The Countess

Pua Pua was a beautiful city to those who knew what to look for, and for Alara, it was everything she would ever need. She loved to see the travellers from Meterra and the traders from Craviter in the markets, hear their stories of far away lands; but mostly laugh to herself how they looked as dwarves next to her fellow Ephyrans. She couldn't help but smile every time. Of course, it couldn't be easy for these foreigners, here in a place where everyone is twice your size, and so is everything else.

She strolled past a pair of the Khan's soldiers, who tipped their wide brimmed hats as they walked by, one smiling ear to ear as he examined her in her floral print sundress. She laughed sweetly as she shook her head and continued down the road. It was always busy in the market plaza, but today seemed busier than usual, with many new foreign faces in the stalls.

"Alara!" a small voice called. Alara turned and smiled as a small boy, at least small to an Ephyran, ran up to her. "Omar! What's up?" Alara asked, picking the young boy up, and giving him a tight hug. Omar was Alara's Mewap'i, her godson. "Nothin' much. Mama and Papa are out with Merek and Loreda, and I heard there was new people here, so I wanted to see them!" Omar laughed. "Well, we can go together. I have to pick up a few things for tonight." Alara told him, taking him by the hand. The pair strolled through the labyrinthine market, weaving in and out between patrons and vendors alike, stopping here and there to pick up small items. Fresh fruit, some beef, and few little trinkets along the way.

"Alara, why are there so many people from Yamantau?" Omar inquired, looking around at the multitude of vendors that inhabited this little corner of the plaza. "Do you remember when Khan Whakeiro died?" Alara asked, to which Omar nodded. "Well, their Khan, their Premier as they called him, he died too, and another Premier took his place. These are the ones who were loyal to their old Premier, and the new one didn't like that. So they had to leave." Alara explained. "Are they in trouble?" Omar asked, squeezing Alara's hand a little tighter, as if scared of the foreigners. "Not here, sweetheart. They just wanted to live their lives. Just like us." she assured him.

"So if they're just like us, how come they're so small, and they're a different color? I haven't seen one that was green like me, or blue and white like you!" Omar exclaimed. "They're the same as us, more like...I don't know...in spirit, I guess. They look different because the gods built them for different places, and different things." Alara said, as Omar looked down for moment. "If they're the same as us….does the Imperium hate them too?" Omar asked quietly. Alara thought for a moment before she answered. "No, I don't think so, kiddo."

"Oh…" Omar said solemnly, thinking back to his cousins in the Jomsvikingr Corps who had been tortured and crucified by the Imperium just a few months prior. "Why do they hate us so much?" Omar asked, squinting up at Alara. "Because we were built so different that it scared them. They had never seen people like us before. We were strange colors, and our teeth were too sharp, and we were too tall. They said we were monsters, like from a story book. They didn't understand that we're just as human as them, and they still don't. I don't even think they know why they hate us anymore, they're just carrying on bad traditions." Alara explained, stopping to kneel down and look Omar in the eye. "How come you're so scared of the Imperium lately? Pua Pua is too far for them, baby." Alara assured him, stroking his cheek with her thumb. It took Omar a moment before he looked up, his eyes filling with tears as he tried to find the words.

"I'm scared I'm gonna die for the color of my skin."

Alara hugged him tight and rubbed her hand up and down his back as he clung to her. "Oh, baby, no. We won't let that happen to you, I promise." Alara said, even though the same thought went through her head every day. Omar nodded as he rubbed his eyes. "C'mon, lets go somewhere fun." Alara said sweetly, rubbing his shoulders. "Okay." he shrugged, taking her hand again as they strolled along.

"Where are we going?" he asked curiously, as they exited the market, and began towards the palace. "To see the warriors, of course." Alara beamed. Omar's face lit up with joy, he loved going to see the warriors.

The courtyard of the Khan's palace was always beautiful, no matter what time of year. Alara and Omar found some empty seats around the fight pit, and settled in. Two men fought below as titans clashing in the storm, sparks flying high from their swords and axes. "Which round is it?" Alara asked the small foreign man next to her. "Uh...forty...eight I believe, miss." he replied. "Oh good, they've just gotten warmed up." she said happily.

The two men below were Juril Ironhorse, and his son, Carolus. Both served the Khan personally, and were quite well known in Pua Pua. Both were already battered and bloody, but refused to yield. Juril took a mighty overhand swing with his word, his son barely moving in time as he replied by slamming the backside of his axe into his Juril's ribcage. The old warrior let out a yelp before rushing forward, hitting Carolus head on like a freight train, sending him into the dirt. Juril jammed his sword beneath his son's chin as the pit master called the round in favor of Juril, declaring it a clean kill. Carolus reached up, Juril grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet.

"Had enough, boy?" Juril smiled, giving a gentle flick of the eyebrows. "Not on your fucking life, old man." Carolus smiled back, getting ready for the start of round forty nine.
The bell sounded, and Carolus quickly charged his father, using the same tackle-like maneuver, but was quickly thwarted as his father pushed him down into the dirt, and pinned him with his sword yet again. Round forty nine to Juril.

Alara looked up at the scoreboard above the pit. Thirty six rounds to Juril, and thirteen to Carolus. Omar cheered wildly as Juril made it thirty seven in seconds. Alara smiled as she watched Omar, her lilting laughter attracting the attention of Carolus. A distraction that cost him yet another point. "Think I've seen her on Ember." Carolus thought to himself as he swung his axe ferociously, sending the backside directly into the side of Juril's helmet. The sickening clang drew a collective expression of disgust mixed with awe from the crowd as Juril crumpled. "Scramble like an egg or get folded like an omelet, old man!" Carolus mocked. "Nope, aw...gods...aw fuck….nope, no, I'm done." Juril said, pulling off the dented helmet, and placing it in his lap. "Hoooly shit, my ears are still ringing!" Juril exclaimed as Carolus helped him up. "You're good though?" he asked, his father nodding. "Good, I'll be right back." he beamed, quickly hopping the fence around the pit and jogging up the steps, trying to catch up to the woman in the floral sun dress.

"Miss! Miss!" he called after her, Alara turning to look at him as if he was crazy. "Miss.." he panted as he caught up. "Yes, soldier?" Alara giggled as she watched him try to catch his breath. "I was just wondering if you were free for dinner tonight, y'know, some food, some drink, some entertainment." he babbled nervously as he braced himself against a nearby post. Alara laughed before nodding. "Yeah, sure. 7? Pick me up from my apartment?" Alara replied. "Y...yeah, absolutely." Carolus stammered. "137 Walai Street. 7 o'clock." Alara beamed as she walked away, dragging Omar with her.

"Sorry it didn't last longer, kiddo." Alara said to Omar. "It's ok, I had fun anyways!" Omar said gleefully as he skipped along. "Looks like I have a date tonight too!" Alara beamed. Omar stopped and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Are you gonna have sex?" Omar asked, causing Alara to blush. "Omar! No! I'm a classy lady! You only have sex with people you love!" she lied, laughing at the suddenness and innocence of Omar's question. "Oh..ok!" Omar said happily. "But probably, yeah." she muttered. "What did you say?" Omar asked, "Nothing! Nothing at all!" she smiled sweetly.

Alara stood naked in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee pot to finish as she looked out the window, a small smile on her face. The smile grew bigger as she felt Carolus' arms wrap around her from behind, his head resting on her shoulder as he pulled her close. She put her hands over his, and just enjoyed his presence for a moment as they stood in the early morning light, the smell of the fresh coffee filling the room. "You sleep alright?" she asked sweetly, pushing back against him. He let out a small laugh as he ran his fingers across her stomach before they parted. "Yeah, well, the little sleep I got last night, I enjoyed." he remarked with a sly smile. Alara giggled as she leaned against the counter, opening the cabinet door to retrieve a couple coffee cups while Carolus enjoyed the view, through the window and otherwise.

"So? What's the plan for the day?" he asked, watching her saunter towards the coffee pot and pour each of them a cup. "I don't know, go down to the market maybe, see what's new and fresh from the outsiders. Try to learn something about a far away place." Alara said, stirring a couple spoonfuls of sugar into the coffees. "Mm..care for some company then?" Carolus asked, examining the large Ka'aweli tribe tattoo that started at the base of her neck, under her thick black hair, and ran down her back, across her buttocks, ending just below her knees. Alara put the cup down in front of him as she made a face that seemed as if she was thinking very deeply before sitting down. "You know, I don't know if I want to be seen in public with the likes of you." she stated, holding a stern face for a moment before letting out a laugh that sounded like music to Carolus' ears. "Oh yeah, ok." he beamed, running his finger along the rim of the cup. "Of course, that would be great." Alara said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Breakfast first though." she stated. Carolus nodded as he leaned on the table, "What's for breakfast?" he inquired, adjusting in his seat. "I don't know, whatever you're making." Alara said, smiling deviously over the rim of her cup. "Ahhhhh, ok, I see you." Carolus laughed, rising from the table. "Lemme put some drawers on at least then, can't be cooking bacon with your schmeat out, doesn't go well." he joked, making his way back towards Alara's bedroom. "Speaking from experience?" Alara called after him, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, absolutely." Carolus smiled as he emerged, tightening his belt. Alara laughed at the mental image before getting up from the table and heading towards the bedroom herself. "I'm gonna have a quick shower and get dressed while you do that then." she said happily, planting a small kiss on his cheek as she passed. "Alright, sounds good." He replied, giving her a gentle smack on the rear before he went about making breakfast.

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It was another beautiful day in the city, the smell of the pines wafted gently on the breeze as Alara and Carolus strolled down the street, hand in hand. "So, how often do you go see the outsiders?" Carolus asked, pushing his free hand into the pocket of his jeans, looking around at the people passing by. "Uh...every couple days maybe? I don't know. I'm just….I'm so curious about the world beyond Ephyra, and I want to know everything, and I want to hear their stories." she explained, the excitement in her voice made him happy. "What's the craziest thing you've ever heard from one of them?" Carolus asked, now very curious. He himself hadn't had much to do with the outsiders, preferring to venture into the forests in his free time.

"Ok, so, this Yamanta fish merchant, like 15 years ago when I was a little girl. He came here like, 25 years ago apparently, and he was a major government official or something. He told us about all the crazy things that the Yamanta were doing to their own people after they overthrew the old government. Torture, rape, murder, it was insane. Apparently things are different now with their new guy, but he's fighting with the Imperium now." she babbled, the excitement in her voice growing.

"Hopefully this guy can teach those bastards some manners then." Carolus stated blankly. "I mean, hopefully." Alara grinned. The market was buzzing with activity and excitement, just as it was every day. "C'mon, all the outsiders are in the lower markets!" Alara exclaimed over the crowd, dragging Carolus along. He clutched onto her hand, trying to keep up as she weaved in and out between stalls and patrons. They eventually descended the arch-covered stairs to the lower markets, which sprawled out as a great bazaar. "Come on! We'll go see the fish guy!" she shouted cheerfully, moving towards the eastern corner of the market. Carolus had never seen so many foreign faces in one place, this was the first time he had been here in all of his 29 years. He could smell the fish as they neared, and hear the people shouting out their orders.

He could see a couple half-breeds happily tossing fish to the waiting patrons as they shouted their orders. Alara ran to the side of the stall and got the attention of one of the half-breeds. "Hey! Whakai! Is your dad here?!" she asked with a bright smile. "Alara, hey! For sure! He's inside!" Whakai shouted, not missing a beat as he continued to wrap and toss the fish. "Thanks, dude!" she shouted, motioning for Carolus to follow her into the building.

The old wood door creaked as she pushed it open. "Marin?" she called as she stood in the doorframe, an older Ephyran woman rounded the corner a few seconds later, a big smile on her face. "Alara! Hey baby girl, how are you?" Marin asked as she waddled towards Alara, giving her a hug. "I'm good, aunty."* she replied, returning the embrace. "I see you brought a friend too! He's handsome, kai-tai."** Marin remarked. Carolus smiled and gave the old woman a hug as she came towards him afterwards. "Its nice to meet you, aunty. My name is Carolus." he said. "He's sturdy too, ehhhhh?!" Marin exclaimed, winking at Alara. "Sure is." Alara winked back. "Is Nikolai home, or is he painting out in the forest again?" Alara continued. "Oh no, he's here. Nicky!" Marin said, turning around to shout her husband's name. "Coming!" a raspy voice called back.

Nikolai shuffled into the room, an old man with a mischievous gleam in his eye and a small spring in his step. He still got around pretty well for a man of 70, and didn't look a day over 45. "Alara! Hey sweetheart!" Nikolai exclaimed, inviting her for a hug. She gingerly hugged the old man, who was almost half her size now. "Hey Nikolai, how have you been?" she asked, pulling out a chair at the table for him. "Oh, you know, getting by." he chuckled, pulling his sweater closer around his body. "Here for another story?" he continued, pulling the carton of cigarettes down from the shelf next to the table.

