Winter 2045 ~ Underworld
LUCAS Gray
LUCAS caught up with Laven as he was returning from his meeting with the king. He was nearly out of breath from jogging to catch up with her. She had been signing something to Tabula when he caught notice of her. As she turned around he called for her and finished running.
She saw him and waved him over, “Hey! Come here, we’re heading out this way with the others for our squadron.”
“Great, you’re not going to believe what I just found out,” LUCAS said in between breaths. “The king...you’re not going to believe it.”
“Oh, you actually saw him?” Roderick asked, he turned to LUCAS and his eyes lit up. “What was he like? I’ve heard enough about him that I’m guessing he’s this really wimpy guy that doesn’t live up to the hype.”
“Let him speak, he clearly had something he needed to say,” Tabula signed to him.
Roderick nodded and then backed off. “Right, sorry, you were saying…” Roderick corrected.
“Okay,” LUCAS nodded. “You two aren’t going to understand this,” he said, and then turned to Laven, “It’s one of the Creatures of the Night. The King...he’s...well, it’s kind of hard to believe, but he’s a dragon.”
“A dragon?” Laven asked.
“Like I said,” LUCAS said. “Hard to explain. He could shape shift between this gargantuan dragon and a...human sized dragon...human mix? It was really surreal. Looked straight out of your imagination.”
“You’re still breathing so I take it he didn’t so much agree with that head councilor guy?” Roderick asked.
“Oh, he seemed to hate him as much as I did—or at least agreed that he had his head up his own ass.”
This got a laugh out of him and Tabula, Laven was still staring at LUCAS as they continued to walk—others from the mess hall were starting to catch up from behind.
“What was this creature you spoke of? Creature of the Night?” Tabula signed.
“It’s a long story,” Laven signed back. “If I’m going to shorten it down, they’re bad actors from our world. Real bad. They’re who we’ve been trying to fight against,” she finished, pointing to LUCAS and then herself.
“And now we’re working under one?” Tabula signed. “That doesn’t bode well.”
“That’s messed up. I already didn’t have a soft spot for royalty for all this extra business...now I really don’t like ‘em.” Roderick said. “Kinda wish he was a stick so we could just not worry about him. Snap him in two if we didn’t agree and such.”
“I...don’t think this is the worst thing imaginable,” LUCAS said. “If we can get back home, that is. I mean...one less of them to deal with, right?” He turned to Laven, looking for her answer.
“Would you be okay in knowing that you’re leaving him here to rule?” Laven asked. “To let him do as he pleases as the king of a kingdom?”
“I don’t know,” LUCAS said. “I think it would need to be something we focused on at another time—when we’re able to regroup—preferably from our own world. I’m not sure we can take something like that on right here and now.”
“And what if it were too late?” Laven asked. “Would you be okay leaving it that way?”
“Would you?” LUCAS asked in return.
“I am not sure, but I’m thinking about it…” Laven said. “I don’t have any of the answers now and I don’t expect you would either, but it is something to think about.”
“Maybe let’s put a pin in that thought—maybe until you can give us the full scoop,” Tabula signed. “I think we’re approaching our destination.” They pointed off toward the large doorway leading to a descending staircase.
As LUCAS descended the stairs, he was greeted with the musty smell of damp stone and the sound of dripping water. It grew faint and then echoed as if it were bouncing in-between his brain. The light from the torches above flickered across the moss-covered walls, revealing ancient tapestries and rusty weapons hanging from their holsters.
As he focused down toward the bottom of the staircase—what he could see at least—he could see the afterimages of firelight at the bottom, but between the two stretches it was scratched in a black void of darkness—it certainly didn’t look inviting.
“And where was it we were headed, again?” LUCAS asked. He noticed his voice was scratchy—he had to cough to try and sound like he should be taken seriously.
“Training room—conveniently placed right next to the dungeons,” Roderick said. “The redhead said that it was to inspire us to not end up next door. I guess I now understand what she meant by that.”
“Oh, lovely,” LUCAS said. “Nothing but the best for the Omegas…” he rubbed his fingers together nervously. “At least we got solid ground.”
“They plan on making sure we’re not going to go out there to get ourselves stabbed minute one.” Laven said. “It was something I think was intended to be for our benefit, but there’s always something crawling on the back that seems like it’s more to cover their own ass. To say they did and such.”
