Dahmer looked around in awe, the structures were alien to anything he had ever seen, the unusual silver liquid flowing effortlessly from the sky into the structures and the strong mana pressure coming from it was mind-numbing. Everything there was far beyond his wildest imagination and he had no idea what it was, how was it built nor with which purpose.

“Before we start, let me deal with this decapitation issue” with a wave of his hand, Harmon’s head moved into place within his body. And with another flick of his hand, the dead high priest was no more. He suddenly gasped for air, the pale color of his skin turned to livid color. Blood was once again pumping through his veins and the head was perfectly reattached to the body. There were no signs of stitches or any procedure it was like it had never been removed.

Dahmer was once again speechless.

Harmon stood up and looked around “What happened… where am I?” Then he looked with more care to the man closest to him. “Who are you?” said the priest looking around quite confused.

“Me? I’m Julius”

Harmon immediately went to his knees and lowered his head “Kror Mhot! It’s an honor to be in your presence! I’m your humble servant!”

“Ahh, that name, it stuck, didn’t it? Please, call me Julius. After all, we are among family, aren’t we?”

Harmon glanced at Dahmer and smiled brightly, such praise was beyond both their expectations.

“So it’s true!? The lineage… the stories? Everything?” quickly added Dahmer stepping forward excited “We are really blood of your blood?”

“Stories? I don’t know about that, but it is a fact that you two are my descendants, yes.”

Both Dahmer and Harmon nodded at each other, full of pride.

“I confess I didn’t keep track of everything that happened after I left that place for good.”

“My lord, your wife and son lived on and took control of the kingdom with ease. Your son started the royal bloodline. The legend says that from his lineage twelve families emerged that shared the blood of the Death Lord”

“Twelve? That many? I don’t think so, because right now I could only find you two” Said Julius abruptly.

Dahmer was pleased to hear that but had to ask “But how can you know? Your greatness, a long time has passed as you said.”

“Just Julius is fine, child, and I can easily track down my descendants. The mana signature is quite unique, so I’m certain of it..”

Dahmer turns to Harmon “That means, that all those filthy nobles, all those false claims. I knew they couldn’t be related to the great god! I will kill them one by one when I see them again for that heresy!”

“And I will join you on it,” said Harmon “To dare lie in such a way to gain power in our court, we must discover how they falsified the rituals to prove their lineage”

“Children… this is not important, right now there are other matters we must discuss” suddenly said, Julius.

“But my lord… if that's not relevant, then why did you create the curse of death?”

Julius Sighed “What curse?”

Both looked at each other quite confused, Harmon replied first “The curse of the death. Only those you judge worthy can create life.”

Dahmer nods agreeing. “Five centuries and not a single seed of mine had taken root”

“5 centuries? That’s a long time” Julius nodded at himself.

“So is it true? What must we do? To lift this curse my lord?” asked Dahmer.

“What kind of parent would do such a thing to their children? There is no curse, at least, I have no saying in that matter” said Julius, taking a deep breath.

Harmon shook his head “But then how did our father have two children? A miracle at the time. At first, they thought he was blessed but then they claimed that he discovered the secret to break the curse. And since he didn’t get your approval for a second son, they removed his right to extend his life. Are you saying that he died for no reason? That there was never such a curse?”

Julius shook his head in disappointment “That’s why I hate that place, savages and uncultured people. All too eager to kill for their own interests. But if you wish to know, the problem you speak of lies within me.”

“How so my lord?”

“Because of my pursuit of improving my body. I became stronger, smarter, and long-lived. But everything came with a price. And unfortunately, that price also passed on to you. It’s not that you can’t have children, it's just so much more difficult to happen.” He looked at Harmon “And that’s why your father had an affair with his mother, he discovered two women compatible with him and probably took the opportunity.”

“Compatible?”

“It is all in the mana” Julius started to walk away from the room and into the corridor, “Is your curiosity satisfied now? Can we please move on to the real concerning topic?”

They all started to walk through the empty long corridor. “Which is it?” asked Harmon.

“The enemy,” said Dahmer, sparking Harmon’s memory that he just remembered what happened to himself.

“That damn being! I don’t remember what happened, I recall being trapped in a loop created by my foresight spell and then… nothing”

“You were killed,” said Dahmer with a hint of pleasure on his tone. “That’s what happened, dear Brother. Your head left your body and fell to the ground, you were mercilessly defeated.”

Harmon stopped for a moment and looked at Julius “That can’t be… how am I here then?” he touched his neck to make sure, but there were no signs of wound or anything.

“Nothing is impossible for The god of death,” said Dahmer to Harmon's surprise.

“You brought me back? Then it’s true! It is all true! Oh almighty God Kror Mhot, lord of death, I’m your humble servant, allow me to thank you for this gift of a second life, I will devote myself to serve you on this new life as much as I did on the first!” Harmon immediately kneeled down

“Get up, and no… I’m not a god, not yet at least. There is one thing missing for me to accomplish that goal” he glanced at Harmon and smiled. “I was watching for a while now, I saw that well of souls. So it was you, the one in possession of my old journal. I recognized the design the moment I saw it. You put a great effort on that massive well, didn’t you?”

“I’m but a humble apprentice of your words, oh great one. I read that holy book every day since it was given to me”

“Journal? What journal?” asked Dahmer very curious “We all knew about the book of spells but this is the first time I’m hearing about a journal. Why haven’t I seen it too?”

“It was a gift of our father to me, and me alone. It was kept as a secret because of the knowledge it contains,” said Harmon harshly. And quickly resuming his conversation with Julius.

“What were you aiming for, why build a Well at such a large scale?” asked Julius.

“I was merely following your steps, my lord. I was captivated by your writing, your desire... My only wish was to join you and be in a position to serve you directly.”

“Wait,” said Dahmer. “You told us that the well power was required to bring our lord back to our realm.” Harmon glanced at Dahmer with unguilty eyes.

“You believe our lord wouldn’t have the power to come and go as he pleased? All you wanted was something to follow, something to do. And I saw that and gave you all a purpose. Something to prevent all those vipers from eating one another.”

“You sought to become a god?”

He nodded “I would have used the Well to ascend, I would become something greater than anything, something worthy to join our lord on the other realm!” He turns to Julius, “Did I get your attention lord? Did my deeds move you somehow? And that’s why you came to our aid in that time of need?”

Julius laughed “So you lied to everyone to achieve a personal goal… marvelous. Yes, you can say your efforts moved me” when he finally stopped laughing he nodded to himself and gave Harmon a long look “But how such a big well of souls would ascend you into godhood?”

“I read your journal and had this idea after researching about the gods' blood in the elven texts. The primordials with their essence, created the first that by the same principle created the bastion of lesser gods. This cycle of creation kept on until every living creature we have today was created… which means that the godly essence lives within us all.”

