Izzar was out of breath; he couldn’t run anymore. He was never forced to run for miles on end with something as heavy as Aargon on his back. Although Aargon was not very large in stature, the hidden armor under his clothes and the countless gadgets he carried was enough to make him heavier than a full adult. Viha, not too far behind him, seemed to be enjoying the run; she would have preferred to stay and fight the beast, but she understood she would not be able to do so on her own. Even Tarium was struggling though he had nothing much to carry with him. Nevertheless, Viha was still full of energy, exhilarated at best because she finally had the chance to fight something on Dessix.

They finally reached an opening in the woods with plenty of light and little mist covering the area; Izzar gently placed the unconscious Aargon on the dried leaves in the middle of the opening.

“Whatever that was, it won’t follow us into the open.” Said Izzar as he tried to catch his breath. Viha was right next to him; she was beautiful. A few scratches on her arms, but for the most part, she was perfect to Izzar.

“How do you know?” She asked, laughing. “You said that the wildlife on this planet does not attack humans that they mostly stay away.”

“I was wrong.”

“These animals are being lured into attacking.” Said Tarium as he joined them moments later, out of breath and visibly tired.

“Do you have any idea what that creature was back there?” Izzar was curious; he had never seen anything that big in the woods before.

“I am not sure.” He replied with care not to alarm Izzar.

Aargon was starting to mumble under his breath; Tarium turned his attention to him and rushed to his aid. It was definitely bad that he broke his collar bone; it meant that the team now had a handicap, and it seemed like the woods were not the same as it’s always been. Izzar placed his hand on Aargon, not knowing why or what he could possibly do for him; he had no experience in first aid. He closed his eyes.

It was like a clear vision to Izzar; he was traveling within Aargon’s body searching for the cause of his unconsciousness as if he knew it all along; it was revealed to him that Aargon had minor invisible bite marks over his shoulder. The mud worms had to have gotten to him; he might have been injected with some kind of poison. Not much was known about the animals occupying the planet; not many researchers could conduct their research and map out every species and their abilities. With them never attacking either, Izzar didn’t have the opportunity to study the strengths and weaknesses of the animals.

His vision stretched beyond Aargon’s body, into their surrounding area, and deep into the thick, wet, endless misty forest. There was life all around them, moving and going about their business, sound resonating from every tree and blade of grass, bug, and animal, bringing the ambiance to a near-deafening sound. Above the tree line, where it was warmer, he could see majestic creatures flying in the air as if they had no purpose other than guarding the forests from those who wished to bring it harm. Izzar had never seen this animal before; he never looked up into the sky. His gaze has always been in the forest below, never where he was not going. In the distance, the towering fortress of Thanatos stands like a titan, seeming to be not very far from them due to its immense size. Izzar never realized how void of life the citadel really was. He could somehow sense Thanatos in the citadel meditating; he could feel within his bones that Thanatos had something important he wanted them to do.

Izzar opened his eyes; it was a new world around him. Though familiar, everything seemed like he saw it for the first time.

“Tarium, you were sent to give us a new task.” Said Izzar out of nowhere. “What is Master Thanatos’s instruction?”

Tarium walked over to Izzar and knelt before him and Aargon; he looked down at Aargon with sincere worry in his eyes.

“My lord, you are to travel to the abandoned colonies to retrieve the Sword of the Ipsimus. You are required to return to the citadel in nine-teen days. This is the will of Epsimus Thanatos the Wise.” Tarium rose from the ground, never taking his gaze from Izzar.

“That is on the other side of the planet!” Izzar was surprised; he had never traveled that far across Dessix before.

In his daily studies, he had learned about the abandoned colonies; the first settlers of the world built their outpost there. But, compared to the other similar outpost stretched across the galaxy, it was minimal and remote.

Many years ago, before the citadel was built, Thanatos claimed the colony for himself; he used the people who called it their home to travel the woods to the remote place on the planet where the crater was to build his citadel. None of those colonists survived the construction of the fortress; they died of starvation, injuries, and diseases. However, many of their remains could still be discovered scattered around the planet. Those who did survive fled the planet at any means possible.

Thanatos left the sword there once he moved the headquarters to the newly built citadel; it would be safe there, he thought. The planet was well guarded, and any intruder would be diverted or killed; no one, in essence, knew the colony or the planet existed.

“What about Aargon?” Viha asked curiously.

“We either take him with us to the abandoned colonies, or we leave him here to die.” Said Izzar somberly.

“He will only drag us down; he is barely breathing. But we can’t leave him here alone to die.” Viha had no time to weigh her options; she didn’t have much time for Aargon to begin with, but she wouldn’t leave a fallen comrade behind, though the ultimate decision lay with Izzar.

