Sorry for the non-daily release, been pretty hectic. But, I've returned, so you can prepare your heart... for madness! Well... at least a little madness.

Oh well, I've kept you long enough.

Enjoy.

The Crackling Thunder

The prison of Tertinum is where all of the criminals are held, which’re within the borders of Tertinum land. It is surrounded with high fortifications while it’s stationed right beside one of the layer walls. It is in a square construction and has only one large gate, though upon the ramparts are prison towers, one tower on every corner of the square formation.

It is a prison no one can escape from, from the inside at least, but there has been instances where help from the outside has managed to breach and aid the ones that they came for.

Upon coming to the wide street where guards holds their positions to watch for suspicious activity, Malinda’s carriage of gold is seen coming by the sentries, with Taryna at its helm. Houses are nowhere near the prison, the closest house is forty meters away. Ever since the breakout it has been made so that only those with authorization are allowed to come close to the prison’s gate or walls.

There are other streets that goes around the prison, but as Malinda is here for the captain, Taryna steers the horses to the gate. And as the carriage arrives, Taryna stomps with her feet upon where they’re resting. Through the stomping, Malinda comes out. As she steps off of it, the sentries stare upon her as if in awe, but the one who handles all of the admittances walks up to her.

With an awkward deep bow, the gate-keeper greets her with a shaking voice while sweat glitters in the sun on the man’s forehead, “W-We have been expecting you, m-my Honored Lady… But… I-I am sorry to inform you that the man named, Eretor Odrinos, has been released from his captivity one hour ago.”

“What did you just say…?” Malinda said with piercing eyes of venom that drills into the gate-keeper’s panicky mind. “Who authorized his release, speak, NOW!”

“I-It was the Inquisitor herself… She came with his daughter while carrying papers that said he was unrightfully imprisoned… You should also be aware of it, m-my Honored Lady. What you did was illegal, so he had no right to be here,” the gate-keeper said with even more sweat running down his face. A river explodes as he dares to look into Malinda’s eyes, but when he gazes at those twitching lips of hers. He takes a couple of steps back. “Please, my Honored One! I am only a messenger that was told to inform you of this! I mean no harm!”

“You fool! You complete and utter fool! Why would she be with such a pig’s daughter! Wait… Odrinos… Odrinos… It can’t be—!!!” Malinda’s eyes goes wide as she recognizes the name, the name which the Inquisitor’s only pupil has. With a spin, she turns to walk into the carriage while saying with pure madness upon her twitching lips, “To the DLO’s headquarter with haste, now!”

Taryna had heard everything, so as soon as the door clicks shut she raises her arms, then with her many whip movements, the horses begins to stomp and stomp and stomp, until they’re galloping through the prison’s lane of the street, and into the regular lanes.

Towards the DLO they go!

It doesn’t take long until they’re at the front of the DLO’s headquarter. It’s a building with three levels and it’s built like a rectangle, rather stretched alongside the street that leads up towards the citadel’s innermost gate, while on the other side of the street is another structure, the city-guard headquarter. And their construction is by no means less extensive than the DLO’s.

Folks that aren’t allowed to come into the castle’s outer grounds can go to the two other buildings that belong to the DLO which’re in the outer and inner layer, but they’re only there for people who wants some kind of justice done, or to investigate the allegations of the one that applied a problem.

Everything is sent to the DLO’s headquarter, then when everything is in order, they would send out investigators to arrest or question the guilty one. By force if they’re harmful or by simple conversations if they aren’t harmful.

Malinda steps out from her carriage and waltzes straight up to the main door as she begins to climb the flight of stairs. As Taryna sees her Miss moving rather fast, she scowls as she doesn’t see anyone who can move the horses to a safe place, so she doesn’t cause a major disturbance. But Taryna has to choose, the horses or her Miss, and of course she chooses Malinda.

She holds up her dress as she runs with a dangling sword at her waist, leaving the horses there without a caretaker. But as she sees a short girl coming down the stairs where Malinda went up, Taryna glares at her who has nobleness steaming from her gorgeous ball dress that goes down to her feet, and her hair that’s setup in intricate hairdo, not one single hair strand is out of place.

Though upon making eye contact with Taryna, she becomes startled as she sees the glaring woman who’s walking straight towards her. And Taryna takes advantage of it, “You, girl! Watch the horses for me! Those horses of black armor! If they aren’t here when I return, you’ll have to answer to an Honored One!”

With that, Taryna heads inside while the noble girl stands there dumbfounded to the max. Her flickering eyes goes to the monsters called horses that bobs their heads up and down. Neighing in a dreadfully horrible manner as their nostrils flares and their mouths drips of horse saliva onto the gray cobblestone, because they had charged through the city while Taryna yelled her various commands at the street travelers.

