《Orius》


 1. Innocence

    Chapter 1


    Innocence


    Sweat ran down his forehead as he tried to calm himself before the next attack came at him. His opponent stalled his next move giving him a moment to rest. How arrogant he thought, but he took advantage nonetheless catching his breath. Suddenly he jumped forward thinking he¡¯ll catch his overconfident adversary by surprise lunging his sword toward his heart and going for a fatal stab. It gets deflected with ease and is followed up by a firm punch to the gut. His sword clatters to the floor as he drops to his knees in defeat coughing up a storm trying to get the wind back into himself.


    ¡°Get back to your feet prince, you¡¯re Maxith, heir to the Opik Empire. Quite the title to have under your name for someone gasping for air on his knees.¡±


    ¡°Easy for you to say, Emerson, you have years of combat experience, I''ve only been training for 3 years,¡± Maxith said as a blonde girl with fair skin wearing a maid outfit handed him a towel. ¡°Well, I must say three years under a master of the Serpent Sword technique is plenty of experience for you to perform this poorly. Your father won''t be very proud if you aren''t the strongest soldier in your division considering you¡¯ll be the captain of it. What would that imply for his bloodline?¡± Emerson jabbed with a sly look.


    Maxith finally stood up and looked around at the beautiful garden of flowers surrounding the stone-paved training pad they stood upon. A cool breeze ran through the courtyard of the massive plot of land. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be ready when it¡¯s time for battle, you know my family name isn¡¯t something I take lightly,¡± Maxith said while proudly looking up at the castle he called home. "I think he''s doing a good job!" the blonde girl chimed in with a cheery voice, "You guys train every day, besides he still has a whole year until then." Emerson shifted his gaze to the girl giving a mildly disappointed look, "Tyra, just because you two are friends that doesn''t mean you should be easy on him. Friends should be capable of telling each other when they need improvement, not just give constant reassurance." Tyra made a pouty face out of good fun before Maxith added, "You know I get more than enough critique from you and Novius. A little counterbalance is needed here and there." Emerson was dismissive of this and grabbed a glass from the side table which Tyra quickly filled to the brim with a water vase. As he drank Tyra decided to ask for a favor, "By the way, may I leave a tad early?" She spoke with a timid tone of voice, "Today is my leisure activity and I need some extra time to change out of the new uniform."


    While Emerson still gulped down his water Maxith asked, "My father issued new uniforms?"


    "Yeah, it''s a bit tight but I think it looks cuter than the last one!" Never having paid attention to their outfits Maxith personally couldn''t tell a difference. Emerson finished his glass with a refreshed sigh and responded to Tyra''s question, "Sure no problem, it''s always a pleasure to have you assist us during training so don''t think twice to ask in the future." Content with his response Tyra thanked Emerson and happily waved goodbye to Maxith before leaving. Now alone the pair continued to mock battle for quite some time before the lesson was finally over. Sweating and flush in the face from effort Maxith leaned on his knees to catch his breath. Emerson, whose breathing was hardly labored, said, "C''mon, no breaks. Weight lifting is next." Maxith straightened himself out and wiped his forehead dry with his towel, "Actually I was planning on going into town instead."


    Gently leaning his sword against the side table Emerson sighed in frustration, ¡°Running off to go see Novius again huh? Y¡¯know he could probably teach you a thing or two about fighting, which is saying a lot considering his place in society compared to you,¡± he stated while shooting a disappointed glare at Maxith.


    ¡°Christ Emerson, he¡¯s probably the only person besides you and Father who could beat me in battle in this whole city, why do you always have to be so harsh?¡±


    "This city isn''t who you''ll be fighting on the battlefield, you need to be better than millions of soldiers from around the world. With that in mind, why don''t you spar a bit with Novius and try to learn something." Clearly not intending to do anything of the sort Maxith replied, ¡°Alright alright, C¡¯ya.¡±


    Running towards the top of the hill Maxith approached the large castle that towered above all else. Entering the massive structure he shot up the grand stairs and through the long hallways decorated with fine handcrafted furniture and expensive red carpet. The chandeliers overhead plated in gold gave the hallways a warm glow from the freshly lit candles. Finally, he burst into his room throwing his sword aside as he strips off his chainmail armor to change into more comfortable casual clothing. As the sword lands on the floor, the hilt on one side breaks clean off. ¡°Oh well,¡± Maxith says as he continues getting dressed. Once ready he grabbed his damaged sword and bolted out of his room nearly slamming into a large figure who was waiting for him outside. Running into someone taller than Maxith was a rare occurrence considering his overwhelming height, standing at an astounding 6''8" he was usually the biggest in the room. His father on the other hand made Maxith feel small. This wasn''t only because he was slightly bigger, but also because of his belittling demeanor.


    "Shouldn''t you be training with Emerson right now?" his father asked in a harsh tone. "Well, we finished our sparring," Maxith said evasively avoiding answering the question. Furrowing his brow and looking down at Maxith he replied, "Clearly Emerson is doing a poor job of raising you to be a man, perhaps I should have a word with him." Not wanting to drag Emerson into something that was his fault Maxith attempted to sway his father away from this decision and clumsily blurted out, "No it''s not his fault!" Narrowing his eyes his father asked, "Oh so it''s your fault?" Having backed himself into a corner Maxith had to think fast, "Actually uh... my sword broke. Here look." Showing his abused weapon his father could clearly see the damaged hilt, "If you wanted it replaced you could have sent a maid to do so, besides a damaged sword doesn''t prevent you from weight lifting. Your childish antics show disrespect towards me, if you wish to continue doing so I''ll gladly have you shipped to the eastern continent. Maybe there you will see how privileged you live here, child." Bringing in his shoulders Maxith shrunk away from his father''s threat. Satisfied his point was made Maxith''s father left without saying another word.


    Glad he was now free of his father''s judgmental gaze Maxith continued with his original goal and headed towards the front exit. After walking for 20 minutes Maxith reached a small building on the outskirts of town, it was made of old wood and needed a little renovation but was stable nonetheless. The inside was just as dull as the outside but was an effective space for what it was meant for. Most of the area was occupied with soft blue floor mats used for his normal classes. On the walls were some mirrors and some old decorative wallpaper light green in color. The rest of the space on the right side was saved for special classes/lessons. It was a square-shaped ring whose floor was solid stone providing stable footing meant for a real simulated battle. The defining trait of this "special" section was the dried blood all over the floor and walls. He looked over to see Novius teaching a group of varying ages close-quarters combat in the normal class area. Included among the class was Tyra, who Novius gently pushed off balance while saying, "Oops," in a joking manner. Tyra responded, "Stop iiiiit," playfully exaggerating her reaction. The slaves who worked at the castle where Maxith lived were only permitted one weekly leisure activity by the king, Tyra used hers to take part in Novius'' classes to spend more time with him.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Novius was only a year older than Maxith and Tyra who were currently nineteen, he was fairly good-looking, which explains how he and Tyra wound up dating. His medium-length blond hair was always swept back with a matte finish while a pair of ice-cold blue eyes lay beneath. You could tell by his gaze and his muscular build that he was a capable man. Respect was something Novius took seriously, he felt people should treat each other with such until they prove themselves unworthy of it. Despite this Novius still knew how to joke around and not take everything so seriously, being laid back was another one of his good features. After assisting a young teenager with his form Novius looked over and smiled noticing Maxith waiting by the door. He wrapped up his lesson and walked over to Maxith with Tyra by his side hugging his arm. ¡°First time you¡¯ve ever showed up on time, what¡¯d you do, cut your training short?¡± Novius said jokingly as they clasped hands in greeting. ¡°Me? Cut my training short? No! Never!¡± Said Maxith joking back.


    They started out the door walking as a group along the run-down street. Looking at Maxith''s waist Novius noticed his damaged sword, "Speaking of training, what the hell happened to your sword?"


    ¡°Ah, I was a bit careless while in a rush over here and broke it, but hey! It''s no big deal it''s just the hilt who cares,¡± Maxith exclaimed while unsheathing the sword and swinging it around in front of him. "You can''t just leave it like that!" both Tyra and Novius exclaimed simultaneously. Maxith looked at them while raising his eyebrows making it obvious their speaking in tandem was weird, "It''s just the hilt it''s not a big deal, you guys are overreacting."


    ¡°Right it''s just the hilt, it''s not like the sword is completely unbalanced and unusable in battle now or anything,¡± Novius said in a sarcastic tone while jabbing Maxith in the side with his elbow. ¡°Help me out here would ya?¡± Maxith said looking to Tyra for her reassurance. Not wanting to give illegitimate advice she replied, "To be fair he''s right, you should know better Maxith."


    "Ah, what!?" Maxith said surprised at her not backing him up.


    "Your training to be a major leader in our military and even she knows more than you," Novius said while patting Tyra on the head. She then closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Maxith in a teasing manner then laughed.


    ¡°Yeah if I were you I¡¯d think about replacing it before Emerson sees it and gives you more shit. Hey! There¡¯s a new weapon store that opened up further into town, let''s check it out, maybe you''ll find a new sword there!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I guess, maybe I can buy something cooler than this one,¡± Added Maxith. Widening her eyes as if she just remembered something Tyra reached into her pockets looking like she forgot something. "What''s wrong?" Novius asked casually. Concerned about blowing her cover she answered, "Oh, uhm... nothing." Tyra then leaned over to Maxith cupping her hands around his ear and whispered something to him. Without waiting for a reply she hugged Novius and said, "I need to head back to the castle for something. I''ll find you two later!" and ran off. Confused Novius furrowed his brow looking to Maxith expecting him to share what she said. Not wanting to give away the secret Maxith scrunched up his face and waved his hand insinuating to forget about it. Brushing it off they continued to walk together alone. Striking up a new conversation Novius rested his hand on the hilt of his own weapon, "Listen, man, I know you aren''t weak or whatever but you really should take your training more seriously, especially with your twentieth closing in. Once that happens you¡¯ll become a captain, you have to be a strong capable leader to instill confidence in your subordinates.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I already got Emerson on my back about it I don''t need to hear it from you too,¡± said Maxith while sighing.


    "Ha yeah I bet, especially with that hard ass of a king breathing down his neck, aka your ''father''," Novius said supplying air quotes with his fingers.


    As they continued down the street they eventually ended up in a busier more refined part of town. Here the street was actually paved and the buildings looked more elegant with their white plaster exterior with strong wood beams for support. They happened upon a small river that cut the section of town in half with a stone bridge to get across. The weapon shop they were looking for was next to the river and had a waterwheel on the side being pushed naturally by the flowing water. Once inside they looked around and started browsing the swords. The walls were filled with different types of swords and some uncommonly used weapons such as scythes and crescent blades. Scattered about were displays and barrels filled with blades and hilts of different kinds. Most were of normal quality but weren''t something Maxith would purchase. ¡°Hey check it out, what''s a book doing in a weapon shop?¡± Pointed out Maxith. The book was on a pedestal against the wall amongst some of the various weapon displays. As they approached it and opened the book to a random page the shop owner walked up and asked ¡°Looking for something specific Prince Maxith?¡± While giving a small bow of respect. ¡°Actually what''s with this book?¡± Asked Novius.


    The shop owner gave Novius a dirty look and seemed reluctant to reply. ¡°Well, this book lists different legendary weapons and their stories. That one is a pair of short swords called Ruinations Edge and is said to be cursed by a demon who inhabits the body of whoever uses them," he replied while holding Maxith''s wondrous stare. ¡°That sounds awesome!¡± Maxith said excitedly ¡°Do you have them here?!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, no Prince Maxith¡± the shop owner laughed ¡°I don''t carry such weapons as the ones in this book, I make all my weapons in-house. Besides those short swords were lost long ago in the Kadince region.¡±


    ¡°Well besides wanting to be possessed by a demon and getting himself killed, Maxith was actually looking for a new sword,¡± Novius said sarcastically. ¡°Well I have some higher-class weapons in the back that would be more fitting for you Prince, if you¡¯d care to take a look.¡±


    Once in the back, the waterwheel from outside could be seen turning the bellows for the blast furnace used by the blacksmith to craft his weapons. The smith mentioned how he kept the expensive merchandise in the back specially for customers of higher class. Maxith was pleased with all the fancy swords and dramatic designs. His taste clearly lay more for the aesthetic than the effectiveness of the sword. He immediately was drawn to a sword with a black edge and a gold line down the middle, the hilt was also gold with red gemstones embedded at both ends. The handle was wrapped with a dark red rope for grip that accented the gemstones and blackness of the blade.


    ¡°Now THIS is the kind of sword I was looking for,¡± said Maxith ¡°What do you think Novius?¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯d say it''s pretty cool, but personally I¡¯d go for a more effective sword, not something so fancy.¡±


    ¡°Ha, you¡¯re just saying that ''cause you can¡¯t afford it Novius, don¡¯t hate on my superior style.¡±


    ¡°Har Har. At least now you can get your ass kicked while looking good,¡± Novius jutted back.


    ¡°How much for this one?¡± Maxith asked the shopkeeper. ¡°Well, those are real rubies so 2,500 plats.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± Maxith said swiftly.


    ¡°God damn,¡± Novius gasped ¡°I guess when you''re the Prince you really can afford anything on a whim.¡±


    ¡°Oh c''mon, you have your own dojo, I''m sure you make some serious plat,¡± Maxith said while paying the shop keep.


    ¡°Well considering you live in a castle and I basically live in a shack in the slum I¡¯d say no, I probably can''t afford that.¡± Returning to the fancy streets outside Maxith stopped and looked around, "So what do you want to do now? We can look at more fancy stuff if you want." Not interested in spending any more time in a part of town he''s not very welcome in he decided, "Well I figured since you decided to skip out on your training today we should have a little spar and maybe you can learn something.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me, I¡¯ll get to try out my badass new sword!¡± Maxith said excitedly now that he had a good reason to want to train, "Where do you want to do it this time?" Novius began walking back towards the outskirts of town with a specific place in mind, "Since Tyra will be looking for us let''s do it at the field, I''m sure she''ll think to check there." Unable to take his eyes off his brand-new weapon Maxith stared at it the whole way there all while maintaining idle chit-chat with Novius. Upon arriving Maxith looked up to see their usual open field the three would meet up at as kids. Short lime green grass filled the empty plain as a lonely oak tree stood off to the side with dark green leaves. A cool wind brushed by as the two readied themselves for their match. Unsheathing the beauty of a sword Maxith looked to Novius and said, "Alright I''m ready."


    ¡°Good! Let''s see just how good that sword makes you look while I kick your ass!¡± Novius shouted while he pulled out his falchion and took an aggressive battle stance.


    Maxith firmly planted his feet without taking his eyes off Novius, "Well see about that."


    "Remember, whoever lands a major flesh wound or worse first wins!" Novius yelled confidently, smiling ear to ear with his hair blowing in the wind. Maxith took a defensive stance knowing what was about to come at him, unsure about how this fight will end.

 2. Renown

    Chapter 2


    Renown


    A long steady breeze swept through the field while the two stared at each other intently observing their opposing stances. Maxith¡¯s stance was one created for beginners, its purpose was to teach a new swordsman to react to the opponent while keeping himself safe. While this sounds ideal it of course means you could never be the aggressor, and when against an opponent as skilled as Novius waiting for a mistake from him would be asking for nothing short of a miracle.


    Novius¡¯ stance was one he was very familiar with, its name was Dragons Presence. This stance was something Novius spent most of his life mastering in his dojo, so much so that he surpassed his own father''s use of it, who is also the man that created it. The technique of this stance was much more complex than Maxith¡¯s. It consisted of mastering several forms of combat to even begin using. It first requires perfection of one-handed sword combat such as with Novius¡¯ Falchion. Secondly, it demanded hand-to-hand combat expertise interwoven with swordplay to forcefully create more openings in the opponent''s form. Next, a fluid transition from one-handed swordplay to two-handed swordsmanship to smash the foe''s defense when deemed necessary. This of course can only be brought together with one last necessity, the courage to risk everything, even your own life, for pure offensive capabilities.


    The one problem with Dragons Presence is its severe lack of defense. The flexibility and speed needed to pull off this form meant little to no armor and parries rather than blocks. Blocking would cause you to be held in place and defeats the whole purpose of the stance. Parries with a sword instead of a shield are extremely risky, if not pulled off with perfection they can lead to the loss of a limb or even your life. This is why blocking is more common among fighters.


    The breeze through the empty field finally halted, providing an unspoken signal for the start of battle. Novius immediately charged towards Maxith with a frenzied look in his eyes, his first strike was a swiping motion towards Maxith¡¯s legs with his weapon. Maxith immediately realized if he didn¡¯t block this attack his left leg would be cut clean off. With his sword in place for the block he was ready to transfer the fight into his favor. That''s when he realized the strike never came, ''ITS A FEINT!'' Maxith thought as he looked back up towards Novius only to see a fist slamming right into his face. This threw Maxith off balance but his sturdy build kept him on his feet. Novius transferred all of his weight onto his front left foot allowing for a spinning kick connecting at Maxith¡¯s stomach. This sent Maxith stumbling back creating some distance, allowing for him to recover.


    Now at least ten feet apart Novius readied himself for his next bombardment of attacks, but Maxith had other plans in mind. Standing only six feet tall Novius was at a huge size disadvantage, using this to his benefit Maxith took a massive step forward closing the huge gap between them with ease. Such a bold offensive move from Maxith threw Novius off momentarily. Hands overhead with his sword tight in his grasp Maxith brought it down with all his strength. Novius knew such a strike would require a two-handed parry. Raising his sword to meet Maxith¡¯s side-by-side mid-air with expert timing he forced it to the left slamming the blow into the grass, sending dirt flying into the air. The impact resulted in both of their weapons interlocking on the ground, this disabled Novius'' use of his Falchion because of Maxith''s overbearing strength.


    Knowing both of Novius¡¯ hands were on his sword Maxith decided to follow up swiftly with a headbutt, before he even got halfway Novius was already in action. He loosened his right hand''s grip on his Falchion allowing him to rocket his elbow directly into Maxith¡¯s abdomen. This made Maxith buckle over spitting everywhere, before he could even comprehend what happened he felt a knuckle slam into his chin forcing his head back upward like a rocket ship.


    Novius decided to go for his hand next, disabling his defense would allow for a swift end to the battle. He brought his Falchion back up from the ground in a slashing motion towards his mark. Missing his target of Maxith¡¯s wrist by a couple of inches he cut off the tips of his index, middle, and ring fingers. This pain woke Maxith from the temporary blackout caused by Novius¡¯ uppercut. He immediately jumped backward using all his force creating a huge distance between the two once again. Maxith¡¯s face was distorted with pain as he shouted, ¡°FUCK THAT HURTS!¡± He whipped his hand back and forth as if to shake the pain away but all this did was send the blood flying, leaving streaks of crimson red in the grass.


    The duel still not being over Novius once again charged forward with the intent to end it this time. Maxith readied his sword but his grip with his left hand was now weak from the pain shooting through it. Novius sent in a flurry of two-handed attacks Maxith thought was meant to break his now weakened defense. To compensate for the strong attacks flying at him he backed up while blocking to prevent them from destroying his guard. Novius began attacking primarily from Maxith¡¯s right side, now backing up slightly to the left Maxith thought it was weird Novius was doing this since his left side was the weak one. Suddenly Novius backed up and jumped forward using his Falchion as a spear out in front of him. A move like this Maxith couldn''t parry due to his lack of ability, even if he managed to pull off a parry his large build would still get hit giving the flesh wound Novius was looking for. This gave Maxith only one option, simply back up and dodge to the side leaving Novius wide open. As Maxith went to jump back again he slammed into something hard behind him. ¡°What the fu-,¡± Maxith began to say as Novius¡¯ Falchion impaled him like an arrow.


    Novius immediately backed his sword out of Maxith¡¯s now cut-open stomach allowing blood to spill out everywhere sending him to his knees. As blood flowed out of Maxith¡¯s mouth like a waterfall the look on his face was one of indescribable shock and pain. Novius kneeled next to Maxith and said, ¡°Try not to bleed on my clothes buddy,¡± with a happy smile on his face. He grabbed Maxith¡¯s shoulder with one hand tightly and whispered, ¡°And here comes the relief.¡± Suddenly a faint light appeared under his grasp and on all of Maxith¡¯s injuries.


    Once the light faded his body was as if the duel never happened, fingertips reattached, no more gaping hole in his stomach, hell even his headache from the uppercut was gone. Maxith and Novius then stood up together and immediately Maxith turned around while saying, ¡°What the hell was behi-¡­ THE FUCKING TREE!¡± Both of them met eyes and immediately burst into laughter. ¡°Out of -bahaha- the whole open field -haha haha- you backed up right into the ONE fucking tree- AHHAHAAAAA!!¡± Novius said while wheezing in and out of a laughing fit. While both were still laughing Maxith grabbed Novius by the shoulder and pulled him close with his excessive strength and shook him around in an exaggerated manner just adding to the already ridiculous situation.


    Once they were satisfied after laughing for a couple of moments they wiped away their tears and sucked in a deep breath and let out a satisfying sigh of air. Tyra who had been watching the tail end of the duel from a distance away approached, "Ew Novius, did you really have to cut him open?" Still seeing the humor in it Novius responded, "See but the loser doesn''t get to choose his death," and winked at her. ¡°Well since you decided to empty my stomach contents all over the ground, you''re buying us food at the tavern,¡± Maxith said joyfully. ¡°Ok ok, I¡¯ll buy this time for being a bit brutal, besides I''m starving too,¡± Novius said while smiling, ¡°besides I still owe you for the last thousand times you paid.¡± Still grossed out by the bile mess on the ground Tyra said, "How can you two even think about food after seeing that? You guys are weird." Slyly putting his arm around her Novius handed her something small folded up in paper, "Ah but I''m not too weird to love though huh?"


    Opening her mouth slightly making a shocked face she unfolded the paper to find a silver hair clip in the shape of a treble clef imbedded with diamonds. "No way! It''s so cute!" she squealed while clipping it in her shoulder-length, fluffy hair. It pulled the hair back slightly on her right side making her emerald green eyes more prominent than usual. "Happy anniversary," Novius said proudly. As he hugged her he looked to Maxith who gave a silent thumbs up and nod of approval. Stepping back Tyra excitedly pulled out a slim rectangular box from her pocket and presented it in front of Novius. "Mmmm I get it now, this is what you ran off to get isn''t it?" Novius said teasingly. "Oh shush, just open it already," Tyra said slightly embarrassed.


    Pulling the lid off the box a wave of sadness washed Novius'' face. His stone-cold eyes held back tears to try and keep his composure while pulling the necklace from the box. Looking at it Maxith realized what it was, his mother''s old necklace. She used to wear it all the time before she got sick and it broke. Tyra had taken the liberty to repair it for him as a close-hearted gift. It was a steel chain with a Dragons tooth as the pendant supplying a bold appearance. Novius slipped it over his head, it hung down to around the middle of his chest. The slight yellowness of the aged tooth matched the warmth of his hair while the cold steel reminded you of the rigidness of his gaze. Walking around him now Tyra dragged her hand along him teasing, "Look at you! So handsome with that on." Novius suddenly turned around and hugged her tightly as his thank you. Not completely shocked by this reaction Tyra looked at Maxith who gave her the "ok" sign with his hand and another approving nod along with a funny face. Tyra smiled and held back a laugh meanwhile Novius held back tears that filled his eyes and threatened to streak down his face. Before pulling away Novius quickly swept his thumb and middle finger across his eyes to rid them of the tears so neither of the two would see.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    After thanking her he gave her a kiss on the forehead, to which Tyra responded by poking Novius by the heart while squinting her eyes and creasing her mouth to one side, "Hmmm, Mr. tough guy I see." Understanding how Novius truly felt on the inside she didn''t prod anymore allowing him to keep his rough exterior, "Well sadly I can''t join you two for dinner. Martha told me were having special guests at the castle today so I need to help her prep the meal and dining room. I hope you boys don''t have too much fun without me." As they all walked back to the street Maxith joked back, "You bet we will, what better way to spend his anniversary than with his bro and without his woman!" Stopping by the dirt street Tyra responded sarcastically, "How rude!" Once their goodbyes were said they split ways once again leaving Maxith and Novius alone.


    As they made their way to the tavern Maxith asked Novius about the tooth, "So that''s from the dragon your father slayed right?" Grabbing the pendant and looking at it Novius responded coldly, "Yeah, my mom used to say it was a symbol for the strength of our family. Now when I look at it I just remember how things used to be when she was still around." Maxith felt bad but was glad it was passed onto him, having a dragon''s tooth is a symbol of a strong bloodline and a prestigious family because of how hard it is to kill one. Once his father died in battle the money from the military stopped coming in and sent their family into poverty since Novius was too young to work at the time. "I guess that means it''s a token to remember them both by," Maxith said to try and cheer him up.


    Eventually, the subject changed to something more cheery which involved shooting jokes back and forth and reenacting Maxith getting skewered on the tree. Suddenly a group of fancily dressed men all wearing different distinguishing colors riding horses passed by them on the street. ¡°Hey check it out those are the uniforms for Nobles from Sintia,¡± Novius said, ¡°Aren¡¯t they at war with the Kadince region?¡±


    ¡°Yeah they are I don''t know what the hell they''re doing here,¡± Maxith said as they watched them continue down the street toward the castle. ¡°Those are probably the guests Tyra mentioned,¡± Novius assumed. Turning back around and continuing towards the tavern right down the street Maxith said, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll find out what''s going on later.¡±


    Back at the castle, a brown-haired maid entered a large dining hall with Maxith''s father sitting at the head of the long table. "Lord Decimus, your guests have arrived from Sintia. Shall I send them in?" Adjusting his gold crown embedded with several gems he replied, "Not yet you fool," Decimus said harshly, "Go get Emerson, I wish to speak with him first." Getting down on her knees she avoided eye contact by staring at the floor, "My apologies master, I''ll fetch him n-" interrupting her were two large doors from the side of the room swung open as Emerson walked in. Decimus looked over at him making his long, wavy, shoulder-length, black and grey hair sway slightly, "There you are. Sit, we need to talk before those Sintia weirdos come in." Unaware of what to do now the slave began to ask, "Should I bring them-" Interrupting her Decimus yelled, "For god''s sake, yes! Now get out!" Without speaking she left through the doors she entered closing them behind her for their privacy.


