《Monachus Tornetum》


 One: A Test of Skill

    The combat part of Susi¡¯s adulthood trial was about to begin. She sat in meditation with her legs crossed upon a large boulder opposite to Grand Speaker Averal with her quarterstaff resting upon her knees. The two had been seated there for the last five hours.


    The sun glimmered through the green oak tree leaves from directly overhead.


    A strand of her long black hair tickled her eyebrow with a gentle breeze that whispered over the waterfall beyond the trees behind her.


    Susi could feel everything: every cell in her body, every bend of the grass surrounding her and the Speaker, every shake of the tree leaves in the wind. She could feel the tension of the skin upon her teeth, the resting frown between the pout of her cheeks, and curvature of her chin beneath her lips.


    Beyond all of this, there was the constant pain of her malleolus¡ªthe ball-like bone on the side of her ankle¡ªthrobbing against the stone beneath her.


    This was an important test, but Susi tried to bite back the recollection that it was important in an effort to avoid jinxing herself. Reaching adulthood within the Talea religion was crucial for every monk of the enclave.


    Susi had turned nineteen the day prior, and that qualified her to request her trial from the Grand Speaker.


    If she succeeded in disarming the Speaker of his staff, she could stay with the enclave for the rest of her life. She could also choose to leave and start a new chapter in some inhospitable place if she wanted.


    Unfortunately, Grand Speaker Averal had not expressed positive emotion toward Susi during the few times they had encountered one another during ceremonies and hearings within the community.


    He was of the mountain chapter, and she was of the forest. The two groups were able to live comfortably side-by-side, but they had different temperaments, different philosophies of their religion¡¯s philosophies, and most importantly: different cooking styles.


    Somehow it made combat a more competitive sport between the two sides of the same faction, and Susi had little doubt Averal was preparing to mount a heavy assault upon her.


    Throughout the clearing next to the river, dozens of Talea monks in navy blue robes of differing rank and clothing tier waited for the combat trial to begin.


    Susi¡¯s teachers, Grobeche, Helgus, and Neto stood with them, watching the testing. Each had taught her a different philosophy within the Talea Macto when Susi was an apprentice.


    They weren¡¯t worried about Susi being able to pass. The concern was just how much damage would be caused in the process.


    So far, however, Averal might outskill Susi without even moving into the next round. Remaining seated in meditation for five hours and counting was taxing enough.


    Averal moved instantly.


    It was difficult to see who struck first. Averal had thrust his quarterstaff at Susi to which she reacted perfectly in kind.


    The tips of their staves clacked with such force, Susi and Averal were knocked off the boulder they¡¯d been seated upon.


    The Speaker cartwheeled to his feet, landing upon his toes as he flicked himself back and out of the way of Susi¡¯s strike through the brush.


    Susi parried a flurry of strikes from Averal in succession while moving back between the gnarled oak trees surrounding the two of them.


    Averal bore his teeth as he cracked his staff into hers, overbearing her with his combat macto. Susi leaned back and drew their staves into a grinding pushing and pulling that ended when Averal deflected her away from him.


    Susi skidded through the brush and ducked aside as Averal swiped past her to the grassy ledge alongside the river. The group of monks in blue followed the two contestants up the river as they effectively tried to do as much harm to one another as possible.


    A pair of pedestrians on the road beyond the waterfall, each with a travel pack slung over one shoulder, stopped to watch the fight.


    Most native Aallandrons know about the Talea monks, but they aren¡¯t normally privy to an adulthood test.


    The cliffside above Gohorn Falls was Susi¡¯s choice of location. The initiate can choose the place they feel most comfortable for their trial.


    Susi and Averal sparred along the ridge to the pinnacle of the hill next to the falls.


    Averal was getting up in age. He was Grand Speaker for now, but he wasn¡¯t as quick as he once was.


    Susi could feel the give in his hands when she landed a heavy strike. He reacted well enough, and used skilful tricks to keep the upper hand.


    She decided to test a theory that could force Averal to concede. She lined up her parries to connect with his cross strikes harder than would have been expected in a normal sparring match.


    She executed this a few times, but upon the third strike, Averal maneuvered his parry so that he could snatch her staff from her grasp.


    Susi¡¯s fingers closed upon the tip of the quarterstaff in a desperate hold before Averal could fully take it from her.


    Losing it would mean she failed the test.


    She flicked the staff into a spin that caught Averal¡¯s temple. Susi shouldered Averal away from her, and then whirled the staff to tuck it into her armpit beneath her navy blue koromo robe.


    She stepped back into Ulkindar.


    Averal touched his brow to see that he was bleeding. He looked over his shoulder to see the rush of the river below. He looked back at Susi, who believed she had him cornered.


    If one were to blink, they couldn¡¯t see it.


    Susi didn¡¯t blink. She saw it, but she could do nothing to avoid the Sevold maneuver that darted Averal¡¯s form past her out of danger.


    Regardless, she had to maintain Ulkindar. Susi dropped to one knee on the cliffside ridge. She felt the wind, felt the trees, felt everything connected in between.


    She waited for Averal to return as he darted between the trees. Every upheaval of dust, movement of wind, and mashing of plant life underfoot gave evidence of Averal¡¯s location.


    Susi got back to her feet and swished her quarterstaff ahead, gripping it in both hands as Averal connected without warning.


    The two exchanged defense and offense, Susi holding Ulkindar¡ªbarely. There was Ulkindar and Yulkindar. The former is a total dominance within battle, and the latter was an absence of all control within it.


    Awareness and presence ensured she didn¡¯t lose Ulkindar.


    The two connected staff for staff in a battle of skill and intuition. If Susi were to miscalculate a single strike, the blows would be hard enough to break bones.


    Their staves connected and the two skidded away from one another.


    Averal executed the Sevold once more, but Susi was ready as he tried to swipe her on his way past. Their staves clacked, and she flipped upside down over Averal before chasing him up the ridge.


    Catching sight of Averal¡¯s face, Susi could see him grinning from ear to ear.


    All Susi had successfully accomplished so far was providing a fun sparring match for the Grand Speaker. It just went to show that the Talea monks were a bunch of masochists.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    But if Averal had lost himself in the enjoyment of battle, it meant he may have lost Ulkindar.


    Susi performed her own Sevold maneuver, zipping past Averal within a fraction of a second. Averal grabbed the middle of Susi¡¯s quarterstaff in the instant of their contact, and whirled her into a tall oak tree.


    Susi¡¯s dirty, bare feet landed upon the wood. She pushed off the tree to drop back into combat.


    Susi spun her staff between both fingers and arms: clacking the tips against Averal¡¯s as each contender tried to land a strike upon their target.


    Nothing was working. Averal could go on like this forever.


    There was a reason he was Grand Speaker. It meant he had no care of anything in the world. He was relaxed: riding the wave of reality effortlessly.


    She decided to ride the edge of Ulkindar and Yulkindar. If she was going to lose this to attrition, she would make Averal pay for it.


    Without losing focus, Susi increased the rapidity of her strikes. She subtly doubled the strength at the end of her connections.


    The two became entwined in a blur of staves that could be considered nothing more than a stalemate.


    Susi was about to lose Ulkindar to her frustration. She was going to lose this after all the work she had put into passing the test.


    In that moment, she irritably slammed the staff with both hands into Averal¡¯s.


    He staggered. Susi was about to engage, but held back.


    Sweat glistened from Averal¡¯s temples. His knuckles were bloodied and bruised.


    Averal took a deep breath, put his staff under his arm, and pressed his right fist into his palm before bowing to her.


    Susi thought she was dreaming. Had she really completed the test?


    Exhilaration filled her chest as the dozens of monks surveying them broke into cheer. Everyone¡¯s face fell as Averal put a hand to his chest and was helped to a log by several others. Susi hurried to him and dropped to one knee at his side.


    ¡°Thank you, Susi, for a truly wonderful battle.¡± Averal took a deep breath with his hand still holding his chest, and relaxed.


    ¡°Are you all right, Speaker?¡± Rever asked. He was one of Averal¡¯s students, and only a little older than Susi.


    The two had always enjoyed one another¡¯s company even though he was in the mountain chapter of the Talea. Mountains and forests can get along, but they don¡¯t stay together forever.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Averal nodded and tapped his chest with his old hand as he reclined upon the log with his staff. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re all around me. Susi¡¯s the one who is now an adult, and no longer an apprentice.¡±


    Dozens of hands began clapping Susi on the back as she got to her feet. The feeling of excitement began coursing through her once more.


    ¡°Nice work, Susi!¡± Helgus pulled her into a bear hug and lifted her off her feet. ¡°I knew you could do it.¡±


    ¡°I knew after how you started with your Achi-Barl, there was no way you¡¯d ever give up until you became Grand Speaker.¡± Neto clapped her on both shoulders.


    ¡°Grand Speaker is a bit excessive,¡± Susi beamed. ¡°After all, you¡¯re next in line to become Grand Speaker.¡±


    ¡°Not if I have to face a Multus like yours.¡± Neto said.


    A cool twilight met the evening sky as the monks threw a small celebration for their newest adult member.


    Gutren boiled his signature vegetable soup for the group, while Kirin brought a satchel of bread loaves she had purchased from Scerasa to the north. They all sat in meditation position within a large circle, and ate while chatting with one another.


    Rever reclined on the rock next to Susi, smiling at her as she tried to ignore him.


    He pulled a piece of bread from his loaf and soaked it in his onyx cup of vegetable soup. He was three years older than her, and he had kissed her three nights prior.


    It was a secret. No one knew, but now that Susi was of age within the chapter, she could choose to elope with Rever and leave the clan.


    She would still believe in the Talea as a religion, but the two would need to leave the sanctuary of the Talea and be forced to pay taxes to the Narcuss government.


    ¡°Did you think about what we talked about the other day?¡± He asked.


    The Talea monks had been everything for Susi. They were her teachers, her parents, her friends, her close and extended family. They had been there for her when no one else was.


    She remembered the Convent of Omne, how the sisters there had taken her in¡ªof Tharsa.


    Susi thought of how Grobeche had taken her under his wing as she cried in the streets of Scerasa, of how hard life was with the monks once she became accustomed to their ways in the wilderness.


    It was refreshing to be content with so little. That¡¯s what made it so difficult to tell Rever that she desperately wanted to leave, but was terrified of losing the comfort of the order.


    ¡°I still haven¡¯t decided.¡± She answered.


    Rever¡¯s voice dropped to a whisper. ¡°The longer we wait, the more they¡¯ll try to keep us around.¡±


    Susi was a very introspective and quiet person. She didn¡¯t like speaking so she didn¡¯t. She knew it frustrated Rever when she didn¡¯t respond, but in this situation she genuinely didn¡¯t have an answer for him.


    The two had been close friends when they both started training with Grobeche at seven and ten years old.


    When he was thirteen, he told her for the first time that he loved her. Susi¡¯s response was to punch him in the stomach. She was only ten years old then, so she naively thought that if she punched him he would associate her with pain.


    Rever was the only boy close to her age so he didn¡¯t know what he wanted. She was only a convenient option because kids don¡¯t join the Talea monks.


    Older people going through their identity crisis: those were most of the demographic. There were a lot of failed former business owners, men who had gone through multiple wives, and several people who had murdered or fought in wars.


    The Talea was one of the few religions that taught one how to work their way back to themselves, back to the joyous innocence they once knew before becoming enlightened to the true nature of the world.


    People become hardened and set in their actions, but the Talea teaches them that they don¡¯t have to. They could be who they were always meant to be by ceasing and reversing the negative energy being put into their universe.


    Susi got up and went to Averal¡¯s side to sit next to him. He looked haggard after their fight. He put his arm on her shoulder.


    ¡°You are the model student, Susi,¡± spoke Averal in a feeble tone. He sounded horrible.


    ¡°I was supposed to represent us in the Grand Tornetum tomorrow. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to go. Grobeche or Garrey: perhaps one of them can go in my place.¡±


    Grobeche had been sitting on Averal¡¯s other side, and looked over when he heard his name. ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°He said he needs you to represent us in the Grand Tornetum because he can¡¯t go¡ªyou or Garrey,¡± said Susi.


    ¡°It¡¯s only an observing position.¡± Grobeche put a hand on Averal¡¯s forehead. ¡°You can¡¯t stand there for four hours while the champions kill themselves?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can stand at all right now,¡± Averal¡¯s voice quavered.


    ¡°So we have no representative for the Tornetum?¡± Helgus asked from the other side of the circle. Everyone paused their conversations to listen.


    ¡°Averal isn¡¯t going to be able to go.¡± Grobeche said so that the whole group could hear.


    He looked to Susi and lowered his voice. ¡°As usual, you took things too far.¡±


    ¡°It was a test of skill and endurance.¡± Susi glared at her teacher. ¡°He didn¡¯t have to keep going until he couldn¡¯t anymore.¡±


    Grobeche met her eyes and pierced through her defense. ¡°You know you¡¯re stronger¡ª¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t allow us our tax exemption status if we don¡¯t have an attendant for the Tornetum.¡± Neto¡¯s voice filled the circle. ¡°If Averal cannot attend, then someone must go in his place.¡±


    Helgus had gotten up and met with Grobeche and Susi.


    He spoke lowly so that only the two of them could hear. ¡°Neither you nor I can go because we¡¯ll be recognized, and Garrey will probably say something foolish and get himself executed.¡±


    ¡°What about Rever?¡± Grobeche asked.


    ¡°Criminal history. He¡¯s been arrested twice, so it wouldn¡¯t look good.¡± Helgus said.


    ¡°I can go.¡± Susi said. Silence filled the group as everyone stared at her.


    ¡°They¡¯ll just see her as a woman and dismiss her.¡± Helgus waved.


    ¡°But it¡¯s also a really smart idea.¡± Grobeche stroked his chin. ¡°It will show the world that we have young practitioners, that even a young woman can choose to become her true self behind the facade that society places upon us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re imagining that the Aallandron governance in its current state is capable of progressive thinking,¡± said Helgus.


    ¡°I think Susi representing me in the Tornetum is a grand idea.¡± Averal said.


    ¡°This is a really bad idea.¡± Helgus shook his head.


    ¡°Says the hermit that lives alone in the mountains.¡± Susi said.


    He cocked his brow at her. ¡°Someone¡¯s finally getting a little snap in her.¡± Helgus ruffled Susi¡¯s unkempt but straight black hair.


    Grobeche cleared his throat to address the circle. ¡°As many of you know, Averal was to represent our small religious clan at the Grand Tornetum tomorrow in Narcuss, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he will not be able to attend. It has therefore been concluded that Susi will go in his place.¡±


    ¡°Susi only became an adult an hour ago.¡± Garrey said.


    ¡°But an adult she is,¡± continued Grobeche, ¡°and it has been determined that she is the best candidate to send in his stead. Unless anyone is interested in volunteering their position for the Tornetum, Susi will remain our representative. If there are any objections, please state them now.¡±


    As usual, silence filled the Talea circle. If there were objections, they were not spoken as everyone continued eating their bread and soup.


    Susi finished hers and placed her onyx bowl with the others next to the cast-iron boiling pot.


    As she was leaving, Rever grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the trees outside of the circle.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? The way you talked to me the other night, you were ready to leave. But if you go through with this, Susi,¡± Rever whispered, ¡°they¡¯ll think you¡¯re one of them forever. It¡¯ll be harder for you to leave later when we¡¯re ready to leave right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡ªI didn¡¯t have time to think through what we talked about the other day.¡± Susi said. ¡°I want to do it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Rever looked genuinely confused by her statement.


    ¡°I want to represent the Talea Macto to everyone because the Talea Macto is the only constant thing that¡¯s made me happy throughout my entire life.¡±


    ¡°Oh Omne.¡± Rever shook his head. ¡°They really got to you, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just a religion to me, Rever.¡± Susi said. ¡°It¡¯s my whole world.¡±


    Rever stared at her without speaking for a long time.


    At last, he shook his head and returned to the circle with the others.


    As Susi was going back to the circle, Grobeche and Neto were helping Averal back to his horse that was hitched by the road beyond the treeline.


    Susi hurried to thank him for the trial and then said goodbye for the night as he was ready to get home to Lerick Mountains.


    Rever saddled up as well to go with him along with the others from the mountain chapter. He made certain not to meet her eye on his way out with the group.


    Grobeche saw them off, then walked back to where Susi was still seated within the circle. He looked more exhausted than usual as he gathered his things and made for his horse.


    Susi followed him. Her horse was tied next to Grobeche¡¯s.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°Not wrong, but the council will hear of it, and likely disapprove.¡± He untied his gray mare and led her to the road.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m a woman?¡± Susi glowered at him.


    Grobeche put his pack over his shoulder. ¡°Probably.¡± He mounted the horse. ¡°See you back home, Susi.¡±


    He gigged his horse into motion, leaving Susi alone in the clearing as night was beginning to take hold of the evening. Susi untied her horse, climbed onto its back, and gigged it to hurry after her teacher.


    Try as she might, she could not keep up with him all the way back to their hut in Gohorn Forest.


    He was already in meditation position on the porch when she arrived. Susi joined his side and tried to stay focused, but couldn¡¯t.


    When the task of remaining in the moment became too unbearable for her, she resigned to resting on the cot in the corner of their hut.


    All she could do is listen to the night bugs yammering as she stared silently at the small wooden logs that composed the ceiling above.


    In the morning, Garrey came down from the mountain to let them know that Averal had passed during his evening meditation, presumably absorbing himself into the universe where he would never be reborn again quite the same.


    It¡¯s always a choice with the older monks, when they want to die.


    No one could hide the depression everyone felt the night before. Averal had made his choice to move on long before he told them he wouldn¡¯t be capable of attending the Tornetum.


    Unfortunately for the Talea clans, both mountain and forest, the Tornetum and their unlikely representative would consume Averal¡¯s mourning process for Susi and Grobeche.


    Susi was just finishing her Keuteu Sequeo¡ªa prestige version of Vuhd Mans¡¯s personal exercise regime¡ªwhen Grobeche stepped out from their home in the forest with a travel pack slung over one shoulder.


    The sun hadn¡¯t even fully filled the sky with light when the two set off on horseback for the capital city of Narcuss.

 Two: Marcus and Ersonia

    Marcellus Marks, known to everyone in the castle as Marcus, felt Ersonia¡¯s golden blonde hair on his nose and opened his eyes to the morning sunlight pouring in through the open eastern balcony.


    His entire body hurt because Ersonia had challenged him to a contest to see who could last the longest during intercourse. It had been a surprisingly difficult challenge that went on for three hours and fifteen minutes. He was thirty-four years old, so long sprints weren¡¯t an activity he was accustomed to.


    Ersonia was his latest fling, and a mistake according to his father: the Chancellor and acting ruler of Narcuss¡ªand the kingdom of Parceta as a whole until the rebellion in Chartan could be quelled.


    Their rogue king, Harrol Roah, was to be ousted from his usurped position as ruler of Chartan in their renamed tower city of Roah.


    The Crysies bloodline ended indefinitely, Roah challenged the throne in Narcuss by having the former king, Cerveys Narcuss, assassinated. He hoped to bring Parceta to Chartan rule, as it had once been in the ancient days.


    But this left Marcus in a precarious position. His father had never wanted to rule Narcuss and Parceta.


    Damius Marks chose to disappear into his chambers for long hours, emerging only to eat, go to the bathroom, and go for the occasional walk.


    However, Marcus knew that Marks wielded extraordinary power. Marcus had little doubt he could take over the kingdom with minimal effort.


    If he chose to place Marcus in power once this complication with Harrol Roah was resolved, that was certainly in the cards.


    It would mean that the woman Marcus chose to marry would be queen of Parceta. And Ersonia, while coming from the family of a wealthy duchess and duke from Narcuss, she lacked vision and leadership.


    She mostly dominated in the bedroom, and it increasingly seemed she was interested in little more than that.


    There was a knock on Marcus¡¯s chamber door. He pulled the bedsheet about his waist as he got up to answer. Thunred, his personal butler entered with a tray of breakfast and tea for the two of them. Ersonia snuck into the restroom as Thunred placed the tray on the table for them.


    ¡°I apologize for the light breakfast, Prince,¡± nodded Thundred. ¡°You¡¯re to take part in the feast for lunch during the Tornetum.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Thunred. Thanks.¡± Marcus said. Thunred gave a small bow, then left the chamber. Marcus grabbed a muffin, bit into it, and placed it back on the tray as he went for his wardrobe.


    ¡°Could I enlist your help in another round before the tournament, Prince?¡± Ersonia posed in the doorway with her naked body as she bit her lip, her curly blond hair still strewn across her face from the night before.


    ¡°I¡¯d really like to,¡± Marcus dropped the bed sheet and approached. He kissed her lips as she remained in position. ¡°But if I go one more round, my back might not let me leave the room today.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Oh, then we can stay in here and do it all¡ªday¡ªlong.¡±


    Marcus pursed his lips. ¡°T¡¯would be a shame to miss the Tornetum.¡± He ducked under her arm and through the doorway to go to the restroom.


    ¡°If you insist on going, what should I wear?¡± Ersonia asked.


    ¡°Whatever turns you on the most to wear while watching men kill one another.¡±


    ¡°Be serious, Marcus.¡± Ersonia whined.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one with a one-track mind.¡± Marcus exited the restroom into the bedroom.


    ¡°See, Marcus, this is the problem with you: unless you¡¯re inside of me, I don¡¯t know if you love or hate me. I¡¯m starting to think there¡¯s no difference in that head of yours.¡±


    ¡°No, if I hated you, you wouldn¡¯t be here right now.¡± Marcus drawled. He put on his toga with the green sash, then put on his sandals. He stood before the mirror, trying to smooth down the uneven patches in his thick brown hair.


    Thunred knocked on the door once more. ¡°Just come in, Thunred.¡± Marcus called.


    ¡°Have you talked to your father yet?¡± Ersonia continued as she always continued and continued.


    ¡°I talk to my father all the time. What precisely do you mean?¡± Marcus put on his belt and looped his royal gladius to his hip.


    ¡°Sir, your carriage has arrived to take you to the Vorago arena.¡± Thunred spoke, then stepped out.


    ¡°About us,¡± said Ersonia. ¡°The date is set, payments have been made, obligations have been created: and he¡¯s still said no word of approval for the marriage to go forward. I don¡¯t think the man has said five words to me since we met over a year ago.¡±


    ¡°My father is a contemplative and brooding man. Don¡¯t hold that against him.¡± Marcus stood before the mirror and straightened his outfit around the sash, and then added his Narcuss insignia over his left shoulder.


    ¡°I just feel like he doesn¡¯t like me.¡± Ersonia said.


    ¡°You think everyone doesn¡¯t like you, and part of it is because you spend too much time talking, and not enough time doing.¡± Marcus held up the purple dress she had draped over the wardrobe door the evening prior.


    Despite them being practically late and barely eating breakfast, Ersonia coerced Marcus into another round of love making¡ªhis toga hiked over his shoulder as he thrust into her from behind. Something about screwing her brains out made his stress over the situation go down.


    He was relaxed and cordial to her as they left the room and climbed into the royal horse-drawn carriage.


    The sky had become overcast over the island city. Its only connection to the mainland continent of Ire was a narrow one-hundred mile bridge.


    Sunny days were not a common sight in Narcuss. The city was known for its signature drab sky that made the large island look gray against the deep blue Adane Sea surrounding it.


    As the carriage drew them away from the towering Narcuss castle to the north, a light drizzle swirled through the air. A touch of cold broke the late summer humidity, causing Marcus to close his eyes and enjoy the moment.


    ¡°How should we redecorate the castle once we become king and queen?¡± Ersonia interrupted.


    He wanted to say something snide in retaliation for her imposing her useless thoughts on the world at any given time, but chose to ignore her.


    Marcus couldn¡¯t think of a more useless question, and now he wasn¡¯t thinking about enjoying the upcoming Tornetum, he was thinking about how much he was going to hate having to pick new drapes and linens for the entire castle.


    They arrived at the vorago arena in the center of town.


    The two got out at the royal entrance and made their way with the other dukes and duchesses to their seats in the stands.


    As they approached, the noise from within the arena intensified. The citizens of Narcuss and from all over Ire were wild for their annual display of outsized violence.


    Half of them were already wasted in the stands as was the usual arrangement.

 Three: Warning Within the Glass

    Chancellor Damius Marks watched the approaching wedding of the wealthy duchess, Koralise Mahovey.


    It took much longer for him to experience each moment than others because he viewed through the orange glow of the Remel orb, Sykihr.


    Marks had a small room he called his viewing room. It contained a strange apparatus that allowed the orb to be suspended on a platform that could swivel from its mount in the center of the room, allowing the orb to rest upon its perch while Marks sat comfortably in his chair. The chancellor was never to be bothered while in his viewing room.


    He watched Koralise undress to prepare for the garments of her wedding dress.


    He watched with a voyeuristic crooked smile as she and her assistants lowered her towel from her naked body so that she could be coated in oils. It was to be a private ritual for the wealthy Aallandron upper class.


