ã€ŠDeath Livesã€‹


 Prologue - Death Dies

    Please enjoy and give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments!

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    It was empty. Nothing but barren wasteland all around.

    Thousands of miles of barren plain, not a single plant nor bacteria could even be found.

    In the sky on one side of the planet there was nothing. No lights from the stars, no reflections from the light hitting anything. On the other side of the planet there was a large gathering of celestial bodies, quickly moving towards a large mass, slowly growing larger and larger.

    Trillions of years had gone by and the universe was at its end.

    It was finally at its last moments. There were only a few stars and planets remaining along with the small planet as it veered towards the large mass which was becoming increasingly larger. Galaxies which spanned millions of light years across were in this gathering of celestial bodies, billions of them all gathered together in a mass that didn¡¯t seem scientifically possible.

    There was nothing living remaining. No sentient civilizations had lived for millennia. Mankind was destroyed even longer ago. All other species and civilizations had been killed by a single event. A rift created by a civilization long dead.

    The rift was known as the Void by those who managed to see it and could run from it. Slowly the Void consumed all.

    For millions of years the Void continued to grow. It wasn¡¯t sentient, it wasn¡¯t even a creature, it was just a mass which grew as it consumed any and all matter. As the Void continued to devour, it grew in size. First it was only a planet, then a star, then a system, until it devoured entire galaxies.

    The void grew larger and larger, slowly devouring anything that came close to it. Once something was consumed by the Void, it never came out. Civilizations so advanced that humans couldn¡¯t dream were eventually swallowed by the Void.

    Finally there was no living thing left, the only thing for the Void to finish consuming was any stray matter remaining. There was only a few planets and stars left. There was nothing past a hundred thousand light years away from the void. Everything was careening toward the Void.

    Within the final moments of the universe, there was only one being left in all of creation; Death.

    Death was not just the lack of life, Death was the one being in all creation which passed judgement on those who were to die.

    Death¡¯s looked towards the mass, seeing it¡¯s inevitable end.

    A large dark hole which light and particles fled towards. Out on the fringes matter slowly was being dragged in, leaving a beautiful sight that only a few civilizations which were advanced enough to see a black hole and able to keep away from its massive gravity well. Bright waves of light surrounded it as they slowly veered closer and closer, awaiting their time to be eaten until there was nothing left.

    Death could have prevented it. Could have passed judgement on those who were creating the device which caused the destruction of everything. But Death was curious. Death had always been curious about the universe. Death was also naive.

    Death¡¯s creation happened merely moments after the universe itself. All death knew was to pass judgement on those whose time it was. Be it animal, plant, bacteria, or person. Death passed judgement on all.

    In some civilizations Death was something feared, while in others Death was worshiped.

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    Death did its job though hated it at times. Death never created but only destroyed. Death understood that it could cause death in order to help life but Death itself could never create, only destroy. Death had watched millions of civilizations rise and fall, all across the universe. Death wasn¡¯t sure if it was a God, but Death knew that any other species would call it one.

    Death was neither good nor evil, Death just was. Death ignored justice or lawlessness. Death only came to those who finally were calling for it, even if they didn¡¯t know that they were. Passing the souls of the dead towards the centre of the universe, to be shot out and recycled again.

    The Void was a creation which Death found extremely interesting. A civilization long ago had an idea which intrigued Death. A device which could create life where there was none. Death didn''t believe it could work but they managed it. They spent the entire life of their species searching for this power. Death could see their ideas, science, and maths, but knew no matter what it wouldn''t work.

    Death eventually stopped watching the civilization, knowing that the idea was impossible and that their species would eventually lose interest or die.

    Eventually the civilization came to the same conclusion. It was impossible to create life from nothing, even the most powerful being Death couldn¡¯t create life. But surprising Death they decided to change the way of thinking. Instead of creating life from nothing in this universe, they would do it in another way. They would find a way into a different universe and create the rules there.

    Death laughed at the thought, thinking it naive. But eventually they had found a way, created a machine so large that it was bigger than a yellow star. The machine would create a rift which would allow them to pass through into an alternate dimension. The math worked out, the science was solid, and they turned it on. Death watched with anticipation only to realize the flaw in their plan.

    The other universe was the creation of life itself, it was the goal that they had set for themselves which even Death didn¡¯t believe could happen, but when they turned on the machine, Death saw the flaw for what it was.

    In the other universe there were no rules, no guide, nothing. It was just emptiness, and Death knew that the only result from emptiness was hunger.

    The machine was on, and the Void was created. The Void swallowed most of the civilization in an instant, and those who remained saw the mistake that they had made, the hunger of creating life, to become a God, caused their death, and the Death of all other civilizations.

    They hoped that it wouldn''t be the end of them, so they ran in hopes to avoid the hunger of the Void, but it was not to be. They could run for a while, but eventually their galaxy was destroyed, and them with it.

    Slowly the Void spread and eventually it was so large it didn¡¯t need to move and spread anymore to stop it¡¯s hunger, it starting to bring everything towards it.

    Death watched the Void, was materialized as a solid shadow, sitting on a small planet as it slowly came towards the Void, unable to avoid it. Even Death wasn¡¯t sure what would happen when there was nothing but the Void left.

    Death had tried to stop the Void, preventing it from going further, but it wasn¡¯t strong enough. The Void was a universe, an entity which was neither alive nor dead, therefore Death had no domain over it.

    Slowly the planet came closer and closer to the Void. All life was spent, all space and matter was being consumed. Soon there would be nothing, and for once in Death¡¯s entire existence, Death knew what it was like for there to be nothing.

 Chapter 1 - Death Lives

    Enjoy Chapter 1

    If you find any spelling or grammatical errors please let me know in the comments!

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    There was darkness.

    Death was no stranger to darkness, having passed the life of countless beings in darkness. But there was something that Death didn''t know. A feeling that Death had never felt. There was a heat, Death had never felt anything physical, neither the freeze of space nor the warmth of blood freshly spilt. To death, this heat was torture, a burning which made Death want to shout, but death was unable to scream. Death had never felt pain. Was being consumed by the Void causing this pain? Death was not sure.

    Slowly Death got used to the heat which surrounded itself. Death was unsure what was happening to it. There was a constant pressure, Death felt pressed from all sides, unable to move for the most part. Death had never felt restricted. Death was slightly amused at the situation it was in, experiencing new feelings that it had never felt before.

    After its entire life, Death felt like there would be no new experiences that it could feel, but after being devoured by the Void, Death was experiencing so many new things.

    After what Death knew was over three hundred million years, Death found that it could no longer last within the small confined space. It knew that the space hadn''t increased in size so therefore it must have been Death that grew.

    Finally Death felt the space was no longer able to confine itself, it felt that it¡¯s strength had been enough to break out after enough time in the small confined space.

    Fortunately Death had already spent enough time alone that the short time after being devoured by the Void wasn''t that long in its mind.

    Trying to break through what seemed to be a thick shell wasn¡¯t easy. Death pushed hard and hard as it could. Finally there was a crack. A minute amount of light streamed in and Death felt blind. Death''s eyes which had been able to see into the complete darkness of a black hole or the blinding light of a supernova, was for once blind.

    Ignoring the slight pain that came with the light, Death continued to knock against the wall.

    After minutes of exhausting work, Death was finally able to create a large enough hole to escape. Still adjusting to the light, Death felt the chill of the wind. Cackling to itself Death finally realized it had a voice. After it¡¯s entire life Death had finally heard it¡¯s voice. Startled at the sound which was soft and hauntingly beautiful, Death realized it¡¯s voice was that of a young girl.

    Looking down Death saw it¡¯s hands and arms, milky white from the lack of light, slender yet strong. Not lacking in muscle but instead had a fine definition. Death realized that it was a girl. Her hair long and black, falling past her shoulders only slightly, nearly shimmering in the light of the day.

    For her entire life, Death had never identified as any gender, Death was after all just Death, a formless being which had no substance in the real world. Could have stood in front of anyone and still have not been seen or felt.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Death was amazed and excited at the fact of a body. Forever had Death been feared, worshipped, and ignored. But now that Death had a form, Death could feel more than the fleeting emotions which she eventually got bored of.

    Death could feel the grass beneath her feet, the breeze of the wind in her hair, and the warmth of the sun on her skin.

    Looking at her body Death was satisfied. She had seen the beauty of the Human race which she was now apart of, at least as far as she assumed. She had at least taken the form of a human in appearance, but there was more.

    Death could feel her powers coming back to her once again. Though obviously not as strong as before, they were there. Death could feel light of life being quickly snuffed out in some cases, while slowly in others.

    She could point in any direction and know what happened there. A deer to her south just had its neck snapped by a large wolf. There were many things she could tell about the creatures which were only two miles away from her. The wolf was nearly triple the size of any wolf on Earth, the deer nearly equal in size. Large and agile, able to run in straight lines easily while being slightly slower when weaving through the trees.

    Though she could tell all these things about these creatures, she wouldn''t have been able to tell the colour of any of the creatures or what they looked like, but she could tell what the animal was simply by the life force surrounding the animals and the way it circulated around them.

    She could also feel all of the life surrounding the animals. From the largest tick to the smallest bacteria she could feel their life force.

    The wolf and its pack picked off two more deer at the same time, having a great feast for themselves to sustain themselves. And for once Death felt something other than the life force leaving the body, but instead she felt it going into the wolves which were feasting on their prey.

    Suddenly Death felt something which she had never felt before. It was more powerful than the warmth inside the egg or the pain of light.

    At first Death was unsure as to what she was feeling, it was the antithesis of what she was. It was life.

    Along with all these other new things which she was experiencing, Death finally felt the creation of life. It was small at first, hard to feel but it was there. Powerful and nearly intoxicating. She felt the life of the plants around her, growing and soaking in the sun. The distance she felt it was very small, not even a meter away from where she stood, but it was still there, and it filled her with such joy.

    She had never felt joy before, it was emotion after emotion compounding on her. For once, Death felt happy, death felt¡­ mortal. With that feeling Death could take no more, she passed out.

 Chapter 2 - The Kitesta Kingdom

    Chapter 2! Thank you for reading once again. I''ll be honest, this chapter isn''t edited (neither was the previous chapter either.)

    I haven''t slept in 21 hours though so I''m going to go get a quick nap, wake up and do some more writing and editing in hopes for another chapter tomorrow!

    This chapter is a lot of background and a bit of history.

    Enjoy!

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    Far away there was a crisis which was caused a large meeting for those who had power and knowledge to try to figure out what happened.

    Hours before the land had shook and the damage was vast all around. Several buildings had fallen and there was a large crack within the land. The seas roared and waves crashed against the shore.

    In a large building, several dozens of men and women were chatting excitedly, trying to figure out what had happened. The land which had always been safe had caused great damage.

    There was shouts and whispers all around the room. The nobles of the Kinetsa Kingdom were flurried with excitement. On a large dais sat a large empty chair, gaudy with gold and gemstones covering it.

