Amon sighed wearily as he looked over half-drawn battle plans and wooden figurines representing the Weyer Kingdoms army and the Goetites on a large sprawled-out map. Human figurines with spears, swords, and shields in hand, ravens with black wooden wings spread out proudly, centaurs wielding lances and giant axes. He stared at the figurines for a long moment then removed over half from the map, numb. He turned his attention to the simple red-painted humanoid figurines that bore little resemblance to the Goetites, yet when he looked at them, a trickle of fear went through his spine that was quickly doused by his anger and frustration and not a little hatred.

Leporah help us, we’ve done all we could.

It had been years since Amon prayed to Leporah, not since leaving the orphanage, but they needed all the help they could get even from a goddess that may or may not exist. In the Weyer Kingdoms last stand against the Goetites and their Acolytes more than half of their army, the largest army assembled in recorded history. Made up of humans, ravens, centaurs, lykans, dwellers, and even the primordials were lost. Now, they were hiding like rats in their last remaining hideout planning their next move. Whether they went into hiding or continued fighting was up to Prince Vine.

No, a prince no longer but a king. Knowing Vine, he will want time to rest and recover before doing anything else, but I much prefer to continue fighting even if it means our death. It’s the least we could do for all our fallen comrades.

“Don’t be so grim, Amon. Believe it or not, we still have a chance of victory. All we lost will not be for naught.” Vine, the only other person in the War Room said with a soft chuckle.

Vine approached Amon, clasped his shoulder, and regarded him with grey eyes shining with hope. Amon regarded his king, his friend, and the man who was like a brother to him with some hope of his own.

Vine knows the way. He’ll have a plan, he always does.

“How’s that?”

“Amon, remember what I told you so long ago? Well, today is that day.” Vine said with a knowing smile.

Amon frowned, feeling a fool for getting his hopes up. He brushed Vine’s hand away from his shoulder brusquely and shook his head. “Vine, you took me in when I was an orphan and treated me as a brother, and for that, I will always be grateful. I have been at your side for twenty years, so don’t ask me to kill you, it’s not something I can do.”

Vine laughed hysterically and moved to step in front of Amon to stare into his eyes once more. In his expression, Amon could see a tinge of madness that just further convinced him that Vine wasn’t in the right state of mind.

“Believe me I wish I could die, but even when I killed myself I only returned to the beginning. With your… blessing, I may finally find the solace I seek.” Vine paused, and placed his hand on his chin, contemplating something. “Well, at least this version of me will.”

Unable to control his confusion and anger, Amon gripped Vine by the shoulders and forced him down to a chair. “Listen to yourself! This talk of living a hundred lifetimes is absurd! We have suffered major losses and with the death of your parents I don’t blame you for feeling hopeless, but now is not the time to break! You’ve led us this far and we can still fight! If we are to have any hope of defeating the Goetites, and their Acolytes we need your genius!”

Vine laughed and ran his hand through his long unruly ashen hair. “Genius.” He said mockingly. “I am no such thing. I merely accumulated pointless knowledge throughout my many lifetimes and know how certain events play out. You Amon, you’re the true genius!” He got up and clasped Amon's shoulders with a grip tighter than before. “I did not take note of you the first few times, but eventually I did, and even without my help, you rose from an orphan to a student of the Solomon Tactics Academy, and then to a General. You even saved my life on occasions I didn’t realize until later lifetimes. I was unable to stop the Goetites and their Acolytes, but I have to believe that you can!” He said almost pleadingly.

Amon wrenched away from Vine and stepped back in disbelief.

Vine has truly gone mad.

He turned away from Vine and began making his way out of the War Room. If Vine had lost heart then so be it, the war would continue without him. It had to. “Vine, if you are unable to lead then I implore you to transfer command of our remaining army to your uncle or sister. I will fetch them, and we can discuss it together.”

“What I’m telling you sounds unbelievable I know. I should have told you everything years ago so you had time to prepare yourself for this, but you will soon realize the truth behind all my words and actions,” Vine said with an air of melancholy.

Amon ignored him and continued walking away until he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and was startled to see Vine running towards him, sword drawn. Although Vine wasn’t blessed, he was a master swordsman and a master of the four martial forms. Amon couldn’t afford to treat him lightly.

Amon quickly took off his shoulder clasped silver cloak and threw it at Vine. He knocked it aside with a swipe of his sword, but it bought Amon enough time to turn invisible and step aside. Vine came to a sudden stop and observed his surroundings, his eyes lingering on Amon’s location. Though he knew it was impossible, Amon felt as if Vine had met his eyes.

Vine smirked and approached confidently. “I know you better than you know yourself!” He slashed at Amon's neck accurately.

Amon unsheathed his curved daggers and parried the slash, the strength of the blow knocking him back. He stumbled but easily regained his footing as he held his daggers up defensively.

“Vine! Don’t think you can force me to kill you! I’ll simply avoid you and wait until the guards break the door down to see what all the commotion is about!” Amon yelled, hoping that the guards would hear him.

