《Two Beasts》


 Prologue: Sweet Symphony of Death

    7th Nahaniel, Three Years Ago


    Abruptly, he came back to life. Smothered by the corpses of unlucky men, women, and children. The foul stench of decomposing bodies in various post-mortem stages overwhelmed him. He somehow knew that he had been dead for a good length of time. Yet no rot or the ever so obvious signs of human death had touched him. His lungs craved for more air as he slowly tried to move one body after another.


    When he crawled out of his human grave; the cold air of the howling night and the cool water of the raging rain gave him strength.


    A cart full of dead bodies. It wasn''t moving. Someone had done away with the two drivers. The lonely horse was the first to go. A few strong and precise arrows had torn into it. One of the men sat with his back against one of the wheel''s of the cart. Several arrows had pierced through his body but death didn''t come to him with its warm embrace. With shaky hands, his killer tried to cut his throat from end to end. Several shallow and a few deep cuts later, he died. The other man laid lifeless on the muddy road. His body violated so many times by the swords of his killers that even the brightest surgeon would fail miserably to stitch him up.


    He crawled over the dead bodies with the little strength he had and then fell down on the wet earth beneath him. He tried to get up.


    ''Cut off his skin and write the blasphemous names underneath.'' An old and calm voice said inside of his head.


    He looked at his hands. The skin was stitched onto them with thick surgical sutures and he recalled his loathsome death. The phantom pain of the past made his body unbearably heavy. Still, he forced himself into a kneeling position. The young boy looked up at the sky with indignation and resentment. He screamed back at the thunders with all he had. His rage directed not at the sky but all of creation. And creation itself replied when he felt someone''s warm breath on his shoulder.


    Time warped and everything became meaningless.


    "Sweet boy..." A meticulous voice of what seemed like a middle-aged woman spoke to him.


    "So much anger and hatred I feel in you..." Her words chosen carefully and her voice so tailored and serene that it would even calm the god of war.


    "I find it enticing," She said as her warm tongue passed over his neck. Her intimate touch healed his body of wounds and scars. Ancient words of power appeared on his hands with burning intensity. This burn felt comfortable to him.


    "Seek me out in the lonely and desperate places of your world."


    "Even the Watchmaker deceives me," the boy uttered. His words barely intelligible. He didn''t seem to care about the bizarre woman or the absurdity of the situation he was in.


    "I will be watching you with great interest," she said as her existence disappeared into the night.


    <hr>


    13th Aurum, Present Year


    Emilia Amadeo Frost and her mother Julia Amadeo Frost lived in a small 3 story building in the Ludemborg district of the great city of Newton. The capital of the Republic of Oplor. Ludemborg was a poor district and like most of its buildings, their building too was old and breaking apart. Julia had been saving up money to renovate it and sometimes she felt that she would never be able to save enough.


    Like an ideal mother, she invested a significant portion of her waking hours worrying about Emilia. She was a pretty girl. Much prettier than Julia was when she was younger. The fact that Emilia didn¡¯t care much about her looks annoyed her.


    "Emi is still in bed. Should I go wake her up?" Bato said. He was given a room on the ground floor. He worked as Julia¡¯s assistant in the fish shop and was quite a dedicated worker. Julia was proud of him but loathed his ¡®secret¡¯ crush on her daughter.


    "No. I will do that," Julia said giving him a suspicious look.


    Emilia, locally known as Emi, was a troublesome and odd child. From a very young age, she showed an unusual attraction towards books. To this day, Julia regrets her decision of teaching her daughter how to read and write.


    Julia walked up the stairs and knocked once on Emilia''s door before barging right in.


    "What a mess!" She screamed.


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    There were books all over the place and hundreds of notes were attached to the walls. Ants infested two plates with half eaten food and clothes were thrown to various corners of the room with blatant disregard. A new addition to Emi¡¯s usual decoration was a pentagram inscribed in a circle on the wooden floor, drawn with white chalk. Julia shuddered thinking about what its use was.


    "I leave her alone for just two days and this is what she does to her room!" She yelled as she hurriedly walked towards Emi¡¯s bed.


    "Wake up! You infernal girl!" Julia screamed as she crazily shook her body.


    "Hellish slaughter! ! Why do you pester me like this, woman? I was awake all night! Go away!" She screamed back as she covered her head with a pillow.


    "Your arcanist buddy Samuel sent a letter," She said.


    And that was enough to wake Emilia up, even from death.


    "Really?! Give it to me!" She said as she hurriedly snatched the letter from her mother.


    "Samuel is coming today, with an instructor from the academy. I stood 67th in the Academy merit list! He is coming with the interviewer," she said with an excited voice as she put her hand inside her shirt to fix her brassiere, which was annoying her left breast for a long time.


    "Don¡¯t do that! It¡¯s so unladylike," her mother said.


    "To hell with ladylike! Comfort trumps manners!" she said.


    "You will never get a proper husband with that sailor''s mouth!"


    "Who needs a husband? Foolish woman, I¡¯m going to the Academy! As far as I¡¯m concerned I will end up running this country someday. I swear I will make a law mandating girls to use at least one slang in every sentence. That will teach annoying mothers like you to know better!" She said with glowing eyes.


    ''There she goes with her wild dreams,'' Julia thought, this wasn¡¯t a good news for her.


