ã€ŠLord of the Nightã€‹


 The First King Chapter 1

    ¡°You are Immortal."

    "You cannot be hurt, so die for me."

    "I am your master, so fight for me."

    "I have given you a new life, a life of bones. Obey me."

    The trumpets blow loud, and synchronized. I don''t know where I am. My thoughts are muddled. I understand that I am atop a far-reaching Hill. An open field of grassland as far as I can see below me. I look up, too interested in my surroundings. I see only dark skies with purple-reddish clouds. My head hurts, I feel it''s because I am focusing on everything around me at the same time.

    My mind feels hazy as I struggle with my thoughts. It takes many seconds for the pain in my head to fade. I am no longer sure the pain was indeed from my head, the feeling was surely unpleasant.

    Focusing too much on small details was a poor choice. My attention shifts back down on the grassland. The field before me was alive with men in armor, atop strong armored horses. At the back of the mounted knights were archers, a lesser number than the knights on the mounts. They held composite bows, arrows already nocked to bows, but some of them also held the trumpets that I heard. Behind the archers stood men in cloaks, a knight briefly behind them, though this one was in black armor with a sword raised.

    I feel conscious of myself; I want to know what I looked like, to be self-aware. I find the movement of my arms to be similar to that of moving my head. My arms were bones, my feet as well, my entire body a skeleton.

    I try to perceive it all, my mind fills with too many questions. My thoughts feel like a slippery snake constantly evading my grip. I feel the pain encircling and let my mind go blank.

    The roaring sound of the trumpets unleash through the grasslands once again. The sound was cut off by the master''s voice. I can hear the command that was spoken, not aloud but as if the words spoke to my soul.

    ¡°Charge.¡±

    The feeling of immortality rushes into me, I feel this great undying purpose to kill those before me. Figures blur before my eyes only to notice mere seconds later that they were skeletons, hundreds, if not thousands, of them are running forward, swords held tightly with their bone fingers, many holding swords and shields and a few hold greatswords.

    Across the field, the horses pound the ground as they ran, raising dust in the grasslands. I can see, no, almost feel the mages in the back, they are doing something of what I do not know.

    My feet move, almost on their own and I soon start to run. I take quick note of how many of the skeletons loose balance when they ran and some even fell over. The idea of jumping over the fallen skeletons came to me, it fought with the idea that I was immortal and as such had no need for such tactics.

    My own idea won over and I jump over the fallen skeleton, landing back on my heels only to have to jump over another.

    A huge clash of sound erupts at the front of the battle. The knights charge into a massive wall of running skeletons. Their lances broke bones, scattering skeletons as the mounted knights clashed and rode over bones. I can hear the faint screams of the skeletons, as if their very souls were screaming.

    I saw the truth. I am not immortal, I am frail. The newfound knowledge fought the control of the master. My will to break away and run isn¡¯t enough.

    I need to kill and destroy the enemies of the master, every thought towards the destruction of my foes feel so justifiable.

    A mounted knight, who bore a broadsword instead of a lance, gains my focus. It took some timing, but as the knight formation came deeper into the swarm of skeletons, I jump, my bone fingers tightly holding onto the saddle of the knight''s horse.

    The sky all at once became lit with human sized glowing balls of blue light, which illuminated the skies. Then the globes of light fell, and explodes. The eruptions cause massive explosions in the more densely packed skeleton areas, and avoided the knights entirely. The explosion sent skeletons into the sky, and caused dust clouds around the battlefield.

    The arrows came shortly after, just like the globe of exploding light it impacted the crowed areas of the skeletons, as they merged towards the knights.

    Moving closer up the saddle, I grab onto the man¡¯s leg to pull myself up onto the horse as it rush by me. The knight takes notice of the hold on his leg as he swings at the skeletons, chopping off their heads.

    The knight seems surprise. He looks at me, and I can see the wonder in his eyes through the helmet he wore. He''s quick, and turns swiftly to cut my skull off my shoulders. He was too late. My sword lunge for the opening between his armor. The knight twist in pain, his helmet falls off his head as he bends forward in a scream.

    I notice then the blue very opaque light that surrounds the man¡¯s face. The light goes dim as the man slumps against my chest, it grew bright again fiercely, then went out.

    I watch the glowing light with great interest. It''s about the size of my hand. The light floats up out of the dead knight¡¯s head. The battlefield slowly fades away as I lose interest in the fight. Time slows, and everywhere around me became empty of sound.

    The light calls out to me. My lust for death fades away. The world around me turns dark and the light grew even brighter.

    I reach out for this light. Why did this light come from the knight? Will it explode like the balls of light in the sky? I grew worried, and lean away from it. But, only shortly after it almost sang to me, like a violin. I''ll touch it, yes touch it.

    My hands raise. I could not tell if I¡¯m controlling my own movements, but my hand simply shot forward. I am now holding the light as if it were physical. I was holding light. I sense it on my hand. It''s cold and warm. The soul is fill with fear and wonder of what was next. I sense love mix with hate, but most of all I feel the power of the light.

    I squeeze the light, no it was better to say, I absorb it. The light turns into what looks like a liquid, it felt like water as it flowed onto my fingers and between the joints of my bones. It flows up my arm and into my ribs. I don''t know where it went after that, but what I did know was I remember something.

    I remember dreaming of training in the Almerian army as a child, and how filled with happiness I felt when I finally got accepted. I remember Ariel, one of the King''s many daughters who I had fallen in love with, and the promises I made her. Not to mention the pride I felt when I became knighted. The memories were like quickly flashes, and soon enough I forgot most of them.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I know these were not my memories, nor even my life. I also know that the knight would never get to see his princess again, and the promises he''d made will never be kept.

    I remembered things as well, things from my own life, just brief images of great cities it was enough for me to know that I didn''t belong here.

    Time resumed, as the world once again returned to its normal speed. Only mere seconds had gone by even though it felt much, much longer to me. I felt different for some reason, I don''t know exactly what felt different, it was just this difficult feeling to describe.

    Something stood out to me instantly. Small light globes, like the ones that I had just absorbed were floating up all over the battlefield. They vanish as they reach a certain height in the sky. I know now what they are. They were souls of the dead, filled with memories. I try to recall the memories of the knight but, I found them too hard and uncertain like trying to remember what you ate last month. I just know it was there and that it happened.

    Did that mean I''m someone else now? My train of thought was abruptly cut off as the horse I sat on attempted to throw me off. I pull on the reigns of the horse, and quickly gained control of it.

    I rode the horse like a knight of Almeria, back straight, proud and fearless. The skeleton army no longer focused on stopping my horse. They are unorganized and their true strength are in numbers. The horses of the knights began to fall slowly one by one. The constant assault on the mounts left the battle with the eerie death screams of the horses. The fallen knights were then left to face hundreds of bloodthirsty skeletons, it was a death sentence.

    The knight formation began to turn hard to the left. A rider to my right notices me. The man stops mid swing to stare at me. His wonder didn''t last long. He saw me as the greatest evil, I know this also from the memories. He made the effort of turning his horse and his body to me. His sword lunges out in a stab towards my head. I deflected it with a powerful arc of my sword. The unexpected action causes the knight''s sword to be flung from his hand into the chaos of swarming bones.

    The rider reaches for his other sword, which is strapped to his left, all knights carry two, all Almerian knights at least. I try to recovery quickly before the knight could resume this battle. I attempt to bring the sword down onto the knight''s helmet, but I overextended and it was sloppy as well. It caused me to almost lose control of the horse. I had missed the knight''s head entirely as the sword came back down, it almost sliced into my horse''s neck.

    The memories from the knight''s soul came forward and I pull my sword back in a practiced block. Our swords met in a ringing collision. My impact was much heavier, the rider didn''t lose his grip this time, but his sword arm recoiled back from the impact causing him to lose balance.

    I didn''t lose my chance this time. My sword went in for the strike, digging into the space between the knight''s helmet and his cuirass.

    The resistance of the sword can be felt, as it went through flesh of the man''s neck. He grabs at my sword with both hands as if pulling it out would make him avoid death. He eventually slumps forward as I pull my broadsword out of his neck. The now dead knight rolled off the side of the horse. The horse trips over his body, and fall to its doom.

    I feel little for the death of the man. I turn my head around completely to see the dead man''s soul float upwards. The only regret I had is letting the man fall. I wanted to absorb his soul, but why? I feel like I have an addiction. The weight of many unanswered questions are still in my head.

    I feel the pressure of the master¡¯s commands grow, and my thoughts once again focus on the destruction of life.

    The knights are now less than a dozen in number. The skeletons are now less than half of what they were. So much for immortality. I could feel the master''s pressure for me to believe in immortality, my blood thirst was still there, but the truth could not be remove.

    Light bombs, the name which I had taken to calling the falling exploding light. The small craters caused by the light bombs all over the field, broken arrows as well. So that was the plan. We are being lead around in a huge semi-circle while the mages, and archers take us out. The plan had not worked out that well. There are simply too many skeletons.

    The light bombs which are floating above the ground up ahead are different. They didn''t explode as they made contact with the ground, instead they laid still. Just floating there. I know nothing good would come of it. I reduce the distance between myself, and a rider in front of me, my left hand reaches out to catch a very close soul and I suck it in.

    I reach out with my hand, and grab the rider, pulling him to the side as I grab onto his armor. I send the tip of my sword below his arm, the man fell back, and off the horse. However, not before I absorb his soul.

    The lines of light bombs explode as the knights reach the archers. Debris are thrown into the sky from the explosions. Dust covers the area and for a moment nothing could be seen through the dust screen, but it didn''t last long. My skeleton brethren burst out through the smoke in full rage.

    The sight of a skeleton riding a horse, followed by almost two hundred skeletons caused even the mages to flinch. The crazy thoughts that must me going through their minds.

    The archers stood firmly and hold their bows towards us.

    "Release!" A voice shouts, soon after the twangs from the bows filled the air. Another shout from the same voice signaled the archers to once again nock their arrows.

    Arrows do very little to a war band of skeletons, after all we are only bones. Sadly, my horse wasn''t and it finally succumbs to the many arrows that stuck into him, but not before I manage to almost decapitate one of the last knights.

    I roll several times on the ground as I fall from my horse several feet away from the archers. The Almerian archers let go of their bows, drawing long daggers, a few outright fled. The skeletons crash into the archers savagely, blood whipping into the air as their swords slam into the line of archers.

    The skeletons numbers were decreasing, and souls were floating up in the air in all around me. My sword plunges through an archer¡¯s back. I snatch the soul from the air, and suck it dry. The thirst for my enemies grows even larger. My hunger for death reaches it''s peak. Did the other skeletons not want souls? The real question is could they even see the souls? They seemed oblivious to it. That was okay, more for me.

    Screams filled the battlefield. Screams of souls, oh the souls, yummy souls. The archers grow slower. I suck the soul out of the air from the last dead archer as he slumps to the side, and falls to the ground.

    Blood runs down my hand. My bones are now stained with blood. Less than one hundred skeletons remained yet the charged at the mages, like they charged at the knights.

    I now know who the man behind the mages is. A knight captain, in charge of a full legion.

    ¡°What are you waiting for! Now now now! ¡°The knight captain shouts at the mages. Seeing the mages up close now I see how their robes had small tiny stars of various sizes. It reminds me of the night sky.

    The mages began to chant, in quick succession. Light bombs burst forth from their hands. Watching it this close it looks like lasers. The explosion scatters many of the skeletons. The skeletons were weak to the light bombs for some reason. I know this from simply watching the bombs decimate the skeletons. It was also why I lag behind, to avoid being struck by one of them. An advantage when you know that you aren''t immortal.

    I burst through the smoke and dust along with two dozen of my fellow skeleton brethren. The mages begin a new spell again. Were the mages always this sluggish?

    I push my sword up the jaw of one of the mages. The sword broke bone as it entered the mouth, and out the top of the mages skull. It sent brain matter launching into the air from the hard impact.

    This soul is so unlike the others. It''s large to begin with, as large as half a man, and it wasn''t blue. It''s white, but I could see faints of yellow, red and green on the edges of the dominant white soul.

    I suck it in. I feel like I''m choking, it felt like biting a burger bigger than my mouth. I push, absorbing and absorbing. I want more and more. I squeeze it with both my hands. I try to compress it as it slowly turns into its liquid form and moves up my arms. I consume every bit of the soul. Yet I want more.

    The knight captain is gone. I move fast, like a blur. Before I know it, I¡¯m holding onto another white soul. Absorbing the souls became easier with each one. By the time I''d absorbed five it''s as easy as sucking in blue souls.

    No more mages are in sight, but that wasn''t good enough. The remaining skeletons would have to do. I broke their bones and ripped them apart, their souls were mine.

 The First King Chapter 2

    I feel terrible and I hurt everywhere. This felt worse than the hangover I had after my night at the Palm Springs bar. I do not remember how long ago that was. The memory of my ex-girlfriend comes back to me. I still miss Melissa. our break up came so sudden, ¡®I feel like this relationship isn''t going anywhere¡®, her reason for leaving me. I am still not sure what hurt more; her leaving me, or not knowing what I did wrong. I have been beating myself up thinking I could change something, I still do.

    I am not in my nice soft bed, that is for sure. I sit up only to see my skeleton legs. I scream, or at least try to, but I cannot. However, I manage to make a ¡®clack clack clack ¡® sound with with my mouth. My hands moved to my face. I feel my own skull, and empty eye sockets.

    The question of how I can even see, came into my mind. I have no eyes .God, how could I feel then? I don''t have skin or flesh, there is just bones. I should be dead. I do not have any organs either. Damn, I did not even get to use my reproductive system much.

    The pain fades, and I hold my skull as I fall back down on the rocky uneven ground. I groan in pain, but the only sound I make is the ¡®clacking clack¡® of my jaws.

    Memories of the battle flow into me. I remember the voice in my head, and the souls floating in the air. I feel that sharp pain again, taking me by surprise. The pain fades away slowly until it only becomes a pulse, then it vanished all together. I am glad that is all over with.

    I never thought myself to be a violent person. I should empathize towards the dead. I wonder if I am still human. My memories of who I was before must count for something. I knew a few people who could argue what being human truly is. Not knowing who I am makes me uncertain. I still feel nothing for the dead. It is better they are dead, than I am. I will have to look into what I am as time passes.

    Of my memories even most of them did not stand out, I remember people, but only important people. I remember the voice. The one who called himself master. I thought of my parents, and what they were doing right now. Friends came next: Clarence, Ted and Clair.

    I feel silly remembering all these people who I knew, since do not even remember my own name. I wanted to laugh a bit at the irony, but I could not. I settle for grinding my teeth. It felt oddly satisfying. I sat up once again to examine my surroundings.

    All I could see is the rugged rock walls.. It is cold, though I feel no discomfort. Darkness swallowed the area, but just like the cold it did not cause my sight to be impeded. I am curious about both of these things. I will have to test them, make sure I am not wrong. Maybe the rock in here acts like a mirror reflecting light in from the outside. That could be plausible, and realistic, something I could relate to, since what I have seen so far has broken multiple laws of life?

    I am in a cave, Getting on my feet, I look around for my sword. I feel better with it in my hand. The blood from the previous battle still stains my bones. I feel unclean and wanted to scrub it off. I wish I had some water so I could wash the stains away.

    I begin to move towards the cave exit. The outside is filled with enormous trees and huge vines. I could see a deer bending to drink water by a near river, Insects buzzing about, and chirps from birds high in the trees. I do not recognize the trees, or the hand-sized flying insects.

    As I walk out further, the sunlight hit my skeleton frame. My soul screamed from the rays, causing my body to burn. My hands flared into blue flames and I¡¯m half rolling, half running back into the cave. I tried to make the flames go away, but it keep burning for several minutes while I wave my arms in the air continuously.

    I kneel on the ground, looking at my arms and ribs. Hell, that hurt so much. The flames has left my bones blackened like pitch. I looked like a dalmatian with my patches of black and white. I grind my teeth as I get back up on my feet.

    Well this settles it then: I am no longer on earth.

    The sun burns me, really damn bad. This must be the worst case of sunburn I ever had, and I don¡¯t even have skin anymore. It could also relate to me being a skeleton.

    I feel like I belong here, as though me being here is no accident. I have never heard of any device that could transfer you into another world, though something told me I am not just in another world. Humans are an advanced species, but I would know if we had this sort of technology. Or maybe not; I couldn''t trust my memories, If they were even real in the first place.

    I begin to move deeper into the cave,feet clicking on rock, too curious to sit and wait for the sun to go down. I wondered at what else I could not do. I was outside on the day of the battle, but there I was never burnt. I will have to check that out, I want to eventually be able to walk outside during the day.

    The theory about the rock reflecting light also is wrong. I probably would burst into flames if that was right. Perhaps it is only direct light that is the problem.

    I heard heavy breathing closeby.. I didn''t think I would find anything else in the cave. The bear watches me intensely, lifting its body up, teeth bared, drool sliding down from yellow fangs and onto the black lips, only to pool on the cave floor. I was badly burned and felt extremely weakened from the sunlight. I have seen the strength of a bear and I did not want to bet on whether it could be able to tear me apart. A blue light appeared around the bear, probably the light from the its soul, I know this now. The light of the soul provide no light to the cave, another thing to note down.

    I know a bit about what to do when you encounter a bear. Specifically, intruding on the territory of one. I raise both my hands forward and was about to back away, when the bear drops back down,giving off a painful sound like a puppy in pain.

    You will die one day for the sake of curiosity, I think bitterly before moving towards the bear. I keep my hands out in front of me, trying to appear as small a threat as I could be. Which seemed to be working; maybe it thought a skeleton could not pose any harm, or maybe bears here are different from the ones on Earth. Who even knows what they are used to seeing in this world, if even a skeleton does not make it attack in rage. Whatever it is, I am thankful for it.

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    The bear has claw marks on its shoulders, they way it favored its right hind legs made me suspect the bone is broken. Its back also had quite a few deep claw marks.There are patches where the fur is completely torn, and bite marks on the side as well. At first I just figured that animal souls shine less, but that is wrong; the reason is simply that the bear is dying.

    Well, seems like I will be eating your soul when you die. Of course, I could just as easily kill the bear right now and save it the pain. I am not sure where skeletons get their energy from, however, I am convinced that it is from souls. I obviously do not want to run out of energy. At the rate the bear is dying, it is better I kill it now.

    My head begins to hurt as a strong memory rose up from an absorbed soul.

    ¡°Mr. Albus! ¡°

    ¡°Mr. Albus!¡°

    I awake with a gasp, feeling a sharp pain on the top of my head a piece of broken chalk lay on the top of my desk.

    ¡°Yes, Yes!¡± I blurt out, turning quickly to the left and right. Laughing soon followed, I look at my fellow apprentices with both fury and embarrassment, as well as abit of fear having realized whose class I just slept in. I could feel my throat go slightly dry.

    ¡° I am pleased to see you are back with us Mr. Albus.¡° Bishop Leron said.

    ¡°Sorry Bishop Leron¡± I sighs as I reply. I stayed up too long last night in the cathedral, why do these things keep happening to me? at least I am not being punished, one of the new perks of finally becoming an apprentice?

    ¡°We are doing a summary of what we have learned this year Mr. Albus, since you showed that you do not need such, perhaps you can answer some questions. " I try not to sigh. Oh great... questions.

    "Yes Bishop Leron." I reply, with the most non-uppity voice I can manage.

    " What is a sub-thread? "

    "A group of sub-threads are used to make up a single thread. They form and shape the spells we cast " I said, not appreciating the obvious novice question I was asked.

    "What is a weave"

    "A weave is a group of threads that interact with each other to form a spell" Another, novice question.

    " Now, Explain to the class the four different threads that make up the the spell we have been learning"

    "Yes Mr. Leron. The bone thread is used when repairing bones, different organs all have their specific threads as well. The repair thread is used to repair flesh and muscle tissue. The stop thread dictates at what level of haste a spell has. The stop thread also binds together threads of different sizes inside a weave, so they all stop or start at the same time. We also have the stitch thread. The stitch thread ties a weave to another''s reservoir. It is used so that we can heal others"

    " Good, show us your aptitude by enhancing the healing factors of this Fili bird. ¡° Bishop Leron said, with his usual high pitch voice. He¡¯s dressed like a priest of Nehron would be, including myself, which is in starry white robes robes.The only difference is the lining is in gold whereas my own is in copper.

    I slide off my chair, stand up, and walk to the front. I could feel the stares on my back. Why do these things keep happening to me? I sigh, then I inspect the bird. I probably would not have to this if I had not fallen asleep. People need to understand that the cathedral is huge, it takes time to clean and sweep.

    I quickly examine the bird. I am able to determine that the wing is broken. I begin my first stance of prayer to Nehron. The bird must be in great pain, since the energy around the bird is dim. Does it have enough energy left for the spell to use. I only need a little of your energy birdy. I weave a thread for bone, then another thread for repair. I weave a stop thread, so the spell would not drain the bird¡¯s energy too quickly. I do not want the bird to die from using too much of its energy, too quickly. I use the stop thread to bind the other threads together. Birds had very small wells from which to draw power. It is so small it was not even worth calling it a proper well.

    The thread is a hard one to weave; even the simplest mistakes could cause the death of the Fili bird. I smile with pride as the spell is successfully sown onto the bird. I then cast it. It took several seconds, but then the bird is back on its feet. It twist its head and, at a very high speed, it leaps into the air, flapping its wings as it flies out the window.

    ¡°Excellently done Mr. Albus.¡± I beam with pride at Bishop Leron¡¯s comment, the man is not known for handing them out easily. Then he to paused, as if to think.

    ¡° Eight extra nights of cleaning the cathedral for sleeping in my class.¡° The Bishop said. I sigh, so much for those perks.

 The First King Chapter 3

    The memory quickly fades and new facts register to me. The cloaked humans the end of the battle were not mages, they were priest. It makes sense to send the clergy to fight the undead. I will be able to save the bear now, or at the very least I can attempt to heal it. I am not sure why I care for it, maybe that is just using an excuse for me to use the bear as an experiment. Realizing that I was lying on the ground, I quickly get back up. The bear is still there without paying any attention to me.

    The bear flinches as I rest my hands on its thick brown fur. I can almost feel the bear¡¯s uncertainty, or maybe it is just my own. The bear could still attack if it feels threatened.

    I am not a religious person. Well that is not true; I am a very religious person, if being religious means believing in some supreme entity, then yes, I am probably more religious than most. Well, I cannot say any prayer to Nehron, since I cannot say anything to begin with.

    However, I do not need to say any prayers. I have a theory, based off the memory; the chant simply allows one to see the glow of someone''s energy, and for priests to manipulate their own. The proper term for the energy around someone is well, or reservoir. Priests are able to engage this reservoir manipulation mode by praying to their god. I am not sure how everyone else does it, however, I do not need to pray. I am constantly in this mode of being able to see the reservoirs of others. Is this another ability of being a skeleton, or is it simply me?

    I will think more about what this means later; this bear is currently dying and I cannot heal dead things. Even if I fail, I still get something out of this.

    Something stood out, I could feel the bear''s reservoir. It did not feel cold or warm, but it was a sensation of energy. I begin to make the threads, starting up by using some energy from my well. I form the first bone thread. The term ¡°thread¡± is not sufficient to describe what it takes to even form one; a single thread could be made up of many sub threads. A lot of questions are raised in my head, as one of the long sub threads has the same formation as DNA.

    I start the work on the second thread, the one for repair. It has a few sub threads which are similar to those of the bone thread, but a few of the sub threads in the repair thread are more complicated and longer.

    This entire process feels very similar to programing, almost equivalent to creating a piece of software. It becomes marginally easier to think of it like that..

    I join the bone thread to the repair thread. After that, I begin to work on the stop thread. The stop thread is basically a limiter for how fast, or slow, a spell is. It also stops the threads at the same time if two threads in a spell are of different sizes, which means it is almost indispensable when weaving with more than one thread. I do not want the bear to die before the spell is complete, so I increased the speed of the healing process. The stop thread is simple to make, but it took the longest time create. Both the repair and bone threads does not even come close to the stop thread in length, even when combined. I imagine the repair and bone thread wrapping together, then visualizing the entire spell covering around the bear''s leg. I then begin to work on the stitch thread that would hold the weaving in place. The stitch thread made it possible for me to use the bear''s energy instead of my own. The way it works is by transferring the weaving across to the bear, so it is as if the bear is casting the spell.I cast the spell, and and watch as it stitches onto the bear.

    I take several steps backwards, almost touching the cold rocky wall. The spell begin to methodically repair the broken bone of the bear after I release the weaving. The bear give off a roar, no doubt it hurts to feel your bones repair themselves in a matter of seconds. Healing as though someone pressed fast forward on a remote control, the deep cuts around the bear''s legs begins to slowly close.

    I am not sure why I expected an instant regeneration. You usually see things like this in games, it feels less scary as well. I now understand that the spell only speeds up the natural healing process, I was oddly okay with that; finally something scientific in this world I could explain.

    Of course this was not over. I repeat the process, weaving only threads of repair this time with stop threads to wrap it. Then I imagine the spell wrapping around the bear''s neck, and added in the stitch thread so it once again attatched to the bear''s resiviour. That took some work. All the major injuries are gone now.

    I feel really tired, but I cannot not rest yet. I grind my teeth more as I look at the entrance of the cave.

    Night, sweet night! I wonder how much time I spent healing. It could not be so long, probably it was the memory of the priest that took up a lot of time. Experiencing the memory felt like I was dreaming. Dreams often seem short, but last for hours. The memory was of the priest named Cormac Albus during his teenage years. I hope this is not a recurring problem. I do not want to suddenly black out from a memory.

    Time to go kill something! I walk back to the exit of the cave, leaving the the bear alone. It must be sleeping, because its eyes are closed. The blue light around it has grown a bit brighter as well. It certainly is a lot of fun to cast a spell.

    The outside feels so good! I raise my hands in the air, enjoying the feeling of the forest and the rays of moonlight, pouring down between the forest leaves. I still cannot see the sky. I am curious whether all of the clouds in the sky are the same reddish purple color as the ones from the battlefield.

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    I move down the small hill, which led away from the the cave entrance, and just below a river flows. I quickly head towards the river. I kneel down at the riverbed, and washed the bear blood on my hands off. I tried to scrape the dried blood off my bones, and then fully submerging myself into the river to help with the effort. While I managed to get most of it off, there are still patches of stained blood on my hands.

    I get up in frustration, why did I even care!? I am a skeleton! I grind my teeth in frustration. I stood up in the water, finding the river only reached my waist, but then something interesting happened.

    The river is lit by enough rays of light that I can see my own reflection on the water surface. I turn my skull from left to right in order to better inspect myself. I even touch my reflection in the water, only to feel silly afterwards, as I chuckle in my mind. I look so unreal with my eyes glowing blue. To be more specific; something inside my skull glows blue. Was that me? Or maybe that is where my consciousness is?

    I feel so very frail now. I will have to be more careful with my body.

    I walk towards the other side of the riverbank. I can see the fish in the clear waters, since the darkness in the forest does little to disrupt my sight. The fish also have a blue glow around them, similar to the bear, which made them easy to follow. I consider to hunt the fish down and consume their souls, but I cast the idea off because it is too weird. I would rather avoid that title of ¡°great consumer of fish souls¡±. Which begs the question of animal memories. I shiver at the thought of what fish memories would be like, or other animals in general. Maybe I should have killed the bear for the sake of experimenting. No, it trusted me enough to not to kill it. I may one day become a murdering skeleton, but I will not start killing those who trust me.

    Layers of falling, dried, leaves crunch as I walk. I even try to walk as lightly as I possibly can, but that offers little success. Two wild boars have already run away because I stepped on leaves. I want to curse so badly; damn these wild pigs and their extraordinary good hearing.

    After another hour of searching, I was about to give up. I am worried I will forget which direction I came from. I turn back, stepping on a branch by mistake, I notice a twitch and stop in my tracks. I want to smile.

    Lying curled up in a bed of dried grass, is a deer. It is a much smaller specimen, compared to what I saw earlier today, but it is still a soul, and I cannot be picky at this point.

    Carefully, I move forward, avoiding the many objects on the forest floor that would make a noise. The deer grew closer and closer when a leaf broke beneath my foot. For a second I almost jumped forward to strangle the poor thing, but its ears only twitched. Just as I was about to grab it, a loud screaming sound echoed throughout the forest.

    I look around to find the source of the sound. You would be amazed at how far a skeleton like myself can turn his neck, and how swiftly. I see nothing; just trees and large mosquito-like insects. I rapidly turn around to grab the deer, but it was already dashing away, causing me to grab empty air. I watch with a sense of lost hope as the deer leaps away, jumps over a large log, and vanishes into the night. I stare at where it vanished for a few seconds, as a growing anger boils inside of me.

    The screaming continued and I made to follow it. Walking briskly, I do not care what happens around me. I cannot be bothered by the wild pigs, running away from noise of my footsteps. Even the strange little creatures, which scattered, and climbed up to trees to escape my path, were of little interest.

    ¡°HEEEEEELP! Someone! Help me, bandits! I¡¯m being chased! Hello, who''s there, thank heavens. F- shit! What! Lavita help me! No! Don''t! Don touch me, Ouc! Fuck! Sto-¡±

    Sweet sweet soul, God that felt good, feels like sex! At least I broke her neck, it was quick and her soul was delicious. Damn I did not know what I was missing. I felt so bad all day long without knowing? Did this mean that I would feel worse as time passes, unless I consume souls?

    I hear the sound of a branch break behind my back. I spin around, to find a man behind me. I can see the shock in his eyes from seeing a moving skeleton. It does not last long however; he is obviously used to the horrors of the forest, and his recovery is swift. He is already swinging a curved blade towards me.

    I raise my left hand in reflex. I watched in stunned surprise as the blade sliced through the first bone in arm. I feel no pain, but I did feel my first taste of fear. My anger then surges. With my right hand I grab the man by his throat, squeezing it as hard as I can while lifting him up from the ground.

    I then slam him down on the ground, hoping it is enough to kill him. The man lost his sword when he hit the ground. His hands claws at my arm, trying to move or push me away, but I keep steady. I feel him weaken, seeing his light go dim, and tears cover his face. He slumps back as the glow around him vanishes. I feel nothing but joy as I absorb his soul.

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    Thank you toJason Master</a>for proofreading this chapter.

    Don''t forget to comment, and rate this chapter if you like it, or let me know what you didn''t like about it.I''ll try my best to reply to all comments.

    -Lulu

 The First King Chapter 4

    Two bodies, less than five meters away from each other, lie on the soft dirt. I feel nothing for their deaths. Enough of my memories have returned, for me to know that I am not supposed to hold life in so little regard. Maybe something changed in the way I think, or maybe it is that just skeletons have no love for life; they are after all skeletons. My body is no longer human, I can accept that, but my soul and my consciousness still is.

    That really plagued my thoughts for several minutes, as I lie between the dead bodies, so I can just relax and clear my thoughts . The night is brightly lit and the sky is amazing. Stars of all colours fills the night sky, looks like someone used their brush to slash dots of paint all over, the result of which is this beautifully lush night sky. The clouds look normal, no different that the clouds on Earth: puffy white with unpredictable shapes. One of the clouds looks like a bunny. What strikes me the most, are the two moons. One regular size moon, looking just like the one back on Earth, and right next to it, is a much smaller moon of the same bright yellow color.

    What is better than a starry night with a beautiful moon? A starry night with two beautiful moons. With much effort I stand up. What to do now? I look around for the sword that the man dropped. The slick khopesh felt well balanced in my hand. I took a few swings of it to test the sword with both my left and right hand.This will be a good replacement for my sword, which I did not find in the cave. I search the corpse, but find nothing on him but a few copper coins. It is a clear sign that this world has some sort of economy.

    Seeing the fully clothed man made me feel naked. You have very little to hide if you are a skeleton, but for me it was not about hiding anything. Wearing clothes seems natural. To be more specific: it made me feel human. If I need anything right now, it is to feel human again. I begin to strip the man. I look at the clothes laid on the ground: a pair of brown leather boots, a tattered black cloak, a thick belt, a white shirt, and black leather pants.

    I put the boots on first, pulling the laces tightly so they wrap nicely around my bony feet. The belt is really important, in order to make this possible, or the pants would slide off in no time. The belt also serves as a sheath for the khopesh. I did not have any problems with the shirt, and the cloak suited me perfectly. I left the hood of the cloak down.

    I look up at the sky, which is still pretty dark. I am not sure how long the night will last, but I have been thinking of a way to avoid the sun. I try to move around in the clothes, but I feel restrained. I guess this is a bad idea. I remove the shirt, which took more effort than I thought it would. I still did not feel right. I remove the pants next, and I feel much better. I will probably keep getting into fights, as long as souls are my source of food. My exposed ribcage and skull will help scare the lights out of anyone, making killing much easier.

    I move the bodies to align with the location that I came from, in order to be sure of the way to return I am curious about who else the dead woman was running from. Maybe I can find some sort of human civilization. I cannot even talk, so they would see a skeleton and probably think I am there to kill them. Which, given my current track record of encounters with humans, is about right. I cannot hold it against them.

    I begin to look for tracks in the dirt, in order to get an idea of where the man came from. I am no tracker, so it took an embarrassing amount of time to locate a single footprint. I hope to trigger some memories of tracking, by looking at the footprint for several minutes. However, nothing happens. I simply do not know enough to form any reasoning behind how, or why, these memories appear. Also, why do my bones hold together and move like I have cartilage tissue? It is really odd. All these things are happening without reason. There has to be some scientific reason behind why my body is being held together.

    Hmm...my bones behave like I have a living breathing body? Interesting. Does that also mean that it reacts like a living breathing body would? Well then let''s see, I have all this energy in my reservoir, might as well put it to use.

    I sit down on the ground, then move my left hand in front my face. What I am looking at is not good; the two bones that were connected to my wrist, one of them is sliced straight through, the other bone is cracked. My arm would fall off if I swing it too hard. That does not sit well with me.

    I start to draw energy from my reservoir. It feels like breathing. I may have drawn more energy than I need for the weaving. I will have to give some thought to experimenting with this too, so I will not waste energy in the future.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    I weave the sub threads and connect them together to form a bone thread. I follow up with the repair thread and wrap both threads with the stop thread. I unleash the weaving, and allowed the spell to enter the physically realm. I am correct about using more energy than I need. The unused energy, however, is safely dissolved in the air, thanks to the stop thread. I watch as my arm begin to glow a luminescent blue. I look at my arm, still fascinated, as the bone connects itself back, and the cracked part of the bone mends itself.

    I have my own little victory laugh inside my head.

    Now let''s get back to following these footprints in the dirt. The dead bandit did a lot of twist and turns in his attempt to sneak up on me. I feel honoured that he saw me as such a threat. The bandit first entered the clearing in a straight-line, relative to where I first met with the running woman. I keep walking forward, hoping to meet with others with similar morals as this bandit here. You can never have enough souls. The woman was most likely too scared to think, and simply choose to run in one direction. I can tell from the footprints I find. It made following her tracks easier.

    I begin my journey of curiosity. Onwards to discover, chart new lands, and meet new people. I will try my best not to kill anyone that I do not have to, keyword is: try. I am starting to feel bad about breaking the poor lady¡¯s neck, she was after all just trying to escape. I do not remember being this easily triggered, certainly never to the extent of killing. Despite the fact that I cannot remember huge portions of my life, I knew I was not this sort of person back on Earth. I want to know why I am here in the first place, and why I have such a strong feeling that I must stay.

    I did not have to walk far, the light of the dancing flames guided me towards the camp like a beacon. As I got closer, I crouched down, and was pleased at how small I could make myself. I shift behind a thick log, holding onto the trunk with both my hands. I elevate my head slowly then took a look around the campfire.

    The first thing I notice, mostly because of the noise, was a whimpering boy. He looks no older than ten years old, maybe even a bit younger. What stood out to me, is the young boy¡¯s grey hair, well more silver than grey, shining in the bright moonlight. The boy''s clothes are in a mess, and he is bleeding from a long gash on his right cheek,starting from just above his lip and ending right below the eyes. He is also tied down by thick ropes that go around a tall tree, as is his upper body and legs.

    A wagon is parked a slight distance away from the campfire itself. Crates are unpacked and stacked by the wheels. Wooden kegs stands atop the stacked crates. I watch and wait while the bandits talk. I count three of them in all. They must have been drinking, because an empty keg is being tossed aside in favour of a full one.

    ¡°What¡¯s taking the fool so long! Should be here with thaa bitch by now, my cock is hard just thinking of thaa ass ¡°One of the bandits blurt out, as he gulped down another mug of whatever alcohol was in the keg.

    ¡°Yuh-yuh going to wait you fucker, I got dee longest stick! ¡°Another one said as he buttoned his pants up, just having taken a piss by a tree. The same one the boy was tied too.

    ¡°Both of you morons shut the fuck up, and stop drinking the damn wine! Listen¡°, The man took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, ¡°There is good fabric here, a lot of furs that we can sell. See that boy there? He may have some rich daddy, and I''m sure we can sell the lass Zayzle brings back. That''s enough coin for a month of whores, but-¡±

    I am trying to get closer, to hear what is being said, since the conversation is really interesting so far. Unfortunately, I disturbed an iguana nearby. The iguana runs through layers of leaves just to escape me. Damn. The guy is starting to walk this way. I look for which direction to run in. Should I run though? I mean, well, I want their souls. Souls are always good.

    I could just kill them, since it is the human thing to do. It could be argued that those bandits were monsters. I mean, back on Earth they would have gotten a death sentence in some countries. Could it be that doing more humane things cause me to remember important memories of my past or from other souls? It was worth a shot. Maybe killing them will make me feel better. I still had some regret for killing the woman. I could also save the boy? That seems like it would be worth the most human points, if I want to get a new memory.

    I look around for a place to go. I smile mentally as I look at the log. This is going to be good.

    ¡°Yuh worry too much Gage, it''s probably just a lizard or sumfthing ¡°The man, who had just finishing taking a piss, said as he fills his mug with wine.

    The man looked back at the two other bandits, having just walked around the large log twice.

    I reach out slowly with both hands from inside the hollowed log, then, with quick movements, I grab the man''s foot and pull hard. He hit the forest floor with a heavy thud while screaming. I pull him down halfway into the log. His eyes meets my glowing blue ones, and his scream intensifies, but it soon turned into a gurgle as my khopesh slid slowly under his jaw, through his mouth, and into the brain.

 The First King Chapter 5

    The two bandits comes to defend their screaming companion. The scream seems to have made them sober. The first one is killed too easy: I cracked his skull open with a vertical swing to his head. He must be scared out of his mind to freeze up like that. It feels like chopping wood. The other one tries to run when he realizes what is happening. I would say he is the smart one of the group. Shame I cannot let anyone go. I jump forward, hurling myself towards the running man. My khopesh sinks into his back. I feel the blade sliding against his spine and out of his chest. The man falls quickly, with me on his back.

    Looks like Christmas came early this year. Let''s see what we have here... Are those leather gauntlets? I''ll be taking those. I bent over to lift up the hand of the dead man. I hold the man''s hand with both my elbows and slide the gauntlet off. I do the exact same thing with the other hand.

    I raise my hands towards the night sky to get a better look at the leather gauntlets. I do not actually have to, since my eyesight is pristine in the night. It just goes to show that I have not gotten used to my situation yet. The black colored gauntlets looks unique. Black has always been one of my favourite colours, though purple is my first, since it has always stayed with me throughout the years.

    I look around the camp for anything else that I can loot. Hmm, is that it? Three souls and a pair of gauntlets is all I got. I sigh and pull my khopesh out of the the bandit¡¯s back. I slide it into the sheath on my belt. Am I a thief now? I would not call it stealing, since the man is dead, not to mention that you cannot steal from someone who has stolen in the first place, or could you? If the wagon had been better protected, this would not have happened. It probably was, why send a boy and a woman alone with a cart of valuable items? There are no horses either. The cart would need horses, and this one looks like it is built to be pulled by two. Whatever happened here, it was certainly interesting. I stop my inner monologue because of an irritating noise.

    ¡°Excuse me sir! ¡°

    ¡°Mr. Skeleton? ¡°

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    Damn, I forgot the kid tied to the tree. Which means that he saw the entire fight, plus my crawling around and looking for loot. I am definitely going to lose human points for that; I should have saved him first to increase my chances of triggering a memory. If memories are indeed triggered by acts of kindness.

    ¡°You were standing there, really still, for a really long time. I-I thought you died ¡°

    I try to laugh, but instead it turns into me clacking my jaws together, reverberating throughout the camp. I expected that it would make the boy flinch, but he just looks at me in a sort of curious wonder. He has probably seen greater horrors during this past day than my own pathetic attempt at a laugh.

    We gaze at each other. I look into his glossy grey eyes, and he into my blazing blue eye sockets.

    ¡°You''re going to kill me, right? ¡°The little boy asks after a long pause.

    With slow, deliberate, movements, I once again draw my Khopesh. I am sure the souls of children tastes good. I advance towards the boy, and he shuts his eyes. I rest my khopesh against the boy''s chest, then proceed to slice the rope that ties him down.

    I did the same for the rope around his feet. The boy still refuses to open his eyes, even holding his breath. I suppose I cannot blame him for thinking that I would kill him. I have to clack my jaws several times, just to get his attention. When he open his eyes, he seems uncertain about what to do next.

    The boy then lunges towards me. I am so surprised I almost cut him down. I look down and sees him hugging me. I could feel his soul fill with joy. It is then I see the color of his soul, since the glow around him is different from any of the others I have seen.

    His soul is a mix of red and yellow, bright like a blazing fire. I feel the growing happiness and relief from his soul. This also happened with the bear, close contact allows me to sense emotions. It feels odd to know the emotions of others. As much as I enjoy hugs, this is getting kind of creepy. I begin to pry the boy''s arms and fingers off from around my waist.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°I told her you were nice! She didn''t believe me at all!¡°, The young boy said, as his fingers seem to somehow get around my hands, despite my efforts to pry him off me. What was wrong with this kid, didn''t his parents teach him not to talk to dead things that move? That is actually common sense. He begins to pull me towards the cart, and my first thoughts were to pull my hand away to leave. I already earned my human points, but there were no new memories.

    ¡°She''s somewhere here, she doesn''t know where, but it''s definitely in one of these boxes. The voice is really nice, you''ll like her!¡° Damn, why is he so loud? I watch as he tries to lift up one of the crates from the stack. What is this voice that he is so concerned about? I am no stranger to voices in my head. I remember the voice on the battlefield, if this voice is anything like the last one, I do not have high hopes to meet the voice¡¯s origin.

    I wonder how anyone could fit into these boxes. The kid must have been played, or he has gone mad. Most likely he went mad. The kid has gone through a lot; being under a bandit attack, captured, tortured, and seen his captors killed. Then he met a skeleton who should have killed him, but instead it rescued him. And his mother is dead, if that even is his mother, that is. I will pin the murder on the bandit if anyone ever asks.

    ¡°Hey! excuse me! You''re doing that thing again where you stay really still, it''s kind of creepy. Help me open these things so we can find her.¡° I look at the youth, expand my ribcage and rescind it again, as I bow my head. Hopefully that looks like I am sighing. If anyone here is creepy it is not me. I am not even sure about what I am doing here anymore. God only knows when the revenge of the burning rays will happen again.

