Seth took off running through the forest, making sure not to look back. He knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave Jessica again. So, he charged forward as he always had, right into the furnace. He liked his simple rules that coincided with life. The miles just went by as he followed the sounds of an army.

As he came upon the source of the sounds of preparation, Seth took to the trees, far above the heads of the army that waited on the ground. The army itself was scattered in twenty-man camps here and there. Each group had a single fire in the center of all the men. He found a good spot that overlooked a major portion of the army and started observing the groups one by one. Then he started to spin his magic into the fires around the forest.

An image of Seth appeared out of every fire in the forest. There, a version of himself that remained within the fire, because he had felt something about the men in that group. All of them had jumped up to their feet and drawn weapons. One of the men stepped up with a long sword in hand. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“My name is unimportant.” Seth stated through the vision in the fire, “I come with a warning. I will be coming from the East this evening. If you get in my way, I will slay you all.” He canceled the spell and all of the versions of himself dissipated back into the fire. The instant that it was gone, a lightning bolt struck each fire.

The men were still looking at the fire but then magic energy arched out from the embers, electrocuting one of the men. The four nearest him jumped back and nearly fell over the others. Their leader looked around before sheathing his sword, “We need to find out what is going on.”

The men started taking the dead man away and Seth could see that there were other groups that had a corpse as well. Seth sat down in the tree and sighed, a grimace coming over his face. “I may have been able to rile them up but lives were taken and that is never a positive thing.” He stretched out and relaxed out on the tree limb, “Now all I have to do is wait and see what the army decides. I hope that they just leave, so I don’t have to kill anyone else, but that’s not likely to happen.” He put a spell of invisibility over himself and looked down at the group of men that were completely quite as they ate breakfast. He silently started jumping from tree to tree so that he could make an actual evaluation of the army itself.

There had to be thousands of men out here. The word had spread though and they all were on the alert. Seth stopped by one group that seemed off from the others. None of them wore the matching armor that the other groups wore. They were also a much smaller group, made up of only six men. Then one came striding through the trees, the spitting image of a rogue knight that had no lord to serve. The only armor that he had on was a light breast plate and a shoulder plate, the rest was leather or chain male. He had a thick trench coat on over everything with a worn pair of riding boots that were bloused at the top. He had two broad swords, one on his hip and the other on his back. Just based on how he walked, Seth could tell that he was a man that held authority and could hold his own in a fight.

He came upon his men with a worried look, “Alright boys, time to get ready to do what we do best.” The man as he hefted a makeshift shoulder bag. “Snuff the fire, we’re going to the base of the tower.” He paused for a second and looked up at where Seth was with a puzzled expression.

Seth took a leap of faith and looked into his soul. The moment he did so the man’s brow furrowed and he gripped the hilt of his sword. Seth retreated away from the man’s soul and smiled. After shaking his head and checking the trees again, the man adjusted his bag and went back to walking through the forest with his men. Seth propped himself up and thought how interesting the leader was to have a sense over his mind like that. “He has enough experience to tell when someone is watching and when someone has entered his mind.” Seth scratched his chin in thought before smiling, “This could get interesting.”

Seth watched as the six others grabbed their gear without a word and went after their leader. The last of them paused and slowly turned to the tree Seth was in. Seth could have sworn that there was a smile hidden behind that hood. Before Seth could see the man’s face, he scurried off after his companions.

Seth crossed his arms and shook his head as he watched the bowman leave, “This will be interesting indeed.” He dropped from the tree and started walking toward the tower, slowly following the group of six. As Seth got to the edge of the clearing that the tower resided in, he realized that the army hadn’t taken his warning to heart. They had simply gathered all of their forces on the Eastern side of the tower.

Row after row of soldiers were surrounding the tower in a half circle. At the base of the tower, a small command center had been constructed out of a few tents. Standing outside of the tents as security was the seven mercenaries that Seth had been following. The archer was facing him with a quizzical look on his face. Slowly, the archer knocked an arrow and fired precisely at where Seth was standing.

Seth smiled as he caught the arrow and canceled his invisibility spell. He was twirling it around his fingers as he strode out into the clearing. Seth could see the smug grin that was on the archer’s face and flicked the arrow right back at him. It flew far faster than out of the archer’s bow and with more accuracy. The smug smile turned to panic but just before the arrow hit him in between his eyes, it was sliced in two by the mercenaries leader.

The army began to organize its front lines and a single massive figure stepped out in front of everyone. He stabbed a spear in the ground beside him and pounded a fist into his chest. “I challenge you for even thinking that you could go against the Dark King.” He hefted his spear out of the ground and threw it at Seth with massive power, for a human. Seth couldn’t help but be impressed with how much dedication he must have put in to become so strong. It made him remember how he had simply been given almost all of his own strength.

