Jon screamed in pain, sweat pouring from every pore in his skin. His back arched, and his fingers clawed at the air. It was as if every cell in his body was being stabbed with red hot irons. It didn’t only hurt physically but deep down into his soul.

Yuri focused intently on his arm and scratched markings into his flesh with the thorns of one of the flowers in the oasis. Superheated water from the fountain was then poured onto the open wound.

“Yaargh!” Jon screamed again.

Yuri was concerned for a moment by his pain but quickly dismissed it and moved on to finishing the markings. Once the final stroke was made the glyphs on his forearm glowed brightly as if they were on fire. Jon violently kicked and screamed and jolted in place.

“Hold onto the pain” Yuri whispered, “Become one with the pain, allow part of it to flow through the markings and contain it there”.

Jon’s eyes locked onto her and he tried to do as she said. Everything in him screamed at him to freak out and break away from the pain. He wanted to pass out, or even to die if it would ease the pain. He wondered at how he could become one with such a terrible feeling, or how he could willingly house it in his arm, but as he looked at Yuri he trusted her and drove as much of the pain as he could into his arm.

His arm felt as though it was hot enough that it could explode and burn away all of his flesh to leave nothing but a charred stump, but he continued to push it deeper into the markings and hold it there.

“Yes Jon, hold it there, just like that”

Jon stopped screaming but the pain had not gone away.

“Focus your breathing, regain more resolve, change your intention from fighting it, to keeping it there”

Jon didn’t know how he could possibly keep it there, but he took in a deep breath, and slowly breathed back out. He looked into Yuri’s eyes and resolved to keep going as she had done. He started to realise that this pain wasn’t his alone, that he shared it with Yuri, and with that he started to relent that some part of this pain might actually be precious. He let out a small smile towards Yuri as if to say “it will be okay”, and he gently squeezed her hand.

The light shining from the marks on his forearm all seemed to flash in sequence, and synchronize. A gentle light soon replaced the blaze that had been there before and the pain seemed to grasp into his flesh like a stable set of sutures that closed the wounds. Only these sutures closed the wounds with a lot of pain.

Jon slowly sat up and looked at the mark throbbing and aching on his arm, “gah, that really stings… But I think I have got this”. He noticed that the shape of the marking and the glyphs helped him to contain a lot of the pain with composure. It slowly became second nature to him to hold the pain that now existed as part of his arm.

Yuri “It is done. This mark will help you draw power from these waters, and you may retain who you are… Now one last thing”

Jon “And what is that”

Yuri “You must regain your strength”, she slipped open the front of her shirt and slid out a shoulder. Jon would have resisted but he was beyond exhausted. His lips met the soft skin of her breast and nectar filled his mouth. It was surprisingly comforting, so he closed his eyes and drank it down before lying down to sleep.

…

A small creature scurried across the wall in a panic and reached a little crack to burrow into just before the wall blasted open. The Maestro, Baz, and Cassandra had finally made their way into the neighboring cave structures. All the men behind them rushed through impatiently and gasped for air. They had broken through just in time, but the act of drilling through hard rock had tired all three magisters.

Captain “you three should rest and regain your strength I will handle things for now”

He then turned to the men and selected a few teams of his best men, “I am going to need you to scout out the cave systems ahead and warn us of any danger lurking beyond. Keep quiet and don’t engage if you can help it, and don’t lead any danger back this way while the magisters are recovering”

The men in each team nodded and headed out into the different openings.

Subi turned to each of the caves each of the men headed down and sniffed the air. He could sense the monsters beyond. None would be immediately threatening so he lowered his guard and sat down with Rem and Clive.

Clive “isn’t it crazy how we all ended up in this mess, I mean just look around, we are stuck in a cave system deep within a labyrinth, after having fled a giant monster and its horde of evil creatures”

Rem “it wasn’t what I was expecting would happen this week, that is for sure”

Subi “It bothers me honestly, because I can’t say I am surprised. All too often in my life I have always been pursued by the constant sprouting of new problems. After every solution another problem finds its way to come and bite you”

Clive and Rem looked at Subi with a concerned look

Rem “but when I met you, you were just a puppy so what do you mean?”

