"Your majesty- YOUR MAJESTY, I have news!!" The page shouted, and Myrkul looked up slowly, raising one salt-and-pepper eyebrow- the young man who'd charged through the crowd was barely a boy. "I'm so sorry for interrupting your banquet, my lord," The page continued, "-There's been a prison break. The traitors- they're all freed and have disappeared into the countryside."
"I see," Myrkul froze, an icy chill slowly running through his chest. "Thank you, page. Leave."
"Sir, yes sir your majesty," The page, shaking, turned and ran, practically tripping as he hastened to get outside… Myrkul, for his part, beckoned one of his guard.
"Deliver my orders- hunt them down and kill them without mercy. Take no prisoners."
-
"William!" A man in his mid-to-late thirties, if he had to guess, approached him, snuffing out a cigar; they'd passed through a small village for supplies, gaining strength by the hour, and now, the forty or so prisoners were holed up in a ramshackle barn on a farm seemingly long abandoned.
"That's me- what've you got, Lyon?"
"Starrian patrol a couple miles west- we need to find weapons. There's an old temple five hours east- abandoned. Might be a good place to hide, might have blades, who knows."
"How mobile are we?" William asked, zipping the jacket he'd stolen most recently and stretching. "I feel fine."
"We'll make it to the temple- the forests between here and there should hide us well enough."
"Then let's go."
-
Mobile enough was a stretch; the men were underfed, but their trek through the woods passed with relative ease- there was a moment of tense silence in which the men hunkered among the bushes, listening to the sound of helicopters swinging overhead… and then they continued on.
The temple was… more spectacular than William expected, and by no small measure- it spanned nearly a square mile, surrounded by a tall cobbled wall that had fallen apart in many places; the grass inside and out was wild and unkempt, and more than once someone started as a mouse scrambled along their boot.
There were dormitories with moth-bitten sheets and spiderwebs in nearly every corner, practice targets collapsed in the yard, and a primary temple long-since abandoned.
"What was this place…" William muttered, slowly climbing the steps to the primary building and pushing aside a tattered paper door, looking about. "This place looks more Pempan than Starrian…"
"I don' care much fer history," Lyon chuckled, shrugging. "You can go on n' fantasize abou' dead bastards that are six feet under though, won't hurt me any. Gon' go look fer weapons, personally."
"Right…" William nodded and slowly paced forward, looking around- a warm breeze ruffled his hair, coming through a few holes in the roof, but he felt as though he stood in ice water- something about the place felt sacred in a way he couldn't explain.
Slow, careful, measuring his steps, William glanced back at the men chatting outside before slipping into a back hall, looking around; there were bedrooms here, and in one, he saw a desk with papers scattered across its surface- faded and yellowed, but legible. Curious, he turned his eyes to the first.
"It seems to be true that elves are simply humans who believe in magic so strongly that they can use it- for the laws of this world are simply belief becomes truth. Thus, an elf's powers would not contain the self imposed rules of a demon's- I wonder if I could, then, awaken myself as an elf, to help protect my students. I have spent a long time disbelieving magic outside of death, and I fear that my old brain cannot simply switch, and believe, as simply as that. Still, I have to try- I can't let them kill my students, they're my children- and I don't even know why I'm writing this. Starria comes tonight, and I fear my legacy shall be reduced to a mockery of equality- for I am the fool that sheltered a demon in Starria, and called her my daughter.
"What the," William whispered, looking to the next sheet of paper.
"Aurelia claims that she was artificially created- does this relate to elves and their ability to awaken from human? The way she describes it makes it seem more like she was an embryo experiment, but she is a child- can she be sure? I wish to understand- I fear it drives me mad, and I should stop writing- but what good would it do for me to be out there? The defenses are shored, and we may fall- many of my students refuse to leave and gods, I wish to scream, cry, run, make them leave… but I will not abandon my children, and they will not abandon me. So I write and I pray that one day, my story may be sung- it would be nice, if we won this battle, but they will bring their machines of war, and we will be slaughtered."
Enraptured, William moved to the final sheet.
"I suppose I do need to say good bye- there are many words that I could use, but in the end, what ought I to say, really? I believe that a human can become an elf but try as I might, I cannot make myself do it- no magic sparks from my fingertips. If I could believe it, then maybe… I swear that I do believe, so I cannot know. I will wear the pendant from the elf to record my final moments- its twin is locked in my desk. If anyone ever finds this, please- carry my story forward, and tell somebody who I was. You only die when you are forgotten, as they say. My name is Musashi, and I will die for my children tonight, and thank you for reading the panicked ramblings of an old man."
"Its twin is locked in my desk…?" William whispered, giving the top drawer a yank; the rotted wood crunched and gave- the drawer was empty. The second drawer was full of pens… the third held a small medallion on a chain, and, curious, William grabbed it, inspecting the thing- at a glance, it seemed unremarkable… but if it came from an elf, it was probably a charm…
After only a split second's hesitation, William looped the brass chain around his neck and fastened it- instantly, his world spun, and he was gone.
"Dad?" A voice, from the hall- William set down his pen and slowly stood. "Why do you look so guilty?"
"It's my fault that we're going to die," William spoke tiredly, staring down before he knew what he was doing- he was back, but the temple looked different now; pristine, floors shining, with flickering lanterns giving light to the night.