Since Seth was lost in thought, the spear hit him in the chest, but that resulted in the spear shattering into hundreds of pieces. Seth didn’t even feel the impact. He started walking toward the heavily built soldier, who raised a broadsword over his head, charging at Seth like a wild animal. As they became closer and closer, Seth passively entered the man’s mind. He’d been a soldier his entire life and was now looking for something, after all the years of combat. As the man got within striking distance, Seth lunged and with a quick powerful jab to the sternum, stopped the man’s heart in a moment. The soldier gasped and slumped down to the ground, a smile on his face. The man had found what he was looking for, an honorable death.

Seth turned and made a small bow to the corpse, honoring the soldier. Then he turned to the rest of the army, amplifying his voice with magic, “I do not like to kill but if you get in my way, there is no stopping me. I am here for your prisoner and I am not leaving without her. If you want to fight me, I will kill you, but if you step aside, I will not bother with you.” Seth started walking toward the tower again and relaxed his muscles, releasing his aura that had built up. The air around him thickened and he knew the men could feel his power. Most backed away but some couldn’t even move from where they were standing, because of the pressure he had placed on everyone.

Then a small group of men stood in his way, none other than the seven mercenaries that he’d been watching. They were in a wedge formation, with their leader at the point with one sword drawn. In the back of the formation, Seth could see the hooded archer next to a man ready to throw a spear. The two directly behind the leader were twins, one bore a mace while the other had a battleaxe. In the middle of the group, two men stood with weapons ready. One of them had two swords out and ready, while the other was a halfling that had two hand axes ready. All of them had looks that said they were ready to fight to the death.

Seth took another step forward and the leader lunged straight for him. Seth simply grabbed the blade and jerked it out of his hands. Without even thinking, the leader drew his second sword and got ready for another attack. Seth twirled the sword he now had in an elaborate display, making it seem like nothing at all. Then he gripped the blade of the sword and held it out to the man, “What’s your name?” Seth inquired.

The man was at a loss for words for a moment, before he gulped, “James Cornelius, why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Seth teleported next to the archer and looked him in the eye, “What about you? What’s your name?” Seth clasped his hands behind his back as he stood there.

The archer was wide eyed as he looked from Seth to James, who gave him a nod of approval. “My name is Jonas but I go by the nickname Strongbow.” He lowered his bow as he said it.

Seth started walking down the line of men asking them all what their names are. The one with the spear was named Mitch, but went by Pike. The two burly twins with heavy weapons were Shaw and Tony, who were simply known as the Twins. The halfling was named Lucas and went by Scout. The last one was the most intriguing. He had six swords on his person. He had white hair that was tied back in a thick ponytail. His name was Cutter and he went by such. He didn’t have any traditional armor either, he had wolf pelts tanned into a vest and pants with bare feet. By the look of him, Seth knew he was raised by wolves.

Now that the group was relaxed, Seth asked the question that he’d been pondering, “Would you like to join me?”

James sheathed his sword and sighed, “What exactly will we be doing?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“You will join my group back in Kanatown and will help me take down the Dark King.” Seth crossed his own arms as he looked up at James, “I’m not saying that you’re going to get paid but this is the perfect opportunity to hone your skills. I and many of the others have a personal vendetta against the King.” Seth turned and punched an assassin that had been hiding in the shadows, so hard that he went flying and knocked down his comrades like bowling pins. Seth glared at the rest of the army like a man who was going to go on a rampage, before turning back to James, “So, are you in or out?”

James pondered the question before starting his explanation, “I need to discuss this with my men, before I decide.”He turned and the little group huddled into a circle. To everyone else there were just muffled mumbling, but Seth could hear everything. “So, what do you guys think?”

“He smells like he’s been everywhere.” Cutter stated outright.

“With how easily he bested Olaf, I think he’s obviously got skill.” Lucas chimed in.

“I agree with Scout but I don’t know if we can trust him.” Pike said as he gripped his spear tighter.

“He said that this was an opportunity to hone our skills, so I think there will be training involved.” Shaw said, “I think we should take him up on his offer.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I agree with my brother.” Tony stated.

“Ok, so most of you think this is going to be a good idea?” James asked and the lot of them nodded their heads. “What about you Strongbow?”

The hooded archer hadn’t said a word and was still silent for a good bit of time. Then he looked up at James, “I think he is going to do one of two things. End us or help us prosper. I’m willing to see where this leads me.”

“Ok, then we’re agreed.” James said as they broke the huddle. He turned to Seth, who was already walking over to where they were. “We’ve -”

“Made a good decision.” Seth said as he patted James on the shoulder, finishing his sentence for him. “Gather your gear while I get the girl.” Seth jumped up to the windowsill before James could respond.