Subi “Ah… yeah… Well, I might as well tell you guys something about myself, it might be hard to believe so just hear me out”

Clive “Sure bud, whatever it is we are here to listen”

Subi “Okay, so when I met Rem I wasn’t actually just a puppy, before that I had a life… I had a job, and I had experiences. I was 30 when I met you, but I had been transformed into a puppy by some really strange things that happened”

Rem “you were thirty years old? And someone transformed you? Who? Were they a magister?!”

Subi “See this is the hard part… It wasn’t a magister… It was a goddess… I am actually from another world”

Clive “Say what? Another world as in, from some kind of portal or other place?”

Subi “I don’t know where it is in reference to here but the goddess spoke about each world like there were many of them, overlooked by different gods. She actually wasn’t all that happy about her job, like it was a burden to her to look over each world… And I got the feeling that worlds get neglected by their gods often. But the world I came from was very different from here, it didn’t have magic for example”

Rem “No magic?”

Subi “Yeah, we had things called computers which allow us to send information across the globe instantly, we have satellites that take pictures for our maps, and we can capture images… That is what a picture is. I am not describing it well but it is just very different from here, but in some ways it is similar. Back in my world I worked with computers in an office job, in my world most people are herded into self similar groups and basically forced to do the same work over and over until they get old. And one day when I was coming back from work and heading over to my brother’s house to visit my niece for her birthday, I was hit by a truck. It is a big moving wagon. And then before I knew it I was in front of the goddess and she sent me here”

Clive “That sounds pretty bleak”

Subi “In that life I constantly had things fall apart, and not work, and I was worried all the time that I couldn’t pay rent or afford what I needed to. And everytime something good happened it was quickly taken away and I lost it”

Clive “I am sorry man”

Subi “I shouldn’t complain, I mean who gets a second go at it right? But just everything happening here doesn’t surprise me at all. For me it is always like this”

Clive “How does an office job compare to getting stuck in a cave though?”

Subi “Well, I think the reaction to being trapped on a routine basis is the constant here”

Rem “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me earlier you were from another world, and met a goddess and had another life. Didn’t you trust me?”

Subi “It wasn’t that, it was just a heavy burden and I didn’t want to put it on anyone else’s shoulders but now… I guess I just don’t know what my role is here… I am some kind of wolf creature and that is whatever that is, but I don’t know who I really am, does that make sense?”

Clive “And what makes you think we know who we are?” he said as lifting his hand, “do you think I define myself as the guy with the messed up hand? I think that is just something I hope to overcome or make use of some day, and I think everyone has that thing they need to face… Maybe yours is that you are from another world, or maybe it is that you have so much experience that it is hard to fit it into the person you now are?”

Subi “I’m sorry for complaining, I just look at the maestro saving these people, and you guys seem to have a mysterious purpose and future. But me… I’m that dog guy. Where does anyone go from there?”

Rem “You aren’t just some dog guy Subi, you are the only one who has ever been there for me, through thick and thin. You are the truest and noblest friend I have ever had, and with that comes a purpose, that I want to achieve what I want to achieve in part because of you”

Subi “Rem… I ah…”

Clive “And man, when I was freaking out just before my hand got turned into this thing, you set me straight, told me to face my fears. Without that I don’t think I could have handled having this happen to me as well as I have so far. I might have just overreacted to everything and hurt myself”

Subi “Thanks, that helps I think… But there is another thing I know that I haven’t told you”

Rem tensed up, and Clive stared at Subi in a heightened state of suspense.

Clive “what is it?”

Subi “When I went to each of the dungeons, I was able to communicate with something through the abolath crystals. At first it was just visions, but then it spoke to me, and it said something that has been bothering me ever since. It said the world is falling apart, that in a way the earth opening up and swallowing you guys was because of a rot. And I wonder if the mirror that burned that gem into your hand was also a result of some kind of rot inside of magic as well”

Clive stood up straight and became silent, it was obvious he was disturbed by what he had heard because it had hit home as something true but horrifying. Rem just looked on at Subi a bit confused.

Rem “So what does all this mean?”

Subi “That is just it, I don’t know. I don’t know if I am meant to help the world not fall apart, just help you guys, or just try to find happiness, and I feel a bit trapped by it”

Rem became quiet as she felt the whisper of the idea that Subi might feel trapped by her too.