Dahmer chuckled “And you said you needed God's blood to open the rift to bring our lord back… You didn’t even tell me the truth? me?!” Dahmer was clearly feeling betrayed.

Julius looked at Harmon “So you gathered the life essence through the blood and used the well of souls to condense it. Hoping that it could become something tangible. It was that big so it could create a larger amount of it… well, that’s not a bad idea, in theory”

Dahmer widened his eyes in surprise, Julius seemed pleased with Harmon's actions.

“But unfortunately, only in theory. Because there is a great problem with your thinking”

“Problem?”

“Even if you managed to gather enough of it to produce a tiny bit of Empyrean mana, the god’s blood as you call it. Without a way to store it, without a proper vessel to contain it, no matter how much of it you manage to create. It wouldn’t last but second before it vanished into nothingness.”

“How can one create such a vessel, my lord?”

“You need a god to do it for you”

“But… there are no gods. There must be another way”

Julius shook his head “Even if you touched it before it dissipated in an attempt to mold and control it. All you would accomplish would be a terrible death. The Empyrean mana does not react well with mortals. It’s deadly.”

“But, you wrote that it would allow us to ascend… You made so many entries about it in the journal!” Harmon couldn’t believe it.

“You see, that is a very old journal, filled with ideas and wild concepts that I hadn’t had the time to test at the time. You should take everything in there with a grain of salt.”

Dahmer smiled and laughed at Harmon’s expenses after hearing that.

“What about the mana being?” Suddenly asked Harmon “What if he managed to gain the Well’s power? He is not human, can he use the godly mana?”

“It is all the same, if mortals can’t interact with it, a being made with a mortal’s mana can’t either. I told you, without divine intervention only death follows everything that dares to touch it”

Dahmer smiled very relieved “And since there are no gods… there is nothing to worry about. Even if that thing reaches it, it will die. If we knew we should have allowed it to go find it”

“Enough of this subject,” said Julius as they finally arrived at an old, dark, and dusty room, there were broken remains of very old chairs and sofas, all gone, eaten by time. “Let’s move on to the main subject. What I really want to know is how did that man called Riou end up in that world of yours” he snapped his fingers and the lights turned on.

“Who?”

“The one that created the being that killed you,” said Dahmer. “The one that I said was the real threat but you didn’t listen.” he turned to Julius “But my lord, how do you know his name already?”

Julius snapped another finger and a wind gushed through the room pushing the dust off it. He then proceeded to walk forward “I was observing, and those girls said it plenty of times” as he walked through the room, the objects he passed by were being reconstructed, like time itself was moving backward. The chairs and the sofas were quickly back to their former glory.

In Instants, the whole room was new and beamed with comforts. Foods, drinks, and even a light fireplace. Bookcases appeared from clumps of wood, empty broken frames on the wall turned into marvelous paintings. Images that neither of the brothers had ever seen.

“Boys…I’m here, waiting” Said Julius bringing them back to the moment while sitting down on a big-armed chair.

Harmon shook his head “What do you mean by how he ended up in that world? Wasn’t he born there?”

Julius smiled at him “No, a being like him was most definitely brought from somewhere else. And by his reaction to my words… I’m certain that he came from my realm. Which is much more difficult to happen and much more intriguing”

Dahmer shook his head in awe, completely unaware of anything that could have brought a being similar to the god of death himself to that world.

Julius then turned to Harmon “You have my journal, so you must know that the world you live in is a special one. It can’t be reached directly by outsiders because there is only one realm that is connected to it, my realm. And since most cities were destroyed, there are just a few pathways left. So if he did manage to reach my world somehow, still there would be no way for him to have come to your world on his own. Someone must have invited him in.”

Harmon widened his eyes and Julius nodded at him. “Do you understand now Harmon?” said Julius looking inquisitively at him.

“What? What do you mean?” asked Dahmer looking at Harmon. “Harmon couldn’t possibly have…”

“No, it was not me, that’s not possible. I didn’t open a rift for him… that was never my intention to do that”

“Ahh, but you did open a rift, didn’t you? Dear Harmon.”

“You did?” asked Dahmer, not quite believing it. “You know it's forbidden”

“There are only two beings in that broken world of yours that could open a rift like that. One of them is a very old friend of mine and the other one would be the owner of my old journal” he glances at Harmon expectantly “My old friend wouldn’t dare to do such a careless thing. Not again. Which leaves us with only one possibility.” Julius points at Harmon.

“No, even he wouldn’t have messed with such a taboo,” said Dahmer.

Julius smiles at Harmon expectantly “Is there anything you want to share, dear Harmon? What have you done?”

Harmon was reluctant “I did open a rift… but it wasn’t aimed at the spirit realm, nor at any being alive”

Dahmer was out of words, he couldn’t believe Harmon would break the holy laws so easily.

“No? But you should know your world can only connect to the spirit realm, anything else would fail”

“But your journal… there are places that it could work, with proper calculations and research, it should be possible”

Julius closes his eyes and leans back “The veil between worlds, I see, you probably used the forest bounds for it, didn’t you?”

“What forest? Why does that even matter? The pathways aren’t closed?” asked the death mage.

“The world you live in is not like the others, it's a broken piece of the spirit world that was shifted into a lesser plane of existence. That’s why only it’s connection to the spirit world remains.”

“Because of the war of the gods… yes I read about it in your journal,” said Harmon

“Precisely, so it was put there to be saved from destruction. So as you can imagine, it is not a complete realm, it’s not even big enough to be called a world. Now it’s just a broken piece of land floating on the cornerstone of existence. And because of where it is located, the rules to it are a bit different than the rest. Especially on its borders. So unpredictable things can occur” Julius then looks at Harmon with a pensive expression.

“So, where were you aiming at, Harmon?” Dahmer became curious, as a researcher and a scholar, his interest was immediately picked after Julius' explanation.

“The Abyss,” said the death priest, Julius and Dahmer were equally surprised by his answer.

“Are you crazy Harmon? You were already breaking the law and you even wanted to seek a forbidden place?”

“Indeed, that’s a very dangerous endeavor, to even try to open rifts to the Abyss is a risk in itself, things beyond your imagination could cross over, not to mention the corruption. What were your intentions on doing such a thing?”

“First, let me explain. It wasn’t the one performing the ritual.”

“Of course not, even you wouldn’t dare do such a thing yourself,” Dahmer said harshly at him.

