《The Soul of Mercury》 Chapter 1: Worlds collapse There are many issues with the current state of this universe, the nobility in each solar system makes living in this vast expanse like living in hell itself. The history of this universe that I was born into is dark and filled with bloodshed. With mountains of books talking about all of the wars that have been started and finished in the brief 750 years since the initial galaxies were created using the three God''s transcendental powers. Our universe, our planets, our lives and families, they are no more than pawns used in experiments for these beings, no one knows their true intention, whether they have benevolent wishes or whether once they''ve done what they set out to do, we''ll all be gone. But those sorts of things only exist in the books I''ve read in the library. The planet I currently inhabit is ruled by the noble family of Truscia, they''re kind people, much kinder than the monarchs of our solar system. I had met Lady Truscia once at the dragon festival, she was a sweet old woman of short stature, but she was strong, I could tell by the feeling of the air shifting around her as she walked. There were reasons why certain families got appointed as the rulers of individual planets. Although ancestry plays a role, the main factor tends to be strength. However apart from my brief interaction with Lady Truscia, I''ve lived a relatively uninteresting life. I currently live on a farm run by my aunt, after the death of my late mother, living and working with my older sister and my two cousins. It''s a boring life but I quite like it. Away from all political problems and my status as a farmer grants me immunity to the conscription that might occur if an all out war took place within my solar system. "Get up." The soft voice of my youngest cousin jolted me out of my daze, I liked to ponder on the universe, but I still had to do my job. "Ughh this place is so boring, isn''t it brother." A much rougher voice sounded from behind me as I placed my hand down on the soft floor underneath me that levered me off my back. "Quit your whining Meredith." My aunt had snuck in whilst we were all resting and a small clap vibrated softly through the room and my aunt clapped her hands together, ready to list out our daily chores. "Attention soldiers, today''s jobs will consist mainly of work around the house. Seth, I would appreciate if you could put some clothes on and then go clean out the barn. Meredith, you''re on cooking duty today, I expect some top quality food from you." She ordered with a friendly tone. The middle aged lady stood around 175cm and constantly wore a smile on her face. Wearing tight black trousers, that clearly limited her movement, and a dark blue polo neck, you could tell that she didn''t do the work around here, leaving it to us instead. "And finally, Mer, the main house needs cleaning, you can do that, seeings as you''re pretty useless everywhere else." She addressed me with a more condescending tone, her smile falling slightly. Just enough to let me know she didn''t appreciate my being here. My sister, Meradith, had always been useful to my aunt, and had been here since Father''s recruitment into Planet 2''s medical corps. Being a healer meant that lots of units wanted him, he had the freedom to visit other planets to help in big raids, or even to fight in low level wars between countries or continents. He was an anomaly in his field of work. His healing skills weren''t limited to just physical injuries, they were able to heal mental injuries too. He had healed Meradith''s mother from PTSD before she was killed on her home planet, Planet 7. After the war in Planet 7 reached its end, my father had relocated back to Planet 9 where he met my mother and I was born.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was 6 years ago when I last saw him, when he set off for a 10 year station at Planet 2. I didn''t feel any animosity towards him for leaving us, although 4 years after he had left, my mother passed away due to a medical condition that slowly destroyed her brain. He could have healed her, I knew that, but in this universe when there is an opportunity to move up, you need to take it, no matter the cost. Maybe one of the reasons I didn''t feel anger towards him was due to the monthly payments that flowed in from Planet 2. No doubt the only reason my aunt decided to keep me here. Even with the problems with my current situation, I could do nothing but try and enjoy my time in this universe before another large scale war breaks out and my something terrible happens like the planet I call home being destroyed in a battle between regents. However tomorrows worries should be dealt with by tomorrow''s me. Like my Father used to say before his transfer. "Never worry about the inevitable, don''t try and dwell on the future, but live today as the man you are now and live tomorrow as the man you are then." ----------------------------------- It was all collapsing around me. The comfortable home town I lived in, the people surrounding me and my sister, even my sister herself. They were all crumbling. There were cracks covering everything, long and small, with light protruding out of them. I focused on the necklace my father had given Meradith before he left, I could see the white light sticking out from each of the detailed cracks along its surface. It was all I could focus on during this sort of situation. My tall, broad sister had wrapped her arms around me, so tight that I felt a sort of crushing in my shoulders, but her grip was weakening. "This can''t happen... please Mercury, please live... don''t die at the hands of this calamity. Live on and carry your name throughout history." She managed to croak out, the once powerful voice that came from my sisters mouth was now no more than a rough whisper, each word sounding like sandpaper scraping against metal. I was going to die. There was nothing I could do in the face of such an event. A world eater. The translucent calamity talked about in folk tales, said to only feed once every 100 years. The creation of the Gods. The only being in this universe that wasn''t born here. However, that folk tale seemed to be here, the reality of the situation shattering any of the hope I had of surviving this. The extraterrestrial being was consuming the world I lived on. Millions of inhabitants were in the same predicament as me, lines of pain running up and down their skin in the form of craters of light, slowly expanding, as if being torn apart. There was no warning to this event, the only survivors would be the rich, the nobility, the people with the ridiculous amount of money to be able to purchase a gate in their houses. And they would only survive if they were close enough to their gates. My once whole sister, stood in front of me, her arms had fallen off, replaced with gaping holes of light. A smile crept across her face as her final scraping words were released from the hole of light that used to be her mouth. "Destroy this wretched universe, for me. Okay little brother?" The void where my sister had once been was staring back at me, I couldn''t help but feel that it was smiling at me, reassuring me that everything would be okay. But there was nothing left, the necklace that used to hang around her neck fell to the ''ground'' and broke apart into a million little pieces of light before moulding into the surrounding light. I could feel my body being ripped apart, like something was pulling at my skin from every angle. My left arm had been completely absorbed into the world eater, but I maintained more of my body than the other people around me. I wanted to live, I didn''t want to end my life like this, I refuse. As people seemingly gave up on their lives, so did the hold they had on their bodies, the once lively town I had just been out to get groceries from, was gone. Not even the light around me remained, the only light being the light protruding out of me. I could see the light out of the pit of what used to be my arm, and there was a gaping feeling in my back, as if it had been opened up. The bottom of my left leg had left me, my side ached as another