Shea was coming towards the canteen, having overslept after her late night training, when she was stopped by a group of survivors. They looked at her with pleading and a certain amount of hope. “Please!” they begged before saying anything else.

She stared at them, not knowing what to say. Did something happen while she was asleep? Did the leech attack again? But that was inconceivable! The leeches were similar to wild beasts in the regard that they didn’t hunt more than necessary. They were fine lazying about and rolling in the sun as long as they had filled their stomach with the blood of innocents.

While she considered that, Mala pushed through the crowd. Her expression was dissimilar to the rest, full of anger and determination. She was beyond furious. “Come with me,” she told Shea, dragging her in the direction of the temple. The others followed after them with an expectant giddiness, whispering among themselves in low voices.

They were too low for Shea to make them out, and she looked back, thinking to ask them. But Mala didn’t give her a chance. She pulled Shea after her in a hurried pace, not bothering to look back at the girl.

It was good the temple wasn’t far.

Without any ceremony, Mala pushed her inside. Shea stumbled over the stepping stone, almost falling on the clean floor. She managed to catch herself at the last moment and straightened, holding onto a wall. “What’s the rush?” she asked, disgruntled.

Mala didn’t answer and went past her into the main room. She fell on her knees before The Lady, whispering harsh words with her head bowed. But before Shea could come over and overhear, she stood up and moved towards the simple but exquisitely carved bookcase against the wall on her right.

Its glass panels were shattered during the Scourge, so Mala could easily pick out any book she wanted without needing to open the doors. She hesitated for a moment, passing the backs of the thick volumes with her fingers, then stopped, and brought the most weathered one to Shea.

“Read it,” she said in a soft voice. Her gaze moved behind them where people were gradually coming in. Half the room was already filled, with only a few people missing. This was the fullest house Shea had seen so far.

She took the book from Mala, catching her gaze. “What is this about?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“Just read any story,” Mala said with conviction. “It’s better that you don’t know until it’s done.”

“What story then? There’s almost a hundred of them in this tome alone!”

The woman watched her for a moment, then called out for the old man that had ruled the survivors prior to Iago’s coming. After it, all the leadership was thrown into chaos without anyone being the wiser as to whom led whom.

Mala pointed and the old man’s eyes lit up with understanding. He didn’t take the book from Shea’s hand, but instead chose a random place and opened it. This was in the middle of the story, and Shea shifted a few pages back to see the title of the story, “Broken”.

When she said it aloud, a murmur passed through the crowd. They looked at her with an expression she couldn’t identify. Did they know the story? Maybe. She couldn’t recall it herself. There were over a thousand of them, and many of which her mother never read to the villagers. She said that not all stories were fitting for every day life.

But it wasn’t Shea’s call. She was no priestess, and all she could do was just read and hope that luck and goddess herself would point her to pick a fitting story.

So, without further ado, she began reading.

It was a considerably longer tale than most, and centred around four warriors, four friends. They all started in the capital, from the families of a similar social standing. It helped them to become fast friends, and with their talents and camaraderie, they quickly rose through training and later on soldier ranks. By the age of thirty, all of them were well-respected commanders.

Then, a disaster struck. Stones of fire came from the sky, obliterating their city from existence and greatly damaging the surrounding lands. Other nations, hearing of this news, invaded in a heartbeat. The great commanders were all called to fight for their land but only three showed up for duty.

One was too devastated by the loss of his family, unable to accept such a tragedy. He started drinking to forget his sorrow, the death of his five year old son and beloved wife. Soon, he was knifed in an alley. Some said it was a common mugging, while others thought of more ominous plots. That this was the work of the other nations to weaken their land even more.

Whatever the case, the other three men showed up for duty. But they were not unmarked by loss and the terrible destruction, either. One of them was engulfed in an uncontrollable rage and fury. He did not care for his own life, nor those of his soldiers, and rushed into battles without end. His prowess with tactics and blade kept him alive for over half a year, but this kind of madness could not be sustained. In time, he was outmanoeuvred and killed.

The third commander was grieved by the loss of his friends and family, knowing it was all the fault of the gods. They had sent the calamity that took so much from him. He became a righteous warrior that did not accept any believers in his army. There was only one rule there, and it was to believe only in oneself and your comrades. No god or goddess was going to protect or save them in a moment of danger. So, he defended the south.

The last of the four mourned the losses but did not lose his composure. He loved his friends and family dearly, but he hadn’t become a soldier to protect them all. There was the whole kingdom to think about. He collected the scattered armies of his old friends and led them to battle again and again. His battles were pointless, the king had died in the capital along with the whole royal family, but the commander did not care about it. All he wanted was to protect the people from the enemies, their greedy, always reaching fingers.

But after seven long years, even his energy waned. His army weakened without being supplied with gear, food and gold. Many left before he named himself overlord so he could request the people of the country to give away a part of their harvest for the protection. Yet, without a real ruler, the land descended into chaos and people lived in constant fear.