Clive turned back, and put his hand on Rem’s shoulder, “well we thank you for sharing it with us, it must have been a burden to have held that up on your own. Truth is, we sometimes feel those ways too, I mean, what is the meaning of my hand, or I’m sure Rem has her own version”

Rem “I was orphaned and I guess I don’t know where I really belong, kinda sucks all the time”

Subi nodded and then smiled “I’m glad you said that, it suggests that you know I’m not your only possible family… Shows that maybe what you need is to grow, to get to know more amazing people. It will be nice to share in that with you, and I can see it happening”

Subi then turned to Clive “And clive, I think the truth of that hand is what you make it. We all have strange strengths and weaknesses, and they present unique opportunities, what matters is what you do with the opportunities you have while you have them. And if you make the best of them how can you regret it?”

Rem and Clive both smiled.

Rem “I think I know who you really are”

Clive “Yeah, me too”

Rem “you help add meaning to all of this, by bringing your humble and true perspective to everything that is happening”

Clive “while everyone else gets lost, you are present in the moment, aware of where we are”

Rem “Maybe the goddess gave you the wolf body so that you would have super senses because that is part of who you are”

Clive “Maybe she even planned it all out so that you would think it was your idea or some kind of mistake so that you would feel this kind of way about it”

Subi contemplated what they were saying for a moment and then broke down laughing “hahaha, you guys, I don’t think so… But it is nice of you to say”

Subi “actually you know what you guys are right, I should just embrace who I am, know I am capable of influencing things in this world and do my best with it. There doesn’t need to be a grand meaning, just a good intent” he smiled

Rem smiled and felt closer to him than she ever had before. Clive chuckled and appreciated how Subi had just gone from super frustrated to super at ease in a matter of a few minutes. He was also reminded of what a powerful being Subi truly was, no one else that he knew of could transform as he could, nor did they possess his sensory powers. When guided, Subi was truly a powerful force, but perhaps when unguided Subi just felt like everyone else; worried about their future.

Clive “We’ll find our way out of here and we’ll think of something cool to do, you are right, life shouldn’t be a series of problems being overcome. And while we are here, how about we try to make the most of it”

Rem “yeah! I say we throw a party when we are out of here, and for now see what we can gain from the experience right?”

Subi “I couldn’t agree more guys”

Clive smiled, and hid his hand behind his back. It was burning again.

…

Chitterlings had spread throughout the entire town. Those who were outside were struck by their paralysing darts and dragged into large piles in the town square. Those who were inside either cowered in fear, or were witness to the unspeakable horrors outside.

“Madelaine, get away from the window”

“What are they doing out there?”

“I won’t say it again, get away from the window”

The woman with light brown hair and freckles couldn’t help but glimpse the horror of what was happening outside in the town square as she grabbed her child. She bent over and vomited all over the floor.

A thick aroma of charred meat wafted through the air as the chitterlings had dragged people into piles to burn alive. But before they put them onto the piles with others, they used their spoon like teeth to shred the skin off of the paralyzed victims faces.

A group of chitterlings surrounded the fire and chanted in hysterics, praying to their god and wishing for luck in their pursuit of the artifact that was taken from them.

…

Dan “what is that smoke, are they burning houses or something?”

The magister with the scarred lip turned and guided Dan by the shoulder to not look back at the city. He knew the unspeakable horrors that were happening there and knew that he should not allow the kids to look into it too deeply.

“The army from the Capital isn’t far now” said one of the magisters.

They all moved in single file and a magister at the back disguised their tracks in case any chitterlings were following them. It wasn’t much longer until they could hear the army and then not much longer after that until they could see them marching down the open road.

One of the magisters sent a signal to the army so to identify themselves, and received a signal back. The chancellor was with the army, surrounded by elite guards at the back of the convoy. He nodded to one of the pages to run ahead and tell the vanguard to accept the magisters into the ranks and grant them an audience with the general.

Dan and Cat felt overwhelmed as they passed through line after line of armored troops. It was surreal to be surrounded by such an organised force. The vanguard were heavily armored spearmen with shields. The second line wore a smaller shield with throwing spears at their back and short swords on their hilts. The third line were cavalrymen upon lightly armored horses with lances. And behind that were slingers which carried an array of daggers, and numerous slings wrapped around their body. Archers followed behind, along with the most elite of all the troops outside of the chancellors bodyguards, a group of twelve Eagle Squadron. It wasn’t a large army, not like might be brought out in the field of battle versus another nation, but it was formidable nonetheless, and five thousand men strong.