    Men were never allowed to view the bride, but Marks was not technically there. With thousands of years of practice and use, Marks could manipulate the view of the orb¡¯s sight. He floated around seeing the lovely young woman as her maids brushed oil around the curvature of her breasts.


    Koralise had been in a state of bliss¡ªuntil Marks noticed her eyes open before fixing on his position before her.


    Her mouth fell, and she seemed for an instant to know she was being watched. The girl¡¯s eyes darted back and forth at the space in front of her, a hand going to cover her chest as she looked around the empty dressing room.


    The maids surveyed the area, exchanging a concerned look. One of them asked if everything was okay. Koralise continued looking around.


    Marks refused to move.


    It had happened on occasion in the past when he viewed people. They could sense a presence. They did not know any more than that, and they almost always adjusted and ignored him once they realized there was no one to see. Marks knew they never fully became comfortable, but he didn¡¯t care.


    He had been obsessed with the Mahovey girl for years. He loved watching her grow and blossom into a stunning young woman. Now, she was to be married, which meant she would lose her virginity soon. She would finally feel a man inside of her, and Marks would be there to experience that moment as well.


    For now, he waited with anticipation, watching the women paint the oil down the girl¡¯s lower back. He could feel the light sweat that lifted from the girl¡¯s skin from the warmth of the oil.


    ¡°Sir,¡± a guard spoke, interrupting the orb¡¯s visage.


    Koralise¡¯s slick naked body disappeared in a cloud of orange smoke.


    Marks pushed the orb¡¯s platform away, dismissing his initial burst of rage from having been interrupted. He had to go to the restroom anyway.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Marks asked his guard, getting up from his seat. Unless it was vitally important, he shouldn¡¯t have been bothered.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°The Tornetum is about to begin,¡± spoke the guard. ¡°You told me to interrupt you when it could be delayed no longer, and well¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course, of course,¡± Marks massaged the guard¡¯s neck above his armor as he walked by. His bladder had suddenly become fuller than it had been before. ¡°I¡¯ll get ready and be in the stadium shortly.¡±


    Marks did his business and made himself as presentable as he could.


    The ego is a growing organism within the mind that travels through many phases. As Marks had been exposed to the Remel orbs for so long, his personal view of himself was untamed, wild, and disconnected from his body. His ego was in control, and whatever action it chose, the body followed like an unthinking servant.


    This made interacting with the general public a challenge because people assume one has lost their way when they neglect their appearance. They couldn¡¯t understand the genius that existed within Damius Marks, or that he held this fragile order of a kingdom together behind the scenes while barely being involved.


    Did the chancellor care that the wealthy elite of Narcuss thought he was losing it because his hair had grown long around the bald dome of his skull, or that his breath usually reeked of putrid odors from weeks past?


    He was held together unnaturally by the power of the Remel orb. His physical health did not matter to him.


    Marks had watched generations of wealthy, judging Aallandrons grow to be vigorous and powerful politically, only to wither to old age, become obsolete, and die before the kingdom¡¯s eyes. None of these useless mortal Aallandrons mattered to Damius Marks.


    He finished dressing himself in his chancellor¡¯s toga and sash before passing back through the viewing room.


    He would have continued down the steps of his tower to the lower levels of the castle, except and orange light from within the viewing apparatus made Marks pause.


    The orb was alight without anyone to activate it.


    Marks squinted as he approached the apparatus and separated it out. The orb glowed from its position in the center like a small orange sun. He had never seen it look so bright in his thousands of years of using the artifact.


    There wasn¡¯t very much time, but a Tornetum is a Tornetum. So what if he missed the initial reading from the Auctor? He had not witnessed the orb behave this way in what felt like eons.


    Chancellor Marks put his fingers to the orb. There was a heat pulsing from it.


    The moment his fingers made contact, an electricity that was painful coursed through his body.


    The vision he saw was the figure of a young girl with long black hair crouched upon the raised platform where the throne of Narcuss lay.


    She propped herself up with a stick of some kind, but her form was in pure shadow¡ªexcept her eyes. Those eyes were such a brilliant blue green that they glowed like turquoise ornaments from their sockets.


    The determined look in the girl¡¯s eyes was murderous. For once in many, many centuries, Chancellor Damius Marks felt fear.


    The pain to the touch was like a searing hot iron. Marks released the orb, which extinguished instantly.


    It was as though all the life had gone from the artifact. Marks realized that his neck was kissed with sweat. He wiped it and looked to see the slick moisture on his fingers.


    Marks had been carefree all morning, but this behavior from the orb was concerning. It was as though the object was warning him with this vision.


    The artifact made no effort to appease and pacify him this time. It was giving the chancellor an objective.


    This individual was a threat. If he encountered this person, he would see to it that she was eliminated as quickly as possible.


    He only hoped it wouldn¡¯t require the orbs¡¯ brethren to get the job done. That much was unlikely. No mortal was powerful enough to contend with even a single Remel orb. Collecting the orbs¡¯ brothers wouldn¡¯t be necessary.


    The chancellor left his viewing sanctum and descended to the ground floor of the castle where a carriage was waiting to take him to the vorago arena.


    He climbed inside and allowed himself to be taken to the Tornetum.

 Four: Susi and Grobeche Arrive

    Susi and Grobeche boarded their horses in the Narcuss stables.


    There was more traffic than usual across the bridge over the sea leading to the island city, so it was already mid-morning beneath the overcast sky as they entered Narcuss. Both of them had been to Narcuss multiple times. It was almost impossible to conduct business of any kind, including religious exemption business, without visiting Narcuss to get it done.


    Every single individual in the Parceta kingdom needed to be accounted for in the eyes of the Narcuss government.


    Even though the Narcuss bloodline had been assassinated, the city¡¯s name was to remain the same in memory of the deceased king. His three daughters were still alive, but they had been married off to wealthy dukes throughout Narcuss: their heritage upheld, but their family name lost to history.


    From the wealthy to the tax-paying poor, each year every individual received a line of tattoo that connected in a perfect pattern on the underside of their wrist. Exceptions were made for the religious, who viewed their bodies as pure and could not receive a tattoo.


    Susi and Grobeche were of the Talea order, so they didn¡¯t have a tattoo, but they were to provide paperwork when they went out stating that they had a religious exemption from having to pay taxes. The only reason this worked for the Talea was because while they gave nothing to the state, they required nothing as well.


    Most guards or officials gave the monks a hard time because it was a minor offense to have an outdated tattoo with a penalty fine, but a jailable offense to have no tattoo at all. Most people who went to jail didn¡¯t come out.


    Right on queue, Susi and Grobeche were questioned by a trio of guards who were checking everyone entering the vorago arena for the Tornetum.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The guard in charge took Susi and Grobeche¡¯s exemption paperwork, looked them over¡ªand then the leader, with a stupid smile on his face waved at the two of them before looking over to the other guards who were now his chums.


    ¡°Couple of animal stuffers, these ones.¡± The man joked. ¡°Do you guys secretly screw each other in the night, or do you only do that with the sheeps and goats?¡±


    Grobeche grabbed his and Susi¡¯s paperwork back from the guard as the three of them laughed and let them through. It happened every time they went through the city with no exception.


    They weren¡¯t to react. The guards knew it was part of their religion to remain as passive as humanly possible. They would never touch the Talea monks, but that didn¡¯t stop the city guards from harassing them when they got the opportunity.


    It wasn¡¯t as big of a deal to Grobeche as it was for Susi. She had gotten in trouble on more than one occasion in her early teens for taking the bait.


    There was a designated spot for each class¡¯s representative in the vorago arena. One of the guards told them where to go for theirs, and it happened to be a small seat that was beneath an ornamental stone statue that the pigeons liked to frequent.


    The stone two-seater chair for Grobeche and Susi was covered with crusty white and black bird shit as every other seat for each class¡¯s representative was clean. The two stood at their seats instead of sitting down. They might be passive, but they still preferred to maintain their dignity.


    Susi looked around at the crowd of the arena. She had watched the vorago before¡ªwith Rever actually. She had not liked it then, and she didn¡¯t expect she would like it now.


    The Talea monks were pacifists that believed all men and women should be entitled to a chance to redeem themselves, so watching a man be cut down for sport in front of a crowd of cheering spectators decimated the spirit. It was part of their religion to assist the broken and those in need when the time came to help, and yet all any Talea monk could do is watch.


    No one rooted for the lost. No one wanted to grant a begging man a second opportunity at life.


    They remained standing for the duration of the pre-ceremony dances.

 Five: The Threat Revealed

    Damius Marks joined his son, Marcus, and his lovely young fianc¨¦e in the royalty tier of the upper shelf overlooking the vorago.


    Despite the efforts of everyone around him, he chose not to eat just now. He was still shaken by the Sykihr orb¡¯s behavior. It seemed a sudden warning for an object that largely had the power to see the future.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want a plate of beef from the stables, Father?¡± Marcus¡¯s face reflected Damius¡¯s own heedless glare back at him, the lines in his still-young face yet to form.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Damius scanned the audience, making a mental check of everyone who was still alive that he needed to remember later.


    Being the oldest living man¡ªand Damius Marks was the oldest living man on Aallandranon¡ªthe faces of mortals came and went with such regularity, he didn¡¯t bother trying to keep track of any one person¡¯s life events.


    He did find it useful to remember names. He liked to believe he could put a name to every single individual¡¯s face throughout the ages that he might have encountered.


    He was a little surprised to see Duke Falworth Senior still bobbling in his seat as he chuckled at something his wife, Sasha Falworth, said in his ear.


    Falworth had married a woman twenty-years younger than him, and Damius Marks had been there for the consummation of that marriage. He had watched each of the many wealthy dukes below disrobe and mount their partners, used the powers of the orb to experience what those men had felt as they shot their shot in their newly wedded wives; put his hands into theirs as he groped and squeezed the flesh of their prize.


    There was no sweeter taste than new love, pure passion, and the desperation to meet in the lower middle as vigorously as possible. Thousands of years of being exposed to the shadow of mankind''s needs and desires had warped Damius to the sickest and dirtiest of old men. It also happened to be what fueled the orb¡¯s magic as well as granted him unnatural longevity.


    His eyes moved up to the different factions that were required to attend the Tornetum. He saw the largest faction of the hunters guild that took up a full quarter of the stands. Then there was the guild of Omne in mostly white next to them.


    The other side of the large coliseum was a patchwork of other guilds and factions: skinners, archers, alchemists, mathematicians, and a myriad of less important factions. He noted the workers¡¯ faction, the musicians, the dancers; they were all represented for the event.


    Marks continued scanning, then noticed the two Talea monks.


    The bald man standing next to the other monk saw more than he knew. He looked up at Marks and Marks had the unsettling feeling that the man was reading his mind.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Those strange monks had odd powers that he himself didn¡¯t fully understand. Their religion and practice had existed for the entirety of his life.


    Even the Church of Omne wasn¡¯t as old as Marks himself, but this practice of living in the mountains or forest, meditating for hours upon hours on end, focusing on their breathing, and practicing with that signature stick in a group: it was oddly appealing in a spiritual way¡ªthat¡¯s if Marks would ever consider giving up his worldly ways to join them.


    Upon that part of the proposal, Damius Marks, like everyone else in the world, only scoffed at the idea. Give up everything, including one¡¯s identity, for nothing in return? He couldn¡¯t for the life of him understand how anyone could go through with the commitment.


    But then Marks took a look at the girl standing next to him. He thought nothing of her at first, but then his whole body went cold as the connection was made.


    Damius almost got to his feet when he realized that she had to be the same person from his vision. The hair, the stance, the stick in her hand: there was too much in common for it to be a coincidence. There was no doubt in his mind that she and the girl from the vision were one and the same.


    He licked his lips, blinking rapidly as options began to arise in his mind. He was ready to move, but he would need to be calm and cool. It was still early yet in the grand scheme of events.


    One thing Marks was aware of regarding the Sykihr orb was that the future it told could be avoided, but it required a cautious unraveling, like that of an armed trap. He would need to guide her to the end of his choosing because what he saw in that vision could never come to fruition.


    He could not allow a useless monk who chose to keep no earthly possessions to somehow take control of the Narcuss throne. It couldn¡¯t happen on his watch if it took him collecting all three of the Remel orbs from their carefully placed locations and holders.


    ¡°Woah,¡± Marcus sat up in his seat. ¡°Who is that?¡± Marks was largely unaware of his son¡¯s frame of mind or experience. He merely thought Marcus to be going through the same process of thoughts and feelings that all Aallandrons in their early thirties went through.


    It was as boring to someone like Marks as a three year old¡¯s thoughts and experiences would be to a thirty year old. The intellectual contrast was just too wide to bridge.


    But Marks couldn¡¯t help noticing that Marcus¡¯s gaze was fixed firmly upon the girl in the Talea uniform. He checked his eyes twice to see that his only son was gawking at the girl across the stadium with his mouth open like a boy in an all boy¡¯s school gazing upon a girl from an all girl¡¯s school for the first time.


    Behind him, Ersonia was talking to one of the other duchesses.


    Marks considered Marcus once more, then he thought of the vision. He thought of the way that orange orb had flashed to life like an alarm, warning him of what was coming at him faster than he could realize.


    Why was all of this happening so suddenly? And why did it feel like the great Damius Marks was losing hold of both control and his sanity?


    Action needed to be taken, and it needed to be taken right away in order to wrangle this hypothetical scenario out of any of the many universes of possibilities before them.


    Elimination. That was what needed to happen. His eyes darted back and forth as he concocted a plan. He got up. Both Ersonia and Marcus stared at him.


    ¡°W-where you going?¡± Marcus asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Marks said and made his way to the stairs.

 Six: Susis Decision

    Susi was about to fall asleep standing up. She couldn¡¯t meditate properly the night before, and sleep had been hard to come by after she gave up on that.


    When her mind wasn¡¯t heavy, she could meditate through the night and required no sleep at all. But with the heat of the crowd, the mixture of so many smells, Susi¡¯s sensory overload made her want to check out.


    She listened to the odd hush that came over the crowd as she meditated with her eyes closed.


    There was some sort of delay going on behind the scenes at the speaker¡¯s podium. Susi¡¯s consciousness wanted to leave as she leaned upon her stick.


    It was when the auctor, Auctor Ralvese, began to speak that she opened her eyes.


    ¡°Good morn to all of you!¡± Ralvese spread his arms.


    The volume in the stands crescendoed to a roar as Ralvese waved them down. ¡°I¡¯ve just received word from up top that this year¡¯s Tornetum will be a little different from usual. It looks like, from each faction, a candidate will need to be chosen¡­and they,¡± he paused.


    He waved his fist like he was having trouble getting through the lines. ¡°And each candidate will be competing in the Tornetum. You have five minutes to choose a candidate within your faction.¡±


    There was a collective hush that fell over the crowd. Auctor Ralvese lowered his arms, turned around, and hurried from the speaker¡¯s podium.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Everyone in the stands looked at one another, including Susi and Grobeche. Susi glared at her teacher. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Grobeche didn¡¯t say anything as he looked out to the crowd. He surveyed the royalty box where the acting king, Chancellor Damius Marks, was grinning and shaking hands with someone behind him.


    Guards began dispersing through the seats of the different factions.


    ¡°Do we really have to compete?¡± Susi asked.


    Grobeche swallowed hard as the guards drew closer. ¡°I think we will have to choose.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. It¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    Before Susi could try to give him her two cents on the matter, a guard approached, looked between them, and grabbed Grobeche¡¯s shoulder. He was about to be hauled off when Susi intervened.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She asked in a commanding voice.


    The guard stopped. All eyes in the nearby vicinity turned to her. ¡°He¡¯s not our candidate: I am.¡±


    Grobeche gaped at her in horror. ¡°Susi¡ª¡±


    The guard shoved Grobeche, then grabbed Susi¡¯s wrist. She was pulled into motion through the aisle of seats for the stairs.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine!¡± She called to Grobeche as he tried to keep up with her, but a guard grabbed him and told him to go back to his seat.


    Susi followed the guard between hundreds of spectators, meeting with a line of other individuals from different factions being led by a soldier to the lower floors feeding the vorago arena.


    Drumming filled the stadium as the crowd went from speechless to ravenous. There was not only fresh blood on the menu, but blood that had not been expected to be spilled.


    They were the sheep that were caudled until the moment a knife blade was gently swept across their throat. Here she was: one of the sheep in line for the last time.

 Seven: Concerning Marcus

    Marks returned to his seat, satisfied that he had solved the problem once he saw the girl instead of the older monk being taken down the stairs.


    He knew she would choose herself because that was the person he saw in the vision. Relief filled his chest to know that she would no longer be an issue when her brains and guts were part of the vorago backdrop as much as any stone, rock, or tree.


    There were champions competing in this Tornetum. They would make short work of a passive forest dwelling monk who obviously didn¡¯t know what kind of game she was signing up to join. Yes, a large quantity of people from other factions would die, but what did Damius Marks care?


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Marcus asked him. ¡°And why did they start gathering these people to compete?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to spice up the Tornetum a bit,¡± said Marks. ¡°Who wants to watch a handful of skillful warriors duke it out when we could watch a score of individuals who¡¯ve never fought a day in their life clash blades with the champions?¡±


    ¡°That sounds nightmarishly sadistic, but I like it.¡± Marcus put a hand to his father¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Just when I didn¡¯t think you had any malice left in that dead heart of yours, you go and surprise me with a gesture like this.¡±


    ¡°Are we celebrating these people?¡± asked Ersonia.


    ¡°Yes of course, we¡¯re celebrating them by brutalizing them.¡± Marcus rolled his eyes and smirked at his father.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    A creep of concern met Marks¡¯s chest as he recognized the impatience, the exhaustion Marcus relayed when communicating with Ersonia. The two were barely a year in and he already dismissed her at every clash of communication like a couple who¡¯s been married for decades.


    It wasn¡¯t Marks¡¯s concern. The idea that Ersonia was anything more than a wealthy pair of breasts and an incubation chamber for Marcus¡¯s future son was laughable to him, and Marcus could use or disregard the girl if he wanted.


    But right now? Somehow that destiny of the monk girl finding her way to the throne still seemed an obscure but very alive possibility.


    He didn¡¯t like any of this. As if to continue to confirm his irritated suspicions, Marcus looked back across the vorago and asked, ¡°Hey, where¡¯d that girl disappear to?¡±


    ¡°What girl?¡± Ersonia clued in and realized that her man was seeking out another woman. Whether it was out of curiosity or otherwise didn¡¯t matter in the moment to Ersonia.


    ¡°The female Talea monk,¡± Marcus waved as if this curiosity should have been obvious. ¡°Have any of you ever seen a female Talea monk?¡±


    He waited and no one answered, but they rarely took notice of such classless things as the religious observers of the Talea.


    Damius Marks felt odd to have seen and known so much in his life, but he had never witnessed someone with long hair amidst the Talea members he had seen. A lot of Talea observers shaved their heads which would have immediately made them look exactly like the men regardless of their gender.


    All this sudden talk of a subject¡ªand individual¡ªhe wanted more than anything to be rid of was beginning to make Marks feel nauseous. He rarely ate or drank, and the orb largely eliminated his need for sustenance so the feeling could be nothing but stress in his gut. No matter what he did, he could not derail this course which meant he needed to tread with caution.


    If that girl was not dead within the hour, they would have a serious problem on their hands.

 Eight: Round One - Death Match

    Many of the last second recruits for the Tornetum weren¡¯t as horrified as others. They seemed eager to have the opportunity to take part as they readied themselves with the weaponry and armor offered to them in the ready room under the vorago arena.These would be individuals from the fighter¡¯s guild, VGA¡ªVeteran Gladiator¡¯s Association, and the security and defense factions.


    Susi didn¡¯t care either way. She saw at least fifty people vying to purchase better weaponry and armor from the quartermasters behind the counters. The prices were exorbitant down here as no one thought to bring a weapon.


    This was the first time anything like this had ever happened before. The consensus one got from the audience was that the decision was mostly positive. It wasn¡¯t altogether surprising to Susi as she knew the Aallandrons loved their blood sports.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± a guard said, grabbing Susi¡¯s quarterstaff. ¡°Lose the stick and go buy yourself a sword.¡± He tried to take it from her to throw it away, but couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡± Susi shook her staff from the man¡¯s grubby fingers.


    ¡°No armor and no weapons? You won¡¯t last long in the Tornetum.¡± He said.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern.¡± Susi turned and made her way to the gate that led to the upper vorago ring to wait with the others who were already armed and ready.


    Several fights broke out between different faction members. Many people protested profusely to guards who remained stone-faced to their arguments.


    ¡°It was the chancellor¡¯s will,¡± some said. ¡°He is acting king at the moment, so we must do as we¡¯re ordered, and so must you.¡±


    Susi didn¡¯t know how the Tornetum was supposed to work. Only one person was required to represent a faction, so usually it was Averal who sat in the stands for them to watch how it went.


    All factions were required to attend, especially those with tax exemption status. They could lose that status if they were to skip the Tornetum.


    Regardless of how it worked, Susi wasn¡¯t afraid. Most of the people around her were very afraid, but Susi maintained adhi by focusing on her breath.


    As the crowd by the gate grew, a number of people gaped at her audacity to take no weapon or protection. Even leather armor was provided so that all contestants would have a fair chance.


    Unless one practices Talea Macto, most don¡¯t understand the different outfits or garb for the uniform in regards to rank. Talea Macto practitioners have many ranks. It¡¯s hard to say specifically how many there are, with all the additional amended titles and honorary titles.


    The standard thirteen ranks include three particular changes to the uniform. Apprentices¡ªclassified as ranks one through four¡ªwear only the student tunic, pants, and slippers.


    They¡¯re allowed a telum, or weapon, but only a bamboo stick. One can be extraordinarily lethal with a bamboo stick if they¡¯re knowledgeable as Susi knew from her apprenticeship test that cost her tester the proper use of his left hand.


    The second tier of ranks¡ªfive through ten; molkar¡ªallow the initiate to wear the private¡¯s koromo over their pants and shirt. But the third tier, ranks eleven, twelve, and thirteen: they¡¯ve proven that they¡¯re serious. They get to wear the black one piece uniform, known as a ki, under their Ulkindar koromo.


    Susi always thought it was a bit pretentious to name the top three tiers after the sought after awareness in battle, but she didn¡¯t make the rules. The Ulkindar koromo had black trim and an additional collar. It just made the higher tier look really cool, in Susi¡¯s opinion, which is why she advanced to tier eleven as quickly as she possibly could.


    She still hadn¡¯t reached Clarus Dominium status yet, but it was unlikely that she would ever get that far. After rank eight, practitioners stop thinking about rank and uniform, and that¡¯s kind of the point. Many students had been denied rank eleven for being too eager to acquire the cooler outfit.


    Susi couldn¡¯t help feeling a minor sense of pride at having reached rank eleven in the organization at such an early age, but she made sure she didn¡¯t boast her position. However, now that she was an adult, she carried the full weight of that rank in her outfit, uniform, and status within the community.


    So then, was she afraid of brutes in chainmail with swords, maces, or flails? In her mind it was all of them who were at a disadvantage.


    As almost everyone had joined the group by the gate, a gong thrummed through the vorago. The perpetual thrum of it reverberated her heart in her chest. The gate above them slowly slid up into its narrow slot in the ceiling high above.


    The guards began to corral the faction members up into field. Susi followed them up the sandy incline and onto the sands of the Narcuss Vorago Arena.


    At the lower floor of the vorago, amidst the dozens of new contenders in the arena, Susi looked up to the crowd to see thousands of cheering and screaming patrons ready to watch her blood stain the sands of the battlefield.


    They knew not of what they wished if they could be so ready for violence. Beyond the top of the vorago stadium, Susi could see a menacing stormcloud rolling in from the west. People continued pressing her on from behind.


    At the top of the ramp, a line of guards began separating everyone out. Susi followed the direction of the guard on the right. Her group funneled into a line that marched along the right side of the vorago arena.


    Susi glanced up into the stands as people from all over the country celebrated. They jumped up and down while excitedly cheering for what would inevitably be the demise of those on the field. Almost everyone was wielding a mug of alcohol. Susi could smell the barbecued drumsticks many of the patrons waved.


    How could her life of discipline and faith contrast so vastly with those who paid money from their hard-earned jobs to be here so they could act like fools and take satisfaction in her death?


    It wasn¡¯t fair. It wasn¡¯t right. It was not equal.


    She looked down at the sand in remembrance, waiting for whatever it was they were supposed to do next. She thought of Tharsa and the day she met Grobeche.


    During a trip to Scerasa, Susi and Tharsa were getting supplies from the general store when she met Grobeche for the first time.


    Bored of listening to Tharsa talk to the general store owner¡¯s wife, Susi walked out onto the dusty planks of the deck that rounded the buildings of Scerasa¡¯s cobblestone central square. The dark sky overhead threatened bad weather, so a sensation of haste was universal between the citizens of the city.


    Horse-drawn carriages by the dozens filled the streets as merchants passed through with their wares and supplies. Everyone wore similar clothing: the regular tunics, cloaks, and boiled leather garb to insulate oneself from the harsh, cold winds. Large skins were thrown over shoulders as the fall weather turned the air cool.


