Next day

  1 am

  Joshua?

  Through a hole in a metal door, I watched my butler struggle. With the little medicine they gave him, he healed his wounds slowly on the stone floor as June tended to him with tears in her eyes. She looked at me, frightened by my unusual anger.

  "Lord Greystone, he will be fine. The fever has gone for now."

  "Good…" I reply softly. "Sorry to wake you; I just wanted to see him one st time."

  "Last?" June put down her wet towels and walked to the jail door. "What do you mean, Milord?" Her eyes tremble with fear.

  I sighed. "They grow impatient and mean to end today."

  "Oh, Lands above!" She squinted her eyes. "But the Duke! He saved me and my brother from the horn; he can defeat them!"

  "He will win. No doubt. That's the kind of bastard he is. But if I get in his way..."

  June put her hands through the food hole, and I received it. She prayed with a hushed tone, gripping my hands so desperately, and I saw shining glyphs on the wall.

  Even if he regains consciousness, with no mana in the air, he is stuck.

  "Believe in your brother." A sultry tone spoke between tired breaths. "Like he...believed in me."

  "Charles!" I wanted to rip off the door in my excitement. I could…"

  "Calm Milord. Not yet."

  I blew my annoyance to the ceiling, backing away from the door. "Okay…"

  Charles sat up with his wrap contorting around his chubby yet fit body. His weary smile brightened up the dark cell. "Gd to see unharmed."

  I could feel my cheeks rising in heat and turning away. A man oozing with an evil aura surprised me from behind.

  "Woah." I looked at my uncle closely. Bck uniform with gold rims, he wore a deep red sash on his waist. A noble, the rest of them pricks. Like me. "Wow. Receiving your father's love now?"

  A right straight made my face away. I evaded a powerful left to counter Kellen with an uppercut, which was caught with ease. Kellen twisted it but a spark of electricity repulsed his grasping hand. Kellen vanished from my sight, lightning sparking from the floor where his feet were.

  A right hand grabbed up by my neck. It hit his arm with everything I had, only to be rebuffed by his mana amour of bck mist. I paused as he gripped tighter.

  "That arm…" Kellen's sleeve dropped to show his skin. Pinkish. Human. "How…?"

  A small smile on Kellen's face showed his pride. "My father. Taught me some nice tricks.

  "Fucking monster!" I said with utter disgust.

  "MONSTER?!" Kellen threw me to the ground; the floor cracked under my back. "I give you leave to move around the castle, and STILL you ignore her??!"

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am a bastard. Come on, kill me! Kill the only thing holding back my brother from carving into you!"

  "Holding…HOLDING BACK?!" Kellen's eyes were consumed by bck. Whose soul does he burn to use this power today?

  The bck retreated, and he calmed himself down once more. "You brothers…" Kellen picked me up and dragged me out of the dungeons. Like a wild animal, he paraded across the corridor, passing Lea and Susan. With hands as slick as the finest purse-snatcher, my former fiance slipped something in my back pocket. Her accompanying servant winked a code.

  Use. Escape.

  A carriage awaited outside with thousands of well-groomed soldiers, and I was thrown inside as Grandpa folded his arm with a huge one-edged sword lying beside him. The ft of the bde was a good three handspans wide, and from point to pommel, as rge as the average man, I started to feel sorry for my brother. Grandpa's eyes looked brighter. Energised. As if a long wish would soon come true. Kelken forced me to scuffle on the carriage seat to sit on my left, ying a sheathed, slim sabre of bck and gold on his p. Kellen looked around the red and gold furnishings with awe.

  "Like you see, son?"

  "Yes, I do…"

  "Impress me today, and you get to sit here more often."

  With a bright smile, Kellen agreed. Disgusted and envious of the father-son dispy, I looked outside the window, seeing Wolfburn Castle get smaller. People of Maize stood outside rows of shops catering to the wealthy, bowing at the sight of our carriage. Nighttime, candles illuminating the roads and pavements, and barely anyone out. And the few wire clothes that could falter next to the Wolfburn wardrobe. The streets were clean, not a pothole around. Trees on the roadside were manicured to perfection.

