Chapter 3

“What Is Owed”

On the surface where brilliant greens ruled beneath clear blue skies, the air was cool and fresh as summer’s end drew near. No longer was there blistering heat that choked the land and starved it of life-giving rain, there were only chilly winds and gentle clouds with very frequent rainstorms. Flowers bloomed in pure whites and oranges where the trees couldn’t reach, and tall grasses flooded the occasional rolling hill that bowed upwards above forest canopies. The ancient forest was alive with the songs of countless birds and the groans of large tree trunks bending against the wind. Any signs of civilization couldn’t be found for miles – only a winding dirt road offered navigation through the untamed forest that would eventually fade into the distant shadows of the thicket.

Moss covered the dirt road from neglect; It wouldn’t be long until nature claimed it unless a passing carriage cut into the greenery. Speckles of sunlight peeked through the canopy to light the way just enough to be followed. The occasional puddle from a recent rain filled in old potholes and muddied the road yet offered a pleasant smell to the air of water and fresh earth. Toads skipped across the wet stones and mud to catch the little bits of sunlight for warmth. Many hopped back into the grass or hid in a puddle when a distant figure began to approach.

Heavy dirty boots trekked along the road, stepping through puddles and solid earth alike. A man in faded and filthy off-white robes ambled along the old path with his hands in his pockets and his hood down to conceal his face. His robes looked to be brighter at one time but had yellowed over the years with littered stitching from amateur mending. Filthy matted fur trimmed the cuffs and hood that was deep brown in color and strapped to his hip was a worn leather belt and a sheathed blade wide and long. The grip was wrapped in an old cloth and the pommel was a rough purple crystal that faintly glowed in the center.

Wind swept under his robes and opened the front to reveal that he had deep black skin akin to charcoal with a greenish-blue hue fade in his chest. Peeking from the cloth were four thick scars across his right pectoral as if an animal had tried to open his chest. Other smaller scars cluttered the rest of his torso from a long life of fighting against blades and arrows alike. Long locks of tangled and dirty black hair fell to the front beneath his hood, uncut from neglect which was fitting considering the rest of his appearance.

Every so often the man stumbled and left behind the scent of alcohol in his wake. He was intoxicated and he reached for a small leather pack on his belt to pull a glass bottle of dark liquid. Untwisting the top, he brought the bottle to his lips and guzzled the liquid that burned on its way down his throat. He wore the smell of cheap bourbon well as the alcohol trickled down the side of his mouth and into an unkept black beard that was shaped into a point to his chin. Wiping it away with his sleeve, the man exhaled loudly before slowing to a stop on the trail.

There was a change in the wind that he could feel around him. There was also a feeling of being watched intensely that couldn’t be shaken yet he was unshaken by the feeling. He could feel the aura of something cold very near to him and it was almost too easy to detect exactly where it was. To his left from behind, and he turned his head in that direction to hear a strange shuffle of leaves. He was now still to try and hear better, despite the cloth of his hood muffling some of the quieter noises. Nonetheless, the shuffling of leaves was consistent and moved from his left to his right. It was too quick and much too stealthy to be a bird or squirrel.

His lips parted into a grin filled with yellow teeth and prominent canines as his head turned to the right to track the noise. It was in the trees, hopping from branch to branch as far as he could tell. His heartbeat was steady and calm, his grip on the glass bottle tightened and his feet shifted in their place for better balance. Intoxication seemed to fade away as his red eyes glowed brighter from beneath the hood and his pink irises illuminated with excitement.

In a burst of quick movement, he abruptly spun, and his arm swung in tow to throw the bottle upwards towards the trees. The bottle crashed and shattered in a violent burst on a thick branch where narrow feet stood. The feet moved quickly to leap to another branch with precision and inhuman speed and the shadow of a slim figure became a blur in the movement. The man lifted his other hand and from his sleeve came forth a murder of beastly crows made of pure shadow – screaming and cawing in warped sick tones. The murder of shadow crows was made of black magic and shimmered a deep purple, and they tore apart the leaves in their violent wake to attack the figure in the canopy.

