Iago woke up to voices. He didn’t move, pretending to be still asleep, and listened.

“-ve never seen anything like that. Imagine what we could do with an expert like him. The world would be ours if he trained our soldiers,” a young man said with excitement. Iago guessed him to be around twenty-five based on his voice.

“I dare not. The city lord is set on seeing him burned,” another voice answered.

This was a much older person. And familiar somehow. After a moment Iago recalled where he’d heard this man. He was the one who apprehended him.

The memory brought back what had happened to him. Those lycanthropes weren’t kind to him. He evaded two, using all this body was capable of, but the third one rammed into him with a shoulder. The hit flew him a few meters, smashing into a table that broke underneath him. Not yet satisfied, the beast came close and hit his head with its gigantic paw.

It was clear they didn’t want to kill him, but he might have prepared it over this. His body was once again a mess. Moments after he regained a fraction of his old healthiness, he was back into the sick bed from extreme injuries. Without seeing himself he knew he was blue all over and probably had a few broken ribs.

“But his swordsmanship… To lose such knowledge!” The young man almost cried. “We had only a few with any skills, and now he’s killed them too. Not that they could even stand in his shadow. Elecar himself… the greatest duellist, and fighter in general. The legends of him being master of every weapon in existence are all I heard from my friends in the army. And now we’ll kill him for any good reason?”

The other man sighed, leaning against a wall. “You know that’s not right. He confessed himself that he set up whatever it was that brought the destruction.”

“And you believe that?” the young man asked, incredulous.

His companion remained silent for a time. Iago thought he’d change the topic or leave when he finally replied. “I do. I’ve met him once, you know.”

“You did?”

“Well, met might be too strong a word.” He shuffled in his place, dusting off his clothes. “I saw him when he brought out the act of equal rights between shapers and not. That day I was giving the report of my success in winning against Perica in the east.”

Iago shifted in his place to have a better view and opened one eye a fraction. The two men were deep into the conversation, so they shouldn’t be able to notice his movements. They didn’t.

The young one was mainly in the dark, staring at his companion with fascination. The older man was standing right under a torch. He was dressed in a grey uniform with shoulders adorned with golden epaulettes - kernel. Not a low ranking officer then. He must have been a formidable man before the Scourge.

Focusing on his face, Iago tried to recall him. Small eyes, nose, narrow cheekbones and double chin. Not an easily forgotten face, but Iago could’ve sword he haven’t seen him in his life.

“I was finished, ready to leave, when he came in with the act in hand. I knew I should leave, but having an idea of why he was there, I couldn’t make myself move. No one was throwing me out either, too amazed to actually see him there themselves. Most people knew about his plans, but no one believe he’d actually dare to suggest something like that to the Head Councillor.

“But he did. I can still see his regal posture and no-nonsense look. There was certainty and confidence in his step, the voice that asked for the Head Councillors signature. Everyone else’s was already there.”

“What happened then?” the young man asked with excitement. He seemed fully lost in the story, no longer aware of his surroundings.

His companion laughed. “Don’t you know?”

The young man shook his head with seriousness. “Not from someone who actually saw it. What I’ve heard… it’s quite hard to believe even for the Elecar’s legend…”

“Haha, all right.” But the man’s smile soon vanished. “It wasn’t pretty. The Head Councillor looked at Elecar as if he was pure trash and shaped. The act with everyone’s signatures on it turned to ash right there in Elecar’s hands. And the Head Councillor sneered, naming him a fool and calling for guards to kick him out. I heard they were later punished with fifty whip slashes for letting-in such a scum into the palace.”

“No way!” The young man took a step back, hands over his mouth. He shook his head. “That’s now what I heard!”

“The tale got romanticised a lot after the incident. No commoners were present, and the nobles didn’t dare to say anything in fear of angering the Head Councillor. It was an open secret that he despised this son of his.

“And that’s why, I believe Elecar could’ve done it. Where everyone only remembers his patience and compassion, its the suppressed fury in his eyes that comes to my mind. Never before had I seen someone so powerful be this full of rage, yet powerless to act on it. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if upon stumbling on a way to destroy the world, he actually took it.”

“You’re a terrible storyteller, uncle,” the young man said with a wry smile. “Now I wish you would’ve stayed quiet.”

He then shifted to look at Iago, and the shaper closed his eyes. Nothing would happen if he was seen awake, but he didn’t want to let them know it yet. Maybe they’d leave and give him time to get his bearings before the questioning started. Like everyone else, they must have hundreds of questions for the legendary Elecar.

“I still don’t wish to see him executed. Even if he did it, there’s so much we could learn from him. Weapon skills, leadership, running a community, working around the lack of resources and uniting people under the same banner. I fear with his death we’ll lose our greatest chance at survival.”

