Several weeks ago. A duke flew above Kirgfield

  Tarion

  A commander welcomed me from a high window.

  “Your Grace, please come in. Must be chilly this late at night.”

  “It's bloody freezing.” I conjure air platforms, stepping slowly into a candlelit bedroom too homely for a commander. Vioden watched his bedroom door, nervously.

  “It's alright.” I made the air shimmer with mana. “No one will hear.”

  A commander’s shoulder visibly slouched as he found a chair by a candlelit desk. The opened letters lay a mess. Some reports—a few letters were mine.

  “Tea?” The commander held his teapot.

  “Oh, thank you, good sir.” I found a chair and received the steaming cup of well-brewed leaves. I took a sip. "Wow…" I looked up and saw a proud man.

  “Not worried about poison?”

  “From you?” I gave him a questioning look. “I judge men well.” I took another sip. “From this year's yielding? Does Kirgfield grow leaves like this? Alarian?”

  “My own, personal batch. My pastime.” The commander took a sip of his own brew, closing his eyes as he contained his joy. “I took a few Alarian seeds, mixing them with local plants to create a whole new blend. I have been growing them in my personal lot.” Tongue smacked on his mouth as he tasted every bit of his tea. “What do you think?”

  I sipped again, “It's fantastic.” Its taste was fair, but something was off. My tongue may not think of tea as the greatest of beverages, but I knew my wife might love it. “May I enquire a few leaves from you?”

  “Haha, of course, I can give more than a few!” Slowly off his feet, he went to a chest by the bed. From it, a pungent bag was given to me. I chucked it into my inventory. Placing the teacup down, I went straight to business.

  “Fallen angels.”

  The commander froze by the chest. He turned to me with horror on his tired face. “My father?”

  “Indeed.”

  Cross-referencing the old stories of curse eruption locations to tales of the Holy War, Vanessa surmised from her research in the church books that they were theorised locations of caged fallen angels. Beings of godly power, they were selfish for more. And when they searched for more, souls—especially human souls—were deemed potent and thus were theirs to control. To corrupt.

  “You didn’t know?” I asked.

  “Didn’t know, you ask?! I can barely comprehend what Albert did in Pirn. But you are telling me my father wants to resurrect old gods!?”

  “Why are you shocked, Thorn? I smell it all over you.” I held the piping hot tea as I leaned down on my thighs. A gesture of my head told the wolfburn to sit in his chair.

  “Smell what…?”

  I pointed at his chest. “Curse. It emanates of you stronger than your prized leaves-” I rushed over to hold a fainting man by the shoulders.

  “Cursed!?” With short breath, Thorn scanned his trembling hands, trying to find any mist on his body. ME!? HOW?!?!”

  A tether drew my chair closer to me to sit near him. "I am sorry. I thought you knew.” From my inventory, a squirming ball of mist landed in my hand.

  “Is that…”

  “Your brothers. For some reason or other, I have the ability to sense this putrid power. And you and this… You smell the same.”

  “Land above…” Wiping his face to his receding red hair, the warrior curled. “DAMN IT!!” His desk turned into dust under his clenched fist. Teapot and cup crashed on the floor, and I evaded the splash on my boots.

  “How do you feel, Thorn?” I wiped the wood off my breeches. “Have you been feeling weaker recently?”

  As his rage settled down, Thorn sat back down. “Yes, I had been feeling faint during training sessions. I thought it was stress-related. I went to a doctor and was told nothing was ailing me. Proposed the mind was weary and needed rest. I figured so too.”

  “Since when?” The ball of swirling mist flashed blue into my inventory, and I used life sight to inspect Thorn's body.

  Oh, dear…

  “Ah, about two years. About the same time I start using my new tea. Albert gave me fresh compost to use in my garden.”

  Shit.

  A flask of holy water flashed into my hand. I swallowed it all in a single gulp, and my gut fizzled like freshly opened Coke Zero.

  Sorry, Vanessa. I need more holy water.

  Al…rea….dy?

  “Could I-”

  “Thorn… Two years contaminated. It is too late. You are one with it. Using holy water at this stage would kill you. Not painlessly.”

