The Ninth Prophecy
First blood

As Faris attended a local city festivity on the fourth day of his temporary lordship, a man of the lord’s army approached him: “My lord, general Darion wishes to speak to you.”

- “Let him approach.”

Darion was a general of an imposing appearance. He was of dark skin and he outheighted Faris by a head’s length. He was a general of the city guard. “My lord, may you be of health. Are you enjoying your time here?”

- “I didn’t come here for pleasure or for joy, general. I took up the entrusted responsibility only because I had to.”

- “Yes, certainly, my lord.”

- “However, it is a bit strange that the only remaining general approaches me only after the third night of my governance. I did send for you yesterday you know, but you were nowhere to be found.”

- “Forgive me, my lord. I was tending to the soldiers at the bordering outposts. I only arrived to the city yesterday.”

- “Very thoughtful of you. It is praiseworthy to have a general of a city guard visit soldiers of a different order at the frontier. Except, I had sent two Sciprians to the border…I would have sent more, but Sciprians also tend to be a scarce appearance these days. Anyway, they brought me no news of your visits.”

Darion tried to reply, although visibly distressed, “My, lord, I’m…”

But, before he could continue, trumpets from the watchtowers announced an arrival. The watchmen were heard announcing from the city walls: “The lord’s envoy approaches!”

“The lord’s envoy?!” baffled Faris said and continued, “Open the gates! Open the gates!”

As the soldiers and citizens rushed to the door, they watched lord Yon and his escort enter. They were bruised, some with blood on their uniforms. Aegor had an arrow sticking out of his right leg. General Eldon was not among them.

Faris, approaching his brother’s horse, asked: “Yon, what happened?! Are you all right?”

- “Not here, my brother. Let’s retreat to my chamber of judgment. Bring your escorts along. Darion, secure the walls and double the guards.”

As Yon addressed Darion, Faris pierced him with a sharp look. Darion bowed his head and kept looking beneath him.

While the men were getting seated, healers approached, tending the lord and his fellowship right away. Yon, who would not get distracted by the healer tending a cut above his eye, started:

- “My fellows, generals, councilors, arrow’d officers…Treason!”

Unrest and whispers spread through the room. Yon continued, “Half way to Nox, we decided to rest in the fields at Turtle’s Back. All was well up until that point. Just as we were setting our beddings, a man from my foregroup came riding back. Yes, my brother, I listened to your advice. I sent a decoy group ahead of us, with all the markings of a lord’s troop, with flags. I even had two men who resembled Aegor and I act as us…”

- “I am glad you listened to me.”

- “Yes, no one knew of this except me. I picked the men personally and made arrangements with them. It proved to be the right decision. When Jorry, this lad to my left, came riding in, he had just enough time to scream ‘Ambush!’. Jorry…” Yon gave the floor to the young soldier.

- “Yes, my lord. Well, after our decoy party - which was some five hundred lengths ahead of the main party - was ordered to stop, we dismounted the horses. Before the trip, Lord Yon gave me an assignment of making sure that we keep a safe distance from the main party, so that our cover doesn’t get blown. Anyway, just as I was getting ready to get back on my horse to check on the main party’s position, an arrowhead flew right by me and struck Ger in the heart. Ger was impersonating the lord. The next arrowhead struck Warnick who was wearing general Eldon’s robes. I struck the side of my horse as the assassins came out of the woods riding theirs. Turning back, I saw them cut down the remaining guards and Bral who impersonated Aegor. It is then that they realized that they don’t have the right people and they started chasing me. I got to the lord’s camp just in time to warn him…”

Yon then took up the storytelling from there. “Yes, we got on our horses and we probably would have been caught if it hadn’t been for Aegor. He struck down two of the assailants with his bow which made them take cover. That gave us just enough time to leave.”

Aegor explained what happened from then on: “One of the lord’s guards was holding my shield and deflecting their arrows while I was firing. The one that struck my leg was going for my heart. He deflected it. The next thing I remember is Jorry grabbing me and mounting me behind him on his horse. The guard was of no such luck.”

The members of the lord’s court stood amazed and petrified, listening to the story in one breath.

Like a child waiting impatiently to hear the end of a bedtime story, Faris asks eagerly: “Who was it? Who attacked you?”

Yon gave a straightforward answer: “It was the Septors!”

The statement caused commotion in the hall. Words like impossible, war and bastard could be heard.

Darion asked Yon for confirmation: “My lord, are you certain?”

