The Pirate & The Sun

Just how many had I killed? It had been an hour or so of hard fought skirmishes leading from the crossroads all the way up to the midst of Clover Towns outskirts that I now found myself entangled by, my blade was stained tomato red from the plethora of bandit guts & innards leaking from its edge, my rampage had left a trail of crimson and brimstone that seeped into the very earth itself; christening it in a sanctum of fire & blood. I had wanted to take the silent approach and sneak past a few patrols, perhaps even **** the leader before I'd get swamped by his lackeys - a luxurious idea that time would not allow for.

Celeste was deep inside enemy lines and perhaps at this very moment within that fat belly bastards clutch, with no extent of knowing his intentions it was out of the question to be cautious. As I disembowled yet another patrol of thugs it crossed my mind that I was risking life and limb for the sake of a stranger I hardly knew. I wasn't exactly the textbook definition of selfless charitability, so why then was I so focused on the task at hand? Could it just be because she was a female in danger, and I was merely giving in to my male instincts? Could my intentions really be so simpleminded and transparent? I didn't think so; the urgency I felt & the racing of my heart were being pulled by other, more opaque forces I was sure.

Had the old nuns talk of 'destiny' pulled the wool over my eyes, or sold me a vial of snake oil? Had I been duped into taking on her quest to rescue some supposed spawn of divinity? I did not know; the uncertainty towards my fervor should be concerning to me and yet it was not; I just kept pushing further and further into the bowels of the camp, with each step vanquishing yet more and more cancer that dwelled from within. My initial sighting at the makeshift gate had alerted those indoors to my presence; seeping from the formerly civilian homes like locusts on ample vegetation to greet me. They had mocked me at first, trying to shake me down for the goods in my possession - that tune changed very swiftly when I started lopping off heads left and right.

I had sustained no blows but I was beginning to feel the strain; especially when I also had to cover for Astrids protection as well as mine. She made sure to target ranged opponents with her illusions to carry her weight in battle, but occasionally she had been stretched too thin and I had to protect her with wind walls to deflect wayward arrows that would come her way. If she was nervous she did a good job of hiding it, she was getting alarmingly used to the pressures of combat, even moreso than myself I had to admit.

Dispatching yet another group of the Iron Belly bastards in a gruesome fashion I'd come to realize that those that had once circled around us were now either dead or fleeing from us in terror, finally giving me a moment to catch my bearings. A group of 20 of them were fleeing in all directions, trying to get out of our way as soon as they could.

"There's only 20 left?" I said to myself between breaths, now surveying my surroundings to see various buildings with small flames starting to lick at the thatched roofs that I quickly made to douse with my water magic. Littered across the muddy ground, parts blood and parts earth were strewn the bodies of up to a hundred men in various states of mortal terminus. Had I really slayed so many? This was my work? With the gristle that clung to me I knew it could be no others. Had I always been so desensitized to the taking of life?

"He-help us." Came a sudden cry from one of the residences I had doused. So there was more people inside? I hadn't sensed them at all. Pushing back the swinging door I breached into the dimly lit room illuminated with only a handful of candles spotted around the interior. At the back of the room my eyes went wide at the sight that greeted me; a gaggle of women with seemingly no familial relation were tied up and stripped of all clothing - their hands and feet bound by rope or chains fixed to the walls and floor of the joint kitchen and living room that made up the houses ground floor.

"Wait, don't hurt us!" One of them plead when they saw me enter the abode with sword in hand and gore clinging to me; I must look a more fearsome state than I had first thought for them to mistake a teenager as a bandit.

"Don't be alarmed, I'm not one of them. I'm here to help you." Kneeling at one of the womans side I brought my swords edge carefully to their binds and began to free the women one by one until they were all released. The one chained by metal had been difficult at first; but nothing a few solid hits with the pommel couldn't sort out. The women now freed from their captivity began to sob and band together as only those who had gone through the horrors of **** truly could, it was an immense release of human energy that I found difficult to be around without being affected by it too.

"I'm, I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." Was all I could manage to say before I made to leave them to their privacy, however one of the women stopped me, pulling on my sleeve she soon made to cover herself as best she could when I directed my attention her way.

"They... They kept us as sex slaves, there's more in the other houses chained up like we were, can you free them also?" She asked with pleading eyes. I wanted to, even if I was a little coldhearted or distant at times; I could still feel the empathetic desire to want to offer my services to their cause; but I knew that I couldn't afford to. I had perhaps already spent too much time that I couldn't spare freeing them.

"I'm afraid I can't, I have to get to Harlont before it's too late. Get some knives or swords from the bandits outside and free them yourselves, take some clothes from the dead or find some spares from your houses. I wish I could help more but I'm spread too thin, sorry." I made to leave once more.

"They have our husbands locked away in the church, we overheard the bandits saying something about mining for some artifact hidden below, we heard Harlont is hiding out there as well. Please if you're looking for him, free our husbands as well. I beg of you sir!" Looking at her tearstained face I clenched my fists in anger, not trusting my voice I simply nodded my head yes and exited the premises. Astrid was outside keeping watch, she gave me a worried look when she turned to face me, clearly I must be carrying a foul look about me.

"They're apparently holding up in the Church. Hopefully we're not too late." And with that we made towards the steepled roof off in the not so far off distance. Not too late, for what I wondered? I still had no clue what this creep was after using this young girl, but given how the other women were treated in this town I shuddered to linger too long on that thought. And now there was the addition of some excavation for an artefact? Just what exactly was this development leading towards? From my back I heard the women gasp as they breached the open air for the first time for what might have been weeks, the sight of all the dead bodies must be as alarming as I thought it might be. I still couldn't quite get over that it had been mostly my own handiwork, at least in the deaths department. Astrid had leant her hand sure; but she had been clear of any direct killing.

Soon finding myself at the broad oak double doors I resolved myself for what was to come and booted them open revealing a dank and profaned dwelling if ever I had laid my sights on one. The room was damp and dreary with parts of furniture smashed or disheveled about the room, the pews that once lay neat and orderly facing the front were now splintered, charred or upturned, facing this and that way in no particular rhyme or reason. The smell was next, it smelt as damp as it looked and accompanied by the heavy perfume of spirits and ale that bled into every corner, every fabric and every molecule of the run down parish.