    But one man wore only a thin navy blue robe and sandals. He greeted travelers as he made his way to the seed supply store. He carried only a wooden staff, and had a waterskin laced over his shoulder that he drank from as he scanned the crowd.


    The man had a brown beard and goatee with gray-blue eyes. He met Susi¡¯s attention, winked at her, and continued down the street.


    Rain began to fall over the wooden overhead above the plank where she stood. Three men in expensive black equipment entered the weapons store on the opposite corner of the intersection. Susi watched as a weasley beggar followed them inside.


    She looked down the street and watched the other travelers make their way through town. The traffic in the middle of the road seemed to thin, leaving a relaxing quiet in its wake.


    One of the men yelled as the beggar charged from the steps outside the weapons store. One boot got caught behind the other and he tripped, falling face first onto his arm with a sword in its scabbard clasped in his other hand.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    He looked up and saw Susi watching him as the three men emerged and descended the wooden plank to the street. Two of them had drawn their swords.


    Before they could reach him, the man in the blue robe stepped between the hardened men and the beggar. He kicked the sheathed sword from the beggar¡¯s grasp into his hand, turned, and gave the victim his sword back.


    Having his stolen blade returned didn¡¯t eliminate the man¡¯s desire for blood. He tried to shove the robed man away, but was maneuvered instantly to the ground with his outstretched arm shoved into his back as the robed man pressed his knee into his backside.


    The man in the blue robe had drawn his staff and aimed it at the comrades of the fallen man. ¡°Take your sword and go.¡± the man ordered, hoisting their friend from the ground and shoving him into them.


    He kept his staff at the ready as the three men scoffed, backing away. One of them spat on the beggar¡¯s back. The three turned the corner and left the intersection as the robed man helped the beggar to his feet.


    ¡°That was amazing.¡± Susi said from the steps.


    The robed man glanced over at her with a small smirk playing on his lips. He touched his staff to his temple and gave her a bow with his head.


    Before Susi could say anything else, she was tugged into motion by Tharsa. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t speak to beggars and strangers.¡± Tharsa chided.


    Susi was six years old at that time.


    She came back to the moment as the cheering of the crowd amplified. Auctor Ralvese had returned to the speaker¡¯s podium. Susi stood about ten yards between the other candidates from her line as an adjacent line of candidates stood on the other side of the sandy arena floor beyond the terrain of the field.


    ¡°Excellent, excellent, excellent!¡± The auctor raised his fist. The crowd all around reciprocated.


    Ralvese relished the ongoing cheer as he nodded with a charming smirk. ¡°One-hundred and twenty-nine different candidates. Those are the tributes we have today. It seemed a little unorthodox at first, but thanks to our benevolent, Chancellor Damius Marks--¡± Ralvese waved up to the Chancellor¡¯s box and the crowd drowned out the rest of Ralvese¡¯s statement.


    Susi looked up to the Chancellor who raised a full glass of wine that a waiter had just poured for him. His eyes met Susi¡¯s and a hateful sneer played through his face.


    It was as though all of this had been set up to disenfranchise her specifically. She couldn¡¯t see how that could be possible, but that was the distinct feeling she received when their souls met in that momentary eye contact.


    Her focus shifted to a young man who was presumably the Chancellor¡¯s son. He was handsome¡ªperhaps too handsome for his own good. And his girlfriend or partner played the classic wealthy duchess. She looked sophisticated in her dress and mannerisms, but it didn¡¯t take much to see that she had the mind of a housecat that has no need of its claws.


    The future prince of Narcuss next to the duchess watched Susi with a different kind of interest. He was the only one of everyone from the royal boxes who watched the unfolding game with eagerness. Everyone else was too busy schmoozing, flirting, or trying to get loaded as quickly as possible.


    No, the way Marcellus Marks was watching Susi reminded her of a ten year old boy excited to see a horse race. He seemed far too innocent of the abuse and rigorous training that went on behind the scenes. He embodied the joy that the entire attraction was meant to generate without realizing that his happiness came at the cost of life. He was so enthralled, so disconnected that it was almost difficult to blame him and his entire ruling class for allowing the event to take place.


    ¡°Almost.¡± Susi whispered and shifted her gaze to her opponent opposite to her.


    ¡°In an effort to cut through the riff raff,¡± Ralvese continued, ¡°we¡¯ll begin with our classic Deathmatch! Contenders! Face your opponents! AND LET THE GAMES BEGIN!¡± He raised both hands into the air as a gong reverberated throughout the arena.


    The crowd was louder than the gong. Everyone rushed forward into the large arena floor, entering the manufactured terrain throughout the field.


    Susi didn¡¯t know what was happening, but everyone ran toward the center. She ducked right into a craggy canyon that channeled between two large stone platforms that composed an upper part of the arena.


    Susi heard screams behind her. Using her staff, she vaulted herself up onto the stone shelf-top as several people were chased down the channel by a burly man with a large mace.


    She looked ahead to see a man with a sword and shield mount a stone ramp adjacent to her. He saw her as a target and went for her. Susi lowered her staff and waited for him. He ran directly at her like a dog running after a chew toy.


    Just when he was within staff range, Susi launched the tip of her staff up into his throat while propping the stick at a forty-five degree angle to hook and anchor the opposite end to the side of her soft shoe. It happened in an instant, and the effect was devastating.


    The man¡¯s neck crooked painfully as he continued moving while the blunt staff did not. The crowd gave a sickened but euphoric cheer of approval. Susi sidestepped the man who had neutralized himself upon her telum as he went down.


    Susi paused upon the elevated stone overlooking the center of the arena between eight large conjoining stone platforms. Within the center of the arena, a bloodbath was taking place.


    Everyone who was ushered forward from before was cut down if they didn¡¯t know how to fight. Susi had thought that the games were one-on-one, sometimes two-on-two, but this was a mass slaughter, a free-for-all for anyone who knew how to access their bloodlust, rage, and hatred.


    Susi could do no more than she could as a spectator in the stands as old men of odd factions like the Archaeologist¡¯s Guild were mowed down by lanky young barbarians who were looking to make a name for themselves.


    A woman of the Women¡¯s Knitting Association was literally ripped limb from limb. It was a nightmare, and the audience surrounding them were in an orgasmic uproar of approval over all of it.


    She knew the man was approaching her from behind: she could both sense his gaze and hear the loud crunching of grit beneath his boots. She waited until he was almost upon her, then lifted her right hand that clutched her staff upon her right shoulder, allowing the staff to level.


    She calculated where the man¡¯s skull was in space based on the echo location of his breathing, then pistoned the blunt tip in such a powerful but momentary instant that the man didn¡¯t even know what happened as the staff clocked him directly in the forehead. The man collapsed behind her, unconscious.


    Susi dropped between the stones into the central arena. The giant hulk of a gladiator bounded between the stones of the field that was made to look like battlefield terrain. He grinned eagerly as he clutched an axe in both hands as easily as Susi held her staff. He bent his knee, raised the axe over his shoulder, and darted for her.


    Susi spun the staff from the middle between her fingers so rapidly that the staff became a blur. The gladiator didn¡¯t stop, he swung the axe directly into her being¡ªexcept Susi raised the whirling staff over her head and helicoptered out of the trajectory of the swing.


    Landing a few yards away, the man frustratedly charged again, this time intending to bullrush her. She was so small, he didn¡¯t even need to strike her with the axe.


    The man was stopped as Susi jabbed him in the stomach, then whirled and slapped him across the face with the blunt end so hard that teeth flew from his lips and scattered across the sand.


    With an unsettling knowledge of the human nervous system, Susi then pegged eight different spots on the man¡¯s body within seconds, and he was rendered fully paralyzed throughout his entire form. She was so calm and motionless when standing still, but when she moved it was like a frenzy of speed and conviction.


    A huge monstrosity of a man lunged from between the stones nearby with a double-bladed battle axe in hand. Susi ran up the side of the stone just in time to avoid the swing of the axe that embedded itself in the rockwall. She planted a toe on the axe handle before kicking off the man¡¯s face.


    He lulled as Susi landed and jogged away. She hurried to the sandy soil of the sand pit on the south-east side of the large arena, and came upon the skeletal remains of a wooden stable just beyond the stones.


    A man with a chainmail sleeve and a bladed helmet emerged from the stable. He wielded two claymore-sized swords that were supported by his burly physique. Big Swords. Susi smiled to herself.


    Big Swords marched toward her, spinning the swords in the motion of his wrists coolly. Susi jogged at him and launched herself into a somersault, slipping between his raised blades to land a kick directly into Big Swords¡¯s beefy chest. He dropped one of his swords and reactively tried to grab her ankle as her inertia continued, but his hand met nothing as she hopped instantly, planting her right toe on his cheek to thrust all her leg muscles left. The man¡¯s neck snapped painfully as his whole body was flung unnaturally to the side.


    Susi landed gracefully to the roar of the crowd. He wasn¡¯t dead, but he writhed as the bones in his neck had been dislodged from their position.


    Her win was cut short as the man from earlier jogged from the stones and kicked one of the claymores into his hands. A large chunk had been taken from his shoulder that was weeping blood down his big chest.


    Susi saw Big Swords¡¯s other claymore in front of her. Just to make things interesting, Susi used her staff to fling the sword into the air where she stopped it with the hilt of her stick as it was propped upright in the sand. Her eyes met her opponent¡¯s, she raised her eyebrows, intimidating him into action.


    He charged for her. As he came close, Susi masterfully manipulated the claymore in air with back and forth strikes from her staff. The sword seemed to deflect and defend against her attacker within mid-air of its own accord.


    When the man became frustrated at his lack of ability to gain ground, Susi whirled the hilt of the sword so the blade¡¯s point could hit the sand and she could rest her staff upon the hilt guard of the blade. She was taunting him. He wouldn¡¯t be able to touch her in a million years.


    Whatever was happening, the crowd was in a frenzy over it. In a fury, the man threw the sword aside and bull-rushed her. Susi dropped the claymore and whirled, slamming the staff across the man¡¯s face painfully before whirling again to repeat the process. He fell to the ground upon his back and she slammed her staff into the man¡¯s chest to press him against a stone.


    The crowd was on its feet as Susi kept him pinned like a bug being tortured. He clutched the staff, but couldn¡¯t rise. His breath fell to a sputter. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as she heard his rib cage give way and collapse.


    She released him as the man wheezed, clutching his chest while struggling to breathe. He gasped uncontrollably, unable to collect enough oxygen to offset his adrenaline rush without immense pain.


    There would be no more surprises from this contender.

 Nine: The Plan Backfires

    Chancellor Damius Marks watched the efforts of the Talea girl the way a skilled gambler can watch every hand for the evening be dealt only to offer him nothing each time.


    How could it be possible, amidst the blood and chaos running below, that this child could handily survive the onslaught? On top of that, she made it look easy.


    Everyone knew the monks had their own special martial art, but no one knew they were capable of manipulating the environment around them this way. It was like¡­magic.


    Marks¡¯s eyes narrowed and he suddenly thought this girl with the black hair and fierce determination looked all too familiar.


    Almost twenty years it had been since that champion had been around and almost twenty years old she was. Damius Marks stroked his chin in deep thought as he watched Susi fight four different people at once. Each of them ticked down and collapsed around her without so much as landing a single blow.


    The girl was like a demon. The entire stadium was filled with the clacking of that staff upon bone every time she took someone down.


    The audience was beginning to change. The girl was interesting at first, but now they wanted to see her fall. Marks slid the tips of his fingers together while watching but not really watching the spectacle of an unarmed monk eliminate dozens and dozens of men.


    He realized that the orb was not showing him a potential future: it was showing him his destiny. Somehow, even in trying to put her to death, this propelled her even closer to that destination that seemed so unlikely just fifteen minutes prior.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    While he hesitated to sick Rhenos upon her, it was the last opportunity he might have to remove the threat that was this girl from his field of view. Rhenos had never failed¡­but if he did, Marks would need to escalate things.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those Talea monks extremely dirty?¡± Ersonia asked.


    Marcus was in a state of concentration that few had witnessed from his usual airy, bored demeanor. He watched the Talea girl with eyes that so many champion trainers had viewed through when seeing a potential gladiatorial candidate fighting for the first time.


    But there was something else other than dollar signs in those eyes. Yes, Marks could sense that Marcus was infatuated by her. He wanted to peel off the girl¡¯s silly koromo and see what hidden secrets lay beneath.


    If she was as high in their order as she looked, she would be celibate. That didn¡¯t stop the likes of royalty from taking interest, and it wouldn¡¯t stop Marcus from falling for her in some way as he had like the fool he was for so many women who easily became problems.


    And so the rush of the river toward this impossible destiny grew stronger. No wonder the orb had warned him. It had come so suddenly and violently, this obscure unlikelihood that was the Talea girl. She had slithered through their defensive awareness like a snake sliding silently through the grass. And now she was upon them with her dripping fangs bearing down on unsuspecting prey.


    So Omne¡¯s will had arrived as Marks knew it tended to do.


    The gray storm clouds from the west had stretched over the arena, bringing a dimness to the early afternoon. Marks felt a water droplet on his cheek. He lifted his right hand from the armrest of his seat to create a telekinetic force field above their box to prevent them from getting too wet. Marcus didn¡¯t notice, but shook his head and clapped as the girl finished the last of her attackers.


    Marks watched Rhenos enter the field as the roar of the crowd could be heard all the way to the mainland.

 Ten: Rhenos, the First Champion

    The raindrops fell around Susi as she dropped to one knee amidst the groaning men who clambered to get away from her. She had not killed any one of her targets, but everywhere she looked there was evidence of murder and bloodshed.


    A young woman was sprawled in the sand with her face disintegrating and mixing with the grit of this place where she did not belong. Men¡¯s faces were trapped in the horror of their circumstance as they remained suspended in their agonizing death throws.


    Her eyes darted back and forth as dozens of guards entered the arena to lift the survivors'' heads and cut their throats. Susi stood up as the guards dispersed to her defeated opponents. As easily as if they were preparing cattle for a large dinner, the soldiers slaughtered every downed competitor that still moved.


    Susi wore a disgusted face as she glanced at the chancellor who glared down at her with his snide, malevolent stare.


    Two guards dragged a seventeen-year-old woman out from the brush and were in the process of getting a good handle on their knives. Susi knocked one guard¡¯s knife out of his hand before thrusting her staff into the chest of the other to knock him down.


    She stood in front of the girl as the two soldiers gathered themselves. The rest of the men saw what was happening and advanced upon the two girls. Susi readied her staff.


    ¡°Hold!¡± Ralvese called to the men with his hand raised. He and the chancellor were in communication via some form of crude sign language.


    At least twenty soldiers had Susi and the girl surrounded with their weapons raised.


    The girl suddenly gasped and grappled Susi¡¯s backside. Susi could sense her pain in the tight hold she had upon Susi¡¯s koromo. All she could do was lower the girl to the ground as the color drained from her face. Susi saw a throwing knife stuck in her side around a blooming red circle that stained her tunic.


    Susi looked up from the girl as she clutched her hand. The guards parted for a young man wearing full black and gray quilted chainmail with bladed edges, and a bladed helmet. He wielded a long, pointed lance.


    It was one of the champions known as Rhenos. He had been sent to put down the random nuisance that had interrupted the games with their unbelievable skill. Susi released the girl''s hand and got to her feet. She glared at the man with her teeth gritted.


    ¡°Salve.¡± He called. The soldiers moved away to give the fighters space.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to kill her.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°She was dead the moment she entered this field.¡± Rhenos said. ¡°We all are.¡± He waved to the crowd that Susi realized was going insane over the coming battle.


    ¡°You should be ashamed, killing someone without looking them in the eye.¡± Susi fought back the tears she wanted to cry over the girl. For whatever reason, as close as she came, she could not let the tears fall. ¡°You¡¯re all so sick it¡¯s not even measurable.¡±


    Rhenos shrugged. ¡°If you were hoping to appeal to my better nature, I¡¯m afraid that abandoned me a long, long time ago. Prepare yourself!¡±


    Susi readied her staff as Rhenos approached. The two circled one another as Susi moved away from the fallen girl. Susi lifted her staff in time to deflect a direct strike from Rhenos. Their weapons crossed and the sound of his lance upon her staff rang throughout the stadium.


    He executed a series of maneuvers that Susi blocked. Upon the final strike, the two separated, Rhenos chuckling. ¡°Is that a Talea staff? You think you can win this with the defensive martial art of a pacifist, weak, and dying religion?¡±


    Susi didn¡¯t take things personally often, but Rhenos needed to be educated. The Talea Macto was not a pacifist religion¡ªit was the ultimate religion.


    To take responsibility for yourself and the others around you, to understand that there is no leader except we are all leaders, and that redemption is at the end of your own efforts; these are not weak ideals. They are the rules of a warrior.


    The speed at which the two began to lash, jab, and defend was uncanny. Susi ducked as Rhenos¡¯s lance swept through the stone behind her, slicing through the sediment like butter.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Susi whirled and slammed her staff into his raised spear. She tried to kick his feet out from under him, but he was too quick. Rhenos hopped her strike and the two broke into another sparring match that ended in yet another stalemate.


    His intention was to crush her at all costs. A person¡¯s battle technique was akin to their perspective in life. Rhenos was made to win. Forged in battle, taught to understand weaponry and their many uses, he practiced on the souls that stood opposite to him in every arena. To Susi, this couldn¡¯t hold.


    Rhenos was not wrong that the Talea Macto was mostly a pacifist religion. They didn¡¯t take part in the political wars that were waged upon the planet¡¯s surface and remained impartial to the rulers of the day who were always vying to replace one another.


    However, that was only the part of the Talea Macto that everyone was familiar with. The pacifist side was the defensive side. This is the fighting technique for keeping yourself and your opponent alive. But if Rhenos was here to kill, Susi would never be able to win without switching to the offensive version of the art.


    She thought of the execution strike, Kunha. She was never to use it under any circumstance. The monks only taught it as a reference for what not to do. Dozens of non-lethal moves passed through her mind as her staff connected and clacked off Rhenos¡¯s lance. They could not work because they could not land. A passive outlook could not defeat an intentionally aggressive oppressor.


    It was in that moment that Susi realized one must know when to take up arms to defend oneself. It had nothing to do with survival of the fittest, but it was to be a gatekeeper, the one who bars the exit from the killer, the one who turns wrong to right, the one who says ''no, you cannot have your way''. One must stand when it is time to stand.


    Susi saw the end ahead, and it was going to cost her everything.


    The Three Move Cross¡ªone-by-one-by-one¡ªunfolded, and then it happened. It happened like a dream. She was going to kill him: she knew this as she had a seeming eternity to swing her staff on the final blow across his skull that would have enough force behind it to end a life.


    The staff went out¡ªand then shattered across his face.


    Everything happened slowly. The gray bladed mask tore on his right side as a spray of splinters exploded from the strike. Rhenos went spiraling to the ground as Susi gaped at the broken staff she held in her outstretched hand.


    The other piece of her staff dropped from the sky several yards away. It was an apprentice¡¯s staff, which is why it was made to break under such massive force. How odd that it had happened under her first legitimate kunha execution strike.


    It was as though the volume was suddenly turned up as the hordes of people in the stands roared in unison, except they didn¡¯t seem happy. They sounded enraged.


    Susi looked around to see if Rhenos was really down. Only someone who had seriously trained for extensive periods of time like a Talea monk would be able to keep up with her. He moved like the monks did¡ªoutside of time, without worry of space or distance.


    She went to retrieve the other half of her quarterstaff. As she did, the crowd roared their disapproval. Instead of cheering for her, a furious booing took over the patrons in the stands, which infected the rest of the audience.


    Several guards entered the field and stopped about ten yards short of her, not wanting to get too close. They beckoned for her to follow.


    Susi looked up to the thousands of now infuriated Aallandrons¡ªall of them drunk, all of them indulging in some way or form, all of them fools for their errand in life whatever it may be. They jeered and threw whatever food they could get their hands on toward the field, but Susi followed the guards through the middle of the arena and descended the stairs from which she and the rest of her now murdered faction members had entered.


    Susi was reunited with Grobeche in the vorago undercroft. The guards had to bring him inside and bar the doors because the crowd of the arena had transformed into a violent mob.


    While Susi had defeated each of her opponents, she chose not to kill any one of them. Everyone she overcame lay writhing in the dirt behind her, neutralized, and as helpless as a newborn baby. Impressive, spiritually beautiful, but it wasn¡¯t what the hordes of blood-thirsty Aallandrons paid good money to see.


    Rhenos was supposed to walk away with her head on the end of his lance. The Tornetum was about champions, violence, and bloodshed, so a champion that chose the high road, who chose life instead of death: that person defied the rules of the game, and that person should be punished.


    For three long hours, Susi and Grobeche waited in the undercroft before they were summoned to Narcuss Castle via the royal underground passageway. The whole time they walked down the ancient, musty corridor that every city had, Susi couldn¡¯t look at her teacher.


    While Grobeche was almost always reserved and patient, Susi knew when he was mad and she had never felt him as mad as he was right now. He was like a searing hot iron, glowing in the dimness of the corridor.


    A haughty frustration kindled within Susi in response. What was she supposed to do, let herself be killed? And the way that last guy fought, she didn¡¯t think Grobeche would have been able to survive his ferocity if he had been cast into the ring instead.


    As irritated as his silence toward her was, a pang of guilty sorrow filled her chest at the thought of his insides being mangled upon Rhenos¡¯s spear. Hoping his anger with her would fade, Susi followed him quietly as he followed the two guards to the castle.


    Her first day of the Tornetum was complete.

 Eleven: The Guests of Marcellus Marks

    Marcellus Marks couldn¡¯t understand why everyone, including his father, was in an upset over the results of the Tornetum¡¯s first day. And if they didn¡¯t want an unexpected conclusion, why mix everything up with the additional contenders?


    Marcus was free-thinking enough to realize that he¡¯d had the best time of any vorago trip ever, watching that girl smack the fighters and champions around. She hopped over them and tripped or floored them with such fantastical skill that Marcus was almost doubled over laughing. He had hated most Tornetums for how serious the nobility in the stands were about their serious champions while the buffoons in the stands celebrated as if it was Aallandranon¡¯s final day.


    Damius Marks had retired upon his arrival at the castle.


    Marcus bathed the stench of his sweat from the sauna-like vorago from the cracks of his body. As he sat within the soup of potions and herbs that filled the bathtub, Marcus¡¯s mind drifted to the girl. He thought of her black hair, and green eyes that he could see all the way up in the stands that were like emeralds. He thought of the way she had moved, the way her koromo fit her figure.


    As he sat in the bath¡ªalone in the silence of the castle¡ªMarcus closed his eyes and imagined the girl before him, but she wasn¡¯t wearing her koromo, she was wearing a fashionable and eloquent queen¡¯s dress. He saw her in the morning sunlight against the balcony banister of Narcuss¡¯s entrance hall. She turned her head, met his gaze, and smiled with those green eyes.


    Even in the shade of an imaginary moment that would never occur precisely like this, Marcus felt a stab of longing: a hungry need to have her close to him.


    It wasn¡¯t a sexual feeling. It wasn¡¯t passion, or lust, or pure animal instinct to plow and rut like barbarians¡ªhowever, the passing thought of being with her in that way also pleased him. It was a feeling of knowing that face would be the face to greet him each morning. That face would be imbued in the children she would bear for him. That face would be there as he was crowned King of Narcuss.


    The prospect of this reality was too perfect. Marcus opened his eyes and stood up from his bath, naked and dripping the tonic of his bath water from his body.


    He dressed in a royal black tunic and put on a pair of exquisite tan leggings. He pulled the impressive military jacket of his outfit tight to his figure, realizing that he was gaining a little too much weight in the stomach area. He still kept in good shape from all the training he was required to maintain, but there were still a few too many wrinkles in his thirty-four-year-old face and around his eyes.


    How old was the girl, anyway? She couldn¡¯t have been older than twenty-five, and that would be the ceiling. What if he turned out to be fifteen years older than her? What would the citizens say to know that he wanted to court a woman who was barely a woman at all in the eyes of the Aallandron society?


    Being fully independent of his father, Marcus decided he would meet the girl. He needed to see her if only to extinguish the kindling of this fire that was beginning to burn within him.


    He was unaware that this frame of thought was the first scaffolding that had and would lead to every man¡¯s doom with regard to love. If only I could speak to her for just a moment, maybe my curiosity will go away.


    But it doesn¡¯t go away, it only boils and boils, becoming stronger and stronger until one realizes that the ground has been pulled out from under them, they¡¯re falling, and there¡¯s nothing to grab onto.


    Falling. That was the feeling those green eyes put into his heart when she turned and looked at him in a thought he had conjured in his mind.


    Marcus descended the steps to the royal hall and met with Garth. He was vying to become chancellor once Marcus took over. Garth kept the castle running at peak efficiency while serving him and his father.


    He only had one leg, so everyone knew where he was when he was walking with his wooden peg sticking out from his pant-leg. He kept his long, scraggly white hair in a ponytail, and always carried a short sword at his hip.