Looking down at the boy he only met mere hours ago, there was little conflict within him. Instead, he could feel some sort of darkened feelings fill him as he decided in his mind that he needed to follow what the Order dictated.

“He stays here,” Izzar said coldly. “The Master has sent us on this mission for a reason; if we do not get back to the citadel before the days are up, the punishment would be way harsher than being left injured and alone in the woods.”

“I must leave,” Tarium said, lowering his voice acknowledging Izzar’s choice. Viha had a sudden feeling of regret; she did not actually think Izzar would leave someone alone in the woods, injured and unable to fend for themselves.

Thanatos’s teachings were harsh; they instilled a cold-blooded ideology in the young impressionable mind of Izzar. He has been conditioned to obey Thanatos without question, to have no cause to doubt his orders, and follow him to death if required. Leaving a helpless person injured and alone in the jungle seemed harsh even to a battle-hardened warrior like Viha. Deep down, they were still children, young, and still learning the ways of the universe. These were the only ways Izzar knew. He had to finish all instructions at all costs, tasks needed to be done to the very last command.

Viha was free to choose her opponents back on Gandron, rest when she wanted, and fight when she wanted. Her craft was engraved into her bones; it is what she lived for. So many strong men fell before her, whether they deserved it or not. Though it was always controlled by the arena, within those walls of the coliseum she ruled, she knew they were aware death was a possibility. Here in the thick fog of the Dessix undergrowth, it was different. Although Aargon was supposed to be one of the three, a pillar of wisdom to the unbalanced wills of two warriors, she had no idea she would ever feel this bad for leaving someone alone like this, especially someone she disliked.

“The sun is moving fast.” That was a sure sign that it was midday on Dessix; the day will fade in mere hours, and night will creep upon them.

There are many dangers in the jungles at night. The animal life was not the most of Izzar’s fears; it was the climate. It was already cool at midday, barely changing all year round. The environment of the planet was harsh yet straightforward. The planet had no tilt in its axis, meaning no seasons. Thick jungles sprawled over the entire surface of the planet, thriving on every open piece of ground it could find. The citadel itself was in danger of being overrun daily; the monks used the rapid growth as training to test their fighting skills. Most plants could reach full maturity before midday, making them very strong and tough to cull.

“There are old ruins beyond the misty meadows towards the old shrines we can use to shelter for the night.”

Izzar was in a hurry to reach shelter; being lost in the jungles numerous times taught him the valuable lesson of refuge during the nights. Though their suits are designed to withstand cold, it still was not enough for the cold, humid air of Dessix. Many of the old colonists perished in the jungles due to the lack of preparation.

Izzar stretched his hand towards Viha; she was kneeling down by Aargon touching his injured shoulder, hoping the pain would wake him; she was not prepared to leave him alone to die after they risked their lives to save him.

“We need to go Viha, you don’t know the horrors that await us if we fail.” Izzar was sincere; Viha bit her lip in anger as she stood, refusing his hand.

“Is that what it really takes to be by your side, ruling a galaxy unaware of your existence?” She asked, lowering her head. She calculated the possibility of walking away and the repercussions of her actions if she stayed with Aargon until they were rescued.

“There is only the Order of the Ipsimus; the law of the order is just and final.” As if reciting from a handbook, Izzar lifelessly uttered these words.

A code of honor was embedded in Viha; she could understand Izzar a little better now, it became clear that one code replaces another under the service of Thanatos. Izzar was no less a person in his own right than she was. Even though she was free to do as she pleased on Gandron, she was not free at all anywhere else: bound by the code of Gandron, she was to be a representative to the warriors guild across the galaxy. Fear, weakness, and retreat were not the warriors' way; she now saw what she had to do. For the first time, she saw Izzar as one of her own people, someone bound to their code and loyal to death to his master. It took utter devotion from someone to leave an ally and possible friend laying in the middle of a harsh environment to be taken by nature and succumbing to the elements, to push forward and finish the task laid before him.

“I will serve you.” She uttered, looking back at Aargon fighting for his life.

Izzar felt pleased that she decided to follow him instead, to stay true to the path laid before them. Viha still did not take his hand; it was okay with him. Physical contact was limited to martial combat; he was not expecting her to place her hand in his. However, deep inside, he did. He has been admiring her from the moment he saw her; he has never seen anyone as beautiful as she.

Movement within the jungle beyond the tree line startled them both; they needed to move. Whatever was after them would be stalled by Aargon, hopefully, long enough for the pair to disappear into the jungle far enough to be to make it a challenge to anyone who was tracking them.