The room was filled with a thin smog that veiled the interior the deeper in the smoke penetrated. My eye scanned the room and not before long rested on an individual in monk robes that turned to look at me in a startle. He looked to be a greying man in his 50's who bore the same symbol around his neck as the one I had seen in the drivers carriage. He was perhaps a priest of the faith? Then why was he left unchained. Something didn't feel quite right here.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The man asked from afar, no sooner had he asked did several figures reveal themselves from the shadows, walking out from behind pillars or beneath the pews. Each of them looked hardened and well versed in their profession, they weren't like the small fry I had encountered outside. This must be Harlonts inner circle; of which surprisingly there were only 10, discounting the monk that is.

"What are those idiots playing at out there? They just let some brat wander into the headquarters like it's nothing." One of them ranted, pursing a golden chalice of what was almost certainly wine or other poison to his lips.

"Maybe things are going bad out there, perhaps we ought to alert the boss?" Another chimed in before taking a large bite out of a loaf of stale looking bread.

"Idiots, don't you see him? Look closer." Another one unsheathed his blade. Now truly looking at my bloodied clothes and angry face they finally started to grow cautious of me.

"No way, don't tell me that kid has been killing our men?" The wined up bandit commented, swilling the remainder of his cup to the floor and readying himself also. Before I knew it they were upon me, first came the bread eater who dashed in my direction past several pews and leapt into the air, slashing downwards to cut me in one foul swoop - however his overexertion would cost him as I also leapt forward and met him midair with a strike that bore deep into his chest before kicking him off of my blade just in time to parry the wine drinkers follow-up. Our blades met again and again in a fierce bout of sparks, with my attention focused in on him; his allies made to route me from behind - however I lead them into believing I was unaware of their approach until I spun around; still parrying the wine drinker with my sword hand but using my spare hand to shoot a row of flaming spears in point blank range into three members that screamed horribly before giving way to the heat that enveloped them.

Leaping back the wine drinker created some space and tried to divert my attention away from him; meanwhile another group of bandits made to distract me also, going for attacks but then feigning them before they landed. They were looking to tired me out or have me over exert myself as the bread eater had. Sending a wind blade with one hand and then flame spears with the other I tried to hit two of them in polar opposite ends but had both abilities be dodged by my opponents.

Seeing an opening, one of them committed a blow to my back which I timed with a spin of my sword to deflect the arc of his blade and then followed up with a haymaker to his jaw which sent him rattling to the floor.

"Bee's! Giant fucking bee's going for my fucking eyes!" The wine drinker screamed in panic as he began flailing his sword about the room before tripping over an overturned pew and miraculously impaling himself on his fallen companions sword. Looking over to Astrid she was waiting by the door casting her illusion magics from a discrete location and hadn't yet been discovered. Good, I could focus on pure offensive from now on.

"Boss! Help us, this little brat is a fucking nightma-" One of the bandits cupped his mouth to carry his voice towards the back of the church, but before he could finish his sentence I had tossed a flaming spear right through his cranium; washing the side of the wall close by to him in fiery gray matter. Four remained, and were now keeping their distance and trying to delay me the best that they could.

"Fucking mage freak, you've killed a bunch of my good friends! Wait until the boss get here, you're fucking dead kid!" Again with the mage conflation, does he not see the sword in my hand? Clueless idiot. Extending my palm I shot several flame spears at him, most of them missing until finally one of them struck him in the chest; dropping him dead immediately.

"Fucking die!!" One of them screamed from behind, lifting his sword high into the air he swung down on my back only for me to spin around and slice him in half at the waist with a wind imbued slash of my sword. Screaming at first I soon sunk my sword into his throat to cease his ear piercing wails. By now only two remained, and one of them was making towards the door; and subsequently had discovered Astrid. Cursing at my absentmindedness I made to chase after him - I didn't trust my flame spears at this distance because if he dodged them or if it pierced through him it would carry on going and hit Astrid too - leaving only one move remaining to me.

The bandit I knew must have realized Astrid could be a bargaining chip for them if he could take her hostage, and so he was sprinting towards her in a **** attempt to save his own skin - and despite his speed I, was faster. Using my blink ability that I had used to trick Orken into diving into the burning tent to his own demise; I closed the distance between us and lopped of his head with a vicious cleave that sent more crimson onto my blade, clothes & nearby wall. At my back I felt the approach of the final bandit but felt too drained to parry him in time; just as I braced for the worse I felt Astrid's magic cast through me and onto the approaching bandit who missed his swing by a small margin - but just enough for me to counter his swing with one of my own - slicing at his stomach first however the cut was too shallow; so I followed up with another which cut off his head from the middle of is mouth upwards; revealing only the bottom row of his teeth & waggling tongue before he almost immediately jutted forward onto the floor and twitched until all motion ceased.

Had it not been for Astrid's clutch illusion spell there in that final stretch then I might have been returning home with yet another scar; or perhaps worse. Catching my breath I made sure Astrid was ok first before moving on, casting my lonesome eye on the cowering priest now partially hid behind one of the pews in the middle of the room. Making my way over to him he tripped up over himself trying to back away from my approach, making pathetic noises as he struggled for the words he might have said. Bridging the distance I scruffed his neck and lifted him upwards to face me head on, from such a close distance I could practically smell the fear coming off of him.

"Why are you not chained up like the others, priest? Confess to me all your sins - and you better not lie." I grit my teeth, expecting the worst out of this guy from the get go. He whimpered and blubbered but no sentences were forming and so I struck him with the back of my hand, the noise of which resounded across the room and echoed off of the very walls themselves. "Get to it man! I don't have time for your stuttering!" I bellowed angrily, pausing the priest composed himself and began to speak.

"I'm... I was important to H-Harlont, he needed me to locate the Petrified Core, an artefact our order had burried beneath the altar many centuries ago, I swear that's the extent of my involvement with their acts! I'm just as much a victim as anyone else! I didn't hurt anyone or add to their suffering I promise! I... I just didn't want them to hurt me, and I figured- I, I figured the sooner I let them have the artefact the sooner they'd leave! I only had everyone's best interests at heart!" The man declared pitifully, sighing I released my grip of his throat and allowed him to pick himself up from his kneeling position. He didn't seem like he was lying, perhaps I had him all wrong. Just as I was about to ask him for Harlonts whereabouts; a group of ragged men started to climb out of a hole in the ground towards the back that I was only just now aware of; it had been obscured by the fog, the altar & the pews before whilst I had been fighting.