"Actually, I'm wondering if you could tell my friend here about your escape from Yamantau. I've loved that story since I was a little girl." she explained, pushing the ashtray across the table towards him. "Of course, of course." Nikolai nodded, turning his gaze to Carolus. "Nikolai, if you hadn't heard it already, Nikolai Blaschuck. Former Commissar of Yamantau." he said, reaching his hand across the table. Carolus reached out and shook the old man's hand with a smile.

"Well, about nineteen….oh….nineteen eighty-six or so, I threw in with Volodymyr Svrtan, angry young man. He was the Premier's son, Premier at the time that is, Borys Svrtan. Volodymyr was a good kid with a lot of promise in the arena of politics, just….had a real bad temper. Anyways...I spend three years at this side, trying to keep him in line. He was always going off on the other ministers, saying they were traitors to the state for one thing or another, I don't know. One day, he gets all whipped up about his old man, something about Borys selling Yamantau down the drain." Nikolai explained, pausing to take a long drag from his cigarette. "So, anyways, he runs off, goes to see his father, shoots him. Right in the chest. Done. No sooner does he do that, he walks in front of parliament accompanied by a battalion of Yamanta People's Army soldiers, tells them he's the new Premier. Anyone that objected was shot in their seat, right in the parliament chambers. Now, folk didn't take lightly to this, hell, we fought a six month war over it...lost a lot of good people. In the end, Volodymyr proclaims himself Premier for life. Started hanging out with that Szubrov kid, the uh, the one that's Premier now, I believe. Gave him a bunch of medals for bravery, and service to the people. Things got bad. People who spoke against Svrtan, were gunned down outside their homes, tortured for information about other supposed traitors, all that. I told Volodymyr that the people were going to rise against him, but he never listened. Things went from bad to worse everywhere, with the YPA doing whatever they pleased to whoever." he paused again to grab another cigarette, lighting it off the butt of the last.

"Nineteen ninety-one rolls around, and I get woken up in the middle of the night by Ygor Szubrov, talking about how Volodymyr was tired of my constant objections, and men were coming to get me. He drags me outside, and sure enough, my apartment gets a tank shell through the window about twenty minutes later. He was so angry with me that he didn't care about the eighteen other people that were killed. Szubrov had a deal with this up and coming gangster named Nared, uh...Lenid Nared if I remember correctly. Szubrov was a good kid then, cared deeply about the people, knew what Svrtan was doing was wrong, wouldn't be surprised if Szubrov killed Svrtan, actually. Good riddance. Anyways...Szubrov pays Nared to get me on a boat, and get me as far away from Yamantau as possible, so I ended up here. Met Marin a year after, and had some sons." he finished, now onto his fourth cigarette as Marin put down a bottle of rasat in front of him.

"They never asked where you went? Your people I mean." Carolus asked, taking the small glass of rasat that Nikolai offered him. "Mm, funny story. Even though he sent a shell through the window, and my body was never found, they said I died of natural causes. Brain aneurysm. As you can see...very much untrue." Nikolai smiled, making a sarcastic gesture towards himself. "Well, why don't you try to return to your homeland now? Szubrov is Premier, and he saved your life." Alara asked.

"Meh, why would I leave? I have a good life here. Your people know what life is about." Nikolai replied.

"See, I told you the outsiders were interesting." Alara smiled at Carolus.
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* It is tradition for younger Ephyrans to call their elders Aunty or Uncle
** kai-tai means young one

"The Imperium?!" Alara exclaimed angrily, tossing the newspaper into the trashcan. "After everything they've done to us, the Khan threw in with these motherfuckers?!" she continued, referring to the recent Jomsvikingr Corps contract that the Khan had signed with the Imperium. Carolus sat quietly at the table, drumming his fingers on its surface. "You know they're gonna send us to Yamantau, right?" he finally spoke. Alara glared out the window before letting her head drop and nodding solemnly. She turned to face him, leaning on the counter, her arms crossed and a worried look across her face. The Jomsvikingr Corps was known to conscript if they couldn't supply the guaranteed number of troops. Military, civilian, it didn't matter to them.

"I won't do it. I won't go halfway across the world to fight for these bastards. The Yamanta never did anything to us, they never slaughtered our ancestors or pushed us from our lands like those bastards did." Carolus said angrily. Neither of them were even alive at the time, but stories were told of the Imperium's cruelty before Clan Eiderwig agreed to bring the Ephyran people to Craviter.

Alara turned her attention to the door as she heard a sharp knock. She let out a deep sigh as she crossed the floor to open it. Nikolai stood on the other side, his eyes sad, and his face filled with grief. "They took my boys already. They're on their way to fight." he said quietly. Alara embraced him as he began to cry. Carolus rose from his seat and joined in the embrace. They stood and held the old man as he wept.

Eventually, Alara lead Nikolai to the table, helping him up onto the chair. She brought him a glass of water, and handed him a cigarette. He inhaled sharply and let the smoke out slowly, staring at the table. He sniffled as he wiped his eyes before his gaze hardened as he looked up at his young friends. "Your people have been good to me, and it's time I returned a favour. I...I can't save everyone, but a few people owe me favours, and….I've already called them in. You need to pack your bags….then come meet me at my place. We're going to Walai." he said blankly.

"What's in Walai?" Carolus asked, somewhat nervously. "A plane. A plane that will take us to Yamantau. I know you're trying to avoid it, but going there is the only way out I can give you, at least until this is all over. I...I've already made contact with Szubrov. He will give you new identities, and a place to stay in St. Ivjan. He says his sister lives there, and the people will look after you. His friend, Taz, another Ephyran, his cousin will meet us with the plane in Walai. Do not tell anyone where you are going. Just...pack a bag, and meet me at my place in an hour." Nikolai explained.

"What about you and Merin?" Alara asked. "After we land in Novisibraskaya, you and Carolus will go to St. Ivjan by helicopter. Merin and I will continue on the plane to Tagtaryev to meet Ygor. He has asked for me." Nikolai said, gently tamping out his cigarette. "Nikolai...I don't know about this, can you trust these men still?" Carolus inquired. Nikolai paused for a moment before he answered.

"Quite literally right now….with my life." he said, patting Carolus' hand.

He slid off the chair, and made his way to the door. "One hour." he said solemnly as he exited.

Carolus and Alara looked at each other, and silently made the decision. Carolus had enough of his things at Alara's to pack a large duffle bag, and Alara always had a travel bag packed in case adventure came calling her name, so it only took a few moments to get their things together. Alara grabbed a few photographs out of their frames and tucked them into the breast pocket of her jacket before she took a last look around.

"Fuck." Carolus said quietly, looking out the sliding glass door of the patio. The Jomsvikingrs were already making their way down the road in their armoured trucks. It looked like they had already grabbed a few fighting age people. "We gotta go, babe." he urged. Alara and Carolus ran from the apartment, down the stairs, and out the rear exit. They could hear the trucks pull up around the front, and the shouting of the Commander as he issued the order to bring out all those who were fighting age. The pair pulled up their hoods and swung their bags onto their backs as they made their way out of the alley, trying to avoid looking in the direction of the soldiers. They made it across the street before Alara ran directly into one of the larger soldiers. The man turned around to see their terrified faces.

"Father." Carolus said softly, his father looking back at him. His father smiled softly, before loudly saying "Yes, of course, Hrea Street is that way! Safe travels!" and briskly pushing past them, taking a moment to nod knowingly to his son. Carolus nodded back. The pair hurried off, down the road, making a right onto Hrea Street, which was empty, and served as a shortcut to the far side of town, down to the markets. "Just a pair of old nomads." they could hear Carolus' father tell the Commander as they walked.

As soon as they were sure nobody was watching, they broke into a sprint, running until the pain in their chests felt as knives. It was starting to get dark, which would make getting past the city guards easier.

The markets were deserted as they came up to the arches that led to the lower markets, where they would meet Nikolai. Merin motioned them inside as they approached, she had been waiting anxiously by the door. Carolus checked behind them as they entered, his heart falling as he noticed a lone figure watching them from the bridge that ran across the arches. "I think we were followed." he hissed. "Just get inside, we'll deal with it." Merin urged. Nikolai greeted them and ushered them both into the back of the house as he and Merin waited in the kitchen. An hour or so passed before a soft knocking sounded from the door. Merin composed herself and answered. "May I come in, aunty?" a voice asked. "Certainly, Sergeant." Merin answered. "Carolus." the voice said softly. Carolus emerged from the back room cautiously to see his father standing there, holding a weathered crate. "You can't leave without this." Juril beamed. He placed the crate on the table, and backed away.

Carolus lifted the lid of the crate and let out a gentle laugh. It was his armor and an ornate pistol. "God in heaven, what is that thing?" Nikolai gasped, grabbing the weapon. "Fifty caliber, 8 in the magazine, hollow point. Given only to the Khan's elite guard. Commander Mur is going to miss it." Juril explained, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Father, I…" Carolus began, as Juril embraced him. "As far as I'm concerned, you and Alara signed on with a different mercenary company and left for Gothis three days ago. I don't have a way to contact you, so there's no way you can be recalled for service." Juril told him as they parted. "Judging by your company, I know where you're going though. Be safe my son." Juril said quietly, pushing his forehead against Carolus' before moving to Alara, and again, pushing his forehead against hers. "I was looking forward to a wedding." he chuckled as he gave her a hug. Alara let out a laugh as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "One day." she croaked.

Juril cleared his throat and looked to Nikolai and Merin. "Thank your for your time, outsiders, if you see the individuals, please contact me." he declared, placing a card on the table and giving a gentle tap with his index finger before exiting the home. Nikolai passed the card to Carolus, who tucked it into the crate before closing it.

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The drive to Walai was uneventful, and long flight even more so. Nikolai shook Alara and Carolus awake as the morning light broke through the windows of the small plane, pointing outside. "Novisibraskaya!" he shouted. They could tell he was happy to be back on his home soil. "We're landing in a couple minutes." the old man beamed. His smile almost wide enough to split his head in half. Alara had never seen such a huge city before, it was baffling. "Where are all the trees?" she asked sheepishly. "They're down there, they're just small and raggedy looking, until you get out to St. Ivjan and the mountains at least." Nikolai chattered. "That's where you're going."

The plane landed, Carolus and Alara disembarking. A very large man in military fatigues and a younger man boarded the plane with Merin and Nikolai before they took off again, leaving Alara and Carolus to wait for their ride to St. Ivjan.

When the grayish-brown cargo chopper arrived, the ramp came down and a happy looking man with a large moustache waved them aboard. "Hold onto something when we lift off! It's a little tipsy!" the man shouted in broken Ephyran. "We speak Mercanti!" Alara shouted with a smile. "Fuck, even better! Yeah, Ol' Tati here, she's a little wobbly on takeoff, so be careful or you'll end up in the cockpit!" he laughed. Carolus could see the name patch on his uniform read "A. Slazorozili" in the typical black embroidered style. "Anton!" he shouted as he spotted Carolus trying to read the patch. "Anton! How long until we get to St. Ivjan?" Carolus shouted over the sound of the rotors. "Couple hours! Should probably get some sleep. Oh yeah! Here's a little something from the Tzar! The Commisar said to give it to you!" Anton yelled, running up to the cockpit and returning with a thick yellow envelope, handing it to Alara.

She tore open the seal to find four banded stacks of local currency, Yamanta passports, and immigration IDs, all dated as being issued 6 months ago.

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"Look!" Carolus exclaimed, pointing out the small, round, dusty window at the mountains. "It's….kinda like home!" he said, trying to be optimistic. The chopper began its slow descent into a pasture just outside of St. Ivjan. There was already a group waiting to greet them, among them, a slender woman in a black dress that stood out from the rest, who looked as though they still lived in the 1800's. The ramp lowered, and Anton gave them a thumbs up as they made their way down. They had barely stepped onto solid ground when the chopper took off again, Anton giving them a big smile as the ramp closed.

The two Ephyrans stood awkwardly in front of the crowd for a moment, as the sound of the chopper died out. The woman in the black dress stepped forward and bowed her head ever so slightly. "Alara and Carolus, I assume, unless my dear brother has sent me another pair to look after as well." The woman said kindly. "Uh, yes, miss….uh…" Alara stammered. "Willamina Szubrov, but...you can call me Willa." the woman told them. "Let me show you to where you'll be staying." she said with a smile, her group of followers turning with her and heading towards town.

It was nice here. The air was fresh, the fields were beautiful, and the people seemed friendly enough. Carolus nudged Alara and tried to subtly point at Willa, before bringing his hands up to his face, and pretending to have fangs. Alara nodded her head, she had seen it too. "He's right." Willa said confidently. Alara and Carolus froze. Willa twirled around, her black dress flowing around her knees. "We all are, here. That's why they'll never come for you." Willa explained. "You're all what?" Alara asked nervously, hoping she was wrong. Willa and her escort all exchanged glances before breaking out in laughter. "Vampires, of course!" she laughed.

"Wait, wait, wait. So if you're all vampires, and the Tzar is your brother, is he…" Carolus trailed off, implying that Szubrov was a vampire. "As of his birth… yes." Willa confirmed. The pair stood in stunned silence. They knew that vampires were real, but they didn't expect to be in a nest of them. "You'll be fine. Trust me." Willa assured them.