    The boy strains to open the sealed crates. Two of the crates by the campfire are opened and empty. The bandits used something to pry it open. I move closer to the crate the boy is trying to open. I lift him up, then put him down to the right of me. Then I force the tip of the khopesh between the cover of the crate, until it is halfway into the crate. Using the khopesh like a crowbar I open up the box. With the sound of broken wood, the cover opens and I take a look at the insides.

    This crate does not have anyone in it. No surprise here. I begin to unpack all the furs and fabrics, just to make sure that no one is under them. However, I find nothing. The boy then points to another box eagerly. I repeat the process again; crack open the cover, nothing, unpack it, nothing still. The third crate is the same. The fourth and last box has no one in it when I crack the cover. I was about to leave the insane boy there, but as I move the furs and fabrics in the fourth crate aside: I spot a lantern.

    I pick up the lantern, only to see that it is not a lantern, but instead a black box with a handle on top. I see that the box has a metallic silver glow around it. I have never seen a glow around an inanimate object before. Maybe it is not inanimate, but alive. A metal box that is alive?

    The box has clamps around the side to prevent the it from opening spontaneously. I start to undo the clamps on the box. I feel an odd sensation throughout my body, then the box opens. A smoky golden mist comes out and pools around my feet, only to slowly disappear seconds later. What I see in the box stuns me.

    Inside the box is a fairy. The first thing I do is check the color of the fairy in my reservoir mode, which is my new name for my ability to see the glowing energy. The fairy does not glow, nor does it have any color. Damn, a dead fairy. As if to prove me wrong, the small creature, which is only the size of one of my fingers, turns her head. Her eyes are black, the leaf, which is worn around her in the fashion of a dress, is dried up. Her hair is short, black, and her skin is pale with black cracks all over her body. Bone is all that remains of her wings.

    She looks away from me, as if I am a mere illusion. Then she turns back to face me again, her eyes hopelessly questioning me. She wipes her eyes, stands up, and proceeds to zombie walk towards the edge of the box. Hello little fairy, seems like you''ve been through a rough time, I always pictured fairies to be more lively and cute, I thought. At least she is cute.

    A smile creeps across the little fairy¡¯s face. At first, but I know a smile when I see one. Then the strangest things begins to happen: her black hair began to grow down to her shoulders, changing from black to golden. The changes move down through her body like a wave, skin turning porcelain, and her wings are now a vibrant yellow. The dead leaf she wears rejuvenates, turning into what it was before: a sparkling, yellow rose petal. Then the glowing begins.

    Until now all the living things I have seen only glows out a couple of inches from their bodies at best, and some are so thin that it is barely visible. Her glow is like a second sun. Her wings beat like a hummingbird, and she gracefully floats up into the air, golden dust trailing her, as her glow fills the area until even I am consumed by it.

 The First King Chapter 6

    ¡°Freedom!¡±

    The fairy¡¯s mental shout echoes throughout my head. The endless joy she feels begins to swim through me like a wave of peace. I am overjoyed that I helped rescue the fairy, saved the boy, as well, as the bear. My soul feels complete, and all I want to do now is to share the love and joy I am feeling with others.

    I could not have been more correct when I first described the glow as like a second sun. I gaze at the fairy, as my body begin to heat up. I should have known something was wrong from the fact that I could feel the heat. Earlier on, when my arm was almost sliced off, I felt no pain. The only thing that seemed to suck at my energy, or at least leave me feeling like I have run up a hill, was when I cast the weaving to heal myself. This is understandable, since I am drawing energy from my own soul. I have been wrong more than once in my theories for the day though, best not to hold anything to fact.

    I feel like I am burning now; the fiery sensation from the glow of the fairy is intense . It is like when you open a really hot oven, one hot enough to scorch your eyebrows right off. The heat gradually becomes more intense. I drop both the metal box and the khopesh from my hands, raising both my hands to block out the glow. That did nothing, just another one of my human reactions. I should have started to run, but why did I feel so paralyzed.

    The fairy begins to sing. I think I liked her more when she was still in the black box, she was much less Heartless back then. What was I even thinking by letting her out? I am screaming in my mind; the pain brings me down on my knees, with my hands in the air, not to block the light, but to reach the bitch and squeeze her little neck.

    The scorching flames of hell then vanish, just like that. Not stopping slowly, but instantly gone: one second it is there, then next second the pain is gone. The golden glow that I saw around the fairy is severely receding. The glow around her is now average in size.

    The previously awestruck young boy moves towards me with concern and worry on his face. He had watched the fairy¡¯s transformation from a near death state to this energetic life. I raise my hand towards him in a signal to stop. He obeys, but his face shows his worry and feelings of helplessness. I honestly did not want another one of his hugs, if that is what he was planning to do.

    ¡°Sorry! Are you okay?!¡° The fairy once again shouts her mental message, her voice is very high pitched, but soothing. I wonder how she does that: the whole mental-thought-thing. She is almost twelve feet away from me in the air above. I know for sure she cannot be speaking. Her voice is just too clear and unaffected by the surrounding noise. ¡°Unnatural¡± would be a word to describe it. I had my doubts, since such a small creature should not be able to be make that loud a noise. She takes a sharp dive and starts to spiral around me. She smiles, then sticks her tongue out at me, and flies over to the boy.

    I check myself over to see if I have any burnt bones. No sign of any newly blackened patches, just the same old ones, with the largest one placed on the left side of my rib cage. I am okay it seems, though it sure did not feel like that. Never thought I would think this, but I would rather lose an arm than be out in the sun again.

    ¡°She said that you''re okay, uhm,¡° The boy said, as he paused for a second. I can tell he is looking for something to say. After a brief moment he finally seemed to have thought of something. The boy then looks at a dense section of the tall trees around him. He is probably trying to find the fairy, who is twirling his short hair around with her arm. She stops when she became aware that she is now the centre of attention.¡° I think they tied the horses somewhere back there. I''ll go get ¡®em.¡°, the boy said as he tries to get the fairy to stop.

    The fairy flies off his head and instead moves somewhere around the fire. I am not paying much attention to her, as I pick up my khopesh. which fell from my hands during, well... whatever that was. I do want to know if the sun is all I have to worry about. Whatever the fairy just did could have destroyed me. It will be beneficial in the future to find out more about the reasons behind why I burn from the light.

    Thank you for letting me out!¡± The fairy says in my mind. It appears that she has taken a liking to the dead body of the man I stole the gauntlets from. She walks along the corpse, pulling its clothes in various places, as if she is unsure whether he is alive. You could have just let yourself out, I think. If she is proficient enough to manipulate her mana, then that has to be within her power.

    ¡°I couldn''t save myself, I tried, many, many times. There was no light¡­ just darkness.¡° It is obvious now that the fairy can hear my thoughts. At first I thought she could only speak to me through her telepathy, but it makes sense for her to also be able to read my thoughts. I will have to test that. Though, I could be wrong about it. She circles closer to the fire, eventually flying around the flames rapidly, spreading the shining dust that falls from her body. She sounds terrified of the dark, maybe she hopes the fire will keep it away. I am not sure if she knows, but she just gave me her weakness with those words, as well as her strength. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I want to hold my head and scream. There are people with magic, walking fighting skeletons, knights with horses, voices in my head, people swinging swords at me on sight, and I goddamn burn in the sun! Now there is even a fucking fairy. Honestly, I did not realize how easy I had it back on Earth. I try to calm myself, it is normal to feel scared and uncertain about things you do not understand.

    I try to picture how some of the first humans felt back in the day. Sure, they were scared of thunder and lighting, but as time passed they learned and came to understand it. Some even worshiped the storms, thinking that the gods inflicted them. The main thing is that we adapted and, even though we can be wrong, we always try to create reasons why the things happen. As a species we have always persevered, and if I am still human, I will too.

    I almost laugh to myself. It could very well be possible in this world that the gods do bring storms. No reason to stop the madness at fairies. I need to keep learning about this world, and the new set of rules that govern it. I am sure this choice will one day be critical to survival.

    How do I talk to the fairy? I try to speak aloud in my mind, as though I am actually speaking to someone. ¡°Hello? why did you burn me earlier? Testing testing 1,2,3... Is this thing working: skeleton to fairy.¡± I think. This does not help my mental health.

    The fairy stops above the fire, I hear her laughing into my mind. She flies over to my skull, her constant giggling grows louder, then she finally stops in front of my face, smiling widely.

    ¡°You''re funny! And hmmm, I already answered one of your question. My turn now! What''s your name? Mine¡¯s Nia!¡°

    ¡°My name?¡° I say, as we continues our telepathic conversation. I am bit startled that she would ask.

    ¡°Yes, name! Everyone has a name.¡± She says as she begins to dance in the air in front of my face.

    ¡°I don''t have one ¡°

    Her dancing immediately stops, then she looks at me for only a brief second, before walking vertically up in the air in a perfect circle.

    ¡°That''s not good, let''s get you one.¡° She abandons her walk, and floats in front of my face again, She beams a smile at me, and says: ¡°I''ve always wanted to do this!¡°

    She flies up into the night sky with golden dust trailing behind her. I wonder what it is, could it be fairy dust? I sense that this is not just tiny sparkles that falls off of her to make her look pretty. The golden dust stays on the ground for a few second. Nia is different from fairies like Tinkerbell. I have watched too many Tinkerbell movies. I remember being an older brother, having to switch the TV channels so my little sister could watch her movies.

    Nia floats all the way up, going as as high at the tallest tree. From my angle, she is between the two moons.. It does not expand and consume me like previously, but the glow is bright enough that it makes up for the loss of size. Then the singing begin: soft at first, then powerful. Her singing is like a wave of confidence, so beautiful that I find it hard to describe. It makes me certain of how beautiful life can be, or undead, I guess.

    Her voice softens, as it slowly fades like a falling petal, until she is once again where she started, right in front of me. She gazes into the empty pits of my eyes, into the blue glow that I know is myself. Her hand is glowing now, as she writes in the air what would become my name.

    ¡°Laoch!¡±

    She says in that high pitched sound, which really does not do her singing justice. I think I would have cried if I had eyes, maybe it is a blessing I do not have them afterall. For some reason I do not want her to see me cry.

    ¡°Okay.¡° I say softly through the mental link. She frowns at my lack of words. I am simply speechless, and acceptance is the only thing that comes to mind. I know I have a name, a real one, the one I was born with, so I do not need a second name. I believe it is how much love she put in to my name when she said it. The Skeleton inside of me has hardened my feelings. Too many things have happened too fast. I never gave myself time to express my true feelings. I now feel the loss of the people I may, or may not, ever see again.

    I feel a deep sorrow run through my whimpering soul. I do not know how long it lasts, as I stand too close to the fire. When I did get back to reality, Nia was hugging my cheeks, well the part of my skull that would be the cheeks if I had cheeks. She flies away silently, back to the boy who just came back. The youth is holding two reins in his hand, leading two draft horses, both brown in color.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡° The boy says, his question directed more towards the fairy than to me, for obvious reasons.

    Nia flies towards him and sits down on his shoulders, slowly moving her legs back and forth as though she is on a swing. I can tell that they are having their own little conversation, because the boy¡¯s expression changes several times over the course of a minute. However, I do not feel the need to interrupt. I have bigger things to worry about: dawn is here.

 The First King Chapter 7

    The sky starts to brighten. It is still night, but dawn is here, and soon enough the sun will begin its hateful march across the sky, to warm up the earth. I do not have much time to think of how I should escape the sun.

    I did not plan on being out here for this long, just long enough to get some fresh souls. I blame my greed of souls and curiosity. Of course, I would bring back any meat I found to bear. I healed most of its wounds, so it should be alright¡­ I hope.

    I should not be standing here doing nothing. I need some ideas and I need them quick. Hide underneath the wagon? No, too risky. Oh! The boxes! I can surely fit inside one. What if more bandits come to kill the kid, and then open the crate? Perhaps, Nia could do something, but I am way too paranoid. My paranoia is enough for me to throw away that idea. Hoping that Nia would attempt to fight the bandits off, is not enough for me to risk my life. Under a tree is a silly idea; I am ashamed that I even thought about it.

    There must be some way to avoid death-by-sunburn. Hmm... Death. Maybe all I need to do is to go where dead bodies usually can be found. I take off my cloak and throw it on the ground, pushing off my boots with my feet, and unbuckling my belt. I throw the belt on the ground with the rest of my clothing, including my gauntlets and khopesh. Then I put my hands into the ground and begin to dig a hole. It is impressive how well my fingers are digging out the dirt and small rocks in the way.

    With the sun, like a shadow of death, on the horizon, I do not immediately notice that the boy is also using his hands to dig, eventually shifting to using a knife, and repeatedly stabbing the ground to soften it before digging it out with his hands. I have no clue where the fairy is, though that does not cause me any lack of sleep. If I even sleep at all.

    We finally reach the point where I can climb into the hole. I do not care how wide the hole is, only that it is deep, and that we are fast. I throw myself into the makeshift grave and look up from within the hole, where yellow rays of light shoot out across the sky, turning to the clouds to a pink-orange color. The darkened sky makes way for the sun, receding slowly.

    Shame I cannot not stay around to see the sunrise. I am already in the pit now. The boy fills the hole back up with the dirt we dug out. At least I will now be able to say that I dug my own grave. We were not able to dig wide enough for me to lie stretched out, instead I am folded up like a piece of paper. I am still getting used to the lacking sensation of pain. I still have my sense of touch; I feel my sword when I hold it, and the ground when I stand, but the amount of pain I can feel is limited, everything just feels like a pinch.

    It is a shallow grave, but for the most part I am positive that I will escape the rays of deadly sunlight. I wonder what my life will be like from now on. When will my bones decay? When will I eventually turn to dust? One thousand years, or maybe ten thousand? I believe I am somewhere in my early twenties, which is around the age where you notice that you are not invincible anymore. I feel quite the opposite.

    I resigned myself to the belief that I would probably die in the next thirty years. I still think that, but I am uncertain of death now. By the laws of nature, I should be dead right now. Maybe this is where you go after you die, or maybe this is not even real. I never gave much thought about whether all of this could be a dream. Too many movies before bed could explain everything that has happened up till now.

    But dreams are never this vivid and structured. Never have my dreams invented new things, instead they usually draw inspiration from current events, or things from my past. I am sure that this is not dream. However, that only creates more questions in my mind. More things to feed my curiosity and more things to learn.

    As I rest in my makeshift grave, I think about why I do not feel bored. I think about a lot of things. Being in a grave makes me think about death. I have seen skeletons who either got their skulls knocked off, or crushed. The ones who got their skulls knocked off were still alive, but they were as good as dead, since all they could do was to clack their jaws as the bones in their body came apart. Their skulls did not survive long after that either. I am sure that the sun will incinerate their souls to nothingness.

    I spend a lot of thinking on how the two moons can be so close to each other without colliding.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I work on my weaving skills to pass the time. I am probably embarrassingly slow at it. Occasional throughout the day, I wonder why I remember my training as a knight so clearly. The sword strokes, stances, and forms comes to me naturally during fights. All compliments of the knight, if, by some twist of faith, I ever see him again, I should remember to thank him. His skills, combined with my speed and strength, has already saved me multiple times since I awakened in this world.

    I work more on practicing with the repair thread, which causes the most trouble because of its complex sub threads. I pride myself on having good memory skills, but I am still not used to weaving. That, however, does not take away from all the fun I am having during my practice.

    Being able to see is a major help, when weaving, but it is also possible to form it in your mind, though the difficulty is magnitudes greater.

    I know healing magic needs you to be in physical contact with someone. I remember from the memories of Mr. Albus that some high-ranking priests can cast healing spells from a distance. Many young acolytes have died trying to cast a healing spell from afar. I have the oddest thought while practicing: what if I could reverse the effects of the repair spell? Instead of repairing, would it cause damage instead? Something to check out.

    The warm earth feels welcoming. I think I fell asleep, though I am not sure. It is hard to tell when you are in a grave, but I do feel as though I just had the best sleep in years. I can tell that quite a bit of moving is going on above me, from the vibrations in the earth.

    A scraping sound is getting closer and closer. I begin to feel the dirt above me move, and finally moonlight touches my face. Sweet sweet dark night is here. You don¡¯t know how good night feels. The boy''s hands are covered in dirt from the digging, just like the layer of sweat covering his forehead.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you''re okay. Nia told me your name¡¯s Laoch, and about your ahh... sun problem. Doesn''t sound like a name from around here. I''m Isaac.¡± I do owe the kid one for helping me out last night, and for digging me out now. Not knowing when it is daylight, or night, means that there was a good chance I could have timed it wrong when I ascended from my grave It would have been a bad idea to have done that without help. It also makes sense that Nia knows of my weakness. She must know more about what I am, than I do.

    At least now I know the boy''s name. Isaac is an easy name to remember. I rest my arms on top of the ground and pull myself up with the help of my elbows. I glance around, and the first thing that attracts my attention is the huge funeral fire that has replaced the campfire. It looks like the boy dragged all the bodies there, laid them on a pile of broken branches and dried leaves, before setting the whole thing afire.

    Isaac seemed quite resourceful for his age. It makes me wonder who he is. He is the first social contact I have with a human on this planet, so I had no one to compare him with.

    The horses are now saddled with their reins tied back to the wagon. The crates are still on the ground, but the fabrics are back inside them again. I notice my clothes on the back of the wagon and I briskly walk over to retrieve them.

    I feel much better after dressing. It feels odd with no clothes on, but at the same time I feel odd with it on. The black cloak that covers my back and shoulders, makes the night feel even better. I begin to see a pattern with the day and the night. The day is pain and death while night is pleasure and life. I am beginning to suspect more and more that my new skeleton life has been messing with my feelings, and the way I react to situations.

    ¡°I am going to Rylock, where the Spire of Vatra is. I''m going to become a mage; Will you come with me? Nia said she won''t go if you don''t? ¡°Isaac says as he walks closer towards me.

    The boy¡¯s question is unreasonable, something I can expect from a child. I do not want to seem eager to accept, so I show him no physical indication that I even heard his question. The fairy chose this timing to float down from a tree and settle on my shoulder. She rubs her eyes, yawns, and stretches her hands up into the air. A clear sign that she just woke up as well. I did not know that fairies sleep.

    ¡°Tell him he needs to go sleep, Nia, tell him we''ll talk about this when he gets some rest.¡° I say to Nia, hoping she picks up the mental message. She does, since the boy frowns and was about to spit out some defiance against my words, but I raise a hand, which makes him stop. I am not too sure if it is my skull with the flaming blue eyes that made him listen, but he soon sighs and walks off towards the wagon. Isaac takes out several of the furs and fabrics from a crate, laying them on the ground to form a makeshift bed.

    ¡°I''m going to go check something; I¡¯ll be back. Watch over the boy.¡° I say to Nia. I receive only a smile and a nod as she flies away onto a tree. I have to go pay the bear a visit. I am not sure why I even cared, but not knowing if my healing helped or doomed the creature has been on my mind all day. It is not that far away, and I still remember the path back.

 The First King Chapter 8

    The clearing is empty; the body of the screaming woman is gone, along with the corpse of the man whose clothes and weapon I stole. Thinking back on the funeral fire, I saw more bodies in that fire than the three I killed. The boy must have found and thrown everyone I killed in the fire. He is quite emotionally stable, not what you would expect from a child who just lost someone. I wonder if he knows I killed the woman.

    I try my best to find some game to hunt in the forest as I make my way back. I want to treat the bear to a meal, but I am not sure if its diet consist of meat. I could bring some of these weird looking fruits from the smaller trees, or from what looks to be a Pomerac tree that I spot near me. Except the fruits and flowers are supposed to be pink or red, these are pitch black. A clear sign, at least to me, that they should not be eaten.

    I eventually find a wild boar, which I sneak up on. The cloak I wear to help me hide in the darkness, and my failures to catch some game, increase my chances of catching the boar. I am still no expert. The boar dashes forward when it spots me, but it is already too late. I propel myself forward and my arm wraps around the wild boar. It is strong, pulling me along with it, albeit at a much slower speed than what it usally runs at. The wild boar does not run in a straight line either, it zig zaggs through the forest, smashing me into a tree.Slamming against the tree almost made almost drop my khopesh. I frantically attempt to get a good grip on the boar. After much effort, I stab the animal in the side. It screeches as we roll together on dry leaves and dirt.

    The boar is fat and heavy. I drag it all the way back to the river where I saw my reflection first. I found the shallowest part of the river, so I can drag the boar across it. I take off my boots, holding them in my left hand, and usemy right to drag the wild boar. I am perceptive of my surroundings after I cross the river, as I am slightly worried of finding a dead bear lying on the ground.

    I proceed up the hill and into the cave, it never crossed my mind to look behind me when I first left. The entrance to the cave is on the side of a mountain. The mountain looks to be about nine hundred meters whic is an extimate that I am preety sure of because it looks similar to one I once did some research about.

    I enter the cave, and myimediately vision adjusts to adapt in the darkness. I pass the location where I awakened after the battle, I feel a bit homesick thinking of my awakening. I am not prepared for what I see when I reach the bear.

    The bear is leisurely licking something between its front legs. I switch to my reservoir mode to make sure that the glow is bright enough. The bear glows a bright blue, my worry fades knowing that the bear is now healed and healthy. As I came closer to it I try discern what is between its legs. It looks like a hairless guinea pig, but as I get closer I know what it actually is. The bear had given birth while I was gone. The mother bear growls as I get closer, which is a warning to not intrude any further.

    The bear recognizes me after some time, because she stops and sits down on her hind legs. She went back to licking her cub while keeping her eyes on me. I move the boar to the side of the bear, its eyes instantly perk up. At first the bear licks its snout to smell the dead boar then savagely begins to rip into the flesh of the wild boar. I watch the bear eat for some time, stroking her fur with my bony fingers.

    I spot a glow in the distant wall at the end of the cave, just at the edge of my vision.Is something else alive in the cav? I think.My curiosity is too strong to ignore the glow, and I walk towards the wall. The floating letters became more pronounce, until finally I came across two sentences written in a language I did not understand.

    Someone must have been here before me. The threads that created this weaving had to be really old, more than two or three days old for sure. I am amaze it still exist, I cannot understand what is causing this spell to stay active for so long. It went against all the spell laws I know. However, I did not know many, so It can be that I am overreacting. My time is, so I have little time to study this since I want to return to the camp soon. I spend about fifteen minutes memorizing the words that meant nothing to me. Hopefully in the future I''ll be able to find out what it means.

    ¡®Het kriist hofkiin do jun. uthiik wah ulfah do glimrel, paagoliik do vokun, rok wo bo voth vu, in do dilon, Ulokuun wah jun ahrk rah wah rah. Fos ont lost fen kos ontzos ol saag naal mahlaan gein.¡®This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    I brush the fur of the bear one last time. This would be my final goodbye, the mother bear did not care much, she is still busy eating the boar. It takes me a full hour again to make my way back to the camp. Isaac is still laying on his bed of furs. I look around for Nia, and it takes me some time before I find her near a tree. She is singing softly, but the singing is obviously some form of magic because leafs are spiralling around the tree.

    I move closer to her, my reservoir sight still active. Trees were alive right, so why do they have no blue light around them?

    ¡°Can you teach me how to do that?¡±I ask Nia, hoping my thought would reach her.I stand behind her, and sit down on the short grass to watch her and listen to her sing. Her singing went on for a long period of time, and I thought my question had gone unheard. Her singing stops abruptly, and her head turns to me.

    ¡°Do what?¡±Nia ask.

    ¡°Do what you were just doing, controlling the leafs. Teach me the threads for it.¡°I replied, quickly getting to the point. I want to learn, because the writing on the wall made my knowledge of magic look pathetic

    ¡°I control nothing, and I cannot teach you to see mana Laoch. You see too much, so you see little. ¡°She said, while trying to catch the falling leafs, since they are no longer being controlled. I want to tell her that is a contradiction, but I feel nothing would come of it. The first word I thought of was mana. Like the mana from rpg games. I wonder why I never thought of it as mana before? Mana is different in the games, but I feel right calling the glow I see around people mana.

    ¡°Do only people or magical beings have mana Nia?¡±I asked, continuing our mental conversation. She turns around, still playing with the leafs on the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your turn yet silly. ¡°Shesaid, as though we were playing a board game and I move twice in one turn. I sit behind her for some time expecting her to ask me a question, but none came.

    If the energy in your reservoir, or your mana said you were alive, then why not the trees? Why were trees not glowing? Trees should be one of the main things that support life on a planet. By all means they should be overflowing with mana.

    I can be wrong; I have to keep telling myself that the rules of my world do not apply to this one. Some things are similar, and even the same, but at the core the world is different. Bears are the same, English seems to be the same and humans do not look much different. I hear footsteps, abruptly I turn around only to find Isaac behind me. He looks well rested, despite the short sleep.

    ¡°Are you coming with me?" He asked, I can tell he is ready to move on from here. I am not sure how I can explain this to him. I am a skeleton; skeletons are not adventurers. He is human, and can travel in both day and night. I¡¯m skeleton, I travel at night, and burn during the day.

    I want to explore the world, and I would give everything to be able to find out the reason for my existence, and why I am here. I did not want to be in this forest forever, to me that would be a worst fate than death. I cannot think of a way to safely travel. I can use the boy as a map for now.

    Through our mental connection I tell Nia to reply yes to him. I will come with him, but I am sure one day I will regret the choice. I will have to fit myself into a crate, and It will be a tight fit. I''ll probably break bones just trying to fit myself all the way in.

    The fairy could not have been happier, and she flew quickly up to Isaac¡¯s shoulder. I see the joy on the boy¡¯s face, he seems so much like a child at that moment. Isaac ran off to pick up the furs he slept on, to repack them into the crates once again. I will probably have to take it out again, since I''ll need an empty one. Nia came flying back to me, landing on my shoulder. I think she can sense my feelings of doubt and worry. I am still unsure, but I dedicated to finding a way for me to come along.

    ¡°Are you worried that you''ll burn? ¡° She said, her voice like a whisper of one of my own thoughts. So, there is the question I have been awaiting, she must have given this some thought. I think she plays this game like chess. I smile mentally.

    I nod my head in confirmation of her question. It is the truth, plain and simple. Nia frowns, then she jumps off my shoulder and hovers to the ground. She stares up at a tree, she was previously singing to. The same tree that Isaac had been tied to.

    The fairy began to sing, her voice warming my cold soul like a fire. Then something amazing starts to happen. The tree began to fold. Branches began folding together, and it kept creasing and compressing repeatedly. I cannot find a word to describe it, only the it looked like something out of Transformers.

    ¡°I asked the tree and he thinks that you shouldn''t have to worry about the sun when you come with us.¡°Nia said as she jumps on a hexagonal shape object. On closer inspection, it is a coffin. The tree had turned into a coffin? How did that even work out? The coffin is black and lined with gold around the edges. Is has two golden handles on the doors. For some reason, I could not wait to see what is on the inside.

    ¡°Are you like my fairy Godmother then? Here to grant me wishes.¡±I laugh to myself as I sent her the mental message. She frowns at me, stomping her tiny foot on the coffin, and pointing towards me with her little hand.

    ¡°Meanie Laoch! I''m not that old!¡°

 The First King Chapter 9

    The journey began exceptionally well; I reflect back to what happened after Nia made the coffin, since it is all I can do as the screams plague my mind.

    The inside of the coffin is obviously empty, I expected it to be fill with soft cushions and a pillow to rest my head. But, I would have been more perplexed if it actually did come with cushions. Instead I use some of the red fur, from inside one the crates to make a soft, cushy interior. I thought the red went good with the black and offered a slick look.The wood on the box felt different than normal wood. For a start it feels hard, like iron, which made me a bit confident about sleeping inside it.

    However, it made me curious about how much protection it could actually offer. I gave the coffin a good jab with my khopesh, twice. I wasn''t able to pierce the wood. Just to make sure I did not have to worry about the sun. I went inside the coffin, pulling open its fancy dual doors.

    I asked Nia to repeat whatever she did when she almost killed me. She seemed confused at first, but when I mentioned her mana expanding, she knew what I meant. I went back inside the coffin, I waited for minutes, and nothing happened.

    ¡°Did you start?¡± I ask Nia, not wanting to come out of the coffin to check. Nia giggles, and I can hear her small feet land on the top of the coffin.

    ¡°Of course it works silly Laoch.¡± She replied. And that was how I know the coffin protects me from the sun.

    Some time passed before I wanted to get out of the crate, but It was still night. Isaac had once again tried to move the crates on his own. His arms are too short, and he was not able to stretch them around the crate to comfortably pick it up. Which is the main reason he had trouble lifting the crate up. I helped him with it eventually, because he looked like he would die soon if he tried any longer. Honestly, we should just leave these things here, they were of no value to us right now, maybe we could keep a few furs. I told Nia my thoughts and let her relay it too Isaac.

    After helping with the crate, I choose to move my coffin. The coffin is light, despite its durability, and it fit perfectly in the crate. I had been worried it would either be too heavy to travel with, or too big to fit in the wagon. Isaac told me about trading the wine and the furs when we reach a town or city. I thought it was a good idea. I''d never given much thought to money, or what I could have done with it.

    All four of the crates were packed on the cart, each one felt like lifting up a boar. Isaac took care of the horses, he would stroke their sides and talk to them like they were babies. They seem to like him fussing over, but I think it is the treats he feeds them that make him appear loveable. I came across many wild berries and carrots during my trek through the forest. It was plausible whatever he was feeding the horses was either of the two.

    I wondered where my energy to do manual labor came from. I had no muscle and I obviously did not eat food. Did it mean that I''m constantly using mana just to move? Perhaps even when I''m not moving I consume mana? Would I have to kill every two or three days just to survive? I thought about it for a little while, and realized, that even when I was human I killed to survive. Maybe not directly, but as a whole species the demand for meat and animal products outnumbered the amount of actual humans.And I helped support that demand, so I do not mind killing for food.

    Isaac knowledge seemed to have a key focus on survival in the wild and economics. The boy looks as if he is capable with horses. Isaac took the reins after we climbed onto the wagon. A kid driving a wagon whole day did not make my mood any better, despite not having any choice. The horses, while not outright running from me, kept their distance. Nia would be with him while I rest in the coffin, which eased my mind about leaving him alone. I could have only hoped that she was more responsible. Isaac is also unsurprising able to control the horses.

    You could not drive a wagon like this in the dark back on Earth. I suppose two moons must be good for something. I sat in front with Isaac. and watched as we finally escaped the trappings of the forest.The wind coming from the wide open plain before us caused my cloak to ripple. I looked back into the tracks that we came from, and watched the north and south road, both roads were as far reaching as my vision. I could tell this was going to be a long journey.

    We were two days into our voyage; I had slept in the coffin during the day, at night I had gone off, to explore the area. I talked several times with Nia, curious about why she should want to follow me. I never got any straight answers, and most times I got none. Her question game infuriated me, but her company was pleasant.

    I had little to no interaction with Isaac, it felt odd not being able to talk still. I did not want to have to rely on Nia all the time just to send messages to him. It was hurting my morale. I was still curious what happened before with the bandits, since some things just did not add up.

    I caught two rabbits and skinned them on the last night. I avoided consuming their souls. I do not know where my memories of cooking rabbits came from, it may be better to say who it came from, but it was obvious they were not that good at cooking, since most of it went uneaten by the boy.

    I thought that this is how it would have been until we reach wherever he is going. That is when the screaming started, and it was during the day. I could hear the screams coming from the boy, as I lay within my coffin along with the loud, gurgling laughs. I have heard many screams since I came to this world, but hearing the scream of Isaac made me upset. I had little care for the boy, but I wasted time and energy saving him, and someone is going to die if he is hurt.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I am content with the silence that follows after; it made my anger ebb away and gave rise to the curiosity inside me. I am not sure when it turned night, so I place my hands on the coffin and wait till it went from warm to cool. I push the coffin open and relish in the chill air, and the starry night sky.I have never been so jovial to greeted by the night. I pull myself up from the coffin. I take my time and observe my surroundings.

    The seat in front of the wagon is deserted, the boy is gone. The wine is also gone, but the furs remain inside the crate. The horses are no longer here as well, I think that pissed me off the most. I could still travel without the boy, but without the horses it would be a slow walk. I look around for Nia, and I spot her sitting on the edge of one of the crates. She has her head up, looking at the sky, while swinging her legs as she hums a song.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the boy? And don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not my turn.¡±I said, sending me thoughts to her like a sudden raging storm on a calm day. It would be an understatement to say that I am angry. My voice must have been like a whip through our telepathy because she looked up at me instantly.

    ¡°Big ugly creatures came, they took him and went into the forest.¡±Nia said. Her hands open wide to express how large the monsters are. I doubt they were so small.

    ¡°Why did you not kill them?¡±Her words cause my patience to slowly drain. I had no great care for the boy, but we would not get very far with just a wagon.

    ¡°Kill them?¡±

    ¡°Yes kill! Hurt, stop, anything!¡±

    ¡°Fairies can¡¯t hurt anything Laoch.¡±Nia said. I pick up one of the crates and toss it off the crate. The crate splits and shatters on impact. I could not stand it anymore, I just needed something to vent my anger. What did she mean, fairies could not hurt anything? Why am I now knowing about this?

    ¡°Now you tell me! That would be good damn information to know.¡±I shout my thoughts to her. Her expression did not change at all. She was not concerned, or angry or sorry, just that smile and that childlike wonder of the world. She looks at me as if to figure out what I am angry at.

    ¡° I didn¡¯t want you to get-¡±

    ¡° To get angry! Well look what that did!¡±I jump off the wagon and kick the pieces of the broken crate. I try to calm myself, I do not care about the boy, I keep telling myself. I already saved him once, I should not have to do it twice. A fairy could not drive a wagon, and I was too interested in this Spire of Vatra the boy had talked about. A school for mages? Think of the things I could learn. No I had to retrieve the boy, he could become a great asset. My head hurt slightly, as the human and skeleton in me war over what I should do.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry okay! I know where they are. I can take you there.¡±Nia finally said, I am not going to forgive her anytime soon. What else is she keeping from me? At least she could help in a small way. Nia flew up and into the trees to the right of the wagon, I follow after her briskly.

    The trees here are no longer the tall like the ones I have been used to seeing back at the camp, and around the cave. Using my mana vision, I can easily follow the fairy. She glows a bright golden color, and she even made her glow blink. I am curious how she manipulated her mana like that. I now know for sure that she knows I can see mana, despite the fact that I never mentioned it to her.

    Despite her efforts to help, I did not need it track the large footprint impressions on the ground. The tracks are huge, and deformed. Whatever I am about to murder, would certainly put up a fight. I made sure my khopesh was in good order. I draw it slowly from my sheath as it dangles from my sword belt. I crouch as I follow the blinking Nia deeper into the forest. The trees here have low branches and tree trunks are all over.

    The trees are grey, which makes them look dead, especially since they have no leafs. The area has very little to no amount of grass, and the earth below my feet became progressively cracked and dry. The area is filled with insects, mainly flies, that I can see with my mana vision. I start to encounter the bones of dead animals, and some of the bones were from humans. I finally found the footprints of the horses, and I feel better knowing they are alive.

    The number of broken branches and uprooted trees convince me that I am getting closer to whatever kidnapped the boy. I watch as Nia finally stops, she flies off quickly to hide behind a tree branch. I use her example and moved closer to hide behind one of the trees. The tree is wide, and I am thin enough to hide behind it completely.

    I move closer to one side of the tree, so I can look around it. I am disgusted by the ten feet tall creatures, with grey skin. They have fat lumpy human heads, and enormous stomachs. They held broken branches in their hands as weapons. I count a total of four of the creatures. All of them are around an iron pot, that is lit by numerous amount of dry twigs. The pot is taller than any man in height, and black. Above the pot is Isaac, tied to another man. They are bot suspended by a rope attached to branch above the pot.

    The creatures are whispering to themselves, and I occasionally hear laughter. One of them uses a long branch to steer the boiling pot, while another is throwing in bits of grass, bones, a human skull, and other ingredients I did not recognize. I also spot the two horses, they are in a fenced off area around a tree. I did not spot the wine barrels.

    ¡°Oooooohhh, It¡¯s going to be a feast tonight my sons!¡± The one that is steering the pot shouted, making the other three cheer.

 The First King Chapter 10

    I shift to another tree that is closer to the creatures. My movements went unseen by them; either I am now a bit better at this, or whatever they are doing has distracted them too much to notice me. I am one hundred percent sure they are planning on throwing the boy in a hot boiling pot to make stew. Why they did not just eat him and the man is beyond my understanding. Though, I have strong doubts that cooking both of them would make them taste better, then again I have never eaten human before.

    ¡°Want leg of big one mother¡± One of the monsters said, in a slow voice. It is how you would expect someone that is mentally challenged to talk. Which felt like a compliment, the fact that they have a grasp of human language is surprising to me. The monsters start to argue, presumably about who gets what piece of who, the whole charade sickens me.

    I take stock of the man tied to Isaac, he wore leather armor that is gray and black in color. The armor looks custom made to fit his body, it reminds me of camouflage. The only thing he wore that is metal on him is his bracers. He also has something strap to his back, but I cannot make out exactly what it is. He has auburn hair, and a black bandana is around his neck. His eyes are close and he is muttering something, it almost looks as if he is praying.

    I shift my sight to my mana vision to gaze at the man, curious to see if he is a mage. I have never seen a mage, well I have seen Isaac, and he has plans to become one. If the boys¡¯ glow is like a mage, then that would be an easy way to spot one. The man strapped to Isaac has blue mana, which would mean he is probably not a mage. I also check the colors of the monsters around the pot. They have the same blue mana that I am use to seeing about most living things.

    I watch as the man opens his eyes, he focuses on me. I pull back behind the tree, to avoid his gaze. He saw me, as if he already knew I where I am. I look again, slowly moving my head out from behind the tree.

    Isaac is still unconscious, the man is trying to twist his hands free from the rope, but making little progress. I inspect my surroundings for a closer tree I can move towards. I can kill them one by one, by leading them into the forest while I hide behind the trees. I began to weave a spell as I run to another tree.

    My skeleton body collides with a woman behind the tree. I quickly turn, my surprise shown by how long it takes me to react. The woman steps quickly away from me, but she stumbles. She trips and is about to fall, like a snake my hand shot out and coils around her waist, I pull her against my skeleton frame, her hands pull her against me. I feel her struggle. The shock is still plain in her eyes, she goes still as she looks at me.

    ¡°What! -¡± She said, in a sort of half shout, half whisper. I raise my hand to place a finger to my mouth. Her eyes grew wide, then I hear her mutter a short pray, something about guidance and protection. Honestly, what she was saying was not my current focus, it is her profound beauty that gains my attention.

    I can feel her sand glass figure as I hold her. She wore tight leather, with iron bracers and knee high heel boots. Good thing I grabbed her, if she had fallen that might of been the end of me. I can always run, but then I would be back to square one, with me in a forest.

    ¡°What that!¡± One of the creatures said. I think may have jinxed myself, our little bump, or her voice must have alerted the creatures. I assume that they have extremely good hearing, their ears must have their uses. The situation just got worse now that they are all alerted to my position.

    ¡°Go see!¡± The one who is steering the pot said. The voice sounds like a cynical old lady. I start to hear footsteps, the sound gets closer, as one of the monsters is walking towards our direction.

    I notice a blink in the corner of my sight, the same blinking glow of Nia¡¯s mana. She is trying to get my attention. The fairy climbs up on the branch she is hiding behind, and starts to jump on the offshoot. The short, thin branch broke after a couple seconds of Nia jumping on it. I have never seen Nia fly away so faster after the branch breaks.

    ¡°What that.¡± I heard the nearby creature say. The sound of his footsteps get further away as he moves to inspect the fallen branch.

    I am surprise the woman in my arms is so calm. I expected her to break away, or even stab me with one of the two daggers she had strapped to her side. My khopesh is close by, I will kill her first if she ever made any stupid moves. My hand is still around her waist, and I remove it slowly, hoping she would not fall again.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I would not save her again if she did fall. I rest my back flat against the tree, looking at the monster as he walks to the branch. Occasionally, I take quick glances back at her, she is still staring at me, I found the attention I am getting to be disturbing. I am probably overthinking it, a moving skeleton is probably not something she has seen before.

    The creature moves far enough to the west of the tree that I am able to fully see it.The back of the creature is lumpy, and the only clothing it has on is a loin cloth. I move my body around the tree, so I can a better look at the others. The one referred to as mother is still steering the pot while the other two watch. Whatever is inside the pot is now starting to bubble, I may not have much time left.

    I gradually start to formulate a plan in my mind. If I am quick enough I can kill the one by the branch first. I turn around, and look at the girl. Whoever she is, she is probably here to save the man tied to Isaac. Even with her long daggers, she would most likely die if she tries to fight the creatures. I point my finger to her, then to the ground, in a command to stay here. I did not want her interrupting.

    I wait for the perfect moment; which is when the monster bent over to pick up the branch from the ground. I hold my khopesh in my hand tightly, then I dash forward. My body is light, and skeletons are terrifyingly fast. Combined with the black cloak I that is wrapped around me, I think look like a shadow moving in the night. I leap as I reach the monster, and land on top of its back.

    I stab my khopesh firmly into its back. Despite my powerful stab, the khopesh only went halfway into the body of the creature. I hope that is enough to kill it, I thought. The monster lets out a vulgar scream, then bends backward from the pain. I hold onto its shoulder and I pull my khopesh out of its back. The creature¡¯s throat is now exposed from arching his back, so I trust khopesh into the side its neck. This time my khopesh went all the way in and through its neck. I feel my sword cut flesh and muscle while grazing against the creature¡¯s spine. Black blood sprayed all over the grey trees as my sword came out the other side.

    I quickly jump off the back of the creature, as it goes limp. I leave my khopesh in its neck, to let it choke and die. The monster hits the ground with a thud, the impact causes a small dust cloud. I start to weave a spell, not wasting any time. I watch the beast, it coughed, then its mana blinks and fades. The beast dies, and its soul floats up from its body. I snatch the soul out of the air and squeeze it with my hand. I watch the mana from the soul flow down my arm as I absorb it. I swiftly take slide my khopesh out of its neck. Disgusting creature, but sweet sweet soul. The power that flows through me is like a drug, and I am desperate for another fix.

    ¡°My son! My boy!¡± The monster referred to as mother, shouted in rage. Mother takes out the branch she was using to steer the pot. She snarls and points the branch towards me.

    ¡°KILL IT!¡± Mother shouts at her sons. Without even a second thought they start to run towards me. Both of them push each other, as if there is a reward to whoever got to me first. They are equipped with tree trunks as weapons, they lift the trunks onto their shoulders as they run. They showed little care for their fallen brother, and are more concerned about who gets to whack me first.

    Thankfully, they did not seem to be as smart as mother. The one on the right slams his brother into a tree, tree almost uproots from the impact. However, the one on the right manages to push his brother just a bit. I take several quick steps to right, hoping to dodge the incoming tree trunk. The push may have been light, but it was enough to cause a significant drop in accuracy. Everything happened so fast that I was unable to run. The branch slams down, missing me by an arm¡¯s length. My cloak flutters from the wind made by the swing of the tree branch. The edge of tree trunk smashes into the ground, shattering and sending broken pieces of wood everywhere The swing was powerful, and I had no doubt that I would have died if it hit me.

