A/N 3 of 4.

The result of my blood test was deemed to be too dangerous to be made public. For the past week I have been held in Janet's house under her and the dragon priest's watchful eyes.

Pure Kadem.

“I do ask you again Kadimae, do you understand the severity of the danger you face?”

Because it's not like you've been telling me this for all of the last week.

“Pure blood of any race is rare beyond belief. There might not even be a pure Tanil or Harpy or dragon. As for a race with as few members as the Kadem?” The priest's non-existent eyebrows furrow.

“Marek Seteri, until ten years ago was the oldest known pure Kadem. His wife was a Balyand, if you've heard of them. Any child of their union is pure Kadem as well.”

Except that's not the whole story, he had seven other children. Any of them could also be my parent.

“I'm having new documents forged, I'll have the priest of life change your results in the gold-light plate. Your parentage… avoid the topic at all costs.”

I've given up trying to reason with them. The last week has been me fighting with both Raul and Janet. The matron dare not interfere despite how she worries for me.

At first Janet refused to ever let me even attend school in the capital, Raul argued that trapping Marek's son would anger the gods.

Raul wanted me to accept guard by acolytes, since supposedly the dragon god and the king are related. Janet argued that his influence would be too great and interfere with me socially and urged him to think of what was ‘good’ for me. Since who would be comfortable around some kid followed by dragon-men.

Arguments like these had continued throughout the week and suffice it to say, have pissed me off.

With little else to do I'm content to sleep the day away in Zan's bed. Since he's too small to use it right now away.

In the last week Zan has grown bigger, still unable to fly he's taken to strutting around the place and jumping off things. He's still smaller than a cat being more like a big rat, albeit a pretty rat but still annoying.

Soon yet another day is wasted and I return to sleep. Zan curls up beside me and soon rest takes me.

*     *     *

A warm breeze picks up and flows through my hair. I hear the sound of a stream trickle and how the wind sways the grass.

Then I hear it again. Then soon after again. The same pattern, the same sounds. Repeating endlessly. Far in the I see the beginning of a large lake? Or is it the sea? There's the smell of salt… is that the sea?

Far beyond even that is a great tower, reaching forever higher in the sky. I try to look to it's peak but it seems endless. Etched in blue lines and surrounded by an otherworldly glow. It's too far for me to reach.

“Nice place you got here. Hello.” I hear a voice, disembodied but bright. It sounds like a child, although I can't tell from where. I say nothing and peer around trying to find my mystery child.

“Hey are you ignoring me? I said hello.” The voice says again.

“Um I'm sorry, hello. I'm Kadimae.” I say trying to not further offend my, I guess host? I guess the voice brought me here. I steel my will and try not to-

“Hey!” I held my hand out to welcome  you and you ignore me? Are you stupid?” The voice gets more and more angry as it continues, screaming profanities and insulting my mother.

I close my eyes and thrust my open palm out, “I'm sorry Mister!”

“His most Serene Holiness Maru, the god of death.” A hand grips mine, “Welcome to hell.”

“…Which I would never say to such a kind boy, so open your eyes.” Slowly I open one eye to see a white-haired boy who looks… exactly like me. Excluding the hair colour.

“Your head is pretty empty, look at all the air.”

“That's mean.” I say. Except it is pretty empty in here… Somehow my mind is rebelling against me, I get the feeling it's some conspiracy with Maru.

“Why to take up so much space for yourself Kadimae, that's immoral!” I think this god isn't taking me seriously. Maru’s look suddenly sours. “Well did you have to think it out loud!”

Most people can't read thoughts.

“OK I'm sorry, I don't do this often.” The death god tells me, “People tend to be dead when I meet them… let's start again.” Maru holds out his hand and says, “Hello I am Maru.”

I take his hand and say, “Hello I'm Kadimae.”

“Ok Kadimae, so I was asked to help you out.” Something which I find surprising, who asked?

“Anyway, you are having trouble using magic right? I can't relate since it doesn't work like that for us… Well I'm still going to help you.” Maru sits down in the grass and points at a patch opposite him, probably wants me to sit so I comply.

“So who told you to help me Maru?”

“Seteri.” He answers.

“Which one?” I say in response.

“Does it even matter?” He dismisses my question.

A gray fog begins to circulate about Maru, as it flows the grass around him begins to decay and wither. Yellowing and perishing before slowly becoming dust.

The cold energy washes over me and sinks into my skin, I'm scared for a moment but that passes. Since I didn't die he must be restraining that part.

“Ha!” A sound escapes Maru's mouth and a gold coloured energy flows from me, forming into four strange circles. These circles are coloured gray, gray, dark blue and gold. Grand and ornate, pretty.

“That they are, seals. One for each attribute you have.” Maru points at the first two in turn, “Those are the reason I was called, that and you discovered your parentage.” You knew?

