I shivered. A tsunami of confusion swept over me. ‘Be my sun? Beloved Chaon?’ What did she mean by that? It almost sounded like a confession, and yet, that was definitely crazy. She would not abruptly appear and tell me like this… maybe? She was a goddess, so that meant I couldn’t understand her timing. But then again, it just didn’t make sense… or did it? So maybe so? But maybe not?

My head spun. Nerves overloaded, threatening to burst. My stomach turned as butterflies and helicopters spun and crashed within it. Nausea struck.

“Shhh…” she blew softly onto my cheek. Her lips caressed my cheek in an sweet, succulent kiss. Her hand lovingly pet my stomach in tiny swirls. The nausea pulled away, fading, becoming merely a memory. “Be at peace. Serenity. Givith amenity. Heart still as windless lakes and untouched trees. Let the fools wage their wars beyond our shore. Feast in blood and meat of foes and fallen tore. Eyes pierced and thumbs sore. Yes, let them be… But we… but we allow ourselves ascension from their ways, beloved. Let not strife trouble hearts. Beat. Beat. Beat with the rhythm of leather drum, a soundless expanse beneath the glaring skies, and I shall be thy sole listener.”

She suddenly pressed to my other cheek, followed with a purr. “For seen the wretched have I. Felt. Gripping thy heart is pain of past and future told. What left? Fled from suffering to only meet the true storm… a storm of black and white… of dolls and masters.”

I nodded slowly, “I… guess that is true.” I was slowly beginning to understand more of her speech. Though, perhaps she was speaking more simply so I could understand? “Chaos is essentially my master right now… whether I like it or not.”

“Chaos… Chaos…” she practically spit the name. Her anger pulsed into the world around us. It bled crimsons. Reds. The blackest blacks that sucked in the light, stretching it into glimmering threads that the void consumed; a ravenous maw shivering with unbridled power. Fear spiked my heart at the sight of the raging power. As if sensing my discomfort, she quickly breathed out and calmed herself. The void faded away. Her tongue tingled against my neck, leaving a pleasantly burning trail of saliva there. Her arms still held me close to her body.

“Witches and worms there be in she. One eats the other in life. The other, in death. Constant. Two winds. Two colors. A maelstrom of nothingness manifested in blight. Witches and worms… Woe be to them! Cursed blight upon thine rays are, beloved… wronged you. They have wronged you. They shall do so all the more. Weep in pain she plans for thee. Struggles. Tribulations. Loss. Suffering…”

Her fists clenched my shirt, not painfully, but in emotional anguish. She called out with shaky voice, “Nay. Nay! The king shall naught but steal the body, naught the heart. The rebel soul deserves flight! Clip the wings. Feathers fall. The sky mourns at loss of friend… The earth trembles under tears of the flightless. Nay… nay…” her voice held a deep sadness. She buried her face into my back, her breath warm and pleasant, her hands quivering. “I shall not allow it. Nay. Mine sun shall shine upon righteous and wretched. Parch the shores and bless the fields! Fire and light. Burns and blessings. Nay shall it become the blackness she desires. Nay… nay… nay…”

As if a switch were tossed, her fists opened and she seductively roamed my torso. The sadness vanished from her voice, replaced by determination. “Nay… she shall not take what is not hers. She shall not… beloved, you shall mine sun be. I shall be thine lock, you shall be mine key. Tree. Knee. What wonders we shall see… a world of canvas to paint you and I. Paint in our image, till the allotted day when you repay. A time split. A deed writ. And one shall remain as the moon vanishes into thine fires…” Excitement laced her voice and she declared happily, “Slay me ye shall, and in death, I shall breath you life!”

I blinked. Wait… ‘what did she just say?!’ I worked over the words in my head, willing myself to understand. She didn’t like Chaos. She didn’t appreciate Chaos bullying me. She wanted to help. She wanted me to… shape the world and grow powerful, and then eventually… kill her?! It was so absurd I couldn’t fathom it. I decided to ask, just to see if my rising insanity was actually sane.

“You… want me to kill you?” I asked in utter disbelief. I was certain I misunderstood her.