Vine took up position blocking the way to the door, and his eyes darted to where Amon was standing. “Excellent idea. When they do break the door down, I’ll let them know that my bodyguard tried to assassinate me, and I’ll command them to help me capture you. When we do, I will have you sent to a dungeon to spend the rest of your life in.” He said gleefully.

“Vine! Stop this madness! Sheathe your sword and we’ll discuss our next step with the others!” Amon yelled once more, then began moving towards him silently. He knew that he couldn’t reason with Vine, he was too far gone in his delusions, but Amon had to stall until the guards relayed what was happening to the others.

“The next step is simple. Either you kill me, or I kill you.” Though Amon didn't make much noise, Vine was somehow able to follow his movements.

Gods! How does he always know where I am!

Amon rolled under an incoming horizontal slash and ran towards the barricaded doors where he could hear the guards knocking furiously. He was about to call out to them, but a whizzing sound made him turn around and knock an incoming throwing knife out of the air with a swipe of his dagger.

Amon became visible and glared at Vine. “You aimed for my head!”

Vine shrugged. “I told you, one of us is dying today. I would prefer it to be me, but if not.” He retrieved another throwing knife from his belt and threw it at Amon with a lazy flick of his wrist. “I can simply kill myself afterward and try again.”

The knife grazed Amon's chest as he pirouetted, but it didn’t stop him from rushing Vine who took a defensive stance with his sword as waited for Amon to get closer. Amon threw both of his daggers at him as he got closer forcing Vine to make a quick horizontal slash to knock them aside. Amon turned invisible, crouched, and swept Vines legs under him with a perfect fire form leg sweep. Vine fell on his back, and Amon quickly stood up and made to mount him, but the mad man threw his sword at Amon forcing him to jump out of the way. The throw gave Vine enough time to get on his knees and retrieve a throwing knife from his belt. Amon rushed Vine once more and snaked behind him, grabbing Vine in a chokehold with his left arm as he grabbed Vine’s wrist with his right hand. Vine tried to stab at Amon, but Amon’s grip on his wrist was firm and steady. It didn’t take long for Vine’s strength to leave him, and soon he would be out. Then all Amon had to worry about was explaining the situation to the others, especially Vine’s sister, Eligor, and his uncle, Dantalian.

Vine let out a choked laugh and with a strength that caught Amon off guard, he brought the knife down. Only, Vine didn’t stab at Amon, but his chest.

“No!” Amon released his chokehold on Vine immediately. He became visible and grabbed the hilt of the knife to prevent Vine from removing it and bleeding out. “What have you done!”

Vine chuckled weakly and let go of the knife. “Amon, I don’t remember much about the person I was before, but I can tell you that I was an immature, and hateful person. I won’t be the same person you know, so… so don’t expect that from me. Make me a better man if you can, and look over Eligor… I-I was not a good brother to her.” He said shamefully.

“Shut up, and try not to move, your guards are breaking the door down as we speak. I’ll have them fetch Buer, he’ll heal you.” Amon said setting Vine down gently.

“He wouldn’t make it in time, and besides… I’ve done this a few times. I will die there’s no doubt about it. Now, can you sense my blessing?”

Looking at him, Amon could see the truth of his words. He was breathing faintly and was losing too much blood. Amons eyes stung as tears welled, but he held back his tears and sorrow and focused on his anger at Vine for doing something so foolish and mad. “You’ve doomed us all! Do you realize that! Do you even care!”

“My blessing can you sense it?” Vine asked faintly.

Amon was going to burst into another tirade, but then he felt a familiar tingling sensation coursing through his body that he always felt when he killed someone with a blessed. “I-I can.”

“Good. Now, if you don’t want my death to be wasted, remove the knife and take my blessing for yourself.”

Gods! At the very least Vine wasn’t lying about being blessed, and if he’s going through so much trouble to have me kill him then perhaps he wasn’t lying about everything else he said.

Palms sweating and heart racing, Amon gripped the hilt of the knife and said his last words to Vine. “My brother… I don’t know if what you’ve told me is the truth, but I’ll honor your last request and place my faith in you one last time.” He removed the knife from Vine’s chest and watched as Vine’s white uniform was dyed in crimson as his blood flowed freely.

“Thank you, and sorry for forcing this on you.” Vine croaked. “I know you wi-”

When Vine finished taking his last breath Amon closed his eyelids and drew Vine’s blessing into his own body. Amon gritted his teeth in pain as Vine’s ability replaced the blessing he currently had. “Aaaaagh!”

Amon fell onto his hands and knees, the pain of his curse too great for him to remain composed. His blood was boiling as an all-consuming fire washed over his body both inside and out. Of all the blessings he’d taken, no others left him in so much pain.

Vine you bastard! If I see you again, I’ll make you pay for this!

