There were footsteps around and murmuring. But those sounds were ebbed by a pain that blanketed Vanemar’s whole body. A numbing pain that left no inch of skin untouched. He may have been dead, that was what he was thinking. To not be able to see, feel, or hear anything. To only feel extreme pain. Perhaps this was the afterlife? He never knew much of religion, it would be hard to tell. But as the blur of his vision cleared he began to think otherwise.

He felt something grab both of his arms, slowly heaving his upper body off the ground. His back scraped against a rough surface as he was lifted into a sitting position. A violent shaking was what began to bring him back to consciousness. Sound began to enter his ears. Indecipherable noises that soon contained rhythm. His head turned to the side as gravity pressed against it. Light entered the vision, bright whites and oranges. Shapes began to form. His head started to properly process the assortment of captured noises.

His arms were gripped again and firmly held. A figure blocked the view and nearly all was dark again. Words finally came. "Come on, you're almost there. Come back to us."

Vanemar was beginning to control his body. He moved his head around. Left to right, up and down. Then he moved the hands, curled and uncurled the fingers. He began to mumble something, even his brain could not comprehend what he was trying to say. "Spit it out man." The body that watched him inches apart said.

"Are you sure that you brought him back to life? It seems that he is only partially alive to me." Said another voice to his right, rich in humour.

"Shut up!" The man touching Vanemar answered with force. "He is trying to speak."

Many sets of footsteps approached from all sides to see the spectacle. Vanemar continued to mumble and grunt as his eyes began to add detail. The face of a man began to take form. One with a beret in robes that wetly clung to him. Vanemar had seen the face before. Only twice, but not long ago. His memories began to return to him in full. The last time he had seen that face was in the Brighthawk city of Holy Light. A face that he did not expect to see at his deathbed. The High Mage of Honea.

His jaw dropped as he thought of what he could possibly do next. His heart began to pound quickly as the figures inched closer to watch the spectacle. Soldiers in green that watched from above judgingly. In his fear and cluelessness he finally managed to speak. "What?" Was the only word that had managed to exit his dry mouth.

The High Mage that crouched next to him watched him curiously for a moment before chuckling. "That is the same question that I have been asking my friend." He casually responded.

Vanemar's heart began to race now, his strength returning out of necessity. He watched the man for a moment, waiting for an opening, shuffling to a better position. The man extended an arm as he began to slowly get off the ground. Vanemar responded to the gesture with a kick to his chest. The man grunted as the wind was flung out of him. He flew through to air for a moment before falling to the ground with a thump.

"High Mage!" Said one of the soldiers out of a surprise. A man in full plate and a magisword that was quickly unsheathed. Vanemar recognized him too, maybe the man had tried to kill him once before in Honea. He could not remember and did not care to as he was about to truly die once and for all. "I knew it was a bad idea to give life to this man. The sly fiend, postponing his death for so long!" Vanemar stood somewhat erect and met his gaze. His own magisword was still sheathed, he knew he was too weak to even hold it.

The High Mage lifted a hand to halt the soldier’s advance, a smirk plastered on his face. "Don't lay a finger on him you fool." He turned to meet Vanemar's eyes. "Good to see that you remain fierce. We will be making good use of that."

"Yeah?" Vanemar said without a speck of respect. "Weren't you the one who wanted me dead not too long ago?"

The man shrugged. "My friends here did and likely still do." He glared at the one in plate in particular. "But I do not concern myself with such things. I have my own reasons for pursuing you. Those reasons have allowed us to hold this conversation." He stood up, hand placed on his stomach. "At first, I only wanted to see what the key you kept with you could do. So I followed you around and was led to a place that once could only dream of finding. Now we finally meet, it appears that what was once here has been stolen by those who you believed to be your allies."

Vanemar scoffed. "They aren’t. They wanted my head just as these soldiers do. They were just waiting for the right moment to cut it off. Seems they found it, not that I blame them. If I had the chance I’d have cut off their heads first."

With a raised brow, the High Mage’s smile turned into a short chuckle. "Well then, that was unexpected. it seems that it won't take too much persuasion to have you join us."

"Depends on what you want."

"I intend to have a meeting with your most recent employer. One where I rip whatever treasure they found here from their grasp and stow it away so that none can find it. How does that sound to you?"

