Grace winced as she hit the floor. The guard's fist had slammed into her side, and regardless of the chain glove he wore, something had cracked upon impact.

"You're a worthless Grumbderd!" her attacker shouted and then spat on her.

She could hear the chuckling of the other guard off behind that one.

"Curse you and curse Grimdon!" Grace exclaimed. "I'll curse you and him for what you but--"

A foot to her ribs cut off her curse. Grace wanted to scream, unable to from the lack of air in her lungs.

"This doesn't seem fair."

Her head swam from the pain and lack of air, but the voice was not one she recognized.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the two guards asked, both spinning and looking at the old man slowly walking from a corner of the room. "This isn't any of your business."

The old man chuckled, moving slowly toward the two guards, watching them as they put their hands on top of the pommel of their swords. "What if I make this my business? After all, I can't ignore a cry of a young girl. Especially one brave enough to curse Grimdon before two of his lackeys."

Grace heard a step as the man who had kicked her turned, and the distinct sound of a sword being drawn from a scabbard rang out in the burnt-out room. "I'll cut you down!"

A vibration from the floors echoed through her body as the guard ran toward the old man, and a sound of steel-piercing flesh was heard.

Craning her neck, ignoring the pain, Grace saw the bald-headed old man looking at the sword in the middle of his chest.

He was smiling. Every tooth the man had was visible as his lips pulled apart.

"You know the problem with being immortal? This won't do a thing."

Faster than Grace could believe the man had reached out, grabbing the guard who was still holding the sword by his head and snapped it clean around.

The other guard started to move, but Grace saw the old man vanish and heard a cracking of bones and the sound of the second guard's body hitting the charred floors, their chainmail clinking as they hit.

Slowly, the man moved toward her and stood in her vision. He smiled and looked at her with anticipation in his eyes.

"How would you like to be immortal?" he asked, that smile of his never leaving his lips.

“Immortality is a myth!” Grace exclaimed into the soot, spitting blood and saliva as she screamed. “Don't try to convince me otherwise!”

Laughter filled the burnt building she was in as the bald, old man pulled the sword from his chest. Blood seeped out of the man’s wound only while the blade was being drawn.

At his feet were two of Grimdon’s thugs. They had attacked him after he suddenly appeared.

His fancy dark clothes seemed to absorb the blood like a sponge, holding it in before it seemingly disappeared as the guards dropped to the burnt wooden floor.

It had happened so fast that she couldn’t see what the older man had done.

They turned to him, telling him to leave, but the man had said something, and they attacked.

Her ears still rang from the blow she had taken across her head. Wincing, Grace saw the small burlap sack with a few pieces of bread she had stolen. Levi hadn’t eaten in over two days, and she didn’t care about the penalty for stealing. Her little brother had to eat.

“Look at me!”

Grace felt her eyes drawn back to the man. His dark eyes held her gaze, not letting her turn away no matter how much she wanted. Wrinkles appeared as the man smiled, each of his teeth a dazzling white and somehow more perfect than any smile she had ever seen.

“I’ll ask you again: do you want to live forever? Do you want to get revenge on the ones who have made you suffer?”

His voice was so overwhelming. It beckoned her to say yes. Like the smell of fresh bread or cooking meat, her mouth watered, wanting her to acknowledge that she did. The fear of what that meant, though, kept her jaw sealed shut.

The burnt building she had hidden in before those two church enforcers found her was evidence of that hatred for such an idea. Six months ago, a war swept their city, and the armies of Grimdon looked for something that would make their king immortal. In the process, over two-thirds of their city had died.

“Stop that,” the man said as he moved toward her across the burnt wooden planks. Even with her head hurting and her vision and hearing messed up, Grace realized he made no sound as he moved. His black jacket no longer had a blood stain, and the fabric of his shirt was solid as if the sword, had just pierced him - she knew this, for a fact, was a fantasy.

“I do not have much time, but your words before I came caught my attention. Were you serious about what you said to those two thugs?”

The older man pointed at the corpses. Grace saw the red lion emblem on the shoulder pieces of their armor and then realized both men were lying on their chests, yet their faces were looking up at the ceiling.

Words… what words did I say?

Her mind tried to work, thinking about what she had said.

A whimper caught her attention, and she turned away, looking at her dog Lilly, breathing rapidly and barely moving. She wanted to reach out and touch her dog, who had tried to defend her against those men. Yet her side ached, multiple ribs broken, and her right arm barely worked as it was. Her leg felt heavy, and she believed they had fractured it.

“Will you really worship Balethem and curse Grimdon?”

Her head whipped back to face the man, bending down just a foot from her. His breath felt hot as he spoke, and she could smell something coming off him.

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“I… wha… why do you care?” she said with a grunt, almost falling over from the rapid movement of her head.

“I’m intrigued,” he replied, smiling as he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. “If you are serious about that, perhaps I can help you claim what you need to protect yourself and your brother.”

Her eyes blinked a few times before going wide.

“How… how do you know about my brother?”

“Levi? He’s a good boy. It’s sad to see him so hungry. It’s a pity your parents are gone and can’t help you care for him… but if you strike a bargain with me, you can protect him and bring revenge on the man who did this to your home.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled something out, which he held in his clenched fist a few inches from Grace’s face, and he slowly turned it over, opening his fingers.

A black gem pulsed in his hand.

Power could be felt coming from it. Grace couldn’t take her eyes off it as it called to her. She started to reach out and touch it, to hold it.

Something in her mind stopped her, a nagging feeling, and her hand froze, inches away.