Kernel pushed off the wall, coming to stand before the iron bars separating him from the prisoner. “We’ll survive, that’s for certain. But what we’ll lose is hundreds of years of knowledge and skill. The sword techniques will need ages to be found again. If ever. Same for healing methods and herbs he learnt from Kallum. While the loss of his sharp mind in leadership and economisation will delay us for a time. We’ve lost so many talented people in the destruction.”

“Then how can we let him burn? It’s a huge loss for us however you look at it! He didn’t become a legendary figure just because of his family, or chance!”

“He destroyed the world, and many people are grieving still. The city lord wants to help them by finding a target to give them closure. Himself too. His beloved wife and child died because of Elecar. No matter what we say, he won’t let it go.”

The young man stamped his feet with a huff, then stalked off. “The destruction wasn’t enough, so now we’re killing ourselves to add to it.”

His companion, the kernel, watched him retreat, then returned his gaze to the prisoner. He stood there waiting for a time, but seeing no movement, turned away and left too. He probably had better things to do than watch a beaten criminal trying to sleep off his pains.

Iago tightly closed his eyes once the men were gone and willed himself to sleep. There wasn’t much to do in this cell, but remember, and that was something he wasn’t eager to attempt. Too many things were better left forgotten in his past.

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Then a large family rose before his eyes. Children rushing to meet him after work, jumping in his arms and laughing, telling tales of how their day had passed by. A smile touched his lips, and with that idealistic image, he fell asleep.

Many kilometres away from the city, in a small hut, three people stirred. Scorpius remained sitting by the door, waiting for the lycanthropes to show up. But they didn’t. Not yesterday, not today.

Could they have really let them escape? It didn’t sound right. The city must be terrified of his existence. No sane person would allow a powerful nosferatu free roam in his territory. It was the same as bleeding yourself dry. Figuratively, as well as literary.

Then why was there no one chasing after them. Were they scared that he might double back and escape with Iago? There might be some truth to that. Through his life, he’d learnt enough hiding and running away techniques to confuse the best of hunters.

Yet, those were lycanthropes. Their abilities were incomparable to humans’. There was no telling if he could really fool them. Well, they were young, so maybe. But even then, he more than likely would have to sacrifice Alec and the rest. It would be impossible to take them along if he wanted to evade his chasers, and if he did lose them, they would find this hut in a heartbeat.

“What are you doing? What happened to Iago?” Alec asked, jumping to his feet. Agony shot through his body as he did so, and he shuddered, barely remaining his feet.

“Yeah! How could you take us back when he was fighting? How dare you!” Denni echoed Alec’s sentiment. But unlike him, she did not move from her position after shouting out the words. She must have noticed the state of her body faster.

Lyra pushed herself to a sitting position with a low moan. Her face was bruised and battered, dirty with sweat, blood and dust. Same as the rest of her beneath the tattered clothes. They were cut in many places, revealing the blue and black skin.

“You couldn’t have helped him,” Scorpius answered after a time, returning his eyes to the endless desert around them. “We all were in his way.”

Alec carefully sat down. His moves were rough and wobbly. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“We can’t know that.”

“But you left him alone? Against those weres?”

The words got stuck in Scorpius’ throat. He wanted to say he didn’t, he just followed the command, but what difference did it make? It didn’t change the truth that Iago was left alone to face three lycanthropes and the remaining few soldiers. Against such a group, he had the chances of a chicken facing a wolf.

“Go check on him,” Lyra said in a clear voice, surprising everyone. Noticing their glances, she didn’t blanch. “You’re the only one who can do it, and we need to know. Whether he’s alive or… or…”

“But you’ll die here…” Scorpius murmured. He wanted to go, but Iago had put everyone’s lives into his hands. If that had been his last words, Scorpius did not want to betray them.

The girl shook her head, steel like eyes boring into him. “Then don’t die. Check it and come back with supplies. We can’t live here on air anyway.”

She had the right of it. He’d forgotten humans need to it so often. As a nosferatu he needed to eat too, but not as often. He could go much longer without suffering any side-effects. Glancing over them, he guessed they must already be famished. It had been a whole day since the last time they ate.

“All right,” he agreed, unhappily. As much as it was the right decision, he hated leaving them alone. Anything could happen when he wasn’t here. A hunting lycanthrope might stumble over and make a dinner out of them. Or even worse, a starved nosferatu.

But he couldn’t stay here, either. As Lyra said, they would starve if he didn’t get any supplies.

He stood up and telling them he’ll be quick, he ran off. Shifting into a bat, he scouted the surroundings. There didn’t seem to be anyone skulking about, so he started flying south west. He would need to go around the city to have a better chance of entering.

They would be watching from him from the east, but maybe not the other directions. The city didn’t have enough people to stand guard everywhere. Especially not after Iago’s culling. He deleted the majority of their military force.

