Why the fuck did mother send me to kill bandits? Surely, she wasn’t that fucked in the head to think that I would accept?

Well, I did, but that’s beside the point.

I trudged softened dirt with a light pack on my back. We had returned to Mr Cedar’s house and got some necessities before heading out. In the moment everything had seemed fine, but given the time to question it, everything shat itself.

Mr Cedar and Mark seemed to be having a blast on their little adventure. But this trip wasn’t to please them. We needed to get rid of the bandits that I didn’t even know if existed. I knew next to nothing about their location, just that they are somewhere away from the manor.

The territory was mainly concentrated around the manor. This meant that trips between villages on the outskirts would take days. The villages that far out were tiny, most barely warranting a few guards. This made it all the weirder that mother of all people didn’t silence their pleas.

I pushed my concerns back. The feeling that something was wrong however continued with me. This was not the first time I had felt such wrongness. It was like when you miss a day of brushing your teeth, everything feels… off.

The sun quickly abandoned us as we advanced to the next town. The sun was such a fickle fuck, making us wake every morn just to shit on us when we want to get soehting done.

We weren’t close to the north, few in the empire were. days were as long for us as the rest of the empire. I knew this, but still, I wanted to finish things NOW. I had a suspicion that my restlessness may have been from the off feeling. But no matter how hard I tried to listen to my gut; I just couldn’t be bothered to express it.

Mark and Mr Cedar got a room for the two of them while I got a separate one. If they were any younger I would make a joke or two, but I knew that if it were to happen one of them would most likely do their back out. I didn’t know how they would react to jokes about their age either.

The two old men were helping me to entertain themselves. I didn’t want to ruin anything for them. I didn’t know. The feeling sucked, and this wasn’t a feeling that I could enjoy. I felt around them, but sometimes that wasn’t a good thing.

I lay there in the stiff bed. The entire day had flashed past me. My thoughts clouded every moment into a blur. I wanted to rest, but, but. So many buts, the world is truly cruel. I want to speak, to cry out. whenever I achieve something, I seek something more. Is it human nature to never be content?

The more I feel like a human the more restless I get. Like the flesh I wear is not my own. The feeling is strange, I don’t care whose body this is, it is just a vessel for ME. I am me, whether I am a sad sack of shit like always or finally happy, I am still me.

The morning was filled with less contemplation and more movement. I stirred at dawn and got dressed ready for the day ahead. I headed down and exected to find the two old hags eating.

I didn’t need to look to hard before concluding that they weren’t there. I went to their room and banged on the door as loud as I could. I had to double check that I wasn’t hitting the doorknob when I knocked. I wasn’t, but I wasn’t to the point where I would imagine pain.

It took a while but the two eventually came out, opening the fist thick door. I realised where the pain came from and just stared at the door for a while. I had never seen such a marvel before, how they even hung it baffled me. I did seem reasonable though, a man like Mark could bowl right through a normal door.

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Mark tapped my shoulder and brought me back to reality.

“Oi, short stacks, you woke us, don’t just stand there.”

Mr cedar took fault with Mark’s words after staring at me for a while.

“I don’t think you are going to get away with that for long.”

“How so?”

“The wee ones been growing; give them a few months and they might be taller than you.”

I didn’t know how to take their conversation. It would definitely be nice to stop being called short, but then again, sometimes it’s nice. Again I was left confused, the world couldn’t let my mind still.

I poked the old men and started heading down the stairs. Mark burst out laughing and followed along. The boulders laughter would surely his identity, but I wasn’t worried. However I was confused again, he had never acted like that in the manor.

My confusion did not outlast my meal, and we soon set out. Instead of immediately setting out we asked the guards. They were mostly useless, only providing some speculations when we presented the plaque. it was better than nothing however, at least we knew the plaque worked.

We continued on.

I wasn’t there. As if a transparent film cover3d my eyes I watched on as the day passed by. There wasn’t anything wrong with this, it was just boring.

We soon closed this day too t an end. There wasn’t much that happened, and we picked up a commission to do in the morning. The village we decided to stop in looked like any other village. I tried to find something unique, but I failed on all accounts.

It was when we entered the nearest in however that the village became more than ordinary. Mark and Mr Cedar both put themselves in front of me. Mr Cedar kept quiet, but mark was kind enough to say something.

“My lady, stay behind us.”

Mark should have kept his mouth shut. I protested, their weirdness causing me to forget something.

“What are you doing, and why did you call me that in public?!”

“it is best we leave, and quickly.”

Mark didn’t answer my question, but before I could process his words another voice rang out.

“No need, I am quite harmless, I can assure you that.”

I looked between the two grey sentinels to find the owner of the voice. It looked like it came from a hooded figure sat at the table in front of us. There didn’t seem to be anything off with him, but the two old men still didn’t move.

The voice sounded out again. it sounded both smooth and scratchy. It was not overly scratchy, just slightly. The sound was weird, if voices could get caught on something, it would explain things.

“Eh, do what you want. Though I suppose you should explain thing to the fearless wee las behind ya. Wouldn’t hurt. Oh, and if I wanted you dead, do you think you could even walk in here?”

Mark and Mr Cedar still remained silent, so I took the opportunity.

“So, what’s going on?”

Mark answered, not a hint of joy in his voice. Just like the Mark that taught me.

“It’s a relic.”

“And what’s that?”

“Something old, older than even me. this world is old enough for them to be common but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. you will most likely see at least one in your life, however seeing the same one twice is rare. They normally keep to themselves.”

The voice chimed in once Mark had finished.

“I have a simpler explanation; WE are the discarded dregs of once better times. this world is falling to decay. Hypocrisy gave us her loving embrace, but Nadir’s tears are relentless. One day we shall all slip into the void.”

Mark hearing the man speak again added something he forgot.

“They also say really cryptic shit like that… a lot.”

“Now, now, for those who know what hypocrisy or Nadir are would find that information useful. But then again those who know should never have this information. The white fleet knew, they tried to escape. Now the engines of Exodus have gone cold.”

“Exodus… that name sounds familiar.”

“It should, that thing was bloody massive, almost as big as a continent. A pity though I was too young to see it myself. Plenty of records just lying around here and there though. I am pretty sure most of them nowadays are children’s tales.”

Both Mark and Mr Cedar were thinking hard about something. the man saw this and took the opportunity to speak again.

“you guys have been real amusing, how about I pay for your stay?”

It was then that I realised that no one else had heard our conversation. the man had done something while we were speaking. It seemed logical now that I thought about it, normal people would run away if they heard of an ancient and powerful being just siting there. Mark and Mr Cedar seemed intent on doing just that at first.

Mr Cedar exited contemplation a little after the man made the offer. In stead of accepting the offer he stood up properly and bowed. Mark followed closely afterwards, and the man spoke again.

“No need to apologise, after all things just changed. Now enjoy your sleep, I have to tend to another visitor.”

The man’s words were confusing, and just as fast as he had said them I saw black.