“This confirms what might be your best or worst case scenario. Two divine death attributes, death mana kills things. Too much kills people. What kind of women could survive so much divine death mana Kadimae?” I don't even need to guess, That man's wife… my father's wife, my mother.

Maru smiles. “I guess you're happy to hear that.” I was but looking at Maru reminded me of something.

He's dead. She's dead. I've gone from having no parents to having dead parents. An orphan accepts that he may never meet his parents, that they might be dead. But there's hope, a hope now snuffed out.

I try to dodge the painful topic, although my eyes grow watery. “So these seals, you mean the gates?”

He nods, “Yes that's what you people call them, restricts mana usage so you grow into it. Infants can hardly manage their urine let alone their life force. Makes sense right?”

Perfect sense, I wouldn't trust any of the younger kids in the orphanage… or Zan now that I think of it.

“Zan can already use magic.”

Not now Maru.

“Sorry.” He promptly apologizes to me and carries on talking. “Anyway typically they'll awaken under stress or just naturally, if you want to force it… Make a choice, a huge one. Change how you plan to live your life, with real determination. Now neither of us can force something like that but when the time comes be ready.”

I nod as I listen attentively.

“You don't need anything else right?” I don't think so.

“Then it's time to relax.” Maru stretches his legs and lies in the grass. I just look at him flabbergasted. He isn't breathing but I assume that's natural for a god of death. I can still hear the looping sounds, from the water and the wind.

To these sounds I unexpectedly fall asleep.

*     *     *

The morning sun shines brightly illuminating the entire room and I suddenly remember that I'm at Zan's house. Taking a moment to get my bearing I realize that Zan isn't beside me. No signs of the little lizard anywhere.

I shift to the side to make sure I didn't roll on him in my sleep, which in retrospect I shouldn't have let him sleep with me while he's so small. Not a single dragon-pancake in sight, not even a scale.

“Zan? You there?” I shout, after a couple seconds however I hear no response. Not even a squeak or growl. At this point even the sound of flatulence would be welcome compared to this eerie silence.

I decide to get dressed and search the house, since after a few shouts I've heard no response. Zan's clothes are a tight fit on me, who other than being slightly shorter than me is also rather lightly built.

In the hall I see a slightly open door, with a weak white light shining out.

Hanging close to the wall I edge step by step closer to the aperture, the sound of each breath vivid in my mind. Of each footstep. My mind rapidly tries to decipher the source of each sound, am I truly alone.

My torso is but an inch from the doorframe, the light touches my arm but I feel nothing. OK so the light is safe, I can't hear anyone else either. I allow my body to relax from its tense space.

Then something hits the floor. Something metallic hits the floor. The clank startles me and I look around both ways, unable to divine the source of the sound. Throwing caution to the wind I enter the room and close the door.

The white glow is eminating from a magelight, like a small bright firefly caught in a glass sphere. It floats steadily beside the desk. Open on the desk is a book, like the magical theory books Janet has shown me. Except it's contents are indecipherable, it's numbers and diagrams beyond my comprehension.

I leave the book open on it's page and scour the room for clues, this proves futile as discover this is Janet's private study. Anything in this room is beyond my current understanding.

Then another sound, someone knocking on the door? “Open up, by the Sheriff's order these premises are to be searched.” The voice is one of some young soldier, I can hear two of his comrades talking too.

Running would be a bad idea… Even if my current circumstances are suspicious inviting reprisal on a weak bunch is stupid. I walk towards the front door, not stepping lightly so that the man at the door can hear me.

I unlatch the door and it swings open.

“Boy, I am looking for Miss Janet Cecil and searching the house. Talk to Conrad over there.” The soldier, wearing his helm to disguise his face tips his head to the left.

The man to the left is maybe ten years the first soldiers senior, going by voice. With messy brown hair and a round, fat face. It's obvious why he is the subordinate here. As I inspect the man he did so back, while his boss enters the house.

“Name and relation to Miss Janet?” The ‘jolly’ man asks me rather matter-of-factly.

“Kadimae, student of Janet. She teaches me math and magcial theory.” His eyebrows rise for a moment, hearing “magic-” but soon return to calm bearing I know only basic theory.

“No last name?” I shake my head and answer.

“I'm just an orphan.”

His eyes show understanding, “Lady Gwynd does good work, I'll trust you'll be cooperative?” He writes something down on a piece of paper and hands it to the third and last man. “Take him to Tannorn since he's seen the miss recently.” The third guard wore a full-faced helm just like the first, the third guard merely nods and begins to walk off expecting me to follow.

I take the hint and begin down the road alongside the guard to the village. “You know she's in serious trouble right?” The guard says with a familiar voice.