    To the left of the large throne there was a smaller one though no less precious in materials.

    As the nobles continued to talk there was suddenly a large smack against the floor and the nobles quieted quickly. A tall man entered the room. He was wearing a shining gold robe with white trim. His crown while thin, was gold with thirteen emeralds around it. Twelve of them were the equal in size, about the length of a child¡¯s thumb, while in the centre there was an emerald about twice the size of the others.

    He had a scar that was only slightly visible under his well groomed beard. As he walked towards his throne you could see how powerful he was. His movements were without flaw, he walked towards his throne knowing that it was his and nobody could take it from him.

    The King¡¯s name was Emeric Johan Goldwater the third of his name. King Emeric Goldwater was named after the first of his house who had taken the throne. King Emeric Brian Goldwater the Wyrm Slayer, who claimed the throne and got his title after slaying a Bane Wyrm, one of the most fierce demi-dragons around.

    King Emeric had taken the throne after his father had passed seven years ago. He was the second son of six children. The reason King Emeric Johan had taken the throne was because his older brother Terric had died trying to protect his father when he was still young in an attempted assassination of his father, King Merek Goldwater.

    The Goldwater house was a line of nobles who were praised for their strength and righteousness. They were loved by the common people and even the nobles had grudging respect for them.

    They had been the Royal house for only the last five hundred years. The noble families of the Kitesta Kingdom had gathered after the near annihilation of the Kingdom, which caused the complete death of the previous royal house, the Aymers.

    The Aymer House had been the Royal house before the Goldwaters for over twelve centuries. After a migration of a small dragon, the Kitesta Kingdom was mostly destroyed which caused a vacuum of power which the remaining houses had decided what to do. Most wanted to take control themselves, become the royal family even if it meant they would absorb the weaker houses which were badly damaged by the small dragons damage, or eliminate them.

    Eventually all the smaller houses realizing that they would either be destroyed or absorbed had decided to come together and ensure their survival for the period until the decision had been made.

    With the passing of the dragon, monsters followed in its wake. The most dangerous was a Bane Wyrm.

    Bane Wyrm¡¯s were large monsters with similarities with dragons minus the wings though small compared to even a newly born dragon.

    A wyrm was about twelve feet high in it¡¯s youth and nearly double at it¡¯s elder stage.

    A Bane Wyrm was one the most fearsome wyrms around. With the ability to control several types of magic, along with dragon magic which made them unique.

    Most creatures had a natural affinity with a certain element or magic. The more powerful a monster usually meant it had more affinities with magic or an excellent control over it.

    Bane Wyrms had the natural affinity for many different types of magic. Some had aptitude with fire while others had an affinity with water or earth. It was one thing that made Bane Wyrms so dangerous, they could have any affinity while also having an affinity to dragon magic, which made them way more dangerous than any other wyrm.

    Dragon magic was unusual in most ways. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a direct magic like fire or earth magic, but instead was pure magic itself along with the natural ability to increase any type of magic used and the increased resistance against magic.

    Dragon magic was pure in it¡¯s form and had no elemental affinity to it. Dragons mostly used it to increase the power of their own magical affinities, but sometimes they would use it in it¡¯s pure form.

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    The Bane Wyrm which had followed in the wake of the dragon into the Kitesta Kingdom only increased the damage that the small dragon made. It went to several villages until Emeric Goldwater was able to slay it, causing the common folk to praise him.

    Emeric Goldwater himself was a knight at the time. He wasn¡¯t a part of any large noble house but instead was part of a branch house of the Aymer house. Therefore with his strength shown and the admiration of the common people, the smaller houses which had banded together agreed to push Emeric Goldwater as the new King. The small amount of royal blood in his veins solidified his place in the Kitesta Kingdom.

    His reign was rocky at first, there was civil war following his coronation. Several noble houses which didn¡¯t want to lose their control fought against the smaller houses. It was nearly a landslide when it came to the actual battles.

    The common people rose against the bigger houses and they proclaimed the Goldwater family as nobility.

    This firmed his position and for the rest of his reign he worked on rebuilding the kingdom from the destruction that was left behind.

    Emeric Johan Goldwater was as a just and righteous king as the first whom name he took.

    As he sat on his throne, Emeric waved forth a scholar whom he had research the phenomenon which had happened.

    The scholar, a old and balding man with gray hair with a slight hunch from bending over books all day stepped forward to announce his findings to his king.

    ¡°Your Majesty, finding any information about what happened to the land has been hard to find and not clear in most cases. There have been records from those who are near a dragon when it walks the earth.

    Such cases are few in record but it is a known and well enough recorded event for it to be true, though no cases spoke of split earth.¡± he spoke with an excited though shaky voice.

    A murmur ran amongst the crowd as the scholar continued.

    ¡°We have found a record of the ground splitting and shaking when an earth drake used magic but it¡¯s the only record of its kind, unfortunately there¡¯s no other evidence to back it up, most magic used by dragonkin is¡­ suspect at best.¡± he said sadly.

    ¡°So from the sounds of it it¡¯s very likely that an earth affinity dragonkin has used magic causing us this damage?¡± asked a noble of the Hall house.

    ¡°I suspect it is a dragon my lord.¡± replied the scholar which caused a loud ripple from the crowd.

    ¡°There was no sighting of a dragon near us but their magic is suspect to be able to destroy us all should they choose. The air dragon which nearly caused the destruction of our kingdom so many years ago was merely a child from what we could tell of it¡¯s size and temperament. Older dragons care not for the destruction of mankind, usually even protecting the area around their lair should there be reasonable tribute given.¡± he spoke meekly.

    ¡°What should be done good scholar?¡± asked Emeric.

    ¡°There is very little we could do against any dragon your majesty. Any dragon larger than the air dragon which came would utterly destroy us, though we have a chance against any dragon smaller.¡± replied the scholar bowing.

    ¡°Any suggestions from the nobility?¡± asked Emeric, who was always considerate and willing to listen to any and all advice from others.

    Several proposals were shouted out, most suggestion that if the possibility that it is a dragon that they should avoid it at all costs.

    ¡°I propose we send a small scouting party your majesty,¡± proclaimed a booming voice.

    The voice belonged to the General of the First Army. Atkin Tebald. He was a large man, bigger than the king himself and twice as wide. He had served King Merek and now Emeric himself. Had many accomplishments and was loyal to the kingdom without fault.

    This intrigued the king, and he beckoned the man forward.

    ¡°Though the chance of an earth dragon is dangerous, it would only be to those who tread upon its domain. I don¡¯t want to risk the lives of my men like but it could be much more dangerous should we not ensure that the danger has passed.¡± He announced.

    There was a murmur of agreement among the crowd.

    ¡°I agree with the plan your majesty,¡± shouted a noble.

    Quickly the agreement of General Atkin Tebald¡¯s idea had spread from the crowd. Emeric was unsure himself but he agreed with the idea.

    ¡°Very well, we shall send out a scouting party of General Tebald¡¯s choice. Limit it to twenty men General, we don¡¯t want too many to die should there actually be a dragon.¡± announced Emeric.

    ¡°Yes your majesty.¡± General Tebald bowed.

    ¡°Until we get an answer from the scouts, we shall have the kingdom on the highest of alerts. We must remain vigilant in times like this, though we shouldn¡¯t cause unnecessary panic. Keep your guards and men on alert but make no mention of a dragon, should that get out to the common people we could end up in a much worse situation than if a dragon was there.¡± said Emeric.

    ¡°This assembly has adjourned, do what must be done for the Kingdom.¡± Emeric said as he stood up. He left towards his chambers, thinking of the danger that could be out there.

 Chapter 3 - Death Awakens

    Please enjoy and give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments!

    My plan is to do 3 chapters a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Does that seem good to you readers?

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    She woke up to a rustling just beyond the tree line. Several hours had passed since she had fallen asleep, the sky was starting to darken and she was alone in the forest. Death stood up with a start, looking towards the source of the sound, opening her senses to feel the life force around her.

    There were several of them, the pack of wolves from before. How long had she been passed out? Death was unsure.

    Forever she had been awake taking care of the souls of those who had passed, she had not known the sweet embrace of sleep her entire life, even within the large, now hollow egg which had encased her she was awake, unable to do anything but feel the warmth and it¡¯s tightening embrace.

    The pack of wolves from before had travelled to her location after eating their fill, the smallest easily her height at the shoulders while the largest towered over her head.

    Death wasn¡¯t small even though she was just born. She was in fact tall for a human woman, just under six feet in height. Her arms and legs were long and lithe, with muscle that denied the reality of her new birth.

    Death knew she had grown within the egg though she was unsure why.

    The humans which she had watched before were mammals, born of the womb of their mother''s, bare to the world.

    Was this world different? Were humans laid in eggs like the birds of the trees? What of other mammals like the wolves themselves. Were they no longer within the classification which Death had known?

    At her furthest reaches of her power, only three miles away, could she feel around the life force of animals. Growing nearby, a small clutch of eggs were covered by the force of their mother.

    Birds are the same thought Death, but she had more immediate concerns.

    The wolves were nearly upon her and she was unsure as to what she was able to do. Never before had Death felt threatened by anything, even with the Void there wasn¡¯t as much fear as curiosity of the next phase in her existence.

    But now that Death had a body, flesh which could feel and bleed, she felt true fear in her heart for the first time.

    But even with this fear there was the constant calculating mind inside of her head. Death had trillions of years to count the passage of time, time to learn, time to think before acting. Though there was the threat of death to herself, she quickly got over it and focused on the present.

    Kill the wolves is all she thought.

    A feeling welled inside of her, the adrenaline pumping into her veins for a second time, not in euphoria like before but instead the prospect of kill or be killed. Survival.

    Death felt a chill from the feeling, never before had she felt this way about death. Before it was a compulsion, take the life force of that which had died and move it to the centre so it can be flung out again to new life.

    It was all Death had ever known.

    But now there was no compulsion, instead there were emotions mixed in it¡¯s place. Worry, anticipation, excitement, despair, caution, and even a bit of lust. All of these emotions combined, and many more which she couldn¡¯t name off hand for she only knew the concept of them.

    Smiling she looked towards the wolves past the trees which hid them downwind. Only several dozens of yards away they were waiting she felt. She was unknown.

    They had scented humans before but this one was different. Her scent betrayed no fear but instead it proudly proclaimed excitement.

    The wolves were intelligent, they weren¡¯t mere creatures but instead monsters, as nearly all animals on this planet were.

    Monsters had rational thought, though limited at best.

    They could tell when something was prey, and when something was predator.

    These were no normal wolves though, grave fangs was the name given to them by the humans.

    Only the strongest of humans would be able to handle a grave fang.

    Grave fangs were dangerous by themselves, and even worse in a pack. Most adventurers wouldn¡¯t take a fight to a grave fang let alone a pack of them.

    ¡°Come out¡± commanded Death towards the pack.

    Though her emotions ran wild, it was just for a moment. Death put those feelings away and focused on a single one, excitement.

