The one Ishar had referred to as Rehny shifted his weight from foot to foot before coming to stand beside King Gans. He surveyed the bodies sprawled all about the burnt tent, taking in their charred forms that animated the corpses in various poses. Rehny's eyes glazed over the once vibrant Red priests and his face reflected mild sadness beneath unmistakable recognition. He was a man who'd become familiar with the sight before him and Mairek was startled by the sorrow that was almost perfectly veiled.

"Soldier." Princess Tari said while coming to a stop beside him. The Guards who'd accompanied them circled the tent of violent death, warding off the crowds that had formed to witness the spectacle left behind in death's wake, but the Guards' eyes beneath their large metal helms stayed fixed on Rehny and Edda, the latter who stood behind Rehny. Mairek recalled how the two foreigners had held their ground as the Guards tried to make their way to Ishar while his friend was in a shared trance with the King. It appeared the Guards either held a grudge against the two or new found respect. Probably both.

It was obvious Tari was addressing him yet Mairek didn't feel the haste to reply. Where he stood at the outcropping of half burnt and mutilated corpses was untouched by time, he had the freedom to act as he wished without consequence and he'd instead chosen to reflect while standing still the consequences of his actions that was before him.

I did this. Mairek thought. He knew he was partially to blame for it was him who'd pushed the Red priest out of the order of time, he'd been unable to perceive what Ishar would do next, with two claps his Kolotian friend had claimed the Red priest and the web of madness had spread to those associated with the man. The fault was partially his yet he felt the burden of it in full, and deep down he knew Ishar would be unmoved by the scenes before him. How far will the web of madness spread?

"Soldier." Tari repeated. He could feel her green eyes on him as well as the irritation in her voice. She was not used to repeating herself.

"I am not a soldier." Mairek replied.

"What are you then?" the Princess asked. After a moment of silence she continued. "We have to discuss your Kolotian friend."

At that Mairek turned his head to her. Does she know that this was our doing? Smoke rose from all around him and the carpet that was once a vibrant red had turned to ash in some places. Mairek observed the oval face and narrow eyes of the Princess. She held a cuteness that made it difficult to see her as a threat, an error made by whoever maintained the notion. "What about him?" Mairek asked

Tari nodded in the direction of her father. "What did the Kolotian do to my father? He placed his hand on his chest then after a while he collapsed and my father remained dazed, staring ahead as a change came upon him."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"A change?"

"Why would he ask the Binorian and the Remu to accompany him here? Why would he leave the Kolotian in the Royal tent with that... With that girl? And why hasn't he addressed me since?" Tari shook her head from side to side, her hair shook with her. "The Kolotian has done something, he has done something to my father and I can see it. I can see it." Her last sentence was a whisper as her eyes stayed glued on the King.

Mairek recalled Ishar clapping twice after Mairek had cast out the Red priest assassin from the flow of time, the fear welled up within him once more. Death was a certainty to all who breathed. A moment always occurred when time no longer needed you to complete it and hence yielded you to death's embrace. Mairek could read between the lines, he could see the kinks upon the fabric where time yielded to death but the kinks ever shifted as time's fluidity changed course with the actions perpetrated by the individual in relation to the masses. Now as he stood before the corpses of Red priests, he saw not a kink but a tear within the fabric of time. And within it lay chaos. Within it lay Ishar. And the tear spread with every breath his friend took. How long till it engulfs as all? Mairek wondered.

"Miraek-" Tari started.

"Mairek."

"Whatever. There's something you're not telling me." The Princess pressed on.

"We are all going to die." Mairek said. The Princess slowly turned to face him.

"Are you certain of this? How do you know this?" Tari asked.

Mairek waved a hand before him. "I am certain of... madness."

"What?"

"We are young." Mairek said. He lifted his eyes to stare at the dark expanse above him where he'd once been. Where he'd been like a bird. The night sky was dotted with numerous stars, reminding him of Nielda's skin. "We are young yet the Gods have chosen us to play their games, a game we know not its rules. We know not what the reward of victory is but all around us, now as you can see, we know the cost of failure."

"What are you going on about? You're not making any sense. Though, I assume that the Kolotian has something to do with this? With the death of the Red priests? I'm starting to think Ishar is more of a curse than a blessing. I must ask father to banish him from this encampment before we meet our ends by his hands." Tari said.

Mairek laughed, earning him a scowl from Tari. "My mind does not work as it once did, I see things, hear things and experience things to a degree that enables me to witness truth." Mairek said and turned his eyes from the sky to Tari. "You like him-"

Tari lifted her hand to slap Mairek but he caught it by the wrist. "A Princess used to getting her way finds a wall upon a path she thought she could trod easily upon." Mairek leaned closer into Tari's face. "And even if she climbs the length of the wall it shall grow larger. She will never crest it. Ishar is not yours for the taking."

Tari spat at Mairek's face. The spittle struck his cheek, Mairek let go of her wrist and scooped her spit with his thumb before sucking said thumb. Tari looked on with shock. "Call me to your tent sometime, Princess, I will do more than suck your spit." Mairek turned his attention back to the Binorian

Commander who conversed with the King of Talisi, oblivious of the gawking Princess beside him. He was uncertain of what his current actions would bring about as he stood in the midst of a tear in time but he was certain of the pending doom, he would at least enjoy himself before he met his end. The Gods knew he needed to.