A feminine scream erupted from the swarm of crows that attacked her, and the figure slipped on the branch from where she stood to come crashing down onto the muddy road on her side. The woman was cloaked in black and hid any other features beneath. She recovered from the fall with leaves and shadowy black feathers raining down on her. She groaned and perked up onto all fours, throwing her hood back in the movement.

Pure white skin like milk matched her equally-white hair that fell into choppy bangs that laid beneath the black cloak – with bright purple eyes and black lips. Her face was lovely only briefly before she contorted it into a snarling scowl, baring fangs as long as a viper’s. She let out a chilling hiss as the rest of her long hair fell over her shoulders – touching the ground as it did.

The man laughed and was comfortable with the distance between them while the crows faded into nothingness above her before moving forward. His right hand reached for his sword and gripped the handle, stretching a shiny black silk band wrapped around his palm and knuckles. Unsheathing his claymore of dark Damascus steel, his laugh came to a sigh when he pointed the blade at the hissing woman who stayed crouched on the ground like a beast.

“Well well, what’s an Ensanguined scout doin’ all the way from home eh? Thought your kind didn’t hunt this far out into the Unclaimed Lands – in daylight no less,” he asked with his yellow grin glowing nearly as bright as his eyes. His eyes fell onto a choker with a gem around the woman’s neck, black and lacy with a distinct symbol etched into it which caught his attention quickly and he added “especially a scout from Sheirun Hau. Thought they burned the trails to keep ya outta these parts?”

The woman retracted her fangs and slowly stood to her feet to pull her cloak aside to reveal a tall and very slender body dressed in fine cloth and silk. Her boots had a decent amount of heel to them, making her just tall enough to meet the man at eye level. She had no sword of her own, but two sheathed blades strapped to each thigh along with other compartments fit for travel.

“I am no scout, sorcerer. I am Lady Quartz, Emissary of the Three Queens of Malice, Herald of the Northern Kingdoms. I’ve been sent for you by the Queen of Destillion herself to request your immediate presence.” The woman replied as she reached beneath her cloak to pull a golden tube etched in fine encryptions and sealed with a shimmering serpent. The man sheathed his blade, and she tossed the tube to him. He caught it with his hand wrapped in black silk.

“And if I say ya’ got the wrong guy?” He questioned as he popped off the cap and took out a neatly wrapped papyrus tied in red twine.

“No other sorcerer but the fabled Entity of Shadows wears the Black Silk Hex upon his right hand.”

He grunted and looked at his right hand as he unraveled the paper and read the black ink with squinting eyes. “Just call me Entity, princess. Dunno how ya even found me in the first place all the way out here.”

“It wasn’t as hard as you think. You are infamous for causing mischief in any village you visit. Besides, I could smell you from across this forest.”

His hands gripped the papyrus tightly as he read it before crumpling it into a ball and tossing it to Quartz’s feet. “Tell the queen I ain’t interested in whatever scheme she has goin’. That woman is always up to no good and I ain’t gonna take part in it again.” He said as he turned away to continue his journey down the road.

“May I remind you, Entity, that you swore an oath to the queen - if the Black Silk doesn’t remind you well enough.” Quartz retorted and successfully stopped Entity in his place. He turned back around to face her.

“Watch it, princess,” Entity growled with an eye squinted, “I don’t serve a queen. Come to think of it, I don’t serve anyone but myself. Why do ya think I came all the way out here in the first place?”

“I assume to be left alone.”

“Ya assume just right, sweet-teeth.”

“You’re not far from the Sheirun Hau border. Clearly, you’re not far enough away to truly be left alone. Why so close?”

“Someones gotta keep the rats in their cage. All kinds of shit is comin’ outta Sheirun Hau and eatin’ kids out here. Ya wouldn’t know anything of that, would ya?” Entity squinted.

“We’re getting off subject.”

“You’re right. I’d like to get off this entirely, so ya can piss off.”

“Entity, I cannot let you walk away.”

“Oh, I’m walkin’ away. Far away.” He chuckled.