But what stuck to the girl the most was ‘Honored One’.

All she can do is to stand and watch obediently. Though, she jumps every time a horse neighs. They’re stallions of the purest breed there is, they’re the graceful chargers of Ellenoria. They’re trained to not move a muscle if no one is guiding them.

With a loud bang the double-doors opens to the main hall of the DLO, while Malinda comes strutting with fast moving legs as her head is lowered slightly in a furious rage. And when people see who it is, they become wide-eyed with gaping mouths, because it is an Honored One.

As Malinda comes up to the front counter, she raises her head with a scowling anger which’s still showing on her twitching lips. Upon seeing the frightened secretary that has a bun hairstyle like Taryna, she glares more angrily to show that she means business.

“Where… Is… The… Inquisitor?” Malinda said with verses of poison as she formed every word, slowly, to pronounce it clear as running water, but filled with deadly substances that can kill the one who drinks the wrong water cup.

“S-She is busy, come back anot—!” she drunk the wrong cup.

*Crash* A fisted hand is now imbedded into the wooden counter which doesn’t make Malinda show any other face, only a stare of death that looks at the bun-haired woman who gapes in fear upon seeing the hole in front of her while she gulps.

“Take me to her, now…” Malinda said as she takes out her hand to shake it slightly. It did hurt, but not much, the wood wasn’t strong enough since it has a very thin layer leading into a drawer.

“But—, IIiihh, I understand! I understand! Please Honored Malinda, I am sorry!” the woman cried as she raises her hands in front of her face to shield herself from Malinda’s crackling fists. “F-Follow m-me…”

The fear that people feel, the obedience that she commands isn’t exaggerated because she is Malinda. Second-In-Command of the number one squad of the middle gate! It isn’t weird to be utterly afraid of her. Her reputation isn’t very good for being gentle to her enemies, or to those who angers her, or when her mood is in the sewer.

Once upon a time, there was man that tried to flirt with her when she was first admitted into her brother’s squad, but that man could never battle again, for he was crippled. It was a high noble’s son who now spends most of his time thinking about his dreadful mistakes in self-pity.

But with her current personality, she wouldn’t act so rash as to injure people, though making a person shrink in fright she does when she please, especially when anger comes over her. She can become easily furious, easily put to tears, and easily her mood can switch to happiness. It is a trait of the Tertin family from carefully selected breeding long ago, which backfired. One just needs to look upon their family tree; illnesses, complications of the heart, blindness, and unsteady minds.

Her father’s heart, her mother’s mind of suicide thinking. For Malinda’s parents are distant relatives that was put together, to be husband and wife.

It is why so few of the Tertins are still alive, they die young for the most part, or the parents doesn’t want any more children. But over the years they had stopped with their breeding techniques. They were able to halt many of the different illnesses, but this generation hit hard. Celyssa’s daughter, Malinda’s mother and father.

Even sometimes her brother thinks that Madelyn has some kind of mental disorder since she’s unstable at most times; a compulsive liar, slothful, and much alike Malinda who has mood swings that isn’t part of being a lady. Though Celyssa is a master of calming her down, a second mother is she to Madelyn, to Malinda too.

It is a fickle situation about that family, and now walking there in a long corridor leading into the Inquisitor’s office, is the treading Malinda who’s following the bun-haired woman, while Taryna had caught up to her Miss.

Inside the office sits the Inquisitor herself, an elderly woman in her fifties, which can be seen on her forehead of deep lines of wrinkles; her eyes of tranquility that has age of knowledge backing her up, and her light-brown hair that’s in a crown braid, very flowery for an older woman. Her own custom-made bluecoat DLO attire displays on her body which the mark of the Divine Queen’s allegiance is stamped onto the right chest.

It can be said that its men’s clothes, which isn’t far from it, but it still fits her like a baby in its womb.

Two other people are sitting in front the grand desk, while she herself is sitting on her lavish chair that shows her status of power. An Inquisitor that’s almost the same as an Honored One, but yet under. She’s the law and order in every village, in every town, in every house, in every forest, in every corner of the borders of Tertinum land.

“I did not do this for you. I did it for your daughter. As a favor to me. She is my chosen student to succeed me, and I can’t have you messing her life up. Do you understand me…? Eretor Odrinos.” she spoke with such clearness that it’s as if the light shines upon this woman. Her expression is composed as the calm breeze that showers the world with its tranquil winds.

Her eyes stares in calmness upon the pig who sits there on the chair that’s too small for him.

