William felt warm and safe. The agony of his wounds was gone, and he was resting on what he thought was soft turf. Opening his eyes, he realized he was lying in a field of just that. He could see other people, though they were blurry and not fully there. Alternatively, he was not fully there, and they were real.

Then he saw him.

There were no words to describe the majesty before him. He saw an image of the valor of knights throughout the universe. The closest he could come to a description was that of a man clad in armor with skin and hair as white as snow. Yet it was not unhealthy; he seemed the source of health in many ways.

"You've been busy, William," said Elranor.

William arose and bent to one knee in fealty. He drew his sword and offered it to Elranor, though he wondered where the sword had come from. He'd lost it, hadn't he? "Lord Elranor, forgive me, please."

"If it is incident on the boat that troubles you, then you need not fear my wrath," said Elranor. "Fear is natural when one faces their first battle, and you are not ready. Even so, you have performed admirably, and things have progressed, for the most part, as I had hoped."

"What do you mean?" asked William, confused.

"The demoness you faced was poised to gain control over Seathorius," said Elranor. "And had she gone unopposed, she would have succeeded. However, Kiyora has, for years, prevented her from gaining total victory. Now, with Baltoth's Retribution destroyed, her power is greatly diminished."

"Yet why did the castle collapse?" asked William.

"To use the castle's power, the demoness was forced to pour much of her strength into it," said Elranor. "They were one. When she was wounded, so was the castle. With her defeat, the castle was laid to waste. And yet, even her triumph now serves our purposes.

"For the Mirror of Laevian drove Melchious mad, and it will be a long time before he can act against us."

"But the demoness," said William, "she looked into the mirror and... she wasn't affected as much, was she?"

"That," said Elranor, "is a bit complicated. You see, when Melchious looked into the Mirror of Laevian, he was looking through your eyes. You might have been formed from sin, but you are a good person overall. So much as anyone is good.

"Your kindness, courage, and compassion multiplied the effects of the Mirror of Laevian. They reawakened parts of him he has long since forgotten."

"What do you mean?" asked William.

"Melchious was mortal once," said Elranor. "He has fallen far since then and become a demon. Yet some elements of his old self remain. The demoness, on the other hand, is a purebred demon. Her existence is... simpler in nature."

"I feel sorry for her." realized William.

"Because she never had a choice?" guessed Elranor.

"Yes," admitted William. "I mean... I don't know."

"Put it from your mind for now, William," said Elranor. "We have other business to speak of. Once you offered me your service? Do you still hold to that vow?"

"Yes, of course, Lord Elranor!" said William, feeling enthusiastic. "I mean, my father will be very disappointed, and my mother will be furious, but-"

"Calm yourself," laughed Elranor. "I will not be asking for anything inconvenient just yet. You have served me well in your own fashion already. But, even so, I do not have in mind the priesthood for you."

"Then what?" asked William.

"I want you to become one of my paladins," said Elranor.

"Me?" asked William, hardly believing his ears. "A paladin?"

"Yes, you are ideally suited to the task," said Elranor.

"But I always thought you'd have wanted someone like Raynald or my father," said William.

"Raynald is an excellent warrior," said Elranor, "but he loves carnage too much. Your father didn't want any part in my service. He does not trust the church and so no longer trusts me. Are you willing to do my work?"

"Well..." William paused. "Yes, I'll do as you ask."

"Excellent," said Elranor, "then in time, I will call upon you for your service."

"What kind of service?" asked William. "I mean... I'm not sure I'll be able to do anything right now-"

"Not right away, of course," said Elranor. "You have far too much work to do elsewhere. But in time."

"I understand, Elranor," said William. "But the tower I was on was falling, and I was injured; how can I do anything? I ought to be dead."

"Peace, William," said Elranor, "I would not be much of a god if I could not perform a few miracles." He looked up. "The time has come for you to awaken. Unfortunately, you are not out of Seathorius yet."

"I understand, Elranor," said William.

And then he woke up. His vision was blurry at first, and then he realized he was looking up at Kiyora, who was shaking him. There was a line of pain over his left eye, which would not go away. He tried to heal it but in vain. "Enough, enough; I'm already awake."

"Oh good," said Kiyora, "because I'm not."

"Where are we?" asked William, looking around and ignoring the pain.

All around him were piles of fallen masonry. Baltoth's Retribution was a shattered remnant of what it had once been. He could see the tower, which had fallen with him on it. He guessed they were in the middle of a courtyard as well as he could.

"Beats me," admitted Kiyora, "I showed up to find you about to commit suicide. Then I looked in that mirror and was thrown back into the real world. Then I fell asleep again, and I was here. Kind of weird; usually, when I dream, I descend from heaven or something like that.