James just shook his head, before looking out over the ocean of rage around him. He knew that things would remain heated for some time, because his whole squad were now traitors. He turned to his men to start gathering everything together but heard heavy footsteps behind him. He turned to find someone lunging at him with a knife at the ready. Before the man could reach him thought, Seth appeared and gripped the man’s neck. He lifted the man bodily off the ground and flicked his wrist, sending the man flying to the outskirts of the army that was in front of him.

“Anyone that decides that they wish to harm these men will have to deal with me.” Seth stated it with a ring of authority that didn’t offer any choice but to obey. Then he leapt up to the window once again, without another word.

Inside of the room, Seth found a dimly lit room that was a bit rundown. The ceiling was a bit low but Seth didn’t mind being his smaller height once again. In the bed across from him, Condolore’s daughter slept soundly, except for the fact that she was laying completely flat on her back with her arm at her sides. It was almost as if she were asleep at the position of attention. As Seth approached the bed, he heard the whisper of her thoughts and saw he lips pucker up as if she were in some kind of romance novel. Seth had to stifle his laughter as he sat on the bed next to her. He patted her on the shoulder and chuckled at the bewildered look she gave him.

“Um, aren’t you here to save me for true love?” She asked incredulously.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but your father sent me to come and get you.” Seth stated as he stood and grew to his other height again. Before he knew it, his head smashed through the rafters and he could hear giggling from below them. He leaned down until he was hunched over the bed.

“I don’t know who you are, but my father couldn’t have sent you.” The woman started, “He left this dimension ages ago. I don’t even know where he is or if he even knows that I’m alive.” She became very melancholy as she thought of how he had abandoned her after her mother died. “He is long gone and there is nothing that I can do about that.”

Seth sighed, “Well you’re wrong about that.” Seth scooped her up out of the bed and stepped up onto the windowsill. “Because your father sent me himself after I found out where you were.”

“Unhand me.” She protested, before looking down to the bottom of the tower and latching onto him like a vise.

The two of them dropped down to the ground and landed next to James. She wriggled out of Seth’s arms and dusted herself of with a huff. “Do you even know who you’re dealing with right now?” She defiantly questioned Seth as she crossed her arms, which Seth was easily two feet taller than her in his current form.

Seth crossed her own arms, “You are the Princess Taniel and daughter of the General King Condolore.” He could see the look of surprise on her face as she realized that he did in fact know exactly who she was. “Your father is in Kanatown right now, so we should get going.” Seth hoisted her up once again, but this time she was up on his shoulder. Then he turned toward James and his men. “Think that you can keep up with me?”

James just shook his head, “We can certainly try now can’t we.”

Seth chuckled, “I’ll be sure to leave a good trail for you guys to follow. Off to Kanatown.” He took off at a sprint in the general direction of Kanatown, leaving James and the rest in the dust. He stopped in an open clearing that had light coming down through the canopy. “This will be a good campsite for the night. We can get to know each other in the meantime.” Seth waved a hand and whatever sparce twigs and branches gathered, before lighting aflame.

Taniel stood there in silence for a time before she crossed her arms and asked her first question, “How do you know my father?”

“He was the last guardian on my journey through the first dimension.” Seth stated with a smile as he remembered how quickly Condolore had taken in the situation. “He’s the one who taught the other members of my group how to take care of themselves.” He wiped his hands and shed his trench coat as he decided to get some training in on an idea that came to his head for hand-to-hand combat. “He is the reason why I no longer have to worry about them for any reason. I owe him my life for that alone. Even now, he is making sure that they are taken care of.” He hopped up and down a few times as he warmed up his muscles, which he didn’t necessarily need, but he did it out of habit. “Now, what about you? You sand that Condolore left this dimension ages ago.”

Taniel was speechless as she saw his rippling muscle and then the infinity symbol on his chest. “He left on a journey to find the One. I knew that he was alive, but I never thought that he would have been training people while he waited for you. I honestly never thought that you were real. No offense.” She started to go to a knee, but Seth stopped her.

“Please don’t.” Seth said as he helped Taniel back to her feet. “It’s not that I don’t need you or that you’re not good enough. It’s just … I think too many people have done that already.” He turned toward the fire and crossed his arms. “You need to understand that I’m only, technically, fifteen years old. I’m not ready to lean an army against the darkness. I don’t care how many millennia of memories I have or how many lives my soul has lived.” He sighed as he finished, thinking about all the lives that would be lost if he wasn’t up for the task.

Taniel looked up into Seth’s deep brown eyes and saw an opportunity. She placed a hand on his cheek and lightly turned his head toward her, “You are plenty ready. The only person doubting that is you.” She started to rise up on her tip toes before closing her eyes and puckering up once again.

Seth just sighed as he took her head in his hands and gave her a peck on the forehead, like an older brother. She reeled back as if she had just been struck. “Sorry Taniel, but my heart has already been taken.”

Taniel crossed her arms and she pouted, “Well I can still try now, can’t I?”