    I reinforced the weave that I have been creating all this time with most of my mana. I have to time this spell just right. I have no other choice, this spell would need direct contact with the beast. The spell is just like a really long repair thread, but instead of repairing, I reverse all the sub threads. I also changed most parts of the stop thread, so that all the intended damage would happen instantly, rather than over a period of time. I take a few sub threads from the bone thread, to use in this new spell. It is safe to say, someone is about to get their shit fucked up.

    I run up the branch that the monster failed to hit me with, then I jump again. I can see the surprise in its eyes, the poor thing is still trying to catch up on exactly what is happening. I stab the creature in the shoulder with my khopesh, the pain brings it to its knee. I then slap it with my left hand hard, holding onto its puffy and fat cheek. I feel the power of my spell coiling through my arm. In my mana vision it looks like blue electricity wrapping around my arm.

    I welcome the unleashing of the spell as darkblue light explodes out of my hand. The explosion consumes the creature''s head with its glow.

    Yippy-ki-yay, motherfucker!!!

    I watch as skin, flesh, and bone peel off the creature''s face in an explosion.

 The First King Chapter 11

    The explosion was much bigger than I anticipated. It pushes me back and almost throws me off the headless grey creature, but I hold on firmly to the handle of my khopesh. The spell failed, but worked better than I expected, the creature''s head had completely vanished. It looks like an even bigger monster had bitten its head off. Three quarters of its neck is also gone. Black blood sprays far and wide, coating the dry earth with blood. As I look at my hand, I notice that is not the only thing that is gone. My left arm is also gone from the explosion, this is what happens when you are not careful when weaving. In spite of my failure, the spell succeeded in killing the troll like creature.

    My reverse repair spell had been reinforced with too much mana, which made the threads longer. The spell seemed to have affected me just as much. Luckily, I did not have the crazy idea of using a headbutt instead of a slap. The spell became unstable after the skin I was holding onto got erased. That meant the remaining amount of mana in the weaving had nothing to unrepair, since I was no longer physically attached to the cheek. Since the spell had nothing to unrepair, it became volatile and exploded. At least I know the spell works, but it needs some tweaking to avoid that from happening again.

    Using too much mana in my spell was a bad idea. It was mistake a novice would make, then again, novices do not try to make new spells.

    The headless corpse starts to fall, I hold firmly onto my khopesh as the corpse hits the dried and cracked ground with a heavy thud. My body feels weak and drowsy from casting the spell. Now that it is finally dead, I slide my khopesh out of the corpse.

    I snatch the soul out of the air, squeezing it in my hand until there is nothing left. The anger from dying and the fear of what came next, are the two feelings I sense from the soul. My body and mind reawakens as my soul is filled with mana. Ahhh, sweet, sweet souls for the skeleton.

    All of these things, whatever they are called, are stupid. If they were only a bit smarter, then this fight would have been completely different. The last of the troll sibling attempts to pick himself up. He is still shaken from the impact to the tree. I can hear Mother shout again, this time with added fury in my voice.

    ¡°GET UP! GET UP FOOL! KILL IT NOW!¡± Why has Mother not attacked me yet? She seems to have little care for her sons, or she is just smart enough to see the risk in attacking me. My mind feels clear and my thoughts flow like a rushing river. The souls of these creatures are potent enough that their mana fortifies my mind. I sense for probably the first time The Skeleton within me. The urge to run rampant and fight is tightly kept away by the pull of the part of me that still has not accepted The Skeleton. The evil that is The Skeleton whispers its thoughts to me. It wants me to conquer and rule over these creatures. Again it wants me to ignore Isaac, to taste his soul, but again I ignore it and win control of my thoughts.

    I genuinely have to come up with how a plan to deal with the last grey giant. I cannot leave it up to luck alone to safe my life. Plus, I am one handed, and fully regenerating an arm would take time. I can speed up the process of healing my arm, but would most likely it will have a high chance of making the spell unstable. I watch as the giant, twice my height, finally got up off the ground.

    I can wait till it gets close at hand, maybe it will avoid hitting me because I am on top of this corpse. Would the monster even care about injuring its brother¡¯s corpse? Probably not, I cannot depend on morality from the creatures. I can also just try to dodge the blow entirely. I am unsure how the outcome of that would be. My memories with the blade are mostly focused on defence and attack forms against other swordsman. I have little training with dodging, and using my khopesh to block a tree trunk is out of the question.

    I like the idea of killing things easy. Mind over matter, magic over strength. If I am ever going to survive in this world, a world filled with creatures like this, then I need my magic. I could jump and touch him, just like with his brother. I would have to maintain some sort of contact with the skin of the monster long enough. It should take about a second or two for the spell to register. Though I will need to kill it instantly, a good spot in its upper body would do.

    I can try to run, but running now would only get Isaac, or myself killed, so I had no choice but to fight. However, I want to avoid the tree trunk, the power it can be swing with is enough warning.

    I suddenly had the craziest idea. It may just be possible for me to touch the creature without actually having to touch it. They key to victory will always lie in the unexpected. I watch the khopesh in my hands, then I began to weave. I would have to do this quick, the giant would soon be out of his daze.

    I first start with sub-threads created entirely of mana, until it eventually formed a thread. Then I form a stitch thread so that I can attach the mana to the metal of the sword. It only takes a simple adjustment; it is actually more difficult to make a stitch thread for flesh than it is for metal. The mana thread is important because It keeps the entire weaving from deteriorating mid-air.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    This version of the stitch thread could have been better. Despite my enhanced mental capacity, I could not do much within such period of time. Only the required changes to the stitch thread were made. A couple new ideas came to my mind after finishing the thread, I would have to test them out when I get a chance.

    Then I made the reverse repair thread. The thread is much the same however, this time a few of its sub-threads have been change. It will have to be able to draw power from the mana thread. I also use less mana to create this thread compared to the previous one. I have to come up with better names for these threads and spells.

    Lastly, I made the stop thread. The stop thread would decide when the reverse repair thread would activate. It is also dependant on the mana thread. If the stop thread fails, then the other threads fail and the spell will explode.

    I wrap it the stop thread around the other threads, connecting them together. When I am finished it looks like an actual piece of cloth weave. I used about seventy percent of the previous soul, which is almost equal to two human souls. The rest of the mana was used to form the mana thread.

    I move the entire weaving above to the tip of the sword, then I cast the spell

    The giant roars as it looks at me. The giant rubs its forehead to ease the still hurting pain. He looks angry, maybe this one did have some sympathy for this dead brother. It can also be because I am here to take his food. Whatever the reason, it will be dead soon. He did not charge towards me, which is something I was expecting. Instead he is casually walking towards me, his branch in tow.

    ¡°Not gonna fall for your trick, I going to smash you from all the way over here! Then I be only son and great son!¡± The giant shouts in his anger. I admit, it is a good idea. I know now that they can learn, I was beginning to wonder how they have survived for so long. However, the entire spell is dependent on me not touching the giant, so his plan is flawed. As he came closer to me, his steps become more careful, he lifts the tree trunk above his head. It looks as if he is about to swat a fly. I actually feel a bit honoured that he would see me as such a threat.

    I throw my khopesh, and shift to my mana vision to watch the spell. The sword glows blue as it spins rapidly in the air towards the giant. The light from the khopesh pulses as if the sword is alive. I can see the mana thread give energy to the entire weaving, it keeps the stop thread from going unstable. The stop thread held off the reverse thread and the stitch thread from activating too soon, which would cause it to explode. It''s sickle shape of the khopesh is the great for stabbing into flesh. The blade dug into the right shoulder of the monster.

    The creature looks at the khopesh that is stuck in its shoulder. The giant then looks at me then back at the sword and laughs. What happened? Did I mess up the spell? I remember doing everything correctly, the grey piece of shit should be dead by now. Shit, I shouldn¡¯t have thrown my sword away. The spell was obviously too complex for me, I most likely did something wrong.

    A loud bone cracking sound explodes from the clearing. I look at the monster in amazement. One instant it had a shoulder and head, the next moment half its body is gone. It did not even get a chance to scream. The remaining corpse just fell, spraying black blood all over the place. The spell must have worked, despite something causing it to go unstable.

    I feel drained and weak. I could barely stand as I jump off the body of the giant I was on.

    I looked up in shock horror. Mother was already charging at me, wet branch in hand, and ready to swing it. Damn I won''t reach in time. I moved to grab my other sword, every knight of Almeria has two. Wait, why did I think I have another sword?

    I can dodge and make a run for the soul of the giant I just killed. It would be risky, but I can try to form a quick reverse repair spell. I will have to avoid the hit from the branch.

    When mother reaches her dead son, she raises her tree club to swing at me. Just as the thick branch was above her dead, Mother screams then goes rigid. Her body hits the ground and slides on the earth. At this point the ground is so wet with black blood that she slides all the way towards me, and stops right before my feet.

    It is only when the corpse stops did I notice the red hair girl I left behind the tree. She is crouched atop Mother''s body, with her twin long daggers plunged into the back of Mother. I walk up closer to the corpse of Mother and reach for her soul. I grab the soul with my gauntlet hand and absorb it.

    I''m not sure why I did not notice this before but her eyes are cloudy, and she looks at me. She looks at my hand specifically, watching and staring in long lost wonder. I wonder what she saw. Did she see the soul, or just he mana that I am absorbing. Either one made me feel exposed. I finish the absorning te soul and enjoying the mana refilling my well.

    ¡°Sorry, I know you said to stay there, but it looked like she was about to hit you.¡± She said as she bows her head to me. I did not need the help, I could have taken her. The red hair girl, moves her fingers to close her nose, the other hand she uses to brush the air in front of her. Her head turns towards the pot still boiling under the fire as she says, ¡°What in all the blazes smells like that. ¡°

    I am glad I cannot smell. The way her face twist as she walks off the body of Mother, made the smell look deadly. She shows the smell more disgust than she did me. Who is this girl anyway? And why is she not afraid of a walking skeleton?

    ¡°Ogre¡¯s stew. And you''re lucky, it was only halfway finished. Thankfully, they choose to add in the special ingredients last. ¡°I turn my skull towards the direction of the rough and aged voice. I see the man who was tied to the boy, he holds Isaac who is unconscious in his arms.

 The First King Chapter 12

    Ipull my black cloak around me,so it covers my skeleton frame. My hands lift the hood up, so I can embrace the darkness of the cloak. My khopesh still lays on the ground, the explosion pelted it away from the body of the dead ogre.

    I can still see the mana in the air from the explosion, but it faded after a few seconds. I may have not turned out how I expected, but the spell was fun to make. I know for sure that the reverse repair thread works, but I may have to tone down things a bit. I''ll have to name the mana spell to mana battery since it did act like one. I''ll also just start calling it the reverse spell from now on.

    An ogre he called it,that¡¯s funny. The only ogre I have ever seen is the one from Shrek. I always thought I would'' have made good friends with one, but now not so much. I heard the sound of Nia¡¯s tiny wings buzzing in the air. It warned me of her presence so, I look around in hopes to find her.

    ¡°Thank you,I did not expect we would meet like this ¡°The man said to me, his eyes completely examine me. What did he mean by meet like this? He frowns at the red haired girl, who was busy whipping her black daggers on the fur hide that Mother wore in a loincloth fashion. She then slid the blades skilfully back into the sheaths on her belt.

    ¡° What?¡±she asked, perplexed at the man¡¯s frown.

    ¡°You were supposed to scout ahead fully.¡± He said, with a displeased voice.

    ¡°I did,you were one who said these things don''t come so close to the outer regions of the Badlands and I wasn¡¯t the one who got caught. ¡°she responded.

    ¡°Is that what you think happened? Laziness kills. You have much still to learn.¡±The man retorted. I could tell that she was going to say something else in return, but choose not to. The man sees the miserable look on her face and was about to say something else, but Nia¡¯s presence steals both their attention.

    ¡°Is that a fairy?¡±The man who held Isaac said, the boy is still unconscious in his arms. He looks both surprised and curious. Nia stands on my shoulder, her wings still beating to keep balance. She sticks her tongue out towards the man to tease him. Seems the fairy is back to her usual unpredictable self.

    ¡°A fairy! Jax, you said they don¡¯t exist anymore.¡±The red hair woman said with excessive curiosity. Are people not scared of walking-killing-sword-wielding-magic-casting skeletons anymore, or is it just these two.And why are they showing me so much respect, but at the same time somewhat ignoring me.

    ¡°Clearly they do it would seem. Though, I¡¯ve never heard of any being sighted for hundreds of years. A skeleton priest and a fairy, what an odd pair.¡° He paused as if rethinking his words. ¡°I meant no offense prophet, may I ever be humble. ¡°

    Jax walks towards one of the dead looking trees. He puts I sit up against a tree trunk. I move closer, since I have a vested interest in the boy and want to know if he is really dead. Jax gave the boy a couple light slaps on the cheek, trying to wake him up.

    ¡°Isaac was really brave! He tried putting up a fight.¡±Nia said, her voice ringing with happiness. I cannot picture the boy putting up a fight, probably that is how he got knocked out? He did have a bruise on the forehead. I watch as Isaac began to wake, he looks confused at first, then scared. I think that is the first time I have seen him genuinely scared.

    ¡°You hit me with your head!¡±The boy said, his legs buckled, as he pointed towards Jax.

    ¡°You were screaming, I had no choice boy. I apologise.¡±Jax said to Isaac. However, Isaac still kept his distance away from the man. Isaac was slowing trying to get up, but Jax held him down and said, ¡°Sit still for a while, you¡¯re bit wobbly.¡±

    Isaac spots me rather quickly, he stops from glaring at Jax to look at me. He shows a bit of calm on his face. I am unsure what the boy saw when he looked at me to. I did save him,but only because for the memories I could have received doing so. Plus, I only came back for him since I need him to travel around quickly. Well, I can always convince these two to come along, he is a child, surely they would tag along to help a child reach his destination. It should avoid me having to save Isaac the next time, they seemed capable of protecting themselves.

    ¡°Nia, ask them who they are.¡±I direct my thoughts to her,hoping she would be listening in on my mind, or was she always listening? I believe she could only hear the thoughts directed to her, or else she would have seen the kind of person I really am. And probably fly away.

    Nia asked both of them the question. I know this because they both turn their heads to look at the fairy on my shoulder,then at each other.

    ¡°Did that come from the fairy?¡±The red haired woman asked. She walks closer to Nia, reaching out her hand to touch Nia, but the fairy slid to the other side of my shoulder, not wanting to be touched.

    ¡°You heard that as well. I¡¯ve thought that was only a myth.¡±The man said, his eyes looking around for something. I now see what is on his back, I have never seen much lutes, but this was certainly a lute I was looking at on the back of Jax.

    ¡°Forgive us for the rudeness prophet, our travels have been long.¡±Jax said as he bowed to me. All this prophet talk is confusing. I rather just get the boy and leave.

    ¡°I am Jax Vaath, seeker of the First King and guardian to his prophets.¡±Jax said with pride and a deep bow as he extended his arms out. He put a lot of emphasize on the word prophets. So basically he was some holy man.

    ¡°And I am Thea Eruk, apprentice to seeker Jax and also of the bloodline of Naxus ¡°She also tried taking a bow, it was without grace. She almost fell over doing so. All this was well and good, descriptions and jobs and all that blah blah, but what does that have to do with me.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Nia tell Isaac we are leaving.¡±I sent my thoughts towards her.

    It is best if I just take the boy and leave. Nia flies over to Isaac and hugs his neck. Isaac quickly got to his feet, he is just as happy to get out of here as I am. He walks pass me, moving to the horses. I had forgotten the horses are still here, just shows how much I want to leave. They are fenced in by logs. I move to help, but Jax moves to help Isaac before I could. The horses are happy to be back out in the open, and the snuggled into Isaac. The boy dips into his pocket and takes out something to feed them with. They graciously lick his hand clean, and move their heads to his pocket for more.

    I gave a wave to Isaac after he got a hold of the horses reins. Soon after I start to walk out of the clearing and Isaac follows along. I walk the path I originally came from to reach our wagon, hopefully it is still there. I did not ask her, but Nia led the way. She used the same blinking glow that I can see with my mana vision. She did not have to help, since I mostly knew the way back, but it made me confident that this is the correction direction.

    It is about fifteen minutes into the walk back when I finally notice the sound of extra footsteps behind me. Isaac is either walking really fast, or the horses are goofing around. I stop, took off my hood and turned my head one hundred and eighty degreesbackwardsto look.I think Jax and Thea were not expectingthat because they flinched. Isaac had to calm the horses back down as well.

    I wonder why they were following me. I do not like people following me.

    ¡°Nia, can you ask them why they are following us.¡±I once againsend my thoughts to her.

    Nia flew ahead of us,so I am unsure she would hear. It may be a good idea to test the distance of this mental connection in the future.She turns and fly back towards our direction. Nia lands on a low branch of on one of dry, leafless trees. Jax and Thea are about ten feet behind us. Jax now had on a brown coat. A reply came a few seconds later.

    ¡°It¡¯s my duty to guard the prophet, and follow your teachings, while you lead us to the First King.¡±Jax replied. It is a shame I could not laugh, that was damn funny. Does he think I am like his Jesus? I do not even know them. Wait, why were they searching for me? And how did they know where I am. Do I have a tracker on me?

    I nod my head twice in their direction. This actually could be good. I never thought they would follow on their own will. It would be good to have reliable people around. At least until they realise how stupid of a mistake they made. Me a prophet? I still do not trust them. They could be bandits in hiding. Their story is just too convenient.

    ¡°Nia, keep an eye on them, I don¡¯t trust them.¡±I send my thought to the fairy.

    ¡°Really? They don¡¯t seem like they are lying.¡±She replied, with a curious voice, taking quick glances at Jax and Thea.

    ¡°Still, I rather be cautious.¡±I replied.

    ¡°If you say so Laoch¡±She replied. Nia then flies off the branch to once again fly in front.

    The wagon is still where I left it when we returned. A sign of how infrequently this road is travelled. The crate which I threw and broke, still lays on the ground. Furs from the broken crate lays exposed on the ground. I pick up the pieces of broken wood and rest them next to the coffin on the wagon. I gather the furs and stack them into one of the other crates.

    I ask Nia to find out if either of them knew how to handle a wagon. Isaac driving a wagon could look very suspicious to certain people, unless that is natural for this world. Isaac began to attach the two horses back to the wagon, leading them by their reins.

    Jax and Thea both said yes and It took us little time to once again be on the road. Jax is in front, with the reins in his hands, he talks with Isaac. I can sense the boy is still wary of Jax, since he seems reluctant to reply to Jax. Isaac occasionally looks back from his seat in the front. Thea sat next to me, on my coffin and I could see why the boy is so curious. She has her eyes close.I keep looking at her, and for some time she does not open her eyes.

    I start to repair my hand, since this is the best possible time. I began create my weaving. I use a generous amount of mana while forming the weave. Nia is also on my arm, taking interest in the healing process. I make the healing weave quicker this time, I could be because I am healing myself, which would require a few less sub-threads, and only the bone thread. Perhaps it was my practice. I cast the spell and watch the bones in my arm slowly regenerate. It is not a quick process, bone takes quite a bit of time to form and after twenty minutes I only regenerate up to my wrist.

    ¡°Is everything okay with her?¡±Isaac asked. Jax. He looked back at Thea, who still had her eyes closed, looking forward at the trees we passed by. Jax also turned around briefly, to see what the boy meant.

    ¡°She is okay boy, Thea is somewhat blind, she is just resting her eyes. ¡°Jax replies.

    ¡°Blind? But she was walking before, I thought blind people couldn''t walk, or see.¡±Isaac said, his head shifting back to Jax then once again to Thea, who was smiling at him. Isaac looks at Jax with a confused face.

    ¡°I¡¯m blind, not lame or deaf, I can hear you. And I can still see, just not what everyone else sees.¡±Thea answered, a frown appearing on her face when Jax chuckles at her retort.

    ¡°You will be amaze at what she can see boy, even with her eyes closed. Thea has to rest her eyes every now and again, it comes with being part of her bloodline along with having athickhead.¡±Jax said. I can see Isaac smile a bit as well.

    A pretty blind girl that sees the world differently from everyone else. A man who calls himself a seeker and claims to be my guardian. A boy who seems to have little fear, but big dreams. And, a mysterious fairy. Lastly, me, an undead. I can tell things willstart to get a bit interesting around here.

 The First King Chapter 13

    Crown Prince, Leon Alexander Hightower laid on his bed. He was tired from last night, his manhood ache, and his head hurts. He had both love and hate for last night. The prince sat up and watched the windows in his room, the morning rays hit the luxurious red velvet, and a soft red glow lights the room.

    He passed one hand through his brown hair and pulls back the loose strands that blocked his vision. Feeling something nudge against his leg, he moved the bed sheet cover to see exactly what it was.

    It was just the girl¡¯s leg, she was stirring awake now, and Prince Leon leaned over and kissed her shoulder. The kiss caused the girl to give off a soft moan, yet that made Leon give her another kiss. The girl turned, so she could avoid the kiss, it was then clear to Leon that she just wanted to sleep. He felt another hand wrap around his torso and a slight smile creeps on his face.

    ¡°Mhm, stay a bit longer, your highness.¡± The girl whispered into his ear, giving out a soft purr after. He felt her soft skin, and ample breasts, as it pressed against his back. She did not know how much he wanted to stay, but even a prince has duties, and King would not be happy is he missed them.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Daisy, you know I can¡¯t stay.¡± Leon replied to the prostitute.

    Leon rolled over onto her, pinning her hands to the bed as he sucked on her neck with his lips. The woman gave off a soft cry. Leon let her go and moved over her to sit on the edge of the bed, as his eyes searched the room. He stood up and walked over to a piled layer of clothes and looked through them for his. Finally, he found his pants and his shirt and put them on while he walked to the mirror.

    Leon looked at himself in the wardrobe mirror and fixed his shirt. He frowned as he noticed the stain, Well, that isn¡¯t very princely, he thought. Leon opened his wardrobe, searching around for a proper shirt to put on. The maids had folded and washed his shirts, making it easy to find the one he was looking for. He unbuttoned his shirt, putting on the new white one.

    Now, where did I rest those boots, Leon thought, as he looked around his room.

    He found his grey boots against one of the chairs by the table, hidden by a nice pair of panties. After his boots were on, Leon fond his pouch of coins on the table. He took out three gold coins and five silvers from his pouch, an extra gold as a tip.

    I think I have a soft spot for prostitutes, the prince thought.

    ¡°Make sure you two leave quickly. Father doesn¡¯t like when I bring home girls.¡± Leon said to Daisy, who frowned in disappointment and hugged the pillow. Especially girls he hasn¡¯t chosen, Leon mused, as he stood up. He gently lifted the bottle of liquor off the table and poured himself a shot. Can¡¯t start the day sober, he thought, as he lifts his head back and poured the drink down his throat.

    Leon picked his sword belt up, with his sword still on it, then attached it around his waist, he did the same for the pouch of coins on the table. He moved towards the coat rack, which was near the door. He took his white leather long coat off the rack, then left the room.

    The crown Prince excited his room, two knights were stationed on either side of the door. They were like statues, the finest Almeria had to offer.

    ¡°Your Highness¡± The guards spoke, the sound of metal hitting metal resounded as their gauntlets smacked against their helmets in a salute.

    ¡°At ease¡± Leon responded. He slid his arms into coat, pulling the coat against him as he walked. The knights trailed behind, He felt like his guards served more like decorations than actual guards. I''ll have to get used to people following me after I leave my chambers, if I ever want to be king someday, Leon thought.

    The upper floors of Hightower Castle are for guest of nobility, staying foreign dignitaries, and of course the royal family. You could also say they belonged to his sisters, since they occupied most of it. Leon loved his sisters, but they were blind to the world around them. He walked down the stairs and was saluted by half a dozen knights as he exited the staircase.

    What time is it? Leon thought. He had sword training with Mistress Eve, but most likely missed his training with her, his stomach growled, he missed breakfast, too. He walked past several handmaidens to his eldest sister Ariel, they smiled at him and greeted him a pleasant good morning before walking away laughing softly. It was not until he was on the fifth floor of the castle and looking out over the balcony did he realize why they were laughing.

    It was midday and much pass training Mistress Eve would be happy. I was late for court; I was always late. You¡¯ll have to stop whoring and drinking one day, Father also won''t be pleased, as if he ever would be, Leon thought. He was lucky enough to meet a maid carrying a tray of food, the woman greeted him kindly by his title as she bobbed a curtsy to him, and was also far too happy to let him pilfer from the tray. When he reached the fourth floor, he had already eaten the bread, cheese, and sausage. He finished his breakfast with a mug of orange juice and gave the mug over to a passing maid, so she could carry it back to the kitchen.

    The fourth floor certainly had more foot traffic, instead of knights, there were guards posted evenly throughout the floor. Patrols were regulated and in groups of five, Leon moved quickly towards the throne room, low born nobles and merchants greeted him as they lined up for a chance to meet the king, who acted as a judge when two or more nobles had disagreements. The high nobility required a special court, since matters concerning the high nobility are matters concerning the state, and such things need to be carefully handled.

    The nobility mostly argued among themselves while he walked the hall leading to the throne room. A few aggressive noblemen and noblewomen stopped the prince, to either to introduce themselves or their daughters, which were not present, or to boast about their latest political or economic maneuvering¡¯s. His knights moved them away, they are not entirely without use, Leon thought.

    Large twin doors guard the entrance to the throne room. The twin doors were as high as three men and made of metal. Two guards stood on each side of the door, unlike the knights in the army or in the castle, they wore a mix of heavy and light Armor, they were true knights, trained to be deadly on the battlefield, and of high nobility. Leon ordered the knights to open the door with a gesture. The door was swung up on its hinges at his command, pushed by the four knights.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°It was a bloody mess my king.¡± A knight in black armor said. His helmet was on the ground besides him. A black carpet led from the twin doors to the throne. Pillars surrounded the throne room in a circular formation. Pearl white tiles covered the throne room floor.

    Leon walked closer towards to the stairs that led up to the throne his father sat on. The king didn¡¯t look pleased, at all. Leon walked up the black carpet, his guards moved to the circular walls of the throne room, joining the other knights who were already in a circular formation around the room.

    ¡°You are late, Crown Prince.¡± The king said towards to Leon, his voice put emphasize on the title. No need to remind me of my place father, Leon thought. Leon looked at the King, his father was becoming old, even his clothing has changed from the military outfits, to these fancy robes. His hair had slowly faded from the dark black it was, now a dull black with many white strands of hair. However, his eyes still stayed the strong blue, Leon had always felt like he was being stabbed with those eyes. Leon had tried so much to be the Crown Prince that his father wanted, even when he was at his best, his father never seemed happy.

    Leon moved to the right of his father, with Arch-mage of the Spire of Vatra on his left. Leon watched the black knight, who knelt before the stairs to the throne. The doors to the throne room slowly creaked back as it closed tightly as peeping nobles tried to get a last look at what was going on in the room.

    ¡°General Voukhush update my son on the current situation.¡± The aging king said. General Voukhush, who was standing halfway up the stairs from the throne, gave a slight bow to the king.

    ¡°Two weeks ago we sent a legion towards the Badlands. Reports of villages and hamlets being desecrated were coming in frequent. Those who survived the attacks, reported of skeletons killing all life in sight. We received a generous amount of senior priest from the church of light, sent by Prelate Leron to support the legion. From the accounts of Captain Brass, the legion came across a recently attacked village. They followed the trail until they intercepted a force of two thousand skeletons atop hills. ¡°The general said, bowing once again at the king.

    ¡°You may continue your report captain.¡± The king said as he gestured for the captain to go on.

    ¡°Like I was saying my king, it was a massacre, a fountain of blood. I believe they were led by a skeleton lord si-¡±

    ¡°A skeleton lord? Have you gone mad, this could just as easily be a necromancer.¡± The king interrupted him.

    ¡°I-I have thought of that my lord, but it was like in the books our mothers read to us. There was one skeleton. It was murdering my men sire.¡±

    ¡°Murdering?¡± The king said as he sat up, moving to the edge of his throne.

    ¡°Yes my king, the other skeletons, they were savage, hacking at the dead, tripping over bodies and killing horses. This one was different, it didn¡¯t attack the dead, never tripped over a body and had no interest in the horses, except for riding one. ¡°The king looked shocked at the statement as the knight captain talked. There had never been a skeleton lord in over seventy years.

    ¡°All this is well and good my king, but I have also read the books, the real ones, not the ones made for children. A skeleton lord needs more than being able to ride horses or jump over dead bodies.¡± The arch-mage replied in an unbelieving tone.

    ¡°I fear that the arch mage `is right, I have also read the records from seventy years back. I think the battle may have taken a toll on you. We cannot jump to such conclusions.¡± The king replied, relaxing on his throne.

    ¡°I AM NOT MAD MY KING!¡± The knight shouted, everyone in the room looked shocked, including the king.

    ¡°Blue eyes! It moved like a shadow, a single swipe, death! It was leading the skeletons on a horse! It killed the priest as if they were children! PRIEST! And, it is one thing to read arch-mage, but another thing when its right before your eyes. You say you remember, but do you remember the songs, because that¡¯s what I remembered when I saw the skeleton lord!¡±

    ¡°Beware the Lord of the Night, beware his blue sight, beware the shadows in the night because you¡¯ll never see the scythe! The Lord of the Night is coming for your life, no army, no castle, walls or light. Will ever save your soul from the darkness in the night.¡± The captain shouted the words from the song, then he broke down into tears.

    <hr>

    It¡¯s been two days since Jax and Thea have been traveling with us. I still didn¡¯t trust them, but they were earning their keep. Jax had become the unofficial driver of the wagon. Jax and Thea called the area we were in the Badlands. We were apparently coming to the end of it.

    Isaac had occasionally begun to cry for no reason during the first day, but he tried his best to hide it from everyone. I am unsure of why exactly he was crying, but it made me enjoy my time in the coffin more. I practicing weaving threads while in the coffin. I fell asleep somewhere between practicing, I still do not know why that happens, but each time I wake up again feeling well rested. It confused me how a skeleton could fall asleep, I did not dream, or maybe I just do not remember dreaming. They say that you begin to forget your dreams in the first ten minutes of waking.

    My arm had healed fully, the bones look new, and the hand feels new, too. Thinking about my hand made me thing about the bone thread. Can I do more with it, just like with the repair thread? A few ideas come to mind quickly, created by my wild imagination. Is it possible to control how my bone grows? I¡¯ll also have to test that out when I get a chance. However, a weaving like that must have a high chance to explode.

    Thea begun to train Isaac with using swords. Of Course, she did not have a sword to give him, so Isaac used the broken planks of wood from the crate I destroyed. I spent most of that day listening to Isaac shouts of pain every time Thea smacked during training.

    Jax would scout the surrounding area wherever we set up camp. He mentioned something about doing all the scouting when during the day, and how he wants there to have no risk to the prophet''s life. I almost feel bad that I am lying to them, almost. When it was night, Isaac once again opened my coffin. It wakes me up, I had fallen asleep again. Total darkness just makes me want to sleep because of how comfortable it is.

    I pull myself out of the coffin and into the back of the wagon. I embraced the night sky, feeling awakened by it, I tilt my skull upwards to look at the sky, stars of all color brighten the night alongside the moons, and I wonder if one of those distant stars could be Earth. I follow the boy off the wagon, it was parked near the side of the road, behind two trees. Jax is turning what looks like a skinned rabbit on a stick, above the campfire. Thea is sitting on one of the two logs near the campfire, she brushes her hair to the side when she sees me.

    I took my seat on the log opposite Thea. It was amazing to be outside in the night once again. Nia would fly wildly around the campfire as it popped and cracked over the rabbit around the campfire as it roasted the rabbit. Isaac sat next to me, rubbing the welts on his hand.

    ¡°So Jax, Laoch is like a servant of your god?" Isaac asked. Children are so curious. Jax gaze turns towards me, I believe he expects me to say something. I nod my head towards him Isaac wasn¡¯t the only curious one. Knowledge is why I am doing this to begin with.

    ¡°Prophet Laoch. You would not call a king by his first name in his own castle, would you? He is not a servant. The first King¡¯s prophets are like his own hands. He is the will of the First king. ¡°Jax replied, turning over the rabbit.

    ¡°Is he like Nehron then? You know, the god of light and healing.¡± The boy asked again.

    ¡°The gods of this age could not hope to reach the height of glory that the First king had when he walked this earth. He is the god of souls, easing those at the gates of death to the next life. He is death in one hand and life in the other. Mercy in one, merciless in the other. Wraith in one, forgiveness in the other. Justice in one hand, unfair in the other. He is also known to be a great protector of children. This is why I have not asked why you are here young Isaac. I already know the Prophet has saved you.¡± Jax said, with a voice that almost had me believing.

    That last part has to be a lucky guess.

 The First King Chapter 14

    Jax words about me being a hand of this First King, makes Isaac look at me with curious wonder in his eyes. If I had eyes that is, then they would have seen the stunned expression on my face, too. Maybe the First King and the voice that summoned me here are the same. That seems unlikely, why not send other skeletons to look for me then? I will have to gather more information before I can make such assumptions.

    The boy looks away from me quickly,I think he found me not worthy of such high praise.Or perhaps he too now thinks that I am someone great. I am beginning to see that Isaac can be easily influenced, which is normal for a child his age.

    ¡°Well,he did save me, twice. ¡°Isaac said. Which made Jax begin a story about the First King, he seemed quite happy being able to share his religion with Isaac, who after the story, begins to pepper Jax with questions about the First King.

    Jax takes the rabbit off of the fire. He moves next to Thea on the log, rips off a strip of the cooked rabbit for himself and hands the stick to Thea. She broke off piece of the meat before passing the stick to Isaac who looks at it with resent.

    ¡°Eat up Isaac you don¡¯t get stronger if you don¡¯t eat,and you''ll keep losing to a girl.¡± Thea said, teasing Isaac as she bites into the piece of meat. I watch as Isaac repeatedly bites and strip the meat off the rabbit. He quickly takes a liking to the rabbit meat, maybe I did not roast the rabbit I made, two days back, properly.

    ¡°Not too fast,we don''t want you to choke. ¡°Jax said, a smile on his face.

    Nia has taken an interest in a batch of wild flowers near the campfire, she dances between the stems of the flowers, which I thought looks a bit funny without music.I have recently diagnosed her with a severe case of ADHD, her attention could change like the wind. I think it sometimes interest me by the odd and unexpected things she does. I think her fascination with fire is the same as those of a moth. However, no one really knows why moths are attracted to fire or light.

    ¡°You noticed any odd behaviour in our new companions Nia? ¡°I spoke in my mind. The fairy didn''t shift,or even stop her game of flicking the flowers back and forth. I got a reply from her shortly after.

    ¡°No, humans are generally so odd,¡± She paused for a second as if to think, ¡°In the morning, before Isaac wakes you up,they pray. ¡°

    ¡°They pray?¡±I inquired.

    ¡°Yeah,they pray for almost, uhm,one hour. ¡°Nia repliesshe floats up in the air, only to have her attention caught by a firefly.

    They could not be priest, I check, andthey had blue glows. Priest do not have a glow around them, at least not the priest I have come into contact with so far. Maybe they are telling the truth, they really do believe I am a prophet. The first king must mean a lot to Thea and Jax. Well,I can pretend to be this prophet of theirs, at the very least it gives me some purpose. I try to imagine myself as a prophet, I did not know the first thing about this First King. Thankfully, they did not ask any questions.

    Sometimes I wish I am back on Earth. Maybe I could find a way to return there, if it is possible for me to come here, then it is possible to leave. I am starting to remember the people in my life. I remember my parents and my friends. I remember going tohigh-schooland large pieces of my time in college. I know that I taught astrophysics, but from there it becomes foggy and eventually I find myself against a wall. A wall that causes my head to ring with pain whenever I try to pass it.

    ¡°How did you and Jax find Laoch?¡±Isaac asked. Thea looks towards Jax as she tore off what must be the last piece of rabbit meat after Isaac returned the stick. It is a good question, I too, want to know how they found me. I have only been here for a little over a week at best, so wherever they came from must be nearby.Jax gave Thea a nod, confirmation that it is okay to answer the question.

    ¡°Hmm, well,Jax just followed the direction he sensed the prophet in.¡±Thea said.

    That only made me more confused, so I had a tracker on me? I glanced over my body, pulling open the cloak to peer down at my ribs. Would the tracker even be visible to me? Could there be some sort of tracker spell? That would be something interesting to learn. Jax began to speak, continuing for Thea.

    ¡°You see, many thousands of years ago, The First King, was lost to us. The oracle of that time prophesied his return. The First King ruled Albion, the empire was so vast and so wide that it was said a single man could not explore the entire empire in his lifetime. Today Albion is but a small village. The world has forgotten the kingdom, but those who remember remain strong and we uphold the way of life set by the First King. We have kept our vigil; each generation must always have a seeker and an oracle. However, we grow smaller as the years pass.¡±

    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s really amazing. I¡¯ve never heard about Albion before. So Jax is the seeker, is he like a military commander? And who is the Oracle, what does she do?"Isaac inquired.

    ¡°Well, he is something like a commander. The current Oracle is my mother, Oracle Amrita. The oracle gives guidance in spiritual matters, and governs the village until the First King returns. she also hasa deep,spiritual and physical connection to the First King. Three years ago, she felt a powerful link, Jax did as well, but his connection is not as strong as my mother. The Oracle sent Jax and myself to search for you, so you could lead us to The First King. ¡°Thea said, her words directed now to both Isaac and me.

    For three years? I have been here for maybe a week at most at most, how did that time change to three years? Was I here longer than I thought? Did that battle happen so long ago? No I am sure it happened last week, the dried blood on my hands when I woke up was evidence enough.

    I think Thea is looking for an answer. She believes my duty is to lead them so-called First King. I gave her a nod, if I am going to pretend to be their prophet, at least for now, then I will have to make them believe I am their prophet. Thea gives me a smile, looks relieved as if a heavy burden was removed. If found her smile to be alluring,at least my taste in women has not changed.

    Jax took out the lute on his back. I noticed something that I didn¡¯t before as he placed his hands over the strings of the lute. The man has two fingers. Could you play an instrument like a lute or a guitar when you were missing fingers?

    Jax threw the rabbit bone behind him and began to play. It is a soft, yet fast tune. Calming and soothing. I could almost feel the vibrations through my bones. It reminded me even more of earth. How could music bring back memories. My eyes began to trace the hand movements. He used fast finger movements to compensate for his two missing fingers. Jax is more skilled than I first thought.

    ¡°So, Isaac tell us about your past. You may not be a servant of the First King yet, but you are a friend, and friends don¡¯t keep secret, right?¡±Jax said to Isaac as he plays the flute, I am still mesmerized by sound of the strings.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Uhm, not sure where to start ¡°Isaac answered.

    ¡°Wherever you feel comfortable.¡±Thea replied.

    ¡°Alright, uhm, my parents were Kaltoc nobility. I don¡¯t remember much of being a noble, though. I was told that my parents were killed by a rival family. I don¡¯t know about much of my parents either, they never seemed to have much time for me. I was mostly raised by my teachers.¡± Isaac bows his head, and uses the tip of his boots to make lines in the dirt. I can that remembering his past is having an emotional effect on him. He continues, after raising his head back up.

    ¡°I was put into an orphanage after my parents died, but the other kids didn¡¯t like me. I think it was because I was nobility and I would often get into fights, with them. So, I left the orphanage and just became a street urchin. It wasn¡¯t so bad, if you looked in the garbage of the baker at the correct time, before the other boys could, you¡¯ll find some stale bread. ¡°Isaac went on but Jax interrupted.

    ¡°Kaltoc nobility? They are well known for their savage political strategies. The blood wars that nobles have can leave entire villages destroyed. You have strong heritage.¡±Jax said, to which Isaac only nodded and continued.

    ¡°Anyway, uhm, I managed to pick up enough dropped coins to visit the local fortune teller. I asked her what I should do, I didn¡¯t want to be a street urchin my whole life. She took about two silver and told me to go to the Spires of Vatra to become a mage. It went really good at first. I left the city of Ento, which is the capital of Kalt, by boat to a port town west of the Badlands. Then from there I planned to travel toAlmeria,where the Spires of Vatra is. I got a ride with this lady and her husband, the man was really nice, he gave me new clothes. It¡¯s also when I met Nia, though, she was just a voice talking to me while I was on the cart. They hired four guards, and I think the lady killed her husband, because he just vanished one night, I¡¯m not sure. The next night the guards turned on us when we set camp. The lady ran and one of the guards chased after her. They spent the time she was gone beating me. It didn¡¯t last long Lao-the Prophet came.¡±

    "That¡¯s quite a story Isaac, you are a veryresourcefulyoung man¡± ¡°Jax said. No one said anything for some time, and Jax plays the lute for us to enjoy the music.

    ¡± I¡¯m sorry boy, but not everyone can become a mage. I think the fortune teller played you.¡±Jax said, which caused Isaac¡¯s eye brows to move up. I think the thought of being lied to did not cross his mind. He is exceptionally capable for his age, but it is like he is now learning how cruel people can be.

    ¡°Yeah, fortune tellers are the worst¡±Thea said, backing up Jax¡¯s claim.

    ¡°So I can¡¯t be a mage?¡±Isaac asked, seeking a straight answer.

    My focus on the lute in Jax hands is becoming more and more surreal. I cannot move my eyes off it, and the sound echoes and reverberates through every fibre in my bones. The world began to slow and darken until all I can see is the lute.

    The lute lit up bright blue. It is not just glowing blue, it is blue, like mana. It is like watching a weaving. It looks as though the lute is weaving its own spells. Every time Jax lets go of a string, mana ripples from the lute. The mana then turns into threads, which spreads out over the clearing. The lute is casting spells? That does not make any sense. This must be another form of my mana vision.

    I am confused. Is the lute alive? Or, is it just some sort of intricate spell. The spells that the lute is casting is sound, I hear the sound of a string, each time the ripple passes over me. I could see the mana as it turns into threads.

    I focus on the threads, and a strange idea comes to my mind. Sound is just vibrations, right? If I am correct, then what I am looking at is the sound thread. I focus on the weaving of the spell. It is actually very simple. Simple enough to be copied. I began to copy and memorize the simple threads, each of the thread has different sub threads, but the structure is basically the same. My head began to hurt, but I hold on.

    My sight finally fades, and the lute once again is just a piece of wood. Time once again resumes its normal speed. I began to make a weave. I combined several sub-threads that I remember from the lute, so I can form two sound threads. I hope this works. I visualize the weaving by my mouth. It would appear odd if it came from my hand. I let go of the mana I am currently using, casting the spell.

    ¡°Hee Caan¡±I said, casting the spell successfully. It went on for way too long, leaving a sort of echo in the air. I probably made the threads for the spell with too much mana. I did not even use that much. However, it was only two words, so that may be why. Everyone turns towards me, finally some recognition around here.

    ¡°As you saw prophet, so it shall be¡±Jax said, as he bowed his head, my words caused him to stop playing, shame that.

    The skeleton lord sucks the mana out of another fragile human being. He threw the corpse of the man onto the ground, after sucking it dry. With a strong command from his aura, two skeletons move to drag the corpse away. He has been constantly charging his reservoir for almost a week now with the mana from the human villages. He only needs a couple more now to begin the next phase of his plans. The battle in plains was quite successful in gathering him mana. He could eventually replace all the skeletons he lost, because there is never a shortage of human skeletons around. He laughs to himself.Never a shortage of skeletons,The Skeleton lord thhought.

