¡¯s surprised expression didn¡¯t fade, ¡°Uh, um, sure. Yeah. Cool.¡± His head snapped toward the rest of the group like he was alerted by a sound. ¡°Fuck, Rowan get over here!¡± He bolted back to the cliff. Brenden and Tells were on the ground with deep gashes across their bodies, and Adam stood there, his upper body folding in on his own stomach, cut like a timbering tree. He collapsed into a pool of blood and yellow goo. OH GOD! ADAM! ADAM! I took off in a dead sprint to Adam, who was on the brink of death. His wound wasn¡¯t excessively deep, but all of the attacked muscles and organs were shredded, practically liquefied on the ground. ¡°Desmond! Get the innards back in his body! There¡¯s a spell in my book that can fix this!¡± I reached into my bag and plucked out the book. I had thumbed through it, but hadn¡¯t actually committed to fully reading or memorizing any of them except the one I used on Tells. That one could work. It was about rebuilding the body. Desmond reached down and started splashing the guts into Adam, but he had fallen on his side with both arms behind him and a leg bent backward. ¡°Help me push Adam on his back!¡± I stumbled over to Desmond, who was wrestling Adam¡¯s arms out so they wouldn¡¯t keep him upright. ¡°One, two, three!¡± I shouted as we pushed. It was mostly Desmond pushing, but we got him onto his back. ¡°Now get that shit back in him!¡± Why are my hands bloodless?! Fuck, no time. I flipped to the page I had dog-eared and held it in my left hand while I drew with my right. Heart racing. Out of breath. Fuck fuck fuck fuck! Talk it through! My voice stuttered and choked. My hands shook like mad. Even the simplest of lines was impossible. ¡°Okay, okay, okay. Three shapes. A big triangle. Three points for life, death and rebirth.¡± The warm, energizing feeling shot from head to arm like lightning as my finger drew a wispy light green line through the air in front of me. The shape was easy, but it shuddered intensely like it was about to explode or collapse. Jzanmah jolted through me and I couldn¡¯t keep my calm anymore. ¡°Two is¡­ two oval shapes, eyes, on the left and right sides of the triangle.¡± I raised my finger and willed the jzanmah to start, but I was way too early. The shape I started bursted into glittering green light that dissipated around the sigil. I took three quick, deep breaths and restarted the shape. Finger in position, I was taking too long. Adam is still alive, I can sense that much from the aura, but he doesn¡¯t have much life left at all. Oh God, what if he dies? It would be my fault. All my fault. I can¡¯t let him die! I can¡¯t! I shook away the tears in my panicking eyes and readied myself for the next shape. I clutched my arms desperately. Stop shaking! Why won¡¯t you stop shaking! I have to save Adam! Arms! STOP SHAKING! ¡°God dammit!¡± I growled through gritted teeth. ¡°Stop shaking, me, stop shaking!¡± Suddenly my body recoiled as a bloody hand rested on my shoulder. Desmond gripped me with a fearful look in his emerald eyes. ¡°This is all you. Just ease up. It¡¯s just like shooting, you gotta stay loose. Breathe out and draw.¡± He grabbed both of my shoulders firmly and squeezed. I let out a long breath and began the next shape of chaotic jzanmah. ¡°Three teardrops. One in the middle, and two under it, one over the other.¡± Jzanmah flowed into my finger, burning like magma in my veins. The lines vibrated violently as I breathed out on each tear. Sparks jetted out of my finger. The shape emboldened and roared like green fire. It dazzled in place like a lightning storm, ready for me to initiate. I put both of my hands behind the sigil and intertwined them, pulling the sigil toward me as if embracing it. Suddenly, my eyes bulged and my muscles seized like my entire body was being violently electrocuted. What¡¯s going on?! JUST FIX ADAM! As I thought that, my arms lurched forward by some other will, reaching into the mess of blood and ripped flesh. They grabbed chunks of organs and fragments of bone, soldering them together with the jzanmah in my hands. Every organ they reconstructed sent a spike of heat that stunned my own organs, like the jzanmah was taking blueprints from me to use on Adam. Adam¡¯s aura weakened significantly. I can¡¯t lose him! Please, please don¡¯t let me lose any of my friends! That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking, but I need to heal faster! The jzanmah responded to my will. My bones popped and my muscles tore. My hands and fingers snapped every which way, snatching up pieces of Adam and rebuilding him, bit by bit. I winced and gritted my teeth, the jzanmah forcing every muscle in my neck and face to violently flex. The pain blinded me. My wrist twisted, trying to reach and connect bone, but instead of changing direction, it twisted further, snapping backwards. ¡°Gaaah!¡± Tears streamed down my seizing face as the white hot pain numbed my arms and exhausted my mind to the point that I had to fight blacking out. Darkness clouded the outside of my vision, but I had to stay conscious. Long enough to fix Adam. Then Brenden and Tells. Warm blood replaced the tears that dripped from my nose, eyes, and ears. My arms acted autonomously, moving faster than I could make sense of. The world became red and muffled, like I was drowning in a sea of blood, choking air down my convulsing throat. All I heard were muffled pops and snaps and cracks. Despite the pain, the shattered bones and shredded muscles, Adam¡¯s organs and bones ended up back in place, fully restored. I rose from where I was, unable to feel my shoulders or arms, which dangled like wet noodles at my sides. ¡°...okay?! Can you hear me?!¡± Desmond was in front of me yelling something, but my mind couldn¡¯t make sense of it. Tells and Brenden, heal them! My vision went out, and all I could sense were my friends¡¯ auras around me. My legs dragged past Desmond to treat Brenden and Tells. Tells¡¯ body was so vibrant with energy, with her aura. Piecing her back together burned so much less than Brenden. Everything was a blur, but my arms eventually finished as a migraine set in like a scorching sword stabbing through my brain. I walked in a direction, my boots carrying me from soft dirt to solid stone. My legs gave out, and I sat kneeling in silent darkness. Finally, the jzanmah released. My arms stopped, but the intense pain in my head didn¡¯t follow. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything. Something pushed its way up from my stomach, knocking me onto my side as I retched to expel a viscous liquid. A cool headwind fluttered across my face. My friends¡¯ auras slowly were strengthening. I did it. That was all I needed to let myself fade. 11: Line of Sight 11 (ODESZA, WYNNE, Mansionair- Line of Sight) Adam Dazzling glimmers of sunshine orbited my dizzy eyes, which opened to a scene of the azure sky and gently swaying leaves. So familiar. Reminds me of waking up in that other world. Wait¡­ ¡°Adam!¡± Desmond¡¯s new voice was jarring to hear, sending me up to a seated position, staring down at the green mitts that were my new hands. I sighed. So it wasn¡¯t just a nightmare, waking up in another world and getting eviscerated by a giant bug. Am I relieved? Discouraged? What happened? I woke up in the forest. Wagon exploded. Talked with the boys. Then I ended up here. My stomach panged with dull aches as I winced through stretching my core. My sword lightly scratched against the stone and into a mess of yellow ichor and blood. Blood, which soaked me from stomach to toe. And the smell, like rotting meat and burnt hair. Wherever it was coming from, it was revolting enough for my guts to retch up runny yellow fluid and dirt. I heaved and gagged out to my side, then wiped my lips. How the hell did bug juice and dirt get in me? And how am I alive? I only have light scars, but my entire stomach¡­ it was ripped out. ¡°No fuckin¡¯ way you¡¯re alive,¡± Desmond limped to my side and grabbed my arm, leaving blood and yellow paste where he touched. ¡°Come on, Adam, we gotta go.¡± As Desmond pulled me upward, jolts of pain shot through my core, cramping and keeping me in place. ¡°Erg, I can¡¯t! Desmond, stop, I can¡¯t get up yet.¡± He let go and slapped his leg. ¡°Shit, well somebody¡¯s gotta help Venmo! My ankle got fucked tryna roll your fat ass over. I can¡¯t carry her anywhere fast!¡± He winced and then locked his intense green eyes on me. ¡°Are ya sure ya can¡¯t get up, man?!¡± I pushed against the ground and threw myself to a standing position. Suddenly, the world spiraled, darkness clouded my vision and I landed on my hands and knees, spitting out more dirty yellowed blood. ¡°God dammit!¡± Desmond hastily limped toward the cliffside groans of Brenden and Tells. I leaned back, catching my breath, watching them stand up. Both Brenden and Tells rose without much issue, stretching and wincing as they each felt their own scarred bodies. ¡°What¡¯s going-¡± Brenden started, then his eyes locked on the body laying at the cliff¡¯s edge, convulsing in a pool of blood. My heart rate spiked. No way we¡¯re all okay, but she¡¯s¡­ ¡°Desmond!¡± I yelled, ¡° What happened?!¡± ¡°The hell do you think happened?!¡± Desmond panickedly yanked Brenden and Tells to their feet, just trying to convey the weight of our friend dying to us. ¡°She healed all of you and then keeled over! Her arms are noodles and she ain¡¯t responding! Somebody¡¯s gotta run her to town!¡± Brenden dashed over to her side in a panic. ¡°What are we supposed to do, Desmond?¡± ¡°What¡¯d I just fuckin¡¯ say?! She¡¯s the healer! Somebody¡¯s gotta carry her to another healer, probably in that town!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t make it in time with your leg like that, Desmond,¡± I pointed out. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Desmond yelled in a frenzy, pushing Tells toward Vetia. ¡°No shit! That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to get your sorry asses up! Tells, how are you feeling? Can you run her into town or at least help me move her? I don¡¯t give a shit! I¡¯ll take her, but if one of you can go faster then do something for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Tells squinted and took in the scene, horror in her violet pearls, then ran over to Vetia. She hoisted our limp and convulsing friend onto her shoulders almost effortlessly and sprinted along the cliffside, into the forest. ¡°Tells! Wait!¡± Brenden took a few steps and then stopped with a confused and almost hopeless look about him. ¡°The fuck you mean, wait?! Let her go!¡± Desmond slapped the back of Brenden¡¯s head. He weakly spoke. ¡°I can help.¡± Desmond finally allowed himself to breathe and limped toward his strewn gear. ¡°Brother, your scrawny ass ain¡¯t carrying shit. Besides, she¡¯s probably the best one to do it. She¡¯s tough and Papa Samson taught us how to do some of that life-saving firefighter shit. I got faith.¡± Brenden frantically started retrieving our stuff which was strewn around the cliff, stopping as he held Vetia¡¯s book in his hands. ¡°Come on, guys, get up, we gotta follow them, like, fast!¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± Desmond leaned against a tree and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sure the town is gonna have a healer just like her and she¡¯ll be spic-n-span by the time we get there.¡± ¡°What if Tells trips and falls and hits her head? What if she breaks her ankle or slips off the cliff? Or what if her asthma starts acting up?! Desmond, we¡¯ve gotta follow her! I¡¯ve gotta go after her just to make sure she gets there okay! Not just for Tells either, she¡¯s got Rowan too!¡± ¡°Wah wah wah!¡± Desmond mocked. ¡°What if she gets eaten by a giant sandworm?! What if she stops for some tea and crumpets just for gits and shiggles?! What if she hops in a plane and hits the Freedom Tower for the long awaited 9/11 sequel?! I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ know, man! We¡¯re rollin¡¯ with the punches!¡± He frowned, clenched his fists and kicked the tree with his hurt foot, screaming out over as the pain swept through him. ¡°Fuckin foot! Fine, Brenden! Go in behind her and get lost! Follow her with your busted ass! You think I wanted to be hurt and useless?! I coulda carried her down just fine if I didn¡¯t have to cover for all of you getting your shit kicked in because nobody wanted to take anything seriously!¡± ¡°I have been taking this seriously, dipshit!¡± Brenden¡¯s temper got the better of him and his frustration came to a head. ¡°None of us asked to die! None of us asked to be reincarnated into the hellish world! We didn¡¯t ask Rowan to kill himself for us!¡± Brenden paused and began whimpering his words upward. ¡°God, can¡¯t you ever just throw us a bone? First it was shitty jobs and debt, and never having enough money to not be stressed. We barely ever saw each other because we were all working or in college. And the second we finally go to hang out, we die!¡± Desmond groaned and shook his head, looking off toward the village. ¡°Cry me a river, Brenden, you ain¡¯t the only one with a shit hand in life. We¡¯re all dead together.¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± My booming voice startled even me a little and it silenced them. ¡°Bitch about it later! We¡¯ve got better things to do than argue who has it worse. We don¡¯t have a choice in the matter. We just have to keep moving forward. Home isn¡¯t here. We can¡¯t afford to labor on what we lost.¡± I found myself on the verge of passing out, but I swallowed and sighed. ¡°We can¡¯t linger on what we can¡¯t change. Eyes forward. We keep moving.¡± ¡°Fuckin¡¯ finally somebody wants to take this seriously,¡± Desmond shook his ankle and trudged toward the treeline. Brenden¡¯s blue eyes furiously locked on him. ¡°Are you shitting me? That¡¯s all I¡¯ve been saying this whole time!¡± ¡°Glad we finally see eye-to-eye.¡± I groaned and pressed myself up, the lower half of my body verging on collapse. Pins and needles wrought my legs as I jerked them forward, one by one. I held a thigh in one hand and used my sword as a walking stick. I had to move, to show them that we weren¡¯t out of this. I trudged to Brenden and leaned against the same tree, looking into his eyes. ¡°Brenden,¡± I tried to calm him, ¡°none of us can walk or run well at all. You and I lost a lot of blood. Running is only gonna ensure that we collapse in the middle of the forest. Tells wasn¡¯t hurt as bad as us.¡± ¡°She lost blood too, Adam!¡± Brenden looked up from his hunched position, gasping for breath. ¡°That thing cut the shit outta her! She¡¯s just as bad as us right now!¡± I put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Brenden. We¡¯ve just gotta trust her. She knows what she¡¯s doing. We¡¯ll be right behind her.¡± Brenden nodded and pushed off of the tree. I glanced over to Desmond, and he just shrugged and raised his hand to me like ¡°you lead the way.¡± I picked up my backpack, the straps now severed, and found myself staring off the cliff toward the village, toward the world in front of us. It was so gorgeous, the way the sun reflected off the lightly rippling lakefront. The way the trees swayed along with the water, like the point where two oceans meet. And at that connection was the village where people would be, hopefully, to help us. Desmond picked up his bag and bow, limping forward. We began the slow walk through the woods and down to the village. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let any of us die,¡± I reassured them. ¡°We¡¯re in this together.¡± 12: Line of Sight Part 2 12 (ODESZA, WYNNE, Mansionair- Line of Sight) Tells Those bug things cut the shit out of my side, but I wasn¡¯t noticing much of an effect after getting fixed up. Sure, the scar ached pretty badly, but it wasn¡¯t anything ridiculous. This run wasn¡¯t gonna be short, probably going a few miles around the lake, not to mention finding a doctor. Vetia¡¯s limp arm slapped against my back. Bone shards poked my hand through her skin in the arm I was holding. Warm blood poured out of her mouth, coating the left side of my body. She was half-caked with dirt, dead leaves, and a lot of blood. Don¡¯t throw up. Oh lord, it¡¯s so disgusting. It¡¯s so gross. Please hold it together. Push back the queasiness. Ewwwww, all the blood and her limp noodle arm are making this run feel so much longer! Just keep running. Just run. Running makes you forget. Thank God my muscles were so much better at running, not to mention my lungs weren¡¯t actively trying to kill me. I was a machine, chugging along without worry of slowing down. Sure, I wasn¡¯t as fast as Brenden or as strong as Adam, but I probably had way more stamina. Too bad Desmond didn¡¯t have anything. Or not, he didn¡¯t seem like he had any significant powers or abilities like me. Maybe Vetia had something too. Or maybe she was just a regular woman now. That¡¯d suck. My thoughts were wandering way too much for how strenuous the run was. Branches and leaves slammed into my face, leaving little cuts all across my skin. I was hurdling bushes without knowing what was on the other side, all while I had my friend on my back. All of that without much effort. I dodged around a group of colossal trees and leapt over a fallen log- Oh, a chunk slopped out of her mouth down my shirt. It¡¯s slapping down my body. And it''s stuck to my leg. AAHHHHH!!!!!!!! I HATE IT! Every time I land or take a large step, I swear a new type of popping and snapping comes from Vetia, along with another gush of blood. How much blood does she have?! TO THROW UP THIS MUCH?! Down the hill, down through the forest. I had been going down the entire time. How am I not at the bottom yet?! I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ zooming! The hill began to flatten out and I carried the momentum of my breakneck speed. The stream of blood finally stopped and raspy breathing filled my left ear. Finally, light at the end of the forest ahead. I put everything I had into the final sprint until I finally emerged in the middle of a dirt road. The village was barely a mile away. I ran alongside the wide wagon ruts until log farmhouses lined the road. There were no signs or anything to figure out what these buildings were. A person, or a kid? A kid with a beard? No, no, just a really tiny old man. ¡°Excuse me. Hi. I need a doctor, or a healer, somebody to help her.¡± This two or three foot-tall, pale old man with a wide-brimmed straw hat and simple tan clothing looked up at me, taking his time. He had a stern, uninviting look on his pink face with a long, pointy nose, no ears, and an additional eye on each of his temples. He pointed to a log building made of the same dark, nearly black logs from the forest, but a white tree with silver and green leaves was growing through the roof. ¡°Healer inside, might not do dead girl any good.¡± And he smiled delightedly at me. I shot him a look like ¡°what the hell?¡± and took off without another thought. Fuck that guy. At least I could still hear her breathing, though lightly, in my ear. That was all I needed to get me focused back on my goal. I barrelled down the road and burst through the door of the building. A sharp pain shot rattled my head as it impacted the tiny door frame. I crouched through the door, carefully making sure I didn¡¯t hit Vetia¡¯s head on it, even though it was freshly bleeding from knocking it around when I was running through the woods. Multicolored sheets blanketed the floor. Flowing, natural designs like tree branches and roots were woven into the fabric, each one with distinct variations like they were original stories written onto each and every blanket. In the center of this single room was the white tree. Silver glimmers peeked through the cracks in the bark as if it were a kintsugi tree. ¡°Sen malteshin ah kal,¡± a slow, elderly woman¡¯s voice spoke from beneath the tree. Her tiny hand peaked out from the flowy green robes she was wearing. She held it out flat, palm facing the floor. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Triali, then,¡± she sighed. The little elderly figure slowly turned her head and stood. Her face was obscured under a tall, pointed green hat with a green veil that descended from its dark brown brim. She couldn¡¯t have been more than two feet tall, hunching as she walked like a rickety old dog with quick but unsure steps. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Follow me, young one.¡± The old lady led me out of the strange temple and into a smaller one right next to it. My head skimmed the ceiling of this building as I gazed around the dark building. Tan curtains were drawn open between clean beige cots of varying sizes. All of them were only a few inches off of the floor. Most of them were tiny, built for the people of this town, but the two next to a window at the back were normal sized. ¡°Lay her down in left bed,¡± the old woman said to me. She stopped to speak with a younger man at a table by the door. He seemed younger at least. It was hard to say for sure with them all being so strangely inhuman. He wore a wide brimmed straw hat like the old man, but he was far less wrinkled with a long beard and a grating, nasally voice. I set Vetia down in the bed and the old woman hobbled over. ¡°What hurt her?¡± My brain shut off for a second at that question and I stared at the old lady blankly. With a shake of my head, I got my thoughts back together. ¡°She was fixing our friend and her arms¡­ um, broke.¡± I raised the middle of her noodle arm. ¡°Leave arm still.¡± The old woman put her hands out in surprise as I realized I definitely shouldn¡¯t be messing with Vetia¡¯s fucked up arms. She lit her finger and did a really quick few motions like Brenden did with his magic, except hers was light green. A sheen of green light formed in front of her eyes, which slowly passed over Vetia¡¯s whole body. I stayed silent, unsure of what was going on, but pretty sure what she was doing was helpful. I leaned down, trying to see her face, but it was still obscured since the overhead lamp light was blocked by her witch hat. She was calm as could be, even with me sitting there rapidly tapping my foot in anticipation for some kind of answer. ¡°Shock burn on all abdomen organ. Graveled all bone. Long healing process. All organ heal within hours. Brain require couple season to recover.¡± She was composed almost to the point of apathy until she finally offered a strangely timed smile, the rest of her face obscured by the veil. ¡°Uh huh. What about her arms?¡± I asked her, half wondering if I had missed her mentioning them or she just ignored the most obviously damaged part of Vetia. ¡°She will never use two arm in future. Damage is too much to fix. Replacing two arm bone would require seasons of care, unless fireblood bone acquired. I cannot fix two arm without two fireblood bone. Poikla people need my jzanmah.¡± I was starting to have a hard time understanding her. She had a slow and breathy accent where all of the P¡¯s and B¡¯s dropped, sounding the same. All of her words sort of melded together into a strange mumbled string. ¡°Fireblood bones? Where do I find those?¡± ¡°Scouriad fireblood.¡± ¡°What do scouriad firebloods look like?¡± The old woman looked at me like I was stupid. ¡°Many different appearances of all forms of humans.¡± ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll get the bones and then bring them back.¡± The old woman looked at me skeptically. ¡°Do you know of fireblood? How fireblood bone heal? Their many danger?¡± I casually shook my head and shrugged. ¡°Fireblood are danger. Find Geren. Geren live in blue flower field near ravine. In cabin with cage pile. Fireblood hunter. He will educate. Freshly harvested bone and limb replace lost, broken piece of body and¡­ bond. Become like old limb. I think word is assimilate.¡± ¡°That word sounds right.¡± I paused, unsure of what to say. ¡°We¡¯ll¡­ get those bones.¡± She peered at me from beneath her veil. ¡°How do you say you?¡± ¡°Uuuhhhhh, huh? You?¡± She squinted. ¡°You. What is you? Triali word is¡­ name.¡± ¡°My name is¡­ Tells?¡± ¡°Mother Yeline is how you say me. Poikla is grateful for collection of fireblood.¡± ¡°Yeah. No problem.¡± I awkwardly shifted while she started doing magic or something with her hands. Then they glowed and started radiating waves of green jzanmah over Vetia. ¡°Where is home, Tells? Few visitor visit Poikla.¡± My mind completely blanked. What was I supposed to say? Could I tell the truth? Would she call bullshit if I made up some fake place? ¡°Uh, um, it¡¯s, I¡¯m from, uh, Boston,¡± I blurted out. ¡°What is Uhboston?¡± Fuck, is she trying to make small talk? ¡°Just Boston. Yeah, it¡¯s like, just the place I used to live, you know. It¡¯s just, uh, near water for fishing¡­ and stuff.¡± She looked at me like I was a complete idiot. And I didn¡¯t necessarily disagree. ¡°You have many friend or one? They arrive soon?¡± ¡°Three. Yeah. I¡¯m just gonna go and wait. So they don¡¯t get lost. Um, thank you.¡± Mother Yeline disappointedly nodded and turned her attention down to the noodler. I stared down at her too, seeing the state she was in for the first time. Her cheeks were sunken in and her face was pale, somehow even more pale than when we first got here. The right side of her face and body were caked in dry blood, her hair matted and stuck to her head. Is healing magic really so taxing on her? Brenden was using spells over and over during the walk. I sighed and stood up. As I was walking out past the clerk, he clicked his tongue. I turned my head in confusion at the odd sound. He leaned forward. ¡°What will you owe us in favor for Mother Yeline¡¯s service?¡± His voice had some really shrill peaks like a squeaky chalkboard. I just kind of stood there thinking and going ¡°uh¡± for a solid five seconds. ¡°Fireblood? Like, bones and limbs from it?¡± I wasn¡¯t really sure why I made them sound like questions. ¡°Fireblood will suffice. Should you offer fireblood to Poikla, Poikla will reward. Return tomorrow while Mother works. No visitation until.¡± ¡°Kay.¡± I ducked out the door and strolled to the entrance of the village where the others would be coming in. The homes were all made of the same dark, almost black wood from the forest, but the village didn¡¯t feel dark. Almost every home was surrounded in varying shapes and colors of wildflowers. I leaned down to inspect a patch of beautiful bright orange flowers with hundreds of tiny glittering petals that almost looked like burning fire, or magma. ¡°Yo!¡± Adam¡¯s voice grabbed my attention from down the road, where he and the others were slowly limping along. I quickly hopped up and ran over to help them into town. 13: Line of Sight Part 3 13 (ODESZA, WYNNE, Mansionair- Line of Sight) Desmond Ringing. Constant ringing like extreme tinnitus, except it wasn¡¯t the result of bad hearing. It was the collection of every little sound within God knows how far. All of them overlapping and amplifying in my ears was nothing short of piercing. And sure, those screeching bugs made me think my brain was going to explode, but Adam¡¯s insistence on leading us through the woods made me want my brain to explode. Following the cliff¡¯s edge wasn¡¯t that hard, but Adam kept somehow getting lost, needing help reorienting himself at every turn. It was a miracle how unfathomably bad his sense of direction was. After long enough, though, I just walked out in front of all of us and they followed me while I followed the scent of roses and pine trees. It was odd, but the awful sulfur smell wasn¡¯t left behind on Vetia¡¯s trail, it was just from being near her that I noticed it. We silently tracked until the road became visible. Our worse-for-wear band broke through the treeline and caught sight of Tells inspecting flowers outside some random person¡¯s house. What was strange, though, was how tiny the houses of this town were. Tells quickly reached us and slid under Adam¡¯s arm to help him walk. ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± She aggressively pressed her finger against Adam¡¯s scarred stomach. Adam yelped in shock as his body lurched, which would have sent him on his face if Tells wasn¡¯t holding him up. ¡°YEEOOWCH! Yeah it hurts! It just got healed, what were you expecting?!¡± ¡°Just checking.¡± Tells smirked and leaned her bloody half into him for support, rubbing even more grime on him. That was something I hadn¡¯t really noticed until I realized we were walking into a town. All of their clothes were torn to shit and bloody beyond comparison after the bugs. They looked like shit. I didn¡¯t. I looked great, only having some dried blood on my knees and hands from scooping Adam¡¯s entrails back into his body. ¡°What¡¯s the sitrep?¡± I asked Tells. She looked up in thought for a second. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta go hunt a thing called a scouriad fireblood.¡± ¡°Bless you,¡± Brenden said. ¡°Yeah, I dunno, I guess their bones can fix people, so we gotta get some. And there¡¯s a guy who can help.¡± Exasperation drenched Brenden¡¯s face. ¡°Really went all out on the research with that one.¡± Tells elaborated, filling us in on the details of her conversation with an old lady. Well, elaborated was a way of putting it. We basically had to interrogate it out of her because she would answer every question vaguely and without any useful details. Brenden plopped down on a bench in the grassy hilltop field in the center of the village. The bench was tiny and the almost fluorescent green grass shimmered a warm pink in the sunlight. Seeing it closer, the grass was green on the outside, but frayed close to the top and opened up, revealing a warm pink inside. The contrast from dark forest to bright field was a bit jarring, almost like this was a sacred spot. However, the tiny people were walking around up here, so we took that as a sign that it was a public space. ¡°I know we wanna help her,¡± Brenden started, ¡°but how are we supposed to help her when we¡¯re like this? Adam can barely move, we can¡¯t fight, and Vetia¡¯s the only reason we¡¯re still alive.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself,¡± I said. ¡°I can fight just fine.¡± ¡°You and that quiver of duds?¡± Why¡¯d he have to be such a cock about it? ¡°Guys,¡± Adam groaned and sat down in the grass. ¡°Not now. Brenden¡¯s got a point though. We won¡¯t be able to go out today if we wanna actually be successful.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I just said.¡± Brenden slumped back on the bench as I sat next to him and spread out. ¡°He¡¯s- or she¡¯s doing okay, though?¡± Tells shrugged. ¡°Alive.¡± Brenden casually thought out loud. ¡°I gotta say, it ain¡¯t easy getting used to thinking of you guys as chicks. Like I¡¯ve still got you in my head as the old yous.¡± ¡°Preach,¡± I seconded. Tells¡¯ upturned, tired eyes casually scanned her own body. ¡°I don¡¯t think this would¡¯ve been my first choice either, but it¡¯s what God gave me so I can learn to love it.¡± Adam the argumentative atheist raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°You think God gave us these bodies?¡± Tells sat down next to me, sighing to prepare herself for Adam¡¯s usual cynicism. ¡°Alright, Adam, then who made you the Jolly Green Giant?¡± ¡°Nobody. It was probably just random. But doesn¡¯t resurrection in a completely different world prove the Bible wrong?¡± Tells sighed. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yeah? How?¡± ¡°You¡¯d know if you took the time to read it.¡± He scoffed and shook his head. ¡°You know,¡± I added, ¡°it wouldn¡¯t make a lot of sense for a completely different world to have humans unless there was some sort of creator or mechanics to the universe.¡± Adam looked at us like we were stupid. ¡°Or human-shaped creatures are just evolutionarily common because of similar biological adaptations.¡± ¡°Adam,¡± I put my hand on his shoulder and gestured out toward the town and lake before us. ¡°Look around. Look at where we are. Think about the giant bugs we fought and tell me you reject even the possibility of a higher power after being reincarnated like this.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know everything about consciousness, Desmond. Just like dark matter, astronomical gravity, string theory. There¡¯s an explanation for everything, we just haven¡¯t found it yet.¡± I groaned and gave up trying to have the conversation with him. Tells looked up at Adam. ¡°You talk a lot of shit about religion for a guy named fuckin¡¯ Adam.¡± Brenden raised his head from pondering and blankly looked out over the lake. ¡°What if they have a different religion here?¡± Adam rolled his eyes, sighed, and laid back in the grass. Tells shrugged at Brenden. ¡°I¡¯m sure they do.¡± ¡°There¡¯s probably a bunch of pagan religions here,¡± Adam observed, tonally slighting Tells, ¡°it¡¯s pretty medieval. I doubt they¡¯ve advanced science enough to explain all the natural phenomena.¡± Tells glared up at him so I cut her off before she could start. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m making the executive decision to cut this conversation short. We gotta find some food and a place to stay for the night.¡± I forced everyone to reluctantly rise. We searched around the town and asked some of the residents if there were any places to stay. These people spoke our language brokenly, but eventually we found out that there were no inns. We settled for an empty stable stall next to the entrance of the village, where the crop fields ended and the forest began. We asked the stable owner for permission, then set up sleeping mats and blankets. I was just glad to have a roof over my head. The stable owner was an old guy wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat who had a pleasant disposition, but a rudely direct way of speaking. He pointed us toward a spot down the road where we could clean off in a river downstream from the lake. We followed the path down, passing the drinking water collection spot, then the laundry spot until the path and the river split, women and children keeping right, and men crossing to the left branch further in the woods. Smooth stones sat like benches along the side of the river where the men sat to clean and chat. The strangest thing about the area was just how lively it was. More like a social gathering space than a bathing space. We couldn¡¯t understand them, but it was oddly comforting the way they would nod to greet us and offer us jars of minty paste then mime for us to use it like soap. They were friendly, but they certainly kept their distance. The watchman, posted next to a large horn, never took his eyes off of us. All of the little orange, four-eyed earless people had thick beards and upper body hair, but none of them had hair on top of their heads. And it wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t have ears, just that their ears were more of divots on the sides of their heads with a small ear hole in the center. And they kept their hats close by, frequently glancing into the sky with an odd paranoia. We met Tells back at the fork and she looked haunted. ¡°They kept trying to talk to me, but only one of them spoke the same language as us. And they have so many nipples. Eight. Like a cat.¡± ¡°Eight boobs?¡± I asked. ¡°No, just a hairy front lump with eight nipples.¡± ¡°Damn. Well, you¡¯ll get used to it.¡± I patted Tells on the back and started walking. Behind me, she whispered to herself, ¡°Will I?¡± The sky was a deep red by the time we made it back to town. Brenden and Adam sat down on their mats and groaned in pain. Even if they weren¡¯t showing signs of being in pain, they certainly made it clear they were aching badly. ¡°Well shit,¡± I said as I turned my head from one end of the sky to the other, marveling at the gorgeous warm yellow to red to deep purple. The sky was so much more vibrant than the sky on Earth was, unless it was my new eyes seeing everything so much more vividly. The hazy ripples in the air were new to me, but the way they gently blended the colors of the cloudless sky was mesmerizing. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go explore.¡± I walked off toward the town with my head up, unable to pull my eyes from the watercolor-esque skyscape until the sound of shifting gravel caught my ears. Most fields were full of short yellow shrubs pluming into luscious indigo flowers that farmers were digging up to reveal intricate root systems. They would pull up the white watermelon-sized roots with branches that led to smaller bulbs, revealing twenty to thirty foot-long root systems with the edible bulbs all down the mess of branches. Shifting gravel? A scent like pine. Bootsteps. Breathing, a woman¡¯s breath, coming from ear level only a few feet behind me. I won¡¯t turn around, just walk along, calculating, readying myself. She¡¯s to my right, so I¡¯ll have to do an offhand haymaker. Heh. I can pull this off. Suddenly, I whipped around with my fist aimed directly for her crotch, but she was quick. She spun away from my punch and whirled around with a wide and weak jab of her own, but still incredibly fast. My legs weren¡¯t in a position to spin out of the way, so I hopped over her fist, pushed off of it with my hand and vaulted her punch. We both stumbled back to walking like nothing happened. I shook my head. ¡°Tch. I¡¯m gonna get you. Just you fuckin¡¯ wait dude.¡± ¡°Doubt it. Smaller target. And I¡¯m faster than you now.¡± ¡°Big dick means bigger target. Even when I¡¯m winning, I¡¯m losing.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll pity you. We can add my chest to target selection.¡± ¡°Target? I¡¯ve seen steeper hills on the great plains.¡± ¡°Yeah, I realized that in the river. Flat is still better than whatever the people in this town got though.¡± ¡°I can definitely see some muscle though.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stare at my ass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about your arms and chest.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t belie-¡± ¡°Your ass is nice though.¡± She sighed. ¡°This is why you can¡¯t keep a girlfriend.¡± That one cut deep. ¡°What, because I objectify women or some bullshit like Cathy always used to say? I¡¯ll have you know my last girlfriend was super into being objectified.¡± ¡°Yeah, last girlfriend. You treat them like you treat us. That ain¡¯t romantic at all, chief.¡± ¡°You say that like you¡¯ve got any room to talk, Captain Braincel.¡± ¡°Coaches don¡¯t play.¡± ¡°Who in the hell are you coaching?¡± ¡°Rowan.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, how?¡± ¡°He set up a double date back on campus.¡± ¡°No bullshit, you went on a date?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°AND?¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Coaching? Results? What the fuck happened with it? You never said anything about it. Not even Rowan did.¡± She took a long pause, staring at the ground. ¡°I got stood up.¡± ¡°You guys got stood up on a double date? That¡¯s fuckin¡¯ rough.¡± ¡°No¡­ just me.¡± ¡°Ah fuck, you third wheeled, didn¡¯t you?¡± Silence. Her melancholy eyes traced the treeline. ¡°I left.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°But you coached him?¡± ¡°I ¡®helped¡¯ him send a few texts.¡± ¡°Is that the only ¡®date¡¯ you¡¯ve been on?¡± ¡°Technically never even had that one.¡± ¡°Jesus Christ man, we gotta get you laid.¡± ¡°Not til marriage.¡± ¡°You gotta adapt to the times, Tells. These hoes don¡¯t wait til marriage no more.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t lookin¡¯ for a hoe.¡± ¡°Brother, you ain¡¯t lookin¡¯ period.¡± ¡°Shut your mouth before I kiss you.¡± ¡°See? You got unbridled game with the boys but fold like a broken lawn chair at the mere mention of a woman.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve become what I fear most.¡± I chuckled and walked on. Classic Tells deflection. ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. You got a brand new ocean with plenty of eight-nipped hairy hobbit hotties swimmin¡¯ around. Unless you switched sides for that-¡± She punched my stomach, knocking the wind out of me and walked off. After a moment heaving, I caught up and cackled lightly, patting her shoulder. I¡¯ll let her figure it out on her own. We strolled up the hill in the center of town, where the grass was like stepping into a cloud of shimmering pink and green strands glowing from the radiant sunset. The sky above us was perfectly divided: Golden yellow to the right and indigo to the left, with a melody of colors in between. Far in the distance, shadows dotted just above the horizon. Drifting islands in the sky speckled a ring around the planet, disappearing behind the trees on either side like a shallow arch. A large moon with watercolor teal and navy blue swirling on its surface emerged above the treeline, with a tiny orange cratered moon already high above us. The dark trees split the sky from the warmly lit cliffs and the water, which reflected everything above it. Glittery rainbows refracting off of the thin fog drifted down from the pitch-black forest. Stars peeked out from the darkness to our left in an expansive line across the sky. A distant, bright hazy galaxy, tilted like a disc and dotted by colorful stars slowly revealed itself through the fading light. That galaxy alone lit the world around us in a constant twilight. ¡°Kickass,¡± I muttered in awe. ¡°Yuh,¡± Tells agreed. We stood there, gazing up at the scene. Speechless at the sprawling universe before us. This is the world we¡¯re in? Shit, I could get used to this. As night took hold, the scene slowly turned into a starscape reflected by the lake below. Suddenly, chirping started all around us, and little fluorescent glowing bugs quietly buzzed up from their holes in the ground, dotting the air around us in an array of purples and blues. I felt a tap on my shoulder and Tells pointed past me, to my right. We walked to the far side of town, opposite of the cliff we came down, where irrigation canals connected to a river that flowed into the main lake. Closely packed rows of maroon lilypad-like plants grew into tall, wispy glowing pink grain crops with round marble-sized beads emerging from the top of the stems. They calmly swayed with the gentle ripples, lighting up the water a soft pink. Every dirt road was lined with irrigation canals or metal buckets where the water couldn¡¯t reach. The bioluminescent pink stems dotted the edges of the road like gentle guides in the night, meeting at the hill in the center. We found ourselves at the bottom of the hill again. Tells yawned, our long walk taking a toll on both our energy levels. ¡°Wanna head back?¡± ¡°You can. I¡¯m gonna stay out a bit longer.¡± ¡°Cool. Yell if you get killed.¡± ¡°Word.¡± Tells¡¯ footsteps disappeared in the distance as I drifted through the town aimlessly. I didn¡¯t want to try sleeping. Having such strong senses and lying alone at night was a recipe for misery. I didn¡¯t want to be alone with my thoughts, and yet there I was, alone. Looking around, the village would seem silent. But I heard all the tiny exchanges, the stubbed toes, the snores of slumber. An argument broke out between an older couple and then swiftly quieted as their voices grew loud enough for the neighbors to hear. In another house, a baby stirred, waking several more like an eruption of wails. A door creaked open and an exasperated young mother began a soft lullaby that slowly hushed the little ones. In another house, a man drank and wept from a window overlooking the lake. But ever so gradually, the village silenced into a dull hum. Constant, continuous sleeping breaths drifted peacefully in the late-summer breeze across the roads, fields, and lake until they petered out to nothingness. My footsteps crunched against the dirt, pulling me back to reality and reminding me of when I¡¯d sneak out at night back home. Back when I still lived with him. The silence reminded me of when it would break. When the door would shoot open and there would be a thump on the sofa or an enraged scream of my name. Sleeping reminded me of him, of the fear of being woken up to getting hit with a fist or a bottle. Why would I ever want to go back to a world like that when there¡¯s a place like this? And then I remembered her. The woman I had been forcing out of my memory as soon as I got here. The reminder that I would never be good enough for anyone and the mistake I would never get the chance to atone for. I shook my head and looked around for something to distract me. Then, as I wandered, a whisper caught my ear. A whisper in a building, just too quiet for me to hear clearly. I followed the dull breaths until I ended up in front of some random building. Coming from inside, from somewhere behind the building, was Vetia¡¯s voice. I casually glanced around to make sure nobody was watching me, and then snuck toward the back of the building. I was about twenty feet from the open window listening in. Weak whimpers and worried whispers escaped her lips. I glanced through, locking onto her red eyes glowing from the moonlight that was illuminating her sunken face. She was a mess, just not bloody anymore. Streams of tears had dried down the sides of her head, and her debilitated gaze blankly stared a thousand yards through the ceiling. Her cheeks were sunken and her forehead had a large bruise on the right side. ¡°I won¡¯t hurt anyone. I¡¯m still human. I can take it. I can control it.¡± She repeated this over in near-silence, falling into gibberish and then back into her mantra. Her eyes drifted to me and her voice went silent. Then, she fought to smile at me through the excruciating pain. Her voice croaked in a way that I normally wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Dee, I won¡¯t kill you. You guys don¡¯t taste good, anyway.¡± She chuckled until a quiet, high-pitched cry broke through and she went back to repeating her mantra. How in the fuck does she know I¡¯m outside? How does she know what we taste like?! I¡¯d remember if I got head from her¡­ oh wait, I think I see what¡¯s up. I know she¡¯s having worries about killing, but is it stronger now? Has the damage caused it to worsen? It hurts to see her like this, but I can¡¯t do anything about it. Nah, I can get those bones. Those fireblood bones or whatever. That¡¯s gonna work, right? The noises of the forest, of the lake, of the town crept into my ears. Her whispers paraded alongside them in a maddening frenzy of chaos that pierced my ears. Everything was around me, from every direction at every moment. Leaves rustling and ripping to the left, creaks to my right, frantic laments from ahead, groaning wind behind me. Noises from everywhere invaded my ears, dizzying my strained vision. I jumped frantically at every snap and tap. The lights glared, burning my eyes and painfully jolting through my head. Adrenaline shot through me. I was surrounded and alone, unable to find respite in the symphony of chaos around me. My legs picked up, running off in whatever direction wasn¡¯t blocked. I covered my ears and ran until I was at the lakeside, stumbling through the sand. I was out on the beach at night, but the raging noises wouldn¡¯t stop. They wouldn¡¯t stop unless I did something, but I didn¡¯t know how to stop sound from getting through my hands and into my ears. I glanced down at the water and sucked in as much air as I could. Cold. Freezing cold. But solace. Muffling everything in earshot until all I heard was the gentle hum of water in my ears. I closed my eyes and breathed out, then yanked my head out of the water, laying back in the sand. I heaved and gasped. The cold water and the lack of air shocked me damn near to passing out, but it took the focus off of my hearing. I slouched down, wiping my face and flicking water out of my ears. The excessive sound, the painful noises were always there. Distracting myself and removing focus from them helped temporarily, but they were getting harder to ignore. I needed something to relax me, to help me sleep without hearing all of creation around me at all times. We didn¡¯t have liquor. We didn¡¯t have anything to smoke. We didn¡¯t have any money. We didn¡¯t have anything. I couldn¡¯t even plug my ears with wax. I sat there on the beach, covering my ears and closing my eyes, trying not to breathe in through my nose and smell. How am I supposed to keep myself from sensing? After resetting from the nightmare sounds to the usual assault of noise, I meandered my way back to the stables with my hands over my ears and collapsed from the sheer exhaustion of being up for two days straight. Sure, finally getting rest was nice, but only sleeping when my body gave out was no way to live. I¡¯d lose my mind. * * * * * Pain swelled in my chest as something blocked air from entering my mouth and nose. I thrashed awake, yanking a bundle of clothes from around my head and gasping for air as the sun began lighting up the distant sky. In my hand was a shirt tied to pants, wrapped like a blindfold. Foggy memories of waking up in a daze in the night came to me. In searching for something to ease the noise, I tied them over my ears and eyes. And with my luck, they slipped down at some point and started suffocating me. ¡°Can I just get a break for one night?¡± I whispered to my exhausted self as I steadied my breathing. My tired eyes glanced down at the three laying in the stall near me. Brenden was curled up as small as he could get under a blanket in the corner of the stall. Tells had sprawled out on her back, half off her mat next to a puddle of her own drool. And Adam was on his front in nothing but his underwear, sleeping on top of his arm with his dirty foot resting on Tells¡¯ stomach. I was stuck between Brenden and Tells all night, and I realized I had been spooning Brenden in his little corner, something I would take to the grave with me. The morning chill was starting to fade when I stepped out of the stall and stretched. The sun was gently peeking over the treeline and the village was already well alive. The little orange people were out working in the fields, filling baskets with harvested crops and making cheerful conversation. The old stablehand smiled at me, so I waved back, still dazed and not really sure what was going on. A low-pitched murr caught my attention. The stablehand was leading the sound¡¯s culprit out of the stall. It was a large, six legged creature with long mud-brown fur. Its head similar to a squirrel¡¯s, except with a long jaw and two rows of flat teeth. It flapped its elephant-like ears and long, furry tail as the old man hopped on its saddle and sauntered into the field. I breathed in the crisp morning air which was going to quickly heat up with the sunrise. I watched as the fields literally opened up, the grass quietly opening up from its usual spike shape, bending apart to reveal the bright pink interior to the sky. The sun finally peaked out, so I decided to wake the gang up. ¡°Yo. Brenden, Tells, Adam. Wakey wakey. It¡¯s cripple visiting hours.¡± Tells slowly rolled her eyes open and shifted, wiping her mouth and glaring down at Adam¡¯s foot before throwing it off and sitting up. Adam shifted, but didn¡¯t seem to wake up. Brenden¡¯s heart rate increased and his breathing changed, but he didn¡¯t move, so he was definitely awake, just ignoring me. Tells squinted up at me as she stood. ¡°You look like shit.¡± ¡°Thanks, I woke up like this.¡± I bounced my eyebrows at her and turned to Brenden. ¡°I know you¡¯re awake. I can hear your heartbeat.¡± Brenden exhaustedly flicked his eyes to me and sighed, slowly uncurling and stretching. Tells tapped Adam¡¯s foot with her boot. He groaned and shifted slightly. She shot me a look and then locked eyes with his asscheek. ¡°I think he¡¯s stuck in the stable. How about we slap that dump truck into reverse?¡± She planted her feet on the ground, winding up her hand for a powerful hit. In a flash with a crack like a whip, she put her entire body into the swing and brutally slapped Adam¡¯s ass. Adam screamed out, ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± He writhed, grabbing his butt, rolling over onto his back and frowning at Tells. Her hand recoiled as she gritted her teeth, clenching her stinging red palm and smugly grinning at Adam. Brenden stumbled next to me, cracking his neck and groaning. ¡°Get up you fat lard.¡± Adam laid still, still showing no effort to get up. ¡°Can a guy get some sleep after getting half his body ripped out?¡± I sighed. ¡°You had all night to sleep.¡± ¡°I barely slept, man. I¡¯m in a horse stall in the fucking dirt and you expect me to sleep well?¡± I rolled my eyes and imitated a baby crying. ¡°Waaah, waaah! My tummy hurts because some mosquitos snipped me and now I can¡¯t get up to see my friend that fixed me who¡¯s in the hospital with shattered arms and in constant pain because I had to sleep on the ground for one night! Waaaah, waaah!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even get touched! I don¡¯t wanna hear shit from you.¡± Adam grumpily moaned, still not moving. ¡°Tells,¡± I pointed to Adam, ¡°obliterate this man¡¯s cock and balls.¡± Tells stepped forward, planting her feet for yet another lethal slap. Before she could properly wind up, Adam jumped up like a scared kitten, guarding his crotch with both of his hands. ¡°Tells, when you die I¡¯m gonna put Told on your tombstone.¡± Adam grumpily hobbled past her. She stayed silent, showing off the same smug look as before. I sighed. ¡°Wow, what a zinger.¡± Adam side-eyed me. ¡°What was that, piss boy?¡± My shoulders sagged a little. ¡°A rude awakening for a rude awakening. We¡¯re even now.¡± Brenden groaned from outside the stall. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s crazy, I¡¯m going to check on our friend now.¡± He started walking. Adam put his pants on and caught up behind us as we all ducked into the door of the clinic. He was an awkward fit, basically squeezing on his knees through the door, but he made it. Some little guy at the front table squeaked at us. ¡°Do not break anything, you¡¯re not proper size for clinic.¡± He smiled politely and I nodded back, trying not to react too much to his piercingly sharp voice that made me want to rip my ears clean off. Vetia¡¯s tired catty eyes flicked up to us and a smile sprawled out across her face. I sat down at the end of her cot while the others gathered around and Adam took a seat on the floor. Brenden was the first to talk. ¡°How¡¯s the, ya know,¡± he gestured vaguely to her arms. ¡°Absolutely stellar. It¡¯s a good look for me, crippled.¡± ¡°You just been sitting in bed this whole time? Can¡¯t even get up?¡± ¡°Like, I can, but the double slings aren¡¯t great, so when my arms hang even a little, it causes horrible pain because of the broken shards of bones all throughout my arms and shoulders. And almost all of the organs in my lower torso have electric burns, but other than that I¡¯m feeling just peachy.¡± Her gaunt face forced a smile. ¡°Well, we¡¯re gonna get you fixed up once we get those bones.¡± Her smile faded. ¡°Yeah, I heard about that. Which one of you signed your lives away like that?¡± Tells raised her hand silently. ¡°And you guys agreed to it?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Brenden and I said. ¡°We¡¯re not just gonna leave you to stay broken like that,¡± Adam added. ¡°You¡¯re literally the one who saved our lives. We¡¯d do it even if you hadn¡¯t saved us.¡± She bit her lip, slightly frustrated. ¡°I appreciate it, but I¡¯ll be fine regardless. We can leave and I¡¯ll heal myself, y¡¯know?¡± I chuckled. ¡°With what hands? You can¡¯t do magic if you can¡¯t make those design thingies.¡± ¡°Bet.¡± Brenden shook his head. ¡°Why are you against us helping you? There¡¯s literally no other way your arms-¡± She snapped, the exhaustion and strange frustration peaking. ¡°Because you won¡¯t have me there to make sure none of you die. None of you know how to fight monsters and shit. It¡¯s not even remotely smart to go out and get this thing!¡± ¡°Newsflash,¡± I snarked. ¡°If we don¡¯t get a fireblood, we won¡¯t have any money or resources. We need to catch it so we can get enough money just to live so we can leave here.¡± ¡°Or, we can wait and do it when my arms are healed.¡± Tells piped up. ¡°Mother Yeline literally said she can¡¯t fix your arms.¡± ¡°Fine then! I don¡¯t need arms to help! I¡¯m more than capable with my toes! One shape with the big toe and two more with the middle!¡± Vetia lifted her leg and turned the back of her foot toward Tells, raising only her middle toe of the three long pointy toes on her foot. Tells looked more impressed than offended. ¡°When you¡¯re down bleeding out I¡¯ll just start up a sigil and step on you! That sound good?!¡± She shot frustrated looks at all of us. ¡°Do you guys not trust me or something?!¡± Brenden¡¯s face contorted in confusion and indignation. ¡°Fuckin huh?! This isn¡¯t about us trusting you. You¡¯re broken. It¡¯s your job to trust now. Have a little faith in us for once. Let us fix you!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you guys to fix me! I can fix myself! I don¡¯t need you to risk your lives when I¡¯m sitting here doing jack shit!¡± Tells stepped forward and pointed her finger on Vetia¡¯s forehead. ¡°No working arms, no opinion.¡± Vetia angrily tried pulling her head away, but Tells kept her finger planted firm. ¡°Push my finger off your head and you can come.¡± Vetia raised her foot weakly, but it couldn¡¯t reach Tells¡¯ arm before dropping as she tensed in agony. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled,¡± Brenden said. ¡°We¡¯re gonna go before you get any funny ideas.¡± He walked out the door and Adam followed with a wave. Tells finally took her finger off Vetia¡¯s head and mimed dapping her up before heading out. Vetia looked at me with defiant defeat in her eyes. I sighed and shrugged. ¡°Your mojo¡¯s off. What¡¯s up?¡± She looked like she wanted to kill me and spoke with palpable sarcasm. ¡°It¡¯s gotta be the weather. I just wanna sleep.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t sleep?¡± ¡°You were peeping on me last night, dipshit. You saw me awake.¡± ¡°Dude, take it easy. Listen, I know you¡¯re in a bad mood because you want to fix yourself, but-¡± She whispered angrily. ¡°I can fix myself, I just need to not be here! And I can¡¯t walk enough to get outta here yet!¡± ¡°Woah, firecracker, take it easy. Listen, I¡¯m not new to this whole hunting thing. I can track and kill, and I¡¯ll make plenty sure to keep an eye on them. We talk to this guy in the cabin, he shows us what we need, then we cage and capture the fireblood thing. Easy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not easy, you guys don¡¯t have a clue of what you¡¯re walking into!¡± ¡°Look where we are.¡± I gestured widely. ¡°Ain¡¯t none of us know a goddamn thing. Here¡¯s how it is. You saved us, so now we¡¯re gonna save you. Hell, you didn¡¯t even save me and I¡¯m the one wrangling all of them to get moving so we can fix you up faster.¡± She paused for a moment, shaking her head in frustration. ¡°Can you guys just not do anything stupid?¡± She leaned her head back, fighting off a creaking voice and watery eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be stuck in this world without you guys.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. Might be a few days, but we¡¯ll be back without a scratch.¡± I patted her knee and got up. ¡°Oh yeah, and here¡¯s your shit. Read the book while we¡¯re away, why don¡¯t ya. Get used to those magic things so you don¡¯t fuck your arms every time.¡± I threw her bag into her lap and walked away. We had a lot to do, starting with finding the cabin with the weird guy. 14: Mountains 14 (Said The Sky, Diamond Eyes- Mountains) Brenden ¡°I¡¯m not dealing with her bullshit right now.¡± I paused and took a breath. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t want help, then that¡¯s too bad. She¡¯s getting it.¡± Adam kept pace behind me. ¡°Dude, I¡¯m pretty sure everyone is just overreacting because we¡¯re all tired and-¡± he yawned ¡°-and beat down from yesterday. She saw us when we were all beat-up, so she¡¯s worried.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to say that earlier? She would have eased up on the bitching if you¡¯d given your two cents.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest, most of that conversation was me trying to not break shit and find a way to sit comfortably.¡± ¡°Well anything you could have said sure would have been better than anything Tells did.¡± ¡°Did I do something?¡± Tells was suddenly caught up behind us. I groaned a little more obviously than I would have liked. ¡°No, Tells. You¡¯ve never done anything to irritate anyone ever.¡± ¡°I know.¡± She proudly hummed and nodded. ¡°My ass still hurts from you slapping it.¡± Adam rubbed his hand on the sore cheek. She proudly hummed and nodded even louder and harder. I stopped and looked back. ¡°What the fuck is taking Desmond so long?¡± Adam and Tells shrugged in unison. ¡°Jesus Christ!¡± Desmond emerged from the door of the clinic about a hundred feet back down the road, yelling back in like a disappointed dad. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d drop the hard r on me like that! What would Tells say?!¡± He started walking away, but after a brief pause, stopped to yell back like an angry gnome. ¡°I''m gonna lay into you after class you freaking worm!¡± We all waited, a little shocked at the uncharacteristic display from Desmond. He caught up, shaking his head in disappointment. ¡°I can¡¯t believe her. I thought I raised her right.¡± I sighed. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°After everything I taught her. The r is the most important part, man! It¡¯s what separates wannabe gangstas from the real Little Rockers.¡± ¡°Desmond, you know you can make jokes that won¡¯t get us punched or hated.¡± He chuckled, holding his arms out in a challenge to the sky and waving to a passing farmer. ¡°These people don''t have a clue what it means. What are they gonna do, summon the keyboard warriors to cancel me? They ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ up for shit. Got unwiped asses are so swampy their cheeks fused to the cushion. Just look how that Reddit mod turned out!¡± Adam turned around, ¡°Erm, it¡¯s called gamer gunk and it¡¯s what we marinate our keyboards in for grip.¡± ¡°Adam, I oughta kill you for making my ears hear a sentence so nasty.¡± ¡°You can certainly try.¡± Tells slapped my back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry B, I gave ¡®em the lifetime pass.¡± I rubbed my chin and raised a finger. ¡°But we all died.¡± ¡°True.¡± She pointed at Desmond. ¡°Dee, your pass expired, we all died. Say it and I get to legally kill you.¡± Desmond pushed forward down the road. ¡°Shit, you right.¡± I followed his lead and we wound up back at the stable to pack up. ¡°Tells, what¡¯s the place we¡¯re going?¡± She was already leaning against the frame of the entrance to the stable. ¡°On the side of the road, a ravine with a bunch of blue flowers. A cabin with cages outside of it.¡± ¡°Did you ask which way?¡± I rolled up my sleeping mat. ¡°No. She said it was down the road.¡± ¡°Which road?¡± ¡°The road out of town.¡± I stopped what I was doing and deadpanned at her. ¡°There¡¯s like three roads out of town, Tells.¡± ¡°It goes to the beach that makes you old.¡± ¡°The what?¡± Desmond burped and slapped my shoulder. ¡°I asked the weird old lady. She said the road we took in is the main road, AKA the road.¡± I looked at him in disbelief. ¡°You asked her that specifically?¡± ¡°Oh my God,¡± he said to himself. ¡°Brenden, I know what I¡¯m doing. Do I look like a retard?¡± He wiggled his hand in front of his chest and hung his head to the side with a very rudely stereotypical expression then mocked being afraid like somebody was going to punch him. Adam tied his stiff mat onto the straps of his bag and cut off my return banter. ¡°Guys, take it easy, we don¡¯t need to start getting mad at each other.¡± He took a breath. ¡°The information Tells got is enough.¡± Adam shot each of us a look before realizing nobody was actually mad. I shook my head and sighed. ¡°I coulda said that myself. You know what. I¡¯m done. Adam, you¡¯re out of the sniper clan.¡± Everyone stopped what they were doing, aghast faces locking onto me. Adam was a little confused, so Desmond continued the bit. ¡°You can¡¯t just kick him like that.¡± Tells threw her hands up, grabbing the top of her head in panic. ¡°BRO! He¡¯s our top guy! The rest of us can¡¯t get a 720 Y Y glug glug throwing knife blackscope in a public lobby!¡± I squinted at Adam. ¡°He got lucky. He¡¯s just a filthy League junkie now.¡± Adam stepped up, posturing his chest and challenging me. ¡°1v1 me. Rust. Interventions only. I¡¯m still goated on the sticks.¡± I smirked. ¡°Try me.¡± He chuckled. ¡°You won¡¯t even last-¡± ¡°But no screen sticker. No laser pointer.¡± A chill shot through Adam and he stepped back. ¡°That was never a rule before!¡± I scoffed. ¡°No, but¡­ if you can¡¯t win without it, then are you a real gamer?¡± He scrambled for evidence. ¡°I¡¯m already on my fifth LoL account! Banned four times! I¡¯m a gamer, I swear!¡± ¡°Face it, Adam, you can¡¯t beat me in a fair 1v1.¡± Adam weakly retorted. ¡°It¡¯s not unfair to use one! You can-¡± ¡°No honor.¡± I defiantly shut him down with that. He backed up with a playful bow, then smirked and stepped out the door, mumbling something to himself as he broke down into disappointed laughter. Tells leaned back, double-pointed at me with an approving nod, and faded away out of the room. Desmond followed her out, throwing me a casual salute. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. We finished our packing and set off. The messy dirt roads were slowly being encroached on at the sides by roots and small shrubs. The infectious void of wood and leaves on either side of us felt like towering fingers, preparing to drag us into the darkness at any little stumble. I couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious. We didn¡¯t know a damn thing about what could be lurking in the woods, ready to kill us at the drop of a hat. How could I not be anxious or even a little scared. More giant bugs and mammoths were already out there somewhere, so what else could there be? I had to know more. ¡°Hey, Tells, did you ask Mother Yeline about what else could be out here that wants to kill us?¡± Tells thought for a second and shook her head. Desmond groaned. ¡°Brenden, we¡¯re chilling. Whip out that fire hand if we see an animal. It¡¯ll probably run like hell. It might be fantasyland up in this bitch, but no matter where you go, animals are always afraid of fire.¡± ¡°And what if it doesn¡¯t? What if the animal isn¡¯t afraid of fire?¡± ¡°Then we throw Adam at it until it dies or we¡¯ve run far enough away.¡± Adam checked back into the conversation. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna be bait when we get attacked by a wild animal.¡± ¡°Oh, cool.¡± The conversation died away, so I reopened the discussion. ¡°Hey Tells, did you ask her how long of a walk this would be?¡± Tells thought for a second and shook her head. We continued until dusk, rarely taking breaks to eat or drink. Our supplies were only what we came with. Each of us had a loaf of airy baby blue bread, a pouch full of jerky, and a water skin. We packed the rest of everything in Adam¡¯s bag, including the box of green bulbs and a large jug of water. What nobody anticipated was how Adam absolutely demolished our food supply. Without telling any of us, he had eaten all of his own food when we were resting in the stable, so we had to split our already diminishing rations with him. I was just glad it was near the end of summer. The hot sun poured its scorching light on us all day while we trudged from shadow to shadow for brief moments of respite. The heat was made at least a little bearable by the aggressive lake-chilled winds that beat against our backs like we were in a wind tunnel. By the time we set down for the night, everyone was beat. Even if these bodies were in good shape, our fast walking pace drained us of all our energy. No Geren yet. Adam slurred his words in exhaustion. ¡°One of you guys gotta take first watch. I¡¯m fuggin tired.¡± He flicked out his mat and fell face first onto it. Desmond tapped Adam¡¯s back with his foot. ¡°Not yet, big man. We need you to go out and get some firewood. He looked up at Desmond pathetically. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go into the woods at night. It¡¯s probably dangerous.¡± ¡°Pussy.¡± Tells cut in. ¡°You are what you eat.¡± Desmond smirked. ¡°No wonder Brenden¡¯s been such a dick this whole walk.¡± I turned around ready to bitch slap a motherfucker. ¡°The fuck are you on?¡± He snickered. ¡°All I¡¯m sayin¡¯ is your mood blows harder than a thot tryna make it in Hollywood.¡± I stopped what I was doing and glared at Desmond. ¡°Oh, sooorry. I guess I just care too much about our survival. God forbid I have to be an asshole or you guys won¡¯t listen to a thing I say. Weren¡¯t you the one having a hissy fit right before the bugs? Because the others wouldn¡¯t shut up?¡± ¡°See,¡± Desmond said with a slight frown breaking through, ¡°he can¡¯t even take a joke anymore. Hey, B, did that body come with the anti-fun settings or did you just wake up on the wrong side of the stable?¡± ¡°He¡¯s short,¡± Adam observed from lying on his face. ¡°Short people are naturally angrier.¡± ¡°Yeah, Desmond.¡± Tells said, slapping his arm and standing tall. ¡°I ain¡¯t short, bitch, you¡¯re just tall. Hell, I¡¯m probably taller than you.¡± She walked up to him and stared straight ahead at Desmond¡¯s forehead, then looked down with a smile. ¡°Short.¡± ¡°Well at least I¡¯m not as short as Brenden is now. He¡¯s probably the shortest one out of all of us.¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I said confidently. ¡°I already made sure I was taller than Vetia. She¡¯s shorter than me by a few inches. Y¡¯all are just freakishly tall and I¡¯m average.¡± ¡°Speaking of which,¡± Desmond glanced down at Adam. ¡°Wanna get the fuck up and help us? We ain¡¯t got long till nightfall.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good sleeping in the cold. I didn¡¯t sign up for any of this camping shit.¡± Desmond and I exchanged a baffled glare, so I walked up to Adam and prodded his thigh with my boot. ¡°Bro, none of us signed up for this. We¡¯re supposed to be dead and shit. All you gotta do is go pick up sticks in the woods! It¡¯s easy!¡± Adam shut his eyes. ¡°If it¡¯s so easy then why don¡¯t one of you do it? My guts are still hurting.¡± I started kicking him harder. ¡°Bullshit, you¡¯ve been walking all day.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still hacking up yellow shit.¡± ¡°Then hack up yellow shit while you¡¯re getting sticks.¡± Adam reluctantly and slowly made a scene out of getting to his feet and walking to the edge of the woods to do the bare minimum. Desmond looked at me and smiled in disappointment. ¡°If it was me in that body, I¡¯d be so fucking pumped. I don¡¯t know how he can still be so lazy.¡± I shrugged. ¡°You can beat a horse to water but you can¡¯t make it fish.¡± ¡°Amen, brother.¡± Tells joined Adam in gathering wood. I couldn¡¯t hear them, but they seemed to be having a fun conversation. I got my sword and started digging a hole with Desmond. ¡°They always giggle and laugh like that together but I never know what they¡¯re saying.¡± Desmond glanced up at me, then focused as he listened with a perplexed expression. ¡°Yeah, no, um, they¡¯re literally just making noises and voices at each other and giggling at the weird ones.¡± ¡°Yeah, that checks out.¡± Everyone was quick to lay down and sleep once we had the fire pit set up. I was on first watch until whenever I felt like it was long enough to wake somebody up. I peered over my sleeping friends, conflicted even though I was just happy we were all alive again, somehow. This reincarnation made my mind race. We¡¯re different people physically, so is that gonna change how we all act in the long run? Desmond is the most similar to his old body out of all of us, but that¡¯s just because he¡¯s still a human and a man. Adam and I aren¡¯t human anymore, and Tells and Rowan are women. Looking at all of them, I don¡¯t associate their names with their new bodies yet. It¡¯s just strange referring to them as my friends when they don¡¯t look at all how they did before. How do they feel about me? When they look at me, do they see Brenden, or am I just some elf with the same name and personality as Brenden. Are we all gonna drift apart and change because of this? Will this world absorb us into it before we can find a way back home? What if not all of us want to go home? I don¡¯t just want to go home, I need to go home. My family needs me, even if I love these guys as my second family. My attention was taken to the book from my crate. The simple leather binding and thick parchment sheets within made it feel like some ancient tome, except it was just an introduction to jzanmah. It didn¡¯t explain what jzanmah was, just how to use it. The people of this world used jzanmah by scribing sigils into the air. Each sigil had a set amount of shapes that determined how the sigil would manipulate jzanmah. Everyone could use these sigils and invoke their effects, but not everyone was compatible with jzanmah to the same degree. Apparently there were a bunch of different types, but the book only contained sigils listed as thermal and spectral. According to the book, sigils became more intricate and varied in their uses as more shapes were added, but that increased the possibility for them to become volatile. Volatile sigils would essentially become overcharged and produce stronger effects that overwhelm the wielder and cause adverse effects like exploding or loss of control. It didn¡¯t say what would happen if this occurred, but I could only deduce that Vetia used a sigil she wasn¡¯t experienced enough for and it went volatile. To top it all off, there were some sigils that required more jzanmah, so they had the ability to nuke the user¡¯s brain. This was why the book recommended non-proficient jzanmah wielders only use sigils with two shapes. It didn¡¯t talk about single shape sigils, though, other than saying that only using one shape would cause an uncontrolled eruption of whatever jzanmah was being channeled. Sigils were categorized under what type of jzanmah they harnessed and how many shapes they had. The type of sigil ended in -kel and had the number tacked onto the beginning as a label. The names of the categories used the numbers in the language this part of the world spoke. Two shape sigils were called ten-kels, three shape sigils were tik-kels, four shapers were tat-kels. It was strange, understanding a language that wasn¡¯t the one I remembered using for my entire life. I still remembered English words and used them where Triali words didn¡¯t exist, but I couldn¡¯t form a solid sentence in English because my new default language was this ¡°Triali¡± language. Even counting, the numbers didn¡¯t go back to one after ten. There were different symbols that went up to twelve before going back to one. They all had different symbols and names, but they made sense to me. Even just thinking about that was wild. There were probably different calendars, months, and maybe the lengths of years were different. Thinking about all of this exhausted me. The important thing was that I didn¡¯t have to learn the basics because they were already in my head somehow. I sat next to the fire mulling these thoughts over until I decided it was time to wake Adam up. * * * * * ¡°Rise and shine motherfuckers.¡± Desmond¡¯s booming voice shot through my sensitive early-morning ears and rattled my brain. ¡°We got a long day of walking.¡± I opened my eyes to a dim, hazy sky, where the sun was just starting to break the horizon. The sky was a hue the color of rich blueberry ice cream. Fuck, ice cream sounds amazing. We¡¯ve all been eating dried meat and bread that was in our bags from the first day and we¡¯re already pretty low on food. I sat up, flipped the flap over and took stock of my pouch. There was half a loaf of bread and about three thick slices of dried meat left. Desmond looked into his bag, then scanned all of ours. ¡°We gotta take it easy on the eating, guys. We¡¯re gonna be out in no time if we don¡¯t do anything. Hunting for food isn¡¯t gonna be easy, either, especially since I don¡¯t know what¡¯s edible and what¡¯s gonna kill us just by touching it.¡± ¡°Those blue things smell sweet,¡± Tells observed, sniffing one of the strange fungal spires. ¡°So do poppies,¡± Adam pointed out. ¡°I never tried smelling them,¡± Tells misheard, ¡°I was always more of a cat guy.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope we get to Geren¡¯s before we need to worry about running out of food,¡± I picked up my bag and stood at the edge of the road, waiting for them. We packed our things and began our second day of walking. We only walked about half the day yesterday, so we definitely still had some distance to kill. The sun rose, and the heat grew immense. Walking on this open dirt road was brutal. We were running out of water quickly and there was no magic for generating water. Around noon, we saw a shape appear in the distance, coming down the road toward us. It looked like a wagon being pulled by some of those creatures from the stables, and they were hauling serious ass. 15: Mountains Part 2 15 (Said The Sky, Diamond Eyes- Mountains) Adam ¡°Hail!¡± I raised my hand toward the wagon that was being pulled by the strange creatures. They were long, six-legged creatures with ears like elephants and heads like squirrels with elongated, flat-toothed jaws. Their legs were long and thick, with three little fingers on each paw. They had long fur, one brown with white speckles, and one a solid milk chocolate color. The wagon stopped and a man who looked like a sky blue person with a tall head and a long, gilled neck. He rose from the driver¡¯s seat, standing taller than me. He stood up straight, with a wide gait and long translucent, shimmering pearlescent hair tendrils that were tied behind his head. They draped out in rows from underneath segments of ridged bone which rose to soft peaks, then a layer of tendrils, then a bone segment from under that and so on, all the way to the back of his neck like waves. His arms were abnormally long and incredibly muscular, with extra joints like he had two elbows per arm. No palms, three fingers and a thumb emerging from the wrist. His eyes and mouth were large, with a short and wide hooked nose. As he stepped down toward me, I could see that he had a second bend in each of his legs as well, a second knee below his first knee, but in bending the opposite way. His boots were large and much wider than normal. He wore a bright orange half plate with no sleeves, and long off-white pants. Whoever he was, he had a lot of money or a lot of influence. Or maybe he just gave off an air of import. Everything about this guy was startling to me at first, until I heard him speak. ¡°A jinian? Why do you hail? We have little time to spare.¡± His voice was deep and rolling, rising and falling like waves. Jinian? What does that mean? ¡°We are travelers in search of a meadow with blue flowers, near a large fissure in the ground. We ask if you have seen one, and how far it was?¡± I tried to be as polite and respectful as possible so as to not insult him, but if I was missing some kind of honorific or title, I would definitely learn quickly. ¡°Oh, what have we stopped for now?¡± A woman¡¯s sharp voice burst from the wagon. A face appeared from within, of a woman with warm tanned and freckled skin. She pulled a strand of her neck length chestnut hair back and shoved it into a braid that curled from above her forehead, down the right side, to the back of her head, just to scowl at us with her piercing orange eyes. ¡°Who are these peop- is that a jinian? A nyadin? Out here? What have we stopped for?!¡± ¡°Milady, they were inquiring about directions from the road we have passed down.¡± She groaned and retreated back into the wagon. He turned his attention back to us. ¡°The location you seek will be nearly two days of walking to reach. Beyond that was several days of riding to Vehfirn. Did you come from Poikla Village? How far might it be.¡± ¡°Ay, we did. We have been walking for about a day. So very quickly for you. Thank you for the information. We do not have much to repay you, but we hope you will accept this as a token of our gratitude.¡± I pulled one of the green fruits from my pack and presented it to him. His stoic face changed for the first time in this short conversation, as he looked genuinely surprised at the gesture and very curious. ¡°A pomi fruit? Where around here did-¡± The woman yelled to him. ¡°Andris! Make haste!¡± He apologetically lowered his head toward her. ¡°Alas, fair travels to you, kind wanderers.¡± He politely smiled and whipped the reins to the wagon. ¡°Fair travels.¡± I let myself relax for a moment while the creatures began their jaunt. I didn¡¯t think I had ever been so stressed before, but we finally had a successful interaction with a local since arriving here, so that had to be some kind of win. Maybe that ¡°pomi¡± isn¡¯t native to this area, because his reaction was more than I expected. Maybe I¡¯m not supposed to be native to this area. Jinian and nyadin, whichever one of those I am. I directed us toward the side of the dirt road and pulled another pomi out of my bag. I set the fruit down and readied to crack it while the others drank some water. I swung down onto the fruit and my blade glanced off of its shell. I turned my sword on its side to try crushing it like garlic, and sure enough the fruit burst open, filling the air with a sweet, nectary aroma. The fruit inside looked like pink banana flesh that was dripping with juice. I cut the pieces up as best I could and passed it around. Each of us hesitantly bit little pieces off of the fruit. It was the best damn fruit I had ever tasted. It had the sweetness of a pomegranate with a punch of nectar to make every bite almost a little overwhelming on the tongue, and a tart aftertaste. By the time I looked up, everyone had finished and was holding the little pieces of shell in their hands. I wanted to open another up, but Brenden and Desmond the fun police said we didn¡¯t have enough resources. The day went until sunset with little change to the terrain. The forest was immense and it felt stifling to walk past so many trees without finding anything new. About an hour before sunset, we stopped by a small stream that looked like it had fresh water in it. We camped there for the night, unaware of the dark clouds that were closing in. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The sky opened up on us just as night fell. Rain poured down in sheets, and the best shelter we had were a few trees to rest under. It was a long, tedious night. None of us got to sleep because of the cold summer rain that was berating us. At times of the night, we thought it was going to stop and tried to set up some kind of shelter with branches and leaves, but the wind and rain would pick back up and destroy what we had. Nobody spoke during that cold and dreary night aside from occasionally whispering some kind of curse when the rain resumed its assault. During a light spell, Desmond spotted some kind of creature in the woods and launched an arrow at it. A yelp resounded through the darkness and disappeared. He cursed, slamming his bow against the tree and yelling that he couldn¡¯t track its scent in the rain. That blow to our morale hurt, and a mild misery steeped the atmosphere. Brenden showed us all the fire sigil, which was apparently safe to use, so we spent the night huddled around our own hands for warmth. * * * * * After the miserable night and an uneventful day of rainy travel, we were running out of food. The rain gave us a chance to refill our water, but we were soaked to the bone and exhausted. It continued the same way for the night after that, except we had grown used to the constant rain and the mud that turned the ground into slop. There was no place to find shelter aside from trying to dry ourselves off under some trees to avoid getting trench foot. Had it not been for Brenden¡¯s fire, we would have definitely been in worse condition. Not that having almost no sleep for two days was a good thing, but we were at least able to stay partly dry. We couldn¡¯t keep relying on him though. Brenden couldn¡¯t focus on his hand the whole time, and there was no dry wood for a fire. That night, our meat and bread ran out. We had to eat two of the pomi fruits when day broke for what we were hoping was the last day. One pomi was all we had left unless we could hunt something, but nevertheless, we had to make it to this Geren guy. Slogging through the muddy dirt road was slow and draining. We didn¡¯t tire easily, but each of us were covered with mud in different places after slipping into the pools that would form on the road or tripping from the sink holes that drenched our boots. Brenden muttered to himself, hiding his waterlogged book under his equally as soaked cloak, trying to preserve the pages. ¡°This fireblood better be worth an absolute fuckton if my feet are gonna rot off on the way there.¡± Desmond trudged along in a tired trance. ¡°They¡¯re farmers there. They¡¯ll have shit for us even if it ain¡¯t money.¡± I glanced up at them. ¡°They¡¯ll probably give us stuff if they don¡¯t have money. We started here with a wagon and it got broken, so maybe we can convince them to give us one of those and one of those six-legged¡­ things.¡± ¡°Okay yeah,¡± Brenden seemed like something clicked for him. ¡°What the fuck was that thing? I wasn¡¯t trying to seem surprised by it because I don¡¯t want to seem like an idiot to everyone in this world, but that thing ain¡¯t normal.¡± ¡°What? Things from a not normal world aren¡¯t normal? Crazy,¡± Desmond snarked. ¡°They probably taste great, though.¡± Just after he finished saying that, he stopped and listened through the rain. ¡°I hear metal.¡± All of us stopped to search around for the metal sound. I picked up my head and cracked my neck, realizing I had been looking at the ground for almost the entire day just to keep focused on walking. We were surrounded by a thin mist, but all around us was a flat, grassy plain. It was littered by tall, thin blue flowers with long stalks that diverged into two blue spirals of DNA-like petal formations about halfway up. The air smelled of damp earth, evergreen trees and a buttery floral aroma. Everyone¡¯s spirits noticeably lifted at the sight of all of this. We all looked to Desmond, who was scanning the field to our right. He couldn¡¯t see over the flowers, so I lifted him onto my shoulders and sure enough, he spotted something a few hundred feet away. Sighs of elation came from everyone when he announced it, and our feet were invigorated with spryness as we all jogged off into the field of flowers. The cabin was along the treeline of this meadow, peeking through the thick haze and rain as if it were ethereal. The old, worn down cabin looked like a hunting shack with two or three rooms inside. Outside of it were around 20 metal cages of varying sizes. Gazing through rain into the mess of iron and rust yielded little answers about their functionality, but that wasn¡¯t my priority at the moment. Deeper into the field was a wooden fence of some kind, but I couldn¡¯t see through the fog well enough to see beyond it. We approached the door and let Desmond knock, not wanting to make too strong of an impression on this guy by letting the massive tusked one appear at his doorstep. No answer came. Desmond knocked again and listened in. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s not home right now?¡± Brenden leaned against the house, trying to use the little bit of overhang from the roof to get some respite from the rain. I felt a twinge of irritation building inside of me. ¡°Dude, if we have to wait for this guy to get home from who-knows-where, I¡¯m just gonna break down his door myself.¡± Desmond shushed us. ¡°I think I can hear something inside, but I can¡¯t hear it well through all this rain.¡± He seemed a little frustrated, but eager to get a response out of whoever was inside. He knocked again and not even before he could finish knocking, the door swung open. We should have been able to tell by the unusually large door, but what answered was almost as tall as me and unlike any creature I had ever seen. It had short, but toned legs that were almost shaped like a dog¡¯s hind legs. Those led into a long, muscular torso with thick arms that reached to the ground. It leaned on them almost like how a gorilla walks on its knuckels. Its flesh was pale pink and wrinkled, with long, peacock-like white feathers on its head and shorter white feathers sparsely covering its arms, poking out from the chest of its shirt. It wore earthy green robes that only covered its torso and a brown leather shawl. Its face was elongated, like a birds, with a heavily scarred flesh beak. Cracking old lips exposed its jagged, gnarled teeth. Its round, completely gray eyes gazed down at us. Desmond almost fell backward when the creature casually opened the door. ¡°You are¡­?¡± It¡¯s wheezy, whispery voice took over our attention. It was waiting for a response, but none of us spoke out of what I assumed was surprise and fear. ¡°I can wait. I¡¯m not in rain.¡± After a second of gathering my bearings, I mustered enough courage to speak. ¡°We were sent this way in search of a fellow named Geren.¡± The creature¡¯s face turned to me, and its massive mouth curled into a wrinkled smile, exposing its entire jagged maw. ¡°I am no ¡®fellow¡¯, but,¡± it took a deep, wheezing breath, ¡°I am Geren. Who sent you?¡± ¡°We were sent to you by Mother Yeline,¡± I was talking like I was reporting to a drill sergeant. ¡°She said you could help us capture a scouriad fireblood.¡± ¡°Help? Too old. Instruct? Perhaps. Come into home? You are drenched¡­ I hate for flesh to¡­ slop off bones on porch.¡± Every time he spoke, it was like he ran out of breath by the fifth word, struggling for enough to continue. He stepped out of the way, holding a hand toward the interior of his home, warmly lit by crystals and enticing us to step out of the gray, gloomy downpour. 16: People Are Crazy 16 (Billy Currington- People Are Crazy) Brenden Geren rested his taloned hand on Adam¡¯s shoulder and guided him into the house. No way in Hell is this a good idea! Red flag after red flag of fantasy shit is all over this creepy cabin. Are we gonna be the next Hansel and Gretel, but way dumber for trusting a literal monster? I don¡¯t even remember the story, but this guy¡¯s probably gonna chop us up to have some nice rainy day meat pies. Am I judging this guy by how he looks? Yes. Could he be a nice guy? Maybe, but I don¡¯t get the vibe that he¡¯s going to be cool, considering all the cages outside. If my flesh is going to ¡°slop off bones,¡± it is for damn sure not happening in this guy¡¯s house or on his porch. And yet, because I was so tired of the rain, I followed Adam into the cabin. Despite how absolutely creeped out I was, I got the sense that we could take Geren if we had to. Desmond and I shared a glance, silently acknowledging each other¡¯s suspicion. Adam lingered in the tiny foyer until all of us were in, then crammed in right next to me, looking uncomfortable beyond comparison in this horrifying stranger¡¯s cabin. Geren stood at the door for a second and looked over our dripping wet selves. There was an awkward moment of him just staring down at us, still smiling, before he quickly twisted his head and began lumbering over to a cupboard. He rifled through some belongings before waddling over on his hind legs and presenting us with some rough towels. ¡°You please excuse me. Haven¡¯t had guests in while. Take boots off¡­ bring them to chimney. I will light fire to dry. Dry yourselves. Be comfortable. May take while. Please, be comfortable¡± He sounded like Tells with how awkwardly he was speaking. He clearly didn¡¯t get visitors often, but he was making some kind of effort. Maybe I was quick to judge, but I¡¯d rather assume the worst and live than trust a random guy and have a chance of getting killed. We all pulled our boots off and emptied them outside the door. Our socks slapped on the strangely soft wooden floors over to the fireplace, where he was leaning down and igniting the fire with his hand. Hadn¡¯t even thought about how many people use sigils here. Had to be a lot if they were practical. We sprawled out on a brown fur carpet in front of the fire. I¡¯d put money on it being the skin of one of those big mammoths we got chased by. The room was packed full of shelves that had hundreds of white knick-knacks on them. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were all made of bone, and there were so, so many of them. A single old worn leather chair sat next to the rug by the fire. On the far side was a table covered in white dust and thick parchments. I couldn¡¯t see well, but there were carving tools and other, strange implements strewn across the desk. In the back left of the room was a closed door leading to somewhere else in the house. Despite the unsettling bone theme, there was a strange comfort to the cabin. The rain pounded endlessly on the roof. It was surprisingly cold for the summer-like weather we had been experiencing the past few days. Geren sat in the leather armchair and gazed at us expectantly. Funnily enough, he had some noticeable jitters as his little hind legs gently bounced, too short to touch the ground from a seated position. ¡°You come on behalf... of Mother Yeline and¡­¡± He took a long breath, as he tended to do at the end of sentences. ¡°You want to capture... fireblood? How prepared are you? What is your experience?¡± He leaned forward, resting his head on his massive fists. Adam responded pretty quickly. ¡°We don¡¯t have a lot of battle experience, but we have killed some person-sized bug things in the forest near Mother Yeline¡¯s village.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done a lot of hunting, just with better equipment than what we¡¯ve got,¡± Desmond cracked his knuckles and fiddled with his bow. Geren chuckled. ¡°Hunting is good. But battle experience? Battle is least of worries. And yet¡­ you look strong¡­ athletic¡­ but inexperienced? Elaborate.¡± He narrowed his eyes at us, but I couldn¡¯t tell who he was looking at. Adam spoke up before I had the chance to. ¡°We grew up doing farm work, so we never learned how to fight.¡± ¡°What farming village? I know area well.¡± His smile stuck, but his eyes stared with so much distrust. ¡°We¡¯re from a very small village from past the cliffs at the lake. Boston.¡± Adam was nervous, but hiding it well. Geren¡¯s smile faded and his eyes widened again. ¡°Curious. You want fireblood for money then? You want it to help someone? You want it for serving?¡± I jumped into the conversation before Adam could answer. I didn¡¯t want to give too much away and Adam seemed keener on talking than I was. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta help a friend. She¡¯s got broken bones that the Mother can¡¯t heal.¡± ¡°Then I will show you¡­ how to capture fireblood¡­ tomorrow. Not much to teach. Fireblood hunting is¡­ unique to fireblood. Let rain fall out. The day grows old.¡± He sat very far forward, his head lowering down to all of ours. ¡°You are tiring, yes? Young blood must sleep. Must rest.¡± ¡°Respectfully, Geren, we need to learn now.¡± I stood up and took a step toward him. ¡°We can¡¯t wait. She can¡¯t wait to have her arms fixed.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Geren¡¯s massive form hopped out of his chair and he stood in place, towering over me. His face was like a nightmare looming over me with a polite smile. He smelled surprisingly like refreshing pine and the flowers outside, which helped keep me from being completely horrified when I took a step back. He traced his hand on the side of my face and his sharp, white talon traced across my cheek toward my eye as his two dull gray orbs inspected my face. ¡°Nyadin, you are¡­ hiding tired eyes. I see tired eyes. I see tired man. Wrinkly, slumped eyes¡­ cannot hide from me. Friends are easy to see. Their eyes turn gray, turn sad. Can deceive strangers. But not me. Sleep tonight¡­ work tomorrow.¡± I waited for him to pull his hand away from my face, then gulped and nodded. ¡°Good. I will bring food. You are hungry?¡± We all nodded until Adam said, ¡°Yes. Thank you very much.¡± With a delighted look on his face, Geren stepped through the door into the other room. None of us said anything, but we all looked at each other, then the bones, then each other again. After a few minutes, we heard his footsteps tapping back into the room, and he waddled in on his hind legs, holding wooden plates in both of his hands. They were covered in a small assortment of meat, bread and cheese. Everything looked delicious, and our lack of food had been driving us mad with hunger. He hung a kettle of water over the fire and sprinkled some of the blue petals from the meadow in. ¡°Meat from animals nearby. Cheese and bread are¡­ from Vehfirn trader. Tyranewt petal tea¡­ helps digestion¡­ and delicious. Eat all you like. I have plenty.¡± He sat quietly and watched us eat with a creepy, but oddly delighted smile. His head and eyes didn¡¯t move, but I could feel his unsettling gaze was on me. ¡°Tell me more about Boston. I do not know Boston.¡± Our mouths were too stuffed to speak, I wasn¡¯t even tasting the food, but we all looked at Adam, who invented the lie that we came from Boston. ¡°It¡¯s a little farming village past the lake. Just our families live there.¡± ¡°Curious. How did your families¡­ get there? Uncommon for jinian¡­ nyadin and jorlad to¡­ live so close. Such different¡­ cultures, lives.¡± He¡¯s too interested in where we¡¯re from. He¡¯s not gonna let us change the subject. And what the fuck is a nyadin or a jorlad supposed to be? Are those groups of people here? Didn¡¯t he call me nyadin? Tells finally spoke up, but not much to our benefit. ¡°I was born in a city. We all were. Our parents moved to Boston when we were young so we could live outside of the- the ci-city.¡± She was already out of social gas and losing believability rapidly. To any person from Earth, our cover story was stupidly horrible, but it was just enough for a person from a different world to believe. ¡°I travel plenty. Please tell¡­ how are your families¡­ if I meet them in¡­ Boston?¡± Tells looked around and we were all looking at her. She wasn¡¯t worming her way out of this one just yet. ¡°I live with my mother, father and seven siblings. I¡¯m the oldest. My mother¡¯s name is Rachel and my father¡¯s name is Dwight.¡± ¡°Please, do you have clan name?¡± ¡°Samson.¡± She¡¯s telling Geren all of her family¡¯s real names and her real last name? Wait, shit, there¡¯s no reason not to. They don¡¯t exist here. ¡°Hmm. Tells Samson of Boston¡­ daughter of Rachel and Dwight¡­ eldest of eight.¡± Geren turned his head and looked at Desmond. ¡°Where is your family from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m originally from a far-off land called California. My father moved to Boston when I was ten. I¡¯m an only child. My father¡¯s name is Christopher, my family name is Fischer.¡± ¡°Unusual for jorlad to¡­ be without mother.¡± ¡°Yeah, she skipped town when I was young. Ran off with some rich asshole.¡± Geren processed that last bit slowly, repeating asshole quietly until he remembered the meaning of the word and nodded. ¡°Very well. Desmond Fischer of Boston. Son of Christopher.¡± He said it like he was taking notes in his head. He turned his head next down the line to Adam. ¡°I am Adam, the Mountain Crusher-¡± Geren interrupted him, ¡°A title. Mountain Crusher. Why Mountain Crusher¡­ please?¡± Geren leaned further forward for this one. His thin tongue ran over his dry lips as his wide eyes were locked on Adam. Adam, who had started introducing himself like that as a joke, was wide-eyed and frozen in place until I covertly nudged his thigh. ¡°Well, when I was young, I played a game called king of the mountain with my friends here. We would build a dirt mountain for the king to stand on. Then they would try to pull me off of it, but I would never budge, and the mound was always smashed under me. It¡¯s not serious, it¡¯s just a joke and a force of habit to say that, sorry.¡± Adam was talking fast and he was pale, boldfaced lying to Geren. Geren was eating the story up, though, smiling and lightly chuckling from it. ¡°Mountain Crusher Adam. How is your family?¡± The story seemed to calm Geren, who delightedly smiled. ¡°It was just me, my sister, my mother, and Pete. He¡¯s my step-father, a good guy. My younger sister is back home with my mom. My mom¡¯s name is Deborah and my sister¡¯s name is Mary. Our last name is Lewandowski.¡± ¡°Mountain Crusher Adam¡­ son of Deborah¡­ brother of Mary¡­ blood of Lewandowski.¡± He finally turned his attention to me. I really didn¡¯t want to talk or think about my family. I had been trying not to think of them anymore to make it easier here. ¡°I live with my mom, Claudia, and my brother, Kyle. My mother and I run the farm to take care of my younger brother. Last name¡¯s Jace. We told you all about us now, what¡¯s up with you? Living out here alone and all.¡± ¡°Well, Brenden Jace¡­ son of Claudia and¡­ brother of Kyle. What of your father? You have one, yes? Forgive my presume¡­ nyadin did not allow¡­ me entry.¡± ¡°He died in a¡­ wagon accident when I was young.¡± ¡°Condolences. What strange names you all have. I answer in time. I am old. Have many stories. Know many things. Would take too long¡­ strain throat to¡­ tell my story now. So, not now.¡± Geren¡¯s cheery expression changed and his eyes and mouth relaxed with a gurgled sigh. ¡°Not now. In time. Time¡¯s late and¡­ we rise early. You learn in morning. Please rest yourselves.¡± Geren stood from his chair and waddled to his door. ¡°Let me trust first. Tend to fire as you want.¡± He shut the door and we heard nothing else from him. ¡°I don¡¯t know about y¡¯all,¡± Desmond groaned and laid back on his damp sleeping mat, ¡°this place may be creepy as shit, but at least we¡¯re not in the rain.¡± His drooping eyelids finally closed, gray and exhausted. Adam clenched his jaw as he usually did when was really thinking about something, ¡°He¡¯s a little weird and not human, but I think I like him. He¡¯s kinda cool.¡± ¡°Say what you want,¡± Tells tossed a stray piece of string into the fire, ¡°but he left us alone in his house with a fire.¡± She turned to the closed eyed Desmond and whacked at his crotch, but Desmond¡¯s hands flashed between her palm and his nuts to block her hit without even looking. ¡°Tellsss,¡± Desmond didn¡¯t even open his eyes, just yawned, ¡°just gimme a fuckin¡¯ break and lemme sleep.¡± I glared at her without realizing, probably stemming from my own sleeplessness, then laid down and turned away from the flames. A wave of exhaustion rushed over me. My eyes fell and every part of me became heavy. I hadn''t ever fallen asleep so fast in my life. Everyone crashed hard, passing out on Geren¡¯s floor in one of the best sleeps I¡¯d ever gotten. 17: People Are Crazy Part 2 17 (Billy Currington- People Are Crazy) Tells Nothing like waking up stiff as a board. And not the morning wood kinda way. Not anymore, at least. The walk wasn¡¯t even bad, just long. Ugh, I¡¯d love a wagon and one of those cute six legged things pulling it. I woke up some time around dawn. The fire had burned down to embers that matched the distant sky out the window. I thought I was gonna sleep longer, but strangely, I wasn¡¯t tired anymore. Nobody else was up and I was bored, so I got up and started nosing around. Politely, of course. The quiet pops from within the glowing embers, the metronomic creaking of the aged cabin, and the soft breathing of my friends became like the countdown to an inevitable alarm. Like a reminder that the world would be waking soon. This fleeting moment between slumber and stirring was mine alone to cherish. I tiptoed to the desk below the wall of shelves decorated by bone carvings. All the bone statues and figurines were insanely detailed. This guy can carve better than I can draw. Fuck, I gotta practice. He probably has shitloads of time being a hermit out in the woods, though. I had been to some craftsmen who had made really cool wooden carvings before, but even those didn¡¯t have the kind of detail that these had. I leaned toward one on the workbench which had grown yellow with age. The carved creature looked like Geren, but it had more feathers, a heftier form, and a long, sharp beak. The nostrils on the beak were tiny perfect circles, and every feather was individually designed. Covering the creature¡¯s torso was something like a toga, which looked soft and silky even though it was carved into smooth bone. Even for how foreign the creature looked to me, I could tell by its expression that it was pleasant. Its rigid beak was slightly open and its eyes seemed like they were glowing with joy. For some reason it sparked a feeling of nostalgia in me, followed by a brief wave of melancholy. Whoever this statue was, was somebody he cared about. I went to pick it up and look further, but I noticed a piece of paper next to it and it dawned on me that I was definitely snooping on this guy¡¯s personal creations. I cringed at myself and pulled my hand away, glancing over my shoulder. I hadn¡¯t heard anything, but there Geren was in the door, rubbing his eye and peering at me. His eyes were heavy with sleep, but a slight smile had formed across his splitting chapped lips. Those cloudy marbles weren¡¯t on me, though, they were on the figurine. ¡°You may hold if you like.¡± Geren¡¯s voice creaked almost silently as he quietly knuckled his way to me. I cautiously picked up the figurine and closely inspected the details in the feathers, the way they swirled and layered like waves on water. ¡°Did you carve this?¡± ¡°Who else would?¡± He quietly chuckled. ¡°People we love are¡­ bound to mortality¡­ but memory¡­ makes one immortal.¡± He reached out for the figure and I obliged. Holding it close to his eyes, he silently reminisced, then lowered it to its shelf and turned back to me. ¡°What would you do¡­ for people you love? For kin? Fight? Kill? Die?¡± He waited for me to answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably all of that.¡± I struggled to maintain eye contact with his piercing gaze. ¡°You want to travel. Capture fireblood. More?¡± He looked at me again and I nodded, a little confused at the question. ¡°I see youth. Inexperienced. You say you will die¡­ you will kill for them? Maybe. But do you love them? As kin? As comrades?¡± I nodded again, unsure where this was going. His eyes turned toward the figure and a longing look filled his eyes. ¡°Could you hate them? What would cause your hate?¡± ¡°I- I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything bad they would do that would make me¡­¡± I trailed off, getting lost in thought. There¡¯s no reason I wouldn¡¯t support my friends. Nothing reasonable that I could conceive of would ever outweigh how much I care about them. They wouldn¡¯t do bad things without a good reason, and even if they did, I¡¯d be able to help them. I know it. A strange conviction pervaded my thoughts and I found clarity. ¡°I¡¯d stand by them no matter what.¡± Geren rested his hand on my shoulder blade as he reminisced over the figure. ¡°Then you must love them¡­ enough to let them¡­ die for you. You cannot save all. They will try to save you. Someday you must¡­ live for them. Make good their memory.¡± His eyes turned to his hand, scanning up his arm. I hadn¡¯t been close enough before to notice, but the old, withered flesh didn¡¯t seem to be entirely the product of old age. Harsh burn scars littered his body and the bones in his right hand were horribly mangled, seeming to have been severely broken in his past. He finally turned back to me and I just slowly nodded. I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. It was random and emotionally charged, but wisdom I hadn¡¯t considered. I stood there staring dumbly at him. He smiled and chuckled lightly. ¡°You¡¯ll understand when¡­ you meet wisdom.¡± We both noticed Desmond¡¯s ear twitching and he began rolling over. ¡°Please, I will wake them.¡± Geren¡¯s beak seemed to unhinge from the rest of his face, opening wide and releasing a shriek like tires skidding on pavement right next to my head. I covered my ears to muffle the sound and everyone else shot up, except Desmond, who screamed and held his ears. After a few moments, Geren¡¯s miserable shriek ended and everyone was wide awake with panicked looks about them. He laughed in loud clucks and chirped something on the tail end of the screech. ¡°That means good morning¡­ in yeffen.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. * * * * * We were presented a breakfast platter, this time with sugary sweet sky blue bread, purple berries tasting similar to bitter plums, and green tubular fruits. Geren showed us how to bite into the side of them and drink the milky nectar out of them, scrunching them up like juice pouches. While I was eating the bread, a strangely warm twinge rose in my stomach that had me questioning if it was alcohol, I¡¯d been poisoned, I was allergic, or something, but nothing bad happened. Geren led everyone outside into the field of spiraling flowers. The grass was dewey and the refreshing morning breeze chilled the rapidly heating day. The fog dissipated, so we could see around the entire homestead. There was a four-stall wooden stable and field filled with trees, where those strange six-legged squirrel dogs were climbing up the trunks and chewing on branches. ¡°Have you seen fireblood?¡± Geren looked at all of us expectantly. I shook my head, and everyone else did the same. Desmond took charge of answering for the group, like a new man with completely rejuvenated energy. ¡°No sir, just heard from Mother Yeline that there¡¯s one around here. We don¡¯t know anything about them or what they are.¡± Geren¡¯s face wrinkled in confusion like he was trying to figure out how it was possible that we knew nothing. In his raspy, slow way, he told us that scouriad firebloods were creatures that lived underground near breaks in the rock where heat rose. He said they were largely indistinguishable from surface creatures. What set them apart was that their fur or feathers were typically stark black, gray, or the color of blood, their actions were erratic and unpredictable around people, and their flesh was often sickly pale or beet red. They had the physical attributes of their races, but often with poisons and other mutations. ¡°Feral ones are easy catch¡­ but some are smart. Sevoan firebloods¡­ blend in with people. Have intellect¡­ but all need to feed. Cannot resist to kill. Your kinds cannot tell¡­ but firebloods smell¡­ to keen noses¡­ reek like rotted egg.¡± Desmond crossed his arms. ¡°Are all the ones that blend in bad? Can¡¯t they just eat animals or something?¡± ¡°Perhaps sevoan look¡­ like jorlad. Like you. Sevoan eat animal¡­ but still hungry. Ravage cattle. Sevoan fight farmer¡­ lose arm¡­ eat jorlad farmer¡­ now feels full. Fireblood blends in. Grows arm back. Grows hungry. Hunts many jorlad. Always wants more jorlad. Loses control of self. Become scouriad¡­ like an animal. Many such cases¡­ of sevoan becoming¡­ scouriad. In control, sevoan is¡­ cruel, conniving¡­ intelligent, sadistic¡­ inhuman.¡± Brenden stretched and asked, ¡°Okay, so where do they come from them? Do they have a nest or something that we could take one from. Are there more than just the scouriad ones?¡± Geren squinted at Brenden and shook his head. ¡°Not so simple. Fireblood come from dead. Unburied bodies¡­ who cannot rest. Rise again¡­ twisted and evil. Crave heat and blood. Sevoan trick the living. Eat their former kind. Scouriad kill¡­ mindlessly. Other types exist¡­ but fringe cases.¡± Geren turned and dragged a whole wagon forward. His massive frame seemed to have no struggles lugging it. He lifted a rusting cage and set it in the back. ¡°Defeat fireblood alive¡­ put in cage. Cage imbued with sigil¡­ fireblood cannot break free. Take corty to pull wagon.¡± He pointed a talon at the pen full of those creatures, corties. He raised his beak into the air and swiveled it around until it stilled, pointing toward the forest down the road. ¡°Smell of rotted eggs¡­ on wind up road¡­ in forest. Be quick in fight. Adapt quick. I can speak for days¡­ on fireblood hunting¡­ but life of¡­ speaking like jorlad¡­ wears on throat.¡± He heaved one last time and passed us sturdy wooden rods with fraying rope loops at the end, like what animal control would use to catch dogs. Geren opened the gated pen and dragged a tired, reluctant old corty toward us. He selected Brenden as the volunteer and without speaking, showed him how to strap the double-seated saddle onto the lazy beast. He showed us simply how to control the corty¡¯s reins, which were clipped onto its droopy ears. Pulling stopped it, flicking made it move faster, and gently tugging only one ear turned it that direction. Brenden took to it pretty quickly and the corty responded well to him. Without anything else, Geren sent us off. I¡¯m not really sure what I was expecting, but it was a little more than what we got. With the wagon, a cage, and some poles, he said good luck and be safe. That¡¯s it. I guess being good at something doesn¡¯t make you a good instructor. The day was cloudy and a bit gloomy, but it wasn¡¯t hot and it wasn¡¯t raining, so I wasn¡¯t complaining. Adam was. He never really stopped complaining. Every minute I¡¯d hear a frustrated sigh or a whisper about how much he was irritated about the wagon being bumpy, his boots having needles in them, or his back being stiff. All of us were in the same boat, the only difference being that Brenden, Desmond and I weren¡¯t bitching about it, but they were certainly getting more irritated by him than I was. Desmond directed us down the road confidently, knowing exactly where we were going without a doubt in mind. The wagon had thicker wheels, which made it easier to keep from getting stuck in the mud, but made it a lot harder to unstick them when they got stuck. Most of all, it was just nice to sit down and travel. We had done so much walking, it really made me thankful for having cars back on Earth. We spent a while planning and decided Desmond and I would use the rods with loops so Adam could wrestle its arms down and Brenden could tie it up. ¡°We¡¯re getting the jump on it,¡± Desmond continued, ¡°so as long as we stick to our plan, we should be able to do it without getting too hurt. Adam, you can probably use Tells¡¯ shield to block its claws from hitting you while Brenden is tying it.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s stronger than me though?¡± Adam¡¯s eyes turned down toward his stomach. ¡°I don¡¯t want to doubt my ability, but if that thing is like a roided up version of a person, I might not be able to hold its arms down. Maybe we should have waited for her.¡± ¡°Adam, have a little confidence,¡± Brenden looked back at Adam sympathetically. ¡°I don¡¯t think he would send us in if he didn¡¯t think we could do it.¡± Adam shook his head. ¡°Brenden, we barely know the guy, we don¡¯t know what he would do. What if he isn¡¯t a good person?¡± ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. Even I thought Geren would be bad, but I dunno, he grew on me. New world or not, most people are still good people, or at least try to be decent people.¡± Brenden sighed when he realized he wasn¡¯t getting through to Adam. Desmond put a hand out. ¡°Dude, what¡¯s he got to gain from sending us to our deaths? He¡¯d lose a corty and a wagon, plus we don¡¯t have anything worth taking.¡± He punched Adam¡¯s arm. ¡°Don¡¯t be a pussy. There¡¯s four of us and one monster, how bad can it be?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to say that, Desmond,¡± Adam complained, ¡°now it¡¯s definitely gonna be bad.¡± I smirked at Adam. ¡°Oh, yeah, but I¡¯m the superstitious one.¡± Brenden¡¯s face lit up with an idea. ¡°He said they¡¯re like feral people, so it¡¯s probably like catching a 7/11 crackhead. So if-¡± Adam cut him off ¡°-a crackhead with sharp teeth and claws and poison and may or may not be smart enough to seem like a human.¡± Brenden tried to continue his thought. ¡°Yeah, so if we-¡± Desmond cut him off. ¡°Hold on guys.¡± He stopped the wagon and looked around, raising his nose in the air and turning into the wind. ¡°It¡¯s nearby. In that direction. Come on. Get your stuff. What, Brenden?¡± Dejectedly, he grabbed his backpack and hopped off the wagon. ¡°Was just gonna say we jump him all at once.¡± Desmond weighed the idea, nodding slowly. ¡°Works for me.¡± 18: One Foot 18 (Walk the Moon- One Foot) Vetia What could be better than this? A luxury clinic in a serene location. Kind locals who wait on me all day when I¡¯m hungry or my shoulders start acting up. It¡¯s kind of like a spa, y¡¯know? Except instead of having nothing to do but relax, relaxing was literally the only thing I could do, to the point of mind-numbing boredom. I had all the time in the world to reminisce about how much better my old life was before I got stuck as a woman with glass bones and paper skin. The shards of bone cut into me night and day, so it was easiest to not move at all and to breathe as shallow as I possibly could. At least Mother Yeline spoon fed me my meals. I would have rather had a hot island girl or nurse doing it over a little human-ish creature, but you gotta make do with what you got. At least she filled me in on what I was when I asked. Unfortunately, she stopped visiting once the burns on my organs were healed earlier. On one shattered hand, I could sit up and walk a little. On the other shattered hand was my other shattered hand. And arm. And shoulders. And collarbones. And I wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but I was starting to doubt reality a little. Am I really a woman with glass bones and paper skin? Will I wake up in cooler full of ice somewhere in Mexico with my kidneys gone? Is this all just a really, really fucked up dream? Is my head hurting because of dehydration or a surprise cancer growth that¡¯s making me hallucinate all of this? Time will tell, but unfortunately, based on my lucidity and the excruciating pain, I have a bad feeling it¡¯s all real. It was maddeningly exhausting, laying and not being able to do anything. I had a change of course a few days after the guys left town. Some new people showed up. I heard some voices, but only saw two of them. Sounded like things were getting a little extreme. One was a woman with the haircut length of those bitchy moms at the supermarket who always yell for the manager, except she had a cool braid. It started at the top left of her head and was woven across and down the right side like a half-halo. Her piercing orange eyes were cool and slightly mesmerizing. She looked like a freckled Italian who spent her entire life lifting weights and was dressed like the daughter of some rich family. She wore a loose sleeveless shirt and flowy pants made of some orange silky material. Solid gold earrings, necklaces, and bracelets adorned her. She wore so much jewelry, almost too much. Unfortunately, her personality seemed to match that of her abrasive looks. I saw her for the first time when she was carrying a guy into the bed across from me, the only other bed made for normal-sized people. I briefly glanced them both over and she was already glaring like she wanted to kill me just for casting my eyes in her direction. I shook my head and sighed my attention elsewhere. I didn¡¯t have the energy to bicker, but I was too bored not to be nosy. The guy had bandages around his chest and shoulder, with some blood soaking into the loose clothes. He looked almost identical to the woman, probably her twin, with similar freckled, tanned skin and straight brown hair longer than hers. His face had strong features, with defined cheeks and a jawline that could cut glass. Both of them had sharp, strong faces, but hers was a tad thinner and less sharp. Damn, they were seriously well endowed with looks. He was a bit bulkier but less athletic looking, while she had scars and some serious muscle definition. He wore less vibrant, but still shiny orange pants and a pale orange shirt that looked equally as expensive as her¡¯s, though less worn. She was sponging some blood from his chest with a no-longer pristine white cloth. Then the woman turned to me, a snappy voice at the ready. ¡°Will you sit there and stare or help us, peasant?¡± Damn, hitting me with a ¡°peasant¡± right off the bat. I really didn¡¯t wanna start anything, but something deep within me saw the opportunity to sass this woman and, admittedly, I was desperate for some entertainment. Nobility, wealth, strength aside, I kind of wanted to push her buttons and do a little trolling. ¡°My apologies, milady. Which of my shattered arms would you like me to lift him with?¡± I smiled courtly and pretensed regality. She regrettingly stared me dead in the eyes. I could tell she realized her mistake too late, but she seemed prideful, and a bit irritated by my comment. She raised herself from leaning over him, speaking with clear, precise diction and word choice. ¡°No need to strain yourself, as you look fragile and weak enough. Lay back and forget I asked so I can attend to my brother.¡± ¡°Are you certain you don¡¯t need the help of a crippled peasant? Perhaps a simple conversation for the fun of it?¡± She seemed like she was getting pissed off at me. I tried hiding the enthused smile creeping over my face, but it only ended up in a smug one. She stomped to my bedside and got in my face. She was politely quiet, but very stern. ¡°Keep quiet or I will stuff your mouth full of sheets so I don¡¯t have to hear you anymore.¡± Should I keep egging her on? No. Will I? Yeeeaaah. ¡°O, a tyrant. Threatening silence on innocent people and worse yet, the injured and ill. How the kingdom weeps.¡± Oh, that struck something personal. She was practically growling through her teeth at this point, ¡°I did not come here to play semantics with a crippled tragedian, so I¡¯ll put it in a way that a crass idiot like you can understand: shut the fuck up and leave us be.¡± She sighed and stepped away, then sat next to her brother¡¯s cot and put her head in her hands, stressed out a little more now, all thanks to me. I felt a little bad, honestly. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that. I think I¡¯m just going a little stir crazy¡­¡± She glared up at me. ¡°Soooo¡­ what happened to him?¡± I eased off the act and decided to just try talking to her. She didn¡¯t want to entertain me, but didn¡¯t have anything else to do, just like me. ¡°On our travels, he was struck by the prick of a paralytic poison belonging to a beast in the forest. It fled before we could dispatch it.¡± ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°A day and a half.¡± ¡°And it didn¡¯t stop his heart?¡± ¡°By some miracle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s weird. Maybe it wasn''t paralytic then?¡± ¡°Regardless of the technicality, my brother is dying of dehydration.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear that.¡± ¡°Oh! Look at that!¡± She shot up in surprise and I leaned forward to see what was going on. ¡°He¡¯s all better because of your apologies!¡± The woman rolled her eyes and sat back down. ¡°Spare us the pity. We don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Well aren¡¯t you just a ray of sunshine.¡± ¡°Maybe I should have stuffed your blabbering jaw.¡± ¡°If I could leave and not be around you, I really would. The point of being in a hospital bed is none of us wanna be here in hospital beds. Or do you just have too much money to care about humility?¡± She scoffed and raised her eyebrows in astonishment. ¡°Humility? Were you not the one who insulted me?¡± ¡°You opened by calling me a peasant. It went both ways and I even apologized. I¡¯m a crabby bitch right now and I can¡¯t really help it, but at least I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°You are. Good to see you¡¯re self conscious enough to realize that much. I don¡¯t need you to lecture me.¡± ¡°What, did I look at you the wrong way or something? Like, genuinely, what did I do to you?¡± She rubbed her temple and then waved me off. ¡°Would you shut up already?¡± Aha, I see. She¡¯s one of those can¡¯t-do-wrong types. The next few hours were nothing but awkward silence that I purposely interrupted by making loud breaths, sighs and groans from pain. My imagination had nothing left to keep me busy. I had wandered around a little, but the Mother said I shouldn¡¯t be moving much at all or the shards could resume the bleeding in my shoulders and arms. The more I bled, the hungrier I got, and the hungrier I got, the more pissed off I¡¯d be. What a conundrum to be in. It¡¯s taking way too long for Mother Yeline to come back. I kicked my satchel from under my bed and grabbed the book''s cover between my feet, tossing it onto my cot. She was glaring at me so much that I was starting to think she just had a bad case of RBF. I sat down on the bed, using my feet to hold the book open and flip through the stiff pages. I had started reading about the types of sigils and shapes, and the implications of them all, but I hadn¡¯t touched it after breaking my arms. I was irritated that I did something wrong and a little scared of what would happen if I tried again. As I was reading, the woman¡¯s aura approached closer. I couldn¡¯t explain it well, but it was like every person I encountered radiated energy or¡­ whatever this jzanmah shit was. Everyone¡¯s aura was similar, but had distinct personal and emotional signatures. Like recognizing a face or a name, but only in presence. This woman had an intense, passionate and driven aura to her. Regardless of if I could see or not, I could sense these auras around me, who they belonged to and what they were feeling. I memorized this woman pretty quickly because of how much I really didn¡¯t want to interact with her anymore. I glanced up at her and tried to casually cover the pages with my feet. She ignored me and peered around my feet at the words. My eyes flicked down and then up again at her. ¡°What are you into feet or something?¡± She glared at me, sighed, and went back to sitting next to her brother. ¡°Girl, it was a joke. You heard of ¡®em?¡± She exasperatedly spoke, ¡°What¡¯s that book?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°A bound parchment book is far too expensive for someone of your status. And there were sigils inside.¡± ¡°How do you know I¡¯m low status?¡± ¡°How could I not?¡± Truly enthused, I snorted lightly at the back of my throat. ¡°Are you a jzanmah tejuh?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯ve done some in my time.¡± ¡°What school?¡± ¡°I went to school for other academic subjects, but I recently found out that I¡¯m a regenerator.¡± Her face brightened with intense hope at the thought of being able to use my abilities. ¡°Do you have a sigil in that book that can extract poison from a body?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a pretty good chance.¡± I awkwardly flipped through the pages with my toes, looking for sigils that might be useful. It was taking a while to clumsily flip the pages with my feet while she waited with that same bitchy look on her face. ¡°You can clearly see that I can¡¯t use my arms. Mind lending me a hand?¡± She sighed and held the book, scanning the pages, ¡°You¡¯re useless without arms, I may as well look alone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my fucking book. Let me read it too.¡± I paused with my eyes locked on her. ¡°Wait, why can¡¯t Mother Yeline just do this?¡± She wrinkled her nose in contempt at my demand, but held the book out regardless. ¡°The Mother is combing through planks in the locked underground archive across town. She said she hasn¡¯t seen something like this in years, and the others are taking the wagon to Vehfirn to find something if time allows. Mother Yeline was supposed to be the best healer around, but she¡¯s been utterly useless.¡± She looked anxious again. ¡°What is taking you so long? Can¡¯t you find something?¡± ¡°Hey, put some respect on the Mother¡¯s name. If you think she¡¯s bad, just wait til you see me.¡± Her neck flexed angrily as she held a comment in her mouth. ¡°And if you hit me like I know you want to, I¡¯m not helping. I¡¯m doing this cause I can¡¯t stand seeing a guy die when I might be able to help. You don¡¯t have to like me to work with me.¡± She stood still, but her shaking fist was clenched with white knuckles. That must have hit a sore spot of some kind. ¡°Could you just hold the book still?¡± I leaned forward and scanned the page. After some tense page flipping, I stumbled upon a useful sigil. It was a four shape sigil that remotely used jzanmah to extract poisons through the pores of the skin. I didn¡¯t think I could do a sigil so complex though, especially with broken arms, until I glanced at my pale feet. She tossed the book into my lap when I looked away from the book. ¡°Why am I humoring you? You can¡¯t use your hands for jzanmah.¡± ¡°Humor me a little more, wouldja?¡± I smirked at her. ¡°Might take a little teamwork, though, if you¡¯re capable.¡± Ooh, that one hit. She can¡¯t back down from a challenge. I took a moment, and focused energy to my toe, the strange static sensation coursing down my entire body. It invigorated me and energized my head, but I could probably activate a sigil as long as I kept it from draining me like the other one did. I chuckled. ¡°Hey Miss Nobility, have you studied jzanmah?¡± ¡°Yes, why?¡± That name seemed to irritate her, but she was being oddly compliant so I didn¡¯t care. ¡°You know how to draw and activate shapes?¡± ¡°Yes, what are you trying to ask? Be succinct.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do one that can extract poison, but you¡¯re going to be the one who draws the shape for me.¡± Her face contorted somehow more confused and pissy than it already was. I didn¡¯t think it was possible. ¡°Your arms are unusable and I cannot use regenerative energy. I will summon Mother Yeline.¡± ¡°Do you just assume everyone is an incompetent simpleton? Lis-¡± ¡°They are.¡± She started walking out. I sighed, sensing the weakening aura from her brother. ¡°Your brother is dying of dehydration and Mother Yeline is probably too old to do it in one session today. She already spent half of it fixing me up. So unless you¡¯re planning on smooching water into your brother¡¯s mouth, you might wanna swallow your pride.¡± She halted and glared back at me. I pointed my glowing big toe at her face with a snarky smile. ¡°All you gotta do is hold my leg and draw the shape while I focus jzanmah. Oh but what would I, the incompetent simpleton know?¡± She scowled and returned to my bedside. ¡°Hold out your foot and I will do it myself.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that it won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± She picked up my leg and began tracing what I imagined the sigil looked like, but there was nothing. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you have noticed, actually. I¡¯m an incompetent simpleton who hasn¡¯t memorized the sigil. Now would you show me the book? Like I said, teamwork, probably something you suck at judging by your brother¡¯s condition.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! She threw my leg down. In a flash, her face was right in front of mine and warm metal from the flat of a dagger pressed against my neck. ¡°You know nothing of why any of this happened. If you order me around again and keep opening your worthless mouth, I¡¯ll cut your throat out where you sit.¡± The threat of death was jarring, but I¡¯d been in too much pain to be afraid of her. I was just getting pissed off at her. ¡°Your brother¡¯s been out for what, two, three days? I don¡¯t know how he¡¯s not dead already, but he¡¯s damn near close. So get your blade off my throat or I¡¯ll let him die. And if you kill me, Mother Yeline might not be able to save him. I¡¯m trying to help your brother, so help me help him. Pick up my leg and work with me. Then we don¡¯t ever have to see each other again.¡± She was seething with rage. ¡°I should have you imprisoned for life on the charge of disrespecting nobility. And your threat against him warrants execution in itself. You will help me, and then I will decide what happens with you.¡± She sheathed the dagger and lifted my leg. ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°No.¡± I stared at her blankly. ¡°What?¡± Her eyes snapped over to me, furious. I looked at her like the idiot she was. ¡°Remember how I said I wouldn¡¯t help if you hurt me? Well, now I¡¯m adding that if you threaten to harm me, then I¡¯m not helping.¡± ¡°If you think you¡¯re in any position to negotiate-¡± ¡°Cool, then we wait for Mother Yeline and maybe he dies. It¡¯s not my loss. You threaten me, I threaten you. I¡¯m tryna be nice here and you¡¯re kinda being an insufferable bitch.¡± I stared apathetically into her furious fiery eyes. This was my only bargaining chip and I was really stretching it now. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t execute you or lock you in a prison. I promise.¡± A cruel, cornered smile grew on her face after saying that. I didn¡¯t trust it. Well, it¡¯s better than being killed on the spot, I suppose. Her words may have meant nothing, but she seemed too prideful to lie outright. I raised my leg to her and she began jerking it around in the shapes. ¡°Ease up on the grip! You¡¯re yanking it way too hard!¡± ¡°You¡¯re twitching too much! Stop trying to resist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not resisting! You¡¯re digging in with your nails!¡± ¡°Sit still and let me do what I need to do!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t! Hold on! It¡¯s gonna-! Hold- Ah!¡± ¡°Eugh! It¡¯s all over my hand!¡± ¡°I told you to take it easy!¡± She flicked a smatter of blood onto the sheets and wiped her hand on my satchel. ¡°It¡¯s a simple sigil! All you have to do is focus and let me move your leg! What is so difficult about that! Now we have to restart!¡± ¡°Ease up on the fuckin¡¯ death grip! I can¡¯t focus when your talons are digging in and jerkin¡¯ me around like a blind hooker.¡± She took a deep breath and picked up my leg more gently. I relaxed my muscles and held my foot straight out, then nodded and she began drawing. The first shape was the bottom half of a circle with waves on top of it. She traced too fast and the shape scattered as she was at the trough of the middle wave. I groaned as a blast of heat shot through my head to my toe. ¡°That was the first shape! How much jzanmah do you think I can take? Precision, please!¡± ¡°Your leg is stiff! Loosen it!¡± ¡°It is loose! Just slow down!¡± We started again, and she traced the first shape in no time. The next shape was three wavy lines going to a point above the waves. I held my leg as loose as possible for her until she pulled it too far. ¡°Hey! Hey!¡± I couldn¡¯t balance myself with my slinged arms and I started falling off the right side of the cot. She threw out her left hand and grabbed my bicep, shoving me back onto the bed by my shattered limb. I yelled through gritted teeth, trying to hold still as the shards shredded my muscles. Jzanmah ripped through my head as I lost focus from all the pain, but she finished the shape. She wiped her left hand on the sheets and grimaced at me, ¡°That is disgusting.¡± I mocked her grimace and then rolled my eyes. ¡°Eat me.¡± The searing pain in my arm ruined any chances I had of maintaining control of the flow through me, but I steadied my breathing and readied for the third shape. This one was the top half of a circle that intersected the bottom of the other half circle, making it look almost like an hourglass. It was pretty simple, so it didn¡¯t take much effort from either of us, but that didn¡¯t stop her fingers from digging into my leg, grasping it as hard as she could. The shape bolded and her grip loosened a little. She looked at me for the next one, which was sure to be the hardest. ¡°You gotta loosen your grip.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all flab and bone, there¡¯s nothing to grip. ¡°Just start tracing.¡± Shape four was a wavy clockwise spiral that went around five times before reaching the center. It was small and had to be placed inside the upper half of the hourglass very precisely. Not something to be done with somebody else¡¯s foot. Our attempt was slow. Sweat dripped down my forehead as my entire body heated from the energy. Her hands were gripping my calf so hard that my leg was on the verge of seizing again. ¡°Easy on the grip. Easy, easy.¡± Her grip tightened as a reaction to me saying that. My muscles lightly seized and my foot spasmed upward, breaking the shape. Her eyes whipped daggers at me and I was staring just as intensely back. ¡°If you grab my leg that hard, I can¡¯t control when my foot spasms. Lighten the fuck up or just grab my foot.¡± She begrudgingly grabbed my foot, which twitched as she began maneuvering it. ¡°Okay, ah-ah-no, that¡¯s tickling me, maybe just the ankle.¡± She rolled her eyes and shook her head in misery. ¡°By the brain, control yourself.¡± She pulled my leg into position, holding it under her left arm, then grabbed my heel with her right. I ushered her not to dilly dally. ¡°Quickly! Today!¡± The entire sigil was quivering, so she started the wavy spiral. The first time around the spiral was perfect. The second was good. On the third, she shifted her grip and her fingers dug into the bottom of my foot. I held it tight, so much that it was on the verge of cramping. Fourth was successful. Finally, the fifth one, the smallest, most precise one. She was struggling with it, the spirals were too close to meeting and the waves were getting too big. I calmingly whispered, ¡°Take it easy, hone it in.¡± She slowly adjusted and reached the end of the spiral. The shape bolded and both of us let out a heavy sigh of relief. ¡°How do we activate it?¡± She held the book close to me and frantically pushed her head against mine to read the page. ¡°Let go! Let go! I¡¯ve gotta push it in the direction of the person. I¡¯m gonna kick it toward him.¡± She let go of my leg and I started slipping off the cot. ¡°I¡¯m falling! Hold me up!¡± She quickly shoved my back up and gripped the back of my neck to steady me. I adjusted my leg, and prayed for a miracle. I pressed my foot out and the shape slowly floated toward him. I overshot it. ¡°Lift him up!¡± She darted to her brother and yanked him upward into the path of the slow-moving sigil. It impacted his chest and a light green glow appeared above him. She set him down, and we watched streams of green light burst out of his skin, evaporating into the floating green sphere in the air. It slowly darkened as it absorbed the toxins. My vision clouded and my head spun. The sigil wasn¡¯t going out of control as bad, but it was exhausting me. My connection started waning, only strengthening as another jolt of warm metal hit my neck. ¡°You keep that sigil going or I¡¯m gouging your throat open.¡± She sounded almost like she was desperate. ¡°Liar.¡± I slurred out. Angrily growling, she lightly cut into my neck, a small stinging slice down the nerve-heavy side. It gave me enough of a jolt that I was able to focus my energy and stay awake as the sigil completed. I laid there limply as a new voice emerged. ¡°Simira? Where am I?¡± ¡°By the brain, you¡¯re awake! Good.¡± Her tone had completely lightened up and the blade fell away. My head was spinning too much to listen to anything else they said. I didn¡¯t fall asleep, but I wasn¡¯t exactly conscious either. However long it lasted, I laid in that spot, half-conscious and catatonic with a burning heat in my skull. * * * * * I tuned back into reality at some point of the night. I quietly groaned from the pain in my arms and head. What a migraine I had. Must have been from the sigil. ¡°Excuse me, miss?¡± A kind, gentlemanly voice caught my ears. I squinted up into eyes like a vibrant sun, belonging to the man I had freed from the hold of poison. He was sitting next to my cot, worriedly watching me. ¡°Huh?¡± He awkwardly shifted for a second, reaching out like he was trying to help, but unable to figure out what to do. ¡°Would you like some assistance sitting, or would you prefer to stay laying? I can-¡± Simira¡¯s sharp voice cut through like a jagged knife. ¡°Thank her, Tarynn. This is becoming arduous.¡± She approached my bedside. ¡°You have my thanks and appreciation for saving my brother. I am currently unable to provide repayment, but I will arrange for it when my compatriots return.¡± I shot her a smile and an ¡°I told you so¡± wink. She exhaustedly sighed. ¡°Sister, she has overused a sigil. I would prefer to thank her when she is comfortable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going for a walk. I can¡¯t bear to be around this woman any longer.¡± She trudged away then stopped at the door. ¡°Do not be rash. You have an arrangement to abide by.¡± ¡°I am aware, sister.¡± The door slammed and we were left alone. I wearily gazed up at him. ¡°She said your name is Tarynn, right?¡± ¡°Tarynn Amien, son of the Viscount Hazjiken Amien. And you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, uh, Vetia.¡± It was still a little weird saying a joke name, but it was starting to grow on me. He reached out like he wanted to grab my hand with both of his, but upon seeing my mangled fingers, he gently rested his hand on my shoulder until he realized that was also shattered and promptly rested them on the bed with a sympathetic smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I appreciate the gesture.¡± I awkwardly chuckled at him. ¡°Well, Vetia, I want to thank you for saving my life at your own expense. Being both crippled and exhausted, you worked with my sister to restore me. I could not extend enough gratitude in a lifetime to make up for saving my life and, more surprisingly, finding a way to work with my sister. You have my apologies if she caused any discomfort or¡­¡± he reached a hand out and gently touched my neck, investigating the knick from Simira¡¯s dagger before pulling away. ¡°...or pain.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think too hard about it. I don¡¯t want you to be disillusioned. In all honesty, I didn¡¯t do it just for you. She was threatening my life. Didn¡¯t really give me a choice once she found out I was a healer with the sigil she needed.¡± ¡°She tells me you were insistent that the Mother would not make it in time. Had you not convinced her of that, I may not be alive now.¡± ¡°I was just in the right place at the right time is all.¡± A strand of hair was blown by the wind into my eyes. I blinked and blew at it, but it only moved once Tarynn caressed my head and pushed the hair from my face. ¡°Perhaps, but I cannot help feeling that the hair had a part in this.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°The- my hair? Huh?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Are you a foreigner to these lands?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a simple way of putting it.¡± ¡°Ah. The hair of the Divine Body, the threads which guide us to one another. Through these strands of hair, these strange coincidences, are we brought into each other¡¯s lives. The stronger the thread and the stranger the circumstances, the greater the impact we will have on each other.¡± I smiled as I thought over what he said. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool. Kinda weirdly beautiful.¡± ¡°I could say the same of you.¡± I was a little distant, but as his compliment set in, heat rushed to my face and I started shrinking into myself. Did I hear that right? He¡­ he¡­ My head filled with TV static. My voice stammered stupidly, racing through words as I tried processing the fact that I¡¯d been complimented for the fourth time in my entire life. Not to mention I was fighting back smiling like a creep after being complimented like that. ¡°I- eh- I¡¯m¡­ huh? No, I mean, I, uh, thanks. You too.¡± Oh fuck, I really fumbled that one. He shook his head politely. ¡°Apologies, I didn¡¯t mean to be too forward if you are already arranged.¡± ¡°NO! Er- no, I just, um, wasn¡¯t expecting it and I¡¯m still a little loopy from being tired. Hah. Thank you, though. I¡¯m flattered. Wait, didn¡¯t your sister say something about your arrangement? Is it okay for you to say something like that?¡± A brief moment of painful reality returned to his face. ¡°Yes, I am arranged to commit. It was my sister¡¯s will which contracted us to it, though. A political arrangement, as it were. And as they go, I have no love for her and she has no love for me, nor anyone, but I suppose my sister is worried my arrangement¡¯s father will rescind if I am unfaithful.¡± ¡°But why are you doing it? Like, what do you get from it?¡± He pondered for a moment. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m doing it because it¡¯s what I have been told to do. It¡¯s my duty to the city for being born noble. I live a luxurious life with a woman who mocks and despises me.¡± ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t blame you for not wanting it.¡± ¡°In truth, I want no part in any of it. Politics and nobility. I see common folk and they¡­ they love each other.¡± ¡°No love to spare at the top?¡± ¡°Hah, no. My family does not, as much as I wish they did. My father is obsessed with power and my mother would have drank herself to death had she not come upon her untimely demise. Now, my sister is grasping in the dark to keep our house from collapsing around her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a lot.¡± Holy shit, a lot to unpack from that one. He nodded and gazed into my eyes, resetting a smile. ¡°Apologies, I don¡¯t mean to sulk.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I asked. You answered. It¡¯s cool.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°What do you do? Where are you from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ from really far away. I¡¯m a little out of my element here, and I kind of have nothing. My arms were destroyed saving my friends from these¡­ things- I don¡¯t know what they were, but it was a really bad fight. I¡¯m still new to sigils and everything, and the people here. It¡¯s strange, being in a new place with nothing.¡± ¡°Where do you plan on going?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where there is to go. I think I¡¯m just gonna try figuring out what I can do and go from there.¡± ¡°Who do you want to be?¡± ¡°What are you, my counselor?¡± I laughed awkwardly. He returned the laugh. ¡°I am interested in the one who saved my life. A striking stranger from an apparently faraway land who ended up in the cot across from me at the moment I needed her. Consider me intrigued.¡± I looked down, a little embarrassed for some reason. ¡°I guess¡­ I guess I want to find a place to call home, something simple. I don¡¯t really have any lofty goals. I dunno, I¡¯ve got new opportunities. I just want to be a good person and, now that I can heal, maybe help people, but you know, without destroying my arms every time.¡± Tarynn chuckled delightedly. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. I¡¯d say you¡¯re already close to being that person.¡± ¡°What about you? If you weren¡¯t tied down with royal shit, what would you wanna do? Uh, sorry, I curse a lot, it¡¯s a bad habit.¡± ¡°Do not trouble yourself to change. If that¡¯s who you are, I¡¯m happy to experience it.¡± He furrowed his brows and gazed at his clothes. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t an Amien¡­ I think I would want to be a general.¡± I couldn¡¯t hide the odd surprise on my face and he saw it clearly. He clarified. ¡°I want to lead people, but not rule them as a viscount or a count does, or even an emperor. I want to¡­ inspire people and give them hope for a brighter future. The world, it feels so bleak so often. On the battlefield is where the hearts of men can be swayed toward incredible feats of honor and bravery. Or so Andris tells me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot more noble than I was initially expecting.¡± ¡°Thank you. Would you be offended if I ask to stay? I believe I would like to get to know you better.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going anywhere anytime soon.¡± I smiled bashfully. He smiled and stared into my eyes like he was deep in thought, and I couldn¡¯t help meeting his gaze and holding it. ¡°Your eyes mesmerize me. I don¡¯t think another pair of eyes in this world could compare. It¡¯s as if your pupils are spires of starry darkness in the crimson hue of the sunset.¡± Wait a fucking second, this guy¡¯s hitting on me. HUH?! My heart felt like it was gonna burst and my chest was tingly, like a thousand butterflies were darting around with as much embarrassment as I had. Am I sweating? Wait, fuck, I¡¯m not actually falling for this guy, am I? Granted, he is really really hot, but I was a guy too, like, a few days ago. But not anymore. His aura is all¡­ weird and aroused, and I feel it? FUCKIN HELL! It¡¯s weird, and scary, but I kinda like it. Do I? I don¡¯t know if I like it or not. Am I having an anxiety attack? No way. This can¡¯t be real. This is like some bullshit out of those books all the theater girls doted over where some hot prince in an arranged marriage finds a personalityless self-insert that he falls in love with. Have I fallen so far and become a personalityless self-insert that falls in love with dashing princes? No, I have tons of personality. I totally do. But a guy? Wait, does that make me gay? I thought I was into women. Am I still? Maybe not anymore? And is it gay because I¡¯m technically a woman now. Or am I mentally not? And my gut, why¡¯s it feel so weird? Nope nope nope! I AM NOT GOING DOWN THAT AVENUE YET! Oh God, fuck, it¡¯s all too much for me. You know what, fuck it, I¡¯ll just go with it and see where I end up. Let nature take its course. ¡°Are you okay? Was I too forward again? You¡¯re oddly paler than before, if that¡¯s possible.¡± My eyes couldn¡¯t focus on anything and I was really struggling to fight back the creepy smile. Like he really complimented me all poetically and shit. Do women really just get complimented all the time like this? I didn¡¯t even do anything for it. I mean, sure, I saved him, but I just laid here doing nothing afterward. Three compliments that quickly. It¡¯s that easy? Holy fuck. Wood clashed against wood at the door of the clinic. And she was back. Simira. Thank God. I needed something to distract me from feeling like this so suddenly. ¡°Ew,¡± Simira grimaced. ¡°Why is she smiling like a pervert?¡± Tarynn lowered his head and became awfully meek as Simira stormed forward. ¡°I suppose I have made her bashful as a result of my thanks. Vetia is more humble than you made her seem.¡± Her disgusted expression turned back to me. ¡°I said before that he¡¯s committed. And if you think of interfering, you should kill yourself. Anyway, our sleeping arrangements have been secured. I¡¯ll show you where.¡± She waited at the door for Tarynn, who lagged behind a bit to say one last thing. ¡°Perhaps we may speak in less uncomfortable circumstances tomorrow. Perhaps I should have waited for the sigil¡¯s effects to heal more properly so you could be in the best mentality. Please, rest and heal.¡± Simira groaned. I smiled at him, still reeling from my rapid heartbeat and light head. ¡°Y-yeah, that sounds like fun.¡± They both left and I was alone, trying to figure out what the fuck was happening to me. 19: Paralyzer 19 (Finger Eleven- Paralyzer) Desmond A stench of sulfur seeped through the dark forest like beckoning death. The fireblood was nearby, I just couldn¡¯t place its exact location. It was near the road, probably preying on passersby. The odor grew in strength about a hundred feet into the forest, from a nearby thicket of gray bark trees with jagged and sharp spade-shaped leaves. Thorny vines crawled up the bark, weaving into a chaotic net that would tangle and shred any unlucky animal caught inside. The thicket was the only section of forest with these trees and vines, the rest of the forest being gargantuan needle trees, reverse ferns, and blue fungal spires surrounded by dead insect-sized creatures. About fifty feet in diameter, we were gonna have to take the fight into the fireblood¡¯s den. Sifting through smells was difficult, like my nose was being bombarded by everything around me. The earthy smell of dirt, tree needles and leaves with their own distinct forestry scents, the clean refreshing air. It all piled in around my nostrils until I realized I needed to train myself better before trying to track something precisely. If only I had more time to figure my senses out. My nose could find the general area of things, but it couldn¡¯t pinpoint anything well yet. I¡¯d just gotten used to managing the sensory overload, but learning to use my senses properly would take a lot longer. I let out a quick whistle and pointed to the thicket, then waved Tells to the front. She stepped forward and stopped, staring aimlessly ahead. ¡°What-¡± she lowered to a whisper, ¡°what do you want me to do?¡± ¡°You got the sword, cut a path in.¡± Brenden snuck up behind me and I almost punched him from startling me. ¡°Hey- whoa, easy. Don¡¯t you think we should lure it out, maybe?¡± Adam stood there awkwardly, a frightened expression growing on him as the concept of going inside reached him. I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s an animal, it ain¡¯t coming out if it''s outnumbered. Especially with a big fucker like him, even if he is a pussy.¡± I pointed at Adam, who nodded, not taking his eyes off the trees. ¡°We gotta go in if we want it.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we like¡­¡± Brenden searched the trees for an answer, his heart racing almost as fast as Adam¡¯s. ¡°Burn it out?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not in an African savannah, we¡¯re in the middle of the fucking forest, Brenden, and a pretty thick one at that. And it¡¯s summer. We light that tinder pile and the whole forest is going up.¡± He shook his head in concession. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to think of ideas.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. And I¡¯m tellin¡¯ you to trust me cause I¡¯ve been huntin¡¯ longer and I already thought of every other way we might be able to do this. This is how we get it, by goin¡¯ in and snatchin¡¯ it.¡± Holy shit, maybe this was a bad idea. I think I see what Rowan was talking about now. Tells emerged from the thicket, leaves and bits of sticky green vine choppings in her hair. ¡°It clears up a little ahead. You guys coming?¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m comin¡¯. You know what,¡± I turned to the two behind me. ¡°If you guys don¡¯t think you can handle it, then just do me a favor and while you wait out here, cut this thicket to hell. Alright?¡± Adam trepidatiously stepped forward against his instincts. ¡°I-I-I-I go-got it. Goin¡¯ in.¡± Brenden swallowed. ¡°Yeh, me too.¡± Another expected win for ye olde reverse psychology with a dash of peer pressure. The comfortably lit day seemed to become dusk inside the thicket. Very little light made it through the dense canopy of large, heavy leaves. In fact, I hadn¡¯t even noticed, but the forest in this area was dead silent. No animal calls, no chirps from bugs or birds, nothing. Every time a branch shifted, I heard it. Every time a whisper of wind slipped through the thicket walls, I caught it. We were in its den, but it didn¡¯t know I could hear it slowly slinking along the edge of the path Tells cut, waiting for us to enter. I didn¡¯t see it because it wouldn¡¯t get close enough to see, not until we were in the heart of its trap. Sure enough, about 15 feet in, several rotting stumps and a whole lot of animal bones made sure nothing would grow for about a ten foot space. Tells slipped in first, doing a full turn around, searching every corner for it as she took on a fighting stance in the middle of the circle. The bones cracked and scraped against her boots loudly, getting snuffed out by the treeline. I stepped in directly after her, then Brenden. Adam was having a hell of a time struggling his way through the human-sized passage. Shit, where¡¯d it go. It¡¯s completely silent and the bones are obscuring my hearing in here. Fuck! I hopped through the bones to pull Adam in. ¡°Come on, quick!¡± Just then, a twig cracked near the floor as Adam struggled to keep a barbed vine from getting caught around his neck. ¡°I¡¯m try- ah!¡± Adam slipped, latching onto the vine as his massive form tugged the trees to bend down with him. My ears caught light, skittering steps right near his feet. I lunged out to stab with my hunting dagger just as a mangled, thorny, reddish-brown barbed tail whipped out and stuck Adam¡¯s ankle. My dagger sliced into its tail, but not enough to stop it from lingering in his ankle. A hideous, high-pitched cackle retreated into the brush with the tail. ¡°Uuuugghhh,¡± Adam slumped forward, the vine ripping into his neck, then snapping from his weight. Shit! His body is blocking the path out. Gotta get this vine off his neck... Just some light scratches, but he¡¯s completely out. His heart¡¯s beating at least, so it must have just knocked him out. I heard the fireblood behind me, from the right of our entrance. I pointed in the general direction, motioning for Brenden, Tells and I to close in. ¡°What?¡± Brenden asked, ¡°What does that one mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pointing, dipshit,¡± I whispered, ¡°close in on it!¡± Tells crept forward slowly with me. I focused again and listened. No sounds were coming from the brush, so it either moved when I was talking or it was completely still. I turned away from the two of them, scanning the canopy and the treeline by me. We could salvage this easily still. ¡°Shit! Behind you!¡± Tells yelled out from my right and I whipped around to see nothing. Tells was still to my left. We all went dead still, listening for where it was coming from. I was searching the entrance, but I heard her voice from the opposite side she was on. An echo? But nothing attacked. I snapped to Tells, ¡°Tells, what the fuck was that?!¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Tells¡¯ face froze in fear and her heartbeat picked up dramatically. ¡°That wasn¡¯t me!¡± Brenden¡¯s voice came from the side opposite the entrance, behind me. ¡°It¡¯s on me!¡± Brenden is to my left. I hit the ground immediately, made myself small, readied my foot for an upward kick, and raised my dagger to fight back just in time to hear a whistle of soaring wings descending toward me. A blur of that same reddish brown fur shot out from the entrance. It would have stuck me in the back had I not dropped, but it retreated into the canopy, skittering around, throwing branches at us. I whipped out my bow and readied an arrow, following the sound and the branches being thrown. I steaded my breath and launched an arrow the moment I caught a shadow through the treeline. The arrow disappeared. No hit. Brenden put his back against mine, his heart and breathing out of control. ¡°Where the fuck is it?!¡± ¡°Shh!¡± I turned with him watching my rear, or rather, him hiding behind me while I tracked the thing. Tells darted next to me, turning with me, keeping her eyes wherever mine went. We turned with the noises around the whole clearing until it slowly reached the entrance and went silent. Then a quiet chewing sound from the other side of Adam grabbed my attention. ¡°It¡¯s eating Adam¡¯s ass!¡± I darted forward, arrow at the ready and dagger in my string hand, ready for it to counter attack. Brenden wildly flailed around at losing me, swinging his sword out in the direction of the entrance. Tells jumped forward with me, buckler ready to block its attack. I stood up as tall as I could, sending an arrow just above a dark figure just behind Adam¡¯s thigh. Upon seeing me and Tells, the dark blob jumped up into the foliage. It growled and yelped as the arrow hit. Not a direct hit, but I caught his wing. The creature darted into the foliage to our right side, closer and closer to me, like it was just gonna go all out on us. I pulled the dagger free and stepped backward, pushing Tells back too, but it was a feint. The creature leapt out at Brenden, latching onto his chest. He screamed, slicing at its wing and fighting its tail off with the catching pole to no avail. It bit into his shoulder and lodged its tail into the back of his hand. We closed the distance as fast as we could, but Brenden went down. Tells slammed its side with her buckler, knocking it into the pile of bones. I jumped at it, shoving my boot heel on its tail. It scurried and screeched, trying to get free, but that didn¡¯t stop me from ripping the dagger through, severing the poisonous tail in a splatter of sulfurous brown goo. The wound I cut into its tail earlier had already healed, though. I finally got a good look at it, though. Its blood-red and earthy brown, furry batlike body wrestled against my weight. It couldn¡¯t escape my sight now. It was like a fuzzy lizard, with a body the size of a child, bat wings, and thorny barbed tail. A bulbous, pulsing cancerous growth emerged from a split in its skull, obscuring one eye and pointy little ear as the jiggling tumor of hair, bone, and putrid raw flesh flopped over its face like a bubble of loose fat. Grotesque growth aside, the little shit looked like it was smiling at us through rows of exposed gnarled teeth, screaming at me. Once its tail was cut off, it burrowed into the pile of bones. I stabbed once. Miss. I followed the mound of shifting bones and stabbed again. Shit, another miss! This is bad. I don¡¯t know how long we have for Brenden and Adam. At least Tells is holding her own. Shit, we gotta get this thing alive, don¡¯t we? I regrouped with Tells, keeping an eye on the figure as I forced the animal catcher rod into her hand and picked up the severed tail in my off hand. Maybe I can stick it with its own poison. Might at least slow it down if it¡¯s not completely immune to its own shit. I shared a glance with Tells and we both knew what was up. She¡¯d knock it, I¡¯d finish it. The only issue is it wouldn¡¯t attack if it knew I was following it. It continued its volley of sticks and bone fragments to keep us guessing, but that wasn¡¯t inhibiting me at all. I grabbed Tells¡¯ head, pulling her ear to my mouth, keeping my eyes on its slow circle of us. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fake it out, keep my back in its exact direction. I can hear it, so keep my rear in your peripheral. It¡¯ll attack us, so get ready to knock that fucker.¡± ¡°Word.¡± Both out hearts were naturally racing at this point. Beads of sweat formed on my head, not at the fear of it leaping out, but that it was playing with us until we got too exhausted to fight back effectively. I reacted to the sound of a bone getting thrown across the clearing, trying to seem as scared as possible, dagger out toward the fake. Tells turned toward another sound, keeping a lookout in the wrong direction. The near-silent taps of the pads of its feet on leaves and bone grew ever closer, until a bone cracked under its full body weight. It¡¯s pouncing. I whispered quickly, ¡°Now!¡± Tells whipped at my six, slamming the fireblood with her buckler, but it latched on, jabbing helplessly around the wooden shield with a freshly grown tail. I whirled around stabbed the barbed tail into its back. It wasn¡¯t going down, in fact, its new tail had carved a streak down Tells¡¯ arm. SHIT! She¡¯s gonna drop! The fireblood¡¯s grasp on the buckler relaxed and it tumbled into the bones. Tells slammed its head with the rod and wrapped its neck in the loop. She lost control of her temper a bit. ¡°Eat shit you little rat fuck!¡± She gritted her teeth, clasping the deep gash on the back of her left arm. She wretched, clutching her stomach with her arm, then gagged like a cat with a hairball and spit out a viscous clump of red fluid onto the fireblood. She heaved in air for just a second and puffed out her chest at the paralyzed fireblood. ¡°BITCH!¡± I stared at her baffled for a second. ¡°The fuck? That poison didn¡¯t do anything to you?¡± She grimaced, then caught her breath. ¡°I think that¡¯s the poison.¡± She nodded toward the clump of fluid. I pulled off my shirt. ¡°Come ¡®ere. Hold still.¡± She turned toward me and we wrapped my shirt to her arm as a makeshift bandage. I tugged the fastening string out and tied it around her bicep, pulling it tight enough to maybe stem the bleeding. She chuckled. ¡°You a real one for that.¡± ¡°Right back atcha.¡± We high fived, clasping hands. She stared at my six pack in confusion. ¡°No belly button.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked down and sure enough, I didn¡¯t have a belly button. I hadn¡¯t even noticed when I was bathing. She lifted her shirt and sure enough, she didn¡¯t have one either, but she had a surprisingly strong looking core, though not defined nearly as much as mine. I wiped the sweat off my forehead. ¡°We gotta stay focused. Alright, let¡¯s get these fucks outta here and back to the village ASAP. You chill here, I¡¯ll carry the fireblood and Brenden back to the wagon, then we¡¯ll figure out something for Adam. Wait, where the fuck is Brenden?!¡± Brenden¡¯s body was nowhere in sight, but in the silence, I caught a heartbeat from nearby where he had been laying. Tells rushed over to investigate, but tripped over literally nothing, catching herself in the bones. Baffled, she waved her hands through the air, eventually settling them on¡­ nothing. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ uh¡­ Brenden.¡± No way, he¡¯s invisible. The fuck? I knelt down and touched the invisible body. Sure enough, he was there and I accidentally put my hand right on his dick. Another thing to take to the grave with me. I shook my head. ¡°Alright, invisible or not, we gotta get him back. Help me out, wouldja?¡± She lifted invisiBrenden onto my back and I hung the fireblood over my shoulder like a bindle. I raced them back, thanking God that Brenden was an easy-to-carry twink. I tossed the fireblood into the cage and Brenden into the wagon away from it, watched for a moment, just to make sure it wasn¡¯t moving, then ran back to Tells. Lugging Adam out was a nightmare. The guy had to weigh at least four hundred pounds, so we each grabbed a hand and dragged. We managed to heave him into the wagon and take off, exhausted more from moving Adam than anything. Brenden was back to being visible by the time we had hauled Adam¡¯s giant ass out of the woods. When we reached the road near Geren¡¯s place, he was standing there, waiting eagerly. ¡°I smelled approaching¡­ You did it. Fireblood is alive¡­ you are all alive.¡± I hopped up front and spoke frantically because I knew Tells wouldn¡¯t. ¡°So our friends are paralyzed and we need to get them help. Do you know anything?¡± ¡°Mother Yeline helps. She fixes ailments. Group came other day¡­ with same ailment¡­ going to Mother.¡± I must be a total fuckin¡¯ idiot. Of course we¡¯d just go to Yeline or Vetia. ¡°We gotta borrow this wagon. We¡¯ll be coming back this way to get to the city, and drop it off then. Thanks in advance.¡± He nodded and we took off. It only took a day to get back with the corty, but we could shorten that if we pushed them a little harder. I couldn¡¯t risk them dying of paralysis. During that time, I did everything I could to make sure Adam and Brenden survived. Listening to their breaths and heartbeats constantly took a massive toll on me, and I got migraine after migraine trying to keep concentration on them, but it helped me learn to manage my hearing better. Their throats weren¡¯t messed up at all, so I poured little streams of water into their mouths. Sure enough, their breathing didn¡¯t change, so I figured it was probably going into their stomachs and not down their windpipes. Arriving back in town was like lifting a massive weight off my shoulders. We pulled straight up to the temple, and Tells ran in to get Mother Yeline. 20: plz dont waste my youth 20 (Au/Ra- plz don¡¯t waste my youth) Tells I hopped off the wagon and darted into that weird building with the tree as fast as I could. Mother Yeline was inside talking with some really buff lady when I interrupted them, which scared me a little, considering I really didn¡¯t like talking to people anyways. I didn¡¯t want to interrupt anyone. ¡°M-Mother Yeline, we need help. We have the fireblood. And my friends are paralyzed.¡± Both of them looked back at me. The woman next to her had really intense eyes that I really didn¡¯t want to make contact with. The woman started walking right up to me and talking really loudly. ¡°Fireblood? Paralysis? That sounds familiar to what we dealt with. Is the fireblood alive?¡± She got right up to me, meeting me at about eye level. I continued avoiding eye contact, racing to speak. ¡°Y-y-y-yeah. It¡¯s alive, but they need help outside.¡± ¡°Mother, I have just the sigil you can use. I¡¯ll bring it right back.¡± Mother Yeline had a look of worry on her face as the woman sauntered out of the temple and disappeared. Mother Yeline walked forward to me and pulled her green veil back for the first time. Her old gray eyes shimmered, the left one pure white and blind. She took my hand in hers and I stiffened up a little. ¡°Thank you, dear,¡± she smiled like a proud grandmother. ¡°Bring them. Clinic too small for jinian. I help. Then we use fireblood for town. A sort of warm, giddy feeling coursed through me. I was almost embarrassed, but confident and glad that I did something for her, for the people of the town. ¡°I¡¯ll go get them.¡± I ran out and lugged Adam and Brenden in with the help of shirtless Desmond. The stablehand took over watching the fireblood for us. Not that we were worried about it getting out, but we didn¡¯t want to risk it waking up and trying to prick people. The woman brought a book to the Mother. She was followed in by a sparsely bandaged man who looked like her twin. The Mother opened the book and began carving a very intricate sigil in the air. Why does that book look familiar? I didn¡¯t know much about the books or whatever the magic was, but she seemed like she was struggling with it. ¡°I apologies. Will take time. Old age slows jzanmah.¡± Mother Yeline took labored breaths as a green orb appeared over Adam, pulling liquid from him. The woman put a hand on the Mother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mother Yeline, do not strain yourself. These men have plenty of time, as my brother did." "Appreciate concern, Milady, but I complete treatment for haste." After about an hour, the green orbs had drawn all of the poison out of Brenden and Adam. They began sitting up, but their bodies fell back instantly, exhaustion overtaking them. Mother Yeline stood slowly and held the book out toward me and Desmond. ¡°One return book? Must begin fireblood dissection.¡± The man with the bandages stepped in front of us. ¡°Allow me to assist you, Mother. I am sure you have already been hard at work preparing for the sake of the town.¡± The Mother¡¯s eyes went wide with worry, ¡°I shan''t ask noble man for common task, not after Lady Simira retrieve book-¡± ¡°I insist upon it, Mother.¡± He took the book from her and walked out with a wide smile. His sister glared sharply at him, like a mother who was suspicious of her kid for sneaking food. Having seen that many times before from my own mother, I was sure she wasn¡¯t trusting him for some reason. It was a little creepy, the way he was practically skipping out the door. The Mother exited as well, leaving me and Desmond alone with our sleeping friends and the woman. Did Mother Yeline say they were nobles? As in, nobility? They¡¯re certainly dressed like rich people. I kind of froze up and didn¡¯t know what to say, so I sat next to Desmond and watched over Brenden and Adam. ¡°You were the ones on the road. Are you travelers? Mercenaries? You don¡¯t look like you are, but you caught a fireblood.¡± The woman had a strong voice that commanded respect. Desmond sighed and looked at her dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but we ain¡¯t hangin¡¯ around here long. Let¡¯s go, Tells. I gotta take a mean shit and I can already tell this one¡¯s gonna be rough.¡± He hurried away, leaving me completely alone with the scary woman who was now grimacing at him. ¡°I¡¯m not joining you for that,¡± I quietly said as he walked away, but he wasn¡¯t listening. She waited until he walked out and it was the two of us awkwardly standing there. Well, I was awkwardly standing there while she tapped her foot in an irritated and expectant manner. ¡°Nobody has any respect here, I suppose. Would you care to answer my question, or shall I simply go fuck myself?¡± ¡°Sorry. Uh, yeah- yes. That was our first job. We¡¯re just traveling.¡± I was looking at the ground the whole time, fingering at my bandage. She sighed and lightened up. ¡°Well, that creature evaded my envoy and put my brother out. You seem capable at the least. Where are you off to next?¡± ¡°We¡¯re leaving soon. Going to the city down that way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect. We were planning to leave anyway once my brother gets new ribs. Will you have enough room for two more in your wagon, just until my brother and I encounter our officers?¡± ¡°Yeah, I think so. We¡¯re returning it to a, um yeffen guy in a cabin, though, so we won¡¯t be taking it the whole way.¡± She raised a curious eyebrow. ¡°So you¡¯ve met Geren?¡± I nodded to her. ¡°He¡¯s kind and a man of his word, I was pleasantly surprised. A wise conversationalist, from my experience. It¡¯s a shame Triali is so harsh on the yeffen.¡± She leaned in close and whispered to me, even though we were the only ones around. ¡°You should take advantage of what you can get with that fireblood. They¡¯re hard to get alive. I¡¯m sure the village people would be more than happy to give you a wagon and a corty as payment.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll¡­ ask them what they can give. We did it for our own reasons, anyway.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of value in that fireblood. You¡¯re certain?¡± I nodded. I thought about how nice it would be to have basic necessities. Just the means to travel would be a vast improvement to our situation. A slim smile cracked my face as I daydreamed not being completely poor. ¡°Your name. I would like to know it.¡± She leaned back on her heel as she checked me up and down. ¡°Tells.¡± ¡°Just Tells? I¡¯ve not heard a name like that before.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s my- my street name.¡± She raised her eyebrows in confusion. ¡°Is a street name different from a real name?¡± Oh no, my old name doesn¡¯t fit how I look. She might get suspicious if I tell her. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± She shook the confusion off and stood up straight. ¡°I am Lady Simira of house Amien, honorable to the Viscount Hazjiken Amien. Direct descendent of the first emperor of Triala.¡± I don¡¯t know what to do. Am I supposed to bow? What¡¯s a viscount? I slightly bowed and glanced up. She looked condescendingly confused. Maybe I wasn¡¯t supposed to bow. ¡°Sorry, I haven¡¯t met a noble person before. Am I supposed to do something?¡± A flash of curious humor crossed her face and she relaxed. ¡°I¡­ ha, I suppose many people don¡¯t personally encounter or even see, for that matter, those who govern them. Actually, that is precisely why I am out here, but alas. You are Tells. Your respect is enough for me. What are your friends¡¯ names?¡± She seemed very pleased to learn about us, so I tried to answer what she wanted. I half gestured at each of my friends as I identified them to Lady Simira. ¡°Adam is the¡­ jinian, Brenden is the¡­ um¡­ nyadin, and Desmond is the one who left for a business trip.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I tried getting all the names of their new races right so I wouldn¡¯t seem like a total outsider, but it didn¡¯t seem like I sold it well enough. She was very curious, so she could probably tell. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know much about here.¡± She put out a hand to stop me. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for trifles. Your intent is telling enough.¡± She crossed her arms and cracked her neck before a thought dawned on her. ¡°Why do you know so little? To travel with a jinian and nyadin, surely you have some worldliness.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ hard to explain. We grew up together. Born and raised around each other. We didn¡¯t¡­ have any contact with cities or towns here.¡± She leaned forward like a curious researcher. ¡°So you¡¯re from an isolated community, similar to this one?¡± I hesitantly nodded, which she must have picked up on. ¡°What¡¯s your goal in traveling, then?¡± I turned my head toward the floor. What am I supposed to do? What can I do? What¡¯s out there for me to do? What would dad say? ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. I¡¯ll just do what good I can, where I can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s noble, but a sure way to be taken advantage of.¡± ¡°I know. But I¡¯ve learned¡­ I¡¯m learning.¡± She nodded like she was impressed. ¡°You¡¯ve good sensibility, it would seem. Should it all be true.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got no reason to lie.¡± ¡°Truly. Why lie and attempt humor at a stranger unless you are selfishly deceiving, lack sanity, or pretend intellect?¡± She rolled her eyes like she was slighting somebody. ¡°And yet I am plagued by it at every turn.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Well, I¡¯m too dumb to lie and sane enough to know that.¡± She chuckled and shook her head. ¡°Ask man what his shortcomings are, and the fool will decree his greatness. One must be wise enough to question his faults and find the answers within. Only then may he feign true wisdom.¡± She snapped out of a thought and returned to the conversation. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve been reading too much of Djoteided¡¯s work.¡± She must have realized my confusion. ¡°He¡¯s an old philosopher who poses some interesting questions. Had I the time and the people who¡¯ve heard of him, I would talk for days. Truly, I wish everybody could read his works. We¡¯d all be so much more complete people.¡± ¡°I studied a, uh¡­ moral teacher, from my home¡­ my dad did, so I did. A religious one, and a really long book, but I agree.¡± She seemed surprised by that. ¡°You can read?¡± I nodded. ¡°The further I venture from home, the more I find myself surprised at what lies in this world.¡± She chuckled and sighed, fixing her posture. ¡°Alas, let¡¯s not digress. I should see to urgent matters. Thank you for the conversation, Tells.¡± Then I remembered that one of my friends wasn¡¯t here right now. ¡°You too, Lady Simira. I should also go meet my other friend now that I¡¯m back.¡± I backed up toward the door and began turning around, but she was really quick and caught up right behind me. ¡°As do I need to check that my brother isn¡¯t¡­ courting.¡± She said that last word like she was trying to hold back from gagging. We both stepped outside and she bid me ¡°Farewell.¡± Then, to my dismay, we started walking in the same direction. I hated when I would say bye to people and then walk the same way as them. We both kind of made eye contact as we walked the same direction, and she scoffed to herself, a slight grin coming and going as she probably thought the same thing. It wasn¡¯t until we both turned toward the door of the clinic and reached for the handle that I jumped back, trying not to intrude on her position by taking the door first. She looked at me, her eyes going wide and immeasurable disappointment forming on her face. She threw the door open and stomped in, and I quickly followed. I caught up to her just in time to see her brother pulling his face away from Vetia¡¯s. He jumped back like a scared kitten, but Vetia smiled innocently, if not a little embarrassed. ¡°Why if it isn¡¯t Lady Simira and my good friend Tells!¡± She sat up, more perky and energetic than before. The brother was sitting on a stool next to her bed, glancing out the window awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯ve said it enough! My brother will not be seduced by some passing harlot!¡± Lady Simira stormed forward and pulled her brother from the chair by Vetia¡¯s cot. Almost pathetically, he raced to an excuse. ¡°Sister, she was not coercing me into her bed. I¡¯ve been spending time with her after she saved my life. She was in miserable condition just a few days ago, lonely and tired.¡± She gradually released her grip and stared disdainfully at him. ¡°It is my obligation to be in her company during her recovery, after what I owe her.¡± He was the complete opposite of his sister. His voice was calming and easy natured, but still regal sounding. ¡°Brother, she is not the sole reason you are alive now. Nor should you forget that your arrangement and our station are of greater import than this lecherous cripple. Her services are appreciated, and she shall be repaid fully as of now. Kindly hold onto this for her, would you?¡± She dropped a small cloth pouch of coins in my hands. Vetia spoke up in her proper tone. ¡°Milady, I did what I could to help him of my own free spirit. If he, in his kind heart, seeks to repay me with his company then who am I, a lowly and pathetic peasant, to reject the will of my lord?¡± A bashful smile crept onto Lord Tarynn¡¯s face and when he glanced down at Vetia, Lady Simira¡¯s eye filled with murderous rage. ¡°She is quick with her tongue and vile all the more! Do not look at her as if you have fallen for yet another deceitful woman!¡± His face fell back into a submissive stare at the wooden floor upon hearing his sister¡¯s voice. ¡°No more shall she be anything to you. Come with me, brother, we must see to the fireblood bones.¡± Lady Simira glared at the two of them until Lord Tarynn was at the door, like an angry Catholic mom who caught her son with the school hoe. As she turned around to join her brother in leaving, Vetia smiled and winked at him. I watched the entire scene in pure bafflement. The second the door closed and without missing a beat, I whipped around and said ¡°Bro what¡¯s up with the gay shit?!¡± Vetia¡¯s eyes went wide as she checked back into reality. ¡°I don¡¯t know man, shit just hits different now, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Hit¡¯s different? Bro! You a dude sucking tongue with another dude. You crazy as Hell!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Tells, I¡¯m already doubting reality enough as is! Dude, I don¡¯t know how to explain it really, but I just started to feel things that I ain¡¯t ever felt before. Maybe it has to do with, oh, I don¡¯t know, the new body I¡¯m in. It¡¯s scary, but I kinda like it! I don¡¯t know man, shit¡¯s weird!¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a week!¡± She got oddly worked up at that, articulating everything in disbelief. ¡°You did not see the way he put the moves on me bro! Got me feeling all cute and shit, heart racing, kicking my feet in the air, and I was, like, not ready for that! He just showed up and showered me with compliments man! I ain¡¯t ever had that! It does things to you! You ever wonder why there are so many e-girls out there?! I can tell you why!¡± ¡°Sounds like a cope to me.¡± Her eyes practically bugged out of her head. ¡°Fuck you mean cope?! Bitch, you¡¯re a chick now too! Oh¡­ I see. I see what you¡¯re doing here. I¡¯m not crazy. You¡¯re in denial. And even if you do still like women, that makes you more gay because you¡¯re a woman now too! I¡¯ve got new needs and new urges and that mothafucka played ¡®em like a fiddle! I¡¯m just tryna figure it out, man! You¡¯re coping!¡± ¡°You¡¯re in a coma in the hospital and your parents and friends are crying for you to wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.¡± I kept repeating ¡°Wake up¡± with an emotionless face and walking closer. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fucking kill you, Tells. And you know what? It ain¡¯t a hate crime no more!¡± ¡°Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Wake up!¡± I was right in her face staring blankly and talking louder and faster every time. Suddenly, wood slammed behind me, so I immediately stopped and stood normally. ¡°Is it really a hate crime if I loved committing it?¡± Desmond slammed the door open and marched in nonchalantly while taking a bite of a spiky yellow leaf. Vetia looked past me to him. ¡°Whatcha got there?¡± ¡°Crabs.¡± He burped and tossed the leaf on the floor just in time to make eye contact with the little man at the desk who was staring at all of us like we were lunatics. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t touch that leaf if I were you. It¡¯s been some nasty places.¡± Desmond kicked the leaf out the door, then walked past the desk and joined us by Vetia¡¯s cot. ¡°So what we talkin¡¯ about?¡± Simultaneously, Vetia and I said: ¡°Tells is a lesbian.¡± ¡°Vetia¡¯s gay.¡± Desmond¡¯s eyes flickered back and forth between the two of us. He subtly nodded and then raised his eyebrows. ¡°Can I watch?¡± Vetia and I shared a look of disappointment, but understanding. I slammed Desmond¡¯s balls with my fist. He gasped as all the air left his body. ¡°You planned that one, didn¡¯t you? You know hot bitches bangin¡¯ is my weakness,¡± weakly escaped his mouth. He leaned his head on the bed while wheezing and struggling to stand. Desmond sniffed, raised his head in anguish, then sniffed again and looked inquisitively up at Vetia, who shifted very uncomfortably. ¡°Aren¡¯t I a bit old for that, Mr. President,¡± she said as he continued sniffing. ¡°All right! You can stop whenev-¡± Desmond checked back into reality. ¡°Shut up! Shut up, no! I¡¯m not fuckin¡¯- ew, it¡¯s something else. Ne- nevermind. Anyways, what''s with the rage monster who looks like she stands to piss? I miss something?¡± ¡°Vetia¡¯s getting all tonguey with her brother and Lady Simira¡¯s mad about it or something, I just got here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not- well- that¡¯s true, but there¡¯s more to it. I saved him with my magic, then I clocked out for a bit and guess who was next to me when I woke up? Hot guy, who is also really good at dishing out compliments and causing flash floods. And we¡¯ve been talking for the past few days because there¡¯s literally nothing else to really do, and you know, we like each other. That¡¯s normal. That¡¯s how normal relationships start.¡± ¡°Must be a side effect of being a woman.¡± Desmond shook his head apologetically. ¡°Well, you know what they say. A lock ain¡¯t a lock without a key.¡± She was a little confused, but nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something there. Anyway, Tells is out here trying to tell me it¡¯s gay to be straight.¡± I casually shook my head. ¡°I would never say that. You¡¯re putting words in my mouth, making up these crazy delusions like I wouldn¡¯t support you no matter who you love. Do you really value our friendship so little?¡± Desmond cut in. ¡°Tells is right. You¡¯re crazy and delusional and should seek mental help. You do know none of us are real, right? We¡¯re all just figments of your imagination. You know what, we¡¯ll make the ride into the city a big therapy session. Just you and your three hallucinations dealing with your psychosis.¡± She smiled uncomfortably, with a twinge of fear creeping through. ¡°So true.¡± I awkwardly looked at the floor. ¡°It¡¯s not just gonna be the five of us.¡± Both of them locked eyes on me. Vetia leaned in and raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°I told Lady Simira that her and Lord Tarynn could hitch a ride with us until their friends caught up to us.¡± Desmond shrugged agreeably and Vetia froze like she was constipated with fear. 21: End of Time 21 (K-391, Alan Walker, Ahrix- End of Time) Adam I woke up under an umbrella of silver and green shimmering leaves. A little creature the size of my thumbnail was prodding at my chest with fuzzy little light blue and lavender furred arms that extended from its chubby little body. It only had two limbs and two wings, which buzzed softly, almost silently, as it tried landing on parts of my chest hair. Its features looked more like a mammal¡¯s than an insect¡¯s, but it reminded me a lot of a clumsy bumblebee the way it bumped around my chest hairs. Its tiny spherical head had two big beady eyes and no ears, but a tongue that protruded like a long trumpet horn. I felt little tickles on my chest where it seemed like it was licking at the sweat. As I moved my head, its stringy tail twirled and it turned to meet my eyes. It didn¡¯t dart or anything, so I raised my hand toward it and brushed it away. It hummed off and disappeared into a larger group of them fluttering around the tree. I looked around, realizing I was inside the temple in the village, next to Brenden. My body was yet again stiff and aching miserably, but from what? How did I¡­? I wracked my brain, recalling the wagon ride, journeying into the forest, and then feeling a prick in my back that knocked me down. Brenden¡¯s voice startled me. ¡°There you are. You feel as stiff and sore as me? Like every muscle in your body cramped up just a minute ago?