hole opened up from it. And before I knew it, I was a floating torso and head. I was screaming internally, trying to maintain my consciousness over the unbearable pain surrounding every crack and crevice in my skin. But even with all of my efforts, my will to stay alive, I finally lost the hold on my conscious, and before I could even react, everything went dark. Chapter 2: Souls Construction I was conscious again. Where was I? How long had it been since the world had collapsed? There were so many questions bouncing back and forth in my brain but the one thing I knew for sure was that my body was... gone? Everything around me was dark and when I tried to open what should''ve been my eyelids, there was no feeling. It was as if my body had been destroyed from its core. I couldn''t move my legs but I felt like I was on solid ground. I wasn''t falling. It was as if I was floating through an abyss. There was nothing I could do except struggle in my own mind. It was a painful, but I would also be inclined to say it was a peaceful experience. But I couldn''t escape the thoughts that constantly pounded through my mind. What happened to everyone else? Is Meredith okay? Does that mean the end of Planet 9? How many lives were lost in this tragedy? And the most prominent question, why am I alive? Out of everyone on my planet, why did I survive? I''ve always been weak, I mean so weak that I would struggle to take down a single rank E goblin. My strength was tragic and so was my mind. I never excelled in school, I never did anything special. I was quite literally just... Average? So why am I still alive? The questions repeated themselves, like a barrage on my soul, reminding me of everything I had lost. Until I decided to let loose the thin hold that tethered me to my consciousness, and once again, I let everything go dark. ------------------------------- "Hey brother. How do you think dad''s doing? You know, being on Planet 2 and all." The voice of my sister made my heart flutter as I opened my eyes to look around at the scene around me. The farm was just like it had always been. We were tilling the furthest field away from the house, there should be carrots in this area by next harvest. "I don''t know, I mean, he still sends over letters occasionally so I guess hes still alright. At least we know hes not dead." My voice escaped my mouth, unintentionally. It wasn''t me speaking, more like I was observing a memory. That''s what it was, a memory. I remembered now. Four weeks after my initial move to the farm, when my sister was teaching me how to do everything around the place, trying to get me to fit in. The sound of a stone being kicked in my direction lifted me from my daze and my head ducked down and my left arm was brought up to protect myself from the assault that my sister was firing at me. She was sitting on the floor, looking as stoic as ever, just... Throwing stones at me. "I didn''t mean that. Idiot. Like, do you think he''s lonely? He misses us right?" She questioned me again, her stoic expression lowering into an expectant gaze. "I mean maybe. But for all we know he could''ve started a new family out there. Maybe we have younger brothers and sisters in all of the different planets. He was that sort of man after all" I teased, and my sisters face lowered into a frown as she hurtled a larger stone at the side of my head. I brought my hand up from where I had lowered it and protected my head, catching the stone in my palm. "Hey that one could''ve hurt if it had actually hit me. It was going straight for my temple." A laugh erupted from my left as Meredith seemed to take joy in my worrying. "You''re fast brother, I knew you''d catch it don''t worry." She managed to scrape out in between her laughing. "That''s true though. I could see that old sleazebag starting a different family on each planet he visited." She continued as she got up and grabbed the hoe that she had planted into the ground as she began to work the soil. It was a lovely feeling. Being back with the person I valued most in the world. But I knew the reality of the situation. This whole scene had happened before and I was just seeing it in my head. The whole life flashing before your eyes thing was true after all, that means I must be dead. At least if I died I wouldn''t have to float through that abyss again. "Agh crap!" A scream ripped free from my lungs as my right arm was left hanging, loose, by my side. I had hit the ground too hard with my hoe and had managed to dislocate my shoulder. I remembered that after Meredith told aunt what had happened she decided not to send me out on the fields again.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "come here I''ll pop it back into place." Meredith sighed as she walked over to me as slowly as she could. "You really are a stupid brother. But even though your useless, I still love you. I guess that''s what it means to be related by blood." She smiled sadistically as she popped my shoulder back into place, but I never did get to feel that sensation of the bone in my arm popping back into the right socket. It was dark again, but a different kind of dark. I could feel the damp floor beneath me, covering my back. My back! I can feel my back! I hurriedly opened my eyes in order to observe what was around me. The ceiling was about 3 meters away from where i was on the ground, and when I twisted my head to get a better look at the walls I found myself in the middle of a maybe 6 meter wide hallway. There was a ringing in my ear, I couldn''t hear much but I was able to make out the dripping sound of the water from the ceiling falling next to my ear. "Lord soul! Lord soul! Are you awake lord soul?" I could hear somethings voice from my left and as I tried to pull myself up to see where the voice came from, I couldn''t see anything. "Down here lord soul, further down!" the same voice rang in my ear, my hearing still impaired. "Stop trying to force him to move, Setrius. He''ll get up once he feels like it." A raspy voice echoed through the tunnel from my right. I managed to plant my hand against the floor but it felt different. Like my arm had changed lengths since before I was destroyed. "Can you see me, my lord? I''m Sandrus, Setrius'' older brother. Please don''t take him any mind, I promise to scold him later for his rudeness." A small red, goblin-like creature was caught in my vision. And with a look to my right I saw the one addressing me, Sandrus. The questions that were still repeating in my head tore through my throat as I tried to speak but the only sound that came out was a nasal snort and a cough erupted from my mouth as I leaned over to the side. "What is wrong, my lord?" The more level headed goblin asked as he stared at me with confusion. My throat was dry, I couldn''t muster a sound without a drop of moisture in my mouth, and in a moment of desperation, I found myself trying to drink the water that had dropped onto the cavern floor to my right. The lighter red goblin came running from behind me with what looked like a waterskin and handed it to me "Sorry lord, I should have given this to you earlier. Excuse my rudeness." Setrius bowed deeply after handing me the sack. My hand quickly brought the waterskin up to my mouth and before I knew it, I had drank the entirety of the bottle. But I felt much better, not just hydrated but I felt rejuvenated "What did I just drink?" My voice able to break through, but it was deeper than it used to be. The older of the goblins clasped his hands in front of him "That was soul water, lord. It is from the soul river running through the city of trials." All of the words he spoke seemed lost on me. I was confused in what any of these terms meant. I had never heard of a soul river, or the city of trials. Where was I? Maybe I had been sent to another galaxy or maybe I was in a different universe. "Where am I?" The obvious question repeated in the form of a question, this time from my mouth instead of in my head. I lifted myself to my feet, I felt around 10cm taller than I had previously been. "We are currently in the tunnel of the dead, in the centre of the soul collector, or as you humans call it, the world