It wasn’t long before a young man joined his army, quickly rose through the ranks due to his ability and then took the commander’s life in revenge. The young man’s parents had died from hunger when the passing army took everything they’ve grown right before the winter colds.

The young man then used his charisma to take over the army and used it to go to the south, and defeated the third commander. And so, before the eight year after the calamity could roll around, all four soldiers were dead.

Finishing the tale, Shea had a sore throat and was left speechless. She double-checked but that’s where the story ended. There was no more to it. Everyone was killed, whether they chose the right path or not, and that’s it. How could something like this be a teaching material? It was no wonder her mother had never read it before.

The crowd before her was silent. Most people stared at her as if waiting for her to continue. She wished she could. But the story was finished. That’s all there was to it.

Slowly she closed the book and on stiff legs went to to return it to the bookcase. After putting the tome back in, she walked towards The Lady. She knew she should say something to her, tell her her sins, or ask for a blessing. But she didn’t feel like she deserved the latter, and didn’t have anything to confess for the former. All she had done was for the survivors. How could it have been a mistake?

After another moment, she touched The Lady’s robe, whispered a goodbye and left the temple. Uncertain of why Mala had called for this reading, she waited outside. The outspoken woman would certainly tell her reasons upon coming out. She wasn’t one to hide her emotions and thoughts, whether they fit with the situation or not.

When all the people were out, Mala called for attention. Quickly, the survivors surrounded her in a tight circle. Shea was left in a third row, unable to see anything. But Mala’s voice was loud and clear, so she had no trouble hearing her.

Even though she wished she didn’t. The woman was blaspheming by taking up a priestess’ role of explaining the tale!

“You all have heard The Lady’s words!” Mala said, her voice calm and strong. “Once a calamity comes, there’s no good choices left! Whatever you do, you will end up the same - dead! I know! It’s a terrible promise, but isn’t it also freeing? Do you not feel released by it?”

The crowd grumbled at her interpretation. They had survived for so long, none of them wished to think about death now. It was too close, and still too recent. Most sorrows were pushed away rather than accepted. It was easier that way.

“No! Don’t frown at me! What I want you to see is not the sad ending, it’s the reason for it! People died, but that is the fate of every living being, “ Mala said, losing her high notes. Her voice became much softer, gentler. “Everything dies, that’s why, what matters is how the life was lived. We have all survived, but for what purpose? I know I’ve been asking that myself every day. Without any answer.

“But now I see it! I say let our lives matter!” she shouted out, hitting something for there was a resonating dull sound from the front. “Are we just going to stand aside and let our children be killed? And for what reason? Because they killed the leech! They killed the monster that was terrorising us for months! Is that really to be condemned? Could we really look The Lady in the eyes if we let such an atrocity happen?”

A shout came from behind. “No! No way!” Then another came from the other side, “The Lady! The Lady!” Then more joined in and the whole street vibrated from their shouts.

Shea stared around herself, disbelieving. What were these people thinking? Were they mad? Rise up against what? Fight who? Most of all, what did The Lady have to do with it?

As she tried to puzzle it out, while covering her ears from the noise, she heard Mala speaking again. Her voice quickly calmed the survivors and they quieted to hear what else did she have to say.

“Friends! We have been abused and disregarded by the Mistress for far too long. We cannot stand it any longer. She wants the deaths of our children? Then we shall take her life for it! Are you with me?”

There was an ear shattering “Yeah!” in reply. Shea covered her ears tighter, and then escaped as fast as she could. These people were crazy. What had gotten into them?

Then Mala’s words came back to her. Kill our children? What did she mean? She said they killed the leech. And that made the Mistress angry? Why?

Shocked by the sudden developments, she decided to go and ask Tyr. He was her closest friend and he would know the answer to it. Anyway, what was that about killing the leech? She hoped he was dead, but she couldn’t believe it. It would be too great. There was no way such a lucky thing would happen without her interference.

***

Alec was wandering lost in an unknown part of the city when a figure dropped before him from the sky. He blanched and clumsily reached for his sword, but then he recognised the newcomer. “You,” he muttered both in greeting and a disappointed sigh. He didn’t want to see anyone now. If there was a bar anywhere, Alec was certain he’d be getting himself drunk there. People said it helped to forget.

But he wasn’t that lucky. All the alcohol found was sent to Commander and he drank it without leaving a drop for others. Shame. Alec could have really used a bottle. Or a barrel. Two maybe. So he wouldn’t need to face what was coming.

“Are you just going to wander and pity yourself until the execution comes?” Scorpius asked in a cold voice.

Alec glared at him. “What do you want me to do? Jump around in excitement? Sorry if I don’t feel like it.”