    She was in content with Emi receiving essential education from the nearby school, but certainly wasn¡¯t happy that she was going off to get nonessential education. She especially felt disturbed about the fact that her fields of interest were Arcane Arts and Natural Philosophy. Both fields were dominated by men of somewhat lesser morality.


    Emilia brushed her teeth, bathed and wore the nicest dress she could find. When she came down, Bato could do nothing but blush like an idiot.


    She sat down on the dining table and her mother passed to her a plate of fried fish with a piece of lime, bread and a glass of warm lemon water.


    "I am so happy today that I won¡¯t even complain about the fact that all we eat is fish," Emilia said. Their family business being cleaning and selling raw fish, made it their default food.


    "You¡¯re happy? Ha! You¡¯re never happy! Last year you ate the cake Aunt Julia made for my birthday¡­ all by yourself! And then you stole all of my pocket money and then you beat me up.." Bato''s face became increasingly sad as he went on another one of his unrelated ''Emi'' trauma rant.


    "You¡¯re going somewhere with that?" Emilia rolled her eyes.


    <hr>


    13th Aurum, Present Year, Somewhere else


    Nahaniel walked the stairs silently. In his right hand he held a translucent blue crystal rock that lit up the heavy darkness and in his left hand he held a playful little black cat. His face was covered with a gray cloth. He wore a black vest and a white shirt underneath it with black linen pants. There was something archaic about the air of this building that made him feel queasy and a sense of nausea was creeping up on him as he slowly reached the topmost floor.


    Nahaniel looked at the cat and it meowed once before jumping out from his hand. Nahaniel watched as the cat seemingly disappeared into the shadows.


    "So this is it," he said to himself.


    He approached the door and found it to be locked. It didn¡¯t matter to him, as he had many names. Names no human should have.


    "He who is everywhere and nowhere," he whispered in an ancient tongue. He suddenly disappeared.


    He reappeared on the other side of the door and carefully saw what lay in front of him. There were hundreds of empty bird cages of various shapes and sizes. He slowly walked towards the center of the room and broke the crystal by crushing it with his bare hand.


    The darkness consumed everything again and the bird cages clashed with each other violently, making a cacophony of noises. Something plunged towards him with an animosity unknown to the familiar world. Yet Nahaniel''s body moved just as fast as that thing as soon as he could sense it. At the next moment he was facing the direction from which the thing was approaching him. He stood quietly as he heard its louds steps and wicked noises. The foul stench of death and decay soon followed. It was close.


    Nahaniel did not falter. Nor was he afraid. "He who sees," he whispered again and soon veins became visible around his eyes and his sclera turned blood red. The darkness burned before him. He could see everything.


    ¡®Old man Barnabus. He waited a decade in this room with his friends, birds that nobody cared about. Men were cruel, Barnabus knew that. But he could never understand the cruelty of children. He gathered these birds and put them in cages to save them. But is this how you save a bird? He spoke to these creatures and they spoke to me. So one day I came to him and spoke the ancient tongue. It gave him powers beyond his imagination and what did he do with it? He stopped the evil children. When he realized what he had done, he locked himself up in this room and cursed my name, earning an eternity of pain.¡¯ The woman spoke.


    She took down the cover from his eyes and he saw it. Suspended right in front of him. It had no eyes or nose. On its face were ten deep holes and ten tongues came out them.


    She had left the world again. The cat became extremely violent. Nahaniel twisted the head of the cat and looked deep into its eyes. The wicked thing that walked in this room was no more.


    He quietly put down the lifeless body of the cat onto the floor.


    Rest in peace. Barnabus.¡¯ He said. The cat slowly stood up again and jumped on his lap. He petted it with cold eyes.

 Chapter 1: Whores of Bordue

    13th Aurum


    More than thirty minutes had passed. Emilia sat quietly in front of Samuel and the other Arcanist. She seemed different. Polite and quiet.


    ''How I met this girl is a story worth hearing!'' Samuel said. The other arcanist, Mr. Forlo Umbral, didn''t seem much interested in Samuel''s stories. Still, he put on a mask of curiosity to humor his old friend. Forlo was a man of the moment. He was a bit interested in the present state of Emilia rather than her past but that too was because he had a duty to fulfill. This interview was just a formality. Teachers and experts from the Academy visited the chosen students with their initiation letters. Every year more than ninety thousand students would sit for the admission test and only the top hundred would get selected.


    ''I was walking through Ludemborg. You see, I was brushing up on my basic knowledge that day. So I had the old book ''Five Arts'' in my side bag. Lady Emilia here saw me reading it with utmost concentration and she felt like she just had to read it, at least that''s what she told me afterward. So she ran by me, snatching the book from my bag.'' Samuel stopped and sipped the lemon tea he was given by Julia.


    ''I thought that some goblin or hob or some other infernal demon had stolen my book. So I took out my trusty single barrel, imbued it with a Rothfuss mark and chased after it.'' Samuel said.


    ''Sounds like something you would do, Sam.'' Forlo said trying to mock Samuel.


    ''But after I followed her here, I saw that she was hiding behind her mother.''


    ''And then he threatened to burn down my shop if I didn''t compel my daughter to return him his dusty old book.'' Julia said with spite. Deep inside she was a vindictive woman and she didn''t forget how Samuel once tried to threaten her and her daughter. She also hated him because he supplied Emilia with books after that incident. She certainly didn''t have enough spare money to waste on books and if this Samuel hadn''t walked into their lives, things would be very different.