“The Black Silk knows no distance. You’ve been called upon. It’s your duty to answer the call, and it’s my duty to make sure you arrive at Destillion in a timely fashion. It doesn’t matter whom you serve, an oath is an oath.” Quartz spoke strongly as she picked up the wadded papyrus and held it out to Entity. “Understand that I am simply a messenger here and I have my own oaths to uphold.”

“Good for ya, they’re your problem, princess.” Entity retorted as he waved his arm at her.

“And you made yours. Quite the problem too, no?” Quartz fired back. “It calls to you, does it not?” Entity looked down at his hand to see the Black Silk shimmer an ominous purple when he moved it. He balled his fist to stretch the silk that held on tightly to his flesh as if it were glued permanently on.

“Ya don’t know anything about it.”

“I know that a broken oath will make it shrink and sever the hand it’s on. I know a sorcerer of your stature would find life difficult without a right hand, and I surely wouldn’t want to see you lose it. Will you come to Destillion, Entity?” She asked, shaking the wad of paper in her extended hand as she began to close the gap between herself and the sorcerer. He had already turned away to continue his trek down the road, prompting Quartz to follow behind.

“Well, since ya asked so nicely. I’ll see ya at Destillion. I travel alone so ya best be gettin’ a head start.” Entity swatted his hand in the air to repel her away, but the woman didn’t falter in her stride to catch up with him.

“I’m afraid I’ll be joining you on your journey there. The queen has little faith that you’ll begin the journey at a reasonable time. She specifically mentioned procrastination.” Quartz responded as she caught up to Entity and walked to his right before putting her hood back over her head. She hid from the stray spots of sunlight peeking through the canopy.

“So, you’re a herald and a babysitter. I said bugger off, bloodsucker.”

“My orders are to make sure you don’t keep her majesty waiting. It’s imperative that you get to Destillion as quickly as possible and I don’t intend to –“ Quartz was abruptly cut off when Entity unsheathed a hand blade that had been stashed beneath his cloak and pressed it to her throat.

Quartz felt the sharpened steel burn against the tender skin at her neck right above the choker, threatening to nick the tendons. She went silent and could feel the icy stare coming from Entity as he forced her to take a step back from him at arm’s length.

“I said I travel alone. Get that through that pretty little skull of yours. I don’t want any Ensanguined company and I’ll be more than happy to get rid of it. Get the picture?” Entity threatened and saw Quartz slowly put her hands up as if to tell him she understood his threat.

“I’m only trying to help you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not evil.”

“Says who?”

“Says everyone you’ve helped in the Unclaimed Lands. You’re the only sorcerer I know who uses necromancy to protect people. If you lose your right hand, you lose the power to protect them. All magic flows through the right hand.”

Entity took another glance at his right hand and felt a twinge of anxiety at the thought of it severing his only link to magic. Magic in the world flowed through a person through their heart and hands. The left hand absorbed the magical potential energy around the person and flowed through their heart to be expelled from the right hand like a battery. The Black Silk’s purpose was to hold a magician accountable for a favor until their favor was complete. If they failed to fulfill the favor asked of them, the Black Silk would sever the most important tool a magician possessed – rendering them crippled and magic-less for life. It was a hex so powerful and so cruel that only one madman in Endle wore it, and it was Entity.

“And ya care about people, why? Your kind eats humans like cattle and turns fuckin’ children into more blood-suckin’ savages. Killin’ you would be more of an inconvenience than anything else to the queens. It’d be a fuckin’ pleasure for me for sure.” Entity snarled as he retracted his hand blade and placed it back in its sheath beneath his cloak.

“Killing me would usher in a fate worse than losing a hand, I can assure you.” Quartz growled. “Maybe my title means nothing to you, but to the Three Queens of Malice and King Virgoth–” She began before she was once interrupted.

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“Your Ensanguined King is dead, princess, and once this Black Silk is off my fuckin’ hand, your queens will be dead to me too and all their shitty titles. As if a title means anything.” Entity scoffed.

“Our king is going to return to us, sorcerer. When he does, things will change.”

“All ya Ensanguined have been sayin’ that for years. Two hundred years, mind ya. Haven’t seen the damn guy yet, what’s gonna change, hm? Do ya even know where he’s buried?”