  Thorn's eyes welled up with tears that did not flow. “There has to be-”

  “This curse lives on souls and the energy they produce. And without souls, it's been sucking the life out of you for years. Slowly bringing you to the brink. The fact you brother let it progress this far with telling you or offering it any sustenance means-”

  “He was experimenting on me.”

  “You a victim of your dear brother's curiosity.”

  A wolfburn’s tear dropped on the castle floor, his face stiffened to stop the flood. “He was a brother I loved…”

  “He can’t blamed alone,” I said. “One figure lords of all of you. Controls you like tools to satisfy his greed.”

  The wolfburn sighed with heavy resignation. “It's too early…” He whispered. “But if it's to come...”

  A knock on the door alerted both of us.

  “Dear?” A sweet voice called for her husband on the other side. “It's getting late.” A latch on the door stopped the lady from intruding.

  “I’m coming soon, dear! Just working on some reports!”

  “...”

  “You know how my father gets. Nothing must be missed.”

  “…Sure, dear. I’ll get the kids ready for sleep. Don’t stay up too late!”

  Light footsteps walked down the end of the corridor outside, and determination flooded his blue eyes.

  “So,” I measured the man before me. The man I should hate. “Made a decision?”

  “I…” the wolfburn smiled. “I have a mad plan. Give me the mist.”

  “Hold the fuck on!”

  “I will work with you. Aid you. But you know I can’t do it for long. And don’t plan on suffering for long too.” Thorn held out his right hand, still quivering, with a grin I should despise. “Let me give it up. Kirgfield, my life, my honour. I will put it on the line. So no more soldiers die in vain.”

  He waited for me to speak, hoping I was willing to listen to his words—that I am different than my tales.

  I crossed my arms. “Go ahead.”

  The grin grew. “One on one duel. You and me. Alone. We fight to win over this castle.”

  “Mm…”

  “We give the audience a convincing fight. Both of us. Fighting to kill. Untill I struggle.”

  “And in your desperation, you use this.” The mist ball teleported to my hand.

  Thorn balled up his fist. “And fight back harder.”

  "Will you be alright with it? The moment you reveal yourself, the respect of decades disappears. Your house’s honour will be in tatters. Your children…”

  “We will get there.” The commander interrupted and exhaled. “But… If I could be frank, fuck that house to damnation. They deserve everything you give them. When I first received your letter, I thanked the lands above for days, for they finally gave me a chance to destroy this evil, wretched family.”

  I believe his words that he spat out like a bad aftertaste. The family loner did his best to be ignored until he found a job that could help his people.

  I wanted to keep him. Let him become the new leader on the rubble I will make. Tragic.

  “Then what?” I asked.

  “Then…”

  The wolfburn straightened on this chair, and his trembling calmed. His eyes were clear as he looked at me.

  “Then I die.”

  A good man.

  I throw the ball to him. “What do you need?”

  The commander gulped, holding the ball of malice in his fingers. “My wife and children. Safe and secure.”

  I nodded. “Your family line will be secure for generations, under the care of the Greystones. On my honour. What else?”

  “The children of Wolburn.”

  “Mm…”

  “Those of Wolfburn blood that are unable to fight, whether from age, ailment or just disagreement. Leave them be…” Thorn studied me with a anxious expression. What terrible face I am making to have a good man nervous? Does he really think I would kill them all? Every single one?

  “Do you think that poorly of me?” I asked.

  “No. But you have foresight. What fool would leave any to rise back against him?”

  “A fool who waits for such an occasion,” I said, smirking. “I will do as asked.”

  “One last thing. My brother Kellen.”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  “Kellen? After the Duke? How come I never heard him?”

  “Ah…” Thorn scratched his head. “He has a mother of low birth. He was sent to do odd jobs as the only illegitimate child out of dozens. A boy meant to be invisible.”

  “Woah, tough life.”

  “It was, but he made the best out of it. He learnt to fight well and started leading our mercenary bands. I haven't seen him that much since... He is on his way here. Can you keep him and his mother safe from the duke’s concubines?”

  “Mother?” Thorn handed me a letter from the floor, and I read it quickly. “Her location. A red light district in Maize?”