Vanemar thought for a moment as he began to rub the hilt of his sword. "Depends..." He guessed that he owed the man a debt now. "If you let me cut my employer’s head off. I think I might just accept."

The man shrugged. "You would be doing us a favor. The public would see nothing out of order if a criminal would be the one to kill him."

"One last thing." Vanemar knew that his request would not be agreed so easily but this was his only chance. “Let me free after this is all over.”

The mage’s eyes narrowed. "I expected you would say that, I suppose you already know that I cannot grant a murderer freedom so easily."

"I doubt I’ll ever pick up a sword after this is over. I know you don’t believe but I’ll appreciate it if you at least considered it."

The High Mage watched him silently, as if he were attempting to peer into his mind. "Fine, I suppose that if you fulfill my request I could think of an excuse to tell his excellency." the man answered, earning a foul look from the one who had nearly killed Vanemar for the second time. Vanemar backed off slightly as the mage approached him. "How are your wounds?"

"I’m fine. What even happened to me?"

The High Mage stood up facing the pedestal Vanemar laid against. Staring at the empty crystal box thoughtfully. "The events that occured here can only be answered by yourself and those who witnessed it. When we arrived your skin was charred and black streaks ran across your entire body. Many things could have caused that, especially when magic is involved."

Vanemar looked around, attempting to place the events that had occurred to him in the room. "Whenever I try to remember, my mind goes blank."

The High Mage was now holding the crystal in his hands, Vanemar thought that the man would go blind for attempting to look at it so closely. "Well it doesn't matter too much. What I care to know is what you found in this box. The reason for us risking war with the whole world today."

"The Fist of the Emperor." Vanemar said plainly. All eyes locked on him. Even if they had guessed that they would find it, no one expected it to exist.

"You saw it!" the Mage said excitedly. "What did it look like?"

Vanemar backed away from the box in fear he assumed was without merit. "It was a golden magigauntlet, just like the stories. There was a thick black fog around it though. I don't remember what it was for but-" He fell silent as a memory returned, the reason for fearing the box. He looked around the room frantically. He saw it move through the walls, there was no way that it had gone far.

"What is it?" The mage said, noticing his discomfort. "Is there something else here." He too became nervous.

"The black fog in that box, it was..." He swallowed dryly. "A demon."

"A demon?" The mage repeated curiously. The eyes of the soldiers began to dart around and their grips on their weapons tightened. "How so?"

"It attacked me, I remember it surrounding my entire body. It even spoke..." Vanemar gulped. He did not entirely know if what he was saying was true. He tried to make himself believe that the memories were falsely induced by unconsciousness but they were too prominent in his mind.

The High Mage perked up at his description. "It spoke!" The man grasped his shoulders. Vanemar was becoming too nervous to notice or care. "What did it say?"

"It said that I didn't have its blood and that it..." He froze as he remembered the rest.

"Yes?" The High Mage said, his face inching closer to Vanemar. He breathed heavily with an expression that mixed fear and excitement.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"It said it would return...” Vanemar’s hands shook in realization. “It would return after seeing the state of the world."

The mage's eyes widened. "What do you advise us to do now High Mage?" The soldier with the magisword asked, now the most composed one in the room.

The mage pulled up his beret and scratched his bald head for a moment. "Do you know where the gauntlet is?" He asked Vanemar.

"In Raverna, that's where the headquarters of the Cult of the Lost is."

He nodded, a frown was growing on his face. "Then we must run." He turned to face the soldiers. "We move as fast as our legs take us and we do not stop."

"There is an exit here." The armored soldier said, pointing to a great round door in the very back of the room. The other soldiers opened it without the need for orders, letting in the dark light from the outside.

The sky, still darkened by a blanket of clouds, was now clear of rain. Replaced by a steady stream of wind, the door moved back and forth wildly against the side of a hill. It blended into the environment around it and once shut could not be opened from the outside. Vanemar looked around until his eyes stopped at a point in the distant horizon. A large swirling pure black cloud filled the sky at that point, between the two fleets that had once fought each other. The ships now watched silently as something began to appear from within the cloud. A serpent made out of the dark material manifested from within it, it’s only distinguishable feature being two red pupils that glowed menacingly. Without warning, it collided into the nearest ship, splitting it into halves that plummeted towards the surface. The rest of Vanemar's new companions watched with shock. The mage was the first to speak, "This should be more of an incentive to continue running, move your legs!"