“Well that’s refreshing,” LUCAS said. “At least they’re offering...we may as well take advantage of the opportunity.”
“Probably shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds us before it feeds us...huh?” Roderick said.
“Yeah, just what I’m thinking,” LUCAS said, and he began to descend down the stairs.
The steps themselves were large enough that he had to take two steps across as he stepped down to the next one. The light around them started to dim very quickly and soon they only had the bare embers from whatever light had been lit down near the dungeons down below to keep as a reference point to not fall on top of one another. The natural light was quickly replaced by the amber torchlight.
“The fire...it’s orange…” LUCAS said.
“Yeah...like how it used to be in the old world,” Roderick said. “I can’t believe I’m letting something so simple astound me like that. Yet, here I am.”
“I noticed that with the sky outside,” Laven said, then turned to Tabula and signed to her what she’d just said. LUCAS knew it was due to the dim light that she would not be able to read lips as easily. “I was shocked but of course everything else took precedence in the moment. It’s like this place is the remains of the world that used to be—like a dumping ground after it had been discarded and changed. That’s just a guess, of course.”
“It makes me nostalgic in a way I didn’t think was possible. Vicariously nostalgic, maybe?” LUCAS wondered. “Like a dream I never had suddenly entering my brain.”
The sound of their footsteps echoed off the cold stone walls as they made their way deeper into the underground prison. The smell of mold and human waste filled their nostrils, making it hard to breathe. LUCAS felt tears stinging his eyes as he had to turn to cough out the bad stench.
In his mind’s eye he saw a vision of the kinds of people that would be chained down here. The kind of depravity one would feel having your life contained within these walls. The prisoners of his subconscious were manacled together with chains and their ragged clothes hanging off their emaciated bodies, a testament to their long months of captivity. The guards would walk behind them with swords and spells, ready to off any offending member without hesitation. He imagined their blank faces as they stared at creatures they no longer considered human as they guided them to their cells.
As they would enter the dungeon, the prisoners would see the dim light coming from the torches that lined the walls, barely illuminating the small, cramped cells that were filled with other prisoners, some of whom had been there for years. Some were lying on the ground, weak and ill, while others sat in the corner, staring blankly into space.
In truth, the prison cells were empty and the cells each were open, but if he closed his eyes he swore he could see the shadows of those who inhabited these spaces as their final living quarters.
When they reached the bottom some of the others from the mess hall had joined their small group and LUCAS could count an additional two faces had joined their posse—the others must have turned elsewhere. They had reached the bottom and found the hallway forked to the right and to the left.
“That Tomorrow fellow said the dungeons were to the left as he was following up with us before we headed out,” Laven said. “Should be just up here.”
“Oh, is he going to be leading our charge?” LUCAS asked. “I don’t think I was there when that was decided.”
“He plenty well volunteered at the ready,” a woman behind Laven said.
“That weird fella with the weird little hat?”
LUCAS turned and saw who had spoken up, she had neck length white hair—it looked artificially dyed—and her eyebrows looked naturally arched in a questioning pose.
“Yeah, he was trying to talk to one of the other Omegas before coming down—said he was going to wait for...oi, that’s you, innit?” A man responded, then pointed at LUCAS. “He said he was waiting for you to come back.” His eyes widened as if he were looking at a celebrity. “Oh, your the one who was getting reamed out by the King,”
“Long story, yes,” LUCAS nodded, realizing getting people up to speed piecemeal was going to be cumbersome.
“Oh...well it looks like we might be alone down here for a bit before he realizes that you’re down here and not up there still,” the white haired girl said.
Upon hearing her speak longer, LUCAS could ascertain that the girl had an accent he wasn’t as familiar with. It wasn’t anything like he had heard anybody talk like before—if he had to guess based on the information he used to have he would have said she sounded Welsh. The man that had joined them had sounded like he had either an English or Australian accent. He would need more information to be able to make a solid deduction to one or the other.
The group continued onto the right and the torchlight grew until it encompassed an entire space of room that had empty cells lining the perimeter—cast-iron bars that ran from the ground to the ceiling.
“Well, that’s pleasant that by ‘opposite the dungeon’ they meant ‘the dungeon again’.” The man from the rear had said.
When LUCAS looked to him he saw the man had a lean frame and was wearing what looked like to be two layers of a bland shirt and pants.
