In a final act of desperate defiance, Nahira marshalled her powers and recited a spell. “Elenah’s false guidance, ensnare my foes. Labyrinth of Roots.” Roots exploded forcefully from the flowerbeds and entangled the rising guards.

As she took one last look at her fleeing prince, Princess Nahira heard a livid shout behind her. “How dare you! Guards, stop this treason at once!” Councillor Enyu shrieked.

The knights’ grips tightened on her arms and she was pushed to her knees. As soon as Valorous was out of sight, Nahira stopped struggling.

“Bind her wings at once!” Enyu commanded. “This brat cannot be allowed to escape.”

“What on Enoch is happening here! Cease at once.” Tiriel came bursting out of the palace, torrential winds whipping around him. “Enyu, what’s the meaning of this?” The former adventurer landed next to the princess. His gaze was full of wrath over Nahira’s treatment, but that anger was replaced with shock and confusion as he surveyed the gardens.

There were guards ensnared in enchanted roots. All of the guards had their weapons drawn and fearful looks on their faces. As Tiriel turned, he took in the councillors' stances and their half-cast spells. Then his eyes landed on his king.

King Raitan stood in a state of horrified disbelief. The Rising Sun was held loosely in his hand, forgotten. He was staring blankly at something on the ground. “Your Highness…” Tiriel was drawn almost against his will to take a step forward and look at what held the king’s empty gaze. His next words died in his throat. Laying on the scorched earth was the body of the queen.

Tiriel took another step forward, and then another. He fell to his knees before her. As he knelt in dismay, he refused to accept the reality before him. Queen Liashel’s head had been separated from her body. The wound across her neck was blackened and cauterized. He recognized the burn pattern of the Rising Sun. Blown out of his uncomprehending stupor by that irrefutable fact, Tiriel leapt up. The wind surrounding him was whipped into an even greater fervor.

“Enyu, I demand an explanation. Now.” The winds howled and clutched at the onlookers. Tiriel’s aura became like a hurricane while a clawing gust grabbed the fearful councilor and pulled him towards the enraged tutor.

“Unhand me immediately!” The councillor refused to be cowed by the violence held in Tiriel’s gaze. As the winds quieted, he straightened his robes. “It’s quite simple, tutor. The queen and her son are traitors…”

At the mention of Valorous, Tiriel’s gaze sharpened again. He grabbed Enyu’s robes and lifted the sadistic councillor off of his feet. “What have you done with the prince?”

Councillor Enyu sniffed derisively. “They secretly held the blood of shadow hidden inside them. Obviously, they must have been scheming to take over our glorious kingdom of Sunhold. Why, the so-called prince was found attacking the Princess Nahira. Then when we tried to apprehend him, he even tried to kidnap her. If it weren’t for Captain Bernh, I fear that she would have been lost to us. Well, that criminal and his harlot of a mother might even have assassinated our king!”

“No!” Nahira’s frantic voice rang out behind them. “That’s not what happened!”

Tiriel whirled at the sound of her pleading. She was still being held by the guards, and they had even bound her wings to her back, as they had been told by the councillor. “Please, Val would never hurt me! We had no idea he had shadow blood, I swear.” Tears had been streaming down her face nonstop. “Please, believe me. We didn’t know.” She lowered her head and tried to stop crying.

Still held aloft, Councillor Enyu scoffed. “Poor girl. That evil creature must have done something to her mind. Who knows how long he has been tearing away at her. Men, don’t let go of her. Secretary Tiriel, are you ever going to let me down? Your indecorum can only be excused for so long.”

Tiriel growled at the self-assured nobleman but he dropped him anyway. Enyu landed roughly and stumbled before catching himself. He straightened his robes again as though nothing had happened before addressing the motionless King Raitan. “Your Majesty, I understand how you must be feeling. It has been a huge shock to us all. Please allow me to assist you on the tedious daily matters until you have had the time to process this tragedy.”

The councillor’s words sent a shiver down Tiriel’s spine. His apprehension only grew when the king responded.

A timid, broken voice whispered from King Raitan’s lips, “Do what you want. Everyone, Enyu is in charge.” It seemed that each word aged him, his spine bent and his face fell. The Rising Sun fell out of his hand and clattered against the stone path.

As the wind died down in the garden, It seemed to rip and tear through Tamiel’s mind. His thoughts raced around erratically as he tried to comprehend what all of this meant. Enyu in charge? The prince fled? Liashel was dead. What should he do? His thoughts came to a stop when he heard another strangled sob from Nahira. Then they all finally started flowing in the same direction. He came to a decision. He would have to stay for Nahira’s sake.

Councillor Enyu heard the whimper as well. He waved at the guards restraining her. “Princess Nahira will have to be kept under constant surveillance. Guards, she will be restricted to her quarters for now. Take her to them.” He stroked his chin in thought. “We have no understanding of what that false prince might have done to her.” He then turned to one of his fellow councillors. “Councillor Rictor, I believe we are in need of your brother’s talents. He is the world’s premier mind healer, after all. Summon him immediately.”

As he finished speaking, Enyu’s eyes glanced toward Tiriel’s. In their depths, Tiriel saw a sick joy that chilled him to the bone. The secretary let the emotions drain out of his face and posture. “Of course, Councillor Enyu. You are correct. I apologise for my behavior. I was unaware of the situation and jumped to conclusions.” He bowed towards the interim ruler of Sunhold.

Enyu laughed behind his hand and replied. “Of course, Secretary Tiriel. It is only to be expected when one’s students appear to be in trouble.” A finger traced Enyu’s lips. “Though I seem to remember your close relationship with the traitorous queen. We will be keeping a close eye on you, so make sure to show us that your loyalties lie with King Raitan and Sunhold.”

…………..