¡± ¡°What the hell happened to us?¡± ¡°The fireblood had some sort of poison. It paralyzed you instantly, then it got me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming Tells and Desmond beat it, considering we¡¯re still alive.¡± ¡°One would think that, but where the fuck are they?¡± I stood up and stretched the pain out. Every one of my joints popped and cracked like I¡¯d been hibernating for a whole season and my groans definitely sold it because Brenden stood up and did the exact same thing. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Brenden gasped, ¡°my back hasn¡¯t cracked that good in ages. I¡¯d ask you to walk on it, but you¡¯d probably just crush me.¡± We both stood there for a minute catching our breath and stretching out until Brenden sighed, staring at his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m already itching to get home. I know neither of us had particularly good lives, but would you take it over getting beat up and being miserable here all the time?¡± I paused and looked down at his torn expression, which mirrored my own feelings. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for you or anyone else, but I¡¯m gonna be honest, man, I don¡¯t miss it. Even with how suckish it is now, it¡¯s better than working myself to death. It¡¯s a big adjustment, but I¡¯m starting to get a feel for it.¡± I couldn¡¯t help letting out a chuckle. ¡°This is everything I ever could have wanted, man. Being an overpowered dude in a land of magic and fantasy. It¡¯s the games, the shows, the books I loved. It¡¯s all¡­ here. But¡­¡± I trailed off, not sure of what I wanted to say. ¡°It¡¯s not all it¡¯s chalked up to be?¡± Brenden half smiled and chuckled to himself. I nodded silently, a little reluctant to admit that I wasn¡¯t enjoying all of this like I wanted to. ¡°It¡¯s just not¡­ I thought it¡¯d be easier.¡± ¡°I think I would have preferred something more like Star Wars or Star Trek. Fantasy was never really my thing.¡± ¡°Both of those series have fantasy elements though.¡± ¡°Thank you Adam. I never noticed.¡± He sighed. ¡°All this¡­ old timey¡­ medieval¡­ shit, is just¡­ shit. It sucks. And¡­ instead, I keep finding myself in my own head. I hate it.¡± ¡°I know what you mean. I¡¯ve thought a lot more than I ever expected, and, after that fireblood¡­ I don¡¯t know. I might have the body of a beefed up orc, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m made to be a fighter, a warrior, or a hero.¡± ¡°You still caught up on that hero shit? Savior of the world?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± I was still wrestling with it in my own mind, just talking through my own thoughts to him. ¡° I think¡­ I think I¡¯m happier without the burden. Think about it- being a hero. I¡¯d be constantly fighting- killing- and in and out of getting healed like these past few days. I barely have the energy to stand right now. Sure, I hated my job on Earth, but I¡¯m not cut out for hero life.¡± I sighed, not sure where I was going with it. Brenden paused, pondering what I said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be a hero. I¡¯ve¡­ had my mind set on getting home this whole time, but there may not be a way home. And if there isn¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to make a life here. I love you guys and I want to stay with you, but eventually I¡¯m probably gonna go look for a place I wanna live¡­ a woman I wanna live with.¡± I chuckled, an idea coming to me. ¡°Yeah, I mean, look at these people. Different language, culture, way of living. We¡¯re human, by our standards, but our races might have completely different lifestyles.¡± He raised his finger like he was going to say something, then trailed off. I continued. ¡°We¡¯re not a hundred percent sure yet, of anything in this world really, but we can go anywhere. Live anywhere. Pick a place and go because we have nothing holding us down. It¡¯s weirdly¡­ relaxing. I can do what I want. Take it at my own pace. I¡¯m not stressed at all because I don¡¯t have any deadlines, any times I have to be anywhere. We get all healed and fixed up here, then just go.¡± I smiled and shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry about saving the world. We¡¯re free, but that means we¡¯ve gotta protect ourselves. Take care of each other. Honestly, I never had to worry about that. I was stable and stuck, but comfortable. Now¡­¡± ¡°Now we only have to worry about ourselves and what we wanna do with our lives.¡± ¡°Yeah. And I think I like it. Right now, it sucks, but that¡¯s because we have nothing. But we can literally just go out into the woods and get what we need because we don¡¯t need much. We can provide for ourselves. It¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Simple?¡± ¡°And¡­ sobering.¡± Brenden lowered his head, biting his cheek. ¡°So you¡¯re¡­ sold on staying here then?¡± ¡°A little. Dude, I¡¯m not paying for an apartment every month and making just enough to scrape by. I¡¯ve been¡­ thinking and¡­ well, I¡¯ve been thinking. About a lot of things. A lot of what I used to do was completely pointless. Wastes of time, when I really think about it. I only did them because I had nothing else to do. They¡¯re not here to distract me, so I¡¯ve been thinking¡­ about myself, the world, my place in this world. It¡¯s so fuckin¡¯ weird, how much thinking has changed my outlook on this. It¡¯s all I¡¯ve been able to do. I think I¡¯m finally figuring out what I actually want. Figure out who I want to be and what I want to do in a new place. Maybe I¡¯m caught up in the moment and I¡¯ll hate it when winter comes, but I think I could get used to this.¡± Brenden stared at the floor, feeling his long ears. ¡°Wastes of time, huh? I liked having technology, I guess. I still catch myself reaching for my phone or hearing little buzzes that make me think I¡¯m getting a text from my family or one of you guys. But I think I see what you mean.¡± I chuckled. He was down, a little sad looking. Shit, did I get too heavy for him? I tried picking the mood up. ¡°Hell, I¡¯ve seen you read more in this world than you ever did in the old one. It must be killing you if you¡¯re that bored.¡± ¡°Hah. Yeah, sucks for the team too. We¡¯re gonna miss the set this week, and the rest of the split.¡± ¡°Tell that to Tells. Can¡¯t be a niche internet microcelebrity without the internet. Then again, it¡¯s the internet, they¡¯ll probably just assume he killed himself.¡± ¡°Yeah, like it wasn¡¯t your driving that killed us.¡± ¡°We got hit by a fucking semi! I couldn¡¯t-¡± ¡°I¡¯m just joshin¡¯ you, Adam. Fuckin¡¯ ¡®ell, man. I got the faceful of speeding grill, I know. Hope that trucker made it onto the top plays of the week for the one-hit penta.¡± Brenden remorsefully chuckled and searched around at the empty temple like he was expecting something. ¡°Idiots in Cars at least.¡± He smirked. ¡°That¡¯s a bit too tame and educational. Probably whatever the new Liveleak is.¡± ¡°I do- did have a dash cam in my car. If the cops got to it before 24 hours, they should have the tapes.¡± Brenden raised his eyebrows. ¡°Ah, yes, Desmond, Rowan, Tells and I drunkenly screaming the lyrics to ¡°Every Time We Touch¡± and then dying is sure to be a tear jerker.¡± I scoffed. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re telling me, I had to drive with you fuckers doin¡¯ it.¡± He got defensive. ¡°I offered to drive.¡± ¡°You were the birthday boy, dipshit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a month younger than you, old man.¡± ¡°Yeah, know your place, child.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he stretched his arms, his mood seeming to recover. ¡°Where are the other two?¡± ¡°Woulda been nice if one of them stuck around,¡± I complained. ¡°Maybe tell us what¡¯s going on or something.¡± ¡°Or just stick around to make sure we don¡¯t die in our sleep. Unless one of them¡­¡± Brenden¡¯s face grew serious and he jogged to the door to peer outside. A noisy crowd of little people had formed outside. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re just dicks. Cool.¡± Desmond¡¯s boisterous salesman voice called out across the crowd of maybe a hundred tiny people. A sea of hats and bald heads covered the road as discussions in a foreign language took off. At the center of their attention was the wagon with the paralyzed fireblood in a cage, and Desmond presenting atop the wagon while Tells sat in the wagon like she didn¡¯t know what to do. One of the small people was up with Tells and Desmond, interpreting Desmond¡¯s words for the crowd who couldn¡¯t understand him. ¡°Mother Yeline¡¯s already marked off the parts that are claimed for people who need them most. So far, the claimed parts are both arms up to the collarbones, one eye, all toes on its right foot, the lower half of its left leg. We know you all need some new parts, but it¡¯s our catch, so the first dibs will go to people who can offer us stuff from the list we¡¯ve put together. We need a wagon that can hold people and supplies, one or two corties, and five tents or equal to that. Food, water and alcohol are also welcome. Things I didn¡¯t mention are welcome if you¡¯ve got ¡®em.¡± The crowd began roaring. An old man yelled ¡°I¡¯ve got a brand new wagon for the lungs!¡± A woman from the crowd cried out ¡°My son needs eye! We¡¯ll give you corty!¡± A young man¡¯s voice boomed ¡°No! I need eye. I¡¯ll give you corty and two barrels grain!¡± The woman yelled back ¡°Fine! Two corties!¡± Tells and Desmond spoke for a moment together as the people began shouted. Desmond announced back, pointing at the lucky winners. ¡°Wagon for the lungs! Two corties for an eye!¡± More yelling ensued and Desmond began to lose his grip on the crowd. ¡°Sorry ma¡¯am, we can¡¯t spare any parts of the arms right now!¡± He turned to somebody else in the crowd. ¡°You¡¯ve got tents? Tents for the left knee? Got it!¡± He turned again. ¡°You¡¯ve also got tents? Sorry, we won¡¯t need anymore- Clothes? Leather? Sure sounds good. Hips for the leather and clothes.¡± Offers went to every other part of the body, people offering food, and if they didn¡¯t have food, they offered work, or services. People who couldn¡¯t offer anything better just had to hope that what they needed wasn¡¯t taken. ¡°What the fuck are you guys doing?!¡± Brenden ran to the wagon, so I followed right behind him. I couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking, but he seemed like he was going to lash out. Tells jumped down to meet him. ¡°We¡¯ve got everything we need to get to the next city now,¡± Tells had a slight smile on her face, looking rather proud. ¡°Are you selling that thing¡¯s fucking organs to the village people?!¡± He grabbed both of her arms tightly and got up in her face. Even though she was a foot taller than him, she seemed intimidated. ¡°B-Brenden,¡± she seemed like she was trying to match his tone. ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as it sounds. They¡¯re-¡± ¡°The hell do you mean it¡¯s not as bad as it looks?¡± He started waving his hands around, pointing at what was going on. ¡°We get something and the first thing you do is start harvesting its organs and selling it like a prize from carnie?! That¡¯s fucked up!¡± She pulled away from him and began sounding stern in her own way. ¡°That was the point of getting it, dipshit. Mother Yeline was gonna give its organs away and had the villagers collect money for us. We told her not to take their money and that they could just give us supplies. Desmond got the idea to do it like this, so we did.¡± I stepped between them, trying to sound calm, as much as I felt the same way Brenden did. I spoke slowly and deliberately. ¡°Why was she going to give the organs away? We thought all they were going to take were some bones.¡± She had a look like she was wracking her brain for a second and second. ¡°Because¡­ they were all saying that the bones and stuff work, but the organs can also be put into people¡¯s bodies to fix conditions.¡± Brenden put a hand on my back. ¡°Adam, you can¡¯t tell me that this doesn¡¯t sound fucked up to just me.¡± I turned back to him and then to Tells. Looking over the crowd, they were all so eager and¡­ frenzied. It was horrifying, in a way, to see all these people so fervently crying out for body parts to take from that creature. We were going to kill it anyway, but ripping apart its body for organs still felt weird. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I guess that¡¯s just how this world works. I¡¯ll try to meet them in the middle. ¡°Brenden, what were you planning on doing with that creature?¡± I looked him solemnly in the eyes. ¡°I knew we were going to kill it and take its arms, but I¡­ we don¡¯t need as much as you guys are taking. I would rather we just collect some money from the people and then let the Mother give parts to the people who need them the most. Not auction them off like some black market organ dealers! Hell! I don¡¯t even give a shit about ripping its organs out anymore. Let ¡®em. Just give ¡®em to the people who really need ¡®em and only take what they can afford to give!¡± Tells nearly jumped to respond to him. ¡°We did that! That¡¯s why there was a list of what things were already claimed. People who would have died without the parts are getting them.¡± Brenden stepped forward to her as I tried to keep him from getting up in her face. ¡°What about people with conditions that aren¡¯t bad now, but will get worse with age. Sure, an old guy got its lungs and gave you a new wagon, but did you see or hear him? He has a fuckin¡¯ pipe in his hand, man. He probably just wants ¡®em so he can smoke ¡®em to shit again! I guarantee you that I can find somebody out there who¡¯s got bad lungs, is younger and is probably gonna do a helluva lot more with ¡®em.¡± ¡°We need the wagon though!¡± Tells wasn¡¯t pleading with him, but she sounded like she had less conviction than before. ¡°Brenden¡¯s right, Tells.¡± I pulled her aside while Brenden hopped up in the wagon. ¡°We caught the fireblood and they¡¯re going to pay us regardless, so let¡¯s just try to do the best we can. We might be able to buy the wagon.¡± Tells looked down and nodded. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of either. It¡¯s not like you were intentionally trying to be greedy with the body parts, you just-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ashamed or greedy, dickhead.¡± She scowled and went back up to sit on the wagon. I didn¡¯t think I phrased it badly, but she seemed to think otherwise. She was never that sensitive before, at least. Desmond was trying his best to calm the crowd. ¡°Alright, all the offers are in. I¡¯ll go over parts to hear any last minute counter offers!¡± Brenden¡¯s eyes perked up at that. ¡°Hips for the leather and clothes¡­ no others¡­ okay sold! Lungs for the new wagon. Can anyone beat that? A few out there¡­ what have you got?¡± A gruff male voice called out and the interpreter translated. ¡°My mother¡¯s old and got bad coughs from being down in the mines that the Mother can¡¯t help anymore. We can give you food for it. We don¡¯t have much.¡± A deep feminine voice yelled ¡°My jzaeti can¡¯t be loud and tell ya, but he¡¯s got bad lungs ever since he was sick. He¡¯s young but can¡¯t work like he used to. We¡¯ve only got a few barrels of ketzey to give.¡± Brenden almost silently ran up and stood next to Desmond as Desmond began to make his verdict. ¡°Sorry, but those aren¡¯t gonna-¡± Brenden stepped in front of him and cut him off. ¡°How bad are they? They gettin¡¯ worse? Too bad for Mother Yeline to fix?¡± The woman sounded a little confused at that. ¡°His sickness went away a month ago, but he still coughs and stuff comes up. Mother Yeline said that there wasn¡¯t anything that she could fix with the sigils she has.¡± The old man with the pipe began. ¡°He¡¯s just gotta cough all the water up. He¡¯ll be fine soon. Deal¡¯s already set! They¡¯re mine!¡± The gruff voice spoke up. ¡°As much as I love my mother, I think Zootu¡¯s jzaeti needs the help more. That sounds bad, I- I didn¡¯t know.¡± The woman pleaded to Desmond and Brenden. ¡°I can¡¯t give you a wagon, but I¡¯m sure I can match what Aayatogn is offering.¡± The crowd was silent except for the wife and the old man, desperately arguing their cases for the lungs. Desmond tried talking, but Brenden cut him off. ¡°The lungs are going to Danya and her jzaeti.¡± He pulled a bag out from behind him and then I saw Tells reaching around, grabbing at her waist with a look of surprise as Brenden turned to the old man with the pipe. ¡°We¡¯ll buy the wagon offa you. We just got some money.¡± The old man angrily tried to plead with them, but Brenden cut him off again. ¡°We¡¯ll buy it. Desmond, next organ.¡± I watched as they went through the offers people had. If counters came up that sounded like they could be worsening illnesses or conditions, Brenden stopped Desmond from making the verdict until he was satisfied that the organs were going to the right person. In the end, our haul was a lot smaller than it would have been and the pouch of money was almost empty, but it definitely felt like we did the best with what we had. I knew Brenden felt the same way. Tells wasn¡¯t talking, just staring at the ground, and Desmond seemed irritated that he was interrupted, but he listened to Brenden the whole way through. I had questions of my own after all of that. This town had a healer, but so many people had what sounded like chronic conditions or severe illnesses. I turned around to the clinic and the temple, hoping to find the Mother. As I was walking I noticed leaning on one of the buildings was a tall, muscular woman next to a similar looking man. She was looking at the entire situation with haughty intrigue. She met my gaze for a moment, then walked away, so I carried on to the clinic. The mousey desk guy was sitting at the desk, marking something by running a glowing hot metal rod on soft wood. He glanced up as I squeezed through the door and bumped my way into the clinic. I apologized a lot and he shrugged in response. I heard voices at the farthest cot. They stopped before I could hear what they were saying. I hadn¡¯t even gotten around the curtain before I heard Vetia¡¯s voice. ¡°Adam! What took so long?¡± She was upright in the bed by Mother Yeline, who was on a stool by the window. ¡°What¡¯s going on big guy?¡± Vetia looked off. She seemed like she was really happy to see me and change the subject. I couldn¡¯t make out who Mother Yeline was looking at through her veil. ¡°Oh, uh, hey. I was actually hoping to find the both of you.¡± ¡°You are well now. Good. Why seek me, young Adam?¡± The Mother was looking right at me now. ¡°Was fireblood payment insufficient?¡± ¡°No, no, we got everything we needed. Thank you and the town for that, by the way.¡± ¡°Exchange of your and our service need not be thanked needlessly. Both your and our side is content in dealing.¡± Vetia seemed down. ¡°They ran off to cut that thing up and sell it off a little bit ago. Good to see that you¡¯re awake now. Is Brenden up too?¡± ¡°He is. He¡¯s helping them sort out the shitshow outside.¡± I felt Mother Yeline¡¯s eyes lock onto me when I cursed. Are curses disrespectful to say in front of her, or did I just call their culture a shitshow? Not good either way. I pulled a nearby stool under me. ¡°Mother Yeline, with all due respect. Why are all the people here sick or have bad conditions even though you¡¯re a healer? They were- uh- very eager, to get parts from the fireblood. Can you not fix them?¡± Vetia looked shocked that I asked that. Mother Yeline took a long breath. ¡°I do not know where you hail from. Know so little is strange. Vetia say from far away.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to be disrespectful in any way, Mother Yeline, we just don¡¯t-¡± she held up a hand to stop me from talking. ¡°I understand. I am explain nature of Vetia¡¯s jzanmah, but I suppose you ask similar many question. Healer, curer, life-giver, we all have limit to jzanmah use. To power. Sigil connect mind to jzanmah. Jzanmah pass through brain, through our many and one will. When untrained jzanmah tejuh create sigil, no control. Vetia lost control of jzanmah and healing you, harm herself. Her will intend to fix every part in precise. Too much jzanmah, too fast. Stress make her lose control. Precise healing has many harsh effect on body and brain of tejuh. You need many jzanmah tool for that. As for illness, do you know why body grow warm when person grow ill?¡± I was just staring at her, and I nodded. She didn¡¯t seem convinced by it. ¡°There exist many creature smaller than we see, which live in all body. All little creature feed, coexist, and benefit. In many way we need many creature to live, yet many other kill us in few day.¡± Vetia seemed surprised and spoke under her breath ¡°Microorganisms?¡± She realized she said it and then said, ¡°Mother, you know about viruses and bacteria and sh- stuff in this world?¡± Mother Yeline turned her head toward Vetia. ¡°Yes. ¡®In this land¡¯ we not fool. We detect them.¡± Vetia¡¯s pulled her lips into her mouth and she looked down at her bed, silent. The Mother looked back toward me. ¡°Our jzanmah heal body. Precision to kill many tiny creature require incredible jzanmah control. We¡­ I, do not know of sigil that kill many small creature in safe way. Many remedy in plant and chemical exist, but many unsafe or no succeed. To kill many tiny creature cost much jzanmah. Fixing battle wound cause heat. Too hot for bugs. Illness different. My old brain will burn. Jzanmah limited by tejuh physical strength and stamina. We cannot understand many night sky sun or defeat tiny invisible small creature without great physical and mental fortitude. Only most train and experience regenerator survive after defeating many small creature. Use many tool, very slow. If not, regenerator must recover long time, if not dead or lost. I am old. I jzanmah exhausted. My one body cannot withstand strong fast jzanmah. I have nothing tool, only village heirloom, fireblood tool. To use sigil no tool, I die or be lost.¡± It was a lot to take in, but there was a question eating at the back of my mind. ¡°What about the people? Can¡¯t they use sigils, even the easier ones? Brenden was telling us about them and that everyone apparently can use simple ones.¡± ¡°I wonder where such unknowing two person as you hail from. But I no intrude. It is same for person use heat jzanmah. Heat and cold are within and make us alive. All person use them as gift of Blood. Many may learn some heat sigil. Easy for all person use. Only blessed person, or belonging to jzanmah tejuh family or race of person may wield other jzanmah. Common person use other jzanmah suffer their find. Jinian Adam, you perhaps may wield jzanmah of force and gravity. Ability unique to few outside jinian person. Vetia, you exist as anomaly to regeneration jzanmah for reason we spoke of.¡± Vetia murmured to the Mother. ¡°So that¡¯s why everyone is so obsessed with my kind?¡± ¡°Yes. We are without harm because you perceive reason, yet we wary. You need know: Healer rare. Many bad person will use you. I make the arrangement now, so you may leave when I tell.¡± The Mother put her hand on Vetia¡¯s knee and looked into her eyes. ¡°You are bastard of nature. Bring life or nature destroy.¡± Vetia was still looking down, looking like she was in a daze. ¡°Right. I¡¯ll try.¡± I knew she could feel my eyes parsing her face, trying to grab the attention of her own eyes. She looked up at me and I saw fear and worry in her eyes. ¡°All that¡¯s crazy, huh? I¡¯ll tell you all about it when we get out of here. I¡¯m still figuring it out. If I walk out of the clinic alive, I should be able to manage. If I don¡¯t, go on without me.¡± Mother Yeline politely and quietly stepped away. I leaned back, then forward in confusion. ¡°What? Why would we go without you.¡± ¡°I¡­ I wasn¡¯t exactly joking about what I am when I introduced myself. It¡¯s not exactly what I said, but it¡¯s not far off.¡± She pursed her lips like she was terrified of something. ¡°As in¡­ you¡¯re actually a¡­ vampire hunter?¡± She smiled despite the welling fear in her eyes. ¡°The first half of that, yeah.¡± What? What even does that entail? Is she¡­ I leaned in, whispering. ¡°Do you have to drink people¡¯s blood? Do you wanna drink our blood?¡± She chuckled. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have to, um, but I can¡¯t deny that not being able to drink any blood has been taking a toll on me. And the jzanmah shit? Fuck, it¡¯s messin¡¯ with me too. I¡¯m figuring it out, which is why I can¡¯t say much. But please, just¡­ I¡¯m not different. I¡¯m just¡­ figuring it out.¡± ¡°Do you want some company? You don¡¯t have to tell me everything. You can just talk, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like time to just think. It¡¯s all I¡¯ve had, but somehow it hasn¡¯t been enough.¡± She paused, tears welling in her haunted eyes. ¡°I¡¯m still me, right? I¡¯m not different or¡­ changed, am I? I think that¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to figure out, but you¡¯re the only ones who knew me. Who knew who I was.¡± I lowered my head for a second, scratching my growing stubble. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking a lot too. It¡¯s changed the way I see some things. I feel¡­ different, but I know I¡¯m still me because¡­ I don¡¯t know, I just am. It¡¯ll probably be a longer adjustment period for you, though. At least I¡¯m still a guy.¡± She smiled through her drying eyes. ¡°Lucky.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean, though. We¡¯re not who we are because we want to be, but we can control what we do with ourselves. I¡¯m not the hero of the world, but I¡¯m starting to like who I am a lot more than I used to.¡± Vetia sighed. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the name that¡¯s throwing me off. It¡¯s weird being called a different name. I know I¡¯m still Rowan, but I¡¯m¡­ not exactly him anymore, even though I am him. And Vetia¡¯s not different from Rowan, just what I¡¯m calling this body I¡¯m in. Same person, but different names for different worlds, I guess.¡± There she is. Still in there. I was going to pat her shoulder, but I hovered my hand there awkwardly for a moment. ¡°I was gonna pat you, but-¡± ¡°Yeah, no, that¡¯s-¡± she chuckled- ¡°it keeps happening. If you could do me a favor, could you nab that cloth and wipe under my eyes for me. The dried tears are really uncomfortable.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even cry though.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve, uh¡­ I¡¯ve just been doing it a lot and Mother Yeline can only keep me so bathed.¡± I picked up the cloth and wiped away at her cheeks and under her eyes, a relieved breath escaping her nose. ¡°I think you¡¯re just getting caught up in your head, worrying too much. You¡¯re still you, but it¡¯s scary not knowing what you are. And with fear comes anxiety, and anxiety¡¯s just a bitch.¡± She peered out the window, her crimson hair almost seeming black in this lighting, in contrast to her pale, gaunt face. ¡°It¡¯s scary, knowing that if I even do one thing wrong, they¡¯re just gonna kill me. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m a monster to them. Simple as. I¡¯m not supposed to be alive apparently, but I¡¯ve made it this far because I¡¯m lucky enough to look and sound like a normal person. I know you guys wouldn¡¯t- won¡¯t be bothered by me being¡­ this. But I was worried¡­ terrified.¡± ¡°I¡¯d hug you, but it¡¯d probably just hurt.¡± She turned back to me and smirked, bright red eyes and lips restoring color to her exhausted visage. ¡°I¡¯ll give all y¡¯all big hugs when- if I get out of here alive, and don¡¯t tell anyone yet. I don¡¯t want them to be concerned or worried. Y¡¯know?¡± I nodded and rose, speaking louder. ¡°Alright, see you when you¡¯re better.¡± ¡°Two day for full recovery, Adam, please wait,¡± the Mother slowly returned to Vetia¡¯s side. I left the clinic and found the others on the road by the stables setting up all of our gear and taking inventory. Their bitterness at each other seemed to have settled down, or more likely Desmond realized he wasn¡¯t gonna convince Brenden to see his way. Desmond was positively irked, but not completely dissatisfied. ¡°It¡¯s business, Brenden, we need shit and you don¡¯t seem to understand that!¡± ¡°And we got shit while not being pieces of shit! We¡¯re done talking about this until Vetia gets out,¡± Brenden put his foot down. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta set some ground rules, or just figure out what the fuck we¡¯re going to do in this world. We can¡¯t keep surprising each other with shit happening like this. Regardless of what was right or not, we got what we needed. We¡¯ll get the hell out of this town and make our decision then. Sound good?¡± Everyone agreed without pushing against him. ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s just relax. I feel like we¡¯ve just been getting royally boffed ever since we got here.¡± He pushed his smooth dark hair out of his face and tied a string around it into a ponytail. ¡°We¡¯re all we¡¯ve got here. We¡¯ve gotta stick together. We also can¡¯t let this place change us. I know we¡¯re at least moderately decent people deep down.¡± Desmond¡¯s mouth twisted and turned like he wanted to rip out on Brenden at that comment, but he controlled himself. Brenden¡¯s passive aggressive tendencies were a pet peeve of Desmond¡¯s even if Desmond didn¡¯t realize it. The sun was going down, so we all laid back under the cover of our new wagon, tied the corties up to graze, and fell asleep. The two and a half days of waiting were boring days of lounging and training. A lot of thinking for me, but I was in a better mood. Desmond spent most of the time exploring the woods. Tells and Brenden spent a lot of time learning to use their swords from the local teenagers who had nothing better to do. Every time Tells or Brenden cut or bruised themselves or each other they¡¯d put it on ¡°Vetia¡¯s tab¡± as they called it. Most of my time was spent lifting things up to see the limits of my strength. I wasn¡¯t exactly superhero strong, but I was definitely more powerful than any of the others. I lifted small downed trees and even pushed a few smaller and dying ones over. They seemed like saplings compared to the monstrously massive trees of the inner forest, but they were about the same size as a normal tree on Earth. The townsfolk were certainly happy to have me bringing more dry wood back to the village, giving me an extra barrel of grain for my ¡°services.¡± I ran into Desmond a few times, and every time I did he would lecture me on ¡°proper lifting form¡± even though I didn¡¯t need it, being so strong. The implant process for the new organs and bones was successful for everyone. They sawed apart the fireblood while it was still alive and paralyzed, cauterizing the wounds, then pulling out organs slowly until it ran out of blood and died. It was hard to tell if the blood loss or paralysis killed it, but it was making some horrid groans and growls until every drop of blood had been drained. It was a little too much violence for me, so I kept my distance. We all did, except Desmond who watched it with apathy that only a seasoned hunter could muster. I heard they had to do full operations where they would cut people open to expose the ruined spot, then Mother Yeline would use sigils and a tool to have the fireblood parts connect with the body and essentially fuse the old parts with the new parts. I didn¡¯t know how well that worked for lungs and other really vital things, but everyone came out in about half a day and apparently there were only a few close calls. I was curious about how Vetia was going to fare having an operation done on her, but it all seemed to be working fine. That noble guy kept approaching me because I was her friend, asking when she was going to be out and what her long term plans were. I didn¡¯t know if he had any ulterior motives, or if he was seriously thinking about trying to get serious with her, but I didn¡¯t give out many answers to him. It was a lot of ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± and ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask her.¡± I told the others to say the same, just in case he kept questioning. The whole town was done in two and a half days and the rest of the fireblood¡¯s body was burned in a bonfire celebration at the top of the hill in town. The morning after the operations finished, the patients were able to go out and about with their new parts. The four of us gathered outside the clinic early, followed by the nobles, which seemed more like the sister puppy-guarding her brother from doing anything too risque. Behind a wave of several patients came Vetia practically skipping out of the clinic, dressed in her medieval looking clothes, satchel over her shoulder, an ear-to-ear smile, and her arms outstretched to launch herself for a tackle. 22: Talk Dirty to Me 22 (Poison- Talk Dirty to Me) Brenden She walked out of the clinic like nothing in the world could break her stride. Just smiling and waving her arms around until they were outstretched in a hug. ¡°Come here bitches. It¡¯s about time you thanked me for saving your asses.¡± I playfully scoffed. ¡°Who the fuck do you think ended up paralyzed trying to fix your dumb ass?¡± She smiled back smugly. ¡°Where do you think Mother Yeline got the sigil?¡± Desmond sighed and chuckled. ¡°We never should have got you those arms.¡± Her smile only got smugger. ¡°Yup, and now I¡¯m gonna make it everyone else¡¯s problem.¡± Adam pulled us over, and we all slammed into Vetia as Adam wrapped the entire group in a huge bear hug. ¡°Please don¡¯t break my body, I just got my bones working again.¡± She laughed again, and we all joined in. ¡°Okay, now that you¡¯re all close to me, we¡¯ve gotta do something about those noble twins. Tarynn is really nice, but his sister is a miserable cunt. He¡¯s chill alone. Only problem is she¡¯s got him whipped, so they¡¯re a twofer no matter what.¡± The hug turned into something of an awkward planning huddle. ¡°It¡¯s great to see you guys again, but it¡¯s gonna suck with her around. Thanks Tells.¡± ¡°Yeah, fuck you Tells,¡± I said. ¡°Tells, you blithering idiot,¡± Adam said. Desmond groaned. ¡°Leave it to the-¡± Tells cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m stealing your teeth when you go to sleep tonight.¡± Desmond put his hand up to quell us. ¡°I mean, can we kill her?¡± Vetia was quick on the response, ¡°Five on one? More than likely. But her crew would probably wipe the floor with us.¡± I got a little worried. ¡°Wait, were you seriously considering killing her?¡± ¡°Not like actually. I just had a lot of time to fantasize about it.¡± Tells spoke up, ¡°I talked with her yesterday about it. Lady Simira¡¯s pretty normal, I think she just hates you because her brother likes you. She said she¡¯s either going with us or staying until her servants come back, so meeting her crew along the way and sending them off wouldn¡¯t be too bad.¡± Everyone went silent to think. Adam whispered into the middle of us all. ¡°You know, that feels like the logical and safest solution, but I also think getting on their good side might have its merits.¡± ¡°I kind of agree,¡± I said. ¡°As long as nobody¡¯s getting killed or hurt, I like this idea. We can try to create good relations and maybe get some help and good favor while we figure this world out a little more.¡± I heard footsteps behind me approaching. Vetia spoke quietly and quickly as the footsteps got closer. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m getting on really well with Tarynn and she doesn¡¯t like that. We can just ride it out, play nice, and maybe she¡¯ll warm up once she gets to know us. I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not gonna lie, she hasn¡¯t even given me an inch, so I¡¯ll just keep my distance.¡± Footsteps halted out little huddle as we parted to see the twin brother standing there, wearing his orange outfit that matched his sister¡¯s, except with short sleeves to his shirt, bright orange baggy pants, and sandals. It helped that he didn¡¯t have as much jewelry as his sister, though. He didn¡¯t have any, actually. Both his and his sister¡¯s wardrobes had way too much orange in them, in my opinion. They definitely could have thrown in some more variety. His messy ponytail strangely complimented the loose style, but he didn¡¯t look unkempt himself. He looked like a surfer bro with the demeanor of a preppy rich kid. However, his demeanor was broken when Vetia ran over and jumped up to give him a massive hug like a puppy leaping to its owner at the door after a workday. That¡¯s how the nobles saw it, at least. The four of us knew it was intended to be a full tackle, as Rowan would commonly greet us with a swift and heavy tackle to the ground if we weren¡¯t paying attention. It translated oddly well to her now, though. She pushed him roughly, giggling mischievously while Tarynn tried to keep his balance. ¡°Off of him, now!¡± Simira barked from not even two feet away before promptly ripping Vetia away from him. She stood between them with a nearly-bursting blood vessel prominently displayed on her forehead. Vetia sighed. ¡°Holy shit, I¡¯m not trying to steal him. Can we call it a truce and try to enjoy ourselves for this short trip?¡± Simira tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. ¡°Can you two keep away from each other?¡± ¡°I mess with everyone I¡¯m close with! They¡¯re used to it! Tarynn¡¯s not mad!¡± Simira gave a polite ¡°fuck you¡± smile. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not how we do it here. You will keep your distance.¡± Vetia groaned and gave Simira her patented ¡°are you kidding me¡± look. Tarynn¡¯s demeanor shifted inward and away from his sister while Vetia looked at her like it was a challenge. I sighed to myself. It¡¯s gonna be a really long wagon ride to the city. I¡¯m definitely gonna be on damage control the entire time. ¡°Well, friends of Vetia¡¯s,¡± he began. He sounded really well-spoken and rich, but not too douchey. ¡°My name is Tarynn Amien, son of the Viscount Hazjiken Amien. Please, you may refer to me by my given name. I owe Vetia for saving my life, so I ask that you treat me as you would a friend, not an authority.¡± I stepped forward. ¡°Name¡¯s Brenden, hope we get along.¡± Adam stepped up next, chest out and with a proud voice. ¡°We met. I am Adam, the Mountain Crusher.¡± Desmond walked up with his hand out. ¡°I¡¯m Desmond, pleasure to meetcha.¡± Desmond stood there awkwardly with his hand outstretched for a hand shake while Tarynn looked down at the hand, confused. Tells pushed Desmond¡¯s hand down as she moved up to him and blankly said ¡°I¡¯m Tells.¡± ¡°A pleasure to make your acquaintance, indeed.¡± Tarynn clapped his hands together and smiled at all of us. ¡°Well,¡± Ursula stepped forward from between bootleg Ariel and Prince Eric, ¡°if we are making formal introductions, you may address me as Lady Simira Amien, honorable to the Viscount Herald Amien.¡± Her voice was declarative, sharp, and demanded respect. Vetia was already walking away as Simira began her spiel, going toward the wagon. Tarynn was like a puppy split between owners, confused over who to stand near. Desmond followed Vetia and Tarynn as her speech began. Tells awkwardly walked with Desmond, then stopped when she realized the rest of us weren¡¯t going too. ¡°My brother, as you likely have not been told, is committed, therefore not able to enter a relationship. I ask that we respect the boundaries of everyone and maintain a civil and friendly relationship on our way to Vehfirn.¡± ¡°Oh they¡¯re gettin¡¯ friendly alright!¡± Desmond casually yelled from the wagon. The witch was clearly irritated by that because she looked like she wanted to lay into something as she walked to the wagon in front of me and Adam. I was back to being in charge of the corties, and it made me a little glad because I could just focus on driving the wagon. The corties were surprisingly easy to manage, too. They were very mild-mannered, but difficult to pull off of trees when they were busy eating. It was like trying to pull an old hungry dog somewhere, but he¡¯d always try wandering back to his food bowl. Adam helped me drag them over, and we attached their harnesses to the wagon. Both of the corties were about five feet high and ten-ish feet long. The way their bodies moved was slinky, like really big weasels. The corties were quick. Their regular speed was around 15 miles per hour, rarely slowing down. I hadn¡¯t seen them run, but it seemed that the large wheel design was catered to being able to support full-speed corties. I was surprised the wagon was so comfortable. I expected it to be rougher like the one we borrowed from Geren, but Desmond and I checked under the wagon and found that it had a surprisingly sophisticated suspension system that used leather straps to make it swing instead of bounce, along with rudimentary metal springs to absorb shock. In fact, most of the undercarriage was metal. Sigils probably had something to do with the oddly advanced technology, but I couldn¡¯t say for sure. Tells drove the wagon that Geren lent us. The witch dragged Tarynn into that very wagon and sat next to him, simmering like an angry pot at a particular redhead who was making eyes at her brother from our wagon. Their slower wagon was in front of us, so I got to sit awkwardly up front between Vetia and the twins¡¯ eye games. The rear wagon made for an entertaining ride. When Vetia wasn¡¯t antagonizing the witch with her expressions, we talked about all the games, movies, concerts and other things we were missing by not being on Earth anymore. While it started a bit lamentful, it quickly turned into us shitting on each other¡¯s tastes in entertainment and having a fierce discussion about why Jared Leto would ruin Morbius like he did the Joker. We set up camp after a long day of riding. Having tents was like a dream. Not only was it nice to be out of the sun in the morning, but being out of the chilling night wind did wonders for my sleep. Tells watched over camp first and then woke me up. I sat in the middle of the tent circle, five nice tents and a large, overly grandiose tent that looked like one of those royal tents from a medieval war movie, one that the war meetings with one of those big tables would be in. What surprised me was how quickly the twins set it up. It seemed huge, but those two nobles put up almost as fast as we put up our tiny tents. The corties slept by the forest edge, having grazed away all the low branches of the surrounding trees and shrubs. The sky was clear and the night world was bright from the light of both the full moons. Basking in the silence of the night and the crackling fire was exactly what I needed after a long day of stupid conversations, even if I was still lacking in sleep. The cool end-of-summer breeze strengthened the warmth of the fire. As I was staring into the fire, losing my train of thought to the hypnotic flames, I heard a rustling from one of the tents. I crouched by the fire, sword drawn, searching for the source of the noise. I walked past each of my friends¡¯ tents toward the treeline by the twins¡¯ tent. The corties weren¡¯t reacting to anything. Quietly and quickly stepping from behind the royal tent was a dark shape, moving around the edge of the camp toward the fire. Did somebody sneak around and steal from the tents while I couldn¡¯t hear them? The shadow lurked closer to the fire and I noticed a large person silently slinking around. His golden orange eyes looked even more striking as he stepped into the firelight. He stood by the flames and glanced around in confusion, which was when I stepped back into the firelight in his periphery. He jumped like a scared kitten at the sight of me. ¡°By the- have you been watching me?¡± He seemed a little on guard saying that. ¡°Keep it down, bro. No, just heard you sneaking around. You crawling around to sneak into Vetia¡¯s tent? Or did you just get out of there?¡± I plopped down and gestured to the log across the fire from me. ¡°Please don¡¯t presume anything, I would never do anything to surprise her by sneaking into her tent. I have simply risen and wanted some fresh air.¡± For as well-spoken as he was, he sounded like he was pulling answers out of his ass. ¡°She¡¯d probably like it. Anyway, listen here loverboy. I don¡¯t really care if you two are getting all steamy in her tent together. But I¡¯ve known all these fuckers most of my life, Vetia included, so I can¡¯t just let some noble guy with a bitchy sister get up in our business and threaten having us arrested. I¡¯m not worried about you, but your little relationship can¡¯t be getting in the way of us trying to survive. Even if it isn¡¯t you causing problems.¡± I nodded over to where the witch was sleeping and Tarynn smiled weakly. ¡°I understand. I wouldn¡¯t be allowed to spend much time with Vetia at all, just by the nature of my position. I suppose I wanted to savor the time we had. I find it funny how she, and even you, seem to have no regard for that very position my sister- and our people- hold to such high regard. It¡¯s endearing, in a way, to be treated as an equal by people who do not care for regality. Perhaps that is only my perception of the circumstances. I¡¯ve never heard of somebody so brazenly speaking to my sister until she told me of Vetia. I was surprised,¡± he glanced toward his tent, leaned forward and whispered even lower. ¡°I found it quite entertaining.¡± He leaned back again. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why I grew infatuated with her. She treated us as people, not as the viscount¡¯s heirs, not as lords. I¡¯ve never met somebody who did that. Even my traveling partners were servants, and my sister demands the respect of every person we met. When people first meet us, we introduce ourselves as the children of a noble and suddenly it becomes impossible to foster a friendly relationship. They become subservient and I must assume my position in response.¡± He looked into the fire, quiet and pensive. ¡°Have you ever been away from your sister?¡± ¡°On occasion, but her mission as of late has largely revolved around controlling my relationships so that I do not stray from what she¡­ needs to achieve.¡± ¡°What¡¯s she want?¡± ¡°She arranged for me to commit to the daughter of another Lord. The woman is as miserable as they are made.¡± ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re cheating on her¡­ with Vetia?¡± Oh fuck, no wonder Simira¡¯s getting so worked up about it. ¡°Arranged, yes. Involved, no.¡± He eyed his tent. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for nobility to seek relationships outside of their political engagements. But my sister knows me too well. She knows my¡­ lack of enthusiasm¡­ for noble life. I believe she thinks I will abandon it for Vetia.¡± ¡°Would you?¡± ¡°I am sure I could find a way to retain my position, but my sister will not allow that future. She cannot foresee a future where I am without that dreadful woman.¡± I paused, examining something about his general vibe that was throwing me off. ¡°Dude, you need to loosen up.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Look at you. Nothing against you being smart, but everything you say sounds like you¡¯ve got a stick up your ass. Or maybe it¡¯s just your sister up there. Nobody¡¯s listening to us right now, right? And there¡¯s no way you would have come out unless your sister was definitely asleep, but you haven¡¯t taken your eyes off that tent this whole time. Loosen up a little. Nobody¡¯s listening or gonna try to stop you from just talking like you want to.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for him. He looked like an anxious puppy all the time. I could only imagine his sister had him on a leash at every hour of the day, so even this conversation was a storm for him to endure. ¡°That¡¯s a lie, I just started listening.¡± Vetia tiptoed out of her tent and sat down next to Tarynn, putting her head on his shoulder. Tarynn¡¯s eyes sparkled when he saw her, and his shoulders even relaxed, if only just a little. ¡°Don¡¯t let me interrupt, it¡¯s late night talks.¡± Tarynn leaned into her and took a short breath. ¡°I¡¯m learning to ¡®loosen up a little.¡¯ Brenden was offering me some advice. He said I have ¡®a stick up my ass.¡¯¡± Vetia started laughing and covered her mouth quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t take it too harshly. The stick, I mean.¡± She giggled. ¡°If anyone¡¯s got good advice for helping people get a bit more rebellious and free spirited, Brenden does. Without him and the others, my parents would have had me on a short leash and I probably woulda failed highschool. Some people need constant pressure, but others just need a little nudge the right way.¡± Tarynn looked at her and then to me. ¡°Okay, how do I loosen up? I feel quite relaxed now, actually.¡± I turned toward the fire. ¡°You do now. But that¡¯s because we don¡¯t care about your royal shit. I¡¯ve got a question for you. What¡¯s the best way to tell when somebody is being honest with you?¡± ¡°I just told him you give good advice,¡± Vetia playfully complained. ¡°How are you gonna do this to me? This is not good advice.¡± ¡°It worked for you.¡± ¡°I was in eighth grade. Of course it worked then.¡± ¡°Shut up and listen to me work my magic.¡± I turned back to Tarynn and she sat back to listen. ¡°So, Tarynn, how can you tell?¡± He looked at the ground for a second. ¡°When you are having a conversation around a fire in the dead of night?¡± I chuckled knowing this was going to be hopeless. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s a good sign, but there¡¯s one thing that really gives it away. Think of when somebody is really fuckin¡¯ mad at you and they¡¯re yelling at you, what are they doing?¡± ¡°Um, I presume they are reprimanding me for my unlawful actions, which I would be deserving of if I committed such actions.¡± Vetia and I both sighed. Then she gasped with an idea. ¡°Oh, I know. Tarynn, what did your sister do when she caught the two of us¡­ uh, kissing? Y''know... the first time.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± He got a little embarrassed . ¡°She called you a wretch and a wanton harlot. She becomes uncharacteristically crass when she sees you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about,¡± I said. ¡°When you cuss someone out or tell ¡®em what you think, that¡¯s the most honest way you can speak to them. Unfiltered and crass. Straight up. Go ahead and curse. It¡¯s like breaking ice, getting used to cussing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like cursing or saying cruel things. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Vetia pulled away and sat cross-legged in front of him like she was teaching a child something. ¡°Okay, what did you think about the fireblood that stabbed and almost killed you?¡± ¡°I thought it was an insolent and detestable creature.¡± I cut in. ¡°Okay, good, now shorten that. Pretend I¡¯m the fireblood. What would you say to it if you were being vulgar?¡± He looked apprehensive for a moment, and then he stuttered a bit before thinking of something, ¡°C-curse you.¡± I scoffed at him. ¡°Bro, come on, you¡¯re not gonna convince anyone you¡¯re mad like that. Get more fiery with it. Crank it up a notch.¡± He seemed confused at that last phrase, which made sense in hindsight. ¡°Um,¡± he was still quiet, but he sounded more sure of himself. ¡°Damn you, fireblood¡­?¡± ¡°Wow,¡± I said. ¡°That wasn¡¯t half bad. Now replace damn with fuck and try to sound like your balls aren¡¯t tied off.¡± He looked at Vetia like he was asking permission. ¡°The fuck are you looking at me for? Speak your mind, bro. I already know how to tell a bitch off.¡± I knew as well that he needed to say this for himself, not for somebody else, even if we were teaching him how to do it. ¡°F-fuck¡­ you.¡± We both stared at him disappointedly and he seemed like he was getting nervous. ¡°I- I don¡¯t- I¡¯m not sure this is for me.¡± Vetia put on a New Yorker accent and loudly whispered. ¡°I¡¯m walkin¡¯ here, man, fock you!¡± I parodied her accent. ¡°Yeah, man, fock you!¡± We went back and forth saying ¡°fock you¡± until Tarynn started smiling and quietly joining into our little cacophony of angry New Yorkers. ¡°F-fock you,¡± he weakly matched our tones. He was getting more assertive and a little loud, so I shushed him, ¡°Shhh¡­ no fock you.¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s a heavy sleeper, fock you.¡± He was starting to smile stupidly, like he was enjoying it. I leaned back and glanced up at the sky. ¡°See? It¡¯s not hard, it¡¯s just something you¡¯ve gotta get used to, you know. Like she said, speak your mind.¡± His smile faded and he looked guilty. ¡°I don¡¯t get mad at people very often, and I don¡¯t like being mean.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to, just keep it in your back pocket for when you do need it. Don¡¯t let people push you around so much. That includes your sister.¡± A potent silence crept in and the fire overtook our conversation. I sighed. ¡°You guys sure you wanna stay outside by the fire? Your sister might get up to pee or something and see you two.¡± Tarynn looked at Vetia to make the decision. She got surprisingly bashful compared to her usual confidence. ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t even been able to have a conversation without your sister on our asses. Wanna go, like, hang out in my tent, so she won¡¯t see us out here if she gets up?¡± ¡°I- That- We- It would be nice.¡± She stood up with him and awkwardly walked all the way to her tent at the edge of camp. Damn, she¡¯s really just ripping that bandaid off quickly. Might not be a bad thing. I spoke to myself. ¡°Yeah, no. It¡¯s been long enough and I¡¯m not staying up knowing what¡¯s going on in there. Sorry Desmond, but at least you won¡¯t know it''s happening.¡± I went over to Desmond¡¯s tent and pulled the flap back. He looked like he was already awake, staring into the corner wide-eyed. ¡°My watch is over. You¡¯re up now, bud. Just don¡¯t worry about what¡¯s going on in Vetia¡¯s tent and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Desmond sat up slowly and sighed, ¡°I hate it here.¡± He stepped out and sat down by the fire. ¡°I need some fuckin¡¯ headphones.¡± ¡°Yeah, see you in the morning.¡± As I was walking past the fire to my tent, I heard a flap aggressively slap the tent as the witch emerged from her hut. ¡°Nevermind.¡± I sat next to grumpy Desmond and we both watched Simira disappear into the darkness behind her tent. Desmond smirked. ¡°Knew it.¡± Simira emerged from the darkness after a minute and glanced at us tiredly. Desmond just chuckled to himself and I gave her a friendly nod. She whipped the flap back and then, not two seconds later, came storming out of the tent toward us. She halted across the fire and crossed her arms. ¡°Which tent is hers?¡± I sighed. ¡°Just a sec, how ¡®bout we talk-¡± Simira whispered in a growl, ¡°I have granted that woman an abundance of chances to correct her behavior and she has yielded nothing. And now she¡¯s coercing him in a final-¡± ¡°They¡¯re not fuckin¡¯ if that¡¯s whatcha think,¡± Desmond blurted out. ¡°They¡¯ve just been in there talking, giggling. Sounds harmless.¡± Simira didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°Dude, she¡¯s way too scared to actually take him to pound town.¡± She leaned down and condescendingly explained to Desmond. ¡°My brother is committed to a woman. She is just as physically attractive, if not more than your friend. Tarynn is only acting this way because he is enamored by the novelty of this situation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that,¡± I replied. Simira¡¯s eyes locked onto me like I was prey. ¡°Seems like he found somebody he¡¯s happy to be with. Comfortable around. Somebody he might want to fall in love with. I think they¡¯re just getting to know each other, still.¡± A hint of remorse crossed her face for just a moment. ¡°If we all gave into the whims of love, the world would have no order. He doesn¡¯t understand that. He¡¯s never understood duty.¡± Desmond smirked. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re just tryna cock block him.¡± She angrily glared around the camp. ¡°Which tent is-¡± ¡°I¡¯m joking. Christ. You don¡¯t have a funny bone in your body, do you?¡± She halted her search and side-eyed him. ¡°I can be quite charming when I¡¯m not at odds with everyone around me.¡± ¡°Who the fuck says we¡¯re at odds? I didn¡¯t hear you challenge me.¡± ¡°You seem to be testing my patience rather nonchalantly. You must be quite the fighter if you think you can goad me in.¡± She got up and stood in front of Desmond, looking down on him. Desmond pushed up from the log and met her challenge, standing only an inch or two shorter with his head cocked to the side. ¡°I¡¯m no warrior, but I¡¯ve been hunting and competitively wrestling most of my life. Haven¡¯t killed anyone. Almost beat a homeless junkie to death one time, though, hehe.¡± He inspected her face more closely. ¡°Shit, woman, them''s some battle scars. You got a body count?¡± ¡°161. Too many.¡± She raised her chin and squinted at Desmond as he whistled in admiration. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot more than your friends, haven¡¯t you? You don¡¯t gain confidence like that until you¡¯ve suffered many defeats.¡± ¡°Why thank you.¡± Desmond smiled smugly at me. ¡°They always say it¡¯s because I¡¯m a cocky asshole.¡± She smirked and stepped around him to look at all the tents. ¡°Your lack of respect for authority is what presents that guise.¡± Desmond sat back down and whispered to me. ¡°She wants me for real bro.¡± He turned back to her. ¡°You looking for Vetia to present an ultimatum or something? Seems like you¡¯ve got something on your mind.¡± ¡°How astute. Not just her. My brother too.¡± I cut in. ¡°Pass it by us. We know her and how she might react. Might be able to help you tweak it so it ends favorably for us all. Believe it or not, we don¡¯t want to be at odds with you guys as much as you think.¡± She sighed. ¡°A mediator will not be necessary.¡± ¡°Do you want to explode on each other again? Because that¡¯s probably how it¡¯ll go regardless. Listen, Lady Simira, we don¡¯t know your customs or anything. I¡¯m just trying to get us to the city without starting more shit.¡± Simira made a wide loop around the fire and then sat down on the log across from us. ¡°She has one option to stay with him. She will work as my house¡¯s regenerator until Tarynn¡¯s arrangement has been finalized, then he may keep her as a mistress. That is as lenient as I will be.¡± Desmond snorted. ¡°Oh fuck no, she¡¯s not gonna accept that.¡± I thought for a moment while Simira eyed me. ¡°She won¡¯t split up from us. If they stay together she''ll want to take him with us, and I don¡¯t think any of us would wanna stick around in the city that long. But I don¡¯t think she¡¯s planning on staying with him. We¡¯re in a weird situation, and we¡¯re still trying to find answers to some things.¡± She longingly sighed and stared into the fire, then returned to her frustrated gaze. ¡°So she does not love him enough to wait, and I reckon he does not love her enough to pull her from you. Naturally, they should split, no?¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s thinking of it as a fling.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t fling our love as animals fling their shit for a good reason.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just sayin¡¯ how it is.¡± ¡°Should deliberations tonight end without clean resolution, would you dissuade her from pursuing Tarynn? For the sake of our amicability.¡± Desmond and I shared a glance and he nodded. I took a deep breath. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we couldn¡¯t. I¡¯d prefer if we could all talk it out, but-¡± Simira snapped a little. ¡°They¡¯re children. They¡¯re living in a fantasy, an idealistic world where there are no repercussions for their na?vet¨¦. Is she dull or mentally unstable? Can she not realize this? Even Tarynn has expressed doubt.¡± ¡°Honestly, she¡¯d usually have compromised on something by now, at least from our experience. She got pretty fucked up from fighting those bugs. Might be taking a toll on her.¡± Desmond gasped lightly and raised his eyebrows in surprise at hearing something. Simira glared at him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Desmond chuckled and pointed to Vetia¡¯s tent, ¡°I can hear them. Sounds like things are heating up, if you catch my drift. Take it easy, wouldja?¡± ¡°She will not get what she wants.¡± Simira shot up and stomped to the edge of camp, where Vetia and Tarynn were. I ran over to monitor while Desmond reluctantly followed. Simira ripped the flaps open and angrily turned her head to the two inside. ¡°Take that nasty hand off of his cheek!¡± She pulled her brother out. He stumbled out and stood next to us while Simira blocked Vetia from the rest of us. ¡°Oh, God forbid I so sinfully touch his cheek!¡± Vetia complained from inside the tent like a teenager who¡¯d just been caught by her parents. Simira waited for Vetia to stand, and then plainly asked her, ¡°Do you want to stay with my brother?¡± She didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°I- uh¡­ kinda.¡± ¡°Pledge yourself to our house, work as our regenerator, and then once Tarynn¡¯s arrangement is complete, you may become his mistress and live out the rest of your days as such.¡± Vetia raised her eyebrows in offense. ¡°You want me to be his side piece and your little servant? What, do you think I¡¯m just with him to be his trophy mistress?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your only option if you want him.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you just let your brother live his life? You think he wants to be in the arrangement? Do you think-¡± Simira loomed over Vetia, a silent rage consuming her. ¡°You know nothing about either of our lives. Don¡¯t pretend you know what¡¯s best for him. I am giving you the only offer I can. No addendums, no clauses, no amendments. Do you accept it?¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t he just come with us and-¡± Simira snapped, quietly yelling into Vetia¡¯s face. ¡°And abandon his life?! His duty to his people?!¡± She turned to her brother. ¡°We made the agreement long, long ago. I go to war. I inherit the house. I learn the politics. I take on the responsibility of rulership. And he¡­ commits to a political arrangement. Oh, the pain, the suffering you must endure from being condemned to live in splendor with a beautiful woman and have no responsibilities otherwise. With as many mistresses as you¡¯d like to take as well. Truly lamentable indeed.¡± She turned back to Vetia. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know how to live without servants and he is too fragile to do anything for himself.¡± Vetia stood on her tiptoes and got back into Simira¡¯s face. ¡°If he can have mistresses, then why is this an issue? Seriously.¡± ¡°I cannot explain to politics of the situation in all the time left in the night, so I will be brief. The Lord and I who made this, with Tarynn as the willing committee, cannot have loose ends during this process. If he goes so far as to fornicate with you and commit a legally adulterous act that results in a bastard heir, there will be irreparable damage done to the political landscape of Vehfirn. I cannot have that.¡± Vetia smiled and raised her arms agreeingly. ¡°Great! We won¡¯t tell anyone. I didn¡¯t plan on doing anything like that with him anyway.¡± ¡°Pft, I¡¯ve met less dignified whores with more convincing lies. You will cease. Should you still desire him afterward, then by all means, approach him and he may have you. For now, there will be no more of this.¡± Vetia¡¯s growing sneer curled into a challenging grin. ¡°Even if we did do something legally adulterous, we¡¯re not in Vehfirn. Those laws don¡¯t apply here.¡± Simira¡¯s jaw flexed in writhing hatred. ¡°You know nothing of the laws of my city. Do not pretend you have some heightened understanding of them.¡± ¡°Then enlighten me, Lady Simira, honorable to the Viscount and heiress to the seat of power, what punishment shall I receive for committing unlegislated, admittedly immoral, acts outside of your legal jurisdiction?¡± Simira¡¯s pissed off jaw turned into a murderous grin. ¡°In a realm outside of my jurisdiction, where there are no witnesses save for our own eyes and ears, I do wonder what would happen. After all, I¡¯m also unbound from those laws here just as much as you. Remember that, and the moment you enter my city, those laws do apply so long as there are or were witnesses. And I think the people would certainly question the disappearance of a noble over a nobody.¡± Simira stepped forward, pushing Vetia back. ¡°I¡¯ve studied these laws my entire life, knowing I would be the one to execute them. I know everything I can and cannot do, and where those laws apply.¡± ¡°So what, you¡¯re gonna kill me because you¡¯re too petty to let your brother enjoy his life for a little bit?¡± "For harmless fun, no. Why do you think we¡¯re out here? We were hunting the fireblood that your friends respectably captured. I wanted to show my brother something other than the walls of the manor.¡± ¡°Seems like it harmed him until I came around.¡± Simira lowered her face to Vetia¡¯s. ¡°That is the only reason I am affording you such lenience. I am grateful that you were there. But that does not mean I will tolerate your recklessness. Your immaturity.¡± ¡°I have a question for you, Lady.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t your brother have any say in this? Surely you don¡¯t own him.¡± ¡°He gave his word to me long ago.¡± ¡°What if his mind has changed?¡± Simira pulled back from her in disgust. ¡°Well, I suppose it makes sense that a flimsy hussie would have no sense of honor or dignity. She would know nothing of a word¡¯s bond. Do you truly believe that I was not pushed into this position? That he did not have a part in wallowing at my boots to take his place as heir? That I am not honoring my word to protect him?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re desperate to be right, even though you know this has no consequences.¡± Simira aggressively raised her hand to grab Vetia¡¯s jaw before hovering it in place, peering over her shoulder at us. ¡°Consequences?! What happens when you inevitably leave him after he has fallen for you, and he is forced to return to a woman he hates, who he must spend the rest of his life with?! Will he not be even more miserable knowing he could have had someone he loves more, but who left him for her own selfishness?! Think beyond solely yourself, lecher. I will not have you toying with his heart with no intent of following through. For his own wellbeing.¡± Vetia clenched her jaw. ¡°We¡¯re still figuring out if we want to continue this! That¡¯s the point!¡± Then she chuckled and turned around, smiling frivolously like she knew exactly how this would turn out. ¡°Very well then. She won¡¯t stay at the manor, so Tarynn, you may have your fantasy at her whims. Go off and throw your nobility away. Travel with these commoners and never return home. If that is what you wish to do, then do it. Forsake everything I and our servants have ever done for you. You may have love and joy for the rest of your life. Become a tradesman or a farmhand. I¡¯m sure your soft hands and extensive knowledge of fiction, history, and poetry will yield a plentiful life for you in the role of a laboring commoner, if you truly wish to abandon your life for a flighty love.¡± Simira stepped aside. ¡°Choose. Her, or your comfortable life.¡± ¡°Oh come on, that¡¯s-¡± Vetia started until Simira shushed her motherly. ¡°This is his decision. Not yours. Let him use his free will to decide.¡± Tarynn¡¯s lips quivered as his words struggled to form. ¡°I- I can¡¯t say until-¡± ¡°Your decision is made,¡± Simira cut him off. ¡°She will not relinquish her freedom, and he will not relinquish his livelihood. That is not love, that is children toying with each other¡¯s hearts.¡± She turned to Vetia and spoke definitively. ¡°You have tried me to the end of my patience. I have extended what graciousness I can. Any further advances on my brother, and I will not be so forgiving. I cannot allow your risky behavior. You will not touch him, you will not speak to him. You will go on with your life as though neither of us existed for the duration of our time together. You do not want to know the lengths I will go to for his life to be secure. Act like the adult you are and wait or move on.¡± She waited, expecting a response. But when Vetia didn¡¯t say anything, ¡°A simple yes, or even, okay, will do. I know you won¡¯t apologize, but you could at least swallow your pride and be content with what you have.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Simira pushed Tarynn to their tent and the camp was engulfed in silence as she lingered for a moment, eying the frustratedly defeated Vetia back into her tent. Desmond and I sighed with relief before Simira glanced back over at us. ¡°Shit,¡± Desmond admired with a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯m surprised. I thought she was gonna end up with a gnarly bruise.¡± Simira raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°You take pleasure in seeing your companions in pain?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be putting words in my mouth. Some people just, y¡¯know, need a lil smackin¡¯ to remind ¡®em how to put some respect on your name.¡± He popped a punch at the air in front of him. She reluctantly chuckled, then gave up her facade and smirked in exhaustion. ¡°Too many people.¡± I broke out of my tired trance. ¡°Had me worried there¡¯d be a fight.¡± ¡°Fight?¡± Desmond slapped his knee. ¡°Good one, Brenden. That shit woulda been a fuckin¡¯ beat down, man.¡± Simira broke down laughing into her hand, so Desmond doubled down. ¡°Vetia would be a pile of mush. Damage control woulda been a nightmare. Glad we avoided a murder.¡± He pointed at her. ¡°Whatchu laughin¡¯ about Simira? You know as well as I do how bad it¡¯d be.¡± She breathed through her laughter and relaxed out of her proper ways, casually smiling with a slight playfulness in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t stoke the flame of my ego too much or I could become quite the handful.¡± ¡°That ain¡¯t ego, I¡¯ve had my ass beat enough to know talk from game. You¡¯ve definitely beat a motherfucker down before. At least a couple.¡± Simira entertained him. ¡°Not as many as I wish I could. Picking fights in the moment, ooh, it can be alluring. But I keep myself in check. No matter how much I train, I¡¯ve got the natural disadvantage.¡± ¡°Eh, you make up for it, tellin¡¯ em off like that. Remind me not to argue with you.¡± ¡°Clever. And I won¡¯t tussle with you.¡± ¡°I dunno, you¡¯re packin¡¯ heat in those arms. You do martial arts?¡± ¡°I have almost my whole life. You said you¡¯re a wrestler? I only know a little defensive grappling and throwing.¡± ¡°Yep, had to learn it young. What¡¯s your style?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mix of martial arts and sigils. But I can¡¯t just tell you all my secrets. I need them to win.¡± She crossed her arms and smirked. Desmond raised his chin and returned the smirk. ¡°See, I don¡¯t know sigils. I was always wrestling bigger guys, though, so I¡¯m a master of fightin¡¯ dirty. Might be useful to know. I could show you some tricks if you¡¯re interested.¡± He shot her a playful wink. She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°I need to know a master very well before I do any learning. How do I know you¡¯re not a farce?¡± ¡°You have my word.¡± She pondered that for a brief moment. ¡°Then we¡¯ll see the value of your word with time.¡± They shared a strange, charged moment of silence before Desmond nudged my arm. ¡°See, she ain¡¯t as bad as Vetia made her out to be. Lighten up a little.¡± My tired eyes glanced between them. ¡°Kids, please save the fighting for when I¡¯m asleep.¡± Simira rolled her eyes and shook her head. ¡°Kids, hah. I take it the two of you are their parents, more or less?¡± Desmond burst out laughing. ¡°Yup! I¡¯m the dad and Brenden¡¯s the mom.¡± I punched his arm. ¡°Fuck you. I¡¯m the dad. You¡¯re like the weird alcoholic uncle.¡± ¡°Goddamn right.¡± Simira stretched her back and cracked her neck. ¡°Fatherhood or uncleship aside, you must have a lot of strife with that one in her rebellious phase.¡± ¡°Aaaah,¡± Desmond casually waved it away. ¡°She¡¯ll realize her actions have consequences eventually.¡± I nodded confidently. ¡°I hope so. We can keep her wrangled easily enough, though. Don¡¯t gotta worry about Tells at all, and Adam¡¯s only bad in the morning.¡± ¡°Your troop admittedly has a lot of potential, even her if I¡¯m to be honest. Some guidance and direction would do you lot well.¡± I put my hands out, inviting her to sit. ¡°We¡¯re open to suggestions.¡± Desmond pointed a little more demandingly. ¡°Kick your feet up. You ain¡¯t gotta worry about noble duties right now. Look around, the forest is asleep and the children have been put to bed.¡± He smiled invitingly. ¡°Dunt have to be long, just some time to relax.¡± She bit her cheek, so he shrugged. ¡°Like I said, you ain¡¯t at odds with us.¡± She quietly sighed, her longing eyes flickering between the fire and Desmond. ¡°I¡¯ve already afforded myself more than I deserve.¡± She smiled through it and shook her head. ¡°I will only desire more the longer I indulge.¡± Desmond nodded with an understanding smile. ¡°Well then Simira, good night. Or¡­ Lady Simira, I suppose.¡± Her smile faded as her hand waved him off and she turned away. ¡°At ease.¡± I nodded to her. ¡°Sleep well.¡± ¡°Likewise to the both of you.¡± Desmond and I shared a glance and a fist bump, then I patted his shoulder and went into my own tent. 23: Heat of the Moment 23 (Asia- Heat of the Moment) Desmond I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I didn¡¯t bother waking Adam up and I just rode out the rest of the night, but fuckin¡¯ hell was I tired. Everyone began waking up around sunup, and Simira came out first as I was getting ready to put the fire out. She stood on the other side of it, curiously staring at me. As casual as I tried to be, I was too drained to really put much energy into my words. ¡°Fair warning, I¡¯m about to piss on the fire. Do with that information what you will.¡± She turned away. As the fire sizzled and went out, the wind blew the smoke directly into her face. She started coughing and hacking, plugging her nose. She walked a little around the fire, the smoke following her. She countered and walked the other way around the fire, out of the smoke, trying to keep her eyes off me the whole time. Once she heard my belt buckle, she coughed a bit more and then looked back at me. ¡°You and the bearable woman, Tells, are you in need of work?¡± She crossed her arms and looked down at me as I sat down next to the dying fire. ¡°In general, yes. Why? Are you offering?¡± I sat back down on the log, leaning my elbows on my knees and my chin on my hands. ¡°I would like for the two of you to serve me directly. I have need of people who are unsullied by the¡­ politics of my city.¡± ¡°Lady, these people are my best friends that I have known for most of my life. I trust them with my life. You, on the other hand, I only just met you. I respect you, and I am sure you are great at what you do, but it would take a lot of money to get me away from them. And I¡¯d prefer if they were in on it, too.¡± She sat on the log across the fire. ¡°Serving the daughter of a viscount is no small order. You would be provided a home and coin to support yourself and a family, should you decide to have one.¡± She gestured at my slowly waking and groggy friends. ¡°I mean no disrespect to you and yours, but look at the people you are with. They lack goals, direction, motivation. They¡¯ll end up as beggars by the month¡¯s end, and the healer will be auctioned off to a sick noble. The others have nothing to offer me currently.¡± ¡°Apologies, Lady Simira, but as of now, we¡¯re a package deal. Weren¡¯t you the one who said we all have potential?¡± She closed her eyes as if she regretted her own words. ¡°Yes, but I fear bringing in five uncouth individuals would be too conspicuous for my needs.¡± ¡°Funny thing is Tells and I are probably the worst at being inconspicuous, and our friend who you hate is probably the best, along with Brenden. They got good people skills.¡± She sneered, not denying what I said. ¡°Perhaps, but you would all need to be educated to the same degree.¡± ¡°Sure, we need to know about this world, but don¡¯t pretend we¡¯re unskilled.¡± ¡°I pretend nothing. I know what I have observed, though, and I need people who are unfaltering in their beliefs and loyalty, not anyone who can be bought or persuaded out of their own minds.¡± I paused, tilting my head down at her and leaning in. ¡°You sound like you¡¯re planning something sketchy.¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°As I said, you¡¯re capable and I need trustworthy people.¡± I read her face as best my tired instincts could. She was intense, but intent. Driven and committed to whatever this was. The thought of having a stable life with money was nice, but I needed to figure some things out first. ¡°Any chance we all get in on it, but only the two of us are actually in on it?¡± ¡°Unknowing allies are a dangerous liability, even more so than everyone knowing. They will be used against us. My goal is in sight and I am certain it will succeed once the final actions are taken. Should all go well, no harm will come to any of you, but you cannot know the whole truth of it.¡± I sighed. Whatever she¡¯s planning, it could get us into deep shit. That much I know for certain, and she ain¡¯t hiding it. ¡°Let me talk to Tells about it. We¡¯ll sit in the wagon with you two and discuss it further, how ¡®bout that?¡± ¡°Very well.¡± She started to rise, then turned back to me. ¡°Do not repeat anything I¡¯ve said, for your own sake. The less people know, the better.¡± I smirked. ¡°This ain¡¯t my first rodeo.¡± She nodded, a little confused at the last part, and returned to her business. Everyone packed the camp up and set off again. I sat in the lousy wagon with Tells and the nobles, the others in the nice wagon. After a few hours of riding, I told Tells about the offer, but she kept her eyes forward, just listening. I heard Tarynn speak for probably the second time since meeting him. ¡°Are you sure that hiring the other three would be impossible? They are just as capable people as Tells and Desmond.¡± ¡°Tarynn,¡± she sighed, ¡°be done with her already.¡± Simira firmly patted his chest and looked at me again. ¡°We would need to acclimate you and Tells to educated life and life in frequent interaction with nobles alongside getting you proper combat training. I can tell that kind of life is not suited for the others, even if they can read.¡± Educated life? Does she think we all were uneducated? ¡°Lady, could you explain what educated life means? I¡¯m not sure I understand what you mean by that.¡± She smiled condescendingly and shook her head. ¡°Ah, right, of course. You would need to attend a school, or be tutored to learn reading and arithmetic until you could understand intermediate literature and complex mathematics. Although, Tells has mentioned she can read.¡± Tells nodded, and I kinda chuckled. She thought we were uneducated bumpkins. ¡°All of us can read. And we¡¯re pretty decent at math.¡± Simira shook her head, ¡°are you-¡± then she clearly remembered something and glanced back at the other wagon. ¡°Well, that would make educating you easier.¡± ¡°How many years would that be?¡± ¡°Years? Don¡¯t be foolish. Only nobility can afford higher education and tutoring that spans years. You would only study for a handful of months. It¡¯s not that difficult. I suppose you could read further and expand that on your own if you desired to.¡± ¡°How long do people usually spend in school? Like, as kids. We¡¯re not sure how it works around here.¡± She was delighted to inform us of how ignorant we were. ¡°Well, common people learn to read and complete simple arithmetic, a few years when they¡¯re young, typically. Just what they need before entering an apprenticeship or taking on their family trade. My brother and I were tutored from youth until we were adults. Ten years, I believe. We studied a large variety of history, arts, music, combat and politics. Things that most common people would never use.¡± Tells turned around for the first time. I raised my eyebrows at her, then she looked forward again, a wide, awkward smile breaking through her lips. ¡°How could a common person get that kind of education? What would that do for them in terms of finding a job?¡± If education is valuable here, we might be able to secure some good work. Especially with twelve years of schooling for all of us and some years of college between me, Tells and Vetia. Simira looked a bit offended at that question. ¡°Job? Acquiring so many years of education is expensive and grants the title of nobility as a scholar or jzanmah tejuh. I suppose you could attend a military academy. But that is far too expensive for simple folk, and only a noble would pay so much to raise a commoner in standing if said commoner showed incredible potential. If you think I am going to raise you to a noble through education, you will have to prove yourself in immense ways.¡± Nobility through education? We might just be set here if we can take a test and prove our education or something, but I want to prove to them that we aren¡¯t just idiots. ¡°One moment, Lady.¡± I walked to the back of the wagon to chat with Brenden in the rear wagon. ¡°Hey, Brenden. How many years was school for us?¡± ¡°What? Like how many years we were all in school together?¡± ¡°Like for each of us.¡± I glanced back. Simira and Tarynn both stared at me perplexed. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I didn¡¯t go to preschool or college, so it was only twelve for me.¡± Adam leaned out from inside the wagon. ¡°Wow, Brenden you fool. Didn¡¯t even go to preschool like me. Thirteen.¡± I hollered again. ¡°Vetia, come up here. How long did you go to school?¡± Vetia climbed up next to Brenden. ¡°It was only fourteen and a half years if you include my unfinished college time. Why?¡± I waved her back into the wagon. ¡°Nothin. Just thought of something. ¡®Cause me and Tells have the same as you, I think.¡± I turned back around and saw Simira confused and a little irritated, while Tarynn had a stupidly large smile. Tells quietly murmured from the other side of Simira and Tarynn. ¡°Dad started teaching me the Bible before school, so fifteen and a half if you count that.¡± Simira spoke up casually like she¡¯d caught on to a joke. ¡°Very funny. There¡¯s not a place in this world with the money and efficiency to educate all of its people so sufficiently, save for the nyadin.¡± I put my right hand up and tried to sound as honest as I could. ¡°By God, we all attended normal school for twelve years and three of us went to college for almost three. We didn¡¯t get to finish, though.¡± ¡°Oh please. What would you study for so long?¡± She just looked skeptical now. ¡°In college, I was taking classes in engineering and technology, Tells was studying computer sci- I mean- computational sciences, like economics and math, and Vetia was studying archaeology.¡± She was looking more worried than anything now. ¡°Then what did you study for twelve years before that?!¡± ¡°Reading, writing, arithmetic, biology, chemistry, physics, history, philosophy, foreign languages. All pretty general, but you get the gist.¡± I was just listing things off trying not to say anything that would give us away as being from somewhere else. She stood up indignantly as I stopped listing them. ¡°Are you trying to make a fool of me? For what? Has this all been a ruse to insult me? Where is your proof of this education?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t carry our diplomas around with us. What about you? I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t carry yours around. Please, Lady Simira, we¡¯re not trying to belittle you. I¡¯m just saying how it is.¡± Vetia hopped onto the shotgun seat of the other wagon. ¡°Lady Simira,¡± she was completely serious. ¡°As funny as I¡¯m sure you think we find this, and I personally would enjoy messing with you like that, we¡¯re not. It¡¯s a bit hard to explain without knowing where we¡¯re from, but we¡¯re not lying.¡± I leaned forward, sensing Simira¡¯s growing rage. ¡°Listen, you said you got stuff you keep close to your chest. Well, we¡¯re also not just some country bumpkins, but it¡¯s a hell of a weird story and it¡¯d take a long time to explain fully.¡± Her temper simmered violently. ¡°Then explain. All you¡¯ve done is boasted intelligence while showing nothing for it.¡± Tarynn gently grabbed her arm and eased her to sit down again. ¡°Sister, if they truly are educated, but lack funds, it may make them better prospects. We could take them all in and have them officially recognized as scholarly nobility by father. I¡¯m sure he would listen to their stories. Our station may be raised by the Duke if we bring people into the noble circle below us. More land and more jurisdiction, meaning more funds for our people.¡± She sat down and pondered for a moment, a grin creeping onto her face. She was about to say something, then looked at him and noticed his beaming smile. Her optimism curdled into a look of absolute disgust, like he was a roach beneath her boot. ¡°Father will have nothing to do with this! He does not need any part in our dealings, but your mind can¡¯t think outside your own selfish desires! Did you think you could deceive me into accepting these mercenaries as nobility, so you can arrange with her instead?! To legally run away from your commitment, your one, singular duty to our family!¡± Simira shot up, standing over her brother, screaming into his face. For how large a man he was, he seemed so small next to her. His body looked like it was retreating into itself beneath the weight of her intensity. ¡°I will not be taken advantage of by my own brother so that he may ignorantly destroy our family¡¯s name and legacy! Truth or not, you haven¡¯t a clue of the repercussions to us should they be granted noble stature! You are a fool for believing our father¡¯s empty promises and deceitful intentions!¡± And holy sweet Jesus, she clearly intended to bitch slap him, but her fist struck his cheek before she even thought of opening her hand. Left a massive open wound on his cheek, split the skin right open on his cheekbone and sent blood streaming out of his nose. I hadn¡¯t even realized it, but my hand was on my dagger, ready to draw. Tarynn profusely apologized as Simira blindly screamed into his face, readying her hand for another ¡°slap.¡± I was preparing to step between them when the wagon bounced to an abrupt halt. Simira tripped toward the driver¡¯s seat, slamming her head on the wooden platform right next to Tells. Tells didn¡¯t even notice her fall. Her eyes were locked on a blue guy in an approaching wagon from in front of us. Simira¡¯s crew. Lady Simira shot up, blood trickling down her temple. She stomped across the driver¡¯s seat to meet her servants as they stopped in their own covered wagon, one servant stepping out the back. A human- jorlad man. A nyadin woman hid in their wagon all the while. ¡°Was my grace for nought?! Have I shown generosity to scoundrels who would make a fool of me and swindle my brother?! Have I been the fool to think there was still decency in people?! Andris, turn the wagon around! We are leaving. Tarynn-¡± She turned around and her rage became rabid hatred when she saw Vetia holding her book and a glowing finger over Tarynn¡¯s wound. She lunged over and I tried to draw my dagger, but my neck was caught by the flat side of a blade held by the blue guy, Andris. The other servant held Tells at bladepoint, eying Adam and Brenden, preventing them from acting without collateral damage. Simira put her right hand around Vetia¡¯s collar, lifting her from the wagon floor. ¡°I instructed you to keep your hands away from one place, and what do you go and do?!¡± Vetia responded with a venomous tone, ¡°He¡¯s your brother, you dumb cunt, I¡¯m fixing the wound that YOU gave him!¡± Simira seethed like a boiling kettle. ¡°I told you I wouldn¡¯t be so forgiving anymore, but you didn¡¯t listen, just like every other time. A week of baby sitting and you still haven¡¯t learned manners! Always trying my patience! Always seducing my brother! Always running your filthy mouth, letting that nasty tongue say whatever it wants! Away with it!¡± Simira smiled sadistically as she held Vetia¡¯s jaw open in her left hand and pulled a dagger out with her right. Vetia¡¯s yelling turned to gargled cries as Simira plunged the dagger into her mouth and twirled it with a flick of her wrist. The blade whipped out, slashing Vetia¡¯s cheek open. Simira sheathed the dagger and shoved her hand into Vetia¡¯s mouth. Vetia screamed while gurgling on her own blood, choking on Simira¡¯s fist. The flesh tore and blood poured from her mouth. Simira ripped Vetia¡¯s tongue clean out and shoved it in her satchel. Brenden and I yelled out to deaf ears. Tells was on the verge of blowing up, and Adam looked scared and lost. Simira in her rage was blind to all of our pleas. ¡°What have you to say now? Speak! You¡¯ve been all too eager to curse me, to smatter and smear my name! What say you?!¡± Simira was only inches from Vetia¡¯s face, her wrathfully gritted teeth and fiery eyes burning into Vetia¡¯s blood-red irises. ¡°Never again will you curse or so much as breathe in my direction without twelvefold retribution. I don¡¯t even care about what you did anymore, I just hate you.¡± Vetia glared up at her with matching hatred, drooling blood like she was an animal ravenously wishing to slaughter Simira. She gurgled and spat a splatter of red, runny blood and saliva into Simira¡¯s face. The voice behind me called out in a desperate attempt to quell the Lady, ¡°Lady Simira, mind your temperament! I beseech you! You must show restraint!¡± Simira ignored him and growled, then grabbed Vetia by the throat, dragging her across the wagon. She opened the cage door and lifted Vetia close to her face. ¡°This rebellious child, this indecent half-breed, this untrained creature belongs in a cage until she learns how to act like a human!¡± She growled and slugged Vetia in the gut three times, a loud crack on the third, the heaviest blow. Then Simira shoved her into the cage, slammed the door, and battered the lock with her boot heel until it was busted out of shape and too mangled to unlock. She drew her sword and stomped to the other side of the cage that Vetia was nearest to. ¡°And for her harlotry, the whore will have one last sword sheathed in her.¡± Everyone around screamed for her to stop, a cacophony of cries ripping into my eardrums as she aimed her sword between the bars of the cage. ¡°Sister, please!¡± Tarynn leaped to kneel in front of Simira. ¡°Get out of my way! Had you any sense or a basic understanding of reason and duty, none of this would be taking place. You have been nothing but a child pretending maturity, just as much as her!¡± She turned the sword to his chest. ¡°I know.¡± His voice was low and trembling, on his knee blocking Vetia from his sister. ¡°But look at her, she is worthless now. She¡¯ll never speak again and her face is ruined. She will bear these scars for the rest of her days. You have done your piece.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a regenerator, you shortsighted idiot! But I suppose you are correct! She¡¯s worthless! She may as well just die!¡± Tarynn looked horrified as his sister fought him aside. ¡°You need not commit murder over such a trifle, over a lowly commoner. Sister please- you-¡± ¡°You have no right to lecture me on the value of a life! Not after everything I¡¯ve endured at your cowardice, not after the lives I¡¯ve ended in your stead!¡± She pushed against him, the blade creeping closer to Vetia. His face quivered violently until his expression turned angry for the first time. He grabbed the guard, shoving his sister back and forcing himself between the blade and the cage. ¡°I don¡¯t give a d-damn if she¡¯s worthless now! We¡¯ll never see any of these people again after this! We don¡¯t need to take any of their lives here!¡± He was kneeling, both of his hands in a death grip on his sister¡¯s scimitar guard. She locked onto his eyes. We all did. There was conviction in them, scared conviction, but conviction nonetheless. The sword lingered on his chest for a moment. Simira finally pulled her blade away, sheathed it, and passed her sweltering gaze over everyone. All eyes on her. She grabbed Tarynn by the hair and dragged him off the wagon. She barked at Tells and Brenden. ¡°Back the wagons up! We¡¯re turning around!¡± And then her face changed and her eyes scanned over the five of us. Disappointed frustration slowly gripped her expression. The blades lowered, and Tells reared the corties back. As we were turning away, I felt a jingling thud on the seat by my side. The blue man with regal armor and extra joints quietly muttered to me. ¡°I¡¯m heartily sorry for my Lady. Accept that, and please don¡¯t let rumors of this spread.¡± He turned their wagon around, and they raced into the distance. Vetia gasped and gurgled on her own blood, coughing onto the bottom of the steel cage. She reached for the bars to pick herself up and her hands seized as they grew closer and she cried out louder. Tells rushed to Vetia¡¯s book and handed it through the bars to her. Vetia traced her fingers in the air like she was trying to draw sigils, but not even her finger could glow. For all we knew, she was going to suffocate on her own blood. I had to think of something fast. I pulled the reins on the corties and yelled back to Brenden. ¡°Geren¡¯s should be right ahead! He might be able to help!¡± I passed the reins back to Tells as we sped off, and I was reaching through the bars trying to keep Vetia from choking to death. We rode with the corties at full speed for a few minutes before Tells told us to brace and we sharply turned into the meadow of blue flowers, almost rolling onto our side. Trying not to be flung out of the wagon, we stopped abruptly in front of Geren¡¯s house as he was just stepping out the door. Geren had a large smile on his face as he stepped out. I jumped down and pointed at the cage. ¡°Geren, can you open the cage?! Its lock is fucked and we need to get her out of there!¡± He cocked his head at an angle, confused. ¡°Why would we free¡­ fireblood?¡± 24: Breaking the Chains 24 (Dokken- Breaking the Chains) Brenden We raced directly behind the rickety wagon where Desmond, Tells, and Vetia were being tossed around like popcorn in a pot. The wagon violently bounced up to Geren¡¯s house, and we caught up just in time to hear him. I ran over to him. ¡°She¡¯s not the fireblood! You saw it! We already gave that to the town! She¡¯s our friend who had broken arms.¡± Geren squinted his avian eyes and reached his massive arms to the locked cage. The steel creaked and screeched as the metal slowly bent, and with a crack, the door was pried off its hinges and Vetia crawled out on her hands and knees, beginning her sigil as soon as she touched the grass. She reached her glowing hand into her mouth and the gurgling stopped. Geren lumbered to his pile of cages and contraptions. ¡°You are deceived by¡­ intelligent fireblood. Her true nature unshown¡­ but perceived by senses.¡± He came back over holding one of the hooped rods we went out to catch the other fireblood with. I didn¡¯t know what he was planning, but I stepped in front of him. ¡°Geren what are you doing? She¡¯s not an animal.¡± I was furious from the incidents of just a few minutes ago, but holding it back was getting difficult with Geren acting strange too. He stopped and looked down at me. ¡°Intelligent firebloods¡­ conceal themselves¡­ being creatures of deceit¡­ of false security. Rods shock fireblood¡­ show true appearance¡­ hidden attributes.¡± He held the pole out toward me. A part of me was curious, but then I looked back at her sitting down with her hand in her mouth and on her cheek like a whimpering idiot. ¡°She¡¯s our friend, she¡¯s not going to try to hurt us, and she¡¯s not a monster. We don¡¯t need to restrain her!¡± Desmond put a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Geren. ¡°You can smell it on her then?¡± ¡°Rotted eggs and¡­ tyranewt petals. Smell of sevoan¡­ form of fireblood. Most deceptive form. Hides aspects of self.¡± ¡°Brenden,¡± Desmond looked at me as he took a rod. ¡°I can smell it on her too. I heard her say things at night. She was talking to herself, about things she was trying to hide from us. Maybe Geren¡¯s right, and we should try these out just to see.¡± Adam stepped up angrily. ¡°No. We¡¯re not just using those on her. You¡¯re acting like she¡¯s been conspiring against us when she was probably going to tell us once she figured it out herself. Don¡¯t act like you guys haven¡¯t had trouble getting used to these bodies too. She¡¯s not acting like the fireblood we killed. She¡¯s been our friend this whole time.¡± Geren opened his mouth to say something, but was caught short looking at Vetia, who pulled her glowing fingers out of her mouth. ¡°Fireblood¡­ using sigils?¡± He stood in place, perplexed but curious. Vetia wobbled up and coughed out the last of the blood. She was worked up, only guttural gibberish and grunts escaping her mouth. She was trying to say something, but her tongue was still missing, so it was all unintelligible. When she realized we couldn¡¯t understand her, she stomped over toward us and pointed to Adam, nodding. Geren took a step away and set himself in a loose fighting stance. Vetia got a good look at him for the first time. Her eyes shot open with curiosity and fear, but she shook her head and held her right hand out toward Desmond. I put my hand out to hold Desmond back. ¡°Geren, is this going to hurt her? It seems like everywhere we go, one of us is getting maimed by something else and I really don¡¯t want to keep that trend going.¡± Geren was still on edge. His face and feathers reminded me of my old cockatiel when it was getting batted at by my cat. ¡°Shock pain¡­ like muscle spasm.¡± His eyes were locked on our silent healer, who stared back with determined defiance. She didn¡¯t lower her arm. I let my hand down and kept my eyes on her as Desmond wrapped the loop around her wrist. She immediately recoiled lightly, but not in time before her arm seized. Her hair frizzed and rose like she was caught in a storm of static, then her body shuddered and the skin on her back looked like it was boiling. Bone horns curled out the sides of her head, smooth, twisting spires pointing straight up. The back of her shirt ripped and dragon-like wings opened. The sections of bone and muscle were the same wine red as her hair, the flaps white like her pale skin. Sharp bone nails shot out of her fingertips and long, jagged teeth emerged over her teeth. Her mouth widened almost to her ears as her jaw unhinged and extended into a gnarly maw of serrated spiked teeth. Her face was positively horrifying to look at, but she yelled like a scared fool when her wings aggressively shooting out knocked her off balance. However, she caught herself on a thin, pale tail topped off with a thorny spike. All of her newly revealed extremities dripped a pinkish mucus, like they¡¯d just been created out of her body. Rainbow light refracted off of a strange, almost invisible mist that emanated from the back of her neck and a flowery smell like strong perfume immediately permeated the air. The smell wasn¡¯t unpleasant, but it relaxed me, like it was calming my emotions against my will. Geren, who at some point had stepped back about twenty feet, started lumbering forward again, an intense look on his face. Desmond had stumbled away, grabbing his nose and gagging, holding his head like he just slammed it into something. I was knocked back, trying to avoid her wings as they erratically flapped around trying to find balance. Vetia¡¯s muscles continued seizing violently, unable to pull free the loop that was now twisted like a noose around her wrist. Geren¡¯s voice screeched out, ¡°Be still, fireblood!¡± He stepped forward more aggressively with the intent to take her down. I cut him off, glaring up at the looming beast of a creature before me. We held each other¡¯s gazes as I tried my best to figure out what he was going to do to her. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Suddenly, his massive frame lurched back and lunged at me fist first. I couldn¡¯t do a single thing except raise my arms to block my face. His giant beak opened to bite down on me while his stocky arm clutched the back of my head and pulled me into his gaping jaws. The tense moment became instantly muffled and still by his hand wrapping around my head, but his piercing screech shattered my brief confusion. Geren spun me, putting himself between Vetia and me. His hand pulled away and a small stream of blood dripped onto my shoulder. He was bleeding from where he grabbed me, having protected the back of my neck from her uncontrolled wing spike. Blood trickled from Vetia¡¯s hooked ears, the effects of Geren¡¯s screech now showing. She turned away from him in a spastic, tazed frenzy, yelling in pain. Once he saw the opening, he didn¡¯t hesitate to lunge in and wrap his left fist around the base of Vetia¡¯s wings, pushing her forward. He planted his foot on her tail and used his leverage to force her onto her face. She was helplessly pinned, but Geren still couldn¡¯t reach the tangled loop on her wrist while keeping her still. ¡°Remove the bind!¡± Geren screeched out like an eagle. Desmond was hunched over holding his ears and nose, so Adam rushed over and clamped Vetia¡¯s wings together while Tells and I freed her wrist. All I heard were our staggered breaths and the swishing of spiraling blue flowers brushing against each other. Vetia groaned while her muscles settled and Geren stepped off of her. Adam pulled her to her feet and pinched the back of her shredded shirt to keep it from falling off. Her teeth slowly retracted back into her gums, her ripped cheeks returned to normal, and her claws disappeared into the tips of her fingers. The wings, horns, and tail remained, however. Adam looked over the wings and tail curiously. ¡°Did you know you had these the whole time?¡± Vetia gave him a slight nod with a look like she was trying to say ¡°it¡¯s complicated.¡± ¡°Poison on wings,¡± Geren wheezed, ¡°numbs the wound. Relaxes muscle.¡± His eyes locked on her with discomfort and mystery. ¡°Other points may be¡­ different poison¡­ unknown effects.¡± He clenched his cut hand, but couldn¡¯t make a full fist. The friendly fireblood traced a sigil in the air and held out her glowing fingers toward Geren, who cautiously presented his hand. She wiped her finger over it and Geren inspected the wound, his face in awe like he was having a slight existential crisis because of the woman before him. I jogged over and helped Desmond up. His eyes and nose were red and running like he¡¯d just been pepper sprayed. I started to walk him toward the rest of the group, but he jerked backward. ¡°Nah, nah, I ain¡¯t goin¡¯ near that nasty hoe. I looped that thing on her and she fuckin¡¯ skunked on me!¡± I patted his back and half mumbled, still not completely sure what was going on. ¡°At least you finally made a girl squirt.¡± He glared at me miserably. ¡°Fuck off.¡± I couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say. With the weight of the wagon fight on my mind, my thoughts were still drifting back to uncertainty and fear. Are we really so powerless that we had to sit and watch while a noble brutalized our best friend? Is this the type of place where if we try to do something, we¡¯ll just get killed? ¡°Come, Desmond,¡± Geren gestured for him to follow along with Adam and Vetia. ¡°Wash eyes and nose.¡± Desmond grunted and followed Geren into the house, halting when he saw Vetia close to him. He sniffed the air and deemed her safe again. When she offered an apologetic smile, he shoved his middle finger into her face. They disappeared into the cabin and I was left outside with Tells, who stood silently in the field looking disdainfully toward the road. She gripped her sword aggressively like she was itching to slash away at something. A fierce backwind blew through the meadow, spinning the azure flowers like a raging ocean as her hair violently whipped around her face. ¡°...a thing!¡± I caught the last thing she said as the wind died. I stared at her in confusion. ¡°What?¡± Her head turned on an instant and she puffed up angrily. ¡°You didn¡¯t do a fucking thing! You just watched! You and Adam!¡± I was frozen on the spot. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do anything?!¡± The words finally escaped my throat. ¡°You didn¡¯t either.¡± She scratched a drying scab off her throat and slashed a flower in half. ¡°I had a sword around my throat!¡± ¡°He would¡¯ve killed you if-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fucking care! Still should¡¯ve done something!¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you?! Huh?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°Tells! What the fuck are you-¡± ¡°I know! Just- AAAH FUCK!¡± Her aimless anger was reaching a breaking point and she was trying her best to control herself, so she turned around and stormed to the edge of the forest where she immediately slammed her sword into a tree trunk. She growled as the vibration shot up her arm, but didn¡¯t stop swinging. I mindlessly ended up on Geren¡¯s doorstep and sat down. Speckles of darkness blotted everywhere my eyes went. Air didn¡¯t want to stay in my lungs. My heartbeat pounded inside my head. What if we get to the next city and they¡¯re waiting for us? Will we even make it to the next city before tempers flare and we all go off on our own? Desmond is tired of babysitting everyone. Tells is angry at the whole situation. Vetia is probably in horrible pain and wants to be done with all of this. Adam is just trying his best to keep everyone comfortable, but he can¡¯t do everything. And then I¡¯m just doing¡­ nothing. Nothing at all. I can¡¯t even defuse an argument. All I¡¯ve done is make everyone else miserable. I was useless against the fireblood and those bugs. They don¡¯t need me at all. And if we even make it to the next city, what do we do? We don¡¯t have goals or anything. We¡¯re just aimlessly wandering this world with nothing worthwhile to give. And back home? Probably even worse for our families. My family. I can¡¯t even imagine how bad it¡¯s going for them because it was already as bad as I thought it could get. And now I¡¯m in a place where I could be thrown around, abused, and killed by people simply because they had a name. And we can¡¯t do anything to protect ourselves without becoming public enemies. Is that how this world really works, or was that just an isolated incident. Fuck, I don¡¯t know. How am I supposed to know? A metallic snap rang out through the field of fluttering flowers. Tells stood at the treeline, a noticeable chunk of wood hacked away from the trunk and a bladeless, broken scimitar in hand. Her entire body rose and fell at each breath and sweat dripped down her forehead. She grunted and hurled the hilt into the forest before dropping down to curl up against the tree, hands holding her head against her knees. The field filled with silence except for the muffled voices coming from inside Geren¡¯s house. 25: Breaking the Chains Part 2 25 (Dokken- Breaking the Chains) Adam I was useless again. I wish I wasn¡¯t but I don¡¯t know what to do. How to help when tempers are like that. Everyone usually just thinks I¡¯m condescending because I don¡¯t lose my head that easily, and that would have been the last thing we needed then. If I¡¯d have done something, said something loud enough, would it have stopped Simira? Once again inside the cozy interior of Geren¡¯s house, I sat cross legged, sewing a button to the back of Vetia¡¯s shirt so her wings could fit through the tear without falling off. Geren was in the back of the house pumping water into a bucket so Desmond could clean his eyes. Thankfully, Geren was also pretty big, so he had longer needles that fit my hands. ¡°Your back¡¯s probably gonna be cold, but this is the best I can do with what we have.¡± ¡°-ank,¡± she slurred back. Desmond frowned at us from across the room, sitting in Geren¡¯s slightly oversized workbench chair. ¡°When the fuck did you learn to sew?¡± ¡°Young Marines.¡± ¡°Your weekly bootlicking sessions?¡± ¡°It was a lot less bootlicking and a lot more of guys who were on the autism spectrum and slash or obsessed with military history, skills, and tactics.¡± ¡°Ah, so a boog meetup.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I sarcasted. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was just making fun of me or wasn¡¯t paying attention to what I was saying. ¡°Anyways, I had to sew shit onto my uniforms and hem them and we couldn¡¯t afford a sewing machine.¡± Vetia twisted around and slapped my hand. ¡°I ah one. You inn ehw me!¡± I squinted at her. ¡°Huh? You had one?¡± She rolled her eyes and then slurred something indecipherably quickly. Desmond offered his great wisdom on the matter. ¡°Slow down Walt Jr, nobody¡¯s got a clue what you¡¯re saying.¡± I shrugged at her, ignoring Desmond. ¡°Eh, can¡¯t do anything about it now.¡± The door at the back of the room creaked open and Geren waddled in, placing a bucket of water and a rag in front of Desmond. Desmond nodded to Geren. ¡°Buenos gracias.¡± Geren turned away stutteringly at the odd phrase, but then presented Vetia with a gray slate tablet and a red chalk-like rock. She quickly scrawled away a message to him. It was strange seeing her write in this new language, Triali, because its letters wrote similarly to cursive or Arabic, but from low to high, left to right. She finished writing and then blinked, staring between the tablet with cleanly written characters and the chalk that she wrote them so easily with. We shared a look of surprise and interest before she turned it toward Geren. Mother Yeline said you could tell me about sevoans A smile crept across Geren¡¯s fleshy beak. ¡°The Mother would notice¡­ such an oddity. Sevoan woman¡­ how are you called? What den are you of?¡± Geren stared inquisitively at Vetia, but with even greater fervor than he had with any of us. She quizzically squinted at that last part. Vetia. I didn¡¯t come from a cave. I lived in Boston with my friends. Geren tilted his head at me. ¡°She lived in Boston? When did she arrive?¡± I looked at Desmond for some help, but his eyes were buried in the rag. We had filled her in on our cover story, but hadn¡¯t really made more up. ¡°Erm¡­ we met her when we were ten. She came from England.¡± Geren turned his attention back to the poorly held up lie with a chalkboard. ¡°What is your age? What is England?¡±
  1. England is a real shithole across the pond from Boston. My parents hated it, so we left when I was young
Geren leaned forward like a ravenous researcher on the verge of a jackpot. ¡°You have memories¡­ of life before fireblood? This is rare.¡± She pondered the question for a moment, seemingly unsure of what exactly he meant. I¡¯ve been like this since I came into this world. Haven¡¯t needed to drink blood until I started sigils ¡°Natural born¡­ sevoan fireblood¡­ capable of sigils.¡± Geren spoke like he didn¡¯t believe the words he was saying. ¡°I witnessed sigil¡­ not a trick.¡± He was speechless and in deep thought. What is a sevoan? ¡°Sevoan is you. Consume spirit¡­ from living. Sevoans weaker¡­ deceptive¡­ easily concealed. Controlled hunger¡­ controlled actions¡­ controlled body. Cannot harvest limbs. Consume blood by skin¡­ ingest by touch¡­ and by mouth. Fireblood limbs¡­ may be hidden¡­ but adaptive.¡± Fireblood limbs? Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Additional arms¡­ claws, teeth¡­ brought on by¡­ metamorphosis¡­ into fireblood. Often contain poison.¡± Is that why I have the wings, tail and horns? The intrigue faded from Geren¡¯s face. ¡°Those appendages¡­ from lonsu parent. Are you not part lonsu?¡± What is a lonsu? What was once interest turned into subtle skepticism. ¡°People of mountains. Scales, wings, horns, tails¡­ though similar¡­ to jorlad. Natural talent for¡­ thermal jzanmah. Tell me of parents. Are you of healing line?¡± Ralph, my dad, was one of the lonsu. Lauren, my mom, was human. No jzanmah on either side ¡°What race of human?¡± Her face grew more confused and slightly frustrated. Just regular people from England Geren sighed like he was talking to a toddler. ¡°What humans live in England? Are they not lonsu and jorlad?¡± She had a small epiphany as her face softened. Yes, she was a jorlad human Geren¡¯s frustration dissipated, and leaned in for one final interrogation. ¡°How many people¡­ have you killed?¡± She shook her head and slurred something, frustrated and scribbling angrily. Nobody. Mother Yeline fed me the old organs and limbs during the fireblood surgeries. But that¡¯s it. I¡¯m not eating anyone else. I¡¯ll hunt for animals if I have to. I¡¯m not gonna kill anyone She hesitated, writing ¡°unless¡± at the end, then wiped it away. He stared into her eyes like he was reading every little piece of body language and minute twitch. As if he was back in a time where he was questioning a deceptive, murderous fireblood. Geren leaned away and shook his head. ¡°Optimistic fireblood. Not the first. Not the last. All will kill¡­ as is your nature. Like a felled tree¡­ knocking other trees¡­ every tiny act¡­ of violence¡­ pulls fireblood lower. You will fall. Then you will die.¡± Vetia set the tablet and chalk down, then slouched back against the wall and ran her fingers over her tail sullenly. Desmond finally finished scrubbing himself, blowing water and snot out of his nose and into the bucket. He didn¡¯t really pay any mind to the mucus that splattered all over the floor and Geren¡¯s chair. He finally cleared his throat and decided to join the conversation. ¡°Hey G, you got a good nose, right? How¡¯d you not get stink bombed?¡± Geren side-eyed the still beet red Desmond. ¡°I am yeffen. Muscles plug nose¡­ simple as closing eyes. Jorlad lack nose muscles.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t give any advice on how to deal with it?¡± Geren¡¯s eyes slowly passed over the three of us like he was quickly and expertly reading our intentions. ¡°Advice is given to¡­ the honest.¡± Nobody responded as his face grew darker. ¡°You know naught of me¡­ yet you deceive¡­ with no hesitance. No understanding. I advise¡­ you learn one before¡­ you deceive one.¡± His ragged breaths sounded closer to growls now. His demeanor was unchanged, but his presence in the room became stifling. Vetia looked down to distance herself from Geren¡¯s piercing eyes, so Desmond picked up the conversation. ¡°Listen, G, we¡¯re not, like, lying-¡± I cut Desmond off and sat up straight, looking Geren straight on. ¡°We are lying. But not entirely. Everything we¡¯ve said is true, but it doesn¡¯t make sense because¡­ none of it is real anymore. I don¡¯t know how to describe it in a way that doesn¡¯t make us sound crazy.¡± Geren¡¯s eyes widened in awe. ¡°I am cartographer¡­ have traveled world¡­ never seen Boston¡­ California¡­ England. Strange details. Unusual existence. Odd story as if from¡­ elsewhere¡­ not here¡­ but elsewhere perhaps.¡± Geren rose and knuckled to the back wall, to the bone figurines crammed onto the shelves. He held a finger out, searching for one before returning to his chair. His croaking voice filled with disbelief. ¡°In my travels¡­ I met the mau. Practitioners¡­ of the spirit. I was graced to meet¡­ mau seers and¡­ one beyond them¡­ a rarity¡­ the bakhonsu. He who travels¡­ between lives. Told of shaimaat. People¡­ brought from other lives¡­ long ago.¡± He presented the bone figurine to me. It was roughly carved, but in the shape of a small animal, like a cat with three tails. It was thin, with short hair and long legs and ears. Like, actually just a slightly longer house cat. My mind was racing on what all of that meant and if we were the only ones here from a different place, or life. Does that mean there were more people here from Earth? ¡°Geren, uh, um,¡± I stammered, unsure of what I was going to say. ¡°What do those words mean? Are there actually people from other worlds here?¡± Geren sighed. ¡°I have not seen¡­ mau since my youth. Bone is rough¡­ as is memory. I thought them all tales of¡­ myth. Mau are hunted¡­ as are shaimaat¡­ so they tell.¡± Vetia quickly scribbled. And you think we¡¯re shymat? ¡°No other reason¡­ that you could exist¡­ fireblood of spirit.¡± I swallowed hard and put my hands together, leaning my chin on them. ¡°So that means we¡¯re being hunted just for existing in this world?¡± Geren nodded. ¡°Perhaps. I will hear no more¡­ of your world. Odd mentions¡­ strange places¡­ references¡­ all hints¡­ to be wary of. If hunters exist¡­ say not of me¡­ lead not to me¡­ for jzanmah which¡­ peers into the mind¡­ may reveal your truth. You.¡± He pointed to Vetia, ¡°remain secret¡­ or death falls upon you¡­ then all of you.¡± She looked at him, frightened and deep in thought before just sighing and shaking her head. She held the board to Desmond and I. You both see a three tailed cat there, right? Desmond leaned forward and shrugged. ¡°What else could it be? If humans exist here, why can¡¯t cats?¡± I got up and motioned for the others to stand. ¡°Thank you, Geren, I suppose we should be leaving then.¡± ¡°You will go to¡­ Vehfirn, yes? Give to Riviera¡­ Kataw¡­ this from me. At Zeltem Order.¡± Geren stood and waddled across the room, retrieving a scroll from his desk. ¡°Found for her on an ask. Also¡­ reason for meeting¡­ to deliver. A lie of safety, yes?¡± He handed the beige parchment scroll out, and Desmond took it from him. Desmond practically ran out the door, holding his nose past Vetia, who returned the tablet, then waved to him with her exit. I was last out, stopping in the door frame. ¡°Thank you Geren, for everything you helped us with.¡± ¡°Be well¡­ walkers of worlds.¡± He showed the same toothy grin that terrified us the first time, that fleshy beak stretched by his gleeful, genuine smile. 26: Human 26 (Of Monsters And Men- Human) Vetia What a fucked up day. Every bump and rock the wagon took sent shocks up my body, biting into the cut nerves in my tongue. And I couldn¡¯t even put it back on because she took it. The crazy bitch actually took my tongue. I couldn¡¯t risk regrowing it with sigils either. I didn¡¯t know how to use sigils enough to control it without shattering my hand again. Sure, the slash in my cheek was patched up, but I had to lean my head out the back of the wagon because I couldn¡¯t swallow well, so there was just a disgusting mess of blood and saliva dripping from my mouth constantly. The shoulder of my shirt was soaked and disgusting from wiping my chin off and I didn¡¯t have any more clothes to wear. Adam and Desmond explained everything Geren said to the others, and being tongueless, I couldn¡¯t help. So there I sat, reading my book out the back of the wagon. Reading was an overstatement. I certainly tried reading, but I couldn¡¯t stop my mind from going back to that moment. Simira grabbing my face and cutting out my tongue. And that fuckin¡¯ smile. That hideous, maniacal, toothy smile was seared into my eyes. What I wouldn¡¯t give to strangle it away from her. Her fist slamming my ribs, snapping them in half. Dumping me in a cage like I was an animal. I hadn¡¯t felt so much rage in my whole lives. God, what I wouldn¡¯t give to rip her throat out. Her pride, her pomp, her ego, all because she was born into a family with a better name than any of us had. We weren¡¯t even born into families. Just dropped into the middle of a shithole. Maybe this is just my own personal hell and this world isn¡¯t actually real at all, just punishment. May as well be a dream with how confusing everything is. Well, if Simira¡¯s my punishment, I¡¯ll do everything I could to make her regret it. I don¡¯t even care about Tarynn anymore. I can move on from a fling. She made it personal, she took it further than it needed to go and I hate her for it. That poison might be useful. She¡¯s stronger and a better fighter than me, but if I load her with numbing poison and whatever else I have, I might be able to kill her. I shook my head and ran my hands over my hair, laying them on my neck. That was just dark, wishful thinking. I had to be realistic. We were moving on. Leaving that behind. I needed to leave that behind, for everyone in this wagon with me. I just couldn¡¯t help the recency of it. A little time away from it all will help. I can move past this. I have to. I sat back and noticed an oily feeling on my fingers, from my neck. It smelled just like that rosy scent from when my whole body was sent into shock. I¡¯d honestly buy it if it were a candle. It was just¡­ relaxing, I couldn¡¯t say why. Tells, sitting across from me, was staring at me with her usual uninterested face, either zoned-out daydreaming or curious. I put my hand in her face, toward her nose. She backed away from it, so I leaned further forward until her face was against the wagon cover and she could only sink down, which wasn¡¯t enough. She slinked and crumpled every which way to avoid my hand. Finally, after crinkling until her head was on the seat and she couldn¡¯t bend anymore, my hand was close enough for her to sniff and she suddenly stopped trying to avoid it. She continued laying there as I pulled my hand away. ¡°That¡¯s what that smell was?¡± I exasperatedly nodded at her. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake Vetia,¡± Desmond was completely across the wagon from me, holding his nose. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re doing, I¡¯m upwind and I can smell it. It¡¯s awful.¡± Brenden was laying on the same side as me, finally getting a chance to rest and shut his eyes after driving the whole time. He didn¡¯t even bother opening his eyes. ¡°Desmond did you shit yourself again? We all know how much you blame your loose asshole on everyone else around you. You¡¯re not getting one over on us again.¡± Desmond cracked his knuckles and scoffed. ¡°New body, bitch. No bowel issues to worry about. Go fuck yourself.¡± ¡°Fuck me yourself, lazy ass.¡± Brenden flipped him off. I tapped his knee and he opened an eye. I pointed to my neck, ran my hand over it again and held it toward his nose. He awkwardly leaned forward and sniffed. ¡°The hell? How did you¡­ ah, nevermind. That doesn¡¯t even smell bad, Desmond.¡± ¡°Maybe not to you. I¡¯ve got a nose like a methed-up bloodhound now.¡± He turned into a pompous wine taster. ¡°I¡¯m detecting floral hints, a bit of sweetness, and¡­ mmm, yes, a powerful aroma of fermenting ham.¡± ¡°Ham doesn¡¯t ferment, dipshit, it¡¯s already cured,¡± Brenden mumbled. Desmond groaned. ¡°That¡¯s the- oh my God, you guys are fucking idiots.¡± Tells rejoined the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m not fuckin¡¯ anyone.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my bow?¡± Desmond began rifling through his bag. ¡°I¡¯m gonna brain myself with an arrow.¡± He ripped out a piece of jerky and frustratedly gnawed on it. The mischievous part of me really wanted to flex my neck just to see if I could load the air with more of that stuff to piss him off. I decided against it, for the sake of all our misery at the hands of Desmond. I shifted in my seat again, pulling up the pants that kept falling back down off the end of my tail. For as cool as the tail seemed at first, it was in a really inconvenient spot for pants to be even mildly comfortable. I¡¯d need a tail slot custom made or something, because I was not about to start wearing lowriding pants. The shirt too. It wasn¡¯t exposing much at all, but the front was still tight because of two increasingly annoying reasons, so my chest was uncomfortably exposed. I just wasn¡¯t used to it. Maybe it was from the entire back being ripped to pieces because of the wings, but feeling as exposed as I did just made me way more self conscious than normal. I yanked off my belt and looped it over my tail, which pinched constantly, but it was worth not feeling like my ass was gonna fall out at any given moment. Thankfully, since my tail was just as pale as the rest of me, I¡¯d notice if it started going blue. I grabbed the fish hook-like end of my tail. It was strangely smooth, except for the barbs, which secreted an oily diluted red fluid, a different one from the tips of my wings. Controlling my wings and tail was slowly becoming more natural. I didn¡¯t have much practice because they went back in before everyone woke up and I couldn¡¯t figure out how to release them again for the life of me. Geren¡¯s shock was helpful though. Feeling where the muscles were was a massive help in learning to move my extra appendages properly. Although I had next to no feeling in my wings and tail, like they were lacking nerves. Experimenting time it is. I ran my nail over a wingtip and lightly pressed it into the tip of my pinky. It broke skin and drew blood, but no pain. My teeth were the same way, the sharp ones at least. I had a normal set of teeth with prominent sharp teeth where my canines would be. They protruded slightly forward compared to my more human teeth, which caused them to comfortably sit between my lips, even poking out a little if my mouth was relaxed. Only the top ones, though, due to an underbite which caused my lower canines to sit in slits next to the back of my upper canines. Nobody questioned it, so it was probably normal for lonsu. ¡°We gotta find you a new tongue, huh?¡± Brenden lazily opened his eyes. ¡°We could head back to Poikla to get you that fireblood¡¯s tongue.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Well we gotta do something. You being tongueless isn¡¯t gonna help our situation.¡± I pursed my lips, trying to figure out how to tell him that I had it handled. ¡°Nah,¡± Tells smirked. ¡°She doesn''t need a tongue. We¡¯ll play charades for everything. Round one. Go.¡± Brenden and Desmond both joined in silently, so I chuckled and sat up. I held up three fingers, then one finger. Then, I turned that finger to point at myself. ¡°You!¡± Brenden shouted out, a little over excited to get it. I nodded and held up two fingers. Then, I mimed drinking a glass of water. Immediately, Desmond yelled out ¡°Suckin¡¯ dick! Next word.¡± When I didn¡¯t stop, Tells shook her head. ¡°Pass.¡± Brenden scoffed at Tells. ¡°That¡¯s not how you throw a football. Why the fuck would you throw that close-¡± he cut himself off and looked down in disappointment. ¡°You guys are stupid,¡± Adam had turned around, letting the corties do the driving, ¡°it¡¯s water.¡± Brenden stared at Adam, positively dumbfounded. ¡°You water? What? Were you even listening to the first word?¡± Adam shot up finger guns. ¡°Not much baby, water you doing?¡± Tells was the only one who even gave him a chuckle. I sighed and shook my head again. The fun had died away. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Desmond shrugged indignantly. ¡°I literally had it.¡± I rolled my eyes at him and sat back, anxiously gnawing at my nail. They didn¡¯t understand just how much I could regenerate, so I¡¯d have to figure it out alone as usual. My nail slipped, slitting my lip just a little, but without any pain. An idea hit me. I held out my forearm and slashed up my arm. ¡°Ayo!¡± Brenden shot forward and grabbed my cutting hand. ¡°The fuck are you doing?!¡± My great idea faded from the shock and worry that poured out of him and into me. His exact emotions flowed into me, pulling me through his mind for just a glimpse. The way I sensed his and everyone else¡¯s feelings still messed with me, like I was actually detecting their true emotions, even the ones they were concealing deep within them. I held up my sliced arm, which had words lightly cut into it. ¡°Regrows,¡± he read. ¡°Takes a night.¡± He let go of my arm. ¡°That part of being a fireblood?¡± I nodded sympathetically, trying to keep myself from reading too deep into Desmond, whose demeanor and spirit was normal, except for a pain, a burning grief that had been slowly consuming him since we arrived. These radiant emotions all washed over me, affecting my own mood, drawing me into the intensity. Is that the reason I¡¯ve been acting so emotional? Am I unknowingly being pulled into how everyone else around me is feeling? That¡¯s normal to a degree, but it could explain why I had grown so angry around Simira, so lovestruck by Tarynn, and so afraid just now? In retrospect, I normally wouldn¡¯t have acted as I did, at least not in my old body. I tend to be pretty decent at managing my emotions. Is it connected to why I could sense people without seeing them? Is that why my mind felt so fried after the healing Adam? Because I¡¯d been right next to Adam who was on death¡¯s door? Or is this what being a woman is like? Tells has been normal, so maybe not. I traced three small circles in the air and pushed my finger through the center, a quick sigil used for healing small wounds, courtesy of Mother Yeline. The slices in my arm were gone simply by tracing over them with my finger. Brenden furrowed his brow and frowned. ¡°Wait, if you¡¯re a fireblood and can just regrow your limbs, then why the hell did we go and get one to fix your arms? Somebody else in that village may have needed those arms.¡± Holy shit, I¡¯m gonna lose my fucking mind. Adam sighed, holding his nose. ¡°To be fair, she did say we should just leave, but you guys wanted the money too.¡± He looked at me. ¡°Did you even use the bones?¡± I made a wide, toothy smile, closed my eyes, and shook my head. ¡°Did somebody else get them?¡± ¡°Mm-hmm!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Brenden pursed his lips and stretched his arms up. Desmond just rolled his eyes and turned to watch out front. A disgusted scowl quickly formed on his face and he gagged his way back around to us, mouth open like he was gonna hurl while his hand scrambled to cover his mouth and nose. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head in stress. ¡°Holy mother of God! What the fuck are these corties eating?!¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Why do you think I turned away?¡± Adam pinched his nose. Brenden smirked. ¡°What, you don¡¯t like watching the logs of radioactive green shit flop outta their asses and get all over the wagon and their fur?¡± Adam looked genuinely distraught. ¡°Dude, how do they do it so much?¡± ¡°Beats me, I¡¯m just the one who''s been dealing with it the whole time.¡± Desmond dry heaved into his hand, eyes watering, smacking his lips disgustedly, slurring all his words while his chest and stomach contorted against his will. ¡°You guys don¡¯t smell it like I-¡± Bits of vomit squirted from between his mouth and fist as he failed to tough it out. Suddenly, his legs took off, stumbling and dripping puke his whole way to the back of the wagon. Tells jumped up onto her seat, pushing her way over Desmond in a panic to avoid the splash zone, sending him stomach down onto the back wall of the wagon and forcing everything out on the spot. I only saw the beginning before I needed to look away, but he was gonna need a lot of water to clean up his mouth and nose and face and shirt. ¡°Hah,¡± Adam forced his iconic awkward laugh, ¡°that was a funny GAG!¡± * * * * * We parked at a spot with a stream so Desmond could clean up, but evening came fast, so we decided to just bed down there. However, my mind was far from beds and sleeping. I¡¯d been struggling to not eye the corties too hard, but they looked mighty tasty for somebody who craved blood. I didn¡¯t want to risk weakening them by taking a bunch of blood though, since I didn¡¯t know how much I¡¯d need. Thankfully enough, my friends didn¡¯t look tasty at all. I casually walked into the woods, trying not to seem suspicious. ¡°Are you gonna set up your tent?¡± Adam¡¯s bellowing voice called from a few feet away. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth to talk, but alas, I couldn¡¯t. I moved my lips around trying to figure out what I was gonna say, but just settled with ol¡¯ reliable and made a fart sound. ¡°Did you eat some of that fruit too? Yeah, I get it. That really messed up my stomach. Then again, I went against my better judgment and ate it even though it had all those brown chunks.¡± I chuckled and shrugged. ¡°Oof, yeah, I know. Almost shit myself when we were tying up the corties.¡± Oh, Adam, you just never know when to stop. I pointed into the woods and turned away. ¡°Good shittance!¡± I cringed to him and turned away. ¡°I¡¯m gonna finish setting up my tent now.¡± I gave him a thumbs up stepping into the woods. I was always struck by how uncanny everything here was. This forest looked at first glance like it could be a forest from Earth until I paid closer attention to the finer details. Sword-like tree needles. Fern-like plants that flourished opposite to how normal ferns did. Weirdly large, spiky leaf trees. Little, eight-legged reptilian creatures gliding around in the branches. Stalagmites of blue fungi were the most obvious difference. They only seemed to grow on the roots of the massive black-barked sword-needle trees, occasionally neighbored by a dead animal that seemed to have eaten the fungus. There were other trees, ones with slightly lighter bark and thicker, tubular needles. These trees didn¡¯t grow as tall, though, and they grew in clusters where there was no blue fungus. Most of all, I hadn¡¯t seen any tiny bugs or insects. In fact, I wouldn¡¯t have noticed without my ability to sense things, but there were lots of small camouflaged creatures on trees, leaves, rocks, in bushes. My favorite were basically blue forest crabs shaped the same as the spires of sky blue fungus and of the same color. Three pinchers secured them to the ground, lying in wait. I never saw them eat, but I assumed they preyed on the little rodents and birds that ate the fungus. I was a little too curious, though, having spotted one on my way in. Its crab claws were slightly exposed, so I slowly snuck over and kicked the tip of its shell, knocking it on its side. It quickly balanced itself, but I caught a glimpse of its underside. Around the outside was a circle of hundreds of little legs, an octopus-like beak in the center, and an eye between each of its arms. The little guy snipped his claws toward me and then skittered across the leaves, shimmying in a new spot to conceal his claws beneath the dead needles and soil. I came upon a grassy clearing, the long pink and green grass shimmering in the evening sunlight. I sensed something alive in the clearing. And it was rather large, about the size of a buck. However, it was concealed behind a tall patch of grass. As I approached the treeline, a surge shot through it, and a head popped up. It had curly green fur with brownish pink undertones. Similar in shape to an alpaca, its tiny circular ears twitched back and forth. It had a wide face with large molars that ground ferns between its jaws. Its head was oddly similar to a corty¡¯s, just different ears and little antennae gently swaying off the top of its ears. The breeze whipped my hair in front of my face and I realized it was definitely smelling me. Without any thought, as if on instinct, I flexed my neck, which released the sweet scent into the wind. The creature¡¯s mood calmed again, so much that it became completely docile, almost blinded raising its nose to sniff the air. I took one step forward, seeing how it would react. Nothing. It was unfazed. No change in its emotions as I closed in and reached out to run my fingers through its coarse neck fur. It just chomped away at the grass right in front of it. It was only a little taller than me, so my face was right at neck level. It did feel something else. Some kind of confusion. Probably because it was unsure what was happening, but ever so calm for no reason it understood. My fingers lingered on its neck where veins pulsed, full of blood, full of life, full of coursing jzanmah. I couldn¡¯t help my mouth watering at the feeling. A craving suddenly grew in me, like the feeling of not eating in days, and my favorite meal was suddenly right in front of me, ready to be consumed. A shiver raced up my spine, making my wings slowly unfurl and reach down. I lined the wingtips up with its thighs, and slowly pressed them in. Little by little, the beast¡¯s legs gave out and it calmly lowered itself to the ground, frozen by confusion. My wings reached further, slowly doing the same to its hind legs until it was sitting there, helpless like a newborn calf. Its jittering head reached for more grass, craving some comfort through its growing fear and helplessness. I couldn¡¯t have that. I whirled my tail around and plunged it directly into its side. After a few moments of injecting it with venom, the creature was sent into something of a lazy stupor. Hopelessly impaired, drunk, and in a daze, it didn¡¯t even realize it was about to die, but it was so¡­ distant and content. His poor head drooped and sloppily continued its fruitless efforts for more grass. There was something funny about it. I couldn¡¯t help but enjoy watching my food like this. That feeling would have terrified me before, but it only made me salivate ravenously now. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. The rabid, sadistic hunger overtook me. My hands, which were caressing its fur, clutched and impaled it with my claws. My teeth shot out, stretching my cheeks and unhinging my jaw. Without another thought, I tore and yanked its head back, simultaneously plunging my teeth into its neck. My mouth fit almost halfway around, and I was overwhelmed by the urge to tear backward. And that¡¯s what I did. Its neck ripped open, flooding my mouth, face and chest with its blood. The sweet blood touching my mouth and wetting the back of my throat was like nothing I¡¯d ever felt, like I had an impossibly powerful desire that could only be sated by draining this creature of all the blood in its body. And it wasn¡¯t just in my mouth. Blood seeped through my hands, my skin, wherever it touched, it wanted more. And it was never enough. More. My head was light, like I was disappearing into a ravenous dream. Like my mind was overtaken by a drug, an insatiable addiction, an animalistic desire. My senses left me. Lightness. Bliss. Divine pleasure. Time was slow. It stopped. Every thought disappeared and I was a beast of instinct. Overstimulating my senses, but needing more. I couldn¡¯t take it, I was fading in and out of consciousness. My claws bore into its side, lusting for more blood, blood, blood, BLOOD! I CAN¡¯T FUCKING TAKE IT! I NEED MORE! Pouring down my arms, but not enough. Slashing inside of it, eviscerating its organs, but still craving. My teeth drove into its neck again and again, more and more aggressively until its head fell off of its body and I was drinking from its neck like a straw. And I just ate. I chewed, I swallowed, and I ate whatever my teeth could tear free. Its invigorating essence, its jzanmah, slowly drained into me with its blood. I pressed in further, and further until suddenly there was nothing left to take. I pushed the body aside, my head spinning, white hot and dissociated, unsure of who or where I was. Spinning in pure bliss, unadulterated satisfaction, rushing adrenaline. But I wasn¡¯t tired. I wasn¡¯t calming. It was better. I was jittery, unable to calm myself, reaching every which way for some kind of stimulation, for another life to take, another insatiable hunger to indulge, craving more animalistic enlightenment. I was higher than high and couldn¡¯t stop searching for more. And suddenly I was on my back, laying on the ground in a pool of bloody mud, a lazy smile adorning my drunken gaze upward. My heart pounded out of my chest, begging for more, urging me to kill. But I laid there, breathing, slowly riding out the adrenaline daze. I pushed myself up onto my feet and the world suddenly spun madly. And then I was on my knees, reeling from the nausea, like I was about to white out. I spat out chunks of unchewed flesh, picking tendons out of my teeth and hacking up clumps of fur. I finally opened my eyes. There was¡­ a pool of blood beneath me¡­ or, well, a patch of mud wetted by blood. Blood that I drank. From the ravaged animal next to me. Oh God. I just have to breathe. In¡­ and out. In¡­ and out. My claws and teeth slowly retracted as I calmed. The scene around me, like a brutal murder or a kill by a rabid bear. Or a kill by me. This is me. A fireblood. That¡¯s nothing a human would do. Why don¡¯t I feel fear or disgust or contempt for who I am? Just¡­ truth. Acceptance. A twisted, blissful acceptance of my new reality. I¡¯m a monster pretending to be human. The rest of however long I live, I¡¯ll keep doing this. Oh, I want more. So badly. Anything else nearby? No¡­ I shook my head. ¡°Come on Rowan, you¡¯ve gotta keep Vetia under control.¡± I winced, not even sure what I was saying. Rowan is me. Vetia is me. But it feels like this body is turning me into somebody else altogether. Sure, I could lie to myself all I wanted, but my words were weak and scared. ¡°It¡¯s just a name. I¡¯m still the same person. I¡¯m still me.¡± My fingers rapidly tapped my temples in an effort to pull myself back into my own head. But I¡¯m not out of it! I am myself! But I¡¯m different! I just have to learn to deal with it. That¡¯s it. Just have to get used to it. But is there anything else to eat? I want¡­ I was breathing heavily, hungrily, craving, yearning. Fuck! They¡¯re at the edge of the clearing¡­ searching. In¡­ and out. In¡­ and out. Alright. Time to go back to normal. To act casual and smile. ¡°Hey,¡± Desmond¡¯s voice called out, ¡°you in there, bro?¡± I popped up from the grass. ¡°Sup bitches.¡± Fuck, he definitely heard me talking to myself. He quickly raised the bow at me, then took a breath and lowered it. ¡°Jesus fuck, you scared me. What the- why are you covered in blood?¡± ¡°Fireblood shit, y¡¯know, I¡¯m just cool like that. But my tongue grew back.¡± I smiled energetically, really hyping what I was about to say until I noticed the absolutely haunted expression on Brenden¡¯s face. Brenden weakly muttered, ¡°fireblood shit?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± I chuckled. ¡°That was a joke. I was actually doing this.¡± I raised the severed head of the llama creature to everyone¡¯s dismay. He seemed impressed. Desmond pointed generally with an arrow. ¡°Did you, uh, eat the rest of it?¡± I looked down at the mangled carcass next to me. ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t worked up when I killed it, and the shoulders and thighs are mostly, uh¡­ not a soup like the rest of the organs. Here, come take a look, Dee.¡± He cautiously trudged through the grass, weirdly afraid of me. Why are they looking at me like I¡¯m nuts? Am I smiling too much? My heart is racing like crazy. Am I high? Worked up? Eh, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s normal. His eyebrows immediately furrowed. ¡°What the fuck did you do to it? Like, there¡¯s¡­¡± He nudged the corpse with his boot. ¡°I mean, I can work with this, I¡¯ve eaten roadkill before. There¡¯s some flank and back meat too. We can make this work.¡± Brenden put his hands up and shook his head. ¡°Okay, just to be clear, you killed and ate a live animal, and that¡¯s how you got your tongue back?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± I nodded casually, trying to seem like the questioning wasn¡¯t getting to me. ¡°And so eating things heals you?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s weird. Human, or, whatever those little dudes were, their blood does more for me than this animal did. But, it does seem like I can manage on a strictly animal diet. So if we just live normally, and I¡¯m not getting physically mangled all the time, then there¡¯s not much to worry about. I¡¯ll just own a cow, or whatever this world¡¯s cows are. However, until then, I gotta hunt. Holy shit! I feel great right now! I feel normal again. Fuck yeah!¡± I still couldn¡¯t calm my heart or my breath, and my eyes weren¡¯t focusing on anything, still honed in really hard. Desmond eyed me, a skepticism growing inside of him. ¡°Well you look a hell of a lot less thin already. You must¡¯ve really been spent.¡± Brenden nodded. ¡°Alright. That¡¯s not bad. Honestly, I thought it¡¯d be more extreme. But I¡¯m not carrying that back. I only have this set of clothes that isn¡¯t drenched in blood and I wanna keep it mostly clean. Just keep us in the loop if anything changes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan. You wanna get the fire started so we can cook this sucker?¡± He nodded and turned to walk back. I leaned down to grab the corpse, only for my eyes to settle on Desmond, who was staring expectantly. He eyed Brenden until he was out of earshot. Desmond became stern, a way I¡¯d only seen him a few times. ¡°Be real, who am I talking to right now?¡± I let go of the animal and slowly stood straight until I was looking him in the eyes. ¡°You¡¯re talking to me.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Hm-mm. Am I talking to Rowan or Vetia? ¡®Cause you don¡¯t seem like you¡¯re all that sure.¡± ¡°They¡¯re names. Asking for distinction is just playing semantics.¡± ¡°Maybe, but even I know I¡¯m not Desmond anymore. Not the same one I was back home. There¡¯s a lot of overlap, but when I looked at my reflection in the water, my brain had a really hard time wrapping itself around the fact that that was me. It¡¯s probably a lot worse for the rest of ya.¡± Why the fuck does it matter now? I¡¯m fine. ¡°What¡¯s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.¡± He pointed at me casually. ¡°Cut the shit. You¡¯re calling yourself two different ones, like you ain¡¯t figured out which one you are.¡± I chuckled out of frustration. ¡°It¡¯s an adjustment, Desmond.¡± I gestured to myself. ¡°I¡¯ve been hatin¡¯ on this body a lot, but that¡­ kill¡­ it helped. I¡¯m feelin¡¯ a lot better now.¡± I sighed in relief. ¡°¡®This body?¡¯ Bro, that¡¯s you. That¡¯s the hand you were dealt and you gotta play it as best as you can. Cause if you start getting all confused thinking you ain¡¯t who you are, you¡¯re gonna fold before you realize you had a chance to win.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy to say when you aren¡¯t a literal vampire thing.¡± ¡°I can hear, see, smell, and taste every awful and great thing in a twenty mile radius, man. I got shit I¡¯m workin¡¯ on too.¡± He put up a hand in concession. ¡°But hey, I¡¯m not gonna pretend I know what¡¯s up with you, I¡¯m just making sure you ain¡¯t losin¡¯ your mind. You good though? Not confusin¡¯ who or¡­ what you are?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m good. Honestly, I think I just needed to eat. I haven¡¯t had anything since I came here, aside from those organs, and I¡¯ve been getting really messed up.¡± My body was finally calming down, the high wearing off, my speech slowing. ¡°Ugh, sorry, I¡¯m still comin¡¯ down. That¡­¡± I limply pointed to the mutilated corpse. ¡°That is fuckin divine.¡± He furrowed his brows, concerned at me. ¡°Yeah? You¡¯re not gonna make a habit of it, are ya? Ya got crackhead eyes.¡± I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s how I eat now. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯m figurin¡¯ it out.¡± He slapped my back. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re all figurin¡¯ ourselves out, so don¡¯t be a stranger. Come on, let¡¯s clean this and get it back to camp. You may have just eaten but I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ starving after hackin¡¯ up my guts.¡± He grabbed the leg of the carcass and sat down next to it. ¡°Hey, Dee.¡± I hadn¡¯t moved, a lingering fear eating away at me. ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°If I, uh, do happen¡­ to go nuts¡­ uh¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone else could live with themselves¡­ so if I lose my mind and I don¡¯t look like I¡¯m coming back, can you¡­ be the one to kill me?¡± He stopped and stared remorsefully. I could tell from his eyes that he¡¯d already thought about that very thing. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± We gutted and cleaned the mangled remains of the animal, then returned to our friends. 27: Chicken Fried 27 (Zac Brown Band- Chicken Fried) Tells Adam dusted his giant mitts off, having quickly dug a firepit in our little clearing next to the road. Brenden built the fire while we waited for the other two to return. He had a peeved off look on his face, like he was thinking, but things weren¡¯t clicking. He stopped building and cracked his knuckles. ¡°Did you guys know about her? That she¡¯s a fireblood?¡± I shook my head, but Adam turned from grabbing something in the wagon. ¡°We didn¡¯t know enough to be able to spot it. Mother Yearly, or whatever her name was, said some weird stuff, but that¡¯s kind of been how every conversation here has went.¡± Brenden overexcitedly shot up and pointed at Adam. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s exactly it! I have no idea what the fuck is going on anymore! People are talking to us like we know shit, but we don¡¯t know shit.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Speak for yourself, smoothbrain.¡± ¡°Bullshit, you¡¯re definitely in the same confused boat as us.¡± I made an incorrect buzzer sound and crossed my arms. ¡°Can¡¯t be confused if you¡¯re not paying attention to anything.¡± His brows furrowed and his eyes squinted. He was deep in thought, recalling the distant memories of the past week. ¡°Have you talked to anyone?¡± ¡°Yeah. Just don¡¯t overthink it lol.¡± Adam put a whole rotten bulb of fruit in his mouth, wincing while he chewed and spoke. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand half of the shit Mother Yemen was saying. She sounded like my babushka with a somehow thicker accent.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t diss Santa¡¯s number one elf. She puts in work.¡± ¡°I thought Brenden was Santa¡¯s top guy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already so tired of these elf jokes,¡± Brenden whined. I shared a glance with Adam and we both grinned. He slapped Brenden on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Buddy, we¡¯ll get you back to the north pole.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances getting dropped off at the north pole if it means I get to go back to Earth.¡± I stroked my chin intelligently. ¡°No, he¡¯s definitely a south pole elf.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fucking elf! I¡¯m a nyadin or whatever Geren called ¡®em.¡± I whispered to Adam. ¡°He¡¯s an angry elf.¡± Brenden took a deep breath and then broke into a short burst of laughter. ¡°I¡¯m telling Santa on you guys. You¡¯re going straight onto the naughty list.¡± ¡°Erm, actually,¡± Adam corrected, ¡°Santa¡¯s not even real.¡± I turned to Adam with a look of genuine distraught on my face. ¡°What do you mean he¡¯s not real?¡± Brenden stared at Adam in sheer betrayal. ¡°Are you a fucking Santa denier? Dude, I thought you were cool. And then you go and do this?¡± ¡°You guys aren¡¯t being serious, right?¡± Adam glanced between Brenden and I. Damn, didn¡¯t think I was being that convincing. Just then, the treeline stirred as Desmond and Vetia emerged. Adam whipped around with an awkward smile. ¡°You guys don¡¯t think Santa is real, right?¡± Desmond¡¯s expression became a mix of confusion and disdain. ¡°Well yeah, I¡¯ve seen him.¡± ¡°Bullshit.¡± ¡°You keep telling yourself that, bud.¡± Vetia heaved as they both dropped the gutted animal next to the fire pit. ¡°The presents literally say ¡®from Santa.¡¯¡± Adam¡¯s face fell flat, but his lack of a response showed how bad his ongoing existential crisis was. Brenden snorted a little, covering his mouth with his hand. He coughed and hid his face by staring straight down at the fire he was building. Adam turned around, eyes locking onto Brenden and pointing. ¡°No no no! You guys are fucking with me, aren¡¯t you?¡± I walked away from the fire and the carcass to pat Adam on the back. ¡°Adam, you spend way too much time online to not know that one.¡± Adam rubbed his temples. ¡°Kill yourselves, all of you.¡± Mischievous chuckles and laughter broke out through our little camp as we finished setting up, cutting up the meat, and building the fire. Our camp was cozy. A couple logs around the firepit with upside-down crates as our tables, logs as our seats, then a barrel of alcohol set by Brenden and Desmond, like a makeshift bar where we could pour drinks and keep the meat that Desmond was cooking. The bar and kitchen was to my left and I shared a log with Vetia on my right, then Adam on his own log past her. Brenden kicked his feet up on the rocks surrounding the pit, eying us all down while we awaited drinks. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea. You guys tell the group a secret and I¡¯ll pour you a drink. First one is free, but any more and you gotta spill.¡± Adam raised his hand. ¡°Mr. Jace, what if we don¡¯t have any secrets?¡± ¡°Then think of something.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Adam whispered to himself. ¡°Anyone else have questions?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Vetia held out her hand, ¡°why the fuck haven¡¯t you started pouring yet?¡± He dunked one of the wooden steins into the barrel of dark purple alcohol, which smelled aromatic and sweet, with a little bit of tang. When he handed it back to her, she sniffed it and raised her eyebrows with a grunt. ¡°This would be some expensive shit back home. Shiiiiit.¡± She guzzled the stein with the gusto of a true brexit geezer. ¡°THAS A ROIGHT FAHCKIN PINT, INNIT LADS?!¡± Desmond took this as a challenge and reached around Brenden to scoop himself a cup full. He downed it with equal determination, only gagging some up halfway down before truckin¡¯ on through to the end. ¡°BLIMEY-¡± he halted, holding his chest before releasing a wet, resounding burp. ¡°HOLY FOCKIN ¡®ELL MATE!¡± Vetia reeled in place for a moment, reaching across me to shove her stein in Brenden¡¯s face. ¡°OY BRUV, AH FINK AH NEEYD ANUVA O¡¯ YA POP¡¯S A DROWNIN¡¯ PADDY!¡± Brenden returned an equally loud and mocking accent. ¡°I AM A PADDY YA SHINY DOMED BASTARD! MOVE YER FOCKEN PINT OUT ME FACE OR I¡¯LL KICK Y¡¯OUT WITCH YER OWN GAY BOOTS!¡± She recoiled back in dramatic defeat, her horns sticking in the ground as she laid awkwardly over the log. I snatched the cup out of her hand and joined in. ¡°YOU GOT A LOICENSE FO¡¯ DAT PINT?¡± Adam pointed with his mouth wide open. ¡°OY OY OY! AIN¡¯T GOT A DRINKIN¡¯ PERMIT NEIVAH! BOBBY, TOSS ¡®ER INNA THAMES!¡± I grabbed her ankles to hopefully swing them up and flip her, but all I did was shift her from being on the log to laying flat on the ground with her legs over the log. Brenden passed me two steins, one of which went to Adam. Desmond stumbled over and slid flat in the grass, wildly slapping the ground three times and yelling out like a wrestling ref while Adam cheered. ¡°ONE! TWO! THREE! B-¡± he accidentally spit up some wine, but kept it going. ¡°-RIT VAMPIRE IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT YET AGAIN! THE HONEST ABES TAKE ANOTHER MASSIVE WIN!¡± He shot up and celebrated with Adam. Dizzy and confused, Vetia looked back at me. ¡°Does being a vampire make me a Blood?¡± I channeled my Jamaican roots. ¡°Nah mahn, you jus a regulah blud.¡± She giggled wetly, probably fighting back her own vomit. ¡°O shuwa blud! Put it right dea mahn!¡± We fistbumped and I pulled her back onto the log. Desmond tripped back to his seat. ¡°Bro, this fantasy wock got me fucked up!¡± He impatiently held out his cup. ¡°Fill ¡®er up, elf boy.¡± Brenden blocked the barrel of wine. ¡°Give us a fuckin secret and I will.¡± ¡°Uhhhh, my smell is really good.¡± I made an x with my arms. ¡°Fuck. Um,¡± he really racked his brain. ¡°I can hear damn near everything around us at all times. Like I can literally hear your heartbeats.¡± Brenden nodded. ¡°Good enough.¡± He scooped and passed the stein.¡± Vetia was mortified. ¡°Does that mean-¡± Desmond frowned at her. ¡°Yeah. I heard you bangin¡¯.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t even-¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t need to share with the class. The fact that you almost bagged a noble is a little impressive, so we¡¯ll just leave it.¡± Brenden shook his head. ¡°You get an extra just cause you had to hear that.¡± ¡°Raah! Let¡¯s go!¡± Desmond drank even more eagerly. ¡°Oh yeah, I can see shit like really far with mah binocular eyes.¡± ¡°Another.¡± ¡°I am so good at this!¡± He used sticks to pull the greasy sizzling steaks off the rock in the middle of the fire, dropping a couple fresh ones down. He handed the first ones to Adam and me. Vetia cleared her stein and held it out. ¡°When I was a kid, I had a recurring nightmare that I would walk into a Family Guy episode and then Peter and the others would say, ¡®Brian, we need to count your bones.¡¯ Then they would pick me up and chant ¡®Reveal his bones!¡¯ while they carried me into a room with a kiddie pool full of acid that was called the Bone Revealer.¡± Brenden was baffled. ¡°The fuck does that have to do with anything?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Yeah and I used to have nightmares that I was a cat getting chased by Alf. That secret sucked.¡± ¡°Uh, you guys didn¡¯t know it.¡± ¡°Okay, fine, it counts.¡± ¡°Then pour me a drink.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°The fuck you mean, no?¡± ¡°You started at minus one point because you¡¯re a woman.¡± She glared at him, then shared a look with me, shaking her head. ¡°He¡¯s just making up rules now.¡± I nodded. ¡°We were too funny. God knew we¡¯d be too perfect as dudes if our bodies were better. He had to nerf us.¡± ¡°Cheers, I¡¯ll drink to that.¡± She held the empty stein to her lips, then looked down disappointed that it was empty. ¡°Yurrr.¡± I glanced down and finally sipped the wine. It was surprisingly less sweet than I was expecting. A supple and minty aftertaste followed the balance of sweet and tangy fruit flavors, which was almost like a combination of raspberry and blueberry. It paired well with the smoky, tender meat. It was similar to venison, although less rich. The wine was a little strong for me at first, but it went down easily. Strangely, as soon as the wine hit my stomach, I felt a similar hot twinge in my gut like when I got stabbed by the fireblood¡¯s tail in the woods. Adam finished the steak, gristle and all, in less than a minute. ¡°That¡¯s some premium meat right there.¡± Desmond glanced up at him, his dilated eyes struggling to find their target as he had been chugging through his second stein. ¡°That¡¯s what your mom said.¡± Brenden high fived him. ¡°Ayo!¡± Adam ignored him. ¡°Dude, can I have some more?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been running out of- of-¡± he burped, ¡°of food so quickly. You can¡¯t be eating as much. We¡¯re not back on Earth where we can just run to the store real quick. We gotta hunt this shit down.¡± The next slabs of meat were ready, which he gave to himself and Brenden before putting the next little piece on the fire. Vetia¡¯s eyes locked on the steak. ¡°Cook mine blue.¡± After about thirty seconds on either side, it was in her hands. ¡°Yeeeaaaah.¡± Brenden eyed me. ¡°Tells, you haven¡¯t said shit. Give us a secret.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not done with my drink.¡± ¡°Weak. Alright, I got one then. I always thought elves were the dumbest fantasy race.¡± Adam chuckled. ¡°Good thing none of us are elves.¡± ¡°Fuck those dirty knife-ears,¡± I said. Brenden sighed, finishing his stein. ¡°You know what, at least I don¡¯t look like those dudes back in the village.¡± Vetia gnawed her steak while speaking. ¡°Ah leas EUGH-¡± Almost choking, she took the meat out of her mouth. ¡°At least your diet¡¯s still normal. And you don¡¯t have to deal with poison.¡± Brenden put up his hand to stop her. ¡°Hey, having poison at the ready is pretty frickin¡¯ shweet, Lois.¡± Stolen novel; please report. Vetia chuckled. ¡°But Peetah, I don¡¯t need poison unless I¡¯m killing things.¡± Her voice went back to normal. ¡°Like, if we all end up working normal jobs and living normally, the poison tips are just gonna hinder me. Not to mention, my tail has its own unique poison. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s similar to oxy, at least, that¡¯s what I could tell from the animal I killed. Oh, and, that¡¯s a secret, pour me one.¡± She held out her stein and Brenden obliged. ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Desmond leaned forward with a grin. ¡°You¡¯re telling me you¡¯ve got an endless supply of free oxy in your tail?¡± ¡°Fast acting and extremely potent.¡± Desmond held his hands up rubbing his fingers together like he wanted to make money off of it. ¡°Without condemning or condoning, I understand,¡± Adam said. ¡°But we should probably wait a bit and learn the laws before trying to sell black market fireblood poison.¡± He shrugged. ¡°A backup plan is a backup plan.¡± Brenden¡¯s fully sky blue eyes were becoming more consumed by his ever dilating pupils. His deep thought and puzzlement were now even more pronounced by the wine. ¡°How do you know what the animal was feeling when you- like- poisoned it?¡± ¡°Funny you should ask,¡± she was hesitant. ¡°Firstly, I have eyes, but also I can feel the emotions of the people and things around me. Except I actually feel them and I think it¡¯s why I¡¯ve acted a little weird.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Desmond chuckled, ¡°what¡¯m I thinkin¡¯ right now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to know what your uncomfortably horny mind is thinking. Feeling it is already weird enough.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± he seemed genuinely impressed. ¡°Thass jus what wine does to a motherfucker though.¡± His own laughter distracted him from talking. She continued. ¡°Brenden is confused but really, like, lovey happy, Tells is normal, and Adam is really frustrated but hiding it well.¡± Adam¡¯s smile didn¡¯t disappear, but his tone was a little irritated. ¡°I¡¯m just hungry, man.¡± ¡°Ooh,¡± Vetia¡¯s face lit up. ¡°That¡¯s another secret.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah,¡± Brenden smiled stupidly. ¡°It¡¯s on the tab.¡± ¡°Do I get points for exposing other people¡¯s secrets?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± By this point, Vetia and Desmond had just been passing their steins to Brenden and then quickly gorging through them. Desmond imparted his wisdom on us. ¡°Adam, Tells, y¡¯all need to drink more.¡± I took another sip of my drink. ¡°I, uh, don¡¯t think alcohol does anything to me. I got the same feeling as the poison from the fireblood.¡± Brenden squinted, his mouth hanging open. ¡°Is that your secret?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± Adam finally breathed after scarfing down another piece of meat. ¡°Technically, alcohol is poison, so maybe your body is just immune to poisons.¡± Desmond mentally checked back into the conversation, having downed his fourth stein and slurring all his words. ¡°Ya did shrug off ¡®at fireblood poison fum befo too. Maybe ya just, like, immune to everything poison.¡± ¡°I literally just said that,¡± Adam said indignantly. ¡°Who?¡± Desmond was thoroughly shitfaced. ¡°Tells,¡± Vetia impishly leaned into my line of sight, ¡°you should lemme hit you with my tail poison. For science.¡± I contemplated for a moment, then held my forearm out. Suddenly, her tail whipped around and jabbed into the soft part of my elbow, right into my vein. It didn¡¯t stick in long, and I didn¡¯t even feel it. ¡°How did you hit my vei-¡± My mind reeled, like I was falling out of my own body and instant relaxation shot through me, like my mind and my body became separate entities. It took a great deal of effort to finish my sentence as I slurred out the words. ¡°-my veeeiiiiin liike tha?¡± By the end of speaking, though, a flare of heat shot through my gut and I felt like I¡¯d just woken up. A fog persisted in my mind, but I was sober again. ¡°It¡¯s kinda instinct now. Like I can sense the jzammah in your blood.¡± She stared wide-eyed at me, and I couldn¡¯t help being a bit creeped out by how animalistic she seemed. ¡°No shit, you really just shook that poison off like nothing.¡± We all quieted down, taking a few moments to have drinks. Vetia, downing another, dropped her mug. Damn, she¡¯s really putting those back. I didn¡¯t think- oh she¡¯s trying to forget what happened earlier, huh¡­ I passed my stein to her and she drunkenly half-hugged me, happily gesturing at me with my mug. ¡°This is why we party together.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Yeah, sorry bout earli-¡± She whirled back in disappointment, almost launching the stein away. ¡°I JUS TOL YO WHYY WE PARTY BRO!¡± Then she leaned in, unable to keep her eyes open while she talked to me. ¡°Iss ovah man. I¡¯m sicka dat bitch!¡± She finally opened her eyes, bobble-heading around at us. ¡°Oh ahm fuuuuckt. Hehehehe. BAHTENDA MOOOORRE!¡± Brenden was catching up. ¡°You aven¡¯ even finisht that one ya dumb bitch.¡± Desmond¡¯s face wrinkled like he¡¯d shit out a handful of thumbtacks. He tried looking at her, but couldn¡¯t focus on a thing. ¡°¡®N stop ya fucken screamin¡¯ woman, Jesus Christ!¡± ¡°Ahm not screamin ya fuggin tard!¡± She screamed. I leaned over and whispered to her. ¡°Pop your ears.¡± She flexed her jaw weirdly for a second, then her whole face opened up and she smiled, nodding at me. Adam finally finished eating and sat back, casually sipping his drink. Brenden scooped himself another half-drink and leaned forward, silently staring into the fire. I talked across the fire to Adam. ¡°How many do you think it¡¯ll take for you?¡± He looked into the cup and chuckled. ¡°Too many. Just like it¡¯s always been. Guess we¡¯re kinda in the same boat.¡± Brenden piped up. ¡°Yeah man, is takin¡¯ wayyy tooo many fr¡¯ me ta get used to this.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded confidently at him, ¡°dude you got like five more in you.¡± ¡°No no no no no, I mean, like¡­¡± His pupils dilated, taking up the entirety of his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m fuckt, buh like, sometin differen is goin on now.¡± Adam scratched his neck. ¡°As in?¡± ¡°Ionno if issa new thing ¡®r whaaa, but I¡¯m, like feelin shit and seein¡¯ shit without seein or feelin it.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°I feel you, bro.¡± ¡°Nah man, you shou draw dis shi fah me so I remembah it.¡± Adam chuckled. ¡°Yeah, Tells, 3D model his drunken ramblings.¡± ¡°Brenden,¡± I started, ¡°that¡¯s a great idea. I see exactly what you mean. Cause you¡¯re feeling and seeing, right? I know all about feeling and seeing shit.¡± ¡°Don you fuckin¡¯ patronize me you rat fuck. I ain¡¯t kiddin, this shit¡¯s actually like, beautiful n shit.¡± Vetia leaned forward, speaking in a mysterious whisper. ¡°D¡¯you see em? Feel em? The voiceless voices?¡± He nodded. ¡°I dunno what you mean, but I kinda get it, y¡¯know?¡± She smirked slyly. ¡°Bein¡¯ able to sense things withou seein¡¯ ¡®em? Knowin¡¯ what they are? The glowin¡¯ lights like a ring aroun the world?¡± ¡°Wha?¡± He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Nah, I still gotta see em.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± she sat back and sighed, clearly pondering something but not effectively. ¡°Cool.¡± Adam groaned. ¡°Why do you guys get all the cool powers? I wanna see and do cool shit too.¡± I took personal offense to that. ¡°Bro, you are not complaining about having no powers while having superhuman strength next to literally just a generic woman.¡± ¡°But, like, okay, we¡¯re in the same boat though! I wanted magic too! And you can¡¯t get poisoned!¡± I stared blankly at him. ¡°Have another drink. Have fun. Then look me in the eyes and say that again.¡± Desmond waved his empty stein as if to make a point, like he was fed up with us. ¡°Powers ain¡¯t all they chalked up to be, homeslice. God, why¡¯s everyone just bitching aboutcha bodies n shit! I¡¯m so fuggin tired of it! Get ovah it! Get used ta it! We stuck like this!¡± Adam ripped through another slice of steak. ¡°Says the human.¡± Desmond stood up, whipping his stein around at everyone as he spoke. ¡°Adam! Yous a fuckin big orc wi bigass muscles! Fuck off wi¡¯ that fuckin boo hoo shit! Brenden, I know you¡¯re an elf and I give ya hell for it, but damn man, you¡¯re prolly gonna be swimmin in elf pussy once we find one of their places. Vetia¡­ you wa jus hangry, but you got hella poison and vampire suckin n shi¡­ das cool as hell, man. Tells, we chillin. You been chillin¡¯ dis whole time. You been fresh. I¡¯m jus sayin, fellas, it ain¡¯ as over as we thought it was.¡± Adam shrugged. ¡°If you think about it, having a fireblood that can attract prey is really useful for having a steady supply of meat.¡± Desmond pointed more fervently. ¡°Das what I mean! We all got shit we can use! Ah don¡¯ know! We can fuck off t¡¯ some cornah of the world ¡®n chill. We got healin, fire, probly more. Adam can lif heavy things. We gah somethin, guys.¡± ¡°I wanna go to wizard school!¡± Vetia blurted out. ¡°You think they got Harry Potter type shit or d¡¯ya think its cooler here?¡± Brenden latched onto that idea real quick. ¡°I dunno,¡± she shrugged while struggling to make her finger glow, ¡°prolly some dumb shit about learning symbols. I doubt they¡¯d let a fireblood into magic school, though.¡± ¡°Not with an attitude like that.¡± Desmond turned his finger glowing red with jzanmah and cackled. The three drunks suddenly began a race. Brenden and Desmond tried the fire sigil to no avail, while Vetia failed numerous times at one I wasn¡¯t familiar with, like a rectangle of light that she couldn¡¯t maintain focus on. Adam quickly traced the fire sigil he¡¯d seen the others do before, chuckling as he ignited his finger and extinguished it with a verbal ¡°tssssss¡± on his pec. Brenden and Desmond started yelling like drunken and incoherent Bostonians while Vetia continued her hyperfixation. None of those three managed to form a sigil, even after several strenuous attempts. After a little while, the bar and grille duo started singing ¡°American Pie¡± together, and we all joined in for the melancholy amusement. Desmond must have been itching to sing it, because he didn¡¯t miss a word or a beat, and when Brenden didn¡¯t know the words, he hummed the tune to Desmond¡¯s singing. They both seemed surprised by their skill when we moved on. The whole song had been in English without anyone realizing it. Being the only sober one, I noticed and tried thinking, or even speaking in English, but it didn¡¯t come back to me. I could repeat phrases, things, and songs, but I couldn¡¯t string a new sentence together in our old language. And a bunch of creeping thoughts always found a way back into my head. I don¡¯t belong here. This fire is made of wood from trees I¡¯ve never seen before a week ago. Jzanmah still makes no sense. My friends have become what I would have called monsters if they were back on Earth. We¡¯d be detained and experimented on or something stupid probably. And everything I ever thought about how life works, everything I¡¯ve been told, everything I believe, I don¡¯t know if it makes sense and I don¡¯t know what to do now that I know this is what my life is gonna be¡­ Dad wouldn¡¯t lie to me, but a tale passed down from generations, from a time on Earth where the world was more like this, how could they have known what was true or not? Were they just telling stories or was there something more? They took off into ¡°Piano Man¡± next, on a high after Desmond¡¯s last perfect recreation. It was a collection of humming and mumbling little parts we knew while Desmond sang, then a burst of drunken voices joining for each chorus. Vetia¡¯s hand reached around me, pulling me into her gentle side-sway. Her eyes were exhausted, her gentle, but aggressively firm hand guiding me back and forth like she was desperately clinging to something that only we could give her. As her head bobbled from not being able to hold it up straight anymore, her lackadaisical smile and sly eyes pulled me back into the moment. Adam let his head hang, lightly tapping his foot to the beat, but clearly off in his own distant, deeply contemplative place. He wasn¡¯t sitting like Adam. Hunched over, uncomfortably scrunched up, his eyes turned up to meet mine for a second like he was searching for a distraction, then when all he saw was real life, they went right back to the ground. Brenden kept blinking rapidly, pulling things out of his eyes and awkwardly fidgeting with his ears, feeling his wiry frame more than I¡¯d ever seen him care about his appearance. He hummed and sang with a low, melancholy tone, like he was coming to terms with the inevitable. His eyelids were barely staying open, but he had the same jitters as before, a constant worry in the forefront of his mind. And Desmond bellowed out with more heart than I¡¯d seen him put into anything, like his soul was burning for something he¡¯d never see. His gray, exhausted eye sockets drooped and he twitched or reacted at every little sound or shape around him. His nose scrunched miserably whenever the smoke drifted toward him. But the whole time, his eyes were shut, singing louder than he could think. After enough time, Desmond conked out from drinking too much and the world relaxed to crackling fire, gentle night breezes, and brushing leaves. He was slumped forward over his cup, completely passed out. We cleaned up and threw him in his tent. The other drunkards went into their tents to sleep, so I stayed out to keep watch despite how tired I was. It was just Vetia and I next to the fire. I tapped her on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not going to sleep?¡± ¡°Firebloods don¡¯t sleep.¡± She smirked. ¡°I guess that makes me the firekeeper.¡± ¡°What do you do?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Being up with nothing to do really makes me confront those big philosophical questions and things I¡¯ve been keeping down. What do you do when you¡¯re up at night?¡± ¡°Go on my phone, or something. Since I¡¯ve been here, nothing. But I started praying a lot more.¡± ¡°What about?¡± ¡°Everything. What¡¯s the point? Why am I like this? Why are we all like this? Is He still listening? Is God even here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if somebody who looks like a caricature of a devil is one to talk on religion,¡± she chuckled at herself and sighed, ¡°but I¡¯ve, uh, I¡¯ve been asking a lot of similar things. Not to God necessarily, just whoever¡¯s listening. Who knows, there might literally be gods here. But so far it seems like I¡¯m the only one who hears me. I haven¡¯t gotten any answers, though. Only questions.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to live normally like this? Can I? I think about possible futures for myself. Jobs, friends, relationships, settling down. And then it¡¯s nothing but more questions. I don¡¯t know how possible all that is for me, but I wanna try making it work. Make the best with what I got, I guess. I thought I had it bad last life. I was just a short guy. Now I¡¯m a fuckin¡­ I still barely know what I am. I feel like it¡¯s all I fuckin¡¯ talk about anymore and I just wanna move on from it, but it¡¯s all I think about, it¡¯s my entire life now. I-I-¡± She breathed out slowly, precisely. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to find a silver lining, a bright side, just one. But all I¡¯ve gotten is hurt. I feel like I¡¯m not even in charge of my own emotions and thoughts, like my body is tugging me around where it needs me because I don¡¯t live like a normal person anymore.¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re you. You¡¯re learning yourself. That¡¯s a good start.¡± ¡°Are you trying to sound like your dad?¡± ¡°He raised me. What do you expect?¡± ¡°Touche.¡± She idly tapped on the soft part of her wing. ¡°What do you wanna do here?¡± ¡°Same as last time, I guess.¡± ¡°As in¡­¡± ¡°Have a house. A job or¡­ a farm, now. Have some kids once I find a wif- a- a¡­¡± my eyes crept down to my hands. My hands. The tanned, feminine hands, the light brown hair gently falling over my shoulders. Nausea gripped my mind and I didn¡¯t want to keep my eyes open. I leaned forward, pinching the bridge of my nose, now realizing that my whole life plan would be different. A warm, comforting hand rested on my back. ¡°Yeah. I know that feeling.¡± I let my forehead fall into my hand and rested my eyes. ¡°Was it¡­ What was it like¡­ with a guy.¡± She laughed, speaking slowly, precisely, exactly to her thoughts. ¡°Scared the shit outta me at first, but after a certain point, after a few anxiety attacks and moments where I felt like I was back in high school, hormones going nuts crushing on Jade, it became effortless. When I slowly started leaning into it, probably thanks to my weird sense, it became¡­ comforting¡­ I felt hopeful¡­ like I was comfortable in my own skin and I didn¡¯t have to worry about being judged.¡± ¡°Which way do you think you¡¯re swinging now?¡± ¡°Honestly, what I thought I wanted, what I thought I was into, wasn¡¯t what I turned out to be into. It¡¯s weird. I don¡¯t have to be the strong one making moves or faking like I¡¯ve got everything under control to be loved. It just¡­ happened, free of much effort. But I¡¯m still hesitant. Sure, it helped that he¡¯s a handsome guy, but I didn¡¯t want to go further because I know how that went in my last life. Maria wasn¡¯t even my first girlfriend, but it¡­ relationships just felt a little different after we popped our cherries... after we broke up. I got with a couple girls after, tried some new things, but I was always comparing, trying to find that same feeling. It wasn¡¯t bad, and it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t love them, but that tiny little piece wasn¡¯t there, that shared experience, the special moment of losing our innocence together. I always wished I could go back and do things slower even if I ended up alone. This time, I wanna wait until¡­¡± she breathed out, coming to terms with her own thoughts.¡± Until I find the man I¡¯ll spend my life with. I want to savor it now that I know, now that I¡¯m actually, technically a real born-again virgin.¡± I raised my head. ¡°Hey, I thought I was the Bible thumper.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Earth was different. Dude, Tarynn didn¡¯t wanna even kiss until after, like, however many days of hospital dates. Maybe that was a fluke, I don¡¯t know, but it was really nice, refreshing, to just get to know him. Back home, it felt impossible to find a middle ground. Like everyone was screwin with everyone and if you didn¡¯t get in on it, you¡¯d get left behind until all you had to choose from were single mothers or college girls who had just got done ¡°finding themselves¡± through hookup apps and the virgins became insufferable terminally online incels. No offense.¡± ¡°Truth don¡¯t offend.¡± ¡°I know that¡¯s not actually how it was everywhere, but take it from a ¡°short king,¡± hoeflation and porn really fucked up the dating scene. That¡¯s why I was always tryna getcha off your computer.¡± She smirked, shaking her head. ¡°What a fuckin¡¯ culture shock this place is. You got good intuition. Don¡¯t rush it, but don¡¯t close yourself off either. And for the love of God, go places to meet people wherever we end up. Meet people, have fun, and fall in love or some bullshit.¡± She sighed with a chuckle. ¡°The thought of getting pregnant is still beyond horrifying to me, but life is about getting used to it or getting over it, I guess. How else can we move forward?¡± I gazed up at the distant galaxy illuminating the world. ¡°If you got a chance to start fresh on another planet, another random world up in that galaxy up there, random place, stats, body, everything¡­ would you take it now, knowing it could be way better or way worse than this?¡± She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. ¡°A bit on the nose, no?¡± ¡°Wouldja?¡± She stared into the fire in thought. ¡°Would I be alone, without you guys?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°No. You?¡± ¡°Nah, I need you guys to talk to people for me.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll do better in this world than the last one.¡± I snickered. ¡°You trippin.¡± A quick breath escaped her nose. ¡°You say that now, but just you wait. I got a hunch.¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever you say.¡± We sat in comfortable silence, staring at the fire and taking in the cool, peaceful realm of night until I finally got too drowsy to keep my eyes open. I got up. ¡°G¡¯night.¡± ¡°Night.¡± 28: Paradise City 28 (Guns ¡®N Roses- Paradise City) Brenden Simultaneous incredible cold infinitely large voids. Simultaneous incredible heat infinitesimally small flashes. Beginendcycle for newoldexisting. Endlessfinite peppering of frigidscalding speckles until slowly consumedenticedaccepted and made warmcoolequilibrium again. No sight. All around is nothingeverything but not tasteseehearsmelltouch except for indistinguishable silvergreenetherealnextbeyond glowgateholepath. Falling Or grabbed¡­ pulledbeckoneddrawn(?) to endless darkness. Orbs of decayfinitelifelight dazzled around me. onehundredsthousandsmillionsinnumerableall of them. Around is limitedendlessexplodingexpanding. Orbs risefloatretreat(?) or I felldraggedembraced(?). Directionless, gravityless, AWAYBAD from silvergreenetherealnextbeyond glowgateholepath and decayfinitelifelight orbs. Graspholdseal won¡¯t free for guiltfaultsorrowcryyearnpridedesperationlove. Orbs become spectacle of orbiting stars, walledmagnetizedblockedstoreddrawn from silvergreenetherealnextbeyond glowgateholepath, I submergefalllevitatebreathheartbeat. Bathedimprisonedpreserved in blood(?) childbabyessence of growthfinitelifelight in womb(?) warmfreecontained release(?). Blissreleasenothingpeace forbackbeside oneevery (day week month year decade century millennium eon timeless in)finite begin in nothingeverything I woke up, beads of cold sweat on my forehead and a feeling I could only describe as floating and absent in my own body, like my mind was slowly trickling back to itself. I needed a few moments to breathe, to return mentally from whatever I just experienced. This dream returned every night, the same dream I had before waking in this world for the first time. The scariest part was how real it all felt. It was like nothing I¡¯d ever experienced, but I was both terrified of it and desperate to know more. I always woke up disoriented and confused, needing a few minutes to recollect and grasp what was going on. I was restless and groggy, like I didn¡¯t sleep at all. I pondered this dream for hours while silently keeping the corties on the road on our way into Vehfirn. Three more days of travel came and went simply enough. No roadblocks, no bandits, no merchants. We passed one wagon going to Poikla Village, but we only shared a simple nod as we moved along. The corties just kept trotting along, murring louder when they were hungry or tired. Corties were very simple creatures with odd temperaments. They didn¡¯t get aggressive at all, but they got prickly at times. They would simply stop moving and grudgingly jerk on the reins if I didn¡¯t stop when they wanted to eat. They would also frequently try mounting each other at night, so whoever was up had to whip their backs to stop a fight. This stopped being a problem once we separated them. I was initially uneasy about whipping the corties because I didn¡¯t want to hurt them, but corty whips were more like paddles on a string. Like an extended slap. What was odd was how easy they were to manage, because a heavy slap on the back was all it took to get them back to normal. However, when slapped, they¡¯d reflexively kick a leg out in the direction of the slap, explaining why the whip was necessary. Soon enough, we were passing farmhouse after farmhouse, separated by lush fields of crops and grazing animals. On the farthest outskirts laid pastures of dense shrub fields surrounded with fences constructed out of entire logs of the gigantic trees, easily twenty feet high. Within these sprawling pastures, small herds of those giant mammoths slept in the grass. I noticed that wherever the large ones slept, they kept the end of their satellite shaped trunk on the back of their sleeping young. And one of the herd always had two of its six eyes remaining open, keeping watch over the fields. Compared to the one from the forest, they were fatter, with varying hues of tan to black, long haired bodies. The watcher¡¯s mousy ears followed me while I asked a passing farmer how far from the city we were. The farmer kindly answered that it wasn¡¯t much longer and bode us well. The quiet and still morning was greeted early by more of these farmers going out to tend to their fields. They obviously didn¡¯t know us but almost every one kindly waved or nodded to our passing wagon. They were all human, or jorlad, as far as I could tell. Most of them had pale to tanned warm skin tones with pale eyes and vibrant blond or brown hair. The height differences shocked me the most, with many ranging from between five and eight feet tall. Interspersed throughout the grazing fields were rows upon rows of orchards. The trees were mostly needle trees or the ones that had thicker, tubular leaves. Fuzzy purple berries grew off the ends of every needle, easily falling off and clinging to whatever passing animal brushed the needles. Across the road was a field of trees with tube leaves, whose long green fruits grew in the center of tube clusters almost like it was camouflaged by its own leaves. Little eyeless creatures roamed inside these orchards, hopping along on stubby bird legs and flapping up some branches to peel back the bark with their anteater-like mouths, likely searching for insects. Further off toward the city, a set of hills seemed to sway like waves as the morning sun shimmered off of the pink and green grass. A single, massive willow-esque tree grew out of the top of one hill which was just out of sight from what seemed to be a stone fortress. The stone walls and ramparts rose high above the distant city and farmland. Bright orange banners billowed from the ramparts in the brisk late-summer winds. The design, the crest was stark white, depicting seven hands thrusting a sword upward toward the sun. Behind the walls I spotted a sprawling manor of light walls and dark wooden accents. Further in, the fields became more compact. Some were densely lined with crops of withering green stalks. There were smaller fields with rows of fence posts where human-sized insectoids of bronze, gold, and brassy colors sat by water wheels in the river which slowly turned, spinning spools of shiny metallic material from their backsides. I asked a farmer as we passed, and he said they were brzzit. They were well-regarded in the countryside because they loved hosting community storytelling banquets and they¡¯d ¡°weave you an outfit just for sap and a story for them to weave to, longer and better stories for lasting and better clothes, and those clothes sure are pretty, like your whole story is in ¡®em.¡± The brzzit casually conversed and worked with jorlad and other brzzit and the occasional yeffen who unrolled the material to dry on the fence posts out in the fields. There were dense pink and green bushes which seemed to have rigid, pyramid shaped hard-shelled fruits or nuts. Every crop I¡¯d seen in Poikla were also grown here, along with the bioluminescent grains which lined the road. Animals the size of cows and pigs roamed in the grassy fields. They seemed to have no fur, just heavy stores of fat that made them appear as walking logs of pale yellow. Like pigs, their body transitioned from body to head with no neck. Their downturned noses and droopy mouths were basically lawn mowers with how quickly they ripped up and ate the grass and excess materials that the farmers were throwing into massive wooden troughs. A bowl-like mound of bone extended from the top of it¡¯s skull, from between the downturned ears to the blubbery snout that was dripping snot. The farmers tending to them referred to them as farns. The noises that came from them were as hideous as they were. As if a chicken bocked with the vocal cords of a pig. ¡°-pretty sure ¡®human¡¯ isn¡¯t how we understand it,¡± I tuned into Vetia¡¯s explanation. ¡°It¡¯s like an all-encompassing term for the intelligent races that make up ¡®humanity¡¯ more as a concept in this world. And each race has its own classification within the general population.¡± Desmond frustratedly attempted to crack his knuckles, not getting even a single pop. ¡°You got all that just from talking with Gary?¡± ¡°Eh, I can¡¯t think of any other reason for the communication barrier.¡± I slapped the side of the wagon a few times. ¡°Yo! We¡¯re getting close to the city. We should pro-¡± Vetia leapt up to the front of the wagon and marveled at the farmland, her starry eyes tracing the horizon to the manor on the hill. ¡°Yo, it¡¯s like, actually a medieval city! Holy shit, that fortress is awesome!