You killed again…
“I am one of the five calamities. It is a title earned through mountains of corpses. This part of me will not change just because of you.” I whispered to myself.
…
I turned towards the giant standing behind me. Luther stared at the motionless body of Crassus.
“You could have stopped me,” I spoke.
Luther tore his eyes away from the corpse. He bent his knee, bowing respectfully. “I serve the Empress, just as my father did before me.”
“You look a lot like him. Your father was a brave man…”
“What happened to him? Your army, your officers, they all simply vanished. Ever since I was a child, that is all I ever wanted to know.”
With a wave of my hand, the flames in the room returned to their natural color. Green faded from Sylvie’s eyes. “A story for another time. The fighting downstairs has stopped so they will be here soon. I will tell you this though, your father was a hero greater than the king. He was a man worthy of respect.”
Tears formed in the large man’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“Now, if you want to serve me, follow along. If not, you are free to find another way out. Either way, if you tell anyone who I truly am, I will have Sylvie here tear your tongue out through your rear. Understand?” I said, ignoring Sylvie as she pecked at my hand indignantly.
The silence in the grand hall was interrupted only by the soft sound of dripping blood. Two figures stood silently, surrounded by a ring of armored corpses. Two silver swords dyed red.
“Mom! Dad!” I shouted, taken aback by the sight.
The two turned towards me simultaneously. My mother was the first to move, rushing up the stair in three fast leaps, she grabbed hold of me.
“I thought I lost you again! I was so worried.” She cried, hugging me tightly.
My father followed close behind but stopped when he saw Luther following me out of the office. He raised his blade, lowering his stance. He was prepared for another fight, in a single motion, he leapt forward swinging his blade.
Steel flashed faster than the eye could follow. Luther raised his hand, caught off guard by the sudden attack. Metal hit flesh, but there was no blood. Luther stood there unharmed except for a faint red mark on his hand.
“Dad, stop! He is not an enemy.” I shouted.
My father raised an eyebrow at me but lowered his blade. Despite this, I could tell he was still ready to strike at a moment’s notice. “If my daughter vouches for you, I will trust you for now. I guess it is fortunate I do not have to fight Steel Skinned Luther.”
Luther laughed nervously. “I should be the grateful one. If I had known it was the daughter of General Arthur’s Silver Blades that was being kidnaped, I would have run for the hills.”
“Silver Blades?” I asked.
“A silly title the general gave us a long time ago.” Replied my mother, as she patted me down, looking for injuries. “We will tell you everything later, right now, show me your injuries. You are covered in blood. We have to stitch you up fast.”
“It is not my blood,” I replied as I suddenly found it hard to look my mom in the eye. My body started to shake uncontrollably. “I...” Shaking my head, I looked down at the ground unable to finish my sentence. This was a feeling I had never felt before.
Luther was the first one to speak. “I killed Crassus. The blood got on her then. She should be mostly uninjured other than one of her ribs.”
I looked at Luther gratefully, then back to my parents. My mom’s grip tightened. I do not know if they believed him, but at least I did not have to say it.
“The only important thing is that you are safe,” said my father. My mother quickly echoed the sentiment, before picking me up and carrying me down the stairs.
“What about the servants?” I pleaded, “They were all kidnapped just like me. We can’t leave them here.”
My father paused for a moment. He patted my head softly. “We will not abandon them. Those without a home can come to the village with us. It will be harvest soon, we can always use the extra hands this time of year.”
“I will gather them,” said Luther. Around fifteen minutes later, a group of over fifty green-eyed servants stood in front of us. They varied in age some as young five or six, while others were old enough to have grey hair. “fifty-three have agreed to follow us. The others have decided to run away. They also took most of the loose silver and gold in the mansion.”
“So many?” my mother gasped, “How long has this man been kidnapping children?”
“Too long,” said Luther, looking up to the office where Crassus’ body laid, “I should have stopped him sooner.”
