“Is it just me...” Micah was frowning at the piece of parchment remarking his second semester grades. “Or are all of the classes getting harder?”

“Weird, isn't it?” Brenn picked at the foot on his plate. “I always heard fourth year was supposed to be the easiest but I feel the opposite. This is definitely the hardest year so far. I got a B- in gender studies. Can you believe that? I guess I'm fortunate enough that it's an elective, but a B-? Nobody respects women more than I do. How badly did you do?”

Micah tried to hide the piece of paper but Brenn's arms were much longer, stronger, and faster. He snatched the paper out of his friends hands and scowled at what he saw. “You're complaining over this?”

“I expected better.” Micah sighed. “I tried really hard this time. Honest!”

Sigi peaked over at it before shaking her head. “Ninth in the entire academy is pretty good. Better than I did. Top twenty at fourth year graduation and you can set yourself up anywhere on the continent.”

“That's because all of your attention is put into one subject.” Micah complained. “I looked! You barely tried and you were tenth overall!”

Sigi shrugged at this. “It's all a matter of discipline. Schoolwork is not hard.”

“I was surprised at the rankings.” Tythas said. “Alex at number one and Astrid at number two was no surprise. But I didn't put much forth this semester and I was still... Fourth. Pun intended, I guess. Micah was ninth, Sigi eighth. But Brenn! Sixth? How did you manage that?”

“I've always been top twenty.” Brenn frowned back at the man. “A friend should celebrate my achievements rather than acting as if I'm a bull that can read.”

“Tythas did get fourth rather than third this time.” Micah said. “That's right, there were black marks on some spots on the rankings and I couldn't see them. Why are results of the exams redacted? Aren't they supposed to be visible even to the public for advertisement or something?”

“Professor Wilhelm said the academy staff were required to exam as well this year. Every black mark is a staff member, but their ratings aren't publicly available. Kind of amazing that all of us did better than so many professors, doesn't make much sense.”

“Not necessarily.” Brenn added. “Think about the exam content, some professors get old and they lose their touch for other subjects. They might score an S in their own but a C- in another, it makes perfect sense.”

“I guess that explains why the top ten was mostly obscured.” Astrid commented. “Did he mention who was third?”

“Tyr.” Sigi had a sour look on her face. “Wilhelm said it was Tyr, and he was less than a point from your score, by the way.”

“Really!?” Astrid laughed, far more happy than one would expect her to be. “I guess I'll have to work harder! I am very proud of him!”

“I wouldn't take it at face value.” Sigi waved her enthusiasm away. “I doubt the academy would allow their professors to look bad. Wouldn't surprise me if they got the same handicap the dwarven and beastkin students are given. Never made sense to me, that. Affirmative action, they call it.”

“Don't be rude, Sigi.” Brenn said, resulting in a brief scuffle between the two. Mostly in the eyes, they were too grown to break out into another wrestling match in the middle of the cafeteria. “Speaking of Alex, she's usually the first to arrive. Where is she?”

“Alex said that Tyr had no proper lesson plan written out and was just winging everything, so she was going to do that for him. I think...” Tythas said. “What are you looking at me like that for? She's my friend too...”

“It's just surprising.” Micah said. “I didn't know you two talked like that.”

“Tyr wants to do a workshop on fighting mana constructs, and as a necromancy specialist I was as good as any to help him out. Urden made me do it, not that I wouldn't have, I just wanted to make sure you knew that he wasn't the one who asked. I don't know. I don't even know how to act around you people anymore.”

“Speak of the devil!” Astrid coughed, side eyeing Sigi all the while. Waving at the late entrant to the cafeteria. “Alex!”

“Yo...” Alex looked rather frazzled, she was limping and there were barely visible marks around her neck. “Good morning.”

“What's the matter with you?” Micah asked. “Why are you walking like you just got off a days long ride--”

“I will kill you if you continue that sentence.” Alex said with a glare.

“You've gotta be fucking kidding me.” Sigi frowned.