eater." The name of the entity that destroyed my planet in a matter of minutes seemingly echoed across the halls as the memories I had recently forgotten, due to the circumstances, resurfaced. I grit my teeth and mustered up the courage to ask another question. "What happened to everyone else." The question this time sounded through the gaps in my teeth, with a lot more malice than the last. The authority seemed to have rubbed off onto the younger goblin as he took a step back before Sandrus replied, "They have all gone, Sir. Their souls were sacrificed and merged into a power source for the many cities inside the world eater." My worst fears became reality. Everyone else was gone, but why was I alive? Why had I been the only one to survive this calamity. My presence seemed to bear down on the youngest of the siblings as he collapsed onto his behind and looked at me with a confused sort of expression. "Lord, would you mind controlling the essence seeping out of you, the essence that we so kindly gifted you in order for you to maintain your new body." It all made sense. The reason my body seemed so much more powerful than before. Essence. During the first 16 years of my life, before the calamity, I had barely a need for essence due to my lack of affinity to fighting. I never tried to control it, in fact it was rare for a human to control it. It was unnecessary for anyone who didn''t want to make a living off of their strength. Obviously using the base essence to boost strength and productivity was a common occurrence however not many people mastered the use of essence, at least not on Planet 9. I heard stories from other people who had fought in wars and survived, stories of humans, monsters even, using essence in ways I couldn''t even imagine. Maybe things will be different this time. With my new body and clear affinity to essence, maybe this new beginning will allow me to finally control my strength and make a difference in this world. But I only knew how difficult even a task such as killing a regent would be. This universe is vast, vast enough that there are monsters out there that could wipe out all 30 of the regents in this galaxy with a flick of a wrist. And my new goal, my new found purpose in life... Was to be stronger than them? Maybe it''s hopeless after all... Chapter 3: City of Trials It had been about an hour since I initially woke up in the tunnel of the dead. The walkway was disgusting, the ceiling dripped a fluid akin to blood that had a potent smell of iron, reinforcing the idea that it might actually be blood that was crying from the roof above me. The walls weren''t any better, as if made of flesh, they were rough to the touch but soft as if you were touching a raw lump of meat. I was told by Sandrus that I would find what I needed if we walked down this path, but the walk had spanned on for quite some time now and I was starting to get curious as to where we were going and how far it would be. "You have a curious look on your face, my Lord." The more well rounded dwarf-like goblin was looking in my direction. He had clearly noticed that I wasn''t satisfied with the situation at hand. I knew with the current strength I''d been granted that I could easily kill one of these small creatures, but without them I would have no clue on where I was going. The cave finally opened up into a dome-shaped room with four pathways branching off of it. Six signs, likely made out of some sort of wood, were hung above the pathways, but instead of words being written down, detailed drawings had been carved into them, like the creator of the signs intended for the individual to identify the tunnel off of the appearance of the place they wanted to go. A flawed system, I thought to myself. "So, which way do we go?" I eyed the goblin as he had stopped in the center of the room. His head twisted in my direction and in the blink of an eye he had disappeared. The faint flutter of footfall proceeded the inhumane movement and before I had even turned around a much larger crash sounded on the floor. It was the head of a beast. The small goblin had slain the stealthy dragon sized beast in what could''ve only been one movement. The goblin placed the bloody knife, that he had carried on his side, back into its small sheath. I inspected the cut around the beasts neck. It was clean, almost as if it had been cut by a guillotine. I looked back and forth between the knife and the beasts neck, the neck was almost 8 times the length of the blade, it would''ve been impossible to have made that cut with such a tiny blade. "Impressed? That was a combination of abilities using the essence of speed. The first to increase my speed and the second to increase the range of my slash." The goblin that had slain the beast clearly took pride in his skills, the face that had maintained a calm expression throughout the whole journey now carried a wide grin. The soft voice of Setrius started to speak behind me. "But brother..." the young monster sounded worried as he said this, as if his older brother had done something wrong. "Don''t stress Setrius. Even if the Lord is weak enough that he couldn''t even feel what I just did, he will learn. That is what the whole ecosystem within this beast is for, to train the soul lords." He took a deep breath as he continued "Us soul-finders are born and bread in order to serve each of the soul lords. You were too young but there was a soul lord 250 years ago. He was weak when he got here too. It is not uncommon." The words were being said as if I wasn''t standing in-between the ''soul-finders''. It was good to put a name on the race of being these creatures were, instead of just referring to them as goblin-like monsters. However, even with my enthusiasm with reading, having read most of the books of Truscia''s library in the capital city, I had never once heard of a soul-finder. Most beings of their height and stature would be classed as E to D rank beasts, but beasts didn''t have intelligence. Maybe that''s what allowed this soul-finder to grow to such strengths. "Wait wait wait... 250 years ago? How long have you been alive?" The realization that these things had likely lived over 10 times my life span hit me. "I am 406 years old. The leader of the soul-finders and the only current soul-finder to have met two soul lords." He had started walking as I racked my brain for how such a small being could live for so long, and inside of another beast to add. I followed Sandrus as he walked through the path to the right of me. I jogged slightly to catch up to the pair as I had been lost in my thoughts for a minute. "We are almost to the city. It will take about 10 more minutes." The younger of the two said this time, looking back at me with a smile spread across his face, his fangs prominent in his set of teeth. ---------------------------- I could feel the tunnel slowly open wider as a set of gates came into view. In clear letters, the name of the city was pasted across the gate.