    She was excited. To live, to die, it all depended on her ability.

    The grave fangs came rushing out. They too were excited at the prospect of a meal. They felt slight trepidation at the courage of their prey, but they quickly pushed it aside at the thrill of a hunt. They had eaten man flesh before, there was no difference between this one and the others.

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    A smaller grave fang charged towards Death, snarling as it flew. Death felt her own life ending imminently should she not move. Dodging to the left she avoided the first attack by the pack while another lunged at her from the side.

    Never having to deal with the pressure of danger showed in Death¡¯s fighting presence. Never having to fight Death was an amateur but she was far more knowledge than what should have been her.

    Millions upon millions of civilizations fought and Death was always there, taking those who died on the battlefield away. Death had the memories of those battles, watching those who died as those who lived continued to fight.

    Death had seen the best fighters that the universe had to offer, but even with that knowledge she was unable to use those skills properly. She had no practice in using those fighting skills and was new to this body, therefore her movements were rigid and clunky. She didn¡¯t have the grace of a practiced veteran though she knew the theory behind the movements.

    The pack of seven felt justified in their attack. Though their prey had escaped them so far they could tell that she was not used to fighting. They continued to charge at her, making her use her full abilities just to avoid their attacks.

    Death continued to dodge backwards until she was no longer longer able to move further. The grave fangs had finally succeeded in surrounding her. Their lunges and attacks were merely distractions to corner and surround her.

    Grave fangs were generally not equipped to take down their targets without some danger to themselves. They took most of their prey down by slowly wearing it down, causing the target to die by blood loss. They weren¡¯t like the large cats which would go for the jugular of their victim or breaking their necks, but instead causing their prey to go into shock.

    Death was sweating. She had never physically exerted herself and was tiring out. Finally she had decided to take the life force from them.

    She had never killed those who didn¡¯t deserve it. She wouldn¡¯t protect the innocent from the danger of those who preyed upon them, but for once she was going to use her power to take the life prematurely from a creature.

    Death looked towards the largest grave fang. It was huge, towering over her by nearly the size of a regular wolf at the shoulders. It¡¯s mouth red, still bloody from the previous hunt of the Elk from before, and snarling. It¡¯s black hair bristled along it¡¯s spine as it prepared to attack.

    Death didn¡¯t wait for it to happen, she sought out the life force of the alpha and took it towards her. Death drained the life from the Alpha, a visible green but translucent energy moved towards her.

    In Death¡¯s old universe, there was no magic, only science. Death used to be amused at the fact that she was the one of two magical elements in that universe. Death she controlled, but there was also life, though she never had an inkling that her opposite existed.

    Here in this new world Death felt as if she was small and weak. Her powers were there but she had never used them. She was mystified at her magical ability. She always had inherent ability to see the life force of a creature, able from trillions of years of practice, but here she actively drained that life force into her instead of passing it on.

    She felt strong.

    The life force of the alpha grave fang had nourished her weakened state and it simply decayed. Without the life force in a creature, it died. Just seconds passed by and there was only dust, hair, and bones of the alpha remaining.

    The other grave fangs saw this and were startled. The next largest, the new alpha as it were, charged at her in hopes to catch her off guard and the rest followed suit. She jumped high with her new found strength and did the same to the rest of them, draining their life force in merely a moment.

    She was hit by a gust of wind which the innate powers of the grave fangs controlled. Their magic was that of the air, and though they had little power over it, the stronger wolves would be able to use it.

    Fortunately the wind magic had only hit her slightly on her thigh but she had already prepared to drain the life force of the rest of the wolves that attacked, allowing her to heal her injury in a moment.

    As she landed all the grave fangs were starting to decay. She felt brimming with energy from all of the life force she had absorbed. Sweat dripping from her physical exertion she sighed and spread her awareness out again, searching for any other predators that might be around.

    Feeling nothing that was close enough to hurt her, she sighed and looked around at her surroundings in closer detail for the first time. Not noticing anything which would help her along the way, she moved. The sun fell, lighting the sky in red flame.

    In the middle of a forest Death had no sense of direction. She had no idea where any civilizations might be.

    Deciding to pick a random direction, she went east, the way that the grave fangs came from.

    Moving away from the setting sun, Death walked towards a new world.

 Chapter 4 - Searching for Death

    Surprise chapter! There will be another chapter tomorrow as part of the regularly scheduled program, it''ll be a continuation of what''s been going on but from a different POV.

    It''s only had a quick edit by me but I have a very special person doing some editing for me. Thanks sis!

    I''ve noticed I''ve been writing more and more words for each chapter too, this one is 1000 words longer than the last.

    Like always feel free to ask any questions and I''ll do my best to answer them as vaguely as possible to not give any spoilers.

    Please enjoy and give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments!

    Edit: The chapter is edited, hurrah! There are some pretty big changes in some paragraphs, punctuation, and the like but nothing story changing so you don''t have to reread it unless you''d like to.

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    Ser Dannet hated travelling.

    Nothing beat staying on the practice field and sparring against some soldiers or adventurers. Travelling was the worst part about being a soldier. It was hot, tiring, and made one sore; sex had the same characteristics but at least it was pleasurable he thought.

    They had already travelled for two weeks from the capitol. Already at the borders of the Kingdom they were reaching the source of the earthshake.

    They had been able to tell the direction from which it came from because of the reports from the villagers when it happened. It came towards the capital as a wave, not to mention the giant crack within the earth.

    Like a giant scar on the earth the crack ended just near the capitol emanating from the direction of the earthshake, pointing the way to its source.

    He looked back and his eyes gazed over the men and women that followed him as they rode. He was leading this company of soldiers to search for the source of the earthshake which had happened in the capitol.

    His superior General Tebald had commanded him to pick nineteen of the best in his unit to search and report back any findings.

    And picked the best he did. Though he didn¡¯t have all of the best of the kingdom to pick from he had some of the best.

    Ser Dannet was in command of one of the strangest units in the Kitesta Kingdom. Most units had several hundreds of soldiers, from pikemen to archers to regular infantry. Not Dannet though. His unit had only eighty-three under his command. They were used for special missions.

    Those that he brought along were the best of the best. He knew the danger that might happen but he also knew that if it was a dragon they would at least be able to hold it off for a short while. Nobody in his command was as strong as the mythical Wyrm Slayer, but pick any two of those under his command and they together could have beat the beast.

    With twenty under his command he could kill a drake, the lesser cousin of a dragon but still stronger than a Wyrm, with some difficulty and maybe some losses. With all eighty they had a chance against an unsuspecting young dragon, at least he believed so. The difference between wyrms and drakes was large, dragons even more so.

    At least if his company did meet a dragon they wouldn¡¯t all get wiped out, their own scouts would be able to get away, on the fastest horses, to warn the kingdom. There was always a chance for the rest of his unit to survive. Dragons were known to be very fickle. One dragon would wipe out an entire Kingdom while another could proclaim a different kingdom under their protection.

    There were even stories of a dragon which made a man a king.

    His entire company was mounted and were making good time, about 50 miles a day. The sky was already darkening and they would have to prepare to stop to camp for the night.

    A rustle in the bushes ahead of them caused him to halt their advance. Weapons were drawn and bow strings pulled. Then to their relief their scout came out slowly to not startle them.

    ¡°Elyse what news?¡± asked Dannet to the scout.

    She pulled off his dark hood, her short brown hair falling forward over her face. She pushed back her hair to reveal her amber eyes and tribal marks, three vertical blue bars, that claimed her as part of the slave caste. The scout was truly one of his best and she had an almost magical ability, perhaps due to her elven blood, to see through the darkest forest.

    Once a slave of her clan she escaped and was rescued by Dannet from other elves which had caught her and were bringing her back from her escape.

    That was over ten years ago. Elyse had grown into a young woman, having been rescued when she was still a child. Only twenty years old, she had become an accomplished scout and had grown into a beautiful woman, but her life was pledged to Dannet.

    This was a rarity, as elves were not common in the Kitesta Kingdom. Most elven kingdoms were at antagonistic with the human race. Though they never were fully at war, it was constant skirmishing between the two.

    ¡°There¡¯s a clearing up ahead and a stream just a short walk away captain,¡± she said softly.

    Nodding Dannet motioned forwards to the camping place. Elyse had fought at his side through many battles, scouted difficult terrain and situations for him, and he trusted her word.

    Following Elyse¡¯s directions, they soon reached the clearing and set up camp for the night. There was the occasional crack in the earth showing that they were still going the right way.

    Dannet removed his helmet, his red, curly hair was tied back in a ponytail somewhat worse for the hours of ride. His blue eyes turned over the campsite, watching his people going about their tasks. Some set to handing out rations, others took to the edge of the camp to guard. Each had their own duties and Dannet reminded himself he could relax. But his face hadn¡¯t remained unmarked by scar or blemish from taking any situation casually. He was young to command but even in his mid thirties he knew that vigilance was necessary.

    Ser Dannet was a well liked knight and commander, famous in the capitol. He was slightly crass and was always willing to make a good joke but when the chips were on the table he was always honorable and would risk his life for any of his men. And many women had fallen prey to his roguish features and well chiseled body.

    The camp was set and they had set a night watch in groups of four to protect all direction.

    Luckily there were a decent amount of them to split up the watch this way to ensure everybody got enough sleep. In the forest there was a high chance for a monster to stumble upon your camp.

    The camp was dark because they wouldn¡¯t light a fire. Most monsters would stay away because of the light of a fire, but that would just invite the more reckless monsters and perhaps other beings whom they didn¡¯t want to attract.

    The night passed without incident, aside from a shadowtiger who had stumbled into one of the sets of guards. Dispatched quickly, those roused by the sound of battle quickly returned to sleep after the initial roars died with the creature.

    Dannet took his turn on watch just before the light of day. He always preferred it as his routine. It was easier to get up and stay up than going back to sleep he found.

    Listening to the forest at the edge of the camp he heard a twig snap. It was a light snap but it rang within the forest. Whatever had snapped the twig was far away but obviously not used to being stealthy.

    His mind raced with ideas as to what it could be: An owlbear? Perhaps a hagraven or dread howler.

    He signalled his fellow watch to keep an eye out at his position as he was going to check it out.

    He moved towards the sound, sticking close to the trees to keep his cover, not making a sound. He was lucky it wasn¡¯t autumn, the sound of crushed leaves giving him away. He didn¡¯t need the sound either as whatever was coming towards him was nearly barreling through the bush he thought, and it was coming right at him.

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    Seeing a small clearing ahead he moved to the side and waited just within the edge of it to hide behind a small bush and a growth of trees as he waited to get an eye on what was coming. Something so brazen in the forest just before dawn was no joke he decided.

    Drawing a throwing dagger he waited to see what was coming. He would use the dagger to distract the beast and run back to the camp if need be.

    A minute later he was stunned and nearly gave himself away but covered his mouth to muffle a gasp.

