Deborah Sigrún's Story

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General King Zaheed

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In summary the coronation was a grim ceremony, not only had the fire tribe lost their king less than two weeks ago, but also Zotar. There seemed to be such promise in Lord Vinicius also, citizens imagined the former king to purpose to his chosen wife, the two to have a legendary royal wedding, and for Vinicius to seek out and defeat his father's killer, sending his enemies a message of why they call him Vinicius. But no, things are not nearly as glorious or as bright as they seem out to be unfortunately. And even now, at any moment the queen too could be the next to make an exit.

But during Zaheed's crowning he spoke in term of I rather than we. Thus he acknowledge his power and not the power of the nation, of as a people. And the reason for this being that Zaheed did not find a connection to him and fire tribe, because he lacked a connection with his father. Thus Zaheed came to the conclusion, if he could not trust his father, a man whose life revolved around the fire tribe, neither is Zaheed going to trust his homeland. Yes Zaheed was not even attached either to the tribe, and it was ironic that the first king to never harness the traditional arm bracers was Zaheed, for Vinicius was captured with the armor piece still on him. Those bracers were branded into a new king on the day of his coronation, it symbolized his bond with his people, it linked the two together. But funny thing the first man torn from that symbol was Zaheed, a man who cares not for his own country, and rather for his own lust of power. And what felt the best about that day was that Zaheed put an end to General Zaheed, no now he was King Zaheed.

And on the topic of power, the next day later Zaheed did not even take a break from work to mediate and decide what the best move for the kingdom is, nor did he once check up on his mother. No Zaheed was always a straight down to business type of person. And because he was also a man with a plan, he summoned the kingdom's mages, claiming that he wished to increase the arcane wisdom of the tribe, when in honesty Zaheed was doing what most would title insane. Yes, Zaheed wanted more power, he did not want to bear just fire, no he hungered for more than one element. But the issue with that is, Zaheed never had any great knowledge about magic, thus he needed the perfect weapon and tool to manage a task.

Zaheed was in a room full of mages, but not as enough people as one with think, for Zaheed narrowed down the selection of who would prove to be his sidekick. And the contestants, were women, not only because Zaheed delighted in women in general, but felt that he would work better than one, because Zaheed felt that he could be more dominant verses a female simply because he is a man. It was wrong, but Zaheed had always seen men superior to women. And also because Zaheed always suspected females are easier to talk to, that it was more of a likely chance that if he were to have a henchman, then Zaheed may have to deal with male with the attitude of being an alpha figure. And Zaheed was not going to waste time to deal with such defiance. Zaheed does not have a problem with his sidekick being a dominant bold figure, just as long as they know who is above them.

But finally Zaheed was put in a room where the lasting mages would basically audition to why Zaheed should hire them as his "magical adviser", things were going just decently but also boringly until someone of interest walked in. Sure she was an attractive woman, but looks what not the highlight Zaheed was looking for, it was her magical ability instead...

"State your name and what is so special about you," he spoke with a stone face, in a chair and leaning forward with his hand cupped against his chin. Unlike kings n the past Zaheed did wear his crown, he liked the dominance, the looming spikes above his head that promoted his position.

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In the outskirts of Murtovaara, the great city, lied a district no one from the outside would want to visit. It was the poor district, a place where the shame of the tribe got collected. A place were children got abounded in the dirty orphanage and people got to live with strangers in the small rooms the district got to offer. It wasn't a place fitting for humans, it wasn't even a place where animals could live with dignity. In that dark and cramped place were some people lied on the streets since they didn't have anything to offer in return of a room, there lived Deborah Sigrún. A woman beneath most members of the tribe.

The woman in question had grown up in one of those orphanages and since she had never been able to leave it she was still stuck in that place. But still, it provided her a place to live as long as she paid a little attention to the children. No, she was no way near qualified for the job but there wasn't anyone that would want to take her place voluntarily either since no one wanted to get associated with the poor district.