- “Yes, Darion, I am certain. They fired arrowheads made by the illuminated steel, our guards’ arrows couldn’t penetrate their armor, except for Aegor’s…But, they weren’t alone. Tell them, Jorry.”

- “Yes, my lord. As the assassins came riding out of the woods, I…I am sure I saw something else.”

One of the officers asked curiously: “What, tell us what? Was it the Dabors on their bears, or maybe Xelons?”

- “No. I saw… I am sure I saw at least two Koprites with them…”

Now the hall was trembling with shouts, comments, curses. Jorry continued to speak. “Yes, I am sure, they were riding argorites. Sir Aegor saw them too.”

- “I think I did.”

“Why? Why all this?” Faris interrupted once more.

Yon provided the answer: “Because of the prophecies. Oh, yes. I forgot to mention it – we know the prophecies. My informant from the king’s court, whom I was to meet at Nox, sent a hound ahead. The hound carried a message. The message included the prophecies.”

Now everyone was getting excited and the voices were fading away into the silence. Yon passed a small wrapped paper to his squire who was standing beside the lord’s chair. The squire read in a shivery, broken up voice: “In the night of moon and rain, the Chosen have been united in one in their seeing, hearing and believing. The light of wisdom has shined one more time to give us these words of destiny to be fulfilled:

Time of kings has come.

The squire’s address having been interrupted by the murmur of the present souls, Yon intervened hushing the court commandingly: “Shut the hell up and listen! You, continue,” Yon said turning towards the squire.

The squire continued, each new proclamation causing mixed reactions in the crowd:

“Yes, my lord. Hmmm:

Armies will be faced in the name of destiny.

With fire, water and darkness is a victor’s army to prevail.

The kings that are and the kings to become are kin to be.

In the king’s duel the one who remains standing after a bitter fight will claim the right over destiny set in these words.

If the throne’s master is to be decided by a willing sacrifice instead, fog will be replaced by thick darkness.

A willing sacrifice shall open ways to diverse outcomes of which only the last two of the destinies hereby proscribed are to be certain.

The king of this time shall stand alone against the might of the new light.

The throne’s master on the day of light in the Tunnel of the Red Rock will be the master of all the world.

Such is the verdict of destiny and the superior truth of the realm.”

When the squire finished, a bird flapping its wings on the roof could be heard. No one knew what to make of the words. So, they asked their lord. “It is hard to know. Only one thing is certain: our trust has been betrayed by the king! I ask all but the members of my council to leave. The council is to be held right away,” Yon provided the answer, raging fire of anger bursting through his eyes.

The next sound heard was Aegor’s scream as a healer yanked the arrow out of his leg.

It was then that Yon turned his attention to Aegor once more. “Aegor, you don’t have to stay at the meeting. You can retreat to your quarters.” Aegor looked at him all puzzled, so Yon continued to explain. “That’s a fancy way of saying go to your damn room and get some rest before you pass out.”

-“Ah! No lord. I am fine, I’ll stay.”

- “All right, suit yourself.”

The last of the court members moving out, the guards closed the door behind them, leaving only the council members inside. As Faris was to leave the room, Yon intervened, “Where are you going my brother? You are now a member of the council too. Sit by my side.”

- “Listen Yon, this is not my war. I love you and all that, but I have some other things to attend to, a brotherhood to support. These are things I find to be my destiny.”

- “For the time being, you are stuck with your brother in blood, who tells you to sit down. Sit down and after the meeting decide if this is your war or not. Of course, your right-hand’s-man must leave, unfortunately.” Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Faris unwillingly took the seat and nodded to Maedur who then left the room. Much calmer than before, Yon opened the session: “Brother Faris, generals Aegor and Darion, man of wisdom Hiraq, my man of citizen’s affairs Rhyius, treasurer Dokal; before you all as witnesses I, Yon Kulin, the lord of Baan Senicore, declare presiding over the city council, all in good faith. May our thoughts flow clearly and may the words we speak be filled with wisdom.”

- “Ay!” they all spoke in one voice.

- “You understand why we sit here now. I am ready to listen to what you have to say on the matter.”

- “My lord Yon, before we hasten to any conclusions, how sure are we that what had happened to your party truly was the king’s deed?” Rhyius raised the question.

Aegor, visibly annoyed by Rhyius’s doubt, promptly interrupted. “We are very sure. The arrow pulled out of my leg proves it! The dead general Eldon proves it!”