“I understand, Madam Inquisitor, I understand,” Eretor said repeatedly while wiping his fattened forehead with a cloth.

“Father, don’t be so nervous,” a sudden voice with overbearing happiness said while slapping the large shoulder, making his body tremor as the excess fat moves with the slap like a flowing wave when someone jumps into in a lake, stone-style. “Madam can seem scary but she’s the kindest person I know!”

The Inquisitor chuckles at the praise from this teenager, “You have a fine daughter, Eretor. You’ve raised her well. Well enough to be my successor when I retire in five years. She has much to learn, but she’ll manage it with flying colors. Because your daughter is the top student of the SLO, in both academics, firing, and the most important part, having a benevolent head on top of her shoulders.”

“T-Thank you, Madam Inquisitor!” Erector said, feeling proud of his little princess as his hand grasps ahold of his daughter’s hand, holding one another as parent and child.

“But… There is one problem that needs to be taken care of,” the Inquisitor said falling back on her chair while rattling her fingers on the armrest. “You have to quit the city-guard. Because we, the Department of Law and Order, doesn’t affiliate ourselves with that organization since it is commanded by the rulers of the city, and well… I don’t enjoy the Honored Ones’ company very much. I can arrange a job for you in the DLO… If you accept, that is.”

“I-I would never decline such an offer—!”

The double-doors to the Inquisitor’s office blasts open when Malinda pulls down the handles and pushes them with such force that they slam into the walls on either side, which makes the three people jerk from surprise.

The Inquisitor frowns upon seeing Malinda there in the open doorway with a frightened secretary behind her. Malinda duels her with piercing gazes as she begins to walk forward, one step at a time. For every step, Erector’s eyes goes a little bit wider. She comes up right next to the child and parent. The Inquisitor has an annoyed expression as she’s leaning back in her seat.

“You dared to be so bold… Rissara…” Malinda said as their eyes are still glued upon each other’s, she the viper and the Inquisitor the eagle. “Don’t you know that you released a man who’s a defiler? A rapist? A man who forced this girl’s mother to birth an unwanted child? Then through her suffering, she was killed by her own hands, suicide to escape her inflictor.”

“What?! LIES! THIS WOMAN SPEWS OUT TOTAL LIES!” Erector bellowed as he gapes with quaking double chins as he heard her words… Words that he thought he would never hear again. Words that a daughter should never hear. “Ah…!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Rissara inquired with narrowed eyes as her drumming of her fingers upon the armrest becomes quicker. “This… …Oh… Dear Divine Queen…”

Her drumming stops as she stands up from her seat of power. Just from his tone, she knows who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong. She has made a fatal error in her plans.

“You see? He’s a pig that needs to be butchered, then fed to the other PIGS!” Malinda screamed as her personal feelings takes ahold of her heart. She had committed suicide… like her mother… “He… no, he doesn’t even deserve to be called human! IT, IT raped this poor girl’s mother when IT was younger, and through ITS despicable acts, she was born out of a mother who was forced! IT deserves to be hanged! But no, IT shall not be hanged, I’ll make sure that IT and ITS family will go down with IT!”

“IT even send ITS brother to do ITS dirty work! ITS brother tortured my lover in his house, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! I will have the perpetrator before me, and you… my dear Rissara, will do this for me. Else, I’ll spread that you gained a successor out of a forced, dirty wedlock. Rissara, I want ITS brother found and brought to me, well, you know what will happen if you don’t.”

Malinda turns her head to stare at the daughter who looks upon her father with such innocence. She doesn’t move, only a stare with unmoving eyes, an unmoving expression, almost like a statue. What did she just hear? Her father… violated her mother, and through that act… She was born?”

“It is lies… I haven’t even spoken to my brother… It is lies… Everything is a lie…” he falls off of his overgrown ass onto the floor while he begins to crawl to his daughter in such a grotesque way, flapping hands as if he was a fabled walrus on dry land. But as his hands touches his daughter’s smooth teenage hands, she shatters…

“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! AAHHH!! AAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” the daughter retreats out of her seat and backs away from her own father as if he was something completely horrifying, someone she doesn’t even know. Her whole body shakes as tears starts to form around her eyelids.

A monster is what she looks at, a monster who tries to reach his daughter, desperately. Her small frame of flesh and bones… came from… that? Her eyes are as wide as they can get while her hands goes to her head. She grips a hold of her hair as if she needs something to hold onto as she shakes in such a damaging way. She can’t even speak because of her opened unmoving mouth that neither locks nor unlocks anymore, only a locked agape expression is upon her.