Even though Deborah herself would want something else to do in life, she knew that she wasn't going to get hired anywhere. And it was not like she could start anything by herself either since she didn't have the money for something like that. She was stuck in the poor district with no chance of getting out of it, she could leave Murtovaara, but where would she go? At least she thought she was stuck in in that place, and even though she knew she was a good mage she hadn't known she was registered as one. She didn't even know she was registered at all since everyone from the sums where like the ghosts of the city. But one day she found one of the summons, one directed to her. It was the first time she had gotten called to anything at all and it did shock her at first. And it wasn't like she cared for the tribe or helping them learn more, the reason for her to agree to such an event was simply just to show how superior she was. Or rub it in the tribe’s face that she wasn't one of them and they dared to invite her either way.

When the day arrived and Deborah got to the prearranged location just to get more confused by what she found there. Of course she understood that there would be other mages there, but she had thought that there would be more men there because she found it a little bit strange thatt all mages were women. There must be men that focused their attention on their magic as well, but somehow they weren't there. And even though Deborah searched the place with her eyes as she stood in one of the corners awaiting her chance to flaunt she couldn't even see one male in the crowd. Not that she cared too much about it anyway, but it was a bit strange in her opinion.

When it was her turn she left the corner she had stood at, not because she was hiding but because she had no intention to get to know the others. And to avoid them trying to get to know her she rather withdrew than take up more space than needed. But as she left it, she held her head high and walked over to the room with determination.

"State your name and what is so special about you."

Perhaps it would be intimidating to stand in front of the king, but Deborah didn't care. The moment she stepped inside she looked at him as if it all were a challenge, and it somehow was, but not in the way that was intended. She wasn't competing with the other mages, she was provoking him and the tribe by showing up even though she wasn't one of them.

"I am Deborah Sigrún, and you won't find anyone more special than me," With the same look as before she held out her right hand towards him, "Let me demonstrate."

A small light started to glow in the middle of her palm, it grew and grew until it was bigger than her hand. The globe was so big that it looked to be so heavy that she would drop it, but it didn't weigh anything. And from being so big it shrink down again as she closed the hand but the burning heat still lingered in the room. "As you can see, I don't create fire like the rest of you. And I don't even want to do something as useless as that, I can create a light so violent that it would blind everyone around me for the rest of their life’s. I can melt things if I want to, but I don’t even need to fear for the whole city to burn to the ground in the process. As you may have understood, I’m not one of you, or half of me is. I’m a half blood, the other part of me has its roots in the Air tribe."

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General King Zaheed

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"I am Deborah Sigrún, and you won't find anyone more special than me."

When Deborah spoke that first sentence was Zaheed surprised hearing that? Of course not, he has heard a handful of mages hold such claim on themselves. And usually what happened next was that the mage would precede to display their whimsical attributes of the fire element. But Zaheed was not interested in a mage who only had knowledge of fire magic, even if they knew every soul-existing secret of the power. No, Zaheed in the end was trying to increase the tribe's arcane wisdom, instead he wanted someone who was well informed on really all of the elements. Making it so much easy for himself to also be well-informed, but also well-trained.

"Let me demonstrate."

Zaheed did poke a smile and break his stone-face expression as soon as he watched a ball of light morph and forged from right out of her palm- seeing nothing like it. It even grew him more curious, knowing that fire, water, earth, and supposedly shape-shifting (if the rumors are true), are not the only elements out there. It was as if he found the golden goose, gleaming so brightly before his eyes. His promised amulet to glow beneath his neck contrived with the potential to present him godhood. Godhood, funny how he is finally king, he got he wanted and already, a day after his coronation and he ponders about what is above the stars.

"As you can see, I don't create fire like the rest of you. And I don't even want to do something as useless as that, I can create a light so violent that it would blind everyone around me for the rest of their life’s. I can melt things if I want to, but I don’t even need to fear for the whole city to burn to the ground in the process."

This one woman could burn cities! Zaheed was struggling and wrestling with himself inside to stay seated and not to jump among the room cheering as if he was a little girl has been gifted with her first pony. Someone like that proves dangerous, but if Zaheed could control her, then he proves dangerous- someone to be feared and even worshipped. Zaheed could burn cities.

"As you may have understood, I’m not one of you, or half of me is. I’m a half blood, the other part of me has its roots in the Air tribe."

Saying that she is a half-blood to the air tribe just was the icing on the cake. Because most likely if she was not a full-blood to tribe, perhaps she was not passionate about it either, which was good because it was not longer about the tribe, no Vinicius is long gone, the kingdom and nation was now going to be solely about King Zaheed, and if Deborah proves herself worthy to him, perhaps even she may have a share in his glory.