Waves of some force washed over her fingertips and across her hand. It felt like a gentle, warm breeze. It reminded her of a rare trip to the beach her parents had taken her on years ago. Closing her eyes, she could hear the sound of the ocean, smell the salt water, and hear her parents laughing.

“Yes,” the man whispered. “You can have all that again. Just agree to the bargain and be what you need to become if you want to protect your brother and dog.”

It took every ounce of willpower to lower her hand and look into the man’s black eyes.

“What… what do I need to do?”

He snorted and smiled, his lips widening so much that every tooth he had was visible. “That is simple. You will curse Grimdon. You will curse his name, the church he founded, and all those who follow him. You will then pledge to serve only Balethem. To be an emissary of the God who will grant you what everyone else wants. Immortality.”

His words sounded so sweet. Like a cold fruit drink on a hot day. Every word seemed to make her draw nearer to him.

“That’s it? Nothing else?” Grace asked, her eyebrow lowering some until she winced, knowing she would have a black eye from where those men had hit her.

The man stood up, laughing, and shook his head from side to side.

“Oh, there will be some quests you will need to follow. You need to prove to Balethem that you are committed to him. As you do, you will grow stronger, far stronger than anyone here. Strong and fast enough to do what I did to these poor fools,” the man said, motioning to the dead bodies near them. “But you must choose quickly, for three more of them will arrive in a moment. When they do, if you have said no, you will most likely die, but not before they torture you. I doubt they will take kindly to see their friends dead at your hands… after that, they will probably hunt your brother…”

His voice trailed off as he stepped back toward the shadows in the corner of the room. “Decide quickly, for I must leave this place.”

Grace looked at the bodies of the men, heard the sound of Lilly still whimpering, and grimaced at the pain that flooded every part of her being. The man was right… the guards would do horrible things to her when they found her… Levi would suffer for something he had no part in. Her choice was easy.

“I’ll do it,” Grace said, forcing herself to both knees and trying to keep her stomach from emptying as the pain in her leg shot up through her body. “I curse Grimdon for all of my life. I curse him for this blasted war he brought upon my family and his lack of concern for me. I curse him for never answering a prayer and forsaking my family.”

As she spoke, the man drew back closer to her, his body growing larger and a shadow coming out of him.

“Yes! Yes! Make your pledge!” The man spoke excitedly, his eyes wide and teeth appearing sharper.

Swallowing the doubt she had, Grace continued. “I swear to Balethem on my life to serve him and him alone if he grants me the power to protect my brother and dog against those who would harm us.”

The man cackled, rubbing his hands together. “Almost there… just say these last things, ‘I swear to crush the church of Grimdon beneath my heel. To wipe out every member of the order and make them pay as I am commanded by my God.’ Say those words, and all will be complete!”

Sounds of shouting echoed from the street outside the house.

More guards… shite…

“I swear to crush the church of Grimdon beneath my heel. To wipe out every member of the order and make them pay as I am commanded by my God.”

The moment the last words were spoken, the man’s hand was like lightning, grabbing her palm and slicing it open with a finger on his other hand.

Pain flooded her as it burned differently than a usual cut, and half a breath later, the black stone was placed where he had cut her.

Something inside her shattered.

A force of some kind rushed through her body, racing up her arm, chest, and to each appendage.

Whatever had been hurting and broken a moment ago was gone within a second, and strength as she had never imagined possible flowed through her arms and legs.

Not hesitating, she bound to her feet, amazed that every part of her worked without issue. The twisted ankle that had held her back from getting away was gone.

Touching her neck, the scar she had felt so many times when they had put a rope around her and dragged her around a few months ago was no longer there.

“The time has come. See what you have been missing!”

Her vision blurred a moment, and a red screen appeared that was partially translucent.

Words began to appear on them.

*****

Grace Akem

Age: 16

Female

Initiate of Balethem

—

Physical: 7

Mental: 4

Spiritual: 5

—

*

**

***

One quest pending

—

Prove Your Words: You must kill the three guards of the order of Grimdon that are coming for you.

Reward: Ability Gained

Failure: Death

*****

“What… what is this?” Grace asked, reaching out with her hand and watching it pass through the image she saw.

The man started to laugh, his shape changing before her eyes. He was no longer old, and his hair had regrown to a dark black, making shadows look bright. His body had filled out, grown at least a foot, and he stood there, arms crossed, and smiled at her.

“You are part of the system now, allowing you to grow strong enough to live forever. All it takes is obeying the quests you are given. Complete them and be rewarded. Ignore them or fail and…” The man gave a slight shrug before running his thumb across his neck. “I would suggest you don’t fail.”

Shouts came again, this time only much closer.

“I suggest you win,” the young man said, pointing to the sword. “If you succeed in completing this first quest, your precious Lilly will be healed as a reward.”

As he spoke, the man moved back into the shadow of the burnt building, fading away till he was almost gone.

“Grab the sword now!” he said before giving a slight wink. After he winked, he held up his hands and cupped them to his mouth. “She’s in here! Help! Help!”

The sounds of boots running toward her snapped Grace from the moment of confusion as she heard laughter from the corner of the room.

Dashing to the sword on the ground, she snatched it up, somehow feeling a slight knowledge of how to use it.

Spinning toward the door, she turned in time to see three guardsmen in full armor except for a chain helm rushing in, all with their swords drawn.

“Kill her!” shouted the second one in.

“Balethem, help me,” Grace muttered as she lifted her sword.