Almost as soon as they entered, everything went wrong.

In the darkness, Nagos slipped and fell forward. Narcissa grabbed him, and she nearly fell after him. Below them was a vast abyss that descended into endless darkness. Faint red lights could be seen emanating from the darkness.

Narcissa pulled him back with difficulty, and he fell against her shoulder.

"Thank you," said Nagos, looking around. "There's a way down there."

Sahshir peered into the dark, then drew out the Sword of Order. The light emanated, and he saw a narrow path leading down into the darkness. Glancing back, Sahshir saw the cave mouth showing Garrick and his men scaling up toward them.

"It'll be trouble," said Nagos.

"They're still following us," said Sahshir. "Down, quickly."

So they descended the winding path, keeping to the wall. They were torn between the need for haste and the drop near them. Even as the path led down, Sahshir glanced back from the rear to see Garrick pursuing.

The man moved with confidence, slowing only for those who walked behind.

"Doesn't that elf ever stop?" asked Narcissa from the front.

"It does not seem so," noted Sahshir,

"Look out!" cried Nagos.

There was a shadowy blur, and something rose over them. Sahshir brought around his sword to hack back a claw. It came off at the wrist, and the beast surged backward, only for the claw to regrow. But others came up to aid it. Narcissa slashed one back as others surged toward Garrick.

"What are these things?!" said Nagos.

"Demons," guessed Sahshir, cutting one in two. "Down, quickly, we must reach the lower ground. Nagos, draw your sword!"

And down they went. Nagos struggled to draw his own sword as they scaled downward, and more of the beasts came at them. Fortunately, most seemed focused on Garrick, whose men fought valiantly. Arrows pierced the creatures as Garrick himself slashed them in twain with ease. His sword moved in a blur.

Yet when the demons died, they left no bodies. They simply faded back into the darkness before another formed in their place. Down they went as quickly as possible, having to fight the whole way. Nagos was useless here; his sword was swung around blindly like a club. He mostly did ward off a few, but he at least knew enough to avoid getting ripped to shreds.

Soon the darkness faded, and they saw a massive red gem at the bottom of the cave. But, even as they reached the end of the spiral, they found an enemy before them. He was a massive armor giant, but no sign of a face could be seen beyond his helmet. In one hand was an enormous sword, and he gazed at them with what might of amusement. "You trespass, warriors. This place is not yours to set foot within."

"Well, we didn't have much choice," said Nagos.

"Your choices are of no concern." said the man. "I am the Withering King. Return from when you came, now, or be consumed-" He halted suddenly as if hearing something. "-are you certain, Lucius?" He lowered his sword. "Very well.

"I have been ordered to escort you to Lucius. He will not accept no for an answer."

"Your master does not concern me," said Sahshir.

Dozens of demons landed all around them.

"Sahshir, let's just play along for now," said Narcissa. "I don't want to fight all these guys."

"The Battleluster is wiser than you." noted the figure.

"I'm with Narcissa; I don't even know how to use a sword," said Nagos, with a cut on his brow. Sahshir considered his chances and then noted that Garrick seemed to have drawn back. Or been killed. Either was possible. "...Very well. But none shall take the Sword of Order from me."

"We were not ordered to take your weapons." said the figure. "More are coming. Creatures of hatred consume these interlopers."

All the demons surged upward, and the sound of fighting resounded above. Sahshir was impressed that it continued well after the first few moments. Finally, the figure turned and led them through a passageway, followed by Nagos and Narcissa.

"Nagos, do you have no combat training?" asked Narcissa.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" asked Nagos.

"Why didn't you say so?" asked Narcissa.

"I didn't think it was important," said Nagos. "Fighting takes a lot more energy than talking, and I never had a chance to learn to fight.

"Pirates like to pick easy targets. If you're having a pitched battle, you're doing something wrong. The general deal is that if the ship surrenders, you let them live. If they resist, you kill them all. When they resisted, I generally hid in the rigging."

"Those are the actions of a coward." scoffed Sahshir.

"Look, that was what they wanted me to do," said Nagos. "I was the only person who knew how to read and write."

"You should have joined the battle anyway," said Sahshir. "War is the affair of men."

"Lay off him, Sahshir," said Narcissa. "He'd be cut to ribbons without any training."

"You're one to talk," noted Sahshir.