The house the pair would be staying at was quite nice, a two storey Czernic style house on the hill, overlooking the valley. "Please, settle in. If you need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask. Your attendant will take care of your every need." Willa told them as she left them in the foyer of the house. "Attendant?" Alara asked quietly. "Y-y-yes m-m-mmma'am! A-at your s-serrrvice." a small man confirmed from the top of the stairs. He was well dressed, and quite happy looking. He had a severe skull deformity that made him look as though someone had taken a bite from his head. "S-s-Sasha, i-is my n-n-name!" he continued, making his way down the stairs with a limp. "Sasha, it's lovely to meet you." Alara said with a sweet smile, shaking his hand. Carolus bowed his head slightly as he shook the man's hand. "Are you uh...a vampire too?" Carolus asked. "Oh! Y-yes sir! S-s-see?" Sasha answered, rolling up his sleeve to show the scarred bite marks on his forearm. "I-it's ok! The b-b-baker ha-ha-haaaaad to b-bite me t-to ssssave my life. Heeee f-found me iiin the f-field haaaa-half dead, sir." he said happily.

"Well, as long as you're happy, I guess." Carolus smiled. "L-let me sh-show you to your r-room." Sasha said, heading back up the stairs, leading them to a large master bedroom with a beautiful view of the mountains from the balcony. "P-please, get s-settled in! I will b-be right d-d-down the haa-hall if you n-need me. L-last d-d-door on the l-left." he told them, before exiting the room, and closing the door behind him. Alara dropped her bag and threw her jacket on the bed before walking out onto the patio. The cool mountain breeze felt good on her skin. Carolus embraced her from behind, and peered off into the mountains. The pair stood silently for a while before Carolus broke the silence. "This place is fucked up."

"Yeah, super fucked up. Didn't expect that." Alara agreed. The pair shared a laugh before they sat down at the oversized patio table. "I guess this is our life now though." Alara said, taking a more serious tone. "Eh, we'll get used to it, and besides, it's only for a little while, right?" Carolus asked rhetorically.

Alara zipped up her jacket and stepped out onto the veranda outside the bedroom, lighting a cigarette as she watched the snow dance gently in the wind. It had been 3 months since they landed, and it would probably be many more before they would even be able to consider going home.


"Says here Sagdiyev fell." Carolus said, flipping through the newspaper.


"Fell or was held? The words are pretty similar, remember?" she asked, flicking the ash from her cigarette over the railing.


Carolus flipped back to the page and studied the spelling of the word for a moment. "Zastraya." he remarked, unsure if he was even pronouncing it properly.


"Fell, yeah. Sastriya means held." she confirmed.


"I would complain about their weird ass language, but we have sixteen words for the same type of fish, so we can't say much." Carolus laughed.


"Yeah. Also, did not expect the Tzar to be that big! I mean, he's still small by our standards, but my God, man, what do they feed that guy?" Alara exclaimed, passing the cigarette to Carolus, who tucked it in the corner of his mouth.


"Steroids, probably." Carolus said flatly, looking to Alara.


They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. This is how they had spent most of their time, trying to entertain one another with dark humor and hanging out in the old house. Alara had taken to learning Yamanta, and Carolus had taken it upon himself to build and train a city guard. Willa didn't seem to mind, not that they saw her very often after the first few weeks.


"So, there's this weird looking building just outside of town, looks older than most of the ones here, except it's like, abandoned, you know the one I'm talking about?" Alara asked, plunking down in one of the chairs at the small table that sat in the corner of their room.


"Uhhhh, that red brick one just past Ivan's farm right?" Carolus replied, gesturing in the general direction of where he thought it might be.


"No, that's the old church you're thinking of. This one is over by…" she began.


"OHHH! The fuckin' huge one just over by Willa's?" Carolus interjected, leaning back in the chair.


"Yeaaaah, that's the one. So hear me out, I say we go on an adventure." she said, that mischievous glint in her eye that he loved so much.


"Awww yes. Fuck yes. Wait….did they get that weird wolfman thing yet?" Carolus asked excitedly.


"No, and it's not a weird wolfman thing, it's Ivan, you know he suffers from Lycanthropy. Wait….you're just looking for an excuse to put on your armor!" she laughed, gently shaking her head.


"I'm gonna wear it anyways! Makes my dick feel big." he joked, getting up from his chair and getting on his hands and knees beside the bed, reaching underneath for the worn box that contained his gear.


"I mean, it makes you looks super hot, so I'm not gonna say no, just make sure you have a good sweater or a hoodie or something under it, because it's fucking cold out, man." Alara said with a grin.


Carolus pulled the hand cannon from the box and held it up like the sword of a mighty conqueror, making a ridiculous expression with his face. "By the power of Pua Pua!" he shouted, trying to make his voice as deep as possible.


"You're such a tool!" Alara giggled, throwing the pillow from her chair at him.


Carolus laughed as he slapped the pillow out of the air before sliding his gun into the holster on his hip. The holster was beautifully made by the blacksmith, Jormund, an old guy from Craviter that spent most of his time babbling about vikings and being stuck here. Carolus like to spend time with him, even though he was sure the guy had to be older than Willa.


The air was crisp, and the smell of the pines was carried down the mountain by the breeze. The two of them walked down the cobblestone road towards Willa's place, a massive mansion just on the edge of town. 3 stories of gothic chic decadence that suited a woman like Willa. Both of them inspected the exterior of the mansion as they walked the fence line.


"Do the gargoyles move, or am I just letting all the other weird shit here get in my head?" Alara asked, scanning the rooftop for the many limestone gargoyles.


"Nah, they don't. I thought that too, until she got us to come and help her put one back on the roof when it fell off during that huge storm. They do have some weird stone in the eyes that makes them look like they're glowing though." Carolus answered.


"Thank god, I can handle vampires, werewolves, immortal vikings, witches, wizards, all that, but I don't think I could handle that." she chuckled.


"That's where you draw the line? Gargoyles is where you draw the line?" Carolus laughed as he reached for her hand.


She smiled and gave him a happy little nod as their fingers interlocked. To their surprise, they could see footprints in the snow, already leading to the massive brick building they were headed to. The building itself didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the town, it was much older, and the dimensions far larger, it's presence far more….sinister.


As they stood in its shadow, a feeling of dread crept over them, the row of shattered windows above them seemed to gaze upon them like an eyeless face.


"Is it normal to be scared of a building?" Alara asked shakily, the cold beginning to make her teeth chatter.


"Depends on the building." Carolus answered, resting his hand on top of his weapon.


A muted scream resonated from inside the building, seemingly building on itself, until it erupted from the shattered windows and the doorways as a deafening shriek. Carolus and Alara shielded their ears from the piercing sound, disoriented by it.


As they regained their senses, Alara froze in place as she caught sight of a figure in the blur of snow that swirled around them, it stood in the doorway of the great structure. It glared at them from under its weathered cloak before disappearing behind a squall, vanishing entirely.


"What the fuck was that?!" Carolus shouted, gripping his weapon tight as he took up a firing stance, aiming at the door. The pair cautiously approached the spot where the figure had stood. There were footprints leading inside, into the pitch black of the halls.


They froze again as a blood curdling cry echoed from deep within the building.


"HELP! MEEEE!"


Carolus readied his weapon, flicking on the attached flashlight. "Fuck it. You with me?" he asked Alara.


"Always." Alara answered confidently.


He nodded back to her, and began into the dark. The halls smelled of sulphur and rotted meat, the smell of death clung to the stone as if it was pressed into the bricks. They could hear pieces of the stone falling away, rattling along the floor. It was strange, for all the sounds and smells that they were experiencing, the howling wind outside couldn't be heard, even though every window and door had been broken or left open. The narrow hallway opened up to a once grand hall, the chandeliers covered in cobwebs, and the long wooden benches strewn with food that looked like it had gone rotten hundreds of years ago.


"What happened here?" Alara whispered, looking around the room. There was a surprising amount of natural light in the room, though the corners were still covered in shadow that felt almost unnatural. A rustling behind them drew their attention, Carolus wheeled around, aiming in the direction of the sound. The figure had reappeared, this time with its hood down, and it's hands folded neatly in front of it.


"I mean you no harm, if you share the same intention traveller." the figure said, the raspy baritone of its voice echoing off the stone walls.


Carolus hesitantly holstered his weapon, stepping in front of Alara. "Who are you?" he asked, his tone demanding and authoritative.


"I...I cannot remember, but you may refer to me as Grey." the figure replied, his voice now softer, and shaky, as if the question caught him off guard.


"Alright, Grey, answer this: what the fuck is going on in here? Where is that screaming coming from?" Carolus inquired, taking a few cautious steps towards Grey.


"Tis the Matriarch. She is forgetful in her old age, I'm afraid." Grey answered. "I cannot stop you from pursuing her, but I would strongly recommend against it."


"And why is that?" Alara asked gently.


"Because she hasn't been fed for years." Grey said gravely.

Alara and Carolus followed behind Grey, descending the antiquated staircases that wound down into the seemingly endless depths of the structure, the nitre encrusted walls sparkled in the beam of Alara's flashlight as she swung it from side to side, trying to make sense of what was happening. The further they ventured, the more aged and ancient the stone seemed to be, in some spots the usual masonry, and in others, frescos that spanned many hundreds of feet down along the staircase. They were likely beautiful once, painted with rich hues of blue, green, and white; delicately composed into scenes of mountains and rivers, now ragged, faded, and chipping away. Every so often, they would hear the gasping gurgle of the matriarch below, their imaginations running wild at what manner of terrifying nightmare creature may be lurking below, guarded by this gaunt specter of undefinable age.


"Grey, how much further?" Carolus inquired, becoming more and more nervous with every step.


"Not far now, traveller. We shall arrive shortly." Grey replied, an icey tone of impatience tinged his gravelly voice.


Grey's idea of "not far" was quite different from that of the exiled lovers, as they walked for another half hour down the stairs and through winding corridors, and great halls before coming to a worn wooden door that was held shut by many locks and bars. Grey did not fumble with keys, but simply raised a withered hand, and the air was filled the metallic clanging of the old locks popping open, and falling to the floor. Alara and Carolus shared a nervous glance in response to this display. The rumbling gurgle was now quite near, and a pervasive stench invaded their nostrils as the door swung open, revealing yet another set of stairs, although this one seemed far shorter than the previous ones.


The steps lead down to a large, dimly lit chamber, circular in its construction, with a large pit in the center ringed by an iron railing to prevent a nasty fall. Tables, workbenches, and laboratory equipment lined the walls, and a simple desk with a large, leather-bound tome sat near the pit itself. This part of the old fortress looked far newer, the stones were not as weathered here, and the same encroaching green and yellow moss did not push its way through the cracks and crevices.


The gurgling stopped as they approached, replaced by a cautious, almost nervous low growl, like that of a wary cat cornered by another. Grey moved slowly around the room, lighting the sconces that hung upon the walls before stopping to light a large brazier that sat just over to the side from the desk. As the room flooded with light, they could see that the room was set up closely to that of a surgeons theater, a large metal slab suspended from the ceiling over the pit, and over the slab, a larger circular slab that looked as if it would fit perfectly within the railing, and settle on top of the pit.


Bewildered at the sight of the place, the pair momentarily forgot about whatever beast dwelt in the pit, looking around at the strange instruments that littered the tables, buried under papers that were strewn about and spilling onto the floor.


Alara moved to the tome that lay on the table, it seemed to be the oldest thing in the room by hundreds of years. She sat down, and delicately opened the cover, revealing a name and date on the inside of the front cover.


Countess Eliza Szubrov

1630


"Willa and Ygor's mother?" Alara pondered aloud.


"The very same." Grey interjected, quietly pushing the cover of the book back shut. "The Szubrovs are an old house, not originally of this land...much like yourselves. They keep their mothers name, as their bastard, low born father had not a name to give them." He turned his gaze towards the door, but quickly returned back to Alara. "This book, is the diary of the poor, afflicted Countess, and I think not that she would be happy that someone would pry into her deepest thoughts." he finished coldly.


"Well, what happened to her?" Alara asked, leaning back in the chair.


Grey motioned to the pit and slowly backed away from the edge.


The pair moved to the railing and peered down into the dark depth with great curiosity. Below, they could see the twisted form of a woman, clad in a simple white night gown, her hair thrown into a loose ponytail, with the remnants falling around her frail shoulders. Her skin was the same awful grey as the stone around her, with limbs like gnarled branches of some small tree, her eyes sunken, a foul shade of yellow. What they noticed the most though, was the maw of sharp teeth, dripping with saliva as she growled and gurgled, wandering somewhat aimlessly between the bed, chaise lounge, and small desk that sat at the bottom. She didn't even seem to notice her watchers as she paced.


"What the hell…." Carolus whispered.


"She is unwell." Willa's voice called from the top of the stairs, finally attracting the attention of her aged mother.