    ''I still apologize for being so rude that day.'' Samuel said. ''When I approached her mother with the single barrel, she suddenly came out of hiding and created white flames from the surface of her palm! Like out of nowhere!'' He added.


    ''White flames?! Surely you jest.'' Forlo said with suspicious eyes.


    ''Why would I? Emilia, show him.''


    Emilia felt uneasy about this. She was more interested in Natural Philosophy at the moment and wasn''t exactly thrilled about her white flames. She stretched her hand and thought of heat and fire. A white uneven ball of white flames appeared. It floated with grace above her palm.


    Forlo wasn''t interested in this job. He felt that it was demeaning towards the teachers, going from one student to another with letters, like some sort of dignified postman. But this, this brought a smile to his face.


    ''Extraordinary.'' He whispered. ''I will be looking forward to seeing you in the Academy, Emilia.'' He said with a happy face as he stood up.


    ''I acknowledge you and I pass onto you the letter of initiation.'' He said with a formal voice and a formal body language.


    ''This is a great honor for me and my family.'' Emilia replied, still trying hard to keep her composure.


    ''I think we should go now, Sam. It eludes me how you forgot to mention anything about the white flames. Yet you badgered me with your research into rats for two hours!'' He said as he gave Samuel an annoyed look.


    To which he replied with nothing but a weak smile.


    Emilia felt as if a rock was moved from her chest. She was scared that she would say something that would annoy the interviewer. It was just a formality and cases where interviewers would expel a student were extremely rare. But even the slightest probability of losing her chance at something so big was too much for her to handle. She worked day and night for this and her long-held dream just became a reality.


    ''You amaze me.'' Julia said to her.


    ''This was hard for me.'' Emilia said as she let out a sigh of relief.


    ''You hid your true self quite well from that man. I''m sure you will do well in their world.'' Her mother said with a disapproving voice.


    It took her some time to realize what her mother had said. Then something snapped inside of her and she felt a tingling sensation in her heart.


    ''That''s the worst thing you have said to me, mother.'' Emilia said. She looked visibly upset as she stormed into her room,


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    14th Aurum


    Nahaniel sat beside Boreal Blachard, his grandfather. Boreal was an old and fragile man.Nahaniel was feeding him soup.


    ''So you''re going?'' The old man asked with a shaky voice.


    ''I am. I''ve already received the letter. The man seemed to be in a hurry.'' He said.


    ''I''m proud of you, boy. I wish I could live a little longer to see you succeed but in my dreams, I only see the Watchmaker. My time is ending. I can feel it.'' He said with a grim voice.


    Nahaniel put the half-empty bowl of soup on a cabinet beside the bed and then he helped Boreal lay down. As he tried to cover him with the blanket, Boreal''s hand reached for his shirt. He grabbed Nahaniel and pulled him closer.


    ''Do not forget your promise.'' He said and then he let him go. ''I want you to take my eyes.'' He added.


    ''I will give you a proper burial. This is not up for debate, grandfather.'' Nahaniel said with a stern face.


    ''Deep inside, you''re still just a kid. You have to be stronger than that. Always remember that we''ve damned ourselves, only to fight a much greater evil.''


    Nahaniel listened quietly and then he walked out of the room. He wasn''t in a mood to listen to the lectures of a dying old man. Something much more interesting was waiting for him and when he closed the door to Boreal''s room, the familiar world disappeared.


    ''Lucille. Born in filth with envious beauty. I saw her grow up in poverty and injustice. After her own blood violated her body, she cried out to the divine. And then ... she cried out to me. I listened and I gave her a blasphemous name. With it, she healed herself of both physical and unseen pain. Then she healed others. They named her the Queen of Harlots and she didn''t mind. She and her sisters erected a shrine in my name and worshiped me with great care. Something vile disturbs her. Find her in the red district of Bordue and hear what she has to say.'' A tranquil feminine voice spoke to him.


    When the world became familiar again, Nahaniel saw his cat, Mr. Purapura, beneath him.


    ''Something interesting is happening, Purapura.'' He said looking at his cat.


    The darkness of the night shrouded the city of Newton with mysterious coldness and fog. It had many bustling districts but Bordue was something entirely different. It became lively during the night. Powerful men and women came here to quench their various thirsts.


    Nahaniel wore a black linen coat over his shirt to fend off the cold of the night and he covered his face. He walked silently through the busy streets but nobody looked at him with suspicion as there were many who hid their face. Surely getting seen here would hurt their reputation.


    ''Boys and girls, even younger than you, warm the bed sheets of this place. Some because of curiosity and pleasure and some...'' The voice in his head stopped abruptly.


    He walked until he reached his destination. The building where his vision was blurred. He could see the world with his blasphemous name but there were places that were shrouded in darkness. The woman had sent him to many places before but all of them were different from this. They were places of pain and sorrow.


    It was a beautiful building made of bricks. There were many lit windows and its beautiful exterior design felt good to the eyes. There was a small garden in front of it and it looked like someone took care of it regularly.


    ''Knock on the door.'' A voice said in his head. This most ordinary request felt outlandish to Nahaniel.


    A big, beefy man opened the door. He looked at Nahaniel for a moment.


    ''This is not a place for a young boy. Go home to your mother''s tits.'' He said instantly.


