Once you start a prophecy in motion, it can be very difficult to stop it from playing out. That was the lesson I learned while listening to the guard tell me his whole life’s story.

Parts of it were interesting. I was particularly fascinated by the training that guards had to go through. As unawakened, a life of service was considered an honorable life.

I stopped him to ask, “Wait. You left your family when you were twelve years old to get on a waiting list for this job?”

The guard held a hand up. “That’s personal. Now, as I was saying…”

It turned out that, while the prophecy compelled him to speak, he ultimately decided what he told me. I couldn’t change the output without starting another prophecy. In other words, using a prophecy to interrogate someone wasn’t a good idea.

Kalli was the voice of reason sitting on my shoulder. She stopped me whenever I went overboard with my ideas. Mel, you need to let the poor man go. He’s told you all he’s going to. Think of his wife and kid. He did just tell you about them after all.

Fine. I’ll let him go.

Even though I agreed with her, I still felt there was something I could do with the guard. Motioning for him to stop speaking, I announced, “I’ve decided to let you go. However, I am going to leave you with a gift. How would you like to be awakened?”

The guard gaped at me, his mouth still moving but no words coming out. When he finally collected himself, he asked, “What sort of witchcraft are you offering me? It’s not possible for a man to change his stars.”

I shrugged and replied, “At least I offered. You’re free to go. Warn the others that we are coming for the wall. Meltopia is ours and this quarantine is over. When I find what’s causing this plague, I am putting a stop to that as well.”

“You and what army?” The guard sneered as he looked up at me.

Moving around to untie his bonds, I replied, “Oh, I have one. You’ll see.”

When he was cut free, the guard stood and looked me up and down. We squared off for a moment, each wondering if the other was going to attack before he spoke again. “Does it hurt?”

I sat across from the guard who looked terrified. He flinched away from me reflexively as I reached out to take his hand.

Name

Ivar

Class

Guard Captain

Level

1

Affection Level

Apprehensive

His hands shook in mine as my mana passed into him. Just like other unawakened I had worked with, his channels were shriveled up due to lack of use. His core, a small iron shield, hung dead in the darkness of his body as I approached. It came to life when my mana touched it, beginning to shine like a beacon deep within the man.

Once I was satisfied that his newly generated mana was flowing smoothly through his channels, I pulled back and gauged Ivar’s reaction.

He had his eyes closed, breathing heavily as he experienced his awakening. I got his attention by asking him, “Would you like to keep your guard class?”

Ivar frowned at me. “What do you mean? Do I get to choose a new profession?”

I shrugged and tried to explain how it worked. “I can assign you a class that will have an impact on how you develop your skills in the future. As for your job, that would be up to whoever you work for whether or not you get to pursue it.”

The guard grew silent as he considered his options. “Would my family be welcome if I joined you?”

It was my turn to gape at Ivar. The guard captain went from downright loathing to mistrust to wanting to join the evil empire in a matter of heartbeats. Evil to him at least. I cleared my throat to hide my confusion and managed to croak, “Why?”

Ivar climbed to his feet and stood at attention. “I have always been a guard, and before that a guard in training. Ever since I was a small child, this was the only life I’ve ever known. I can feel it deep inside of me. You started a fire. It’s my heart’s desire to be a chef. I just want to cook. Give me a cordollo liver and some ruffalo cheese any day and I will combine that with a phluck egg and make you the best omelet you ever had. If I go back, the only life in store for me is that of a guard. They will not allow me to be anything else.”

“So you want asylum?” I asked, wondering how many from the other side would jump at the chance to be awakened. “If I agree to it, would you need help getting your family here?”

The guard dropped to his knees. “Could you provide help? I would be eternally grateful, General Beiber.”

I motioned to the troll guards that were watching us closely. “Please get Esha and tell her I have a mission for her.”

The troll saluted and said, “Right away.”

Esha convinced me that it was best to send Ivar underground with a platoon of troll warriors to escort his family back to the City Under the Mountain.

While Ivar had agreed to join us, he still refused to betray his friends. He couldn’t meet my eyes when he said, “I truly apologize that I can’t be of help. I know the men who guard the wall. I appreciate that you didn’t kill anybody when you attacked, so I will tell you one thing. Travel north along the wall. There is a place where none of the guards are allowed to go. I’ve never been up that far personally but if there is something to find you will find it there.”

At Esha’s urging, I deployed cabbit scouts from each of the villages in the empire and had them scour the walls for anything that looked different.

It took three days before we received the report. Chaaco notified the entire guild through guild chat. There is a tower in the far north that is pulsing and making the ground shake. We dare not get too close because we can’t see what’s guarding it.