I patted his arm. “If you want to repent, take care of the children here. Give them the best life you can.”
A firm resolution appeared in Luther’s eyes. “I promise you, I will.”
We ushered the group out of the house. Outside, I actually saw my brother Charly. He was standing there with a book under his arm. smiling with a stupid grin when he saw me.
“Everyone is out, do it,” commanded my father.
Charly nodded. He took out the book he was carrying and began flipping through the pages. It was a book I had never seen before. Not when I was in my father’s study, nor in any of my memories as Wren.
What was on the pages, however, was familiar. Complicated runes and diagrams filled each page completely. Even a single page would take hours or even days to draw. This was not something that was supposed to exist here.
My brother reached the page he was searching for. With a fluid motion, he ripped the page out of the book. As he did, the page began to burn. I could hear a roar. Behind us, the mansion had also caught fire. a raging fire, one that burned hotter than any natural flame.
My eyes narrowed. I barely suppressed the raging flame inside of me. This was a Ninth Division technique. Someone has been trespassing in my territory.
“Charly, where did you learn that?” I asked as innocently as I could, widening my eyes.
“Amazing, isn’t it. Dad taught me when I was little. It takes a lot of practice though.”
I looked at my father expectantly. He patted my head with a chuckle. “This is a magic that can be earned as a reward for those who serve in the king’s battalions long enough. I am afraid you cannot learn it though. No matter how much they practice, people with innate talents like you and your mother can’t use glyphs.”
Looking up, I could see the palace shining brightly in the afternoon light. “Is the king the one who taught the army how to use these glyphs, or was it someone else?
“What an odd question. It is said that the king gave the knowledge of glyphs to the army decades ago. I was told that he learned them from the sorceress that raised him. After she gave her life to defeat the Undead Queen, the king spread the knowledge freely.”
I grew silent. That was a lie. I remembered the years before my death vividly. Nothing like that existed back then. It seemed I had to have a chat with the king after all.
You killed again…
“I am one of the five calamities. It is a title earned through mountains of corpses. This part of me will not change just because of you.” I whispered to myself.
…
I turned towards the giant standing behind me. Luther stared at the motionless body of Crassus.
“You could have stopped me,” I spoke.
Luther tore his eyes away from the corpse. He bent his knee, bowing respectfully. “I serve the Empress, just as my father did before me.”
“You look a lot like him. Your father was a brave man…”
“What happened to him? Your army, your officers, they all simply vanished. Ever since I was a child, that is all I ever wanted to know.”
With a wave of my hand, the flames in the room returned to their natural color. Green faded from Sylvie’s eyes. “A story for another time. The fighting downstairs has stopped so they will be here soon. I will tell you this though, your father was a hero greater than the king. He was a man worthy of respect.”
Tears formed in the large man’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“Now, if you want to serve me, follow along. If not, you are free to find another way out. Either way, if you tell anyone who I truly am, I will have Sylvie here tear your tongue out through your rear. Understand?” I said, ignoring Sylvie as she pecked at my hand indignantly.
The silence in the grand hall was interrupted only by the soft sound of dripping blood. Two figures stood silently, surrounded by a ring of armored corpses. Two silver swords dyed red.
“Mom! Dad!” I shouted, taken aback by the sight.
The two turned towards me simultaneously. My mother was the first to move, rushing up the stair in three fast leaps, she grabbed hold of me.
“I thought I lost you again! I was so worried.” She cried, hugging me tightly.
My father followed close behind but stopped when he saw Luther following me out of the office. He raised his blade, lowering his stance. He was prepared for another fight, in a single motion, he leapt forward swinging his blade.
Steel flashed faster than the eye could follow. Luther raised his hand, caught off guard by the sudden attack. Metal hit flesh, but there was no blood. Luther stood there unharmed except for a faint red mark on his hand.
“Dad, stop! He is not an enemy.” I shouted.