Harmon looked at him but let it be and continued “So despite their claims of success and promises of delivery, I didn’t believe they had actually succeeded, not until very recently when I saw that thing…”

Julius looked at him sideways, a bit suspicious at first but he could tell Harmon was speaking the truth. His despair was all too real remembering the enemy. Julius then started to laugh “Well, I suppose with the proper instruction, even an apprentice could perform a complex ritual. But we are still waiting, dear Harmon, why did you want to open a path to the Abyss?”

Harmon swallowed hard “The pierced heart of Javall, I know where it was disposed at”

That word immediately caught Julius attention “And how would you know such a thing?”

“Your journal was very informative on the story of the battle, but the elves had recorded in their books the method used to dispose of the bodies of the Dark Ones, in an attempt to avoid their corruption. They used a specific portal to the Abyss, and they used it to dispose of all of the dark one’s corpses and belongings…. Even the great artifact, the pierced heart of Javall”

“That's a bedtime story Harmon, that thing does not exist,” said Dahmer.

Julis smiled “You were after the artifact? So my old friend did leave with his secrets after all”

“Yes…”

“So you calculated the realms movements since that forgotten day and estimated where to open a portal on the Abyss to locate it… well, given it would still be there and no one from the Abyss had picked it up since. You realize your chances were slim at best, right Harmon?”

“I knew, but I was confident in my studies and research. The time and moment were perfectly aligned. If the artifact was still there, the portal would be open right on top of it and pull the artifact to this side.”

Dahmer shook his head in disbelief “That’s a fool's errand, do you know how precise you must be for that to happen? There is no way for this plan of yours to work. This was flawed from the beginning Harmon… there are just too many variables, to begin with.”

“No Dahmer, I did my calculations perfectly, if the ritual was performed close enough to the border, there was a chance for it to succeed. And if I acquired Javall’s heart...”

“You’d gain Javall’s knowledge and your magic power would be unimaginable… we know the legend,” said Dahmer, not believing that Harmon actually tried to do that.

“But those mages did something, and something did come through their portal, we know that now,” said Harmon.

Dahmer continued “Those fools you hired must have opened a bad rift to the spirit realm and didn’t even realize it, they probably just managed to block the mana flow from the veil beyond the border just long enough for that man to survive the rift crossing. And when the pent up mana couldn’t be held no more, the rift tore apart. Which explains the world-shaking that day years ago, I wondered what happened that day, so it was your doing dear brother.”

Julius was still silent, pondering on the implications of what he heard, and finally shook his head.

“What is it, my lord?”

Julius shakes his head again “Something just doesn’t add up. People from my realm can’t just use mana right away, it takes time, study, and training.”

“What do you mean my lord?”

“It means that no matter the case I think of, that man should have been dead. Unless he had help on the other realm, which is unlikely or he was a recently arrived guest. But even so, the Spirit realm is a wildland, anyone that is unlucky enough to fall through the cracks of the realm spheres into it would surely perish.”

“What about the Abyss? Couldn’t he have come from there?” inquired Harmon.

“The Abyss would be even worse… there is no chance of survival for any human that is tossed into that place.”

“But then how can he be here? And how can he be so powerful? It’s barely been a couple years since the ritual occurred” Dahmer was confused.

“That’s the question I'm trying to answer,” said Julius deep in thought.

“Logically, it makes no sense,” Dahmer agreed with the conflicting thought process.

Julius leaned back in his chair “Indeed. Quite a puzzle was presented to us, and I’d like to solve it before meeting that man again. I need to know what he is capable of first, before having my talk with him”

“Yes, we definitely need more information on him if we wish to kill him” agreed the death mage.

“Kill him? No, I want him to join me”

“My lord! But he…”

Suddenly, Julius looked at them both as if he had an epiphany “Which were the most powerful deities of all the realms?”

“The primordials?” said Dahmer.

“No, between the lesser gods and deities”

“You Kror Mhot, Erastus, Espiritas, Despon just to say a few” added Harmon.

“I'm not the god of death, but death is indeed a strong portfolio. So, I ask you, which gods could still have some power remaining, even over death?”

Dahmer immediately replied, “Aside from the primordials and the firstborns, of course, there are legends that speak of Rheia, Thessalia, and Knatos powers that surpassed death in the stories.”

“Fate, Balance, and Vengeance. I see, that is very, very interesting.”

Revier sees the portal with the silver color. Both Dahmer and Harmon were taken inside of it and the knight fell to his knees “It’s a miracle! As the priest foretold, the lord of death would be awakened and in a silver door, he would cross to our world! He walks among us once again!”

All the knights fell on their knees as well raising their hands towards the holy man that appeared through the legendary portal.

“I apologize if these two caused you trouble, you know how kids are. They never know their place and time. But don’t worry, I will give them the proper talking and scolding later… for the others” he looks around “Do what you will, I don’t really care about them” he then waved his hand and began walking back towards the silver portal.

“Until we meet again, mon ami”

Revier rejoiced once his god was gone “You heard our lord's words! We shall return at once! Let it be known that this city has been forsaken by him and all those that are faithful to his cause shall return to the old capital! Anyone who disobeys is hereby excommunicated!”

One of the knights pulls a small bell from within his armor and throws it up. The bell hovers in the air ringing very loudly. A deep sound that sends an angst feeling to the ones that hear it.

Riou hears the bell and sees the knights opening portals and leaving. The sound pulled him back from his surprised state. “I can’t believe this…” he says looking at the location that the strange man vanished just a moment ago “That can’t be right, I must have misheard it”

“Riou are you ok? We should start moving. Something is happening” said Eileen approaching him.

“Yes… let’s get out of here”

“Look!” Called Leona down the well. A Massive blindly white light covered the well, a tower of a white beam was shot up into the skies.

It lasted for a moment, and when Riou looked again down the well, it was completely empty. All the power gathered there was gone.

“What the hell is going on here? First that guy, now this?” asked himself looking at the now vast and completely empty hole that was the well of souls.

Revier rejoiced looking at the light vanishing at the sky “As our High priest foretold, the well of souls was completed and brought our lord back! Our job here is really done! We shall return to the land below the great Desert!”

And with the bell stops, each of the knights opened their own portal and walked through them. All over the city, flashes of the blue portals could be seen happening. It seemed that most of the nobles were returning to their old capital as commanded.

Most of them, but not all. Some seemed eager to fight, refusing to give up on the city like that.

These nobles began to gather at the plaza followed by hundreds of their servants.

Riou observed how the knights had left, but on the contrary, those people seemed to gather for other motives “Weren’t they supposed to leave too?” Said Riou, looking at the strange behavior of the people gathering there.

“They don’t look like someone that is preparing to leave,” added Eileen.

“No, I think they want this well” added Leona by the way she noticed them looking at it. “They probably want to use it again to gather the blood and the mana of the beastmen”

“You probably right,” Riou then observed them with more care, the population looked like Norsemen, Allardians and Beastmen, “Are these people, slaves?”