Moving fast, the two stayed together; Izzar knew where he was going, she followed. This was all new to them, Izzar was not used to being hunted in the forest, and Viha never knew the feeling of being prey, though it excited the latter more than the former. As they approached the misty meadows through the thick undergrowth, Viha spotted a large pyramidal object in the dense fog with strange blue markings glowing from it. She stopped to watch; Izzar saw it too; it wasn’t there before.

“What is that?” Viha asked, mesmerized and walking towards it.

It didn’t take long to reach it. It stood a few heads taller than Viha and Izzar, and it was slightly tilted in the soft muddy ground. Almost hidden by the thick foliage of the surrounding forest and blending in with the steep cliff behind it, Viha thought they were fortunate to find it.

“This is what Thanatos sent us out to retrieve.”

Izzar was amazed at the scale of the artifact; it was definitely one he had seen before. He placed his hand on the marking, glowing blue in the darkness of the undergrowth. Then, a gleam of sunshine pierced the trees above, landing on the pinnacle of the pyramid-shaped artifact.

“It used to be part of the temple built on the mountain that was destroyed by The Void; these engravings tell the history of the man who we only know as The Destroyer of Mount Void.”

His description of the artifact came without Viha showing interest in the history or the meaning of the markings. However, Izzar felt inclined to continue. Not like the first time he laid his hands on the artifact, he was taken to that era described on the artifact in a vision, and he was able to explain to Viha in great detail what is told on the stone.

When the first travelers of space reached the outer limits of their reach, they managed to pass through an anomaly only encountered once in the history of space travel. Once passed, the crew and passengers experienced various forms of hallucinations and strange visions. The captain of the ship, Lucius Conrad, gained mysterious powers beyond anyone’s comprehension. Amongst other influences, he managed to make people disappear before everyone, never to return; he could heal people, see visions, control the minds of anyone he pleased, and ultimately see the vision of the Nihil. His visions led him and his crew to travel to this planet, Dessix. The name Dessix means place of mystery in the old language. Lucius led his team and colonists to this planet, where they constructed the Temple of the Nihil. Unfortunately, Lucius had a rival the Visions failed to reveal to him, a rival that was deceptive and manipulated the Nihil in a very dark and twisted manner.

“These are the words of the artifact. It is incomplete. Master Thanatos does not possess the next part to the chronicle.” Izzar seemed like he had learned something new that he had not noticed before; to Viha, it seemed like he had some sort of realization.

“You haven’t seen this much of the encryption before, have you?” She echoed in the dark mist.

“Master Thanatos and the monks only read a part of the encryption to me; I never knew there was a rival to Lucius. They never told me this.”

Only one question burnt on Viha’s mind, Izzar could feel it, but he also did not understand what the weight of this revelation meant. In his late-night studies and roaming of the citadel, he occasionally discovered Thanatos speaking to someone who was not there; could he be communing with the spirits of old? It was not possible; no one could hear, see or speak to ghosts. Izzar shrugged. It was ridiculous to think humans could talk to the ancient dead.

“Come, we need to leave. The night is coming. We can’t travel at night… The misty meadows are up ahead; we’ll have to be careful moving through there. Many Fargesrats are roaming there, and I doubt they will be any less dangerous than the last one that took Aargon.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the misty meadows. Viha was somewhat confused when they finally reached that area; it was everything but a meadow. The rest of the way was covered by vegetation, ranging from large trees, ground shrubs, ferns, and the lot. The deafening sounds of the forest seemed to be louder in this area. The trees were spread out a little more, and one could see the sky clearer; if they looked back from where they came, the spiraling citadel was more visible than ever. She guessed this was why they called it a meadow; it was the closest thing they would find to a large enough opening on the planet or at least in the area that resembles a meadow.

Izzar knew where he was going; nothing could stop him. The ruins beyond the meadows were a place he frequented in his journeys into the wilderness. It was once a meditation area for Thanatos, but fighting the undergrowth for many years, he finally gave up and allowed the flora to reclaim it, causing the structures to ruin. There were many such structures scattered in half-day journeys around the citadel. The abandoned structures Izzar led them to were meant to be accommodation for Thanatos when he would venture out to meditate; now, it became temporary places of shelter to Izzar as he completed his tasks when sent out into the wilderness.

There has been someone following them for a long while; Viha and Izzar were aware of this; they did not, however, know who or what it was. Moving through the meadow, they kept close eyes on the Fargesrats; they were quick, agile creatures that would act within a moment’s notice. Their green scaly skin camouflaged well with the foliage making them difficult to see when night crept in. The sun was very low, it lowered below the tree line, and Izzar was determined to utilize every second of sunlight to reach shelter.