“Lan?” I ask him, to which he nods.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“An orphan, like you. Ye ought to tell Tannorn everything, I can't help you. I'm sorry but I can't.” He is becoming visibly distressed, even his helmet can't hide it.

“What happened?”

“The priest is dead Kad.” Wait what the hell? How could I miss that, killing a god’s priest brings down its retribution. A tribulation of sorts… how could she survive that.

“I don't believe you, she didn't do it. How could she survive the lightning?”

“It never came. Tannorn thinks she tricked the god.”

“How the fuck could she do that!” I abandon all premise of civility and shout at him.

“I don't know… dont-”

“Seteri has no fucking priest candidates, if the priest died we'd have storms for days. How do you explain that?” He explained that to us when we had our attributes checked. He wanted Zan to replace him… Any explanation is lost on Lan, Wen always said he was never the sharpest tool. I mean the magic part is beyond most people anyway.

“What about Zan?” I ask Lan.

“Who's this Zan your talking about?” Lan’s answer shocked me, he doesn't know who Zan is? Is he stupider than Miss Wen let on? “I mean Janet's son. The dragon.”

“She has a damn dragon on her side? Fucking, OK straight to Tannorn. He shoves my back and picks up his pace, forcing me to do the same.

Just great.

Time passes and I finally approach the village, the once pleasant hamlet is in an uproar and more than one body is left to rot on the street. I barely have time to peer into the houses as I walk by, to see the people cower in their homes.

Then a dragon corpse, surrounded by a thick pool of blood. As if it died by a thousand tiny cuts. The ground is covered in bloodied scales and scratch marks, wing membrane is torn.

“It's shocking, I know. Carry on.” He prods me in the back and his words are not at all convincing. What on earth did this… We approach the main street and to our luck there isn't another dragon body. More soldiers however appear, all hurry frantically to complete his or her own task. They ignore my presence as if I were not here at all.

Within the gateway to the estate is a crowd of men. Guards and soldiers all, as well however are robed men as well as Nute. Acolytes.

“Who did you bring? Does that look like a bloody…” That voice, it is Tannorn’s. “Kadimae? Janet's student?” Tannorn forces his way through the crowd, giving out a terrifying aura I can not move nor can his subordinates resist his rush.

He grips me by the collar and grabs me off the ground. “Boy did you know!? Did you bloody well know if your teacher's plans?” He roars at me like some sort of wild animal. His composure slips and his accent changes to some more gutteral tone.

“No!” I struggle to say.

“Sir, he mentioned she has a dragon.” Lan interjects with this statement making his hand grip all the tighter.

“A dragon? Boy who is it?” Bloody bastard is trying to kill me...

“Her son, Zan. Imperial dragon.” I only manage to utter a couple words a breath.

“She has no son Zan, you're talking shit.”

Just fuck it all. I don't say anything, this doesn't make sense. This doesn't make sense.

No no no no no no no. Just what the… He throws me against the wall and says, “Throw him in the prison, we'll deal with him later…”

Later he does, after two weeks with minimal food and water Lan appears at my cell. He hits the bars with his sword’s hilt and they radiate a dull clang. “Wake up boy.” I had been lying on the ground, trying to avoid the part of the ground covered in faeces. Village jails are simply that bad.

My eyes peek open to see Lan standing above me. An angrier man than I recall.

“What-”

“She has been executed, for aiding in the murder of the dragon priest.” I don't need to be told who she is. “You're free to go.” He says but I don't hear it. I fall back down on the floor, not even bothering to avoid the shit. Not even caring.

Eventually they just throw me out on the street. I hobble back to the orphanage but I'm no longer welcome.

This world is wrong… Yet there is nothing I can do about it.

Weeks pass on the road and I collapse, unsuited to survival luckily travellers happen upon me and help me on my way. A month later I apply to a second rate magic school and more than make the grade.

Eventually though I prove myself too unstable for the rigors of magic and I'm dumped in the capital. It's there I learn what really happened on that fateful day.

The dragon god is dead. The lightning would never come, the divine throne lay empty.

Decades pass and I begin to grow old. The years take their toll, I am a fighter and a farmer. A labourer and a teacher. A lover and a leper. With all else in-between.

Eventually however it leads me here.

“Damn drunk, if you don't have the coin then stay out.” A harsh barkeep with a nasty looking blade kicks me out of the bar. I raise the little piece of paper in my hand to view in the torchlight… I don't recall my tab being this big.

I throw the little paper on the ground and place my back against the wall. Left to boredom I play with my now graying hairs. It went red in my thirties and now in my late fifties it finally goes gray.

“Down on your luck?” A hooded man stands above me, he's tall. No very tall. Above seven foot surely, although he holds no weapons his presences is jarring enough.

“Ye. How ‘bout you?”

