VII

The sun had risen and Greatmore was very close to our hands. "Are you ready to leave, Illana?" I ask, turning to her as she adjusts her Hearing robe. "Ready as could be." She answers. "Where is Morgan at?"

"She's coming. Just wait a little longer." I buckle my three small packs around my waist, fidgeting with the belt to make sure it was secure and comfortable. "Here I am." I hear Morgan approaching and Illana and I face her. "Shall we move on now? We should make it by late noon."

"Are you only taking us with you? Why not your little Fyuror?" Illana asks. "I know I once said I liked having him around, but he's a Warhound and needs to stay with Bodarhd and protect them from bandits." I clarify and she nods, listening. "That is a good point. I understand now."

"Well then, if you two are just going to stand there. I will scout ahead." Morgan walks off and I shake my head. "Did something happen between you two last night?" Illana asks as we follow Morgan who has made a fair distance from us in a short time. "No. We discussed some issues last night, but she knows some things that can be…personal. I enjoy her company though." I say. "I wish I had your life, growing with a wealthy family, happily with both parents to care for me." She says.

"You want a life where decisions are made for you? Your mother let you decide your path, mine didn't." I answer and she smiles gently. "The Lord has chosen you and now I understand a lot more and why."

"Why would the Lord choose me?" I'm only seeking out vengeance." I say.

"The Lord knows you may have far more trials ahead of you and what is additional to that."

I think of my words and she finally beats me with the explanation. "Avenge our deaths." Mother told me before Ser Vicktor takes me away to Eustray. Julian…I will find you and I will get my answers and your head.

By late noon, we began to see a small village a little over a hill. "Greatmore isn't far." Morgan says. "Now you will see, if this world is what you pictured, Zonitia."

Illana and I step besides her and we take a view of the Kingdom of Greatmore. The houses were rather…poor. Few people were out walking and in the far distance was the Castle. A distant light grey stone color that seemed rather beautiful compared to the homes below us. "Is the King's wife some kind of…tyrant of something?" Illana asks Morgan. "I am afraid not. Like Bodarhd says, she is trying her best to put order back since the Teyrn's sickness. You cannot blame a hard working woman." Morgan begins to head down to the village and we follow.

"Something about this place seems rather…insecure, distressed." Illana looks around in the small village. "The feeling in the air does have a strong sense of something horrific that has happened here." Morgan replies. "There's a Hearing ahead…and a few soldiers." Illana points out to a building nearby. There was a small training arena in front of the building and armored men were practicing their bows on hay-made dummies. The Hearing Mothers and Sisters converse with one another and a few Sisters retreat into the building for their lessons.

I see an older man, close to my father's age standing by watching his men train. "Excuse me?" I walk up to him and the man turns around. "Is there something you need? We don't have much food, but plenty of water. Are you a recruit? I haven't heard of any new members." He answers. "N-No, actually. I am here to ask if there is any access to the castle at the moment." I say. "The Castle? Why go there? We have not heard from the higher-ups if you're wondering." He says. "Why are you asking about recruits?" Illana steps in. "We lost a lot of men last night to these…creatures." He replies.

"Hellspawns?"

"Do you take me on as a fool? Anyone knows exactly what a dreaded Hellspawn is, but these things. They only come out at night and terrorize everything."

"Can you explain how these…unknown anomalies look like?" Illana asks.

"Humans, almost human like. I swear I saw Captain Vincent two nights ago." He reacts to the question with fear in his eyes. "You are meaning human corpses then?" Morgan appears on my right side and the General crosses his arms. "If you suppose. Listen. We really need all the help we can get for tonight, but we do not have enough weapons and the only Blacksmith here is Smith Gregory, but ever since his daughter has not returned from the castle, he shut himself in his home like a coward."

"How long has this attack been going on?" I ask.

"Days, weeks, I am too worried to remember how long it has been. No matter how many times we defeat these things, they will keep coming until we are no more. You must help us…uh…stranger." He begs to us, desperation in his voice and sorrow-filled eyes. I sigh and I hold my hand out. It is best if I don't mention anything about being a Sabre here. "I am Zonitia and I will aid you in battle for tonight if I must. Is there anything I can do here?" I say.

"The Lord has finally given us a miracle. We would all be very appreciated if you can get Blacksmith Gregory to start forging us weapons. The Hearing and my troops will be most humbled." He bows and soon takes my outstretched hand. Then, he points out where their blacksmith lived. "I never got your name Ser." I say. "General Huggins, it is a pleasure to work with you."

"Then I will be off to solve your blacksmith problem."