Zaheed laughed loudly as it echoed through the room, "You are truly a wonder, Deborah Sigrún. I laugh in rejoice to see I have found my mage, because like no other- you do not fail to impress. In fact, you do the impossible. And you my open my eyes to see there is elements beyond what we once knew." Zaheed rose from his chair as he used his hands as he spoke to emphasis his enthusiasm. "Just think of what we could be controlling right now. No longer will only the clouds conjure lighting from the gray skies. Or perhaps seasons could be manipulated by a single finger." Zaheed put one hand against her shoulder with his other hand outstretched in the air as if he was showing her the future of their power together as he painted Deborah his vision. "Even existing energy itself will bend and bow to our laws, our commands."

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A strange sound emerged inside the room, perhaps not strange to others but to Deborah it was an extremely odd type of sound. Of course Deborah had heard people laugh before and she knew what it was for, but she found it odd to emerge in a situation like this. And to make it all even more difficult to understand it was the king who was laughing and Deborah failed to see the fun in it all. She wanted to be dismissed, some harsh words that she wasn't fitting for the role since she wasn't pure, instead the king seemed to be pleased. Or at least amused.

So as he started to speak Deborah just stood there watching the man with a dead gaze, she wasn't that interested in hearing what he had to say. She guessed she would be dismissed anyway, so when he started his second sentence Deborah's mask dropped for a few seconds. Shocked by what she thought she had heard, praise? She started to believe that it all was a joke, that he would say that he hadn't meant any of it. Did he do so? No, instead he stood up and the wrinkle between Deborah's eyebrows just got bigger as she followed him with suspicious eyes.

"Just think of what we could be controlling right now. No longer will only the clouds conjure lighting from the gray skies. Or perhaps seasons could be manipulated by a single finger."

As the man made his way over to her she silently folded her arms, trying to stretch out her back even more. She would never sink so low that she would stand on the tip of her toes to look taller but she did her best to at least gain some more inches since the king was much taller when he stood up. Even though she could see that he was a large guy even when he was sitting down, the size did trouble her when he stood beside her. She didn't like it, she preferred him sitting down because then it was her who looked down upon him.

To have his hand on her shoulder didn't make Deborah less tens, instead she stiffened even more as he spoke, "Even existing energy itself will bend and bow to our laws, our commands."

"It's quite a extraordinary future you talk of, king. But are you sure you got the right person, because I have no intension to help the tribe extend their knowledge." As she spoke something else hit Deborah, if she now actually got the position, she would get paid. And since Deborah was someone that almost never had any money left for other things than actually basically surviving the look in her eyes looked, "But, let's just say that I were interested, what would I get? Payment, I mean."

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General King Zaheed

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"It's quite a extraordinary future you talk of, king. But are you sure you got the right person, because I have no intension to help the tribe extend their knowledge."

Zaheed laughed again, but this time not as loud, "The tribe?" He laughed at himself really, surprised that he had not yet announced that he cared not for his own country, though he is screaming it aloud on the inside. But in the middle of the much quieter laughter he suddenly snapped into a twisted sinister expression and like spouting venom he said in a hiss, "I give not a rat's arse about these bastards." Zaheed did not say it loud enough for anyone to hear beyond the doors, but there was pride in his voice. Besides if she did supposedly tell anyone of what he had just said, he will only deny it all, put on his mask, and declare treason against her and eventually put her to death. Yes, it was all easy, he already did it once to Sholeh, he could do it again. And, sure she could control light, she was a powerful woman, but also was his brother, Zotar, but where is he now? Everyone has a weakness, Zaheed was crazy enough to believe he could break himself from that truth.

"But, let's just say that I were interested, what would I get? Payment, I mean."

Zaheed rotated his body sharply to her by taking a sheer turn on his heel, he chuckled, now he was laughing at her in the slightest of ways. "What is this? Some kind of deal?" No Zaheed was tired of making deals, he made a deal with Zianro, and that was it, Zaheed was not some kind of gambler. What do these people take me for my brother? Well of course, I wore my mask so well. They are not yet accustom my type of business.