Cat thought to herself that the chitterlings stood no chance.

“What do you mean your job isn’t to secure the town, I told you a large force of chitterlings has taken it over, they are burning the citizens alive right now, just look at the smoke” the magister with the scarred lip yelled at the general.

“We may get time to investigate the town’s problems later, but for now our priority is to investigate the surrounds of the Labyrinth for intelligence gathering”

“I knew you bastards would leave the town high and dry, it is just yet another day in the life of the chancellor to see thousands die. And you follow his order blindly like a dog! How can you even look at yourself in the mirror”

“Look, feel free to go liberate the town yourselves, but if you are to want our help you will have to wait. You are lucky we are even here, and that I am offering to assist you after our primary objective is complete”

“This is ridiculous!” the magister said before storming off. “You kids stay here with the others, and DON’T stray off”.

Dan “Is it just me or does that guy have a crazy look in his eye?”

Cat “Definitely isn’t just you, he is up to something”

Dan “Shouldn’t the army help liberate the town though, seems strange that they wouldn’t”

Cat “It isn’t that strange, think about it, this army could be any number of other places. The chancellor has to divide his forces to the places he knows need it the most. I suspect he doesn’t consider the chitterlings as big of a threat as what he is aiming to address first”

Dan “He mentioned that the Chitterlings were burning people alive, you think that is true”

Cat “Unfortunately, that seems to be true”

Dan “Ugh! Dammit, is there anything we can do, like use the eye?”

Cat “And do what? We barely escaped the first time, I mean why do you think we are wearing overalls”

Dan “You have a point”

…

Jon sat in a meditative pose, blocking out all sensations around him except for Yuri’s voice. Yuri cupped water from the fountain in her hands and walked over to Jon. She slowly tipped the waters into Jon’s mouth. The glyphs on his hand began to glow and burn. Jon struggled to keep composed and focused again on his breathing.

Yuri took a fruit from a nearby tree and removed some of its skin. She focused magic into the skin to transform it into a gel and rubbed it over Jon’s lips. She then walked back to the fountain and took up more water to drip into Jon’s mouth. The balm on Jon’s lips burned like food that was too spicy, his arm felt like it was clasped within a branding iron, but around him danced colors and shapes he could not explain. They shifted and moved in ways that only dreams can move, but had colors richer than the eye could ever see, and within those movements and colors was hidden meaning, whispers of things left unknown, hidden behind the veils of the universe. He awed at the power of the process Yuri was taking him through, and he would have been excited for the growth he felt within himself, if it wasn’t for the enormous pain in his arm and his burning lips.

Yuri took another scoop of water and gently began bathing Jon in its waters, starting at his neck. She meticulously and carefully washed his entire body from head to toe in the waters as Jon struggled to remain calm amidst the pain and confusion that the water brought. Magic coursed through his veins like cold ice water, stinging every part of him within. It was only the pain in his arm that anchored him back to reality, otherwise he felt as if he might just float away within the stream of its power.

Jon “uuuuughhh grrrrr!” he began to tremble and shake and grunt and moan. The magic in his body circulated at such high speed that it was as though his mind was like the still wind within a room being sucked out by a hurricane just outside the door. He struggled to hold on.

Yuri knelt beside him and placed a gentle kiss onto his neck. The crystal touch of her lips resonated throughout him and helped him find his center in the pain once again. He wondered how this process could ever be possible without her, and realised that he might have always been too much of a coward to do it alone. He loved her in that moment, and also hated her. He didn’t know who to be anymore, his old self that would have yelled at anyone who would put him through such pain, or the blooming of his new self that could understand its purpose.

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” he screamed towards the roof of the cave, his veins boiling with magical energy. His eyes shot open, burning with light, and his body began to levitate slowly off the ground, as if he was being suspended by his heart in the center of the cave.

Yuri “listen to my voice… You will be passing through the eye… Your body has been made as malleable as your soul, so that you might pass through this change together. Do not separate from one another as you are drawn through”

Jon nodded while shaking from the terror and pain he felt.

It was as if all he was had been scooped into the palms of the universe and was being slowly poured through a hole he could not see beyond.