    Someone opened a window on the upper floor.


    ''Let him in, Goris.'' She said with a sweet yet monotonous voice.


    ''Yes, Miss Lucille.'' The beefy man said. ''Come with me, boy.'' The man added, letting him in. He followed the man to a room on the upper floor.


    ''I don''t know why but you''re getting a chance to meet someone incredible. Speak respectfully to her or I will cut off your tongue and feed it to my dogs.'' He said and something in his voice gave off that he had done just that many times before.


    Nahaniel smirked. The man thought that he had power over him. But he could stomp him like an ant if he wanted to.


    When he opened the door and walked inside, an intoxicating aroma tried to overwhelm him. It was a spacious room, filled with many handmade paintings and various flowering plants.


    He realized what was meant by enviable beauty. Nature had blessed her with every sort of perfect body proportions a human being could want. Nobody in their right mind would say that she was not beautiful.


    ''I prayed for a monster to get rid of a monster. I wasn''t expecting a young boy.'' She said.


    She was painting a landscape on a canvas. As he walked towards her he realized that the source of the unusual aroma in the room was that woman. He pulled down the cloth that hid his face.


    ''What a pretty face...'' She said.


    ''What do you want?'' He asked with a cold voice.


    Lucille''s experience couldn''t help her get a hold on this boy''s nature. She could feel that the boy was touched by blasphemy. If the lady had sent him, he certainly was not a normal human being.


    ''I like to travel, see the world.'' She glanced over some of the paintings in her room. ''All these paintings are just memories.'' She said as if she was hesitant about sharing her problem.


    ''Something deranged is preying on innocent women all around the city.'' She started.


    ''Innocent women? You mean whores?'' He said. Nahaniel could guess what she wanted. The Ripper. Newspapers were filled with stories about this ''man''. People were terrified. Yet they liked the riveting stories that the journalists conjured up with a passionate pen. The monster soon became a legend of the city.


    ''I sense disrespect in your voice. Believe me, they chose this life out of necessity.'' She said. ''I think you already know what I''m talking about. Our underworld contacts and the police, both have failed. But you, you come from the night mother herself. You must be special.'' She said with prying eyes.


    ''I will look into it.''


    ''That was easy.'' She said but she knew that he wouldn''t do it for free.


    ''If you bring me his heart, I will make it worth your while. There is a shrine to her name here. I will let you draw power from it.''


    Nahaniel didn''t reply and decided to leave. She had welcomed him in and the darkness that protected her home from his blasphemous names was not there anymore.


    ''Wait.'' She stopped him. ''Can I tempt you with a night that you will never forget?'' She said with a vivacious tone.


    He looked back at her.


    ''You don''t look like a necrophiliac.'' Nahaniel said as he disappeared from her sight.


    ''Interesting boy.'' Lucille whispered. She then bit into a strawberry and concentrated on her painting.

 Chapter 2: Beneath others Skin

    20th Aurum


    Emilia stood with a blank face as her mother smothered her with a plethora of hugs and kisses.


    ''This is embarrassing. People are watching!'' She squirmed.


    ''You will come back to me, right?'' Julia asked with worried eyes. She preferred the ordinary life and hard work, the tales of the mighty never excited her. Her daughter would be the first in her family to lead such a different and unknown life. She couldn''t dismiss the lingering fear that Emilia would soon forget about her.


    The path to power and authority was a treacherous one. Her daughter acted tough but she wasn''t cunning enough to walk through it, Julia thought.


    ''Of course, I will! It''s six hours by train from here, so stop being so negative.''


    ''Don''t come back, I will inherit the property and business that way.'' Bato spoke suddenly with a spirited tone.


    ''Yeah, right. I don''t even want this mess, just look at it.''


    Everyone looked at the building at the same time.


    ''I get what you mean.'' Samuel said. Julia sent a burning gaze his way. ''I''m joking, of course.'' He added, frightfully.


    ''I know that unlike me, you have big dreams and all. Just don''t forget about us.'' Bato said.


    ''I will never forget you two. Especially you, Bato. In fact, when I get back we will certainly do it.'' Emilia said with a malicious face.


    ''Do what?'' He asked inquisitively.


    ''Stop messing with his head!'' Her mother screamed at her.


    The carriage moved with a comfortable speed, it still wasn''t subtle enough to protect them from the occasional shakes. Their destination was the Silvergreen station.


    ''Now that you are a part of the Academy, the military won''t be able to conscript you.'' Samuel said while glancing over his notebook, he then wrote something in it with a pencil.


    ''You don''t have to hide your gift anymore, you can trust Forlo. He will protect you and mentor you, he is a master of Flame Arts.'' He added.


    ''If you say so.'' Emilia said dismissively. The feeling of leaving behind something precious caught up to her.


    ''I just don''t understand why your mother is so upset about this. This is a great honor, you don''t have to feel bad about her.'' He stopped writing and looked at Emilia. ''I will pay her a visit from time to time to make sure that she is alright. Besides, Bato is quite capable. He will take good care of her.'' He added.


    She looked out of the window. The buildings did not look bad anymore. They had left Ludemborg.


    Forlo asked Emilia to come earlier than the other students. The Ceremony of Swallows will be held on 1st Ophronir, ten days from now. The classes will start from 2nd Ophronir and Emilia couldn''t understand why only she had to come earlier. Samuel vaguely explained that Forlo wanted to show her around the campus and talk about the special training that she will be undergoing.