¡± Adam climbed to the other side of me, lurching the wagon with every move he made. ¡°Honestly, it looks more renaissance than anything. But still really cool. They¡¯ve got some pretty organized farmland too. Really thorough crop rotations and irrigation. Even though the homes look poor, they¡¯re still really well made.¡± I pushed them both back into the wagon. ¡°Step back now, y¡¯all. The corties can barely pull the wagon right with you up here, Adam. And Vets, watch your wings for once. Guys, we discussed this a little already. Be discreet, don¡¯t show our faces until we know what¡¯s up. The crazy bitch could have alerted guards to keep eyes on us coming in. Not saying the farmers are gonna rat on us, just the less people that see us, the better. At least until we can get supplies and directions or a map to the next place.¡± They both returned to their seats until Vetia started leaning her head out the back to try and see around the wagon at every opportunity. I glanced back. ¡°Did you guys think of rules yet? Desmond? You said you had a few in mind. Desmond leaned back and sighed. ¡°Yeah, um, rules. This is basically just common sense, but stick together. One other person with you at all times. Nobody goes anywhere alone, especially the bitch who ain¡¯t listening. Ay!¡± He whistled loudly. She was still looking out the side. ¡°Yeah, what?¡± ¡°Are you?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She pulled herself back in the wagon. ¡°I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ listening, just keep talking. I¡¯m not stupid or deaf.¡± She started climbing back to her spot. ¡°Exposure, dumbass.¡± Desmond, grabbed her tail with his glove and yanked her backward. ¡°Ow! You fucking dick!¡± Vetia stumbled backward, turning around and whipping her tail back. Once she righted herself, she held her tailbone and whined with a pathetic look. ¡°That fuckin¡¯ hurts!¡± ¡°Dipshit. Look at yourself. You got wings and horns and shit. Look at all those other people. They¡¯re all normal humans or bugs and you¡¯ve got dragon wings and red eyes and hair! You¡¯re also way paler. Stay outta sight. Same shit goes for Adam and Brenden, except they didn¡¯t go ahead and piss off a noble. You guys stick out like sore thumbs here. Keep a low profile.¡± She crossed her arms and retracted her horns, wings, and tail. ¡°Better?¡± ¡°Yeah. A lot better. Now keep your head in or I¡¯ll pull your hair next time.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been itching to.¡± ¡°Fuck around and find out. I dare ya.¡± Adam sighed. ¡°You were saying?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. Second thing. Don¡¯t pipe up with your bullshit. Keep the language clean and don¡¯t do anything stupid. We don¡¯t know what kinda social rules these people got. Simira was pretty chill for a noble, so I¡¯m thinking it won¡¯t be a biggie, but we still gotta feel things out.¡± Vetia snickered and rolled her eyes. ¡°Chill. Yeah.¡± Desmond put his hand up at her to stop. ¡°She was pretty reasonable up until the end, all things considered. Okay?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see shit.¡± He sighed and bit his tongue. ¡°Fuck it. That¡¯s all I got. Adam, you said you had something in mind.¡± Adam sat up like he was giving a presentation and pushed up an imaginary set of glasses. ¡°So, our knowledge of this world is extremely limited. I think it would benefit us to watch what other people do to figure out what is normal. We need to learn what we should eat, how much the money is worth, and what the proper way to conduct ourselves is. Nutritional value isn¡¯t the important thing in eating. We want the simplest things, so whatever this world¡¯s equivalent to bread and cheese is, then the grains, roots, vegetables and fruits, then-¡± ¡°Fruits and vegetables,¡± Tells interrupted him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nobody says vegetables and fruits. It¡¯s fruits and vegetables.¡± ¡°I was listing them in order of importance.¡± ¡°Well, what about meat?¡± He straightened his mouth and took a breath. ¡°As I was going to say, meat is probably more of a luxury, maybe even inaccessible to people with as little money as us, as was the case in many places in our history, especially in pre-industrialized cities. Eggs, we can probably find if there are domesticated animals that produce them readily, however, we have yet to see many avian, so-¡± Vetia piped up. ¡°Wait, Adam, who''s to say the birds are the ones with eggs here. It¡¯s more surprising that so many of these creatures are mammalian at all. Vertebrates are expected to a degree, but I¡¯d bet large arthropods are more prevalent here than on Earth, cause there¡¯s some pretty big ones out there. Not to mention reptiles and amphibians within the vertebrates. There could be entirely different sources of protein from different domesticated classes of animals in general.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point, I¡¯ve seen a couple-¡± I was getting tired of it. ¡°Guys, we don¡¯t need to hypotheticalize about everything. We¡¯ll see what they got when we get there. So get to the point.¡± ¡°Erm¡­ yeah, this is true. Money. We¡¯ll buy food, so we can learn that then, and maybe some customs. We should introduce ourselves as nearby foreigners from an independent unnamed homestead past Poikla, which has been largely disconnected from society. That wouldn¡¯t be improbable for a place as technologically lacking as here.¡± Tells raised her hand. ¡°Teacher! Mr. Brenden Fitzgerald Jace sir?¡± ¡°What the fuck are you-¡± I sighed. ¡°Yes, Tells?¡± ¡°Should the rest of the class be using their magical powers in public.¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s dumb that I don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°Have you tried?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably dangerous if you¡¯re not born a wizard like the two of you were.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°Should we see if we can find a library or something? Somewhere we can learn some history or just general information about this country or empire or whatever?¡± Desmond shook his head and winced. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s gonna be easy or doable. Sims made it sound like education and books are pretty expensive and or tough to come by unless you¡¯re high status.¡± ¡°And we have no verification for our educations,¡± Vetia added, ¡°which aren¡¯t even fully applicable here. Tells computer sciences? Probably worthless. My archeology and the little bit of biology is gonna be really limited because it¡¯s all Earth related. Desmond¡¯s probably got the best bet with his engineering, but even that may be limited depending on how implemented jzanmah is into the technology here. People skills and common sense are probably gonna be our biggest assets here.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Desmond trailed off in thought for a moment. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll follow up on that lead from Gary with one of you, probably Brenden. We wanna keep you and Adam in the wagon, then Tells can hang out just to be the ¡®normal¡¯ one in case questions are asked. At least until we can find a place to stay.¡± Tells squinted at Desmond. ¡°Why the knife ear?¡± ¡°Simira seemed to regard him in the same way as you and me, unlike Adam and Vetia. And between you and him, he can hold a conversation with a stranger.¡± Desmond jumped up with a thought. ¡°Oh! Also, we don¡¯t split up until we have a meeting point. If we get lost and can¡¯t find each other, we¡¯re gonna be shit out of luck. I haven¡¯t been in a city yet, but your scents probably won¡¯t be easy to pick up. Actually, fuck it. Each of you give me something with your scent on it. I¡¯ll put it in my backpack in case I need to track you down.¡± Bags rustled as everyone, myself included, rifled through our belongings. Tells¡¯ voice was first. ¡°Here¡¯s a sweat rag from a week ago. It¡¯s been sitting in my bag because there¡¯s nowhere to wash anything.¡± Regret immediately washed over Desmond¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get a different pouch for all of this if it¡¯s going to be nothing but nasty old clothes and shit.¡± Vetia spoke next. ¡°I have a piece of cloth that my wings ripped from my shirt. Do you want me to rub it on my neck? That might make it more potent.¡± ¡°Honestly, it reeks without you even doing that.¡± Adam¡¯s deep voice matched the rugged tone of the wagon wheels on dirt. ¡°I¡¯ve got the shirt I was wearing when I went out lifting all those trees. Is that stinky enough for you?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to say it like that.¡± Desmond covered his nose and dropped everything into different pockets of a bag that looked like a fanny pack. ¡°Alright Brenden, whatchu got?¡± I honestly didn¡¯t know. I hadn¡¯t changed clothes, as gross as that was. But then again, hygiene wasn¡¯t something we exactly had the luxury of worrying about. ¡°Here you go.¡± I untied my hair and pulled the twine I had been using to keep it up, dropping it in his hand. ¡°Can one of you cut me off a little piece of string again.¡± Desmond bagged the tie and a pair of hands started combing through my hair. ¡°Ponytail, bun, or braid?¡± Tells¡¯ bored and monotone voice popped in right behind my head. She chuckled. ¡°Unless you wanna be the first elf with cornrows.¡± ¡°Definitely not that. I don¡¯t know. Just pull the front stuff back so it doesn¡¯t get in my eyes.¡± Her hands wove through my hair gently, but pulled different parts and tightly intertwined them until all of the hair was off my face. She quickly made a tight top-braid. ¡°Since when the hell can you braid hair?¡± Her hands kept weaving, but I could feel her looking at me like I was stupid. ¡°My parents were constantly working? I had to take care of my brothers and sisters, so I ended up learning to do their hair, cause good luck getting Bianca to do a fuckin¡¯ thing for anyone.¡± She finished braiding and tied it off after a few minutes of silence. It was an oddly relaxing experience that I never would have had before. A finger tapped my shoulder. ¡°Brenden, turn around.¡± It was Vetia. ¡°Yeah, what?¡± I turned my head around and saw Tells, Adam and Vetia staring directly at me, looking hard. ¡°What the fuck are you looking at?¡± Vetia was nodding, pointing toward me. ¡°See, he looks like Legolas, but¡­ browner, and if Legolas had a kid with a gray alien.¡± Adam was looking toward me like he was investigating something. ¡°Like your hair is still black, but why is it so shiny?¡± Vetia reached up and pointed right at it. ¡°Yeah, no, look at that. It¡¯s kind of, hmm, silvery. Like metallic shiny but in a good way, not gross or oily.¡± ¡°And in came Tells with a steel chair!¡± Tells slammed me with her shoulder, knocking me off the seat, then doubled down and aggressively grabbed at my chest, shocks of pain shooting through my contorted nipples. Adam yelled out, ¡°Yeah! Beat his ass, Tells!¡± ¡°Get your hands off me, woman!¡± I batted her conniving fingers away and slipped out from under, quickly crawling back up to my spot at the head of the wagon. Upon seeing that, Desmond smiled and raised his hands. ¡°Hey, Ve-¡± She didn¡¯t even need him to finish that sentence. ¡°I will fucking kill you.¡± Desmond cackled mischievously. I groaned, a little frustrated. ¡°I get it, we¡¯re hot now. But Desmond even if they were the boys before, there¡¯s new lines that even you should respect.¡± Desmond loudly groaned. ¡°Oh my God it was a joke, you white knight. She¡¯s not gonna fuck you.¡± Vetia raised a finger, sounding a little genuinely offended. ¡°Are you saying Tells and I aren¡¯t part of the boys anymore?¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t¡­ but-¡± ¡°Erm.. it¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t but-¡± she mocked in a nerdy voice. ¡°Nah, once one of the boys, always one of the boys. Simple as.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, whatever.¡± The farms became spaced-out cottages, then two-to-three floor rather nice townhouses as we approached the city. With the cottages, began streetlights, gentle orange crystals atop bronze posts which were probably beautiful at night. On a branch of every post was a light orange banner, just like the ones on the massive fortress. Just on the edge of the city proper, the road diverged and a post divided the roads. To the left was the Amien Quarter and to the right was the Hallax Quarter. We were already entering through the Amien Quarter, whose spacious buildings of dark wood and streets lined with trees, shrubs, and flowers made the city feel less¡­ city-like. They were old and unmaintained, but had simply pretty natural designs on the corners and roof edges. In the rickety glass pane windows were wooden planters with vibrant arrangements of herbs and flowers which we passed too quickly for me to see clearly. The whole place felt like a synergized fusion of dark wooden urban construction and colorful, natural splendor. The people seemed to be in high spirits, though, carrying baskets to and from the market in a lush square far up the road where spirited voices carried all the way down to us. The guards, clad in brass half plate with light orange underclothes, carried mostly simple curved scimitars. A crest on their shoulders and chest depicting seven arms holding a sword piercing the sun. The plates themselves were leaflike and curled up slightly at the tips. Higher ranking guards had tassels with different colored gems adorning the sides of their helmets, hanging from hooks by their ear slots. The higher the rank, the more tassels there were. Everyone, even the poorest people, were carrying some kind of weapon. Even the ones who weren¡¯t obviously carrying had subtle dents or bulges along their waistlines. The guards¡¯ disdainful stares were met with equal eyes from the people. I pulled the corties right, and gazed up the road at buildings of copper, then bronze, then brass, then a gate to a segregated subdistrict that glistened with bright gold. The people walking the streets ahead were all decked out in similarly colored shiny clothes according to where they lived. Robes and jewelry galore. Everyone eyed our wagon and noticed me, quickly turning their eyes away. The place had a similar feeling of attempted natural inclusion, but the buildings were tightly packed, so it seemed more cluttered and the plant life didn¡¯t have anywhere to grow from. There were still plenty of trees, but the copper and bronze buildings which were brighter and shinier were more tightly packed with people who seemed like they were all avoiding eye contact with each other. They were busy eying the ground to avoid the waste which was forming puddles over the clogged sewer grates. Fuck, the Amien Quarter looks way nicer. Why¡¯d we have to get on Simira¡¯s bad side? Well, there¡¯s sure to be other nice places past this city. ¡°New rule,¡± I yelled back, ¡°we don¡¯t go anywhere near the Amien Quarter.¡± 29: Paradise City Part 2 29 (Guns ¡®N Roses- Paradise City) Desmond I was hoping that a world with magic would have cities that wouldn¡¯t remind me of the worst parts of the ones from Earth. Unfortunately, this part of the Hallax Quarter before the shinier metallic sections was more ghetto than I expected. Cramped darkwood workhouses and crumbling townhouses accented with copper littered the sun bleached area. They weren¡¯t more than three stories tall, but they consumed entire blocks. It reeked of waste and I didn¡¯t even need my nose to see which buildings were drug dens. There were sewer grates and sewage channels that seemed like the disposal points for waste, but the rotting piles of feces beneath certain windows said all I needed to know about how well the sewers were functioning. The people who lived in this quarter were mostly human, or jorlad, if the difference even mattered here. The occasional yeffen roamed, but even the poorest, dirtiest people distanced themselves from yeffen. The people living here were all either ghostly pale or cool dark tones. Higher up, funnily enough, were a lot of bug people. Ahead, in the city of gold, those closest to looking like gold were most common. Our wagon should be passable for the farthest quarter so long as we keep Vetia and Adam out of sight. Brenden¡¯s a bit iffy because he¡¯s nyadin, but based on how the poor people are staring so stricken by him, or jealous of him, he seems to be a caste higher than all of us. I listened in on conversations and brief exchanges, trying to pick up what I could before getting into the city. The people here were honest to the point of being insulting and their tones were usually confrontational. Then again, this Triali language was aggressive in general. Like a cross of German and Arabic with the snideness of the French. And boy did they get crass. The whole language seemed intense, almost to a fault. As we reached the copper section, the culture remained the same, but people wearing copper didn¡¯t speak to those in common clothes. People in bronze didn¡¯t interact with either of them, and the trend continued upward. The people of less golden tones didn¡¯t wear anything higher than copper clothes and would often make spiteful comments about the people higher in status than them. The word that kept coming up was ¡°gild.¡± The gilded looked down on those without it, and the ungilded were resentful of those with gild. The coppers shopped at the same market square as the ungilded, and the brass with the bronze, but none of the golden ones ventured out of their protected quarter. As it appeared, we were still in the lower Hallax Quarter. The upper Hallax Quarter was ahead, past the gate guarded by a golden armored garrison. The armor design was the same as the Amien Quarter, bearing a more gaudy design of wavy filigree patterns across their plates. The crest in the center of their chestpiece and above the gate was a nude, perfectly muscular man with long hair creating a sunlike effect around his head, arms outstretched toward the sky in a godlike display. Brenden started taking some deep breaths like he was anxious. ¡°Take it easy, cutiepie. We get up to that gate and play it cool. If you act sus, you are sus.¡± The entire wagon had a tense air about it. Just being in the city put us at risk if anyone was looking for us. We just needed to get into the Hallax Quarter. Brenden¡¯s eyes darted back and forth. ¡°I¡¯m not acting suspicious.¡± ¡°If I was a cop, I¡¯d mag dump you on the spot.¡± ¡°What, cause I¡¯m a minority?¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re one of the good ones.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really been doubling down on the racism since we got here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a human in a fantasy world. It¡¯s my duty. Isn¡¯t that right, Tells?¡± She wasn¡¯t listening. ¡°Huh? Yeah.¡± Brenden chuckled and shook his head. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been the sole target of it, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re an elf. Fuck elves. But also you don¡¯t immediately realize I¡¯m joking like Vetia does. And I¡¯ve been trying to think of new material for Adam other than Jolly Green Giant and Shrek.¡± He looked back at Adam. ¡°Maybe something about his tusks?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the hard part, they¡¯re not easy to make fun of. They¡¯re kinda cool, honestly.¡± ¡°Maybe dorc? Like orc, but dork.¡± ¡°That fuckin¡¯ sucks. Take your high school bully ass back to Drake and Josh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that old. There were a couple girls in high school who called me a dork.¡± ¡°No fucking shot they did.¡± ¡°Just a few times. It didn¡¯t insult me much, but I told them off.¡± ¡°They were one hundred percent flirting with you.¡± Brenden¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You¡¯re fucking with me.¡± I was dumbfounded. ¡°I thought Adam couldn¡¯t pick up on social queues. How many times and who?¡± ¡°Just Jane and Cassidy, once each.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re telling me this now?! Bro, they were super into you!¡± ¡°Yeah, okay, I get it. I fumble every woman who looks in my direction, I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°You gotta tell me if you¡¯re into anyone here or if any women talk to you. I¡¯ll wingman for you, dude, cause you apparently need all the help you can get.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to do that while I¡¯m here. Not yet at least.¡± Vetia snuck up on his left and made him jump. ¡°You got a homie on the inside now. I¡¯ll listen in and tell you if the fantasy babes want a piece of that elf schmeat.¡± He was getting flustered. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m- get back in the wagon, demon woman.¡± She retreated into the wagon, chuckling evilly. I grabbed his shoulder to reassure him. ¡°You deny your blade its purpose, Brenden.¡± He growled out of frustration. ¡°Shut the fuck up, we¡¯re on deck for wagon inspection.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I call it when-¡± ¡°Desmond, can you just listen to them and see what they¡¯re going to ask us?¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Whatever, dad. God.¡± The wagon driver ahead of us sounded like an old man who¡¯d been smoking his whole life. ¡°Wagon, halt.¡± The guard stepped in front of the wagon and held a fist out directly toward it. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize you. Who are you and what¡¯s your business Hallax¡¯s domain?¡± ¡°My name is Jerei Sal. I carry fresh briques for delivery to the Jzan Aukteln Riudjo.¡± The other guard looked in the back of the wagon and held an open hand toward the first guard. The first guard stepped out of the way and waved him through. ¡°Be quick. Keep your soot to yourself.¡± The wagon passed through the checkpoint and we were up next. I leaned over to Brenden. ¡°Not much in the way of useful. Just let me do the talking.¡± We pulled up to them and the guard held a fist out to us casually. The guard wasn¡¯t as rigid as he was with the older man. The second guard circled around the back of the wagon and looked in at the other three. The guard in front of us looked confused for a second. ¡°Are dusty and tarny in the back your servants?¡± Me and Brenden locked eyes for a second. I spoke up. ¡°Not servants, just temporary hires. We¡¯re traveling from out past Poikla and needed some extra hands.¡± ¡°Then I suggest you get them some gild or keep them in the wagon while you¡¯re inside. We have no tolerance for useless filth. Do you have any regulated goods?¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of. We don¡¯t plan to be in long. Just makin¡¯ a delivery.¡± He glanced at the second guard, who held up a hand. The first guard stepped aside and waved us through. We passed under the golden gate and emerged in the blindingly bright Hallax Quarter. Everything was shiny metal, even the buildings. Toward the gate, most of the buildings were brass, but as we came closer to the center of the quarter where a massive golden palace stood, the buildings began to match its majesty. There was definitely detailing on each building, but the reflections of the sun were just too bright to see clearly. Everyone inside was made up or dressed in gold or brass, often both. It was beyond excessive, not to mention the abundance of gold that was beyond unnatural. The whole quarter was like something out of myth. The city opened to a brick red cobblestone square, where merchants were breaking down stalls and packing their wagons. We parked the wagon on the far side of the square by a massive park of finely trimmed grass, shade trees, and beds of flowers. Brenden and I hopped in back for the game plan. Adam dishearteningly leaned back. ¡°I take it I''m gonna be staying in the wagon.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be that bad,¡± Vetia fistbumped his arm. ¡°We won¡¯t be here long. Hopefully. It looks like there are plenty of less gold people wearing golden clothes and the guards don¡¯t have a problem with it.¡± ¡°Should¡¯ve been born with a better skin tone, idiot,¡± Tells smirked ever so slightly. ¡°Ah, yes. Born.¡± Adam was getting irritated. Brenden almost silently groaned to himself. ¡°Alright, just chill. Desmond and I are gonna pick up some Hallax merch and we¡¯ll be back.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I presented the bag of money. ¡°Look, Papa Smurf gave me some pity money as he was leaving, so we should be fine. The guard was cool with me and Brenden, and really didn¡¯t care about Tells. While we¡¯re out buying stuff, Tells, you just say these two are your servants and give em a good smack or two if the guards start prying.¡± Tells evil smile grew even further. Vetia hid on the other side of depressed Adam. ¡°Don¡¯t hit me, I¡¯ll cum.¡± I shared a look with Brenden. ¡°What could go wrong?¡± He was much more worried than me. ¡°Just don¡¯t get us kicked out of the city or arrested or anything, please.¡± Brenden and I hopped out of the wagon and took to the gilded streets of Vehfirn. I could still hear everything they were saying in the wagon. ¡°Your first order,¡± Tells declared, ¡°is to duel for my amusement.¡± ¡°With pleasure, God Emperor Tells,¡± Vetia said. ¡°Alright, Adam, I¡¯m gonna-¡± She groaned in pain right as I turned my attention elsewhere. ¡°They¡¯re definitely getting arrested.¡± Brenden glanced at me. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± As we reached the center of the square, I looked out for somebody who was gilded, but not high status looking. All we needed were passable clothes to do what we needed in the city. That was easier said than done. Everyone we had seen was dead set on imitating golden statues. If there weren¡¯t gemstones and other metallic accents adorning the quarter, then the whole place would have been completely solid gold. Brenden rubbed his eyes aggressively. ¡°Dude, my eyes are fucking killing me right now. How is everyone here not blind?¡± For as much as Brenden had a tendency to whine, I couldn¡¯t knock him for it. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head from how painfully reflective the place was. Only a select few merchants were still cleaning up their stalls, but otherwise, hardly anyone was out except for nappers beneath the park¡¯s shade trees. Shielding my eyes, I finally caught sight of somebody crossing by us. ¡°Excuse me? Do you have a second, we¡¯re looking for something.¡± He had good posture, but the second he saw us calling toward him, his demeanor changed. He was a pale fellow with blonde hair and about the same height as Brenden. He patted his shiny cloak and fixed the collar as he spoke to us, an odd discomfort about him. ¡°Of course, glisteners. What would you ask of me?¡± Brenden and I looked at each other, obviously confused by what glisteners meant. I nodded and passed the conversation to Brenden. ¡°We¡¯re on the lookout for some gild,¡± he said awkwardly, which seemed to ease the guy we were talking to. ¡°Would you mind telling us where you got yours?¡± He gestured at the man¡¯s clothes. The man¡¯s eyes practically bugged out of his head. ¡°Uh, my glisteners. Theses gilds are not worthy for two as naturally endowed as yourselves. I am sure there is somebody more worthwhile to ask.¡± He was trying to escape conversation with us. Brenden got close to him and kept in a hushed tone. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re just looking for something for some of our, uh, less gilded servants. We don¡¯t care where it¡¯s from.¡± The man seemed horrified and embarrassed that Brenden was so close to him. He stepped back and pointed down where we came from. ¡°I humbly apologize. A clothing tender called the Brassier is where I acquired mine. Follow the main way down until just before the Passage to Prosperity and it will be on your right. Good day.¡± He walked away hurriedly, hanging his head. I was looking at the people who were whispering about us. They were ridiculing our lack of shiny clothes, but so many of them seemed especially envious of Brenden. They kept calling him ¡°beautiful¡± and ¡°golden¡± like he was some celebrity. It seemed like him being a nyadin was actually really beneficial here, because they spoke highly of the ¡°naturally perfect nyadin.¡± After a bit of walking and listening, my theory was ringing true, but we eventually found the Brassier. This store was coated in brass, not gold, but it seemed brass was just barely a step below gold in the hierarchy. The warmer one''s skin tone was, the better they were. Too light and you were dusty, too dark and you were burnt. I was just lucky to be as perfectly tanned as I was, though I could tell that come winter, I might not be so accepted here. We walked into the freakishly shiny brass building and it did not get any dimmer. Firelight and sunlight still glared off of everything inside. Whoever thought of dressing in metal had to be a complete dipshit and honestly deserved to get his ass beat. Brenden walked right up to the front counter. ¡°You got any cheap shiny cloaks? Four for about his size and one for a pretty big or- uh- jinian.¡± Standing behind a desk with sewing supplies was one of those bug¡­ people. The face was painted completely gold with brass highlights and a bald head that was just as shiny. It was somewhat humanoid, though more like an insect, but had a flat and wide mouth, no nose, and bulging round eyes that were a coppery color. A massive robe descended from the person¡¯s shoulders as it stepped from behind the workspace. It almost seemed to be floating because I couldn¡¯t see any feet kicking the robe. It had six hands with three fingers that were almost like pinchers with tiny sharp knobs at the ends as if its fingers were sewing needles. After selecting five folded brass cloaks from a variety of shelves, it approached me and draped one over my shoulders, hemming it to my size with incredible speeds. I was already a bit freaked out by the alienesque qualities of this person, but being up close I could see it all clearly, as the mouth slightly opened to reveal several sets of alternating vertical and horizontal teeth, the front set normal, the second set perpendicular to the first. The thing stepped away from me and stared me up and down, then went to Brenden and did the same. I couldn¡¯t tell if he was more composed than me or not, he was just looking wide-eyed and leaning away as the hands draped the cloak over his shoulders. Our terrifying tailor placed the rest of the cloaks in Brenden¡¯s hands and turned back toward the work desk. It was now that I got a glimpse of the feet. This person had a tail like a centipede, hundreds of tiny feet skittering along back to the workspace. The head turned toward us and held out a bowl in a hand. A voice that sounded like it was monotonically vibrating and clicking to emulate speech came from this strange bug person¡¯s chest. ¡°All will cost fourteen gossies.¡± Brenden looked at me, so I pulled out the bag and glanced in. All we had were silver coins, about thirty of them. I pulled out one silver coin and asked, ¡°How many of these makes a gassy?¡± The creature tilted its head. I could tell it was looking at me like I was stupid, even if its features were completely unreadable. ¡°One senno is twelve gossies.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I put two coins in the bowl. ¡°Keep the change, and thanks.¡± I forced a smile and walked away. We stepped back out into the street just as a shiver shot up my spine. Brenden was smiling. ¡°That was super cool, not gonna lie.¡± ¡°You were always into feet so I had a feeling you¡¯d be a fan of that thing.¡± ¡°What? I¡¯ve never been into feet, that¡¯s disgusting!¡± ¡°You can lie to me, but you can¡¯t lie to yourself forever, Brenden. That¡¯s why your nickname in highschool was piggy licker. Always trying to make those little piggies go to your wet market.¡± ¡°Piggy li- what the fuck are you talking about?!¡± My interest in fucking with Piggy Licker dwindled as my eyes caught a small stream of smoke floating upward from a wooden wall where a few guards were standing. A small crowd was forming around a person who was holding a small flame sigil to the wood. I walked to the edge of the crowd, ignoring piggy licker for the time being. Everyone was looking at some kind of news board with postings all over it. The smoke was coming from a person holding a plank of wood with some drawings. He was burning them onto the larger wooden board simply by brushing over the wood with his hand, perfectly replicating them. The crowd was in the way of the new posting, but I could see a bunch of other notices of general news. People that were arrested or had died, conflicts between cities or maybe countries, upcoming events and a list of wanted people near where they were writing. The man burning images stepped away and the guards escorted him further into the district. I muttered angrily for a second, pissed off at how obvious this should have been. Wanted alive by Lady Simira Amien, heiress to the Viscount Hazjiken Amien. 15 sennos reward. On the board were five images: a really ugly depiction of Vetia, an extreme racial caricature of Adam with comically giant tusks and a huge mouth, a pretty accurate picture of Tells, a mopey Brenden with stupidly long ears, and a surprisingly flattering picture of me, even giving me a sharper jawline. I knew she was into me. The bounty was on Vetia, but we were people of interest to turn into the guard for information. I glanced around and realized that people were only just now seeing the drawings. We couldn¡¯t afford to stick around to get recognized, so I pulled Brenden¡¯s arm and started back toward the wagon. ¡°What the hell, man, I was trying to read that. That¡¯s information about this world we need to know.¡± ¡°Well this world¡¯s lore is pretty weak from what I saw and I don¡¯t want to stay there after seeing that we¡¯ve got a bounty on our heads. Pull those daggers in, elf boy.¡± I pulled his hood over his head as well as mine while we hustled back toward the wagon. ¡°Fuck you mean a bounty?! Already?¡± ¡°15 silver coins for bringing us to Simira. Seems she won¡¯t take no for an answer.¡± ¡°Shit, the guards are heading up toward the square. Shit shit shit. Vetia and Adam are gonna give us away unless we can get them covered up.¡± Brenden started jogging up toward the square. ¡°Ay ay ay!¡± I grabbed his shoulder and kept him walking with me. ¡°Running is gonna make us really obvious, dipshit. We walk up to the square and scout if the guards have seen anything, then get in the wagon and take off if they haven¡¯t already impounded the corties.¡± We fast walked as inconspicuously as we could back to where we parked the wagon. It was still there, so I halted and gazed over the square. Nothing. No guards keeping watch over it, but also no sounds from the wagon. I glanced around, noticing only a few drops of blood behind the wagon. We walked up casually and hopped in the back, then I took the reins and got the corties going. Brenden grabbed my shoulder. ¡°What the fuck are you doing? We have to-¡± ¡°Yeah, good luck with that. Our best bet is to get out and come up with a new plan, find some information, etcetera.¡± The guards didn¡¯t even pay us mind on our way out, just monitoring the people coming in. I yanked off the shiny cloak once we left that golden Hell, we couldn¡¯t afford to stick out even the slightest. We were getting eyed the whole way out of the city and I was doing my best to hide my face. I made sure to keep Brenden in the back where he was out of sight. Soon enough, we were greeted by grass, trees and farmland once again. The entire wagon shook as I directed the corties off the road and beyond the treeline. We halted a short way into the woods without a clue on what to do. I leaned back and looked at Brenden holding his head in his hands. He lifted his head and put his hands up at me. ¡°Desmond, what the fuck was that?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s us getting a chance to regroup and not fuck up immediately.¡± I was pissed and I couldn¡¯t hold it in. ¡°We were supposed to be fine, that¡¯s why the blue fucker paid us off, God dammit! And now we had a bounty on our heads because of a few arguments and a beat-down?! Fuck that bitch!¡± Brenden¡¯s heartbeat was rapidly picking up. ¡°Okay, um, so where are they?! At Simira¡¯s prison?! Her castle or wherever her family lives?!¡± My head pounded from the stress. Was that the right call? Running like that? ¡°Brenden, just shut the fuck up for a second so I can think!¡± ¡°What are you talking about?! Running was your idea!¡± ¡°Yes! Running to regroup and plan! I don¡¯t have a plan yet!¡± ¡°Well what about our friends?! I¡¯d rather run in and take a shot to save them than this!¡± ¡°They¡¯re not dead! They¡¯re not gonna die!¡± I angrily threw crates aside, pulling out one of the small barrels of wine and taking a massive chug. I caught my breath, calming down from the feeling of the wine warming my insides. ¡°The bounty wanted them alive. Vetia¡¯s a healer, so they¡¯ll probably keep her for that. Adam and Tells didn¡¯t do shit. I don¡¯t know what the fuck she¡¯s planning for them other than maybe hard labor.¡± ¡°Vetia¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ fireblood, man! If they find out, she¡¯s as good as dead! Desmond, put the wine down, we can¡¯t plan drunk!¡± Brenden reached for the barrel, but I just turned away and hopped out of the wagon. ¡°It¡¯s fine! She¡¯s not stupid. It¡¯s not gonna be a problem. I just need a breather.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for a breather! Why don¡¯t we go back and you can sniff em down?! Shit, you should¡¯ve done that first thing! Now our chances of finding them are even worse!¡± ¡°God dammit I know!¡± I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a few breaths. ¡°My head is fuckin¡¯ pounding, man! Just gimme tonight to cool off and think. Figure out what our options are. Their lives aren¡¯t in danger as long as they don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± Brenden¡¯s frustration wouldn¡¯t subside. ¡°You better have a goddamn perfect plan in the morning.¡± ¡°We talked to Simira, Brenden! She¡¯s crazy, but she¡¯s the type to use people, not kill ¡®em.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure which head your blood is flowing to when you think of her, because I remember seeing her almost kill one of our best friends in the fucking wagon!¡± ¡°I know! I know! Fuck! It¡¯s a risk! Everything we do from here on out is a risk! I¡¯m just trying to make sure there¡¯s as little collateral damage as possible, man! Gimme a fucking break!¡± I slumped on the back of the wagon, resting my head in my hand, trying to calm my senses. Losing my temper always seemed to bring on bad nausea and horrible migraines. It¡¯s hopeless right now. There ain¡¯t a goddamn thing we can do right now until we know what¡¯s going on, and I don¡¯t know how to learn what I don¡¯t know! We have to get everything we do perfect or it could cost us our lives, even the smallest mistake. If we get caught up in some shit, they¡¯ll take us, and if we run from them, they¡¯ll chase us to Timbuktu. Going in to talk only guarantees us to be forced into whatever the fuck her plan is. Hell, that¡¯s probably why she took Tells and Adam with Vetia¡­ or maybe that¡¯s the point of the bounty, to get us as prisoners so she can use us. I¡¯d put money on it. Politicians are always up to some scheming bullshit. What a conniving bitch. If I tell Brenden about her mysterious plan, he¡¯ll probably just get even more worked up, and that¡¯s the last thing we need. The only good thing is the bounty¡¯s probably too low a price for any pro bounty hunters to come after us, and Brenden and I aren¡¯t the ones who are gonna earn them any money. Just gotta think through our options with all that in mind. I sat back and drank wine until I passed out. 30: Dreaming 30 (Smallpools- Dreaming) Adam Tells was sitting up by the corties, keeping an eye out while Vetia and I played chopsticks in the back. It hadn¡¯t even been two minutes since Brenden and Desmond went on their expedition for clothes when I heard a man talking to her. ¡°Good evening, ma¡¯am,¡± a guard said. ¡°Would you kindly move your wagon to the other side of the square? Fera¡¯s Flavor have reserved this location for their production that will begin after the glisternoon.¡± Tells was already sweating and glancing into the back of the wagon at us. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m new here, what¡¯s a glisternoon?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the current time. Where the great light illuminates the quarter. There is still a little time until it is done, are you waiting for companions?¡± ¡°Uh, I- we¡¯re waiting for our friends and, um-¡± she locked eyes with us in a silent cry for help. Vetia quickly yanked the collar of her tattered shirt down, exposing a dangerous amount of cleavage, then whispered to herself. ¡°Plan B it is.¡± She leaned out the front of the wagon and let those things hang as much as she legally could. ¡°Ma¡¯am, are you okay? All we ask is for-¡± he made eye contact with the eye candy in front of him. ¡°So sorry sir!¡± She flawlessly executed a posh accent and took his attention off of Tells. ¡°In truth, we¡¯re new here and our friends are out seeking gild for me. I think Sandy was worried that we would be removed from the quarter due to how undesirably unsightly I am.¡± She twirled her hair meekly. ¡°They should be returning momentarily, though, but we¡¯ll move the wagon and be out of the way.¡± The guard started stumbling as much as Tells. ¡°Surely it¡¯s no issue if they¡¯re returning- if they¡¯re returning soon.¡± ¡°Are you sure, we¡¯d be happy to comply. We wouldn¡¯t want to be a burden.¡± I was hiding pretty low, but even I could hear the guard smiling stupidly. ¡°Oh, surely there¡¯s no- no burden. At all!¡± ¡°Truly? I wish the rest of the guards in this city were as gentlemanly as you. Thank-¡± She was interrupted by another guard, one with a much deeper voice. ¡°Oy! Jzonjat, what¡¯s your delay?¡± ¡°Just investigating a possible parking violation,¡± he postured his voice to seem as official as possible. ¡°It¡¯s not a worry, though.¡± ¡°Who are those people? They¡¯re not new to the city, are they? I don¡¯t recognize that make of wagon.¡± Vetia leaned back in, but just enough to keep out of sight of the other guard. Then, the other guard approached the wagon. ¡°Can¡¯t hurt to check. Ma¡¯am,¡± he asked Tells, ¡°have you encountered any of these people on your way in?¡± Her eyes widened and she froze up, so Vetia once again leaned out. ¡°What people? Hmm? Oh my, that one in the middle is quite hideous indeed. We did speak to some others who looked similar, but I¡¯m unsure, do you know their hair and eye colors? And- ew- is that a jinian? Do they really look like that?¡± She chuckled as a frustrated vein bulged on her forehead, but her voice remained opportunistic. ¡°Believe me, they are disgusting creatures. The details of these individuals¡¯ appearances are with my patrol partner, to be scribed on the notice board. I do believe the woman had red hair, though.¡± There was a brief pause and Vetia changed her tone on the spot. ¡°Oh me, you don¡¯t think I look like her, do you? I really am that unsightly, aren¡¯t I?¡± The first guard, Jzonjat, piped back up. ¡°Lucidin, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any suspicion to be had with this one. Surely we can leave her be.¡± Lucidin held the plank up to Tells, so much that I could see his hand from my low position. I was basically laying as flat as I could, trying to not move as much as physically possible, but I was curious to see the board and if I really was drawn so ugly. Lucidin questioned further. ¡°She looks an awful lot like this one¡­ Tells.¡± Jzonjat pulled the plank down. ¡°The burn is awfully generic and could be a multitude of women, Lucidin. And I¡¯ve already heard her name, which is Sandy.¡± Tells sounded genuinely hurt. ¡°I look generic?¡± Jzonjat immediately started stammering. ¡°No, no! The burn does! Not you, by any means.¡± He held the plank up to Tells again. ¡°See! It looks nothing like her, Lucidin. Don¡¯t be preposterous.¡± I was so close to being able to see myself, I just needed to stretch and lean my head up a little more- Crack! The main crate that was holding me up let out a loud, deep breaking crack and threatened to creak further if I leaned on it. I strained to hold myself up and not make any more noise. ¡°What was that?¡± Lucidin inquired. ¡°Is there another person inside?¡± His footsteps began making their way around the wagon. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, it¡¯s mortifying!¡± Vetia shouted, shoving her face in her hands and whimpering. ¡°I¡¯ve had serious bowel problems after a filthy yeffen traded us rotting meat. I¡¯m so sorry! It¡¯s so hideous and unladylike.¡± Tells snorted laughing and covered her mouth, but the guards seemed to interpret it as an actual grossed out gag. Jzonjat started panicking. ¡°No! No! It¡¯s natural! Farting is plenty normal and not unladylike!¡± He deeply and loudly inhaled through his nose. ¡°I¡¯d say it actually smells quite pleasant right now!¡± Even that caught Vetia off guard, and her whimpers sounded more genuine because she was partly wheezing laughter, which kept Lucidin from checking the wagon. ¡°Sir guard, that¡¯s disgusting. I don¡¯t want you to sniff it, please just go!¡± As someone who was often bad and awkward at communicating, I had no sympathy for him. But he just kept digging himself deeper. ¡°No! NO! That was not my intention at all! What I meant was-¡± A loud clang rang out as Lucidin cut him off. ¡°Save your pride as a man and leave, Jzon!¡± Their hasty footsteps disappeared into the distance and Vetia collapsed back into the wagon, trying to cover her wild laughter. I sat up and got off the box. ¡°How¡¯d you know the whole female charm thing would work?¡± She breathed to calm her laughter. ¡°If a hot chick was tits out and curling her hair at me when I was a guy, I¡¯d be brain dead too. It¡¯s simple biology, Adam. There¡¯s only enough blood for one head.¡± ¡°Well, you know what they say about smart fellers.¡± Tells said. ¡°But fuckin¡¯ hell, Adam, the clap of your asscheeks almost got us caught.¡± I indignantly sat the rest of the way up. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault that the box-¡± A shrill scream broke out from behind me, from behind the wagon. I turned around quickly and saw a small child holding some sort of fried bread, screaming and crying and pointing right at me. ¡°Mommy! Daddy! Monster!¡± Suddenly, a golden-clad man angrily whipped his head toward the wagon while his equally as gilded wife picked up the kid and screamed for the guards. In moments, several guards were surrounding us. I put up my hands. ¡°Guards, I apologize for the scare, there seems to have been a mis-¡± ¡°Step out of the wagon!¡± A guard thrust his spear at my chest. There was a yelp from behind me and when I looked, only Tells was still on the wagon. ¡°Bring me the plank!¡± There was a pause. ¡°The description matches but what idiot burned this?! It looks nothing like her!¡± ¡°Sir, Lady Simira Amien made this one.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Vetia yelled from the ground, ¡°we shouldn¡¯t even be wanted, but she¡¯s a petty bi-¡± The chief guard slammed her nose with his gauntlet, breaking it sideways and snapping it violently. Vetia¡¯s pained screams drew the attention of the entire square. The longsword pricked into my neck and a guard yelled again. ¡°Step out of the wagon and lay on the ground!¡± I carefully moved forward and lowered myself out of the wagon, but as soon as I reached my feet for the ground, several hands grabbed my arms and threw me face down. I landed on my stomach and glanced over at Tells and Vetia. Tells was being very carefully cuffed while guards locked a collar around Vetia¡¯s neck. All the while, boots and swords pushed me down while guards wrestled me into cuffs. ¡°Guards, please,¡± I yelled out, ¡°what is this-¡± Hard leather slammed my ear as a guard shoved his boot into the side of my face, locking my mouth and slamming my ear. I couldn¡¯t think. Fear welled inside me and pain shot through my head. They twisted my arms behind me, causing my muscles to clench harder and for my head to pull up. Suddenly, something hard impacted the back of my head and that was it. * * * * * I woke up flat on my back on some kind of bench. I barely even shifted my weight and rolled off of it, slapping face down on a stone floor. The world spun around my panging head when I felt a pair of hands guiding me to sit. I tapped the back of my head and a pounding thrum shot through my brain. I winced hard and felt another hand there, a sharp jolt, and then the pain was gone. My eyes lazily opened to Vetia in front of me, weakly smiling, no more broken nose at least. She patted my shoulder and sat next to me, silent from the heavy steel collar around her neck. It seemed to vibrate or hum as silence took over the stone cell. My hands were cuffed loosely, enough that I could move pretty freely. ¡°Where is Tells? Did she make it out?¡± I checked around the tiny stone brick room. It was cold and musty with a small cell door. There was barely enough room for me to stand upright, it was so cramped and claustrophobic. She looked at me like she was about to speak, then cut into her arm like she had earlier. No clue. Not here. ¡°Where are we? Did Simira find us? Did she cut your tongue out again?!¡± She silently exhaled with a grim, frustrated smile and cut into her arm again. Shock collar. Can¡¯t talk. She didn¡¯t need words to convey her anger, even though her cool exterior was firmly in place. A shadow appeared at the cell door and a woman yelled. ¡°He¡¯s awake. Tell the Lady.¡± That caught our attention, but I remained seated. I don¡¯t know where I am or what to do. What if they¡¯re holding Tells in a different place to keep us from attacking the guards. Will they kill her? What are they gonna do with us? I tapped Vetia¡¯s arm and whispered. ¡°Alright, man, lock the fuck in. I¡¯ve been to a mini boot camp and this seems like it''s gonna be way worse, like actual slavery bad.¡± She snickered, a little wave electricity coursing through the collar as her thumb stuttered up and she slit away. 2 v All clutch ez win A few minutes passed before I heard the door squeal and a woman in orange and bronze armor stepped through. ¡°Follow me and don¡¯t do anything I don¡¯t tell you to do.¡± My legs were shaking so much they felt like they were going to buckle if I stood. I hadn¡¯t ever been in trouble with the law before, and especially not in a more brutal world. I just didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen, but I couldn¡¯t muster anything to happen either. A soft hand gently squeezed my wrist and guided me up and out of the cell. My legs moved even though there wasn¡¯t a thought going through my head. Through more stone halls and up into the warmly lit wooden interior we went. At some point, we stopped. Then I heard her voice. That voice I never wanted to hear again was echoing throughout an eloquent study. We were in a tall room with white marble columns and pale orange walls. Portraits hung from every wall, and a seat like a discount throne was planted behind a busy, but organized desk. It wasn¡¯t a huge room, but just big enough to make the daughter of a noble feel important. We were put in a row before Simira. Tells to my left and Vetia to my right. ¡°I am quite surprised you arrived so expeditiously, especially after getting the wretch a new tongue.¡± Simira looked truly overjoyed. She was smiling ear to ear seeing us in shackles like this, or maybe just Vetia. ¡°I was hoping to have a more prepared group receive you upon arrival. And I must say, that collar is quite befitting of you. I bought it special for you. Tarynn insisted that I show some remorse, so I had the guard ready it as a welcoming gift. The whore is bound to bark at some point, so I expect the gift will be a grand lesson in modesty.¡± Simira¡¯s smile was twisting downward against her will, however, upon noticing Vetia¡¯s weirdly condescending and indignant ¡°are you really this petty¡± look. Vetia was glancing around with a slight sneer and a raised eyebrow like she genuinely thought Simira was above this. The Lady Simira clasped her hands and looked at us like she was instructing children. ¡°Unfortunately, you are a criminal who has slandered and assaulted nobility and her accomplices. The penance for such a crime is often death, but as I am a generous and forgiving honorable, I have taken responsibility for you. The accomplices will serve me to assist in righting your friend¡¯s wrongs. But, please, do not think of it as punishment. This is to be a learning experience, so you can be properly acclimated to a civilized society. Any questions?¡± Tells and I were silent. I couldn¡¯t think to say anything. I barely had a clue what was going on in the first place. Desmond and Brenden had to be out there somewhere though, so surely they would find out what was going on and get us out of here. Somehow. ¡°As for you.¡± She slowly stepped forward, looming over Vetia. ¡°I don¡¯t want to deal with you because I know you will simply refuse to serve me. You will serve under my father, far from me, oh lucky you. Although I wonder if you will have rather served me by the end of this. We will see.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Vetia mimed writing like she wanted to say something, but Simira cockily shook her head. ¡°Well, I am truly happy that you are all so understanding of your situation. You will address me as Lady Simira or Lady Amien. You are servants now and disrespect will not be tolerated. Good members of society must be disciplined and understanding of their roles. Of course, upon showing good behavior, you will be granted privileges, as well as payment for your services. You are not being imprisoned, rather, rehabilitated. As for your roles. Tells, you will be my personal hand as we discussed prior.¡± As they discussed prior? Tells was just staring at the ground, unmoving. ¡°Adam. Your duty will be assisting the soldiers in the training grounds and caring for their equipment. You will spend most of your time beneath the charge of Captain Zev and his equipment handlers.¡± So what? I''m just supposed to be the village idiot that cleans their gear? It sounds a little shitty, but honestly I probably lucked out. ¡°And the final one. You are stripped of your name until you begin acting like somebody deserving of a name. Any caught using the woman¡¯s name will be penalized as I determine fit. Your crimes are the most severe, but that is why your friends will be assisting in paying back your penance with you, with a trial once you have shown good behavior. Do be grateful, because not many lords would be so accommodating. Your charges are as follows: One, for assaulting a lesser noble. Two, for slandering a lesser noble. Three, adulterous acts with an arranged lesser noble. There is a road out of this rehabilitation, perhaps one which ends in you with your childish love as you want it, but that may only occur once you have been properly rehabilitated as I see fit.¡± I was scared, but started speaking regardless. ¡°Um, Lady Simira, I-¡± ¡°What is so important that you couldn¡¯t ask earlier?¡± ¡°Uh, slander would imply that she damaged your reputation, but nobody else was around to hear for your rep-¡± She raised a curious eyebrow and held a hand up to stop me. ¡°Malign statements against a lesser noble are held to the same stature as slander, but thank you for expressing the need for clarification.¡± She irritatedly turned back to Vetia. ¡°And think of your collar as a gift, to teach you to mind your crass, childish urges to speak.¡± Vetia¡¯s expression had turned to disappointment and realization. She shut her eyes and sighed silently, shaking her head subtly, but enough for Simira to notice. Simira¡¯s cocky grin spoiled as she slowly paced in front of Vetia and spoke. ¡°You are quite lucky, as our court has been in need of a regenerative tejuh on standby. That will be your primary work and at the end, you will receive severance compensation. You will stay in your designated rooms within the manor and, one day, if you¡¯ve shown growth as a person, your allowances may be extended to other freedoms.¡± Vetia bit her cheeks, fighting back a smile with everything she had even though her eyes seemed a little more dead. ¡°What? Have I said something humorous?¡± She just shrugged and shook her head while continuing her battle, looking at Simira like she was stupid. ¡°You wish to speak, but you have shown me that you cannot handle such a privilege. So until you show me that you can, the collar will remain. Then, once you have pondered on your grievances, I will allow you to air them respectfully as a polite citizen of Vehfirn does.¡± Tells¡¯ was biting her tongue. There was such a subtle disdain that only somebody who¡¯d known her forever could pick up on it. Simira turned to us. ¡°And, should any one of you decide to rebel and harm a member of my house or myself, your friends will suffer twice the consequences of yourself. Very well. Off to your duties.¡± A hand grasped my shoulder and pulled me backwards. It guided me into the same hallway, but all I did was look over my shoulder at the others. Simira walked toward Tells and two servants pulled Vetia out a different door. It didn¡¯t go as badly as I was expecting, I only hoped that Brenden and Desmond would be able to do something from the outside to help us¡­ somehow. * * * * * Across the manor was a grassy field surrounded by wooden and stone brick buildings. There were small sand pits, dummies and a stable area with corties inside. In another less populated but larger stable was a different type of mount. Their bodies were like that of a wide wolf with a shell on its back. Its head was long and reptilian in appearance, coated in fur save for a shell plate on its forehead, with several rows of gnarled sharp teeth in its beaked jaw. The more experienced guards, heavily armored at that, were the only ones near those creatures. They lumbered slower than corties, but their heavy natural armor, brutally gnarly maws, and metal plates over the soft spots made up for the lack of mobility with sheer power, like a walking tank. The servant guiding me was a meek, hunchback jorlad man, with a thinning bowl-cut of brown hair, and a carefree, relaxed face. He walked with a limp in his left leg. ¡°So you¡¯re Adam! Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Alwen Amser, and I¡¯ll be teaching you how to do what I do. All things considered, you lucked out by getting this job. It¡¯s relaxing, calm, and easy compared to scooping corty logs and keeping them from mountin¡¯ everything they see.¡± He leaned in like he was telling me a secret. ¡°Once you get used to the stench, it¡¯s pretty enjoyable.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Alwen seemed nice, even if he wasn¡¯t very bright. He reminded me of some of my old coworkers who were content to do simple labor and drink the night away for their whole lives. How I was back on Earth. He led me into one of the larger buildings, tugging the old wooden door to get it unstuck from the busted frame it was lodged in. The inside of the building smelled dank and musty. It was like a gym locker room full of old sweaty football equipment that was left to stew for weeks in the middle of summer. There were weapons and armor strewn across the floor of the building and sweaty padded clothes and leathers hanging off of everything. ¡°This is the job. We clean and polish the swords and plates and chains every day, then wash and treat the clothing and leather for tomorrow. It usually takes me from sunup to sundown, so let¡¯s get to work and maybe we¡¯ll have extra time to spare tonight! With the two of us we might be able to get a jump start on tomorrow¡¯s work.¡± He gleefully waltzed into the rank mass of clothes and armor, tossing everything into piles. I unenthusiastically joined him, and for hours we washed clothes and leathers, un-denting armor and scrubbing mud out of the chainmail, leaving the polishing for later. Buffing out scratches and refitting chainlinks was fucking miserable. The armor was mostly brass-tin alloy chest plates with steel chain, padded cloth, or leather covering the arms and sleeves. The curved points on the leaflike plates seemed to be made for heat reduction and air circulation. They wouldn¡¯t hold well against strong hits, but glancing at the way the guards were training, they were taught to be nimble and constantly moving to maximize the utility of their armor and reduce direct impacts. There seemed to be a focus on lightweight and sleek armor to fit their dextrous scimitar and dagger combat. Triali scimitars, or jzonutos were straight with a sharp protrusion of the backside of the blade near the end and a slight backward hook, like a Turkish kilij with less of a bend. They had a hooked pommel that was commonly used to counter guard locks, a tactic in which the soldiers would utilize the scimitar¡¯s hooked cross guard to quickly twist and lock their opponent¡¯s blade, pushing it up or to the side while they slashed or stabbed at the wrist and other vitals with the dagger. This action commenced a sub-battle of daggers, kicks, and throws in locked combat which heavily favored more powerful, taller, and experienced fighters willing to fully aggress on their target, forcing them off balance. The daggers had a straight, roughly six inch long blade with two main variations. One had finger slotted-handles connected to a wide studded knuckle guard which could be used for defending dagger strikes or bludgeoning their opponent. The other was a simpler dagger with a straight grip and cross guard, used by more agile fighters or those who used sigils in their strategy. This sub-battle went until the scimitars were freed and the battle continued, one died, or the leader disarmed the opponent which essentially ended the battle. Heavy units utilized full plate armor and a spiked shield, with a much longer and thicker version of the jzonuto with a three hand grip, called a jzonutik. The metal was light and strong, mostly wielded single-handed by those men on tank beasts and corties like cavalry units. The heavy soldiers also used brass atlatls with the brass javelins they stored on the back of their shields. The atlatl only had a range of about thirty feet, but was deadly accurate in the hands of a seasoned rider, able to blow straight through hanging meat dummies. The main perk seemed to be the one handed-ness of the atlatl, which allowed the heavy units to shield themselves from ranged attacks and infantry while riding their beasts of burden. Seeing the armor and weapons up close while observing the guards training was interesting to me, and I started to understand how Alwen could be so joyful to be doing it. ¡°Why¡¯re you here doing this? Is this the kind of job you wanted?¡± I muttered to him as I was scrubbing a sweaty shirt. ¡°Oh me? No big reason. My family has been serving the Amiens for generations. It¡¯s our duty to serve them because they saved my great-great-grandfather in the Wever Delta. His ship was attacked and destroyed by hilfers. Apparently hilfers are these massive bugs that latch onto ships and burrow into them from underwater. I¡¯ve never seen one myself, but the family story is that my great-great-grandfather fought off hilfers for eleven hours before an Amien ship found and saved him, the sole survivor of the shipwreck. He pledged himself to the family and now we serve them.¡± He looked down a little dejectedly. ¡°My older siblings joined the guard, cause our family has first rights to being high-ranking guardsmen, but I''ve had a bum leg since I was born. Couldn¡¯t never move it right, not to mention I¡¯m the youngest, and the runt. But Lady Amien, Lady Simira¡¯s mother, was kind enough to let me stay and find other work here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re stuck cleaning armor because you¡¯ve got a bum leg? Sorry to hear that.¡± He was still cheery and doing his job, but that definitely cut deep. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t clean armor every day, it¡¯s just what I¡¯ve been doing for a while now. Once every so often my family and the other servants of our esteem have a dinner with the Viscount and we are given the day away from work, on top of our usual day off. Lord Amien doesn¡¯t do it as much as Lady Simira does. You¡¯ll probably work every day, just because you¡¯re new. Don¡¯t worry too much, though, I¡¯ll teach you everything you need to know so your solo day goes nice and smooth.¡± Part of me knew this guy wasn¡¯t trying to sound condescending, but he was really pissing me off for some reason. I was just getting pissed off in general. For all the shit that was going on, I was on edge and I really wanted to just tell him to shut up. Instead I bit my tongue and just kept scrubbing. It was shit like this that made me miserable. Monotonous bullshit only made bearable by watching the guards. I hated it. I thought I¡¯d escaped it by ending up in this world, but work would never end apparently. I scrubbed and polished for a few more hours, barely making a dent in the pile of armor and we hadn¡¯t even gotten to the weapons yet. Soldiers were entering the training grounds now, suited up and armed from their daily run around the entire quarter. I had been glancing over every now and then at them, but eventually stopped caring as they changed to lifting rocks for strength training. It was like a competition for them, who could lift the heaviest rock the highest and everyone was training to win in their respective size and sex brackets. ¡°Jinian. You¡¯re the new servant?¡± It was the light blue man with the extra joints. He looked down at me apathetically while I was squatted over a chain shirt. I glanced up and nodded respectfully. ¡°I¡¯m the new hire, sir.¡± ¡°Lady Simira informed us that you are to assist the guard in combat training however we need you. Please put this on and come to the training field.¡± He passed me a leather helmet and hand wraps. As I rose, his eyes widened a moment realizing that I was much bigger than him in everything except height. Alwen helped me wrap my hands, seeming excited the whole time. ¡°Adam, you¡¯re gonna do great! Being a training assistant is an amazing opportunity. If you do well enough, you may be promoted to a guard one day.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®one day?¡¯ How long is that?¡± ¡°Well, a few years or so of being an assistant and living should gain you favor with people who have influence with the Viscount. That¡¯s how long it took me, back when I could still run. But they said I was irreplaceable in what I do, and they valued my hard work, so I stayed where they needed me most. I¡¯m still an honorary guard, but I know it¡¯s just them being nice. Still, it¡¯s a lot of fun training with the guards! And hey, you¡¯re a lot bigger and tougher and functional than me, so they might let you in quicker!¡± Damn, this guy really did get the shit end of the stick in life. It was almost admirable how happy he was. But I didn¡¯t have a few years. I didn¡¯t know how long I had, all I knew was I wouldn¡¯t be staying here. None of us were going to. Tightening the final strap, I started walking toward the field where the blue man was standing on the other side of a dueling pit. ¡°Thanks for the kind words, Alwen. Wish me luck.¡± The blue man had his eyes on me the whole time. He was about a foot taller than me, but I was still bigger than most of the people here. He stood tall like a soldier, a stance that demanded respect. ¡°I am Captain Andris Raizzen-Korte Zev of the Amien guard. You will refer to me as Captain Zev, Captain, or simply sir. I will assess your abilities in hand-to-hand combat.¡± He removed his shirt and then gestured for me to do the same. His bulky and defined muscles intimidated me until I realized I was even more muscular. His height advantage was mostly in the legs, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to bulk as much as me. I pulled off my shirt and readied myself in a boxing stance, or at least my best imitation of a boxing stance. I hadn¡¯t fought since my boxing phase in middle school and my year of taekwondo was long forgotten. Fresh worry accompanied the frustration of today, but this was just what I needed. ¡°Captain Zev, the pleasure is mine. I am Adam the Mountain Crusher.¡± I pounded my fists together and stood ready, eager commotion coming from the surrounding guards. ¡°Captain,¡± one yelled. ¡°You sure you¡¯ll be able to take down a jinian?¡± Captain Zev shot a look at the guy. ¡°Silence will be all that¡¯s heard from spectators.¡± He turned back to me, a slight grin forming on his lipless mouth. ¡°Begin!¡± He dragged his right foot back, his left foot pointed at me. He held his fists down by his sides. I took up the best boxing stance I could get and started shuffling toward him. I needed a good hit so I didn¡¯t seem weak to the other guards. I lunged forward with a wild haymaker, putting everything into the hit, but he ducked so quickly beneath it. His right fist flew into my chest as he stepped forward and extended his arm, jettisoning it out like a spring and returned to its normal length. There was a flash and he had already landed his left fist into my gut with a similar attack. The air was expelled from my body from what felt like a truck hitting me. I gasped for air, stumbling backward and trying to get out of his reach. His arms were too long and I couldn''t escape his range no matter how hard I tried. I kept backing up and protecting my face, but he was landing hit after hit on my chest and stomach. I tensed my abs to try to lessen the blows, but too much damage had already been done. I was slowing down too much to focus on tensing my torso, so he was getting closer, packing more power into every one of his hits. I was barely able to get any air into my lungs because he just kept punching it out. I was guaranteed to lose if I kept backing up like I was. A primal anger and joy rose through my entire body like an adrenaline surge. My instinct was taking over, something I hadn¡¯t felt in forever, the whole reason why I started fighting back in school. He stopped punching and stepped back, waiting for me to move. ¡°Are you going to attack or block at all? I am assessing your abilities, Adam the Mountain Crusher, not using you as a dummy! Do something!¡± We circled the sand pit, eyes locked on each other. He was loose and light, bouncing on his toes while I was trudging and slow from the bruises to my core. He seemed like he was having the time of his life, a dancer in the ring, perfectly matching the beat of battle. His feet danced so he couldn¡¯t be caught off balance and his arms were always back and forth, ready to block or hit as he needed. The tight shimmering translucent ponytail flipped and waved behind him like an echo of his fighter¡¯s dance. I was trying to find an opening, any opening, anything I could even remotely work with. Then I noticed that he was crossing his legs while we were circling. Three quick sidesteps, then he would cross his legs to slow and regain balance. It was my only chance. I waited, watching. Every three steps. One, two, three, cross! I rushed at him while his legs crossed, jumping with my foot out toward his chest. I only found air while his fist found my face. My eyes opened and there he was standing right next to me. ¡°Keep your eyes open, Adam! Don¡¯t let your opponent leave your sight!¡± I fell back and flailed my arms toward him, but he blocked the hits. Then he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, only to use my forward momentum to knee my side. Rage burned through my head and my chest like nothing I¡¯d ever felt. He was toying with me, using me to make himself look better. I had to do something while he was right in with me or he would just dodge again. He kept on punching me back toward the edge of the circle, slamming me harder and harder. ¡°Are you simply a shield Adam? You have strength! Show me!¡± That comment hit something deep down in me, and my body acted faster than I could keep track of. Being right up on him was my best bet. I pushed off of my left leg and held my ground against his blows, then shoved my palm into his stomach. A solid hit, but he absorbed most of it. Even still, my body was moving, throwing a wide right directly at the side of his head. His wide eyes told me that I caught him off guard, but all he did was flash me a fiercely proud smile. His head gracefully fell backward under my fist, my knuckles barely grazing his cheekbone. His body twisted and contorted under my punch, spinning in a full 360 on his right foot until his left heel drove into my cheek. Lights out¡­ again. * * * * * ¡°Son of a¡­¡± my voice muttered to the blurry world around me. Blood red was on my left side and light blue on the right. Sitting up, Vetia¡¯s hand tried pushing my chest back down, but I was dead set on sitting up and she wasn¡¯t strong at all. Captain Zev was to my right, proudly smiling with a still bloody face. ¡°Mountain crusher is a bold title you have. You may be able to intimidate most people with your strength, but you have no experience to enforce your name.¡± ¡°Apologies, Captain, if it was too bold. It¡¯s been a difficult week.¡± I sort of grunted that last part out, but holding it in wasn¡¯t gonna happen. Iron and the sour taste of the rest of the situation filled my mouth. I was pathetic. Not even able to get a good hit in. I couldn¡¯t even look at him. ¡°I understand. And my apologies for my kick. Your attack was far from what I expected out of a novice and caught my reflexes. You have the makings of a strong zeshuo, but you currently lack aim. Continue your work and continue training with us. In short time, I am sure I have the ability to convince the Lady to induct you into the guard.¡± He walked around the bed when I didn¡¯t respond and stopped at the door. ¡°You barely hit me, but you cracked my cheekbone.¡± He glared at Vetia, who smiled smugly at him. ¡°Any soldier slower than me may have been killed by such a hit. I anticipate success in your growth. Rest well. And do your friend a favor by convincing her to do her job, for her own sake. Lord Amien will only be harsher if she remains defiant.¡± I sat silently and he walked out the door. He left me alone in the infirmary with Vetia. ¡°Cleaning armor and getting my ass beat. This is the life, isn¡¯t it? You doin¡¯ alright?¡± Vetia rolled her eyes and waved the question off. She was almost as gaunt as she was in Poikla after healing only a few wounded guards and Captain Zev. She checked the door that nobody was coming and cut into her arm. Train Fight ¡°Okay, I learn to fight and get promoted. That just puts me even more in her sight and under her control.¡± She slapped her forehead and healed over her arm, then cut in again. Influence Privileges ¡°You want me to rank up? To gain influence? I can¡¯t fight back everyone and we don¡¯t have the power to overrule anything she does. This is a prison! I don¡¯t even know if we can escape.¡± She was frustrated beyond compare, having so much to say all the time, but no way to say it. She hovered her claw over her arm, angrily wanting to write out an essay about what exactly I should be doing. Get status/freedom. Find friends. Break out. ¡°How long? We don¡¯t have forever to play castle. Lord Amien sounds like he¡¯s bound to kill you or work you to death at some point. And Tells is Simira¡¯s personal assistant, so we may never even see her.¡± She leaned back and nodded in agreement, seeming like she lost spirit for a moment. Then she tensed her face and looked angrily at me hitting my arm again. ¡°Ow, what?¡± I sighed and looked into her eyes. ¡°How long?¡± She looked at me, a new conviction in her eyes, a vengeful, frustrated conviction that I could only interpret to mean ¡°As long as it takes.¡± So that¡¯s what I did. For the next few weeks, I cleaned disgusting armor with Alwen and acted as a punching bag for the guard corps at the manor. They started dragging me out on runs and lifts, but I was in a weight class of my own, so lifting against them wasn¡¯t really fair. But holy fuck, it was like a stupidly long run in full armor every day. I didn¡¯t know how they did it. Captain Zev loved burst running and his group was more of the big guys and heavy weight lifters. We¡¯d lightly jog until a street crossing, then sprint in formation to the next one, then jog again, and so on. I was beyond starving every time I sat down in the chow hall, and thankfully there was enough food. The people in the city started recognizing me, though. Sure, they treated me like an exotic, intelligent show animal, but it was better than being hated. I saw Vetia whenever I got beat to high hell, but never Tells. It was only a few weeks before Captain Zev began petitioning the Viscount for my enlistment into the guard corps and I wasn¡¯t really surprised, because my presence got a lot of people to join the guard so they could legally fight me. Amien Manor became the only place in this part of Triala to train with a real life jinian. 31: Dreaming Part 2 31 (Smallpools- Dreaming) Tells The first few weeks were painfully tedious. I was thrust into being Lady Simira¡¯s full time servant. She trained and quizzed me on noble customs, the current affairs and the important people within the city and household. I had so much one-on-one time with her that being with her started to feel normal. It was strange, but around the second week I stopped thinking about it and I never saw her temper flare as violently as before. She was, for lack of better words, normal. Intense at worst and micromanaging at best, but I grew accustomed to her mannerisms slowly and learned when to and not to approach her. I didn¡¯t see Adam or Vetia, nor did Simira answer me when I asked about them. Every morning at the asscrack of dawn, the corty handler woke us servants up with a swift kick to our door, which usually knocked it right open. I was to immediately wake Lady Simira. I would knock and wish her a good morning. If she wasn¡¯t awake, it was my duty to wake her by knocking on the door. What a joke that was. Firstly, her room was through another door in her study, so hearing me knock was already impossible. Secondly, she was an abnormally heavy sleeper who wouldn¡¯t wake up most of the time. The second day of being there, I wasn¡¯t loud enough, saying her name for probably an hour outside her door before another servant got annoyed by my constant repeating her name, and kicked Simira¡¯s door, screaming loudly to scare her awake. So I started doing that. She would scream at me with some variation of ¡°shut the fuck up¡± and glare at me like I was disturbing her for doing my job when she finally let me in, but it worked. For the first activity of the day, she joined the guard for their armored formation run around the quarter, taking half the guard on different days, alternating days between Simira or Zev leading. Simira¡¯s group was made up of distance runners like her, but she was a well-oiled machine that never needed to stop unlike the rest of us humans. No distance, incline, or obstacle could break her breath or stride. Low and behold, she dragged me along for it. She threw a brass chestpiece, a belt with a scimitar and dagger, and a chainmail shirt on me, then we ran. We did a loop around the quarter, starting at the manor, which had to be about twenty miles. From the manor down the hill to the market to the factories to the residential zone and pleasant way, across the farmland, then back up the hill to the manor. That fucking hill. I¡¯d never cursed a hill so much in my life until I had to run up that one every other day after already feeling dead at the end of the run. We returned to her study, where she lectured me on Vehfirn and Triala history and politics while she trained in her personal dojo. Her routine was a mix of intense stone throwing and lifting, bodyweight exercises, and sparring with Captain Zev on her run leading days, or me when Zev was off leading the run. Despite him being a giant compared to her, she¡¯d learned how to take him down well in hand-to-hand combat, though she only managed to execute it about every one in ten attempts. Not to mention the constant complaints that he was pulling punches, which he would then correct, promptly winning nearly every bout because his reach and sheer power was ridiculous compared to her. She always said ¡°If we were using sigils, it¡¯d be different.¡± Surprisingly though, she rarely lost to him when using a Triali scimitar and dagger, being nimble and agile, able to read Captain Zev like a children¡¯s book. They played a point game similar to fencing, where points were scored based on where they struck each other with wooden scimitars and daggers. Those other days, my sessions, were when she¡¯d use me as a punching dummy while quizzing me on her lectures. I ended up with more bruises than correct answers, but I couldn¡¯t deny that I was learning. After my daily lessons, she washed in her personal quarters and I washed in the servant¡¯s shared baths, then I worked with the other servants while Simira reviewed the quarter¡¯s legal work. Strangely enough, Lady Simira kept me away from the other servants as much as she could, saying they would ¡°taint me.¡± However, I did learn how to act as a servant. Servants greeted people of higher status with a military salute and a slight bow of the head. It was considered rude to look nobles in the eyes, so I didn¡¯t have anything to worry about there. What was a hell of a time was breaking the habit of putting my hands in my pockets, though. Lady Simira was very adamant on an old Triali philosophy that the way in which one carries oneself is reflective of one¡¯s disposition. The belief went: traitors, thieves, and cowards walked with their hands in their pockets or sleeves; merchants, money lenders, and swindlers walked with their hands folded; soldiers and guards walked with hands ready, but idle on their weapons; common people walked with open hands; and the dutiful walked with closed fists. I didn¡¯t really understand how it worked in really cold weather or if somebody was carrying something, but I figured it wasn¡¯t worth arguing. Lady Simira instructed me to walk with fists because it apparently inspired self confidence and demanded respect. The uniform seemed to have this idea built in. No pockets except on the inside of the shirt and no sleeves except in winter. Honestly, I didn¡¯t use the salute much. Lady Simira didn¡¯t require my formal greeting because we were in constant proximity, the other servants and guards weren¡¯t in a position to require it, I rarely saw the Captain outside of the dojo, and I never saw the Viscount. Everything else was pretty standard. Stand up straight, be polite, don¡¯t talk out of turn. After she was done working on law, just before noon, I became Lady Simira¡¯s pack mule. She spent a good deal of time out of the manor visiting tradesmen, who all seemed to know and respect her from the military. They¡¯d salute her when she entered their business or knocked on their door, and she¡¯d return the salute, then she¡¯d be invited in to talk and have tea. She knew most of the farmers, artisans, craftsmen, and tradesmen we passed quite personally, stopping to inquire about the quality of crops or surpluses, shortages of materials, tax adjustments, and running potential laws by them to discuss how their livelihoods may be affected. I carried the thin planks that she took notes on in a giant backpack. She used a brass rod that glided across each plank, applying precise burns just as a pen wrote on paper. Throughout the whole process, she was extremely pleasant, even kind. Everything she did was organized and exact. If it wasn¡¯t, she would make it so. I didn¡¯t know what would happen if she couldn¡¯t control something, but I imagined it would look a lot like Vetia. The biggest gripes she encountered were directly related to her father, who she did not talk about or talk to unless absolutely necessary. If we didn¡¯t go out during the day, usually due to rain, I would spend the time cleaning her chambers or doing her laundry. It was a lot, and I¡¯d never been so constantly exhausted that I would simply fall into my cot and wake up the next morning on the spot. Over the course of those few weeks, I started to look forward to going out for the day to learn about the business of the quarter, mostly because it was less monotonous than cleaning and doing laundry all day. The city was more beautiful than I expected, and we¡¯d often stop by the market to buy bread and fruits for a midday snack while we walked. And that was the kicker. Simira was always going somewhere, doing something, walking at her quick, dutiful pace. I, of course, had to keep up. She basically never sat down and it was, again, beyond exhausting. If she wasn¡¯t moving, she was talking to somebody, and if she wasn¡¯t moving or talking, she was chugging water or wolfing down a snack. I actually never saw her eat unless we were together, and I got into the habit of asking if she had eaten when she was particularly prickly, to which the answer was always ¡°Oh, I forgot to eat.¡± In the evenings, I was mostly free to do personal business aside from checking in with her once at sundown to see if she needed anything. Her door was usually cracked, so I¡¯d peek in when she was reading or copying a book before her nightly meditation. She started speaking to me casually when we were together. Well, not exactly personal. It was more like she would think out loud while I listened, but she¡¯d ask for my opinion on which scents she should mix into her meditation candles, input on random philosophical ideas she¡¯d been studying, or which of the seasonal wines she should have. I was still conflicted on what to feel toward her, but she had an openness about her that insisted you feel comfortable around her, and it worked on me. Maybe it was because she was always smiling when she was out making the rounds, running, or reading, like she genuinely enjoyed everything she did. It didn¡¯t take long for me to see glimpses of her more troubled side, though. While in the downtrodden factory section of her quarter, she was always scowling and cursing her father. The factories were rudimentary work lines with simple machines. The people worked on an assembly line, making weapons and armor to be sold to the Triali government. This provided a massive source of income to the quarter, but the quarter never seemed to improve from it. They used sigils to heat the metal and press it in a mold, then pass it down the line. The sigil was apparently simple enough that any commoner could use it safely, so it went one step per person. Armor would start as a sheet of brass or steel at one end and be a fully constructed chestplate by the end of the line. Linking the chain armor was more tedious, but the chain links were quickly and easily constructed from molds. Even though the sigils were safe, the machinery was far from it. Workers frequently had their fingers, hands, or entire arms crushed and severely burned in the molds due to shoddy construction and no upkeep. The factories were filthy, dangerous, and never stopped running, reminding me of the textile mills I¡¯d learned about in school. Simira frequently demanded the conditions be raised, but the laws she wanted to implement were always rejected by her father. Because of that, she did what her power allowed her to do: go there and take information, release it to the citizens, then to try the businesses. While she was speaking with a factory owner from another city, he laughed in her face because she was inquiring about the allocation of money. Most of them accommodated her demands, but he said ¡°my operation is too large to concern the daughter of a Viscount.¡± She didn¡¯t see it that way and challenged him to a fisticuffs duel on the spot, right in front of the entire line. If she won, he¡¯d turn over the information, adhering to the rules of her city, and if he won, she would stop prying. He accepted for the sake of his pride, but being a portly man who only knew business, she beat the ever-loving fuck out of him. The audience, his workers, were cheering too loudly for Simira to hear him yelling in concession and she broke his nose, several of his fingers, and his left arm. There weren¡¯t many duels, but damn did they get bloody when they happened. That was just the way of life in Vehfirn. So long as a guard or members of the public witnessed a formal challenge, people could duel to settle personal disputes. Following the incident at the factory, she presented a law to her father concerning the safety of laborers, but he shot it down because the owner of the factory was a former colleague to his old mining business and the beatdown was enough. Simira always claimed the real reasons he shot down her propositions were because they would limit business profits and force him to reduce spending. She had a journal, though, and she wrote every law down for when she would eventually take power. I spent most of the nights in my quarters. It was the size of a walk-in closet, but it was private, which was a small win. Thinking about it, I didn¡¯t really speak to anyone other than Lady Simira. I was starting to wonder about a lot of things. Why is Simira so mad at Vetia? They¡¯d probably get along really well, all things considered. Hell, I¡¯m even starting to like her against my better judgment. Even back in Poikla I kind of liked her. Sitting alone in that cramped room had me thinking a lot. More than I was used to. A lot of self reflection when I would have been on my phone or gaming before. I missed my friends way more than I expected. Brenden and Desmond were still MIA, but I¡¯d heard good things about Adam. How he was doing well with the guard and all that, but Vetia was a completely different story. She¡¯d apparently been refusing to heal anyone once she got tired, so the Viscount told the guards to give her the wounds that she wouldn¡¯t heal. It was all hearsay, but last I¡¯d heard, she started healing the guards after an incident on a really rough day of training. And they didn¡¯t refer to her as a person, they referred to her as ¡°the half-breed¡± or simply ¡°it.¡± I hadn¡¯t challenged Simira at all. I¡¯d been completely compliant since arriving because she offered a way out given the right circumstances and if I proved loyal. I just missed my friends. I hated being alone. I wasn¡¯t praying or doing anything for myself. I wasn¡¯t Tells. I was Simira¡¯s servant, and that didn¡¯t sit right with me. I was so torn every time I looked at Lady Simira. Part of me wanted to stab her in the back or push her off the manor wall. The other part genuinely respected her. That may have been the difference, though. Despite how she was as a leader, I would always hate her as a person, but even that was falling away as I got to know her. Being at that manor brought about some of the darkest thoughts I¡¯d had in my whole life. I¡¯d never fantasized of killing anyone legitimately before, but if there wasn¡¯t really a way out, would I eventually have to commit murder? Between crying myself to sleep and working myself to death, I was just becoming more and more frustrated and miserable. It was another normal morning for me. I got dressed in my light orange vest and baggy cloth pants, fastened the belt around my waist, and tied my hair back. I knocked on Lady Simira¡¯s door and she was already up, ready to test me. ¡°Enter.¡± I opened the door, stepped in, and shut it while looking at the ground. She was sitting at her desk in her absurdly wide throne, finishing a passage in her journal. I presented an upward right fist as if stabbing my chest, and quickly slapped my left hand flat on top, holding it straight. This was the salute. She always corrected me because I held my fist too high instead of aligning my first thumb knuckle with the bottom of my sternum. I lowered my head slightly and put my arms back at my sides. She got up, saluting me, cracking her neck, and casually pulling off her sleeveless tunic. Loose, light orange pants and a tight chest wrap, barefoot and tied hair was the sign that I was about to be her punching bag. ¡°Let¡¯s move, you¡¯re already late.¡± I bowed my head and lowered my hands, following her through the door in the back left of her study. The room was spacious, wide, organized. She opened the windows to the courtyard on the long far wall, then tossed me gloves and a helmet. Gloves, helmets, wraps, stones, training weapons, actual weapons, several battered dummies, and first aid materials were neatly organized along the wall I walked in through and the right wall. Off to the left was a wallwide mirror. Simira smiled, gently bouncing back and forth on the tan straw-like material that was woven into a firm mat covering the entire floor. I kept my tunic and pants on for sparring. Then it was down to business. ¡°Your entrance, greeting and posture are acceptable. Your attire is acceptable, but your hair is disorderly and should not be covering your face. Tying your hair back will not continue to work if you let strands come loose in the front. Speak with Kaijan about shaving your head or styling it differently after our meeting.¡± And there¡¯s the micromanaging side of her again. I finished wrapping my hands, then put my spongey cloth gloves and helmet on and got into my fighting stance. She gracefully stepped forward, fists clenched at her side. ¡°As of today, you have served me for fifteen days. In that time, I have taken great care to educate and prepare you for serving me as long as you remain at the manor. I will now question your retention of historical knowledge. Tells Samson, why do we serve Emperor Senik Gossam?¡± ¡°After the coup against his father 238 years ago, Emperor Gossam united the city states and kingdoms to make Triala what it is now. The empire doubled in size and now spans the entire eastern-¡± She shot forward, sending a light punch for my core, which I hopped back from. ¡°-half of Peturi. Since the empire was formed, the people have lived in prosperity under his just and gracious rule.¡± She nodded, suddenly letting loose two hooks, which I ducked away from, stumbling off balance. She sighed, stepping forward with little effort and sweeping my feet out from under me and knocking me flat on my ass. ¡°As for Vehfirn, outline the order of noble families and what powers they hold.¡± I grabbed her hand, which pulled me to my feet. She always seemed bored fighting me, but we began circling each other. ¡°Vehfirn is split into four quarters. Three of them are ruled by Viscounts of three noble families.¡± She thrust her fist for the center of my face, but I managed to bat it aside. ¡°Amien,¡± Another. ¡°Hallax,¡± Another. ¡°and Muria.¡± A final punch, much quicker, and directly into the center of my helmet. My head reeled back, trying to dodge, but she leaned in further than I expected, knocking me off my feet, a flash of white halting my thoughts. She smiled like she was somewhat impressed. ¡°Quicker dodging than usual, and correct. Now finish your answer.¡± I racked my brain, trying to recall where I was in thought. ¡°Uh, Amie¡­ Ha¡­ Muria- oh. Each Viscount is tasked with keeping order in their designated quarter, levying taxes, and creating laws. The Viscounts answer to the Count Jeun Wey and receive funds or land depending on their success. The Count oversees the county at large, with the power to grant and take land from Viscounts at will, and sets the county-wide tax minimum that each Viscount must adhere to. The Duchess Ori Kalesi has similar powers and answers directly to the emperor. Each level may create laws that those beneath must follow and implement into their own rule.¡± ¡°Sufficient enough.¡± She pulled me up again, stretching her arms and casually swaying as if dancing. ¡°I want you to land one clean, solid hit on me before you finish your next answer. Now what country are we fighting in the war?¡± She rushed me, so I sent my right fist at her core, but she caught my arm before I could pull it back and spun around my left hook, twisted with my arm, then kicked my knee out, pinning me to the ground. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A country? I don¡¯t remember a specific country. Or is it¡­ yeah, it is. She let go and hopped off me, so I twisted around, catching my foot on her knee. She stumbled asI pushed forward and caught both of her ankles with my feet, sweeping her off balance. I lunged up, clambering to my feet and pulling my fist back to hit her in the face. I stumbled over her, her determined, excited, intense orange eyes urging me to fight, catching my attention. She was a fighter, but she was also a woman. And I was on top of her, lightly sweating as a cool morning breeze blew over me. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to hit her, so I bonked the front of her helmet with my glove. ¡°There is no one country Triala is conquering, but a coalition of jorlad and trideski kingdoms and city states that occupy the mountainous region in the west of Peturi and the archipelagos off the coast.¡± I sat there on top of her and dropped my arms to my side, unsure of what to do. She stared up at me, her impressed expression withering. ¡°Good. New question. What do I say to pulling punches?¡± ¡°You always say not to-¡± She slammed her fist into the side of my helmet, another flash of white and I was on the floor. A sigh from above me pulled my eyes up to her standing with her hands on her waist, disappointed. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between a dummy and a servant who won¡¯t fight back?¡± ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t know, Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Clearly.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t working. Up.¡± Once again, she pulled me up, then dragged a dummy into the center of the floor and crossed her arms to question me. ¡°Tells, why do you refuse to hit me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re the daughter of the Viscount, Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Why would you not hit a daughter of the Viscount?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m not allowed to.¡± ¡°Who says you¡¯re not allowed to?¡± ¡°The laws.¡± ¡°So then, because of the laws, I should be allowed to assault, batter, or kill anyone I please?¡± I hesitated, wanting to say ¡°you already do¡± but knowing that was probably the wrong answer. ¡°If it is within the laws, then the laws say it can happen?¡± She noticed my confusion and sighed, pulling off her helmet and gloves. ¡°So if I make a law saying that I can do whatever I want, what would you do?¡± ¡°Try not to get on your bad side.¡± ¡°Why would you not fight against that law?¡± I paused. ¡°I- I don¡¯t know.¡± She closed the windows. ¡°No. Do not claim ignorance. Find the answer. Why would you not fight?¡± My lip quivered. ¡°I might die.¡± ¡°Oh, well then I suppose I have nothing to worry about then. I can do whatever I want.¡± ¡°I- I¡­¡± A grim smirk crept across her face. ¡°So if I started beating you to death right now, as you¡¯ve seen me do to others, as I will continue to do, would you grovel and beg for mercy, or fight for your life?¡± ¡°L-lady Simira, I-¡± She stepped toward me apathetically. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you regardless. It¡¯s up to you if you want to fight for a chance to live, even if you have little chance of beating me.¡± A creeping fear crawled up my spine as she took another step toward me. She¡¯s being totally serious. Simira took a final step, then raised her fists. I didn¡¯t even see her move before I found myself on the ground. My stomach wrenched, air pushed from my lungs and my eyes caught her standing over me, pulling her foot back. Another burst of searing pain shot through my stomach. She raised me, holding me against the wall as I gasped, gagging on my own saliva trying to get a breath in. Her cruel eyes burned like hellfire glaring at me. Her hand wrapped around my throat, forcing my windpipe closed. My lungs burned for air and then a switch I¡¯d been holding back flipped in me. All that resentment I¡¯d been holding back boiled up. FUCK THIS BITCH I pulled my right glove off and whirled my fist into her nose. Her hand fell away from my neck and both of my hands swung out blindly, aggressively, wildly at her face. She threw her hands out, blocking them with ease and trying for grabs like Desmond would always do back then, so I threw two wide punches and when both of her hands were out blocking, in went my head, right for the bridge of her nose. She reeled backward in a short blackout. I slammed her temple with my fist and she collapsed on her side. My hands shrunk and clenched madly for something, anything. They found a jzonuto on the weapons rack. I swung around and she was already on her feet, but I had the scimitar pointed directly at her. I had her. I could kill her. But I held it there, chest heaving, mind racing, trying to contain myself. She blankly stared at me, reeling, swaying, caught off guard and then stilled by the underside of the scimitar I held to her chin. Just leaning forward would do it. A quick thrust. A slash. ¡­ But I shouldn¡¯t¡­ but it would be so easy¡­ but I won¡¯t. The pressure in my ears was too much to handle. I couldn¡¯t hear, my stomach and neck were aching horribly, air couldn¡¯t stay in my lungs long enough to get a full sentence out without turning into a messy storm of bloody saliva. ¡°I ain¡¯t here for your games, your shit! I¡¯m here because you cut my fuckin¡¯ best friend¡¯s tongue out and locked her up! You don¡¯t know how many nights I went to sleep and dreamed about killing you for that shit! But you wanna know why I won¡¯t kill you?! BECAUSE KILLING YOU DOESN¡¯T DO SHIT! EVEN IF IT DID, I¡¯D HAVE A WHOLE CITY HUNTING ME! I¡¯M HERE FOR YOUR PLAN! BECAUSE YOU TOOK HER HOSTAGE! You gave her away to your dad and if I kill you, it don¡¯t change shit! And you been dragging me around, training me, testing me, actin¡¯ like I¡¯m your friend, but I¡¯m waitin¡¯ for you to tell me what I can do ¡®cause my real friend is collared and beaten and used for her fuckin¡¯ magic ALL DAY EVERY GODDAMN DAY! I¡¯m done playing these fuckin¡¯ games! God, why¡¯s every rich bitch gotta be the same two-faced uppity bitches?!¡± She finally lifted her simmering eyes from the sword with a guilt hiding in her cunning stare. Her braid was a mess, bloodied nose, bruised head, almost leaning into the blade like she wanted me to kill her. Oh, so NOW she wanna start actin¡¯ humble. ¡°WHAT?! Gonna beat the shit outta me for tellin¡¯ a bitch off?! Gonna cut my tongue out cause I hurt your little fuckin¡¯ feelings?! She din¡¯t do shit and you collared her and locked her up! Come on! What¡¯s it gonna be?! You got the power! You the one in charge! Go ahead! Beat me to death ¡®cause I don¡¯t like hittin¡¯ women! Cause I can¡¯t talk unless I wanna knock a mothafucka¡¯s lights out! I got issues too, but I¡¯m tryna fix ¡®em ¡®cause I¡¯m not a fuckin¡¯ kid! WHAT, BITCH, am I too big for you to pick on?! Can¡¯t handle gettin¡¯ told you¡¯re wrong unless you can fuck her up afterward?! C¡¯mon! Fuck me up! Throw me in prison! Collar me! What¡¯s it gonna be, bitch?! We both know I got lucky and I ain¡¯t gettin lucky again!¡± I threw the scimitar at the rack, puffing out my chest while she stood in place, unfazed, completely still, eyes locked on mine intensely. ¡°Go ahead, Lady Simira! I¡¯m at your all-wise-all-powerful-Viscount¡¯s-daughter-ass mercy! I can¡¯t do shit to help Vetia or Adam without your plan! Go a-fuckin-head and work your magic! What¡¯s the plan?!¡± I couldn¡¯t keep my teeth from gritting, lips moving like I wanted to talk, infuriated scowl on my face. Her voice was quiet, sincere. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the plan, bu-¡± ¡°Why?¡± I stepped forward. Lady Simira sighed, shaking her head. ¡°Because I¡¯m trying not to get you killed by people who would wish to prevent it.¡± ¡°How long¡¯s it gonna take?¡± She pursed her lips. ¡°Before winter, at least.¡± ¡°At least?¡± My eyes shot open, baffled, exhausted. ¡°Is Vetia even gonna live that long?¡± She closed her eyes, biting her upper lip. ¡°Should my father¡¯s health hold, yes.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t think about that before givin¡¯ her up?!¡± ¡°It was a lapse of judgment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my best friend¡¯s life!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what I already know!¡± She threw her hand out to the side, clenching her face. ¡°I know! I am aware of my slant toward conceit, to prideful rage! I am not in denial of my own shortcomings! I¡¯m trying to make this move as quickly as possible, but my father is the one who declares when her trial will be if the plan takes too long, not me!¡± I shook my head. ¡°This city¡¯s fucked if you¡¯re the next viscount.¡± She clenched her jaw, rage seething through her. ¡°Everything I do¡­ is for this city.¡± She stepped forward, slamming my shoulders back and forth again until I was against the wall and her wide-eyed, grim, bleeding visage was in my face. ¡°For my people. If you think there wasn¡¯t a reason for my rage at that woman, that there was no reason to protect my brother, then you are a blind fool. I do not want collateral damage, but there are blades at my back like you would not know. I am imperfect, but within the confines of law, I cannot afford any imperfections, no matter how many good people I must step on to achieve perfection. Those above me do not value life, so I cannot value life if I am to match and overcome them for the sake of all of us.¡± She took in a sharp breath. ¡°Even¡­ if that means your friend dies, if I have to hold her hostage for even the tiniest victory over the evil at large. I will bear that if it means saving my people and preserving their future.¡± She breathed slowly, backing away and recollecting herself. I did too. ¡°I refused to tell you because when I am eventually retaliated against, you will be safer in ignorance. I did not make that decision lightly, I made it for your sake, because this isn¡¯t something you survive knowing and I don¡¯t want you to also become collateral. I¡¯m doing this because I care about my people, but I am doing everything within my power to minimize harm to you, I only ask that you understand. You don¡¯t have to trust me.¡± I shrugged and turned away. ¡°Ain¡¯t got much of a choice now, do I?¡± Her hand clenched my shoulder. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to kill you, but I needed to know what kind of person you were, and that was the quickest way I would be able to find out.¡± I stared at her, my face lightening, but still peeved. ¡°That¡¯s a fucked up way of askin¡¯.¡± Conviction grew in her eyes. ¡°Words aren¡¯t enough in the war I¡¯m fighting. I¡­ we¡­ everyone fighting it must be unrelenting in their ideals.¡± She paused, taking in my bloodied face and softening her tone. ¡°But I hadn¡¯t realized the damage I¡¯d inflicted, nor the monster that this war¡­ that my eternal teacher has been making me.¡± A poignant silence took hold of the dojo as she lightly prodded her nose with bloodied, shaking hands. Those pools of cooling magma turned to the mat and she brushed her unfurling braid back, glancing up at the hair falling into her face and clenching her swelling fists with a light groan. I stepped up to her and silently rebraided it. She was still as ice the moment I touched her, like she didn¡¯t know what to do. And when I stepped away, she was silent, gently feeling the retightened braid. ¡°My dad always told me that you can¡¯t know what you¡¯re fighting for until you know who you are, and our enemies are always trying to change who we think we are. Always tryna change what being good means.¡± Her eyes rose to meet mine again. ¡°And? What do you think it means to be good.¡± ¡°Good is just helpin¡¯ people be better off than they were yesterday.¡± She sighed. ¡°Charitability is virtuous, but it¡¯s not practical.¡± ¡°Did I say charity?¡± I tilted my head, still a little pissed at her. ¡°It¡¯s showing people, teaching them how to better themselves. It¡¯s showing them out of a hole and guiding them toward where they need to be, and that ain¡¯t always where they wanna be.¡± Her voice softened, still skeptical. ¡°Even after I threatened your life, what, you¡¯re so quick to forgive that you¡¯d overlook everything I¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°My dad learned from a Lord¡¯s book, who I learned from too. The book says to pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a naive way of seeing the world. Some people, some things cannot be forgiven.¡± ¡°It also says the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Some people won¡¯t ever be perfect, but the point is that we¡¯re trying to be better. I want you to try to be better, because even though I¡¯m still pissed, I see what you do for your people. I don¡¯t know if I like you, but I¡¯m trying not to hate you.¡± She paused, pulling her head back, thinking deeply as though she knew the answer to her next question. ¡°Then what is evil?¡± I thought for a moment, unable to remember the verse verbatim. ¡°It¡¯s what comes from within. The bad things we¡¯re tempted into that defile us. The easy things in the moment that you don¡¯t think about. Like cutting somebody¡¯s tongue out because you gave up trying to hold your anger in. Like when I wanted to stab you in the throat. I got a lotta anger in me, but we ain¡¯t all allowed to just hurt people when we want.¡± Simira¡¯s face twisted with a slight sneer. ¡°You must be from a much nicer place than here. To have a loving father, people who taught their children such morals.¡± ¡°I only had a good dad who taught me the good book.¡± ¡°And this ¡®good book,¡¯¡± she raised an eyebrow, ¡°what, is it the law of the land or some such?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Kind of. Not much anymore. Most people back home stopped reading the book because they don¡¯t think the stories are real, because there¡¯s magic and miracles.¡± Her eyes glazed over. ¡°So there¡¯s a book with stories of moral teachings, and the people don¡¯t read it because the stories are of a fantastic nature? Are they all daft? Are they unacquainted with the meanings of stories and words? Implied lessons? Symbols? Are they illiterate?¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re heckling me aren¡¯t you?¡± I half-chuckled. ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Actually, almost everyone can read. They just don¡¯t like reading.¡± Bafflement overtook Simira¡¯s face. ¡°They don¡¯t- what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a fun book, it¡¯s hard to read because it makes you face those bad things inside of you.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose we¡¯re all fucked, then, since even the nice places are wrought with self-indulgence.¡± She threw her hand up in conceit. ¡°I should simply give up trying to better Vehfirn because it isn¡¯t fun! It¡¯s not easy either. Maybe¡­ maybe I¡¯ll lobotomize myself so I can enjoy life more simply without having any pesky self-reflection or morals.¡± ¡°To be fair, it¡¯s a religious book from a long time ago, and people stopped believing in it.¡± Realization dawned on her. ¡°Ah, yes, call a philosophy of ethics what it is, and it¡¯s too high brow for the common man. Call a philosophy a religion, and suddenly you¡¯ve attracted the crazies. They¡¯ll diminish the value of any teachings and stories through their own hypocrisy.¡± Simira picked up the jzonuto and placed it back on the rack. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to read it. Your answer to evil¡­ it sounded quite similar to the results of my contemplative meditations. And the teachings, though fantastical in nature, sound grounded in good faith.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have it, wish I did, though. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯d fit here. Things are too different.¡± Lady Simira nodded gently. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll likely spend the day in, so you can take the day off. And-¡± I couldn¡¯t help my eyes glaring. She sighed. ¡°I cannot make this stage of the plan move any faster, Tells. I¡¯m waiting for a signal, correspondence, which should be arriving any time now. Things will move quickly from there. However, I¡¯ve been meaning to give you a book you would likely take interest in after our conversation in Poikla, and now I¡¯m certain.¡± Lady Simira stepped out of the dojo, wincing as her knee popped, went into her study, rifled through a drawer of her desk and came back in with a blue leatherbound book. ¡°I¡¯ve made copies already, so consider this a gift, an apology, and a promise that I will not let my temper get the better of me again.¡± I shook off my boxing glove, then took the book in my clean hand, its smooth leather binding comfortably resting against my fingers. She continued, ¡°I write small to reduce parchment, so it may be difficult to read at later hours without a bimunaekat. One moment.¡± Bimunaekat, or a combination of the Triali words for fire (bimuo) and crystal (naekat). They were the orange glowing crystals around the city and in the halls. She stepped out again, then returned with a tiny bimunaekat attached to a brass clip. ¡°You can clip this to the page if it¡¯s too dark.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to-¡± ¡°I have bimunaekat¡¯s all around me and an old clip with a crystal that¡¯s not yet disintegrated. You don¡¯t.¡± She forced the clip into my hand and closed it. ¡°There are some lovely spots out in the city or the courtyard. The leaves will be changing soon, and it¡¯s quite a wonderful place to read, to relax.¡± I nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± We parted and I cleaned myself up, unable to walk far enough to make it to the clinic, not that I even knew where it was. My injuries weren¡¯t bad enough to warrant going, though. Just light cuts, bruises, plus my aching head and a core I could barely stand up straight with. My body didn¡¯t hurt as bad as I expected, like I was more durable than I was expecting, and my wounds never took long to heal, so I stayed in my quarter and rested my body. I pulled out the book, titled ¡°Djoteided¡¯s Beat¡± and opened it to the first section. It was titled ¡°A conversation in the forum of Yazjikurn¡± and went as follows. The lasting stupor of wine and kun is one which every human need feel once. Bumbling legs and flighty head, having drizzled away come morning and become flighty legs and bumbling head. For upon such a sorry day of ash, as I trudged forward in strange tidings, beyond the Children of Ashe parading the streets, I stumbled upon a beggar, a wretched man, a mess of frightful unkempt hair, brashly odorous loins, and a face the like of a gontab whose mother was a corty and whose father reeked of briques. Truly a detestable sight, alas, my faith in the Heart be unswayed, I approached the creature. ¡°Man! If you be man and not beast, prove it and I shall a golden coin bestow upon thee. Firstly, declare thyself.¡± ¡°Many thanks be upon ye for such a chance, Wise Djoteided, but may I call thee Djo, for my tongue has swelled upon a mighty blood fever.¡± ¡°Ay, shouldst thou tell me thy name, but call me not wise, for none may be so wise as the Brain.¡± ¡°A fool, I must be, but a beast I am not. I was Larmeonip the man, but now I am Larmeonip the beggar.¡± ¡°Humble Larmeonip, I have none more but a second question, though thy claim to foolhood distracts mine attention, for if a fool is so foolish he cannot write or read, is he not but a beast of the mob?¡± ¡°Curious Djo, is a man who cannot read a man who cannot think? I reckon beasts be only those who are as unthinking as those beneath beggars.¡± ¡°Inquisitive Larmeonip, I have met many a man who speak and yet act as beasts, in a stupor rustling the feathers of unwanting unwanton women and not a day later celebrated for declaring victory upon enemies of the Body who would decimate our land! How canst thou prove thou art man if even the virtuous act as beasts?¡± ¡°Cynical Djo, thy answer lies in thy question, but pose I a question for thee?¡± ¡°Ask, Larmeonip!¡± ¡°Which way do we read?¡± ¡°Soil to sky, dawn to dusk of course.¡± ¡°Beasts hold their heads down, searching the soil for nourishment and prey, no?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Thus Elysians hold their heads high, watchful of our domain, no?¡± ¡°Correct again.¡± ¡°Dawn is a fresh babe, but not bright enough to know, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip.¡± ¡°Thus dusk is a wishful remembrance of day, having no more to know, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip, and?¡± ¡°Therein lies the answer, Djo.¡± ¡°Circular Larmeonip, tis thine answer to thy question!¡± ¡°What witness I between beast and Elysian, dawn and dusk, is that of Larmeonip. I cannot answer for Djoteided.¡± ¡°Deceitful Larmeonip, thou¡¯rt of blood tongues!¡± ¡°And yet I speak¡± ¡°Foolish Larmeonip, thou canst read!¡± ¡°And yet I see.¡± ¡°Bumbling Larmeonip, thou listen not!¡± ¡°And yet I hear.¡± ¡°Rash Larmeonip, thou thinkst not!¡± ¡°And yet I have fooled the stuped unwiseman.¡± In a flight of rage, I dropped a gold coin politely in that dreadful man¡¯s hand and cursed the wine and kun which curdled my veil of wisdom. 32: Youre Gonna Go Far, Kid 32 (The Offspring- You¡¯re Gonna Go Far, Kid) Adam I got used to spending summer days in the armory cleaning armor with Alwen. He was a good guy, and one I probably would have been pretty good friends with back home. Our conversations were frequently interrupted by the tonal clicks and chirps coming from the west gate. Tensions had been rising for a while apparently, as small groups, small protests of yeffen gathered outside the gates. The yeffen here were much younger than Geren, seeming like a different race entirely. Their feathers were lush, beaks were made of bone or gilded plates, they were far nimbler, and less hunched. I couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying or singing. I was just in the armory unbending dents and passing them to Alwen to buff the scratches out. Despite hearing them all day long, the Viscount and Simira never did anything about it, so Captain Zev or some other guards would get fed up with the noise and disperse them, only for them to move to another gate. Apparently, due to a legal arrangement the yeffen had with Lord Hallax, they were protected from being harmed or imprisoned by Amien guards unless they caused any direct damage. And the protests couldn¡¯t technically be called protests, which would have made them a crime. Nobody spoke yeffen, and the yeffen would only say they were ¡°singing songs of praise for the Amiens,¡± so they were by all accounts toeing the line of legality perfectly. ¡°Alwen, do you know what they¡¯re all doing out there?¡± He stopped cleaning as he thought. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The yeffen haven¡¯t ever really liked the Amiens, I think.¡± He began wiping again. ¡°Huh, I couldn¡¯t imagine why.¡± ¡°Me too. My parents and my grandparents tell me stories about the Amiens all the time. The yeffen and the Amiens should be close friends. Like allies. The Amien family liberated the yeffen from a cruel tyrant. The tyrant had been controlling the minds of the yeffen for centuries. They called it the Taker. The Baron Amien, several generations of Amiens ago and before they were viscounts, fought the tyrant and defeated it in the caves that they used to live in. The yeffen wanted a fresh start, so they found a new land, to get away from the terrible place they had been enslaved forever. That¡¯s how the Amiens got this manor and became viscounts instead of just small barons. Things have been peaceful forever here. And then when the yeffen were inducted two years ago, they started trying to slander the viscount because of the accident those years back.¡± ¡°What do you mean, inducted?¡± ¡°Oh, right, you¡¯re from the sticks. The yeffen got inducted into humanity two years ago. They¡¯re the most recent humans.¡± He leaned in like he had some secret knowledge. ¡°I heard they barely managed to show enough smarts to pass, and the ones who passed were the smartest. Most of the regular yeffen are actually as dumb as animals, still. They can talk and act like people, but they ain¡¯t got nothing to contribute.¡± ¡°Uh huh, sure. What was the accident?¡± ¡°Right. Viscountess Amien made a deal with the yeffen about twenty years ago. The yeffen offered fealty if the Viscountess let them visit the tunnels and collect some historic paintings or tablets or whatever they were looking for. Since nobody had been down there in so long, I guess the rocks were loose and the group of them were killed in a cave-in. Them and the Viscountess. Apparently everybody liked her, a real crowd pleaser, fixin¡¯ a lot o¡¯ things. I only seen her once, but I was still a kid. We were closer to her and the rest of the Amiens when I was younger.¡± ¡°Huh, damn. I¡¯ve only ever met one yeffen, and he was a nice older guy living alone in a cabin.¡± ¡°Well, there are plenty out the gate if you wanna meet more. I personally hope I don¡¯t have to talk to them ever again. I ain¡¯t much of a conspiracy man, but I think they¡¯re the ones that caused the cave-in. Look at how big and clumsy they are, probably screamed and banged into the rocks to make ¡®em fall. Just as stupid as they are ugly. They can¡¯t even speak proper Triali ¡®cause it ¡®hurts¡¯ to talk like us, over there screaming like cubbins instead.¡± ¡°Is that what everyone here thinks?¡± ¡°Thinks?¡± He laughed. ¡°You live with those animals long enough and you¡¯ll see it for yourself. A jinian like you acts like a regular person even if you don¡¯t look like one, why can¡¯t they?¡± The fuck is that supposed to mean? ¡°Uh, are jinian typically not normal?¡± ¡°Well, uh, alright now, this is some old, old history. Since before Triala was founded. Actually, I think the Amiens were one of the founding families of Triala. Anyways, a long time ago, jinian ruled the world. They¡¯re big and smart and more powerful than the rest of us. So the jorlad and everyone else revolted and started killing ¡®em all. Then, one jinian leader said that he would take the jinian and keep them far away, out of the wars and politics to live alone in peace. They split, and the good jinian went away, but the bad jinian all got killed, tryin¡¯ to kill all us jorlad. So a lot of people don¡¯t really like jinian, which I understand, but I know that there¡¯s only good jinian left cause all the bad ones were killed. A lotta people don¡¯t think like me, though. I¡¯m too ¡®accepting¡¯ apparently.¡± ¡°That¡¯s, uh, good to know, I guess. I was raised by jorlad, so-¡± Alwen patted my arm and chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re normal. Look at me, teachin¡¯ you all about history when that¡¯s all you had to say. You¡¯re basically one of us.¡± ¡°You seem to like history a lot, Alwen.¡± ¡°Well, my kjzae and I love history, and since I can¡¯t do much hard physical stuff, the Viscount lets me ¡®n her read planks in the Amien¡¯s archive.¡± I popped a dent back into place and halted in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were committed.¡± He tilted his head and tapped twelve tiny copper studs running up the side of his right ear. ¡°I know my hair covers ¡®em up sometimes.¡± He smiled gleefully and polished with a little more pep. ¡°Just hit twelve years. Almost thirteen. Almost our first bronze stud.¡± He smacked his lips and glanced into the empty water bucket next to him. ¡°I¡¯ve been talkin¡¯ too much. I¡¯m gonna go get a new pail of water.¡± I watched him limp off, slight skips to his short steps as he approached the well. It was still easy to forget that I wasn¡¯t human or the same as the people I was around. I didn¡¯t want to stand out or be scary, but I did that simply by existing. In fact, everyone here except for Captain Zev, Vetia and I passed as normal. But most people had a hard time telling Vetia was a half breed unless they noticed her eyes or fangs. But when they did see she was a half breed, they treated her worse than freaks like me and the Captain. Heavy boots approached me and there he was, Captain Zev. ¡°Adam, you are requested by the Viscount.¡± Captain Zev¡¯s thin eyes focused on the group of yeffen before releasing a tired sigh. My eyes went wide. ¡°Um, yes sir. Do I need to know anything before I meet the Viscount?¡± ¡°Oh, no. You are not meeting the Viscount, he is assessing you. Walk with me.¡± He led me away from the armory, across the training grounds and to the north western wall. I hadn¡¯t been here. North of the training grounds in the corner by the walls was a building that looked like just another storehouse, or maybe servant housing. It was connected to the wall, which dwarfed the small wooden building in comparison. We stopped and Zev put his hand on the sturdy wooden door. He held the handle still and sternly looked me in the eyes. ¡°Adam, on the Viscount¡¯s orders, you are to don armor and a weapon. Once you do so, Rezyn will lead you to the arena where you will present yourself to the Viscount.¡± He squeezed my shoulder. ¡°The Viscount is still skeptical of your ability and I believe he is eager to watch a jinian fight, since jinian are so rare in Triala. I admit, that is the very reason I was eager to duel you as well. But, I have no fear that you will overcome the challenge. Be alert. Be careful. Your inexperience is your greatest hindrance, but knowing your shortcomings will be your greatest boon.¡± He whipped the door open and pushed me in, slamming it behind me. My heart was already racing as my eyes slowly adjusted to the dim room. The windows were blocked and the only light source was a single crystal in a room down the hallway before me. The entire place stunk like a wet dog, and I heard pounding all over the floor above me. A man¡¯s smooth voice echoed down the hall from me. ¡°That you, Adam? Come right on in here.¡± I couldn¡¯t see where the voice originated, but I stepped down the hall into the torchlit room. Against the side wall was a sparse armor rack and a rickety weapon rack. The armor rack had a chain shirt with leather shirts and britches. On the weapon rack was a shortsword, a longsword, a dagger, a war hammer, and a massive battle axe. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen you. Gotta say, you look more confident than before. A little, at least.¡± Rezyn swaggered out of the shadows and checked me up and down. ¡°Glad we never had to fight back then, you seem like you¡¯d take a tough swing to go down.¡± I looked at him puzzled for a second, and then it dawned on me. ¡°You¡¯re the one who held the sword to Tells¡¯ throat on the wagon.¡± ¡°Good to see you again too.¡± He had a casual, cocky air about him, but his eyes were clearly sharp. ¡°That was just me doing my job, nothing personal. Wasn¡¯t actually gonna kill her, y¡¯know, unless I did.¡± He chuckled. ¡°That happen a lot? Cutting random wagoneers¡¯ throats?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say it does. Not how we usually operate. And you know, that little gift from Andris was actually courtesy of me. Keeping people quiet isn¡¯t just about cutting their tongues out or throwing a collar on them. The Lady has trouble remembering that sometimes.¡± ¡°Gift? Huh?¡± Rezyn chuckled and paced toward the armor. ¡°You got some really generous friends, dontcha, Adam?¡± He pulled a padded tunic down from the armor stand. ¡°Alright, strip big man. Let¡¯s get you geared up.¡± ¡°You allowed to tell me who I¡¯m gonna be fighting?¡± ¡°Who? Good one. No. It¡¯s better if it¡¯s a surprise anyway. All I¡¯ll tell you is just keep your head on straight and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Shit, I was planning on falling on my blade the second I picked it up.¡± I threw my shirt on the bench and grabbed the padded gear from him. ¡°On the Skin, what gave you that gnarly set o¡¯ scars?¡± He raised an eyebrow at my abdomen, which I¡¯d completely forgotten about. ¡°Before we got to Poikla, we got ambushed by some nasty bugs with massive pinchers. I fought one solo. I cut his head off, but he almost cut me in half. Wouldn¡¯t have survived if Vetia didn¡¯t go overboard healing me.¡± ¡°Is that its name? Huh, whatever. It¡¯s a nice cut for a shazgadj, lonsu half aside. I see how it got to Tarynn¡¯s head.¡± That just made my blood boil. Fuck this gu- no¡­ no¡­ I just have to keep going along with this bullshit. This guy¡¯s above me, and I need to gain influence. ¡°What, did Simira tell everyone about that already?¡± His face went from carefree to angry in a flash. ¡°That¡¯s Lady Simira to you.¡± I froze. ¡°Uh- s-sorry, I didn¡¯t-¡± He slyly grinned. ¡°Take it easy, champ. I don¡¯t give a shit whatcha call that stuck-up prude. But yeah, that smear story spread faster than fluff through a whore house. Funny enough, I never knew why Simira was always such a cunt about us using the serving girls, even ones she hates, ¡®til I found out about how half her first squadron was a lil too frisky for her. Didn¡¯t even do nothin¡¯ but touch her and she left a pile of dickless charred corpses, the crazy bitch.¡± I sighed, really trying to bear with this. ¡°I thought they¡¯d hate you more, honestly, but I guess they¡¯re just interested in seeing the big green beast fight. Shame you don¡¯t have more scars, or you could show ¡®em off and people would love it. I expected more on a jinian of your age.¡± ¡°Of my age?¡± I couldn¡¯t help snickering at him saying that. ¡°I¡¯m only 21, what are you talking about?¡± ¡°Right, right. My mistake. Middle-aged is the new young. Here.¡± He laughed to himself and tossed the chainmail to me. Middle-aged? I was in the prime of my life on Earth, but in this place they think I¡¯m middle aged? Huh? I slid the chainmail over my head and fastened my boots. ¡°Wait, what? What do you mean, middle aged? His smile faded as he was tightening my gloves. He looked up in disbelief and I wasn¡¯t able to hide the worry on my face. I clarified for him. ¡°I was, um, adopted and raised by a jorlad family with my friends. Am I actually old?¡± ¡°Well shit. It¡¯s rare to see a jinian past 40. But you¡¯re a big guy and you seem plenty healthy. I doubt you¡¯ve hit halfway yet.¡± He tried giving me an awkward smile, but the atmosphere was slowly bearing down on me with the realization that I was so low on time. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°You don¡¯t have to try to make me feel better about it.¡± I let all the air out of my lungs and filled them back up slowly. I can¡¯t worry about dying old right now. I have to worry about not dying at all. I¡¯ll leave my prime when my body gives out. ¡°Gimme the hammer and the axe.¡± He passed them to me one at a time. I rested the hammer on my right shoulder and held the axe close to the head in my left hand, letting it swing as I walked. ¡°Show me the way.¡± Rezyn led me down a set of stairs beneath the ground to a dark hallway. It seemed like we were still heading south before I saw daylight from beyond a metal gate. He grabbed onto a wheel and pushed it, raising the gate. ¡°Go get ¡®em, youngblood.¡± I walked through the stone brick tunnel, passing under the gate. Details were hard to make out in the bright daylight before me as my eyes adjusted, but I heard a voice like a plucky showman announcing to the booming crowd. ¡°But alas, the Lady¡¯s consort- rather- contender, is emerging! Masters and Mistresses, behold the beast of the far, far east. A creature few on this continent have seen. Gray as ash and green as bile, a giant! A jinian!¡± I slowed in the tunnel as the audience broke out into laughter. Fuck. I¡¯m horrible in front of people. What am I gonna be doing exactly? Fighting? I haven¡¯t ever done it while being watched by hundreds of people. I¡¯ve barely done it at all! Ohhhhh, fuuuuck¡­ I can¡¯t even step fully out of the gate. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s being shy! I fear he may need your hands to perk him up! Everyone, stroke his ego with me, for he is Adam, the Mountain Crusher!¡± This character before me looked like a jester of sorts. He had ridiculous striped orange and white robes that were tucked into bright yellow skin-tight overalls. A half-eaten piece of fruit dangled in front of his face from his droopy pointy purple hat. He seemed human, but he had tan wings, tail, and horns that were all heavily pierced and adorned with gems, brass, and gold. His pale, youthful face had a line of tan scales up each cheek and his skin in general seemed rougher than a person¡¯s. I walked out, nervous and trying not to look at the crowd. He was chewing on a bite from the fruit and directed the audience¡¯s attention toward me as he spoke with a full mouth. ¡°Well well well, give me some of what those mountains are getting. Ladies and lords of the audience, shield your eyes and your hearts if you wish to remain loyal!¡± He danced up to me and put a finger on my chest. ¡°Oh, Adam, won¡¯t you swing your hammer for me and the audience? We¡¯d all love to see how you pound!¡± He leaned in, still loudly speaking. ¡°Maybe a little private show for me afterward?¡± I didn¡¯t really know what to do. He seems like he¡¯s trying to be a showman with everything, but I can¡¯t calm down because of all the laughing and yelling. Are they laughing at me? His raunchy jokes? Do they think I¡¯m a joke? Is this just a circus and I¡¯m the lion? Sweat sprinted down my head and I couldn¡¯t utter anything as every word evaded my mind, a grossed out expression taking hold of my face. ¡°The hammer is for fighting. Am I fighting you?¡± The jester recoiled dramatically, resting his hand on his head like he¡¯d been defeated. ¡°Oh! And I thought the worst he could say is no! I¡¯ll be thinking of a way to win you over, so let¡¯s all think extra long and hard about Adam tonight, and about the wild rumble we¡¯re about to see!¡± He threw out his arms and his voice boomed, invigorating the crowd wildly. The jester climbed a ladder up the edge of the arena, and I followed him with my eyes, seeing the whole arena for the first time. It was like a medieval jousting arena, with an awning and throne for the Viscount, who was happily chuckling and watching along. I couldn¡¯t see him well in the shade, as the sun beat right down on me. Simira seemed as miserable as ever next to him, but still seated upright with dignity, while Tarynn was slumped and leaning on his fist, uninterested and distant. Captain Zev was just taking a seat down behind the Viscount and Simira. There was an empty seat next to Tarynn. I locked eyes with Tells, who was seated below the Viscount¡¯s little booth. She was leaning on the wall, wide eyed and grimacing at the jester. The seats of this arena were packed. I hadn¡¯t ever seen this many people in the manor before until I realized we weren¡¯t in the manor. I saw the edge of the wall, and this was outside the manor, where the public could come to watch bloodshed. The jester sat on the wall and hushed the crowd. He moaned into a sigh. ¡°He can crush mountains, but can he take the beast of the day. Behold, the rare, the raging, the ravenous river rizumir!¡± The crowd roared, but everything he said just made my chest pound and twist with anxiety. I jumped from the sound of grinding metal to my right, where a creature slowly emerged from the shadows of a massive gate. It looked like some kind of bird with bright cerulean feathers. Numerous talons protruded from each of its feet, so much that they resembled massive cages of bone when they drew in each time it lifted a foot. Its body was thin, having jagged fins of bone emerging from its back and webbed arms. The serrated hooked beak shrieked, flexing its claws. There were trickles of blood flowing down its abdomen, turning the feathers glossy and slick. Those rivers of blood weren¡¯t stopping, and squirted out as it attempted to flex whatever was once attached to it, whimpering from the pain of its hacked-off limbs. A lizard-like tail whipped behind it, razor bones running down the length. I can¡¯t speak. My throat¡¯s locked up and my body''s gonna follow if I can¡¯t steady my breath. Fear. Its tail slashing my head off. Claws gouging my organs out, shredding my abdomen. Or will it just pin me down and rip me apart with its beak? How the fuck am I supposed to kill something like this? I¡¯ve never fought, fuck, seen, something even remotely similar to this before. The chains around its neck stilled and its fluorescent green eyes locked on me. I felt it for a moment, we were two trapped animals forced to fight just to preserve our right to survive. It blinked emptily for a moment, then the chains released, the servants ran back inside, and the rizumir charged me. The crowd raged in excitement, the weight of their voices threatening to crush me. The rizumir closed in and something broke in me. Everything disappeared except for the monster I was about to be gored by. It was all I could think about. My hand tightened around the handle of the hammer, awaiting its rush. It leapt like it was trying to take off, but stumbled back into running. Its long neck was perfectly still and level despite the speed it ran at, completely trained on me. I felt like I was at bat. I dropped the axe from my left hand and readied myself to swing with the hammer. It rushed closer and closer. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly of the range I needed, but I couldn¡¯t afford to miss. Finally, it lunged with its beak wide open, closing in on my head. I hurled the hammer around out in front of me as hard and as fast as I could. I missed its face with the hammer head, but caught its beak in the handle on my way around. I managed to deflect it from chomping on my head, but its beak ran a deep line down my left arm. I gritted my teeth through the searing pain and spun around, following all the way through with my swing and keeping my eyes locked on it. A ripping pain shot through my back as it passed by, its tail whipping blood into the dirt behind it. My back contorted. I could barely hold back the screams from my shredded muscles and slashed rear rib cage. Feeling was slowly disappearing from my lower body, but adrenaline had consumed me too much to care. I picked up the axe, shifting the hammer back to my left hand. I wanted to be more armed for its second attack. Just lifting the weapons strained my white hot lower back, which was only cut so shallow because of the armor. I locked in on the creature, waiting for its next move, but it was doing the same for me. Fine, I¡¯ll make the first move. ¡°He misses the impact and it catches a nice whack on his ass! Can Adam the Mountain Crusher win with his back blown out?!¡± The jester¡¯s voice. It broke my focus on the fight and I halted, finally hearing the yelling crowd all around me. All of the eyes, like thousands of judgemental whispers at the back of my mind. The crowd, the people, even kids watching me fight. How could they- The rizumir¡¯s massive body slammed into me, throwing me back to the ground. Its arm cut a line across my ass. Its other claw tore into my left shoulder as it ran through me and disappeared out of sight. Its tail barely passed over my face in a secondary attack, seeming to anticipate that I would have tried to stay up. I landed flat on the ground, and quickly rolled to my feet. The crowd gasped and I screamed through the recovery. My axe tumbled from my grip. My shoulder wouldn¡¯t budge. My left arm was fully out of commission, but the rest of me felt considerably decent after being crashed into so hard. If I don¡¯t get a clean hit in, I¡¯m fucked. I¡¯m not sure how strong I am exactly, but it had to be enough that getting a good swing in to slow it down considerably. I only had one good arm and the hammer. Hacking up blood, a sharp pang jabbed into my back, like my lung had been pierced by a broken rib. It was hard enough already, but every jab pushed more air out. I can¡¯t labor on the pain. I just gotta fight. It¡¯s all I can do. The rizumir¡¯s charge began once again. I held the hammer, dragging it in the dirt, and readied myself. I¡¯d go for a body shot, the head was too small and nimble. Twenty paces. Ten paces. Swing! I brought the hammer around violently, my shoulder popping out of place from hyperextending on the swing. Surely it couldn¡¯t miss. I couldn¡¯t afford to miss. I put everything into the swing. And then, what little confidence I had disappeared. The rizumir twisted its body to the left, spinning and turning on a dime, avoiding my swing before I had any time to correct. Its tail whipped around, traveling faster than I could track. It sliced from my temple across to my forehead, narrowly missing a lethal blow. Blood rushed down my face and I couldn¡¯t see its spin before it threw its full body weight into my right side. That hit knocked my shoulder in place, but I was on my back, the rizumir right on top of me. It raised its foot to gouge my core and I instinctively kicked up. I hit directly into the center of its much flimsier leg, snapping it outward. The rizumir screeched, clenching its talons around my leg as I pulled away, slashing deeply all the way from my knee down. It stumbled aside, unable to stand up straight or run on its broken leg. ¡°Oh Mountain Crusher! We didn¡¯t know you loved getting whipped so much!¡± Fuckin¡¯ jester! I glared angrily at him through a sheen of red and he was smiling like the Cheshire Cat. No! I can¡¯t keep focusing on him! His whole job is to get in my head, where I can¡¯t get out of. In that moment, I was in a stand off with the rizumir, awaiting its next attack which would probbaly kill me. The crowd raged and the jester laughed maniacally. The pressure became overbearing, my body finally starting to slow from the strain. Then, Tells¡¯ fervent voice broke through the crowd. ¡°Adam! Grab his dick and twist it!¡± Her face was intense with worry, but it brought me a moment of calm, like I didn¡¯t need to think about the jester and the mocking crowd. No, it wasn¡¯t calm. I wasn¡¯t smiling, but a chuckle escaped my panging lungs. I had one person rooting for me. One voice holding back the crushing weight of the crowd. I just needed to listen to her. ¡°The ol¡¯ dick twist!¡± She yelled out, motioning like she was grabbing something and twisting it. I tossed the hammer to my left hand and pointed it at her. I clenched through the nausea inducing pain with a smile creeping onto my face and a fierce chuckle breaking through my worry. Holy shit, I think I¡¯m finally losing it. Hah! She smiled and nodded back. I dropped the hammer from my hand, not even paying mind to the jester making some remark about it. The rizumir was already charging, albeit slower than before, and it hit me. A memory of when we were playing football in the elementary schoolyard and a goose was chasing me. Brenden grabbed that fucker by the neck and flung it over the fence. We were fast friends after that, all it took was a little courage and a trip to the principal¡¯s office. I can try that. I readied my hands. It was making a charge to drive its beak right into the center of me. Perfect. That¡¯s just what I wanted. Charging, and charging. I leaned to the right as it snapped in and wrapped my hands around the base of its head. Its feathers were slick, but my deathgrip wasn¡¯t going to break. No matter how much its struggling arms clawed at my back, I wouldn¡¯t let it go. I wrenched it up and over my shoulder, gritting my teeth and straining every muscle in my body to smash it on the ground behind me as hard as I could. A cloud of dust surrounded us. Cracks and snaps echoed throughout the arena and as it collided with the packed sand. It was still fighting back just as much as I was. Its arm weakly dragged cuts at my back, but it only caught on the armor tears from before. I dragged its flailing upside-down body around and spun with as much force as I could toward the wall of the arena, smashing the shrieking rizumir¡¯s body into the stone wall. Its neck went slack, so I let its head fall to the ground. Its legs were both broken and its front arms dangled from busted joints. The arena slowed down as the screams of the crowd roared around me. All I heard was the labored breathing and gasps of the beast in front of me. It was a beautiful creature, stripped of its wings and forced to fight. Up close, seeing it so docile, I realized how its feathers flourished in the wind, gently swaying in deep greens and blues like the ocean. My adrenaline began cooling off when I walked away from the bird to pick up the axe. I dragged it through the dirt, too tired to raise it with one arm. The rizumir¡¯s eyes followed me the whole way. I laid its head in my lap. It couldn¡¯t move, it was done fighting. It had to be paralyzed after I swung it, three noticeable bends in the neck before the flow of blood from a tear at the base. Its emerald eyes exhaustedly peered up to me, silently crying out for mercy, for release. An animal forced to fight and die for blood sport. I found a kindred spirit in that dying rizumir, a wordless empathy between us beasts. I wrenched my bloodied left arm, gently resting my hand on its head, lightly patting the feathers back and trying to comfort the creature in any way I could. I brushed my hand over its eye and after a fidget, it relaxed, its breathing calmed. The overbearing crowd disappeared into a roaring river. Its legs pulled in, its head rose, and its arms gently swayed as if gliding. Its pained heaves became a broken, beautiful call, like a songbird finding melody in the death cheers around it. And I was with it, in its final moment, stroking its head feathers as I brought the axe through its battle-weakened neck. I let the creature¡¯s head go and rose. The audience exploded in applause, screaming madly. I turned around, to Tells, who was smiling with relief, her eyes welled up with tears, but not bursted. I couldn¡¯t help returning a wry smile her way, trying to forget the fight I just endured, but a sense of melancholy took hold of me, my victim¡¯s successor. The jester jumped down into the arena again. ¡°Swinging the neck and beating that head! Adam the Mountain Crusher doesn¡¯t miss a single stroke when he drops the hammer!¡± A raspy assertive voice spoke up from the shaded balcony. The Viscount stood for the first time, a pleased smile on his wrinkled face. He was a decrepit old man, older looking than his actual age let on. Graying black hair spindled down the sides of his thin face and his wiry frame would probably snap from a stiff wind. Even with a smile, misery adorned his farce. He started to speak and fell into a coughing fit while trying to cover it up as him clearing his throat, a wheeze somewhere between a laugh and a cry. ¡°Why, any other warrior may have fallen against such a beast, which required nine to restrain and three falling to it. I surely thought the rizumir would prove an insurmountable champion, as it has been for the past three seasons. Though I suppose only a beast can fell a beast alone. You are hereby admitted to the guard, to serve the manor under the direction of Captain Zev.¡± He looked to Zev and sat down quickly to his obscurity in the shadows, grimacing after the formality. Zev¡¯s long form unfurled from his seat and stepped down to the side of the arena. He slid down the ladder and flipped his dagger out, spinning it in his left hand. Striding up to me, never breaking eye contact, he sliced into his right hand and scooped a handful of sand. Without hesitation he slammed the bloodied earth into my torn shoulder. I winced, but held strong, barely fighting back the spots of darkness blotting my vision. ¡°So long as we bleed, we bleed for the land we call home. This sand is your home. The people who live upon it are your kin. The battles you fight upon it are to the end.¡± The silent arena suddenly screamed out. I was confused and staring into Captain Zev¡¯s eyes which, through clear domes, shimmered like oil slick rainbows on the deep black beneath. He showed a relieved and proud smile, giving me the overwhelming sense that he had been seriously stressed about that fight. Proud. Of me. It was new to me, seeing somebody look at me with pride. He released me and I spun, looking at the crowd, at all of the people cheering for me. It was intoxicating. I found Tells again, who was cheering with them, screaming something I couldn¡¯t hear. Even Simira stood and stepped to the edge of the balcony, clapping. She and the guard saw me differently, all of the city did. In one fight, I¡¯d risen from beast to warrior. The jester jumped back into the spotlight. ¡°Thank you all for coming today! And, thank you all for visiting to watch the magnificent battles in Viscount Amien¡¯s Court of Blood!¡± ¡°Maybe you do still have some youth in you.¡± Rezyn¡¯s voice startled me as he approached from behind. ¡°I ain¡¯t old til my body gives out.¡± ¡°Shit, kid. You¡¯re all fucked up.¡± I hadn¡¯t realized it, but my shoulder was bleeding even worse and I couldn¡¯t feel my left arm much anymore. That thing dug a sizable chunk out of me. It hurt to walk with the slashes on my ass and back. I could barely see through the blood on my forehead. All of it crashed into at once, the energy I had before quickly dissipating. I just chuckled and let Rezyn and Zev walk me off, because I knew that a particular healer was about to have some very choice words she couldn¡¯t say to me. 33: Give Me A Sign 33 (Breaking Benjamin- Give Me a Sign) Vetia Adam, look up you dumb fuck, I¡¯m waving at you. Oh well. Maybe I am in my own isolated little world up here, and I can just fly away whenever I want. Hah, that¡¯d be nice. Running off, living in the woods, hunting, eating, being free from this collar. Usually I¡¯d zone out and daydream about whatever the hell I wanted when nobody was fighting or training, because otherwise they¡¯d just sit around gambling while the other two worked. Those two being Adam and the guy who seemed like he would be the type of kid to wear a trench coat to school every day and sit glaring at everyone in the cafeteria during lunch, so everyone tried to stay on his good side, y¡¯know, just in case. Everything seemed so dull, like there was a film grain over my vision that made everything unfocused and exhausting to look at. Voices and words just passed through my ears, never being worth listening to. My mind would wander so much, remembering high school, college, it had me feeling all nostalgic. I missed my old life, but that might¡¯ve been in comparison to being collared up and stuck using all my jzanmah fixing people. I kept telling myself that I could make it work in this world, I just had to get out of here. I¡¯d sit and plan. Nobody here really even came into this room unless they needed to be fixed up. They wouldn¡¯t even tell me when food was ready to be served. I had to go out and check, and even then people would tell me there were no more bowls or spit in the stew scraps. Not that food really did much for me, but being hated- no, not hated- less than human, sucked. I got along with just about everyone in my old life. Then again, I never had to deal with being an untouchable in my old life. Not everyone likes me though. That¡¯s just how it is now. I¡¯ve been saying that too much lately. It is what it is. God, what the fuck was I thinking, pushing Simira so much and thinking I¡¯d be able to get away with talking to Tarynn. Where did I mess up? Like, was I in the wrong? Because undeniably, objectively, she was a total bitch, but I didn¡¯t think I really pushed it aside from when she started shit. Maybe I should have just let him die so this would have never happened. Sure, she would have thought I was a random hussie across from her at one of the worst moments of her life, but at least I wouldn¡¯t be the one that was all up on her brother. Damn, I gotta stop thinkin about all that. I can¡¯t live as a nervous wreck. I gotta fuckin¡¯ stay alive because Ms bitchypoo decided I¡¯m a little too goofy to have rights and I¡¯ve got a promise to make and keep. Doesn¡¯t she know that jesters are oft prophets? What¡¯s it been, like a few weeks? Somethin¡¯ like that, I think. I still don¡¯t know shit about shit, and I can¡¯t really listen in on anything because people don¡¯t talk around me other than when servants need me to check if they¡¯re pregnant ¡®cause they had an affair with a guard, or they¡¯d talk about arena bets, or who they wanted when the brothel visits. Do people talk about anything other than fucking and killing here? No good plays? No neat clouds? No family drama? Alas! Just you wait, my keenly observing audience, drama is but a season away. Cause I¡¯ve been telling every cheating servant that she¡¯s not actually pregnant (almost all of them are). I can see it already! ¡°You lied! You said I wasn¡¯t pregante!¡± *Mimes stupidly, as a stupid animal as myself does, because something as stupid and speechless as me obviously can¡¯t understand them* ¡°Have at thee! Wicked shazgadj!¡± ¡°Oh nooooooo???!!!! What??? You¡¯re beating me again??? But that would make it three times today! My quota that I surely must meet is the usual seven!¡± These hoes gonna be mad. If I start pretending I¡¯m into getting beat, maybe they¡¯ll stop. That or I might just end up with an unwanted trauma fetish. Eh, whatever. I¡¯ll probably be dead before they give birth. Or I¡¯ll snap. I¡¯ve come close a few times. I could easily take a few people down and fly out a window. I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Adam or Tells either. When I run, the world will know I¡¯m a monster, and those two will play dumb to survive. Adam¡¯s finding a place in the guard, and I¡¯m almost certain that Tells will think she can fix Simira as every guy thinks he can be the one to fix crazy. Hell, even Desmond gave up, and crazy is his type. i¡¯M lOsINg MY FucKInG m i n d IN [ hErE ] I fell out of my head as the wind blew through the window, shifting to a cacophony of whistles. No, it was more like a choir of wind instruments. At first it sounded disjointed and a bit piercing, but as I fell into the rhythm, I could hear a melody that was repeated through pitches like an echo. I couldn¡¯t see where it was coming from, but it was soothing to hear such a strangely somber song. Creaking wood behind me interrupted the flow and I opened my eyes, looking down at the scrawny guy who was scrubbing armor alone now. I still had the instincts to greet whoever came in, and a sharp shock to my neck cut off the sound. There was just a kid standing there. I hadn¡¯t ever seen him before. He looked about 16 or 17, maybe even a little younger. He had these tiny, beady brown eyes, and a tanned freckled face. I didn¡¯t get the sense that he was angry, but he looked like he might¡¯ve been biting his upper lip in, or maybe it was just really thin. Whoever he was supposed to be, the kid was not blessed in the genes department. It didn¡¯t matter a whole lot to me. I plastered on a smile and looked at him, waiting for whatever he had to say. The kid just kind of stared for a second before he furrowed his brows and sat on one of the cots, facing me. He started grabbing at the sheet, untucking it until he had a ball of sheet in his hand. He didn¡¯t even acknowledge me, or maybe consider that I¡¯m the one who has to keep this place clean and tidy. The other servants, particularly one maid who didn¡¯t bother telling me her name, would do shit to my food or not give me clean clothes if I didn¡¯t keep it spick and span in here. It was the same maid who gave me a small chalkboard because she was grossed out by the coke nail I grew to cut messages into my arm. He kept untucking the sheet on the cot while I loudly scrawled ¡°Can I help you?¡± on the board and walked it over in front of his face. He was already irritated with the sheets for some reason, but me holding the chalkboard up to his face made his temper spike and he slammed it on the ground, right out of my hands. What a rude little shit. I picked up my board and went back to sitting. He didn¡¯t leave, he just sat there untucking ANOTHER COT¡¯S SHEETS. OH MY GOD I¡¯M GONNA FUCKIN¡¯ KILL THIS KID Who the fuck is he supposed to be? He¡¯s dressed only a little worse than Simira and Tarynn usually are, but he¡¯s acting like a child. Maybe just a big 12 year old with an anger problem? Oh, no maybe¡­ no, yeah, he¡¯s definitely got a slew of mental and developmental issues. How did I not pick up on that sooner? The mothafucka threw up gang signs at me when he saw me staring. Or was it sign language? Or a sigil he¡¯d put me out of my misery with? It had to be some kind of sign language, which I knew nothing about on Earth and even less about in this world. I held up the chalkboard again, this time with his hand print on it. The kid looked at the board with his beady little eyes and took the chalk. He spat on my board and wiped it clean with his hands. Right on my board. Up close he smelled like he didn¡¯t ever wash his hands or clean himself in general. I could handle being around blood any day, but even I was grossed out by his rancid body odor. He gripped my piece of chalk that was already thin and brittle, basically crushing it and using some of the smashed pieces to scrape his message. LEAVE What an idea! Why didn¡¯t I think of it sooner! He threw the board back in my lap. I wiped the board down with my shirt and picked up a piece of chalk that he hadn¡¯t touched. i can¡¯t YOU DIE I recoiled a bit as he abruptly held the board up, expecting him to throw it or hit me with it, but he just kept that angry look on his face. It was certainly ominous, but I got the sense it wasn¡¯t gonna be him to kill me. omg im such scorpio vibes!!! xD GO AWAY He let me read it. After a few seconds of him holding it, I tried to grab it to write back. When he saw me reach toward him, he reared back and slammed the top of my hand with the board, then threw it down in my lap and walked over to another cot, where he started pulling the sheets up again. My knuckles throbbed and the collar sizzled around my neck as I growled from the pain. He threw the sheets down on the cot and fished a strange cloth doll out of his pocket. It was some kind of small crocheted animal or creature. I didn¡¯t recognize it, but it was also unrecognizably stained, torn, and worn. The way he acted definitely pissed me off, but I couldn¡¯t help feeling bad for him. Everyone here treated me like total shit, so I couldn¡¯t imagine how they probably acted toward him. I looked around on my desk and fished out a sigil parchment. It was the sigil that I used on Adam when he got his guts ripped out. I¡¯d completely committed it to memory in case I ever needed some strong healing in the spur of the moment. Simira had already ripped the page from my book, albeit very cleanly, so it wasn¡¯t bad to work with. I hadn¡¯t done origami in a while, not since I was in middle school. I learned how to make a little cat sitting down to impress a girl who really liked cats. It didn¡¯t really end up being anything, but it came in handy now. It took a painstaking and frustrating 5 minutes of remembering how to do it, but I folded the paper until it was a pretty rough looking cat. It was a bit tall because the paper for it sucked, but what I needed was done. I shaded on two little eyes and a nose with chalk. He was sitting positioned away from me, so I flanked a good distance around until he could see, then placed it down about a foot in front of him. He glanced at me and then the cat. He reached out quickly and snatched it up, staring the little paper cat over. I slightly smiled at him and a big grin grew on his face. Then he squeezed it. He crushed it in his hands while looking down at it, absolutely beaming. He beamed at the balled up little cat and started breathing heavily out of his nose. I tried to hide the pain of seeing my glorious creation crushed into an origami boulder. The kid released his grip and it still retained some of its shape at least, then straightened out the ears and the body a little, lost staring at it. I fixed the cots behind him while he was distracted. He just fiddled around with his doll and the cat like he was playing with them. The door opened quickly and I shot up. Whenever the door was thrown open, somebody was always hurt like hell. Adam was shirtless and a bloody mess, being walked in by some dude who looked like a dollar store version of Christian Bale. I recognized his jzanmah, but I couldn¡¯t place where from. Jiminy H Cricket, Adam is thoroughly fucked. His arm was a strand of muscle from falling right off. I had to get moving quickly. Glaring at the random guy, I angrily gestured toward Adam to more or less convey ¡°what the fuck happened to my friend?¡± ¡°Cool it, blood. He was in the arena, got a bit messed up by a river rizumir. Not that you even know what that is.¡± My mocking smile cut through his jive, so he stepped back and awkwardly watched the kid who was still playing with his doll. I scribed a sigil in the air before me, a tenkel that Mother Yeline taught me. The first shape was a wide rectangle, and the second shape was two eyes. The sigil presented a screen of jzanmah in front of the user¡¯s face that let me see the internal workings of nearby living bodies. Confusion filled me. My eyes locked on his shoulder, which was packed with sand. Not just like he fell in sand, but packed. ¡°WHO THE FU-¡± The collar shocked me to my knees, choking my vocal chords and burning my neck horribly. I rose, reeling from almost blacking out and grabbed the hose and pump across the room. A line connecting to a well was powered by sigils or something, I didn¡¯t know, but I aggressively pumped hot water into Adam¡¯s sandy wound, thoroughly soaking the entire half of the infirmary. Once the sand was out of his wound, I ran over to the shelf, having not a goddamn clue what the unmarked vials and bottles of liquids and paste were for. So, I grabbed a bottle of clear alcohol, shoved a towel in his mouth, and dumped half the bottle in Adam¡¯s wounds. He screamed and twisted and turned, but I didn¡¯t stop. Had to make sure everything was disinfected since nobody would tell me what pastes were the antibacterial ones. Nobody had died of an infection or sepsis yet, so I was clearly doing something right. And hygiene was surprisingly good in this world, if you weren¡¯t, oh, I don¡¯t know, a slave. Even the lowest servants still got to shower. Me? Nah. But little did they know, I used the scalding hot pump and whatever smelled good on the shelf to clean myself during slow hours because I simply could not risk being discovered as a fireblood. Once Adam was crying from having half a bottle of alcohol poured on his wounds, I got to work. I scrawled the triangle, the eye, and then the tears in the air before me and sat him down. Adam was in a cold sweat and severely lacking blood, but was smiling like a madman. He put his good hand on my shoulder. ¡°You shoulda seen me Vetia. It was just like Gladiator. There was a huge crowd, and a big rimjob, and a jester who made everything super uncomfortable.¡± It was hard to focus on fixing his shoulder with him talking. The thing about fixing people with sigils is that if you didn¡¯t know their anatomy, the sigil would just shock your body to get blueprints for fixing the particular area. Or rather, that¡¯s how I interpreted it. Once I learned the anatomy, I stopped getting shocked. I had spent a while memorizing the general anatomy of local creatures that Simira¡¯s planks depicted in varying levels of detail. The racial differences usually weren¡¯t too intense between humanoids, but the tendons and bone lengths varied pretty heavily in different creatures. I felt pretty confident in jinian anatomy, considering I had to memorize it to fix Adam so often, but I was feeling minor twinges in my shoulder as I finished up a few ripped tendons. Adam continued on his ramble, slurring his words. I was just glad he was awake. ¡°What the hell kind of place is gonna make a new guard take on a bigass bird like that? Like, the fuck, dude?¡± A big bird? What? I didn¡¯t know enough to even comprehend what was going on. Nausea gripped my mind. Adam¡¯s blood was absorbing in through my hands and that sick feeling rose in my stomach. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I can hold it. I can hold it. Or so I hope. His usual tint of green was starting to return to him as I repaired the rest of his shoulder, but my brain was tingling a lot. The flow of jzanmah from my head to my hands intensified, thrusting me into a sweat. Generating body matter and blood out of jzanmah had a way of doing that apparently. I quickly sealed up the wound on his head. It wasn¡¯t too deep, and his frontal cranium was only bruised a little, so it was a quick fix. Fiver Bale wandered over and slapped Adam¡¯s back. Adam groaned and rolled to the side. ¡°C¡¯mon big guy, roll over so she can fix your backside.¡± He looked over at me with a crooked, trying-to-be-suave smile. ¡°Rezyn, by the way.¡± I stared blankly at Rezyn, lamenting at the horrible bloodstains on the sheets that I would have to clean, and then to Adam¡¯s royally fucked ass. There was a massive gash across his cheeks, tearing through most of the muscle and even into the anus. I clenched a little at the thought of that pain and began working my magic while leaning away from him. Of course the butt had to be one of the most complex muscles in the body. Pain shot through mine all throughout the fix until I stopped to fix his butthole. I wasn¡¯t religious, but at that moment, I prayed that I wouldn¡¯t get my asshole shocked. I¡¯d been hurt a lot, and an anal shock was something I wanted to go through life without feeling. I thought really hard back to the planks of anatomy, to what the jinian anus looked like. I honestly never thought it would come up, but my luck paid off. In my wasted spare time, I basically turned into an immature highschooler giggling and comparing the genitalia of all these new fantasy humanoids, which included but were not limited to the anus. I had been reduced to a 3d printer that ran on magical energy to create poop shoots. In an instant, I channeled a surge of jzanmah to work quickly, repairing a section that had been ripped out and healing one that had been cut. It was over. I looked up and thanked whoever listened to my prayer. The back and leg wounds were more of what I was used to doing regularly. By the end of fixing Adam back to full health, my brain was thrumming like a gong. I¡¯d have to eat a lot of kets to fix this pain. The head pains never went away easily, and they always made me a little more jittery, jumpy, and temperamental in a weird fun kind of way. Like my brain was actually getting fried. It was the same kind of pain I endured back in Poikla after fixing the others, but constant because I DIDN¡¯T GET A FUCKING BREAK. I couldn¡¯t leave here, so my only way to get blood was through touching the wounds of the people I fixed, or by eating kets in my cell. They were basically this world¡¯s rats. Little, nasty creatures that would burrow through stone, shit everywhere, eat everything. But they were food to me. And as it would seem, I didn¡¯t get sick from eating them. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure if I can get sick as a fireblood, like my body actually just kills everything it touches. I picked up the board and scratched on it with the chalk. Take it easy, it¡¯s gonna ache for a little bit Adam leaned up, groaning and holding his back like a dad does. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you can do that healing. It¡¯s wild.¡± I patted his arm and sat back, closing my eyes and holding my pounding head, trying not to cry from how badly it hurt and would keep hurting for days. Everyone looked so much more appetizing the more my head hurt. Snapping felt like it would be a little easier with every thrum, every pulse. Rezyn scooted over next to Adam. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t die when it slashed your ass, or that you even managed to keep your arm. That rizumir¡¯s damn near chopped up every person who¡¯s challenged it.¡± He awkwardly shifted in his spot for a second and leaned closer to me to whisper. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the cur doing in here? He shouldn¡¯t be out.¡± I exaggeratedly shrugged. lol idfk bro He looked quizzically at it before I realized I used a text acronym. Oops, I guess. He glanced back over at the kid and then to me. ¡°Well, you should kick him out before the Captain comes in here. It¡¯s not good for him to be out and about like this.¡± I smiled like he was such a genius. Great idea. How about I yell at him to leave? Rezyn realized as I wrote that how dumb his reply was. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I think I see your point.¡± Rezyn seemed like a pretty reasonable guy. He wasn¡¯t treating me like garbage at the very least. I looked at Adam and mouthed ¡°who is he?¡± as Rezyn turned to walk over to the kid. Adam leaned in, ¡°Rezyn was the one who held the dagger to Tells¡¯ throat when everything went down. I think he¡¯s close to Simira. Does her dirty work.¡± The door crashed open again and I stood at attention instinctively. It was Captain Zev, absolutely beaming until he glanced around the room and saw the kid. ¡°Adam! You- What is the cursed boy doing in here? Is he injured? Have him return to his quarters now!¡± Zev¡¯s face turned scary and his tone matched. I smiled at him like he was an idiot and showed him the chalkboard. Great idea. How about I yell at him to leave? He let out a frustrated sigh and glared at the kid. The kid looked up at Zev with wide eyes. He didn¡¯t seem like he knew how to react, but he was extremely afraid of Zev. Zev picked him up by the shoulder and the kid started thrashing, so Zev grabbed the back of his neck like a mother cat picking up her litter, the kid going stiff. I sensed them leave the room, and focused on him and the kid, anguish radiating from the kid as he was tossed out and verbally berated. ¡°Worthless cur! Return to your chambers and do not leave! You know what will happen if the Viscount spots you!¡± Zev walked back into the silent room and glared at me. ¡°Woman, this room is for sick and injured people. Not wandering cursed children.¡± I tapped the chalkboard again. He scoffed at me, then grabbed my shoulder and threw me to another cot, taking my place next to Adam, completely changing to a tone of comradery. ¡°Congratulations, Adam! Quite the battle indeed. I was certain you would overcome the rizumir.¡± Rezyn piped in. ¡°Andris, you were shaking in your boots before the fight, don¡¯t kid yourself.¡± ¡°Well, Rezyn. When a novice is to duel a beast with 24 victories, there is good reason to feel worry. Nevertheless, I was still confident in your abilities as a fighter.¡± Adam looked like a kid who was looking up to a superhero. A completely different person talking to Zev. ¡°Thank you, Captain.¡± ¡°Indeed, now I may truly train you as one of my zeshuo, Adam, remember that. We are warriors in arms.¡± ¡°Captain, I can¡¯t begin to thank you enough.¡± Adam was beyond thrilled. It was enough to raise my mood a little. ¡°There is no need for thanks. You earned everything you have achieved.¡± Rezyn stepped up. ¡°And, since you won the big fight of the day, you get your pick of the visit.¡± Adam¡¯s face turned reddish beneath his pale green skin in embarrassment. ¡°Uh, yeah, I forgot about that part. I didn¡¯t realize that¡¯s how they chose.¡± ¡°Winners always get the first choice, it¡¯s why everyone trains to win in the arena. You were given the big fight because the Viscount wanted to test your mettle, and slay me here if you didn¡¯t show it.¡± It¡¯d be so funny if I just fucking gouged his throat out and then be like ¡°oops I thought he said did show it!¡± I¡¯d have to write it, though, and the moment has already passed. Damn. Adam scratched the back of his head, ¡°I can¡¯t afford that, heh.¡± Rezyn put a hand on Adam¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Who do you think the wager money goes to? The winners. And you get a cut of the ones who lost their money. On top of that, the winners get paid for winning. My friend, you¡¯ll be drowning in coin if you keep winning in that arena.¡± ¡°Oh, wow. I didn¡¯t know. I guess I could think about what I¡¯ll do tonight.¡± Captain Zev put on a reassuring tone. ¡°Well, you¡¯re in better condition now, so you will have plenty of time to think. Come with me, I¡¯ll take you to a zeshuo who will orient you.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The three of them walked out, talking up a storm. Gleeful cheers and hollers filled the manor hallways. He didn¡¯t even say bye or look back. I couldn¡¯t blame him. He was in one of his peak moments and I was just the heal bot. I glanced around at the mess of sheets, blood, water and alcohol all over the floor and cots, just wishing to be done with it all. The swarm of soldiers from the arena came in, taking off their first aid bandages and splints for me to fix everything. They talked about the final fight that they all stayed for, one guy almost bleeding out just to watch it. It was great, healing the assholes who beat the shit out of me every day. Funny enough, that wasn¡¯t even Simira¡¯s call. Her dad told them to abuse me. I could see where she got the aggressive streak from. And I couldn¡¯t tell anyone that my brain was on the verge of leaking out my fucking ears because they¡¯d just use that as an excuse to hit me for not healing them. Talk about a shit gig. I don¡¯t even have any vacation days! The absurdity of it all! After hours of being a healing machine, they finally cleared out just in time for the brothel to show up. Hopefully Adam would at least have a good time with one of the prostitutes and was finally finding some comradery here. This day, whatever it was, was always exhausting. By the end of it, I was content to eat some cold leftover food that was usually scraps of what the rest of the people didn¡¯t eat and just lay down in my cell, munching away on rodents that tasted like literal shit all night. And to top it off, I didn¡¯t sleep. Honestly, if I had been able to sleep, the manor probably would have been bearable. They escorted me from work, to dinner, to my cell where I was promptly locked away until morning, I was completely alone. They would only fetch me if something really bad happened, like once when a guard fell down the stairs after drinking all night and cracked his head open. He lived, but he didn¡¯t even thank me for repairing what would have been a fatal wound. Slivers of moonlight drifted in through the grate, serving as my only light. The damp, musty stone cell was suffocating. The cot I was supplied with was damp and mildewy from the ceiling, which dripped water directly onto the rickety bench it was set up on. The bench was suspended from the wall by chains which creaked to no end. But setting the cot on the floor would have only made it wetter. I never took off my boots unless I was on my bed, or else I would be stepping in little puddles of water all the time. And when it rained, water poured in through the grate. It wouldn¡¯t flood, but all of the water ran through my cell to a drainage grate in the hallway. This dungeon was basically just a passageway to the sewer system with a few cells built in. And it sure smelled like it. I laid on my damp cot looking up at the ceiling, awkwardly pressed against the cold wall to keep the droplets of water from hitting me. There was another prisoner in the dungeon, a cell up the hall. He talked to me at night. He never told me his name and I never saw him. He came down after I had been put away for the night. I would tap on the bars or the chains. Once for yes, twice for no, three taps to indicate that I was confused or wanted to know more. Her voice was always low and parched, exhausted and sickly. ¡°I used to be so loved, you know. Before I ended up down here. I was out, living my dreams, exploring the vastness that this world has to offer. But being¡­ away and on my own. There¡¯s a loneliness to drifting aimlessly, endlessly. In the same way that being locked away is punishment through solitarity. To be everywhere and unloved damns us as much as being locked away. For if our souls are denied love, then what good is company who cares for us the same an endless vacuum does? Have you ever felt love before?¡± I tapped the chain. ¡°I do wish you could relate. I never did find it myself.¡± He paused. ¡°I tried. I did. But every fraction of love I took, it never satisfied. I wanted more. I want more. And wanting made me hateful of those who had it. Wealth, sex, luxurious food. All staved off the misery I felt. But every time, it took a little more until it stopped satisfying altogether. Now I want everything, but I hate it all. Do you have hatred in your heart, Vetia?¡± I tapped the chain, the rustling of metal spurring on ringing in my head. ¡°Is it for the one who locked us away as such? Who silenced our voices? Who denies us?¡± I tapped the chain again. My mind ached. A burning sensation rose in my chest at the thought of Simira. How can I not hate her? ¡°That woman is blind to her own righteousness. She doesn¡¯t know she is the one creating people like you and I.¡± The voice paused like it licked its lips. ¡°Have you ever taken revenge? Made somebody else suffer for wronging you?¡± I hesitated, then tapped the chain twice. ¡°I¡¯ve heard people call it sweet. It¡¯s not sweet. There is no flavor because it¡¯s so¡­ so personal. Like gorging yourself at a feast of all of your desires. It¡¯s so much more decadent than taking love. Taking a life is intoxicating. Watching the one you hate most. Begging for you to save them. Wishing they had given you more love. You can see it in the eyes. The moment where they realize that the greatest satisfaction you can feel is no longer through their love, but through their suffering, through their death. They wouldn¡¯t give their whole self to you, so you take it. Intoxication is not apt for this feeling. Ecstasy. Enlightenment. Something so divine that coming down from it brings you to despise everything around you. Once you have relished in it, that indulgence of your basest instincts, nothing will satiate you.¡± Lust slithered into their words. Like reminiscing on vengeance brought cravings to light. It was morbidly pleasurable. Sadistic and enticing. It stirred something in me. It infected me. This manor was filled with cruel people who hated me, and I dreamed of slashing their throats open, drinking their blood, tearing them limb from limb. The guards who beat me to hell. The servants who spit in my food or poured it into my lap. Lady Simira who cut my tongue out, punched and kicked me, locked me in a cage, collared me, used my jzanmah until I was delirious. All I want is to watch her beg me to spare her life as I tear it out of her. ¡°If only you could taste it. But you will. I smell it on you and I envy it.¡± It snickered through salivating lips. ¡°But only the gifted may experience the lush embrace of true satisfaction.¡± Oh my God this dude¡¯s fuckin¡¯ funny. So funny. Laughter rose in my chest and I laid back, silently heaving from how indescribably hilarious it was. I didn¡¯t even know what was so funny, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself from laughing. I got up and paced around the cell, tap dancing in the water and chuckling to no end. I had a little game. I couldn¡¯t see, so I would step and dance around, trying to avoid all the little pitter patters from the puddles of water. I had most of the cell memorized, but the water level made it much easier and harder depending on the night. Breaks in shadow and passing whispers always got a good startle out of me. They always did try to jumpscare me. It usually worked. Am I more jumpy? No. They''re just scary. Every time I did jump and realize nothing was there, I¡¯d just break down laughing. Or crying. Sometimes both. Props to them though, they were good at sneaking up on me. Only about six more hours of this and I¡¯ll be back to work! What¡¯s time even matter. I¡¯m always awake and fully conscious, so everything feels eternal and yet so fleeting. The shadows didn¡¯t visit me at work unless I was really really messed up. They preferred the darkness. Maybe they¡¯re spies, though. Maybe Simira had little shadow familiars she deployed to keep eyes on me. I wagged a finger at them. Those little rascals, trying to peep on me. How lewd! At least buy me dinner first! Ugh, not a gentleman left in the world. Ooh! A rodent. There¡¯s a proper gentleman. I tiptoed on the dry islands perfectly, drawn to the little aura of empty wonder from the animal. Claws came out, and my hand wrapped around the rodent. Their fur tasted like literal shit, so I did a little surgery as I usually would, slicing the skin off the stomach just enough so I could bite down and suck without getting the fur in my mouth. I tossed the flap of skin out the grate and once I was done, the rodent would follow. I hadn¡¯t seen what the birds that took away the corpses actually looked like, but they only came out at night. All I saw were the shadows because they were so fast. Once I had started consistently leaving corpses outside the grate, they were quick to pick them up. About thirty rodents a night made the head pain lighten up. Usually. Sometimes I would try to snatch a bird as it came down for the corpses, but I was never quick enough. Was I talking to somebody? Am I talking to the man in the cell again? How much time has passed since I did¡­ or thought I did? Am I still talking to him? To anyone? Surely somebody is listening. I tapped the bars a few times, trying to shove my face through like a cat. Heh. I probably looked so stupid. I chuckled. I tapped them again. He must have gone to sleep. Even prisoners needed sleep, but not me. I pried my face back out of the bars. Am I bleeding? My forehead felt a little warm and wet. It tasted like my rotting blood. My arms itched. And my back. And my legs and face. It happens sometimes and it¡¯s really annoying. I whipped out the claws and got to work. The itches wouldn¡¯t go away unless I dug them out. So I got to work, scratching lines in my arms and back and legs, watching the itches skitter out and healing it back over once they slithered into the water and disappeared. I had to catch myself a lot. What I was doing was dangerous. At least, I often let my face hang open, mouth and eyes wide while I clawed them out. They liked trying to crawl into my mouth. I¡¯d bit into my arms the first time I had to get them out, but they tasted like rotting blood. I had to be careful, especially when picking them out of my ears and off of my face. Oh no, they were dripping into my eyes. I hate that I hate it so much I can¡¯t see Nothing It¡¯s all dark Everything was dark I couldn¡¯t hold my mouth shut anymore because I needed to breathe but they were just getting in there too now I have to dig them out faster out of my eyes and off my tongue everything hurt so bad but I can¡¯t stop I have to get them out but they won''t get outtheywon¡¯tgetouttheywon¡¯tgetouttheywon¡¯tgetouttheywon¡¯tcoldeverythingcoldshiveringchesttightnoairdarkchesthurtburningheavehelphelphelphelphelphelphelpheppphlhellhelpelphehh ¡°Get up! A guard broke his wrist falling out of bed! Oh fuck, it¡¯s sleeping in the mud again! Get some new clothes.¡± ¡°Again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this every morning, what the fuck do you expect?!¡± Morning. Sunlight cascaded in through the grate and I picked myself up from the pool of slimy brown fluid on the floor. At least I didn¡¯t have any cuts on me. Well, it was a new day. Just like all the others. 34: Everybodys Changing 34 (Keane- Everybody¡¯s Changing) Tells He¡¯s so cool. The way he pointed the hammer at me and then did that thing where he started throwing that bird around by its neck. That was fuckin¡¯ awesome. I yelled out to him. And he heard me. I¡¯m just glad that my words helped him win, live. Yeah, we boys. I gotchu, motherfucker! Nah, shit, that was just badass. I¡¯m just glad he lived. That shit scared me for a hot minute. I don¡¯t know, maybe I¡¯m being stupid, but he seemed like he was having a great time. I never really noticed how strong he was, to be able to lift that bird like a wet noodle and whip it around so effortlessly. That can¡¯t be normal, his strength. ¡°Tells. Tells!¡± Lady Simira stopped walking and ripped into me with her gaze. ¡°What, Lady Simira?¡± ¡°So you heard nothing of what I was saying. Fucking brilliant.¡± She sighed irritably and moved on. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that important, but listen to what I tell you now.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She kept side eyeing the hallways all the way back to her study, where she quickly shut the door and slumped in her chair. ¡°You do want to leave this manor at some point, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I replied quietly and a bit meekly so I wouldn¡¯t upset her. ¡°Listen, you cannot inform anyone about this. Not your friends, not any of my most trusted people, not my father. If this makes it out then you¡¯re never leaving here with all three of you.¡± ¡°I know our agreement, Lady Simira. What do I have to do?¡± She sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t stress, it won¡¯t be too heavy on your end. Tonight is going to be rather chaotic, as the filth-ridden proceedings usually are. I have been signaled that everything is in motion now. You will deliver a letter for me, and you will be receiving one in return. Speak to nobody on the way, nor in the manor while disguised. This part is not very high stakes, but it may be the most important part. I need my half of the deal, and he his. Can I be assured that you can complete it?¡± ¡°Yes, my Lady. Should I know what I am delivering? Where must I go?¡± There was infallible motivation and unbreakable will behind her eyes. Behind her gray, exhausted eyes was sheer determination. She peered at me for a moment longer before her face softened and she relaxed her shoulders. ¡°You will be meeting the informant on the bench next to the plot of simiras in the park of the Upper Hallax Quarter. I believe that is near where you were apprehended, on the other side of the trees.¡± ¡°What do simiras look like?¡± She cracked her neck and rose from her seat, gesturing for me to follow her across the room to a painting. In fact, I hadn¡¯t really noticed the paintings before. Every painting was a portrait from a different time. Around the room was a timeline of her life. A man and woman in the first painting, wearing pale orange colors, two identical toddlers in their laps. The man looked similar to the twins. He had a strong, dignified build with tanned skin and dark straight hair that was parted in the middle and fell to his neck. He looked confident and youthful. The woman next to him was the same age, but her eyes and slight smile looked like those of a wizened owl even though she was so young. She was slightly paler than him, but her eyes were a radiant orange, matching the vibrant chestnut hair and a braid exactly like Simira¡¯s. She looked like she may have been pregnant, but it was hard to tell from the painting. Nevertheless, everyone in the painting looked overjoyed, no matter how tired the parents appeared. The next was the same parents and the kids around maybe five years old. The next looked like preteens, except the mother was gone and the father was not smiling anymore. It was stoic and emotionless. His hair graying and his face showing its age. The kids were the same bleak way. And three more paintings from their tweens to early twenties, still stoic, except Tarynn who had a slight smile in the final one. She pointed to the first painting, at a flower in one of the twin¡¯s hair that was too small to see from afar. ¡°It¡¯s a small, bright orange perennial that grows in fiery little patches.¡± The face that was usually so intense stared lovingly at the portrait. ¡°The hundreds of tiny petals in such abundance have tricked people into thinking that there are pools of fire in the middle of the forest, when it¡¯s really just sunlight glistening off of a sheen of nectar.¡± She hadn¡¯t been looking at the flower at all. Her nostalgic eyes were focused on her mother with a pained smile. She carried the look over to me for a second before she blinked it away and cleared her throat. ¡°So, will you be able to recognize them well enough?¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Good.¡± She clasped her hands and her face went back to its usual frustrated, tired state. ¡°Fortunately, the Upper Hallax Quarter is an eyesore of gild. But that means you will be unrecognizable from your usual self if you are sufficiently made up. I have a golden dress that should fit you well enough, and with an excessive amount of makeup, you will look like a completely different person from the Tells of Amien Manor. Sit. Be still.