As many as 50 men poured from the crevice like ants surging to protect their hill, or termites evacuating a flooded mound. They were all scuffed up & emaciated, looking more bone than man, some fled carrying only the clothes on their back; others with a pickaxe or lantern in hand. These must be the husbands of the townswomen I thought; their eyes were shot wide in terror and their need to get away was so strong that I almost didn't get out of their way in time. Pulling the priest with me and narrowly avoiding their stampede, soon the room was vacant once more; save for the three of us that remained.

And then suddenly, there was four.

A sound of clapping came from the hole where now stood a portly man with a black tunic that parted down the middle; exposing an ample stomach that threatened to pop the button of his trousers at any moment. He wore a scruffy brown beard that was littered with crumbs and other debris that he was delinquent in cleaning - atop his head sat a commodores hat with washed out colors bearing a white outlined skull & crossbones, his eyepatch covering one of his emerald eyes & adorning what could be a necklace or something that hid obscured behind his bushy beard. I had seen this man before in the wanted posters, it was without a doubt the 600'000 AxM man himself; Harlont 'Iron Belly' Brand.

"Well played, you've done well to get to this point. I commend your... Brutality." He emphasized that last word while noting my current bloodied appearance - my once green tunic was now drenched in hues of red, wet blood cascading over dry blood again and again creating layers of filth that riddled my body. "I understand the urge all too well, but I must admit your young age is a disconcerting factor to say the least. Aren't you supposed to be playing in the fields or skipping stones down the local lake? Instead here you stand; caked in innards and the foulness of battle and yet eager for more. A **vicious** little psychopath like you only comes along every once in a little while, I must say you have even my lusts for depravity beaten. Bravo." He clapped and chuckled, as if pleased with his own provocations.

"Are you one to talk? You've **** all women within your rule, enslaved all of the men and worked them without food for days if not weeks at a time. All so you could hold captive an underage girl for purposes I think better left unsaid. Next to you I'm darn right saintly." I fired back.

"Careful now, overstating ones piety in the house of our lord is sacrilege. You wouldn't want to invite Sol's burning wrath now, would you?" He said sanctimoniously; bearing a widening smirk full of mirth. He was enjoying this, the bastard.

"And now you want to tote your religiosity? You've persecuted the very faith you now dare to speak as an authority of - **** their women, working to **** their men, debauching their holy servants & profaning their places of worship. Does your ignorance know no bounds? I tire of your jests. You know why I'm here; you know that I've come to free Celeste and to take you in dead or alive. I don't mind which at this point, so make your choice." I offered him an ultimatum, however he merely shook his head in amusement.

"The ignorant one here is you." The pirate said as he pulled his beard with a smug smile across his lips. "You have no idea what the Advent of Solstice is really about, what the faith is really centered around, what the original texts were and what they meant for all of us. Celeste is a key in my plan as well as a lock, a lock that an ordinary man such as yourself can never hope to open no matter how hard he tries. No man, save for myself of course. I alone control her, I alone am her master, I alone have sole ownership over the fate of our entire world now - and if it only cost me a small band of rock brained inbreds to achieve godhood then I'd say that was a deal well struck." The mans chuckle sent his belly bounding up and down like a jiggling plate of pudding, hearing him mention her name concentrated the mind a little.

"Where is she?" I asked, focusing in on her whereabouts, I couldn't sense her nearby and I was worried he might have her held hostage somewhere, first I needed to confirm her whereabouts before I committed to something that might cause her harm following my attack.

"Down in the basement, want to come and see? Perhaps I'll use her as a human shield! What a humorous idea that would be!" And with that he was off, without any prior warning he turned tail and hopped into the mouth of the cave which cascaded down roughly formed steps at a sharp decline into the pits of the churches bowels. Cursing I followed suit, ordering Astrid to stay where she was and hide lest he use some kind of trick to ambush her and use her against me down there. Jumping into the hole myself now I could see that the tunnel went down for some distance, and the lighting consisted of dimming gas lanterns placed sporadically along the walls in criss cross patterns. As I descended further and further down into the growing darkness of the tunnel I began to see him pierce through the dimming light little by little with every ledge I jumped from & every step I landed atop of.

Before long I had reached a relatively leveled section of the tunnel that twisted and turned in every which direction; like a rollercoaster without the loops. Rounding corners at breakneck speeds I could sometimes make out the back of his blackened tunic, or strands from his brown hair wafting in the breeze left in his wake; but 7 steps forward felt like 8 steps back - he was always just one step ahead and it made me redouble my approach. I had to get to him before he got to Celeste; I couldn't let him use her as a human shield or else it'd make my job much harder than it needed to be.

Finally rounding the final corner I entered into an open-ish section of the cave which was filled with ragged banners eaten by bugs, water logged wooden furniture & stands that had splintered and rotten from within to the point of dilapidation, metal ornaments & brassiers that had rusted beyond all use or even recognition in places. There in the middle of the room was a raised mound that held a collapsed podium atop it's summit; and besides those remnants of a podium stood my prey; Harlont, intending to speak a sermon to mock me further no doubt. Another of his japes I had guessed, but what really worried me was the absence of Celeste; I still couldn't sense her presence even down here in what looks to be a dead end.

"I was once saved by the Advent Of Solstice you know? Back when I was just a young child, it's because of their mercy that I was able to learn of their true history - their real purpose that only the inner circle knows about. Would you care to find out what it is you're fighting for? WHO it is, you're fighting on behalf of?" Harlont stroked his beard with a rotten smile on his face.

"Not really, where's Celeste? You told me she would be down here." I pressed him for answers.

"All in due time my boy, she isn't going anywhere. Since you've come this far and know this much, it almost seems like a crime to not confess my motifs. After all, you're perhaps one of the only people left that I can disclose all of this to and have it make sense. Not even my inner crew knew these details, so you ought to be honored that I've chosen you as my ear piece; so why don't you **quieten down back there and maybe you'll learn a thing or two.**"

---

~Flashback~

"I was a 9 year old boy serving as a cabin lad for captain Bronx aboard the 'Iron Price', I never knew my parents and had no where to go cept' for the streets; so what does a young boy of 9 with no home, no food & no prospects do? Well, he gets picked up by any old bastard that'll have him. In my case; it was by pirates."

"Harlont ya useless whelp, get the munitions into the hull before the blasted surf renders them as inert as you are!" Captain Bronx yelled at the scrawny kid who was finding it difficult to stay upright on the turbulent deck that swayed back and forth from a particularly chaotic storm that was beginning to descend from the heavens.