    She had read about how huge the campus was. But as someone couldn''t grasp the life of an orphan by reading a book, it too was impossible for her to imagine the enormous scale of Oplor Academy of Arts and Philosophy. It was nothing short of a self-sufficient small city and reportedly had control over fifty thousand acres of land.


    Samuel brought her to the new arrivals building. From there, a clerk accompanied her to the students quarters. The non-essential education sector of the Academy had two thousand acres of dedicated land. The rest of it was for higher education, staff housing, and agriculture.


    Her room was on the second floor. Walking through the corridor, she could do nothing but stare at the marble floor. It looked like a chess board.


    ''Fancy.'' She whispered.


    Her room looked refurbished, there was a table, several chairs, a fluffy bed and other necessary furniture. The walls were covered with elegant wallpapers and there was a bookshelf filled with too many books.


    She loved the idea of an attached toilet. The feature that excited her the most was electricity. She had heard about it but she never thought that she would have her own electrical lights and a ceiling fan someday.


    Samuel walked through a lengthy polished marble corridor, his steps created echoes and returned to him. They reminded him that he was somewhere important.


    ''Here to see the Director.'' Samuel said to the receptionist.


    She looked tired but gave off a vibe that she liked to overwork. Glancing at him for a moment, she nodded, which meant he could go in.


    He pushed open the unnecessarily large door and went in. Inside, behind a big wooden table, sat an old man. There was a blackboard that covered the extensive wall behind him, filled with many calculations and symbols, it was impossible to shove in another word.


    ''Good afternoon, Sir.'' Samuel said. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ''Hm. Take a seat.'' The Director replied, without even looking at him.


    He looked old but surely was not weak or fragile, on the contrary, he gave off a powerful aura that would compel anyone to be respectful around him.


    ''Very good.'' The old man said. ''You looked after a white flame and brought her to us for guidance. I''m sure she¡¯ll be a great asset.'' He added and looked at him.


    ''She is like a daughter to me. I tried to teach her well.''


    ''You''re a bit too young to have a sixteen years old daughter. So... Forlo told me about your research. Something about rats and a modified version of Salamander binding.'' He said with a curious smile on his face.


    His smile made Samuel really excited about sharing his work with him.


    ''I have found an ingenious way to control swarms of rats using the binding. Broadly speaking, I think I''m closing in on Blood Arts.''


    ''Blood Arts? Without the touch of the woman? That is indeed groundbreaking. Do you have your notebooks with you?'' The old man asked.


    Samuel hurriedly brought out his notebooks from his bag. He admired the director and felt happy that he was willing to see his work.


    ''Four years of work, all compressed into two notebooks.¡¯ He passed the notebooks to the director. ¡®If you want to read them, please do feel free to keep them. I wonder if I could publish under the Academy..''


    The old man skimmed through them.


    ''Outstanding work.'' He said but soon his smile disappeared. ''Of course. Our journals will not publish your work.'' He added, his face expressed a subtle anger.


    ''It has been many years... I have changed.'' Samuel said, with a weak voice


    ''I am not a man to hold a grudge, it¡¯s just that I don''t like your face.'' The old man said, and a sudden burst of flames burned the notebooks to ash.


    Samuel looked down and tightly clenched his hands.


    ''You didn''t have to do that.'' He muttered.


    ''Is that irritation in your voice?''


    Suddenly two men appeared from the shadows and forced Samuel¡¯s head onto the table. He struggled and looked directly at the old man, not with anger or disdain, but sadness.


    ''Looking after some girl for a couple of years didn''t change anything.'' He said. ''Break two of his fingers and throw him out.'' He ordered the two masked men.


    ''Remember this hospitality before you come back again, and stay away from the girl from now on.'' He said, the two men pulled Samuel up and dragged him out of the room.


    ''Send someone to clean this mess.'' The old man yelled after they were gone.


    21th Aurum


    Excessive banging on the door roused Emilia up.


    ''APOCALYPSE!'' She shrieked and sat up on her bed. She breathed heavily and couldn''t recall where she was for a while.


    The morning rays hadn''t pierced through the light curtains of her window.


    She felt extremely irritated by this sudden disturbance. Who could it be so early in the morning?


    She tied her messy hair into a ponytail and hesitantly opened the door to take a peek outside.


    ''Get ready. Your training will start from today.'' Forlo said, he shoved in some clothes through the gap of the door.


    ''Hey! I don''t wake up this early!'' Emilia complained.


    ''Then you''ll be making a new habit.'' He said with an austere voice.


    Emilia was wearing specialized workout clothes. They were made to give effective support during hard training, the top was sleeveless. She felt a bit uneasy, it was unusual for women to wear sleeveless dresses. Thankfully she had shaved her armpit a week ago. She shuddered at the thought.


    At first, they walked the paved road, lit by electric lamps. Then Forlo went off the beaten path and lead Emilia to a secluded area filled with greenery, trees and grass wet with morning dew.


    ''I thought we were just going to talk.'' Emilia said.


    ''We will talk.'' Forlo replied.


    ''Look, I want to be a bureaucrat. I don''t need this physical training or whatever.'' Emilia said, with a blank face.


    ''Now, you have two choices. Either follow my instructions or defeat me in a fistfi....''