¡± She pushed me into the chair and pulled a tall wooden box of utensils out from a bookshelf. Brass canisters, wooden brushes, all tones of dyes, and a slew of other little makeup tools littered the oddly disorganized box. She wiped my face with a number of different cloths. Layer after heavy layer of foundation and contouring was smattered all over me, along with what felt like way too much eyeshadow, blush, and even some glitter flakes beneath my eyes. ¡°Once you do this, we can begin the process of clearing all of you. I asked my father if I may hold the trial for that foul-mouth on the day he is away at a meeting and he surprisingly obliged. She will not be released from service, but as long as she admits some guilt, I¡¯ll be able to ease her sentence enough that I could reasonably let her go with you when the time comes. The difficulty arises in making it believable to everyone else here, which is why we need her reactions to be genuine. We can tell her about this plan once the sentencing is over. She could be useful, and I believe she hates me enough to go along with it until she never has to see me again. Give me your hand.¡± She finished with my face and began bronzing the backs of arms and hands. ¡°Your complexion is already very suitable to the Hallax Quarter, and you have good skin. So as long as everything works out, you and your friends will be fine. I don¡¯t have any use for Adam at the moment, but he seems content in distracting Andris and Rezyn for me. Him and the other guards can stay focused on their escorts tonight while you slip out to complete your task.¡± My brain came to a grinding halt for a moment. ¡°My Lady, what do you mean by escorts?¡± She looked at me puzzled. ¡°Have you not seen those disgusting brothel visits? I suppose I did choose the one without connections, but do you truly seclude yourself so much? It¡¯s a messy and chaotic night. But as much as I wish to keep people thinking straight and try to withdraw them from the events of the night, my efforts are fruitless. Alas, all the guards partake in the weekly pleasure festivities as a reward for victory in the arena or for exemplary guardsmanship. Servants can request them as well, but I¡¯d advise against it. My one order is you must ignore that business and the one that runs it.¡± Victory in the arena? Adam was a victor. Which meant he was going to participate in the activities of the night. Oh no. There¡¯s no way he could go through with it. I could already see the outcome of people making snide remarks because he lost his virginity to a random prostitute. We used to laugh at people who would do that sort of thing. There¡¯s no way I could let him go through with it, as much as I didn¡¯t want to cockblock him. It just didn¡¯t feel right to me for some reason, to let that happen. ¡°Um, Lady. I-if you would b-be so gracious, w-would it be possible to, like, to make Adam do something during that time so he doesn¡¯t, um, participate?¡± She tilted her head slightly and squinted at me before a realization dawned on her face. She gave a slight smile of admiration. ¡°Ah, I understand. I will arrange an urgent issue that only he can solve. Rather bold of you, I must say, quite unexpected.¡± ¡°Thank you Lady Simira. I understand it is bold to ask, but he will be grateful for it.¡± ¡°Apparently.¡± She let out a breath like a quick chuckle and then packed the makeup away. I stepped into the gold glittery sleeveless dress that fell to my ankles. I staggered around on the short heels and sat so she could tie my hair into a pretty braided bun, dusting some glitter over it. She stepped back and looked me over, admiring her work. ¡°You are a bit thinner, and your legs are longer. Tch, well, you won¡¯t have to worry about anyone realizing it¡¯s mine. I¡¯ve never worn a dress. Hah. Oh well, you look gilded enough, perhaps too formal, but it will pass where you are going.¡± She slid a gold colored cloak over my shoulders which draped all the way to my knees. It was embarrassing to be so dressed up and covered in makeup. I didn¡¯t feel comfortable at all, like people were going to be looking at me. I hadn¡¯t ever worn a dress or makeup before. It was flat out uncomfortable. I couldn¡¯t get over the gunky feeling on my face. Did women really wear this shit every day? It took everything I had not to pick at it. She rolled an extravagantly golden full body mirror out of her room and blew some dust off of it. I looked¡­ gorgeous. Like, really beautiful in a strange, trophy way. Everything looked good on me, for the most part. The dress was loose on my chest, something I was becoming increasingly self-aware and embarrassed of. Simira raised her chin and contemplated something. ¡°A little real gold would complete the image we¡¯re creating for you. Your right ear, it¡¯s not pierced, is it?¡± She stepped really close, staring at my ear. ¡°That¡¯s a shame. Earrings would suit you.¡± I stared into my reflection, wondering if I really needed anything else. ¡°Would a simple bracelet work?¡± She looked at me like I was stupid, then chuckled with realization. ¡°Foreigner. Right. These bracelets are military accolades. Same as my necklaces and earrings. Every citizen fulfilling their military duty receives a basic brass chain necklace with their name and home on it. It¡¯s my crest. Bodies are often unrecognizable, so we know who has fallen by collecting them.¡± She pushed aside her own chain and crest, fumbling through a second chain out of four adorned by at least thirty other crests. ¡°Necklaces represent how long one fulfilled their duty for. One brass chain for each year, then a gold chain at twelve. Left earrings indicate rank. Right earrings are personal flaunts and commitment studs. Bracelets are the individual commendations, awards for exemplary honor, service division, battles, and specializations.¡± And here I was thinking her excessive jewelry was a fashion statement. ¡°The escorts will be arriving now. This coin purse has the message in it. You will meet somebody who has an identical purse with this same red gem on the clasp. You are to swap purses with them. Return here after walking around the park with the other person so it doesn¡¯t look like such an obvious drop off. And most of Hallax¡¯s guards are bought, so don¡¯t do anything to stand out.¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Simira.¡± My anxiety rose with every word. Sure, at first it sounded simple, but I barely knew how to keep a conversation going. How could I do a package swap and then play it off like nothing happened? With a stranger, at that. ¡°Remember everything I have taught you about this city and high society and you will appear just as everyone else there does. Be sure to take the gildway across. Ask a guard outside the manor if you must.¡± She pushed her finger on my chest. ¡°That is how you will succeed without any missteps.¡± ¡°Y-yes, my Lady.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°And avoid stuttering. Take longer to speak if need be, but always sound confident if you have to speak to guards or people who inquire about you. You are just going to the park for a stroll with your friend.¡± ¡°Lady, won¡¯t the guards stop me on the way out? Since I am not allowed to leave?¡± She looked at me sternly and sighed. ¡°The guards won¡¯t have the eyes to recognize you as you are now. And you¡¯re too lavish to be mistaken as a common whore, so they won¡¯t touch you. Go now. Time is limited.¡± I hurried out of her study and crossed the manor, down to ground level, not really sure where I was walking because I was so self-conscious. I wanna crawl into a corner and never be looked at again, but I have to do this. All I have to do is trade purses and walk around a park for a few minutes. Probably. I followed the noise to probably a hundred people talking, glasses clinking, and boisterous laughter. I could have just followed the smell, which was like a cheap perfume stall at a wet market. The foyer of the manor was filled to the brim with people, idly gathered around the main stairwell. I passed through the archway. The men and women dressed in an array of flowery designs and colors didn¡¯t even take notice of me. They were all focused on pitching their bodies to potential customers or counting the money of said prospects. I passed by guards in street clothes, mingling, trying to impress the higher value prostitutes, which I could only assume was the way they would win a partner for the night. They were already groping each other and shoving hands down pants as they exited the main hall. I squeezed my way through the crowd, trying to quickly exit before things got too kinky. Yeah, definitely a good call having Adam pulled from all this. It¡¯ll save him the burning. I glanced up behind me as I heard voices from above. Adam, Captain Zev, and some guy who looked like a knock-off Christian Bale were in front with a few guards looking over the crowd. Zev was like a proud father, urgently telling Adam to choose along with Bale, who was biting his lip and looking over everyone before he honed in and slid down the railing, disappearing into the crowd. Adam, on the other hand, was the most uncomfortable I¡¯d ever seen him. His face was bright red and his eyes were darting over the crowd while he stammered like a dipshit. But he looked very distinguished. His short black hair had grown a little so that it was slicked back, and he was wearing an orange vest which had these beautiful blue feathers falling from tassels on the shoulders. It was just the manor attire with some added feathers, but he looked very gentlemanly. I smiled and let out a chuckle, trying not to be obvious. It was funny seeing him so happy but so self-conscious. That must have been how I looked. Seeing him comforted me enough to keep walking. ¡°You¡¯re not one of ours, are you? There¡¯s no way! I would recognize you!¡± A woman who was old enough to be my mother swayed up to me, admiring my face and body. I wanted to recoil in on myself as she paraded around me in a spiky skin-tight golden dress that could have been mistaken for metal armor with how ornate the details were and how shiny it was. She had the makeup and hair to match, appearing as though she somehow survived being touched by King Midas. Even my excessive makeup seemed modest compared to her. There wasn¡¯t a single natural tone about her, just metallic golds accented by bronze. I half-glanced at her. Is she about to crack my disguise before I even leave? I¡¯m not disguised as a prostitute. I just have to leave. ¡°My dear, look at you! You could own a stage simply by standing upon it! How much are you being paid where you work now?! I promise you there is more money with me, double, maybe triple!¡± She was so loud and boisterous that I couldn¡¯t think of a response. She was almost pushing me over with how assertive she was being. ¡°Excuse me, Madam Diona.¡± I felt an arm over my shoulder that pulled me upright. Captain Zev was putting himself between me and her. ¡°Is this one of your girls?¡± ¡°Why, Captain Zev! My dear! How do you do?¡± ¡°Madam?¡± He lowered his head to her and gave her an eyebrow. ¡°No, but she could be a star if she wanted to be.¡± She peered at me with puppy dog eyes, like she wanted me to accept on the spot. ¡°Then, Madam, I would ask that you find other people to recruit. This one is already employed.¡± Holy shit, what a godsend Captain Zev was. I would have to thank him at some point. I didn¡¯t think he would even be able to recognize me, not to mention I hadn¡¯t really spoken to him much before. He walked me out of the gaggle of people, up the stairs. Well, I could take a different, less crowded way out. ¡°Adam, the company you requested.¡± Zev yelled up to him and Adam nodded like he was automated. Huh? Oh no. Oh fuck no. Ain¡¯t no way Adam picked me outta the whole crowd. Zev leaned down to speak into my ear as we passed through a yelling group. ¡°Would you prefer to be paid before or after?¡± He waited for a moment while I was too shocked to respond. ¡°I suppose we can wait until after. He won in the arena, so it will certainly be a fine payout for you regardless. And do visit the infirmary if the size is an issue.¡± tHE SIZE? My feet just moved along as Zev pushed me. All eyes fell on me as we walked up the stairs. So many people. My heart raced and my head wanted to pop like a balloon. I was being pulled along by my balloon string as Zev presented to Adam. I stared up at him, wide eyed and blank, but horrified. Adam was the exact same way. Captain Zev passed my arm to be interlocked with Adam¡¯s. I was only about a foot or two shorter than him, but he was a really big guy up so close, with how wide and muscular he was. I realized I was looking up at him like a scared idiot, and he looked down at me on his arm and tried his best to speak. ¡°Sh-sh-shall we? Uh, go?¡± He took a deep swallow and I noticed the beads of sweat rushing down his face. Does he notice it¡¯s me? Is he trying to talk to me? There¡¯s no way he would be this nervous if he was just trying to talk. He would be like ¡°C¡¯mon pretty lady! Let¡¯s go and have fun,¡± but in a way that would sound joking. He¡¯s rigid, like a machine, helping me up the stairs all jittery. Oh good heavens, he doesn¡¯t recognize me because he¡¯s only seen me in this body when I¡¯ve been a disheveled mess. We waddled up the rest of the stairs and trudged down a hall I hadn¡¯t been through before. ¡°So, um, you¡¯re, one- one of the, um, ladies, who does, um, who sleeps with- with men. Must uh, be neat.¡± He was literally shaking with fear, drenching my arm in sweat. Oh God, he really doesn¡¯t recognize me. He thinks I¡¯m a prostitute. And he¡¯s attracted to me? Oh my God are we gonna- no no no! No we aren¡¯t! I have to figure something out! Something to keep us from getting in a bedroom together. A smell drifted into my nose, like a sweet, earthy, and a little musky scent. It was kind of nice- Oh holy shit I¡¯m smelling Adam. Whatever cologne he¡¯s wearing, I don¡¯t know, but I curse it because it smells surprisingly good. Fuck, I feel like I¡¯m about to pass out. What the fuck is going on? We robotically walked along, awkwardly pulling and being pulled when one of us stammered or hesitated. I didn¡¯t even realize I didn¡¯t respond to him. ¡°S-sorry, miss. I, uh, didn¡¯t mean to make you, like, uncomfortable. If you don¡¯t want to-to, uh, do it, then I get it. Like, not that you have to, but if you want to then, I guess, but if you aren¡¯t sure- ow!¡± I had naturally formed a death grip on his arm and he leaned down a bit almost tripping from my pull. Upon realizing, I let go and looked up frantically, patting his arm and trying to talk to apologize, but no words were coming out. ¡°Oh, uh, no, uh, it¡¯s okay! Really! I¡¯m strong, that didn¡¯t, like, hurt at all. Just probably a wound from the arena, y¡¯know, or something! Haha! There was a rizumir in the arena¡­¡± I¡¯ve seen this before. When Adam doesn¡¯t know what else to say, he¡¯ll hyperfixate on something he knows a lot about and race through his words so quickly that nobody understands him. He¡¯ll completely fail to notice if people are interested or listening and just keep going. But doing it with a woman who he thinks he¡¯s going to- to do things with? He¡¯s gonna die alone. ¡°...I thought it was going to kill me because I couldn¡¯t figure out how to comfortably swing the hammer and axe together because they were too light for my size so my swings were off. That¡¯s what Captain Zev said, at least. I swung them around afterward and confirmed it, so we discussed what kind of weapon would suit me best. I wanted one with a weight that I could use for momentum on my swings, so a more blade heavy. And it¡¯s a sword, not a hammer or axe. A really big sword, two handed sword that wouldn¡¯t make much sense for a jorlad, but a jinian could wield more readily. I wanted it to be a zweih?nder, but Captain Zev didn¡¯t know what that was and apparently double-edged three handers aren¡¯t used here, so I wouldn¡¯t have any way to train under anyone who knew how to use it. Apparently the arsenal of weapons here is lacking, so Captain Zev is special ordering-¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Adam! Adam! You¡¯re needed!¡± A woman¡¯s voice called out from behind us. It was one of the maids from Simira¡¯s wing. ¡°The south gate¡¯s chain is broken, and you¡¯re the only one who might be able to lift it without the chain. We have an important delivery coming in, and with everything going on, we cannot muster enough men to raise the gate. Will you come?¡± He looked down at me dumbly, then back up at the maid. ¡°Yes! Yes I can! I will. The south gate? I¡¯ll go right now!¡± Adam hurried off down the hall where we had been heading before, toward the south gate, and the maid followed with a strange hobbling run. I was left alone in the hallway like a deer in headlights, finally able to force air into my lungs. I had been holding my breath out of sheer embarrassment for longer than I knew. I fell back and leaned against the wall, regaining my composure. ¡°The park,¡± I whispered to myself, ¡°Hallax.¡± I wiped my forehead, rubbing the slightly chalky makeup and recoiled my hand down. ¡°Right. The layer of plaster on my face.¡± I took a few more breaths, trying to forget that ever happened, and moved on down the hall. I slipped out one of the doors on the west side of the manor and out the west gate, where there were a bunch of those bird people, the one¡¯s like Geren. They weren¡¯t breaking in, they were just outside the open gates, doing some kind of strange song. I passed through the crowd with my head down, trying not to draw attention or cause a ruckus, and they let me through even though they were staring daggers at me the whole time. Immediately outside the manor was some farmland and a few upscale gated houses. I walked around the manor to the east side, where I could get to the main city, the Amien quarter. The road I walked along was parallel to a river, where massive factories and workshops had wheels running. The people of the quarter made me feel like I was an intruder simply for existing. Their gazes stuck to me, probably thinking I was some rich snob showcasing my wealth to the poor. I picked up my pace, glancing down every breakoff road for signs that might indicate I was somewhere near the Hallax Quarter or whatever the gildway was. Eventually, as I came to a small marketplace with colorfully covered stalls, I noticed a handful of people in obnoxious gold and brass clothes walking through the square. Most of them were going to and from a particular road ahead and to the right. I was in a slightly more upscale area, so people weren¡¯t sizing me up so blatantly. I hurried to an archway separating the zones, golden, Hallax guards standing at their posts. If it was as she said, I would pass through without arousing suspicions because of my appearance. I had a quick pace going through the gate and just as I reached the other side of the guards, a deep voice spoke out to me. ¡°Ma¡¯am, do you feel unsafe? Has somebody been following you?¡± Were they on to me or did I just look scared? I shakily turned around and not-so-convincingly muttered ¡°N-not anymore. Thank you.¡± ¡°Of course, please inform us if any of the dust-vermin attempts to tarnish you.¡± I nodded, trying to smile, but really just widening my mouth strangely, and continued walking. There was a weight lifted from my chest at finally being somewhere I didn¡¯t stick out like a sore thumb. I hated this more than I thought I would. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be separated from my friends for so long and be forced to interact with a bunch of the people of this world alone. The Hallax Quarter was bright and abrasive to my eyes, but I looked around regardless, trying to find any kind of greenery that might indicate where the park was. Wait, the park, like the place we got arrested. I just had to find my bearings. There was a large golden palace, or castle. It was just really big and metal. Down the road from it was a mall, a reflection pool like the one by the Washington monument, but much longer and it had fountains spanning its length. There were groups of people, couples, solos, all walking alongside the pools enjoying the scenery. For how much of a steampunk nightmare this quarter may have looked, it had a strange beauty in the water and the greenery down by the end of the reflection pool. Greenery? I strolled alongside the pool, gazing down at my own reflection, barely able to recognize myself. Props to Simira. The pool ended, and flowed into a still stream that passed through the park. Shady trees draped their needles overhead like willows alongside the reflection pool. As the pool ended, the canopy became an array of green, yellow, orange and red tube trees, like they were stuck in perpetual autumn. I stepped on a number of fallen tubes, and they were springy with brittle skin. I walked through the park, passing patches of gorgeous flowers I had never seen before, tiny light blue and lavender bird things, and small ponds of floating blooms. I did like the green llama things, though. A couple walked right up to me like I was gonna feed them but tilted their heads at me when I tapped them on the noses and chuckled. Eventually, a patch of ground like a simmering fire caught my eyes. These small, orange and glistening flowers swayed in the breeze like a glowing pool of magma. Seated in a bench across from the flowers, gazing into them, was a woman with long, silvery golden hair and a complexion like warm copper. She had ears like Brenden, and similarly slender features to her large head. She stood, a long golden skirt swaying around her ankles with a loose-fitting long-sleeved shirt tucked into it. She didn¡¯t look like she was wearing nearly as much makeup as me, but she was strikingly beautiful in an alien way. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to see you again! How are you?¡± Her soft and airy voice drifted to me like a summer breeze. She had a similar purse, actually identical to mine, in her hands, which she pressed against mine as she grabbed my hands in an affectionate greeting. I felt her purse press into my grasp as she slipped the purse from my hands into hers, and hers into mine. The transaction was already done. ¡°It¡¯s great to see you.¡± My tone didn¡¯t sell it, but she responded with a wide smile as her large, upturned eyes invited me to share in her joy. They shone like radiant sunstones, reflecting the light of the evening sun, or- no they were actually glowing. I couldn¡¯t help but feel calmed just by her presence. ¡°I was hoping to see the yonas that were planted here recently. Shall we walk?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± I strode next to her, slightly behind, hoping this would go as fast as possible. Even though this woman seemed nice, I was tired of talking to people already. I was tired of being around people in general. I didn¡¯t even know what to say to her if I did want to talk. Isn¡¯t this supposed to be all hush-hush? Would telling her my name overstep that? ¡°Truly, these flowers are gorgeous. The whole park is. I wish I had time to visit more often.¡± ¡°Yeah. They¡­ are nice. My friends like flowers like these.¡± ¡°How could anyone not?¡± She playfully laughed. ¡°Maybe I could take him here for a few hours, before the flowers wilt. If I only had the time.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you have time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a regenerator. I heal people. It¡¯s quite taxing on me, but the Lord makes sure I don¡¯t overuse myself. I heard rumors that the Amiens recently got themselves a new regenerator, and a shazgadj at that, poor thing. Hopefully she¡¯ll last longer than the previous one, what with the Lord¡¯s health issues and all.¡± ¡°Lord Amien¡¯s health issues?¡± ¡°He has been through four regenerators since last winter, and tried to buy me off of Lord Hallax a few months ago. If he falls ill again, he may just use another one up. Beating diseases is enough to kill the untrained regenerators he takes in, though I suppose they¡¯re more of slaves there.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any other ways to fix being sick?¡± ¡°There are plenty of sigils used for treating illness. They bolster the immune system and help target the illness, but they aren¡¯t as quick or as sure as outright killing the disease. A lord as sickly as him might not recover even with immune support if it¡¯s bad enough.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ crazy.¡± She looked down for a moment, thinking, before she turned her head up at me with a reassuring smile. ¡°I suppose it is.¡± She raised her hand to a flowering tree, caressing the petals and smelling the sweet aroma that permeated the air around us. She paused, peering at the petals pensively, then sighed and began a slow, leisurely stroll. ¡°Can I ask you something? And can you tell me what you honestly think?¡± ¡°I can try¡­ but I don¡¯t know if I can help because, well, you know.¡± ¡°Well, I can try things his way this time. He said that asking strangers for advice is a sure way of finding out what you want, and I¡¯m not sure I believe him fully. Well, anyway, I suppose I am conflicted. There¡¯s a very kind man that has been taken into the house. We began having conversations quickly and talking for hours on end. He¡­ has a lot of questions for me. And I enjoy speaking with him, but I think he wants to be in a formal relationship. Not that I would deny, but it feels too fast. It¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Um, how long have you two known each other?¡± ¡°I believe it has been a dozen and half days. We talk nearly every one. It¡¯s nice, having another one of us around in a place so¡­ rudimentary. It''s¡­ I feel as though everything is moving far too quickly, like I¡¯m being swept up in the ever-speeding world of the jorlad, even though he¡¯s not one.¡± ¡°Can you ask him to slow down?¡± A few quick laughs broke through her grin. ¡°I suppose that is one direction I can follow. But what if it causes an issue? Humans who adhere to jorlad days usually despise slowness. They dislike the pace at which nyadin live.¡± ¡°Is he mean? Does he get mad at stuff like that?¡± ¡°Mean? Not truly. At least not from what I can see. Grumpy? A little, but he¡¯s always trying to make the people around him happy. He has a wonderful charm to him that feels genuine, like everything he does is from the bottom of his heart. It¡¯s strange, he wasn¡¯t raised with our people, but he reminds me of home sometimes. Does that make sense to you?¡± The corners of her mouth curled up awkwardly. ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re just comfortable around him. People usually go on dates to get to know each other better by talking about their lives and secrets. I don¡¯t do relationships, though, so¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°I suppose we do have all the time we could ever want to play in the long grass,¡± she gazed into the reflection pool as we rounded back to the patch of simiras. ¡°Thank you for humoring my rambling. Take care.¡± ¡°Uh, thanks.¡± I turned around immediately, glad that I didn¡¯t have to talk anymore. She wasn¡¯t bad to talk to, but it was nerve-wracking thinking that if I let information slip, people around us may hear or Simira may get mad at me for leaking something she wanted private. Not that I knew anything she wouldn¡¯t want leaked. I didn¡¯t even know what I was delivering, what I was doing. She could¡¯ve been throwing me under the bus, using me as a delivery boy right before turning me into the scapegoat. Nah, prolly not. I was walking back through the market, coming upon the workhouses of the city. Eyes bored into my flesh and burned into me. They seemed to be keeping to themselves for the most part, tending to their own families and business. The guard presence wasn¡¯t very high as it got later in the evening, and there were more people out on the streets. These streets felt bleak and dark, even with all the plants and space. The way the people watched me, like I was a target. A few kids, no more than ten years old, walked past me, gawking for a moment before they snickered and ran off to a side road. I didn¡¯t hate kids, in fact I tended to be pretty good with them, but little shitheads like them got on my nerves. ¡°Excuse me, ma¡¯am?¡± A middle aged woman with a weathered, wrinkled face and shoddy clothes hobbled over with her cane. I looked at her, clutching the purse in my hands tightly. ¡°Can you spare a few sennos, perhaps a gossy? I¡¯ve hurt my knee, and I need to support my family, so I need to have it fixed. Please.¡± I was inclined to help her, but doubts infiltrated my mind as poverty did my pockets. People back on Earth would pull stuff like this sometimes, and even then I didn¡¯t have money to give, not to mention now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t.¡± I picked up my step and started moving off. A pale and stocky man yelled from the side of the road, calling out to me. ¡°Go back to the gold castle ya fuckin statue.¡± This motherfucker. Nah, I¡¯m just gonna ignore it and walk. He got up, following behind me. ¡°What? Couldn¡¯t find the gildway? Too good for a bunch of dusty commoners?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any money to give you. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I tried walking away, but he kept pace. ¡°I don¡¯t want your fuckin¡¯ money, I want your golden taint outta my neighborhood.¡± My temper was starting to grow. A little scared, a little angry, but trying to breathe. ¡°Great, cause I ain¡¯t stayin.¡± He caught up, walking along next to me. ¡°Then where ya goin?! Cause the Hallax quarter is that direction!¡± I didn¡¯t really know what he meant, but I didn¡¯t want to stick around any longer. He was getting mad and my bad mood would only get worse. I tried speeding up past him, but he kept pace. ¡°Wait just a second now! You gotta pay the Amien toll!¡± He reached out, trying to grab the purse from my hands, wrestling with my iron grip on them. ¡°Let go of the purse, bitch!¡± He reached out a hand, scratching at my cheek, pulling three deep lines of makeup off my face. What I wouldn¡¯t give to have a sword on me. Most everyone else has one, just not in the Hallax Quarter. I just wanna threaten this guy away, but I can¡¯t even do that. I was probably ten shades redder beneath the makeup, trying to keep myself from lashing out at this asshole. Like a plugged firehose, stifled and ready to burst out. As I raised my hand to feel the side of my face he scratched, his hands launched out and snatched the purse from me. A strange tingle took over my right arm and I couldn¡¯t stop myself from lashing out. I threw a left hook into his cheek and slammed my other hand on his wrist as he recoiled backward. I reached my right hand out, grabbing his arm that was holding the purse. At least, that¡¯s what I thought I was doing. In reality, my forearm was a mess of jagged bone. The purse was in a pool of blood on the ground, and his hand dangled by only a few sinews of muscle and skin. I threw my sword arm to the side, away from me. When I saw that it wouldn¡¯t go away, I flailed my arm around, cutting into my own leg a little and tearing the dress with the bloody bone blade. The man held his dangling hand and screamed madly. Gasps spread among the onlookers, who took to dispersing. My boiling blood stilled like ice when the reality settled in. Like that, my hand returned to normal, but the man was clutching his hand on the ground, wailing in pain. People were rushing over to him, and all I could think to do was take the purse and run. I saw two glints of brass armor down the road to the manor and ran toward them pointing back at the people. ¡°Ma¡¯am, what happened? You¡¯re hurt.¡± ¡°Help! Back there!¡± ¡°By hand¡¯s order! Ma¡¯am, keep running until you find more of us. We¡¯ll take care of those people.¡± They took off toward the group of people, drawing jzonutos. I continued running, not looking back at the curses and screams behind me. Twilight had fallen by the time I made it back to the manor. Sneaking in the west gate, unseen, I slinked in the same door as before. Walking past rooms around the manor, it was oddly quiet for how many people were supposed to be here. It didn¡¯t matter to me though. Through the halls I went, avoiding any contact with everyone I could. I knocked on Lady Simira¡¯s door. She quickly checked and pulled me in. Simira¡¯s surprised and stern tone startled me. ¡°Give me the purse! And why the fuck are you bleeding?! All you were to do was walk there and back! How could you have possibly been hurt?!¡± She snatched the bloody purse and sat down, aggressively flipped it open and checked inside, only to clasp it shut and tuck the clean papers from it into her desk. ¡°What happened to you? Why does it look like you were in a fight?! Answer me!¡± Simira stood up and stormed around her desk toward me, trying to stand above me, just to meet me at eye level. ¡°My Lady, on my return, a man by the workhouses tried to attack me because I looked wealthy, but I fought him off. The guards came and I snuck away.¡± It wasn¡¯t my fault, I just didn¡¯t know how to tell her that. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®by the workhouses¡¯? Did you not take the gildway?¡± ¡°I took the road that follows the river. I couldn¡¯t find the gildway¡± ¡°What, do I have to explain everything to you like a child?! Are you incapable of discerning things for yourself?! Did you not ask a guard for directions to the gildway?! How incompetent can one be?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Sorry? You¡¯ve potentially compromised the entire plan! Did anyone follow you?! Did anyone see you come back here dressed like that?!¡± ¡°No, Lady Simira, I promise you nobody followed me. I snuck through the entire manor to get here.¡± I was practically begging her to believe me, to not fly into a rage at me. ¡°Look at yourself! You¡¯re a bloody mess because you couldn¡¯t complete a simple task correctly! You¡¯ve ripped the dress and creased the heels! The makeup I spent so long on is running! It¡¯s clawed through! How the fuck did that happen?! Are you afraid of telling off some dusty street urchins?! Have I not taught you that you are better than them?!¡± My voice shook and my throat felt like it was closing in. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to start a fight in the middle of the street.¡± Her wrath seeped through my skin, infecting me, making me hate myself for letting it go so far. I hated her, but I hated more that I was a failure to her. I didn¡¯t know what to direct my hate at, I could barely keep it bottled up. Simira¡¯s hand grabbed the side of my neck and forced me to meet her blazing eyes. Her yelling turned into a seething whisper. ¡°So you let them claw and cut you while you stood and did nothing?! What is there to be afraid of?!¡± ¡°I will do better.¡± Her face pulsed red with each breath like a ticking cartoon bomb. Her jagged eyebrows relaxed a little. She growled a sigh out and released her grip. ¡°Take off the fucking dress before it¡¯s further drenched in blood. It will be cleaned, sewn, and on my desk by tomorrow evening.¡± She slammed a wad of clothes into my stomach, briefly knocking the air from my lungs. I quickly changed out of the dress and heels and put on the sleeveless orange servant outfit. Simira stopped next to a display case beneath the portrait of her family that she showed me the flower in. She was looking down at a leatherbound journal. She was still frustrated, but putting it aside for a moment. ¡°Tells, were you close with your mother?¡± ¡°Um, yes, Lady Simira.¡± ¡°If something terrible happened to her, would you do everything in your power to make it right?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± Where is she coming from with this? I recall her mother having been killed in an accident a long time ago. Is she still grieving? She scoffed. ¡°Probably. Hah. Why did I bother asking somebody without a spine unless you¡¯re raging?¡± Every word she said and every little insult she threw was like a punch to the gut, like throwing kindling on a fire. She could say whatever she wanted because I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Speaking even remotely passive aggressively would earn me some kind of ridiculous punishment. No wonder she was so angry when it was just her and Tarynn on the road with us. She had no power because we didn¡¯t care and we outnumbered her. And now she had us running around like her trained little puppies. She walked up to me with a rag and sprayed something into it. ¡°Hold still while I wipe that nasty look off your face.¡± She dragged the coarse cloth down my face, scraping the makeup off my skin until it was irritated and red. ¡°That¡¯s most of it off. The gilded can have their heads so far in the forge that they fail to see the natural beauty of the blessed. Go now. It¡¯s late and I have work to do. And so do you.¡± She pointed at the dress and scowled. She returned to her desk, eyeing me as I exited the room. I washed the dress clean of blood and sweat, then I washed myself clean of blood, sweat, and makeup. I was pissed off the whole time, thinking both about what an idiot I was and what a bitch Simira was. I just want her to not be disappointed in me and yet every time she speaks I see her cutting Vetia¡¯s tongue out. I can¡¯t figure out what the hell was going on and I just want it to stop. I just wanna break something. I wanna get the fuck out of here. I breathed the mist into my lungs and let the warmth of the baths wash over me, bowing my head, fighting back tears as I prayed for answers, guidance, forgiveness. ¡°I hurt a man today. Much more than he deserved. He was a man hurt and pleading, who sinned and stole. I could not control my rage or my body and I harmed him more than I should have. I will keep persevering and I will control myself better. But I have been forced to follow a wrathful woman who I am afraid will turn that wrath to me.¡± I pumped more hot water over me, rinsing away the soap and burning my skin ever so slightly. Then, I went to the baths. For communal baths, they were huge and there was plenty of soap. All the servants and guards used them. Even then, it felt weird that we would even be afforded a luxury like soap here. The hot water was nice and plenty, especially since it could be heated by basic sigils. A luxury back home was a commonality for even the lowest people here. The steam rose around me, and I got back to thinking about home. Why did Simira ask about my mother? Or her own at that? And why me? Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen her have a genuine conversation with anyone at the manor. I left the bath before all the servants and guards engaging in the nightly activities would arrive, cleaned and sewed the dress, then read a little before turning in for the night. A bachelor¡¯s banquet most delightful I¡¯d partook in this eve, assortments of lavish fruits and meat from afar. A rarity, even among my class. Wine from orchards bearing the most succulent fruit procured and tasted with the utmost care for palette. Not in a stupor, I, but in warmth most pleasant on such a chilling night to stroll through the docks, tasting the ocean air on my tongue, when upon the moment I spotted the filthy Larmeonip, seated upon a waste smattered post at the end of the docks, as though he¡¯d witnessed those winged sea kets and thought himself one. Truly a detestable sight, alas, my faith in the Skin be unswayed, I approached the creature. ¡°Man! If you be man and not beast, prove it and I shall a golden coin bestow upon thee. Beastly Larmeonip, for why dost thou sit atop the refuse of fajirs.¡± ¡°Many thanks be upon ye for such a chance, Unwise Djoteided! But I must speak short, as the chilling air hast stole away my breath.¡± ¡°Ay, shouldst thou respond to my query, thy length matters not.¡± ¡°A gift the night presently gives! For why do you stalk the docks?¡± ¡°My query presently rests, Unlistening Larmeonip!¡± ¡°A vagrant, I must be, but a beast I am not. I was upon the forum, but now I am upon the post.¡± ¡°For why art thou upon the post, Deflective Larmeonip?! ¡°A question I¡¯ll answer in a question, if I may, Interrogative Djoteided?¡± ¡°Ay, with haste, Meandering Larmeonip!¡± ¡°What bringst thee to the docks, Wandering Djoteided?¡± ¡°Is a man not entitled to stroll upon that which is made to be strolled upon?¡± ¡°Is a man not entitled to sit upon that which is made to be sat upon?¡± ¡°Festering Larmeonip, beasts sit upon poo-stewed posts! Man sits upon benches such as thus, and thus, and thus! Three upon the docks, outlooking the water! Is man truly man if he livest in squalor and chill?!¡± ¡°Curious Djoteided, is a man out of comfort a man who cannot live? I reckon beasts be only those who are as unfeeling as cobblestones beneath beggars.¡± ¡°Inquisitive Larmeonip, I have met many a man who feel and yet act as beasts, lying alone upon cold ground in every walkers way, and not a day later sleeping in pens of livestock where the farns keep him warm! How canst thou prove thou art a man if even man sleeps not among men?!¡± ¡°Cynical Djo, thy answer lies in thy question, but pose I a question for thee?¡± ¡°Ask, Larmeonip!¡± ¡°How do we live?¡± ¡°Within home and family, with bed and hearth of course.¡± ¡°Beasts build dens and homes, staving off the cold of night, no?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Thus the loved warm to their family, staving off the cold of lonesomeness, no?¡± ¡°Correct again.¡± ¡°Bed is the place upon which dreams are born, having hope to desire, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip.¡± ¡°Thus hearth is the place in which love is found, having no more to dream for, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip, and?¡± ¡°Therein lies the answer, Djoteided.¡± ¡°Circular Larmeonip, tis thine answer to thy question!¡± ¡°What chills spur dreams between home and family, bed and hearth, is that of Larmeonip. I cannot answer for Djoteided, for is thy warmth not of wine, and thy hope not of coin? We are too unlike.¡± ¡°Deceitful Larmeonip, the homeless chill hath stole thy breath!¡± ¡°And yet I am warm.¡± ¡°Lonesome Larmeonip, thou¡¯rt with none!¡± ¡°And yet I have kinship.¡± ¡°Unkempt Larmeonip, thou sleep''st not in a bed!¡± ¡°And yet I have dreams.¡± ¡°Strange Larmeonip, thou hast no fire!¡± ¡°And yet I am loved more than the stuped unwiseman.¡± In a flight of rage, I dropped a gold coin politely in that dreadful man¡¯s hand and cursed the wine which curdled my veil of wisdom. * * * * * In the darkness, I see my family. My mom, my dad, my brothers, and my sisters. They are walking alongside each other, down an asphalt road illuminated by flickering streetlights. I don¡¯t see any details. They¡¯re like shadows of humans, no defining features, and yet I know they are my family. They are slowly walking down the road toward me, laughing in voices I can¡¯t hear or remember. I am going to call out to them as they pass me, but I can¡¯t remember their names. I know their names. I know their names. I just can¡¯t remember them on this road. They walk past, a crowd of unrecognizable laughs, not even noticing me. I can¡¯t turn around to see them. The road ahead of me is dirt, and nothing but darkness beyond that. * * * * * I shot up as the sun beat into my eyes, and I caught a glimpse of the woman in the tiny mirror across the tiny room from me. They wouldn¡¯t even recognize me anyway. 35: Fractures 35 (Illenium, Nevve- Fractures) Vetia ¡°What is family to you? Hah, I suppose you cannot answer, but I¡¯ve heard of your little family. You and your friends with whom you traveled. Did you not tire of them? Not even once?¡± I tapped the cell bars twice. ¡°I hardly believe that. Even I grew to resent my own. But such resentment is only natural having been tortured as I am. Would you sacrifice your friends for true freedom?¡± I quickly tapped the bars twice again. ¡°And yet you suffer for their sakes. It¡¯s odd. Do you only suffer for their sakes or are you scared of who you are without them? Is that why you have remained so¡­ docile?¡± I hesitated, then tapped the bar once. ¡°That begs the question, who is hostage to who? Who is prisoner and who is truly free?¡± I could hear the smile on her face. ¡°If only they knew your pain. Even as they¡¯re drawn further away from you, by her wicked design, you still care for them.¡± I tapped the bar. ¡°So what will you do when they have drifted so far that your suffering no longer means anything to them?¡± Darkness grasped the cells. Dripping water the only thing echoing through the twisting silence. ¡°The time where they are no longer with you nears. Even I know a monster when I see one. Her wickedness, her cunning, is all to isolate us into malleable, broken, mindless slaves. One she can put little rewards before until we are only driven by them. She knows that true misery is brought on by the decimation of one¡¯s humanity. She wants to witness us lose everything we hold dear. The moment we give up fighting, we will be nothing, and she will have won, and the people will praise her as savior, as justice, as truth. Our truth erased. Our suffering forgotten.¡± I slammed my fist into the bar. Two punches, two pronounced cracks from fracturing my hands. ¡°No?¡± It laughed like a wicked serpent and took to whispering. ¡°How far she must push is entirely dependent on you, Vetia. Don¡¯t lose that fight. It¡¯s your only way out, lest ye become a monster like me.¡± * * * * * Tink. Zap. Tink. Zap. Tink. Zap. I sat idly, flicking the metal collar around my neck. If I flicked it lightly enough, it would just make a little static shock type of sting. I didn¡¯t have much to do, so shocking myself was a good time killer. It helped to keep me from thinking about everything I missed. I had begun to notice over time what it was like to go without sleep for so long. Being up, unable to shut my mind off grew draining. Every day blended into the next like they were all the same, and yet I couldn¡¯t keep track of what was happening on what days anymore. My sense of time was so off that I didn¡¯t even remember how many nights I had been here, especially at the Amien Manor. I didn¡¯t want to keep thinking about it, but between being unable to talk, not sleeping and having a miserably lonely day, all I could do was go mad in my own head. Being up so long was maddening. Having terrible food was maddening. Having no friends was maddening. It sent shakes up my spine as I recoiled from the specters at the edges of my vision. I didn¡¯t want to admit it, but I started to like it. A world away from the world. I wasn¡¯t even sure if the people who talked to me had even talked to me. Reality seemed so dreamlike, unreal, forgettable, and terrifying. Then suddenly forgotten, like every moment lasted an eternity and then disappeared in an instant. Is this how God feels? I thought to myself constantly, maybe I could just use up all my jzanmah and that would propel me to sleep. There were a few heavy days of healing, where I felt tapped at the end of the day, but I wasn¡¯t tired. In fact, I was more energetic than ever and all I could think about was how every guard and servant looked like wonderful midnight snacks. I couldn''t remember feeling tired since I woke up in this world. Even at the clinic, I simply fell catatonic until my mind returned to me. Maybe I can rest in catatonia. In light of my eventual madness, I planned. Simira was still unaware that I could fly and had poisons. It didn¡¯t make much of a difference, though, because there were constantly guards posted on the walls and I was too watched to poison anyone and dash. So I would sit at that wobbly wooden table in the infirmary and look out the window at the training fields. Adam looked like he was having so much fun. I hardly saw him with that hunchback who cleaned the armor now that he was a guard. He stood out like a sore thumb, being the only person there larger in mass than the Captain. He reminded me of a kid at recess, a big toothy smile on his face, laughing whenever he fell, but always getting up to play sword fight with the others. I spent most of my time watching out the window. I quickly fell victim to the charm of murdering everyone out there silently, when they weren¡¯t looking. The Wicked Witch of Middle Earth took away my board on a busy day when I called one of the guards who had beaten me a ¡°spineless cortyfucker.¡± I¡¯d learned lots of Triali insults from the people who berated me and I just couldn¡¯t resist using them. I hadn¡¯t been able to do any real communication since the board was taken and that made dealing with the kid incredibly difficult when he visited. I can probably kill him and nobody will care. I never learned the kid¡¯s name, but he would visit me pretty often, sneaking in to show me his dolls or to sit and grab at the sheets of the cots. He would stand in the doorway saying "Red" until I looked at him, then he would enter. I never heard him say anything else. Funny though. Red is the same word as blood in Triali. Almost like he knows and nobody listens because he is collared by their perceptions. All things considered, he was a sweet kid. He had issues, but I did my best to learn what to do and what not to do. He was surprisingly strong and he really liked squeezing soft or plush things, so I kept my distance from his reach. It seemed like as long as I didn¡¯t touch him and I didn¡¯t let him grab my clothes, I would be alright. He almost tore my shirt one time because he was showing me a doll and grabbed at the fabric on my shirt. When I pulled away, he just held on tighter and ripped the skirt clean free while I sprayed him with scalding hot water. I learned to ease him off and not to fight, but to distract him with something else. It was a pain, but it was some form of company during the day. The people at the manor despised us just the same, so we were kindred spirits in a sense. I overheard some guards speaking, and apparently he was an Amien, or at least related to them in some way. By their standards, he was a retard with noble blood, so they took care of him and kept him out of sight. That seemed to be why he stopped visiting. They probably saw him wandering around at some point, in sight and out of line like usual. How long has it been? A handful of weeks? A month maybe? My measure of time was so messed up. I thought that maybe a few days was the most accurate. My best measure was that every so often, there was a massive influx of people getting hurt, and not just the soldiers. Early in the day it was the soldiers, but later in the week it was a bunch of prostitutes from a local brothel that made a killing off the pent-up guards here. I only really knew because they were always getting hurt, even a few broken limbs at times. And they looked like total shit after everything was done. It didn¡¯t look pleasant at all and it definitely scared me to think what they could be doing, but they had fat stacks of coins in their purses, so it must have been worth it. The weekly fuckening, as I called it, had happened four times, so I assumed I¡¯d been there for about twenty weeks, give or take a few days, even though it had been several months since last night. As much as I hated those years on the ocean, I wouldn¡¯t have been given such a wonderful offer without them. I¡¯d done it numerous times already, but only a night it would be. I hadn¡¯t seen anyone other than Adam, and I couldn¡¯t feel either Tells¡¯ or Simira¡¯s auras, whatever those sensations were. I had spent a while figuring that out, too. I could sense people around me and how they were feeling for about from the wall to the other wall before their emotions became fuzzy, but I could still tell who they were regardless of sight. The days became colder and the people with them. I rifled through the pages of my book that Uylet so graciously ripped out and selected for me to study. I had most of them memorized. ¡°Woman. I¡¯m speaking to you.¡± The nasally hole of John Guard cut through my thoughts. What a dick. I turned around toward him, he who was recently posted at the door to make sure I didn¡¯t do anything else unwanted. ¡°By the Viscount¡¯s orders: These weeks of conditioning should have you well-adjusted to the life of a regenerator servant. Your ability will be strained in your next assignment. The Viscount has contracted an ailment that labors his speaking. You will be used to rid him of this so he may attend a summit in the city tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Wha-!¡± electricity surged into my neck, ripping its way through my body. I instinctively burst out speaking and I was reeling on my hands and knees from the pain. I couldn¡¯t catch my breath and my throat wasn¡¯t opening back up. It surged through my mind in a flash, that I would have to use a lethal amount of jzanmah to cure the Viscount. I have to basically kill myself because the Viscount had a cold? I glared up at the guard through blurry watery eyes and tried to signal that I had questions, but my body wouldn¡¯t react to what my brain was instructing. My chest dazed and heaved, trying to fill my lungs with enough air to do what I asked. I shoved myself off the ground, but he had already stepped out and shut the door. There was just a folded piece of paper on my desk, ominously awaiting me. I had heard a little of the procedure and it was incredibly dangerous for the jzanmah tejuh involved. Such precision in killing so many microorganisms could be lethal for untrained ones like myself. And the Viscount was using me to get rid of a cold. I slumped in my chair, forehead down on the table. I wanted to curse. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream and rage and rip every page so that I wouldn¡¯t have to ever heal anyone again. My nails dug into my palms and my head exploded, just trying to keep my breathing from setting off the collar. I gripped the sides of the table and slammed my forehead on it again and again, laughing that I could finally see that bastard and claim victory. I wonder if Adam and Tells will be there to watch me win. Why did I get powers in the first place? Why am I the only one able to heal people? What use are powers if they¡¯re just going to be thrown away by some greedy shits. I¡¯ve been planning. I¡¯ve been scheming. If Simira wants to treat me like an expendable thing, I¡¯ll show her what really lies in my heart. I can¡¯t wait to see her face when it happens. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I swiped the paper up and glared it over. I may be enlightened, but I still have to be smart and hide my intentions, my realizations. The sigil was extensive. Seven shapes to the sigil and some of them were miserably complicated. They didn¡¯t even resemble typical shapes anymore and looked more like intricate letters. It reminded me of a complicated math equation. That¡¯s probably what it was, an equation to bend physics and siphon jzanmah to rid somebody¡¯s system of plague. The world knows of these creatures, those little tiny death blots, but they won¡¯t tell me how to treat them, so I must kill. Are they so reliant on jzanmah for everything that they had abandoned science and medicine? The window was the perfect honey trap for birds. A sweet scent on the wind here and there. Nobody¡¯s looking? Bite the head off and send the body down the hatch. It¡¯s about survival, and I¡¯ll do whatever it takes. I studied the sigil for as long as I could between occasionally healing guards. I really did the bare minimum healing, making sure I used as little jzanmah as possible. If I went in there with head pains at all, I would not live through the sigil. If I die, I won¡¯t be able to kill Simira, and I can¡¯t have that. I had cemented that in my mind. I wanted her dead and nothing more. Somebody like her simply shouldn¡¯t exist. I will save her father and survive. I will escape, use my resources, take her life, and then sneak away with my friends. Oh, right¡­ I have friends, don¡¯t I? * * * * * The time came. The guard led me out of the infirmary across the manor. Everyone in every hall was disgusted by me, the criminal shazgadj. Every hall I passed through, I tried to seek out every aura and recognize them, but they were all other servants and attendants. I stumbled forward when I felt two very memorable auras ahead of me. Tarynn and Simira. I also noticed the Captain in there, but he was probably just there to hold a sword around my neck the whole time. Tells was outside, posted against the wall by the door guards. I shot her a grin and wink. She radiated shock, worry and confusion, but why did she get more scared when she saw me? She¡¯s tough. She¡¯ll figure something out when I die. I cannot worry about her. I must continue my act! The doors to the room were huge. They looked to be made of expensive, dark and heavy wood. There was an intricate seal on the door, seven hands thrusting a sword into the sun. The guard stopped me and rechecked my collar, then opened the doors for me. Simira, Tarynn, Zev, and dear daddy Amien. Am I crying, or are my eyes already dripping blood? Interesting. Noted. Being so close to all of the people had me feeling a mix of emotions. Oh the smiles I wanted to show them all, but instead I played the sad, destroyed servant. Dead face and dead eyes. The Viscount was a thin old man. He looked like the twins, but if they had let themselves go for the rest of their lives and whose hair had grayed. His face was sunken in and dreary. His body looked bone thin beneath the silken sheets of his bed. As soon as I stepped into the room, I examined the change in auras around me. Simira was both amused and terribly guilty. Must have been really worried about dear old daddy and his little cough. Tarynn felt grief. Grief and fear. What a fucking joke. I stood next to the Viscount¡¯s bed. The entire room remained silent. I didn¡¯t give a shit about the life of the worthless old fuck I had to help, but I have to do it! Captain Zev began to brief me. ¡°Viscount Amien has been feeling a high temperature, frequent coughing-¡± I raised my hand toward him without looking and he stopped talking. I didn¡¯t need to hear it. He squinted at me and placed his hand on his blue hip dagger. I carved the rectangle and eyes into the air, placing the sheen of light before my eyes. Oh, a chunk of hair fell out onto the Viscount. I brushed it away quickly. I could see the beats of the Viscount¡¯s heart, his stomach, his lungs. He wasn¡¯t particularly unhealthy, but there were distinct markings in his lungs, like millions of tiny dots. They extended up his lungs into his throat some way, which definitely seemed like a common cold and at worst a light flu. Needless to say, it was time to invoke the sigil that might just kill me. I laid the sheet on the bed before me and began the process. The first shape was made of four long triangles that met at their tips, creating a shape like a geometric four-leaf clover. As my finger traced the light green jzanmah in the air, the back of my head tingled aggressively. The normal flow of the lines was almost electric. I knew I couldn¡¯t afford to mess up any of the shapes or it might just backfire dangerously. The shape bolded in the air, but it was still jittering. I began the next of six symbols. The second was in the top triangle, shaped like a capital A that continued the center line to the right and formed an equilateral triangle with the leg, with a plus at the top point of the A. The third was in the right triangle and looked like a jagged tree of three branches with an arrowhead at the base of it. Four was in the bottom one, and it was the most difficult so far. It was a tiny wavy spiral with a hooked x through it. This one took me a good minute to do. The sigil shuddered several times and the people around me grew anxious. Amateurs. Tracing symbols with fingers wasn¡¯t particularly difficult, it just required patience and a little finesse. I hooked the x off and quickly continued on. Five was literally just a backwards P in the left triangle, so that was easy. Six was a set of what reminded me of Chinese characters. Each triangle had the symbol nearest to the middle. I traced down and slanted left, then put a leg on the right of it. There were two parallel lines branching off of the right side, and three off the left. The right side formed what looked like a flag with two other lines, the rightmost flag end stretched down past the bottom of the flag. The left lines were crossed by a x. I repeated this symbol four times. The sigil buzzed wildly with chaotic power. It wobbled and jittered the whole time and I just had to keep my cool while it tore into the back of my head, heating me until I was sweating. It was exhausting, the fatigue that the sigil brought on, but the four symbols were done in about a minute. I hadn¡¯t realized the amount of jzanmah it took to draw sigils, how much each line consumed. The seventh shape was a circle around the entire sigil, with small triangles at five uneven points. I noticed a sensation as I drew this circle. Each triangle was honing in on a section, like they were directing the flow of the jzanmah toward points in the Viscount¡¯s body. The precision of these triangles was the most important part. As I coalesced jzanmah in my finger to trace, the sigil hummed until I needed to make a point. It was like a seventh sense. Slight deviations caused the sigil to immensely rumble until I corrected, but it guided me to correctly draw them on. I finished and a wave of searing jzanmah cascaded through my entire body. It was suddenly like I¡¯d just sprinted a 5k and couldn¡¯t take in air. My breathing became heavy and labored, so much that the collar let out little static shocks into my neck. All I had to do was initiate the sigil, then I was done here. No wonder people died from this. I apparently had a greater jzanmah tolerance than normal people and my body wanted to give out before I¡¯d even initiated the sigil. Hopefully that wave was the end of it. Activating it would release all that stored jzanmah in the sigil, and I could be done. I caught my breath for a moment and leaned over the Viscount. I slowly pushed the sigil toward his neck and chest, then lowered my finger into it. I let it spin like I was playing roulette and immediately teetered, losing balance. Jzanmah surged through me violently, like it was forcing its way out of my mouth and nose to rush to the erratic sigil. My body froze and seized. My head was fire like somebody had dug a hole through the back of my skull and stirred my brains with a flaming iron knife. I collapsed onto the floor. I didn¡¯t even feel a sensation to pass out because there was so much adrenaline rushing through me in my cold sweat, like my body was electrocuted and searching for anything to keep it alive. My eyes watered and my nose rushed with blood. My ears clogged with pressure and warm blood trickled from each one. My vision tinted red. It was so beautiful seeing everything bathed in blood light. Thought no longer exists. The world is but a feeling of. There are two sources of fear and worry when I fall, but everyone else turned gleeful or relieved when the Viscount¡¯s aura strengthened. Light was kaleidoscopic, filling my eyes with dazzling spots of darkness and crimson. I rose, not on my own, but being carried like a bride. The guard held me in his arms loosely. His arms were so warm and I was so depleted of jzanmah that I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to die, so I grasped onto every little surge of brain activity, every bite of adrenaline to keep me functioning. I was scared. Scared of death. A death like this, so far from my own mind. I wanted to be me when I died, not a raving lunatic. Not a fireblood. Me! Divine! I raised my hands and held onto him like a child in a fetal position. And I shivered being born back into my own body of jzanmah. I couldn¡¯t stop the shivering. My hands grabbed his neck tightly, my scraggly nails digging into his flesh. They started cutting into him, ever so lightly. Blood on my fingers, in my hands, giving me strength. They clutched him for dear life, the only way I could feed myself secretly. That was the only thing that mattered. I was desperate for jzanmah. So much so that it felt like my entire mind was slipping into the animalistic cravings. He worried, then startled, then irritated. No, I couldn¡¯t have that. My sweet scent would make him NICE AND DOCILE I JUST WANNA SUCK HIM DRY HAAH! It did. A little more deep. More blood. It was good. So good. No. NO! CCOOOOOOLD GROUNDDD. Stone. My cell. Reaching. He pulled away. No no no. No leaving. Wanted stay and- hurt head. Bleeding head. Can¡¯t see. Can feel. He left. Smaller auras around me. Dart to one. Small, hairy rodent. Drawn in by sweetness. More came. Drank blood, swallow whole. Twas a dream. I can see again. Hunched over a pool of blood and tiny bones. I chewed something, something hairy and small. So cold. Shivers. Only fleeting life offers warmth. Only blood brings life. How strange, my senses returned, but my body didn¡¯t stop, nor did I let it. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Rodents bit in half and down the hatch. Bones and fur and organs all the way down. Why count at a feast so plenty? The rush is euphoric. I ran my hands through the pool of viscera and bathed in it. I did it. I lived through the sigil. I am invincible. I had to be. Laughter. Mine. I couldn¡¯t even making sounds, but I couldn¡¯t stop laughing in emotion. The world was trying to kill me, but I couldn¡¯t die. Oh, elation. Light in the head. Free in the heart. Enlightened be my senses. Godly be my body! Approaching aura. No, no. Hide the blood. Hide the blood. No rodent bones and no fur. Down the hatch they go, where the world would forget about them. Blood on my hands? No, in my hands. I could never be caught red handed if my hands never stained. Hehe! They are near. The people at the cell door. I sawsee everything. They are sad, afraid, crying. How sad, how unfortunate. For whom do they cry? Nobody is dead. If only words could have left my lips to tell them to cheer themselves. Oh poor Tarynn, whose guard kept him from the door. My mouth, whose words I wished would reach to ask wherefore dost thou weep? But alas, the poor boy heard not my words. Tears befell his face in so beauteous a way. I wished to lick them from his eyes that he may never sully himself so and then take his eyes so he may never see painful things, then his ears so he may never hear cries, then his mouth, because it would be funny. If only he could see as I did, how his sister stained my soul. Oh the hate, oh the rage in my soul to rip her life from the world. I loath her. I dreamt of drinking her blood til she will be a husk of dry flesh. Ah, the tears that sully his face do sully mine. My visage, burdened by emotion and the cruelty of the universe. It wept for that in front of me, not from me. Oh, how I wished to blot out the sun and engulf us in darkness that none may see me in all my singular glory. The bars are my window and the walls my world. This cell is no cage, but a book where stories make dreams of themselves and shed their blood into me. The world exists outside, and I inside of it, a world of my own, outside of the world but in the world in a worldly way only the world above Hell and between the sun can drink. But the yearning, the horror of seeing something so wondrously pitiful. He felt for who? Oh, what ailment has he been afflicted by? Has he seen something so horrific that he cannot not bear it not? Nay, twas not behind me. The rodents line my stomach, not the walls. Joyousness line this worlds, so why are his eyes not enthralled in love? Lo! He speaks! His lips and mouth reveal their secrets, oh but they ask for me? Oh why am I in hysterics? Why am I in madness? Oh Tarynn! God, nymph, perfect, divine, of what, my love, should I answer thine cry? Like a babe blind to the world for his own eyes deceive him of who I am. Me? Forsooth I am madly in love, and hysterically overjoyed! My days infinite and my time eternal! Why had those in love been so misunderstood? Oh, honorable, you beared welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Thou appeared as the innocent flower, but twas the serpent under it which bore thy venom. If nary a serpent, then born sans a spine! The sweetest scent to fill the chamber and the world flowed about me. Weariness of the soul was so potent. Wayward toward home he walks. How I search and lose sight. No matter, he is dead without, for there is only my within. Away the pathetic prince dashed and onward could my plot fly. T¡¯were I a devil, the porter should surely let me by. On a night most salacious, the shadow of death will loom. Deep into the drunken night¡¯s watch, she stumbles into the room. The vixen bled in the night over a devil¡¯s foolish err. Then slip the assassin away, cloaked in dusk¡¯s chilling air. The thought raced my heart, bursting at its seams. Long had I the night to perfect my little schemes. 36: I Found Your Heart 36 (DubVision, Emeni- I Found Your Heart) Adam I had just finished training with the guards after a really long day of drilling combat exercises. Normally, I would hate that sort of thing, but my body was so much better acclimated to physical stress. The pain and the soreness of working myself was energizing, something I had always wanted to experience in my former life. I had tried exercising and lifting, searching for that runner¡¯s high or that adrenaline rush from lifting heavy things. I never found it and fell into a slump. The surge of power was like a drug to me. Needless to say, I was pretty fucked up. Bruises and cuts littered my body, although they were extremely shallow if I even did get them. I had a few guard friends who were always trying to test just how strong I was. Perive and Kaya slammed dull swords into me by accident which surprisingly bounced off, barely even a mark. We were astonished, so they tried again, swinging heavier until I reacted, but they only got a cut in after the tenth try. They were good friends and fun to drink with. I realized I was strutting through the halls of the manor with a stupid smirk on my face. I needed to get healed up before I could have some fun. I stepped into the infirmary and glanced around. I only saw Aleri, one of the servingmen, inside cleaning the cots. ¡°Hey, where is she right now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all busted after curing the Viscount.¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®busted,¡¯ huh?¡± A sudden wave of dread rose in me. ¡°Used a sigil. Apparently it¡¯s lost its shit.¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®lost its shit¡¯?¡± ¡°Just like the last regenerators. Went stupid. Went crazy.¡± I hoofed it out of the infirmary and down to the cells. The wooden walls turned to torch-lit stone and I heard low voices coming from down the stairs. The usual guard posted at the doorway didn¡¯t give a shit if I visited during daytime hours, but he turned and tried to halt me. ¡°Adam, please, I believe it within your best interest to refrain from visiting it at the moment.¡± He looked nervous. I could see under his stupid bushy mustache that his lip was quivering when I looked down at him. He was scared. I leaned down and put my face right up in his. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I look?¡± ¡°I am not stopping you, but you don¡¯t want to see that.¡± He shrank into his chain armor. I pushed past him and turned the corner. Tarynn was leaning against the wall, out of sight of the cell. He was completely flushed. Eyes puffy and red. Then I met the gaze of those foggy, bloodshot red pearls. They completely sobered me. Hopeless. Deep scratches riddled her body. Blood streamed from her nose, ears, and eyes. Her hands frantically clawed into her shoulder and ripped at her hair. Tremors shot through her every half second as she shivered violently. And yet she smiled. Her lips rambled silently and endlessly. No sound in the air except for the muffled croaks that escaped her lungs and the collar clicking with every shock. ¡°What the fuck happened?!¡± I grabbed Tarynn¡¯s arm. ¡°How do we help her?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± slipped off his tongue. ¡°They usually die upon the instant.¡± ¡°What did she do?!¡± Tarynn was staring blankly at the wall when one of the guards spoke up. ¡°She cured father of his illness.¡± Freezing fear carved my chest out and chilled my blood. ¡°Vetia?! Can you hear me?! Are you okay?! Vetia?!¡± Her jittering head tilted and gazed emptily into my eyes. Her face was soaked with bloody tears and wrought with burst capillaries, but she stared right through me. She didn¡¯t even register that I was there. Her mouth hung open, in fact the entire left side of her face drooped and her left shoulder limply dangled. However, when I said her name her eyes finally focused on her surroundings. The shivering calmed to sporadic jitters and that awful croaking ceased. A wad of fur and bone slopped out of her mouth followed by dribbles of bloody saliva. She grabbed the sides of her head, turning it with her hands to look at me, then next to me, at Tarynn, who stood back up. She covered her ears and her wide eyes turned to the wall, mouthing something to herself. ¡°I presumed you would be here, Adam.¡± Simira¡¯s voice cut through the air. She casually strolled down the dungeon hallway. Tells was behind her, shellshocked and verging on hyperventilating. Captain Zev followed closely at her side, solemnly monitoring Tells. Simira cocked her head to the side and offered a gaze of faux sympathy. ¡°Adam, you mustn¡¯t say her name. I¡¯ll allow that to pass as this is an unprecedented situation, but please remember your position here.¡± I frantically looked around at everyone who were all staring at me like I was hysterical. My chest tightened. I barely remembered how to speak. ¡°Wha- what happened? Why did you do this to her?¡± There wasn¡¯t a thing I could do and I wasn¡¯t in a position to make anyone do anything. The imposing walls were closing in around me, like my entire being was locked in place and unable to impact reality. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this to her. This is the result of my father¡¯s will.¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. ¡°AND WHO THE FUCK-¡± Captain Zev slammed my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs and sending me to a knee. ¡°Control yourself, Adam! Simira continued, her jaw shaking ever so slightly as she glanced at Tells. ¡°Tomorrow, we will meet and she will plead her case for freedom.¡± ¡°Sister, is this not enough already? Look at her, she is lost. Her sanity has disappeared entirely. She will never recover.¡± Tarynn pleadingly took his sister¡¯s hands, his face haunted by the woman in the cell. Simira stepped forward and intensely gazed into his eyes. ¡°Tarynn, leave now. You needn¡¯t stay any longer.¡± He didn¡¯t move. Simira was struggling to keep the situation under control. Tells tried stepping forward and looking into the cell, but Simira put her arm out. ¡°Lady Simira, may I please see her?¡± I tried speaking up. ¡°Tells, she-¡± ¡°Everyone!¡± Simira yelled out, finally scrunching her nose and abandoning her position. ¡°OUT!¡± I stepped up to Simira, who was surprisingly small beneath me. I¡¯d never been so angry, so close to outright slamming the shit out of somebody. I spoke low, clearly, directly at her. ¡°Look at her. You did that.¡± Captain Zev pushed me back just as Simira¡¯s eyes caught something behind me, widening in fear for a moment. ¡°Adam!¡± Captain Zev¡¯s booming voice shook me. ¡°You will obey the Lady¡¯s orders! Must I send you back-¡± he halted, his eyes locking in the same place Simira was staring. Vetia¡¯s face pressed through the bars as far as it would go, stretching her psychotic smile even wider as her agape eyes stressed to see us from the peripheral of her cell. Cracks rang out as she pushed further and further. Blood trickled from her cheeks, spelling out ¡°SIMIRA¡± in little cuts all over her gaunt, ghastly face. Her lips fluttered silently, deliberately mouthing ¡°Simira.¡± Her head stopped, unable to push anymore, that wicked stare aimed at the one who imprisoned her. She reached up like a magician with a wand, held up a finger and then drove it into her eye socket, flicking quickly and plucking her own eye out, unfazed through the whole process. Vetia tossed the eye at Simira¡¯s cheek, leaving a gooey red blob, then shut her eyelids, smiled, and poked her tongue before quickly returning to that psychotic stare. Her bloody hands carved a sigil in the air and began remaking her eye, mouthing ¡°I got my eye on you¡± and pointing at Simira, that smile never leaving. Tarynn sprinted off down the hall, covering his mouth and dry heaving away. Captain Zev stepped forward quickly and pushed her head back through. ¡°Out! Clear the dun-¡± He rushed forward, catching Tells, who fainted against the wall. ¡°Adam!¡± I came back to my senses, catching my breath, unsure of what to do at all, noticing Simira¡¯s wide, confused eyes, clenching her teeth, finally speechless. Simira picked up Tells and Captain Zev grabbed my shoulder, pulling me to look at him. ¡°Get ahold of yourself, Adam! There¡¯s nothing you can do for her now!¡± He guided, or, well, tugged me out of the dungeon, that clicking croak following us the whole way. We arrived at a fork in the hallway, Simira carrying Tells off and Captain Zev and I heading back for the barracks. ¡°Adam. I will not feign understanding of where your mind dwells, however your anger and mistrust is quite evident. Walk alongside me and allow me to give you an iota of my experience.¡± He sounded tired. Beyond tired. Like he¡¯d been doing this for his entire time here and gotten used to seeing this. ¡°I presume you have doubts about the Lady, based on the nature of your brief interactions with her? Your eyes did not deceive you, nor did ours deceive us in that wagon on the road. That display which the Lady presented was¡­ unbecoming of her. But you must understand that it was not the first time she had acted in such a way toward unruly people. In fact, it was merely a display, an act. Alas, it is never gratifying to see her acting in such a way, as her farces often go beyond what is necessary, but that does not mean she is ill-intentioned.¡± He¡¯s standing up for her? Justifying brutalizing somebody who was a little mouthy? This isn¡¯t sitting right with me, even if she was just pretending, she was beyond cruel about all of it. ¡°With all due respect, Captain Zev, how was she not ill-intentioned by cutting out somebody¡¯s tongue and then attempting to kill her?¡± ¡°Everything she did was calculated, else she would not have done it. Why cut out a person¡¯s tongue so harshly if there was not a feasible way to undo the otherwise irreparable damage? She knew the fireblood in the village still had a tongue. She was aware of herself and her brother¡¯s feelings. Him stepping between the two of them was expected, and should he have watched from the side, she would have spared your companion. She knows the value of people, but she also understands the ways people think, and how to evoke their potential. Some people require direness before their eyes are opened.¡± Every word he spoke sounded so sure, so full of conviction. Even so, I wasn¡¯t so sure to believe it. I had seen this a hundred times before, where somebody claims to have been all-knowing after the fact, after everything had worked out for them. I lost my composure a little. ¡°Who¡¯s to say she wasn¡¯t covering for herself to try and justify her tantrum?¡± He stopped, his head finally turning to me, and his eyes demanded my respect, not for him, though. ¡°Adam, you have grown bolder over the past month, but do not allow your heart to cease your mind, lest you become rash and disrespectful.¡± He returned to his walking demeanor and kept talking like nothing happened. ¡°I am not speaking from hearsay, nor am I describing disillusioned falsehoods. Fifteen years ago, I was a Zeshuo of the Kyoh League. I was merely a novice to war and peace, yet I was brash and eager to partake in the conquest of Ur¡¯Ipnoa, the westernmost end of this continent. The fleet was set to cross the Kyohteni for a surprise invasion of a strategic archipelago off the coast of Ur¡¯Ipnoa. After weeks of sailing, we reached the first island where several Ur fleets were anticipating our arrival. The entire operation was upended by an information leak and the fleet was annihilated in a matter of hours. Few of us escaped, and were marooned on surrounding islands. My injuries were mostly minor, but the other Zeshun were severely broken, if they could even move at all. They all submitted to their wounds within days, so I spent months surviving. I created makeshift rafts to move between islands at night. I survived until the winter, when I crossed the ice to the mainland. I hardly managed to survive. I was feeble and mad. At some point, I was captured as a prisoner of war and sold into slavery. I spent five years as a slave, doing menial tasks and hard labor for people who saw my kind as invaders, destroyers. They hated the Kyoh and wanted us to suffer. I was sold further and further eastward until I was being used to farm grain for Calder¡¯s defense against the Triali Empire. It was at the end of those five years when Monarch Gossam led Triali forces into the heart of Calder and overthrew the government there. My owners fled westward, so I lived in their house. Eventually, a squadron of Triali forces under the command of the young Lady Simira Amien presented themselves to quantify their gains in the conquest. She immediately recognized I was a soldier. I told her that I wanted no part in her war, for I was still spiteful and defiant back then. She offered me a position among her guard, but I declined and insulted her for trying to force me back into servitude. I told her that she would be better off tying her boots together and trying to run from a potor. She took great offense to that and demanded I kneel before her. I refused, so she made me kneel. Despite thinking I had a physical advantage to her, her ability to read and outmaneuver her opponents was, is, impeccable. Not to mention her blade skills which I had never seen, and could not counter. She never made me kneel, though. She just kept hitting me with the blunt of her blade until I couldn¡¯t move. I do remember what she said to me as I lay struggling to stand. ¡®If you stay on this farm now, you¡¯ll die here alone and unfulfilled. You have potential, and I can find that in you, even if I have to beat it out of you. I¡¯m taking you with me. If you don¡¯t want to stay after a week, then leave.¡¯ I was going to leave at the end of the week until I realized how much respect I had for her, as a warrior first, then as a leader. She quickly knew what skills I was inclined toward and taught me to be the best at them. By nature I was rash and cynical. She helped me hone those into prowess and strategy. She only resorts to violence when people are being belligerent and disrespectful.¡± I don¡¯t know what to say. Sure, I have questions about his life, but it isn¡¯t the time. I realize, though, that I hadn¡¯t thought about one thing yet. This is a different world. I can¡¯t pretend that what she did was right or kind, but for the people of this world, especially for somebody who had been a slave, her sporadic abuse would probably seem like a breath of fresh air. Or maybe he¡¯s still a conditioned slave who thinks his master loves him. ¡°Then, Captain, why take somebody¡¯s right to speak and live freely, and why imprison them if she is trying to better them?¡± ¡°Adam, mind your words. It is not prison, it is training, rehabilitation. She is training all of you to be the best at what you are naturally inclined to do. That is why I was able to take you in so soon and train you. You have some of the tendencies that I did those ten years ago, and I want to help you refine them.¡± ¡°So everything down there is okay because Simira said so? I just have to watch my friend mutilate herself and lose her fucking mind?¡± We reached the door to the barracks and he stopped before it, turning to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Do you think that is the outcome any of us truly wanted?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem to matter, because she¡¯s just ¡®it¡¯ to all of you anyway.¡± He took a breath, clearly worked up at that comment. ¡°I know better than anyone what being ¡®it¡¯ is like. I do not revel in your friend¡¯s demise, but we are not in a position to act on it. Even I¡­ as Captain of the Guard¡­ am still an outsider, no matter how much I give to these people, to the Lady I swore fealty to. That is the burden I carry, and I exist within my limitations. Adam, we are only people because they allow us to be people. Our only power lies in our bodies for they do not respect our minds until those above us recognize us. Many half-breeds have suffered like her before, and in the eyes of law, if neither jorlad nor lonsu claim her, she is not human. We are lucky, still claimed by heritage if not jorlad society. Not everyone is so lucky as us, for even though they perceive us as outsiders or alien creatures, we are still human.¡± Pain croaked through my throat. ¡°Why¡¯s it gotta be this way?¡± Captain Zev shook his head, speaking in a somber tone. ¡°I hope, one day, you will tell me your story as I have told you mine. I cannot imagine where you came from to have the generous perspective you do, but I imagine it was much nicer than here. Regardless, everyone here is an ally to you, and learning to trust us will serve you well.¡± He pulled his hand away and turned. ¡°Go. Rest. It is the only way you will heal for now. There is still hope yet for her, if you trust in Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± I opened the creaky wooden door and loomed past all the other soldiers mulling around. It wasn¡¯t that late yet, but I was too tired to do anything else, even eat. I laid on the stiff bed and lost myself in thought. I hadn¡¯t ever seen anyone who had gone crazy, but Vetia was completely gone. I only hoped that she would have enough of her mind to be able to speak at whatever the trial was supposed to be. * * * * * Anxiety plagued my mind. Combat training was impossible to focus on, even though it was lighter than usual. I was getting much better and it was easy for me to destress, but not that day. I couldn¡¯t relax, and I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about yesterday. That evening, I was led to the Viscount¡¯s court. A tall room similar to a castle¡¯s throne room with gray stone walls and floor. A long light orange carpet ran from the entrance to the throne, and Amien banners down every wall. The whole room was illuminated by mid-day sun coming in through the towering stained-glass windows, rounded at the tops with a star pattern. The Viscount was away, so Simira stood at the throne. Tarynn was next to her, head down, absent in his own mind. I was placed on the same side as Captain Zev, who was in full dress armor, engraved dagger and sword by his sides. Only a handful of servants and common people were present to observe. Tells locked eyes with me from across the throne room, and I didn''t even know what we were trying to communicate, but she looked oddly confident. She looked like she was trying to make me feel that same way, like she wanted me to cast off my doubts. ¡°Bring her before us,¡± Simira barked to some servants out the door. Two sets of boots and dragging chains muted the entire chamber. Servants dressed in orange robes dragged a limp Vetia by the arms, who may have been a corpse already. Patches of scabs littered the spots she had ripped her own hair out. Her darkly-circled eyes stared forward absently and her sunken cheeks stretched against her skull as her mouth hung open, but the scratches had healed and her eye fixed. They set her down on her knees and unlatched the collar, freeing her for the first time since she had gotten here. Her eyes finally started to move and she mouthed something to herself. ¡°Court. Upon this moment the trial of the regenerator begins.¡± Simira shifted her stance and crossed her arms. ¡°Woman, you will be tried on three charges. One, minor assault of a lesser noble, which has already been paid with time and service. Two, malign remarks toward a lesser noble. Three, adulterous acts with an arranged lesser noble.¡± Vetia¡¯s wide, sagging eyes locked onto Simira. Her mouth was still silently moving all the while. ¡°So, healer, what say you? Do you finally admit to your wrongdoings, or shall you defend yourself?¡± Vetia¡¯s mouth still chattered silently, unable to create a sound. Her eyes welled up as her hands groped at her bruised, burned, and withered neck. She rubbed her eyes and heaved. ¡°This is your time to speak, woman. The collar has been removed. Unless you have finally run out of words.¡± Simira was trying to hide a smirk with that last comment and that sealed it for me. She takes pleasure in seeing all of this. She revels in seeing people in pain and she loves making people suffer even more. She has an iron grip on everyone here, making them think she¡¯s so righteous, but she just enjoys controlling people. Something about seeing her twisted face just made it all click for me. Tells, surprisingly, spoke up, speaking robotically as if repeating something she had been told to say. ¡°Lady Simira, if I may?¡± Simira nodded. ¡°I have known her for most of my life. She can be rebellious sometimes, but I don¡¯t think she would do something like that intentionally. I believe she didn¡¯t realize how she was manipulating Lord Tarynn to partake in adultery.¡± ¡°Then what intentions did she express to you? Were they malicious?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose she was intending to be malicious, Lady Simira, but her desire for him may have been rooted in our poverty at the time.¡± What the fuck is Tells talking about? Has she lost all faith in our friend and sided with Simira? There¡¯s no way. I refuse to believe it. She¡¯s always had a strong sense of right and wrong, so why is she going along with this? Fuck it, I can¡¯t stand by. I¡¯m getting involved. ¡°Objection!¡± I stepped forward and everyone¡¯s eyes locked onto me. My ears suddenly clogged, my heart pounded, my legs wobbled so much that I couldn¡¯t stand still. I could only say what I felt. ¡°Lady Simira, nothing here is concrete evidence against her, her character, or her intent! Nothing Tells has said supports any of your claims and is entirely speculation!¡± Captain Zev angrily stepped in front of me, ¡°Adam! You are not permitted to speak yet! The Lady will ask for you if she-¡± Simira stopped him. ¡°Captain. You need not intervene. Adam, continue this once. Speak your part, as this is an open trial.¡± ¡°Your argument is bogus! Tarynn was manipulated by somebody who didn¡¯t know she was manipulating because she was scared of poverty?! That¡¯s just childish romance!¡± She squinted at me. Her expression changed from a haughty child playing queen to that of a lawyer deconstructing my argument. ¡°Then what of her knowledge of Tarynn¡¯s commitment?¡± ¡°Her arms were broken and she couldn¡¯t walk, which is why we had to get that fireblood. Therefore Tarynn would have had to approach her in the clinic if any romance was to start, and even then, any acts would have been initiated by him due to her lack of mobility and function.¡± Simira ever so slightly lowered her head to think, hesitating on her reply. ¡°Even after her treatment, she wooed him. Seduced him into her tent in the middle of the night. Had I not interfered, they would have committed irreversible acts.¡± I didn¡¯t even let a beat sit in the air and pointed at her. ¡°But her wooing was the result of Tarynn¡¯s initial seduction! Had he not initiated the adulterous relationship, she never would have continued!¡± Her face fell, a scowl crossing her lip for the briefest of moments. ¡°What are you-¡± ¡°THEREFORE, both parties are complicit in the act! Regardless of her comments and personal offense to you, which I believe to be the root of your excessive retaliatory punishment, regardless, this accusation of one-sided adultery grossly and needlessly incriminates her!¡± A pungent silence held the air. My knees were on the verge of giving out and I was struggling to calm myself off whatever high I was feeling. A stern, surprised, and somewhat proud look took Simira¡¯s regal face. ¡°Very well. Then the intention is innocent, but she is still guilty of the act.¡± Holy fuck, I think I might be able to do this. I just need to appeal to her sense of righteousness for the final nail! I stood tall, pointing at both Vetia and Tarynn. ¡°No, respectfully, Lady Simira, she is not guilty of the act. THEY ARE guilty of the act of attempted¡­ ATTEMPTED adultery. They are both perpetrators equally, therefore a victimless crime, save for Lord Tarynn¡¯s future kzjae, who has yet to speak out on this matter. Where one is punished, so must the other for this crime, lest your rule dictates that his stature holds him to a separate standard of justice than the people.¡± Simira closed her eyes in thought for a brief moment, then breathed and opened them, gazing down on me. Respect and a surprised approval gripped her face despite her clear indignation at losing. ¡°Very well. In accordance with the law and grateful that no dire acts were committed, I deem you both innocent on the charge of adultery. You cannot be incriminated for attempted and failed adultery, being that it is no longer a criminal act by the Viscount¡¯s decree of the past spring festival.¡± A wave of relief washed over me and I allowed myself a moment to breathe. Thank you, Phoenix. ¡°However,¡± she began, ¡°her baseless malign remarks and implicitly malicious behavior were pointed to stir response. Instigation of this sort cannot be excused so easily.¡± She put up a finger to me as I readied my counter-argument. ¡°You may speak when I have finished speaking. I excused your last interruption on the basis that you do not know the legal system, but from here on, you will act in accordance with legal procedure. I will now question Tells of the woman¡¯s actions, as an assessment of character.¡± I nodded respectfully. ¡°Tells, has she not manipulated people into arguments and buffoonery in the past for the sake of personal satisfaction? You have told me as such before, in regards to initially innocent hijinks which resulted in one of Hallax¡¯s guards losing his job due to damaged reputation.¡± Tells nodded, but didn¡¯t speak. She wasn¡¯t looking up. Her head was down, hiding her face. ¡°So she has a history of inciting arguments for the sake of entertainment?¡± She waited for Tells to nod, then continued. ¡°Due to behavior and clear intent to damage an innocent guard¡¯s reputation, even if for the base purpose of comedy, her character not only displays selfish intention, but also negligence. Adam, her legal representative as it were, you were also present for this. ¡°No, no, there¡¯s a difference between what you¡¯re accusing her of and what has happened in the past. Playing some jokes, being a lighthearted trickster is not even remotely comparable to slander. She couldn¡¯t have known that would happen to the guard.¡± ¡°And it is for that reason that the behavior requires correction. Acting without thought for consequence is the mark of an uncivilized individual. As a foreigner, she must act in accordance with Vehfirn law. And if that is not so, then she must accept correction to become a lawful citizen or be exiled.¡± She sighed and softened her eyes toward me. ¡°I do not abhor the woman, nor the lot of you, and my intent is to civilize unruly people. Tells and you display civilized behavior and have thus been rewarded as such. Now, I wish not to make brash assumptions about you and yours, but is it possible that she is not entirely the same as before? Are you not newly travelers? Leaving home and exploring? Is it not possible for a change of setting to change somebody within, to bring on childish wonder, which may naturally cause foolish actions?¡± She waited for my objection, but I couldn¡¯t think of a thing and conceded with a nod. ¡°I can be sympathetic to such circumstances and lighten her sentence should she accept correction humbly and willingly, and seeing that her¡­ sanity is returned, she may speak on her own behalf, if she so wishes.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. She raised her eyebrow at me, a final bargain for our eventual freedom, all in exchange for Vetia¡¯s submission. I stood there stuttering, trying to think of something through the lightheaded dizziness. Tells was still looking at the floor, and Vetia¡¯s eyes were wide, peering right into me. Her lips moved silently as she began picking herself up. The guards next to her lurched to grab her, but a hand from Simira kept them still. Vetia stood, her legs wobbling, hunched over and swaying like a stiff breeze could knock her over. She slowly hobbled toward me, eyes locked with mine. She was hushed, but sounded like she was trying to yell while stumbling around. ¡°I haven¡¯t changed, have I? Have I changed? You would tell me, right? Right? I haven¡¯t changed. There¡¯s no way. Wouldn¡¯t I notice? Wouldn¡¯t you notice? Would I notice?¡± She reached out and grabbed the sides of my face, forcing me to look down directly into her eyes. A hollow dread clutched her eyes and it horrified me to my core. She started digging her nails into the side of my face. Was she trying to get blood or something from me? Her eyes turned frantic and she began repeating her questions louder. ¡°Adam! Tell me! What happened to me? Am I different? I¡¯m not what they say I am! I swear!¡± I mustered enough of my thoughts to try and calm her. ¡°No, hold on. Just, let go and-¡± her nails slid down the side of my face and my hands acted independently. I quickly reached and threw her hand off of my face. Her whole body stumbled and crumpled to the ground, several feet away by where she had been kneeling. The guards heaved her up and she stared at me. No, all eyes stared at me. Her eyes watered like a begging child, ¡°Adam, why? Do you hate me?¡± ¡°No, no! Hold on! This is¡­¡± She apologetically beckoned me to step toward her. I unwittingly started over toward her and heard Captain Zev¡¯s voice behind me. ¡°Adam, keep distance.¡± His order was low, but stern. I ignored it and kept walking over, kneeling next to her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± Simira¡¯s voice rang through the chamber. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Adam. Listen to your superior officer.¡± Vetia scribed a sigil quickly in the air. It was three shapes, a triangle, an eye, and some teardrops. She did it incredibly fast with her left hand, and used it to seal the wound on my cheek and neck. ¡°Step back from her! Now!¡± Captain Zev¡¯s voice boomed and his hand pulled me to my feet, dragging Vetia up with me, who crashed into Zev and slammed into the ground. ¡°I will not have you stepping out of line again! Post on the wall and be still!¡± The court murmured and chattered, confusion spreading. Simira yelled. ¡°Silence! Continue the trial! Guards, hold Adam still if he cannot control himself! The woman can hardly move as is!¡± She pointed at the guards next to Vetia and they pushed me back against the wall. Simira continued, ¡°If she will not speak, then we shall end the trial now and I will declare the final charges.¡± Vetia locked her eyes onto Simira, the same hollow, blank, murderous stare on her face. She spoke with empty words to match. ¡°Lady Simira, I am innocent.¡± ¡°I implore you, tell us of your innocence. Should you have proof of character, bring that forth here and now.¡± ¡°I would request to ask Lord Tarynn for a conversation.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± ¡°I wish for Lord Tarynn to come forward, that I may bare my heart before him, before these people, that they hear of my actions from me. That he may corroborate his story with mine.¡± ¡°Granted. The guilty wishes to prove her innocence in questioning Tarynn Amien.¡± Tarynn stepped forward before her, ten paces away and gazed into her eyes with worry, or fear, maybe even regret. He had that same horrified stare from the chambers beneath the manor. Vetia pushed the hair from her face with still-glowing fingers and glanced up at him with a longing, pained smile. ¡°I was so scared after leaving home. And after everything that happened, after being in that stuffy clinic with broken arms and burned organs, I think your comfort, your company, saved me. I think I fell in love with you, and I may have been wrong, but I thought you loved me too. If you did not, would you have kissed me so? Held me so tightly? Did you not feel but a drop of love for me, or have I deceived myself?¡± Simira¡¯s brow rose and her eyes popped open, baffled at the odd turn. ¡°This has nothing to do with the current charges, unless you would now plead that this is, what¡­ romantic hysteria?¡± She turned to Tarynn with a subtle viciousness, who met her gaze. Tarynn¡¯s mouth was quivering, trying to say something, anything. His eyes fell onto Vetia, then the ground. ¡°No. I never did.¡± Vetia¡¯s shoulders and chest fell for a moment, and her face flashed through so many emotions at once, before she reset herself and looked up at him. ¡°He lies. For his sister¡¯s fragile grip on her people, he lies. She fears the tongue of those who would question her, so she deceives this court with her brother¡¯s honest reputation. I am no criminal, only a sacrifice that her reputation remains unsmeared!¡± A silence took over the room as servants and guards glanced at each other in confusion. Simira noticed and stole back the attention of the room. ¡°It does this court no good to cry ¡®liar¡¯ back and forth at each other. Let it be known, even without your collar, you seek to sow discord in this court. Own your actions with dignity or prove yourself!¡± She ignored Simira. ¡°Tarynn, I am asking you. Tarynn the kind Lord. Tarynn the man. Without your sister in your ear. You have the power to end this. Why are you afraid of her so?¡± Tarynn wouldn¡¯t raise his eyes, the floor being his only safe place to stare. I could have sworn I saw a single tear fall from his face, but he just turned his head down further. Simira pulled Tarynn back. ¡°This is foolish. You are only displaying your reluctance to break from these childish, instigative ways.¡± Vetia chuckled, staring dead at Lady Simira, her mouth curled up in sick glee. ¡°Congratulations, Lady Simira. You have won over the court. You hold your brother as a trophy. And you have deceived my own family against me. There is no game to win, I realize. Only players in a show. Your show. Your ascent. And I am the one who suffers at the whims of your power¡­ no longer!¡± On her knees, she lost herself to whispering hysterics. ¡°And I heard tidings of your end, Lady Simira! Your death is written in stone, buried beneath bodies, and smeared in clotting blood! An arbiter of fate has dictated thy demise, I the messenger, and you the victim! Thy fate is all but sealed, save for one hope, brittle as a dead man¡¯s hair.¡± She cackled and took a deep breath in. Lady Simira growled and clenched her fist in frustration. ¡°She has gone mad from sigils and rambles of treachery in an honorable court. Seize-!¡± She was interrupted by the tearing of flesh. Vetia slid Captain Zev¡¯s thin blue dagger from under her thigh and plunged the blade into her abdomen, dragging across her stomach. Blood spilled and organs slowly slopped out of the wound. The court boomed with gasps and then there was utter silence apart from cracking bones as she shredded up and behind her ribs in barely a few seconds. She growled, yanking the dagger free as Captain Zev bounded over, throwing her aside and seizing the dagger. He stared for a moment, stepping back from the gutted woman in front of him, about to call for a healer until he realized it was the one who could no longer be saved. A hateful grin stretched across Vetia¡¯s face as her feverishly mad bloodshot eyes locked with Simira¡¯s. Simira stormed forward, stopping before the pool of blood like she wanted to intervene, but was unsure of how to. Vetia lunged out, grabbing Simira¡¯s shirt, then pulled her down to eye level. Captain Zev stood close, but didn¡¯t intervene, as nothing would frighten the already dead. Blood dripped from Vetia¡¯s mouth, forced up from her lungs and spattered across the floor, gargling through her whispered curse. ¡°My truth lieth in my heart, Lady Simira, and thy murtherer lieth in the court.¡± A sickening chuckle splashed from her twisted smile. ¡°My truthless tongue doth profess, thus my heart must confess.¡± She released Simira and shoved her hands into the cut, under her ribs, deep into her chest. Blood and shredded organs poured from the wound, sloshing around inside of herself. Her hands suddenly ripped free, splattering blood around the chamber and across Lady Simira¡¯s face. She collapsed forward into the mess of gore, her outstretched hand holding her heart out to Lady Simira, one final beat oozing blood. Silence. Captain Zev declared ¡°Clear the court! All ye bear witness to this today, a half-breed gone mad of sigils, born of the Viscount¡¯s use, unlistening to the gracious opportunity and just trial of Lady Simira!¡± He pulled Simira back, who was positively frozen. He whispered aggressively until she pulled herself together and feverishly glared around the room. ¡°Guards! Send for Miriel of¡­¡± she trailed off, locking eyes with me, then turning to Tells, who was on her knees, wide eyed and shellshocked. Tarynn stood broken and backed out of the room to a door behind the throne. His hacking heaves could be heard throughout the entire chamber even after the door had slammed shut. Finally, the guards let me step forward carefully, a spear poking into my back and I broke out of my trance of shock. ¡°No no no no¡­¡± I kneeled and turned her limp body over, lifting her into my arms, searching for a sign of life. I couldn¡¯t see through the tears anymore. I couldn¡¯t speak. I only stuttered over sounds and spattered from choking on my own tears. The chamber shrunk to suffocating silence. Simira growled ¡°Cease, guards, and court, remain but a moment. No need for Miriel, not another apothecary needs suffer at my father¡¯s whims, those whims which broke this poor woman who I condemned to his servitude and failed to save. This court is disbanded, the healer posthumously deemed innocent of all charges, unfit for legal trial on grounds of jzanmah induced insanity.¡± She turned to me. ¡°Take her to the farmland burial grounds, to Kivu the undertaker. I¡­ Give her rites as you would. Return by the morning with the cost¡­ I must see to my brother¡­¡± She trailed off and stepped away, hurriedly grabbing the frozen Tells by the shoulder and leaving through a back door. Tarynn¡¯s muffled, raging yells at his sister were quickly cut off, then nothing else from the back. Vetia was so light in my arms, but my feet dragged as if weighed down by boulders. My sloven legs carried me out of the throne room, through the massive halls of the manor, out through the training grounds and up the hill past the manor, overlooking the farmlands in a blurry distant instant. The world around me was empty as gusts of wind cascaded autumn leaves around the hilltop. Burning autumn toned trees swayed and my eyes cleared, holding her, staring up from the zenith of the hill. On the other side of the leaves above were clouds like crimson fire from the distant rays of the setting sun. I set her down against the massive, dark tree whose leaves rippled from red to orange to yellow to light green borders around the blotchy ripples. Tears poured down my cheeks, my face giving up its composure entirely. Nothing held back, I wept. The emptiness within and the weight without became unbearable. I wanted to collapse and¡­ I don¡¯t know. What do I want to do? It¡¯s all nothing. There is nothing. I just want it to all be a lie. I want to be done with this world already. I stared at her lifeless body, devoid of any thoughts, any ideas. What can I even do anymore? What¡¯s the point? I should just leave the manor. Run off on my own until I find the others. But how can I run when I¡¯m a big green beast? I¡¯d be brought back, or maybe even killed the instant I was seen, a runaway, dangerous at that. My words croaked and wailed miserably. ¡°Fuck, I didn¡¯t wanna be right. I wanted you to get better. I wanted to leave. This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. I just wanna wake up and be done with this. It wasn¡¯t supposed to go like this. Why did it have to go like this?¡± I sat against the tree next to her, unable to move anymore. ¡°How could you just give up when the others are out there looking for us? Did she push you that far? Did she really break you?¡± Rage seeped into me, despising the manor and everyone in it. Her head fell to the side and landed on my shoulder, a short gurgle working its way out of her body. ¡°I only know what I know how to do. What do I tell them? I let our best friend that we¡¯ve known our whole lives that she just¡­ This can¡¯t be real. But it is. It is. Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a fresh start? New bodies, new lives, cool powers. We were all supposed to live it together or die like heroes or save the world or something...¡± I sat there next to her. I didn¡¯t know for how long, but I just sat. My mind was blank, feeling like a piece of me was missing. The wind blew again, and I looked back at Vetia, the sun, glancing one last peek over the horizon at us, blinding me. Her strands of hair tossed up by the wind like wildfire, burning down the fields and the manor on the other side of the hill. A glimmer of sunlight caught her ruby eyes and a smirk crawled across her cheek. ¡°What?¡± I whispered to myself and crawled around her, stumbling to see her face, if it was really moving. Her chest tensed aggressively and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Jaw rapidly biting up and down, shards of teeth chipping off and grinding in her mouth. It went on for about a minute, just her seizing until it stopped and her chest aggressively heaved three times. I didn¡¯t know what to do. I just sat there. My heart raced, scared, but weirdly hopeful as a flowery scent cascaded over the hill. Wait, she¡¯s a fireblood. Did she live? Finally her body stopped seizing and her eyes relaxed. She groaned miserably, the left side of her face sagging. Her eyes peered down, where a small rodent crawled through the grass toward her. Her arm snapped out, snatching it up and biting its head clean off. She put the bottom half of the creature in her mouth and sat there draining it until the next one trotted up. Her face returned to her control and her eyes turned straight to me, taking in rapid, shallow breaths and wincing through horrible pain as she swallowed the ket whole. Sharp breaths escaped her mouth like she was laughing, but couldn¡¯t move or breathe fully. She raised her other arm, shoved another ket in her mouth and squeezed one to death in her hands, forcing her claws into it and dribbling the blood over her leg, eyes rolling back in her head again, each time, like she was being reinvigorated by their deaths. Ten of them later, her face relaxed just a little and her eyes opened fully. I was so confused that I just hugged her tightly. Nothing made sense to me, but I didn¡¯t care. She was still alive. ¡°What¡¯s going on? How are you alive?¡± Fresh tears broke through my eyelids again. I released her from my hold and she slowly glanced around, first up at me, then out over the gently swaying fields of orchards and stalks. She turned back to me and smiled the most genuine smile I had ever seen. She whimpered, her eyes glassing over in sheer joy, then breathed in and slumped against my shoulder again. We both leaned back against the tree, quietly letting the tears run down our faces, whimpering until we were both chuckling. She looked toward the sky, her eyes wide and mouth open, nose up, taking deep breaths of air in her nose and out her mouth like it was the first time she¡¯d ever done so. ¡°I did it. I¡¯m free.¡± She laughed out, staring blankly upward in a fit of ecstacy. Why is she scaring me? Where¡¯s my friend? I spoke weakly, still in shock. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s up with you?¡± Her head turned and she stared widely at me, then through me, then down, biting her lower lip in thought. ¡°What?¡± She stared at me blankly. ¡°Did you say something?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, what¡¯s going on with you?¡± ¡°Oh, that. I think I go back to normal. What is normal? Am I not normal right now?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a little forgetful, I think.¡± ¡°About what?¡± She shoved another rodent in her mouth, staring blankly into my eyes. ¡°Do¡­ um, do you remember where we just were?¡± ¡°I was in the dungeon. Wait, was I? No, I was¡­ at home? Where is home? What is my home? I feel like I¡¯m so close.¡± Her eyes met mine again. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Was I rambling? I do that a lot. This is rude. I didn¡¯t even ask your name.¡± ¡°Hey, uh,¡± horror crept through me, ¡°you¡¯re just fucking with me right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to come off like that.¡± She squeezed another rodent over herself. She squinted at me curiously. ¡°Adam.¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s me.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m Vetia.¡± ¡°Yup. That¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Oh. I forgot.¡± Her face twisted with fear, breaking down into a fit of tears. ¡°How much have I forgotten?! Or am I remembering? Who are you?! Are you real right now?! Am I talking to you?! Are you really here?!¡± I hugged her again and she reluctantly shuddered until she realized I was real, breaking down into my shoulder in a fit of weak, rapid, terrified whispers. ¡°I don¡¯t remember much and I don¡¯t know how much is real. Adam, I don¡¯t wanna go back there. Please don¡¯t take me back. I can¡¯t do it anymore. She locked me in the dark. Adam, they were inside of me, eating me. Adam, I was a corpse. I died. I felt dying. I felt my brain dying. I felt my heart stop beating. And then it started beating again. I was there the whole time. My body didn¡¯t let me go. I think I had a stroke. And I think I went into shock. But I don¡¯t know how much of it was real. I don¡¯t want to lose myself.¡± She was shivering feverishly in pure existential dread. ¡°Adam, I don¡¯t want to be immortal. Is this real? Did I cut my heart out and make a new one?¡± ¡°Yeah, you did. You¡¯re here. You¡¯re real. I¡¯m with you.¡± She cried like a baby who had just been born, clutching me tightly and wailing into my chest. This went on until long after the sun had set, when she started speaking again and I let her out of my arms. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± she said. ¡°Yes, but we have our goal. I know, I just want my head to stop hurting!¡± She seemed completely unaware that I was even there. ¡°It will stop hurting so long as we feed. These little rat fucks aren¡¯t much, it¡¯s gonna take a while. No shit. That¡¯s why we should-¡± ¡°Vetia,¡± I asked, ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± She turned to me like a deer in headlights and spoke blankly. ¡°Huh?¡± I hesitated, fearful of what would happen if I told her. ¡°You¡¯re talking to yourself. Having a conversation with yourself.¡± The sweet aroma of the air became intensely stronger as panic overtook her face and breathing. She dragged herself around with one arm, grabbing rodents and gnawing them apart desperately. ¡°Blood will fix me. Blood will fix me. Blood will fix me.¡± She pushed herself to stand, hunched into her disemboweled left side in a frenzy, head whipping back and forth, eyes darting every which way while her body seemed to drag her along in an animalistic fit to drain every living thing around her of blood, except me. We were out there for hours until she finally calmed down enough to stop eating. I watched the entire time as she fell into states of madness, then back out. Or spoke to herself, maybe voices, and then upon realizing she was talking to herself, go into an anxious breakdown. The spiraling fear of insanity broke her over and over and over to no end. Eventually, she finally calmed and gazed around our reality as if taking the world in for the first time, again. Vetia sat down against the tree, her stomach largely scabbed over, but no longer bleeding. I awkwardly sat back down next to her. ¡°How¡¯s the¡­ everything?¡± She shook her head, staring off into the fields as if in a trance, light voice and cheery tone. ¡°It hurts. I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°Does your head always hurt after using sigils?¡± ¡°No. Just when I¡¯ve used ¡®em too much.¡± There was another pause. I swallowed and asked the question I¡¯d been scared of. ¡°Hey, uh, what was that back there? What did all of that mean?¡± She lightly chuckled. ¡°Just me having a little fun. Before the main event.¡± ¡°Is there really somebody after Simira?¡± She smirked. ¡°Mm-hmm. Why would I lie about that?¡± ¡°What if she suspects us?¡± ¡°She knows I would never out either of you. In fact, she¡¯ll probably keep Tells even closer under her wing now. Do me a favor and keep this a secret from Tells. I can¡¯t have her terrible lies cluing Simira in that I¡¯m alive.¡± ¡°Then what do I tell her?¡± ¡°Nothing. You buried me in a spot out in the woods and you don¡¯t remember where because you were in shock.¡± She gently hummed. ¡°I like this spot. The sunset was gorgeous, the flora is wonderful, and just being able to see those islands out there is a spectacle in its own right. And those dazzling green little lights. So beautiful. It¡¯s not a bad spot to die in.¡± She pointed to the floating islands orbiting the planet. ¡° What are those? Do you know? I haven¡¯t seen them, being so¡­ secluded.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s the skybelt. I heard some stories about all the cool stuff up there. It¡¯s where some crazy rich and powerful royalty live, like a kingdom that orbits the whole planet.¡± ¡°I take it back. When I die, I want it to be in that massive cool parthenon-looking place up there. Oh, it¡¯s good to be free again.¡± ¡°What are you gonna do with that freedom?¡±¡± She took a long breath and broke her trance, like she was realizing she had a body at all. ¡°First off, I¡¯m gonna bathe. I need a proper cleaning. But I think I¡¯ll spend some time letting my body and brain heal. Hunting. Maybe find something more easily sustainable than just killing random animals.¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯m sure none of us would care if you had to drink our blood sometimes.¡± She turned to me and grimaced. ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve tasted all of your blood fixing wounds. It¡¯s rancid to me. I just don¡¯t know why. First time I fixed you, I spent twenty minutes vomiting all your blood back up completely catatonic.¡± ¡°Well, worst case, you can always summon more kets.¡± ¡°Heheh.¡± A shrill squawk pierced my ears and I snapped over to see a green and yellow bird in Vetia¡¯s mouth. She looked like a dog with an oversized stuffed animal, except this one was still alive and trying to get its wings out of her mouth. Once the noise settled down and I heard a dull thud on the ground, I peered over at her. She stared idly off at the distant manor with a weary, melancholy look in her eye that I had seen in Desmond and Brenden¡¯s eyes after every break up each of them had. ¡°Did you love him?¡± She was surprised for a second, then embarrassed with a half-cocked smile until a wave of depression eroded her dishonest visage. ¡°He reminded me of home, comfort. I don¡¯t care anymore, though, not after all of that. I have so much more now.¡± It was like she¡¯d completely disconnected from reality, plucking birds that flew down until there was a nearby pile of bloodless birds in the dark twilight until her head shuddered and she blinked rapidly, like something had switched inside of her. She closed her eyes and let her head lay slack. ¡°Do you want to sleep? I¡¯ll keep watch if you want.¡± She raised her head and groaned, a sad smirk breaking through. ¡°I don¡¯t sleep anymore. I haven¡¯t slept this whole time. Do you know what it¡¯s like to go without sleep for so long, when you can¡¯t talk? It¡¯s enough to make you go completely insane. I¡¯m still seeing fuckin¡¯ shadows at the corners of my vision and imagining things that aren¡¯t there sometimes. I can¡¯t rest. I can¡¯t sleep. I can¡¯t turn off my brain. I don¡¯t even know how long it¡¯s been.¡± ¡°How have you been managing up until now?¡± She broke into laughter, then tears. ¡°Managing? Have you been listening to a goddamned thing I¡¯ve said?! Do I look like I¡¯ve been managing?! Well I¡¯ll spell it out for you. I haven¡¯t been. I just spiral until I break and the next thing I know it¡¯s morning. I was fine with it on the road, but being locked up in that goddamn cell¡­ that did things to me. I can¡¯t think about it without wanting to fuckin¡¯ kill someone!¡± Her hands shook violently, staving off another frenzy. ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡± I grabbed her arms. ¡°Look at me. You¡¯re not there anymore. Look at how fast your head has healed already. You were like a late stage dementia patient earlier. Now you¡¯re you again. You¡¯ll get better.¡± ¡°The hunger won¡¯t go away, Adam. Even now. I hate it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gone through a lot. You¡¯re still wounded. You¡¯re thin and malnourished. Simira was using you like a heal bot, so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it takes you a while to get your strength back. To feel sated.¡± I let her go and she slumped back against the tree. Her eyes batted back to me, then she smiled and looked down at herself. ¡°Look at me, doing nothing but bitching about everything and making you listen. I¡¯m so conceited it¡¯s pathetic. I don¡¯t have a damn clue what you or Tells have been up to.¡± ¡°I¡¯d bet that you probably had it a lot worse than me. You saw me most days anyways, and I kept you updated. Just a few cuts here and there. Honestly, seeing all the fight you had, have, it¡¯s sorta what¡¯s kept me going. I¡¯ve got it figured out now. Don¡¯t worry about me. The best thing for you now is to try and rest. Ease your hunger. Have a few birds, kets, and whatever else is in this world.¡± ¡°I suppose.¡± She paused and asked hesitantly, ¡°What are you going to do? Are you going back before it gets too late?¡± ¡°I think I deserve a night off. I¡¯ll just chill here while you recharge to make sure you don¡¯t get hurt or killed while you¡¯re still wounded.¡± ¡°All night? Adam, you¡¯ve gotta sleep at some point.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be sleeping after seeing you rip your still-beating heart out of your chest earlier.¡± A morbid chuckle escaped from her. ¡°Yeah¡­ I suppose I probably did traumatize some people.¡± ¡°Oh yeah you did. I am never unseeing that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ really sorry. I never wanted to¡­ make you or Tells see that, or worry, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything else, and¡­ I¡­ I was at the end of my wits. I didn¡¯t know what else to do.¡± ¡°Well, you put on a whole-ass performance with it. It was convincing to me, so your problems there should be done.¡± ¡°I really did choose the most gruesome, fucked up thing to do, didn¡¯t I? Classic me.¡± ¡°The critics in there really seemed to be struck by it. High ratings for that crazy prop work you did. That heart and blood really seemed like the real thing.¡± She laughed loudly, clutching her reopening side as her face twinged in pain, but she couldn¡¯t hold it back. ¡°Yeah, I found a bucket of blood and a super realistic heart in the infirmary cabinets.¡± I found myself laughing uncontrollably along with her. ¡°Thank fuck the last regenerator left it behind for you. Must¡¯ve been a real homie.¡± ¡°Yeah we¡¯re actually just unwilling actors on a movie set and everything is fake.¡± ¡°Mhm, and all those birds you had are props. Bunch of government drones to keep a watch on us in this meth-induced group hallucination while we trip behind a Wafflehouse dumpster.¡± ¡°Yeah, those birds are nasty. Straight up full of battery acid. I gotta stop drinking em. Big battery got my guts fucked up.¡± I laughed so hard that I lost my balance against the tree. I couldn¡¯t breathe and I couldn¡¯t stop laughing. After such a fucked up day, my brain was too fried to react to anything normally. The laughing sputtered out and died down, and I felt so much lighter. Vetia groaned. ¡°I just reached for my phone again. God damnit. I thought I broke that habit. I just wanna be able to text again. We could keep Brenden and Desmond in the loop of what''s going on. Or even just to talk to my family again. That would be nice.¡± Both of us fell silent for a moment, and I found myself looking at my own hands, thinking about my family. If they saw me, they would think I¡¯m a horrible monster or something. Even though we¡¯re both in new bodies, the crazy motherfucker next to me still recognized who I was back at the start. Who I am now. Maybe, even if there is a way back, there might be a sliver of hope. Just a tiny chance that I can go back to how I was. Do I even want that anymore? Manor aside, city aside, it¡¯s not that bad. Vetia sharply gasped next to me. She pushed into her chest until there was a crack and whispered to herself, ¡°Good lil rib.¡± ¡°You feeling a little more up to snuff now?¡± ¡°Fuck no, this shit hurts. A little less broken than a few hours ago. This fireblood healing is fucking insane, man. Not like instant regeneration, but as long as I¡¯ve got blood or jzanmah, I can heal just about anything I guess. I was channeling jzanmah when I cut it out, rebuilding my heart as I sliced it, but any normal person would die from that. I mean, I basically killed myself and my body said ¡°fuck it we ballin,¡± even through my organs and shit factory resetting. See? My left hand is already movable again.¡± She raised her left hand up and evaluated it in front of the blue, swirling gassy moon. ¡°Still hurts like hell, but it shouldn¡¯t be broken much longer. I think.¡± ¡°Are you, like immortal then?¡± She stared off, analyzing her memories. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t lose all my blood, I can keep my consciousness, just like I did. I felt you carry me out, but I wasn¡¯t letting my body restart yet. I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s¡­ miserable, but I died, stayed in my body while holding back my healing, and then let my fireblood healing get going again when I sensed we¡¯d stopped.¡± ¡°How the fuck did you control that?¡± ¡°I died more times than I could count in that cell, Adam. I lost my mind and killed myself some nights¡­ most nights¡­ and then waited in numbness until my eyes dilated from the sunlight when my body would naturally start kicking again. Like, I wasn¡¯t ever fully dead, my body was just a corpse on standby. It¡¯s weirdly peaceful. I¡¯m just glad there weren¡¯t any emergencies or they woulda found my dead ass down there.¡± ¡°What, so like Dark Souls?¡± A low wheezing laugh like a teapot escaped her mouth, then followed a wild witch cackle into hysterical, crying laughter that never stopped building on itself. ¡°DYING IS JUST LIKE DARK SOULS HAHAHAAH!¡± She clutched the sides of her head and frantically ripped out chunks of her hair, throwing it out in front of her. ¡°THERE GO MY SOULS HA!¡± She ignited her hand with the fire sigil and thrust it into the pile of bird corpses, cackling maniacally. ¡°BONFIRE LIT!¡± She shot up and praised the sun, then kneeled in front of the fire. What am I supposed to do here?! ¡°Ve- dude! What are you-?!¡± I reached out to grab her hand and she rolled away, leaning over the pile of corpses, bashing her face into the growing fire, flinging blood across the field, reopening all her wounds and catching her whole head of hair on fire while madly rambling, ¡°Kindle! Humanity restored! Level up! Shit I need souls!¡± She avoided my grasp again, digging her claws her head, ripping away at burning bits of flesh and hair and tossing them onto the pile of burning animal corpses. I stumbled up and grabbed her away, clamping her arms in, smothering the fire on her head, and wrestling her tail from my face, holding her too tightly to move as I stomped away the corpse fire. ¡°Vetia! Calm down! Dark Souls isn¡¯t real!¡± After a minute of struggle, her body went limp in my arms and I dropped her, laying her against the tree on the instant. ¡°Fuck! No! I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± She laid still, eyes hollowly staring past the hill, lying against the tree in a mindless state that I could only describe as completely mentally shattered. Her weak voice crept through her barely moving lips. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I just need time.¡± Silence took hold. I leaned back against the tree and the autumn night breeze brushed my face. A massive burden was lifted off my chest, but at the same time I felt several new ones appear. Figuring out what to say to Tells, finding the others, and getting the hell out were each going to be projects. And now I had to worry about the schizo lunatic beside me, but I couldn¡¯t even go with her to keep an eye on her. Some time between watching the stars and dawn, I accidentally fell asleep. * * * * * I remember being in a daze at some point in the night. Somebody was shaking my shoulder, and I glanced over and saw the familiar blur of crimson and white, her hair seemingly having grown back and most of the blood cleaned off. ¡°Hey big guy, I¡¯ve gotta skedaddle before the sun rises. I¡¯m gonna figure out what I can about this world and I¡¯ll try to find the others. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯ll find, but if you can get the two of you out of that manor, I¡¯ll be checking the farmland by where we came in every day.¡± ¡°Wha¡­ huh? Hold on I¡¯ll go-¡± ¡°No no no. Sleep. You need it. You¡¯re safe. I¡¯ve already killed most of the wildlife in this area. Don¡¯t worry.¡± For some reason my head started spinning and I couldn¡¯t help feeling like my brain was mush, so much so that my next memory was waking up at some point in the middle of the day to Captain Zev somberly prodding at my shoulder with the sheath of his sword, all of the corpses and viscera gone. 37: Remedy 37 (William Black, Annie Schindel- Remedy) Tells I didn¡¯t even know what was going on. Simira grabbed me and pulled me away. She yelled something at Tarynn. She said something to me. Staring. I was staring forward. She pulled me off. Said something. I yelled something. A lot of things, no idea what, though. She didn¡¯t yell over me, though, she seemed genuinely hurt. Then she helped me to my room. I was laying on my cot. That scratchy cot. Dark wooden wall across from me. Mirror. Who is she? Why does she look so sad? That woman in the mirror, tears are pouring out of her shocked violet eyes. Dreadful eyes. Hopeless eyes. Grieving eyes. Emotionless face. Oh. Right. She¡¯s me. I¡¯m crying. My best friend, she¡­ her heart- I reeled over, vomiting into the waste bucket next to my bed. My hair fell in front with it, catching on my mouth, face, neck. Retching into the bucket, my stomach constricting, burning up my throat, hacking out my mouth. God help me. What- what- what¡¯s happening? He took her. He ran. He left without me. What do I do? Where are they? Why didn¡¯t he wait? Grab me? Call out to me? The burning in my throat spread to my heart. Burning rage piling up inside of me. Break crush break crush break crush I just want to break crush break crush break crush BREAK CRUSH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK A brick tumbled from the crater in the wall before me, hands shrinking from whatever large, clawed, yeffen fists they¡¯d become. The image just kept playing back in my mind. That moment on repeat, staining my memory with her blood. Her heart. The ripping. The pool, how her organs fell from her body. My stomach heaved, pulling me back to the bucket. Vomit. So much. Burning through my nose, mouth, throat. That taste. That horrible taste. Cold sweat running down my head. That stench of vomit, death. My head¡­ it¡¯s pounding, it¡¯s so tired. I¡¯m so tired¡­ I fell into my pillow, wiped away the droplets of splashed puke, and passed out. * * * * * I woke up the next morning wiping dried tears, sweat, and bile from my face. My mouth tasted like death¡­ like death. I sat up in bed, feeling like nothing had changed for a second, like it was still the plan to get us all out of here and then go off and do whatever we wanted. Now there are just four of us, if Brenden and Desmond are even still alive. I¡¯m scared. What if Vetia dying splits us apart? What if Brenden and Desmond hate us for letting her die? I remembered a time back on Earth, when we found out Adam was in the hospital. We couldn¡¯t even visit. Just saw him two days later wearing a neck brace. The rope snapped. In those two days, we talked more than we ever had before. Somehow it brought us together even more. We checked in on each other. We made sure everyone was okay. We were always able to talk somehow, always keeping in contact. And then we had all of that taken from us in this world. And then Simira took Vetia from us. There was knocking at the door. ¡°Miss Tells?¡± It was Elmira, one of the child servants that the manor used to deliver messages. ¡°Adam has returned. The Lord wishes to speak with both of you.¡± The sound of somebody else¡¯s voice rattled me, though I didn¡¯t move. I could barely move, my body ached so badly. ¡°Kay.¡± I rolled up, my head hanging. I couldn¡¯t find the energy to move like I¡¯d been taught. My legs slovenly dragged to the door past the small mirror on the wall. There was a woman in the mirror, heavy bags under her eyes, a mess of brown hair and an air about her like she had just crawled out of a well because some dipshit put on a cursed video tape. I swung the door open and loomed over the young girl, maybe seven or eight at most, a little jorlad girl. I put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, pinching her nose. I lowered my face to the little statue and smiled as best I could, croaking, ¡°Thanks Elmira. Please inform the lord that I won¡¯t keep him waiting long.¡± Poor girl, she had been stuck here her whole life and would probably never be freed from it. She nodded and skittered on down the hall. The door swung back into place, and I leaned my head against it. There were still tears on my face. Fresh ones, falling to the floor from the streams down my tired cheeks. I didn¡¯t even know how I could still be crying. My mouth felt like it was full of bile flavored cotton. I was parched with a headache, dizzy as I tried to push off of the door. Why can¡¯t I just lay down and give up? Why won¡¯t I let myself? It was so hard to move. My body didn¡¯t want to move, like every step was laborious. My hand didn¡¯t want to leave the doorknob. It wanted to hang there, in that brief moment before I had to go back to living like she wasn¡¯t even dead. I don¡¯t care about how I look for the meeting. The viscount can suck my dick. I shot back a warm cup of water that had been sitting next to my bed and pushed my hair back out from in front of my face. And I lumbered like a zombie through the halls of the manor. Adam stood in the foyer before the Viscount¡¯s throne room. He was talking to General Fez like nothing was wrong at all. I walked over to him, interrupting Papa Smurf. ¡°You¡¯re looking just peachy today.¡± He turned around and scowled. ¡°I was speaking, servant. His demeanor is optimistic because the Viscount is being merciful after your friend acted to rashly and casted threats upon his daughter." The next few words spewed out of his mouth like venom. "Self-rule. Freedom. They¡¯re myths told by people who wish for chaos and disorder, who seek naught but self indulgence. If she wanted it so adamantly, then she can have it in death as she wanted. This court has no time for strife.¡± ¡°They¡¯re possible when you aren¡¯t being chained and forced to do labor.¡± ¡°Then follow your friend and disgrace Adam and yourself further. Do it before you lose your mind and commit some heinous act against your nobility. You''re halfway there already by the looks of it, by the way you insulted Lady Simira. I¡¯d have your head if she didn¡¯t stay my hand.¡± My mouth was about to start saying some terrible things, but Adam stepped between us and put a hand over it. ¡°Captain Zev. On Tells¡¯ behalf, I am very sorry for any disrespect. The past day has been difficult for both of us, moreso than the rest of the witnesses of the trial. Tells appears to have been affected quite a lot. You see how she looks. Please allow us to have a brief moment to grieve our friend and look past any offenses.¡± I couldn¡¯t see the guy from behind Adam, but he grunted something and turned around while Adam pushed me to the other side of the foyer. ¡°Tells,¡± he spoke in a hushed voice, frequently looking over his shoulder, ¡°I know this is a tough time, but we have to be strong. We¡¯ve gotta worry about what we¡¯re gonna do now.¡± He leaned in closer to barely a whisper. ¡°We gotta worry about that plan to get outta here.¡± The door behind him burst open and Lady Simira, disheveled and infuriated, stomped out of the room. Her eyes locked onto me immediately, clutched my shoulder aggressively. My eyes shot wide open upon seeing her, and she slowly released me. A raspy old voice called out from inside the throne room. ¡°Daughter! Unhand that servant! I have called her here for my own reasons. Do not delay my business, after your failures!. And hold yourself from battering the other servants again. The cur should suffice for you.¡± ¡°Yes, Father.¡± Simira¡¯s eyes fell away from me, and she swiftly trudged off, disappearing around a corner. Captain Zev hesitantly followed her from a distance, but only after shooting me a disgusted look. ¡°Servants! Enter.¡± His words were like icicles and his eyes wore heavy bags adorned by ego and apathy. Adam and I stepped into the room we were in not but 24 hours ago, speckles of dried blood still garnishing the dusty slate floor. I saw her sitting there for a moment as my heart jumped. I blinked it away and breathed, trying to calm my racing pulse. ¡°The events of the past day have been difficult for all of us to make sense of. Your friend was a valuable asset to this manor, and to see the way my daughter has faltered in handling her is a shame on the Amien House. Our name. Simira is but a broken child clinging to the memory of her mother, and must learn to lead her people so that they will not flay themselves beneath her. No more servants will be killing themselves under her for the sanctity of this house I have so carefully upkept. If one of you acts out of turn, your counterpart will be headless that very day. Jinian, you will report the details of her passage rites to Captain Zev.¡± ¡°Viscount Amien, I have already informed the Captain of her burial.¡± Adam bowed his head in a salute. ¡°Remarkable. Such manners from you must be the result of the Captain¡¯s teachings. I see now that my daughter taught her personal servant nonesuch.¡± His nose scrunched and his eyes narrowed at me. ¡°You¡¯re filthy and smell like death. Shed your pride, servant, act your place. Lower your eyes!¡± ¡°What? When you¡¯re the one-¡± ¡°Tells!¡± Adam cut me off, glaring over at me. A spearhead poked at my chest and I lowered my eyes to meet it as the guard stepped back. I quickly saluted. ¡°My apologies, Viscount Amien.¡± ¡°You should take after the jinian more.¡± The Viscount grunted and leaned forward. ¡°I have been informed that you were very close to your friend, the regenerator. You knew her for your entire lives. This is true?¡± Adam quickly spoke before I could get a word out. ¡°Yes, my Lord. We have all been best friends for nearly our entire lives.¡± ¡°Then you are acquainted with her family? You are from a town some distance from Poikla Village, yes?¡± ¡°Yes, my Lord. And we know them fairly well.¡± ¡°Was she from a line of regenerators? So commonly they are distinguished families. I have not heard of her name, perhaps it is lonsu? I would like to personally inform such a valuable family of what has transpired.¡± He leaned almost to stand from his seat, an opportunistic, greedy hunger in his eyes. ¡°Unfortunately, my Lord. She was the only regenerator.¡± The Viscount¡¯s cold stare returned and he leaned back. ¡°That is most unfortunate. You are no longer needed. Be on your way.¡± We both saluted, poked out with spears at our backs. The doors creaked shut and we slowly walked down the hall until the guards at the door were out of earshot. ¡°Tells.¡± Adam stopped walking in the middle of the corridor and gazed down at me, ¡°We¡¯ve gotta talk about what happened.¡± His tone irked me. He sounded so nonchalant, even condescending in a way. I felt like I was going to fall into a tearful rage. ¡°We? You don¡¯t seem like you need to talk at all. You¡¯ve got everything lined up for you. You got to take her away, bury her, say your goodbyes, and you had the rest of the night off! It must have been great for you to be in such a chipper mood this morning. Must have had a great funeral. Is her body even gonna be there when we get out of here?! Am I gonna get to say bye?! Or did you just throw her into the woods and be done with her so you can get back to being Zev¡¯s fuckin¡¯ boy toy?!¡± ¡°I told Zev that I buried her in the woods out past the farms.¡± ¡°You just fucking threw her away and left, didn¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°Tells, you¡¯re not yourself right now-¡± ¡°Nah, I think I¡¯m more myself than I¡¯ve been in a while!¡± ¡°You¡¯re angry and yelling. That¡¯s okay! You¡¯ve gotta let it out in a healthy way, sleep on it.¡± He was trying to seem all hushed and pretentious like a therapist. ¡°Don¡¯t lecture me on my own fucking issues. I¡¯ll deal with ¡®em how I want.¡± ¡°Please, just breathe for a second! You¡¯re acting like you¡¯ve lost your shit!¡± ¡°Lost my shit?! Yeah, I lost one of my best fucking friends and you don¡¯t seem like you even care!¡± ¡°I do care and I want to help, you¡¯ve just gotta calm down.¡± ¡°How the fuck am I supposed to be calm after all that?!¡± ¡°Tells, just try to breathe, okay?¡± His faux sympathy and awkward stance infuriated me to no end. So much pressure in my head, all of it falling from my eyes. Every muscle in my body stressed. I couldn¡¯t help wanting to absolutely lay into Adam. My fists clenched and I pounded at him blindly. Wherever my arms could find. Gut, arm, chest, shoulder, anywhere my rage wanted. He grabbed at my arms to stop me, his tree trunks flailing and missing every time like the big lug he was. ¡°Tells! Tells! Ah, shit!¡± His collarbone cracked, but my mind didn¡¯t care to stop. Next thing I knew, my arms were locked against my chest and Adam was holding me so close I couldn¡¯t breath. I pushed as hard as I could to get out of his deathlock, every push, breaking his grip just a little. As I was about to slip free, he put his mouth right to my ear and almost inaudibly whispered to me. ¡°She- Vetia is- she¡¯s¡­¡± He took a long pause. ¡°She told me something, when she grabbed me. She said the Viscount was going to kill her anyway, and she didn¡¯t want to let him. Tells, there wasn¡¯t a way for us to save her in time. Didn¡¯t you see the sigil? Weren¡¯t you there? It nearly killed her. It made her crazy. If she was still alive, they would have made her do it again.¡± He let go of me and I fell backward, my entire body still pulsing with anger. His face finally showed a little regret, but I was beyond caring about it. ¡°Then we would have broken her out. I¡¯m sure Brenden and Desmond are out there somewhere working on something! I¡¯ve been trying this whole time, getting used like a tool by the one who drove our friend to suicide! You couldn¡¯t just have a little faith in your friends, though! You couldn¡¯t just get your head out of the fucking clouds and come back down to reality! I wanted to rely on you, but it¡¯s like you¡¯ve bent over and given up! You¡¯re happy to stay here forever because you¡¯ve got it made, the strongest in the guard. Fuck that! Fuck you! Stupid fucking retard!¡± He seemed like he was tearing up. ¡°Tells, I¡¯m sorry. I wish I could¡­ I wish you could know¡­ but I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know what she wanted me to do. What she still wants me to do. You should have been the one to take her out and help her, not me. I¡¯ve got no fucking clue what the next step is. I¡¯m just doing what she wanted. What she would have wanted. We¡¯re all in the den of people who hate us and they¡¯re always listening and reading into our every action. I think she was right.¡± ¡°You think she was right? So you both just gave up? Fuck you. Maybe just go kill yourself with her and I¡¯ll get out of here myself.¡± My teeth ground against each other and my whole being shook violently. Blurry, muddied, confusing to hear and look at, and it was all welling up into my extremities, ready to tear down the next wall I saw. I whipped around and stomped away from Adam. ¡°Wait! Tells, please. She¡¯s-¡± His hand grabbed my shoulder and like a reflex, my huge fist whirled toward him, slamming into the side of his head. His massive body tumbled to the side and pounded into the manor wall, falling limp. My blood went cold for a second. Still shaking, I stared at his motionless body. It twitched, and he started moving his head, eyes not open yet. I couldn¡¯t bear going through all of that again, so I just took off. I ran away back to Simira¡¯s side of the manor. The wing where the servants dwelled was quiet that morning. Whenever I was around, nobody spoke. I had become a complete outcast. Why am I so fucking exhausted already? Why can¡¯t I even cry anymore? Why can¡¯t I feel anything? What day is it? Oh¡­ right, bath day. Gotta clean the baths. I may as well have been in a cleaning trance, not a thought in my head. Just tiredness and the need to get my job done. After a while of being in the cleaned rooms, the filth on me became pungent. The taste of rancid bile lingered from the night before. Nobody would be coming, so I took advantage of the time. I cleaned myself, head to toe, in the cool water of the dormant baths. The lack of heat was more relaxing than not. I didn¡¯t want to be hot, I wanted to sink and drown. I unscrewed the small cup of minty paste that we used to clean our teeth, mouths, and everything else. There were no toothbrushes, but even just using my nails to pick and scratch away was fine enough. So that¡¯s what I did. I picked and scratched and cleaned myself until the memory was all I had left of yesterday. I dressed and dried, and then¡­ nothing. I can¡¯t have nothing to do. I need something to¡­ to- distract myself with. Book? No can¡¯t focus. Work! Gotta be something I can do¡­ What if I had done something? Could I have done something? I don¡¯t remember what I said to Adam or Simira for that matter. Simira. Fuck. I don¡¯t wanna look at her. I don¡¯t wanna think about her. None of this would have happened without her. NO! I can¡¯t let myself think like this. I know this isn¡¯t what she wanted to happen, but¡­ I left the baths and walked around the manor, looking for something to do, not even realizing it was already sunset. My entire being was on autopilot, trying to make it impossible for me to retreat back into my head. Work time was almost done, which meant I was about to be left with even more of nothing to do. I found myself in the hallways by the training grounds, by the infirmary that I never had the chance to visit. I didn¡¯t even get to speak to her. ¡°Tells!¡± Captain Zev¡¯s voice boomed from down the hall. He strode up to me, a stack of planks in his hands. ¡°Give these to Lady Simira, I do not have time to trek to the other side of the manor right now.¡± He looked down at me sternly, holding out the planks. I can¡¯t stand that blue cuck, and I don¡¯t even know why. ¡°Yes sir.¡± I took them from him and walked away without another glance. It was something to do. ¡°Tell her they are the registrations for the new recruits. They only need to be approved and signed.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± I didn¡¯t stop walking, but I heard him scoff behind me. ¡°If you continue such rude behavior, I will inform the lady of your manners. She will not be appreciative of it.¡± I stopped, turned around, and lowered my head at the petty asshat. ¡°Very well, sir.¡± The easiest way to be done with him was just to do what I was taught. I just have to be strong enough to last until this is over. That¡¯s all I can do. I turned and walked away, anxious at what I would find when I saw Lady Simira. I had ignored her all day. In a mindless droning, I arrived at the door to Lady Simira''s study. No sound came from inside. No response when I knocked. I waited and knocked again, same thing. I couldn¡¯t take the planks and hold them until the morning, so I had to leave them somewhere. I tried the handle, and it was unlocked, so I gently opened the door. Her office was dark, only a few streaks of blue twilight illuminating the floor. I checked to make sure I wasn¡¯t interrupting her meditation, then slipped in and quietly dropped the registrations on her desk. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The door shot shut while I was in front of her desk. I almost jumped out of my skin, spinning around alertly. Chills colder than the already frosty autumn night shot up my spine. A shadow stood, locking the closed door. It was about my height, wearing a long, loose robe with a glass in one hand and a scimitar in the other. The figure raised the sword up to me lazily. ¡°What have you come for? Unannounced and in the dark. Shouldn''t no response mean no entry? Unless, of course, you¡¯ve come to kill me?¡± Simira stepped into a sliver of light. I was expecting her usual aggressive stance and dignified posture, but her demeanor was melancholy and exhausted. Her unbraided hair draped loosely, her robe the only thing on her, tied shut by a tight scabbard belt and a loose sash. ¡°These are from Captain Zev. Re- registrations for new recruits. I-I-I did not want to hold them due to the urgent nature of the documents.¡± I stood up straight and tried to seem as polite as possible, averting my eyes down to the ground as soon as I realized I was staring at her. She hiccupped and chuckled, holding the sword under my chin, forcing my head slightly up. She spoke slowly, in a strangely sensual whisper. ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re not an assassin, sent in the night to have my head?¡± ¡°I-I-I-I-¡± ¡°Shhhhh¡­¡± The tip of the scimitar twisted around my jaw so the side of her cold blade laid flat against my cheek. She swayed gently like a dancer, but the scimitar was completely still. My eyes wanted to break again, seeing her, and a seething anger rose in my chest again. Tears started streaming down my cheeks. ¡°She was my best friend.¡± I grimaced and wailed at her. ¡°SHE WAS MY BEST FUCKIN¡¯ FRIEND AND NOW SHE¡¯S DEAD CAUSE OF YOU! WHAT, YOU¡¯RE JUST GONNA DRINK IT ALL AWAY?! FUCKIN¡¯ PATH-¡± In a flash, she slid the back of the scimitar against my head, and around it, pulling me toward her. I finally caught a glimpse of her face, her moist freckled cheeks, heavy gray eye sockets, exhausted eyelids, broken expression, shaking voice. ¡°We all have our vices, Tells. Even I, in all my self-ordained discipline, cannot bear the death of an innocent woman staining my soul. Even I cannot uphold my end, my word, my promise. Ah, but you¡¯ve said it best, that you were stupid trusting me, for letting me live.¡± She lowered her head, breathing, spinning the wine in her glass idly and pulling me closer. ¡°If I¡¯m drunk enough, I can stay my pride enough to admit my wrongs. If only I weren''t so foolish in my decisions that brought us to this.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± My jaw shook, angry, but unable to hate the despairing woman not three inches from my face. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have realized it sooner?¡± ¡°Please, spare the words, I can¡¯t bear hearing any part of it again. It¡¯s already echoing in my head.¡± Simira shook her head, taking in a sharp breath. ¡°I¡¯d hardly interacted with the prior regenerators because I abhor his ways¡­ and yet I fell into those ways myself.¡± Simira¡¯s face was empty, broken, shameful. ¡°I have killed men and women on the field of battle. I have killed men who would force themselves upon me. I have caused the deaths of one hundred twenty three men and women. Yet all of them¡­ they subscribed to war and stepped onto the field of their own volition, assaulted me of their own perversion. She merely criticized me. Why does one death hold so much weight over me now?¡± The scimitar dropped from behind my neck and returned to its sheath. Her dripping amber eyes dodged my own gaze as she leaned back to standing straight up. ¡°I know you¡¯re not here to kill me. She wouldn¡¯t put a friend in danger, even if she was mad.¡± Tears continued blazing trails down my cheeks, and I couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. ¡°Great, Lady Simira. I¡¯m glad that¡¯s all it took for you to realize-¡± ¡°Enough! Please! I hear it in my head enough already!¡± Simira swayed even closer, her empty hand reaching out toward the cheek her blade rested upon. Her tired whispers were all I heard. ¡°Enough of that for now.¡± Her hand caressed over my ear, combing her fingers through my hair, shooting shivers down my back. In the faint light, her tired and lackadaisical eyes gazed into mine with a strange warmth. She twirled the end of my hair in front of me and sipped from her glass, swaying for a moment as her eyes settled back on my face. Why is she so close? What is she doing? What¡¯s going on? ¡°Have a good night, Milady.¡± I began walking past her, but she rested her hand on my arm and spoke softly to me. ¡°Wait.¡± She grabbed the back of my head, tugging at my hair until my bun was undone, hair flowing down over my shoulders. She was barely a foot from me, a relaxed smile on her melancholy face as her eyes slowly took in mine. ¡°Twilight has such a curious manner of twisting shadows in such beautiful ways.¡± She whispered to herself and brushed the hair behind my ear again. Wine wafted off of her breath, her body gently swaying as she stood before me. The fuck is she doing? ¡°Lady Simira, I was not aware you were drinking tonight. I would not have disturbed you if-¡± She pressed her fingers to my mouth and sighed, letting them fall. ¡°No honorifics, no titles. Not tonight. Come. Will you sit with me? Please. I need to apologize, but I¡¯m not ready now.¡± Her eyes shimmered, breaking with tears again, like a child begging for just a sliver of attention. ¡°Please.¡± I¡¯ve been constantly with her for basically a month, and I can¡¯t say she hasn¡¯t grown on me. I¡¯ve come to respect her, even like her in some ways. But why is she suddenly so desperate? And why toward me? Is it because she¡¯s drunk? I nodded and she gently took my hand, a sigh of relief escaping her mouth. ¡°Do you drink? Would you like some wine?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t do anything to me.¡± She tilted her head at me and shrugged, then filled her glass to the brim, sipped it to where it wouldn¡¯t spill, and took my hand, leading me to the other door in the back of her study. Behind the door was a refined bedroom. Dark wooden floors, a massive bed adorned with orange curtains, lush sheets, and a tough, old mattress. An amber stone next to her bed was the only source of light in the room. Everything was perfectly neat and tidy, everything except Lady Simira. She untied her belt and laid her sword on the floor, pulling her sash tighter. She pulled back the sheets and sat on the bed, guiding me down next to her, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Today has been painful, hasn''t it? Rarely does good come from death, strife among friends. I heard that you hurt Adam badly, and yet he claimed to be at fault." "What? He did?" "Or so Andris says. He despises you for your impassioned remark against me. He¡¯s afraid you''re trouble." I let silence hang for a moment. "You brought me back to my room and out of there. I didn¡¯t get to thank you." ¡°I did what I could. What you would allow. I know I¡¯m no friend to you, but I¡¯m still grateful to have a¡­ person who is so kind¡­ forgiving. Somebody unsullied by the cruelty of this world.¡± I half shrugged. ¡°Well, nobody else talks to me. Nobody else wants me around.¡± "And they¡¯re all fools for it." She wrapped an arm around me and chuckled lightly. "I never thought I¡¯d find somebody to discuss such lofty, pointless, but interesting matters with, in such an obscure village. Have you read it yet?" ¡°The first two stories, yeah.¡± ¡°What did you think?¡± I paused. ¡°Djodie-Djodieted? He¡¯s-¡± A light laugh slipped out. ¡°Djoteided and Larmeonip.¡± ¡°Mhm. I like the points that Larmeonip makes, about how there¡¯s no one certain answer to what makes us people, that our experiences, our minds, our love are what make us people.¡± She smirked. ¡°It¡¯s such a strange thing to ask a man if he is a man or a beast. But I fear not enough people ask it of themselves, and they never learn the joys, the happiness that lies in being human. In having such experiences, minds, loves.¡± I let out a wry chuckle. ¡°But also, Djoteided is just a drunk guy yelling at a homeless man over the wildest things, and he acts like such a genius but he¡¯s been out-questioned twice. It¡¯s such a strange situation, and he¡¯s so mean to Larmeonip for no reason.¡± ¡°Ay, the stuped are often bold and rash, even desperate.¡± Simira sighed. ¡°They¡¯re so at odds with each other initially, but it¡¯s endearing how such an incredible, tragic friendship emerges from their bickering¡­¡± Her face fell. ¡°It feels so plausibly simple, asking questions, but to actually live and think as Larmeonip does¡­ it requires such sacrifice. Such reason. Such maturity.¡± Simira slid closer, so warm against me, laying so casually, so warm. My thoughts were all over the place, only managing to get out a short sentence. ¡°But he¡¯s a liar.¡± She didn¡¯t respond, just furrowed her brows. ¡°The¡­ first two times he speaks, he opens with a lie that Djoteided catches him in toward the end, but he believes Larmeonip because he isn¡¯t questioning anything he¡¯s told.¡± I finally checked in with myself, realizing I was stiff as a board, hadn¡¯t moved or even shifted since I sat down. ¡°Oh, I thought you¡¯d read ahead, but that¡­ I must have missed it¡­¡± she tilted her head up at me and raised her eyebrows playfully, ¡°unless you¡¯re the one lying.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever lied to you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­ not even a little one?¡± ¡°Not that I can remember.¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll trust you, even if you¡¯re as rigid in body as in your voice.¡± She sat up, a cold void where she¡¯d once been. ¡°I make you uncomfortable.¡± I didn¡¯t respond. I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I have no right to treat you in so close a way after all the pain I¡¯ve caused you.¡± Her eyes fell, slouching over her wine as she lamented. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry, it must be the wine. I¡¯ve just¡­ I¡¯ve never known anyone who inspired me to be better than I am. I thought I¡¯d solved everything, that my will was certain. Until I met your lot. It made me angry, and I took it out on your friend. Because how could I be at fault? And then I thought that would be the end, I¡¯d use you to get what I want, but then you confronted me as I descended into cruelty and my own faults were the only ones I could find.¡± She took a heavy swig from her glass and cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯ll release you and Adam so that no more damage may be done, and have your compensation to you by morning. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any more to be done on your end, I killed your reason for being here, and I can¡¯t bear another innocent dying for my scheme.¡± ¡°Lady Si-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± her words shook. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ this is not how a noble¡­ a Lady acts. I may as well cast off my title and collect it again come morning, so for now, do not call me Lady. Why are you still here? Have you not what you want? Release?¡± ¡°Simira¡­¡± she leaned toward me, shivering upon hearing her lone name. ¡°What was the reason for your anger back then?¡± She shook her head, leaning her head in her hand for a moment before sitting upright, surrendering to whatever battle had been in her head. ¡°In short, he is committed, and I need that in my plan, but I didn¡¯t need to be so cruel.¡± She slumped, regretful, ashamed. ¡°In truth, I was only cruel because I¡¯m such a lonely piece of shit.¡± Her eyes broke and she spoke in a low voice. ¡°In my misery, I thought why should he be allowed happiness, if even short-lived? A man who has never put effort into anything but running is suddenly bounding through a short, blissful dream while I¡¯ve only been condemned to suffering at his cowardice. Why can''t I have anything? Why can¡¯t I be loved? Why am I not allowed some tenderness to free my mind from this prison of rule and law? After all I¡¯ve endured: war, near-death, all my failures; when do I get something? I¡¯ve been waiting and searching, and every opportunity is blocked by circumstances out of my control, yet of my own creation, of our agreement in which he ran from his duty, casting it onto me. I didn¡¯t even get my mother, never a hug since she died, just a cruel teacher in her place. I don¡¯t want that for anyone else, but I don¡¯t know love to give it. I¡¯m too spiteful. Spite is all I know, it¡¯s all that¡¯s kept me going.¡± Simira¡¯s head fell toward her glass, her lips inching closer like she¡¯d been in a desert for weeks with nothing to drink. I gently rested my hand on the glass and guided her hand to the bedside table. Not a single tremble or fidget in her body resisted, and I pulled her into an embrace, letting her head fall onto my chest, all her barriers breaking. The spot her head laid was soaked in an instant, only spreading further as she silently cried, clinging on for dear life like she¡¯d been pulled straight out of a brutal war. She pulled her arms away, shaking her head. ¡°This isn¡¯t womanly. This isn¡¯t how I should-¡± I pulled her tighter so she couldn¡¯t speak, fighting my own tears back. ¡°It¡¯s human. It¡¯s okay to be human.¡± Simira broke into two shivers, jittery, like she was heaving, battling something inside of her, only to finally break down, weeping into my chest, clutching my back like she was clawing to keep me close. Quiet, sharp breaths and bouts of silent screaming became the next¡­ however long it lasted. I hushed her and stroked the back of her head like I¡¯d calmed my younger siblings when they were young, like I¡¯d been held by my mom when I had nowhere else to go. What do I say? What would mom and dad say? Nothing fits for her. Nothing I¡¯ve been through. My hands guided her to lay next to me, then pulled the covers up. Comfortable, protected, private. Her crying relaxed, still somehow pulling tighter into me, an indignant fury underlying her voice. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, not yet, not before I¡¯ve at least tasted true happiness. And yet I¡¯ve known my life cannot end happily since the day I was born into this name. I made my peace with that, and I am on a warpath to find it, to make it, but how long¡­ how long must I continue this fight? How long must I toil for my people against those above who have never known the nobility of our position? Why must the truly noble know how to find happiness, but not how to give it? Why must they reject power so that the soulless scum may take such places? Is it because they know that corruption of power is inherent? Or is power only corrupting because the hierarchy was built by vain, greedy cowards who built a world in which only the filthiest thrive? Can I still be a ruler and good? Is it possible? Must I be the sacrifice to find the truth to power? I know you cannot answer for truth, but can you answer this for me: What does it mean to rule? To you.¡± I thought for a long moment, wiping my tears away, reflecting on everything I¡¯d learned, every story, movie, and real life instance I¡¯d witnessed. ¡°There¡¯s a story of a man from my home, a man who the people called king, but who never called himself king to them. A man who walked among the people, showing them what good is, a man who was absolute, but forgiving. He served his father, the Lord of his people, in an effort to teach the world to be good because he believed we could be saved from our own selves. He embodied discipline, forgiveness, humility, having not written a story of himself, only remembered by the stories his followers told of him.¡± ¡°What became of his people?¡± ¡°They worshiped, broke apart, argued how to worship and serve, committed atrocities against each other, and then fell to an ideology.¡± ¡°Did he not rule them? Ensure they would act righteous?¡± ¡°The people killed him. The same as countless others who came before him, tried to be like him, from every other place, who tried teaching our people to be good. Pastors, philosophers, professors. Assassinated, executed, tortured to death, but unwavering in their beliefs. All people who fought for the people who killed them, all people who would question what is evil.¡± She curled lower into herself. ¡°Then why am I fighting a war that cannot be won? What am I doing? I¡¯m just a woman, not a savior, not a king.¡± ¡°So am I. We¡¯re all human, searching for something to live for, something to die for. Your people see that in you, they see that you¡¯re a human.¡± She weakly gazed at her hand. ¡°Ay, but if only I weren¡¯t. Had I all the power in Rhial, I¡¯d fix it in but a moment. But what would become of me, of my people. Are we even human if we are not at constant war against the evil within ourselves? What hope is there in fighting? I¡¯m not sure I even know what good is.¡± ¡°Then simply be unwavering in the face of evil, and you will act with goodness.¡± ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve been conditioned into accepting evil and I can no longer parse evil from good.¡± ¡°Then why do you reflect on it?¡± ¡°Because evil is not the destruction of good. Evil creates good. Apathy kills goodness. That¡¯s why they say: Good dies young.¡± ¡°Why does good have to die?¡± ¡°Because people will stop caring, even myself, even after I am no longer me, after I am dead.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you give them a reason to care?¡± She looked up at me, staring into my eyes. ¡°Or perhaps¡­ just a light in the darkness.¡± Simira slid higher, until her face was right up to mine, a passionate fire in her eyes. ¡°Ay, if my death be professed, then I shall burn out in a glorious blaze, reducing all evil in my path to ash. I will become the hope that I cannot find in myself.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll live. Your people will be there for you. I¡¯ll be there for you.¡± ¡°Hah. I¡¯ll live until I dare proclaim: we must all be better together; as foolish Larmeonip did.¡± She closed her eyes and stretched her neck front to back, then opened her eyes, somehow unable to meet mine. I couldn¡¯t help sensing hesitation in her, so I spoke. ¡°Do you want me to stay until this plan is done?¡± Her face wrinkled, fighting back tears again. ¡°I do now. I want you to stay until then, even long after, until you hate me for wanting you. But those are only my selfish desires speaking, wishing for more, even though I¡¯ve taken more from you than I could ever return in my short life.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay until you no longer need me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t keep asking you to forgive me.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± I struggled, the pain in my heart and the woman before me. ¡°Then I¡¯ll forgive you without you asking.¡± ¡°There¡¯s your first lie.¡± I fought back my own tears, painful memories prodding at the back of my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not. But I¡­ I realized hating you isn¡¯t gonna bring her back. Because I know you¡¯re good and you didn¡¯t mean for any of this to happen. Because I¡¯m trying¡­¡± ¡°What did I do to deserve such kindness? I¡¯ve been nothing but cruel, impulsive, and destructive to you. What happens when I fail again, and hurt you again?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll forgive you again. Your wanting to be better is enough for me.¡± Her face twisted, pained, like she was offended, voice shaking with rage and sorrow as her eyes broke again. ¡°You¡¯re just full of shit, like everyone else has been forever and ever in my life, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t you fucking lie to me. I can¡¯t bear trusting another again, only to be betrayed again. I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t! Please, let me apologize and leave so I can¡¯t be broken again. I can¡¯t take it anymore.¡± I pulled her weeping head into my chest and let my embrace reassure her. She cried another¡­ however long. It was a while. Eventually, she raised her head. She sighed through her nose, fighting to smile, and leaned her forehead against mine. ¡°Mortality is a cruel, beautiful bell. It tings so purely once, when you¡¯re fresh into the world, before you know what that sound means. Then it echoes so unimaginably distant, silent until it¡¯s suddenly crashing before your eyes and you¡¯ve not a moment to react. I think I¡¯ve found the beauty of it, though, for in that silence we have the means to strum our own novice chords, sing loving melodies, and rage madly until the final thrum ceases. I won¡¯t let your forgiveness be in vain, that I promise.¡± I held her tighter, having completed the most difficult thing I¡¯d done in both my lives. She drifted off not long after, leaving me alone in the dark with her arms wrapped around me. Her curtains gently waved in the open window, but I never felt the night''s chill, wrapped in her desperate heat. Part of me hated that I didn¡¯t abhor it, that I was comforted by it. That I had forgiven her for her cruelty. That part of me fell into slumber. I followed like the autumn breeze, taking in the moment for as long as my comfort and exhaustion would let me. * * * * * Her stiff mattress thumped, jarring me awake. She was stood next to the bed, holding her robe shut, embarrassed and a little frantic. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t mean to wake you. Um¡­ I won¡¯t need you until later, so feel free to¡­ sleep longer there. I have things I should do, though.¡± I sat up, unsticking my hair from dried drool on my cheek. She smirked at seeing me. ¡°I should get up too. Apologize to Adam.¡± Simira rested her eyes on the floor. ¡°I should apologize as well, to you. I was drunk and acted unreasonably with you. That¡¯s not to say I didn¡¯t mean it, I¡¯m¡­ it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°And I was sober and I meant what I said.¡± She brushed the hair that was usually in a braid behind her ear and awkwardly scrunched her arms inward. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a rest day for me today, so I¡¯ll be working on personal items. If¡­¡± Simira clenched her teeth. ¡°We¡¯ll be putting the part of this plan into motion later tonight, once the debauchery begins, once the musicians arrive. The battles have been postponed as a result of all the beasts being dead, so I¡¯ll summon you once that time comes.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll see you then, Lady Simira.¡± I started heading out, but she lightly grabbed my arm. ¡°You don¡¯t have to address me so formally when nobody else is around. I¡¯ve¡­¡± She seemed like she was searching for an excuse or an explanation. ¡°Okay, Simira.¡± I turned around rigidly and left her room, her study, not sure what the fuck was going on anymore. The manor was getting ready for the usual night of revelry, except there were some musicians that were going to make an appearance. Everyone was raving about how they were making waves throughout the city with their music, but being stuck in the manor, I hadn¡¯t heard anything of it. I didn''t even bother trying to pay attention to what anyone was saying. It was still hard to stay functional with everything weighing on me, Simira¡¯s words aside. My head was still all over the place, missing my friends. I couldn''t find Adam at all. He probably wouldn''t even want to see me. I didn''t know what to think about him after what he said about Vetia. It was hard to think about the prior two days, so I did my best to stay working, then read for a while once I had some time where I was calm. Twas after a wintertime bath at the hot springs beneath Mount Arieya, a lush mountain named for the gorgeous arieyas which grow upon it. A man once asked me, in a distant city, ¡°What does an arieya look like?¡± And upon an instant, a fool I called him. Every thinking human knows what an arieya is, the meaning is in the name! However, at the base of said mountain, atop a dismal, janky wooden bin, sat the uncouth Larmeonip, still dressed in rags and worn furs despite winds which would freeze one¡¯s lips still. ¡°Man! If you be man and not beast, prove it and I shall a golden coin bestow upon thee. Why art thou upon a bin, devoid of fire and shelter?! Have you no desire for comfort?¡± ¡°Many thanks be upon ye for such a chance, Unwise Djoteided! However I fear I may not rise to thine expectations, as my hind hast been frozen sitting.¡± ¡°Ay, shouldst thou articulate thine discomfort, thou needn¡¯t rise, for rising be not but for those seeking just Hand.¡± ¡°A hand which I seek, just not of the just.¡± ¡°My query presently stands, Distracted Larmeonip.¡± ¡°A beast I am not, but a lame man I may be, for refusal to stand lies in sitting.¡± ¡°Unlistening Larmeonip, for what reason art thou without comfort, for thou couldst venture to the hot springs on such a frozen day! Is a man truly a man if he cannot find joy in his days?!¡± ¡°Warm Djoteided, what comforts are necessary to those who know no comfort?¡± ¡°Brittle Larmeonip, met I a man recently who lived amongst a dungeon of kets and yet claimed a cot in the almshouse for the winter night fell too frigid to breathe. For as bestial as he acted, even he craved a cot so dearly that they could not remove him from it come day. How canst thou prove thou¡¯rt a man if ye cannot find joy in comfort?¡± ¡°Cynical Djo, thy answer lies in thy question, but pose I a question for thee?¡± ¡°Ask, Larmeonip!¡± ¡°How do I live?¡± ¡°I cannot say how you live, for I dare not see such squalor!¡± ¡°How do you know I am without warmth?¡± ¡°Thou¡¯rt frozen to a bin, Larmeonip! That¡¯s no way to live!¡± ¡°And as I stand now, that bin which I once sat upon, is my bed.¡± ¡°Your- How do you mean?! Such a bin is too tiny, too crammed for a man to comfortably rest in!¡± ¡°Ay, but rest in it I do.¡± ¡°How canst thou sleep in a coldbox? Are you not a man?!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lid and plenty of hide and blubber within.¡± ¡°Rudimentary Larmeonip, upon a storm of snow, what wilt thou do when thy bin is inescapably detained beneath snow?!¡± ¡°If I cannot free myself, then I¡¯ll wait for my neighbor¡¯s kind spade.¡± ¡°Where dost thou sit for leisure?! Where lies thy wealth of coins bestowed upon thee in passing, for thou¡¯rt not spending?!¡± ¡°I sit in the forum and I sleep in this box. I eat from the rubbish and I wander the docks. The bold ask questions and pay in a toss. The weary I question and pay for their loss. I learn a story and ask a question. They leave a burden and make confession. I know every secret and not one isn¡¯t sad. But I¡¯ve helped so many I cannot be mad.¡± ¡°How do you live, Larmeonip?¡± ¡°As Larmeonip does.¡± In a flight of pity, I left an invitation to sup on the man¡¯s bin, his home, and cursed the comfort which curdled my veil of wisdom. Without event, the evening of partying came. A messenger child carried summons for me to Simira¡¯s study as people were arriving. I knocked, she allowed me to enter, I saluted, and it seemed everything was business as usual. ¡°Tells, tonight is when we are going to initiate the final portion of this endeavor. It should only be several weeks to complete once we gather the evidence tonight. Then you will no longer serve here.¡± ¡°Yes, Simira.¡± A subtle smile grew on her face, but was quickly pushed back by duty. ¡°One of the musicians is going to venture into the caves with us. When we get down there, I will tell you what we are looking for. That parcel you received for me some weeks back was the map we needed to get where we¡¯re going tonight. My father and everyone else should be sufficiently distracted with the special entertainment I dangled before them.¡± ¡°When should I be ready to go?¡± ¡°The musicians will finish playing, then the remaining musician will be doing some solo play to keep everyone distracted long enough for us all to slip away unnoticed. I believe they should be starting soon, they have been here for long enough as is. Spend your night normally, enjoy the music as you wish. But be ready to depart as soon as it ends. I will be at the main doors on the west side of the manor waiting. The musician has already been informed.¡± ¡°I will be there.¡± I saluted and exited her study, following the halls to the ballroom. What the hell? Why do I recognize that tune? I shook my head and laughed it off. That¡¯s absurd. There was no way that song would be playing in this manor, in this country, in this world. It has to be my mind playing tricks on me. I stepped further down the hall joining the crowd en route to the ballroom, the music becoming louder and far more clear. It¡¯s not a trick. I know that tune anywhere. I approached the doors to the ballroom and stopped, jaw dropped at the sheer confusion I was feeling. Who in this world is playing Take on Me? No shot it¡¯s actually those two. 38: Tonight 38 (Magic Man- Tonight) Brenden It was the morning after the other three went missing, after me and Desmond came back with our ugly-ass new robes and they were gone. We hopped in the cart and got the fuck outta dodge. Found a patch along the side of the road to hide the wagon and figure out our next move. After the argument, we didn¡¯t do much of anything though. Beneath the canopy of our wagon was silence. We said nothing to each other. Didn¡¯t even look at each other. We just sat back and fell asleep at some point, then found ourselves in the next morning. ¡°It was the same dream I keep having for some reason, but like, more clear. I don¡¯t know why I keep having it.¡± Desmond seemed absolutely enamored by the recounting of my dream. His half-asleep wandering eyes and hand resting over his ear showed his ever present engagement. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s crazy bro.¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s gotta mean something, right? It only started when we got here, so isn¡¯t it probably some magic dream or whatever?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ know, man.¡± ¡°Well we¡¯ve gotta start somewhere! We¡¯ve gotta figure something out!¡± Desmond rolled up, throwing his hands to his side like a whiny baby. ¡°What do you want me to do about it?! Read your fortune and tell you bullshit to make you shut up?!¡± He climbed across the cargo between us and tripped up to me, grabbing my palm. ¡°This line in your hand means you¡¯re gonna die without any bitches. This line means you¡¯ll probably stub your toe tomorrow, and this line means you¡¯re dreaming about weird shit ¡®cause you still haven¡¯t processed the fact that we all fucking died like a week ago.¡± He threw my hand back to me and stumbled out of the wagon, grabbing one of the smaller kegs of wine and disappearing into the bushes. I crawled out the front of the wagon to follow. ¡°Desmond! What the hell is going on with you?¡± I pushed through the bushes to where he was standing, emptying the keg into his mouth. ¡°Why are you drinking like it¡¯s the end of the world?! They¡¯re not dead, they¡¯re probably just in prison.¡± I walked up beside him as he was lowering the keg and glancing over his shoulder. ¡°Bro, fuck off! I¡¯m tryna piss!¡± Sure enough, his britches were on the ground around his legs and both his hands were holding the keg. ¡°Not while you¡¯re drinking.¡± I snuck up behind him, ready to smack the keg from his hands. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t just walk up on another dude pissing!¡± ¡°Well maybe I gotta piss too, fucko!¡± I tapped the keg out of his hands like a basketball and it tumbled across the forest floor, spraying light purple wine into the foliage and settling into a pool among the ferns. I promptly stepped up to the keg and dropped my pants. ¡°Shit! Shit!¡± Desmond got caught between finishing his piss and wanting to grab the keg, reaching his arms out in front of himself and trying to grab it like an idiot. ¡°Nah, you¡¯re done with that shit. No more booze until we save our friends.¡± ¡°What are you- wait! No! Don¡¯t- no- no- no! Wait! Don¡¯t fucking piss on it! That¡¯s the last one!¡± ¡°Too late. I¡¯ve marked it. It¡¯s mine now.¡± I proudly pissed on every inch of the keg. Desmond¡¯s spirit died with his stream. He pulled up his pants, threw his hands down in defeat, and lumbered out of the woods. When I got back, he was sitting in the wagon, back in the spot he had been sleeping in. I crossed my arms on the edge of the wagon and leaned my head on it. ¡°You drink all of those last night?¡± I pointed to the two empty kegs of wine that were sideways on the floor. ¡°Yeah. I did. What about it?¡± He narrowed his eyes and glared at me. ¡°Now I don¡¯t have a way to kill my hangover ¡®cause you pissed all over it.¡± ¡°Maybe try drinking some water and eating. We should have plenty still.¡± ¡°Yeah, no shit. What do you think I¡¯m doing? Brenden could you just give me a fucking minute to be alone. I haven¡¯t had a second to think since we got here. I¡¯ve been tired, busy, and filthy. I just want a minute to do nothing, dammit.¡± He was playing it up like an old bastard who just lost everything. ¡°You can go back to your regularly scheduled brooding when we get our friends back. Now come on.¡± I pushed up off the edge and began walking toward the corties. ¡°Brooding- give me a fucking break already.¡± He sat up and smacked the side of the wagon. ¡°Like you haven¡¯t been pissing and moaning about literally everything that¡¯s happened since we got here. Every little inconvenience we have is a bitchfest out of you.¡± I stopped on a dime to stare back at him. I was just as tired and frustrated as him, probably more, and it was trickling out. I really didn¡¯t want to be getting in a fight but he was out of his mind if he thought I was gonna take that. ¡°Are you kidding me? You think I¡¯m bitching about everything? I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s been treating this like it¡¯s real life and not a fucking video game! I¡¯m trying to do everything to keep us covert and unnoticed so we can blend in and figure shit out but all I¡¯ve been doing is fixing shit that everyone else keeps screwing up!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you include me in all that shit. I didn¡¯t do a goddamn thing to fuck anything up! I¡¯ve just been riding along and trying to sort my own shit out and carrying the rest of y¡¯all on my back.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. You¡¯re right, Desmond. You totally didn¡¯t piss off Simira on purpose which led to Vetia getting her fucking tongue cut out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking blame that on me! How was I supposed to know that bitch was gonna go ballistic?! She did that because Vetia wouldn¡¯t stop pissing her off at every turn! We wouldn¡¯t be in this mess if she could just keep her damn mouth shut for once in her life! Fuck! Adam hasn¡¯t really done shit. Tells has been silent the whole time. You¡¯ve just been bitchy. Maybe if she didn¡¯t come with us, we could have had a normal fucking life in this place.¡± ¡°Yeah, normal until me, Adam, and Tells are dead and you¡¯re standing there on the edge of the cliff pissing your jorts and about to be sliced up by mutant bugs! Wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve had a healer to save us and you woulda been alone, just like you¡¯ve been wanting.¡± ¡°Nah, I would have said fuck it and jumped off so we could all be dead like we were supposed to be the first time we fucking died!¡± I couldn¡¯t keep my temper back at that point. It turned into a nonsensical yelling match between us. I didn¡¯t know what I was saying and I wasn¡¯t listening to him. He was blaming everyone but himself and I just wanted him to stop acting like a whiny kid about everything. ¡°Get over yourself, Desmond!¡± ¡°Yeah, fuck off.¡± ¡°Fine. If your bum-ass doesn¡¯t wanna help save our friends, then get out of the wagon. I¡¯ll take Dante and Vergil and do it myself.¡± Fuck it, I¡¯m done bullshitting. The corties are harder to get going than a drunkard in a ditch and I don¡¯t feel like wasting any more time. ¡°Who the- wait a goddamn second, did you name the corties without me?!¡± ¡°Nobody else would because y¡¯all were caught up in your bullshit. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s been driving, navigating, and dealing with the corties¡¯ annoying asses this whole time. So I named them. This is Dante, and this is Vergil.¡± I untied them as I said that, and then led them to the wagon. Dante had long reddish brown fur that made it difficult to see any of his body, and Vergil looked very similar. They both had stark white manes, though. He wasn¡¯t moving still. ¡°Desmond, get the fuck out of the wagon. Rest up here or whatever, I¡¯m going into the city to find shit out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting up. What, you think you¡¯re just gonna strut into town and they¡¯re gonna send you in a limo to our friends? They¡¯re just gonna let you walk in? We don¡¯t have a plan or an idea and you¡¯re all gung ho about getting yourself killed!¡± ¡°I thought that¡¯s what you were hoping for.¡± ¡°Holy shit. You¡¯re just mincing my words and trying to make me even more pissed off. Is that what you want? Are you trying to make me hate you, Brenden?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to remind you that lying around like a fat sack isn¡¯t gonna achieve anything for us! Now get up or get out!¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather lay around like a fat sack and go in with a plan than get arrested the second I step into the city. We have active bounties on us.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell if I had gotten to this point by accident or I had been subconsciously working to this point, but something clicked and I realized the gears in his head were finally turning. ¡°So then let¡¯s think of a plan and then go get our friends.¡± ¡°Okay! Good.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to get going since we woke up. Desmond, we can¡¯t wait til we¡¯re ready to think. We just have to do it now or it might get to be too late.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. Congratulations, you got me up. Happy?¡± He threw himself out of the wagon and hurled an empty keg against a tree with a hollow thunk, before it settled in the brush. We weren¡¯t gonna be able to keep this up with how shitty the situation was and with how testy we were getting. ¡°Desmond, I¡¯m not exactly smart and I¡¯m not a leader. I¡¯m just trying my best right now because we don¡¯t have any other options and we don¡¯t have the others to make fun of us for yelling like jackasses.¡± Desmond glanced over his shoulder at me, sighing and leaning his arm on a tree. ¡°Not like when we did music though. Never had an issue then, and that was always just the two of us.¡± ¡°Music typically doesn¡¯t involve your friends getting arrested and running from the law.¡± ¡°Did we even listen to the same music? Half that shit is about doing drugs, getting laid, and jamming all while avoiding the cops. You know, sex, drugs, and rock ¡®n roll.¡± ¡°You know what I mean.¡± ¡°Yeah. Music is about feeling, not always thinking. Maybe it¡¯d be better if we try turning off our brains a little and grounding ourselves with what we got. You¡¯ve been eager to get moving. What¡¯re you feeling?¡± ¡°Well,¡± I climbed into the wagon and fished through our bags until I found the parchment Geren left with us. ¡°We have this. You said Geren said the Zeltem Order and Riviera can help us?¡± ¡°Yeah. He said it before shit went sideways though. I¡¯m not sure how that¡¯s gonna go for us now.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s all we got.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t disagree with you there.¡± He pushed away from the tree and patted my shoulder before hopping up into the wagon. ¡°Alright. Well, we¡¯ve got a couple things to do while we ride, but let¡¯s go. First thing¡¯s first, we need aliases and a cover story.