    Emerson looked to Decimus and waited for him to speak. "You have been too easy on Maxith," Decimus began, "I fear you aren''t taking this job I''ve given you seriously enough. You allow him to do whatever he wants as if he has power over you." Emerson looked at Decimus'' large bulbous nose as he took a swig of his red wine, "Sir, raising Maxith in harsh conditions will make him resent you and the task of being king. It might not end up in the way you think it will." Pounding the rest of the wine in his glass he placed it down on the table and looked at Emerson, "Did I ask for your opinion Emerson? I told you what I think and you are to follow it. If you don''t plan on acting according to my will then I have no use for you. If life amongst the commoners in the slums is not something you want Emerson then I suggest you do as I say." Lowering his head in submission Emerson made it clear the point was made. As if on cue the front two entry doors swung open once more ushering in their special visitors.


    While the king''s meeting began Maxith and Novius finally approached the tavern. It was the usual one they enjoyed hanging out in, it wasn¡¯t particularly a nice place and it was located in the slum part of town near where Novius lived but that''s exactly what makes a place like this fun. As soon as they stepped foot inside the atmosphere brought laughing and good times. Upbeat happy music filled the small, crowded, alcohol-scented building. Every table was filled with customers yelling, laughing, smiling, and drinking or eating. What the two best friends liked about this tavern is that being in the area it was in meant people from other species would hang out there too. Upscale places in the fancy part of town wouldn''t allow species other than humans and definitely wouldn''t allow slaves to go in. This meant people like Tyra could come in and you would see the occasional Mantipol, aka a Mantis person, wander in for a meal. Mantipol were local inhabitants of the continent Interivar, where the Opik empire was located.


    Once seated at the bar the two boys ordered a round of drinks and began conversing with others at the bar telling stories of adventures. Eventually, the bartender joined in saying, ¡°Novius, this Mantipol over here doesn¡¯t believe we have someone local here with a Renown.¡± Maxith looked over to see a large greenish-yellow Mantipol at the other end of the bar looking over while tilting its head to the side out of curiosity. ¡°C¡¯mon Novius!¡± Maxith said excitedly feeling the buzz from the alcohol, ¡°Let''s show him your Renown!¡±


    ¡°Ah c¡¯mon man it just refreshed like three minutes ago from using it in the field,¡± Novius complained knowing he can get something out of doing it. ¡°Do it and the next round is on the house!¡± The bartender exclaimed happily. This clearly wasn¡¯t the first time this has happened before. Happy with the promise of free drink Novius gets up with Maxith and walked over to the Mantipol. At this point, everyone in the bar knew what was coming and crowded around to watch. ¡°Renown my ass! Let''s see this half-ass party trick,¡± The Mantipol said tauntingly but in a friendly manner. His voice had a slight raspiness permanently attached to it.


    ¡°Well big man if you think this is no big deal how about you put one of your claws on the line,¡± Novius said while Maxith grabbed one of the claws forcing it on the table. ¡°What the hell?!¡± The Mantipol exclaimed, now in a more serious and worried tone. Everyone circled the small table looking intently not daring to blink, smiling, waiting to see the display of Novius¡¯ gift. Quickly and without notice Novius drew his Falchion slamming it onto the table, chopping off the Mantipol¡¯s claw to make sure he didn¡¯t pull away from fear.


    A raspy insect-like shout emitted from the creature''s mouth as it screamed in pain. The claw lay lifeless on the table while Novius immediately began to ¡°fix¡± the Mantipol¡¯s damaged body. As the light emitted from the bug man¡¯s now stub of a claw the appendage on the table disappeared into thin air and reappeared on the Mantipol¡¯s body reforming his arm as it was. As the shout in pain stopped it was quickly followed up with a look of amazement from the crowd and the Mantipol himself. Looking over at Novius asking, ¡°A Healer Renown?¡± Novius responded, ¡°No, healing Renowns are said to be incapable of regenerating limbs. Mine is Time Echo, I can bring a living being''s physical body back to a point in time from minutes ago. It works similar to an echo, if it hasn¡¯t been too long the sound is still there and I can reach out and grasp it, just with time instead. Along with that, there has to be physical contact between the person and I.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that''s even better than a Healer Renown!¡±


    ¡°Well it has its drawbacks, I can only use it once an hour and it doesn¡¯t affect memory so I can¡¯t make someone forget what happened,¡± Novius replied as he motioned to the bartender, ¡°Make it two free drinks!¡± Pleased with the influx of customers buying drinks and food from the excitement of the show the bartender happily obliged. Novius slid one to the Mantipol, ¡°As an apology for the pain brother.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but I must say I¡¯m curious how you got your Renown. These things are myths to most people,¡± He asked while pinching his drink between his two claws and bringing it up to his mouth to drink. ¡°Ah it¡¯s just a luck thing you get from birth I suppose. No one I was related to had one and I¡¯ve always had mine.¡±


    Maxith took a big swig from his drink and joined in on the conversation adding, ¡°My father said the last time a Renown user was born in our country was over 300 years ago. The only other time a Time Echo wielder was recorded in history was Veigar The Red during the war against Cylateth on the baron continent around five hundred years ago.¡± Novius looked over at Maxith like he had three heads, ¡°Since when do you ever know some random shit like that?¡±


    ¡°Well it will be my country one day, I have to know its history.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be the day everyone moves to the Kadince region,¡± Novius said jutting at Maxith. The three of them erupted in laughter and continued to have a pleasant evening. After some hours it became dark out and was time to call it a night. Maxith and Novius said their farewells as they walked out the door to the tavern and split ways both headed home.


    As Maxith approached the castle he saw the Nobles departing from the castle on their horses. This reignited Maxith¡¯s curiosity and he ran inside now that his buzz from drinking was gone. Once inside he found his father drinking more of his special wine in one of their living rooms. The fireplace gave an orange glow to the room filled with red velvet furniture and a Massive rug with their family crest on it. Above the fireplace was a painting Maxith always hated, one of his father depicting when he was slightly younger, looking pompous and full of himself as ruler. His father''s name was Decimus Fredrick Opik, the current ruler of the Opik Empire. He was heavy set but not fat, giving him an even larger appearance, and had a black wart under his left eye. He definitely wasn¡¯t something one would describe as a ¡®looker¡¯.


    Meeting eyes with his father he spit out what was on his mind, ¡°Why were Nobles from Sintia here?¡± His father looked down at his wine swirling it in its cup, ¡°This is none of your concern boy.¡± Angered by his limited response Maxith blurted out, ¡°Going to war isn¡¯t something to take lightly Father, you shouldn¡¯t agree to join with glory in mind!¡± Decimus threw his wine glass still half full across the room shattering into the wall, standing up and looming over Maxith he locked eyes with him. ¡°Don¡¯t delve into politics you wouldn¡¯t understand child,¡± he said while poking a finger into Maxith¡¯s chest, ¡°Commit yourself to your training and be ready to serve your country when needed, now get out of my sight before you regret it!¡± He yelled with his booming voice.


    Looking to the side, clearly put in his place, Maxith walked away and headed to his room disappointed at the idea of his father¡¯s greed potentially ruining the country¡¯s peace. The alcohol from earlier along with the long walk home made him tired. He decided to go to sleep early so he can be ready for his training tomorrow like his father said.

 3. Turning Point

    Chapter 3


    Turning Point


    Looking around him all he could see was bodies, mutilated beyond recognition. Nonetheless, he could sense from his emotions they were people he once knew. At his knees lay a woman, lifeless and missing a leg from the knee down. Her neck was twisted backward, the stress from which colored the skin black and blue. Picking her up in his arms he felt the softness of her hair despite the rugged condition of her body. He noticed her cheek was wet, not from blood but from something else. This is when he realized he was crying. The indescribable pain in his heart throbbed like a knife had pierced it. His tears wouldn¡¯t stop flowing as he looked up and spotted a dark figure who he couldn¡¯t see very well, all he could tell was he hated him, hated him more than his body could contain. He could feel it boiling behind his eyes like lava spilling out in the form of hot tears steaming off his face. He placed the woman back on the ground as he rose to his feet staring down the unknown threat. Without speaking it dashed towards him ready to kill.


    Maxith awoke from his nightmare covered in sweat and his heart beating out of his chest. The sudden leap to reality shocked him but was ultimately a huge relief. The profuse amount of sweat his body discharged during his dream left him dehydrated and thirsty. He decided to get some water before heading back to sleep, so he fumbled his way through the dark hallways. As he arrived in the kitchen he began to think about the dream, it was strange to have one so vivid and emotional.


    Normally his dreams aren''t very noteworthy he thought. "Everyone has nightmares every once in a while I guess," he spoke aloud to himself while rubbing some cold water on himself from a bucket. "Maybe I''m just stressed about becoming a captain with a war going on so close to our country. If my father joins the war I''d wind up at the head of battle in a couple of months after my birthday." The thought of being the cause of his comrade''s deaths or being responsible for husbands and sons not returning home sickened him. How could he live with such a weight on his shoulders he thought, the idea of it began to give him a headache so he dismissed the thought and chugged down some more water.


    Now rehydrated Maxith navigated the low-lit walkways once again, only this time Maxith noticed something a bit odd. Further down the hall one of the bedroom lights was on and the door was cracked open. As he approached he heard the sound of crying and grunting. The room he was approaching was Tyra''s, ''Perhaps she''s upset about something, I think I should check in on her,'' Maxith thought to himself. As he reached the slightly ajar door he peaked inside first. Nothing could have prepared him for the horror he witnessed after his eye adjusted to the light.


    A couple of feet from the door centered against the back wall of the room was Tyra''s bed, and on it was Tyra and Maxith''s father. Decimus was completely naked behind Tyra who was on all fours, her arms locked behind her back being held by his left hand. His right arm was outstretched forward gripping Tyra''s hair from the top of her head forming a bunched-up fistful of messy blonde hair. Her maid uniform was half torn off exposing her breasts and lower half, with the rest scattered across the floor. The soft delicate skin of her breasts had been fondled forcefully and mistreated leaving them a rosy red. Her ass cheeks suffered the same affliction which had several bright red hand marks mixed with purplish blue bruises from slapping. You could hear the smack of his waist against her rear end from him forcing himself in and out of her. Worst of all was her face, the tears overflowing onto her cheekbones glossed over the big yellowish purple patch on the left half of her face. Her normally beautiful emerald green eyes were completely bloodshot, accompanied by a look of despair. The lips on her face quivered from terror and pain as spit dribbled out onto her scrunched-up, dimpling chin. Her eyebrows were furrowed and slanted downwards, this all combined with the snot running from her nose displayed a look of pure horror and disbelief. Maxith was frozen in his place, shook to his very core, his eyes were locked onto her chilling face. He tried to look away but couldn''t. Through the tears and whimpers Tyra looked over and locked eyes with Maxith, he felt his heart drop further than it already had. A shiver ran up his spine like a ghost was staring into his soul as she yelled out to him, "Ple..ee..eease..." Tyra struggled to say between strokes and gasps of air from crying, "MAXiiiiith!! HELLLLLLLP!!!!!"


    Maxith pulled away from the door and backed up as if he wasn''t seen, or maybe it was cause he wished he wasn''t. Decimus immediately loosened his grip on her hair and covered her mouth with his hand rearing her head back to force her to be quiet. "Leave us alone boy, must I remind you of what happened last time!?" Decimus'' voice boomed from behind the door outlined in yellow light piercing the darkness of the hallway.


    Maxith remembered a similar situation when he was just nine years old. Decimus had forced himself on a house slave and Maxith had seen then too. Of course he told his mother what he¡¯d seen. This sent her into a rage knowing her husband had been so careless. Later that night he heard them yelling and arguing, his mother threatening to expose what he had done to all of the country. Suddenly the arguing stopped.


    Relieved that his parents came to an understanding he left his room to go visit them, wanting to be comforted now that everything was better. Upon entering their room he saw his mother''s body on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood. A dagger had been forced into her chest right around where her heart would be. Maxith looked up to see his father standing above her lifeless corpse, staring at it. Turning to spot Maxith he approached and loomed over him like some kind of giant, "Look at what you caused child! Their blood is on your hands!¡±


    ''Their blood?'' Maxith thought, not understanding. Looking behind his father in the dark corner he spotted the house slave he¡¯d defiled. Lying face down the back of her head was caved in from a blunt force. This had clearly happened earlier, not just now. Maxith began to sweat, his heart raced, and he became dizzy. He couldn''t breathe normally anymore, gasping in and out trying to get ahold of the air but it was like he couldn''t get a grip. "All because you couldn''t keep your MOUTH SHUT!!" Decimus screamed. He then slammed the door shut in Maxith''s face. Now alone he stumbled back to his room, barely able to stand anymore and shaking from the fear implanted within him. Immediately upon entering the room he collapsed to the floor balling up into a fetal position and blacked out.


    "Maxith!!" Decimus boomed from behind the door waking Maxith back up to reality, "Do you remember!!?"


    "Yes Father," Maxith responded in a shrinking tone. As he turned to continue walking down the hallway he heard the wet slapping continue with muffled sounds of Tyra trying to shout. Grabbing his wrist he tried to plant himself in the moment to avoid reliving the past. Unable to do so Tyra¡¯s distorted face flashed in his mind. Entering his room he plopped onto his bed and began to cry. He tried to think of something else, anything else, but all that came to mind was Tyra, Novius, and himself growing up together. Their happy memories of play sword fighting while Tyra watched, going to the beach on hot summer days when they were just twelve, and them sharing secret meals in the kitchen at night after sneaking into the castle.


    Father would never allow anyone of the lower class into the castle unless they were a slave like Tyra. Maxith couldn''t understand how his father could be such a despicable person, or why his mother chose to be with a man like that. He wished his mother had chosen someone else, that he could have been born under another father, like Novius, maybe then he could be happy. Maxith fell back asleep and dreamed of just that, being born in a lower-class family and growing up with Novius as if they were brothers by relation, inseparable, and capable of conquering the world together.


    Upon waking up the next morning the first thing Maxith thought of was Tyra. He immediately sprang out of bed to go check on her and try his best to comfort her. Once he opened his door Emerson was already there waiting for him, ¡°Bring your training gear, your father wants to speak with you before we start today.¡± Confused as to why training was starting so early he grabbed his gear and departed to go speak to his father.


    Arriving in the same living room as the day before his father immediately spoke before Maxith could, ¡°Do not say a word Maxith, I am having this meeting with you to update you, not to hear you speak,¡± He said demandingly, ¡°Firstly we will be making you captain of your new division immediately, your birthday is too far away. Secondly, we will be assisting in the war against the Kadince region, the Sintia Nobles have given me an offer I cannot refuse. You will be leading your division into battle to bring us victory and make yourself a respected captain, Emerson has the details. Lastly, Emerson leave the room for a moment.¡±


    Emerson turned and walked out the door shutting it behind him. ¡°The girl, Tyra¡­ she has been taken care of. Do not come to me asking anything or try and tell me off, you know exactly what will await you if you do,¡± he said in a very matter-of-fact tone. At this moment Maxith¡¯s heart dropped and a million thoughts began flashing through his mind. ¡°Emerson you can come bac-¡± Decimus began but was interrupted by Maxith bolting out the door past Emerson.


    Running as fast as he could back toward Tyra¡¯s room his mind raced, ¡®What did he mean by dealt with? Surely he¡¯s just sending her away, right? Right?¡¯ Entering the hallway of last night''s events he stopped dead in his tracks seeing her door already wide open. All of Tyra¡¯s belongings were being carried out by the house slaves, Maxith approached in disbelief. One of the house slaves walked up to Maxith, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss Prince, we all know you were close to her, a heart attack at her age is just so unfortunate.¡±


    Maxith¡¯s mind shut down finding out what happened to Tyra. His father had her killed and disposed of her to prevent any rumors or defamation of face. He used her and played Maxith like nothing. ¡®He lied... he did it anyways... maybe I could have stopped it... it''s my fault again,¡¯ These were the thoughts floating around in Maxith¡¯s head for an eternity.


    Suddenly a cold splash of water awoke Maxith from his suspended animation, ¡°There now he¡¯s awake. We¡¯ve waited long enough, we need to hold our end of the bargain.¡± Maxith opened his eyes to see his father leaving the room. He looked over to see a doctor by his side with a worried look on his face. ¡°Are you ok Prince? I¡¯m sorry, you weren¡¯t supposed to be woken up like that, your father wouldn¡¯t listen to me anymore.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Maxith asked. ¡°Well, it appears you went into a temporary vegetative state from stress. We waited several days for you to wake up but you never did, and now that the siege is a couple of days away your father wanted you awake now.¡± The doctor replied.


    ¡°Siege? What are you talking about?¡±


    Emerson walked in sporting his usual military attire with medals on his chest, his bald black head reflected the sunlight coming through the window. ¡°We¡¯re invading the Kadince region two days from now with the Sintia army,¡± Emerson began, ¡°You will be the man leading our forces into enemy territory.¡±


    ¡°What the hell?! How am I supposed to do that? I haven¡¯t even been to war before!¡± Maxith said rejecting the idea of charging headfirst into battle so soon. ¡°Doc is he good to go?¡± Emerson asked.


    ¡°Well yes¡­ but Id like to check a few thi-¡±


    ¡°Let''s go kid, you have some prepping to do,¡± Emerson stated as he turned and left the room expecting Maxith to follow. Worried about this sudden information being sprung on him he hopped out of bed and followed, leaving the doctor behind. "Where are we going?" Maxith pleaded trying to get a handle on his mess of a life. "We''re going to the strategy room,¡± Emerson answered as they approached a room full of maps and books. In the center was a large wooden table meant for laying maps on.


    Already on the table was a map of the western continent, where the Opik Empire resided. Bordering them was the Kadince region to the northwest. The Sintia region consumed the southwest coast of the continent, these two countries also bordered each other and were currently at war for land. The Kandince empire always hogged resources like oil and fresh water with the massive lake in the middle of their country.


    Looking to take more from the Sintia people below them they had begun invading their land. With this in mind, the Kadince region was clearly at an advantage having more resources and was the expected winner. ¡°The soon-to-be-clear victory of the Kadince region involves us more than you think Maxith,¡± Emerson informed, ¡°not if, when, they win Kadince will be the entire west coast and even some of the south. This could pincer off a large section of our territory should they choose to invade us next. Showing their greed by taking Sintia soil, we would be fools to assume they won¡¯t invade us after. This is simply preventing a larger war and creating a bigger ally of our neighboring country.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Wouldn''t they invade Lorta before us then since they would be between us and them at that point?"


    "Lorta is a colony of ours, just because they have their own country doesn''t mean they''re fully independent. They trade with us and are used as a buffer between our main country and those on the west coast. In return for these things we provide them protection in case of war and resource trade from the Eastern continent."


    "What do you mean ''Used as a buffer''?"


    "To protect our own mainland country from other major powers who could invade us Decimus establishes good relations with our two main neighboring countries. With Lorta to our west, we can''t be invaded from that side without them being invaded first."


    "But we share a small section of our border with the Kadince region here," Maxith said pointing at the map, "Couldn¡¯t they just invade us from there?"


    "They could but they wouldn''t get far, the mountains would create a bottleneck preventing them from pushing far into our mainland and ultimately causing more deaths on their side than ours for such little gain."


    ¡°Well, if we¡¯re sieging in a few days what''s our plan, surely we have one right?¡±


    ¡°Of course we do, just how little do you think of Lord Decimus,¡± Emerson said slightly irritated by Maxith¡¯s pestering, ¡°The river of Caliburn is the only connection to the Great Kadince Lake from outside of the Kadince region. The plan is to surround the two outposts guarding the connection of the river and the lake. Simultaneously we will have our navy push into the lake on our ships, our job will be to ensure none of them escape by boat as we pass through, while those on foot by the outposts also leave no survivors. This will guarantee nobody escapes to warn any other outposts or the capital.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®our job¡¯? Shouldn¡¯t the Sintia navy be joining us as well or are we simply fighting their war for them?¡±


    ¡°Silence and listen Maxith, you get too excited, see Decimus¡¯ plan to the end and you¡¯ll understand how good it is. Sintia''s forces will be focused on their north border with the Kadince region, they will be fighting them all along it spreading both sides'' forces thin. This will seem like a bad move from the Sintia army because normally it would end in their loss from their lack of overall manpower, but with us pushing in from the lake we will be capable of ending the war from the inside while they distract the main forces. Now the lake is too big to watch from the shore, as long as we stay in the middle we won''t be spotted. The assassin group will be the first of our forces to approach the capital city Bhrunum. Equipped with a small boat built for speed they''ll approach at an angle to prevent a direct line of sight. Once at the south entrance to the cove, they will eliminate the guards there and move inland on foot towards the castle which is situated on a cliff, this is where the king of the Kadince region resides. The main force of our army will approach from the same side of the cove once it''s cleared and sail right into the cove docking area and invade at the point closest to the castle. The goal here is to cut off the entrance to the castle isolating the king from his troops at the outpost to the northwest. From there the assassination group will arrive at the castle and invade it while the second group holds off their forces from the northwest. Once inside they will assassinate the King, effectively winning the war."


    "You mean to tell me he plans to run headfirst into enemy territory? That''s suicide!"


    "Realistically we take minimum risk compared to the Sintia army Maxith. Their job to delay the majority of their troops until the job is done up north is asking for a lot considering all of the Kandince forces will be concentrated at the border because they are technically only at war with Sintia. Since we will be on the inside of the country, near the middle, we will be against a minimum amount of their troops. Once we kill the king we will take his head to show to the remaining troops, most will surrender. From there we''ll pincer down south and flank their forces at the border finishing off the rest of their military power.¡±


    "Emerson this is ridiculous, we are taking a huge risk of losing hundreds of good men going behind enemy lines for this."


    "Maxith, war is not without loss, a soldier has committed his life to defending his country and what it stands for so his family and brethren can lead peaceful lives. Go tell your soon-to-be people that you wish to wait for the enemy to attack us, for blood to be spilled on our soil, and for innocents to die before you take action to guard their lives. I promise you they would not speak of you as a man fit to be king. Soldiers are meant to be sent into battle, they train for days like this, to take action and to protect," Emerson slams his hands on the table while shouting now, "And they are not to be forgotten just because they die!"


    Emerson''s face was filled with passion clearly remembering memories of battle, of his comrades dying beside him, "You will be there not only to lead them into battle and fight with them but to remind them what they fight for, to inspire them to do what seems like suicide and come out the other side a hero. You will do this not because you are stronger than them or braver than them, but because you too are afraid. You cannot inspire a man without understanding how he feels in the first place. You can speak to his heart because you too feel the same fear and worry they do." This struck a cord somewhere deep in Maxith making him realize what it means to lead his people, what it is to protect his country. "You''re right," Maxith said with a faraway look in his eyes, "What''s next for us to prepare?" Emerson was satisfied having felt a change in Maxith, he began to remember why he wanted to be the one to prepare Maxith to be a king in the first place, "We leave for Meresk Tomorrow."


    As they left the room walking in stride together Maxith asked, "Will I be the head of the assassination group?"


    "No, you must be with your men holding strong against the enemy forces approaching the castle. Someone a bit more... capable is leading the assassination." Emerson stated feeling unsure about how to approach the subject. "Who?" Maxith inquired. "Novius," Emerson said not knowing how else to say it. "What? Why? He''s not even part of the military, did you seriously draft him right after his girlfriend died?" Maxith said trying to shame Emerson out of it. "This is not a decision made by me Maxith, your father is the one who calls the shots, remember? He said we needed someone with battle experience who would ensure the job wouldn''t get botched. If the castle raid group fails so does the whole mission. If we don''t kill the king and end the battle as planned, everyone will die, including Sintia''s people."


    "Why don''t you lead them in? You''re a strong fighter."


    "I''m leading my division alongside yours because of your inexperience. If you fail to overcome the stress of battle I will be there to control your division as well. You may not like this situation but it is how it''s going to be. Novius will be fine, he is plenty prepared for an operation like this. Apart from me he probably has more deadly battle experience than anyone else in our military thanks to his renown. He quite literally dances with death for a living, making him the most level-headed choice we¡¯ve got. If I were you I''d be more worried about yourself considering your lack of battle experience."


    "Right," Maxith said understanding the situation. As bad as he felt for Novius, Maxith knew he needed to rise to the occasion and prepare himself mentally for the raid. ''Novius can take care of himself, he''s stronger than I am,'' Maxith thought to himself.


    As the next morning approached the military forces were prepared to leave for Meresk. Horse-drawn carriages carrying soldiers behind would bring the small army to their destination before nightfall. Maxith and Emerson lead the march on their own horses as they were sent off by cheering town folk ranging from the wealthy to the poor, glad to have their strong young men to protect them from the outside dangers of the world. Seeing this Maxith confirmed what he had learned the day before about what it meant to be a ruler of a country. People look to you for the protection of their lives of peace and prosperity, it is your job to make the hard decisions and foresee the events of the future and prevent the hard times for your people.


