All my time that wasn’t spent talking with Lappe and wandering around Bailey was spent training and hanging out with Theodoric and his- well I guess now my friends as well. This was how another three or four months in the city passed without me really even realising it, the group I was spending my time with slowly increased over that time as well, going from the ten including myself and Theodoric to about fourteen then jumped up to forty or so total a month or so ago and just recently another six people.

All the people who joined were ex-friends of Theo, but I guess had to stop once he’d been exiled so they were all learning about his little class and coming to join us. Though I got the feeling that they didn’t just hear about it, but instead he’d been getting in contact with them- this much at least wasn’t too hard to guess considering every couple of meet ups his fȳr attendant brought someone new with her almost acting as though she’d happened upon them in the street.

Inadvertently the place we practised? Learned? Hung out? Was slowly transformed as well with the others all chipping in to build something of a secret base hidden in the walls of the city for the group. It just made me think of the way kids love making pillow and/or blanket forts if I’m honest, though the actual building they made was carved into the stone with a whole interior set up like a big bar that resembled Laeticia’s without all the extra furnishings as all the furniture was just carved from the stone and stationary.

I got to see the man himself who set this all up grow as well, or maybe not grow but show who he really was beyond that figure who saved us from an attack and wanted to be friends.

He was an interesting man outside of his herculean appearance and disfigurement.

He was often soft and kind, sharing an intimate passion for sharing his time with everyone who showed up to his gatherings making sure to offer his hand and mind where he could as needed, it was honestly impressive seeing how well he managed it.

If I was still teaching I would have loved to have him in my class helping out-

But I’m not one anymore so that doesn’t really matter…

Anyhow Theo was much smarter than I would have given him credit for when we first met, showing his eye for strategy and such with how he actually shared his fighting style with everyone who all seemed to gather around the idea of learning it from him without much thought.

Actually now that I think about it, the whole thing reminded me of those old Chinese martial arts movies that we used to get bad dubs of, where schools of different styles fight one another or whatever.

I’m getting distracted though.

For the moment I was sitting in the guest residence talking with Tiamat, she’d contacted me out of the blue and began questioning me.

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“Child of Mine,” She started, voice rumbling into my mind as I ate dinner.

Said dinner was a mound of barbequed venison and vegetable soup.

“Uh… Yes?” I answered out loud wondering why the primordial Hydra wanted.

“Guivre…” Tiamat’s voice trailed off in my head. “What do you know of her?” she asked after a long pause.

Not a lot, we met when I was leaving my tribe briefly, she had recently given birth to her hatchlings.

I replied shifting the conversation to my thoughts not really wanting to have someone over hear me talking to myself out loud.

‘Hm so you are unknown to the fact she has begun war in your people's land?’ The Hydra’s voice caused me to stop eating for a moment.

I’d heard she was leading my tribe from someone recently, but war? I questioned back.

‘Yes, indeed. Lahmu has seen this personally, the defeat of Bahl’umar and Oxolautl has left my failure the Master of those Saurians remaining.’

…

I let her words stew in my mind for a while before I responded.

I hoped my siblings were safe and that Siduri was as well, but I guess most importantly I wanted to know-

Why?

Right as Tiamat was responding there was a sudden CRASH and thundering noise of people running about followed by shouting distracting me from our connection-

“Lord Marduk!” The red-green skinned goblin attendant of mine burst through the door with worry clear on her face as she called my name in fright.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I stood from the table I’d been eating at.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“It’s Rebels! They’ve broken into the palace and are hunting down those loyal to My Master- ” She was cut off a moment later when three Æsc guardsmen burst into the room.

They were led by Damion, one of Theodoric’s friends.

I watched with intense horror as they wordlessly speared the small goblin woman through the back with swords and decapitated her-

Jasmine’s head sent into the air and bounced on the wooden flooring with a splatter of blood trailing behind it as it rolled a few feet to a stop.

Her dead eyes looked up into mine, a pained expression imprinted on her face, a face I’d once called cute.

My lingering eyes drew themselves from her to the men in front of me.

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Damion and his men brought me before the King’s Throne, I’d not seen it when visiting Caturix before, but I could tell just by looking at the ornamental jewels and colourful wood that it was a seat for royalty.

Atop the throwe sat the peaceful expression of Caturix’s head, bereft of its body it passively stared out at all in the hall. Twenty or so of Theodoric’s men crowded the space with the bodies of those clan leaders I’d met on my first day as well as their Æsc guards bloodied and murdered at their feet.

Amongst it all the man himself, herculean in appearance stood with a grim expression staring at the body of a particular woman, she was one of the only dead who had no visible wounds. Perhaps in that moment I understood she was his mother, or maybe someone he once loved and couldn’t bear to see hurt, when he turned from their corpse to the rest of the room the man's attention was taken by what filled his vision.

“My father,” he started as he stood next to the throne. “Was not a wise man, but he was a strong man. When he banished me some twenty-eight years ago for the reason alone that I was borne Æsc and not Ætheling, the fires of disparity simmered beneath him- you all here and those of the city I know- refused to stand idly by while the first born prince was cast out four lacking the purity of the Elves.” He sneered the word in disgust.

“He slew, and had killed many of whom would speak against the injustice dealt to me- I fear many more slain for lesser such reasons. But! He is no more; we are free to rule as one people and not let those of the Elves stand above as though they are superior to us.”

His shoulders slumped as he breathed a sigh.

“I must apologise however, to Marduk of Ahkula, you are not involved in our politics in any manner, but we have dragged you into as much without care. For that I am deeply aggrieved-” The branded man lowered his head while addressing me.

I couldn’t get the image of Jasmine being beheaded from my mind as I watched his display, everything he did, everything he’d said- our past few months of friendship ruined in seconds. Any compassion I felt left me and I just wanted to leave again, that feeling of dissonance welling up inside and telling me to go.

This was the second Coup I was privy to and just as with the last one, whatever good might come of it, I wanted nothing to do with it.

Didn’t Tiamat say that the death curse was gone?! That I was free from it?!

I screamed into my mind as I stared at the dead, feeling nothing, pure emptiness as though the bloodied bodies were normal.

Everywhere I go death follows.

I’m Cursed.

By morning the city was in uproar, I’d taken myself to Azra’s clinic and stayed there until Lappe was awake telling him about what happened.

The roar that the city held was one of pain at the loss of their king, and one of cheer at the return of the thought dead branded Prince.

As though hostile takeovers were ever the end of the conflict, it wasn’t much longer after my friend woke that news reached the clinic that those still loyal to the slain were fighting Theodoric's people, sending the whole city into a war of sides.

Just wanting to be as far from the conflict as possible I talked with Lappe about leaving for Chrysanthe or Maláka, he was healed enough now that the Azra had said he could travel without too much issue now so in a way it was perfect timing.

I knew of course that the rage of the city was contained to its borders, but that didn’t mean I wanted to stick around anyway. Lakar would just keep reminding me of what I’d seen and I didn’t want that. I just wanted to move on and get back to trying to find Alex on my own.

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Lappe and I escaped Bailey about a week after the Coup.

As it turned out the city’s conflict wasn’t just limited to its cavern but had caused something of a problem in all the other Áes Sídhe mound cities drawing eyes and arms from all over to war.

The whole thing was like watching a train crash.

With the world seemingly falling apart around us we made for the Almond Plains hoping the warmer climate and lack of Áes Sídhe would be clear of this growing conflict and warring people.