    Before he could finish, she aggressively came forward and threw a feral punch, it got intercepted in mid-air.


    ''I didn''t think you had it in you... Not bad.'' He said with a grin spread all over his face.


    His palm landed on her torso.


    She couldn''t follow his movements and could only hear a rustling noise of dried leaves breaking beneath her. Before she could realize what had occurred, she was lying on a bed of grass and dried leaves, breathing through her mouth, wriggling like a fish with her hands on her stomach.


    ''I''m so fucked.'' When the pain stopped, she murmured while looking at Forlo.


    21th Aurum, In the mind of someone else


    I grew up here in this small village, surrounded by pasture and the love of my mother. You could say, nature holds a special place in my heart. The houses are far apart from each other, the suffocating and congested feeling of cities is not felt here. We have two cows, several chickens, a dog and a cat. I love them like family.


    I can vaguely remember the time when things were much different when my father was the Emperor of the strongest empire in the known world.


    They killed him. I was too young to understand back then. Soon enough, I learned that his death wasn''t pretty. They tortured him for days and then burned him alive in front of the public, they rejoiced.


    The Massacre of Blue Bloods, the scholars named it. The world was changing. People were bored and tired with emperors and tyrants. My father was just unlucky, he was not a bad ruler really, he tried to do good.


    Later the people realized their mistake.


    ''It was bad, how he died.'' They said. ''Could''ve just given him a merciful death.'' They often added.


    Power is a dangerous thing to have. Me and my mother, the former empress, we knew it all too well. In exchange for her dignity, a great revolutionary spared me.


    My mother was a beautiful woman. At first, he would visit us once or twice a month. During nighttime, I could hear creaking noises, unpleasant sounds and moans. I couldn''t sleep for days after each of his visits.


    One might ask, what could a six-year-old understand of that? I understood that it wasn''t right, what he was doing to my mother. After breakfast, he would throw a pouch full of gold on the table.


    ''Buy something nice for the boy.'' He said while patting my head and she would do just that. She would take me to market later that day, buy me sweets and treats, clothes and food.


    I often saw her cry silently. Throughout my life, I never asked her why she cried.


    Maybe the taste of flesh is too strong sometimes. One day I saw the same man rush out of our house with a sword in his hand and fire in his eyes. Someone had disrespected my mother. He tore him to pieces, I heard, and villagers learned not to upset her again.


    Soon she stopped crying and started to cherish her tormentor.


    He gave me many books and trained me, I learned sword fighting and arcane arts from a true master. I could not remember when I started to call him father.


    I am now sixteen, leaving behind my mother and my home. I ranked first in the hardest exam of this country and made her and my mentor proud.


    ''I knew that you would turn into a fine man someday. A man full of courage and good intentions.'' She said.


    ¡®Am I?¡¯ I often wonder.

 Chapter 3: Flight of Ravens

    Nahaniel hadn''t eaten for a day. He sat on a chair in his room and stared into the empty space before him.


    His eyeswere bloodshot. Veins popped out around them.


    A doll made of flesh and bones. Still, there were signs of life. Slow paced breaths and veins pumping with blood.


    With a sudden blink, he came back. His sclera now white as snow.


    ''They feed on this city, like maggots on a carcass.'' He muttered and rubbed his forehead with his right hand.


    He whispered to the lifelike darkness in his room,''Why can''t I find him?'' But it didn''t reply. He felt vexed for some reason.


    Cornelia''s Memory


    Cornelia was one of the two the maids inBlachard''s mansion, worked here for ten years.


    Boreal fell ill for several months after he saw the torn up body of his grandson. After his own son''s sudden death in war, it was too much for him to handle. He had been kind to Cornelia and, shejust couldn''t leave him like this, bargaining with death.


    ''What monstrosity could do that to an orphan boy?'' She often wondered.


    Young master, as she called him now, suddenly appeared three years ago, on a night of an awful thunderstorm. The date was precisely 7th Nahaniel.


    Drenched and reeking of death he stood before her when she opened the door. He didn''t force himself in, just stood there quietly.


    ''Let me in.'' He said, with a voice colder than ice. She could remember that night like it happened yesterday.


    She wanted to yell at him, but a lingering fear stopped her from doing so.


    ''Who are you?'' She asked calmly


    But he didn''t have to answer because of a miracle. Cornelia could hear heavy steps on the upper floor. Moments later Boreal came down running.


    ''Come in!'' He shouted while coming down. Cornelia couldn''t believe her eyes, the man was bedridden for months.


    A costly overcoat hung beside the door. Boreal took it and hurriedly tried to dry the soaking boy.


    ''Bring a towel!'' He screamed. ''Can''t you see that he is hungry?! Prepare some food for him!'' He spoke like amadman, as though, the boy was his long lost family.


    Of course, he looked nothing like his grandson, who was much younger.


    Overwhelmed by this situation, she did nothing but follow her master''s command.


    ''I will avenge him.'' She could hear the boy whisper into Boreal''s ears.


    That was the night something foul grasped this house with its evil hands.


    Nahaniel started to live on the third floor, nobody had lived there for years. Cornelia was given the task to clean it once a month and look after the boy. Soon she came to know about many of his abnormalities.


    When she asked him about his name and past, ''This is my month. You can call me Nahaniel.'' He replied with an eerie tone and showed no further interest to reveal anything more about himself.


