Harlan hummed as he readied himself.

He had his armor and his weapon, Adina took time away from her class to watch.

Oddly enough, Ava also wanted to watch.

“You know, Count Orelend, since you arrived anyway, why not just take my deal? You would save your daughter a lot of trouble”

“I am not a coward.”

Harlan took a deep breath and his eyes slit.

“The rules for the bloodletting are as follows. All magic is allowed, so long as it does not attack the audience directly. All weapons are allowed, all personal artifacts are allowed. All body and magic enhancement elixirs are allowed. If any spells or elixirs require preparation, they are to be used now.”

This bloodletting was a sanctioned murder, and the rules reflected this.

The cost of the bottles Orelend drank amounted to nearly 400 gold.

Once the man signaled that he was ready, the duel began.

He took one step, and then collapsed, blood pooling from the holes, one in his heart, and one in his forehead

A line of blood dripped from Harlan’s index finger that was doubled the length and thickness it normally was.

Once a doctor verified that he was dead, the king proclaimed Harlan the victor.

“Sir Harlan Fomoria has killed Count Sedric Orelend. The agreed upon punishment is to be handed out to the count’s household.”

Sepul was there alongside the king.

Nobody yet realized how weak Yggdra had become; to ensure his health in these trying times, he kept Sepul near him.

Harlan knelt before him.

“Excellent use of skip.”

“Ah, you could see that your majesty?”

“My only talent in the magical arts has been with time. Ironic, as I have a deadline on my own life, denying me the ability to truly use it.”

“Thank you very much for your compliment, your majesty.”

“Do you have a message for the audience of your peers?”

“I have already given my message.”

Harlan left through a gate alongside Ava and Adina after the three of them kneeled to the king.

They first went to Redwall to drop off Ava, but Harlan wanted to talk with her before leaving for the academy again. So they made their way to her room. No longer did Redwall bother pretending that Ava didn’t live there, she had been in the guestroom for years already.

“So, what made you want to come?”

“Breken said that I can’t give up on you, that you are making mistakes now, like he made mistakes when he was younger. I think you handled the duel well, no theatric, no threats, just a clean kill and then you left.”

“I had a speech planned about how I was done with threats, but then I realized that was just another threat. I think what people need to see is that I am serious, that I am not just going to strike out at those who are under them. These people lose hundreds of men and it is a bother because they need to hire more people, but they do not see human life as inherently valuable.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Once someone gives me reason to, I am going to kill them, either in their own home, or when they take a trip. When people who have wronged me start to die in accidents or odd bandit attacks, people will notice. It isn’t what I want to do, but if my threats cannot keep people in line, keep you safe, then I must back up the words of the past with present action. I know you don’t like this, but this isn’t just about you, or me, it is about the nobility having free reign to invoke terror without finding retribution coming back at them.

I have the power to change things, barons, mayors, chiefs, those lower down the hierarchy of power have no chance to stand against these people.”

“I will see how this shakes out.”

“That’s it?”

“Breken said I shouldn’t be so judgmental. But I think you are insane, and you are going to bite off more than you can chew because of your sick attitude and when you go to court, I will not be a character witness for you. Just, try not to get yourself killed before you reach the redemption part of this story.”

A month passed, Harlan was back in his lab at the academy, he believed that he finally found the solution for Gargoyles and Sirins.

“Both of you have undergone the procedure. This is the last part, which I believe can alleviate your symptoms. Before now I could solve the eyes and the skin, or the wings and the skin, but not all of it.”

Harlan had used what he learned from Ky’s transformation.

On the table in front of both subjects, laid a tonic made from liver.

“You made mention of livers, but not why exactly. Is this made from them?”

The Gargoyle was a man named Seth, he had been one for 20 years, if he got cured now, he might still be able to return to his family, see his children as adults.

“I’ve had my liver repeatedly removed and regrown, each of those is a diluted solution.”

He shoved away the bottle.

“I’m not sure what the fuck you think we are, but I am not a monster, and I am not a cannibal.”

“Patrice, what about you?”

“Why do I need to drink this?”

“Have you heard of a ranger known as the beast eater, monster eater, or the monster man? His name is Ky, and I happen to know him. He was cursed by a Fae, so he must eat the flesh of magical creatures, but, as a boon, he can also take traits of these creatures. The procedure I’ve given both of you is implanting a very limited version of his boon, so, by eating those livers, you are going to take on traits from me, and this should let you remove your non-human features, replacing them with Fomorian features.”

“Why not human parts?”

“Humans are what could be called the prime species, they are also magically gifted in all elements, with alignments only providing improvements. Alas, they are not magical creatures. But, as a Fomorian, I am, in a sense, an evolution of them, not unlike a magical creature.”

“Did it hurt?”

“There was discomfort since pain numbing don’t work well on me due to changes to my physiology, but I have a very high tolerance naturally due to those same changes to physiology. Don’t worry for a second about what it cost me, but rather what it can do for you.”