  Fake; it all felt fake.

  As a farming duchy, Vioden's popution was spread thin by numerous little vilges. With the popution still treated like serfs, everything inside the giant-made wall catered to aristocratic whims. Nobles from all over came to this utopia to live their honest selves. Treat the lower as they ought to be treated in their eyes. Using them as one would use objects. And the serfs will thank them after. For everything was well, and they were fed. Ale and wine flooded the city at night, but instead of the normal loud ruckus debauchery that warmed my heart, nobles slipped into the buildings, engaging in acts too shameful to speak. The world I ignored when I almost fell into it. Full of men like The Horn and worse than him. The worst of the worst. Grandpa was the king of it all. This city ruined me in a way. It made me feel that what I was doing was tame. Clean.

  We finally passed the gateway, leaving the city behind. "You have it all. Why?"

  "I do not have it all. I don't control all." His fierce eye y on me while he pointed to the passing buildings. "This city was built by kings. A great and powerful line, who had other kings far and wide, trembled and flinched at the simple mention of their household name. Wolfburn."

  Great another history lesson. I sat quietly waiting for my grandpa to finish, as I was strangely interested.

  "Because of the pact, we were relegated to simple dukes, watching the wheat grow for decades and centuries while our true inheritance lies outward."

  "My father…" Interrupt the old fool. "You made him suffer... His first wife. My brother's mother. Killed to pce your daughter in her pce. You born me... for more nd?"

  "Greystones." He looked at Kellen, exchanging gnces of understanding. "Your mouths move even when they might slit your throat. But yes, that was the reason you were born. And you failed." A shiver went down my back. The duke's tone, like my mother, anvils on my shoulders. "Just another spawn that amounted to nothing."

  I remembered my mother once again. She wasted her time. My time.

  "Hehe." I ughed, feeling the weight flung from my shoulders.

  "What with you?" Kellen asked. "Finally cracked?"

  "No. I feel no guilt. Not any more. Fuck you. Fuck all of you! I will make my birth meaningful by getting rid of all of you!!"

  Kellen stayed silent beside me. The duke replied only with a sly smile. Adjusting his chainmail under his armour, a strange, disgusting smell whiffed out like my uncle's new stench.

  Tarion

  A few minutes after 12 am?

  I blinked, and a cold concrete street was under my feet.

  A dream? No…the dragon.

  "What the fuck, man," I said to the man in the cage. Still dressed like Liuen nobility, he calmly crossed his legs on the eight-sided MMA cage mat, illuminated by the fires of a burning car.

  "Ahh. Going through memory ne, are we?" I jogged to the car crumpled on the size of the street, feeling the searing heat.

  I kneeled, bracing the bright fire, watching myself bang against the window for any help. None would come on the empty road.

  "Drunk, rain?" The dragon asked.

  "Drunk? No, I was sober for a week until then. And you can see how dry here is. Something cut the brakes."

  "Someone."

  "Indeed," I answered. I smiled. "I was blonder than imagined. Better looking too."

  "You looked engrossed. " The dragon said. "Even as you shiver, watching yourself burn. This was not what made you fear the fme."

  "It was not. You would have to go much further back."

  "We shall. This fear must be dealt with. Destroyed at his root."

  "Fear," I said sharply. "Exists for a reason. As a warning."

  "False warning." The dragon retorted.

  I wiped the scene anyway.

  "How did-"

  "My mind." I blinked, willing myself into the cage as the 'dragon' leapt with Qinggong lightness. "Teach me the power and stop wasting time."

  The dragon sighed. "I am." Palms open, elements flowed forth. The wind blew his clothes, and light sparked around his fingers. Water bubbled up, and the ground rumbled. Fire bzed, and my heckles popped from my skin like brail.

  "Your talent." I stepped forward, entranced by the fme. My fme.

  "I can't," I said. Pulling myself away from the light. "My progress is slow... My circles-"

  "Hasn't Zhi taught you circles matter not? Resonance is key. And you resonate with all. But you hold back. Scared of power unearned when it was yours all along."