A huge canopied bed occupied the center of her large bedroom. A bookcase held rows of alphabetically sorted books. A tidy desk bore neatly stacked papers filled with pretty and precise script. Four stone faced guards stood in the corners of the room. Princess Nahira sat at the dest with her hands grasped tightly in her lap. She had not bothered to wipe off her tear-stained face. Praying with all her might, she whispered, “I know you will, Val.”

She picked up a feathered quill and a half-empty notebook. In the secret language that the royal pair had devised together, Nahira began to write. Her shoulders were straight and her mouth had compressed into a firm line. “And I’ll be ready.”

…………

King Raitan was collapsed on his throne, still unable to process the events of the day. He thought, perhaps, that he should still be angry, or feel betrayed at the taint in his wife’s blood. But all he felt was the gaping hole where his family used to be.

Councillor Enyu had commanded everyone else to leave the throne room. He stood patiently at the foot of the dias, wondering how he would use this unexpected event in his favor. After allowing his king over an hour to wallow in his misery, Enyu spoke in a conciliatory tone. “Your Highness, we must discuss what to do about this terrible endeavor. I think it would be best if we do not reveal the events of the last few hours. It could develop into an international incident. Instead, we should tell the world that the Queen and her son died of an illness.”

He paused for a moment to give the King a chance to respond. When King Raitan remained silent, Enyu continued. “Further, I believe that Princess Nahira has been compromised. Who knows what vile operations were performed on her by those monsters. I suggest that, for the good of the kingdom, it's best that we get rid of her as well.”

When Enyu mentioned Nahira, the king jerked his head up. A look of agonized guilt tore across his royal countenance. “No. Do not harm her. She’s the only family I have left. She will remain here.”

Though his face remained neutral, Councillor Enyu’s heart grinned maliciously. “Of course, Your Majesty. I assumed that would be your answer and I have already called on Ganter. He is Councillor Rictor’s brother and a premier mind healer. Without a doubt, he will be able to ferret out any damage that the shadow’s touch may have left in her.” He walked up the dias and put a hand on the king's shoulder. “I will personally oversee the procedure to make sure that she is unharmed.”

The king nodded lifelessly. “Good. You’re right, nothing of this can get out. No one can know. Silence the guards, too.” It seemed that those words took everything he had, and the king leaned back into his throne and rested his head on its high back.

“Of course, your Majesty.” Enyu replied. He leaned in and spoke softly into the king’s ear, a false compassion laced through it. “But my king. What about her wishes? What if she believes that Valorous is innocent? She is young and naive, after all. According to the treaties, she is now your heir, so her kingdom can’t take her away. But if she wants to leave? I know Ganther personally, my King. What if we could alter her memories to fit the story we shall tell the rest of the world? Then she would be willing to stay here with you.”

The broken king’s eyes were fearful at the prospect of losing the only person that he still considered his family. But as he listened to the councillor’s proposition, a twisted hope grew in them. “Make it so, Councillor.”

Enyu stepped away and bowed. “As you wish, your highness.”

…………..

Tiriel hurried towards his quarters. Once inside, he paced relentlessly in a repetitive line, his hands behind his back. An invisible gust blew across his ear, causing him to stop. It relayed the conversation that the king and Enyu had. Tiriel had to struggle with everything he had in order to hide the rising fury in his chest.

Quickly, he locked the door and cast a series of magical barriers against intrusion and surveyance. Then, he knocked the contents of his desk onto the floor and drew an exceedingly complex series of symbols. Cutting the tip of his thumb, he drew the last few with his own blood. “Sednexul, ruler of the winds, lord of every gust and gale, through which each breath flows. Guide my voice, may it cross the continents and back, and bring back better tidings. Streams of Resonance.”

The magic circle pulsed and fizzled. Tiriel forced his will upon the ritual until its oscillations fell into sync with the barriers he had placed around his rooms. Tendrils of mana grew out from the circle and reached invisibly through the castle until they got caught in the winds blowing outside. A soft humming came from the table and resonated with Tiriel’s bones. He felt a physical snap as the ritual successfully connected with his target.

“Tiriel? What?” a voice vibrated uncomfortably in his mind.

“Hayner, I have ill tidings, I'm afraid,” Tiriel responded. “A lot has happened that you need to make everyone aware of. I’ll have to talk fast, I’m not sure this communication will go unnoticed. So you’ll have to relocate as soon as we’re done.”

Alarm imbued Hayner’s response. “No way, isn’t your mission supposed to be fairly sheltered? At least for a few more years, right? No, nevermind, lay it on me, man.”

“There’s no way to cushion this, Hayner.” Tiriel gripped his arms so tightly that his fingers turned white. “Liashel is dead.”

“WHAT! You must be joking, Tiriel. How is that even possible?! No, sorry. Keep going.” Hayner shouted through the magical link. He silenced himself after the initial outburst.

Tiriel winced at the overwhelming shout directly into his brain. “It gets much worse, Hay. I haven’t figured out everything that happened, but this is too important to wait on. The seal on Korovix’ bloodline has been broken. That alone will cause hysteria as people who thought that the entire clan was exterminated ages ago. Expect to be hearing a lot of reports about that. The blood manifested powerfully in Valorous. Which is ultimately what we wanted. But when King Raitan found out, he flew into a blind rage and killed Liashel. He was frothing at the mouth and screaming that her blood was tainted. I believe that he was being controlled somehow. Valorous barely managed to escape the palace and I’m no longer sure where he is. All I know is he headed west. Contact Nola and Koh immediately, they’re our best shot at finding him.”

“This is terrible, Tiriel. Poor Liashel. How could this happen? This is so messed up, man. A golden dragon getting controlled? What on earth are our enemies capable of?” On the other end of the magical communication, Hayner was frantic. Due to their long friendship, Tiriel could picture it clearly. Hayner was extremely tall and delicately thin. Shimmering golden hair flowed down past his knees. He was probably running around in circles with his long arms flung out to their fullest extent. He couldn’t hide his emotions well, so panic and dismay were definitely on full display across his normally appealing features. Despite his touchy sensibilities, Tiriel knew that Hay was calm under fire.