    Something compelled her not to speak about these oddities to outsiders. Maybe she was just too terrified to speak of these things or maybe not.


    Birds made out of black and white paper hung from the ceiling. There were rooms, whose walls and floors were tainted by purple ink, ancient symbols and runes that glowed in the dark. She never dared to walk those rooms and halls after the daylight faded. Nahaniel never lit any candles or used the paraffin lamps. How can someone live in such darkness?


    ----------


    Cornelia walked silently, glancing over the garden. On her hand was a tray, it had a plate of biscuits, a pot full of milk tea and sugar cubes.


    He sat there, under the evening sun and cheerfully fed an unkindness of ravens. She never saw someone do that. She didn''t even know that ravens flew in flocks or that they could be so friendly. They fluttered here and there, made low croaking noises. Oddly enough, this was the only time she could see him smile, the smile of a normal boy.


    A garden full of beautiful flowers and plants and a boy with a raven standing on his shoulder, as though, they were best of friends.


    ''Why do I have to see these strange things?'' She complained to herself.


    She put the tray down on the stone bench, beside Nahaniel.


    ''Why are you so afraid of me?'' He asked suddenly.


    He rarely spoke to her and his sudden words made her lose balance. She was about to fall on the ground but managed to save herself and breathed a sigh of relief.


    ''I''ve seen things.'' She said honestly.


    ''It''s not what you''ve seen, it''s what you think about what you saw. Wise people call it perspective. I call it, not minding your own business, as I''ve told you not to peep into those rooms.'' He said as if it didn''t bother him.


    ''I will never tell anyon...'' She tried to speak.


    ''Natives of Ipsom used to sew the mouth of their dead to protect the secrets of the living. Fascinating culture, if you ask me. When the Empire of Oplor expanded to their lands, they didn''t feel disgusted by the many genocides they had committed on Ipsom, but by this act.'' He said, cutting her off.


    Cornelia couldn''t understand what he tried to mean by that. She backed up a little when the bird flew away from Nahaniel''s shoulder and joined its flock.


    ''Forgotten rituals, forgotten people. In the darkness, I hear whispers of the death throes of their culture.'' He said, looking aimlessly at the disordered flock of ravens. ''A culture that went extinct hundred of years ago.I know of many other secrets. Both archaic and present.''


    Cornelia stood silently with a confused face. She hated people who spoke in riddles. Even though they rarely spoke, Nahaniel was at the top of her list.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ''I tried to save him, make him feel better. He is too attached to the world, too bitter and enraged. Thus, his residue will be a lasting mark on it. When Boreal breathes his last, his dwelling will be the subject of a powerful curse. It is better if all of you leave now.''


    She gave Nahaniel a stern look, as though, her fear of him had suddenly disappeared.


    ''Impossible! I''m not leaving him to some deranged boy who dabbles in sorcery!'' She screamed with rage.


    ''I know that you respect him greatly but this is his last wish. You will inherit his wealth, except this house. Speak to him before you go, bid him farewell.''


    Anguish. Pain. Anger. A flood of negative emotions contaminated the air. Cornelia always reeked of fear and this was the first time Nahaniel detected something different from her. She was looking down on the ground with tearful eyes.


    A droplet fell from hr eyes but stopped abruptly in mid air.


    ''Women. So complex, yet so naive. She was better than most, saw and heard enough. However, fell for the simplest of traps. A charming young man with a silver tongue. Like most, the story of their love was also short lived.Left with a child and disowned by her family, she wandered the streets for many days. But luck smiled upon her. She and her son, both were saved from an unjust fate because of an altruistic man.Like many others, she too was touched by Boreal''s compassion. But she stayed, while others left.


    On his deathbed, he grieves for his loved ones. For all of his kindness, what did this world give him?


    So it is. The passing of a kind heart, full of woe, will leave behind a curse that will devour many.'' The Woman to Nahaniel and he listened to her whispers.


    When time was familiar again and Cornelia''s tear had touched the ground, Nahaniel saw Cornelia walk away. She didn''t want any further explanations. Maybe it was the time to say goodbye to her master.


    Nahaniel stood up.


    ''Find him.'' He commanded the ravens and after a slight movement of his hand, they started to fly away.


    He looked quietly at the flight of the ravens and with utmost concentration, listened to the fluttering of their wings and their croaks.


    The great city of Newton. Attractor of all sorts of people, from all walks of life. Now it was filled with idlers and loungers. Many came in search of success, another chance or just a better life. Surely, living in the largest city in the world was better than rotting away as a country bumpkin.


    Cheap hotels, inns, and pubs became the signature mark of the city. It supplied as the people demanded and now their demand was cheap beers, ales, and other alcoholic drinks. That slight punch of intoxication that would make them forget about their not so wonderful life and daily misfortunes.


    The nation had been at war for hundreds of years because of their expansionist policies.Everyone was tired of the constant war mongering of the imperial family. Now an interregnum government was in place. During the revolution, the leaders said, ''A government of the people.'' and that was enough to cause a devastating revolt. Who doesn''t want a whiff of power? Even the illusion that you have a say in anything bigger than your daily chores was convincing enough.


    It would seem that the country had a drinking problem and it was most visible in Newton. The city, from where the fire of industry ignited and spread throughout the civilized world. Many blamed industrialism for the alcohol-induced frenzy that the population was witnessing. Like many other basic needs, alcohol had become too affordable, too quickly. Now the drunk nation was counting days to another civil unrest, as the interregnum government wasn''t giving back power to the people.


