The Mark of the Saint flared as brightly as the noonday sun, sending Alex stumbling back, shielding his eyes.

“What's happening?” he cried. “Merzhin, what’s happening?”

All around the startled archwizard, came cries of alarm.

Watchers of Roal and their fellow guards scrambled to the top of the Castle wall. From the courtyard below, people were calling to each other.

Yet, Merzhin—the Saint of Thameland—was silent.

“Merzhin!” Alex screamed. “Merzhin, are you alright?”

There was no reply, but the light grew brighter. What was it? Was it a trap? A Ravener attack?

Alex’s heart was pounding.

How much did they actually know about the Marks? They had Uldar’s notes, but they were only partially translated. They had his journal, but his memory had been declining; he might easily have forgotten something important.

Clenching his teeth, Alex moved toward the light, reaching toward Merzhin. If he could just find the Saint, he could teleport him to safety. Maybe he could bring him to a healer, if he needed one.

Maybe he could…do something…anything!

But, he couldn’t see the small Hero’s form: the only thing he could make out was the golden glow of Uldar’s hand. And that’s what Alex reached for.

“I’ll help you, Merzhin!” the archwizard cried. “Don’t worry, I’m going to—”

Alex’s hand brushed the Mark of the Saint.

Suddenly, a massive pain burned across his right shoulder, as though a metal rod had been pressed against his flesh. The Mark of the General began to blaze, though not as blindingly as Merzhin’s symbol.

Light emanating from the Mark of the General began pulsing, throbbing rhythmically, like a beating heart. The Mark of the Saint pulsed in time.

Alex felt a connection forming between the two Marks.

A stream of energy opened, flowing through the Mark of the General—like a gateway—streaming to the Mark of the Saint. For a moment, the Saint’s golden glow dimmed.

Then, abruptly ruptured, completely vanishing in a blink, replaced by a white brilliance that dazzled the eye. The radiance reminded Alex of the light that filled Uldar’s sanctum and—before his eyes—the golden hue of the Saint’s Mark mottled, flecking away like bits of rust bleeding from iron.

The Mark now blazed white like sunlight striking fresh snow.

A breath later, Merzhin’s holy symbol erupted in song: singing the same hymn as when a Hero was found. Bright light dimmed, revealing Merzhin’s face. Alex could see him clearly, his mouth was open in shock, eyes were wide and his skin was ghostly pale.

“I feel…I feel much different!” he cried. “It’s…incredible!”

“What’s happening?” Alex shouted.

But any reply Merzhin might have made was stopped by a familiar voice. A voice that sent waves of revulsion down Alex’s spine.

“You have done well,” Uldar’s voice whispered in his ear.

From Merzhin’s expression, Alex knew he’d heard it too.

“Is that him?” the General demanded. “Can he be back?”

“No!” Merzhin shouted. “It feels the same as his recording! There’s nothing behind it!

“You have earned my full approval,” Uldar said. “A new technique to enhance the Saint. Something from another discipline growing what you already possess. That is my way. With my second-in-command, the General, granting you his approval, I empower you fully. Go. Destroy the Ravener. Bring my will unto the land.”

With that, the light faded.

Alex blinked, the afterimage of the Uldar’s hand still in his vision. “By the Traveller!” he cried. “What in all hells just happened?”

Merzhin stood in front of him, looking shocked, but no worse for wear.

“I don’t know, but it felt a lot like when I first got Marked…but less painful,” Merzhin said.

The Saint grabbed his robe, hiking it up, revealing both his trousers and bare torso. He was unsurprisingly lean…but what was surprising was the Mark of the Saint in the centre of his stomach.

It now glowed white.

“Well…I didn’t see that coming,” Alex muttered.

“Me neither…who could?” Merzhin agreed. “My soul-gate… It feels stronger now and bigger. It’s like my connection to Uldar’s divinity has become more powerful.”

“It’s like you were Marked all over again,” Alex whispered. “Oh…oh that bastard.”

“Who?” Merzhin dropped the hem of his robe, looking up in alarm.

“It’s—”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Suddenly, Watchers converged on them from all directions, some came bounding up the stairs, others flew from the sky, while others rushed toward them from different parts of the Castle wall.

“Has something happened?” a Watcher shouted. “We saw a blinding bright light up here suddenly! Were we attacked?”

Alex and Merzhin exchanged a glance. “No. No we weren’t. Everything's fine. It was just…well, we’ll be right back.”

The young archwizard touched the Saint’s shoulder.

They disappeared.

----------------------------------------

Alex and Merzhin reappeared far from the Castle, materialising in the woods on the outskirts of Greymoor.

“Gah!” the Saint cried. “I’ll never get used to that.” He touched his stomach. “What in the…I can’t believe this.”

Alex leaned against a tree, his mind racing. “I can’t believe it either.”

“I—” Merzhin shook himself. “I don’t understand. Who’s a bastard and…” The full shock of the situation seemed to crash down on him all at once. “What in…what happened to me?”

“I…I think,” Alex said. “I think we uncovered some long-forgotten function of the Mark.”

“What long-forgotten function?” Merzhin demanded. “Why is there a long forgotten function?”

“That’s where the ‘bastard’ comes in.” Alex whispered. “Merzhin…Uldar had the Marks pick people that would best suit their role, right?”

“Right…” Merzhin said. “We were to exemplify his strengths. But there was nothing about a forgotten function in his journal! Nothing!”

“I think there was, even if he didn't explicitly say it,” Alex said. “Like you said, each of us were supposed to exemplify Uldar’s different strengths. But how did he come to power? What did he do when he first realised he was strong?”

