Outskirts of Sendra, a small town east of Yanoku: Summer of the red moon.

Zedd was hard on the witch’s trail. He knew that she was in Ash Lake, a city of outlaws. ‘She planned her escape very nicely. But she left a trail behind. Lucky I met Dismas back then,’ Zedd thought as he urged his mare to run faster.

Zedd Darkstar was an unusual man. He had the body of a man in his twenties, but had the wisdom of an old scholar. He had the exuberance of youth and the wisdom of kings. What Zedd didn’t possess was a family. He could barely remember what his own parents looked like.

This was not because he never knew them. In fact, Zedd lived with his parents until the age of sixteen. Most times, people tend to remember experiences, and feelings, but never the details. Zedd remembered his mother’s kind nature, his father’s drinking habit. But he couldn’t remember their faces or their voices.

It’s with this pain that Zedd woke up every morning. It’s with this same pain that he was riding his mare towards Ash Lake. Zedd had been riding for half a day. He was planning on reaching Ash Lake by night. ‘If I want to trap the witch, then I must catch her off guard,’ he thought. Thinking and planning was his only way of forgetting pain. He’d throw all the painful memories aside in order to plan his actions.

‘It’s good that I planted one of my Little Fairies in her belongings.’ Zedd also had an unusual power. Not only was he a strong fighter, he was also a magic user of sorts. His magic was ancestral, more powerful than that used by sorcerers and witches in the four continents, but bound by strict rules.

“Riders,” Zedd whispered to himself. “They’re armed.” Zedd looked around. The road he was riding through was surrounded by rubble. He was in an old oasis. “Water must have dried out. This must only mean one thing.” Bandits inhabited the place, robbing any unlucky traveler who happened upon the place.

‘I didn’t think the outlaws had become so bold. To get so close to Sendra, the Chancellor and his Custodians are getting sloppy,’ he thought as he cast a spell to conceal his real face.

“Oy!” one of the riders shouted. “S’cuse me sir, we’re lost. S’pose you could show us the way?”

‘Classic!” he thought as he scanned the approaching riders with his unusual eyes. “I suppose,” Zedd shouted back. “Approach, I’ll even escort you to your destination if possible.”

The three riders smiled. One of them had lost most of his front teeth. Another had a broken, swollen nose. “Thank the Gods we found you kind sir.” The rider that first spoke reached Zedd.

“What happened to you?” Zedd asked.

“We was attacked kind sir. The bandits came at us from behind the walls. They was so many sir. We had to flee, leave our families behind.” The other two riders reached Zedd. Each of them stood on one side. He was surrounded.

“I assume,” Zedd started. “That the bandits you speak of are hiding behind the pile of rubble that surrounds us, right?”

“Yes sir!” the first rider said, his smile even larger this time.

Zedd let out a long sigh then looked at the three riders surrounding him. “The story you just told me. Was it of a family you just robbed?”

“What’s it to you?” the first rider, who was apparently their spokesperson and leader, said.

“Nothing, I just wonder what type of punishment I must use on you.”

The leader of the bandits started laughing loudly. His laughter got louder and louder after which the other bandits followed. “Ya mean to punish us? Us? Yer all alone mister? What can ye do?”

Zedd swiftly swung his sword. His movement was unnoticeable. The moment the bandits heard the sword click, it was already sheathed. The leader’s face was cut in half. The upper half slowly slid down to the side then, with a heavy thump, fell on the ground.

The other bandits, terrified, all attacked at once. You may think it stupid, but it was the only reaction they knew. When frightened, you fight. Perhaps, with numbers and luck, one can prevail against the dark powers.

Perhaps, by stomping one’s feet hard enough, one could hope to kill the frightening insect that invaded their property. But what happens when the insect you meant to stomp vanishes?

The two riders’ swords collided. Zedd had vanished and reappeared behind the bandits that hid by the rubble. All of a sudden, high pitched shrieks filled the air. Blood painted the crumbling walls red. They heard feet scattering, trying to get out of the ongoing slaughter, but none came out. The riders, along with the other bandits on the other side, started panicking.

From behind the rubble Zedd appeared again, slowly walking towards his prey. “Who do you pray to when frightened?” he shouted at the petrified band of outlaws. “Will you call for your mother?” Zedd instantly appeared beside one of the riders, pointing his sword at his lower parts. Nobody knew how he reached his target so quickly. To the others watching, it felt like he just vanished then reappeared next to the rider.

“Will you pray that your God, whichever he is, would come and help you?” Zedd asked. His eyes were black, his pupils golden and rectangular. In his anger, he’d forgotten to keep the concealing spell active.

“What? What are you?” the rider asked.

“Look at them eyes!” a bandit exclaimed.

“Tis the Devil, he got ‘em black eyes!”

All bandits started whispering, some called the man attacking them a Devil. Others called him a sorcerer. Zedd smiled then looked at the group of bandits in front of him. “The Devil is a manmade concept. Go ahead and call me one if you’d like. But I’m far worse than your Devil.”

The rider screamed. His high pitched wails penetrated his comrades’ ears. Zedd had thrust his sword down at the rider’s hip joint. With every twist of the sword, the man wailed and begged even more. The pain was unbearable. His friends could only wince at hearing his screams and pleas.