    Additionally, young ladies were cheering for Maxith specifically, wishing him good luck in the battle and telling him to come back to them safely. As a prince, Maxith of course had women trying to woo him all the time, not just because of his standing as the next ruler of the country but also because he took after his mother in the looks department. His short brown hair was accented by his amber-colored eyes. He had a bright smile fitting of a prince which rested on his strong jawline and bold chin. This combined with his large stature and his position as the prince made him sought after bachelor.


    Sadly for these potential wives, Maxith wasn''t looking to get involved with something like that quite yet. He felt it was more important to learn how to take care of his country and its people at the moment, something like relationships could wait. The massive steel gates slowly opened, creating an exit in the colossal walls surrounding the capital city named Ventium. Maxith looked at the dirt road outside as they departed thinking of how it would bring them to a place of war, suffering, and death. Emerson looked over once again and noticed the faraway look in Maxith''s eyes as he stared downward. He decided to leave him with his thoughts, there would be time to speak later.


    Hours on the road took a toll on the group, everyone was hungry and dragging their feet. Looking ahead Emerson decided now was a good time to rest their men. He turned and yelled, "STOP! NOW IS THE TIME TO EAT, YOU WON''T GET ANOTHER CHANCE UNTIL MERESK, SO DO IT NOW!" The marching and horse hoofs halted and the sound of rummaging through crates and bags for food consumed the surrounding area. Emerson looked over to Maxith, "I know you have plenty on your mind but don''t forget about the others around you," he said while looking back to Novius. Maxith remembered he hasn''t had a chance to speak with Novius since the tavern, he dreaded the thought of speaking to him knowing how he had a slight involvement in Tyra''s death.


    He looked over to see Novius alone, eating some berries with a piece of bread. Dismounting his horse Maxith walked over to Novius who paid no mind to the tall figure approaching him. "The assassin in the flesh! Sooo scary," Maxith said sarcastically with a slight chuckle trying to ease the discomfort he felt inside. Novius said nothing as he picked apart his bread while sitting on the ground resting one elbow on his knee. "Hey listen man¡­ I''m sorry about Tyra, I know how much she meant to you." Novius let out a depressed sigh, "Well I appreciate it," he then raised his head to look Maxith in the eyes, "I''m sure you woulda prevented it if you could''ve."


    Meeting Novius'' strong gaze along with that statement churned Maxith''s stomach to its core causing him to look away, averting eye contact. "Yeah and sorry about you getting drafted, I was against the idea by the way... it was out of my control I guess," Maxith said while scratching the back of his head. He watched a group of soldiers a few yards away laughing and pushing each other around enjoying their lunch. Novius decided to stand up and said, "I suppose it gives me something to do and get me outta my house, besides I''ll get to blow off some steam on those Kadince assholes."


    "Hey, at least you''ll get to say you killed a king!" Maxith said trying to make light of the shitty events of the past week. "Hah," Novius chuckled, "Yeah... I guess I will," he said confidently. Suddenly Emerson''s deep voice boomed from the front of the formation, "PACK IT UP LADIES, TEA TIMES OVER! LET''S GET A MOVE ON!" While Maxith was turned back to look at Emerson shouting Novius shoved his fist into Maxith''s chest and said, "C''mon big bad prince, we got a war to win," and walked back into the group of soldiers. Once remounted on his horse next to Emerson they began their advance again. "You talk some sweet love to your baby momma on your lunch date?" Emerson said poking fun at Maxith. "Yeah, I think he''ll be alright, he''s just going through a rough patch right now. Depression can be shitty."


    "Good, keep your friends close while you still have them,¡± Emerson said more seriously, "He just needs some support from those who care for him right now."


    They began approaching Meresk near nightfall, the open fields filled with short grass and cool winds slowly turned into a more wetland type of environment. Roots from the trees were more exposed than usual, slightly rising from the ground. Small ponds of water were scattered here and there with tall grass laid about. The overall humidity increased drastically the deeper they went, it got to the point where it felt as though they were breathing peanut butter it was so thick. Creatures lurking in the swamp didn''t dare to approach the massive army of men for they were more used to singling out targets to avoid confrontation.


    The appearance of the swamp meant they were finally in Lorta. Meresk was just within Lorta territory and lay right on a lake, meaning the city was big on fishing. They distributed a large majority of the fish supply to towns and cities north of them more landlocked in the middle of their respective countries. The trading money made off this allowed Meresk to be quite the nice little town for being in a swamp. Nearing Meresk jazz music could be heard, giving hint of a strong nightlife. Upon entering Maxith was impressed by the aura the village gave off. Plaster on the exterior of the buildings wasn''t white like back home in Ventium, they were dyed bright neon colors like lime green, bright yellow, teal, and red. The window shutters were opposing colors to the walls, creating a funky look and giving different combinations to all the buildings. Lanterns with glass dyed in various colors lined the streets, enhancing the showiness of the town. All of this allowed for a very relaxed, fun, street-life type of vibe and the people partying out in the streets proved it. The street entertainers and dancers wore strange voodoo-like outfits including alligator tooth necklaces, oddly tall tophats, and purple suits.


    Maxith looked over to Emerson as they navigated the city streets, "Where do we plan on sleeping?"


    "Decimus sent a lone messenger on a horse ahead of us to tell the villages about our approach. He is offering them some of the spoils of war in return for lodging."


    Nearing the hotels Emerson informed everyone that no partying was allowed tonight and everyone was expected to wake up early in the morning to continue marching. Maxith got to his room and plopped on the bed still able to hear the sounds of music and chatter from partying on the streets outside. Even with the shutters closed some of the neon colors of the streets seeped their way into the dark room emitting a melancholic essence. Maxith stared at the ceiling above him wondering how the future that lay ahead of him will unfold. Eventually, he fell asleep giving in to the tiredness from the long journey.

 4. Subsurface

    Chapter 4


    Subsurface


    Maxith''s sleep was interrupted the next morning by the sound of running through the hallways. Eager to find out what the panic was about he shot out of bed and ran to the door and opened it. Soldiers were rushing out of their rooms through the narrow hallways making haste for the exit. Maxith immediately started off with them and asked a soldier next to him what was going on. ¡°We gotta get outside! Quick!¡± The soldier responded. All the men squeezed through the doorways and the exit like fish in a barrel. Once Maxith managed to push his way through the exit he saw¡­ fish in a barrel. Soldiers were all crowded around watching street vendors cook up fresh fish caught this morning in the lake. Maxith spotted Emerson helping carry barrels filled with fish off a boat by the dock across the street. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Maxith exclaimed. Putting down a heavy barrel next to one of the street vendors hard at work frying the fish for the hungry soldiers Emerson replied, ¡°I woke up early and decided to help out with some fishing, I taught the civilians a thing or two about setting up nets and we struck the mother load!¡±


    ¡°Wait, you know how to fish?¡±


    ¡°As a soldier, we are expected to look after ourselves and finish the mission even with no outside help. It used to be customary to teach all soldiers how to properly fish. If you were sent on a lengthy mission behind enemy lines you have to feed yourself somehow. I make it a point to never let any of my training get rusty so I still go fishing here and there.¡± The smell of Cajun seasoning was strong in the air and smelled delicious. ¡°Here try one,¡± Emerson grabbed a plate from the vendor who was just about to hand it to a soldier who had been patiently waiting his turn for breakfast. The dish was white rice with fried fish laid over top and covered in crawfish gumbo. Steam from the warm food flooded Maxith¡¯s nostrils instantly making his mouth water, the spices smelled delectable.


    As he pierced the fish with his fork an audible crunch sound emitted from the fried outer layer, he raised the fork full of fish, rice, and crawfish gravy to his mouth and it exploded with flavor. The crunch from the fried fish gave a satisfying texture without forgetting the soft flesh within. Pieces of celery from the gumbo melted in his mouth giving a proper amount of green flavor that wasn''t too strong but fit in just right. The crawfish added a saltiness to the dish that was compensated for by not adding any salt to the meal, it worked perfectly. The flavor from the gumbo flooded the previously plain rice giving a whole new outlook on the grain Maxith will never forget. The rice acted as a flavor absorber letting all the spices distribute evenly throughout ensuring the excess of spices don¡¯t overwhelm your taste buds.


    ¡°This is amazing!¡± Maxith said through large bites.


    ¡°Fresh ingredients make a big difference kid, always eat local delicacies when traveling.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to pay for all this?¡±


    ¡°Since I gave them some effective tips they returned the favor by feeding us for free. The fishermen had some buddies that are street food vendors so they¡¯re helping out.¡±


    A short time later once everyone had eaten Emerson raised his voice, ¡°GATHER ROUND GIRLS, NOW THAT YOUR TUMMIES ARE FULL IT¡¯S TIME WE GET A MOVE ON!¡± All falling happily into formation the small army of men began marching once again leaving the beautiful city behind. ¡°So what¡¯s our next move?¡± Maxith asked. Emerson looked at his map and pointed out a forest, ¡°See that? That¡¯s the Chikalow forest, the locals told me some stories about it, we can¡¯t go around cause it¡¯ll take too long so we have to go through.¡±


    ¡°What kind of stories? Is it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Apparently those who enter it disappear. Hopefully it¡¯s just bullshit to scare children from going in and getting lost, but we will see.¡±


    Two hours of travel later they began to approach the forest. The dense tree line looked intimidating to Maxith after hearing the folklore, but to any normal passerby, it seemed like a normal forest. Emerson turned to yell to the group, "ALRIGHT LADIES, I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE SCARED OF THE DARK BUT REAL WOMEN LIKE MAXITH HERE NOT ONLY SHAKES IN HIS BOOTS LIKE YOU, HE PISSES IN ''EM TOO!" Manly laughter emitted from the crowd of soldiers, "SO FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE, AND WITH THAT BEING SAID KEEP YOUR FUCKING EYES OPEN FOR THREATS!" As the group entered the forest shadows enveloped the marching men. Maxith asked Emerson, "How long will it take to get through this forest?" Emerson responded while scanning the area ahead like he was looking for something, "The inside of it is unmapped and it¡¯s a pretty big forest so it might take around two hours."


    Somewhere near the back of the formation, two soldiers walked next to each other in the group talking. "I bet Jenny would go out with you if you came back from this with a few kills under your belt, she''s looking for a real man, not some pansy ass." said the soldier on the right. "Ya think so? I mean I''ve been meaning to ask her out for a while now but I can''t seem to bring myself to do it. What if she says no?" the soldier on the left responded.


    "Listen man, you really gotta step up and stop being such a bitch, she was totally eyeing you up the other night at the tavern."


    "Maybe you''re right, I''ve been training all these years for something like this, I think I''ll come back from the raid with a newfound confidence after experiencing some battle and I''ll walk right up to her and ask her to join me for some lunch."


    "There ya go man! Besides I''m sure with all that yoga she does she''s itching to get some action in the bed! HAHA!" The soldier on the right laughed while going for an elbow into the other soldier''s side but hit nothing. He looked over expecting to see his mate''s face all red from his sarcastic statement but saw nothing but the empty forest a few feet from him. Confused he looked behind him thinking he left to talk to the soldiers there. He turned to see other men talking shit to each other not paying attention and laughing, his friend was nowhere in sight. He turned to the soldier on his right and said, "Hey where did Fothner go? He was just here next to me." The other soldier responded, "He''ll if I know maybe he we-" Suddenly the man speaking right in front of him fell below as if he tripped, upon looking down to see him on the ground he saw nothing but dirt.


    "What the fuck?!" he reacted loudly. The men behind him looked forward to see what was wrong. "Did you see that? He just fucking disappeared!" Before the clueless men could answer he heard screaming from in front of him. The soldier turned to see another frightened man who looked as if he just witnessed something horrible happen before his eyes. Immediately the man ran to hop on the horse carriage next to him but as he grasped the wood ledge to jump in a circle of earth tilted slightly up and from it quickly emerged long brown claws reaching for the man. It grabbed his leg and pulled aggressively to try and bring him into the hole. With his grasp tightly on the carriage he held on screaming preventing himself from getting swallowed into the hole.


    The soldier quickly ran forward and drew his sword cutting the claws on the man''s leg, the release of tension from the struggle caused him to lose his grip on the carriage and fall to the ground. The circle of earth quickly plopped back down after the claws retracted back into the hole, the ground looked as if nothing had happened. As he went to give his hand to help the man get back up another circle of dirt cracked open right next to the man''s head. Multiple claws enveloped his face and pulled his whole body into the darkness. Right before the earth plopped closed again the soldier saw a glimpse of the creature within.


    He saw a massive skull-shaped head with sickly light brown skin almost vacuum-packed to it. You could see the veins as dark lines, like spider webs running across the skin. Large hollow eye sockets took up most of the "face" area, you could see the bone deep in the back of the sockets behind the darkness in them. Below the sockets were pointy teeth lined up along the bottom of the skull like the upper jaw of a human but no lower jaw was there to be seen. Somewhere in the darkness the long, brown and black, spiky, spider-like claws connected to the rest of its unseen body. Seeing the man get swallowed into the abyss everyone began to panic, the soldier who witnessed the creature yelled out, "DEATHMITES!" just before he too got swallowed into a hole of his own.


    The group of men scattered trying to get away from the ground and climbing into the carriages, but they could only hold so many people. Others climbed into trees and held onto branches. From the higher point of view, you could see people here and there drop into oblivion within the crowd of scrambling individuals. Maxith at the front didn¡¯t know what to do and began to dismount his horse planning on making his way into a tree. Emerson grabbed ahold of his arm tight preventing him from dismounting, ¡°Don¡¯t Maxith! Stay on the horse, they won¡¯t try to take in something so large.¡± Yelling now he stated, ¡°DON¡¯T RUN, THEY FEEL VIBRATIONS IN THE GROUND!¡± Paying no mind to his yelling amongst the madness everyone was still scattering. ¡°JUST STAND STILL AND LISTEN TO ME!¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Are you sure? What if they just wind up sitting ducks!?¡± Maxith opposed Emerson¡¯s outlandish idea.


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing, just help me stop them!¡± The two of them rode their horses back across the ocean of panicked men shouting, ¡°STOP MOVING, THEY WON¡¯T ATTACK IF THEY DON¡¯T KNOW YOU¡¯RE THERE!¡± A large majority of the soldiers put their faith in Emerson but some didn¡¯t listen. Of those who didn¡¯t listen they either got to a tree safely on time or got swallowed whole into the pitch black with the disgusting creatures. Those who stood still didn¡¯t dare move a muscle or speak. Once everything calmed down Emerson spoke and everyone listened intently, ¡°Listen well for your lives depend on it, those of you on foot must walk slowly and carefully. If your footfall is too heavy they will feel it and pounce just like a trapdoor spider to an insect.¡±


    ¡°How would you know?¡± A voice inquired from somewhere in the group. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with these in the eastern continent, they¡¯re not native here in the western continent, especially a nest this big. The carriages can only carry half of us at most, the other half will have to wait until we unload the first half outside the forest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not waiting around here with these monsters!¡± Another voice spoke up from a tree.


    ¡°WELL, THEN I SUGGEST YOU GET TO WALKING! THOSE OF YOU TOO PUSSY TO FOLLOW ORDERS CAN GET YOURSELF KILLED TAKING YOUR CHANCES. IF YOU DO MAKE IT OUT ALIVE ILL EXECUTE YOU MYSELF FOR DISOBEYING A DIRECT ORDER!¡± Flustered Emerson began leading the way with his horse. Maxith and the carriages followed while the rest waited in the trees or stood frozen in place like statues.


    Reaching the other side of the forest took about an hour for the group. The carriages immediately overflowed with bodies once back into an open field. Sighs of relief could be heard as stress was lifted off of their shoulders. Emerson got off his horse and immediately went to one of the horse-drawn carriages taking a position as the driver, ¡°Maxith! Let''s g-¡± Emerson began as he noticed Maxith already on another carriage preparing to go back in. Maxith stood awkwardly atop his carriage and said, ¡°The longer we wait here the more our men back in there risk their lives! We need volunteers to drive the carriages back in there with us!¡± Emerson let Maxith take control knowing it was good for him. Soldiers slowly began standing up to go back in. ¡®Well he¡¯s still figuring it out,¡¯ Emerson thought to himself while chuckling. ¡°That should be enough,¡± Emerson began, ¡°One man per carriage, let''s get our boys back.¡±


    Re-entering the forest wasn¡¯t something Maxith was interested in but was something he knew he had to do. Every breath he took felt unsure but in the back of his mind he knew he had to lead by example. What would his soldiers think of him if he sent others to do his dirty work for him, not much of a leader at that point, just someone who points and demands.


    Silently traversing the now death whispering terrane Maxith and the others steering their carriages looked to the ground in fear. Not a single word was spoken on the way for it felt taboo in the scenario despite the fact it wouldn¡¯t stir the deathmites from the safety they sat. Only inches away from their bench was the possibility of falling into your own miniature hell. Even though you obviously knew you wanted to stay atop your carriage safe and sound, you couldn¡¯t help but feel the call of the abyss licking your ears from below. This discomfort led many to scoot away from the edge for room.


    With the horses less weighed down this time around it only took half an hour to get back. Upon their arrival, it was obvious a few more had been swallowed up during the wait. Excitement from those in the trees was quickly shushed by those on the ground sweating bullets. First Maxith and the others helped those still on the ground at risk. Bringing their carriages within arms reach allowed the stranded men to grab ahold and pull themselves inside while moving their lower bodies as little as possible. Once off the ground they flipped themselves into safety with a sigh of relief. With the ticking time bombs now defused it was time to worry about those up above. Parking the carriages under the trees for those in them to drop down was all that needed to be done for them. Once everyone was collected they turned around and headed for the exit one last time.


    As they continued down the now familiar path with minimal risk Emerson turned to Maxith and said, "You did good kid, leading by example is important. Not many men out there are capable of ignoring their fear for the greater good without outside influence."


    "What do you mean?" Maxith said with a puzzled look.


    "A leader is capable of leading others because he does not need a leader to make hard choices for him. You knew getting those men back was a requirement, but you didn''t let the fear consume you and force the logic out of your head. Situations like that are similar to war, no one ever really wants to charge into battle, your mind eats away all your thoughts screaming to stay safe and back away and cower like a dog. You were capable of accepting that fear, pushing it aside, and instead think of what charging in meant, what the reason for you charging in is really for. That''s why a leader is needed, to speak his mind and remind everyone why we''re doing this, to give reason to dive head first into suffering and keep a level head knowing it''s worth it."


    Hearing these words improved Maxith¡¯s confidence in his capabilities. He understood that Emerson was right, that he should be more concerned about acting rather than worrying. What Maxith also understood was that knowing is different than doing. It would take time to solidify this change in his character, and it would be something he had to actively pursue. Soon their conversation blended into the sound of idle chatter as the sound of footsteps and soldiers speaking overcame the fields of freedom outside the dreaded forest.


    Days passed as they traveled, giving way to numb minds and feelings of boredom. The thought of possibly dying in the next few days flooded everybody''s mind but no one spoke of it, for it would be like giving in to weakness and sentencing themselves to death in battle. If one could not handle the mental stressor of war how could they survive the actual action of it? All but one felt this way. In the world, some men will always exist who feel as though their life is meant to happen, for what cause and purpose unknown but it all had to mean something. Everything up to this couldn''t have been for naught, it''s simply impossible. Greater things are meant to be achieved and change to be made. Death here would be too soon and simply wouldn''t align with their belief in his unseen, unknown, and possibly unwritten destiny.


    Who gets to have destiny though? And why? Do some not and others do? Is it selfish to think you have a destiny and be ignorant of the idea you might be stealing other''s destinies from them via your success? By default your success means other''s failure. This guarantees someone at some point in time has had their self-given purpose stolen by another. If that one person now has no purpose then what if we all have no purpose and it''s all just random? What are the rules? Who or what makes them in the first place? Ignorance of these questions can lead to someone having a false idea of their importance, always believing in their uprising to a greater meaning. Maybe this false belief is what leads to such change in the first place. If no belief is present at all then why even try? Why are you even alive right now? Maybe your purpose has passed and you are simply a play piece in another''s story now to be discarded at any given moment. Even though such events occur what would happen if you hold onto the false belief despite your non-ignorance to the questions? Will that reignite your destiny that was always meant to be or is that simply forging a new one? Maybe some people have one big purpose and others have several sma- STOP!! STOP IT!!!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!


    NO MORE NOISE! I CANT TAKE IT! IT''S SO LOUD, SO UNBEARABLY AND UNSPEAKABLY LOUD! WE KEEP GOING AND GOING BUT NOTHING CHANGES! MORE QUESTIONS, MORE PROBLEMS, AND EVEN MORE ASSUMPTIONS! NO SOLUTION COULD POSSIBLY PUT US AT REST! END IT PLEASE!!! NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE!!!


    Indona was their last stop for the trip and they finally reached it on the sixth day of travel. Upon arrival, Emerson gathered everyone in the local tavern and began to speak, ¡°Tomorrow night is the Siege of Bhrunum gentlemen. I¡¯m sure all of you have been mentally preparing for this raid, but tonight is no time to sulk! Tonight we celebrate Prince Maxith¡¯s inauguration as division captain!¡± Cheers and happy congratulations were shouted across the tavern while Emerson stood by Maxith with his arm around his shoulders. The crowd started slamming their tankards full of booze while chanting, ¡°TOAST, TOAST, TOAST!¡±


    Maxith grabbed his tankard and began to speak, ¡°Tomorrow we march into Kadince and give them a glimpse of hell!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± The crowd yelled.


    ¡°Tomorrow we prevent a war from reaching our soils!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow we charge into battle alongside our brothers to DEFEND OUR FAMILIES!¡±


    ¡°YEAH!¡± Now screaming.


    ¡°Each and every one of you will risk your lives tomorrow, and yet we will NOT be afraid!¡±


    ¡°WOOO!¡±


    ¡°Look to your left and look to your right, those are the men who will be fighting by your side! Those are the same men who will not forget your memory if you pass! Every time an Opik man embraces his wife your memories live on! Each and every time an Opik child smiles on a day of peace, your memories will live on in those smiles! AN OPIK SOLDIER CANNOT BE KILLED BECAUSE THE SOULS OF OPIK MEN ARE IMMORTAL! WE WILL LIVE FOREVER IN THE GLORY OF OUR VICTORY!!!¡±


    Going absolutely ape shit now the bar erupted with yelling and screaming with men raising their booze in the air chanting, ¡°OPIK, OPIK, OPIK, OPIK!!!¡± You could feel the testosterone in the air like it replaced the oxygen itself. Soldiers pushed each other around hyping up the situation even further. ¡°BUT TONIGHT!¡± Maxith was shouting now to be heard over the excitement overflowing from the bar, ¡°WE DRINK!!!¡± Maxith pressed his 34oz. glass tankard to his lips downing the whole thing in one pull and slamming it down on the table. Following his lead, the whole room gulped down their beer the best they could but only a few could do the whole thing at once like Maxith.


    The party continued late into the night, releasing all the pent-up stress as excitement and anticipation after Maxith''s speech. Preparation for the raid began the next morning, loading armor, weapons, and arrows onto the ships along with replacing the red and white striped sails with all-black ones instead. All this sounded like dreadful work to the hungover army of men but it had to be done, and as the harsh leader Emerson was, he didn''t go easy on them. With everything ready Emerson pulled the different groups into the planning room one at a time to go over their part of the plan with them once more. The tavern was used as a makeshift war room since they already occupied it the night before. Each part had to be executed perfectly to ensure absolute victory alongside a minimum loss of life for their forces. Once the eleventh hour struck and the night was black, it would be time to set sail.

 5. Improvise

    Chapter 5


    Improvise


    Waves crashed against the boat rocking the men aboard back and forth as they traversed the river. Up above them the black cloth used for a sail blended in perfectly with the pitch-black night sky. Tonight was the night chosen for the raid for one specific reason, the moon. The fateful night lay on a new moon, meaning little to no light reflected off its surface. This allowed for the darkest night possible to prevent being spotted during the advance into enemy territory.


    Maxith was aboard the largest ship near the front of the fleet, a minimum of 100 men accompanied him aboard. The only ships in front of theirs was another boat being used for the transport of soldiers like Maxith¡¯s and the assassin group''s boat leading the way. Nearing the bottleneck before the open waters of The Great Kadince Lake the tension grew. Getting spotted and the plan failing was completely out of the hands of the soldiers aboard the boats. Complete trust had to be placed in the ground troops clearing the outpost''s guards.


    Maxith, along with the rest of his crew, peered at the sleeping town waiting to see if the mission unfolded properly. ¡°There!¡± One of the soldiers stated suddenly, pointing at the field before the town. Groups of men could be spotted crouch walking through the grass wearing all black ready to pounce like panthers. Upon reaching the exterior buildings they pressed against the walls and peaked around the corners for guards. Satisfied with none being spotted they disappeared into the maze of buildings. ¡°Let''s hope it goes well,¡± Maxith said.