“Well, why are you all pinning your peepers this direction?” The man asked.
“Where’d you get the spare clothes?” LUCAS asked.
“Seems a bit much, no?” Roderick asked.
“Oh, I found ‘em lying around. Figured I’d put them on. Got a bit chilly up there without central heating y’know.”
“Good grief,” the white haired woman called. “We’re supposed to be out there as soldiers soon and you can’t manage with a little air chill? I swear with you...”
“Well I’m sorry!” The man called out. “” He sighed. “Well I figure we should at least introduce ourselves to the others if we are going to be part of the same unit.”
“Well go on ahead,” The woman beside him said, crossing her arms. “We’re waitin’ for your special introduction, heat meiser.”
The man looked affronted, but then he recovered quickly. “Name’s Windsor. Like the knot.” He could tell the woman was rolling her eyes. It was clear they had known each other, but from where or when was not clear.
“Like the...knot?” LUCAS asked, furrowing his brows. “I...guess I remember something like that…?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Laven said, shaking her head. “I think we should wait on introductions. I’ve a feeling we’ll be made to do so once Tomorrow comes.”
“Why would we wait?” Windsor asked.
“Because you annoy me,” Laven said. “Your voice is rather loud and you seem to keep thinking that this room has chosen to mute you so you get even louder to make up the difference.”
“You said it,” the Welsh woman agreed. “Name’s Amber. I think we can go that far and then sit down some. I’m damn tired.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“I can understand what you mean,” LUCAS said. “My name’s LUCAS, then you have Laven, Roderick, and Tabula,” he pointed from one to the next and then nodded as he finished.
“Some odd names you got there,” Windsor said, immediately drawing ire of the others in the room. They collectively ignored the comment and suddenly heard the tumbling of footsteps behind them as Tomorrow entered the bounds of the dungeon. He shambled in and looked like his mind was running at several different tracks at once.
He regarded them with a wave and a nervous chuckle. “Well, hello all, I apologize for my lateness. I had thought…” he trailed off as he looked at all of them and stopped to stare at LUCAS. “Oh, you did make it back, excellent,” he smiled and filed the task away in his brain. LUCAS could tell he had felt relieved at not having lost him.
“Well, I am sure you are plenty excited and nervous so we’re going to go over some things first, and then we’re going to get some practice in with basic weapons. Now, you should know the kingdom can only spare the most basic of gear as the more advanced and sturdy material is going to our vanguard units” He began walking around the room and was displaying some of the gear that had suddenly appeared in front of them.
LUCAS blinked and suddenly there lay a set of swords, lances, and maces. The condition of each looked worse for wear, but his focus had largely centered on how they had simply appeared.
“They’re the front-lines and the like, you understand.” Tomorrow nodded and continued on as he swung his arm out and sets of training gear also appeared by his side—they looked like separated segments of some sort of chain mail—something to cover extremities in times of short combat. “You’ll be given higher quality material when you’re sent out as we currently are operating at a loss when it comes to steel and other precious metals.”
“Operating at a loss…?” Roderick asked. “You just poofed those in from nowhere!” He looked as if he still wasn’t believing what was right in front of his face.
Tomorrow looked confused for a moment and then turned his head to see what Roderick—and the rest of them—had been staring at. When he realized he shook his hands and began to laugh. “Oh yes, I forgot that magic is new to many of you,” he said. “Yes, I don’t have time to go over the full history here—maybe he can tell you at some other time,” he pointed to LUCAS. “But yes, I have the power and ability to transport material across space, but it is not comprehensive to material outside of the bounds of this castle. If we could obtain materials and perform these kinds of efforts remotely, believe you me we would need efforts of our soldiers and this squadron like yourselves.”
Roderick nodded, seeming to understand. “It’s the castle then, is it?” He cocked his head and crossed his arms.
“Bit strange your magic is so limited, innit?” Amber said.
“Everything in this world has limits,” Tomorrow said, keeping the offense out of his voice.
“So, are we to then just practice with sticks and really make our foes feel it with a good ol’ whack on the noggin?” Windsor asked. “All while pretending we’re not in the middle of a jail cell where we could very easily be tossed into at your whims?”
Tomorrow turned to him and gave a wry smile. “Only those who break the law should have concern with being held within those bars. It’s really quite simple.”