Then it dawned on them. They were all going to die unless they fought back. They had to fight back or run. The only rider left was the first to understand the urgency of the situation. He kicked his horse, urging it to run as fast as possible. Zedd looked at the rider, trying to escape from the slaughter.

“Run boy! Run!” He shouted at the fleeing bandit.

That day, news reached Sendra. A group of bandits had been decimated by a Devil. The word used to describe the group of brigands wasn’t bandits though. The NewsCo decided to use a more appealing title. After all, NewsCo was a corporation. It wanted to sell its newspaper with attractive titles.

“Slaughter In Sendra’s Suburbs!” Extra papers were issued and people started speaking of a Devil that targeted poor areas. Zedd however, had no idea of the news spread around him. If he’d known, he’d be delighted beyond measure.

‘I shouldn’t have shown them my real face,’ he thought as he kept riding towards Ash Lake. ‘But then again, they’ll never be ready for it, might as well start now.’ Zedd urged his horse to move faster. He was out of sight now. If he rode without rest, he’d reach Ash Lake in two days. But he wanted to reach the Inn by nightfall.

“Pharah,” he said, addressing his magnificent mare. “There’s no one watching now. You can go all out. When you see the city gates, go back to your usual speed.”

The horse neighed then started galloping. At first, the wind started caressing Zedd’s face. But as the mare increased its speed, Zedd’s eyes started watering. He closed his internal eyelids then continued observing the road. He had to reach the city before the witch suspected Dismas. ‘She’s paranoid. She’ll no doubt suspect something. If I allow her any opening, she’ll surely use it.’

For a month, he’d been observing the witch. He’d seen her with Garland on many occasions. Her energy readings were unusual, too pure for a witch in the Kozagan Desert. He knew she had a hidden agenda. But he couldn’t get too close to her. She was wary of her unknown observer. ‘Perhaps, that was what pushed her to steal the star and disappear. Perhaps I pressured her into stealing it in this fashion. It’s not like her to leave a trail behind.’

Zedd was an unusual man. He also sought unusual humans to rally them to his cause. He was determined to see the empire fall, for personal reasons. He knew it wasn’t the best motivational speech to convince someone to join him. But he had a different way to convince his potential recruits to join. The trap he was preparing for the witch was simple, yet completely out of her expectations.

Yanoku City, Falcon’s Nest, A Restaurant in the Commercial District

Later that night, news of his slaughter reached the city. A man, dressed all in black, was sitting in the furthermost corner of the Falcon’s Nest. He seemed to be enjoying his conversation over dinner with some lively people. A woman, wearing a dress too tight for comfort, approached him and whispered something in his ear.

The man stood up, bowed to his companions and excused himself for a while. He had something to discuss with an uninvited guest.

“Lead the way,” he told the young woman.

She led him upstairs, toward the lounge reserved for nobles and well-known council members.

He got inside the lounge to find Alistair waiting for him, arms crossed, legs nervously sweeping the floor beneath him.

“Have you heard?” Alistair asked as soon as the man got in.

“Did you come all this way to discuss what we all saw on the extra papers?” the man asked. He was obviously annoyed by Alistair’s impromptu visit.

“I didn’t know where he was heading,” Alistair said. “I would’ve warned you otherwise.”

“It’s alright Al,” Dismas cut in. “Look, as long as he gets that damn eye back, I won’t retaliate. To tell you the truth, the man gives me the willies.”

“He got to Sendra pretty quickly, don’t you think?”

Dismas let out a heavy sigh, then raised an eyebrow at the hunter. “I’m not your confidant, Al,” he said. “You’ve already interrupted a pleasant meeting. Now if you’d excuse me, I have guests to entertain.”

“Wait,” Alistair said, almost begging the man to turn and look at him. “I think we can use him.”

“How?” Dismas asked.

“Think about it,” Alistair said. “With a man as powerful as he is on our side, we can easily deal with the Viraldo situation.”

“You still haven’t answered my question Al,” Dismas reprimanded. “Be quick about it!”

“Here’s what I think,” Alistair began, “He will catch the witch and bring us the eye. I also think he’ll ask for another favor from me. I can feel it. You know how I have a knack for this. Whatever he asks for, I’ll ask him to help us.”

Dismas seemed to think about this for a while. He looked down, holding his clean shaven chin with one hand, the other in his pocket.

“Alright,” he said after a while. “Say he asks for a favor, how will you make sure he doesn’t turn you down?”

“That’s where you come in,” Alistair said. “He’s asked you for something, didn’t he?”

“He may have,” Dismas admitted. “He asked for information that’s hard to come by, even in my line of business. Very well, I see what you’re getting at. I’ll make sure I have what he wants by then.”

Alistair’s face beamed. “I won’t disappoint you,” he said.

“I’m sure you won’t,” Dismas agreed with an amiable smile. “But be careful around that man. He’s got unusual methods. He’s more cunning that he lets on. One misstep and he’ll figure you out.”

“I’m sure we can force his hand somehow,” Alistair said, his smile hadn’t faded away.

“Do what you will,” Dismas replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have important guests waiting for me.”

Alistair nodded.