"Y-Yes sir! Sorry sir!" Harlont caught the box of munitions to the chest and the blow sent him hurtling onto his back and then down a flight of stairs and into the hull, banging his head on the wooden planked steps all the way down until he landed with a thud onto the base layer.

"Shit!" The young boy cursed, picking himself up one second only to be knocked onto his side the next from a resounding blast that came mere meters away from him as an iron cannonball blasted through the sides of the ship sending a shockwave of splinters in each & every direction from the impact.

"I didn't know it then, but the navy had been tailing us for some time and were finally within engagement range; by the early hours of the morning and as visibility had gotten better - they had fired upon us and intended to sink the ship and drown all of us on board."

"All hands on deck!! Enemy vessel to our south east!" Came a cry from the crows nest, the boy tried to pick himself up but was trampled on by all the men readying their stations. Battered and bruised Harlont lay on the floor with barely enough strength to push his upper body off the boards, and at any rate didn't matter since in a volley of shots; Bronx's ships side was obliterated by cannonfire all at once. And as if in an act of miraculous fate; one of the cannonball blasts sent Harlont out through one of the ships cannon windows before the vessel started to capsize & sink.

Now descending to the bottom of the ocean, Harlont tried as he might to swim upward, flailing his arms and legs hopelessly and clawing at the sun shone surface that lay just out of arms reach. Panicked and rapidly losing air, Harlonts thrashing soon began to cease as he allowed the oceans water to fill his lungs. And just as the vision around his sights was beginning to turn to black; he saw something disturb the oceans surface, and a hand stretch out to meet him.

"One of the navy's sailors who had sunk me had also seen fit to save me, citing that because I was so young that I ought to be spared of their fate for not knowing any better. My former captain and crewmates, if I could even call them that, had all been returned to the sea whilst I was the only survivor of the attack. The man who had saved me had also taken on the role of a pseudo father figure, teaching me about his faith and what it meant to him and how it was by Sol's light that he deemed fit to swim after me that fateful morning."

"Hey 'Iron Boots', tell John that he's to report to the admiral post haste." One of the sailors called down the brig to the young boy.

"The sailors had got to calling me 'Iron Boots' on account of my inability to swim, John, my now pseudo father had tried to teach me but eventually threw in the towel; I guess I'm just heavy boned hahaha! These days people just call me 'Iron Belly' because I'm a built like a cannonball but twice as sturdy! Gahahaa!"

"Ya see, the Advent of Solstice isn't just about the worship of Sol; there are some sects that hold a different belief to mine and others within the faith." John tossed down a piece of hard bread to the young Harlont, John then dipped his piece in a pot of soup and took a bite. "What I'm going to tell you isn't something I believe, nor something you should repeat to anyone under any circumstances. I'm telling you this because I want you to be aware of the temptations that you might be subjected to in life and understand their falsehoods." Harlont looked up at him and listened in eagerly to the prospect of learning a secret not meant for his ears.

"There is a prophecy that one day Sol will deliver his seed to a woman within his faith, and from her loins will be born a god made flesh. You remember me telling you about all of this don't you?" The kid nodded his head, the man had hardly ceased his proselytizing since getting aboard the navy ship after all. "Well the mainline belief is that the divine child's flames will bring about a world lacking for want, a just world where all evil is vanquished and an age of paradise that is rendered onto all. That is what the sermons speak of, that is what the priesthood preaches about, that is what the everyday believer is brought up understanding. Correct?" The boy nodded his head again.

"Wrong." John said sternly. "My father before he passed away used to be a high ranking member of the faith, and due to his connections he also let me in on the little secret that I'm about to reveal to you too." Harlont scooted closer to John in anticipation for what was to come. "The truth is; is that the priesthood have a powerful artefact hiding below the church in Clover Town if memory serves me well - an amulet that can bind Sol's children to whoever so wears the relic. The objective of the faith isn't to have peace nor prosperity for all, nor to allow Sol's children the freedom to make their own justice - the purpose of the Advent Solstice is for the inner circle to control the god spawn & exploit them for their own sake." John finished, a grim look on his face.

~End Flashback~

---

"For you see, it was revealed to me since a young age what the true plans for Celeste really were. The old order had died out & many who knew the real truth behind the artefact had long since passed away. Everyone! Everyone that is except for John, myself, and now you as well I suppose." Harlont chuckled to himself. "Although very soon it'll go back to being just me and John again." As he said this I caught a glimpse of the artefact in question when he particularly tugged on a tuft of beard, parting it just enough for me to see a black stone amulet hanging from his neck.

"Even if I am to believe your little story, where is the proof to your claims? You have the profaned core, you have Sol's offspring; why then are you speaking to me and not taking over the world as was prophesized? Your story isn't adding up, Harlont." Hearing this caused the old pirate to burst out into a fit of laughter bordering on mania, I could only stand by and watch tensely as the mirth spilt from his gut and leaked from the corners of his mouth.

"All in due time! But you're simply asking the wrong questions my boy; the question isn't how long it'll take for me to manifest my own destiny - but how long will it will take for you to succumb to yours!" Again, he returned to his laugh which echoed across the dank limestone walls. Looking at him now I could also hear the faint rushing of water coming from somewhere off in the distance.

"Have you ever experienced drowning before? Because I know I have; twice in fact. Allow me to vicariously live it through you one more time!" And with that, Harlonts full body flickered out of existence into various multicolored shards of light. My eyes went wide as the rushing water that was once distant was soon roaring in my ears, getting closer and closer to where I stood at an alarming rate. Snapping to action I rushed towards the entrance I had come in from and began to rapidly retrace my steps as fast as I could, no later than my shoulder colliding with the first turn did I hear the sound of rubble give way to the surging liquid that began to flood into the chamber; and soon began to follow my tracks also.

Panting I fought with the twists and turns and utilized my dash to keep ahead of the torrent that chased me; however it was all in vain as I soon felt my legs give way underneath me to the powerful **** of the current as it flooded the remainder of the tunnel. Now submerged in the filthy water obscured by dirt, rock & other sediments; I was effectively blind - and with the confusion and **** the current had flung me with; I had no way to tell up from down, left from right, exit from end.

Palming at the walls madly I made to feel for lanterns or other signs to fix my orientation but came up dry with every attempt, oh gods was I to die here? I picked a direction and committed to it blindly, hoping against hope that I chose the correct path. Using the walls and ledges I felt against my hands I propelled myself forward and rounded corners when they came, all the while feeling my lungs cry out for air; on and on I swam frantically seeking something; anything! Blinded, cold, scared; and then I could suffer the deprivation no longer - opening my mouth I allowed the water to fill my lungs, and that's when I knew I was done for. An odd, almost comforting calmness enveloped me as the light faded from my eyes; my body giving way to the inevitable. I guess this is as far as I went.