He turned around and walked away. This was his the couple hours of his life. He didn’t want to waste them arguing with a leech. Ha! Who would’ve thought that one day such a thing would be possible. Arguing with a leech… Maybe he should do it just for the sake of novelty it would provide. Few humans survived to tell the tale of it.

Survived… That’s where the problem lay. He wasn’t making it through. In half a day he was going to be executed for the crime of helping to kill a monster murdering children.

“And you’re fine with it? Dying just like that?”

Fine? How could anyone be fine with it? But what else was he supposed to do. Alec continued on walking, ignoring the leech by his side. There was nothing to talk about here. He wasn’t stupid enough to be incited into some stupid resistance. His life wasn’t worth two of the others’. That was one thing he was absolutely certain about.

“Then, you also don’t care that everyone else is rising up to protect you?”

“What?” Alec shouted out, rounding up on Scorpius. His voice was shrill like that of a startled bird. “What did you say?”

Scorpius looked at him with a single eye, even that one almost hidden beneath the layers of his thick wild hair. “Mala has incited a riot. Everyone’s collecting weapons and building themselves into a frenzy. They’re going to storm the mansion an hour before the execution time.”

“But that’s suicide!” Alec shouted out in disbelief, and grabbed the leech by the shoulders. Shook him. “They’re all going to die!”

“So they will,” Scorpius agreed, inclining his head.

Alec’s hands lost strength upon hearing those words and hung limp. Scorpius gently disentangled himself and took a step back. “Or that’s gonna happen if you don’t do anything.” His voice was calm, unperturbed. It was almost as if he didn’t care either way.

The same could not be said about Alec. He raised his head, looking at the leech with hope. “There’s something I can do?” Then his eyes lit up with understanding. “I must return to the camp and tell them that it’s madness! If I say it’s impossible, they will have to believe me! Unlike Mala, I actually know the Mistress!”

“Won’t work,” Scorpius stopped him in a deadpan voice. “Shea did a random reading, and Mala explained it as The Lady urging them to fight for what’s right. Else their lives wouldn’t have meaning.”

“But she’s no priestess! She has no right!” Alec exclaimed in shock. What was Mala thinking? She was blaspheming against The Lady!

Scorpius shrugged, crossing his arms. “It’s done. The camp is in a battle fervor now, certain of their righteous cause.”

“But…” Alec deflated like a popped balloon. “Then that’s it. There’s nothing I can do…” His legs folded underneath him and he went to the ground, large teardrops escaping from the corners of his eyes.

He’d thought it was only his funeral today. But it showed up that the rest of his people decided to join him in being buried. Why did he even have to learn about it? Couldn’t he be let to pass his last hours in peace? He looked up to aim a scathing look at the leech who was eyeing him with indifference.

“Done with your pity party? Or should I come back in a few hours?”

“What do you want me to do?” Alec hissed out, not bothering to hide the tears streaming down his face.

Scorpius looked at him, not betraying any emotion and crouched down to be level with Alec. “This rebellion might be the only chance of deposing the Mistress. Iago is throwing everything on it. What about you?”

It took longer than usual for Alec to grasp the meaning behind the words. Iago was joining the rebellion. He was going to fight for the camp! Alec was elated for a second before reality came crashing back down.

So what? Iago was nothing compared to the Mistress. His death would only serve to complete the annihilation of the whole camp. “Does he have a death wish too?”

For the first time in their conversation Scorpius’ expression changed. He grinned ruefully at Alec. “Possibly. But it’s not like he can live in peace with her around. Myself, I’m glad it’s finally coming to an end. We’ll live or die, at least the tension filled days will be over.”

“You don’t care about death?”

“Why should I? Iago saved me when I was already saying my greetings to Lady Death. This life of mine, I owe it to him. If I need to sacrifice it for his cause, then so be it. I’m happy to have had these last couple of months to enjoy myself. They were better than the majority of my life before,” he said wistfully and stood up.

Then his features straightened out, returning to the earlier coldness. “It’s time for you to make a choice now. Will you accept your fate and just die, or will you raise up with us and fight for your right to live? If by chance you choose the latter, we’ll be waiting for you in the tower. Lena and Denni are already there.”

The next moment he turned on his heel and left Alec alone to simmer in his thoughts. Something Alec was extremely apprehensive to do. The situation was out of his control, and when he considered it, it was so for a very long time now. When was the last time he was the one to make a decision?

But what did it matter?

It wasn’t like he had a choice. Again.

He looked up and grinned at the sky. Iago was going to get his way once more. But unlike before, this time he was playing with the lives of everyone in the camp. Without him, they would most likely die but there was still a chance to look for supplies. But if they were all dead… Well, that would complicated the matter.

The choice was out of his hands. He was nothing but a minor character in this struggle. A sidekick that could be sacrificed at any moment. Tragic. But freeing too. He clenched his right hand into a fist and raised it high.

Let the future come.