    Two skeletons enter his throne room, dragging another human towards him. The man is crying his eyes out, but soon enough he would cry no more. The Skeleton lord uses his mana like a tentacle, latching onto the legs of the man and drags him before his throne. He grabs the man¡¯s head, and sucks the man''s mana dry, increasing his reservoir.This should be enough, the skeleton lord though.

    Ah, finally, I can begin my plans.

    I am coming for you Princess Niamh, I shall have what I want.

    He stands up and moves towards the door to exit the throne room. His heavy, red armour clanks on the floor as he walks. A black cape trails the floor behind him. He passes the three dozen skeleton guards standing near the wall. They are just for show, to please him. No one would dare march on his castle in the Badlands. Things are starting to progress fast. The Skeleton lord could feel the presence of the First King in the world.

    Naturally the demi-god would aim to foil his plans, but that is of little concern. He is weak, and most likely he will never remember.

    Of all times for the First King to return, why now? He should have been cast off into the pool of souls, forever reincarnating without his memories. The cruel faith caused the skeleton lord to laugh as he pushes open the doors.

    He walks out into the balcony and watches down at the legions upon legions of skeleton warriors. The Skeleton lord raises his arms into the air. In response, thirty thousand skeletons raise their sword, spears, shields, and axes. The sound of their weapons clanking against each other is like a ripple of thunder.

    ¡°I shall be the one to end you this time, FIRST KING LAOCH!¡±

 The First King Chapter 15

    It has been a day since I have learned the speech spell. We left early in the morning, with roughly three hours of night still remaining. Night is not much different than on Earth it seems, and both are roughly ten hours long. The type of trees that surround us change once again. They look like the kapok trees you would find in a rain forest.

    We aregetting closer to a town,or a city. I know this because I can see the graveyards. Not just a couple,but hundred. The tombstones are not made of stone, but woods. I know plagues of medieval times could do things like this, but they usually burnt the bodies, not bury them. There are also small hills, that have large cross shape shaped structures made of wood on them. These must be mass graves. There could potentially be not hundreds, but thousands here.

    ¡°Can I hold your arm¡±Thea said. she sat on the crate in front of me. It was an odd question. I honestly did not expect` it. I nod, mostly because I have not had a beautiful woman hold onto my arm in a long time.

    She seems unsure where to sit, and looks worried I would take offense if she sat on my coffin. I gesture towards the coffin with my right hand,letting her know it is okay.

    I lift up my skeleton arm for her to hold as she moves across to sit on the coffin. She clasps my hand, but with caution. I am not sure if she is worried about holding my hand, or about holding the hand of someone she believes to be the prophet. The bloodlust in me is still there, but my human side feels like it is starting to form a balance with the skeleton in me. My mana is slowly draining, and I can feel myself grow weaker as the hours pass. I will need to absorb another soul soon. However, I am sure I will have no problems find one in a city.

    ¡°You shine bright my prophet. I am extremely happy we found you. My mother preaches the word of the First King every day, I was supposed to take her place, be the next Oracle but-,¡±Thea said to me, in a whisper, she suddenly stops, and looks as if she is rethinking what she was about to say.

    ¡± I¡¯m sorry. I must sound like a little girl right now. It¡¯s just seeing you, shine before my eyes, even when I close my eyes I can see you like a beacon. It has made me start to rethink some of my recent choices. I feel like I have betrayed you.¡±Her eyes are shut tight. Nia is sleeping on a bed of furs inside the adjacent crate. I wonder what she means by glowing brightly. Did she mean she could see the blue glow around me?

    So, Thea is not some mindless, religious follower I thought her to be, she is having doubts about her religion. I cannot have her doubting now, if she does not believe in this First king, it means she does not believe in me. She might leave if I do not say something, which might make Jax begin to doubt me as well. I have to say something spiritual, something that a pastor would say. I could say something vague. without revealing I know nothing of the First King. I began to weave a speech spell.

    ¡°Worry not of betraying me, but yourself¡±I said. I tried my best adjust the spell, and I purposely use more mana. It was a bit rushed, and the words stayed in the air for a while, but the sound echo through the area. I sound so bizarre, almost angelic. Hmm, I wonder what else I could do with the sound threads. When I look at Thea, her eyes are open, as if she had come to a revelation. I hope it was a good one.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I think I understand now. Thank you, prophet.¡±Theasaid to me. I can see Jax glance back. He must have heard, though, Isaac did not seem to be listening. She did not say anything after that.

    While still inside the cart, I practice forming the threads of the weave spell, and I am progressively getting better at it. Though long sentences require more sound threads, and too much sound threads make the entire weaving complex.

    I feel like a child joining letters together to form a single word. I run into a lot of pronunciation problems. The amount of mana I use to create the sound threads needs to be on accurate. Using too much mana to form the threads made the sound echo loudly, and using too little made the voice too soft.

    ¡°Why were there so many graveyards.¡±Isaac said. He was inquiring about the fields of graveyards on the right of the road.

    ¡°About seventy years ago, a great battle between the eastern elves, one clan from the dwarfs of the clear mountains and the kingdom of Almeria. It was bloody,but just ten years after a skeleton lord awakened. The king of that time died, as well as his son. The current king had to ascend the throne at a very young age,but I have heard it did not take him long gain control of the unstable aristocracy,who were ready to revolt after the death of two kings. Jax said to Isaac,he pulled on the reins,causing the cart to go a bit faster.So, two major wars in a row, caused all this.

    The talk of elves and dwarfs made me grow curious. I have always wanted to see an elf. The nice and mystical ones at least, I am not sure if the elves in this world are the same. I am not sure how I felt about dwarfs. I envision them to be a rough and hard race, who respect their tradition and their ancestors. Or, maybe both the elves and dwarfs are entirely different than I imagine them to be.

    ¡°You know a lot,are you a scholar?¡± Isaac asked Jax. Jax smiles, taking it as a compliment rather than a question.

    ¡°No boy,I¡¯m just a seeker. Though, thank you for complimenting my knowledge ¡°

    ¡°How come you know so much then.¡±

    ¡°Because it''smy job to know. I am good at finding people, but knowledge is also what I seek. And it helps that I travel a great deal.¡± Jax replied. The wagon turns and leaves the forest of trees behind. The sun is slowly rising in the sky, and that is my signal to leave. But, not before having a look at the great city before me.

    Never was I expecting something so grand. I imagined the houses to be made of wood, and for the town to be similar to those from the old west. And, maybe with a small castle at the edge of the town, surrounded by a wall.

    There are houses, made of wood, though the architecture is different. And, there is a castle, with a wall.

    However, the wall stretches across a large expanse of flat land, and it is almost forty feet high. Wooden houses, and shacks expand out from the wall, only to be stopped by fields of farmland. I am not sure, if this is a town, or a city, but it is enormous, and I have not even stepped foot inside it.

    The wagon rolls across the dry dirt road that is between the farmlands. I watch the lights, most likely lamp lights, flicker on in the farm houses. And, I can see the farmers and their families step outside to begin their day of work. It is such an amazing and refreshing sight to once again see civilization. It makes my curiosity to explore this new world grow even more. I began to weave a speech spell.

    ¡°What town or city is this.¡±I asked. Once again all eyes shift towards me. I hope this is not going to happen every time I talk. They will have to get used to a talking skeleton.

    ¡°Talon, my lord¡±Jax replied.

    I should probably get back into my coffin. I stand up on the wagon as it moves closer the city gates. Thea moves back to the crate she was sitting atop. I pull open the doors of my coffin.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I welcomed the soft feeling red furs inside as I laid my skeleton body inside. I pull the doors shut, and enjoy the glorious darkness once again. I hear Jax whisper something, maybe to Isaac. Jax may have sent Isaac to wake up Nia, because I hear a crate open. It is most likely to help hide her, having a fairy on board would probably make us stand out too much. Though, since Jax and Thea came along with us, they seem to have adapted to having the fairy around. Which would make you think that fairies are normal.

    ¡°Hold! Hold steady!¡±I hear a voice shout from outside my coffin. I feel the wagon shake as it went over what must be a hump in the road, it then eventually comes to a stop. By the sound of the horse hooves, I can guess that we must be on some sort of wooden platform.

    ¡°State your business in Talon, you don¡¯t look like citizens of Almaria.¡±The voice said.

    ¡°We have traveled all the way from Kaltoc, we are here to sell furs¡±Jax replied.

    ¡°Damn, you came far, how did you get through the badlands with just-. Well, never mind that. You all have a merchant license and ID?¡±

    ¡°No sir, this is our first time¡±Jax replied once again. Jax seems to know what he is doing. The man also did not seem to have any problem with lying. Not what you would expect in someone religious.

    I hear footsteps, more than one. Guessing from the sounds outside, they were searching the wagon. Then I hear a few nocks against my coffin.

    ¡°Never heard of a merchant who transports the dead¡±The voice once again said.

    ¡°He died some time ago. I am transporting the bones of the body so he can be buried back in his family crypt. ¡°Jax said.

    ¡°Nobility? Alright then. You¡¯re clear to go. Visit the licensing office, and get your merchant papers and identification, so this doesn¡¯t happen again. Gave the whole wall patrol a scare. Never know what¡¯s going to come out there.¡± I can hear small muttering from other voices, but it is indistinguishable.

    I hear the loud grinding sound of metal against metal, what I suspect to be the gates being raise. Whatever came next did not much of my concern. At least try to concern myself with it, even though it is nerve wrecking. I practice my weaving, but even practicing is hard now, due to my low mana level.

    Numerous sounds assault me. Mass amounts of people talking fill my entire day, it made my practicing hard. Is the city always this loud? Or, maybe Jax is driving the wagon in the worst parts of the city. It is like a market, a constant bombardment of noise pollution. I think I fell asleep because when I woke up it was quiet. Not totally quiet, but much better than previously.

    I hear the sound of my coffin being pry open. As the dual doors, fully open, I can see that it is Jax who opening my coffin this time. I admit, I was expecting Isaac.

    ¡°It is night prophet. I waited till the sun was down and the sky was truly dark. I was told by both the fairy and the boy that light hurts you. I must admit, to my own shame that I did not know that, so this is news to me. I waked you up around the same time the boy also did, two hours before midnight. ¡°Jax said, offering his hand to help me up.

    I gave him a nod. With my energy, so low, I did not want to risk casting a speech spell. I actually contemplated killing Jax and eating his soul, but he has done enough to warrant my favor. And, I think that the others would turn on me if I did. It is becoming clear that I need them, so I can kill people, and consume their souls. It is like using money, to make more money.

    I pull myself up using the hand Jax offered me, and step out of my coffin. I look, noticing that my coffin, is not on the cart, but on the ground.

    I pull my cloak tightly around me and I cover my head with the hood. I seem to be in a of barn or something. It had no cows or anything like that, but there was another wagon, pulled by one horse, including our wagon and horses. There are also horse stalls.

    ¡°We found an Inn, and got our identification writs and merchant papers for all three of us, though it cost a lot of silver. We also sold the furs. I think we could stay here for a few days, so we can watch how the markets sell. Being merchants seem like out best disguise at the moment.¡±Jax said. I spot Thea just to the side, walking closer to me. I began to cast a weave since this seems like the best time to tell them both.I hear a door creak open, and Thea emerges. She quickly closes the door behind her.

    ¡°He is sleeping¡± Thea said to Jax. I assume she is talking about Isaac.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving. I¡¯ll be back¡±I said, through the speech spell.

    ¡°Wait prophet, I got this for you, it will help. I guessed you would want to go out. The carnival is coming up soon and I figured you might need one of this.¡±Thea said as she lifts her hand up to before my skull. She is holding onto a mask. I almost want to laugh; it is a skeleton mask.

    Hiding in plain sight, I like the sound of that. I nod and take the mask from her. It has straps on it, which I buckle around my skull. The mask is also much bigger than my face, but it still fits nicely.

    However, could this gift mean that Thea knows that I can absorb souls? Or maybe I am overthinking this. But, if she knows, then I have to assume that Jax also knows

    After exiting the through the back of the inn, I scale the building as best as I can. My bone fingers are able to slide between the cracks in the wood. I pull myself up to the top of the Inn slowly. The view from the top of the building was amazing. I could see the castle from here. It is enclosed in another wall. Whoever built the castle must have been very paranoid

    I am able to jump from building to building since they are so close together. The only buildings that I am unable to jump between are the ones that are separated by roads. The roads and pavements are clear, and the only figures that I spot are patrols of guards, usually consisting of six armored spear men. After an hour, all I can find are night patrols, drunks leaving bars, and ladies with skimpy clothes trying to seduce men.All of which are in bad locations, and too risky to kill. It is funny, I feel like a meth addict.

    ¡°You sure she is supposed to pass here in the night?¡±I heard a voice say, as I jump across the opposite building, and I crouch low at the edge of the roof, to inspect what was going on.

    ¡°Yes! The boss said she was going to be here. Stop acting like you¡¯ve never killed or kidnapped someone before¡±Another voice said. I lay flat on the roof and watch over the ledge. I find four men, all dressed in leather armor, except one is wearing a cloak.

    ¡°We¡¯ve never tried attacking the territory of another boss.¡±

    ¡°We''re expanding and making a name for ourselves, if we ever want our syndicate to be on the council of shadows one day, this shit needs to happen. Just wait and shut the fuck up, you''re making noise.¡±

    This seems to be interesting. So, I have come across a group of murderers and kidnappers. And, they are in an alley, with no one around. They just created the perfect place to be killed.

    I honestly could not care if they are criminals. The main point is that killing them would pose no consequences for me. That train of thought got me thinking. What if I had more people like Thea and Jax? That I can use, and manipulate, with killers and murders around, there will be no shortage of souls.

    It would certainly be much better to have people kidnap and murder for me instead of me having to do it myself. People I could control freely in the day, and do things that I would not normally be able to do. I would be able to train with my spells, both in night and day, plus a free source of information. My own thoughts surprise me. This is certainly the thoughts of the Skeleton. I can feel its lust for dominance, and I like it.

    I think it is time for a hostile takeover.

 The First King Chapter 16

    Iscan the kidnappers that are waiting below with my mana vision. They have the same blue glow, common to living and maybe even nonliving things.

    Ihear the soft whispers of the four men below as they walk to the center of the alleyway. They are obviously planning something. Three of the men in leather armor slide between the buildings in the alley. I am guessing that they are planning an ambush. I stand up on the slate roof, thinking that this would be a good time check around the building before I kill them. I would hate to be interrupted by any guards in the area.

    Walking atop the buildings made me see how massive the town truly is. It probably took more than a decade to decade to build a wall like this. And, the inner wall was probably just as difficult to make, though I wonder which one was built first. Despite being atop these buildings, I cannot see the whole thing. Most of it is still blocked away by the wall, and the taller buildings that block the view.

    I crouch at the opposite side of the building. I have not seen anyone around, so far. I know I had passed a bar a few buildings down, but I see no one coming from that direction. Is there a curfew going on? The number of people outside at night seem to have drastically decline.

    After all the sides of the building, I still found no one except the kidnappers. They are obviously waiting on someone,a woman from what I heard. I kneel when I came back to the side of the roof facing the alley. Then I go prone on the slate roof top once again, so I can watch them

    ¡°And what of the Flutes? I care very little of how good they are at slitting throats,if they think they can threaten us,they forget I was once part of their syndicate.¡± A female voice said. The sound was faint but I understood the last part of what she said. I can make out the newcomers as they enter the alley.

    As the voice grows closer, and I am finally able see her figure. However, she is overhead now, and I only able to see her that she is blonde, and wearing a dress of some sort. She is walking in front, both her and her companions besides her. They seem unconcern about the man in the robes in the middle of the alleyway. That is until the woman stops a couple feet away from the man in black robes. I watch as her companions,or bodyguards step in front her.

    ¡°Get out of my way. ¡°The woman said, impatience in her voice.

    ¡°I don''t think so.¡± The man in robes replied.

    ¡° Do you know who I am,come on,you haven''t been living under a rock. Don''t tell me you''re another upstart. ¡°

    ¡° A new syndicate is rising and yours is only falling. Join the us Isabella, your Don is already good as dead.¡±

    ¡°Is that really the best you have. I don''t know who you are, but you''re a fool. Now die like one,kill this shit.¡± The woman named Isabella said. She raises her hand, and snaps her finger, signaling her companions to attack. Both of her male bodyguards draw swords. The kidnappers draw their blades in response. However, the man in robes shifts several feet back, and he is now behind the three men in leather armor.

    I watch as the woman¡¯s bodyguards move forward to defend her. It feels like I am watching the same movie, for the second time. And, I find that watching them die is more satisfying than killing them myself. Why do the kill them? When I can simply let, others do it for me.

    The three criminals slide out of the spaces between the wall. The bodyguards, who are too focus on killing the man in the black robes, that they did not see the men hidden in the walls. The moonlight reflects off the daggers that the criminals draw. The alley erupts with the screams of the bodyguards as they are pushed down, and stab repeatedly. Soon enough, silence fills the alleyway, and I watch the glow around the two bodyguards flicker, then vanish.

    ¡°You know, good help is hard to find.¡±Isabella said. She did not seem at all horrified by all the blood before her.

    Hell, I would expect her to already be gone by now, why was she still around. This is getting interesting; I wish I had some popcorn. Though I would not be able to eat it. I¡¯m dead, and I¡¯ll probably never have to eat again, at least I do not have to worry about flossing.

    It is strange that I do not have more empathy towards the things I may never be able to do now. I wonder why I have this lack of care for death, or anything that does not affect me.

    I reach out with my hand and grab one of the souls as it floats up to the roof. Fuck food, a fresh soul is all I really need. I grab, and absorb another soul. I almost fell off the ledge as I stretch to reach the second one. Sweet sweet souls.

    The man in black robes, pulls out a small crossbow from underneath his cloak. Despite the two bodyguards being dead, the three kidnappers are still stabbing them, damn, these guys are bloodthirsty.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about running.¡±The crossbowman said, he levels the weapon at Isabella¡¯s chest.

    ¡°I would never dream of running from you sweetie.¡±Isabella replies. She begins to move forward slowly, right foot first, then left. Thankfully, the other three stop stabbing the corpses, it was starting to become disturbing. But, I guess being nervous, made them want to make sure their victims are dead.

    Isabella¡¯s actions confuse the three kidnappers. They look at each other, as if one of them has the answers for Isabella¡¯s odd behavior. However, the crossbowman takes two steps forward. He obviously wants to show the woman that he is no coward. Though, I can tell he is a bit unsure of what to do next. Just like I, he assumed the woman would stop after having a crossbow pointed at her.

    ¡°Stay-Stay where you are. I have not known to miss this close.¡±The crossbowman said. He tries to regain some of his composure. However, Isabella did not stop moving forward.

    Is the woman crazy? Did she not see the crossbow in the man¡¯s hand? Maybe the loss of her bodyguards was more traumatic than I thought. Suicide was never the answer.

    ¡°Last warning¡±The man in robes said. He holds his crossbow firmly in both his hands.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Fine, have it your way, you¡¯re a crazy bitch.¡±The crossbowman announced. Less than a second after, I hear the snap of a crossbow. I did not see the bolt from the crossbow, but I did hear the thud of impact. I glance towards the woman, trying to look for a bolt. I found the bolt, and from my perspective, I can tell it went into her shoulder, and out the back. I am just as shock as the man. That must have hurt. I did not even hear a yell, or even a groan from her.

    ¡°Oh, that tickles, is that the best you can do?¡±Isabella said, to the utter horror of the four kidnappers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, get her!¡±The crossbowman shouted, he pushes one of other kidnappers forward. The other two eventually followed the man into a charge.

    Isabella rests her right hand on her sword pommel. She did not look like someone who is about to be kidnapped.

    Isabella punches the first man in the jaw, his face swings to the right from the impact. He was about to fall, but Isabella grips the man by the shoulder. She pulls him back up, and bends his head to the side. I can hear her hiss as she bites into the man¡¯s neck. Isabella bites off a chunk of the man¡¯s neck, causing blood spurt out. She then begins to suck on the fountain of pouring blood. However, she has little time to do so.

    She pushes the man, who is now spraying out blood from his mouth as he desperately tries to scream. The man collides with one of the charging men, and they fall over.

    The man who is still charging towards Isabella, receives the quickest round house kick I have ever seen to the chest. His feet lift off the ground and he falls onto his back. Isabella waste no time, and in a mere second she already has her foot on his chest. The man tries to get back up, but Isabella holds him down with her feet. She then draws her sword, and plunges it into the man¡¯s heart. The man yells in pain as she twists the blade, then he goes rigid. Isabella quickly returns her sword back into the scabbard.

    I have to crawl a bit to the left to grab his soul out of the air. Due to my hunger, I absorb it just as quickly as the previous two.

    I expected both of the men that fell to get back onto their feet, but only one did. The one that Isabella bit is still on the ground. I check with my mana vision, just to make sure I had not missed a soul.

    It turns out that he is still alive, but his glow is very faint. The bite must have been pretty bad, since he is unconscious on the ground, and still bleeding from his neck. He will probably die soon.

    The last kidnaper is the wisest of the three. At first I thought he was going to run, since he dropped his dagger. However, the fool only dropped his dagger, so he can pick up one of the dead bodyguard¡¯s swords. Did he not just see her kill of his companions? Well, at least he is not charging towards Isabella.

    My opinion of the woman has skyrocketed. She is not the crazy, suicidal person I thought her to be. But, why did she bite that guy? She could have just as easily poke him in the head with her sword. Her movements are certainly quick, much faster than your average human.

    I hear the snap of the crossbow again, then the thud from its impact. The crossbowman had been reloading his crossbow to fire that shot. I was not paying much attention to him. And, it seems I am not the only one who was not paying attention to him.

    Isabella does not look please that another bolt hit her. This time in the heart. Well, it was a good fight, she is as good as dead now.

    Impossible, she is still standing.

    The last attacker took this chance to strike Isabella, since she is distracted. His sword stabs out and into the stomach of the woman. The sword impales Isabella, and the man smiles, because it is obvious to him that he won. His smile quickly fades as Isabella draws her sword. The movement of Isabella¡¯s sword is like a blur. When the sword comes down, half of the man¡¯s arm is sliced off. The man yells as blood sprays out from his arm. However, his screaming did not last long. Isabella¡¯s swings her sword again, and this time it cleaves into the side of the man¡¯s head. The man is almost decapitated, his head hangs from his body by a piece of flesh. It takes a surprising amount of time for him to fall over, but he eventually did.

    The crossbowman is the smart one it would seem, because he is already running away. Which is funny when you think about it. I pull my hood over my head and made sure that my cloak covers my entire body.I also recheck my mask, to make sure that it is fully covering my face. The cloth that covers the eye sockets greatly helps with preventing my flaming blue eyes from being seen. It is transparent enough for a normal human to see through, but it does very little to impede my vision.

    It is about time I made myself known. I got up, and began running along the roof, so I can follow the crossbowman. I run across the scaffolding that connected the buildings of the alleyway, so I can grab the soul of the last man Isabella killed. I weave a spell as I run.

    I jump off the building and into the alleyway.

    The man falls as I land on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. He slides on the dirt and gravel as I am on top his back. We are ten meters away from the road. If I had waited any longer, he would have gotten away.

    ¡°What the-!¡±

    The man did not have time to finish the sentence. And, I did not care what he had to say. I press my hand onto his head, and cast the reverse repair spell. Each layer of his skin turns on his head turns to dust. The bone eventually follows after, then his brains. Within five seconds the spell is finished. A body without a head is all that remains. And, his soul which is already in my hand is being consume.After absorbing his soul, I drag, and drop, the body back into the middle of the alleyway.

    Isabella looks at me with curious eyes as she kneels, and bites into the neck of the dead man whose arm she had cut off. When she stands back up, her mouth is cheeks are covered with blood. She uses her arm to wipe the blood off her lips and cheeks. I watch her patiently as she takes the two bolts out of her body.

    I kick the first man that she had bitten. He is still unconscious. And, frankly I am astonished that he is not dead yet, I kick him on the head again on the head, this time harder. The mana around him twinkles, then goes out. Finally, some people just refuse to die. I feel the energy of his life course through me when I absorb his soul.

    ¡°Who are you.¡±Isabella asked, in a soothing, lustrous voice.

    I got a close look at her. And, damn the girl is sexy. I would of probably want to kidnap her as well. I noticed her breast first, I am not ashamed about that. Her tits are huge and she has no problem showing it off. She wore a halter dress with gladiator sandals, and has copper hair. She would have been even more beautiful, if not for the blood on her face.

    Her eyes are hazel, which is hard to miss, since she seems to enjoy staring me down with them.I start a speech spell, and altered a few of the sub threads. I want an Optimus Prime voice. At least, I am hoping to get as close to it as I can. I put a bit more mana into it, than my previous speech spell. I can feel the mana leave my body as I cast the spell.

    ¡°I am the gift.¡±

 The First King Chapter 17

    I am looking at a vampire right now. A vampire, I have to add vampires to the list. Why do things always get complicated? It is more frustrating because it only makes my plan more difficult. I now notice how pale Isabella is, it did nothing to take away from her attractiveness. However,the fangs are a clear indication. I watch the woman carefully. No doubt she is having a bad night, and here I am, ready to make it worst.

    ¡°A gift?¡±Isabella asked. She looks taken aback by the voice. I could not blame her, it even surprised me. I prepare another speech thread, copying the format of the last one.

    ¡°Yes, a gift.¡±

    ¡°What kind of gift.¡± Isabella said. She licks the blood off her fingers. I already know that talking to her is not going to solve anything, but I might as well try.

    ¡°The gift of change.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really beating around the bush here. Tell me what you want.¡±

    ¡°Take me to your boss¡±

    The woman bows over laughing. I cannot remember saying anything funny. I should have thought about what I am going to say, before coming down here. The laugh is uncontrolled and lasted almost fifteen seconds. I am not happy about being laughed at.

    ¡°Does no one in this damn part of the city know who they are messing with.¡±Isabella said. Her hand is still on the pommel of the sword. You would think that she would take it out of the sheath. But, she seems to like keeping her sword in her scabbard.

    Judging by how she killed the two others, she seemed to only unsheathe the sword to strike to kill. Her sword movements are quick. Since becoming a skeleton, I know my strength and speed has improved, but I am unsure about testing that speed and strength against her.

    I shrug, not really caring what she thought. And, I really did not care who I messed with. I start to weave a very impressive speech spell. I have gotten used to weaving speech spells, to the point that, simple words and sentences are possible. I try to keep the sentences simple, and use basic words. The spell I am weaving is a speech spell, but it is more compact and took much longer to weave.

    I draw my khopesh slowly, and let it hang at my side. Isabella moves closer, she looks frustrated by my presence. The vampire began to charge, and damn she is swift. If not for the souls I¡¯ve previously absorbed, I wasn¡¯t sure I could raise my hand in time.

    I unleashed the speech weave. A huge explosion of sound burst fought from my hand. I change the threads, so that the sound would follow the path of my hand, instead of spreading out in a circle. This is so the sound will be contained, which made it more effect when it hit the vampire¡¯s body. It also avoided anyone who is not near the sound ray. Which means that it cannot be heard outside of the sound wave

    Isabella hands move to cover her ears, but that did very little. She trips and rolls over several times. Her whole world is probably shaking. I am hoping she is a vampire, and not some immortal, skeleton slaying beast. At least then it would be a race, I am somewhat familiar with. And, I am betting her hearing is quite fucked right now. Though that spell took a good chunk of mana,and it takes too long to weave. Though, it was totally worth it. Another spell to add to my arsenal.

    I thought about using the reverse repair spell, butI do not want to kill her. However,she is a vampire, how would I even kill her if it I need to. Do I stab her with a stake in the heart? Or, pray while holding up whatever this world''s version of a cross is. Or, is it the supernatural way, slice her heads off.

    I watch as Isabella attempts to push herself off the ground. Her knees and elbows are bloody and scraped from her fall. I step on her elbow,breaking her arm. She did not scream, insteadshe just drops onto the ground.

    ¡°Real nice there, do you treat all the ladies like that?¡± Isabella said, her words are like a whip. I should have stepped on her face, maybe then she would have stayed quiet. I wanted to sigh. I want to kill her, but I have to think of the bigger picture. I do not have anything to lose, besides my lifeof course, if I can even call this life. If it is possible to take control of one of these gangs then getting souls when I need them will be easy.

    No one would notice afew missing criminals every now and then. It will definitely be nice to have some people to lord over. I did already have Thea and Jax, they seem like they would follow most things I tell them to do. The problem is, I just did not know what I can and cannot tell them to do. Anyway, back to business, I have a vampire to break, literally.

    ¡°Just the blood sucking ones.¡±I said to her, casting a quick speech spell.

    ¡°Well, now I really have to kill you since you saw that.¡±Isabella said, in a soft voice. I keep quiet even though I want to laugh a bit. Technically speaking, I am already dead.

    I move around her body, so I can break her other arm. But, with her remaining arm, she twists her body, spinning and pushing herself up to her leg. Damn, she is good. I hastily take several steps backwards; it is best to give her some distance. That is something the dead people lying on the ground did not do.

    I hold the khopesh steady in front of me with one hand. I could feel the cold metal handle of the khopesh, through my gloved gauntlets. I start to weave another speech spell, just in case I might need it.

    Isabella charges towards me. Instead of running towards me in a straight line, she zig zagged towards me. She is probably trying to make it difficult for me to hit her another spell.

    I cast the spell, changing the threads of the spell, so the sound can spread out. It would be reduced but she could not dodge this. It didn¡¯t work. She raises her hands to her ears, making the spell is too weak to affect her.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    I have no choice. This fight would be sword to sword. I take two steps backwards, then another two. I want to give myself some space and hopefully even half a second of time extra. Isabella draws her sword, she is swift, but I can see gleam of the sword as it rapidly glides through the moonlight.

    I parry Isabella¡¯s sword stroke. The knight¡¯s memories push forth to the forefront of my mind. Sparks erupted from our sword clash. Isabella swingsagain and I block her sword again. The sound of steel clashing with steel fills the air.

    However, I am being push back. She is better at using the sword than I. I have to take a risk, if I want to subdue her. I let my guard down purposely, letting my block become lazy and slow. Isabella feinted to the left, and I try to block, but her sword is already coming at my right.

    I feel the touch of cold steel after it rips through my cloak, and slides between my ribs. Isabella went for my heart, sly bitch. I even pretending to be surprised, shaking a little to act as if it had been actually hurt.

    ¡°Tonight has been fun mage. I hope you aren''t as stupid in the next life.¡±Isabella said, in that same soft, flirty voice.

    I cast a quick, simple, but long speech spell.

    I laugh. I just laughed, loud and clear enough for her to hear. I had lots of fun making that laugh spell. I bet it is fun when the tables get turned.

    ¡°Oh, that tickles¡±I said, casting another quick speech spell. I think the surprise on her face is the best emotion she has shown tonight. I reach out quickly, and hold onto her hand. I bring the edge of my khopesh down onto her arm. I slice her arm in half, there is not much blood spurting about, it must be a vampire thing.

    I push Isabella back with my hand. The shock on her face is still there. She trips after several bad steps back, and falls on the dirt and gravel that is the ground. I walk up to her, and put my foot on her stomach, holding her down. I slide my khopesh back into the sheath, inside my cloak. I made sure to keep my exposed bones. Not that I care if she did see me like this, but it could jeopardize her telling me what I want.

    ¡°Shit! Who are you!¡± Isabella shouted. Then she looks over me. Her eye brows raise in surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t have a heart beat¡­. are you-¡±

    ¡°I told you. I¡¯m the gift.¡±

    ¡°Who sent you?¡±

    ¡°No one sends me anywhere.¡±

    ¡°You expect me to believe that you¡¯re attacking a syndicate by yourself.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Well-¡±

    ¡°Enough! Take me to your leader.¡±

    ¡°At least carry me out for dinner first.¡±She said, then tries to get up. Is she really trying to flirt with me in a time like this. I push her back down with my feet. She did not seem annoyed by it, just interested in looking at me. I move my other leg atop her foot, then I press it down on her leg and broke her bone as I stand on top of her.

    ¡°That feels so good. You certainly know how to make me tingle inside.¡±She said in the same flirty voice. This is starting to get frustrating. I had a vampire who did not feel pain. Maybe she did feel pain and just loves it too much. A masochist vampire, I just had to find the hardest person to threaten. I move my foot up more, and broke another part of her leg.

    ¡°You know, you got some balls. I do like a man with a nice pair of balls, but this is getting nowhere, you might as well break all my bones, I¡¯m not carrying you to the Don.¡±Isabella said, I think she lost the will to even get up. She is probably hoping I would give up, I still had a lot of night left, and many more bones to break.

    I start breaking her bones, one by one. I crack her ribs, and break her legs, and several places on her arm and shoulder. Her face looks please after I am done.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would take me seriously.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your mistake¡±

    ¡° Look, we can still turn this around, I can pay you, or we could always go back to my place, if you''re interested in something else¡­You don¡¯t have any more bones to break.¡±She said,returning to that soft flirty voice. Her words gave me an idea. I can break all the bones I want. If she was going to play this waiting game, then I could to as well. I can simply heal a couple of her bones, and break them all over again. I step off Isabella.

    I began to weave a healing spell. Since I am more proficient in healing bone threads than the repair threads, so the weaving is quicker compared to healing the bear. I did not have to hold Isabella down. She is practically paralyzed now, vampire or not, breaking so many bones will stop you from moving. I pressed my hands against her leg.

    ¡°Well, we can do some of the foot stuff, if that¡¯s what gets you on.¡±Isabella said.

    I unleashed my healing spell on her leg. I am not too concerned about the waste of mana. I would quite a bit, to heal all the breaks. I had gathered quite a bit of mana from the six souls I absorbed, so it did not bother me. This would have to be a good investment of course.

    Isabella began to scream. Which startled me. She screams and screams, begging for it to stop. It is the first time she looks at me with terror and fear in her eyes. As if I am a monster. This is genuine fear and horror. And, the fact that she cannot run, only makes it worst. When I remove my hand her flesh looks burnt. Her skin looks like red hot charcoal; she is still screaming even though the spell had finished almost two minutes ago. What is going on? All I did was try to heal her.

    ¡°PLEASE! Stop, I¡¯ll take you, I¡¯ll take you! Just make it stop ancient one, make it stop!¡±Isabella yelled, as her flesh burnt.

 The First King Chapter 18

    It seems as if Isabella would be screaming forever, but eventually her skin cools, but her flesh is still burnt. The healing spell I cast, was not even that strong. I did not put anywhere near as much mana as I used on regenerating my bone. I feel stupid breaking all her bones now. She must have some way to heal herself. Vampires usually do. Her leg wounds are not healing, though. I check her chest and shoulder. The wounds from the bolts are no longer there. As well, as the stab on her side.

    ¡°Please ancient one, blood! Anything for blood!¡±Isabella said. She gasps, for air. Her words sound like someone who is dehydrated.

    I honestly did not know healing her would be so effective a way to kill her. Vampires are hurt by healing magic?

    I scan the area for the nearest body. Finding one, I lift it up, it is the same body of the man that I kicked to death. I drag him over to Isabella, and I lift him by his legs, so I can hold him upside down.

    I figure his heart would not be beating anymore, so gravity would have to help the blood flow. I pull his head to the right, and watched as the blood pours out from the corpse¡¯s neck

    Isabella licks the blood the pours onto her lips, and over her cheeks, greedily. It is several minutes before the body stops dripping of blood. I watch Isabella as her broken leg and arm heals. Her deformed figure starts to straighten as her bones mend.Despite that, she still wants more blood.

    Isabella crawls, with only her one leg and hand, since those are her only two limbs that are healed. She crawls until she reaches the dead crossbowman. I watch her bite down onto his neck. She sucks up the man¡¯s blood, licking until there is no more blood to lick.

    She stretched to reach for her arm,which I had cut off. It is impressive to watch while her hand her arm, reattach itself to her elbow. I watched her arm curiously, as it mended and rejoined with her elbow. Watcher her lick up blood made me think of the world I am currently in. I felt nothing breaking Isabella¡¯s bones.

    Back on Earth the idea would be more than inhuman to me. For the most part of my childhood, I was raised by my mother. Thinking back on those days reminded me of my step dad, who would often beat her, whenever they got into arguments. Since then, I have never been able to hurt a woman, at least no physically. It was the fear of becoming like my step that prevented me. But now, those feelings were gone. And, I have to remember that I am no longer the person I once was.

    When did I start to lack my feelings? The rights and the wrongs that I have been thought, seem like a frivolous thing now. I am sure now that I have been changed. Maybe it was coming to this world, or being a skeleton that changed me. I still do not know how I even became a skeleton. My memories start on that battlefield. I had to be somewhere before I arrived on those hills.

    Isabella did not stop after the second corpse. She began to suck another one dry. I guess she is thirsty. However, it is starting to become grotesque. She did not look beautiful covered in blood. And, her dress is now ruined. I wait patiently, and it takes some time, but finally she finishes sucking the third body dry. At least her definition of empty, the problem is usually

    ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since blood has tasted this good.¡±Isabella said, dropping the body to the ground. She stretched her hands out towards the moon, then brought it back down. She stands up, and walks to her sword, which had fallen. She picks it up, sheathed the blade.

    ¡°I got to give it to you. It¡¯s been awhile since a man made me scream so loud.¡±Isabella said. I want to sigh. Her personality is becoming rather obvious, all her words seem geared towards flirting. I am not sure what I else I was expecting from a masochist vampire. We gaze at each other in silence. I take this time to prepare a speech spell.

    ¡°Just take me to your boss.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but I don¡¯t know who, or what you are. If I take you back to the compound and you die, then it¡¯s my head rolling next.¡±

    ¡°You should be worrying about your friends.¡±

    ¡°Good thing I don¡¯t have any. But, you can be my first.¡±Isabella said. I found myself not believing her. I check her body over with my mana sight, to see what color it would be.

    This is the first time I have seen someone with a burgundy glow around them. Was this because Isabella is a vampire? Most likely, but I rather wait till I see another vampire to make such a claim.

    ¡°Just walk, before I lose my patience again.¡±I said. She watches me closely, then she sighs and turns around to walk forward. I sheath my khopesh, but I did so with hesitation. I still do not trust her. However, I do not have to wonder, about how to kill a vampire now. If a healing spell that was so weak could cause that amount of pain to Isabella, then I can only imagine what a true healing spell would do.

    We emerge onto the empty streets of the city. The light from the lantern poles, Illuminate the brick road. Isabella walks briskly, she constantly looks from left to right. It is probably because she wants to avoid the city guards. I soon take up the habit as well, since I doubt she could flirt her way out of being covered in blood.

    ¡°How many of you are there?¡±I asked, casting a speech spell.

    ¡°How many? If you mean humans, then somewhere around a hundred. That¡¯s just for the compound. We have several establishments in South East Talon. If you meant well, vampires, then maybe about a dozen right now. There are others, but the Don had to send a couple to the capital.¡±Isabella said, as I try to keep up with her. We had taken a right and then a left down an alleyway.

    ¡°And your leader is also one?¡±I asked curiously. I don¡¯t want any surprises.

    ¡°Yeah, he is an Ancient. He is also extremely old and terrifying¡±

    ¡°Why is he an Ancient?¡±

    ¡°Because he is of clan venture, his sire is a direct bloodline from one of the Immortals.¡±Isabella explained. I am not sure what she meant by bloodline and immortals. The term sire was a common one with vampires. Basically, a really badass vampire created him, I think that¡¯s what she was trying to say.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been around for some time.¡±I said, casting a quick speech thread. She called me an ancient before. It seems to be why she fears me the most. And, fear is the main reason why she is obeying me right now. Unfortunately, again I must play the part of someone that I am not.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°You were sleeping? How old are you?¡±

    ¡°When I was alive, the world looked different.¡±I said, walking behind her, and trying to keep up. I would have said more, but I did not possess the skill to go into so much detail with the sound thread. She glances back at me, and I can see the concern in her eyes. I think she is trying to imagine how long ago that would be. She turns around, then continues to walk.

    The surrounding area began to change. These houses look abandon and there are even some wooden structures, that I determine to be shanties. We are eventually come to the end of the road, which ends with a large warehouse.

    The gate to the warehouse is wide open, and there is a dried-out fountain in the middle of a roundabout. The gates have two guard boots near it, but no one is inside them. However, I did notice ten men outside. Isabella stops, then she retreats behind me at the sight of them.

    ¡°What is the problem?¡±I asked.

    ¡°You said to lead you. You¡¯re here.¡± Isabella said. She is too worried about losing her own life to continue. But, I do not trust her. For all I know, she can decide to take off my head as soon as I walk in front of her. I can kill her, but I have already put her through enough. And, she may have some uses if I am to become her boss. I start to weave a speech spell.

    ¡°Alright, just keep in mind, if you attack me again, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± She did not reply at first. I think she was having a flashback.

    ¡°Do I make myself clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes ancient one.¡±She said after much reflection. I turn around and spot ten figures. Near the entrance of the building that looks, at least to me like a warehouse.

    I can hear the footsteps of Isabella as she backs away. She seems to have changed her opening of me. Change is inevitable. I will have to clean this place up, looks like a mess.

    Strange enough, I thought about Isaac. I did say I would travel with him to the Spire of Vatra. However, I have to plan for my future in this world and I am not going to follow around a child for the rest of my existence. That does not mean that I will break my promise to him, but now that I found another way to gain information. And, potential people to rule over, to transport me wherever I want. It made little sense to follow him wherever he goes. After all, it was always a temporary plan.

    As I got closer, details began to pop out to me. They look like they are playing some game. Obviously, they are gambling, I can hear coins being flip on top of the barrel they gathered around. However, only three of them are truly gambling, the others are just there to spectate. Except for two men, who are dutifully guarding the large doors, situated atop some stairs. They seem to take their job of guarding the front more seriously.

    ¡°Ha! my lucky day.¡±The rough voice of man said. I can see very little between the spaces of the gathered men, but it did look like he just threw a dice. For some reason this seems to have cause an argument.

    The two men who are guarding the door, spot me first. Their hands shift to their sword, or daggers. I cannot tell which weapon they have from this distance. I stop moving closer.

    I had my plans, and this is going to be another risk. But, at this point I had nothing loose, except my life. Or you can even say, risk my death. I began to weave a speech thread, anticipating what they would ask.

    ¡°Who are you.¡± One of the men, who is guarding the door said. He moves onto. All ten men have leather armor, though it looks worn out. Each one of them wears a different style of armor. Though, all of their leather armor is brown.

    ¡°I am death, swift and sure.¡±I said, quickly preparing another speech spell. I try to avoid the making sentences too long. Long sentences feel like I am stacking blocks, the longer the sentence, then the higher chance of the spell failing from a mistake.

    ¡°Take me to your Don.¡±I said, casting another quick speech spell.

    ¡°Yo, Philip, who is this.¡±One of the men around the barrel said. It would seem that my words did not gain much recognition. I think drastic measures would have to be taken.

    ¡°Not sure, no one has any scheduled meeting with the Dontoday.¡±One of the guards by the door replied.

    ¡°Ruff, you¡¯re the new, so take him away. If he doesn¡¯t want to go, then stab him. I don''t care.¡±I recognize this voice, it was from the man who threw the dice.