RARRRGH!!!

The pain shooting through his body was beyond anything he could hope to control, but he remembered Yuri’s words.

Jon “Don’t separate as I am drawn through”

Jon shook and trembled and held on as his soul passed through what seemed like the eye of a tiny needle. And then slowly came back down to the ground. His toes gently touching the ground first.

Yuri held onto Jon in an embrace holding him upright as his weight returned to his body.

Yuri “Are you still there? Did you make it through?” she wondered if he had made it as she had seen many in the past fail to make it through the eye.

Jon “I am here… Thanks for catching me”

Yuri smiled and gently knelt down with him, “you need to rest now”

Jon nodded, the pain in his arm now seemed small compared to what he had just been through, and he realised that if required to do so he could handle its pain forever. And with his resolve the magic flowing through his veins responded and slowed to match the rhythm and nature of his thoughts.

Jon passed out and began to dream a dreamless dream, as his body sung in sweet symphonies. Yuri continued to tend to his body, appraising where Jon’s new soul was strongest and weakest, drawing further glyphs along his body to stabilise the energy. She rubbed the wounds down with water from the fountain and placed the spicy balm from the fruit upon the wounds.

Jon was feverish and suffered in his sleep with cold sweats, and Yuri placed her hands on him and patted him down to calm his struggle so that it might not develop into nightmares.

Yuri “you are doing well Jon, just keep fighting”

…

The magister with the scarred lip was in hysterics as he approached the gate of the town. The smell of burning bodies, the unheard screams of the tortured and dying. He couldn't bear it anymore. He sent out a flare over the city revealing his location, and then screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Hey you bastards! Do you hear me! Come and get me!”

He saw a few chitterlings in the corner of his eye and spun around with wind magic in his hand blasting them back.

“You will need to send more than that!!!” he screamed.

He used his magic to pry open the gates and walked into town launching up more flares. More and more chitterlings around the city began to notice the commotion and turned towards it.

“Ilack, bon vewn, you little cowards” it was a curse to the gods in chitterling language.

Several groups of chitterlings began tracking and honing in on his location.

The magister looked around him in a panic, and decided it was time to run, the ominous aura of deadly intent flooding in from all around him was palpable to his senses.

He ran as fast as he could and assisted his movement with wind magic. The chitterlings followed in hot pursuit, the crowd behind him grew and grew as it collected chitterlings along the way. Several lone chitterlings jumped out in front of him, but he had anticipated this and threw lightning bolts through their chests. The dead bodies enraged the pursuing chitterlings as they passed by their dead comrades.

One of the vanguard of the Chancellor’s small army pointed down the road, “what is that dust cloud”.

The captain of the vanguard straightened up “Men ready yourself, the enemy is closing in on our location, enter battle formations” he then nodded to a page to run back to the army behind to take up their positions as well.

“HUAH!” the spearmen shouted as they reached formation. The units behind them circled around to the flanks to prepare a volley of javelins for the encroaching enemy once in range. The slingers prepared stones into their slings and began hurling projectiles hundreds of meters through the air in massive synchronised volleys.

FWIP!

A massive volley of stones launched towards the dust cloud. They whistled as they tore through the air, shooting down at the chitterlings like meteorites.

FWET FWET FWET

Chitterlings fell down dead as the comrades beside them continued pursuit, their bodies hurling backwards as the rocks penetrated into their flesh. The magister put up a small shield deflecting the rocks.

The chitterlings quickly fanned out and made a loose formation to avoid fire and pursued through the trees knowing it would be safe from slinger fire.

“Hold your fire” the slinger captain said “They’ve entered the trees now”

The captain of the cavalry signalled to his men to circle around the enemy force by going through the woods. They galloped to the high ground on each side of the road prepared to charge the enemy force once it entered the funnel the army had created.

The chitterlings without missing a beat separated into five groups, and a group of twelve chitterlings followed down the center of the road after the magister. Each group spread out through the trees while making wild chittering noises, like a flock of locusts. And the first three chitterlings behind the magister were mage priests, that erected a magical barrier against his attack, while the remaining nine chitterlings formed a kind of slingshot and mounted a long spear.

The magister shot back at the chitterlings behind him but his spells deflected off the shields they had erected.

“Damn it!”

FWET!