“Restrain yourself, Hay. I can’t leave this channel open for long. There’s more. Princess Nahira tried to help Valorous escape, but got captured. I have to stay here to make sure she stays safe.” Tiriel folded his arms and glared into space. “There’s this councillor named Enyu. I think it was his influence that turned Raitan against his wife, somehow. He gets even more suspect, though. The king has completely fallen apart, and Enyu’s already got hooks into him. I overheard Enyu as he manipulated Raitan, right before I contacted you. He wants to alter Nahira’s memories, and I assume control her like a puppet now that the prince is gone. According to the treaties, she is now the Crown Princess of Sunhold. With all of this going on, I have to conclude that Enyu is a Demonic agent. Worse, he is already leary of me. That’s why this communication is so risky. After this I’ll have to go dark until I can be sure it’s safe.” He carelessly threw himself into a chair as he continued to scowl.

Hayner growled in thought. “Man, this is too much. If there is any chance this Enyu is actually an agent, I’ll have to move out too. This is harsh, I was just getting used to my life here. And there’s totally this girl I’m into. Lame. Tiriel, you always bring me the worst news.”

Despite the situation, Tiriel laughed a little. “Sorry, Hay. I’ve always told you that I have the worst luck. Did you even manage to talk to this one?”

Choking in rage, Hayner yelled back, “No, but that doesn’t matter! She was different from the others! I swear, I was gonna to talk to her! But you! You ruined everything, you toad!”

“Well, your bad luck is about to come to an end.” A dark voice tore through the sealed room.

Tiriel bounded from his seat and lowered himself into a defensive stance. “Hayner, I’ve been found out. I’m severing the connection from my end.” With the weight of his will, he shattered the magical link while simultaneously raking the ritual’s physical corpus with claw-like fingers. He scanned the room for the voice’s owner.

From the door to his room, a black aura ripped a hole in Tiriel’s magical protections as though they were paper. The door opened with an agonizing slowness and revealed Councillor Enyu. His face was contorted in a manic grin. “Hello, dear Tiriel. It seems that someone’s being naughty. But, this barrier is impressive work.” His grin widened, revealing sharpened teeth. “I think I’ll take it. We wouldn’t want anyone listening in, now would we?”

A dark, bubbling aura seemed to ooze from the councillor and dripping tentacles of it caressed the walls. The barrier was stained black from the foul touches. Before Tiriel could dismantle it, he felt control over the protective magic ripped away from him by the maniacally grinning Enyu.

“So my presumptions were correct, Enyu. You’ve aligned yourself with demons.” Tiriel spread his arms wide and called forth his aura. A pale green light flickered around him as a light breeze picked up. It had a refreshing purity about it, like a cool spring day. A gentle fragrance wafted through the rooms, almost like the ghosts of flowers. Though Tiriel’s intent seemed quite modest, whenever it touched Enyu’s own acrid aura, it was the councillor’s that faltered.

Enyu’s grin widened even further, to the point that it looked like it would consume the rest of his face. “What’s that? Did you say demons? Wherever could you have heard something like that? Why, I’m just a councillor of Sunhold and I have only its best interests at heart.” He thrust his hands towards the billowing tutor and his caustic tentacles of mana followed suit. “You however, stand accused of consorting with cowards, traitors, and the Shadow Clan.”

Unlike a moment ago, this time, the sickening tentacles ripped through the fragrant green light. Tiriel hissed and jumped away from the grasping tentacles as his aura burned from the contact. “The only traitor here is you, Enyu.” He slashed an arm down and cast a spell. “Sednexul, I call upon the fury of your winds. Purify all that stands before me. Scythe's Final Passing.” Seven curved blades of wind howled through the room, reducing the fine wooden furniture to splinters. They tore through the malicious tentacles and continued into the councillor’s figure. Blood ruptured from Enyu’s body as he was cast like a ragdoll into the still-bubbling barrier.

While Enyu fell, Tiriel whipped his sword from its sheath at his side and lunged across the expansive room. But before he could plunge it into the councillors head, the splattered blood pooled together and formed cruelly-barbed spears that pushed him away.

Enyu’s form slowly congealed back into a more humanoid shape, while his blood spears continued aggressively thrusting at Tiriel. He laughed, “How long do you think you can keep this up, wind mage? I could continue this all day!”

Tiriel was as light as a flower petal. He seemed to float across the room. Valorous’ tutor proved that he was worthy of the position as he seamlessly blocked or dodged each strike with fluid grace. Working his way around the room, Tiriel led the spears until he could take advantage of an opening in the councillor’s guard. “Texnosha’s benevolence, cradle me. Flowing stream!” He chanted one of Valorous’ favorite spells. In Tiriel’s hands, it was more than just a compound movement enhancer and obscuring spell. The very moisture in the air whirled around him and deflected several strikes from the serrated spears of blood. As his movements sped up, he surged past the barrier of blood and slashed into Enyu’s face.

The councillor was shocked and failed to put up a defense in time. More of his blood spattered against the wall. Screaming his resentment, he doubled over and thrust a rage-fueled fist into the floor. The stones shattered underneath the two men and they fell into the room below. It was an ornate but currently empty ballroom with floor to ceiling stained glass windows That let in prisms of rainbow sunlight. Dust ballooned through the air as broken stones rained down and crashed into the elegantly tiled flooring. Tiriel’s spell protected him during the descent, defecting rubble and slowing his fall. The demonic councillor wasn’t as lucky, he landed poorly and several of his bones were crushed by the heavy debris.

None of that seemed to matter to Enyu, as he snapped the broken bones back into place with sickening cracks. His humor was restored as he complimented Tiriel. “I’m impressed, Tutor. You really are a genius to have mastered the magic of other bloodlines. That won’t be enough to save you though.”