“If it were up to Tidmas we’d all be locked away for the end of time until our skeletons started to decay,” LUCAS said. “And then it probably would be getting off easy.”
“Possibly so,” Tomorrow agreed, clapping both of his hands together. “Put that thought out of your mind now, as we’ve got much greater things of import to go over. I am extremely pleased that this plan is getting to proceed forward, and I understand you lot are very confused over very much, still. I apologize—it seems as if the spillover has only increased in recent time and we’ve not had a chance to have much of a breather to talk things out.”
“LUCAS mentioned that there was more to your plan than initially offered at the round table,” Laven said. “I think before we do any training we understand what we’re really getting ourselves mixed into,” she crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.
“If it’s all the same,” Amber began. “I’m really not looking forward to being someone’s whipping horse so if there’s any chance of me opting out of this whole...teamwork thing that’d be excellent.”
The others looked to her with a shocked look, Tomorrow was the only one who hadn’t. His look was neutral as he turned toward her.
“Yes, well, unfortunately your volunteering for this project is compulsory. You do have the option of bringing up these terms with Tidmas and the rest of the council, but I am afraid we’ve extended the limits of his...we’ll say generosity toward your people. I think your options are what I bring forward to you thus.” He turned toward the rest of the others and took in a deep breath.
LUCAS could see there was a lot he had needed to say and to that he was thankful. He felt like he was so forward moving that it felt good to fully understand something in this strange world.
“And with that out of the way, let’s talk details. You six are going to be our Omega Squadron. What that means is you are going to be learning combat arts and reconnaissance. Anything more would probably expend the limited energy you seem to have since coming over—I will work with you one-on-one until you are comfortable pairing off and training off of each other. We will be running practice sessions and drills until you show results, and if you don’t...well, I’m afraid the council isn’t going to see much use for you. Let me say, you do not want the council to not see use for you,” His face darkened to a look LUCAS could only describe as a mix between sorrowful and pleading.
“And what is our ultimate goal? What will we be sent out to find, fight, or spy on?” Tabula signed.
Tomorrow raised an eyebrow, and then reactively looked to the others for an explanation of her strange hand gestures. When nobody stood to respond, Laven answered.
“Tabula’s deaf,” she said. “They asked what we’re going to do once we’re done?”
“Ah...yes...hm…” Tomorrow brought a hand to his chin and rubbed it, perplexed. He stood in silence “I was not made aware of this. I would…” He turned to confirm there was nobody behind him on the staircase and then bent down, urging the others to come in close. “If you can help it, do not draw attention to yourself,” he looked at Tabula directly. “His highness takes not kindly to the sick and disabled unless you make it very clear to him he gains from your presence. I do not have those same hesitations, but I must urge caution—in fact I am pleased you are assigned to this squadron. I love to learn more about the other side as much as I can.”
LUCAS looked to Tomorrow. “What of the council-member that introduced her here?” He then turned to Tabula, “...are you aware of the person you met when you arrived here?”
Tabula shook her head, and in return she signed, “Some poor sap who talked much too fast for me to catch anything important. He didn’t seem to catch onto the fact, though. All in all, a net nothing.”
LUCAS sighed a relieving sound. “That’s good at least—we can hope that the word won’t travel up to the king.”
“I don’t think it would unless it was Tidmas who escorted her in,” Tomorrow said. “And I can assure you he escorted none of you in—he found it most taxing on his time.” He turned to LUCAS, “I think you’re the only one of us here I brought in.”
“It sounds like he just hates doing any actual work,” Roderick said.
“He sounded like he had a stick up his ass,” Windsor added.
“Can’t say he was my favorite person,” Laven still had her arms crossed.
“He’s a character all right, but he’s devoted to the kingdom. He has a positive side when he’s arguing for things he believes for the good of its people. I understand what little that sounds like to you now, and I fully agree with all of your judgments of him. Trust me, you do not know how many meetings us councilors had to go through—how many arguments I had with him to get where we are today with these squadrons, but he is where he is because he is good at what he does and as much as it doesn’t seem, he does serve the kingdom well.”
“I’m sure,” Laven said. “Doesn’t help his behavior toward us, though.”
“Right,” Tomorrow nodded. “Well, to answer your question,” he turned to Tabula, making sure to enunciate his words clearly, “your goal as Omegas is going to be handling large shade presences in the western region—near the border of Bluefin. It is near enemy territory as Machial Fortress lies just outside the scope of your assignment.”