He stood up breathing heavily and prepared himself for what came next. He knew how he looked, covered in Vine’s blood, and the knife that took his life laying next to him. As soon as the door burst open Amon would either be taken prisoner or killed on the spot. So, he waited, and it wasn’t long before the heavy wooden door was broken open and two guards stepped inside, followed by Eligor dressed in her dark purple war armor. The shoulders were fairly rounded and decorated with a small, pointed tip that curved towards the back. The breastplate was made from various layers of rounded metal sheets. It covered everything from her neck down and ended at her groin. Her upper legs were covered by a skirt of many layers of metal sheets reaching down to her knees, and her lower legs were protected by greaves which had a row of long, curved spikes on the outer sides. She made a fearsome sight, and Amon dreaded seeing her.

“Vine, Amon, I was told you two could be heard arguing, what’s going on?” Eligor asked as she approached.

Amon took a deep breath and retrieved his trusty daggers. He didn’t believe Eligor would listen to what he had to say. They didn’t have the best relationship after all, but he had to try. “Eligor, let me explain.”

She stopped mid-step, and her usual placid expression changed to one of horror and incredulity when she laid eyes on her brother’s corpse and then at Amon.

“Amon, you bastard!” She roared tearfully.

“Eligor, Vine was as a brother to me. I would never hurt him, please you have to believe that.” Amon pleaded even as he raised his daggers to defend himself.

“You two! Go get the rest of the guards and my uncle!” Eligor commanded as she drew her longsword still covered in dried black Goetite blood.

The two guards didn’t hesitate and took off immediately. They would only be a burden to Eligor when she used her blessing.

If I am to die then I’m glad my last opponent is Eligor the Painful. I’ve always wanted to seriously test myself against her.

Eligor didn’t say anything else. She simply coated herself and her longsword in shadows and walked towards Amon. Amon was confident in his pain tolerance, but Eligors shadows caused all those that came into contact with it an unbearable amount of pain, and he had seen firsthand how even the most fearsome of foes were brought to their breaking point when in contact with the shadow for too long. Amon backed away from Vine’s corpse as Eligor released more shadows from her body that crawled and curled in the ground beneath her like smoke. With her at the epicenter, Eligor could release the shadows in an approximate four-meter radius. She could keep releasing her shadows continuously for about an hour or so before she exhausted herself.

Eligor knows that I will know how her blessing works, so she will release her shadows at random intervals to catch me off guard, so I have to keep my distance as she gets closer and wait for my opportunity… my opportunity to do what? I can’t hurt Eligor.

Ashamed that his lust for battle had overtaken his reason for a moment, Amon lowered his daggers and awaited his death. He could barely see Eligor’s expression through the shadows coating her, but Amon thought he glimpsed her confused expression. Eligor, as cautious as ever, slowed down perhaps anticipating a trap, but eventually, her shadows touched Amon's boots. Though the shadows didn’t do anything but curl around him, he felt as if needles had been driven into his feet.

So that’s what being touched by the shadows feels like! I’m glad Eligor didn’t follow through with her threats to use it on me all those times before.

Amon dropped to his knees with a grunt. Eligor, now less than ten paces away from him placed the tip of her longsword on his throat and raised his head with it so he was looking up at her.

“Why?” She asked, sounding more confused and heartbroken than angry.

Amon couldn’t respond even if he wanted to as it took all he had to not collapse in pain. Using all the strength he could muster, he knocked Eligor’s longsword away with a quick swipe of a dagger. Eligor didn’t give him another chance to do anything else. She reacted quickly and swept her longsword across his neck.

The last thing Amon saw was Eligor’s furious and tearful face, and his headless body collapsing next to Vine’s as his head rolled across the floor.

*****

The first thing Amon saw when he opened his eyes was what seemed like a woman through his blurry vision.

“A boy.” Someone said softly. “We can’t afford to raise another boy. The Sisters of Leporah will take better care of him than we ever could.”

“I assure you, he will be well taken care of, and receive a proper education.” A voice Amon vaguely recognized said gently.

As Amon's vision began to clear he took a careful look at his surroundings. He looked at his small hands in shock and wonder, the cottage he was in, and at the woman who gave birth to him surrounded by Sisters of Leporah and a single man.

Those must be my parents! That means… everything Vine told me was true! I’ve returned to the beginning of my life!

Amon’s father held his mother's hand. She was laying down on a bed breathing heavily her brow being wiped and given water to drink by the Sisters of Leporah. They were the followers of Leporah the goddess of the downtrodden and unfortunate. Among other things, the Sisters of Leporah often helped women give birth, so Amon wasn’t surprised to see them. He was surprised when he looked up and saw that the woman holding him was someone he knew.

Sister Haze! That old bat never told me she was present at my birth!

“I want to hold him, and I will name him.” His mother panted. “It’s the least I could do.”

Sister Haze walked over to Amon’s mother and placed him in her outstretched arms. She smiled and traced his cheek with a finger then placed the finger in his hand. Amon gripped it instinctively, and she teared up.

“Amon.” She said. “Your name will be Amon.”