We leave the area and quickly and we were soon at Smith Gregory's residence. I knock on the door and there was a loud crash. "Leave me alone!" an angry, drunk sounding voice shouts from behind the run down door. "Smith Gregory?" I say. "Th-this is the wrong place! You have the wrong man! Leave me here!" I stand there for a moment and I back away a little, smashing my foot down on the door as it bursts open.

A large jolly man jumps off his chair and hits the ground, frightened by my motive. "W-what do you want? Take anything! Anything! Spare me!"

"Fresh Ale, Wine, the sweat running down his face, yes. He is drunk." Morgan laughs to herself.

"Smith Gregory, I am only trying to help you." I say, helping the man up. "Help me with what? My daughter is missing and I have lost my passion for forging weapons to those, fools, out there." He runs towards the door and locks it back, peeping through a little hole. "I am here for that actually."

"You know where Julia is?" He grabs my shoulders and Illana reacts quickly, appearing behind me with her fingertips pressed hard against Gregory's chest, keeping him a distance away. "I-I'm sorry. I have not seen my daughter for days" He takes a seat, rubbing his face in his palms stressfully. "When was the last time you saw her?" I kneel down before him.

"Julia works at the castle part-time, but she is also employed at the pub here. Will you save her for me Ser?" He asks, finally sitting back calmly with his hands in his lap. "If I do…there's something I must ask of you in return." I stand up. "Anything to get my daughter back, anything." He begs.

"General Huggins's men are very low in weapons because you won't forge any for them." I point. "No, anything but that!" He says.

"They are doing their best to protect you from the walking dead. You would pay the price of many lives with your selfishness? Lord bless your soul." Illana asks, almost sounding angry, but she stayed calm.

Gregory sighs and leans over with his head down, rubbing his face once again. "Julia…Julia…" he moans and finally drops his hands.

"I will do it."

"You would? I-I mean, you will?" I question.

"If it is to get my daughter back, then yes. She is all I have left in this world. Please save her if you can." He looks up at me and I nod. "I think our Sabre knows how you feel Messere." Morgan chuckles. "A Sabre? It has been so long since one has visited Greatmore. What in the name of the Lord are you doing here? I have heard that you betrayed King Fredrick at Eustray, but it cannot be true can it?" He asks, sounding a little too overjoyed, but he seemed afraid of me then.

"No! You have the wrong idea about what really happened at Eustray!" I try to stay calm, standing my ground. "You…will have to sit down and listen to me…if you truly are on the side of Sabres." He listens to my words, every detail I explain, every word that described the battle and General Lesnar's betrayal. "You have to believe me." He was quiet for a long time and eventually he clears his throat. "I will keep this only to myself…only if you bring my daughter back, Sabre." He says and we agree on the deal. "We should be going now." I say, pushing Morgan and Illana out the door. "You will start accepting requests for weapons now all right?" I say, before closing the door.

"Anything for a Sabre, Ser." He answers.

"…and no more Ale!" Morgan shouts.

He mutters something and I hear him smash a heavy piece of metal on an anvil.

"Well, how about that?" I chuckle to myself. "We should report to the General about the good news." Illana suggests.

We find General Huggins and tell him that Gregory has finally decided to begin making your weapons. His reaction seemed to put off stress on his face. He seemed less tense than before. "Incredible! How did you do it?" He asks. "As long as I keep my promise to look for his daughter in the castle and return her to him, alive or dead, he will make your weapons for your men." I say and he shakes my hands joyfully. "You have done well, Ser." He says.

"Can you tell me how to get into the castle?"

"During the day, the guards are highly alert. The Teyrna strictly forbad anyone from entering, afraid of the disease Teyrn Gideon will be given to someone else. The only time you could try to get in is when the attack begins tonight, and there's a secret passageway in the windmill at that hill. That way, you have a good chance of speaking to Teyrna Gulliana why she hasn't sent any help down here. I wish I could tell you more, but like I said, we haven't heard much. The battle won't begin until the sun is down. You should find something to do to kill the time." He points at a large hill and I could see a slow moving windmill, hidden from view a little.

"Thank you for the information. You are of great help." I nod my head to him and he goes back to observing his men train.

"Let's head over to the Pub and ask around about Julia. Maybe they can give us something." I whisper to Morgan and Illana. "I do not understand one thing though. How are these corpses being brought to life? Morgan, you should know." Illana looks at Morgan as we move away from the area.

"It could be dark magic, or some sick shaggy dog story someone is pulling off, but it could definitely be magic." She answers.

"We will have to see tonight then, won't we?" One bad thing leads to another doesn't it? This isn't going to end, this…Quake. It is causing many things and there isn't much time until the attack of the Zoarkdemon.