"It's not, gods-damnit!!" Before him, a young girl maybe twelve years old glared, sticking her chin out- she had blonde hair fading to orange and a dextrous tail tipped with a heart- Is she some sort of succubus?
"If power, is belief, then I have damned us by believing we will die," William corrected her, guilt flooding his chest. "Perhaps, had I truly believed we had a chance, your implicit trust in me would have given us a chance…"
"I would rather die standing beside good people than live as a coward who couldn't say anything. I still think you should turn me in, so that only I have to die-"
"Starria wants me gone, regardless," William countered, gently cutting her off. "I am a Pempan war hero respected by the people- the public's view is the only reason they have not killed me yet."
"We can fight them off," Aurelia pleaded, bottom lip trembling.
"We can't." William's voice to his own ears sounded… ancient.
"They're here!!" A voice from the hall, and the child before him- Aurelia, like a daughter to him, flew forward, hugging his waist.
"Aurelia- I'm sorry," William whispered, and grabbed the paper weight from his desk. "You truly are a daughter to me," He added, and slammed it into her skull, watching her crumple. Hastening, he shoved Aurelia under his bed and let her roll into the hole down there with a wet thud- alive, healing, but unconscious. That done, he stood and grabbed his blade from the wall. "Allow me one last act of selfishness… my daughter must live."
"I'm coming!" William barked, then, and charged into the hall- he could hear it already- the rapid firing of helicopter's weapons, the sounds of splintering wood and screams, but nonetheless, he ran toward the temple's main hall- it was flooding with Starrian soldiers grappling his students, firing; with a mighty roar, William charged forward, drawing his weapon and spinning through the air- he beheaded the first soldier, snarling as blood splashed his hands, arms- but he was already moving, piercing the next through the heart.
Killing the others took hardly any time- and as Musashi stormed outside, some of his students came with him, while others lay inside, dead and dying- but he noticed, and oh, how it broke his heart- all of them smiled, or, at the least, seemed unbothered.
A bullet tore through William's shoulder, but he twirled and embedded his blade into another Starrian's shoulder- there were screams, but there was also laughter as he cut the man in half- and then, another bullet tore through his forehead, and Musashi fell back to the dirt, dead.
When his eyes opened again, William wasn't sure if it had been a few seconds, minutes, or hours- but he lay on the rotting wooden floor of that bedroom, head heavy, eyes unfocused. He could still hear the chatter, cheering of the others; they sounded happy.
Wincing, he looked at his chest- and at the pendant there, for a moment, before slowly tucking it into his shirt and sighing tiredly.
"The things we do for our children," William whispered, chuckling, closing his eyes- for just a moment, he felt all of the paternal love in the world for that child-
Wait. Aurelia.
That's- the one from Wolfpack- in Mir, isn't it?
The half succubus-
The woman from the-
He remembered the festival- the one that had mocked this man, and the woman he'd seen while drinking- mismatched eyes and a hateful, exhausted glare. For just a moment, William thought absolutely nothing… and then, the image of Myrkul's skull crunching between his hands came to mind, and he blinked rapidly, eyes wet.
"You must'a been pretty tired, huh boy?" Lyon stood in the doorway. "We foun' canned food and booze. It's a gods-damn miracle. Come on."
"C-Coming."
"Whas' with the chain?"
"Just a… thing. From the past. It felt right to take it."
"Sentimental shit. Come on, kid- ya need food."
"I do, I guess," William laughed tiredly, slowly hauling himself to his feet. "Women, too."
"I've got plenty o' those waitin fer me, I'm sure," Lyon grinned. "Me? I just need a smoke."
"We'll find you one. Come on," Willian sighed, half-laughing as he brushed past Lyon to rejoin the others.
-
"I'm sorry, Aerendyl, but I really have nothing," Alice spoke over the phone, and the angel froze, eyes narrowing- he'd been pacing his home while his girlfriend watched on tiredly, impassive.
"Alice, please-"
"Aerendyl, I HAVE NOTHING," Alice stated louder. "Nowhere to go, I'm sorry- and it's not like I fucking owe you anyway, I do you a favor keeping an eye on your little school because I have nothing else to be doing. Do you understand?"
"You know who I-"
"Yeah I know who you are a whiny entitled bitch who finally found a problem he can't punch through," Alice snapped back and hung up, and the angel blinked rapidly, looking down at his phone before calling Jabari- he hardly noticed as his girlfriend sighed exhaustedly and wandered off to another part of the house.
"My friend- 'ave you had luck, yet?"
"No. Have you?"
"No- so zen, why are you calling me my friend? It is a sad ordeal- if we are to save zese heroes, we must make haste."
"I…"
Click, the line went dead again, and Aerendyl resumed pacing, tangling a hand into his hair, breaths quickening. He was lost- every lead, every corner of Contracted Arms' databases, every lead turned up dead- he couldn't reach any of the gods that might have been of use. Nobody knew where to find Playwrite or the God of Knowledge at present… every lead was turning up dead.
Then, there was Casmilus- Aerendyl remembered. Wished like hell that he didn't, but he did-
Call for me- and you will… the bastard was so confident… but, if I could just find the bitch who cast the spell…
I'd start a global war. Ravenwood jumps in, maybe Pempa makes a move- what then? It'd be my fault- that's what Jabari said.
For a moment, he felt the sheer horror of what he'd almost done, before Jabari had cut into his mind…
He spent hours there, pacing before the bay windows of his living room, glaring out at the lake… and then he left, speeding into the night.