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not creative, so anything you think of is good with me.¡± * * * * * ¡°Halt!¡± We stopped at the gate to the absurdly shiny district, the Hallax Quarter. He stepped up and gazed into the wagon. ¡°Howdy,¡± Desmond said upon seeing him. The guard stepped down and waved us on. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°One question, sir,¡± I said a little more sheepishly than I was hoping for, ¡°we have business with Riviera of the Zeltem Order, would you be able to point us in the direction of said place? We would be very grateful.¡± I couldn¡¯t see through his helmet, but I must have caught him off guard because it took him a moment only to respond skeptically. ¡°Seek an audience at Hallax Hall. Last I heard, the head of the yeffen is there. Somebody there will have more information for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± I let the corties pull and entered the gleaming sea of brass and gold. ¡°I told you it would work.¡± ¡°Desmond, how do you sit comfortably with the size of those balls? ¡°They never expect wanted folks to just walk up and introduce themselves. They probably thought we were going to be hooded and masked. Confidence, brother. Confidence.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m pretty confident that I have no idea where the fuck Hallax Hall is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the name of the Lord who oversees this quarter. Odds are the cuck is gonna be in the biggest building with the most gold.¡± ¡°You mean like that gigantic cathedral-castle up there?¡± Desmond squinted at the spires of gold and brass, spiraling up into a gothic steampunk type castle with wildly pretentious designs scrawled into every column and trim. I hadn¡¯t ever seen anything like it. It shone radiantly and almost heavenly with how bright and reflective it was. I couldn¡¯t figure out how anyone in this quarter got used to seeing on sunny days when they were constantly being blinded by the glare of gold and brass. ¡°Damn,¡± Desmond said, ¡°I just feel like something is off. Shouldn¡¯t we have been stopped already?¡± ¡°The vamptard was the only one with the bounty on her. We¡¯re kinda just witnesses, so now we don¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°I was expecting somebody to say something, though. You kind of stick out around here. You can¡¯t hear it, but people make comments about you every time you pass them. Probably because you¡¯re a dirty nyadin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the word for elves and shit, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Jorlad are humans, nyadin are alien elves, and jinian are the Shrek people. Is it racist to call them Shrek people?¡± ¡°I mean, yeah, probably. Nobody here knows what Shrek is though, so it probably wouldn¡¯t have any impact.¡± ¡°Hmm. Maybe if I say it enough, it¡¯ll catch on. That¡¯d be funny.¡± I looked back at him, not really sure what I was feeling, but there was a definite grimace on my face. ¡°No! You¡¯re not inventing a new racial slur. We¡¯re supposed to be keeping a low profile and being polite and shit.¡± ¡°Whoa, Brenden, I was joking. You, on the other hand, didn¡¯t even argue against me being racist, you just said you want to be low profile. That¡¯s pretty fucked up man. You shouldn¡¯t be advocating for racism in a place that already has a bunch of socio ergonomic issues.¡± He had the most smug, punchable face on at that moment. ¡°I¡¯m not advocating for racism! Where is all this coming from?¡± ¡°Hey man, I¡¯m just tellin¡¯ it how it is.¡± The corties let out a murr as we nearly scraped another wagon. I turned forward quickly, smiling and bowing my head without even seeing the person in the other wagon. My hands had been pulling the corties slightly left while I was talking. ¡°Sorry!¡± I raised my head and frowned back at Desmond. ¡°If we crash because you¡¯re gaslighting me, I¡¯m gonna shove a sword up your ass.¡± "There you go making up words again." If I was in a car, I would have crashed it to be done with his shit. Desmond cackled like a goblin who just found a sack of gold, and then I heard some jingling. ¡°Hot damn! There¡¯s money back here!¡± ¡°Ayo, real shit?¡± I whipped my head back and he held high a small pouch that he took out of Tells¡¯ bag. ¡°Whose money is that?¡± ¡°Ours now.¡± ¡°Word.¡± The gates of the giant metal structure sprawled out before us. The gates and the walls around the castle were yet more brass and gold. ¡°Halt. State your purpose for coming to Hallax Hall.¡± The guard who stepped forward wasn¡¯t in the standard armor. It looked like it was made more of steel and silver, with small adornments of gold. He brushed a strand of blond hair from in front of his stern blue eyes and switched the hand he held a massive silver lance in. ¡°Sir, we are here to seek an audience with Riviera of the Zeltem Order.¡± ¡°Your names?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Alex, and this is my brother Eddie of the Van Halen Clan.¡± Desmond sat forward and smiled at the guard, who squinted puzzledly at the both of us. I had forgotten that we were completely different races, and the guard probably sensed that something was fishy. I had to come up with something, even though I was terrible at lying. ¡°I was adopted,¡± I said. ¡°Into a jorlad family?¡± ¡°We¡¯re from a jorlad orphanage. Where we grew up.¡± ¡°You were adopted¡­ by an orphanage?¡± ¡°We both were¡­ adopted from the orphanage after it burned down¡­ We were the only survivors.¡± ¡°Oh, I have never heard of the Van Halens, nor have they ever sought an audience at Hallax Hall.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all dead.¡± ¡°Did you say dead?¡± ¡°The plague came. Killed everyone¡­ except us. We made it out. Back to being orphans on the road.¡± ¡°How long ago did your clan perish to the plague?¡± My brain was on the verge of shutdown from freeballing so many lies. ¡°Three.¡± The guard was silent, probably waiting for me to finish. ¡°Three? Three what? ¡°Um, days.¡± Yup, should¡¯ve said something else. He quickly stepped back. ¡°And you¡¯re not ill?¡± ¡°Nope. Not at all.¡± The guard didn¡¯t lose his puzzled tone. ¡°Right. And what business do you have with Riviera Kataw?¡± ¡°We have parchment from a yeffen named Geren. He claims to know her.¡± The guard turned around to a jorlad kid, probably no older than ten, and whispered to him. He turned back to me as the kid was running off. ¡°You will have to wait until I have confirmation to grant you entry. Come with me.¡± He pointed to a small field of grass and walked along next to the corties, leading us. The talking was making my mouth dry, so I took a quick swig of water while the guard was turned. I tossed my waterskin aside and next thing I knew, he was right in front of me, his hand outstretched toward me. The surprise, along with the abrupt halt of the corties sent water down my windpipe, and I found myself coughing and retching water onto the guard¡¯s hand. Fear swept over the guard¡¯s face and he screamed, raising his lance and thrusting it toward my throat. ¡°Stay back!¡± My hand instinctively batted at the lance and a sharp pain cut through my palm. ¡°No- augh- wait!¡± ¡°That cough best not be the plague, man! You said it wiped out your clan!¡± I fought through the coughing as best I could, sounding like a bad imitation of Steve-o. ¡°It¡¯s not! I swear! The plague didn¡¯t spread through coughing.¡± ¡°A likely story for somebody not wanting to be run through by my lance!¡± My mind jumped into survival mode. Between my bleeding hand and the sharp steel in my face, I had to stop him from worrying about the water I coughed on him. ¡°No, wait, please don¡¯t! Um, you can only get it from sex!¡± I felt like I was hacking up a lung trying to clear my throat of water. The lance hovered in my face for another second before he lowered it. He looked like he had just seen the most horrific thing in his entire life. The pain and blood in my hand made me dizzy, and I wasn¡¯t having an easy time focusing on anything. I finished clearing my throat and wrapped my hand in a cloth, trying to keep pressure on it. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He eyed me down seriously, hints of worry behind his gaze. ¡°You said the plague wiped out your entire clan? Everyone? The adults and the children?¡± I wasn¡¯t really sure what he was getting at, but I heard Desmond stifling his laughter behind me. I couldn¡¯t focus on anything with how badly my hand hurt. ¡°Yeah, sir. Everyone. Men, women, children, babies.¡± ¡°BY THE HAND OF ORDER!¡± The guard recoiled in disgust and appalment, but my head spun too much to figure out why. Desmond finally stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder, helping me to sit without swaying. ¡°I think what my brother is trying to say is that we had been trying to get out of there for a while, and we¡¯re actually really glad they all died. We avoided all the ritual orgies because we could see how fucked up they were. It was like a prison deep in the woods and we left as soon as we saw the opportunity.¡± I finally put two and two together and needed to smooth things over so we didn¡¯t sully our name immediately. ¡°The Van Halens aren¡¯t the orgy clan. They were the nice people at the orphanage that burned down. The other guys captured us because¡­ I¡¯m a nyadin.¡± I wouldn¡¯t have been fully able to process everything if I was in the guard¡¯s position. I didn¡¯t blame him for taking a few steps away and trying to think. Desmond seemed like he was having a giddy time lying to this poor guard, so he piped up again. ¡°I don¡¯t know if there are any more out there in this world, but keep your kids away from ¡®em. They call themselves Minecraft You-.¡± The young boy from before came running up to the guard, cutting Desmond off. ¡°Sir Hestrel, Viscount Hallax will see the visitors in his throne room.¡± He immediately took off, jogging back into the castle. ¡°Hey, Sir Hestrel,¡± I started, ¡°Is there some way I can get this patched up in the¡­ the¡­ castle?¡± ¡°I can gather some materials for your wound, yes. Shall I sit and accompany you up to Hallax Hall?¡± ¡°Please.¡± I slid to my left and Hestrel climbed up. Through the gate and up the slope, he didn¡¯t speak. His rigid face seemed paranoid, scanning the road for the entire way. His brow was always creased and intense. He must have been a seasoned fighter, because the closeness revealed his crooked nose and scratched armor, even with how polished it currently was. Along the road were the most pretentious houses I had ever seen. Must have belonged to the rich people and the nobility. Every house was not only adorned with gold and brass, but also gems on some of the ones closer to the castle. Every time I looked somewhere, my eyes were met with blinding rays of sun. Maybe everyone here looks pissed off because they¡¯re always squinting at all the ridiculously bright glares. We stopped near the grand doors, embossed with a filigree of vines that connected hundreds of people in perpetual golden combat, jorlad breaking free from chains and taking up weapons against dragon-like people with sharp features, scale clusters, wings, horns, and tails. We hopped out of the wagon and a servant guided the corties away while the grand doors opened for us. I whispered to Desmond. ¡°Let¡¯s not mess this up, Eddie. We figure out what the parchment is and if we can help our friends. I don¡¯t care if we have to blackmail them with the parchment or use the connections we make.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest, I didn¡¯t expect us to make it this far. I know it sounds weird coming from me, but let¡¯s just keep it civil, like you said before.¡± Hestrel looked over his shoulder. ¡°Alex, Eddie. Follow closer. You¡¯re unknown to the rest of the Hall.¡± I smiled apologetically. ¡°Right, sorry.¡± He led us down the oversized corridor to a set of doors that were even more ornate than the main doors to the castle. All along the walls were these 3D sculptures, made completely from metal, of people and animals in action poses. On the walls themselves were more filigrees. They looked like spaghetti art, the way they were constructed with different colored shiny metals that were like elaborate pipes, smoothly curved and flowing from one depiction to the next. It wasn¡¯t so abrasively bright inside, in fact I could see the charm to it when there were just dim orange stones lighting the hallways, glinting off the metals like firelight. This section showed the same dragon people and jorlad, except the jorlad armies were armored similar to Hallax guards and were forcing the dragon people to the top of a mountain, swaths of dead dragon people behind the jorlad. ¡°Hey, Hestrel,¡± Desmond said. ¡°Is it okay if I call you Hestrel?¡± ¡°I take no offense to it.¡± ¡°Does this place creak a lot?¡± ¡°One who does not listen to the voice of the walls will never understand the price of their hospitality.¡± Desmond¡¯s face contorted into the ugliest, most pure form of confusion I had ever seen, and he was completely speechless the rest of the way. Hestrel pressed himself against the doors, thunderous creaks reverberating throughout the building as they slowly spread for him. ¡°My Lord, I have brought the messengers.¡± ¡°Oh, good!¡± From atop the stairs, on the throne at the head of the room, a golden statue declared himself like a godly monarch. His face was sharp and strong, almost perfectly angular. He wore little makeup, just perfectly bronze skin with gold eyeshadow and light contouring. Chains and jewels jangled as he threw his arms to the side, showing off his chiseled chest and abs- literally. This guy looked like a Greek god with how perfect his golden muscles were. Every major muscle on his body had metal plates on them, but they looked like they were grafted to his body, contorting with his every movement. There were more gems and tassels dangling from those, and intricate designs on the plates that made up his pecs and abs. I couldn¡¯t tell if they were there to compensate for a lack of muscles or if he was actually superhuman. His hair leant to a superhuman image. A majestic lion¡¯s mane of hair started behind a golden headband with crownlike spires, as if his head were the sun. His fingers looked like golden claws, with more gold grafted to the top of his hand like a thin gauntlet. It was hard to tell where the gold began and his skin connected, and I found myself completely enthralled in trying to understand his getup. His clothes were barely clothes at all- or singular clothe, rather. His only article covered his crotch by thin gold tassels with gems at the end of them like a short skirt, and I was really trying to not see whatever the hell was brightly glistening on the other side of those tassles. His smile turned smug as I stared, trying to make sense of him. The rest of the room was a gaudy eyesore as much as the buff guy was. There was so much going on in every single design that my eyes didn¡¯t know where to go until they finally settled back on him. Hestrel was like a beacon of silver compared to everything else in the room, aside from a person adorned by more natural tones. A yeffen, although unlike Geren, this one had full feathers that shone from a deep brown color to a shiny brass. The yeffen¡¯s beak was different from Geren¡¯s. I couldn¡¯t see any skin, instead there were brass plates forming a clean hooked beak. This one was much younger and healthier. Probably richer too, because she had knuckle plates made of some shiny, beat up metal that disappeared into abundant arm feathers. I almost thought she might be a different type of creature from Geren at first, until I saw the knuckle walking arms. ¡°Alex. Eddie,¡± Hestrel said. ¡°Present yourselves before Lord Hallax.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Desmond blurted out. ¡°Um, my name is Eddie.¡± He did a quick half bow. ¡°And I am Alex.¡± I did a full bow as best as I could. ¡°We¡¯re both from the Van Halen Clan.¡± ¡°Present the scroll.¡± Lord Hallax leaned back on his throne and relaxed. Desmond casually walked up to the lord and held it out in front of him, almost nonchalantly. As soon as he started to step up, two guards posted by the stairs raised spears to him. Lord Hallax raised two relaxed fingers. ¡°Jrikex, Hasaf, do not bear your spears at him. Our guest is clearly unaware of the customs.¡± The two guards lowered their spears. The taller of the two guards approached Desmond and took the paper from his hand before delivering it to Hallax. Hallax unraveled the parchment and stared at it for a few moments. I couldn¡¯t see his face behind the paper, but I wasn¡¯t a fan of the vibe he was giving off. Desmond walked back to my side and looked at me like ¡°these people are crazy.¡± ¡°Riviera, it appears these are Geren¡¯s, and by proxy, your new assistants.¡± The yeffen woman gracefully walked over and received the parchment from Hallax. ¡°As for you two¡­ newcomers. I¡¯m curious, why did Geren choose you?¡± Desmond and I looked at each other, hoping the other would answer. ¡°Um, I mean¡­¡± ¡°Probably, like¡­¡± We both stopped trying to say something and thought with each other until I came up with an idea. ¡°Convenience?¡± I said unconvincingly. Lord Hallax seemed like he was stifling a laugh, and snorted pretty loudly. ¡°Convenience? How so?¡± ¡°We were passing through and stopped by his place. Told him we were coming to Vehfirn.¡± Hallax was mystified. ¡°What did you do for work before coming here? You must have done something that inspired him to arrange this.¡± Desmond and I looked at each other again, not really sure what to say, but Desmond took the lead with a shrug. ¡°I sold plants and rocks back home.¡± Hallax¡¯s face only grew more confused. ¡°Were they perhaps, valuable? What types?¡± ¡°There were some different names for ¡®em. Local strains, but mostly sativa. That and meth.¡± I cut in out of sheer surprise. ¡°Wait, when did you sell meth? Where did you even get it?¡± ¡°How do you think I was paying for college? One of my growers knew a guy who ran it, but I only sold it a few times when money was tight.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t tell any of us?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. I ain¡¯t selling that shit to my friends.¡± The voice from the throne reminded us that we were in the presence of a Lord. ¡°And Geren was simply impressed by your entrepreneurial prowess?¡± Desmond took a hard moment of thinking before he answered. ¡°Nah, prolly not.¡± Oh fuck, how can I not be worried? I don¡¯t want to test the patience of another noble. But I can¡¯t think of anything. We got here, we got fucked up by bugs, then we went to the village. We went to get the fireblood- ¡°We caught a fireblood!¡± I pointed at Hallax with a stupid smile on my face, a little proud of myself for remembering. I quickly pulled my hand down and fixed my face. ¡°Geren sent us in the direction of a fireblood, so we caught it and brought it to the village. I think he thought we were reliable.¡± Hallax looked at us with a smile that was riddled with curiosity, like he was thoroughly entertained by this conversation we were having. ¡°You captured this fireblood, just the two of you?¡± ¡°We had some friends with us, but we split up.¡± ¡°Wonderful. So you have enough combat and hunting experience to capture a fireblood! That is promising.¡± I panicked a little at the thought of being sent into combat again, and blurted out, ¡°Actually, we have no formal training. We were in a pinch for money and it wasn¡¯t a clean hunt, but we did get it alive.¡± Hallax¡¯s smile disappeared into a gently stern glare. ¡°Alex, Eddie. I am trying to learn how to best make use of your skills. And I am trying to understand what Geren saw in you that I may also see. Tell me. What can you do?¡± We¡¯re gonna have a Simira repeat if we don''t come up with something. I gave Desmond a look like I was gonna take a big risk. He looked at me a little worried, but nodded. ¡°We can play music.¡± Hallax immediately sat forward on his throne, absolutely delighted. ¡°Can you play some now? What do you play?¡± ¡°I can play drums and a little bit of piano. De- erm, Eddie plays guitar and some bass.¡± Desmond''s eyes widened like I just blindsided him. ¡°Uh, I can play guitar, but it¡¯s been a while since I touched a bass.¡± He was awkwardly smiling at Hallax and looking at me like he was gonna kill me. Lord Hallax was beaming. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of those! Bring your instruments in! Play for me. Some entertainment would be in a pleasurable taste.¡± My mouth fell open, unsure of what to do. Desmond looked insane with his gritted smile and intense eyes. We didn¡¯t have instruments. Desmond turned to Hallax. ¡°Our instruments were lost in a fire. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to play unless you would provide them, and they were very special setups with specific designs. I doubt we¡¯d be able to find suitable replacements unless we went to a very skilled instrument craftsman.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Hallax stood for the first time, a much larger figure than he looked in his seat. He had to be eight feet tall. ¡°I have a collection of instruments for you to search through. I was once a war composer! It¡¯s not often that musicians visit my quarter. Come! Let us find you instruments.¡± Desmond started breathing a lot faster, trying to figure out something to say. No matter how much I wiped my head with my hand, I couldn¡¯t stop sweating. Oh, that¡¯s not sweat, my hand is still bleeding. ¡°Lord Hallax, my hand. I hurt my hand. Cut real bad before we got in here. I won¡¯t be able to play until it is healed.¡± Lord Hallax frustratedly looked at my hand. ¡°Who is responsible? They shall pay at thrice the cost of your regeneration.¡± I glanced at Hestrel, who was eyes wide sweating bullets upon hearing that. ¡°No, wait, sir, um, Lord Hallax. It was a misunderstanding. It was my fault. I got surprised when I surprised Hestrel and he held his lance to me and I hit it away with my hand instinctively!¡± Hallax stared at me and Hestrel for a moment, and then his face returned to its nonchalant look. ¡°Hestrel, take Alex to Miriel. Eddie, you will come with me to select your instruments. Tonight, we will have some music with our supper. Jrikex, Hasaf, inform the guard and the chefs that we will be having a banquet tonight. The idle members of the Hall are invited to partake in this unexpected revelry!¡± As Hallax ushered Desmond to follow him and Hestrel began leading me away, the chirping voice of Riviera halted everyone¡¯s actions. ¡°Lord Hallax, a question, if I may?¡± ¡°Oh, right, the Order is also welcome to come. Do tell them.¡± ¡°No, my lord, the business regarding the letter. Shall we discuss that before we part?¡± Lord Hallax looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. ¡°It can wait a day. That callow brute can throw another tantrum if it pleases her. There is no harm in postponing plans for one day.¡± Riviera looked down and did a weird kind of salute with her hands in front of her chest. ¡°Yes, my Lord.¡± We parted ways. Hestrel led me down the gilded halls to a door that was far simpler than the rest of the ornate castle. A burly man with a tower shield on his back was leaning against the wall next to the door, absolutely exhausted. He wiped some sweat from his shaved head. He had dark, but warm brown skin and green eyes that felt like they were piercing into me the second he saw me. Hestrel called out to him. ¡°Hey Zerick, what are you doing here? Waiting for Miriel to be done with a patient?¡± Zerick had a surprisingly light voice for how brawny he was. ¡°The only patient is the one I¡¯m running out of. Just got back from breaking up a fight at the Letterhead. Dex caught some pyre actin¡¯ out of order and he won¡¯t shut up about it. Probably talkin¡¯ Miriel¡¯s ear off about it like he¡¯s the hero of Vehfirn for smacking a drunk.¡± He turned his head to me. ¡°Who¡¯s this din?¡± Hestrel glanced back at me and shrugged. ¡°Musician from a cult. Lord Hallax has taken a liking to him, but his hand is wounded. The Lord wants to hear him play, so he¡¯s expediting the healing process.¡± Zerick looked slightly impressed. ¡°Not often that Hallax will gift out free fixes like that. You must be a good musician.¡± I half smiled. ¡°I hope he thinks so.¡± ¡°Hestrel, are you just gonna stand here waiting? Bring the guy in so he can get fixed up. Go interrupt them so Dex stops talking and I can go. And nyadin, I¡¯ll apologize ahead of time for Dex. He¡¯s in a weird situation.¡± Hestrel chuckled to himself a little dead eyed, and cracked the door. ¡°Don¡¯t bother talking to him, I¡¯ll save you the breath. Nobody can shut him up so easily.¡± The warmly lit room smelled of fragrant herbs and flowers. There were beds and tools neatly organized around the room, and two figures at the back, next to several tables cluttered with vials of various concoctions and thin planks neatly set about. The figure that immediately caught my attention was a tall, lanky man with pink, almost red skin and a streak of marble white hair down his head. Instead of ears there were pits on the side of his head. His shallow brow and elongated head accentuated his long upturned nose and weak but wide chin which was covered in a scruffy fuzz from chin to chest. Scuffed brass chainmail jingled as he walked, stomping around in high-heeled leather boots that went up to his thighs. He was obscuring the other person in his shadow, but he turned around as he was talking to look at us. ¡°-and I didn¡¯t break his leg, but he sure thought I did.¡± He stepped out of the way, walking toward Hestrel, and I made eye contact with the woman behind him. She wasn¡¯t a jorlad like almost everyone else here. She looked like me, like a nyadin, and the way she was standing looked slender and proper. Her hair glistened like silver and gold as it drifted over her shoulders. She stepped forward elegantly tilting her head and gently smiling at me. My brain turned to mush. I was lost in looking at her, completely speechless. ¡°How can I help you two?¡± ¡°Uh- I- hand.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dex stepped between her and I. ¡°You a cur?¡± I cleared my throat and came to my senses again. ¡°Sorry, I was just surprised. I¡¯ve never seen another nyadin before.¡± It wasn¡¯t the reason I was speechless, but I certainly wasn¡¯t lying. Being able to figure out what I was, what nyadin were, was something I needed to do sooner or later. Dex chuckled, then leaned down, looking me close in the eyes. ¡°Never seen a nyadin before? You are one. What, did you not have parents? Siblings?¡± Before I could speak, Hestrel grabbed the back of Dex¡¯s shirt and pulled him away. ¡°Dex! He grew up in an orphanage. Don¡¯t be a dick.¡± Miriel stepped up to me and looked at my hand while talking to Dex. ¡°Even so, Dex, I have told you of nyadin ways before. We are not raised by our parents, and often do not meet them until long after we have matured.¡± Dex forced a smile and talked like he was covering for himself. ¡°I know, I remember that. It was a joke.¡± There was a stiff silence for a good ten seconds. From the open door, Zerick growled at us. ¡°Am I gonna eat and train alone, Dex, or are you done yet?¡± Dex glanced around at us, right at the fed-up expression on Hestrel¡¯s face. ¡°I was just about to leave. Relax, Zee.¡± He walked back toward Miriel. ¡°I¡¯ll come back tomorrow to finish my story. See you then, Miriel.¡± He made a half-cocked smile, like he seriously thought he was hot shit. ¡°Oh, delightful.¡± She made a polite, but slightly forced smile at him as he walked out. Hestrel nodded to the both of us and walked out after Dex, leaving us alone. There was a brief silence in the aromatic room before she spoke. ¡°You seem pale. Come over here and sit.¡± She led me by the shoulder to one of the beds near her desk, and pulled a chair over. ¡°You said you have never met another nyadin, an orphan. I wish not to pry, but where are you from? You may belong to a nearby kinship.¡± ¡°Out past Poikla Village, way out on the other side of the forest, there was an orphanage that I grew up in.¡± She turned around as I was saying this, pushing aside some planks and grabbing a vial of sludgy brown paste. She cocked her head at me inquisitively and stopped for a moment. ¡°I am afraid that I have never heard of a nyadin kinship that far out.¡± She gently lifted my hand and peeled off the rudimentary hand wrappings. ¡°I feel rude asking this now, but what about your name? Do you carry the name of the kinship you are from?¡± I felt slightly bad not being able to tell her my real name, not that it would have changed anything, but she seemed so kind. ¡°I¡¯m Alex. Van Halen. That¡¯s the name of the jorlad orphanage I was adopted into.¡± ¡°I am Miriel of the Sueri kinship far to the north. I am sorry I can¡¯t be of help to you.¡± She spread the grainy sludge into the wound and boy it stung like hell. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not worried about my past. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll get anything out of searching.¡± A potent silence hung in the air as she smoothed some excess medicine out of my wound and wiped the surface dry with a cloth. It got me wondering about my real family. I was becoming less and less thoughtful of them. Like this world was slowly taking all my attention. ¡°Is that bad of me? Should I be worried about my real family?¡± She stopped prodding and furrowed her brows at me curiously. ¡°Alex, I am a complete stranger to you, save for knowing your name. I don¡¯t believe I can answer that.¡± ¡°Sometimes somebody who doesn¡¯t know you can help you figure out what¡¯s best for you. What¡¯s a stranger got against you? Just like running ideas past each other with no reason to lie. Even if they were messing with me when I asked, I¡¯d realize what I didn¡¯t want to do, which might lead me to what I would want to really do.¡± I trailed off and thought for a second. ¡°If you didn¡¯t have a way to contact your family, or your kinship, and you had no information leading to them, would you still search?¡± She seemed a bit intruded on and averted her eyes to the floor for a moment, contemplating what I said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit odd to speak on such personal beliefs, but I can¡¯t say for certain. I believe it would rest at the back of my mind, but with no beginning, no lead, I would have to give up on it. But it would always be at the back of my mind.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hasty, isn¡¯t it? Asking a random person to get it over with?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than sitting around, wondering forever. I can move on to worry about more important things.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I will ever understand the way jorlad think. It¡¯s¡­¡± She trailed off and shook her head dismissively. ¡°What do you mean?¡± She sighed. ¡°I must say, it¡¯s strange, seeing a nyadin, with so many more days than the jorlad, running through life at their pace.¡± ¡°So many more days?¡± Her generally curious expression became perturbed. ¡°Alex, has anyone ever told you of nyadin lifespans? Have you not noticed?¡± ¡°No, are they different?¡± ¡°What? Alex, they are very different. How do you not know? One nyadin may outlive several dozen generations of jorlad. Our physical cycles, maturation, development, all substantially slower. We grow to relatively similar sizes as them at the same rate, but that¡¯s it. Whether you grew up with them or not, you are fundamentally different from them. You have time to ponder these questions and find the right answers. You may not be knowledgeable of our ways, but they are a part of you.¡± Several dozen generations of humans. Of jorlad. For one nyadin. For one life. For me. I was frozen, trying to process what that meant. She inscribed a sigil in the air, but I wasn¡¯t focusing on what it was. She pressed the wound together with her fingers, closing it entirely. ¡°Alex, how old are you? How have you not realized your longevity yet? I find it hard to believe that you haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°Twenty-one, same as the guy I came with.¡± ¡°Twenty-one? Twenty-one what? Year cycles? That¡¯s absurd, your eyes are as ketalled as an adult¡¯s.¡± ¡°What does ketalled mean?¡± ¡°Have you amnesia? Perhaps as a result of trauma? Do you remember undergoing jzanishiarostamis?¡± She raised a hand, anticipating my question. ¡°When we undergo meditative metamorphosis and fully mature.¡± Oh fuck, I¡¯m gonna have to lie, aren¡¯t I? ¡°I¡¯m gonna be honest, Miriel, I have no clue what any of that is.¡± I couldn¡¯t think of one. Disbelief took over her face again. ¡°Alex, may I inspect your back, specifically your spine?¡± I was confused, but I nodded. She raised my shirt and prodded at several points all down my spine. She came back around, a green glowing sheen of light in front of her eyes, inspecting my torso. ¡°You say twenty-one, and yet your spinal processes have diverged and your litrix is fully developed as though you¡¯re well past sixty cycles.¡± ¡°Miriel, I don¡¯t know what any of that means.¡± The glow disappeared and she thought for a moment. ¡°Your spinal processes, the knobs on your spine that you can feel by poking your back, have diverged into two on all of your vertebrae. Jorlad, jinian, and many other humans have that structure. But, during the nyadin pubescent cycle, the processes gradually diverge as the spine becomes taller, slightly thicker, and wider. It¡¯s believed that it in some way assists our structural integrity in living for such an extended period of time. It¡¯s an extremely painful process. At the end of puberty, around sixty, the jzanishiarostamis, or jzanmah metamorphosis begins, where our minds and perceptive abilities further mature, resulting in ketalled eyes. The way they evolve to flow and move in reaction to jzanmah. And your litrix is the organ between your liver and stomach that develops at a similar time, it¡­ well¡­ ¡®wakes up¡¯ during puberty. It produces jzanujzin, one of the key hormonal components to our longevity.¡± ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m an adult nyadin then.¡± ¡°Unless¡­¡± She bit her lip for a second while she thought. ¡°You aren¡¯t a half breed, are you? Can you open your mouth and stick out your tongue?¡± ¡°Aaah¡­¡± ¡°Your tongue is prominently cleft.¡± ¡°Wait, what? It is? Is that bad?¡± I hadn¡¯t even thought to check it in this body, but I felt it, and it was split in two at the end. ¡°No, the prominent cleft is the sign of a full-blooded nyadin.¡± She stuck her tongue between her teeth, which sure as day had a split down the middle of it for a good inch. ¡°So, I don¡¯t know how it¡¯s possible that you¡¯re somehow twenty-one and an adult. Unless you were aged by some miracle, then you¡¯re lying to me or something is seriously awry. How do you not know any of this by simply being nyadin?¡± ¡°No lie! It¡¯s probably got something to do with my lack of parents¡­ maybe.¡± ¡°Perhaps, I fear there may be underlying-¡± A knock resounded at the door to the clinic and Desmond¡¯s voice called out. ¡°Excuse me? Can I come in?¡± Miriel halted and shook her confusion away. ¡°You may.¡± Desmond burst in and sauntered up to me. I noticed the neck of what looked like a guitar on his back. ¡°Dude, we gotta practice. Oh, hello. I¡¯m his brother. Adopted. Anyway, bro, let¡¯s go. I think I have an idea for what we can play.¡± ¡°Oh, shit, I forgot. Alright, yeah.¡± Desmond grabbed me by the arm, practically dragging me up and out of the room. I glanced back and held onto the door and Desmond let go of me. ¡°And thank you, Miriel, for fixing my hand. I appreciate it. I¡¯ll try to pay you back however I can.¡± ¡°If Lord Hallax wished for you to be healed, then there is no compensation needed.¡± It¡¯s like she was reading my mind as I was about to contest what she said. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to your music tonight. Consider that repayment enough.¡± I shook my head and chuckled. ¡°Sure, works for me.¡± I was about to leave, but my hand wouldn¡¯t let go of the door. ¡°Miriel?¡± ¡°Yes." ¡°Would it be okay if I stopped by again at some point? There¡¯s a lot I still don¡¯t know about nyadin, and I still have a lot of questions.¡± ¡°Bre- Alex! Come on! We gotta go!¡± Desmond yelled back to me. Miriel chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s what I was going to say earlier, that I¡¯d like to analyze your condition, ensure there are no underlying issues. You¡¯re welcome to chat any time. Have a good performance tonight.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I jogged after Desmond. ¡°Alright, so I found a guitar that seems like it can work. I¡¯m still figuring out the seven strings and no frets though. There¡¯s enough drums for you to build a set out of. Hallax said he¡¯s cool with you building a rig with ¡®em. Eclectic motherfucker, that guy, but kinda cool.¡± ¡°You said you had an idea for what we¡¯re gonna play?¡± ¡°Yeah, so we got drums and guitar. No backup singers or instruments and I don¡¯t have my loop pedal, so we¡¯re gonna be freeballin¡¯ it with only two instruments and our voices. Good thing is, the trogs here haven¡¯t ever heard that good shit we¡¯ve been listening to, so we can steal all the music we want from Earth and they¡¯ll be none the wiser. I¡¯m thinking first off 5150, and maybe Take on Me. I know the lyrics for both of ¡®em, if you wanna do backup vocals for it, just gotta translate it over. If we figure things out fast enough, maybe throw in some Skynyrd, maybe¡­¡± I quickly pitched in. ¡°Bad Company could work.¡± He pointed excitedly. ¡°Ooh yeah, I like that.¡± ¡°Okay, 5150 makes sense, but Take on Me? Des, we ain¡¯t got synth.¡± ¡°Acoustic, my brotha. I got the guitar, Hallax has something close to a piano, just way less keys. Y¡¯know, maybe play it more somber-like, easier on the ears. Let our voices carry the performance. We got lucky getting good voices. Playin¡¯ on electric shit would probably kill the average peasant here anyways. We can figure something out with it in time. We scrub out some lyrics that give away our otherworldliness and then we¡¯re chilling. We have until dusk, so maybe nine-ish hours.¡± ¡°Dude, are you good? You look like you¡¯re fuckin¡¯ wired.¡± ¡°Brenden, I was scared as hell at first. You said we could play music and I damn near shit myself. But then I saw the instruments and Hallax? He is super into music, and I got energized just from him showing me all the instruments. I don¡¯t know why, I remember every fuckin¡¯ sound and word to every song I¡¯ve ever listened to right now. I might be on crack right now, I don¡¯t know. And I drank some sweet blue shot of something cool. It¡¯s crazy dude. I¡¯m thinking this might be our ticket to making everything right.¡± ¡°Pump the brakes a sec. What about the scroll? About our friends? We gotta figure that out too.¡± He smiled and pushed a pair of pretend glasses up on his nose, detailing this plan with ample hand gestures. ¡°Well, you see, I¡¯m already seven steps ahead of you. We nail this gig, right? Hallax loves music, and maybe the people here will too. We get big in the city, get some sway with Hallax, and we might be able to use him to buy our friends back or do some sort of political bullshit if we tell him that we need our friends to perform better. But we gotta nail this.¡± ¡°I always wonder how the hell you got into an engineering school and then you drop this outta nowhere. Let¡¯s fucking go, bro. We¡¯re so back.¡± I slapped his back and shook my head in disbelief. He laughed half like a lunatic as we crossed the threshold to the throne room. ¡°Like you said, treat this plan like our music. We¡¯re a long way from doin¡¯ weekend bar gigs with the kitchen boys. We¡¯re bringing rock ¡®n roll to another world, bitch!¡± 39: Blinding Lights 39 (The Weeknd- Blinding Lights) Desmond Glitterman put together a banquet and invited all of the Golden Girls but Betty White. It was like standing in front of a crowd of people who were badly cosplaying trophies. They wandered around grabbing food and talking while Glitterman sat on his throne, giving me and Brenden a series of excited and expectant glances, but I got the vibe that this guy definitely had some sexual tension he needed to get rid of. Maybe it¡¯d just been a while since he¡¯d heard good music. And I couldn¡¯t blame a man for getting horny at the promise of good music. Lord knows I was. ¡°You growin¡¯ tits back there, Brenden? We gotta start.¡± I tossed the awkwardly large guitar over to my front side. Brenden was behind a pillar silently going through the motions of the drum beat for the song. ¡°Dude, I haven¡¯t played in a while. I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ nervous.¡± ¡°We practiced each song like four times and basically rewrote them all. That¡¯s good enough. It¡¯s easy ridin¡¯ tonight, we just gotta make it look passable. Backup singin¡¯ while playin¡¯ the drums is easy for you.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m just getting back into the flow of it.¡± He had a thousand yard stare that was getting lost in the crowd. ¡°Shoulda had some of that weird drink. I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ jazzed up right now, like I just took a super concentrated caffeine shot.¡± He didn¡¯t respond, just stared off. I turned back toward the crowd, scoping out where he was looking. No shit, his eyes were locked on that other nyadin woman. I couldn¡¯t help smiling. That¡¯s my boy. He has a crush. ¡°Oh-ho! I see you. I see you. You like that nyadin chick, don¡¯t you Brenden?¡± He blinked quickly and looked at me like a deer in headlights. ¡°No. I¡¯m, uh, I¡¯m- we just talked once. Nothing more to it.¡± ¡°Yeah. Sure, bud. Listen man, you¡¯re the one who made the rule about no lovin¡¯ but I think we could just not tell the others if you¡¯re really into her. And, you know, I¡¯ve seen a couple ladies I¡¯d like to get to know better. Let me work my magic. I¡¯ll set you up nice and good.¡± ¡°No, dude! It¡¯s not-¡± Our pre-show discussion was abruptly halted by a quick whistling sound. It would have blown out my ears a week ago, before I¡¯d learned to relax how much they pick up. Lord Hallax set a golden scepter at his side as the high pitched sound of a small pipe next to him vibrated through the otherwise silent room. ¡°Attention, all my humble visitors and servants. For those of you who have yet to hear, we have been gifted two wonderful musicians for the night, and maybe more nights. In this city so devoid of sweet tunes, let us turn our attention to our evening muses, Alex and Eddie Van Halen!¡± I snorted a little. It always made me chuckle to think we were stealing the identities of actual musicians and playing their music for people for a profit. Heh. Fuck copyright, they can¡¯t sue us where they don¡¯t exist. At the lord¡¯s gesture to us and the crowd¡¯s attention turned, I stepped up like I always did in that dingy old bar back home. ¡°Good evening y¡¯all! Who wants to hear some music tonight?!¡± Dead silence. The crowd looked at each other confused and then Hallax spoke up, sounding a little insulted. ¡°All of us. That is why we asked you to play here.¡± I¡¯d played for unenthusiastic crowds of factory workers on some shitty nights, but these people had me a little speechless. They might¡¯ve been expecting something more formal and less hype. After a second of trying to think of a way to respond, ¡°Yep! Of course you do! We were a little pressed for time, so we only have a few real performance songs, but we¡¯ll let you know when we¡¯re just gonna start vibin¡¯.¡± Once again, they were silent. Do they just hate music, or is entertainment that rare? ¡°Um, anyways.¡± I looked at Brenden on my left. ¡°Let¡¯s get to playin¡¯.¡± Our first song was ¡°5150.¡± I knew the lyrics well, and we¡¯d played it a ton before, just never acoustic. And when I started on those first chords in front of that crowd, I regretted ever trying to make it acoustic. It sounded like a completely different song, but it kind of worked, in a weird way. The wooden short-necked eight-stringed instrument with a thin but wide body, a salufo, naturally had a higher sound than guitars, and it was loud in this brass echo chamber. Brenden began his beating on the drums which actually matched well being made of brass and animal skin, and I geared myself up for the lyrics. I¡¯d listened to this song hundreds of times in the car growing up. 5150 was one of the only CDs my dad always kept in the car, so we¡¯d listen to it on repeat. That and ¡°(Pronounced ''L?h-''n¨¦rd ''Skin-''n¨¦rd),¡± or as I called it: God¡¯s gift to mankind. So even if what I was playing now wasn¡¯t the same as the real thing, it felt perfect for me. My voice didn¡¯t sound half bad in my new body. In the old world, microphones had a restraining order on me because my voice sounded like a dying cow, but that didn¡¯t stop me from singing in private. And I learned to sing everything I wanted because I was convinced I¡¯d get good one day. All those years of singing in the shower were finally paying off. Everything flowed. Me and Brenden had good synergy until I got to the guitar solo and the clunky size of the salufo got to me. The neck slipped out of place in my hand, and I grabbed at the strings way too hard, killing the sound for a solid five seconds before I could recover it. The solo was the hardest part for me, but only because of the instrument. It was clunky at best, but we got through the rest of the song well enough. There was no applause after the song. The people in the room were just looking around at each other and us, some of them slightly nodding in approval. I didn¡¯t have a damn clue what they were thinking. I hadn¡¯t been so terrified to perform like this since my first time ever, playing ¡°Carry On Wayward Son¡± in front of a crowd of drunk Vietnam Vets at Jimmies Pub. Brenden piped up, sounding a lot more confident than he did before. ¡°That was ¡®Fifty-one Fifty¡¯. The Van Halen clan were big fans of that one. We¡¯ve got a short one up next called ¡®I Won¡¯t Back Down¡¯.¡± This was probably the easiest one of the night, and I definitely needed it after that royal shitshow of a guitar solo. All I had to do was strum a few chords and sing some pretty easy lyrics. I had to carry this one on salufo while Brenden kept a light beat and did some backup singing. When I started playing, the notes resounded in my ears like reverberating bells, warming my entire body with a strangely comfortable focus. I became so sensitive to the sounds for some reason, that it was like my fingers were playing effortlessly. Each sound I strummed naturally led to the next one, and the next one. As if it was all coming straight from my memory, and my body was just following what my head heard so many times over the years. The words flowed easily out. My mind was sharper and my body had fallen in tune. Next thing I knew, the song was over and I was standing in front of the crowd. The still silent crowd. I glanced over at Brenden awkwardly and he returned a similar look, so I said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome to applaud or boo after each song. Your feedback will help us know what¡¯s good and what isn¡¯t.¡± I flashed a cocky yet slightly awkward smile. They were still silent, but they started murmuring and shifting a little now. I tried not to think about it. ¡°This next one is called ¡®Take on Me¡¯, about a good friend of mine, A-ha, and his quest for love.¡± Brenden stepped over to the piano-esque thing and began the opening for the song. It was similarly shaped to a piano and only had seventy-two unpainted keys, with a small housing and no cover, called a uisukaifo. It had a harsher sound, probably because the strings were made from brrzit twine. I jumped in and we both played lightly. The music drifted over me slower here. My ears honed in and I caught every minute vibration from the salufo and the uisukaifo. The energy may not have been as upbeat as the original song, but taking it easier and stripped down felt right for an intimate banquet like this. I had learned early when to think about the audience and when not to, and here I was getting lost in the soft tones. Even my voice sounded clearer to my own ears. Like everything was suddenly clicking perfectly. Brenden didn¡¯t fumble, and neither did I. As our sounds fell quiet, the people in the crowd applauded very minimally. It was like a low golf clap they were doing out of social obligation more than anything. I couldn¡¯t tell if I found it demeaning or innovative. Maybe these people are starting to come around to some music, maybe new music that hasn¡¯t been experimented with in this part of the world, or the world at all. Maybe they just need time to warm up to it. Or they hate it. Damn, these gold motherfuckers are hard to read. ¡°We¡¯ve got one more song before we¡¯ll leave everyone to mingle. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll still be playing some ambient music afterward. This one''s for an arrowsmith back home who was much more talented than the two of us. Song¡¯s called ¡®Dream On¡¯.¡± Brenden shot me skeptical eyes. He wanted to do ¡°Bad Company¡± here, but we didn¡¯t have time to practice. We were scared of this one. We both knew how to play it because the bar people fuckin¡¯ loved it, but he didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to hit the notes like our old singer could. I wanted to end it with a bang, so we were taking a risk. Brenden started us off on the uisukaifo. There was always something about this song that I liked. Maybe it was the way it ramped up, or just kind of resonated with me when I really got into it, but I was in tune and everything around me began to disappear. In my mind I was back at Jimmies Pub where we always played when nobody else would let us play. The regulars were suckers for covers of their favorite songs from their haydays. Bunch of Vietnam vets and their kids who peaked in highschool, all of ''em washing up in the area for good. The smell of sweat, hard liquor, and greasy food wasn¡¯t too different here either, but the way the sounds reverberated off of the metal in the room was wild. They carried a little too much for my liking, but it was pretty cool being in a venue where the music became the only thing you could hear. No cheers, no coughs, no singing along, just pure music dialed up past 100. I was getting lost in the lyrics, feeling like I was back home. Out in the woods with my guitar waiting for Brenden to come jump my shitbox croaked after I¡¯d struck out hunting that morning. Me and my guitar, bellowing out the lyrics to ¡°Dream On.¡± Wishing I could even come close to sounding as good as Steven Tyler. My fingers strummed the strings as I began to ramp up toward the best part of the song. So close to the peak, faster and faster, I let my voice completely free and started crying out in my own way. It was like the entire universe around me turned into sound waves. I was pulling straight from my memory of listening to the song, matching my voice to Steven Tyler¡¯s and hitting the chords like I was playing on electric. It sounded perfect in my head, and as my vocal chords peaked, my head came back to reality and I was making a perfect recreation of the song from my voice and my guitar. My ears painfully popped and dark spots started taking over my vision. I had to have forgotten to breathe or exerted my voice too much. I was on my ass, on the floor, and my throat and hands were tingly. I dropped the guitar and put a hand up to my spinning head. Voices all around me, vibrating off the metal and ripping into my eardrums. They were overwhelmingly loud, prodding into my head. I opened my eyes and my hands looked fuzzy and vibrating, with a soft, grayish blue glow from my fingers. ¡°Hey, Dee, what¡¯s up?! What¡¯s going on?!¡± The uisukaifo abruptly stopped and a hand rested on my back. Then a subtle milky smell like flowers permeated around me. Brenden was right in front of my face, but my eyes couldn¡¯t focus in. ¡°I¡¯m all good.¡± My voice came out, but it sounded like it was autotuned into a hundred different voices one right after another. Every syllable was a different tone, and my throat was buzzing like crazy, static tingles running violently all through my throat and mouth. ¡°What the fuck is going on?! Can anybody-¡± Brenden was gently shoved aside and this odd, gentle looking creature was in front of me. It had kangaroo-like legs, a thin upper body with a pudgy stomach and arms that looked slightly shorter than the average person¡¯s. Its head was closer to a bear, though. Like a teddy bear with these big bulging black beady eyes and a thin snout. It was covered in curly blonde fur and had paws with three two-knuckled fingers and a thumb, with exposed feet built the same way. She literally looked like a stuffed animal wearing a puffy brown dress with light floral patterns woven in. I couldn¡¯t help thinking this is what people would look like if Koalas won the evolutionary race. Her racing words were subtle with a very noticeable lisp as she looked closely at my hands and throat. ¡°Thorry, punch hurt.¡± Her stubby hands jabbed into my throat and I reeled over coughing and clutching my windpipe. ¡°Augh! Betch! What the hell?!¡± I yelled at her in my own voice, dry throat be damned. ¡°I told you thorry.¡± She leaned closer and investigated at my hands. The nyadin woman, Miriel, ran up to her. ¡°Al¡¯Li, why would you hit him?! Precisely in the throat, too! He is a musician!¡± ¡°Muthic or no, he thpeak better. Learned when I lived with Piyouh, he wath learning thonic thanmah.¡± I was listening to it all, but it wasn¡¯t making sense. ¡°That¡¯s great, but what the fuck are you talking about?¡± Hallax¡¯s booming voice rang through the chamber. ¡°Everyone, please make some space for our musicians of the night. We will resume once this health ordeal is solved.¡± He was quick to descend upon us. ¡°Was I correct in hearing you say ¡®sonic jzanmah¡¯?¡± Hallax was practically salivating as he asked. Al¡¯Li nodded. Miriel took over. ¡°Perhaps he is, but clearly this was an episode. We need to monitor him for a short while to be certain his throat and hands have stabilized.¡± Brenden stared at everyone like they were crazy, and I couldn¡¯t help feeling the same way. He said, ¡°Wait, wait, wait. Why do you all sound like you¡¯ve seen this before? Is this normal? He¡¯s never done this before.¡± Hallax was still staring at me, but Al''Li and Miriel shared a gaze like they were debating something. Miriel looked at Hallax. ¡°May we postpone the music until Alex and Eddie are educated on this matter?¡± Damn, she really has a way of making it sound as condescending as possible. ¡°Take as much time as you need. This is greater than anything I was initially expecting.¡± Miriel and Al¡¯Li sat us down, and Hallax took the remaining seat just to listen in. I was between Hallax and Brenden, who was conveniently next to Miriel after a forceful nudge from my elbow. Miriel started us off. ¡°Nothing like this has happened to you before, correct?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Okay. What you experienced was an jzanmah eruption, likely the result of jzanmah overflow. They are very rare occurrences and often not harmful. They happen when somebody is proficient with a certain school of jzanmah, but the person never uses it. So, in an intense moment of emotion, the mind can subconsciously draw on jzanmah and manifest it to your will. Being uncontrolled, though, causes such jzanmah to rapidly overheat the user, quickly exhausting them. This can be for a number of reasons, in a number of ways. In your instance, your proficiency with sonic jzanmah resulted in the alterations to the sounds emanating from your instrument and your throat, likely due to memories or feelings associated with you playing these songs.¡± I thought for a moment, wondering why this seemed familiar, then I turned to Brenden. ¡°Wait a second, that¡¯s just like when you went invisible! When we got fucked up by that fireblood!¡± Brenden was just registering that I was talking to him. ¡°Huh? Invisible?¡± He leaned on table hungrily and turned to look at me. ¡°Yeah. Me and Tells accidentally kicked ya or something. I don¡¯t remember perfectly, but we couldn¡¯t see ya.¡± ¡°I understand why Geren sent the both of you now,¡± Hallax cut in. ¡°You are both incredibly talented, but unaware of your abilities. Alex, Eddie, I have a proposition for you. The initial arrangement was for you to work with us on the task Geren sent you for, and my hall would provide living arrangements. In light of this night, I want to amend our deal, add to it. You will continue to perform here and in this city, bringing in money which we will split. In return, I will find resources for you both to better your understanding of your abilities. The contract will naturally prevent military scouts from taking you.¡± The lack of details and a few small things he said were off putting to me. ¡°What do you mean the military scouts? They lookin¡¯ for people like us?¡± ¡°Always. So, unless you are conscripted into my court, then you will be, as it is often put, free pickings.¡± ¡°So that means we have to work for you forever then?¡± ¡°Not nece-¡± Hallax was cut off by Al¡¯Li. ¡°Become merthenary in writing. No conthcript.¡± She had a smug, and somewhat dangerous smile revealing her fangs to Hallax, who glared at her. The irritation didn¡¯t leave his face. ¡°Al¡¯Li is correct. A contract of tentative labor rather than direct management. However, that would only grant you protection within Count Jeun Wey¡¯s jurisdiction. Think of it as hired hands in place of direct servants. Less benefits and protection, but more personal freedom to come and go.¡± I took a moment to think while Brenden asked, ¡°So what would we learn?¡± ¡°Sigils, if I can find them, and potentially instruction. But, contractually, I will require you to perform and serve in my name, potentially taking on duties as Miriel, Al¡¯Li and their companions do. Think on it, we can deliberate this contract to some extent. If that is clear, then I must attend to my court. Please resume your music once you feel fit.¡± Brenden and I shot glances at each other as he walked away. ¡°Detheptive one, Hallakth. He hath taken to you both. He want to keep both you. Valuable thanmah.¡± ¡°Al¡¯Li!¡± Miriel cut in. ¡°Do not slander the Lord to newcomers.¡± Al¡¯Li chuckled deviously. ¡°Hmm what will he do to them? Nothing.¡± ¡°You may be correct, but our positions here are still important.¡± ¡°Your one be important, not mine.¡± ¡°All the more reason to be careful, Al¡¯Li!¡± Brenden cut their bickering off. ¡°I know I¡¯ve already asked a lot of questions, but why is everyone so excited about our jzanmah? I¡¯ve already done the fire and lightning stuff. Isn¡¯t that normal?¡± Miriel¡¯s eyes glazed over, like a teacher who had been asked the same question ten different ways and had to explain it to the one kid who couldn¡¯t keep up with the rest of the class. She smiled through the exasperation. Her confrontational, proper manner broke down when she looked at Brenden, and she chuckled. ¡°In all Rhial, I have never met anyone like you.¡± ¡°Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And Rhial? What¡¯s that?¡± Al''Li and Miriel both looked at Brenden like he was the dumbest motherfucker on the planet. Miriel seemed like she was struggling to speak in light of learning how stupid Brenden was. ¡°Th-that-that¡¯s the place that- it¡¯s where we live. Every continent, country. The land, the water, time, existence, all of us. It¡¯s all Rhial.¡± Brenden was speechless, probably insulting himself in that noggin of his. I had to play this off like we were hicks from the boonies. We couldn¡¯t have people catching on that we were from another world. I picked my head up. ¡°Well, we¡¯re from pretty deep out in the woods. Never got a good education. Y¡¯know, ya miss some of the most simple things out there, I guess. It¡¯s almost like where we came from is a different world with how cut off we were.¡± ¡°Apparently,¡± Miriel said, shrugging it away with growing suspicion. Al¡¯Li¡¯s eyes were cutting into me, though. It was creepy, almost invasive how those black beads read me over. ¡°It really be like another world out there, hmm?¡± Al¡¯Li laughed. ¡°Khikhikhi. I will teach you thanmah. Beginner thanmah.¡± Brenden cut back in. ¡°What kind of jzanmah are we even dealing with here? I said before, I did the fire and electric types, but never the invisible kind.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Miriel seemed like she was getting weary of all the questions. ¡°Eddie is in tune with sonic jzanmah and Alex is connected with spectral jzanmah. Manipulation of sound, and manipulation of light, essentially. Thermal jzanmah, or fire, lightning and cold for you, is the most simple form of jzanmah for jorlad. Most jorlad energists can use advanced sigils for thermal, even if it is not their expertise. Different races of humanity have different forms of jzanmah they¡¯re naturally inclined toward.¡± She sighed her buzz away. ¡°Can we continue this some other time?¡± Brenden snapped back to reality. ¡°Um, yeah. Sorry for all the questions again.¡± A smile broke her exasperation. ¡°It¡¯s no issue. I know what it¡¯s like being completely struck by a place so different from what you¡¯re used to.¡± Honestly, I just wanted to get back to playing. ¡°If you want, I¡¯ll play some ambient shit and you can go mingle and eat. I play better on an empty stomach anyway.¡± ¡°Okay. Guess that works. I¡¯ll come back up and take over when I¡¯m done.¡± He turned to Miriel and Al¡¯Li. ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous for him to play again, is it?¡± Al¡¯Li grinned. ¡°I thought you were done with the inquiry? You ask like a kinajor ladin but you are kijzanya ladin.¡± Kinajor ladin and kijzanya ladin, old Triali phrases I¡¯m not sure how I know. Like they¡¯re just in my memory. Kinajor meaning intelligent questioner, ladin meaning eared biped, and kijzanya meaning intelligent jzanmah breather. Miriel put a hand up to her and lightly shook her head. ¡°He should be fine. Forgive Al¡¯Li, she can be very¡­ contrary.¡± I laughed. ¡°Then we¡¯ll probably get along great. I¡¯m gonna fuck off now.¡± Too many questions and lectures. It reminded me of being in school. We¡¯d go over simple physics shit and some moron would ask four million questions about the same thing until class ended. No offense to Brenden, but there was definitely a reason he didn¡¯t do well in school. I sat up on stage and strummed away some comfort songs. I¡¯d been playing so long that they were basically ingrained in my memory. ¡°Hotel California,¡± ¡°I Won¡¯t Back Down,¡± ¡°Sweet Home Alabama.¡± I got me wondering though. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Why do we need Hallax¡¯s protection from being enlisted as soldiers? We could easily just not use our sigils, so they would never notice us or our abilities. Too much thinking for me. It isn¡¯t thinking time. Brenden eventually came back, still chewing and licking red sauce from fingers. He held his thumb up like he was impressed, and I couldn¡¯t help noticing what looked like black ink on his thumb print. ¡°Riviera talked to me, and said she wants to talk to you too. Said to grab food and go find her.¡± ¡°Fuck. I just wanted to take it easy.¡± ¡°Viscount¡¯s orders, I guess.¡± I got up and walked off as Brenden began playing uisukaifo. Riviera was waiting over by the long table that was stacked with food. I wanted to demolish that whole table, go absolutely hog wild and eat my fill. I hadn¡¯t had a proper, good meal in so long, just jerky, fruit, and the occasional animal that we caught. As I began stacking a brass platter high with meat and blue biscuit things, I heard Riviera¡¯s feathers rustle up next to me. ¡°Eddie, how are you enjoying the night?¡± She didn¡¯t sound as raspy or out of breath as Geren, but her slow paced words flourished with birdlike chirps and tones, sounding oddly forced and unnatural. ¡°It¡¯s good. What¡¯s the news? Got another business proposition?¡± ¡°I wished to speak with you earlier, but Lord Hallax wanted to postpone matters longer. I am now more confident asking you this. I wish for you to infiltrate.¡± ¡°Neat, infiltrate what?¡± She leaned in close as to not be heard. ¡°Infiltrate the Amien Manor.¡± Fuckin¡¯ what? ¡°Fuckin¡¯ what? Is there a plan?¡± She looked at me quizzically. ¡°Did Geren not inform you of the parcel you delivered? The map?¡± ¡°No. No he didn¡¯t. What are we doing with the Amien Manor?¡± ¡°Please, mind your volume. Perhaps I have misspoken. Are you allies of Viscount Amien?¡± ¡°Very big no.¡± ¡°Then you wish to see the manor disbanded?¡± ¡°That sounds pretty good to me.¡± ¡°So will you infiltrate them once the plan and time are finalized?¡± ¡°Wait a sec. What do you mean, disbanded? You talkin¡¯ about killin¡¯ the Viscount?¡± She leaned in and practically hissed. ¡°Mutually beneficial political overthrow. With a person of power on the inside.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a tall task to be talkin¡¯ about so casually.¡± ¡°And yet, it is possible. Geren trusted you with this.¡± ¡°Geren. There it is again. I know he seems like a nice guy, but you keep talking about him like he¡¯s got some powerful say around here, like he¡¯s the fuckin¡¯ messiah.¡± She was a little confused at that last part, but didn¡¯t seem to worry about it. ¡°Geren was the leader of our order. Exiled. But he is the reason we were inducted into humanity. Back when our people were allied with the Amiens.¡± ¡°Sounds like there¡¯s a lot to catch up on. Who¡¯s the one on the inside? Am I gonna be working with ¡®em?¡± ¡°I cannot tell you that. Our path will be clear once we complete the delivery.¡± ¡°I thought we were done with the package. Got it to you and that was it.¡± ¡°You are done with the package. Your worries can wait while we exchange the package for something very important to Lord Hallax¡¯s collaboration in this endeavor. For now, the Viscount wishes for you to sign a contract with him and establish your name in the city as musicians.¡± That sounds like a bad idea. Last thing we need is to gain a reputation and then have the Amiens sniffing us out. ¡°What¡¯s the point of gettin¡¯ famous? Didn¡¯t he want to keep our asses out of sight from the military?¡± ¡°Sign the mercenary contract. Gain reputation in the city. Your lack of affiliation and fame can make gaining access to certain places easier. I see a possible path toward amicable infiltration. Our contact can certainly assist us if this is properly achieved.¡± ¡°Cool, but one caveat¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to tell her of our¡­ ill relations with Simira, but it was too big a problem to let go. ¡°We had a run in with Lady Simira¡¯s gang on the road here. Right before we met Geren. She hates our guts. If her or that blue guy see us, they¡¯ll probably arrest us.¡± ¡°There were more of you before, no?¡± My body went cold, but I tried to keep my cool. ¡°What makes you think that?¡± ¡°I recognize you. Wanted signs. Your friend is very noticeable in this city. Nyadin are rare here.¡± ¡°So what if there were more of us?¡± ¡°Where are they now?¡± ¡°No clue. Taken by guards after the signs went up.¡± ¡°Then they are likely prisoners in House Amien. I did hear a rumor that Viscount Amien found a new regenerator. And he ceased his persistent letters to purchase Miriel from Hallax.¡± ¡°Wait, so you think they¡¯re all still alive?¡± ¡°Most likely. For now. Amien has a way of using his regenerators very quickly.¡± ¡°Alright. Okay. We¡¯ll get famous doing music ¡®n shit. How long¡¯s this gonna take? How much time do they have until Ve- the regenerator is used up?¡± ¡°Before winter. And I do not know. The Viscount has no ailments currently.¡± ¡°Great, then let¡¯s get this shit rolling. Hell, I¡¯ll take the letter to the contact now. Me or Br-¡± I caught myself slipping up and coughed into my arm. She chirped to stop me. ¡°Relax, we have an order to follow. A dozen days or so before the plan moves forward. If our contact is smart, she will make use of her new acquisitions, as we have. Do not act rash. There is one man within that court perceptive enough to ruin us. He is the eyes of the Viscount. Rezyn serves under Amien¡¯s daughter as a guise to monitor the goings-on of the entire court, and report back to him. Quick tongue and careful eyes. Be wary when you venture out, and learn from Al¡¯Li.¡± ¡°Kay. So what now.¡± She glanced around casually. ¡°Alex already completed this. Print your sign, and go make a quick reputation.¡± She passed me a piece of parchment with words scrawled into it. She passed me a parchment with an ink pad. I pressed my thumb onto the ink pad, then the paper. She cood lightly as she pulled the parchment away and dismissed herself. In the meantime, I mingled and ate some food, telling everybody that ¡°Alex and Eddie Van Halen are here to stay.¡± * * * * * What ensued for about the next week was chaotic at best. Al''Li introduced me to sonic jzanmah. There wasn¡¯t anybody around that was actually educated in it and would teach me, so I had to make do with a couple of things Al''Li learned from her old friend. The lessons were odd. Al''Li didn¡¯t do much talking aside from showing me how to scribe and adjust the sigils. Every now and then, she would make a quip or snide comment that helped keep the mood light. I learned the properties of the sigils, which were unlike anything I had seen from what Brenden and Vetia had done. They weren¡¯t complicated or advanced, just very delicate, volatile, and required high levels of focus to execute. The user had to be entirely honed in to apply them. Apparently it was similar to how people could be naturally connected to regenerative jzanmah, except instead of destroying their limbs if the sigil went out of control, it would just emit high or low pitched whistles that would cause people around to get pissed off at the dipshit who couldn¡¯t do sigils right. Or it could blow out my eardrums in a feedback loop of sorts, but magical. Al''Li couldn¡¯t actually show me the sigils in action. She only had drawings of them. Some rudimentary scrawlings of ink on scrap cloth. So I practiced them in the morning and then Brenden and I went out to the local dives to discuss playing music with the owners. At first, they were afraid we would attract military attention, so we had to get small medallions to show we were in service of Hallax. Apparently, the Triali military, whatever that was, grabbed musicians up like hot cakes and trained them to communicate orders in battle. Like drummer boys but with a bunch more instruments to communicate with different battalions and whatnot. Sounded cool, but not my type of thing. We got our first gig set for about a week after we arrived at manor. I had to pry loverboy from his nurse kink just about every day including today. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll try.¡± Brenden was basically skipping out as I caught the scowling eyes of the red mohawk guy, pretty sure his name was Deb, clocking Brenden the whole way out. I was almost a little jealous of how much game Brenden had. This Miriel woman really seemed to like him, even if he was acting a bit like a lost puppy. My options felt way more limited. The only women I regularly interacted with were Al''Li and Riviera, and lord knows I wasn¡¯t desperate enough to try screwing with either of them. That had to be what scared me about Al''Li so much. I couldn¡¯t tell if that look in her eyes was her wanting to fuck, kill, or eat me. Maybe all three. ¡°You ready to go? All the shit¡¯s packed in the wagon. You¡¯re welcome.¡± I side-eyed him. He pulled his eyes out of dreamworld and finally looked at me. ¡°Oh, shit. My bad. I would have helped.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it. If it means you¡¯ll finally get laid, I¡¯ll do my best to be your wingman.¡± He gibberished trying to figure out his own thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s not like that! I¡¯m learning about this world. About nyadin and stuff. It¡¯s important to know all there is to know about where my race is from.¡± ¡°Uh huh, and how many nyadin have we met so far that you¡¯ve had to explain yourself to, huh?¡± ¡°Well- it- I¡­ None. But still. It¡¯s good to know! And we don¡¯t talk that much. I have to do a lot of practice with my sigils. Hallax gave me a couple planks with some sigils and instructions on them, but they¡¯re more of party tricks than anything.¡± We hopped in the wagon and set off. The tavern we were headed to was pretty far. It was near the outside of the Hallax Quarter. I figured it was probably the best place to catch the attention of common crowds and possibly influential personnel. Evenings in the city became oddly relaxing to me. The orange rays of sunlight glinted off of everything, sparkling like gentle fires across the whole quarter. Out by the shops, the smell of sweet breads and succulent meats filled the air. My nose was more sensitive than everyone else¡¯s were, but the area still smelled clean. There wasn¡¯t piss and shit being dumped into the gutters of the road here like in the ungilded quarters. Image was everything. Even Brenden and I had to adhere to that. Everything we wore was either gaudy gold or brash brass. The fashion here was confusing. Depending on the race and build, the clothes could be vastly different. In general, though, people who were more ¡°naturally gilded¡± wore much less. Skin, hair, eyes. If everything was like a warm bronzed or tan look, that person was basically in the upper echelon of society by default. Even if you weren¡¯t perfectly gold, you could wear shitloads of expensive makeup and clothes that were basically crutches to stand a class higher than the rest. I had on what was basically a pair of loose and light slacks, golden leather cowboy boots, and a sparkly golden vest that exposed my bare chest and arms. I only wore a little bit of eye makeup to make them ¡°pop¡± as the servants said. Brenden was draped in a short sleeveless kimono-style shirt of sparkling gild, loosely wrapped to expose his bare chest. His pants and shoes were the same as mine. They didn¡¯t even give him any makeup because he fit the gilded look. That¡¯s how the city and bars were organized too. Gold in front, brass behind them, then bronze, copper, imitators, and finally common people with no natural gild. Even the buildings were like this. Like a gradient of gold to bronze to bland. I wasn¡¯t much of an expert, but in my opinion, it didn¡¯t seem like a great way to organize a city. ¡°These people are so fuckin¡¯ weird, dude.¡± Brenden shushed me. ¡°Quiet. And, yeah, probably all thanks to Hallax.¡± ¡°Eh, whatever, we¡¯re skipping town right after we get the others back. No skin off our backs, whatever goes on here.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it still piss you off, though?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Y¡¯know. If it was any of the others, they¡¯d have a hell of a time just trying to meet up with Hallax ¡®cause they got no gild.¡± ¡°Well, lucky it¡¯s us, I guess. I¡¯ll take good luck any day. And again, we¡¯re leaving once we¡¯re done. Start right somewhere new. We don¡¯t need to worry about what goes on here afterward.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Yeah. Sure.¡± I knew that look he had. There was something else going on in that dense head of his. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking about staying after this.¡± ¡°What? Why would I want to stay?¡± ¡°Yeah. Uh huh.¡± The tavern quickly approached. Black Gold. The outside was poorly maintained and unpolished brass, but the inside was what mattered. It was spacious as hell. A long wooden bar with tables set out around the place. It was a seedy little hole in the wall, and certainly not the cleanest, but nothing we weren¡¯t used to. The bouncer, a bald tanned man in a long robe, let us in. We¡¯d spoken with the manager about performing, but the owner was one Madam Diona. Apparently she funded a few joints like this around the city, and she was giving us a chance at the bottom rung. ¡°Oh, gentlemen, how good it is to see you!¡± She emerged from a door behind the bar and danced over to us. ¡°I¡¯ve been awaiting your arrival all these days.¡± When she reached us, she clasped both of our hands upright, interlacing her fingers with ours. It seemed to be some kind of proper familiar greeting in this world. I stepped forward. ¡°Glad to hear it, Madam.¡± Her round face was smooth and shiny, almost perfectly. I figured it was the work of the excess amount of makeup. Her blonde hair was tied into triple buns, which matched her bubbly pant suit. It hugged her figure and puffed out in all the right places until the pants part of it started. Her style was freakish, but she was kind of a milf so I was thinking more about what was under the clothes. She showed us where to set up, and we brought the instruments in. If we did well here, she would let us perform at a nicer place. Hallax recommended her, and while I definitely agreed with his taste, I was a little pissed that we were starting so low. For a city without much music, I figured we would be a little more valuable right off the bat. Then again, Hallax didn¡¯t want her to know that we worked with him. He didn¡¯t like her for reasons he wouldn¡¯t tell us, but he needed to use her influence. By the time we were ready to get going, the bar was¡­ barely populated. I counted seventeen people in a bar that seemed like it could fit a couple hundred. Fuck it, the show had to go on. We had everything set, I was ready with the stuff I learned from Al''Li, and I¡¯d just downed another caffeine shot drink. Now we just had to put it in action. ¡°How are you all doing tonight?!¡± I yelled out smiling and hoping for a little more energy than the banquet. There were a few yells from the crowd. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I miss my kjzae.¡± Brenden covered a laugh from behind his drums, so I kept the act up. ¡°Broken spirits and partiers alike, we¡¯re all here for some music. I¡¯m Eddie, and this is my adopted brother Alex. We¡¯re gonna play some songs for you tonight!¡± There were some modest cheers from the crowd, so I started my shit. It was the same set of songs from the banquet plus ¡°Bad Company¡± and the guitar songs I played when Brenden was away. It was time to make shit happen. My finger radiated a dull ocean blue glow that I used to scribe across the guitar. As I drew, the guitar hummed and vibrated. It was a simple rectangle, as long and wide as I wanted, so long as it fit on the guitar. Al¡¯Li had shown me how to create dials and tuners for sound, but ultimately it wasn¡¯t reliant on the sigils themselves, but the will behind the sigils. According to Al¡¯Li, these exhausted the user much faster than typical sonic sigils, but they were more versatile and personalized. I basically had a dial to alter the sound of my salufo like any old amp, and I could do this for any instrument. The podium next to me was where I stored the thin music planks. I grabbed the first one and began my magic. These used more typical sigils that didn¡¯t constantly drain me. Bluish gray jzanmah coalesced at the tip of my finger and I traced a circle in the wood. It attached to the surface and became hazy, like it was blurring from the jzanmah. The second shape was a line drawn from the box to the guitar, which would react as soon as I started playing. The third shape was a second circle around the initial one. This meant whatever I played would repeat. Sigils were strange because you could activate or deactivate them mentally, but only after they were constructed. These ones, however, could lie unused for quite a while, but only repeated for a time depending on how much jzanmah I put into them. I had more than long enough to do a show, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about them expiring. Basically, I used the sigils to create an electric guitar and a set of loop pedals that could loop anything, just as long as I could touch it. I did this several more times for each song to construct the backup bass and guitar, as well as some vocals. I could even make the uisukaifo sound similar to synth. With this shit, we didn¡¯t need any more band members other than me and Brenden. It was fucking awesome. The audience was really confused as they witnessed me drawing sigils in the air and on the planks, but as soon as they heard the quick tunes and looped sound, the excitement spread rapidly around the room. We followed the order of our first time playing at the banquet. After the first song, people from outside began pouring in. By the third song, the bar was almost full and people were still piling in. The coolest part of the whole performance, though, was how I could adjust my voice. It was just like the rectangle dials on my guitar. And with it, I could make myself perfectly mimic any audible voice. And it looked really cool. There was a hazy blue glow around my neck. I switched up the vocals between songs so the music sounded almost entirely authentic, like the original singers were doing it. There had to be about nine simultaneous sigils going at one point during the concert, and it twisted and tore through my head. The mental strain, concentrating on playing, singing, and commanding the sigils in and out resonated throughout my entire exhausted body, but it was just like typing on a keyboard. Like it was ingrained in me to pay attention to the sigils without training in them. None of the people in the bar knew the songs, but we learned that head banging was not just an Earth thing. People in the front row were bobbing along with the faster songs and grooving to the slower ones. This was the first time anyone in this world was hearing real rock. Aside from Hallax, who spent his free time sitting in on our practices. By the end, the crowd packing the bar was rowdy beyond compare. Cheering like I¡¯d never heard before. We were basically cheap impressionists and these people were eating it up because they didn¡¯t know any better. ¡°Thanks for coming out! And tell everyone you know about us! Alex and Eddie Van Halen!¡± I walked off stage with the roaring applause and stumbled into the room behind the bar, head spinning and body giving out. ¡°Holy fuck, I can¡¯t see straight. These sigil things hit like a fuckin¡¯ truck.¡± I collapsed into a chair and held my head in my hands to collect my thoughts. I had so much jzanmah and adrenaline pumping after the end of the show, but no brainpower left to keep any sigils going. Brenden pumped his fist in the air, absolutely beaming. ¡°Yo, we fucking killed it bro! Those sigils are insane. You could basically be a one man band!¡± Must be nice to have so much vigor left after such a crazy show. ¡°I agree, gentlemen.¡± Madam Diona slinked her way in from the bar. ¡°I certainly didn¡¯t expect such eclectic sounds, and yet they were so electrifying! It really makes a woman my age feel like I¡¯m young and wild again.¡± That woman has a vibe like she is gonna shatter a man¡¯s pelvis this very night. God, I want it to be mine. I looked up. ¡°Thank you, Madam. You think we¡¯d be able to do this again, maybe at one of the other locations?¡± She pursed her lips, smiled, and leaned right down to my face. ¡°Oh sweetie, you can come any time you¡¯d like. I¡¯ll take you anywhere you want to go.¡± Quickly placing my arms across my lap, I sat erect in my chair. Oddly enough, the fatigue was gone and my mood suddenly perked up. If I had tried to speak, it would have been grunts and gibberish with the lack of blood flowing to my brain. Brenden took over. ¡°That would be great! What about our payment?¡± ¡°Oh, dear. Ask Orbert, the bouncer you saw on the way in. Unfortunately, I must be elsewhere. Business calls.¡± I shook my head and took a quick breath. One burning question for the Madam. ¡°Sorry, Madam, just one last thing. We¡¯re still new to the area. Could you point me in the direction of a, um, some place where I might spend the night with a lady?¡± Madam Diona chuckled. ¡°Oh, dear, of course. There¡¯s a pleasure parlor up near the park. One of mine. You¡¯ll know it when you see it.¡± ¡°And what are the rates like?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that. After such a show it¡¯s well deserved. Take this.¡± She leaned down and planted one right on my left cheek. The sticky residue of her lipstick tugged my cheek with her retreating lips. ¡°Show them that and ask for Fera. She¡¯s quite the luxurious lady.¡± My head was soaring. ¡°Thank you, Madam.¡± I shakily stood up, barely catching myself from falling. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m fine, that performance took a lot of jzanmah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it did. Bye now, boys.¡± She sauntered out of the room just as gracefully as she entered. ¡°Desmond, what the fuck? We said we weren¡¯t gonna do any of that shit! No bullshitting around while we¡¯re on the mission.¡± I stood up. He doesn¡¯t understand. How could he? He has yet to taste of the forbidden fruit that I''ve been without for so long and is driving me nuts. ¡°Brenden. From person to person. Man to man. Brother to brother. I can¡¯t put this business off any longer.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°My body is Yosemite and the geyser is about to burst.¡± ¡°Desmond, what the fuck are you talking about?¡± I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked deep into his young, naive virgin eyes. ¡°The way she was, the way she talked to me, touched me, awakened something deep within me. Deeper than anything I¡¯ve experienced before. I gotta get my rocks off!¡± ¡°What, your mommy kink? You already had that! Just fuckin¡¯ think about something else.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the only one, and I can¡¯t, it¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t it possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just not!¡± ¡°Why not, you horny bastard?!¡± I walked past him. ¡°Get the money yourself. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, Alex.¡± I didn¡¯t listen to his response. My mind was in a completely different place. I walked out of the bar, a man on a mission. My senses were honed in on finding whatever this ¡°pleasure parlor¡± was. Recalling my trip there would be impossible, but at some point shortly after the show, I arrived at a building with a golden sign and red, curling letters that said ¡°Good Moaning¡±. I caught my breath and took a think before I stepped up to the door. Pros: Free sex Cons: Can¡¯t think of any Good enough for me. It¡¯s settled. Past the golden doors was a warmly lit room of black walls with silky scarlet curtains and furnishings separated by golden trim. There were only a few other people in here, and they were gathered around a set of windows, like a pharmacy. A few others were waiting on chairs and benches casually sipping what looked like red wine. The whole place was pungent with perfume, flowers, and body odor. I strutted up to a window operated by a clean chubby man in very formal golden robes and makeup. ¡°Do you have a reservation for the night, sir? Or shall we schedule something?¡± ¡°I just spoke to Madam Diona. She said to show you this and ask for Fera?¡± I pointed to my cheek and the man nodded knowingly. ¡°I see. She is available currently, so I will summon her to meet you right away.¡± ¡°Really?¡± It just slipped out. This place seemed really bougie and I had gotten a little worried things might be booked up. He turned to another man in formal robes behind him, who walked out of the room and through the large doors to my right. As soon as they swung open, I heard the muffled sounds of God-only-knows-what going on in other parts of the building. Shortly after, he emerged again and told me to follow him. The sounds and smells intensified to the point of being dizzying. He stopped at the end of the hall of red doors and opened one to my right. I nodded and thanked him, walking in. It was really spacious inside. More black walls and scarlet curtains, sofa, and bed. On the sofa was a woman probably in her early twenties, but gorgeous beyond comparison. Maybe it was the tiredness or the horniness, but her stark black wavy hair glittered with gold dust and toned voluptuous caramel-colored figure had me speechless. Her bright emerald eyes entranced me. For how casually she sat, there was a certain captivation that her rounded, thin face exuded. A sense of confidence in her enthralling appearance. She played with the skirt of her see-through golden nightgown and peered enticingly at me. ¡°Come, sit.¡± She spoke with a soft sing-songy hum of a voice as she gestured to the sofa cushion next to her. I was still trying to keep my cool, but it was definitely difficult to do so. I casually sat down next to her and placed my arm around the back of the sofa, gently resting my hand near her shoulder, not trying to be too aggressive because I didn¡¯t know the rules yet. I looked away and cleared my throat real quick. ¡°So, how we doin¡¯ this? Any rules?¡± She put on a cocky smile and climbed onto my lap, caressing the sides of my face. Her finger gently prodded at the lipstick on my cheek as she whispered. ¡°She gave you unrestricted service, so anything you desire.¡± ¡°Anything?¡± She slowly and sensually pulled the vest down my arms and off. She leaned in and dragged her lips up my neck until she was whispering in my ear. ¡°Anything. You¡¯re new, I take it. The Madam has made me the lead for every show led by a woman. I¡¯ve had so many men begging for me, but only another performer knows how to perfectly please.¡± It was like a dream I had many a nights back on Earth, except I wasn¡¯t dreaming this. However, the prick of a blade warmed by her body shot a rush through me. My eyes went wide. ¡°Woah, interesting foreplay.¡± She pulled back slightly, gyrating her hips on my lap. ¡°Unfortunately, we have to be a little thorough. If you tell me the information I need to know, we¡¯ll get to our duet. I can feel you¡¯ve quite the instrument.¡± I smiled a little, not expecting this. ¡°You wanna know my numbers? I haven¡¯t exactly measured anything yet, but there¡¯s still plenty of room to grow.¡± She chuckled and bit her lip. ¡°You¡¯ve an alias, don¡¯t you? You¡¯re not who you say you are? Mysterious stranger.¡± She tapped the warm flat of the blade against my pec. ¡°I¡¯m a mysterious man of music. Like a drifter. I speak through my actions.¡± Her face turned almost pouty. ¡°Eddie, the Madam¡¯s business is very precious to her, so I need to make sure you¡¯re not trying to steal any inside secrets. I need you to tell me your real name.¡± ¡°Heh, do I look like a spy?¡± The sudden change of mood struck me like a tractor trailer with failed brakes going down a hill. Definitely fishy business going on, but if I play along right, I probably won¡¯t get too deep into it. ¡°Spies come in many shapes and sizes.¡± She gently caressed my chest with her free hand. ¡°Ah, can¡¯t we save it for after?¡± A feisty smile crawled across her cheek as she dragged her hand toward my stomach. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that. I know you want it now. You¡¯re all perked up, and I know that feeling when you¡¯re so warm, like your body is itching, craving to grab on and go wild.¡± She moved her lips right to my ear. ¡°Won¡¯t you tell me? I want everything from you.¡± Fuck it, I¡¯ll just stick to the story. I smoothed my voice, trying to play it cool. ¡°I¡¯m Eddie. Eddie Van Halen. I do music.¡± ¡°Where are you from, Eddie?¡± ¡°An orphanage. All over the place. Never settled down.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re telling me the truth, Eddie?¡± God damnit I just wanna FUCK! Wait, there¡¯s no fuckin¡¯ way these people like Simira. I can use that and get this bullshit over with. ¡°It passes well enough for Hallax. We¡¯re just using him for some quick money. The guy fuckin¡¯ loves music. My actual name is Desmond Fischer. I¡¯m from way out in the sticks. Living free and playing music on a farm. We came to the city for real work when my bandmate and I pissed off that bitch Simira Amien. Got in hot water with that house. We¡¯re using aliases so they don¡¯t track us down.¡± ¡°There we go, Desmond.¡± She leaned in, her sweet minty breath passing over my nose with every word. Hallax must have a very good reason for keeping you, no?¡± I chuckled, trying to stave off my irritation. ¡°He caught us in his quarter after our friends got taken by the Amiens. We asked about financial opportunities with some advisor of his, and after some bullshit we said we could play music and we ended up talkin¡¯ to the big man.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not with the Triali military? A sonic energist like yourself ought to be on their watch.¡± ¡°The military? Pfft. Where¡¯s the fun in that? Hallax¡¯s contract keeps us safe from that.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°We better now?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± She purred. ¡°We¡¯re so much better.¡± I smiled coyly, trying to act all proper. ¡°Now that we¡¯re done with that, what¡¯s the move? Shall I leave now that business is conducted? I¡¯m a man of music looking for inspiration. I don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± She pouted playfully. ¡°So soon? I haven¡¯t ever been this excited to meet a handsome, strong, mysterious stranger, or a musician.¡± Her hand softly traced down to my belt, sending shivers through my whole body as she whispered so closely to me. ¡°We¡¯ll make great use of this time, and I¡¯ll give you all the inspiration you could ever want.¡± Vigor rushed through every point her delicate finger caressed. I smirked at her, unable to hold myself back. ¡°You wanna lead the first measure?¡± ¡°It would be my delight.¡± And I got my happy ending to the night. 40: One Headlight 40 (The Wallflowers- One Headlight) Brenden We didn¡¯t make much money from the first night of performing, or at least it didn¡¯t seem like much. A couple of the gold coins. I hadn¡¯t figured out how much money that was, but it probably meant the silver coins were worth a lot. At least Hallax was glad to hear about the positive response to our music. However, Desmond was suddenly always busy now. I barely got the chance to talk with him anymore, which irritated me to no end. Him being busy was a good thing, but he seemed like he was starting to take everything for granted. Rehearsing was fun, but he was too tired to do anything afterward because of the sigils, so most days he would just leave right after and I wouldn¡¯t see him until the next afternoon. We had a large room to ourselves, but I was the only one living in it. Two very fine beds, two desks, our instruments, and a table that we never really found a use for, so it was just piling up with our shit. Thankfully, the furnishings weren¡¯t all gold. They were made from wood of similar color to bronze, but it was still an improvement from the excessive gold and brass. Hallax was still working on finding me more spectral energy sigils to study with, but it was taking a hell of a long time. I found myself gravitating toward hanging out with Hestrel, Zerick, Miriel, and even Dex. Hestrel was typically on guard duty at the front gate, so I¡¯d go out there and shoot the shit with him on slow days. Miriel was usually busy researching or making things with her ingredients, so I tried not to bother her too often. And still, I would find myself in there talking to her about nyadin society, and even just Rhial in general, for hours. She had an interesting life, and every time she said one thing, I would have twenty more questions about that. I was a little worried that she was getting annoyed with me, but if she was, she was good at hiding it. A lot of the time, Zerick would find me in there and ask for a hand in training. He was a big guy with a big shield, and he said he liked working on combat drills with me because I was quick. I got around him easily, and he wanted to get better at reacting to fast opponents. It was helpful to me as well. I learned a lot of basic combat, and he showed me a lot about wielding shortswords and daggers. Apparently, he taught Dex all the basics when they were younger, and Dex taught himself after he didn¡¯t have any more to learn from Zerick. Zerick and Dex were basically joined at the hip. The only times they were apart were when Zerick was training with me or when Dex was talking with Miriel. It seemed like Zerick wasn¡¯t a big fan of Miriel, or maybe just conversation in general. I found out that the four of them, including Al¡¯Li, had been traveling together for a while. I never spoke to Al¡¯Li after the banquet, though. It seemed like she was kind of the odd one out. Her only real friend here was Miriel. I never found out why they all started traveling together, but I did find out that it started with just Miriel and Alli, then Hestrel joined in, and they found Zerick and Dex a couple cities over before stopping here at the beginning of the summer, or a little under half a year ago. ¡°Deep in thought?¡± Hallax¡¯s voice broke through my focus and I accidentally pressed all my fingers down on the uisukaifo keys. The jarring sound sent my head up directly to him, behind me. He had asked me to start practicing uisukaifo in his workspace. He said it helped him focus while he did desk work. ¡°Uh, yeah. Sorry. Did you want something?¡± ¡°Alex, your hands aren¡¯t being hurt when you train with Zerick, correct?¡± He wove his fingers together and leaned his head on them. ¡°No. I have the gloves you gave me. Besides, Zerick hasn¡¯t landed a solid hit on me yet. The shield¡¯s so big and he can¡¯t move it fast enough.¡± ¡°They¡¯re awfully short exercises, are they not?¡± ¡°I get winded really quickly when I¡¯m going as fast as I can.¡± He paused and leaned back in his chair. ¡°Hm, cancel training today. A contact of mine informed me that they are willing to sell some sigil planks. Some are spectral, so I plan to purchase them. They come at a large cost, which means you will put them to good use.¡± If I¡¯m not clear about my intentions now, things might get messy down the road. ¡°Lord Hallax, you know that, uh, Eddie and I don¡¯t plan to stay here forever. We¡¯re really glad that you¡¯ve been so kind to us, and we want to be able to pay you back, but we do eventually want to go out and see the world.¡± Hallax chuckled. ¡°I am aware. I never expected you to stay long. And if you think you¡¯re not paying me back, you are. Eddie will be crafting me some complementary song tokens. And you¡¯ll have a minor part to play in the plan using your sigils.¡± That¡¯s another thing I¡¯m not sure of. The plan. We know so little about it, but we¡¯re just going along. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m asking too much, but what¡¯s the end game with this plan of yours? I know Riviera said it¡¯s like a political overthrow of the Amiens, but what does that mean for us? Are we gonna be on the chopping block if this goes ass-up?¡± Hallax laughed deeply to himself for a moment. ¡°Alex, your manner of speech is so distant from your music. It is utterly amusing. Regardless, I expect you to be more respectful in the future. Clean your language up. I may overlook your casualness from time to time because I am fond of your music and I know your lack of worldliness, but not everyone you meet will be so understanding.¡± ¡°Apologies, Lord Hallax.¡± I¡¯m a dipshit. Here I am spouting bullshit about our rules to the others and I¡¯m not even keeping up. ¡°Better.¡± He hummed in thought. ¡°This plan ends when Viscount Amien is deposed. Count Wey will be informed of the plan to try Amien once we receive our end of the bargain from our insider. From there, we will wait for an agreed upon time where the most important piece of evidence will be gathered. It is one piece, but it will be the dagger in the heart of that old bastard. You will be an important part of that step. Our contact in the manor needs a spectral witness from outside House Amien, but one which is tied to a reputable noble house. Unfortunately, the five mercenaries here are too well known to be let into House Amien without Rezyn taking notice. However, you and Eddie are not yet known to him. You will perform there, and while you are on break, you will go with the contact to gather the evidence. At the end of this, you will get your friends back and I imagine, be on your way. This is all confidential, of course.¡± ¡°Of course. Lord Hallax, I don¡¯t know who Rezyn is, but he would probably know what we look like from Simira, Tarynn, or Zev telling him. Or even just the bounty that was up. And still, I¡¯m one of two nyadin in the city. The second we step into that manor, he¡¯s gonna be clocking us. He might have even seen us play on stage already, and once we play in bigger places, he¡¯ll definitely recognize us.¡± He smiled with a quick breath from his nose. ¡°With the sigils, we will not need to worry about your appearance anymore. I bought information from Madam Diona¡¯s bouncer, who I covertly instructed to not allow Rezyn entry. Does that put your mind at ease?¡± ¡°It does. Thank you.¡± One more thing was prodding at my mind. ¡°Why does everyone want to, uh, dispose Viscount Amien from power?¡± Hallax¡¯s face instantly became less amicable. ¡°It¡¯s a very long story why I want Hazjiken Amien dead. But I¡¯ll be brief. He was my business partner. I owned the mines which the glorious gild of my quarter is drawn from, and he was the foreman of said mines, being from a family of mine owners elsewhere across Triala. He became wealthy, incredibly wealthy from the gold-rich mines of Vehfirn. So wealthy that the late Viscountess Amien committed to him. All was well until her death, which was very obviously orchestrated by him, but nobody could question it because he immediately wrested power and declared the caves ¡®too dangerous for traversal.¡¯ His crimes against his people are many, but he is a conniving coward lusting for power over everyone else. Several years ago, he began a construction project, which resulted in diverting a river through farmland of his own people. But the destruction of property, the decimation of crops, and the famine that his people endured were not his goal. His goal was to flood all of my mines by running the river directly into all of them. Thousands. Thousands of workers died. Good men who I commanded and provided work so their families could eat. Who lived in my quarter under my protection. He murdered all of those people because he wanted to cripple me. He blamed the river jumping on the rainy season, which caused mudslides, but we all heard the explosions up the hill that the mudslides came from. There was no proof and the city people were too riled up by the fresh arrival of the Zeltem Order to see how the farmers and miners suffered. Do not wonder why I despise that man. Wonder why everyone else does not.¡± I sat there with wide eyes. ¡°And that was the short version?¡± ¡°Yes. See now that what you are doing and the goals we are working toward are just. Deserved.¡± ¡°I understand now, Lord Hallax.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ve spoken too long. I will have you retrieve the sigil parchments once you finish your song.¡± ¡°Huh? Uh, okay. Where?¡± ¡°A tavern in the Amien Quarter. Buckler¡¯s Ball.¡± ¡°Lord Hallax, no disrespect, but weren¡¯t we just talking about why I shouldn¡¯t show my face around the Amien Quarter?¡± ¡°The Amien Quarter is large. You are not required to enter the manor and you said you are too quick to be caught by Zerick¡¯s shield. If there is any person who may notice you, evade them. This task is simple, you should have little problem with it. If you are worried about people noticing you for your ears, then go to Riviera before you leave. She has ways of helping people blend in.¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax.¡± I turned around to finish playing the piece I was practicing and played only a few notes before Hallax cut me off. ¡°Tell me, what is your real name?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ my real name?¡± I didn¡¯t turn around, probably for the better. My eyes were practically bulging out of my head. Shit, did he figure it out? No, it has to be a trick. I can¡¯t think of any way it would make sense. ¡°Alex, I understand your need for discretion, however, I have noticed you do not respond to your name quite often. You and Eddie.¡± He stood from his desk and slowly lumbered over to me while he spoke. ¡°I have told you everything honestly. I simply wish the same from you. You are a valuable asset to this hall, and I would not want to have you expelled for hiding important information from me.¡± He loomed directly over me. I hadn¡¯t turned around, but the heat radiated closely off of his body and the golden skirt tassels dangled dangerously close to my head. ¡°Brenden Jace. That¡¯s my name. Eddie¡¯s name is Desmond. I was with some friends before this, me and Desmond were. One of them got mouthy with Lady Simira and she didn¡¯t like it, so she grabbed her and two others. No idea where they are or if they¡¯re even alive. Just hoping. We didn¡¯t want to get caught by Simira. She knows our names. The more we put our true identities out there, the easier it is for her and whoever Rezyn is, to find us.¡± ¡°Dex mentioned that my daughter, Fera, knows Desmond in his report. Do you know how they know each other?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know your daughter.¡± ¡°Hmm. Your orphanage, your cult? Fabricated?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I was looking down at the uisukaifo keys. ¡°Brenden. Jace.¡± Hallax clicked his tongue. ¡°Hm.¡± He took a deep breath and slowly spoke as if he were piecing a puzzle together. ¡°I have never heard a name like that before. You clearly did not lie about being musicians, with stellar music, but such an odd sound. Uncharacteristic of any other musicians here. The rhythm, the flow of the music, the combinations of instruments, the lyrics themselves, how short the songs are. So unlike anything I have ever heard. Where are you from?¡± I was worried he could see the sweat running down my head. He was ripping apart all of our lies, our story, in an instant. So I stuck to my guns. ¡°Boston.¡± ¡°Boston? Hm. I¡¯ll have to ask Riviera about that. Her friend Geren was very well traveled and may have told her about¡­ Boston.¡± He patted my shoulder and returned to his usual tone, stepping back to his desk. ¡°Thank you for finally being honest, Brenden Jace. I will allow you to keep your alias for as long as you are here. Let¡¯s not allow your true name to slip into the ears of the gossiping rabble.¡± I took a breath of relief and turned back around to him. ¡°The Buckler¡¯s Ball?¡± ¡°Yes. Riviera can tell you more.¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax.¡± I idled for a moment, unsure of what to do. He must have sensed it, rolling his eyes like he forgot. ¡°Here¡¯s the money. Best get there before the arena gets out.¡± He tossed me a heavy bag of coins. I nodded and hurried out of his office. Why can¡¯t Desmond do this?! He barely sticks out compared to me! I stopped outside his door and breathed for a moment, way more stressed than I wanted to be. ¡°-the poin of ya guys talkin¡¯.¡± I heard Desmond¡¯s voice very loudly coming from down the hall in the clinic. There was a low response from Miriel that I couldn¡¯t make out, but I found myself panicking and nearly running down the hall to get there in time. The door to the clinic was wide open and Desmond was sat on a bed talking very loudly to Miriel, who had a noticeable look of stress on her face. Without even turning around, Desmond blurted out sloppily ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t the man of the hour!¡± Miriel¡¯s eyes darted to mine and stuck, horribly embarrassed and noticeably angry. I couldn¡¯t keep my face from looking exactly how I felt. Worried and mortified. I could already tell Desmond was drunk, just by the way he was sitting. His head was slumping more than it usually did. ¡°Why am I the man of the hour, Eddie?¡± I couldn¡¯t keep my voice from sounding angry either. Miriel cut in. ¡°Alex, would you please take Eddie out of here? He spilled several of my balms and scared a client out. And now he has been rambling about some rather intrusive topics.¡± I snapped at Miriel a little. ¡°Yeah, I know. We¡¯re in the same boat here.¡± I crouched in front of Desmond and put my hands on either side of his face so he would look at me. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Desmond leaned in like he was trying to tell me a secret, but much louder than any secret has ever been told. ¡°No worries, man, ¡®m jus tryna help ya out.¡± I took a deep breath in and went into dad mode. ¡°What did you say to her?¡± He leaned in even closer. I could smell the flowery perfume in his clothes and the sweet tang of wine on his breath. ¡°I know you¡¯re tryna lay pipe, so I made sure she wasn¡¯ leading¡¯ ya on, capeesh? I was like, ¡®you gonna let my boy hit or play his feelins?¡¯ But, ya know, not like that, like, nicer.¡± Mortified isn¡¯t the way to describe it. The feeling I have is so, so much more humiliating. I stared at the floor and held my head in my hands, not really sure what I wanted to do. I wanna kill this motherfucker. I must have died for a moment, because Desmond¡¯s voice startled me back to reality. ¡°Ya don¡¯ need to be so grumpy about it, man. I gotchu.¡± He leaned really close and actually whispered to me. ¡°She likes ya too, hombre.¡± I glared into his foggy green eyes, fighting back the urge to commit murder. ¡°Even if that was true, I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s staying that way now.¡± I gritted my teeth and took in a slow breath. ¡°I¡¯ve always gotta be the fucking adult.¡± Desmond looked at me with a smug smile on his droopy drunk face. ¡°Alex,¡± Miriel broke through my anger with her calm but ever so slightly shaking voice. ¡°I cannot have him coming in here and acting so disorderly. It is unprofessional and if this happens again, neither of you will be coming back here. I will be expecting a thorough apology next time I see him, if you will remind him of that when he¡¯s sober.¡± I gritted my teeth and nodded before turning back to the village idiot. ¡°Get the fuck up. We¡¯re going back to the room.¡± I wrapped his arm over my shoulders and started walking him out. ¡°Don¡¯t take everything he said to heart. I¡¯ll come by this evening and we¡¯ll sort it out.¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yeah. Sure.¡± I dragged Desmond through the manor back to the room and resisted the urge to slam the shit out of the door. And him. With his head in the door. ¡°I dunno why yer both so mad. I was jus helpin¡¯.¡± He sprawled out on his bed while I stood over him. ¡°I didn¡¯t see you for the better part of a week, while you were out screwing around, and now you stumble back in and go out of your way to fuck up one of the closest friends I¡¯ve made here! What the fuck is going on with you?! Also, how do you know Fera?¡± Desmond raised his head with a stupid happy look on his face. ¡°We been fuckin¡¯.¡± My already agape eyes somehow widened. ¡°Desmond, that¡¯s Hallax¡¯s daughter!¡± ¡°That¡¯s his daughter?! Sheeeit, second in the group to bag a noble!¡± He high fived himself and laid back. ¡°Oh my God. You are not fucking Hallax¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. I¡¯ll ask her last name next time we meet up. By the way, you got any coins? I¡¯m dry.¡± I was in utter disbelief and scared to keep prying for what I might find out. ¡°Desmond, you have all of our money! I only have what we made on the night of the gig! Did you actually spend all of it?!¡± ¡°Yeah but, that was all free money. The shit we got when we got here. Ya know.¡± ¡°Those were a shitload of silver coins, and apparently they¡¯re worth more than gold here. We made two gold coins for our show. Two. Gold. Coins.¡± He sloppily shook his head at me and flung his arms up in joy. ¡°Brenden, we¡¯re basically rock stars now, and we have a free place to stay. Money ain¡¯t an issue here, man. I¡¯m just livin¡¯ it up best I can.¡± ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be working on this plan to get our friends back, not getting drunk and sleeping with hookers every night! I get that you¡¯re low on energy because of the sigils, but you gotta start thinking with your head! I can¡¯t be a helicopter parent twenty-four seven! What the fuck is going on with you?! This ain¡¯t you, man!¡± He took a deep breath and his face twisted into pitiful anger. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯s jus tryna help ¡®n I fucked up like usual!¡± He was sniffling between words. ¡°I only wanned it¡¯a work out for you. Cuz mine dint!¡± He grabbed his pillow and wildly slammed it at the wall. I was getting a little scared. I hadn¡¯t seen him like this in a long time. ¡°Desmond, what are you talking about? What didn¡¯t work out for you?¡± He stood up, clenching his fists and grabbing the sides of his head. ¡°I¡¯m outta my FUCKIN¡¯ MIND MAN! God damnit! I¡¯s seein¡¯ a girl at uni an¡¯ I really liked ¡®er!¡± His anger broke into frustrated tears. ¡°We¡¯d dated half a year ¡®n it was jus good. Like, we just worked. Like we clicked, perfect, and then BOOM I¡¯M FUCKIN¡¯ DEAD AND HERE GODDAMNIT! I miss ¡®er so fuckin¡¯ much, you got no idea. I ¡®ate this place so much it¡¯s fuckin¡¯ killin¡¯ me ¡®n I wanna go home ¡®n see ¡®er, but I can¡¯t cause Adam can¡¯t fuckin¡¯ drive for SHIT! I wanned ta help you out ¡®n clearly I fucked that up too! Can¡¯ git a goddamn thin¡¯ right in this world apparently! Here I am livin¡¯ it up fuckin¡¯ some fantasy hoe right after losin¡¯ my girl! What kinda fuckin¡¯ man am I, man?!¡± He took a moment to breathe and force his tears back, kicking the leg of the table, and clenching his whole body violently as his shin bounced right off of it. ¡°FUCK! The hearin¡¯ and seein¡¯ is so killin¡¯ me ¡®n the only thing tha makes it stop¡¯s booze! Maybe nah, though, haven¡¯ tried drugs yet! I can¡¯t focus ta make it go ¡®way on my own forever, ¡®n it jus keeps comin¡¯ back so fuckin¡¯ bad! The magic shit makes me so tired that I can¡¯t control it. I can¡¯t sleep cuz o¡¯ the sounds ¡®n smells, so I fuck and drink myself to sleep cuz ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ else works! I¡¯m so tired of this shit, man. I just wanna get by ¡®n get the fuck outta here.¡± Jesus Christ, I couldn¡¯t help pitying him. I didn¡¯t know about any of that and I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I gave him my shoulder to cry on, holding the pillow around his ears while he fell apart at the seams. We¡¯ll figure it out when he wakes up. Take some time off of rehearsing for a bit. He eventually passed out from it all. I set him down in his bed and let him be. It was getting late in the afternoon and I had shit to do. Riviera¡¯ office was on the opposite side of the building from Hallax. She invited me into a room the size of a broom closet. Another yeffen couldn¡¯t even fit in there with her. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the leader of the Zeltem Order? Small office.¡± Riviera cocked her head to the side inquisitively before making a quiet chirp of realization. ¡°You do not know what the Zeltem Order is?¡± ¡°No, I thought it was gonna be a group of scholars or something.¡± ¡°It is the order of my people, the order of yeffen that reside on the outskirts of the city. We pledged ourselves to Lord Hallax when he offered us land. I represent Zeltem yeffen, and this is where I work and sleep.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was an order of yeffen in the city. Where are they?¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. She looked at me with squinted eyes, almost like she was skeptical or taken aback that I asked that. ¡°In the south. The forest south of the Amien manor is Lord Hallax¡¯s territory, so we settled there. West of the manor are farmlands directly overseen by Count Wey. The position is helpful that we may organize outside the Amien manor to sing the songs the late lady taught us, that her daughter hears us. I was the one who devised the idea.¡± She raised her beak with that, seeming very proud of herself. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s smart. Um, Hallax said you could help me hide my ears? And tell me where the gildway is?¡± Her eyes flicked to me, then her bronze beak fell. She made a sound like a low coo, but it felt like she was sighing and fiddled in a bin, then lumbered to me and pressed a cloth around my head. ¡°What are you-¡± The headband snapped into my mouth until she reached in with her taloned fingers to pull it out. ¡°What is this for?¡± I wasn¡¯t good at reading how yeffen were feeling, with how birdlike they were, but I could tell I just asked a stupid question. ¡°You asked for your ears to be hidden. Squint to conceal your eyes from jorlad, as well.¡± She pressed my ears against my head and pulled the cloth tight, turning my body around and twisting it in the back before securing it with a clip. My ears ached, but I could put up with it. A quick mission and then I could get back and eat, bathe, and process what to do with Desmond and Miriel. Damn, I was way too jumbled and tired to do anything well, especially with a fresh stress migraine setting in. ¡°Will people really not notice me if I just put my hood up and blend in?¡± ¡°Refrain from dressing in full gild, and you will be fine. Gilded shirt and trousers to enter the gildway. Show your face to the guards, then proceed on the gildway with hood covering yourself. You will see the gildway after leaving the manor and traveling deeper into the city. The archway next to the park is the gildway that leads into the other two quarters. Where are you going?¡± ¡°Buckler¡¯s Ball.¡± She nodded. ¡°At the end of the gildway in the Amien Quarter, don this,¡± she passed me a brown traveler¡¯s cloak, ¡°immediately turn right and there you will see a street with taverns and shops on either side. Buckler¡¯s Ball has a buckler hanging from the building.¡± I committed as much of that as I could to my memory, which wasn¡¯t particularly sharp. ¡°Thank¡¯s Riviera, I appreciate the help.¡± Riviera¡¯s pride quickly dissipated into discomfort at my comment. ¡°Thanks are unnecessary, I am simply doing my duty to the gilded.¡± Don¡¯t know what that¡¯s supposed to mean, but okay. Hell, this headband is making my head hurt. ¡°Should I let you or Hallax know when I return?¡± Her eyes turned stern. ¡°I believe Lord Hallax wishes to be informed of your arrival.¡± ¡°Right. See you around.¡± I stepped out of her little closet and Hallax Hall. I emerged into the bright blue noon sky with the brisk autumn breeze easing my nausea. ¡°Downtown to the gildway, hide my face from everyone but the guards, then the bar is right next to the gildway exit. Great.¡± My pounding head was a nice tool for keeping a steady walking pace. Each throbbing beat of pain was a step. A gruelingly slow pace that may as well have been hours of walking. I was downtown, searching around at the park we got caught at. There was a play going on and a small crowd of people gathered. Oh, that looks cool. I wonder if- I then realized I completely forgot what I was doing. I was standing next to the park like an idiot, looking around at everything. The players, some buildings, nice trees, orange flowers, and a big arch- Ayyy! A big arch! Colossal pillars of gold rose from the ground, supporting a mess of wiry gold and brass tubes that formed a canopy over the gildway like woven tree branches and vines. The bridge ascended over the entire city. I pulled my hood down and walked up to the gildway, passing the guards without trying to interact with them. They didn¡¯t even look at me. Maybe they don¡¯t check people going out¡­ Rays of sun peeked through the branches of gold overhead. As the gildway rose, the sides and top became more obstructed by gold leaves and vines. Glancing between them, out to the city below, I noticed a part that looked unlike the rest of the Hallax Quarter. No gold in sight, just tall, wooden and copper buildings that were probably houses for lower class folks. I was alone for most of my walk on the gildway, only passing a handful of people. I emerged from the gildway in a part of Vehfirn that actually seemed real and threw on the cloak. There weren¡¯t tons of glitterbombed houses or people. The gild still seemed to be a trend but it was overtaken by vines and flowers. The area seemed significantly darker, even for a bright day, but that may have been because I wasn¡¯t being constantly blinded by reflections. Riviera said the place had a buckler hanging from the front of it, so I just started walking down the street to the left looking for a buckler. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I saw bars and bakeries and craftsmen, but no buckler bar thing. After a while, I found myself nearing the big wooden houses before the envious looks of nearby people drove me to turn around and try the other street. I¡¯m stupid. It isn¡¯t that I feel stupid, or I look stupid. Stupid is just my default state apparently. When I got back to the gildway and looked down the street to the right of it, the first building on the left side had a massive buckler hanging from it with a stein and the words ¡°Buckler¡¯s Ball¡± on it. I¡¯m blaming this on the migraine. I can¡¯t take yet another emotional hit today. Not after Dipshit McGee critically failed his wingman check. The Buckler¡¯s Ball was dead empty, but pretty nice. Seemed like it was the kind of place that could get rowdy with all the broken and chipped furniture, which was of surprisingly high quality. The dark wooden themes mixed well with the flowers and plants tastefully placed around the establishment. The natural light from outside and bright orange glowing gems created a comfortable and natural atmosphere. Alright, who¡¯s got the fuckin¡¯ planks I need? ¡°Oh fuck me.¡± I hadn¡¯t asked them who the contact was. My head darted around, searching for anyone in the bar with papers or a folder or something. There was only one other person in the entire bar, a man with a gray receding hairline who looked to be only in his forties. He was pale and wiry, almost seeming malnourished. Probably didn¡¯t get much sun or time outside. He pushed a pair of spectacles up on his face, a stack of planks in his hands that he seemed to be reading over. I casually walked to the table and sat across from him. ¡°You the guy I¡¯m buying those from?¡± I kept my head down and tried to be as secretive as possible. He glanced up in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m here to buy your planks.¡± ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± He had a nasally, lazy voice with a slow, apathetic tone. It reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite. ¡°Those aren¡¯t the sigils?¡± ¡°What sig- no¡­ These are receipts. For my bar. This bar.¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry, sir.¡± I sat there a moment longer, waiting for something, although I wasn¡¯t sure what. He stared at me awkwardly. ¡°Erm¡­ are you going to leave now?¡± I looked up at him in surprise. ¡°Um, yeah. Sorry.¡± As I stood up, a hand brushed my shoulder and somebody sat to the left of me. ¡°Sit back down, boy!¡± The chair startled me with how loudly it creaked beneath her. A very rotund lady with a croaky, deep voice sat next to me. Her dark olive lips and shallow but wide nose blew an herbaceous smoke into my face. On the other side of the smoke was a warm smile and round, motherly face. Her head of curly red hair bounced upon her taking a seat, letting a warm chuckle out. Her pale eyes smugly checked me out. ¡°Are you looking for these?¡± She slapped a pile of parchments and planks on the bar table. They certainly looked like sigils. ¡°These ones are the spectral sigils. Marked them with some red wax. The regenerative ones aren¡¯t marked at all. That make sense?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. Thank you.¡± I looked over the papers, swiping through them. The ones marked by wax seemed really elaborate, almost like they were 3D. And the regenerative ones looked like they were cleanly ripped from a book. ¡°Oh shit!¡± I had forgotten about my book. I never finished reading it, and I probably had some spectral sigils in it. ¡°Oh shit¡¯s right. Show me the sennos.¡± The woman pulled the pile down to the table and held her other hand open for money. ¡°Apologies, ma¡¯am.¡± I pulled the coin pouch from my belt and placed it in her palm. The bag had to be at least five pounds of coins. ¡°How polite. See Jay, there are people in this city who still act courteous!¡± The balding guy, Jay, looked up from his ledger. ¡°I never doubted you, dear, just the people in this city.¡± Just then, the doors burst open and I heard a proud, commanding voice call out. ¡°Bar mother?! Bar mother?! We have a man in need of some courage!¡± I recognized that voice. It was the blue guy who was traveling with Simira. A shiver ran up my spine as I realized I might be shit out of luck if he saw me. I tucked the pile into my cloak and sat still. All I had to do was keep my head down and leave once they all took seats. The woman next to me let out a boisterous and raspy laugh. ¡°Andris, my boy! Here so soon?!¡± She got up and hugged him. ¡°And who would this big fellow be? Got a new hatchling?¡± ¡°Mum, this man is more than a hatchling. He brought down the river rizumir! The beast that knocked out sixteen of my finest zeshuo. He is Adam, the Mountain Crusher! Though I have yet to see him crush a mountain, I do not doubt it is in his future.¡± Holy fuck. Adam is here?! Behind me? Barely ten feet from me? And it sounds like he¡¯s doing great, like he¡¯s a prodigy or something! Is it a good thing or a bad thing that he¡¯s getting so close with the people in House Amien? I can¡¯t tell. The sudden noise brought my migraine back and spun my head, but I had to hear whatever had happened. Intel like this was useful. Adam finally spoke up. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Adam. No need for the mountain crusher part, I¡¯m still a new guard.¡± He awkwardly chuckled, but I could tell from his voice that he was beaming. ¡°Adam, my taro, no ordinary guard has ever displayed a feat of excellence like that! Come, let us drink to warm up for the evening!¡± There was a short pause before the blue guy laughed. ¡°I intended to purchase drinks for the entire bar! Mum, where did they all go? There¡¯s only one gloomy looking old fellow over with that cloaked man!¡± Andris chuckled. Jay glared up at Andris like he wasn¡¯t in the mood. ¡°Well, somebody has to do the finances around here, and good luck getting Ruisu to read anything.¡± ¡°Come now, pop. I was simply poking fun. You¡¯re welcome to drink with us if you please. You too, you in the cloak.¡± Without thinking I quickly responded in a creepy, raspy voice. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t get in the way of your fun.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Today is a celebration. Mum! A drink for him and everyone else!¡± An eruption of cheers burst through the bar as the guards piled in the doorway. People started filling in every table around the bar, but not mine. It sounded like Andris and Adam were sitting at the table directly behind me. The woman who sold me the parchments, Ruisu, got up and began filling mugs with alcohol. And holy hell she could carry mugs of ale. It looked like Oktoberfest with how many she was stacking and passing out to me and everyone else in the bar. ¡°Hear! Hear!¡± Andris¡¯ voice boomed out. ¡°To an excellent display of House Amien¡¯s guards. We drink to today¡¯s victors! To Gazine! To Perive! To Nayjzik! To Terikaz! To Jzanaton! To Adam!¡± Cheers of comradery blasted through my ears. I stared through the glass mug of bubbly ale before me, bright yellow alcohol refracting sunlight every which way. The atmosphere of the place was infectiously bright and I couldn¡¯t help a smile growing on my face. Maybe I¡¯ve been reading too much into it. I¡¯m just glad that Adam is happy. If Adam is well, I¡¯m sure the other two are doing decent at least. The bar settled down as the guards all began conversations at their own tables and I sipped at my ale. ¡°Adam,¡± Andris started, ¡°not much time has passed, but you have been improving rapidly. After only a dozen days, you have the prowess of a warrior who has trained for years on end. Perhaps it is your innate instincts and ability that make up for your lack of technical experience and strategy. I see some spots to improve, but I have confidence you will prevail. You will have a bright future in the military.¡± Adam replied bashfully. ¡°Captain, I appreciate the praise, but I don¡¯t know if I will ever be as skilled as you expect me to be. I still feel like I have no idea what I¡¯m doing outside of sparring. I wouldn¡¯t have beaten the rimi- rizuri-¡± ¡°The rizumir.¡± ¡°Right. I wouldn¡¯t have beaten the rizumir without Tells yelling to me. I was frozen and she snapped me out of it. I wasn¡¯t doing anything. I can spar all day, but when it actually comes down to it, I¡¯m scared that I¡¯ll keep freezing up.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it like when you freeze? Are you scared, overwhelmed, anxious?¡± Silence took the table as Adam thought. ¡°I see whatever is across from me, and it¡¯s like my mind just blanks out. I don¡¯t know what to do and my hands shake, I can¡¯t move my feet. And then when it moves, it¡¯s faster than I can react. And I can¡¯t react most of the time. Like with the bug and the rimuzim.¡± ¡°Rizumir.¡± ¡°Um, yeah. And then I snap back into it just before it¡¯s too late. I¡¯m worried that next time I might not focus in time, and I¡¯ll get killed.¡± Andris chuckled deeply. ¡°Apologies. I am not laughing at you. What you said just reminded me of how I was. In my days of yore, I was the same. Except I was a fiery and foolish zeshuo. Yon, I still feel that fire well up in me sometimes. You seem to have a level head. That is already a step beyond where I was. I would provoke and prod at people, only to be sent spinning to the ground because I couldn¡¯t react in time. Unfortunately, confidence is only something you can feign for so long before it is truly demanded. When confidence is demanded, you must embrace it, else your life be cut short. Fear is a facet of survival, and learning to hone it is what makes a warrior.¡± ¡°So¡­ what? Should I go out and start fighting things to get better?¡± ¡°You will practice your skills and you reactions will naturally improve. Combat will be like a first nature. Once your skills are apt, you will be well-equipped to overcome your own mind.¡± Andris released a nostalgic sigh. ¡°Then, in the future, you will likely lead very well.¡± ¡°Leader? Captain Zev, I¡¯m barely even a fighter.¡± Andris laughed heartily and happily. ¡°That is exactly what makes you so apt. Doubt yourself less, Adam, but never give up your humility. It will serve you and yours in the days to come. I can only hope I am still alive and fighting so that I may see your success.¡± He stopped talking for a moment and then slammed his mug on the table. ¡°Another, for everyone! I expect every one of you to keep pace with me, but we will all move forward together! Finish with haste!¡± What a fuckin¡¯ surprise. Fish guy drinks like a fish. From around the bar were a series of cheers and then slams, mugs onto wooden tables to signify that all of the guards were finished. I kept to my corner, slowly sipping the mug of ale so as to not make my empty stomach any sicker. I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the Captain that was just talking to Adam. ¡°You too, stranger! Rounds are on me, so you drink with us! Go on now. Everyone is waiting for you to finish.¡± God almighty in Heaven, can the day stop fucking me so sideways? I did the raspy voice again. ¡°Yes sir.¡± And chugged the rest of my drink. There were applause from around the bar as Ruisu carried more mugs out, including one to me. Apparently, fate wasn¡¯t done with my torture. As a full mug was placed before me, Andris yelled again and slammed his mug down. ¡°Another one finished! Hurry, lads! Encourage each other for success!¡± From different parts of the bar erupted various chants for guards to chug their drinks. Two guards sat on either side of me. Head down, I noticed they were both facing me, watching me drink. ¡°You¡¯re gonna finish that quick, right bud?¡± Said the one on my left. ¡°You just need a little encouragement is all!¡± The other said. Then they both started chanting: ¡°Chug! Chug! Chug!¡± I steeled my resolve, prayed that my stomach would hold, and promptly chugged the drink as fast as I could. It went down easy enough, the only caveat being how it met some ale on its way back up about halfway through. I forced the burning bile and alcohol down, took a breath, and slammed the mug down with a wretched burp. Both of the men next to me cheered and threw their hands up, before stepping away to ¡°encourage¡± another poor soul. I shouldn¡¯t have stayed. Intel isn¡¯t worth it. I couldn¡¯t sneak out with a drink in front of me, but guards were mulling around my table and in front of the entrance now that I was done. I would have gotten up and walked out, but I couldn¡¯t risk showing myself. Any one of them could have been Rezyn, and I had to be careful. The drinks weren¡¯t finished all around the bar yet, so I still had time to prepare before more people would turn their attention to me. I fumbled with the papers and planks in my belt, pulling out every sigil I could find that had a wax seal. There were three. Flare, Schism, and Disapparate. Glancing over them, Flare could change something''s color and perceived shape, Schism would cause light to fracture in a blinding flash, and Disapparate could cause light to pass through objects. Sounded close enough to invisibility to me, I just had to make it work. The voices all collapsed around one singular area, meaning I didn¡¯t have much time before the next drink was coming. And seeing as I had only ingested ale all day, drunkenness was rapidly approaching. Disapparate had four shapes. Reading everything quickly was nauseating and inflaming to my worsening migraine. The instructions only said to make it big. That was it. I didn¡¯t have a clue of what the fuck that meant, but I didn¡¯t have the space, time, or privacy to make it big. Shoulder-width would have to do. The first shape was a three sided pyramid with a wide base. Oh joy, I have to make it 3D instead of just drawing it flat like the fire ones. I focused energy into my finger, a smooth flow of heat drifting down my neck into my finger. It was warm like the sun on an autumn day. As I began tracing the first corner of the pyramid from the top to the bottom, I saw two reflections of my own hand and the sigil lines following my moves in blurs. They mirrored my first line and made the other two. A wave of relief rushed over me, realizing I wouldn¡¯t have to agonize over tracing everything so many times. Suddenly, Napoleon Dynamite whispered to me from across the table. ¡°Erm, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Shhhh! Nothing bad, just don¡¯t make a scene, please.¡± He couldn¡¯t see under the hood, but I was pleading harder than I had ever pleaded in this life and the one before it. He pushed up his spectacles and watched me over his planks without another word. After connecting the bottoms, forming the pyramid, I had to circle the base of it. A calming thought came to me, which was that I only had to do one third of the circle, because it should be mirrored for the other two sides, and it was. The only issue was my rapidly approaching drunkenness, so the line was horribly done. I brought it too far out at the peak and watched as the line burst into a flash, like a silent firecracker going off on the table in front of me. It wasn¡¯t blinding, but it was enough that a few people around me started stepping closer. ¡°Start the next round!¡± Andris yelled. I have to move even faster, before people crowd around me to drink. Ruisu knows what the sigils are, so she might not care if I¡¯m fucking around with them, but I can¡¯t be sure about everyone else. I swished my finger across to make the circle at the base and got some lucky perfection. The third shape was a three-lined sphere, but it connected in three parts from beneath the pyramid. I started from the bottom and wrapped it around and up, making sure the line crossed the midpoint of each third of the first circle, up to the tip. It was getting larger and more glowy, so I knew I may as well just say fuck it and do it quick in the open. There was a thud and a grinding of wood against glass as Ruisu slid another ale in front of me and chuckled to herself as she saw the sigil. Eyes from around the room were gathering on me, and they were starting to move in when they saw my reluctance to drink. ¡°It¡¯s now or never.¡± Adam¡¯s and Andris¡¯ backs were to me, so I stood up, grabbed the drink and chugged it as fast as I could without another thought. Being tipsy made it go down easier, but now there were really a lot of people looking at me just as my hood started slipping back on my head. It was a race to empty the drink before my hood fell off. Halfway down, my nose poked out. The cloak slowed, catching on my hair, only before finding some smoothness and floating back. In a do-or-die state of mind, I wrapped both hands around the mug, and emptied it into my gullet as the hood descended to my shoulders. Throwing the mug down, I whipped the hood up again and read the sigil, gasping for air. The third shape was done, onto the fourth. I had to place my hand into the very middle of the sigil and cause a burst of spectral energy. I didn¡¯t know what the fuck that meant, but I threw my hand in and concentrated as hard as I could. My whole hand lit up with swirling colors, but it wasn¡¯t bursting. ¡°Now that¡¯s what we wanna see!¡± A guard yelled and slapped my shoulder. I jumped so hard I thought my soul left my body. As that happened, my hand flashed in another silent explosion and the pyramid was filled with swirling colors of light, shifting like iridescent fractals. Exhaustion wafted over me brutally, like I could collapse in a second. Paired with being hungry, tired, and in pain, I may as well have been hit by a truck. ¡°Woah, have you ever seen a sigil like this before?!¡± The guard called to his buddies, who promptly began swarming around me. I was out of time. With my head pulsing and my vision swirling, I tried to focus on the plank. The final step was to grab the sphere and spin it as fast as I could. And after that, all it said was ¡°Enter.¡± Hell if I knew what that meant, but I shoved the plank in my pants and wrapped my hands around the warm stream of energy in the air. It was a spectacle for the entire bar, and I heard Andris and Adam wondering why everyone was getting up. I wrenched the sigil and it spun from the center of the pyramid like those things astronauts sit in that spin them all which ways. At that very moment, there were cheers from around the bar, around me. Then I heard the scrape of a stool against the wood floor as Andris¡¯ stool crashed into mine, buckling my knees and knocking me flat onto the table, my entire upper body crashing into the spinning sigil. My vision fogged over for a moment as my entire body heated up, that same feeling of being in the sun on a cozy fall day. I raised myself and turned around, wondering why everyone in the bar was looking at me with horrified eyes. Andris was barely a foot in front of me, and Adam just stared blankly in my direction. ¡°Shit.¡± I made eye contact with them before I realized they weren¡¯t looking at my face. They were looking at my legs. And now I was looking at my legs. My upper body was entirely invisible, but I could see into my own body, the blood and organs a bright red, like I was cut in half and staring at the gaping cross section of my lower body. The gore spurred my stomach to unload. ¡°What happened?!¡± Andris yelled directly toward me in a worried panic. My head swung up toward him in surprise just as a fountain of hot ale and bile spewed from my invisible mouth, dousing most of his front half. ¡°What is- augh!¡± He hurriedly stepped back and tripped, tumbling backward over his table. If there was ever a sign to leave, it was that. In my boozed-up and frenzied state, I darted from the spot and out the door in a flash. Stumbling and swaying in a horrific display of severed legs running down the road, I hurried down the street to the gildway, hearing a few screams from people who saw my detached bottom half sprinting on the cobblestones. I couldn¡¯t make out much around me. My vision felt like it was fading in and out and I only caught glimpses as I passed the guards at the entry to the gildway. At some point, my lungs couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I stopped and sat down on a bench at the highest point of the gildway, beneath the radiant glow of golden vines and leaves. The warmth faded as my upper half became visible again. I sat for some time just trying to ease the horrid feeling in my stomach, repressing the urge to vomit again. I pulled my cloak off and slowly breathed, closing my eyes and leaning into the back of the bench. A slightly familiar, growlish voice broke my concentration. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you, Alex.¡± I opened my eyes to see Dex, standing over me, arms and face crossed with rage. His usual pinkish red tone was burning like fire in the light around me. I couldn¡¯t keep my voice from sounding sluggish. ¡°What¡¯s goin¡¯ on, Dex?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here to find out. What did you say to Miriel? Huh? What did you and your friend yell at her for?¡± I groaned and sat forward, lazily looking up at him. ¡°Dex, I¡¯ve had a pretty shit day. I¡¯m sure you could ask her and she¡¯d tell you better than I could, or better yet, Desmond, because I don¡¯t-¡± I paused to hold back from gagging, ¡°-have it in me right now.¡± He looked at me like I was filth beneath his boot. ¡°She won¡¯t talk to me because of what you said to her, cur! I had to find out from Zerick, who heard you yelling from down the hall!¡± He leaned right into my face. ¡°I know you¡¯ve been trying to sway her, make her love you. It takes an order from above just to get you out of wasting her time with your pointless questions.¡± ¡°Dex, listen to me. She¡¯s mad at me and Desmond now, too. I just talk to her because I have questions and she has the answers. You know I¡¯m not from around here! I know next to nothing!¡± I was fighting back vomit with every word, and arguing only sent elongated pangs through my exhausted brain. ¡°Then stop wasting her time and go find out from experience. She doesn¡¯t want to be talking to you all day, and I¡¯m not gonna let you come in and ruin everything I¡¯ve been building with her because you¡¯re trying to steal a lay. I¡¯m one of the last of my people! I deserve her more!¡± ¡°What?! Dex! I¡¯m not trying-¡± ¡°Not trying?! Well if you¡¯re not trying, then stop doing it at all! You¡¯re a fucking waste! Hiding your face, reeking of beer, laying on a bench like you¡¯re a poor cur! A sorry excuse of a nyadin!¡± He wrenched my ear out of its band and squeezed it in his fist. ¡°You probably think you don¡¯t have to try just because you¡¯re another nyadin. You can act like an ignorant fool in need of help, and she¡¯ll give it because she pities you, and somehow you think she¡¯ll fall for you. That won¡¯t happen. She doesn¡¯t want to talk to you, doesn¡¯t want to see you, and never has. It¡¯s the first thing she talks about after you finally stop bothering her every day, how much it annoys her.¡± My head spun in a frenzy of pain and confused emotions. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t¡­ know.¡± ¡°You should now.¡± He pulled my crumpled ear toward him and yelled directly into it. ¡°Stop wasting her time!¡± Dex threw my head back and stormed down the gildway, toward Hallax Hall. I sat there in a painful daze. My head hurts. My stomach hurts. My ear hurts. My heart hurts. I hadn¡¯t felt heartbreak so badly in a long time. I hadn¡¯t even known I cared about Miriel enough to feel so miserable. I didn¡¯t want to make her miserable, I just liked her. I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d been such an annoying ass, and that¡¯s what got to me the most, that I¡¯d lost sight of myself. So I sat in silence. * * * * * Some hours later, I recovered enough energy to walk my way back to the Hall. It was a slow slog in the early evening through the bright and boisterous city of gold. I didn¡¯t care enough to pay attention to anything. It was like everything was just happening around me. ¡°Alex?! What happened to you?¡± I was at the gates of Hallax Hall as Miriel¡¯s voice broke into my daze. I half looked at her and threw on a fake smile. ¡°Oh. Just a scuffle. Drunk guy threw up on me.¡± ¡°You look like death. There¡¯s vomit all over your shirt. Your ear is swollen, too. Can I help-¡± She started moving toward me, so I put up a hand and stepped back. ¡°No, I¡¯m not hurt. I don¡¯t wanna bother you right now. You seem like you¡¯re heading out, and you look nice. I don¡¯t wanna get anything on you.¡± She was wearing some makeup, a loose fitting long shirt that was tucked into a skirt, and a purse with a red gem on the clasp, all gold of course. Stunning as usual. I didn¡¯t want to look directly at her, so I just ended the conversation and walked off. ¡°Have a nice evening, Miriel.¡± I entered the Hall where Hallax was sitting on his throne, talking to some people I hadn¡¯t seen before. He didn¡¯t look at me, instead Riviera was nearby and ushered me over. ¡°That took far longer than expected. Are you well? Do you have the sigils?¡± I pulled the parchments and planks out of my pants and passed them to her. ¡°Can we continue this tomorrow?¡± She lightly cooed in confusion. ¡°If that suits you better, I must oblige.¡± ¡°Great.¡± I made my way to the kitchen without another word, swiping a loaf of bread and a small block of cheese. I dragged my feet back to my room where Desmond was still passed out, then sprawled onto my bed. I laid still, eating and repeating my mantra that I always used when life got shitty. ¡°At least I¡¯m not dead.¡± 41: Aint It Fun 41 (Paramore- Ain¡¯t it Fun) Desmond Bells in my head. Ringing and beating against my skull. Of course I was hungover, just like every other morning. I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember everything that happened in the last twenty four hours. I had a few drinks at the pleasure parlor, a few more when I went out walking, and a few more while I was out bar hopping. I remember buying a bottle of something strong and walking around the park drinking, but that was it. Yup, it¡¯s safe to say I blacked out. The room was as bright as my recollection of things. I peaked out the window, greeted by the hazy moons high up on their pedestals of stars. It had to be the middle of the night. I caught the scent- or stench, rather- of vomit and booze from Brenden, who was curled up on his bed, cradling half a loaf of bread and laying on top of now-smashed cheese. I hobbled over, set his food on the table, covered it, and pulled the blanket over him. The cheese was nice and sharp, a little too warm for my taste though. As I opened the bedroom door, light flickered in from the glowing stones in the hall. Almost instantly, bed sheets were thrown aside and Brenden zoomed like a flash of light down the hall in the same direction I was going. I found him panting and sweaty, washing his hands in the bathroom. A rather putrid stench wafted from the toilet. We made eye contact, but didn¡¯t say anything. I pissed and met him back at the water spout, where he was cleaning vomit off his mouth and chest, and some blood off his swollen ear. ¡°Jesus, man. What happened to you?¡± He croaked. ¡°Rough day.¡± Brenden lowered his head to the spout and washed out his mouth, rubbing cleaning paste around on his teeth and tongue. ¡°I¡¯m gonna clean off and go to the baths. You coming?¡± He sighed and held his hand still for a moment. ¡°Uh, yeah. Gimme a minute.¡± ¡°Kay. Cool.¡± For as gaudy as Hallax hall could be, it was clean and nice. Having decently advanced plumbing in a world that was basically medieval Europe was a really nice feature, though. And hot water, holy shit. It had to be sigils or something that kept the water warm unless I didn¡¯t know about Hallax¡¯s secret underground bath warmer sweatshop. I stood under one of the six faucets and just let the water run over me, calming my head and my hangover while I washed off, drinking more water than I was washing with. It wasn¡¯t just showers either. Sure, you could shower if you needed to clean up quickly, but relaxing in the hot baths was such a treat, even if they were communal. It was unlike anything I was used to in America, but fuck, they really needed to make baths more popular back there. Brenden waded his way through the bath and plopped down about five feet away from me. He sat there all brooding-like, mean mugging me while I was trying to relax. He was starting to scare me a little. I hadn¡¯t seen him this grumpy since Adam allegedly backed into his dog. ¡°Somebody piss in your ale, or did you just do that ¡®cause you liked it so much last time?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t remember, do ya?¡± ¡°Remember wha- ah fuck, what did I do?¡± Brenden didn¡¯t look surprised at all, just bitchier every second. He pushed his hair back and sighed. ¡°You tried to wingman for me and now Miriel thinks the only reason I was talking to her is because I wanted to, in your words, lay pipe.¡± Yep, sounds like me. Ah, little blips are coming back now. ¡°Okay, listen-¡± ¡°Desmond, if you try to justify yourself, I¡¯m gonna pour boiling water down your dick hole.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t gonna. But, now that I¡¯m remembering it, she did say she liked you back!¡± ¡°As if she wasn¡¯t just saying that to get your dog-ass outta her room.¡± ¡°Bruh-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking Bruh me!¡± ¡°No, wait! Just, like, it¡¯s not all bad. I may have fucked up a little, but there is a silver lining.¡± ¡°Desmond, two weeks ago you were talking about how Vetia got too comfortable and fucked things up, and now you¡¯re doing the exact same thing.¡± ¡°I know! But I¡¯m done drinking and going to see Fera!¡± ¡°Yeah, no shit. You don¡¯t have any more money to do any of that because you spent it all on booze and hookers!¡± ¡°She is a high class woman who fucks like a professional.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t care about you, Desmond! She just wants your money! You¡¯re simping for a hooker!¡± He leaned toward me and whispered seethingly. ¡°And she¡¯s Hallax¡¯s daughter, you dumb fuck!¡± ¡°Holy shit! What are you, my dad?¡± ¡°Somebody¡¯s gotta be apparently!¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to be! I¡¯ve got myself sorted now. Downtime just reminded me of everything I was missin¡¯ and I¡¯ll own that, honest. Gotta break to know how to fix yourself. I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°I get it, you had a hot future ahead of you, and now you¡¯re stuck here with us. You¡¯re not the only one who misses your old life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re goddamn right I had a hot future ahead of me! Internship secured with Lockheed Martin. I was gonna be rolling in dough offa designing the orphanage obliterator 3000! Was gonna get a house, a dog, a fuckin¡¯ Bugatti, bro! I¡¯d propose to Kaylee somewhere awesome or something! We¡¯d get¡­ married and have kids and¡­ and-¡± I couldn¡¯t talk. My throat seized up and my eyes hurt like I wanted to cry, but didn¡¯t have the tears to spare. I dunked my head into the water quickly and sat back. ¡°Ah fuck, I didn¡¯t tell y¡¯all about Kaylee, did I?¡± Brenden¡¯s tone lightened. ¡°Not by name. Just mentioned her when you were drunk.¡± ¡°Course I did. Listen, I¡¯ve just been trying to forget all that, but it, uh, it ain¡¯t easy forgetting about the woman I was planning the rest of my life around.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame ya. You also said your hearing and seeing were getting bad when you ran low on jzanmah.¡± ¡°Go figure. Just forget about it. I was-¡± Brenden scoffed. ¡°Bitch, I¡¯m not forgetting that. You ruined my friendship with Miriel because you got lost in the sauce. And you ruined yourself! You can¡¯t be doing that! I¡¯m making sure it never happens again. You¡¯re cutting back on sigil use in performances. Instruments only. Your voice is gonna stay as is until you figure out how to conserve energy better.¡± It irks me how right he is. What a jackass, always caring so much. He continued. ¡°We said we were gonna play it like we do our music, on feeling. If you¡¯re not feeling those sigils, then we won¡¯t use ¡®em. Simple as.¡± I didn¡¯t respond. I hung my head down and stared at my reflection in the water. I look good. Like, really great, but I ain¡¯t the same me. I ain¡¯t living up to who I wanna be. I¡¯m acting like a whiny kid who can¡¯t grow up. Too much thinking, getting into my own head is a sure shot for wanting to drink again. I gotta think about something else. ¡°What happened with you? Ear¡¯s all fucked. And you looked like shit earlier.¡± He glanced at me, touched his ear, and then sunk deeper into the water. ¡°Went out to pick up some sigils for Hallax. Some spectral ones for me. Got caught up at the bar where I was picking them up because Adam and a bunch of the guards from Simira¡¯s place came to drink. The blue guy from her wagon, guess his name is Andris, was buying rounds for everyone in the bar, myself included.¡± ¡°Wait, you talked to Adam?! How¡¯s he doing? Did you find out about the others.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t talk to him. Covert shit and all, I kept my head down. Listened to him and Andris talk. I guess Adams doing really good. Killed some big animal called a rimuzim that¡¯s been fucking the guards up in the arena for a while.¡± ¡°Arena? The hell?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, man, I¡¯m just telling you what I heard. Nothing much else, to be honest. But yeah, the guards pressured me into drinking 3 bigass steins of ale, so I dipped using an invisibility sigil that half-worked and wound up taking the gildway back. Rested a bit there because I was feeling sick, and Dex found me. He was peeved that Miriel wasn¡¯t talking to him or something, so he¡­¡± I had only seen Dex a few times, but he seemed like a jag. ¡°Brenden, what¡¯d he do?¡± ¡°Nothing really. But he told me that Miriel would complain about me to him after I¡¯d leave and that she was tired of talking to me. Got mad at me cause he thinks I¡¯m using my nyadin-ness as a free ticket into her pants and crunched my ear.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ what? Is he dating her?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t say anything about it.¡± ¡°Betcha ten bucks he¡¯s fulla shit ¡®n tryna white knight for his nyadin queen.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, man.¡± ¡°But you laid him out though, right? You fuck him up?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nah. No way Brenden let Dex get away with it. ¡°Brenden. Did you beat his ass for getting all up on you?¡± ¡°I was drunk and sick. I couldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t? Or didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even think of it because I was about to throw up again!¡± ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that he found you drunk and sick and decided to fuck with you?¡± ¡°Pretty much! Desmond, it¡¯s good now. We¡¯re not staying here forever anyway. It might just be better to let these kinds of things go.¡± ¡°Bro, have you seen your ear? That¡¯s not the kind of thing you just ¡®let go.¡¯ That motherfucker can¡¯t just walk all over you like that!¡± ¡°I know! I¡¯m gonna talk with Miriel today and ask her what¡¯s goin¡¯ on. I just want everything to be clear so I don¡¯t overstep or anything.¡± ¡°No, Brenden-¡± ¡°Desmond. Shut the fuck up for a second. Think about it, wouldn¡¯t you be pissed if a dude was trying to cuck you?¡± I looked at him and scratched my stubbled chin in irritation. ¡°Yeah. Uh-huh.¡± ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m gonna talk to her. We¡¯ll figure it out then.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I sighed and shook my head. That Dex motherfucker¡¯s gonna get it. ¡°I¡¯m done. I¡¯m pissed now.¡± I stood up and trudged out of the bath. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Where do you think? Everyone¡¯s asleep and shit. Back to the room.¡± I lied, but he was staying in the bath so it didn¡¯t matter. I was gonna jump that asshole. I finally remembered what went down in Miriel¡¯s clinic. I told her Brenden liked her. She was embarrassed and stuff. Said it was all really fast, but she was ¡°taking fancy to him.¡± That ain¡¯t a woman in a relationship. Dex was just an ugly shitbag. I threw my clothes back on and walked around the residence area. No name plates or anything at the doors is a pain in the ass, and I don¡¯t know what room he¡¯s in. No, I have super hearing and shit. I can find him myself. ¡°You¡¯re up late.¡± I heard a familiar voice behind me, Hestrel¡¯s. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s been tough sleeping. I fucked up earlier.¡± Hestrel chuckled and leaned on the wall. He was wearing a baggy offwhite shirt and some loose brown pants, barefoot. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear everything, but it certainly sounds like you caused a ruckus.¡± ¡°Yeah, something like that. I heard Dex was pretty mad about it, so I wanted to talk to him. Figured he¡¯s probably still up, just don¡¯t know which room he is.¡± ¡°Pfft. Dex? Angry about somebody talking with Miriel? He could never be so jealous.¡± Hestrel spoke pretty monotone, but I could tell he was definitely trying to joke. ¡°Yeah. Just want to talk to him.¡± Hestrel side-eyed me, ¡°He¡¯s in that room. Don¡¯t be too rough, he¡¯s stupid but he¡¯s in a bad situation.¡± ¡°Thanks, Hestrel. ¡®preciate it.¡± ¡°Hah. Good luck.¡± He sauntered past me and disappeared around the corner as I reached Dex¡¯s door. The handle was locked, damn. Eh, couldn¡¯t hurt knocking. A couple knocks later, Dex opened the door, shirtless, with some stained beige boxers on. He growled his words. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Lighten up. I¡¯m here to clear things up about earlier. Mind if I come in?¡± Dex glared me up and down, then opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside. The room wasn¡¯t much different from mine and Brenden¡¯s, just halved. One bed, one desk, one chair, and a small table. He sat in the chair, so I hopped onto his bed to sit before quickly standing to lean somewhere instead. ¡°You ever wash these sheets? They¡¯re crunchy as fuck, dude.¡± ¡°Are you here to criticize my hygiene or come to an understanding?¡± ¡°Maybe both if the table¡¯s got as many kids as the sheets.¡± I leaned on his table and sighed. ¡°I just wanted to make sure neither of us are¡­ overstepping. You and Miriel, are you together? Like a couple?¡± Dex pushed the limp white mohawk of hair back over his head. ¡°She won¡¯t see me that way, but I am working to change that.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t y¡¯all been traveling around together for a while? You¡¯ve had plenty of time.¡± He rolled his eyes and gritted his serrated teeth. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. She knows of my interest, but she thinks we¡¯re not compatible, as she says.¡± ¡°Okay, sounds reasonable. She doesn¡¯t like you in a romantic kind of way.¡± He scoffed. ¡°You are both such fools. Miriel believes that I am not capable of having children with her because I am dorstun.¡± I took a bet that dorstun was probably the race he belonged to. ¡°I think I understand what¡¯s going on here.¡± ¡°I doubt such a thing.¡± ¡°You got rejected and butthurt, so now you¡¯re gonna try and scare away all the competition. That sound right?¡± He shot up from his seat and stepped up to me. He stood a little taller than me, trying to puff up and get in my face, but he was still scrawny. ¡°If you were worried about overstepping, then I fear you have tripped and fallen far beyond the line.¡± He brandished his gnarly chompers with a grim edgelord smile. ¡°Dex, you¡¯re claiming territory that¡¯s already told you to go fuck yourself. I¡¯d say you¡¯ve crossed more lines than I have.¡± I was gonna reach for his ear, but I forgot his ears were divots, like little funnels on either side of his head. So I held my hand in place. ¡°Oh, I see! You¡¯re self conscious about the craters on your head, so you wanted to make Alex¡¯s ears look worse. Am I on the money?¡± He tilted his head to each side, cracking his neck. ¡°What did he tell you of me?¡± ¡°Not enough, honestly. He¡¯s way nicer than I am. Seemed to think you were justified in what you did. But me? I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be this much of a toolbag.¡± My insult seemed to land, he just didn¡¯t know what it meant. ¡°What? Bah! Get out!¡± He grabbed my arm. YEAH HE HIT THE GO BUTTON FIRST! ¡°My bad. Allow me to rephrase.¡± I snapped my head forward and slammed it into the bridge of Dex¡¯s nose. Dex recoiled in a daze, falling back into the chair. I went in to slip around the back of his chair and get him in a headlock, but he swung an elbow toward my stomach, narrowly missing. Dex shot up and wiped the river of blood running from his nose. ¡°Who do you think you are?! I¡¯m a protected race! One of the last of my kind!¡± He raised his hands in front of his face and assumed a fighting stance. ¡°That protection sucks, bro! Didn¡¯t even stop my head! By the way,¡± I lied with a big toothy grin. ¡°I actually just got done talking to Alex. He¡¯s on his way to spill the beans about how you attacked him. And guess who he¡¯s telling!¡± Dex¡¯s face turned pale and his eyes darted between me and the door, which I was standing in front of. ¡°Hey, Dex!¡± I whistled at him. ¡°Over here, boy.¡± Fuck, I forgot how fun it is to beat up a loser. Dex¡¯s nose contorted as his face raged with hate for me. Suddenly he leapt, fist first. I ducked just in time for it to scrape the top of my head and wrapped my arms around his waist as hard as I could. He was already off balance from the attack, so I pressed up while carrying his momentum forward and threw the fucker over my shoulder. He landed with a hard thud onto his back. Blood spurted from his nose with a gasp and his head cracked on the hardwood floor. I stood over him, a little worried I might have given him more brain damage. His ivory eyes rolled open lazily. ¡°Oh, good, you¡¯re still awake.¡± I crouched next to his head and hooked a finger in his ear hole. I pulled his head toward me and talked right into his ear. ¡°Feels pretty fuckin bad gettin¡¯ your shnoz beat out of the blue, dunnit? Listen, Dex, I don¡¯t give a shit who you wanna fuck or how many of y¡¯alls there are left. A lonely horny piece of shit is still a piece of shit no matter how much ya polish it, and I burn shit on people¡¯s doorsteps for fun. So do me a favor and keep your crusty nasty hands off my fuckin¡¯ friend. Capeesh?¡± I released Dex¡¯s head. He turned to me and furrowed his brow, spitting a glob of blood and saliva onto my cheek. I hit him with a left hook to his nose and stood up, wiping my cheek off. It really pissed me off, like to an unusual degree. My anger got the better of me and I stood over him, right between his legs. I pointed to his crotch. ¡°Do dorstun have their dicks in the same spot as everyone else?¡± His eyes went wide with fear, and before he could respond I stomped my heel into his crotch. A high pitched wheeze escaped his mouth which continued into a stream of groans. Must be a yes. The door slammed open behind me and I felt a pair of meaty arms wrap under my armpits and lock together behind my head, lifting me onto my toes. Zerick¡¯s voice caught my ear. ¡°What in the looker¡¯s goin¡¯ on?!¡± I kept myself from thrashing around, but I was still scrambling to get proper footing. ¡°For the record, he hit me first. I was just checkin¡¯ in cause loverboy here got jealous and jumped my friend.¡± Zerick growled and turned me around, out the door. ¡°Is this true, Dex?! You hurt somebody again?!¡± Dex finally had a look of lucidity about him and he sat up in panic. ¡°Move! Move! I can¡¯t let him tell her!¡± Dex weakly pulled himself up on Zerick and tried to run out the door, but Zerick grabbed the back of his boxers and Dex tripped face first into the floor. Zerick turned to me, glanced between us, me out the door and Dex on the floor of the threshold. ¡°What, are you after Miriel too, now?¡± ¡°Nah, we chillin¡¯. I¡¯m just settin¡¯ things straight for my boy.¡± Zerick slumped in Dex¡¯s chair and leaned back. ¡°Every time I think it¡¯s going well, Dex gets jealous. I will be reporting this. And Dex, you ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ off easy on this one. Hallax is hearing about it.¡± ¡°Yeah. Seems about right. I¡¯ll gladly tell him exactly what happened.¡± Instantaneously, Dex jumped up and darted down the hallway, disappearing around the corner. Zerick and I both stood in shock as his footsteps dissipated, and Zerick got up to follow. He groaned to himself. ¡°Where is he going?!¡± ¡°I¡¯d bet Miriel¡¯s boutta get a full view of those nasty underoos.¡± Zerick grabbed my arm, sighing. ¡°Just- fuckin- follow me. You¡¯re spending the night in a cell until Hallax can see you.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s cool.¡± Eh, could be worse. We located Dex by the horrified scream that erupted from Miriel down the hallway. There Dex stood, in front of her door wearing nothing but boxers, lower face covered in blood and bulging eyes like a psychopath. ¡°What did he tell you?! What did he say?!¡± Dex grabbed the dazed and drowsy Miriel by the shoulder and shook her until she pushed away from him. ¡°Dex?! What are you-!¡± She retreated into her room as Zerick swiped Dex away. Zerick put himself between Dex and Miriel. ¡°Sorry, Miriel. Go back to sleep, it was just a little roughing around with the boys.¡± After shutting her door, he grabbed each of us by the arm and pulled us down a level to some dungeon. I smiled and winked at Dex, who glared like he wanted me dead. The metallic style remained throughout the dungeon, but it was more tarnished and less clean. I hopped into the cell that Zerick opened, while he had to basically throw Dex into the cell across from me and lock him in. Zerick pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. ¡°Go to sleep. Lord Hallax will see to you in the morning.¡± * * * * * Apparently, leading off with ¡°He hit me first, I regret nothing¡± was not the ideal play. ¡°I will not tolerate barbarism in my hall. Both of you were brought in benevolently and with great generosity. Your services are valuable to me, and I will not allow this to happen again. Dex and Eddie, you will both be kept under watch by guards while you have leisure time on Hall grounds. Subsequently, you will both serve at guard posts as repentance. Hestrel will oversee Eddie and Zerick will oversee Dex. Your pay will be my forgiveness. Hestrel, assign them to their posts accordingly. You are dismissed.¡± So that was that. I was stuck on guard duty with Hestrel. If I wasn¡¯t rehearsing or performing, I was standing at the front gate checking people who came to Hallax Hall. Dex got the worst end of it, though. Now he couldn¡¯t talk to Miriel whenever he wanted, and I wasn¡¯t around to bug Brenden. Brenden never told me about his conversation with Miriel. In fact, he didn¡¯t talk to me for three days after I beat Dex up. He was pissed at me for ¡°acting like a kid,¡± but things seemed to be going well between him and Miriel afterwards, so I couldn¡¯t complain. 42: Island in the Sun 42 (Weezer- Island In The Sun) Brenden Why do I even bother trying with Desmond? He can do no wrong, but everyone around him is constantly fucking things up. He¡¯s stuck in a bubble at every turn, doing whatever he wants without thinking of the repercussions. I¡¯m not exactly the best at coming up with thorough plans, but I have to give myself credit for thinking at least. Desmond doesn¡¯t seem to think unless it gets him paid or laid. After my bath, I went back to the room and to nobody¡¯s surprise whatsoever, Desmond was gone. I didn¡¯t know where he was, but I couldn¡¯t keep babysitting him. I spent the rest of the night thinking about what I was gonna tell Miriel. Maybe ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to give you the wrong idea. I¡¯m not gonna be around much longer anyways.¡± Maybe I¡¯ll just explain the whole situation and back off and she¡¯ll think I¡¯m just a delusional nutjob. I don¡¯t see a future here, or with any of the people here. I can¡¯t plan for a future that I don¡¯t even have a vague idea of. I¡¯ll end it and move on. * * * * * I heard the news about Desmond from Zerick almost immediately after it happened, then went on with my business. To be honest, I was happy to hear it. Desmond with too much time on his hands was a recipe for bad news, whether that be for him or somebody else. Hallax was in a sour mood, so I wheeled the uisukaifo to my room and set it up next to the window. I was in the middle of playing ¡°Take On Me¡± when I heard two gentle knocks on the door. ¡°It¡¯s unlocked!¡± I didn¡¯t turn around while I finished out the chorus, but I heard light steps stop not far behind me and the door creak shut. Nothing but silence behind me while I finished the section. I didn¡¯t know if I wanted to turn around. I could tell who it was from the knocks, the steps, and the silence. I was afraid to turn around and look at her. She spoke first. ¡°I was unsure if you were going to visit.¡± ¡°I was gonna stop in after practicing. Came by to get it over with and hash it out? Works for me.¡± I finally turned around to her. She was wearing a simple silver-colored puffy blouse and a long brassy skirt. Her hair was pulled to one side and clipped in back, the long clip poking up over the top of her head slightly. It was far more casual looking compared to what she usually wore for her medical work. And I caught myself doing it again, admiring her beauty and noticing her clothes like a fool in love. I chuckled to myself and looked down before correcting my face to something more formal. ¡°Get it over with? Alex, I-¡± ¡°Miriel, my name isn¡¯t Alex. It¡¯s Brenden. I¡¯ve been lying to cover my tracks.¡± I stayed seated in the stool. She motioned toward one of the chairs at the cluttered table, so I gestured for her to sit. She sat down very properly, and folded her hands on her lap. She smiled at me and turned her eyes back down to her hands. She started. ¡°I know. Lord Hallax slipped this morning after dealing with Eddie and Dex. He was asking me about it and referred to you as¡­ Brenden. He had Riviera explain the situation to me.¡± She gazed into my eyes for a moment. ¡°I sympathize with your situation. Being at odds with Lady Simira sounds scary, especially with her tenacity. And, as I have discovered in recent times, there are much worse things that people can hide from you, and do behind your back. Her men almost dragged me the whole way to Poikla before we stopped and I saw what she was capable of. I now realize that it was you and your friends.¡± She¡¯s way too nice for me. Even still, I feel like there has to be some caveat. Some ¡°but¡± that she¡¯s gonna drop out of nowhere. No. I can¡¯t get swept up thinking about that. I have to stay focused on what I planned. I bluntly said ¡°So, what did Desmond tell you yesterday that I can clear up?¡± Surprise and anxiety washed over Miriel¡¯s face. ¡°Desmond, huh. Well, he was very direct with his questions. He wanted to know¡­ how I felt about you. And when I told him, he told me that¡­ you are attracted to me. Of course, he worded it rather crassly and it simply didn¡¯t make sense from a logical standpoint.¡± My nerves were welling up inside me. I was so uncomfortable and I didn¡¯t even know why. It was like my head and my feelings were in two different places, but both wanted the same outcome. I took a deep breath and went with the flow of the moment. ¡°He wasn¡¯t lying, Miriel. I am attracted to you.¡± My nerves peaked, like I was on the verge of an adrenaline rush, and then strangely, they calmed. ¡°I think you¡¯re a great, smart woman. But¡­ maybe it¡¯s just because you¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve met here that didn¡¯t treat me like an outsider. Or maybe it¡¯s just because you¡¯re the only other nyadin I¡¯ve ever met. Might just be some deep biologic thing.¡± She looked like she was unsure of what to think. ¡°Sure¡­ yes, I suppose nature could be responsible for such a thing. But he referred to it in such a manner of sexuality that I was concerned of a developmental disorder within you. Alongside your experienced age and your physical age, it¡¯s alarming.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s Desmond for you. He can¡¯t go a week without sex, and I haven¡¯t thought about it since we got here.¡± I chuckled to myself. ¡°Jorlad can¡¯t understand, but that¡¯s quite normal for nyadin. I¡¯m assuming nobody ever explained the nature of our repro-¡± She stopped talking and furrowed her brows like her brain was malfunctioning. ¡°What? Since you got here? To Vehfirn?¡± ¡°Rhial.¡± Miriel¡¯s face went blank for a moment, and then every time she tried to speak, she stopped, like her questions were being answered by everything she knew about me. ¡°What?!¡± I smiled. ¡°Jigs up, I guess. I¡¯m actually not from this world at all. If at any point you think I¡¯m nuts and wanna call it, that¡¯s cool, we¡¯re just tryna keep on the down low. But¡­¡± She leaned forward skeptically. ¡°So then where are you from?¡± ¡°A world called Earth. Really different from here. We got killed in a car accident maybe four, five weeks ago.¡± The confusion on her face only grew. ¡°Think of it like we were in a metal wagon that could drive without being pulled, and a much bigger and heavier metal wagon hit us and sent us tumbling down a cliff. Pretty sure we were all killed on impact.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know what, I don¡¯t really give a shit anymore.¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a world of only jorlad. It¡¯s where I lived, supported my family, went through school. But when we died, we suddenly woke up in the middle of the woods here. Out by Poikla. It¡¯s why we know all those songs that sound so weird, have weird names, and don¡¯t know anything. Learning an entirely new world after you¡¯ve just started figuring out your own is¡­ I don¡¯t know. I feel like a kid who has no clue about anything, just wandering and hoping for the best.¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°May I¡­ look into your memories?¡± ¡°You can do that?¡± Miriel¡¯s voice got low, like she was embarrassed. ¡°Nyadin can. We need to meditate while staring into each other¡¯s eyes, but yes, if you are willing, I can confirm these things.¡± ¡°Sure. Send it.¡± ¡°Um¡­ sit across from me.¡± She scooted her chair closer and I turned to her. ¡°Now¡­ look into my eyes¡­ and¡­¡± a little bead of sweat dripped from her forehead, which she quickly wiped away. ¡°You¡¯ll¡­ focus on your breath and channel jzanmah lightly, to your eyes.¡± I breathed in and out, then allowed the warm presence of jzanmah to creep through my head, slowly toward my eyes. My head tingled and my eyes felt like they were shifting, like they were opening, dilating beyond what was normal. Across from me, her eyes glimmered and shifted like glossy pools of pink honey, the pupil growing larger and larger until her eyes were consumed by black voids. Warmth cascaded through my body from her, and from my mind to her. It was similar to the first time I used jzanmah, but natural, like music, like our minds were harmonizing. In her eyes were dreams that she let me glimpse, and she saw into mine. She breathed slowly, entranced, focused, blank. ¡°Imagine your life prior. Show me the Earth you speak of.¡± Home. Earth. The planet from afar. Night sky, pavement. Sidewalk. A street with yellow lines. Streetlights and the condo. Toss an empty Bang can in the recycling bin. I pull out my cellphone, calling Kyle to let me in. Rejected call. He¡¯s coming. 10:30 PM. 30 degrees. Snow all night. Texts from Adam and Rowan. D&D Tik Tok and ¡°Get on for the five stack or your dad¡¯s dead¡± ¡°He is dead. Making dinner then I¡¯ll be on.¡± ¡°Lit¡± Look up at the night sky- tricked out shitbox passes behind me blasting Juice WRLD, Righteous. Smile and nod to the dudes driving by. One leans out drunk as fuck ¡°Yeaaaaaah boi!¡± Door opens and the shadow of Kyle runs back to bed to keep his tired. Walk in house, set my work bag and dad¡¯s piece that I carry onto the table. Wipe concrete dust onto my shirt. Open bathroom door- This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I heaved for breath and I stumbled up, falling onto the bed, slowly being reminded of where I was. Catching my breath, my eyes crept back up to Miriel, who was in confused awe. I leaned my head up, confused pity growing on her face. She shot forward and helped me sit, then sat down next to me. ¡°What was¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, I wish I had known.¡± ¡°How could you have? Hehe, ah¡­ I guess I¡¯m just saying that I had no idea what I was doing- still don¡¯t- and you were the only one who¡¯s given me the time of day since I¡¯ve been here, so I leaned a little too much on you. Sorry about that.¡± I sighed and looked her in the eyes with as comforting of a smile as I could muster. ¡°I just wanted to tell you that me and Desmond are leaving here once this whole plan is over and we get our friends back. I won¡¯t bother you anymore and I won¡¯t be around to get between you and Dex. ¡± At first, Miriel seemed like she was fighting back tears, but as soon as I finished speaking she was furious. ¡°Between me and Dex?¡± She leaned forward in her chair and crossed her arms. ¡°Did Dex do something again? Is he the one who did that to your ear?¡± ¡°He was mad at me for overstepping, so I-¡± ¡°Overstepping what?!¡± I had never heard Miriel sound so indignant before. She was like an aggravated teacher questioning the fuck-up student. ¡°Listen to me Al-¡± She sighed her anger away, but it was still poking through. ¡°Brenden. I am not angry at you. I¡¯m angry that Dex will not listen to me. There is nothing between me and Dex. There is nothing to overstep. In fact, I have made it clear that I will never accept his advances, but he is a very¡­ possessive creature. That¡¯s how dorstun are raised to be.¡± She sat a few feet from me on the bed. Her eyes started calculating again. ¡°Is that why Ed- Desmond attacked Dex? Because of your ear?¡± ¡°Probably. Most likely. Haven¡¯t had the chance to talk to him yet, and I¡¯m not actually that mad. If it ain¡¯t the police or something, he¡¯ll throw down with just about anyone over small shit. I guess it¡¯s good news that he¡¯s finally beating the shit out of people again. When we got here, he was so focused on survival. I guess being around people in a big city got him feeling normal again, for better or worse.¡± I got sidetracked again. Something about talking with Miriel just made me want to keep talking. ¡°So now that he¡¯s normal again, we¡¯re probably good to get this plan moving along. Get done with it, get going, and let you get back to your normal.¡± ¡°Normal.¡± Miriel turned to the floor dejectedly and muttered something silently. ¡°What?¡± She looked up at me with a pained smile. ¡°I don¡¯t want my normal. I¡¯ve been traveling aimlessly for the past several years since my sister died. A fireblood killed her on the outskirts of our hometown. I only survived because I can heal. After that, I left early for my traveling years. I left with Al¡¯Li and then met the others and went from place to place, dragging them with me into each noble house on after the other.¡± She gazed around the room and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve been growing to hate this place over the season, like all the others. And then you came crashing in like an incredibly capable yet strangely oblivious burst of life and music. Somebody that I couldn¡¯t stop myself from being drawn to.¡± How do I respond? Is she confessing? Is this how being confessed to feels? My heart raced and my face was flooding with heat and embarrassment. ¡°Wh- um- what do¡­ you mean?¡± ¡°I spoke with a very nice stranger yesterday. She didn¡¯t speak much, but I took your advice and asked her for her opinion. I was so afraid of getting swept up in jorlad days, I didn¡¯t realize I was already caught in them. I may not move at a pace you¡¯re used to, but I wouldn¡¯t mind spending some time with you. To see if these emotions are just instinctual, or something worth getting to know further.¡± My eyes catching anything other than the floor threatened to kill me with embarrassment, but I took a breath and put my hand on top of hers, finding the courage to look back into her swirling pink eyes. ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about how fast or slow it goes. Like you told me when I first met you, we¡¯ve got plenty of time. I¡¯d be happy to learn what your¡­ our nyadin days are like.¡± Not a thought went through my mind for what felt like forever staring into her eyes. She finally ended my hypnosis as she clasped my hand. ¡°Hand.¡± ¡°Hand?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first thing you said to me. You pointed to your bloody hand and said ¡®hand.¡¯¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. A real good first impression I made. You probably thought I was a total idiot.¡± ¡°Initially, I understood the shock pain can bring, but admittedly I was very worried by how little you knew. I now know why you knew nothing, and I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have to be worried about your development because of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just gonna be honest, Miriel, I am pretty stupid. I¡¯ve only made it this far by luck and the people I¡¯ve been with.¡± ¡°So¡­ you appeared here? Like that? From being a jorlad before?¡± ¡°Yeah. Five of us. I didn¡¯t get it all that bad, all things considered.¡± ¡°And that was what, a few dozen days ago?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Her face wrinkled like she was trying to make logic of it, but couldn¡¯t. I sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve told me all about this place and all I¡¯ve really done is keep secrets. You wanna know anything about Earth? I¡¯ll tell you everything I know.¡± Her eyes lit up at the idea of learning about another world far away from here. I told her as much as I could about the countries of the world, some general history, but what she was really interested in was technology. The idea of devices being powered by electricity enthralled her. Everything being autonomous without the need for sigil energy, but instead natural resources, the wind, the sun, oil and coal. She was enamored with the idea of computers, phones and the internet, kicking her legs back and forth cutely while listening. Everyone being able to use them too, without needing some special prerequisite they were born with. Miriel was glancing around rapidly, like she was calculating again. ¡°And that device that you were holding, you could speak without delay to any one of your friends at Amien Manor, no matter how far away they are?¡± ¡°Yeah. And I had these cool things called earbuds. You could put ¡®em in your ears to listen to music, or use them to talk without even needing a wire to your phone. Oh, and that thing you saw those guys pass by in, that metal machine, that¡¯s a car.¡± She laughed and put her hands on her lap. ¡°Part of me really is worried that you are crazy and imagining all of this, and yet I saw a glimpse of it and¡­ it simply doesn¡¯t make sense any other way.¡± I raised my right hand. ¡°Hand to God, everything is real.¡± ¡°God? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°He¡¯s- like, God. The one who created everything.¡± ¡°You discovered what created everything?¡± ¡°Not exactly¡­ there¡¯s no proof but also nothing saying it¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s something a lot of people believe, though. We don¡¯t actually know for sure. Most people where I¡¯m from believe there¡¯s this one God above us that sent his son down to Earth to live among us and then die so that we¡¯re forgiven for our sins and have eternal peace in Heaven, after we die. People believe other things in other places though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ comforting, though. What about you? Do you believe it?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I can¡¯t say anymore. Reality as I know it is completely different in this place. If Christianity was right, then we should¡¯ve been sent to Heaven or Hell. Unless this is one of those¡­ probably Hell. But I get the sense it¡¯s not. Was it God who sent us here? A god? Or something else entirely? ¡°I don¡¯t know anymore. If I was on Earth, yeah. But now I¡¯m in a completely different world that would have seemed like a fantasy show to me back then. Even then, there were tons of gods in history, and I¡¯m sure there are different things here. Here, it feels like anything could be real, and now, because of that, I believe more and less at the same time, if that makes sense. Like I¡¯m realizing that I just don¡¯t know anything. And I can¡¯t know everything. I still wake up expecting to be back home. I reach for my phone. I expect a buzz from my pocket. I find myself wondering what happened in all the shows and games I loved. I wonder how my friends and family are doing and I want to call. I feel like I should be so close to my family, but I couldn¡¯t be farther.¡± She lowered her eyes. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to ask something so heavy.¡± ¡°Oh, hah, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s all I really think about anymore.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t be too harsh on your own mind. You¡¯re one person. You don¡¯t have to know everything, have all the answers, to simply be happy.¡± A poignant silence hung in the air for the first time since we started talking. She cleared her throat. ¡°When are you performing next?¡± ¡°Every night after today. Apparently there¡¯s some big meeting between the Viscounts that me and Desmond are gonna be playing at. Hallax wants to use it for¡­ uh¡­ the plan.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to attend a few of your performances. Tell me where they are before you go, and I¡¯ll come if I can get out of doing work.¡± ¡°Oh shit, work.¡± I looked at my empty wrist and then out the window. ¡°It¡¯s gotta be midday by now. I was supposed to rehearse with Desmond. Sorry, but I have to get going.¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± She grabbed my face and my spirit left my body. I didn¡¯t know what to expect, but she created a sigil in her lap and then raised her hand to my ear. ¡°How are you going to play well if you can¡¯t hear the music perfectly?¡± The pain in my ear disappeared as her hand gently prodded several parts of it, the muffled ache dissipating. ¡°Thank you, Miriel.¡± ¡°You are welcome any time.¡± She stood and walked to the door as gracefully as she always did. ¡°And don¡¯t forget to tell me where you¡¯re performing.¡± ¡°I will. I promise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m excited.¡± She smiled at me and shut the door behind her. I grabbed the straps on the side of the piano and pulled it down the hall to Hallax¡¯s office. ¡°You¡¯re late, Brenden.¡± Hallax¡¯s voice echoed throughout the chamber as I backed in. ¡°Sorry, Lord Hallax. I got caught up. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in trouble Brenden, but you have several performances before you play in front of the Duke and everyone beneath him. I too have a stake in this, as I recommended you to him, alongside it being an integral piece of the larger project.¡± I wheeled the uisukaifo over toward Desmond, who seemed smug as ever. ¡°Sup, B?¡± An irritated smile grew on my face and he caught it. ¡°Shut up. It¡¯s rehearsal time.¡± * * * * * We rehearsed that afternoon, and then Desmond went to guard duty for most of the night. The following evenings were hectic and draining. I used the Flare sigil to alter how Desmond and I appeared. With some finesse, it could change our colors and shapes enough to be unrecognizable. Desmond¡¯s skin appeared darker and we made him a little fatter, gave him some makeup and a massive black wig. I used Disapparate to hide my ears, Flare to become more silver than gold and to conceal my eye size. With makeup and a lot of frizzing done to my hair, I was like a wildman from a silver mine instead of myself. I became Alex, and Desmond became Eddie, a hideously clownish cross of 80s hairband style and Triali gild. The sigils weren¡¯t horribly taxing, but stacking them with performing definitely left us drained. Night after night, we worked our way up the chain of Madam Diona¡¯s establishments. We went from some generic taverns with crowds that grew throughout the performance, to a really fancy theater-looking-place that had some high end people in it. Our reputation was spreading like wildfire around the Hallax Quarter. And then, it was time for the big night, where we would perform in front of the big wigs of the entire area. I quickly forgave Desmond so we could go into our big night without any hiccups. After all, we had some new stolen heat to debut. 