The Black Boot Pub wasn't really big, but it was enough to fit a few hundred people. "The title is a lot nicer than the one in Shere." Morgan says. "I agree." I sigh, "I second that." Illana replies with the same opinion.

When we enter the Pub, it didn't smell as bad as the Killed Dog. It had a welcoming feeling and a whiff of burned food and tobacco, but it was roomier. "Welcome to the Little Black Boot. How may I serve you?" A bar attendant asks us and she scans my face, then my body. "You don't look old enough to be in here." She crosses her arms and I flinch. "I-I…No! You have the wrong idea! I'm not here for a drink!" I wave my hands in front of me in horror and the attendant doesn't seem convinced, but she relaxes her guard. "We don't get many customers here, and you will do. Would you like a booth or a table?" She offers. "Actually, we're here to ask about Julia. She works here, doesn't she?" I ask. "Julia? The Smith's daughter, I have not seen her for days. She said she was working for Teyrna Gulliana now at the Greatmore castle. Why do you ask?"

"That is the reason why we are looking for her. In exchange for Smith Gregory working with the soldiers, I promised I would bring his daughter to him soon. I was only asking around if the story was true or not." I say

"Of course it is. She was a very good and hard worker. It was sad to lose her. She should work for us again someday."

After that, we left the Little Black Boot and come to a decision to check out the windmill. The trial there was broken down in large steps, every five feet there would be another step, for landscape purposes I suppose.

The sun was slowly setting and I was beginning to think we should head back to camp, until I see a full body armored man standing by the cliff besides the windmill staring off at the horizon. At first I thought it was Ser Vicktor, knowing he was alive all this time, but it wasn't as we edged closer and the man turns around to us. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here." He says. "We are running a short errand…and you are?" He chuckles embarrassingly. "I am Niall. I was on my way to the Castle, but I became sidetracked with this windmill." He answers. "You are interested in Windmills?" Morgan asks, scoffing with a laugh. "That was a lie, I am sorry." He says. "What are you doing here? You don't look like you are from here." Illana speaks.

"I'm not. I am actually looking for a friend. He is a Sorcerer. Not the brightest one, but he is useful. He works for the castle, and he suddenly stopped sending his wife letters and came to me about it. That is the reason why I am here." He explains. I fold an arm over my chest, a finger to my lips as I began to think. "So…you are here only to check up on an old friend?" I ask.

"Pretty much, he is like my brother and it has been a few years since we last saw one another. I asked if I could speak to him when I was at the castle, but they only pointed me back in the direction I came from. What is wrong with this place?" He asks. "There is…a little problem going on. If you need to get in the castle, you should help us tonight." Illana suggests. "Help you with…what?" He questions, giving her a lifted eyebrow.

I. H

"I sent a message to Bodarhd about our absence for tonight. It should put off that worry on him." I say to Illana and Morgan, Niall was nearby, looking around the area. The village was dark, but many torches were lit for our eyes, only my eye sight was different from the others whereas the Hellspawn part of me benefited me to seeing in the dark. "Are you sure about bringing him along with us?" Morgan asks. "We're only helping the man, besides; it is not like we're going to see each other again anyway." I answer.

"The attack is about to approach, Ser Vladmiyr." General Huggins says to me quickly as he gathers his soldiers a few yards from me. "So Greatmore is cursed with this undying secret of living dead people?" Niall finally speaks to us after a long while. "Yes, it appears so." Illana answers. "Why is that…How is it possible?" He becomes frustrated at the story and I calm him down. "Morgan says it could be dark magic, or a trick, but we'll have to wait and just see what happens soon." I say and he nods. "You can fight correct?" He nods and I gave up talking to him after that, knowing he will soon accept what was going to happen, or not.

"Prepare at your stations! Archers move above! Quickly now you worms!" General Huggins yells and his men run in many directions I couldn't even keep up. "Where have I seen this before? Oh yes, Eustray." I mutter, Morgan hearing and laughs to herself.

"The time is very near. Are you ready?" Huggins asks me and I nod in acceptance. "Then we will fight. Lord make us stronger." He walks off towards the front of the entire village and turns to us. "This battle will finally end tonight men!" He shouts and there were cheers all round us. "The Lord has granted us the aid of a powerful outsider. Fight for your own life as if it is your last, you will not be marked as a hero, but a coward if it is to happen." He says, more cheers, but I could only focus on one main thing. Something unexpected, but I knew it was coming inside me, with the Hellspawn blood boiling through my veins. I can sense danger, but it was definitely not Hellspawns as General Huggins has said;

But the dead.

There it was. I felt it nearby by and no one seemed to notice. I take out one of my throwing knives and throw it towards General Huggins. The village sees my motive and they are shocked for what happens.