Tiriel smirked. “That was nothing. Try this.” He pressed all his aura into a cylindrical shape and pointed both of his hands at the bloodied monstrocity. Wind whipped through the destroyed room in frenzied gusts. “By the blood of Sednexul that resides within me. Xertonos, the gold, lord of absolution and wrath. Lend me your fire, that I may annihilate this demonic entity. Combination magic. Breath of Annihilation.” The air around his fingers vibrated until they produced a high pitch hum. That air ignited and the flames hungrily devoured all of the oxygen in the room, pulling everything in towards its gaping maw.

Enyu was truly panicked as he was dragged towards the ravenous inferno. Smaller stones and dust were drawn into the jaws of flame. He tried with all his might to hold onto a larger stone, but his blood-slicked hands slipped. The fires pulled him in and he screeched and flailed as the flames ate through his cursed blood, his flesh, and even his bones.

When the villainous councillor was reduced to ashes, Tiriel lowered his hands. He slumped to a knee, exhausted. “Combination magic really takes it out of you.” The mage sighed to himself. Then in an uncharacteristic manner, he swore. “Now what? Will the demons make another move?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.” A foul shadow curdled out from the cracked floor a few feet from the unsteady man. It bore Enyu’s condescending tone. “Good try though. That transcendent magic would have worked on almost any of us. Sadly, I’m the exception.” His characteristic smile formed from the shadow’s head, a glaringly white monstrosity in the middle of a pitch black void.

From his kneeling position, Tiriel instantly started verbalizing another spell. A cord of shadow smashed across his torso threw him back against a wall. With the wind knocked out of him, he couldn’t finish his chant.

“It’s rather heartbreaking, you know? You’ve got so much natural talent, Tiriel. Yet, you still have to grovel and beg to those abominable so-called great spirits for each and every scrap of power. Now, my power is my own. If I want more, I take it. I’ll never again feel weak in comparison to the Spirit’s chosen children. Your kind could never win against us, especially while cowering behind the feet of your pitiful phantasms. Any one of my new brethren could destroy you. Soon, my masters will raze this vile world and rule its ashes.”

Stumbling back to his feet, Tiriel goaded the shade. “That hardly seems fair, Enyu. I thought you were the exception, but now any of you could beat me?” He laughed. “And what’s all this talk of masters, when you said that your power is your own, huh? So, not only are you not special, but you’re supremely gullible.”

The ivory teeth gnashed against each other. “How dare you. Of course I’m better than the others.” He spread his arms wide in self-adoration. “See, None of them could have recovered from that cursed purification spell. Even the lowest of us are effectively immortal unless you break our core, pitiful child. But I’ve managed to evolve even further. I learned how to remove the core of my essence from my body and hide it. I am truly eternal. You will never be able to beat me.”

Tiriel continued with his false bravado. “Our definitions of immortal must differ, Enyu. If all I have to do is destroy a demon’s core to kill it, seems pretty mortal to me. And, you’re just a coward, hiding somewhere out of danger.” He matched the shade’s grin. “I bet your real self is shaking right now.”

During their conversation, Enyu’s shadow form had slowly integrated itself into the ruins, spreading across the entire expanse. Unknown to Tiriel, he had been surrounded. “Don’t be too proud of yourself. You won’t be able to pass on that information, worm. You’ll be dead!” Spines of darkness pierced through the rubble from every direction and swelled immediately honed in on the wind mage.

Tiriel was too tired to block all of them, and several long gashes wept blood across his body. “It’s too late, you horror story reject. I’ve been recording our fight in the wind. My messengers are already spread across the continent, revealing your weaknesses. Now run and hide in your eternal terror, coward.” He coughed violently. In the last assault, one of the spears had pierced his lung.

“Don’t think you can trick me with your bluster, hot air mage. There’s no way any wind-borne message could have made it out of the city, nevermind the continent. And if I kill you now, your magic dies too.” The shadow jerked forward and pierced Tiriel’s shoulders with serrated talons. Tiriel gasped painfully as he was lifted into the air.

Trying to ignore his punctured lung, Tiriel choked out another spell. “Sednexul, Patron of Entropy and Freedom. Use all of the blood you have granted me, and disperse. Atmospheric Sundering.”

The shade of Enyu was stunned for a second at the audacity of the wounded man. Then his face twisted in maddened umbrage. He tore one of his taloned hands from Tiriel’s shoulder, and jammed it into Tiriel’s throat.

Enyu’s frantic attack was too late as Tiriel’s blood began to froth and boil out of every wound. His determined eyes held Enyu’s own ghastly orbs in a horrified disbelief. They seemed to say, “Come back from this. I dare you.” With his final taunt received, Tiriel closed his eyes and loosed the magic he had been holding back.

Enyu, in his murderous outrage, tossed Tiriel violently to the ground. “This still won’t be enough to kill me. I’ll be back. You’ve lost. This kingdom is now mine.”

While laying on the fractured tiles and with a torn windpipe, Tiriel still tried to express his mockery. He grinned in an open contempt of the shade’s tantrum.

A massive ball of gravity formed with the shadowy councillor as its twisting center. More of the ceiling fell down. The walls cracked but held. The gorgeous stained glass windows shattered and the shrapnel was pulled into the pulsing crimson mass. Storm-force winds whipped and buffeted the already damaged foundations.

The spinning core reached a critical mass and exploded outwards with the force of a tornado. Its advent decimated the ballroom, causing substantial structural damage as it blasted out of the exterior wall. The umbral viscera that comprised its core were dispersed across the vast expanse of the sky.

Tiriel lay victorious, but broken, on top of a pile of rubble. With a pierced lung, torn throat, and all of the blood he had already lost, he knew that this was his final moment. He thought of his friends. They had been working for years to prevent this very event from happening. He thought of Captain Bernh and had to place his trust in the man. His last thoughts were of his young charges. He prayed that the Great Spirits would watch over them. Throughout it all, the mocking grin never left his lips.