My father raised an eyebrow at me but lowered his blade. Despite this, I could tell he was still ready to strike at a moment’s notice. “If my daughter vouches for you, I will trust you for now. I guess it is fortunate I do not have to fight Steel Skinned Luther.”
Luther laughed nervously. “I should be the grateful one. If I had known it was the daughter of General Arthur’s Silver Blades that was being kidnaped, I would have run for the hills.”
“Silver Blades?” I asked.
“A silly title the general gave us a long time ago.” Replied my mother, as she patted me down, looking for injuries. “We will tell you everything later, right now, show me your injuries. You are covered in blood. We have to stitch you up fast.”
“It is not my blood,” I replied as I suddenly found it hard to look my mom in the eye. My body started to shake uncontrollably. “I...” Shaking my head, I looked down at the ground unable to finish my sentence. This was a feeling I had never felt before.
Luther was the first one to speak. “I killed Crassus. The blood got on her then. She should be mostly uninjured other than one of her ribs.”
I looked at Luther gratefully, then back to my parents. My mom’s grip tightened. I do not know if they believed him, but at least I did not have to say it.
“The only important thing is that you are safe,” said my father. My mother quickly echoed the sentiment, before picking me up and carrying me down the stairs.
“What about the servants?” I pleaded, “They were all kidnapped just like me. We can’t leave them here.”
My father paused for a moment. He patted my head softly. “We will not abandon them. Those without a home can come to the village with us. It will be harvest soon, we can always use the extra hands this time of year.”
“I will gather them,” said Luther. Around fifteen minutes later, a group of over fifty green-eyed servants stood in front of us. They varied in age some as young five or six, while others were old enough to have grey hair. “fifty-three have agreed to follow us. The others have decided to run away. They also took most of the loose silver and gold in the mansion.”
“So many?” my mother gasped, “How long has this man been kidnapping children?”
“Too long,” said Luther, looking up to the office where Crassus’ body laid, “I should have stopped him sooner.”
I patted his arm. “If you want to repent, take care of the children here. Give them the best life you can.”
A firm resolution appeared in Luther’s eyes. “I promise you, I will.”
We ushered the group out of the house. Outside, I actually saw my brother Charly. He was standing there with a book under his arm. smiling with a stupid grin when he saw me.
“Everyone is out, do it,” commanded my father.
Charly nodded. He took out the book he was carrying and began flipping through the pages. It was a book I had never seen before. Not when I was in my father’s study, nor in any of my memories as Wren.
What was on the pages, however, was familiar. Complicated runes and diagrams filled each page completely. Even a single page would take hours or even days to draw. This was not something that was supposed to exist here.
My brother reached the page he was searching for. With a fluid motion, he ripped the page out of the book. As he did, the page began to burn. I could hear a roar. Behind us, the mansion had also caught fire. a raging fire, one that burned hotter than any natural flame.
My eyes narrowed. I barely suppressed the raging flame inside of me. This was a Ninth Division technique. Someone has been trespassing in my territory.
“Charly, where did you learn that?” I asked as innocently as I could, widening my eyes.
“Amazing, isn’t it. Dad taught me when I was little. It takes a lot of practice though.”
I looked at my father expectantly. He patted my head with a chuckle. “This is a magic that can be earned as a reward for those who serve in the king’s battalions long enough. I am afraid you cannot learn it though. No matter how much they practice, people with innate talents like you and your mother can’t use glyphs.”
Looking up, I could see the palace shining brightly in the afternoon light. “Is the king the one who taught the army how to use these glyphs, or was it someone else?
“What an odd question. It is said that the king gave the knowledge of glyphs to the army decades ago. I was told that he learned them from the sorceress that raised him. After she gave her life to defeat the Undead Queen, the king spread the knowledge freely.”
I grew silent. That was a lie. I remembered the years before my death vividly. Nothing like that existed back then. It seemed I had to have a chat with the king after all.