“What?” Micah and Brenn asked in unison. Tythas' head was buried in his hands with a groan, confusing them even further. Sometimes, those two were too 'pure' for their own good – but he hadn't expected her to come out of the situation looking like that. Alex, the one who was always so well put together, pristine and manicured by 7AM, was looking like she'd just got back from a boxing match with a bear. Or a wolf, he supposed, in this case. Astrid was flushed pink near the shade of her hair, and Sigi looked beyond furious for some reason. “What's going on?”

“It's nothing.” Sigi asserted. “We are angry with her because she did not tell us she was going to be taking contracts this morning.”

Alex glared back at her but said nothing, there was a gloating twinkle in her eye, though.

“You've a right to be. You knew that you had to work today.” Brenn thrust his fork at Alex. “You have responsibilities now, it's time to put your priorities in order. Adventuring can be fun but it can't take precedence over your more important duties.”

“Brenn...” Alex groaned. “I am exhausted, and if you prattle on about pride and justice again I'm going to take it out on you.”

“Understood, ma'am.”

Tyr approached the table but a minute later, surprisingly. Carrying a tray of food and acting a bit sketchy all told – but they supposed it made sense. A simple apology and exchanges of forgiveness weren't always so concrete as to settle a matter.

“Seat yourself. You look like an idiot.” Alex insisted. Her words were cruel but her tone was not. It was her idea that he begin joining them again for their daily meals.

“Yes ma'am.”

“Oh, I get it.” Micah nodded sagely. “You guys fu--”

Before he could finish, though, Sigi's fist struck him in the gut with a resonant thud.

“Don't be wroth.” Tyr's eyes twinkled mischievously. “Maybe you'll be next, and maybe you'll hold up better than--”

This time, it was Alex's turn to do the silencing.

–

All of the compounds they'd struck thus far were located in the buttes demarcating the border between Amistad and Baccia. Barren for the most part but for a few rushes and the odd xerophyte, which was a super fancy word for a desert plant. It made them easier to strike because while they were well hidden, their abilities to scout their surroundings were conversely made difficult by the terrain. Take out the scouts and there was nobody who could warn them in time. It was different now. Moving northeast toward the forests that dominated this side of the border.

Tyr wasn't sure what kind of phenomena in climate would place a forest of oak and maple at the foot of an arid land like Baccia, an almost perfect line demarcating the two very different biomes.

It was harder. Not because the challenge was going to be any more serious than before, though. All of the compounds were isolated, the problem was the common people in this region. People did live in the demilitarized zone between nations – about two or three miles on its thinnest side but becoming as wide as fifty miles in the north courtesy of the river. There were those who were sure that the Brotherhood would push south beyond that barrier eventually, but that time never came.

Amistad wasn't exactly weak, in any case. There was a ford village crossing the river, more like two villages – one on either side with a long and sturdy bridge between them called Beckinbridge. This land was all deep, dark forest. Hedgerows so thick anything larger than a rabbit would have trouble passing through.

That was why he'd brought everyone this time. Almost everyone, Samson, Mikhail, and Fennic had remained behind to ensure that the princesses didn't try to follow him again. There were a lot of them now, the blackguard – nearly 200. But though they dressed like the blackguard, they were not Tyr's.

Alexandros' influence spread further than he'd expected. Adventurers of all stripe had willingly joined and submitted themselves to his command from both the Republic and the lands beyond. Tyr didn't know many of them, but they were competent. Alexandros had a talent for... Well, finding talent.

“Hoods up.” Tiber whispered into the communication device. A short range artifact that lacked the reach of a true amulet, with the trade-off being that the use of it was undetectable. They did as he commanded. They were a humble, tame lot, as far as adventurers go. Rakkis, Camille, and Kirk had joined them for whatever reason, keeping close by his side. Old friends, and Tyr was glad to have them here with him. Still, he wondered how long Alexandros had been building this network of men and women so fanatically loyal to him, seeded throughout the continent and ready at a moments notice.

His own legions, in a way, that kind of reverence Tyr had seen in Rorik but painted on the faces of telurian, kijin, dwarf, and so many other races. Even beastkin, which was surprising.