Izzar heard it before Viha; he gave the signal to stop and crouch down. She complied without question. Three Fargesrats roughly the same height as Izzar passed through the plants a few feet on their right-hand side. They have not yet noticed them confirming Izzar’s suspicion that they only rely on their sense of sight. He signaled to Viha to get lower; she was edging for a fight. She could not remain so concealed. However, she kept her excitement at bay; she stayed out of view until the Fargesrats passed them; Izzar nodded, and very slowly, they moved along.

What felt like hours, they soon reached the edge of the meadow, it was getting darker, and Viha could feel the temperature drop quickly. Her thoughts wandered to Aargon; it was not like her to care this much for a stranger. A tree close by seemed to have been damaged by claw marks, Izzar had not noticed it, but Viha thought it was a strange sight to see. She pulled him back by his cloak, stopping him dead in his tracks. He turned to see what she wanted.

“Are these claw marks from those rat creatures?” She asked, amazed at how deep they scarred the trees. She could fit her hand into one of the claw marks quite easily.

“This was not made by one of them.” He said in surprise. “These aren’t claw marks I’m familiar with… Though they look more similar to weapon marks than claw marks.”

The marks were new, not more than an hour old, he thought to himself; the tree would have healed itself way before they’d reach it if it was made earlier that day. But, he shrugged it off; they had no time to waste.

“Let’s go.” He said promptly without any further explanation.

No more than two hours later, they reached shelter; it was bitterly cold and wet. It was something Viha had never experienced in her life. The elements were getting the better of her. They entered the shelter; the building was an old worn-out dilapidated building with a few rooms with no windows; Izzar had placed a thin floor stone in front of the entrance to the building. It seemed to be the only entrance or exit visible from the side they approached.

Both entered the building, and Izzar closed the door again. It was less damp inside, but the cold was ever-present; she was shivering. He seemed to not mind the cold; it was like his body was trained to withstand the climate of Dessix. The plant life had not managed to overrun the building; Izzar had ensured that by poisoning the inside walls with a unique poison developed by Tarium to assist him in the wilds. Though there was nothing else in the building, it was bare. Izzar wasted no time going to his favorite corner; he had calculated the draft coming into the building that caused the coldest not to reach this point. He indicated to Viha to sit down next to him; she was reluctant.

“I hope Aargon made it to shelter.” She said out loud as she leaned against the wall and faced the door, away from Izzar. The cold was biting at her; she wanted to sit next to Izzar, be embraced by him, and share the heat to keep warm, but she was proud and stubborn.

“If he survived, he would be rewarded by Master Thanatos.” Izzar said coldly, not giving a single thought to the boy they left behind.

“Why do you call him master and not grandfather?” She asked, still not looking his way.

“Master Thanatos is the Supreme Master, High Epsimus of the order. I am a servant to him, destined to assume his responsibilities one day. The office he holds demands the utmost respect, even from those associated as family. I understand that when I was dedicated to the Order, I lost all family ties; I do not have a mother, a father, and subsequently grandparents as you would refer to him as.”

Izzar believed this was a sufficient explanation for her. She would agree. Her mind wandered off to her father. She had to act tough around him, pretend like he or anyone else did not matter. The loss was a daily danger they faced in the Gandron Warriors Guild, and they had to train themselves to avoid the pain of loss. Though she still referred to her father as father.

After a few moments of reflecting, she turned towards Izzar; she longed to be back home on Gandron, laying in her large bed with her Teltar cats by her side. Those animals were the only beings worthy of her affection; they were treated like royalty, and they were left to want for nothing. She missed them.

“Have you ever met your mother?” Viha had never met her mother, or she was too young to remember her.

“Yes,” Izzar answered without offering any further explanation.

“I’ve known my father for as long as I live.”

Viha felt like she had to share to encourage him to open up more. Izzar remained silent, uninterested in what she had to say. She realized that Izzar was different; his training had turned him into a duty-bound being. He did not for a second in his day linger on family or any such attachments. Viha wondered if he even experienced something as beautiful as love. She might have been a formidable warrior who slew many men, but she desired the same affections as any other girl would. She admired Izzar for this; she failed to master this state through her own training, and such a level of devotion was something she dreamt of having.

Her guard fell, Izzar noticed it; it hadn't been down since the moment they met. Though he didn’t know what this meant, he could feel deep down inside something was different. He had never met anyone he had such strange feelings towards. To his surprise, she came to sit right next to him. He could feel her body shivering, but he did nothing; he didn’t know what he should do to help her warm up. He handled the cold; it was all too natural for him. Viha curled up against him, pushing his arm up and around her. His heart raced, it was strange, and it felt wrong yet right at the same time. This went against his teachings; a million thoughts rushed through his mind. He looked down at her, and it was not even long, and she fell asleep. His gaze met a damaged patch on the wall, and it did not wander.