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ''Vendan city: City of trials." As we walked closer to the gate an older man came into view, the first human I''ve seen in this thing, I thought to myself as he turned and pressed the shaft of his spear into the ground and lowered his head at our arrival. "Sandrus Soulred." He acknowledged the older soul-finder and then turned towards the youngest, "Setrius Soulred." Before turning towards me he looked the childish soul-finder up and down "Did you lose your Insignia Sir Soulred?" He seemed to view the two as important figures and was careful with his words. Setrius reached into his back pocket, and with a quick flash of light, the insignia appeared in his hand. With a swift move he placed the insignia onto the front of his belt, in the same area that Sandrus had his. The man started to open his mouth to address me before he was interrupted by Sandrus, "This is the Soul Lord..." The older Soulred brother turned to me and shot me a glance of curiosity. It was then I realized I hadn''t told the two anything about myself prior to the attack. "Mercury Bauer." "Yes... Mercury. We found his soul in the tunnel of the dead and brought him here first. As the king commanded." The Soldier looked stunned and stared at me for a brief moment before realizing it could be taken as a rude gesture. He bowed after he came to his senses. Which shocked me entirely, what sort of status do these ''Soul Lords'' have in this place. I''d never been bowed too before, it felt foreign. It didn''t feel right. I was always the one bowing to others, even people I despised, it was trained into us of the lower class. "Please, I didn''t do anything worthy of such a greeting. What is your name, if I may ask?" I addressed the tall soldier directly and he rose from his bow with a speed that could''ve rivaled the essence ability Sandrus used earlier. "Godwin Desrath, Sir." He responded with a military tone. The gate started opening once Godwin had shouted up at someone sitting on a watchtower above. The town was a sight to behold, there were buildings all around me, a clear stone path wide enough to fit two carriages took us down to the center of the visible city before it split off into 3 more paths. At the crossroad Godwin lead us on the left hand path and walked up another 200 meters before stopping outside of a building that looked similar to a nobleman''s house. "This is the finest inn that you will find in this city. I''ll talk to my father to find you a free house you can live in whilst you''re stationed in this city, but until then please, make yourself comfortable here." The soldier saluted again and held his spear to his side upright before turning around and walking back towards the crossroad with a certain amount of purpose. "He''s right, this is definitely the fanciest establishment in this city. Although a big and important city, its quite underdeveloped. Please, rest well tonight and by tomorrow we will start your training." Sandrus proceeded to smile widely at me and walk off with his brother scurrying in tow. He had given me an insignia, almost the same as his own, before we had entered the city. Setrius had told me about how this insignia showed that I was a prized friend of the Soulred house, meaning I could walk around freely throughout the city without being questioned. There was one thing that concerned me though. There didn''t seem to be many people walking around. two or three people would pass me every minute, each of them giving me curious looks, but it didn''t seem like the regular bustle I experienced in the cities on my home planet. However putting that aside I opened the door to the inn. A bell rang above me and startled me for a moment before a middle aged man with a long brown beard and round glasses that covered most of his small head addressed me. "How may I help you, it is the middle of the night you know." His voice was bordering on sounding irritated but I ignored it, instead choosing to hear the part about the time of day it was. It was impossible to tell what time it was as the entire city was closed off, surrounded by what I could only assume was the flesh of the beast. A clock on the wall came to my attention and I looked up to see that it was around one in the morning. I wondered how they managed to get this time, or whether it was a guess. It must not have mattered to them, as they didn''t see the sun rise or set. "Hellooo? Are you awake... gah another useless sleepwalker." The man put his head back in his arms and looked as if he was about to fall asleep again. "Ah, sorry, I was wondering if you had any rooms I could stay in for the time being. My friends recommended me this place, in truth i''m not from around here so I don''t know how everything works." "Huh so that''s why you were looking around like a damn cat." The man, clearly not hiding his irritation now, snarled at me before raising his face into a weary look and saying "Yes there is a room, however it will cost you 2 silver for the night." He looked at me, smug, as if he knew I didn''t have any money on me to pay for the inn I reached for my insignia and showed the clerk, he took a step back, stunned, before turning to me "Right away sir. Please forgive me for my rudeness. I meant no disrespect to the house of Soulred." He bowed and took me up the stairs and to the third room on the right. "This suite should be to your liking, I will send someone up to bring you breakfast at 9." He unlocked the door and gestured for me to enter. "Thank you for your hospitality." I responded before closing the door on him. It was only when I hit the bed in my slightly large room that I realized how tired I had gotten. Within seconds of settling in my new bed, I had started to fall asleep. It was a nice feeling. The darkness I had gotten used to but with this time with the warmth of a bed beneath me. Then I slowly drifted into unconsciousness. ------------------ The fractured floor beneath me shined bright with cracks of light connecting, giving it the look of a shattered pane of glass. I looked up to see the face of my sister disintegrating in front of me, the image refreshing in my mind as I watched her fall apart again. Tears fell from the corners of my eyes as the scene repeated in front of me. A scream wanted to rip from my lungs as the world collapsed around me and I started falling into the jaws of the beast, this time maintaining my body. But I couldn''t scream, the fear overtook me and I closed my eyes and tried to drown out the noise of the world collapsing. My eyes forcefully opened and the scene of the fractured floor beneath me reappeared and my sister disintegrated in front of me once again. I must be in hell. Chapter 4: Mourning of the Lost Godwin Desrath A huge expulsion of essence caught me off guard as I was walking towards the inn where I had left the young boy last night. The feeling wouldn''t have been felt by most civilians but to a veteran like myself it was blatantly obvious. I broke into a run, slipping on the wet tiles, as I realized what could happen if I wasn''t the first to get there, worried about the consequences anyone else getting involved might cause. The door slammed against the wall as I pushed it open. Dean, the clerk, who sat at his front desk almost all hours of the day, was gone. The staircase leading to the living quarters had an ominous presence emanating from it. It was definitely from the boy. There was no denying that. I struggled to breath as I trudged up the staircase, the air thickened with essence. "He''s got the insignia of the Soulreds, are you insane? Do you not know the damage you would cause if you killed the boy!" I heard the familiar voice of the lanky clerk coming from inside the room. Clearly someone had made it there before me. I managed to make it to the doorway, my hand over my mouth, trying to filter the air into my lungs whilst controlling the amount of essence I absorbed into my soul. If I absorbed too much essence my soul would overflow and I would slowly die. Everyone knew that. That''s why an event like this can be much more harmful than one might think. A twinge in my knuckles caused me to return to reality. My hands had been squeezed so tight that the blood had stopped flowing through them properly. I looked up to see what was going on. The boy was floating. Unconsciously floating. The essence he was spewing out of him was propelling him from the bed he had been lying in, he was clearly still unconscious, oblivious to the damage he was causing. The glint of a curved dagger caught my eye and I saw the figure looming over him, knife to his neck. "ERIN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my ears only just picking up on the sound that had came from my own throat as the essence made the blood in my head pound. "YOU CAN''T KILL THE BOY! HE''S-" My explanation was cut short as my sister yelled back at me. "IF I DON''T KILL HIM THEN HE COULD DESTROY THE CITY! I SHOULDN''T NEED TO EXPLAIN MY ACTIONS TO YOU PEOPLE!" Clearly agitated, Erin lowered the blade, drawing blood from the neck of the Soul Lord. I choked on the essence in my lungs as I tried to shout for her to stop, but it was no use. She really was going to kill hi- The pressure was released and the boy fell back into his bed, the figure of Sandrus standing over him brought me to an inexplicable amount of