…………….

Captain Bernh was alone in his quarters. He was sitting, slumped over with his elbows resting on his knees on the edge of his bed, with his head lowered into his hands. The captain was trying to process what had happened. He couldn’t believe that Prince Valorous, who Bernh had known the boy’s entire life, could be wicked, even if he bore shadowed blood. He was also devastated at the death of his Queen. His belief in her was shaken by the supposed taint in her blood, but that didn’t change the years and years of service she had performed for the good of the country. None of it made sense to him. Even if they were both agents of darkness, why now? He couldn’t find a single reason they would have revealed themselves at this time.

He was haunted by the princess’ heartfelt attempts at begging the guards to stop. Bernh couldn’t hide behind the lie that he was only following orders. He knew it was his lord's command that Bernh make his own judgements, but in his shock, he had blindly done what he was told by Enyu. His lip started to bleed from where he had been biting it as he remembered the looks on both of the children’s faces. The horror in Liashel’s eyes as her husband turned on her in a rage. The barely disguised glee in Enyu’s face. Bernh realized that he had made a huge mistake.

As he stewed in his self-recriminations, a slight breeze caressed his shoulder, startling him. “I need you to listen, Bernh. I don’t have much time. I’m currently fighting Enyu. He’s transformed into some kind of shadow creature.” Tiriel’s voice echoed softly in his ear. “We’ve fallen for a horrible trap. I’m breaking an oath to contact you, but this situation is dire, and I have information that definitely cannot die with me. Please, you have to trust me. Allow this breeze into your mind. You have to carry on my mission. You are the only one I can trust with this now. Do your duty. Protect Sunhold.” As the message faded out, Captain Bernh felt a wisp of psychic information that had tied itself to his aura. He only had to debate it for a moment. He allowed the wisp access to his senses.

The knight’s dismay almost staggered him, as the fight between Councillor Enyu and Tiriel unfolded before him. The vision ended as a spear of darkness tore through Tiriel’s chest. Bernh’s throat was so dry after it ended that when he tried to swallow, he choked instead. He heard Tiriel’s voice for one last time, as though it were coming from a vast distance away. “I have a hidden journal that will explain everything I knew. It contains a method to contact my compatriots. Please, you have to give them this information. I’m going to cast a spell that should, temporarily at least, remove Enyu from the castle. Hurry.” The knowledge of where the journal was hidden passed through his mind, and Tiriel’s presence faded away.

An ear-splitting rumble tore through the palace, almost knocking Bernh from his feet. The violent shakes carried on for only a single moment, but the damage to the castle was catastrophic. Ignoring all of that, as soon as the foundations ceased to tremble, Bernh raced towards the hidden journals.

………………….

Nahira was writing in her characteristically flawless script when she felt Tiriel’s presence. She gasped hopefully and spun around in her chair. But the only sight to greet her was that of the two guards stationed behind her.

“Is everything alright, princess?” one of them asked at her sudden movement. All four of them had their hands on their weapons, and were looking around warily. They were all used to her pranks and were taking their orders to keep an eye on her very seriously.

She glared at the guards. She had known all four of them for years, but now she refused to speak to any of them because of their actions today. She was distracted from her ire as Tiriel’s disembodied voice whispered softly, so that only she could hear it.

“Hey little troublemaker. This has got to be a lot for you to handle. I’m sorry. I should have prepared better than this. The wind in my veins never wanted to deal with the future. And now I’m going to push all the responsibility onto you.” Nahira could almost feel his comforting hand on her shoulder. Then the ghostly hand tightened. “You have to escape. Go to this location and tell them this message.” With the instructions came an understanding of where he wanted her to go. “They’ll try to find Valorous, too. Sunhold is no longer safe. Please, no matter what you have to do, get out. Don’t let Enyu find you. Val was right about him all along. I’m sorry, this is all I can do. Tell that other troublemaker that I’m pissed. Seriously, he has no sense. Breaking a hidden seal without knowing what it does. What an idiot. Take care, Nahira.”

As the message ended, the presence that was Tiriel ruptured into four hammer-strikes of force. They struck the guards in unison and smashed them into the walls.

The finality in his message struck Princess Nahira’s already wounded heart. She started to weep again, but immediately stood anyways. The girl glanced at the prostrate guardsmen and found that they were all unconscious. Following her tutor’s last instructions, Nahira grabbed her notebook and bolted for the door.

Before opening it, the princess whispered a divination spell that would allow her to detect any presences in the vicinity. Detecting nothing that was noteworthy, she opened it.

When the blue-furred girl stepped into the hall, an earthquake shook the palace. She stumbled, but caught herself on the door frame. when the shaking settled down, she started to run. While she moved, she tore off the bindings on her wings. Once they were gone, she dropped down to all fours. Using her wings to improve her balance and launch her forward, she was able to pass through the castle swiftly.

Due to the royal pair’s many pranks, Nahira had long since memorized the guard’s routes and shifts. She didn’t know who she could trust anymore, so she decided to stay hidden from them all and took a circuitous route to her destination.

The princess promptly found her way in front of the library’s gilded doors. Inside the library, there was a door to a small enclosed garden. One of the librarians liked to graft different collections of plants, and this open air nursery was perfect for their work. From there, Nahira could hide until the setting sun fully dropped off the horizon. In the time before the moon rose she would make her escape into the night.

With everything that had happened that day, no one was in the library. In fact, she hadn’t seen anyone but the guards along her route. She paused as she considered the possible reasons for the absence. Ultimately, she decided that it didn’t matter, as her mission was to escape.

Breaking the lock on the nursery’s door, Princess Nahira spirited herself inside. A drained and riven voice called out softly from deeper inside the greenhouse. “I thought you’d come here, Nahira.” She whirled as her fur stood on end. Her claws were out as her instincts thrust her towards the unexpected tenant.