  "Scared…"

  The dragon waved at reality, and bck changed into white tiles, countertops and minated floors. A blonde boy, hair unruly as his attitude, smiled by the cooker steering some food.

  My heart rattled in my chest, like a beast untamed. Even in this dream space, my sweat falls.

  "I have been with you for months." The 'Dragon' spoke. "And in these months, the occasional memories bump into me, wanting to be remembered. I usually ignore all. I am a courteous man who respects privacy, but this memory was loud."

  I slowly walked up to the boy, who was not even yet ten. Following a recipe his parents taught him, badly. Adding tons of egg, and lots of spice. Making it taste like a thousand Indian restaurants at once.

  "I…" My mouth wobbling; I tried to speak. "My parents left me in charge. Always busy with work, babysitting my brother was a usual thing. Sometimes I wouldn't see them for days before they came back like everything all normal. So this was just another day of cooking for me, pying with my brother and making sure he went to sleep on time. But this day..." Tears flood the corners of my eyes. I wiped my tears, barely able to see through the water. "Oh god…!" I dropped suddenly to my knees, bawling out and a warm hand rested on my right shoulder. The 'Dragon' waved, and the scene continued like an unpaused DVD.

  My brother shoved into my young me. "Hey, hey, I am cooking here, Mikey! I told you I am coming!"

  "You're taking too looooong." Mickey, tawny-haired and hazel eyes as I, sulked next to little Edward. Tugging my school trousers, he tried to get my attention. My child self pointed to the stairs. "Go to my room; you can use my PS2."

  "REALLY?"

  "Uhh, Yes! Wait for me there, and we can py Burnout together."

  "You bought another controller!!" My seven-year-old brother punched the air with his sprite-like excitement.

  "Saved a bit from the bike run to surprise you. No, go stop bothering me."

  He bumped into me again, making me spill some oil. A hug from the Gremlin startled me, and like a rat on speed, he rushed off to py.

  "I don't come down till I am ready! Already upstairs. Typical." My young self said as he wafted the food's scent to his nose.

  Some rung, a familiar ringtone blurted aloud from my pocket. I watched my younger self take the Nokia brick to his head and make the dumbest decision of his life.

  "Enough."

  My younger self smiles. Out the kitchen, he ran, not even bringing a coat."

  "Enough!" I yelled, stepping from my knees as I watched the dread scene. A kid pying upstairs can be heard joyfully pying amongst the crackle of burning food. I willed the scene to be over, and the 'dragon' and I were left in darkness once more.

  "What happened next, Edward? " The 'dragon' asked.

  I wiped tears and answered. "This stove used gas so when oil spttered with fme, it went..."

  "Kaboom." The 'dragon' imitated an explosion with his hands.

  I nodded. "Micheal, my brother, stayed upstairs. Unaware of the bze that consumed our home until it reached my room. Scared and trapped, he inhaled smoke, knocking him out. Which left him at the mercy of the fme. The fme I caused!!" I turned to the arrogant Liuen in my mind. "Do you fucking understand now? I am not scared. I am being cautious! Look at what was wrought. You know what got me running out of the house? A fighter. Jackie Aman. Demon on his feet. Clinching him was impossible And his one-two could knock out the toughest chins. He was visiting my local gym. The recluse going out to meet fans. I couldn't miss it… I can't use it. I won't."

  "Did your brother live?" The 'dragon' asked with still unshaken eyes.

  "Yes, yes, he did. With scars from head to toe! Skin so sensitive a breath felt like a slice of a knife to him. Daily moisturising, so he did not harm his melted skin.-"

  "Mmmm, I get it now." The 'Dragon' put his fingers to his sharp, Chinese drama male lead chin. "You don't want to make others like you brother."

  "What-...I…"

  "On the money, it seems." The dragon scratched his chin, "I can understand how a normal well-adjusted person would feel this way, but you? Tarion the Great? Killer of thousands. A savage man who cackles while his sword cuts men into like a scythe through wheat. Why do you give a damn?"