confusion. My eyes had been trained to see movements that would normally be invisible to the naked eye, but I still couldn''t sense the speed at which the Soul-finder had appeared, it was as if he had teleported in front of my eyes. The short imp had his hand placed on Mercury''s soul, directly draining the essence from it. "Shit." I heard him mutter under his breath. "The poor boy has no tolerance for essence in the slightest. With this new body he should be able to tolerate double this amount." Setrius walked over to the bed whilst explaining why this had happened. A sort of allergic reaction. The boy couldn''t tolerate much essence at all, but with the ridiculous amount filtered into his new body, in order to keep the connection between soul and body alive, he had reacted and his soul had tried to repel all of the essence from his soul. "That was strange though." The leader of the Soul-finders started as he eyed the boy curiously. "His soul wasn''t just expelling the essence from within it, but the essence around him as well... I''ve never seen the soul directly effect the surrounding essence like that without being channeled through an artifact, or used in a spell." I was stunned as the words came out of my mouth, not believing my own words. It couldn''t be true. There was no way someone could control essence that wasn''t filtered through their own soul first, that filtering is what gives the essence the connection to you in the first place. "So he lives... Okay, now what do we do with him. If I''m understanding correctly, the boy can''t use this body without the essence that just left him. So how are you planning on keeping him alive." My sister said coldly, seemingly without a care for the life in front of her. It was no surprise though. She had been like that since she was little, since she lost her best friend. No regard for life, human or not. However that''s what molded her into the strong warrior I knew as my sister today, but I did wish she would go back to how she was when she was a cute little kid again, even if just once. A scream erupted from the center of the room as the center of attention opened his eyes and jumped up, scratching his face like a maniac I could only imagine what was inclining him to do that. blood started dripping from scrapes while he stared at the mattress with eyes wider than an insomniac forcing them open. It was a terrible sight. What in the hell could''ve happened to this boy to bring him to such a state, and in his own mind no less.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "They''re gone... AHH no. That''s wrong. No. She''s right here. You''re here, right Meredith? I can see you. No no no NO! WHERE ARE YOU GOING, NO, no. Please. Please don''t leave me again, please not again sister. I don''t want to watch you die anymore..." The boy was talking to himself. Screaming at points, crying at others. A look of despair spread across his face as it dropped into his lap and he passed out with tears in his red eyes. His short brown hair covered his face from my view but I could still make out his jaw clenching subconsciously, the muscles in his jaw striating wildly. It was a horrible sight to behold. I didn''t even know the boy but I knew that whatever he had been put through was awful. There was no way he was still sane. A lost cause I thought to myself before turning away. Another false hope among the Soul Lords. The sound of leather ruffling was enough to turn me back around. My sister, my cold-hearted sister, had her arms wrapped around him. Tears were rolling down her face as she grabbed the back of his leather tunic with one hand and pushed his head into her shoulder in the other. He was awake. Still crying. Tears wetting the shoulder-pad of my sisters light armor. She was consoling him, as if he were a newborn baby. Even though I wasn''t the recipient of the consolement, it did bring me a sort of comfort. I left the room with Dean and Setrius, giving the three of them some space. I still had no clue what could have caused this outburst, but whatever it was, I knew it was horrible. ------------------- Mercury Bauer It was terrible. The pain wasn''t the worst of it. The horror of watching everyone I loved die, over and over again. It made my knees cave in. There was no way I could sleep. I don''t know what terrible force cursed that nightmare upon me but I didn''t want to feel it again. It was as if the world was telling me I couldn''t relax. Like I should always be looking out for something. The dream had felt like days. Days of torture, not physical, but mental. When I had woken up I found myself in the shoulder of a girl. Being no older than 17, she was around my age. She was crying too. Like I had been before I woke. My guide was standing on the same bed as me, his hand on my solar plexus, his eyes closed, focusing on channeling something. I could feel it, like the blood being drained from my body, but the feeling was coming from my soul. I wasn''t worried though. My soul felt like a dam waiting to collapse, being held up by the duct tape that was Sandrius'' touch. The whole morning had confused me completely. My whole body was aching and my mind was restless, but I knew I couldn''t just sit around. I had gotten out of bed and taken a trip to the washroom in order to wash the sweat off of my face, then I put on a tight steel breastplate, one that Godwin provided. All five of us, me the soul-finders and the human siblings, walked over to what seemed like a training ground in the far side of the city from the entrance gate. That was where I was now. "I''ll spar with you first." Erin offered, she seemed extremely antisocial, as if she didn''t want to be there, but her eyes told me she was glad to be invited. "Okay, I accept your challenge. Please go easy on me." I responded and put myself into a stance I had seen in a book about fighting. My sword felt unnatural in my right hand and my armor was bearing down on my torso, adding extra weight to my frail body. The only thing I had at my disposal was my essence, strengthening my body to physical attacks. But that wouldn''t last long against a barrage. "I don''t mean to be rude, but that stance makes it seem like you''ve never held a sword before." Godwin said whilst scratching his cheek with a certain amount of nervousness. I sighed "That''s because I never have." Erin erupted into a fit of laughter, "The Soul Lord, the one you all praise so highly, has never held a sword before? You have to be kidding me." The mocking tone made me realize how ridiculous I must seem, training with these veterans whilst the only thing near to a weapon I had ever held was a hoe. "Place your left foot forward and hold your sword with both hands in front of you, no. Your right foot needs to be further back. Yes there we go." Godwin walked me through the steps to hold my stance. Finally, with my right foot behind me and my left foot in front, I held my sword in front of me and Godwin told us to begin. The young girl in front of me, around 160cm and maybe 50kg, was wielding dual daggers. With the blades held below her hands, it was as if the daggers were in a position to rip straight through the skin of an enemy. Her weight must''ve contributed to her speed as she dashed forward and threw a dagger to my left side. She was nowhere near as fast as the soul-finder I''d seen fight before but it was enough to throw me off balance. I put too much weight into my back foot and fell backwards and onto my backside before a hand reached out towards mine. "This is gunna take some work isn''t it." She said, feigning annoyance. I matched her hand and let her assist me in getting up. "Again!" Godwin shouted. Another swift attack, this time to my right. With the tip of the blade about to make contact with my side, I moved my right foot back and twisted my torso, the blade whizzed past me, but not without making a small slice in my chest plate. Taking my stance again I heard the following shout from Godwin and braced myself for another attack. She dashed forward, her blade facing me this time, ready to stab at my armor. I brought my hands up to the right side and positioned my sword to block the