Krazzek

“I'm just here to talk,” Krazzek told Dyryl, his hands raised to show he was unarmed. Of course he was always unarmed. He was proud of it. He was a thief gods damnit, not a bandit.

“This isn't a good time for visitors, city man. My mother is performing a ritual.”

Krazzek didn't doubt it. The cottage behind her felt like power. Whatever Maukra was doing it was stirring up the whole world. The souls in his necklace felt jittery, like livestock before a storm. But if he didn't get in there to talk that idiot Hesk was going to try and attack the place. Which was probably a lot worse for the ritual. And for everyone in the vicinity, which included Krazzek.

“And I'd hate to interrupt. But on behalf of Patrician Jajess I need to.”

“Well mother does know you. And she seems to like you. Alright fine come on back. Careful though, if you disturb the ritual you die.”

“You'll kill me?”

“I won't need to.”

He followed Dyryl towards the cottage.

“Why aren't you there at the ritual?”

“Because someone needed to keep watch. There are city soldiers about, and you can't trust people like them.”

“Ah. Fair enough I suppose.”

They came out the back door of the cottage and were instantly bathed in orange light. At first Krazzek thought there was a huge bonfire out back but no, no the light was coming from the glowing tattoos on a man strapped to a chair, a flickering violent swirl of energy that cast eerie shadows across everything around him. Clutched in the man's hand was a sword glowing with the same eerie orange light.

Is that the Fang weapon everyone's so excited about? What are they doing with it? How could someone end up like this? And wait a minute, he's got short hair but he's Angelarian. What is that sword? What happened here?

“Krazzek, stay back from him. We are waiting to see if he will survive the trial.”

Krazzek had been so taken aback by the man and the sword he'd barely noticed Maukra, Norak, and Shylldra standing there beside them.

“Thank you,” he nodded in Maukra's direction. “And I'm sorry to interrupt. But I was sent to talk to her. To Shylldra ty Imperiens.”

“So you did recognize me,” the Angelarian woman sighed. “I was worried about that.”

“Let me kill this man,” Norak snarled. “And send his head back to the emperor to go along with the last assassin's.”

“Technically Hallek cut off her arms and legs,” Dyryl pointed out. “Her head was still attached.”

This was getting rapidly out of hand. Assassins? What was going on?

“I know Krazzek,” Maukra cut in. “He's no assassin. Peaceful by nature. And honest, in the way of liars and thieves.”

“Uhm yeah, thank you I think. Listen I swear I don't know anything about assassins or anything like that. I just know that there's a standing order among the Patrician's men that if they find you they're supposed to bring you to him. Alive. And I don't know if you know the Patrician lady Shylldra...”

“Don't call me that.”

“Right, sorry. I don't know if you know the Patrician but he's not Lekarik's biggest fan. If the emperor wants you dead he probably wants you alive. If only out of spite.”

Shylldra was silent for a long while. She looked across the clearing where Hallek sat in his chair, his skin glowing like fire.

“Alright, I'll go. But give up on the Fang weapon. Leave Hallek alone.”

“As I understand it you're more important than the weapon to whatever the Patrician is planning. It shouldn't be a problem.”

“Then...”

“There are enemies here.” Norak's voice was barely audible, a low and vicious growl.

“Oh no. No I told them there wasn't any need to do something like this he promised he'd let me come and talk to you! That idiot!”

“Can't say I think much of your friends,” Dyryl said as the soldiers stepped out of the brush. Heshk was leading them, an enormous grin on his face.

“Why, Heshk? Why? She agreed to come with us!”

“But now I can bring the Patrician the girl AND the sword,” Heshk said. “Take them!”

A soldier grabbed Shylldra and she screamed. And then the world went mad.

Shylldra

Hallek didn't break out of the chair, he shrugged it off like a cloak. A soft flex of his muscles and it shattered beneath him and he stood in the shattered remnants glaring at the soldiers. He wasn't blazing like a bonfire anymore but his tattoos still glowed, casting his body in strange lights. She watched him sweep his gaze over the clearing with a murderous expression on his face. She saw his eyes soften when he saw her.

And only when he saw her.

“Hallek--”

And then the soldier holding onto her was dead.

He'd moved like lightning again. She'd barely had time to register the motion before the soldier was gone. Halek hadn't even used the sword he'd just shot forwards and punched the man, sending him flying across the cleared back of the cottage and into a tree hard enough to shatter his spine.

“Everyone be careful,” Maukra warned. “The ritual is only partially complete. We face the worst of both worlds.”

“What are you babbling about, witch?” The commanding soldier snapped. The thief Krazzek had called him Heshk.

“His body is stable but his mind is not. He has all power of the infusion and a human's cleverness and skill but the instincts of the dinosaur. Our lives mean nothing to him. He will kill us all if it means protecting his mate.”

Me. Sweet gods. Maybe I can talk him down again.

“Hallek, calm down. I know I screamed, I was just startled. And you killed him right? You killed him. You killed the man who was hurting me so it's okay, right? We're going to leave.”