The compound, as expected, was a lot easier to find this time. But it also had better sight-lines in exchange. Located in a ravine and surrounded by a wide palisade that stretched from end to end, far off the beaten paths through the forest. But for all their care, most of Hastur's people were just normal soldiers.

They didn't see the cloaked figures hanging from their walls in the gloomy light of the moon until it was too late. With practiced movements, they fell like rain from the wooden barrier, each cloak ending a life as they landed. Shadows, and Tyr was proud to see it, Tiber had drilled them so well.

They scattered, racing along the rooftops of the squat stone buildings, obviously constructed by earth magic. Tyr could feel mages here, more than before, but they had yet to make themselves known. The stench of them was cloying, and it was his job to eliminate them before they became a problem of the less magically blessed.

He waited beside Okami at the inner ring of the defenses, patiently standing there as a man opened a postern door with lurching steps. Drunk. Unaware of the massive wolf towering over him as he began to relieve himself with a belch against the wall mere feet from where the two stood in the shadows.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

With a wet cracking noise, the upper half of his body was snapped off by Okami's vise-like jaws, the bottom half still 'leaking' – unaware that it had lost its top. Tyr patted his partner, but it was all... It was too easy. They hadn't attacked in the night like this, only doing so because it was more appropriate given the topography. Even so, all of the mages in the area were congregated in the center ring near what must've been the commanders tent and hadn't moved for hours. Tyr knew, he'd been there all night with Tiber to spot for the others.

Rise. Tyr's head shot sideways, he saw a flickering shadow in the distance reaching it's hand out to him, but it was gone before he could make out its features.

“Something is wrong.” Tyr whispered, and Tiber agreed with him over the open channel in a crackling whisper.

“I agree, this is too simple a task. Every single one of our confirmed kills looks to be male and human, which is odd for the Brotherhood.” Tiber said. “We should finish quickly or leave, I have a bad feeling about this. I think it would be wise to put the pumpkin on the porch before the skunks come. Never liked how they smell, those skunks, but I suppose everyone else feels the same way. Give them a chicken and they'll come a spraying.”

“What?” Tyr hissed in confusion. “Is that code or something?”

Someone else, a voice Tyr did not recognize would respond. “This guy his insane, tie him down!”

“Who was that?” Tyr asked. Stepping through the postern gate, careful to avoid casting a shadow, everything was eerily quiet and still all of a sudden. Lacking that verisimilitude. All the way up to the second barrier wall, he stalked, waiting for a reply. “Camille?”

“I'm here, Tyr.” Camille whispered into her amulet. “Everything is fine. Don't worry. Why don't you get out of here and let us handle the rest? They are all dead-- SHUT THE FUCK UP, STOP MOVING HIM!”

“RUN!”

Rakkis' voice came through the channel. Kirk had to wait outside due to his bulk, a pseudo battering ram in his armor should he be needed. But Camille and Rakkis had both joined the team moving inside.

“Take off the masks, Tyr!” Rakkis hissed, and Tyr did the thing. He tore the mask from the half chewed corpse spat out by Okami, frowning hard. Dragging the man over and laying it next to another. They had the same face, like twins. As did all the other masked men. “Ah, fu--”

Tyr was made a pincushion, nailed to the ground by steel bolts and hurting all over. He spit blood as he felt them lance into him, not much time to do anything else but frantically roll to the side to avoid the second volley, burying them deeper in the process. Poisoned, these bolts were poisoned which indicated the enemy knew it was him – and that this was his weakness.

What had appeared to be the inner wall separating the officers quarters in the compound vanished, only now did he realize that it was a tangible illusion. Replaced by glaring orbs of light that spread all over the ground, setting into relief the long shadows of the blackguard padding about silently. Without delay, a swarm of projectiles filled the air, a line of crossbow wielding haemonculi firing at anything standing. Okami managed to swipe them away with his paws, but the rest were not so lucky. At least twenty fell in the first volley, and the rest of them ducked and weaved to avoid another.

Rise.