    ¡°Evening, Garth.¡± Marcus nodded.


    Garth, who had been on his way to his study after grabbing a glass of whiskey from the castle kitchen, paused in the main hall to meet with Marcus. He looked Marcus up and down, unable to understand his attire for the situation. He gave Marcus a quick bow, then continued walking with him down the central passage toward the entrance hall.


    ¡°What¡¯s the occasion, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± Garth nodded to his uniform that made him look like he was getting ready to mount up for battle and lead a charge.


    It took Marcus a second to come up with a good response, but the one his brain pulled out of his ass was eloquent. ¡°Perhaps diplomacy, perhaps intimidation. Omne will decide which.¡±


    Garth cocked a brow at this, not understanding, but he never pretended to understand the drive of the Narcuss elite. Being in the middle of most affairs going on within the castle, whatever Marcus was up to was probably of little importance regardless.


    ¡°Garth, my good man: I have a personal request to make of you, if you¡¯re not too busy.¡± Marcus said.


    ¡°Anything, Sir: anything at all.¡± Garth was smart enough to know it wasn¡¯t a question, and he always liked to be in the good graces of his lords.


    ¡°There are two monks in town, one of whom took part in the Tornetum. It¡¯s already late in the day, so it¡¯s likely they¡¯ll be staying somewhere in Narcuss. I¡¯d like to invite them to stay in the castle for the until the Tornetum is complete, so I need you to find out where they are and bring them here if possible.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Garth bowed. He hurried off to do the investigative work Marcus wanted that was also part of his job.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to learn from the many guards who were aiding in the quelling of the riots that the two monks had been trapped within the vorago undercroft for hours with a crowd of rioters braying for their blood three blocks in every direction.


    Garth had to threaten to ream the guard captain on duty for refusing to open the underground passage to the vorago. The captain quickly caved and sent several men to retrieve the monks from the undercroft via Garth¡¯s instructions.


    Marcus poured himself a glass of wine and reclined in the great library of Narcuss Castle. It was world renown, and resided underground in the heart of the castle where it could remain safe from storms and other such elements.


    Aallandron nobility regarded language and books with the utmost respect as literacy usually meant one was educated, which correlated with one¡¯s wealth in society. While Marcus could read, he didn¡¯t really like reading. He read through one of his father¡¯s favorite books, Le Cantum de Castamere, until Garth could bring his guests to the entrance hall.


    At last, Garth returned to greet him, pausing in the arched, ornate threshold leading from the hall to the library. ¡°The two individuals of whom you requested have arrived and are waiting in the entrance hall. I warn you: they carry a foul odor.¡± Garth stood with his chin high, the repulsed expression playing upon his face.


    ¡°Thank you, Garth.¡± Marcus stood up, drank the last of his glass of wine, and then adjusted his clothes upon his person. He rolled and popped his shoulder before heading into the main passage leading to the entrance foyer.


    He saw the top of the stairs leading down to the castle entrance where he had imagined seeing the girl with the sea green eyes looking back at him upon the banister.


    It was ironic to him that when he rounded the stairs and laid eyes upon Susi in close proximity for the first time, he had imagined her so clearly, and yet his heart¡ªit had already been, what had he called it: falling?¡ªhis heart took a mighty dive off a cliff, and he didn¡¯t know if there was a bottom in which he would ever land.


    The girl looked up at him, and she was still a girl¡­but older somehow. When their eyes connected Marcus couldn¡¯t tell if he actually swooned as he descended the stairs, but he felt like if he were to fall end over end down every single step it would be both justified and worth it.


    Her Talea uniform was splattered with blood. She carried both halves of her broken staff in one hand at her side. Her hair that had been pulled into a ponytail was loose around the tie she had made to hold it. If not for her being quite possibly the most dangerous individual Marcus had ever encountered, he might have thought she was desperately poor and terrified of her current situation.


    The man standing next to her could be her father, but knowing a little of the Talea religion, that was unlikely. They didn¡¯t look very similar either. The smell of them met Marcus¡¯s nostrils, but it really only smelled of the vorago up close.


    ¡°Good evening to you, and congratulations on surviving the first day of the Tornetum!¡± Marcus said. The toneless expression upon the two monks¡¯ faces didn¡¯t change. ¡°I genuinely mean it. Perhaps no one else appreciated what happened in the vorago, but I did. I always love a good underdog story.¡±


    ¡°Susi was never the underdog as she never lost Ulkindar.¡± The man standing beside the girl spoke.


    ¡°Well, congratulations on surviving all the same. My name is Marcellus Marks¡ª¡±


    ¡°We know who you are.¡± The man spoke once more. Susi, next to him, watched Marcus carefully.


    ¡°And what is your name, good sir?¡± Marks asked, remaining pleasant for the guests despite the abrasive tone the man was giving.


    ¡°My name is Grobeche, and this is Susi.¡± Grobeche motioned to her. ¡°We¡¯ve had an extremely difficult day and would like to rest in the flat they promised us as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t allow such distinguished guests to stay in a prison flat. It¡¯s not right, so I offer you the royal baths, fresh clean clothes if you wish, and comfortable beds to sleep in this evening. I¡¯ll have the cooks prepare a feast for the two of you now, and a grand breakfast in the morning.¡± Marcus offered.


    ¡°We can acquire our own food, and we would likely not use your beds,¡± said Grobeche. ¡°We don¡¯t¡­sleep like you do.¡±


    ¡°Then meditate in safety within the walls of the castle.¡± Marcus spoke softly, genuinely. ¡°Whatever you need, just let me do something to compensate you for the evening you¡¯ve experienced prior to entering the castle.¡±


    ¡°We can stay the night, right?¡± Susi asked and even her voice made his heart somersault in his chest. Of all the women he had been around in his life, he had never been so nervous as he was now with this girl. Part of him wanted to get on his knees and beg her to stay just so that he could be in her presence a little longer. It was so unlike his usual nature.


    ¡°If you wish to stay, Susi, we can stay.¡± Grobeche shrugged.


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Marcus grinned. ¡°Can I get you two a drink? Anything, anything at all: just name it.¡±


    ¡°A carafe of water would be perfect enough for us.¡± Grobeche said.


    ¡°And for you, my dear, anything specific you¡¯d like?¡± Marcus asked.


    Susi swallowed hard, considering a beverage that she chose not to voice. ¡°No, the water will be enough for me. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I will have Garth prepare each of you a carafe that will be ready in your room.¡± Marcus nodded. ¡°I can give you the tour of the castle now, or we can wait until the morning.¡±


    Grobeche stroked the stubble around his chin. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to¡ª¡±


    ¡°We can see the library?¡± Susi interrupted.


    ¡°Yes, if you¡¯d like, but there is one little caveat.¡± Marcus squinted. ¡°Visitors aren¡¯t permitted to walk the castle barefoot, or in sandals. We have a rather strict dress code. There¡¯s a private bath in your room or if you¡¯d prefer the famous royal bath hall, you¡¯re my guests and you can join if you wish.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Grobeche said. ¡°I suppose, take us to our rooms then.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± Marcus held back as he motioned for the two to climb the stairs. He followed Susi as she climbed the steps behind Grobeche. When she reached the top Marcus felt actual pain in his heart as she walked by the banister he had imagined her standing by in a vision that he would fight actual wars to see come to fruition.


    The desire he felt toward Susi surpassed and dwarfed all previous concepts he¡¯d had of the fickle emotion he knew as lust. She had done nothing but survive the Tornetum and exist, and yet it was the fact of her religion that made obtaining her all the more engaging of a challenge.


    After walking them to their rooms, Marcus told them if they still wanted a tour of the library, he would be at the end of the corridor. He tried to only look to Susi briefly, but it was almost impossible not to look at her.


    Could she tell that something was wrong with him when their eyes met? Could their religious practice give them the power to see directly into the mind from the hyper focus they were known to have?


    If so, she would see that the feelings inside crashed over him like the waves of the sea.

 Twelve: Thayers Plan

    Chancellor Marks slammed the door to his viewing chamber. He uncoiled the apparatus in the center of the room and put both hands over the orb as he stood over it.


    Nothing.


    Marks maneuvered his hands around the glass ball, but received no feedback, no electrifying energy as his soul connected with the orb¡¯s nearly unlimited power. How could it abandon him at such a crucial time as this? It was an impotent feeling that once it began to take hold, Marks couldn¡¯t get the orb to reciprocate at all. It was shutting him out.


    ¡°Blast it!¡± Marks shook his hands at the blank, glass orb that looked as clear as crystal. The ball could have been nothing more than a nick-nack sitting on the shelf of a glass blower¡¯s shop for a child to play with. ¡°If this is how you¡¯re going to treat me then perhaps I¡¯ll summon one of your brothers!¡±


    There was a firm knock at the chamber door, which only served to infuriate the chancellor further. Marks took another look at the blank orb, snarled at it, and made for the door.


    His long black and gray hair had gotten sweaty while being in the humidity of the vorago. He swept both strands of it from the front aside with his thumbnails that he noticed had become grimy and yellow.


    Marks opened the door to see his good friend, Thayer, standing in the corridor. He wore his expensive attire: a long-sleeved linen shirt beneath his forest green tunic. The sleeves of his undershirt had been rolled to his forearms, and his travel jacket slung over one shoulder.


    ¡°I heard you speaking. Am I interrupting something?¡± Thayer cocked his brow at Marks.


    ¡°No,¡± drawled Marks as he stepped aside for Thayer to enter, ¡°I was just complaining to myself about the ridiculous results of the Tornetum.¡±


    Thayer entered and Marks closed the door behind him. Marks realized that he had been degrading the orb in near darkness before Thayer arrived. He lifted both palms with the practiced fire spell in his mind to light the torches within their sconces around windows at the top of his tower room.


    ¡°Yes, it was a bit lackluster, except for the monk.¡± Thayer said. ¡°Curious, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°What about it? The girl uses martial arts and that stupid staff to execute her strange acupuncture technique to immobilize all of her opponents.¡± Marks said as he rounded the path back to his viewing chamber with Thayer following behind. ¡°Skillful, absolutely. Entertaining: not so much for the crowd.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s very interesting.¡± Thayer said. ¡°None of these techniques have ever been implemented in the vorago games. How could a teenage girl with a wooden staff leave four dozen men incapacitated? She didn¡¯t kill any one of her assailants, and even Rhenos will probably survive with a severe concussion. She didn¡¯t appear to take any injury herself.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Are you insinuating that she¡¯s cheating in some way?¡± Marks leaned upon the stone apparatus for the effectively useless orb behind him as Thayer stood before him.


    ¡°Not cheating, but I think there are some ways we could level the playing field if you¡¯re interested.¡±


    The idea did intrigue Marks, but then so did the other ideas he¡¯d had to take down the annoying girl. Part of him hated to give her another opportunity to succeed, but he was also a little curious as to what Thayer had in mind. The young man had exceeded all of Chancellor Marks¡¯s expectations since he graduated from Ethan Academy at the top of his class. Maybe he could put this annoying pest to the dirt once and for all.


    ¡°Well, go on.¡± Marks waved.


    ¡°I mean, we did just take down an outpost from the Humans of Earth a few weeks back during a surprise night attack. They had all kinds of ordinance from their planet for us to commandeer. Why don¡¯t we do what the Humans do and shoot at our problems until they go away?¡±


    ¡°I like it,¡± said Marks. ¡°It¡¯s dirty, but the way the audience rioted after Rhenos, I think they¡¯d be perfectly satisfied to see her fall in a hail of gunfire.¡±


    ¡°We should save that for last,¡± mused Thayer. ¡°Let the girl think she can survive, and then pull the rug out from under her. Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and she¡¯ll fall early. Either way, she¡¯ll die by the end of the day tomorrow. Then we can have our usual enjoyable finale on day three.¡±


    Marks chewed the inside of his cheek. ¡°What if she survives?¡±


    ¡°A monk versus a barrage of bullets? Unlikely.¡± Thayer said.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d make it this far, so if she does¡­somehow survive, do you know where Nissentis is being kept?¡±


    ¡°I seriously doubt that will be necessary.¡± Thayer said.


    ¡°Deltia has hold of Ignasis. I told you to hide Nissentis, so bring Nissentis or pry that Omne forsaken globe from Deltia¡¯s fingers. I only need two of the orbs to eliminate that girl if I have to, but she¡¯s become a nuisance I no longer want to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Has something happened?¡± Thayer watched Marks.


    Marks met Thayer¡¯s green eyes. ¡°Sykihr,¡± he pointed at the glass ball, ¡°it showed me a vision of that damned girl¡­seated at the throne of Narcuss.¡± The words left his lips like poison. Speaking them aloud felt like sacrilege, as if doing so might make the likelihood of this vision more possible.


    A dour look filled Thayer¡¯s face. The orbs were very insightful. Even Thayer knew that from his little experience in contact with Nissentis. ¡°This is troubling.¡±


    ¡°That it is.¡± Marks spoke.


    Thayer held up both hands. ¡°Give me a chance to work some magic.¡±


    ¡°See to it that you do.¡±


    Thayer gave a quick bow to the chancellor and then hurried back down the ramp toward the chamber door where he entered.

 Thirteen: Susi and the Prince

    Susi was relieved to be away from their peculiar host who looked unbearably nervous to be in their company.


    She couldn¡¯t understand why. They were forest monks who meditated seventy percent of their time. They could do more meditating, but then none of the chores would get finished. That was all they ever thought about.


    Susi was taught not to dwell on sexual desire, even if it came every now and then. But while Marcus acted like it was desire, Susi couldn¡¯t fully believe he would have taken an interest in her without an actual reason.


    She had to dismiss it entirely at the recollection that she and Grobeche had nothing in the eyes of Narcuss. There was no money stowed away, there was no reputation or land for them to offer.


    It had to be some strange respect he had for the Talea. Perhaps he would explain it, or she¡¯d have to demand of him what was wrong if possible.


    Susi undressed and drew the bath that she had personally been longing ever since Rever began talking of leaving the Talea clan.


    She put a hand into the water that was warm. It was a feeling she had never experienced: warm water from a boiler. Even with the sisters the showers were cold.


    Somehow, all of this reminded her of the sisters. That was her last scrape with normal civilization. Over ten years it had been since she and Tharsa parted ways.


    She placed her bare leg into the water and slipped herself into the warmth as it rose in the basin. The contrast of cold and hot made goosebumps ripple up her arms and down her spine.


    What a strangely simple but wonderful concept: hot water. Susi splashed at the water coming out of the faucet that was silver plated. Nature had been conquered and put in its place by the men of this world. They kept it down and at bay, to use how they wished when they pleased. Then they thought it was madness, or that they had angered the gods or Omne when inevitably Nature took back what was hers.


    Susi clutched the soap that smelled so clean it was almost shocking. Her whole body was covered in dead skin that needed to be removed, but there wasn¡¯t enough time to do that here.


    Sometimes she and Grobeche would go to the ocean together and get so fresh from removing all the dead flesh layers, their bodies would glisten like seal skin. The air always felt so cool and relaxing on the walk home after.


    She let her mind melt as she reclined in the bath as Marcus had done earlier that evening within the royal baths.


    There were peculiar potions of different aromas lining the bath rim against the brick wall construction of the castle. She smelled hazelnut and winced. One of them smelled like chocolate, and then one that smelled of strawberries and milk. Susi preferred that one because the sensation wasn¡¯t so intense.


    She used it to wash her long black hair with soap for the first time in over a decade. It took much longer than she would have liked to untangle all the knots and get her hair somewhat straight once more, but for whatever reason her body longed to be as clean as possible within this place.


    Exiting the water, Susi dried off with the towel that was available to her before putting on a soft robe that was neatly folded by the fireplace that stood between the personal bathroom and bedroom.


    She took the time to wash her underwear and silk inner uniform before laying them over the rim of the draining bathtub basin. The external Talea koromo was a more intensive process to clean, so she would do it later. For now, she found a wardrobe full of clean clothes to choose from.


    The fashion for Narcuss teenage girls was a little strange, but Susi liked it. She put on a pair of tight leather pants that fit her well, and a pair of matching boots that were worth fifteen Jerian shards according to the price tag. That was far more than she¡¯d ever pay for a pair of shoes.


    She put on a pair of black socks and slipped the boots over them. She wore a black turtleneck and a brown sweater that was intentionally made to be loose around the neck and cut off short to show the lower midriff.


    Susi thought the outfit made her look more like a fifteen-year-old kid than a young woman, but she preferred comfort if she had a choice.


    She left her room to knock on Grobeche¡¯s chamber door. He was still in his robe and looked exhausted. ¡°I think I¡¯m just going to stay in my room for now, but be careful while exploring, Susi. Oh, and that outfit¡­yilch.¡± Grobeche shook his head.


    She bid him goodnight before exiting the corridor leading to their rooms. Marcus Marks was sitting in a chair in the hall corridor chatting with Garth, the kind man with the peg for a lower leg who had accommodated their every need.


    They ceased their conversation as Susi entered the main hall and Marcus got to his feet.


    ¡°You made it! I was beginning to think you¡¯d gone to sleep, which would be fully understandable after the day you¡¯ve had.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I really wanted to see the library.¡± Susi said. She had always loved libraries, and the Narcuss Castle Library wasn¡¯t open to the public. She also rarely found herself with excess time in Narcuss, so she hadn¡¯t yet visited the public one in downtown Narcuss either.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to love it,¡± said Marcus. ¡°Is your friend going to be joining us?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s,¡± Susi shook her head, ¡°tired. I¡¯m fine to go alone.¡±


    ¡°In that case, follow my lead.¡± He spoke in a way that seemed to mock his own royalty. He was charming in a way now that some of the stiffness had left him. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°Starving.¡± Susi¡¯s stomach ached. ¡°But I don¡¯t eat after lunch so I¡¯ll pass.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± Marcus actually stopped next to the kitchen to look at her. ¡°I could have the rarest, most exquisite meal brought for you¡ªI could have the perfect cr¨¨me br?l¨¦e brought that would bring tears to your eyes for how delicious it is¡ªbut you¡¯ll take nothing?¡±


    Susi met his eyes and smiled at him. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll take nothing.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± he clutched his chest. ¡°How will I ever break you of this, my new friend? What about a drink? You¡¯ll at least have a glass of champagne with me for your big win today.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t drink alcohol.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°Have you ever drank alcohol?¡± Marcus asked.


    ¡°For communion with¡ªa¡­¡± she corrected herself, ¡°a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Marcus stroked his chin. ¡°Honestly, communion for Omne doesn¡¯t count. I can¡¯t offer you food or wine. How about I give you the secret tour of Narcuss.¡± He spoke coolly as he cocked his brow, making him look a good ten years younger with his suave smile.


    ¡°Secret tour?¡± Susi couldn¡¯t resist. ¡°I would be honored.¡±


    ¡°Then it would be my honor to be your date for the evening, m¡¯lady.¡± Marcus held out his arm to her.


    Something inside of her melted a little more, and had been melting since she¡¯d met him in the corridor. ¡°This is not a date.¡± She took his arm that was strong beneath his uniform jacket.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Marcus led her down the corridor leading to the entrance to the castle library.


    Susi thought about Rever and a pang of guilt met her heart. She and Rever had been close, and she liked him. She didn¡¯t have feelings for Marcus, but it felt like a betrayal or a form of misconduct on her part to indulge a person like Marcus when he was clearly interested in her.


    She still couldn¡¯t understand why though. Marcus could bed and probably had bedded a different choice of woman for each night of the week. If he knew anything of her religion, he would know that the two couldn¡¯t be together under any circumstance.


    Were he to convert to the Talea religion and renounce his previous life to live a simple life in the country with her¡­that would be a different story. But that would be asking Marcus to be someone he wasn¡¯t.


    And maybe some people shouldn¡¯t change. The world needed politicians and rulers. Marcus knew what to do when his father appointed him king.


    A realization struck her as Marcus led her into the library that a day prior she could only dream of visiting. Marcellus Marks, the man who was as nervous as a teenager to hold her arm and just as desperate to call their evening a date: that man would be crowned king in the near future.


    And what of the woman at his side? Would that make her his queen? Was it possible that she could be his queen?


    A greed Susi had never ever felt in her life suddenly swam up through her. As an introspective person, it was startling. Were she in combat, she would have faltered entirely. She would have lost Ulkindar.


    What poisonous thoughts were these, and where did they come from? Was this the being she had been suppressing all this time through her rigorous training: an opportunistic, self-glorifying whore that would crawl upon her knees as her king¡¯s bride despite his many flaws? Did she think of herself as special or different from all the women who thought they were above the whims and desires of kingly royalty?


    Part of her wanted to let go of Marcus¡¯s arm, go retrieve Grobeche, and get the flying Hell out of Narcuss before Une-Myung, the Talisch God of Destiny, could wreak further havoc.


    All of this was rotten, and yet she continued holding Marcus¡¯s arm: part of her mind still looking through that open door next to her that shone to a perfect wedding day, the unlikely vision of a kingly husband who smiled broadly as she approached, and eventually a day where she found her stomach large with his son.


    Susi swallowed hard and brought herself back to the present moment in the library as the two stepped through the many corridors of dusty bookshelves.


    ¡°Of all the women you could be with right now, why me?¡± The words spilled from Susi¡¯s lips as the two stopped in the middle of the library. There were torches lining the walls, and they stood beneath the grand chandelier that filled up the eaves and floors of the entire library hall. There were a few other castle staff members seated with books on the many armchairs and couches beyond the last bookshelves.


    It was doubly strange when Marcus turned and looked down to her. He picked up her hand and held it before his eyes for what felt like a long time.


    ¡°You probably think I could sleep with any woman I want, and I could. You think I would sleep with you tonight because you won the first day of the Tornetum, and I maybe could. I don¡¯t know.¡± He met her eyes as she shook her head at him. ¡°Regardless, Susi, I don¡¯t have any desire to sleep with you tonight, as wonderful as that might be. I¡­saw a vision.¡±


    ¡°A vision?¡± Susi asked, finally intrigued. Visions in the Talea religion were very important, even for civilians who didn¡¯t practice.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Marcus said. He was suddenly far away, as if entranced. His eyes looked past her hand and beyond her as he thought about it. ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop¡­falling.¡±


    ¡°Falling?¡±


    ¡°It was like I was supposed to hit the ground at any moment, but it never¡ª¡± Marcus met her eyes, smiled, and lowered her hand to release it. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Maybe someday I can explain it to you better. Let¡¯s continue the tour.¡±

 Fourteen: Thayers Assessment

    Thayer was always relieved to exit the chancellor¡¯s tower. Whether Marks knew it or not, the foul odor of his poor hygiene somehow mixed with his clouds of dark thought. The musk of it seeped into the very stone of the tower itself, making the chancellor¡¯s flat insufferable to remain in for long periods of time.


    The two had been allies for the last three years, since Thayer graduated from the academy. The chancellor had taken Thayer under his wing and even introduced the young man to the Remel orbs. He still had yet to control one of the orbs properly, but Marks promised his magical technique would be harnessed in time.


    For now, Thayer was perfectly capable in the physical realm. His influence and movement through the ranks in the castle was impressive. When pressed on why Marks had taken such a liking to the boy, Marks told them that Thayer showed what true undying loyalty looked like. It¡¯s something that cannot be replicated or fabricated; genuine trust in his lord¡¯s rule and instruction to the dying breath.


    That was the fa?ade Thayer had put on for the chancellor and his yes men of the Parceta Council. Thayer was actually a survivor. He would do and say whatever he needed to ensure he either moved up or at least stayed within the same range of trust as his station allowed. This was partially on Marks¡¯s direct orders, but also Thayer¡¯s survival instincts.


    Marks told Thayer after giving him the orb that he needed to fall under the good graces of as many people in the government as possible. He needed to remember every name and face so that he could find those names and faces within the orb once he mastered the orb¡¯s abilities.


    After that, one could begin to blackmail these individuals. Their needs, desires, and wants would become clear with the orb¡¯s assistance, and those in turn could be exploited. The orb would eventually show the user the deepest, darkest secrets of those constituents. With the right leverage, any politician could then be moved.


    Thayer was just descending the steps from the chancellor¡¯s tower when he heard the voice of Marcellus Marks, the duke¡¯s dimwitted son who was largely unaware of the goings on within the castle. When it came to Thayer, however, perhaps it was the natural competitive rivalry young people with large ambitions have toward one another, maybe something else: Thayer got the sense Marks didn¡¯t trust him.


    Thayer didn¡¯t press the issue. He became passive around Marcus to allow himself to be ignored. It was important to move up without being noticed.


    Marcus¡¯s voice filled the corridor as he beckoned for someone to follow him. That¡¯s when Thayer saw Susi up close for the first time. He glared from the top of the steps as she came into view.


    That was their target.


    The girl had made his mentor uncomfortable to a degree that Thayer had never witnessed. That meant the chancellor considered her to be dangerous.