“No you're not,” Heshk snapped. “Take them!”

“Are you insane?” Krazzek demanded. “Look at him!”

Hallek grabbed her and threw her on his back. She reflexively grabbed him around the neck and he let her hang on as the soldiers advanced. She screamed again as the blood from the first man sprayed across her face. Hallek had caught him with a zig-zag motion of the sword that split open his target’s throat and belly. The soldier collapsed in a pile of his own blood and organs.

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Sweet Maia please protect them. I know they're my enemies but protect them, because eventually Hallek will come back to himself and he'll have to live with what he did here.

And then there was energy around them, glowing bluish white. Shylldra could almost make out the faces of animals in it, of dinosaurs and wolves and hunting cats. It whirled around Hallek like the wind and he stumbled, confused. Through the haze she could see Maukra standing with her arms stretched out to either side, conjuring her spirit wind at both Hallek and the soldiers. It must be a blessing of the forest spirits. Like my own prayers to Maia.

“Stop this!” Maukra demanded. “No more bloodshed today!”

But Hallek was regaining his senses. She felt his muscles tighten as he caught his focus, striding forward through Maukra's spell. Sweat beaded on Maukra's forehead as Hallek forced his way through towards the soldiers. Finally she was forced to turn her focus fully towards him, doubling the power of the spell. Hallek was forced backwards.

“Hallek stop, it's okay! It's okay now, I'm safe right? You've got me I'm safe. You can--”

Heshk slashed Maukra across the back and the shaman collapsed on the ground, panting and bleeding. Norak and Dyryl shouted in rage. The spell holding back Hallek disappeared.

Another soldier died. Shylldra felt like she was strapped to a lightning bolt. They shot around the trees, motion too fast for her mind to follow so she only caught the moments he stop, slowed, just for a split second and then only to cut someone in half.

“No Hallek! No! That's Dyryl!” She screamed and tugged on his throat like the reinsof a gerudo. He stumbled back and Dyryl ducked out of the way to clash with one of the soldiers. In Hallek's moment of confusion Heshk appeared in front of him.

“Take the others!” the commander shouted. “The Fang warrior is mine!”

Hallek roared and swung at him but Heshk almost seemed to disappear. Again the blurry lightning bolt motion and Heshk was in front of them again. Hesk took a swing at Hallek's ribs that Hallek dodged. When Hallek's counterstrike came Heshk was gone again, and then the motion and they were clashing, and on and on.

He's got an infusion that makes him fast, Shylldra realized. I can't follow his movements, but Hallek can.

The next time they clashed Hesk punched Hallek in the face and Shylldra fell off his back.

Hallek

Enemies. Enemies everywhere. Their leader was strong. Smart. He moved so fast Hallek had to work to keep up with him and he struck in vicious little swipes. Like the compies in the alley. If there'd been more than one of him Hallek would be in real trouble. He felt Shylldra fall of his back but he'd keep an eye on her, none of the others could stand up to him if he could kill the leader the rest wouldn't matter.

He knocked the enemy's fangs (sword) away and went in for the kill, but he slipped away again, Hallek turned to follow him and stopped. He never should have let her fall. Shylldra. His mate. Now the enemy had her, gripping her by the neck with a smaller fang (dagger) pressed against her throat.

“Enough!” the enemy shouted. “Surrender or she dies!”

It was so frustrating. All the other powerful enemies were down. But the mate must be protected no matter what, she'd already died once (no wait that was someone else something else I was bigger) he couldn't let it happen again, but he couldn't attack with the (dagger)against her throat, all the others were down (Dyryl and Norak and Maukra) all the other strong ones and...and...

Dinosaurs didn't take hostages. It simply wasn't a situation the giganotosaur mind was prepared to handle. So it dug deep for a way to deal with it, and it found the human mind within.

And finally, finally, the ritual completed.

Human and dinosaur slipped together in Hallek's head and found balance. No, unity. There was no struggle of instincts, no battle of wills. Hallek and the gignotosaurus were, finally, one being again. One being named Hallek, who thought like a human. The struggle was gone.

In its place came the exhaustion.

“Shylldra?” he said, his sword dipping. “Are you alright?”

“Hallek! I'm okay.”

“What about...did I...the others?”

“You didn't hurt any of them,” she promised.

But it didn't matter. Dyryl, Maukra, and Norak were all lying sprawled on the ground with seeping wounds. The thief Krazzek was kneeling by Dyryl and Hallek realized he hadn't seen him join the fight. And that everyone's wounds were bandaged, and that only someone who hadn't been fighting could have had time to take care of them like that.

“Can we stop this madness now please?” Krazzek asked softly.

“That's up to the Fang warrior,” Heshk snarled, twisting the dagger against Shylldra's flesh. “Will you surrender or not?”

“Yes,” Hallek said. “Yes, I'll surrender.”

“See thief? The girl and the fang weapon. I told you so!” Heshk laughed.

“The Birdfang will go mad, Heshk,” Krazzek said. “I think you just started a war.”

