Arakiel awoke at dawn’s first light, feeling oddly refreshed, as though he had slept for an entire day or two, perhaps even longer.

The air smelled of vanilla and lavender.

He had turned around during his rest to better accommodate his sleeping, winged aurea next to him and judging by the position of his hands, he had riposted her embrace by letting one of his hands rest on her neck while the other had wandered between her thighs.

He briefly wondered whether his body wanted to tell him something, but it had already done so, which was probably a good and healthy thing? To desire the stunningly gorgeous girl that slept next to you in the bed?

Feeling particularly well-spirited today, he gently caressed Aurora’s cuddly cheeks while gently stroking her thighs. Even before she woke up, her wings began to stretch and shudder lightly which he found particularly adorable.

He leaned in for a kiss and when their lips met, her eyes suddenly opened wide and, using his brief confusion, she bit him on his lower lip and then went in for a particularly passionate albeit slightly bloody kiss.

Arakiel grabbed Aurora and turned to lie on his back and when she was on top of him in full view again, both went for a quick and intimate round of exchanging pleasantries. It left them both wanting for more, but his seraphim sought to catch the dawn for him.

Thankfully, their room’s little balcony did not face towards the town, so he only had the outlying savanna, the town’s stone walls and above all, his beautiful aurea dressed in nothing but her gossamer wrap to adore.

This time, however, she hesitated after crystallizing a shard of sunlight and as she turned around, her golden eyes looked him over inquisitively.

And while he found the shard in her hand fascinating on its own, he found her barely veiled body much more enticing.

“My Lord Arakiel… I have caught the dawn’s light for you,” Aurora reported in a slightly meek tone which, in combination with her current appearance, made him lose a large portion of his blood as it was definitely needed elsewhere right now.

“Give it to me,” he answered somewhat distracted while holding out his hand, causing his aurea to suddenly kneel in front of him in order to present the shard.

He took it habitually and, given the current situation, recalled a particular detail about last night. “You took flame from me without permission,” he admonished, alluding to a particular scenario that happened in al-Aliriq’s.

He only needed to lightly pat her head on the back for Aurora to get the memo, but his aurea’s immediate compliance only made it better, especially as she once again proved to be a particularly fast learner. To further enhance this buttery smooth morning, he discovered that he could easily reach her outstretched, excited wings which quickly turned his usually feisty food into a meek and delectable snack.

Arakiel felt so great, refreshed and virile today that he just couldn’t help himself and judging by the way his little seraphim reacted, she had fully embraced her very tasty role for today.

Halfway through, he recalled a promise to Mellia and briefly skimmed his surprisingly detailed mind until he found something suitable.

Pulling out two of the strips of silk that Aurora had obtained earlier, he used them to form a provisional gag although the sounds that followed them only made it last longer.

But when it was done, she snuggled up to him, her voice still slightly quivering from the afterglow. “Thank you, Lord Arakiel, my conqueror… are you satisfied??”

“Very much so, my lovely aurea,” he replied and kissed her head first and her mouth right afterwards.

They cuddled for a while longer and Arakiel had possibly never felt so emboldened to start a new day, ready to tackle just about anything.

Aurora and Arakiel then found out that there was a second, much smaller bath on the third floor where the count and countess used to live. There, they freshened up a bit before heading down towards the central chamber where they found a rather well-tabled breakfast buffet with Mellia, Selene and Ezekiel already digging in while their new captives ate at another table which wasn’t as richly outfitted, but still held much more high quality food than what they had eaten during their travels.

The two jinnum females were already finished, sitting on one of the couches, with Jenaya holding her daughter. Both seemed fairly apathetic to their surroundings and they probably hadn’t had a lot of sleep.

Upon their arrival, the blonde man with the amethyst eyes threw him a slick smile, Mellia chose to pretend neither existed and Selene actually looked both over with a most curious glimpse.

The two greeted their party, were greeted in turn and then they had a relatively relaxing start into the new day. The food was delicious, filling and quite a change up from the earlier weeks.

After breakfast, Arakiel and Ezekiel began to scour the mansion for anything valuable.

He ended up storing lots of clothes, jewelry, food and pieces of artwork which might fetch them a tidy sum in al-Aliriq but overall, all of it was just of mediocre quality with barely any magical items in the count’s possession.