    A beautiful woman walked by him. Her hair was long, straight, and midnight-black, blending itself into the dark of the forest looking nearly invisible. Her eyes which were lit up looked like the mirror image of the night sky.

    Her lips were luscious and blood red. Her complexion was fair and was nearly glowing as if it was absorbing any light from the moon and stars that managed to break through the leaves of the trees. Her skin was impeccable and unblemished, with no scars to mar her body.

    Dannet was nearly stunned senseless. Who was this beauty that was coming through the forest. Was she an illusion? A spell placed upon him by a wizard or witch? Or perhaps some succubus.  He refused to move, his eyes stuck on her even as his skin prickled with danger.

    She walked past the treeline and finally stopped in the centre of the clearing. In the silence of the near-dawn forest, her movement was as loud as a horse on a cobble road.

    She stood in the centre of the clearing, looking towards the sky. Then she slowly moved her head towards him and looked at him. He could tell she was looking right into his eyes.

    Startled he jumped out. How did she know that he was there? He knew that he hadn¡¯t made a sound, he had been waiting for her long before she arrived.

    ¡°Y¡¯trah senathu valheru delenbar ashen lstharah,¡± she said in sing song voice in a language unknown to him. He had no understanding of the words but the intent of them was quite clear.

    Leaving the safety of the treeline he walked out towards her. Even now he was still quite embarrassed at her naked visage, he couldn¡¯t help but stare. She was beautiful there was no doubt, but her intent was unknown. She was too beautiful to be just a human woman.

    He watched her movements intently as he went closer to her. ¡°What are you doing out here lady? Where are your clothes?¡± He asked.

    She broke into a smile. Her bewitching lips enticing him to take her for himself, danger nearly forgotten. Getting closer to her he noticed that she had an aura around her that he was familiar with.

    Many in his unit had the ability though few could use it and even fewer were masters of it. She had magical talent.

    He wasn¡¯t sure about her power, it was strong enough for him to note it within her but all humans who had strong magical ability could feel it within others.

    She started to walk towards him but Dannet was careful, he backed up instantly knowing the danger that she possessed. What her magical affinity he knew not, but it was not normal for anyone to walk in the forest alone and unclothed.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± He asked her roughly as he continued to back up till she stopped. He heard rustling behind him signifying other had heard her.

    ¡°Want.¡± She said back at him. ¡°Want clothes.¡±

    He was slightly startled. Did she know his language? She obviously spoke a different one than he had ever heard before. It was not the language of far kingdoms or elves, nor was it the language of dwarves or the magical arts. It was completely foreign but now she was speaking to him and somehow connected what she needed.

    He motioned towards one of the watch that had come to him, ¡°Get her some extra clothes so we might question her further, it isn¡¯t good to leave a child like her naked.¡± He commanded.

    The answer to the command was only the rustle of the bushes and the light feet of one of the two who were on watch with him that they followed his command.

    ¡°Who is she Captain?¡± Asked Beneger. One of Dannet¡¯s best archers he could shoot a bug while riding a horse at full gallop a hundred yards away he was so accurate.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He replied. ¡°She was walking towards us, loud as a drunken fool, when I heard her so I hid myself to see what it was. She looked right at me when I was hiding, she must have some sort of magical ability. I can feel it within her though I¡¯m not sure how strong.¡±

    ¡°I can send for Jourdain, Captain.¡± Beneger said.

    ¡°No need.¡± He declined. ¡°We¡¯ll bring her to the camp and he can test her ability there. She hasn¡¯t done anything dangerous this entire time.¡± he continued.

    She just continued to smile at him. He wondered how she wasn¡¯t shivering nor red from embarrassment. No lady in the capitol would allow herself to be seen naked by so many men.

    They stood there while waiting then finally more rustling came from behind. It was obvious several others had come, perhaps to ensure the captains safety and more likely to see the beauty that the watch had reported.

    ¡°Ya ain¡¯t kiddin Reignolde she¡¯s a beaut.¡± Remarked Ansger, the least decent fellow of the group. More crass than a sailor he was. There were five of them now along with the captain keeping an eye on the girl. Any danger she possessed was little but should she sneak an attack on any of them it could possibly be too late.

    Reignolde brought a robe and passed it to Dannet. Dannet moved to give it to the girl but he did so cautiously, still wary of the fact she was more than she seemed. The others noticed their captains wariness and they too tensed up a bit, except for Ansger who was more of a brute than anything.

    As he gathered closer her lips moved slightly, raised with amusement. He handed the robe to her and just as he was pulling back her finger lightly touched his and he felt a bit of a jolt. It was more of a shock than anything, there was no pain.

    The others noticed his jump and pulled their weapons, ¡°Wait!¡± He commanded with his arms out signalling them to stand down. ¡°It¡¯s nothing I¡¯m fine.¡±

    They lowered their weapons slowly, even Ansger¡¯s weapon was in his hands, a large battleaxe easily his height.

    She laughed as she put the robe on which didn¡¯t endear her to any of them, insulting their reaction to a possibly dangerous situation.

    ¡°What are we to do with her captain? We have a job to do but we can¡¯t just leave her to wander in the woods.¡± Asked Beneger.

    ¡°Bring her along.¡± Said Ansger. ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll bring us some fun, heavens know the rest of those prudes won¡¯t.¡± He laughed.

    ¡°You mean she¡¯s not likely to cut your jewels off should you try.¡± Laughed another which Ansger grinned at.

    ¡°Enough of that, she may not understand us but I¡¯ll not tolerate any of that talk, we¡¯re not a company of brutes,¡± said Dannet harshly to which they nodded.

    ¡°I think it would be best to bring her along, we can at least keep her safe as long as there¡¯s no dragons. We can find where she came from. It¡¯s not safe for her to be alone in the middle of the forest.¡± Dannet decided.

    She looked at him with the same smirk she had the entire time but he couldn¡¯t help but feel like she understood him more and more.

    ¡°Beneger take her to the camp, we¡¯ll be there shortly,¡± said Dannet.

    Beneger nodded and spoke to her slowly, ¡°Follow me lady, we¡¯ll get you some food and water and ensure you have no wounds.¡±

    Dannet held the rest back and waited a few moments until they were far enough away, ¡°I want everyone to keep an eye on her, different shifts now. We always have an eye on her no matter what. Jourdain has skill with tongues, we¡¯ll have him see if he knows her language and if not we¡¯ll have him test her anyways.

    They nodded and moved towards the camp following the two.

 Chapter 5 - Meeting with Death

    Chapter 4 is now edited and I like it much better but there are no major changes. You don''t have to reread it if you don''t want to.

    This chapter was HARD to write. I knew what I wanted to do but I find dialog is one of the hardest things to write about. I can exposition the shit out of stuff but dialog is really hard and this was a dialog heavy chapter.

    I rewrote parts of it a bunch of times, I think there was like 5 lines of dialog I''ve rewritten over 20 times. I just couldn''t get it to perfection and I''m still not completely happy with it.

    More words than the last chapter too. Each time it slowly increases. Next chapter will be Friday but I might release one tomorrow as an apology for today''s chapter.

    Edited!

    Please enjoy and give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments!

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    She was amused. Though she could learn the language quickly by listening, trillions of years of knowledge helped with that, a single touch was all it took to understand his language fully.

    It wasn¡¯t all she took from him but she was going to keep the rest of it a secret.

    They thought the reason for the earthquake was a dragon? She saw the split earth from her egg, she knew that she did it. Maybe the egg could be used as a farce, perhaps it was a dragon''s egg which had hatched and the parent took it off. Yes she would plant that idea in their minds.

    Such interesting creatures humans, and now she was one of them.

    The young knight Dannet had given her a robe and was going to question her. She would feign ignorance of their language, pretending to learn it over time. She wondered why she didn¡¯t just kill them, she knew she could.

    Weeks of travelling had pit her against many different monsters that were around. None of them were of the dragon race which she knew these humans feared, but dangerous none the less.

    Only a few species in the other universe would be so dangerous and only because they would kill you by contact. Poisonous or venomous, sometime

    s radioactive. That was a strange species, able to live much closer to the centre of their galaxy using the radioactive waves as food. But they died all the same to the Void; no more thinking of that, that place was gone.

    Death was intrigued by this world. There were many things which she had no experience with and there were new things to learn. It was an enjoyable experience to her.

    Along with new creatures, there was magic, monsters, and new places to explore. With her powers so weak compared to what she had before she was able to explore places with an innocence she had never experienced before.

    ¡°Lady, we¡¯ve arrived at the camp,¡± said Beneger.

    She woke up from her thoughts and looked around at the gathering of soldiers. The dawn had just broke when she arrived so they were all getting prepared to leave.

    ¡°Hold off on breaking down the camp, the captain will be here soon.¡± Beneger commanded.

    Beneger walked up to the man who seemed to be the mage Jourdain and spoke to him privately while others in the group watched her, the corners of her mouth lifted in amusement at some of their dumbfounded looks, they obviously didn¡¯t have training in subtlety.

    A short yet well built man stepped forward to check her. She looked at him with amusement but felt something strange about him. She assumed it was his magical ability, the thoughts from Captain Dannet had taught her that everybody who had magical ability could feel it within others, and those with stronger magical ability could test those.

    Of the entire group here she felt an overwhelming amount of people who had magical talent, there were only three who didn¡¯t but even the crass Ansger did.

    Death had taken the memories from Dannet. She understood how the body worked and the mind especially. Human minds were extremely easy to read she found but she was only able to get surface memories. At first she hadn¡¯t been sure that she would be able to read the minds of these people, but it pleased her greatly to quickly pick up their language and immediate thoughts.

    Language was something that was so ingrained within the mind that it went from the surface to the deepest parts, enabling her to access all of it.

    She also knew how Dannet had thought about her, his worries for his unit because of the possibility of a dragon. Their kingdom had nearly been destroyed by a frost dragon before, with the chance of an earth dragon near it could do much more damage.

    The Kitesta Kingdom was in the southern part of the land, the frost dragon was young and was out of it¡¯s element to say. Should an earth dragon be any older it could have likely destroyed everything.

    She mulled everything over in her head as she walked over to Jourdain the mage. Humans were naturally attuned to one element on their birth. The four elements were the most common, but there was also other magical affinities. Darkness and light, electricity and nature. There were several more uncommon affinities like ice and summoning which very few people had because those who were able to teach them how to use it were so few.

    There were other affinities which were completely random. There was a fairy tale of a mage with the power to increase people''s weight. Those mages were some of the strongest should they learn how to use their power. That mage had the power over gravity and none since had the same power. She could see the truth of their tale for what they were even if they didn¡¯t.

    She knew captain Dannet was curious about her magical affinity, he felt her power and the fact that she was naked with nothing with her when he met her made him think she used her magical powers to stay alive. He wasn¡¯t wrong after all.

    ¡°Lady pleased to meet your acquaintance, please let me help you. My affinity is nature and I am quite adept at healing if you don¡¯t mind.¡± he said to her.

