A scout enters the room to report, “My lord, we found traces of demon activity in western Faeheim, between Tamil and Alfskog.”

This is good news, “What is the scale?”

“Dozens of different demons coming in and out of the forest.”

The young prince delight at the news, there can be no better proof that he received the gods’ approval. He gives a sly look to his advisor, and the mage answers in kind; as the hero and Randstalt-Tamil prince, he must reunite the empire, and destroy the enemies of humanity.

<><><>

Back in Azul, another individual is delighted, a minister turned traitor general Iver all sort of interesting information about the kingdom’s current and past trade with other species. Among them was a hidden truth about the founding of the kingdom; Azulstad was once a center of trade for human and nonhuman slaves, and their clients were other humans, giant, beastmen, and even Faes.

This trade gave the city unprecedented access to magic items, but it was never enough to resist its numerous and powerful. One day, a rumor came to the ear of the wise king, and he chose to bet everything on its veracity. He personally led the greatest campaign ever to capture the most beautiful females in the land, both humans and elves.

An invitation was sent to the dwarf kingdom for bachelor dwarfs to attend the greatest auction of all time, and thousands of them flocked from the mountain carrying weapons and armors of great power. This was the founding of Azul kingdom and the beginning of a long-lasting trade agreement between the dwarfs and Azulians.

The general is skeptical, but the ancient tablets brought by the minister are real; there is no denying it, the exchange really occurred twelve hundred years ago.

“Can we replicate the deed?” , ask the general greedily.

“You sold dozens of young aristocrats to the Dryads, and it made the country more peaceful; there’s no reason for you not to do the same with their sisters.”

The exchange was a failure, but it had unexpectedly positive fallout… Doing it a second time could induce rebellion, though.

“Only target orphaned aristocrat, rebel sympathizers and others expandable; I don’t want to risk a backlash.”

The ex-minister answers with an evil smile, “Your wishes are my commands, my lord.”

<><><>

Sylva is shopping in Manntorg when she feels the death of the second and third champions; at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before they come after her.

“Madam?” asks a worried demi-elf shopkeeper, “Is there a problem?”

“Don’t mind me, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“It’s just that… You may be a very powerful Fae, but this ring is cursed.”

“I know; it drives mortal to desire it, then brings them closer to death. This craftsman work is beautiful, but I can’t say the same about his sense of humor.” explains Inimica with the tone of one unconcerned with death.

“Do… Do you still want it? Despite knowing that?”

“Yes, although I despise his hobby, I cannot fault the quality of his work.”

“Ah?”

“If you find other pieces, set them aside, I’m collecting them.”

“Certainly madam, it’s always a pleasure doing business with you.”

The demi-elf words are genuine, and it’s a bit surprising to Sylva who’s far more used to reaction of fear and greed, “What? Really?”

“Thank you for your patronage.” says the girl as she takes the money with a wide smile.

Sylva gives the girl a pass, she is a strangely joyous, but always hard-working and pleasant; her sister hiding in the back of the shop to avoid her is more akin to what she normally deals with.

“I’ll come back in one moon, if you can have the resizing done by then, it’d be great.”

“I’m sorry madam, there are troubles brewing in the dwarf kingdom so the usual jeweler is unavailable, but If you’re unwilling to wait, I can send it to a goblin we often work with.”

“What’s the problem with him?”

“Nothing serious, he’s a lunatic so his work speed can be unpredictable, but given a full moon, it won’t be a problem.”

“Alright then. About the dwarfs, what kind of problem are we talking about?”

“War, and it’s either the beastmen or the empire invading… With information traveling from mouth to ears, the details can get confused.”

<><><>

What were those creatures? A great white tiger and a giant scarab aren’t an acceptable response, not when they’re both over five men wide. Over a hundred men died in the ambush, and if there are more of those hiding in the forest, hundreds more will die.

“Jensen, do you know anything about these monsters?”

“I’m afraid I don’t, your highness, there are no records of such beings in the forest.”

“Are those records even reliable?” asks Boe, bottling up his anger.

“Not in the slightest.” answers the mage shamelessly, “Expedition venturing into the great forest rarely come back, and those who trade with the elves, use their enchanted roads.”

“If you knew about the danger, why didn’t you object to the expedition?!”

The mage shrugs his shoulder, “Losses are inevitable my prince, your chosen path is one of carnage; many died to conquer Azul, and many more will die before humanity is finally united.”

“Unavoidable? I think not, I could have taken measures against it!”

His fiancée Meya disparage the dead, “Meat shields died; boohoo! Can we move on now?”

Her reason for being here has nothing to do with their relationship, it was decided before they were even born, and there is no love between the two, barely any respect. No, she is here because she’s the second greatest warriors in the Kingdom after him and the best archer period.

Aristocrat girls aren’t commonly allowed to fight, and it is even less true for a future queen. Hers was a special case though; she beat her older brothers and family guards until she was allowed to take fighting lessons and then easily overpowered all her teachers. Luckily for her, but not so much for everyone else; it was at that time that he was heralded the hero, and his future queen fighting by his side was considered good publicity.

As a warrior himself, he admires her strength and dedication, but as a leader, the only thing she earned is his scorn.