All of the structures in the place melted away. There was no cover besides the trees on the periphery, which was where they were to retreat to should such a situation occur. Despite the lack of proper drilling, all of the adventurers Alexandros had provided acted with impressive swiftness. Weaving their way about in a 'Z' pattern, only ten more lost in the subsequent volley.

See with your eyes.

But he was prepared for this. Or at least, Tiber was. Three months of this had gone by and it would be odd if they hadn't begun to notice the compounds they'd left in a state of cruel butchery. Prepared, but no plan was perfect. Tyr hadn't expected them to possess a mage capable of a tangible illusion, that kind of thing was rare. Nor had he expected them to keep up the act for so long, these haemonculi behaving as if they were regular people. Moving in masterful patterns so as to draw in their attackers and lull them into a false sense of security.

A thousand tongues, mouths to match.

Okami pounced forward, taking another of the creatures and tearing it apart before he was thrown side by the force of some spell. It hadn't taken them more than two volleys to realize that the hide of this beasts wasn't so easily penetrated. Something felt off about the way he moved, though. Everything felt... Off.

Okami wasn't that slow, they'd captured the nuanced movement of a human – but they'd failed to project the majesty of a true guardian beast.

It was hard to explain. Like none of this was real. And it'd only be a moment later before the wider illusion shattered and Tyr found himself back on the plains again. There was no forest, no Tiber, no Okami... No blackguard. He was alone, watching as the air shifted and the corpses all around him dispersed into a black smoke.

All they speak are lies.

“Wow!” Someone laughed. There was no line of crossbow wielding men either. It wasn't night, the early sunrise could be seen on the horizon. Like waking up from a dream, Tyr stared at the figures surrounding him. There were quite a lot. A few hundred men in neat lines formed in a star shape around him. And five others standing together, much closer. “I never expected him to see through my dream magic so quickly, you really are talented, kiddo!”

See with your eyes.

“That isn't good, we aren't at the meeting point.” Someone else said. This time, it was a radiant woman with pale blue hair, a suit of armor covering all but her muscular arms. “Bergen, put him back to sleep.”

“Ha!” This 'Bergen' cackled like a hyena, a laugh so similar to that Martin of Kriegstad. But unlike that lanky dandy, this one was a small man, dressed ridiculous in a habit that wouldn't look so strange on a royal in the midst of court. With a tall hat on his head and a bandage wrapped over his face where his eyes should be. Tyr wondered how anyone could see with their vision obscured like that. “I can't, haha! He's resisting me. You know, I've used this power on a lot of people and it's only the truly willful or truly insane that can resist it! Maybe he's crazy, haha!”

“Let me guess.” Tyr spat a wad of phlegm onto the cracked dirt, popping the vertebrae in his neck with a flick and crossing his arms nonchalantly. Behind him was a swathe of incredible destruction, men were broken and mewling all over – left behind by their fellows to die. Dozens of them, men with shackles and chains in their hands, or hooked staves. And to match them, Tyr had two swords in his own – covered in blood from head to toe. Slowly wicked off by his self cleaning armor, the rest being absorbed into a very hungry Aska. That was new, but it was no time to be marveling at the odd occurrence of his sword drinking the blood of the enemy. “You've come up with this brilliant plan to lure me out here to the plains via illusion magic so you could kill me? I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy, I'm the big piper picked a pickled plum, baby. Immortal as you like.”

“Of course we didn't come to kill you, everyone knows you can't die.” The woman with the blue hair sighed in disappointment. She didn't seem all too fond of the idea of fighting him, the hands of all five individuals rested on their hilts – but they didn't draw them. All unique in appearance, a diverse collection of men and women both, the notable powers here. “We are the Five Fingers of Hastur, and our objective was to extricate you from Amistad in order to prevent a situation in which you were harmed. You've been quite a thorn in our side, but the master was explicit that we not hurt you in any way. This was the least violent option available to us, and it was a good plan.”

“As expected of a primus!” Bergen cried in compliment. “Nobody has ever broken out of my spell before, seriously!”

“Did I kill those men?” Tyr jerked his head, and she nodded. He knew the answer, but figured he'd ask anyways just to make sure. Blue-hair nodded calmly. “Do you want to join them in death?”

