Book 2: Chapter 23

Cyil let out a dry laugh, like an addict who had once again turned to their bad habits. “It’s happened again,” he thought. “My actions were the cause of this. Every step I take will kill those I step towards.”

Cyil looked to Emilia, whose questioning eyes stared at him. He couldn’t help but wonder if she would also die because of him.

Cyil was no longer as distraught as he was with Betsy’s or Celestine’s death. In fact, he felt no anger, no sadness, just a sense of inevitability. His plan to remain emotionally detached from the members of Soaring Wolf had worked to some degree, but most of it was because Cyil himself had greatly changed.

Thrown into a construct where a life could be lost at a moment’s notice, where happiness is a fleeting moment, and where the weak will die, Cyil had discarded his past self. What remained of his innocence was locked away deep down and could no longer reach to influence his mind.

Cyil looked to Emilia and said, “I suppose they will be looking for me, too?”

Emilia nodded. “They are offering 1,000 gold coins for your head, dead or alive…” Emilia paused, but Cyil didn’t say anything so she continued. “So far there is only a rough description of how you look, but soon they will track down people who have seen you. Then, the situation will get more complicated. I advise you to leave the city as soon as possible.”

Cyil nodded and replied, “the brothers at Soaring Wolf didn’t say anything?”

Emilia shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Cyil let out another dry laugh and muttered, “those fools.”

Then he asked, “what about the army recruitment?”

Emilia replied with a puzzled look, not sure why Cyil was so focused on getting into the army. “That’s the last thing you have to worry about, but I have news that the six kingdoms will soon reissue a draft once more. As for the reason, I am not too clear. Perhaps, another war is brewing.”

“What does that mean? That anyone can join the army now?” Cyil had learned that the Dark Ones were no longer a threat, a hadn’t been for a long time. He couldn’t wrap his mind around why another draft would occur just after they had finally recalled the soldiers from the western borders.

Emilia had only heard of the news because her great-grandfather was one of the highest ranking members in Rovaria, but even she didn’t know the specifics:

“I am not sure as to why we would need another draft, but the kingdoms would not issue one lightly. The war with the Dark Ones was real and many died. After we won, the kingdom still stationed troops at the western borders as a political ploy to maintain peace. Although it is unlikely for that to happen once more, I hope this act is simply another political scheme.”

Cyil felt as if there was a bigger picture being painted, but he welcomed a war as long as he could get into the army. Cyil still stuck to his plan of using his military merits to enter the mage association so he would see it through.

Cyil extended his hand out to Emilia and said, “thank you for helping me in this short time. I will remember this kindness.”

Emilia approved of Cyil’s calm demeanor, but was surprised to find it in such a young boy. She said, “I can help you get out of the city safely. There are many eyes around.”

Cyil didn’t even need to think about this and promptly said, “no thanks. I don’t want to drag you into this.” After saying so, Cyil pulled his hood down over his head and walked out of Emilia’s home.

“Good luck,” Emilia called out as the door had already closed.

***

Streggana Kingdom: on the west outskirts of this furthest western kingdom’s boundaries, the ground rumbled and even the sky seem to darken.

Farmers stopped plowing the fields and looked towards the sounds. It was usually very quiet in the countryside now that the army had withdrawn. Could it be that there were still some soldiers stationed at the western borders?

“Mommy,” a young girl of around 7 clung onto her mom’s shirt. “I don’t like the loud sounds.”

The mother stroked her child’s hair, saying, “it’s okay Vanessa. These are soldiers that will protect us from bad people. They won’t harm us.” She looked up to the horizon and her eyes widened. All sorts oddly shaped creatures plagued the horizon, each in a rush to scramble towards them.

By now other people had also noticed this phenomenon and they all began to run and scream.

The mother grabbed the child and hobbled with her lame leg into their little hut. She moved fast and hefted the water jug down into the food storage place beneath the ground. Coming back up she looked the girl in the eyes and said, “Vanessa, listen to me. No matter what, don’t come up or make a sound, okay? Wait until the loud sounds are gone. And after that wait some more. Promise me this okay?”

Vanessa shook her head, tears blurring her vision. “Mommy, why are you saying this? Where are you going?”

The mother tried to smile through her horrified eyes. “I will be right here. Right here waiting for you. But you have to listen to me, okay?”

Vanessa was a smart kid and she nodded, retreating into the underground storage place even though she had never gone in there alone because she was deeply afraid of the dark.

When Vanessa was gone, the mother cried muffled sobs as she closed the storage door and began to stack up furniture and items on top of the door.

The stampede of foots, hooves, boots, claws, and bones coming from the horizons was so loud that it now swallowed up more than just sound.

The mother grabbed an axe and hobbled her way out of the house. She saw that the group of monsters and demons were less than half a mile away. Looking around, she saw none of her neighbors left and only empty houses and empty fields. Praying for their safety, she deftly chopped apart her wooden hut. She aimed for the supporting beams that were already weakened from age and weathered down from the natural elements.

She chopped and chopped and finally the hut came tumbling down.