As Rissara sees her pupil in such a situation that can be dangerous on her mind, she jumps over her desk as she begins to run to her in complete worry. And as she takes ahold of her, holding her in a tight secure embrace, she looks at Malinda while nodding her head in agreeing to her terms of finding ITS brother. For she has put too much effort in trying to find the perfect successor to take her place, as… The Inquisitor of Tertinum.

“YOU DARE TURN AWAY FROM ME, GIRL?!” he shouted in madness as he sees his daughter hugging Rissara while wailing in a dreadful manner, soaking the custom-made outfit. YOU WOMEN! YOU WOMEN SHOULD JUST BE TOYS! YOU! YOU’RE JUST LIKE YOUR SCARED WHORE MOTHER! SCARED?! WHAT’RE YOU SCARED OF?! COME TO ME!

He raises himself as he screams his disgusting verses of perverse thinking, a man who has no other choice than to be what he’s right now.

“I SAID COME HERE!” he yelled, and his daughter too screamed upon seeing his true form, all mouth agape, pupils that has shrunk, and the total damage upon her emotions while seeing the horror in front of herself… “I SHOULD HAVE TOSSES YOU OVER THE WALL, LIKE I DID YOUR TRASH MOTHER!”

The girl in Rissara’s arms… passes downright out. She goes limp in her embrace.

“Malinda, do something for crying out loud!”

“With my utmost pleasure…” Malinda said with a smile that pierces the man’s heart in fright. “Come here, piggy piggy…”

Malinda doesn’t even bother taking Taryna’s sword, because she wants him to feel agony.

Death?

That’s too good for him… But what’s going through Malinda’s head is also, no suicide? He said that he killed her himself? And not she herself? As she thought about it more carefully while moving closer and closer to the now squealing pig, her eyes went wider than wide.

What if… What if he was even targeting his own daughter? Removing the only thing that could prevent it… The mother of the child. A mother would never allow her child to be… To be violated by her own father.

“You’re a disgusting man…” she said while her beautiful leg ascends itself to the point of reaching a split. “Next time you wake up… Experience your torture, behind a filthy cell.”

With that, her leg cascades down faster and stronger than she has ever done before, while her eyes opens with a wild flaming anger as she clenches and shows her brilliant teeth which grinds together.

The man who stands motionless, stares with eyes ajar while that perfect leg of a Goddess descends upon his filthy bald head of sweat. And just like that, the man lies there on the carpeted floor frothing from his mouth, and broken teeth bits has spewed out onto the rug where he foams in peace.

Parent and child, both unconscious. Parent and child, forever disconnected.

So it came, it came with a dropping thunder of crackling teeth, and a broken mind of a girl who saw her maddened father that killed her mother, then he covered it up by saying to the people of the slums that she committed suicide, so if he was caught, he wouldn’t be trialed for murder.

The bun-haired secretary stands there beside Taryna with teary eyes, eyes of pure pity towards the unconscious girl whom she knows very well. The girl who loved her father, and said that her father loved her. But certain events has shaken their lives to its complete destruction. Will this sleeping girl ever recover from seeing the gaping monster’s maw of disgust?

…Only time will tell…

Malinda stares at the pig that lies in front of her, but with a turn she strides out from the office. Though she turns back to warn the Inquisitor with such vindictive but true eyes, “I’ll see to it, if you don’t find the perpetration that tortured my… first love… I’ll ruin your little establishment, called: Bond. If this were to get out, she would be looked upon with different eyes, eyes of pure pity, pure disgust. But you know this, don’t you? And still you’re thinking of making her your successor?”

“I’ll find your criminal… girl… As long as you keep your meddling mouth sealed. And yes, she’ll be my successor. You know that I’m infertile, Malinda, everybody knows. But she has been like a daughter to me…” she said with an unemotional expression, stone-cold, but from such little words, one can feel the pain Rissara has endured under her life of strife and love.

“You better start, because I’ll be coming tomorrow for an update,” Malinda said as she turns around while giving a stroke of a wave that seems so victorious. But still, even her anger can’t hide her sorrow for that girl.

As Malinda disappears down the lengthy corridor, Taryna who did nothing, follows gracefully behind her as she walks with the sword’s hilt in hand, slightly leaning on it as her hips sways side to side.

As they come outside Taryna sees the short noble girl sitting on the stairs’ steps, her back towards them, feeling gloomy as her head bobs side to side as if she’s humming silently to herself, hearing the tunes in her head as her body tilts somewhat as she dazedly watches the horses of terror that’re a few meters in front of her.

“You did good, girl. You’ve Malinda’s gratitude for watching her proud stallions with conviction,” Taryna said as she taps on the short girl’s shoulder, making her fling herself up when she sees Malinda going inside the golden carriage, which she watched… She aided an Honored One!