    Some did speak of a government conspiracy to keep the people drunk and their mouths shut. But this was a new era. People liked their mysteries, dark secrets, and urban myths.


    In Newton, nobody knew how this enormous ecosystem ran. Bureaucrats, businessmen, laborers and the common folk, like perpetually-turning cogs, they ran the city like a machine. No one was privy to its complex inner workings.


    So during a rainy night when a man felt the sudden urge of another cool bottle of drink, he didn''t think about the drizzling rain, nor the umbrella.


    The Divine Cauldron was nearby, a pub that he visited for occasional drinks. He searched vehemently, but to no avail, he couldn''t find any coin in his small miserable room, or in his pockets. So he decided to try out his luck today.


    The sun''s absence gave the city a mystical, secretive character. The empty streets and alleys, roads filled with puddles of rainwater and occasional carriages that stormed past him gave him a sense of serenity, far surpassing that of enjoying the quiet, green sceneries of the countryside.


    The pub was filled with people, as expected. Lit up as if something festive was taking place. The old and rustic wooden floorboards creaked with his steps.


    Of the many things of interest, he eyed a man and woman upon entering, the man was pouring beer on her face from a modestly sized bottle.


    ''Drink as much as you want, sweetheart.'' He said to her with a vulgar and raspy tone, while his other hand fondled her breasts.


    ''You''ll go broke tonight, hon.'' She replied, moving her mouth a bit from the stream of beer, trying to sound suggestive.


    He walked up to the bar and pondered on the many potential advantages he could''ve had if he was born a woman.


    ''Keep it coming.'' He said to the barkeep.


    He couldn''t remember how many hours had passed and how many glasses of cheap rum he had emptied. It felt enough to him, the drowsiness.


    ''Don''t have any money on me.'' He said after his urge for another drink had faded.


    The barkeep gave him an irritated look, he had seen this man before. He looked like a decent guy, so he didn''t take money from him before serving him.


    He was about to tell his cronies to shake him down for the money. Then he noticed something. Two of his fingers were probably broken, mended together with a white cloth. A malevolent thought raced through his mind.


    ''There''s a fight going on downstairs. You can earn some money there if you want.'' The barkeep said to the man.


    ''Why not...'' He replied.


    The barkeep smirked. A sure win this. The local champion, Goro, had been dominating the underground fist fighting scene for a month or two. It was bad for him. Nobody was stepping up to Goro and that hampered his earnings from the betting business. Another fight, even if Goro completely destroyed this miserable drunkard, would mean more profit.


    ''Hey! Take him to the basement.'' The barkeep said to someone.


    He couldn''t comprehend what was happening around him. Alcohol made him drowsy and sloppy. The claustrophobic environment of the basement wasn''t helping either. There was a strong stench of sweat in the air.


    A man, no, an ox that looked like a man stood before him. He inhaled and exhaled so frequently that it felt like someone had just tried to drown him and failed. And now he was back for his sweet revenge.


    They were surrounded by a rather energetic crowd.


    The first to move was the ox-man. The drunk in front of him wasn''t even in a fighting stance, his whole body was open.


    Still, the ox-man went for head-hunting. A wild haymaker to the head, which was supposed to send the drunk man to sleep was easily evaded by him and the crowd went silent for a moment.


    ''Drunken luck!'' One man yelled and the crowd started to cheer for the ox again.


    This time the ox-man didn''t underestimate him. He was a veteran fighter of the streets and knew that the drunk in front of him was no ordinary man.


    This time he threw a feint haymaker with his right hand that stopped in the middle of its trajectory and followed up with a body shot aimed at the solar plexus of the drunk man with his left.


    It was as if he was completely sober for a few seconds. He saw the upcoming body shot and his dry arsenal of counter moves. Two of his fingers were broken and he was drunk to the teeth, both made defense untenable.


    He reacted fast. Dodging was not possible in this short distance. So using his left hand he pushed down the straight punch of his opponent, completely cutting off its power. With his righthand, he landed a chop on the neck with considerable momentum, within a window two seconds.


    He saw the dilating pupils of his beefy and muscular opponent. For a while, they were frozen like a statue. Then the ox-man fell to the ground, unconscious.


    The crowd had never witnessed something like this. They felt perplexed and terrified. Goro was a monster and they didn''t know what to feel after they saw him fall like this, just with a single hit.


    The man looked around for an exit. When he started to walk, the crowd slowly moved away from his path.


    After he came out, the light rain was gone. He breathed in the earthy smell of the rain and basked in the calmness of the night and could not but think about his shattered life. He wasn''t supposed to be standing outside of an unknown pub, depressed, lonely and broke. The ghosts of his innumerable past mistakes came back to haunt him with the silent night.


    He didn''t even notice the woman standing before him. Therewere two men with her. One of them held up an umbrella over the woman''s head.


    ''Mr. Evergrave?'' She said.


    The man looked at her carefully but didn''t reply.


    ''Samuel Evergrave? The Interregnum Regent wants to speak with you. Please, come with us.'' She said with a polite tone and yet somehow managed to sound threatening. ''We have the authorization to use force if needed.'' She added.


    They did not need use force as Samuel fell to the ground a moment later, succumbed to intoxication. These cheap alcohols were surely not good for health.