Willa descended the stairs, her red silken dress draping the step behind her as she did so, her soft footfalls breaking the awkward silence. She did not seem angry, not displeased with Carolus and Alara's intrusion into the hidden sanctum.


"What happened to her?" Alara asked, her voice filled with compassion and sympathy for both Willa and Eliza.


Willa let out a deep sigh before she began "She was perfectly fine until the summer of 1810, about 6 months after Ygor was born. She went out to hunt, and didn't return the following morning. I had to stay at home with Ygor, but managed to get Ivan's attention as he walked his dogs, and begged him to find her. The dogs tracked her to a chasm not far from here, where she was hiding amongst the rocks, she was delirious and babbling about something that had finally found her. Ivan managed to coax her out, and brought her home. Doctor Vorsky tended to her wounds, and prescribed her a sedative of morphine and milk of magnesia, and cocainum to dull the physical pains. She seemed alright for a time, and then she began to lash out at the villagers on a whim, she began to fill journal upon journal with mad ramblings, and finally, she attacked Ygor. That's where he got the scar that runs down the side of his face. After that, Doctor Vorsky advised that we isolate her, and we brought her here. The doctor spent almost all his spare time analyzing her and her diaries, hoping to find the hidden source of her enraged, delirious state. During one such session, he asked that I stay in the room, and removed her bonds, hoping my presence would lull her into a sense of security. It went….poorly. She tore the poor doctor to shreds, and I was forced to throw her back into the pit to contain her. I took on the task of researching her diaries, trying to find any mention of the entity of which she told Ivan so many years ago. She refuses to speak to anyone, and I would wager she's none too keen to in the first place, as I only feed her enough to stay alive, whilst keeping her powers weak to the point of uselessness."


"100 years is a long time to carry that sort of burden. I'm sorry, sweetheart." Alara said tenderly, embracing Willa, who was unclear on how to react to the gesture, but slowly returned it, closing her eyes and letting out another deep sigh as she rested her head on Alara's chest.


"If there's anything we can do, please, just ask. You've already done so much for us." Carolus chimed in quietly, placing his hand on Willa's shoulder.


Willa wiped her eyes, and stepped back from Alara, her eyes somber as they fell to the floor.


"There are hundreds of diaries, stretching all the way back to her arrival in these lands, but I fear whatever caused her madness came not from Yamantau, but from her homeland, wherever that may be. I must find the diaries from then. This….this is the oldest one I can find." She explained, taking and holding up the diary that lay on the table.


"Somewhere in my home, I know the others are hidden. I have been through every shelf, every room, every crawlspace, and I have found nothing, but I know those diaries reside within those four walls. They must. She lived in that manner for 300 years before I was born, and I know she kept secrets well." Willa continued.


"How attached are you to your decor?" Carolus inquired.


"What do you mean?" Willa asked, her brow furrowed with confusion.


"I mean, as long as you're OK having an extensive conversation with the carpenter and his apprentice after, I'm sure we could find your books." he replied.


"Ah, you mean to destroy my house." Willa stated flatly.


"If you've been through every inch of that house, and still can't find them, I'll bet you anything that they're hidden in the walls, or the floor, or in some hidden room. My grandfather did the same thing with guns during the years that Ephyra quarelled with Korova." Carolus explained, trying desperately to emphasize that he did not intend to blindly destroy all of Willa's belongings.


Willa kept up her standoffish facade for a few seconds more before finally agreeing with a simple nod. Grey stood off to the side, his sour face conveying the great displeasure he felt towards the conversation.


"My lady, if our deal still stands, and you find the source of your mother's madness, do you still intend to release me from this place? Or am to forever be a woeful phantom in this wretched keep?" Grey suddenly interjected.


"You will do as told until I no longer need your services, ghost!" Willa shrieked, wheeling around to point an accusatory finger at him, angered tears running down her cheeks. Grey simply nodded, and left the room.


"What's the deal with that guy anyways?" Alara asked, reaching into her pocket for her cigarettes and lighter.


Willa motioned for one of the cigarettes, and let Alara light it before she continued on.


"Grey was the original owner of this place. He had it built in honor of his conquests during the Czernic unification. His true name I cannot speak within these walls, as it would release him from his earthly bondage before my use for him might come to an end. This place twists and turns at his command, a corridor becomes a room with no door or windows, a stairway of thirty feet becomes miles long. He controls the very shape of this accursed monument to hubris." Willa told them, taking a short puff from the cigarette, the blazing tip reflecting in her piercing green eyes.


"I say we get to work then, we have a long walk back to the surface." Carolus chimed in, taking the cigarette that Alara had handed to him gratefully.


"I assure you, the walk back won't take but a few seconds this time. Grey likely tricked you into following him for hours knowing I would be here soon." Willa scoffed, shaking her head at the old specter's childish games.


"Fuck that guy, for real." Carolus said bitterly.


"Let's get looking then. The sooner you can get your answers, the sooner you might get your mom back." Alara said sweetly, wiping the tracked tears from Willa's cheek with a smile.

The ancient manor had been well kept throughout its many years; and with it the secrets it contained. Carolus carefully knocked on the wall as he walked, listening intently for any change in the resonance beneath the aged ocean blue floral wallpaper.


"What's he doing?" Willa whispered, glancing at Alara with concern. "Has he gone mad?"


"No." Alara giggled. "He's listening for a change in the sound. If it changes abruptly, there could be a hollow compartment, or a different material might mean there's a boarded up space." she explained.


Willa nodded and stepped away, still intently watching the great green beast go delicately about his task. He would stop every so often and give a certain area a few extra taps before shaking his head and moving on. He had already done this in all the rooms upstairs on the second and third floors, and even poked around somewhat in the attic, all to no avail.


"You're sure there's no blueprints or anything for the house, right?" he asked, his voice tinged with a deep annoyance as he turned to face them.


"Yes. The original floor plans were destroyed shortly after the manor was completed." Willa replied.


"Oh, geez, sorry. The manor." he jokingly repeated, a devilish smile creeping across his face. His smile quickly faded as he realized that Willa was in no mood for jokes. "Sorry." he mumbled awkwardly, letting out a deep sigh as he stepped away from the wall, he stopped as he made it halfway across the floor. He could feel cool air against his hand, coming up from the floor.


"Is this the original floor?" he asked quickly, tapping on the floor with the toe of his boot, a hollow thud resonating with each tap.


Willa cocked her head to the side as if trying to remember. "No…I don't believe it is…" she remarked quietly. Carolus hurried off outside to the grounds keeper's shed, and returned shortly with a hammer. He tapped carefully along the floor, until he could discern an area no larger than six feet by four feet, and began to tear away the boards.


Willa looked away as he ripped away the hardwood, revealing a door. It was made of sturdy oak, with great black iron hinges, and a deadbolt securing it shut. "I thought you said you had checked the basement." Carolus finally said, standing tall over the trap door.


"I thought I had too, it seems I was quite wrong." Willa replied with an icey tone.


The three stood quietly for a moment, all staring at the door, pondering what it held behind its long latched lock. Alara was the one to move first, pushing Carolus aside and yanking the deadbolt free after a brief effort. The shriek of the iron made the group uneasy, but the descending steps made them even more so.


Carolus volunteered to go ahead and scout out wherever the passage ended, drawing his weapon and a flashlight, he slowly descended. The beam of his flashlight bounced off the nitre encrusted walls, whose masonry became more and more cyclopean in nature the further he descended. Eventually the passage leveled off, and the hall opened up enough that he no longer had to hunch over. At the end of the hall lay a large chamber, circular in shape and sunken into the floor, ringed by a set of steps. He could see a candelabra sitting on one of the tables, and decided to light the candles to give himself just a little more light. As he crossed the room, he tripped over what he now realized was a large fire pit. He quickly searched the room for wood, and quickly had a fire going, the flames dimly lighting the room.


"Hey! Come on down!" he shouted to his companions. He strolled around the room, inspecting the curios and piles of papers that littered the room. Oddly enough, there was one perfectly kept desk near the back, where he had initially seen the candelabra. He lit the candles to cast more light on the desk, and sat down to rummage through the drawers.


"What is the place?" Alara asked, looking around the strange room, gazing up at the frescoed ceiling, which seemed to depict some manner of hunt.


"I'm not sure. Mother never mentioned it." Willa replied, equally in awe of the chamber.


"Who is….Vladislav?" Carolus asked, examining an ornate pocket watch he had found in the drawers of the desk.


Willa seemed shocked, and stammered weakly before finding her voice. "Vladislav was our father. He died long ago. Are there any of his other belongings in there?" Willa asked, her voice showing her desperation for the first time.


"Looks like….a stack of letters to Elizabeth…the watch….a coin? Aaaaand….whatever the fuck this thing is." Carolus said, holding up a strange pendant that seemed to rotate of its own volition at the end of the thick silver chain it hung on. Carolus felt uneasy looking at it as it slowly spun, the red stone in the center of it catching the light in strange ways. He could almost swear he could see something in it. As he brought it closer to his face, the stone caught the light of the fire pit behind it, and almost immediately, it stopped spinning. Carolus felt a rush of terrible energy ripple through his very soul, and his mind was clouded with visions of eldritch horror unlike anything he had ever seen. A blinding flash of light came from the stone, and he saw himself at the heels of Atmoros, heading the profane procession between dimensions, primal and serene as he walked amongst all those who had come before him, and all who would come after, from the very beginning, to the very end. He could hear the voice of Hykir as he urged them forward to Tura, the promised land of the dead. That booming, deafening, thunderous voice that spoke in languages not heard since the earth beneath their feet was rended in two eternal aeons before, and all life clawed its way from the fissures. He could hear the hissing of Mesaldes as he and Atmoros were rejoined at the end of the world, bonded back together in holy cataclysm as they had been torn apart so long before.


Above it all, he could hear the voice of an angel calling his name, becoming clearer. The vision faded as the angel's callings became shrieks of terror. Before he was torn away from the procession, he looked ahead, and saw her there, shrouded in robes of scarlet and gold: Elizabeth, glorious and beautiful as she had once been.


"Carolus! Baby! You're ok!" Alara cried as he convulsed on the floor, his body stiffened and he foamed from the mouth, writhing in agony upon the cold stone. "I'll go get help!" Willa cried out, running from the chamber. Carolus' sight came and went for the next few moments, before everything faded to black.


He awoke in his bed, in his home, with the snow falling outside the window. His body ached, and his head felt as though it had been split with an axe. After regaining his senses, he rose slowly from the bed, having to brace himself against the wall.


"Alara….Alara!" he called weakly, heading for the stairs. He stumbled towards the door, naked and weak before collapsing on the floor, his breathing was becoming labored, and he began to feel light headed. Flashes of the vision he had seen before began to crash against his conscious mind once more, causing him to let out an agonized yelp. He could hear footsteps running up the stairs as he lay on the floor in a pitiful pile. Alara burst through the door and fell to her knees by his side. His sad, bloodshot eyes flickered up towards her, and he breathed a heavy sigh of relief tinged with embarrassment.


Alara helped him back to bed, and lay with him as he wheezed and coughed. "Alara…what's happening to me?" Carolus gasped, looking into her eyes, seeing the heartbreak in them. "What did that thing do to me?"


"You've been here for five days now." she started softly, trying to hold back tears. "When you looked into the stone, you fell back, and started having a seizure. The seizures have been happening on and off, and they only really stopped yesterday, but…Willa….Willa had to get the doctor to save you twice. Your heart stopped, and…" she stopped, before finally breaking down into tears as he held her closer.


"I'm dying, aren't I?" he asked calmly. "How long do I have?" he rasped.


"The doctor says you'll be lucky if you see another few days, they don't know what's happening. They say it's like a cancer, but it's not actually a cancer. They have no idea what it is." Alara explained through her tears. "It keeps getting bigger every day."


"Mmm. Listen to me…I know what we have to do, but…..you aren't going to like it." Carolus said gently, his pale eyes locking with hers. She already knew what he meant. "Go get Willa." he said weakly.


"No!" Alara urged, gently holding his face.


"I don't want to die." he choked, the tears filling his eyes.


The two embraced, and wept with one another before finally making the choice.


Carolus sat in bed, smoking a cigarette, watching the snow fall as he waited for Willa's arrival. He was embittered by what was about to happen, but he knew it was the only way he could stay with his beloved. He heard the knob turn gently, Willa and Alara entering the room.


Alara sat at the small table on the other side of the room as Willa sat on the edge of the bed. Willa ran her finger along Carolus' cheek as she looked upon him. He looked so frail, and so tired. "Are you sure? There is no going back…" Willa told him, choking back her own tears. Carolus nodded weakly and let his head roll to the side, staring out the window. He could feel Willa's breath on his neck as she drew nearer, he braced himself for what would come next. "Forgive me." she whispered. He barely winced as she sunk her fangs into his neck, condemning him to a cursed half life that he would carry with him until the end of days.

