It’s been several hours since we left the capital and we all have just ridden in silence. I have wanted to speak up, but I don’t want to be that person. The only sound is the clopping of our horses’ heavy footsteps on the dirt road and the rapid breathing of the horses. Finally, after feeling myself doze off from the rhythmic sounds and the bouncing of the horse, Levi speaks up.

“Alva, how long has it been since you’ve been to Manor?” Levi asks, pushing a branch out of his way as we walk through this forested path and breaking the long silence.

Alva takes a moment to speak. About three years ago, when I was in charge of the yearly check-ins with the Governors of the Provinces.

Levi nods. “Ah, yes, have you heard of the rumors of Manor City?”

Alva nods to Levi as well. “Yes, and when Ezekiel sent out some trusted messengers, they all reported back good things,” Alva answers.

“Yes, but Tylen has always been a bit of a slimeball. I’ll never understand why Ezekiel still allows him to be the Governor.” Rene chimes in.

Alva answers. Tylen’s family has been the governors of The Mystic Province for five generations. Ezekiel doesn’t choose the Governors; the people of their respective provinces choose. He can’t oppose the people’s choice. It’s written in the Declaration Documents.

Rene sighs. “Yes, I know that, but Tylen is obsessed with the power being a governor brings you. Plus, he’s in charge of forty percent of all the grain in the kingdom. A madman controls most of our food. I also don’t need to remind you that there’s a shortage because Manor isn’t pulling its weight in harvesting the grain. Tylen irks me.”

Alva nods silently. Then look at me. "Emelia, you must have done business with many people. You lived in Bladesfall. Tons of people must have gone in and out of the city?"

I nod. “True, but I didn’t interact with the royalty who showed up. Janet never let me go anywhere. I could only walk the town when Janet or Lucy were with me. Or if I snuck out.” I feel myself blush at the sneaking out part.

“Other than that, I had a pretty sheltered childhood.”

“But you must have heard plenty of rumors. Maybe from Janet or Lucy, you lived with women of tremendous standing and power. You must have stories to tell?” Levi asks me, turning his head a little to look at me.

Hearing their names again cuts through me, making it hard not to cry. No, not yet. I won’t cry yet.

“Janet was hardly ever home. When she was, it was to either homeschool me or train me.” Levi looks away dejectedly.

“Was Janet not a good caretaker?” Rene asks me and I shake my head.

“No, and yes. Janet ran the entire city she was the go-to. For almost everything that happened in the city, she did things the elders on her board did not want to. Plus, she was also the Governor of the Cannon Province. So she had to run Bladesfall and the three other major cities in the Province.” I pause, looking up at the sky, and remembering Janet teaching me.

“When she was home, she’d teach me basic schooling, math, history, the science of magic, etc. Then on weekends, she’d take me to the guard’s barracks, and I’d spar with the soldiers.” I smile.

“I still remember Captain Jagers laughing. It was so infectious, it always made me fight harder.” I laugh out loud for the first time.

“There was Tenzin. He was such an amazing fighter! Then when he was about to lose against me, he would lasso my legs together.” Smirking at the thought, I rub my chin where I always end up with a scrape or two on it.

Tenzin was a jerk, but I miss him, too.

“Oh! Then, when Janet wasn’t around, my favorite thing was after the lessons; sometimes, the soldiers would teach me how to use all the weapons in the barracks.” The entire group is now staring at me.

Dang, I can feel the heat in my cheeks. Fates, I hope they don’t notice.

Rene smiles and mouths to me to go on.

“W-when Janet was busy and Lucy was in town, she’d sneak me out. She.” I pause trying to not let the tears welling up fall down my cheeks.

“She would take me out on the town and teach me how to be social. That’s where I’d get to know certain governors, queens, Royal Knights, etc. So I know some people, but before now I only left the city once. So I don’t have many rumors to help with stuff outside my city.” They all nod.

“Well, for now, that’s enough, Emelia. No need to keep pushing yourself to speak on such a painful subject.” Alva doesn’t look at me; she keeps her eyes ahead. Her black hair bobs with the rhythm of the horse.

More silence before Levi speaks up. Levi breaks the silence and mentions, “Alva, one of my hunters, mentioned that the princess was spotted around Klagden before we left.”