“If I remember correctly,” LUCAS began. “Bluefin was allied with the Whitewing kingdom, are they not?” He tried remembering the list of the kingdoms Tomorrow had briefly gone over when he had first arrived.
Blackwell was the kingdom they currently occupied and were training under—for lack of any other choice and gratitude for the help—even if it did come with strings attached.
Whitewing was Blackwell’s sworn mortal enemy. What little LUCAS knew of the other kingdom was that it was the next largest kingdom in this strange land—at least, the next largest that was known of or interacted with Blackwell. On the rest of the landmass were three smaller kingdoms whose alliances tended to sway based on the current loyalty and sociopolitical climate.
Bluefin—their destination—was a swing kingdom that historically has allied itself with both Whitewing and Blackwell, but was currently sworn to Whitewing. The other two were Redrum—which more blatantly allied itself with Blackwell as of recent history. The issue with this was Redrum and Bluefin were embroiled in their own, more personal conflict that assured the two kingdoms would not be on the same side for long. Greenhorn rounded out the list being firmly allied with Whitewing, much like how Redrum was most recently very much an ally of Blackwell.
LUCAS felt it easier to remember upon repeating the set of relationships in an ever more complex political climate, then stood back amazed at the level of complexity those thoughts had developed in his head when before he wouldn’t have even begun to think of relationships on such a grand scale. It made him wonder what kind of ruling power would exist in his world if he were to ever return. Was there a point to re-establishing something when the world had so inevitably refused?
Tomorrow smiled, drawing his focus back to the front and out of his thoughts. “Yes, that is correct. Their situation is...unique. They’ve become reckless in recent days and there have been reports of large shade activity in the area. So, your operation will be two-fold. Preserve the safety of our kingdom and when that is done, operate in secret to discover the truth of their erratic behavior. If either of these lead to learning more about how to send you home, then it will be fortuitous for everyone. Our vanguard is currently holding the front line on the border and supporting our correspondents in Redrum, a kingdom at the far eastern pole. Since our forces are spent keeping the balance from tipping against us, you see why we would need you to work in the shadows in discovering the source of the madness.”
“But that won’t be until we train here, right?” Laven asked. She cocked her head.
“That is also correct. We want to make sure you’re both committed to the job and also viable to perform it. While we understand this is asking a lot of you…”
“More like demanding,” Amber said—her arms were crossed.
“...It comes with the benefit that you seek, at least, the best chance for such, of course. Unless you think investigating enemy territory by yourself is much better?” Tomorrow looked straight at Amber.
She scoffed and looked away, knowing she would lose that argument. Tomorrow took this as a sign to continue himself
“Excellent,” Tomorrow said. “Now, before we get into the specific bouts of training I’ll test you all individually so I can gauge where we’re all at.”
“I was going to ask this earlier but the whole duty thing got in the way...you’re going to be training us?” Windsor asked. There was a sly look on his face, “Seems like you’d be better on lecturing us on high school physics than throwing your weight around.”
“I’m unfamiliar with the high arts that may come from your world,” Tomorrow began, “But I’ll have you know us councilors are trained from a very young age in plenty of combat styles. If we’re going to be legislating for the kingdom we must have the strength to defend it should we need to.”
“Well then, I want to be first. I need the assistance,” LUCAS stepped forward and nodded his head.
“Excellent,” Tomorrow smiled. He offered LUCAS a dull iron blade. As he grabbed for it he felt the weight immediately. Such a thing wouldn’t have been a problem to him before, but here its blunt edge clanged to the ground and he almost let it go from the surprise. He heard a few chuckles behind him and he grit his teeth and held it up. It seemed so easy to others who did this in the stories. He hadn’t even thought of how heavy these weapons would actually be.
Tomorrow cleared his throat and stood opposite LUCAS. He assumed a defensive posture, “All right, first we’ll start off with some basic swordplay, we’ll get into habits and then break those habits until you start to learn. Once you show you can retain knowledge and best me in a duel we’ll advance further. Our lessons today will continue until the setting of the sun—I hope you all ate well, because now it’s time to work. And do not worry if you feel like it is too heavy, as the world here is suited towards assisting.”
LUCAS looked at Tomorrow with a confused look. He cocked his head and asked, “What?”
