The four men clambered down from their horses at the sight.  One of them reached out but stopped when the leading man raised a clenched fist.

"Be careful," the leader said. 

The other man nodded then took out a knife to scrape out some crystals for examination.  The leader looked back out at the landscape, so different from what they expected. 

The report had said that the forest was dying, somehow the entire forest was dead and not even rotting.  All the trees still stood, all the grass still waved, but no animals moved, no birds sang and nothing had any life in it.  Something had killed it all.  Something powerful. 

They had seen that very phenomenon in the last hour, dead trees and dead rabbits huddling in crumbling holes.  The leaves were slowly falling around them, a shower of green and red.  Everything was dead.  The leader had guessed it was most likely a beast with a powerful poison breath. 

And now he was reconsidering his naivety.  In front of them spread a different scene.  The dead forest had suddenly changed, as if someone drew a line in the soil. 

In front of them, a coating of colourless magical crystal was growing over the trees and the land.  And at the center of the lifeless crystal land, a gleaming tower that seemed to scrape the very sky. 

----------------------------------------

Batho sat on the crystal chair in the crystal room, watching the crystal display on one wall show the four figures slowly picking their way through the crystal forest. 

"Are you insane?  Attack them now!" Batho cried. 

"Let them come in a little more, have a look around," the star said nonchalantly, "we'll take their magic and let them go.  That big one in front is powerful too.  "

The star had switched to using sound, claiming that there was more than enough power for some luxuries.  It had originally made the walls vibrate but after Batho claimed it gave him a headache, the star switched to using a vibrating stick. 

"Powerful!" Batho laughed bitterly, "that's the Hero!  The four horsemen!  The scourge of evil!  It's Arc himself!"

"We are not familiar with them," the star said, "but we note you appear to attribute special significance to them.  "

"That man standing there is the worst possible scenario for us," Batho said, teeth and fists clenched, "Arc is the most well-known hero in all the lands!  With unstoppable magical power, top tier martial arts and three companions nearly as strong as him!  He could kill all those knights we fought outside the jail without any batting an eyelash!"

"Our power has grown exponentially since then," the star said, "four people cannot do anything.  This Arc you speak of, judging from their actions, they are nothing special.  "

Batho blinked in surprise.  Nothing special.  He sighed and wondered what 'something special' might be to the star. 

"Observe," the star said. 

The four knights on their horses suddenly looked up and a magical shield popped up around them, outlined in the display for magical power.  A puff of crystalline soil leapt up beside them. 

"They have good reactions for being so unguarded," the star mused. 

Another attack lashed out at them, throwing up a slightly bigger puff.  Then the leader, Arc, seemed to point at the display screen, and a massive bloom of magic consumed the field of view.  The display suddenly switched to a viewpoint much higher and further away. 

"Interesting, their magic is crude yet effective.  Now we shall see their close combat ability.  "

Batho looked at the vibrating stick incredulously, the star actually sounded amused!  He paid attention to the screen again.  The heroes were beset on all sides as the crystallized trees uprooted themselves and lumbered forwards to attack them. 

Arc leapt off his horse and flew at the nearest enemy, sword drawn.  The hero was practically flying over the glassy soil, his steps as light as a feather and as fast as a bird.  A flash of his sword and a crystal treant was cleaved in two, another flash and another tangle of crystal branches fell to the ground.  The treants tried to swing their branches but he was untouchable, weaving a path through the flailing strands of crystal with flawless perfection, a deadly blade singing and winking in the sunlight. 

As the crystal trees converged, a salvo of magical bolts shot out from his companions, still on the horses.  The wave of magical force shattered crystal and blasted back the living forest around him.  Shards of crystal slammed futilely into the dome shaped shield, supported by the woman at the center.  Arc dashed from one end to the other, destroying the treants that pushed their way into the circle. 

Truly their teamwork was flawless, Arc and his companions moved as if they could each other's minds.  Batho gripped the chair tighter as the marching crystal petered out, leaving the heroes standing amidst a field of shards. 

"That was a good harvest of magic," the star said, "truly, the Hero is just as naive as the rest of the knights.  "

What. 

"They revealed their defenses.  The limit to their magic.  They did not even notice that the crystal trees were absorbing their power.  Observe," the star said. 

With no warning, the view screen lit up with a single glaring streak of light that lasted for a mere instant before blasting into the party of the Hero.  Dirt and crystal dust exploded skywards in a plume of debris, a visible shockwave rolled outwards along the ground from the impact. 