---

At the top of the tunnel, Harlont stood and watched as his plan came to fruition, years of meticulous planning and preparation with all of his fail safes had lead to this moment. The rushing water had surfaced all the way up to the top due to an enchant he had purposefully installed at the base of the tunnel; and stopped right at the top before it spilled out into the church because of barrier enchant he had hidden around the entrances perimeter. Peering down into the aquatic abyss, small bubbles rose to the surface signaling his victory. A small smile crept onto his lips as he watched a lifeless body breach to the top.

"To think, you could take out my entire band but would get tricked by a simple mirage walk. All brawn and no brains, and that is why the young are not fit to inherit the earth. Leave that task to me, won't you?" Looking pleased with himself, the old pirate turned and jumped ever so slightly in place when he saw me alive and well standing besides Astrid; who had once again fooled the enemy with her illusions. The pirate looked back at the drowned cadaver as if to double check and watched as my lifeless body faded away into nonexistence.

"You were saying?" It was now my turn to smirk, and damn did it feel good watching the smug fade from his face. However the feeling was but a fleeting notion, since when he returned his sights on me his face was back to grinning widely, something about that rotten smile set off alarm bells in my head.

"You keep upping the ante, I must say I'm impressed with your resourcefulness; I didn't know you had such a fine illusionist with you - and a Dark Elf no less! However now that I know your trump card, her same tricks won't work on me twice." The pirate said confidently, now idly playing with the petrified core that he wore around his neck. "However as a show of good sportsmanship; I ought to spring a trump card of my own to level the playing field." The artefact glowed a bright orange before fading back to black, and in that flash of amber a woman appeared on the top floor of the balcony high above Harlont, balancing herself precariously on the railing.

She was a short girl, perhaps only 4 foot 8 with auburn hair that flowed down to the small of her back, she wore fine leathers from bottom to waist, including a well made pair of leather-lined boots that rose almost up to her knees, above that was a brown pair of cargo shorts that merged with her leggings fastened by a brass belt buckle to suspend them in place. Further up she wore a fanciful gold trimmed red cloak that fastened around her neck with an off-white shirt buttoned up underneath. Her face was of a pale complexion with freckles dotting her cheeks just below the eyes, her eyes however were the most contrasting of all; they were pale, cloudy, almost fogged over like a blind persons eyes might look.

"Beautiful isn't she? I've spent many years searching for her, ever since my crew raided the Isles of Warmth and I first laid eyes on her in her crib; I knew that I had found what I was looking for." Harlont held out his arms meaningfully, as if to display his prize for all the world to see. Looking at her eyes again I could tell something was off, she wasn't looking anywhere or reacting to anything he was saying; she just stood there propped up like a puppet on a string.

"The nuns carried her away from me, boarding a small rowboat whilst their fellow sisters gave up their life's blood trying to stall me. What better admission of her importance could I ask for than that? I knew I had her; I KNEW she was the one and so I boarded my ship and gave chase. The time her surrogate mothers had spared her was slim, but aggravatingly crucial as it happens. Just as I was about to catch up to her vessel and seize her for myself - the cursed Navy must have seen my sails and gave chase also. There's a certain degree of irony there, to be thwarted by the faction that raised me and introduced me to the AoS for persecuting that very same religion." Harlont unsheathed his sword, a giant scimitar that curved dangerously towards the end of the blade. Readying up myself I also unsheathed Hawks Edge from its scabbard and assumed a defensive stance in anticipation for his next move.

"When I was sinking for the second time in my life, I looked up in despair and rage as I sunk into the abyss - thinking that I had spent every ounce of my existence up to that point; only to get so close and be denied RIGHT at the last second; the pain and anger that swelled in my heart was... Immeasurable." His face flickered with rage as he relived that moment right before my eyes, it was like the usually jovial and smug pirate had gave way to what lied just underneath the surface; a pained and bitter man that sought power at any consequence. "But just before I was about to be consumed by the darkness; I gazed up at a blinding light that grew and grew and GREW in intensity; piercing from the waters surface all the way down into the oceans depths and cleansing it, cleansing me of any dark, any shadow, any doubt that could possibly remain." His eyes looked glazed over, like he wasn't even looking at me anymore; he was looking off past me at whatever his minds eye conjured. "I drowned and drowned and drowned, but my vision never dimmed. I sunk all the way to the oceans floor and was still conscious - air was not filling my lungs and yet I could still walk, each step was agony but it was still life! It was still existence! From aboard that dinky rowboat a great light shone down onto me at the very bottom, denying me ****! Even as a baby she could fend off the very reaper himself!" His eyes now focused on me once again, his crazed and bloodshot eyes that trembled from his own majesty, I knew in that moment that this might be the most dangerous foe I could ever encounter, especially so if his story is to be believed.

"Can't you see! She saved me because she WANTED me, she knew we were destined to be together! It took 16 long years for us to reunite but here we are! And then you walk in, and you think she would choose YOU over ME?!" The pirate began raising his voice, however just as I was about to make a move he must have realized how insane he looked. Calming down he brushed his hair with his hand and sighed deeply to relieve himself, now more refined he looked back at me once again.

"Here, want proof?" The pirate smirked. "Oh Celeste, who is your master?" The pirate called out knowingly to the young halfling who still stood fixed in place above him.

"Whoever holds the core is my master." She responded in a monotone, emotionless voice. However her answer only served to anger Harlont instead of please him.

"And I have the Core! So what does that make me, Celeste?!" He yelled up at her.

"My, My ma-a- Muh myyy maa-sster." She struggled out, clearly a part of her was still there even if her body betrayed her - her mind was at least resisting his rule. Harlont looked a little vexed despite still smiling, I could tell that he wasn't pleased with her lack of submission and perhaps even a little humiliated by her hesitance to say the words he wanted, no he NEEDED to hear.

"You're a sick man Harlont, you only control her because of the core. She doesn't care for you, she just sensed your pain and helped you survive; a child doesn't know the extent of how deplorable you truly are inside they're innocent to the world. Her saving you isn't a declaration of love or whatever else you might've deluded yourself over. Mind controlling her isn't true power Harlont, you're just borrowing something that will soon be returned." Changing my stance to a more offensive approach I began to cautiously bridge the gap between us. "Allow me to reposes that Core of yours and rid you of such illusions of grandeur." Hearing this the pirate frowned and gritted his teeth.