    Laughing inside she simply feigned ignorance at his words and shook her head ¡°Besana yeatu cordial.¡±

    Jourdain was completely at a loss for a moment until Beneger remembered to tell him that she didn¡¯t speak the language.

    ¡°Could have told me that.¡± he mumbled to himself. ¡°Any way to get her to talk some more?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replied Beneger, ¡°She talked to us before and seemed to understand what she wanted after we spoke to her a few times. Maybe she hit her head and forgot the language.¡± he said at a loss.

    ¡°Do you understand the language?¡± Jourdain asked slowly, trying to get her to continue to talk.

    Tiring of the farce she was prepared to just give up but she decided against it, it wouldn¡¯t due to give all away one of her cards. Especially if they figured out she could learn by a simple touch, they might not believe that she could only understand surface thoughts and not delve deep¡­ yet at least.

    She started pointing out a few things and speaking words for them. She used English to speak to them because they looked more European. She could have used any language from Earth like Chinese or Spanish because they were more common or even an alien language but she decided to keep things simple for herself.

    Catching on quickly Jourdain followed her along and said the words along with her as well as teaching her the words of language. Going up to a tree and saying tree would elicit the same response from him only in their language which was called common to them. Jourdain told her that elves would speak elvish, dwarves; dwarvish, and so on.

    Jourdain spent a few moments trying to teach Death the language but realizing that she was picking up every word that was being said he praised her for her skills in language and then was finally able to use his nature magic to check for any disease or wound on her.

    She was given a clean bill of health.

    During this time Dannet had already come back to the camp and he had set somebody to guard her at all times. Not just for her safety but for their safety.

    Dannet decided that they were going to stay at the camp until lunch in order to find more about her.

    Since she was so adept at languages Jourdain started to pestering her with questions.

    They sat side by side near the fire where a carcass of a boar laid across on a split.

    ¡°What is your name Lady?¡± was the first question.

    ¡°I have many names.¡± was all she replied.

    ¡°Could you tell me one?¡± he asked.

    ¡°My name is not easily given.¡± she said.

    Jourdain frowned at the answer. She knew she was being evasive with her answers.

    ¡°Could I give you a name then?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Are you good at naming?¡± she retorted.

    He looked slightly embarrassed, ¡°No, not particularly... Perhaps one of my comrades could give you a name.¡± He suggested.

    ¡°If they are good at naming then it is sufficient, but that can be for later. You may continue to call me Lady for now.¡± she told him.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± he said, satisfied. ¡°Where are you from then?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Far away.¡± She teased.

    She never gave full answers but always gave the truth. She didn¡¯t know his full magical capabilities. She hadn¡¯t touched him to learn the answers, she was already regretting it with Dannet because it made things too easy. She wanted excitement and learning everything took it away.

    She knew she had the ability to not take in the information but she was having impulses that she wasn¡¯t used to. She knew she wouldn¡¯t have been able to look into the mind of Jourdain or anyone else she touched.

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    Once she got control over all of her emotions she would be able to fully control her power.

    ¡°What about that language, is it from your home?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re smart,¡± was all she said back to him. It wasn¡¯t completely true of course. She was around long before earth and long after, but it was part of her universe so it was technically correct.

    ¡°Where is your home?¡± He asked once again.

    ¡°Not too smart it seems.¡± She frowned, slightly upset at his constant pestering about her home. She didn¡¯t care about answering some questions, maybe throwing out some wisdom that they might not have thought of before, but asking the same questions over and over bored her quickly.

    Jourdain was taken back slightly but quickly recovered to continue to ask questions. He pestered her constantly until they were to leave the camp to continue forward.

    Death was evasive throughout the questions and would give only one or two word answers to each question. She never asked questions herself, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be fair to receive answers when she wasn¡¯t giving herself.

    Ser Dannet came to her as the company started to move. She learned that she was to name him Ser Dannet while they called him Captain or Captain Dannet because of his rank over them. Since she wasn¡¯t military she had to call him by his noble rank instead of military one.

    The questions continued until lunch where she was given some of the boar which had been cooking by them while Jourdain left to report to Dannet. She didn¡¯t know what he was telling him but it would obviously be about her answers and her evasiveness.

    She didn¡¯t know if their kingdom had problems with other kingdoms. Maybe they would think she¡¯s a spy and keep a close eye on her. That would be exciting, she thought, another game.

    Ser Dannet came to sit beside her. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to Jourdain, it seems you¡¯ve quickly learned the language. Did you know it already?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the language when I met you.¡± She said, thinking if they had any way to tell the truth it would be truth, ignoring the fact that she learned it quickly after meeting him and not from Jourdain.

    ¡°How did you learn the language so quick?¡± He asked her, obviously not satisfied with the answers Jourdain got from her.

    ¡°I know many languages, they¡¯re all easily learned to me.¡±

    ¡°How many do you know?¡± He asked still not satisfied.

    Death was starting to get tired of this questioning. She was trying to keep her secrets and it was now obvious that he had a way to tell the truth or else he wouldn¡¯t ask such specific questions.

    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± She asked him ignoring his question.

    ¡°I have to find out if you¡¯re a spy.¡± He answered. ¡°If your answers don¡¯t satisfy me then I¡¯ll have to kill you. I don¡¯t want to do that but you¡¯ve been too ambiguous. You¡¯re too confident to be walking through the forest with no weapon or clothes. You¡¯ve given us no name, no home, how do I know that you¡¯re not a danger to my kingdom?¡±

    ¡°You have a way to tell the truth don¡¯t you?¡± She asked him.

    Dannet nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    The others took out their weapons, they heard the conversation between the two. They wouldn¡¯t risk their captain to danger if she continued to refuse to answer.

    ¡°I am not a spy, and my home was destroyed.¡± She said with no emotion. Truth be told she was happy at the fact. If it wasn¡¯t true then she wouldn¡¯t have gotten this opportunity. But now she was prepared to take all of their lives. She spread her awareness into their lifeforce, ready to take it from them should they become hostile.

    Dannet seemed to relax a bit though Death didn¡¯t know why. Death didn¡¯t know how he would be able to tell if she was lying but it must have been magical in nature, maybe a device which notified if lies were told.

    ¡°Why are you so evasive?¡± He continued.

    ¡°Some people have their own secrets to be kept.¡± She said emotionless again.

    Dannet could understand that, he paused for a few moments looking at her carefully, as if he looked close enough he could find the answers he was seeking. ¡°Very well, you never lied and you¡¯re not a spy¡­ I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re being so evasive but I understand that we¡¯re strangers to each other as well. I wouldn¡¯t give up my secrets so I won¡¯t ask yours.

    She nodded glad that the questioning was over. She would reveal her secrets in her own time. It was all a game to her now.

    ¡°I have one last question though, how did you know I was there?¡± He asked.

    She smiled and figured he could get one answer from her, ¡°I could feel your life,¡± she replied. ¡°Will I go with you or will you send me away?¡± She asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you Lady, we¡¯re in search of something dangerous.¡± He answered, being evasive in his own way.

    ¡°What is so dangerous that all of you are afraid of it?¡± she questioned.

    ¡°We¡¯re in search of what caused damage to our home. It has caused the large scar in the earth that you might have seen.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the scar.¡± She replied to him.

    ¡°You have? Did you see what caused it? Did you see the source?¡± He asked excitedly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see what caused it but I saw the source, an egg in the ground was there and it was broken, the scars in the earth came from the source of the break in the egg though I¡¯ll say no more.¡±

    He saw the truth in her words because the magical device didn¡¯t go off. ¡°We have to find this egg, if we get confirmation we can go back.¡± He announced to the camp. ¡°Get ready to head out soldiers. How far away was it Lady?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know your measurements but it was fourteen days of travel on foot from where you met me.¡± She told him truthfully. This would be her opportunity to direct their questions away from her for now as Dannet was too excited at the prospect of a dragon egg. With her answering all of their questions truthfully they would turn off the magical device and then she could deceive them as she wanted.

    They travelled once again and though she was slightly annoyed at the fact of going back to the egg instead of continuing to explore the world, she found it interesting to meet many of the soldiers in the unit.

    The men came up to her quickly when it was announced that she was going with them, all trying to get into her good graces. The three women in the party didn¡¯t seem very inclined towards her but were amicable enough, especially Elyse.

    Death was fascinated with the elf, the first time she had ever met one. She had a darker skin tone compared to the rest of the company, but Death still thought her skin was pretty. It was naturally dark in colour, nearly olive. When she asked if she was a dark elf Elyse jumped at her and nearly hit her in the face but was only held back by Beneger and Jourdain who heard her ask the question.

    ¡°Never ask an elf if they¡¯re related to the dark elves.¡± he said seriously. ¡°Elves and dark elves have a bad history, and hers is worse with all elves.¡±

    She was curious, ¡°What is so bad about dark elves?¡±

    ¡°Dark elves are evil Lady. They plunder and kill from other elves but not like elves don¡¯t deserve it. Elves are bad folk too, willing to kill humans either way. I think there¡¯s just bad blood between the two.¡±

    ¡°I agree, not all people are bad though there are bad people in each group.¡± she replied.

    ¡°Well said Lady, you seem to know a lot and yet nothing at all.¡± he said as he looked at her more closely.

    She ignored it and they continued to go through more questions.

    From the group she found the elf most interesting out of all of them and then Jourdain because he was a mage. His magical powers interested her and he showed off his skills, from clearing the path by making the brambles and tree branches move to calling some birds to scout ahead.

    She asked him why he didn¡¯t talk to the animals to come so they could eat them and he replied it was unnatural to talk to an animal then kill it.

    ¡°It¡¯s why I hardly talk to any non-flying animal, that way I won¡¯t feel bad if I go hungry.¡± He laughed.

    Within the few days of travel she had already wormed her way into the company, making jokes and laughing at theirs. The only one who didn¡¯t seem to like her was Elyse. She thought it might have been because she offended her because of the dark elf comment but then she realized that the elf had a bit of a crush on Ser Dannet. Dannet didn¡¯t know that but it seemed everybody else did. The blindness of men she thought.

    They finally reached the egg after only a few days of mounted travel which made Death appreciative. It wouldn¡¯t be much longer to get back to where she met the company on horse.

    They arrived at the egg and examined it for days but though everyone had a theory, from Jourdain to Ansger, the best assumption they came up with was that it was a dragon¡¯s egg. They debated bringing it back to the capitol, but decided that there would be too much danger if the dragon or it¡¯s mother returned to find the egg.

    One of the soldiers made a fair sketch of the place and the egg and they marked it on a map to record in the annals of the Kingdom before Captain Dannet ordered their return to the city. He invited the Lady to join them but warned that she would need to provide real answers to their King, as he would not permit any insolence, and the guards there were far less accommodating.

    It took three weeks of travel and a few monster attacks for them to reach the Kingdom but she finally saw the white walls of the capitol, Lightcross.