"I sort of cheated, okay," said Narcissa. "Amysta's presence in my spirit allows me to learn weaponry more quickly."

"Anyway, why are we talking about me?" asked Nagos, looking to the armored figure. "Who are you? Whose this Lord of Hatred we're going to visit?"

"I am the Withering King." said the man. "As for the Lord of Hatred, there is no Lord of Hatred now. His body lies entombed in this place, and I merely take the role of a... guardian of sorts."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Then why were you raiding the surrounding area?" asked Narcissa. "Why would you destroy that village?"

"They keep the domain alive." said the Withering King. "Hatred is more than an emotion; it also requires action to be real. To hate someone without doing anything to harm them is merely a dislike.

"Also, they kept sending adventurers to kill the demons in this place, and I got sit of them being on my doorstep."

"Just as love without action is mere infatuation," noted Nagos.

"Do not speak of such horrors." said the Withering King. "We were also ordered to. The coming of a new Lord of Hatred is nigh."

The Withering King came to a door and planted his sword. As he did, the doors swung open. "Lord Elcano awaits you."

"Elcano?" asked Nagos.

"Or Lucius as he is known to Harlenorians as I once was." said the Withering King.

"Oh right, him," said Nagos. "Um, isn't he the Withering King?"

"A common misconception." said the Withering. "All authority is mine. Lucius is merely my... benefactor. Enter."

They entered through the doors and found an immense fire at the hall's center. Six huge pillars stood with horrible symbols on them. At the far end of the hall was a sarcophagus with the image of a stone warrior.

And between the flame and sarcophagus, there was a table. A spectral figure that seemed to be a cloaked man but with nothing within. He turned to them and bowed. "Welcome, welcome, please. I am Lucius, and I've had some tea prepared. Or would you care for some wine instead?"

"We do not drink wine. Baltoth forbids it," said Sahshir, coming forward.

"Ah, yes, forgive me," said Lucius. "I had forgotten that custom. Unfortunately, my business does not usually bring me into the affairs of Calisha; still, there is tea if you would like." He turned to Narcissa. "And you, Narcissa, I believe. Zigildrazia was quite descriptive about you. You are every bit the beauty she remarked on."

"Thank you," said Narcissa, taken aback.

Lucius looked to Nagos. "And you are..."

"King Nagos, can I have some wine?" asked Nagos. "Serna never lets me drink any of it."

"Fair enough," said Lucius, pulling several chairs from the tables. "Now, why don't we sit down. We need to discuss a certain amount of business and only a little time to discuss it." He poured a cup of wine and offered it to Nagos, who drank it.

"What do you want?" asked Sahshir, not sitting down and giving Narcissa a look when she tried.

"Well, simply put, I am the Demonic Archon of Envy," said Lucius. "And I've been chosen to mediate the succession for the Lord of Hatred."

"Succession?" asked Narcissa. "There hasn't been a Lord of Hatred since the God War."

"Well, yes, but the domain still exists," said Lucius. "Garacel's brother, Akalmush, was the Lord of Hatred, slain by Elranor in single combat. Ordinarily, when a god kills another god, the winner absorbs the loser's power. They then pass it on to a mortal child later.

"But Elranor thought of hatred as wholly useless for his purposes. So he refuses to have his way with mortals. The only mortal he ever fell in love with he married and lived with till the day she died."

"That's sweet," said Narcissa.

Lucius looked annoyed at that. "And highly inconvenient. Because the power of hatred was effectively fully suppressed with no outlet. Elranor did hate some people, but he regards his hatred as a liability. To him, it is something that clouds his judgment. So he never actually used it. But with the whole cycle of revenge building up between Calisha and Harlenor. With everyone killing everyone else, it became a problem. The domain of hatred began to seep into Elranor's judgment.

"So he went to the tomb of the God of Hatred and pushed the domain back into his corpse." He motioned to the tomb behind them. "Over there."

"Then why are you here?" asked Nagos. "Shouldn't Elranor be telling us this?"

"Elranor is involved, but unfortunately, he is biased," said Lucius. "I've been chosen to mediate since I'm uninvolved."

"Mediate what?" asked Sahshir.

"The successor," said Lucius. "Hatred is a domain like any other and needs regulation. But, as things stand, it has been festering for centuries."

"Wouldn't the world be better without hatred?" asked Nagos.

