One of the guards from Lord Koravin’s retinue was assigned to guard Feldrast Manor. He had graying hair that stopped just before his shoulders, and an old, faded scar marked his cheek.
I sat on the top step of the foyer, staring at the new guard. My chin rested on my hand as I racked my brain trying to remember where I had seen him before. I slapped my fist against the palm of my hand as I suddenly remembered.
This man had appeared in the last cinematic of the players’ first journey through the Northern Realms. The last time I had seen the man’s face, he had interposed himself between Lord Riomed Koravin and the wrathful Count Thale Feldrast.
The players had just escaped from Sableton and fled into the Barren Wastes when Count Thale Feldrast appeared at Lord Koravin’s front door. In my memory, the man standing guard by the door charged at a young man with pale skin and glowing red eyes. The Count muttered an incantation, waved his staff, and the knight was blown aside by a monumental gust of wind.
Lord Riomed Koravin raised his magic sword to strike at Count Thale Feldrast. The sword in Riomed’s hand began to glow a vicious red, and he dropped it to the ground. The heat of the sword caused the wooden floor below to catch fire.
“I’m sorry, old friend,” Count Thale Feldrast muttered quietly, “but I must punish traitors.”
Hellfire sprang from Count Thale Feldrast’s hand, and Lord Riomed Koravin was reduced to a scorched husk.
As Koravin Manor burned behind him, the Count stared maliciously at the snow-covered fields surrounding Sableton. He would kill the adventurers for forcing him to execute one of the few people he had ever liked, even if it was the last thing he ever did. Their deaths would not be as merciful as the one he had given the Lord of Sableton.
My vision of a potential future ended. I was painfully aware that, if I did nothing to resist my fate, that was what I would become. It was time for me to grab the reins of fate and yank my path in a different direction. Deciding to put my plan into action, I descended the stairs and walked toward the guard standing watch.
I pulled on his pant leg and, once I had caught his attention, I asked, “Hey, mister. What’s your name?”
The gruff older man tried to soften his features unsuccessfully when he said, “I’m Sir Josiah, my Lord.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir Josiah. I’m Thale,” I said, reaching out my hand with a smile.
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Josiah shook my hand and said, “Very nice to meet you. I doubt I’ll live long enough, but I hope to serve you one day.”
You’d be surprised, old man.
“The knight that was injured by the outlanders. What was his name?” I asked.
“Sir Eadric Vanta, my Lord,” Sir Josiah said with a confused look on his face.
I scrunched my face up in an approximation of worry. “I’m really worried for Sir Eadric. He was wounded protecting us, and he’s alone right now in the church. Could you take me to see him?”
Sir Josiah grimaced and said, “I don’t know.” He scratched his face. “My orders from Lord Koravin were to protect Feldrast Manor. I’d be abandoning my post if I brought you to the church.”
“That’s okay,” I said with a smile. “I’ll just go by myself!”
With no hesitation in my steps, I started marching toward the door.
“Wait!” Josiah shouted at me after I walked four steps. He groaned in annoyance and scratched his scalp in contemplation. He knew that, in order to stop me, he would have to physically restrain me. If my read on him was correct, Josiah wouldn’t risk the potential retribution he could face from manhandling a noble child. Armond was already in a sour mood, after all.
“Fine, fine,” Sir Josiah groaned. “Let’s go to the church. Just make sure we’re back within an hour.”
The walk to the church was about two hundred meters long. I had to stop a few times when I got out of breath. Despite this, it was good to get out of the house for once.
The town of Sableton looked a lot better in person. The houses were built in a charming late-medieval style. The roofs were all slanted to prevent snow build up, and all the walls were thick to allow for additional insulation.
The only things in Sableton that struck me as out of place were the lamp posts that lined the streets. Tall lamp posts on each side of the cobbled street projected light even during the day. I reached out mentally, and the feedback informed me that a spark of Hellfire burned at the top of every lamp post.
When we reached the church, I immediately recognized it. A large building proudly displayed a winged staff symbol. I recognized this symbol as that of Nyx, the Medial of Healing. It was frequently used by people who believed Nyx to be the one true Goddess. Within the logic of Ferrum, however, that belief was provably false. Off the top of my head, I could think of five other entities who had just as much a claim to godhood as Nyx.
In fact, the fans of [Ferrum Online] really didn’t like to use the term “god” when referring to entities like Nyx or Lothar. The term “medial” was much more common on the forums. “Medial” was used to describe entities that resisted classification. Though it would be incorrect to classify Nyx or Lothar as “human” or any other mortal species that existed on Ferrum, it would also be incorrect to call them gods. By the end of a typical [Ferrum Online] campaign, Nyx would be dead. It seemed inaccurate to use the term “god” to describe entities that could be killed so easily.
Sir Josiah had already finished opening the large double doors to the church by the time I was done daydreaming. I really had to cut down on that. We walked in, and Josiah was able to quickly convince a nearby cleric to let us into the back.
As Josiah spoke to the cleric, I reached into the alcove built into the back of one of the pews and removed a copy of the Book of Nyx. I couldn’t stop a devilish grin from appearing on my face as I looked down at the book.
In my hands, I held the key to altering my fate.