“Possibly, I don’t know what’s going on, we didn’ have much time to investigate,” said Eileen.

Suddenly an orange glow caught Riou’s attention, a comet-like was slowly crossing the city’s sky, followed by a whistling noise.

Riou smiled “The cavalry is already here?” he put his hand up, shooting a similar spell upwards, it went up very high and then exploded very loudly, echoing in all directions and showing a line down right where he was.

At that moment, many Argonians began to move about, uncertain to what just happened. But as if they were riled up, the crowd began to walk towards the group with clear intent of aggression.

Leona and Eileen positioned themselves by Riou and readied for a fight. “Why are they attacking? Stop! You are not Argonians! They are gone, so why do you still defend them?” shouted the princess, but no one cared to answer her.

Suddenly the whole crowd stopped its advances as something fell from the sky right by Riou’s group. It was two lionesses in black armor that landed close by them, and ready to fight.

Right after the two appeared, Arthas, Therese jumped over the mob and joined them.

“That was quicker than I expected, did you take care of the Argonian camps already?” asked Riou to the Lion.

Arthas nodded “Yes, we had some help pinpointing the location of their camps. He might be a pain, but he does know his way around” Arthas pointed to the back, where Galan was coming on top of the roof of the houses nearby and avoiding the angry mob. “After all, we couldn’t miss the main event, could we?”

“I think you just did, the boss and most of the Argonian Death knights are already gone. Seems like they abandoned this city. But I don’t know why all these people are still here. Nor why they are willing to die for these Argonians.”

Arthas looked at Riou with attention, the lion noticed that Riou seemed a bit pale and even tired. He was definitely lacking his usual battle-ready vigor “Something happened? You don’t seem well”

Riou just chuckled “Where do I even start?”

Arthas didn’t like his tone “Master, you've been fighting for far too long. Return and rest, let us take care of this issue from now own” Arthas gave him a gate stone to return home.

Riou smiles at the stone, his body did feel sluggish and he was feeling heavier now that things were calming down. The effects of using all that mana and stamina were finally catching up to him. He looked at the mob and then to where the silver portal appeared for a moment.

“Do you have any idea why there are Allardians and Beastmen here?”

Arthas shook his head “We just found a few of them in the inner camps, but we still didn’t identify why they are on Argo’s side. Haven’t you seen them on your way here?”

“I confess I wasn’t paying attention to that detail until now. I thought they were just Argonians.” he looked at Arthas and finally nodded opening the gate from the gate stone Arthas gave him “I will leave this to you then. Find out what's going on here and don’t overdo it, ok?” Arthas smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go, you two have been through a lot as well, let’s head back or I won’t be able to rest,” he said to Eileen and Leona. The wolf looks at Therese, the lioness nods “Go, let me handle it in your stead”.

Leona then handed her the sword to Therese. “In case you need it like I did, if weren’t for this sword we wouldn’t be here now”

“I knew it would be of use. Now go”

Eileen looked at Arthas, Therese, Attia, and Bellica and then to the vast angry mob that was ready to attack once more, she then turned to Riou ”Shouldn’t we help?”

Riou smiled “Arthas?”

The lion raised his hand and clenched his fist, about 70 cloaked ones immediately appeared around the group. Surrounding them and protecting the groups from any advances of that enemy.

Eileen was taken by surprise, “See? They are in good hands” said Riou ready to cross the gateway.

Eileen nods understanding it and both girls follow Riou through the portal, leaving the Argonian city and returning to their Village in Allard.

Finally, on their own, A gray cloaked man looked at Arthas “How do we proceed, Arthas?”

“Identify and kill the remaining Argonian noblemen, we need to find a way to cease their control over these people without harming them”

A single nod from all 70 cloaked army and all of them vanished moving towards the mob surrounding them. It was an agility and dexterity display. The cloaked ones moved effortlessly amongst the mob, searching and killing all the ones wearing the noble’s outfits.

One of the nobles in the middle of the crowd started shouting“Stop them you mongrels! I command you! Release the restraints completely and kill these people! We must take over the Well of Souls, with its power we can create our own kingdom!”

The servants commanded by him began to convulse, their skin ripped apart and insect parts began to appear, some had blade legs hidden on their bodies on one of their many limbs, others erupted wings from their back and a nasty sting. The bigger ones turned into monstrous humanoids like insects. Giant spiders with a man’s torso on it’s back, flying drones, mantis, ants, and many other crawling insects.

Despite the insects' attempt to stop the onslaught, the Argonian nobles were dying left and right without a chance to fight back. Their Argonian magic, spells, and armor enchantments were all broken in instants by the speed and mastery of the coordinated attack of those 70 people.

The Argonians nobles watching from further away began to panic when they noticed the speed their comrades were falling and desperately began to open portals on their own to try and leave the city.

Some managed to escape, but many were caught just on time, and just their severed heads made through the portal instead. A message to those on the other side, inviting them to return and see what was happening in the city.

“Arthas! As the nobles are dying, more of them are turning into these insects!” shouted one of the cloaked ones. “What do we do?”

Arthas glanced at Therese “It seems that even without their master’s control, these things are all transforming. This isn’t good”

Therese nodded as she looked at one of them that just transformed. It’s emotionless eyes, it’s perfect insect movements. She could feel their intentions by the way they moved about and locked on targets “Arthas, I don’t think they were human to begin with. Maybe they aren’t being transformed, maybe they are these things from the start”

“Their smell worsened too,” said Attia, slaying one of them, red blood splashed out of it.

“Some started to mutate a second time, look!” added Bellica as one of them suddenly erupted from its former human shell into the sky, flying with insect wings after becoming a full drone.

It locked on Arthas and flew at an outstanding speed at the lion, ready to pierce it with its sting.

Arthas dodged the attack and grabbed the drone by its wings and slammed it on the ground, pinning it there.

“Speak if you understand me, say anything! How are they doing this to you?”

The drone screeched and desperately tried to break free with its insect arms, with no regard for its own safety. It moved to the point of breaking its own wings and some of its legs. Arthas could see in its eyes that there was nothing in there, despite looking human once, it didn’t seem to have any spark of volition. Therese was right. There was no way to know if there was ever a real consciousness in that being or if it was all fabricated from the start.

Arthas cut its head off with his blade and then searched its moving body for other signs. But there were no runes, no rings, tattoos, or necklaces. Nothing that could explain that blind obedience.

A large body suddenly falls beside Arthas, a large scorpion with a man’s body attached to its torso begins to open a path through its companions and throws some insects around. He was moving towards Arthas and Therese.

“Die!” He screamed as the pincer went to grab the lion.