The king caught her arms as she lunged. Two of her claws managed to scratch his hand, but he didn’t appear to notice. Thanks to her catlike eyes, Nahira got a good look at him as he held her at arms-length. His eyes were hollow, red and pitiful, almost as though he were a lost child. Guilt ravaged his features. His normally well groomed hair was erratically matted, like he had ripped some of it out. He hadn’t bothered to change his bloodied clothes and they had become rumpled and loose. The heroic form from her memory was gone. In its place was hunched a diminished and broken figure.

“No!” She cried, “Let me go!” Nahira thrashed in his grip and tried to bite him. She was astonished when he pulled her closer and hugged her.

“You can’t leave too. ‘Hira, you’re the only family I have now.” His mangled whisper appalled the still struggling girl.

“I hate you! Monster! You killed Lia. You tried to kill Val.” She managed to get a hold of his bicep in her teeth and bit off a ragged chunk of flesh.

King Raitan looked down at her with confusion all over his face. “Killed Lia? No, why would I…” He trailed off and the burden of guilt dragged him to his knees. “Why? I don’t understand.”

A fire blossomed deep in his eyes. Nahira stopped struggling physically as she tried to understand the crazy sounding king. A look of extreme concentration crossed his fluidly-changing expression and he ground his teeth in a single-minded intensity. “Not me. I wasn’t in control.” He let go of the princess and grabbed his own head. He growled in an awakening anger as he wrestled for control over his head. Raitan heaved out a command, “Run, Nahira. I can’t hold it.”

“I think not.” Councillor Enyu’s voice came from Raitan’s mouth. The king and princess stared at each other, aghast. Black sludge dripped out of the king’s eyes. He coughed and more of the sludge leaked out of his mouth.

In the confusion, Nahira vaulted for the wall, intent on her escape. Using her agile muscles, she made a second jump that let her grasp the top of the tall wall. But, as she gathered herself for the last leap a thick fiber of sludge wrapped itself around her leg.

“I said no.” Raitan’s lips spoke with Enyu’s sneering voice. The sludge pulled Nahira from the wall and slammed her against one of the tables laden with plants. Her head hit one of the pots, which shattered. Several of the clay pieces cut into her. The princess groaned as she tried to clear her addled thoughts. “Wait there a moment.” Enyu’s distracted voice continued. The sludge around her ankle wormed its way around her and turned into a glue, binding her to the table. A bit of it covered her mouth as well, preventing her from screaming.

“This is an extremely delicate procedure, princess. After all, I’m not done with King Raitan yet, and it would be a bother if I accidently killed the fool.” A sickening yellow glow pulsated from the king’s twitching chest as the sludge continued to pour out of him. It oozed from his nose and ears now, as though it were impatient to escape.

King Raitan’s body seemed to deflate as more of the sludge left him. His finely honed muscles wasted away and his skin started to sag. The gleaming black hair on his head faded to grey. Once enough of the sludge had departed the weakly struggling man, it started to congeal into a vaguely humanoid shape. Features slowly formed across its figure and the fact that it was Enyu became apparent. Some of the sludge formed a stylish black robe that he covered himself with. His skin lightened to its normal tone as he stretched and cracked his back. “Still not used to that.” He spoke to himself. Glancing at his new body, he admired himself. “Not bad.”

Enyu turned to Raitan, as the wasted man whimpered and slumped over, unconscious. Enyu kicked him. “Don’t be such a baby, you’ll be fine.”

“As for you, my dear, I can’t have you leaving just yet either. I’ve got plans for you as well, after all.” He sighed contentedly and sat down on a table opposite the bound princess. Her glare was enough to shatter rock, but he ignored it completely. “This was such a wonderful opportunity. I had no idea that cursed bloodline still existed, let alone right under my nose. You, princess, must be my lucky charm. Everything has been falling into my lap ever since you arrived. Raitan, under my complete control. Liashel, dead. Tiriel, the wretch, also dead. Sadly, Valorous escaped, but I’m sure with his blood as a beacon, every single being on this disgusting planet will be after his head. So, no big loss there. I think, princess, that this is the start of a grand new relationship between us. Don’t you agree?”

He waved a hand lazily and the sludge around Nahira’s mouth expanded to cover her nose. She fought with everything that she had, but all too quickly her mind faded out. Her head hit the table again as Enyu laughed deeply.

………………….

Staring into the fractured abyss that was the human psyche for too long would lead anyone into despair. Or at least that’s what Ganther believed. He was hailed as a genius mage that specialized in healing injured minds. At one time he believed that his gifts were a sign that it was his duty to help those in need. As time passed, however, his faith crumbled. The nature of his work meant that he was only exposed to deep pain and suffering and it was a heavy weight for him to bear.

Physically, Ganther was completely unassuming. He was a short, soft, and chubby man with thinning pink hair. His most notable feature was his eyes. They were heavily lidded and looked as though gravity had a personal grudge against them. A deep sorrow slept deeply within them.

Ganther had been called to the palace by his elder brother, Rictor. Ganther idolized his brother. Rictor was everything that Ganther wished he was. Despite being older, his hair was just as thick as it was in his youth. His few wrinkles only showcased his experience, wisdom, and bold confidence. There wasn’t anything that Ganther wouldn’t do if his brother asked.

Ganther was told that his help was needed immediately and this patient was of the utmost importance. His appearance revealed the haste with which he had traveled to the palace. “It’s good to see you, brother.” Councillor Rictor greeted his brother at the gates. “Please, follow me, every moment matters.” He nodded to the guards, and led his brother by the arm.

Shortly, they arrived at the quarters of Princess Nahira. “I’m sorry that I haven’t given you many details, Gather.” The elder brother squeezed the mind mage’s shoulder. “But I wanted you to hear the whole story from First Councillor Enyu.” After speaking, he rapped on the door and let himself in.