The single and sole highlight was a small ring in one of the countess’s jewelry boxes. A small brass ring with a set ruby, probably a ring of minor fire protection or the like. He couldn’t stash it, so it had to be magical.

Unless one was a Constructor, who could examine the artifact in full, it was more or less impossible to tell. It might be possible if the artifact had a very notable effect, but that wasn’t usually the case for lesser-grade ones.

Given the cost of any such item, most people didn’t bother with low-grade artifacts unless they had a Constructor that needed to hone their craft. After all, even the lowest-quality shards could be used in the creation of higher tier artifacts.

After having stripped the place of most valuables, Ezekiel had their three captives line up, telling them that they would now need to be shackled for the march back.

The count’s daughters didn’t seem very happy when Arakiel and Ezekiel used heavy sets of iron collars and shackles to bind them together, but they accepted their fate for the time being. All three had been given cloaks with wide, deep hoods which were very well suited for traveling.

Just before they set out, Ezekiel advised – not ordered – the three girls to only look at the floor and keep moving, no matter their surroundings.

He repeated that warning some time later as they neared the Boundary’s central square, extending it to everyone, especially the captives, the former captives and Mellia.

In the distance, large parts of the town had already been put further to the torch, the fire spreading at a much faster rate than before.

Although the scent of smoke was omnipresent, another sickly-sweetening scent soon joined in and even though that was already already quite telling, Arakiel still recoiled when he saw what the Shamshierum had done.

Their hateful zeal must’ve driven the survivors to work throughout the night and while that alone was already frightening considering their absence, their ‘monument’ as Rahul ibun Munir had called it nearly caused Arakiel to throw up.

He just had a glance and that was enough for him focus on just crossing this cursed place, hoping that he’d forget the pyramid of freshly decapitated heads alongside the other gruesome displays although that hope died when he realized that the Shamshierum had lined the entire main street all the way to the southern gate with impaled, headless corpses.

But even that wasn’t it just yet, for the wails of women and children soon followed, coming right from outside the southern gate which had not yet been put to the torch.

Arakiel would not describe what he saw, but it left him speechless. Speechless and furious.

The Shamshierum had become specters of boundless hatred who sought to avenge Jenaya’s fate by turning just as low, only on a much larger scale.

Others would just describe them as marauding band of cruel rapists and they’d be right, but also wrong. What took place here didn’t just happen in the aftermath of a battle, it was a deliberate act of terror – one he would not stick around to watch to the end.

Despite this, he couldn’t stop himself from calling Zari Amar and Rahul foolish, for their actions would undoubtedly force a retaliatory reaction on an unimaginable scope, considering their plan to send the branded victims throughout the entire Middle Kingdom.

But the marauders were blind to reason. Under the call of ‘justice for Jenaya’ they intended to replicate her fate a hundredfold.

And when Arakiel’s initiate plan had been to just pass by and more or less pretend that all the atrocities committed here were inevitable, he just couldn’t do it after realizing that the eleven Shamshierum intended to methodically rape and impregnate every surviving Middle mother in front of their little children while their stripped daughters were to undoubtedly saved to send the final message.

His mind briefly went blank when Zari Amar casually headed over towards the next bound woman in order to repeat the process he and his men had undoubtedly been doing for hours now.

There was nothing but cold, calculated hatred in the jinnum’s eyes and even when Arakiel silently slashed his throat in a surge of flared fury, they did not change.

There was no surprise, no outrage – only cold fury. He died a man consumed by hatred.

Ezekiel reacted swiftly, too swift for Rahul to notice the betrayal. He chopped the man’s head clean off, his physique and skin unable to withstand Count Filann’s sword.

The other nine Shamshierum were so caught up in their acts of vengeance that they, too, didn’t realize their fate until it was too late.

In a matter of two minutes, Arakiel and Ezekiel silently and decidedly killed – or perhaps executed was a more fitting term – every single Shamshierum.

As Arakiel looked down on the last thoroughly blood-smeared rapist beneath him, he felt some sort of grim satisfaction while also realizing that he had just made things a whole lot more complicated. The tall man underneath him had been the Air Alterator archer, yet he had died just like the others after Arakiel cut his throat.