Arthas jumped back avoiding the attack “You can you speak?”

“Of course I can speak, I’m the servant of Lord Carminet and his whole state! Do not pair me with these workers!”

“Tell me how to help you! How can we revert these transformations? How can we free you from their control?”

The scorpion launches its tail at Arthas at a great speed, missing the lion that dodged the attack once again. The sting hit the stone on the ground shattering it, displaying the force of its attack.

“We are free to serve! And I have protected the state of the lord for hundreds of years now! I won’t let an intruder maculate my lord’s possessions!”

“Free to serve? As a scorpion?”

“Our masters are godly beings and that’s all you should know, inferior creatures. Now die!” He whips its tail launching poison from its tip towards Arthas and Therese.

Both dodge it and group up once again.

Therese shook her head “I knew Argonians had no honor, but this has gone too far.”

Arthas nodded to her “You are right,” he looked around himself, there was no more sight of any normal human from the Argonian side. The cloaked ones were moving back and dodging the advances of the insects as possible, they didn’t want to hurt them without need as Arthas instructed. “You heretics will serve as blood fuel for my lord!” shouted the Scorpion

Arthas sighed “I’ve seen and heard enough”

Therese nodded preparing her sword.

“Attention!” shouted the lion “Nova Protocol! Blue cloaks, get in position, we are using Master’s light spell! The others form a perimeter to protect the casters! Attia, Bellica!”

Both were dodging several attacks of incoming insect attackers, they gained room and moved back to Arthas.

“I’m preparing for the spell, please deal with that thing” Arthas pointed to the scorpion and started gathering his mana. The scorpion began to charge at them once again..

In a blink of an eye, the tail of the scorpion was detached from its body together with all its left legs. He fell to the ground, unable to get balance with only the right ones remaining.

“Damn you heretics, how dare you step into this holy place! My master will revive and will seize this land once again, we will bathe on your blood!” shouted the scorpion before Attia appeared before its body, slashing its head off in a clean cut.

With the large scorpion down and the blue cloaks already in position around Arthas. They put their weapons on their sheath and began to concentrate their mana.

Once they had enough power, they raised their hands up.

At each of their hands, a small ball of light began to form and combine into a bigger sphere, floating up and gaining in size. Arthas did the same but his energy ball was much bigger and was attracting the others towards it forming a very large sphere that stayed still above the group.

“Galan! If you wanna live, come inside the circle now!” Arthas turned to Therese that was close by, “Close your eyes, Therese, it will get very bright and very hot” said the Lion to the lioness that went closer to him

“Fuck!” Galan jumped down a house and rushed with all his being towards the circle of blue cloaks, evading the insects nearby that watched the ball of energy being created.

“Nova!” Shouted Arthas the sphere brightness suddenly increased in a wave of light that burned everything it touched outside of the circle of the blue cloaks. The wave burned through the insects and buildings, nothing seemed able to stop the heat emanating from the light.

Once the wave completed its path, the sphere disappeared with a bright light explosion.

The bodies of the insects were instantly heated up, the water evaporated and burst out of their bodies. Burnt its carapaces and wings were all that remained of some of them

The stones around the spell turned black due to the heat, some of the buildings close by caught fire but the walls and buildings remained standing.

Arthas was breathing heavily after it, the spell took a lot of him. “Now that we dealt with those things. Let’s investigate the place. Green and Grays, search the cellars and all underground passages, especially in the bigger buildings, go after any insect that could have survived the spell, and don’t forget to look for any remaining mana signature! We need to learn all we can about this enemy!”

Leona looked around surprised “Where are we?”

“Home… this is in Allard,” said Eileen with a smile.

Riou stretches his back and neck “I really need some time off, can you show Leona around? I’m heading home”

Eileen nodded.

As the two were going towards the houses Leona immediately noticed the different materials in the houses “Is it me? Or these buildings are even better built than the ones the Argonians had?”

The princess nodded “I think they are, but wait until you see inside” she took her to the house she and her cousin stayed in that still had her things on.

She entered quietly, sneakily looking inside. Leona found it very strange “Are you looking for someone Eileen?”

She glanced at Leona and then looked inside Elise’s room, but it was completely empty, all her things were gone. “No, no one,” she said with a smile.

“Who is that on the window?”

Eileen looked out and saw the elder that lived next door. The princess smiled, already expecting what the elder would say. Eileen waved her to come and meet them inside.

“Queen! You are back!” She came in with a smile and ready to hug the princess. “That means the incursion is almost over? Everyone will be returning home soon then!”

“Yes, they shouldn’t take long now”

“We need to prepare a feast for when they return! You want to help this time around? I remember you asked to learn a recipe or two, Yes?”

Eileen nodded “Of course! It would help me greatly”. Leona was impressed by Eileen's relationship with those people. They seemed very close.

The elder turned “And who is this beautiful wolf girl? Such nice traits, good green eyes, and a sturdy body. Yes, yes, just like a proud wolf should be. Been a long while since I saw eyes like those” She looks at Leona from head to toe. “Strong muscles but a nice feminine figure, the males must be crazy for you!”

Leona looked surprised at Eileen, but the princess smiled and then forced a frown at Leona “But I don’t think she is properly dressed, don’t you think elder? Maybe we should do something about that”

“Oh my, queen, you know it right. When I saw you two coming and saw this pretty lady here I told myself that she was not properly dressed, not by a long shot. And I can’t let a friend of my queen walk around our village unprotected like that, oh no-no. Especially on times like these.”

Eileen nodded and smiled at Leona “Yes, especially in times like these”

Leona shrugged her shoulders, not understanding “What times?”

“When the fighters are out, the beast gets more daring! They could attack at any moment if we are not careful”

“Any moment?” Agreed the princess nodding. “So, can you do something about it? We will wait inside where it's safer”

“You read my thoughts, my queen! You never know when a Ravine Hawk could sweep in and grab someone, and if you're not properly protected, their claws will pierce right through your chest and you are gone right there before it even lifted you from the ground.”

“I will keep that in mind,” said Eileen to the elder. The old woman quickly rushed back home and jumped over the small fence that divided the land with an unexpected agility for someone of her age. Leona was impressed by her movements.

The wolf turned to Eileen with a confused smile “Ravine Hawk?”

“Don’t even ask about it… just do as she says. Come, let me show you the house”

Inside, Leona looked around even more amazed than when she saw the tent for the first time “This house is amazing, even better than the tent!”

“You remember the things on the tent right, but look at this. She brings Leona to the bathroom and shows her the shower.

She turns it on “Touch the water”

“It's warm!?”

“To take a shower, you can clean yourself as in a waterfall”

“A warm waterfall!!” Leona was excited to try it.