In firm voice, Yon asserted control once again. “Save your strength Aegor. Let me speak. We judge by what we see, hear and feel. What we have seen is men in king’s armor. What we have heard are the prophecies which explain the motives behind the deeds. What we have felt is best expressed by Aegor’s condition. The arrowheads fired at us were the arrowheads that can only be fired from Septor crossbows. They are the only ones whose weapons employ the invention of firing plain arrowheads at great speed. I don’t have to remind you that the Septor crossbow is the only one with five triggers firing five arrowheads at once or one after another without recharging. Only they have these tools invented by the Illuminators introduced into their arsenal and their armor and it is such arrowheads that were fired at us. Here are some that hit my horse,” Yon said opening his hand and showing two bloody four-sided pyramidal arrowheads sized as a third of a finger: Luckily, my horse is fast and we were at some distance when the Septors fired, so the arrowheads didn’t go in deep. Otherwise, had we been only ten lengths closer, my horse would have been laying in a gutter and I would have been fed my own guts by now! General Eldon was of no such luck unfortunately.”

After a few moments of silence, Dokal spoke next. “My lord, fully respecting what you have been through, with a tribute of compassion to your experience, while admiring your courage and cool-headedness in the situation of the assault against your integrity, I would like to get back to the issue of the prophecies. How do we know that what was read are the true prophecies?”

- “We do know it because I was supplied the information by a most trusted source from the king’s court. It is a member of the king’s high council we are talking about, and, as a matter of fact, I expect this person to join us today. I have been informed by my scouts in disguise that this valued friend is approaching the city.”

Although all wanted to know, Aegor was the first to ask the question: “Who is it?”

- “It will be revealed soon.”

“Coming back to the assault, Aegor wasn’t hit by an arrowhead. It was a full arrow. It is not a Koprite arrow, because general Aegor would have died by now if he were even scratched by one of those. We all well know that their arrows make the straightwalkers’ flesh rot,” Darion spoke as he seemed to struggle to make sense out of what had been said before.

- “Yes, that is true…But, there is a simple explanation: Many Koprites, especially when going further away from the Dome, often use our arrows when killing the straightwalkers, since they want the meal to be served fresh to the Servarians. Rotting of the meat means Servarians don’t eat it and grow hungry, which is bad news for the Koprites,” Yon explained.

- “Ah, yes. That makes sense,” Darion said pleased by the answer, only to continue with another question. “Really? Do you think Daors would allow Koprites to serve…you, as a meal to the Servarians, or maybe to eat you themselves?”

- “What better way to hide the deed? I am actually quite impressed by Daors’s reasoning. I thought him to be much…simpler,” Yon replied.

It was now Faris’s turn to ask. “Let’s go back to the king’s motive. What is it?”

Aegor took up the task of elaborating on this matter. “If lord Yon allows it, I will give my opinion. The first prophecy announces the time of kings. Obviously, the most immediate threat is a popular Kulin lord. Daors cannot risk killing the lord in the capitol. There are too many eyes, too many witnesses and there is no telling how the masses and the other attending noblemen would react. So, he obviously came up with this safest solution: to have us rid of our heads in a gloomy night in some dark corner of the land where no one would know what had been of us. Even if something is to be heard, he could just blame it on the Koprites.”

Yon then filled in. “Yes. Besides that, just few hours prior to our trip, we were informed of an incident by our bordering patrol. As they were patrolling, the locals in some godforsaken obscure village told these Sciprians that they heard that the town of Beth Dar was attacked by Koprites. By the time they got there, the town was burnt to the ground. No survivors were found. All this had happened some eight nights prior to our trip. As you know, Beth Dar is right on our north-eastern border towards the midlands. You are all aware that this is one of the towns that contribute the most to our annual stocks. I decided to keep this information secret because announcing it just before the trip, when I as the lord would be absent from the city for quite some time, could cause unrest and frustrations which would be hard to control. Only Aegor and Hiraq were told what had happened. This attack changed my opinion about my brother’s proposal. It is then that I decided to send a decoy party ahead. It now seems safe to claim that the Beth Dar attack was probably conducted by the king’s troops in order to weaken our positions.”