The blade sticks into a dark figure behind Huggins and it falls to the ground. "They arrive!" Someone shouts and commotion rises. General Huggins looks down at the figure and he knew exactly what it was. "Attack! Attack now!" He shouts, running as fast as he could back in our protection. "He isn't as tough as I thought he is." Illana chuckles and I keep my eyes in the darkness around us.

"What is going on?" someone asks

"Only one tonight? That woman must have scared them all of then."

"That's great! We can finally rest."

"They should not be thinking that this is over." Morgan whispers. "…because they are only getting started."

I whip my body quickly around towards the moonlight as I see three skeletons in the circle of the moon appear out of nowhere, pouncing on two unaware men as they sink their teeth into their flesh, wounding them badly as other men try to fend them off. The corpse wore loose body armor like any human buried would wear and it was very new to me, my mind telling me this wasn't really happening, but my body and blood knew it was real. More and more pour out from the darkness, revealing their true selves in the fire lights.

Corpses. Human corpses, attacking the living like insects. Panic arises and I draw my daggers, blocking the attack of a skeleton warrior. Our swords close but I knew that bones could break. I smack my forehead in the skeletons skull, kicking it in the legs and I hear its fragile bones cracking under my boot. I get a quick glance of a glowing anomaly inside its chest as the living corpse breaks into pieces.

The corpse rises back up with only one leg. It limps towards me and I run towards it while more begin to surround me. "Aim for the chest!" Illana shouts, figuring out what these creature's weaknesses were. "This is definitely magic, Morgan. You were right." I say as I throw a helmet at a corpse's head, hearing its neck break and its head flies off. "Dark magic that can also be a hoax another Witch or Sorcerer is casting. We must get to the Castle, there has to be something wrong there." Morgan answers, sending a cloud of icicles at a group of corpses that charge towards her with swords.

"You were right! This is real!" Niall shouts, crushing a fallen corpse's ribs to defeat the anomaly caged up.

General Huggins fought bravely with his troops. No one was killed tonight and the corpses began to decrease in numbers, still fighting as ordered, but instead of two men fighting one immortal corpse, there were ten for each skeleton now.

I watch as Niall fights with a strange new skill I have never seen in my existence. He was quick, but he had a giant sword and heavy armor. I couldn't explain how he was able to defeat the enemies, but he did. "Go to the Castle, Ser Vladmiyr! This is your chance! We can earn victory now!" General Huggins shouts at me, throwing me a silver item and I catch it. It was a key to the Windmill. "We will resolve this problem, Ser! Do not worry!" I shout and I signal everyone that we needed to leave immediately.

"I have this feeling we'll have to be fighting some of these things at the castle as well." Illana says and I had to agree. "Even through the passage as well." I say as we enter the windmill with out hesitation and found the secret passageway.

"Hurry." I jump into the trapdoor, bringing me a strange, old memory of that day Julian attacked our home; seeing Mother holding Father in her hands as she waits for her destiny to die alongside Father. Just like their vows when they got married. I think, smiling to myself a little. At least…they were together in the end.

The fighting from the outside world begins to become distant the further we walked. It was cold and the only light we had was a torch we took from the beginning of the passage. There haven't been any separate pathways yet. It appeared to only be a long, one-way tunnel to the Castle, hopefully.

"So you are from Antiska, Niall?" Her voice breaks the silence among us. "Home of the Berserkers." He answers. "What does a Berserker do?" Illana asks. "You saw how I was in battle. It is only pure anger that is all."

"Pure anger? You should teach me one day." I say. "You want to learn everything, don't you?" Illana asks. "It is how I am, me and my books…that were probably burned down…in flames." I lower my head. "Look. That must be the exit." Niall grabs me before I hit the wall ahead of me and I look up, seeing a trapdoor.

Niall unlatches it and throws it open. He helps me first, since I was the shortest one and soon, Illana. We help Morgan and then it takes all three of us to pull Niall out. I examine the room around us. It was actually a dungeon, something all castles would have. "Nice place." Niall clears his throat in a sarcastic way. "Come on. We have to find out where Teyrna Gulliana is." I move forward and the others follow my lead.

The dungeon had a stale smell with the usual rusting bars of cells, mold and rats.

"I have been wondering, Zonitia, why you did not bring along the elf with us." Morgan speaks all of a sudden and I feel my heart stop. "Why bring that up now?" I ask, trying to sound calm. "Well, he was with you when you became a Sabre. Your, 'Ser Vicktor', is also the same man who turned him into a Sabre like you. Do you not feel his thoughts, maybe a yearning to have him close?" I was a little disturbed at the thought and I can picture her sneer behind my back. "An elf? You have an elf friend?" Niall asks.