As the serpent continued to cut through the fleet like a professional chef, the Tavaraneans began to attack it while the Honean's fled in mass. "It seems that the admiral really did think of a plan for everything!" the armored man shouted.

"Save your breath Yeon!" Giris said between heavy breaths.

"You should save yours High Mage." Yeon said with a smile, exhilarated by the event. "I have done my fair share of running and I know that you will be the first to tire."

They ran faster. The sight of the black beast influencing them to move with more speed then they normally could. Not once did Vanemar fear so much for his life. When his life had previously been threatened he could easily devise a way out. Now, his life was completely out of his hands. All he could do now was keep moving. As long as he did that, he would die knowing that he had at least tried to prevent his death.

A plume of smoke spread like an artist’s paint across the nearby sky as something nearby fell towards the ground with great speed. It was a ship with a white banner strapped to its balloon. The balloon was now split open and spat out magic gas into the sky. Its hull began to tear itself apart, growing from what was once a small section to a flock of plummeting debris. It eventually escaped sight, falling behind the hills and being followed by a loud thump.

"Think that someone could have lived through that corporal?" Yeon loudly asked a soldier who was closest to the mage.

"I've seen the mess a pirate ship makes when it has its balloon torn open. I'd say that a few made it. Those who were between the cargo hold and the deck. The rest either fell off or were crushed."

"Then I suppose we can try to find survivors. They probably have no idea where our ship is."

Vanemar looked back at the chaos occuring far away. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if that thing sees us?"

The Yeon’s face contorted, showing that he was not so sure of himself. "Do you think that thing can see us from up there? We will appear to be less than ants to it from that height. What do you think, High Mage? I would like to save every man I can but don't wish to die with the rest of them today."

The mage grunted and said nothing else. It was obvious that the running was taking the greatest toll upon him. Vanemar guessed that the man had never had to run from anything in his life. A strange jealousy manifested.

Yeon looked at the mage for a moment and frowned with sympathy. "I'll ask again once we get to the wreck I suppose. Lest you collapse."

They had run so far that Vanemar became curious as to how the High Mage could still stand upright. That was until he saw what the man was drinking. It was a jar of a glowing orange liquid, life magic. The mage had been keen to bring a magic drink that gave him energy, although it would likely make him sleep for a whole day afterwards. Vanemar would have asked for some if they had not reached a hill overlooking the wreck. He wondered if a man could survive such a thing. The front half was completely obliterated, smashed against the dirt with large pieces flattened and splintered. The back half was more well kept but not by much, it had fallen apart and had become a gaping hole showing the ship's inners.

Fortunately, some soldiers had managed to survive and were searching the remains of the ship for others. They watched the group coming down with hope in their eyes. There were about ten of them, all bearing injuries in some form. Some needed to be held up by their comrades and others suffered only minor scratches. As soon as they were near them Vanemar could see how overjoyed they were. "Sir!" one of the men piped up with a quick fist to his chest.

"At ease." Yeon said calmly. "Report."

"We searched the entire ship sir. The ones you see here are likely the only ones who survived. The rest are either lost or dead in the wreckage." The soldier's frown deepened but he managed a steady gaze.

"Well you can relax now. You'll be slowing us down but I don't intend to leave a single one of you here. Our ship shouldn't be too far away, so pack up everything you need and follow us."

"If you don't mind sir, I've a question for the High Mage."

Giris pushed through the group breathing heavily and looked at the men intently. "Don't expect a long answer."

The soldier nodded. "What is that thing? In the sky I mean?"

The High Mage looked towards the serpent, still flowing around the black center in the sky like a fish enclosed in a bowl. "A demon I suppose, I don't know exactly." He raised a brow. "Is it getting-"

Vanemar's hairs stood on end as his senses became hyper focused on a single point in the sky. The beast had stopped its rampant movements and began moving in a straight line. A straight line towards him. There were screams and calls to run. Vanemar paid attention to none of these and neither did the High Mage. The captain, believing he could still protect his men, pulled out his weapon. Unlike that man, Vanemar decided he could not do such a thing. He simply stared as the beast slithered over to them quicker than any airship ever could. He knew he could not do anything about it, he was getting used to the fact. So he stood motionless as the beast engulfed him once more.