Aegor, with an ambition to conclude the matter, spoke of his final concern: “We have not yet heard from Lord Spero of Nox, but it is the best if we consider him the king’s ally in this situation. Any different outcome would come as a pleasant surprise…”

Just at this moment the doors of the lord’s chambers opened and a hooded person walked in. All turned their eyes towards this apparition approaching them. Yon spoke first, extending his arm towards the walker. - “Ah, yes! Speaking of pleasant surprises, Aegor, this one comes just in time. My fair councilors, allow me to present our informant and ally from the king’s court.”

At that moment the hood came down, and the surprise by what was unveiled was best portrayed by the facial expressions of the councilors. Before them stood a younger woman of some twenty-five to thirty summers. Although she was wearing shabby clothes, probably for the purpose of staying properly concealed, her fair face and nourished reddish hear, carrying some dust from the trip, revealed that the lady was of noble descent.

“My councilors, may I present to you Hadera, king’s councilor on the affairs of the midlands and the south and daughter of Spero the Executioner, the noble lord of the midland city of Nox and its related regions,” Yon introduced the newcomer pompously.

Hadera then spoke in mild tone: “Thank you lord Kulin for introducing me to your honorable council.”

“Please, be seated,” Yon invited Hadera, pointing at a vacant seat next to him. “Forgive my men. They are not used to having a woman sit among them as equal,” he continued. “Speak for yourself,” Faris interrupted.

- “Yes, let me introduce Faris, my dear lady. He is my brother and a newly inaugurated member of my council. He is with the Fraternity.”

- “I haven’t heard of any women running the Fraternity either,” Hadera added.

Everyone but Faris laughed at this remark. Faris wanted to reply, but could find no words.

Yon took the initiative once again, appearing to be rather encouraged by Hadera’s appearance. “Dear Hadera, we are more than eager to hear what news you bring, I myself included.”

- “You have received the prophecies?”

- “Yes,” came the short reply.

- “Well, I must say I am a barer of no good news. After the prophecies were announced, the king became edgy right away. He immediately recognized the other two lords as potential threats. Of course, he was very careful about mentioning my father in my presence, but he couldn’t hide the obvious. Chances are that by now he has declared both Yon and my father traitors. The council declared Yon a traitor as soon as they were informed of the Beth Dar slaughter.”

“The Beth Dar slaughter?! What do you mean? The king did that, not us,”Yon spoke in a manner of a child wrongly accused of stealing the neighbours’ fruit.

- “Yes, that is what I suspected right away. Anyway, the information presented to the court was that the army of Yon the Kulin pillaged and destroyed the town because they refused to pay taxes to a rebel lord who sees himself as one of the kings. The king himself read the report before the council and the whole court.”

“Who supplied the king with the information?” Faris asked with suspicion.

- “The king referred to the information as provided by a ‘most reliable source’. Chances are that he ordered the attack himself and then presented the occurrence as it suited him.”

- “So, when the council voted on designating lord Yon as a traitor, how did the fair lady vote”, Aegor asked Hadera.

- “I…I raised my hand in favor of the king’s verdict.”

- “You declared lord Yon a traitor?!” Aegor responded, turning to other councilors with bitterness in his voice.

- “I did not! The council did. Unanimously! What could have I done? Had I voted differently, doubt would have been casted on me immediately. I would have most certainly been revealed as an insurgent! Let alone that this would dispose my father’s position as an ally of the Kulins.”

- “I don’t believe you!” Aegor snapped at Hadera once more.

- “Well, I do and that is all that matters! It makes perfect sense,” Yon stepped in dominantly.

- “I agree with Aegor. We must be cautious. Maybe it makes a little too much sense,” Faris pushed the matter on, encouraging Aegor who spoke again.

- “Precisely. How do we know that her father is not in on this with the tyrant? How do we know that his army is not eyeing our city gates at this minute, the gates she will open for him?”

Yon stood up, his face burning red as he furiously knocked a shield that was placed before him off the table: “Enough! Are you doubting my judgment now?! Who is the lord here! I will not allow this to continue. Shut your mouth and let Hadera speak!”

Now, the room went utterly silent. Before Hadera spoke, Hiraq took the floor: “We must be aware of the gravity of the situation we are in. The lord must have our trust. Now, he is our only lord. It is imperative that our hierarchy is respected. That is more important now than it had ever been before. We must not allow a breakdown of our own. Rule of chaos is a rule of the enemy. Doubt and suspicion are mind’s first children in a war. We must wrestle with them, but we must not allow them to overpower us.”