    The guard tower placed adjacent to the river connection to the lake was their priority. As the highest viewpoint in the area, it would be the first place to spot the incoming ships. Several minutes passed as they stared down the guard tower like it had done some kind of evil to the men. Getting closer and closer to the town made the anticipation to be in the clear build up more and more. ¡°What¡¯s taking so long? Maybe we should drop anchor before we get too close,¡± Soldiers began to worry out loud. ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Maxith stated plainly, ¡°We have no way of letting our other ships know to drop anchor as well without giving ourselves away. We¡¯ll have to put our faith in them.¡±


    A figure could now be seen standing up from a seated position in the tower. It leaned over the railing as if trying to get a better look. ¡°It''s over! We¡¯ve been spotted!¡± Another soldier gasped. Giving up hope Maxith turned to walk to the back of the ship to drop anchor and shout to the other boats to do so as well. Halfway back Maxith came to a grinding halt from a hand slamming into his chest. Emerson stopped him and said, ¡°Have some fucking faith,¡± While shooting him a disappointed look. ¡°Even if they do fail what do you plan on accomplishing by dropping anchor?¡±


    ¡°At least we wouldn¡¯t be drifting right into the middle of an enemy town like a bunch of geese! Get out of my wa-¡±


    ¡°Look!¡± A soldier interrupted. Turning around Maxith could see another shadow figure climbing the stairs of the tower while crouching. The first figure could be seen turning to go warn his townsfolk. Luckily the second figure tackled him, slamming him back into the railing. Reaching down the Opik soldier grabbed the guard''s legs and hoisted him over the railing, sending him plummeting to his death. ¡°Oooo,¡± The ship said in unison after witnessing the brutal act. Emerson stood next to Maxith and continued, ¡°Just because you can give a good speech doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re the big man you think you are.¡± Without waiting for a response Emerson turned and walked to the back of the boat.


    With step one accomplished everyone began to relax, if they could gain access that far into the city for the tower then they were in complete control of the mission. Suddenly lights from lanterns within homes could be seen turning on accompanied by screaming. With the tension of stealth lifted Emerson shouted from the back, ¡°MAN THE OARS!¡± Simultaneously all the boats began to pick up speed heading towards the enemy camp. Within moments they were sailing through the center of the city watching slaughter surround them.


    Men were getting cut down in the streets adjacent to the river, women and children weren¡¯t spared either. A mother carrying her young child ran out of her house hoping to escape the madness of the city before it caught them. ¡°Hey!!! Get her!!!¡± The men in the boats shouted to one of the ground soldiers who just finished disemboweling an enemy guard. Turning around to see the pair he chased her down and grabbed her by the hair thrusting the pointed end of his sword through the back of her neck. Doing this detached her head from her body while she still held the hand of her child no older than four. ¡°YEAHHH!!¡± The crowd of soldiers on the boat cheered while the ground soldier raised her head in the air with one hand while basking in the glory of the applause.


    The mother''s body fell to the ground with a thud and the child sat at her side crying still grasping her hand. Dropping her head the man crouched next to the child and asked, ¡°Want to go for a swim?¡± Accompanied with a disturbingly wide smile. ¡°B.. bu¡­ but I can¡¯t swim,¡± the child responded between tears. ¡°Even better!¡± The man responded. Picking the child up he walked over to the river and held him above the deep water. ¡°DO IITTTT!!!¡± The men roared from the boats enjoying the show of chaos. Letting him go the child dropped ten feet off the ledge of stone walkway and plummeted into the cold water, instantly sinking to the bottom like a hammer. Bubbles from attempted breathing rose to the surface until they halted proving the child''s death.


    On the other side, a fire could be seen rising from the buildings, glass shattering here and there from the heat. A young woman was fending off two soldiers as they tried to grope her and feel her up. Breaking free from their grasp for a moment she, without looking, jumped off the walkway planning to land in the river and swim away from her rapists. Not noticing the presence of the boats she slammed into the deck of Maxith¡¯s boat, instantly snapping her left legs shin bone clean in half. This caused her leg to form a disturbing L shape as she screamed in pain rocking back and forth. The men around clearly not interested in continuing her sexual assault after seeing her disgusting leg decided to kill her. Before they could Maxith stopped them ¡°We don''t need to kill her.¡± Emerson spotted what was going on and confronted Maxith who was standing between the soldiers and the woman, "What do you mean we have no reason to kill her? That''s the whole point of this plan is to eradicate them to ensure the others at the capital know nothing of our approach."


    "Exactly my point, look where she is and what condition she''s in. In our boat she has no way of warning anyone else in the country, and on top of that, her fucking leg is broken. She¡¯s not going anywhere any time soon."


    "So what are you saying we do? Babysit her? We''re going to fucking war! We don''t have the room to watch over this damned woman out of pity!"


    "There''s a cell below deck, we can tie her hands and gag her so she has no chance of escaping it. Even if she does manage to escape while we¡¯re raiding Bhrunum what do you expect her to do? Flank us and kill us? Her fucking leg is bent sideways!"


    "Fine, let your emotions hinder you just this once, but know if something goes wrong with this operation because of this it will not reflect well on your reputation. Putting a Kadince woman''s life before hundreds of your men''s shows where your priorities lie."


    "The people running around up there is one thing Emerson, I can understand they''re a tribulation of war, but killing a harmless woman shows where your morals lie." Steaming from anger Emerson pointed to those around on the ship, "None of you help him! Let him deal with his irresponsible whims on his own!" Maxith watched as Emerson stormed off to the back of the boat pushing those in the way to the side. Lifting her the woman cried in pain from her leg. Bringing her downstairs he placed her in the cell and grabbed some rope to bind her. "Hurry and tie my hands behind my back!" The dark-haired woman said aggressively gasping with pain. Making a funny face Maxith said, "Don''t think I''ve ever heard someone so excited to have their hands tied up before."


    "It''ll make it easier to tie up my legs."


    "How am I supposed to tie up your legs in this condition?"


    "God, you don''t listen to anyone, do you? Just do it." Tying her hands tight behind her by the wrists Maxith stepped back. The woman proceeded to arch her back to lower her hands down to her legs from behind, almost touching the snapping point of her shin bone her hands hovered above and began to emit a bright green glow. "What the?" Maxith exclaimed perplexed by what he was seeing. "AHHHH!" The woman let out a scream of pain as her leg snapped back straight making a gross bone-grinding sound. Now using both her legs she repositioned herself onto her back raising them into the air and bending them at a ninety-degree angle, "Now hog tie me."


    "What the fuck just happened?" Maxith said while tying her legs and connecting the knot to the one holding her wrists behind her back leaving her lying sideways on the floor unable to move. "Well if you weren''t a moron you could piece together it''s a healing renown. I wanted you to tie me securely so those assholes upstairs don''t get flustered and decide to execute me because I''m SUCH a big threat."


    "Then why wouldn''t you try to escape rather than let us keep you prisoner?" Trying to get comfortable she positioned herself in a seated position against the bars of the cell. Blowing a few stands of straight black hair sticking to her caramel-colored skin she responded, "Well, you seem to be someone with some pretty strong influence considering you basically told the big dickhead general to fuck off. So I''d rather take my chances on you keeping me alive than those fuckers catching me to rape me and kill me." The pandemonium from the city above could still be heard as they continued to talk, "Y''know you''re the second person I''ve met with a renown, that''s pretty damn rare,¡± Maxith informed while taking a seat atop a barrel. "No shit, who''s the other?" she inquired. "My best friend, his is Time Echo," Maxith replied, "Not quite as useful as your''s though I suppose."


    "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, thanks for sticking your neck out for me up there, hopefully it doesn''t go to waste and I wind up getting executed anyways." Her narrow dark brown eyes looked up to Maxith¡¯s attempting to show appreciation. "Well, you shouldn''t be executed as long as things go to plan," Maxith said, awkwardly averting eye contact. "What do you mean?" she asked with a look of curiosity. "Well, normally a prisoner from an enemy country would be killed," looking back to meet her eyes Maxith continued, "But since your country won''t exist after we kill your king tonight, it won''t matter anymore."


    "Wait¡­ you aren''t from Sintia, are you?"


    "No, we''re the Opik army. We were tasked with finishing the war tonight as Sintia''s last hope for victory."


    "Well if you guys are headed to the capital we might be down here for a couple of hours. If you have to babysit me then I guess we should at least get to know each other, my name is Reina."


    "Names Maxith, I assume you have no family up there since you''re so calm about what''s happening."


    "I have two brothers and my father but all of them got drafted into the war with Sintia. They got sent away to the border on the front lines. To be honest, if you do end this war tonight you''ll be helping us out by finishing it before they get killed over there."


    "Well that''s the plan, let''s just hope it works out," Maxith replied becoming more relaxed with their conversation. The boat rocked back and forth while leaving the town and entering the open waters of The Great Kadince Lake. They continued to talk while the voyage went on discussing random topics about each other''s lives and the situation they were in.


    At the same time on another boat sat a man in silence. His thoughts were enough to keep him company as he stared out into the open water resembling a black abyss of darkness. Novius'' boat lead the advance and contained fifteen soldiers, all of who were to be a part of the castle raid. A few spoke but the conversations were kept short, the importance of their goal overshadowed every other man in the mission. The weight of this fact stacked heavily on the shoulders of everyone aboard. Of course, they were all hand selected for this mission of utmost importance, every man aboard has had their fair share of battle experience and sights of war horrors.


    Novius was the only one amongst the group who had never been to war, but without being said had battle experience that far surpassed everyone else aboard. His renown allowed him to simulate real battles with real injuries and real pain. Doing this for years of his life as a job led to an extensive amount of battle time that would be near impossible to match as a normal human. Being capable of quickly analyzing the situation of opponents in front of them and if they can win or not would be a necessity when inside the castle. Navigating a maze of walls within enemy territory is a death sentence in itself, not knowing what fights to take and which not to would lead to the failure of the assassination.


    Nearing the center of the lake it was time to start the approach to Bhrunum, their diagonal path towards the capital city would supply the lowest chance of being spotted. Going full sail down they left the larger boats behind with the crashing waves. Now separated from the main group, their mission began. Approaching the city they would beach their boat by the forest near the south section of the cove. As they landed the fear of being spotted was extreme, the tension in the air was like a rubber band stretched thin ready to snap. Every moment that passed made you sure the band would break now, but it never did, and the longer it took the more sure you were it would snap in the next moment.


    They neared the section of town close to the shore where they landed. Now within the city, their goal was to kill any guards watching over the waters by the entrance to the cove. Sneaking throughout they split into groups of three to speed up the process, Novius traveled with a man named K''len and another named Lydo. Lurking down the streets, not a word was spoken unless through hand signals. Novius motioned for their group to run across the street to get a better point of view on their area to clear. Crouch sprinting across they stuck to the shadows ensuring not to be spotted and ducked into an alley. Looking past the building to try and spot some enemies Novius exclaimed, "Damn!" he was clearly upset about something. "What''s wrong?" K''len asked. "There''s a whole guard building in clear view of the cove. We can''t leave them alone, they¡¯ll see the ships."


    "Well, how many you think are in there?" Lydo asked looking for someone else to decide on what to do. "No clue," Novius replied while brushing his hand through his hair and sweeping it back to get it out of his face. "I''ve got an idea," K''len said and speedily crouch ran back out into the street darting towards the guard building. "Wait!" Novius whispered harshly to try and stop his hasty half-baked plan. Ignoring him K''len confidently approached the lit-up window in front of the building and peered inside. After looking for a few moments he suddenly shot his head back down and turned to face Novius and Lydo holding up six fingers as to show that''s the number of guards. Out of nowhere the front door shot open and a guard burst out and turned to K''len, "Who the hell are you and why are you snooping around out here?!"


    "Oh shit," Novius whispered to Lydo visibly worried for K''len.


    Shocked K''len had to try and improvise, "Uhh... I live just down the street and was curious what you guys get up to so late at night... hahaha." A few more guards came out the door now as the first one approached K''len, "What the hell are you wearing and why are you carrying a weapon? You know what, we have some questions to ask you." Three guards grabbed K''len by his all-black garb and dragged him inside for interrogation. Slamming the door shut the street was once again empty other than Novius and Lydo. "What do we do? They''re gonna find out and kill him and ruin the raid!" Lydo said nervously, obviously not ready to handle this kind of situation. "Fuck fuck fuck," Novius whispered, "We gotta save K''len we can''t leave him in there."


    "What?! Are you nuts there are six of them! We should finish the mission and get rid of any other guards. Maybe he can distract them long enough so they don''t notice our ships,¡± Lydo said panicked and clearly not interested in saving K''len. "I''m not leaving him in there! Once the raid starts they''ll kill him and rush out to flank our men from behind. Besides the longer we sit here talking about it the more likely they are to hurt him, c''mon let''s go!" Without waiting for Lydo''s approval of the idea Novius ran out into the street and began unsheathing his Falchion. Lydo followed and walked beside him, "What''s your plan?" Novius looked over to him and said, "Hide on the left side of the door behind where it''ll open so they won''t see you. Once I give the signal to start fighting, take them by surprise."


    Before reaching the guard house Novius planted a knee on the ground and outstretched his right hand. "What''s the signal?" Lydo asked. Placing his forearm on the cobblestone he looked up at Lydo and said, "Trust me you''ll know." Grabbing his shirt from around his neck he bite into it preparing for the pain. Lifting his Falchion into the air he brought it crashing down into his wrist cutting off his right hand. "Graaaghh!" Novius moaned through his shirt and gritted his teeth. Lydo stared amazed at Novius'' commitment to saving K''len as he crouched behind the door ready for the strange plan.


    Picking up his now detached hand gushing blood he rushed to the door and slammed into it, "Help! Please help!" Novius said loudly to get the guards'' attention. As he backed off the door as the guards opened it, "What now- Holy shit! Hey, one of you get some rags!" He rushed over to Novius who was clearly in a lot of pain and was bleeding profusely. "Please you gotta help me, I''m gonna bleed out!" Novius said trying to lure out the remaining guards within. The man tried to grab Novius and lead him inside but Novius quickly fell to the ground and continued, "I can''t move anymore! You gotta fix me up out here!"


    "Ok just give us a second," turning back to the inside he urged the others to hurry and help him outside, "C''mon just take that guy''s weapon and leave him inside for a second, grab some wrappings and help me this guy¡¯s fucking hand got cut off!" Three more guards came running outside to assist completely oblivious to Lydo behind the door lying in wait. "What the hell happened?" One of the guards inquired while helping Novius stand back up. "My wife! She went psycho and cut my damn hand off! She thinks I cheated on her or some bullshit! I got away before she could finish me,¡± Novius began as he turned to look back down the street in the opposite direction of Lydo, "Oh lord here she comes!" Novius yelled while looking horrified at the empty street and backing up in false fear.


    All the guards tried to see where she was in the dark street but could spot nothing. Now behind the four guards, Novius chucked the severed hand at one''s face, stunning him. Unsheathing his Falchion Novius beheaded another. Lydo rushed out, sword in hand, and stabbed one of the two non-stunned guards through the abdomen. Novius spun around and crouched slicing at stomach level disemboweling the remaining two guards standing next to each other. "That''s four," Novius said quickly standing back up and using his renown to repair his severed hand. Rushing inside to help a captured K''len they found two dead guards on the floor with a bloody-fisted K''len on top of one of the bodies. "Jesus K''len did you beat them to death?" Lydo said fearfully. "Well actually yes I did," K''len began while standing up, "Had to kill ¡®em somehow."


    "Good to see you didn''t get hurt," Novius said while placing a hand on K''len''s shoulder.


    "Hah, don''t worry about an old man like me kid, I''ve been around the block, I can handle some pain! Thanks for rushing in to help though, clearly my stealth skills aren''t up to par anymore."


    "Of course," Novius gave a warm smile, "Leave no man behind." Back together now the three continued their advance through enemy territory towards the castle.


    After waiting around half an hour the rest of the fleet began sailing towards the south entrance to the cove. A soldier fetched Maxith from downstairs warning him of their approach. "Welp gotta go," Maxith said as he stood up to go above deck. "Good luck! Don''t die out there," Reina gleamed. Her smile filled out her face along with her supple cheeks. Looking into her eyes Maxith said, "Don''t worry, I''ll be back." Above deck, Maxith could see the outskirts of enemy territory by the south entrance. A fog began to approach from the lake towards the city, it strangely moved with the ships as if to follow them, "The gods protect us! They wish to shield us from the enemy!" a soldier said excitedly. Approaching the cove all the ships huddled close together to enter at the same time. This was to guarantee several ships at the minimum would make it to the docks if they did get fired upon by cannons.


    Entering the cove the fog lead the way, if looked at from the shore they would appear as ghost ships bringing death to the city. Ghosts the men aboard the ships may not be, but death they did bring. Gaining access to the harbor three of the large boats docked while two smaller ones circled in the cove. Not paying mind to the other ships not docking Maxith stepped foot on the dock along with many other soldiers, it was time for him to perform his part of the mission. Running through the now misty town, chaos ensued. Soldiers barged into houses and began killing any Kadince people that could be spotted. A majority of the forces followed Maxith and Emerson toward the castle, where the real battle lay. Here and there a few opposing guards were met along the way but were quickly disposed of by the sheer mass of bodies ready to fight.


    Upon reaching the footing of the cliff where the castle lay Maxith turned to the large sum of men behind him, "Hold off any enemy forces from entering this castle no matter what!" All turning to now face the northwest Maxith¡¯s division readied themselves to hold out as long as it would take. Maxith took a position in an alleyway with a few other men and waited, all the streets heading towards the castle were now flooding with Opik soldiers securing areas and killing guards. Maxith peered across the streets but could see very little due to the fog. Suddenly a bright orange streak of light showed through the fog in the sky, "What the hell is that?" Maxith gasped looking up to the light flying through the air. The light source caused by fire flew through the air towards its designated landing spot to the northeast. Just moments later Maxith spotted a second volley of fire emerge from the cove. Soaring high into the air the flame rained down hellfire across the city.


    Realizing what was happening Maxith grabbed one of the soldiers next to him by his chest plate. Slightly lifting him into the air Maxith yelled, "What was loaded onto those smaller boats? Why didn''t they dock!"


    ¡°Fire arrows!" He quickly responded in fear, "You didn''t know? It''s part of the plan. Those two boats were to stay sailing the cove and set fire to the northwest part of town." Maxith dropped him to the ground sending the panicked soldier onto his ass. "Who ordered this!" Maxith screamed demanding an answer while looming over him. "It was Decimus! He said it would distract the enemies and induce chaos raising our chances of success, captain!" Turning red with rage Maxith looked toward the northwest side of town seeing the glow of fire get bigger and bigger through the mist. Sounds of buildings collapsing and screams could be heard. "Incoming!" A soldier from further up the street Maxith was defending yelled. Waiting for enemy soldiers to come charging down the street they stared down the fog ready for a fight.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Dashing through the fog ran a man impaled by an arrow through his back and set ablaze. Screaming at the top of his lungs he barreled down the street searching for water but none was to be found. His vocal cords began bleeding from the ungodly sound his throat emitted. "Burn you son of a bitch!" One of the Opik soldiers yelled. Disgusted by the brutality of the sight Maxith walked out into the street showing himself to the man enveloped in flames. He ran to Maxith shouting for help but as he neared Maxith spartan kicked him sending him flying backward and to the ground. Maxith unsheathed his blade and stuck it into the burning mans melting eye socket, ending his suffering. Looking up from the gruesome act he was forced to commit an enemy squadron approached through the fog trying to make their way to the castle.


    Novius ran down the street planned for rendezvous, rounding the corner it appeared Novius, Lydo, and K''len were the last to arrive due to their mishap earlier. Running up to the others Novius immediately took charge consciously knowing there was no time to waste, "Let''s go we gotta do this quick!" Rushing past allies defending the cliff the assassination group heard words of encouragement shouted their way, "Go get ''em, boys!" Novius raised his fist in the air in reply to their motivational words. Reaching the entrance to the castle they burst into the large front door expecting soldiers to be stationed there ready, to their surprise there were none.


    "Why are all the lights out?" One questioned. "They probably know we''re coming," Novius replied, "They''ll be hiding him somewhere in here, we gotta split up to find him quickly. Everyone grab a buddy and search in pairs of two, Lydo, you''re with me." Running through a few long hallways to the left Novius and Lydo burst door to door frantically. "Anything?" Novius hurriedly asked from the doorway of a room he just finished searching. "Nothing," Lydo replied from another down the hall. Five or so rooms later Novius opened one that looked like a bedroom, "Lydo! C''mere!" Novius whisper yelled, "I found a bedroom."


    "So? He could be in any bedroom."


    "Doesn''t this one look a tad fancy for a house slave or guard though?" Novius said while inspecting the room. "Yeah, I guess so," Lydo said quietly, "Look even the bed looks like it was used tonight. If this was the king''s room then he''s gotta be somewhere around this wing of the castle." Novius ran back to the door of the room with Lydo and continued down the hall. Reaching two doors adjacent to each other Novius put his ear to the one closest to them. Putting his finger to his lip in a shushing manner he then motioned for Lydo to come to listen. Inside two voices could be heard, "Shouldn''t they be back by now?" One said. "I don''t know just be quiet what if they hear us, the last thing we need is them finding us before they bring back our armor."


    Novius motioned for Lydo to step back and cracked the door open slightly making a loud audible creaky sound. "Hey!" One of the voices said waiting for a response. Novius looked down at the floor of the cracked open door noticing behind it was a downward stairway. Novius pointed to it showing Lydo who then had a bright idea. He backed up to the wall and motioned for Novius to move to the side. "Orson is that you?" The other voice behind the door asked hoping for an answer. Lydo ran at the door from the far wall and slammed into it with his shoulder flinging it open and using the momentum to tackle the two soldiers standing on the narrow stairwell.


    Novius quickly followed through the door running after the three tumbling down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom Novius tackled one of the enemy soldiers who was getting up while Lydo strangled the other. On top of the man Novius planted one knee on the soldier''s chest holding him down and the other knee on his right arm. Struggling to gain control the enemy soldier used his left arm to try and push Novius off. Ignoring this Novius swiftly grabbed the man by the throat forcing his head back and slammed his other hand''s palm into the soldier''s nose. Instantly going limp the soldier died from his nose bone shooting up into his skull piercing his brain. Looking over Novius saw Lydo''s opponent''s arms go limp insinuating his death too. Standing up Novius said, "Alright good job, let''s search this basement and hope the king is here."


    "Sounds good," Lydo replied as he began standing up only to collapse back to one knee. Looking down both of them noticed Lydo had been impaled by the enemy soldier''s sword through his lower stomach. Going faint Lydo began to fall over but Novius rushed over to help him. "It''s ok man, I''ve got you,¡± Novius said trying to keep Lydo calm. Suddenly voices could be heard up the rounded stairwell from what sounded like a large group of enemy soldiers. "Time to go buddy!" Novius said to Lydo trying to hold him up to help him walk. "I... can''t... my legs... they won''t work... leave me," Lydo said as he kept collapsing to the ground.


    "No I''m not leaving you here, I''ll get you fixed up, I won''t let you die." Novius flipped Lydo on his back and grabbed him under the armpits and began to drag him through the rounding corridor. His renown still had ten minutes until it refreshed. Even if Lydo manage to stay alive long enough for it to refresh the echo of a healthy Lydo would be long gone. "What the hell?!" one of the voices exclaimed from the steps by the dead bodies, "Follow the blood!" another added. Only just around the corner now in a straight hallway, the situation looked grim, Novius picked up the pace with a door in sight.


    Dragging Lydo as fast as he could he slipped on the blood pouring out the back side of Lydo''s wound. "I got you asshole!" Novius heard an enemy say as their group reached the straight portion of the hallway. With Novius opening the door ready to slip through one of the enemies threw their spear. Before Novius could get Lydo through the door the spear pierced right through Lydo''s neck making a wet smack sound and forcing blood out of his mouth. Looking down with a wince Novius made a saddened face to see Lydo pass in his arms. Hearing running down the hall towards him Novius snapped back to the dire situation at hand. Looking up he saw five men rushing towards him, weapons drawn. Dropping Lydo, Novius turned to escape through the door. Just before he could finish his step away a hand made its way through the door and grabbed whatever it could get ahold of. Still in motion to run away Novius'' body continued to move while the hand gripped his sheathed falchion ripping it away from his hip.


    Feeling the tug as he narrowly escaped down the hallway Novius went to grab for his Falchion praying it was still there, to his dismay it wasn''t. "You gotta be fucking kidding me," Novius said to himself while the five soldiers were hot on his tail. Making his way through the labyrinth of dark twists and turns Novius took a door to his left and shut it behind him. "Now that''s what I wanted to see!" Novius said grinning while holding the door shut behind him, muffling the sounds of men trying to break it down on the other side. Before him stood the Kadince king pissing his pants in fear of Novius, who looked like a demon sent from hell ready to kill. The blood from Lydo covering his lower half made him look like a monster unleashed in the man''s normally comfy home. The king turned to run through the door on the other side of the room, "Wait for me, love!" Novius said tauntingly while pulling a dresser in front of the door to barricade it. With the door halfway covered Novius figured it''ll have to do, he had to keep up with the target. Dashing after him through the door he entered another hallway to see the king fumbling with a key to unlock a barred door. "Oh no you don''t!" Novius yelled sprinting towards the king who was shaking with fear. Turning the key and pulling the door open the king tried to hurry in but was tackled at top speed by Novius.


    Back in the room, the dresser was knocked over as the door was thrust open and three men came flying through shoulder first crashing into the ground. All fumbling over each other they raced to catch up rounding the door into the hallway to spot Novius mid-tackle. Looking back while holding the king down with his right knee Novius saw the men who had spotted him. He slammed the iron-barred door closed while smiling at them through the gaps, "Too slow boys!"


    "You fuck! We''re gonna kill you!" The soldiers shouted at him. Looking around the room Novius was now trapped in with the king he noticed it was a small, rounded, concrete room with no other doors. The only thing in the tiny room was a pedestal in the middle with a pair of short blades atop. The king who was trying to reach for them was incapable of doing so. "Yeah I don''t think so buddy," Novius pressed more weight on the center of the king''s back to make sure he couldn''t slip away and grab them. "You may have me trapped in here," Novius began, "But at least I get to kill your king!" Reaching for one of the blades Novius heard whispers begin to surround him tickling his ears. Ignoring them due to the yelling and shouting from behind and the king pleading for his life below him, Novius grabbed the short blade with murderous intent.


