In my possession is a magic catalyst that can measure time in very precise units such as seconds, minutes, hours and even fractions of a second. Nashira created it because measuring time at a small scale is important for her delicate experiments. Similar devices have been created with magic before, but they are not as precise as Nashira’s. They are also bulky and require expensive materials, which is impractical for daily use. Hourglasses filled with fine sand are used instead. Each volume of sand corresponds to a certain amount of minutes or hours, so by checking when all the sand has drained to the bottom of the hourglass you can tell how much time has passed. This is a very old method that dates back before creation of Amisos kingdom.

Well, most people don’t really need time keeping this accurate. The vast majority of a kingdom’s population is made up of peasants who wake up with the rise of the sun, work the land until dusk and then go to bed. You can roughly tell what hour of the day it is from the sun’s angle in the sky. Peasants don’t care about minutes or seconds. Those concepts are useless to them. Keeping track of the seasons is all that matters.

Nashira’s device is powered by mana. It feeds from my aura and channels it through a complex chain of circuits which connect several small chambers. The first one contains a tiny shard made of pure bloodstone. The bloodstone reacts by vibrating at a rate that increases exponentially as energy builds up inside it. After it becomes saturated, mana is released into the next chamber of the device, indicating that one second has passed. Successive chambers are used to add up the “seconds”, 60 for one minute and 3600 for one hour. The whole system is contained within a sturdy tube, about 2 cm thick and 10 cm long. The tube is mostly opaque and there are three transparent openings through which one can see the chambers that measure how much time has passed. Right now, it is shortly after midnight.

After we stopped the riot at Delfoi, the six of us gathered in a private room at a local inn. A single mana-crystal placed on a table gives off just enough light that I can see Asher’s face. The two of us are standing only three paces apart. He has the same solemn expression as when he stopped me from sending that pompous noble to the underworld.

“You surprised me, Rigel. I didn’t think you would be so impulsive. The man you just tried to attack is Count Garland, the rightful lord of Delfoi and its surroundings.”

“Are you saying I am in the wrong? Didn’t you hear what he said? He plans to murder hundreds of people for no good reason.” My anger hasn’t subsided but I try not to show that in my voice. Asher is a rational man. If I explain things calmly, he will understand that my action was justified.

“Those people are his subjects and they did rebel against him. It is within his right to take any actions he deems necessary.” Asher retorts coldly.

“Just because the law permits it, that doesn’t make it right! Does stealing a few sacks of grain warrant the death penalty? Of course not! Normally, they would receive 10 whiplashes. The worst thieves would have a hand cut off as punishment, but nothing beyond that. This is true even in Zamora, isn’t it?” A few moments of silence pass by. I stare at him earnestly. He stares back without averting his gaze. Sitting in the corner of the room, Inaya yawns noisily. Hearing it makes me cringe.

“Rigel, what you’re saying isn’t wrong. However, the Count has the power to decide on punishment for his own subjects. Inside his own lands, he is the king and his word is the law. This is common sense.”

“To hell with common sense.” I respond bitterly. “He is even worse than those barbarians you people condemn so much. He is unworthy of his life, let alone the title of Count.”

Asher comes two steps closer. He put his hands on both of my shoulders and speaks in a quiet, yet grave, tone.

“Listen, I don’t like him any more than you do, but killing him isn’t going to help anyone. It will cause us a lot of problems we can’t afford right now. Remember your position. Bloodmoon represents the will of King Hamal. It is not our place to deal out vigilante justice.”

“Then let’s speak to the Count. Maybe we can change his—”

“I already tried. Neither he nor the others were interested in my opinion. It’s useless.”

“Stinking nobles… That’s even more reason to get rid of him. If you let me do it, I can make it look like an accident.”

Asher slowly shakes his head from side to side, then turns around and walks to a corner of the room. He sweeps the whole room with his gaze and then speaks loudly.

“Everyone listen closely. The situation is more difficult than we first thought. A bloody war broke out in the capital city of Delos. Refugees say that the city is destroyed beyond recognition. The fighting continues to spread into the surrounding areas. From the number of people that are fleeing their homes, it’s likely that dozens or even hundreds of towns and villages are affected. Amisos kingdom as a whole is crumbling from the inside.” He looks at me while saying the last phrase.

My thoughts are racing. A civil war? Really? Padraig, Lachlan, Cassius… I see, I understand. They tried to take control after assassinating my father, but things did not go smoothly for them and the situation escalated into a civil war. The other lords must have fought back. They didn’t mention any of this during the sham of a trial I received in Lapithos. I only have bits of information, yet all the pieces fit together. It makes sense. I need to find out who was involved in this conspiracy. It couldn’t have been just three Councillors. A lot of other nobles must be backing them.

“I also met with a messenger sent by our King.” Asher continues. The other four in the room are listening with a serious expression. “He delivered our next set of orders. We are leaving this town in the morning. Until then, I want everyone to lay low.” He looks at me. “If I see you doing anything reckless, the consequences will not be light.”

“Understood…” I answer half-heartedly.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

I could not sleep that night. Even while laying on my back on a comfortable bed, even though I should be tired from the fighting and travelling, sleep would not come. I simply stared at the ceiling of my room, thinking about various things.