 Chapter 6 - Death and the City

    Yes the name was a joke on Sex and the City, why I did it I don''t know because it''s not even that funny.

    Enjoy the chapter, it''s slightly smaller than the last few chapters and the next chapter will a perspective switch. Feel free to listen to this video <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> when we get to the inn scene, gives it some extra ambiance. Also I just learned how to add a horizontal rule so that''s nice. If you read this on your mobile device no longer do you see long lines of dashes!

    Next chapter will be Monday, sorry I didn''t add one yesterday but I made a cake, attached here</a>. It''s nothing fancy but I made it >:D

    The chapter has been edited (before posting for once!), Thanks sis!

    Please enjoy and give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments!

    Also if you''d like I''d appreciate any ratings, good or bad but I promise to take any criticism should you rate it negatively, but if you do rate negatively please tell me how I can improve. A 3 stars doesn''t tell me what I need to do in order to satisfy you to make the story good for you, the reader.

    <hr />

    Lightcross was build at the base of a rugged mountain. Its elegance was matched by the backdrop of rich, luscious fields which helped the pristine image which the city had put forth.

    There were two large buildings which towered over the walls of the city and represented the two powers which controlled the kingdom. The first was the castle which was where the king met and presided over any problems of the country. It was much a capitol building as it was his home.

    The castle had nineteen massive, angular towers which were seemingly random unless seen from above where you would see a shape of a star. They were built with the idea of defense in mind and were connected by high, solid walls made of white stone.

    Tall windows were scattered here and there and around the walls in fairly symmetrical patterns, along with arrow slits for archers.

    Three gates were on different sides of the castle to ensure a proper flow of traffic through the castle to reduce congestion but still too few to allow a siege on the castle without taking severe casualties.

    There were remnants of the previous keep¡¯s destruction by the frost dragon, called Frostbite by the survivors and descendants. Massive gray slabs of stone littered the field around the castle, creating a near artistic look of rocks instead of trees. These fragments of the castle, from before the Goldwater reign, lay as a testimony to the fragility of humanity. The new castle was built by the first king of the Goldwater reign with the idea of defense of the kingdom.

    From a distance when one looked at the city just outside of the walls of the castle, the buildings were gothic in nature, with wattle and daub as the foundation with limewash to colour them the same as the white walls of the city with slate roofing.

    The second major building of the city was the church. It was dedicated towards the God of light and charity Cylios. The church was open to all who would attend and it was based in the poorer parts of the city in order to make it easier for them to reach out towards those in need. From a distance it was resplendent, the domed roof of the church shining, reflecting the sun¡¯s light off it¡¯s polished gold surface.

    The group rode towards the capitol, Death rode one of the packhorses into the capitol, the rations in the saddlebags long depleted from the burden of an extra person with them on their travels.

    She had laughed when she saw the one given to her. It was tall and a light gray in colour. She couldn¡¯t help but think she was Death arriving on a pale horse.

    It was two hours after dawn and the city was in a bustle. Passing the main gate Death entered the city for the first time. There was a constant movement of people, large groups of people entering and leaving the city to get on with their day''s work.

    ¡°How many people live here?¡± She asked Jourdain, who had kept her company for the duration of their travels. She found Jourdain was a well learned man who had knowledge of many things. He was always reading in his books. Had he not joined the military he would have been part of the magic school as a teacher.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure on the exact number but there¡¯s upwards of three hundred thousand people in the direct vicinity, there are a few smaller villages just outside of the city which increases the population to just over four hundred thousand.¡± He said taking a moment to think about it.

    She simply nodded looking around at the crowd. The majority of buildings were beautiful she thought but there were also shacks and burnt down buildings which looked like a pockmark against the beauty of the rest of the city. There was the stench of the city, a near rank smell of excrement and decay. It wasn¡¯t directly visible in the main streets but seemed to be from the alleyways which managed to stay dark because of fabrics which hung from building to building above.

    They passed the markets where the merchants were shouting out their wares. They moved slowly through the crowd on the main street that led straight to the castle and Ser Dannet fell back from the front of their party next to her.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving you here at the market. Here¡¯s some coin to help you through but that¡¯s all I can give you. It¡¯s payment for directing us to the egg.¡± He said handing her a cloth bag that clinked with a few coins.

    Death just nodded ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you leaving the city just yet, there are still a lot of questions that haven¡¯t been answered and while I believe that you¡¯re not a spy I still have to report finding you to my superior and king about my findings, they might want to question you.¡± He said.

    He then gave her a larger bag of coin which started to clink when he held it out. ¡°Here¡¯s the payment for you sticking around. There¡¯s a decent inn named the ¡®Wyrm¡¯s Fall¡¯ three blocks from here which I want you to stay at so I can find you. It will pay for room, food, and keeping the horse at the stable for a day. I¡¯ll send one of my men to pick it up from you tomorrow.

    Remember, I want you to stay in the city. You can do whatever you want here but I want to be able to find you easily should my king command it.¡± He said forcefully.

    Death just smiled and nodded, not really paying attention to him but instead started going through the pouches of coin, examining them closely to see the strange patterns that adorned them.

    ¡°Alright, alright three blocks from here.¡± Was all she said in reply waving him off.

    Dannet was slightly speechless and thought she was slightly ungrateful and completely aloof. He rode back up to the front of the company and led them back to their barracks where they would clean themselves and take a rest while he would report his findings to General Tebald.

    Death simply followed his directions looking around as she rode her horse down the busy cobblestone streets. She had a new perspective to look at people from. Before she was always around and able to see, nothing escaped her. She was able to see through a crowd of people and notice everything, but here there was only so much her eyes could take in.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    She took her time on the horse. The streets were wide and there was plenty of room for several wagons to go side by side. The bustle of the city continued all the way to the inn she was supposed to stay at.

    Death didn''t care for the king nor Dannets commands. She didn''t feel like she was to be held to the laws of mortal men, though mortal she might be now.

    She was curious about her coming here. She was consumed by the void then trapped in an egg for over three hundred million years. But suddenly she was freed and had the body of a human. It was too strange.

    While taking in all of the sights of the city, she noticed there were few other races in the crowds. She had seen several dwarf merchants and their guards. Tthey were burly and were fully armed and armoured. They weren¡¯t kidding around when it came to the firepower they carried, large halberds which towered to the height of Ansger who was the largest man she had seen, a good seven feet.

    The dwarf merchants themselves were decent men themselves from what she¡¯d seen, trying to entice the customers to look at and buy their wares just like any other merchant. They wore plenty of jewelry and sold a large variety of things from gems to silks. The merchants in the streets didn¡¯t sell completed wares for the most part but instead materials and foods for other people to finish the product that they needed. There were stores which housed various blacksmiths and tailors.

    Death went inside of one of the tailor shops in order to get some clothes. She only had the robe, a shirt and pants. The shirt, oversized for Death had come from one of Dannet¡¯s soldiers. At Dannet¡¯s orders, Elyse had surrendered a pair of pants, the two women being closest in size, much to Elyse¡¯s dismay though she didn¡¯t show it to Dannet.

    The short time she had spent watching the people of Lightcross had given her an idea of what would fit her best and ensure she was treated with respect, if not awe. She had decided she would make some designs for the tailor to follow in order to get the clothes she wanted. The tailor measured her but promised to follow her specifications to how the clothes looked. It didn¡¯t cost her any extra coin to get him to follow the design but she had the tailor make a contract which would let the tailor have the designs to the clothes at the promise that she would get one bronze coin per design that he made. It was a steal for the tailor, he saw the value of the clothes, they were less in materials but the beauty of their looks was apparent when he saw it.

    Most clothes were cotton or linen. The shirts that men wore were long sleeved and generally drab in colour, white or stained from the sweat, dirt, and blood of their hard labour. In the city there were more colours, blues, greens, and reds were more prevalent with more colour in the clothing of those who were obviously richer.

    The tailor promised to send her clothes to the inn when they were complete, and that was her next stop.

    She arrived at the inn, it was a tall building three storeys tall and followed the design of the rest of the houses with lime mortar. There were stainglass windows and music and enthusiastic noses could be heard from outside.

    The inn had a old oak door and a large sign above which gave it¡¯s name ¡®The Wyrm¡¯s Fall¡¯. Death saw that it was a warm place, a large fire was running with a pot over it for cooking food. There were three floors and the first and second floor were taken up mostly by the dining hall and food tables with a large bar at the back.

    The tavern was nearly packed. Common folk seemed to be the primary clientele and probably the best clientele for the owner. Able to spend money but wouldn¡¯t get in a fight for fear of the guards coming.

    Several long tables were occupied by what seems to be entire families, all enjoying the food, drinks, and the company of each other. The other, smaller tables, were also occupied by people who seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot, perhaps too much, the men fondling women who sat on them as the women lavished them with kisses and sweet whispers. Even most of the stools at the bar are occupied, though nobody seemed to mind the company of a stranger.

    Death sat down at an empty chair at the bar and a swarthy, portly man saw her. He finished pouring drink for another customer before approaching her.

    ¡°What can I get you, ma¡¯am? I¡¯ve not seen you around before. I got several rooms and for food and drink we¡¯ve got mead, qeri mutton, and meat stew.¡± He said with a gruff voice, which seemed to have too many years of smoking.

    ¡°I¡¯d like a room. What animal¡¯s in the meat stew?¡± She asked.

    He nodded and leaned in close ¡°It¡¯s pigeon but don¡¯t be tellin nobody.¡± He whispered with a small smile.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll choose the mutton and mead then please.¡±

    Rumbling as cheerful of a yes he could muster, he walked away to get her drink, food, and room.

    He spoke to an equally plump woman behind the bar in what Death assumed was the kitchen and she got a key out from her dress and walked over. ¡°Here¡¯s the key for the room, you have the coin for it I presume?¡± She asked.

    After the price was negotiated and paid she was handed the key to the room. The room was small, hardly better than a bed, chest, and four walls, but it was completely safe with a door with a lock and an extra bolt for added security. She put her clothes in the chest which happened to be her only belongings other than the money paid to her by Dannet before returning to the dining hall.

    She went back down to the dining hall and was served her food and drink. The mead was bitter but more pleasant than expected. She had never tasted food as Death so all food since her birth from the egg was a new experience.

    A few hours passed, as well as a few glasses of mead. The tailoring wouldn¡¯t be done until the next day so there was nothing much else for her to do except explore the city which she had planned on doing later with her new clothes. There were plenty of men who had attempted to win her affection, either with sweet words or drunken rambling but she declined them all and simply enjoyed the atmosphere.

    The hall was getting slowly fuller and fuller with the dinner crowd coming in for an easy meal and even easier drink. She listened to the tales that the men spoke of their heroic deeds which were obviously done by somebody else when the door was crashed in.

    ¡°What do ye think you¡¯re doing?¡± Asked Tamas the barkeep, whom she learned like to nurse a few cups of mead of his own when working.