His guess was right. There was nobody watching from the south. He could smell the lycanthropes, but they were further away. And kept their distance.

He could feel the moment they became aware of him and shifted, growling in a warning. There was an unexpected emotion behind the growls. Fear. Scorpius was amazed to sense them retreating as they ran to each other.

The big wolves were afraid of him. He smiled and shifted into a human, running through the buildings. His sense of smell might not be as good as that of lycanthropes, but it was still way better than a human’s. It didn’t take him long to locate where Iago was kept.

He dashed down the stone steps, past the guards and into a dark corridor with cells on either side. Most had caved in, but a few remained. In one of them, Iago lay on a straw bed.

The shaper seemed to sense his presence and opened his eyes. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a cold voice. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Maybe,” Scorpius answered in an off-hand manner.

Iago was alive… He probably should have felt joy, but there was a strange emptiness in him. He wasn’t certain what he was feeling. For a moment, he’d hoped Iago had died and it was over, there was no need for him to struggle with the question of who this man was. Was he a friend or a foe?

But here he was still. Alive, and if not well, at least in no immediate danger.

It brought back all the questions he didn’t know what to do with from the beginning. This man, he could sacrifice children for his goal and kill twenty soldiers in a bout of rage. Lives were as cheap as grain to him during an abundant year.

Yet, he saved a man by the rest of the world regarded as a monster to be killed on sight. He also shaped food for others without a care about his own declining health. Going as far as even reconstructing the temple to make the life of others easier.

Who was this person? How could he discard lives as if they were worthless, and protect them without a moment’s rest?

“Leave. You can do nothing here.” Iago closed his eyes, his breathing returning to that of sleeping.

But Scorpius doubted he did so. It was a too obvious ploy of pushing him away.

The sound of growling and running feet reached his ears. He spared a last glance to his old friend and left the building.

The lycanthropes must have talked themselves into daring to face him. Stupid mutts. He didn’t want to take his chances against them. Running as fast as he could, he located a warehouse where food was stored. It was easy to spot with it being the only heavily guarded building.

He shifted, flew over its top and changing again crashed through the roof. The noise attracted many guards, and he used that time to escape and return from another side.

While they were trying to investigate that corner, he grabbed a bag and started stuffing it with whatever came under his hand: dry rations, smoked meat, some vegetables kept in a cellar. Soon, he had a large bag filled with food.

It was at this moment that he was noticed. Soldiers unsheathed their swords and ran at him, ready to skewer him on the spot. He didn’t wait to give them the chance. Turning, he hefted the bag onto his shoulder and rushed out.

The giant wolves were already here, growling with their fur all standing up. He snapped at them, flashing his white fangs in their direction. Two of them cowered, and that was enough for him to get through them and reach for the city’s boundary.

Each of his strides took him closer and closer, and he was out. The wolves followed close behind him, but did not attack. Just how young were they really? Anyone with brains would understand that he wouldn’t be able to defend against their concentrated attack. One by one, sure, but not all together. It was their greatest strength, after all, that sense of community and sharing of burdens.

He ran north for a long time before they gave up and retreated. Only then did he turned and begun moving west to his companions.

It was past midnight when he reached the small hut. He expected to see everyone asleep by now, but they all met him with glistening eyes. No one spoke, but the question in their eyes was more than obvious.

“He’s alive. Locked up, but alive.” He dropped the bag and rummaged through it to get something for the others and himself.

“Couldn’t you save him?” Denni asked with accusation evident in her voice.

Scorpius didn’t turn face her, picking out a thick sausage. “Probably.”

“Then why?” Her voice was filled with frustration and anger. She even threw her boot at him.

He dodged it.

“What for? He’s a mass murderer.”

The girl was about to throw something at him again, but Alec grabbed her hand. “What are you going to do then?”

“Return to the capital,” Scorpius answered, bringing some choice bits for them to eat too. Denni’s was noticeably smaller.

His answer seemed to have surprised all of them. They stopped moving and stared at him as if he’d sprouted wings. He bristled under such looks. “What?”

“We just left the capital…”

“So?”

“What are you going to do there?”

“Learn what I can about who Elecar really was,” Scorpius said in a strong voice. All his confusion and uncertainties resolved into this one decision.

He knew Iago was a good person, but who was this Elecar? Revered as a hero, but as heartless as the most unscrupulous killer. If there was any place to learn the truth behind this figure shrouded in myth and legends, it would be his home - the capital.

Whether Scorpius learnt it on time to save the imprisoned man wasn’t important. He needed to learn the truth, and nothing said by the man himself could be trusted.

It was time to put his fate into the hands of Lady Luck. If Elecar was truly a hero with a disturbed past and deserved forgiveness, then Lady should make it that Scorpius would return on time. And if not, then so be it. It meant Lady had had enough of him shattering her fragile world.