“Ah, yes, the Princess Ezekiel mentioned we would run into her. He asked me to see if we could recruit her.” Alva says, eyes still facing the road.

Levi’s eyes grow wide. “Recruit her? Do you think she will? She’s most likely still looking for her mother and little sister.”

“I brought that up. She may not help, but he mentioned if time permits, we may indulge her fantasies.” Alva states.

“Aaaah. So he wants us to take advantage of that and poke at her emotional state, yes?” Levi asks shaking his head.

“Sadly, yes,” Alva sighs.

“Man, Zeke is as ruthless as always, isn’t he?” Rene says and also sighs, but more dramatically.

Finally, I chime in. “Princess Victoria and the King had a falling out when the Queen and king’s younger daughter disappeared eight years ago, correct? It was headline news for months.”

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

“The Queen and her sister both disappeared shortly after Jonathan’s death. Or so we thought. It was all too much for her. Losing her Mother, brother and little sister all on the same day.” Rene doesn’t have the same bouncy look in her eyes while she speaks.

“She left. Declaring, she would find her mother and sister if she had to tear this kingdom apart to do it.” Rene tells me.

Thus, we lull back into the silence as the four of us clop along the long, winding road towards Klagden. The four of us reach a hill overlooking a small, quaint town with a few plots of land with a yellow flair. Perhaps there is wheat planted by someone.

“Something’s wrong; we need to get into town now!” Alva rushes off on her horse and races toward the town.

“Alva, what the hell are you doing? Stop rushing into things! Come on, Emmy, hold on tight!” With that, Rene takes off on our horse as well.

Levi follows close behind.

The closer to town we get, the more grating to my ears the screams become. We see people scrambling away from something.

“Levi, Rene, Emelia, be ready for anything!” Alva jumps off her horse, and we follow her lead and rush into town.

Upon passing the walls that surround the town and entering the gate, a sea of bodies floods the road before us. Blood paints the dirt road, making a muddy mess to step in. The metallic smell of the blood tinges the warm summer air.

“Oh, my God, this is awful,” Rene mumbles through the hand clenched to her mouth. She carefully steps over a small girl who lies dead on the road.

“Yes, I agree.” Alva bends over the body of the same small girl still in her nightclothes to examine the body of an older man.

“He has huge gash wounds in his chest and abdomen.” He suffered from the severe gash wounds through his chest and abdomen.

“ROAR!”

A roar shakes the ground below us. Alva jumps back and reaches for the sword at her belt.

“Ready yourselves now!” Alva shouts. She draws her blade and her eye narrows on the tree line.

“GRAAAH!”

Another awful roar, then a swell of magical energy, stirs up the mzynes in the air. My skin prickles at them, going mad for the mana in the air, almost like falling in a small thorn bush.

“Alva, what the hell is that?” I ask her, reaching for my dagger.

She’s quiet for a moment, examining the area.

“It’s a Manticore.” Her aura level rises and the pressure pushes down on me a little.

“The fact it should be here is impossible.” Alva’s eyes never leave the monster.

Levi pulls his bow from his back and then pulls a jar with a strange orange substance out of his pack off the horse. He pulls out an arrow with a broad tip and dips it into the substance. The peculiar orange substance drips off the end, crackling the earth below.

“What is it?” I ask, also not taking my eyes off the massive creature

“I can’t believe the rumors were true that The Four Deus have been resurrected,” Alva says, her magical energy climbing.

“What do we do? If that’s one of the Desus and the legends are true, then it’s practically unkillable?” Levi states, knocking an arrow.

Alva waits to answer. “Unkillable” is inaccurate, but the power you need to kill a Deus is incalculable. We must be ready to fight. Running from it will be fruitless. We must additionally protect the remaining people from its terror.”

All of us ready for the inevitable attack. As the steps get closer and closer, a rotten stench violates my nostrils, something like that of rotten meat, and the tang of iron wafts through the breeze. The magic in the air swells, and I feel that same crushing fear from Bladesfall and the capital returning to me. A massive set of bright blue eyes peer at us from inside the forest, and then, with a few steps, the beast shows the rest of its body.

I look up at the beast, who towers over me like a giant of just pure muscle and raw magical energy. Its purple eyes and thin pupils stare down at me. I swallow, my mouth becoming dry and my breathing becomes a conscious effort.