Lucius laughed before suddenly stopping. "No, of course not. When all hope is lost, hatred drives you to keep going. When all you care for has been destroyed by your enemies, the desire to hurt them lets you survive."

"That's just revenge," said Nagos.

"What of the hatred of injustice, then?" asked Lucius. "One might see something desperately wrong in the world. Love would compel you to avoid confrontation. To soothe the pains of all involved while ignoring the source. But hatred, hatred would inspire you to strike at injustice. To destroy that which is wrong and raise up the right.

"Love is a beautiful thing, but it leads to complacency. You rest in love. You act in hatred."

"So what now?" asked Sahshir, not wanting anymore to do with this specter than necessary.

"Well, Sahshir, there is a dispute as to who should become the Lord of Hatred," said Lucius. "Elranor is planning to prop up Garacel for the job. Garacel hates Baltoth passionately, which would end to Elranor's benefit. He's not unqualified for the job and has a legitimate claim. But I was hoping we might make alternative arrangements.

"How would you feel about being Lord of Hatred, Sahshir?"

"Me?" asked Sahshir, not trusting the matter. "Why me?"

"Well, you have been driven by anger after all," said Lucius. "Anger is the thing that keeps one like yourself going. You are powerful, and you clearly despise Garacel with a passion.

"It is not perfect, but enough to stall him."

"Wait a minute, I thought Garacel was already a god," said Narcissa.

"Garacel is, at the moment, a god without a domain to speak of," said Lucius. "Much as a King may be the legitimate heir to a throne, but hold no authority."

"And why do you want to help me gain this power?" asked Sahshir, thinking all this too convenient.

"I'm interested in keeping Baltoth and Elranor fighting among one another," said Lucius. "I envision a great war that shall purge all my enemies. And I want that war to be as evenly matched as possible.

"The way things are going, Garacel will end up on Elranor's side. So, I need to keep him from getting any more powerful."

"What do you want me to do?" asked Sahshir.

Lucius motioned to the sarcophagus, and it slid open. "Take the Sword of Order and plunge it into the body of Akalmush. The blade will act as a channel from which the spirit of hatred will enter into you. You will become a god, albeit lesser, more than Garacel's equal.

"The rotting flesh which besets you shall be restored."

For the first time, Sahshir started listening. He was dying, and if this worked, he could be healed. The disease that had rotted his body because of Father's actions could be purified. He stepped forward, but then a hand caught his shoulder.

"Don't do it, Sahshir," said Nagos quickly. "This is too easy." He looked to Lucius. "What is the catch?"

"Well, the catch is that doing this will taint the Sword of Order," said Lucius. "It will become an artifact of hatred as much as Order. Yours to command rather than Baltoth's.

"But have you not earned it?

"You gave the Grail of Immortality to Baltoth, which was long lost and has received little reward. And if you were to become a god in such a way, you could aid him far better."

"Assuming it doesn't consume you," noted Narcissa. "Sahshir, I have such a being within me. You don't realize that its voice isn't yours."

"It is a risk," said Lucius. "But indeed, the reward is far too great to yield. The power of a god at your disposal, your disease healed, life eternal yours. Surely you could repay your debt to Baltoth tenfold through service to him. And if he isn't satisfied with that, what could he be happy with?

"I leave the choice to Baltoth."

Sahshir moved forward and looked into the tomb. There lay Akalmush in silent repose. Though his body radiated with the heart of hatred itself, his face was strangely peaceful. Raising the sword, he considered whether to do it.

Surely if he continued to serve Baltoth with all his heart and soul as the Lord of Hatred, it would only be to His benefit. But would it? To begin service by stealing a sword from his master would be a wrong way to start. But if he did not, he would be dead soon. Didn't Sahshir deserve the chance to prove himself worthy of the immortals?

But there were others like him. Beggars cursed with diseases that hadn't had any of the advantages Sahshir had been given. Many were far worse off and might make the same choice differently.

"It is written:" said Sahshir, "all things end as they begin. So I shall not begin with a betrayal of my god." And he sheathed his sword to walk away.

Lucius eyed him. "...I see. And what would you do instead?"

"This body will be taken from this place," said Sahshir. "I will not betray Lord Baltoth nor break my agreement with Alcaides."

Lucius sighed. "You disappoint me.

"Still, it is your decision, and I respect it. You may leave whenever you wish. Take the body. I shall make no move against you."

That was... unexpectedly easy. Too easy.