I forgot all about Virtue today, but I had this feeling Morgan was going to bring this up sometime. "That is a good question Morgan. I didn't take him with me because I wanted to get to know you better. We are friends after all and your mother made me in charge of you." I smile evilly and she chuckles. "I am quite aware of that. I enjoy following you though." I sigh and I rub my eyes from the headache.

"What are you talking about?" Niall asks. "I think it is best if you don't know." Illana laughs unsurely.

"Hello? Is someone there?" We hear a voice. It wasn't faint and it had to be very close by. "I know that voice." Niall whispers. "Hello?" Niall dashes off running and I was a little drawn aback how fast he runs with all that armor and we chase after him. "Niall, is that you?" We hear the voice a lot closer and we stop when Niall does. "Darius!? What…why are you down here?" He kneels down in front of the cell and I approach Niall, looking into the cell, seeing a mid-aged man standing up.
"Niall?" The man, Darius, approaches the cell bars.

"How did you get to the castle with all the guards?" he asks. "I took a secret passageway after we had some...problems, down at the village, but why are you in here?" Niall asks and Darius shifts his eyes towards me. "Are you his mistress?" He asks and I was stunned inside and out. "What?! I-I am not his mistress!" I point at Niall. "I-I'm sorry! I did not know, excuse me." He shakes his hands in front of him. "Niall…it is best if you know the truth now, correct?" he asks dolefully and we all nod in agreement.

"I…lied about working here in Greatmore." Niall is silent, but his eyes show an alarming sense to them. "I was trapped down here for a long time. The Kingdom of Greatmore believed I was the threat who turned their son to what he is now. I'm afraid it may be him causing what is happening down in the village." Darius explains. "Is that why you have not written to Nerezza in such a long time?" Niall finally speaks, but he could not control the shaking in his body.

"Yes, but I may be able to cure what is wrong with the King's son, Edilio and find out what had happened to Teyrn Gideon." He says. "So…how old is this Edilio?" Morgan asks. "He is only eleven and does not understand what is happening to him. I know this because I have confronted the demon."

"That is quite harsh to call a child." I say.

"No…he really is a demon. He is possessed by one in the Pheade."

"How do you know all this? You can't be a normal Sorcerer." I say.

"He is a Slayer." Morgan speaks. "You use blood magic, don't you?"

Darius hesitates, "Y-Yes, I use it to enhance my powers, but other than that, I do not intend to conflict with Templars or the Hearing." Darius says and I shift my eyes to where Illana stood behind me. "The Hearing only says that Magisters are to serve men, not rule over them." She speaks. "Yes and I strongly believe in that…because of Niall."

"Well, isn't this an interesting twist." I mutter.

"You lied to me, Darius. You were like my father." Niall says. "If you can get me out of this cell, I can surely explain everything to you, but right now, this kingdom is great danger if we do not hurry and save Edilio or Gideon. Please help me?" He begs and I look at Morgan. "What? Go ahead and unlock the door already, Sabre." She gestures to the cell door. "Can we truly trust you?" I ask Darius. "You have my word." He nods and I take out my small knife and I fidget with the cell-door lock, soon letting Darius step out to lead the way to this young child, Edilio, who may be possessed by a demon on the other side of this world.

I was more familiar with grand homes like castles. I used to live by one and so I knew which rooms were what by familiarizing myself with specific objects that could be found in certain rooms when Darius finally let us out of the dungeon.

The room smelled of lilies. The décor was very precise and the arranged bookcases and furniture reminded of me of home. "I can feel them in the grand hall. Edilio and his Mother, Teyrna Gulliana." Darius says. "You will be able to fix this problem correct? What is going to happen after this?" I ask. "There are many possible answers to your question, Ser." He begins. "I may not be able to save Edilio and be executed for it. I could save Edilio, earn Teyrna Gulliana's gratitude and hopefully live and be off on this journey, or I could save Edilio…and be turned over to the Circle." He answers.

"Let's just hope it ends with everything happy." I chuckle doubtfully as we kept moving from one different room to another. "I'm beginning to get sick now." Morgan mutters. "We're almost there." Darius says. "So what have you really been doing then, Darius?" Niall finally says a word after a long pause. "To be precise…I wanted to write a story." The Sorcerer answers and I look at him confusingly. "Wait. So you abandon this man to take care of your wife just to write a story?" I ask. "I was going to end my Sorcery when I entered Greatmore, but it appears I cannot do so at the moment anymore, not when Teyrn Gideon and Teyrna Gulliana have given birth to a very young Sorcerer."