Those damn Councillors… Not only did they take everything from me, they also caused the destruction of my hometown and now they want to destroy what is left of the kingdom. It’s like they’re doing everything in their power to make me loathe them. If you think about it though, I’m one of the lucky ones because I’m still alive. How many people have already died for their greed? How many more must die before they’re satisfied?

I made it through more than 18 years of life without making any enemies. All that time, I did my best to be kind to those around me and avoid trouble. Only now I understand that it was all an illusion. I am surrounded by enemies on all sides. I have more enemies than one cares to count. Even now, nothing has changed. Bloodmoon and Zamora cannot be trusted. King Hamal is just another noble. They are all the same. Everything they do is for their own selfish reasons. They will turn against me at the drop of a hat if they believe it will further their interests. None of them can be trusted. They are all potential enemies that I must somehow turn into friends. That’s how this world functions.

The next morning, a crowd gathered in the large, open space that is the town square of Delfoi. Five wooden structures have been erected, each one with two ropes hanging from them. Dozens of prisoners are brought in by town guards and lined up beside the wooden platforms. Their hands are tied with rope and they have iron shackles around their ankles. Their eyes look dead. They are resigned to their fate.

In groups of ten, they are released from their iron shackles and walked onto the wooden platforms. An official announces what crimes these people have supposedly committed while a rope noose is put around each of their necks. After a brief delay, the floors of the five platforms open up, dropping the prisoners. Their bodies twist and spasm desperately, struggling in vain against the force of the ropes around their necks. After they stop moving, guards remove the bodies and take them away while another group of ten prisoners is prepared for their execution. I see the whole affair from a rooftop while grinding my teeth.

To think the first public execution I see with my own eyes is that of people I saved. No… I didn’t save them, I aided in their execution. If Bloodmoon had not intervened, many of these villagers would have escaped safely. They would have obtained the food they need to feed their families through the coming winter. My spells did not kill them, but I am just as responsible for their fate as the men tying ropes around their necks.

A few nobles are here to witness this disgusting spectacle, but Count Garland is not among them. The fool doesn’t even care to watch the executions he ordered. Even if I got rid of him, someone just as bad would likely take his place. Eliminating one parasite is meaningless if the nest that spawned him is allowed to remain. Damn them all to hell! They turned me into a murderer. This is not what I learned magic for.

It’s not just Garland and Delfoi. Whether it’s Zamora, the capital city Delos or the port-city Lapithos, everywhere I go is all the same. This world is rotten!

Rotten. Rotten. Rotten.

Every time I get a whiff of its putrid stench, it feels like I’m being infected. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. Why doesn’t anyone else see this? They all act like everything is normal. It’s not! The only way it could get worse is if they took out nails and hammers and started crucifying everyone. This is not what my father’s peaceful kingdom is supposed to look like. Governing is about fair taxes and justice, not stabbing our countrymen in the back and devouring their carcasses. This behavior is depravity of the highest order. It’s the same as spitting on my father’s grave, not to mention his ideals.

If I watch any more of this, I may not be able to resist taking out the bloodstone weapon I’ve been saving for special occasions. It’s better to leave before I snap and start a massacre.

“Enjoy your privilege while it lasts, Count. The next time we meet, things will be different.”

<><><><><><><><>

We picked up our horses from the stables and rode east, back the way we came from. “We’re first going to regroup with the rest of our unit and then return to the army” Asher explained.

Delfoi is a town in the south-west of Amisos. We probably travelled further west than any of the other teams. Only Asher himself knows for sure.

The geography of this region can be described as follows: Nashira lived under an area called the Olympus Mountain Range that stretches along the north-western part of the border between Zamora and Amisos. It contains the tallest peak in either kingdom, Mount Olympus. It was named as such because it is believed that Zeus, the father of the gods, dwells on that 5 km tall peak. It didn’t seem all that impressive when I visited it though.

This mountain is an impassable obstacle for an army, so we went around it and met in Batna, at the western end of the Olympus Range. The official territory of Zamora stretches a bit further west from Batna, though it’s unclear how much because the Western Plains are not well-defined. There is no river or other physical obstacle that can be used to mark this edge of the kingdom. In this sense, Batna could be called a frontier town because there are no towns closer to the border than it. Since it is also an important checkpoint for people travelling between the two kingdoms, it is larger than an average frontier town.

From Batna, we travelled north for roughly 6 days, crossing into Amisos and then splitting up. Delfoi is only one day further west from there, although that’s a significant distance considering how fast we were. If we went directly south from Delfoi, we would end up in the Western Plains. This is because Amisos stretches further west than Zamora. Also, its total land area is about 30% bigger; quite a significant difference.

The rain has finally stopped but the skies are still dark and cloudy. Cold wind is blowing. Good thing I don’t need much food because I don’t have an appetite. My first mission with Bloodmoon turned into a complete disaster. Our team did accomplish what we set out to do, but our intervention in Delfoi was an irreparable mistake. I won’t be able to wash out the bad aftertaste for a while.