“Yes, there is food in that box in the kitchen, it’s like a cooler that keeps the food fresh and you can heat it on the stove, just like the tent there is a small stove, but this one is much bigger. There is also the toilet, it works like this… take your time and don’t leave the house until the elder returns with your new armor.”

“Armor?”

“Trust me… just wait for her”

Leona smiled and nodded “I will enjoy this shower then… I need to get some clothes”

“There should be some extra on that room over there, you can take them”

“Really?”

As Leona was settling in, Eileen left the house to see Riou. But close by, she sees Max through a window in a nearby house. The magus immediately rushes towards her.

He had deep dark circles around his eyes, his hair was a mess and he was smelling quite strongly.

“I found it! I found a way to remove that control collar safely! If I could talk to Riou just to confirm the method. I’m sure we can save the girl!”

Eileen was very surprised to see the great mage, she had forgotten all about the task he was asked to perform. But not knowing what to say to him, she glanced back at the house and then forced a smile at him. The great magus looks towards it and notices Leona moving about on her own through the window, going from one of the rooms towards the bathroom holding a few clothes.

Max shoulders dropped instantly “He already removed the necklace, didn’t he?”

Eileen nodded.

“How long did it take for him to do it?” Max squinted his eyes at Eileen really wanting to know it.

“He did it on the spot, few moments after seeing her”

“I knew it! I knew it… and then when this much time passed and nobody came to tell me anything I knew it was already done.” He looked at Eileen again “Why did nobody care to tell me anything?”

“So many things happened, and when we asked your help we didn’t know if Riou would return in time to help her. Also we didn’t have the time to come back. And I’m sure your efforts were not for nothing. What you learned can prove invaluable.”

“You are a good girl Eileen…” he just forces a smile and turns around, slowly walking back to the house he came from. “I’m gonna rest for a bit, tell him I’m gonna go see him later once I have some drinks”

“My king! We received news from the front!”

“Tell me already! What happened there?”

“It seems that the Argonian fortress has been completely destroyed, razed to the ground, my lord! And in all the regions our scouts are informing that the Argonian camps have been destroyed as well, there is no one of our enemies standing from here to their main capital city! The scouts are moving towards it as we speak to investigate further in”

The king smiled “Arthas! I knew it, I knew he had the beastmen blood inside of him. Despite all that crazy talk, in the end, he decided to act! But to think he and his group had the power to push back Argos to this extent.” The king looked at the messenger “Did anyone see the army that is making this push?”

“Well my lord, the scouts reported brief sightings of very small groups of some strange people moving with uncanny speed within the land. Since they didn’t engage our scouts, we believe them to be allied forces attacking Argos”

“Arthas’ mercenaries. This means he is moving with a small group and is capable of doing all this, which is beyond belief. And what about him? Did the scouts see the lion himself?”

“No my lord, many groups were acting co-dependently, scouts reported sightings all over the place at simultaneous time, we never saw anyone able to move and act like that, they covered the whole plains in hours.”

“Very interesting, if we acquire that kind of skill we will be unbeatable, imagine what our army could become!” The king smiles and nods “Keep me informed. I want to be the first to know of everything new that is discovered” The man was about to leave when the king added “Also, send someone to find that human trader. I need to know where I can find him!”

The soldier nods and leaves. The king was very pleased with what he had heard “If I manage to get that trader on my side, Arthas will surely follow. All I need is to find him and meet him one more time.”

The black wolf enters a small old house that was located in the middle of a clear inside a forest. He looked around in a rush with a big smile on his face.

“Boy! Take off those filthy shoes before entering my home!” shouted a strong voice from inside.

“Old fox! It happened! We finally did it!”

“Don’t blabber boy, take those shoes off and take a seat, I will prepare something for you to eat. You spend so much time away, the only thing you come here for is food, isn’t it?” An old lady moves into the kitchen and begins to prepare something on an old wooden stove. Her hair was completely white, she was rather tall and had a very good posture for someone of her age.

“Old fox, listen to what I’m saying. It’s finally done, the fortress is gone!”

She just shook her head “Right, how did it happen? Did the king himself shoot lightning through his butthole and destroy it? Did he shoot fireballs through his eyes as well?”

“No! It was someone else.”

“Ohh so there were butthole lightnings? Boy, shut your damn mouth and eat, I’m tired of you talking about that damn fortress all the time.”

“You crazy old woman, listen to what I’m saying for once! I’m not a boy anymore remember? And it was a human, someone stronger than anything I’ve ever seen, he went there alone and took it down all by himself. Not even the Argonian mage nor caretaker was a match for him”

“The centipede man? Boy… I told you to go easy on those mushrooms, didn’t I? You’ve been eating them again weren’t you?”

“Old fox, I’m telling you! It’s done. We can leave here and get back to the main cities now. The Argonian control is undone! They lost their foot on the front, they can’t manipulate the beastmen anymore!”

She stops and puts a wooden spoon to the side, takes a deep sigh shaking her head.

“Without that damn thing, I’m sure things will return to their normal very fast. Think old fox! There aren’t any Argonian spies and agents looking for us anymore. With their foothold gone they had to flee, we can leave this place and see the cities once more!”

“Boy… my knowledge was already passed down. I can die in peace whenever the time comes right here, there is no need for me to leave.”

“Therese… I know, but how about we go to meet her then? Been a while since you left this place, we could go search for her. What do you say?”

“Therese?” the old fox stopped for a moment once again “It would be good to see that stubborn lioness one more time before my time comes. But I’m too old and I can’t get out of this place, you know it. Argos will get us the moment we step into one of the cities”

“Listen to me! The spell is gone, the fortress is gone, Argos will surely follow”

“Sure boy, sure… now shut up and eat” she looks at the black wolf eyes, they showed nothing but confidence which threw her off a bit casting doubt on her mind.

She squinted her eyes at him “Boy, don’t play with me. It’s been too long already. Do not lie to me like that. You know I don’t like these jokes”

He smiles and moves towards the table and drops a large shard of a broken crystal. “I’m telling you. This time is really done”

She looks at it with widened eyes “It can’t be…”

“Get your things old fox, we will be traveling soon. I wanna see Therese’s face when I tell her what happened to Argos’ fortress. We will find her, after all, the great Lioness is well known in the human lands.”

Eileen returned to Riou’s house after setting Leona up. As she arrives, she sees that Riou was standing still in the main room, looking at nowhere, wearing the same clothes as before.

“Riou?” she called for him as she entered. “Didn’t you say you would rest?”

Startled for a moment he got back to the moment “Yeah… I was going to. I was just thinking”

She approached him calmly “You’ve been strange since that strange man appeared”

He took a deep breath.

