POV: Milder

my eyes felt heavy. My entire body felt heavy. The bed was soft, and I could do nothing but drift back to sleep, safe in my sheets and pillows. My dream in the sky had returned from its migration, to greet me with its splendor. A moment later, I was watching myself sleep, mouth agape, snoring with power I had yet to tap into awake.

"What's he dreaming about?" Djarfr stood next to me, looking at spit pooling on my pillow.

"He's dreaming about ducks. Again. At first I thought it was funny, but now, once a week, I can't stop thinking about ducks." That was the voice of Seicig. She noticed me, and coaxed me away after she left the room.

I felt I was being watched by something out of view, pushing me away from this vision, and I floated towards something else. The eyes of someone else. A man. He was picking up cherries from a stand. The clerk asked for money. I gave him an iron coin, and I felt a twinge of sadness from the clerk.

The vision faded out and was replaced, once again, by another. A flamboyant man dressed in tiger skins was drinking with me, partaking of a warm, red and sweet wine. Being here, I was filled with contentment, like sitting down after running until you could barely stand.

Who am i even looking through?

-Who the hell are you?-

Can he hear me?

-GET OUT!-

My chest felt like it was being crushed, and I stood up as fast I could, but I couldn't breathe yet. Slowly, air returned to my lungs, but I was still weak from the encounter with whatever it was that. Seicig rushed in and helped me to my feet.

"I dreamt about Kykvandi." I was coughing up blood between each word.

"I saw it too. It felt just like him, so he must be close. What was he doing?"

"Drinking red wine with a man dressed in tiger skins. They were in a room like ours."

Seicig said. "He must be in this inn." Djarfr tried to follow her but Seicig stopped her. She wanted to do this herself in case it got dangerous. I had other plans with my day. The tournament started in a few days, and I hadn't done any training on account of my arm.

The physicians for the tournament were setting up shop, their large red and white striped tents reminiscent of Seicig's. They were dressed in white robes, described by the tapestries I was made to sew as an orphan. A woolen apron over silk clothing, which made my surcoat seem indulgent in comparison. One of them was wearing thick furs over her gown. She was unpacking several knives, saw and axes from a blood stained chest, and the old man beside her was reading a book.

“Do you always have to hold something sharp when you're out? It seems kind of unnecessary.” I didn't realize I was in earshot, I guess I was walking towards them without realizing it. They turned to me.

“Hi. Hello. I'm uh, I'm Milder, a warrior who signed up for the tournament, I need this bandage removed.” The lady stood up and cut off my bandage with a skinning knife.

“Your wound is mostly healed. I'll wrap it and then I think you can join the rest of the contestants in training. If you keep it clean, you'll have a cool scar to show the ladies.” She elbowed me in the ribs and gave a childish smile. The old man groaned a little. I could see the title of his book. It was a standard issue book for demon hunters, FlarFell. I looked at the man.

“You're reading The fall of demons. are you expecting trouble?” He Fidgeted, struggling to find an answer, but the lady butted in. They knew each other.

“We had a run-in with a demon. We just wanted to make sure he hadn't placed a curse on us.”

“What kind of demon?”

“The most ugliest thing you've ever seen. Like you, but cleaner. I don't know why, but he kept screaming Help me I've been stabbed! Over and over. he stopped chasing me after about 4 minutes.” She was being coy. It was pissing me off. I took a deep breath and relaxed my face.

“I'm looking for a friend. He's called Kykvandi. He's tall, with grey hair and red lines on his face.” They became tense. They knew something.

“I heard that name in the town north of here, I can't remember its name. Maybe you should wait for him here.”

“Thanks. I'll do that. But first, could I have your name, fair maiden?” She shrinked into her hands. She looked at me, blushing.

“Hræ.”

”I'll look for him, thanks. I think I saw him here this morning.” They were hiding him. I just know it.

POV: Seicig

I Had to find him. He was here. We had lost the element of surprise, but we still had an ace up our sleeve. We knew he was affiliated with a contestant. Crowen. He would lead us to Kykvandi whether he wanted to or not. Tiger skins were easy to spot. I just had to reach out like before. But more focused. Tiger skin. Tiger skin.

I saw memories of them walking towards the market. There was the man in the tiger skins. I ran there, spurred on by memories. They were near. I recognized these streets. Something was trying to reach at me. I looked in a window. There stood an old man, wrapped in bandages, but I saw right through it. I walked to the house he was inside of.

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Through the stairs, to the room he was in. He just stood there. “Hello Seicig. I was expecting to find you here when I found the tracks of Milder's mutt.” I felt the anger emanating from him. He was still a novice at controlling his psychic powers. This was my chance to convince him.

“Kyn.” My words cut through his cold exterior. He was feeling something else now. A mix of sadness, and murder. This was what I needed to make him listen.

“You've been reading my mind since that time we melded. I expect no less from a backstabbing angel whore like you.”

“I'm not here to fight you. If you don't want to come with us to Zerura, I will oblige with your request, but first I need to know why you don't want to come with us.”

He took off his bandages. His face was still was still moored to the same feeling as last I spoke to him; restlessness. “You know why I can't go with you. You're simply in denial.”

“You speak as if it's obvious to anyone with common sense. The truth is, you're simply so tied up in assassination plots to realise someone might not wish you dead.”