    One of the men around the barrel moves towards me, I figure this must be Ruff. He looks to be now entering his twenties. He has a diamond-shape face with dark blue, close-set eyes. His hair is black and wavy, and he is tall, taller than me at least.

    I draw my khopesh, and on the ground, I draw a straight line from in front of me.

    ¡°Anyone who crosses the line, disappears¡±I said through the use of a speech spell. I began to prepare another spell as well. This is going to be a strong spell, and it is going to cost a chunk of mana.

    Ruff did not listen to my words. I am not sure why I even expected him too. Ruff draws his short sword, after he sees the khopesh in my hand. He moves the sword from side to side. I remember this technique from the memories of the first knight I absorbed. It is meant to make your strike appear unpredictable. It is not a bad technique. However, the person using it is just bad at it.Instead of trying to confuse me, all it really did is leave his guard open.

    He overextends his hand, as he reached out to jab at me with his sword. I slash at his arm with my khopesh. The blade dug half into his arm, and the man yells in pain after he drops his sword. My left hand flew out from below my cloak. I grab his head, and squeeze tightly.

    I unleash an extremely powerful reverse repair spell. The spell was modified to encompass the entire body. It is unnecessary, since only the head needs to be erase to kill a man. But, its after effects is what I want. The spell is more spreads throughout the body, so it is not instant. The man¡¯s skin began to vanish first, then after his skin, his flesh. By now the man is already dead, but his bones are still turning to dust under the effects of the spell. It looks like he was slowly fading away. After it was done, all that was left of the man is the leather armor and his clothes.

    ¡°What the fuck happened to Ruff!¡±

    ¡°Nehron¡¯s balls!¡±

    ¡°A mage!¡±

    ¡°He just vanished!¡±

    I watch as all of them drew their weapons. It is impressive how fast their impression of me changes. I scan them over with my mana sight. They were all blue, no burgundy colors. This should not be a problem then. I grab onto the soul of Ruff, and absorb it, this should help make up for the mana I just used. I began to weave another speech spell.

    ¡°You go Philip, you¡¯re good with that sword.¡± The man who threw the dice said. Philip appears unsure of what to do. He gazes at the faces of his companions, and everyone is looking at him. He eventually sucks in his fear, and let pride and duty take over. Philip walks in front of his group, who are all now in a straight line facing towards me.

    ¡°The next person who crosses this line,will vanish¡±I said, then I start to weave another reverse repair spell. Just as powerful as the last one.

 The First King Chapter 19

    Philip did not last long. He tried to rush at me. At first I am startle by the sudden charge, but I quickly regain my composure. I block Philip¡¯s sword with my Khopesh, the force of the impact is strong enough that Philip¡¯s sword drops out of his hand, and flies into the empty fountain.

    I gaze at him, and I can see the fear in his eyes. His handsshake, and he was about to take a step back, but my arm shoots forward like a snake. I feel the rush of energy move into my fingertips, as I grab onto his head.

    Philip starts to vanish, layer by layer as the spell moves downward. The weaving is useful when it comes to creating fear. However, it is costly, as much of an ogre¡¯s soul. Which means, I will only have enough mana to do this a few more times.

    The only thing that remains from Philip is his clothes, and the leather armor. His soul is fill with pride, and sadness. Sadness for a son lost, and content that he is no longer feeling the pain of a lost child because of poverty.

    Another two charge forward at me, but I anticipate their charge. By this time, I am preparing a sound spell to stop them.

    One of them is already over the line by the time I am finish weaving the spell. His sword is on a path to cut into my neck. I raise my hand to block the blow; using my khopesh would take to long, and it would leave openings in my stance. The man is quick, but his swing is too weak. His blade cuts into leather gauntlets, but did not cut through to my bone. I feel only the edge of the sword grazing against my bone.

    I release the spell, and an explosion of deafening sound burst forth from my hand. I made sound spell to replicate the sound of an explosion, and I am thankful that I have no ears to be physically affected by the sound. Both of the men who charged at me, drop their swords and move their hands to their ears.

    I did not hear their yells, the sound from the spell had drowned that out, and even now it still echoes. They both drop to their knees, and try to get back up, but they only fall back down. I can see, and tell that they are disoriented. Their words are gibberish when they try to speak.

    Those that did not charge at me, are also affected by the spell. Four of which are on their knees, while the other three are still struggling to not fall. They all have their hands cupped around their ears, and all of them are shouting or cursing. Of course, this means that they dropped their weapons.

    Not letting this opportunity go to waste, I begin to form threads.

    I force all my mental processing into forming a reverse repair spell, and I manage to do it within roughly five to ten seconds. By the time another five seconds passed by, my hand is already on the head of the man who crossed the line. I unleash the spell, and watch him vanish, from head to toe. He is able to get a few screams before his head vanishes. And, too my benefit, the screams most likely made the others terrified.

    After the spell takes full effect, I lift my hand off his head. Once again, only the leather armor and clothes remain on the ground. This soul tastes bitter, and it is fill with anger. I can see pictures from the man''s life as I absorb his soul. Something in me feels happy I killed him, he was a child murderer.

    I have recently been seeing images from the souls I absorb. Images from their life. Though, this does not seem to be the case with all souls. I began to prepare another reserve repair spell.

    The second man who charged towards me, is still trying to stand back up. He was closer to the spell, so he suffered more of an impact than the others.

    The sound must have affected the man¡¯s brain, because even though he is still unbalanced, he charges towards me after picking his sword up. You would think that after seeing such display of magic, he would be more cautious. Why are people so quick to be stupid? I am patient with stupidity, but not with people who are proud of it.He swings at me pathetically, I did not even need the knight¡¯s memories to block it.

    I deflect the man¡¯s sword with my khopesh, then I punch him with my left hand. The punch is for being stupid, and also to act as a medium for the reverse repair spell. My spell unleashes as my hand made contact with his flesh. Within a few seconds, the only thing remaining of him is his armor, and clothes. Just like with the previous three.

    I can see the pictures of the man¡¯s life, as I absorb his soul. It is like watching a slideshow, and I am starting to notice that these images seem to best describe the soul of the person. The man was a sheep, and all he ever did was what people told him to do. I am not sure if I should give him pity.

    Of the ten men, now only six remain. The explosion appears to still be ringing their ears, because they are arguing about how difficult it is to hear. I find the whole charade to be comedy.

    Panic among the six remining men is slowly rising. It is one thing to die, it is another thing to completely vanish. The unknown made them fear. And, fear is what I am using, hopefully they will not find out that I can¡¯t do this much longer. Maybe I can simply change it, so that that only the head vanishes instead of the entire body. It would save me the large amount of mana required to do the spell. A headless man would generate some fear, but a man that completely vanished right before your eyes is different.

    ¡°Someone call the captain.¡±One of them shouts. On close inspection, it is man that threw the dice who spoke. His eyes quickly glance at me, then back at his group, who are all now rushing inside. After seeing the rush to escape, he shouts,¡±Not all of you!¡±

    The group eventuallyreorganizes themselves, and only one man goes inside, through the doors. I put my mind to thinking of an escape plan if things got worst. It¡¯s always good to have a plan for an escape in a situation like this. I take a step forward just to test them. In response, the five men all take a step back.

    I am actually surprised they all have not decided to attack me all at once. Maybe they only care about themselves, and rather have someone else take the risk. The ones who were willing risk, are already dead now.And, only these remain, the cowards.

    Most of this gang¡¯s members are probably inside. It is late in the night, so I am assuming they would be sleeping. This would explain the lack of people guarding.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I am okay with waiting; it gives me enough time to think of what I will do next, and I only want to kill those who step across the line. Several minutes later, the man who was sent inside to find the captain returns.

    He returns with a smirk on his face, which is a far comparison to the horror he had shown before. He moves to join his five companions. Their faces all change to one of relief at the sight of his return. I cannot wait to wipe that smirk off his faces.

    Three figures emerge from the warehouse entrance.

    The first of the three is a man, and just like the one behind him, he has black hair. His eyes are light grey, and he wears a grey leather vest. Black segmented pauldron, with short spikes, covers his right shoulder and arm. He has one gauntlet, made of metal with spiked finger tips. With the matching grey pants, and shoes, it looks as though he is wearing a tuxedo, he did not have a bow tie, though. I find that I like both his gauntlet and shoulder armor. They are better than anything I currently have.

    The next vampire, who is walking behind the first, is dress much the same, except without the pauldron and gauntlet. And, he had an oblong face, with scars on one side of his cheek.

    However, the woman next to him looks like she forgot she had on Halloween costume. She looks awfully gothic, with her red, and black hair, and a black gown that matched. It looks like she is wearing neck choker, filled with small pearls. They are all pale, which raises a few red flags.

    As I use my mana vision to focus on the three newcomers, the burgundy glow around them becomes more pronounce. Based on what I know from Isabella, I can determine that these are not humans. I began to imagine how a vampire soul would taste. I hope it did not taste like blood. It probably did.

    I start weaving a spell. Both the repair,and bone threadsare combine, and with right sub-thread tweaks, they form the weaving of the healing spell. The intricate patterns of the threads as they wrap around my arm fascinates me. It is an odd time to appreciate the beauty of magic. I looks just like how I weaved it in my mind.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being interrupted when I¡¯m having a meal.¡±The vampire who wears the pauldron said, with an orotund voice. He moves in front of the straight-line formation. The six men stiffen their shoulders, and stand up straight when they see him pass by.

    ¡°I¡¯m told you are a mage, the Shrouded can always use a mage. The schools seem to have a monopoly on them.¡±The vampire looks at me, then gradually approaches me. I think he is expecting a reply.He lifts a hand, signaling the two vampires behind him to stop. They do, and patiently wait at the front of the formation of guards.

    ¡°The Shrouded pay well, for any services rendered.¡±He said again. He waits for my reply again, and appears disappointed when I did not give him one. I cannot think of any reason I would want to talk to him.

    He appears to be someone who is high in their hierarchy. However, the real reason I did not talk to him, is because I cannot. I have not yet cast the healing spell yet, and to my knowledge, weaving two spells at once is impossible, because no one has more than one soul. I know how this conversation would end. I take several steps away from him, since I am not sure how fast he is, and at the same time, it is also a taunt.

    ¡°Very well, have it your way. I am going to make this painful.¡±He said in frustration. With great dexterity, and lightning speed, he draws both his swords. Just my luck, a dual sword wielding vampire.

    He moves forward like a blur. In response, I take two quick steps back, and away from the piles of clothes and armour before my feet. He leaps over the across the line I drew, and over the piles of clothes and armor. His is lacks caution, and most likely underestimates me. That is good, let him think that I am weak.

    He is still in midair, his leap is wide, and I should have expected such an inhuman jump. He spins around while he is still in the air, both his swords are aiming for my neck. As soon as he lands, my khopesh meets his blades in a clash of steel.

    He is blinding fast when he moves, but his swordsmanship he is not as good as Isabella. Or, maybe he is holding back something. Our blades dance in the air, as we clash and clash, and I am slowly being pushed back, because it is difficult to hold this weaving while fighting with a sword. But something weird is happening. The man sword strokes become sluggish, and his grey eyes occasionally shift to my chest. He suddenly stops, and takes a step back.

    My man¡¯s eyes raise in a sudden realization. I am not sure what happened, but something causes the man to turn around, and be was about to flee. But, I grab the back of his shirt, and I pull him back to me.

    ¡°He has no heartbeat! RUN! He is an Ancient! Run you fools!¡±The man shouts. His two vampire companions waste no time; they return inside the warehouse with all haste. Seeing them flee, made the other six vanish into the warehouse as well. My khopesh impales him from behind, and out through his stomach. To my surprise, and the horror of his companions, he screams. Which was interesting to note since I expected him to feel nothing from that. I let go of the khopesh, and move my hand against his chest.

    I unleash the healing spell, and I can feel the mana flow out from my soul. Within a second the man¡¯s chest illuminates with a bright yellow glow, then it turns to a dark red. The red spreads across his body, until he looks like a hot coal. Then he explodes with a widespread release of smoke, and ash. I grabbed his soul before it can float away.

    His soul his soul is large, almost ten times the size of a human¡¯s soul, but still not as large as a priest. I begin to suck it in, but it refuses me. This was the first time this happened. I squeezed it harder in the palm of my hands. But, the soul still did not want to be absorbed. I grow angry, and I try to restrain my anger, before I lose control of myself like I did in forest. Despite that my rage only flares, and the rage of the Skeleton once gains control.

    ¡°Come to me, now!¡±I yell at the burgundy soul,as though I am talking to Nia.

    I can feel the soul give way, and I absorb it in the palm of my hand. It tastes sweet, and of course, like blood. The energy fizzles through me. And, I begin to feel a change within me after I fully absorb the soul. Something is certainly changing in me, but it is subtle. I sense the change coursing through both my bones, and my soul.

    The smoke is thick, and I cannot see anything after a certain distance. I pick up my khopesh off the ground, and wait for this smokescreen to clear.

    When the smoke clears. I take quick steps back from the monster that is someone standing in front of me. I scan the area, this is bad. I am surrounded by figures. The mana around them is burgundy in color.

    This must be the twelve that Isabella talked about, well, they areelevennow.

    I look at the monster directly before, he is about ten feet away. On closer inspection, I can tell that it is not a monster but just a man, a really old looking man. The blood dripping out his mouth is the first thing I see. and he is the palest person I have ever met. Though, he looks more white than pale. He wears a gold, and black robe, which matches his blonde hair. The man did not blink; his red eyes stay focus on me. Just like he gazes at me, I gaze at his face, which is cracked and wrinkled from his age. He looks too skinny, way too skinny to be alive. His voice is tired, and condescending when he speaks.

    ¡°I felt him die. You have broken several laws of ours, therefore I must put you down like the rabid dog you are.¡±

 The First King Chapter 20

    Time around me seems appears to slow down along with the incoming vampire but, I still find his movements hard to follow. The memories from the knight kicks in almost instinctively and I raise my sword to block his. The vampire leader lashes out with his sword again after I block his strike and our swords lock togetherjust long enough for me to see black cutlass in his right which is inscribed with a strange pattern all along the center of the blade.

    Maybe I will be need that escape plan after all, which is basically a strategic retreat. Sadly enough I am surrounded, so that plan appears to be no longer viable.

    He strikes with his sword again and our blades connect together once more. My entire body feels fill with power as I think of what I should do to get out of this situation alive. Well not alive since I am technically dead but you know what I mean.

    I can use the reverse repair spell, and simply just make the bastard vanish. Though, it would certainly take some time to form the spell and he would need to be stationary for the spell to actually work to its fullest effect. It is already hard and dangerous enough to heal a moving target whih would make it impossible to make one vanish. If this vampire is their leader, then he would be faster than Isabella, and most likely even faster than the vampire I just killed.

    What strikes me the most is that the man to actually look like an old version of Dracula.

    I start to form a repair, stop, bone, and stitch thread. I combine them to form a weaving, that becomes the healing spell. The only problem with weaving a spell is that it takes a lot of focus. I amsure most mages would find it beyond their ability to both cast a spell, and guard against attacks from a sword.

    Time isstill slower than I am use to it being, or maybe I am just that fast, and everyone else is slow. Another slash comes from the cutlass to the right, and it is barelydeflected it with my khopesh.

    A kick from the right, which I someone did not see, sends me sliding to the left. But, just before the impact, I am able to brace myself which prevents me from falling over. The kick was strong, and luckily, thanks to the dry dirt on the ground, it made me slide away from the man. I am still able to maintain the weaving, and none of my bones are broken.

    The problem with being pushed away by the kick, is that it leaves openings in my stance. These openings are currently now about be exploited.

    The man dashes forward to me, his hands flailing behind him, I find his movements odd, though it does make his strikes harder to predict. It reminds me of a ninja, and it makes his next strike almost unpredictable, until it¡¯s already coming for you. Due to his hands waving, the cutlass in his hand, also waves just as much, and it looks as though it could drop from his hand any second. It wouldbe very anticlimactic if he did.

    I lean back, curving my dead body so I can press one hand onto the gravel. I cannot form a proper block in time, so I my only choice is to dodge like my life depended on it, because it did. The cutlass passes directly above me; it would have surely cut through my cloak, and break my bones. The Ancient vampire, reverses his cutlass, as he let out a grunt. He swings again, this time for my legs. I swiftly do a cartwheel with one hand, just before the sword passed inches away from my skull. The swing is so powerful, that I can hear the wind it makes as his blade swipes by, and see the dust it raises.

    I feel pride in my quick thinking, as I come down on my feet. But my pride quickly fades, as I see the gleam of the cutlass coming at me again. I raise my khopesh this time to block his cutlass.

    Our blades connect and I push against his cutlass with one hand on the dull side of my khopesh. He stumbles back, and I strike at him.

    Sparks erupt from the blades, unfortunately, my khopesh is block by his cutlass. And, both our blades recoiled from the powerful impact. He takes a step back, then dashes forward towards me again. I charge towards him this time, I will not let him think that I am weak. We clash once again in a dance of sword strikes.

    I am amazed by how fast I am. I expected the great vampire lord to be more swift. Isabella is already beyond human speed when we fought, and the vampire whose soul I sucked inwas even quicker than her. If this is the leader, then he should be even faster. Why ishe moving at the speedofa normal human?Maybe it has something to do with this warped sense of time.

    I swing at him with my khopesh, aiming for the vampire¡¯s head this time. He blocks my sword, and throws a punch at my face. I lift my left hand, and block the blow. I return a punch of my own at his face. Let¡¯s see how he likes it.

    The punch connects directly on the man¡¯s jaw, and I amactually surprise that worked. The punch sends the vampire reeling back till he falls on the ground.

    I must have gotten stronger. I do not remember my punches being this strong back on Earth. The vampires in the circle begin to whisper in disbelief.

    The vampire yells in frustration. I notice the dark burgundy color of the vampire¡¯s mana, brighten suddenly. I took several steps backwards. If there isone thing I know in this world, you have to be weary of the unknown. Of course, since I know almost nothing, I¡¯m weary of everything.

    He takes his time to get off the ground. I mentally kick myself, that would have been a great chance to attack him.

    ¡°I have underestimated you. That mistake will not happen again.¡±The vampire boss said, then he spits out blood onto the dry earth. He spoke calmly, but I sensed the resentment in his tone.

    I charge forward. It is time to go on the offense. Our swords meet with sparks once again. He launches a kick towards my face. The power of the kick pushes me to the side, but I grab onto his arm as I am pushed away.

    With great anticipation, I unleash the healing spell that I have been holding all this time.

    I can feel his skin blister, and turn flame hot, but the Ancient vampire quickly pulls his arm away before my healing spell could fully cover his entire body. However, his arm is already crackling with fire.

    Ihoped he would have screamed. It would have helped todemoralizethe surrounding vampires, which would have made becoming their new leader much easier.

    His hand begins to break apart, and eventually falls off like the end of a cigarette. His shatters on the ground, and caused a small dust cloud after.

    He appears to have very little care for the loss of a hand. Does he also have the same ability as Isabella? I suppose a hand, or any limb in general would be of little concern to him. Especially if he can simply grow them back from drinking blood.

    He slides the cutlass back into its scabbard. I am still wondering why I am not being mob right now. The vampire mentioned something about broken laws. Laws for vampires? Never have I played any game, or read any book, where vampires had laws.

    He advances towards me again, his movements are quicker than before. He starts to make what looks to be symbols, with his one free hand. Whatever, he is doing made his burgundy glow brighter, and it looks almost sanguine in color now. He moves his hand near his mouth, and continues to make the weird symbols with his fingers.

    The vampire boss jumps high into the air, and his jump reaches almost fifteen feet. At the height of his jump, he sucks in all the air that his lungs would allow.

    Then, looking down at me, fire burst forth from his mouth. The flames shoot towards me in a spiral stream.

    Isabella watches the spectacle before her. She is inside the room of a rundown building opposite the warehouse. She has never seen a fight between two Ancients before. To even consider that she had actually fought with an Ancient, and survived, ismore than she had ever hope to achieve at such a young age. The man had called himself a gift. A gift of change. Isabella wonders what change he could bring. The man could have easily killed her. Isabella wraps her arms around herself, so she can squeeze and hugs herself as she wiggles.

    She sighs, just the thought of him breaking all her bones, made her a bit wet. Isabella found the new Ancient to bemore interesting than Vicktor.Well, as interesting as an Ancient could be,she thought. They are after all at least hundreds of years old. Vicktor waseven part of the royal bloodline of Talon¡ªbefore it was ultimately conquered by Almeria¡ª he was the prince at the time, and would have been king as well, but he was given the gift by an immortal.

    Victor isstill angry about the goblin wars. One hundred, and fifty years is a long time to hold a grudge, even for a five-hundred-year-old vampire.

    She didn¡¯t like Vicktor, he issuch a prune.

    Ever since he had waken ¡ª about two months ago ¡ª all he ever did istell us what to do without explaining why.It ishis right, we all descend from Vicktor, so he is like our father in a way,she thought.

    Isabella fears that she isthe only one who had these thoughts. She knowsVicktor executes those he could not control, or those who would not obey.

    Isabella isscared she would die. She had been told Vicktor could read thoughts. Fear of death is what led her to choose this life to begin with. She had never felt real genuine fear in a long time. Pain isalways the cause of her fear, but because of her gift, she has nothing to fear.

    Not even Vicktor had hurt her the way the Ancient with the skeleton mask did.Vicktor had punched, or stabbed her a couple of times, but never had she felt pain,Isabella thought. Sometimes Isabella thinks the reasons she gained her ability to not feel pain, is because of her fear of it.

    The cloaked, and masked Ancient had burnt her. Just the thought of the pain he made her feel with a simple touch made her fear him. She wonders why he did not just do that in the first place.Maybe he was toying with me, or just testing me.

    If it was a test Isabella hoped she didn''t fail. Watching him fight now made her feel like a child before a giant.He is evenable to keep up with Vicktor,she thought.

    At first Isabella thought he was just a mage. But, she had suspected something was wrong when she stabbed him, and nothing happened. Her hearing is almost the worst of all thevampires in her syndicate, so Isabella had to get close to check his heartbeat. Most vampires are able to guess how old another vampire is by their heartbeat. The further apart the beats,the older the vampire. He had no heartbeat. There are two things Isabella knows that does not have a heartbeat, a corpse and an Ancient.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    It looks like the battle iscoming to an end. Vicktor likes to burn people he does not like.He burns them till nothing but bone remains, Isabellathought.Isabella knows Vicktor is justbeing extra careful to make sure the cloaked Ancient is gone for good.And, of course to show the others that no one can stop him.

    It isexpected that the new Ancient would lose, Vicktor has the strongest Venture blood of us all, because he is a direct descendant of an Immortal.Each generation after him would be weaker, and to Isabella, nothing is worse than a weak vampire.

    Isabella watches as the fire consumes the cloaked Ancient. He tries to escape the flames that blazes down upon him by and rolling out of the way. But Vicktor keeps the ray of flame on him as he stands above the new Ancient.

    The ray of flames spraying forth from Vicktor¡¯s mouth, is so thick and bright, that Isabella could not even see the cloaked ancient hidden within. Vicktor presses the flames more onto the Ancient, that is now sprawled out on the ground, and must be long dead by now.

    Finally, Isabella sees the remains of the Ancient, but all that is left are bones. His clothing is completely burnt away, and nothing but his skeleton remains. The ground around the remains isblackened, and most of the Ancient¡¯s bones were blackened by the fire.

    For a moment Isabella, dared to even hope the Ancient would kill Vicktor. But that hope is shattered when she sees the remains. She just hopes, the day Vicktor choose to read her mind would never come.

    ¡°It would seem that I need to remind some of you, who I am. I am Vicktor Clarence Enel, let this dead fool be a reminder of my power. I am your master.¡±Isabella hears Vicktor shout at the circle of vampires. He lifts his sword in victory, and turns his back to the remains of the dead Ancient.

    Isabella gasps.

    She watches as the skull of the Ancient turns upwards, then pushes itself up. The skeleton Ancient dashes towards Vicktor with the same blinding speed it did when it was alive. The skeleton grabs Vicktor by his head.

    This is the first-time Isabella has seen a fearful expression on Victor¡¯s face. He tries to get away, but the blackened skeleton pulls on his cloak, restricting Vicktor¡¯s movements. Isabella watched as he tried to stab the skeleton in the side.But, his strikes do not deter the skeleton, even though one of its blackened rib crack and fall off from Vicktor¡¯s strike.

    Vicktor¡¯s head begins to turn from pale to the yellow color, then red. She knew from her own experience what is happening. Vicktor¡¯shead then explodes in a blast of smoke and ash. The eruption sounds like a giant had just clapped, and isso large that it covers the entire front yard of the warehouse.

    `Alive or dead?That¡¯s not possible, he is...well, he is Vicktor,she thought. The smoke finally clears, after what seems to her like hours. What Isabella is looking at isno longer a skeleton. Well, he was not a skeleton, but not by much.

    Isabella watched the Ancient,he lookseven thinner than Vicktor. It looks as though he is healing, since his eyes have empty sockets, filled with a strange blue light. He ispale, and bald, and very naked.

    Isabella can tell that this Ancient is very different from Vicktor. She knew that there exist other bloodlines, but this is the first she has ever seen of another species of her kind. Vicktor¡¯s death will cause chaos among both the first, and second generation.

    Just as she isabout to leave the building to get a closer look, she felt a sharp object against her neck. Isabella¡¯s eyes shift to look at what isby her neck, and she sees a long black dagger, that isglowing a bright blue.

    The man who called himself Vicktor, is dead. Despite, his soul being the most delicious soul that I have ever eaten, I am not happy.

    My clothes were burnt, and my gauntlets are nothing but ashes. If that is not already bad enough, I am naked, and being gazed at by elven vampires. All of their mouths are opened to varying degrees of shock.

    I suppose it is not all bad. The guy is dead, and I think that is sufficient punishment for anyone who crosses the line. I chuckle at my own joke. I am surprised to see I could actually laugh now. I laughed again out loud. God, I missed laughing.

    I look down at myself, to see that I now have flesh and skin. Though, I still look a far cry from being human. At least I look more human now, despite looking like a mummy. I suppose since I can laugh now, I have lungs as well.

    How did I suddenly grow a body, though? I will have to add that to the list of things that I currently cannot explain. Despite my weakling appearance, I feel so strong now. This must be from absorbing Vicktor¡¯s soul. It feels as though I could burst with mana at any second. Sadly, I know this feeling will eventually end.

    The problem is my mana drains fairly quickly. Not surprising, if this isa spell keeping me tied to this skeleton, then it would be a power-hungry spell. This has to be something related to magic, it just is not natural.

    I need something to wear. I could not care less if anyone sees me naked, however, I have been wearing clothes for all my life. And even though it appears

    Thankfully, Vicktor left his clothes, though I have to shake out the dust and ashes. I particularly like his black and gold robes, and sliding it around my figure made victory taste even sweeter. I decide to try on his black leather pants as well, and it fits perfectly. Well, of course it would fit, though, the belt greatly helps to stop it from sliding off my waist. I will leave the shirt for now, since it had been partially burnt. He also had a triple buckle boots that is fill with ash. I shake the ash out of the boots, and slide them onto my feet, and buckling it tightly afterwards.

    I need to replace my gauntlets, since I have none now. I remember the vampire I first killed. He did have a pretty good gauntlet. I look around through the heap of clothes, and quickly locate the gauntlet.

    I smile, mostly to see if I can smile, and is pleased to see know that I could. It takes some effort, though. But, I also smiled because the metal gauntlets look perfect. It did take some time to fully strap on, and secure, but it worth it. I must look truly terrifying now.

    ¡°The master is dead! Attack! Revenge for the master!¡±The voice of a female vampire shouts. I pay no concern to her, that isup until she decides to advance on me, and cross the line.

    I grab the bitch by the neck before her blade can even reach me. If there is a word to describe her it would be slow. Her movements are like a snail. I actually had time to brush off the ash on the robe, before I take hold of her. Her sword drops from her hand, and she claws at my arm. I start weaving another healing spell.

    The vampire burst into ashes only two seconds later. Strange, I did not know I can make weavings so fast. I am certain now that this must be related to absorbing high amounts of mana.

    The first vampire I absorbed, was like sucking in the souls of two dozen men. The high amount of mana that I currently possess, somehow made me move faster, and become stronger. It also apparently made weaving spells quicker. Though even now I can tell that such a state consumes mana at an alarming rate, and would not last long.

    It would also explain my speed, and strength during the battle where I awakened.

    Combined with Vicktor¡¯s soul, it is almost overkill.

    I command the dead woman¡¯s soul to come to me with a thought. The soul obeys, and comes towards my hand. I suck the soul dry, and regain the mana lost.

    Two more vampires charge towards me. I expect them to be smarter than this. They are already too late if they think they can stop me at this point. If they want to feed me, then I will gladly munch on their souls.

    I look around for my sword, I had forgotten to pick it up because of all the chaos. The khopesh is still on the ground, where I was burnt. Well, I will have to do this without a sword, and I should make of my power up, while it last.

    I kick the first one who approaches me, square on his face. I may have kicked a little too hard because the man¡¯s head rips off his body. The sound is skin crawling, like paper being torn, only that it is flesh and bone. However, the head does not come off, instead it hangs from the body by a small strip of flesh. The body is also thrown back to where the man was originally standing,

    I excepted him to be to still be alive, though unable to move until he gets blood. However, I notice the vampire¡¯s soul move out of his body, a sign that he has died. So, they can die like that. Basically, like zombies, their head seems to be important to their undead life. Which is similar to me in a way.I wonder if there is a connection to whatever I am, and the vampires.

    I sidestep around the second vampire. He takes too long to notice that I amnow behind him. I grab onto his head, then I wrap my arm around his head to in a headlock with one arm. I use my other arm to hold onto his shoulder, then I pull. I feel his flesh and bone tip and tear as his head comes off.

    I am having problems adjusting my strength it would seem. I pull the man¡¯s head off easy enough. However, his spine also tags along with his head.I throw the man¡¯s head back to where he was standing in the circle of vampires.

    No one else tries to attack me. The remaining vampires did not even move from their spot in the circle. That is good, all the stupid ones are dead, I rather not be the boss of morons.

    I command the two dead souls to come to me, then I absorb them through my hand. If I want to truly take over this gang, or syndicate, whatever they call themselves. Then, I will need to sway them with words, because fear alone would not be enough.

    My concentration is broken by the presence of a familiar figure who enters the front yard of the warehouse. It isIsabella, but someone isbehind her, and holding a glowing blue knife to her throat. Who could threaten a vampire that could not feel pain?

    ¡°I apologize for interrupting you my lord,¡±The voice behind Isabella said. I recognize the voice immediately, it isJax¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I know you did not want to be followed, but I cannot leave you unprotected. If I have offended you, then I accept any punishment given.¡±Jax said, he then pushes Isabella towards the circle of vampires. She quickly joins the circle of vampires, more than happy to be away from Jax. I nod at Jax, I did not expect him at all. More so, I did not expect him to help with this. Then again I know so very little about him, and this religion of his. I cast the speech weaving that I''ve been holding. The weaving, made from my mana, floats in front of my face, transparent and bright blue. And, just like a piece of cloth, the threads are interlaced.

    ¡°I am Laoch!¡± I said through the speech spell. I start to form another speech spell.

    ¡°I bring death, and I bring life!¡±

    ¡°But, most of all I bring change!¡±

    ¡°I am themaster!¡±

    ¡°Kneel, and obey!¡±I castmy last speech spell. The spells were almost too easy to form and cast. Mainly because of my current mana buildup.

    No one kneels, instead they keep on looking at me with both wonder and confusion. Will I have to kill all of them now?

    ¡°Yes master.¡±Isabella said aloud,then she went to one knee. The others look at her then I hear the sound of shuffling clothes as each, and every one of the vampires drops to one knee before me.

    ¡°Yes master.¡±The vampires echo Isabella¡¯s words, and even Jax goes to one knee. I smile, the outcome is better than I had expected.

    Suddenly, I begin to feel heavy. My head began to pound, and the world spins. It feels like the worst headache I have ever had. My last thoughts are falling to the ground as darkness consumes my sight.

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 21

    I¡¯m not sure where exactly I am.

    I sit up, and look around my surroundings. Rows of shelves are all I can see. At first I assume I¡¯m in a library, then I look up. The room had no ceiling. Only a grey clouds that covered every inch of the sky. It¡¯s odd how close the clouds are. I lethargically stand up.

    I choose a direction to go, and I begin to walk forward. The path between the shelves is long, but I can see the light at the end. I keep on moving towards the end. Heaps of books are scattered all over the floor.I actually had to climb over one of the heaps.

    My last memories are of me being surrounded by vampires. I think I must''ve fainted. Did I die then? Was this Heaven? I didn¡¯t like heaven then. I wonder if Jax was okay. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m this First King Jax and Thea think me to be. They however think that I am. That¡¯s some crazy dedication they have. I don¡¯t even know who I am, so how can I be sure of what I am not?

    I think I¡¯ve been trying to avoid thinking of things I¡¯ll never see again. Not people, but the small things from back home. Like, video games, or listening to music on my phone. And maybe even pizza.Despite that, and I hate to think this, but I think I¡¯m having fun.

    I¡¯ve started to notice a pattern in my thoughts. At first in the battle, I was bloodthirsty and reckless. I saved a bear after that, then I killed a woman. I saved Isaac also, but I had to kill a few people to do it. I freed Nia from whatever imprisonment she was in. Then I slaughtered a family of ogres, which was a fun learning opportunity, I did save Isaac that time as well. Before I felt as though my skeleton side was in constant war with the human part of me.

    But now, I feel a balance with the evil within me.

    I¡¯ve resign myself to believe I¡¯ll never see my parents again, or my friends. I¡¯m okay with that. But I know myself too well. I¡¯ll eventually miss them, despite trying to not think of Earth. I tend to hide things that hurt emotionally. I pretend it¡¯s not there, and I think that can be said for most people.

    I reach the end of the shelves. I¡¯m currently still looking at the grey cloudy sky. Where am I? I kept on walking, but luckily I stopped. What the hell. I almost fell off the edge of the floor. It¡¯s obvious now that I¡¯m inside of something.

    ¡° Where the fuck am I¡± I said in a soft voice. That was actually my voice, just like I remembered it to be. I could talk normally here? That¡¯s good at least.

    I look both left and right. I see the edges of the platform in the far distance. Everything beyond the edge is grey clouds. I look out from the edge of the platform to bottom, only to see the same grey clouds.

    This is probably just a dream. First dream in another world. Unless I count the memory I first had as a dream. It was only expected. With all the crazy things going on around me, ofcourse my dreams would be crazy as well. I read an article somewhere that mentioned dreams. It said that dreams are a reflection of what we experience in real life. Can you dream within a dream? I¡¯ve yet to have a dream like that. It only served to strengthen my belief that the new world was indeed real.

    There has to be something beyond those grey clouds.

    I walk back into the rows of shelves, and found the smallest book I could find. I pick it up, and walk back out of the forest of book shelves. Okay, I¡¯m no Keshorn Wallcott, but it couldn¡¯t be that hard.

    I began to run as soon as I left the rows of shelves. With as much effort as I could muster, I threw the book. It sailed through the air at a high speed, then began to lose altitude. The book vanished in the clouds below. I try to see if I can still spot it. After a couple seconds I determined that it was gone. So, something must be out there then.

    As I was about to walk back into the forest of book shelves, when something struck me on the face. The pain was sharp, it felt like someone hit me in the head with a metal ruler. The amount of pain I felt from the blow was way more than I should''ve been able to feel as a skeleton. The blow surprised me, and caused me to stumble back. I almost fell off the edge of the platform. I rub my skull with my hand, trying to ease the pain. I scorn, and reached for my Khopesh, whoever attacked me shall feel my wrath.

    I frown as I look down at a book. And, not just any book. I pick up the book, examining it. This was the same book I just threw. Same cover, with plenty of dog ear pages. But how? I just tossed this book off the platform.

    I tear the cover of the book slightly, then I take few steps back, then run forward and threw the book again. The book once again flew through the air, lost altitude and disappeared in the clouds below..

    I turn around, looking up into the clouds. Only grey clouds can be seen above, but then I spot a black object. As it came closer, I see that it indeed looks like a book. The book is speeding towards me, I raise both my hands to catch it.

    I catch the book in the palm of my hand. The impact hurt, but I was expecting the pain. Immediately I checked the cover. Yep, that settles it. This is the same book I just threw. Again I thought about where I was. Instead of pulling my hair off as I cry tears, then eventually go mad. I do what I do best. Be curious.

    If I was to just let the book go over the edge, would it keep on falling in a straight line forever? I¡¯ll try doing that. I lift the book up, and let it go over the edge. I watch it vanish in the clouds. A few seconds later it comes from the top, in exactly the same spot I let it go. The book keeps on falling, reappearing to only fall again. It began to pick up speed, until it all I¡¯m really looking at is a straight blur. So I¡¯m on a floating platform, in a ball of grey sky. How¡¯d I get here.

    Well, that was a very educational experience. I somehow feel that it was a bad idea to try to catch that book now.

    For the lack of anything else to do, I choose to walk back into the forest of book shelves.Not all of the books were on the ground, some of the books were actually still on the shelves. But, very few of them. More than once I hand to push piles of books out of the way with my feet. I¡¯ll check the other side of the platform, maybe there was someway out of here. I pass the spot where I first woke up, and further beyond that I come across something odd.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Tall shelves walled in the room, creating this open circular space.The room also had books on the ground. But these were thick books, and there weren''t that many of them. In the centre of this clearing was a fountain, a beautiful fountain that flowed with glowing blue water. Besides the fountain is a dark purple shard. It looked sort of like a diamond. Except the shard was as tall as a man. For a second, the shard glowed a bit brighter, then I heard a voice.

    ¡°Finally, you¡¯re awake. You would be dead if not for me¡± I hear the voice say. Was that the shard? Naa, couldn¡¯t be. I look around to find the actual source of the voice.

    ¡°Yo. I¡¯m here, stop pretending like you don¡¯t know I¡¯m talking.¡± The shard said, as it once again glowed. Things just keep getting crazier and crazier. Here I am, still trying to figure out how I even came to this world, and stuff I can¡¯t explain just pops out of nowhere. It just seems like more unexplained things just keep popping up. I should''ve expected a talking piece of rock.

    ¡°Sure, a talking stone.¡± I said.

    ¡°That¡¯s funny coming from you.¡± The stone retorted. Great, I¡¯ve just been burnt by a rock.

    ¡°Where am I, or what exactly are you¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sexy, can¡¯t you see how sharp my curves are. And, has your mother never told you, don¡¯t eat too much. It will get you sick.¡±

    ¡°She has, but what does that have to do with anything?¡± I replied.

    ¡°Everything has to do with it. I¡¯m not sure how, but I¡¯ve managed to find the source of the problem. You have a lot of¡­.um memories, that are not your own. In other words, you got a serious problem on your hand partner ¡± The shard spoke, glowing the brightest this time.

    ¡°How''d you know?¡± I questioned.

    ¡°How I know? Look around you.¡± The shard answered. I look around me, curious of what he meant. There were just books, and only the larger ones.

    ¡°Do you mean that...the books are memories, are you saying that-?¡± I was about to ask, but I¡¯m interrupted by the shard.

    ¡°Yeah at least that¡¯s how you see them. This is your soul. Quitelarger than a normal human, but then again you aren''t human.¡± I disagreed with his last statement. I didn¡¯t look human, but I sure feel like one, and I would like to believe that I still think like one, to some extent. I¡¯m not sure how I got inside my own soul, but I don¡¯t want to be stuck inside here against my will. It was good to know that my soul was a library. Must mean I¡¯m smart. However, It was a good knowing where I am now.

    ¡° Ah, so how do I get out of here?¡± I asked.

    ¡° You mind is in chaos, you have to bring order to it. Gain control over your soul, and you have control of over your body.¡± The stone said. What did it mean by gain control over my soul? That¡¯s just too cryptic.

    I look around the room for any source of chaos. Just a messy place, with books scattered all over. I hate to see books laying on the floor like that. This place is also in need of a broom. That couldn¡¯t mean that I need this cleaned up? That would take forever.

    ¡°You don¡¯t expect me to clean up all of this right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to do anything. It¡¯s your choice, though I would rather hate losing you now.¡± The shard glowed blue before talking.

    ¡°How¡¯d you get inside my soul?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I know that I¡¯m currently on your body. It seems that I was unknowingly taking energy from you. I last remember being destroyed. I regained consciousness from absorbing your energy about a day ago. It seems to have formed some sort of connection between our souls.¡° The shard said. So the rock was just as confused as I am. But he has been helpful so far.

    ¡°You can see what¡¯s happening outside? Where are we now? What about the vampires? Jax?¡±

    ¡°Woah, slow down there partner. We are okay, for now I think. Some guy that was missing fingers put us in a coffin. Some pale chick who had a nice rack helped him. I don¡¯t remember anything before that. And, I don¡¯t know anything about no vampires¡± The shard replied. I sigh in relief. So I was in my coffin. Either someone brought the coffin to the warehouse, or someone brought me back to the Inn. And Isabella¡ª who had to be the pale vampire with the nice rack¡ªhelped Jax?.

    I wondered how Jaxcould''vegotten the vampires to listen to him.

    ¡°Do I have to clean all of this? Can¡¯t I just fix up like half, or quarter?¡± I asked the shard. This place was extensive, and I¡¯m feeling lazy right now.

    ¡°All of it for now. You¡¯ll want to make sure you keep it clean daily.¡± The shard replied. I sighed. Hopefully Jax has everything under control. It¡¯s going to take days just to get all these books on the shelves.

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 22

    I guess I¡¯ll have to start here then. The large books would be a strain to pick up. It¡¯s best if I start with the larger ones first. I wonder if it is even possible to get tired in my own soul. I can feel lazy here, so I guess why not tired? That doesn¡¯t make any sense, I¡¯ll have to believe that I can get tired for now.

    I¡¯m not sure I can call the these things books anymore, they were almost tomes. I contemplate opening one of the books. The shard said they were memories. It¡¯s why I have yet to open one. Opening a book would be the last thing on anyone¡¯s mind when they are transported to some foreign dimension.

    But if these were indeed memories, what would happen if I open one? If anything that only made me want to not open one. The last time I had a memory it lasted for hours. My first memory was instant, and I didn¡¯t zone out for hours on end. The second memory with the priest was different. That lasted too long for comfort. However, there were other bits of things I remember. I remember things from other lives without experiencing the memories. In those cases it was odd knowledge. I knew the names of places without actually knowing how the place looks, or where it is even located. I assume that there has two forms of memories then. Indirect memories, and direct memories.

    Direct memories seem to stay with me forever, almost as if it is part of my own mind. However, they require me to experience part of someone¡¯s life, and I only remember what I experienced. Indirect memories only appear when, or if something relates to them. It would explain how my sword skills seem to suddenly appear during combat. However, when indirect memories happen once, I remember then after they happen.

    I sighed, this world is so complicated.

    I pause for a second as I lift the last large book onto a shelf. If these are memories. Then does that mean that my memories are also here? They have to be.

    There seems to be a trend with the book covers. Some are almost identical, with slight differences, or are totally different with a small recurring detail. It reminds me of book series. The really long ones, like The Wheel of Time.

    I¡¯m not sure what is the purpose for the shelves. I try to come up with a reason for them as I move into one of the rows of shelves after picking up all the books around the fountain. I choose to keep the books with the similar covers next to each other.