Carolus sat on the edge of the bed, looking out at the snow as it fell. It had been a terrible few days, fraught with night terrors that would drag him screaming from the mercy of sleep, awakening drenched in sweat. Alara had taken to sleeping in the guest room, as his cries in the night became unbearable to her already breaking heart. He could feel that the transformation was now complete. He felt his strength beginning to return, and as he took his first few labored steps, he could feel the change. Everything was more vivid, sounds were amplified to the point that he could hear the rats scurrying in the walls in the kitchen.


He leaned against the doorframe that lead out onto the patio, silently contemplating the large flakes of snow, able to see the crystalline majesty of each one as it descended, the intricate vertices etched into his mind.


"Hm…not sure I like that." he mumbled, pushing himself off the doorframe. He could smell someone coming down the hall, a rich scent of coffee, jasmine, pine, tobacco, and coconut. Alara. He quickly moved behind the door with a smile on his face as he waited. The soft, barefoot treading grew closer, and the doorknob began to turn. The door pushed open and Alara strode in, a cup of coffee in either hand. She stood in the doorway, nervously looking at the bed, and out onto the patio, looking for her missing lover. Carolus moved silently, slipping his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.


"Hey." he whispered happily in her ear. Alara quickly leaned and put the coffee cups on the table near the door, and wriggled around in the embrace to face Carolus, burying her face into his chest. If she was squeezing too hard, he didn't notice, he was just happy to be alive, and have her in his arms again.


She looked up at him slowly, examining his face. His eyes were a strange red now, and his skin was paler than usual, highlighting the scar that ran across his lips. The small fangs that showed when he smiled could easily be mistaken as normal on an Ephyran.


"Not the worst you've looked." she said sweetly, her tone hopeful, but her eyes betrayed a deep sadness.


"Hey, I know you're worried, but…I'm still me." Carolus assured her, looking into her eyes pleadingly. "Yeah, some things are going to change, but…I'm still me."


"Its not you I'm worried about." Alara assured him. "C'mon, I have something to show you."


Carolus put on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, and followed Alara through the aging house, down to the kitchen. As they neared, he could hear familiar voices, one old, one young. As they stepped through the kitchen door, Nicolai sat at the kitchen table, across from Omar.


The little boy seemed happy enough as Nicolai showed him some simple magic tricks like pulling coins from Omar's ears. "What's he doing here?" Carolus asked quietly, dumbfounded at the presence of the child.


"His parents were killed in the fighting in Kiroyev, three days before the ceasefire. He was staying with elderly relatives in Whakai. They got ahold of Marin, and sent him here since he's now my responsibility. He's been here for two days, and I don't know how to tell him that his parents aren't coming." Alara explained.


"Okay, whoa, wait, the war is over? Gods, alright. Well…what do we do about Omar? St. Ivjan isn't exactly a place for a kid to grow up." Carolus stammered.


"Yeah, the ceasefire came into effect the day after Willa bit you. I didn't want to tell you just in case you didn't make it, I didn't want you to die knowing you could've died back home instead of thousands of miles away." Alara admitted sheepishly.


Carolus knew she meant well, and she was right, he wouldn't have wanted to know. "Well….shit. Either way, my main concern right now is the kid. He…he deserves to know about his parents." Carolus whispered.


"Uncle!" Omar shouted, springing from his seat as he ran towards Carolus, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Aunty said you were super sick, and that Miss Willa gave you a special medicine that was gonna turn you into a superhero….but you still look the same!" Omar shouted happily, his giggle filling the small kitchen.


"Yeah, well, not all superheroes look like superheroes, eh?" Carolus said with a smile, hugging the small boy back. As Omar finally backed away, Carolus could see that Omar had received his first tatau, three lines across the bridge of his nose. Carolus scowled as he saw it.


In Ephyran custom, three lines across the nose meant that a child was unwanted, or unspoken for, and this was likely a parting gift from his other relatives. "Who gave you that tatau?" Carolus asked, trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. "Apa Até* gave it to me." Omar said, his tone turning quite sad. Carolus could tell that Omar knew exactly what it meant.


"Do you want Aunty or I to fix it for you?" Carolus asked him, kneeling down to look Omar in the eyes. Omar nodded, his smile returning. He thought for a moment as he looked at Carolus, studying his face. "I want Aunty to do it!" he said happily.


Carolus nodded and ruffled Omar's short brown hair before standing up. "Is Willa around at all?" Carolus asked, turning his attention back to Alara.


"She shooould be in town, at her office. Gonna go see her about what to expect from your new….superpowers?" Alara asked, half jokingly.


"Yeah, there's some things I already don't like." he said with a sigh.


"Its gonna take time, babe. I'll be here for you." she replied sweetly, pushing up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek.


"Ew!" Omar giggled.


Carolus grabbed Omar by his armpits and lifted him high. "Just you wait, one day, you'll like getting kissed too!" he roared as the little boy laughed.


_________________________________


"Be careful out there, it's about to be a whole new world for you." Alara said with a smile, straightening Carolus' jacket as they stood by the door of the manor.


"I will, take good care of the kid. Nicolai, you coming?" Carolus called to the old man.


"Yes, yes. Slowly, but surely my boy." the aged politician assured him, shuffling along.


Nicolai had his own business with Willa, directly from the Tzar himself, but he had been in no rush since his arrival.


"Alright, old man, let's go." Carolus said with a grin, holding the door open for him. "I love you, I'll be back soon." he told Alara, giving her a gentle peck on the forehead, before following Nicolai out in the bitter cold.


Alara watched them walk down the hill a ways before closing the door, pulling her hoodie closer around her shoulders as the draft hit her. Omar had been silently following along, looking around the house as he did. This place was very alien to him, and the sudden change had made him quite anxious.


"Aunty, can you fix my tatau today? I don't wanna be unwanted anymore." he said suddenly, the sadness in his voice was heartbreaking. "Sure kiddo, but you were never unwanted, and when I see your Apa Até again, I'm going to be very angry with her." Alara said, reaching her hand down to hold Omar's.


Omar happily took her hand as they strolled through the house, up to the solarium, a beautifully windowed room facing out over the village, with the majesty of the mountains in the distance.


"Come sit here, I'm gonna go get my tatau stuff." Alara told him, motioning him to a luxurious chais lounge that faced out the window. Omar hopped up and waited patiently as Alara exited, returning shortly with a small wooden case. She pulled a side table and chair over, getting her equipment set up as she looked at Omar.


"I'm going to give you my family's moko. It's very old, and very powerful, it will fend off all evil spirits, forever." Alara told the boy, pointing to the tattooing by her ears, and on her throat.


"The women, they get it on their neck, and on their ears, but the men, they wear it with great pride upon their face." she continued, beginning to trace the lines onto his face.


"Why doesn't Uncle have moko?" Omar asked, trying to hold still.


"Uncle is from a different tribe. Their tatau isn't like my tribe's, theirs represents the rocks, and the mountains, while my tribe is from the sea, and the sand. Uncle has more tatau than me, his is just all over his body." Alara explained, gently dragging the stencil pen under Omar's eye.


"Aunty….my parents aren't coming, are they? That's why you're giving your family's moko, and not mine, isn't it?" Omar asked sullenly.


Alara stopped for a moment, resting her hand on her knee, meeting Omar's gaze. "No, they aren't, kiddo. They've gone to join Atmoros and his procession." she said sadly.


"I kinda knew. It's ok. I know the gods will look after them when they get to Tura, and that's why they gave me to you!" Omar smiled.


"You're a strong kid, and I'm gonna do my best for you. Me and Uncle both." she smiled, trying to hold back tears.


"I can tell Uncle is still sick, you can see it in his eyes." Omar said with a concerned tone.


"Yeah, he's gonna be sick for the rest of his life. What he has, baby….nobody can cure." Alara told him. "Now….you wanna get started? It's gonna take a while, and you gotta tell me if it hurts too bad, ok?" Alara asked him, holding the tattoo machine in one hand.


Omar nodded happily, and closed his eyes as Alara leaned in to start.


_________________________________


"I'm surprised you're out of bed, the transformation must have been awful." Nicolai chattered as he shuffled along the snowy street next to his massive companion.


"Fuck, so am I, honestly. The dreams were the absolute worst part of the whole thing. Just the wildest shit." Carolus replied, shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets.


"Like what?" Nicolai inquired, raising an eyebrow.


Carolus let out a deep sigh as he shook his head. "I don't even know where to begin with that."


"Fair enough." Nicolai said with a nod. He knew better than to pry with these kinds of things.


"So why did you come all the way here? Couldn't Ygor have just sent an email, or made a phone call?" Carolus asked the old man.


"If we're being quite honest, I'm not here on behalf of Ygor. I'm here to see if Willa would allow Marin and I to build a home here, and bring our boys in from upcountry. They managed to defect from the Imperial forces during the battle of Sagdiyev, ended up finding us in Tagtaryev. Ygor likes having me relatively close by, but he doesn't need me wandering the halls of the palace at night. Everything here has to go through her." the old man explained, continuously puffing on his cigarette between every few words.


"Well, would you object to building on our land? Willa signed the land over to us about six weeks back, we could sign over the back acreage, and I'll help you put in a road and utilities in the spring. We have more than enough room in the house to keep everyone happy until then." Carolus offered the old man.


"You'd do that for me?" Nicolai asked, a big smile across his face.


"Nicolai, it is the absolute least I could do." Carolus smiled back.


The two trekked on, casually bantering back and forth about the plans for Nicolai's home as they walked. Willa's office wasn't far from the house, just down the main road. A single storey building made of crimson brick and oddly white mortar, the office stood out from the rest of the old buildings on the street as likely the newest addition since the communist takeover in 1911.


Carolus held the door for Nicolai, then quickly ducked inside after, thankful to be out of the cold. Willa sat quietly at her desk, smiling as she looked up.


"Carolus, I'm glad to see you're up an about. In record time, too." she said with a small laugh.


"Hard to keep a good man down, Willamina." Nicolai interjected.


"Nick, it's so nice to see you again." she said sweetly, rising from her seat and crossing over to him, kissing him on both cheeks.


"I take it you two are acquainted then?" Carolus asked.


Willa pointed to a black and white picture that hung on the wall that looked like it had been taken sometime in the 80s. A much younger Nicolai, and much unchanged Willa and Ygor stared back.


"Ah, you hid out here before going to Ephyra, didn't you?" Carolus chuckled.


Nicolai winked at the astute Ephyran as if it to tell him he was right.


"What can I do for you two?" Willa asked, sitting back down.


"We wanted to know if it's alright for Nicolai and his family to build a house on our land." Carolus said, before Nicolai could begin the begging old man routine.


Willa furrowed her brow and leaned back in her seat. "Why would you need my approval, you're one of us now, and it's your land." she said with a smile.


"Ah! Wonderful, well, that settles that! I'm gonna go tell Marin and the boys the good news!" Nicolai exclaimed, eagerly shuffling right back out the door.


Willa examined Carolus intently before speaking. "Something troubles you. Are you having a hard time adjusting?" she asked, lighting a cigarette from the ornate table lighter on her desk.


"It's…it's not so much difficulty adjusting, as not knowing what to do with it all. Let's be really fucking real here, Willa, I'm looking at eternity now, so I have that to learn the ropes of this vampire thing, but what am I supposed to actually, y'know…do?" he asked frustratedly.


Willa sat back in her chair again, and took a long drag, letting the smoke slowly escape between her ruby lips. "I've spent centuries wondering the exact same thing, and honestly, the best answer I can give you is simply this: look after your people. You're now an apex predator beyond any that have walked the earth before you. You could use that to bring entire kingdoms to their knees as a conqueror, or…you could be the same man you were, just far more capable of protecting the people you love." she said softly.


"Huh…" Carolus sighed. He had expected more than that, but its not like these sorts of things came with a manual.


"But…there is something I need your help with." Willa said, her tone turning grave.


"Anything." Carolus replied.


Willa kept her gaze locked with his as she reached into the drawer of her desk and pulled out that damned medallion with the red stone.


"I need you to look into it again."

Carolus cautiously examined the medallion, turning it over and over in his hand, being very careful not to let any sort of light through the red stone. The surface was covered in strange engravings, a language he had never seen before, which looked so evil, he hoped any that could read it were long dead. Who had made this awful little thing, and why? These were the questions he had pondered all night as the rest of the household slept. He had already drank far too much coffee, even though it did nothing but make him jittery now.


"What are you, you little bastard?" he mumbled, laying it on the desk. He turned his attention back to the stack of books, letters, and scholarly essays they had taken from the vault beneath Willa's house, a wide assortment of leather bound tomes and yellowed papers. Vladislav had been researching the medallion; as apparently Elizabath, or Eliza, or Liza, as she was referred to in the letters, had started her slow mental decline after coming into contact with it in 1803, a few years before Ygor was born. There was no mention of where she had gotten it, or how it even came to be, the more Carolus read, the less he understood about it.


In one of the letters, Vladislav proposed that the medallion was used for forcibly viewing the memories of others, but in another, he proposed that it allowed the wielder to see far into the future at a terrible cost. There was no mention of the script in any of the numerous documents written by learned men, professors of linguistics or archaic history, of far greater intelligence than either Carolus or Vladislav. Not one person who had studied the awful little trinket could pin down who, what, or where it came from.