"You can…choose if you could still live your life as a Magister, or not?" I ask. "It is a choice, a very personal decision, yes, but I will be a Sorcerer for the rest of my life not as the title, but for who I am."

"Excellent speech." Morgan says.

There were two closed double doors before us after we walked out of the dining hall. "This is where I can feel this evil power at." Darius says. "I can feel it as well. It is…indescribable…and weary." Morgan adds and I open the door slowly. "Mother, what is happening to me?" I hear a little boy's voice, almost sounding like Kyle and I throw the door open, my body moving on its own from the young boy's voice. Kyle?

"Answer me, you bitch!" A deep, hideous voice shouts as I see a young, red hair boy sitting on a little chair as a woman with sandy skin and brunette hair standing besides him. She stood tall and she look…afraid. "You dare enter my throne room!" The monstrous voice booms at me and I flinch back at the boy. The woman is surprised to see us. "Intruders! Guards! They are demons! Attack them!" The boy whips his head around wildly as the guards all around us draw their weapons. "They're under a spell!" Morgan shouts, taking out her staff. "Clearly I can see that!" I answer. "Don't kill them! We have to keep them knocked out as long as we can."

But Darius steps up in front of me and holds his arms out before anyone could land a hit. He shots out a strange word that I couldn't hear after a loud ringing enters my ears and I try to cover, but it still rung.

One by one, the guards fell on the ground, stunned and still alive. "You! You destroyed my guards. What are you?" We approach the boy. "Wait…who are you?" it was actually the little boy this time speaking. He reminded me so much of Kyle and I hated myself for his death.

"Don't hurt me!"

"Wait, Edilio!" I shout, but he was gone. "I will go find him, come Niall." Darius walks off and Niall follows like a puppy. "Thank the Lord you have come!" The woman steps towards us, her face seeming more relaxed than before. "You must be Teyrna Gulliana. We have heard…a lot about you." Illana bows and she waved her hand. "No, please do not. I do not think I deserve that title anymore…not after what my son has made me done over the past couple of weeks." She answers. "Your son, what happened to him?" I ask. "I am not so sure…no…that is a lie." She lowers her head, then she suddenly begins to sob. "My son is a Sorcerer! His father and everyone else do not know because I have kept my mouth shut, afraid of his power….and now I am more fearful of it than ever." She explains. "Why did you not seek for help?" I ask. "I couldn't." She whispers. "Could it be because of the demon possessing your son?" Morgan asks briefly and I elbow her in the stomach. "You just don't say that out of nowhere." I hiss.

"It is all right. I know of what reside insides him because of what my son is. I have kept it from my husband because I was afraid of Edilio being taken away to the Circle. I just wanted to have him there, but now there is a demon taking over his body." She weeps softly and I run my forehead with a finger, looking down.

"Speaking of the King…what has happened to him?" Illana asks. "I…" Teyrna Gulliana hesitates and finally she takes a breath. "You cannot do this to me!" A booming voice angrily roars into the room, "I poisoned him! It made me do it!" She shouts and begins to sob as falls to the ground. "The demon made you?" I ask. "Yes! I couldn't stop myself, but the demon made me! You have to stop him! Stop it!"

"Come on, Darius and Niall need our help in the other room." I motion with my hand and we run to the room next door, seeing Edilio tied in a chair. He tosses his head around frantically, like an unbroken horse trying to escape men's grasps to run away freely.

"We need to do this quickly before it gets worst. One of you must go into the Pheade and free Edilio." Darius says. "One of us has to go into the Pheade?" I ask.

"Yes."

I wasn't so sure if I should, but I knew it wasn't my place to be. It was that, but I was also afraid of what resided there. I look at Morgan. "You are a Witch. You must have been in the Pheade before, haven't you?" I say to her and she doesn't seem shocked. "Once and it was strange. If you are going to ask me to go, I will, odd that I am helping someone."

"Good. This will need blood magic, I'm sorry. It is the only way." Darius says as he begins to draw a circle around Morgan, himself, and Edilio. "You pathetic hags, you will never get me!" Edilio shouts, his eyes glow a demonic purple color.

Inside, it felt as if I was forgetting something as I finally look away at the purple light, my mind still buzzing. "This will finally end what is happening in the village?" Illana asks. "Yes…whatever is going on down there will end." Darius answers. Niall hasn't spoken a word since and I began to worry. "Oh! That reminds me. We have to search for Julia!" I look at Illana. "And leave me here alone?" Morgan asks.

"You are strong, Morgan. You can take care of yourself in there." I say and she shrugs. "We will begin now. Would you like to stay and watch?" Darius asks me and Illana and I look at her, she shrugs her shoulders and I sigh, "It could be useful to brace for it in the future, and Morgan is my friend, so I should make sure you're not playing tricks with us." I say.