"Never!!" He all but screamed out, anger washing over him he charged at me with his Scimitar drawn, there in the middle of the dilapidated church our blades met with a resounding clang as one tried to overpower the other - despite being much younger than the pirate I felt that our strengths were much more evenly matched than it would have been against Orken in his berserker phase for example, in fact I could begin to feel his strength wain the more I pressed into him; eventually leading to me pushing him back even a little bit.

Eventually after a while of pushing I created an opportunity to nick at his stomach with a part of my wind imbued blade that he was no longer guarding against. The cut had a lot of **** going into it, but was shockingly shallow considering how hard I had pressed into him. Not to worry, if I keep adding cuts and slashes here and there eventually I'll wear him down - this would just be a battle of attrition, all I nee- and then that line of thought was severed at the base as I saw an amber glow followed by the sight of what I could only describe as gentle flames flowing into the old rotten seadog, and watching in horror as the small cut that I had just exerted so much energy to inflict was now fading away right before my eye, to the point where it looked like he'd never been cut there in his entire life.

Laughing the pirate sliced at me once again, which I jumped back to dodge; still reeling from the shock of this new development. Thinking quickly I turned to Astrid who was readying her magic and awaiting my command.

"Astrid! Try cast your illusions on Celeste to stop her from healing him!" I called out, blocking a return upwards swipe from his powerful curved blade. Astrid began casting her purple magic through the air, however when the spell collided with the halfling it merely fizzled out of existence. No way, could it possibly not be working because Celete is effectively blind, or under his control or something? Or was she just too powerful to deceive? Riposting another of his swings and returning an open slash across his front that drew a little blood was reassuring, that was up until the wound began to heal again. This was just impossible, what with his thick and defensive skin combined with her insane healing capabilities; it felt like the longer this fight was drawn out for, it would surely be me running out of steam first here.

I was caught between a rock and a hard place here, on the one hand if I stood any real chance of beating Harlont I had to neutralize Celeste; but in doing so I risk her life whom I am here to save in the first place; and on the other hand if I carry on fighting Harlont then I'll simply run out of stamina first. There was a third option to run of course, but if I fled then Harlont could simply mirage walk out of here and I'd be none the wiser to which way he truly went. He'd take any cardinal direction from the cross roads and be a dozen leagues away from here before nightfall, I'd go back to square one and incur the absolute divine fury from father and the royal army when they arrive and see their main villain had fled due to my incompetence. And besides, who knows what this creep would do to her if I allowed him to escape.

No I couldn't have that either, so then what could I do? Maybe magic could help. Casting flame spears from the palms I sent a volley of them, most of them missing however I caught on in his knee which pierced all of the way through his leg causing him to cry out in pain, stumbling to one knee. Not being one to miss an opportunity I aimed a wind imbued slash to the neck to try and end things then and there; however with a roll he dodged out of the way of my swing which sent splinters of rotten wood hurtling in all directions. Looking up I made an annoyed sound as I saw the hole that had gone all the way through his leg had now been healed up.

"Aren't you getting tired? How much longer can you keep this up for I wonder?" The pirate took a swig of some concoction he had in his waistband and then began to breath fire onto his sword. "I admit, if this was a fair fight you woulda won by now. But life aint fair kid! I got sunk twice so I oughta know!" Charging at me now with his scimitar aflame, I focused on dodging his swipes and blocked when I could afford. The flames that burnt from his blade burned hotter than anything my Enchants could achieve, just what the hell was in that brew?!

Whilst all of this was going on, I would occasionally see Astrid try her illusions on both Celeste and Harlont over and over again.

"My magic doesn't work! Lord Gate, please let's retreat for now!" She called out to me in the midst of battle. I knew she was right, it was the smart thing to do. But still, I would not, could not, and shall not grant him his way. Grunting I shoved him off of me to create some space and began channeling water from my hands in an attempt to douse his flames; however the molten lava that was his sword would reduce the liquid to steam long before even making contact and without abating it's cinders even a little bit.

Well fuck, there goes that plan. Laughing the pirate slashed at my mid section which I jumped away from to keep my distance still, but Harlont had other plans. Whilst I was mid air the crazed seadog sent a wave of flames hurling my way with a swing of his scimitar, thinking fast I imbued my blade with wind and gusted up a wall of wind which collided with his infernal attack in the mid section between us; the oxygen in my attack only served to fan the flames even hotter than before; but crucially redirected his attack somewhat back to him. With the room now aflame and several pews beginning to be consumed by the powder keg that was our enjoined attack - I quickly made to douse them the best that I could with more water.

The one most affected by these obstacles would be me, the old fucker could move through them as if they weren't even there because of Celeste's healing magic, whereas I would have no such luck. I had to remove them if I wanted to stand any sort of chance dealing with him, and although I say that I was still racking my brain for a solution. Just how could I pull this off? I couldn't attack Celeste, any and all attacks on Harlont are healed & each attempt to finish him in one blow is far too costly, I was running out of trump cards to play & was beginning to feel the strain from our battle starting to settle in.

I needed a strategy that I could exploit, some sort of advantage that I had over him. But what was it? With the steam in the room I could barely see him, formulating a plan in all of this chaos just seemed... Wait, that's it! Closing my eyes I could still hear him lumber about, I could still hear his wheezing breaths and the clink and clatter of his blasted artefact hanging around his neck every time he took a step. This was how I could beat him!

Sheathing my sword I clapped my hands together and began casting two types of magic, fire magic in my left hand and water magic in my right; the steam that was produced from this fusion began to fill the room until a thick white fume obscured everything surrounding us.

"What are you up to now? Blasted brat! Fight me like a man!" The pirate cried out in annoyance, **** a little on the steam. In response I appeared from out of the fog & cut him at his back which caused him to cry out in pain.

"Life isn't fair, remember?" I quipped back, returning to the shadows. The pirate growled angrily, spinning around left to right to anticipate my next move, the cut that I had rendered onto him already healed up.

Another nick, to the back of his legs I cut at his tendons and **** him onto the floor, quickly using the momentum of which now that he was disabled to draw back my sword and aim with a downwards strike at his neck; however he moved out of the lethal range right at the last second and instead I planted my sword deep into his shoulder blade. Grunting in frustration I tried to pull my sword back but found it firmly lodged within; opening my eyes wide in shock I realized that Harlont had a firm grasp of my blade with his free hand and was refusing to let me pull my blade out of him.