The woman had only been turned 6 months ago, and her life was falling apart; she had requested that someone from the Nightwatchers kill her since she lacked the will to do so herself.

She downed the tonic and collapsed as her feathers fell off, her talons turned to feet, and her skin turned sickly pale.

After 30 minutes, Seth was still there waiting to see if it really worked before he decided if he could do what she had done.

“Hey, Patrice, are you awake now.”

“Huh… oh, right.”

She lifted her hands, seeing them without claws or feathers was enough to make her eyes water, but it was being able to wiggle her human toes that set her over the edge into a sobbing mess.

Harlan didn’t know if she was actually vocalizing her thanks, but her mind was overflowing with joy.

“Now, I’d like to keep you here for observation, make sure that this effect isn’t going to fade away. If that is the case, I do have a solution, though it is not ideal.”

She still couldn’t really form a coherent sentence, but she nodded her head enough for him to know that she didn’t mind.

Seth decided that this was now or never, and if she hadn’t dropped dead yet, then a far more hearty species like his should be fine.

Two weeks passed, and both subjects were perfectly healthy, aside from a minor issue, they were returning to their previous form.

It was still subtle enough right now that nobody could out and out say that they weren’t human anymore, but Harlan didn’t think it would be more than a week before the effect entirely wore off.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

So, he implemented his plan B.

“Sellen, so good to see you. And you… Vampire High Elder.”

“You may call me Carden. I do wish to know however, why did you call upon me rather than the Gargoyle and Sirin representatives?”

“Because I don’t trust them to not force me to kill them.”

“How… candid.”

“You do know how to use a sigil, right?”

“It is… uncomfortable, but over the decades, I’ve grown a certain resistance to them.”

Harlan cracked open a crate to reveal what seemed to be a featureless man hooked to an IV of tonic.

“Good, here is a clone of my body from when I was entirely Fomorian instead of using wyvern pieces to augment myself. Not an exact clone mind you, I did have a face back then.”

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Grow livers, then remove them, make the tonic, and supply the tonic to Gargoyles and Sirins.

I’ve checked the numbers, each of them has less than a thousand of their species.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it is the only solution that I have yet found. If you want to give me more subjects, ones who could die without me feeling sorry for them, I might be able to make something better. Until then, this is what you have. Vampires and Ghouls, even Werewolves have it easy, you people can hide. But them, they are stuck outside of society, forced to either make enclaves for themselves that just get found out and forced to move when humans find them, or die. You could send the other representatives if you cannot handle the work, but you must be sure they won’t do anything that could justify me using them as test subjects.”

Carden was shocked by Harlan’s manners, or lack thereof.

“Why do you speak to me like this?”

“You’re people are allowed to exist as an apology, but if you go against me, Coronach has been given free reign to kill you.”

“Aren’t you worried I could trap you in a fate worse than death, that I could just outright kill you before he arrives?”

“Not at all. Watch this.”

Harlan took his own head off with a fireball, causing both of them to attempt to save his life

Then another Harlan arrived fully nude through a gate and the clothes leapt to his body.

“Xol gave me a spell so I could be everywhere at once, and while right now I am only up to two bodies, it is enough that I can keep the other safe and then come back without issue.”

“Ah, you are insane, that is it.”

“I do not fear dying, I did not fear it even before I had this magic to keep me alive after death, with some limiting factors like requiring a spare body and it taking time for the spell to etch itself into the new bodies as I add them to the link.”

“A hero dies a thousand deaths, a coward but one.”

“Harlan, do you have your clothes on yet?”

“Never seen a naked man?”

“You are someone I consider a friend, and you are still basically a child to me.”

“I am dressed. Carden, do you want to take the body and the manual, or should I call the others?”

He could feel a migraine coming on, he couldn’t help but think this was somehow going to blow up in his face, but he did it anyway.

“Yes, for the sake of my people, no matter the species, I will do this.”

Another month passed, and Harlan made a pig able to pull like a ox.

A month after that, he enhanced a man to Fomorian levels.

Then for the next two months, he kept enhancing these men and women, all of them were spies or soldiers under Balor.

After about 40 of them, Harlan believed that he had perfected the process.

Just another 2 years, and he would be able to do it to Ava without their mother killing him.

2 more months passed since Harlan had effectively cured the False Undead.

He felt he had done the right thing, and less importantly, he learned how to replicate some of the effects of being False Undead in himself and others.

For him personally, he found that the way a Werewolf would transform was far less painful than how he had done it. This made shifting far easier since a full body morph didn’t feel like he was dying and it significantly lessened the pain felt by subjects undergoing enhancements.

Harlan tossed his desk through a window, causing golems to flood into the building.

“Don’t worry, I just got a little bit frustrated.”

They called in a real person.

“Sir Fomoria, I am going to make a report. Is there anything you can tell me about the incident? Perhaps another professor could help you solve this problem.”

“Do you happen to have a free professor or archmage with advanced knowledge of sigil crafting or soul formation and restructuring?”