It was like being hit by a bull. Vanemar was thrown to the ground with unimaginable speed that could have broken all of his bones if the beast had decided not to cushion him. His vision was completely black. Slowly, the two red eyes of the beast appeared. There was no pain now, but Vanemar was shaking so violently that he could no longer think. As it had done before, the beast began to speak again. "You do not have my gauntlet, where is it?"

"They took it!" Vanear spurted out, as if the beast had pulled the answer from his mind.

"The ones who had accompanied you?"

"Yes!"

"And they left you here to rot! What do they intend to do with gauntlet? What do you intend to do?"

"He wants to destroy the Highlands! He wants to start a great war!"

"That means nothing to me! Although I may seem to be an abomination, I am what is left of the Emperor of the Brighthawks. I protected man from destruction and intend to do so again at your call. So tell me now before I look for the gauntlet myself. What do you intend to do?"

Vanemar tried to inch away from the angering beast, but it stuck to him like glue. "I want to kill the man who has the gauntlet. Before he uses it hurt people!"

The world went silent for a moment. Some of his senses were slightly given strength, the veil of darkness weakened but it still remained. He could hear the sounds from the outside. Hear the High Mage calling out to him. "What is it saying to you?" The man yelled.

The veil darkened again and Vanemar's heart skipped a beat. "It seems that you do not intend to use me. Would you prefer it if you transferred my power to someone more… Willing?”

Vanemar nodded his head weakly.

“Then how about him. Do you trust that man in the robes?" The beast asked, with a calmness that scared Vanemar even more.

"He saved my life." Vanemar responded with a quiet, breathless voice.

"I ask again."

"Yes." He answered dryly.

Suddenly the black veil expanded and consumed the dark mage within. The mage fell over in surprise, his eyes wide and terrified. "What..." He managed to say.

Both pairs of eyes turned to Vanemar and the beast spoke, "Here is another question that I pose in order to make my time awake worthwhile. Would you trust this man if you were to say, pass my allegiance to him."

Vanemar thought over the beast's question, a task made difficult over his current state of mind. "It depends."

The red eyes turned to mage who shivered from the gaze. "I'm guessing from your attire that you are a mage correct?"

The man nodded, "Yes, I am Giris, High Mage of Honea at your service um-"

"Hattav. I am Hattav, although I assume you would call me the Emperor of the Brighthawks if either of you are educated."

The two men froze with surprise. They looked at each other and then back to the eyes that glanced at them both. The High Mage spoke first. "Are you really him?"

"Yes, were you not aware of that before you awoke me?"

"No, but I was unaware of what your tomb held as well. I suppose that was only information that a Brighthawk would know."

The beast sighed a heavy sigh that shook the earth around it. Both men held to the grass and dirt as if they were about to be thrown around. "That is correct. Now then, what is it that you would want out of the gauntlet High Mage. If you were to obtain it of course."

The High Mage looked around as if searching for a response, "You would let me have it? But, I wasn't the one to f-"

"Answer the question." The beast ordered.

He gulped, "I would hide it. I only know that terrible things would happen if anyone with sinister intentions used it."

"Uninteresting answer but not without merit." The red eyes went to Vanemar who had managed to sit down properly. "Do you find this reasoning acceptable?" Vanemar nodded sharply. "Fine then I shall bestow my power upon you until the false owner of the gauntlet has been slain. Then the mage shall do with me as he wishes." Suddenly the veil of black magic shot towards Vanemar and entered his mouth with a quick gulp.

The veil had disappeared but Vanemar rolled around the floor hacking and coughing and feeling as if he were about to vomit. The High Mage dusted himself off. "Has- has the demon possessed him Giris?" Yeon asked as he pointed his sword towards Vanemar.

"No," The High mage said, shaking his head. "I can tell you all about it on the walk to the ship. The summary is that we have made a deal with the most powerful dead man who ever lived." Yeon raised a brow as the mage passed him, he continued to stare at Vanemar as his body shook and covered itself in mud.