Planting his foot on the parapet just as the hand was about to smash into the building, he jumped, simultaneously unleashing a wild shout.

His half-battlecry half-scream echoed across the rooftops as his feet made contact. He’d landed on the Abhorrent’s wrist.

“Ha!” he shouted, then started running up the creature’s limb. The shaggy fur felt like thick grass as he bounded up the forearm and relied on momentum to carry him toward the thing’s shoulder. He batted aside one of the bizarre flying creatures, then vaporized another with his burning hand.

He clenched his hand into a fist and prepared to jump up to the thing’s face. What about the trunks? The tusks? What about its magical power? Was it ready to be unleashed again? What if—

The Abhorrent jerked its shoulder like a human trying to dislodge a bug that had landed on it.

Xerxes planted his foot incorrectly, and his ankle twisted. Then a massive hand swept toward him, as if that same human were also trying to swat the bug off of it.

Whether it was for better or worse, the hand never hit, as he started falling.

“Oh shiiiiiii—”

He saw the tree-lined stone street rushing toward him, then everything went black.

**

When his eyes opened, an unfamiliar face loomed over him. A human face, belonging to a somewhat pudgy young man with light brown hair. Beyond the face were the trees.

“You woke up quickly,” the young man said. “You’re lucky the trees broke your fall. That was stupid, what you did. Stupid but brave. I gotta admit, I’m impressed.”

He extended a hand toward Xerxes.

Xerxes took it and allowed the young man to pull him up.

His head hurt a bit, and he felt dizzy.

“Who are you?” he asked.

The young man wore clothing that looked finer than the type worn by even the most well-known and famous mages on Mannemid. Overlapping garments of black and violet, with a golden girdle, a silver headband, and jewel-encrusted bracers. Most noteworthy of all to Xerxes was the hilt of the sword strapped to his back. It was a very long hilt, and given how high it protruded, it could only be a longsword. Definitely not the type of bronze weapon used by natives of this planet.

“I’m Purattu, from Ku-Aya. Here.” Purattu extended his other hand, and Xerxes saw his own battered longsword in it, held toward him, hilt-first.

He took his longsword. “What? How?”

“Take it, I’ll explain later. First I need to put that bastard Abhorrent down.”

Looking past Purattu’s shoulder, Xerxes saw the back and shoulders of the enormous monster, roaring and flailing its arms.

“This way,” Purattu said, and he started jogging toward a nearby alley.

Xerxes followed. “You’re from Ku-Aya?”

“Yeah. I’m the backup they sent to help with this invasion. By the way, where the hell did you get that longsword? I didn’t think people in the less… lower starisles even knew about the Epitome.”

Xerxes wasn’t sure what the Epitome was, but he didn’t want to reveal his ignorance. “I got it from my Master. He teaches the sword to a few of us.”

“A follower of the Epitome, here on lowly Mannemid. Interesting. This way.”

Purattu dashed into an alleyway, then picked up speed so rapidly that Xerxes immediately fell behind. In fact, Purattu moved so quickly that he started running up the wall before launching himself into the air and disappearing onto the rooftop ahead.

He’s so fast, Xerxes thought. He must be higher than the Mystic level. Is he a High Mystic? An Archon?

Pushing forward with as much speed as possible, he jumped onto a small storage shed built into the side of a wall, then leaped even higher, grabbing the rooftop parapet and then scrambling over it.

There, he saw Purattu unstrapping his sword. Xerxes had never seen a sheath mechanism like the one Purattu had. It had at least three straps that allowed the sword to remain firmly in place behind him, and the sheath itself seemed specially designed to allow the sword to be drawn easily from the back.

Further beyond, Xerxes saw the gigantic Abhorrent flailing its arms at forces obscured by its own bulk. He did catch sight of some arrows flying, as well as some javelins.

“Perfect,” Purattu said. “The stupid brute has no idea I’m here.”

When the sheath mechanism was off, he quickly wrapped the straps around it and then half-turned toward Xerxes.

“Hold my sword… what’s your name?” He tossed the sheathed weapon.

Xerxes caught it. “Xerxes son of Ataneedusu.”

“Okay, Xerxes. Keep that sword safe. Don’t draw it, understand? There’s a protective spell formation inside. I’m going to go kill this damned Abhorrent. Wait until I get back.”

Not waiting for a confirmation, he started running across the rooftop, while simultaneously reaching toward a velvet component pouch on his belt.

Xerxes glanced down at Purattu’s sword and the strapping mechanism. He smelled leather and oil, and saw the glint of expensive metals. Without even being able to see the steel of the blade, he knew that this sword was vastly superior even to the sword he’d found in that shop in Kisiga.

Looking back up, he saw Purattu casting a spell while simultaneously accelerating. He jumped, sailing through the air with the grace of a bird. Then he landed on the massive Abhorrent’s shoulder.

The giant didn’t seem to notice his presence. Purattu flitted forward, then lifted his right hand back and above his head.

That was when Xerxes noticed a faint darkness to the hand, as though it emanated, not light, but shadows.

Purattu slapped his hand onto the back of the Abhorrent’s head, then backflipped and pushed off. Twirling, he then landed on a nearby rooftop. Less than ten seconds later, he was back with Xerxes.

“Sword,” he said.

“Right, sir,” Xeres replied, handing it to him.

“Just call me Purattu. No need for that ‘sir’ business.” He started strapping the sword back onto himself. “Can you help me with this buckle here?”

Xerxes stepped forward and helped him, while simultaneously looking nervously over at the gigantic Abhorrent. It was still swiping its arms at whatever force of soldiers was assailing it from the other side of the city.

Purattu tightened the straps and adjusted some buckles. “Alright, that’s good. I guess I could have kept the thing on, but you never know what might happen in a fight with a monster like that. Not that I have much experience in that regard. Well, nobody does, really.” He gave a final tug to one of the straps. “I suppose that big building over there is Mannemid’s headquarters?”

Xerxes followed his gaze to the keep off in the distance.

“Yes, that’s the keep,” Xerxes said. “Where the king lives. And it’s where the Mage Parliament is right now. Except, the Head Mage just got killed….”

“Aban Saddi? Dead already? Must have been pretty useless.” He started walking to the edge of the roof, and when Xerxes remained standing in place, he looked back. “Are you coming?”

Xerxes looked at the massive Abhorrent. “But, aren’t you going to….”

“To what?”

“Do something about that thing?”

Purattu snorted. “That thing’ll be dead in ten minutes. My other people will keep it occupied until then. Don’t worry. No more innocent lives are going to be lost. Come on.”