"I wonder…" Carolus pondered, taking the the medallion and pushing as hard as he could against the stone, attempting to dislodge it from the center. Even with all his might, he couldn't move the stone, or bend the metal. The stone was odd as well. If it was anything other than what it was, it would be stunning. A flawless stone with a pear cut, set in what he assumed had to be some manner of steel or tungsten. It reminded him of the great platinum, ruby, and emerald necklace worn by the Khan since before any living Ephyran could remember. The fact that touching either one could get you killed was also quite amusing.


Carolus let out a tired sigh before packing everything up, carefully tucking the medallion into the drawer before locking it. The last thing he needed was Omar getting ahold of it. He leaned back in his seat, contemplating everything he had learned so far. It didn't make any sort of sense to him, but he was trying nonetheless. He pulled a sheet of the yellowed paper from the stack and quickly skimmed through it to make sure it wasn't important before flipping it over and beginning to draw a crude timeline of the events that lead to Elizabeth's eventual madness.


1310: The medallion is first mentioned in the writings of a soldier from the Kreszesk Delta, who spoke of it belonging to a warlord from the east. The warlord is said to have been slain in an ambush in the village of Hromir, what is now Novisibraskaya.


1431: An unnamed philosopher from Tagtaryeva comes into possession of the medallion by unknown means, he is subsequently found dead due to self inflicted injuries in 1435.


1505: Ivjan Magomedov becomes St. Ivjan of Czesaya, the medallion is visibly clutched in his left hand in most portraits.


1647: Elizabeth Szubrov arrives in Yamantau, settling in the plague stricken village of St. Ivjan, named after the saint.


1703: Elizabeth Szubrov becomes obsessed with legends of the medallion that has been possessed by kings and peasants alike, with the power to make the two trade places.


1798: Elizabeth marries Vladislav, how they met is unclear.


1799: Willamina Szubrov is born.


1803: Elizabeth finds the medallion hanging from the front door of the manor. It's around this time that the villagers say she began to act erratically.


1810: Ygor Szubrov is born.


1821: Elizabeth is found naked, babbling, and speaking in a bizarre language in the valley a few miles from her home.


1835: Vladislav is killed by unknown assailants.


1882: Elizabeth attacks Ygor, almost killing him. Willamina locks Elizabeth away under Grey's Hall.


1899: Ygor murders Tzar Grigori VIII in Kiroyev.


1910: Ygor assists in the communist takeover of Yamantau, stripping the monarchy of any powers it may have had.


1935: Elizabeth kills the doctor.


1958: Willamina banishes Ygor from St. Ivjan for his crimes against the people of Yamantau.


1980: Ygor is arrested and imprisoned.


1981: In a letter to Ygor, Willamina makes ammends.


1990: Ygor becomes Commisar of Yamantau.


1992: Nicolai is smuggled out of the country.


1994: First assassination attempt of Volodymyr Svrtan.


1995: Elizabeth's manor is remodeled. (Can't tell why Willa didn't know about the chamber if it was only covered up so recently. Lying?)


2018: Szubrov enlists the help of Paolo Vera in destabilizing the Svrtan regime.


2019: Ygor murders Volodymyr Svrtan.


2021: Medallion discovered, comes into my possession.



Carolus traced over the timeline again and again, trying to figure out why the medallion kept disappearing and reappearing almost at random, and why Willa had never known about the hidden chamber if the renovations had taken place less than 30 years ago and why she had lied about Ygor's birth, and when Elizabeth attacked him.

"What the fuck…" he sighed, tossing the paper onto the desk, trying to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. He stared at the desk for a moment, before unlocking the drawer again, and pulling the medallion from it. He braced himself, and held it up to a candle that stood on the desk.


That familiar wave of dread washed over his soul once again, but this time it didn't feel as intense. It felt almost controllable. Once again, he walked alongside Atmoros, primal and serene. He willed himself to look around, eventually finding the woman in the red cloak again. He tried to call out to her, but his voice faltered. Choosing instead to rush after her, he caught up with surprising ease. Reaching out to grab her hood, she turned, revealing a beautiful porcelain complexion, with raven hair and eyes of azure. Her beauty caught him off guard, a far cry from the withered hag that stalked around the bottom of that pit. She took his hand, and everything began to shift. Suddenly, they stood in a silent field of reeds, the thunderous drone of Hykir's voice fading into nothingness, the miasma of despair that had filled his heart seemed to fade as well.


"We can speak here, friend." Eliza cooed sweetly, taking Carolus by the hand as they strolled through the reeds, the cool water around their feet splashing gently as they went.


"What is this place, Elizabeth?" Carolus asked, looking around at the golden sunrise, and the endless sea of bullrushes waving gently in the breeze.


"This is A'at. This is what comes after. Your people call it Tura, the others call it heaven. This is where the weary come to rest." she explained, her tone loving, yet sad.


"Why are we here? Neither of us are dead, at least, not truly." Carolus remarked as he looked down at the woman beside him.


"You know as well as I do that we truly are. Our hearts no longer beat, our lungs no longer draw breath. We are the walking dead upon Eras, cursed to live a half life that we were forced into asking for. It doesn't mean we were bad people, just that we were never given a fair chance." Elizabeth replied.


"Elizabeth….how can you be here in this form, but in reality, your body is withered and kept weak?" Carolus continued.


"The medallion. Every time you look into it, it takes more and more of you. The first time you look, it takes more of you than each tike after. Eventually, your soul yearns for it, because it is the only way that people….things…. like us…can find peace in the field of reeds." she answered. She understood his confusion, and didn't blame him for having so many questions.


"Come, I have much to show you." she laughed.


As they walked, a great temple began to rise from the waters ahead. Standing tall and proud against the pink and gold glow of the rising sun, the cyclopean white marble building twisted and turned towards the sky, the sound of rushing water as it ascended filling the air. The pair ascended the stairs to the temple's sanctum, still tightly holding hands.


The sanctum was a large, open room that sat at the top of the stairs, the basalt walls inside a stark contrast to those of the exterior. Carolus could see a faint blue glow trace its way across the walls in every direction, forming great nebulous webs in the stone.


"What am I looking at?" Carolus asked cautiously, watching another wave of blue light ripple across the surface.


"The beginning and end of all things that are, were, and will be. Watch." Elizabeth urged. She reached out, touching the blue light. An image of her holding Ygor as a baby was presented to them both by the light. It was more as though they could feel the image instead of see it in its entirety, but both felt a deep feeling of love.


A flicker of red caught Carolus' eye as travelled back and forth before him. Cautiously, he reached out to touch it. Instead of a happy memory, or some grand insight, he was presented with the image of Omar showing the medallion to Alara.


"No…when does this happen…." he muttered, trying desperately to think of a way to stop it.


"Its happening now." Elizabeth answered sadly. "You better wake up."


Carolus snapped awake, still sitting in the chair. He looked frantically for the medallion, but it was gone.


"Fuck!" he exclaimed, rushing out the door.


"Omar! Omar where are you?" Carolus called out as he ran towards his bedroom. He could see Omar standing in the doorway, with something clutched in his hand.


"Omar, no!" Carolus shouted, Omar turning to face him with a look of panic.


"There's something wrong with Aunty!" Omar shrieked as he fled the room, dropping the medallion as he ran.


Carolus entered the room to the sounds of muffled struggle. He could see that Alara was having a violent seizure as she lay in bed.


"SHIT! SHIT! NO BABY, C'MON!" Carolus cried out, watching her writhe in agony upon the sheets. As the trembling stopped, she turned her head over to look at Carolus, the tears streaming down her face.


"Do it…." she whimpered.


Carolus swallowed hard and gave her a nod. He propped her forward, and climbed in behind her before pulling her back, resting against his chest. He held her close for a few moments, wondering if he was doing the right thing.


"Do it….please." she cried, tilting her head to the side.


Carolus took a deep breath, and bit down on her neck hard. It was the first time he had tasted blood since his own transformation, but he did not celebrate this. As she went limp in his arms, he sang her songs of their people, and rocked her from side to side.

Alara's transition had come far easier than that of her lover, there had been no night terrors, no waking up screaming, nothing. It was as though her body and soul had been ready for it.


"How ya feeling?" Carolus asked, handing her a cup of strong coffee. She smiled sweetly as she took it, taking a small sip before she answered.


"I'm ok. Everything feels sort of….I don't know….fuzzy? It's like I'm stoned but without the five second mental delay. It's almost comforting if that makes sense." she explained, placing the coffee on the night stand before running her fingers through her long black hair, letting it fall around her shoulders.


"That's uh, odd." Carolus said blankly, taking a sip from his mug, staring at her over the rim. He swallowed the mouthful of coffee that had unfortunately also come with a healthy amount of grounds that had snuck through the filter. He stared at her longingly for a moment, remembering the first morning in her kitchen in Pua Pua. He would never forget the way the light danced across her skin in the early morning sun through that tiny kitchen window; and now here she lay, her skin pale, and her eyes tired, as the unrelenting grey skies of Yamantau drenched the room in a dreary darkness that brought nothing but despair to the souls of lesser men.


"Hey, you in there?" she laughed weakly, snapping her fingers at him.


"Mm? Yeah, sorry. Got lost there." he answered sadly. "I gotta ask, what did you see in the stone?"


Alara smiled and looked off into the corner of the room. "At first, I saw the procession, but it was like I was watching it from high above, not part of it. I watched as Atmoros led them all into the distance, until I couldn't hear the marching, or the drums, or those god damn lutes and pipes anymore. I just watched over the land. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, and when I opened them, I was in a field of reeds that swayed back and forth in the breeze like they were following a heartbeat. I met Elizabeth there. She told me you had just left. She held my hand and told me everything was going to be OK as you bit me." Alara explained, her voice filled with longing as she talked about the field of golden reeds that stretched on and on into eternity.


Carolus could already tell that she would want to return to A'at, but the cost would be far too great. He would have to hide the medallion.


"Listen, I have to go for a few days. Two weeks at most. I found a lead on the the warlord who originally had the stupid necklace, he's buried somewhere just outside Novisibraskaya. I need to go find where he's from." Carolus quickly explained, trying desperately to change the subject. He stared back out the window at the oppressive drabness of their self imposed prison, his thoughts again drifting back to the fragrant shores of Ephyra. A'at may have been beautiful, but it would never hold a candle to the golden sands and roaring pines of his home. "I'm taking it with me." he stated, his gaze unwavering from the window.


"Yeah….probably for the best." Alara said softly. Carolus wasn't usually a conflicted man, but in this moment, she could see that this new life was tearing at him ,right down to the core. "What should I do, then?" she asked, hoping he would give her something, anything, to ease his burden.


"Just sit tight. Omar needs you." he replied, finally looking over at her. "I just need you to stay out of trouble. I started all this, so it's my problem, babe." he continued, unfolding his arms from across his chest and moving to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "I don't want things getting any worse for us." he whispered pleadingly as he gripped her hand.


Alara smiled gently, placing her hand on his cheek, stroking it with her thumb. "I know, baby, but we're in this together until the bitter end." she whispered back, pressing her forehead against his.


Carolus let out a weary sigh as he reached up to hold her face. "If you're going to come with me, Omar has to stay here with Nicolai or something. I know he's been tutoring him and whatever, so maybe he'll help us out." he told her, half warning and half sympathetic.


Alara leaned back against the headboard and nodded slightly. "I mean, we've literally given up a normal life to help Willa find a way to save her mom, so I doubt Nicolai would say no." Alara assured him.


"Fair." Carolus muttered. "Let's get our shit together then. We'll leave tomorrow morning."


__________________________________


Omar and Nicolai waved to the pair as they strode down the driveway towards the waiting car; a favor from Willa in order to expedite their journey. Carolus could tell the vehicle used to be military by the armor plating which was now painted a deep green. He jogged ahead to open the rear doors for Alara, taking her backpack before she climbed into the vehicle. The inside had been heavily modified for occupant comfort, with leather seats and a bottle chiller, and a small flat-screen TV that was mounted on the wall.


"Fancy vehicle for a weird date." Alara giggled. Carolus scoffed through a smile at her before climbing in. As the two tossed their bags into one corner and got settled, a happy looking man popped his head through the divider window into the back.


"Hey, Anton!" Alara exclaimed, recognizing the man who had been so friendly to them during the chopper flight from Novisibraskaya to St. Ivjan.


"Hey! Good to see you again my friends! Glad to see you stuck around! Where we headed?" he babbled. Anton was just as talkative and friendly as they remembered, although his shaggy, shoulder length sand colored hair and moustache now made him look more like an old hippy than a serious military type.


"About 20 miles south west of Novisibraskaya, closer to the Hromir Foothills." Carolus told him, giving the overly energetic man a fist bump.


"Shit, boss. That's a long way to go, but Willa's paying me for the whole trip, so I won't complain." Anton laughed. "Get some sleep, my friend, you two look like you need it!"