43: LA Devotee 43 (Panic! At The Disco- LA Devotee) Desmond ¡°Charmed to see you again so soon, boys!¡± Madam Diona strode through the front door of Good Moaning and into the afternoon streets of the Hallax Quarter. ¡°My, my! Such a new look! How adorable!¡± Brenden helped her up into the shotgun seat of the wagon and we set off. ¡°So,¡± Brenden started, ¡°Madam Diona, are we gonna be introduced to these nobles, or just go off of looks? And how should we deal with Lord Amien if we can¡¯t get his attention or he doesn¡¯t like us?¡± ¡°Dear, don¡¯t worry about that one little bit. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here as your manager. I''ll convince him to let you perform, ah, I won¡¯t need to because your playing will do all the speaking. But I did bring him. The Lord was going to stay back to fight an illness had I not been at his ear convincing him to tough it out.¡± Her perfume wafted back to me, a floral scent with undertones I couldn¡¯t place, yet oddly familiar. Our venue was north of Vehfirn in a theater hall of the Count, the one who oversaw Hallax and Amien directly. That, and the Duke would be there to watch. The Duke oversaw the Count, and apparently had no business going to the meeting aside from attending our short concert. Just north of the city, in a small wealthy village beyond farmland, a trio of towers joined together by bridges at varying levels rose high above the surrounding hills. Offshooting branches were rampant and interconnected. The center tower the shortest, and the right highest. The three great ivory pine trees with silver needles stood like an out of place faux Christmas tree display against the fiery autumn hills. The guards were in similar armor, stark white with sharp silver points and helmets with tall white horns. Past them and inside the walls, the building was bright with whites and blues, but we were not inside long. We loaded our instruments and gear onto a platform with giant ropes tied to each corner. It was a rudimentary elevator raised by pulleys up to near the top of the middle tower. Brenden and I didn¡¯t say anything to each other, but we both caught ourselves leaning on the railing and staring out over the city. The sun was falling in the sky and its orange glow slowly encompassed the horizon. ¡°Look at that,¡± Brenden said. ¡°Hallax Hall, Amien Manor, the other one. You can see it all from up here. The city itself, too. The Hallax Quarter looks like it¡¯s covered in Christmas lights.¡± ¡°And we say Adam is tacky for keeping that God-awful wreath in his bathroom.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a good feeling about today for some reason. First time in a long time I¡¯ve had a good feeling about a show.¡± ¡°Well don¡¯t jinx it. There¡¯s only so much luck and good feelings to go around.¡± Our conversation was brought to an abrupt stop as the lift reached its destination. ¡°Hi!¡± A squeaky woman¡¯s anxiety-filled voice called to us. ¡°Uh- um- hello Alex and Eddie- um- van- of- um Clan Halen! I am Brina.¡± We turned around and I patted Brenden¡¯s back. At the receiving end of the platform was a short and skinny stark white woman with four arms and four eyes. She had a cat-like nose with small floppy ears on the sides of her head. Her hair was snow-white, short, and tied back loosely to show off her equally white eyes. The extra eyes were on her temples. Her extra arms, though shorter, were protruding from the sides of her ribcage. They emerged from under a curtain-like cloth that fell over her shoulders and chest, just to her mid-stomach, which had short white fur covering it. She couldn¡¯t have been more than 4 feet tall, which made it a little awkward to talk and follow her as we were brought into the circular performance hall. ¡°Not that I should- um¡­ ask¡­ but are- are- are you going to sell tokens of your songs?¡± She held the door open and stared at the ground as we wheeled the instruments in. ¡°Tokens?¡± I dug into my memory. Hallax had mentioned them to me, but never went into detail. Just a ¡°You will make me some,¡± in his usual boisterous way. But I was way too hungover to disagree or ask questions. ¡°Oh!¡± She started waving with all of her hands as she closed the door and led us in. ¡°If you¡¯re not, then I don¡¯t want to bother, please don¡¯t think I¡¯m trying to force you, I would never do such a thing, I am just a really big fan, me and my kids and we wanted to purchase one or two when we could but you don¡¯t have to answer if you¡¯re not making them-¡± Brenden accidentally banged the uisukaifo on the railing and the woman screamed. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Alex! I¡¯m so sorry I should have been guiding you and not rambling, I¡¯m a terrible servant and a worse fan! Oh, i¡¯ the eyes, I¡¯m a failure to you!¡± Brenden stepped away from the uisukaifo, a little overwhelmed by her. ¡°Brina,¡± he leaned down and put his hands on her shoulders, ¡°you¡¯re doing fine. I think it would be very easy to put some tokens together for you if you tell us which songs you want. We don¡¯t know pricing yet, but you¡¯d be the first one to ask, so we can make an exception.¡± ¡°What?¡± Her small eyes somehow widened even more. ¡°I can¡¯t take any exceptions, those are for the lords and I¡¯m not a lord, I only have a little extra money from my position to be able to pay for them, but only if you¡¯re making them and- ¡°We¡¯re making them. By order. You said you and your kids are fans. Are you coming to this show tonight?¡± ¡°Yes- YES! Yes, of course! We will be here- um- I will. They won¡¯t, they¡¯re not here and they won¡¯t be here. That would be against protocol which I would never break, and-¡± ¡°If your kids can find a way in, we¡¯d be happy to meet them. Seems like you¡¯re our biggest fan so far, so that¡¯s the least we can do.¡± Her eyes were practically bulging out of her head. ¡°You mean that? You would meet my kids and you wouldn¡¯t tell if they came to listen even though they¡¯re not supposed to? Wait, no! I can¡¯t! It wouldn¡¯t be right! And what if I got caught?! Oh no no no, I can¡¯t, I¡¯m so sorry I lied to you!¡± As she was rambling, I noticed her top was being slowly, expertly raised up from the front, and three tiny heads peaked out at Brenden and I. Brina¡¯s face only became more panicked as her lower arms wrestled them down, trying to lower the shirt drape in front of them. She was no match for the three tiny versions of her that were wrestling their way up in her pouch. ¡°Miss Brina,¡± I said. ¡°Nobody¡¯s in here right now. If your kids are so eager to get out, then we¡¯d be happy to meet them.¡± Just then, three tiny squeaking voices whispered their way up her shirt and Brina covered her face. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so sorry! I wasn¡¯t trying to do anything bad! They¡¯re just past nursing age, so I thought I might be able to sn-sneak them in and see you!¡± She stammered wildly and the three kids climbed out of her marsupial pouch into her lower arms, where she held them up to see us while still covering her face with her upper hands. They had these big eyes on their little heads and for as alien as they looked, they were adorable little things. They spoke in a different language, which sounded like how cats coo and meow at each other. ¡°This is Merrow, Brinarow, and Pukurrow. I told them about your first show I saw and they wanted to see it too, so I snuck them in¡­ and I¡¯ve been doing that at all the other ones¡­¡± The kids were all trying to climb out of her arms toward us. ¡°It¡¯s great to meet the three of you and your mother,¡± Brenden leaned down and patted each of their heads, then backed away from the brightly smiling, but slightly disappointed mother. I crouched down and patted each of the kids. ¡°Hey! Can¡¯t wait for you to hear our music tonight.¡± ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll love it, I¡¯m sure!¡± She turned to me with a beaming smile. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to enjoy yourself, too. You¡¯re our number one fan.¡± I straightened up and gave her head a quick pat and a rub. As her face turned beet red, she smiled brightly. I heard two sets of boots entering the room and tapped Brina¡¯s shoulder, pointing, and the kids scurried back into her pouch. ¡°Wen Brina? I presume you have acclimated the guests. Please leave them be so they may rehearse. The lords will be convening here at dusk.¡± I raised a hand to excuse her. ¡°Oh it¡¯s fine, she was asking about song token pricing. Catch us after the show and tell us which ones you want, Brina.¡± She went to the other members of the Count¡¯s court and quickly saluted us before leaving. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Rehearsal or not, we¡¯re ready. We¡¯re at a good point where we can split the songs we¡¯re singing, and I can amplify Brenden¡¯s voice between songs like I do mine. After maybe an hour, the lights went onto us and the audience was lost in the darkness. They were using some kind of spotlights of sigils and mirrors that made it impossible to see up by them, where the nobles were seated. I wanted to get a good look at the Amien motherfucker. The clicking of boots and heels was the only thing I sensed from the lords as they filled those booths. There was a small audience of servants and local villagers on the floor as well. Madam Diona waltzed onto stage like she was walking the red carpet. ¡°Lords, Ladies, and people of the Triala, we humbly thank you for inviting us into your esteemed tower! Though the two men before you are new to the locale, they create some of the finest music you will hear on Peturi. I present to you, the Van Halen Brothers!¡± Madam Diona bowed off the stage as our audience gave a light golf clap. Sure enough, it was time for the show to start. The reception for the first few songs was good. With some new songs and splitting the singing, we had it down. Brenden chose a couple songs to adjust the lyrics so we could add them, and they sounded fine enough. They weren¡¯t exactly good, and the lyrics didn¡¯t make much sense in Triali, but it was passable as long as we let our playing do most of the carrying. There was that same light clapping after every song, which was honestly more than we were expecting, so we acted way more reserved than usual. I also learned that Hallax doesn¡¯t seem to shut the fuck up during shows. I couldn¡¯t always hear, but he was talking his entire way through the show. I felt bad for whoever was seated next to him. It was always comments like ¡°Oh, I love this one! It¡¯s so great because-¡± and then he would say why it¡¯s so good while the part was happening. Then, while Brenden was singing ¡°That Smell,¡± Hallax changed subject. ¡°Count Wey, for your own preparedness, Lady Simira has provided me with a written and sealed confirmation of¡­¡± Brenden¡¯s singing muffled him, ¡°official commitment receipt from Tarynn. The final pieces are in place¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t hear the Count¡¯s low voice very well. ¡°...before then, you should consider your debt to Madam Diona, Olori.¡± His voice got really low again, ¡°newly accrued.¡± ¡°What? That is preposterous. What did she say she wants? I beseech you, Count, I owe her nothing more.¡± ¡°...ra is not enough for loaning you those mines¡­your daughter is close to pledging¡­ undoing your repayment. Your heiress as a servant of Diona¡­¡± ¡°You are correct, Count Wey.¡± ¡°...you be sure Diona will not have hold over two noble hou¡­¡± ¡°...difficult woman to work with, but it is because of her¡­ uproot the hold Diona has in her house¡­ knows the danger she poses to all of us.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Yes, Count Wey?¡± ¡°...and you are too weak to win¡­ Fera¡¯s death myself. Muria is in political strife with the influx of refugees¡­cannot allow Diona to buy the Duke¡¯s¡­¡± Hallax didn¡¯t respond and their conversation ended with the song. Then I was onto singing some more. I couldn¡¯t pay attention to what any of them were saying while singing, so I missed some exchanges between the nobles. As the show approached its end, Brenden and I began ¡°Hotel California,¡± one of his songs to sing. The nobles were mostly quiet, but then I heard Madam Diona talking to somebody. It was a lighter song, so I could hear Diona well, but not her counterpart. ¡°Tell me, Hazjiken. How are you enjoying my boys?¡± ¡°They are delightful¡­ less reputable peoples, their music is of high quality¡­ paraded around like jesters? You¡¯ve found more good pets, Madam¡­ have them at my house for one of your nights.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t hilarious? Their lyrics make no sense and their instruments are shoddy, but nobody knows the better. Even you call them high quality.¡± ¡°I yearn to know the music you¡¯ve heard in your¡­ have been splendid.¡± ¡°Perhaps to you, it would be. An old revolutionary once debated with me, crying out that music, and art, carries the soul of people. I don¡¯t see the emotional appeal, but I admit the time they practice to perfect it is dangerous. You may use these two whenever.¡± ¡°Then the day after tomorrow. Spirits must be raised after¡­ The sigil has made her useless¡­ my daughter was the one urging me to use slow treatment¡­¡± ¡°Oh dear, did the poor girl die?¡± ¡°...I haven¡¯t seen one live since that bumbling idiot¡­ her mind has turned cur, worse than Eulin.¡± ¡°How unfortunate for her. Perfect for me. Well, if her mind won¡¯t work, but her body will, then I will gladly buy her from you. An exchange, perhaps. One of my suppliers tells me a regenerator is on the way. But, since your cur girl is a low-value item, she will only cover a price reduction on this new one.¡± ¡°Accepted.¡± ¡°And¡­ dear Hazjiken. I have received word that the animals have seen a rise in commitments. My business is suffering. Have them work more, then only give reprieve on my nights.¡± ¡°...undone the penalty of death on adultery. I can do little more without push back¡­ daughter¡¯s employ. She supports servant commit¡­ And the results do not disagree.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too quick, Hazjiken. But this is good time for a lesson, so listen closely. If a law is written on paper, you may burn it. If a law is written in wood, you must char it until it is fundamentally different. If a law is set in stone, you must chisel until the people do not know it existed. If a law is written upon the sky, you must guide their eyes down. If a law is written in the heart, convince them they do not need their heart.¡± ¡°I do not have the agelessness¡­¡± I missed a pretty important sounding bit. ¡°...feebleness of my race?¡± ¡°Perhaps, but Hazjiken, you cannot hide from me. I see cracks. How your mind still stoops to think of these animals as your own.¡± ¡°...as one of them. Thus their words, ideas seep¡­ unfortunately built into me. But I am learning. If they are¡­¡± ¡°Then I will gratify, and you will employ. What good is it for us if they start trusting each other? Muria is fighting back. And his people are petitioning for him to fund education. It¡¯s absurd.¡± ¡°...disgusts me.¡± ¡°As it does me¡­ I worry such sentiments may seep into your quarter should the people go undistracted. Work them more. I¡¯ll push more fluff into the alleys.¡± ¡°...causing issues with my deliveries. The merchants are declining to bring your ¡­ being arrested upon the discovery of that fluff you¡¯re sneaking in with them¡­ too hasty¡­ outnumber the majority by winter, then you must ease¡­¡± ¡°Your extreme maneuver destroyed the bridges I once used for that very thing. Now there is one bridge. You hold power to change. Quietly decriminalize fluff next time there is a disaster and then we¡¯ll flood the streets with it. The citizens will be too distracted by their own fear to protest.¡± ¡°...nature to act soon and I cannot create another, Diona¡­ turned to me for the last two¡­ pressing the limit¡­ the yeffen and we can do more with that.¡± ¡°If we step on those filthy cubbins anymore, then Gossam and the Elysians will peak their heads in. I cannot have that. I know someone disposable with enough hatred to commit a grave, city-shaking murder if given the opportunity. That threat, that fear, should keep those animals in their cages. Everything after will fall exactly into place as I¡¯ve planned. It is as good as done. So do not worry. You have enough to worry about managing your manor and your herd. And that daughter of yours is becoming awfully bold. A real pack leader who does everything I need her to. Have Rezyn watch her much more closely, though. I have noticed some oddities surrounding her as of late.¡± ¡°...that Hallax is persuading Muria¡¯s guards to seize the fluff¡­ legalizes fluff, then our quarters can¡­ and remind your debtor of his master.¡± ¡°But how, I wonder.¡± A sick smile slithered through her words. ¡°Hazjiken, wouldn¡¯t it be just delicious threatening to whore his daughter to you? Imagine the groveling such a prideful creature would do to prevent that act. How delightful it would be.¡± ¡°I have no interest in¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the threat, darling. Hallax doesn¡¯t know of your finer tastes or how little time his daughter has left.¡± Hazjiken sighed, some wishfulness in his voice. ¡°To lack the burden of children. ¡­ I¡¯d gift her to you for only a ¡®thanks¡¯ in return¡­ watchful eyes and inflated sense of righteousness disgust¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Hazjiken, I have plans to depose her, don¡¯t you worry.¡± ¡°...but don¡¯t tell me¡­ must come naturally if I am to play the role of a mourning father.¡± ¡°Soon, Hazjiken. Soon. You focus your work on Muria. Once we have his domain, I will have bought the city from the Count and I will use the power to claim the farmland, the last piece of Vehfirn, and you will be my proxy ruler while Tarynn is trained. I have it all planned, so sit back and enjoy the show. Oh, I truly love having a pet who understands my philosophy so well. And now, should my little Desmond have heard me through sigils-¡± My salufo playing stuttered upon hearing my own name. I recovered as quickly as I could, but she definitely noticed. FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK! She knows I know. She knows I heard. She chuckled gleefully, reveling in her discovery. ¡°Oh this is quite delightful. I love when I¡¯m right. Ahem. Dear Desmond, as you are apparently listening, know that should any of this reach the common ear, or should you disobey me under this new, one-sided contract of ours, those dear to you will suddenly begin to dwindle and you will notice, but you will not be able to stop it without putting them in more danger. You already know there¡¯s no one to challenge me, so be a good, loyal pet and I will release you and your friend once I am done with you. Sincerely, your loving new owner, Madam Diona.¡± I pulled my hearing away, just trying to focus on the music from there. If we make one wrong move, we¡¯re gonna be in deep over our heads. I just have to go along. They¡¯re making plays on each other at the same table they dine at, right over the people¡¯s heads, and our best bet for survival is to get out of dodge. But why is Diona working with Amien? Isn¡¯t she working with Hallax? Unless she¡¯s the one working them both? We finished off the show, keeping my ears on my own playing for the rest of the performance. Diona descended and bid all the lords a good night. The lights went off after they had left. ¡°Well, boys, I must say you put on a marvelous performance! Bravo!¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said rather bluntly, not hiding my newfound disdain for her well. ¡°What about the gig? Did you get it?¡± Brenden eagerly awaited her answer. ¡°The night after tomorrow! Congratulations!¡± Brenden beamed at me, beyond overjoyed. ¡°Yeah! We got it!¡± I tried to turn away. ¡°Yeah. We did. I¡¯m tired as all shit right now, though, so we should get outta here.¡± Diona walked right up to me. ¡°Oh, sleep well now. You put your heart into that show. Don¡¯t wait for me, either. I¡¯ll be traveling back to town tomorrow.¡± She gave me a smug, pitying stare, and then kissed the air at me. Fuck it. Not worth. I smiled in tired concession. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure working with you, Madam.¡± Brenden saluted her casually. ¡°Bye, and thanks for all the help.¡± ¡°Of course, dear.¡± She rested her hand on his neck and petted him like he was a cat or a dog, kissed him on the cheek, then waved and smiled her way out of sight. My legs wouldn¡¯t move as my mind caught up to the moment. The odor of death wafting through the strong perfume which caught my nose after she strutted off. Sulfur. ¡°Come on, Brenden.¡± Off to the bar to forget I ever heard anything at all. If she thinks I¡¯m just a drunk asshole singer, that¡¯s safer for all of us. 44: Black Butterfly 44 (Enemy Inside- Black Butterfly) Tells Ain¡¯t no way a-ha got sent to this place with us, but sure enough the sound of their music was coming from two instrument-toting fruitcakes. ¡°It¡¯s the strangest music I ever heard.¡± The voice came from the edge of the doorway as I entered the theater. I turned around to see the lanky, poorly rendered Christian Bale. ¡°You¡¯re Adam¡¯s friend, yeah? Lady Simira¡¯s hand?¡± I nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯ve met yet. Call me Rezyn.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need to call you.¡± I awkwardly glanced at him and then turned back around to the music. ¡°One second, if you would?¡± I grudgingly turned back around. ¡°Have you seen Lady Simira? I have been meaning to speak with her.¡± ¡°In her office. Like usual.¡± ¡°Right, thanks for saving me a run around the manor, Tells.¡± He smiled like a creep and slinked around the corner. Yeah. He¡¯s bad vibes. Despite him, the most uncanny part of all of this was the display on stage. The clowns were wrapping up ¡°Take On Me¡± and talking to the crowd, which was the most alive I had ever seen the people in this manor. I was genuinely questioning who they could be until they started playing Skynyrd. Desmond wasn¡¯t subtle. He¡¯d give his left nut just to lick the stage that band walked on. I found a seat near the back of the room and chilled for a bit. I didn¡¯t come into the theater often, but it was a dark, easing change of pace. After not hearing music for so long, it was like my entire body reverberated with the beat. Even for such stripped down, barebones music, the stress trickled out of my shoulders and back, and I let my face relax for the first time in a while. The whole mess with Vetia was eating away at me, but I didn¡¯t hate Simira for it, as much as part of me wanted to. She was a better person than her father, so if I could help her make this portion of the city better, I wanted to. This music is so nice to hear. What would our future look like if we¡¯d never been taken here? All of us have powers and abilities that we can definitely get loaded off of. And maybe one day, after we all do our thing and kill a monster or save the world or whatever, we can build our own castle up on the rocks floating high above the planet. Wouldn¡¯t that be a dream? What would I do after a while, though? Sure, we¡¯d have a hideout, but settling down¡­ I¡¯m still making sense of how I am now. Will it get easier? Will I be able to ¡°settle down¡± at all? Tired of overthinking it all, I drowned out the music and pulled ¡°Djoteided¡¯s Beat¡± from my satchel. Twas a bright, lovely day ¡®tween bursts of ash. The brain gloriously illuminating the land and inspiring new thought upon that forum. Gazing upward, basking in knowledge, bright ideas abounded among my compatriots within the forum. However, upon a white stone bench, muddying the pristine glamour was, once again, Larmeonip. Hair scraggly and legs half-caked in fresh mud. Steps tracked from entry to seat and not a man spoke to him. ¡°Man! If you be man and not beast, prove it and I shall a golden coin bestow upon thee. For why didst thou ignore my summons, my humble invitation to supp and then show filthy upon this forum, whose denizens are akin to my kin?! Speak, Larmeonip.¡± ¡°Many thanks be upon ye for such a chance, Unwise Djoteided! To my displeasure, my body and mind are muddled and muddied. Forgive any confusion I may have.¡± ¡°Ay, shouldst thou be of unusual mind, then I shan¡¯t critique thine words too harshly. Alas, my query presently stands, messy Larmeonip.¡± ¡°A beast I am not, but a messy man I may be, as a cake of mud is surely inedible and unwanted at supper.¡± ¡°Filthy Larmeonip, thou hast bathing privilege for thy citizenship! I¡¯ve no reason to believe thy muck is truly thy reason! For what reason didst thou ignore my letter of invitation?!¡± ¡°Thy question I shall answer in question, detailed Djoteided. What becomes of letters in the wetness of the rain?¡± ¡°What care should rain have for letters, Larmeonip?! Rain reads not the intention of words nor the flourish with which they¡¯re written! I¡¯ve witnessed letters survive aback corty through storm and shine, yet a simple ticket evades the care of thyself!¡± ¡°Ay, critical Djoteided, perhaps I am at fault for leaving thine invitation amidst rain. My fullest apologies I gift thee.¡± ¡°I¡¯d a wonderful discussion plotted and devised for which I sought to understand thine assessments on pressing worries of life and death, divinity and nature.¡± ¡°Are you of mind to ask now? Surely there is light left for discussion.¡± ¡°Ay, apologetic Larmeonip, I¡¯ve worries worthy of days of discussion! What thinkest thou on the subject of death?¡± ¡°Contemplative Djoteided, what good is it to think on death?¡± ¡°Foolish Larmeonip, art thou not at all curious what becomes of man after is his final beat? Art thou not fearful of what becomes of thy soul?¡± ¡°Curious, yes, and I will one day know, but what good does thinking on death do? What good is arbitrary fear of death?¡± ¡°Frustrating Larmeonip, thou¡¯rt perhaps not equipped to discuss such lofty matters. What would thee think of in death¡¯s stead?¡± ¡°I am simple, pondering Djoteided. Perhaps another of your prepared topics is better suited to one such as myself?¡± ¡°Then what of the Body and our organs, our vessels of worship? Thou worshippest a piece, yes?¡± ¡°Religious Djoteided, what of the Body? Ay, the pieces inspire interesting questions and moral tales, but what am I to the Heart to question the Heart, or the Brain? Surely the vessels have matters more important than my worship. Are the Brain and Heart aware of the stories we tell of them?¡± ¡°Blasphemous Larmeonip, the vessels see and know all! Their omnipotence ought inspire fright at the utterance of such words!¡± ¡°Am I smote? Perhaps they hear, but what is the opinion of a mortal to the greater beings of Rhial? What is my perspective to that of one who sees all, who knows all, and who is always seeing and knowing?¡± ¡°Rash Larmeonip, dost thou not fear tortuous punishment by the Hand?!¡± ¡°Does the Hand punish beasts for being beasts? Why must man be punished for being man? Will it not cause more pain to fear lasting pain after death?¡± ¡°Malevolent Larmeonip, art thou without a grain of good?!¡± ¡°Quick Djoteided, is evil or good punished in life?¡± ¡°Rhetorical Larmeonip, tis obviously evil.¡± ¡°Interspective Djoteided, am I punished for acting as Larmeonip?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then by reason, I am good with ease, no?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Therefore, I will endure no worldly punishment, no?¡± ¡°Correct again.¡± ¡°Therefore, I¡¯ve not a just vessel to fear, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip.¡± ¡°Therefore, I¡¯ve not death to fear, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip, and?¡± ¡°Then for what should I worry?¡± ¡°Lackadaisical Larmeonip, thou¡¯rt not confused nor muddied of mind! What didst thou read to accrue such clarity?! No man can be rid of such worries without eons of understanding to teach him!¡± ¡°Have I not told you that I cannot read?¡± ¡°Thou hast the clarity of a fool and the reason of a wiseman!¡± ¡°And yet I am freer of mind than the stuped unwiseman.¡± In a flight of frustration, I dropped a gold coin politely in that dreadful man¡¯s hand and cursed the fear which curdled my veil of wisdom. ¡°Alright, alright, alright!¡± Desmond¡¯s voice broke through my reading, reminding me of the mission at hand. ¡°We¡¯re gonna be taking an intermission from the main show now. All of you go have some fun, get your rocks off, and come back to enjoy some more right after! Madam Diona, you¡¯re up.¡± Desmond played lightly on his guitar while Brenden stepped off stage and Diona stepped up. The hall turned into its usual fuckfest, so I slipped through the chaos to the west wing. I was the first one there, pacing around the area to avoid looking overly suspicious. I didn¡¯t know what else to do, but I could tell people were probably more confused by my telegraphed pacing than if I had just posted nearby. Thinking about it was only making me more anxious, which made me pace faster. ¡°Tells,¡± Simira sharply whispered to me, ¡°Come, now.¡± I joined her and the silver crackhead that I could only assume was Brenden in disguise. Without a word, Lady Simira opened the door and brought us outside, across the training grounds to the shack connected to the arena. She checked over her shoulder and swung the door open, ushering us inside. The inside of the building was stale. Still air and a musty atmosphere in utter silence, except for the creaking of planks around us. The only light was from a bimunaekat outside, peaking through the slits in the wooden walls. ¡°Through here.¡± A door stood immediately to the left of us, and Simira wasted no time forcing it open. She stepped through the threshold and down several steps before stopping. Her fingers glowed a dim red, illuminating the dark walls around her as her hand caught fire. The stairs evened out to flat ground eventually and the hall widened just a little. Simira stopped about halfway down the corridor and began knocking along the wall to our left, glancing at the parchment I retrieved. ¡°Lady Simira?¡± ¡°Yes, Tells?¡± ¡°Rezyn was asking for you earlier. He needed to speak to you.¡± ¡°Did he? I never saw him. When did he ask?¡± ¡°At the beginning of the performance, milady.¡± Simira sighed and cautiously glanced down both directions of the hall. Her body grew tense. ¡°Be aware of your surroundings. You¡¯ll smell his slime before you see him. I¡¯d bet he¡¯s the traitor sicced on me.¡± Simira led us onward. Brenden¡¯s disguise had faded, and he looked at me as himself finally. ¡°Didn¡¯t get to say this back there, but it¡¯s good to see you again.¡± He hugged me. ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± He let go, but leaned in. ¡°I¡¯ve heard bad things about Rezyn, but a traitor?¡± I couldn¡¯t look him in the eye. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to tell him, and were it not for the darkness and flickering light, my face would have said it all. ¡°Rumors of a plot to kill Lady Simira.¡± Simira cut in. ¡°My father ordering Rezyn to kill me would not bode well for his reputation. I anticipate he is reconnaissance, but that said, we¡¯re walking into a forgotten tomb only few know the whereabouts of. Catch up with each other later, we need to press forward quickly and quietly.¡± She backed up and then slammed her foot into the wall, crashing through a thin layer of rock and wood to reveal an opening. Ripping off the excess wall, she climbed through and disappeared. ¡°Hey,¡± Brenden tapped my arm, ¡°is everything okay?¡± I stopped at the hole in the wall and looked away from him, biting my tongue and trying to hold back my emotions. ¡°Yeah.¡± I slipped through and caught up to Simira, Brenden following behind me. We walked down stone stairs for several minutes before being entombed in darkness, the cavern opening to void all around. The deep gray damp walls and floor aggressively absorbed our firelight. ¡°It would behoove you to light your hand, Brenden. Vision will worsen.¡± Simira passed me the piece of parchment, struck the wall with reflective chalk, and pulled me right against her, holding the flame over the map and pointing. ¡°This is where we¡¯re going. This is where we are now. Keep it facing this direction as we go so we¡¯re not wandering aimlessly.¡± The caves were silent except for our footsteps and the occasional word from Lady Simira to have a look at the map. The strangest part was that the pathways were rigid, almost like they were organized with countless holes in the walls that led to rooms and smaller caverns. Brenden caught up to Lady Simira. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what even is this place?¡± She gave a skeptical look back at him and sighed. ¡°This was once a habitat of the yeffen. This is what they call their ancestral land. They lived atop the ground in the summer, and down here in the winter for countless generations. Records state that luminescent subterranean plant life allowed the yeffen easy traversal of these caves similar to how they swing between trees of the surface.¡± ¡°What happened to them?¡± ¡°Quite simply, they weren¡¯t human yet. My ancestors freely eradicated those who wouldn¡¯t leave, burnt out the caves, and built the manor. The then Baron Amien wrote history to say he freed the yeffen from a tyrant, and that¡¯s how our family became viscounts. That¡¯s how the Amien Quarter of Vehfirn was founded. Geren holds early yeffen records of the massacre, being the former leader and now archivist. I wanted to know, which is partly why we ventured toward Poikla.¡± I chimed in. ¡°Is that why they¡¯re so mad and yelling all the time?¡± ¡°Quite the opposite, actually. Those are the songs my mother taught them. The relations were repaired almost two dodecades ago by my mother, the bearer of the Amien name. Around the time of the yeffen¡¯s first induction attempt, my mother hosted an expedition to allow the yeffen to retrieve relics from the past, as a way to make reparations and create a new alliance. She gave them noble backing to officially declare them human before the Triali government, and the Elysians gave approval. When my father killed her and the yeffen with the cave in, it was declared unsafe to traverse and returned to being a secret of my family. I suspect he did it because my family had been using the yeffen to blame for unrest for generations, but she was willing to give up power for integrity. She wrote of her doubts, of her beliefs that he was treacherous in her journal, and gave it to me before she came down here. It was the first piece of evidence that allowed me to open this investigation, to seek a map and bring the Count to our side all these years later.¡± She pulled me over and looked at the map again. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Before us were hundreds of massive stones, rubble, piled atop each other around the stone statue of a grand yeffen. Its feathers were chipped and worn with time, but it stood at least 30 feet tall. It wasn¡¯t flaunting or cruel, just standing as one would expect the yeffen to. Like how Geren stood when he spoke to us. Simira approached the rubble and poked at something with her boot. Half of a yeffen skull, cracked and broken. Simira¡¯s voice bit with cold hatred. ¡°He never did recover the bodies. Just left them here to rot forever. My mother included.¡± She walked back to Brenden and passed him a piece of parchment. ¡°This is the sigil you¡¯re using.¡± ¡°What am I doing with it?¡± He looked over the paper and whipped it around while gesturing to the room. ¡°We¡¯re looking for what caused the cave in. Look, over here. The walls have massive craters in them.¡± Simira walked over to the pile of dust and rubble beneath the wall and began searching around. ¡°There must be a piece or several in here¡­¡± She sifted through until she abruptly raised a piece of jagged stone in the air. ¡°Here. This.¡± She showed us the piece of metal. Brenden looked it over. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ metal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a segment of the explosive charges planted in this cave, known only to the mining guild. We just need a piece with residue of the explosive compound.¡± She seemed hopeful in the flickering firelight, like a kid about to unwrap gifts on Christmas morning, but reining in her expectations. ¡°The more we find, the better our chances are. Search! Now!¡± While they searched the rubble pile, I looked around for another spot. The walls were dotted with five craters, equal distances apart. On the front and back walls, the thinner ones, there was only one crater each. On the right wall were two craters, and the left wall only had one, but it was near the front of the room, with a flat segment toward the back. ¡°Brenden, can I get some light over here?¡± Simira glanced between me and Brenden, who was still reading the parchment. ¡°What? Do you actually not know simple fire sigils.¡± ¡°Um¡­ yes, but also, Lady Simira,¡± I pointed up to the flat wall. ¡°That wall doesn¡¯t have a crater in it, just a hole.¡± She stood up and stepped back next to me. ¡°A hole?¡± Her eyes went wide and she grabbed my arm hopefully. ¡°Brenden, activate the sigil! Now! This is it! This is what we need!¡± ¡°Uh, sure. But how does it work?¡± Simira¡¯s expression soured a little as she stomped over and held the paper with her non-burning hand. ¡°Weren¡¯t you lot boasting of your reading abilities before? Read the sigil, activate it, then look around and you¡¯ll have a legally viewable record of what we¡¯re seeing.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Brenden looked down at the sigil and extinguished his flame, using Simira¡¯s fire to read. I couldn¡¯t see all the shapes he was doing, but it seemed like there were a lot of pieces to the sigil until finally he lifted his head and his eyes glowed with a pale white light. ¡°Quickly.¡± Simira stood back, surveying the area while I boosted Brenden up to the hole. Brenden surveyed the entire room with his eyes, marveling at how he could see through the darkness. He was wobbling back and forth as he looked in, standing on my shoulders. I heard a shifting of rocks to my right. ¡°Holy shit. You were right, Tells. There¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ bomb in here!¡± Simira cut in. ¡°Good, you¡¯ve seen it. Retrieve- Tells! Move!¡± Like a fly buzzing, electricity crackled in my left ear. My body instinctively dodged away and Brenden tumbled. I barely caught him by the arm to ease his fall then whipped around to see Lady Simira¡¯s hand wrapped around¡­ nothing. She had grabbed onto something invisible connected to two beads of blue electricity popping in place, aimed at Brenden, like they were fighting back against her. The man¡¯s voice screamed out, her fiery hand burning the hell out of wherever she¡¯d grabbed. Suddenly, she pulled her unlit hand back, her entire fist glowing with pale orange concentrated energy. It thundered forward into the center mass of the man, destabilizing the electricity to his finger, which tapped her chest a moment too late to cause any damage. Like shattering glass, reflective shards of energy burst toward her and a man crashed out of invisibility, landing on his back into the rubble. ¡°You slimy filthmonger.¡± Simira seethed, stepping toward the fallen man while drawing a sigil and igniting her hand more voraciously. He turned over and started crawling away. ¡°Lady Simira¡­ wait! I¡¯m not¡­ Let me explain¡­¡± His single-handed crawl was nothing to Simira. She stepped next to Rezyn and grabbed his shoulder, flipping him over. Suddenly a flash of light filled the cavern from under Rezyn and he lurched up at Simira with his electrified fingers. Everything went white and I reeled back, trying to see what was going on at all. Shit! What happened to Si- Her flaming fist was planted where Rezyn had been, and he was backed away, catching his breath. ¡°You¡¯re a crazy bitch.¡± Rezyn stumbled backward while Simira¡¯s eyes readjusted. He stood, glancing between the three of us surrounding him. Simira chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve thought of everything you might do to kill me. I¡¯ve learned every sigil you use, studied your style, and made counters for every single thing you could do to me.¡± She breathed in, a hateful, eager, bloodthirsty smile growing on her face as she removed her jzonuto and dagger belt, passing them to me. ¡°Metal blades won¡¯t do much good against lightning. Come on, try to kill me. You haven¡¯t a clue how long I¡¯ve been anticipating this.¡± ¡°Lady Simira!¡± Rezyn offered a less confident, but equally cocky smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure that your father will forgive you and even welcome you back if you tell him everything that¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°I expected better, Rezyn,¡± Simira¡¯s eyes finally dilated on him. ¡°You being the traitor is all too obvious, even a little disappointing.¡± ¡°Traitor?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d say a coup is the real treachery and I¡¯ve been told to do whatever it takes. I didn¡¯t want to hurt you, but you¡¯re not giving me a choice. Let me kill the musician, you wait til your father dies, and take power the right way.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m doing it my way.¡± Brenden cut in. ¡°Listen, guy, we don¡¯t have to fight right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re profoundly an idiot.¡± Simira stepped forward, not taking her hungry eyes off of Rezyn. ¡°He¡¯s seen our actions. If he lives, he reports it to the duke as a coup. Infighting and subversion attempts like this won¡¯t sit. Executions and demotions around the table. And we aren¡¯t fighting. I am. Stand aside and be a good light.¡± Brenden mumbled something under his breath, which was overspoken by Rezyn. ¡°You¡¯ve lightened up, Lady Simira.¡± Rezyn chuckled. ¡°Has your spineless fool of a consort softened those cold chapped lips of yours?¡± He flicked out his wrist and prodded his middle and ring fingers up toward her. ¡°Don¡¯t try to sully either of our names, a swindler¡¯s tongue is only as worthwhile as the boots it licks clean.¡± She could try to hide it all she wanted, but Simira¡¯s temper was growing. Rezyn had to have noticed it too. No, he was trying to rile her up. ¡°Oh, I wasn¡¯t talking about Tells, but she¡¯s quite able. Though, I¡¯ll have to tell Eulin that a servant is cucking him.¡± She chuckled menacingly, madly, eyes darting over him rapidly like she was deep in calculation until she finally stopped laughing and nodded. ¡°Rezyn, your father hated you so much that he killed himself. I read the report, which included the letter, but you were so young that we figured it would be best to not tell you.¡± Rezyn¡¯s eyes widened slightly, perhaps remembering the fire he¡¯d stoked was a seasoned warrior with a lot of issues. ¡°That¡¯s a load of shit.¡± ¡°No, because he also confessed that it was you that killed your mother, he had simply taken the fall because he wanted better for you.¡± Rezyn¡¯s cool swagger suddenly became more rigid. Simira continued, ¡°And Rezyn, you have certainly fallen short of his less-than-ambitious expectations.¡± ¡°What,¡± he grimaced, ¡°that note why you were too scared to even kiss and broke it off back then?¡± She burst out laughing. ¡°Fear was never an issue. I could always easily kill you. You¡¯re a fickle fighter, a dumb dancer, and a lazy lover. I wanted to help you be better, but you never wanted to try. But it''s telling by all the prostitutes you bed, that I was right in my assessment what kind of people you belong with.¡± She smirked as if referencing something. ¡°Helping is about extending an open hand, bitch, not a closed fist.¡± ¡°You deserved it back then, and now I shall finish what I started.¡± Simira pressed off of her back foot and swung twice at Rezyn¡¯s face. He slipped under each one, fully avoiding the blows before launching a volley of prods with his electrified fingers. The first prod, Simira deflected away from her face. The next aimed for the same spot between her eyes and she threw her head back just in time for his next prod to hit her core. The point of connection bursted with electricity for a brief moment as she pulled away. Rezyn was pressing forward on her retreat. I can¡¯t let her get hurt! I¡¯ve gotta do something! I flexed my arm, and like an instinct it swelled to a massive size, but she acted before I did, like the pain had only riled her up further. She grabbed his arm with her burning hand and twisted him into a hold, the stench of burning skin and ozone filling the cave. He screamed and tumbled toward her, shocking her knee and sending her backward. They broke, resetting ten paces apart. Rezyn circled with swagger, slowly, casually flicking to feint and try to get a flinch. Simira stepped with the grace and bravado of a feral dancer, her eyes rapidly darting over him as if creating new strategies on the spot. She winced with a wild smile and rubbed the burnmark on her abdomen where her blouse had a fresh hole. Clutching the baggy blouse with her flaming hand, letting the flames catch and envelope her torso, she ripped the scorching fabric off her chest in a single pull. The burning shirt slowly descended in the air between them, illuminating the competitors. Rezyn¡¯s cold stare, slicked back hair, and black cloaked figure left him unreadable to the flickering firelight. Simira¡¯s chiseled muscles, burning hand and seering eyes made her all the more intimidating as fire glistened off her perspiration. Slowly, the burning shirt drifted through the still cave air. It settled on the floor of the cavern and both Simira and Rezyn lunged toward each other. Rezyn let his hands fly in toward her torso again, but Simira was ready and twisted, raising her left foot to kick his arm and shoulder. It landed clean, knocking Rezyn between her and Brenden. With the light directly behind him, Rezyn tucked his hands into his cloak and rushed forward. At the last second, he thrust his hands out, one for Simira¡¯s head, the other for her thigh. Simira lunged forward and immediately turned herself, dipping gracefully between his strikes, dragging her burning hand across his face and searing his left eye. He caught her lightly in the back, but not enough to stop her from slinking around his strikes and grabbing his arm. She swiftly pulled her arm back and palmstruck the back of his elbow, inverting it. Rezyn¡¯s forearm boiled in her clutch as he tugged his limp arm away, a slop of liquified skin dripping down. His other hand flashed, where he was discretely carving a sigil into the air and a circle of electricity rippled in the air behind Simira. I yelled out. ¡°Lightning behind you!¡± Simira let go of Rezyn and pushed him away. Her right fist glowed bright again and she struck the electricity snaking toward her. It wasn¡¯t without cost, though. While the electricity dissipated, her right arm twitched violently from the shock. Both Simira and Rezyn stood again, circling each other, watching each other¡¯s every movement. ¡°I told you to be a good light,¡± Simira barked at Brenden. ¡°Keep him in my sight!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy,¡± Rezyn commended, ¡°you¡¯re doing a stellar job.¡± Sweat poured down Simira¡¯s entire body, but she was still breathing steadily. Rezyn, on the other hand, was panting like a dehydrated dog as his arm hung limply at his side. He grabbed the arm and slammed it back in place, but it still hung lifeless. Simira trudged toward him as he scribed a sigil into the air. He pivoted, her fist again filled with light and streaked toward the sigil, scattering it. The two fighters were like shadows exchanging blows, melding in and out of each other as the fire flickered. Simira followed through on the punch and slammed her palm upward into his side. Rezyn wasn¡¯t done with his tricks, though. His dead arm suddenly lurched toward her, lighting flaring. Without even looking, Simira threw her left hand out and caught his forearm before it could prod her with more electricity. Simira scoffed, ¡°Juvenile,¡± and twisted his broken elbow. She pulled her punching hand and carved orange lines into the air, which Rezyn reached out for with a glowing fist. A sly smile curled up Simira¡¯s face as Rezyn took the bait. She pulled her hand away from the sigil and slid her right foot out to the side, raising her left foot into a kick through a sigil she had carved with her foot. Her boot caught ablaze and slammed into Rezyn¡¯s torso, exploding fire and launching Rezyn into a pile of rubble about fifteen feet away. Brenden dodged Rezyn¡¯s body and stepped back with me, behind Simira. Simira spit off to the side. ¡°You¡­ you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing, Lady Simira! She¡¯s gonna kill you regardless! Why are you fighting the inevitable?!¡± Rezyn¡¯s face looked wild as he lay in his flaming cloak, his side completely scorched. ¡°But¡­ that doesn¡¯t matter. I just have to get rid of the evidence.¡± Rezyn smiled and flicked a dagger from his belt. The world seemed to come to a halt as I watched the dagger fly straight toward Brenden, who was already squinting to see properly over the flame he was holding. Simira realized where the dagger was flying, and in a panic, threw her arm out to catch the knife, lodging it in her hand instead. ¡°Grrraaah!¡± She growled, grabbing at her hand as Rezyn threw another at Brenden. This time, Brenden ducked out of the way, pulling the light down entirely. In the pitch darkness, a sharp pain jolted through my shoulder. The light returned and Brenden stood back up. A third dagger had shallowly cut into my left shoulder. I growled to myself as a familiar twinge of heat and pain swelled in my gut. The knife fell from my wound, clattering on the ground. ¡°Shit, I missed him.¡± Rezyn chuckled from the rubble, immobile. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Without you, your whole scheme falls apart anyway.¡± Simira pulled the dagger out of her hand and tossed it aside, cold fury building in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t kid yourself. I took precautions.¡± ¡°Maybe so, but that won¡¯t stop the poison from killing you and Tells.¡± Rezyn smiled grimly. ¡°A drop, Simira. A drop of zekin poison is more than enough to kill a man before the sun falls on the same day. You wouldn¡¯t make it out of this cave before succumbing, much less make it to the mau.¡± Simira¡¯s eyes flicked to me and she clenched her hand. A dreadful, hateful vengeance consumed her. She trudged toward Rezyn and stomped on his chest, using it as a support to lift a large rock over her head. ¡°How does it feel to know you¡¯re dying just like your mother?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t fucking ask.¡± Lady Simira slammed the jagged stone through Rezyn¡¯s skull, smashing his brains into a foamy mess. She crushed and ground everything until his head was nothing more than a hairy paste. Simira lifted herself up, hunched over him for a moment before she straightened her back and screamed. ¡°COWARD, YOU AND YOUR FUCKING POISONS! GAAAAH!¡± She stomped Rezyn¡¯s torso into the rocks and screamed out at the universe in a raging frenzy, indignant toward nature, fighting the very force of death that held her from her life¡¯s ambition. ¡°I¡¯m not done! I have it all! FUUUUUUCK!¡± She whipped around to us. ¡°Tells! Brenden!¡± Simira clutched at her chest and heaved, collecting herself but falling into the rubble next to Rezyn. ¡°The evidence.¡± She gasped raggedly, like her throat was closing. ¡°The explosives. They aren¡¯t sigils. Chemical compound. Mining guild trade secret. My father¡­ comes from a family of¡­ mining barons.¡± She grabbed Brenden and pulled him to meet her eyes. ¡°Take the charge to Hallax. Wey¡­ must know. Father killed mother. Show them.¡± She turned to me, still using Brenden as support as she verged on falling over. ¡°Tells, take my key, the journal¡­ my pillow¡­¡± Her breathing turned labored and her throat was closing. Brenden met her eyes with determination. ¡°I will. I promise.¡± She grabbed me and pulled me down toward her, her face withering to a sickly blue color. She could only whisper, but she spoke with such intensity. ¡°Shoulder. You¡¯re¡­ mau. You-¡± Her head reeled back in pain as she gasped, choking on her own closing throat, pulling in no air. ¡°Huh?¡± Despair washed over me. Why did she say that? Can I do something? Can I stop the poison, I just don¡¯t know how? Is that my punishment for not helping Vetia? Am I watching another friend die and can¡¯t do a thing about it?! Am I just being tortured at this point? Do I have to watch her die now? What the fuck do I do?! Tears rushed down my face. I clutched her bleeding hand, holding it to my face, bowing, desperately praying to God for a miracle or a clue on how to save her. ¡°God, please, give her a chance! I don¡¯t know what to do! Show me the right way! I couldn¡¯t save Vetia, but if I can save Simira then please! Just give me a chance to make it right!¡± I broke down, tears excessively drenching my face and our clasped praying hands, already soaked with her blood. With the remaining strength left in her hand, she squeezed. The only thing I could do was squeeze her hand back to tell her I was there. This is supposed to be what I wanted, revenge, but even when she¡¯s dying I can¡¯t bring myself to hate her. Why do I have to be immune to poison? Is it just to watch as Simira dies to the same poison that I shrugged off? My heart raged and my eyes poured, like a river of emotion, like the emotions I had been trying to keep calm were finally crashing out of me. Am I cursed? Is it just my luck that made me watch the people I care about dying in front of me without any way of helping? How many more friends will I have to watch die?! My face shuddered in frustration, pain, heartache, and fell into whispers, begging for this to be a lie. ¡°This ain¡¯t real. This ain¡¯t real.¡± I stared forward blindly into her eyes, through them, wondering where it all went wrong. Her gargled hics became labored breaths, and all I did was stare into her bloodshot eyes while tears streamed down my expressionless face. Her breathing slowly quieted, disappearing into the silent darkness of the cavern around us. I collapsed onto her, crying silently into her shoulder. Why is her chest rising? She was breathing. Her hand squeezed mine again and I picked my head up, meeting her eyes. I frantically glanced at her face, her wound, the singes across her skin, confused but overjoyed. She caught her breath and sighed painfully, smiling through it. ¡°Thank you. I wasn¡¯t certain, but I¡¯m glad I had faith in you.¡± I held her head into my shoulder and tightly embraced her, a new flood of tears breaking as I silently thanked God. A deep breath escaped her mouth and her eyes opened as I pulled back. ¡°We have to move. Take the charge. I¡¯ll store it until the trial. When we ascend, inform Lord Hallax that we¡¯re tearing my father down.¡± A reserved smile crossed her face and I pulled her to her feet, still in awe and disbelief. ¡°You¡¯ve given me another chance. Let¡¯s not squander it.¡± Brenden stared blankly at the frothy brain matter oozing out from the rock replacing Rezyn¡¯s head like he was struggling to process what was going on. ¡°Lady Simira, I don¡¯t know how to stop this sigil. It¡¯s not deactivating like the other ones I use.¡± She sighed, still regaining her strength as she turned me away from the bloody mess, my own vision starting to spot over as a rising nausea took me. ¡°Read the parchment.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± We carefully retrieved the heavy explosive charge from the wall and ascended from the depths. Brenden got back to performing with a laborious sigh and a haunted expression. The west wing was empty of people save for a guard here or there, so sneaking Simira and the charge through the manor back to her room was easy. I sat her down in her chair while I found bandages and a bottle of clear alcohol. Simira winced, the alcohol stinging her hand while I began wrapping the bandage. It had been a long time since my dad showed me how to wrap a wound, so it wasn¡¯t as good as a healer might be able to do, but it did the trick. She was looking into my eyes the whole time, and I was too awkward to look directly back at her after crying in front of her like that. ¡°Do you truly not know of the mau? Even though you are one?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard about them once. No details.¡± ¡°I heard a story once, about the mau. About what you are. The clans of beings who can alter their body freely. As creatures of many shapes, they are immune to nearly every toxin and ailment that occurs in nature. According to myth, mau tears can remedy any poison or venom that the mau has been afflicted by. Their tears must be given, something about their connection to jzanmah transmutes antidotes only willingly. They must care enough for the afflicted to produce tears for them. You cried over my wounded hand.¡± She averted her eyes to the floor. ¡°Your loyalty¡­ your friendship- if that¡¯s what it is- saved my life. You saved me. Thank you.¡± I silently nodded and smiled at her, not sure how to respond. ¡°But still, even with Rezyn dead, it doesn¡¯t feel right.¡± Simira¡¯s eyes darted around the room. ¡°He was the traitor. The one who was sent to kill me, but something feels wrong. I can¡¯t place what. I¡¯ve thought on it a thousand times and it doesn¡¯t make sense for it to be Rezyn. He wouldn¡¯t utter such a plot so openly that she could hear it. It doesn¡¯t make sense that anyone would have uttered it around her. Unless¡­¡± I tied the wrap off and looked into her eyes. ¡°Lady Simira, what if it was an empty threat? She was¡­ crazy, completely gone.¡± She wrenched her hand away and her face wrinkled in rage. ¡°I¡¯ve seen into the eyes of the dying to know their curses and their wishes. The curse of a smile who sees a descending blade and the wish of an oaf prodding at fears. It wasn¡¯t empty! She wasn¡¯t lying. There¡¯s something. I don¡¯t know what! A missing piece!¡± She closed her frustrated eyes, gritting her teeth. ¡°I can¡¯t relax yet. Not until this is done.¡± ¡°Blood!¡± Suddenly, there was a muffled voice and a banging at the door. It was consistent and heavy pounding. Simira¡¯s eyes overflowed paranoia. ¡°Why does he scream blood before my door?¡± She took up her jzonuto and cautiously approached the door. She yanked it quickly, raising her jzonuto to the figure on the other side. On the other side of the door was a tall and broad¡­ man? Child? He looked both young and old at the same time. His lips were almost nonexistent and his beady eyes were tiny and close together. ¡°Blood.¡± He sounded like he struggled speaking in general, undoubtedly having some sort of serious mental disorder. I¡¯d worked with kids like him in the youth groups, and he was the type who would never be able to live without a caretaker. He just stood there repeating ¡°Blood.¡± Simira pushed past him and frantically checked both sides of the door. ¡°Eulin. Go back to your room. You know you are not supposed to be out on these nights!¡± ¡°Blood.¡± She grabbed him by the collar and pushed him back down the hallway, jzonuto at the ready. I broke the silence. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him around the manor.¡± Her breath shook. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to. Nobody is. But recently, he¡¯s been getting out of his room and I haven¡¯t figured out how. I have Zev working on securing Eulin¡¯s room better, but he¡¯s been too busy and I¡¯ve barely the time between my own duties and essentially being his mother. My father ordered servants to ignore him, to let him die, so I¡¯ve been the only one taking care of him all this time.¡± I stared at her a little blankly, but she seemed to have read my mind, or perhaps had been asked many times before. ¡°If I can raise the most troubled boy to be a good man, I can raise my people the same. He¡¯s my trial and error, my proof that we can be better.¡± She led us through the manor, toward the west wing where the dungeons and clinic were. ¡°I¡¯ve done my best to educate him, and he¡¯s learned to read and write, but hasn¡¯t developed much further than a child and most people can¡¯t read or write, so he can¡¯t even communicate. Blood is the first word he¡¯s ever spoken. Honestly I was overjoyed to hear him speak even a word, but despite one massive breakthrough, there are so many tiny steps to take in habilitating him.¡± Next to the stairs down to the dungeons, Simira unbolted the door and pushed Eulin into the dark, lavishly furnished room. It reeked of body odor and mildew, but everywhere were soft blankets, pillows, barred windows, and caged off glowing crystals. Eulin¡¯s personal asylum. Simira stepped in after him, wincing at the smell. He wasn¡¯t saying another word, he just meandered toward the far wall, toward a mound of filthy pillows and blankets. He turned, staring at Simira from the darkness. His mouth unwittingly hung agape as his eyes did, a foreboding stare of confusion and fear. She sighed and slammed the sturdy reinforced door shut, sealing him away. Her head hung for a moment before she walked off. She stopped in the hallway at the point between the dungeon stairs and the stairs back to her wing, speaking into the wall, completely lost. ¡°I don¡¯t know who to trust, Tells. Only you I can be sure of. Tarynn is absent and wallowing in misery because of me. Eulin is imprisoned and I cannot help him, but he cries blood to me. I don¡¯t even know if he knows what it means, if he associates the word with its meaning. My father dispatched an assassin to kill me. Who did she hear? Whose whispers? Outside the clinic window? The training ground. Has Andris been conspiring? Has he realized my cruelty?¡± An empty stare took hold of her. ¡°She was right. The more I search, the less clear it becomes. All I can do is proceed forward and fight, as I always have.¡± I leaned forward, pulled her into me, and hugged her rigid body tightly, an askew side hug and a little awkward, but I gave it my best try. ¡°Keep your head up, Simira, you¡¯re doing all you can and that¡¯s enough.¡± She fell limp and started to collapse into my arms. For a brief moment, she was silent. Then a short whimper escaped her throat and she shot up, pushing back toward the wall, looking away. ¡°Is it?¡± Hollow fear settled throughout her. ¡°At what moment will I be stabbed as I turn a corner? When will a merchant poison my food?¡± Her teeth chattered violently and her frustration returned. ¡°It can¡¯t be. It doesn¡¯t make sense! Not even Rezyn! Who could it be? Who else could it be?!¡± Her chest heaved and she glared hollowly into the dungeon. ¡°Unless it was truly a perfect deception to teach me her madness, to drag me down until I bring about my own demise.¡± I rested my hand on her shoulder and she violently, instinctively grabbed it, squeezing in fear until she turned her head to meet my eyes. ¡°Go. Enjoy the rest of the festivities. Watch your friend perform.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind-¡± ¡°I will not fall to this!¡± She allowed herself a calming breath. ¡°I have overcome worse. Good night.¡± Simira took off in a nervous stride down the hallway, hand on her jzonuto the whole way. I glanced into the pitch darkness of the imposing dungeon and turned away, onward to the bright cheers and music. 45: MODUS 45 (Joji- MODUS) Adam For such a lively performance with rambunctious people, the manor was oddly quiet. Captain Zev and I sat at the biggest table in the mess hall, still hunched over it. We were playing a strategy board game we often played when there was downtime. Zik, or the Triali word for conquer and win, began by the players creating the battlefield out of wooden hexagons painted green and blue, one side land, the other water. There were variations of land and obstacles, drawn from a bag at random when constructing the battlefield. Each player had a base piece that set where their units would be created and have to defend. They could be placed anywhere next to another piece, so there was some strategy involved in building my side of the battlefield and sabotaging his side, but he could steal by placing his base where I was setting up. Every turn, players collected a coin to spend on units to conquer the opponent¡¯s base, and defeating a unit gave half the coins of the unit¡¯s cost. Killing units depended on a twelve-sided dice roll, needing to hit certain numbers based on the unit. Melee units could only attack when taking an enemy space, and ranged units couldn¡¯t move if they attacked. One versus one was straightforward, but in groups, each base conquered allowed the player to create units at the new base. Each base conquered was another base the opponents had to conquer, so games could go on for a really long time or snowball extremely quickly. Being a dozen drinks deep made Zik a lot harder, though. Captain Zev was across from me, an island of drunken depression in his own right. ¡°The day truly is not the same when there are no quarrels in the arena.¡± Captain Zev groaned. ¡°I thought I would be more anxious, and yet there are no words to describe this unfulfilled boredom.¡± I moved a piece forward, amassing my army on the border of our islands linked by only one hexagon. ¡°Why¡¯d you refuse to go to the performance, then? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love this game, but listening to a concert is also a great time.¡± Captain Zev threw me a quick judgemental glare, then glanced at the door muffling the distant music. ¡°Adam, if you want to attend the performance, I will not stand in your way. I simply wish not to listen to it myself.¡± He spent five tokens and placed an artillerist in the territory I was preparing to siege. ¡°Why do you care for music?¡± ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s enjoyable to listen to.¡± I moved my four 1-coin infantrymen forward to attack him. ¡°And that is your opinion, no? You think fondly of music because it is in fond memories.¡± He eliminated one unit with his artillerist and moved his three heavy frontline units to meet mine. ¡°You don¡¯t have good memories of music? You never heard a song you liked?¡± I attacked two of his units and rolled. Two kills. He lightly hit the table at my unlikely success. ¡°Of all the odds!¡± He sighed. ¡°I do not have fond memories of the war songs. You haven¡¯t seen war, Adam. The people of this continent use music to communicate orders. Indecipherable and constantly changing. Sharp melodies calling artillerists to rain energy like shooting stars on my comrades and beats dictating every step and stab of a blade are not fond memories to me. War songs pervade long after war. You hear them in everything. Calling you back to your duty. It¡¯s inescapable.¡± He attacked with his soldier and artillerist. Both of the rolls were misses. He slapped the table and cursed both of the twelve sided dice under his breath. ¡°Maybe if you just listen a little at a time, you¡¯ll get used to it and you¡¯ll stop associating the two things?¡± I moved one unit forward and attacked his soldier. Kill. Captain Zev grunted. He moved his artillerist back and spent two tokens to create a shield unit at his base. ¡°Play.¡± He took a swig of ale. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be a jerk, but you¡¯re really missing out on it.¡± I moved one soldier forward and attacked a defender with my other soldier. Miss. ¡°You will see war one day.¡± He killed one of my soldiers with his artillerist. ¡°What¡¯s there to see?¡± I attacked his defender again. Miss. Captain Zev¡¯s face became cold and apathetic. His voice unwavering and monotone. ¡°You will be bathed in the blood of your brothers as the crescendo rises and the enemies continue an unrelenting assault. Each instrument, each progression, a different face, a different killing blow. You will see the faces of your enemies, gouging your comrades to tunes your mother would hum to you. And those tunes curse them with their own memories, begging and crying for their mothers, returning them to those sorry states, crying for you to help them while you slash a man¡¯s throat open, but he keeps swinging, so you slash again, but his body doesn¡¯t stop even as his head lurches backwards, so you cut off his arm, but he steps forward, so thrust your blade into his leg, but he falls into you, and you must push him away before you drown in his blood amidst the discordant orchestra.¡± He launched an attack from his artillerist at my soldier. Kill. He advanced his defender. ¡°You will understand once you have experienced it.¡± ¡°Why would I be sent away? Isn¡¯t this part of Triala stable?¡± The cycle restarted, and he began sieging me while I prepared defenses. ¡°There will be a time where you leave this manor. Jinian are naturally powerful, Adam. The Trialis will not give you peace until you are dead on a battlefield. Serving House Amien is how I have escaped returning. They have not been able to wrest me from serving my Lady. But you will go further than I did. You¡¯re becoming a more confident warrior. You¡¯re learning to lead. You know your soldiers. You have a good eye for strategy, too. That blasted mountain you placed in the middle of the isthmus still infuriates me.¡± ¡°What about you, Captain Zev?¡± ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°You say that as if you don¡¯t. What¡¯s stopping you from going further?¡± ¡°So long as the Amien house stands, I will guard it. I owe Lady Simira a great debt.¡± ¡°Do you?¡± Captain Zev hesitated moving his pieces for a moment processing my question on a delay. I continued. ¡°You were taken and trained all those years ago. After all you¡¯ve done, you¡¯ve definitely paid it back.¡± There was a strange longing in Captain Zev¡¯s eyes as he gazed over the wooden battlefield. He sighed and resumed moving his pieces, dodging the question. ¡°Lord Tarynn has said the same thing. He has not seen a true battle, but he has said he wishes to experience it. I tell him not to, and he asks me to guide him to becoming a proper fighter.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°His sister is heir to the house, and he wants nothing to do with politics. And yet he will shortly be given away as a token of political favor. I suppose in his eyes, war is preferable to a life he never wanted.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t blame him. Takes a lot of bravery to give up your life for service.¡± ¡°Bravery. Tell me, Adam. Is a man brave for seeking his own destiny, or is he a coward running from his duty?¡± I thought for a long second. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Captain Zev. Everything I did that seemed great was me being scared of dying. No such thing as fate or destiny. Just choice and chance.¡± I sat still, flipping a token between my fingers. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever searched for a direction. I was always taught to just keep moving forward. To take everything a day at a time and try to do a little better each day.¡± ¡°No goals, positions you want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have no clue where my life is going.¡± Captain Zev sat back in his chair. ¡°Given unrestricted possibilities but realistic limitations, what is the first thing you would do?¡± ¡°I¡¯d take my friends and leave here. Then we¡¯d start fresh, like we wanted to.¡± He looked a little offended as I said that. ¡°You would abandon your life here? After everything you owe to House Amien?¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back my disgust at the thought of owing any of the Amiens anything. ¡°What do I owe to House Amien?¡± ¡°They pulled you out of squalor, provided you a place to live, money to eat, training for combat. They have protected us through and through. We owe them everything in return.¡± ¡°Captain, there are only two people in this manor that I owe anything to. Tells and you. I never wanted to come here, and I never wanted to be a guard. We were taken because my friend got on Lady Simira¡¯s bad side. I have great respect for you and everything you have taught me, but had Lady Simira not taken us, I never would have thought of doing this.¡± He leaned forward to give me a drunken lecture. ¡°Lady Simira gave you an opportunity, and you have grown because of it. This house has given you direction. It has given you order. You owe this house for everything it has given you.¡± ¡°Does a river rizumir owe its captors for clipping its wings so it could become a better fighter?¡± He remained silent, clenching his fist around a soldier figurine. ¡°Does Vetia owe Lady Simira for becoming a more experienced healer? For the cell she was given and the collar around her neck?¡± Captain Zev slammed his fist on the table and shot up. ¡°Do not speak in such metaphors as to smear the name of House Amien! You know Lady Simira is not to blame for what happened.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I sat still and calm. ¡°Do you think they died worrying about a debt they owe to the Amiens, or the lives they could have had if they had never been taken?¡± ¡°If she could not see what spurred her growth and offer gratitude, then she was misguided and foolish to begin with.¡± ¡°Captain, I learned recently that I may have maybe twenty years left in my life. At most. I¡¯ve been alive longer than I have left, and I can¡¯t live repaying people for things I never asked for. She never even got a chance to learn that.¡± All fight fizzled from Captain Zev¡¯s eyes and he gazed down at the game pieces scattered by his fists. He reached for his mug of ale, only to realize it was empty and sat in defeat. ¡°If your debts mean so little to you, then why not just run off on your own? Why care about owing anyone at all?¡± ¡°I owe Tells for a lot. I suppose that¡¯s what happens when you¡¯ve known someone your whole life. I owe you because you took my bad situation and made it a little better.¡± ¡°I did nothing aside from my job as captain of the guard.¡± ¡°You brought me out of the armory to fight that one day. You trained me and gave me a chance to fight. You¡¯re the only one here who doesn¡¯t treat me like a trophy.¡± Captain Zev shook his head. ¡°Adam, don¡¯t think so highly of me.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I had no grander ambitions for bringing you into the guard. Lady Simira put you there, so I did what I do. I treat you as I do because I was where you are. I¡¯m simply repeating those who have taught me what I know, except I am not as wise nor am I as insightful as they were¡­ are.¡± ¡°Captain, I¡¯ve never asked, but why do you serve Lady Simira?¡± Zev leaned back in his chair, stretching and then resetting. ¡°When we had returned to the manor after our time at war, the squadron and myself were sitting around a bonfire celebrating their return, their victories, and their fallen comrades. I was still an outsider, but she gave me a seat.¡± A smile crept onto his face for the briefest moment as he relived that memory. ¡°Somebody asked what she would do when she was Viscount. She spoke for hours, even after the fire had died, every problem she knew the solutions to, every small adjustment she would make, new ideas she wanted to test. Her view is methodical, scientific¡­ built to make the best for her people. She has an end, and she is still carving the means to it, but I realized in that moment that I would never be great. Not truly. I pledged myself not for her position, nor for a promise. I believe she is right, Adam, that the world will be better because of her. I am her soldier, dull of mind and sharp in blade, and I am content in that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re more wise and insightful than most of the people I¡¯ve met.¡± Captain Zev paused and fingered at a wooden swordsman figurine. ¡°Is a man wise if his wisdom can only be shown with a blade in his hand? Is a man insightful for simply repeating what his teachers told him? Can a man ever become more than a soldier if he is not at peace in peace?¡± ¡°I-¡± He put up his hand to stop me. ¡°No need to respond, Adam. I believe I have had too much to drink. Thank you for being good company. Good night.¡± He quietly stood and left the mess hall, contemplative and distant the whole way out. I sat still in the lonely mess hall. Muffled music gently wafted through the cracks in the manor, drawing everyone closer like a siren. The alcohol brought my legs clumsily bounding toward the epicenter, the theater hall. Brenden and Desmond had to be near the end of their set when I entered the melancholy room. The dimly lit hall was like a dive bar at last call. Servants and off duty guards smoked and drank in lonesome while Desmond sang Johnny Cash¡¯s version of ¡°Hurt.¡± Everyone was too tired to dance and too drunk to resist the lull of sleep. It was hardly late, too, but every table was solemn and woeful while the lyrics reminded them of their unfulfilling lives. I spotted Tells at a table near the back, head on her hand, wistfully gazing up at the stage. I quietly crossed the room until I reached the table. She pushed some loose strands of dark brown hair behind her neck and turned her almost glowing violet eyes up to me. ¡°Sup?¡± I said as awkwardly as physically possible. ¡°Hey.¡± She was staring at me now, that same melancholy look about her. ¡°I need to talk to you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I sat down across the table from her and folded my hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to say what I said back there. I¡¯m sorry, I just didn¡¯t know what to say at all.¡± ¡°Yeah. I know.¡± She stared down at the table. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you, either. It¡¯s been a long time since I lost control of myself like that.¡± ¡°No. I deserved it for what I said. I¡¯m not good at saying how I feel when I¡¯m sober.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing it right now.¡± She picked at a crusty used fork with a rag left on the table. ¡°Twelve drinks later.¡± ¡°At least you can get drunk. Raw-dogging life all the time fucking sucks.¡± Tells slowly stabbed the prongs of the fork into the table until it was standing on its own. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way to get you drunk, just trust in your delinquent friends.¡± Tells just poked at the fork handle, not saying anything. ¡°You good, Tells?¡± She glanced up finally, and then back down at the table. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± She paused and looked me in the eyes again. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°So if you¡¯re good, then why aren¡¯t you up dancing and enjoying the music?¡± ¡°Not my vibe, I guess.¡± ¡°Your friends are up there playing their hearts out, and it¡¯s not your vibe?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to vibe with this shit. It¡¯s depressing.¡± Just then, the song ended and Desmond cleared his throat. ¡°Just letting you know, we¡¯ve got one more song to end the night off. Find yourself somebody to dance with. You don¡¯t wanna end the night alone.¡± The crowd of people around the hall exchanged looks, words, glances and touches until about half of the people in the hall had stood up, ready to dance. Like everyone said ¡°fuck it, it¡¯s better than being lonely alone.¡± Guys who couldn¡¯t find partners threw arms around each other¡¯s shoulders in lines and prepared to sway in front of the stage together. Tells and I both stared at each other awkwardly. I spoke up. ¡°Are we supposed to dance together?¡± ¡°Are we?¡± She flicked the fork over and it clattered on the table. I held out my hand cordially and pretended to tip a fedora, making my voice sound a little grosser. ¡°I¡¯ll gift a tier 3 sub for a dance, m¡¯lady. Please, I donate every one of my paychecks to your bathtub streams.¡± She finally chuckled, catching the bit. ¡°That¡¯s it? My live streaming is way harder than your 9-5 and worth more than your apartment. You can give me your rent and then maybe I¡¯ll read your donation.¡± Suddenly, a very proper accented voice broke in. ¡°Is that Adam from the arena? How lucky I am! If you don¡¯t have a dance partner, would you mind having me?¡± Stepping forward and grabbing my hand was a woman with golden horns, a blonde bob with bangs that obscured her eyes, and silvery make-up. Her touch guided me upwards as her chest pressed against my side. She had on a tight velvety golden dress with a shawl to match, and she shook her head up at me playfully while my brain began collapsing in on itself. ¡°Um, uh, I, I mean-¡± I was looking between her and Tells rapidly, unsure of what to do. ¡°Oh, dear, did I interrupt something? I didn¡¯t mean to get between your dance.¡± She looked back and forth between me and Tells. ¡°Is he yours?¡± Tells clenched her jaw slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t let me get in the way.¡± The woman chuckled and pulled Tells up from her seat, pushing her into my arms as the music started. We stood like stone pillars in front of each other for a moment until the music began. We were alone and out of sight at the back of the hall. I noticed the woman leaning in the doorway of the hall, watching us, so I put my hands around Tells¡¯ waist and started slowly shifting. She put her hands on my shoulders and the most rigid, awkward rocking back and forth began. I furrowed my brow. ¡°Does this song sound familiar to you?¡± Tells took a moment to listen as Brenden played the piano to a tune we¡¯d both heard many times. It was calming and intimate, but with a familiar brightness. The woman in the doorway burst out laughing, then quickly stepped out of sight. Suddenly, Desmond started his singing. ¡°We¡¯re no strangers to love¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill myself,¡± Tells whispered, starting to chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill them.¡± I tried hard to resist, but Tells¡¯ chuckling only made it harder and I broke out in a quiet laugh. ¡°Stop laughing, bro. It-¡± She stifled her own laugh. ¡°It¡¯s not even funny.¡± ¡°I know-¡± I snorted a little, causing Tells to laugh harder. ¡°You started it.¡± Then her inner dolphin finally broke free, and she was barely able to stand without me holding her up. ¡°Since when do you laugh like that? Shut up, pe- people are gonna think we¡¯re weird if they hear us laughing back here.¡± I was fighting just to say that sentence with a half-straight face. ¡°I c- I can¡¯t-¡± She buried her face in my chest to muffle the laughter. After a solid thirty seconds of just her laughing, she pulled her face free and took a deep breath. By now, dancing, which had been so foreign to both of us, was like second nature. We swayed with the music, in the dark, at the back of the hall. It was the happiest I had ever felt. ¡°Yo, Adam?¡± Her violet eyes met mine. ¡°Yeah? You done laughing?¡± She chuckled. ¡°No, I¡¯m losing my fucking mind, dude. But when we get out of here, when we figure ourselves out in this world, after we¡¯ve made a bunch of money and done a bunch of shit, let¡¯s build a castle.¡± ¡°A castle?¡± A snicker escaped me. ¡°I ain¡¯t kidding, man! A big fuckin¡¯ castle or cathedral or wizard tower or something would be dope! Stained glass, stone bricks, big doors, like that one I made on the Minecraft server.¡± She patted my chest like she was trying to hype me up. ¡°No, I agree. I just wasn¡¯t expecting that. You want to build a castle?¡± ¡°On the floating islands. I wanna make a flying castle. That¡¯d be badass.¡± ¡°Well, what kind of castle? Stone keep? Concentric? Motte-and-Bailey? Or maybe a sandcastle or a bouncy castle?¡± Tells squinted. ¡°Why the hell do you know every breed of castle?¡± ¡°How do you breed a castle?¡± ¡°I dunno. You can breed the castle however you want after we build it. I just want a fuckin¡¯ castle, man.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± We continued our awkward sway, but it became more synched, in rhythm. The song went on and we gently swayed like leaves on a branch holding on for dear life in the autumn breeze. What do I say? Should I say anything? What would she want to hear? ¡°This isn¡¯t the end. We¡¯ve still got a whole world out there, and Rowan wouldn¡¯t want us to give up, alive or not.¡± Her face fell again. ¡°Do you think Rowan died that day we all woke up in this world?¡± That¡¯s kind of a stupid question. ¡°We all did.¡± She sighed. ¡°Clearly you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I would still be on Earth, Tells.¡± ¡°Yeah, no shit.¡± She bit her lip as if¡­ conflicted? Confused? ¡°Do I seem different from how I used to be?¡± ¡°Did you forget that you¡¯re a chick?¡± I couldn¡¯t help chuckling a little. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I keep forgetting that I¡¯m not human anymore, but it¡¯s-¡± She shook her head, sounding a little pissed. ¡°Know what? Never mind. Stupid question.¡± Must be irritated that she¡¯s been asking dumb questions. In an instant, she backed off and quickly exited before I could say anything else and I was left standing there, behind the applause of the crowd, shocked, wondering what I did wrong. 46: Its Not My Time 46 (3 Doors Down- It''s Not My Time) Brenden It seemed so early for fall, but the brisk morning air bit the tip of my nose. Or maybe it was just the speed of the wagon that was making my face so cold. Regardless, the road was like a wind tunnel blowing directly at us, so the ride wasn''t as enjoyable as I was hoping it would be. Having a free day, I took the wagon up to Count Jeun Wey¡¯s towers to deliver the music tokens we promised Brina. ¡°So-¡± Miriel pulled her scarf down from face and pulled fuzz off her tongue. ¡°Ahem, so how exactly does one create a sound token?¡± She held the palm-sized bronze bowl up to the sunlight and flipped it around, looking over every little marking etched into it. The wagon lurched when Vergil slowed his pace as a stray reflection shot in front of him. I reached out to the token and guided it down into Miriel¡¯s lap. ¡°Careful, I think the reflection is startling the corties.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡± ¡°S¡¯all good. And to be honest, I¡¯m not really sure how Desmond made them. He did some sigil work, we played our songs in front of them, and then he¡¯d take ¡®em away to finish ¡®em. His sigils confuse the hell out of me, though mine are probably the same way to him.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve said that word a few times¡­ hell. What does that mean?¡± ¡°Hell? Oh, um, do you know how I was telling you about religion and God and stuff?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± ¡°Well, I told you about Heaven, the place people go when they die. There¡¯s also a place called Hell. Another afterlife, but instead of being nice, it¡¯s eternal torture and damnation. It¡¯s where sinners supposedly go.¡± ¡°But wasn¡¯t there that one fellow who died so everyone would be forgiven?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. Hell¡¯s for the people who do really bad things and don¡¯t repent to God.¡± ¡°So if somebody worships another god, they are sent to hell?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think all of them do. I think there¡¯s another place for non-believers who were good people or something.¡± Miriel peered into the bowl as she thought. ¡°That sounds awfully harsh. By that understanding, every person who has ever lived in this world, who could not possibly know of your religion, are all still condemned and denied entry to the nice place?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna be real, I have no idea. I wasn¡¯t really religious, I was too busy working to practice or go to Church. This is more of a topic for Tells or Desmond, honestly.¡± I bit my cheek, disappointed I couldn¡¯t answer her question. ¡°Speaking about religion and stuff, what do people believe here? Like, generally.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Miriel thought for a moment, then explained as dismissively as a scientist explaining flat earth theory, chuckling at the absurd details. ¡°The common Triali belief system is a bit odd to me, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already encountered pieces of it. I¡¯m fairly sure the belief has been around as long as people have lived on this continent, and the jorlad followers have been quite brutal to ensure it is the primary system. These Trialis subscribe to the Divine Body. Essentially, there was a body which existed, somewhere out in the aether. The being, the Body, got so tired of being lonely, or something along those lines, that it tore itself apart, limb by limb, body part by body part. Each part gained a personality and lived happily. Then one day, each organ and limb slowly went insane from the maddeningly monotonous rhythm of the heart¡¯s beating, so they killed it, and that is the soil, the ground we walk on. A still, dead heart. I want to say it¡¯s still trying to beat and come back to life, or something of the sort, but it¡¯s been quite a while since I engaged in discussion of the topic. I know there is a part in there about the head and the body warring with each other and the head using the mouth to turn the organs of the body against itself through speaking. I can¡¯t remember it entirely.¡± She waved the thought away dismissively. ¡°What do you think about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from outside of Triala, a town, a culture, which practices Zenstak. I¡¯m technically not supposed to speak of it in Triala, but nobody is listening. We are all products of jzanmah. Our bodies are vessels for the jzanmah which inhabits us and gives us life. Trialis believe jzanmah is a byproduct of divinity, while to us, people and life are manifestations of jzanmah that exists outside of anything divine. There are people who have merged the beliefs, but they aren¡¯t common.¡± ¡°So, what, like our lives are jzanmah? Or like, consciousness is jzanmah?¡± ¡°The mau were the ones who coined Zenstak, and they refer to the jzanmah that makes us up as the soul. The jzanmah which shapes us into being. It¡¯s how regenerative jzanmah can rebuild the body of a human, but not a fireblood. It¡¯s also why firebloods cannot use jzanmah, even the intelligent ones. That¡¯s what Zenstak dictates, and I haven¡¯t encountered anything that goes against it.¡± ¡°Wait, I thought firebloods couldn¡¯t use jzanmah because they were stupid from being, like, undead.¡± ¡°They¡¯re bodies without souls. Operating solely on the memories of the body and fireblood instincts. By Zenstak, one must have a soul to harness jzanmah. That being said, there¡¯s no certainty why they reanimate, or what happened to their souls.¡± ¡°Okay, but what if a fireblood could use sigils, and talk and stuff, but it still needed to eat animals and stuff to survive?¡± She gave me a bewildered look. ¡°That would be horrifying. A soulless creature, mind you, creatures that lack jzanmah are incapable of worldly connection, emotion, empathy. If they aren¡¯t animalistic, then they¡¯re deceptive and self-centered. One that could use sigils into excess by killing people would commit atrocities.¡± That¡¯s not what I was hoping to hear. ¡°How do you know so much about firebloods? I thought that kind of knowledge wasn¡¯t common around here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not from here, remember? I studied what my people know of firebloods after my sister was killed, which is mostly collected from the mau. We distance ourselves from the jorlad outside of our traveling years, as most other peoples do. It¡¯s telling, really, that jorlad care so little for their own people that they¡¯d leave to live among other species than fix their own homes. There¡¯s likely some correlation in there as to why the jorlad become firebloods more often than any others. And it¡¯s probably why the jorlad-founded Divine Body only cares about killing firebloods without explaining why they exist.¡± She paused. ¡°What has you so interested in firebloods?¡± ¡°We caught one, back in Poikla. Used it to fix people who needed new limbs and organs.¡± She slapped her lap excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to try that practice, but I haven¡¯t a fireblood¡¯s body nor the sigils necessary! Oh, I¡¯m jealous of you. Was that at Poikla? I¡¯ll go there just to copy the sigils.¡± ¡°Sounds like a trip we can take.¡± Miriel smirked, batting her eyes back and forth. ¡°It¡¯s a date.¡± The chilling wind nipped at my ears as we approached the towers in the distance. Clouds drifted over, ominously darkening the three spires ahead until not even a few moments later, the towers were back in the sun and sparkling. I glanced over to see Miriel leaning on her hand, head sideways and peering at me. She spoke as soon as I made eye contact. ¡°I enjoy talking with you.¡± I felt heat rush to my face as soon as she said that, and my brain started going to mush again. ¡°Oh- um- good. Uh, why?¡± She squinted and pursed her lips to think. ¡°Because of that ¡®Why?¡¯ Maybe it is simply the trait of a good conversationalist, but you have the curiosity to ask why.¡± ¡°Well, I am new here.¡± ¡°Perhaps you are, therefore I will help you become acquainted with this world. So let¡¯s go to a lovely little bakery I frequent after this.¡± She leaned back smiling and sank into her scarf as we approached the gates of the towers. ¡°I like the sound of that.¡± I slowed the wagon to a halt before a silver-clad guard. The horned armor from last time was the same, except it was fur lined with a thick white cape. ¡°Morning. I¡¯m here to deliver two song tokens to Brina.¡± I couldn¡¯t see the guard¡¯s face well through his helmet, but his tone was arhythmic, his blue eyes frightened. ¡°I¡¯ll take them to her. I thank you on her behalf. Good day.¡± He held out his hand for the tokens and I had to stop Miriel to keep her from handing them over. ¡°We¡¯re still expecting payment from her.¡± The guard anxiously stepped closer to the wagon, almost leaning on Miriel to speak with me. ¡°I understand that, sir, and urge you to leave them with me. We will send payment to you promptly, but you must leave quickly.¡± Something sketchy is going on with this guy, but he doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s trying to steal them. He seems almost worried. ¡°I¡¯m sure Brina would be happy to pick them up herself.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± the guard''s voice sounded urgent, and even a little frantic as he leaned in farther. ¡°There is not much time. Give them to me and leave. I am not attempting to swindle you, but an emissary of The Great is awaiting your-¡± ¡°Be there dealings thou wouldst whisper in an ilk of conspiracy?¡± A sharp, declarative voice descended from above and a wispy purple ray spiraled into the back of the guard. His eyes shot open as his head whipped around to look for the source of the voice. The guard stumbled backwards, as if being pulled, until he was flat against the wall next to the gate. Gusts of wind bit into my freezing face. I watched with watering squinted eyes as a blurry being, glistening like a bleeding angel, descended before us. The corties reared back, and I wrestled with the reins to keep them steady as this figure landed. ¡°I am Richard of the Elysian Halo, emissary of The Great. I seek those who hath music tokens of Alex and Eddie Van Halen.¡± Towering over me was a man, a scaled man, in gleaming ruby, golden trimmed plate armor. In the center of his chest was a golden symbol of the sun, a small circle in the middle and sixteen cones around it. His dragon-like crimson wings extended at least twelve feet on either side, similar to Vetia¡¯s, though larger. A single golden spike protruded from his helmet like a unicorn¡¯s horn that resembled similar spikes on the armor¡¯s shoulders and elbows. He was incredibly pale aside from scales cresting up his cheeks, scales the same crimson red as his wings. His eyes were wide and slim, with irises like pools of blood. Shark-like teeth emerged as he spoke and pushed several strands of long crimson hair back under his helmet. He then extended his scaled, clawed hand toward me, but I was too scared to move. ¡°Perhaps the wind buffeted thine ears. Art thou the token bearer?¡± He held his hand extended before me. I nervously looked down at his hand and then back up into his eyes, but my mouth wouldn¡¯t move to respond. His eyes turned from me to Miriel, then to the tokens she held. He reached over me and pried them from her hands, which were quick to let them go. She hesitantly spoke. ¡°Those are for-¡± ¡°Silence.¡± His voice commanded with no authority like I¡¯d ever heard. He didn¡¯t even look at her as he inspected the tokens. Miriel¡¯s voice became stern and snippy. ¡°Sir, respectfully, those tokens are for a woman who resides within the towers.¡± She reached out her hand for the tokens. The armored man spoke dismissively to me as he swiped a glowing claw on the back of the bowl to play the song. ¡°Boy, still your woman lest I discipline her myself.¡± ¡°...fuck did you say?¡± In a combination of fear and offense, I finally managed to speak. ¡°What breed of crass roach art thou to dare curse before my ears? You shall know The Great himself wishes to investigate these tokens. Thy offense to me is offense to his likeness.¡± His grim eyes locked with mine and his hands stilled. ¡°He means no offense,¡± Miriel raced as she spoke, her expression turning worried. ¡°He is simply unaware of higher customs.¡± The token began emitting music from its trough, and he listened as ¡°Freebird¡± started and then he paused it. ¡°Mine ears are unacquainted with this foreign tune.¡± He looked at the two of us again. ¡°Inform me of where Alex and Eddie Van Halen reside.¡± Both Miriel and I didn¡¯t say a thing. I couldn¡¯t speak. I couldn¡¯t get words out. I didn¡¯t know what to say to cover our tracks. I wanted to tell this guy to fuck off, but I was getting flashbacks to Lady Simira in the wagon, only this person felt leagues more threatening. ¡°Speak!¡± His voice thundered through the air and shook me to the core. What the fuck do I say without giving us away?! Yet still, neither of us could speak. Even Miriel, who was so bold moments ago, was frozen in place. ¡°Twould be my luck that such informants are a simpleton and his dominatrix.¡± Suddenly, his hand shot out and wrapped around my neck, lifting me from my seat and out of the wagon. The searing shock of his claws penetrating the sides of my neck only made my heart race and my lungs search for air that couldn¡¯t find its way in. My hands weakly scrambled to break his iron grip, but the more my body dangled, the closer my head felt to being dislodged from the rest of me. The pressure in my face built and my head already felt lighter. ¡°Woman. Tell me of the location in which Alex and Eddie Van Halen reside, else I siphon the fool¡¯s lungs of air.¡± Miriel couldn¡¯t speak and the black spots were taking over my vision. I finally choked something out. ¡°Diona- Madam Diona!¡± ¡°Madam Diona of where?¡± Nothing else could escape my throat. My arms fell to my sides, my body giving up everything just to keep my eyes open. Miriel took over. ¡°Madam Diona of Vehfirn! She¡¯s their employer! She runs the pleasure parlors and taverns in the Hallax Quarter! Please let him go!¡± I couldn¡¯t see anymore at that point, but my body swung and took flight before impacting something and then the ground. My eyes regained focus on the bright blue sky as puffy white clouds drifted overhead and I gasped for air on my back. ¡°Br-Brenden¡­ you¡¯re-¡± She was right behind me, her hands underneath my back as she shifted me off of her chest and into her lap. Her worried face came between me and the pale sky. As I lay there heaving, her hands passed over the gouges in my neck and the stinging went away one by one. I tried leaning up, but my entire neck cramped and seized, the muscles strained and bruised. ¡°Calm. Calm. Lay still. I¡¯m not done.¡± She passed her fingers over the other side of my neck, prodding the wounds and feeling around until she gently held onto both sides of my face. ¡°How does it feel now?¡± I lifted my neck and sat up. My neck was movable, if not stiff and sore. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s fine now.¡± I groaned as I turned to look at Miriel, but she was already up and raising me by my shoulders. ¡°Good. Brenden, I am sorry there¡¯s no time for you to rest, but we need to get you and Desmond and leave as soon as possible.¡± Anxiety shook her quick, calculated voice despite sounding so sure of herself. ¡°Wait a second!¡± I turned around and stepped back for a moment. She looked like I had blindsided her. ¡°What do you mean get Desmond and leave? You wanna leave Vehfirn? Now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we have a choice, Brenden. If that man is from the Elysian Halo, the place where the most powerful and influential people of Rhial live. And he is an emissary of The Great, the one who rules that place, then you are not safe anywhere. We can ponder why they¡¯re after you in the wagon if that is what you would like, but we no longer have time to be asking questions. Madam Diona will speak of Hallax and Hallax will speak of you. They won¡¯t conceal you if he threatens them, so the more distance we put between us and Vehfirn, the better. Going back to retrieve Desmond is an enormous risk in and of itself. But we need to go, now!¡± I nodded and got up on the wagon. The corties turned us around and we rapidly set off for Vehfirn. Miriel started her planning. ¡°If we travel north out of the city and follow that road for several days, we should be able to put enough distance between us and the city that our location won¡¯t be certain. Then we can come back and-¡± ¡°We¡¯re not leaving,¡± I said definitively. She was speechless for a moment. ¡°What¡­ Brenden, what do you mean we¡¯re not leaving?¡± ¡°We¡¯re staying until me and Desmond can get our friends back.¡± ¡°Brenden! If the Elysian Halo wants you, then you¡¯re either going to be captured or killed. And we don¡¯t know what they want with you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t give up on my friends like that. They¡¯re relying on us to do our part and get them out.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t giving up on your friends, Brenden! It¡¯s preserving your life and having another chance down the road!¡± ¡°Miriel, I¡¯m not leaving! Simira imprisoned my friends and the only way she lets them out is if she gets what she wants! When I went there to perform, it wasn¡¯t just to perform. We inspected the tunnels where her mother was killed to gather evidence for some fuckin¡¯ lawsuit or whatever against her father. Her father sent a guy down there to kill us and he had poison that would have killed Simira and Tells if it wasn¡¯t for some lucky bullshit from Tells! It¡¯s been almost two weeks, and nothing has happened yet, but if Simira fails, then I odds are the Viscount won¡¯t free my friends. If this plan goes under, odds are I don¡¯t ever see my friends again because they¡¯re killed for working with her. Their lives are on the line as much as mine is, and I¡¯m the only one with the recordings of the cave. Without the recording, Count Chocula or fuckin¡¯ whatever won¡¯t give Simira the trial win because they need evidence.¡± I took a breath and collected my thoughts for a second. ¡°Miriel, I have to do this. I can¡¯t risk their lives just to save myself. They would do the same for me.¡± Miriel looked away, eyes following the passing trees. ¡°I apologize. I didn¡¯t know things were so dire.¡± ¡°I wish they weren¡¯t, I really fuckin¡¯ wish they weren¡¯t, but I can¡¯t give up because it¡¯s scary. He saw both of us, but that¡¯s not the end of the world. I¡¯ll¡­ change the way we look or something while we¡¯re there. Or if you¡¯re worried about yourself, I¡¯m not gonna stop you from getting the hell out of here.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°No.¡± She turned around with a look of fearful determination. ¡°I¡¯m not abandoning you. As long as I¡¯m here, I can make sure you¡¯re safe, even if I can¡¯t fight for you. I have no stake in this, so I won¡¯t suffer the collateral and I can help from the side. But please, promise me something. Promise me that the very moment your role in all this is done, we¡¯ll get out of the city until you can retrieve your friends.¡± ¡°Sure. I promise.¡± I reached out and took her hand, squeezing it to reassure her. ¡°Then when we get out of here, we¡¯ll have time to give whatever this is a real shot.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± She squeezed my hand back, still a fearful look on her face, but I could tell she was planning out everything. ¡°We¡¯ll get out of here, that¡¯ll be six of us,¡± I said. ¡°You plan on bringing your crew along?¡± ¡°Al¡¯Li, definitely. Hestrel will likely come. I¡¯m unsure about Zerick and Dex because they both may want to stay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll figure out a way to bury the hatchet with Dex. Either way, he knows Desmond can beat his ass, so he probably won¡¯t start anything. And, Richard. If he comes for us, that¡¯ll be ten against one. Adam, Hestrel, and Zerick are built like brick shithouses, so even if Richard is better at fighting, we¡¯ll have a chance. We¡¯ll have you and Vetia to keep us healed up. I¡¯m sure the others will be able to help out too. Attack from range or something while the others keep him busy. We didn¡¯t see his weapon, though, and his sigils may cause problems. But I think if we play our cards right and work together, we could definitely win without losing anyone.¡± Miriel wasn¡¯t responding, and when I looked over she was staring wide eyed at me. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t realize you were such a planner.¡± ¡°Somebody had to wrangle and organize the other four dipshits. I¡¯m used to coming up with ways to get us out of trouble. We¡¯ve got a better idea of how things work here now. I¡¯m sure Adam could come up with a strategy for us to win. He¡¯s got a good head for that type of stuff. Maybe Desmond and Rowan could even talk us out of it.¡± The rest of the ride back was quiet, but we had some reassurance and backup plans in place, so at least Miriel wasn¡¯t as worried as before. It was turning into a race against the clock. We had to complete this plan before Richard got to Madam Diona, but I had no control over when I would be summoned for the trial. * * * * * ¡°Lord Hallax!¡± I yelled as we raced into the hall to see him. ¡°Alex, I will speak to you later, as I have business to attend to in a moment, so stay close by. It is regarding your duties.¡± Hallax hurried out of the hall toward a meeting room. He didn¡¯t even look back. ¡°Lord Hallax, listen to us!¡± Miriel yelled, stomping toward him and he stopped, slightly displeased and offended. ¡°Miriel, I appreciate your services, but you are in no position to-¡± ¡°An emissary of The Great, one of the highest members of the Elysian Halo is searching for Alex and Eddie Van Halen.¡± Miriel assertively yelled over the end of Hallax¡¯s sentence, and just as his face was turning indignant, it fell into an expression of pure fear. ¡°Tell me everything. NOW!¡± Hallax was before Miriel in a second, standing over her as she recounted the scene to him. ¡°You sicced him on Diona?! No, no! Fera!¡± Horror overtook him. He yelled to a guard. ¡°Hasaf! Find Dex! I want you and him to monitor Fera¡¯s wellbeing every moment of every day! If my daughter is hurt, it¡¯s both of your heads!¡± Hallax ran down through the hall and out the front doors into the middle of the road. He turned his eyes up to the sky and traced his finger along the ring of islands, seeming to look for something. Miriel and I raced out after him. ¡°Miriel! You said he returned upward?¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax.¡± He counted silently before turning back to us. ¡°It could be between one and ten days depending on how quickly he can ascend to speak with The Great, what priority this is, and why they want those two. Miriel, inform Madam Diona of this. The sooner she can conceal herself, the more time we have. Her dirty business won¡¯t stand in the eyes of the Elysians. We cannot lose our opportunity to complete Simira¡¯s plan, and we may still have enough time to do so and then send the two boys off.¡± ¡°Lord Hallax,¡± I cut in, ¡°what if we get the guard together and put up a front so he backs off? Can¡¯t we-¡± Lord Hallax yelled at me, hopelessness lacing his frantic explanation. ¡°Alex! You do not understand the severity of this. Our guard opposing one of the Elysians will only provoke more to come and slaughter us, to slaughter me and my house! I will not invite death upon my people! These Elysians are not mindful of our laws, nor will they yield to our arms. As people answer to nobles and nobles answer to kings and kings answer to the Body, these Elysians answer to nobody! No man, no woman, no king can subjugate them or hold power over them for that matter. The less time you are around, the safer we all are. And Alex, I will not protect you over myself, my daughter, or my people. Miriel, go now!¡± As Miriel took off down the road, Hallax stared into the sky. His usual powerful and confident visage became fearful, contemplative, like he was steeling himself for a coming war. Suddenly, he took off toward the hall. ¡°Come, Alex. I have an inkling that we will be summoned soon.¡± * * * * * It was before dawn the next morning that Lord Hallax, Desmond and I set off to the towers with our guard caravan. Even for the freezing foremorning, Hallax only wore a thick golden fur robe over his usual near-nakedness. Today, Viscount Amien would be tried before the Countess. Desmond stayed with the wagon while Hallax, myself, and a guard troop were guided through hallways of dark wooden floors and stone walls adorned by silver. We finally approached a set of inconspicuous wooden doors where only Lord Hallax was allowed to pass. I waited for a long time, my nerves wracked even though I didn¡¯t have to do much at all besides invoke the second portion of the recording sigil. After probably thirty minutes anxiously practicing the motions for the sigil, the door opened and a guard asked for me. I hesitantly stepped into the stone-walled room with murals of silver and gemstones. I didn¡¯t have time to take in the vast displays of war, because there was already a battle in front of me. On one side was Lady Simira and Lord Hallax, and on the other was the lone Lord Hazjiken Amien. They were sat at tables on either side of no man¡¯s land, the empty floor with Count Jeun Wey at the height of it behind a podium. He was an old man with a small physical presence, but his black irises were piercing into me the second I made myself known. A wild stringy mess of white hair was messily pulled back into a braid, his scarred pale face wrinkled and shrewd, but dignified. Even for as old as he was, he held his chin high and his face solemn as to demand respect. He tapped her fingers together, beckoning me forward with the light jingles of golden bracelets. Every noble except Lord Amien had golden bracelets and jewelry of all different kinds. Count Wey¡¯s cold, commanding old voice called me. ¡°Step forward and invoke the sigil of record.¡± I saluted the room and stepped forward as Hallax had trained me. Without a word I traced the sigil into the air. All of the spectral sigils had a way about them where they mirrored the way I traced. For this one, I brought both hands around in a circle, moving bottom to top. This first shape reflected two other circles at even points between the ones I made, like six evenly spaced longitude lines on a globe, intersecting with my own body. I didn¡¯t feel them, though, but that was kind of the point of the sigil. The second part involved me stepping forward and pulling one section of the circle left, extending the light and filling in the open space, completely blocking my vision to the rest of the room. From there, I meditated a moment to picture the memory in my head. Normally, this sigil would require me to create a series of shapes that would get me recording, but not for viewing. I brought my hand from the center of the circle in a swirl to outside the circle, and joined with the other sections that were created through the mirroring effect. As I focused, color swirled through the off-white sphere around me. I immediately needed to carve a symbol in the center, where none of them could see. An infinity symbol with three lines jutting out of each side of it, twice mirrored. As soon as I finished that, the off-white sphere faded, displaying my memory across its surface. The back of my head jolted like I was being ripped open, a searing pain as the memory was ripped straight from my head. I collapsed onto the floor, on my hands and knees mentally willing the memory to halt. It did so, and I caught my breath. Hallax¡¯s voice called calmly for me. ¡°Brenden!¡± He sounded worried. ¡°Are you well?¡± The pain went as quickly as it came and I stood. ¡°Thank you for your concern, Lord Hallax. Just a temporary pain involved with the sigil.¡± I glanced at the sigil, and it was like a perfectly spherical cloud that you could barely see through, but across the sphere, the screen, was my perspective of the events in the cave. Count Wey looked at me apathetically. ¡°Begin the memory.¡± The memory was short, but it depicted the rubble and caves beneath the manor, then me being boosted by Tells witness the charge. The memory was devoid of color, illuminated in grayscale like night vision. Most importantly, we all saw the thin metallic box with the partially singed fuse. I paused the memory right as I fell off of Tells and Rezyn attacked, but they could only see the blur of me falling. Lady Simira stood and crossed to the center of the room, revealing three shards of blackened metal in a cloth. ¡°Count Wey, these shards are from the detonated charges that my father set in the caves. The residue on them is from the chemical compound that is within the charges which allows them to detonate without the use of sigils. Lord Amien¡¯s chilling voice spoke up, and his frail old self stood. ¡°Count Wey, there is no evidence that this is true. There is no way of validating this man¡¯s memories, nor do I have knowledge of these charges my daughter speaks of. Simira¡¯s grief for her mother clouds her judgment, and I am appalled that she would accuse me of killing my own kjzae.¡± ¡°Hazjiken,¡± Count Wey responded, ¡°I was in those caves many years ago when even you were young. Your former kjzae¡¯s family kept the cave like a trophy of their conquest. They bragged about it to me and showed me firsthand. The structure in the center is proof enough.¡± Simira barked back at him. ¡°And the charges are a protected secret of the mining guilds of Triala! Your family is one of the barons of the guild! Count, his claim of foolishness has no base¡± ¡°Even so, daughter, these charges you speak of have no connection to me. How could one outside the mining guild claim a guild secret? Count Wey, there is no case against me here.¡± ¡°That is wholly untrue.¡± Lord Hallax stood. ¡°My quarter is gilded with precious metals, and acquiring those metals is quite difficult. I was once close with the mining barons, particularly Hazjiken¡¯s family. Upon Lady Simira informing me of this matter, I took it upon myself to inquire with the mining guild. Prospector Loo Ie of the Vehfirn Mining Guild has agreed to identify and provide an example of the charge that was retrieved from the caves, though he cannot give details of the formula.¡± ¡°Present the evidence,¡± Count Wey said. A guard opened the door and a four foot tall bald man walked in. He had gray skin and two slits for a nose. His large droopy ears bounced with each step he took into the room. He was a wide little man, but was dressed in extremely thick furs and wools, even for how warm it was in here. The air seemed to shimmer almost unnoticeably around him, too, like when you can see the heat coming off the road or a stovetop. Simira presented a metal box, then opened it to reveal the charge from the mines. The prospector saluted and stepped forward to inspect the device. ¡°It suhtainly looks like a blastin¡¯ chahj.¡± He had an odd accent, the Triali equivalent of an Italian American accent, kinda like the Godfather. ¡°Lemme open it ¡®n see.¡± He pried open several spots and carefully lifted the top of the charge off, running his fingers through the powder to sniff it. ¡°The chahj is nicely made. Old, but the powda¡¯s good. Ay kid, come ¡®ere.¡± He placed a pinch of powder into the lid and handed it to me. He then passed me a long thin stick. ¡°Put the powda in the centa there ¡®n light it up wit dis stick.¡± I did as he said, placing the bit of powder down, then igniting the end of the stick with my hand. I lowered the flaming stick to the powder and it flashed brightly with a loud pop. ¡°Sure as shit works.¡± The prospector stopped himself. ¡°Apologies Lords and Ladies, for my crassness. I don¡¯t get ahtta the mines often¡± He held the charge, powder up toward the Countess. It was half his size, so it was almost comical. ¡°Countess, dis chahj got enough powda to blow this towa in half from this room. Them cave walls would fall down easy to sometin¡¯ like dis.¡± Count Wey inspected the bomb and the room, then to the memory. ¡°Does that charge match the one from the memory, prospector?¡± ¡°It does, Count. Singed fuse matches and this powda¡¯s old.¡± The Count looked down at the bomb, then to Simira and Hallax. ¡°Your evidence thus far, the diary, the map, the exchanged letters, the memory and the charge are sufficient in incriminating Viscount Amien of the-¡± Like I could feel a change in the temperature of the air, I glanced over to Lord Hazjiken Amien, whose fingers were ever so slightly moving at his side, glowing red. His brow shone with sweat like he was tired, or low on jzanmah. It was almost as if time slowed down and my body launched forward. A beam of curling flame shot from his finger toward the bomb in the prospector¡¯s hands. My body went faster than I thought I could go, but it was still struggling to keep up with the fire, which fluttered forward like an electric butterfly. I reached my hand out to block the flame from hitting the bomb, halfway between the prospector and Lord Amien. I wouldn¡¯t be able to catch the spiraling fire which curled away from me. It¡¯s my life or everyone¡¯s life right now! Even if I die, my friends will go free! With a final burst of everything I had in me, I pushed forward just enough for my finger to impact the flame and a burst of heat enveloped on my hand. My left ring finger incinerated in an instant. The concentrated explosion of heat scorched the rest of my arm, snapping my fingers backward and breaking my wrist. I collapsed to the ground, holding back screams, clutching my hand. I couldn¡¯t focus on anything other than my sizzling, bubbling blackened hand. Cold shot through my arm, so incredibly cold as the prospector kneeled down to pick me up. ¡°Ay Count! Guards! Some o¡¯ yas! This kid needs a regenerator now if he wants to keep the rest of his hand.¡± He leaned down and looked me in the eyes. ¡°Hey! Look at me! Keep your eyes open! Shit, kid, you didn¡¯t need to do dat.¡± ¡°What is this?!¡± Lord Amien yelled and I heard him wrestling with the guards. ¡°What did-?!¡± Count Wey turned to him, as apathetic as ever. ¡°You are bold to ask such a thing, Hazjiken, after such an attempt on our lives. I hereby strip you of your title and your power, leaving the house to the next in line, Lady Simira." She turned to me. "Boy, your sacrifice is noted, but unnecessary as the prospector took safety precautions when handling the charge.¡± ¡°Ie! We were friends once!¡± Hazjiken yelled at him. ¡°What is that jzanmah?!¡± ¡°Just ''cause we was friends doesn''t mean I''ll letcha kill me. You been outta da business a while, old timer. New tech.¡± The prospector lifted me up. ¡°This cold I got goin¡¯ should buy ya a lil time. Count, can someone take dis kid to a regeneratah?¡± The Count glanced down his nose at me with no change to his face. ¡°He made the decision of his own volition. His action or inaction changes nothing here, as your sigil would have prevented the fire from reaching the charge. You have already brought enough trouble into my house Hallax. Do not bring any more. Nyadin, you may release the sigil, but I owe nothing to you.¡± Lord Hallax stood. ¡°Count, if I may, I will pay for the costs of your regenerator for this.¡± ¡°My regenerator¡¯s services are not for the commoners, nyadin are no exception. We will reconvene tomorrow, Lady Simira, to discuss the terms of you serving me directly.¡± ¡°Yes, Cou-¡± With Simira¡¯s attention away from him, a blast erupted from Hazjiken. He darted beneath the table and clamored across the ground before anyone could react. I didn¡¯t even see him, too wrapped up in my pain to react until his arm was around my neck, crackling electricity next to my ear. The room stilled, the nobles behind the tables, guards unmoving, and Ie only close enough that my arm was still cold. "Count!¡± Hazjiken Amien seethed next to my head. ¡°You cannot let my daughter rule! She will tear my house and your house down at the seams, from within! She is unfit for leadership!" Simira''s proud smile twisted into unabashed hatred. ¡°That''s a blasted statement from a man who sold his quarter to the first bidder. The one who murdered his own kjzae. Not a worthwhile word has left your mouth since the day you were born. You release that man at once.¡± "That woman was never fit to rule. Your mother was weak. She was willing to give up power to please her subordinates. She couldn''t burn a bridge if the end of her house was walking over it. You¡¯re the same, no will to survive!" Every one of his words stung into her. Pricked at her temper, but she fought back her own rage. She didn¡¯t even speak to him, her eyes overflowing with disgust and righteousness. "The people will burn beneath you! You¡¯ve no understanding of the damage you will inflict. Your rule will be remembered as that of a tyrant! And I have an inkling that you¡¯re not telling all! Brenden, continue the record.¡± I kept my head as far from the electricity as possible, but little shocks continued zapping my ear. The Count stared me down, nodding at Hazjiken. ¡°Do it.¡± I let the rest of the memory play. The attack by Rezyn, his beatdown, the knives thrown, Simira beating his head in, and her near death. Count Wey glared at Simira, a dire, pressing matter overflowing on his face. ¡°What foolishness is this?! Housing a mau in the city?! As your personal servant?! I demand answers at once. I am not to make enemies of the Elysians, and their presence here may yet be your fault.¡± Simira¡¯s breath faltered for only a moment before she steeled her will. ¡°Count, it was a lucky coincidence. Tells had no knowledge of her heritage until after this quarrel, which saved my life, and I planned to release her after the events of today. Nobody will know a mau was in the city.¡± Hazjiken yelled out, the electricity slipping closer and closer to my temple. ¡°She harbors enemies of the Halo within your city, Count! Those tears which wrested her from poison can only be given by mau! She cannot be trusted! Her tyranny exists because she knows not the rot that pervades within the mau! First a jinian and now a mau! This city is bound to fall in ruin!¡± Simira¡¯s voice shook, growing hatred within her chest. "If scum calls her rot for simply being mau, then I¡¯d sooner die with the mau than let you continue your reign." Hazjiken smiled, leaving no card unturned, no play unused. "No loyalty to your people, just like your mother with the yeffen! The court has no loyalty to you, they do not respect your words, they only respond to your mother¡¯s name. A people who do not fear you will never be ruled by you, and a ruler who lets those beneath them rise can never stand strong." Her face fell to pure apathy. "My people serve me because I serve them. If your only avenue of rule is fear, then you were only ever a ruler." He broke into a hysterical fit of laughter. "Oh, not this! Not- ahaha! Not another speech on love and loyalty! The naivete may kill me before you¡¯ve the chance to take my head!" "No more speeches. No more wickedness. Not in our city." His laughter halted for a moment, as if he was reminiscing on a fond memory. "Funny, I thought the same thing when I killed your mother." Simira¡¯s temper finally broke. She vaulted over the table as several guards rushed to hold her back, fighting to keep her from strangling her father on the spot. He only brought his fingers closer to my head. ¡°Careful, daughter! I¡¯ve another creature that you so love! Will you sacrifice yourself yet again for an outsider?!¡± I found the words in my throat, somewhere in my fear. ¡°Lady Simira, if I have to die for my friends¡¯ freedom and this man¡¯s head, then let it be known I died for them.¡± She stared me down, respect in her eyes, and nodded. A grotesque laugh escaped through Hazjiken¡¯s demonic smile. "I should have killed you immediately after your mother! I thought about killing you in your sleep so often, but even I would feel guilty for not letting you die slowly. I want you to feel the miserable pain of death, to bleed out slowly like your mother did while your life falls apart around you.¡± He snickered venomously, his strength waning, sweating profusely onto me as his jzanmah tolerance rapidly fell. The Count watched curiously, clocking Simira more than Hazjiken, like he was using this as a test of her temperament. ¡°Did you know that I went down after the charges went off? To see my work? There I saw her, shielded from stones by a yeffen¡¯s arm. Your mother was so close to surviving, had her legs not been crushed beneath a boulder. She was still alive when I found her, and she begged me through parched lips to pull her free. She was so thirsty she could barely speak.¡± Hazjiken cackled, consumed in the hilarity of what he was about to say. ¡°She thought I loved her! She called me ''love'' when she begged so pathetically. She should have loved me sooner, because she never knew that watching her die miserably was the most pleasurable moment I have ever experienced. So do you know what I did?¡± Simira was stilled by the guards, clenching her fists, quaking with the violence she wanted to gut Hazjiken with. What terrified me was how genuine his words were. How much he relished in murdering Simira¡¯s mother. ¡°I pissed in her mouth and left so she would live just long enough to be consumed by the rodents and bugs attracted by the blood." Simira¡¯s eyes became wide, animalistic, and cold. Like she wasn¡¯t even looking at him as she slowly approached us, as his fingers grew closer and closer. Fuck, fuck, this cold sweat won¡¯t go, it¡¯s so cold! FUCK! I CAN DO IT! As long as they know I died for them, I¡¯ll fuckin¡¯ do it. I can¡¯t even lie to myself, I want this guy dead now. And yet why am I so scared? I know it¡¯s right, but I wanna live, see my family again. I wanna see mom. I wanna go out with my friends. I wanna see Kyle do better than I did. I wanna thank Miriel for even giving me the time of day. I wanna see what life here has to offer, because this may be it. Why does my head feel resolved, but my heart won¡¯t let me push against his fingers so I can die with some pride? Why do I feel so frozen in my own body, steadfast but unwillingly? Hazjiken¡¯s breath grew unsteady and the crackles grew less intense, ¡°Ie!¡± His head quickly turned to Ie and his fingers pressed against my temple, but the frigid air from Ie halted the electricity, who had been silently creeping closer amid the confusion. On the spot, several guards lunged forward, tackling Hazjiken and pinning him down. Ie pulled me away, setting me behind Hallax as the record faded from the air. Breathless and thankful, I leaned my head on his shoulder and patted his back. The freezing man chuckled. ¡°I gotcha, kid. Now don¡¯t stay too close, or you¡¯ll get chilled to death.¡± I pulled away, keeping my arm in range of his sigil, a kind guard giving me support to stand. Count Wey quietly commanded her. "Viscountess Simira, his blood will not be spilt in this room." Simira stepped forward, emotionless in tone. ¡°Guards, deliver this creature to the arena.¡± Hazjiken smiled wider. ¡°There it is, daughter, you¡¯ve given yourself over. From that you¡¯ll never return." ¡°His execution is today after the fighting. And father, father in heritage alone, your ploy was weak, imprecise, and incredibly flawed. If I¡¯d been of the same low breed as you, then you¡¯d have been dead the day after. Today, I will show the people the true nature of your filth, your scum, so that they may never be ruled by any like you again.¡± Hazjiken¡¯s eyes widened and he growled at her like a rabid street dog. "The house will never be yours. Your anger, your hatred will not die with me. It will live on, just as mine did. It will fester like a miserable gash in your soul. And you will kill everyone you love. Then yourself. I only wish that I could watch you suffer at the end." Viscountess Simira nodded to me and had no more to say to him. She turned to the Count, who gestured to the guards. The guards pulled me out of the room and Hazjiken Amien was close to follow. Simira lagged behind, exchanging a few words with the Count. As tense as the scene began, we were suddenly back outside with the coming dawn. ¡°Holy fucking shit! What happened?!¡± Desmond jumped down from the wagon. ¡°Get in the wagon!¡± Hallax ordered. ¡°Take us back to my hall, now.¡± The kind guard helped me into the back of the wagon, where I laid in pain for the ride back. Hallax informed Desmond of what happened, and that everything went almost exactly as planned. Desmond turned to me, sorry, but approving. ¡°Good shit man. We gotchu now.¡± Hallax drew in a long, deep breath, a joyous smile overcoming his face as he stared at the rising sun with outstretched arms. ¡°You two will remain at the Hall, your services no longer needed, but your secrecy from the Elysians required. This¡­ this day, I will watch a moment I have so long awaited.¡± I¡¯m so tired. Not like dying tired, exhausted from everything. Maybe, just maybe, we can be done with all the conflict, the shows, everything now, and move on. I can see Adam, Tells, and Rowan again. It¡¯ll be nice to get out on the road, catch up and find the next place to go. It¡¯s weird, being so hopeful after I almost died, but maybe it¡¯s because I almost died that I wanna go back to the simple things. I wanna go back to my family, here and back home. I couldn¡¯t remember much else because the pain became unbearable and I was busy fighting back my slipping consciousness. I vaguely experienced Desmond walking me into Miriel¡¯s clinic, and her grabbing me. ¡°What- what happened?! How did this happen?!¡± I gazed weakly at her, and with a dull smirk I said, ¡°hand.¡± She seems a lot more worried than me, but I couldn¡¯t be happier to be alive. I passed out onto one of the beds as she guided me down. How much more I would have treasured the sleep if I knew of the chaos I¡¯d wake up to. 47: Waiting On the World to Change 47 (John Mayer - Waiting On the World to Change) Adam It had been a few weeks since the concert at the manor. Today was the day of our weekly festivities, preparing for one of the largest arena showings since I fought the rizumir. Several new animals had been delivered from afar and I was set to fight the most dangerous one. Despite the hype, Captain Zev paced the barracks, antsy and irritated. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Captain?¡± I asked sarcastically. ¡°Are you worried we won¡¯t win our duels?¡± The guards around me chuckled. Captain Zev glared over. ¡°Are you attempting to patronize me, Adam?¡± ¡°No. No, sir. I guess I was just expecting more energy from you.¡± ¡°All of my energy has gone into organizing this morning alone. Then Lord Hazjiken was dragged¡­ to a meeting involving Lady Simira and the Count.¡± He turned his head around the room, at the guards who were much less jovial than when he started speaking. ¡°However, we need not worry. Everything will continue as planned and they will be back to celebrate our victories today. I expect clean, dignified duels out of everyone. Lord Hallax was gracious enough to lend his regenerator, and it would be rude of us to abuse his generosity. And how much you are restored will come out of today¡¯s earnings. Fewer injuries, higher rewards. Let today be flawless!¡± The group of us cheered to more money while Captain Zev turned away and retrieved a thin piece of wood with markings on it. ¡°I am still stretched thin, as Rezyn is still on his long term assignment, so I will be preparing you before each fight. When the messenger comes, the battles will begin. For now stretch, eat, and temper your resolve.¡± He left the barracks for the armory connected to the arena. After about half an hour, a kid came in and called out the first fighter. This happened about every half hour until I was the only one left. The barracks were quiet except for my occasional crunching on vegetables. I was quite fond of grents, these big white watermelon shaped roots, lightly bitter with a strong minty aftertaste. ¡°Champion Adam, Captain Zev is requesting you in the armory.¡± The young boy, probably no older than nine years old with freckles and pale red hair, peaked in through the door and spoke in a surprisingly assertive voice. Once I made eye contact and stood, he rushed out of sight. I crossed the training grounds to the shitty little arena shed and ducked into the doorframe. It was empty except for Captain Zev, the messenger boy, and a few servants. ¡°Ah, Adam. I forgot to mention it, but the sword you requested arrived this morning. Since you haven¡¯t trained with it, we¡¯ll have you use this.¡± He handed me a sword the size of a claymore, which was more of a regular sized sword to me. ¡°Captain, I think I¡¯d like to have a go with the new sword, actually.¡± ¡°Are you certain?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Captain Zev smirked at me skeptically and told the messenger boy to go fetch the sword. After a few minutes, two guards walked in, struggling to carry the oversized sword. It was beautifully made, a sword as tall as me, and two feet wide. A greatsword too big for anyone other than me to wield. I stared in awe before grabbing it in one hand from the heaving guards. It was heavy for one arm, but I had been training to wield something this heavy, picking up and swinging around the heaviest things I could find. Captain Zev chuckled at the sight of the sword. ¡°That¡¯s one behemoth of a sword, Adam. Heavier than most men. Full tang, too.¡± I held it before me and marveled. This sword was mine, and it was unlike anything I had seen anyone else in this world use. I spoke out loud to myself, basking in the moment. ¡°It¡¯s almost too big, too thick to be called a sword, huh? Almost like it¡¯s just a hunk of iron.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s quite common for jinian fighters, at least historically. Is that not what you were expecting? You requested it, Adam, and at the cost of the manor.¡± ¡°Uh, no, yeah it¡¯s exactly what I wanted.¡± ¡°Good. Then to battle.¡± He helped me into my chainmail and breastplate, shoulderplates and gauntlets. ¡°Say, Captain, I still haven¡¯t gotten the chance to rematch you for laying me out on my first day. Are we gonna do that at some point, or do you only do beat downs on newbies?¡± ¡°Adam, I¡¯m afraid there will be no rematch.¡± He stared at me sympathetically, one hand on my shoulder. ¡°It will simply be another beatdown.¡± Captain Zev¡¯s expression grew more confident. ¡°Am I still that bad?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve grown as a fighter, learned how to properly fight. However, as the one who trained you and every other guard, I know everything about how you fight. I would likely beat you worse than the first day because of your predictability.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I could land a hit.¡± ¡°Adam, you still lack speed and finesse. I admit, your battle sense is better than most of the other guards, but due to the lack of competition, outclassing everyone in natural strength alone, your skills and bladework are suffering because you have not needed them. I haven¡¯t yet needed to employ sigils against you either. Another avenue of combat you would be blind to.¡± ¡°Okay, so I keep learning and then you¡¯ll let me rematch you?¡± ¡°There will come a day where you no longer reside here, where your strength is honed in new ways, and you are trained by a new teacher. You are still an infant to the field of bloodshed. You must grow and learn why it is that you fight before you wish to challenge one bathed in the art of killing.¡± Why it is that I fight. The time I spent here is the only time I ever spent really fighting. I never had a reason for it other than getting better in the arena. ¡°You¡¯re a master though, right? Can¡¯t you teach me that?¡± He tightened the final strap and stepped around to the front of me. ¡°Adam, our conversation the other night gave me the inclination to reflect. I am not a master, and hardly a teacher. I am a soldier who can train soldiers, who is still learning to teach his students. You need a master who can teach you to teach, because only through learning from students can a teacher truly become a master. That is the next step on my journey in the art of combat. I believe you are not far behind, lest you leave those edges unsmoothed. But when you leave, as you said you wish to, my final parting advice will be to savor peace and do not fight for fighting¡¯s sake. Do not become a slave to war.¡± Captain Zev guided me down the hall in silence. The iron barred gate scraped open. He passed me my helmet. ¡°As for you now, never stop being a student of battle. Then, should our paths cross again, I will gladly duel you.¡± We clasped fists and nodded at each other. I donned the helmet and stepped into the arena, which was packed full of people compared to the barren noble section, where only Tarynn and a woman sat. And for as beautiful as she was, Tarynn showed no interest in her at all, leaning away and gazing down into the arena like an empty husk. I had only seen him a few times, but he had been that way ever since the trial, walking around like a zombie. Damn, if I¡¯m even picking up on his angst then it must be glaringly obvious to everyone else. ¡°Oh, look who has made his grand return!¡± The glittery annoying jester from the last arena day was back to announcing. ¡°Adam the Mountain Crusher! It is up to you to flutter the hearts of Lord Tarynn and Lady Fera Hallax! Do stir our lonely Lord to mount and crush her mountains!¡± It wasn¡¯t that I was getting grossed out much, but his jokes sucked. I wanted to hear as little of his comments before and during the fight. I stomped over, my boots knocking up clouds of sand with each step, dragging the flat side of my sword in the dirt behind me, scratching the ground loudly enough to draw the jester¡¯s attention and shut him up for a second. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the Mountain Crusher presents a new sword to you, primed to slam and penetrate!¡± I loomed a couple feet higher than him, enveloping him in my shadow. ¡°Has he come to give me-¡± The jester stared up in pure fear as I raised the sword and thrust it into the ground only a few inches from him, the sword taller than him. ¡°Get off out of my arena,¡± I growled at him, stepping forward again until we were almost touching. He was frozen still out of fear until part of him brushed my knee. He jumped back and turned around, hurrying to the wall with his hands in front of him. After a long moment of waiting for him to awkwardly climb the ladder up, he turned back toward the arena. ¡°Open the gate! Adam, you face the jokadulg!¡± The crowd roared and screamed as the figure emerged from darkness. Across the arena, the gate opened and a large shape stomped out into the center. It looked like an ankylosaurus but with an earless, stubby canine head and a mouth with teeth too large to close. Its entire body except for the spiked shell was covered in a spotted brown and gray fur. When it saw me, it flicked its thick tail in the air to reveal a gnarly thagomizer, barking a loud guttural ¡°dulg.¡± Must be named for its dulg, since joka means armor. Maybe there are other types of dulgs? It slowly lumbered toward me and I raised my sword in a ready position. We circled each other slowly, the jokadulg analyzing me over while I read into its pure hazel eyes, trying to find any intent for its attack. I¡¯m feeling more confident than before, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m out of the woods yet. I¡¯m already big, and this thing is double my size. I was at a loss until I noticed that its legs were all shaking, traces of dried blood in its fur like it hadn¡¯t finished healing from when it was captured. It lumbered slowly, probably unable to run at all, unwilling to approach me. I have to make a plan of attack. If it whips its thagomizer at me, I can try dodging forward to slash at its tail, and if it lunges to crush me under its shell, I¡¯ll have to use my sword to block and push back against it. The thing is big, but I have a lot of strength that I¡¯ve been learning to hone, and I could probably repel it if I can¡¯t lift it. But all of this depends on how dense this beast is. It might just crush me if I¡¯m not careful. All of that is hypothetical, and this thing can just bite at me or try trampling me too. If it can roll, I¡¯m probably screwed. Whatever. I have to start acting confident if I wanna be confident. I stepped toward it, my heart thumping out of my chest. The beast halted for the briefest of moments, still circling as I closed in, sword in front of me at the ready. It flipped its tail around, as if it was trying to intimidate me, or pull my attention. Like it was luring me into its trap, even slightly raising its neck to goad me into attacking. I can fall for that. I exploded into a dash toward its rear side as its tail whipped slowly toward me. It would have to pull it back to hit me, giving me just enough time. My aim was for its back left leg, which it was too hurt to pull back quickly. I raised the sword over my shoulder and brought it down and through, cutting halfway into its leg. Just then, its tail was finally closing in. I let the sword¡¯s momentum carry me around and under its attack, wrenching the sword up over my shoulder. Sure enough, I had gotten too close for the thagomizer to bend toward me, and it stuck still for just a moment before its retreat would begin. Unlucky for it, my sword was already coming down, cutting through the muscle and sinew like a thousand degree knife through butter, smashing into the ground with all of my might. The beast groaned deeply and stomped the sand, sending shockwaves through the arena and dust into the air. Sand and dust burned, scratching my eyes while I tried recovering, blinking the obstructions away. The spiked end of its tail laid on the ground before me, motionless, at which point I whipped my head around to see the top of its spiked shell feet away and closing in to crush me. I spun the rest of my body and pressed my hand on the flat of my sword, slamming it into the gigantic shell. The scrape of shell on metal directly over me was deafening. Every muscle in my body tensed to the point of ripping. I gritted my teeth and a growl of fury rose into yell, this beast¡¯s entire weight being held back by my sword and strength alone, threatening to break my body if I couldn¡¯t hold it sturdy enough. It scraped and scratched against my blade until I had offset it enough to just fall to the ground in front of me, turtled. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. My muscles relaxed and I heaved for air, recovering from the unimaginably heavy attack it just hit me with. I pulled my feet out of the ruts they had formed in the already packed dirt and gazed at the jokadulg. It snapped at the air toward me, trying to use its tail to rock and flip itself back over, but there was no longer enough reach or sway. All its tail could do was flick blood into the sand. I raised the sword and leaned it on my shoulder, strutting toward its head, clearing my eyes and catching my breath. It¡¯s time to end this battle. Flawlessly. This beast will take no victory in my arena. I am its champion. The jokadulg was still so full of fight for not being able to fight at all, and it never stopped snapping at me, trying to shift its shell around in the dirt to reach me. It didn¡¯t make a difference to my sword. All I had to do was haul the blade down with a little bit of force and its weight would carry the rest of the way through. The dulg¡¯s head flopped onto the ground and I pulled my helmet off. The audience¡¯s cheers and screams swelled around me. I had completely forgotten I was in front of a massive arena of people. It was like I had gone into a trance, a state where only I and my opponent existed. My breath was heavy and my body pumped with adrenaline. It was intoxicating. The power, the prestige of taking something so big down flooded me with pride as I held my sword up and yelled to the people around me. ¡°LET¡¯S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± I screamed out and looked around at the people. Captain Zev cheered and pumped his fist in the air. I found Tells standing behind the nobles, holding a sheathed sword. Her face confused me, like she was happy but frightened by something. Then I followed her eyes to Lady Simira, who was smiling grimly tugging along a figure with a bag over his head. Behind her, standing beside Fera, was a man like a golden idol, gleefully watching the unfolding scene. The audience fell silent simply at her proud presence, her bright orange eyes catching everyone¡¯s attention like bonfires in a sea of darkness. She wore a tan fur shoulder cloak and a dented light brass chestplate with plate segments down her torso, sleeveless as usual. The Amien crest in the center of her chest plate reflected radiantly in the sun as she stepped forward. Bracelets of valor adorned her battle scarred arms. Service necklaces and commander earrings dangled proudly. Her battleworn scimitar and dagger clasped to the belt, which held up her scuffed padded riding boots. She carried her head high and confidently, her pristine half halo braid gracing her imposing image with a touch of beauty and practicality while the rest of her chestnut hair flared down to her neck. She was glorious. ¡°Congratulations to the winners of the arena. I am told that every one of Captain Zev¡¯s guards has been successful, and I am quite pleased to see the prowess with which our champion, Adam, finished the day. I regret being unable to witness the glory of such battles, but I was engaged in my own battle.¡± She threw the covered man to his knees on the platform, the entire arena watching this spectacle in awe. ¡°Today is a day of celebration, a triumph for the good of Vehfirn. This man has been tried before Count Jeun Wey and convicted on nine charges. Under Count Wey¡¯s tribunal, I have been given the duty to exact justice, to execute this criminal before you.¡± Lady Simira held up a parchment with a lot of writing and three wax seals. ¡°The first charge. Assassination of nobility. This man murdered Etanya Amien, my mother. The second and third charges. Two counts of mass murder. This man used explosions to collapse a cave on a visiting group of yeffen, resulting in the deaths of forty-seven yeffen, and diverted a river killing hundreds of farmers, and upwards of a thousand miners under Lord Hallax¡¯s employ. The fourth charge. Conspiracy. This man actively conspired to covertly seize control of land within the jurisdiction of other houses of nobility. The fifth, sixth, and seventh charges. Attempted murder of three separate nobles. Myself, Count Jeun Wey, and Viscount Olori Hallax. The eighth charge. Attempted mass murder of all those residing within the Count¡¯s tower. The ninth charge. High treason. Taking part in an ongoing plot to unlawfully usurp the power of the Count.¡± Silence gripped the arena. Everyone was lost taking in the sudden spectacle. I stood in the arena with my eyes wide and my mouth ajar at everything happening so unexpectedly. ¡°By my right as Viscountess Simira Amien, I sentence this man to death. Execution on this very spot.¡± The man with the bag on his head shook madly trying to scoot away. Stifled yells cried out from his gagged mouth. Captain Zev slowly stepped forward. ¡°Lady Simira,¡± he said, his voice shaking like he knew the answer, ¡°who is that man?¡± Simira kicked the man in his ribs. He wrenched forward, laying belly down and groaning. She then reached down and ripped the bag off. Simira yanked back the matted wad of spindly gray hair to reveal the battered face of Hazjiken Amien. As she tugged his head back, the gag fell from his mouth and he turned his eyes to Captain Zev. ¡°Andris!¡± His raspy voice shrieked. ¡°Kill my daughter! She has gone mad.¡± Simira grabbed his head, wrestling the gag back in his mouth, but Hazjiken was doing his best to resist. ¡°She lies to seize power from me! She fabricated this with Lord Hallax to kill me and give him my territory! Adam! Kill her! She harbors a-¡± Simira finally wrestled the gag back into his mouth and secured it tighter. She held her hand out. ¡°Tells, the sword. It¡¯s time to end this old bastard.¡± Hazjiken shook his head and screamed while Captain Zev stood aghast, glancing between Simira and Hazjiken. Simira unsheathed the sword and held it to her father¡¯s neck, passing the parchment to Tells. ¡°Sister!¡± Tarynn rose from his seat. Simira turned around and glared menacingly at him. ¡°I wish to review this parchment. He is my father as well as he is yours.¡± Simira sighed and nodded to Tells, who passed the parchment to Tarynn. He read it over while the entire arena¡¯s attention was on him. He passed the parchment back to Tells and held a finger up, bobbing his arm and pointing to the golden man, the father of his kjzae. ¡°Hallax. That¡¯s the reason you arranged this. You wanted Lord Hallax¡¯s name on this piece of parchment, didn¡¯t you?¡± He looked crushed, like he was on the verge of tears. ¡°And you didn¡¯t want anyone to get in the way of that, did you. It was all lies.¡± Simira scoffed at him like he was stupid. Tarynn continued. ¡°And the reason she died is because you couldn¡¯t wait to outlive father.¡± Simira held up the sword to Tarynn. ¡°She took her life because of the man we called a father. You¡¯re a fool if you¡¯ve not the eyes to see through his deceptions.¡± ¡°Sister, your resemblance to him at this moment is uncanny.¡± Tarynn stepped forward, his comment digging into her. ¡°You know as well as I do that I am nothing like him. I will not hear more of this.¡± Tarynn¡¯s jaw shook and fear verged on overwhelming him, but everyone here knew she wouldn¡¯t lash out at him in front of a crowd. ¡°You didn¡¯t used to be. Then I woke up on that bed in Poikla and you were more aggressive than ever. Were you scared that I was going to leave with her?¡± ¡°I needed you to act according to the rules we set.¡± ¡°What rules?! An agreement between children that-¡± Simira¡¯s indignant face silenced him. Her enraged voice cried out in genuine pain, but demanded the utmost respect. ¡°Have you no honor?! Have you no convictions?! Have you no sense of duty?! Can you not see the pain I have endured to assume the title of Viscountess?!¡± She quieted, seething in her anger, unable to catch her breath. ¡°I played the games that those above us play. I maneuvered their tricks and transactions. I learned their laws which stand apart from the laws of the people. I gave up my humanity so I could win against them. I became as cruel and heartless as the ones who rule us all. I stand here now, alone, but dignified in my victory! My people will never again suffer at the hands of this wretched creature! I will restore Vehfirn and the Amien name to the unquestioned honor they once held. I have proven my conviction against every doubt cast upon me. Your sole duty was to commit to one woman. I will not allow you to stand as though I have wronged you when you were too cowardly to go to war, begging me in tears at my boots to take your place all those years ago.¡± Tarynn recoiled slightly, quivering eyebrows and lips. ¡°You would trade your own brother for these people?¡± Simira glared into her brother¡¯s eyes, destroying his fight with willpower alone. ¡°These¡­ these people?¡± She waved her sword toward the audience, whispering her disgust at her brother. ¡°Why do you address them as though they sicken you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be family, Simira, nobility!¡± ¡°Are we? All I have seen is your selfishness, just like our father.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as if you¡¯ve forgotten that we¡¯re supposed to provide stability to these people, to rule these people properly. Our duty-¡± Her breath quickened and her jaw flexed until she finally broke, fiery and passionate with a honed control over her actions. ¡°These people are my countrymen! They have shed blood for me and I for them! They died for me!¡± She ripped her service necklace free and thrust it forward, dangling the crests before his eyes. ¡°Twenty-seven men and women plus ninety-six whose crests could not be recovered! They entrusted the livelihoods of their brothers and sisters and sons and daughters to me! I cannot stand by waiting for our treasonous father to die while they suffer at his whims, while he takes their lives for nothing but shreds of power and gold without an ilk of concern for the value of the men and women who he oversees! I hear the questions of my fellow jorlad, the songs of the yeffen, the stories brought by the brrzit! My father has no care for any of them, not even his own people, and I dare say that every man who thinks himself above his fellow humans has forsaken his humanity! We shall not be ruled as slaves and servants, we shall be governed as people! We shall not return to the chains we were bound by under the lonsu, not to our own species or any other.¡± A brief, frustrated yell raged from her and she finally took a deep breath, changing her tone as though she were questioning in a courtroom. ¡°I will not hear you speak as though you know a thing about leading people when your own cowardice prevented you from saving one person. You know nothing of duty. You read poetry and practice music in your den, hating the citizens for not appreciating you more. Have you walked these streets since we were children? Can you say where the market is? What the price for a loaf of bread is? Do you know the name of a single person in our quarter or do you only know them by ¡®servant¡¯? What is the value of a life of one of your people? Have you ever considered their lives at all?¡± The air whirred around the arena as Simira furiously awaited an answer from her brother. Simira took in a deep breath, infuriated and disappointed. ¡°You¡­ you are not my brother. You are only his son.¡± ¡°And you were never my sister. I renounce my name as an Amien.¡± Tarynn stared into her eyes without any emotion. Like he was a fundamentally different person looking at a stranger he despised. A low growl rumbled from the seats of nobility and Lord Hallax stomped forward, to Tarynn. ¡°Boy.¡± His words were contained, fierce, and threateningly reserved. ¡°You are committed to my daughter, Fera Hallax. Your stature of nobility is what granted you such an opportunity, and should you revoke that status, that name, then I will personally wring your neck before this crowd for abandoning your contract.¡± A boldness rose in Tarynn¡¯s eyes, a rash courage. ¡°Fuck you.¡± Hallax wrapped his giant hand around Tarynn¡¯s neck, and leaned down, fury overcoming him, seething in Tarynn¡¯s face. ¡°Say that to me again.¡± Simira¡¯s sword rose to Hallax¡¯s neck, and he glared at her like she was an impetuous child. ¡°Viscount Olori,¡± she said calmer than ever, ¡°within this quarter, there is no death penalty for the breaking of a divine contract, and I¡¯ll not have another Viscount issuing justice in my quarter. Tarynn will be held as a prisoner and we will discuss the matter of his sentencing, as I agree he is in the wrong, but his words are only words. His name is not legally revoked as of now. Be not so callow.¡± Indignation took Hallax¡¯s face, as if he wanted to curse Simira¡¯s name until he looked into her eyes, commanding but sympathetic to him. Even I got the notion that she would kill him for acting out in her quarter. Hallax released Tarynn, who was taken away by guards, and he returned to Fera¡¯s side, who hadn¡¯t even been paying attention. Simira returned to her father, a vibrating mess of hysterics. He was¡­ crying? No, laughing. From below, from only where I could see, his wheezing intakes and releases of breath sounded like an old man weeping, but the tears which dripped had been spurred on by the twisted smile on his face, heaving from the hilarity of his children at arms against each other. ¡°Captain,¡± Simira declared, ¡°the guard, and my people. All who wish to declare themselves in service of this tyrant, speak, and if you would die for him, then step forward to offer your life now.¡± The arena fell completely silent. Captain Zev looked down at me and then up at her. He straightened his back, bowed his head, and raised his hands in a formal salute. ¡°The guard stands strong, for the honor of the Amien name, and for you Viscountess Simira.¡± Simira nodded and swept the arena with her eyes once more. When no protest rose, she swung the sword down like it was nothing, like beheading her father was nothing. One, two, three bloody hacks and his bleeding wad of hair tumbled off the platform and fell into the arena, face down into the sand. She kicked the body down to follow. The arena remained silent save for the shifting of clothes. Then audience members: farmers, tradesmen, merchants, factory laborers, the guard, even the yeffen and brrzit; all of them gradually rose from their seats in silence, saluting Viscountess Simira. Myself and Tells included. As much as I hated her before, this isn¡¯t the same Simira. And if Tells is saluting, who believes Vetia is dead, then who am I to disagree? All of a sudden, a thunderous boom blasted from high Hallax Hall. I flinched, as did most of the arena, like gunshots in the distance, ringing in my ears. Two more crashes followed, rumbling across the city. Not alarm bells, but something else. Everyone collectively gazed into the gray overcast sky at the speckles of ash gently falling like snow. Simira saluted and walked away casually. Then, like an unspoken rule, everyone exited the arena in silence out of respect. I didn¡¯t see Captain Zev for the rest of the night as ash descended from the sky. A servant stopped by and gave me a piece of parchment that said I was formally relieved of my duties. Stamped with the Viscountess¡¯ seal. Tells received the same thing, but she said she wanted to stay in the manor for the night. Even though it was supposed to be a celebratory night after the battling, there were no festivities for me. The guards and servants went back to normal, partying with the pleasure parlor workers and drinking the night away. I stuck around for a short while, but I couldn¡¯t get into it. I hadn¡¯t ever seen a man¡¯s head roll like that. A man, not an animal. It lingered¡­ staring up at me blankly whenever my eyes closed. I trekked out of Amien manor freely for the first time in over a month. Bundled up for the early flurries of a snowstorm amidst the ash, I went to the place outside of the city where I agreed to meet Vetia, waiting until night had well past fallen. She didn¡¯t show up, so I sat and listened to the sounds of Vehfirn. It was a silent night, veiled people in the streets running last minute errands before the snowstorm and the ash pushed them all back inside. Tells would be okay in the manor for the night. I took in the feeling of the biting night air. It was cold, but it smelled something like pines and other evergreen trees with hints of rich minerals on the Ashewinds, as this event was seemingly called. It was so cold, but I didn¡¯t want to go back yet, in case she showed up. I bundled in a blanket and huddled next to my ignited hand. At some point in the night, I heard the sound of a woman singing her way down the street, walking like a drunkard with dried makeup running from her eyes. Like a woman out of her mind, or a ghost haunting the road out of Vehfirn, she seemed to float along. She had a blond bob with low bangs, golden horns, and silvery skin. Just as I was standing up from the tree I was huddled beneath, her head snapped to look at me. She slowly stumbled closer, so I met her halfway and held the fire close to her. ¡°Are you okay,¡± I said, ¡°do you need help?¡± She didn¡¯t say anything, but instead reached for my unlit left hand and held it up to her concealed eyes. I got the feeling she was some kind of crackhead, so I figured it best to try getting away from her before she did something weird. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s my hand.¡± I tried lightly pulling my hand away and her mouth slowly opened, her nails digging into my skin. In her mouth was a set of sharp teeth slowly emerging from the gums and wrapping over her regular teeth, her cheeks splitting as her jaw unhinged. My hand wrenched back instinctively, blood spurted out as her nails tore lines across my hand. Almost instantly, she blinked her absent red eyes which darted around madly, taking in the situation around her and locking onto me. Her teeth and nails retracted and she stared at me with confusion and fear. ¡°Adam?¡± Vetia peered around at the trees and the road. ¡°Where are we?¡± 48: Get your Wish 48 (Porter Robinson- Get Your Wish) Tells ¡°Captain Zev!¡± I hurried down the halls near Simira¡¯s study, stumbling to keep the stack of legal planks from toppling to the floor. ¡°I¡¯ve more orders to be declared!¡± He exasperatedly reared around like he¡¯d been looking for me. ¡°Tells, I understand the necessity of these legal declarations, but has she answered why she will not speak with me?!¡± I sighed. ¡°She¡¯s not letting me in either except to receive orders.¡± ¡°Can not one wait?! How many more will there be?! Surely the stability of this house is of the utmost importance, which is what I wish to discuss.¡± ¡°Last I saw of her, she was sitting at her desk writing in a frenzy.¡± ¡°Are you implying she has gone mad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying what I saw!¡± My temper was starting to flare because he wouldn¡¯t back off of asking dumb questions. ¡°You should have more respect for her and myself, Tells.¡± This fuckin¡¯ guy just loves picking out every minute thing I do wrong and it¡¯s the most annoying thing ever. ¡°What¡¯s your fucking issue with me?!¡± Zev¡¯s tone was quick and snappy. ¡°I have no issue with you other than your disregard for respect.¡± ¡°I¡¯m respectful to everyone here! But you get on my back and pester me for no reason every time I talk to you! I¡¯m telling you what I know! What do you want from me?!¡± ¡°If you respected me, you would have told me about this scheme!¡± ¡°She specifically told me not to tell anyone about it!¡± ¡°You do not see the issue clearly.¡± ¡°Then enlighten me! What¡¯s the issue?!¡± At least back home when I was coding some bullshit, I could punch a wall or squeeze a stress ball to death. This guy is like a walking run of bad code because he doesn¡¯t understand a bloody fuckin¡¯ thing I try to input to thick skull. ¡°You actively engaged in conspiracy against a sitting Viscount. Had anything gone wrong, you and the Lady would have been executed!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t say anything!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point! How many times do I have to say it?!¡± Zev was turning purple in the face like an angry plum. ¡°You should have counseled her! Tried to convince her to take more legitimate avenues!¡± ¡°It was a trial in front of the Count! There¡¯s a legal paper! Seems pretty legit to me!¡± ¡°Sweet Eyes and Ears, is there a brain in your head?! Conspiring with an outside Viscount! Espionage that caused the death of Rezyn! If she had been caught at any point in this, she would have been killed! She is bold and unafraid, and I respect that about her. But if you are not intelligent enough to offer her counsel, then you have no right to serve so closely to her!¡± ¡°I did! I helped where I could! I don¡¯t know how law works here, man! Are you just mad that I was in on this plan instead of you?!¡± ¡°Yes! If I had been a part of it, there would not have been an impromptu execution of her father! Her brother would not have renounced his name before the people who are supposed to respect and serve this family! This is how dissent is perpetuated! We are incredibly lucky for the people¡¯s love of her.¡± ¡°Then you should have said something to her earlier!¡± Zev¡¯s eyes went beyond wide with that one. They looked like they were about to pop out of his head. ¡°What?! What am I supposed to say to that?! I couldn¡¯t have known to say anything!¡± ¡°That sucks! Not my problem!¡± Captain Zev took several deep, agonized breaths before speaking. ¡°Why did you help the Lady at all?¡± ¡°To get me and Adam and Vetia out of here. She said she¡¯d let us go.¡± ¡°Self-serving to your core. You¡¯re unconcerned with the state of House Amien after you leave, so why care for Lady Simira at all? Adam was the only one with a shred of decency between the lot of you. Know that you are to blame for anything malignant that occurs in this house from here on out.¡± The doors to Simira¡¯s study burst open and Lady Simira stepped out, wrathful eyes glaring between us. ¡°Both of you. Come in. Now.¡± Captain Zev walked in first and reluctantly let me enter before closing the doors. ¡°Lady Simira, why didn¡¯t you tell me any part of this plan you had?! I am here to counsel you and to advise you as best as I can, but I cannot help you any more than you have hurt yourself already.¡± Simira stood behind her desk and frustratedly clenched her fists. ¡°The people will calm shortly. Surprise is not unexpected.¡± ¡°Surprise? Lady Simira, this is not solely surprise. The people have witnessed a political execution in a house that formerly appeared incredibly stable! The instability after the suicide still lingers! There is potential that this action instigates upheaval from dissenters! Your words and actions helped our cause, but words and actions alone cannot stifle sudden panic should anything go awry!¡± Frustration, frenzy gripped Lady Simira¡¯s formerly stoic attitude as she glanced over an unfinished plank and several amended ones. ¡°Captain Zev! Silence! I will not hear your ramblings of possible rebellion this instant! Unless it is you that wishes to conspire against me now?! Do I appear weak?! Am I unfit to lead?! Can I not make decisions for myself?! Do you think I cannot lead my people?!¡± Betrayal crushed him, but realization brought his head back up. ¡°Lady Simira, do you think me a traitor who doubts you? After these years of serving you, have I not proven my loyalty? Have I been so untrustworthy that you would take in an outsider for counsel over your guard¡¯s commander and your friend?¡± She fell speechless, staring at her desk, calming her breath. ¡°Lady Simira, the battle is won and I commend you. I am only asking why you did not trust me to fight it with you.¡± ¡°I was-¡± she cleared her throat. ¡°I was going to, but I couldn¡¯t until Rezyn was dispatched. And even then, I could not shake the threat against my life. The plot against me.¡± Zev¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°You lost all of your trust over the ramblings-¡± Simira¡¯s hoarse voice cried out. ¡°She wasn¡¯t lying, Andris! I saw the truth in her eyes.¡± ¡°She was a madwoman!¡± Zev did his best to keep himself from yelling. ¡°Of course her words bore the truth! She had no grasp of reality! In her mind, I suppose there were hundreds of other people in the room with us! Deluded truth is worth less than a lie!¡± ¡°Do you think I am a fool enough to believe delusions?! Do you not trust my ability to steer course?!¡± Captain Zev¡¯s eyes desperately pleaded with her. ¡°I do not question your ability! I only seek to aid your judgment! No person is infallible, and vengeance is the most blinding curse that a-¡± ¡°Am I blind to the truth?!¡± ¡°You are blind to your own needs! I once sought revenge for the massacre of my fleet! I was angry and oblivious to the harm that I caused! I let my brothers in arms die because I was obsessed with being strong enough to kill those responsible! When I failed, they enslaved me and you were the one to save me from my rage back then! Your passion is what led you thus far, but fire left unchecked will burn the forest to ashes! Why do you refuse to rely on those who entrust themselves to you?¡± Simira sat down. ¡°Captain Zev. Would you have questioned me, or would you have simply followed my orders?¡± ¡°I did question you. I and the others pleaded for you to spare your wrath in that wagon out of Poikla. I see now that you were fearful of giving up Tarynn and losing Hallax¡¯s assistance. I urged you to withdraw the bounty, then to hold the regenerator in your control, which has ultimately led to these whispers of assassination. You rejected every attempt at counsel I made. You were never fighting alone, but the echoes of war stifle every voice crying for peace. I have always served you first.¡± She turned her head up at me. ¡°Tells, you witnessed most of these events. Do you believe I would have benefitted from Andris¡¯ counsel?¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I turned to Captain Zev and met his passionate, hurt eyes. I slowly nodded. ¡°Yes, Simira. I do.¡± I could¡¯ve sworn Zev stopped glaring at me for the first time since I¡¯d seen him. He stepped to her desk and respectfully lowered himself into the chair across from her, gazing at her remorsefully. ¡°I have served you in battle. I have served you in peace. I have built a guard to serve your future. The city respects you and loves you as you do them. We are all fighting alongside each other to protect this city. It pains me when I see my sister in arms suffering as I have, and she will not hear me. Your war is not eternal. Your enemies are not at every corner. But your allies, your countrymen, your friends are. You are not alone as you believe yourself to be.¡± Her hand tapped rapidly on her desk and her jaw ever so slightly quivered in tandem. She clenched her fist. Her voice was terribly hoarse from yelling so much. ¡°I sincerely apologize, my friend. I will trust you undoubtedly going forward.¡± He nodded at her. ¡°Thank you, Simira.¡± She took a sharp breath in, unsurety racking her face. ¡°Andris, Tells, am I ready to be Viscountess?¡± Captain Zev sat up properly, dignified. ¡°I never doubted you would excel at guiding our people toward a better future. We are at your call.¡± He rose, collected the legal planks from me, and nodded. I nodded to her, a slight smile forming on my face. I was proud too. Of her. ¡°Andris, deploy patrols throughout the city. In a time of political unrest, we must ensure the people feel safe, even if there is no threat. The celebrations are over. I am canceling Diona¡¯s visit.¡± ¡°Lady Simira,¡± Captain Zev spoke up, ¡°the men have already expressed worry about that to me. I fear they will-¡± ¡°Her business is killing the wills of our men, Andris. It sickens me how they grope and ogle at the modest women of this manor while Fera¡¯s scantily clad troop revels in the worship borne of hollow idolatry. We cannot have any more of this if we are to keep any decency as a city.¡± ¡°I fear,¡± Captain Zev hesitated, ¡°they will turn to your brother. I was informed by a loyalist that Diona¡¯s workers are urging the men to declare themselves to Tarynn, as Fera will integrate Diona¡¯s business directly into the manor. We cannot be too hasty.¡± Simira slammed the table, hatred gripping her eyes. ¡°What good is freeing their minds if she controls their hearts? I can¡¯t win.¡± Her rage turned to woeful comedy. ¡°Hah, perhaps I should join her games and gather the women to walk bare-breasted through the city granting every man¡¯s humiliating desires! The guard will worship me as corties worship a sappy burrow in a rotting stump! Apparently I must lower my understanding of politics to that of a beast! False promises and base pleasures! No complexities nor need for wisdom! The city will burn, but everyone will be too distracted and numbed to realize it! Why seek a better future when we can all declare ¡®fuck it¡¯ and give up like my father did and my brother has?! Am I missing something?¡± I smirked and put my hands up. ¡°You¡¯re missing the audience for that question ¡®cause I got no game. I wouldn¡¯t survive a place like that.¡± She snickered. ¡°Well that makes two of us.¡± ¡°Three,¡± Captain Zev admitted lightly, then turned to me. ¡°I had a mate in Kyoh, but it was by no means because of my ability to swoon. We¡¯re assigned mates at birth.¡± Simira sat back. ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s it. Those immature men and women need kjzae and jzaeti to properly understand responsibility. Oh- that¡¯s why she deals prostitutes. Clever.¡± She sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t push back work forever. Andris, inform the guards that tonight will be Diona¡¯s last time doing business with us. I will host a ball next week in accordance with a pay raise, but each participant must bring a partner to dance with. I wish I had the time and the resources for it now.¡± ¡°Yes, Lady Simira.¡± Captain Zev saluted and left. Her head slowly fell. ¡°If only I¡¯d let Hallax kill him.¡± I slapped her desk, surprise raising her. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It was the right thing.¡± ¡°Why must doing right only perpetuate struggle?¡± I rested my hand on her shoulder. ¡°The hardest part is over. One more night and you won¡¯t have to worry about Diona either.¡± She chuckled at that. ¡°If you only knew.¡± Her eyes met mine and she nodded as if remembering something. ¡°Ah, one more manner of business with you.¡± She hesitantly reached into a drawer of her desk and pulled free a small parchment. Her eyes inspected the document like she wanted to tear it apart, then passed it to me. ¡°You¡¯re relieved of your duties and under no conditions forced to stay here against your will. Without you, I wouldn¡¯t have lived to see this day. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to avenge my mother and restore honor to my family¡¯s legacy. I cannot thank you enough for that. Go to your friends, Tells. The ones I didn¡¯t take from you.¡± Freedom, right here, finally in my hands. No more to do. So why doesn¡¯t it feel right to take this? ¡°If it is okay, may I leave in the morning? Adam has left to get our friends, and he said he¡¯ll be back tomorrow to get me.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She gazed at me with pain in her eyes, then opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. She cleared her scratchy throat. ¡°Your payment,¡± she opened a larger drawer and revealed a bag of coins. She stood and walked to me, placing the bag in my hands. ¡°Your service to the Amien Manor has been invaluable. I do hope this suffices. This should be enough to start anew wherever you choose.¡± I peered into the bag, silver coins filling it to the brim. ¡°Lady Simira, this is more than-¡± ¡°You saved my life. I owe you a life. Two lives. I cannot repair the damage, but I can compensate you with a new beginning.¡± My body started turning, but I caught myself and turned back to meet her longing eyes. A burst of jitters shot through my chest, but I tried my best to talk. ¡°D- do you, um, want to, uh, when you¡¯re done with your legal stuff, um, do you wanna hang out?¡± Her face lit up briefly, then blinked rapidly and gave a half-smile, fighting against underlying emotions. ¡°You might have chosen the busiest night of my life to ask that. Sincerely, I want nothing more, but I won¡¯t find rest until my eyes fall against my will. Then an early morning to follow. I will bid you farewell tomorrow, with one last¡­ gift, if you can call it that. Something that I have, that I must pass on to someone I can trust will do right with it.¡± Why did my heart just drop? Why is my head spinning? Why is everything muffled all of a sudden? What¡¯s going on with me? Why did I ask her that? Why did her response kill me? Did I fall in love? Is it because she¡¯s become like a best friend? Is it something else? Why do I care so much? Is it because I haven¡¯t had my friends around? Is it because I¡¯ve been so alone? Am I desperate for company? I know I¡¯m leaving and I still plan to go, but¡­ I can¡¯t explain it, I don¡¯t feel anything physically¡­ I just want to be with her a little longer. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± I hesitated for a moment, and caught a glimpse of her radiant eyes gazing into mine. As soon as our eyes met, she pulled me forward into an embrace like she was hanging on for dear life. My arms wrapped around her without hesitation, both of us sniffling to stifle tears. It only lasted a moment, but I¡¯d never forget the warmth, the connection, the love- whatever kind of love it was. She pushed me away, turning me out the door without another word. Like a second longer and she wouldn¡¯t have let go. I returned to my room and collected my belongings, ready to move on from Amien Manor for good, waiting out the visit night with some reading. Twas a dismal ashen day in which we gathered beneath the arieyas to hail cups for my good brother Panisehjuh of the Mindful Ones. His students, healed of head and heart, collected among the calmly swaying arieyas and lush fields where their healing labors bore fruit. Pani, the wiseman, saved many from the self, the greatest threat abounding amidst us. In the face of my grief, I cannot ponder why such a soul would rid us of himself. For a counselor, was our counsel not sufficient, or had he simply stolen our burdens? Ay, a man of humble humor and belly-wrenching humor would be missed by all bar those who¡¯d never heard his name. Bah, not an ear nor eye in this city nor the next escaped his mention. Once his likeness¡¯ blaze dwindled, I discovered the flighty Larmeonip upon a stone betwixt Pani and the fields. ¡°Man. If you be man and not beast, prove thyself and I shall a gold coin bestow upon thee. How art thou upon the stone remorseless toward wise Panisehjuh, gazing outward from his likeness?¡± ¡°Ah, unwise Djoteided, my mind wanders the winds and I would implore thee repeat thy words that I may answer.¡± ¡°Distracted Larmeonip, thou hast not a humor of man about thee, it would appear. For why dost thou gaze away from Panisehjuh¡¯s likeness?¡± ¡°Hasty Djoteided, thy question I shall answer in question.¡± ¡°Dissociated Larmeonip, for what good does an explanation to the dead, it would seem?¡± ¡°Mourning Djoteided, in what ways have you known wise Panisehjuh?¡± ¡°In what ways, save for intimate, have I not known Panisehjuh? Was he not the heart who listened to our woes? The mind which rationalized our words? The hand which guided toward saving? How couldst thee have not known him as such?¡± ¡°Grieving Djoteided, is that which passed abandoned to the past?¡± ¡°Traitorous Larmeonip! Wouldst thou suggest we not raise cup to our dear friend, nay, brother?! What be thy purpose amidst us men?! Thy bestial ways are unwanted among men!¡± ¡°Despairing Djoteided, is Panisehjuh not known by all? Man and beast? Do the winds, the men, and the beasts not weep for his unwished demise this day?¡± ¡°Pestering Larmeonip, thy questions are unwanted this day! Speak thy mind or make haste away!¡± ¡°Belligerent Djoteided, are not our memories apart from his likeness? Do they not drift through air and blood needle the same as brain and skull?¡± ¡°Brazen Larmeonip, I¡¯ve greater memory of beasts and plants whose likeness shriveled in my youth! What wind carries memory of Lord Tretis or Lady Fondru whose likenesses stand atop the hill amidst unrecorded history?! Are we the bearers of his memory or this paltry wind?!¡± ¡°Thinking Djoteided, how do we remember?¡± ¡°By thought and rumination, recollection and observance.¡± ¡°In thought, we are bound to emotion and fall into hysterics, no?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°In rumination, we are exempt from feeling in favor of rationality, no?¡± ¡°Correct again.¡± ¡°In recollection, we are only among moments which we committed to memory, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip.¡± ¡°In observance, we are together among all who knew, no?¡± ¡°Correct again, Larmeonip, and?¡± ¡°Therein lies the wind, Djoteided.¡± ¡°Deceitful Larmeonip, thou¡¯rt coolly watching the wind.¡± ¡°And yet I think.¡± ¡°Reserved Larmeonip, thou¡¯rt wrought with grief.¡± ¡°And yet I ruminate.¡± ¡°Woeful Larmeonip, thine eyes are distant.¡± ¡°And yet I recollect.¡± ¡°Broken Larmeonip, thy friend is dead.¡± ¡°And yet I observe amongst those I have bestowed coins.¡± Larmeonip extended a furred tendril which released a golden coin into my palm. In a moment of humility, I became caught in laughter, soured the sorry mood and cursed the grief which curdled my veil of wisdom. * * * * * ¡°Blood! Blood! Blood!¡± The muffled voice of Eulin Amien pounded on my door almost as hard as his fist. I opened and he took off down the hall repeating that same phrase over. The festivities had ended. It was late, unusually late for anything to be happening. Why is there blood where his hand was banging? ¡°Stop! Eulin, you¡¯re not supposed to go down there! You need to go back to your room!¡± I yelled after him as I followed in my groggy state, yawning myself awake, fear rising as we ventured my usual morning route. Just then, Captain Zev in full armor barreled around the corner like a bull in a china shop, bashing Eulin into the wall and sprinting past me. He turned around for just a second to yell to me before vaulting over the railing to the main foyer. ¡°Tells! Guard the Lady¡¯s room! Nobody in or out! I¡¯m going for help!¡± My blood shot cold and dread drowned me as I raced through the manor to Lady Simira¡¯s room. 49: Lonely Boy 49 (The Black Keys- Lonely Boy) Desmond I was in the clinic, pacing as Miriel finished fixing Brenden¡¯s hand. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta go, like, now. There¡¯s no time to bullshit around.¡± ¡°Yes, I am very aware of that, but if Brenden will not wake, then you cannot leave.¡± ¡°Dude, I¡¯ll throw him in the fuckin¡¯ wagon and tell him he passed out drunk, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯d just like to know why nobody told me ¡®bout this Richard asshole.¡± ¡°Desmond, will you please let me focus and fix Brenden. If Richard was coming straight for us in the city, we would know by now. We aren¡¯t in immediate danger, he doesn¡¯t know anything aside from your aliases and stage costumes. I¡¯ve heard Madam Diona is leaving Fera in charge of her businesses here as she moves on elsewhere, but we¡¯re still not leaving until Brenden wakes up.¡± ¡°I get it, you got no skin in the game but I¡¯m not about to risk our lives ¡®cause he ain¡¯t awake yet. I ain¡¯t got nothin¡¯ against y¡¯all, but if it¡¯s between bringin¡¯ the new friends along and gettin¡¯ out alive, Imma worry ¡®bout gettin¡¯ out alive. You guys can catch up.¡± She gave me a condescending look, the same kinda one that she always gave when she was gonna critique some frustrating difference between the jorlad and nyadin. ¡°Rushing will do nothing for us here. Lord Hallax said we can leave tomorrow. Don¡¯t forget, Desmond, he saw my face too. I don¡¯t want to be here as much as you, but without Madam Diona here, he has no leads. We¡¯ll be out quickly tomorrow.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. And Dex? Is he coming? He gonna be a dick the whole time?¡± She sighed. ¡°I know how you feel about him, but will it hurt to be civil until all of us are safe?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one who attacked Brenden first. And now that y¡¯all are a thing, he might have his panties in a bunch.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. Zerick gave me his word that Dex would be civil.¡± ¡°Good. This Richard guy¡­ he say anything weird?¡± ¡°Everything he said was odd.¡± ¡°Okay, I guess a second question. You ever heard of somebody named Richard before?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. Wait, do you think I know him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my point. But you know who does know a shitload of Richards? These motherfuckers right here.¡± I pointed to me and Brenden. Miriel, looked up at me for a moment before returning to healing Brenden. ¡°You think Richard is another person from your world?¡± ¡°You got a better guess? From what Brenden said, he sounds very old fashioned.¡± ¡°Brenden said the same thing, but antiquated speech is considered a matter of prestige for Triali speakers.¡± ¡°Oh, no. I was thinking that because of how he sounds like he hates women. It seems like that¡¯s a pretty foreign thing here.¡± ¡°Is that common where you¡¯re from?¡± ¡°For someone who calls himself Richard, not a nickname of it, and is apparently old enough to be playin¡¯ SkyBlock up there, it sounds pretty on brand. Might also have somebody up there who recognized the music we¡¯re rippin¡¯ off and sent him to track us down or somethin¡¯.¡± She nodded intellectually for the first part of that, then halted, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Is none of the music your own?¡± ¡°Be real, Miriel. Do you honestly think we¡¯d be able to come up with all that?¡± ¡°I did. I thought it was admirable.¡± Admirable. Fuck. I definitely lost some points for Brenden there. Why¡¯s that sting so bad, though? ¡°He done yet?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just finished restoring the burned skin on his hand.¡± I took a peek at it. His hand was gnarly looking. The whole ring finger was blown off and the skin all scarred looking, but like an old scar instead of one that had just been torched. I turned back to Miriel. ¡°His finger comin¡¯ back?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t have it and by the looks of it, the whole thing disintegrated on impact. He¡¯s lucky the blast was a concentrated explosion, because otherwise he would have lost the rest of his fingers.¡± She held his hand between both of hers and gazed down at him idly. ¡°Well, he jumped in front of a ray of explosion magic. Can¡¯t ever say he ain¡¯t got balls, I guess.¡± Suddenly, a voice erupted from the hall. ¡°You.¡± I turned around to see Hallax pointing at me. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes. Come with me.¡± Lord Hallax led me to his study, where Hestrel was already sitting. Hallax began. ¡°Both of you are on duty at the front gates tonight, so it is best to inform you that Lady Simira has just executed her father before the arena. Not many others know yet, but there is a chance that people will be frightened and potentially take protest to any one of the noble halls of Vehfirn, mine included. You¡¯re dismissed until your duty, but be attentive while you work.¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax,¡± Hestrel and I said in unison. ¡°Oh, and Hestrel, please inform your party that your contracts will be terminated as of tomorrow. I have already informed Miriel. And Desmond, do tell Brenden the same.¡± Once again in unison, ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax.¡± We both waited until Hallax¡¯s door was out of earshot before reacting. ¡°Dude,¡± I said, ¡°what the fuck did we miss? Was that the plan all along?!¡± ¡°Did you not know? I was under the impression that you knew the plan.¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t told me shit since the performance at the Count¡¯s place. This is fuckin¡¯ wild! I mean, like Simira¡¯s in charge there now. So I guess we¡¯re all good to go tomorrow, but holy shit! That¡¯s a straight up coup!¡± Hestrel shook his head and walked along, taking in the golden filigree walls. ¡°House Amien has kept information locked away, it would seem. The quarter has been quite stable in comparison to the frustration of Muria and the inheritance struggles of Hallax. At least Simira did it legally, or else there might have been real chaos.¡± ¡°Either way, I got a couple bottles of that good shit for duty tonight. All the heat¡¯s probably gonna be in the Amien Quarter anyways. It¡¯ll be quiet as all fuck.¡± Hestrel looked a little nervous when I said that. ¡°I don¡¯t think the city will stir too drastically, but it would be best to refrain for tonight.¡± ¡°Listen, Hestrel. We got one night left here. Either we¡¯re drinkin, or I¡¯m drinkin.