Tomorrow raised a pointed finger—a small spark of fire appeared—its color seemed to shift to a magnificent violet—the color of the sky from his world. There were glimmering particles that shimmered as if they orbited around his hand. There looked to be a galaxy forming between his fingers—the particles glowing like bright stars intermingling amongst one another.
“This is not a fancy trick,” Tomorrow began. “But a visualization of the atmosphere, here. Magic attracts magic. I mentioned the blessing we received from the dragon, yes?”
The others looked around the room in confusion, but LUCAS nodded, thus drawing the eyes of everyone in the room toward himself. “Yes,” LUCAS nodded. “You mentioned it when I arrived. The dragon—er, the King is the source of your magic?”
Tomorrow nodded, then his gaze turned to each and every other person—the signal that this was him giving them that explanation. “It’s not a human exclusive thing—magic. We can channel it, yes, but it exists around us. It is in the air, as they say. As such, these particulates—the dragon’s breath as it were, offer more than just the spells the mages of this land cast—they are themselves accelerant particulates.”
“Accelerant particulates?” Laven asked. “That sounds dangerous to be breathing in.”
“You’re not dead, no?” Tomorrow asked.
“Could be said I’m dreaming all this as my brain inevitably stops,” Windsor added.
“If you really believed that you would not be humoring me any further,” Tomorrow chided. “Anyway, the accelerant particles are best suited for growth. Physical growth is made simpler within these walls—it is going to of course take as much energy, but the amount of time to grow used to become a soldier is much less than what would be out of them.”
“So this sword…” LUCAS said, looking down at the heavy chunk of metal. “I’ll be able to carry this easier the more I do it?”
“Well that is the general way that goes,” Amber scoffed, chuckling to herself.
“In any world, yes, but here, exceptionally so,” Tomorrow said.
He then looked again at the sword and swung it a few times against the air. LUCAS knew a bit of the movements innately—but putting them into action was another story entirely. He felt sluggish and each time he had intended to swing one way he had to adjust because it looked like Tomorrow had already planned for his attack.
He didn’t look like it, but Tomorrow was very agile on his feet—and carrying the training sword around seemed effortless to him. I guess he really wasn’t kidding about needing to keep up on his combat efficiency. LUCAS tried to parry Tomorrow’s blows, but each time their blades connected he felt his strength ebb away until his muscles ached.
LUCAS bit his lip and he thrust up the sword to deflect an incoming stab and he bit too hard and he could taste the blood fill into his mouth. In that moment he seemed to freeze as his mind slowed to a standstill. He felt a rush of energy that was foreign to him—adrenaline flooded his veins and the incredulity of the situation had hit him like a train. His blood was pumping through his veins which were now aching.
LUCAS had finally felt like he could shed that which held him back before—he wasn’t an android in this world, he need not focus on the strengths he lost and he need not mourn for a shard that he didn’t have access to anyway. Instead, he had strengths here he could hone and really getting to his last legs he could see the potential as his brain started kicking into overdrive.
His eyes darted to the sword Tomorrow carried and he had a pretty good feeling he was going to try and stay defensive—he knew that Tomorrow had pushed him to the edge, and if he weren’t careful he could do some desperate final cling for victory that would no doubt ensure his defeat.
He waited, and as the time came back to him he feinted left as if to strike underneath his blade—but then he decked right and aimed for Tomorrow’s shoulder. The strike was deflected, but only barely.
“Whew, that was close—closer than you’ve been, but still a bit obvious,” Tomorrow said. “I could tell there was something that clicked in your brain, though. I think you have a foundation to build off of.”
He was breathing heavily and could feel the sweat running down his face. Even though he had failed to land a hit, there was a surge of energy he hadn’t felt at all before since landing in this world and the prospects of it excited him. Here he could build upon his strengths and become more than he ever thought he could. I think I can retire the name LUCAS. I think I should pick one that I most identify with now—and not one given to me on a whim. I must think on what name I would like.
“Okay, you can take a rest over with the others, we’ll round back to you shortly,” Tomorrow said, bringing LUCAS out of his thoughts. “I will take...you next,” Tomorrow said, pointing to Tabula. She looked at him and nodded, then turned to LUCAS. He handed her the sword...not wanting to let go, but feeling the adrenaline start to fade he began to feel the weight of it once more in his hand, then he let go easily.
What name would I like? Who do I want to be?