“You’re as cynical as they say.” She sighed as she pulled her hood further down her face as they walked through a small patch of sunlight.

“I expect nothin’ good from Ensanguined bloodsuckers. You’re all smoke and mirrors and can’t think of anything greater than who you’re gonna’ eat next. Short-visioned at best even with that blood sight of yours.”

“And your vision is as far as the next brothel from what I can tell.” Quartz retorted bluntly.

“It’s as far as I’m willin’ to see.” Entity grinned at Quartz and watched the woman roll her eyes.

“Believe me when I say that I insisted that I not be the one to escort you to Destillion.” Quartz kept her gaze forward on the road rather than look at the man beside her. The sorcerer could tell she was growing more uncomfortable the longer he stared at her.

“I take it ya heard that I was more than just cynical, huh?” He chuckled while he took a glance at her beneath the cloak, or as much as he could manage to see. “Must’ve heard I work magic in other places?”

“I heard a great many things,” she replied with a flat tone, “like how the almighty sorcerer who could raise the dead has become a flat, bumbling, pitiful, perverted drunken coward whose only purpose now is running errands for our queens just to survive. At least that’s what my people describe you as. I thought differently, but you seem to be proving them right the more I hear you talk.” Quartz added sassily.

The bold comment outspoken with such steadiness in her voice - as if she had practiced it - was what made it so insulting to the man. Before Quartz could react, she felt a firm grasp clench the back of her neck and was yanked backward – throwing her hood back to expose her round face and voluminous white bangs. Her eyes widened in the shock of such speed and the pain of her neck being so firmly grasped in such a large hand that his fingers nearly reached around to her throat. Her gasp was choked back by a strained yelp of pain as she reached for his forearm, but her wrist was restrained in his free hand. All she could see looking up was the shadow over Entity’s face, his brightly lit red eyes scowling down at her, and the tree canopy hiding deadly sunlight.

There was a break in the tree canopy where a single ray of bright yellow sunlight shined through to light the muddy road below, and it was dangerously close to where the two stood. It all happened within mere seconds and the twinkling of sunlight between the leaves and branches grew more and more blinding as she was forced to stare upwards. Her free hand reached for the wrist that held her by the neck and tried to dig her long claw-like nails into his flesh, but he simply yanked her closer to the spot of sunlight. The very heat from the sunlight could be felt on her cheek like a flame, causing her to quickly stop moving to avoid accidentally touching the light.

“Listen closely, sweet-teeth. Consider it generous that I’m agreein’ to go on a field trip through your stompin-grounds with your scrawny ass. Last thing ya need to be doin’ is runnin’ that little mouth of yours. Snippy women get on my nerves. If ya think ya can hide behind some good-for-nothin’ title and talk shit, ya clearly haven’t heard enough about me to be escortin’ me anywhere. I know the way to Destillion, I don’t need you.” Entity’s cruel inebriant voice spilled over her face as he jerked her closer to the sunlight, receiving a pained and frightened gasp from the woman.

“You do need me.” She strained through her teeth as she squirmed in his grip which only made the sorcerer squeeze tighter with a smirk.

“No, I think ya need me. Imagine what this little errand would do for your career, yeah?” Entity whispered in her ear. “Wranglin’ the Entity of Shadows and gettin’ me to comply with your leader’s desires? Oh, could ya imagine the braggin’ ya could do?” He smiled as he got closer to her neck and looked up at the beam of sunlight. “Ya just can’t wait to use me up, right? Ya think you’re the first?”

After she had adjusted to what had happened with the sorcerer’s fermented words washing over her face, her expression shifted from frightened to provoked. Her eyes began to change with her pupils dividing into two smaller slits and her irises igniting with furious instinct. Her body began to fade and become transparent until his grip no longer held her neck, but instead clasped together like grabbing air. She briefly vanished before his eyes and reappeared behind him, standing tall with her fists tightly clenched and her legs planted firmly on the ground. Before he could react, he felt her fist – twice as small as his – impact his back right between his shoulders and sent the man into an instant state of shock. His breath was stolen from his lungs and his balance was compromised as he was pushed a few feet forward flat on his stomach and slid across the road. The power behind the outwardly frail woman was monstrous and unnatural.