Unbuffed low level people – mages especially – were just normal people, after all.

He looked to the side, towards Ezekiel who kept his blade in ibun Qasim’s back. The Earth Enchanter was the only one who had managed to raise any cry whatsoever, not that it had helped him.

In the distance, he saw his little sister who had pulled back her hood, giving him an approving nod. Aurora and Selene remained in the back, their expressions unreadable.

He liked to believe that Aurora approved, but he’d know soon.

Jenaya watched the death of her people with an apathetic gaze, yet he thought to notice a slight glimpse of relief.

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Count Eremon’s daughters had averted their eyes.

The shackled slaves-to-be that had been forced to watch the event, with Countess Muirne at the front, stared with uncertainty – something that every other Middle did.

All eyes were on them, those of the children, the teenagers and that of the kneeling and abused women who looked up if they were able to – most were not.

A short moment of bated breath, about to explode into something.

Ezekiel then turned towards him, his face a grimace of determination. His voice had a slight, quivering undertone beneath it and only then did Arakiel see his that his companion’s hands were shaking. “Hit me, will you?”

He did not speak in the Kalanite tongue.

Arakiel spat on the dead man beneath him as the blood still dripped off of his dagger. His own voice quivered as well, the adrenaline beginning to recede as his mind caught up with what he had just done. What they had just done. “This was… the correct thing to do.”

“Is it… over?” A woman in front of him asked in a quiet, disbelieving tone.

Seeing her there, he just couldn’t take it.

Arakiel knelt down and cut the bindings around her wrists and ankles, saying in a somewhat meaningful tone. “No… this is far from over. I daresay it is about to begin.”

He then tossed the bloody dagger next to her and looked over towards Ezekiel once again, saying. “We should leave.”

“Wait!” Another bound female cried out. “You can’t just leave us here!”

Arakiel took heart as his mind began to outline its conclusions on how to proceed. His words came across as calm, concise and with a tinge of distance. “Make no mistake, Middle. I merely acted because I couldn’t support this.”

He got up and motioned towards the line of shackled and partially-yoked prisoners. This time, his words came across as authoritative with a hint of determination. “We’re taking them along. The rest of you are free to do as you please. Hinder us, and you’ll be added to the line.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Ezekiel queried somewhat doubtfully, having changed to the lingua kalans.

Arakiel hinted at the grazing horses and camels that were already packed with all manner of loot, food and drinks. “It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare for sure,” he agreed but then pointed out. “We need to present something to al-Aliriq. Switching sides is not an option given that we killed Count Eremon and helped in this massacre.”

“Then I hope you’re ready for some shows of force. They may be shackled and bound, but they’ll most definitely try something since we’re basically just two.” Ezekiel affirmed aloud. He dislodged the blade and headed over towards Countess Muirne, whose hands were also locked in a yoke while her tongue, too, was partially held outside her mouth with a gag to ensure that she couldn’t cast any spells. Most prisoners were merely gagged with cloth, only the known mages had been given special treatment.

The countess’s initially surprised and even somewhat relieved look turned to one of fear when Ezekiel took on Selene’s aspect while picking up the long, rattling leash of iron, that connected to the countess’s collar – and from there, to all the other prisoners.

“Alright, ladies,” Ezekiel shouted, once again speaking in the local tongue. “Time to move those shapely butts of yours because we’re going on a little journey. Anyone straggles or trips and I’ll spank you thrice in addition to cutting your ration for the day!”

Arakiel, who had also taken on Aurora’s aspect, had called out to Mellia, Aurora and Selene to collect the animals while he stated in no unclear terms that anyone, be they woman, boy or girl would regret it if they tried to play the hero.

The rate at which the victims of the Shamshierum’s atrocity freed themselves accelerated with every cut binding, especially when their sons and daughters joined in – yet despite this, none of them tried to stand in the planeswalkers’ way.

They cried, supported one another and even began to tear at their rapists’ bodies to vent their anger, yet none opposed Ezekiel and Arakiel.

Around half an hour later, they set out towards the desert, with Arakiel spearheading the expedition, countess Muirne’s leash having been fastened at his camel’s saddle.