stab, which it did. The knife connected firmly with my blade. I did it! I blocked the- The blow had slammed my sword into my chest and I had been sent flying about 3 meters backwards, my blade landing a meter to my right. "Sorry!" Erin apologized from the distance and rushed over to help me up. I stayed on the ground though, regaining my composure after getting winded. "That was nasty, I thought I asked for you to take it easy on me." I chuckled as I jokingly criticized Erin for her overuse of strength. "I really thought you''d have the physical strength to block that. Sorry I should''ve been more cautious. Are you okay?" Sounding concerned for my well-being, I nodded in response and she smiled with her eyes back at me. "Another round?" Back in the same stance as before, I readied myself for another attack. The bruise on my chest had already healed, with the help of my resident essence. As the blade was brought up beneath my chin, I moved myself backwards, bringing my right foot further back and ducking. Holding my sword in both hands I held it forward like a lance, aimed directly at the girl. I thrashed the blade at her chest, but instead of colliding with her chest plate, a small dagger moved in the way. The other dagger she was holding. With her left holding my blade still, I tried to pull back but she had already dashed around to my left, where my sword wasn''t ready to block, and struck at my side. Another match over. I was improving. Able to move more freely I could picture myself getting used to this. But when it comes to actually having to draw blood, that I don''t know if I''m ready for. Chapter 5: King of the beast Setrius Soulred "You useless fool, Sandrus. I trusted you with the reanimation and you did nothing but disappoint me." The king was turning hostile, his eyes filled with rage, but his arm still placed around his wife''s back. My brother opened his mouth to reply but the king put a hand up to stop him, "I don''t care about your excuses. Now, fix this mess or I''ll relieve you of your duty, and you know what that means for you and your clan, don''t you." A threat. This bastard was threatening my brother. The same person who tutored his ancestors for hundreds of years. The reason behind the kings overwhelming strength throughout the years, was all thanks to Sandrus, and this sleaze had the nerve to threaten him in such a way? He was an unprepossessing man. No unique qualities other than his golden brown hair. However his armor made his status as king clear for all eyes to see. He had the royal relic, Casila, strapped to his waist, in a place where he could easily reach it across his plump body. The silver armor he was sporting was lined with gold, giving it a royal look, however the joints were largely covered with more armor, limiting his movement. Sandrus theorized that the king had these extra plates of armor added onto these areas to limit the amount of damage he would take when he went into the dungeons, however he never did. The first king, at least since I had been born long ago, that acted like a complete imbecile. The crown he wore on his head, lined with red and green jewels, most likely ruby and emerald, along with his armor, were the only things that signaled his royalty. His disgusting face and terrible teeth, along with his large body, showed signs of laziness and uselessness. He''d even married a prostitute from some slum, for the sole reason that she was an attractive woman around 15 years younger than him. She was worse than him, but she was born into that life, this worthless excuse of a king was not. "I''m sorry my lord, I didn''t go through the spells on the body before I gave it to the boy. I apologize. However, he does not remember these events clearly, seemingly only when he sleeps. He''s woken up in fits every morning, but after about an hour, he forgets what the dreams were about." Sandrus replied, much more royally than the king himself. "A step that should''ve already been taken! Get out of my sight and fix the mess you caused." The king shouted back. Sandrus bowed, spun on his heel and walked towards where I was waiting by the door. "Lets go, shall we." Sandrus said with an impossible amount of calmness for the disrespect that he had just been shown. ----------------- Once we had walked down the royal halls and down into the teleportation room I looked back at Sandrus and asked the question that had been lingering on my mind, "Did you do it on purpose?" Unsure if my theory was correct. "Removing the mind altering spell? Yes. I in fact did." "Why?" The question shot back before I realized I had already answered it in my head. I knew why, I just didn''t want to think my brother would do something like that. "He is the one who can grow to match the power of Casila. I want him to strike down the king and accept rule over the lands within this beast." I knew it was out of selfishness but I didn''t expect my brother to admit it so openly. This was treason, if someone heard what he was saying he could get executed. My brother could put up a tough fight against the capital of Runedawn''s army but the man who truly wields Casila, he''s way out of our league. Our only threat is that man. Not the king but the one who stood beside the king. An ancient fighter who had fought along side the kings for almost as long as I had been alive. Had he been born into the line of the kings, he would have surely been the best king these lands had ever seen. But that''s the issue with hereditary monarchs, the greatest never truly get to lead. As I stepped through the portal to the city of trials I felt the usual uneasy feeling that came with taking a portal, but also another uneasy feeling. The uneasy feeling that my brother was straying for the first time in his life, and lastly, that everything within this beast was soon to change. I knew the reason. I knew very well. That boy, Mercury, he had the power to change this world. ---------------------- Mercury Bauer A scream had been let free from my throat as I jolted up into bed, the same feeling that I was missing something, hanging over me once again. Every morning since I''d came to this city it had been the same. Each morning the fits seemingly got shorter and shorter. Now on my 2nd week in the underground metropolis, the time had shortened to a few seconds after I wake up. However, I didn''t feel whole. The dreams I kept forgetting, what could they truly be. It was as if I had lost a piece of the puzzle that makes me, me. A big piece, one that covered a part of my life that I would need to remember one day. It didn''t help that I had forgotten how I had even got into this monster in the first place, my last memory before being a simple shop with my sister and my first memory after waking up was being in front of the two goblins that had been helping me train the last few weeks. But I needed to put that behind me. I need to get strong, that''s whats important to me right now.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Honestly I''m not sure where the motivation to improve my strength has come from but I know that this is something I need to do. Once I had gotten into the outfit I''d been wearing the last few days, I quickly walked down the stairs and out into the street. It was much busier than the first night I had gotten here. There were hundreds of people walking around, some selling products, and some patrolling the streets. It felt much more like the cities I was used to, just with a ceiling made out of flesh. I turned to my right and followed the path down to the crossroads, like everyday, and turned to my left, following the path that took me to the training grounds. There was so much more that I noticed now that I hadn''t noticed before. A barber''s to my left, a tavern to my right. People coming out of the tavern, still sporting their armor, wobbling side to side as they leaned on there friends. There was a lady hanging her washing out, which I could see through the alleyways between stalls. A man was bargaining with a street vendor, trying to negotiate the price of the wool he was attempting to buy. I''d seen the man before, he owned a shop I had visited, one selling