Entity felt the hard impact of stone and mud against his chest as he tried to inhale, but the air couldn’t seem to reach his lungs as his body tried to adjust to the pain of the sudden blow to his spine and lungs. He pushed himself up with one hand and clawed at his own chest to try and recover but Quartz had every intention to remind the sorcerer of who – and what – she was. Her hand splayed open with her long nails growing outwards before she seemingly teleported in front of the downed man, gripping him by the face and dragging him upwards, then slamming him back down into the ground so hard that the mud had his bodily imprint. She ferociously displayed her fangs as she held Entity down into the mud with an intense glare, satisfied that she had turned the tables on the drunkard.

Entity stared at her between her fingers and blinked, having been caught off guard by her ability to turn to mist. It wasn’t an ability most Ensanguined possessed and only a few of the powerful bloodlines called this ability their own. Not only could this Ensanguined woman turn to mist, but she also managed to do it during the middle of the day when Ensanguined were most certainly at their weakest. He took note of it and found it curious. Perhaps her title really did mean something even if he didn’t accept it.

“I am not just some bloodsucker looking for a name for myself, do you understand? I’ve read about you for years and heard stories of your necromancy being used to defend villages in times of war. You use your powers for the good of others, whether you want to admit it or not. I want you to be free of your Black Silk because maybe once you’re free, you could be more than this. We don’t have many good people left in this world. We need change.” She paused as she ripped her hand free from his face, watching the man immediately roll to his side and strain to inhale a lungful of fresh air. She straightened herself upwards with a huff and looked down on the struggling sorcerer to see him expel whatever spit he had in his mouth while he caught his breath.

“Ya think I could change anything? Don’t ya think I’ve tried?”

“You didn’t have help before. Maybe an insufferable Ensanguined could be more useful than you think.” Quarts crossed her arms.

Entity sat up fully and found himself grinning, not entirely sure why. He felt a warm trickle of liquid run down his temple and into his beard and wiped it away with his palm to examine it. Deep red blood colored his hand, and he wiped it away on his sleeve as if pleased to see it. Seeing his own blood was nothing new and it felt exciting at times. He could admit to himself that there was even something alluring about it, especially when a woman specifically caused the bleeding.

“For a high rankin’ Ensanguined, ya sure don’t talk all high n’ mighty. I never called ya ‘insufferable’ y’know. I suffer your kind all the time just fine.” He chuckled as he got to his feet with a slight stumble to follow Quartz.

“Ah, so the other insults are acceptable?” Quartz smirked as she wiped off her palm on her pants.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, princess. Face it,” Entity approached her, brushing off whatever mud was stuck to him as best as he could. “monarchies suck and ya’ know for a fact that your superiors breed ya by the dozens to die in whatever conflicts they start. How is that honorable? You’re nothin’ special, they just want ya to think ya are.” He argued with his grin still plastered to his face.

“There is strength in numbers. Their strategies have been more than successful in battle,” Quartz argued back but felt her eyes fall to the ground as if she knew the sorcerer had a point, “albeit…needless.”

“From what I’ve seen, princess, your vampiric nitwits lose the battles that count. The Red War for example.”

“The Red War was won with dishonor. Our king was impaled in the back by a coward, not a warrior.” She snapped with a touch of anger in her voice.

“Oh, touchy subject. The queen of Arithmetia is anything but a coward, baby. War isn’t honorable no matter how ya try and do it.” Entity scoffed half amused. “Leaders point the way; Soldiers run to it and die happily.”

“She was no match for our king and resorted to staking him from behind instead of dying with honor as she should have.” She added with spite in her voice. There was even a faint amount of pain to her tone as if the memory of losing a fond leader such as her king anguished her.

“Ya ever met her? Sounds like ya really must know her if ya know what she can handle.”