"You see, there is naught to worry about," the star said, "our judgment is perfect, your Hero has survived.  He shall return with more magic.  "

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Batho gaped as the Hero and his party dug themselves out of the crater.  They were not dead after THAT strike?!  But to his relief, one of the four seemed to be heavily injured and the Hero was already making preparations to retreat.  The star did not seem to mind him going. 

"I don't understand," Batho said, "clearly you could have killed them at any time.  The Hero is more dangerous than even Rethas and you let them go, but kill Rethas.  "

The pulsing swollen globe of magic far below the tower could not be recognized as human.  Lifeforce, the star had explained, was efficient at trapping raw mana, given the proper techniques.  Rethas's soul was stretched and engorged with mana distilled from the air and ground, distended and stretched to fill an ever growing cavern at the confluence of the tower's foundations and the massive twisting underground tunnels.  It was beyond any recognition as a human soul.  Batho realized that Rethas had truly died in the duel, what was left was just another magical construct. 

"A favour we pay to you, for the loan of your body and knowledge," the star said, "your enemies destroyed and power beyond recognition.  You hold no animosity towards the Hero, that is mere jealousy.  The one called Rethas, you had condemned him in your soul.  "

Batho sighed.  There was no point arguing, star could read his mind and had its own strange idea of morality. 

"This morality you think of, we still do not understand," the star said, "we have a parallel of the concept you call death.  It is not to be inflicted lightly.  "

"Isn't that morality already?" Batho asked. 

"You think of it in emotions.  You have... aversion to causing death, except where it would suit you," the star seemed to be disappointed in him, "such a heuristic is inelegant and is not an optimal strategy for your success.  That we do not understand.  "

"What is there not to understand?  Killing people invites others to kill you. " Batho paused, something the star said prodded at him.  He asked, "do you feel anything?  What about your family?  Do you truly feel nothing when you kill someone, not even a shred of guilt?"

"The concept of family does not exist in our knowledge," the star said reproachfully, "and your guilt for killing the woman at the reentry vehicle is too small to be noteworthy.  No, in your terms, we feel nothing.  What we do not understand is why have you not replaced your faulty heuristic?  We can propose a number of more optimal strategies.  "

No.  No no no, the star was proposing to modify Batho's emotions?!

"An interesting reaction," the star mused, "have no fear, we do not wish to make enemies of you.  Your reactions have been informative, perhaps your insight can be useful in understanding the Enemy.  "

What Enemy was the star speaking of?  Batho wondered but the star did not deign to answer him. 

----------------------------------------

"He must be possessed by the Dark Lord," Arc said, "there is nothing else that can explain it.  "

"No!" a voice cut across the murmurs at the table, "that cannot be!"

"I understand your distress, Flower of Sant Arcia," one of the senators said, "but it is the Hero's judgment, are you sure that yours is not clouded by your connection to him?"

"Batho is still himself!" she hissed, one fist on the table, "I talked with him last when he was still in the cell.  The Dark Lord would have been... darker.  "

"Or more cunning," the senator said, "where was he in the last weeks?"

"He told he was was searching for something.  "

The senator raised an eyebrow, "what if what he found was the Dark Lord's seal instead?"

"Whatever he is now can be discussed later," Arc said, "the question is what do we do now?"

"That last weapon, the spear of light," the Lord of Swords, the leader of the knight order, spoke up, "that weapon is worrying.  For it to nearly kill Rumil even with all four of you defending..."

"He cannot use it often," Arc concluded, "after we were attacked, we were allowed to retreat unmolested even when our weakness was apparent.  "

"Even so, if it hits anyone other than you four, it will certainly end in their deaths," the Lord of Swords said. 

A wave of glumness spread around the table.  Aril suppressed a sigh, trying to think with them. 

"Give me five days for Rumil to heal," Arc said, "gather the knights and men.  We four will challenge the crystal field once again and draw the weapon to ourselves.  When he is vulnerable, the army hiding in the dead forest will charge the tower.  "

There was a round of hesitation then nodding.  Arc smiled and left the room.  No one else moved. 

"Will it be sufficient?" the senator asked. 

"No," the Lord of Swords said flatly, "Arc overestimates what the knights can do.  He thinks everyone is a Hero.  With that weapon, Batho merely has to run again and there will nothing we can do.  "

"Then we need something to pin him down," the senator said.  Aril shivered at the malice in the voice.  "Something he cares for," the senator continued. 

"A hostage?  Any idea what might be something he wants, Aril?" the Lord of Swords asked her. 

Aril felt as if large cotton balls were stuffing up her throat.  The senator was looking straight at her.  The Lord of Swords blinked at him and followed his gaze back to her again.  She gulped worried.  Surely not...

A pair of armoured hands descended on her shoulders.