The short girl is now gaping with mouth ajar while switching to Taryna and the carriage’s door, where Malinda disappeared into. As her head goes side to side, Taryna can only smile upon seeing this short noble girl who can’t be more than thirteen years old.

“Now run home and tell how brave you were in handling those… beasts!” Taryna shouted with a smile of success while the girl’s head spasms with nods after nods even after turning around to start running with her delicate ball dress in her hands.

Malinda opens the door to peek out, she asks “Who was that?”

“Our brave horse-master,” Taryna said jokingly but affectionately. She thinks children are adorable, she can’t wait when Malinda—. “Cough, cough.”

“What’s the matter?” Malinda asked with a raised brow as she sees those awkward coughs of hers.

“No… Nothing,” she replied with a forced smile.

“Well… I didn’t think it would go this fast… And so smoothly at that. Xe’Reth still haven’t come back yet from the mou—,” she covers her mouth as she almost revealed their secret. But she sprouts forth an innocent smile as she says, “…He’s still out buying… uh… herbs, yes, herbs for his mother. So let us return to the castle for a while before returning to his house. Things need to be arranged! I need to write a letter to mother’s friend! She’s still handling those kinds of things, concerning charity work to the poor.”

“Miss, about that, I don’t think it’s such a good idea. Think of all the work you need to put into it to make it succeed. It isn’t worth it,” Taryna protested while shaking her head like the noble she wants to be, but no noble is she, only a handmaiden.

“Don’t even utter such words again. Taryna, I didn’t think you would be so heartless. Think of all the children that we can save when the winter comes,” Malinda said, staring with narrowed eyes.

“Children…? Oh dear Divine… Yes, you’re right! Yes Miss we must help them! We must save the children!” she exclaimed as new light shines inside her maiden’s chest, filling it with feelings of aid since she doesn’t want children to starve, to lose a parent, to… die. “Come! Let us hurry, to the castle, quickly shut the door!”

Taryna suddenly sprints to the driver’s seat as her heart pounds for the adorable children that’re suffering. They then, with Taryna whipping her hands violently, disappeared with the charging monstrosities of perfect breeding.

…………

By a river’s creek, Xe’Reth who’s bare to the flesh is currently washing himself out of all the blood, sweat, and worries. It’s refreshing, he swims upstream while feeling the pull of the forcing water. It’s rather violent too. But he isn’t pushed back, he pushes forward instead with flapping legs of muscles and the circling arms of movement while scooping the water to push to the limit, feeling truly alive.

Then, he relaxes himself to drift downstream, until he arrives where he took off all of his armor pieces and equipment.

With a dive down, he reaches the shallow bottom, and with crouching legs he dives upwards! The force of the water tries to keep him down, but with a slight splashing boom, he jumps onto the shore while showing his everything.

As he walks with manly swagger of chest and arm and leg movements, he goes to his possessions. Though he senses that something is being very awry. As if something is pulling him to move faster.

But he puts his worried emotions aside and begins to clothe himself in his armor pieces. It hasn’t gone that long since he left home, to journey to his Garden of Salvation. While clothing himself, Xe’Reth gazes around the area with the eyes of an ebon hawk, and the ears of an ebon fox.

Now he’s clad in darkness and with the slight scarlet armor pieces.

He begins to sprint with the movement of an ebon wolf that stalks though the nightly woods, but night isn’t coming yet, so he run through the sunlit woods feeling the moss, roots, grass, stones and everything the forest has to offer, the sound, the sight.

All is seen, all is heard.

As he reaches the upsloping cave entrance which goes to the valley that’s surrounded by high but not so broad mountains, he sees something, on the ground. His eyes goes sharp with alertness as he twists his body here and there to see if he’s being watched, but he senses nothing.

He crouches down while he places a hand on the imprinted dirt. Tracks of humans, and hunting dogs, no, he has seen these paw prints before when he read a book on domestic animals. They’re the dogs with the best nose there is. And they’re used for stalking down illegal merchandise.

Xe’Reth’s eyes grows darker than his already darkened eyes. He heads into the cave and into the maw of death or utter survival. If he has to choose between making his mother suffer in her awake state and killing someone, he would choose the latter, without a doubt.

As he treads inside the cave with carefully placed steps of silence, he moves from wall to wall like a shade sticking to its owner, then he sees the light, the light which leads into the green valley and the garden of illegal herbs.

He goes forth like a silent ghost.

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to voice your thoughts!

By the way, any thoughts on the front cover, is it creepy or is it okay to have? I just did it on Paint, so I don't really know myself if it looks good or not.

I'll come back to fix grammar mistakes. Until next... time!

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