"What have you been up to all this time?"

"It is very complicated," said William, standing up. "I'm not sure we have time for it now. The fall of this castle may have drawn other creatures to us. Some of which may be of a less than savory nature."

His eyes fell on his sword, planted in the ground with his pack leaning against it. "How did you get those back?"

"Oh, those were yours?" asked Kiyora. "They were there when I woke up."

William sheathed his sword and checked his pack. There were many rations within it, enough for two people to go for a few days at least. There was also his harp. His eye kept hurting. "Well, I'm glad they did. Why does my eye hurt?"

"I uh..." Kiyora shifted. "You have a scar there, over your eye. Do you know how it happened?"

"No," admitted William, trying to ignore it. "However, we left behind the only mirror in the wreckage. Come on; we'd best-"

There was a surge of violet fire from some of the masonry, and it was flung away. Stones flew everywhere, and William ducked below a huge one that nearly caved in his skull. Out of the rock emerged the demoness. Her arm was broken, but it was healing before his eyes. Her wings fanned huge like a dragon, and her tail whipped in a fury. She roared skyward with a noise that made him shake.

"Oh no..." said William.

"You..." the demoness stepped forward. "You... You know what, to heaven with it. I'm done."

"What do you mean you're done?" asked William.

"I mean, I'm done!" said the demoness. "I've already won by removing Melchious from power! I'm sick and tired of trying to kill you when I stand nothing further to gain by it!

"Now, get out of my domain!"

"We've been trying to do that all this time," said William. "And would have if not for you."

"Just go!" snapped the demoness.

Then she leaped into the air and flew off, muttering to herself. William watched her fade into the distance and reflected that she was tough to kill. He was glad he hadn't had to fight her. Even so, the scar on his face hurt.

"So, who was that person anyway?" asked Kiyora as they turned and left.

"An unholy abomination who talks too much," said William.

"You seemed familiar with her," noted Kiyora.

"I don't know what you're talking about." mused William.

The gates had been wrecked. They had broken so badly that they had to pick their way over them. As they made their way out, Kiyora looked around with interest.

"What exactly happened here to break this place to pieces?" she asked.

"I think the demoness bound the castle to her life force," said William. "It was complicated. Once I wounded her badly, the castle started to break apart. Though it started when she looked into the Mirror of Laevian."

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"Well, no one is going to be fixing that anytime soon," mused Kiyora. "I figured there had been some invasion by dragons. So you did all this?"

"I don't expect I would have managed it without Elranor," said William. "And we'd certainly both be dead."

"Not me," said Kiyora. "What now?"

"Well, that depends." mused William. "I could try to find Felix, but he's already under orders to escape to Artarq. Given that the demoness had no interest in him, he might already be ahead of us. So I... I guess we ought to head north toward Artarq on foot."

"Okay, so this Artarq place," said Kiyora, "why are we going there?"

"Because that is where I was heading in the first place," said William. "I guess you could take shelter with the dwarves, but that is far off. And I think you'd be safer in Artarq anyway."

"Yeah, this place is getting boring." mused Kiyora. "Might be fun to dream about something else, y'know."

"Not really," admitted William before turning around to look at the ruins. "Okay, the gate was facing me when I came out of the trees. So we went past the castle and headed through the trees on the other side. We're very near Artarq, so once we get there, we can take shelter in one of the border forts."

"Border forts?" asked Kiyora.

"Yes," said William, "the King of Antion established border forts on the border. One of the only land routes in. The idea was to protect against raids by satyrs and such.

"I'm not sure they will know who we are. But it's the best plan I can manage on short notice. You seem more relaxed. I mean... You lost your powers, I think."

"Oh right, yeah," said Kiyora. "I guess I did. Whatever, the dream was getting old very quickly."

They made their way past the castle's ruins and into the woods. As they did so out of the trees, padding feet came. Out of the trees came Massacre, approaching William and Kiyora. The chimera sniffed at William, and he scratched its goat head behind the ears.

"I missed you," said William. "But I'm all right now. I'll play you some music once we're far from here."

Then, to William's surprise, Massacre kneeled down before Kiyora.

"...I remember you," said Kiyora. "Wow, you've gotten big, haven't you?"

"You know Massacre?" asked William.

"You named her Massacre?" asked Kiyora. "That's a bit bloodthirsty, don't you think?"

"He seemed to like it," said William.

"She," said Kiyora, kneeling down to scratch Massacre behind the ears. "Massacre is a she. Isn't that right, girl?"

"He has a mane," said William.