    Immediately upon grabbing the weapon Novius'' mind flooded with voices and images of bloodshed and slaughter. Screaming at the top of his lungs the soldiers stepped back from the barred door having never heard such an ungodly sound emit from a human in their entire lives. Novius grabbed the side of his head with his free hand while the other gripped the cursed blade. He squeezed his head as hard as he could trying to make it explode to end the suffering. His nails dug into his skin gathering flesh underneath them causing him to bleed from his scalp. The king lay under him in fear as Novius rolled off of him to the ground on his back.


    Now free from his capture the king backed up against the opposite wall from the screaming Novius who was hitting his head with all his force, rolling back and forth. The soldiers ran back to the barred door urging the king to give them the keys so they can unlock the door and save him. Snapping out of his paralyzing fear the king reached for the keys on the ground in front of the pedestal, and suddenly the screaming stopped. A chill was sent down the king''s spine as he once again froze in place, "No! Don''t!" a soldier shouted as the king looked up to see Novius now standing before him. Backing up to the wall and pressing into it to get as far from Novius as possible his eyes widened sensing the sheer pressure emitting from Novius now. Looking at his hands covered in Lydo''s blood he ran them through his golden hair staining it a crimson red. His eyes were no longer a bright blue as they used to be, a dull grey now inhabited his iris giving the impression of no emotion. Raising his foot he slammed it into the king''s face as he and the guards screamed for his life.


    About ten minutes later K''len and his search partner finished scouring their wing of the castle, they ran into a couple of lonely guards but found nothing of interest. They decided to head back to the entrance to see if anyone else had any luck. On their way back they reached an intersecting hallway. While traversing through the center point of the four connecting hallways screaming could be heard from the right. Crouching and looking in the direction of the screams they spotted an enemy soldier bursting from a door and running in their direction. Knowing their positions were compromised K''len drew his weapon ready to dispatch another opponent. While ready for battle K''len noticed something off, a fully trained soldier charged with the responsibility of protecting the king would be no newbie warrior. Yet this one ran straight at them screaming like a little girl, no weapon in hand, no defensive stance, nothing. Realizing he wasn''t running "at" them K''len lowered his guard and held his hand up to stop his partner from shooting the enemy with an arrow. Both watched as the soldier ran right past them like they weren''t even there. They turned watching him run through the hallway as if he had seen a ghost. K''len then gave the signal to fire at him and instantly an arrow slammed into the soldier''s back as he ran. Making a loud thud sound it pierced his heart sending him crashing into the floor and sliding with the long red rug lining the hall.


    Confused as to what just happened K''len decided they should inspect, hoping to find more friendlies who already completed the mission. Approaching the door they found a set of stairs spiraling down to a basement. Weapons drawn they descended into the dark basement. At the bottom of the stairs were two dead foes and a trail of blood dragging further into the hallway. "Looks like someone already cleaned house down here,¡± K''len murmured. Following the blood trail they found a dead Lydo bled out lying in a doorway, "Fuckin'' hell, poor bastard was with me earlier tonight¡­ he helped save me. Who was he partnered with here?" K''len inquired. "He was with Novius," The fellow soldier responded, "Think he''s ok?"


    "He''s a capable one, I''m sure the kid can look after himself. Lydo was always a bit clumsy," K''len said while wiping his hand over Lydo''s eyes closing them, "Let''s take a look around and see if we can find Novius." They continued down the winding hall finding another already opened door to the left. Climbing over the toppled dresser and looking around nothing useful could be found. "God, what''s that fucking smell?" The fellow soldier asked. Walking out the door on the other side of the room K''len turned to the right and stopped dead in his tracks, "What the fuck..." he whispered. Interested in what had an old timer like K''len so spooked the soldier walked through the door to join him.


    Upon seeing the state of the hallway he immediately vomited and turned away not capable of stomaching what he was seeing. The stone hallway was filled with a metallic smell from the blood that painted the walls from top to bottom. Hanging from the light fixtures overhead were long intestine organs draped carelessly as if thrown across the hall. Lying in the middle of the walkway were three dead bodies, the closest had its torso completely ripped open and was disemboweled. Some of the insides were still hanging out, stretched across the floor. The inside of the corpse looked almost hollow now with how much was dug out of him. Another body lay, what would normally be considered face down, but no longer had a face or even a head for that matter. Whilst trying to crawl away from something its spine had been sliced out with the victim still alive and used to pull the head off the body. Lastly, the third body was left relatively untouched apart from one area. An uncountable amount of stab wounds filled the face making it look similar to a wasp nest in structure. Dozens of soft, mushy, oozing holes disturbingly stared back at K¡¯len as if asking to be identified, sadly for this man he never would.


    Walking through the mess K''len went to inspect the scene, "You''re actually going to go look closer at that shit?" the disgusted soldier spat. "One of them could be Novius, I have to," K''len said as he walked through the massive pool of blood filling the floor. Stepping over the bodies he made his way to the small rounded room at the end of the hallway, inside the scene was no better. To the left, a fourth body slumped against the wall in a sitting position. Its head had been crushed so forcefully into the wall that the stone smashed and caved inwards, giving the appearance of a dent. The head itself was the worst part, on impact everything above the lower jaw exploded splattering pink mushy brain matter mixed with bone shards everywhere. One of the eyeballs was still intact and laid in the hanging lower jaw as if watching K''len observe its corpse. The esophagus bubbled with blood and overflowed on the pale skin of the neck. "I don''t think any human could do something like this. This... this is something else," K''len began as he turned walking back through the mess of bodies, "None of them are Novius at least."


    "Jesus, how can you even tell?"


    "Well the three in the hallway are wearing Kadince battle armor and the body in the small room is the king."


    Looking back up from his stomach bile at K''len he asked, "The king? How do you know?"


    "Well, the Kadince king has a golden tooth for his bottom right canine. That body in there has one. Whatever killed them may have done us a favor in killing him but wasn''t kind enough to leave the head intact as planned."


    "The mission''s complete then, so what should we do?"


    "Somethings going on down here, let''s try to find Novius, extract him, and meet everyone else outside."


    Continuing down the hall to the left now they came across another open door. Peaking inside the pitch-black room K¡¯len spotted an enemy soldier hiding under a table balled up holding his knees to his chest. Planning to interrogate him K¡¯len walked into the dark room while the other soldier kept his arrow aimed steadily at the enemy. Seeing K¡¯len approach, tears dripped down the frightened man''s cheeks while shaking his head as if to tell K¡¯len no. ¡°What the hell are you so afraid of boy? Get on your feet like a man and tell me just what the hell is going on. Where¡¯s our buddy?¡± The frightened man didn¡¯t respond but instead shushed K¡¯len quietly then whispered, ¡°He¡¯s listening¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Who?¡± K¡¯len responded still not talking quietly like the man suggested he should. The frightened individual looked past K¡¯len now and his face twisted with fear. Raising his hand he pointed behind K¡¯len while shaking violently. Turning around back toward the door K¡¯len saw nothing at first thinking the man was just insane, but upon a more careful look, he spotted something. Just behind the door K¡¯len entered through a face could be seen ever so slightly in the dark. The face stared at K¡¯len with a blank expression and wide eyes. Blood covered the face darkening the usually white skin underneath. ¡°Novius is that you?¡± K¡¯len said confused as to what was going on. Without pause, the door slammed shut cutting off the bowman from the room. Reacting to the situation he attempted to open the door with no luck, screaming could be heard from the crack under the door. He began slamming his shoulder into it to try and break it open. In between attempts thuds, screaming, and shaking of the door disturbed him from continuing to try. A large thud shook the door and K¡¯len could be heard shouting from the other side. ¡°K¡¯len! I¡¯m trying to open the door! You gotta help me, it¡¯s stuck!¡± the bowman pleaded.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late Yanric¡­ run,¡± K¡¯len urged him with words bubbling out through a blood-filled throat. Suddenly Yanric heard a loud slicing sound from behind the door and K¡¯len drop to the floor with a thud. Shocked by what was the sound of his buddy''s death Yanric stood there for a second. The sound of the body now being dragged away scraping the floor could be heard, then it stopped and was quiet again. Yanric¡¯s eyes were glued to the door not understanding what was happening. The doorknob then turned as if someone was trying to open the door from the other side but it was still stuck. Frustrated by this the doorknob shook faster at an attempt to force it open. There was a quick pause and some silence then a hand burst through the wooden door covered in blood. This shocked Yanric back awake and the fear inside of him rose exponentially. It reached for the doorknob and shook the handle viciously, shaking the entire door. With neither side proving to be any help the hand suddenly stopped and slowly retracted into the dark room.


    No longer frozen in place Yanric decided it wasn¡¯t worth waiting to see what would come out. He turned to run and darted through the hall. A loud slam came from behind him by the door and it burst into pieces flying open. Feeling the blood in his veins turn cold he knew he had to get as far away as possible. He rushed up the stairs hoping maybe it didn¡¯t know where he went, but as he neared the top of the steps he stopped briefly to listen. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. The thuds of steps running up the stairs behind him sent chills down his spine and he sprinted through the hallways with the sounds of the footsteps getting closer and closer. The gap between them closed but Yanric was nearing the exit. Throwing his bow to the floor and dropping his quiver, spilling arrows across the floor, he lightened his load assisting in his movement speed. He rocketed into the entrance area by the front of the castle and spotted his team members all gathered waiting for K¡¯len, Novius, Lydo, and himself. Without stopping Yanric ran past screaming, ¡°We have to go! NOW!¡± Three of his allies at the back of the group grabbed him to stop him from running out the front door. ¡°What the hell¡¯s gotten into you? Where¡¯s K¡¯len and the others? Did you find the king?¡±


    ¡°LET ME GO!¡± Yanric screamed in fear. Almost immediately a short sword came flying from the dark doorway where Yanric was running from. Finding its place in the side of a man''s head the body dropped to the floor instantly killed by the attack. ¡°Holy shit!¡± One of them said witnessing the brutal act. Their grip on Yanric loosened after seeing the man die so suddenly, allowing him to bolt away. He made his way to the front door hearing disturbing sounds of screaming, bones cracking, splats from blood hitting cold stone, and flesh ripping and tearing behind him. Now outside he ran down the hill of the cliff seeking the safety of numbers in the army below.


    About halfway down the slope the sound of the footsteps once again could be heard from behind him. Crying now from the stress and realization his whole team was now dead he continued to run but was exhausted. His relentless enemy did not tire and caught up tackling Yanric from behind sending him crashing face-first into the paved slope. He ignored the pain from the fall and tried crawling out from underneath the bloodthirsty body now sitting on his back. He dragged his hands across the cobblestone road peeling his nails off his fingertips as he tried to pull himself away, ¡°No no no help!¡±


    Maxith near the bottom of the cliff heard the screams of desperation. He turned expecting to see the king getting beheaded by the assassination crew, finally bringing an end to the madness of the raid. Instead, he saw Novius, holding down Yanric with both knees on his back, hands clasped together overhead. Yanric continued his shouts of desperation, ¡°Pleeease noooo-¡± Novius brought down his hands smashing Yanric¡¯s head like a watermelon onto the pavement. Maxith blinked a couple of times in disbelief at what he just witnessed. ¡®It couldn¡¯t have been real, I must be seeing things,¡¯ Maxith thought to himself, ¡®Why would Novius kill an ally? He would never do that, he¡¯s too loyal.¡¯ Instead of his blinking of his eyes fixing the ¡°deception¡± it only made it settle into his mind what he had just witnessed was real.


    Novius now looking for his next victim looked up to see the city on fire and the slaughter of Kadince people. Ignoring the chaos ensuing he spotted Maxith staring at him baffled. Novius rose back to his feet and removed the shirt that was torn to shreds from his previous battle. The white compression wrap covering his lower stomach and waistband was soaked with blood, painting it red on top of his all-black low-crotch sweatpants. He wore black martial art slippers to keep quiet when walking while giving him the flexibility he needed for fighting. Without his shirt the dragon tooth necklace hanging from his neck showed, giving him an overall dangerous appearance with his outfit. He began sprinting towards Maxith wanting another fight.


    Maxith watched him approaching and yelled to him, ¡°Novius what the fuck happened? Why did you kill him? Did he betray us?¡± Ignoring the questions from Maxith, Novius leaped at him bringing down a heavy slash from above. Maxith who was used to sparring in a real battle with Novius was able to see this attack coming. Holding his sword above his head he rested his second hand behind the flat part of the blade and blocked the blow. The stress from the heavy blow cracked Maxith¡¯s black and gold blade but withheld strong enough to prevent completely breaking.


    Landing now on his feet Novius began a barrage of slashing and stabbing attacks directed toward Maxith who blocked them all as they had always practiced. ¡°Novius! Why won¡¯t you answer me?!¡± Maxith questioned him between blocks. Getting pushed through the streets from the heavy blows Maxith realized the blades he was wielding weren¡¯t the weapon he brought with him. Where was his Falchion he¡¯d carried with him all this way? Now paying attention to this detail Maxith noticed something familiar about the blades flying at him over and over again. Before he could recall where he¡¯d seen them before Novius had grown tired of the fight and decided to switch it up. Shifting his weight into his front leg he spun around, facing away from Maxith, while bringing up his rear foot, executing a perfect taekwondo back kick. Maxith¡¯s weakened sword shattered from this and Novius¡¯ foot slammed right into his chest sending him flying. Before he could even hit the ground he crashed through the wall of a wooden building landing on his back among a collection of weapons.


    Maxith reclaimed the breath back into his lungs and recalled where the blades Novius was wielding were from. Ruinations edge, this wasn¡¯t Novius, it was a demon infesting him. Rising back to his feet Maxith looked around to find himself in the storage room of an armory. Seeing Novius walking towards him to continue the fight he tossed his shattered blade to the side and grabbed the closest weapon he could find. To his left laid a massive sword specially made for orcs who hunt cyclops. No human had ever wielded one before in history because of its massive size and weight.


    Barely able to lift the humongous sword off the ground he rested the blade on his shoulder to compensate for his inability to properly carry it. It cut into his traps just from the weight causing blood to trickle down his chest. Maxith walked back outside to meet Novius once again in battle. Building up speed Novius ran towards him, Maxith widened his stance and used his body weight and all his strength to swing the sword in a large sideways slash at the approaching Novius. In response, he slid under the massive slow slash narrowly avoiding a grave injury. Before Novius could perform his next attack Maxith had used the enormous momentum of the blade to swing it behind his back and above his head, letting gravity pull it down right toward Novius. His body reacted instinctively in the bloodthirsty rage and went for a parry not realizing the immense weight behind the blade. Raising one of the short blades with his right hand at an angle he attempted to redirect it to the side. It smashed straight through and cut off Novius¡¯ entire left arm from the shoulder down. With a sharp gasp of pain, Novius instantly retreated from the encounter jumping back several times. When his amputated arm hit the ground the short sword it was wielding unluckily clattered across the ground in Novius¡¯ direction.


    With both of them now twenty feet apart Maxith readied his sword back onto his shoulder while Novius used his renown to regain his lost arm. As he picked up the dropped blade a building came crashing down between the two blocking the street. Novius stared at Maxith as the flames licked the cold night air across their vision. His emotionless gaze and disturbing smile showed he was satisfied with the conclusion of their encounter. He turned and walked into the mixture of fog and smoke that was now filling the streets making it hard to breathe.


    Maxith turned and ran through the streets until he found a large group of his men. Maxith was of course concerned for Novius but knew he had not only his friend''s life to look after. Determined to get the raid back on track Maxith took control, ¡°It''s time for us to leave the city, we¡¯ve been here long enough,¡± he spoke while beginning to separate the men into groups, ¡°You seven go into the castle and confirm the king''s death. Half of you go through the streets and inform any other friendlies we''re beginning to head south in twenty minutes. The rest of you come with me, we''re going to keep the streets clear in front of the castle for the rendezvous point.¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± Asked the lone soldier Maxith singled out from the rest. ¡°You are to head back to port and communicate with the archers to take enough men to sail the boats back to Indona. The rest are to meet with us and head south.¡± Maxith then pulled him aside just out of earshot of everyone else and spoke in a more harsh tone, ¡°I need you to be on the flagship and ensure nobody touches the woman imprisoned in the cell below deck. If I find out something happened to her I will see to it personally you are court-martialed and receive capital punishment. Do you understand?¡± Eyes widened in fear of Maxith¡¯s threat the soldier responded, ¡°Y..yy..yes Prince Maxith!¡± As soon as Maxith turned away the frightened soldier ran toward the port to accomplish his given mission.


    Now facing the divvied-up groups Maxith spoke to them, ¡°Alright boys, hard parts over, were in the home stretch now! Don¡¯t ease up, let¡¯s finish this shit strong!¡± The groups all stood up straight and saluted Maxith and answered simultaneously, ¡°Yes sir Captain Maxith sir!¡± This response is normally how the soldiers responded to Emerson''s demands. All the groups split into their designated directions and headed into the thickening smoke to complete their new objectives.

 6. Modus Vivendi

    Chapter 6


    Modus Vivendi


    Novius opened his eyes but it made no difference, the darkness was persistent even with vision. He removed himself from the cold floor and found the closest wall to him in the pitch black. Leaning against the uneven surface Novius said aloud, ¡°Where am I?¡± while palming his forehead trying to relieve the pressure from the killer headache within his skull. Hearing the echo of running water in the distance he walked towards it hoping to find something to key him into where he was. Dragging his hand along the rugged surface beside him as he walked his other hand naturally rested on the blades attached to his hip. Nearing the sound he spotted a dull blue light glowing in the distance. More confidently now with even the tiniest amount of light, he increased his stride, capable of seeing ever so slightly where he stepped.


    Reaching the dull glow he entered a large open underground area slightly lit by local vegetation. Realizing he was in a cave Novius looked around more carefully to ensure his safety from anything that could be lurking. Seeing nothing dangerous he eased up and observed his surroundings. He was in a dome-shaped area of a cave with a waterfall spilling into a lake filling the middle of the room. The light was emitting from bioluminescent plants spotting the walls and floor here and there. They were formed by three large primary leaves and four tendril-like vines rising from the middle. Novius watched as a fly land on one of the glowing leaves of the plant. As soon as it touched the surface of the leaf the blue light focused all into one spot directly under the fly. The insect melted into a liquid which was then absorbed into the plant as a form of nutrients. After the plant finished its meal the light redistributed evenly along the leaves as if nothing happened.


    Curious now about the plants Novius approached one and touched it with his fingertip. The whole plant went dark as if to hide from Novius. Leaving the now dark spot of leaves alone Novius walked to the edge of the small lake. Looking toward the waterfall he figured that was the way out of the cave. Novius shot his vision back toward the water noticing movement, rather large fish were swimming around inside. Hungry he decided to catch a fish and drew one of the blades from his hip naturally. Noticing it wasn¡¯t one of his usual weapons he looked down at them puzzled. He didn¡¯t know where he got these blades from but didn¡¯t think much of it as his stomach grumbled loudly demanding food. Stabbing into the water making an attempt at a fish he made a loud splash, the cave suddenly went dark as he notified all the plants of his presence via the noise. ¡®Oops,¡¯ Novius thought to himself while he waited silently by the edge of the water staring into it. After a minute or two the plants relit themselves once again granting Novius his vision.


    Looking at his reflection in the water he noticed all the dried blood on his face and in his hair. Deciding to wash himself off first he scooped out water with his hands, cleaning himself slowly on land in an attempt to keep his only water source clean. While doing so, he remembered what he was last doing, ¡®What happened with the raid? Everything after tackling the king is gone¡­ how the hell did I end up here? Hopefully it ended well.¡¯ Novius decided worrying about his companions wouldn¡¯t help and he first needed to fix his current scenario.


    Suddenly a piercing headache struck him knocking him to his knees. Novius shouted in pain as he gripped his head in the once again dark room. His head filled with voices shoving out any thoughts making it impossible to move or think. Attempting to fight it he smashed his forehead into the floor cutting it open and causing pain. Momentarily the voices silenced but quickly flooded back in now ever so slightly quieter. Novius continued to slam his head into the floor while the voices continued to scream in his head in-between blows. Eventually, he passed out from the pain and lay slumped on the cave floor.


    A few hours later Novius awoke while walking in a different part of the cavern. Confused by the bizarre idea of waking up while walking, his head immediately flooded with the voices hissing at him. Dropping to the floor again he smashed his head continuously for relief. Eventually, he cracked his skull on the cold stone floor and all the voices formed one clear voice momentarily, ¡°Stop hitting your head!¡± Novius without hesitation shouted, ¡°FUCK. YOU.¡± Thrusting his head down for one last good blow he knocked himself unconscious again.


    Days later he awakened back in the waterfall room while now eating a fish in front of a fire. Just like before his head was flooded with voices and now memories that weren¡¯t his. Dropping the food he clamped his hands over his ears, desperate to stop the noise. Trying something new, hoping for a more permanent fix, he shoved his fingers inside his ear canal, popping his eardrums. Blood and puss dribbled out from within as a nonstop ringing overtook his senses. Despite this action, the voices were still loud from within, overpowering everything. Having proved his own insanity he became hopeless, ¡°Grnnnggg stop it! Stop it!¡± Rocking back and forth before the fire, hands pushing on his temples, he clenched his jaw tightly. In his nervous breakdown, he ground his teeth against one another trying to think of a way to make it stop. Cracking from the pressure he was applying his teeth began to break apart in chunks, filling his mouth with a sandy bone dust texture.


    With the massive migraine pounding at his skull the light from the fire began to irritate him. Even with his eyes closed the flames reached his pupils making everything worse. Incapable of thinking straight he immediately resorted to jamming his fingers in his eyes. Tears poured from his sockets while he dug deep into them like he was trying to scratch the back. Finally getting his finger behind them he scraped the back of the socket with his nail and gouged out his own eyes. Limp they laid on his cheeks attached by their optic nerves, still sending signals of blurry vision to his brain. Tearing them out and throwing them to the side they splashed into the water where a fish quickly sucked them up as a meal.


    Pain jolted through his nervous system and began to overcome the voices, but it wasn¡¯t enough yet. Falling to his side defeated by the mental torture he felt the warmth of the fire, this gave him an idea. Thrusting his arms into the flames his skin melted slowly, silencing the voices entirely for the duration his hand was burning. Disappointingly for Novius, the pain was absolutely excruciating and he quickly dashed to his left, plunging his hand inside the water. As fast as the burning stopped the voices returned, but this time Novius had a better idea. Using his renown he fixed his several self-inflicted wounds and brought his thumb to his mouth. Biting down on the finger sent an influx of consistent, personally controlled pain. This relieved the voices while keeping the pain low enough to keep Novius¡¯ mind still slightly intact. Crawling with his free hand he made his way into one of the cave tunnels nearby and slumped against the wall. He pulled his knees to his chest and endured the self-imposed suffering while gnawing at his fingers.


    Several days passed by as Novius chewed away at his flesh, periodically fixing it with his renown. It was a repetitive cycle: eat away the flesh, fix his bone-exposed hand with Time Echo, repeat, and eventually pass out from exhaustion. Every time he would wake up his body would be acting on its own, doing some sort of task like fishing or exploring without his permission. He would resume control, hear the voices, and go back to gnawing and chewing. Progressively over weeks, the voices began to seep through the pain barrier he was creating in his mind. The pain started to dull letting them get louder and louder, filling up more space. At some points, sentences could be made out but Novius was driving himself insane with this process, he cared not to reply to them, only to get rid of them.


    After about two months the voices became clear. The slow acclimation to the whispers from the lessening of the pain calmed the chaos in Novius¡¯ head. It started to make more and more sense like you were learning a new language. The several voices formed one and began to speak and sound like his own. It was hard to make out the difference between the two for they were so similar. Staring at the chewed-up flesh hanging from his skeletal hand he waited for his renown to refresh. ¡°It should be soon now,¡± one of the voices stated.


    ¡°Yes I know, we can both sense it.¡±


    ¡°Why do we continue this cycle?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it¡¯s been so long, it''s all we know.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should try and remember.¡±


    ¡°Why? I¡¯m sure we do this for a reason, it''s what we''ve always done.¡±


    ¡°But I think something changed.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°When did we begin to converse?¡±


    ¡°No idea¡­ perhaps you are right.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­ where should we begin?¡±


    ¡°Well, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Novius, what about you?¡±


    ¡°I am Novius.¡±


    ¡°Well this didn¡¯t help¡­ if we''re going to get somewhere we need different names. How about I¡¯ll be called Novius and you can make your own name.¡±


    ¡°How come you get to keep the bodies name? We share it! We both get rights to its name.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you can have it if you like but we need to bridge this gap first for this to work.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ I¡¯m sorry. It''s ok you can be Novius, I¡¯ll be Orius.¡±


    ¡°Ok this is a start,¡± Novius began, ¡°How did we end up here? What is our past? Why do we live?¡±


    ¡°Hold on let¡¯s start slow,¡± Orius said.


    ¡°Ok¡­ I recall light¡­ sun¡­ sunlight! Darkness is not everywhere!¡± Novius said excitedly.


    ¡°Good, yes I recall this too. I remember a woman¡­ what was her name?¡±


    ¡°Tyra! Yes, I remember her, she was my mother¡­ no that''s not right.¡±


    ¡°There was an intimacy but not that of parental nature,¡± Orius stated. They sat there for a few moments thinking, then Orius continued, ¡°Girlfriend! Yes, we wished to marry her! We were happy¡­ were so happy.¡±


    ¡°But now I recall pain, it hurt so much,¡± Novius said.