A spear launched at high velocity and shot through the magister’s torso killing him instantly. His body fell down limp in the middle of the road, blood pouring out of the hole in his chest.

The captains shouted to their battalions “READY!” as impact with the enemy force was imminent. The chittering grew louder and louder.

“HUAH!” the soldiers shouted as they firmed their grip on their weapons and shields.

SHHHH!

The chitterling’s calls turned into hissing as they no longer ran straight at the battle lines, but scurried up trees and broke formation in every direction around them.

“Where did they go!” one of the Javelin throwers shouted

The captain clapped back “Eyes on a swivel boys”

The captain of the cavalry became frustrated and lifted his visor “Damn, where did they go, there is nothing left to charge”. He looked up and saw shadows moving through the treetops.

“Yah yah, follow me men! We have to get out of these trees, towards the cleared farms on the right flank” the captain circled back around the forces and swung far to the right side and once reaching the open fields torn up by the drowner vines he blew a horn to signal a tactical retreat to his location.

The archers and slingers were the first to make a run for the fields. While the javelin throwers rotated formation fallback behind the spearmen making a triangle. The entire formation then slowly began to move through the trees.

FWET FWET FWET!

Paralyzing darts rained down upon the men. The spearmen who were heavily armoured shrugged them off but the javelin men had to raise their shields in order to hide the gaps in their open visors. Dozens of men fell to the ground paralyzed in a single volley of poison darts. The men remained resolved and continued to move through the trees. The chancellor’s elite guard and the eagle squadron also hurried along with the chancellor to the open ground.

“Tight formation! Shields up!” the captain of the vanguard shouted.

Chitterlings began to drop down from the trees as the soldiers vision was obstructed by their shields and formed running circles. They ran in at the lines of soldiers slashing at their legs. And then quickly retreated back up the trees.

FWET FWET FWET!

More soldiers fell over paralysed to the volley of poisoned darts, as the soldiers lowered their guards to react to the attacking chitterling running circles.

“Split roles, every second man defend yourself and the man to your side, the others defend from the ground attack!” the captain of the vanguard shouted, “Right to left slicing attack on my command!”

“Huah” the soldiers shouted back in unison to show their readiness for the order.

FWET FWET FWET!

The chitterlings again came down in running circles and approached to slash at the soldiers legs.

“NOW!”

The line of soldiers stepped forwards and slashed from right to left in sequence cutting down swathes of the chitterlings in one motion. The remaining chitterlings on the ground scattered and several soldiers threw javelins at the fleeing chitterlings. Some chitterlings were impaled but most made it back to the trees.

The captain grit his teeth and tried to anticipate what the chitterlings next move would be. Lines of chitterlings stretched down the largest trees as they lifted large rocks into the canopy above the path the soldiers would travel towards the fields.

The men walked in formation expecting an attack at any moment, but instead there was silence. Men shifted uncomfortably within the formation while continuing to move with shields up.

THWOMP CRASH THUD

Boulders fell from the tree tops, colliding into shields, helmets, and armor of the men. Men hit on the shield had their guard thrown loose, men hit on the helmet fell unconscious or died on the spot, and men hit on the armor had an arm or leg disabled.

FWET FWET FWET!

Another volley of darts rained down in the panic, dropping swathes of men to the ground amongst the other injured. The javelin soldiers were reduced by half and the spearmen by a few dozen units.

“FORM UP!” the captain shouted to the remaining troops, he knew the importance of their survival in the battle to come. For an army without a front line is surely to be defeated on the field of battle.

“We are close now! Shields up and prepare to move at double speed towards the open ground!” the captain barked.

The chitterlings began tossing down small flaming parcels of weeds and other alchemical mixtures. A white fog began to obscure the ground ahead and slowly drift up to block the view of the open ground.

“Damn it! Clever bastards!”

“DOUBLE TIME!”

Chitterlings swung down on makeshift vine ropes and pounced onto the backs of soldiers as they ran, and plunged the sharp end of their dart pipes down the neck slits in the armor, like an execution. Once their target was dead they quickly climbed back up the vines into the trees again.

A swarm of chitterlings all dived at once on the captain’s location. The captain swung his close quarter short sword at the chitterlings latched onto his body and cleaved several of them in half, but not before one managed to stab a paralysing dart through the eye of his visor, blinding him and sending him spilling to the floor where the other chitterlings pulled off his helm and slashed wildly at his face and neck until his bleeding caused his consciousness to fade.