    ¡° You work awfully slow¡± I hear the voice of the shard. Strange. The shard is too far away, I shouldn¡¯t be able to hear the voice. I look behind me, then above. It must still be where I left it.

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± I ask, curious. Hopefully it could hear me inturn. If this is suppose to be my soul then why do I feel as if the shard is the master here. It seems to know more about the current innerworking of souls. I wonder why. It said that it had been destroyed, and it mentioned being on me. I couldn¡¯t picture something of that size being on me without anyone noticing. My curiosity only grew larger.

    ¡°Skills partner. You shall get there one day¡± The shard said. I think he was mocking me since the tone has changed. I hope he wasn¡¯t a permanent thing in my soul. If this is indeed my soul, I should have more control over it. I don¡¯t have much time to spare for my thoughts, I need to finish this packing all these book. I have to solidify my role amongst the vampires. Fear is all well and good, and I believe that is what Jax is also ruling them by. But fear is a harsh thing, and people are fickle.

    ¡°The only place I want to get, is out of here. Can¡¯t you do something?¡± I said, smiling to myself.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help, but I already did before partner, who do you think set some of your memory into order.¡± The shard said. I''m surprised honestly that it was willing to go so far on my part. That''s if the shard is telling the truth. I need to be weary of everything right now.

    ¡°I should be thanking you then.¡° I said.

    ¡°To be fair partner¡­I am the one who should be thanking you. Even if it should of been impossible.¡±

    ¡°Right, so how much of my energy did you have to take to bring yourself back.?¡± The energy from my reservoir keeps me alive. If all is gone, then so am I.¡± I replied. I know my mana would be deplete eventually, then I would be forced to go and kill again. But another problem with being trapped inside here is that I can¡¯t gather energy, I might die from that.

    ¡°That¡¯s a tough question friend. I can¡¯t give a straight answer, but you shouldn¡¯t have to worry for a couple days.¡±

    ¡°A couple days? How long is a couple days?¡±

    ¡°Three, or four at best.¡±

    Four days at best. The shard must have taken a substantial amount of my mana. I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m being so open with him. Him? Well it did sound male. I think the shard is the first person I¡¯ve been this open with. Maybe because it¡¯s in my soul that I feel the need to be straight with it.

    ¡°You seem to be well informed about this¡± I ask the shard.

    ¡°My knowledge is however outdated. I sense that I¡¯ve been asleep for a long time.¡± The shard said, I thought I could almost hear pity in it¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You said you helped me before. How about some help now? It¡¯s no doubt that helping me, is helping yourself, if I die, then you have nothing to draw power from, am I right?¡±

    ¡° It would seem so. Very well, but this will not lessen the time it takes to bring order to your soul by much.¡± The shard replied. A few seconds after a book on the ground began to float upwards. He was right, it was slow. It took a long stretch of time, but the book then slid into one of the shelves.

    ¡°Teach me how to do that.¡± I said with much curiosity.

    <hr>

    Let no child go hungry, or unclothed. Children are our future, and we must cherish our future, so that they never forget the past, Jax whispered those words into his mind. They were one of the teachings of the First King. It is because of these few words that his people are still here today. Jax wondered at the great foresight of the First King. If his people, the Albians, had not shown their young so much love, and how great the First King is, then they would''ve shattered when he left. Jax was the only seeker left, at first he was uncertain, just as Thea, but now, after the fight two days back his thoughts had changed. Nothing was uncertain now. He had witnessed the power of a priest of the First King. Ancient vampires are things of myth. But to slay one and kill three of his eldest after, is worthy of song.

    The First King¡¯s priest had fainted after the battle. It is hard to tell if he was alive. All of the First King¡¯s priest have always been skeletons. Jax never knew why, however Loach had turned into A bishop. Bishops were known to look like mummies. It is a great honor among them, Jax once read. It is obvious that Laoch is in great favor with the First King. He decided that it was best to treat Laoch with the proper respect befitting a bishop of the Church of Night.

    Jax looked at the children who were cuddled together in the corner. He held a candle that is on a small clay plate. The stone room had no wall candles, and is also too cold to provide any sort of comfort. Some of the children were naked, but most wore dirty clothes, nothing more than rags to cover themselves. Jax had seen worst than this in his lifetime. He had a special place in his heart for children. He thought his love for them must be from the teachings of the First King. What little remained of the teachings were made into a way of life for his people, but to him they were his bread and butter.

    The children crawled quickly to the opposite corner of the room. They were trying to get away from him, and away from the light. They were scared of him. But, there was one child who starred at Jax intensely with honey eyes. Jax watched the brown skin little girl stand up, her face is filled with defiance. Jax lifted his free hand up to his mouth, and lifted his top lip all the way back to his nose.

    ¡° See, no fangs¡± Jax said to the girl. The honey eyed girl dipped her head slightly to peer at Jax¡¯s teeth for a few seconds. She looked back towards the other children who were still huddled next to each other in the corner. Jax watched the little girl take slow, and uncertain steps towards him. He nodded towards her as he went to one knee to show his goodwill.

    ¡°Who are you? How did you get pass the monsters?¡± The little girl asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m Jax, I¡¯m here to save you. And don¡¯t worry about the monsters, Bishop Laoch hit them really hard on the head, and now they are really nice.¡±

    Jax watched as the little girl smiles. He then hugs the little girl, who at first seemed a bit startled, but then quickly wraps her arms around Jax. He thought he could hear soft sniffles from the girl, but they quickly vanished. She is very brave, Jax thought. For some reason the girl reminds him of Isaac, though she looks to be two or three years younger than him. The hug last longer than he would of expected. The girl lightly steps back away from him after.

    ¡°They won¡¯t beat us?¡± Jax hears one of the children say.

    ¡°No they won¡¯t hurt you, or else Bishop Laoch will punish them¡± Jax said.

    ¡°Is Laoch really strong?¡± Another of the children asked. Jax was about to speak up, but was interrupted by another of the children.

    ¡°Of course he is strong if he beat up the monsters.¡± Another child said.

    This seems to spark a flame among the children, as they all stood up, and began to shout at each other, about how strong someone would have to be to beat all the monsters. Jax decided it was best to stop them now, before they begin to hurt themselves.

    ¡°Calm down children, I have new clothes and food prepared for you, please follow me¡± Jax said as he stood up. No one heard him though, the children were making too much noise now.

    ¡°Be quiet, there is food, please follow me!¡± Jax tried raising his voice louder, but again no one heard him. He was about to repeat himself again, but a loud scream stopped Jax, he looked down at the girl in front of him as the room went quiet.

    ¡°The nice man said that there is food if we follow him, so let''s follow him!¡± The girl shouted. The girl¡¯s loud voice surprised him. He¡¯s somewhat impressed that the girl had gained some control over the children. Jax looked at the faces of the children. It could''ve been said that the girl was the youngest among them. The oldest child looked to be either thirteen, or fourteen years of age.

    The children were obviously hungry. They hurried over and eventually surrounded Jax. They pushed a bit to get closer to him, but Jax was just happy they were following him, so he could get them some food, and clothes.

    A vampire currently guards the door. It was a poor choice to have the man lead him here. Jax holds up a hand and gestures for the man to back away against the far wall. He complies and swiftly did so. Jax¡¯s hand had never been so close to his daggers like they were these past two days. Using the current vampires who were in the circle when Bishop Laoch fainted, he quickly established himself as the second in command of the gang. They called themselves The Shrouded. Jax thought the name matched them well. He greatly appreciated the help of the vampire named Isabella. She helped convince the others in the circle, they were all young for vampires, and held no particular love for their previous leader. Apparently Vicktor kept the young ones close, so he could scare them enough to make them obey.

    The children saw the vampire by the wall. They yelled and quickly rushed behind Jax. Nothing happened for almost half a minute. The vampire simply watches Jax. Hostilities towards the vampire slowly dwindle. Jax began to move further down the hallway. The first two doors of the hallway seemed to be for captured adults of children. The adults however, could not be released, their minds have become too warped, they live only to let the vampires suck on their blood. Jax knew it would only cause chaos to let them out. He rarely interacted with the human side of the crew. The younger vampires did all the communications with the humans. The older a vampire was the more the sun would affect them, so young ones had to do most of the work.

    The children were a different problem than the adults. Jax did what he¡¯s best at doing, and investigated before he came to the children. The vampires were quick to tell him where the children came from. They were all street children. There were no orphanages in Almeria. Any child who is unlucky enough to be disowned by their parents would become street urchins. Most of the times they would join gangs at a young age, which didn¡¯t help decrease the rate of crime in Almeria.

    They were also perfect pickings for vampires. It would take a couple years, but they would have been groomed into a fresh batch of hypnotized humans. Jax wondered if this was the goal of Laoch? He would not be surprised. Few scrolls detailing the battles of the First King has survived to this day. But, Jax remembered one detailing the fall of a king. The entire kingdom¡¯s nobility was slain, sparing only the children. The war seemed to be caused by the death of a single child. Jax knew the First King is at times unjust, he also knew that whatever caused the child to die, never happened again. Violence can wield it¡¯s own results.

    It took Jax much effort to open the twin stone doors of the inner sanctum. These hallways had to be have built at least three centuries ago, because the stone looked so decayed. To the opposite end of the room are ten stone stairs that lead up to a throne. Fire columns lined the edges of the rectangular room. A large stone table is roughly fifteen feet away from the stairs. Lavishly designed black wood chairs surround the long stone table. An assortment of different types of food laid are on top of the table.

    Clothes for both boys and girls were sorted into baskets and placed besides the table. The children rushed passed Jax at the sight of the food, no one noticed the clothes. Thea and Isaac are also sitting by the table, they both seem to be enjoying their lunch. Jax never planned to stay in Talon for so long, Isaac also doesn¡¯t want to go to the capital without Laoch. Oddly enough he wondered where the fairy is. She always seemed to be up to some sort of mischief.

    Thea says that Laoch is getting better. Jax thought it must be something she can see with those eyes of hers.Whenever Jax looked at Laoch all he saw his rigid figure. Only Thea could look at someone in that state and say they were alive.

    ¡°Eat slowly! Don¡¯t talk while eating, and you, don¡¯t throw food.¡± Thea shouts. Jax chuckles as he watches Thea who is sitting on one of the chairs. Either no one noticed, or cares, that she had her eyes close. He had grown used to that ability. He sometimes envies Thea of those eyes at times, but Jax also pitied her because of it. For her the world was nothing more than moving energy. She lacked the ability to see anything not alive, and saw no colors.

    Jax¡¯s attention turns towards the coffin, it is tilted against the throne, the Bishop is still sleeping inside. Thea is also dedicated to watching over Laoch. With the help of Isabella, Jax managed to move the bishop into the inner sanctum, thankfully most the gang members were asleep. However some still saw, and rumors of Laoch spread before he could make a speech the next day.

    Jax knows that Isabella is concerned about the vampires who were not here during the take over. They would not stand for this situation. Maybe this was all a test set by the First King. Whatever happened Jax would to stay and fight to the last breath.

    ¡°Take care of them, Isabella I have a meeting with another syndicate Don.¡± Jax told Thea, as he approached her. Thea laughed softly.

    ¡° Who would''ve taught that things would change so drastically in two days. And you, the second in command of a gang,¡± Thea said, pausing as she passed a tray filled with cookies to a little girl.¡±Is it that important?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡° This is what the Lord of the Night wants. The First king has many other titles, of those we remember and probably the most forgotten of all is The Gift of Change¡±

    <hr>

    I watch as seven books float up into the air. It takes focus and concentration, but mostly imagination and will. Willpower was the answer I have been missing. The shard had described it in the most complicated way possible. I think his method of ¡®letting the energies flow¡¯, just didn¡¯t work for me. I don¡¯t believe the shard was giving me wrong information, it just isn¡¯t suited for someone who didn¡¯t have the patience of a rock.

    The books slide easily onto the shelves.. Seven books is quite the improvement from having been only able to lift one. I quickly lifted up another set of seven. This was the last lane I have left to clean. I¡¯m honestly just happy that it¡¯s all coming to an end. It feels as though I have been in here for a week, not a couple days. Having to clean up this entire place is the closest thing to torture that I have ever experienced.

    Another seven books are shelved, and I repeat the process several more times. I think I¡¯m good enough with seven to move onto eight now. Moving one is as difficult as creating a thread. Commanding seven books was like trying to watch seven different things that were all around you, at the same time. Truthfully, I even surprised myself. I¡¯ve been feeling like a walking computer recently.

    The shard had vanished a couple hours ago, or was it a day or two ago? Time flows differently here. I¡¯m almost finished with the books. I stand still, and try to use my willpower to move eight of the books. It takes magnitudes more effort to move eight books, compared to seven. After much time, the books lift up into the air. At first it was shaky, but all of them neatly slid onto the shelves.

    Only three more books left. With quick ease I lift the three books up into the air and slide them onto the shelves. They books fit perfectly in the last remaining space, of the last shelf.

    I expected something to happen. However, nothing did. I should''ve asked the the shard more questions about this before it vanished. Maybe I was missing something. With all the books inside here, surely I missed one. I began to recheck the shelves and the floor.

    I ran between the shelves, my eyes scanning them. All shelves were filled with books, not one had a single space left. I keep looking for even more hours, No empty spaces, or books on the ground were visible. That was until I came back to the enclosed area, with the fountain. I look towards the space where the shard was. I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s going to return.

    My eyes quickly spot what I¡¯ve been looking for. I walk closer to the shelve with the large books, and I spot a small empty space. I feel silly now that I look at it. It¡¯s just the right size for the small book I had thrown of the platform.

    It takes time to navigate the maze of shelves. I¡¯m once again looking at the downwards blur of the book moving at a high speed. I walk closer to the edge. The closer I am to an object in my soul, the easier it is to use my willpower.

    Using my hands to imagine holding the book, also makes it easier, so I lift my right hand inline with the blur. I imagined, and used as much command of my willpower as I could muster. I extended my hand further out over the edge, almost touching the blur. I close both my eyes to help me focus more. Everything worked out as planned, the book had stopped, but I''m now faced with a new problem.

    The book before me was open. I had succeeded in lifting all of the previous books in such a way that this never happened. I wasn''t sure before how exactly the memories in the books were triggered. I had my theories, but I know the truth now.

    The words seem to float off the the book. At first the pages slowly turning, then faster. All I remember hearing is the fluttering of the pages as it turns as I¡¯m sucked inside of the memory.

    <hr>

    I swing my black cutlass at the head of a goblin. The goblin tried to get away, but he was too slow. I chop off it¡¯s head, and black blood spurts all over my face.

    The city must not fall, whatever happened, Talon must not fall to a horde of goblins. This is my city, my father built this city. Even if he is four hundred years dead, and even though I may be a vampire, I will not let this city fall.

    Again my sword reaches outward, and I lunge my blade into the eyes of another goblin. I hear the screams as I kill and kill and kill. Rage and anger boils in my veins. Who knew getting into one of the legions of Talon could be so easy. I had ordered all of my thralls to also join the army. I could hear them calling my name. ¡°Master Vicktor!¡± They shouted, but I paid no attention to them. I need to get to the goblin shamans.

    Talon¡¯s walls were thick, and large. It could hold off most armies, but the goblin shamans were casting large flaming rocks at it. Strong walls, or not, nothing could stand in the way of that. The damage to the walls irritated me more, than the hundreds that died from the deaths it caused by the spells of the shamans. I took deep breaths, I didn¡¯t need to, but it helped my swordsmanship.

    Another legion of orcs had fallen to our swords. I watch all around me as unmounted knights in armor, and footmen holding spikes cheer.

    Fools, all of them. The war is not over yet. I move forward, and push several pikemen out of my way. I take several steps backwards as I reach the front and I look at a formation of hundreds of goblins on wargs. The goblin fwere is about a kilometer away.

    ¡°Dhuur ac kac, taarthec, taarthec, shagaan!¡± An orc shouts loud, as he sits atop a massive warg. He moved up and down the formation line. This must of been their leader. I take a quick glance back. Another legion of goblins were in deep battle with one of Talon¡¯s legions. They are trying to entering the city. While the army is strong, the bombardments by the goblin shamans are slowly killing the defenders.

    At the orc¡¯s command the mounted goblins charge. I feel the pounding of the ground as the wargs charged. Some of the men, began to run, but enough formed up a straight line alongside me. My body surged with energy. I charge forward, and the men beside me follow.

    A warg slams into me. Screams echo throughout the battlefield. The massive war, bites into my shoulder, and it tears a huge chunk of my shoulder off. I try to push it off, but I¡¯m too weakened by the bite. I could feel my blood being spilled. I feel deep into myself, and bring forth the energy inside me. I feel my energy surround the warg, creeping over it.

    ¡°Stop, attack the orc!¡± I shouted into the mind of the warg. I watch as the warg, shakes the orc off. It¡¯s mind has been consumed, and will obey my words for the next couple hours. It was enough time. I¡¯ll send these goblins back to where they came from.

    The orc fell off the saddle. I reach for him, and drag him down to me. I plunge my fangs deep into his neck, sucking his blood. I punch the orc in the jaw when he screamed. I think I broke either his jaw, or neck because he stops screaming and goes still.

    I dislike the taste of black blood, it was disgusting, but it¡¯s makes me heal faster than red blood. I watch as my arm is healed. The muscles join together, and new ones are formed to replace the destroyed ones.

    I should not of used that. The immortal has warned me of the consequences to using this ability.. As far as I could see, I had no other choice. I stand up, and jump on the back of the warg. It howls softly.

    I could feel the life of some of my thralls vanish. They were worth twenty soldiers, each, I feel great sorrow at their lost. It¡¯s painstakingly difficult to create new thralls,most die during the transformation. Too much dead bodies with bites, and the clergy start to look into it. It only made things more difficult.

    ¡°Attack!¡± I shout into the mind of the warg. The beast lunges forward and bites into the neck of another warg. I drove my cutlass into the side of the goblin rider. The goblin screams, and flails. I feel the goblin slump, and watch as it falls off the warg. The warg eventually falls over as well, it¡¯s neck twisted at an odd angle.

    I feel a dagger of a goblin drive into my back. I turn around and slash at the goblin. My warg bites onto the neck of an approaching warg, but it¡¯s bitten on the side by another. I¡¯m being surrounded. I keep on slashing, and killing the riders. My warg is strong, but I can hear it whimpering now from the pain of the bites it has received. I dig deeper into my energy, and surrounded the body of another warg. I cut down another goblin, as his warg turned against him. I do the same thing with three other wargs and gain control of their bodies.

    My small squad of wargs cut and bit it¡¯s way through all that opposed them. They didn¡¯t last long however. And soon enough, I am once again surrounded.

    I feel weak. I¡¯m probably going to die here. It¡¯s good to fight for my city. I slash at the goblins, as my warg bit into the neck of another. I feel more of my thralls vanish. I¡¯ve used too much of my energy now. Not to mention I¡¯m in the sun. He also warned me about being in the sun too much when I¡¯m so closed to turning into an Ancient.

    I smile bitterly as I see almost a hundred mounted Talon Knights, charge into the formation of goblin riders. Flesh and fur both are pierced from the knights lances. My smile fades as I look at the hills directly beyond the goblin shamans who were still casting their spells.

    Armies of soldiers sat atop the hills of Talon. I could see the flags, and I cursed as I watched the ranks of knights, mages and priest. The Almerian legions. They must be here to attack us, the bastards. They waited till we were weakened by the goblins.

    I¡¯ve lost control of my warg. I don¡¯t even remember falling off the beast. I just remember seeing the sun, as I fall into a deep eternal sleep.

    <hr>

    I grab onto the book, as the memory ends. I shut it close quickly.

    Well, that was the best memory I¡¯ve had. So that explains how Vicktor had been asleep for so long. I didn¡¯t know you could do that with your mana. Interesting. The combination of being in the sun, plus using all of his mana, seems to have triggered a reaction. He still had decades more time before he entered his eternal sleep. The battle seemed to have quickened the process.

    I jog back into the circular clearing, where the fountain is. I then quickly insert the book into the missing spot. I don¡¯t notice any changes. The world around me then started to fade away, like as someone was blowing the dust off a table.

    I¡¯m inside my coffin once again. It feels damn good to be back to reality. Would feel even better if I was back home though.

    ¡°You¡¯re back partner! I knew you were smart!¡± I hear the voice of the shard. It¡¯s the same feeling I get when I hear Nia talk to me. I sigh. Not another person in my head. This felt different though. More welcomed than when Nia spoke to me.

    ¡°Where are you? This coffin is only big enough for one mysterious person.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in your cloak, the left pocket¡± The shard said. In my cloak? Just what was going on. I was actually expecting to find a large sharp rock against me. I could have probably sold the shard for a lot of coin. Not that I had any need for mone.

    I reach into my pocket. I feel something, I gently wrap my fingers around it and take it out. I open the palm of my hand, to see the shard. It looks just like how it was in my soul, albeit a much smaller bite size version.

    ¡° Come on, you said you would tell me what you are when I get out, spit it¡± I said.

    ¡°Alright, alright partner. Some people, well, everyone actually. They call me The Dungeon Core.¡±

    ¡° The Dungeon Core? You mean like dungeons with monsters and treasures?¡±

    ¡°Ah, more like monsters and death, lots of death.¡±

    ¡°What does-¡± I was about to question what the shard meant, when I heard a scream. It sounded like it came from a little girl. What was going on outside? I focused on listening.

    ¡°Stay away from the children!¡± I heard someone shout. It was the voice of Thea.

    ¡°If this new master wants us around, he is going to have to feed us. The adults are all dead, and we need blood.¡± I heard a dry voice say.

    ¡° We need lots of blood.¡± Another vampire said.

    ¡°I say we slaughter some of them¡± The dry voice once again said.

    ¡°The master will kill you all. Know what you are doing.¡± I heard the voice of Isabella. She sounded worried. Just what was going on outside.

    ¡°You mean the guy that¡¯s asleep. He isn¡¯t going to wake up. Vicktor slept for over a hundred years, how long is he going to sleep? I waited. Do you know how it feels to wait, one hundred years, for nothing!¡± One of the previous voices shouted, and I heard another scream. The scream is followed by the sound of cracking wood. I then hear the hissing sound of over two dozen blades being drawn.

    ¡° Step away from the coffin!¡± Thea said.

    ¡° Move away¡± The same voice from before said.

    ¡°Never.¡± Thea said, in a harsh voice. Was she really trying to protect me? The sound of blades clashing together echoes throughout whatever room I¡¯m in.

    ¡°Seems like trouble is brewing partner¡± I hear the dungeon core say. I really will have to find another name for it. It was right, trouble is brewing. I can¡¯t keep fighting the vampires. It seems like I need to kill more of them. Maybe I don¡¯t need to. I could just kill one. Maybe I could even control one.

    ¡° Yeah, let me try this new thing. I like to be prepared for any shit storms.¡± I said to the shard. I began to shift and shape my enter reservoir, just like Vicktor had unknowingly been doing. The idea behind it was simply to wrap your entire mana around the person. It felt much like using the willpower when I was inside my soul.

    ¡°Let me stop you right there partner, I see what you¡¯re doing. That¡¯s not good for you.¡± The shard said.

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem. It should be okay once I don¡¯t overdo it.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Stretching your energy like that, is equal to stretching your soul. It creates chaos. You¡¯ve just experienced what happens when there is too much chaos in your soul. If I didn¡¯t help you, you would of been unconscious for decades¡± The shard said.

    ¡°I see. You¡¯ve just saved me again I suppose.¡±

    ¡°No problem partner. You¡¯ve probably knocked over a couple shelves with what you just did though¡± The shard said, I chuckled softly.

    ¡° I¡¯ll try something else then¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to. You mind if I shape your energy for you?¡±

    ¡°Sure, but why would you want to do that? You just said it creates chaos¡± I said. The dungeon core laughs at my words. Whatever it was must of been funny to him, I didn¡¯t get the joke.

    ¡°Partner, just look at me. Chaos can¡¯t harm me. I am chaos. I¡¯ll deal with the chaos, it¡¯s much easier for me to handle.¡± The shard said, I didn¡¯t get much time to think about what that implied. I hear Thea scream, as the vampire laughs. She must of fallen as well to, because I hear a thud after.

    The door of my coffin then creaks open. Finally some glorious light!

    I look around the room, without moving my head, or eyeballs. I had eye balls now, nice. The grey haired vampire looks at me. I must''ve scared him, with my eyes being opened. I was also scary to look at in general. He takes two steps back, away from the coffin. Then he lifts his sword up. He probably things that I¡¯m still asleep. Poor guy.

    I kick him hard in stomach. His body lifts up off the ground and he falls flat on his back at the bottom of the stairs. I step outside of the coffin, and look around. I seem to be on some soft of throne area. There were about twenty children in the room, the children were standing behind seven vampires. I could tell by the color of their mana. On the opposite side of the room, were six vampires. The mana of the six vampires were a bit bigger and brighter. They must be much older, I also recognized none of their faces.

    So we have a standoff between the old and the new blood. I frown at the sight of Thea on the floor besides me. She¡¯s clutches her side, which is bleeding. That wasn¡¯t good. I began to weave threads of repair. I encircle the repair thread with a stop thread. I then leaned forward, resting my hands on Thea¡¯s side. I then stitched the spell to her reservoir. I put as much energy as I safely could into the healing spell. The spell would use some of her energy regardless, but this way it would only take the minimum amount out of her.

    I could feel my healing spell work. It was also about the same time she noticed me. All I saw was joy and relief on her face. I¡¯ve never had anyone look at me like that. As though I were the second coming of Jesus. I stood up straight. I look over each and everyone one of the vampires. Isabella is among them. They began to turn towards me, instead of looking at each other. The younger generation of vampires began to put their swords away. They were probably worried I would take it as an offense.

    ¡°Anytime now Dungeon Core¡± I said as the vampire who I had just kicked, is now charging towards me. I feel the mana around me, it shapes and forms into an arrow. My mana slams into the vampire while still staying connected to me. It quickly encircled him, and soon enough he just stands still, not moving, but not falling over.

    ¡°All done partner! I stopped his movements¡± The shard said.

    ¡° What is going on! I can¡¯t move¡± The vampire said. I began to form speech threads. I probably didn¡¯t need it, but it would look more badass.

    ¡°You do not have permission to approach the throne.¡± I said, as I began to cast another thread.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need permission from the likes of you. Vicktor is my only master, and-¡±

    ¡°Kneel. I did not give you permission to speak.¡± I said, then began to cast another thread, as I looked at Thea. The vampire quickly went down on his knees.

    ¡°You have committed treason. Kill yourself¡±

    The vampire twirled the sword in his hand. He then reversed it, so the tip of his sword pointed towards him. He trusted the blade beneath his jaw, sending it into his brain, and out the top of his head. He then falls over, dead. I look up at both the old and new vampires. The were both on their knees, and rightfully so.

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 23

    I whisper a command to the soul of the vampire to come to me. The soul slams into my face. I reach out to grab it, but I¡¯m too slow. The soul pushes itself into my chest. It feels like it¡¯s trying to absorb itself into my soul. I probably used too much willpower behind the command.

    I reach down with both my hands and lift Thea off of the ground. She wraps her left hand around my neck, and I lead her down the stairs slowly. She is still holding onto her side. I think her body still thinks she is hurt. Surprisingly that was actually the first time I have healed a human. I slide out a chair form under the table, and ease Thea into it. I then take out the head chair from beneath the table, and sit.

    I look at the children. I should not have killed the man with them around. Why aren''t they scared? I glance at my body to check over myself. I don''t have my hood on, so my face should be exposed. My hands look like a normal human, just really pale. If I could be a few shades brighter, I would have been white. I smell the leftover food on the table, which means I have a nose. That was my first smell since I came to this world and my first breath as well. My hearing is much better, despite it being extraordinary before. I wonder what my hair looks like; I can feel hair on my head.

    ¡°Can someone please move the body.¡± I cast a spell to say. At first one of the younger vampires moved to follow my orders, but I raise a hand to stop the woman. I snap my fingers at one of the kneeling older vampires. The man quickly stands up and rushes over to the stairs to pick up the body. After some time he disappeared into the hallway directly in front me, with the body over his shoulder.

    The children stand behind the younger vampires, they stare at me. I see Isaac at the forefront of the children. The boy waves at me, but he seems uncertain. Of Course he would be, I¡¯ve changed. He knows it¡¯s me, but he is probably trying to relate me to the skeleton, I gave him a quick ¡®what¡¯s up¡¯ wave.

    ¡°You made a lot of new friends Isaac¡± I said, casting another speech spell.

    ¡°Yep, Jax told me you helped save them, from the mons-, I mean from starving.¡± Isaac said. He walks closer towards me, sliding between the kneeling vampires. He sits by the table, and looks me over.

    ¡°You look very different.¡± The boy said to me.

    ¡°It would seem so. Well, nothing stays the same forever Isaac.¡± I said to him, a smile creeping on my face. It is good that nothing stays the same forever. I have grown to accept change over the years. I hate change, I¡¯m sure a lot of people do, but we all have to accept it.

    ¡°Speaking of which, where is Jax?¡± I ask. I notice Thea¡¯s frown at my words. I know that look on a woman¡¯s face. She is going to tell me something I might not like. Thea looks towards Isaac, and I get the impression he wouldn¡¯t want to hear it either.

    ¡°Isaac, why don¡¯t you show the children the magic trick I thought you yesterday.¡± Thea said to Isaac. The boy sighs; he is smart enough to know what is happening. He moves off the chair, and walks away from the table.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your Manners.¡± Thea said, to which Isaac then turned around. ¡°Okay Mistress Nia. See you later Lord Laoch¡± Isaac said, as he moves off the chair. I don¡¯t deserve to be called a lord, but I like it regardless. I am still getting used to those around me. Some of the choices I have made had unexpected outcomes. I still believe that what I am doing will make collecting souls easier. I have not been wrong in that decision so far. However so many new things have come from it. I¡¯ll try my best to be open minded about new cultures and people.

    ¡°Come on guys, the adults want to talk.¡± Isaac said, as he led the children into one of the doors to the side of the room.

    ¡°Adults always want to talk.¡± A little girl said, as she trailed after Isaac. I watch as the children vanish into the hall.

    All of the vampires were still kneeling. I think I¡¯ve let them stay on their knees long enough. I look around for Nia as well. Where is the fairy?

    ¡°You may all rise. Anyone at this table has free permission to speak.¡± I say, casting a spell. I lean back on the wooden chair. The younger generation of vampires sit first, they occupy the chairs nearest to me. Isabella sat to my right, with Thea on the left.

    ¡°I for one am happy that your back. You know, I missed you dearly. My bones have just never felt the same without you around.¡± Isabella said. It seems she found her sense of humor back. I noticed a change in her behavior after I burnt her with the healing spell.

    ¡°I am just as happy to be back.¡± She smiled at my response. I now notice how much I actually like her smile. Maybe those tig ol¡¯ bitties had something to do with it. I stop myself from licking my lips.

    ¡°Now, please tell me where Jax is.¡± I asked with a spell again. I think my talking is starting to become an attraction of sorts. Everyone is oddly gazing at my lips, except for Thea. It never occurred to me before; I simply thought that my strong voice was why everyone is looking. They are wondering where the sound is coming from. I¡¯ll keep on using the spell to talk, just for the fun of it.

    ¡°Jax left yesterday, he hasn''t returned.¡± Thea replied.

    ¡°He took twelve cutters with him¡± Isabella said.

    ¡°What are Cutters?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Muscle, you know, bodyguards¡± Isabella replied.

    ¡°Where did he go?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We have been having several skirmishes with The Flutes It¡¯s worsen these past three days. They have been hitting our business hard; we¡¯ve lost a lot of good people. They took over four of our blocks. We¡¯re being bent over at this point. Jax was invited to negotiate terms so that we could''ve ended the fighting with a peaceful resolution. ¡± Isabella replied, her hands folded around her chest.

    ¡°Knowing Jax, he could not stand still while it was happening.¡± Thea added.

    ¡°Why have you not done anything yet then? You are all blood sucking vampires; I¡¯ve seen you slaughter men like sheep Isabella.¡± I said, leaning back on my chair. I didn¡¯t like where this is going. I don¡¯t harbor any great love for Jax. But, in the short period of time that I knew the man, he has shown me nothing but respect, and kindness. More than I deserved from a stranger. Plus, I would of most likely be dead right now if not for him.

    I might be a soul sucking, murdering, spell casting skeleton in flesh. But, I¡¯ll never let a day go by that I ignore someone who protected me, die. And maybe it wasn¡¯t so bad either. My mana level is low. I probably had a day or two again remaining. I wonder how much I had before the shard sucked energy out of me. I think staying in my soul also took a chunk off my reservoir. Everything seemed to have a price tag on it, and I¡¯m literally paying with my life.

    ¡°That¡¯s because The Flutes are also vampires, however, we are the closest to Vicktor¡¯s bloodline. The Flutes have a deep connection to the guards and the Lord General as well. If we hit them, they attack us, plus we get hit by the guard militia.¡± Isabella said. Lord General sounds like someone pretty high up. So basically they have the guards and some high ranking official on their side. Attacking The Flutes wasn¡¯t the problem then, it¡¯s what would happen after.

    ¡°I am Hairu master. It is a pleasure to have you back with us. Let me say that I despise the idea of Kalon¡¯s coup, and I am forever your servant. I am a strong advocate of bringing The Flutes to heel.¡± One of the vampires said, he stuck his head out so I could better see him. He looked to be near his thirties, but I knew he is much older.

    ¡°I am Cassandra master,¡± Another vampire said, she also leaned forward. I remember her face; she was the one with the gown, and gothic look. She is still pretty cute. ¡±I am forever your loyal servant. Ask whatever of me and it shall be done. Let me also say, that I am esteemed to have fresh leadership among The Shrouded¡± After she finished, the vampire that earlier left with the body, returned. He also introduced himself.

    Soon enough one by one, they all stood up, Including Isabella, and introduced themselves. I believe they tried to outdo each other. It ended with someone calling me magnificent and of the pinnacle of a true Ancient. Which was good, not the titles, but that they were fighting over which side would become my favorite. It¡¯s good this way for now. It may be a problem in the future, if I decide to stick around. I knew everyone''s names now, and this has turned into a sort of meeting in a way.

    ¡°Thank you for introducing yourselves. Forgive me for my ignorance in certain matters. I won¡¯t give details, but let us just say that the world looked very different when I awoke. So explanations will be required on certain topics. I also intend to retrieve Jax, if he is not already dead.¡± I said, combining several speech threads into a spell. The spell took some time to cast.

    ¡°He should be in their headquarters, or at the Councilman Demir¡¯s house. ¡°Isabella said.

    ¡°Why would he be in a Councilman¡¯s house?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Because Talon is a corrupt place, there are major seven syndicates in Talon. Recently the nobles have laid their eyes on the profit of the syndicates, and now we have nobles that are running syndicates behind doors.¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°The guards have done nothing to stop them?

    ¡°Talon has laws, master. Peasants cannot summon nobles to court. And, sufficient evidence is required to convict someone, not the mention the blood war it might cause between nobles. No nobleman wants those risks just to do some good. The city is ripe with blackmail.¡± Cassandra said.

    Great, so basically we have a corrupt city. Are the rest of the cities in Almeria this corrupt as well? It¡¯s probably due to the distance that Almaria is from the kingdom itself. It serves more as a stronghold to keep out the worst of the badlands. The royal family could care less what happens to Talon. Talon practically self-governs itself. Whenever there is a new Lord General, he has travel to the capital to kneel before the King and swear allegiance. I¡¯m impressed that I suddenly remember that information.

    ¡°We will go after the headquarters then, if what you say is true, and then I can''t imagine him keeping Jax by his house. Is this all the information?¡± I said casting a quick speech spell.

    ¡°That is currently all. We previously were having stability issues, but thanks to Jax, it has been sorted out. It¡¯s been a smooth transition for those who have not been in the inner circle. ¡°Cassandra spoke up. I was actually expecting more hatred to me. They seem to be taking this really good, I wonder why. Could be that they are used to constant changes in leadership.

    ¡°What about protection for the brothels and bars that we own in the city Master?¡± Hairu asked.

    ¡°How much business do we own?¡± I questioned.

    ¡°Currently, five brothels and three bars, and we also do bodyguard services. Our bars were previously burnt down.¡± Hairu replied.

    ¡°I volunteer for defensive duty master!¡± A muscled woman said, as she stood up to her my attention. Iona was her name, a tall woman, with sharp features. She had short hair and a heavy voice. A Tom boy would be a perfect description of her. It was either that or she was a transsexual.

    Another vampire stands up, then another. Soon enough there were four vampires standing up. They were all offering to be sent out to help with any defenses. I didn¡¯t even know the places I have to defend. I didn¡¯t think I would have to deal with a problem like this so soon. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m up against. I know nothing about them, except that they apparently have connections with the Lord General. The title itself sounded badass, to be both a lord and a general. He could be the actual lord of the city. I¡¯m not that familiar with titles in the city, or even the kingdom.

    ¡°What exactly are we facing, how much people? How big are they? I want to know if I¡¯m fighting ten, or six hundred.¡± I said, combing the speech threads into a single spell.

    ¡°They are much bigger than us. They are all thieves and assassins though, well known throughout Almeria. I expect them to be more well equipped, and trained. Our brothels and bars are guarded by ten to twelve guards each. We have pulled out our operations from the capital, so we have an extra fifty men to help increase the protection of the business. All the previous attacks were arson and murder. It¡¯s safe to assume that they will attack our bars. ¡± Cassandra said.

    ¡°Use the extra men to increase the amount of guards at the brothels. Hairu is in charge of the guards for this building. I want proper guard patrols of ten men around this block Hairu.¡± I said casting another speech spell.

    ¡°For those who want to defend, three of you will be going to the bars, one is going to a brothel. Use your discretion to choose the ones most likely to be attacked.¡± I said. The Flutes are bigger, more equipped and skilled. That sounds like even odds. I¡¯m hungry, and I think I¡¯m ready for another all you can eat buffet.

    ¡°Yes Master.¡± The vampires replied in sync.

    ¡°What time is it right now?¡± I asked, unsure.

    ¡°It will soon be night.¡± Thea said. I was hoping for a more accurate time. I probably wouldn¡¯t get one. They don¡¯t have clocks here most likely. That bothered me a lot, not knowing the exact time of day. It¡¯s true what they say. You don¡¯t know how precious something is, until you don¡¯t have it anymore.

    ¡°The rest of you will be coming with me. We will be attacking this headquarters tonight. If I could go now, I would.¡± I said. They nodded at my words. They would assume it¡¯s because I would burn in the sun, like all Ancient vampires do. They aren''t wrong with the burning part.

    ¡°You can all leave now. You have your jobs, everyone else, get ready for tonight. You stay here Isabella.¡± I said. Each of the vampires got up and left the room. I watched them patiently leave. I then shifted my head across to Isabella.

    ¡°Me? I would''ve never thought you would try to make your move so quickly, I guess you¡¯ll be slaying me tonight as well.¡± Isabella said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I had in mind.¡± I said. She did a great job of putting the thoughts there though.

    ¡°It¡¯s not? Oh well that¡¯s too bad.¡± She replied.

    ¡°I should check up on the children, they¡¯re prone to fighting with each other.¡± Thea said.

    ¡°Where did Jax find them? And, thank you, for defending me. You did not have to.¡±

    ¡°Forever your servant, I welcome the day that I will see the City of Night,¡± Thea said. City of Night? Sounds like a good place for me to be. ¡°He found them in a room, not far away from here. They were being groomed to become blood banks.¡± Thea continued. I look towards Isabella. The thought of children being used like that disappointed me. Isabella averted her eyes from me. Thea then stood up. She asked for my permission to leave, and I give it to her. Only Isabella and I remain.

    ¡°I know you and Jax moved me after I fell. You must have some idea where my sword is.¡±

    ¡°You want your sword? It¡¯s in Victor¡¯s room,. Well, it¡¯s your room now Master.¡± She said the last word with a lusty voice. I think I know what¡¯s going on here. I am sure she is just trying to get on my good side. Which isn¡¯t a bad thing, I might just let her. We both stand, and she walks to one of doors at the side of the stairs.

    ¡°Mighty fine piece of ass she has partner.¡± The dungeon core said. I agreed with him.

    ¡°Can I call you something other than The Dungeon Core?¡± I ask the shard.

    I am still holding the shard in the palm of my hand. I slide the shard back into the pocket of my cloak. I hope it doesn¡¯t mind.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not partner, it¡¯s just a name.¡±

    ¡°What about Dion John¡± I ask.

    ¡°Dion John? That sounds awfully similar to Dungeon partner.¡±

    ¡°You just said, it¡¯s just a name. Fine, I¡¯ll think of something else.¡± I retort. For some reason, I thought of Aladdin. It gave me a name for a voice in a rock. I don¡¯t want to call the shard a genie. I am sure he does not grant wishes.

    ¡°What about Djinn?¡± I asked. The shard made a ¡®Hmm¡¯ noise. It must be thinking.

    ¡°Sounds good to me partner.¡±

    ¡°This is your room¡± Isabella said, as she pushes the door open. I enter a room with white marble tiles, which spread the light from the candles of a golden chandelier across the room. The walls are made of smooth and patterned stone. A large bed, covered with a thick fluffy sheet, sat against the wall directly opposite me. The room is also decorated with large landscape paintings, and a portrait of a woman. A fully body mirror is to the side of the bed, I quickly begin to move towards it.

    I feel my body weaken. Not my soul, but my actual body. I trip, and fall to my knee with both my hands on the ground. My fingers begin began to dry up really fast, and my eyes hurt. I momentarily go blind. My mouth begins to feel dry, and I go deaf.

    I for a mere second, it feels like I have actually experienced death. Then all my senses rush back to me. I am still on my knees. I turn head slowly, to look at my face in the mirror.

    My eyes are gone. Sockets filled with intense blue light, gazed back at me in the mirror. I have suddenly transformed back into my mummified state. Could this be due to the night?

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 24

    ¡°Master!¡± I heard Isabella shout. I held out a hand, so I can show her I am okay. However, that did not stop her. She is suspiciously worried for me, despite the fact that I killed her friends, and her previous master. It feels good to have a beautiful girl worry about me again. I began to cast another spell, as I got up.

    ¡°I am fine.¡±

    ¡°Master! Your eyes!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know.¡±

    ¡°Your hands¡­. what happened to your hair, Master?¡± Isabella said. She is in confusion; she sounds like she does not know who I am. I had to reveal this to someone eventually. I just did not know how to explain that I am a skeleton. ¡°It is still me Isabella.¡±

    ¡°Is this...part of your bloodline?¡± Isabella asked. Part of my bloodline? Did she think this is some ability, or curse? In a way it is. Technically I wouldn¡¯t be lying to her if I said it yes.

    ¡°Yes it is.¡± I said. Isabella went quiet for a few seconds.

    ¡°That explains how you survived. We have been discussing theories of why you didn¡¯t die when Victor burnt you. This makes you much stronger than Victor. Forgive me for speaking so freely, I¡¯ll accept any punishment you give.¡± Isabella said. She glanced at the bed, just long enough for me to see.

    ¡°No punishment. You may speak freely whenever we are alone Isabella. I¡¯m not sure why you are helping, but thank you. Why is a concern that I am stronger than Victor?¡± I ask. At least my transformation back into a skeleton began a conversation. I¡¯m terrible at starting conversations. If I want to slowly gain the trust of the vampires, the easiest person to start with is Isabella. Having a few friends around you never hurt.