    ¡°Pain is no more for us Novius, we have rid ourselves of the construct,¡± Orius argued.


    ¡°Emotions, human feelings, regret¡­ love,¡± Novius replied.


    ¡°We have no need for these, it¡¯s all coming back now. She is dead,¡± Orius said bluntly, ¡°The world is not so simple anymore.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak of her like she wasn¡¯t important!¡± Novius yelled, ¡°She meant everything!¡±


    ¡°Yes I see now, I recall both of our pasts. No wonder you feel this way. I suppose this circumstance is quite fitting.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck is that supposed to mean!¡± Novius replied insulted.


    ¡°Listen here, stop being so childish. You worry about such a thing when something much more important lies in front of us. The gods must be punished for their negligence, I intend to deliver that,¡± Orius said as he activated their renown fixing the limp hand before the echo could disappear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t act like I¡¯m some kid who doesn¡¯t understand. I have our memories too. What makes you think YOU could accomplish such a feat,¡± Novius fired back.


    ¡°Keep thinking light of me and see where that gets you. One way or another I suppose you¡¯re along for the ride with me for now.¡± Orius stood the body up and began to walk.


    ¡°Along for the ride? I don¡¯t think so, this is my body too,¡± Novius exclaimed as he tripped the body over its own feet making it fall flat on its face.


    ¡°Oh, real grown-up asshole, who do you think you are to stop me from achieving my goals?¡± Orius was raising his voice now.


    ¡°You act like you¡¯re above me but look where we are. Funny you think you have reign over me here.¡±


    ¡°IM GOING TO BRING THIS WORLD TO ITS KNEES BEFORE ME WITH MY HATRED AND CONSUME THE GODS! DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK YOU CAN STOP ME?!¡± Orius¡¯ voice deepened and boomed inside their head at Novius.


    ¡°Whoa whoa buddy, a bit harsh of a punishment don¡¯t ya think? Maybe we should go get some food and a drink or two and discuss some things before we start jumping into such exaggerated plans,¡± Novius spoke calmly to try and cool Orius down.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Fine, we have all the time we need anyways I guess. Either way, we can¡¯t stay in this god-forsaken cave forever,¡± Orius replied cooling off. Getting back to their feet Orius allowed Novius to control the body taking them back towards the waterfall room. Climbing the rock face next to the waterfall they made their way to the exit of the cave. Upon entering the outdoors they were blinded momentarily by its brightness. Once their vision recovered Novius stretched, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight, "Mmmmph, its been so long since I''ve felt the sun!" Orius ignored him and cut the stretch short making them look around at their surroundings, "I think we''re still in the vicinity of Bhrunum. These should be the mountains towards the northeast." Upset at Orius'' rudeness Novius replied, "You''re such a buzz kill, besides how would you know we¡¯re nearby?"


    "I can''t imagine we wandered very far from where our minds merged. Take us in this direction, hopefully it won''t be far."


    About fifteen minutes of hiking later they came across an overlook giving a good view of Bhrunum. "Looks like lots of construction is still taking place after the raid, those fire arrows must have done a number on the town," Orius examined, "Welp, get to walking."


    "Why can''t you do the walking?" Novius complained.


    ¡°Well, you wanted to share so go ahead and walk,¡± Orius scuffed, ¡°It¡¯ll take at least twenty-five minutes to get there. In the meantime, I¡¯ll take a nap.¡± Orius¡¯ consciousness went silent and left Novius with a peaceful head, ¡°Fine by me, at least I can enjoy the sun now.¡± During his small trek, Novius thought about his new situation. He¡¯d never experienced a shared headspace and it made him realize how much his usual private headspace was taken for granted. Such a change would make life difficult but at least he wasn¡¯t dead or rotting away in a prison somewhere.


    Arriving at Bhrunum the amount of damage the city took a little over two months ago showed. Non-painted buildings were here and there with half-constructed ones filling the gaps between. Thinking he should probably wake up Orius he realized he didn¡¯t know how. So far they just waited for the other to wake up. Novius decided to scream inside his head as ¡°loud¡± as he could, but to no avail, his mind stayed silent. Deciding it didn¡¯t matter much he continued to walk towards the southeast portion of town which should be less damaged.


    Now in a more put-together section of the city, he approached a tavern that he hoped would have cheap food and be ok with him not wearing a shirt. Entering, he approached the bartender who was a middle-aged busty woman. He sat down noticing her seductive cougar appearance. She asked, ¡°What can I do for ya?¡± In reply Novius all of a sudden spit out, ¡°I could think of a few things.¡± Blushing realizing what he said he stumbled over his words to correct himself, ¡°Mead! Mead is a good start.¡± She gave Novius a funny look while now leaning over the counter resting her large breasts on it, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you wearing a shirt?¡± she asked casually. Trying to save the awkward moment Novius responded, ¡°Haha yeah I don¡¯t know, I should be wearing one,¡± he accidentally glanced down noticing her nipples poking through her soft, thinly stretched, cotton shirt before continuing, ¡°It is pretty nipply out. I mean nippy! Bit of a nip in the air right? haha.¡± She chuckled a little and smiled while pouring his drink, ¡°You want some food with your mead?¡± Watching her, Novius replied, ¡°How bout some ass? I mean mash! Like mashed potatoes, some chicken with it if you can.¡± Completely defeated now Novius lowered his head embarrassed by his idiocy. Orius then burst out laughing in their head not being able to hold it in anymore, ¡®Bwahaha, you look like such a moron!¡¯


    ¡°You fucking asshole that was you? I didn¡¯t even notice you woke up.¡± Novius said aloud without thinking while the bartender brought over his plate of food. ¡®Don¡¯t say it out loud you moron she''s going to think you''re crazy,¡¯ Orius said internally still trying to keep some resemblance of approval from her. ¡®You¡¯ve already made us look like a tool,¡¯ Novius jabbed back. ¡®Oh I¡¯m not done yet,¡¯ Orius said before she placed his food in front of them. ¡°Enjoy your food hun,¡± the bartender said politely. ¡°Now I¡¯ll just need some sugar later for dessert,¡± Orius spoke while holding strong eye contact with her. She giggled and leaned over the counter again. She tucked in her chin now keeping eye contact through her brow seductively, ¡°You¡¯re funny,¡± she said while sliding him a napkin with a hotel name, room number, and time on it. Orius took the napkin and said, ¡°See you love.¡± The bartender winked at him and left to the other side of the bar to help other customers. ¡®You gotta be kidding me,¡¯ Novius said surprised at the outcome.


    ¡®You have a thing or two to learn about speaking to older women,¡¯ Orius replied proudly.


    ¡®Surely you don¡¯t intend to actually go, right?¡¯


    ¡®We¡¯ve been in a cave for over two months without getting off, yes I intend to take this opportunity.¡¯


    ¡®Whatever, c¡¯mon let¡¯s eat,¡¯ Novius said trying to change the subject. Orius reached for the mead at the same time as Novius reached for the chicken leg winding up in their arms crossing over each other. ¡®What the hell are you doing?¡¯ Orius spat.


    ¡®We¡¯re starving, I''m trying to get some real food in us first,¡¯ Novius said.


    ¡®You idiot you should always wet your throat before trying to force down food, have you no class?¡¯ Orius jutted.


    ¡®Oh cause you¡¯re the real embodiment of class,¡¯ Novius added sarcastically.


    ¡®We gotta figure out how we''re going to move around while we''re both awake,¡¯ Orius stated. They both retracted their arms and stopped for a moment. ¡®Alright, I¡¯ll drink first, just let me control the eating for now while we figure everything out,¡¯ Novius said while grabbing the tankard and taking a gulp. ¡®Do we both get drunk?¡¯ Orius inquired.


    ¡®How should I know it¡¯s my first time with this? I guess we''ll find out. So run me through why you want to ¡°consume the gods¡± exactly.¡¯


    ¡®You¡¯ve seen first hand through our memories why. Look how the gods treated both of us, they tossed you aside like you were nothing giving you this forsaken life. All they care about is themselves and the entertainment of our suffering,¡¯ Orius said like he was talking to some kind of friend. ¡®So how would killing the gods benefit all other life? They watch over us and intervene sometimes pushing events towards the way they should go.¡¯


    ¡®You¡¯re blind, the only times they involve themselves is when it benefits their entertainment or threatens it. They don¡¯t care about everyone, why do you think so many lead such tragic lives? Waking up daily to slave away under an uncaring master, family members dying from illness, murder, rape, torture, and being born with disabilities while others get renowns. If they actually cared for us they would give us all happy lives or just end our suffering altogether. Them not making that decision is a BIG decision¡­ and I plan to make it for them,¡¯ Orius spoke passionately. He didn¡¯t raise his voice or get angry, just tried to inform and persuade.


    ¡®Hold on there cowboy, are you saying you plan to kill off everyone? Some of those things are done by evil people, not cause the gods willed it. Some are just born to be pieces of shit,¡¯ Novius argued aggressively figuring out how bad Orius¡¯ intentions were. ¡®That¡¯s exactly the problem Novius, there will always be people who are born evil. Even if one person rose up as a singular god, ruling over all, he couldn¡¯t keep up with such a massive world. There are too many lives and people to keep track of whose a bad apple and who isn¡¯t.¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s exactly why there are multiple gods though! So they can keep up with it!¡¯ Novius was now getting desperate to negotiate with Orius in their internal argument.


    ¡®Then why don¡¯t they? Why are there such horrid people running about freely? Hell, it''s not even like they¡¯re hiding from them, most are in positions of power doing as they please with the world. Having several gods introduces corruption, a council of gods could never consist of only good rulers, and one god can¡¯t keep up. So the only solution is to end everything, put a stop to all the misery infesting this plane of existence.¡¯


    ¡®What about all the good people? How could you just be ok with killing them off too? Shouldn¡¯t the experience of good moments in life outweigh that of the bad?¡¯


    ¡®Eliminating the bad and keeping the good would only delay the problem. Those of evil will once again be born. If they are killed off before they can perform their harm the world will see it as cruel and introduce hatred themselves, ultimately causing more suffering. This is the only option and the fact I inhabit a body containing a renown means I am destined for this. I will not let this opportunity slip, so join me and help me bring this world to a peaceful end.¡¯ Orius spoke more seriously than ever, he truly believed he was right and this was the only option.


    ¡®I can¡¯t allow you to do something so drastic. Destroying life altogether is a selfish idea, not everyone feels the same way as you. As long as you and I share a mind you won¡¯t be doing anything of the sort,¡¯ Novius spoke determinedly. ¡®Fine, I¡¯ll bear the burden on my own,¡¯ Orius spat aggressively, ¡®I¡¯ll force your conscience to submit to mine.¡¯


    They sat and ate in silence for some time before changing the conversation. ¡®Well until that happens we still have to live with each other¡­ so what do we plan to do about the moving around thing?¡¯ Novius said breaking the internal silence. ¡®I suppose you can control the normal walking and movement during the day, I¡¯ll take care of emergencies and combat since I¡¯m more effective at it than you. We¡¯ll take turns from day to day on who gets to eat. After this let''s get some new clothes, we can¡¯t just walk around shirtless,¡¯ Orius proposed casually.


    Finishing their meal they left the only pocket change they had and made their way to a busy shop nearby. Without any money, they both decided they would have to steal a shirt. Letting Orius take control they slipped inside unnoticed among the crowd of young shoppers. Quickly browsing the available shirts Orius grabbed a purple and black one throwing it on. ¡®Why the purple one? You couldn''t have picked a less noticeable color?¡¯ Novius asked Orius questioning his taste.


    ¡®Shut up, purples my favorite color,¡¯ Orius said shyly while attempting to leave the shop unnoticed. Outside now a shout could be heard from inside, Orius without hesitation began to run down the street. One of the shop workers had seen what happened and was now chasing them, ¡°Get back here! You didn¡¯t pay for that! Guards help!¡± Glancing back the shop worker could be seen flagging down two soldiers patrolling the streets. Now being pursued by the guards Orius rounded a corner and walked behind a horse-drawn carriage filled with hay. Keeping his head down they listened as the soldiers reached the corner and sped down the street in pursuit of their now-hidden thief. Free of pursuit Orius turned back around and headed in the opposite direction. ¡®Nice job not getting spotted,¡¯ Novius said taking back control over the body. ¡®I don¡¯t see us behind bars,¡¯ Orius jabbed back casually, ¡®It¡¯ll be dark soon so let''s go find that hotel and hit the bath before our little hookup.¡¯


    Now clean they made their way upstairs to the room number written on the napkin. While climbing the steps Novius had a thought, ¡®Wait how will this work with two of us?¡¯ Harshly Orius replied, ¡®Just let me handle it and you sit back and be quiet, I don''t need to hear you moaning in my head.¡¯ Reaching the door Novius hesitated to open it, suddenly Orius took over flinging the door open. Lying on the bed was the bartender fully naked with her legs crossed.


    Watching from the back of their mind Novius felt awkward at first. It was a strange experience to witness sex in the first person like this without actually being in control. The loud moans from the woman began to ease Novius into it making him more comfortable. Orius focused on pleasing the woman and having fun while Novius just enjoyed the bliss of the feeling. After several minutes of rhythmic thrusts, Orius decided to finish it off in missionary.


    After not having sex for so long Novius was infatuated with the beauty of the older woman. Orius gripped her throat choking her causing her eyes to roll into the back of her head from pleasure. About to climax Novius fixated on her luscious lips which were parted open slightly as- BAM! Orius¡¯ right hand smashed into her face breaking her nose and sending blood splattering all over her face. Novius was shaken awake from his ecstasy as Orius tightened his grip around her throat while finishing inside her. Crushing her esophagus Orius had no intent on letting up. Novius attempted to take back control or at least prevent Orius from going harder but he couldn¡¯t. Orius¡¯ willpower was through the roof as he continued to pump inside her and punch her again. Novius could do nothing but watch until they finished climaxing.


    Once finished Orius plopped down onto her burying his face into her breasts and relaxing. Novius took over and yelled in their head, ¡®You fucking killed her!¡¯ Pushing them back up in a panic Novius looked at her face only to see the woman smiling back, free of blood, ¡°You didn¡¯t mention you had a renown, we could¡¯ve been more extreme!¡± Orius collapsed them back down into her breasts as before and the bartender ran her hands through their hair. ¡®Calm down you imbecile, I fixed her. Now let me enjoy this before I get tired of it,¡¯ Orius said with a sigh trying to wind down. After three minutes of laying in silence, Orius groaned as he got up, ¡°Alright, that''s enough of that.¡±


    ¡°Where you going, baby? No need to run off,¡± the woman pleaded as Orius put their clothes on. ¡®What are you doing? Let''s stay here for the night,¡¯ Novius asked. ¡°I can¡¯t stand women''s neediness after sex, I¡¯m going elsewhere,¡± Orius said responding to both of them while exiting the room. Now walking down the stairs of the hotel Novius questioned Orius aloud, ¡°What the hell do you mean? All we did was lay there for a couple of minutes!¡± Exiting the building into the chilly night Orius replied, ¡°After good sex women are clingy. Once cooled down I don¡¯t like to be touched, she would have been clinging to us all night after a fuck like that.¡±


    Frustrated by his close-mindedness Novius slumped over, ¡°Well, that¡¯s just great where do you suggest we sleep now? Need I remind you we have no more money?¡±


    ¡°There should be an orc camp south of here. We¡¯ll take turns sleeping while the other walks, the body can rest once we arrive.¡±


    ¡°An orc camp? They won¡¯t want us there. How do you figure they¡¯ll let us sleep there, let alone even be nearby?¡±


    ¡°Orcs live by strength, all we gotta do is beat one in a sparring match,¡± Orius said confidently while yawning. Rounding a corner on the empty street a different set of guards were on patrol. Entering their line of sight they shouted, ¡°Hey! Stop!¡± Noticing their blunder Orius turned and started running. Without any people around to blend in with losing them wasn¡¯t an option this time.


    Ducking into an alleyway the soldiers followed hastily behind only to be surprised with Orius waiting for them. Grabbing both by their chest plate he flung them into the brick wall. Running up to them, still stunned, Orius grabbed one of their heads and smashed a knee right into his face knocking him unconscious. The second soldier recovered and reached for his sword but before he could Orius grabbed his wrist twisting it behind his back. Grimacing in pain the soldier was forced to submit to the floor with his arm outstretched and twisted in the air with a foot pushing down on his upper back. ¡°All this chasing over a damn shirt?¡± Orius said mockingly. ¡°Shirt? What the hell are you talking about? Just kill me like you did the rest you dirtbag!¡± The soldier said through the pain. ¡°What do you mean killed the rest?¡± Orius murmured now noticing the iconic red and grey Opik armor they were wearing.


    ¡°On the night of the raid you traitor! You killed my friend K¡¯len and plenty of others in that castle, don¡¯t pretend like it didn''t happen!¡±


    Now sent into disarray from the shocking statement Novius¡¯ conscience began to race with thoughts, ¡®We killed K¡¯len and the others? Why are Opik soldiers here? Did I kill Maxith?¡¯ With Novius panicking internally Orius couldn¡¯t hear himself think because their voices blended together. ¡®Novius. Calm down,¡¯ Orius pleaded. ¡®What about the rest of our men? Are we wanted now? What if we get thrown in prison?¡¯ Novius couldn¡¯t stop the thoughts from flowing. ¡®Novius! Stop it!¡¯ Orius shouted internally at him. Even this didn¡¯t prevent the flow of panic causing Orius to get angry, ¡°Novius! Shut the fuck up!¡± Suddenly the speeding words halted, ¡°We agreed I would handle the emergencies. I can¡¯t hear myself think when you do that, our voices sound the same and mesh together. Just calm down for a minute.¡± The submitted soldier furrowed his brow confused as to why Novius was talking to himself. ¡°Ok¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± Novius also replied out loud. Looking back to the man below them Orius began questioning him about the night of the raid.

 7. 74 Days Ago

    Shortly after the raid of Bhrunum came to its unexpected conclusion between Novius and Maxith the Opik army was forced to improvise. Under the command of Maxith, they encroached on the remaining Kadince territory. Forcing the enemy military into submission, the Opik Empire ended the war spelling out victory for Sintia. With the mission complete Maxith met with the nobles of Sintia who had traveled to the border for the occasion.


    ¡°We cannot thank you enough for what you¡¯ve done for our people. Without you, Maxith, our country wouldn¡¯t be celebrating this victory. The table has agreed this cooperation between our countries has established a great trust between us. Prince Maxith you can rely on us in the future as allies of the Opik Empire.¡±


    ¡°Well it was my father''s plan, I don¡¯t think I deserve all the praise. Your alliance with us is greatly appreciated and I will communicate this with my father,¡± Maxith humbly replied to the seven nobles sitting before him at a crescent-shaped table. ¡°Please Maxith, don¡¯t be so modest,¡± One noble on the left began, ¡°The rumors of what happened in Bhrunum reach even our ears. Without you, that demon would have ruined our plans and brought defeat to our land.¡± Another noble near the middle of the table chimed in, ¡°Your capability to adapt to the situation and improvise during such chaos has proven you quite capable. Let me ask you, how do you plan on bringing your men home?¡±


    ¡°We planned to depart tomorrow morning and march through Lorta.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, no no no,¡± the room filled with whispering as the nobles leaned in to speak to each other quietly. Maxith stood before them awkwardly in the empty room containing just the table, the nobles, and himself. Waiting for them to finish Maxith observed their strange attire. All of them wore baggy robes and tall wide hats, all of which were of different colors. They all stopped speaking and turned back to Maxith. The noble in blue spoke, ¡°We will be giving you ships to return home in.¡±


    ¡°Whoah¡­ thank you for the offer but that is unnecessary. We can¡¯t take such a generous gift from you,¡± Maxith responded hastily.


    ¡°We cannot allow you to walk across the continent after the assistance you lent us. Allow us to give you this in return,¡± The noble in Yellow continued, ¡°The ships will be prepared for you by tomorrow morning. Allow your men to rest for tonight before your journey home.¡± After thanking them for their kindness Maxith exited the room to find Emerson still waiting outside for him. ¡°So we''re getting ships huh? That¡¯ll be nice,¡± Emerson said now walking beside Maxith making their way outside. ¡°Ya know the whole point of you not being in the room is so we can have a private conversation. You listening in kinda defeats that purpose,¡± Maxith responded half serious but not actually worried about it. ¡°It is your first time holding a meeting of such importance. I¡¯m supposed to be able to guide you to become king so I need to be able to give pointers. Just know most political meetings don¡¯t go so pleasantly, you¡¯re lucky your first one is after a major victory.¡±


    Reaching the outside Maxith looked up at the baby blue sky and stopped for a moment. Emerson stopped and looked up with him, ¡°Still thinking about him huh? Your job is almost done Maxith, see it to the end. You¡¯ve done better than anyone expected of you, finish off our journey clean and you can worry about your personal affairs then.¡± Looking back down Maxith continued to walk on the dirt path through the trees, ¡°It¡¯s not like we can do anything immediately anyways, we don¡¯t even know where he is. I¡¯ll have time once we¡¯re sailing to figure out a game plan.¡±


    ¡°Well, not to put more pressure on you but, what about the woman? What do you plan to do with her?¡±


    ¡°Oh shit,¡± Maxith whispered and widened his eyes for a moment before continuing, ¡°I almost forgot about her. Fuck do you think they¡¯ll get home before us? Father might execute her.¡±


    ¡°Well, the ships they¡¯re taking back we¡¯re Lorta property so they will be leaving them where we set sail in Indona. Walking home from there will slow them enough to allow us to sail back first,¡± Emerson loosened the cuffs around his wrists from his uniform to let some air in. He never slacked in the appearance of his uniform around others so Maxith found it odd. ¡°You plan to keep that big fucking sword? Thing chopped your shoulder up pretty good.¡± Maxith put his hand on his wound from it and rotated his shoulder around lifting his arm in the air, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be honest, I can¡¯t even lift it now without all the adrenaline from last night.¡±


    ¡°Keep your hands on it for now, you might want to look into using it again.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Maxith furrowed his brow confused.


    ¡°Well, you beat Novius in a duel for the first time while using that thing. Whether or not that was him doesn¡¯t matter, his fighting instincts were still in there and you injured him first. Perhaps that sword could help you find a fighting style more suited to your strengths. A stature like yours could take advantage of such an odd weapon and become a real difficult thing for an opponent to deal with in battle,¡± Emerson fixed his cuffs back to normal now reaching the town with friendly soldiers and civilians walking around. ¡°Yeah I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to look into it,¡± Maxith said as they reached the dock of the river they would sail on tomorrow to reach the ocean.


    Maxith looked toward the water focusing on its beautiful blue color while his mind mixed and turned thinking about everything. He managed to power through his previous worries just to be introduced to new ones, ¡®What kind of demon infested him? Does any semblance of his true self remain?¡¯ He attempted to wrap his head around the possible scenarios but everything was just assumptions as of now.


    Staring at the waves crashing he could hear seagulls squawking around him. He was shaken awake from his deep thoughts by a soldier grabbing him around the shoulder. Looking up from the waves he saw Ventium not far from the boat he was aboard. The soldier grabbing him urged Maxith to join the crew in a sea shanty celebrating their arrival home. Four days of sailing was rough, but much better than marching. Happy to have his military duties behind him now that he was home, Maxith joined in the singing. Upon docking Emerson and Maxith left toward the castle to speak to Decimus about the victory. Informing him the Kadince region had been brought to its knees Decimus was pleased, ¡°Wonderful, good job Emerson. Maxith I hope you gained some good experience from Emerson during this.¡±


    ¡°Actually Decimus, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be happy to hear Maxith did well on his own after a bit of a hiccup in the plan,¡± Emerson corrected Decimus now looking over to Maxith proudly. ¡°Oh? What hiccup?¡± Decimus inquired. Maxith then explained to his father what happened with Novius, and how he led his men south improvising from the disruption of the plan. ¡°Novius did what!?¡± Decimus exclaimed ignoring the impressive actions his son had taken, ¡°Where is he now? He¡¯ll be executed for this.¡± Without hesitation Maxith yelled back, ¡°What? Did you not hear what I said? He''s infested with a demon! It wasn¡¯t Novius who did it, it was the cursed blades, he needs our help to bring him back!¡±


    ¡°Do not raise your voice to me, child. Him or not, he is now a threat and must be dealt with. Those blades have brought nothing but misery to the world in their past. Emerson send soldiers back to Bhrunum to keep a lookout for him, I want him found.¡± Maxith raised his voice even more now growing impatient with his father''s history of inhuman actions, ¡°We will not be killing someone who needs our help! Novius is a good man and wouldn¡¯t turn against us! Your rash actions-¡± Decimus interrupted Maxith standing up from his throne spilling his wine glass on the floor, ¡°You don¡¯t make the decisions around here Maxith! Sit in your place like you should and allow me to-¡± Decimus suddenly spit up a black liquid from his mouth and collapsed to his knees. Emerson quickly ran to his side to help him up. Maxith stood frozen in place confused as to what was happening. Decimus continued to hack up the thick mushy grunge staining the carpet at Maxith¡¯s feet. Emerson urged Maxith to go get the doctor but he couldn¡¯t hear him.


    Maxith¡¯s ears were ringing while his eyes stayed fixated on his father doubled over on the ground. He¡¯d never seen his father harmed before and had felt as though he was an invincible force, incapable of being stopped. Seeing his father¡¯s mortality for the first time was stunning. Emerson stood from his crouching position and walked back to Maxith grabbing him by his shirt, ¡°Get the doctor, NOW!¡± Emerson pushed Maxith towards the door letting go of his shirt and returning to Decimus¡¯ side.