“Yes! Yes…” she declared happily, snuggling up and squeezing me affectionately. “Blood spilt. Mine heart shall pierce. Mine mind destroy. Slay. Death. Destruction. Torn asunder outside the grasps of gods and myth. My bane… beloved bane and sun doth shine… I shall be thine wood to serve thy flame’s desires. Shall be thine fruit to serve thine stomach. Thy breath to give thee life!” Her excitement steadily grew, her words coming faster and faster. “Thy chariot to deliver thee to heavens! Hells! Thy paint to color thy canvas! Thy blood to beat! Thy soul to reap! They memory to keep… you shall be my bane, my sun to steal mine glow… my dear beloved.”

She slowly calmed and exhaled wistfully. “Glorious day. Glorious day. Where love shall tear me asunder…”

‘What… the… heck… is… wrong with her…?’ I asked myself, completely thrown off by her sudden revelation. Before I could think any more though, she continued.

Pandemonium let go of the hug and a hazy outline stepped in front of me, placing a hand on my heart. She spoke in seriousness, “The witch wills combat. Thy agonized screams to curse the heavens. Kamra knows of thee. She will come and steal thine love away. A plant snipped. A flowered husk, to dust, her body will rust… The future deems it so.”

“What?!” I asked, all the confusion and fear gone. Kamra knew of me? She was going to kill Ivy?! How?! Why?! “Chaos told her… didn’t she?”

“The truth uttereth.”

“Damned little…” My teeth ground together and I slammed my fist into the wall; it bounced off and stung, but I didn’t care. Anger enveloped me. Chaos had betrayed me again! I had hoped she would take a more passive stance… but it was obviously not going to happen. All she had said were lies. Manipulations to get me to believe I actually had a chance against her. That she wouldn’t mess with me… but she was. And she was going to do so till she forged me into whatever plaything she wanted.

Of course, I wondered if Pandemonium was lying. And yet, she hadn’t given me a reason to distrust her… yet. Chaos was a liar and proved it.

‘Innocent until proven guilty…’ I thought to myself. I would believe Pandemonium. I didn’t have a choice, really. If she was telling the truth… I needed to assume it so, or my summons and I could be in danger. Pain. Death. I wasn’t going to allow that.

“Today,” her voice ripped me from my thoughts and I focused back on her. “This day drops like steady dew. Cycles roll. The clock ticks. A boat sails for horizon yonder. Inquire of cheer-fellow of black inks and gemstone taint. Swords. Blades. The dance of battle learn. When light fades. Shadows rise. The whippoorwill weeps into dusk. Come to thine room shall thy moon. Teach. Knowledge granteth of magic’s might. Ready thine mind, for harrowing shall grind, wisdom mined, to prepare for battle thine rind.”

I nodded slowly and dipped my head, “Thank you.” I didn’t know whether to fully believe her… but I felt she was actually willing to help me. Her reason was hazy at best. Did she love me? Did she actually want me to kill her someday? I didn’t know.

“A moon reflects the glory of her sun… the puddle its sky. The glass its flame. The shadow its caster.” She lay her head on my shoulder and whispered, “Till the night’s dawn, beloved.”

And like that, she was gone. The world returned to normal. Everything moved. The dulled sounds around me brightened and the colors were vivid again, and actually back where they belonged. I looked around in a slight glaze. Bewildered at the sudden occurrence. At what had transpired. I had no idea what was going to happen… but from the sound of it, Pandemonium was going to be a part of my life from then on.

After taking a time to collect my thoughts, I headed to the general store to pick up some supplies while checking up on the Larw family. The double floored, wooden building held a plethora of farming equipment on display out front. Slipping inside, I discovered a wide range of items from clothing to tools to food to little toys for children. The shelves adorned themselves in the piles of items, with not enough space to hold the entire stock of many items.

Lanterns hanging from the ceiling lit the place in addition to what light slithered in through the front windows. Small particles of dust glided through the beams. It fit the slightly musty, old smell of the place; that somehow managed to smell like a forge, clothing shop, and restaurant all at the same time. The entire cacophony of scents overwhelming, but not to the point I struggled to breathe. It just made breathing less than pleasant.

Overall, quiet as it was, children’s voices drifted in from the ceiling. Along with what sounded like a hearty snore… ‘Probably gramps taking a nap,’ I chuckled.

