The exploding leaves thrusted Lucius off the cliffside. Splashing against the water beneath, Lucius swam ashore choking underneath his breathe. Claudia yelled 'fuck you' to him before returning to her tower.

Lucius flopped to his back on the sandy shoreline breathing heavy. "Yeah, I deserved that."

He wasn't trying to offend her. Lucius simply had a knack for extreme honesty. In way it allured a lot of people towards him, but like the drop of a hat, it could have an equal opposite effect. He enjoyed that aspect of the truth. Hostility kept him on his toes, and it allowed him to better learn how to navigate around people.

He pulled a golden medallion out of his pocket. He raised it in the air to place it in front of the rising sun. "Someday, you'll bring me the luck I so desperately need."

The medallion was a bad luck charm. A gypsy had given it to him after he was caught cheating at a dice game. The teenage girl was so impressed by his sleight of hand, she gifted him a 'devil coin' out of spite.

On one side of the coin, a soldier's head was imprinted. He had a phalanx helmet from a more ancient time, looking by the side with an important mission in mind. The other coin side had an owl staring back at him. An 'x' was struck across its body, signalling that the owl somehow wasn't meant to be seen.

"Give it to your enemies, and they shall fall." The gypsy girl's smile was bright, signalling the deep intrigue she had for Lucius.

"You're giving it to me, so does that make me your enemy?" She giggled, unwilling to give him an answer.

He missed her. They could've been good friends if she weren't hanged for witchcraft a day later. Elijah walked down the mountain side to reach Lucius. She bent above his head to look down at him laying on his back. "You're an idiot."

"Maybe, but at least I'm not a liar."

"She was your ally? A lover you tossed aside for my cousin?"

Lucius stood up and began shaking the water off his clothes. It took a few minutes for the hot sun to dry his leather wares. Lucius walked towards the trail for Elijah to follow. "Claudia and I grew up together. I brought her to my mum, and she eventually developed feelings for me. I never wanted her to care about me. It just... Happaned."

"How is it that you keep making people accidentally fall in love with you?"

"I don't know, shouldn't you be able to answer that? You fell in love with me too."

Elijah's cheeks flushed red. "I did not... Fall in love with you." Lucius let the silence hang in the air. She asked, "just what are you planning now? If Claudia was your secret weapon, how could you stop the Crusaders?"

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"She wasn't my secret weapon, I just wanted her to hang around. A girl like Claudia hates being left out. I figured she'd appreciate the challenge."

"Well if you didn't need her in the first place, just what are you planning?" Elijah pulled out a crystal from the satchel hanging off to her side. It glowed with a bright ember swirling at its inside. "This is the last crystal in Cyprus, and I am not giving you the only weapon I have to defend myself. Without aether crystals or Claudia's know-how, how could you possibly hope to protect us against invaders?"

"You don't know a thing about alkhemistry, do you?" Elijah shook her head. Lucius continued, "aether might be the study of atomos, the building blocks of the ethereal plane. But alkhemistry is the study of the natural, the physical make up of everything in existence. While your knowledge is limited to however many crystals you have access to, my knowledge is limitless. I can morph this entire island if I wanted to. Aether crystals aren't going to save the kingdom, alkhemistry will. And you, and everyone on this island, will get to see that."

Elijah only frowned. She never fully understood the sorcery that Lucius preached, she only know that it was more powerful than her own practices. Alkhemistry was heavily ostracized by the church, with purges being called to destroy such research. Aether studies were tied to nobility, and it was how someone like her could acquire the knowledge.

Elijah asked, "have you ever heard of the story of king Xerxes and his uncle Artaphernes"

"I know of the Persian invasion of Greece, not of Artaphernes."

"When Xerxes marched his soldiers onto Greek soil, his uncle Artaphernes warned him of the perils of marching such a large army onto a land that couldn't get supplies from the empire. He warned of the dangers of going in blindly, and that he would fail if he didn't properly prepare."

"I'm guessing he didn't succede?"

"No, he didn't. If he did, Greece would have lost. Xerxes became so intoxicated by success, that he ended up overestimating his own power. I worry the same will happen to you."

Elijah stopped in her place. A fork in the road lead to two paths, one towards a forest and another towards the palace. Lucius asked, "then what would you suggest I do?"

"I'd suggest you start doubting yourself. Lucius, no one can deny your talent. But the most powerful fall under the weight of pride, and right now, that looks to be the only obstacle that might kill you."

Lucius waved her hand at her, "my my, aren't you so considerate."

"Lucius, I might be a witch, but this is the Crusaders we're talking about. Do you really think they'd show mercy to Beatrice if she's captured?" Lucius didn't give her an answer. She turned away and headed in the other direction. "The whole kingdom is on your shoulders now, Lucius. If you fail, thousands of lives will end. As much as you hate the nobility, that's a weight we carry regularly. And now you carry it too."

Lucius let out a deep breathe. "Like I care."

When Elijah left from view, he walked deeper into the forest trail. His surroundings became darker as overhead tree lines blocked the rays within the forest. Day seemingly turned into night upon entering the periphery of a desolate barbarian camp.

Hideskins of dear and rabbits hanged across branches, and a mad women stirred her cauldron pot at the center over the fire place. She was completely covered in furs of hunted animals. Antler extruded outward from her loincloth hood.

She wore a lamb skull as a mask. Turning towards Lucius she said, "hello... Lucifer."

Lucius let out a deep breathe. "Hi mom."