    Several men walked through the room while fully armoured. The matching armour they wore had a pointed helm with only a rounded nose guard as protection for the face. Attached to the top were rows upon rows of feathers, curving backwards from the tip of the helm. She thought they looked quite hilarious but noticed that they were leading an older nobleman with a red tunic and plenty of jewelry to go with it.

    He looked around the room, stopped at her and simply pointed and said ¡°Her¡±.

 Chapter 7 - Death and Taxes

    Another short chapter unfortunately!

    It''s all edited; thanks sis.

    Please enjoy and give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments!

    <hr />

    The room was shining, beautiful, yet cold. The chamber which Dannet had been ushered into was too nice for his comfort, gold and silver trimmings on the hand crafted mantle and candles lighting the room. There was no fireplace which would have helped the coldness in the room but he suspected it was a bit more than that. He prefered a wooden room with a nice fire. Or the outdoors. Dannet was a noble but his true love was the outdoors.

    The man who ushered him in here annoyed Dannet. He was the scholar who had suggested it was a dragon. The egg had only helped confirm his theory but nothing was certain. He was to report to General Tebald as soon as he got back but the scholar and several nobles had ambushed him and forced him into following them and telling him their findings.

    ¡°We found the source of the destruction, it seemed there was very likely a wave of energy which pointed outwards from the crack of an egg. We have a detailed sketch of the egg from various points. There was no damage behind or beside it, it was simply by chance that whatever left the egg cracked it from this point.¡± Dannet told them.

    ¡°How big is the egg?¡± Asked a noble.

    ¡°Quite small, in fact the inside was about the size of one of your mastiffs in length Baron Pierce. The egg had a shell the thickness of three fingers, the crack was from the top to the bottom. I have no idea how long it was there, one of my men said at least three hundred years but likely upwards of it. There was Yarrow Moss on it in full bloom, he said that takes from three hundred to five hundred years of growth, we took some along with us as well.¡± He replied.

    ¡°This is a concerning situation, it all points to the dragon theory though. We have no idea what creature it may have been but only dragons would have that kind of power. Perhaps it''s some side effect of their birth that causes such a powerful shockwave against us. It only makes sense that the birth of a powerful creature makes a wave of power extending from it,¡± said the scholar.

    There was a general agreement from the group as they continued to ask Dannet questions. He thought about telling them about the woman who they had met on their way and had showed them the egg. Lady is what she prefered to be called until she found her own name. How ridiculous was she?

    Listening to what Jourdain told him and what she was saying when he was around was enlightening. It was as if she lived in the forest her entire life. But it just didn¡¯t make sense. Her skin was like she hadn¡¯t seen the light of day once, her knowledge of things varied in many different ways.

    She was very much like a commoner. She didn¡¯t ask what certain items did unless they were magical in nature. Most commoners wouldn¡¯t know the first thing about magic if they didn¡¯t have the capability of it themselves. She was so curious about magic but indifferent to many other things like clothing and food. She didn¡¯t even care to ask for food until they realized she hadn¡¯t eaten for an entire day. She was sitting by the roasted boar for hours and didn¡¯t even ask for a bite, for the God''s sake!

    She was too strange, yes, but he wouldn¡¯t inform the nobles about her. She was too beautiful and he had known about some of the nobles less honorable desires. He could tell the scholar, his tastes went in a different, and younger direction, but no. He wasn¡¯t any better than them. He¡¯d likely sell her off as for trade as anyone else. He would only inform the General and the King about her. There was something she was holding back from them he knew it, but he would only tell them about it, not the nobles.

    Men with no military accomplishments that had little honor, living off the sweat of their fathers and grandfathers.

    After spending too much time there he excused himself saying that the General was expecting him and wouldn¡¯t appreciate the wait. They let him go as they continued to discuss amongst themselves.

    A brisk ride later he was at the General''s quarters.

    ¡°Captain, good you¡¯re here. We weren¡¯t sure how long it would take for you to find the source, you did find it I assume?¡± Asked General Tebald.

    ¡°Yes General, there¡¯s many things which I found, I apologize for the late hour of my arrival.¡± He replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself over it, let¡¯s get down to the information so we can present it to the King. After we discuss it we¡¯ll tell him together I think. Do you think it would be worth having any of your unit along as well?¡± The General asked as he started to look over the reports.

    ¡°There¡¯s one man, Jourdain.¡± Dannet said.

    ¡°Ahh I remember him, the nature mage. He¡¯s strange, stronger than many recruits who get out of training. Anyways continue, why do we want him along?¡±

    ¡°Well sir, let me tell you how we found the egg first. I didn¡¯t mention it in the official report but instead I have my personal journal of the story here. Everyone in my unit has been ordered to keep quiet about the trip unless I allowed them to speak about it.¡± Dannet said with some reluctance.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Dannet then told General Tebald about the trip, starting from the beginning of the trip all the way to their return, and focused on Lady, the woman that they met in the forest. At first General Tebald laughed at the image of her naked visage standing in the forest but grew serious when he realized the evasive nature of the woman. He too had Dannet¡¯s thought of being wary for all things, it was what made him best general in their kingdom.

    ¡°I¡¯ve left her with some money and a command to stay in the city. I gave her enough money for a week at the Wyrm¡¯s Fall. I received notice that she arrived there and got a room by Elyse who I ordered to keep an eye on her should anything happen. I¡¯m expecting another report in an hour by courier.¡±

    General Tebald thought for a moment then made his decision, ¡°Interesting, let¡¯s report our findings to the King in private. We shouldn¡¯t wait a moment. Since your men have seen her have more of them keep an eye on her. Once we¡¯re done with telling the king he can make a decision, though I assume it¡¯ll be the same as mine. We¡¯ll bring her into questioning and release her should she satisfy our questions. We¡¯ll have the scholar along as well, he¡¯s an accomplished alchemist and will be able to ensure she won¡¯t be able to skirt no lie.¡±

    With finishing the briefing they went towards the King''s chambers. They were halted by the guards outside of the door but the King must had heard them from inside and ordered the guards to let them in.

    ¡°General Tebald, I wasn¡¯t expecting you today, what have you come for?¡± asked King Emeric.

    ¡°My lord, my soldiers who were sent to find the source of the earthshake have returned. This is Captain Dannet, the leader of the expedition. He¡¯s found some interesting things which you should hear, and some other things which we found to be for your ears only.¡± Replied General Tebald.

    The king just nodded towards the General and then had Dannet explain the entire travel along with information about the Lady in the forest.

    After four hours of briefing the king and giving him all of the pertinent information the King made his decision, ¡°I should like to meet this ¡®Lady¡¯ and have her give her thoughts to me, General and Dannet you two should be there, and I think having the Scholar along as well would be very useful.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps one from the mages school, your majesty.¡± Suggested General Tebald, ¡°I think having one of them there would help assess her magic potential. Since she had no weapons or stealth she must have had a magical way to defend herself.¡±

    The king nodded once again, ¡°Very well, send out those orders General. Captain, could you please retrieve the lady from the inn today? I would very much like for us to speak to her before tomorrow. Once we have our meeting with her we can announce our findings to the court to alleviate any problems. Since there were no creatures that you found on your way there or back we can assume the threat has passed. Since it¡¯s three weeks of travel to the egg we can assume it¡¯s far enough from our Kingdom to ignore any threat at least.¡±

    Dannet and General Tebald nodded and bowed to the King taking their leave. Once they got to the General¡¯s quarters they were ambushed by Reignolde. ¡°Captain I have urgent news, Lady has been taken by Lord Saer.¡± He panted.

    ¡°What? Wasn¡¯t Elyse supposed to keep an eye on her? Why did Lord Saer take her?¡± Dannet shouted.

    ¡°Elyse sent me a message that she followed them, they¡¯re at the church.¡± H replied.

    ¡°Lord Saer is a devout follower of the church but why would they want her? She¡¯s just come to the city. What did Elyse say about what she did?¡± Asked Dannet.

    ¡°Nothing captain, she just sent word as fast as she could that Lord Saer had taken her, Jourdain is ready to be used Captain, he can use his magic to find Elyse, he has some of her belongings to follow.¡±

    Dannet looked towards the general who just looked back and nodded. ¡°You know what to do Captain, get her back as quick as you can. We don¡¯t know why they took her but you¡¯ve got to get her back. I can¡¯t send out men without the king''s orders but I¡¯ll go back and ask him. The church has always been an ally to the monarchy so we don¡¯t want to upset them so I can¡¯t send men without the king¡¯s orders but at least I can¡¯t stop your old ones, especially since they come from the King.¡±

    Dannet Reignolde handed Dannet his belongings and the two of them rushed towards the castle gate where they were to meet Jourdain who would lead them to Elyse, and then to Death.

    <hr />

    So here we are, another cliff hanger and a chapter that doesn''t really resolve anything. I''m sorry for doing this to you but it''s just too much fun being on the other end.

    I promise you the next chapter will resolve it, we''ll get Death''s name, and that''s all the spoilers I''ll give.

 Chapter 8 - Mercy

    Here''s the chapter, super late sorry about that (but it''s still Wednesday!) It''s fully edited and a fairly long one too. Fridays chapter might be late, my house is getting sprayed because we have carpenter ants (had them last year too but apparently the poison didn''t kill them for an entire year so yay for warranties).

    I''m also looking for a job. When I get one my writing rate will probably reduce to twice a week. The good news is no matter what I''m going to keep writing till the end of the year. You can always expect 1 chapter a week from me from now till December 31''st.

    Once the new year has come I''ll start editing my other story which already has over 100k words and will have over 200k by next year. I''ll be editing that story and starting to post it on here. The quality will be much better and it''ll have a story where I already know what I want to happen (where compared to this story I''m literally writing chapter by chapter and only have a few plot ideas ahead of time).

    WARNING: This chapter is explicit and even made me feel really bad when writing. I was disgusted with myself for a while, mature audiences only.

    Please give any criticism or any spelling/grammatical errors in the comments.

    <hr />

    She was all alone inside the room. Outside there were two guards at the door. They were nice enough to her, they didn¡¯t jostle her or bruise her in any way when taking her away from the inn. In fact they had a very nice carriage and several chilled drinks for her to choose from.

    Lord Noel Saer was a pleasant enough man. He had a sense of refinement around him that commoners, the other soldiers, and Captain Dannet didn¡¯t have.

    ¡°What shall I call you lady?¡± He had asked her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just taken the name Lady my lord.¡± she said indifferently. She wasn¡¯t happy about being taken away from the inn, she was having a good time interacting with the people and they had taken her away from it all.

    This of course was a new situation as well but she didn¡¯t care much for religion. She had seen no gods and if they did exist they weren¡¯t benevolent and caring. She was Death, but her many millennia had shown her that morality had nothing to do with religion. Evil and good people equally claimed religious reasons for their actions. Screw the gods.

    They had taken her to the church which Jourdain had described. The white stone walls of the church separated itself from the rest of the buildings much like the walls of the castle and surrounding city.