¡± Hestrel was still hesitating to agree. ¡°C¡¯mon man, it¡¯ll be just like the other night. We¡¯ll have a few, tell some drunkards to fuck off, and chill out.¡± ¡°Maybe. I¡¯m not sure yet.¡± * * * * * The snow started falling in the evening, shortly after the ash. It was a wet, heavy snow and it was cold enough outside that the snow would definitely stick and make travel miserable. Hestrel and I were stationed next to the front gate in a shed that was more like a baseball dugout. At least we were out of the snow and wind, though. We huddled around a fire in the dugout, which retained a surprising amount of heat. Despite the worries, Hallax Quarter was quiet. Aside from the thrashing winds, there was no sound in this part of the city. ¡°Hestrel, we¡¯ve been out here for, like, an hour. If there was gonna be a riot, we woulda seen it by now.¡± I popped the cork on the bottle of fruity wine. It was a strong bottle, but it had a nice flavor similar to cherry and cloves, with some other tangy, citrusy flavors in there too. Hestrel looked defeated and passed his mug over to me. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, compadre. Cheers.¡± ¡°Cheers.¡± We both started our long night of drinking in the cold. ¡°The fuck is up with all this ash? This a normal thing?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t- nevermind, I still forget you¡¯re not from here. The Ashewinds come once a year. I hear it is from a volcano on a far off continent and it is carried across oceans to Peturi. The tale is as old as Triala, older probably. Nearly every person witnesses a year where between the summer solstices, there are no ashewinds. Those years are celebrated upon the last solstice. The children born that year are believed to be born without luck, only to suffer as they will never see a year without ash.¡± ¡°Is that why everyone wears veils? Like a funeral?¡± ¡°What? They wear the veils so they don¡¯t breathe in ash.¡± He raised his finger matter of factly. ¡°The old Triali kingdoms, before they dissolved and then were reconquered, gathered all of the Ashechildren, babies born in that year, and raised them in eloquence. They were taken in by the ancient nobles to be warriors. Children burdened to suffer in life should at least attain glory through their suffering, was the belief. Every hundred or so years, a generation of elite soldiers was born, all of them memorialized in the cities they hail from.¡± ¡°That¡¯s badass. They still do that?¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He snickered. ¡°Oh, no. It¡¯s old superstition. Although, some people still believe children born in those years are destined to suffer until death.¡± ¡°When was the last one?¡± ¡°A few years after I was born. I believe it was twenty-one years ago. I was too young to remember.¡± I nodded and took a swig. ¡°Say, Hestrel, we¡¯re gonna be traveling together tomorrow to fuck knows where. You going somewhere? Home, maybe? You even got a place to call home? A lady back there? Family?¡± Hestrel leaned back against the wall and sipped. ¡°Desmond, nobody leaves home because they have a family there. Not unless they¡¯re sick of it or forced to. I¡¯m from pretty far away. A couple weeks south from Miriel¡¯s kinship. It¡¯s a little village out in the middle of nowhere. We had a big fireblood problem in our town, and Miriel and Al¡¯Li were coming through looking for information. I was part of the group hunting them, and they wanted to know all they could. They stayed for a little while to study the firebloods, and Miriel would heal our hunting party. I wasn¡¯t originally going to go with the two of them. I had it made in Thistlebrook. I thought I did. But small towns make for big drama, so when I found my father was shagging my girlfriend, there was a mess.¡± ¡°Your own fuckin father, bro?!¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Hestrel finished his cup and held it out to me. ¡°Holy shit, what did you do? I¡¯d have probably killed him.¡± I refilled. ¡°I almost did. Left his face unrecognizable and buggered out of town with Miriel and Al¡¯Li. I offered to be protection for them, and they agreed.¡± ¡°Cheers, I¡¯ll drink to daddy issues.¡± We raised our cups and chuckled. ¡°You say that like you¡¯ve got some of your own.¡± ¡°Oh plenty. Nothing like him cheating with my girl, though. Just a drunk bastard. The ol¡¯ shitter couldn¡¯t stop pouring booze down his gullet when my mom cheated on him with some rich dick. I was young, and apparently he was beatin¡¯ the shit outta her. The court case was apparently really suspicious on both their parts. They divorced and then he turned into a waste of air while she went off to live in some luxury penthouse in the city. Tells¡¯ parents, you¡¯ll meet Tells, but her parents were basically the ones who raised me because I didn¡¯t wanna stay at home. Other than hunting. He never really drank that hard, though, and didn¡¯t touch me, but he didn¡¯t really try all that hard to be a father neither.¡± ¡°I know plenty of people who¡¯ve been through better and ended up worse. You seem like you came out of it pretty well. You¡¯re in a new place making music and good money. Now you just gotta find yourself a lady.¡± ¡°I had one back home. Then we died and came here, and I didn¡¯t get to see her again or even say goodbye.¡± ¡°Wait, the story about you being from a different world¡­ that¡¯s real? I thought it was a metaphor.¡± ¡°The hell would it be a metaphor for?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps moving from a different continent.¡± ¡°Nah, man. We straight up died and woke up here.¡± Hestrel looked at me and laughed. ¡°You think I¡¯m bullshitting you or something?¡± I punched his shoulder ¡°No, no. But I¡¯ve-¡± Hestrel was cut off when somebody rounded the corner and stepped into the firelight. Zerick stepped forward, a thick blanket wrapped around him. ¡°Dex is sulking again. Got room for another?¡± I looked at him, a warm feeling growing on my face from the alcohol. ¡°If you got a cup, you can drink too.¡± Zerick rifled through his pockets and pulled out a waterskin, emptied it in the snow and then held it out to me. I chuckled. ¡°Now that¡¯s what I like to see. What were you gonna say, Hestrel?¡± ¡°Oh, right. I¡¯ve heard some stories about people from other worlds appearing here, saying things that made no sense and doing incredible feats. I always thought they were just stories, though.¡± Zerick leaned forward. ¡°Hestrel, have you listened to the words of any of their songs? Some of those words don¡¯t make any sense. When you hear it, it sounds like it was made by somebody from somewhere entirely different.¡± He turned to me. ¡°And you still haven¡¯t told me what the fuck the Hotel California is.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just begun thinking more about that.¡± Hestrel sighed and smirked. ¡°I suppose I can¡¯t argue about your otherworldliness.¡± I laughed again. ¡°Cheers, I¡¯ll drink to that.¡± We all drank. ¡°What about you, Zerick, you got a girl back home?¡± Hestrel leaned over to him. ¡°I just told Desmond about my father.¡± Zerick leaned forward and held a casually scolding finger up to me. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s torture right there. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d make him talk about that.¡± I leaned back and put my hands up. ¡°Hey, how was I supposed to know?¡± ¡°Fair. By the way, is Eddie short for Desmond or something?¡± I spent a second thinking about the question, so Hestrel started talking. ¡°No, Desmond is his actual name. Eddie was a fake name because they were being hunted by the Amiens.¡± ¡°Yeah, that,¡± I interjected. Zerick looked like he just had a divine revelation. ¡°That makes so much sense. I had been thinking this whole time that it was a nickname. I was so confused how you guys got Alex from Brenden.¡± Air burst out and I did a slight spit take before swallowing. ¡°Brother, you are not drunk enough to be sayin¡¯ stupid shit like that.¡± Zerick smiled and nodded lowly. Hestrel tapped Zerick¡¯s shoulder and nudged him. ¡°Answer the question. You haven¡¯t told us about your lost loves or anything yet.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Brenden¡¯s tired voice emerged from around the corner and Hestrel jumped in place like a scared kitten. Brenden chuckled while me and Zerick damn near lost our shit laughing. ¡°Miriel said I¡¯d find you guys out here. I miss the party or somethin¡¯?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right on time, brother.¡± I passed him the almost empty bottle and popped open the next one. ¡°Shit, Dee, how many of those did you bring?¡± I chortled a little and slid out two more full bottles from behind me. ¡°Four.¡± Hestrel¡¯s eyes were bugging out of his head. ¡°Are you trying to kill us?¡± ¡°Maybe a little, heh heh, hic.¡± I may or may not have killed the rest of that bottle pretty quickly. ¡°Zerick, tell ya story already.¡± ¡°Alright, so-¡± Brenden cut in again. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to interrupt the first time.¡± His lips curled up into a tired but mischievous smile. Zerick looked at all of us like he was done with our shit. ¡°I¡¯ll just go back to Dex and sulk with him.¡± Nobody responded, and I put a hand out, gesturing for him to resume. ¡°Back in Fengrove, big town, lots of orchards, way, way up north, farther than Miriel¡¯s kinship, lots of sun, no bad winters, no snow. I lived with my parents on an orchard with a nice little brook behind it. Dex had been living with me for probably seven harvests, but he got outside a lot more than I did. I worked in my family¡¯s orchard growing pullets, but he was always getting out and meeting people in town. Most of the jorlad townspeople hadn¡¯t seen a dorstun before him, so they thought he was neat looking. I was working while he got popular, and I mean really popular, but not in any way he wanted. They thought of him kinda like a jester, cause he was always tryin¡¯ to hit on ladies and even men, so they thought it was a runnin¡¯ joke. Turns out the bastard was just desperate to find a kjzae cause his people are dyin¡¯ off. Real shame, their rulers got this whole bloodline obsession, then the rest of the already few dorstun followed. Ain¡¯t a one of em that can make babies anymore. Cut lifespans in half cause they got so many issues now. Dex told me that¡¯s why he left, that he just wants to live out the rest of his days with somebody who cares about him. Anyway, uh, my town. It¡¯d been a while since Dex had been making his rounds and this nice girl comes walking up to me in the orchard one day, pretty as could be. Her name was Grethel.¡± ¡°Jesus,¡± I said with a shit eating grin, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± The other two laughed, but Zerick glared at me. ¡°She starts talking to me and I start talking back, and things are going good, you know? We meet down by the brook most days and talk until my parents yell for me to get back working. A couple of weeks in and Dex sees me and her talking and he comes to talk to me after she leaves. He tells me she¡¯s running a game, trying to sleep with as many of the men in town as she can. I tell him I don¡¯t care, because she seemed interested, and I hadn¡¯t ever had a woman interested in me. He just rambled and rambled, sayin¡¯ I should avoid her. Then I told him I¡¯d ask her about what he said, get it straight from her. She told me Dex was lying.¡± Zerick was choking on his words at this point, fighting back tears in his eyes. The air became a little stiff, and even Hestrel worriedly peered at Zerick like he hadn¡¯t heard this story. ¡°Anyway, Dex apparently started spreading that rumor that she was playing games with all the men around, but she was still coming by and acting all normal with me. I didn¡¯t ever find out what happened, but all these men started propositioning her and touchin¡¯ her and she got scared, ran off into the orchard and fell into the brook. Hit her head on a rock, split wide open in the water. Anyway, after I found her, Dex came by and told me he was just fibbing. He¡¯d talked to her first, and had been talking to her about me, and she took interest in me, not him, so he spread the rumors.¡± ¡°Holy fucking shit, dude,¡± Brenden blurted out. ¡°You¡¯re still friends with him after that?¡± ¡°I was 15 back then, he was 13. We were kids.¡± I stopped him. ¡°Wait, Zerick, how old are you now?¡± ¡°19. I didn¡¯t let him off the hook if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Hestrel gazed into the fire and then a lightbulb lit up over his head. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re so fervent about his behavior? Why you only allow him to court one woman?¡± Zerick sloppily leaned forward as if to give a lecture. ¡°Honestly, openly, and only one. He¡¯s a flighty jealous bastard, so he¡¯s got to learn to be loyal. But I¡¯ve seen him low, and I know he¡¯s got potential.¡± Brenden sat back awkwardly, and I was eager to gossip, so I did. ¡°And now his court is all fucked up, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zerick turned to me, clearly not able to handle his liquor as he started going cross-eyed. ¡°I¡¯ve been telling him that- oh fuck, the alcohol¡¯s hitting.¡± The other three of us collectively laughed at him while he regained his bearings. ¡°Anyway, I told him to give her up months ago, but now he¡¯s more committed than any man I¡¯ve ever seen. He got jealous and then he got what he got. Hope he learned his lesson.¡± ¡°Why are you even still chill with him?¡± I leaned forward, trying to see through the blurriness. ¡°He¡¯s all I got. We¡¯re all each other got since we were kids.¡± He was staring into the fire all contemplative like. Brenden tipped forward and fell off his seat. ¡°I still- ah fuck- uh¡­¡± He leaned himself against the bench. ¡°I still put up with this cheating bastard, so I feel you.¡± He pointed to me. Did that motherfucker just call me out again? ¡°Fuck you mean, cheatin¡¯. Yer stupid ass knows you din¡¯t tell me bout your girl until after she bootycalled me and I told you that we was fuckin¡¯.¡± ¡°Ya still wouldn¡¯a done if you weren¡¯t such a dumbass.¡± ¡°Bitch, you didn¡¯t even tell me you was datin¡¯!¡± ¡°Yup, sure I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t!¡± Zerick broke through our bickering. ¡°Sounds like you guys just got played.¡± But Brenden just had to be a truth teller. ¡°We thought the same ¡®n shit after it was done. Then Desmond decided to keep on screwing with that hoe.¡± ¡°Brenden, pussy is pussy. We all make mistakes, but-¡± Pain scorched through my testicles as Brenden slammed them with the empty bottle. ¡°Nah, bitch, you make mistakes.¡± I laid back, drinking and reeling from the dizzying pain. ¡°Desmond!¡± Brenden grabbed my arm and pulled me limply forward. ¡°Get your fuckin¡¯ salufo out, I know you got it here somewhere, you rat bastard.¡± ¡°It¡¯s under the bench, grab it for me.¡± ¡°Dehmon, gimme a beat.¡± Brenden pushed past my knee and turned to Hestrel and Zerick, who were equally as cross eyed-drunk. ¡°Fellas, the choruses for the songs are simple, just join in when you get the feel, capiche?¡± More of our dumbfuckery continued into the night, which not a single person disturbed. Eventually, we were all just sitting on the bench completely hammered and singing into the empty night air like the drunk fools we were. ¡°YOU! YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEEEEED! BUT YOU SAY HE¡¯S JUST A FRIEND!¡± I heard something from somewhere down the road but none of us registered it, ¡°...The gate! Open the gate!¡± ¡°OOOOH BABY, YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEEED! BUT YOU SAY HE¡¯S JUST A FRIEND! YOU SAY HE¡¯S JUST A FRIEND!¡± ¡°YOU WAILING BUFFOONS, OPEN THE GATE, NOW!¡± The music stopped, and we all sobered up a little when we saw a blue guy in full armor on a corty in front of the gate. Hestrel shot up, staggering until he leaned against the wall. ¡°Yooour business, sir? Iss late ¡®n Lord Halx is sleepin.¡± Blue guy got off the corty and rushed over to him. ¡°Let me in! It is an emergency concerning the life of Viscountess Amien! We need Miriel now!¡± Hestrel stumbled unlocking and opening the gate, then walked up after the blue guy took off toward the Hall. Zerick stared on in amazement, like he was trying to process the events. I just smiled at Brenden and raised the last bottle, which had maybe a shot left in it. ¡°Ding dong, the bitch is dead!¡± And then my guts came up through my mouth, spewing all over the fire. 50: American Girl 50 (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- American Girl) Vetia Burning chest, stomach, beneath my rib cage, heart. Seventeen birds, eight kets, two weasel things, and a baby pig-cow-thing that wandered beneath a fence. Those were just the ones I remembered. The morning sun was glistening off the dew coating the trees and fields around me. I was filthy and as put together as a cavewoman. ¡°It¡¯s not enough!¡± He growled. ¡°You need more. You can feel the burning in you, the tearing of sinews that have yet to mend.¡± ¡°The pain is gone! I don¡¯t need to kill anything else. I don¡¯t need to kill anything else.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not gone. I can feel it. I know you can too. Don¡¯t deny what makes you alive.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about my hunger! Why can¡¯t you just shut the fuck up already?!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be gone once we kill her, we promise.¡± The smile trickled in through her words. ¡°But for now, listen to us, like you did when you cut our heart out. Don¡¯t mind the others.¡± ¡°Bitch, without me, you wouldn¡¯t exist.¡± She chuckled. ¡°God dammit!¡± My eyes darted around, searching like a predator, resisting the temptation to lunge at the lurking animals I was luring in with my scent. ¡°I¡¯ve just gotta find somewhere to stay, somewhere that I can rest, and figure out a plan.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡± He screamed out, sending shocks through my skull. ¡°You must eat!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to do shit!¡± Her calming voice trickled over me. ¡°Wavering means death, Vetia. We will tell you what to do. You do it. We survive.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just some piece of my fucked up head aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re not even real. You¡¯re just brain damage from that sigil, aren¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve gotten us this far. We¡¯d still be stuck rotting away in that godforsaken stone box without us. Shall we return? Explain everything to Simira and beg for her forgiveness? Lie down and let her kick us? Steal your voice away again? If that happens, you¡¯ll have to invite more of us in, no?¡± ¡°You know I¡¯m not stopping until I wring that bitch¡¯s neck out. I¡¯m just-¡± ¡°Then eat. Remain hidden. Do not waver from what I tell you, because-¡± ¡°Wavering means death.¡± Without even paying attention, I sat still, waiting for anything to approach me. I didn¡¯t even need to see them. Beads of flowing jzanmah silently illuminated the surrounding area, unobscured by plants, but hidden by stone and soil. Eighteen birds, eight kets, three weasel things, and a baby pig-cow-thing that wandered beneath a fence. The forest floor was freezing, but the field would reveal me. I didn¡¯t know whose land I was on. I had hopped a wooden fence in the woods and wandered toward a field where wilting green stalks were neatly organized into dense rows. ¡°It¡¯s calling me.¡± ¡°So dismissive¡­¡± He grumbled. ¡°Us.¡± She pleasantly fluttered. ¡°There¡¯s a sensation, something protective, but awfully desperate.¡± ¡°Hello?!¡± A man¡¯s voice called through the stalks. ¡°Was somebody talkin¡¯ back there?!¡± The stalks shifted and scratched against each other, throwing me into a panic. I hunched behind a thick white-barked tree with my teeth and nails at the ready. "Simira¡¯s men must be hunting us. Adam was always shit at keeping secrets. Maybe he even ratted you out for a promotion. Or they saw us on the hill." ¡°You don¡¯t know shit about him. No way he woke up already after how much poison I gave him.¡± And yet, the words from them were infecting my mind. There was always the possibility that Adam would rat, then I would be hunted. They would kill me if I was caught. Or have me heal to death as punishment. ¡°Look at you, scared I would try to mislead you. You dumb bitch, if you die, I die. But also, look at you. You¡¯re pathetic, weak, and still hurt. Play the role of a sick and wounded animal. If this man is a man at all, we may be able to use him. ¡°I¡¯m not using anybody.¡± ¡°Do not waver. Else you will never get what you want. Wait until we can see him. And we must stop speaking aloud to us.¡± From between the stalks emerged a man in a short brown cloak and rough, patched pants. A mess of stringy blond hair was tangled from the stalks and he lit a fire in his pale, worn hand that illuminated the dark treeline of early dawn. His brown eyes flickered up toward me, lurking behind the tree. ¡°Ma¡¯am? Are you okay back there? I heard you talkin¡¯ while I was out rippin¡¯ the ments. They ain¡¯t good no more, if you¡¯re lookin¡¯ for food. I do got some back at my house, if you need somethin¡¯.¡± He jumped at the opportunity. ¡°Go to his home. Find a way to stay. Kill him and steal it if you have to.¡± ¡°God dammit you-¡± I was still whispering back to the voice, but it was right. ¡°Um, sir, I¡¯d be in your debt if you would be so kind.¡± I limped out from behind the tree, still unable to feel anything in my left leg. The bones in my hand rigid and struggling to close into a fist, and he saw that immediately. He rushed over to my side, propping me up under his arm before walking me around the field. ¡°You got a name, miss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ro-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell him our real names.¡± I stumbled and winced, pretending to be in pain. ¡°Erg, sorry. I¡¯m Rowena.¡± ¡°Dogshit name.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll think of some preemptive aliases, they¡¯ll be better.¡± The man chuckled, trying to raise the mood. ¡°Well, Rowena, my name is Montak. You look like you¡¯ve got a gnarly injury there, mind tellin¡¯ what happened?¡± ¡°I was with a group, traveling, when we got attacked by an animal. It targeted me, really, and I ran off. It was the middle of the night, and I don¡¯t know where they went.¡± ¡°I got lost in the woods after an attack.¡± ¡°We were out, alone, searching for help.¡± Tears blurred my vision, but I wasn¡¯t sure if they were really mine or just a facade. ¡°What do you say we get you back, getch¡¯ arrested, and then I can putt outward that you¡¯re lookin¡¯ furlough friends? That sound good?¡± ¡°NO! Nobody can know we¡¯re alive! Don¡¯t let them take us! Change his mind! Lie!¡± Did he say arrest? To wrest me? Rest? Get me rest? There¡¯s no golf¡­ out word. Shit, I gotta stop jittering, it¡¯s too obvious! ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Something from the forest shushed. I heard it behind me! ¡°Whoa, Rowena,¡± Montak pulled me around to look into my eyes, ¡°you alright?¡± I stared at him, fear and anxiety pouring out of me. Who the fuck is this guy? Is he real? ¡°Montak is real.¡± ¡°Sorry, still jumpy. Yeah, um, they weren¡¯t my friends. I just paid for a wagon into the city. I was gonna look for work and find a place to stay, but I lost everything I had back there.¡± Montak was silent for a moment as we approached the wood and brick farmhouse that was barely big enough for two. In the back stood a rickety wooden barn and a fenced in pasture littered with hay bales. ¡°Come on ¡®n sit. I can help ya clean up and fuck you out house til get your stuff back.¡± What? Horror and disgusted chills shot through my stomach, my vulnerable parts, like I was recoiling in on myself. Just the thought of somebody doing that to me, it¡­ I wanted to vomit or kill something. ¡°Calm down! I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what he said.¡± ¡°Listen, we need to pay better attention or this will all be for naught. We can hide us better.¡± Stuff back¡­ figure out how to get your stuff back¡­ yeah. I caught my breath and the uncomfortable sensations dissipated. He opened the drafty wooden door to a house lit only by the pale sunlight and a fire in the hearth. The house was one room. There was a pot over the hearth, a table with three chairs, a workbench that doubled as a counter, and a corner by the hearth where two cots were laid out. One¡¯s sheets were neatly laid over it, while the other had a small figure beneath the covers, closest to the hearth. A variety of tools, herbs, barrels of food, empty buckets, and dried laundry lined the shelves and walls. Stress, help, desperate. What¡¯s going on?! Montak helped me into a chair, then quietly walked to the cot and pulled the blankets back. He whispered something before tucking the blankets around the little figure and poking at the fire, dampening its vibrant flames. He grabbed two cups, a pot, a loaf of blue bread wrapped in a cloth, and set them on the table. Then he brought over several cloths and a jar of brown paste. He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down with a gruff sigh before scooting the chair to me. He had a kind voice, but it sounded so weary. I felt it since I encountered him. His heart was rife with hopeful desperation, like he was trying fruitlessly for something he knew would fail, but didn¡¯t know what else to do. ¡°Eat what you need, and clean that wound up. I can help if you need, but I¡¯d rather not be touchin¡¯ a woman unless she needs it. It¡¯d make my kjzae mad at me.¡± He chuckled to himself and turned his head to the ground. ¡°See, he¡¯s not gonna try anything on you. He¡¯s far too tired to even question our lies, nevertheless our intentions. Maybe he¡¯s just dull.¡± ¡°We¡¯re okay, and he seems awfully kind. Let¡¯s get as much from him as we can.¡± I peeled back my shirt, which was caked with both fresh and dried blood. My blood. The wound on me was only about an inch long, having recovered a little from everything I¡¯d killed, but it wasn¡¯t enough. My body was still broken and slowly healing. It took half a village just to fix my arms, it was gonna take a lot to restore such a deep wound. I could heal it to speed up the- ¡°You must not heal yourself in front of him. The more he knows, the more of a target you become.¡± Or maybe I wouldn¡¯t. I wiped as much blood off as I could and tied the rag around me. ¡°You must really hate us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t but I do. Fuck you. Kill yourself.¡± I was getting really sick of him. ¡°Suicide us yourself, bitch.¡± ¡°Stop arguing, all of us. Are we all feeling that¡­ around us¡­ it¡¯s speeding up our healing, giving us a little boost from itself, though there¡¯s not much left for it to give. Healing could be the play. The head isn¡¯t hot just yet.¡± Montak poured some water into my cup and rekindled the real conversation. ¡°How long are you planning to stay ¡®round here?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve got a visit to make, but that¡¯s a ways out.¡± ¡°What can you do?¡± ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Well, if you¡¯ve the time, you¡¯re welcome to stay here. Wrappin¡¯ up the farm is busy this time of the year, gettin¡¯ ready for winter ¡®n such. I haven¡¯t been makin¡¯ as much money as I need ¡®cause I¡¯m lookin¡¯ after Lotti so offen. I could let ya stay here if you¡¯d watch her ¡®n help me take care o¡¯ the house. I¡¯d be able to git out ta the market more ¡®n sell more. But I couldn¡¯t buy much more food, so ya might have ta work. I¡¯m already spent savin¡¯ for Lotti¡¯s treatment.¡± ¡°Lotti?¡± He pointed his hand toward the cot. ¡°My daughter. Been sick the same way my kjzae was. I done everything I can, but she ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ better ¡®n I need more money to take her to Lord Hallax¡¯s doctor. Miriel¡¯s so damn expensive, though, and I gotta pay for all the visits beforehand. Then I gotta take her there. Even Lord Amien¡¯s old doctor could come here, back when he was treatin¡¯ my wife.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there any local doctors, apothecaries, or healers?¡± ¡°The lords scoop ¡®em up and use ¡®em to death. All the teas and herbs don¡¯t do nothin¡¯ anymore, like the sickness got too strong for ¡®em.¡± ¡°I think I might be-¡± ¡°Fix the girl. His debt will be immense.¡± I cleared my throat, ashamed that I thought that, if it even was me. I tried telling myself that I wanted to help her because it was right, but they kept creeping forward. ¡°Montak, I can cure her.¡± Montak¡¯s eyes widened. His heart filled with hope and confusion. ¡°But can you promise to me that you¡¯ll keep it a secret?¡± ¡°Are you¡­ whatever you need, if you¡¯re saying the truth, I can do it.¡± He leaned forward with his hands clasped on the table, his jaw trembling like he just witnessed a miracle. ¡°You can stay here, long as you need, long as it takes.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll only be a few minutes, actually.¡± Fear welled up inside me. The pain in my head, the coldness of dying while I¡¯m idly in my own body. ¡°And I might be a little¡­ skittish¡­ for a while afterward.¡± ¡°He¡¯s practically on his knees. Take what you want. Eat his livestock. His livestock. Take them once this is complete. They will restore you.¡± ¡°We should be more tactful. Leave some for good favor, and in case we need some later.¡± I tried ignoring them again, but I needed to barter more to preserve myself. ¡°How many of those livestock animals do you have out there?¡± ¡°Four adult farns and two babies. Do you want them? If you can save her, I¡¯ll give you as many as you want, I just want my baby to live!¡± ¡°Take them. Ravage two now and the rest after.¡± ¡°One! One. I only need one. I¡¯m, um, not what you probably think I am, but I still-¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need more. You¡¯re being too kind, too humble. We¡¯ll die if we can¡¯t restore our jzanmah in time! We must not waver.¡± Montak¡¯s hope started sinking. ¡°You are a doctor, a jzanmah healer, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I snapped a little and traced the three small circles in the air, ripping off the bandage and sealing what was left of my wound. Montak recoiled, frightened and on guard. ¡°Yes. I am. But I¡¯m also- I have- I need living things to fix the damage from using jzanmah. To fix my own body. I¡¯m not like other humans, Montak, and I promise I will help, but first, please just hear me out withou- withou- withou- without getting scared.¡± ¡°What is it? This your thing you needed to keep secret?¡± Montak leaned further back in his chair, and only then did I realize I was aggressively gripping the table, eyes wide, short of breath like a lunatic. I straightened my face and my posture, but I couldn¡¯t help stuttering over everything and racing to speak before he did anything. ¡°I¡¯m a, uh, I¡¯m a fireblood. But I don¡¯t want to kill people. I just need animal blood to get jzanmah and fix my body.¡± I felt the fear well up in him, and his entire body went stark white. ¡°You- you¡¯re a-¡± Montak fell out of his chair and stumbled backward toward the hearth, wrapping his hand around a fire poker. ¡°This is pointless now! You¡¯ve ruined it! The only thing he¡¯s good for now is food!¡± I sat still, fighting off the ones creeping forward, yelling at me to become the monster I feared most. ¡°Montak, do you want your daughter healed or not?! I¡¯mnotbadI¡¯mnotbadI¡¯mnotbad!¡± My voice came out louder and frantic and wilder than I was expecting, and Montak went cold, frightened and defensive between me and his daughter. ¡°Montak, I¡¯m a fireblood, but I¡¯m not gonna hurt any of you!¡± ¡°Why would I let a fireblood touch her?! You gonna kill her?! This one of your schemes?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s gonna tell! He¡¯s yelling! Silence him!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know who¡¯s outside listening. We¡¯re getting this under control, but the scent must permeate more!¡± I tensed my face and flexed my neck, trying to shut them up. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna kill you, and there are no schemes! I just need a place to stay. I just need a chance.¡± My mind was tired, my eyes were exhausted, and I finally broke. It was like every emotion I had bottled up since waking up in this godforsaken body finally burst out. Even through insanity and abuse, I had managed to keep myself strong, but this simple moment broke me. I broke down into a begging, desperate mess. ¡°Please, let me help you! Give me a chance! I¡­ I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone! All I want is to live, but I can¡¯t because anyone I meet is gonna try to kill me! I didn¡¯t ask for this, Montak! I¡¯ll heal your daughter and show you that I¡¯m trustworthy! I¡¯ll sleep out in the barn if you¡¯re still scared! I¡¯ll do everything you asked, just let me show you that I can still be human!¡± I was a sobbing mess, wiping at my eyes, retching for every breath in a horrid show of pent up suffering. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good look. Tugging at his heart strings all by yourself. You¡¯re learning so well.¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting better. And we¡¯ve really mastered forcing that scent. What a help it¡¯s been.¡± I clutched the sides of my head, sobbing, curling down into myself to hide my face. I whispered to myself, seething in wrath and anguish, ¡°Shut up shut up shut up shut up and get out of my head, please!¡± ¡°I know all your true intentions. This show is just a step to killing that bitch.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± Montak said shakily, pointing the fire poker in my face, ¡°but I can¡¯t-¡± ¡°What have you got to lose, Montak?!¡± In a maddened state of desperation, I pulled the fire poker into my chest, holding back my reaction. I whispered, seething, ¡°If I wanted to kill you, I¡¯d have done it already. I¡¯ve taken down animals four times your size and had my fuckin¡¯ heart cut out and I still lived. What would you do that could keep me down before I could kill you? Just let me save her, and I¡¯ll sleep in a barn stall. Or I¡¯ll just go, live in the woods. I- I j- I want a roof over my head.¡± I¡¯d pulled the fire poker deeper into my chest, leaning harder into the iron grip he had on the thing. Suddenly, a tiny girl¡¯s voice broke through to me. ¡°Duddy, can she really help me?¡± Lotti squeaked from beneath her blankets. I let go of the poker and pulled off of it, shuddering violently and falling back into the chair. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t mean to- to- to do that.¡± Montak glanced frantically between me and her, fear and hope writhing within him like a furious tornado. My voice cracked and croaked trying to speak, ¡°I¡¯ll leave, just don¡¯t tell anyone I exist, please.¡± I rose from the seat and turned away. ¡°Don¡¯t-¡± Montak rushed forward and grabbed my arm tightly with the poker pointed at my chest. ¡°Wait! Just wait!¡± He let go and stepped back, falling into his chair fearful and alert. ¡°Can you really, truly make my daughter better?¡± I wiped at the tears running down my face and locked eyes with him. ¡°Without a doubt.¡± His heart fluttered with resolve for a moment and he lowered the poker. ¡°I ain¡¯t ever seen a fireblood that talks. Or cries. I thought they just killed people.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t ever met one period. Everyone just tells me to leave when I tell ¡®em.¡± We both took a few moments to breathe. ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m gonna heal her now.¡± I cautiously stood and approached Lotti. Shaking, I traced the x-ray sigil into the air. Inside Lotti¡¯s lungs and throat were millions of tiny dots glowing, but they felt different from the ones that Lord Amien had, like they were more alive, if that even made any sense to me. Like maybe Lord Amien had a virus, but this was a bacteria of some sort, or it was weaker with him. Montak watched me like a hawk, white-knuckling the poker and twitching every time I moved. I took a deep breath. ¡°I can help her, but afterwards I¡¯m gonna be really out of my mind. I may not seem like I¡¯m fully myself, but I won¡¯t hurt you. However, I may need you to help me get out to the barn so I can eat one of your farns.¡± ¡°You gonna eat a whole farn?¡± I dropped my head. ¡°I just¡­ drain the life out of them. Through the blood. Most of the meat should be fine to butcher. I¡¯ll try to avoid rupturing the organs.¡± ¡°Two! Take two! One won¡¯t be enough!¡± I quickly followed up on myself. ¡°Actually, if I¡¯m not doing well after one, would I be able to have another?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll never get anywhere acting meekly. Take what we deserve with some pride.¡± Montak stared at me with pursed lips and determination. ¡°If my daughter is cured, and you weren¡¯t lyin¡¯, then as I said before you can take as many as you need. I can always buy or breed more farns, but I can¡¯t get another Lotti.¡± ¡°Okay, um¡­¡± I looked around awkwardly. ¡°Can I sit on your cot for this. Last time I fell over and hit my head really hard. This sigil¡­ it takes a lot out of me.¡± Montak carefully walked over and pushed his cot closer to Lotti¡¯s, then gestured at it with the poker. I kneeled on the bed, over Lotti. She was a thin little girl, maybe seven at most. Her strawberry blond pigtails fell loosely on the pillow and her flushed pale skin was horribly gray around her exhausted, but still shining hazel eyes. Even for being so sick and thin, she had a cute little round face that was smiling gleefully up at me. Her hoarse voice groaned with every deep cough. ¡°Are you¡­ gonna make me feel better?¡± She broke out into a coughing fit. As I turned around to ask Montak for some water, he was already filling the cup. I waited and gave him a nod, then tipped the water slowly into her mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lotti, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re feeling better. Lie still for me, okay? I stroked her hair and fixed the pillow under her head. I¡¯d healed the kids at the manor a few times, but they usually just treated me like the rest of the manor did, the bandaid machine. ¡°No need to be sentimental. She¡¯s a stupid little kid. She doesn¡¯t care, just heal the little shit already.¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± I cursed those thoughts, those voices. I fumed down at the dried blood caking my shirt and clenched my barely functional left hand. ¡°You can¡¯t even be sure you¡¯ll survive this, so why are you doing it at all? There has to be some easier way-¡± ¡°Do the fucking sigil already!¡± I took a deep breath in, feeling the air the entire way through my nose, down my throat, and into my lungs, then breathed it out slowly. The twinges of pain in my lungs weren¡¯t promising, but I was alive enough to coalesce jzanmah in my right index finger. If there was one thing I had learned from these sigils, it was that focus was the only way to keep myself from losing everything I had. Seven shapes that I had memorized just two days ago. A four leaf clover that was brimming with green jzanmah. One. An A with a leg and a cross. Two. It was like I had awakened a sense for the way the shapes were pulling jzanmah from me, so I focused on keeping it centralized in my finger, closing any other leaks out of my body. This calmed the spikes and jitters of the shapes in the air before me and released a great deal of pressure in my head that I hadn¡¯t even realized was building up. The half pine tree with an arrowhead. Three. ¡°Um,¡± Montak started. ¡°That sigil isn¡¯t going to-¡± ¡°Shut.¡± ¡°Focus. We¡¯ll lose the sigil if we prattle.¡± ¡°Ya don¡¯t say?¡± I whispered to myself, losing some focus as the voice interrupted my thought process. The wavy spiral with an x in it became the next ordeal. In trying to focus on getting the shape correct, the pressure returned to my head and jzanmah violently seeped out of me into the sigil. Four. I drew in a hoarse breath. Reverse P. Five. Four of a symbol in each section, but one that was easy to fuck up. I finished each character, and the pull of the sigil on my jzanmah grew stronger. Six. I popped my ears and controlled my breathing as much as I could. As I did that, the chaotic sigil began to calm and lay more still in the air over Lotti. Last was the circle with five points that were dictated by the patient. I traced the sigil around and let myself be guided by the jzanmah of the sigil pulling my hand to each of the five points. Seven. The sigil was complete. My entire body sweated and ached from the physical exertion of managing my jzanmah flow. On the contrary, I was feeling much stronger than before, ready to manifest into the activation of the sigil. I leaned over Lotti and slowly pressed the sigil downward, then spun it with a flick of my finger. A shock cascaded like a lightning bolt through the back of my head. My muscles spasmed and ripped as I fought to limit the flow and control this ravenous beast of a sigil. Its claws ripped at my cranium, grasping at every bit of jzanmah it could snatch from the cracks in my focus. Immense pressure grew in my head, scraping at every orifice in my face. My eyes, ears, nose and mouth raged like they were full of burning magma, searing me alive as the jzanmah broke me, crashing out. Everything turned red again, hot blood pouring out of my nose and mouth. Suddenly, the pain let up. My eyes rolled backward and vertigo shot through me, the lightness of my consciousness prevented me from halting the weight of my head. My temple slammed into a post at the foot of the bed and I lost all feeling in my body, wherever I ended up tumbling to. ¡°It hurts, but you did it. I¡¯ll get us back on our feet.¡± * * * * * For the second time since coming to this world, I woke up. Or, rather, I returned to my senses. It was like I had been dreaming, seeing glimpses of what I did after the sigil, only for them to quickly slip away. I clutched my head and sat up with the worst hangover of my life. Immediately, my entire brain burned with a thrumming migraine that spun the barn in circles above me. ¡°Two wasn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°Fuck. That why I feel like this?¡± ¡°Four also wasn¡¯t enough, apparently.¡± I was incredibly warm, like being in a relaxing bath, until I felt the poke of something sharp under my leg. Before my freshly opened eyes was a mess of blood and viscera, like a bomb went off in the barn. I sat up from the eviscerated carcass of a farn, its body still warm as its blood slowly seeped into me. It wasn¡¯t helping at all now that it was dead, though. I could have been Carrie with how drenched in blood I was. Even as I tried to move my face, crusty bits of dried blood flaked off and tugged at my skin with every wince I made. ¡°Jesus, can I keep a set of clothes clean for fuckin¡¯ once?¡± I clutched the side of the stall and slowly pulled myself up. My eyes immediately locked onto Montak, who stood at the entrance to the stall with a flame in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. Boy was he scared shitless. I slowly stumbled over to him as he backed away with the pitchfork out toward me. Walking and talking were not happening at the same time for me, so I halted and leaned on a post a few feet from him then slowly tried to focus my eyes. Part of me really wanted to scare him because it would be funny, but other parts of me wanted to not play with my life. My lips could barely open, but I forced a sentence out. ¡°You got hot water, or a bath, or something?¡± Montak lowered the pitchfork and stammered. ¡°Um, y-y-yeah. I can d-do that.¡± ¡°¡®ow¡¯s Lotti?¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing a lot better now.¡± ¡°Thas gooood¡­¡± I felt myself going over, and clutched the post in a hug. ¡°Shit, c¡¯mere.¡± Montak ran over and caught me under his arm, putting the pitchfork in my hand like a walking stick. ¡°Let¡¯s getcha a bath and some new clothes, alright? Then we¡¯ll talk about the next step.¡± ¡°What? Nadda fan uh mah new look?¡± Montak awkwardly chuckled. ¡°We really put the blood in fireblood, eh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be in her head with the rest of you anymore.¡± I shut my eyes and let him walk me around the side of the house. He set me on a bench and rolled a wooden tub in. Two by two, he carried in buckets of hot water to fill the tub, gave me some soap, and placed a fresh set of clothes on the bench for me. The whole time I was in a daze, undressing and washing myself on autopilot. Apparently I couldn¡¯t take my own blood back into my body, so I was sore and red from all the scrubbing I had to do. Nevertheless, being properly clean for the first time since arriving in this world was an incredible feeling. The clumps of my hair that I had ripped out were already fully grown back, and the scar on my stomach disappeared. It was like my body had healed completely, but my brain was still a disaster, though the pain had gone down significantly. The first time I felt that much pain in my head, they started talking. It had been relatively harmless, pretty much a person to help me process what was going on, disconnected from my own thoughts. I hadn¡¯t noticed it until I came back to normal this time around, but it felt like something was watching me from behind, like the voice was there. From leaving the stall to getting in the bath, part of my focus was stolen by an illusive set of eyes, ones that might not have been real. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s watching me? Is it one of you?¡± ¡°We heard it in the woods, perhaps it¡¯s still following us. Perhaps a guard tracked us, or one of Simira¡¯s lackeys was sent to follow Adam, or Adam ratted on us.¡± ¡°No, no, no. I don¡¯t feel anyone¡¯s jzanmah.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met one like that. What if there are more?¡± ¡°They¡¯re out there. The rest of us hear them.¡± I lowered myself in the water as the presence of eyes lingered at my back, ready to pounce. From all around me, voices and conversations were rising up in the silence. I couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying, and yet I jumped at the sound of my name being spoken, the door opening, plans to come in and kill me, torture me, rape me, every vile thing I could think of. They¡¯re talking about me. Hunting me. Wherever they are, they know where I am and I know nothing about them. Eyes peering at me from the cracks in the walls of the bathshed. Cackling at me. The guards are back. They¡¯re here to drown me, of course I should have known. I¡¯m too subhuman to even be used. I pulled myself out of the tub and fell backward, crawling into the corner of the room as they loomed in and snuffed out the light around me, grinning like devils. I couldn¡¯t stop my breath as a deafening heartbeat filled my ears. My chest heaved and whined while I curled up in the corner. They¡¯re gonna kill me. They¡¯re gonna drown me and I¡¯ll die again, but will I die? There¡¯s nothing I can do about it. They¡¯re gonna hold my head under water and do horrible things to me. I¡¯m too weak to do anything except shield my eyes and cower. Fuck this body! I don¡¯t want it anymore! I wanna be able to fight back! Shaking, falling further away. Why can¡¯t I do anything? Why can¡¯t I even beg for my life? Tears rushing down my face as I unintelligibly beg them for mercy. I can¡¯t take it anymore. I can¡¯t take any more pain. I screamed and thrashed at the winding thing on top of me, then it blasted me in the eyes with firelight. ¡°Rowena, Rowena!¡± Montak burst through the door and recoiled backward as the towel in my hands fell limply over my torso. The worry and fear was building in him again. I sat up and clutched the towel around the front of me, barely catching my breath. I cowered from him. Quick and shallow breaths shot in and out of my mouth, not even making it to my lungs. I was just trying my best to ignore the people staring at me. Montak turned away modestly, deep concern about him. ¡°What¡¯s goin¡¯ on with you? You ain¡¯t actin¡¯ normal.¡± I caught my breath and my eyes quickly and idly flooded with tears. My voice was tiny, and terrified¡­ of myself. ¡°I-I-I-I won¡¯t hurt anyone. I don¡¯t do that. I can¡¯t. It hurts me. I¡¯m scared. I-I just need time to get better. I got- I- I was- uh-¡± I swallowed, my breath slowing enough to speak. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get better. I don¡¯t know how, though.¡± His eyes grew stern, empathetic. ¡°There¡¯s a hot pot of stew for you in there. I didn¡¯t mean to scare you like that.¡± ¡°No, um, it¡¯s fine. Sigils can make my head a little messed up.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright, though? Can you walk?¡± ¡°Yeah, I-¡± I swallowed and breathed. ¡°I should be okay now, thanks.¡± He opened the door and lingered there for a moment. ¡°Take as much time as you need, the stew ain¡¯t goin¡¯ cold.¡± Montak closed the door and the people that had been darting through the darkness behind him made their way forward and into the space around me, cackling and whispering from every direction. I listened closely, focusing on the sounds, the whispers, the doors. ¡°It¡¯s not real. That whisper was just a tree branch, leaves swishing against each other. The bath shack is creaky, the door isn¡¯t opening. I don¡¯t feel anyone around. My head is taking the sounds and misinterpreting them¡­ that¡¯s it. I just have to ignore them. Real people can ask again if I ignore them. I¡¯d rather be hated than insane. I¡¯m alone and that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m okay¡­ I¡¯m okay¡­ I¡¯m-¡± I broke down, closing my eyes, covering my ears, and wailing into my elbows. Happy that I was sane enough to realize what was going on, but beyond terrified of how far gone I was. I lost track of time again, but it may have been about ten minutes of that. Maybe thirty. Long enough to calm down. I quickly dried and dressed, then dashed out into the darkness. The barn door was still open, and four more farns were sleeping in stalls. I didn¡¯t know where it was coming from, but I had an instinct that taking jzanmah would make the voices and people go away. I climbed into each stall, pricked the farns with my tail, and then drank the blood from their necks. I felt their jzanmah, like how I felt emotions from everything else. I drained just enough to leave them alive but still replenish me. After the shadows and voices dwindled, I slipped out of the barn. They weren¡¯t gone, but they were far less frequent, and any improvement was good for me. I opened the front door of the house and stood on the threshold, unsure of how to greet the two at the table. My feet were again covered in mud and dung, but the long jade colored dress with short, flowy sleeves and a floral pattern was comfortable. It was really tight in the stomach and chest, so I had barely tied it in the back just to have some breathing room. Regardless, it was clothes. Nicer than what I''d been wearing. And fresh underwear was a blessing. I used the bath towel to wipe my feet clean, trying not to look as mentally lost as I was. Montak casually stood up and pulled out the third chair before walking over to the pot on the fire. ¡°Come on in. Set down. There¡¯s plenty to eat.¡± I sat down and the eager eyes of a little girl were locked on me, staring at me in awe and shyness. The best I could do was offer a tired smile until she finally talked. ¡°Are you my new mummy?¡± I broke out into a weak chuckle and Montak stopped scooping to correct her. ¡°Lotti! I already told you, she needed a place to stay, so duddy is letting her stay here. Don¡¯t embarrass her like that.¡± Montak passed my meal to me and sat down. ¡°And eat your food, both of you. You need the strength.¡± ¡°But duddy, you don¡¯t let other girls wear mummy¡¯s old dress!¡± I sat uncomfortably while Montak ruffled Lotti¡¯s hair and pointed in her face. ¡°Your mummy was the only other woman who lived here, Lotti. And Ms Rowena made you feel better, and in return, we¡¯re lettin¡¯ her stay here a while. Her clothes got real messy when she was fixin¡¯ you, so we¡¯re letting her borrow one of mummy¡¯s old dresses.¡± Pungent silence overtook the table as he sat back and ate his meal. ¡°Sorry about the farns,¡± I meekly blurted out. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize I would need so many.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you apologize for nothin¡¯. I¡¯m just glad to have Lotti up again. Besides, there¡¯s more left still.¡± I poked at chunks of meat and vegetables in the rich broth. ¡°And I have to ask one more thing. People can¡¯t know that I¡¯m here, or what I am.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve got a few cousins down south, so if anyone asks, you¡¯re one of them. Ain¡¯t nobody here know ¡®em. Um, but weren¡¯t you sayin¡¯ you were gettin¡¯ a job?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have an arrangement.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you don¡¯t just start fixin¡¯ people for cheap. That sigil was amazin¡¯. And you could probably do what that one guy did for my wife much easier.¡± ¡°What sigil was that?¡± ¡°I dunno. It wasn¡¯t as fancy as yours, and it didn¡¯t hurt the doctor. He came by for visits daily to do treating sessions with her. Helped her a lot until the Viscount got sick and used the doctor to death. Then when he couldn¡¯t keep coming, she got worse and¡­ uh¡­ well, it¡¯s been four winters since she had to go.¡± ¡°Mummy had to go to the big islands!¡± Lotti angrily dropped her spoon in her stew. ¡°Good mummies don¡¯t go!¡± ¡°Lotti!¡± Montak raised his voice, closing his eyes wrapped in dark circles for a moment, then softened his tone. ¡°I don¡¯t have to tell you this again. You know your mummy loves you.¡± Lotti shot up. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna eat, I wanna go outside!¡± ¡°Then go out in the dark, see how fast the firebloods gobble you up.¡± Her eyes opened wide and her mouth fell flat. I shrugged. ¡°I was outside a couple nights, Lotti. Those firebloods are quick. Big sharp teeth and ugly as can be. They eat kets whole for snacks, but I bet they could eat little kids in one big gulp.¡± Lotti looked at me then her dad, who nodded, a little twinge of fear in himself. Her little hands slid the bowl back in front of her and picked her spoon back up. ¡°Have you seen a fireblood?!¡± ¡°Oh, yes. I met the worst fireblood of all. And she looked just like a regular person.¡± ¡°Will you fix me if the fireblood comes to get me?¡± Montak pointed his spoon at Lotti. ¡°Don¡¯t be looney, Lotti, ain¡¯t no firebloods gonna getcha in here.¡± I couldn¡¯t help the growing smirk on my face. ¡°Duddy! But what if it opens the door?!¡± I raise a finger. ¡°Lotti, don¡¯t you know the rules of firebloods?¡± Soup spilled out of her mouth as her shock grew. ¡°Fireblood rules?!¡± ¡°Mhm! They can¡¯t come into your house unless you invite them in. And they can¡¯t eat in front of people or people will know, so they¡¯ll try to tell you to go off alone with them. And finally, they don¡¯t like spicy smells. So be really safe around strangers and you¡¯ll be okay.¡± Lotti nodded along as Montak wiped soup from her chin. ¡°But- but- but what if I¡¯m with my friends?¡± I wagged my finger matter-of-factly. ¡°Anyone can become a fireblood if another fireblood gets to them, so make sure your friends are safe too. And if anybody ever starts doing anything that makes you uncomfortable, yell fireblood and run to get help.¡± ¡°Can you fix me if a fireblood eats me?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your dad won¡¯t let any firebloods get close to you. And if they try, let him know.¡± Montak smirked at the two of us, relief overflowing throughout him as Lotti nodded, stabbing her spoon into her ¡°fireblood¡± stew. Montak raised his eyebrows at me, and I shrugged and smiled back, reveling in the little bit of normalcy I¡¯d had since arriving. ¡°You know,¡± Montak pointed, ¡°you could help a lot of people around here like Lotti. I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t care what y¡¯are if you were helpin¡¯ em.¡± ¡°Earlier, you were saying there¡¯s another sigil that cures sickness? But over time?¡± ¡°Yeah. It wasn¡¯t that one that you used there neither.¡± He grumbled. ¡°And guess who kept it from you? Guess who decided to use up your life instead of doing things the right way?¡± My head fell. ¡°Thank you for the meal,¡± I said, ¡°I just remembered I need to inquire about that job now.¡± I quickly got up and made my way over to the door. ¡°Wait, Rowena, what do you mean? It¡¯s night time. The only places open are the parlors and pubs. And ya haven¡¯t slept yet. Ya ain¡¯t even got boots on.¡± ¡°I know. And I don¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Rowena there¡¯s better places to work. Look at ya. No shoes, no gild, no money. Yer outta jzanmah. You¡¯ll freeze out there. They won¡¯t like ya cause yer pale. Ain¡¯t tryna be mean, but they¡¯ll just use ya. They won¡¯t tell ya this-¡± I furrowed my brows and couldn¡¯t help staring at the floor. ¡°I know what it is, Montak.¡± ¡°It makes money, but it kills ya while yer still alive.¡± I glanced down at my muddy feet and exposed arms. The freezing wind outside was battering the door, and for the first time in a long time, I stopped to think about what I was doing. Why am I- ¡°Wavering means death. And we must free our friends! She¡¯s given us the perfect opportunity!¡± ¡°Montak, I¡¯m not gonna be doing anything bad. It¡¯s plank work that pays well.¡± ¡°You know you can¡¯t trust em, no matter what. Those sigils you got there are too useful. They¡¯ll just use ya to make money offa ya.¡± ¡°Like I said, I have my reasons.¡± I opened the door and stepped out into the cold air. He stared a stern, fatherly stare. ¡°You ain¡¯t gonna bring nothin¡¯ back here, right?¡± I turned and kept my voice low. ¡°Nobody even knows I¡¯m alive. Either I go out and never come back, or it works and I¡¯m outta here in a few weeks.¡± Montak stared, blankly thinking for a few moments, so I turned to leave. ¡°Wait, Rowena.¡± He reached into a few shelves, pulling out a pair of boots, a heavy cloak, and a fairly nice bronze over-cloak. ¡°I¡¯m choosin¡¯ to trust you right now, cause you helped Lotti. Don¡¯t let me down.¡± I nodded. ¡°Thanks, Montak.¡± Up the dirt road I went to the city of Vehfirn. What a good honest white knight he is. We can use him. I bit the biting air back with the curses to my own mind. ¡°Would you shut the fuck up for once?¡± The wind concealed the whispers, hiding them in the crevices of the pitch black night where the shapes laid in wait. They wouldn¡¯t go away, even after I had consumed so much jzanmah from those farns. After a long time thumping around in boots a few sizes too many, I passed through the outskirts of the Hallax Quarter in all its austerity. Nobody was out, but people were watching from windows and alleys around lit fires. The city was growing colder, but its people were already frozen to the core. There were hardly any light crystals in the streets until I reached the point where bronze became gold. ¡°And where the fuck do you think you¡¯re going?¡± The guard oh so warmly greeted me. I pulled the bronze cloak tighter and pulled off my hood. ¡°I¡¯ve got to meet with somebody in there.¡± Hallax guards shouldn¡¯t have a damn clue who I am. I made a point to go around the entire Amien quarter, too, so I should be safe. The guard stepped forward. ¡°Say, where does a dusty hag like you get a cloak like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mine. I bought it so I could have this meeting.¡± I tried stepping forward, but the guard stepped in my way. ¡°Who¡¯s this meeting with? Because I can¡¯t imagine anyone in there wanting to look at you. And it sounds to me like you stole that cloak so you could get in there for your ¡®meeting.¡± The guard stepped up to me, feeling the cloak and looking me up and down. ¡°I¡¯m here to meet with Madam Diona. She offered me a job.¡± He snickered. ¡°What kind of perv would wanna use a dusty bin like you? You may not make it as a hooker, but you could sure make it as a comedian.¡± The guard grabbed my neck and tugged at the cloak around my shoulders. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t yours. Madam Diona doesn¡¯t need shit like you in her parlors. So I¡¯ll take it and arrest you for theft, how ¡®bout that?¡± ¡°Wait! Can¡¯t you send somebody to-¡± he slapped me and yanked at the cloak, trying to sweep at my legs to pin me on the ground. I danced and dodged over his legs, but he was about to have me knocked over when a voice interrupted us. ¡°Excuse me! Sir Guard!¡± A high-pitched voice broke into the mix. The guard held me still and glared up. ¡°Sir Guard, I can vouch for her!¡± The short, petite figure with a soft, feminine face, oily copper hair, and a short gold dress caught up to us. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What do you want now, Minsa?¡± ¡°Sorry, Sir Guard. I told her to go on ahead while I did a quick job. I¡¯m delivering her to the Madam myself.¡± The guard sneered at me and held out a hand to Minsa. Minsa dropped three silver coins in his grasp. The guard tossed me toward her, and I stumbled to catch myself. Then, she led me into the upper Hallax Quarter. ¡°I¡¯m Minsa! What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Cressida. Thanks for that. I was worried I might not even get the chance to get in here, nevertheless see Diona.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you right to her! You¡¯ll love Madam Diona!¡± Minsa coughed violently out of nowhere, halting to work through it. ¡°Nasty cold you got there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of the job, heh.¡± We carried on towards a brightly lit brass building. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve been working there a while.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been working a long time now!¡± ¡°How long have you been there?¡± Minsa chuckled. ¡°My whole life. Madam Diona¡¯s like our mom. I was born there. My little sister too. She¡¯s six. I do the work so she can live here.¡± Within a few moments of walking, we were already in front of the building I was told to find. The jzanmah from inside, from Minsa, from the guards was starting to overwhelm me. There was a lot going on. Some really uncomfortable, downright disgusting things flowing through me, heavy arousal, constant numbing bursts of euphoria, and something unworldly, like a hopelessness masked in empty flight. Minsa held out her arms to present the building I should have turned away from. ¡°Good Moaning! You¡¯re gonna love it! Just remind Madam Diona that I brought you! I¡¯m Minsa, don¡¯t forget it!¡± I halted in place, trying to fully process what I just heard. Minsa opened the front door, finally illuminating the welcoming grin. The smile chipped at cracking layers of makeup, which concealed her gray, almost withering skin. That empty smile couldn¡¯t hide the hollow misery emanating from her, the physical discomfort, illness, pain, stinging face. Every bone in my body was telling me to turn back, to go back to Montak¡¯s house to rethink, to- ¡°Wavering means death. Go in. We have to. Unless we want back in that cell.¡± I stepped through the door, into the crimson, black, and gold parlor. The entire place reeked of sweat and perfume. It was bustling with people, and the front was incredibly clean, surprisingly so. I was about to approach a portly man behind a desk, when I felt a tug at my arm. ¡°Cressida! This way,¡± Minsa pulled me through a door to our left, into a back hallway. Rotting wood walls creaked, curling at the ends against the shell of brass and gold around the building. Clouds of smoke that stunk like cat piss plumed out of rooms into the hallway, suffocating anyone even slightly taller than me. The entire place was like emotional overload, so much that the lightheaded highs and ecstasies from numerous substances and people trickled into me. It made me feel sick. Nauseating and curdling stomach. A craving sensation that was familiar to me, but for substances and vices that made me want to burn this place to the ground with everyone inside. I¡¯d never forget the misery that the pleasure stemmed from. The pain that had to be inflicted for these feelings to arise in the people around and then seep into me. Minsa guided me to the end of the hallway, up a set of stairs and through a brass door. We entered a new hallway, much cleaner and less run down. Minsa knocked on a door at the end of the hallway, guarded by two massive figures in gilded armor, even nicer than the Hallax guards. I didn¡¯t hear the voice from the other side, but Minsa opened the door and pulled me in. ¡°Madam Diona! I brought this woman who wanted to meet you.¡± ¡°Minsa! What a pleasant surprise!¡± Minsa ran over to Madam Diona¡¯s velvet red and gold chair, bouncing up and down with excitement. The room was stuffy, hot, and stunk like sulfur and old perfume. Diona turned to me as hauntingly as the first time I met her. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to see you made it this far. Quite the little feat you pulled off.¡± She had no emotions, no aura, no anything. Every other living creature I had encountered in this world had an aura that I could sense and emotions that I could feel, but Diona had nothing. She was nothing. Like a blotch of cold in a sea of radiant heat. She was like talking to a wax figure, a mannequin, a cadaver that could flawlessly recreate everything about human emotion except the truth behind it. Everything in my body was telling me to run and never look back. The woman returned to the back of my head. ¡°Do we sense it? That chill from her? It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t sense her, there¡¯s nothing there to sense¡­ she lacks something.¡± He pushed her back. ¡°No¡­ you see it. She¡¯s rapidly absorbing jzanmah from all parts of herself. That¡¯s why she¡¯s emitting so much heat.¡± Minsa itched at her arms furiously, bouncing to get Diona¡¯s attention. ¡°Madam Diona! I found her and stopped a guard from arresting her! And look at all this money I got today!¡± Minsa pulled a satchel from her dress and poured several dozen silver coins before Diona. ¡°Very good Minsa. You¡¯ve had quite the exciting night of work.¡± Diona smiled at Minsa, patting her head like a dog. Minsa looked up at her like he just won the powerball. ¡°Can I have a free day then?! I wanna take my sister to the park!¡± Diona¡¯s smile faded and she glared. She reached out a finger and poked at the crack, clawing a small portion off with her long jagged nails. ¡°Chipping makeup. Minsa, do you know how much more you could have made if you had fixed this?¡± ¡°But, Madam, that happened while I was-¡± Diona¡¯s face would have imitated anger almost perfectly had it not been for her ever so slightly curling lips, watching Minsa¡¯s suffering. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter when it happened. I expect perfection from my professionals. You will do better tomorrow, and then we will talk about a free day.¡± Tears welled in Minsa¡¯s eyes. ¡°But Madam! It hurts so bad and I-¡± Madam Diona clutched Minsa''s jaw tightly. ¡°You will do as I say. Those loyal customers want you and only you. Think about how little time you have left with them before you go on to different clientele. Have they not earned your respect? Have I raised you wrong?¡± Diona¡¯s face shifted and tears dripped from her empty eyes. ¡°Oh dear, it must be me! I¡¯ve been neglecting you, haven¡¯t I?! Is it my fault that you cannot service those men?!¡± Minsa¡¯s eyes broke like a five year-old begging her mom¡¯s forgiveness. ¡°No! Madam Diona I¡¯m sorry! It¡¯s not your fault! I¡¯ll stay young! Please don¡¯t be mad at me!¡± ¡°But how will I ever make it up to you?! I¡¯ve ruined you, haven¡¯t I?! Oh and your little sister will have to work if I can¡¯t even train you properly!¡± ¡°No, Madam Diona! I¡¯m a good worker! I¡¯m a good worker I promise!¡± Diona¡¯s crocodile tears cleared. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry. I know you¡¯ll be better.¡± She hugged Minsa and wiped at her tears. ¡°You know, Minsa, I just remembered.¡± ¡°What?¡± Minsa replied sheepishly. ¡°Your little sister got some more fluffies today! Why don¡¯t you go try them with her.¡± She squeezed Minsa in a hug and nudged her away. Minsa¡¯s misery dampened for the briefest of moments when Diona mentioned her sister. She opened the door and defeatedly walked out. On the way out the door, a woman with a disgusted expression hip-checked Minsa¡¯s head into the wall. ¡°Ew.¡± Madam Diona greeted her. ¡°Fera, you¡¯ve come at the perfect time.¡± Fera looked me up and down and scoffed. ¡°Madam, even you have stooped to new lows hiring a woman¡­ like this.¡± It took every bone in my body to stand still. My face looked serious, but had Fera not walked in, there wouldn¡¯t have been anything stopping me from leaping over the table to rip Diona¡¯s throat out. Everyone here. Everyone. What was Simira compared- ¡°Focus. We need her.¡± ¡°Now,¡± Diona continued, ¡°nameless little healer, we have business to discuss. Our bargain was that you would fake death, and I would let you inside to exact your revenge, and pay you for the service.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna let this little hussie in among us? The best of all your pleasure parlors?¡± I dead eyed Fera. ¡°Feel free to call me Cressida whenever.¡± Fera just scoffed and sneered at me again. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have the spine for it.¡± Diona silenced us both. ¡°Fera, this is the one who ripped her heart out in front of your boyfriend. Have some respect, she¡¯s done more damage than you ever have to that boy. I think that takes plenty of spine and ability, enough to turn vengeance on a woman as brutish as Simira.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one Tarynn messed around with?¡± Fera burst out in laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was disappointed too, but that¡¯s why working here is so nice.¡± ¡°And he knows you¡¯re here?¡± I was having a hard time covering up my contempt for this bitch. ¡°Oh, I tell him all about the things I do here.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°He¡¯s so miserable to be around, so I¡¯ve got to get some fun out of it. But I¡¯ve got a new funny drunk idiot who empties his pockets for me. Tarynn hates when I tell him how much better drunkards are than him. His reactions are priceless.¡± ¡°You got a fucked up sense of humor.¡± ¡°Says the bitch who cut her heart out and cursed Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Touche.¡± She raised her eyebrows at me. ¡°Ooh, you could be some fun. I think I see what you see, Madam.¡± Diona cleared her throat. ¡°That is why I¡¯m leaving this to you, Fera. You will be in charge of making Cressida presentable for tomorrow and heading this task. I will guide, but I need to see if you¡¯re able to effectively delegate work for me to leave Vehfirn to you.¡± She turned to me. ¡°We will test if you can disappear into the hall. Tarynn has yet to let Fera close enough to steal Simira¡¯s study keys, but it will not be long now that she is formally committed.¡± I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Great, so am I done here? I have an errand I need to attend to.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have the guards denying you entry again, so carry this with you.¡± Madam Diona produced a small golden pin in the shape of an eye from her desk. ¡°It¡¯s almost unnoticeable, but put that on your collar and those in the know will know you¡¯re mine. Others will think it a simple adornment.¡± I begrudgingly pinned it to the shoulder cloak. ¡°That it?¡± Diona lowered her head, locked her eyes on mine, and smirked. ¡°You¡¯re afraid of something here, aren¡¯t you?¡± Fuck fuck fuck. No fucking way she¡¯s reading my posture or face¡­ I¡¯ve been completely locked in, unreadable. Visibly angry, if anything. But she¡¯s a fireblood¡­ she must be able to sense my emotions the same way I sense other people¡¯s. But then what is she missing? I sighed like I was trying to calm myself and gestured lightly. ¡°Can¡¯t help being a little anxious in a place that could get me arrested.¡± Diona giggled like I was a cute, stupid little thing. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t fret. I own these people, I have full legal jurisdiction to do whatever I want with them. Every one signed contracts. Funnily enough, you¡¯re currently the only criminal here, plotting a conspiracy. But, I can protect you from Hallax¡¯s laws if you sign yourself to me.¡± ¡°Just Hallax? I¡¯ll take my chances. I don¡¯t spend much time here.¡± Diona curiously raised an eyebrow at me, as if I had challenged her, then waved me off without another word. Just then, turning through the threshold, a wave of grief and emptiness panged through my chest like I died again. I opened the door and stumbled into the hall, where Minsa¡¯s aura slowly rose from the ground, except it was calm and emotionless, completely unlike before. I raced downstairs to the source, coughing through the clouds of smoke billowing up the stairwell. It wasn¡¯t a fire, it had to be drugs with the stench of sweetness and ammonia burning my nostrils. I emerged at the bottom and witnessed a light green swirl of jzanmah slowly stream out the door. Minsa¡¯s essence, her spirit, her soul as a wispy orb of jzanmah. The door stuttered like someone was struggling to open it and then a little girl, had to be about six, stumbled out with bloodshot eyes. Her skin was pale like a ghost, nose running and drool dripping from her slack jaw, unable to speak. She pointed into the room and gurgled, staring through me like she wasn¡¯t even mentally present. Plumes of vile smoke wafted out the room, suffocating the rest of the hallway. Another hopelessly high older man sauntered out of the room, tightening his belt. He slurred out a name. ¡°Haveeeen! Haveeeeen! ¡°The fuck do you want, Joset?!¡± a lavishly dressed woman with a haggard, mean voice yelled. The man pointed into the room before slumping over like a zombie. ¡°The boy¡¯s broken!¡± ¡°Oh, lovely,¡± she said, ¡°What the fuck did you do to Minsa?!¡± She pushed past me into the room, a violent thumping, like a seizing corpse on the other side of the door. ¡°Would you look at this,¡± she said curiously as she poked the body with a dagger and chuckled. ¡°Is he going fireblood already?¡± The woman shoved a dagger in the zombie man¡¯s limp hand. ¡°Cut his head off and dump him in the sewer out back.¡± I turned away, the realization that Minsa was a boy paling in light of the scene before me. The back door to the alley was open, my escape. The dwindling green orb lingered next to the little girl, Minsa¡¯s sister. As I heard the man sawing away, the green orb suddenly shuddered, silently screaming out in fear before dispersing into cloudlike waves of jzanmah which drifted into nothingness, absorbed into the little girl. The pain that radiated from Minsa¡¯s soul violently tore through me, permeating my mind and body with a lifetime of suffering. My body couldn¡¯t even process what was going on, unsure whether to rage, cry, vomit, or keel over into a fit of spasms. Shaking. My entire body shook so horribly, like it was trying to cast out the pain of overdosing to death. Breathing became strenuous and my eyes blurred, unable to process what was going on around me. I didn¡¯t know if I was high, dying, overdosing, or all of the above. I ran out the back and around the building. People all around me in the pretty nighttime streets, but I kept running until I ended up in the park before a section of beautiful orange flowers, glimmering like embers beneath the glowing crystals along the path. I couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. Tears poured down my face and vomit spewed from my mouth. It wasn¡¯t even vomit, it was all blood. That stench of rotting eggs and ammonia was baked into my nose from Diona¡¯s office. The one that Desmond and Geren talked about. My body retched at the odor, unable to wash it free even as blood and bile burned through my throat and nose. The stench of a fireblood. ¡°I can¡¯t fucking do this. I can¡¯t! I can¡¯t do this! I can¡¯t do this! I can¡¯t fucking do this!¡± He growled at me, vengeful, hating that bit of me that wanted to run. ¡°Either we¡¯re killing her or I am. Diona is our ticket to Simira.¡± He slapped me across the cheek. ¡°Worthless coward. Simira was right about you.¡± ¡°Simira¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ saint compared to these people.¡± ¡°If you think she¡¯s any different, you¡¯re a fool. She is no different from Diona and Fera. And if she isn¡¯t yet, she¡¯ll be bought, sign herself away.¡± ¡°So I just kill them all?! Is that it?! That won¡¯t stop anything!¡± ¡°It will stop them. This city, the world will be better without them.¡± ¡°A city that lets all that happen won¡¯t be better til it¡¯s wiped off the fuckin¡¯ map!¡± I stared down at the blurry flowers drenched in spatters of blood. ¡°Vetia! Wavering means death. She cut your tongue out, she locked you in chains, she took your humanity, and she threw you out like garbage. She will keep doing it as long as she lives. When she is dead, Diona will try to steal you. You and your abilities are valuable, and she is deranged enough to do worse things than Simira could conceive of. If you don¡¯t do this, Simira, maybe Diona or Fera, will have free reign over Tells and Adam.¡± The thought of Simira, that cell, was like knives slowly digging into my back. I gritted my teeth, grabbed at my face and tensed, a bubbling hatred regrowing remembering the shocks, the gashes down my arms, my head burning up and her smiling at me on my knees in that court. Claws dug into my face and bubbling saliva dripped from my mouth, losing control of my emotions like a rabid animal out for blood. My heart felt like it was on fire, on the verge of lashing out. My thoughts flipped between gutting the person behind me to ripping my own throat out to walking back in the brothel and painting the walls with as many people as I could kill. His screams pounded through my head. ¡°I want blood! I wanna FUCKING KILL THAT BITCH!¡± ¡°Hehehe, we¡¯re going to kill her, we¡¯re going to kill her, and she¡¯ll be looking at everyone but us because of our little curse!¡± ¡°Oooooh something broke in me!¡± Hysterical laughter and crying overtook me, blood and bile running down my chin, hunched over like I was back in the cell. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who from, I¡¯m gonna bleed someone.¡± He and she were drowned out by a cacophony of whispers and shapes around everywhere I could perceive. I didn¡¯t know what was real or not, so I stopped responding to the dissonance around me. ¡°Ayo! They got crackheads here too?!¡± A familiar voice broke through the mountain of wailing and whispers. I turned around to see Desmond, carrying a half empty bottle of liquor at his side, pointing and staring at me wide-eyed. ¡°Oh shit, that¡¯s our crackhead!¡± I didn¡¯t have the mental presence to respond. I just kneeled by the flowers and gazed back at him. His demeanor changed, reading my expression through the tears and blood. ¡°It helps.¡± He stood over me, arm outstretched with the bottle in my face, swaying like a drunkard. ¡°I know.¡± I wiped my face and grabbed the bottle from him, drinking as much of the burning minty liquor as I could to rid my throat of the taste of death. I killed a quarter of the bottle and Desmond just stared at me cross eyed. A moment of clarity returned to me. ¡°Great, more bloodstained clothes.¡± ¡°Wait a fuckin¡¯ second!¡± He loudly whispered. ¡°Vetia, aren¡¯t you, like, supposed to be at the big house?¡± ¡°I kinda wish I still was.¡± ¡°What¡¯s goin¡¯ on wi¡¯ ya?¡± ¡°I¡¯m figuring things out.¡± ¡°Thas a lotta blood for just figurin things out.¡± I stared down at the bleeding flowers, wondering when this would all end. He chuckled. ¡°Aiight, chill. You can have the rest of that, too. Brenden¡¯s been getting bitchy about my drinkin n shiiiiiii.¡± ¡°Hold up, I got a hypothetical question for you.¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± ¡°If you knew there was somebody out there abusing kids, trafficking people and running hard drugs, and you had a chance to take them out, what would you do?¡± ¡°Oh, it''s on the spot. Bang bang done. How easy is it to get away with it? Cause that¡¯s the big thing. Back home it¡¯d be really tough, but here, it¡¯d be way easier without cameras and stuff.¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m locked in. Brrrrt!¡± He made a buzzer sound and then went silent for a moment. ¡°Wait, whoa, dude, are you gonna, like, kill somebody?¡± He leaned in to whisper to me. ¡°Are you talkin¡¯ about Diona?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I am.¡± Desmond¡¯s face fell, and he put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°If you got a damn perfect plan, I¡¯m here for it, but that bitch is a fireblood. Ain¡¯t gonna be easy from what I¡¯ve heard about ¡®em.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I know. Maybe I¡¯m just jumping the gun.¡± He crouched next to me. ¡°Listen Vetia. Homie to homie. I went through the system, shorter than most others, but still, I¡¯ve seen bad shit from bad people who were supposed to be good. Just how it is. You just gotta be strong enough to walk away from it with your life. Count your blessings and keep your distance.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I was hoping this world would be different.¡± Desmond slapped my shoulder, drunkenly smirking. ¡°The world¡¯s only good til you meet the other half of it, and the ones makin¡¯ it bad know how to hide, usually right at the top behind all their bullshit laws.¡± ¡°Jesus, Desmond. You tryna get arrested?¡± ¡°Fun fact: If they arrest you for talkin¡¯ shit, that¡¯s how you know you¡¯re right.¡± I stared blankly at him and sighed, tired of it all. ¡°Ay Viagra, you got a place to stay?¡± ¡°Yeah, shacked up with a farmer. Nice fella.¡± He nodded his head, caught up in laughter. ¡°Ahlraaaaht! Cheers to a good mornin¡¯!¡± ¡°It¡¯s night, jackass.¡± I sent a swig back before picking myself up and stumbling back to Montak¡¯s farm. Desmond would find his way home, same as me. Seeing him was all I needed. To remember that I was doing everything for them, for my friends. * * * * * Montak greeted me when I returned, but I made sure to keep some distance so he wouldn¡¯t smell the drugs and booze. Thankfully, the brass cloak was metallic, so no blood seeped into it. He went back to his long night of butchering all the farns I killed and gave me a blanket to lay on until he could make a new hay cot. I quickly washed myself in the old, chilled bath water and went inside, laying still in the dark, replaying the night in my mind over and over. Holding back a breakdown was difficult, especially in the pitch black. If I had been there, could I have saved him? Could I have taken the toxins out of his system with a sigil? But then he would just be alive to be further abused by Diona... Somewhere in the darkness and the insanity of trying to atone, to justify running, to justify keeping going, Minsa¡¯s voice joined the choir, wailing and wondering why I didn¡¯t save him. I didn¡¯t know, so I didn¡¯t respond. At times, they would go quiet, and then I would have moments where I saw my friends and even myself, shifting in the dark, whispering to me, telling me how much I deserve to be gutted like every other fireblood. ¡°Is it because I¡¯m a fireblood that I didn¡¯t help?¡± ¡°You should have died when you ripped your heart out. You¡¯re a fireblood, just like Madam Diona. You¡¯re no different from her. Live long enough, and killing people will mean nothing to you. Hehe, you¡¯re close already. But isn¡¯t that what you want? To kill Simira? To kill Diona? Maybe even Fera?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be different, but she¡¯ll kill them all. Isn¡¯t that right, Vetia? Or shall I call you Rowena now? Cressida? Or do you think you¡¯re still Rowan? No, no, you¡¯re definitely not Rowan anymore. No, no, that would be foolish. He was a much better person. You¡¯re just a bloodthirsty thing now. Simira was right about you. You have changed. You deceived your friends and-¡± ¡°Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!¡± I covered my ears and mouthed to myself. My throat was tight, like the collar never left, stifling my voice from yelling over the torment that I couldn¡¯t shut out. I breathed, I focused on what I could feel. The auras around me. There were no voices from those auras, only peace and sleep. Montak had come in and flopped into bed, exhausted. Lotti was in the midst of a dream, a simple, innocent joy and curiosity pouring out from her tiny body, sweeping away the strife in my heart. Gentle, calming emotions slowly trickled into my heart, dispersing throughout the rest of me, easing the tension in my body, easing the passing of the night. It was like I was basking in her secondhand dreams, disappearing into my own imagination for a brief respite from the madness. She was so happy, so reinvigorated, and I didn¡¯t want her to ever lose that, even if it was for selfish reasons. By the time dawn broke, some horrible wailing shut up the quiet chorus of morning animals like an alarm clock. Montak was already up and dressed, having slept for only a few hours. I sat up on that blanket, taking in the dull light of the early morning and the living person in front of me. ¡°Morning, Montak. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry there was so much butchering to do last night. That you didn¡¯t really sleep.¡± Montak whispered back, ¡°You were awake the whole time? So you really don¡¯t sleep?¡± I shook my head, a deluge of nausea greeting my morning. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got work to do outside, but I¡¯ll be in for when Lotti wakes up to make breakfast and check on her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind doing that. I¡¯ll yell out to you when it¡¯s almost done so you can just come in and eat. You probably have a lot to do out there, winter coming and all.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no skin off my back. Does Lotti know where everything is?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. There¡¯s a loaf of bread, some fat, farn cheese, and a basket of eggs. Lotti eats half an egg, I usually have one and a half. Everything there should be enough for the next four days of eatin¡¯ if you have one.¡± He pointed at a cupboard over the counter space. ¡°I don¡¯t need to eat regular food, so it¡¯s all good.¡± He eyebrows furrowed, almost like he pitied me. ¡°You should. It¡¯s the best part of being human.¡± Montak smiled and nodded to me before heading out to the fields. After a little while, Lotti woke up with more energy than I had ever seen a kid have. Fitting, for a little girl who¡¯d been bedridden for so long. She made for a bossy little helper. While I cracked the massive spotted brown and yellow eggs into the sizzling fat, she retrieved all the utensils her dad would use and told me how to use the knife to cut bread and how to use the wooden spatula to move the eggs around. The whole house filled with the rich aroma of salty animal fat as the dark orange bellies of the eggs slowly became sturdier. Lotti showed me how to properly toast slices of bread in the leftover grease, letting them get ¡°good and crispy but not icky.¡± It was a simple meal that didn¡¯t take much, but when Montak came in covered in dirt and leaves, his reaction was all I needed. He wolfed down the eggs, the sharp crumbly cheese, and the toast like it was nothing before finally sitting back in his chair and watching Lotti work her way through the food on her plate. I only made myself some toast from the blue bread, which was surprisingly sweet. Montak laxly ordered over to Lotti, rubbing at his tired, dark eyes. ¡°Lotti, you¡¯re making a mess, keep the food on your plate.¡± Lotti¡¯s head bobbled up in surprise, then she flickered her pupils between me and Montak, who were both watching her. ¡°Duddy why aren¡¯t you outside?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m sitting with you while you eat so you don¡¯t make a mess.¡± ¡°But you always go out to to¡­ to work after you eat.¡± ¡°We have a guest, and I wanna make sure your manners are good. Now don¡¯t make a mess there, Lotti.¡± ¡°Duddy has dirt on him too!¡± ¡°That¡¯s cause I''ve been workin¡¯.¡± ¡°I was working too!¡± ¡°Yeah, workin¡¯ on what?¡± He glared at me skeptically, taking the money back, ¡°Bitch.¡± And walked off to the next woman as a hand reached up my skirt and tugged on my tail. That same horrid feeling shot through my body, like I was recoiling inward and I instantly hopped away, batting at the hand of another servant who was licking his lips at me. ¡°Okay then, what¡¯s this letter?¡± Lotti thought for a second and then made a ¡°th¡± sound. He pointed to the next one and she went ¡°errrr.¡± They went through a few others before she didn¡¯t know anymore. ¡°Lotti, you were supposed to know this whole board.¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Then why dontcha?¡± ¡°Be-be-because-¡± Montak sighed and wiped some egg off her cheek. ¡°Lotti, Miss Jzekya ain¡¯t gonna teach ya if ya keep forgettin¡¯.¡± ¡°Her teacher?¡± I interjected. ¡°Miss Jzekya runs a schoolhouse for the farm kids, but she doesn¡¯t like when kids like Lotti won¡¯t pay attention. Says they¡¯re made to work on farms, but I know Lotti is better¡¯n workin¡¯ on a farm. I wish I could help Lotti, but I never learned how to read and I ain¡¯t had time to learn.¡± ¡°Mind if I have a look?¡± He passed me the boards and sure enough, I could read them. The symbols they used in this world functioned like any other phonetic alphabet. Spelling was really easy because every letter had a distinct, specific sound. No digraphs or trigraphs either. There were individual characters for th, ch and sh. Every letter had one sound, ¡°ih,¡± ¡°eh,¡± and ¡°uh¡± had their own characters, and there were no letters for c, q, or x. They also had three different characters for j sounds. A typical hard j, a softer and more prolonged jz that used the front of the throat, and a quicker, nasally sharp tonal kjz. Z was always pronounced very strongly to differentiate between the softer jz and z. It made sense after talking to the people here, because the whole language was spoken strongly, very passionately, and with more precise diction as emotional intensity rose. The words themselves were often short, but they were extremely specific in meaning. Every word had a distinct meaning without much room for interpretation. For instance, I¡¯d heard over ten words for different kinds of love depending on the relationship and even more for hate depending on the subject of hatred. However, there weren¡¯t unique words for colors. Each main color had a common word associated with it, like blood for red, sky for blue, cheese for yellow, night for black, and sun for white, but no individual color words. People would call a blue house a sky house, using a flat tone on sky to indicate color. The verbs, measure words, and sentence structures weren''t complex, but the vocabulary was beyond extensive due to high specificity. I¡¯d noticed that irony and clever wordplay were surprisingly common because the short, specific words often sounded similar to others and because the loose rules around sentence structure could be used comedically. The same extended to insults, which were personal, specific, terribly mean, and often hilariously toxic. It was only at this moment that I realized the language we were speaking wasn¡¯t English, just another language that I understood like a first language. Trying to recall English, French, or even the few sentences of Urdu I knew left blank spaces in my mind. I could recall words that didn¡¯t have Triali equivalents, but those were surprisingly rare aside from things on Earth that didn¡¯t exist here. After having a minor linguistic revelation, I passed the boards back to him. ¡°I can help reteach her what she needs to know while I¡¯m here.¡± Montak¡¯s expression became almost embarrassingly humble. ¡°Ya sure? That¡¯s more than I can ever repay you for.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fun. And I¡¯m gonna have some time on my hands while I¡¯m here.¡± Still, there were doubts at the back of my mind, questions. Being in this moment was odd. Forgetting about everything else, offering to tutor a kid when I could be doing things that might help my friends and I moving forward. Montak set the boards down and cleared their plates from the table. ¡°Go out ¡®n clean up now Lotti.¡± Lotti skittered out with all the excitement of a freshly cured girl who could finally run again, leaving me and Montak alone in the house. Montak quietly turned around. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Lotti so happy in a long time, and I owe that to you, y¡¯know.¡± ¡°Well, I healed her up, so it¡¯s no doubt she¡¯s better.¡± ¡°I think being around a grown up woman is good for her, though. She don¡¯t know the difference between a mom and a random woman, but it might help her to have a role model. Now Rowena, I ain¡¯t askin¡¯ ya to be her mom, cause I know ya ain¡¯t staying. I also know I said I wouldn¡¯t ask nothin¡¯ of ya, but while yer here, would you mind keepin¡¯ her some company?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to be like a big sister while I¡¯m here. She¡¯s a good kid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tryin¡¯ my best.¡± ¡°So if I tutor her and she gets back into school, will she be able to go to a college or higher education one day?¡± Montak¡¯s sincere expression grew a crooked smile. ¡°What kind of money do you think farming makes? I could afford a cheap tutor maybe, but anything beyond that¡­ sheesh.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I was once again reminded of how unworldly I was. ¡°How much would something like that even cost?¡± ¡°A lot. Ten thousand sennos, probably more. I couldn¡¯t save for it and pay for a tutor, and even if Whyka was around, we¡¯d never be able to save that much.¡± ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°As long as Lotti can read words, she can do more than a lot of the other folks can. Means she won¡¯t hafta be just some farmhand.¡± He glanced out the window and squinted at the shadow cast by a small stone pillar by the road. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta get back outside. Thanks for breakfast.¡± Montak approached the door and stopped, remembering something. ¡°And, um, when you were like, firebloodin¡¯, do ya know if ya did somethin¡¯ to the other farns? They¡¯ve been real tired today.¡± ¡°I¡­ um, I partially drained them because my head wasn¡¯t right. You know, in the bath, when I¡­ uh¡­ freaked out. And injected them with some poison- don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not lethal, just tires ¡®em out. I was better afterward, though.¡± Montak looked a little perturbed. ¡°Alright, okay. Thanks for keepin¡¯ em alive, I suppose.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go easier if I need to do it again, if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Sure, yeah. Long as they can function, then drink all you need.¡± Montak left and Lotti returned shortly after. She bossed me around while I cleaned the dishes and then I went through teaching her to pronounce letters. Lotti was quick to pick up on things, but it was a slow process because she couldn¡¯t sit still and she would get distracted wanting to go outside. That was kinda expected, though, so she went outside to play with the baby farns and I stayed in, cleaning the place. I didn¡¯t want to go out during the day because neighbors might talk if they saw me, so playing the role of house maid was good enough to kill time. And the house was a mess. Like a total disaster, not to mention the kets. I cleared up that problem quickly enough, though, and the voices in my head became quieter little by little. After spending the night laying with them rattling around my brain, I was finding ways to ignore them, although there were a few times I didn¡¯t respond to Lotti and Montak because I thought I was hallucinating them. The good thing was, I could play off talking to the voices as just talking to myself while cleaning. But eventually, the evening had to come, and I was already gone by then. The weekly fuckening at Amien Manor began before the sun went down, so I went to the shit hole called Good Moaning pretty early in the evening. Fera was nothing but questions while she prepared me for infiltration, but I matched her with vague one-word non-answers, which ticked her off. And I was lying about pretty much everything. I couldn¡¯t lead them back to Montak and Lotti. While she did my makeup, she asked all about what my skills were. While she cut my hair, she inquired where I was staying. While she dressed me, she talked about how good in bed Desmond was, not knowing that I knew him. However, I now had all the kink blackmail I needed if he pulled some bullshit. She groaned with relief when she was finally done with me. ¡°No wonder Tarynn liked you so much, you¡¯re just as miserable to be around as he is. Can¡¯t even hold a conversation.¡± ¡°Get somebody else, then,¡± I retorted nonchalantly. ¡°It would be wonderful if you could do it yourself, but you¡¯ve the fashion sense of a feral man. Madam Diona wants you to be a secret and I¡¯m unlucky enough to be in charge of you.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way, Fera, my price is fifteen thousand sennos.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bold ask.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a perfect situation for you and shitty for me. They think I¡¯m dead, I¡¯m doing it with what I can recover from the infirmary, and I¡¯m gonna have to start a new life far away from here just to cover it up, cause, y¡¯know, she¡¯s a noble. There will be no evidence, no traces, and no killer to find. And you¡¯re buying my silence.¡± ¡°So you can talk? All it took was money, too. I¡¯m so conflicted about you. Like, I know you hate me, and I hate you too, but you¡¯re fun about it. That must be what Simira hated. That mouth breather hasn¡¯t ever breathed a fun breath.¡± ¡°Well, you want her dead too, right? Fifteen or I¡¯m not doing it.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s Diona¡¯s money.¡± She pulled me up and wiped off the chair. ¡°So, if anyone asks, you¡¯re a new girl from Denasul. You know, you would do spectacularly in this business. If this goes well, I can send word to whatever city you end up in. Diona has high paying business everywhere.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s a personal gig then I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°Your loss, really.¡± Fera rolled her eyes and dropped the faux kindness. I sat up, uncomfortably pulling the dress down. Golden horns, blonde hair, a bob cut and silver makeup covering every part of my skin. The thigh length golden dress was suffocating me and the autumn wind froze my whole lower half. On top of that, apparently flip flops were all the rage for fantasy hookers. It reminded me that my toes weren¡¯t normal. I only had three toes and one further down the outside of my foot. They were long, sharper featured, and my toenails were more like claws. But at least I had a thin and skimpy shawl to keep me warm. Apparently half breeds like me were more appealing to perverted jorlad when we looked less jorlad. Thank God I looked like a completely different person, because if Adam or Tells saw me dressed like a hooker, I¡¯d never live it down. ¡°Don¡¯t fear being noticed. Tells is stupid and Adam is too autistic to willingly put himself in the midst of the fuckening. Your only job is to scout and let Fera do the heavy lifting.¡± ¡°He¡¯s hardly on the spectrum, you dick.¡± He snickered. ¡°Don¡¯t call me a dick, dick. You know he¡¯ll find some way to be a shut-in.¡± What a dick the voice was. ¡°You didn¡¯t deny Tells being stupid.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a good brain, but we both know what it¡¯s like to talk to him sometimes.¡± ¡°Whatever, all we need to do is get in there and find the bitch who ruined you.¡± I scowled a bit. ¡°Uh, ruined?¡± I could feel his eyes scowling at me. ¡°You look like a clown. You¡¯d go straight into cringe compilations back home.¡± I lightly tapped my head and stuck my tongue out. ¡°We¡¯re just so quirky, aren¡¯t we, my neurodivergent and inclusive little alter?¡± ¡°Holy shit, how did I end up in this schizo bitch¡¯s head.¡± ¡°You come into MY fucking head and call ME SCHIZO?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s your head, retard, not mine! I didn¡¯t come from anywhere but here!¡± ¡°Then can you get the fuck out?!¡± He sat back. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s comfy in here.¡± ¡°Nah nah nah, that ain¡¯t how this works.¡± ¡°Shut up, bitch, everyone¡¯s staring at you.¡± I looked up from the floor and sure enough, all of the hookers were staring at me like I was a lunatic. Rightfully so. I didn¡¯t even have to try giving them crazy eyes. ¡°What?! My pussy¡¯s leakin¡¯ green and my head¡¯s fucked! Don¡¯t act like you ain¡¯t ever seen it before.¡± Most turned away and a couple nodded. He gagged in my ear. ¡°You¡¯re fucking demented.¡± ¡°Eh, gets the job done, heh.¡± She woke up. ¡°Can we be through with arguing, now?¡± We were loaded into wagons and driven to Amien Manor. They checked us for weapons and let us through easily. Apparently Fera still wasn¡¯t allowed in because Lord Amien was scared of her leaking things to Lord Hallax, however that would work. Funnily enough, I sensed Brenden and Desmond a few wagons away, and they looked like even bigger clowns than I did. Hopefully Desmond wouldn¡¯t think about trying to sniff me out. Then again, he had probably forgotten about the scent items he took from us. I was finally back in the manor, even though it wasn¡¯t even time to do what I wanted to do. I¡¯d have to get her in her sleep, which meant picking the lock or getting her key, which was Fera¡¯s job. Apparently she was too high profile to do the assassination, so they needed somebody who wouldn¡¯t draw attention, who didn¡¯t exist, AKA me. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the layout of Amien Manor was incredibly limited, but I did have a hunch. The room Simira first brought us all into was like a mini throne room or a personal study, so one of the doors at the back was probably to her bedroom. I had to wait to go exploring, though, because it was usually a while before the drunk and high hookers would be seen walking around the manor aimlessly looking for things, sneaking into the kitchen when they had the munchies. It¡¯s how they ended up in the clinic when I was trying to work. The foyer was packed and everyone¡¯s moods were high. The blue asshole was at the top of the stairs with Adam. Blue seemed cheerful until he saw Brenden and Desmond wheeling their instruments in. He quickly turned around and pushed Rezyn forward to greet everyone while Adam turned around to follow the disgruntled Mr. Meeseeks. ¡°Um, welcome everyone!¡± Rezyn uncomfortably greeted the crowd. ¡°Our performers, Alex and Eddie Van Halen, can follow Rekwis down there. He¡¯ll show you where you¡¯re performing. As for the rest of us, mingle!¡± While Desmond was walking by, I gave him a flat tire. He stumbled a few steps before glaring back at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. He was angry at first. He had a short fuse for flat tiring. However, it was one of the moments I wish I couldn¡¯t feel emotions, because he got strangely aroused once he saw me. I couldn¡¯t help grimacing a little. He saw that and turned back around, going back to normal. I felt a tap on my arm, and turned around to a dude who was ripped, one of Diona¡¯s men. He was just as made up as everyone else, too. I hadn¡¯t met one of the male hookers before. It seemed like there were less of them in general. ¡°Hey, new girl,¡± he pressed a finger against my sternum gayly. ¡°You don¡¯t get the star customers. He¡¯s mine. Work your way up, bitch.¡± I smirked a little and put my hands up between us. ¡°You go, girl, get that dick.¡± I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m gonna miss seeing Desmond knock that guy out cold the second he makes a proposition. The hooker shouldered past me and disappeared in the crowd. I hadn¡¯t experienced this firsthand yet, being cooped up in the clinic and dungeon, so it was a bit shocking to see just how wild everything was. Manor people were grabbing hookers and throwing bags of money at them, then dragging them off. Some guy walked up to me, a really tall, balding scrawny fellow with a real beak of a nose. He grabbed my arm and put a coin purse in my hands. ¡°How much to use the handlebars?¡± I was shocked, not even sure how to respond. ¡°Excuse me?¡± He leaned down like he was lecturing a kid. ¡°How much does it cost for me to grab your horns and face-¡± I panicked and cut him off, realizing what he meant. ¡°Somebody already paid and should be here soon to get me.¡± He glared at me skeptically, ¡°Bitch.¡± And walked off to the next woman as a hand reached up my skirt and tugged on my tail. That same horrid feeling shot through my body, like I was recoiling inward and I instantly hopped away, batting at the hand of another servant who was licking his lips at me. ¡°I¡¯m already paid for.¡± It was a lot more of that as I waited. People came up to me, asked how much it was for whatever act they wanted and then got mad when I told them no. They grabbed and pulled me, making propositions and then cursing at me when I rejected them. It was humiliating, being pushed and pulled around like I was just some cheap toy. I paced the foyer floor, searching for a way out. I was going into a panic, just shaking my head at everyone. Orange banners, white walls, gold guy, gold girl, hand reaching for my butt, pull away, pressing his crotch onto me, pushed back, groping my breast, slapped away, sudden stinging pain across my cheek. Static and pressure around my neck. I gasped for air, running to grab the railing of the stairs. I couldn¡¯t yell. The electricity was at my throat, stifling my voice, shocking tears to my eyes. I dragged myself up the stairs along the railing to get out of the crowd. The clinic was upstairs, and it was sure to be an empty place I could hide out. I reached the top of the stairs and my legs remembered the way. Down the halls to the clinic. The dark wooden door creaked at the end of its swing as it always did. Darkness inside, nothing but darkness and moonlight coming in the window. Calmness. And a person. The door creaked before lightly tapping the wall and the figure in my old chair turned to me. But I already knew exactly who it was, and I could feel nothing but grief in his heart. Tarynn¡¯s melancholy voice filled the chamber. ¡°The regenerator is no longer at this manor. I fear you will need to visit Lord Hallax¡¯s regenerator in the morning.¡± He was still proper as ever, but all life had left him. I closed the door and sat on a cot in the darkness. I tried my best British accent and spoke a little higher. ¡°I was just looking for a quiet place. I¡¯m new to this and¡­ I can¡¯t handle it out there.¡± Tarynn gazed at my dark silhouette for a moment, then turned back to looking out the window. ¡°Stay as long as you need. Forget that I am here.¡± I couldn¡¯t help staring at him. The light of the moons shone in through the glass pane window, illuminating the front of his face. He looked nothing short of heavenly. Like an angel with half a halo of the moon¡¯s light in the reflection of the window. His beautiful amber eyes were faintly glowing from the light coming in, but he just stared off into the darkness leaning on his hand, like I used to. ¡°What brings a nobleman like you into the clinic?¡± I leaned back on the bed, looking over my shoulder at him. He didn¡¯t turn to me, instead furrowing his brow and gazing at the floor. ¡°The quiet. The darkness. The lonesomeness. And being here brings some comfort to me.¡± He lifted a bottle from the desk and took a heavy drink. ¡°A little liquor to ease the day¡¯s troubles?¡± ¡°The same wine mother would drink. From daybreak until nightfall, she drank, and now I follow her.¡± I couldn¡¯t stand seeing him like this. ¡°You know drinking the problems away will never fix them, if I may be so honest.¡± ¡°Nothing can bring back the dead, and nobody will let me see where her body was left to lay so that I may bid farewell. I suppose drinking is the only manner in which I can be free of thought. Free of regretting what I could have done to right things.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me prying, why didn¡¯t things work out?¡± ¡°Status. Simply status. T¡¯were I born a commoner, my situation would not be so dismal. Alas, here I sit, a fool whose naivety cost a life.¡± His grief poured over me like a bursting dam. I was fighting to keep myself from tears. ¡°Can you not escape?¡± ¡°I am an Amien. My name is my contract which dictates that I am to commit to narcissism in the shape of a woman.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in a name? That which we call a tyranewt by any other name would smell as sweet.¡± He glanced over toward me, confused, setting the bottle down. ¡°Aye, but a tyranewt is still bound to the soil it stems from.¡± ¡°If a tyranewt¡¯s beauty rested in the soil, then why do we marvel at its petals? Can a wilting tyranewt not be lifted from that bind and brought into the sunlight, carried across the world on a ship, planted in a pot in the window of a loving home?¡± ¡°Wresting a tyranewt from beneath its tree only guarantees its untimely death to the winds and rain.¡± ¡°The tyranewt is safe from crushing wind and harsh sunlight beneath the tree, but smothering summer shade never allows it to truly blossom. A free tyranewt is not burdened by the whims of the tree, but it must learn which winds to drift on.¡± Tarynn glanced out the window again, moonglow in his eyes and gossamer streaks of tears glittering on his cheeks. His eyes drifted over to meet mine. ¡°Who are you? Why are you here? Why are you questioning me so?¡± I rose and quietly walked across the room, the light clacks of my wooden sandals echoing with every step. I slinked around the desk and stopped in the darkness before him, just out of the moonlight. I wrapped my hands around his arm and pulled him forward barely a foot in front of me. I gazed up at his face, defined and handsome as it always was, but wrought with grief. I ran my hands down his shoulders and arms, his relaxed and firm muscles lightly tightening at my every touch until I reached his hands, which I laced into mine. I spoke in my normal voice, hushed, a breath away from his face. ¡°Why are you letting yourself die here? There¡¯s so much for you out there.¡± He squinted into the darkness, looking me up and down until his eyes met mine and a slight smile broke through his tears. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. ¡°I found the autumn wind I wanted to drift with. I witnessed a freedom I longed for. I asked myself ¡®why¡¯ for the first time in my life as that breeze was forcefully stifled into stillness of my own making. Why must I accept this as my life? I pondered escape, but I know nothing of the world. I thought I was confined in my own fear, in my own peril at the thought of what lies beyond the walls of this manor. And yet the longer I stay, the greater that fear becomes.¡± His lips quivered and tears broke free of his lower lids. I was mirroring him in that way, and I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I¡¯ve grown resentful of everything I am. Of this tiny section of the world I lie above. Where does it end? Does it end?¡± I rested my hands on the sides of his head. ¡°It ends when you decide to hop into the wind blindly.¡± He clutched my hand dearly. ¡°Your eyes pierce my soul in a way nobody else can. I truly could never forget them, and I¡¯m glad I could see them once more.¡± ¡°I think I might¡¯ve fallen because you were so in love yourself.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t felt anything like that in so long. Ever. I couldn¡¯t keep it in.¡± ¡°I did love you, though. Even if it was short. Even though it realistically wouldn¡¯t last.¡± ¡°And I, you.¡± He chuckled, wiping at his cheeks. ¡°I think our temperaments conflict a little too much.¡± I lowered my head, laughing. ¡°Yeah, but once you get some life experience, you¡¯ll get that stick outta your ass.¡± He flexed his jaw. ¡°That again? Apologies for being rigid and naive.¡± ¡°I never said they were bad things. That¡¯s what I mean, though.¡± I sighed. ¡°Everyone takes life at their own pace. But I¡¯m still glad we collided when we did.¡± A smirk crept up on my face and he rolled his eyes at me. That desire came back to me and I wanted to act on it. And with it the doubts in my mind, the criticisms saying it¡¯s weird or strange, accusations that it¡¯s just me being crazy, and the dissonance between myself and my body. I wanted to be free of that. I wanted the moment to be mine. The moon had gradually shifted, illuminating the two of us alone in the dark room. I pulled his face in and kissed him. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding me firmly in his warm, tender arms. His lips tasted like wine as I drifted drunkenly into his hold, lacing my arms around his head and savoring the moment. The heat of his muscular body against mine, how his arms wrapped me tightly, comfortably, like I was the only thing he ever wanted to hold. I could have lost myself in that feeling forever. His lips pulled away from mine, our heads resting against each other. His voice was more sure of itself and he smirked. ¡°And to think, it¡¯s now that I¡¯ve learned to not be pricked by your teeth.¡± ¡°Then make this one good, cause it¡¯s the last one from me.¡± I kissed him again, his body slowly losing its strength as I lowered him into the chair. I pulled my tail from his side and let him sink in his drunken stupor, his high between awake and dreaming. His heart was longing, but at peace as his eyes slowly closed and he drifted into sleep. I watched him for a moment, capturing the scene in my mind. The first man I loved sleeping so peacefully in the dull light of the moons. Maybe the only love I¡¯d ever have. He wouldn¡¯t remember this in the morning, or if he did, it would feel like a fleeting dream. I quietly closed the door behind me and stepped out into the hallway. Music was playing from somewhere in the manor, so I began my rounds of searching for Simira. I snuck through the halls to the room she first brought us to and there she was through the wall with Tells. That was all I had to do, so I joined everyone else in the theatre hall and listened to Brenden and Desmond play. Leave it to those two to bring dad rock to a place that¡¯s supposed to be fantasy. I enjoyed it, though. It reminded me of times that were honestly easier, and I daydreamt to myself while the muses sang. Suddenly, there was a boy standing in front of me. The kid with the mental disability. It¡¯s like he recognized who I was, shaking his hand and shouting ¡°Red!¡± He walked away, calling me what he used to call me when I was here. How, of all people, did the kid recognize me? I disappeared to another spot in the room and watched closely, making sure he didn¡¯t come in, or I would dart. But he never returned. Near the end of the concert, Adam and Tells meandered into the room, eventually finding each other. I wanted to see them so badly, but I couldn¡¯t yet, so I threw on my fake voice and did a little trolling. I had a plan that would make them uncomfortable in a funny way and it worked pretty well. Adam was too ruffled to notice it was me, and Tells was way more jealous than I ever expected. There was something strange about their auras that I couldn¡¯t identify well, but it was good, like a perfect connection. Regardless, I left them with a little sexual tension and made my exit before I could get properly rickrolled by the clowns on stage. I walked out alone into the night, not in the mood to ride the wagon back. It was cold, but freeing. Everyone was doing better, and I could rest easy knowing I would be back soon enough, ready to end this. * * * * * I spent the next few weeks with Lotti and Montak. Lotti learned her letters quickly and took to me well. I enjoyed the time I spent teaching her and just being there for her. As winter was closing in, I helped Montak winterize the farm, cut wood and keep things tidy so he could sell the rest of the profit crop at the market. He was bringing in a lot more money since he could focus on the farm. The money he saved when Lotti was sick went into paying for her tutor at the schoolhouse, which she was allowed back into after showing her expertise in letters. I kept my hair in the shorter blonde style with eye-covering bangs so I could go out in the day without worrying about people recognizing me. The farmers didn¡¯t seem to notice that I was a half-breed, I just did what regular people did and eventually they started waving at and greeting me. After feeding on the farns pretty regularly, the voices and hallucinations began subsiding, all except the one that was made of all, but even that one was only present when I showed any doubt of killing Simira. Farm life wasn¡¯t easy, but it was simple. It was nice. One day, Lotti went to a nomadic storyteller with the schoolhouse, so I tagged along to keep an eye and entertain myself. Set up on a stone bench before an audience of stone benches in a field by the forest, it was a pretty scene. He was a simple man with an almost perfectly plain face and an aura more prominent than any I¡¯d ever seen, but he looked like any other old scraggly jorlad man. He told a story about somewhere far away called Tethin Marva. A land deep beneath a different continent, where the ground split and rivers poured in, creating a continent underground where beings closer to the jzanmah exist. It sounded a bit fantastical, but seeing where I was, I didn¡¯t know if I should doubt it. However, after his story, he passed through the crowd, briefly stopping before me. He whispered, so light that only I could hear. ¡°Bimuarika.¡± Chills shot down my spine, and then they dissipated because of the man¡¯s pure calmness. This man wasn¡¯t absent of emotions like Diona, he was in complete control, and it was like he knew I could feel his and forced me toward calmness. Or did he feel my fear and resist it? I didn¡¯t respond. He nodded and whistled. In a few moments a small, furry batlike creature, like the fireblood my friends caught, landed on his shoulder and whispered to him. He whispered back, the creature resting still. My voice shook. ¡°Are¡­ are you gonna kill me?¡± His eyes playfully squinted and he turned to the creature on his shoulder, who took off eastward. Then he patted my shoulder, ¡°Be well.¡± And he walked off, leaving me there, speechless. It reminded me that no matter where I went, I would be a target, I would be found, and I would be hunted. Her voice crept through my growing anxiety. ¡°Let us relax. Once we are free of Simira, we will be free of this place.¡± I wished I could stay there forever. But I stopped in at Good Moaning on the day of each weekly fuckening to see if it was time. It was on the day that there was a stir in the city. Unrest and a lot of outbound wagons from the whore house, loaded with everyone except the prostitutes. All of them wore veils to keep the ash away. Something happened and she¡¯s cleaning up. Today is the day, and a part deep within me grew excited. Naturally, I was nervous too, but the excitement¡­ that scared me. I had been waiting so long to do this, to free my friends, to complete this very thing that I must have been born to do. Then, after Simira was dead, I could hit Diona and dip. I had a plan for each one that I had thought up in my spare time on the farm. Good Moaning was quiet, almost dead that evening. No smoke, the hookers were all cleaned up and kept putting little tabs in their mouths to stave off withdrawals. I found Fera, who confirmed that she would leave the money in the park at a drop off point on a bench, just like a mafia movie. She gave me the key she lifted off Tarynn and told me to hide it where the guards wouldn¡¯t find it, so I cut into the side of my breast with my nail, stuck the key in, and healed it. Tarynn had apparently left the manor for good, renouncing his name, so nobody would notice that this master key was missing. Away the pathetic prince dashed and onward could my plot fly. ¡°Do you feel it? It¡¯s everything we wanted it to be.¡± I thought the day would pass slower, but it didn¡¯t. Time went by so quickly. Like hours were minutes, my makeup and dressing was done, and I was in the wagon on the way to the manor. The guards checked everything, then I was in. Twere I a devil, the porter should surely let me by. ¡°All of us, look, the Lady of the Manor in all her glory.¡± Viscountess Simira welcomed all of us. ¡°Thank you all for visiting one last time. As my father is no longer the lord of this manor, this weekly ritual will be ending. So, all of you, do what you do best one last time.¡± She glared down in disgust and confidently strutted off. She didn¡¯t even notice me. She¡¯d done it. She had everything she wanted and my friends were nowhere to be seen. But that was perfect for me. I could get away with it flawlessly. I snuck around the crowd, up the stairs and toward the clinic. It was perfectly empty, so I sat still in the darkness and removed the key from my breast. I waited for hours, until long after everyone was asleep. The silence, the darkness, reminded me of the dungeon, the misery. Being cooped up like an animal. Treated like I was less than human. Used for my jzanmah like an expendable resource. The doubts that had been creeping into my mind slowly melded into hatred for her. That ravenous hatred frenzied throughout my mind like I was a kid on Christmas morning and it was still too early to wake up and open presents. Simira was so close, but I couldn¡¯t squeeze the life out of her til later. A little exercise of patience and discipline. On a night most salacious, the shadow of death will loom. ¡°Nobody will be in here to find you, so all you need to do is wait.¡± ¡°I have to kill her to save them. I¡¯ve waited this long. I¡¯ll wait a little longer.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we must listen to ourselves.¡± ¡°Wavering means death.¡± It was late enough now. I stepped out the door of the clinic into the empty halls of Amien Manor. For how dead the halls were, there were so many guards posted around. It seemed there was turmoil somewhere. Sensing living things made navigating around the manor was easy. I didn¡¯t even need to see them to avoid them. I came to the corner of the hallway Simira¡¯s room was in, where two guards were posted in front of her study. I stuck the key between my tits and took a deep breath in. I rounded the corner stumbling and burping like the addicts in the parlor. ¡°You boys got any more booze?¡± The guards were accustomed to prostitutes who picked their pockets like this. I¡¯d seen it. They naturally came over to me, and I leaned on one. He grabbed my wrists, clever. But not clever enough. ¡°Course there¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ straggler.¡± He sighed like he wasn¡¯t getting paid enough. ¡°Get a move on, your people left.¡± ¡°Are they goooooooone?!¡± I slowly reached my tail around the guard, piercing his skin. ¡°I wanted to go with theeeeemmmm!¡± He stumbled backward against the wall and I quickly pulled my tail back. I trust fell toward the other guard, who caught me. ¡°Itan, what happened? What¡¯d¡­¡± The guard¡¯s face fell slack and his eyes rolled as the intoxication set in. It didn¡¯t kill, but it was like a drug that could knock somebody out cold, and it worked on both of them. Looking like this made it so easy to get in killing range. Deep into the drunken night¡¯s watch, she stumbles into the room. ¡°Shhhh, focus. Into the room.¡± I sat them against the wall, sleeping on each other, then unlocked and slowly opened the door. Simira was further back, in another room, in such a tired, desperate sleep. Her office was lit by orange crystals and nothing else. My heart raced in anticipation. I was honed in and focused, being so close to getting back at her for everything she did to me. Oh, the rush, the anticipation of watching her die. My mouth was already watering. Her bedroom door was unlocked, and in the dark, I crept in. On the other side of curtains, on a massive bed, she breathed beneath the covers. So peaceful, so unassuming. Sleep had a way of making people seem so¡­ real. She was still and snoring while I parted the curtains at the foot of her bed. I unfurled my wings and stuck the poisoned tips into her legs, letting the numbing sensation steep in her blood. I tiptoed around her bed, hitting each arm, before finally climbing over her. As I was poisoning her core from on top of her, she stirred. No tail poison. I want her to watch me kill her. ¡°What kind of expression do you think she¡¯ll make when she sees that it¡¯s you?¡± ¡°A perfect one.¡± A smile crawled up my cheeks. I released my wings. Simira would be completely immobile until the poison cleared her system. Her sleep grew lighter and lighter. I had to be quick, or the slumped guards would be noticed. I wrapped my hands around her neck and finally she awoke. Those brilliant orange eyes quickly met mine with a ferocious glare, but her voice could not escape her throat. My hands clutched her windpipe. She twisted her body, trying to raise her arms and legs whose movements were limited to little flops and weak bumps. Helplessness crept over her confident visage and fear welled in her eyes with the tears I was squeezing out of her. In a last ditch effort, she gritted her teeth and raged with her eyes. Tears streamed down the side of her face and snot ran out of her nose as she silently challenged me to let go. The sides of her mouth frothed with saliva like the rabid and suffocating animal she was. Her horrid, miserable emotions shot through me, all of it. My smile wouldn¡¯t hold because all I felt was her fear. I tensed, clutching her throat harder. Then her eyes focused and her expression fell to awe, regret, like she¡¯d seen a ghost. Like she¡¯d seen the woman she watched cut her own heart out. Like she was asking me for forgiveness. ¡°There it is.¡± What right does she have to forgiveness? She isn¡¯t the one who was collared and treated like less than a slave. She wasn¡¯t abused by the guards. She didn¡¯t lose her mind in a cell. She didn¡¯t have to eat rodents just to keep herself alive. She didn¡¯t experience her own brain turning to mush in her own head. She didn¡¯t die. She didn¡¯t know what it was like to feel her own brain hemorrhage and heart stop. To lay conscious in a corpse while her body rode the line between life and death. And yet, her pain welled up in me. The waves of unimaginable regret and suffering from acting against her morals so she could be at peace. I clutched her throat harder, digging my nails into the sides of her neck. She still fought. Her core rose, but I pushed her neck down harder, her eyes glaring straight into mine, proving her will against me. She fought to turn her head, little gasps crying out for air. Her eyes flickered in and out, back and forth, from me to a book on her pillow. She wasn¡¯t afraid of death anymore. That much was clear. Why did that piss me off so much? Why does she get to die peacefully when I was never afforded such a luxury all those deaths?! But she wasn¡¯t done fighting. Her survival instinct raged through me and I squeezed harder and harder until her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped back silently. I didn¡¯t let go. My hands wouldn¡¯t. Not until I was sure. The horrible emptiness, frigid waves of death came back. But I didn¡¯t let go. An electric rush shot through me like my mind finally caught up with what my body was doing. Rage, grief, despair. They all surged through me in an instant. I didn¡¯t know what to feel. I was shaking. My hands were shaking. I did it. It was over. Simira was dead and my friends would be free. I didn¡¯t have to sleep at night worried that she would catch me and chain me up in the dungeon forever. I was free from the torment. The vixen bled in the night over a devil¡¯s foolish err. ¡­ ¡­ Silence in my head. ¡°Where did you go?¡± Simira¡¯s body glowed light green like steam was rising from her, joining into one spot, one little ball of wispy light before me. Without thinking, I grabbed the leatherbound book just as crashing footsteps echoed down the hallway, so loud I could hear them through two closed doors. ¡°Red!¡± A monotone voice yelled out from the hallway. ¡°Red! Red! Red!¡± He was coming this way, his loud footsteps crashing as he ran up to this door. I looked back down, but the green aura, Simira¡¯s aura, was gone. I glanced around the room, searching for an exit, and my eyes landed on the window. Sure, there was a storm outside, but it would conceal me flying away. It was my only shot at not being caught and I had to take it. I threw open the window and stepped onto the sill as the boy opened the door. I glanced over my shoulder at him, sorry that he had to be caught in something like this. They would never be able to decipher anything he could tell about me. They barely even thought of us as human. He rushed in, his jaw and eyes agape in horror. He didn¡¯t look at me, but to his sister, holding her head and wailing in pure misery. Then his eyes locked on me. I couldn¡¯t bear the suffocating sensation of grief from him anymore, so I leapt into the falling ashen snow. Then slip the assassin away, cloaked in dusk¡¯s chilling air. The emotions raged stronger. My adrenaline pumped madly and my heart raced violently. It was like I, myself, died next to her and my body couldn¡¯t handle being alive. I landed on the roof of the manor and crawled as far as I could, but my head was going crazy. I couldn¡¯t focus on a thing. It was all confusing, overstimulating. The feeling of dying, the hate, the want to survive, the unfinished business, the fear, the longing, the horror of not knowing, all of what Simira experienced at her last moments hit me like a tidal wave of agony. She was afraid, and yet the peace that came with it, after everything, befuddled my mind too much. My heart wouldn¡¯t slow down and my limbs gave out. ¡­ I blacked out. 51: Stupid Deep 51 (Jon Bellion- Stupid Deep) Tells Two guards were seated on the floor next to Simira¡¯s open door in drunken daze, checked out of reality. I stood there idly trying to figure out some action to take, still foggy from sleep. My eyes glanced rapidly over everything, unable to strongly take anything in. The door was shut, and I wasn¡¯t supposed to go in. I couldn¡¯t go in. I wanted to knock, but nobody was allowed in. I grabbed at the hems of my nightgown, not even having realized I walked out in it. I was unarmed and barefoot, completely useless to keep anyone out. Is Simira okay? The guards out front, Zev rushing around, and the order to keep everyone out. What¡¯s going on? Is Simira dead? I halted in front of the door, hand hovering over the handle. What if it isn¡¯t that? What if she¡¯s okay and there¡¯s just some minor emergency? I can go in, right? She¡¯ll forgive me if I peek in on something I wasn¡¯t supposed to, right? Or would she? I couldn¡¯t stop myself from caring, or maybe I just didn¡¯t care what would happen. Maybe both. I anxiously knocked at her door, a swelling fear in my heart as there was no answer. My hands shook uncontrollably and I clutched the handle of the door, the cold metal freezing me in place, completely unlocked. I glanced down at the two unconscious guards and threw the door open. My heart was pounding in my ears as my eyes searched the dark study for any signs of her. Everything was normal as ever, except for her bedroom door, which was wide open, and the freezing wind pouring through from outside that slammed the door behind me. I knew what was coming, and yet I was praying for anything else to be the case. I would have preferred to walk in on her and have her scream and hit me over the stillness I encountered. And that¡¯s what it was. Stillness. In the silent darkness, Simira¡¯s body lay still behind the translucent bed curtains. I crept toward her bed and pulled the curtains apart. From her shoulders down were still covered in blankets, but her lifeless sunken eyes, staring upward emptily were all I needed to see. My heart fell into my stomach and I sank to my knees in front of her bed. I didn¡¯t know how long I sat like that, but there was nothing else I could think to do. The feeling was back, the feeling I had been forcing back since Vetia died¡­ masking my grief with the naive assumption that I could make something good out of it all¡­ make it right. I rested my hand on her cool head and wept over her bed. Why didn¡¯t I do more? Why didn¡¯t I push harder, so that maybe I could have been here with her? If I¡¯d been here, would she still be alive, or would we both be dead? Why didn¡¯t I do more to protect her when she was still around? I don¡¯t even know who I¡¯m crying for anymore. The heart, the blood in the courtroom and my inability to act. Her cold, dead face in bed and my fear of pressing her to not be alone. All of the hardship, all of the agony, all of the death, was it all because I didn¡¯t do anything? Because I didn¡¯t care enough? Why did it feel so hard to keep everyone alive? Why did I leave Simira and Vetia to be alone? If I had been a better friend, maybe none of this would have happened. I couldn¡¯t stifle what few cries escaped my lips. I punched and pounded at my thighs. I could have done better! I could have been better! I could have saved them but I didn¡¯t! I could have prevented all of this from happening if I wasn¡¯t so fucking worthless! Both of my fists were slamming into my legs until I had no strength left and cried into the sheets before me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I- I- I didn¡¯t care enough! I don¡¯t know how to be close!¡± Her face was so still, and perhaps the most peaceful I had ever seen her. Even for the dark bruises stretching around her neck and the dried streaks of tears down her temples, she was so strangely calm. ¡°Blood!¡± My head twisted around as Eulin¡¯s voice erupted behind me. He trotted over to the bed and pointed at her with a key in his hand. ¡°Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!¡± It repeated over and over, that fucking word. ¡°Tells! Where are-¡± Captain Zev¡¯s voice burst into the room, halting as he saw Eulin standing there, pointing to Simira with the key to her room, and shouting ¡°Blood¡± as a slow stream dripped from his hands down the end of the key. I looked to Captain Zev, and the nyadin woman I delivered the purse to. All of us knew exactly what everyone was thinking, as the murderer showed off his work to the people who were closest to Simira. My face twisted with horrible rage and there were no words from my mouth. Rational thought left me and my arms started swinging and grabbing at the murderer in front of me. All I wanted was to bash his head into the floor until it was nothing. Wring his neck until he knew exactly how awful it felt to die, and then let off and do it all again from the start. The most hideous visions of every way I wanted to kill and brutalize this stupid fuck flashed through my mind until it was all I could see. He flailed his arms out in front of him and screamed, collapsing into a fetal position on the floor. Captain Zev yelled something. I wasn¡¯t listening. He grabbed at me, yanking me up into the air and off of Eulin. He grunted and threw me backward. I skidded across a dresser, sending planks, makeup, and other things flying onto the floor, crashing and shattering. ¡°Tells! Get ahold of yourself!¡± I couldn¡¯t control the sharp, icy breaths I took, glaring at Zev, teeth chattering in a fury I¡¯d never felt before. He was the same way, but so much more composed. ¡°I¡¯LL FUCKING KILL HIM!¡± ¡°Not now! There will be a time! He will face justice!¡± ¡°What justice?! He did it! He¡¯s right here!¡± I pushed against Zev until he put his arm against my chest and barreled me into the wall. All the air left my body on impact, and I reeled on the ground, catching my breath. All the while, Eulin screamed and cried from his fetal position on the floor. ¡°I said nobody in and nobody out, and you enter! This is why I demanded such a thing! That we may rationally resolve this!¡± He put his foot against my chest and turned to the other woman. ¡°Miriel! Get to her!¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Miriel hurried to Simira¡¯s bedside and hunched over her as light green energy formed in front of her face. ¡°Captain,¡± she said. Zev finally turned to her. ¡°The Lady is dead. There is nothing I can do for her.¡± Zev¡¯s shoulders went slack and his face turned blank. ¡°She¡¯s only been choked, right?! There¡¯s no blood! Can¡¯t she still be saved?!¡± She remorsefully pointed to the bloodstains on the back of the pillow, dripping from the sides of her neck when Eulin gripped so hard that he pierced her skin. ¡°Captain, her brain is dead, she has no more connection to jzanmah. I cannot save-¡± ¡°Is her heart unable to be started?! Was her head lopped from her body?! There must be a way! Miriel, can you do nothing?!¡± Zev stomped over to her, looming over her small frame and yelling at her in desperation. Miriel recoiled back as she tried yelling over him. ¡°Captain! She is dead. I can make her blood pump, I can make air enter her lungs, I can keep her body suspended and functioning indefinitely, but she will never live again! There is simply no way to return life to the dead!¡± Captain Zev lost his strength and fell into a seated position on the bed, quiet, mournful. ¡°ZUHTAAAAAK!¡± He screamed out a raging, pained roar like I¡¯d never heard before. The whole manor must have heard his cry, because everything fell silent. Miriel remained collected, but was clearly struck by some sense of worry or fear. ¡°I need this room clear, Captain, so that I may conduct an autopsy and find her cause of death. Please, hold Eulin until we can be sure it was him.¡± He looked around the room emptily, and then finally down at the corpse of his former Lady. ¡°He stole the master key! He has blood on his hands and he is strong enough that even I struggle to wrestle him! Tells, stand. We do not need the autopsy to know what transpired in this room tonight.¡± Zev shot up and reached a hand down to me and yanked me to my feet. ¡°Eulin is re-¡± his eyes turned feral, darting around. Eulin wasn¡¯t there. We exchanged a fiery glance and took off in a dead sprint for the hallway. We raced out the doors, stopping to listen. Thumping. Like arhythmic running toward the west wing. Zev heard it first and took off. My heart was beating out of my chest and all of my senses were more honed than they¡¯d ever been. We got to the main foyer, listening. Running further into the west wing. Zev yelled back ¡°He¡¯s running to his room!¡± He was much faster than me, springing off of his double-jointed legs at incredible speeds, crashing into the walls at every hard turn. He jumped all the way down the stairs, which I reached the top of as he was already all the way down the hallway by the dungeon door. He pounded on the sturdy reinforced door to Eulin¡¯s cell. He threw himself against it, trying to break it open, but the door was locked. ¡°Damn door!¡± He slammed his shoulder into it one more time. ¡°Get the fuck outta the way!¡± I reared back and trusted both of my fists to do their yeffen fist thing. My arms rammed the lock, fire surging in my growing muscles. The lock? The lock on our side of the door, which automatically fell into place when the door closed, fell off and the door slowly crept open. Captain Zev and I exchanged a silent, knowing glance and he drew his dagger, pushing the door the rest of the way. The dark room was only illuminated by the hallway light. Captain Zev coughed as we were blasted by a wall of body odor and rot. We both crept forward, clearing the mess of a room with our eyes. The cot on the floor was empty and windows unbroken. The only place left was the mound of filthy pillows and blankets, which shifted ever so slightly. Is he gonna jump out? Or Is he just hiding? Zev pointed to the mound and motioned for me to pull away the blanket. He held his dagger and readied himself in a fighting stance. I tiptoed to the mound and set my hand on the largest pillow, then held up three fingers. Three. Two. One. I yanked the pillow free and nothing happened. Zev stood there, planted, aghast at what I revealed. I tossed the pillow aside and carefully gazed into the darkness. A horrid, rotting fume assaulted my nose. There, beneath the pillow, a pile of bones and carcasses of birds and rodents. Bitemarks riddled the torn flesh. On the other side of that, a hole in the stone wall to the outside, where Eulin¡¯s haunted stare locked on us. Captain Zev darted around out the door and Eulin took off. No, Eulin might be gone by the time Zev gets outside. Fuck it. I dove into the putrid pile, crawled through the decaying flesh and blood, out the hole in the side of the manor. I fought through shrubs, branches, and more bones littering the ground. The rest of the little-used alley between the training grounds and the southwestern corner was completely unassuming. The shrubs along the side of the manor concealed everything except for the grates to the dungeon cells. Eulin ran heavily, clumsily toward the west gate, moaning and wailing the whole way. Without another thought, I dashed forward, closing the distance in barely ten seconds, tackling him to the ground and wrestling him into an arm bar. He scratched at me with mangled, unruly fingernails and bit at my leg until I kicked his jaw. Captain Zev tumbled to a stop next to me and recoiled for a moment at the bones and rotten carcasses tangled in my hair. Ashen snow was falling from the sky, drifting gently over us on this somber night. This night, Eulin Amien murdered his sister. And he would be executed for it come morning. All the proof was the key and his bloodstained hands. An unfortunate victim to circumstances of his birth, but judging by the creatures he¡¯d been killing, there wasn¡¯t any saving him. Captain Zev and I hauled him to the dungeon and threw him in. Miriel hadn¡¯t finished her autopsy when we returned to Simira¡¯s room. ¡°Miriel,¡± Zev declared, ¡°your services are greatly appreciated, but there is no more need for them.¡± Miriel looked at him like a deer in headlights. ¡°Captain, but-¡± He raised his hand to silence her, shaking his head remorsefully. ¡°We have the criminal. He is locked in the dungeon for execution tomorrow. You are relieved.¡± ¡°No, Captain Zev, I have reason to believe it was not him.¡± She dodged her eyes around the room. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished, but I don¡¯t understand how jorlad hands could penetrate the neck as such.¡± I showed my arm to Miriel. ¡°His fingernails clawed the shit out of my arms.¡± Zev nodded. ¡°He is a cur. His strength is uncontrolled. He was likely in a fit of rage. We found bones and dead rodents in his room, buried beneath a mound of pillows. They had been torn apart by teeth and hands. There is no doubt that he is the perpetrator.¡± She sighed, not yet on board. ¡°I understand, Captain, but I must still finish the autopsy, just to be completely sure.¡± He shook his head and shrugged. ¡°I will-¡± he glanced at Lady Simira¡¯s waxy face and his whole demeanor shrunk like he¡¯d lost his entire reason to live. ¡°I will be in the study if you require assistance.¡± He exited and I followed. He sank in the chair across from hers, head in his hands, peering up at it every now and then like he would see her there. I sat against the wall by her door, unsure of what to do, in complete silence. Nearly an hour later, Miriel passed into the room and eyed us both, unsure of who to speak to. Zev had his head in his hands, tapping his foot on the floor, and I was just there, emptily gazing at the most recent painting of her. Miriel addressed us both. ¡°I¡¯ve finished the autopsy. Shall I-¡± Zev cut her off weakly. ¡°Burn a report. I¡¯ll receive it in the morning.¡± She didn¡¯t press further, just looked like there was more she wanted to say. ¡°I¡¯ve taken blood samples that I must test. The equipment is at Hallax Hall, but based on the sigil, there¡¯s a foreign substance in her system, potentially a toxin. I¡¯ll return with the report in the morning, but I implore you, hold the execution until we are sure of the murderer.¡± He waved her away. She quietly disappeared out the door without another word. ¡°Tells, I must inform Tarynn of his sister¡¯s death. But he has locked himself in his room, so please, stand guard over L-¡± he choked on his words. ¡°Please¡­ stand guard over¡­¡± he was about to break, but he held strong. ¡°¡­Lady Simira¡¯s corpse. I- I will return shortly.¡± Then I was left in silence, idly staring across her study at the joyful, early family portrait of the late Viscountess Simira Amien. 52: Break 52 (Elephante, Tiina- Break) Adam The snowstorm bellowed as Vetia idly ran her eyes over me, perplexed. ¡°We¡¯re next to the road. The spot where you were supposed to meet me at sunset when we got out.¡± ¡°Got out? Then where¡¯s Tells? And how did you get out?¡± ¡°Not sure where Tells is. I¡¯m going back to get her tomorrow, so we can grab her and get the hell out of this city. We¡¯ll follow you to wherever Brenden and Desmond are, and we¡¯re good. Apparently Tells cut a deal with Simira, that she¡¯d let us out if Tells did some stuff.¡± Vetia¡¯s eyes turned cold. Her face lost its confusion and turned grim. ¡°She cut a deal with that bitch? To get out? What did Tells have to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know. I just got the rundown.¡± ¡°Then tell me the rundown, Adam.¡± I hesitated for a moment. The way her eyes pierced me was almost alien. ¡°I guess it had to do with getting her father out of power so she could be Viscount. I think Tells just did some stealth stuff, helped out here and there, I don¡¯t know. I was just there when the Viscount got his head lopped off¡­¡± She looked down at the fire in my hand and pulled aggressively at her blonde hair. Her lips were moving, but I couldn¡¯t hear her talking. ¡°You say something? The wind is getting pretty loud.¡± ¡°Like I¡¯ve said, don¡¯t fucking talk about them like that!¡± She snapped out, still staring into the fire. ¡°Vetia, I can¡¯t hear you over the storm!¡± She looked up at me blankly. ¡°Oh, no, I was just saying you should come with me to Montak¡¯s. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll let you crash there for the night.¡± ¡°Montak? What? Where? That¡¯s not really good manners, is it? To bring a stranger into some guy¡¯s house?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be imposing.¡± She had a sort of distant look, no matter what emotion she expressed. Even as she casually smiled with her response, it¡¯s like something was missing behind her eyes. ¡°So, Adam, how did arena fighting go? Got yourself one hell of a sword there.¡± She poked at the blade and then glanced at her bleeding fingertip before licking at the wound. She grimaced, mouthed something to herself again and then talked aloud. ¡°I know, really useful.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, it was a gift from Captain Zev.¡± ¡°Montak¡¯s is right up here. Did you learn how to use it? Score any glory kills?¡± A chill ran up my spine. I had never seen her look any more like a serial killer than in that moment. The dead eyes and really wide smile that was almost perfectly genuine. It had to be her joking, right? Her eyes were so unsettling, I didn¡¯t respond. ¡°I¡¯m just joking, Adam. You don¡¯t need to be so afraid and shit.¡± She blinked rapidly a few times and her eyes lost their distance. It was like she finally came back into the moment. She traced three quick circles into the air and fixed her finger, pointing ahead. With a reassuring smile, she said ¡°Montak¡¯s is right there.¡± We approached the snow-covered log house with a four-pointed wooden star above the door. I was covering my eyes from the snow when I bumped into Vetia, who had completely stopped moving. ¡°¡­at the table by the door, Montak hurt, Lotti in bed.¡± She stopped talking to herself and looked up at me coldly. ¡°Adam. You¡¯re going to stand out here, right next to the door, hidden. I¡¯m gonna walk out, and somebody is going to follow me. As soon as you can see her, I want you to lop her head off with your sword.¡± ¡°Vetia, what the fuck are you talking about.¡± ¡°Adam, do what I said.¡± Her eyes were full of fear and rage as she turned. ¡°I need you to trust me. I need you to hit this animal as hard as you can, or shit¡¯s gonna get real messy.¡± ¡°What is going on? Is somebody in there?!¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up a little.¡± She seethed at me, teeth chattering in rage. ¡°She can¡¯t hear you. But yes. I just need you to make a mess of her brain. I can feel her in there, she¡¯s already done something to Montak. Just do what I say!¡± Vetia was a frantic mess of emotions, mumbling to herself as she stepped toward the door. I stood against the side of the house, next to the door with my ear to a slit in the wood. The first thing I heard was a child loudly crying. The other woman spoke first. ¡°Oh, how good of you to finally join us, Cressida, or is it Rowena?¡± ¡°Neither, dumb bitch.¡± ¡°For how hideous you are, there¡¯s a swagger about you that I really admire. If you didn¡¯t have such a weak heart, you could make a lot of money, especially being our in with the lonsu.¡± There was an audible clash like a bag of money hitting the wood. A kid¡¯s voice spoke up. ¡°Rowena! Rowena, help duddy! The lady-¡± Fera cut her off. ¡°Shut up! Shut the fuck up!¡± She frustratedly groaned. ¡°I can¡¯t stand handling these little parasites.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk away from her? She doesn¡¯t need to hear this, especially after you¡¯ve bled her dad like that.¡± ¡°Her? Oh, she¡¯ll get used to it. Isn¡¯t that right, Lotti, dear? I¡¯ve told her all about Madam Diona¡¯s place. She seems smart, so she¡¯ll learn quickly there.¡± ¡°No, Fera, I¡¯m not killing you in front of a kid like that.¡± Fera laughed loudly. ¡°And you think I¡¯m the dumb bitch? You¡¯re built like a twig dangling off a pair of floating tits. Cressida, Rowena, Neither, it¡¯s not gonna be hard for me. May as well lean your throat down here and make it easy for the both of us.¡± ¡°Then come on outside and we¡¯ll get it over with. Unless you want me to run and make you chase me.¡± Fera sighed and groaned. ¡°Fuck, Cressi, you¡¯re always making everything so much more difficult than it needs to be. Fine.¡± ¡°Fera you¡¯ve got to be the laziest assassin on the planet.¡± ¡°I work smarter, Cressi. Not harder.¡± Vetia walked out silently, not looking at me as she passed by. I raised my sword, not really sure who I was about to see. This is a person, right? Am I about to hit a person? As a jinian, I could accidentally kill somebody really easily, especially with a sword so heavy. Before I knew it, my eyes had locked with a woman bundled in fine furs and a bright yellow scarf. She stared up at me in sheer surprise. Seeing her eyes, the eyes of another person, a sentient person who had a life, who was scared for her life, it froze me. I felt like I was back in the arena facing the rizumir. ¡°ADAM! KILL HER!¡± Vetia screamed at me and as I panicked, Fera rolled backward into the house. ¡°God damnit, Adam! Fuck!¡± Vetia rushed into the house and I ducked in after my mind cleared. Wait wait wait, this woman already killed a guy, right? Shit! Why didn¡¯t I just swing?! In the middle of the tiny house was a table, next to which a man laid unconscious on the floor, and Fera was standing on a bed, holding a little girl in a headlock with a dagger to her throat. ¡°Alright, Cressi, you know the deal. I walk out of here while you and your boytoy get out of my way.¡± Vetia carved a shape into the air behind her back, until her hand illuminated a lime green. ¡°What have you got behind your back there? Cutting a sigil?¡± Fera held the blade closer, drawing Lotti¡¯s blood at the tip. The little girl let out a scream so shrill that my ears rang, crying out gibberish endlessly. Bloody murder consumed Vetia¡¯s eyes and she hunched over. Her nose furled up like a wild predator and her jaw unhinged as serrated teeth crept out of her gums. Fera¡¯s eyes opened wide and she clenched for the fight. ¡°A fireblood, eh? No wonder you¡¯re fucking crazy.¡± She anxiously chuckled and dragged her blade across the girl¡¯s neck, getting into a serious stance. Vetia screamed with every ounce of rage within her as she crashed over the table and leapt at Fera claws first. Fera thrusted the dagger forward at Vetia, who pressed her hand onto the blade, forcing it down to the hilt. She gripped the blade, twisting and yanking the blade from Fera¡¯s grip. Fera was in a losing position, holding back Vetia¡¯s biting head with her other hand while Vetia raked her claws down Fera¡¯s arm. Fera screamed out in pain and kicked her, sending her crashing into the table while Fera darted up, clutching her arm. She halted in fear gazing up at me with my sword out. ¡°Get out of the way! Move!¡± Terror shot through her eyes and I was frozen in place again. I stood in her way, arms ready to grab her. I jittered in place, wanting to act, but overstimulated and unsure how to do it properly. ¡°Adam!¡± Vetia growled from across the room while she healed Lotti¡¯s neck. ¡°What are you doing?! Kill her!¡± Fera whimpered up at me, helpless and afraid. Why am I so conflicted when I just watched and heard everything she did and said? Is it the fact that I was looking into her eyes, recognizing the fear of death? That feeling of fight or flight, where it¡¯s kill or be killed. It was simpler with the bugs, with the animals in the arena. But she¡¯s a person. A living, breathing person, like me. My freeze was broken as her foot crashed into my testes. The air left my body and my knees buckled. She launched off my knee and vaulted over my back and out the door. My mind blanked out from the pain in my balls until I finally took a deep breath in. ¡°ADAM!¡± Vetia screamed at me in wild desperation. ¡°ADAM! What are you doing?! You need to get her! I can¡¯t heal them and chase her!¡± ¡°What do I do?!¡± ¡°FUCKING KILL HER! Hit her with the blunt part of the blade or something! Adam, this isn¡¯t a D&D game we can retcon! This isn¡¯t an anime where everything turns out right! We can¡¯t reload an old save if something goes wrong! Do something or we die!¡± My mouth hung ajar and my pulse pounded through my head. Vetia¡¯s words were eating at me, tearing at my confidence, my ability, my humanity. Reality started crashing down around me, seeing the bleeding little girl on the floor in front of me. The door slammed into my feet with a gust of wind and I snapped back to reality. Oh my god, she¡¯s right. I¡¯m a total fucking idiot. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck!¡± I turned around and darted out the door, staring out into the dark. Footprints took off into the snow, and ahead was a flickering firelight. I didn¡¯t know if it was her, but my legs took off. The ashen snow and wind battered my face, chilling me to the bone. My nostrils and eyes were freezing and the frigid air tore at my lungs. For the few inches of snow that had built up, I wasn¡¯t even noticing them. My boots were big enough that the snow wasn¡¯t impeding my run. Bounding, leaping steps propelled me forward toward the flame next to the road in the treeline. As I neared, the flame disappeared, enveloping me in pitch darkness. The whirring of wind and snow surrounded us. The faint dull whiteness of snow on the ground was all I could see. Fera¡¯s voice emerged through the storm, ¡°Adam, Adam, please, I know you think you know what is happening, but you don¡¯t. That woman is a fireblood, and she¡¯s got that family under her thumb! She¡¯s turned them into firebloods and they¡¯re planning to kill half the city.¡± I didn¡¯t respond. My head and heart were racing too fast, like I was overloaded with too much to be able to make the right decision. There¡¯s no way she¡¯s telling the truth. But has being a fireblood changed Vetia? She was distant, tried biting me, and was like an animal when she was trying to kill Fera. ¡°Listen, Adam, I didn¡¯t want to hurt you, but I needed you out of the way of that door. You have no clue what she has done! We¡¯ve been trying to catch her, but she¡¯s been on a killing spree! She assassinated Lady Simira! Adam, she is insane!¡± Once again, I was left in the silence of the storm. Another new piece of information that I didn¡¯t know was true or not. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Who am I supposed to trust? Back at the house, in the distance, I heard a frantic yell of ¡°Adam! Where is she?!¡± I lit my hand ablaze with a sigil and raised it in the air so I could see around me. ¡°Then how do we stop a fireblood?¡± ¡°Kill them like any normal person. Quickly and surely. Lop off her head, drain her blood.¡± Her voice seemed to echo in the darkness, not coming from any sure direction. ¡°Can you prove she¡¯s a fireblood?¡± ¡°She was biting at my neck!¡± ¡°Then what do you want me to do?!¡± ¡°Did you see what happened to me? I can¡¯t fight, my arm feels like it¡¯s been shredded! I need you to protect me.¡± ¡°How the fuck am I supposed to protect you if I can¡¯t even see you?!¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t see me, she can¡¯t- AH!¡± Fera screamed and stumbled out of the shadows, tumbling backward into the snow behind me. I whipped around to see Vetia, hunched over entering the light with Fera¡¯s dagger in her hand. Her face was wrought with contempt and disgust as she glared down at Fera, who was between us and scurrying to her feet. I held my sword out in front of me. Vetia trudged forward through the snow. ¡°Thanks for the light, bud.¡± Fera was between us trying to distance herself, but Vetia just kept circling, making sure Fera was stuck. Fera quickly turned around to me. ¡°Adam, please, you know-¡± Vetia cut her off, ¡°You killed a little girl, Fera. You¡¯re less than a fireblood.¡± ¡°Who the fuck are you to tell me that?¡± Fera turned her back to me, changing her tone from pleading to a screaming rage. ¡°You¡¯re an assassin and you¡¯re using Adam because he¡¯s an idiot!¡± Fera side-eyed me. ¡°Adam, you¡¯ve got to know that I respect you, but this assassin is only using you! She¡¯s not the healer she used to be!¡± She looked back to the predator ready to leap. ¡°I didn¡¯t care about you until you took your shot at me, hell, I wouldn¡¯t have cared much if it was just me. Makes sense, loose ends. But why the fuck would you go after Montak and Lotti who had nothing to do with this, unless it¡¯s the money?¡± Vetia¡¯s eyes were locked on Fera like a cat hunting a bird. ¡°Diona¡¯s orders. Nothing personal-¡± ¡°That¡¯s a load of shit and you know it.¡± Vetia cut her off, dead stare. ¡°Oh, come on, Cressi, why do you ca-¡± Fera turned on a dime and darted counter to where Vetia was circling her. Her foot, however, sank into the snow as she pressed off and she staggered head forward. That¡¯s the opening. A horrible metallic crash rang out with the snapping of bones as I instinctively swung with the flat part of my sword. The next thing I noticed, Fera was flat on the ground, blood pouring out her shattered nose as her jaw rested dislocated on her crooked neck. Her arms and fingers softly twitched as she heaved out breaths, one arm rising into the air. Fera¡¯s eyes locked on me, a lasting, horrific groan leaving her lungs. Vetia lumbered toward Fera, clutching at the side of her head, her face erupting in tears. ¡°I-Is she, uh, dying?¡± I choked out the words. A churning anxiety and horror swelled in me. Did I just kill her? Is she even going to die, or is she gonna lay there and freeze to death? ¡°Oh my god, did I kill her?¡± ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. She ain¡¯t dead yet. I¡¯m killing her.¡± Vetia¡¯s sinister voice crept through her wild, hateful expression. She kneeled over Fera and said something, but the wind was too loud for me to hear. After a few moments of Vetia talking and Fera blinking, Vetia violently gripped the side of Fera¡¯s face and seethed something else at her, before dragging her claw across Fera¡¯s throat. Gargled gasps choked out of Fera and then went silent. Vetia recoiled back in the snow, clambering to push herself away from Fera at all costs. ¡°No no no no no no no no no! Not again, not agian! Not again!¡± She wailed into the sky and clutched her head in agony. She was shaking and breathing rapidly, grasping at the snow trying to find a purchase on something until she was laying face down, holding her head down in the snow and digging her claws into the back of her head. ¡°Vetia, is she dead?¡± No response. ¡°Vetia? What¡¯s going on with you?! What¡¯s going on at all?!¡± She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, retching and gagging over the hole she had carved into the snow with her face. Streams of red vomit spurted from her mouth. Her hands clutched at her neck like they were trying to pull off some imaginary collar while she choked to get air in. I rushed over to her and stood for a second, dumbfounded. I didn¡¯t know what to do, and there was a dead woman on the ground that we killed while my friend was vomiting blood into the snow. Everything around me spun. Vetia¡¯s gagging grated on my heart. The death, the murder, the everything¡­ I couldn¡¯t stop staring at Fera¡¯s body, her dead eyes and broken neck¡­ that I caused. That I broke. That I killed. I stumbled backward away from the body and sat in the snow, trying to breath and slow my heart from racing out of my chest. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be here anymore, Adam.¡± Her retching had stopped. She was staring into the pool of blood, crying over it. I couldn¡¯t keep my voice from shaking. ¡°Tomorrow we get everyone and get the fuck out of here. And then we¡¯ll go find a place far away from here and do whatever we want.¡± ¡°Adam,¡± Vetia¡¯s eyes were hopeless. ¡°This world, Adam. This body, this city, these people, I hate all of it. I just want to go home. I don¡¯t care if I have to go back to being some miserably ugly asshole, I wanna go back to excavating sites and studying. I wanna go back to being a broke college student. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but I was happy. I was a person. I don¡¯t wanna keep living like a fucking monster.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a monster, Vetia, you¡¯ve just got to get used to being in that body. I know it¡¯s probably not-¡± ¡°Probably not what?! Probably not what I expected?!¡± Her head angrily shot up and she crawled toward me. ¡°Do you know the shit I¡¯ve had to deal with? Collared! Beaten! Shocked! Cut! Stabbed! Shattered bones! Dead DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD! I can¡¯t live unless I kill things and drink their blood while they¡¯re alive! My teeth and claws are designed to kill! I¡¯ve got poison that¡¯s tailored specifically to making prey docile so I can slowly drain the life from them! Better yet, if I use even a little bit too much of my magic, I¡¯ll die or start bleeding from every one of my orifices!¡± She was hysterical, screaming up at me, ranting and raving like she¡¯d lost her mind. ¡°Vetia, I-¡± ¡°Shut up! Stop saying that name!¡± She broke down, clutching her head and wailing into sky. ¡°I don¡¯t know who I am anymore, Adam. I used too much jzanmah and now I¡¯m hearing voices in my head. I¡¯m seeing things. I can¡¯t keep doing this. It turned me into a murderer. And even after killing Simira, it won¡¯t stop! They won¡¯t stop even though they said they would!¡± ¡°No! She tried to kill that little girl and the guy in that house, you were defending them!¡± She was whispering maniacally. ¡°I felt it all, Adam. I felt her dying while I killed her. As I squeezed the life out of her. Fear, pain, guilt, loss, longing, regret, all of it. The torture of knowing your life is cut short. It won¡¯t go away. It¡¯s like she¡¯s haunting me in my own fucking head, trying to torture me even when she¡¯s dead. It¡¯s like everything in this world was made to torture me and I can¡¯t even die to be free of it!¡± I didn¡¯t have a clue what to say. There was nothing I could say that would make it right, so I hugged her. ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯m all fucked up.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve all got our shit to deal with. I wish I¡¯d been able to do more before. You¡¯ve been going at it alone since we got to that manor and we¡¯re gonna change that now. Rely on your friends a little bit now that we¡¯re all back to being free, why don¡¯t ya?¡± She took a deep breath in and pushed off of me, steeling herself. ¡°Yeah. Wavering means death.¡± She exhaustedly gazed over the mess of blood and snow. ¡°We gotta get rid of her body. There are tracks going back to Montak¡¯s house that we have to cover, and blood.¡± Her demeanor was like that of a completely different person. One second she was crying hysterically, and now she was completely composed. ¡°Um, uh, where can we even put her?¡± I couldn¡¯t look at the corpse. I didn¡¯t want it to be there, and as long as I couldn¡¯t see it, it wasn¡¯t there. The quiet calm of the forest took hold of me and dread set in. I just helped kill somebody and now we had to cover it up. She was a noble, too, and I took Vetia¡¯s word that we should kill her. The Vetia that was just wailing about hearing voices in her head and going crazy. Has she completely lost her mind, or did I do the right thing? ¡°Adam, please, I need you to help me clean this shit up!¡± Vetia frantically ran around, scooping bloody snow into her hands. ¡°Vetia, what are you doing?¡± I wasn¡¯t hiding my fear well. I didn¡¯t know why, but I was genuinely afraid of one of my best friends, if it was even still the same person. ¡°She¡¯s the daughter of a noble. Anything left behind or found is gonna lead back to Montak. I know what we¡¯ll do, I just need you to get her back to the house ¡®cause I can¡¯t carry her.¡± I stood up and slowly walked toward the body. My eyes wouldn¡¯t focus on it, they couldn¡¯t. Her body was still warm to the touch when I grabbed her legs and slung her over my shoulder. Her arms twitched against my back and chilling blood ran down my leg. ¡°She is dead, right?¡± Vetia looked through me blankly and hesitated for a moment, a scared expression appearing and fading before I could blink. ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°W-W-W-Where am, is, do I¡­ take her?¡± It was like the snow froze my mind and I couldn¡¯t think or focus on anything. I didn¡¯t want to think. I didn¡¯t want to even conceive the possibility that Fera was still alive. Every breath I took was shallow and quick and my heart was on the verge pounding out of my chest. ¡°The barn. Leave her in the middle of it. I¡¯ll meet you back there when I get rid of all this blood.¡± ¡°How are you-¡± I turned so that I could see her and ask how she would get rid of the blood. She grimaced at me, disgusted in herself, choking down a clump of scarlet slush. I silently turned around and walked back toward the house. It was official, I had no clue what was going on. Whatever sense this was making before was out the window. Vetia was nuts and now I was dumping a body. Trudging through the snowstorm with a body on my back, all I could do was walk. I found the house, and around back was a large wooden barn with unlocked doors. I tossed the body inside and ran away from the twitching corpse, shutting the doors as quickly as I could. We¡¯re good now, right? Nobody will check in there and we can get out of Vehfirn without having to worry about people hunting us, right? ¡°Adam.¡± Vetia was already caught up to me. ¡°What the fuck are you doing out here?¡± ¡°I- I just¡­ I just, uh.¡± I weakly pointed toward the doors. Everything was blank for me. Thoughts, words, feelings. Nothing was right. Vetia walked into the pitch black barn. The animals grunted awake as she shook on the wooden stable doors. ¡°Come on! Get out here!¡± ¡°Vetia, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Go back to the house, Adam.¡± ¡°Vetia, why are you letting those animals out?¡± She stared at me with hollow eyes. ¡°Go back to the house, Adam.¡± I had already begun walking away. I didn¡¯t want any more part in this. Am I in the right? Did she really turn that family into firebloods? If so, was that justified? Even if she was a bad person, why couldn¡¯t we lock her away? Surely there had to be some justice in this world that would have made it right. My feet carried me past the house and out onto the road. The cold snow buffeted my face. I had to face the reality that I was now a killer. I don¡¯t know what to do. I need help, and not from somebody who¡¯s crazy. There¡¯s something wrong with her. Seriously wrong. And I can¡¯t help her. I wasn¡¯t good or strong enough to talk that down. I was scared. A coward. Like I always had been. Even now, I¡¯m running. * * * * * At some point, there was knocking wall next to my cot in the barracks. ¡°Adam!¡± Captain Zev yelled. Everything was still blank. I couldn¡¯t force any emotions forward and trying to think was nigh impossible. Dull morning light from cloud cover loomed in through the window. There was only a light ashfall today. I slowly opened my eyes to Captain Zev¡¯s intense gaze above me. ¡°I understand you¡¯re no longer in service of the manor nor are you obliged to assist us, but I need your help, Adam. The people are angry and fearful. They have no leaders to look up to anymore, which is why I need you by my side when we render judgment. Tarynn does not have enough rapport with the people, but his words may be strengthened with us by his side, even if it is just a show.¡± A fragment, if even any, of the emptiness left me. I met Captain Zev¡¯s determined eyes. He wanted to make this right, whatever it was. ¡°I¡¯ll do what you need, Captain. It¡¯s what I owe.¡± I had never seen a look of pride like his in my life. The reassuring gaze that he was impressed, proud, or just happy that I was living up to his expectations. I didn¡¯t know why I felt it so strongly, but it kept me going just enough. ¡°Then don your armor and come to the arena. You will deliver the blow.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± I numbly dressed and mindlessly crossed the training grounds. For such fresh snow, it was already so gray, muddy, and hard to walk in. The world felt like it was cast into black and gray, devoid of color and reason as the distant tree needles slowly bled dark red. Into the entrance shed, through the tunnel and into the arena pit. People were already gathering in the stands. For such a packed arena, it was completely silent. Not a sound out of anyone apart from the cries of a baby in the crowd. In the center of the arena stood a frame of logs with chains dangling from them. I approached Captain Zev, who held a massive war hammer sparking electricity around its head. ¡°You¡¯re here. Let us begin.¡± Captain Zev lowered the hammer into my hands and stepped away to address the crowd. ¡°People of Vehfirn, of the Amien Quarter. Last night, Viscountess Simira Amien was murdered in her sleep, slain by a secret her family had been keeping. She had told me before that she wanted to prove to the world that even a cursed child could be like us, that she could raise him from his curse.¡± My face fell limp as I listened to him speak. ¡°Today, we exact justice on the beast who slew his own sister, his family, his caretaker who only ever sought the best for him, as she did her people.¡± The gate of the arena rattled and scraped open. My hands grew clammy and the hammer was slipping from my grip. Tells was in the crowd. I just barely spotted her and my heart slowed as I followed her eyes. I could see on her face that she was angry, hurting and depressed, and yet she wasn¡¯t despairing like I was. She was just watching as a covered man was dragged into the arena by several guards. They chained him to the pillory and stepped away. ¡°This despicable criminal is none other than Lady Simira¡¯s younger, cursed brother, who she so generously cared for after the death of the late Viscountess Etanya Amien! For this, he has been judged, and deemed fit for execution by none other than one of Lady Simira¡¯s strongest and most loyal servants. His final blow in this arena will be absolute.¡± The crowd roared and Captain Zev ripped the bag off of the man¡¯s head. ¡°Adam, give Eulin Amien his death.¡± What? My eyes met Eulin¡¯s. The boy from the clinic that could barely even function normally was being executed for killing Lady Simira. He was gagged, but the gag couldn¡¯t fully muffle the screams of the man who had no idea of what was going on¡­ no, I¡¯d seen kids like him before in the classrooms they put me in. He knew, but he couldn¡¯t communicate. He cried and shrieked, shaking violently against the log and chain restraints. They didn¡¯t even bow against his weight as he thrashed around in a panic. All that time, his eyes weren¡¯t even open, he was just panicking to break free. His screams were deliberate, repeated. Muffled, but yelling that same thing he¡¯d walk around and blurt out. Ari. Blood. Red. That phrase I¡¯d heard him use for Vetia while she was patching me up. Captain Zev nodded upon noticing my trembling. ¡°Adam, that hammer will kill him instantly once it impacts his torso. He murdered his sister in cold blood. He deserves this.¡± ¡°Adam, that hammer will kill him instantly once it impacts his torso. He murdered his sister in cold blood. He deserves this.¡± I stood still, dumbfounded in the middle of the arena. What¡¯s even going on? How did I end up here? It can¡¯t be real. In less than a day, I went from murdering a woman in the snow to executing a man in the arena. And yet here I am. My hands were slipping from the hammer and there was an entire crowd of people waiting for me to kill a man in front of them. Has the world gone mad, or am I just delusional? Is this how it¡¯s always been? Have I been in a bubble? Killing the animals has begun to mean nothing to me. That was just as much of killing as taking the life of a woman or a man, and I¡¯ve grown to not feel anything at all from it. No, I¡¯ve grown to feel glory at it. Will I just stop caring about killing people too? Will I start to enjoy it? My heart raced in my ears again and the world muffled to silence. I couldn¡¯t grip the hammer strong enough to hold it and the cold sweat froze to my face. Like through a pool of water, Captain Zev¡¯s voice rang through. ¡°Adam, execute this murderer so Lady Simira may be free in her death.¡± Oh god, everyone is waiting on me. If I don¡¯t do it, they¡¯ll think something is up- know. They¡¯ll know something¡¯s up. Captain Zev will know. We¡¯ll all be killed for killing Fera. I don¡¯t want to think. I just want to be away from all of this shit! My hands did what my heart couldn¡¯t. Thunder clapped and the smell of scorched skin and burning ozone permeated the air around me. In the moment my mind turned off, turned away to run from everything in front of me. 53: graves 53 (Purity Ring- graves) Brenden Drunken dreams usually never came to me, but one did. The same dream I¡¯d been having. The one I couldn¡¯t make sense of. ¡°Yo B!¡± Desmond called out from the door to our bedroom. ¡°Wanna head out? There¡¯s a show or a presentation or something today.¡± My eyes were struggling to focus on anything, or even to stay open at all. The world spun around me with every step while jarring pulses made sure I couldn¡¯t keep a single thought for more than five seconds. ¡°Huh?¡± Desmond took a sip from his flask and handed it to me with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re hungover as fuck, dude. Hydrate.¡± My parched mouth ached for water, so that flask was at my lips and upside down in a second until I reeled forward, coughing and choking. ¡°This is¡­¡± I held my hand in front of my mouth. ¡°This is booze, you dick!¡± I gagged, trying to hold myself back from making yet another mess on the floor. Desmond snickered. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯ll get rid of your hangover.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be drunk all day!¡± ¡°Then drink and ride it out.¡± ¡°Desmond, when was the last time you were sober?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± Desmond looked down at me condescendingly. ¡°We¡¯re rockstars, dude, it don¡¯t matter how much we drink.¡± ¡°Answer the goddamn question.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it.¡± Desmond spun on his heel and sauntered in the direction he came from. ¡°Let¡¯s fucking go, Brenden, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s gonna be starting soon.¡± I sighed. I didn¡¯t need to put him through an intervention. ¡°Sure, whatever. What even is this show? Is it like a play or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just found out about it.¡± ¡°Who told you?¡± ¡°I was just outside listening to random people¡¯s conversations.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early for your shit, Desmond.¡± ¡°Gentlemen! Alex, Eddie!¡± Riviera¡¯s anxious voice called out to us from down the hall as she quickly knuckled toward us. ¡°What¡¯s the word, bird?¡± Desmond threw up finger guns toward Riviera. Riviera grunted and sighed away her disdain, turning to me. ¡°Alex, rather, Brenden, Lord Hallax has requested the two of you immediately attend the Court of Blood.¡± That certainly woke me up. ¡°The Court of Blood? Huh?¡± ¡°The Amien Manor arena. Where combat is displayed for the city.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Desmond said, ¡°we were actually just going to that.¡± I followed his comment. ¡°What exactly are we looking for, Riviera?¡± ¡°Lord Hallax instructed me to instruct you to attend and relay everything you witness to him.¡± I furrowed my brows in thought. The instructions are way too broad. How am I supposed to know what to look for? I shot an idea to Desmond. ¡°Can we go find out what we need to, uh, find out?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Yeah, we should hit the big man up before we go.¡± Riviera chittered to herself and mozied past us. ¡°Do as you wish.¡± She nodded to me and continued down the hall. We turned the corner and approached the middle of Hallax Hall, to the throne room. ¡°Damn, what¡¯s her problem today?¡± Desmond was thinking out loud. ¡°She¡¯s usually pretty nice.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she liked when you called her a bird.¡± ¡°Jesus, nobody here can take a joke.¡± The grand doors to Hallax¡¯s throne room were already open and the giant man of gold sat angrily, rapidly tapping his fingers as he berated Dex. Dex was shaking on his knees at the bottom of the steps in a saluting position. ¡°Lord Hallax, I¡­ Fera escaped my sight during the storm last night as she was leaving Good Moaning.¡± ¡°You worthless inbred!¡± Lord Hallax spat with every venomous syllable, slamming his fist into the chair arm. ¡°I order that you watch my daughter so she does not fly, and that is somehow too difficult for everyone! Everyone in my hall is somehow too inept to complete the most basic of tasks! Dex, take Zerick with you to find my daughter. If you two cannot find my daughter, nay, for your negligible worth, I¡¯ll say a sliver of information on the whereabouts of my daughter. Should you return empty handed, I will have your head.¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax.¡± Dex was shaken as he hurried out of the room, not even glancing at us. ¡°What are you two doing here?! Could Riviera not waddle fast enough to catch you?!¡± Hallax¡¯s voice boomed through the metal echo chamber of a throne room. I saluted Lord Hallax. ¡°Lord Hallax, we simply wish to know what we are supposed to look for when we get to the arena.¡± Hallax took a deep breath through clenched teeth before continuing in a sinister growl. ¡°Anything about my daughter. And I suppose while you are there, find Tarynn and tell him I request his presence in my hall immediately.¡± Hallax was minding his anger, trying to repress it and keep composure, but the veins in his head bulged as every breath rumbled through him. Desmond¡¯s cocky ass piped up finally. ¡°Uh, Lord Hallax, what¡¯s-¡± ¡°Lower your eyes, boy, or I will gouge them with my thumbs.¡± Hallax¡¯s quiet rage silenced Desmond like I¡¯d never seen anyone except his father do. ¡°Lord Hallax,¡± Desmond said more meekly, ¡°what do you want us to say to Tarynn? What¡¯s the point of seeing him?¡± ¡°His role is keeping my daughter away from Diona. That is what I want, that¡¯s all he is good for. If he does not retain his nobility, then there is nothing preventing Fera from defecting to Diona, and we will no longer be able to oust her business! Now, go make sure that doesn¡¯t happen!¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Hallax,¡± I said. Desmond and I shared a glance of worry and took off for the arena. The seats were almost full when we arrived. We found a spot near the back, high up on those wooden benches where everyone was trying to yell over each other, getting lost in the cacophony of gossip and speculation. In the center of the arena was a small stage with a wooden frame constructed on it. ¡°What do you think that is,¡± I asked Desmond and tapped his shoulder, pointing to the structure. ¡°I dunno. But isn¡¯t that the blue guy from the wagon? Simira¡¯s buddy?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I guess so. It¡¯s hard to see from back here.¡± ¡°Not a problem for me. My eyes are aweso- Oh shit! There¡¯s Tells!¡± ¡°Really? Where?¡± He pointed to the other side of the arena, directly under the noble seating. ¡°Right down there. She looks fuckin¡¯ pissed right now. She¡¯s not chained to Simira either.¡± ¡°Can you find Vetia or Adam?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not seeing either of them, but look at what the blue guy¡¯s got. That¡¯s a gnarly lookin¡¯ hammer right¡­ hold the phone that thing is, like, electric! That¡¯s badass!¡± ¡°Electric? Like it¡¯s got lightning in it or something?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to know?¡± ¡°Yeah I guess.¡± We both paused, gazing around the arena for anything else to talk about. The crowd suddenly hushed to silence as the blue guy raised the hammer and a massive figure stepped out into the grounds. I whispered to Desmond. ¡°Oh shit, there¡¯s Adam! Woah, is that his armor?!¡± Desmond whispered back. ¡°Wait did he¡­ no shot he did. No way. That armor is sick! And that sword!¡± The blue guy started his speech. ¡°People of Vehfirn, of the Amien Quarter. Last night, Viscountess Simira Amien was murdered in her sleep, slain by a secret her family had been keeping. She had told me before that she wanted to prove to the world that even a cursed child could be like us, that she could raise him from his curse¡­¡± I whispered to Desmond, ¡°Simira¡¯s fucking dead? Oh the plan¡¯s probably fucked. Wait, is this¡­?¡± Desmond was beaming. ¡°Yoooooo! An execution?! I¡¯ve always wanted to see one in person!¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not sure I wanna stick around for this,¡± I put a hand on Desmond¡¯s shoulder to get him to look at me, but he was enraptured with the display. ¡°Bro, are you serious right now? It¡¯s just a little death, what¡¯s there to be scared of?¡± ¡°A little death? No normal person wants to see people dying, Desmond! That¡¯s not a normal thing to like!¡± ¡°I¡¯m plenty normal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty fuckin¡¯ far from normal and you¡¯re a raging alcoholic.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯d say I¡¯m a functioning alcoholic.¡± He waved my statement off. ¡°Wait, did he just give Adam that hammer?¡± Desmond¡¯s eyes opened wide with shock as he looked down into the arena. Our eyes followed the guards dragging a man toward the wooden frame. ¡°Brenden, I don¡¯t think that thing is a set piece.¡± ¡°No, no, no, are they gonna make Adam kill that guy?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s exactly what¡¯s going on.¡± Even for how apathetic and desensitized Desmond could be, he was worried. ¡°I don¡¯t know if Adam¡¯s got the nuts to kill a guy, though.¡± For how much I was horrified of seeing what would happen next, my eyes were glued to the scene. Adam raised the hammer back and slammed it into the center of the screaming man¡¯s chest. A crack of thunder silenced the arena. Adam leaned on the hammer, absolutely haunted. I swallowed and opened my mouth to say something to Desmond, but all of my attention was still on the center of the arena and the limp corpse dangling by chains. ¡°Brenden,¡± Desmond said nervously, ¡°Tarynn¡¯s coming out.¡± A shadow passed over the snow, which was only just glistening in the sunlight. Clouds darkened everything in sight. The blue guy started. ¡°In lieu of the late Viscountess Simira, Lord Tarynn will be succeeding the Amien estate as the sole heir to the name. It is with great honor that I present him to declare his first decree before all of you.¡± Blue guy stepped aside as Tarynn raised his head and solemnly gazed across the entire arena. He stared sorrowfully at the man suspended by chains before addressing us. The blue guy dropped his head in shame as Tarynn stepped forward, as if he knew of what Tarynn would say. ¡°Andris, do not call me a lord. I am no longer a lord, and you are no longer a captain. I am not a leader, nor a ruler. I was never fit to lord over this land, nor was it mine to lord over. As the final standing Viscount of the Amien name, I return the Amien Quarter to the Count for reallocation.¡± Gasps and whispers shot around the crowd and everyone began turning to their neighbors to gossip and fret. ¡°The manor and all its grounds are to be returned to the yeffen of the Zeltem Order, the rightful denizens of that land. Nothing will change for any of you, the people of Vehfirn, except for some new faces. The yeffen are good people and although their lifestyle differs from ours, they are eager to enrich this city. I will be leaving Vehfirn in a week''s time with Andris. We will be leading a caravan westward to aid Triali war efforts. Any guards, servants, or subjects are welcome to accompany us.¡± Tarynn paused awkwardly like he didn¡¯t know how to end it, but Andris jumped in, speaking like he was devoid of all purpose. ¡°Tarynn and I will be awaiting any new recruits starting now, please join us down here if you would like to serve alongside us. As for the rest of you spectators, this concludes the morning, and the Amien reign.¡± Desmond nodded with a sneer. ¡°Talk about going out with a whimper.¡± He shot back from his flask. People sparsely stood up to leave before finally crowding to the exits. Several guards jumped into the arena to join Tarynn and Andris, so I made my way down the steps. ¡°Brenden, what are you doing? You¡¯re not going to join the military, are you?¡± Desmond reached out and grabbed my arm. I stopped in my tracks, not even looking at Desmond. ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± I walked down the steps toward the side of the arena and hopped up onto the edge. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Wait, Brenden! Why?! What about the plans?!¡± Desmond was stumbling down drunk until he crashed into me, almost knocking both of us over the wall. ¡°Brenden, think about this for a second!¡± I finally turned around and looked into his frantic, confused expression. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to Adam and Tarynn, dipshit.¡± ¡°Oh, uh, alright.¡± Desmond glanced over the edge and reeled back. ¡°I¡¯ll find another way down.¡± I hopped down and slowly approached Adam, who was still as a stone. ¡°Hey, dude. What¡¯s up?¡± I walked around to his front and waved my hand in front of his face. ¡°You doing alright?¡± Adam¡¯s hollow eyes were staring a thousand yards through the ground. His mouth started to open, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Adam, what¡¯s going on?¡± I ducked into his line of sight and looked up at him. ¡°Oh. Brenden. I¡­ it¡¯s you. Are we going now?¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna try to leave today, yeah.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Silence. Here he stood before me, this man, my friend who was like a brother to me, broken. The hammer fell out of his hand and clanged on the ground as Adam slowly dragged his feet toward the gate. I followed him until we were out of sight of the crowd. ¡°Adam, are you okay? That¡¯s a stupid question. I know you¡¯re not, but¡­¡± He turned his head and looked at me without a word. Adam flopped down onto the ground and leaned against the stone wall. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to do that. You don¡¯t deserve this.