Eileen got more concerned “I saw he talked to you, was it something he said?”

Riou nodded and looked at her “I think he is from the same world as me”

Eileen shook her head and frowned very confused “Your world? Wasn’t he Argonian… how could he be from your world? How can you tell?”

“The way he spoke, the words he used… The more I think about it, the more I’m certain that he was sending a message to me”

“Message?”

“That he knew about me and that he wanted that I knew about him too, he said a famous phrase from my world to me”

Eileen got a grip and nodded understanding what he was saying “I see, but let’s not jump to any conclusions then. Try to rest a bit while we wait for the others to come back to discuss this properly”

Riou forced a smile and nodded.

Eileen watched Riou move towards his room before leaving the house once again.

Arthas and the others began to return through a portal a couple hours later, Eileen and Leona quickly joined them.

“What happened in the city after we left?” quickly asked Eileen to Therese.

“Is he resting?” quickly interrupted Arthas looking around not seeing Riou.

Eileen shook her head “I don’t think so, he seems unable to put his mind at ease. Something happened in the city, he has been very concerned since then.”

Arthas nodded “Then we should go see him at once.”

Eileen asked Therese “What happened with all those people? Were they really slaves?”

At that moment, from the portal passed a few green cloaks holding burnt corpses. Despite the damage, Eileen could see it was the people in that city. She then looked at Therese and Arthas with surprise. “What happened?”

Therese closed her eyes and shook her head. “There was nothing we could do”

Eileen then looked at Arthas, but the lion confirmed her fears “We had to eliminate them, there was no other choice”

Eileen shook her head in disbelief “Eliminate? You killed all those people?”

Arthas nodded.

The princess was shocked to hear that and looked at Therese for an explanation.

“They weren’t human Eileen, and without their masters, they were a menace to themselves and to the plains. We found many nests spread through the city from where they were created. They look like humans, some speak like them but they were actually a manufactured creature. Insect-like beings that matured very quickly. If we left them unchecked without the Argonians restraining them, they could overrun plains in no time” said the Lioness.

“Nests? Insects? How is that possible?”

“They were half insects, half men,” said Bellica getting into the conversation as well.

“They weren’t really people, they were more like undead than anything else, they smelled as bad as them at least” added Attia doing the same.

“But Insects?” asked the Princess not sure what to think.

Arthas nodded “They found a way to hatch larvae into humans in these mana nests. It’s not a pretty sight. The majority of the ones we found, the ones they called workers, showed little intelligence. Some others were bigger and more menacing and served directly the lords, these ones could speak, but we're completely obsessed with their masters. And once they were gone they all went crazy.”

“I can’t believe this, wasn’t there anything we could have done? Couldn’t they be saved somehow?”

Arthas shook his head “Given our situation, that was the only option”

“How could that be? We should have let them alive and find a solution to help. Couldn't Riou discover a way to save them?”

“Maybe not this time Eileen.” Said the great Magus approaching the group noticing the bodies nearby “Without a master or keeper in the city. They would eventually resume their natural behavior and start their own nests and reproduce without control. Arthas is right, insects mature very quickly.” The magus asked for one of the bodies to be brought at him. A green cloak and a blond man with a bow on his back that just crossed the portal heard the mage and quickly pulled one of the bodies near the Magus. He put his hand above the dead’s head and closed his eyes for a moment.

“Did you know about this? About these half insects and half men?” she asked.

“I’ve read about it. From one of the books I found on the Twilight council hideout in the north. Aha!” he moved his hand up and a small stone came out of the body’s head.

“This small thing is how they control them. They call it an Argonian insectoid control stone, and this is inserted in all larvae right after they hatch. The whole-brain then forms around it giving complete control to the user of the stone. So even if we find a way to help them, their brain is already altered from birth, there is no fixing that.”

Eileen didn’t seem too convinced “Still… to kill them all, it seems wrong, they were alive. Working like everyone else. We saw many of them.”

“Yes… yet, I assure they were not like us,” said the mage. “Not really, deep down they don’t have a mind like ours”

Therese nodded to her “Eileen, you must understand that sometimes, to do the right thing requires more than just goodwill. Sometimes there isn’t an easy path to take. As a princess and a future queen, you must learn that.”

“But maybe Riou could…”

Leona put her hand on Eileen’s shoulder “I understand how you feel, I was there too and saw them like you did. It’s hard to imagine that those people were not… people. We should blame the Argonians for creating them like that and not friends for having to deal with it.”

Eileen takes a deep breath and nods. “Let’s go see Riou, something happened while we were in the city”

Riou came out from his room after taking a long shower, he saw everyone already gathered and waiting for him.

“I was about to call you all”

“Long time no see Riou, I was expecting news from you. A word would have been nice. Max glances at Leona.

“Sorry Max, too many things happened, couldn’t keep track of everything.”

“The Queen said something happened…” quickly said Arthas. “Well, to put it bluntly, it seems that the Argonian death god is not really a god. It’s a man.”

“Are you sure Riou? That would make him over thousands and thousands of years old. The legend of the death god is older than the people in this world” said Max.

“I’m not aware of any legend, I’m just saying how it happened. And that’s not all, I think he knows about me and he wanted me to know about him too”

Max went silent for a moment. “You don’t mean…”

Riou nodded “I think he came from the same place as I did”

Everyone went silent.

“Is that even possible?” finally asked Arthas.

“I don’t know, but I think the message was very clear, he knew and wanted me to know that as well,” said Riou.

Max was deep in thought and Arthas continued “If he is that old, could he be the dark mage the elf mentioned in the spirit realm?” asked Arthas.

“I don’t know”

Max looked at Riou, “Is he a friend or a foe?”

“Not sure… that’s what I was trying to understand. On one hand, he saved the two important Argonians, but on the other hand, he didn’t care about the city or the others at all”

“Did he seem aggressive towards you? Did you sense any animosity?” asked Therese.

“No… I think he liked to see me. He was polite and seemed happy to be talking to me”

Everyone seemed confused by that statement.

Riou then added “But what really concerns me is if he is from where I think he is and has thousands of years more than me. It means that he is much stronger than I am”

Arthas quickly rejected that thought “Master! I doubt anyone could be stronger than you, even if this man has thousands of years. He can’t possibly be like you” said Arthas with conviction.

Riou smiled at his blind assurance “I’m not too sure about that Arthas. Time is a great factor in that.”

Once again silence fell on the room. Eileen was the one to break it this time “So, how do we deal with it?”

They all looked at each other, unsure how to reply to that. Until Riou finally spoke “It is how it is. I've been thinking and there isn't much that we can do right now. I have a strong belief that this man will contact me again, very soon. Because if he was looking for a fight he’d had attacked me right then and there and not talked to me like he did. So, until I meet him again and get some more answers, we should just focus on something else”

Arthas nodded “Something we can pursue instead of worrying for something uncertain, sounds good Master.”