An ordinary middle-aged man’s face, with its jowl, stretched wide to accommodate the massive rows of bloody fangs. The lion’s body has a scruffy mane caked with blood, an enormous body with bulging muscles, a tail with spikes, and a noxious green liquid dripping from its tail. The liquid drips to the ground below and sizzles on contact with the dirt below.

This thing has so much power it’s bordering on fantasy. How can any living being carry so much magic? Its energy reminds me of the Giant King’s ancient and raw aura. My mind falls back to that moment of terror and darkness. Any resolve I’ve gained crumbles, and I feel myself shrinking beneath the sheer might of this beast’s power.

“Emelia! Stand tall; if you are to be one of the Nine, do not falter!” Alva shouts at me. I see her standing in front of me, a wall between me and its sheer might.

I feel some strength flow back into me, but not as much as I think I need to face this thing.

“Right!” I shout, pushing my shaking body back up into a standing position.

The Manticore swallows, the body stuck in its jaw. It glares down at us, huffs, and then leans back on its haunches, readying itself to pounce. Before it can strike, Alva vanishes. She reappears in the air in front of the Manticore’s face. Her blade cuts right between its eyes. It bellows in pain. Alva appears beside me again.

“I’m not positive our blades can cut deep enough through its hide, minor wounds at most.” She says, staring the Manticore down, her eyes never missing a step the beast takes.

She’s like a Carnivore hunting its prey.

“How should we go about this, Alva?” Levi asks, scanning the area.

Alva takes a step toward the beast. “Emelia upfront with me. Rene, take the beast’s ankles and try to cut its tendons if possible.” Alva looks at Levi.

“I will get on top of that roof on the far left of the beast and hit its softer spots.” Alva nods and Levi runs off. Rene and I do as well. Getting up front with Alva as Rene and Levi ready themselves.

The beast has gotten over Alva’s cut. It resets back on its legs, ready for another attack. Now enraged. It charges us with a massive roar. It’s stopped in its tracks by an arrow in its eye. An ear-shattering scream from the beast has me covering my ears. It spins onto a nearby home, and you see Levi readying a second arrow.

“Why do you have me upfront, Alva? Rene would be a bigger help, right?” I’m still determining what all of Rene’s power ensues, but I’m sure she doesn’t just have healing magic.

“Rene is unique in that she has healing magic and speed magic. Except she is not enough of a heavy hitter to help me fight back a beast of this size. You and I can push it back, keeping it distracted long enough to give Levi and Rene their openings to strike.” Alva says.

“Well, I guess my attacks are strong.” I think back to Captain Jager.

I could push him back several meters with my wind gusts. He was three hundred pounds normally, but when he turned to stone, he easily weighed several hundred tons. But I don’t know, the Manticore has to weigh... what, several thousand!?

Honestly, can I help?

“Rule three, Emelia, do not doubt yourself and your strength. Thinking too slow will kill you and or your squad. Trust your strength, understand?” Alva looks at a smile on her face.

Nodding to her. “I understand.”

Alva does the same. “Alright, let’s go help Levi.”

The beast has closed the gap between Levi and itself. Five more arrows have struck the beast. But Levi is on a different roof now, as the Manticore destroyed the original roof he was on. Suddenly, Alva disappears and reappears on the left side of the beast. She slices a significant gash on its ribs.

It roars and jumps back towards where Rene is standing. She vanishes in a blur of violet lines. Now she stands by the beast’s back left ankle. Her dagger glows brightly, and then the monster tries to step on her, but she speeds away and stands next to Alva.

Rene chants a spell.

Rene doesn’t seem to move, but in a few seconds, violet lighting circles the beast’s ankles. There is a pause before all at once appears several geysers of blood from all four of the Manticore’s ankles. The beast buckles from Rene’s attack.

“Emelia, be ready to attack. It’s heading towards you!” Alva shouts.

The beast turns its bloodied face toward me. Its hungry eyes glare down at me. Seeing myself in the beast’s eyes, all I can see is a coward waiting for death. My body freezes over instantly. I can see the beast is now charging toward me. A vision of that woman’s yellow eyes stares back at me as I fall to the ground.