“These men have lives outside the army, unlike some, they can’t spend all their days playing warrior.” remarks the prince snidely.

Unperturbed, the woman answers, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

She isn’t wrong, but wars aren’t won with strength; they’re won with numbers.

“Men, recover food and useful equipment from the dead, we’ll have to bury them on the way back.”

It hurts the soldiers to leave their friends’ bodies at the mercy of animals, but they understand the necessity to move as fast as possible.

“Yes, your highness!”

<><><>

Sylva sends they two elementals away to deal with the invading army; she doesn’t want them anywhere near the champion as killing him could make them part of the cycle. Alone in her garden, she waits for him and his two companions to make their way to her.

<><><>

Boe watches the forest with fear and disgust; there isn’t a single living thing, it’s all mimicry, “So that is Faeheim… The great forest was bad enough, but this is much worse.”

“As a mage and scholar, I want to study, but as a living being, I want to put as much distance as possible between me and this place.”

“It’s like walking through a massive cemetery, except nothing was ever alive, to begin with.”

The demon king makes no effort to hide, and they find him… No, find her waiting in a garden, drinking tea.

“There isn’t any for you, I don’t serve uninvited guests.”

This demon is different, it doesn’t exude the same madness, and desire to inflict harm. Well, if she’s in the mood to talk, he might as well oblige her to give Meya more time to find a good sniping position.

“Your demons have all been dispatched.”

“They aren’t mine, but you are welcome. I’d do it myself if I could, but there’d be no end to the little buggers.”

Her confidence is disturbing, “Your reign of terror ends now.”

“Sorry, but could you fill me on when it started?”

She’s mocking him, but even so, the two sides of the conversation don’t match.

“How can you act so nonchalant when your minions sow chaos and destruction all over the world?”

“Really? But these two barely ever leave home! Nevertheless, bad kids must be punished!”

“No need, we already took care of them; they’re dead!”

He hit the mark, for the first time her expression changes ever so slightly to one of worry. Boe prepares to attack…

<><><>

For the first time in her very long succession of lives, she’s free to do as she wishes with the champion, but even as he stands before her, she has yet to decide how to deal with him.

To gain herself some time and discountenance him she jests, but he throws those words at her, “No need, we already took care of them; they’re dead!” and panic overwhelm her.

She contacts the two in a hurry.

“We’re fine, your Highness.”

“It’s hard to avoid damaging the forest, and they scattered in all directions, but we’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“Come back immediately, there’s a trap.”

Calling them back to her is the opposite of what she should be doing, but the man’s boast was too assured to ignore.

The mage is preparing a spell, something big, in front of him, the so-called hero accumulates power for a strike, and the archer hiding in the forest is ready to snipe her as soon as she attempts to dodge. Then, it all happens in an instant, the warrior rushes at her, the mage cast his spell, and Fragor and Fulmen attack them both to protect her.

Light flashes and…

<><><>

Lightning strike, he tries to jump back, but it’s too late; he can’t outrun a thunderbolt.

Light blinds his eyes, but he feels no pain… His sight comes back, in front of him stands two dragons and the monstrous woman.

‘No wonder she was so self-assured with those two hiding… If I’m still alive, Jensen must have blocked the attack, somehow.’

Boe turns to address his mentor, but he’s not there, there’s not a single trace of his existence left.

“I destroyed him entirely.” explains the demon, “Body and soul, I don’t want a stain to my forest.”

Her words make no sense, but it doesn’t matter; if he’s going to die, the least he can do is take her with him. He rushes at her again a second time but falls forward legs broken after a single step.

Sylva wants to brag, to make him pay for all the time she died without being allowed to fight back, but there is no time and he wouldn’t understand. Instead, she asks her two companions, “He doesn’t have long to live, take him out of the forest and leave him to die. Do not hurt him and do not watch him die; come back immediately as soon as you’ve dropped him.”

The pair doesn’t understand the order, but they don’t need to, their pleasure is to serve.

“While you’re at it, catch the woman, and bring her outside the forest to kill her. You need not take precaution with that one.”

“As you wish, your majesty.”

As she watches her two friends fly away, a thought she tries to avoid show its dirty face again; What if the two weren’t really her friend? What if their role was to preserve her sanity?

She dismisses the idea as she always does; after all, her sanity is long gone.

<><><>

Emperor Thordis listens to the report wearily; not so long ago, it felt like all his ancestors’ aspirations were about to come true. Azul, their long-standing enemy, vanquished, Tamil, about to reunite with the empire, and his son heralded as the hero of humanity.

All was going well until general Einer had somehow managed to anger the whole dwarf kingdom and before the fool could be made to take responsibilities with his life, it was taken by a traitorous colonel, and a few hundred men he had himself incited to rebellion with impossible tasks.

Between the insurrection, the dwarfs, and the sudden loss of leadership, Randstalt-Tamil was driven out of Azul in less than a month, and with far more losses than it had taken to conquer it in the first place.

The empire had always stood by the principle of ‘strength in numbers’, but the power of the mighty trio led by his son had started to erode this belief, and with his armies being driven out by forces one-tenth their numbers, the only left to him was to pray for his son’s return.