I considered the information before replying.

Hold your position there. I will be up just as soon as I can.

Chaaco sounded pleased with herself when she replied. Yes, Lord Melvin. We will man this spot to the last bunny.

Spluttering at her words, I quickly amended.

Just keep an eye on things. Fall back if it gets dangerous.

She seemed slightly dejected when she drawled out her answer. Okay.

It took the army days to cross the dark lands. I offered to teleport them but Esha insisted that the march was good for the troops and I needed to be in top form when we went after the wall.

I decided to spend the time checking on the villages and seeing if I could do anything to help. To say I was surprised at the progress would have been an understatement.

The newly formed roads between towns helped bolster trade and allowed villagers to travel back and forth. While the villagers hadn’t done much to change the housing we provided, they had settled in and begun to decorate.

Children dragged me from place to place around the village, eager to show me all of the improvements. One of them tugged on my shirt and asked, “When are Miss Kalli and Miss Stefanie coming back? We miss their stories.”

Tracking Stefanie down in group chat, I asked.

Hey Stefanie. The kids want you to come sing. Are you willing?

She seemed put out as usual. Whatever! Fine. I’ll do it. Come get me.

A few quick teleports and I was back with the bard in tow. The kids all cheered but the one that had made the request looked around and asked, “And Kalli?”

I knelt in front of her and said, “She’s on a mission right now or she’d be here.”

Stefanie began singing, saving me from having to explain any further. I sat back and listened to the song, smiling at how good Stefanie sounded. Our eyes met and I could have sworn she smiled for a brief second. Just as quickly it was gone.

When the song ended, she reached out a hand to me and said, “Melvin is going to sing this next one with me.”

I gaped at her. She flashed me a grin that was anything but friendly and said, “Come on. You know some songs, don’t you? I heard you were calling yourself General Beiber earlier. Show us your chops?”

The problem was she was putting me on the spot and I couldn’t think straight. I named the only song that came to mind. “Um, Senorita. That one has a boy and a girl part, right?”

She stared at me for a long moment before asking, “Are you sure you want to sing that song? With me? Really?”

My mind raced as I tried to remember the lyrics. I liked that song. What was wrong with it? Then it dawned on me. It was a pretty sensual love song. I tried to backtrack. “Well. Um, we can do something else. What song do you want to sing?”

The malicious grin was back. She shook her head and said, “Nope. You chose the song, now you get to perform it. Get over here lover boy.”

Lover boy? Kalli asked, burning a hole in my brain with her intensity.

Don’t go there. I just forgot it was a love song. That’s all.

Stefanie took a microphone out of her pocket and the background track for the song started playing. She winked at me and said, “This is my wand. It can play virtually any song I want and takes power from my mana so it won’t die until I do.”

“Good to know.” I stammered, still nervous about singing. Kalli was watching after all.

After Stefanie impressed the kids with the first verse, I infused my vocal cords with mana and earned a shocked look from the girl when I began to sing. I sounded at least as good as she did when I used her perfect pitch skill. The kids cheered loudly and villagers started to gather around us as Stefanie and I serenaded one another.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Kalli huffed at me as she pinched my arm.

“Oww!” I screeched, rubbing the spot where she had pinched me. “I thought that was only supposed to hurt if I wasn’t asleep.”

She giggled, momentarily forgetting she was angry with me. “In normal sleep, maybe. We both know we experience strong feelings in our dreams because of our bond.”

Nodding emphatically, I went in for a kiss. She pushed me away, asking, “About that song, why did you choose it?”

Kalli felt more than jealous. She was frustrated with me. I took a deep breath and whispered, “I’m sorry, I…”

She whimpered and threw her arms around me. “I miss you, dummy. Why is this so easy for you? I’m going crazy over here. We’re all worried about Wendy and you’re so far away. I don’t know how we’re going to save her. How are you so relaxed?”

Kalli’s raw emotions took me by surprise. She had hidden them from me through the connection. When I thought about it, they were constantly on edge, spending one hundred percent of their time in monster-infested wilderness. They had to stay away from towns and even roads because they didn’t know who they could trust.

I pulled her close to me, wishing I could be with her. “I’m not relaxed. I hate being apart from you and I miss you more than I can even describe. The only reason I don’t show it is because I didn’t want you to worry. Also, I haven’t had time to worry so much because of how busy I’ve been awakening and curing people. About that song, I…”

She cut me off again. “I don’t care about that. The night is short. Let’s not waste it.”

I was about to say something but she kissed me and I lost the ability to speak any discernable language.