    She didn¡¯t look dangerous, but Thayer could feel an energy from her that wasn¡¯t natural. She was the kind of person you couldn¡¯t tell a lie to. A thief would naturally avoid a perceptive target, and Susi was all of that.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Thayer stayed in the shadows as the red-faced Marcus asked if the girl would have any food, to which she declined. Thayer was barely listening to them. He was watching what he could see of the girl beyond the banister of the stairwell.


    Something about her felt¡­familiar. Thayer couldn¡¯t put his finger on what it was. He tried to remember if he had seen her in the past, but couldn¡¯t think of any time where they might have encountered one another.


    Thayer descended the steps as Susi moved out of sight down the hall with Marcus. He stepped into the corridor behind them to see the two headed toward the library ahead.


    Seeing the girl in close quarters, and seeing her mingle with Marcus¡­Thayer understood the chancellor¡¯s concern. It didn¡¯t feel like happenstance, it felt like coming upon a river of destiny. You couldn¡¯t stop this river if you tried.


    The two disappeared into the library. Thayer didn¡¯t follow. He remained standing in the center of the corridor in thought.


    For some reason, Thayer imagined Marcus rutting the girl. He saw the two within some closet of the castle, Marcus sliding his slimy member in and out of her until completion¡ªher leather pants bunched around her ankles. He imagined the girl getting pregnant, and the problem snowballing from there.


    A voice of protest rose in Thayer¡¯s mind. But the Talea monks are celibate.


    That was rich. Anyone can be celibate until the right circumstances come along. The path to ultimate power was a short one. Life is a game of strategy, and a beautiful woman passing up a future king would be a foolish move strategically.


    Is she beautiful? Thayer asked himself. She was, but not in a sexual way if that made sense. She was something delicate that needed to be preserved. He could understand Marcus¡¯s infatuation with her in that regard.


    Thayer had a different philosophy about women. He knew Marcus was a player¡ªand had a better than fifty percent chance of bedding the girl if he chose to¡ªbut Marcus wanted to fall in love.


    Thayer saw women as a means to an end. It wasn¡¯t personal. Susi wasn¡¯t the kind of girl Thayer would chase because, as he observed before, she was too perceptive.


    Has the situation changed? He mused to himself. He was a little surprised to know that it had. He would need to retrieve the second Remel orb.


    And the third? Thayer stroked his clean-shaven chin. Deltia Chester was too deeply entangled within the Ignasis orb¡¯s grasp. Requesting that he part with it might cause problems.


    Thayer turned and made for the castle entrance.


    Deltia and Ignasis would have to wait. For now, he would need to contact a few people he knew. That much would change if the girl wasn¡¯t defeated by the end of the second day. If Susi could survive the gauntlet Thayer was preparing for her the next day, then he would need to bring Deltia into the fold.


    If the girl was still alive at this time the following day, no amount of power was too much to exterminate such a dangerous nuisance.

 Fifteen: A Night on the Town

    Marcus led Susi toward the bookshelves so that she could look through them. Everything that had happened so far had happened like something out of a fantastic dream. Marcus thought surely the patrons of the library could hear his heart pounding like a drum through the quiet.


    Susi¡¯s eyes scanned the books for a few seconds before she stopped, her sea green eyes wide. She looked to Marcus. ¡°You have a copy of the Tammakada right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly possible.¡± Marcus stroked his chin and scanned the markers for each bookshelf they passed. ¡°It will probably be under the religious writings, which are up here.¡± He pointed up a set of steps, and the two ascended to a more prestigious level of the library.


    The marble bookshelves matched the white marble floors of the castle. Marcus took the lead, knowing just the spot where it would likely be found. Taking a right, Susi followed him all the way to the back corner and up another ramp.


    The two entered a circular room with tall bookshelves lining the walls that required a ladder to reach the higher volumes. There was a librarian standing at the top of the rolling ladder opposite to where Marcus paused to scan the book names written across the sides of each book¡¯s dusty leather spine.


    He looked up and saw it. Within a small glass display case were two copies of the Tammakada resting next to several other books on demons and dragons. Marcus pulled up the glass display case lid with the fingernails of his thumbs while Susi carefully slipped the top copy out.


    It was a red book with a snake dragon twisting around a staff emblazoned in gold upon the front. The only title was on the side, and the book had no specific author as it was written collectively by the founders of the Talea Macto religion.


    It spoke of many things, Susi knew, but the key takeaway was that no matter where one hides¡ªin a different life, and even different universe¡ªno matter what one does, they will never be free of their hada, which was translated into karma for the common tongue.


    ¡°I wish I had time to read the whole thing right now.¡± Susi took a deep breath and pressed the book to her chest, hugging it in both hands to know it was of her people, of their minds, and of their spirit.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep it? There are two copies.¡± Marcus suggested.


    Susi smiled at the prospect, then used Marcus¡¯s same method to lift the display lid. She slipped the book back inside on top of its twin copy. ¡°I¡¯m¡­not allowed to have possessions¡ªI mean, other than my clothes and staff.¡±


    ¡°In that case, it will be here when you like. Come, I¡¯d like to show you the town if you¡¯ll let me.¡± Marcus waved toward the threshold leading back to the lower parts of the library.


    ¡°Thank you for bringing me here, Marcus.¡± Susi met his eyes, and he was falling again. It was as if his heart was at the top of that rolling ladder, and it released to descend into his never-ending need for her and all that came with it.


    He had never imagined that he could kill with his bare hands for someone until now, but that felt like a relatively simple prospect were it to come to that. War, yes, he thought. Siege, absolutely. To the ends of Aallandranon and to his dying breath:¡­yes, yes, all of it, yes. Just¡­stop me from falling¡­.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Susi had been staring back at him as he stared at her. Susi¡¯s eyes widened as his eyes seemed to darken. He reflected the eerie dimness that was hidden in his father¡¯s eyes, but it was only a shadow of what was deeper. He could tell she knew.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Marcus drawled as he relaxed. ¡°I was just figuring the route we¡¯ll need to take.¡± He led her down the stairs, and the two left the library.


    Marcus took her through the side entrance to Castle Narcuss. They exited through a tall, arched transom and descended the steps to a grandiose set of stone stairways leading through the Gardens of Appey: named after Appey Narcuss, the princess who married the lord of Trenton at the southern tip of Chartan across the sea. The two countries within the Parceta kingdom were on the brink of war and had been for the last twenty years following the death of Appey¡¯s father, Cerveys Narcuss.


    Something flashed next to Susi¡¯s face, illuminating the soft curve of her cheek. When Marcus looked over, it was his turn to be in awe.


    The grape blossom tree with its long, thin branches and matching thin leaves was waving in the ocean wind, but every part of it was illuminated a brilliant turquoise green. Susi¡¯s face looked so pure as she looked up to the lights dancing on the gently wafting grape blossom tree leaves.


    Her eyes fell to his. How was it possible for someone so inconsequential to him twelve hours prior to take the ground beneath his feet by looking into his eyes with that timid expression?


    ¡°It¡¯s a grape blossom,¡± said Marcus as he forced his attention up into the glowing tree leaves. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one do this before.¡±


    ¡°It happens to me in the woods a lot.¡± Susi said. Even in the turquoise dimness, she couldn¡¯t hide the red in her cheeks.


    ¡°Remarkable.¡± Marcus laughed, pulling a long tendrilled turquoise branch from Susi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°This was really only a shortcut, but I¡¯m glad we went this way.¡±


    He beckoned her to keep following down the steps leading to the castle wall. Within the wall, Susi could see a forest of trees preceding the back ramparts that blocked their view of the ocean beyond. Several warehouse buildings were positioned at the base of the wall next to them on the city side.


    The two descended a small set of steps leading to a guard station. The soldiers within stopped everything they were doing to watch the two pass through the station quietly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how interesting Narcuss history will be to you, but the city is nine-hundred and eight years old.¡± Marcus said as they dropped down the steps to the city streets.


    ¡°The bridge to the mainland was built in 11,983OM, which was about four-hundred and fifty years ago. This city square we¡¯re in now predates Narcuss rule. Its construction dates to about 10,325OM, twelve-hundred years prior to the city¡¯s founding. During that time, the city was known as Denesche. Its naval power was unmatched by any in the world, which is how they were able to build such grandiose structures.¡±


    Marcus noted the large columns lining the mouths of every large stone building of the square. The biggest was the gargantuan Basilica of Omne that was packed with thousands of Aallandrons making their regular pilgrimage to the church.


    ¡°The Basilica of Omne is the largest church in Piphane,¡± said Marcus. ¡°It is where the kings of the country are coronated.¡±


    ¡°And you were hoping that would be you next, right?¡± Susi asked with a smirk.


    ¡°If all goes as it should, the Chancellor has the power to decide who would be best positioned in the line of power. As my father is beyond age as far as most politicians are concerned, it is presumed that I would be the next in line. It¡¯s not a position I voluntarily wish to observe, but I do understand that leadership is necessary. So long as Narcuss remains without a king, both Ire and Narcuss are in flux¡ªadrift without anyone to direct them toward any possible goal.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°What is your goal, should you be crowned king?¡± Susi inquired.


    ¡°To unite the countries once more, to depose the self-proclaimed king of Chartan, and bring the ongoing civil war between Ire and Chartan to a close. That would be a start if all goes well.¡± Marcus led Susi alongside the large basilica with its dozens of columns marching atop the stairs toward the heart of the city.


    ¡°And if Chartan refuses to see you as king?¡± Susi looked to Marcus¡¯s still youthful face.


    ¡°It is not a choice whether one wishes to acknowledge the ruler of the land. It is the citizen¡¯s job to pray that their ruler is a just one. Some rulers are good, others are not. I have studied for the last fifteen years how best to rule this country of Piphane, how to unite its people once I¡¯m in charge, so whether swift action, serious confrontation, or even bloodshed is involved: it is a necessary experience to clip the rough edges. Our country will be governed, and that will be the reality no matter who wears the crown.¡±


    ¡°How can you take upon yourself such a heavy role?¡± Susi shook her head.


    ¡°It is something one must ponder upon for decades. It requires the trait of wisdom, and to know that there is always more information to absorb. It requires patience and knowing that this is a job that must be done properly.¡±


    The two entered an even larger city square. This one was full of people, even though it was nighttime. There must have been a thousand people within the square at any given moment as they crowded around the vast rounded buildings and their matching column design. Large braziers stood within thickets of vendors and patrons.


    There were so many different smells to Susi: leather, sweat, salt, all different kinds of food, cooked meat, pork broth; it all mingled in the senses to create an aroma that almost smelled of perfume. The smell would stick in her memory as distinctly Narcuss for the rest of her days.


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that you¡¯ll eat nothing because I could show you the best seafood you¡¯ll ever eat. The finest desserts are merely a five-minute walk away.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Susi said, looking at a window displaying racks full of pastries and cakes. They passed an ice cream shop a few buildings down. Her stomach and tongue yearned to enjoy such delicacies, but she hadn¡¯t eaten after lunch in years. The only times she could remember even drinking tea after lunch was when she caught a random illness now and then while traveling.


    ¡°If you¡¯re certain.¡± Marcus shrugged. ¡°What about a staff? Yours was broken during the Tornetum. How about we outfit you with a new piece of equipment?¡± He beckoned her over to a weapon supply store that stood next to a wine cellar.


    The smith working the table with his wares saw Susi first and didn¡¯t know if he should engage for a sale. Most women don¡¯t buy weapons, so it was odd to see the girl perusing the different knives and blades. Then the bearded man noticed Marcus. He made his way over to them, obligated to be of whatever service he could.


    ¡°What are you looking for from a humble inventory such as mine, good lord, Sir?¡±


    ¡°She needs a replacement quarterstaff.¡± Marcus answered.


    The smith¡¯s expression fell to disappointment. ¡°Only staves we have are practice staves¡ªfor children usually.¡± He showed them to a tall vase with a large mouth containing six practice staves resting within.


    Susi withdrew one, whirled it between her fingers in a way that stunned the smith, gave a quick snort, and returned the staff to the vase. ¡°Thank you, but I need something that won¡¯t break within the day.¡±


    ¡°Last staff maker I knew moved up to the mountains. Used to say the best stock came from the hills where the trees are stronger from the wind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said Susi. ¡°That¡¯s how our apprentice weapons are made.¡±


    Marcus nodded and he and Susi left the vendor''s shop. They walked down the street, Susi feeling content just seeing all the people and city itself. She had never been in a place that was this busy before. Marcus was a little more uncomfortable because there was no place he could think of that would be useful to her.


    ¡°You won¡¯t eat food, you don¡¯t drink, the weapons you might need are laughable to you for their quality, you don¡¯t wear conventional clothing, you¡¯re not religious toward Omne so the churches are a waste of time.¡± Marcus mused aloud. ¡°Where shall I take you that would be of some benefit?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to take me anywhere.¡± Susi said. ¡°I just enjoy seeing the city.¡±


    Marcus paused on the street corner to allow a group of people to continue past him, stroking his chin. He looked up to the overcast sky as raindrops dotted his hair, then dropped his eyes to Susi again. Her eyebrows raised as she realized that it was drizzling.


    ¡°Come, I have just the place in mind.¡± He beckoned her to follow down a quaint road beneath an overpass. Houses and estates peered down at her from above the bridge and along the canal of street they were traversing.


    Susi followed as Marcus spread his arms and balanced on the cobblestone rim of the sidewalk that arched through the passage. He hopped back into the street as they exited the passageway so they could cross the road. He could feel the drizzle on his neck.


    They continued down the avenue toward a gate in the cobblestone wall that separated the properties from the street. Beyond the wall, the two could see a shadowy steeple rising into the misty night sky.


    Marcus approached the gate and put his hand beneath the central seal of Omne that was set in its wire frame, then lifted the gate up and back enough for him and Susi to enter. He closed the gate behind them as they went from city street to quiet, into the overgrown grove of trees preceding the yawning black threshold of the church¡¯s interior.


    ¡°This is the third oldest church of Omne in the city.¡± Marcus motioned at the building. ¡°It¡¯s been purchased three times over the last ten years. People have tried to renovate it, but they say it¡¯s haunted.¡±


    Susi looked up to the towering cathedral with its tall steeple overlooking the shadowy coast beyond a crumbling cobblestone wall. ¡°Do you want to go inside?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°Only if you¡¯re not afraid.¡± He smirked, observing the pitch-black arched passage leading inside.


    ¡°Are you?¡± Susi cocked her brow.


    ¡°It¡¯s my city,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t be afraid.¡±


    ¡°I should remind you that neither of us are currently armed.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°True, but I have you here,¡± said Marcus. The drizzle had become a light rain as they could hear the thunking of the drops upon the building and within the brush beneath the canopy of overgrown tree limbs. Marcus knew the occasional vagrant would use the property, but it was regularly monitored by the city guard.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Susi grabbed his arm to lead him inside the dilapidated cathedral hall.


    Their eyes adjusted to the dimness. There were holes in the rafters so that whole parts of the sky could be seen beyond the ruined ceiling. Most of the rotting pews were broken. What was not part of the fallen building debris was covered with ivy: nature¡¯s fingers slowly pulling everything back into its depths.


    Marcus had thought Susi would be bored, but she smiled as she walked between the fallen rafters and splintered seats. The misty drizzle fell through the open places in the ceiling, giving the cathedral an enchanting, ghostly air.


    The two walked through the aisles and Susi caught a glimpse of an archway leading outside beyond the speaking podium. Marcus followed her out onto a balcony that wrapped around the back of the cathedral.


    ¡°Now this,¡± Susi waved at the clear view of the cloudy night sky above, ¡°is the best I¡¯ve seen of Narcuss.¡±


    Part of the ornamental stone banister had fallen away from the exterior balcony railing, another casualty of the building¡¯s disrepair. Susi still made her way to the end of the balcony and put her hands on the banister. The wind brought the drizzle down in flurries. The ocean crashed against the stones at the base of the building¡¯s construction below.


    Up above, the orange-pink moon of Fara peered through the cloud cover, shrouded in fog. Susi took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she took in the sound of the sea and the smell of the air around her.


    Marcus put his elbows on the banister and leaned upon it as Susi breathed out to behold the visage of the everchanging mountains of the sea ahead. ¡°Did I pick a good one this time?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Susi said, glancing at him as he watched her.


    Marcus put his hand upon hers.


    ¡°As much as I like you¡­we can¡¯t do anything, Marcus. It wouldn¡¯t be right.¡± Susi dropped her eyes back to the waves.


    ¡°Because of your religion?¡± He asked.


    ¡°You know it is.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that.¡± He said and looked past her. ¡°I¡¯ve been at the precipice of choice so many times in my life. Every choice I¡¯ve made I¡¯ve questioned myself after making it. But being with you doesn¡¯t feel like a question. It feels like destiny.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand, Marcus.¡± Susi¡¯s flushed expression darkened. ¡°You¡¯re a decent person, but unless you want to renounce your kingship¡ªunless you want to give up your life to be with me: we can never be together.¡±


    ¡°Relax, Susi,¡± said Marcus as he lifted her hand in his. ¡°It¡¯s just you and me here. We have no obligation to do anything but enjoy one another¡¯s company.¡±


    Susi looked at his hand and didn¡¯t know what to say. He hated that look because he knew she wanted to give in, but it was only the religious upbringing in her mind holding her back. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, maybe more. ¡°I think,¡± she swallowed hard as she looked to the waves dancing like mountain points on the horizon ahead. ¡°I think I need to leave.¡±


    ¡°Susi, I¡ª¡± He tried, but she pulled her hand back.


    ¡°This was a mistake, all of it. I shouldn¡¯t have allowed it.¡± Susi¡¯s eyes darted as she licked her lips. ¡°Please take me back to the castle.¡±


    ¡°If that is your wish, then so be it.¡± Marcus said.

 Sixteen: Revelations in the Fog

    ¡°Why?¡± Marks squeezed the orb between his fingers within its apparatus in his seat within his tower. Ever since it had gone blank prior to the Tornetum, he could barely get the thing to function. After about thirty minutes of fighting it, Marks gave up and paced his quarters.


    A frustrating and growing truth was bothering him. Was he really going to have to get Thayer to retrieve the other two Remel Orbs from their hiding places? Was it even possible while the one he had was in its current state?


    It had been almost eight hundred years since the orbs had been together, during one of Marks¡¯s many resets. Every now and then relations between himself and the rest of the planet would go sour. That¡¯s why he refused kingship, because being in public view made him memorable. That¡¯s why he chose jobs such as chancellor, in line for leadership but not in charge.


    Marcus would make the perfect king¡ªif he didn¡¯t screw things up as he was apt to do at times. The boy, even in his thirties, was little more than an overgrown child. Of course, Marks felt that way toward everyone of adult age. One didn¡¯t become wise until they were beyond their hundredth year, which most Aallandrons will never see.


    But Damius liked Marcus. It was rare for him to care at all about any of his offspring. Marcus, however, had proven himself to be more than just the good looks his mother had given to him. He was resourceful and clever like his father. He had mastered the art of allowing his subordinates to believe he was ignorant when he guided them subtly through his actions.


    This girl, Susi, was a concern. She would need to be put in her place, and that was either dead or back to the trees from whence she came. As though the orb behind him had been listening to his thoughts, it suddenly lit the room with orange light.


    Marks stopped in mid-stride to turn around and watch it illuminate the whole of the tower quarters. Surely, everyone in the city could see the rook at the top of Narcuss Castle light up like a lighthouse beacon.


    Marks approached the orb and, remembering what had happened last time he touched it, warily placed an index finger upon its surface. An electric warmth ran through Marks¡¯s whole body. His wrist actually hurt on the inside throughout his bones, but he kept hold upon the orb¡¯s warm glass.


    Marks closed his eyes as he placed the rest of his hand upon the globe. His mouth dropped. He had to squeeze his eyes shut as the orb became as bright as the sun. He received a flash of the illuminated grape blossom on the platform in Appey¡¯s Garden.


    For a moment, Marks was certain that the orb was in the process of self-destructing. He had never witnessed it do this before. He didn¡¯t usually use both hands to grip the orb¡ªsomething about it gave the orb full control of him¡ªbut he had no choice this time.


    He needed the Sykihr orb to survive and couldn¡¯t allow it to destroy itself for whatever reason it was choosing. Except¡­the orb wasn¡¯t ending its own being. For the first time in eons, it was being activated by true power.


    ¡°The Ancients¡­¡± Marks breathed as he adjusted to the intensity of the light. ¡°How can the Ancients be here?¡± And suddenly, as Marks¡¯s eyes widened, he realized everything that was happening.


    He saw Marcus and Susi standing next to each other on a balcony behind the dilapidated cathedral on the edge of the island, Marcus taking hold of her hand. The vision was so close, Marks could practically feel the warmth of their hands touching.


    This wasn¡¯t a vision of the future or the past, this was happening right now. The girl was already working her way toward his bed. My, how aggressive destiny can be at times. Marks thought to himself, and yet he was also somewhat proud to know his son had halfway gotten himself into the girl¡¯s underpants¡ªdespite everything he knew of her.


    The two broke apart.


    ¡°No!¡± There was desperation in his voice as the illumination of the orb dropped to ten percent of what it had been. The vision of the two dissipated.


    What Marks was left with was a vision of the future this time. His attention to detail kicked into overdrive. When the orb told him the future, Marks listened.


    He saw a field of men in Narcuss colors on horseback at the bottleneck to what could be none other than the threshold valley leading to the Kopf Desert.


    The memory of everything that place held came rushing back to him. It was one of his resets: a beautiful jungle paradise that was at a mutual peace between three kingdoms. That was the first time Damius Marks, known as Malus at the time, had taken over the world with the help of the three orbs.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    What was once a thriving valley of abundance was now thousands of miles of empty wasteland, buried by the sands of time that the absence of Aallandron cultivation had brought. What on Aallandranon could possibly bring them there?


    And then Marks received his answer.


    ¡°Seladia.¡± Marks growled. He saw the rogue with the long red hair use the orb as he had done. She had obtained it from wherever Thayer had stashed it, and now she was using it to find the others. Marks could almost reach out and touch her as she searched through the Nissentis Remel Orb¡ªfor what? Marks couldn¡¯t help but wonder.


    There was nothing left in Tonen¡­except the boy. Marks stroked his lips for a moment. Shault. Was it possible that the boy not only survived 2,200 years ago, but was now awake? He was an Ancient like Marks, which meant he could utilize the full power of the orbs. He alone could threaten everything Marks had built over the last several thousand years. These new players were a serious concern.


    Marks stood up from his chair, took a deep breath, and released the orb. He shook his hand that had turned a shade of dead gray. Cracks had formed in his skin all the way up to his elbow as even the moisture had been sucked from his flesh. His tongue felt like sandpaper. He strode across the room and withdrew a long glove from a drawer against the wall that he slipped over the decrepit visage of his arm beneath his robe.


    Normally, Marks would go down to the general of the army who was probably spending his salary at the brothel as he liked to do, and load up a fleet to advance on Chartan. But with everything that happened involving Susi today, he couldn¡¯t be sure if following the orb¡¯s advice was the correct course of action.


    So far, the orb had shown him precisely what would happen and it did not matter what preventative actions he took. Quite the contrary: his preventative actions had furthered many of the possibilities the orb had offered. Every move he made felt like he was playing into the hand of an opponent. So what if he just didn¡¯t send the general to Chartan? He could at the very least say he had control of his destiny.


    Marks needed time to consider his options. Sometimes he wondered about the visions the orb provided him. Were they real visions of a reality that would indefinitely occur, or were they images of a universe long past¡ªor a universe that may never be? The only thing Marks could be sure of was that by going to Chartan, he would be giving this universe a chance to betray him once more.


    He left the viewing sanctum and descended the stairs to the lower floors of the castle. He encountered no one but the castle cook staff on his way through.


    Marks entered the royal armory and passed a hand over a wall of sharpened short swords that decreased in size until he reached the daggers and knives. Marks took a small, but very sharp knife from the last row, rolled it into his hand and stuck it into his pocket.


    Walking through the castle, Marks strode through the side entrance to the castle, descending the steps into Appey¡¯s Gardens. Once King Narcuss had died, Chancellor Marks was in charge of Narcuss Castle. He remembered how Appey and Marissa had escaped their fate, but Vela and their mother, Shiva Narcuss, weren¡¯t so fortunate.


    Shiva was weak, but Vela had put up a fight. In the end, she did not have the mental fortitude to contend with his will. She broke and fell as all had fallen before Damius Marks. Nothing brought him back to his youth like absorbing the life force from a powerful young woman.


    Perhaps his son, Marcus, had seen something within the girl, Susi, but Damius saw what seemed like an infinite wellspring of energy within that young woman¡¯s mind. Visions and destiny be damned, he was the ruler of this world whether he wanted the crown this century or not.


    He would not be intimidated by a pacifist child with a stick. Once Marcus was out of the way, he would string her up in his sanctum as he had done with Vela and Shiva and use her power until there was nothing left.


    Marks descended to the platform with the grape blossom tree. It was night and all the stars covered the heavens in a magnificent sheet. The orange moon, Fara, was a rotund grapefruit that consumed a small portion of the sky.