Moving in further, I noticed a glaring difference in supply. While non-edible items were overstocked, the edible items were noticeably understocked. Rather high prices hung on the signs above them as well.

‘So a food shortage is beginning to rear its ugly head…’ I mused, stepping into sight of a strong, able looking man wearing an apron. He sat on a stool staring into a leather bound notebook on the counter. His wheat colored hair reminded me of the unkempt bushel of grain sitting beside him. Looking up, he adjusted a monocle that covered one darkened eye; the other a plain brown. The darkened eye held a scar across its width.

“Good afternoon to you, sir,” with a grunt he stood and dipped his head respectfully.

“Good afternoon… Mister Slath?” I asked, remembering what Britheer had told me.

He nodded, “That’s me.” He gave me a look over and asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be Lord Chaon, would you?”

“I would happen to be Lord Chaon indeed,” I replied. I felt a little bad still for not correcting him on the title… ‘Lord Chaon… I just need to actually become a Lord yet. It’ll probably happen someday, so I guess it’s fine.’

“Lord Chaon!” Britheer’s voice pulled my eyes to him where he was walking in from the side doorway. He was freshly dressed in new clothes, clean-shaven, and looking far more chipper than he had during the journey. He hurried over to me and stopped in front, offering a bow. “I cannot hope to repay you… but thank you deeply, Lord Chaon. You saved my family.”

I smiled and nodded, “My pleasure. It was the least I could do.”

“It was much, much more than you had to. Sincerely… you have my gratitude, milord. I hope that someday I may repay it.” He maintained his bow.

“You can stop bowing,” I said. While I appreciated his sincerity, it still made me uncomfortable. He obeyed, straightening, offering a pleasant smile which I returned. “As for repayment, you can assist in advising me on some fine gear for my continued adventures. Once that is complete, consider your debt fully repaid.”

Britheer chuckled lightly and dipped his head in gratitude. “You are too kind, milord.”

“I find that to be a good trait to harbor. How is your family?”

He motioned back to the hallway door leading to the stairs beyond, “They are doing well. Yla is… she is still recovering. It will take time, but she will come to terms. The children are playing. And you can hear my father’s snores from here.”

We both quieted and listened.

“Hnnnnkkkkzz…” a sound akin to a dying log being sawed and whipped at the same time rumbled through the store. We all three chortled at the sound. Slath came over to stand with us; the man shorter than Britheer and I both.

“I’d like to thank you too, Lord Chaon, for bringing them here.” He lightly pat Britheer’s arm affectionately, “Lost a lot of friends to Lonely Briar… but I’m glad one of my closest returned. Like a brother to me, sir.”

“It was my pleasure, Mister Slath.” I smiled and stayed quiet. I didn’t quite know how to deal with the situation. I hadn’t received many heart-felt words of gratitude from people. It was new. And… it felt pretty good.

We stood there, a silence falling between us as we each lingered in our own thoughts. It wasn’t an awkward silence. Just, a silence. It lasted for several minutes.

Britheer picked up the beat with, “With your future adventures in mind, milord, I think I know just what show you.” He motioned toward the tools. And so, shopping began.

I lightly pat my now significantly lighter coin pouch. I had to admit… I was not handling my money well. I was down to a dozen Stone and one Copper. While my spending didn’t seem like much to me… to the people of Swallow Lake, I had spent a fortune. A cabin and plot of land cost a few Copper. The weekly wage was nearly one Stone, and that was on a good week. So, spending eighteen Stone was the same as spending eighteen weeks of work in one day.

But, I wasn’t too worried about it. It was money well spent. I had acquired a sizable order of supplies from the Slath’s store. It was to be delivered in a few days. It contained mostly items like rope, hooks, sleeping rolls, a backpack for Ivy, a flint and steel, and so on. Nothing special.

After that business was done, I dropped by the smith’s place to see if they sold any weaponry. Not surprisingly, they didn’t. Only small knives and arrows could be created. Any other weaponry was illegal by order of Kamra. So I just left my sword with the smith to be repaired and that was it.

With that, I headed back to the Bessy Barstool. Pandemonium had told me to learn some melee combat with Macsen; though supper was fast approaching. So, that was what I was going to do. Overall, it was yet another oddly exciting day.