Seth sighed, “Yes, I guess you can try, just don’t expect me to come to your aid for such a reason.” He took a few paces away from the fire and started to shadow box with a tree that wasn’t far off from him.

Taniel sat down on a log that was next to the fire and grimaced. Her plans of having a prince fall for her had failed and now she had been rejected by the One. As she pondered what her options would be in the future, she started to hear little thuds in the distance. She looked to see what Seth was up to and found that he was still shadow boxing. She started to watch him to investigate the sound and every time he threw a strike there would be a returning thud from the tree that was at the edge of the clearing. She shook her head as the idea of Seth being able to bend space with sheer speed came to her head. It must have been some kind of dimensional magic that he was using.

After a time, James and his men came panting into the campsite. James falling to his knees just behind Taniel. “I … didn’t think … you’d be … that fast.” James stammered as he struggled to find his breathe. He saw Seth on the opposite side of the fire, still shadow boxing, but gasped for even more breathe when he realized what Seth was actually doing. Taniel had missed it because of her lack of understanding hand-to-hand combat. The very air around Seth’s strikes was vibrating then snapping still, propelling the very space to strike against the trees in the distance. Seth was making precise strikes at all of the trees around the clearing without even going near them. “H-how is he … doing that?” James stammered.

Seth turned and smirked as he saw how out of breath the group was. “Oh, sorry about that. I was a little focused.”

The group of warriors could see the symbol on his chest when he turned, and all fell to a knee. “We pledge ourselves to for as long as we may live.” James spoke for all of them, before Seth could protest.

Cutter ran up to Seth and held out a hand, pulling a knife from his belt with the other. “Blood bound. You smell of it. I wish to be blood bound to the One.” He shook the blade urgently over his own hand. He had a deep look of determination about him.

Seth shook his head as he looked them all over, before his eyes leveled on Cutter. “Why do you want to bind your soul to mine?”

“It was my father’s wish before he died.” Cutter explained. “It is the only memory that I have of him. Please let me honor him with this chance.” He bowed at the hip with his final plea for the ritual.

Seth reluctantly walked over to the shade of a tree and snapped his fingers. Black circle of sludge appeared on the ground before him. A hooded figure immerged with a massive scythe in hand. He pealed back his hood to reveal the pale faced man that Seth knew as Death. “You know that you can’t just call me on a whim. I have work to do throughout the dimensions.”

“I have work for you to do here.” Seth smirked as he noticed the small glint in the demonic man’s eyes. He waved a hand over to Cutter, still holding his knife above his outstretched hand.

Death clapped his hands together and strode forward, almost gliding forward and leaving the scythe standing where it had been. Then he stopped and looked at the expectant group that was still kneeling behind Cutter. “Is he the only one I will be performing the ritual for?”

When Death asked his question, the other six approached with Taniel in toe behind them. “We will all bind out souls to the One.” James announced for everyone who rose, which was the rest of the group.

Death pinched the ridge of his nose and grimaced, “Are you all doing this simply because he is the One?” When everyone nodded their heads, he looked back to Seth for some help but was only met with his blinding soul. He resigned to the fact and turned back to the group of individuals. “Well, it looks like it’s up to you guys whether you want to or not, so let’s get started.” He clapped his hands again and the familiar goblet came into existence, with the dagger to match. He moved around the group and gathered the blood from them as he chanted that strange low language that only Seth could understand. Then he finally turned to Seth, the goblet held out to him. “Drink the blood of these souls and welcome them into your convent.”

Seth took the cup in hand and gulped down its contents. His eyes whitened and he fell to a knee. Everyone moved to help him, but Seth held up a hand to stop them all. “Do not interfere!” Seth exclaimed as he grimaced through the pain, falling to all fours. For a few seconds, Seth was frozen like that, then he stood as his normal self. He once again saw the bewildered looks of lost memories coming to light in their eyes. The look of someone remembering. “Yes, now I know all of your secrets.” Seth stated as he walked over to Death and shook his head. “Thank you for fulfilling their wishes.”

“No problem at all.” Death said as he made a small bow. “It is just one of my many duties to perform such rituals for the One.” Death flipped his hood back up and strode over to the scythe. “Continue your journey, Seth Conwell, and enjoy the little things.” After making his statement, he dissolved into the sludge and the circle dissipated.

Seth was sighing as he turned back to the confused group of adventurers before him. “Yes, James I am reading your mind. No, I am not meaning to. I can hear all your thoughts as if you were stating them to me verbally. That’s all thanks to you binding your souls to mine.” Then Seth turned to Strongbow, “I know where your children are.”

His bow dropped to the ground and Strongbow walked up to Seth slowly, as if approaching a wounded animal. “Are they alright?” His voice was tense and nervous, which was understandable for a father who had long since thought that his sons were dead.

Seth nodded with a smile, “Yes, both of your sons are in Kanatown as we speak.”