casual clothes made of wool and silk. His work was pretty impressive. The shirts were comfy and the leather trousers were freeing to move in. Actually I was wearing one of his pairs of trousers when I had walked past him. But that all stopped when I reached inside the training grounds. The bustle went quiet and I could only hear the men talking in front of me. They were talking about some event going on soon, but I couldn''t overhear exactly what. I turned to the area where I had been sparring with Erin the past few days and opened the gate. They were all standing on the platform, a concrete platform sitting about two feet above the ground in an octagonal shape. There was a weapons rack on the right side of the arena and I walked over to pick up a mid-length sword, the same one I had been using the past few days. "Ah Mercury, don''t bother with that sword. I''ve brought you a new sword, one made out of essence-stone. It''ll be much stronger and lighter, I think it will suit you well." Godwin had jogged over to me with a sword around the same length as the one I had been swinging around before he announced himself. The sword had a turquoise blade, the same color as the essence crystals I''d seen before, "Are you sure about this Godwin? I''m sure something like this is expensive." I was hesitant to accept the weapon, although the shine on the fresh blade was almost whispering in my ear for me to take it. "Erin picked the design out especially for your fighting style. You''d have a rough time selling this sort of thing, it''s way too light for most swordsmen, I actually almost sent it flying earlier when giving it a few swings." He scratched the stubble on his chin as he passed the sword to me, his distinct eyebrows raised with his smile and his large eyes gave me a look I just couldn''t say no to. I took the sword and ran my index finger up and down the blade. It was soft, almost as if it were made out of a plastic rather than a metal. I took a stance and swung forward, the blade whizzed through the air and I almost lost my footing. The blade was incredibly light. So light that I overestimated how much strength I''d need to put into a swing so much that it almost flew into the ground. "Would you like to try out the sword against me? I''ve been wondering how a blade with essence-stone would feel to hit. It''s not common someone has the ability to use a sword like that." The long dark hair fell straight over her shoulders as she looked at me with a soft smile, her cheeks slightly red from the cold. Looking at her properly, she was a beautiful girl. Her eyes were the complete opposite of Godwin''s. They were bright blue and complimented her well set straight nose. Her head sat on top of her shoulders as if being held up by strings and her whole body looked fluid when she moved, as if she was half snake. I sighed, "I guess I need someone to try the sword out against, although I would like to spar with Godwin one of these days." I turned slightly to Godwin and gave him a smile before jumping up onto the platform. Godwin got into his position at the side of the platform and waited for me to take my stance. Erin took her usual stance, with her feet set equally apart, her right foot slightly forward, holding a blade in each stance. She bent her knees slightly in order to push off as soon as the round started, to get the first strike on the opponent. "Fight!" Along with Godwin''s shout, I saw the feet of the girl I was staring at disappear and her form reappear to my right. I could track the movement though, her legs moving in slow motion compared to when I''d first seen her move like that. A blade swung at me and I moved my turquoise blade over to my right, holding it in both arms, bringing it right where the knife was about to hit me. The force produced made my legs shake and I brought my left foot back behind my right and repositioned myself into a different stance. I lifted my blade up by my head and twisted my arms so the blade was pointing forward. It was my turn to strike. Whilst the young girl was regaining her composure, getting ready to strike again, I lunged forward and slashed my blade to her left. She managed to move both knifes over to her side before my blade connected, but it was too late. The feint was successful and I pulled my blade back before twisting on my foot and swiping her legs out from under her. As she was off balance from blocking my attack my foot managed to sweep her off with barely any effort and I brought my blade down to her throat. Standing over her with my blade next to her throat she threw her hands to her side, "Don''t get too cocky now that you''ve beat me once right. I mean I was the one who organized that blade for you anyways. Don''t go forgetting that." She was right. It wasn''t like I was a better fighter than her. I knew she was just fighting like she had been before and she hadn''t adjusted to the change in my speed that came with this new blade. I felt like a dancer, as if I could pirouette whilst cutting down my enemies. I was still a long way away, I thought to myself before responding to Erin, "Yeah I know I know, but it makes for a good achievement." I got back up off of the knee that had been leaning on the ground and walked over the girl. "How about we all go out for drinks tonight, seeings as you finally managed to beat her." Sandrus offered up a suggestion. I could see Godwin''s face light up in glee at the mention of alcohol. The guard took any opportunity to drink to his hearts content, but I guess that''s how it is with adventurers. A culture thing. "I''m okay with that." Erin said from behind me, "Me too." I answered "And we all know how Godwin feels about that." I added, getting a chuckle out of Erin. I hopped off the platform to get a drink of water, "But before then, how about you fight me with your full strength." I looked back at Erin, she grinned in return, "I don''t know if you''d survive that, but I can loosen up a bit." It was nice, being around everyone. Although the soul-finders were relatively quiet most of the time, the two Desrath''s were great company. But I knew I had a greater purpose. That it wasn''t just because we were friends that they were training me. I just needed to figure out why I had been brought to this place so suddenly. I had to get back to my family. The Desraths (1) "Are you ready?" Godwin raised his voice slightly to reach across the platform. I nodded in response and Erin mirrored me, neither of us taking our eyes off of each other. "Alright, Go!" Godwin''s voice boomed, captured by the barrier surrounding the training quarters, the barrier shook due to the volume of his voice. But this wasn''t the time to be focusing on something like that, I had an opponent in front of me, albeit one of my allies. She twisted on her back foot and spun in a circle, a move I hadn''t seen her do, however she didn''t move, she just stayed in place. A burst of wind hit me half a second after the initial spin, pushing me off balance, with her blade in line with my neck three meters away from me, I could tell she was going for a strike. I was right, her knife rushed towards my neck with a speed I hadn''t seen from Erin before, and I brought my sword up to protect my neck, not having the footing to dodge. The knife never connected with my sword however, instead I felt a pain in my back where the knife had come into contact with the light chain-mail I had put on in preparation for the battle. I didn''t even know what had happened, how she had got behind me, the speed mimicking that of the older Soulred warrior, like a teleportation technique where she side stepped behind me. I was flung forward and lost my footing but I managed to roll forward and spin myself in order to look back at where she should''ve been, but she wasn''t there. Her right blade was along my neck and I could feel the other knife pressed lightly against my back. "I concede." I said, dropping my sword and throwing my arms up. The knife was brought away from my throat and I turned around to face the girl. The difference in our heights was more obvious when standing next to each other like this, but even with the difference in height