Sensing an attack was imminent, I had to relinquish grip of my sword to narrowly avoid a slash of his still flaming scimitar. Now without a weapon I heard the bastard pick himself up with pained grunts and angry growls, followed by the sickening sound of blade being rendered from bone and meat, and although painful and perhaps even a mortal wound - I knew that in seconds he would be well once more. The steam had also began to dissipate a little, so much so that I could see the gap in the floor where the water had since flooded, and that Harlont was hobbling besides that opening.

And then it hit me; I didn't need to slash or burn him - I just needed to drown him. Hearing the bastards admission earlier ringing in my ears like a soft summer song that roared in intensity towards the end; "The sailors had got to calling me 'Iron Boots' on account of my inability to swim" "inability to swim" "INABILITY TO SWIM" The solution had been right in front of me all along; I had just one shot at this, one chance to do or die, one roll of the dice.

Sprinting through the dissipating fog I jumped off of a pew and used the last of my stamina to dash forwards, colliding with with the still recoiling pirate and ripping off strands of his beard fiercely in order to clutch onto the Profaned Core that hid beneath; ripping that too from around his neck and kicking off of him before he found himself plummeting into his own safety measure. Falling on my ass and rolling around several times I eventually came to a stop and lay sprawled out on my back, breathing heavy, raspy breaths.

"Edward! Lookout!" Hearing her cries I opened my eyes only to last second see a bundle of brown, red & orange fall from the banister towards me, bracing myself I grunted in pain as my body broke the fall for Celeste's now limp body.

"Ouch!" She was heavier than she looked. Astrid ran to my side and began checking me all over for cuts and wounds. Celeste, now awake and lucid craned her neck up to look into my eyes and stopped, transfixed in place as her orbs pierced into mine. Gone was the cloudy and opaque misted over look, now I found myself peering into amber pools that shimmered across the surface. There was such depth that I couldn't think to even say a word, instead I just lay there gazing deep within.

"Get off of him you little minx!" Astrid broke the silence by saying. Blushing the girl sat atop of me realized that she had been straddling me all the while and quickly made to pick herself up off of me, offering quiet apologies in flustered tones.

"Are you alright?" I asked her gently, picking myself up shakily, finding out that todays work had been more taxing than I truly knew. Now that the adrenaline had worn off I had started to feel the effects of my efforts thus far; killing over a hundred men including high ranking bandit members and a 600'000 AxM immortal pirate to boot - the day had been tiresome to understate things a little. Propping myself up against the altar I watched as Harlonts commodores hat floated to the surface, followed by the last of the bubbles.

"I-I'm fine. Sorry, who are you both? My memory is a little hazy." The girl asks, twiddling her fingers together shyly.

"We were sent to rescue you, we met a nun on the road and-"

"Sister Florence!" The girl cried out sharply, panic and realization suddenly appearing on her face. She made to run for the door but with both hands on her shoulder, I calmed her down.

"Easy now, she's safe don't worry. We'll take you to her, she's holed up inside the town in an inn. Are you ok to walk?" Reeling back my words seemed to sooth her, looking at me she nodded gratefully and so we set off. I walked with a bit of a limp, the exertion had certainly started to settle in and I was hurting all over now - but the day wasn't over yet and there was still work yet to be done. The walk back home was going to be particularly troublesome. Perhaps father would arrive and offer me a carriage? Well, I'd imagine he'd have a much different offering in mind for me, if I was a betting man.

Exiting the church and walking back through the singed & battle worn streets I could take in once more the fruits of this morning labor; the streets were littered with blooded corpses & overturned furniture and stands, the houses riddled with disrepair and the whole atmosphere drowning in pained anguish that can only be drawn from banditry. Despite all of this I could still see families reuniting all around me, husbands reunited with their wifes, the children who had been in hiding had returned also, their tears were a mixture of equal parts grief that it had happened as well as relief that it was now over.

"Did... Did you two both do all of this? Just to, just to save me?" Celeste gasped, I could hardly believe it either. I had never really exerted myself to this degree before, and had near enough found my limit by doing so. As we walked through the streets, many families came up to thank me profusely for my help. A little unused and shy to such gratitude I put on my least awkward smile and tried my best to make it through the small crowd that was starting to form around us.

During which time we had come across several families that needed medical assistance, to which of course Celeste offered her services. Upon seeing her healing flames the citizens could only gawk open mouthed and wide eyed at her celestial appearance coming straight out of their religious canon.

"Sol made mortal!" One would cry out

"Our savior!" Came another

"Blessed one!" On and on the rejoicing went.

Together we walked, now with an entourage of worshipful chanters at our back into the town itself, past the now unmanned ramparts and flooding into the towns underbelly. A crowd of people seen pouring through the compromised gate had alerted the patrols that sounded alarms that heralded around the soon to be filled streets. Upon seeing the state of the civilians that haggled within, the guards lowered their weapons and came to the aid of those in need, offering them food and shelter but were nevertheless politely declined in favor of continuing to follow Celeste who had been so overwhelmed that she had been clinging to me the entire time, unsure of how to process their praise and affections.

Astrid had been glaring daggers at her all the while & had taken to mimicking her actions in an attempt to outdo her. So there I walked, a girl clinging onto either arm with a gaggle of worshipful civilians following us without reservation into the towns center. There, seeing a familiar face through the ever growing crowd I made my way over to him, trying to fight my way through the civilians and guards that had come out to find out what was going on.

"Boy! You actually did it!" The old carriage driver called out as we finally came face to face with one another just outside one of the towns many inns. "What happened? Florence let me in on a little of what was going on and-" He stopped when his eyes fell on Celeste, his jaw hanging open upon seeing her.

"Let's talk inside, Celeste wants to see Florence." I explained, hearing her name the old driver looked as if I had stricken him, my heart dropped a little at the reaction.

"About that, lad." The man looked down a little, as if he couldn't bear to look at us. Picking up on his remorseful demeanor Celeste barged past us and bolted through the inns doors heading inside. A cry of "Sister Florence!" was soon heard from within. Grabbing the drivers shoulders I shook him angrily.

"What happened?! Tell me!" I scanned his face for answers but could only see shame and regret staring back at me.

