Morals? Ha! Leave the past where it belongs, and revel with me in this new age where power is everything!

Kuraim Jaffer - the Necromancer - Speaking to his prospective followers

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Clio came with Silas as they returned to where they had first met, accompanied by two of her fellows. The other nine had dispersed, either returning to the fort or spreading around the village. As Silas and the three shaerd strode back up to Ethan’s house, they were greeted by a waiting party.

Brigette, the tanned blonde, and Rory, the ginger teen, were there in addition to a few other armed humans. Mia was near the back, adopting a determined expression, in contrast to Meera and Olivia who looked anxious. Spotting him, Olivia yelped and called out, tension draining from her posture. “Silas!”

The Duellist immediately feared the worst and turned to Ethan’s house, spotting Bandit roosting on its roof. Had someone slipped past the owl and hurt his brother, or had he been plain wrong in trusting an owl? “What’s happened?”

“Funny you should say that: we just got here and heard you got hauled away by some thugs,” Brigette answered, glaring at Clio.

The shaerd shrugged, unaffected by the heat directed at her. “I had matters to speak of with this gentleman.”

“So you’re all eager to come running when there’s something you want, but you refuse to even send a single troop out when we’re under attack?” Brigette said. She spat towards the shaerd, her phlegm splattering a couple of paces away. “Scum.”

“Your defence is your own responsibility. It has naught to do with me, nor any of my kin, and it is not the princess’s responsibility to accommodate for you any further than she already has,” Clio replied levelly.

Brigette sneered. “I guess she doesn’t care about those brown and pink shaerd either. The ratkin cut them down all the same, and I didn’t see a single one of yous move to help from the fort with your halberds so high up your arses.”

This appeared to get under Clio’s dark blue skin as her lips thinned into a humourless line, but Silas intervened before the situation got any messier. “Look, Brigette, I don’t know what’s up with your history with Clio, but we’re trying to do something vital for everyone’s survival here, so could you give it a rest?” His gaze drifted to the auburn-haired Elementalist in the back. “And Mia, could we have a quick chat?”

“If it’ll affect everyone, why are keeping it a secret?” Rory screeched in his high voice, causing Silas to do a double take. He had thought the ginger teen too shy to get even a word out, let alone call him out so brazenly in public, but it seemed he had been wrong. Then again, as he peered closer, he realised Rory was visibly trembling after having asked his question.

“Yeah, why are you sneaking around with these scumbags?” Brigette said, backing him up. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of joining them in their fort and leaving your brother behind?”

Silas’s fist clenched about his spear but he stopped himself from charging forwards as the tension in the street rose to palpable levels. There was no doubt that the blonde was acting obnoxious, but that was hardly an offence deserving death or punishment. He didn’t want to become a tyrannical figure who abused his power like Mike or Grace had. Straining to keep control, he reined in some of his anger and spoke slowly and softly. “Brigette, do you want to leave Valrun’s Keep?”

She sneered at him too with a quick shake of her head. “Why would I want to leave here? This is my home.”

“So you don’t want to leave even though the ratkin will murder everyone here in a week’s time?” he asked. It was a bluff but regardless a probable one given what he had seen so far of the settlement.

“They won’t. We’ll drive them back,” she replied confidently.

Silas switched focus to Rory and continued. “What about you? Would you leave to, let’s say, Riverside? It’s safe there, and you wouldn’t have to fear for your life on the daily.”

“Not a chance,” he answered in his squeaky voice, face scrunching up into an ugly snarl. “You’re trying to throw us out, aren’t you? That’s why you’re talking to them, isn’t it? Well, you’ll never make us leave!”

Watching their display, Silas’s anger leaked out entirely and left him feeling empty. In fact, he pitied these people so clearly parroting words that weren’t their own. Of course, it was possible that Brigette truly believed her words, but the same couldn’t be said for Rory, the angsty youth who couldn’t even hold his sword straight without shaking. Silas turned to Mia and prayed her answer wouldn’t be the same. “Mia, tell me you at least want to leave,” he said, desperation leaking into his voice.

She warily glanced around, especially at Brigette, before biting her lip and gently nodding.

Letting out his breath in relief, Silas smiled back. He beckoned her over, then called out to Meera and Olivia. “Both of you too.”

It was clear that Brigette had several harsh words about their arrangement, but to his surprise, the blonde simply scoffed after a moment and drew her group back. “Do what you will, but don’t ever come crying that I didn’t warn you of these thugs. They’re not to be trusted and would rather watch you die than lift their hand to help you out.”