Hadera now spoke surprisingly calmly: “Thank you. I understand your concerns but I disapprove of them. My house and I myself are long-time friends of the Kulins and of lord Yon who delegated me to the king’s court as the emissary of the south when my father couldn’t do so because of the blood constraint. I assure you - I have come here to fight with you and to die with you if it comes to dying. Shall I continue exposing the events or does the council see it irrelevant?”

- “Please continue and forgive my rude councilors for their behavior,” Yon responded.

- “Apology accepted. As I was saying, Yon has been officially outcasted from lordship as a traitor. Right after that, the king asked the council to give him rights to arrange an alliance with the Koprites. At first, the high council was reluctant to comply. Then, Daors introduced Ral to the council. Oh yes. Contrary to the traditional belief, it appears that the Koprites do have a hierarchy of their own. Only the masters whom they call the feeders have names. They have some one hundred of those. There are some four-five of them who are the strongest and the most ruthless and they assert power over the others. Their language is strange, it resembles hissing and groaning. It was translated to our language by one of the Illuminators who seems to have been exploring the ways of Koprites for quite some time. After the Koprite stated his case, the council agreed that an accord should be made.”

- “Why? Why did the council give its consent,” Rhyius asked angrily.

- “Well, it was very simple actually. The Koprite master said that, as their race has grown, they will expand one way or the other. They said that if Karos doesn’t accept the agreement one of the other two cities surely will. In that case, Karos would be the prime target. Daors then reminded the high councilors of the third prophecy which said that only with darkness is a victory to be achieved. Having in mind the fact that the other necessary ingredient is water, and Baan Senicore being the only of the cities situated on a vast water body, the possible alliance between the Kulins and the Koprites would mean almost imminent defeat and fall of Karos.”

- “I would never make any arrangements with the darkers! I was more than willing to even step down, thus providing the willing sacrifice mentioned in the prophecy which would enable king Daors himself to fulfil the ninth prophecy in peace,” Yon pointed out his position.

- “Well, what you were or were not willing to do doesn’t matter anymore, does it? The council agreed to send a troop which was to fetch lord Yon and bring him before the king where he would be trialed for treason and given a chance to state his case. I presume that it was this party which attacked you. The council also agreed to have a joint army of Karos and the Koprites march on Baan Senicore. The king was not given the permission to start a war yet until the matter is cleared, but I am sure that Daors will find a way to get that approval by the time the army reaches Baan Senicore. We should expect the army to reach the city in some ten nights. At current time, they are probably passing by Nox.”

“And just why are they passing by Nox, why don’t they attack your beloved father’s city first? Maybe they hold him too dear to be attacked,” Aegor continued to question Hadera’s allegiance.

- “As I have already stated, there are several reasons. The first one is the fact that Yon was the only lord judged to be a traitor. By now, that situation must have changed, but they don’t have enough time to prepare an attack on Nox. The other reason is that Nox is twice the size of Baan Senicore and it is more heavily defended. So, they would risk more by attacking my father now. But, if the alliance is to cut off my father from the south, the city would stand no chance on the long run. Of course, there is another, key reason to be mentioned.”

- “Which is?” Faris said encouraging Hadera to speak.

- “Daors agreed to give the city to the Koprites after the end of war. Koprites would then make a settlement here in the south, too far from Karos to present a threat to it. The Illuminators have found ways to reproduce the dark heavy air that covers the Koprites and the Servarians under the Dome, which would make life sustainable for Koprites in the long terms.”

- “Sustainable for Koprites means extinction of everything and everybody else,” Yon provided his understanding of the situation.

- “Yes. I am afraid so,” said Hadera, reaffirming Yon’s fears.

Darion, who was looking around and listening, asked an important question: “And what is the position of the Dabors and the Xelons? They live the closest to your father’s city in the far eastern midlands if I am not mistaken.”

- ” Dabors and Xelons are loyal to the realm and not to a king or a lord. They will not take part in it nor will they take sides. Their pact is sealed with the king so it is even harder to expect them to turn against him.”

- “And the shadow people?” Hiraq added.

- “What about the shadow people? No one would dare to enter their territory, let alone talk to them. No, there can be no luck there. Oh, another thing: the Koprites…they are bringing along the horions.”

- “Horions?! Fuck! How many,” Faris was the first one to ask what all wanted to know.

- “All of them.”

Rhyius asked for a more precise answer: “How many is that?”

- “Ten to twelve. They are bringing them all along.”

The councilors looked at each other in disbelief.