Aurora, Selene and Mellia tried their best to keep the horses and camels in line some distance behind the long row of prisoners which was probably only successful because Jenaya had surprisingly offered her help while her daughter was just trying her hardest to keep up. The women managed on their own, however.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel constantly circled the prisoners in order to exert control and dispense discipline if necessary.

Until they rested in the afternoon, that had happened nearly a dozen times. He followed up on his threat to cut their ration by leaving them gagged.

Manually feeding and re-gagging over a hundred prisoners proved to be very time-consuming, but they couldn’t risk unshackling even one of them. The first break did finish much quicker than anticipated as both Ezekiel and Arakiel agreed to not feed anyone that insulted them.

The hateful gazes that rested on him did not bother him, however. Now that the rules had been established and he and Ezekiel had assumed control, he would enforce them come what may.

On the first evening, he ordered Nyanna to help with the feeding which she did at first but when she thought he wasn’t looking, she tried to silently weave a spell at her mother.

Arakiel’s reaction came swift and without any warning. He easily ambushed and overpowered the young woman after which he reprimanded her harshly, taking a note from Ezekiel. He first questioned her on what she had done wrong and when she couldn’t answer, he listed the rules she had broken.

As punishment, she was stripped and bound like the other mages, only that her leash was separate and fastened to the other side of his camel’s saddle.

When the countess then insulted him again, she was denied food, not water, once again.

Their progress over the coming days was slow and sluggish, but neither Arakiel nor Ezekiel ever dropped their aspect nor did they give any quarter, always explaining why a punishment was given and then following up on it.

The second day of their departure was the worst and they barely made any progress, but when their captives realized that no help was coming and their captors would not back down, things began to turn around for the better.

When those who delayed the caravan had initially been regarded with unspoken support, gratitude or even pride, the opposite became true past the fourth day, when any straggler was stared down by their fellow captives for delaying all of them. After all, each day out here in the desert was harsh and they didn’t know how much provisions their captors had stored.

To slightly support that sentiment, Arakiel and Ezekiel began rationing just a little bit and it wasn’t hard to figure out who would get left behind first.

The only ones that remained thoroughly untouched – and were even allowed to walk around with nothing but the iron collar around their necks – were Ezekiel’s two teenage captives who had quickly caught on that the best way to make it through this unscathed was to care about oneself and at most one other person.

The sisters’ assistance proved to be a vital speed-up when it came to feeding the prisoners and their presence proved that their captors were staying true to their creed.

When one-and-a-half weeks were over, any dissent besides that of countess Muirne had been squashed and occasionally, whenever Arakiel looked back at the row of quietly and obediently marching prisoners, he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment.

They would all survive or as Ezekiel would say: he hadn’t wasted anything.

When a big commotion happened in the following night, this particular sentiment was put to the test as three of their captives had been stung by a toxic animal, some kind of desert arachnid that hid in the sands.

While Mellia’s enchantments could only prolong the three young women’s life, it could not safe them, and neither had an antidote.

With no other option to pull from, Arakiel questioned their captives and indeed, a brown-haired woman in her mid-twenties motioned and then, after having her gag removed, claimed to be a higher level Nature Enchantress who could probably defeat or at least stall the poison until a proper doctor was around.

Ezekiel and Arakiel briefly considered the ups and downs, with Ezekiel arguing it might be too dangerous. Arakiel, however, opted to give the woman a chance to prove herself, but she could expect no mercy if she tried anything but that.

It had been another risk, but it did work out. The Enchantress couldn’t purge the toxin, but she could stall it long enough to dissolve on its own.

He took the risk of letting a higher level mage attend their wounded and while sole enchanters were terrible combatants, that could easily change if she also happened to be an Alterator or an Evoker. Both possible if she was level five.

They never found out, for the Enchantress saved the three other women’s lives without ever making a ruckus, after which she allowed herself to be shackled once again.

That event turned out to be the last straw that broke their prisoner’s defiance, for there was none afterwards. With the countess isolated by her fellow prisoners, none opposed them any further.

The caravan was spotted by al-Aliriq’s scouts roughly two weeks after having set out and when they did, they briefly inquired about Arakiel and his intention.