“No, but I pray that I do someday soon. I will show her the same execution as she showed our king. No mercy. No honor.” She vowed as her eyes lit up with enmity. Entity couldn’t help but chuckle once again.

“All ya Ensanguined are the same. Vicious little shits in the shade until ya get close to a flame. Ya haven’t seen a real flame until ya get close to queen bitch herself – if ya could even survive gettin’ that close.” He defended, causing Quartz to pause and look at him with a confused and irritated expression on her brow.

“I’ll have every ounce of pleasure proving you wrong. You sound like her ally with the amount of defense you’re giving her.” Quartz scowled and found herself suspicious of the sorcerer. He may have claimed to serve no one, but she wouldn’t be all too surprised if he was a liar.

“Maybe I think she is one of the few good people left in this world. Wouldn’t that be ironic?”

“You defend a tyrant?”

“I’ll defend whoever leaves me alone the best. Ol’ queenie hasn’t bothered me yet. Besides, I’ve seen her in battle, and I’ll tell ya now, ya aren’t ready for that fight.”

“So, you’ve seen her?” Quartz asked curiously.

Entity was silent for a moment as the two walked nearly side-by-side down the road.

“A few times. At a distance.” He shrugged and Quartz’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Is it true that her hair is fire? That it’s as bright as sunlight itself?” Quartz asked in a way that was not only curious but skeptical.

“Why don’t ya see for yourself since you’re so eager to stab her in the back to avenge your beloved king?” He sneered and enjoyed the offended scoff from Quartz. “Ya seem so confident in yourself to bite off more than ya could chew.”

“Perhaps I will in due time. Escorting you to Destillion seems like it’ll be a harder task.” Quartz shot back.

“Oh, it’s gonna be the biggest pain in your boney ass, princess. I’ll tell ya that right now.”

“I look forward to it.” Quartz rolled her eyes with the heaviest sarcasm she could muster.

“Makes one of us.” Entity mumbled as he reached into his cloak and rummaged around inside an inner pocket before pulling out a small silver case that had tarnished from years of wear and tear. It was flat enough to be discreet in a pocket yet large enough to fit perfectly in the palm of his hand with deep scratches along the corners. Unhooking the front lock, he flipped open the lid and revealed a row of perfectly rolled yellow-white rolls of paper filled with tobacco about as long as his thumb. He removed one from the box and put it between his lips, pressing them tight to hold it in place before putting the box back into his pocket.

“You smoke? Explains the teeth.” Quartz raised a skeptical eyebrow as if judging the man for the habit. She also noticed how the box shimmered a brilliant silver that seemed to give her a feeling of anxiety. It was offensive in nature and the glimmering of the metal seemed almost as bright as sunlight.

“I get that your race glorifies teeth for obvious reasons, but really. Fuck you.” He added as he pulled a small box of matches out from the same inner pocket the silver box came from before striking one to ignite the tip. He held the match close and cupped the small flame, lighting the cigarette before flicking the wooden stick into a mud puddle.

“You keep mocking my weight, I think we’re even in terms of insults.”

“Well, ya are. Skinniest Ensanguined I’ve ever seen.” Entity said matter-of-factly, getting a sharp glare from the woman.

There was a sigh that came from Quartz to signal that she had given up on bantering with the man, followed by a long silence as the two noticed that the sunlight was beginning to dim from up above. Clouds were moving in from the north and streaking across the sky to add to the shade from the forest – a relief for both Entity and Quartz alike. Quartz squinted upwards to see the small twinkling gaps of light fade slightly.

“Rain should come soon. Traveling in the daytime is exhausting.” Quartz spoke with a slight hunch to her posture as if she were winded. Expelling so much energy in the middle of the day was always taxing on an Ensanguined.

“Ya traveled in broad daylight. Not a lot of Ensanguined has those kinds of balls,” Entity smirked as he gave the half-hearted compliment, “or are ya just desperate for approval from whichever queen you’re servin’, hm? Nacre? Alana? Ceresei?” He asked condescendingly.

“Empress Ceresei.” Quartz corrected him.