Anton rolled up the divider window and slowly set off down the dirt road leading out of St. Ivjan, the large vehicle rocking ever so slightly as it navigated the ill-maintained road. Carolus lay on the couch, holding Alara close as the motion of the vehicle rocked them both to sleep.

Eight snack stops, fifteen hundred tarkoes in diesel, and thirty-six hours later, the vehicle rolled to a stop in the Hromir foothills.


"Hey boss? Road ahead has been shelled out pretty bad, might be mines under the snow too, so I don't know what the play is here." Anton said groggily.


Carolus motioned for Anton to slide over, and took over driving. Alara held on to the seat backs to steady herself as she looked out the windshield.


Carolus nosed the vehicle into the ditch and slowly crawled along through the deep snow, trying to be as careful as possible not to get the armored beast stuck. Eventually the road became a little clearer, and he was able to move back out of the ditch. Anton breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he sank back into the seat, releasing his death grip on the door handle.


"Anton, as much as I appreciate your input, these roads have already been cleared of vehicles, so I don't think they would have left mines on the road." Carolus stated, bringing the car up to speed.


Anton nodded and drifted off to sleep before he could reply.


"Can you pull up the co-ordinates for me, Alara?" Carolus asked, handing Alara his phone.


She quickly opened up the map and went to the recent searches, quickly finding the location.


"Wait, it's a museum?" Alara asked.


"The museum is about a kilometer away from the actual dig site. I'm hoping that the Yamanta and Imperials didn't fuck the place up too bad in the short time they were fighting up here." he replied.


"Also…how do you know he was the first one to have the amulet here? I went over the papers on the way, and I couldn't find any mention of him." Alara continued curiously.


"During the Czernic unification, this warlord, Mattias, was said to have pushed back against Czerna and the united tribes, saying he had received a gift from the ancestors. Did a little digging and most historical accounts paint him as an absolute lunatic that spent most of his time arguing with imaginary beings. It's not until 1840 that they unearthed his journals, which are available through the Yamanta Historical Society website. In the journals, he mentions one of his close accomplices, a man named Markos. The description he gives of Markos matches the details of a philosopher who quickly rose to prominence in the 14th century. In the last entry from 920ish, he implies that he gave Markos a necklace from the homeland on his deathbed. Which means…" Carolus babbled.


"Markos was likely like us." Alara finished his sentence.


"Exactly,it's very likely that Mattias, who mentions consulting a stone in multiple journal entries, was killed by the same disease that almost killed me, but Mattias went crazy over the course of a few years, so he must have found a way to mitigate whatever it does to people. The problem, is that none of his journals mention his homeland, at least none of the surviving ones that have been properly translated. My guess is that the stone came with Mattias from his homeland, or at the very least from someone here. What we're looking for is anything that will give us a clue about the origin of the stone, and the inscription around it." Carolus continued.


"Wow…you've really gotten into this huh?" Alara asked with a smile. "Dork." she laughed.


Carolus jokingly swatted at her before he continued.


"So, as far as I can figure, the inscription isn't Yamanta, not even close. Comparing it to the old ass style of ancient Yamanta just makes it look even weirder by comparison, so I highly doubt that the pendant itself came from here, but the stone may have. The tribes back then were known to have powerful shamans who the warlords consulted regularly, so there's a chance that some sort…I don't know…magic? I guess? Was used to create it. Like…listen, after everything we've seen, I'm not going to rule out witchcraft. Yamantau is very old, and their gods came with them, just like ours did when Clan Eiderwig brought our ancestors to the northern shores."


At this point, he felt like he was talking too much, and let his words trail off.


"Hey, look." Alara said with a quiet awe, pointing to the destroyed remains of the museum.


"Fuck. Not going to get anything useful out of that." he mumbled, surveying the collapsed mass of concrete and steel. He slowed down to get a better look before speeding up and continuing towards their destination. He could feel that familiar sense of dread creeping in already.


Carolus let out a sharp breath as the tomb came into view. It had narrowly avoided the shelling, with the ground around it deeply scarred, but the structure itself remaining relatively untouched. He rolled the vehicle to a stop a few hundred feet away and put it in park. He gently shook Anton awake and pointed to the tomb.


"Yep. Yeah…lemme grab my shit." he grumbled, slowly climbing out of the vehicle. Alara met them both at the rear doors of the armored car and handed them down their backpacks and rifles. Anton checked over his aged Zk-77 rifle, and threw the sling over his shoulder. Carolus checked his sidearm before checking over his rifle, a Whittaker .338 that he had had imported to Yamantau by way of his father. Alara pulled her own weapon from her backpack and checked the magazine before tucking it into her waistband.


"Since when?" Carolus asked as he watched her check over the weapon.


"Girl has to know how to defend herself. Never know when some pervert might cop a feel." she stated blankly.


"Fair enough." Carolus replied, helping her down from the back of the vehicle before slamming the heavy doors shut.


The trio trekked through the snow towards the entrance, trying their best to watch for depressions in the snow that might indicate a deep hole caused by the shelling. Anton was the first to the large stone that had been rolled back into place in an attempt to dissuade Imperial invaders from searching within.


"That uh…this could be a problem, boss!" Anton shouted, slapping his palm on the mighty stone.


"Watch out." Carolus instructed him, grabbing the slab and pulling it forward with relative ease, resulting in a loud thud and a swirl of snow.


Anton looked on in awe as the two Ephyrans ventured inside as if nothing remarkable had happened. He glanced back at the stone before hurrying after the pair.


"You…what…what the fuck?!" Anton cried out as he jogged to catch up.


"You already know why." Alara said sweetly.


Anton nodded and continued in silence.


The trio all flicked on their flashlights and proceeded down the narrow corridor that gradually sloped down into the ground, noticing that it was unlike any other tomb they had seen. There were no frescoes, not ornamental carvings, not even kind words etched into the walls. It was cold, solemn, and almost felt forgotten. It was not a labyrinth as Carolus had expected, but a straight shot down into a deep central chamber.


It looked as if the museum team had stripped anything of true value out to display to the masses, save for a sarcophagus in the center, and a few industrial lights that the dig team had likely been using before the war.


Anton spotted a generator and a jerry can off in the corner and quickly got to work getting it going again. Soon enough, the room was flooded with light and the trio could see how truly barren the room was.


"Should we uh…open it?" Alara asked sheepishly, motioning to the sarcophagus. Carolus nodded and made his way over. It was little more than a plain stone box, and the lid looked as though it hadn't been moved for centuries. He braced his shoulder against it and gave it a mighty push, sending the lid toppling onto the floor where it shattered into several pieces.


"What the hell?" Carolus pondered aloud, looking down into the sarcophagus to find not a corpse, but another tunnel.


Anton looked into the hole and gave a quick shrug before he mantled over and dropped in. It only appeared to be a few feet down.


"It stinks, but it's open!" he called up.


Alara and Carolus followed along, dropping down. Anton had already shouldered his rifle and had begun slowly advancing down the tunnel. It was tight, but it was passable, even though Alara and Carolus had to crouch a little to get through.


The tunnel very quickly grew in size, and the drab, sad stone walls gave way to what they had expected. Ornate gilded engravings and tapestries, and a slew of coins and treasures littering the sides.


"Did they just not think to open the box?" Alara asked.


"No. There's an old legend that most Yamanta know that says the end of Yamantau as they know it would come if the sarcophagus was opened, so they probably left it closed all this time to make money. Y'know, feed into the legend." Carolus answered.


"Dork." Alara giggled.


"Shh, come see this." Anton urged them, crouching down in the doorway of a massive chamber at the end of the hall. As they neared, they could hear faint shuffling in the darkness.


Carolus reached for the side pocket of his backpack and produced a flare. He tore the top off, causing a shower of red light to wash over them before he tossed it through the door before shouldering his rifle. The shuffling seemed to stop as the flare clattered along the floor.


Anton gripped his rifle tight and leaned in as if he could see something before quickly leaning back and flicking off his safety.


"Hands!" Carolus shouted into the room.


"Czesya!" Alara shouted.


To their surprise, a gaunt, frail man with wild eyes appeared from the darkness.


"No way." Anton muttered, the fear in his voice quite apparent.


"Friend! Friend!" the wild-eyed man shrieked.


"Mercanti?!" Carolus called out.


"Yes! Yes! Friend!" the man screamed back.


Anton and Carolus pushed in to the room, keeping their rifles trained on the man who was now hiding behind a wall. Alara followed after, keeping her weapon lowered.


The man popped his head out and carefully raised his shaking hands.


"No…" Carolus said in astonishment.


"Markos?" Carolus asked softly.


The man nodded his head vigorously as he sheepishly shuffled out into full view. Carolus reached over and pushed down the barrel of Anton's rifle.


"Friend." Markos said sadly.


His clothes once grand were now tattered, filthy rags, and his hair hung down to his waist.


"Friend." Alara repeated.


"Please. Mercanti bad. No hurt me." Markos sputtered, keeping his hands raised but his gaze cast down to the floor.


Alara cautiously approached him, holding out her hand. He recoiled at first, but slowly let her take his hand in her own.


"Friend." she said gently.


Markos collapsed to his knees and wept uncontrollably, clinging to her. He babbled in Yamanta so quickly that Alara couldn't understand.


"Shh! Shhhh! Calm." she said, trying to comfort him.


"Alone! So long alone!" he finally cried out.


Carolus and Anton set up some mobile flood lights as Alara continued to calm Markos, who was level enough now to have a conversation with her. She spoke enough Yamanta to know what had happened to him, and to ask him where Mattias was. Eventually, she called both men over to explain. She had draped a spare hoodie from her bag over Markos' shoulders as he sat next to her.


"He's been down here since the 1400's. He says that when the village people in Novisibraskaya found out what he was, they threw him down here and stationed men outside for a long time. He thought they were still there. He says he can take us to Mattias' body, it's not far from here, but there's a condition." she told them.


"What's the condition?" Carolus asked.


"We take him back with us. He wants out." she stated.


"Done." Carolus answered with no hesitation.


Alara told Markos the good news. He eagerly jumped up and motioned them along. The group quickly set out after him as he guided them through the halls. He ran his hand along the stone, feeling his way along, even though the trio had flashlights.


"Pretty sure he's been down here in the dark the whole time." Anton said to Carolus.


"Most likely. Touching the walls is probably the only way he knows how to navigate." Carolus answered.


Every few feet Anton would throw a glow stick to mark their path back. It wasn't a long walk, with Markos guiding them right to the chamber. In the center stood a tall ornate sarcophagus atop a circular pedestal consisting of three rings of stairs.


Markos rushed up the sarcophagus and brushed the surface with both palms.


"No open." Markos told them.


"Why?" Carolus asked, somewhat impatiently.


"Alive." Markos whispered with a tone of reverence.


"Are you sure?" Alara asked him.


Markos nodded vigorously, pointing to the heavy metal studs that seemed to secure the lid in place before holding up a finger as if to tell them to wait. He pressed his ear against the lid and slapped the surface. From the inside the group could hear the unmistakable sound of someone slamming on the lid, and muffled shouts.


"Vampyr?" Carolus inquired.


"Yes. Very old. Old country." Markos replied, his eyes becoming sad as he held out his arms, showing the bite marks.


"Fuck. Means he didn't know how to mitigate the stone. He was just a little more resistant to it. Probably ended up like Eliza. Just a husk." Carolus griped.


Alara slammed a fist against the lid unexpectedly. Over and over until the stone chipped away, falling in chunks across the floor until a ragged hole had been made. She stepped back and wiped the blood from her knuckles as she caught her breath.


Carolus stood and stared in awe of her.


"We're gonna talk about that later." he assured her before walking up the steps flashlight in hand.


Mattias was already trying to get his hands out through the hole as Carolus grabbed his arms and pinned them against his chest. Mattias shouted at him in an all too familiar language.


"He speaking fucking Mewar!" Carolus shouted as he struggled to restrain the ancient warlord. As the word Mewar escaped Carolus' lips, Mattias stopped struggling. Carolus shone the light in his face to see a man who couldn't look a day over fifty, and was definitely in better shape than Eliza.


"Stop. Stop it. I'll fucking kill you if you keep fighting me." Carolus shouted in Mewar, the old language of Ephyra.


Mattias stared back at him with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.


"You're pre-tranformation Mewar Ephyran, aren't you?" Carolus demanded to know.


"Yes." Mattias choked.


Carolus breathed heavily as he released the warlord and dug into his pocket, producing the necklace. Markos quickly looked away, shielding his eyes from the horrible trinket.


"What is this?" Carolus asked authoritatively, holding it up to Mattias.


Mattias looked anywhere but at the amulet.


"Get that away from me. It is of the old gods, and should be kept to the old gods, boy. It bears their tongue." Mattias hissed.


"Where did it come from?" Carolus pressured him, moving the amulet back into Mattias' line of sight each time.


"I don't know!" Mattias shrieked.


"WHERE!?" Carolus thundered.


"I DONT KNOW! I DREAMT OF IT AND OF HYOGOTH AND WHEN I AWOKE IT WAS LADEN AROUND MY NECK!" Mattias shrieked, trying desperately to avoid looking at it.