Inside the room, Princess Nahira lay comatose on her bed. King Raitan sat slumped in a chair next to it, looking extremely worried. Guards stood at attention around the room. Lastly, Councillor Enyu stood with his hands gracefully behind his back. “Ah, you’ve arrived. Thank you for coming, Master Ganther.” he declared.

“Uh, yes. Thank you. Rictor said it was important. So, uhm. What can I do?” Gather asked. He was a little embarrassed to be in front of so many important people.

“Indeed. Now that you are here, Master Ganther, everything will turn out wonderfully. Here, sit while I explain the situation.” The suave councillor led Ganther to a table. “Tea?” he asked. At Ganther’s nod, Enyu poured the cup himself and handed it to the mind healer. Enyu sat down across from him. “No time like the present, right?” The councillor affected a sorrowful demeanor.

Steepling his fingers, Councillor Enyu began his tale. “My dear friend, we have been attacked by a seditious sympathizer to the shadow clan.” Ganther gasped, appalled. Enyu nodded, and continued. “This assassin infiltrated the palace as a royal tutor. This man, Tiriel, corrupted our Crown Prince Valorous’ mind for years, pretending to be his friend and confidant. He drove the prince to madness and attempted the same with Princess Nahira. Her understanding of the truth is extremely distorted because of this. This Tiriel was a master of illusions, and with this cowardly magic, he made it look as though our brave King Raitan killed his own wife, and even attempted to kill his poor, mad son.” Enyu leaned forward dramatically, and looked deeply into Ganther’s eyes. The mind mage was completely enthralled.

“When, in fact, Tiriel tricked Prince Valorous into murdering our beloved Queen! When he realized what he had done, the demented prince ran from the castle. Even now we are holding out hope that we can find him and cure him of this mental curse. I, myself, fought the traitorous Tiriel in one on one combat, and barely emerged victorious after he blew up a large chunk of the castle. The queen is dead. The prince has gone mad and fled. Then, we had to sedate the poor princess, out of our fear that she would hurt herself in her confusion. Now, Ganther, I’m only telling you this because I trust you completely. It would be catastrophic if our ardently loving people found this out. They would be devastated.”

Enyu appeared tired, like a great weight had settled onto him. “We’ve decided to alter what we will tell the public as well, for their own good, of course. Instead of letting them descend into fear and paranoia by revealing that the blood of the shadow still exists, we’ll let them think that a sudden illness took the lives of Tiriel and his victims.”

Councillor Enyu bowed to the genius mage. “Please, Master Ganther, I implore you to help us. For the sake of our kingdom, we cannot afford to lose our crown princess too. You are the only one with the talent to succeed at this formidable task. Please, you must alter her memories of these terrible events, or I fear her mind will break under the strain. Will you intercede and save our kingdom?”

Councillor Rictor placed an entreating hand on his brother’s shoulder from behind. “Please, brother, we need you. The entire country could fall apart if you don’t help us.”

Having fallen for Enyu’s story, and never good under pressure, Ganther immediately folded. “Of course. If you need me, Councillor Enyu, brother, I’ll do it.” The faces of both councillors lit up joyously.

“From the entire kingdom, We thank you, Master Ganther.”

“I knew we could count on you, brother.”

Ganther blushed under the gratitude and praise that was heaped upon him by two of the most powerful men in the kingdom. “Oh no, I’ll do my best.” He even ended up bowing to them, which made him even more embarrassed. “I, um, this isn’t how I normally do things. I guess since it’s for the greater good, but. Okay, I’m going to seal away the memories of the event, so, if you want her to think she was sick, maybe I should alter some of her memories of the last few weeks. That’s the first step.” He let out a huge bumbling sigh as he considered. “It’ll be hard, because I have to use her aura to do it. And I’ll have to force it. Uh, usually I get consent from the patient, so they give me access to their mana. But, it’s for Sunhold? Right.”

Ganther struggled for a long time to convince himself that this was the right thing to do. He glanced up at his elder brother and bit his lip. “Ganther, please. You need to do this for her own good. Please, only you can save her.”

Though he still had misgivings, he looked up to his brother too much to disappoint him. So he ignored the unease in his heart and continued. “The, uh, next step, then. Someone she trusts, like King Raitan, has to help. He has to talk to her, convince her, that she’s been sick. If she believes them, her mind will help to fill in the blanks. That’s it, I guess. After the memories have settled, before we wake her up, we can ask her what she remembers. That way, you’ll know exactly what she believes.” He wrung his clammy hands together. “Is that okay?”

Both councillors smiled at him, and looked impressed. Enyu congratulated him. “Very good, Master Ganther. You have it exactly. I knew that you were the man to turn to!”

Councillor Enyu stroked his mustache. “I do have a bit more that I would like done. For the good of Sunhold of course. I’ve heard from many reputable people that you are also an authority on geasa, Master Ganther. The princess has, let’s say, some personality quirks that are problematic for the kingdom.” He held his hand out, entreatingly. “Don’t get me wrong, overall, she is a wonderful child. However, she is headstrong, and often refuses to listen to advice from her… advisors. For the sake of the future of Sunhold, I think it best to help her to see reason. Don’t you agree?”

Ganther’s eyes widened and he started sweating anxiously. He looked to his brother for help. “I, uh, well, I’ve only done that to bad people. Convicted criminals, or those accused of terrible things. Never on an innocent child. No, I couldn’t.”

Rictor knelt before his younger brother. “Dear brother, I know this is difficult. But it’s for the best. Sunhold needs her, and needs her to be better. The future’s of everyone that calls this kingdom home are at stake. They need you, Ganther.”

The mind mage shrunk down in his chair, his eyes glistening. He looked back and forth between the two but couldn’t meet their earnest gazes. Enyu spoke sorrowfully, “Sometimes, Master Ganther, we are forced to make difficult decisions. But this is for the good of the people. I can only hope that you see that, and are strong enough to make the right choice.”