“Ah, a Sheirun Hau squatter. I wouldn’t have guessed from your face. Ya strike me as a resident of Faemira.” Entity took a breath full of the cigarette in his mouth and exhaled as he scratched his chin and throat.

“I was born in Faemira. However, I serve Empress Ceresei, it was our king’s decree during his final days in the Red War,” Quartz explained, “I swore an oath to bring him honor, even after his death.”

“Now you’re sounding more like a Sheirun Hau squatter. Honor this, honor that. It’s all bullshit.” Entity shrugged as he spat on the ground, receiving a disgusted look from Quartz. There was a faint clap of thunder that grabbed the duo’s attention. “Oh.”

“Do you think that was him?” Quartz asked in a soft tone, speaking in nearly a fearful whisper.

“It’s always him.” Entity answered flatly.

“Guardian doesn’t kill Ensanguined unless they’re beyond our borders.” Quartz said as she heard more thunder roll across the forest. It filled her with anxiety and fear, but there was comfort in knowing that one of the greatest sorcerers in the land was traveling by her side. Or at least she hoped the rumors were true and he was as powerful as people claimed.

“Scared?”

“I’m beyond our borders, so…yes.” She admitted.

“Ya should be. Just stick to the shadows and try not to kill anything.” Entity warned as he took another breath of smoke from his cigarette. “I’ve noticed he’s got a thing for murder.”

“He enjoys it, or he is aware of it when it happens?” Quartz stated sarcastically.

“Both, I think. Bastard kills anything that ain’t human and he gets pretty fuckin’ creative with it. Mass witch burnings, siren genocides, harpy culling, ya name it. Don’t even get me started on his private slave camps in Destillion…”

“I’ve heard Empress Ceresei talk about it. He’s making room for more human settlements.”

“And he’s usin’ Ensanguined to help him do it.” Entity said with disgust as he looked away from Quartz as if he couldn’t take the sight of her.

“It’s shameful, I’m aware.” Quartz looked away in shame. Her comment took Entity off guard, and he looked at her.

“You’re the first to admit it.”

“Really?”

He nodded.

“Humans are just as shameful. He looks like one of them. Maybe he belongs with them.” Quartz growled in contempt with spite dripping from her voice.

“He doesn’t belong anywhere. The man isn’t even a man in my opinion.” Entity exhaled smoke upwards with the tilt of his head.

“He is a god. Everyone knows it.”

“I got a feelin’ he’s anything but.” He smiled with a charming squint of one eye. Quartz looked up and raised a hand to motion to the storm above as lightning flickered across the clouds.

“What would you describe all this as? Lightning? Storms? Destruction and mass genocide? Clearly the work of a rogue god.”

“A tantrum. A tantrum from a thing that has never been put in its place.” Entity clicked his tongue as a gust of wind swept under their feet, blowing their cloaks backward.

“An impossible task.” Quartz added swiftly.

“Wouldn’t say that, princess,” Entity confidently spoke with an exhale as he plucked his cigarette from his lips and held it between his rugged fingers, “all ya Ensanguined said your king couldn’t fall to a woman. Look what happened. Impossible task became possible.” He added.

There was a seething silence from Quartz. It was true. For as long as any Ensanguined old enough to remember, they had believed a glorious idea that the Ensanguined King was indestructible – an unstoppable force that bathed in the blood of his enemies. Some had even believed he was a god much like Guardian and worshipped the blood-soaked earth he laid his boot upon. Not even a devoted Ensanguined like Quartz could argue Entity’s point.

“We will take to the skies when the thunder stops. If we fly, we can get to Sheirun Hau by midnight – if you can actually fly.” Quartz spoke lowly, skeptical of some stories of the sorcerer sporting wings of his own.

“Actually, I can. You wanna risk getting’ spotted by ol’ bright-eyes?” Entity asked as he flicked his cigarette into the mud.

“Well, you said it yourself, as long as we don’t kill anything, what’s there to worry about?” Quartz replied as a larger clap of thunder boomed between the trees.

“Would be nice to stretch out the wings a bit.” The sorcerer grinned as he rolled his shoulders forward.

Rain began to sprinkle onto the canopy and carried loose falling leaves with it.

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