    Fetching the doctor Maxith ran to his father''s room with him explaining what happened. Emerson laid Decimus on his side to prevent him from choking on the muddy fluid while the doctor began to run basic checks on him to see what was wrong. After about fifteen minutes of him coughing up the dark filth, he stopped and stabilized. The doctor explained that he would need time to check some things before an actual diagnosis could be made. For the time being Maxith and Emerson would have to wait.


    After two days the group from Bhrunum arrived at Ventium. Maxith of course greeted them at the gates, happy to see his men in good health. Reina sat in the back of a horse carriage with her hands tied behind her back. The soldier who Maxith had threatened back in Bhrunum to protect her walked up to Maxith while shaking in fear and said, ¡°I stayed with her every moment and made sure she was safe! I promise nothing happened to her Prince Maxith!¡± Laughing Maxith patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Thank you, good job,¡± dismissing the frightened soldier who gladly left Maxith¡¯s presence.


    Walking up to the cart containing Reina Maxith stuck out his tongue making a funny face as to playfully mock Reina for being tied up. Seeing this she responded, "Oh, hilarious. Let''s see how funny it is when I tie you up." Hearing this Maxith widened his eyes and looked to the side and sarcastically said, "Woah, not in front of everyone else dear." Reina got flustered and blushed a little now noticing how what she said sounded. Turning her back to Maxith she allowed him to untie her. Getting up and exiting the cart they walked side by side down the street, "So where do you plan on keeping me?" Reina asked him. "Well if it were up to me you''d stay in the castle," Maxith began, "But it''s not. You''ll have to stay in a cell until we find out anything about your family and can let you leave." Reina made a twisted face and said, "Oooo, so you like keeping girls you meet locked up huh? How pleasant." Maxith laughed and responded, "I would try and talk Decimus into being ok with you staying in a room with us but tensions are a tad high right now."


    Maxith left Reina in a cell in town closest to the castle reassuring her if something happened he¡¯d be there to help her. Walking back into his home he was greeted by Emerson who did not look happy, "Maxith, the doctor needs to talk to you." Looking over he could see the doctor seated on a couch leaning forward clearly stressed with his face in his palm. Maxith sat next to the doctor and Emerson stood beside him and said, "Tell him." The doctor looked over to Maxith and spoke, "Maxith I believe your father''s illness is terminal."


    They sat in silence for a moment as he absorbed the sudden information, the doctor continued, "I can''t be sure when but it''ll probably be a few months." Maxith furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before speaking, "Why can''t you fix him?" The doctor sighed, looked down, and rubbed his eye with his palm while he said, "His body seems to be collapsing inward on itself, whatever he has it''s making him eat himself alive. The thick black stuff he¡¯s hacking up is blood mixed with his liquified flesh. It''s looking like a slow process so it gives us some time." Maxith looked at him tilting his head to the side not understanding what he meant, "Time for what?"


    "To finish prepping you to be king," Emerson butted in without hesitation.


    "What? I''m only twenty! I wouldn''t even know where to begin," Maxith said as he looked up at Emerson with a panic in his voice. Emerson provided no comfort, he just looked blankly at Maxith and said, "Your people call for you to rise to the occasion and lead them and you complain? Do you expect someone else to do it for you? What kind of prince is afraid at the thought of becoming king, that''s your whole purpose in life. You live in these walls and lead the privileged life you do because you''re expected to do more than the average man can. Do not whine again. Your days will no longer be so relaxed, they will be spent learning strategy and politics. On top of this, you will carry out your father''s commands as the acting king since he is bedridden, this will provide experience. Today he wishes to issue a message to the civilians of Ventium and you will be the one to deliver it. Here." Emerson handed Maxith a piece of paper with the message written on it for him to memorize. While Maxith scanned the page Emerson directed the doctor to leave the room so they could have privacy. Maxith''s eyes widened while he read and the doctor leaving the room acted as a fuse for Maxith''s reaction. Once the door closed Maxith exploded, he shot out of his seated position and said, "I can''t tell them this! This is bullshit and you know it!"


    Without the doctor in their presence Emerson loosened up his rough exterior and tried to calm Maxith down, "Listen kid, I know it''s not something you agree with but it''s what needs to be done. Rumors are already spreading now that we''re back from the raid and eventually, everyone will hear what happened. The people will feel angry and demand to know what''s being done about it if you don''t inform them first. Someone has to tell them and it''s best you''re the messenger."


    Maxith turned red in the face from anger and began pacing back and forth, "Then why don''t we tell them the actual truth, not this shit!" Emerson sat down and ran his hand over his clean shaved head, "No matter how you look at it he''s a massive threat in the people''s eyes Maxith. Even if you say he''s infested with a demon is that supposed to make them feel better? What about their families? Sure they''ll feel bad about what happened to him but they still want him dealt with to keep their lives protected. You¡¯re supposed to provide that insurance for them." Still pacing and looking at the floor Maxith was thinking what to do, "Ok how about a compromise, we keep his name intact telling them it''s not his fault, it was the demons, but we promise to deal with him."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "You''re not getting it, telling them a demon is on the loose would make them worry more, and on top of that, it''ll split the people. Some will feel you''re doing the right thing putting out a manhunt on him and others will feel pity for him like you do. In a situation like that no matter what you do some of the populace will question your actions and view the Opik family as unfit to rule. Keeping a common enemy among the people will create unison and keep them happy knowing we are fixing the issue. With our limited knowledge and understanding of this demon, we have no clue what to expect. This is the best course of action we can take for now until the situation changes later."


    Maxith stopped pacing and plopped onto the couch opposite of Emerson, ¡°When do I have to do it?¡± Emerson sighed and answered, ¡°At four this afternoon¡­ all you have to do is put up with your father''s wishes until you wind up becoming king. When that happens you can make your own decisions with my advisory,¡± Emerson stood up and continued, ¡°Once you¡¯re done memorizing the speech the maids will dress you up in the proper attire.¡±


    Satisfied with his memory of the speech Maxith lowered his arm plopping it to his side, paper still in hand. He looked at himself in the mirror standing still while two maids circled him fixing every minute detail of his appearance. Maxith tugged at the collar of his white blouse and immediately one of the maids swatted his hand away, ¡°Ow!¡± Maxith exclaimed, ¡°Why do I have to wear this again?¡± Maxith groaned looking at the over-the-top outfit. ¡°The people don¡¯t know about your father''s sickness yet. We must begin to prepare their view of you as a man ready to take on the responsibility of a king,¡± the maid replied while strapping a gold necklace around his neck. ¡°How exactly does this convey that?¡± Maxith complained while tugging at a crimson cape that covered only half of his body, it tapered gradually from left to right until it reached floor length.


    ¡°Would you stand still already?¡± The other maid asked grabbing the cape from his hands. His black long coat was finished with gold trims and a red notched lapel to match the cape. After pulling the coat straight and leaving it open to show the blouse the maids stepped back and simultaneously said, ¡°Perfect!¡± Maxith could hear the massive crowd outside talking excitedly in anticipation of his speech. ¡°Now hurry and give your speech before you mess up our work!¡± the older maid said. ¡°Ok ok,¡± Maxith replied walking towards the open doorway beaming with bright light.


    After stepping through Maxith¡¯s eyes adjusted to the sunlight revealing a massive crowd below him. The balcony he was on overlooked the town square which now contained a large majority of the city''s populace. Almost entirely at once the talking ceased and the large crowd fell silent. For a moment Maxith¡¯s heart raced as he became the center of attention of such a large group. A speech on this scale was something he¡¯d never done before. The silence in the square grew awkward before Maxith noticed something. Emerson was in the square at the front looking up to Maxith giving him a thumbs up of encouragement. This eased Maxith¡¯s nerves and allowed him to take in the crowd on a more personal level. He began to recognize the faces of people he knew and met throughout his years growing up. This made him recall how these people look to him for protection and comfort and how it was his responsibility to provide it. Confidently Maxith began to speak.


    ¡°A week ago our military invaded enemy territory to put a stop to an unnecessary war. The king of the Kadince people had grown selfish and began to take land, food, and water from the people of Sintia. This act of bullying another nation is not something the Opik Empire takes lying down. As the capital of the Kadince region, Bhrunum was the targeted city for the raid. Our men sailed into that city in the dead of night planning an assassination on the Kadince king, and today I am here to inform you of our success. The Opik Empire finished a four-year-long war in a single night!¡± Applause and cheers began to fill the square as Maxith raised his voice to continue the hype, ¡°Our nation¡¯s might is that of the best in the world!¡± Maxith stopped for a moment allowing the applause to simmer down before he continued, ¡°But with the light of victory comes the darkness of tragedy. I would first like to acknowledge the Opik men who passed on that night fighting for peace in the eastern continent. With their sacrifice comes the guarantee that Opik and Sintia children can mature in a safe, peaceful world. To honor them I would like to hold a moment of silence before we continue.¡± This part of the speech was something not written by Decimus but was added in by Maxith.


    After a minute of silence, Maxith began to speak again, ¡°Along with their deaths came the unexpected event of betrayal.¡± Maxith stopped before he read the next sentence knowing it was against everything he wanted, ¡°A man named Novius Leviticus, who belonged to our homeland, murdered several of our men and betrayed our country,¡± The crowd began whispering amongst themselves as Maxith held back a disappointed face, ¡°We will be sending troops back to Bhrunum which was his last known location in an attempt to find him and prosecute him as any traitor should be.¡± The civilians now began to grow louder and louder discussing the shocking news. Maxith now struggled to get them back under control as he raised his voice, ¡°Quiet! Quiet!¡­ Silence!¡± The people finally stopped talking, ¡°We planned to leave the Kadince region as a proxy country ruled under us but not occupied by us, but with this complication, we¡¯re forced to do so. The traitor currently poses no threat to our livelihood and should not be feared as we have the situation under control.¡±


    Maxith abruptly turned and left in disgust having finished the speech. Seeing this the crowd understood how Maxith felt, most of them knew they were best friends. Not knowing the true scenario they sympathized with their beloved young prince and directed their hate towards Novius. Someone in the crowd started a chant, ¡°Kill the traitor! Kill the traitor!¡± The civilians hoped to aid Maxith¡¯s despair by showing their support for his actions. Emerson lowered his head and buried his face in his palm knowing how their good intentions were just hurting Maxith more. Walking into the empty dressing room Maxith tore off his long coat and cape throwing it to the side in anger. Without breaking his stride he approached a wooden mannequin punching it square in the face. The hardwood splintered out from the crushing force and was sent flying into a wall.


    In search of a way to release his anger, Maxith stormed off back towards the castle. Barging into the training room he approached the hulking chunk of steel he used during the raid. Fuming with emotion he grasped the handle of the weapon and attempted to lift it. Veins popped out of his neck and biceps as he poured all of his rage into the action. He let out a savage scream forcing the hefty blade from the ground and placed it on his shoulder once again. Blood trickled down his ruffled white silk blouse as he walked up to an old beat-up sandbag. He lifted the cold steel from his shoulder and brought it down in a diagonal slash cutting the bag in half. Sand poured out from the now-ruined bag while Maxith struggled to lift the sword a second time. His face turned red with the effort as he failed to move it an inch.


    Releasing the air stored in his lungs he dropped the handle and the weapon went crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Maxith fell to his knees and yelled, ¡°Fuuuck!¡± as he lowered his forehead to the floor and balled up his fists. After the release of his pent-up rage tears began to flow to Maxith¡¯s eyes. The emotions from recent events had caught up to him and blew up all at once. Images flashed through his mind, men he slaughtered during the raid, the burning man he put down, shouts of women and children, his father''s looming presence, the deathmites¡¯ haunting appearance as they pulled his men into the dark abyss, Tyra¡¯s haunting face screaming at him for help, Novius¡¯ eyes staring at him through the fire.


    Eventually, Maxith¡¯s mind calmed down and went blank. He pushed himself up from the ground and felt the pain from his now reopened shoulder injury. Wincing from it he remembered Reina¡¯s renown and figured he could ask her to fix it for him. Leaving the training room he wiped away his tears to not be seen as weak by his people. Upon reaching Reina¡¯s cell she greeted him saying, ¡°Hiii-¡± She jumped up from where she was seated and rushed to the cell bars before continuing, ¡°Oh my god what happened to your shoulder!?¡± Maxith opened the cell door and entered while giving an awkward smile, ¡°It was healing fine but I kinda messed up and it opened again.¡± Grabbing his blouse she pulled it over his head removing it. ¡°What the hell were you doing?¡± She pestered analyzing the wound. Pulling up her chair she sat down, ¡°C¡¯mon, sit here,¡± she motioned for Maxith to sit on the floor in front of her as she grabbed her water bucket and a rag.


    Now seated between her legs she leaned over his wound cleaning out dirt from the sword with her rag. Answering her previous question Maxith said, ¡°I was using a weapon a tad big for me.¡± Reina stopped and made a funny face, ¡°A weapon too big for you? Ha I didn¡¯t think such a thing was possible,¡± she said while touching his oversized arms. Leaning his head back into her lap he smiled at her and said, ¡°Thankfully I have my damsel in distress here to fix me.¡± In return to his sly remark, Reina poked at his wound with the rag causing Maxith to wince and reply, ¡°Ow!¡± Looking down at Maxith with a smile she sarcastically said, ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re the helpless one now.¡± Without hesitation Maxith shot back, ¡°Oh I¡¯m helpless alright,¡± while staring into Reina¡¯s sparkling eyes.


    Blushing, Reina looked away. Maxith chuckled and raised his head from her lap to look forward again. After a moment Reina continued to clean out his wound silently. Maxith looked down at the ground and thought for a second before speaking, ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve done horrible things and¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I can be a good leader anymore.¡± Reina dunked the rag in water and wrung it out while asking, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know it¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯ve watched bad things happen and did nothing to stop it¡­ thinking it was for the best. I killed people during that raid and I- I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready. How can someone like me become king so soon? A few months at best isn¡¯t enough for me to prepare.¡±


    ¡°Woah woah! King? What are you talking about? You sure you didn¡¯t hit your head too?¡±


    ¡°Haha oops,¡± Maxith began, ¡°I kinda forgot to mention I¡¯m prince of the Opik Empire.¡± Suddenly Reina¡¯s hand reached over Maxith¡¯s forehead pulling his head back into her lap again, ¡°PRINCE?! What the shit, I thought you were just a captain!¡± Maxith squinted his eyes and shrank his head into his shoulders, ¡°Sorry?¡± Reina swiftly flicked him on the forehead and added, ¡°How could you forget to mention such a thing? Besides wouldn¡¯t your father be king if you¡¯re the prince, what are you talking about?¡± Maxith looked to the ground again and sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone but¡­ my father is sick, he''s not expected to last two months. I feel like I¡¯m not ready to be king yet, I mean what does it mean to be king?¡± Plucking out the last bit of dirt from his wound Reina said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear about that¡­ My father used to tell my brother and me ¡®A false king owns the lives of his people, a true king''s life belongs to the people.¡¯ Everything you do and every action you take is dedicated to the people who rely on you. You take on the pain and suffering for them so they can live good lives. That''s what makes you a great king.¡±


    Maxith stared intently at the ground deep in thought, something about what she said moved a blockage in his mind. Reina then used her renown to heal his shoulder and leaned forward placing her arms around his neck on his chest hugging him. Whispering in his ear she said, ¡°I think you¡¯ll make a great king.¡± After a few moments, Reina kissed him on the cheek and stood up. Maxith woke from his deep thought and also got to his feet. ¡°Say, do you always have to clean the wound out before you use your renown?¡± Reina plopped down on the edge of her bed and said, ¡°Nope! I just wanted to,¡± with a bright smile on her face.


    Having left the cell it was now nighttime. Maxith made his way back home determined to get something off his chest. Entering his father''s room he found the doctor by his side sleeping while watching over him. Maxith abruptly awoke him and told him to leave his father and him alone. The doctor said to get him if something happened which was brushed off by Maxith. Now alone with Decimus, they met eyes and Maxith began, ¡°I know you can¡¯t speak, but it doesn¡¯t matter. All you need to do is listen to me.¡± Maxith didn¡¯t sit down or make the situation comfortable for Decimus, he simply loomed over the side of the bed staring at his father. ¡°I want you to know how much of a piece of shit you are¡­ scum like you could never rule an empire and make it better, all you did is maintain it. Every action you took was selfish with the desire to benefit yourself in the hopes to feel like your sorry self was worth something,¡± leaning forward over Decimus¡¯ face he continued, ¡°I want you to remember for the little time you have left your existence as king will be overshadowed by my rule and forgotten. Your mediocrity was your downfall as a ruler and won¡¯t be difficult to surpass.¡± Maxith stood back up straight without breaking eye contact and Decimus had a furious look in his eyes. He tried to retaliate back but got sent into the worst coughing fit yet, spilling more slimy liquid than before. Maxith watched and spit on the floor next to the bed in disrespect.


    The doctor heard the hacking and came rushing in through the door, ¡°What happened?!¡± Without looking away from Decimus¡¯ suffering he responded, ¡°Nothing.¡± Leaving the room he could hear the panic of the doctor attempting to stabilize Decimus. The sounds faded into the darkness of the castle Maxith left the room unfazed.


    The sun rose the next morning with a slightly cooler breeze in the air. Summer was coming to an end as they moved into the later months of the year. Emerson who was awake at dawn as always approached Maxith¡¯s room planning to wake him up for political classes. With no response after knocking Emerson opened the door prepared to shake him awake, but found no one inside. Confused Emerson exited back into the hallway and began searching for Maxith. Finding the living room and courtyard empty he grew worried and asked one of the maids in the kitchen if she¡¯d seen him, ¡°No but there is some food missing from the pantry,¡± she answered. Now speed walking through the narrow hallways he thought to himself, ¡®Don¡¯t tell me he did something rash. I know the speech was hard on the kid, especially after those crowd chants, but I figured it¡¯d be best to let him deal with it alone.¡¯ Now heading towards the training room the doctor caught up to Emerson in a panic, ¡°I need to tell you something!¡± Not in any mood to be distracted with something that wasn¡¯t his job Emerson responded, ¡°Not now, deal with it yourself.¡±


    ¡°No seriously we need to talk-¡± They burst into the training room to find Maxith holding a barbell like a sword with weights on the end. ¡°Maxith! What the hell are you doing?¡± Emerson said with a smile on his face pleased to see Maxith training. Empty plates of food were scattered here and there making it obvious he stayed awake all night. ¡°About time you woke up old man!¡± Maxith sneered lowering the barbell to the ground slowly. Emerson walked toward him raising his hand, clasping it with Maxith¡¯s, ¡°Good to see you¡¯re doing well kid.¡± Now done with their greeting the doctor interrupted again, ¡°Guys you really need to listen.¡± Both turned to face him and Emerson asked annoyed, ¡°What the hell is it!¡± Shying away from Emerson¡¯s aggressiveness he said, ¡°It¡¯s Decimus¡­ he¡¯s dead.¡±


    Shocked by the news Emerson quickly looked over to Maxith expecting him to be thrown through a loop, panicking. Instead, he calmly picked up his oversized baggy shirt from the floor and put it on. Walking past the doctor towards the door he said, ¡°C¡¯mon Emerson, we have an empire to change.¡±

 8. Disbarred

    Walking through a forest in the dead of night wasn¡¯t easy, but it was Novius¡¯ turn to walk. Since leaving Bhrunum they¡¯d switch off every couple of hours. Their accumulated tiredness in the body made it hard for their consciousnesses to stay awake for longer than 5 hours. Hitting the fourth hour Novius came upon a small oval-shaped clearing. Deciding he made pretty good progress on his turn he figured he¡¯d take a rest. Finding a single tree towards the left side of the oval, he sat next to it on a half-buried log facing the right side of the clearing. Novius took a deep breath and sighed in relaxation looking at the stars. ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it?¡± Orius said out of nowhere. Surprised by his sudden appearance but not spooked Novius responded, ¡°Yeah it is.¡± The lack of artificial light in their world allowed the constellations to show crystal clear in the night sky. The moon sat just over the line of trees and was tinted a midnight purple. Stars of varying colors sprinkled the view ranging from red, orange, and yellow to white, blue, and green.


    Looking down at the meadow itself Novius asked calmly, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re awake, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Orius didn¡¯t respond right away but instead observed the blue mist that lay just above the grass at shin height, ¡°I figured I¡¯d give you some company.¡± Flowers poked just above the mist proudly displaying their own vibrant colors unhindered by the blue of the mist like those below. ¡°You still have an hour left to sleep, you sure you¡¯re not going to take it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, you can take the extra hour if you¡¯d like,¡± Orius said while resting their hands on the log and leaning back. ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll be nice to talk for a bit, it¡¯s been two days since we¡¯ve been trading off.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, once we¡¯re out of this forest we should be there. Did we eat any food on your shift?¡± Orius mentioned while staring at the purple moon. Novius let him enjoy it while responding, ¡°No luck. I was hoping you could get some once it¡¯s daytime on yours.¡± The wind blew causing some leaves to fall off the surrounding trees and drift through the air completing the magical feel of the meadow. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll take care of it. You feeling any better about that Maxith situation?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, him becoming king and keeping the manhunt out on us is throwing me off,¡± Novius sounded worried about his friend.


    ¡°Well, the soldier did say Maxith issued an order to keep us alive. It''s possible his intentions aren¡¯t as negative as the soldiers.¡±


    ¡°That being said the general populace doesn¡¯t feel the same. We can¡¯t go back yet¡­ I don¡¯t think we''ll ever be welcome back,¡± Novius paused and ran his hand through their hair out of frustration, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think the exhaustion mixed with our shitty situation just has me a bit down.¡±


    ¡°You and me both man. I think some relaxation for us and the body is a little overdue. Once we get the chance to settle for a while we can think it through with a clear head.¡± A large bunny with antlers hopped into the field and began to eat some of the grass to their right.


    Continuing to try and cheer up Novius Orius looked at it and said in their head, ¡®Hey, check it out,¡± while smiling. The emotions of their independent facial expressions were conveyed to each other in their mind as if they could see another person''s face making it even without the actual body doing so. Rising from the log Orius entered a crouching position to stalk the jackalope. Using the fog for stealth he unsheathed one of the blades attached to their waist he extended his arm behind them. The swift movement of Orius¡¯ underhand throw brought the creature to attention, freezing it in place momentarily. The sword traveled in a straight line directly toward its target, slamming right into its body.


    ¡°Haha, look at that! I didn¡¯t know you could even throw a sword like that!¡± Novius exclaimed. Orius picked up the creature pulling the blade from its body, ¡°Since they¡¯re short swords you can still throw them, but only in a specific way. Throwing it like a dagger doesn¡¯t work because the weight and center of gravity won¡¯t let it spin properly. Underhand you can rocket the blade in a straight line toward the target accurately with enough practice. This technique is special to short swords because regular swords weigh too much to throw.¡± He then skinned the animal and started a fire to cook it. Once it was roasted Novius went for a bite but realized Orius should have the pleasure in eating it since he killed it. Orius noticed this and said, ¡°Go ahead and eat it, I¡¯ll take the next meal. Eating always helps cheer people up.¡±


    In between bites Novius said to Orius, ¡°Y¡¯know, I was thinking about the other day when we were holding down that soldier. Maybe we should make our voices sound different in our head so we don¡¯t get confused between our different thoughts.¡± He took another bite while Orius considered it, ¡®Yeah I suppose that wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea,¡¯ Orius deepened his voice into a low rumble, ¡®How about this?¡¯ Novius was surprised at the sudden difference, ¡°Geez I know you¡¯re the evil one but I wasn¡¯t expecting that.¡± Disappointed in how Novius regarded him like this Orius didn¡¯t respond. Breaking the awkward silence Novius continued, ¡°It¡¯ll work I suppose, our head running smoothly is more important than our comfort.¡±


    Orius stood them up but suddenly their knee buckled from under them. Now kneeling on the ground Novius commented, ¡°Looks like the body can¡¯t take much more, hopefully we get there soon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead and get some sleep, I¡¯ll try and get us there before you wake.¡±


    ¡°Alright, good luck with the bo-,¡± Novius¡¯ consciousness reached its limit and faded away before he could finish his words. Now alone Orius forced the body to stand and began walking into the forest as the sun rose above the horizon to his left. Walking idly for three hours he neared the edge of the forest. The thick trees had been blocking the sun and as he exited the dense forestry the light flooded his eyes. This somehow was sensed by Novius, waking him up, ¡®Looks like we''re here,¡¯ he said. Orius looked around at the grassy plain, searching for the orcs. Looking to the right a row of logs stuck out of the ground vertically forming a well-built wall. They assumed it would be the orc camp and began approaching it. Closer now they could see the logs were sharpened at the top and lookout guards stood on a platform overlooking the entrance from inside.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± A large green orc asked from his post behind the tall fence. Standing in front of the closed gate Orius replied, ¡°I am Novius, I seek rest here at your camp.¡± The orc looked to his left at another orc on the other side of the gate and spoke to him in a different language. He waved the other orc to go get the chief and looked back to Novius. ¡°You wait for chief,¡± he said bluntly in his broken English. ¡°That''s fine,¡± Novius said as he sat on the ground and observed the orc''s hair. It was black and shaped into a squared mow-hawk. After about two minutes the gates began to open slowly. Novius got to his feet expecting the chief to speak to him alone, instead fifteen warrior orcs poured out between the cracking gate and surrounded them. Raising his hands in the air Novius said, ¡°Woah woah calm down.¡± An assortment of spears and other weapons were pointed at Novius from all sides to keep him in check. With Novius now secured the chief walked through the gate.