    Looking up and down the stairs, Marks made sure no one was coming, then got onto his hands and knees at the base of the tree. He withdrew the knife from his pocket with shaking hands.


    What in Omne was wrong with him? Marks grabbed his own wrist with his opposite hand to steady himself, then lowered the knife blade to the mass of roots gripping the earth at the base of the tree that was waving and wafting gently in the wind.


    He pressed the blade to a bulbous knot in the cleft of the tree¡¯s net of roots, causing a purple liquid to immediately bleed from the knot like a cut. Marks licked his lips, catching a little of the purple stuff with his finger. He tasted it, tasting the sweet and sour taste that gave his tongue an electrical pulsing sensation.


    Dropping the knife, Marks bent over and put his lips upon the cut upon the knot and began to drink. He became an animal in that moment, useless to do anything except gorge himself upon a delicious resource that was both plentiful in the moment, but also fleeting.


    His eyes rolled as he sucked and swallowed the purple liquid oozing from the wound upon the tree. His tongue lapped the wood around it until it withered and gave everything an oaky sour taste. Marks kept pulling until his tongue received no further sensation, and then the fury set in.


    Damius Marks pounded his fist upon the tree, but when he looked up, the leaves of the tree were now brown, crackled, and dead. Where the constitution of the tree had been youthful, it was now withered like the flesh of an old man.


    Marks wiped his mouth and got to his feet. He looked up and down the stairs once more to make sure no one had witnessed him, then turned to make his way back inside the castle.

 Seventeen: Wager and Proposal

    The only way for Susi to not give in was to become angry. She made for the darkened archway threshold where she and Marcus had come from. Something happened to her that caused her to stop in mid-stride.


    In the doorway ahead, the ghostly image of a little girl with green-blue eyes and Marcus¡¯s strong chin peered around one of the pillars. The moment Susi saw her, the girl ran into the darkness and disappeared. Somehow, Susi knew it wasn¡¯t a ghost, but a premonition.


    Visions? Premonitions? Susi was not a superstitious person¡ªnot even toward her own religion in many ways¡ªbut she couldn¡¯t deny that something strange was happening within this city on a spiritual or other-planar level. Was the girl a sign?


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Marcus met her side as Susi continued staring into the archway.


    ¡°Yeah¡­I saw¡ª¡±


    ¡°A vision, right?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Just something hit you out of the blue.¡±


    Susi looked to him. He was handsome with the sparkles of dew in his hair that reflected pink in the foggy moonlight. ¡°Yes.¡± She looked down to the disheveled cobblestone walkway beneath their feet.


    ¡°I feel like you and I are in this together.¡± Marcus said.


    ¡°In what?¡± Susi laughed a little.


    ¡°You feel it, right?¡± He stepped out from under the awning and into the drizzle once more and spread his arms as he turned to her. ¡°Whatever¡¯s happening between us tonight.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happening between us?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s like the gods are waiting for us. It¡¯s like they set the table and you and I were meant to sit at it.¡± He said and began walking back toward her. ¡°I don¡¯t care¡­if you hate me after tonight. I¡¯m not going to make you do anything you don¡¯t want to do. But everything has been so enchanting this evening: I think it would be foolish to do anything except tell you how I really feel.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯re half drunk and should quit while you¡¯re ahead.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°You know,¡± he continued pacing in front of her, ¡°you have two more difficult days of the Tornetum ahead of you. If you were my fianc¨¦, I could get you out of the tournament.¡±


    ¡°Wh-Why would I become your fianc¨¦?¡± Susi made a silly face at him. He was being ridiculous at the moment.


    ¡°To save your life,¡± Marcus waved. ¡°My father has crafted some nasty conclusions for these trials. You must understand that their objective will now be to kill you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of them.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°But I¡¯m afraid of them for you.¡± Marcus said.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you take a stand and put an end to what is quite literally madness? Be a king and end the Tornetum, and the vorago battles.¡± Susi suggested.


    ¡°It¡¯s not so simple,¡± said Marcus. ¡°People would riot in the streets.¡±


    ¡°But those are the hard decisions you were talking about earlier. Someone needs to make them, and becoming a humanitarian leader with eyes toward the future is very attractive to me.¡±


    Marcus took a deep breath, looking a little frustrated. Susi was no fool. She knew he could no more end the Tornetum early than he could stop the sun from rising in the morning. The Aallandrons loved their blood sports.


    A sly look met Marcus¡¯s face before he met Susi¡¯s eyes. ¡°How about a wager?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t gamble.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°It¡¯s,¡± Marcus squinted, trying to formulate the proper words, ¡°not a normal gamble. It¡¯s more of a friendly wager.¡±


    ¡°Again¡­¡± Susi shrugged.


    ¡°Hear me out at least.¡± Marcus held up a hand, to which Susi nodded for him to go on. ¡°There¡¯s probably no way I can get you out of the Tornetum, but let¡¯s say you win the Tornetum on the third day. If you win, you become my wife.¡±


    Susi¡¯s heart stopped in her chest at the sudden statement.


    Marcus continued before she could reply. ¡°We take it as a sign from the gods. You can spend the rest of your life in my council, and we can¡ª¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know me.¡± Susi scoffed at the proposal. It wasn¡¯t a direct proposal, but what was a few days difference? ¡°I think you want to be with me for now, but you don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll want when you know everything about me.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Marcus took a step closer to her. ¡°But I want to know everything about you. I want to spend my life learning the inner workings of your unique mind.¡±


    ¡°If I can win this stupid tournament.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°It¡¯s only because they¡¯re very strict about the competitors once they¡¯ve started an event,¡± said Marcus. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t even think they would let you off the hook if we were engaged.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re asking me to be your wife if I win this competition. We would essentially be engaged going forward.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a dream.¡± Marcus said.


    ¡°Why do you want to be with me so much?¡± Susi asked, genuinely confused by his desire for her.


    ¡°Because I can see who you¡¯ll be as royalty.¡± Marcus said with a predictably pompous air. ¡°You¡¯re not only beautiful, but powerful; determined, capable where most wives are mere trophies to be obtained. The things you¡¯ve said in the short time I¡¯ve known you have made me change my mind about everything.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve only known each other for an hour.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°And in that time you¡¯ve redefined my image of what a woman should truly be.¡±


    Susi didn¡¯t like that statement, but there wasn¡¯t enough time in the day to explain why what he said was so condescending. She hated that she actually wanted to accept his proposal. It wasn¡¯t because she wanted to be queen, but she wanted to see him transform. Susi knew she could make him better, and the world by proxy. It was whether or not she wanted to leave her order behind for a new life: that was the real question.


    ¡°Do you think I can win?¡± Susi¡¯s voice sounded small for some reason.


    ¡°Did you¡­just accept my wager?¡± Marcus glared at her.


    ¡°No, I asked if you think I can win.¡± Susi said.


    Marcus took yet another step closer. He was now right in front of her again. ¡°I believe my wife will win.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your wife, Marcus Marks.¡± Susi said, looking up to him. ¡°But I¡¯m always up for a challenge.¡± She held out her hand for Marcus.


    She watched him look at her hand and visibly swallow before taking it. His eyes fixed upon hers. ¡°It¡¯s a deal then.¡±


    Susi held his hand. ¡°Mmm, we¡¯ll see.¡±


    It was as if both of them pulled from their grip. They came together like two magnets. His lips were warm as the cold drizzle dotted their skin. It wasn¡¯t the first time she had kissed a boy, but it was the first time she did it as an adult. She forced herself to step back and part from him. Marcus looked frustrated for a moment before the primal hunger that had been stirred subsided.


    ¡°We should go back. I have a big day tomorrow.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°That you do. Come,¡± Marcus said stonily. ¡°I know a shortcut to the gardens.¡±


    Whatever boundary that had stood between them at the beginning of the evening was gone. The two walked through the drizzle as it moistened the city in a pleasant fog. Most of the shops were closed now, but Marcus took Susi through corridors that connected through the buildings so that she could see the dark interior of the stores.


    The two walked across a narrow bridge that passed over the river that cordoned off the gardens, and exited between two guards. They straightened up as the prince and his friend entered their vicinity.


    ¡°I had a lot of fun tonight.¡± Susi said as the two climbed the steps to the castle.


    ¡°I think tonight will go down in my memory as one of the best nights I¡¯ve ever had.¡± Marcus said. He led her in the castle and the two returned to the guest suites of the castle. He paused in front of the door to her room.


    ¡°I want to see you again.¡± Marcus said. ¡°Tomorrow¡ªwhen you survive.¡±


    When Susi pressed her lips to Marcus¡¯s for the second time that evening, it was for both of them, the perfect, softest kiss. It went on for just long enough to be cordial, a little longer for posterity, and then Susi pulled away. She looked up at him and the two smiled on the same level of sheepish embarrassment for the evening¡¯s conclusion.


    ¡°Good night, Marcus.¡± Susi said. He gave a solemn bow of his head before she stepped inside. The two continued watching one another. She gave him a final smile before closing the door and him away for the evening.


    An enormous sense of relief swept over her as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Her uniform had been cleaned properly by one of the castle staff, and lay neatly folded at her side. She lifted it to see that someone had somehow removed the blood stains, which was impressive.


    There was so much to think about and consider. She had no intention of dying in the Tornetum, but how could she accept such a proposal from Marcus if she felt confident she would win? Susi had no desire to be queen of Parceta. But how many Talea stories told of great power being bestowed on those who didn¡¯t want it? Didn¡¯t their denial of such power make them the perfect candidate for those positions of influence?


    If she wasn¡¯t supposed to want it, then why did some deep part of her hunger to secure that legacy? Why did some primal part of her want to grab Marcus¡¯s shirt front, pull him into her room, and see him ravish her for hours? Was it lust or was it a sweetness she had never experienced and desperately wanted more?


    A religious guilt swept over her as she realized she was giving in to earthly desires. Examples from their lessons on life came in the form of experiences. One had to be introspective enough to even realize that they were living out those lessons with each passing moment. Susi felt subject to those experiences, a victim of them because she felt trapped by choices she had made this evening; choices she questioned immediately after making them.


    And then a feeling came over her like a warm blanket. Susi was not a fool. She had acted responsibly in accordance with her beliefs. Leaving the Talea order behind did not mean she left the religion behind. She had proved she was an adult, and this was a choice she made as an adult. Yes, Une-Myung, the God of Destiny, had upended her life, but that was the nature of living.


    Susi changed back into her monk garb and dropped into meditation on the orange circular carpet in her chamber. She focused on the breath and only the breath as both penance and for contemplation. There was body scanning, but that wasn¡¯t on the menu for this evening. Restricting her focus to the breath would allow her to rejuvenate her mind and body for her next battle in the morning.


    The situation with Marcus would resolve itself so long as she trusted her own volition.


    And there was no person Susi trusted more than herself.

 Eighteen: Retrieving the Rogue

    Part Two: Day Two


    Knight Marshal Garrett Myers gigged his horse as fast as it would take him. He had nineteen fellow soldiers from the city of Chester with him as they traveled south between the towering mesas of central Chartan.


    The troop thundered down the dirt path as the morning stars twinkled in the heavens. It would be a few hours yet before the sun rose, but Deltia Chester insisted that he and his men move as quickly as possible.


    They were to retrieve a rogue who was traveling toward Trenton. Deltia said that if they were fast enough, they could head off the girl at the Gate of Kronos, the narrow valley between the mountains that clutched the Kopf Desert to the east. The rogue carried an item of great value and power. Deltia warned them to be careful. Minus the item, the girl was a well-known thief, assassin, and pirate.


    Deltia¡¯s instruction for where to find the girl was very specific. Locals of the area knew of the area as the entrance to an underground network of caves. The girl would think she could escape them by avoiding the main path through the valley, but Deltia was adamant she would exit via the caverns at sunrise.


    Garrett was long past questioning Deltia Chester¡¯s strange foresight ability. He was almost always right about his odd predictions. Garrett followed his every instruction without question.


    The men arrived at the mouth of the cave just as the morning blue twilight filled the sky. The elevation was so high, it was well below freezing. The men wanted to make a fire, but Garrett knew a fire would tell the girl to double back and find a different way out. Garrett had lived in Chartan all of his life so he knew there were other exits to the mountain passages if one was patient enough.


    He positioned the soldiers behind the pine trees that overlooked the gaping threshold to the caverns below. Garrett wanted her out of the cavern before they surrounded her so she couldn¡¯t flee into the mountains.


    He was worried because the girl¡¯s reputation preceded her. Seladia, the rogue and thief, was known throughout the kingdom of Parceta. He genuinely didn¡¯t want the men to have to engage at all, and Deltia said it would be preferable if she were brought back alive.


    The chill began to infect each of the men as they remained stationary, including Garrett. They could not know that Seladia hadn¡¯t opted to take a different path through the mountains, one that might lead her to one of the old dwarven mining tunnels. How long were they supposed to hug their tree and wait with hungry bellies in the cold for the girl to arrive?


    Terror filled the soldiers as¡ªthrough the morning quiet, from not deep within the cavern¡ªa primal roar sent an additional shiver down their spines. The men knew what it was, but they couldn¡¯t know how big it might be.


    It was the ferocious roar of a snow troll. The road guards usually took the ones outside the mountains down, but the hideous monsters occasionally roamed mountain corridors for hibernating creatures during the colder season.


    A woman with long, red hair in a black travel cloak sprinted out of the cavern with a snow troll the size of a small building barreling after her. She mounted the ridge and put her feet together as she slipped straight down the snowy embankment.


    The woman skipped into a run through the snow as the troll tripped over the ridge and tumbled down the hill into the men who had moved to capture Seladia.


    Knight Marshal Garrett tried to give some instruction or order, but everything was pandemonium. Seladia was clearly making for the horses the soldiers had hitched at the bottom of the hill, while Garrett¡¯s men were now trying to deal with a gargantuan snow monster.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The troll swept its tree trunk arms back and forth, deflecting each of Garrett¡¯s knights. It apparently had a vendetta against Seladia as it ignored most of the knight units to scramble after her. Grabbing a spear from one of his men, Garrett hoisted the projectile in a perfect arc that sailed directly into the calf of the snow troll. The beast staggered, but continued after Seladia.


    ¡°Kill the troll!¡± Garrett called.


    The men drew their swords and charged after the lumbering hulk as it moved for the woman. For a moment, Garrett thought the troll had captured her as it stopped.


    The rogue somehow lassoed the monstrosity and wound up on the thing¡¯s neck. Crimson blood rained down the troll¡¯s white, furry front as she stabbed it repeatedly.


    Garrett¡¯s men caught up to the beast and helped finish it off.


    Ten minutes later, Seladia, Garrett, and only twelve of his remaining men stood over the defeated snow troll, panting. All of them were covered in troll blood as the thing emptied like a water balloon over the hillside.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t run.¡± Garrett said to Seladia. He didn¡¯t expect her to stick around to be captured. She had to know they were there for her.


    ¡°I ran out of food in the mountains.¡± Seladia said. ¡°Plus, I was going to Narcuss anyway.¡±


    ¡°Should we restrain her?¡± One of Garrett¡¯s men asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said Garrett. ¡°If we¡¯re going to give her a ride back to Chester, we can have her take a few of our mens¡¯ horses back.¡±


    ¡°I do appreciate the assist.¡± Seladia said as she cut off one of the troll¡¯s gnarled, pointed ears. She slipped it in a leather bag, and stuffed it in her inner cloak pocket. During the brief moment her cloak was raised, he saw an assortment of knives and the large barrel of a pistol holstered at her hip.


    ¡°Do you have the orb?¡± Garrett drawled.


    Seladia met Garrett¡¯s hazel eyes with her light blue ones. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be here if I didn¡¯t.¡±


    The men deliberated on whether or not they wanted to make camp before heading back. Dartis Forest was only a two-hour ride northwest.


    Returning to Chester before lunch ultimately won out. Seladia helped gather Garrett¡¯s fallen men, then took their horses back to the main road. As expected, they saw the buildings and clock tower of the quaint coastal city of Chester in the distance just before lunch time.


    A soldier rode out to meet them before they could get too close to the city. ¡°Deltia Chester has arranged a ship to meet you at the dock near Swan Hill south of Chester. The girl is to come no closer to the city with that artifact.¡±


    ¡°Take the injured and extra horses back to the city.¡± Garrett ordered his men. ¡°I¡¯ll escort Seladia to the ship.¡±


    ¡°Just one man?¡± Seladia cocked her brow at him from atop her horse. She watched the messenger go to retrieve the horses and prisoners with the rest of Garrett¡¯s soldiers. ¡°That¡¯s ambitious of you.¡±


    ¡°You already told us you¡¯re going to Narcuss.¡± Garrett said. ¡°As far as work is concerned, I¡¯m just taking a prisoner to their destination.¡±


    ¡°Whatever gets you paid at the end of the day.¡± Seladia smiled.


    ¡°I think you and I understand one another well enough.¡± Garrett said. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get you aboard that ship. Maybe I can catch the return ship home from Narcuss and be home later tonight.¡±


    ¡°Not very often that I¡¯m glad to run into law enforcement, but I¡¯ll always take a free ride.¡± Seladia said.


    The two split from the others and started west for Swan Hill. To the south on their left, they could see the distant mesas of the Mesa Valley that surveyed the drama the mortals brought to one another day by day. A morning mist floated between the mesa rooks whose tower points became beacons of gold as the sun¡¯s rays met them.


    Swan Hill was a small coastal town with a dock that usually only ferried people to Chester¡¯s wharf on occasion. Today, a speedy royal transport ship was at the end of the dock waiting to receive them.


    Garrett bought some food for the trip and followed Seladia aboard their ride. The ship left the docks shortly after. Their ETA for Narcuss City was around noon.


    Seladia sat back on the deck and stayed out of the way of the sailors. Garrett watched the way the shipmates looked at Seladia. It wasn¡¯t the way they would look at any other woman. She was an accomplice of the dangerous Captain Stuval. She was a known pirate herself in many ways, and was arguably more dangerous than most.


    Garrett didn¡¯t care. As long as someone took Seladia into custody at the end of this ship ride, she would no longer be his problem. His job was simple, and that¡¯s just the way he liked it.

 Nineteen: Meditations

    Susi was working through her meditation. At three in the morning, her penance ended. She had come to the conclusion that Une-Myung would decide her fate, and that required her only to perform as best as she could.


    The worries of her exchange with Marcus and the Tornetum itself left her. They became far away memories of another life. She went through the jhanas in her mind and body, maintaining her anchor within the breath.


    The first objective in this state is to begin the bodily rejuvenation process. She created a protective shield around her to prevent any negative energy or evil spirits from entering.


    From here, a warmth spread over her, cleansing the scrapes she had sustained throughout the first day of the Tornetum, purifying her aura of the negativity she had picked up from being within such horrible circumstances. The stress left her muscles as she fully relaxed so that they too could heal.


    Susi traveled up and down her spine, adjusting her nerve endings. Meditation in the beginning was a serpent coiled at the base of the spine. As one progresses, the serpent that was also bodily pain would move up the back to the neck. Once there, it could finally be released.


    Every person is afflicted with their serpent. That was only one of the many foundations the practitioner constructed when it came to meditation. Just when one thought it was physical, it was actually mental.


    A person is taught not to think of the past or future during meditation. However, during an advanced state of mental awareness, a person can travel back through their past experiences via their stream of consciousness¡ªand it quite literally is a stream that can be navigated in reverse.


    Susi felt Marcus¡¯s lips upon hers while they were in the corridor the previous evening, but only briefly. She couldn¡¯t associate or become emotionally involved with the moment. Then the thinking would become the experience. No, she traveled way back, back to when she was a child.


    For only a few seconds, she was walking in the rain next to Grobeche as they made for his hut in the forest for the first time. She set the table with Tharsa while she was staying at the cathedral with the sisters. The earliest memory she had of Yatner, her first guardian, was clutching his hide jacket as the back end of the horse bounced her into him.


    Her memory didn¡¯t have anything farther back to reciprocate but she traveled farther still. She had been here before, but only a few times. It was a shattered place; very difficult to perceive as everything is separated. It¡¯s like the difference between the river and the ocean because the consciousness dissolves into nothingness before the vessel for it to take hold is formed.


    But there is a further back. The Talea teaches that it is possible for one to witness the previous existences that one¡¯s consciousness inhabited. Susi had never reached that place because she couldn¡¯t come together again prior to the dissolution. How is one to form if they never experienced that vessel? That¡¯s where she got caught because the experience isn¡¯t a memory. Experience and memory are very, very different states of being just as thought and moving backwards through time as a visitor are different.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    This time, though, something did materialize. She saw a hazy reflection in the mirror as the towers of a strange otherworldly city arose in a metropolis surrounding her. For one horrifying moment, the vessel and herself seemed to realize one another.


    The excitement she felt at that second of being in that moment, and the equal horror she felt to know it was happening on the other end caused her eyes to open as she gasped out loud in the midst of her room in Narcuss Castle.


    Blue morning light bled between the curtains covering the window. Susi scanned the stone brick floor beneath her as she reflected on the place she saw.


    What a strange world, with cities within buildings rising to the sky. It wasn¡¯t like the tower city of Roah in Chartan, although it was similar. These were hundreds of towers and they were all full to capacity with people. The humans spoke of cities like that on Earth. Could she have lived there in her past life? It was impossible to tell for certain.


    Susi closed her eyes and tried to go forward, but all she felt was pain. A sense of worry met her as she opened her eyes again. She had never been able to see the future. She had felt anticipation, anxiety, sometimes joy¡ªbut never only pain. Was it a projection: her own natural pessimism trying to keep her in check?


    She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet. She began to execute her daily stretches, beginning with Maeil Meugneun Pang¡ªeating of the daily bread. She didn¡¯t have a staff, so she held her hands up as if holding an invisible one.


    She stood on one leg while going through the block techniques, shifted to the other to do the same. Her ankles never wavered. She remained perfectly centered throughout the exercise.


    The staff was extremely important in the Talea religion. A person cannot live in the world without assistance from the world itself. The staff represents man¡¯s symbiotic relationship to nature. The staff defends him when he is young and provides a crutch with which to walk when he is old.


    If Susi didn¡¯t have to deal with this tournament, then her next objective would be to acquire a proper telum or assistant¡¯s staff. She could either request one from the Ancients, or find someone who knew how to core a staff for proper combat use. Neither option would be a possibility before the end of the Tornetum.


    The morning birds had begun to chirp in the trees on the balcony beyond her window. Susi was finished with her morning routine. Her stomach was ravenous. She hadn¡¯t eaten since she and Grobeche had rice with mushrooms the previous morning. He had offered her a second helping, which she declined. She had regretted it when Marcus was offering her all the food in the castle and city last night.


    She was about to leave when someone knocked on the chamber door. Susi answered to see a castle guard standing there. ¡°You have been summoned by the chancellor.¡±


    Susi glanced at her broken staff resting on the dresser. She decided against taking it. The staff wasn¡¯t useless to her, but its advantage in battle was severely diminished. It seemed unnecessary to take it. She nodded to the guard and followed him out into the corridor.

 Twenty: An Awkward Breakfast

    Chancellor Damius Marks had fallen asleep the previous night in his chair with the orb cradled in one arm. It had happened on so many occasions that he¡¯d had his chair converted so he could kick the seat back and lie down if he needed.


    He woke up feeling better than he imagined he would. He felt so invigorated for the day that he decided he would play devil¡¯s advocate. Marks wanted to remind himself that he had total control of everything and everyone in the entire castle.


    The orb seemed to agree as it lit up a little within its apparatus as he paced the sanctum. There was one victim in Marcus¡¯s little scheme who was about to get retribution.


    Marks strode down the ramp to his chamber door. ¡°Jasson?¡± He called to the guard who stood watch in the arched threshold down the way.


    ¡°It¡¯s Carson, Sir.¡± The guard approached. He was Jasson¡¯s cousin, but it didn¡¯t matter.


    Damius Marks waved. ¡°Summon my son, Marcus, and his lovely fianc¨¦, Ersonia, to the dining hall for breakfast. I¡¯ll meet him there in twenty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± The guard nodded, turned on his heel, and before he could begin walking away with the order, Marks added another request.


    ¡°Also, summon the monk girl from her quarters to join us for breakfast. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s very hungry after her performance yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Of course, right away,¡± the guard named Carson waited. ¡°Anything else?¡± He asked.


    Marks tapped his mouth with his fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. That¡¯ll be all. Thank you.¡± He returned to his quarters as the guard started toward Marcus¡¯s royal chamber.


    That should put the fear of Omne into his mustang of a son; trying to mount every female in sight. It would at least provide entertainment for the morning to watch Marcus squirm.


    Though, knowing Marcus, he would find a way to charm both women at the breakfast table. If the girl wasn¡¯t doomed to be executed that afternoon, he might find himself and the two women enjoying the entire day in his chambers. Marks shook his head; to be young, rich, and attractive.


    Marks took a quick rinse in his personal showers, then got dressed in his royal gown. This would be his first close encounter with the girl of his ire. His intention was ill toward her, and yet she dogged him still.