    The church was built within the poorer district of the city. She had seen that the populace wasn¡¯t all cheery, with it¡¯s people being completely taken care of, but there had been no society where she hadn¡¯t seen poverty.

    The trip to the church was smooth and without any trouble. When she had entered the city with Dannet¡¯s unit the commoners had bustled along, ignoring the scouts and soldiers with their weapons sheathed at their side. But Saer¡¯s carriage seemed to command respect and the people made way for the horses.

    There was a look of reverence on the faces of the people as they passed. The poor obviously had good feeling about the church and what they did for the populace.

    She was concerned with the fact that they had taken her without warning or cause. She was wondering why they had taken her, but it was interesting. She couldn¡¯t help but feel excited at the unknown, it was an adventure to her and it was all she was seeking now. A new adventure.

    Arriving at the church she was escorted through a series of hallways which were all well adorned and cleaned to perfection, there wasn¡¯t a speck of dust in sight. Lord Saer kept conversation with her until they reached a large room where she was to wait for the high priest of the church.

    ¡°At Lightcross we worship Cylios the God of light and charity. We do all of our good work here in his name, giving to those who need it, and keeping the darkness from our home,¡± said Lord Saer.

    ¡°And why have you brought me here?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I just have my orders Lady, the high priest has asked me to bring you here and so I have.¡± After that they exchanged a few more pleasantries at which point he left her to rest in a large room.

    While she waited for the high priest to arrive she looked around the room in disinterest while feeling the lifeforms of all the humans inside the church. She felt something somewhat different than she had felt before. There was a pain deep within the city that she hadn¡¯t felt before.

    There was something that was blocking the range of her senses but now she was so close to it that she couldn¡¯t help but feel it. Was it the God of this church; Cylios? Was he the source of the obstruction causing her to not notice the pain that she was now feeling? She tried to locate the source of it, the origin of the pain that was surrounding her now.

    It was hard to find, there was a constant pressure against her powers that was all around pushing against her.

    Finally she felt where it came from, and it was right below her. Two hundred feet below her she felt the suffering and pain of others, it was a feeling of destitution, hopelessness, and fear.

    She frowned at the fact but she noticed that there was a presence coming and the door opened. The man who entered was a frail looking man in his elder years. He acted as how he looked but she could feel the strength within him. He was acting for her benefit, probably doing it for the others as well.

    ¡°My dear, welcome to the church of Cylios, I bless you and thank you for coming to visit us today,¡± said the man who she assumed was the high priest.

    He was dressed in a brilliant white robe with several types of gems studded inside of it with gold and silver thread embroidered in several different symbols and patterns throughout it. He had a small gold circlet upon his head, it was plain in look but there were symbols etched in it, the same as the clothing that he wore.

    ¡°This humble man is called Bertelemi, I am the High Priest of this church. I had asked Lord Saer what you were to be called but he said you called yourself Lady. May this old man learn your name?¡± He continued.

    ¡°Thank you for the invitation Bertelemi, I have many names though I haven¡¯t decided which one is best for me yet. The name that your people call me does not fit so Lady will do for now,¡± she replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand my Lady but perhaps you could explain to me. Perhaps you telling me where do you come from would help? Are you from far away? Perhaps across the sea?¡± He asked.

    Death was unsure what to answer him, ¡°Why all these questions, Bertelemi the High Priest? I¡¯ve just arrived not even a day yet you¡¯ve pulled me from my inn, it makes one suspicious.¡±

    Bertelemi just smiled at her, ¡°I was sent here at the request of our God Cylios of course. He commanded me to ask you here and bring you to him.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t help but feel that there was something amiss, and she didn¡¯t like that he kept referring Cylios as ¡°our God¡±. ¡°And what does Cylios want of me?¡±

    He ignored her question, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just follow me Lady, the lord has just told me that he would like to meet you¡±. He started towards the door and motioned for her to follow him. Outside there were several guards in different attire than the ones that had brought her to the church. The previous ones must have been soldiers under Lord Saer¡¯s command while these ones were soldiers of the church. They were plainly dressed in brown woolen robes and had tattoos of symbols covering their arms and shaved heads.

    The symbols varied from person to person but they all had a similar theme, they were all black in colour and had a rough look to them, much like they were painted sloppily onto the skin. As they walked deeper and deeper within the church she could more easily feel the pain and suffering of those below.

    The deeper they moved the more clothing that the guards removed as they walked, haphazardly removing the clothing as if it was too hot and nobody was around. She could see more and more tattoos on the church guards, they completely covered their bodies and the symbols were larger and more menacing.

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    There was a symbol which was on all of them that she had seen in the front of the high priest''s crown. It wasn¡¯t obvious when one looked at it, in fact it was different from the other ones but the shape was unmistakable. It was an eye covered in flame with a broken hand reaching for it.

    On the high priest it was neat and organized but small. She realized that it was hidden under various other symbols which adorned his crown. On the church guards it was in the very centre of their chests and back in rough, jagged lines.

    They walked in front and behind her, their eyes ever forward not even looking at her. ¡°Why are they taking off their clothes?¡± She asked.

    The high priest continued to walk forward but didn¡¯t ignore her, ¡°They¡¯re showing their true faith to our God Cylios. When we¡¯re closer to God we¡¯re truer to ourselves. We hide his image in plain sight so he might see our deception and be proud.¡±

    ¡°Why would he be proud of deception? Isn¡¯t he a God of light and charity?¡± She asked.

    ¡°You will see,¡± he replied cryptically.

    They followed down countless stairs and passageways. There were several hidden doors and rooms they went in to and went further down the path. Down there the air was hot and humid, and the stench was rancid.

    There were the occasional screams and pleads for mercy, sobbings which could be heard down dark passageways that they had passed.

    ¡°A church of deception hiding under the guise of light it seems,¡± she said aloud to the high priest.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right,¡± he replied. ¡°Cylios only asks that we be true to ourselves and him when we are closest to him. Up ahead he will receive you. Cylios is not a God of light and charity but instead deception and torture. We who follow him lie and cheat those who are too stupid to know better for themselves.¡±

    Her mind was racing. Why had they brought her here? Clearly Cylios was powerful, he could block her powers, deny her the ability to sense the lifeforce of others when she wasn¡¯t paying attention. He was able to discern that she was something special, though she didn¡¯t know if he knew what she was.

    They reached a large room with hundreds of cages of various sizes, shapes, and builds. Some were the size where a man could fit comfortably when standing but too thin for him to sit. Others were large enough to handle a grown man and looked comfortable enough, except on one side it was too small to lay down until they went into the larger part there were spikes on the floor, not allowing them to lay down unless they wanted to pierce their skin.

    The cages were dirty in colour, red and brown from fresh and dried blood and dirt. They were rusty in places but the bars were thick and strong none the less.

    Inside the abundance of cages there were people of all ages and genders. She saw an old man with no teeth, nearly too thin to be alive, not much more than bones. A woman whose eyes looked as if they had no life left in them, just staring forwards at nothing.

    They took her to a cage, the high priest had told her that in order for her to meet Cylios she would have to wait for a ritual to be completed. They locked her inside and she had to admit it was one of the nicer ones. There were no spikes for torture that lined the walls nor was it too small for her to sit or sleep. It was tall enough for her to just barely stretch and reach the top bars.

    Inside with her was a young girl, all alone and with scared eyes. Looking at her Death thought she must have been here for a while because of the pale white skin she had, scarred with fresh and old wounds. ¡°How old are you girl?¡± She asked.

    The girl looked at her as scared as before. She clearly had been in here long enough to understand that terrible things happened in this place. The stench of rotten flesh and excrement was pungent in the air. The girl shivered when she looked at her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll not harm you,¡± she said to the girl, trying to calm her down.

    The girl looked wildly at her but finally her little mouth opened, she was obviously weak, her lips chapped. Her voice cracked as she spoke, hardly louder than a whisper, but the most she could muster, ¡°I¡¯m eight miss.¡±

    Death could hardly believe it but focused on looking at the life force of the child. She was so small but yet undernourished. She had clearly had been here for a long time, hardly bigger than a five year old yet left in such a rotten condition. She was clearly not going to live much longer, she was dehydrated and emaciated.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± She asked the girl, feeling sorry for her state, but knowing that she was going to die soon. Death would take her life force before she would suffer anymore.

    ¡°Sana, miss,¡± she said faintly.

    ¡°Sana, what a pretty name for a pretty girl. Sana, would you like to get out of this place?¡± She asked her.

    Sana looked hopeful for a moment but it died down quickly, ¡°There¡¯s no way out of here miss,¡± she said sadly.

    She was unperturbed by the girls answer, she knew that the girl was going to die within a few hours and she wouldn¡¯t be able to spare the girl the scars and memories of this place. It was going to be a mercy to kill her.

    The first time she killed here was the wolves, which she later learned were called grave fangs. The following weeks of travel she simply avoided all creatures and when they were getting too close because they felt like she was prey, she simply scared them off. Now the second time she would kill was because it was mercy.

    ¡°I can take you away from this place, I can take away your pain and suffering if you want me to,¡± she said to Sana.

    Sana looked back at her, deeply into her eyes. Death didn¡¯t know what the girl was feeling, though she was interacting with her Sana stayed far away at the other side of the cage. Finally, Sana acceded to her offer, ¡°Be free child, let your life go to the centre and spread out once again, and may your new life be good,¡± said Death.

    She touched Sana in the arm and the life was taken away, she looked towards the lifeforce of the child and did what she always did with the dead, she pushed it towards what she felt was the centre, and it was gone.

    Several hours later she was taken from the cage by the high priest and several of the naked church guards. The high priest no longer wore his white robe with gold and silver threading, but instead he too was naked, with the symbols of his God on his chest. None of her captors took a second look at the lifeless body of Sana on the floor of her cage.

    They took her past several open and visible torture rooms where men, women, and children were being scarred and broken. Pain visible on most faces, some cracked from being so dry that not even tears could form anymore.

    The church guards and other priests looked at the victims with relish upon their faces as they continued their torture, the screams and cries of their victims resounding in her ears.

    They finally reached a small vestibule where there were several circular braziers burning around the room and into a further passage. There were eight priests there, standing naked with the same tattoos covering their bodies, some red, some blue, and some black. The men faced the high priest as they chanted mystical words which she didn¡¯t know their meaning.

    ¡°You will go ahead Lady. The faithful have summoned Cylios the Despoiler. He awaits you,¡± said the high priest, quietly for once. His face no longer smiling but instead serious and hard looking.

    ¡°Should I refuse?¡± She asked him as she looked into his eyes curiously.

    ¡°You¡¯ve put on a brave face for a woman, hardly more than a girl. Should you refuse Cylios has given permission that you be caged, chained and flayed. You shall not refuse him a second time,¡± he replied harshly, as if unable to believe that anyone would deny his God what he wanted.

    She just nodded and smiled slightly to herself and thinking, Once in defence, a second for mercy, a third time for justice. Today a God will fall.