    ¡°The strongest always lead.¡± Isabella replied. Is that the only reason? They follow me because they think that I¡¯ll be a better leader. I thought their would be more to it than that.

    The bed is soft; I have missed being on a bed. It is one of those things that you don¡¯t know the value of until it is gone.

    ¡°Your soul took some damage partner.¡± Djinn said. He didn¡¯t seem worried about the transformation.

    ¡°Am I going to go in some comma soon again?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never let that happen partner. You should keep your soul under order whenever you get a chance.¡± Djinn replied.

    ¡°You mean, go back into my soul? How exactly do I do that?¡±

    ¡°The same way you bring order to your memories.¡±

    Djinn isn¡¯t good at explaining things properly. Bring my soul under order? He did say it was like bringing order to my memories. If he used that as an example, then he must mean to use my willpower; since that is what I had use to move the books.

    I spot my sword on a rack above the bed. It looks a bit blackened, but still sharp. Vicktor¡¯s cutlass is sheathed above it on the same rack. I¡¯ve been looking for an extra blade, since all knights of Almeria carry two I¡¯ve been thinking about carrying two swords, despite not being a knight of Almeria. It must be related to the soul I first consumed.

    ¡°Jax is my second in command. You will be my underboss.¡± Isabella perked at my words.

    ¡°Sweet! It''s always been my dream to be under you. I will not disappoint you.¡± She paused for a second, ¡°What exactly does an underboss do?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in charge of making sure my orders are completed. If I¡¯m not around you take my place until I return, I also will like to have status reports on a regular basis.¡±

    ¡°You are promoting me to the rank of Dark hand?¡± Isabella said. Dark hand? They must call it that instead of underboss. The ranks in the syndicate are unknown to me. It¡¯s best that I affiliate myself with them.

    ¡°What are the ranks.¡± I ask, casting a quick speech spell.

    ¡°All of the ranks? Well, their are; recruits, soldiers, cutters, trackers, spies and bodyguards. Those are for the humans. We take notice of the best and most loyal of our members, and we allow them to take the passage to become one of us. The inner circle doesn¡¯t have any ranks, besides the dark hands, and the keeper. However, they are all dead. I never liked them much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Fools shouldn¡¯t be in places of power.¡±

    ¡°No they should not Master. You must tell me, how I can thank you for ridding me of my sire.¡± Isabella said, she folded her hands below her breast, which made them enlarge. If only I had a dick right now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that offer,¡± I gesture to my body of bones partially covered in dead skin and flesh. ¡°But, I won¡¯t be able to right now.¡±

    Isabella smiled and gave a soft chuckle as she said.¡± That won¡¯t be a problem. I have very unusual taste.¡± Isabella said, as she began to unbutton her shirt.

    ¡°Wait, please no. Not now, I have things to do. Let me know when my orders have been carried out. Also, I don¡¯t share your taste.¡± I said. This had to be the freakiest girl I have ever come across. However, it also a bit obvious that she is trying to wrap her fingers around me. As much I like her being friendly with me, it¡¯s best to let her know I¡¯m in charge.

    ¡°Are you sure. I-¡±

    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t make me repeat myself. Also, I want to speak to the people currently here.¡± I said with another quick cast of the speech spell. It is best show people that I am well. I am sure a lot of rumours are going around about me. Isabella bowed her head, and quickly button her shirt back up. ¡°As you say master.¡± She said as she closed the door shut.

    ¡°Smart move partner.¡±

    ¡°What do you know about women?¡± I said with a chuckle.

    ¡°I had my days you know. I didn¡¯t always look like this.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh sure. Is there any way for you to talk to me while I am inside my soul?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t partner; it takes energy to do that.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you suddenly vanished when you were back in my soul?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes partner. I am not sure what will happen if I run out. I¡¯m trying to conserve energy. All this talking doesn¡¯t help.¡±

    I had a feeling it would not be good if it did run out of energy. The little rock is useful, and I¡¯m stronger with it around. I abhor the idea of giving away my energy, but the gains were greater than what I could potentially lose.

    ¡°You can take some of mines then.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t partner you have to give it to me. You are the master of this bond.¡± Djinn said. The master of the bond? Did it mean that I am the control our connection? That¡¯s pretty good. I¡¯ve found that I like being the master of things, and lording over people. A trait most likely gained from the skeleton side of me. I wonder what would happen if I did not have the human part of me to bring balance to the skeleton in me. I would have certainly killed Isaac, Thea and Jax. Or, they would have killed me.

    I will not shed any tears if they did die. If anything they are only assets to me. Why destroy someone you can use? I have yet to give much thought to who I have become, I found that I love this new me.

    ¡°How exactly do I do that?¡± I ask Djinn. Transferring energy sounds like a complicated process.

    ¡°You have to instruct order on your soul. Look for the link partner, it connects our souls together, like a string.¡± Djinn said. I will have to use my willpower again. I am unsure what he means by the link. I am sure if I ask for details it will most likely give me a complicated response. However, he did let me know I am looking for something like a string. I take the shard out of my pocket.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    I focus on myself, and it takes a few seconds for me to see the colour of my own mana around my body. It is mostly blue, with touches of burgundy. I expected to see only blue, but the burgundy raised a few questions.

    I feel an odd sensation as I try to find the string that connects us. The room slowly begins to turn dark, until all that is left visible to me, is a line of glowing string. I quickly noted how similar this is to when I saw the vibrations from Jax¡¯s lute. On closer examination of the string, I found that it is not just a string. This is a thread that connects us, it is thin because the link contains few sub-threads. I move the shard further away from me, to see what would happen. In response the thread grew longer, to keep us connected.

    This is interesting. Never a dull day in this world. I use my skeleton fingers to flick the thread back and forth. The thread vibrates without sound. If this is like the last time with the lute, then I could not maintain this mode for long.

    ¡°Flow¡± I commanded my mana. I imagined it flowing into the thread that connected both of us. My mana creeps across the thread, and is absorbed by the dark purple mana of the shard.

    ¡°You¡¯re a natural partner!¡±

    Yes, I am good at this. I see a pattern with using my willpower. My resolve seems to be used for spiritual, or otherworldly manipulation. This is an entirely new branch of magic I have encountered. Time to repair some of my soul damage.

    ¡°Alright, hopefully this goes well. Just wake me up if anyone comes into the room.¡± I said. I imagine myself back inside my soul. I close my eyes; I¡¯m not sure how I even did this, considering I have no eyelids right now. I replicate the shelves, and the fountain in my mind. I then visualise the grey clouds above. Finally, I imagine the platform. I use all my resolve to put myself into my soul.

    When I opened my eyes I saw the fountain, and the circular formation of bookshelves. I hate to be back in this place after just leaving it. However, it is important to keep my soul clean of chaos. I want to avoid going in a soul comma.

    The fountain caught my interest. I kneel down before it and pass my hand through the mana. It feels heavy and cold on my hand; similar to mercury. It¡¯s also fun to play with. The fountain constantly flows and pumps more mana. Surprisingly it never overflows.

    I stand up, and begin the walk towards one of the pathways between the books. Occasionally, I come across a book which has fallen off a shelf. As I reach to the end of the platform, I spot a toppled shelf. The shelf caused a domino effects; toppling other shelves in different rows. It¡¯s the first time I have seen a fallen shelf.

    The books were scattered all over the ground when the shelf fell. I reach other with my willpower to lift the shelf. When I try to concentrate, I find it difficult. I sense that my low energy has something to do with it. I gave Djinn more energy than I should and it is now affecting me.

    I push the shelf back into place with my willpower, causing more books to fall from it. I steady the shelf until it¡¯s balanced, then I begin to lift the books up with my will. The books float into the shelf, seven at a time. It didn¡¯t take long to fill the shelf. I exited the row of bookshelves and start fix the other shelves and fallen books.

    After I finished I start to search around the platform. I came across a new row of books that should not have been there. Did the platform grow larger? Perhaps it adds a shelf after each soul is consumed. This new shelf must be the memories of Kalon. I move on, and begin to search the platform for more fallen books.

    I found a few more books that fell off the shelves, and put them back. After going through the maze of shelves twice, I am certain I cleaned up everything. It did not fade away back to reality like last time. Unlike the first time being here, I actually wanted to stay. It feels good being surrounded by books filled with knowledge. This is truly how I would have imagined my soul to be like.

    I sat on the fountain ledge. My khopesh is in my hands, and I have Victor¡¯s cutlass strapped to my waist. I now that the swords are not real. I imagined a perfect replica of myself when I first willed myself into my soul, with the addition of my khopesh and Vicktor''s cutlass. I don¡¯t think Victor will be needing his cutlass anymore, so this sword is now officially mine. The real one, not this fake imaginary replica.

    I twirl the khopesh in my hand as I stand. This would be a time to practice my sword forms. Time passes quickly as I practice.

    I start with Sea of Light: which is used as a draw-cut, meant to unsheathe the sword and strike in same motion. I follow up with Leaf in The Wind: which is three quick strikes meant to push an opponent back. I flowed Leaf in The Wind with Bear Rushes Down the Hills: it is a series of aggressive strikes raining down from overhead.

    I¡¯ll most likely never be as good as Victor when it comes to the swords. At least I have the memories of the sword forms he used in his last battle. All I have to do now is practice. I have the knowledge, but I lack the experience. I take several steps back to the ledge of the fountain and sheath the khopesh. I was about to repeat the sword forms, when I am interrupted by the voice of Djinn.

    ¡°Partner, your wild cat is back. She just entered the room.¡± I quickly begin to gather my willpower. Using my resolve, and pull my consciousness out of my soul.

    ¡°Master.¡± I hear the lusty voice of Isabella. I start to form the threads for a speech spell.

    ¡°Have my orders been carried out?¡± I asked as I sit up on the bed.

    ¡°Yes Master, we are prepared for another attack tonight. The headquarters is also fortified.¡± Isabella replied. I get off the bed, and take my khopesh off the rack. I am about to slide it into my belt, when I remember I don¡¯t have one. Right, it was burnt to dust by Victor¡¯s fire breath attack.

    ¡°I asked Cassandra. I figured you would need one for tonight. Let me know if you want anything that you may desire.¡± Isabella lifts up a black leather sword belt, and a new sheath for my khopesh in her hands.

    ¡°Ah, yeah I will be sure to ask. Thank you.¡± Isabella turns her head slightly, it looked like she is slightly confused.

    ¡°What is wrong?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Nothing master. Well, It¡¯s just your actions have been, so random. The others are rightly scared of you, but they are more terrified of what you will do. Victor would have never thanked me.¡± Isabella said.

    ¡°Really? I thought the meeting went pretty good. They didn¡¯t seem scared.¡± I said, as I wrap the sword belt around me. I don¡¯t think that I am that random. Well, I can be, it feels as though I have two personalities fighting for control. I attached the khopesh to the left side of the belt. I raise the cutlass off the rack, and attached it to the right.

    ¡°Everyone was scared¡­. The meeting did go well Master. The meeting was unexpected, because orders are usually handed down to the Dark Hands only. Vicktor, or any of the previous Dons never did anything like that.¡± Isabella said. Giving orders to only two people seemed inefficient to me. I think Vicktor¡¯s nobility hampered his vision. This syndicate could turn into something greater than just a small gang.

    ¡°Are the others prepared for the assault?¡±

    ¡°Yes, let me escort you outside.¡± Isabella replied.

    I follow her outside my bedroom, and across the throne room. We enter a long hallway, then went up a staircase. I must have spent five, or seven minutes walking up the stairs. We come across a solid wall of stone. A dead end? Isabella pressed her hand on the stone wall, and I hear a faint click. The door then begins to revolve, and Isabella walked into the room beyond. She held the wall open for me, as I follow her through.

    The room we enter looks to be an office. It has candle holders against the wall, which offers enough lighting for the room. A large desk is to the right, with a chair against the wall. The room had one bookshelf that looked poorly organised. An hourglass, and an opened book is on top of the desk.

    ¡°Patrols have been regulated Master Laoch. I wish you only success tonight. The syndicate is awaiting you on the balcony.¡± The voices sound familiar, but I did not remember whose voice it is until I turned to see the face. The voice came from the square chinned man who called himself Hairu.

    ¡°Wish us all luck.¡± The vampire bowed his head at my words. My skull, and empty eye sockets are still exposed. However, he didn¡¯t flinch from the sight of me. Isabella must have told them about my condition. They must have grown use to unnatural things. We walk out the room, and into another hallway. Moving down the hallway, we encountered even more stairs going up. After that we came across a wooden twin door, which Isabella pushed open.

    The sound of chattering quickly died as Isabella and I step onto the balcony inside the warehouse. I spot the vampires lined in front of the balcony railing, their backs faced towards me. Isabella gestures at a podium as she joins the vampires in the line.

    ¡°My Lord,¡± I hear the voice of Thea, and I turn to see her standing against the wall. ¡°Your mask.¡± She held out a mask to me. The same mask I had on when I fought Vicktor. But, that mask was burnt to charcoal, so this must be another mask. I nod a greeting to her, as I take the skeleton mask from her, and strap it around my skull. I loved this mask, it did much a great job of hiding the glow in my eyes. It would have certainly affected the sight of a normal human. No such drawback was applied to me.

    Thea has her daggers attached to her belt, and she is also wearing her leather armour this time. Does that mean she is coming with us to help Jax? Saving Jax was just one of the reasons I am doing this. I¡¯m definitely going to murder someone tonight for sure; I need a soul to consume. If I can also take over another syndicate in the process, then all the more glory to me.

    I step up onto the podium. The faces of one hundred criminals look up at me. The silence is almost too much for me. I stare at their faces. These are the faces of men stained with blood and crime. You should have prepared a speech, I tell myself. The room is tense, and for a moment I was satisfied to just say nothing, then leave. But, the skeleton in me would not have that. It wants to be glorified and feared.

    ¡°You are all lost sheep.¡± I said, with a quick speech spell.

    ¡°But fear not. For I am your shepherd. I am sure you all have heard of the things I can do. Follow me. I shall lead you to wealth and power like no other syndicate has seen. You all know what I can do by myself in one night, imagine what we can take when we are as one.¡± I said, rapidly casting speech spells.

    ¡°Gentlemen, Talon has too many syndicates, and I intend for us to be the only one.¡± I cast another quick speech spell. I draw my khopesh and raise it in the air for all to see. I modify my next speech spell, so it should linger in the air, to create an echo.

    ¡°Red City Under Red Skies!¡±

    The sound echoes through the room. Everyone is still silent. Then the sound of one hundred blades being draw from their scabbards fills the room. The light from the candles glitter of the mass of swords and daggers, as they are raised. I bask in the glory of the moment as a slow chant begins to erupt in the room.

    ¡°RED CITY UNDER RED SKIES!¡±

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 25

    Councilman Demir sits by his desk in the headquarters of The Flutes. The chomping of his teeth fills the room as he eats. Food has always been his best friend. At times he wished his wife would magically turn into a piece of ham. On paper they may be married, but to him she is just a whore. She gave him one son, then began to cheat on him. As if that was not embarrassing enough, she cheated on him with the Lord General. Demir planned to kill the woman when he found out. A mistake he would have made, if not for the food calming him. It gave him the time he needed to think.

    He now had the Lord General under chains, the man could not afford a scandal with the elections approaching. Serves him right for turning me into a cuck, Demir thought. He pinned one of the meatballs down with his fork. He imagined the meatball to be the Lord General. As Demir was about to bite the meatball, to experience the feeling of crushing the Lord General with his teeth, he is interrupted by the creaking door.

    ¡°Don Demir-¡± Razan said as he entered Demir¡¯s office. He enjoys irritating Demir.

    ¡°For the last time Razan. Do not call me that.¡± Demir replied. The obese man takes small bites of the meatball then he licks the fork after his is finished. Razan watches quietly, his eyes shifting to Demir¡¯s pet mage, that stood behind the chair. Razan hated the man, with a passion. Only love stopped him from killing Feylax.

    ¡°I cannot stress how much I hate being interrupted when I eat. You are lucky I have use for you, yet you test me. I sometimes wonder how you ever ran this shithole.¡± Demir said. Demir didn¡¯t harbour any great hate for dark skinned man. To be honest, he thought they were similar at times. A man who would do anything for his wife. However, he hated the fact that his wife loved him so much. Razan did not deserve a wife with so much dedication. He enjoyed tormenting them. Blackmailing is just too much fun.

    Razan had grown use to his insults over the past year, and he never forgot any of them. I will slaughter you like the fat pig you are Demir, mark my words. I shall have vengeance, even if it cost me my other eye, Razan thought.

    ¡°Now, what is it.¡± Demir said, as he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

    ¡°Councilman Demir. another hit will be on The Shrouded tonight, all of our vampires are ready. It¡¯s not wise for you to stay here.¡± Razan said. His eyes shifted to Feylax, then back at the Councilman. Demir smiles, and gestures to Feylax. The mage dips his hand into his cloak, and takes out a small vile that glows green. Feylax tosses the vile at Razan who catches with one hand, and deposits it in a black pouch attached to his belt.

    ¡°Nowhere is safe. That¡¯s why I have you, and your syndicate. Oh, that¡¯s right. My syndicate. Now leave me, let me finish this lasagne. It¡¯s probably the only good thing about this shithole. Send my compliments to Richard, excellent meal.¡± Razan said.

    ¡°You had Richard killed, he put too much salt. There''s a new chef now.¡± Razan said, with a bit of scorn. He liked Richard, it was sad to see the man done in by the mage. Razan almost unsheathed his rune blade and severed Demir¡¯s head from his shoulder when he gave the order. It took great restraint from Razan to watch a man he personally knew, die. But, his wife is alive, and that is the only life that really mattered to him.

    ¡°That explains why the food is better.¡± Demir said. Razan did not hear him, because he already left the room, shutting the door behind him.

    ¡°Now we just have to wait for them to come to us. I hope you''re ready, seems I¡¯ll finally have someone to put you up again Feylax. I hear the new Don of the Shrouded is a mage.¡± Demir said, to the mage standing behind him.

    Feylax thought Demir¡¯s lisp made him sound stupid. That is usually the second mistake people make when crossing paths with Demir. The first being that the man is fat. Demir likes when people underestimate him because of his weight. Feylax has been in his employ long enough to know the man loved to tear down those that underestimate him.

    ¡°You have nothing to fear Councilman.¡± Feylax said. Demir laughed softly as he twisted his fork around the lasagne.

    ¡°You are right. I have nothing to fear.¡±

    <hr>

    Thea slides both her daggers out of a corpse. She wipes her bloodied blade on the dead man¡¯s back. She looked around at the six vampires. All of them are kneeling by a corpse, and sucking the blood out of their victim. One man is still screaming, but his voice is weak, and too soft for anyone to come to his rescue. The screaming man shortly dies in Isabella¡¯s arms. The sound of Laoch¡¯''s command to attack still ringed in her mind.

    ¡°You look a bit squirmy little girl. Don¡¯t let the blood bother you¡±, Isabella said. She licks the drops of blood on the cheeks of the corpse. ¡°I like keeping them alive, while I eat.¡±

    ¡°I am not a little girl. I am almost twenty. You don¡¯t sound much older, and blood doesn¡¯t bother me.¡± Thea replied.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take that as a compliment. I¡¯m three times older than you, so yes, little girl.¡± Isabella said, she stands up, and takes several steps closer to Thea. Isabella wipes her mouth with her fingers then licks it. How does the girl even see? Isabella thought. She begins to wave her hand back and forth in front of Thea¡¯s face.

    ¡°I can see your hand.¡± Thea said. Ever since she had left the village with Jax in search of the First King¡¯s priest, people have treated her different. A few times she almost killed men for touching her, because they thought she couldn¡¯t see them. If I were in the village, insults like these to an oracle would bring banishment, Thea thought. However, she was no longer in training to be an oracle. She felt like she betrayed her mother and the First King when she abandoned her duty, and became a seeker. Laoch had shown her the errors she made. Even though his words were few, they explained the misery she has been feeling. I betrayed only myself when I choose to become a seeker, is that why mother allowed me to leave without question? Thea thought. This has always been the way her mother, the oracle, teaches. Thea wondered how her mother would ever forgive her for the harsh things she said. She decides that she would tell Jax that she can no longer be his apprentice, her destiny was to become the next Oracle of the First King. She hopes he is still alive. What am I even thinking, of course he is alive, he is Jax. He isn¡¯t just a seeker, he is The Seeker, Thea thought.

    ¡°Well, he obviously couldn¡¯t see your hand,¡± Isabella said, removing her hand from Thea¡¯s face and gesturing to the dead man on the ground next to Thea.¡± At least you have some formal training.¡±

    ¡°I am a seek-, servant to the hand of the First King. I have been trained appropriately.¡± Thea said, as she slid her daggers into their scabbard.

    ¡°Not that First King thing again. He is an Ancient, not a saint of your little religious order.¡± Isabella said, Thea quickly moved her hands back to her daggers again, Isabella shifted to her side, and drew her sword and inch out of its sheath.

    ¡°That¡¯s an Insult. I have seen you try to wiggle your fingers around Lord Laoch.¡± Thea said. She didn¡¯t like how Isabella is trying to force her way into Laoch¡¯s bed. Thea knew that Laoch¡¯s every choice is dictated by the First King himself, and that The First King has a liking for powerful women. I cannot accept someone who doesn¡¯t believe in the First King, as a future sister, Thea thought.

    ¡°Oh, someone sounds jealous. Am I stealing your saint away from you? Is it odd that I think that I know him a bit better than you?¡± Isabella said. Another Insult, Thea thought. But, was it? For Thea it is foolish to think that anyone knew more about the First King than the Oracle, or herself. But, those are from books, and records. She is right. However, that did not stop Thea from feeling insulted.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill me, I have children!¡± The somewhat thin man who Laoch is holding shouted. The man has short curly blonde hair, and is also fairly muscular. Thea was about to reply to Isabella, but this moment could not be missed. If she was to be a future oracle, then chronicling the choices the First King makes before his rebirth is of the utmost importance. Thea moved her hands away from her daggers, and began to walk closer to Laoch, so she can observe the interrogation.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Laoch said. Laoch held the narrow man against the building. He began to sob as Laoch applied pressure to his neck. ¡°You will lead me to your headquarters, wherever it is hidden.¡± Laoch said. Thea is still awestruck by the sound of his voice. She found it to be enchanting. Thea could only imagine what the voice of the First King would be like, compared to his priest, it must be a force of nature.

    Thea could hear the sound of a couple arguing. Her hearing is better than most humans, due to her blindness. Thea wondered how everyone else sees the world. Not many people know, since it is a guarded secret kept by only the Oracle. But, the world is made up of energy. Every single thing, both living and non-living is made of threads of energy.

    Thea saw the world in blue threads. This is how the world is meant to look, Thea thought. She could not picture it any other way, despite being told the world is more beautiful than how she sees it. Thea didn¡¯t believe that. The way the strings of blue energy shade the world, is beauty beyond words. She hates when her blindness is being mistaken for weakness. I am not the one who is blind, everyone else is, she thought.

    ¡°Awgit ease don ill me¡± Thea heard the man say, as he sobbed. Laoch ease his choking by a bit, just enough to for the man to speak properly.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it, just-just don¡¯t kill me. I have a wife.¡± The man said, Laoch moved his face closer, until it is only an inch away from the man¡¯s face. Thea walks closer to hear, but not too close to cause a distraction.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop walking, do anything else¡±, Laoch said, he paused for some reason. It was not the first time Thea has notice these breaks in his speech. It only made her find his voice sound magical to her. ¡°And you forfeit more than just your life.¡±

    Thea thought that is common knowledge, at least back home in the village. Betraying the First King, is to forfeit your soul to Uffern Dam, the Bloody Hell. Thea watches as Laoch releases the man. He falls down onto the ground, but quickly gets back up on his feet. Laoch then gestures with his hand, for the man to walk.

    ¡°Stop, we are leaving.¡± Laoch said. Thea knew his words were for the vampires, who are still on the ground, sucking the blood from their kills.

    <hr>

    I follow the man, around a corner. Few people were out this time of night, and most of them looked like they were up to no good. I planned for us to stay hidden by using the rooftops to avoid guard patrols. It worked marvellously, vampires are great at stealth. However, they are greedy for blood, and three days without it made them thirsty. During our walk, I have been told by Cassandra, the cute goth girl, that they can last up to a week without blood when I asked. We knew of the district The Flutes operate in, but not where their headquarters is located. Which made sense, The Flutes are thieves and assassins, they are wanted criminals. Unlike the other syndicates who are involved in racketeering. The man narrow man, with dark brown eyes stops, then turns to look at me, and points to an alley across the street about a block away.

    ¡°It¡¯s right there around the corner. A couple buildings down, and across the street. You¡¯ll find an alley next to a pub. You will come across a manhole cover at the end of the alley. The headquarters is there, I swear.¡± The man says, he has a very tight voice that always made him sound nervous. He is not wrong to be scared, I have been contemplating killing him for some time now. I¡¯ve been holding back since the man still had some uses, but now he was useless to me. I walk closer to him. He almost tripped over himself, but managed to regained his feet, but only to have his back pressed against a stone building.

    ¡°How many children do you have.¡± I ask the man, casting a quick speech spell.

    ¡°T-three, um daughters. I have three daughters.¡± The said, his voice held uncertainty.

    ¡°What are their names.¡± I ask, as I began to create the weaving for a reverse repair spell.

    ¡°Names? Right, of course names, hmmm. Marcia, Macy, and Michael, no wait, I mean I mean Mace-Madaline, yes, Madeline. No wait, please-¡± The man begged for his life.

    I hold the man¡¯s mouth shut as I slammed his head against the wall. I want to laugh honestly. If you are going to lie to me, at least think your lies through. You¡¯ll have to die sadly, you must have figured out by now, that I can¡¯t have people running loose shouting wolf. I pressed my left hand against the man¡¯s head, and unleashed the spell. The man¡¯s head vanished almost instantly. I still cannot believe how unnatural it looks. It is like someone just dragged the erase over the guy¡¯s face in Photoshop.

    The headless corpse falls to the ground. The blood from the corpse burst out. I take several steps back to avoid the blood wetting the shiny new leather boots I took from Victor. The man soul floats up quickly as if to run away from me. I grab onto it with one hand, and squeeze the soul and absorb.

    I turn and stare harshly at the vampires. On the way here, I gave them harsh warnings about what would happen if anyone choose to have a snack without asking me. The vampires look away from the blood, their gazes shifted to the walls, as if they had found something amazing. I did not think that I would have to teach them discipline, but it seems like no one has taught them restraint.

    Turning around, I step out onto the tiled cobblestones of the pavement. I spot the entrance to the alley even from this distance, it is a block away, and I can spot figures standing at the entrance. Three men stood guard, there were probably more. I didn¡¯t want to get any closer, as strong as I am, a well-placed arrow, or unexpected sword stroke through my skull, is enough to finish the mighty Laoch.

    Strange, I¡¯ve been referring to myself as Laoch all this time, without even thinking about it. When did I become so used to referring to myself as Laoch? The name feels oddly familiar. I just hope my actual name is not terrible, like Ben Dover or Jack Goff. Maybe it¡¯s a blessing I don¡¯t remember it. Thinking of my name reminds me of Nia. I begin to walk along the pavement towards the figures, so I can get a better look.

    Two of the men are short, average build. The third is a bit tall, fairly muscular and somewhat broad. They all looked to be wearing armour, but from this distance it is indistinguishable what type of armour it is. I can hear them talk from where I, but it sounds muffled, and the words are like gibberish. I wave at Cassandra for her to step forward.

    ¡°Yes Master.¡± Cassandra says. She holds a black composite bow in her hand, and carries a quiver of arrows strapped to her back. She received the first kill of the night, before we could even jump down on our soon to be victims.

    ¡°Go atop the roofs. Those men are your targets, when I give the signal, kill them and be discrete.¡± I said, casting a long speech spell. I¡¯m getting better at talking. However, it¡¯s hard to put emotion into the spell. I have noticed how Thea looks at me when I cast my speech spells. She must think I sound monotonous. I¡¯ll have to practice on it, if I plan to succeed at my conquest of the city''s underworld. My plan to control one syndicate for the purpose of using them to gather souls was simple minded of me.

    ¡°Yes Master.¡± Cassandra replied, her voice is soft and modulated. I wonder how far I could test her, at what point would these vampires say no.

    Cassandra walks across the street, her red and black gown swishing. I thought her apparel to be unsuited for the occasion, but she moved comfortably in it. Speed did not seem to be a skill she possessed. Cassandra entered the alley opposite to us, and jumped. Her jump is high enough that she managed to grab onto a window ledge on the second floor with only one hand. She pulls herself up, so she could place her feet against the building. She jumped again, this time just high enough to reach the roof. Using the same hand, she grips onto the roof and pulls herself atop it.

    I walk along the pavement towards the alley a block away. Street lights were strategically placed to offer the greatest amount of light. I hear the movements of the others following behind me. As I walk I watch Cassandra stroll across to the next building, since it is only inches apart. I hear the sound of chattering

    I follow her as she walks across the roof. We pass two drunk men who leaned on each other for support, they were talking about how great this district is, and that guard patrols rarely ever come here now at night. The noise from the building opposite the alley made it stand out to me. I read the sign above the three Flute guards. The image of a mug next to a music note with the, ¡®Sammy''s Pub¡¯ is nicely lit by a street lamp.

    Cassandra walks onto the roof of the pub. We are close enough to the entrance that I can now see another of the Flute, four in total. He is roughly five feet behind the Flute guards at the entrance of the alley, he is leaning against the wall. It looks like he is sleeping, because his head is down with his chin against his chest. Cassandra crouched and nocked an arrow to her bow. She takes aim, and waits for my signal.

    It takes me only a brief couple seconds to check that the street is clear. The Flutes still have not noticed us, and they are still talking to each other. They occasionally burst out in laughter. I raise my hand in the air to signal Cassandra. Another burst of laughter, hides the twang of Cassandra¡¯s bow.

    ¡°And then!¡±, One of the Flute guards said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. ¡°He says, I have a quill,¡± The man then lifts one hand as though he is grabbing a quill. ¡°I have pineapple¡±, He lifts his other hand, to show that he is holding a pineapple. He then proceeds to smash the imaginary quill and apple together.

    ¡°UHHH¡± The man shouts. I''m sure he was about to say something ridiculous, but is stopped when his taller friend drew his sword, and turned to look at us. At least someone spot us. However, it is too late now. Their sleeping friend is already dead with an arrow in his brains.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!! The tall man shouts, but his voice is drowned from the noise coming from the pub.

    Another twang and an arrow hits another member of the Flutes. The man reaches for the arrow that went through the back of his neck. He tried to scream, but only blood poured out of his mouth. His body hit the ground with a thud. One of the Flutes heard the sound and gasps as he after he rushes to the dead man¡¯s side.

    ¡°Johnny¡± The man said, it is the same one who was telling the joke. I watch him go to his knee besides his dead friend, looking for what the problem is. Another twang could be heard. An instant later his head rocks back, he dies from an arrow through his eye socket.

    ¡°Fuck, FUCK!¡± The tall man shouts, he turns around, and runs into the alley. He did not reach far, moments later an arrow hits him in the back, and he falls over dead.

    That was actually easy. I thought these guys are supposed to be better equipped, and better trained. They were wearing hide armour, not exactly strong stuff. I¡¯ve never seen hide armour before. That must be another indirect memory.

    ¡°Come, pull these bodies off the pavement before someone sees them.¡± I cross the street, and into the pavement. I whisper a command to the souls that were floating up into the air. The sleeping man¡¯s soul almost got out of my reach, but it slowly came back, and I absorbed it with my hand. I expect to have four new shelves in my soul.

    The vampires drag the bodies into the alley. Cassandra jumps off the roof and into the alley, dust rose from the ground when she lands.

    ¡°Good Job¡± I said to Cassandra.

    ¡°Thank you Master.¡± She said, with the soft voice I¡¯ve grown to associate her with. She is practically expressionless. She then begins to pluck her arrows out of the bodies of the Flutes.

    Just like the man said, there is a manhole cover here. The alley ends in a dead end, with old termite infested crates to the side. In my opinion, it would of been better to hide the manhole with the termite boxes.

    I order one of the vampires, to lift the crate up. The vampire is one of the older generation, he quickly obeys, and lifts the manhole cover up.

    ¡°You guys go in first, I¡¯ll follow after.¡± I said with a quick speech spell cast. I hear the vampires reply yes, and they begin to go down the metal ladder inside the manhole, hopefully to The Flutes headquarters.

    ¡°Except for you Thea. Wait here for a bit, and make sure no one sees us enter.¡± I said with another speech spell.

    ¡°As you say Lord Laoch.¡± Thea replies. Then she speaks again.,¡± Ekess wer Annyo.¡±

    It means till the last. It¡¯s an ancient battle chant. I am not sure how I know that. Just remembering made me feel old as time itself. I¡¯ll have to remember those words. However, it feels as though I have never forgotten them.

    ¡°Shar si Irral¡± The words flow from a speech spell I do not even remember weaving. It felt like reflex, as though I have said it a million times. Thea brightens at my words. I cannot think of what the words could mean, but she obviously knew their meaning.

    When I look at the manhole, all the vampires, including Isabella and Cassandra were already climbing down. I follow them in next. I watch as the vampires begin to jump off the ladder, since it didn¡¯t go all the way to the bottom. I jump off it when I reach the end. The ladder was really dusty, so I had to brush off all the dust from my cloak. I am not sure why I am so concerned about the dust. I look up and scan the dark room in horror.

    The room is too dark for even me to see, but the burgundy glow of almost two dozen vampires dotted the room. A large amount of blue glows covered the room as well. It must have at least fifty people here. I expect some retaliation, but not this much. The vampires around me obviously could not see them in the pitch black darkness. Everything makes perfect sense now. The easy kills. The poor armour, and untrained men. This is an ambush. We were baited.

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 26

    ¡°This isn¡¯t looking good partner.¡±

    ¡°I assumed you must have died. You went quiet after I left the room.¡±

    ¡°I''m a dungeon core partner, I often go quiet. I should invite you over to my soul partner, once I¡¯m finished doing some refurbishing.¡±

    ¡°I can do that? And don''t think you''ll have it easy. You better be worth all the mana you''re getting.¡± I said.

    ¡°I haven''t heard that word since the seventh age partner. Just who are you.¡± Djinn said. He pauses, then asked, ¡°And how are you able to touch the souls partner?¡±

    ¡°You can see that?¡±

    ¡°I can partner; I¡¯ve been trying to figure out why you get so little energy from the souls.¡± Djinn said.

    ¡°I do? Look, we will have to talk about this later.¡± I said.

    ¡°Sure, call me if you need my help tonight then partner.¡±

    The sound of Thea¡¯s decline onto the stone floor broke the silence in the room. I hear the reverberation of her daggers as she withdraws them. The ray that pours through the manhole from above did little to brighten the room. I discern the blue glow around her, but the room is too dark to see her body. That is not a major obstacle, since the glow outlines her, and I have admired her more than enough times to recall her figure. However, it is challenging to identify the others, with the exception of Isabella and Cassandra. They are the only two female vampires in the group. This ambush is poorly planned. They did not take into consideration what I actually am. I only grow stronger with more souls, and if these are not the best of their best, then they have failed. I should have expected an ambush from thieves and assassins.

    ¡°Lord Laoch.¡± I hear Thea whisper to me, in a serious voice. I already know what she is planning to say. Her eyes must allow her to see the people in the room. Maybe it is similar to my own. If I survive this, I¡¯ll have to get to know Thea more, she is too interesting, and beautiful to ignore.

    ¡°I know know¡± I said, I reduce the sub thread that controlled the volume of the weave, which made it turn into a whisper. I was not paying much attention to the speech spell, and I formed two of the same threads by mistake. The light coming through the manhole illuminated us in the darkness perfectly. I hear the sound of bow strings being pulled back, or is it crossbows?

    ¡°Archers!¡± Cassandra shouts.

    I pick up the sound of a finger snap, my skull turns to find the origin. The torches on the wall ignite all at once, illuminating the limestone walls. The room is circular, and has a high ceiling; high enough to support scaffolding, which archers and crossbowmen use as their vantage point. There are vampires in a triangle formation in front of us, with black with padded armour. Humans in greater numbers than the vampires, are scattered all throughout the room. The humans wear leather armour over their chainmail, and all of them look like they are carrying daggers or short swords. This would be as good a time to start a spell, I need something with serious crowd control.

    Thea¡¯s right hand moves forward in a blur towards my face, as projectiles whistle through the air. Sparks fly off the edge of her blade, as an arrow hits it. I can hear the scream of Cassandra mixed in with the shouts of agony from the vampires in our group. I turn to Thea, to examine her for any wounds, surprisingly none of the arrows hit her.

    Cassandra has two arrows protruding out of her arm, and a bolt from a crossbow in her chest. Isabella is riddled with arrows all over the front of her torso, and a bolt through her throat. The four other vampires in the group have comparable injuries to Cassandra. Except for one, who is dead, from the three arrows protruding through his face. He was one of the younger ones. Thea observes my hand as I reach out to grab the soul with my hand. Is she just following my hand? Or does she also see souls?

    Thea¡¯s movements cause all the Flutes to draw their weapons. The glow that surrounds the vampires are all similar, their burgundy glow is not as intense as Cassandra or Isabella; this must be because they are too far down the family tree, and too young as well.

    The vampires rush forward all at once. I waste no time; I move Thea out of my way, and push one my vampires aside, then I sweep both Cassandra and Isabella out of my path with both my hands. The spell is much like a speech spell combined with a sound grenade spell. However, this is more powerful that is worth three souls, human souls that is. They will feel the wrath of Laoch, the skeleton mummy.

    I take a deep breath, my lunges strain to inflate. It feels like I¡¯m sucking air through all the holes in my skull, since I have no nose. It is a really an odd sensation. I suck in as much air as I can, I don¡¯t have to, it would just look better with the spell if I am actually shouting

    I unleash the spell, letting out the first sound I have ever made through my mouth I have no tongue, so my voice has little use other than screaming, but the sound itself is terrifying. But, it doesn¡¯t last long, since the sound from the spell drowns out my own screaming.

    A high pitched scream burst forth from the spell, it is so loud that screams around began to erupt from anyone in its path. The vibrations from the scream are strong enough that small cracks open in the floor. The sub-threads of the spell have been modified to be unleashed at a forty-five-degree angle; anyone not in the range of the spell would only feel mild vibrations, they would not even hear the sound.

    The vampires tumble and fall to the ground, many dropping their weapons. They scream and shout for mercy, while everyone in the room stood still, too shocked by what is happening to move. Some of them were strong enough, and attempted to get back up after they fell, only to fall back down again. The spells last for five seconds. Five seconds of being nailed to the ground be an ear defending scream spell. Three souls for five seconds of a spell like this. You would think that three souls are worth more than a single spell. Well, it is worth more than that. I believe Djinn was right when it said I only absorb a small amount of mana from a soul.

    At least a third of the vampires are now unconscious from the sound, the others are trying their best to get up onto their feet. The Flutes regain themselves, coming out of their stupor. My body weakens from the spell, and I take several steps backwards, so I can put some distance between the charging Flutes and myself. My movements are comparable to a snail when I try to step back. Already we are being circled, an arrow whistled past me from behind, and penetrates the skull of the nearest vampire.

    My head turns, and I see Cassandra nocking another arrow to her bow. Despite her body being peppered with arrows, she fires a shot, and another Flute dies. The weakness from the spell starts to wear off and my body once again feels feathery. I take several steps back in haste. I spot one of Thea¡¯s daggers sail through the air, to embed itself into the chest of a Flute.

    The three Shrouded vampires were also giving just as much pain as they received. I had only taken a quick glance behind me, but their swords were cutting skin and flesh like butchers. Isabella uses the opening created by Thea and Cassandra to unsheathe her sword, and in the same motion penetrate through the skull of a vampire trying to get up. She kills another vampire on the ground, pinning his head to the floor with her curved sword.

    Thea dashes forward, rolling on the ground, and removing her dagger from the man she just killed. A whistling arrow speeds pass me from Cassandra, another Flute screams as he dies from an arrow. Thea¡¯s red hair dances as she moves, I would never expect such dexterity from her. Thea sticks her dagger in the side of a man¡¯s neck, she tries to take a quick step back, but before she could, she received a well-aimed kick to her side from one of the Flutes¡¯ vampires.

    I can hear Thea¡¯s grunt even with the sound of dying screams. Some of the men have gone deaf from my spell. The deaf men look confused, and some even began to talk gibberish in hopes of hearing themselves. They walk, and try to attack, but fall over repeatedly, which only caused more problems for their allies.

    After kicking her, the vampire rushes pass Thea, she is still holding her side from the kick. Two other vampires also use the opening to enter our circular formation. I immediately knew that their target is either Cassandra or myself. I draw my khopesh as Cassandra shoots an arrow through the eye of one of the vampires, leaving two left.

    I use Sea of Light; drawing my sword as I use my momentum, I trust my khopesh under the jaw and into the brains of one of the vampires. My arm raises, to block the short sword of the third vampire swings at me. The dagger scrapes against my steel gauntlet. I push the short sword back onto the vampire¡¯s chest, then trip him with my right foot.

    I was about to impale the vampire through his head after tripping him, but Cassandra jumps on top of him before I kill him. She fires an arrow directly in the centre of his, killing him. Her black and red gown twirls as she moves, as if she is dancing.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    I whisper voices of command to the dead souls of The Flutes, using my willpower to make them come closer. They obey me, but with reluctance. If this is a traditional dungeon party, then Isabella would be the tank. She is absorbing all the stabs and slashes like a sponge of made to suck in pain.

    Thea is quick, though her movements are not as graceful as Cassandra¡¯s archery, or as smooth as Isabella¡¯s swordplay. However, she is efficient at killing, and little of her movements are wasted. The only problem is that she is no vampire; she has to retreat several steps so that Isabella can once again become the centre of attention, when that happens, she rushes in to kill those attacking Isabella and retreats again. Despite this probably being their first fight together, they are well suited for each other.

    Thea takes a lot of risk. Again I see her risk her life, just to kill one of the Flutes. Her mistake leaves her open, and she receives a gash across her arm. I cannot heal her, not during all this chaos.

    The three vampires behind me would be the high DPS. But, they are taking too many hits from the humans behind. Eventually a lucky human gets in with a stab to the eye, and another one of my vampires is dead. One of them is worth seven men, but even they will fall when overpowered. Isabella is frantically trying to hold off the hoard of weak vampires and the occasional human. Her clothes are damp with blood, and I could not find a single dry spot on her. She has been impaled so many times, that her blood pools on the ground around her. It is funny in a way, because now some of the vampires are slipping on her blood.

    Cassandra has shifted her focus to the archers and crossbowmen on the scaffolding. They are easy pickings for her; since they cannot shoot without risking the chance of hitting their own people. But, Cassandra could shoot take them down one by one. However, her quiver is running out of arrows, and we are being push back and killed.

    I need more time, and I need more souls. I muster all my willpower, but just like with the books in my soul, I can only command a limit amount of them.