“He…took his people and went exploring the world, learning different things,” Merzhin said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“He was learning, Merzhin! That’s how he grew powerful! Listen, I've had this theory that the point of the General is to teach each Hero how to maximise their own potential,” Alex pushed. “My powers are supposed to encourage creative thinking: that's the way the power guides me. Then, I’m supposed to pass on that creative thinking to the other Heroes, to get them to learn like Uldar did.”

“I still don't understand,” Merzhin said.

“Think about it this way: let's say I’m the General,” Alex pushed on.

“But you are the General.”

“I…yes, Merzhin. Yes I am,” the young archwizard said, his voice strained. “Okay, forget me, let's say there's a differentGeneral. One who exists in the ancient past: they’ve got to teach the other Heroes to gain knowledge that’ll make their Marks stronger. But what if they don't want to do that? What if they don’t want to learn anything new?”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Why do we worship Uldar?” Alex asked. “Out of fear of the Ravener, but also because he's supposed to be a deity that cares about us and rewards us. When Uldar changed the Mark of the General to the Mark of the Fool, he put in a limit that punishes Fools for going against what his intent was. He wouldn’t be above designing the Marks to make sure the Heroes acted the way he wanted them to act.”

“Look,” Alex spread his hands like he was showing Merzhin something. “What if…his whole thing about the General unlocking the other Marks’ full potential was literal: he did say that the Heroes got weaker when the General was gone. What if there was more to it than what he said?”

“I still don't follow.”

“Okay. Uldar makes the Heroes in his own image so that they represent his traits.”

“Yes, that's right.”

“And what were the traits he most valued, besides power? Knowledge and learning, right? He uprooted all of his people so he could learn. Like I said, that’s how he got so powerful.”

“And his church set up schools so his people could be taught,” Merzhin reasoned. “So that they could learn, just as he did. He commanded his people to go to those schools, and commanded his priests to teach in them.”

“Exactly! And why wouldn’t he expect the same from his Heroes?” Alex cried. “So what happens if a General tries to teach the other Heroes and they all go: ‘No thanks, I'm not interested in learning anything else.’ What's the General supposed to do, fight them?”

“No…that would make the Heroes fall into in-fighting. But, the Heroes would need some punishment if they refused to learn, as Uldar intended…but wait no. If the Marks were used to punish their bearers, that would risk Heroes rebelling or fleeing.” Merzhin’s eyes were growing wider. “Just as Fools fled Thameland when they were Marked. Just like you did! Er, no offence.”

“None taken,” Alex said. “So then, if the Marks weren't punishing the Heroes for not learning from the General. …then wouldn’t it make sense that they would reward their bearers if they did listen?”

“It does…so this is a reward?” Merzhin asked, pressing his hand to his midriff. “But why are there no recor—Right…there's been no General in thousands of years.”

“Until me. And just now, I think we just inadvertently created a situation where your Mark rewards you,” Alex said. “I've been teaching Drestra and Cedric how to cast spells using body language…neither of them have gotten it yet. Not yet. But you…I taught you a meditation technique that you used to calm your soul: you got it right away.”

“And calming my soul would put less strain on it when I channel divinity.” Merzhin marvelled, lifting his robe again. “I listened to the General, learned the skill, incorporated it…and therefore, my Mark rewarded me.”

“For behaving the way Uldar wanted you to…” Alex muttered.

“That…doesn’t make me feel better,” Merzhin said. “There was a time when I would have been overjoyed at acting the way he wanted me to. But, I gain no joy from that now.”

“I get that,” Alex said. “But this is a new chance. Depending on what this reward is, we can use Uldar’s own will against him to destroy everything he's built to harm us.”

“Yes…” Merzhin murmured. “That. That thought calms me. But what about you? You would have a reward as well, would you not?”

Alex shook his head. “My whole power is designed to let me learn. I've been doing that this whole time: and haven’t gotten a reward.”

“But you have not enacted Uldar’s will yet.”

The archwizard frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said: you have not finished enacting his will,” Merzhin said. “The people of Thameland were instructed to learn, and go to the schools. But a school without a teacher, has no purpose, and—as we said earlier—the priesthood’s command was to teach.”

The Saint pointed at Alex’s shoulder. “If we are rewarded for learning…”

“…then, maybe I'd be rewarded for teaching!” Alex cried. “Perhaps, if I empower all of your Marks? Maybe I'll gain something too.”

“It's possible,” Merzhin said. “As you said: Uldar’s memory was starting to slip. We cannot expect him to have mentioned everything in detail.” He smiled then.

Tears filled his eyes, running down his face.

“Whoa!” Alex cried. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” the Saint sniffled. He looked many years younger than he really was. “I'm just pleased…that I was useful. I helped discover this. Perhaps being helpful like this was the reason I was born.”

Alex shook his head. “I don't know the reason why any of us is born, but I do know we get to decide what that reason is. I'd forgotten that for a while when I had the Mark of the Fool, but, it’s true, we get to set the path ahead of us. We’re the ones who get to tell ourselves why we’re here. We get to say what our role is.”

“Perhaps…” the Saint said. “Perhaps I will decide for myself in the future. But for now? I am happy I did this. I do not know if this will make up for what I have done, if this will be my penance, but at least it's a beginning.”

His smile was broad. “Come, we must tell the others our news!”

“And unlock more power, just like you did,” Alex added. “You said the flow of divinity is greater and your soul-gate is stronger: we should explore that.”

“Yes…” Merzhin said. “I would like to test my limits. Actually, could you do me a favour?”

“Anything,” Alex said.

The Saint’s eyes shone, bright and clear. “Could you contact Birger for me?”