    He was different than the other orcs surrounding Novius. Grey in color and slightly smaller statured than the green ones, but still quite large. His canine teeth stuck out like all the other orcs but his were special. His upper jaw canines jutted out as far as his chin and his lower ones reached nose height and curled into a spiral. All four of the teeth had engravings carved into them giving a wild native appearance. ¡°Ekhan utnir mesupaph,¡± the chief said in another language with a heavy accent. Immediately following up the strange sentence was another in clear English, ¡°Why do you travel to our domain?¡± Novius noticed a small black orc beside the chief who had spoken the English sentence. ¡®He must be the translator,¡¯ Orius analyzed internally.


    Novius was thinking of how to respond when one of the green warrior orcs poked him with its spear. He inferred this was meant to serve as a warning to speak now or die. Quickly he spit out, ¡°We only seek to rest at your camp, we don¡¯t plan on interfering with your way of life. If anything we can offer to help you as payment.¡± The small black orc spoke to the chief translating into their mother tongue. The chief spit out another incoherent sentence and the translator said, ¡°Who is we? There is only one of you, yet you speak as if there are many of you here.¡± At the same time, a couple of the warrior orcs backed up and began searching the surrounding woods for any hidden foes. ¡°No no, I¡¯m the only one I promise. I misspoke before, I apologize.¡± Orius again spoke internally to Novius, ¡®Good job moron, now they¡¯re suspicious of us. Try to keep in mind we¡¯re still a single person in their view.¡¯


    After an exchange with the chief the translator looked back to Novius, ¡°We have no need for your kind here, go find other humans to rely on.¡±


    ¡®You gotta be kidding me,¡¯ Orius said disappointingly.


    ¡®Why did we even bother coming here?¡¯ Novius spat back.


    ¡®Shut up, it was a better choice than being a fugitive in Bhrunum.¡¯ The warrior orcs loosened up as the translator continued, ¡°Leave and never retur-¡± Suddenly a screech and a crashing sound was heard back near the gate. Turning to look one of the larger orcs left his position holding Novius at bay and ran over to a very small orc young enough to be a toddler. The child had been watching from the guard stand behind the fence and had climbed up for a better view but fell. The massive orc at the child''s side was speaking fast in their language as he clutched onto his child. Taking a better look Novius saw its spine had been snapped and was unable to move its legs anymore. It cried loudly in pain while the presumed father orc began to tear up while the others surrounded them to try and help. The chief began shouting commands at some of them to help in the chaos of disorder. Now forgotten  Novius stood there and realized he could help with his renown. Approaching the group by the gate the chief noticed him and swung his staff in Novius¡¯ direction intending on hitting him.


    Having jumped back in time to avoid the blow three warriors not immediately assisting in the accident jumped back to attention and held their spears back at Novius. Novius crouched down low and put his arms out to his side, palms facing forward, in a manner to show he was no threat. ¡°I can help¡­ let me help,¡± Novius said looking at the father orc on his knees holding his child. The small black orc informed the chief who then asked through the translator, ¡°How do you intend to help?¡± Novius looked at the interpreter knowing his wording and communication was the only thing that could help this child now, ¡°I can fix him, I have a renown¡­ just let me touch the child.¡±


    Translating the message the chief responded in an aggressive tone and spit at the ground near Novius almost hitting him. ¡°We do not allow witchcraft in our village, we can solve our issues without your intervention. Leave now,¡± the interpreter said bluntly not questioning the chief¡¯s decision at all. Looking back at the father orc Novius noticed it was the one guarding the gate with the mow-hawk from before. Novius turned to face the crying father and child now ignoring the chief and got to his knees just like him, ¡°I know you speak some English, let me help you,¡± Novius pleaded with the man, ¡°I make him walk again,¡± he said in broken English while making his fingers walk across the ground.


    Glancing over at the chief the father orc sought approval but received nothing but a blank stare watching the situation unfold. He looked at his son crying in pain and made his choice. Outstretching his arms towards Novius, child in hand, he placed his faith in the stranger. Novius slowly raised his hand toward the sobbing child and touched its shoulder. The glowing light reattached his spine and made him whole once again. The crying ceased and the young orc looked up at his father. Removing his hand Novius backed up to let them realize what just happened.


    Placing him on the ground the child stood as strong as always and walked as if nothing had happened. Bursting into tears the father orc ran up to his son and grabbed him holding him close. All the other orcs were amazed at the spectacle and began discussing the situation in their language. Rising to his feet the father approached Novius and towered above him with his excessive size. Outstretching its arm he shook Novius¡¯ hand knowing it was a sign of respect for humans. He turned to the chief and spoke fluently in their tongue. The discussion was kept short and the chief turned and left back into the gates after they were finished.


    Turning to speak to Novius the father said to him, ¡°For you to enter village you must fight. Only warrior can enter village, is part of¡­ culture.¡± Pleased at the outcome Novius responded, ¡°Thank you, who will I be fighting?¡± The massive green man said, ¡°Kuruk,¡± he then smacked his chest with his left hand and continued, ¡°Me Kuruk. We fight, you rest in village. I no want to fight you but we must¡­ chief make rules.¡± Orius laughed and responded confidently, ¡°Hahaha, no problem big guy, I was expecting a fight to enter when I came here anyways.¡±


    ¡°Good, chief said I no go easy on you because you help son. He see how I fight, he will know. I hope you are strong¡­ name?¡±


    ¡°Oh right I forgot, I am Novius.¡± As he said this a group of female orcs walked out of the village carrying ropes and sticks with animal skulls mounted atop. Kuruk asked him, ¡°Where fight? Field or forest?¡± Novius looked between the two possible battlegrounds and chose the forest, pointing in its direction. Preparation took quite some time and involved applying paint to Kuruk¡¯s body. When entering battle orcs from this clan would apply war paint for the event, each was different and was personalized via their first hunt and personality. Kuruk¡¯s was applied by a smaller black orc that appeared to be his wife. Both of his arms without paint were purposefully scarred with needles as a strange and painful substitute for tattoos. When applying the paint the scarred tribal designs were highlighted in orange making him look like even more of a brute.


    With the sticks in position and the ropes tying off the barrier of the arena, they prepped for battle. Orcs surrounded the area ready to observe what they expected to be a completely one-sided massacre. Kuruk stood at nine feet tall and weighed an astounding 600 pounds of pure muscle. He was considered the best combatant in their village and the biggest of all the orcs. This compared to Novius¡¯ comparatively small frame made it look like a joke.


    The area for the fight was around fifty feet by fifty feet, including a good amount of trees in the arena to make it interesting. Standing at the far corners from each other Kuruk wielded a spear tailored to his size. On the opposite end of the weapon from the tip was a metal ball fixed to it for counterweight. The thickness of the long handle would make it impossible to wield for a human without abnormally large hands. Orius kept his blades sheathed with a plan in mind scanning the area. The chief raised his staff and slammed it into a bronze gong signaling the start of battle.


    Kuruk ran forward, the ground shaking beneath his steps. Orius also advanced while Novius observed from behind their eyes. Suddenly Kuruk stopped and thrust his spear forward, catching Orius by surprise. The distance between them was still great but Kuruk¡¯s size paired with a weapon already crafted to maximize distance made for a huge gap closer. Orius ducked below the spear just in time, barely making the cut. Novius was impressed by this and continued to watch when all of a sudden their knees gave out from under them and slammed their face into the ground causing them to do a front flip, landing on his ass. Panicked by this Novius rolled them to the side as Kuruk attempted to stomp on them.


    Orius'' consciousness had fallen asleep and left Novius alone in the fight. Keeping his distance Novius jumped back to the other side of the arena and did what he could to make Kuruk lose sight of him temporarily. Novius climbed a tree to buy some time and maintain the distance between them but passed out on the way up. On the ground, Orius woke up looking at the leaves with sunlight trickling through. A massive foot crashed into his side sending electrical impulses of pain shocking through his body, reminding him of the situation they were in. Now flying through the air and slamming into a tree he spit up blood, a few ribs had just been broken. The physical strain on the body had caught up to them, leaving each consciousness with minimal time to be awake. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Orius got to his feet and used his renown to fix the broken ribs but the strain from doing so sent him back into slumber. Their body rag dolled back to the ground and Novius woke up, still not completely understanding what was going on. He picked his head up from the dirt to see Kuruk readying his spear for a throw. Novius threw himself to the side avoiding the huge weapon which instead hit the tree behind him. Scrambling back to his feet he ran away from Kuruk who was approaching the weapon. He grabbed the spear and put his foot on the tree pulling the weapon from its stuck position. Now left with no support and its trunk cut in half the tree toppled over displaying the strength behind Kuruk''s oversized body.


    Watching this Novius muttered, "You gotta be kidding m-" to which he then abruptly passed out and Orius once again regained control. Prepared this time he sprung into action immediately, dashing towards Kuruk using the dust from the knocked-down tree as cover. With Kuruk only able to make out a shadow of Orius he sent out another thrust of his spear, missing by a few feet. Now close to Kuruk Orius slid between his legs and jumped to his feet firing off a powerful roundhouse kick into the back of his knee. This sent Kuruk crashing down onto his knee, letting Orius jump onto his back. Taking advantage of this Orius put Kuruk into a rear naked choke attempting to impede the blood flow to his brain, knocking him out.


    Wrapping his arm around Kuruk''s neck Orius could feel the thickness and pure muscle of the monster. This stopped him from preventing as much blood flow as you normally could with this choke and gave Kuruk more time to act. Dropping his spear it clanged to the ground, he reached his thick hands to his neck to try and peel Orius'' constricting arms away but couldn''t get any leverage, the hold was too tight. Reaching for the man on his back now he stretched as far as he could but his oversized muscles limited his flexibility, making it impossible to grab Orius. Kuruk''s vision began to fade and darken, he was seconds away from passing out. Hoping to finish this before he clocked out again Orius squeezed tight making his face go red with effort. This effort used up enough energy to send him unconscious again, making his body go limp momentarily. Kuruk''s vision brightened back up and Orius began to slide down his back as Novius woke up.


    Seeing the advantageous position Orius had gotten him into Novius attempted to grab Kuruk''s shoulder as he slipped down, but it was too late. Novius plopped to the ground and Kuruk got back to his feet grabbing his spear as he went. Rolling backward Novius created some distance while Kuruk raised his spear to the side appearing to go for a swinging motion. Novius saw this and knew where his hands were positioned on the shaft it wouldn''t reach him. Bringing the spear across Kuruk lightened his grip last second letting the shaft slide through his hands until he gripped the ball counterweight on the heel of the spear. This extended the spear''s reach massively and put Novius right into harms way, throwing him off.


    Kuruk¡¯s inexperience fighting humans made him forget to compensate for the unusual height difference between the two and was swinging at head level of Novius. This made it easy for Novius to simply crouch under the attack while Kuruk followed through with the swing and spun around bringing it back again and again. The settling dust bellowed up once more due to the tornado movement by Kuruk. Novius lay on the floor unsure of what to do when the spear hit a tree stopping Kuruk in his tracks. Novius got to his feet and crouch ran to a nearby tree and climbed it while Kuruk removed his spear from the solid bark.


    Making his way through the branches he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder which Novius associated with the body getting ready to switch again. Stopping at a sturdy limb to sit and rest he looked down at the battlefield to see a confused Kuruk scouring the area, "You no hide from me! I find you!" He took a few steps back and readied his shoulder for a charge, ''What the hell is he doing?'' Novius thought to himself. Breaking away at incredible speed Kuruk charged at a tree and smashed into it bursting the trunk into a million pieces. Unsupported, the top of the tree spun out of control, leaning its way towards the tree Novius was concealed in. "Oh come on!" Novius said in frustration before it crashed into his hiding spot sending leaves, branches, and Novius himself falling through the air.


    Panicking in free fall Novius grabbed a branch, but gravity had other plans for him. He was torn from his grasp and continued to fall until he face planted right into another thick jagged limb. The falling tree found its resting spot leaning against Novius¡¯ tree, forming a triangle shape with the ground. While Kuruk recovered from the charge below Novius fought off the body''s urge to force him back into sleep while bleeding from a broken nose. Determined to leave Orius in a more advantageous position he shimmied his way across the sturdy branch above Kuruk''s head and lowered himself into a hanging pull-up position. No longer capable of holding on he slipped into his micro sleep and his grasp loosened sending him into free fall.


    Orius'' sprung awake last second before landing right onto Kuruk''s shoulders, legs around his neck. Shocked by Orius'' sudden appearance Kuruk raised his hand to grab him before he got a chance to choke him again. Not understanding Martial arts this was a big blunder on Kuruk''s behalf. Orius swung down, under Kuruk''s armpit while keeping his right leg still wrapped around his neck. Bringing his left leg in front of Kuruk Orius locked his legs together and began pulling his shin into Kuruk''s neck while hanging off of his arm. Collapsing to the ground Kuruk struggled to reach Orius with his right arm while Orius squeezed Kuruk''s left arm and head together, trying to pop it like a pimple. Maintaining the triangle choke Orius grunted, "Go to sleep... argh... just go to sleep."


    Kuruk began to fade and his strength weakened when the villagers watching began to chant. Orius couldn''t understand their language but could tell it was encouragement towards Kuruk. Having heard this Kuruk cracked open a false tooth concealed within his mouth. A powdered drug mixed with his spit and sent Kuruk into a frenzy. His eyes rolled back into his head and his mouth began foaming with effort as all his muscles tightened, attempting to force his way out of the submission. Orius didn''t let up and squeezed harder and finally, Kuruk went limp and passed out.


    The chanting halted as the crowd witnessed their champion lay limp while Orius go to his feet victorious. Without celebrating or even showing a glimpse of happiness Orius walked to Kuruk''s legs and raised them in the air. This helped gravity to bring back the blood flow and wake Kuruk back up. Opening his eyes Kuruk was confused, he sat up and looked around at the village orcs watching in surprise. He looked up at Orius who was now offering his hand to help him up. As Kuruk reached out to grab his hand Orius passed out again. Having pushed the body to its limit Novius didn¡¯t wake up either, leaving their body face-planted on the grassy forest floor.


    Darkness spiraled around in circles making it impossible to see, the smell of iron filled the damp air, and the sound of chaos could be heard. People screaming, crying, suffering, and hurting. Swords clanked together sending sparks dancing in the pit of empty nothingness. Platinum coins splashed into pools of blood while maniacal laughter could be heard in the safe distance. They stood in place unable to act, incapable of doing. The water comes rushing. Crouching down they covered their ears but their hands were as thin as paper. Louder now. Rocking back and forth hearing the madness unfold around them they screamed but it came out as just a whisper. Rushing rushing rushing water. ¡°Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it!¡± Faster faster faster the water runs never stopping¡­ only growing. ¡°The wave is huge when will it crash?¡± It only piles higher¡­ grows louder, it fills your head as the tsunami comes and stops for no one. Ever so near the sound reached its peak filling their head with the boom of rushing water. Breaking the whisper they yelled, ¡°NO MORE!¡± The sound halted as a bright flash of light cleansed all that was not clean. Finally, everything was pure. Removing their hands from their ears they enjoyed the peace. The pure clean space of infinite nothing comforted them compared to the dense chaos of before. Just as fast it returned, it all greyed and the water could be heard in the distance. Darken darken darken, noise noise noise, so much sound with nothing to see¡­ SCREAM. Children cry while parents run to comfort only to disintegrate to bone and dust. The child grows old but never stops crying, no one is there, who will comfort, how will it get better? ¡°Never never never never!¡± It only lasts so long, when can we stop it all? ¡°Never never never never!¡± Stop the noise PLEASE! Louder louder louder it comes, filling your ears, bursting out it begins to leak, ¡°AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!¡± THE WAVE IT CRASHES, sucking you up all you can hear is the madness of the water, rush rush rush rush rush rush rush rush rush. They breathed in but they were still being pulled under under under. Water filled their lungs and


    Sitting up from their sleep they coughed up water that filled their lungs. A surprised female orc jumped backward away from the bed, water cup still in hand. Finishing their coughing fit Orius and Novius looked around to see they were in a sort of tent. Recovering from the scare the orc woman ran outside without saying a word. Spooked by the dream Novius asked, ¡°Did you have that dream too?¡± To which Orius responded casually, ¡°Yes.¡± Before Novius could ask anything more Kuruk entered the tent with another, short, orc dressed drastically different than any of the others.


    Bones from different small animals draped over his black skin creating a drastic contrast. He walked and carried himself with jittery mannerisms making him goofy but creepy at the same time. Kuruk spoke, stealing their eyes away from the strange orc, ¡°Friend! Finally awake! How feel? I bring doctor for help.¡± A sudden large wave of pain washed over their brain forcing them to facepalm and grimace, ¡°Hey Kuruk, I''m doing alright, just have a killer headache.¡± Without hesitation Kuruk spoke to the shaman in their native tongue, clueing him in on Novius¡¯ migraine. He signaled for Kuruk to leave the tent to give him quiet, ¡°No worry Novius, doctor good, he make feel better,¡± Kuruk said cheerfully as he left the tent and closed the flap.


    Grabbing the makeshift pipe in his mouth the shaman took one last exaggerated pull before exhaling the smoke out. As he continued to push the thick smog out it continued to pour out until it filled the whole room in a grey atmosphere. Novius coughed from the strong aroma and his eyes began to water. This concealed the tent in darkness and as he finished his exhale the shaman began to twitch rapidly while standing in place. Novius¡¯ muscles lost control and relaxed unwillingly from underneath him. Now lying limp on the bed his tears dried up and left his eyes red but no longer watering. The aggressive twitching of the orc caused his decorative bones to jingle in song creating a mildly disturbing tune. Then it stopped, the shaman¡¯s movements were now smooth and he walked up to their bed. Orius was uncomfortable with the new situation and began to struggle to move but the body wouldn¡¯t respond.


    At the bedside the shaman reached for a belt of herbs tied around his waist, singling out a specific one near his right thigh. Rolling the plant in his hands he looked at their face to observe the struggle Orius was exhibiting. He shushed him while continuing to prepare the herb and keeping eye contact when suddenly the shaman noticed something. Putting the herb down on the bed he leaned in close to their face. This made Orius halt his panic momentarily as the shaman stared into their eyes. Novius blinked as the smoke made his eyes burn and the shaman quickly moved his hand towards their face, forcing their eyelids open with his nails.


    ¡®What the fuck is he doing!¡¯ Orius said internally.


    Novius replied nervously, ¡®I don¡¯t know, what should we do?¡¯


    Even more curious now the shaman made a perplexed face and let go of their eyes. Snagging a leaf from a herb off the back of his waist he placed it in their mouth, ¡°Swallooaaahhh.¡±


    ¡®The hell did he just say?¡¯ Orius said weirded out.


    ¡®I think he means for us to swallow it.¡¯


    ¡®No no no, don¡¯t swallow whatever this creep put in our mouth.¡¯ Not listening to Orius Novius swallowed the leaf as the shaman watched their eyes intently. ¡®I don¡¯t think it did anything anyways,¡¯ Novius said to Orius. ¡®That¡¯s not the point!¡¯ Orius began, ¡®We shouldn¡¯t have swallowed it either way!¡¯ His voice echoed inside his empty head as he waited for a response from Novius but none was there. ¡®Hello?¡¯ Orius called out for Novius with no response. The shaman now looked satisfied at their eyes seeing the left turn blue while the right was grey, ¡°Naaaht normel humaaan!¡± This halted Orius in his tracks, ¡®Does he know? Where the hell is Novius?¡¯ Orius tried opening his mouth to speak but only drool seeped out, ¡®What did you do to him!¡¯ Orius shouted inside trying to force the words out of his mouth. The orc jumped back and clapped his hands together joyfully and laughed, ¡°HehehHahahHAHA, seperrratee¡­ but steeeel togethhher!¡± The effects of the drug quickly wore off and the eye colors meshed back together once again forming its normal dull grey. Internally the barrier separating the two lifted, bringing relief to the two as they noticed each other¡¯s presence again.


    ¡®Orius! Are you ok?¡¯ Novius asked worried.


    ¡®Yeah I''m alright, what was that? Did you hear what he said?¡¯ Orius replied.


    ¡®You think he knows?¡¯


    ¡®I doubt it, seems he only knows we¡¯re different.¡¯


    Calming down from his excitement the shaman grabbed the first herb from the bed and finished prepping it. Squeezing the chlorophyll from the leaf into a cup he made them drink it, forcing it down their throat. ¡°Hehhaahe, no mooore hurrrt.¡± Moments later their headache subsided with no additional side effects like the previous herb. Done with his work the shaman flung open the tent flap, sucking the smoke outside almost instantly. With the smog gone Novius sucked in a deep breath regaining control of their body. The redness in their eyes disappeared as fast as the smoke leaving them brand new as before. Orius shot up planning on questioning the shaman but as he walked outside he was nowhere in sight. Kuruk, who wasn¡¯t far, came running over, ¡°Novius! Feel better? Shaman work good, he live here long time now, help us when sick.¡± Running his left hand through his hair Orius answered, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a bit odd though.¡±


    Walking side by side through the village Novius looked around at the large triangular tent structures they used as buildings. Green and black orcs walked by varying in size but were all much larger than humans. Orcs live off the land and are self-sufficient in every aspect, never requiring outside intervention. Creatures were hunted, eaten, and used for crafting, down to the bone. The tents were skins stretched, dried, and painted. Most weapons were large bones like femurs with blades strapped to them. Skulls were cracked open and smoothed out for use as a bowl, claws were used as cutlery. Kuruk explained how their tribe had a deal with the Kadince people that neither would interfere with the other as they would mutually benefit from such. Kadince would lose some useable land but the orcs would keep the dangerous creature population in check. Orcs hunted large creatures as a right of passage in their culture. With the approach of winter, they were preparing for a special hunt made yearly which involved killing a very large creature. As they approached a smaller special-looking tent with steam coming from its peak Kuruk told Novius, ¡°Chief thinks you should join hunt. He say you¡¯re skilled, me agree. Come¡­ we speak to him.¡± Opening the small tents flap mist poured out and Novius could feel the heat coming from inside, ¡°Woah woah, I don¡¯t know about more of that smoke stuff Kuruk.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± Kuruk chuckled, ¡°This not like shaman smoke. Follow.¡± Inside was a circular pit with hot stones in the middle with the chief sitting alone on the ground with his eyes closed. Novius and Kuruk joined him, forming a circle around the stone pit. Kuruk grabbed a bone spoon and scooped water from a large skull bowl, pouring it on the stones creating steam. Kuruk then explained how orcs enjoy saunas as it aids in the recovery of muscle and sweats out toxins from the body. As such it is tradition in their culture to hold important meetings in such rooms.


    The chief then opened his eyes and looked at Novius before speaking in their language. Kuruk also looked to Novius and translated the best he could, ¡°Two warrior injured last hunt. Ambush by cyclops while returning to village. Need help for winter hunt. You strong human¡­ rare, join hunt, earn clan respect.¡± While Novius thought for a second Orius quickly asked, "What will we be hunting?" Kuruk translated and the chief answered on his own, "Cyclops."  This aroused excitement in Orius. Novius displayed his worry, "Are you capable of killing one? I mean it just hurt two of your men." Kuruk replied without keying in the chief, "We kill cyclops fine, was unprepared for ambush-," the chief interrupted Kuruk understanding what they were discussing. Kuruk questioned the chief''s words while Novius and Orius sat there and waited. Kuruk turned back to them and continued, "Cyclops is used for special meal in culture, this not first time we hunt it..." Kuruk put on an uneasy face and continued, "Chief say you get meal as reward too."


    Orius was even more thrilled now, ''Let''s do it!'' he said to Novius internally.


    ''I don''t know... what if something goes wrong?'' he argued.


    ''Oh c''mon! It''ll be a fun kill, then we can eat an orc delicacy.''


    ''I don''t think we should, we''re lucky enough to have been accepted into their tribe... let''s not mess it up by interfering with a sacred hunting ritual.''


    "Ok, I''ll help," Orius spat out before Novius could stop him.


    ''Dude!'' Novius rebutted, ''Kuruk is like three times our size, of course he can hunt them just fine!''


    Orius didn''t care what argument Novius came up with, ''I''m not letting you puss out of this, last I remember I knocked out Kuruk while he was trying to kill us.'' The chief looked pleased to see a positive answer along with an excited look on their face from Orius. Kuruk then explained the details of when and where they would be heading and led the conversation to something more casual for all three of them. After several minutes of discussing hunting, orc culture, working out, and some personal stories they all left the sauna room for a wash and bed. Being designated the tent he woke up in as his own Novius and Orius lay in bed still awake while everyone else slipped into the sweet embrace of rest. "Whatd''ya think it''ll be?" Orius asked Novius.


    ''Huh?'' Novius questioned.


    "The dish. It''s gotta be good if they''re willing to routinely hunt a Cyclops for it."


    ''Well yeah, I''m sure it is.., probably just something simple.''


    Orius wasn''t letting Novius'' lack of enthusiasm bring him down, "Maybe it''s like ham or a stew made from tender muscles!"


    "How about ribs?" Novius added now enjoying Orius'' optimistic curiosity.


    "Oooo that would be awesome! Just imagine man, us with a massive rib all to ourselves with the meat falling off the bone."


    "What if it''s seared fatty thigh meat steak served with a cyclops bone marrow soup boiled with rib meat cubes inside,"


    "Now we''re talking!" Orius happily responded. Both of them went back and forth deep into the night discussing the possibilities and enjoying each other''s company until they too embraced the solace of sleep.