"I'm sorry lad, the doctors say it's cancer. She had been one foot in the grave for a while now, and I guess her incident on the road pushed her the rest of the way in." The man said solemnly, releasing him I walked inside but not before forbidding anyone else besides the driver to follow after me. Breaching the interior I saw that a bed had been dragged out of one of the rooms and a sickly looking Florence lay within, riddled with a particularly nasty cough. Recalling her coughing when I had first met her, I thought nothing off it at first but now I saw how truly ill she was. Her skin had turned as white as snow, her eyes looked sunken with pronounced cheek bones.

Celeste was at the side of her bed bawling her eyes out while the run gently rested a hand on her auburn hair, ruffling it reassuringly. Even in her last hours, the sweet old nun thought nothing of herself and still put Celeste before her own needs. I would never claim to particularly respect the religious, at least in my past life - but still it was hard not to feel a catch in my throat just looking at the selfless scene playing out before me.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" The girl muffled out, her face still burrowed in the nuns sheets.

"I... I was going to" *Cough* "find the right time, I guess it never really came." She admitted weakly. "But I'm over the sun that I get to see you once more before I pass, that nice young man must have made good on his-" *Cough* "Promise to me. Where is he?" She asked in a tired voice, hearing my que I walked up to the side of the bed for her to better get a look at me.

"I'm here, Florence." I called her by her real name for the first time, smiling back at me she sighed sadly.

"I suppose the secret of her birth is out now, I don't doubt that you couldn't have helped it, and I guess it's about time that she entered the world truly. We tried to coddle her and-" Cough cough "Limit her for her own sake, or so we thought." A small tear trailed down the side of her cheek. "But really, we **** her to grow up without friends, shielding her from the world so that she could never truly experience it, because we were all simply afraid of what might become of her." She wheezed at the end there, Celeste could do nothing but hold her hand through the worse of it and look on helplessly.

"You're my friend Florence! All of you, sister Witicombe, Sister Angelica, Sister Aubery, Sister-"

"All of us dead, child." Florence interrupted before breaking out into another coughing fit. Celeste could do nothing more but tear up as yet more blows were dealt to her soul. I left a reassuring hand on her back to try as I might to sooth her, with understandably diminishing results.

"Will you, will you guide her from here on, young man?" The nun now spoke to me, her eyes beginning to cloud over. "With that core you can guide her, she will be under your tutorage from here on out." The nun asked me.

"You want me to control her?" I asked, looking at my free hand to see I was still clutching the artefact tightly in my palm along with strands of brown hair that I had ripped from that seadogs chin. "Why me?" I asked her, genuinely surprised that the nun knew about the relic, and further seemed to be ok with me taking what is in effect ownership of her body.

"Call it a dying nuns gut feeling, but I've lived long enough to know" Cough cough "when I've witnessed prophecy be fulfilled. I know you will take good care of her, I can tell you are a kind soul to those that deserve it. You will do this for a dying nuns sake, won't you?" She finished with a smile. Looking down at my hand I unfurled my fingers to look at the core in its entirety, to really take it all in. It was a pitch black orb made of a smooth rock type texture; yet it pulsed gently with an orange hue that dimly glowed from within. Looking back up to Celeste she merely stared back at me with tears flooding down her cheeks, seeing her this way I thought of all the pain and hardships she'd had to go through just because some creepy bastard had sought out the very rock that I held within my hand.

Even if I was ok with taking ownership of Celeste, even had the deal been struck consensually between her and I; I would still be against allowing such an artefact to carry on existing - for her sake it had to be destroyed. Feeling rage bubble from within; I closed my fingers into a fist once more and squeezed so hard that the Core cracked into thousands of little pieces all across the room; little shards of slavery that crumbled into nothingness and all but dissipating into thin air; returning to nothingness in front of all our eyes.

Celeste gasped as the chains that bound her to me were severed at the base, she would be a free woman from here on out. Looking back at Florence to gauge her reaction I jolted at the sight of her peaceful face, her blank eyes having lost their light not long after witnessing her charges final liberation from the Cores rule. I'd like to think that her final thoughts were comforted by this act, although I suppose I'll never truly know. Celeste wailed out her grief at the passing of her final friend, and barring one final comforting squeeze I left her to her privacy.

Parting through the entrance to the inn, I came outside to a tearful crowd that flooded the towns square by now, every inch of it lined with a resident either from within or without the towns walls; all of them grouping in solidarity over their grieving messiah. They begged me to know that she was ok, to know how they might help; I told them that she just needed time and that she'd come out when she was ready. There we stood outside of a the inn for a time, many civilians had taken their turns to come up and thank both me and Astrid for saving her; that they had no idea that their messiah was in such turmoil and had they known; they would have died trying to save her.

However disturbing this relatively peaceful interlude came the shouting of commands as a group of well armed guards cleared a path through the crowd heading right for me. Seated on a storage box with both arms resting on Hawks Edge, a fanciful looking man emerged from the crowd in all is pomp and splendor. A man I recognized instantly as Clover Towns 'dutiful' baron.

"What is the meaning of this illegal gathering? My curfew hours are in full effect! I take it you're responsible for this little breach, boy?!" The man shouted angrily at me, I wanted to give him a right piece of my mind but decided better against it. Sometimes battles are better won with gentler words.

"My apologies, Duke Etherage, it wasn't my intention to stir up a crowd; I was merely-"

"Despite your intentions, you still have managed to 'stir up a crowd' as you put it! Don't you know we're being besieged by bandits?! Your little stunt has drawn attention away from the gates and caused god knows how many of their number to infiltrate without us knowing!" The man continued to chastise me.

"The bandits have been dealt with, my lord" I said that last part pointedly. "Go send some scouts for confirmation, your Harlont problem is no more." Hearing this the crowd that had formed from the interior was abuzz with chatter. The baron looked at me skeptically and scoffed derisively.

"Nonsense, the royal army hasn't even arrived yet! They would have reported to me before some snot nosed brat if Harlont had been dealt with." The man furrowed his brow. "Lying to your lord is grounds for imprisonment, perhaps a few weeks in a cold dark cell will rid you of such blatant untruths. Guards, seize this liar and any within his company." Before the guards could move to act on their commanders orders, and before the growingly restless citizens could move to stop them - a shout came from behind the lot of them; a big powerful booming voice that drowned out all chatter and demanded attention.

"WHERE IS MY SOOOON!!" Came the sound that made my blood run cold within my veins.

"ᴰ⁻ᴰᵃᵈˀ" I squeaked out in a voice only audible to me. Oh shit, I did not like where this was going.