“Ignorant barbarians. But just in case, bring the girl as a hostage.”

“Hey!” Hallek jerked forwards, but Heshk just glared and pushed the dagger's tip into Shylldra's neck to draw a line of blood. Hallek stopped in his tracks. “Leave them alone, you've got us!”

“And now I have their shaman's daughter as a hostage. A little insurance never hurt.”

Hallek wanted to roar. To rage and kill like he had before, only more targeted this time. Maybe if he'd started out that way they would have won. No, he knew they would, because Maukra had been hurt trying to stop him from going berserk. And now the fight was over and he was tired, so tired, tired in his mind.

He couldn't help himself. His knees buckled and the darkness took him, and he wasn't even awake to see what happened to the soldier that tried to pull the sword from his unconscious hand.

Which is probably for the best.

Gwarruf

The reports were not good.

A spy in Patrician Jajess's household said that he hadn't been able to organize many men. The legions might not like the emperor but they weren't supporting anyone else, either. That was okay from Gwarruf's perspective. It might limit the emperor's options but it wasn't directly a threat, not yet. Jajess on the other hand was. Because if this report was right he had Shylldra. And not just that. He bumped into Gylldrianna in the halls.

“Have you seen the emperor today? Do you know his mood?” he asked.

“No,” she told him. “He disappeared yesterday afternoon. I don't know where he went. Bad news?”

“The latest report on Patrician Jajess.”

“Jajess. We should just cut off that fat old worm's head and be--”

The palace walls shook with the force of the roars echoing down the halls.

“Not again! Quickly, we have to protect the emperor!”

The two of them ran down the halls to the display room. This time they had to, absolutely had to, keep Lekarik away from the Axe. They couldn't handle covering up another catastrophe like the last time. When the roaring suddenly stopped they ran faster, now certain something terrible was about to happen. But as they rounded the corner into the hall they realized they were far too late.

And that this time things were different. Lekarik was different.

Lekarik's body had been fit and toned the way the pampered but active are fit and toned, a kind of soft muscle meant for sport and play. Now he had the lean, muscular look of a stalking predator. His fingers ended in small black claws, and his mouth was full of fangs as he smiled at them. His eyes were different too, solid yellow with black dot pupils under a unibrow of stubby horns protruding from his head that moved with his expression. And had he grown a few inches taller? Yes he must have...

But most importantly of all he was holding the Axe. He swung it back and forth with one hand casually, his grin widening to reveal more of his jagged predator's teeth.

“M-my lord-”

“Gwarruf! Gylldrianna! As you can see, I've mastered the Axe.”

“How?” Gylldrianna asked.

“Why through force of will and my royal bloodline, of course!” Lekarik laughed. “Though on an entirely unrelated subject, Master Infuser Dalluth is to be given any empty set of rooms in the palace he wants for his laboratory and workshop, as well as any materials he desires without question.”

“A completely unrelated subject, I see. And when people ask about your face? Your height? Your claws?”

“A miracle! I have reached a whole new level of understanding with the soul of Dakkareg. The truest avatar of the tyrannosaur spirit since Milkaamek himself! That calls for a celebration, once the annoyances are dealt with. Gwarruf, you had something you wanted to tell me?”

“Uhm...yes. Yes. Jajess is nearly ready to move. He's been gathering forces, allies in the capital, but now at his country estate he's gotten his hands on Shylldra. He intends to marry her either to his son, or to another young warrior he will claim as his son. This young warrior has no name or reputation, but he must be formidable because every source agrees...as insane as it sounds, he...”

“He killed a Fang,” Lekarik said, spinning the Axe in a lazy circle. “And infused a weapon with its soul. I know. Dakkareg felt the new weapon being born.”

“Oh, I-I see. But with a fang weapon he could draw support away from you.”

“Especially when I couldn't wield the Axe. Which of course is no longer true, but the weapon is still a threat. You know, I think Dakkareg is glad about the new Fang warrior! He's excited to have a real rival again. We've been discussing what to do about it.”

“And have you come to any conclusion?” Gylldrianna asked.

“Yes. Its time to end the talk of rebellion once and for all. I will not have a rival for control of my empire. Gather whatever forces you think are necessary to assault Jajess's estate and then double that number. I intend to crush him. I will come along myself, to counter this new warrior and his fang weapon.”

“My lord this...extraordinary change is so sudden, perhaps we should be sure of your power before we rely on it.”

Lekarik smiled and slung the Axe over his shoulder.

And then power flowed out of the Axe. It pulsed through the room, invisible but touching them the same, touching their souls. The emperor's aura, the ability to grant Dakkareg's power to his troops, was almost a legend but now...

He truly does control the Axe.

“Don't doubt me again. I want to head out as soon as possible. Once I make an example of Jajess the other patricians and councilors will fall into line. And then I'll hold a grand festival because don't worry, either of you, I haven't lost my taste for wine woman and song in the least bit.”

Still grinning like a maniac, the Axe slung over his shoulder, Lekarik strode out of the room finally—to himself and everyone around him—feeling like the emperor.