A small village sits with fires burning every building around it. Amidst the flames, a young man stands staring at the burning structures around him. The cries of the burning and suffering enter his ears keeping him paused in the surrounding horror. Four shadows stand behind him as he stands stunned. Above the group in the sky, a floating fortress sits, its imposing shadow spread across the area, enveloping everything. One of the four steps forward reaching out for him and laughing happily.

“Our Queen awaits.” One says.

Inside of her throne room, Morgan sits waiting with a bored look on her face. Her loyal butler Sebastian stands at her side with a pleased grin on his face. She waits as her remaining four pieces enter the throne room, tossing their latest victim at her feet. The man covered in fresh bleeding wounds lies on the ground unmoving as Morgan stares down at him.

“Sit up.” She orders only for the man to remain motionless. “Sebastion, make sure he’s not dead.”

Sebastian nods. “Yes, Madam.”

He steps forward and puts his fingers on the man’s neck. “Well?”

“He is still alive. I believe he is unconscious because of blood loss.”

She turns to her Pieces. “I told you guys to not torture them too much. It’s so boring when they're unconscious. I need to hear them scream a little or I won’t feel satisfied.”

“It wasn’t my fault, Mistress!” Talia yells. “I tried to keep some of them alive, but it was just so easy to kill them!”

Lois steps forward. “I’ll heal his wounds for now. Luka, you can cut him up again later.”

“Yes! His blood will make an excellent condiment for the Great One!” Oscar says.

Luka laughs. “As long as I can cut them up more and more!”

Lois heals the man’s wounds as the light returns to his eyes. Sebastion reaches down and helps him up, forcing him to his feet as he stumbles forward.

“Kneel before our Mistress.” Sebastian orders.

The man falls to his knees as Morgan looks down at him with a wide grin on her face. “That’s better.”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Morgan Walsh. What have you done?”

“Which one are you? Oh, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that now you’re out of the game.”

“You killed everyone! My island, you destroyed my island!” He stands up and stares at Morgan with rage in his eyes. “There were innocent people. All they wanted was….”

He steps forward only for Sebastion to rush in and punch him in his stomach. He goes flying, crashing against the wall as the others watch on.

Sebastian looks down at his hand, noticing the hole in his glove from the force of the blow. “Please step away from our Mistress. We can’t have you getting any of your blood on her clothes.” Sebastion rips off his glove and replaces it with another from his pocket. He tosses the tattered glove and bows to Morgan. “Are you okay Mistress?”

“Fine. A brute such as that can only do so much. Always resorting to violence, someone like that could never be a king.” She snaps her fingers as the doors to her chamber fling open.

A swarm of armored knights rush in and grab the hands of the man, pinning him down. He struggles to look up and staring at Morgan as she stands.

“I’m sorry to say I’ve forgotten your name if I ever knew it.” She walks down the steps to her throne, approaching the man with a stern look in her eyes. “I love that look. That defiance.”

“You’ve gone mad. Once word reaches out to the others, they’ll gather and crush you. Someone like you should never be….”

Before he could speak, Lukas rushes in and slashes his throat. “I’m tired. Let’s feed him to the Great One already.”

“I agree. His taste should prove most delicious to our lord.”

“No, not yet.” Morgan smirks. “I have a great idea. Why don’t we take him and lock him away? He can watch and see the moment that I win, or he can be a delightful meal for when the Great One awakens.”

“Excellent idea Mistress,” Sebastian says.

“A grand idea,” Lois says.

“Perfect plan,” Talia says.

Oscar and Luka nod joining the praise alongside the watching armored knights. Everyone praises Morgan as she returns to her throne, and the man is dragged off.

“Now then, everyone, let us move to our next location.” She smiles, staring ahead.

“Sadly, Mistress, we’ll need to return to base to refuel the airship for now,” Sebastion says.

She sighs. “Fine. But I’d hate to lose this momentum. Oh, Lois, you and the others head out to the surrounding islands posing as survivors. Sadly, it’ll take a few days for us to refuel and return to this area. During that time, infiltrate the area and find some suitable sacrifices.”

“Of course, Mistress. We’ll work hard in your name until you return.”

“Excellent. Oh, something else, try locating the source of that Mana spike from last week. And take that thing with you. I’m sure it’ll prove useful.”

“Your wish is our command, Mistress.” They all yell out in unison.

Sebastion smiles and nods. “Now, let’s prepare to return.”

“Yes. But first, I believe it’s time for the Great One’s feeding. We can’t let him starve, right?”

“Yes, Mistress. Let us prepare the next meal, gather the next batch of sacrifices!” Sebastion orders.