    It was Damius Marks who would have a difficult time controlling himself at the coming feast. Ending the girl as quickly as possible might just rule over him, but he promised to make a concerted effort to remain patient. After all, so very many plans for death and murder had been put in place just for his guest of honor.


    Chancellor Marks left his sanctum and made his way toward the dining hall. Marcus and Ersonia were already there. The glee in Marks¡¯s chest rose as he saw that Marcus was hung over from all the liquid courage he consumed the previous evening. He was about to become sober, fast. Ersonia looked oblivious. She was already eating appetizers the waiters had brought earlier.


    Marks cleared his throat as he entered the hall and made for his seat at the head of the table. ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Chancellor.¡± Ersonia said in her chipper voice. It was too early for such a sound. The tone grated Marks¡¯s nerves.


    ¡°Father,¡± said Marcus, ¡°the church on the outskirts of town: what do you think of turning it into a wedding venue?¡±


    Ersonia gasped. ¡°Oh Marcus, that would be so enchanting!¡±


    Marcus looked to Ersonia at his side, dumbstruck. ¡°Oh, I was merely asking in general. We should continue the tradition of being married in the castle. It just seems like such a waste of money to have a condemned church sitting on the coast.¡±


    ¡°My mistake,¡± said Ersonia. The false persona of happiness left her voice. ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t actually be caught discussing the mythical wedding we might have some day.¡±


    ¡°What a fantastic morning for an argument.¡± Marcus wiped down the front of his dress shirt as he stared ahead of him.


    Marks held his composure, but the human part of him that was still alive deep down loved watching Marcus and his soon to be ex-fianc¨¦e quarrel. He watched his son¡¯s tired face as the waiter poured him and Ersonia a steaming cup of coffee.


    Marks could see straight through him. He held onto Ersonia because he couldn¡¯t break up with her without telling her he wanted to date someone else. And yet, the woman he truly wanted to be with consumed his every thought.


    He wanted to get up from this table, retrieve the silly monk girl and travel the Ire mainland or whatever other fantasy Marcus might have in mind for the two lovers who weren¡¯t lovers yet. All this time felt like wasted time because he wouldn¡¯t marry Ersonia. Why was she even here except to get under everyone¡¯s skin?


    Damius Marks did not care either way about Ersonia. He didn¡¯t even care about her for Marcus. He had already experienced pleasure with her when she gave herself to Prince Garnhelm of Cherry, thinking he or his brother would marry her into the family so the duchess could become the rightful princess she had always dreamed of being.


    Both brothers used the girl, then dumped her for women that they¡¯d had prior arrangements with. Unfortunate, because she was only doing what she thought was needed of her. Sad that Marcus could let her go just the same, and for a girl who was not royalty at all.


    A royal guard entered the dining hall and paused at the threshold. ¡°May I present, Susi.¡± The guard shrugged. ¡°That is all.¡± He stepped aside so that Susi could enter.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    She wore her blue koromo with her black undershirt beneath as she followed the guard to a seat that had been prepared for her across from Marcus. The leather boots she wore looked awkward on her feet as she wanted to abide by the Narcuss Castle shoe rule.


    Susi and Marcus¡¯s eyes met and a volatile feeling made Marks¡¯s lip curl. They smiled at one another. It was as though his sullen son was suddenly replaced by a charming, thoughtful man of royalty.


    The only silver lining was that Ersonia noticed as well. She was too busy judging the girl¡¯s strange clothing and odd demeanor to realize that her fianc¨¦¡¯s energy had just changed entirely, but she dismissed his fascination as a passing interest in the girl¡¯s religion.


    Just what Marks was worried about took place after. ¡°What would you like to eat this morning, Susi?¡± Marcus folded his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the dining table.


    ¡°Do you have rice?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯ll take a few minutes to prepare.¡± Marcus replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have rice, fruit, and any greens, nuts, and mushrooms you might have available.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°Is she like¡­a squirrel or something?¡± Ersonia asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re vegetarians,¡± said Marcus. ¡°I consider any food request from Susi as a serious break from her normal behavior.¡±


    ¡°Do you two know each other?¡± Ersonia squinted between them.


    ¡°We met after the conclusion of the Tornetum yesterday evening.¡± Marcus spoke in a lawyerly way, glancing to Susi. ¡°I asked if I could get her anything to eat for having won for the day, and she said she didn¡¯t eat after noon.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Ersonia dressed Susi up and down with her eyes.


    Susi ignored her and reclined in her seat. She looked to Marks who realized he was glaring at her. ¡°I came with my friend. He was in the chamber next to mine, but when I knocked he didn¡¯t answer. Will he be joining us, or should I be concerned for his well-being?¡±


    ¡°I never gave any order for either of you to stay in the castle.¡± Damius Marks drawled. ¡°I know nothing about it.¡±


    Marcus waved, knowing his father knew little of the day-to-day goings on in the castle. ¡°I¡¯ll find out where your friend is. I¡¯m a little surprised he didn¡¯t come with you.¡± He relayed the information to one of the guards who hurried off.


    The waiters brought a banquet of fruits and vegetables that they placed between the three members of the table. Marks requested a glass of hot water, and that was all. ¡°So, Susi,¡± Marks began. ¡°What would your father think of all this?¡±


    ¡°Me being drafted into a tournament or my living as a Talea monk?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That you live poor and make no effort to better your circumstance.¡± Marks replied.


    ¡°We always strive to better ourselves, but the point is to reduce the negative energy we create with our actions. By taking as little as possible, we have no circumstance to better. We have all we need.¡±


    ¡°The homeless live similarly.¡± Marks shrugged.


    ¡°Father.¡± Marcus interjected.


    ¡°So you live¡­outside?¡± Ersonia asked.


    ¡°We,¡± Susi paused, smiling at how little the woman knew, ¡°can live outside, but my friend and I live in a hut. To answer your question earlier, Chancellor, I believe my father would be proud¡ªperhaps not of my lifestyle¡ªbut of my conviction to my choices. I chose this life, and I abide by the rules of it.¡±


    ¡°For now.¡± Marcus said. The flaring of his eyes told the table he hadn''t intended to open his mouth. ¡°I mean, we all have our convictions, but sometimes I like to think about what it would take to get me to change them.¡±


    ¡°How do you mean?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°What would it take for you to change your life, to change your convictions? It¡¯s always a choice, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard this side of you before, Marcus.¡± Ersonia observed as she finished buttering a piece of toasted bread.


    ¡°Far more than it would take for someone like you.¡± Susi answered. A heavy silence followed the statement.


    Marks went back to the initial subject. ¡°Did you know your father?¡±


    Susi met his eyes again. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I feel like I knew your father.¡± Marks mused.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know because I¡¯ve never met him.¡± She shrugged.


    ¡°It would bode well for you that you were his daughter,¡± Marks continued. ¡°I watched him tear a man in half in the arena where you¡¯ll fight later this afternoon. Like father, like daughter.¡±


    Marks watched Susi look at him once more, but this time there was a fierce, furious determination in her eyes. ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve put me in this game?¡±


    Marks¡¯s eyes bugged as he belted, ¡°Oh-ho-ho no, my dear. That would be a mere interesting side note if you happened to be related to the great Jonathan Tabith. You¡¯re going to die in the arena because this kingdom might not survive if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Marcus glared at his father. Ersonia looked taken aback as she looked to Marcus.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what she¡¯s scheming, you simple-minded fool!¡± Marks said to his son sharply.


    ¡°Did I miss something?¡± Ersonia asked.


    ¡°You and me both, sister.¡± Susi said.


    Marcus pinched the spot between his eyes before looking up at the table. ¡°Well, this has been fantastic, and par for the course in this dysfunctional family of ours. Father, I think you should retire early, and perhaps skip the games today.¡±


    The light in the room suddenly went dim. Marks bit his lip while raising his fist at Marcus. Marcus¡¯s skin went pale. Susi got to her feet, but then the light returned to normal. Marcus wore the face of someone who had swallowed an object by accident.


    ¡°Your rice, Madame,¡± a guard spoke while sliding a large bowl of rice before Susi.


    Susi glanced from Marks to Marcus, and then sat down. There was a brief silence as Susi and Marks glared at one another. She picked up her spoon, craned her neck so she could smell the rice, and then spooned a portion to eat.


    Marks watched her carefully. It took him a few moments of introspection, but he finally realized why she made him uncomfortable. It was because, for the last thousand or so years, no one had looked at him without fear. The girl saw no fear. She saw through him. The idea that he couldn¡¯t intimidate or coerce her course in any way was troubling.


    Susi was halfway through her rice when she noticed Marcus smiling at her. An loathsome feeling crept through Marks as he watched Susi smile back while dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin. Ersonia next to him seemed oblivious to her fianc¨¦¡¯s main focus of attention.


    ¡°Considering there¡¯s a chance we may never see you again, Susi, perhaps you could tell us how you came to be a part of this religion.¡± Marcus suggested.


    Susi swallowed the rice in her mouth and stared at the table for a long while. ¡°I don¡¯t think about it usually.¡± She said.


    ¡°There has to be a reason why you swore off life¡¯s delicacies for a life of pain and suffering,¡± said Marcus.


    ¡°There will always be pain and suffering,¡± said Susi. ¡°I don¡¯t remember everything, but¡­well, for me it starts with a thief named Yatner¡­.¡±

 Twenty-One: Yatner and the Thieves

    Yatner gigged his horse into motion as he and his five riders broke from the misty tree line. They wore necklaces of bones, had tattoos like dark stains upon their faces and shoulders, and wore skins from the animals they had slain in the wilderness.


    Yatner wore the skin of the silver wolf mother he had masterfully tracked and outmaneuvered late into the evening several years prior. The six made for the road in the distance where an unguarded carriage was ambling on the south road.


    Multen, Yatner¡¯s second, readied his bow and aimed at the carriage¡¯s exposed driver atop the front of the jostling vehicle. His silver-ringed forearm held the arrow in place as he glanced over his shoulder at Yatner.


    Scanning the road south to the bridge leading over Gohorn River, Yatner saw no cover guard. It was their duty as the thieves of the forest to uphold their stature within that wood that they called their own. Yatner gave the signal.


    Three arrows were fired in succession, each meeting their target within the breast of the carriage driver, who lulled in his seat helplessly as he bled out. The horses continued at their pace, ignorant that their driver was slowly bleeding to death as he lay on the bench of the carriage.


    The six broke from the fog, Yatner moving ahead to block the horses from the front. As the large carriage came to a stop, the blood-curdling wail of an infant sent shivers down the raiders¡¯ spines.


    One of the riders pulled the wheezing driver from the bench and let him fall to the muddy morning ground as he gasped for breath that could not fully come. He carried little in the way of money or valuables, but the raiders took his shoes, hat, and wendigo hide jacket.


    In the back of the carriage, the raiders discovered three bags of shards that someone had been transferring to Scerasa, probably to a bank for a small business. Other than the carriage itself¡ªwhich they had no need of¡ªthe horses, and the money, the gain was minimal.


    Two men hauled the bags of shards to their travel cart as Yatner peered into the carriage at the sobbing infant. Based on the small shoe prints leading away from the carriage in the opposite direction from where they¡¯d initiated their ambush, the child¡¯s guardian had abandoned both the baby and escaped their fate of being captured by the raiders.


    Oppo circled through the tall grass alongside the road and searched all the way up to the trees but couldn¡¯t find the traveler.


    Yatner watched the little girl in her bundle of pink blankets cautiously. There was something about an unspoiled child; a clean slate. She was too young to have held any preconceived notions of her upbringing.


    Yatner considered leaving her, but she wouldn¡¯t survive for long out here in the elements. He picked her up and scooped her into his other arm as her big green eyes met his. He turned, grinning at his companions who didn¡¯t seem as intrigued by the baby as Yatner.


    ¡°Nans lost her son not long ago,¡± said Yatner. ¡°Think this one might be able to fill the hole left behind?¡±


    ¡°More mouths means more food to gather,¡± said Multen. ¡°Do you think the owner might come back if we leave her?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t risk it, and we can¡¯t be seen out in the open for much longer without giving away clues to our camp. Let¡¯s move.¡± Yatner nodded and carefully climbed onto his horse with the child still tucked in his arm.


    The carriage was an empty husk with the doors open, and all goods from within taken. Road guards were frequently moving up and down the roads to make sure thieves didn¡¯t get comfortable alongside the traveling paths. If a road guard came across the carriage, then they¡¯d send a force into the woods to put them down.


    Urasey climbed onto the driver¡¯s platform. Lashing the reins across the horses¡¯ backs, he gigged the horses and carriage into motion. He would take the carriage south, all the way across Gohorn River and leave it in the Dyans¡¯ territory. Urasey would bring the horses back with him. Someone would either happen upon it and take it, or the guards would discover the carriage out there and not near the area of forest where Yatner¡¯s tiny band of followers congregated.


    Yatner nodded at the treeline and the four others followed him through the grass. They had roped the driver¡¯s body and dragged it through the brush so they could dispose of him properly.


    Back at the camp, Yatner and the group split the earnings from the ambush equally and returned to their makeshift huts. They had been moving throughout the continent of Ire for the last twelve years.


    Their number had dwindled to the low count of eighteen family members. They weren¡¯t all related, but even the ones who had cashed out on their haul from the raids were still considered family.


    Yatner had always been the leader, and he considered this way of life a means to an end, not a permanent sentence. His followers could rejoin the rest of society whenever they wished.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Until then, however, they made small farm plots at a new location each spring, hunting and gathering while avoiding the guards from the big cities, whichever new city was in charge. The word was that Harrol Roah was the new king, and that the capital city had been changed from Narcuss to the tower city of Roah, on a completely different continent. So all towns and provinces had to pay taxes to Roah instead of Narcuss.


    It was this form of politics that Yatner despised about regular society on Aallandranon. What did any of it mean when one could go outside and grow food from the planet? Who needs money when you can live just fine without any of it?


    Yatner had once lived with the rest of society. He had been a Knight Captain in the king¡¯s army, long before his days of pushing a till or chasing down fleeing civilians for their money and possessions. He knew the way the cities worked, knew the way they governed, and how they searched and maintained the lands around them.


    After six seasons of watching the Narcuss guard ruin lives and commit atrocious acts against their own citizen populace, Knight Captain Yatner Wills faked his death. After, he used that knowledge he had gained to avoid detection so that he and the other vagrants he came across could survive on their own.


    It was illegal to pay no taxes as a citizen of the country, so if one didn¡¯t have a properly up to date tax tattoo on their wrist, they would be arrested and sent to the mines or the prisons¡ªwhichever was more prevalent to the city.


    He entered his hut where Nans was just finishing the deer stew for their dinner that night. The infant in Yatner¡¯s arms was put to sleep by the bounce of the horse, and the warmth of his silver wolf cloak. Nans turned, her long brown hair behind her ears, and saw the child. Her eyes filled with the light that had been absent from them for so long.


    ¡°I brought you a gift.¡± Yatner said, handing the girl off to Nans. As he did this, an item slipped from the pink sheets and dropped to the floor. It was a small stuffed handmade doll with the word ¡®Susi¡¯ on a tag at the doll¡¯s neck. Nans gave Yatner a loving look.


    They had found their new daughter.


    For five years, Susi lived with Yatner and the other raiders. Yatner taught Susi to set rabbit traps, how to craft and thread a bow, and how to track animals or other Aallandrons in the wild. Susi was a quick learner, and smarter than any child of five years that Yatner had ever encountered.


    Rather than lavish her with praise and adoration as her step-mother did, Yatner pushed her. He got her started on sword fighting, but that was of her own choosing. She insisted on learning when she watched Yatner spar with one of the other men from the camp. Both Yatner and Nans thought it not only important, but necessary for a woman to be able to protect herself in such a harsh world as theirs.


    Unfortunately, Yatner was getting old. After the death of King Cerveys Narcuss, Harrol Roah¡¯s rule had grown more oppressive rather than progressive as many believed it would be initially. Their number of mouths to feed had grown to forty-six, and many of their new younger members were more aggressive than some of the older, nobler vagrants among their number. The younger men eyed Nans as she was eight years younger than Yatner. He knew many of them considered challenging his position as their leader.


    This became evident when one Vendei, the Aallandron holy day or Sunday, several of their newer numbers¡ªheaded by the ruthless, Bully Wilmer¡ªknocked over a royal caravan. One of Harrol Roah¡¯s advisor¡¯s daughters was in the coach, and Bully Wilmer decided to live up to the allegations leading to the price on his head.


    He and the group were too stupid to clean up after themselves, so they left the poor girl in the coach on the side of the road with her throat slit for the world to find. Bully told no one. He and his mates gathered their things in the night and departed quietly.


    It was early in the morning when the thunder of hooves woke Yatner, Nans, and Susi. The light of fire filled the night sky and choked their lungs with smoke. Yatner grabbed his sword and threw open the woolen skin that covered the threshold to see the camp in chaos.


    Fire burned the thatched roofs of their huts. Soldiers in red¡ªthe Sceresian guard¡ªgalloped through the trees and cut down members of their family as they attempted to get away. Several tried to regroup and fight back, but they were taken by hails of arrows. There was nothing they could do to stop this. Their only hope was to escape.


    Yatner whistled for his horse. The dark brown mare came charging through the smoke to meet them. Yatner, Susi, and Nans emerged from the hut. Yatner mounted his horse as quickly as he could and threw Susi on behind him.


    Nans clambered onto the horse¡¯s back rear, but was pulled off by a soldier before they could get away. A horse-mounted soldier threw a net over her and dragged her through the forest brush as Yatner¡¯s reflexes took over. He jammed the balls of his barefoot heels into the horse¡¯s hindquarters, firing them into motion.


    They galloped to fresh air. Susi peered over her shoulder and saw at least twelve soldiers in red on horseback following them through the woods. Occasionally, an arrow would sail past them as Yatner avoided their aim.


    Yatner¡¯s skill is all that kept them from being killed quickly that early morning. His mare became wet with sweat beneath them as it galloped through the dewy grass where Yatner continued pushing her. He had only one hope, and that was the cathedral.


    Behind them, the whole horse-mounted troop of guards were tailing them through the misty morning. They passed under an archway of trees and crossed a short bridge before the horse slipped and fell on the dewy grass on the other side. Yatner and Susi went sprawling through the wet grass in front of the large cathedral towering overhead.


    The crowd of soldiers dismounted behind the two as they scrambled up the grassy incline to the steps of the large cathedral hall. Yatner threw Susi to the glossy marble steps of the building.


    The soldiers surrounded Yatner and cut him down in the drizzling rain before he could draw his sword. The leader wore the same style of red tabard over his armor, but his had a white ring around the shield on the center.


    He stepped away from the group and grabbed Susi by the arm. His sword, still stained with Yatner¡¯s blood, was in his other hand. He was going to kill her, right there in the rain as they had killed everyone else in their family.


    Susi fought. The soldier lifted his sword over his shoulder, meaning to make a single clean sweep to finish the job without error. He finally had to wrangle her to the steps of the cathedral before bringing his sword-point to her chest. A little pressure and muscle, and his problem would be over. He and his troop could go home and get out of this damned rain.


    ¡°What in Omne do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± a voice cut through the air like a blade.


    Susi looked up to see the silhouette of a woman in the doorway to the cathedral. The question seemed to jar the soldier back to his senses as he realized he was about to end a five-year old girl in cold-blood. She was technically on sanctuary property, so he could be indicted by an inquiry were a complaint toward him to be filed.


    The guard leader pushed himself up, wiped his blade on his cloak, and sheathed his sword. He didn¡¯t say anything, but mounted his horse and motioned for the party to follow him back the way they came.


    Several soldiers grabbed Yatner¡¯s defeated corpse, and dragged him away as he had dragged away the driver of the carriage so many years ago when Susi had become part of his family.


    She sat up and looked over at the woman standing in the doorway nearby.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re going to come then come.¡± The woman turned and entered the cathedral that seemed so warm to Susi at the time.


    Susi got up and followed the priestess into the cathedral.

 Twenty-Two: Four Years with the Sisters

    The South Sceresian Convent of Omne was not a place for children. It was a nunnery full of elderly women who had turned to a life devoted to the god, Omne.


    The sisters took Susi in because she was able to be quiet and follow instructions. Yatner and the other vagrants had fortunately taught her how to speak and communicate, so she was able to understand requests.


    Tharsa, the head mother of the convent who had met Susi on the steps of their cathedral, personally cleaned the mud and grime from Susi¡¯s hair, arms, and legs. Susi had only memories of bathing in the river with her family. Being able to take a proper bath was something she had never experienced.


    Susi¡¯s mind awakened from the warm slumber of childhood early as she was taught to read and write while learning the Nashiradan: the Aallandron bible that told the nebulous history of the Aallandranon world around them.


    The nine living sisters made her set the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They taught her proper etiquette, and how to sit and eat like a noble. Most of the sisters had come from upper class households, so they imbued their standards and ways of living into Susi.


    Susi stayed with the sisters for four years, learning everything they had to offer. She learned to love life with them, but Susi was not a mere mortal Aallandron. Her occasional display of strange abilities unnerved the sisters.


    She could go to Scerasa alone and back in several hours. She sometimes set the table for nine without taking a single step. It was peculiar at first, but everyone noticed eventually.


    After the Prohibition of Magical Abilities Act was issued by Chancellor Damius Marks three years after the girl had been saved by Tharsa, the nine of them finally realized what Susi was.


    The sisters discussed trying to find ways of passing Susi onto one of the many orphanages in Scerasa or Narcuss, but they would discover the secret she was hiding and would do what the guards probably should have done on the steps of their cathedral.


    Instead of trying to get rid of Susi, the sisters agreed that suppression was best. They told her that while she might be able to make things happen, it would be in her best interest to make sure no one ever found out what she could do.


    One day, Susi and Tharsa were on their way back to the cathedral from town when they were overtaken by guards heading in the same direction. Standing on the side of the dirt road leading to the woods where the cathedral lay, the two watched a small army of guards hurry past.


    They had been gone since the morning, but it took six hours to walk from the cathedral to Scerasa. With such a long journey, they had to make their trips count by gathering everything they needed from town.


    They entered the forest and were met by a roadblock of guards at the mouth of the wood. The two could see the cathedral¡¯s top amidst the oaks surrounding it in the distance.


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    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Tharsa asked one of the guards at the roadblock.


    ¡°We had an escaped thief,¡± said the guard. ¡°Looks like he was one of those casters. He broke into the church this morning and¡­I¡¯ve never seen such a mess. You two won¡¯t be able to stay here tonight.¡± The guard¡¯s face went white at the memory of the crime scene.


    The two were devastated. Tharsa broke into tears.


    Susi couldn¡¯t believe what had happened. They had nowhere else to go, so they made their way back to Scerasa. Tharsa had just enough money to purchase a room for the evening.


    Susi cried herself to rest that night before falling into a deep dreamless sleep.


    When she woke, Tharsa was gone. The head mother¡¯s bed was made as tradition had insisted that it be after one wakes first thing in the morning. Susi had slept through her departure.


    When she asked the teller at the front desk what had happened, he said that Tharsa had checked out, leaving only the message, ¡°Sorry,¡± with the teller for Susi.


    Leaving the hotel, Susi had nowhere to go. She had no money, she couldn¡¯t go back to the cathedral.


    Standing at the intersection where she had stood many times before, she couldn¡¯t believe that her world had fallen so far so quickly. It was there on the deck that she began to cry.


    She must have stood there for ten minutes with her hands on the railing, tears rolling down her face as she watched the rain fill the Sceresian streets with mud.


    All out of tears, Susi saw the man in the navy blue robe with the staff across the street. He was seated cross-legged next to the bench before the closed building next to the general store. His staff lay across his legs. He gave her a gentle nod as he surveyed the rain pattering upon the cobblestone streets.


    Having no other person to interact with that seemed trustworthy, Susi stepped out into the rain and crossed the street. She stepped onto the plank path beneath the wooden porch overhead where the man sat.


    ¡°Too wet to travel just now, eh?¡± he gave her his signature relaxed smile that was out of place with the hardened faces Susi normally saw floating through the streets of the city.


    ¡°How do you do it?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°Do what?¡± the man met her green eyes with his gray-blue ones.


    ¡°Seem so calm everywhere you go.¡±


    ¡°Easy: be calm everywhere you go.¡± he said simply. It was such a basic answer that Susi hadn¡¯t considered.


    She relaxed at the thought that everything was basically fine. She had eaten with Tharsa the night before and wasn¡¯t hungry. She didn¡¯t have any money, but that wasn¡¯t something she needed to worry about quite yet. No one was bothering her, and people typically left her alone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡± Susi sighed.


    ¡°What do you need to buy that you can¡¯t grow or catch?¡± the man asked. ¡°The forest is teaming with wildlife as you know.¡±


    ¡°My father used to teach me to catch things¡­but I¡¯ve forgotten how.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°Easy enough to learn. If you¡¯ve got nowhere else to go, you can stay with me.¡± the man shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a new apprentice anyway.¡± He stood up as the rain began to lighten, stretched, yawned, and started walking down the deck alongside the street.