From everything she had said, Silas could guess at the source of her anger, and he was just grateful that she hadn’t escalated it any further. The princess being mind-controlled likely had a significant part in why those in the fort hadn’t helped out with the attacks on the outskirts. Still, from the sounds of it, no one else in the fort was under Nicon’s direct control, so they could have helped if they had wanted, only they had instead chosen to forsake the humans and the cracked. Such apathy wasn’t ideal in an ally, but Silas lacked allies in Valrun’s Keep as it was without him being fussy over who he worked with.

With the three women now in tow, Silas and the shaerd went back to the large building from before after he checked on his brother to make sure nothing was wrong. They could have used that house as it was closer, but he didn’t want Ethan listening in on any of their reckless plans. Arriving at their destination, the women followed Silas in and took their seats in the airy room. He took charge to explain the situation out for Olivia’s and Meera’s benefit.

“Right, from what I’ve gathered, there’s a mage called Nicon here who’s got a class to do with mind control. He’s made it so none of the inhabitants here want to leave, no matter how bad it gets, and he’s also taken direct control of the princess. She’s being used to indirectly control everyone else in the fort, and they’re apparently blind enough to ignore her drastic shift in personality as they’re following her orders just the same. What we’re going to do is kill Nicon, save the people here before they get wiped out, and then leave.” He looked at Clio. “Is that correct?”

The dark blue shaerd shrugged. “Your actions afterwards are of your own choosing, but other than that, you have summed it up aptly, if crudely. Silas brought you three along as he argued you could provide considerable utility, especially you,” she said, pointing at Mia. “But first, I must ensure that you are not tainted. Tell me, human, how did you resist Nicon’s sorcery when the rest of your kin fell for it?”

A faint flush took her cheeks, but she fiercely returned the gaze; Silas suspected she shared Brigette’s feelings for the shaerd. “It’s a spell regularly cast on the area but my mana barrier is constantly up, so it didn’t affect me. I suspected it was being applied from the fort, but I couldn’t come in and check when you refused admission.” Her eyes narrowed into a piercing glare. “But if you knew who was casting it, why didn’t you kill him earlier?”

“Evidently, our arcane defence is not as perceptive as yours,” Clio answered. “We could tell a nefarious spell was being cast but not where from. Our investigations into the matter were dropped when Amara said it was of no matter. She also ordered for the gates to be shut and all general entry to be barred. In retrospect, none of these actions were in line with her true personality, but there was no one there of station to question her rational. Even I willingly followed her words until she openly displayed distasteful affection towards the imp, at which time I began to question her state of mind.”

“So, why didn’t you tell others of this and have him killed then?” Mia asked, her pointed anger melting away somewhat to reveal genuine confusion.

“Simply because I couldn’t. Amara had ordered for him to be protected like another royal. Although I and few others have broken protocol in questioning the princess, especially over treating a male like royalty, the rest have kept to their stations as the Knowing Spirit dictates. I have whispered my theory to the most influential of them, but it is of no use: they consider it an ex-lover’s folly and naught more. Thus, I have taken matters into my own hand,” Clio said.

The back and forth questioning continued as Mia asked of more matters relating to the fort and its trapped princess. Silas listened patiently, hearing plenty of details he had missed out on during his own conversation with Clio. Looking around the room, Olivia was alike listening with shock and fear on her face, but Meera couldn’t have seemed to care less as her eyes bore into Silas.

The Huntress appeared unabashed at being caught, instead gathering her confidence as she crossed the room and whispered in his ear, uncaring of the attention it brought her. “Can you come outside for a moment? I have something I need to say.”

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Zafeera Bazzi, the Blood Ripper, was originally a prisoner from Lebanon. Passing the extreme tutorial, she came to Idroa and quickly gained a reputation as an indiscriminate mass murderer, leaving drained husks in her wake. Accumulating great power and garnering attention, she was soon sought after by Kuraim Jaffer, the Necromancer. She had just snuffed all life from a village when his entourage drifted into the area and positioned themselves around her. Although she initially resisted, a large host of Kuraim’s bloodless corpses rushed and incapacitated her.

While it is unknown what was said between them, what is known is that Zafeera joined Kuraim’s party right after, seemingly willingly as well as she quickly became one of his staunchest supporters. Theirs was an alliance to be feared by all who attracted their attention, especially as their party only grew as the two of them sought out further individuals of great power but questionable morality.

Stefan Sommer - the Chronicler - Heroes and Villains of the First Age