His eyes darted around the room looking for a way out. He glanced up at his brother and pleaded silently for help. Rictor nodded at him seriously. “I… Okay. what do you need me to do?”

“Excellent.” Enyu clapped his hands and was all smiles again. “We knew you would understand. It’s a small thing, really. We just want her to believe that she really was sick. So we are going to infect her with something, nothing dangerous, of course. Just enough that she gets a small fever, minor aches, little things like that. All we want you to do is to make her believe that her wings were damaged by this, so that she can’t fly away. She’s going to be devastated over the loss of the prince and his mother, who knows how a dramatic young girl will respond to that? We have to keep her safe, even from herself. Then plant a geas so that she is amiable to the will of the king, and does what he asks of her. Merely make it so that she prioritizes what’s best for the kingdom.” The first councillor looked to Rictor for his opinion.

Rictor chimed in and tried to console his brother. “See? Nothing big. You’re really just helping to reinforce her loyalty for king and country. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Though he still felt uneasy about the whole situation, Ganther convinced himself it was just his anxiety acting up. Obviously, the councillor’s knew what was best for the kingdom. “Nothing wrong. Yeah, okay.”

After deciding to do as he was asked, Ganther was able to distance himself from his feelings and turn a clinical eye to the procedure. Taking out the materials for the coming ritual, he let his heart rate slow down and his breathing return to normal. The mind mage pulled out several types of incense and lit them, placing them around the room at precise intervals. He spoke a long series of magical commands as he did so, to clear the area of any negative influences.

Ganther took out a faintly glowing brush and a pot of some strange black ink. Then, taking a deep breath, he concentrated on writing perfect magical symbols on her prone form. He wrote on her arms to signify a joining of intent, then on her forehead to grant him access to her mind, and finally, her stomach so that he could guide her mana into creating the necessary seals. Expertly, he drew corresponding symbols on his own forehead and arms.

Sitting in lotus position at the end of the large bed, Ganther closed his eyes and continued his chant. It took him much longer than it normally would to connect with her subconscious. Not only was he performing a vastly different procedure than he normally did, but tendrils of worry kept snagging in his thoughts. But the fear of disappointing his brother and Enya kept him going.

As he finally connected, the princess’ memories flooded into his mind. He didn’t really understand what the children were doing as Nahira’s mental vision showed him the breaking of the seal, but the later scenes of King Raitan’s rage and slaughter of his wife overshadowed his confusion. The memories seemed so real, that if he didn’t know that they were made from the evil tutor’s powerful illusions, he would have thought that they were what actually happened.

Mentally reaching into her stomach, which was the seat of magical influence, he commanded her mana to gather the designated memories together and seal them behind a wall constructed from her own aura.

Ganther was already exhausted, but didn’t stop. Such a delicate procedure needed to be completed in one go, or the chances of failure or, even worse, irreparable damage increased immeasurably. While still in his trance state, he instructed the king to start explaining to the princess what they wanted her to believe.

The king was a willing participant in this duplicitous scheme, as long as the last member of his family stayed by him, he would do anything. He spoke convincingly to the comatose princess, half believing himself that what he said was the truth. “Please ‘Hira. You've been very sick, we all have. There was a terrible fever, and awful muscle aches. You were trying your hardest to stay strong. But you lost hope when you found out that the illness had claimed Lia. Then when Valorous died, you fainted. Please, you have to get better. You’re all I have left now.” He spoke at great length about the physical aches, the emotional pain, the terrible losses. Nahira unconsciously started to react, tears ran down her cheeks, and she curled up in a ball as she visualized the deaths of her loved ones.

From inside Nahira’s subconscious, Ganther watched as her brain sought to normalize itself and build visual and auditory memories out of the king’s words. He felt a great sorrow at the content of these memories, but convinced himself that they were better than the truth.

He felt angry at the people like Tiriel, who could manipulate people and cause such evil acts. But he was glad that there were people like Councillor Enyu and his brother, who actually cared about others. Thinking about the brave actions of his idols, Ganther steeled himself for the next part. His chant became harsher as he imposed his will over the princess’.

Magical energy crackled as it gathered above the sleeping girl. Coinciding with his shout, a bolt of lighting struck her forehead, burning an arcane symbol into her aura. She screamed in agony as the electricity coursed through her mind.

The flashes of light illuminated a deranged grin that Enyu made no attempt to hide.

………………………………

Princess Nahira was in a coma for several days after Enyu had infected her with a devastating poison. The wasting sickness had certainly done its work on her. Her fur had lost its shine and her skin underneath was mottled and pockmarked. The muscles on all of her limbs had shrunk until the shapes of her bones were clearly visible. On her back, the once glossy and lustrous feathers of her wings were dull and falling out.

Nahira woke to King Raitan’s wheezing snores. She was confused as she turned her head and saw him, asleep in a chair next to her. He looked absolutely terrible. His once muscular frame had wasted away, and the dark circles under his eyes devoured half of his face. Severe-looking bruises covered his arms and neck.

Seeing how awful he looked, her memories crashed into her like a physical blow. She couldn’t breathe or move as she recalled the debilitating pain of the last few weeks. But a horrendous, keening wail tore itself out of her and shattered the silence as she remembered that Valorous was dead. She was beyond thoughts then, as she curled into a ball and shook, mewling like a terrified, abandoned kitten.

The King was wrenched awake and fell gracelessly out of his chair by the soul-rending shriek. He scrambled onto his feet and grabbed the inconsolable girl. He sat down on the edge of bed and held her, tears streaming down his fractured features, rocking back and forth and sharing in her misery. He spoke to her in a gravelly voice, “It’s gonna be alright. I’m here. It’ll be okay, ‘Hira.” His voice had long since given out, but he kept speaking in the barest of whispers for hours, until Nahira had calmed down enough that she understood his words. Eventually, she fell back asleep, cradled in his arms. To her magic-addled brain, the king was the last person in her life that she could trust and that could make her feel safe.