    Susi considered the man¡¯s offer, wondering what kind of apprenticeship he was talking about. Having nowhere else to go and no other action to take, Susi followed after him.

 Twenty-Three: A Tailor for Success

    ¡°I trained with Grobeche in the Talea Macto for the last nine and a half years.¡± Susi said, completing the first part of her story.


    ¡°Fascinating.¡± Marcus said. He was the only one at the table who seemed entranced by her tale. He sat with his elbows on the tabletop, listening to her every word.


    ¡°Speaking of Grobeche, did your guards ever find out where he went?¡± Susi asked.


    ¡°No one ever got back to us.¡± Marcus snapped his fingers and beckoned one of the guards over.


    ¡°Oh my, look at the time.¡± Damius Marks got up from his seat. ¡°We need to get you over to the vorago so you can prepare for the games.¡±


    ¡°What about my friend?¡± Susi got up with Marcus and Ersonia.


    ¡°Despite the fine treatment you¡¯ve been given, Susi, you¡¯re still a prisoner in this castle,¡± said Marks. ¡°The whereabouts of your friend are irrelevant to your situation. Marcus, see to it that our guest makes it to the vorago safely.¡±


    ¡°Yes father.¡± Marcus met Susi¡¯s eyes while replying. Susi saw a fellow prisoner in that exchange of glance.


    ¡°I feel like I need to take a quick bath after hearing that story.¡± Ersonia said. ¡°What a sorrowful and dirty life to lead.¡± She shook her head and left the room for one of the restrooms.


    ¡°Come on, Susi.¡± Marcus sighed, beckoning for Susi to follow.


    Susi followed Marcus to the main corridor of the castle and watched him ahead of her as he walked. It was a strange feeling, like Marcus didn¡¯t want to look at her¡­like he was the owner of a beloved farm animal and had to lead it toward the slaughterhouse.


    Susi separated her thoughts from reality. She knew Marcus was dying throughout the entirety of the morning. Susi could feel it as well. The two wanted to cast aside their roles and be together as the lovers they secretly were.


    Marcus waited for Susi at the top of the steps just outside the front entrance to the castle. Susi had never gone this way, but the entry castle grounds were gorgeous and green like the grassy shelves of Appey¡¯s Garden.


    Susi stepped between the castle guards that stood before the castle entrance and met Marcus¡¯s side. The morning sun was perfect in the cloud-dotted morning blue sky. She could see the whole of the island from here.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about all of that.¡± Marcus said.


    ¡°Just doing what you had to do.¡± Susi said.


    ¡°You should never have to answer to or feel beneath Ersonia.¡± Marcus looked down the steps. ¡°You¡¯re so much more than her.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the same, if nothing else.¡± Susi shrugged.


    Marcus shook his head, stuck his hands in his dress pants pockets, and dropped down the steps. Susi followed. ¡°Susi, if you want to win today, you¡¯re going to have to change up your tactics. They¡¯re not going to go easy on you, and the audience has given Omne a mandate to see you killed as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°Leave the fighting to me, Marcus.¡± Susi said.


    Marcus stopped and grabbed Susi¡¯s arm. His brown eyes met hers. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. In order for us to be together¡ªin order for you to win¡ªyou¡¯re going to have to kill people today. You can¡¯t play this game as a pacifist.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of people thinking of what I do as pacifism,¡± said Susi. ¡°Neutralizing energy isn¡¯t a passive thing.¡±


    The two continued down the quaint main street of the city that was still waking up for the day. ¡°Whatever you call it, my love,¡± said Marcus, ¡°you¡¯ll need to be willing to do whatever it takes to win. That includes putting on a show for these fools.¡±


    Susi had been witness to the way Marcus marginalized Ersonia. Susi asked herself if he was speaking to her in the same regard, but it had come off quite the opposite. He genuinely spoke to her with care, like he was already her husband and they just needed to get through a difficult day.


    Being with him and growing with him felt natural, like she had discovered that he was already part of her life before the two had even met. And yet, they had to put on a show for everyone in the world.


    ¡°Do you still want to be with me if I win?¡± Susi asked.


    Marcus stopped again. They stood on the street corner a few blocks from the vorago that loomed over the rooftops of the buildings nearby. ¡°I¡¯ve never been the type of person who wished for anything, but the idea that you even exist is beyond any wish I could have conjured.¡±


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    ¡°Well¡­.¡± Susi¡¯s cheeks went red. She didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°Come,¡± he beckoned. ¡°There¡¯s someone I¡¯d like you to meet. A change of wardrobe is in order for the coming day.¡±


    In the shadow of the vorago coliseum, nestled between the columned entrance to the Narcuss Treasury Reserve and a line of other stores, stood the arched entrance to a fine clothier¡¯s shop.


    Everything within was so expensive, Susi could tell she wouldn¡¯t be welcome before they had even crossed the street. She could smell the exquisite leather and fabrics from foreign lands as they drew closer.


    They entered the clothing store and Susi met Sived for the first time. He was seated at a large table that was mostly covered with fabrics of all kinds, except for a rectangular workspace around where he was positioned. To his left were piles of paperwork, and the rest was all clothing for orders that needed to be filled.


    He watched them over the reading glasses that rested on the tip of his nose. ¡°Good morning,¡± Sived stood up, looking between the prince and Susi. ¡°You are the prince, and you: I¡¯ve never seen anyone like you before.¡± Sived pointed to Susi.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to get Susi something a little more fashionable, but also¡­intimidating¡ªsomething in black. She has a vorago match this afternoon. Money is not an issue.¡± Marcus said.


    Sived¡¯s eyebrows raised. He took a few steps toward her and squinted¡ªsoul to soul¡ªinto Susi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Madam, do you mind?¡±


    Susi glanced at Marcus, who nodded. She had never been to a clothier before, and Sived was a different breed of clothier. He was much more hands on.


    Susi was taken to a part of the store that stood between large racks of clothing for different events and seasons. The racks towered two stories over them, so to Susi they seemed to be within a forest of clothes.


    In the middle of the racks was a large open space. There was a cushy reclining chair in the corner. The tiled stone floor of this area was so worn that the manufactured polish on the floor appeared scratched, scraped, and worn to a natural shine; like the wood surface of a practice dance floor.


    Sived pulled Susi to the middle. Marcus stood at the edge of the floor, watching as he leaned upon one of the coat racks.


    He took off Susi¡¯s sash belt with a tug before fluidly pulling off her blue Talea robe. Susi swallowed and glanced at Marcus as he was able to see her in her black under uniform that fitted to her figure.


    Sived produced a strip of measuring tape that was so worn it was brown and faded. Susi only saw it for a few seconds as the clothier flashed the tape across her many different regions and zones as he paced around her. He even measured the diameter of her neck.


    Like a magician, Sived made the tape disappear before grabbing Susi to pull her over to one part of the floor. He began rapidly pulling clothes from different racks and placing them against her. His eyes flashed between her hair, to the clothes, to her eyes, to a separate piece of clothing.


    He replaced the clothes and grabbed items that were totally different from what he had just taken. He would place different clothing articles against her as though every single piece of information gained informed the next action and piece of clothing perfectly.


    Sived dove into one of the racks. Susi could hear the metal hangers scraping against the metal bars holding them as the clothier flicked through everything. At last, he returned with armloads of items that he checked. He piled them all onto a separate rack to put away later, but kept one piece of clothing. He did this until there was a stack of items neatly piled in his arms that he placed in Susi¡¯s hands.


    ¡°The changing room is over there,¡± said Sived, pointing to a changing room in the corner. He glanced at Marcus. ¡°No princes in the women¡¯s changing room. Sorry.¡±


    Marcus, who had not moved from his position, cocked his brow at Sived. Susi went into the changing room and closed the door behind her. She put the clothes on a chair in the corner and took off her under uniform.


    Catching her naked body in the tall mirror in the corner, Susi saw the light scars on her sides and back, permanent cuts and scrapes that shone white against the flesh of her skin where they had healed. The Talea had hardened her into the person she was today: and that woman who still looked somewhat like a girl stared back at her in the mirror as she stood half naked in her reflection.


    Susi didn¡¯t see her own image very often, but this time she could see herself being crowned queen, could see herself in some of the formal attire Sived had placed upon her as she held her son¡ªthe new prince¡ªin a cream-colored suit that matched her own fine dress. She stared at this image and through the image of herself for what felt like a long time, before she continued and took off her cloth pants.


    She looked like a skinny, teenage girl now, standing in the light blue underwear she had acquired from the castle. She assumed that if they were going to serve her up for entertainment, the least they could do is provide her a change of underpants. The room was cool so Susi naturally crossed her arms and cupped her breasts and herself for warmth as goosebumps ran down her back and shoulders.


    Susi picked up a sort of black leotard with sleeves that she could slip into. She put on a pair of fitting black, leather pants. The leather expanded with her movements after she put it on. The bottom cuffs of the pants pulled over the black leggings up to her lower calf.


    She was supposed to put on a pair of small leather boots, but assumed they would be a disadvantage to her. The boots felt form-fitting and didn¡¯t encumber her movements as she thought they would.


    For her upper torso, she donned a black leather carapace that was thin enough to allow her free movement with her arms, but somehow thick enough to stop the point of an arrow. It was rubbery in texture.


    There were clips at the bottom of the carapace at the back and front, and metal rings at the back and front of the reinforced waistband of the leather pants. Susi clipped them so the outfit held around her as she moved. It was a little bulky for her liking, but it worked for the situation.


    Susi left the changing room with her clothes folded in her arms. Marcus eyed her up and down, nodding. Sived floated over and began checking everything on her. He had her take it all off so he could make final adjustments to the carapace and pants for maximum maneuverability.


    By the time they finished, it was time for Susi to go to the vorago coliseum. Marcus walked her to the side entrance where a few guards were standing watch. Susi was taken from there.


    The two gave one another a final look, before the guards closed the door between them.

 Twenty-Four: A Minor Setback

    Shault and Selatravis descended the ramp from the large transport frigate Selatravis had acquired from Chester. The two were nicely dressed, Shault standing a head shorter than Selatravis who was unusually tall for an Aallandron.


    Shault felt strange, wearing a formal doublet and fitting coat and trousers, standing next to Selatravis, the senator. Selatravis wore an expensive red long coat over his linen dress shirt and fine cotton leggings. Shault was to be Selatravis¡¯s assistant for their trip to the Narcuss games.


    In actuality, they were there to meet with Seladia in Narcuss to help her with whatever plan she had to extract the Remel orbs from Chancellor Damius Marks and his inner circle. Since she had stolen Thayer¡¯s orb, that left only the chancellor and Deltia Chester¡¯s orbs while Deltia was too consumed by the orb in his tower to become involved.


    For Shault, the fight was personal. He had trained at Ethan Academy for the last two years, but before that, he had been a soldier in his father¡¯s army 3,000 years prior.


    He had faced Damius Marks when he was known as Malus. He had disrupted the delicate balance the three orbs once held in Chartan. What was previously an oasis between three kingdoms, was now known as the Kopf Desert: a wasteland without the orbs. The kingdoms that once held power over the entire continent had become dust long ago.


    But Shault was frozen in time, encased in stone that was the result of his father¡¯s final spell through the Sykhir orb. Presumably, Malus overpowered the last of his father¡¯s forces at their stronghold, the Great Hall of Tonen. At that time, Malus had already left the other two kingdoms in ruins.


    Shault couldn¡¯t believe two years had passed since he woke from the long sleep. So much had changed over the centuries. The only thing that was important to his father was that Shault was still alive to potentially reignite the lost kingdoms, to bring order back from chaos. Here he was, breathing and alive, ready to reclaim the lost relics.


    Selatravis massaged his chin as he looked up and down the cobblestone streets across the intersection next to the Narcuss Docks. ¡°Seladia said she would probably be in prison by the time we arrived.¡±


    ¡°Narcuss is the biggest city in Parceta,¡± said Shault. ¡°And there are guard stations with small prisons¡ªmostly for disorderly drunks¡ªall over the island.¡±


    ¡°If I know my sister, she won¡¯t stay in prison for long.¡± Selatravis said.


    The two decided to go where she instructed, which was to the bar on Heppo Street called Heppo Hideaway. According to the letter Selatravis received, she would meet them there after getting out of jail.


    Selatravis had been awaiting her correspondence for some time. He had helped her acquire the orb, and the two had immediately gone to retrieve Shault upon seeing where he was located. That was two years prior.


    She told Selatravis to simply await her letter, so he was surprised to receive it after such a long wait, and that it held such little information as to her whereabouts. He had heard a rumor in one of the pubs that she had joined with the infamous Captain Stuval for a dangerous mission to the Shrieking Isles, but both her and the pirate were known for spreading rumors to make themselves seem more interesting and dangerous than they really were.


    Shault had also experienced a tumultuous two years at the Academy. He had effectively led a mutiny, encountering Damius Marks himself as he came to collect the orb hidden beneath the school.


    Shault realized that his nemesis had become supernaturally powerful through the centuries of being exposed to the orbs. Simply being armed and ready to fight wouldn¡¯t be enough. And with all three orbs at arm¡¯s reach, they would need to find a way to defeat him before he could summon them together.


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    The two bought breakfast at the bar, both ordering a beer to go with their eggs, biscuits, and gravy. A hearty island breakfast was universal across planets and time itself. Shault had eaten only soldier¡¯s gruel for over a year, so he inhaled the food before Selatravis could get started.


    ¡°I hear you¡¯re a father now.¡± Shault said, then shoved the last of his biscuit into his mouth.


    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s just over a year old now.¡± Selatravis said.


    ¡°If Malus had not destroyed Tonen, I¡¯d have a daughter or son.¡± Shault said. ¡°I always wanted a daughter.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not too late.¡± Selatravis took a sip of his coffee they had ordered with the meal.


    ¡°For me, the price is too high to pay before I¡¯ll be ready to try again.¡± Shault drank a swallow of his glass of beer.


    A person in a pink travel cloak slid into the booth next to Shault. Shault looked over to see that it was Seladia. She brought with her the putrid smell of the sewers. Both Shault and Selatravis recoiled in their seats.


    ¡°Hey guys, it¡¯s me!¡± Seladia pulled back the cloak to reveal her head of red hair that appeared to have only just dried.


    ¡°You absolutely must leave this restaurant with that smell.¡± Selatravis waved a hand at her.


    ¡°I knew you would say that!¡± Seladia grinned at her brother.


    ¡°She keeps¡ª,¡± Selatravis massaged his brow. ¡°She¡¯s still saying that.¡±


    Shault glared as he looked between the two siblings. ¡°What¡¯s happening to her?¡± he asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s been like this ever since she came into contact with one of those Remel orbs: half loony, half perfect foresight.¡± Selatravis said, breathing through his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be out of here in a minute,¡± began Seladia. ¡°So they took the Nissentis orb from me when I got here, but that¡¯s all part of the plan.¡± She held up her index fingers to each of them. ¡°I had to break out of prison through the toilet, which,¡± she cleared her throat, ¡°led through the runoff of the other prisoners¡¯ toilets.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so you don¡¯t have the orb at all anymore?¡± Selatravis asked.


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°And Chancellor Marks now has two.¡± Selatravis said.


    ¡°Probably.¡± Seladia said.


    ¡°Well, I guess we can all go home.¡± Selatravis gave her a sheepish, but sarcastic look.


    ¡°Ye of little faith, as the humans might say.¡± Seladia rummaged in her hip bag. ¡°I got us tickets to the Tornetum games today.¡± She gave Shault and Selatravis each a ticket.


    ¡°Wha¡ªAre you serious?¡± Selatravis leaned over the table, received a big whiff of her, then pulled back. ¡°You called us here so you could give Marks the Nissentis orb, you¡¯re now a fugitive from the Narcuss prison, but we should go enjoy a few rounds of watching people slaughter one another.¡±


    ¡°Life¡¯s funny right?¡± Seladia said.


    ¡°I must say, Seladia,¡± said Shault, looking at the ticket in his hand, ¡°this doesn¡¯t look good for us.¡±


    ¡°You just sit in the stands and look pretty until I say so.¡± Seladia said.


    ¡°Until you say what?¡± Selatravis asked, getting heated in a brotherly way. ¡°How about clueing us in on the real plan instead of expecting us to follow your random tangents in all directions.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t gone on any tangent and I haven¡¯t deviated from the Holy Path.¡± She narrowed her brown eyes upon Selatravis. ¡°I¡¯m going to go pay for a shower at the public bath house. You two go wait for me in the stands. I should be there for the second round.¡±


    As quickly and smoothly as Seladia had arrived, she slid out from the seat at the table and exited the bar.


    ¡°Absolutely mental.¡± Selatravis said, flaring his hands in exasperation over the ticket he had been given.


    The two paid for their breakfast, left the bar, and made for the vorago a few blocks away.

 Twenty-Five: Dragon and Glass

    Thayer walked through the sunlit streets of Narcuss with two soldiers following him. He realized that he had been robbed upon the news of the guards confiscating Nissentis from the rogue, Seladia.


    The orders to capture the woman had been directly from Damius Marks, which meant he knew Thayer had essentially lost the orb. He thought he had secured the orb on the floating island of Ecnar, but Seladia and her friends had somehow acquired it. The theft was far less upsetting than to know that his superior was not only aware of it, but had solved the problem out from under him.


    He walked toward the guard tower where the orb and Seladia were being kept. His mind was full of thoughts as he passed through intersections.


    The tower stood against the morning sun as a silhouette as Thayer approached and ascended its steps. He entered, climbed the stairs to the immediate right, and was taken to a room where the lavender colored orb was nestled in a blue and white Narcuss flag.


    Thayer stood over it with his hands tied behind his back. He looked down at the orb, seeing it see him: knowing Damius Marks could also see him.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the girl?¡± Thayer asked.


    ¡°We sent her over to the prison hall a little while ago.¡± The guard next to him answered.


    Thayer broke from his semi-trance state and looked over at the guard that spoke. ¡°You sent the kingdom¡¯s most infamous thief to the regular prisons?¡±


    The guard looked left and right. ¡°Are the¡­regular prisons not good enough?¡±


    Thayer wanted to get mad, but the man was just a young recruit. Seladia had been out of the news for most of his career. ¡°Let this be a lesson to you. Never let a thief out of your sight.¡±


    Thayer knew the rogue would have already figured out a way to escape, but it didn¡¯t matter with the orb in their possession. Damius Marks was just as cunning as he had always been. Now that Nissentis had been handled, he could focus on the more pressing matters at hand.


    ¡°We were told not to touch it.¡± The guard said.


    ¡°Yes, it really isn¡¯t safe here.¡± Thayer said. Having Nissentis in such close proximity to Sykhir could cause strange anomalies to take place¡­. But maybe that wasn¡¯t such a bad thing.


    He realized again that Marks could see his every action¡ªassuming he was looking through the other side. Marks would want him to keep the orb somewhere safe, but close at hand in the event that they wanted to bring the three together.


    Thayer could think of a few secluded places to store it, but Seladia¡¯s unnatural foresight via the orbs may have already told her where he planned to hide it. The situation was maddening.


    Storing it within the castle was out of the question. Keeping it on his person wouldn¡¯t be possible in the event that Marks had Sykhir prepared for his own needs, and both individuals could easily find themselves right next to one another in the vorago during the Tornetum.


    A thought came to him. What if Thayer made a deal with the devil? It wasn¡¯t a safe plan by any means, but it would keep the orbs apart.


    The only problem was time: he had very little of it before the Tornetum could begin. A smile played on his lips at the idea of Seladia disarming this trap. Thieves and dragons don¡¯t mix well.


    Scooping up the Nissentis orb in the flag, Thayer gently rolled it into his cloak pocket. He gave the flag to the guard nearest to him and hurried outside.


    He couldn¡¯t go in through the castle, but there were caves from the coast honeycombed throughout the island. He knew a scenic shortcut that would take him to the undercroft of the Narcuss castle. It would be far enough beneath castle and stone that it should be safe from the other orb.


    Thayer was able to take the royal tram to the bridge leading to the mainland. Long ago, King Narcuss himself had transformed the city of Narcuss into a giant tourist attraction. A fine, stone walking path was constructed around the perimeter of the island, allowing one to view the ancient ground and sea of their capital city.


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    Thayer knew of a locked passage that fed to that path that tourists and civilians weren¡¯t allowed access. No area of the city was forgotten, but even the guards almost never patrolled the passages beneath the town.


    It was a good thing too, because if one were curious enough¡ªif one were adventurous enough to tour every passage¡ªthere was little doubt they would inevitably meet an untimely end.


    Standing before a set of iron bars covering a square passage, Thayer waited for a pedestrian to amble past. Once the person was out of sight, Thayer raised his hand to the bars.


    As if the metal were made of cloth, the bars bent open for him to pass. Once Thayer stepped inside, he flicked his fingers and the bars crooked back to their original positions.


    He created a ball of revealing light for himself, and traversed the stone corridors as quickly as he could. The games would be beginning soon. He would need to be there during the first round, which meant he would need to go in through the castle after dealing with Targos. The elderly dragon would gladly comply with his request. It was retrieving the orb that would be the issue.


    Thayer felt sweat beneath the collar of his fine dress shirt beneath his doublet. He paused to unbutton the top few buttons so his chest could breathe.


    He was on the familiar path that led to the dragon¡¯s chamber, but he would still need to climb a large number of steps. There were even more steps once he finished his business with Targos. Getting to the vorago in time was going to be a challenge.


    At last, Thayer took a breather at the top of a constant set of stairs that had to have been a quarter of a mile long. Even at nineteen years of age, the steps had almost bested him.


    ¡°And more to come.¡± Thayer sighed and pushed himself into a hurried walk down the long path that opened to a great cavern. In the distance, seated between two gigantic blazing braziers, Targos was coiled like a white snake. His big reptilian eye watched Thayer approach.


    When Thayer finally entered the dragon¡¯s great chamber beneath Narcuss Castle, Targos unraveled himself. He leaned on his ancient neck and pushed himself up with his haggard front claws. The cracking of its ancient bones shook the whole of the hall as it stretched its long head and neck skyward. The dragon lifted its left shoulder, filling the whole island with three consecutive pops before doing the same with its right shoulder.


    ¡°Mmmmm, Thayer. I could sense you at the mouth of the caves.¡± The dragon groaned the words.


    The creature was over 20,000 years old and required the help of humans to remain alive. He had lived beneath Ethan Academy during Thayer¡¯s time there, but was transported to Narcuss Castle after the events that largely destroyed the school and its stewardship.


    ¡°Good morning, Targos.¡± Thayer dropped to one knee and bowed to the dragon.


    ¡°You carry a Remel orb in your pocket.¡± The dragon spoke. Targos was too old to do anything but get straight to the point. Targos raised his head and squinted his green eyes at the ceiling. ¡°So close to Sykhir. Planning something big? Should I make arrangements to retire in some mountain until things calm down?¡±


    ¡°I sincerely doubt things will come to that, but you¡¯ll be fine down here,¡± said Thayer. ¡°For now, I need you to watch over Nissentis, and just¡­hold onto it.¡± He unraveled from a scarf in his pocket the lavender orb that had come to life in the presence of the dragon. Clouds of other shades of purple floated beneath its surface like a hurricane.


    Being careful not to touch it, he slowly lowered the glass ball to the stone floor. A few inches from the floor, the ball slipped and began to roll left. Thayer reflexively grabbed it with his bare hand. In that moment, his eyes went opaque, the powerful scent of some rancid smell burned through his olfactory and almost made him sneeze, but he was already entranced.


    It was the girl, Susi: she was coming right at him. Thayer put up both arms to block as she threw her staff to strike, but instead, she punched him directly in the chin with a perfect uppercut. While his body remained in one place, his ghostly vision soared up into the sky as Thayer in the real world scrambled back and away from the orb.


    Breathing heavily, Thayer felt liquid from the pain in his nose, touched his clean-shaven upper lip, and pulled two fingers away that were covered in blood.


    The elderly dragon chuckled as it pawed the orb into its claw. Thayer saw the orb¡¯s glow from its new prison¡­then watched Targos draw the orb back under his paw.


    The dragon collapsed back onto its stomach with its arm and the orb tucked away while glaring at Thayer from eye level. ¡°The orbs see all and promise potential variations of the future. They are only projections, but most are ironically always accurate.¡±


    Thayer pushed himself up, wiping more blood from his face as he got to his feet. ¡°Who is this girl?¡± He demanded.


    The dragon gave a low, rumbling chuckle, blinked its gazing reptilian green eye, and said, ¡°All dragons know of Susi. Good luck, young apprentice of the darkness. I and the gods will watch your battle with amusement.¡±


    He hardly realized that he¡¯d been holding a fist so tightly, that red lines from his fingernails were embedded into his palms. Targos had always had a way of making Thayer feel small. This time was far more concerning than others.


    Realizing that he was on a tight schedule, Thayer turned without saying anything else, and exited the dragon¡¯s chamber. A feeling of dread filled him to his core.


    The urgency that Chancellor Marks felt now made much more sense. He hurried through the passages toward the castle. She was already in the vorago, and that¡¯s exactly where he needed to go.