The army in the open field watched on in anticipation as a panicked few troops ran from the fog. Many men tripping and stumbling on debris on the ground that they couldn’t see because of the fog.

The chancellor looked on frustrated as only half of his spearmen made it out and only two hundred of his javelin soldiers survived of his fifteen hundred men.

The cavalry rode out to illustrate the battle lines the spearmen should form riding from side to side “FORM UP MEN!”, “THREE MEN DEEP”, “THREE MEN DEEP”, “PHALANX FORMATION”.

The spearmen gathered along the lines and the javelinmen with short swords retreated to the back of the formation in a panic.

“We couldn’t, we couldn’t, they found the holes in our armor” one of the men called out to the general

The general calmly responded “gather back into formation back here and regain your wits, you will have your chance for revenge soon enough”

The dozen magisters stepped forwards from just behind the middle of the spearmen formation and erected a great line of shields.

FWET FWET FWET!

The paralyzing darts fell flat to the ground after deflecting off the barriers.

The archers just behind them then lit their arrows and aimed towards the trees. The magisters swirled their arms above their heads forming dark clouds of magical energy.

FWET FWET FWET!

The arrows lodged into the trees and then lit on fire with the help of mages enhancing the flames with magical energy. Dark streams of energy reached down into the trees from the clouds and ignited the small flames into wildfires. Funnels of whirling wind turned the flames into ferocious whirls of flame and heat.

The chitterlings ran back from the edge of the trees and began circling the opening on all sides.

The general commanded for the formation to shift to a circle and sent the chancellor and his guard to the center. The thousand spearmen that remained formed a circle around the slingers, archers and elite troops. The cavalry rode around at the outskirts almost five hundred men strong. They knew they would ride those vermin down as soon as they entered the open field. If only it weren’t for the uneven terrain torn up by the vines.

The captain of the cavalry surveyed the battlefield for the best spots to engage and where it would be safest to turn the cavalry back around and put it to memory, then pointed out locations to his flag bearers to ready them for the battle ahead.

Hours passed like this.

Time went on but no sign of the chitterlings remained. The cavalry were sat in place. “Hrmm, damn it, we will have to dismount soon, the horses are getting tired”. The fire was still raging through the woods on the side they had come from, so they became more and more certain that the attack would come from the other side.

One of the eagle squadron could be overheard with the general.

“It is classic chitterling tactics, waiting us out until we tire or grow lax in our defense, they know we can’t pursue them, but perhaps we can prepare the battlefield towards our favor. Let’s get the magisters to dig trenches 15 feet long and ten foot deep, forming access towards us into bridges”

General “I would agree if this were a defensive exercise, but we shouldn’t overextend the magisters before we know our enemies plans”

“It is simple general, they are waiting for us to put our guard down, and eventually we must, we can’t wait until nightfall to make preparations or else they will have the advantage”

General “Hrmm, maybe so… But the best defense is a good offence I always say, it might be better to burn them out and make waste to the rest of this forest they are hiding in”

General “Men, let’s erase their cover, and force them out of hiding. Archers light your arrows, magisters, support the blaze”

Archers cast their arrows into the forest, slowly lighting it on fire, using up the last of their arrows to make sure it was a blazing wildfire in all directions. Little did they know the chitterlings only had a few scouts remaining in the perimeter. The main mass was huddled around the fissure in the ground created by Cat earlier. They were dropping alchemical packages down the hole and pouring hot vats of wine found in town onto the rocks to cause them to snap and break off. The hole was growing wider by the hour and soon enough it would be large enough to fit the crawler through.

A priest of the chitterlings stared at the army from the already burned treeline towards the road. He could cast cooling magic to avoid being injured by the embers that remained burning. His eyes were fixed on Cat and Dan in the middle of the army formation, he could sense the artifact was with them, and he snickered knowing that he would see it back in his grasp soon.