He sits down beside me, “Could say that, I've been away for a long time.” And he starts his own sob story, typical. I sit back and enjoy the ride, he might buy me dinner if I do.

“Found my children all dead, broke the wife’s heart.” He is crying, he doesn't sniffle or whine but tears slowly drip from his face. “And worst of all, I'm to blame.”

“Things can go wrong…” I try to rationalize with him.

“No, that's the thing. It went terribly right, I just didn't understand the consequences. Didn't look ahead. Not enough foresight for all my power.” I see a strand of red hair escape his hood.

It had been a long time since my childhood, I had dismisses those memories as naught but a childish dream. As one does when they become old and cynical.

“Father?” I ask.

The hooded man nods. No, Marek Seteri nods. That day life changes forever.

Immortality is mine. The world is mine.

And all the world is empty despite this. I bury four brothers and three sisters, whom I shall never meet. Forever sleeping on the dias is a sleeping doll of a mother I'll never know.

Being so high only makes the common man all the more distant, soon only my father provides me company.

Life wears on me quickly, after another ten years I'm sick of it. But no, father can never be alone. He would never allow it. So I endure.

A dead god shakes the world, pandemonium ensues. Regime after regime, King after King. Bloody wars are waged fruitlessly and I await atop my steeple.

Ten thousand years pass. We reach the end of the line. ‘No paths lead hence.’ All the years become fuzzy, as if it's no longer me living this life. A story all its own. Eternally entrenched into the halls of forever. I look upon myself haggard and old, bitter and tired.

The final day comes, the death of the world. The story ends. A son charges out into the abyss, looking to die. A father soaks himself in the blood of the innocent, for a final chance.

The father grips my head ,”Maru, never forget. We have one chance.” The man coughs out blood, “Please save them all.”

*     *     *

I feel tears streaming down my face, they aren't mine however… a cold body is pressed up against mine. Our foreheads touching and pained eyes meet mine. A dark gray mist surrounds us coursing out from my skin.

“What was that Maru. What the hell was that!” I punch him in the face and shout. I almost kick him in the testicles, never mind that it probably wouldn't work on a dead body.

“That was your life. Or it could have been. Let me explain.” At his answer I grit my teeth and tighten my fist, ready to kick his ass if he doesn't deliver.

“I was sent from the future.” I almost punch him after his first line but then I remember that nightmare. Although it's rapidly fading from my memory. “Saving the dragon priest and god is only the first step. Which I've already done.”

“How? Who did you contact?”

“No one, I merely added a person to the world. That was enough to change it all.” ‘Merely’? ‘Change it all’?

“It's Zan.” His statement makes that… nightmare make a lot more sense. None of them knew about Zan… he never existed there at all.

“You need to know about our enemy. Part of the cause of this all. Her name is Illyria, the goddess of heavenly fate.”

“Why would a goddess kill-.” Maru makes a ‘shh’ sound and stops me before continuing.

“She's the final god. Ranked the lowest, twenty-seventh and hardly stronger than any mortal. ‘Why is she so dangerous?’ you ask… because you will ask me. She can perfectly predict the fate of anyone in the world.” This is just… insane.

“How on earth do you beat that?” I say, Maru smiles in response.

“You don't, fate is unavoidable. Your every action has been predicted and accounted for.” He holds his hand put and a certain blue lizard appears in his hand. “His aren't.”

“Zan?!” Maru nods, “The only method to beat her requires we use people that aren't bound by fate. That means gods, priests and awakened ones. With a new category added.” He once again raises Zan.

“Illyria still sees the old world where the dragon priest is talking to the sheriff rather than tending to his little blue successor. Thus the assassin will attack the wrong place and die.”

The Zan in his hands turns to dust. “Any questions?” Maru asks.

“Why is she doing this?”

“That's a complex question…  we don't all cooperate but us gods are one team. Kadimae who holds most sway over the world?”

The answer seems obvious to me but I suddenly realize the reason. Gods and Kings, the former are divine thus unbound by fate and the latter are divinely empowered. As the epiphany washes over me Maru continues.

“So we have a world already hard to predict but gods have a weakness. If we change the world too much it invokes the counterforce, which leads to the creation of wild spirits. Failed gods commonly called demons.”

“She is hardly more than human herself so the spirits are uninterested in her. She instead cooperates with them to kill priests. The thing is that to fight the assassin the dragon god possessed his priest, that's normal and how divine magic works just taken to its limit.”

“Losing a priest shatters a god's psych. It makes them vulnerable. The closer they are the larger the damage… The dragon god is just a clone of your father made into a god, a perfect match. The dragon god broke taboo and took two High Priests, one dies and he doesn't give time to recover. Thus he doesn't survive the priest's death.”

It takes me awhile to process all the information, still in a daze Maru informs me I'm about to awake. So I put it all to the side of my mind.