“Yes, yes.” The woman sighed again. She had tired eyes, clearly this operation of theirs had taxed her spirit a great deal. Either that, or she wasn't an early riser. “Such a powerful little man you are, great primus. Blah, blah, blah. You can't beat us, and we are not alone. You are surrounded for leagues in all directions. Even if we ignore that, we are not your enemy – Prince Tyr. Or whatever you are in title these days, I'm pretty sure he's a prince, right?”

“He is, lady Rommel.” Another one of their number replied. A short man with curly hair and pair of kind eyes, a thin frame that made his strong and masculine jaw look rather ridiculous. He had an interesting complexion, like some mixture of Agoronian black with a dash of orange to set it apart from the rest. A man of Ind, Tyr had never seen one of those before, so far from home. At least the sand he was about to be buried in would feel familiar. “Second in line of succession to the throne of Haran, by official decree. Please come quietly, as our captain says – we are only following orders to see to your well-being.”

“What's your name?” Tyr asked the man.

“Raj.” He replied. “Raj of Ind, I've no noble name like your honored self.”

“Ind?” Tyr nodded, finding himself interest a great deal in the golden eyed man. “Long way from home, even further away than Assyria. I've never met someone from your nation. It is a great privilege, I've heard so many amazing things.”

“I share this honor, son of the primus.” Raj bowed respectfully. They didn't seem all that bad, but something was still wrong. The circle of spears surrounding him and the men holding them hadn't wavered in the slightest. Standing stock still, not even breathing. Tyr shot a bolt of fire at one of them and it disappeared into a puff of smoke.

“As I thought.” Tyr observed. “Listen, Raj. Or you, since you seem to be in charge, dear Lady Rommel – drop this inception shit or I'll--”

He woke. Truly woke. Layer after layer of illusions had been laid upon him by this Bergen fellow – but now Tyr knew that things were real. And with that reality came the devastation. He was in another compound, in the same environment. Those men holding spears were mulched and... No, this was one of the compounds they'd cleared weeks ago. Flies swarmed the rotting meat all around him, joined by scores of fresh human corpses. Tyr stared at them dispassionately, but he was angry. This had never been the plan. If Alex knew...

Tyr had killed thousands, not the hundreds he'd initially believed. They'd brought an army, and 5 very able mages – and even while dreaming they couldn't stop him. If the state of the landscape was any indicator, he'd been far stronger asleep than awake.

“These men...” Tyr said. They remained silent, giving him time to observe. The walls were shoulder to shoulder with the shaking, fearful eyes of the still-living, their composite bows drawn taut and ready. Maybe 80 left out of the masses they must've brought, terrified to behold this demon before them – and they should be. “They died pointless deaths. Why?”

“If I may, honored primus?” Raj stepped forward, approaching him fearlessly with his empty hands held aloft in surrender. Running through all of those illusions all at once had Tyr feeling muddled and disturbed – it had felt so real... “We Five Fingers are the chosen of Cortus, who you well know – as he has told us. Despite your... Excuse me, but your transgressions, you are forgiven in his mind and he wishes to protect you from the reality of things. It is our job to commute you safely from this land so that the plan can be enacted.”

“Understood. It was a pleasure meeting you Raj, I will think of you when a day comes where I visit your storied homeland. I really have heard so much, I wish to see the botanical gardens and the mighty tiger riding warriors who are so gallant as to be known worldwide.” Tyr smiled at the man, and Raj did the same. Offering his own respects until they were cut off by the kick Tyr landed on the mans neck. Snapping his head to the side and pulverizing his skull, killing him instantly.

“Now...” Tyr called out. Even after murdering one of these 'Five Fingers' – the bows aimed at him remained still. All but a few, but he ignored the loose arrows slapping into his back. “I'll give you a choice. Leave here, and live. All except for you.” He pointed at Bergen, the man who had ensorceled him. “I don't want to kill you all, but I'm taking him one way or another. I am quite smitten and I just so happy to be in the market for another wife.”