…

Dan “I can’t believe that magister drew them all towards us”

Cat “I think it was kind of heroic, even if it was stupid, I mean he didn’t want to see the town suffering anymore, and the chancellor wasn’t going to change his mind and help”

Dan “Yeah, too bad he didn’t make it”

Cat “Even if he did make it back I don’t think the Chancellor would have let it slide, he would have been executed for treason, likely strung up in the capital, or just killed here. I don’t think he completely thought it through. It was an emotional decision for sure”

Dan “oh, you think they really would have executed him like that without a trial or anything?”

Cat “Absolutely”

Dan “Damn, that sucks, what is with these people”

Cat “They are leaders, and the cost of leadership is death, don’t be naive”

Dan “Grrr, well it shouldn’t be! Leaders should become leaders because they have better character not because they are numb to murdering people just because they don’t do what they are told”

Cat “That is what nations do, didn’t you know that?”

Dan “No, I knew, it just bothers me is all”

Cat “Yes it isn’t pleasant, I am torn on whether it is necessary also”

…

Maestro “I notice you have a wolf shape on your shield there, any reason for that”

Subi “I uh, like wolves I guess”

Maestro “Why?”

Subi “I suppose because they follow their instincts, even if others disagree with them”

Maestro “The only thing they follow is their hunger to kill, I don’t think there is anything more despicable in this world than a wolf”

Subi scrunched up his brow, “What makes you say something that lined with hatred for them?”

Maestro “You wouldn’t understand…”

Subi “Maybe not, but wouldn’t have to agree with you to hear you out”

Maestro “People look at them like they are something mysterious, but in reality, they are just like us. To them death means nothing, they would feel the same no matter if we live or die. And their instinct drives them to kill”

Subi “Couldn’t the same be said of us? And don’t each of us have a choice? What makes you think every wolf is the same, is every human the same”

Maestro “I told you that you wouldn’t understand”

He eyed the shield one last time with disgust and then walked back over to the other side of the cave.

Subi whispered to Rem and Clive “Did you guys hear that?”

Rem “Maybe don’t reveal what you can really do to him, yeah?”

Clive “Whoa, man I don’t say this often but if he found out who you really were he would hate you with an undying passion”

Subi “Yeah I know, what the heck is with that guy? I mean who gets that bent out of shape by a wolf of all things, aren’t there like a thousand other monsters to get worked up about? Damn, now I feel like I need to watch my back”

Clive “Didn’t he attack you before during the battle just after you saved him”

Subi “Yeah i wasn’t going to mention it because I thought he was just startled but yeah he did”

Rem “I think it is safe to say he’d attack any wolf no questions asked”

…

Jon awoke to Yuri’s loving gaze “Ah, you are awake” she smiled.

“Yeah, I uh, am okay”

He gazed down at his arm and at the glyphs that now adorned his body with a gentle glow, like vines wrapped around a tree. His senses were heightened, he could feel, hear, sense, and see magic in his surroundings and Yuri was surrounded by a glowing aura. The pain in his arm and tracing along the glyphs on his body made him quickly normalise the unusual nature of his observations, and he slid his undershirt back on.

“How did it go, did I pass the test?”

Yuri smiled and brought her fists together in a cute gesture “Yes! You passed! And I am so glad”

Jon brushed his hand through his hair, and then rubbed the back of his neck. His posture and mannerisms had changed, they were more confident and manly than before, as if he had matured well beyond his years. Strength was evident in the stoic look in his eyes, and every action he took was slower than it used to be.

Yuri “Now that you can handle magical energy, we can begin training you to be strong enough to leave this place”

Yuri held out her hand and helped Jon to stand.

“Copy my movements”

Yuri took a fighting stance and Jon followed her. She lifted her foot and spiralled it around to behind her, and then she struck forwards with her front hand. For hours they followed each other’s movements, and Jon learned through instinct and a magical connection with Yuri. Over these hours he began to understand what each move communicated and its purpose in teaching him. He learned to master his own body and how it moved much like a master musician learns the notes of a powerful song. Each movement channelled magical energy and harnessed it. And in between these movements Yuri drew Jon’s attention to individual glyphs on his body by gently touching them, branding the feeling into his body and mind. He discovered that he was wearing a blueprint to his own potential, and while every glyph contained great pain, it was a comfort to him knowing that he would never be thrown off guard.

After Yuri sat down and training ended Jon took up his grimoire and took sips from the fountain, learning and studying the pages within. He focused deeply on what he sensed was behind each spell and began to relate to how each element moved.