¡± I sat next to him and crossed my arms around my knees. ¡°He didn¡¯t do it, Brenden.¡± Adam whispered shakily and stared into the dirt. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Eulin is innocent.¡± ¡°Is that-¡± Several men wheeled the frame suspending Eulin¡¯s corpse past us, the odor of burnt flesh searing into my nose. ¡°Adam, no, you¡¯ve gotta be overthinking things. They wouldn¡¯t just¡­ do that. They wouldn¡¯t just kill somebody like that.¡± ¡°They would. They did. I did.¡± ¡°Even if they did, this isn¡¯t your fault. You were just following orders. I was watching. I saw it all.¡± ¡°Brenden?¡± ¡°Mhm?¡± ¡°Would you sell out your friend to save an innocent man, even if your friend was justified?¡± ¡°What¡­ what kind of question is that? Adam, what¡¯s going on?¡± He fell silent for a moment. ¡°We leaving soon?¡± I paused. I couldn¡¯t imagine what was going on in his head, but I wanted to be there for him however he needed. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll meet up at Hallax Hall, that¡¯s where the wagon is. You wanna grab Tells and Vetia and head over there? You think you can do that?¡± ¡°Sure. Vetia isn¡¯t here, though.¡± ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± ¡°She faked her death to get out. She¡¯s staying with a guy on the road we came into town on. Montak. In a farmhouse with a four-pointed star above the door.¡± ¡°Alright. Desmond and I will go get her. If we¡¯re not back by the time you get to Hallax¡¯s, Tell Miriel that you¡¯re our friend. She¡¯s a nyadin, like me. She¡¯s got some friends we¡¯ll be traveling with. They¡¯re expecting you.¡± I stood up and leaned over Adam, warmly resting my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Adam, look at me. We¡¯re gonna get through this together. Don¡¯t do anything til you¡¯ve talked with us about it, though. We¡¯re here for you. Let¡¯s just get out of here first, okay?¡± I stepped back, only for Adam to grab my arm as I was pulling it away. ¡°Watch out for¡­¡± He paused, his mouth hanging, shaking his head for a moment. ¡°Rowan, Vetia, whoever¡­ is all fucked in the head. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s our friend.¡± What the fuck happened here? What happened to them? Without another word, Adam rose and trudged away. I couldn¡¯t help him. He needed time and space to think. But I¡¯d be there with him, ready whenever he would be. ¡°Where¡¯d Adam go?!¡± Desmond yelled down the tunnel after a few minutes had passed. ¡°Getting Tells. Let¡¯s talk to Tarynn real quick and then go get Vetia.¡± ¡°Hell yeah, brother.¡± The small crowd around Tarynn and Andris had dispersed. Both of them watched us approach solemnly. Desmond yelled to them. ¡°It¡¯s good, fellas, we¡¯re just here to chat.¡± Andris stepped in front of Tarynn. ¡°You¡¯re Adam¡¯s friends.¡± ¡°In the flesh,¡± Desmond gave a toothy smile. ¡°So you have come to collect him, then?¡± I entered the conversation. ¡°I already talked to him. He¡¯s getting Tells.¡± Desmond tilted his head in confusion. ¡°What about Vetia? You talk to her yet?¡± Andris looked away like he didn¡¯t want to talk, so Tarynn stepped up next to him. ¡°She¡¯s dead. I¡¯m sorry, Brenden, Desmond, but my sister¡¯s abuse was too much for her. She¡­ she cut her own heart out.¡± Desmond¡¯s eyes went wide as Andris snapped his head toward Tarynn. ¡°Tarynn, don¡¯t speak ill of your sister like that! We all know it was your father who¡¯s at fault, and he is dead for it!¡± Desmond finally caught up with what was going on, bewilderment gripping him. ¡°So what, you just let her die?! You didn¡¯t try to do shit about it?! She¡¯s actually dead?!¡± ¡°She is dead. But I¡¯m making up for it now.¡± Desmond stomped forward. ¡°You motherfucker! Making up for it?! Making up for what?!¡± He clutched Tarynn¡¯s collar and screamed into his face. ¡°What the fuck are you making up for?!¡± Tarynn¡¯s eyes broke into tears. ¡°I was too scared to speak and she killed herself in front of me.¡± I hadn¡¯t seen Desmond look like such a rabid animal before. He pulled his fist back and slammed Tarynn¡¯s nose, then his cheek. ¡°Pussy-ass bitch!¡± Tarynn recoiled as I rushed forward and put myself between them, pushing Desmond back while Andris stood between them, not exactly caring about what happened to Tarynn. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m unfit to rule and to love. So I¡¯m giving it all up and doing what I do best. I¡¯m running. I am whole-heartedly sorry for your loss. I wish I could make it up to you, but I can¡¯t. The one thing I can do now is be better.¡± Desmond grimaced at him. ¡°You¡¯re fuckin¡¯ pathetic. I ever see you again, Imma rip your asshole out through your mouth.¡± He turned around, stomped, the dirt, and threw his flask on the ground. ¡°FUCK!¡± I pushed Desmond back. Even though I knew she was alive, it probably wasn¡¯t safe to break it here if she did fake her death. ¡°Desmond, can you just go wait at the wagon? I¡¯ll finish up here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ tell me what to do.¡± He went off to the wagon. I waited for Desmond to be out of earshot before I started talking to Tarynn again. ¡°Listen, I know it wasn¡¯t your fault, Tarynn. Desmond is just¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. Andris nodded over toward him. ¡°You ought to control his drinking. A man is only as strong as his discipline.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I sighed. ¡°Tarynn, I know you aren¡¯t obligated to tell us, but if you don¡¯t Hallax is going to forcefully summon you. He wants to know where Fera is.¡± Tarynn shook his head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. She only sees me when she has nothing else to do. I never know where she goes or what she does. Last I heard, she was still with Madam Diona.¡± ¡°Okay. She didn¡¯t say anything else?¡± ¡°She talks, but it¡¯s nothing worth listening to.¡± Andris nodded silently. I nodded, not really sure how any of this was helpful. Tarynn raised a finger in thought. ¡°I do remember, she said Madam Diona was leaving the city soon.¡± I sighed. ¡°Shit. Okay.¡± Andris became impatient. ¡°Is that all you require?¡± ¡°Yeah. Thank you, both of you.¡± ¡°No need to thank us,¡± Tarynn said, ¡°I owe this to you.¡± I bit the inside of my cheek as I gazed over Tarynn¡¯s face. For how properly he was dressed and trimmed, his eyes had heavy bags, he was terribly pale, and his face never broke its melancholy. ¡°I didn¡¯t get to say this before, Tarynn, but thank you for being with Vetia back in that village, when we couldn¡¯t be there. She needed you then.¡± ¡°I needed her then, too. But I shouldn¡¯t have acted so immature like I did.¡± ¡°You needed each other there and then, and that¡¯s what matters. So, thanks, for being there for her.¡± Tarynn¡¯s dewy eyes softened and he finally smiled. ¡°Thank you for your words, Brenden.¡± ¡°Take care, Tarynn. You too, Andris. I hope we cross paths again.¡± ¡°As do I.¡± ¡°Be well,¡± Andris nodded. I met Desmond at the wagon. He was sulking in the back, uncorking a bottle to fill his flask with. ¡°Man,¡± Desmond said, ¡°fuck this place.¡± I stepped over the wooden crates and grabbed a nearly-empty bottle from his hand. ¡°What the fuck, Brenden?!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not dead, Desmond. She faked her death.¡± Desmond dropped his flask. ¡°What?¡± ¡°She faked her death to get out of the Godforsaken place. Tarynn and Andris don¡¯t know, so I couldn¡¯t tell you back there. So stop fuckin¡¯ drinking.¡± ¡°You deadass?¡± ¡°Straight as a shot. Adam was apparently in on it. He told me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a weirdly fucked up thing to do.¡± ¡°I know. Desmond, I need you to go tell Hallax something so I can get Vetia and we can skedaddle.¡± ¡°Yeah, what?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not too drunk to remember this, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. No, yeah, bro, I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ great.¡± He was not great, but I really didn¡¯t have any other choice. We were in a time crunch. ¡°Okay. Tell him about what they said about giving up the manor and shit, then tell him that Tarynn doesn¡¯t know where Fera is, but he said Diona¡¯s leaving the city.¡± Desmond nodded and then thought for a moment. ¡°Is Diona leaving ¡®cause of Ol¡¯ Ricky?¡± ¡°Oh my God, Miriel told Diona about Richard so she could leave and she wouldn¡¯t lead him back to us. Do you think she¡¯s taking Fera so there¡¯s no trail?¡± ¡°Shit, fuck, shit, you might be right! Brenden, get out. I gotta fuckin¡¯ hurry then.¡± ¡°Desmond, go to Hallax! I got Vetia.¡± Desmond hopped up front and I faintly heard the sound of the ¡°Freebird¡± solo playing from his pocket. He smiled and swigged his flask. ¡°Beautiful mornin¡¯ for boozin¡¯ and cruisin¡¯.¡± He whipped the reins and sped off toward Hallax Hall. As for me, I speed-walked across the quarter to the road we came in from. The city caked with heavy gray snow was nothing like when we arrived. Even for being impoverished, the city still felt alive. Now, wherever I went, it was desolate. Guards were out in droves and the few people that were out, they hurried around with their heads beneath veils. The evergreen needle trees had turned a deep red and a little orange, but they weren¡¯t falling. A small wooden house and the four-pointed star above the door sat surrounded by blankets of dusty snow. Snowed-over prints riddled the expansive yard. I couldn¡¯t help the bleak feeling washing over me as I approached and knocked on the front door. The door didn¡¯t open, but I heard a voice. ¡°Declare yaself!¡± ¡°Um, my name is Brenden. I¡¯m looking for my friend.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?!¡± ¡°A woman named Vetia.¡± The door slowly creaked open and a man with short disheveled blond hair and kind brown eyes stood on the other side. He looked like a mess. His sepia shirt was torn and bloody with a massive slash across the front. He gestured with a shortsword for me to enter. I slowly walked in and halted next to the door while he stood across the table, between me and a smaller figure in a cot behind him. ¡°Why¡¯re you lookin¡¯ around for Vetia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m her friend. I¡¯m here to get her so we can leave the city.¡± ¡°Nyadin, Brenden¡­ she told us everything about you and your lot earlier. Said you¡¯d probably come lookin¡¯.¡± ¡°You make it sound like she left.¡± ¡°She did. She saved me and Lotti¡¯s life and left.¡± ¡°Where did she go?¡± ¡°Said she was paying a visit to Madam Diona.¡± I sighed heavily. ¡°Nothing but a wild goose chase today. Alright, thank you, Montak." Once again, I was out and hurrying back to the city. The cold wind slashed at my face and the snow clutched my boots with every step, but what stopped me in my tracks were the plumes of smoke rising from the city, from somewhere in the Hallax Quarter. Fuck! Another thing! I picked up my already racing pace, speeding through the slums, into the Hallax Quarter, and to the roaring fire spreading from Good Moaning. ¡°Brenden!¡± Zerick yelled out to me from across the road. He stood with Dex, who was yelling about something. I ran to him and caught my breath, panting while he spoke. ¡°Brenden, did you see Desmond? He ran off! We can¡¯t find him!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. Did you find Fera?¡± Dex looked down in shame while Zerick responded. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking all day. Caught Desmond on the way into the Hall. Hallax was enraged, so we came back to looking here. The whole place was empty, and a fire broke out on the third floor. No Fera, anywhere.¡± ¡°And Desmond¡¯s gone?!¡± ¡°He just up and took off.¡± ¡°And the fire?¡± Dex finally looked up. ¡°The fire suppressors are already here.¡± Guards surrounded the building, laying massive stones with sigils at every corner. As the sigils activated, frost crystals slowly created a sheen of glitter over the brass exterior and the flames started dying almost immediately, too cold for anything to burn. ¡°We don¡¯t know the cause of the fire, but there was a guy in red armor flying away when it began.¡± My blood went cold. ¡°Red wings? Long red hair?¡± Dex nodded. ¡°Exactly that.¡± ¡°Dex, Zerick, that¡¯s Richard. We gotta go now!¡± Zerick stopped me with a hand on my chest. ¡°What about Desmond?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll find his way back.¡± We rushed to Hallax Hall, only to find Hallax up and pacing around his throne room. The servants and guards were all avoiding him as he stomped and whispered damning things. Zerick and Dex ran forward while I stayed by the entrance. ¡°Lord Hallax!¡± Zerick yelled out to him. ¡°Richard was spotted at Good Moaning and the building is burning! Fera is nowhere to be found.¡± Hallax stopped in his tracks. His face cruelly contorted at what he heard. His words were calculated and seething. ¡°Say again in more detail.¡± Zerick stepped forward and kneeled. ¡°After leaving with Desmond, we investigated Good Moaning. The entire building was empty and a fire had started on the third floor, so we were forced to retreat. Both Madam Diona and Fera were nowhere to be seen, but we witnessed Richard of the Elysian Halo flying away from the building as the fire started.¡± Hallax stepped up to Zerick, towering over the young man and staring disgustedly at him. ¡°Where is my daughter, Zerick, Dex?¡± Zerick and Dex both exchanged a look before Dex spoke. ¡°She has presumably flown with Madam Diona.¡± Hallax took a deep breath in. He shook with rage, but retained his cold composure. His vengeful eyes returned to Dex. ¡°Dex, tell me, whose responsibility was it to keep watch over my daughter?¡± ¡°Mine, my lord.¡± Dex¡¯s voice quivered. ¡°So then whose head does this blame fall upon, for not watching my daughter well enough?¡± ¡°Mine, my lord.¡± Miriel¡¯s hand gently touched my elbow as she, Al¡¯Li and Hestrel stepped next to me at the entrance to the throne room. ¡°My daughter is unbound by the arrangement with unlorded Tarynn, she has gone unseen for a day, and the one person who would use her has disappeared.¡± Hallax violently grasped Dex¡¯s jaw and pulled him to meet his furious eyes. He gritted his teeth in rage as he whispered seething words at Dex. ¡°Dex, you do not have a son or a daughter. You do not know the pain of losing your heir, the child you raised from a baby to an adult and watched every moment with love. Can you fathom the pain I feel in knowing I will never see my daughter again because the person I hate most in this world has taken her? Can you?¡± Hallax¡¯s composure finally broke and he screamed out in pure wrath and anguish. ¡°CAN YOU?!¡± Dex forced out what he could as Hallax grasped his cheeks. He shook at every word so much it was almost impossible to understand him. ¡°No, my lord.¡± Zerick spoke up, racing through his words to catch Lord Hallax¡¯s attention. ¡°Lord Hallax, we will go out again. We will search as long as it takes! If the building has just burned down, she has to be in the city still! We can find her! We will find her!¡± Lord Hallax returned to his enraged composure and sneered down at Zerick. He let go of Dex and stepped in front of Zerick. ¡°Dex, you have searched with Zerick all this time, yes?¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± ¡°And Zerick, you would go out of your way to search for my daughter, just for Dex?¡± ¡°Absolutely, my lord. Dex is my best friend. I would never abandon him to search alone if it meant protecting him.¡± ¡°And Dex, you would do the same?¡± ¡°Of course, my lord. I would do anything for Zee.¡± Hallax took a deep breath and looked up. ¡°One of you two must suffer for the loss of my daughter. Who will it be?¡± Almost immediately, they both responded, ¡°Me, my lord.¡± A long pause came over the room as everyone watched, waiting for Hallax¡¯s decision. ¡°No, no.¡± Hallax eyed them coldly. ¡°Only Dex will suffer.¡± Lord Hallax¡¯s hand shot down to Zerick¡¯s head. Before any of us could blink, a series of wet snaps rang out and Zerick¡¯s head was facing us blankly, then fell right off, completely severed. ¡°Zerick!¡± Miriel shouted and took a step forward. Hallax yelled out, ¡°Do not take a step forward, Miriel, or Brenden¡¯s head will follow!¡± ¡°Zee¡­ Zee¡­¡± Dex was in shock staring at Zerick¡¯s collapsing body. ¡°Dex,¡± Hallax continued, ¡°you will live the rest of your days with just a shred of the pain I feel having lost my daughter. Now leave my Hall before I extend this lesson to your friends in my doorway.¡± Dex grabbed Zerick¡¯s body and began dragging it toward us in a panic. ¡°Leave it!¡± Hallax¡¯s booming voice stopped him dead in his tracks. Dex stared down at Zerick¡¯s body and let go in a mess of tears. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Zee.¡± Hestrel and I pulled Dex along as we hurried out of Hallax Hall. ¡°Guards, take this sooty eyesore and parade his head in front of the rubble. Let any potential dissenters know what becomes of arsonists in my city.¡± 54: Never Learn 54 (Seven Lions, Mija- Never Learn Vetia Every dull creak of the house sent panic rushing through me as I sat motionless in the firelight. All of this happened because of me. I brought death into Montak¡¯s home. Montak and Lotti laid silently, asleep in their beds recovering. As much as I could fix their bodies and restore some blood, I was still beyond fatigued from it. I just had to hope the healing would be enough for them to recover. I couldn¡¯t live with myself otherwise. Seeing them alive was all I needed. If they were alive, I still had a chance to end all of this right. And so I silently sat beside them, wiping the blood from their bodies. Tears were still streaming down my expressionless face. I didn¡¯t know what was causing my tears more; the fear that they may not wake up, or the distant sensation of Fera being slowly eaten alive by farns. I thought I¡¯d finished her off, but she was alive for a long time. I didn¡¯t feel anything for her. She earned everything she¡¯d gotten. Everything hurt so bad. My head felt like it was going to burst from how much jzanmah I had used fixing Lotti and Montak, but if I went out to the barn to drink farn blood, I¡¯d be right next to Fera. I couldn¡¯t endure the sensation of dying so close to me again. No matter how much I wanted to end the torment, I couldn¡¯t bring myself close enough to experience her emotions so directly. The snowstorm raged all night after Adam disappeared. My fight wasn¡¯t over. I still had to ensure Montak and Lotti wouldn¡¯t be caught in any more crossfire. Diona wanted me to go back to being dead, and Fera fucked it up. If Fera didn¡¯t come back, she was sure to send somebody else to clean up the mess, to this house. I sat still all night, glaring at the door and spinning Fera¡¯s dagger in my hands. Once morning came, I raised the dagger to my head and began shaving off my hair. Gone with the gold and glamor of Diona¡¯s whorehouse. A perk of being a fireblood was that regrowing hair was quick and didn''t take much out of me. But still, I could only grow it to my neck before that fireblood peckishness returned. ¡°She¡¯s the last one. Diona. If we cannot kill her, she will kill us. She will learn of Fera¡¯s death. We need to go now, kill her before she knows Fera is dead and we are her enemy.¡± ¡°She already knows I¡¯m her enemy. And I¡¯m not abandoning these two until I know they¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°We are not abandoning them. We are ensuring they will be safe from Diona.¡± ¡°Fera only got them because I was out killing Simira. Fuck me, I don¡¯t even remember what happened after I killed her. I just came back to my senses and I was next to Adam with all the money. What the fuck happened?! Why can¡¯t I remember?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to remember. I took care of us. I always prioritize our life. You don''t need to worry.¡± I just needed a break, something to take my mind off of it. My hands jittered and searched through my bag, settling on a leatherbound book. Simira¡¯s journal. Maybe there¡¯d be some information about what was going on with that plan. I flipped open the first page: I do not give this record of my enemy to you out of kindness, but necessity for the preservation of my species. There is an ideological invasion of our people to reduce every man, woman, and child to livestock. Existential erasure of all we are. There is no plot, no grand scheme. Only a timeless teacher and generations of students carrying out her lessons in the positions which rule us. I know I cannot undo what has been in play for eons, but I also cannot simply do nothing. This is a burden, a war that may span countless generations if it ever ends at all. Should you wish to live your life free of this knowledge, I do not blame you. Close this journal now and never open it again. Give it to someone who can carry this burden and free us from her whispers. I still yearn for my own innocence. But in seeking truth, in seeking wisdom, we must abandon innocence. She is the perversion of truth, wisdom, and innocence. She is the annihilation of hope. We must first understand that hope does not exist in the mind of true evil. Evil operates on logic. A logic that can only be learned over the course of eons. She believes herself to be a goddess, a being greater than any mortal who ever lived. Going to war against her is futile, but we have no more options. If you read further, she will plague your mind unless you submit or end her. Until then, you will never be truly free. I turned the page. She is Fehle. A name that can only be properly spoken in a whisper. A name whose utterance is a curse upon the speaker. A word intended to destroy the meaning of all words. Timeless and ever-present. Eternal release from mortal struggle. Pleasure in concept, but oblivion in truth. She is everywhere. She preys on us because she knows our natures better than we can ever hope to, for she has studied us over countless generations, waging war against all of mortal creation, with only one known loss. I know this for a fact. She told me everything. I was her protege, her record keeper. Though her current alias is Diona, she has raised me to be both her upending and her successor, but she does not know the depth of my cunning. She does not know that I am always searching for people to join me in opposing her. She does not know the sacrifices I have made to eliminate all facets of pleasure from my life to strengthen myself for when she finally converts me. I will use everything she taught me and she will take my life once I have shown my intentions. I will fail. I cannot be saved. I will become the enemy of all I sought to save, and I only have until I lose sight of my humanity as a fireblood. Her gaze extends endlessly in my domain. Into my very mind. She knows everything I can and will do because I am only one in a line of opposition whose plans she has erased from history. My only hope to win is for you to preserve this profane knowledge in the full light of the sun. But she and her followers are prepared for you, so you must act in the shadows, as she once did before making her glorious ascent to snuff the light. She cannot know you are her opposition, else you will have lost as I did. You must fully understand her doctrine to ensure her ruin. Twas the day I pledged myself heiress to the Viscount. I was twelve winters old. She instructed me through sonic records in a voice which I¡¯d never before heard. This was her first lesson, her introduction to her heinous mastery of subjugation. The more I gradually learned, the less human I felt. Knowing how to manipulate and deceive with such ease taints the soul with true dread unknowable to those untouched. Her curse is knowing she exists. Her knowledge is a product of us. In a way, we created her to be our undoing. For that, by that, we will never be free of her, even if she is defeated. ¡°It''s incredible what giving will do for you. I awoke on the ashen continent, long before today¡¯s idea of civilization was established, long before the land was ashen. The lonsu were dominant in the south, where I arose. I despise those things, but they are not all that distant from the jorlad, actually. Back then, there was little separating them from jorlad save for the scales. Their half breeds could still bear children, and they intermingled quite often. My first kill was when I initially woke as a fireblood, when a group of lonsu men were burying me. I rose from my shallow grave, borne of pure bloodlust. I slaughtered the three of them, reveling in the power granted by my monstrous adaptations. There is something so divine¡­ so purely animalistic in consuming the soul of another creature. As if every taken life is a glimpse of godhood where my own lost soul is the prize. That desire clutched my mind from the start. I know I once experienced emotions alongside other creatures, but I lost those with my previous life. Regretfully, I did not chronicle my life before. Those memories were too distant, but I made notes shortly after becoming a fireblood. And some things, no matter how damaged I was, never left. Apparently, I ran a rookery. I was like a mother to those birds, and they loved me. Though I never found my home to return to my flock. I presume they fled when the defending men were all slaughtered like animals, when I and the countless other innocent women from my home were brutalized, dragged away, and restrained atop a stone temple while the people cheered and prayed. I was the first woman to be sacrificed. In their ceremonious ways, all 144 of the priests raped me, then I was scalped and skinned alive, finally I was forcefed sap and milk, which they then doused me in so I was eaten alive by pests while they preserved me using jzanmah, all in a dear attempt to appease their wrathful weather god. It¡¯s harrowing, how time becomes so horrifyingly extended while wriggling creatures consume your flesh as if you¡¯re a living corpse, lying in a pool of your own feces and blood, which in turn spawns the filthiest of creatures to feed upon you. It was as if I had a glimpse of this brutal eternity before I took eternity for myself. But a rookery¡­ it¡¯s quite fitting for where I am now, isn¡¯t it? I cannot explain how to subjugate a species as intelligent as yours without creating a foundation for understanding the psychology and behavior of simpler animals, because that is ultimately the goal. I¡¯ve reduced countless species, even to the point of them all killing themselves out of despair. There is much trial and error, but failure compounds into eventual success. I will begin my lessons with an early test group. The vyt. Named for the sounds they make when they bite and burrow into flesh, ravenous little things that evolved to reduce entire animals to bone in minutes if there were enough of them. But they didn¡¯t do it until I conditioned them to. They died out simply because they had nothing left to consume. However their effects on the landscape, the creatures, the environment itself, are all still present. It began in a drought. I wandered a dry desert in the far east of that continent. Blisteringly cold nights and excruciatingly hot days. I¡¯d heard rumors of a village around an oasis. An isolated place, perfect to decimate. But during my travels, these annoying insects would cling to me, feeding on my blood. I didn¡¯t care, because as a fireblood, I regenerated and my body naturally consumed those which crawled in my orifices or tried burrowing into me. They only drank blood back then, but I realized I could use them to my benefit when they began nesting on me, feeding on my blood regularly. I gave them heat and plenty of corpses which they laid their eggs in. I kept them as pets, which grew to a swarm over the years and protected me as a kind of god. I simply walked to the outskirts of houses and villages. I would lurk outside and wait while my swarm infested the town, infecting their blood with diseases so I was free to walk in, feed, and then more of my pets would spawn from the corpses. It changed my entire ability to feed. No longer did I need to hunt. It¡¯s difficult, as a fireblood. Our prey must be alive for us to gain sustenance, and I was not lucky enough to mutate poison. But now, I only needed to approach the crying, begging, deathly ill and consume them. My swarm grew so aggressive that the lonsu fled to the mountains where it was too cold, too high for the swarm to exist. Then after a dodecade, when the vyt evolved to survive the cold, the lonsu fled the continent for good. Rippling changes shot through nature as a result of my creation. Everything became bigger, more dangerous, more hungry, all because the little things were consumed by my swarm. All I did was give the vyt what they wanted. They wanted blood. They wanted a home. They wanted a place to breed. And I could give them that. The most aggressive ones began dominating the swarm, growing more and more destructive with every generation as they outperformed the more tactile ones. I was evolving them to ravenously kill and reproduce for me and I loved it. Unfortunately, being unthinking creatures, they grew too aggressive and began attempting to consume me. I swam to a colder climate, where they all drowned, froze, or fled. I was quite furious at the time, losing such a valuable asset, but in the end, the difficulty of finding more animals to reign over proved to be more valuable. Again, failure is compounding. Never forget that. I gave them what they wanted, so they evolved to consume more. Unthinking, unparalleled consumption. It''s how any species can be subjugated, and they will love every moment of it. Jorlad are no different, but they must first be reduced in mind before they can be reduced in instinct. They¡¯re quite easy to condition into abandoning that mind of theirs, that one defining trait that made them so great- just so long as you have the resources. I hate your species with every part of my being, but I can¡¯t help finding you all so pitifully adorable. You claim to be wise and knowing animals, but you have never evolved beyond those same things that defiled me. Who still defile each other for their own selfish pleasure and worship those who do. I see it every day in everything you animals do. I vowed that I would never let jorlad, or any species move beyond their base instincts, that I would reduce them to less than that. And I achieved it. Once. Freedom from conflict. Freedom from struggle. Freedom from suffering. Freedom from thought. Unthinking jorlad whose only purpose was servitude, reproducing, food, and their little toys to keep them distracted. They slaughtered the jinian for me, pushed those devout protectors of Rhial into proper submission. That was all the proof I needed to know I can do it again. But only a being with truly vast perception can plan and execute such a ruse¡­ unless I made a doctrine for the generations of slimy, disloyal, selfish jorlad to worship in my favor, even if somebody finds a way to kill me. Now, I know you will ask why I wish to reduce you things, so I will answer with a question: Why would the people cheer, pray, and cry in a frenzied ecstasy while watching the atrocities I died to if they do not crave such things intrinsically? They still cheer and worship bloodlust, even in this apparent age of wisdom! You, as a jorlad, are closer to wisdom than most others, with the potential to reach my understanding, but even you will fall to your base instincts when tempted and nudged. So long as you are jorlad, falling is a guarantee, which I learned to endlessly exploit. Does a species so disgusting truly deserve a place in this world? You may also wonder why I do not kill the jorlad. Quite simply, it is because I want the mau to despair at the complete destruction of their efforts in this world. Decimation of their entire ideology before their eyes. This world, your species, all species are disgusting and deserve to be erased to make way for true perfected animals. Soulless beasts of consumption who will take every last thing from this world until it is dust and stone. Until he has nothing left to protect and finally despairs to death. Then I will watch a new world spawn from that end. My world. You could argue that jorlad will only act as animals if they are raised that way, but who raises them? They raise themselves, obviously. They act like animals. They punish the ones who stand for wisdom. Those who fail to grow and achieve only ever wish to drag the striving ones down with them until they¡¯re all vapid miserable creatures. I¡¯ve observed them over eons and never once have they changed. Up until your ancestors, the inhabitants of Peturi. -laughter- In fact, your ancestors were once my slaves! Ones that I sold to the lonsu so long ago. Do you not believe me? All my proof is in the nose. Modern jorlad have such adorable little noses that wouldn¡¯t exist without the robust-nosed jorlad suffocating in their feed troughs because they were too fat, weak, and gluttonous to raise their heads. It¡¯s like a brand on all of you, one to remind me that all of you are born to be part of my flock. Truly, I miss those days. Before the ash. Before him. No matter. The jorlad don¡¯t remember, as knowledge, history, language, and thought itself were all dead to the unthinking animals I reduced them to. Though I think there¡¯s something new, instinctual inside of them to resist my temptations, my nudges. They¡¯re growing more resistant as the vyt did. A little more cunning every time. I know you can see my work already if you recall your history. Your lineage was once great, virtuous, and even I respected their defiance. But oh, do I love a challenge and oh, do I have the eternity that they lack! I''ve stunted their minds through careful, slow, subversive, systematic means. You are the exception, as there will always be exceptions. I give exceptions a choice. Serve or be my opposition. And running is servitude through ignorance. You are one who will oppose me, and then serve me after death. You will learn further in time, but you are young. Such things would frighten and invoke despair in you yet. All you need do is open your eyes to what is directly in front of you, what is distracting you from struggle, and you will see my work. Creatures evolve through hardship, no? Then if I erase struggle, they simplify, and become malleable. If I offer freedom from suffering, why wouldn¡¯t they take it? So why fight when I¡¯m just giving the jorlad what they desire with ease? If you do fight, if you take that mindlessness away, they will become just as ravenous and subservient as the vyt to reclaim the pleasurable, simple, carnal dreams I have given them. It¡¯s so much easier to just give in. I know you¡¯re defiant listening to this, my little Simira. So tell me, from all you¡¯ve seen and endured, will see and will endure, are the jorlad really worth saving?¡± What¡­? This journal¡­ these teachings¡­ were made by a fireblood¡­ for a fireblood¡­ for me. These words were dictated by probably the greatest fireblood to ever exist. So why does it disgust and horrify me? Why do the words on this page make me want to burn this book so no others may have such a guide? Why is it so long? How many lessons? How many creatures, people, civilizations did she decimate to accumulate so much data? A book, a guide to lure entire species¡¯ into submission, unbound by morality and ethics, given to me by the only person stubborn enough to resist it. She¡¯s no simple ruler or empress, she¡¯s studied the jorlad as a scientist studies rats over generations of experimentation, perfecting the art of misanthropy. The dedication, the data, is disgustingly admirable. Why do I salivate at the thought of having free reign over a feeding ground of people? I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything else in the entire world. Her words prod at the most base hunger inside of me, enticing me further in. A hunger only another fireblood could know of. A predator instinct so cunning that she masquerades as prey to slowly devolve them, not even to consume. Her goal is eternally distant¡­ but it¡¯s the end of all things. One that I could have a part in, one that she apparently succeeded in creating. This book, if it¡¯s truly a collection of her data, is freedom for me. I closed the book. In my existence, which I don¡¯t think will ever end, what matters? I¡¯ll live long past the death of my friends, family if I ever have one, even civilizations. Why wouldn¡¯t I want to create a perfect world for myself? And if this goes deeper, as she says it does, as it apparently will end¡­ then I will learn how to reduce my own species to feeding stock. My own species¡­ are they my own species? Am I still human, or am I just grasping at the idea of humanity because I¡¯m terrified of what I might become otherwise? If I gave in to my nature- if it even is my nature- I could be free of that fear. ¡­ Why does that thought scare me? Why does that guarantee of eternal loneliness in godhood frighten me? I¡¯d have everything I need and nothing more. Or would it just be me and her? Maybe some others? What would become of such a world? Her work isn¡¯t perfect, though, or else there¡¯d be nothing to save, which means she¡¯s still missing something. Which means there¡¯s a chance that she¡¯s wrong, even if she succeeded before. Something upended her once, and that¡¯s the key. How long is forever if I decide to oppose or aid her? Do I even want to live forever? My eyes continued to linger blankly, open and unsure of where to go. What to do. Thought raced through my mind faster than I could make sense of. It all made sense. Too much sense and no sense at all. ¡°Rowena,¡± Montak rubbed his eyes and gathered his senses. I slid the journal away leaping at the opportunity to put it out of my mind. ¡°Who are you talking to? Where¡¯s Lotti?¡± He reached his hand out instinctively, rubbing Lotti¡¯s forehead with his thumb. I didn¡¯t allow myself to look him in the eyes, I couldn¡¯t. ¡°Montak, I-¡± Too many apologies and bargains for his forgiveness cluttered my mind. All I could do was talk in a slow and sorry tone while I croaked out tears into my lap. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Montak. I didn¡¯t mean for this to happen to you and Lotti. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry and I¡¯ll do anything I can to make it up to you. I didn¡¯t mean to lead her here. I lied about my name and barely said anything so I wouldn¡¯t lead them back to you. I just-¡± ¡°Rowena, Rowena!¡± Montak sat up and grabbed my shoulders. ¡°Are we dead? Did we die, or are we still alive?¡± What is he saying? Why is he asking like he doesn¡¯t hate me? ¡°We¡¯re alive, Rowena, and we¡¯re alive because of you, even if you do blame yourself for leading her back here.¡± He pulled my head into his chest and wrapped me in a fatherly hug. ¡°Honest to the Heart, I wish I could be mad at you. But I ain¡¯t. You saved us. You saved me. And you saved Lotti a second time. Lotti may not have lived this long without you in the first place. I couldn¡¯t protect her, but you could. It¡¯s my fault.¡± The morning light filtered in through the foggy windows, a bright sunny day that dazzled against the crystals of ash and snow blanketing the ground. ¡°Montak, you were poisoned, there¡¯s nothing you could have done.¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve been able to protect her and that¡¯s the bottom line, Rowena.¡± ¡°But I shouldn¡¯t have led her back here! I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± I shouldn¡¯t have gotten involved with Diona at all. I should have just run. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have, wouldn¡¯t have.¡± Montak released me and sternly frowned at me. ¡°You can¡¯t change what you can¡¯t change, but you can make it right. And you already have. You saved my daughter without thinking. Done it twice now. You ain¡¯t a bad person if you make a mistake, you¡¯re a bad person if you don¡¯t own it.¡± ¡°I¡­ But¡­¡± I stuttered, afraid to admit myself. ¡°I¡¯ve been lying to you this whole time, Montak. I¡¯m not a good person.¡± I told him everything about the past month or two since we¡¯d gotten here. The first day, the bugs, Poikla Village and my friends. But I couldn¡¯t bring myself to tell him about Simira. Montak¡¯s face never changed from a sympathetic but disappointed gaze. ¡°It¡¯s nice to finally meet you, Vetia.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t nothing wrong with trying to protect us, but you coulda trusted us sooner, let us know what may follow you home. I already knew you¡¯re a fireblood and I took that risk.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t my home, Montak. It¡¯s yours and I almost took it from you.¡± ¡°No. Vetia, like it or not, this is your home too. You became part of this family the moment Lotti took to ya.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I¡¯m not her mother.¡± ¡°Maybe not, but you were there for her when she needed you, and that¡¯s what family does, even if ya ain¡¯t blood. Even if you¡¯re a fireblood.¡± His words, I didn¡¯t deserve them. I kept telling myself he was just saying it all to be kind, that it was a hallucination, but everything he said and expressed, it was all genuine. I wiped my eyes and sniffled away my runny nose. ¡°There¡¯s money over there. It¡¯s for you and Lotti. I don¡¯t know how much it will help, but I hope it¡¯s enough for her to get an education. Maybe raise her status.¡± Montak stood, hesitantly walking to the money. ¡°You don¡¯t hafta-¡± He realized the protest on my face as he began to refuse. ¡°We appreciate it, but I don¡¯t know that there¡¯s enough money for-¡± He blinked like he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes and he turned to me, completely taken aback. ¡°Vetia, these¡­ these are peeps. How did you get all of them? How many are there?¡± ¡°Fifteen thousand sennos worth in there. Don¡¯t worry about how I got em. Just take em.¡± Montak¡¯s eyes welled up with tears and he collapsed in his chair with a sigh like all the years had finally paid off. Then he caught himself, checked the bag again, and sternly stared. He aggressively stepped forward and grabbed my shoulders. ¡°What¡¯d you do to get these? This much money don¡¯t come from nowhere good!¡± I stammered, tears breaking through my eyelids. ¡°It won¡¯t come back here again, and I¡¯m leaving so it never will. I don¡¯t even know how Fera found out about you. I promise nobody else knows you exist or that you¡¯re connected to me. Nobody even knows I¡¯m alive.¡± He clenched my shoulders harder. ¡°That ain¡¯t what I mean! I know you didn¡¯t wanna bring it back here, and I ain¡¯t gonna stop you from leaving, but what did you do? Ain¡¯t no good deed gettin¡¯ ya that much money. I see it in your eyes, you did somethin¡¯ you can¡¯t ever take back.¡± I clenched my teeth, fighting fearfully through the tears, knowing he was right. ¡°I know. But now I gotta live with it. I didn¡¯t do it for nothing. You saw me when I got here. After we left the village, somebody did horrible things to me, and somebody else wanted that person to pay. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m done with it now. I¡¯m done with this city. I¡¯m leaving.¡± He pulled his hands back and sighed. ¡°It¡¯d be cruel to Lotti if I sent ya away now. Stay til she wakes up.¡± I was afraid he would say that. Looking at Lotti, thinking about staying and helping take care of her, it made me want to give up everything. I hadn¡¯t spent long with them, but there was a part of me that wanted to stay and watch her grow, to protect her. I raised my head. ¡°Yeah. Sure. You¡¯ve both been asleep for a while, you¡¯re probably hungry. I¡¯ll make breakfast. The smell should wake her up. Besides, you both lost blood, you need food in ya.¡± ¡°No, no, you sit I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°Montak, I-¡± ¡°No, Vetia, just sit and let me make breakfast. There ain¡¯t any more farm work to do, snow and all, and my other job¡¯s on hold til the ashewinds pass.¡± Lotti woke up as if on queue when Montak set the table with plates of scrambled eggs, bread, and farn sausages. ¡°Good morning Lotti,¡± I said, ¡°how are you feeling?¡± She was still rubbing her eyes as she lazily walked to the table. ¡°Morning, mummy. Morning duddy. My head is spinny.¡± Thank God she forgot it, though I did feel terrible for injecting her with my tail poison. ¡°I had- had a- a dream that- there was a bad one- when I- when Duddy let a fireblood in.¡± If my heart could melt, it would have done so right on the spot. ¡°Well, that¡¯s over now. Come on and sit down.¡± Lotti sprung up, ¡°Bekfast!¡± and galloped to the table, hopping around and quickly making a sound like bididididididididi, pretending to be doing something that I was just lost on. Montak picked her up and put her on her seat. A smile stretched across my face as her little hands and stubby fingers brutishly grabbed the fork to stab into her eggs. Her endearing clumsiness was adorable, even though I had to reach over and fix her grip on the fork. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta work on your manners, Lotti,¡± I said. ¡°If you want to go to a good school, they¡¯re gonna judge you on that.¡± ¡°There was an- an old lady who- who- she went to school.¡± Eggs were spilling out the sides of her mouth as she tried to tell her truly riveting story. ¡°Swallow your food before you talk, Lotti. You¡¯re making a mess.¡± ¡°You too, Vetia,¡± Montak tapped the side of my wooden plate with his fork. ¡°Oh, right.¡± I picked up the fork awkwardly. How long has it been since I had a regular plate of food? I had picked at scraps off of breakfasts, but I never ate with them because I didn¡¯t need to. The last time I ate a proper meal was before the manor. Even at the manor it was just scraps of stale bread and old cheese. I finally bit into the food in front of me. The eggs were so fresh that they were orange as carrots, not to mention the light texture and rich, savory flavor. The sausages had a perfect snap on every bite that released the sweetness of the tender meat inside the wrapping. It was seasoned with something that tasted like slightly sour garlic and fruit. The charcoal-baked bread complemented the richness of the sausage and eggs with its own sweet and smoky flavor. The crunchy crust and soft, airy insides were delicious. For such a simple meal, I found myself enjoying it more than any other plate of food in my entire life. Maybe it was the company, maybe it was the food. Or maybe it was the fact that I felt like a normal person again, eating with other people. Lotti held a look of suspicious confusion while she glanced between me and Montak. ¡°Duddy, her name is Rowena!¡± Montak was about to start, but I jumped to correct her. ¡°Your dad is right. My real name is Vetia.¡± ¡°Mummy is mummy!¡± ¡°Lotti, you know I care about you a lot, but I¡¯m not your real mom.¡± She was getting all bossy and demanding again. ¡°Mummy saved me from the big sick! Only mummies save a- only- you- duddy made food and you¡¯re mummy!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you in on a secret, Lotti.¡± Lotti¡¯s bright blue eyes opened wide and she eyed her dad suspiciously, who was just watching his daughter be happy. I leaned over and covered my mouth, whispering loud enough for Montak to hear. ¡°Did you know that your mummy actually sent me to check on you? I work for her.¡± Lotti gasped. ¡°Mhm. Yeah. She¡¯s still keeping an eye on you, but she¡¯s really far away so she asked me to check in, make sure you¡¯re learning your letters and helping your dad.¡± She yelled out. ¡°I am learning my letters!¡± I playfully hushed her. ¡°It¡¯s a secret, Lotti.¡± She whispered. ¡°I learned my letters.¡± ¡°Good, because your mummy wants you to get into a super good school and learn tons.¡± Lotti nodded eagerly, tapping the end of her fork against her cheek without even realizing it. ¡°I¡¯ll give her a good report, Lotti, but she wants you to talk to her more. Tell her about your day and all the things you¡¯re learning.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell her. She¡¯s not here.¡± Lotti¡¯s little nose scrunched up in thought. ¡°Maybe you can¡¯t see her,¡± I gazed into the empty spot at the table across from me. ¡°But she¡¯s here. She¡¯s listening.¡± Montak eyed me with a bit of confusion and I nodded at him with a smile. I couldn¡¯t hold the smile back. Not with all the unfiltered love and joy bursting from the little wisp of green energy across the table. She danced between their auras like a living cloud, too much for a single person to contain, radiating bursts of love throughout the little home. Tears crept into my eyes, but her gratitude nudged them away. ¡°You too, Montak.¡± He quietly lowered his eyes to his food and nodded with a grateful smile. They were so happy even though so much had just happened to them. But it was their love, not mine. These joys couldn¡¯t last for me. I had to leave. I had to make sure Diona would never touch this family, never even know they existed. I cleared my plate and Montak took it to wash before I could. Breakfast was done. It was time. ¡°Hey, Lotti,¡± I kneeled at her seat. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta get going now, okay?¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but I¡¯m gonna be gone for good. I won¡¯t be coming back.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you stay?¡± ¡°Because¡­ I just can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I sighed and rubbed my forehead, trying to fight back crying again. ¡°My friends need me, and I¡¯ve gotta be with them so they stay safe.¡± Lotti started getting upset, like she was fighting tears as much as I was. ¡°You know what, Lotti? I¡¯ll write you letters while I¡¯m away and if you want to know what they say, you¡¯ll have to learn to read. I¡¯ll tell you about the cities I visit, and what the schools are like. That way, you¡¯ll know all about what kinds of schools you¡¯ll be able to go to when you¡¯re older.¡± Lotti¡¯s eyes finally burst and she clutched me in a hug. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go! I want you to stay!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be gone forever. We¡¯ll see each other again. I¡¯ll visit if I¡¯m in the area. Who knows. Maybe when you¡¯re an adult, we¡¯ll be in the same place where we can catch up.¡± ¡°No! I want you here now!¡± ¡°I- I-¡± I cleared my throat, trying not to cry again. Fuck, I¡¯ve been crying so much. It was so difficult letting go of her, but in the end, I did. I kissed the side of her head and let go of her. Montak had to peel her off of me so I could get to the door. She was a crying, yelling mess in his arms and it shattered my heart. My lips turned down, pursing to keep any emotional structure in my face or else I¡¯d fall apart. She¡¯d get over it. I couldn¡¯t stay. Definitely not anymore. As much as I really wanted to. ¡°So,¡± he said, ¡°you don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going? Will you be alright finding your way?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got friends. I¡¯ll go pay Diona a visit and then we¡¯ll be gone. You don¡¯t have a thing to worry about.¡± ¡°Good luck. Be safe.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± With that, I left Montak and Lotti¡¯s house for the very last time. ¡°I want that one day. Something like it. Even if I can¡¯t be a dad anymore, I might be able to be a mom with a home, a passion, a husband, and something to pass on. But I can¡¯t do that if I know she¡¯s out there, slowly killing that very idea.¡± I whirled a bronze robe over my shoulders to cover me through the Amien Quarter. I couldn¡¯t risk the guards recognizing me. I tugged the hood up, buttoned the top around my horns, and draped a grey veil over my face. The extra appendages made me less recognizable to Amien guards, but they made wearing clothes a massive hassle. Everything had to be custom tailored or specifically made for people with wings and horns and tails. Montak had been kind enough to lend me some money to buy them. Nevertheless, I stuck Diona¡¯s pin into the collar, passing the guards into the Hallax Quarter with ease. Apart from the patrolling guards and a handful of residents, the streets were nearly empty. Ash littered the ground and gently drifted from the sky. The snow from the night before was almost entirely melted and the whole quarter felt warmer from sunlight reflecting off all the buildings. I arrived outside the door of Good Moaning and focused, searching auras for anyone inside. I didn¡¯t get a read on anyone at all. The entire place was empty. Diona said she was leaving soon, so can I just run? But what if I could stop her? What if that¡¯s the entire reason I ended up where I am? What if only a fireblood can kill her, or some bullshit like that? There¡¯s gotta be a reason I¡¯ve made it this far, a reason I¡¯ve died and come back, a reason I went crazy. I can¡¯t let this opportunity go. ¡°Go inside! She may have already fled!¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s a trap? What if she knows?!¡± ¡°There is no time for what ifs! Wavering means death!¡± My racing heart eased and calmness flowed through me. I slinked around the building to the back door and burst through, ready to fight. Everything was still, almost hauntingly so. She could still be inside. The old cracking wood steeped in stale smoke was illuminated by dimly glowing stones hanging from the ceiling. The floor creaked and groaned as I crept through the hall towards the stairs to Diona¡¯s office. It was a dismal place when people were here and morbid when empty. I checked each corner and door I passed, expecting her to spring on me. If she really was a fireblood, she would have some kind of appendages, but not poison, just something to kill with. I had to be ready to fight, to adapt. If she¡¯s been alive as long as she apparently has, she¡¯s got a secret. Up the staircase and through the hall, her study door was open and her chair empty. ¡°Shit!¡± I sprinted in and fumbled over the wooden planks on her desk. All of them were scraped out, broken, or fuel for the fireplace that was licking at the stones trying to break free. I searched for anything that might give me a sign as to where she might be, but even the wooden documents that were still intact were in a completely different language. And then I sensed it, an imposing, confident aura at the end of the hallway, at the top of the stairs behind me. Light scraping of metal and heavy footsteps echoed through the wooden corridor into my ears like a horrifying musical beat. I slowly turned as the footsteps entered the doorway and stopped. ¡°Declare thyself,¡± the angel in blood red armor demanded, his grave yet proper voice suffocating my will. No, he was more like a demon or a dragon. Scales and wings, claws, blood red eyes and a glare that told me he had no regard for my life. Fuck, he might be able to detect my emotions like that storyteller. ¡°My name is Vetia,¡± I stammered, ¡°And you?¡± ¡°I am Richard of the Elysian Halo, in search of one by the name of Diona.¡± He slowly investigated the room, sniffing the air, every step he took sending a wave of anxiety through me. ¡°Though now, my attention is drawn elsewhere. It is alerted by thy odor, and the odor which permeates this dwelling.¡± I found myself matching his speech. ¡°Mark me confused. What is this odor you speak of?¡± He sniffed between each word and walked around the room. ¡°This stench¡­ it reeks¡­ of the blood of devils.¡± He pointed a sword directly into my face. ¡°Woman.¡± His eyes searched me for any sign of aggression, like he was ready to take my head off in less than a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°Scribe a sigil before mine eyes or I shall strike you down where you stand.¡± Devils? I hadn¡¯t heard anyone in this world utter that word. I slowly raised my finger and drew out three circles for the quick fix sigil I knew. ¡°Fruitless.¡± Richard lowered the sword and stood analyzing the room, his presence relaxing. ¡°What is thy business here?¡± ¡°Our quarry is the same. I search for Diona the fireblood. I was temporarily in her employ until I learned of her true nature. Perhaps she is the cause of the odor?¡± You¡¯d think by his expression that he just stepped in shit as he raised his sword to me again. ¡°I¡¯ll not share presence with a whore. Leave.¡± I sneered at him. ¡°Bold of you to call a virgin a whore. I¡¯m investigating her for personal reasons, got a job under her, in her inner circle of this brothel.¡± He gazed at me skeptically. ¡°Perhaps our intentions align. I seek out information pertaining to Alex and Eddie Van Halen, two men retained by Diona for their musical talent.¡± My heart dropped. How many people are searching for us, and how powerful are they? I had to throw him off our trail. ¡°And don¡¯t think me dull, either. Madam Diona appears to be an alias. I intercepted correspondence addressed to one by the name of Fehle, though I couldn¡¯t find much else about her true identity.¡± Richard leaned forward, his eyes briefly spreading so subtly that I wouldn¡¯t have noticed if not for the explosion of horror and rage in and around him. The very word was like a curse on his mind, but he didn¡¯t know I knew because I didn¡¯t whisper it. I don¡¯t think he can read my emotions. ¡°And I only saw those clowns on stage and a few times on their way in. I was nosing around and I caught a glimpse of some transactions.¡± I paced around the desk, buying time to think. ¡°With a merchant. Delivering two high priority people and crates of instruments out of Triala. Can¡¯t exactly show you the receipts because, well¡­¡± I flipped a plank over on the table and gestured toward the fire. ¡°Then they cleared house.¡± I had to change the subject before he asked questions. ¡°You know where Fehle¡¯s going?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t the slightest.¡± I couldn¡¯t hide the sneer on my face and he definitely noticed. ¡°You¡¯re out for her blood.¡± ¡°As I stated. Personal reasons.¡± ¡°Alas the day.¡± He sighed and walked toward the fire. ¡°Then this putrid brothel is worthwhile as ash and shall return henceforth.¡± He glared back at me, dread in his eyes, then some sympathy. ¡°Forewarning. You would do better not to contest that creature. Run and preserve what life you can. You¡¯re of lonsu descent. Though a half breed, the far-southern city of Tagand Rodth in the Derus Mountains may grant amnesty should you provide intelligence of her spread to them. Though beware the grudge held by the jorlad of the plains below.¡± Richard twirled his sword and drove it into the fire before ripping the shards of burning wood onto the floor. ¡°Thank you, Sir Richard.¡± He hastily stepped around me, a stutter toward me from his frontal stare as I called him sir. He disappeared down the stairs and I stood still, staring into the creeping fire as it began its consumption of the room. ¡°God dammit, where is she?! Where did she go?!¡± Wrath burned through me as my character broke and I shuffled the boards looking for something, anything as the fire raged up the sides of the desk. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!¡± Suddenly a shot of freezing air raced down my spine. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see a gold shape disappearing at the stairs. A gold shape that robbed the jzanmah of all things around her. I took off in a sprint through the hall, down the stairs and out the open back door. The alley grew dark as clouds took over the sky and Diona was nowhere in sight. I unfurled my wings and flew out above the road at the end of the alley, hovering to search. My eyes caught the same gold shape slinking around a corner, closer than before. The wind carried me to the entrance of the alley and there she was, darting away with a heavy jingling bag on her back. I wasn¡¯t the best at flying, but I didn¡¯t care. I could dive bomb a bitch and live, so that¡¯s exactly what I did. I beat my wings back and then propelled myself forward, pulling them in and soaring like a missile down the alley with my claws out to gore her on impact. Thirty feet from impact. Twenty. Ten. She was still running when she twisted around and slashed at me with foot long saw-like talons. I overshot¡­ no, she ducked. I hit the ground in a flash. She tore into my side, wrapping her claw around my pelvic bone and ripping me out of the air. I tried to push away, but her grip wrenched me into the cobblestones, a searing burn coursing through my head. The tops of buildings spun around the sky and I couldn¡¯t move, like my brain had been turned into paste. Blood and torn organs spilled from my waist and my lungs wheezed, broken ribs jabbing into them. Then, Diona¡¯s face crept between me and the sky. I groaned in pain, trying to push myself up while her eyes burned holes through me. Her face was wretched, hateful, and utterly apathetic.. ¡°Simira should have risen. You¡¯re supposed to be dead, you and that little family. Fera was supposed to bring back my money after disposing of you.¡± Diona shoved her claws through my shoulder and out my back, clutching my collarbone and pinning me to the wall. I screamed out through my teeth as her talons bore deeper into me. ¡°Simira is fully dead, and both Fera and my money are gone, yet you¡¯re still here. Where is my money, Cressida?¡± ¡°The dagger! Anything! Kill her!¡± The voice was frantic, terrified. Diona¡¯s apathy seeped into me, driving through my heart with pure dread. I held back the screams, but my face couldn¡¯t right itself. Her talons sent shocks through my right arm as I cautiously reached for Fera¡¯s dagger with my left. ¡°I gave the money away. All those poor people in that shitty Amien Quarter had a real nice payday from yours truly.¡± I tried to smile through the unbearable pain. I couldn¡¯t give up with her right in front of me. I whipped the dagger around and stuck it deep through her temple. "And Imma paint the fuckin'' streets with you!" Diona only let out a little gasp and wrenched at my collarbone, unfazed and unaffected. Searing pain shot through my arm as her claws reactively raked deep streaks through my bicep. No, no. I couldn¡¯t lift it. No feeling. No movement. My arms were useless. Her face twitched as I yelped and gritted through the pain, my head feeling lighter by the minute. The dagger shivered, then started sliding out on its own, pushed out into the ashen mud by something inside of her. Her temple was already completely healed. ¡°Hm,¡± she glanced down at the dagger, ¡°slow reaction. Perhaps I¡¯ve become complacent. I haven¡¯t underestimated anyone in a while, so bravo, Cressida.¡± Blood oozed from my pelvis and my arm like rivers. Fear began setting in. Is this it? No. It can¡¯t be. I¡¯ve survived so much worse. My tail! I have to use my tail. No, it¡¯s caught. Stuck against the wall and I can¡¯t free it. I can¡¯t even move my head. It keeps falling forward, taking everything I had to keep it upright. Come on! Move! Something! Some part of me do something! ¡°But paint the streets?¡± She chuckled. ¡°Oh, you adorable half-breed. Need I remind you who bought these streets?" She richly slapped me like I was a pathetic animal. "If you want to paint them, you need licenses," she slapped back across, "training," another slap, "and, how could I forget, permission. Don¡¯t go acting on your own. Bad shazgadj." She tapped my nose with her talon. A horrific smile curled up her heavily made up cheeks. The old makeup cracked away around her mouth. Gray lips. Pale, translucent skin. The roots of her golden hair were not golden, but stark black. Her irises were just the same, like pitch black voids. And yet she reveled in uttering her venomous hexes. "I must say, you did catch me off guard, which I commend. You and my little Simira. I had such high plans, but I see now, she stuck to you. Such a shame I lost all that work. Oh well, I¡¯ll be back here in a few generations. Let¡¯s have some fun, shall we? It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been able to savor a kill.¡± I watched through wincing eyes as her breasts shifted under her coat like arms stuck inside of a shirt. And that¡¯s exactly what ripped through the buttons on the centerline of her coat, two taloned arms slimy with pink mucus, extending from where her breasts were. They shot out, pinning me harder against the wall while her free arm slowly drove into my left shoulder, ripping the skin and muscle, sawing through the joint until I couldn¡¯t feel my arm, until all that was left was the pain of torn muscle and nerves. I smiled, seething through my teeth. Somehow more lucid than I¡¯d ever been, yet powerless to do anything but weekly curse her. ¡°I¡¯ll find a way. Now matter how many times I have to die. I won''t stop¡­¡± I wheezed, my head weakly hanging, unable to do anything but drool blood and whisper. ¡°...until I¡¯ve taken everything from you, I¡¯ll break you down to nothing.¡± Her smiled curled wider. ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re really sounding like her. Hahahaha! Oh dear, if only you weren¡¯t mortal. But maybe¡­¡± she quieted in thought to maim me some more. She swiftly drove her foot into my knee and all I heard was a fleshy snapping as I lost feeling in my lower body. The tearing. The gruesome pain of having my arm slowly pulled from my torso while she deviously smiled burned into my mind at that moment. The devil incarnate ripped my arm from my body and laughed the whole way through. She dropped me into the dirty slush that lined the alley, licking at the stub of my severed arm spryly. ¡°Oh, how ironic!¡± She giggled, licking my bleeding arm like an ice cream cone and twirling it like a paint brush. ¡°I¡¯ve painted the street with you! And I must say, the viscous crimson smears really accent the bronze backdrop and the gradient of brown to black shit and grime. Ooh, wait!¡± She wiped a streak of my own blood across my face with my arm. ¡°The final touch. There¡¯s that visual, but also the poetry of it, no?¡± She waited like I was going to respond. ¡°Nothing? Oh, please, I¡¯ve left your lungs alone, no insight? Have you finally gone silent?¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who ever seems to appreciate real art like this.¡± Pain was something I had grown used to, but the light-headedness, the dark spots in my vision, those left me reeling in place, returning to the darkness of the dungeon. ¡°Oh, no, I see another spot where we could use some paint.¡± Crack! My jaw snapped and fell limp. Diona tossed my arm into the muck behind her. Labored breaths could no longer fill my lungs enough. Jarring pricks from busted ribs stopped them. My side, my stub, my jaw, all of them had gone numb from the pain. Even my upper body was losing all feeling. Coldness. Freezing death slowly seeped through me. All I could do was hope for somebody to save me from this nightmare. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything. Alone. Bleeding out in the alley. Drowning in death. Nobody coming. Diona¡¯s hideous cackling slithered into my ear. ¡°Oh! I never thanked you! I had faith you would kill her, being such an accomplished healer. I presume you¡¯re here because that family is dead? Or maybe not. I don¡¯t care. I never thought you would be bold enough to come after me, though. Now I think you might have some great potential, so I¡¯ll keep your body intact.¡± I tried channeling jzanmah into my foot, to do something, heal myself. ¡°Oh no no no! No jzanmah. Oh, that soul of yours¡­ well, you won¡¯t need it to heal after this.¡± She haughtily chuckled. ¡°It was a pleasure doing business. I look forward to doing some real business with you when you¡¯re a fireblood. You¡¯ll find me after you rise.¡± ¡°Get up! We must rise and 55: Pompeii 55 (Bastille- Pompeii) Desmond Cramps shot through my lungs, the clumsy stomps of my sprinting boots silent to me. My whole head was locked in a sweating mess of pressure and heaving. Little particles of ash bit at my throat and mouth with every breath as I broke out into the square before the park. Meanwhile, the frail figure in my arms fidgeted and threatened to shatter like glass if I made even a slightly wrong move. I¡¯d skinned deer and elk, but I¡¯d never gotten used to just how much blood could spill out of a body. It spewed out of her every time I jostled her the wrong way, staining a crimson trail behind us. I stumbled into the treeline, slipping over the muddy earth beneath me, unwilling to let myself fall. I stomped through beds of flowers and small shrubs. Adrenaline was rushing through me, guiding me forward when my body couldn¡¯t take it any longer. Miriel was the goal. Her slashed arm dangled in front of me while her stub drenched my chest. She was so light, as if bouncing a little too much would send her off like a feather. How did she even get like this? Jaw off kilter, missing an arm, eviscerated waist and a broken leg. What the fuck has she been up to? Her agape eyes stared emptily into the ashen sky like it was calling her away. I wouldn¡¯t let her go, cradling her in my arms, wrapped in her wings. Branches whipped my face and bushes grasped at my feet. I ducked to avoid a limb and my body gave out, crashing into a patch of fiery orange flowers. All I could see was smashed flowers and soil, panting on my hands and knees, gasping for breath. The brisk day became hot, a cold sweat was consuming me. I couldn¡¯t even stand. My legs were limp and shaking, struggling to push off the ground. ¡°God dammit!¡± I screamed into flowers, ripping a clump up with my hands and launching it. ¡°I¡¯m so fuckin¡¯ useless all the goddamn time! Give me this, just this once. God, I ain¡¯t ever ask for much. Gimme something, please!¡± The flowery fumes attacked my nose. My heartbeat thrummed through my head like church bells. Spots of light and dark darted across the world in front of me, fighting for hold over my soul. I turned my head up, searching for something to remedy it, to ease the pain. A moment of calm washed over me, like the animal staring into my eyes was asking a question of me. ¡°Why are you struggling?¡± A moss green llama-like creature that we¡¯d seen before casually stepped forward, sniffing at the ground around Vetia. Blood. She needs blood. I slipped the dagger I¡¯d found by her body out of my belt and crept forward. A second wind graced my legs and I acted. I crashed forward, scrambling toward the animal on all fours, wrapping my arms around its tall neck and my legs around its torso, yanking it to the ground with me. I gouged the dagger straight into its throat and ripped as hard as I could, carving a wide smile across its main arteries. I wrenched its neck backward, dragging it toward Vetia, ripping its head further and further back, trying to make it bleed faster. Its blood is soaking into her skin, but how much does she need? Will this save her or only prolong her death. Fuck it. It doesn¡¯t matter. I slashed and bled it for ten minutes. The flow had gotten so much slower, it was just dribbling out. Blood from one of those things restored her entire tongue, this had to be enough to at least get her stable. ¡°Go faster! Fucking Christ, what¡¯s a guy gotta do to bleed something quickly around here?!¡± A brush of needles on cloth behind me. About ten feet back. I glanced behind me, ready to tell a motherfucker to keep walking. ¡°Clear out, this spot¡¯s taken-¡± My eyes locked onto a cloaked figure watching me from the edge of the trees. The dark blue cloak concealed the entire body of the figure except a pair of black boots tipped by silver hooks. Its hood was angular, like a diamond of darkness around the masked face. The mask, which was a simple, white circle with two diamond eyes and a frowning mouth of two shallow lines meeting at a sharp point which rose to meet an upside down triangle like a nose. My blood ran cold as the figure stepped out onto the path approaching me. I whipped the dagger around, pointing it at the figure. It gracefully, without sound, stepped around the flowers, never approaching, just circling. Analyzing. I glared at the figure, daring it to step forward. ¡°You touch her, I¡¯ll gut you.¡± It didn¡¯t respond, just glanced at me, then back down to Vetia, then turned around. The figure disappeared into the park just as quickly as it appeared. I kicked the animal head off of Vetia and inspected her wounds. The knee and jaw were still busted, but her arm wasn¡¯t bleeding as bad and her gut wound slowed a lot. Nothing from her though. Not even a sign of consciousness. ¡°Alright, Desmond,¡± I said to rev myself up, ¡°come on, get up.¡± I wrestled with my body, struggling to my feet and scraping her up out of the dirt. ¡°Lift with your legs!¡± I groaned and got to walking, thanking God that Vetia was as light as she was. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can hear me,¡± I said to the unconscious body in my arms, ¡°but you¡¯re showing me your tits when you wake up.¡± I glanced down at her face. Between the smears of her own blood, some color had returned to her already pasty complexion. Her eyes met mine and with a slight roll of them and a soft groan, she accepted. With that, my pace quickened and we got out of the park and back into the street. ¡°Where the fuck is Desmond?! We still have to find Vetia and get out of here!¡± I heard Brenden ranting from the other side of the wall to Hallax Hall, where the wagon was. Tells mournfully started, ¡°Brenden. Vetia¡¯s-¡± I hobbled through the gate and yelled out to them like a pissed off sailor. ¡°Oh, would you stop your bitching and moaning?! I told y¡¯all I was taking care of business! Now one of you get Miriel the fuck over here!¡± Adam, Brenden, Tells, Miriel, Dex, Hestrel, and Al¡¯Li all turned their eyes to me and the panicking commenced. ¡°What the fuck happened?!¡± Brenden dashed to us. ¡°Vetia got all fucked up. I hauled her ass here, but she needs Miriel¡¯s healing stat.¡± Miriel met us halfway and walked alongside. ¡°Get her in your wagon, I¡¯ll get to work. Hestrel! You others, clear space for a body in the big wagon!¡± Tells stood gawking at us like she had seen a ghost while Adam looked like he just checked back into reality. Dex was still, standing there crying into Al¡¯Li¡¯s shoulder while Hestrel hopped into the wagon and started shifting boxes around everywhere. ¡°Guys! Wake the fuck up and help out! Adam, make some space!¡± Brenden yelled out to them in desperation. Miriel put her hand on Brenden¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I need you to get my satchel from the small wagon. I¡¯ll be riding with your group.¡± Brenden rushed off and we started hauling Vetia into the wagon. ¡°Desmond, what happened to her? What are these wounds from?¡± ¡°Dunno. Far as I could tell, her side is fucked real deep, shoulder¡¯s bad, jaw plus knee busted, and her arm is on vacation.¡± Adam helped us into the wagon and Brenden hopped up front, attaching the corties and getting us moving. ¡°Adam,¡± I said, ¡°water, please, for the love of God in Heaven.¡± ¡°Uh,¡± Adam patted around his belt in a distant panic. ¡°Here. Drink up.¡± I chugged the waterskin dry, savoring every last drop of cold water. My heart calmed and my head cleared. I realized we were sitting around Vetia¡¯s body in the back of the wagon. ¡°Woah woah woah,¡± I stood up and yelled up to Brenden. ¡°Why are we doing this in here? Why aren¡¯t we going in for this?¡± Brenden peered back with sorrow filled eyes and Miriel halted her hands. ¡°Lord Hallax, he-¡± Miriel stopped, still piecing her words together, ¡°he heard about everything that happened with the fire and them not finding Fera. He killed Zerick and banished us.¡± ¡°What?! Zerick?! Why Zerick?! Why the fuck would he do that?!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore, Desmond, we can¡¯t do anything about it now. We have to keep going.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t just do that! He can¡¯t just kill a guy for not finding his-¡± Miriel frustratedly snapped at me. ¡°Yes, Desmond! He can! He¡¯s the lord of this Quarter! Do you want me to save your friend, or do you want to argue over the unchangeable?!¡± I sat back in the wagon and wiped the slick sheen of sweat off my forehead, catching my breath. Miriel quickly got to work on Vetia, scribing a sigil and repairing the gash in her side. ¡°How¡­ how is she¡­¡± Tells trailed off, a tear slowly falling down her cheek. ¡°How is she alive?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said. ¡°This is the worst I¡¯ve seen her. Must have got to her right on time.¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Tells whimpered, losing her words again. ¡°She- she¡­ we watched Vetia¡­ She- she¡­ died.¡± Adam put his arm around Tells and pulled her into a half hug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t tell you because Simira was keeping you too close.¡± Adam¡¯s voice droned on, tired and distant, but he was trying his best. ¡°She used a sigil, remade her heart while cutting it out so she could fake her death and get out of there.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Tells¡¯ face was squished between Adam¡¯s arm and chest. ¡°You¡¯re probably mad, but she didn¡¯t have any other options to get out of that place. I didn¡¯t want to not tell you, I just¡­¡± ¡°She was okay this whole time, then?¡± ¡°Yeah. She was.¡± ¡°Thank God.¡± Tells burst into tears of joy and crumpled into herself. Bewilderment dizzied Miriel. ¡°What?!¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know, man, I just work here.¡± Adam looked up. ¡°Yeah, replaced it while she was cutting it out. I don¡¯t know how, but it worked. She was awake within the hour.¡± She couldn¡¯t process it, her hands wildly trying to piece together her own thoughts in the air before her. ¡°But her pulse would have- blood flow- and blood loss! Unless it was perfectly timed, if that¡¯s even possible, her brain wouldn¡¯t have had blood flowing to it for a moment, which would have caused irreparable damage, not to mention brain death.¡± Vetia moaned and grunted at Miriel. Miriel refocused and drew out a new sigil. She reached up to Vetia¡¯s jaw and ran her fingers over the damaged part. ¡°This is going to hurt badly for just a moment. On three. One-¡± Miriel cracked Vetia¡¯s jaw back into place, who only let out a small squeak from the pain. Running her fingers along the jawline, they glowed bright green and the energy seeped in like lightning. Miriel was panting heavily as she finished the jaw and then sealed over the arm wound. Vetia groaned and weakly smirked up at Miriel. ¡°I¡¯m just built different.¡± She laughed to herself before grimacing from the pain in her side. ¡°You¡¯re such a piece of shit,¡± Tells chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t lie, you missed it.¡± Vetia smiled at the mentally adjusting Tells. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to make you watch me, like, cut my heart out and stuff. That was fucked up.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I watched it.¡± Miriel interjected. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling spry, but I need you to tell me what happened. If these wounds are-¡± ¡°Girlfriend, don¡¯t you worry. It was just a little fight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to disagree,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t get this fucked up from a little scuffle.¡± Miriel nodded. ¡°He¡¯s right. And for me to treat you properly, I need you to tell me what happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna fucking-! Shut up already!¡± Vetia screamed and winced before catching her breath. Miriel looked like she wanted to bitchslap Vetia back to sleep. Miriel was already sweating and panting from using so much energy. ¡°Do you want me to help you or not? I need to know.¡± Vetia opened her eyes in confusion and noticed Miriel¡¯s frustration, responding with an apologetic look. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry. I, uh, my head¡¯s been a little messed up lately. I overdid the sigil use, so I¡¯ve been a bit snippy.¡± ¡°What do you mean overdid?¡± Miriel¡¯s face turned from frustration to concern. ¡°I cured Lord Amien of a cold the day before I cut my heart out. Had to heal myself a lot during that. And then the next morning, I cured a little girl of some respiratory illness she had.¡± If there was ever a face for baffled concern, it would be Miriel¡¯s. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her head and her lips were pursed like she couldn¡¯t think of which question to ask first. All that escaped her mouth was ¡°What?!¡± Vetia smirked again and popped her eyebrows up. ¡°Like I said, alternatively constructed. I¡¯ll tell you what, get my shoulder up and running and I¡¯ll fix the rest of me.¡± ¡°NooOOoo the frick you won¡¯t.¡± Miriel shook her head like she was clearing an etch-a-sketch. ¡°You should be dead from that much work, nevertheless a little messed up. The fact that your head isn¡¯t full cur is a miracle, to be quite honest. Until I clear you, you are not to conjure any sigils, do you understand?¡± Vetia nodded and sighed. We gave Miriel some time to focus and patch up Vetia, passing through the city gates and out into the northern farmlands. ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°with that settled, where¡¯d you put the barrels of booze? I need a drink.¡± My head was pounding and I could feel irritation building in my chest like an anxious flame. I kicked at the empty wine barrel in back. Tells and Adam both shrugged. The other two didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Brenden!¡± I stumbled up front. ¡°Hey, bud, where¡¯d you put the keg of wine?¡± ¡°It should be back there where you left it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the empty one. I mean the new one.¡± ¡°What new one?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you got a new one?¡± ¡°No, I figured your alcoholic ass would buy more.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be skipping town like this. You don¡¯t need to be a dick about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, bro. Christ.¡± He shook his head and glared at me. ¡°You¡¯ve got your flask, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I finished it while I was driving back to the Hall.¡± ¡°Okay, then there¡¯s none left.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s stop to get some.¡± ¡°Look around us, Desmond! No liquor stores or gas stations around.¡± ¡°Well what am I supposed to do, then?¡± ¡°Be sober like the rest of us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the fucking point? I¡¯m just sitting in the back of a wagon! What else am I gonna do?!¡± Brenden turned around with a gleefully pissed off face. ¡°I suppose we should just stop everything and go back into the city that we¡¯re banished from to get you some booze so we don¡¯t have to deal with your bitching.¡± Fucking hell. I clenched my fists to keep myself from hitting something but I ended up kicking the wagon anyway. ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± I said. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake. You¡¯re always such an asshole about it. You¡¯re not my fucking dad.¡± ¡°No shit, I¡¯m trying to keep you from getting like him.¡± Brenden stared into me, piercing my mind with his eyes and I hated every second of it. ¡°Do you want me to just fuckin¡¯ leave?! You¡¯re acting like you don¡¯t want me here! Like I¡¯m a fuckin¡¯ burden on you or something! I¡¯ll leave if you want me to, it¡¯s not-¡± ¡°Desmond!¡± Tells shouted at me. ¡°Just shut the fuck up already. You¡¯re not the only one stuck in this shit, so sit down and stop actin¡¯ like a bitch.¡± I turned around, biting my tongue as I glanced over the wagon. Miriel was visibly uncomfortable, trying to focus on Vetia who looked done with me. Adam had his head in his hands, and Tells was nodding her head toward the seat. She was right, but it was still annoying as all hell. Vetia chilled her face out. ¡°We love our dysfunctional little family, don¡¯t we, Adam?¡± Adam raised his head in confusion. ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ yeah.¡± Vetia looked over at Adam. ¡°What¡¯s up, big guy? What¡¯s going on?¡± He shook his head without answering. I sighed. ¡°Is killing that guy really getting to you so much.¡± Vetia¡¯s face fell. ¡°What? What guy? Adam killed somebody?¡± I elaborated. ¡°Simira¡¯s sped brother. Adam executed him.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Vetia tried shooting up, but her broken body held her down. ¡°What?! Why?! He¡¯s harmless! Aside from his obvious issues, he¡¯s a good kid!¡± Tells scoffed. ¡°No. He choked Lady Simira to death in her sleep. He got what was coming to him.¡± Adam¡¯s head retreated even further behind his hands while Vetia¡¯s head was snapping around in shock at every reply. ¡°No,¡± Miriel added, like she was annoyed about something. ¡°He couldn¡¯t have killed her.¡± ¡°But he did.¡± Tells said. ¡°Tells, I tested the blood I retrieved from Lady Simira. There is no feasible way that a cur could have filled Simira with as much poison as she had in her system without waking her. I tried telling you last night to wait for my report, but you went on with the execution anyway. And the guards outside her door. They were drugged, or something of the sort. He couldn¡¯t have done all that without being detected.¡± ¡°Then who did it, Miriel?¡± Tells was getting worked up, but it all faded when her eyes caught sight of the red-haired fireblood who was struggling with her own grief. Tells turned to the side and hugged her knees, hiding her face. She was almost inaudible whispering to herself in denial. ¡°I have ideas, but I¡¯m unsure. It was somebody who had access to the keys to enter, possibly using Eulin for that. Nothing noticeable was stolen, so it was a targeted assassination, but what confuses me is the motive. Her arms, legs, and core had incisions where poison was likely applied, but the poison didn¡¯t kill her. She was strangled by somebody with claws or nails enough to penetrate the neck. But she was in bed, so this person caught her asleep, then poisoned and strangled her, so I suppose the killer had some reason for wanting her awake during the murder. The poison was an anesthetic, likely applied because the assassin is physically inferior to Simira. So it¡¯s a clawed individual, likely a woman, with access to poisons or perhaps the means to create poisons, who had a personal connection to Lady Simira.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Vetia raised her eyebrows, impressed. ¡°Sounds like you already know who done it.¡± ¡°I suspect, due to the night and circumstances surrounding Dex, that Fera Hallax may be responsible. If she stayed with Tarynn, that gives her access to the key to Simira¡¯s study, she¡¯s more frail, and she has plenty of money for poison. The claws and motive don¡¯t make sense, though, unless the claws were poison-tipped gauntlets.¡± Miriel finished Vetia¡¯s shoulder, sat back to catch her breath, and finally looked up at the rest of us. ¡°Apologies, Vetia, but I must rest before I continue treating you.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve done more than enough already.¡± Vetia blankly smiled at Miriel until her attention was pulled lower. ¡°Ah, your knee, it¡¯s bleeding.¡± Almost without a thought, Miriel did a quick three circles and sealed the small cut that was suspiciously close to Vetia¡¯s wingtip. ¡°I didn¡¯t even feel it.¡± She stretched her leg out and winced. ¡°Ah, no wonder. It¡¯s fallen asleep. You¡¯ll have to excuse me.¡± She stumbled up to the front, sat next to Brenden, sighed and whispered ¡°They¡¯re not as¡­ cheery, as you said they usually are.¡± A breath of air escaped Brenden¡¯s nose and he whispered back. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to ¡®em. Everyone¡¯s just pissy ¡®cause of the situation.¡± ¡°How¡¯s your hand doing?¡± She reached over and checked his hand, inspecting the burn scars and missing digit. ¡°You know it¡¯s doing better, you¡¯re the one who fixed it.¡± Brenden chuckled and bumped her arm with his elbow. ¡°Or did you want to just hold hands with me?¡± ¡°In front of other people? Brenden, please, don¡¯t think I¡¯m lascivious like that.¡± I thought she was joking, but she seemed genuinely embarrassed. ¡°Let me worry about you a little.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. You¡¯re lucky I don¡¯t know what lastavious means, or I¡¯d be able to come up with a real response.¡± She smiled shyly and laughed. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re lucky that I¡¯m far too tired to give you a vocabulary lesson right now.¡± She paused for an awkward moment and whispered even quieter. ¡°Did you want me to hold your hand? Even in public?¡± Brenden just grabbed her hand with a smirk while she bashfully turned her head down. The ride was quiet, but there hadn¡¯t ever been such a noticeable rift in our group before. Tells wouldn¡¯t look at anyone, retreating into her knees for safety. Adam was haunted and distant beyond comparison. Vetia was fucked on the outside and probably worse upstairs. And Brenden was ignoring it all, or just pretending everything would magically get better. He couldn¡¯t see what was going on. I could imagine the group in the other wagon were even worse. They just lost Zerick, and as far as I could tell, Zerick was the only reason Dex was staying with them. Or rather, Zerick was the only way they would let Dex keep traveling with them. * * * * * Later in the evening, we set up camp on a hill by the road. The warm weather had left the ground like dough. Nothing but mud caking everything. Getting shit done was even more of a pain than usual. Brenden took care of the corties, Hestrel and Dex dried firewood with flame sigils, Miriel and I were on Vetia day care duty, Al¡¯Li raised the cover of the small wagon like an awning, and Tells and Adam set up our tents. And then we gathered around for the most awkward campfire I have ever been a part of. I groaned through the tension. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sick of the silence. What¡¯d you motherfuckers get stuck doing at Thatcher Junior¡¯s place? Clearly y¡¯all didn¡¯t get the shit end of the stick.¡± Tells looked up at Adam, who was still staring at the ground. She sighed. ¡°I was her personal servant. Adam was in the guard. I only talked to him when he wasn¡¯t blowing Zev, so I barely saw him.¡± I waited for her to continue, but in typical Tells fashion, she stopped there. ¡°And you just¡­ worked for Simira like it was nothing, then?¡± ¡°What did you want me to do, Desmond? Kill her? In her own manor?¡± She glared at Vetia, who was propped up against a tree next to me. ¡°Maybe run and get captured and sent to the dungeon.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tells.¡± Vetia snidely said. ¡°The dungeon isn¡¯t that bad. There¡¯s only rodents and bugs. The food is usually luke warm and the cell is only freezing most of the day. But they gave me a few rags and a cot right under a constant drip of water, so it was basically paradise. Not to mention the collar and the kets. That many kets will make you crazy.¡± ¡°Maybe if you¡¯d backed off her brother and stopped talking shit, she would have treated you better.¡± ¡°Yeah. I should have just turned the other cheek when she beat me, cut my tongue out, slashed my mouth open, choked and shock collared me, then used me up like I was nothing more than a bottle of Nyquil for her worthless father that she was just gonna kill anyway.¡± She smiled and took on an over-the-top character, like she was a dramaturg. ¡°You are so right, Tells. Why didn¡¯t I think about that and prostrate myself before her, kissing her feet and declaring ¡®Oh Lady Simira, your toes are just sooo scrumptious, mmm! Please kick me more so that I may have but a whiff of your tomboy spunk! Use me up like the little healing slave that I am! Oh, how I love being treated like I¡¯m shit on the bottom of your boot!¡¯ Does that sound better, Tells?¡± She scoffed and frowned. ¡°Good riddance to that bitch.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know her like I did.¡± ¡°What the fuck does that even mean?!¡± Vetia winced and slumped back against the tree with indignation. I caught a glance of Miriel suspiciously eying down Vetia. I spoke up without really thinking all that much. ¡°Personal servant? ¡®You don¡¯t know her like I did?¡¯ What, were you two punchin¡¯ clams? I thought we all collectively hated her.¡± Miriel¡¯s eyes returned to normal, for the time being. There was silence around the circle, and Tells looked like she was dealing with some real internal struggle over whether to punch me or some nearby shrubs. ¡°Stockholms.¡± Adam said, finally looking up. ¡°It happened to me too. We didn¡¯t have the shit end of the stick, so it wasn¡¯t all that bad. Seems like she was just grooming us to be part of the plan before dumping us. It was nice in the moment, having stability. None of us have had that since we got here, so I just kinda kept on doing what I was told. I even liked the people there. Zev was a good friend. But I just did what he said blindly. So did she. I¡¯m sure even Simira isn¡¯t horrible twenty-four seven.¡± Tells lowered her head and frowned like a misunderstood teenager. ¡°Welcome back, Adam,¡± Brenden said, patting him on the shoulder. ¡°Seems like you got a lot on your mind.¡± ¡°I keep on thinking about it. How I ended up at the point where I was¡­ executing him.¡± His demeanor dropped again, but he quickly sat back up with some strength, even if it was a facade. ¡°If it means anything, Adam,¡± Miriel leaned forward to look around Brenden at Adam. ¡°He was a cur. After the house was disbanded by Tarynn, he likely would have been killed anyway.¡± Holy shit, I was thinking it, but she just straight up said it, and way more coldly than I was going to. Vetia looked even more taken aback than Adam. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better that he got killed than maybe had a shot at living?¡± Miriel sighed and nodded like she just remembered something. ¡°Vetia, I have delivered babies everywhere I worked. Cursed children are often left to die or even killed in infancy unless under very special circumstances, such as being born to nobility. Even if the parents do preserve them, they don¡¯t always survive because they can¡¯t support themselves alone.¡± Brenden¡¯s face was deeply troubled. ¡°Is that something that you do?¡± Miriel¡¯s face went pale and she almost became frantic. ¡°No, no, no. The mother makes the decision, usually long after I¡¯ve left. I couldn¡¯t bear to do something like that.¡± ¡°Your world sounds a lot nicer than ours, if it¡¯s one that curs can grow up in.¡± Hestrel rubbed his head forehead and sighed. ¡°Normal people can¡¯t afford to take care of an infant that never grows up. They run out of money and lose everything, then they die starving. Lady Simira should be lauded as a ramsa for what she did raising her brother. She was a good woman, and he¡¯s lucky he got a quick death. In my home village, one of the boys was a cur, and he was beaten to near-death in the town square because he screamed and scared the local baron¡¯s boy. He lay dying for a day and nobody went to him until they had to move his corpse.¡± There was a tense silence as everyone¡¯s eyes slowly turned toward my left. ¡°Um¡­ Al¡¯Li, right? Hey, um, what are you doing?¡± Vetia was staring awkwardly at Al¡¯Li, who had been sitting silently next to her until now. She sniffed the air around Vetia, trying to avoid the smoke in her face. ¡°Iktlotl,¡± Al¡¯Li blurted out, clicking her tongue on the L¡¯s. ¡°Um, what is she doing? Does she speak Triali?¡± Vetia uncomfortably leaned away. ¡°That¡¯s her native tongue,¡± Miriel pointed out. ¡°Though I don¡¯t remember what that word means.¡± ¡°Alright, well, nature¡¯s calling,¡± I said, getting tired of all the deep conversations. ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°Wait, Des,¡± Vetia said, ¡°Can you help me up, I gotta go too.¡± She¡¯s 100% gonna kill something out there. ¡°Fuuuck. Okay.¡± Adam stretched out his legs in front of him. ¡°I can carry you there and back if you want.¡± ¡°I should probably go,¡± Miriel started getting up, ¡°just to make sure you don¡¯t open any wounds.¡± ¡°Alright, sure. Anyone else wanna come?¡± I yelled out sarcastically. ¡°Group shitting sesh in the woods in five minutes, everyone! We¡¯ll rank size and texture! Don¡¯t be late, and remember to bring your piss bottles for color comparison!¡± Miriel looked down in embarrassment. Sure, I felt a little bad, but Tells snickered and finally cracked a slight smile, so at least the joke landed. ¡°I¡¯m joking, Miriel. But seriously, it¡¯s just a quick piss break, she¡¯ll be fine. Adam, you carry her.¡± I ignited my hand and led the way into the woods until we were out of sight of the fire. I found a tree, waved the fire off my hand, and dropped my pants, finally able to drain the ol¡¯ hose. ¡°Do you want me to just leave you here, or¡­?¡± Adam asked Vetia. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that one,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s a colony of spiders like three feet above her.¡± I didn¡¯t turn around, but I heard Adam yell out startled, and then there was a loud slap in the mud. ¡°Adam!¡± Vetia sounded like she was about to cry. ¡°There aren¡¯t even any spiders in this world. C¡¯mon, man.¡± I finished peeing and turned around to see Adam picking up Vetia, whose entire front half was caked in mud. And she looked absolutely miserable. ¡°Jesus Christ, Vetia,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice until now, but you really look like shit.¡± ¡°Desmond, as long as you live, you will never see my tits. I will show them to everyone except for you.¡± ¡°Funny thing is, I actually apologize for literally everything I have ever said or done that has ever offended you or even slightly peeved you.¡± Adam dabbed some of the mud off her face. ¡°Where do you want me to set you down?¡± Vetia sounded absolutely dejected. ¡°You could always just drop me in the fuckin¡¯ mud again. Not like I can really do anything about it.¡± ¡°Just answer the question.¡± ¡°Under the tree, I guess.¡± Adam smirked at her. ¡°You look like that cat with its face drenched in milk.¡± Vetia cynically said ¡°Ha.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I tilted my head at him. ¡°That meme of the cat whose face is, like, covered in milk, y¡¯know. Same type of vibe as the grandpa who ate paint.¡± ¡°Adam, what the fuck are you talking about?¡± ¡°Eh, you wouldn¡¯t get it. You had a life.¡± Adam had really made a full 180 and it was a little scary how normal he was acting after how fucked up he was a few hours ago. I didn¡¯t want to address it, though, cause I didn¡¯t want to send him back to feeling like shit. ¡°He¡¯s just saying I look stupid and miserable,¡± she said while looking stupid and miserable. ¡°I¡¯m just so hungry, man. Y¡¯all can leave me here a bit if you want. I don¡¯t care. I just need to eat something where they can¡¯t see me. I don¡¯t have room to breathe with Miss Miriel Marple on the case. That blue asshole probably sicced her on us.¡± I shook my head at that last statement. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Look at them. Came from working for Lord Hallax to conveniently traveling with us. Al¡¯Li¡¯s sniffing me up and Miriel is getting into Brenden¡¯s head. Tells has basically turned on us, too. Simira¡¯s all the way up her ass puppeting her even in death.¡± ¡°Are you good, bro?¡± Adam asked like he was a little scared. ¡°You guys can¡¯t see it, can you? Maybe not all of them, but they¡¯re in on this. Hestrel seems alright and Dex is too sad to do anything. I can feel it. They¡¯re gonna turn on us. Sell us out. They¡¯re all connected to Diona and Simira and Hallax. They aren¡¯t on our side. We gotta split off from them.¡± ¡°Dude, we¡¯re only taking them with us until the next city, to make sure Richard doesn¡¯t come for us.¡± Vetia¡¯s eyes shot up to me. ¡°You know Richard? You met him?¡± ¡°No, Brenden did- wait up, do you know him? You sound like you know him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one that burned the whorehouse down when I was hunting Diona.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I slowly tilted my head at her. ¡°Uh, this gotta do with the battle scars? Where¡¯d you get those?¡± ¡°Diona, that bitch. I¡¯m gonna kill her. I swear to God I¡¯m gonna kill her.¡± A sinister, vengeful stare took hold of Vetia¡¯s face. I hadn¡¯t ever seen anything like it before. Adam¡¯s right here and I don¡¯t know how much she knows. I¡¯m just gonna play dumb. ¡°Alright, back it up. Diona? The fuck? How¡¯d do you know her? Isn¡¯t she just a rich hot milf with a fat rack?¡± ¡°First off, her money comes from drugs and human trafficking. Second, it¡¯s all the makeup that makes her hot. Third, she¡¯s a fireblood. Fourth, those aren¡¯t boobs.¡± ¡°What do you mean they¡¯re not boobs?¡± ¡°When she had me pinned against the wall, ripping my arm off, her two other arms came out from inside of them. They ain¡¯t real, Desmond. They¡¯re just skin flaps, flat as a board and danglier than an old guy¡¯s ballsack.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Adam said, ¡°I feel like we¡¯re focusing on the wrong thing. You said she¡¯s a fireblood?¡± ¡°Yes, Adam,¡± she snipped at him. ¡°She¡¯s a fireblood and worse than Simira by a country mile.¡± ¡°How do you know all this?¡± I pondered for a moment. ¡°She¡¯s the one who connected me with Fera to get what I was owed.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, that checks out. Wait, how do you know Fera?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Dinner¡¯s here, shh.¡± We all stopped talking as a small, black-furred creature stepped out of the shadows, sniffing the air and approaching Vetia. Adam and I stepped away while she stabbed it with her wings and began tearing into it with her teeth. I stopped Adam and put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Alright, on a scale of one to full blown schizo, where you puttin¡¯ her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s definitely better than she was at the manor.¡± ¡°What the fuck happened at the manor?¡± ¡°She was like straightjacket and padded cell bad after she healed Lord Amien.¡± Adam relived something gruesome in his mind. ¡°After her heart, I don¡¯t know. That was¡­¡± ¡°I get it. So you¡¯re telling me that paranoid schizo Vetia is an improvement?¡± Adam shrugged and his face fell. ¡°I don¡¯t like seeing her like this, Desmond, but improvement is improvement. I don¡¯t know how fireblood healing and brain damage work, though.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I frowned in thought. She was a loose cannon like this, and if the others found out that she¡¯s a fireblood, shit would not be good. ¡°Alright, Adam, we¡¯re on damage control. Tell me what you know. Like, I¡¯m ninety-nine percent certain, but I gotta ask. Did she kill Simira?¡± Adam looked down and nodded. ¡°Alright, cool. Understandable. Do you know if she did anything else that could get us in trouble?¡± ¡°We, um¡­ she killed Fera.¡± ¡°Shit. Okay. Um. Does anyone know?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t think so.¡± I wagged my finger at him. ¡°No no no. Is it no, or maybe no?¡± Adam quickly shook his head. ¡°Okay,¡± I thought it over for a moment. ¡°This could be a lot worse, but if the evidence is covered up, we should be okay. Wait, how do you know that?¡± ¡°I was there. Fera broke into Vetia¡¯s boyfriend¡¯s house and tried to kill him and his daughter. We had to stop her or else things would have gotten a lot worse.¡± I sighed, having no clue what the fuck was going on. ¡°Alright. What about you? How are you hangin¡¯ in there?¡± Adam¡¯s demeanor turned small, like he was trying to hide himself. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ going. You know.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t.¡± Adam let out a deep breath. ¡°I can¡¯t stop thinking about it. I¡¯m just trying to keep moving forward.¡± ¡°Hey, big guy, don¡¯t sweat it. It¡¯s like Miriel said. That guy had a pretty damn good life, and that was gonna be over. You made it quick. Gave him mercy. Y¡¯know what? I got a story for you. I was out hunting with the old man for the first time, came across a deer out there, bleedin¡¯ its ass off with a bullet hole in its side. Some hunter probably shot it and lost it. So you know what my dad does?¡± ¡°He shot it?¡± ¡°No, he made me shoot it. I was only, like, eight or something. But you know what that did for me?¡± ¡°Made you stronger?¡± ¡°No, I cried about it all fucking day bro, until my he got tired of it and shut me up by givin¡¯ me a shot of Jack. Then I went to Tells¡¯ house and cried. Guess what happened there?¡± ¡°They consoled you?¡± ¡°Nah, they called CPS and then CPS didn¡¯t do jack shit about it because the government blows hot donkey dick. But I learned a very valuable lesson. You know what that is?¡± ¡°Just tell me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna hurt like a bitch, but you¡¯ll get over it eventually. And when shit¡¯s bad, tell your friends and their parents will take care of you.¡± ¡°Thanks, Desmond. I¡¯m gonna go back to the fire and try to figure out what that means.¡± ¡°You gotta carry the schizo back.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± He wandered back over to her. ¡°Hey, you done with that- oh, that¡¯s a second one.¡± I turned around to see a second small black-furred, eight-legged chubby wolf thing with a short snout. Kind of like if there was a strange orgy between a bear, a wolf, and a spider, with just a dash of extreme radiation that somehow produced a mildly Lovecraftian offspring. ¡°Mm-mm.¡± Vetia shook her head, the creature still in her mouth. Adam rubbed his forehead. ¡°We gotta get back or they¡¯re gonna think we¡¯re actually comparing our shit. Come on, put it down.¡± Vetia mumbled something back, not taking the creature out of her mouth. ¡°No, we¡¯ve gotta go.¡± I grabbed the paws of the animal and pulled at it like I was playing tug of war with a dog. She made muffled yells and groans at me while I pulled, but her teeth weren¡¯t releasing. ¡°Open your fuckin¡¯ mouth!¡± Adam stepped up beside me and grabbed onto another leg, yanking at it. Unfortunately for Vetia, her grip was strong, so all he did was yank her from her seated position and into the mud. She wrapped her good leg around a tree to pull back, and a tearing sound was followed by Adam and I stumbling back with the animal while Vetia was, once again, face down in the mud. Adam lifted her like a ragdoll. She spit out the chunk of the animal¡¯s neck and quietly whimpered. ¡°I hate this world. Can we go back to Earth now?¡± We carried her back to camp and set her down back in her spot. ¡°Please tell me that¡¯s mud,¡± Miriel cringed. ¡°Holy shit, you guys! How hard is it to just help her take a shit?!¡± Brenden stood up and ran over to her, wiping mud away with his hands. ¡°It was an accident,¡± I clarified, putting my hands up at the indignant Brenden. ¡°Adam tripped on the way in and dropped her.¡± ¡°She looks kind of like the cat that¡¯s face got covered in milk,¡± Tells observed, shooting Vetia a look like ¡°you deserved it.¡± ¡°See, I told you.¡± Adam set Vetia down and plopped next to Tells. ¡°At least you guys are having fun.¡± Vetia just looked dejected. Miriel walked over to Vetia and started cleaning. ¡°Hey Miriel, could you fix my shoulder for me?¡± ¡°Not if you¡¯re going to try and heal yourself.¡± Vetia sighed. ¡°Re-break my arm afterward, I really don¡¯t care at this point. I just wanna clean the mud out of my pants in private.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t¡­ One moment.¡± Miriel cleaned out the wound, applied some ointment, and then used a sigil to repair most of the wound. There was still a massive scab, but her arm was functional again. ¡°Thanks, Miriel. I¡¯ll make this up to you, I promise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really not necessary.¡± ¡°No, it is. Thank you and good night.¡± She backed into her tent and went silent. Dex quietly stood and started walking to his wagon. ¡°Hey,¡± Brenden called out and anxiously stepped over to him. ¡°Dex, can I talk to you for a minute?¡± Dex glared back at Brenden before hopping into the wagon and laying down. Hestrel stood up beside Brenden. ¡°Let him be, he¡¯ll talk when he¡¯s ready. He¡¯s had a rough couple weeks.¡± ¡°This was supposed to be a good thing, all of us leaving together.¡± Brenden quietly lamented with Hestrel. ¡°And now everyone¡¯s¡­ hurting.¡± Hestrel patted Brenden¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯ll hurt for a while. Longer than any of us. Even so, everyone¡¯s wounds heal. Some of them take more time.¡± I added my two cents. ¡°That ain¡¯t gonna heal. It¡¯s gonna leave a nasty scar.¡± ¡°Scars are proof that we lived. They¡¯re memories of what we lost.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, like this bad boy, I got when I was three.¡± I pointed to the scar on my head. ¡°It¡¯s not there anymore, bucko.¡± Brenden tapped the side of my head and I looked down at my hands. I¡¯ve been in what feels like a daze for so long. I completely forgot I¡¯m not even me anymore. These hands in front of me are mine, but they aren¡¯t mine. Hestrel raised an eyebrow. ¡°How did you, well, end up here? You haven¡¯t said anything about that?¡± I spent a moment recalling. ¡°Well, we died. Then I woke up on the ground next to you, Brenden, but Adam said we were laying in the back of that wagon that got trashed. Adam told us he was laying on a rock, and Tells came running in from the woods after¡­ Hey, Tells, where¡¯d you wake up?¡± She hadn¡¯t been listening. ¡°In bed.¡± ¡°No, no, when we all woke up in this world.¡± ¡°I was on the ground next to that bigass hairy mammoth.¡± ¡°Okay, and then Vetia was¡­ did she ever tell us? Wait, Adam, weren¡¯t you the first one who woke up that day?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah. I was. She was hiding in a bush and then called out to me.¡± ¡°Hiding in a bush?¡± ¡°Yeah, she was naked and hiding herself, I don¡¯t know. Said she woke up like that.¡± Miriel joined the conversation. ¡°That sounds like something the mau might know about.¡± Tells sat up. ¡°What are those? Mau? Lady Simira mentioned them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re a reclusive bunch. Scholarly and shamanistic nomads. I¡¯ve heard that they are connected to energy so much that they can alter the very shape of their bodies at will. And I am not certain, but stories say the wisest of mau shamans retain the memories of their past lives in other worlds.¡± ¡°Jackpot!¡± Brenden pumped his fist in the air and let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Jackpot?¡± I repeated. ¡°Brenden, the fuck are they gonna do for us? All they can do is maybe tell us how we got here with our memories. Even then, that really doesn¡¯t do shit for us.¡± ¡°What if they have a way for us to get home?¡± Brenden asked, full of hope. Adam sighed and muttered ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go home.¡± Brenden looked offended. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go back to my old life. All I did was work all day, then come home and sit down doing nothing because I was so tired from work. On the weekends I¡¯d drink and play games or go out with you guys. Compared to everything I¡¯ve done here, even the bad stuff, my life back there was miserable. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I¡¯m actually alive and not just going through the motions. I¡¯ve got a chance to become better here.¡± Tells nodded. ¡°Same. I miss my family. I wish I could have said bye, but I don¡¯t wanna go back now. I think I¡¯m getting used to life here.¡± ¡°What about you, Desmond?¡± I thought about it for a moment. I didn¡¯t want to do that. Thinking brought up the memories. Brenden tried to console me. ¡°You had a good gig lined up back home, Desmond, but you¡¯ve also got a good one here.¡± ¡°Yeah. I did. I don¡¯t know. Pass. I¡¯ll get back to you when I have some time to think it over.¡± Brenden looked apologetic and torn. ¡°Okay, what about Vetia?¡± I chuckled. ¡°After all the shit she¡¯s been through, you think she¡¯ll wanna stay? She¡¯s been in recovery or a torture cell basically since we got here. She hates this world.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re two for going home, and two against, then Desmond.¡± Tells hugged her knees and leaned her chin on them. ¡°What if¡­ what if when we get there, there¡¯s a way to go back? Are we gonna split up?¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°I mean, we weren¡¯t always gonna be together even in the old world. I¡¯m sure we would have all gone separate ways at some point.¡± ¡°But,¡± Tells meekly said, ¡°we still talked and gamed and met up when we could. You¡¯re basically my brother, Desmond. We grew up together.¡± ¡°And if you guys leave,¡± Adam started, ¡°and we¡¯re still here, we won¡¯t ever see each other again.¡± Miriel stepped back into the conversation. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that the mau can send you home, or that they even know of your home. And if they can, you still have plenty of time to think it over before you get there.¡± Brenden¡¯s head slowly turned to her and remorse washed over his face. His throat croaked with the words he couldn¡¯t force out. ¡°Brenden,¡± she smiled at him, ¡°it¡¯s okay to miss home. I know what it¡¯s like to be a stranger in foreign lands. It¡¯s your decision, your life in the end. I wouldn¡¯t ever want to get in the way of what makes you happy.¡± He was speechless, staring into her eyes like he just completely threw away their relationship. I knew that feeling. ¡°But,¡± she said, ¡°if you change your mind and you decide to stay, I¡¯ll be here to help you find happiness in Rhial.¡± Her confident exterior withered as she realized what she said and batted her eyes down and then back to him, blushing. Brenden let out a sigh of relief and smiled warmly. ¡°Thanks.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°We should all get some sleep. Organize our thoughts and figure out what we want to do.¡± Everyone quietly agreed and the conversations petered out to our tents. I laid down on my sleeping mat and pulled my blankets up. Home. I¡¯ve done everything I could since I got here to not think about it, and yet it seems like it¡¯s the first thing on everyone else¡¯s minds. How¡¯s dad doing? He ain¡¯t a good dad, but at least he tried. Mom was out fuckin¡¯ that doctor or lawyer of whatever he was without a care in the world for me. I wonder if she even showed up to my funeral¡­ All I had were my friends back home and Kaylee. My friends weren¡¯t that close to me, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯d at least pour one out for me. And then Kaylee and I, who were fighting because I was yet again a piece of shit who couldn¡¯t keep it in my pants when I got drunk. The woman who I was begging to forgive me, who was gonna give me a second chance. And here I am, making the exact same mistakes because I just don¡¯t know what else to do. I can drink and fuck all I wanted, but I can¡¯t go back to her in good conscience. I can¡¯t apologize enough to make up for the sinkhole slowly growing inside me. I shot up, frustrated and searching for some comfort, for a bottle of booze, just to make it easier. The only things around me were the darkness of my tent and the silence of the night. It¡¯s cold, so cold. The feeling of being alone is cold, and I can¡¯t stand it. All I need is a shot to warm me up, ease the pain, that¡¯s it. And then I can pass out without a thought in my head to regret. I still remember what her hands felt like in mine. The light thumps of her heartbeat through her bare back, pulled close against my chest. I loved that, our heartbeats falling in sync with each other. Even when I was stressed and couldn¡¯t relax my mind, I could feel her next to me and find the strength to keep going. As I quietly fought back tears in my own solitude, I heard more in the tent next to me. Nonsensical whispers and whimpers. Cracking bone and delicately slicing incisions alongside the dull hum of energy. She weeped into a blanket, muffling her voice. Softly, like she was defeated and enraged, she said ¡°I can¡¯t fucking take this anymore.¡± Her tent flap whipped open and her near inaudible footsteps disappeared into the woods. ¡°Psst!¡± Adam tried to call out to her, but her footsteps didn¡¯t stop. And then I was back to being left alone with my thoughts. One hour, maybe two, had passed. It was hard keeping track of time without a clock or a phone or a watch. Life was dictated by sunup and sundown. And my thoughts were dictated by my miserable sobriety and racing brain, forcing me to think about everything I wanted to forget. A few watches passed while I was tossing and turning. Tells was up, alone by the fire. She glanced back at me as I sat down next to her. ¡°You just get done pettin¡¯ the cobra or something?¡± ¡°Fuck did you say to me?¡± ¡°The only people who stay up this late are vets and chronic masturbators, and you ain¡¯t a vet.¡± ¡°May as well be. Got the memories and the misery to boot.¡± Tells squinted at me. Dark circles and heavy bags surrounded her eyes, but she was as solemn and calm as ever. She patted my shoulder. ¡°You look like shit.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Her eyes got lost in the flickering flames. ¡°Tells, what¡¯s up? You ain¡¯t the fire-staring type.¡± ¡°I zone out all the time.¡± ¡°Nah, you daydream. This ain¡¯t that. I know that look. And I know this look.¡± She turned to me, a brief shiver of her jaw shaking her quiet, contemplative face. She just shook her head. ¡°Did you actually¡­ like, have a thing for Simira?¡± She glared at me. ¡°We weren¡¯t fucking.¡± ¡°Well, yeah, but something happened. You hated her before.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t anymore.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± ¡°So what the fuck is up, Tells?¡± She clenched her fists and rested her forehead on them. ¡°I watched my best friend go insane because of Simira. And I didn¡¯t do anything. I let it happen. And then, after everything¡­¡± She clenched her eyes shut, trying to figure it out. I patted her back and she lifted her head. ¡°Hey, sometimes shit don¡¯t work out. Can¡¯t change it.¡± We both sat in silence listening to the fire crack and burn. The radiating heat stole the cold from me. I spent that time trying to think of how to phrase my next question. ¡°Hey?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°You really mean that? About wanting to stay here?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t wanna see your family again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t. I dunno. But, like, what am I gonna do? Un-die?¡± ¡°And college, you¡¯re just done with that?¡± ¡°Whaaat? No, I loved it. You know, the kid with anger issues going into computer sciences, AKA screaming at a line of code for an hour until I smash my monitor or realize I fat-fingered an apostrophe on the first line. I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Why the hell were you even going in the first place then?¡± ¡°To make dad proud. Make it outta the hood.¡± ¡°Yeah, but like, don¡¯t you make shitloads of money from it?¡± ¡°Good money. But like 99% of the field is a bunch of fuckin furries. I already had to go to school with ¡®em. I¡¯d kill myself if I had to work with them.¡± ¡°Is that how they afford those wierdass animal costumes? IT money?¡± ¡°You just puttin¡¯ two and two together?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t talk to them. Are they really that bad?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not, like, bad people. They¡¯re actually really nice most of the time. But then you add them on socials and realize they¡¯re degenerates with some disgusting and depraved fetishes. They post that shit on main, bro, and they wonder why everyone hates them.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been single almost your whole life.¡± ¡°Yeah. Because I¡¯m afraid of people and have anger issues. I¡¯m not a brain rotted porn addict.¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± She side-eyed me and slapped my gut. ¡°What¡¯d you say, tubby?¡± ¡°Bruh.¡± ¡°Beer gut.¡± She slapped it again. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± She slapped my gut and flicked my nose as I looked down before pointing directly into my face and saying ¡°Fat.¡± ¡°Okay, whatever.¡± I pushed her hand down. ¡°I got time to cut. White boy summer ain¡¯t coming for months. Still weird, though, being in a different body.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me. I¡¯m way lighter and I lost my dick.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that like?¡± ¡°Breezy. And I don¡¯t have to unstick my balls from my legs anymore. But that¡¯s just moved up to my boobs.¡± ¡°What boobs?¡± ¡°Kill yourself.¡± I snickered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a bad trade off, though.¡± ¡°I thought that until I had my period. Scared the shit out of me.¡± ¡°What are those like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ weird. You get a feeling in your gut and you just know you gotta run and take a shit. Ruined two pairs of pants until I started wearing skirts. Didn¡¯t like the diaper look anyway.¡± ¡°Do the cramps really hurt as bad as bitches make them out to be?¡± She thought for a moment. ¡°They make me angry.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± There was a potent silence for a minute. ¡°Not to change the topic from your new gooch, but I can¡¯t just let it go.¡± She side-eyed me again, like it was an open invitation to get hit. ¡°You said you knew Simira differently earlier. What¡¯d you mean by that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna go wake up Brenden for next watch.¡± She started getting up. ¡°Tells.¡± I grabbed her arm. ¡°You¡¯re acting like she was your best friend. I get the whole Stockholms thing and being a little broken up about it, but you ain¡¯t just a little hurt. Even I can see that.¡± She bit her cheek and gazed remorsefully into the fire, then back to me. ¡°She reminded me of you when we met at the police station the first time. Someone who wanted love, but didn¡¯t know how to be loved. She was dealt a shit hand in life, but she was trying her best.¡± My hand fell from her arm and I turned back toward the fire, feeling thoroughly intruded upon and a little violated. Tells snapped in front of my face, still stoic as ever. ¡°Hey, drama queen. Quit sulking. That ain¡¯t you anymore.¡± She slapped my shoulder and walked away. Being sober sucks. All I have is the endless expanse of darkness and the flickering blaze before me. The towering trees snuff out any light from the sky, not to mention how they suffocate the firelight. They¡¯re so enormous and imposing. The bark is so deep brown that it¡¯s almost completely invisible against the black of the deep forest. In fact, everything about the forests and animals are darker here, like everything has adjusted to an almost lightless forest floor. Before I knew it, Brenden was sitting right where Tells had been. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You know.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t had a chance to talk in a while. How are you doing?¡± It was a strange change of pace from talking with Tells. Brenden would keep staring at me and actually respond to what I was saying. ¡°As in¡­¡± I really didn¡¯t want to go into it. ¡°Your head. How are you doing upstairs? You seem down.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡®cause I¡¯ve been so high up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean. How¡¯s being sober?¡± ¡°It sucks. It fucking blows. What did you expect?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re doing better, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It feels awful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s normal.¡± ¡°Vetia, I can hear you. What the fuck are you doing skulking around back there?¡± I turned around to see the pitch white silhouette with oversized wings hunched over her tent. She whipped her head toward us and awkwardly smiled. Brenden¡¯s eyes went wide and he whispered loudly. ¡°What the hell are you doing up? You¡¯re supposed to be recovering.¡± She tiptoed over and sat to my left. ¡°Brenden, that would make perfect sense if I wasn¡¯t a blood monster that can regrow shit, but alas, here I am.¡± ¡°What are you doing up anyway?¡± Brenden was going dad mode again. ¡°Well it¡¯s not like I can just walk into the woods to eat with the others around.¡± I put my hand up. ¡°Wait, why can¡¯t we just tell them you¡¯re a fireblood?¡± ¡°Do I really need to explain that?¡± She retorted. ¡°Yes, bitch, explain.¡± ¡°People here hate firebloods. It¡¯s just how it is. I don¡¯t think there are any ¡®good¡¯ firebloods either. Like Geren said, I¡¯m a bit of an anomaly.¡± Brenden countered with his hopeful optimism. ¡°They¡¯re not gonna kill you if you explain yourself.¡± She scrunched her nose and shook her head. ¡°Not so sure about that.¡± ¡°Well- it- it¡¯s not like we can hide it forever.¡± ¡°Okay, maybe if your thing with Miriel gets far enough. But the people here fucking hate firebloods. I¡¯ve been through the wringer these past months and they didn¡¯t even know I was one. I¡¯m not pushing any more buttons.¡± ¡°Fine. But you get to explain why you¡¯re all fixed up tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Perfect. Great. I tell Miriel that I healed myself and she gets pissy. Big whoop. She knew I was gonna do it anyway.¡± The conversation halted, so I turned to Vetia. ¡°Do you actually want to go home so badly?¡± She looked at me confused for a moment, and then, ¡°Yeah. Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°I was just curious.¡± ¡°Why? Going home on your mind?¡± I lowered my head and pushed back my hair. ¡°Yeah. It has been.¡± Vetia reached her arm around my shoulder and scooted closer. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Get it off your chest. Is it Kaylee?¡± I nodded. Brenden sounded a little taken aback. ¡°You told her about Kaylee? When?¡± ¡°She was the only one of you who asked about relationship stuff back home.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She got us back on track. ¡°You still missing her, Dez?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± She nodded knowingly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been a while since we died. You don¡¯t just hold onto something like this unless it really means something to you. C¡¯mon, you can talk to mommy about anything.¡± She showed her teeth in a wide, mischievous grin. I glared at her. ¡°I¡¯m not drunk enough for your bullshit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing. Drinking makes life easier, but sobriety makes life matter. That¡¯s why you were sober for so long, because of her, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Then I fucked it all up right before we left for spring break. Like I was saying to you in the car, before we all fuckin¡¯ died.¡± ¡°And I never got to answer you.¡± Brenden put his hand on my shoulder. ¡°What happened, Desmond?¡± ¡°I, uh, I was at a party after midterms. Thought, fuck it, why not. It¡¯s just one party, y¡¯know. Well, next thing I know, I¡¯m going shot for shot. Fast forward ten drinks, and I¡¯m in a closet gettin¡¯ head from some sorority hoe. And then, I¡­¡± I lost myself in trying to find the right way to put it. Vetia leaned down into my line of sight and smiled at me. ¡°And then you told Kaylee. Right after the party.¡± ¡°Of fuckin¡¯ course I did.¡± There were no tears. I didn¡¯t deserve them. Brutal dejection was all I had earned. ¡°I fucked up so bad, man. And then I got here and started doing the same Goddamn thing. The same Goddamn thing that I swore I¡¯d never do again. I¡¯ve been trying to just move forward and forget, but I can¡¯t. I just feel like even more of a piece of shit.¡± ¡°What made you want to do it? What broke you?¡± She pulled my head onto her shoulder. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± ¡°Does too.¡± I pulled away and shook my head. She yanked my head back onto her shoulder. ¡°If you can figure out what was hurting you in here,¡± she patted my chest, ¡°you can pull yourself out of that mindset once you start falling in.¡± ¡°I miss her.¡± ¡°What does that feel like, to you?¡± ¡°I want to see her. Feel her body against me. Hear her voice. I want to apologize.¡± ¡°Guilt? Yearning?¡± I paused, just taking a moment to breathe. ¡°Regret.¡± ¡°Mm, sounds like you¡¯ve been avoiding it, huh? Drinking, screwing, singing. You¡¯re pushing it away, aren¡¯t you, because it hurts?¡± ¡°I¡¯m done with this.¡± ¡°No you ain¡¯t.¡± She firmly held my head in place. ¡°Talk, motherfucker, this is an emotional stick-up.¡± ¡°Why do you even care? Why can¡¯t I just handle it myself?¡± ¡°Look where handling it yourself got you. Life isn¡¯t meant to be walked alone. So until you find the one you wanna walk it with, the boys are gonna make sure you¡¯re keeping your head on straight.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t even a guy anymore, idiot.¡± She glared at me. ¡°You can take the boy outta your homie, but you can¡¯t take the homie outta your boy. Even if I am just some freakish mutant ghoul woman now, I earned my spot in the last life. Same as Tells, minus the whole ghoul thing.¡± Brenden leaned forward. ¡°What¡¯s up with all that? You keep calling yourself a ghoul and a blood monster and shit.¡± She raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Have you seen me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re not, but, like, you say that like you hate yourself.¡± ¡°God forbid I abhor the monstrosity I am.¡± I cut in. ¡°Hypocrite.¡± She clutched the side of my neck hard, digging her fingers in. ¡°Pardon? Didn¡¯t catch that.¡± I ducked out of her grip and sat back up. ¡°You¡¯re spewing all this shit about confronting yourself and yet you hate yourself more than me.¡± ¡°Nuh uh.¡± ¡°Yuh huh.¡± ¡°Yuh huh,¡± Brenden emphasized. She grunted in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re not gonna weasel out of questioning by flipping the script.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°And you can¡¯t just ignore your shit because you¡¯re the one asking questions.¡± Brenden snuck up from his seat, standing behind both of us. He slapped the back of our heads. ¡°I¡¯m the one asking questions now. So both of you shut the fuck up.¡± He pushed me to the right. ¡°Scooch.¡± I slid over and Brenden took the spot in the middle. He began. ¡°Desmond, you¡¯re in denial. If you keep drinking and refusing to confront these things, you aren¡¯t ever gonna get better. Man, look at yourself.¡± He vaguely gestured to my body. ¡°It¡¯s been like, a month since we got here, and you¡¯ve completely let yourself go. Sure, you can¡¯t get a haircut around here, but you haven¡¯t done any kind of upkeep. Your beard is coming in all patchy, your hair¡¯s a complete mess, your six pack that you came here with is all gone. My man, you gotta start by taking care of yourself.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, lemme get a sick fade and a chin strap, that¡¯ll get me feeling all nice and chipper, like I was never a piece of shit at all.¡± Vetia flicked the back of my head. ¡°Cut that out. All the self-deprecating bullshit is just gonna make you feel worse than you need to.¡± Brenden flicked her forehead. ¡°Silence, hypocrite.¡± He turned back to me. ¡°If you keep thinking you¡¯re a piece of shit, you¡¯re gonna be a piece of shit. How you see yourself is how others see you. Look good, feel good. Dress and act how you want people to see you.¡± All this is horseshit. I groaned. ¡°For fucks sake, you guys. You¡¯re just rattling off generic self-help garbage at me when we got way worse things to worry about. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re both always paragons of positivity.¡± Brenden flicked my head. ¡°I¡¯m positive as fuck. I ain¡¯t glass half full or half empty, I¡¯m glad I got the glass at all. You¡¯ve gotta find a way to help yourself, in your own way. I don¡¯t know what that looks like for you, but it starts with realizing you can be better.¡± ¡°What he said,¡± Vetia seconded. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna hear shit from you. All you¡¯ve done aside from cracking shitty jokes is bitch and moan about hating this place and wanting to go home. Brenden, you¡¯ve just been all over your new girlfriend ignoring every problem around us. Adam¡¯s barely been functioning, and Tells is hiding shit. What the fuck are we even trying to do here? Like seriously, what¡¯s the goal? What if we can¡¯t get back home? Do we go to another city and get kicked out? Live in a cottage in the countryside until we die of dysentery? Like what¡¯s the endgame here?¡± Brenden patted my back and chuckled. ¡°Hell if I know. Probably the same as when we were back on Earth. Live and be happy. Find a nice place. Find a nice girl. And make the most of life. Isn¡¯t that what you wanted back home?¡± His smile, his optimism, his positivity, it was infectious. The way he looked forward with hope made me want to know what that felt like. I shook my head, defeated by his overpowering positivity. ¡°Everything was fine for me back home. I had everything I wanted. What, now I gotta just accept defeat and move on? Accept that I¡¯ll never get to make amends?¡± Brenden let out a deep sigh and gazed into the fire. ¡°What do you think we¡¯ve all had to do? Desmond, none of us got to make up for anything. My family¡­ it¡¯d be a miracle if mom is still living at the house. If we¡¯re lucky, the landlord heard about me dying and gave her an extension. But she was a real witch, so I don¡¯t know. And even if she can afford the house, Kyle¡¯s leukemia debt is just gonna rack up in its place. That¡¯s what I go to sleep worrying about every night, but I can¡¯t let it get to me or I won¡¯t be able to keep going.¡± ¡°Be grateful for what you guys got,¡± Vetia mumbled, a longing expression washing over her face. ¡°At least you can live normal lives here. The only thing I have is hope that maybe one day I¡¯ll get to go back to my old life. I was finally close to my lifelong goal. I was out on a site in the middle of nowhere in Pakistan, learning from one of the coolest archeologists in the field, searching for signs of Alexandria in Orietai. Then I went home after a year, during spring break.¡± Brenden raised his eyebrow. ¡°I thought your dream was to be an actor?¡± ¡°Nobody wanted to cast a five foot nothing average looking manlet in a show, no matter how much I tried. Had to give that dream up pretty early. I¡¯m just lucky archeology worked out¡­ or, well, was working out. Now¡­ I¡¯d be lucky to live as a recluse in some backwoods shack.¡± ¡°Wait, because you¡¯re a fireblood? I thought you were hiding it perfectly fine.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not,¡± I said. ¡°Anyone with a half decent nose can smell it on her. I¡¯m betting Al¡¯Li already has you figured out.¡± Her eyes grew more distant. ¡°Probably. I¡¯ve had a bounty on my head since I got here, and the clock is running out before somebody claims it. If we can find these mau and they can give us answers, we should chase that without looking back. I should. I don¡¯t have many other options if I want a real life.¡± A chilling night breeze swirled around us, twisting the plumes of smoke rising from the fire and sending hundreds of tiny embers into the sky until they disappeared like dying suns in the starscape above. The fire¡¯s warmth, the smell of smoke, the crackling sticks, they were like an ocean washing over me. They reminded me of what peace felt like, even if it was only for the brief minute that we all sat in silence, unsure of where to take the conversation. I held my hands out to the open flame, embracing the waves of heat that cascaded up my arms and through my body. I finally let my shoulders relax. I¡¯m not in this alone. They¡¯re struggling just as much as me, but I gave up trying. I took in a deep breath and leaned back. ¡°Then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. Run forward without looking back. Until we get where we¡¯re going.¡± Vetia relaxed into a smile. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t get to thank you for saving my life back in Vehfirn, so thanks.¡± I grinned, ¡°I already told you how you can thank me.¡± She flipped me off with a smirk. It still wasn¡¯t easy to find sleep on the mat in my tent, but the unfamiliarity made it more comfortable for me. Night sounds and the noises of the forest became like white noise, and the overpowering aroma of smoke kept the awful smell of mud and muck at bay. It was like I was camping back home, and that very comfort must have crept into my dreams, which were peaceful. Good dreams for the first night since I had arrived here. Me and her, basking in firelight, together. * * * * * I mentally checked into listening to the yelling woman outside about halfway through. Whatever it was, Miriel was absolutely fuming. ¡°This is how you die! You become overconfident in your abilities and fail to see the harm that is being done to yourself! That¡¯s why I have been attending to you!¡± Vetia was as chill as ever, trying to calm Miriel. ¡°Miriel, Miriel, I know. I¡¯m telling you that I¡¯m fine. Most of the work was already-¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t remotely close to being done! Your wounds need to be disinfected and cleaned every time you regenerate them! Your vital organs must be checked to ensure jzanmah is not interfering with them! You could very easily have an internal infection that we¡¯ll have to cut you open to treat!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good. I¡¯m good. Miriel, I appreciate all the help and honestly thank you, but I needed to finish it myself. I¡¯m-¡± ¡°Is that what that outburst in the wagon was? Is that why your pupils are so dilated? You have jzanmah sickness, possibly dangerously far along now! Do you know what the steps are?! Delirium, derangement, hysteria, mania, psychosis, and then your brain will shut down!¡± An exasperated groan was the only thing my body could do in preparation for the shitstorm I was about to step out into. And as I peered out from my tent, I realized everyone felt the exact same as me. Nobody knew what to do or say. Everyone was just standing off to the side monitoring the situation. ¡°I don¡¯t get why this is such a big deal.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen people like you kill themselves because they get caught up in using jzanmah!¡± ¡°I told you everything I did, Miriel, and I was fine after all that. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve just got more energy stores than other people.¡± ¡°Energy stores?! You don¡¯t even know how energy functions?!¡± ¡°Was I supposed to know?¡± ¡°You never should have started at all if you didn¡¯t know what you were doing!¡± Vetia¡¯s temper finally broke and she began pacing in circles, miming her hand to her words wildly. ¡°You think I had a fucking choice?! All I had was a book with a list of sigils in a world I didn¡¯t know shit about! Should I have just let Adam die when his intestines were a pool of mush on the ground?! Should I have let Tells and Brenden bleed out after they got cut to high hell by giant bugs?! Should I have let Tarynn die of poison?! Should I have watched a little girl and her father die on the floor of their own home just so I wouldn¡¯t get a little tired?! Tell me, Miriel, what would you have done in all your wisdom and years?!¡± ¡°We stabilize and treat the wounded and dying, then regenerate over time so our brains aren¡¯t liquefied in our heads! There are sigils for all of this!¡± Miriel was getting caught up in the heat, turning it into a screaming match. ¡°Well maybe take that up to the piece of shit who whisked us away to this place! Tell him to put the stabilizing and treating sigils in my Goddamn book next time!¡± ¡°It never occurred to you to lighten your application of energy and ease the flow after all of that?!¡± ¡°How was I supposed to just know that?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need specific sigils to realize the damage you¡¯re doing to yourself!¡± Vetia stepped up to Miriel, shoving her finger in her face. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about myself! Everything I¡¯ve done is to make sure these motherfuckers get home alive! That¡¯s all I want! I don¡¯t care if I die! I hate this world! I hate this fucking body! It¡¯s been nothing but a burden since I came here!¡± Miriel was flabbergasted and enraged like Vetia just wasn¡¯t listening. ¡°Your body?! What, because you¡¯re half-lonsu?! Because your bones are more brittle?! How else do you think you can fly?!¡± A moment of realization crossed Vetia¡¯s face before she reset back to her irritation. ¡°That¡¯s not even remotely it.¡± She was trying to calm herself down to not reveal anything, but her entire being was infuriated. Her heart was beating so rapidly that I could hear it from across camp. ¡°Has your brain been compromised since you arrived here? That could be the cause of depressive symptoms or mood swings. When did you first heal Adam?¡± Miriel was matching Vetia¡¯s tone, similarly fighting back her own anger. ¡°It was bad. But it got better, just like after I fixed Simira¡¯s dad.¡± ¡°Jzanmah sickness doesn¡¯t get better on its own, Vetia! If you think you¡¯ve gotten better, then you¡¯re only slipping further into it!¡± Adam broke the indifference of the silent audience and stepped up to Vetia¡¯s side. ¡°She¡¯s right, Miriel, I saw her when she was completely insane. She¡¯s gotten a lot better since then.¡± Adam¡¯s calm and collected manner was like dashing water onto a raging fire. Miriel made an exaggerated sigh. ¡°That doesn¡¯t just happen, Adam. Nobody has ever simply recovered from jzanmah sickness on their own. It¡¯s a lengthy recovery process that often results in serious memory loss. They only seem better because they become better at concealing it.¡± ¡°Miriel,¡± Vetia scratched her head, grasping at a clump of hair until her hand relaxed. She had an idea. ¡°We were dropped in this world with a bunch of weird shit, right? Brenden¡¯s really fucking fast. Adam¡¯s strong as all hell. Desmond can see for miles. Tells¡­ I¡¯m sure she can do things. Who¡¯s to say I wasn¡¯t just made like this? Maybe my gift or whatever is that my body heals better so I can heal.¡± Before Miriel could rebuke, Adam jumped in. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s right. Maybe that is what her ability is. Why don¡¯t we table this and Miriel, you can do some kinds of checks on her to see if she¡¯s actually healing.¡± A stern, irritated look became of Miriel¡¯s face, and she pointed to the log next to the fire. ¡°Lay down. I¡¯m checking your brain.¡± Vetia silently laid on the log while Miriel scribed the sigil that put a sheen of light in front of her eyes. Miriel was raising her eyebrows and contorting her lips as she examined Vetia¡¯s brain through the sigil. Miriel sighed and the sheen fell from before her eyes. ¡°Have you noticed any visual or auditory hallucinations recently?¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°Both, or just one?¡± ¡°Both.¡± ¡°How often?¡± ¡°Most of the day and night.¡± ¡°How much do they inhibit your daily activities?¡± ¡°I can usually function normally.¡± ¡°And what kinds?¡± ¡°Shapes at the corners of my vision. Unintelligible voices at random points.¡± ¡°Any memory loss or blackouts?¡± ¡°A couple blackouts.¡± ¡°Can you describe the aftermath of the blackouts? Any reported acting out of your normal behavior?¡± ¡°No. There are just a few periods of time where I black out and when I come to I¡¯m where I was supposed to be going.¡± ¡°Any recent depression or episodes of mania?¡± ¡°No.¡± Miriel raised her eyebrows at Vetia. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. Can you just tell me what you found?¡± ¡°Abnormally low levels of white matter in the frontal and temporal lobes. Minor bruising on the front and back of your brain. Do you remember if you suffered a concussion recently?¡± ¡°Yeah. I did.¡± Miriel crouched next to the log and sighed, leveling with her. ¡°Vetia, your brain is literally falling apart due to the intensity of the jzanmah flowing through you. Having a concussion alongside that will only increase the severity of the side effects. You need to rest, and if you truly can heal, then I hope we¡¯ll see improvement. But for now, can you please, please, refrain from healing yourself any further?¡± Vetia gave an apologetic smile and a thumbs up. At the sight of it, Miriel looked like she was about to blow a gasket until she brushed a hand down her face and lightly chuckled. ¡°I urge you not to raise your thumb at anyone here. It¡¯s quite the obscene gesture.¡± Brenden slapped his thigh and stood up as everyone took their own silent, collective sighs. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get Dante and Vergil ready if you guys wanna pack up camp.¡± Tells¡¯ eyes opened wide and her head snapped toward Brenden¡¯s direction. ¡°Did you name the corties without us?¡± ¡°You guys weren¡¯t doing it, so I did.¡± Tells rolled her eyes and scoffed. ¡°And you named them Dang and Virgin?¡± Brenden gestured to the red corty and then the jet black corty. ¡°Dante. Vergil.¡± Vetia leaned up from the log she was lying on and squinted at him skeptically. ¡°Ain¡¯t no fucking way you¡¯ve read the Divine Comedy.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was that funny.¡± Adam walked past Brenden with a folded tent and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll figure it out one day buddy.¡± Everyone broke off into doing their own work, picking things up, and moving on. Hestrel and Dex droned on about how cold the night was. Brenden snipped at Tells and Adam to clean off their boots before getting into wagons and then told them about that dream he kept having. Miriel and Al¡¯Li whispered about some herbs they found. Vetia and I lamented not having more clothes, as ours were mostly torn and stained with mud and blood. The day was no less muddy, in fact, the snow was practically gone and the roads were more like sludge than roads. Ash wasn¡¯t falling so heavily today, so we could travel without veils. The corties¡¯ feet slapped and sucked in and out of the ashy grime while the wheels spat it all up behind us. Brenden yelled back from the front. ¡°Hey Desmond, it smell like it¡¯s gonna rain to you? Clouds definitely look it.¡± ¡°It smells like mud and shit, Brenden. Mud from the road, shit from all of us, and yeah, sure, I guess it smells like it¡¯s gonna rain.¡± ¡°For the record,¡± Vetia said, ¡°it¡¯s not me that smells like shit. I¡¯ve only shit twice since we got here and I washed after both times.¡± ¡°Well you just smell bad in general,¡± I said. She looked down dejectedly. ¡°Yeah, Tells.¡± Adam said jokingly, ¡°Wipe your ass for once.¡± ¡°Wiping wastes time when I could be on that grind.¡± Adam shook his head. ¡°The things civilized society makes us do. Truly barbaric.¡± A mischievous grin formed on Vetia¡¯s face. ¡°By the way, Adam and Tells, how was your little slow dance at the manor?¡± Tells and Adam both froze. ¡°It wasn¡¯t our fault,¡± Tells said to cover for herself, ¡°some whore pushed us into each other.¡± ¡°Yeah, um, she wanted to dance with me or something, which was kind of weird, but I didn¡¯t wanna.¡± Adam scratched the back of his head and looked out the front of the wagon. ¡°She wasn¡¯t gonna go away unless we were dancing, so we¡­ danced.¡± Vetia crossed her legs on a crate and leaned back, clearly goading them on. ¡°How was that? Y¡¯know, two longtime friends dancing in the dark together to quite the romantic song. Surely there was something afoot, no?¡± Tells was staring at the floor awkwardly, so Adam tried his best to answer. ¡°Nothing, no. I doubt being in new bodies would make us suddenly attracted to each other or something.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± She prodded. ¡°Desmond has been staring at my tits basically since we arrived here.¡± Oh great, she¡¯s dragging me into it. ¡°Well, yeah. I fuckin¡¯ love lookin¡¯ at tits. And we¡¯re in this bouncy wagon so they¡¯re just boobin¡¯ around all breastily. Of course I¡¯m gonna be staring at ¡®em.¡± ¡°He¡¯s also a complete horndog, so I really wouldn¡¯t put it past him,¡± Adam said. I was genuinely a little offended. ¡°Don¡¯t you deny me my manhood. I fuckin¡¯ love boobs and I think it¡¯s weirder that you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Adam was warming up to the conversation finally. ¡°How do you know we danced?¡± Vetia paused for a moment. ¡°Desmond told me. He said he saw you do it.¡± I glared at her and then turned to Adam, who was now staring at me. ¡°I got good eyes, y¡¯know. Caught a couple glimpses from up on stage.¡± That was a complete lie. I was drunk as shit during the performance and trying my damnedest just to play and sing properly. Vetia chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand, then whispered something that only I could hear. ¡°Did I ever mention that I can literally feel people¡¯s emotions?¡± She raised her eyebrows and looked at the two of them, who were more awkward than ever. She lowered her hand and squinted at Tells for a moment. ¡°Tells, for real though, have you noticed any changes? Not like anything crazy, but small things?¡± Tells finally faced Vetia before looking around in thought. ¡°A little, yeah, but nothing really major.¡± ¡°Like small things, right? Little changes in preference and the way you see things?¡± ¡°Everything seems a little more, like, colorful. And the flavors I like are different from before.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Adam hypothesized, ¡°considering you¡¯re in bodies of the other sex, there are different hormones that are dominant. Even I can say I¡¯ve felt weirdly more energetic and happier like this. Seems like it¡¯s just your minds adjusting to the functions of your different bodies. It was weird for me for a while too, getting up and wondering how I felt so good. But it¡¯s probably because I¡¯m taking better care of myself now.¡± ¡°You come out saying the nerdiest shit sometimes, man,¡± I said. ¡°Okay Mr. Engineer, and you¡¯re not?¡± ¡°But,¡± Vetia smirked, ¡°if your mind is connected to your body so closely, and you¡¯re adjusting to your new biology, your new needs and desires, then-¡± Tells cut her off. ¡°You¡¯re evil, you know that?¡± ¡°So then am I become your enemy, by telling you the truth?¡± Vetia smiled smugly at Tells. Tells accepted her challenge. ¡°You are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.¡± Vetia thought for a moment and responded slowly like she was trying to recite something far back in her memory. ¡°So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.¡± Tells responded instantly. ¡°And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not winning this one. You know what?¡± Vetia shrugged off her loss. ¡°I¡¯m cool with being the devil. Tells can be the angle on the other shoulder.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about our bodies changing us,¡± Tells pointed at her. ¡°Your wings and tail have poison in them, you drink blood to survive, you even have devil horns and you don¡¯t think that¡¯s changed you at all?¡± Adam leaned forward. ¡°Do you think maybe she¡¯s the angle because she¡¯s right?¡± Vetia smiled even though she seemed thoroughly irked. ¡°Nope, not at all. I see you guys got a big helping of that Simira Kool-aid, though.¡± I thought for a moment about what Tells said. ¡°What does blood even taste like to you? Irony like normal, or is it different?¡± Vetia reset her formerly irritated face. Without hesitation, she said ¡°Dr Pepper.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± I sighed, ¡°Dr Pepper sounds good right now.¡± Vetia smirked. ¡°El Psy Kongroo.¡± She shared a nod with Adam. I squinted at the two of them. ¡°What the hell does speakin¡¯ in moon runes have to do with my barbeque soda?¡± Adam chuckled pretentiously. ¡°Ohohoho, perhaps it¡¯s too much of an intellectual drink for you.¡± Vetia matched his pomp. ¡°Oh, indeed. His brain is that of a stunted homo erectus.¡± I shook my head. ¡°That one of those gay jokes that I get too much pussy to understand?¡± She leaned back and faked sympathy. ¡°Woah, we never said anything about you being gay, Desmond. Is there something you need to tell us? It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re here for you, man. You can tell us anything.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Adam said with a matching tone of pretense, ¡°and if you need any advice on coming out, just ask Brenden. He¡¯s got tons of experience.¡± ¡°You talking shit back there?!¡± Brenden yelled back. ¡°Shut your knife-ear ass up.¡± I called back. ¡°Speak when you¡¯re spoken to.¡± ¡°You jackasses said my na-¡± ¡°Aht!¡± Vetia raised her finger to silence him. ¡°Drive the wagon, slave, or we¡¯ll give you forty lashes!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll crash the wagon now, I don¡¯t give a fuck.¡± ¡°Elves.¡± Adam chuckled and raised his water skin. We all shared a hearty laugh, except Brenden who rolled his eyes at us and got back to his dutiful labor. The conversation died out and we all turned inward to relax. Time passed as we approached evening. The air in the wagon was certainly lighter than yesterday, but angst still undoubtedly plagued us. Tells wouldn¡¯t even look at Vetia, Adam was constantly spacing out, and Vetia was back to whispering to herself. Me? I was doing just fine. I was the only one without a problem. Even Brenden was cursing at the corties under his breath when they would slow down or the wagon would lurch from being caught in a patch of mud from the fresh drizzle wetting the ground. We were back in our own little world, separated from all the shit we had to endure before. And then the wagon stopped. ¡°What¡¯s going on up there?!¡± Brenden hollered up to the leading wagon. Hestrel leaned out the back. ¡°Wheel¡¯s stuck in the mud!¡± Wooden wagon wheels on a muddy dirt road got stuck? My surprise was unimaginable, but only because it managed to take this long to get stuck. ¡°Desmond, Adam,¡± Brenden stepped back into the wagon, ¡°wanna come out and help us move this shit?¡± Adam and I stepped out onto the road and up to the lead wagon. It was much smaller than ours and beat to hell. The four foot tall, wide wooden wheel was halfway sunk into the mud. Ain¡¯t nothing was getting it out of there until the road dried and we could dig it free. Brenden leaned down and pointed. ¡°Adam, you think you could lift this sucker out while the corties pull? We¡¯ll help, but you¡¯re gonna be carrying us.¡± Adam paced around the wheel and looked it over with a doubtful expression. ¡°It¡¯s pretty deep in there. I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± He planted his boots into the road, trying to find purchase in the sloppy mud. Brenden, Hestrel, Dex, and I followed suit and readied ourselves. Al¡¯Li whipped the reigns and the corties yanked at the wagon. The whole endeavor was a mess. Each of the corties¡¯ six legs were slipping in the sludge, unable to gain any traction with the weight of the wagon pulling on them. Adam, on the other hand, found his footing and began lifting as hard as he could. ¡°Stop! Stop! Adam you¡¯re gonna-!¡± I yelled out to Adam who was right next to me, but I realized way too late what was wrong. Adam¡¯s legs were completely straight and he was arched over the wheel, lifting entirely with his lower back. Even for how strong he was, this wagon was gonna beat his ass without proper form. I heard three nasty pops and the wagon heaved out of its hole, back on track. Adam grunted and yelled as he fell sideways like he was paralyzed. His eyes were glued shut as his face contorted and silently writhed. ¡°Get him back into the wagon!¡± I yelled out to the girls in the wagon. ¡°Make some space in there!¡± Tells leaped out of the wagon to help us lift him in, and we needed it. Adam was a big sonuvabitch and every extra hand was needed. ¡°Lift! Now!¡± Hestrel called and we all slowly carried him. Everyone was slipping and losing grip on him, but trying not to hurt him anymore. We dragged him into our wagon and laid him down. The whole wagon rocked as he flopped onto the floor and Vetia began using the green glasses sigil to check him out. ¡°Adam, can you feel my hand?¡± Vetia pressed her fingers against Adam¡¯s back, which was spasming so much that his skin looked like waves on an ocean. ¡°No¡­¡± Adam pushed out weakly. ¡°Fuck me, lower back muscles torn in several spots and three ruptured discs. I''m gonna have to cut in to fix them.¡± Miriel climbed into the wagon. ¡°You¡¯re not doing any sigils, Vetia! Stabilize and treat.¡± She turned toward the front of the wagon. ¡°Dex! I need you to grab my bag!¡± Dex hopped out and she sat next to Vetia. ¡°Watch me.¡± She expeditiously traced a circle, then several smaller symbols that were like wavy E¡¯s around the inside. Three lines cut through all but three of the E¡¯s and the lines formed a triangle that extended outside of the circle. The final shape was a long line stretching around the entire sigil in a circle, but with deliberate loops and valleys that made it look more like cursive writing. ¡°This sigil treats inflammation and reduces pain. It will make his situation more bearable while we figure out how to fix it.¡± She raised the sigil over Adam and quickly whipped her finger down from the center of the sigil to Adam¡¯s back. A string followed her finger down and the cursive around the sigil began unspooling into his twitching muscles. The muscles calmed and only mildly twitched, but Adam¡¯s face was still showing signs of incredible pain. ¡°How long does this take to activate, Miriel?¡± Vetia was worried and her voice weakened every time a jolt of pain shot through Adam. ¡°It is active. It requires me to concentrate for a few moments, though, so please wait.¡± Miriel stared into the sigil as every one of the lines slowly drew into Adam¡¯s back, and she reached her finger in a couple times to tug and direct the flow into different spots. Meanwhile, Dex finally returned with her tools, setting them by Miriel¡¯s feet. Adam¡¯s face showed it wasn¡¯t working well and Vetia was growing antsy. ¡°What now?¡± Miriel raised her hand like she wanted to help, then clenched her fist in frustration. ¡°I don¡¯t have good enough tools! I was borrowing most of everything from Hallax! I don¡¯t have a knife precise and durable enough to cut next to his spine! If he wasn¡¯t jinian, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. I can¡¯t cut in safely near his spine, especially with his muscles spasming so heavily.¡± Vetia glanced frantically around to all of us. The others didn¡¯t know what she was thinking, but I could tell she wanted to play it risky. Her eyes kept darting to Miriel. I tilted my head at her, trying to reassure her and figure out what she wanted to do. ¡°Miriel, switch spots with me. You two can work on either side of him.¡± She frustratedly protested. ¡°No, Desmond, I can work here-¡± I pushed through everyone and shoved my ass in Miriel¡¯s face so she couldn¡¯t see and had to get up. On queue, Vetia stumbled from me pushing her, jabbing at Adam¡¯s back with her wing spikes in all the same places the sigil hit before. With both the poison and the sigil active, Adam¡¯s face relaxed and the muscles calmed. She slipped her tail around and stuck that in his back while Miriel awkwardly stumbled around the wagon interior. Hestrel returned from moving the front wagon off the road. ¡°We may need to call it a day. The road¡¯s too wet.¡± Miriel¡¯s eyes flicked from Hestrel to Adam¡¯s body just as Vetia¡¯s tail slipped away. Vetia had a claw out, slicing an incision. ¡°Miriel, you do the sigil, just tell me where to cut.¡± Miriel stared aghast at Adam¡¯s back, ¡°How did it calm¡­ what are these?¡± She poked at the jabs with her scalpel, then leaned over him. ¡°Okay, cut right in-¡± She stopped, eyes locked on Vetia¡¯s claw. I pressed the issue. ¡°Miriel, what are you doing?¡± Miriel¡¯s blood was frozen. Impatience and fear spread over Vetia¡¯s face. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. ¡°Miriel! Do the sigil so we can fix Adam and get out of here!¡± And yet Miriel stood there in shock. Brenden pushed past us to her and looked at her closely, just as worried as the rest of us. ¡°Miriel, what¡¯s going on?¡± Her voice was next to silent, but it cut through the sound of rain and rang through everyone¡¯s ears, even if they could only read her lips. ¡°Bimuari.¡± Everyone except Vetia heard it, who Brenden had just stepped in front of to talk to Miriel. ¡°Goddamnit Miriel! Are you gonna help me or not?!¡± Vetia leaned forward to grab Miriel by the arm, who recoiled with a scream of pure terror, stumbling to the back of the wagon and tumbling out like an arachnophobe staring at a giant spider. She slipped to her feet and backed away from the wagon, slowly being drenched by the rain. She pointed weakly, pacing backwards and struggling to catch her breath, piecing together all the evidence she observed. ¡°Claws that can cut into a neck while its being choked. Innate healing. Poison that stills the muscles entirely. You¡­ you¡¯re a fireblood. That¡¯s how you murdered Lady Simira, isn¡¯t it?¡± The air froze around us and all we could hear was the sound of pounding rain as everyone¡¯s eyes shifted around the wagon. Vetia¡¯s breath quickened and she glanced madly at everyone in panic before hurrying out of the wagon like she was trying to avoid being surrounded. ¡°Yep!¡± She yelled out, stepping into the mud and turning between the wagon and Miriel. Her jaw was quivering, voice and body shaking with fear. ¡°You caught me! And I don¡¯t regret it one fucking bit because she deserved it! I told you everything she did to me! Don¡¯t act like I didn¡¯t have a damn good reason for it!¡± She turned to Miriel and started walking down the road after her. ¡°Miriel! I need you to help me fix Adam! After that, we can hash this thing out all you want! You¡¯ve got the sigils to fix him, I¡¯ve got the claws and the poison to make it easy. Please, just help me this once and then I¡¯ll leave forever. We¡¯ll hop in our wagons and go our separate ways, please, just help me fix Adam.¡± Vetia extended her clawed hand, her only hand, out to Miriel, who was still horrified at the sight of her. ¡°When did you become a fireblood?! Did you wake up one after cutting your heart out?!¡± Vetia clenched her fist and straightened her finger. ¡°I¡¯ve been one since I woke up here.¡± She channeled jzanmah and made three quick circles in the air, activating a sigil. ¡°I told you, Miriel, I ain¡¯t the same as the rest of them. ¡°And you hid that from all of us?! ¡°My friends know! Have known! What else was I supposed to do?! Declare it to the world?! Get hunted and murdered!¡± ¡°You murdered a noblewoman in cold blood and let an innocent man die for it! No good person would do that!¡± Vetia¡¯s hand fell and her head dropped. Tears and rain rushed down her shattered expression. Brenden jumped out of the wagon after them, and then Tells and I followed. Brenden put his hands up and tried to calm everything down. ¡°Miriel! Vetia! We can work this out! Miriel, please, trust me! She¡¯s not a bad person! All Miriel showed was betrayal and rage, pushing the wet flaps of hair off of her face and fighting back tears as she looked to him. ¡°What? Is she supposed to be some exception to the rule? The only good fireblood? Different or not, she¡¯s a cold blooded murderer!¡± Vetia gritted her teeth and lashed her hand out in the air. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say I murdered her in cold blood like she¡¯s perfectly innocent in all of this! Do I need to repeat for the umpteenth fucking time everything she did to me?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fireblood, Vetia. All you have is cold blood.¡± She began rattling off her list of grievances like she¡¯d practiced a thousand times. ¡°What would you do if you were assaulted, beaten, had your tongue cut out, got used for sigils until your brain turned to mush in your head, locked in a dungeon until you went mad and cut your own heart out just to escape, not sure what¡¯s real or not the entire fucking time?! All by one woman! My body won¡¯t let me die! It keeps fixing, and I have to deal with all the side effects of living in an immobile corpse while it fixes! What would you have done, Miriel?! Would you have let all the strokes and bruises go just because she¡¯s a noblewoman?!¡± Her words rang in Miriel''s deaf ears. ¡°You may not have started a fireblood, but you certainly became one.¡± Vetia broke down in tears and rage, finally defeated by the world. ¡°You think I wanted this?! You think I wanted any of this?! I never had a choice in this! I didn¡¯t want to be brought to life as a fucking monster! For God¡¯s sake, I woke up in a cave over the corpse of a dead woman, bits of her intestines hanging out of my mouth! Do you know what eating humans does to your fucking head?! When I realized what was going on, the other firebloods tried to kill me too! Ripped and tore into my skin and shredded the only clothes I had and chased me into the middle of the woods until I found out I had wings! Firebloods want to eat me, humans want me dead!" Her voice fell like all she could do anymore was beg. "Where¡¯s my place in this world, huh? Did I come here just to die?¡± Miriel¡¯s voice softened sympathetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you are what you are, but you gave in to your nature. You killed when you could have walked away. All firebloods are liars, whether they started good or not. There can be no good firebloods.¡± Her voice grew stronger. "How many others have you killed?" Vetia stared at the ground like she was reliving a moment. ¡°Just a bitch who cut a little girl¡¯s throat. The same woman who was working for Madam Diona! The fireblood trafficking children and drugs through her brothels! The fireblood who tore off my fuckin¡¯ arm and almost killed me in an alley! That strike you as odd?! Can you use your deductive reasoning to figure out why there¡¯d be fireblood on fireblood violence?! Maybe one of us wasn''t like the other!¡± ¡°Tell me the name of the woman you killed.¡± Dex stepped down from the wagon in cold and broken slogging steps in the moment of haunting silence. ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡± Vetia turned around, distraught and desperate, raising her hands to the universe asking for any signs of empathy. ¡°What?! Nobody gives a shit that Diona was a fireblood?! Nobody cares that Fera tried to kill a little girl who was like a daughter to me?! Are my words suddenly meaningless because you found out that I¡¯m a fireblood?!¡± All of us watched Dex closely as he slowly trudged through the mud to her and stopped only a few feet out. Brenden paced alongside Dex and I was nearby, ready for anything. Dex brimmed with anger, his voice low and shaking like he was on the verge of bursting. ¡°My best friend died¡­ because we couldn¡¯t find Fera Hallax. He was murdered and his head was paraded around the district¡­ because we couldn¡¯t find Fera. And you killed her.¡± Dex finally broke. ¡°His blood is on your hands!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that your friend died, Dex. I truly am. But that''s on her.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s her body?!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s her fucking body?! If I can bring that back to Lord Hallax and turn you in, Zerick will at least have his dignity in wrongful death!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing left. I fed her to farns. ¡± The air stilled while Dex stared intensely at Vetia, then like a flash, Dex screamed and he slugged Vetia across the face. She stumbled and slipped to the ground as Dex unsheathed his sword. I grabbed Dex beneath the arms and held him still, his sword clumsily slipping from his hand. Dex screamed out in a blind rage. ¡°I¡¯ll take her head to Hallax! He was my best friend! The best man I knew! The only person who ever cared about me! And he¡¯s dead because of you! You worthless monster!¡± Vetia looked like she''d seen a ghost, scooting backward onto the grass, clutching at her neck as if to rip something away while her voice was reduced to near-silent whispers. Al¡¯Li caught up to Miriel and started dragging her to the wagon as Hestrel stomped toward Vetia with his lance. ¡°Dex is right. I¡¯m sorry you all have been deceived by her, but this is to restore order, to rid the world of yet another fireblood.¡± Brenden frantically held his hands out between Hestrel, Dex, and Vetia. ¡°Guys! Guys! Cool it the fuck off! Nobody¡¯s gonna die here!¡± Tells flanked out next to Hestrel, following him closely, gently trying to hold him back while he pushed forward. Hestrel glanced at Tells, shoved her hand away, then turned to Brenden. ¡°Fireblood¡¯s can¡¯t die. They¡¯re already dead.¡± Tells ran between them and put her hand out to halt Hestrel. ¡°You don¡¯t know her like we do! You don¡¯t know shit!¡± He stopped, harshly grabbing Tells¡¯ hand to lecture her. ¡°It¡¯s a sevoan fireblood! All it does is lie to turn us against each other! If you can¡¯t see that, you¡¯re part of its game!¡± ¡°How do you know she¡¯s the same?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lost too many friends to firebloods to take any more chances.¡± He pushed forward. Hope died from her face and she came to terms with what she had to do. ¡°I¡¯m not letting another one of my friends die.¡± Tells was putting her whole soul into keeping control of herself, but I knew she was a hair from lashing out. ¡°Dex! Calm the fuck down!¡± I screamed out as he lashed around, then hit my side with an elbow, slipped out of my grasp, and picked up the sword. I grabbed his arm to keep him from stabbing at me. I yelled out to everyone, but nobody would listen. ¡°Dex, put the fucking sword down! Hestrel cut the shit! Brenden, watch out!¡± Hestrel pushed Brenden out of the way, toward Dex and I. Dex sucker punched me and his hand whirled out as both of us lost balance in the mud. And we fell. I watched Brenden go down, blood flicked out from the back of his neck. Between the mud and our tangled limbs, Dex slammed my cheek with the butt of his sword and for a split second, the world became engulfed in white. I was picking myself up off the ground when my hand became drenched in warmth. I pulled it up, watery blood running down my hand. Beside me, the back of Brenden¡¯s neck was slashed open, and Dex was standing over him in shock, blood washing down his sword in the rain. My face swelled and I gritted my teeth as grief and adrenaline shot through me. The taste of iron filled my mouth. Reason was gone. Oh my God, he¡¯s dead. I yanked Dex down and slammed my knee on his sword hand, pinning his arms under my knees. ¡°What the fuck did you do to him?!¡± ¡°All of this is on you, you worthless drunk! You should have let me kill her!¡± Every vein in my body raged with pure hatred for this mohawked fuck. I grabbed the sword and slammed his face with the hilt over and over and over and over. Blood and rain were all my eyes could see. Dex stopped moving and I looked up. Tells grabbed Hestrel¡¯s arm and yanked him off balance, into the field as he stared blankly at Brenden¡¯s body and Dex. A rage filled him, and he slammed at Tells¡¯ head with the end of his lance. Vetia rushed over to Brenden while Hestrel and Tells slugged away. Hestrel used his lance like a bow staff, landing blow after blow against Tells, who had jagged bones for arms, protecting her head and landing cuts on Hestrel¡¯s arms. I crawled through the mud, grabbing Brenden and pulling him up into my lap. Vetia stopped in front of me, not looking at Brenden, but holding out her hand above him as if she were plucking an apple from a tree and weeping. ¡°Brenden¡¯s dead.¡± Across the battlefield, Hestrel¡¯s arms were already littered with tiny cuts. Tells¡¯ face was littered with cuts and bruises from his lance slamming her head, but she wasn¡¯t in a losing position yet. Every time Hestrel tried to back up and create distance, Tells closed it and caught him on his back foot, refusing to be pushed away. Hestrel called out for help. ¡°Miriel! Reinforce me!¡± Miriel was running to the wagon with Al¡¯Li when she stopped, tracing several shapes in the air and pointing the sigil at Hestrel. A dart of green jzanmah shot out and wrapped around him before dissipating into him. Just like that, his fight with Tells turned and he overpowered her by a longshot, slamming her blades away like they were nothing and pounding into her head and ribs with the blunt of his lance, but she wouldn¡¯t go down. Vetia fell back from Brenden in horror at the sight of Hestrel¡¯s sudden vigor. ¡°No! No! Miriel! He¡¯s gonna kill Tells!¡± She took off toward Miriel and Al¡¯Li. Two hands grabbed me from under my arms and yanked. My back slammed into the wagon chassis and Dex, who could barely see through his bruised and bloodied face, ran at me with a wild haymaker. He was barely on target at all. A raging scream burst from my lungs and I used his own momentum to slam his head into the corner of the wood. There was no give, no bounce at all, just a grinding and cracking before his forehead caved and he dropped limply into the mud. I couldn¡¯t help just staring at his smashed skull. You couldn¡¯t even tell it was him anymore. Hestrel had Tells swaying, but she wouldn¡¯t move out of his way. Her hands gripped his lance as she dodged kicks and resisted pushes. He threw her every which way like nothing, but she wouldn¡¯t let go. She was still talking to him, pleading to stop, and he screamed back at her. ¡°You of all people should want her dead! She murdered your Lady!¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°Then yield!¡± Hestrel yelled and stampeded forward. Tells stumbled running backward, keeping herself up at all costs to not be trampled by him. He slammed Tells¡¯ back into the wagon, almost sending it toppling over onto Miriel, Al¡¯Li, and Vetia on the other side. I rushed around to help Vetia, who was screaming for Miriel while fending off Al¡¯Li. She clawed at Vetia, slashing away at her stomach and arm, trying for openings to gouge Vetia¡¯s neck. ¡°Miriel! Please! Listen to me! We can stop this!¡± ¡°I¡¯m done with these lies! I know what you are!¡± Miriel took off in a clumsy run down the road, holding her skirt up and sliding through the mud wildly. I rushed around the side of the wagon and rushed Al¡¯Li, grabbing onto her stomach and forcing her away from Vetia, severed tail in hand. Her movements were drunken and clumsy but she was still fighting ravenously. I threw her down into the mud and darted around, trying to get to her head. She pushed off the ground and both of her feet slammed my stomach, knocking me back and leaving me reeling for air. She started running toward Miriel, but I lunged out, wrapping my arm around her neck in a headlock. Twenty seconds was all I needed. Just to knock her out. She wrestled and fought, but her strength was waning and both of our eyes locked onto Vetia and Miriel back down the road from us. Vetia¡¯s wings plunged into Miriel¡¯s arms. They went limp and Vetia freely slinked around her back and stuck her in the buttocks. Miriel dropped to the ground, unable to move. ¡°Miriel! End the sigil! We can still stop this! He¡¯s gonna kill Tells! Please don¡¯t make me drain you!¡± She screamed into Miriel¡¯s face out of sheer desperation. Miriel, who was on her knees, unable to move her arms at all, could do nothing but hyperventilate while Vetia screamed at her. Her eyes were distant, as if in a horrific memory far away from here, while a fireblood was standing over her. Across the way, Hestrel was beating Tells down. Her head was bleeding and her bone arms were chipped and broken while he just kept beating side to side, left to right into her blocking arms, using them to bludgeon her down against the wagon. Vetia desperately screamed at Miriel, ¡°I promise this won¡¯t kill you!¡± I screamed out at her, but she wasn¡¯t listening. ¡°Don¡¯t you fuckin¡¯ do a thing to her!¡± She sank her teeth into Miriel¡¯s neck, and Miriel¡¯s eyes returned to this world. Her core writhed as if she was trying to move, which only intensified the helpless terror in her eyes. She was locked in a nightmare with no ability to fight back as a fireblood drove its teeth into her neck. Suddenly a shriek of bloody murder erupted from Miriel¡¯s mouth that halted all of the fighting, a scream I¡¯d never unhear. ¡°Hestrel! Help! HEEEEELP!¡± Al¡¯Li finally fell limp in my arms. I threw her off me and stood up, just in time to see Tells drop and hear Hestrel yell. ¡°NOOO!¡± As if the world slowed down, Hestrel launched his lance like a missile from the field he was fighting Tells in, across the road, cutting through the pouring rain, into the side of Vetia¡¯s abdomen. Vetia looked up as the lance struck her, launching her backwards and pinning her to a tree. Her teeth slashed through Miriel¡¯s neck, who slapped the ground in the instant. In that same second, Hestrel screamed in agony. His body cramped and seized as the sigil cut off. I scrambled up and grabbed a box out of the wagon, Hestrel just beginning to recover. I slammed it down on his head, knocking him out cold. Sheets of rain drowned out all other sounds as the road went silent. Tells laid still in the rain. Streams of blood raced down her black and blue face. She clutched at her ribs with her only unbroken arm, gasping for air. I ran over to Vetia wrenching at the lance driven through her and deep into the wood, pulling with every muscle in my body to free her. Finally, I dislodged the lance and Vetia tumbled over, blood pouring out of her wound as she healed it, her hand moving wildly, cracking and snapping like dry sticks. She struggled forward to Miriel. ¡°No no no no no no no¡­¡± Vetia dropped the streak of flesh of Miriel¡¯s throat into her hand, her eyes emptily staring at the catatonic husk before her. She activated a sigil and reattached the piece of her neck. She broke down frantically mumbling to herself, holding Miriel¡¯s head in her hands like she was still trying to convince herself that she was right. ¡°No, no, no, no! Why couldn¡¯t you just listen to me? I didn¡¯t mean to do this!¡± she gasped, trying to pull sharp breaths of air in between the sobs. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to kill anyone.¡± ¡°Vetia! Get your shit together! I need you to save Tells!¡± I screamed into her distant eyes, but she wasn¡¯t responsive. I grabbed Vetia by the horn, dragging her across the field. She stammered and stumbled behind me, growling like a wild animal. ¡°LetgoletgoletgoletgoLETGOLETGO!¡± She gasped and screeched. ¡°LET GO OF MY FUCKING HORN!¡± I released her horn and all of my instincts reacted on the instant. I whipped Dex¡¯s sword up toward her just as she flexed her wings out, shooting up and driving her fingers into my throat, around my esophagus. Horrible, sharp pains jolted through my neck as her claws dug deep, but my sword was at her neck. The rain poured down in sheets around us and the open road fell still, my sword at her neck, her claws around my windpipe, ready to rip it straight out. We locked eyes, a frenzied fear clutching her frantic stare through wet, dangling strands of hair. Terrified like a wild animal lashing out at everything around her. Her jaw was shaking, eyes wide like she wasn¡¯t even processing what was happening. I slowly pulled the sword back, disappointedly staring, emptily wondering where the fuck it all went wrong. The sword dropped into the mud and I spoke, stinging my throat with every word I forced out. ¡°So what¡¯s it gonna be?¡± Her eyes flickered and looked at her own hand, then my face. ¡°Sword ain¡¯t gonna stop ya. You¡¯re a fireblood. You even still in there, Rowan?¡± Her fist tensed with her face. ¡°Don¡¯t fucking compare him to me.¡± ¡°Why? You ain¡¯t the same person? Were Hestrel and Miriel right?¡± Tears broke free. ¡°I ain¡¯t different, but I was better back then. Is it me, Desmond? Am I a monster now? Or is it this world that won¡¯t let me be human?¡± She blankly pulled her trembling, glowing fingers free, fixing the wound on the way out. I caught my breath as she limply picked up Dex¡¯s sword and put it in my hands. ¡°I asked you to be the one for a reason, Desmond. I don¡¯t know how to show I¡¯m still a person¡­ if I even am, so do what you gotta do.¡± ¡°So what, after all that you¡¯re just gonna give up?¡± Something snapped in me and I started yelling out madly at her. ¡°YOU DONE ALREADY?! ALL THAT TALK ABOUT HOPE AND LOVE AND SHIT AND YOU GIVE UP LIKE THAT?!¡± She lowered her head, falling into hysterics again. ¡°I killed Miriel! I got everyone here killed! ALL OF THIS IS MY FAULT! If I¡¯d just-¡± ¡°THEN FIX IT GODDAMNIT, YOU¡¯RE THE HEALER!¡± I grabbed her haunted face and wrathfully glared into her eyes. ¡°If you weren¡¯t still you, I¡¯d be dead! I¡¯ve seen bad men come back from worse. I¡¯ve seen good men fall harder. That¡¯s just how it is. You fall down, you pick yourself up and you make it right! I need you to pull yourself together right fuckin¡¯ now! Miriel ain¡¯t dead! Hestrel and Al¡¯Li are knocked out! Save Tells and maybe we can make it outta here with what we still got!¡± Horror took her face and she turned toward Miriel, who was face down in the mud, limp. She stumbled up, murmuring, ¡°nononononononononono¡­¡± and reached her hand out like she did above Brenden¡¯s body, grasping at nothing. Her horrified visage whipped around toward Hestrel and Tells, so I ran over, pulling Hestrel¡¯s face free and lifted Tells into the wagon. Thoroughly busted up and haggardly gasping, she was on the verge of death, unresponsive. Vetia ran over, bringing up the sheen of green jzanmah and frantically checking her. ¡°Internal bleeding, punctured lungs. I¡¯m going in.¡± Her claws shot out and she slashed Tells¡¯ shirt down the middle, shoving her fingers in and forcibly pulling up the ribs. Four ribs cracked back into place and reset later, steam was rising from Vetia¡¯s head. ¡°Why isn¡¯t she waking up?!¡± She slapped Tells¡¯ face lightly. ¡°Why¡¯s she out of her?! What¡¯s going on?!¡± I pulled Vetia¡¯s head to look at me. ¡°Is she alive?! Is she gonna live?!¡± ¡°Y-y-I don¡¯t know! It¡¯s like she¡¯s alive but not awake, but she¡¯s still got her jzanmah, but it¡¯s not completely connected!¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s leave her in the wagon and we¡¯ll find somebody who can help her!¡± I turned around to the scene behind me, approaching Brenden¡¯s corpse, lifting him from the mud, cradling him in my arms. Vetia sealed up the wound on his neck and her eyes went wide. ¡°He¡¯s dead, but his body isn¡¯t¡­¡± I turned away, fighting back my own tears and bringing him to the wagon. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s that do?¡± ¡°I have his soul, Desmond, what if we can bring him back?! Maybe there¡¯s a sigil, a ritual, something!¡± I placed Brenden next to Tells and turned back around, jaw vibrating from holding myself so steady. ¡°Great. Now get in the wagon. We gotta clean up.¡± ¡°Desmond¡­ why do you sound like that?¡± I picked up Dex¡¯s shortsword. ¡°Desmond, what the fuck are you doing?!¡± A burning rage was growing in me, just wanting to be done with all of this. To be off. To be free. I knelt next to Hestrel and held the blade to his neck. ¡°DESMOND!¡± I whipped my head around. ¡°SOMEBODY¡¯S GOTTA OR THEY¡¯RE GONNA BE ON OUR ASSES TIL WE¡¯RE DEAD!¡± ¡°No! No we¡¯re not killing anyone else! What was the point of what you said to me then?!¡± ¡°Well I thought about it.¡± I held the blade to Hestrel¡¯s windpipe. ¡°You¡¯re a fireblood, Vetia. Normal murders would get lost in the bounty pile. Not for a fireblood, though. Not one with sigils and poison that killed two nobles and a nyadin. We ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ anywhere alive if the witnesses ain¡¯t dead.¡± She knelt next to me, holding my arm. ¡°Desmond, we can put ¡®em in their wagon, let ¡®em be. We¡¯ll each take our losses, but we gotta go now before they wake up!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to keep you alive God damn it!¡± ¡°I know- but we can¡¯t just-¡± Her eyes turned away, to the back of our wagon, to the creature standing behind us, Al¡¯Li. Vetia rose and pulled me up, ready to go back at it, but Al¡¯Li stood there, wide-eyed and soaked, her fur sticking to her wiry frame, staring at Miriel. A low-pitched lamenting wail shut out the pounding of the rain. Vetia¡¯s body shuddered and I couldn¡¯t help lowering my head. ¡°Did you hear all that, Al¡¯Li?¡± Vetia stepped forward. Al¡¯Li nodded, hopelessness in her eyes at the sight of her dead best friend. ¡°I have Miriel¡¯s soul. You let us take her body, I¡¯ll find a way to bring her back. I swear to God I¡¯ll find a way if it costs me my life.¡± She held her hand out to Al¡¯Li, who turned limply. ¡°Come with us if you have to. Hold me at bladepoint the whole way. I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll find a way.¡± This ain¡¯t a deal. We won. We¡¯re setting the terms. I slapped Vetia¡¯s hand down. ¡°Al¡¯Li.¡± She looked up at me. ¡°Take Miriel¡¯s body. You¡¯re both from the Sueri kinship, right?¡± Al¡¯Li nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll find ya when we find a way, but if you want her back, you can¡¯t let Hestrel put a bounty out on us. We got a deal?¡± She finally stepped forward, wiping curls of wet fur from her beady eyes. ¡°Pleathe, Miriel ith all I have,¡± she weakly uttered. ¡°Hethtrel will no lithen. Run. If you lie, we will hunt and kill.¡± I lifted Miriel and set her in their wagon, then heaved Hestrel and Dex in after her. Al¡¯Li pointed back down the road, her eyes falling back to Miriel. ¡°I tell Hethtrel you are north. You go thouth, around Vehfirn. She slowly droned to her wagon, disappearing, weeping with Miriel in her arms. Adam broken, Tells out, Brenden dead, and Vetia hysterically trying to fix all of them, I took the reins and turned us around. The corties murred and bucked against me, so I whipped and lashed them until they listened. We have to go south. So far south that it¡¯ll be like a completely different world from here, where nobody will hear tell of the assassinations of nobility and murder on the wagon trail. Where Diona can¡¯t find us and the trail will go cold for Hestrel and whoever else is gonna end up hunting us. The ash continued to fall, rain plummeted in sheets around us, and we bared our sins in the back of that wagon, eyes away from where they were committed. I killed a man. We killed people and we can¡¯t do anything about it anymore except hope and pray that Rhial is more generous than Earth ever was. God forgive us, we just promised to commit a miracle or blasphemy. And if it is possible to bring them back, then let it be a miracle. Book 2 Final Update + New Book Announcement Hey all! In the last update, I was over the moon because the ad campaign went well and there were 80 followers. I wasn''t expecting much more then next thing I knew it was edging 400, for lack of better phrasing. And I was like "dope now Imma write the second one," started it, and promptly hit ye olde brick wall. Life hit me hard. I''ll spare you the list of excuses, but this is to say that basically I''m SUPER behind on To Rhial 2, though it is started and currently in progress. But I don''t think the break was a bad thing, because I needed a mental break from such a dismal, grimdark story to get a fresh perspective on my plan for the series. I now have that vision along with a more polished ability to write. Between the last post and now, another story came to me that is now going live. I''m super excited about it finally releasing and it would mean a lot if you checked it out. It has an end, and is finished, so have no worries about it taking attention from this series. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Dreams of Imahken cured my writer''s block. It''s a story that you''ll probably like it if you enjoyed To Rhial, a gothic fairytale inspired by the myths, fairytales, and Shakespeare plays I grew up reading. It''s my first attempt at mystery and romance, so any and all feedback would be appreciated. I''ve taken the reviews, the comments, everything you''ve said (positive and negative) to heart, so I sincerely thank you all for helping me become a better writer. I''ll pay it back by writing better! To Rhial has a clear plan for several books more and an end, as it has been since I began, it''s just gonna take time to finish them. Have no worries there. Now that I''m sober, graduated, working, and settled into a new chapter of life, I''ve turned my full free attention to it. I wish I could give a new deadline of when it will be out, but I can''t. My life and job come before this writing hobby of mine, so there''s no way I can accurately predict when the book will be done. I''ll post updates on my Twitter/X (@RenCoryWrites) about its progress because I feel bad getting hopes up with an update "chapter" instead of new content. Thank you for your patience thus far, I gift you something to read in the meantime! The promo material is below, click it to get there. Stay foxy ?? with love ??, Ren Cory