“I will ask-”

“You don't, I've already asked around. I simply failed to negotiate for a subject to come here for my work, it is nothing to worry about. Thank you for checking on me.”

Finding someone from Reino, or currently inside of Reino with any form of hereditary curse was nearly impossible, as most were killed at birth, finding them and convincing them to have their soul poked at for a possible fix, had thus far been impossible.

“Get that thought out of your head.”

“You can’t read my thoughts.”

“Maybe not literally, but I know how you think. Kidnapping someone just because they are an asshole who refuses to work with you isn’t a solution, it is just a bad idea.”

Harlan dragged the desk back inside just so he could lay his head on it and pout.

“Fuck that guy.”

“Yeah, fuck him.”

“And fuck Fragile Peace for blowing me off. It’s not like they are going to use those babies, the least they can do is give them to me and let me raise them until they can make the choice to let me experiment on them.”

“Please, never, ever, repeat that outloud.”

“I won’t hurt them, but yes, I know that they probably wouldn’t really be able to know if they could ever make a fair judgment because they would literally owe me their lives.”

“How about Periwinkle? Last time we talked she seemed to be giving it some thought.”

“I could give her a pie the size of Aine and she wouldn’t do it. When a woman like her is giving something thought, it means that they have no plans to do it.”

“That is just unfair, she… might not think that.”

“I gave her a spell to turn any milk sweet and she gave me a thank you, that’s it, not even another bracelet.”

He actually had 7 of them, all made from flower stems and he tried very hard to avoid damaging them.

Harlan tossed the desk out the window again, both of the items would repair themselves if given the mana.

Blackstone and Redmond’s daughter was finally born and it was a grand day, but a very quiet one, mostly because it was just past three in the morning when she called Harlan.

She only wanted a few people around, all of them being people who had worked for her family for generations or who had relations through blood or marriage. Most of the house staff were gone, sent away for the first few months of the new baby’s life.

“Harlan, come, hold her.”

Her mother was pretty offended that she didn’t get to hold her first, and Blackstone could see it.

“He is her godfather. Don’t be like that.”

“For someone who just gave birth, you seem pretty chipper.”

“I’m a hearty woman. After the first 3, they just slide out.”

Harlan made a face.

“Oh come now, surely you of all people aren’t to be disgusted over something so minor.”

“I’ve come to see you as an actual aunt, I don’t want to think about those parts of you.”

“Boy, I’ve read reports, you once jumped into the mouth of a Sludge Eel to kill it from the inside out.”

“Yeah, and three days later the smell was finally gone. I’m going to live with the image of that… for the rest of my life. What is her name?

“Tenebria, like-”

“Darkness, black. I thought that you were going to run out of names like that at some point.”

“I’ve got at least three more left, but I’ll save those for grandchildren.”

The older woman had an odd mind, Harlan couldn’t help but be bothered by it.

“I’m sorry ma’am. But you must be the former Countess Blackstone?”

She poked Harlan with her fingers, finding that past the layer of skin and fat that he maintained to have a soft exterior, Harlan was like steel.

“Why didn’t you get with this one?”

“Because he is 16.”

She looked him up and down.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I am sure. My husband is his uncle, you met Harlan at the wedding.”

“Did I? Yes, I…”

“Mom, why don’t you sit down.”

“Huh? Oh, right, yes yes yes. When are you finding yourself another husband? It has been years since Harrik died.”

“Mom… I’ll find one soon, I’m sure.”

“I’d hate to see you alone. What about this young man here? Sure he has a child, but that isn’t always a dealbreaker.”

“Mom, he is… nevermind.”

“Don’t backtalk me. I’ll… I’ll…”

Harlan used his empathy to soothe her anger. He had heard of this, an incurable disease that attacked the mind. Nobody knew what really brought it on or how to fix it, all one could do is hopefully keep them out of trouble. It was no wonder that he had never met, or even heard of the woman until now.

The old woman slept in her favorite chair.

“Now that we’ve moved past that, why don’t you find out what is taking my husband so long to get here. If I have to, I’ll-”

“I will bring him right here myself if I need to. You just spend some time with your daughter.”

After an hour, most of which Harlan spent in the frontier waiting with Redmond’s commanding officer, his uncle was free to see his daughter.

“I’d ask if you want to go anywhere else first, but your wife is going to kill you and then me if I did anything but take you right to her.”

“Do I look alright? I’m not mangy? Do you think she is going to remember me when I’m gone for so long? Oh gods, what if she hates me for being absent. Shit, shit, shit.”

“Oh good, you are taking this better than mom said you would.”

Harlan opened a gate, then another and another until he reached the mansion.

He was up to 800 miles give or take, and down to 18 seconds a cast, give or take.

“Alright, just head inside, I’ll be right back.”

“What do you need to do?”

“Don't worry, I’ll be back before you know it, now go see your baby girl.”

“It’s a girl?”

Harlan told Redmond that he had managed to convince them to postpone the mission he was needed for.

In reality, Harlan had agreed to take Redmond’s place in an operation; it was simply the fastest way to get him back home.