Darius lifts his arms up, a small knife in his hands. He cuts his wrist and his blood begins to float in the air as mystical swirls appear and glittering lights light up all in the circle. He thrusts an arm at Morgan with his hand flexed as if he was grabbing her and his other hand on Edilio's head, which the demon seems to react angrily, kicking his legs and head around frantically. I see Morgan being lifted in the air with light purple swirls all around her. Then, I see blood, as if Darius broke her inside and her body goes limp to the ground. "Morgan!" I shout, but Illana grabs me. "Don't enter the circle or you would be interfering with the spell" She says to me. "I remember in the Hearing, the Templars did this to the Magisters many times. It will be all right though. Morgan will make it out safe." She says and I nod slowly.

"We should go look for Julia now. Come on Niall."

He rubs his eyes and slowly turns to me, finally following us out of the room, waiting for Morgan's return.

We went from room to room, searching carefully through everything where Julia could be hiding, or imprisoned in. "Julia!" I shout when we leave a room, standing in the main hall once again. We hear nothing and I continue to walk. "This castle could go on forever. She could be anywhere before we know it." Niall says. He began speaking to us after we left Morgan.

"We have to at least try. Morgan can be in the Pheade for days if she's not lucky." I say. "If Morgan is forced to destroy Edilio in the Pheade…Edilio will become a Tranquil, so we have to pray that there is a chance she could kill the demon without harming Edilio." Illana says.

I thought back to when Gulliana confessed that she poisoned Gideon. Was everything a lie from the start, or was it clearly the truth?

My body ached for sleep, but I knew I couldn't just stop. We were all tired. It was almost two in the morning when I looked out one of the windows, seeing how the moon was angled. "It is clear that Bodarhd and the others are not going to see us until tomorrow afternoon." Illana says. "Yes…I'm so tired…" I mutter, rubbing my eyes. "We should stop and rest for a while then." Illana suggests but I shake my head until we reach the end of the hallway, with only a few doors around. "We should split up and check them." I say, until we hear a light thud in the room to my right. We stare at the door for a while, unsure if it was only my imagination, or if it really did happen.

Thud!

"Someone's in there" Niall reacts quickly to the noise by instinct and I put a finger to my lips to quiet everyone down, slowly wrapping my fingers around the doorknob.

Quickly, I pull the door open. It was a large closet and I see a girl, clearly about fifteen or older, recoil away, her eyes swollen from so much crying and her make-up smeared along her cheeks. "A-are you going to hurt me?" She asks. "What? No!" I'm drawn aback. "Are you Julia?" I ask. "Y-yes." She sniffs and I hold my hand out. "Your father is looking for you. You'll be safe now." I say. "My father? He must be so worried! I-I couldn't escape because I was afraid of leaving the castle. I have heard what is happening down at the village through the guards." She stands up quickly. "There's a secret passageway in the dungeon. You should get out of here as quickly as you can." I say. "Thank you so much! I will be sure to repay you back." She darts off running and I turn to Illana and Niall, "Well, how about that?" I smile.

Before I get an answer, we feel the ground shaking. "This could be Morgan!" Illana shouts, grabbing onto Niall and I use the wall near me to hold my body up. "We should get back to the Grand Hall! There could be trouble." I shout. Trouble there was. Because none of Darius's theories actually came true, whether Teyrna Gulliana would praise, or send him away.

Rimedi is a world full of death and I want to change all of that, but how can one person do that, when no one else is willing to risk their lives as well?

We finally reach the Grand hall, hearing only silence as we enter the room. "That may be the last time I will ever be going in there, pathetic Desire Demons." Morgan has awoken from the Pheade. Edilio looked like himself now, but he was asleep. "Ah, here you are. Did you find the girl?" She turns to us. "Yes, yes we did…did you have any trouble in the Pheade?" I ask. "Yes…many…" She answers calmly. "Is my son all right now? I felt the ground shaking!" Teyrna Gulliana bursts into the room, seeing her son in the chair and she begins crying once again. "My Lady, your son is all right!" Darius says, but Morgan didn't look too happy. "Something did happen, didn't it?" I whisper.

"The Demon I confronted…I was only able to rid of it, temporarily…and I realized that there would only be one way to end her wrath inside of Edilio." She looks over at Edilio and Teyrna Gulliana.

"What is it then?" Darius asks.

"This demon is very powerful and I remember Mother speaking of such things." Morgan answers. "The only way Edilio will be free from this curse that has befallen him requires a lot of blood."

