“That’s a mighty big axe.”, she thought to herself, chasing in Diedrich’s shadow. The axe’s head alone was as large as the man’s torso, which meant that it had to dangle diagonally from his back to avoid the massive handle from touching the ground. Terrible thoughts crossed her mind, thoughts which she made sure to chase away as quickly as possible such as to avoid her cheeks reddening any further.

A young woman such as herself had urges she found difficult to repress. However, having spent so much of her life distant from anyone even close to her age, she had very few opportunities to satisfy such urges. Barely a month into her journey, the weight of possibility weighed heavily upon her. “Duty speaks louder.”, she told herself in moments of solitude. It was barely enough to hold back those uneasy feelings.

-How old are you, Diedrich?

-Twenty-three winters. You?

-Twenty-one.

An uncomfortable silence ensued. Diedrich broke it with surprising acumen: “Haven’t been around a lot of people our age, have you?”

“N-no… Not really. Just one, and not for as long as I’d like.” She replied bashfully, bravely admitting to something she considered a flaw. “Don’t worry, I’m sure this journey of ours won’t be short or simple. For good or for ill.” He chuckled, again displaying admirable insight of their current situation.

“What makes you say so?”, she said, brows furrowed. “We’re chasing after a phantom. A man about whose appearance little is known besides his race - a fact given away by his stature alone. He’s killed thousands with very little indication of pattern or motive. I’m sure chasing him down will not be easy.”

Freya turned her gaze downwards, reflecting on the young man’s words. She could easily admit to herself she had no idea how to actually find the man, given any usual methods would be pointless against a powerful mage such as him. A master of spirit-attuned magicks, he was able to easily cloak his aetherial traces - the usual means for dealing with a task such as this. All they had to go on were rumours and news of suspicious activity in the land. The very idea of seeing that man set loose upon the most heavily populated city on the mainland was frightening, to say the least.

“I assume you’ve been studying his work, yes?” asked the princess, attempting to assess her new companion’s level of knowledge on Morgen. “Aye. I assume he was behind the massacre in Lindblum and the disappearances of nobles in Madain Nym, yes?”, he said, looking at Freya, now walking by his side. “It is all but certain. If…”, she hesitated. The following information would be shocking, to be sure.

“If my personal knowledge of the man is anything to go on.” Diedrich immediately frowned at her and slowed his walking pace. “You… Know who he is?” She nodded. “I believe I do. At least if it’s the same man that attacked Lindblum.”

Diedrich stopped altogether, taken aback by the information. “It is obvious you’ve had more than just a passing sight of him, given your hesitance. What is the matter?” Freya stopped also, although slightly frustrated at the fact. She sighed as she struggled to find her next words - or rather, the strength to speak them.

-It was my duty to watch over his grave.

-Grave?

-Yes. He died, but his body remained intact. I was meant to guard his tomb in the event something happened. For instance - at least, as I was told - someone might seek to plunder his remains or perform some sort of ritual that would bring about something even more nefarious.

The young man held a distinctly pensive pose, one hand on his hip and the other combing through his hair. He strolled back and forth for a few seconds, trying to discern the fulcrum of this story. He broke his silence: “Doesn’t it strike you as odd that it would fall to you? By which I mean; there is no probable reason to exile an only-child princess, much less to perform such a… redundant act. Tell me, were there other ‘tomb keepers’ before you?”

She never thought to question herself about that specific point. Feeling more than a bit stupid and inadequate for that very fact, she frowned, looked downward and intertwined the fingers of both hands. “Not that I’m aware. And you’re right. It is rather odd.”

Diedrich ran his nails through his scalp as though to stimulate his brain. “I think we should meditate on this together further, although perhaps when our stamina is exhausted. Agreed?” Freya nodded in reply, and they resumed their path to Bruska. They had barely stumbled across any other soul on the road, which struck them as spectacularly unlikely, although not unexplainable. They resolved to put the thoughts away from their minds, given it would only flare further anxiety.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It wasn’t long before they reached Huxtalion Pass, using the ancient structure’s fortunately curved architecture as cover from the rain as they camped. The previous nights were not used for conversation, as they had been too tired for complex thoughts, but they’d chosen to stop early on this particular day due to rain and shelter conditions.

This allowed them enough brainpower to begin pondering their next steps.

-What is this man’s name?

-It cannot be spoken. I believe it breaks some law of causality or another. I know it in my mind’s eye, but it cannot be said or expressed in any form - written or otherwise.