When he reported the successful sacking and destruction of Boundary at the loss of all the Shamshierum’s members, the men were stupefied and full of doubt, but when Jenaya introduced herself as the fifth daughter of Sultan Zimraan al al-Aliriq, the men’s eyes nearly popped out of their skulls, even more so when she fully confirmed Arakiel’s story, claiming that the men of the Shamshierum had died in combat. When she then, in a surprisingly authoritative tone, ordered them to report her return, the scouts hurried away as fast as their camels could carry them.

Sometime later, when they were slightly isolated, Arakiel queried why Jenaya had lied on their behalf, to which she said that not only had the winged maiden of gold requested it, she was also deeply in their debt, not only for her rescue, but for ending the Shamshierum’s torment.

Tomorrow, they’d reach their destination which meant that they needed to figure what kind of message they wanted to send.

After some discussion with the rest of his party, they agreed to heap most if not everything onto Arakiel, which he was fine with.

With their arrival foretold, it ended up being on a much grander scale than anyone of them could’ve anticipated in their wildest dreams.

Not only had Speaker Masus and his team of elders ensured that there were several hundreds of young andeager warriors lining the street, their faces wide at the sight of shackled Middle women and the animals laden with plunder and food, but another faction had also sent a delegation.

Arakiel and his party were already impressed with the reception that the citizens of al-Aliriq offered them, with little fireworks, wondrous scents and thousands of flower petals that lined the perfectly-cleaned marble streets of the desert city.

Not only had the merchants, the warriors and the craftsmen assembled to honor the return of the vanguard, even some of their spouses followed the procession from behind veils of silk and velvet. Boys cheered them on while numerous adults sang praises for the heroic Shamshierum and their honorable sacrifice to the Holy Transcended’s Chosen people’s cause. Some, however, also spoke of the illustrious divine envoys who were hailed as harbingers of the Holy Transcended himself, especially as Arakiel and Ezekiel still held on to their seraphim’s aspects to make them come across as very special indeed.

And yet, all of that praise fell flat as soon as the caravan, spearheaded by Arakiel, Aurora as well as Jenaya and her daughter, arrived at the first major square that was most often blessed by the oasis’s everspout.

There, two lines of more or less fully veiled warriors stood, their polished, lamellar armor gleaming brightly in the scorching sun even through the thin white cloak that each one had wrapped around them. The Mirrorguard, Jenaya immediately identified them as – the personal guardians of the jinnum.

Each of these soldiers wore a halberd made of dark metal with a slightly reddish hue while a curved sword with an elaborate, ornate hilt and crossguard dangled at their belts.

And in the middle of these twenty-four wardens waited two people – a taller man and a smaller woman – dressed in multiple layers of heavily ornamented scarlet silk with several yellow and golden flourishes.

The man wore a wooden staff whose upper end twisted around a sizable ruby of the size of Arakiel’s fist while the woman wore two slim curved blades that rested in her sash, each one made of the same material as the mirrorguards’ halberds.

Both of these honorable representatives wore a veil across their face and while the man covered his hair with a large turban with yet another big ruby in a golden setting, the woman had chosen a thin net of scarlet gossamer than had hundreds if not thousands of little pearls woven into it.

It was downright decadent.

Arakiel dismounted first after which he helped his aurea off of the camel. Then, he reached for one of the two leashes that had been tied to his saddle, the one that connected to his unruly maidservant who seemed ever so glad to have been given a chance to prove herself today.

Her elaborate dress, the jewelry and the circlet which were right from her own wardrobe outed her as a member of Middle nobility but unlike the other prisoners, she only had an iron collar with an iron leash attached to it. Nyanna’s ‘voluntary’ display of obedience had already drawn comments and when Arakiel escorted her across the plaza without needing to drag her, he could tell that the intended symbolism worked.

Aurora held his other hand while Jenaya and her daughter walked slightly behind him, but in front of Nyanna.

There were hundreds of people watching them from the side and he had a feeling that the next moments would prove crucial for his ambition of conquering the plane.

As soon as Arakiel stood opposite of the two luxuriously dressed jinnum, he and Aurora parted, making way for their own jinnum to enter the stage.

Head high and her squeezing her daughter’s hand, Jenaya stepped forward.

When she spoke up, her words rang not only true, but they held gentle authority.

None of her apathy remained.

“Jenaya saaba Zimraan al-Aliriq, I return at last!”