and weight she still managed to completely overwhelm me in battle. A grin spread across her cheeks as she placed her blades in their respective sheaths and stuck her right hand out towards me. I took her hand and sighed, I knew what would come next. "So, that win earlier, you think you can do that again?" Her teeth shined as her grin widened and she stared into my eyes. "That''s enough Erin, you''ve shown your strength. Now, we agreed on drinks if i''m correct?" Godwin chimed in. "The tavern downtown looked quite lively earlier. How about that one?" I asked remembering the tavern I had passed before arriving at the training grounds. Godwin grunted appreciatively and I jumped down to walk alongside him. The two brothers on the other side of the platform walked over to the exit and we all joined and walked together, Erin catching up once she''d placed her equipment in her storage container. ---------------------------- The tavern was still lively, there was many people sitting around outside and inside drinking alcohol and smoking what smelled like tobacco. Godwin was the first to enter and I followed behind him, then the other three after. It was a busy tavern filled with adventurers. I could tell by the armor they wore and the weapons stored in their sheaths that they were all experienced. I was quite overwhelmed by the feel of it but I was all for trying new things. Godwin pointed at an empty table in the right hand corner of the tavern, it was circular with 4 benches laying around it. Enough to fit 12 grown men comfortably. "This is the Desrath''s table. Well, mainly mine." He laughed at his own joke and I looked back to see Erin unamused. "You have your own table?" I asked, shocked at the idea. Why would someone have their own designated table in a local tavern. Erin answered the question with her usual expressionless demeanor she put on when around other people, "Our family funds this tavern. We also fund most places in this city, which does give us a few extra privileges." The younger Soulred chimed in "Did I not tell you that the Desraths own this place?"If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "What, the tavern?" I was unsure what he meant but I was quickly answered by a prideful Godwin, "He means this whole city. Our father is the noble lord residing over the city of trials, however when he dies that title will go to none other than myself!" The tall man looked proud at the fact his family was in charge here, but it left me with sour taste in my mouth. I didn''t really have a good impression of nobles. But who was I to judge these adventurers who had been so kind as to help train me, and even offer me accommodation and payed for my food and clothes. But the thought that they were only being kind to me due to my position as one of these ''Soul Lords'' lingered in my mind. The thought was pushed out of my mind as someone collided into my back and I slammed my chest into the side of the table. Within seconds Erin had brandished her knives, pointing them towards the figure that had fallen onto the floor and was resting behind me. He got up and stood next to me, his breath reeking of alcohol. "So, your the boy huh. You don''t look too special." He whispered into my ear and placed a silver coin in front of me and turned away, "Sorry for the inconvenience." He shouted over his shoulder. His short blonde hair only just covered his delicate eyes as he turned back around one last time to look at me. He was thin and tall, an agile type of fighter. A short axe was strapped to his lower back. He had an ominous presence to him but I couldn''t quite put my finger on why. "Stop staring at him, forget about it." Erin pulled me back to my senses as she grabbed my chin and twisted it to face towards her, "Ow ow ow, can you let go." I begged quietly, but she didn''t. Instead, she took a deep breath and just stared directly into my eyes. "That''s enough you two. Sorry Mercury, she tends to get like this when she even comes close to alcohol." Godwin half yelled to project his voice over the noise of everything going on in the background. Erin proceeded to let go and slumped over the table, her hair falling to the sides of her head and covering the rest of her face. The two short goblins had been drinking heavily since we had entered to tavern, but it seemed to have no affect on them, like they had a tolerance to alcohol, which I wouldn''t be surprised if they had, being hundreds of years old and all. I grabbed the mug under me and poured it back into my throat, drinking the whole mug in one go. Which wasn''t a good idea. A loud burp erupted from my stomach and Godwin let out a stifled laugh in my direction and pointed at me. "How old did you say you were again? I''ve never seen someone drink like that." I thought for a moment and then realized, "16." I said shyly, understanding why that wouldn''t be a great age to be in a tavern. Godwin stared back at me wide eyed, then they thinned and he grinned, "Oh well, you were gunna start drinking one day." Erin leapt up from her seat and turned to face me, "Shit I forgot." She looked at Godwin and then back at me. "Brother, father told me to ask Mercury if he could meet him later, for dinner." Godwin''s face went deadpan and he stared at his sister, "And you''re telling me that after I''ve just tried to get both of you drunk." His stern voice made it so I couldn''t tell if he was actually annoyed at his sister or just inconvenienced by the new proposal. "I can make it, but I wouldn''t want to show up in these tattered clothes." I was interested in what the father of these two would be like, but more importantly I wanted to meet the man in charge of this city, to see if he had any ulterior motive with me. "Perfect. I can get you some new clothes too!" Godwin sounded excited by the idea of shopping, a thing I thought would be common among women, not seasoned veterans. Erin sighed, "I''ll go inform father, prepare Mercury. If he shows up looking like a train-wreck, I will cut you down." She informed her brother. Her voice making me sure she wasn''t lying, but I guess that''s the type of person she is. -------------------------- After 4 excruciating hours of cloth shopping, we had finally picked out an outfit ready to see Lord Desrath. The outfit consisted of a gray buttoned up shirt with a black overcoat that stopped at my hips, straight black trousers, and finally some extra accessories, namely a silver ring on my right hand and a small silver bracelet on the same side. Godwin had brought me one of his ties, however it didn''t suit the outfit so we ditched that idea. But I was finally ready, physically at least. Mentally I was just now realizing that I was going to meet a noble lord. I had never been taught noble customs, and I was sure I would slip up and say something rude that might piss off the man who I was picturing as some ancient figure with wrinkles along every part of his face. The sort of person that just waiting to be pissed off by someone. But I would only be able to tell once I had opened the door in front of me, which took a little bit of a mental work up to do. My hand went for the door when suddenly it opened, making me tumble forward slightly. Reaching out with my right hand I stopped myself on a young man in front of me, "Ah sorry, I just tripped a little there. I''m Mercury, uh, I have an appointment with Lord Desrath? Could you take me to him?" The young man gave me a warm smile and turned to his side and pointed his arm out like an arrow, gesturing me inside. "No problem. That''s me, the rest of my family is waiting inside the door to the right up at the end of the hall." I was relieved that the man was so calm about me falling into him, "Thank you. I''ll be on my way now." I chuckled and walked a few steps before turning back around again, "Wait, did you just say you were the Lord?" He laughed at my question, "Yes, that is me. Were you expecting someone older, perhaps with gray hair and wrinkles everywhere?" Crap, what a wonderful way to greet the man I was here to meet. After all the practice Godwin had made me do on a greeting. This was going to be an interesting night, that''s for sure.