    My bones grow stronger, and I feel my body become lighter as I absorb more and more souls. I absorb some by squeezing them with my hand, but most just force their way into my reservoir. Many souls escape through the ceiling. I grow angry at the loss of my fallen vampires, despite being strong, I feel weak and I hate the feeling so much that it made me hungry for souls. I start to absorb the souls with haste. Until I finally feel that sensation again. Twice so far it has happened, during the end of the battle, and after I absorbed Vicktor¡¯s soul.

    I know what it is now. It is the sign that my soul has reached the maximum amount of mana my body can hold. I stop absorbing the souls in the air. I know what is going to happen next.

    The world slows. No, the world is not slowing down, it never did. I am just moving at such a rapid speed that it appears to be slow. I am not sure why having a high state of mana does this, but I am grateful.

    I dart pass Thea, and slammed my Khopesh into the chest of a man who stabbed Isabella. My sword slides through his leather armour and chainmail like a hot knife through butter. My movements were swift, and they were like sheep ready to be slaughtered. My khopesh decapitated heads as I swing it, before the blood of my last victim even touch the floor, I am already killing another. More, and more fall to my blade, like wheat.

    I kill without care, and I lost count of how much I have murdered. I even slaughter the unconscious one on the ground. Their reactions were slow, and I was always three steps ahead. I felt as quick as Victor, maybe even quicker. I wonder if this is what it felt like to him when he fought.

    I feel my body slow once again, going back to normal. I am feel, and my mana level is now back at where it was when I first woke up earlier. I grab a few souls that have yet to escape, and absorb them to help regain my strength. After the carnage, not a single spot on the floor did not have a body on it, or is covered by blood. Swords need to be able to stay sharp for long periods of time, but I have not to use this khopesh for more than two weeks, yet its edges have become nicked and dull.

    A blade impales me from behind, I feel the cold dagger puncture my flesh and slide between my ribs. I know I did not kill everyone, but who could be so stupid.

    ¡°I killed the mage! Guys I killed the mage! My father will be...¡± I turn around to look at the boy. Well, he was not a boy, he is probably a bit younger than me. Maybe eighteen or nineteen years old. The room was silent. The only people still alive were the archers atop the platform, and only six of them remained, three vampires were still alive, and about eight of the Flutes¡¯ cutters. Anyone else is most likely dead. This was probably not their best, I sure hope it was, I enjoy easy fights and easy souls.

    The boy watches the dead bodies, and the stunned and defeated faces of the remaining men. He takes two steps away from me, trips over a dead body. Maybe the fact that I¡¯m not dead, or the piles of dead bodies, made him react badly. He tries to quickly get up, frantic about what could have made him fall. He reaches for what tripped him, and sees the guts of another man around his legs. He gives off a weak scream, then his body convulses as he vomits. I watch as he looks up at me, and starts to cry. It is not even a good cry, no tears, just a weak whimpering.

    I found the young man to be relatable, this would probably be me if I was still human, and back on Earth. I would have piss and shit my pants. If this happened I am sure that I will have more souls to consume before the night finishes, I would not have to kill this boy. Besides, he may be worth more alive than dead. Actually, they could all be worth more to me alive than dead right now. I¡¯ll need some traitors.

    ¡°Oh it¡¯s been awhile since I had myself a young boy. They always cry the first time. The first time they die that is. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be gentle. I¡¯m like it rough when I¡¯m with Master.¡± Isabella said, as she looks towards Thea, who is still standing holding onto her bleeding hand. Thea turns her head and rolls her eyes in response.

    Isabell drops the body she was sucking blood out of, and began to walk towards the crying boy. She is still damp with blood, droplets of it drips off her chin, she looks like a walking nightmare. I start to weave a speech spell, and cast it before she could reach the boy.

    ¡°Stop. He lives.¡±

    ¡°But he knows what we are now. It-¡± Isabella stops whatever she was going to say. I think she knows that I am not fond of having to repeat myself. However, she is right, by now they surely know that Isabella and maybe even the rest are vampires. Or some sort of monsters at least. Honestly, I did not care.

    ¡°As you say Master. However, can we at least kill them.¡± Isabella says as she points to the three vampires who are slowly creeping back against the wall, so they can slide out of the room. The remaining vampires stop when Isabella points at them. They lost hope as their faces become even more pale than previously.

    ¡°I agree with Isabella. They are a disgrace.¡± Cassandra says. I turn to the see her plucking one of her arrows out of another vampire, blood covered her mouth. She had obviously been snacking on the man before taking her arrow out of his head. It does not bother me that no one asked if they could drink the blood. I am okay with it, once it did not become an inconvenience.

    I turn towards Thea, she is still clutching onto her arm. That is not good. I walk towards her, and move her hand away from her arm. I take a quick glance behind me, to see Isabella blocking off the door, so no one could flee back into their headquarters.

    ¡°What do you say.¡± I ask Thea, casting a quick speech spell. I want an answer before I start to heal her arm.

    ¡°I shall accept whatever you decide Lord Laoch.¡± Thea said with great effort, the wound caused her excruciating pain. Watching her arm again, I know why, the cut was deep, and still bleeding like a fountain. The wound looked like it cut all the way down to the bone.

    It is not like I really care what they said. If I was to rule over these bunch of outlaws, then making them think they had a choice, while keeping an iron fist over them is something I will have to do. I like manipulating people. It makes me feel more powerful than casting a spell.

    I began to weave bone and repair threads. I am not sure if Thea¡¯s bone is damaged, but best not to leave the bone thread out, just to be safe. I weave the stop thread after, then a stitch thread. The spell slowly begins to pull her flesh together after I cast it. It would take a while to fully heal, and the pain to stop, but she would live. Of the four vampires I brought along, two were dead, the other two were busy sucking up blood from the same body. They notice my feet on the ground next to them, and slowly look up to see me. They quickly stop, and stand up to fix their shirt and wipe the blood off their mouths. Their voices are deep and apologetic. I can tell they are sincere.

    ¡°Apologies Master Laoch.¡±

    ¡°It would happen again sir.¡±

    I nod my head, and walk away from them, going back to where the crying boy is. I raise a ginger by my mouth, his crying is annoying me now. He is smart enough to listen. I use the khopesh to cut away the guts tying his feet together. I expected him to stand up after, but he remained on the floor. I can feel the tension in the room building, the remaining Flutes looked scared and horrified. I start to cast a speech thread. I am delicate while making this, since I want it to be the perfect tone.

    ¡°The Shrouded is recruiting tonight. You pass examination and you live. You fail and you die. Anyone who kills those three,¡± I raise my hand, to point at the vampires. ¡®Gets to live.¡± By now they must know what they we have vampires, and suspect what we are. I am still unsure who knows, and who does not know that vampires exist in the city. I will have to ask either Cassandra or Isabella about that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, we can still win this they are-¡± A vampire shouts, but is quickly cut off by an arrow that slams into his chest.

    I heard the snap of a bow string go off, as one of the archers fired a shot at the talking vampire. The vampire yells out in pain, gripping the arrow, and slowly pulling it out of him.

    ¡°Sill!¡± An archer on the platform blurts out in a shocked tone.

    ¡°What! You just saw what he did. You can die, by yourself. I¡¯m taking my way out.¡± The archer named Sill said. He was the same one who just shot the vampire. He nocks another arrow to his bow.

    ¡°But-¡± The archer next to Sill was about to dispute, but is cut off by the shouts of the other archers and Flute cutters on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯ll join!¡±

    ¡°Same!¡±

    ¡°Fuck this, I¡¯m in.¡±

    ¡°Hell, I¡¯m just here for the money, I¡¯ll join. T¡¯was happen when you mess with magic.¡±

    ¡°Sill is right. I ain¡¯t dying for no one. I respect Razan, but this was a bad fucking move.¡±

    The Flutes on the floor said start to shout one by one, as they turn their daggers towards the three vampires. I want to smile, this is quite an interesting turn of events. The remaining Flutes advance towards the vampires. Five arrows plunge into the three vampires, causing them to erupt in shouts of pain. The Flutes start to stab the vampires as they trapped them in the corner of the room. The vampires tried to fight back, but they were overpowered. They were not fast like Isabella, or strong like Cassandra. The only ability they seemed to possess is being able to be stabbed, or impaled and not die. But enough brain damage and they are dead like any other human.

    ¡°Ooh, this is fun. Don¡¯t forget to aim for the head boys, a nice stab in the head will get them kicking.¡± Isabella says as she giggles.

 Red City Under Red Skies Chapter 27

    I can still hear him sniffling. It has been almost five minutes since I absorbed the last of the vampire souls. Yet, he is still sniffling. I can understand the terror of tripping over the guts of someone you may have known. But, five minutes is long enough to get over it. I am probably being irrational by thinking that, the crying is just annoying me. Maybe I can say something to shut him up, before I lose my patience and strangle him. Luckily, a hooded crossbowman climbs off the platform, and helps the crying boy to his feet. The man looks to be in his mid-forties, with a wrinkled face and droopy eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay lad. They knew ¡ªWe knew, what this sort of life could lead to. I never liked the others in the circle, they always wanted a war. Now look at them, dead.¡± The crossbowman said, to the young, crying man. He said it soft enough to avoid the others from hearing. However, my hearing is extensive, so the words are clear. On closer inspection, especially the man¡¯s voice, I believe it is the same one who fired the arrow into the talking vampire. But, I previously mistook him for an archer. I check his glow, to make sure his not a vampire. He is not, which means not everyone in the Flutes inner circle is a vampire, or maybe it is just him. The young man is still sniffling, he stops after taking a quick glance at Thea, Cassandra, Isabella, and finally me.

    The Flute cutters, now Shrouded members, are still wiping the blood off of their blades, on clothes of the dead vampires. Based on the words of the crossbowman, I can guess that there is little love for the vampires. The crossbowman takes several steps forward to me, but is stop by Thea. She moves forward, blocking him before he can get closer to me. He steps away from Thea, nodding to show her he understood.

    ¡°We did what we were told mate. We all,¡± The archer looks at the men behind him, then to the young boy besides him, ¡°I think I speak for those here, when I say that it is good to finally be in a crew with a strong leader. Their ain¡¯t no coming back for the Flutes, this was most of the inner circle. We would like to be taken under your protection, Don of the Shrouded.¡±

    ¡°Isabella, welcome our new members.¡± I said, casting a quick speech thread. I still do not trust these men. It¡¯s equivalent to a slap on the face, to be greeted by Isabella, she after all just killed quite a bit of their highest-ranking members.

    I know that these men, are hard and experienced, but they lack any sense of comradery, or fighting as a unit. I guess I can expect that from thieves and assassins. I will need more men like these if I want control all the syndicates in the city. My own little army, but I will have to build loyalty among them. The crossbowman¡¯s eyes widen and he sighs.

    ¡°Yes Master!¡± Isabella replied, a bit too excited. She is still a bit giddy from all the death in the room. The sadism is strong in this one.

    ¡°Isabella Crawford, so you are here, that explains a lot.¡± The archer said, he obvious knew Isabella. The new Shrouded members in the room, take five steps back, after hearing the name.

    I remember her mentioning something about the Flutes when I first met her in the alley. The door to the far right of the room gains my attention, I walk towards it, knowing that it must lead to the next part of the headquarters. It turns out that it is not a door, but instead thick jail bars. To right of the bars, next to a lever on the wall, is a small hole, with metal plate around it. It looks like a key hole, but no key I know of matches it.

    ¡°You know how much I don¡¯t like that name Sill. Looks like the Flutes are going to need a new emissary now.¡± Isabella said. Thea moves out of the way to let the two acquaintances shake hands.¡± Welcome to the crew, it¡¯s been a lovely shade of red tonight don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Still the same old Isabella, if things continue like they are, we¡ªthey won¡¯t be needing one. Sometimes I wish I left with you, and took you up on that offer. But that was thirty years ago, I¡¯m too old now.¡±

    ¡°Well, at least one of us has not changed, and you¡¯re never too old for the gift, Silly. But you have to be ready to die.¡± Isabella said. Sill avoids her gaze, her words were obviously a slight to him turning into a traitor

    ¡°I am prepared to die Ella but, death should¡¯ve meaning. I¡¯m not going to risk my life for some foolish Don.¡±

    Sill looks back at the others, who are patiently waiting. They still look very much scared and worried that I might make them turn on each other. However, their expressions are no longer as grim as before. I assumed that Sill¡¯s friendship with Isabella reassured them.

    ¡°You will be leading us to Jax, then to your Don,¡± I said casting a speech thread, as I walk back where I previously was. Isabella is disturbingly friendly with Sill, despite them trying to kill each other ten minutes ago. I finish casting another speech thread to continue, ¡°But, first, get me the key.¡±

    ¡°As you say, I don¡¯t have a choice.¡± Sill says, muttering the last part. He turns to the cutters. and starts to bark instructions at them. Within seconds he has all of them searching for the key. They obey Sill without question, which leads me to believe he has some influence within the Flutes. Not killing them turned out to be a good choice, at least for now.

    The two vampires I brought along stand behind me, they occasionally exchange words. Thea is to my right, and has taken on the job of being my guard, without asking. I do not think I need a guard, but Thea has saved me from an arrow to my face, which could have been the end of me. And, as much as I did not want to admit, her presence made me feel more like a leader.

    I lost two vampires tonight, two strong, ruthless vampires that died fighting for me. I did not know them personally, but they were mine, and someone took that away. It makes me angry just thinking about it.

    ¡°I know the prisoner. In the dungeon, near the fat ones¡¯ room. That¡¯s where he is.¡± Sill said.

    ¡°From now on, you will address him as you would a Lord of the realm, you are not his equal,¡± Thea said, her hand reaching to rest on her dagger. Knowing how skilled Thea is as efficiently killing men, made him raise his hands in submission.¡± And I hope that you have not hurt Jax.¡± Thea adds.

    Thea is fiercely defensive of me, enough to risk her life without a though. I can tell that Thea is impulsive and ruled by her emotions. A dangerous trait at times, but not this time.

    ¡°He¡¯s high nobility?¡± Sill said. He did not know about the First King, so obviously, Thea¡¯s words would make him think I am a noble. His hands return to his side, but only when Thea moved her hand from her daggers. Thea did not correct Sill, and I was fine with him thinking that I am some noble.

    ¡°I mean, no, he isn¡¯t hurt, the fat¡ªThe Don, wants him alive. The cook still sends food, so I know he is alive, my Lord. Though, I have not seen him since he got captured.¡± Sill quickly replied, after noticing he would not got a response. Thea¡¯s words made him a bit tense. It reminds me of a good cop, bad cop interrogation.

    ¡°Tell me of your Don.¡± I asked, I tweaked the speech thread so the voice sounds harsh. I must have gotten it right because he flinches at my words.

    ¡°He is a huge man, my lord. Razan has us clear the hallways when The Don walks through the headquarters. No one has seen his face, we just know that he is huge, and he eats a lot. And, just last month he had the previous cook killed. Some of the men believe he is a nobleman. But, I heard his voice once and I know who it is, Council Demir. I don¡¯t know much else my lord.¡±

    ¡°He knew we were coming tonight, how?¡±

    ¡°We have been doing this for three nights, my lord. That¡¯s all I know.¡± Sill said. Their leader, Councilman Demir, probably was not sure if I would attack. Burning down the bars was to get my attention, but I was still inside my soul. However, he did not know that, and must have thought I was ignoring it. Jax tried to settle matters peaceful, and by kidnapping Jax, he wanted to force me to attack, so he could set this well-planned trap.

    Honestly, I would have eventually attacked him even if he did not instigate this war. After all, I plan on bringing all the syndicates to heel. If anything, I can now use this unprovoked attack as a casus belli for my future attacks on other syndicates. It feels good to be both undead and ruthless.

    Having that amount of power and influence in the city, should make gathering information about this world much easier. So, I can maybe one day return, or at least to better understand my place in this world. And, I would not have to worry about being attacked if there is no other syndicate left. But first, I have to deal with this current problem.

    ¡°Who is Razan.¡± I said, casting another speech spell. The men ordered by Sill to find the key, still have not found it. The young man next to Sill looks like he wants to say something, but Sill shushes him.

    ¡°He means no disrespect, my lord¡± Sill said. I shift my skull to take a good look at the young man besides him for the first time. He is a bit shorter than myself and has curly dark brown hair. His height and leather armour hide the fact that he is a bit chubby. Which personally, I think is odd for a thief or an assassin. Sill continued, in a hush tone, ¡°Razan is Demir¡¯s right hand. He used the be the Don, but Demir took his place about nine months ago, now all he does is follow Demir¡¯s orders. He captured Razan¡¯s wife, and that¡¯s how Demir is controlling Razan. The poor fool loves his wife too much, would do anything for her. Only the inner circle knows about his wife, we were all forbidden of speaking about it. Razan can be severe at times, but just and impartial. The real Razan would not have let this fight between us happen.¡±

    I care little about someone¡¯s wife being captured, or what type of person they are. I hoped that Sill would have given me information about his skills or abilities. This is actually not much else from what I already know. Sill is still of use to me, so he can stay alive, for now at least.

    ¡°Sill, weren¡¯t you to one who Jax met with?¡± Isabella said, a devilish smile across her face. Sill turns towards Isabella, a look of betrayal on his face.

    ¡°I-I had no choice my lord, direct orders. I didn¡¯t want to help capture him, but I couldn¡¯t do anything with the mage around- ¡°Sill blurted out.

    ¡°You are lucky that my lord has already spared you.¡± Thea said to Sill, callously. She must have been holding back her worry for Jax, but as we got closer it looks like she can no longer restrain her emotions. I am starting to notice the habits in the people around me. Understanding their strengths and flaws is fundamental if I want to have influence over them.

    ¡°Tell me about this mage.¡± I said through another speech thread.

    ¡°He-I don¡¯t know much about him, my lord. We all stay far away from him. He used his magic tricks to capture your man. The earth moved when he did some things with his hands, sorry, it¡¯s hard to describe.¡± Sill said, moving his fingers and hands to replicate the mage¡¯s movements.

    When he mentioned the hand movements it made me back to my fight with Vicktor. He had also used his hands when he cast that fire spell. It must be something related to how mages create their threads. I could not think of any other reason for it.

    Sill¡¯s group is still looking for the keys. I am usually a patient person, but I want to move on to the other part of the headquarters, before someone notices that everyone is dead.

    ¡°Where is the keys?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we have almost found it, my lord,¡± Sill replied, while shushing the young man that is still trying to tell him something. He turns around, then shouts quick orders at his group. At Sill¡¯s command, they hasten their search of the bodies piled in the room.

    ¡°He has something in his hand.¡± Cassandra said, with her unemotional voice. She points one of her arrows, which she had just taken out of a body, at the young man next to Sill.

    ¡°It is what I have been trying to tell you!¡± He said, after noticing he is now the centre of attention in the room. He holds out his right hand, and exposes the key in the palm of his hand. The key is shaped like most keys, except the shaft has no cuts and the tip has a circle ring that is twice the size of the shaft.

    ¡°It was on the ground, my lord. I found it when I fell,¡± The boy said. His voice is more articulate than the others in his group. He is no longer sniffling, and seems well acquainted with the current situation he is in. I snatch the key from his hands, and smile when he flinches.

    I turn around and march back to the metal bars, accompanied by Thea and the two vampire guards. Cassandra soon follows after, while Isabella keeps an eye on Sill¡¯s group.

    I slide the key into the hole, turn it, but nothing happens. I turn the key the other way, and I hear a click, followed by the screeching sound of gears moving. At first, the metal bar recedes slowly, then they rapidly withdraw into the ceiling.

    I stare down the passage to find stairs that lead down, lit by flickering torches. I step away from the staircase and turn around towards Sill. I start to create a speech thread to say something to Sill.

    ¡°Lead the way.¡± I motion to the staircase. Sill nods, nudging the young man standing next to him and signalling the others to follow with a wave of his arm.

    ¡°It will be an honour, my lord. Let me introduce myself, I am Elon.¡± The young man said, stepping over two bodies as he walks towards me. He raises his hand to reach out for me, but Thea stops him from coming any closer by placing her hand on his chest.

    Initially, I thought he was going to make a run for it down the staircase, or try to attack me. Either would not have ended well for him. It turns out that he wanted a handshake. I contemplate what to do, while his hand trembles from the fear of my reaction.

    ¡°It is alright Thea,¡± I said with the help of a speech thread. I use the stop thread to make a pause in the spell, while I turn to face Elon. ¡°You are either stupid, or brave. I am Laoch. Now get moving before I tell Isabella she can have you.¡±

    I think I have instil enough fear among them for now. Threating Elon badly would not serve any purpose and might have made things worst. Elon looks towards Isabella, she licks her lips at him. I hear him gulp before he quickly scampers down the stairs.

    Sill and his group are eager the leave the room. I expected more resistance, there must be a reason these men are so quick to turn abandon their syndicate. I follow behind them, with Thea to my right, and Isabella on my left, the three others trailed behind. We follow a passage after reaching the bottom of the stairs. I can hear Elon and Sill whisper at each other.

    ¡°Are you insane lad. You don¡¯t just walk up to a Don, and try to shake his hand. Do you want to die so badly?¡± Sill said disdainfully.

    ¡°Of course not. This is politics, you would not understand.¡±

    ¡°I understand perfectly good that your trying to act all friendly, and suck up to him. Look here lad, Razan told me to look after you. I don¡¯t know who you are, but that was his last order. Just be happy we¡¯re alive.¡±

    ¡°Well, you just betrayed him. And, you betrayed most of your brothers in the inner circle. Nothing makes no sense. I cannot even begin to explain the unnatural things I have seen tonight.¡±

    ¡°Shush,¡± Sill said. He turns his head abruptly, to make sure the men following him di d not hear what Elon said. Sill continued, ¡°Don¡¯t go sprouting nonsense, I am sure magic has something to do with it.¡±

    It is obvious that Sill is lying, he knew exactly what Isabella is. It would seem that the Flutes are similar to the Shrouded, in the sense that only those in the inner circle know of the ¡®The Gift¡¯ a term they use for vampirism.

    ¡°Hold it right there!¡± A voice echoes through the room, that we just entered. The room is a duplicate of the previous room. However, this room had not metal bars blocking the passage forward, but it is guarded by six men. They all have similar armor, except they are hodded. Five of the men had blue mana, while the one in the middle, had a dim burgundy glow around him. He is a vampire, but a lesser vampire, like the ones we just killed.

    ¡°Sill is that you, holy Lavita¡¯s tits, I thought you were all dead. The screaming was horrific. You had us-, who is that with you there?¡± The lesser vampire said. I am now able to fully see the guards, after Sill¡¯s group fans out around him. The six men look nervous. The lesser vampire steps in front of them, and they form a triangle formation, in front the passage way.

    ¡°They are all dead, Clive.¡± Sill said. In unison, the six guards move their hands to their sword pommels. They must have suspected what is currently happening.

    ¡°Who is behind you Sill. Where are the rest of the inner circle? Jack the quick, Phillip frostbite, Pale face Emra? Jacob the hand? Where is the rest of the circle?¡±

    ¡°All gone, less than a handful of remain. The ambush failed.¡± Sill said. He glances behind me, his eyes looking towards me for directions on what to do. I walk towards him with relaxed steps. I form a speech thread as I make my way forward, modifying it to be a whisper.

    ¡°Convince them to join you.¡±

    Sill nods at my words, and sighs. He probably did not want to risk having to kill anyone he did not have to. He holds the crossbow in his hands firmly, and points it to the guards. The archers in Sill¡¯s group follow in his example, and also point their bows towards the six guards. Elon, and the other cutters, lay their hands on the handle of their swords. I move away from Sill, stepping back gently towards Cassandra. I will probably have to kill the vampire. For some reason the vampires from the Shrouded hate the ones from the Flutes. I am not sure why, but I intent to find out.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Traitor!¡± The vampire in the middle shouts at Sill.

    ¡°Look around you, Clive. Think for a second. Razan is a puppet, everyone in the inner circle is practically dead. The Flutes have fallen.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. You broke the code. You swore an oath of loyalty.¡±

    ¡°I swore an oath loyalty in exchange for protection. Not to a Don, I have never met. For crying out loud, the fat fucker has killed more of us, than anyone else. Do you really want to Die tonight? You¡¯re out numbered, and I am sure the others don¡¯t want to die with you.¡± Sill said.

    The vampire looks at the guards besides him, who are all nodding their heads. They obviously did not want to die tonight, and Sill¡¯s words had struct home. I form speech threads after I reach Cassandra. She straightens her posture, after noticing that I want to talk to her.

    ¡°Why do you hate the vampires in this syndicate?¡±

    ¡°They are abominations, master. Their blood is too weak, and undeserving of the gift.¡± Cassandra said. She said it without emotion, you would almost think she is being sarcastic. I already know this much, and to me they were still vampires, though just much weaker. Do I have to kill every other vampire I come across, if they are weak? I may be able to find some use for them. However, vampire souls are always a treat.

    ¡°Do the other syndicates have vampires?¡± I said, casting another speech thread. I found Cassandra to be actually good at whispering, maybe her lack of emotion has something to do with it.

    ¡°No master.¡± Cassandra answered. Having notice that I want more details, she continues. ¡°We were all part of the Flutes, many years ago. Our sires created the Flutes when our previous master went into his eternal sleep. The rules of our order were being broken when lesser vampires began sharing the gift. This caused an internal war, between those who supported the abominations and those who did not. The war left most of the elder vampires dead. Those like myself, who are closer to the immortal¡¯s bloodlines, broke off from the Flutes. We took the humans who wanted to follow, and that¡¯s how the Shrouded was formed.¡±

    That seems to match a few things that I already know. So only the Shrouded and the Flutes have vampires. Which makes more sense, I was beginning to wonder if there are hundreds of them the city. It would be illogical that such a large number of vampires, could stayed hidden for so long, without anyone even noticing.

    ¡°I cannot join the Shrouded.¡± The vampire, Clive, said. He drew his sword and bared his teeth at us. Sill was about to say something, but I interrupt him with a quick speech spell.

    ¡°Sill, shoot him.¡± I try my best to make the thread sound serious, and threatening. If Sill could not shoot, I¡¯ll have to kill him. Disobedience this early would make the others believe they can disobey me as well. He hesitates for a few a second, but then looks back at Clive.

    The clack from Sill¡¯s crossbow rings through the room, and half a second later the bolt slams into Clive¡¯s mouth. Sill was a bit off, but it still made Clive scream out in pain as blood flows out his mouth, through his ripped off top lip and shattered front teeth.

    The sound of four more crossbows being released follows, and four of them plunge into Clive¡¯s body. However, none hit his head. Useless, all of them are all useless. The man is still standing and screaming, but also still alive. I nudge Cassandra next to me, and made a quick gesture towards Clive.

    Cassandra lifts her bow, and reaches for an arrow in her quiver. She twirls the arrow then nocks it to her bow. I hear the bow string stretch, then a twang resounds through the room as she releases the arrow. The arrow glides between Elon and Sill, and slams through Clive¡¯s eye. He goes rigid, and falls backwards.

    With the use of my willpower, I pull the soul in, and absorb its mana into me. I feel my body grow a bit stronger with the added mana.

    ¡°I take it you all want to join?¡± Sill ask. The guards repeatedly nod all at once.

    ¡°Once I get paid I don¡¯t care who I work for Sill. If I don¡¯t make no coin, then I¡¯m good as dead anyway.¡± The guard on the far right says.

    Once again Sill looks back towards me. I am unsure how much they are paid, it just never crossed my mind. Of course, fear alone would not be able to convince them to join. I turn my head towards Isabella, who is less than five feet away. She is currently the underboss of the Shrouded, surely she must know how much everyone in the crew is paid. I start to form a speech spell to ask Isabella, but promptly notices my dilemma, so I have to disperse the mana I was using to form the speech threads.

    ¡°The last treasurer died, master. He would have known; he was also real stock up bitch and a prune. It¡¯s where Cass gets it from. I am sure we can pay them, though.¡± Isabella said. I am starting to think she did not like any of Vicktor¡¯s first thralls.

    ¡°Not everyone can be as loose as you.¡± Thea said, rolling her eyes.

    ¡°Well, you wouldn¡¯t know what that means, little miss virgin.¡± Isabella retorts, with a soft voice.

    ¡°I-I, you are deplorable.¡± Thea said, a blush appearing on her face.

    ¡°I know darling.¡± Isabella responds. Thea gives up, and turns away from Isabella with a grunt. Cassandra stays quiet, not saying anything to defend herself. I hear one of the vampires behind me mutter something about ¡®strange generation¡¯. Cassandra takes advantage of the silence to finally say something.

    ¡°Five silver a week. Guards are paid five silver a week master.¡± She said, emphatically, and loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. The guards appear to have found the price worthy, because they move their hands away from their swords.

    ¡°Then file in and form ranks. Don¡¯t be doing anything foolish now boys.¡± Sill said. The guards did as Sill commanded. Sill¡¯s group walks forward to meet the approaching guards, then the two groups merge together. The guards, move to the back of Sill¡¯s group.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be moving to the dungeons.¡± Sill said. He waves his crossbow forward, to signal the men to move. They follow him, leaving behind the dead vampire. I turn around, to look at the two vampires who were marching behind me. I form the threads of a speech spell with my mana, and cast it.

    ¡°Both of you, guard the passage. No one enters, no one leaves, until I say otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Yes Master.¡±

    ¡°It shall be done.¡±

    They eloquently move to the side of the passage, no fussing, just obedience. The four of us, follow Sill¡¯s group deeper into the headquarters. I expected it to be fill with Flutes, but we did not come across any, despite several forks through the underground passage. Well, it is night, maybe they are just sleeping. Nevertheless, they are assassins and thieves, the night should be when they are most active.

    I may have thought too soon. Eventually we do come across small groups of either patrolling guards, or those who are strolling around the headquarters. They were dressed in the same armour, except these had hoods as well. A few try to run, but they never made it far, because Sill¡¯s squad shot down with arrows. I anticipated more resistance from Sill, but that was not the case. Either he truly did want to join the Shrouded, or he had an agenda of his own.

    With quick words from Sill, combined with the fear of being shot, is enough to convince those who did not run to join. The morale of the Flutes must be low, if a piece of silver and the threat of death, can make them abandon their syndicate. But, then again it was either that or die, and like Sill said, the most of the inner circle is dead.

    I enjoyed reaping the souls of those who ran. It made me feel like the grim reaper, all I need now, is a scythe. We are nearing a room that Sill calls the mess hall, with thirty new Shrouded members in total.

    Once the headquarters fall, I will have to maintain some of the previous inner circle. Sadly, most of the inner circle is dead, which means, I will have to convince this Razan to join. Though, if what Sill said is true, the councilman has control over him. I cannot spear the councilman, he has to die. Maybe killing the him, and freeing Razan¡¯s wife, will make him accept my rule.

    ¡°There were maybe ah, twenty, or twenty-five when I left the hall.¡± One of the newest members of Sill¡¯s group replied, after being asked from Sill, how much people were in the mess hall. Which was something I asked Sill to do. Respecting the chain of command is important.

    ¡°My brother, Visash, is in there. I-I don¡¯t want him to die.¡± Someone from Sill¡¯s group said. The passageway is crowed, so Sill orders his group to form two lines along the stone wall. Thea and Cassandra are talking about archery, and Isabella would sometimes occasionally input with something sardonic.

    ¡°Same here Sill, my sister is in the mess hall.¡± Another person said. Sill begins to walk between the lines towards me. He eyes Thea, as she steps in front of me, a warning to Sill, that he should not come any closer.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re trying to do, my lord,¡± Sill said in a whisper. He looks back at the men, who are gazing at him, while he talks to me. He turns his head back towards me and continues, ¡°They know they can¡¯t turn back now, and I can¡¯t change my path either, but we can¡¯t kill their family. They¡¯ll turn on you, my lord.¡±

    Sill is right, though, I will never admit that to him. I form the necessary threads to make a speech spell, and cast it. I modify the speech threads so that the sound would not go beyond Sill. I could have also used a stop thread to do that, but it would be less accurate.

    ¡°They will be spared once they join. But anyone else who even draws a sword dies.¡± I form another speech thread of the same kind to say, ¡°Let them know that new members of the inner circle will be chosen. And they have a key chance to impress me.¡± A few extra souls would never hurt, especially when I meet the mage. Maybe I can even convince the mage to join¡­Nah, I am going to kill him, and consume his soul. Who knows of the things I could learn when I go through his memories.

    Sill sighs, and nods his head at the compromise. I rather not have his group turn on me, it would be bloody, but it would be thirty fresh souls. Sill turns around, and walks between the line of men, his crossbow firmly raised in his hands.

    ¡°Alright lads, anyone else who has family, know that once they aren¡¯t stupid, and are willing to join, they will be spared. Anyone who else that attacks, will have to be killed. We can¡¯t turn back now fellas, for better or for worst, we have cast out lot with the Shrouded.¡± Sill said. The men look grim. They are thieves and killers, maybe money and power will motivate them. I begin to form another speech thread.

    ¡°Also lads, The Don says those who impress will have a chance to be made men.¡± Sill said. All of the men turn to look towards him. Joining the inner circle was obviously an achievement that came with power. Sill¡¯s group being to mutter, but Sill quickly, in a hush tone, demanded silence.

    I wait until silence had once again return to the passageway, before waving Sill onward. I admit it did make me feel powerful, making their own people turn against them. I wonder if this can also happen with the Shrouded? I may have to do something to build up their loyalty. I know little of the people in my own syndicate. Except for the inner circle, who I knew for a day at best. However, the loyalty of the vampires is unquestionable now.

    Sill begins to march his group forward, Elon tracing behind him. We come across dual wooden doors, this must be the door which leads to the mess hall.

    ¡°You lads open the door¡± Sill said, in a hush voice, to the two nearest to the door. One of them looks like a woman, but it¡¯s hard to make because of their hood. They are about to push open the doors, when I stop them with a hastily casted speech thread. Whoever is in the room would need to be stunned by what is happening.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I say softly, through the use of the speech thread. I form the threads to cast another speech thread. ¡°Cassandra, kick the door down.¡±

    A few smiles, and a couple laughs erupted from Sill¡¯s group. The only ones who did not find it fully, are Sill, Elon, and the other fourteen men who first joined. They had seen what Cassandra could truly do, and to them, it is no laughing matter.

    The laughing did not bother Cassandra, partly why I sent her. I think Isabella would have killed them if they had laughed, and Thea was too valuable to risk. I am still interested in those eyes she has. But, now is not the time to ask her.

    Cassandra walks peacefully between the passageway, her gown swishing on the stone floor. Some of the men leer at her as she passes by, but Cassandra pays little attention to them. Thea just rolls her eyes at them, and I had a feeling that Isabella is smiling.

    Cassandra stands in front of door, her bow tightly grasped in her hand. She kicks the door, it was a slow kick, but that did not mean it is weak. Cassandra¡¯s ankle boot, slams into the door with a heavy, and violent impact. The kick is so fierce that the hinges on both doors burst away from the wall. The two doors fly forward, slamming against a wooden bench and table twenty feet away.

    Jax sat on the cold floor in his cell. He does not know exactly where he is, only that it has to be somewhere within the headquarters of the Flutes. The mage has poisoned him, and even now he can feel the poison flowing through his body. Seekers are by nature, through their training, resistant to most poisons. Except this was no natural poison, the mage had used some magical concoction.

    Let the wisdom of the First King shine on Thea, Jax thought. He knew Thea would be quick to attack, and unless something has changed, her first move would be to come here alone, to rescue him.

    I have failed the Prophet Laoch, and in doing so, I have failed the First King. To think that I could have created peace between two criminal gangs. I should have been more aggressive. His conquest of the world has begun so soon. Maybe the First King has instructed him to being his conquest in preparation for his arrival. Is the prophet trying to reborn the Albion empire, here in Talon?

    However, he was in a coma when Jax left. Even if it takes the rest of his lifetime for the prophet to awake, Jax had promised to himself, he would not abandon the Shrouded. He would protect what his lord has acquired by conquest. But, that was before he failed, and now his promise meant nothing.

    Then again, this could all simply be a test, Jax thought. It would be the perfect test, even for a full fledge seeker of the Church of Night. To protect a sleeping prophet, during both external, and internal conflict would require skills that only the seekers of old could master. Jax thought the fact that he had been captured by the enemy in such a test, is the not only a failure, it would be a shame to even call him a seeker now. Even if he died, and was sent to Uffern Dam, Jax did not know how he would be able to look at the First King in his eyes and say that he failed his only prophet.

    The only regret that he has when he dies here, is that he would not be able to pass on his skills to a new seeker. He knew Thea found her way, and she would soon tell him that she could no longer be his apprentice. Ever since they left the village, he has been expecting her to one day say that. And the look in her eyes told him that it would have been soon.

    All Jax could do now is pray. And, that is what he did, every waking moment that he was not talking to the pregnant woman. Jax once again bowed his head, and said the devotion.

    ¡°We live only to serve. In your presence, we are humbled. Through your threads we thrive. In your darkness, we are sheltered. First King, guide us, teach us, and let us follow you. Forever our souls shall be yours.¡± Jax whispered, over and over again, until his mouth was dry and his throat turned soar.

    ¡°Yuh¡¯ll kill yourself, if yuh keep that up.¡± The woman said. Jax stopped his devotion, his concentration broken. He looked up at the woman, and found her blue eyes gazing down at him.

    ¡°Mayhap, that may be better.¡± Jax said, with a weak, dry voice. The pregnant woman is tied by her feet to the wall, by metal chains. Similar to how he is, except both his hands and feet are chained. She even has the privilege of being able to read a book by the light of the torch.

    ¡°Does this god of yours really want yuh dead.¡±

    ¡°That is only for him to know, but I have certainly failed him. And, he is not a god. He is a king, a true king, the First King.¡±

    ¡°Certainly he does not want yuh to hurt yuhself. Not even the lectors would go so far, and they stand for hours preaching the word of Nehron.¡± The dark skin, pregnant woman, replied.

    ¡°Then you have never seen a seeker, if I am even that anymore.¡± Jax said, weakly. The woman closes her book, and looks at Jax, rubbing her stomach as she smiled. How long has she been here? He thought. She must have been here for some time, to have grown use to her chains. She behaves as though she was not chained at all.

    ¡°Yuh have been this depressing way since yuh arrived. You have told me amazing things about this First King of yuhs. And, your true king is right, the only way you can do some good in this world, is to walk the path of evil. Freedom, is not free. However, the only thing I believe in right now is my child.¡±

    Jas was about to repeat a quote from one of the scrolls he often borrowed from Amrita, but the creaking hinges of the dungeon door, stops him.

    ¡°Afia!¡± A strong voice called out.

    ¡°Razan!¡± The woman before Jax called out. She laid the book on the ground and was about to stand. All this time, and I never thought to ask her name, Jax thought.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stand my love, I will come to you.¡± Razan shouted, as he quickly slides the key into the lock of the cell. The gears on the lock turns and the cell opens. For the most part, Razan ignored Jax. He rushes and kneels before the pregnant woman. Tears slide down Afia¡¯s cheeks as Jax watches her embrace the man. They kiss each other, and the woman tries desperately to wipe her tears away.

    Razan, noticing the woman¡¯s tears, tries to help her wipe the other side of her cheek, and kisses her again, but she cries some more.

    ¡°Here quickly, the antidote,¡± Razan, opened his palm and the glowing vial in his hand brightened the cell. He presses the vial into Afia¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Drink.¡±

    Jax watches as the woman uncorks the vial, and pour the glowing content into her mouth. She swallows it quickly, and sighs after.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Afia, things will not stay this away. I promise you, our child will be born, and she will be free, and beautiful like you.¡± Razan said. They embrace again, and Afia is now smiling.

    ¡°Or, he, will be as handsome as yuh.¡± Afia said, with a soft laugh after.

    ¡°Hopefully, our looks are the only thing he may have.¡± Razan said. They both hug and laugh with each other. The sight of love made Jax feel a bit better, but it did not last for long. The dungeon doors slam open, and armed men in armour began to flood into the dungeon. What is going on, Jax thought.

    ¡°Razan! You¡¯re a worthless piece of shit,¡± A fat man, dressed in expensive clothing said. He has a cloak, with a hood that covers his face, and is followed, last into the dungeon, by the mage. Jax watches the man with contempt, the mage is the reason Jax is inside the cell. Though, Jax knew the only person he could really blame is himself.

    ¡°What is it.¡± Razan said. He lets go of Afia, and quickly steps out of the cell, and into the circular room, that served as the dungeon. The room has twelve cells, but the others all currently empty. Afia, who is just as worried as Razan, stands up, and presses her body against the cell. In his rush, Razan leaves the cell open.

    ¡°The fucking, Don of the Shrouded is here, with his magic, and his gifted. Not only that, our people have turned on us. They were your responsibility, have of them Razan, half of the fuckers turned on us. The plan has failed, and I have been told the mess hall if running with blood. I should of have known you would fail me.¡±

    Could that be true? The prophet, here to save me? But why? Why come himself, why risk eons of waiting, to risk everything on me? Does¡­does that mean he finds me worthy to be a seeker. I don¡¯t understand, I have failed him. Jax tries to find a reason for the prophet¡¯s action, and suddenly Jax knows why, and it all makes sense now. He showed Thea her path, his first words to her were practically a choice. Follow me or not, find your own path. That was Thea¡¯s test.

    This is¡­this is, could it be? The first test of the Lord Seeker? It must be, who else would it be for, and what better of a time than now. A test of failure. Does the First King find me worthy enough to give me a chance to become the Lord Seeker? Strong emotions arise within Jax, there has never been a Lord Seeker since the first age. All those before him, that would have risked everything for this chance, and now, it is being given to him.

    ¡°They are dead? But, the entire inner circle was there. That is not possible, their syndicate should be in chaos from the recent take over. Their inner circle should be fighting each other.¡± Razan said, he was about to continue, but was cut off by the fat man, who now eyed Jax.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, you one eyed fool. Your information was obviously bad; their syndicate is well under the influence of the mage, and their inner circle seems intact. You said that any attack they mount would be pathetic. Now do something you worthless fool, they are coming this way!¡± The fat man said.

    Jax could see Razan¡¯s patience for the man fade. As a seeker, it is important to be able to identity emotions and feelings, to explain current relationships. However, Jax wonders why Razan did not kill the fat man. He has seen hate like that, it often led to murder. The fat man, who must be Demir, The Don of the Flutes, could not stop walking in circles. Occasionally, Demir glances at Jax

    ¡°We hold up here, Razan, get the men in order and do not fail me again. Or else.¡± Demir said, looking towards Afia. The threat works well, since Razan quickly began to organise the dozens of men, into proper formations. The men with crossbows, or bows, he put in the middle, flanking those on both sides, are men with swords, or daggers. Jax watches as Razan made them draw their weapons. Jax thought that Razan, must have some military background.

    ¡°Can you do anything; this place is not exactly fortified.¡± Razan said to the mage, who is behind the formation of men, next to Demir. At first, the mage shows no signs of even hearing Razan¡¯s words, but soon after his hands lift out of his robes, and his fingers began to move.

    A yell erupts from the woman inside the cell and grasps the attention of all in the room. Jax cares for the woman, and he was about to jump and rush towards her side, but he is chained to the wall. Jax watches the woman place her hand on her stomach. Razan is already by the cell, the worry on his face is palpable.

    ¡°The baby,¡± Afia said, the pain on her face is clear. She continues after a deep breath, and said with soft words, ¡°It¡¯s coming.¡±