-I understand. Is there some other monicker we might refer to him as?

-He asked me to call him Morgen, for whatever reason.

-So you two became friendly, somewhat?

-I guess you can say that. He… Lulled me into trusting him, at least while we travelled together.

-The most devious minds are often gifted with the ability for extraordinary deceit. Put your mind at ease, I doubt anyone could blame you for doing what you did.

-I hold myself responsible regardless. I enabled him in more ways than one.

-I understand, and won’t pry any further. However, I must ask - how young were you when you were posted at his tomb?

-… Five? Six? Something like that.

-… Wow.

-Wow. Sad story.

There was a third voice in the conversation. One that was raspy, abrasive and deranged. The princes looked behind them into the shadows, taking up defensive positions against whatever had snuck up on them.

It was an unsettling, boney, nepenthe-sized rabbit-like creature whose fur was darker than night. It was as if the space he stood in somehow ceased to exist in his presence. The uncanny feeling left the pair somewhat shaken, sensing the potential terrible threat this being might pose.

Its teeth seemed sharper than knives, and its emerald-green eyes darted back and forth between them. The toothy smile sent a shiver down Freya’s spine. “What? You guys look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Diedrich was the first to muster the courage to speak back. “A ghost would be a welcome apparition, compared to one such as yourself. Who are you?” The concept posed made the creature laugh out loud - a laugh so unhinged it somehow managed to make the humans before him even more concerned. The constant shifts in pitch made his voice a maddening sound all by itself.

“Why, I’m a friend, little boy! Here to watch oooooover you, make sure my sweet little princes don’t get hurt while getting where they needs to go. Get it?” Freya sensed no hint of falsehood in his voice, but the disturbing noises he made while speaking made her doubt herself.

Diedrich dared not draw his weapon on the being, for he knew it would likely be a pointless effort. Instead, he attempted to parlay. "We're doing fine, I thank thee. If you have nothing more to offer, you may take your leave at will, sir." The creature scoffed at this, leaning forward. "Ooooh, what, am I not welcome amongst you youngsters anymore! HA! WHAT A PITY! Guess they'll have to do without more information on the shortstack." The creature said, turning around. Freya quickly replied: "Wait! You mean Morgen?"

The creature cackled manically. "Is that what he goes by these days? Nice play on words, I guess. But yeah, him." Freya stepped forward, a hand in her chest. Diedrich flinched, hoping to stop her, but stopped short of any meaningful motion. "Please! If you know anything that might aid us, I pray, we'd be glad to hear of it!"

The creature's position shifted in an instant, surrounded in a green crackling energy that gave away his proficiency for Foundation magic - the aspect of chaos. The creature hovered in the air, his face just a palm's distance away from the young princesses. His long fingers orbited her face, and it took all of her considerable willpower just to keep from flinching aback. "Oh, sweet princess, you needn't be so poliiiiite about it. I'll tell you plenty and more."

He takes no residence, for his home was destroyed. While you could argue by his own hand, the presence of outside wills is undeniable. His only remaining place of belonging is the tower of Spirit, to which he is guardian and confidant. He has visited it but once since the end of his Exile, and only to harvest that which he needed to move forward with a most nefarious plan.

He visits realm by realm, and when he leaves, he takes with him the essence of entropy harvested from the bodies of his victims. A most wicked fate for those he's vanquished, in both instances.

You were right. His next target is Bruska, but he has already started, and hundreds are dead. With the size of that city, however, I doubt it'll stay at such a low number. Hundreds of thousands will feed his fate. I can guarantee it.

"You speak as if we are unable to stop him." Diedrich replied, confronting the entity. "Oh, my dear prince, but you are! And even if you were to somehow get those big strong hands of yours around his neck, his objective would not fail to be accomplished. Entropy is coming and there's not a thing you can do to stop it!" The creature's laugh became even more deranged, as did his voice as he spoke.

"And you still have yet to tell us who you are, or how you know this." Freya confronted it, growing bolder. "I'm the boatman. The psychopomp. The agent of mayhem. Call me what you will, but in this side of Gaia I'm known as Charon. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Now, I must take my leave."

The frenzied creature snapped its fingers and an adorned stone pillar sprouted from the ground beneath him. He posed himself menacingly on top of it, and his frantic laugh could be heard long after that monument sank with him into the depths of the earth.