We all can feel the anxiety in the air as I feel my heart come to a close stop. My mind replays at that moment when Mother and I walked into Luke's home, seeing Kyle and Lydia dead on the floor, stabbed so many times that their blood was everywhere. "There isn't another way?" The Teyrna asks. "I am afraid not." Morgan answers. It gets really quiet, with only the fire in the fireplace cackling with burning wood.

"Then I will do it."

We all look up at Teyrna Gulliana as she steps up bravely. "That demon has caused me too much pain…and I will end it." She looks at Darius. "You were never meant to be caged up, but I knew you would be able to help my son with his powers. Will you be willing to, under my word, help Edilio control this strange power he has possessed?" She asks the Sorcerer and he is staggered back. "Me?" He questions and the Teyrna nods. "Please save my husband as well…He did not deserve this fate."

"We will my lady." We all bow and I have my arms over my chest to form an X and my head low. "You are willing to leave your son?" Illana asks. "I will take care of him in your place, your highness." Darius says. "Good…please hurry with this ritual."

Darius tells her to step into the circle and she does. "I don't think this is a good idea." Niall places his hands on his head, becoming really frustrated again. He turns away to leave.

"This journey will become more and more convoluted, Sabre." Illana says to me. "I know…I am a Sabre…it is has become my duty."

I couldn't watch what was going to happen next, but I just couldn't turn away when Darius cast the spell and Teyrna Gulliana was forced into the air. I wasn't so sure how to describe what had happened next, but there was so much blood, so much and she falls to the ground. I stare at her body and then I look over at Edilio. He didn't move and I began to worry if this thing didn't actually work. "It won't be long now." Darius cuts the ropes around Edilio and takes him in his arms, leaving the room quickly.

"I think we should check on Teyrn Gideon about his illness now?" Illana asks. "Yes, and quickly."

Again, we are put to the test of the maze in the castle, but I was very sure where the King's bedroom would be and I lead the way, climbing many stairs, passing so many rooms and corridors that we have finally been able to find Gideon's room. His door was opened and there were a couple of servants surrounding Gideon's bed. I see him lying. His eyes closed and he almost looked dead. "Is he still alive?" I ask one of the servants. "He is breathing, yes, but his time of end is almost here." He answers. Darius enters the room, as if he knew where we disappeared to and steps close to the King and examines him, a hand hovering over his body,

"He is very ill. You have all tried everything haven't you?" he asks the servants and they all nod. "There is no cure! We are going to lose Teyrn Gideon!" Someone sobs. "There has to be something that can cure this." I say. "There is." Niall says and we turn to him. "The Ashes of Amoura."

I see Illana shoot him a poisonous look and she clenches her jaw like a cat hissing at a snake, "Are you mad?" Illana almost shouts. "The Ashes of the Lord's wife is very sacred and isn't it just a story? No one has been able to get their hands on it, why would you think we could?"

"I have heard of that story." A servant says. "Amoura's ashes are supposed to have incredible healing powers; that just a pinch is enough to cure a man from anything."

I was a little confused of what was happening. "Where would these ashes be?" I ask. "…other than in the Whispering Mountains."

"The Wood Elves know!" Someone says. "They always move from one place to another, they must have been to the temple of Amoura."

"Don't you mean the Gallius Elves?" Another asks. "Yes, the ashes of Amoura." Darius mutters. "But the temple is very sacred. Is it selfishness that we are to enter there?" Illana asks gripping onto the charm on her neck. "I don't think so…Gideon is the one we are giving it to." Niall says. "We would just have to try then." I speak. "You don't have much time. Judging by his state right now, you have at least a month and a half, maybe less."

"Where would the Gallius Elves be at the moment if they are always moving about?" I ask.

"I think they are settled in the Vermillion forest now." An elf servant speaks, and then slowly recoils back into the group. "We would have to act soon then." I turn to my party. "We should leave now."

"Take Niall with you please?" Darius suddenly asks. "What? I want to stay here with you." Niall says. "I know…but you need a better person to watch over you, and this Sabre is perfect." He looks at me and I begin to question. "I'm a very young Sabre and I don't know much about combat, but I would be glad to have him come along…if he's willing to work with a Thiber, or an elf." I gesture to Niall. "I'm willing to…but I will keep an eye on them." Niall answers. "Wait…did you say a Thiber?"

"We will be off now. We will return as soon as possible." I wave my hand to stop him from talking.

We leave the castle, knowing a big payment has been paid in order to keep Greatmore at peace. Julia has returned to her father and Gregory was very please and we earned four Gold, along with General Huggins's own payment to us. "Should we rest here for the night?" Illana asks. "We should…then we can leave to camp early tomorrow." I answer.