Demetrius rode through the streets of Cea. He gritted his teeth so hard that he was sure they would crack. The Stratigos briefly noted that there was a man with really strange clothes in the area before focusing back on his own issues.

"This is bad! This is really bad!" he thought. "I'm collecting fate bonds the same way archers collect arrows! My magic is going to be far weaker now! I need to make some people hate me, and fast!"

The Stratigos stopped his horse and started looking around the area. He saw some people sitting at a restaurant. Demetrius rode over. Then, he gazed down at them.

"I am Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis," he introduced himself before thinking. "Names are important for magic. If they don't know your name, it won't matter if they hate you or not."

Before the people at the table could respond, Demetrius' leg lashed out. He kicked over one of their bowls of soup. Then, Demetrius threw a few coins down.

"For the soup," he said before riding off.

The Stratigos looked around for another opportunity to make people hate him as he rode. Then, he found one. A group of workers were carrying several heavy pieces of wood.

"Perfect," Demetrius thought and rode in front of them.

He stopped his horse in front of the workers. This made them stop dead in their tracks.

"Hey! Get out of our..." one of them started before looking at Demetrius.

That worker gulped.

"You're...some Stratigos, right?" he recognized the uniform.

"You are correct. I am Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis."

A few moments of awkward silence passed. Then, Demetrius had his horse move away from them.

"There. I wouldn't want to inconvenience those workers for too long, but they should at least dislike me now. I'm well on my way to getting my magic back up to its former strength," he thought.

Demetrius kept looking, sweeping his eyes for anything that he could use to make people hate him. He was certain that if he could just find one more thing, it would push his power up a little bit more and he could take a break.

That's when he witnessed it. There was a play going on in a makeshift theatre with a full crowd of people watching.

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"This is perfect! And since it's just actors and people watching them I'm bothering, I won't risk making enemies with any aristocrats," Demetrius thought.

He rode his horse over to the stage. Then, Demetrius made it walk onto the stage with him on top. Shock became plain on the faces of the actors. In the crowd, a horde of whispers rose up.

"What's going on?"

"Why did a guy ride up on a horse?"

"Is this part of the play?"

"He's dressed like a Stratigos, and he really looks the part!"

"His costume's great! I know! I've seen a Stratigos before! They've got their look spot on!"

One of the actors in the play looked up at Demetrius. He was dressed in attire that would have fit someone who lived several hundred years ago, and there was a confused expression on his face.

"And who might you be, who enters Remen lands on the eve of battle?" the actor tried to roll with it.

"I am Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis," the boy replied.

Silence overtook the area. The actor stayed in place for a moment before gesturing for Demetrius to continue talking. When the boy did not comply, the actor spoke.

"Ah, a Kallergis! Legendary for their lack of manners and for their strength against the forces of evil! Though, they are often known for being evil themselves, something I hope you are not. Alas, we already have a stratigos on our way, so you may leave now," he said, hoping that Demetrius was just a guy in a costume and not a real general.

The Stratigos just sat there for a while. Everyone watching the play remained in silence. A few giggled as they saw the actors' lingering frustration. then, Demetrius turned and left without another word.

He rode away from the play, going into another area of Cea. There, Demetrius stopped his horse and opened his status screen.

Named Entities that Love You: 2.

Named Entities that Like You: 36.

Named Entities that Dislike You: 134.

Named Entities that Hate You: 160.

Named Entities that Despise You: 46.

Named Entities that are Annoyed by You: 36.

For a moment, Demetrius sat in stunned silence.

"How?" he pondered. "How did I get people to like me? And annoyed by me? I've never even seen that before."

Before Demetrius could continue thinking, a voice caught his attention.

"Hello, Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis," it spoke.

The general turned around on his horse, coming face-to-face with a scarred boy his age. This newcomer was Grekken, like he was, and had pale white hair. Demetrius could tell it wasn't natural but from stress. Additionally, this boy's clothes were ramshackle and patchwork. He had just enough of a beard to make him an adult in the Remen Empire, but it wasn't very impressive.

"And you are?" the Stratigos asked.

"Who I am isn't important," the newcomer answered. "Just know that someday, you will start to be happy. And then, that happiness will be stripped from you."

Demetrius narrowed his eyes. Suspicion flashed through him.

"Who are..."

Before he could continue, a scream erupted from a nearby alley. Demetrius' head snapped over to see what happened. He quickly moved it back, just to see that the person he was talking to was gone.

"Dammit! He must have used magic to escape!" Demetrius thought.

He then rode his horse to the alley as fast as he could. The sight that awaited him made the Stratigos want to throw up.

A woman's corpse was on the ground. Her eyes were rolled up into the back of her head. And her intestines were flowing out of her body and splayed out on the alley ground.

"By the gods," Demetrius spoke before heaving. "There's been a murder."