Massacre rolled over on her back, and Kiyora rubbed her belly. William crossed his arms and noted the lack of specific anatomy. Okay, so Kiyora was right.

"All chimeras have manes," said Kiyora. "It's part of their species."

"How do you know Massacre, though?" asked William.

"Oh, I saved her from satyrs," said Kiyora. "Her parents had been hunted for their pelts, and she was running for her life. So I got the trees to delve a hole into a mound for her to hide."

"That mound was a treasure trove when Felix and I found it," said William.

Massacre grunted in irritation, and her dragon's head hissed. William noted the flicking of her snake tail at the subject. Again, he felt irritation at the accusation.

"Oh, come on," said William, "you tried to kill us when we first met. I tried to convince Felix not to, but he wouldn't listen."

To this, Massacre made something between a growl and a grunt.

"Massacre says that you were in her home," said Kiyora. "And had brought the satyrs there."

"Yes, well, I didn't know it was your home," said William. "And we couldn't afford to be captured by the satyrs. You couldn't use the harp alone; it was just sitting there."

Massacre made another sound.

"Massacre says that is why she is following you," said Kiyora. "The harp is hers, but as long as you play it for her, she'll let you hang onto it."

"Very well; I am grateful for your help," said William. "Now, can we please move on?"

The trees seemed to change again. They were no longer the dangerous things they were before. Neither were they indifferent. They, indeed, weren't friendly. Instead, the trees became... different. It was challenging to understand precisely how they were reacting to them. They became leafier and leafier, and the underbrush grew thicker. William and Kiyora were struggling to move forward. Thorns tore at their sides, and they often had to take lengthy detours to get past some areas. Even then, they had to force their way through.

"Kiyora," said William, "could you tell these trees and things to move out of the way?"

"I could." mused Kiyora. "But this is pretty far away from where I normally operate. It might not do anything." She closed her eyes and began to glow faintly. The trees and underbrush seemed to coil and shift tighter than before.

After a moment, Kiyora opened her eyes and sighed. "It is no good; they don't want to listen to me. Their old and bitter creatures don't particularly like each other.

They only work together to keep other people out. Mainly because they dislike things other than themselves even more."

"One moment," said William, drawing his sword. "I'll see if I can hack through-"

Massacre's dragonhead unleashed a torrent of flame into the underbrush. It burned it away before their eyes in moments. William feared it might start a forest fire, but the flames died quickly. Moments later, the brambles began to regrow.

"Let's go before we're stuck again," said William.

They moved on, and as they did so, Massacre's goat head occasionally bit chunks off the brambles. Her chewing on them was very loud. Massacre ate through the thornbushes and various other plants quickly. They occasionally paused to burn through some more. It was amazing and worrying how fast the plants in this region seemed to regrow.

Several times, William was caught on the foot and nearly fell. Once, he had to hack his way free of a thornbush, which reached out to grab him. The trees were determined to keep them out. Despite Massacre's fire, they did not seem to be getting anywhere.

"Do you feel we're going in circles?" asked Kiyora.

"Yes, actually," said William. "Do you know this part of the woods at all? Have you ever been here before?"

"I mostly appear around Savior's Run," said Kiyora. "The farther you get from that, the fewer people you find. Though I heard there are some tribes of satyrs who live in this region."

"I thought Melchious had his power mostly on the western side of the river," said William. "That is what Rusara taught me."

"Oh, the satyrs who worship Melchious all live there," said Kiyora. "But there are other gods besides myself and Melchious. Laevian has some pretty nasty critters in this region, and there is... well... Laughing Wraith."

Laughing Wraith. Something about the name sent a shudder down William's spine. It was like Melchious but crueler and more feral. He wasn't sure why. "What is this Laughing Wraith?" It didn't seem like a who.

"I have no idea," admitted Kiyora. "He showed up a little while ago, probably hundreds of years in dream time. Melchious and I were here first, and we were all different from him.

"His creatures mostly keep to themselves. You don't want to wander into their neck of the woods, though. Helping people in trouble with Laughing Wraith is..." She shuddered. "Uh, it has caused me more than my share of nightmares."

"And you led us into their domain?" asked William.

Kiyora blinked. "Oh, I guess I did. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. And anyway, it was your idea."

"If you'd warned me about this, I'd have gone to the otters," muttered William. "So, are there any other nightmarish horrors I should know about before we go any further?"

"None that I can think of, no," said Kiyora.

"Are you sure?" asked William. "Because I heard from the Nakmar that some devour the bodies of the slain."

"Oh, those are just vultures," Kiyora laughed. "Nice birds once you get to know them."

Behind him, Massacre began to munch on some thorns.