  Thorn nodded. “It’s a shame. She bore a healthy and talented son, yet she was still stuck, unable to leave the place where she and my father first met. Last I heard, he still goes.”

  “It will be done. I will get my best people on it.” Letter in hand, I stood up and so did the good wolfburn.

  “Are you-” Before I could finish my sentence, The Wofburn chucked in the mysterious ball in his mouth and swallowed it. Palid skin became brighter and healthier. A Thorn with an extra bounce to his step reached to me with an open hand.

  “Your Grace…Thank you for the opportunity.”

  I slapped the handshake away and embraced the Wolfburn with a hug.

  “No, thank you.” I could feel his heartbeat. Strong but scared. “Your sacrifice will bring another star to the night sky.” Tears soaked into my cloak, and I kept the brave man in my arms. After minutes, Thorn parted with me, sniffing with sore, puffy, bloodshot eyes.

  “Hahaha, I didn’t know Greystones knew how to hug!”

  “We are only cold to our enemies!”

  “Ah… aha!” Thorn chuckled. I walked to the open window, letting the air wall down as I stepped up a staircase of clouds.

  “Tell your wife everything. It will make the process manageable when my people settle her.”

  “I can’t,” Thorn whispered. “How can I tell her…?”

  “A letter from the heart may help. See you on the battlefield, friend.” A boot stepped on the window ledge, and the brave Wolfburn called to me.

  “Your Grace, why did you choose me, out of anyone? There are stronger and wiser Wolfburn. Some might be willing to do more for the cause or for more coin.”

  I paused, scratching my hairy chin in thought. “You treated my brother well, so I learnt about you.”

  “Joshua? Ah… the little boy must be all grown up.” He said, with a smile teeming with nostalgia.

  “He truly has.” I floated in the air, bathing in the moonlight. The boy exists as proof a Wolfburn need not be my enemy.”

  “How fortunate, Joshua might have saved us all!”

  The wind caught cloak. “Yes, he did.”

  A gust stormed over Kirgfeild in a single blow. Lights flickered below as the cool air wafted over my face in the night. One more push and clouds passed me like floating rocks on a river.

  If he didn’t ask, would I have let them go?

  I slapped my face.

  I whispered to my ring. Dear. I will see you soon.

  I must remember. I hunt the villains; I cannot become them. Not anymore.

  A few minutes ago.

  Jimmy

  My duke rocked the heavens above me. I could feel every punch and every kick shake bones. Aptly named Ghouls surround our troops from every side. The power of two demigods forced us to the earth with their deafening strikes that shoved clouds aside. But the mission must go on.

  “POINT (A) LIES JUST HEAD-” An arrow shot from above caved into a ghoul's head. My spear severed the head for good measure, and I looked up at the origin of the arrow. Above a three-story shanty building, a long-eared fellow saluted before restringing his silver bow with a mana-imbued arrow.

  “OKAY, LADS! INTO THE BUILDING. FOLLOW THE ALARIANS INTO THE TUNNELS. CETA WITH ME!

  “YES, SIRE!”

  A single mana jump took me to meet the friendly elf.

  "Jimmy,” I offered a handshake.

  "Rydel,” and the elf took it. “You made it just in time. The stone skippers can handle stone well, but such a thick wall was quite the undertaking. We just found light at the end a few minutes ago.”

  I pointed at roofs where Ceta should guard and shoot from. Another heaven-shaking attack almost made me trip, and the brown-skinned man from the tales held me up straight.

  “Thanks.” I looked up at the cursed duke battling my own. Even with my heightened senses, greater than most by tenfold, their attacks are but blurs and flashes in the night sky.

  “Rydel, as a man of age. Have you seen anything like this before?”

  Rydel pulled and let go of another arrow, exploding a ghoul’s chest. “No… But my ancestors have. Such power was common when we were many.” One more arrow missed. “Who is that… That blade…”

  I followed his eyes to the battlefield, where a warrior danced. Between swords and mist, he weaved through with grace. His glowing blade extended, and with a slice downward, seven ghouls fell headless.

  “Woo!! That's our captain!”