“I told you that you know. But you refuse to connect these two threads. Milder is the answer you seek, but since you weren't the first to figure that out, you act like it's impossible.”

“Milder's innocent! He's done nothing to you for you to act with such animosity.”

“He's not the reason, you foolish child. I AM! He's from the Island. The survivor of the greatest massacre ever conceived.” My mind was racing. He told me so much, but he feared him when they had that big fight. He must have realized then that if Milder knew about him, he would abandon his quest for peace.

“I promise you to keep this a secret from him, but please stay with us. He needs you. We found noone else who would accompany us.” I prostrated to him. I wouldn't let Milder's opportunity for peace go like this.

“You will look for many more, but those you find will reject him for the same reason.”

“I heard about a list of names, encrypted with a code. You must be seeking it to destroy it. I can help you with that.” He became distracted. This was my opportunity to sneak in further.

“So now you seek to blackmail me. Your depravity knows no bounds. Perhaps I will do my part in ridding the world of angel life by snuffing out yours.” He approached me slowly. I stepped back, but someone was in front of the door. The man with tiger skins. Kykvandi grabbed my throat and lifted me. His fingers were so cold, I feared my skin would freeze over before I would lose my breath, and my life. If I did nothing, he would kill me, so I had no choice but to trick his mind into believing I was his wife. It would buy me seconds to come up with a new plan.

“Kyn, s-save me.” His eyes widened, and for a moment, he believed it, but his mind quickly shielded itself from my influence again.

“You bitch! Is nothing of mine sacred?” He tightened his grip, and my vision began to blur. Kykvandi began to grow, his skin darkened and seemed as charcoal. His eyes glowed like the beast he transformed into.

“You promised me you'd only scare her.”

“I changed my mind. She dies. Right here. Right now.”

“If you kill her now, I won't help you.”

“I'll manage.” Their words became slurred, and my vision was fading to nothing.

I was standing in total darkness. My feet were firmly planted on the ground. I saw something crouched. It had glowing eyes, like Kykvandi. I approached. It looked at me, and rose. The longer it looked at me, the more I could hear the blood thumping in my ears. My legs would not hold me anymore.

“Please let me go.” I pleaded.

“This is where you die.” The voice made my body tremble, and my arms were the next to give out. I could not face those eyes. I just wanted to curl up and die. The pain wouldn't stop, and I felt my life draining from my body. This is where I would die, a reminder to all that my life was worthless, no matter how much I surrounded myself with mediocrity. It would simply disappear once no one was there to see it.

Slowly, I stopped feeling fear, it was washed away by nothingness. It started with pure darkness, and that's how it'll end. I wasn't afraid anymore. I was ready.

POV: Djarfr

I had followed Seicig, despite her wishes. She nearly got herself killed studying sunbug larvae, if not for me being there. She was walking towards the market. She kept looking around, until here eyes locked with something in a window. If I approached, she would know I was here. I hid in an alley with a vantage point, and waited. And waited.

“Who're you waiting for?” Varr walked into the alley, scaring me half to death, and to top it all of he wasn't being very stealthy.

“Seicig went into an alley. I think she's in one of those houses, but I can't get much closer without being seen.”

“She was looking for Kykvandi, wasn't she?” I nodded. He nearly crapped his pants. He knew as well as I that Kykvandi was dangerous.

“Varr, you stay here. I'm going in there.”

“Wait, 2 people are coming out.” It was an old man and a thin man dressed in tiger skins. Those were contestants.

Varr looked at them closely. “It's kykvandi and someone else. They're trained warriors, likely from the same group. but they're walking separately.”

“What makes you so sure they're from the same group?”

“Their right hand doesn't sway as much as their left hand, and they walk in a march.” Despite their wildly different gaits, both did indeed walk at the same rhythm, and did the same thing with their hands. The man in tiger skins noticed us. He began running away. We had no choice but to follow him for answers.

He ran between houses and did his best to lose us, but Varr was prepared for this. He tugged on a rope and tripped the man over, into a mudpile that was covered by boards a few hours ago. We ran to him, and tied him up. People were, of course, staring at 2 people tie and drag a man covered in mud, but they seemed used to it.

We dragged him back to the inn, and by now he was dry. We held him in our room, and sealed all the doors. He would talk. Varr held his bow ready.

“Tell us about Kykvandi.”

“I'll tell you what I know”

“Too ba- What?”

“I trusted him to do the right thing, and he failed me. I thought I had reached through to him.”

“Slow down.”

“My name is Crowen. I am- was Kykvandi's friend. I saw him a few days ago, when he visited me, seeking somewhere to sleep. I obliged. When I found out just how much his mind had deteriorated from the stress, I thought I could help him by letting him fight some people, maybe learn to not punch holes in walls. Then you showed up, and he only got worse.” That was a lot to unpack. Something happened that I'm missing.

“He stormed off after a big fight with Milder, our leader. Something about us not understanding him.”

“And where's this Milder from?”

“The island of Stinnr.” He nodded and looked down. Varr prepared to shoot an arrow at Crowen.

Varr gritted his teeth. “You're both assassins. Now give me a good reason I shouldn't kill you where you stand.”

“I'll help you subdue him. If you decide to kill him afterwards, I won't stop you.”