Riou looked at Eileen and smirked “What do you think? What should we focus on Princess?”

She glanced at Max “We’ve done a great deal in very little time with the Argonian threat. But I think we still need to finish what we started in Allard. The council has been a menace for years now and I fear that if we let them vanish now they will return later on even stronger than before. The people of Allard can’t suffer on their hands again” said the Princess with purpose.

Max smiled “Spoken like a true queen. I agree, let’s focus on the enemy we can reach first and then deal with this other problem once we get more information. But let's not forget to prepare as much as we can in the meanwhile”

Riou nodded “Very well then, where do you suggest we start looking for the remaining members of the council, Max?”

“Let’s return to Longart, we can check on the king and queen while I ask some friends about what's happening in the Allardian cities. Knowing the Council, they will hide in plain sight. They will resume one of their identities in one of the cities, just like Lord Griffith was doing.”

The princess nodded, happy with the idea to see her home and parents once again.

“Speaking on him, we still have Lord Griffith hideout to search for clues. He was the last Council member we fought.”

“Yes, that’s a good place to go as well,” added Max.

“It’s decided then, Allard and then Iris.”

Eileen was excited “I can't believe I will be able to visit my parents”

“Visit… oh damn.” Riou closes his eyes, puts his hand on his head, and takes a deep breath.

“Master?” asked Arthas.

“I forgot about Umbra… shit, I promised her to take her on a tour through a few cities. She must be still waiting for it.”

“Who is Umbra?” asked Eileen quite inquisitively.

“She is the daughter of..." he glanced at Max before continuing "new friend of mine, she helped me get back to the plains, so I promised to show her some human cities”

Max shook his head “Why would you say Human cities? And what kind of name is Umbra?”

“It's just that we stayed so long on the Beastmen plains that I'm not used to being back,” said Riou, forcing a smile.

“And you mentioned she is the daughter of a Friend? You have friends?” asked Max quite suspicious.

Riou looked at everyone there with a smile “I’m a sociable guy, of course, that I have friends. She will arrive shortly, so for now let’s rest for a couple days and then we will take a look at Longart and see what we can find about the remaining members of the Twilight Council.”

Everyone agreed and began moving to their respective places to rest. Eileen remained behind to talk to him.

“This Umbra, when is she arriving?” quickly asked Eileen

“Wanna meet her? Come with me.” Riou forced a smile, both left the house and moved to a less used piece of land, a bit away from the village and with an open space and a few trees.

“Where are we going?”

“Here should be fine” he looked at the place and approached the largest three.

“Here?”

“Umbra! I’m here! Can you hear me? Time to fulfill my promise” he spoke towards the shadows of the tree. “Can you hear me? Hey, Umbra?”

A massive shadow appeared on the ground, something big was coming from above them. Eileen looked up and got immediately startled. She saw the dark silhouette of a large dragon in the skies, flapping massively large wings high above.

The gust of wind made her close her eyes and when she looked again it was gone. And beside Riou, was now an older woman wearing a dark dress and long black hair. Her eyes were of a strange bright red color.

“I thought you had forgotten our deal,” she said to Riou in an imposing tone. “I’ve been waiting for quite a long time”

“I had some complications… but as you see. I’m here now, as promised”

Umbra looks at Eileen with curiosity “And this… this must be the one, isn’t she?”

“Yes, This is Eileen, Princess of Allard. Eileen, this is Umbra, she is well… she is like...”

“A step-sister, by your customs,” said Umbra, approaching slowly a very surprised Eileen.

“Step Sister?” Eileen was very surprised to hear that. “That means you are Lord Brahm’s daughter?”

“Yes” Umbra walked around Eileen quite close to her, the princess remained completely still, as she could feel a menacing aura by the way Umbra walked by.

“Interesting, I can see why you’ve gone to such lengths to protect this one. Even I can see that she is a different breed from all the others, I mean, for a human, of course.”

Eileen forced a smile after the strange compliment “Is she really your step-sister?” asked the princess, quite uncomfortable by the strange way Umbra moved and talked.

Umbra smiled showing pointy teeth that only helped to make Eileen even more nervous. “Yes, Lord Brahm is my father. And I heard he had adopted this man, which makes us kin by your customs, does it now?”

Eileen swallowed hard and slowly looked at Riou. “Yeah, yeah, come on, let me show you around. This is our village, I already asked for a house for you so you can get used to our way of life.” Riou turned to Eileen “Umbra has lived in a small place, she doesn’t know much about cities and social events. And she asked me to help her with that”

“Oh… is that so? That explains why I never heard of her before. So you want to learn more about the court and the customs of the Allardians?”

“Yes, that is my wish. So, will Eileen be helping me from now on? Since she is a princess, she must be well aware of human customs, does she not?”

Riou turned to Eileen and smiled “What do you think Eileen? Can you help her out?”

“What?” said Eileen, forcing a smile looking at Riou quite nervously. For some reason, Umbra sent chills down Eileen’s spine.

“I’d like that, princess. After all, my father has a peculiar taste towards humans. So, recently I became inclined to try to understand that side of his” she glances at Riou and stares at Eileen waiting for her answer.

The princess looks at Riou, “Sure… why not. Right?”

“Splendid!”

“First, let’s get you accommodated. Then we will discuss when we will visit the city.”

“Very well then I will wait for your lead.” She turned to Eileen “Princess of Allard, I expect to learn a lot from you.”

Umbra begins to walk towards the houses in front of them as if she owned the place, Riou and Eileen follow her closely.

“She is really something, isn't she?” Eileen whispers to him.

“You have no idea.”

“You said she lived in a small village, but the way she talks and holds herself it feels like she owned a village, she kinda reminds me of my mother sometimes”

“That wouldn’t be far from the truth, she is used to leading and ordering people around.”

“And she is your step-sister? Why have I never heard of her before?”

“You know how lord Brahm is, right? He probably didn’t want people to know he had a daughter, with all the Norse rites and such, being him rich as he is”

Eileen got silent for a moment and stopped walking “You are not hiding anything from me, are you? Remember our agreement?”

Riou smiled and nodded at her “I’m not lying. She really is his daughter. But also I’m not telling you everything because it’s not my secret to tell. So if you really want to know, you will have to ask her about it”

Eileen thought for a moment and nodded understanding what he meant, after all, given the circumstances and who was her parent, it was kinda expected.

Riou looked forward and widened his eyes and swallowed hard “What is he doing here?!” he asks while seeing Galan talking to Umbra not too far away, taking her hand to kiss it with a seductive smile.