  His feet shifted, and the Duke’s guard landed in front of us. “Mind if I rest here?”

  A dark-skin elf patted Kurt on the shoulder. “So, you’re the famous Kurt. Your brother couldn’t shut up about you. He handed that blade to me himself. I wasn’t to give it to you until next month.”

  The captain stared at the elf with pursed lips. It seemed that he hated being recognised.

  “You’re using your brother's gift well.” The quiet captain's eyes found the elf and glanced back at his beautifully crafted dagger.

  “James.” He took my hand and placed the dagger in it. “Do you want?”

  The elf giggled next to me. “Are things tense between you and-”

  “No.” Kurt stopped his anger in his eyebrows; the rest of his face was still like polished granite. “I just don’t understand.” Kurt took the gift back. “It's my master's gift to me, not a stranger’s.”

  “But-”

  “A stranger is all he was and still is. I have rested enough.” Before Kurt could run off, Rydel heralded him. Something shifted in the elf’s demeanour. Earrings lit up with mana.

  “The butler requires some help,” Kurt grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes. “Fine… Where is he?”

  “I will send you straight to him.” His bow transform is a rune-engraved staff with a small crystal. Brown hands on the captain's armour, Rydel asked, “Let down your defences—thank you.”

  Like a bubble popping, Kurt vanished.

  “Amazing…” I grabbed the elf by his slim but taut shoulders. “Come on! You gotta tell me!”

  Rydel, visibly tired, pulled on his bow. “You are old enough; you must have fought in the Northern War.”

  I let him shoot down a ghoul. “Yeah… Most terrible time of my goddamn life.”

  The elf gave me a cheeky smile. “Better my mouth shut then.”

  Like smoke doused by rain, the horde of ghouls were stripped of the curse. Blood-curdling screams shower as the bodies of the possessed fell like dying insects.

  “He really won… Fuck me…” I wiped my eyes in disbelief as a dark hand patted my back.

  “Haha, were you expecting to die?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, kinda.”

  Metal chests are beaten like drums; an army became a stampede as boots stomped in a march. Chants made the air and my heart quiver with pride I hadn’t felt in years. GREYSTONE! GREYSTONE! GREYSTONE!!

  Rydel laughed at my truth, which kind of pissed me off. “Onwards, Lieutenant. It's not over. Time to take a city.”

  Now.

  Tarion

  From my inventory, a pungent sack dropped into my hand. I threw it to a grey-skin Wolfburn, who caught it bewildered.

  “I tell the truth.”

  Opening the sack, Kellen the second grimaced.

  “That day.” Kellen closed the sak, gripping it tight. “I offered him power. His eyes… Lnds above, his damn eyes!”

  “You brought him shame. The one he believed, disappointed him until the end, yet... His last thoughts were of you. I did as promised and kept you alive, but I couldn't keep you safe. All those days on the road, and you never wondered why you kept your head; why I cut your arms but left you caged? Why I brought you to my premises to be ‘jailed’? I walked closer, greatsword on my shoulder. Less than a metre between us, and I saw tears trailing down Kellen’s ash face.

  “Your mother waited for a long time up in my manor. She couldn't believe you would choose to become cursed. If only you waited a few minutes.”

  “Where is she!?”

  “She started lessons on art recently at the local Osberg orphanage. It is taking a long time for a smile to come back. But you can change that.”

  “Change it how!?” Kellen’s anger blew aside. “I-I-” crying to his grey hands, his lips quivered.

  I used Lifesight.

  “One more chance.”

  Kellen’s head tilted. Confused, the cursed man spoke in a high tone. “‘Chance’?”

  “You didn’t take a soul from this battle. You are running on nothing, starving and powerless. But it tempts you not.” I point to my chest. “Deep in you; know you crossed boundaries you shouldn’t. Taken power unearned. You want to prove yourself. But this is not the way.”

  “Chance,” Kellen repeated.

  “Calm the demonic power that evaporates under holy light and join me. It may take some time, but we could remove such a curse from your body.”

  The wolfburn held a hand up. “Remove?”

  I stayed silent.

  Kellen

  I scratched my ear, wondering if my ears were blocked. “Did I hear you could remove a curse?"