Yon decided to break the unpleasant silence. “All right. All seems to be clear. We are going to war alone against this alliance, and a war they will get. As it is set in the Laws of Wars, given that an army was first sent against us for a matter we were not allowed to be heard on before the high council and that we were done injustice by the king, I ask the noble council of the south to confirm my kingship over southland.”

At first hesitant, after Aegor uttered the first ‘ay’, the others followed immediately and confidently.

- “Faris, my brother, maybe I am mistaken but I don’t think I heard your ‘ay’,” Yon said to Faris politely.

- “Ay, ay. Forgive me, brother; I am not acquainted with the procedures of the council.”

- “All right. This means that the regular council is now dismissed for the time of the imminent threat. I hereby declare the war council with all the members of the regular council except for Rhyius and Dokal who are to participate upon invitation. I also name Hadera a member of the war council.”

Dokal, unpleasantly surprised by the lord’s decision, advocated on his own behalf: “My lord, you already introduced one inexperienced councilor, with all due respect to your brother. Relieving two experienced councilors and introducing another new one…”

- “Don’t worry Dokal and don’t be offended. It is only natural that the two of you who deal with civil affairs are allowed to focus on your affairs, as we are to focus on the military aspect of this situation. Besides, Hadera is not inexperienced. She has been serving in the king’s high council for several years.”

Dokal was not happy by the now king’s decision, but he had to comply. His once unquestionable reputation had already been dented by the fact that the treasury and the hangars were not nearly as full as they had been in some previous years. Meanwhile, the only thing that grew was Dokal himself. As the stocks got thinner, Dokal got wider. People started accusing him of wrongdoings in favor of his own welfare. His belly was generally the key argument. He saw this last Yon’s act as the final confirmation that he was no more in the new king’s mercy. Unlike him, Rhyius accepted this decision with ease. He was already known to be the lord’s ear. Being Yon’s man of all citizens’ affairs - from city planning, infrastructure to distribution of work - he got acquainted with many people and many people owed him favors. This had enabled him to spread his informant network. Council meetings were a nuisance to him. He would anyway meet Yon regularly in his private quarters where he would inform him of how the city was pulsing.

- “I declare the council session finished. The war council meets tomorrow at sunrise to discuss the matters of city defense,” Yon briefly concluded.

As the councilors were leaving, Faris walked slowly behind. When he saw that all others had gone their ways, he caught up on Darion, grabbed him from behind and pressed him against the wall in the hall. Face to face with Darion, Faris whispered: “If you move, the dagger I hold between your balls will become an integral part of your body. If you had anything to do with the ambush, I swear by all that is sacred…”

- “I swear, my lord, I didn’t.”

As Faris pinned him against the wall, Darion let a damped scream slide across his lips: “Aaaahhh!”

As Faris pulled Darion’s shirt aside, he saw a freshly treated wound on Darion’s right shoulder which had started to bleed again as Faris pressed him against the wall. This enraged Faris even more. “You damn traitor!”

- “No, my lord! I am not!”

- “This wound looks very fresh, say, maybe from Turtle’s Back?!”

- “No! It is not what you think!”

- “Oh, really?! I can’t wait to hear your wondrous story!”

- “The wound is fresh, but not that fresh. I got it some six days ago, just a day before the lord’s party was to leave for Karos.”

- “Really? How did you get it, you fought a dragon or something?”

- “No. It was something much less noble. On that night I was leaving an inn when someone’s arrow struck me from behind.”

- “Who was it?”

- “I…I don’t know, that’s the thing. Maybe it was an angry gambler, a dishonored husband or a drunkard whom I might have offended in some way. I don’t know, I don’t remember actually. I wasn’t quite myself.”

- “Hmmm, a general coming out of an inn and walking on all fours. What a mighty image.”

- “Yes. That is the problem. If the word of a general struck down by a drunkard was to get out, it would ruin me, my name…Luckily, a patrol came by before the assailant had finished me off. The soldiers recognized me and took me to a healer. I stayed there for five days until I was able to cover up the marks of this shameful affair. I never acted like this before, you must understand. I guess it was the situation that got the best…or the worst of me. I am an abiding general who puts his service above all else.”

- “We are soon to see either the best or the worst of you. Then I will see who is to benefit from your service. I will be watching you and I will make sure this dagger becomes one with you if you only think about abandoning or betraying my brother.”

Faris then released general Darion and the two parted. Darion turned towards Faris one more time as if he wanted to say something more. However, he stayed silent and Faris walked away.

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