By now she could taste the scent of death and she knelt down, praying to the god of earth, Ekdis. Rumor has it that Ekdis grew up in the very town that she now lived in. Everyone knew of the tale and they took great pride in it. A mage, who had later became a god grew up in this small town--how amazing was that? Although, no one truly believed this to be the case they still worshipped Ekdis as a deity.

The mother muttered in silence; she prayed that her little girl would be safe and prayed that her friends and their family would be safe. When she was done, she closed her eyes and said, “I’ll be joining you soon, my dearest love. I’m sorry I couldn’t take care of our child--she’s still so young.”

Then, just as the sound of savagery eclipsed, a soft thumping like the beating of a heart overshadowed everything. Everything froze--turning silent, tasteless, and odorless. The thrumming grew louder and stronger, coming from the very ground of Nakrul itself.

If a mage was to see this they still wouldn’t understand what was going on, because all the earth particles in the air was surging with shining energy as they combined to form a giant woman!

The giant woman simply said, “You bunch dare to invade my birth place?!” With fury in her eyes she raised her two arms high up into the sky then slowly clenched shut her open palms. As she closed her palms, the gravitation increased by over 50 folds, instantly crushing to death all those monsters that were within a 10 miles radius. Then, releasing the gravity, she slammed her palms onto the ground, causing a neat mountain range to rise which encircled the entirety of that 10 mile radius.

“Stay away or die!” The figure gave one last domineering shout and disappeared, but her voice remained and echoed far out into the ears of a dark-blue skinned humanoid creature who sat atop a dragon. With a dissatisfied grunt and fear in its eyes, the humanoid creature tried its best to divert the flow of monsters to avoid the newly formed mountain range. But these monstrous creatures were frenzied, so redirecting them was like using a twig to steer a canoe admist a raging storm.

After, expending a great deal of its strength, the humanoid creature coughed out blood and its body shriveled up, but it was successful in redirecting the monsters.

“Onwards, for revenge!” the humanoid creature said in the tongue of the Dark Ones.

***

At the same time, but in Rovaria Kingdom, Cyil stood among the rubble of what was once Soaring Wolf’s headquarters.

He slowly dug through the debris and calmly retrieved the mangled and dismembered bodies of his brothers. Three days had caused the stench of warm meat to rise, but Cyil got used to it. He moved the bodies into a huge long grave he had dug; laying them neatly side by side, Cyil did not shed a tear.

When Cyil came upon a stack of bodies, he saw a blood stained pouch of money laying on the ground. Picking it up a tossing it in the air, Cyil said, “foolish Valter. I am sorry.” Then Cyil moved the bodies and placed the pouch of money onto Valter’s chest-- wrapping Valter’s rigid fingers around the pouch.

When Cyil counted the bodies, he was missing one. Cyil was startled. He recounted and checked the whole building again just to make sure, but one body was still missing. “Could someone have escaped?” Cyil asked himself, unknowingly a bit happy at the thought.

Most of the bodies were so damaged that Cyil couldn’t identify who was who, so he didn’t know who could have survived. Cyil thought about this then remembered that Emilia had said all of the Soaring Wolf members had died.

Just as Cyil’s atomic sized hope reignited, an angry voice sounded out from far down the road: “who the fuck are you? The boss said no one is to touch this area!”

Cyil looked to the man who was running towards him. Cyil could see a Ravenous Serpents emblem stitched onto the man’s shirt sleeve.

Smiling and approaching the man, Cyil said, “Those bastards of Soaring Wolf owed me money. I’m lining them up one by one to piss on them, but one of them is gone. Do you know which lucky bastard got away?”

The man stopped and looked to the lined up bodies. Frowning he said, “get the fuck outta here. We’re waiting for our prey to come back to the scene. Now get out of here before I kill you!”

“Com’on now mister. I have a grudge against these bastards. Let me know where the last one is so I can piss on him, too.”

“There ain’t no one left of these sorry sons of dogs. Their leader, Flowers or something, angered the boss deeply so he got the royal treatment. We’re displaying his body in front of Ravenous Serpent’s headquarters for all to see. But no one would recognize him, not even his mother--his head is all squished up like a dried apricot.”

When Cyil heard this he said, “Brother Florens. You’re talking about brother Florens?”

“Right, his name was Florens.” As the man said this he looked to Cyil again said, “take off your hood for me.”

“Sure,” Cyil replied and moving to take off his hood, he place one hand atop of the other. Flipping off the hood Cyil repositioned his hands and aimed at the man’s chest.

Spiraling Water Sphere!

The almond shaped water blasted through the man who was just about to raise his voice. A hole where his lungs would be, the man dropped to the ground finally aware that the prey he had been waiting for was here all along.

Cyil watched as the man breathed his last breath, looked around with his eyes and senses for witnesses, then moved the dead body under some debris. Cyil searched the man’s body and found some money, but otherwise nothing of use. He ripped off the emblem on the man’s sleeve and stuck it on his own.

Cyil quickly filled the long grave with dirt and said, “I couldn’t have asked for better brothers in this life. You all will be my first and last. Sorry is not enough for bringing harm to all of you.”

After these words, Cyil took off his cloak and tossing it into the wind he walked back towards the city where Ravenous Serpents’ base was stationed.