  The bastard’s gaze never strayed. His red, crystal-like eye saw me like none other. I felt twisted and mangled under his heavy sight.

  “AWNSER ME!”

  “Time. It takes time.”

  Stone exploded and pulled my weapon out with a charged blade of black lightning. “MANIPULATER!!! LIAR!!!!! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM! SONS AND DAUGHTERS WOULD STILL HAVE A FATHER, HIS WIFE A HUSBAND!!!”

  The Greystone sighed. “He knew.”

  “HE KNEW NOTHING, BUT THE LIES YOU SPEW! If I had more time I would have convinced him…”

  “Shit…” The greystone sighed. “You are deep in it, aren’t you? Down for cause! Disappointing Thorn again and again.”

  “DON’T SPEAK HIS NAME!!”

  I swung, and my arm did not move. Metal clinked on the soil. I slowly looked down, praying I was wrong as my arm flopped on the ground. To the ground, I fell on my knees. A shameful cry echoed from my mouth.

  Tarion.

  My mind worked as a Wolfburn cried in pain. I stabbed my bloody sword into the ground, resting on the pommel in thought.

  “Mercenary… You must have seen plenty of young women like your mother.”

  The wolfburn’s mist shifted. His wails ceased in an instant.

  “In this cruel world, a girl's life is a simple expense for more power. Did they invite you to their ceremonies? I’ve seen the aftermath. The blood of many discarded, kidnapped, and sold, girls and women leaking everywhere…” The wolfburn stayed silent. The sound of war rumbled in the distance.

  “How loud were their screams?”

  “I had no choice!”

  “Don’t lie to yourself! You had a choice then and now. I thought you would be different... Like your brother. You fight for his honour but stain it with every action. It's never been about him.

  I heard feet scraping on the grass. “Tarion. Just kill him.”

  Kellen

  With a bloody Laron holding him up, Joshua walked up the field behind Kellen. “He isn’t worth your time.”

  “Joshua… Why are you—forget that, are you okay?”

  My nephew coughed from the injuries I inflicted. “I am well.”

  “Worth…” Kellen spoke with a voice absent of his passion, resembling his perverted father. “I wanted to prove my worth. To my brothers, to my father. To people… no longer here…Hahaha!”

  I willed the mist down, feeling my skin change and my ear shorten. The otherworldly power receded from me, and I felt like a husk of my former self. No, this is the true me. A powerless man.

  “What’s got you chuckling?” Joshua asked. “You are going to die, you know.”

  “I remembered how I chastised you and insulted you for your treatment of your mother. But it was projection, haha. I was the horrible son all along!” My mist concentrated on my missing arm. The same greystone stood proud above me like in Kirgfeild. I smiled, closing my eyes as I embraced death.

  “Keep my mother safe like you promise Thorn.”

  “What do mea-”

  Lightning filled me, and the mist on my missing arm formed a stake. With swift feet, I kill.

  Tarion.

  My blade cut through air, and blood, slicing up into a solid, mist arm. My greatsword sliced to the left, and a pleased Wolfburn’s head spun in the air.

  “JOSHUA!!!!” My vocal cords tore apart from my wail as I rushed over to my stabbed brother. Mist evaporated, and a hole opened below his sternum. I resonated with the blood keeping it in. “Joshua, stay with me!!” I grabbed a crestfallen uncle by the neck. “Holy Water!!”

  “It’s all finished…”

  Like red carpet flashes, I searched for any vial in my inventory, and all were empty or too diluted. A weak hand held my cloak.

  “Calm down. Brother. It's okay… It’s…okay…”

  “Vanessa!!”

  Tethers of mana gently carried my brother, and I concentrated on my ring.

  HOLY WATER! FAST! MY BROTHER… I sent a mental image to her.

  …………….Keep the blood pumping. Get here fast.

  55 points to mana capacity, 50 points to intelligence.

  Weakened and without an ambient manafield, Joshua’s blood was controlled with a left hand. I raised a right, and the air came under my command.

  “Uncle, join your men. BRING THIS CITY TO ITS KNEES!”

  Fire on the soles blasted me off into the woods.