  "Uhh…"

  "Maimed, engorged, stabbed, strangled. All sorts of ways you have killed but burning a fool is a bit too much?"

  I was bloody stunned. Not only at his sudden switch in his tone but at the realisation that this appreciation in my mind was right.

  "I understand trauma can be a heavy, unwieldy thing. But there is an easy solution."

  "Easy?"

  The dragon blinked away, and he was back to his cage with pillows around for him to rex.

  The Dragon sighed. "Do you feel that what happened to your brother is undeserved?"

  I nodded.

  "Then burn those who deserve it."

  "Mate, I may be wild at some times but I ain't a sociopath. I don't kill to make others suffer."

  "Well… The Wolfburns…"

  "They ain't people," I said gritting my teeth.

  "Then what other excuses are there now? You use your fme. Learn to control its harness. Bring your talent forth. Burn your fme bright and incinerate your enemies to dust. Simple." The Dragon bring fire to his palm letting it roar and twisting into a pilr of bright orange. "Fire warms our bodies; fire warms our food. Fire can burn our forest and burn our people. Fire can burn as bright as the sun, leaving nothing in its wake. No suffering, just eradication. That is your fme. If you can control your fme, none other shall be a threat again."

  Unconsciously I willed a house into view. Fmes wrap it, bck soaring high into the London sky where no stars shine. A boy banged against the door obstructed by fallen debris in the burning house. Summoning superhuman strength, wood broke and the boy ran into hell to save his brother.

  "You were brave that day. You conquered those fmes to save the one you love. Can you do it again?"

  The Fire engine drove the corner as the boy walked out with his charred brother. Firemen helped, asking him what happened and all he could mutter was, "I'm sorry."

  "You trusted yourself with the power to deal death." The liuen said. "Trust yourself a bit more."

  A sweet voice shook out of my deep meditation. Haru crouched in front of me, dressed in her white medical uniform. Holding back the temptation to feel those lips on mine and unfolded my legs and stepped of the bed.

  "Thank you for waking me."

  "You're welcome. Do you have a nice rest?" Haru stood up, retrieving her dagger and sword.

  "Not at all, Haha." Dried tears marked my cheeks. I wiped them quickly.

  "They came as you said."

  "My ravens are good at their job." From my inventory, my shirt, chainmail and armour fshed in their pce on my body. My cloak waved behind, my armour sparkled off candlelight. My man hummed, giving my armour the energy it needed.

  "Wait…" Haru held my gauntlets as I walked to the entrance of the tent. "I may not have my powers yet but please let me give you a blessing."

  I brought her hands to my lips and it warmed up her cheeks. "Saved it for a rainy day. Your presence is a blessing already. See you after the battle."

  I pushed through the tent and Rydel and a few of his Arian cohorts waited patiently for my to say so. Long curved swords hung on their side adorned with gold and rubies. Leather armour suited for hot weather were worn snuggly on the big muscur bodies. I saw many fours and five circles not bothering with hiding their hues.

  "Do they impress, Your Grace?"

  "Very much, Rydel." I saluted this foreign legion and they return the same with much more rigour than is necessary. "You lot are the lynchpin of this pn. Don't fail. Don't fail Laron."

  Rydel repeated all to the twenty stone-skippers in Arian, and they roared. The brown-skinned elf smiled towards me, wiggling his long ears. "I wanted to see you at war."

  By the forearm, we shake our hands and I feel the power this diminutive elf hid. No wonder he lived so long. No one can touch such a man.

  "Get me inside and you shall see it up close."

  "Haha, deal! Okay Men!!!" Pieces of the ground the stone skippers stood float them up a foot from the floor. Rydel, with his rune bracelet changing into a spear, shouted in Arian and twenty men skated on floating footholds of stone at unbelievably but silent speed.

  Watching the Arians travel southwest to the shanties, one word bounced around in my mind.

  Eradication.

  "Hey, nephew what's holding you!" I turned back and my uncle led a bck horse while riding his own. "You've got an army to lead."