"Liar." Carolus growled.


Markos rushed off and came back with a stack of rolled up parchments.


"Truth! Truth here!" he shouted, offering Carolus the papers.


Mattias launched into a slew of vulgarity against Markos, calling him a traitor.


Carolus quickly conversed with Anton, and returned back to the sarcophagus with a bottle of lighter fluid and a flare.


"You deserted your people when they .ended your strength most. Burn for it." Carolus growled menacingly, spraying the lighter fluid over Mattias before dropping the flare into the coffin. Mattias screamed as the flames crawled across his skin, engulfing him in his stone prison where he had no escape.


Carolus turned and left, with the rest of the group following along.


The trek back to the surface was swift, ending with Carolus carrying Markos through the snow as the poor man had no shoes. Once in the car, Markos looked around curiously.


"Horse?" he asked, pointing out the front window.


"Not for a long time." Alara informed him.


Carolus sat in the passenger seat, delicately unrolling the parchments as Anton began their long journey home.


"Markos?" Carolus asked.


"Mm?" Markos replied.


Carolus took an MRE from his pack and handed it to Markos, who turned it over and over in his hands, curious as to what it was.


"Babe, can you help him? Probably been a while since he had some decent food." Carolus stated.

"Just…stop. Stop touching it….OMAR, QUIT FUCKING WITH IT." Carolus stated sternly, slapping Omar's hands away from the box on the table. Omar had that shit-eating grin on his face again, and Carolus had almost had enough. "Touch it again and I'm gonna lose it, dude, seriously. You know the rules."


Omar gently rested his hands on either side of the box, inching them towards the outside walls. "C'mon C, you gotta show me." he pleaded with a smile. Carolus rolled his eyes and lifted the box from the table, holding it from the bottom as he held the lid with the other, gently lifting it. Omar leaned in and tried to peek into the box. Carolus pushed his hand through the bottom, giving Omar the finger as it passed through the box. Omar jumped back before bursting out laughing.


"Was it empty the whole time?!" Omar cackled.


"Yeeeep. Sure was." Carolus laughed as he sat back in the chair. He had been convincing Omar for days now that the box contained some sort of secret, just for this moment. Alara rounded the corner and smiled sweetly watching the two of them. Carolus had become a good father figure to Omar, and it made her heart happy to see them like this. She knocked on the door frame to pull their attention before she walked over, Carolus giving her a pair of firm pats in the rear as she approached.


"Whatcha find out?" Carolus asked with a gentle sigh.


"Markos is sleeping now, but he's been a good source. Come for a walk." she explained, pulling Carolus up.


"I'm gonna go play outside!" Omar shouted.


"Jacket! Shoes!" Alara called after him.


"Kay!" Omar yelled back, the door slamming behind him shortly after.


Alara and Carolus walked quietly hand in hand up to the study, enjoying each other's presence. Carolus entered the room first, Alara squeezing in behind him. The scrolls that they had recovered from the dig site were gently laid out with various objects weighing down the corners all around the room.


"So…where do we start?" Carolus inquired.


"This one." Alara answered, pointing to one of the scrolls that sat on the desk.


"Kay, so, from what Markos knows, the amulet predates Mattias, by like, a couple centuries at least. Mattias had it given to him by a witch, yeah, like…not sure if it's an actual witch or just some old woman in the woods, but she was definitely from Aurorian Mewara. According to this specific scroll, the writing on it predates Aurorian Mewara, and it's actually the language that Mewar descended from, but like, four hundred steps removed. It's supposedly also used to communicate with the old gods. Hyogoth and Ys are mentioned probably a hundred times in this one alone." Alara explained, tapping her finger on the weathered parchment.


"The language or the amulet?" Carolus interjected.


"The language. This piece of paper says that Hyogoth forged the language to imprison Ysgeth. Drove him under the sea and imprisoned him with seals. Now, Hyogoth was also called…" Alara continued.


"The Blind but All-Seeing God." Carolus finished the sentence.


"Right, and during the times long before the Imperium came, there's record of these trinkets and gems that folks started showing up with. Rings, necklaces, bracelets, whatever, and they all had a weird reddish color, kinda like our thing, well, anyone who had one ended up going insane or killing themselves, or whatever else. It all gets incredibly vague after whoever wrote these starts talking about the stones, BUT, it's believed they were all cut from one larger piece in the Ephyrus mountains, way up to the north, like, by the sea. Kay, so, this scroll here…"she trailed off, crossing the room to one taped to the wall. "Says that there was a stone that fell into the mountains millenia ago. The locals thought it was sent from the gods, so they worshiped it. Well, turns out, they stuck around it too long, they would go a little crazy. By a little, I mean, they'd start sacrificing one another to one God or another, depending on what the stone told them. You ever hear that thing chat at you?" Alara stopped for a breath as she asked the question.


"The amulet? Yeah, if you're looking into it, you hear whispers and shit." Carolus answered, somewhat confused. Had she not heard them?


"Ok, so thats bad. You're not supposed to hear rocks talk. Your bloodline gets traced back to those mountains, so you're actually more likely to hear them. Omar and I would only hear it as a low buzzing. Now keep in mind, this is all conjecture based off of what these say, but if they're right, the stone isn't a stone at all, it's a body part. An eye specifically." she paused.


Carolus squinted at her for a moment. "An eye? Are you about to tell me that this thing is the eye of a god?" he asked incredulously.


"No, it's not the eye of a god, it's tear drop." she stated blankly.


Carolus waited for her to explain the joke, but no explanation came. "Ok, just, hear me out. It's not the eye, but it is one of Ysgeth's tears that was shed during Hyogoth's betrayal. Look here, it says, and I quote ...Ysgeth's tears flowed as rivers, the sanguine droplets that came hence floated as rubies among the cosmos, falling to the many planets the brothers passed over on their way, from Prim to Eras." she finished.


"No. I can't believe that." Carolus scoffed.


"Ok, neither did I, until I read this." she said quickly, grabbing a weathered journal from the table.


"This is the diary of an orderly from the Pua Pua Home For The Mentally Unwell from 1938. He details a pair of residents who spoke constantly of Ysgeth and his glaring eyes under the waters of Macklin Reef." she explained.


"Macklin…hey, yeah! The uh, the cop and the doctor that went out there and apparently met Mehotep and saw Ysgeth. That's an urban legend." Carolus stated dryly, beginning to become agitated.


"No! Thats the thing! This journal talks about it too! This guy was assigned to the wing where Officer Irons and Doctor West were confined! He saw Mehotep talk to them in their cells! It was the only time the two of them would settle a little bit apparently. I know, it all sounds very odd, trust me, I know, but just stay with me." she pleaded.


Carolus crossed his arms before letting out a grumbly "Ok."


"So in 1940, the orderly makes an entry about Irons having a moment of clarity while they spoke. Apparently there are remnants of the old gods all across Auroria. How does he know this? The stones told them when Mehotep showed them. That is why they went crazy, West asked for knowledge of what lies beyond, Mehotep agreed, but only if Irons looked too, so, at this point, Irons is curious too, he looks, the weight of everything he sees and experiences drives him mad. He tells the orderly that he saw the end of days and the procession, that he could hear what sounded like voices, he saw Urath awaken and scorch the world before Ysgeth was freed. So there actually is some sort of eldritch force when it comes to the amulet. It's not a window the afterlife or the past, or future, whatever, it's a dimensional fracture." she finished.


"A dimensional fracture…." Carolus repeated, shaking his head.


"She not wrong." Markos said softly from the doorway, wringing his hands.


Carolus waved him in.


Markos nodded firmly as he shuffled in, now clad in sweatpants and a hoodie, his long hair put up into a lopsided man bun. His sunken eyes darted from place to place in the room. "Not wrong, not saying right." he clarified.


He approached the desk and with trembling hands picked up the amulet, holding it flat in his palm. He motioned to the amulet, holding his hand flat. "This? Ok. This? Bad." he sputtered, holding his hand still flat but upright. "Ge…geometery…geometry." he tried to sound out the word.


He looked around before making a fist and swiveling it around saying "Light." over and over.


"Like a flashlight?" Alara asked him.


"Mm! Mmhm!" he nodded excitedly. Carolus quickly left and returned with a small yellow plastic flashlight, handing it to Markos, who motioned them to turn off the lights in the room and get behind him.


"See." he instructed, shining the light through the stone, projecting it on the wall. A dim red glow filled the room.


"Flat. Ok. No bad." he stated, before slowly turning the amulet by the chain, as he did, shapes began to appear on the wall. They moved with a solemn rhythm and every so often, a low droning noise would echo through the room. The shapes became clearer the sharper the angle that Markos held the amulet.


"Now see." Markos again instructed. The very obvious outline of a woman stood on the wall.


"What the fuck." Carolus whispered.


Markos turned the flashlight off and they could hear the trinket clatter to the floor. Alara flicked the lights back on as Markos looked down at the stone.


"All things there trapped. Is ok. Like me and light? They come through. Bad." Markos stammered.


"If something fully appears it can escape?" Carolus asked.


Markos nodded. "Mattias do many times. He defeat enemies do this." he explained.


"That must be why they were so scared of him escaping. They knew he'd bring the end of the world." Alara guessed.


"Enough! This is crazy!" Carolus barked, holding his hands up.


"That thing has some sort of magic or something to it, sure, yeah, but it can't seriously be some otherworldly portal. I refuse to believe that." he said angrily.


"You look! You look and see!" Markos demanded defensively. "Look in, look up!"


Carolus pushed Markos out of the way and snatched the amulet from the floor.


"Don't!" Alara cried, but it was too late, Carolus stood transfixed as he gazed into it.


He could hear the howling wind and the cacophony of voices. He stared at the black marble temple ahead, Elizabeth standing on its steps with her lips pursed and a look of deep grief. He lifted his eyes to the sky and saw it. Drowned Ysgeth in all his terrible glory looking back down at him through the smoke of burning pyres. The harsh yellow of his eyes piercing through Carolus, causing him to look back down at the ground. This can't be happening, it couldn't, this can't be real. These were the thoughts Carolus let race through his mind before slowly looking back up. The many tendrils that hung over Ysgeth's mouth writhing and reaching as he stood solemn watch.


"Child." a low, rumbling voice echoed in Carolus' head.


Carolus closed his eyes and turned his head away.


"Child." the voice echoed again. There was no malice or threat in it, only a stern, commanding tone. "Witness me."


Carolus slowly turned his head back to face the eldritch god.


"You know the words. Say them." the voice commanded.


"I..Ia…Ia…Ysgeth….fhtagn." Carolus mouthed, the tears flowing down his face.


A large, barnacle laden hand crashed to the ground on either side of Carolus, the stench of decay overwhelming as the face of the drowned one drew closer. He could feel the cold rush of stolen breath sweep across him.


"Be not afraid, Carolus of Ephyrum, for you will be gone long before I come to your world. I lay sleeping forever more, awaiting the crushing wings of Urath to break my slumber. You will not see those days, though you will see more than your kind are worthy of. Another came in your place, long ago, and he was told the same. You are different though. You do not have the same smell. You are both of your world, and not. You belong neither there, nor here. Heed me. Do not come back to this place, for it shall return with you. Your body will be unharmed, but your mind…it shall bear my mark always. I offer you a peaceful life, but you must leave, taking only yourself." Ysgeth commanded. It was not just one voice now, but many. Feminine, masculine, aged, childlike, whispering yet deafening.


Carolus nodded, the tears still streaming down his face as he felt a gentle hand on his arm. Ysgeth'a brow furrowed as Carolus fell back.


"She was not part of the deal." Ysgeth rumbled.


Carolus came to several days later, being closely monitored by Alara and Nicolai while he was out.


As he opened his eyes, he saw Alara staring at him.


"We have a problem." she said softly.


"No good morning?" he groaned groggily.


Alara pulled out her phone and pulled up a video, flipping it around to face him as he leaned in to hold it.


"What the fuck did you do?" she demanded to know.


"What?" he asked confusedly.


She pointed to the screen. Carolus pressed play and watched tensely as the footage rolled.


"That is Elizabeth." Alara stated.


"That's Willa." Carolus argued.


"No, Willa shows up in the next thirty seconds. What the fuck did you do?" Alara again demanded.


Carolus watched as the grainy video kept rolling, as Willa and the villagers rushed up the hill to meet the woman.


"What?" Carolus asked, suddenly snapping to full attention. "How?"


"She came out of the fort. We went to check after and whatever was in the pit is gone. How did you do that?" Alara asked again.


"I don't know, but…looks like Markos was right." Carolus sighed.


"She's missing again. She disappeared into the mountains two days ago. She took Markos with her, and he seemed terrified. She threatened to kill him if he didn't." Alara informed him.


"Where's Willa?" Carolus asked.


"Fucking catatonic in her house. Elizabeth did something to her." Alara continued. "This is your fault, you need to fix it." she said angrily as she got up and left the room.


Carolus let his head fall back against the pillows. His life was about to change yet again.