Zaheed marched to Deborah he dragged his finger from her temple down her cheek until his hand edged off into her neck. Having someone like Zaheed close to your neck with his hands was not a good thing, he is a man known to suffocate his enemies to death he had already gave Sholeh and Bellistrad a taste of what he is capable of. Because whether or not Deborah was as interested as him, he was going to have her, if it was by her choice or not.

"You, my lady, are a precious jewel. And how could I let such a gorgeous gem slip from my fingers like so. No, I have to grasp it," Zaheed tightened his grip on Deborah but not to the point it hurt, only to show his aggression and even determine to have her. "But you want something, fair enough, we all want something. Though I am sure you want more than any mortal trinket, because money can only by so much, but in the great scheme of things... so little. And I rather settle for what is eternal, and I promise you, godhood is that of which I seek."

He was still holding her neck firm, but as said before not tight to the point of pain. But Zaheed also leaned into her ear whispering as he smile. "So tell me, do you want to be on the side of a god and with the benefits and... pleasures he will provide? And have all else mortals tremble at your voice, my dear precious jewel. That is your payment."

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Well wasn't the king an extremely happy person, or at least he seemed to be very easily amused. Having him laugh again didn't surprise Deborah as much the second time around, instead she just watched him carefully wondering what was supposed to be so funny. She soon found out what was, hearing his true emotion when it came to the tribe she couldn't help but grin a little. The fact that he didn't care the slightest about the tribe either did make her expectations of her rise a little, at least they had the same opinion when it came to that. And if his strive towards power would lead the tribe to suffering, she wouldn't mind watching it.

"What is this? Some kind of deal?"

Deborah slowly leaned forward, wondering what he was talking about. She had no intension to make any sort of deal, she just wanted to get something back if she now wasted her energy on his goals and ambitious. Nothing in life was free, but perhaps royalties couldn't know that since they already had everything. Well of course they couldn't understand how it was to have nothing and strive towards having at least something. And just as she was about to tell him that, that she didn't want any sort of deal but just payment like any other employee she lost the words with his sudden touch again. Not that it scared her, but it made her lose focus. Having his hand close itself around her neck though, that if anything did leave a small chill run down her spine. But her stubbornness forced her not to avert her eyes even the slightest. She was strong, she wasn't scared, king or not Deborah knew she could handle it if it went bad.

"You, my lady, are a precious jewel. And how could I let such a gorgeous gem slip from my fingers like so. No, I have to grasp it. But you want something, fair enough, we all want something. Though I am sure you want more than any mortal trinket, because money can only by so much, but in the great scheme of things... so little. And I rather settle for what is eternal, and I promise you, godhood is that of which I seek."

From Deborah's point of view, money could buy a lot. A lot of things she had not even been near to having all of her life. And as he spoke she started to think of letting the room get swallowed by her light explosion and leave it as he was blinded temporarily, but she guessed that it would just give her more problems. And even though she wasn't exactly fond of the man she wasn't angry either, a bit irritated perhaps but not more than that.

"So tell me, do you want to be on the side of a god and with the benefits and... pleasures he will provide? And have all else mortals tremble at your voice, my dear precious jewel. That is your payment."

Deborah cowered her mouth as she thought through what he said, if what he said was true it sure did sound great. Deborah’s opinion of the king himself could wait, this was her golden opportunity to finally get what she deserved in life. "My king, if that means I will be able to leave the slums in the end I'm at your service. Nothing in life is free, but I accept your proposal." As soon as she ended the sentence she tapped his wrist with her finger while her face started to show an annoyed expression, "Now let go of my neck, king. Don't we both want a blessed start of something that could turn out to be something good?"

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General King Zaheed

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"My king, if that means I will be able to leave the slums in the end I'm at your service. Nothing in life is free, but I accept your proposal."

"Good," is all Zaheed responded to that, though it tickled him that said, accept, as if he needed her approval. Even if Deborah had refused, Zaheed was being literal when he spoke of grasping his jewel. If Zaheed had to, he would of held her as his prisoner, as his slave. That was something about the Thanos family, they were a determined type of people, when they have a goal something they stop at nothing to fulfill. Sure, Zotar wanted vengeance, but he pursued honor, honor from his tribe, honor from his dying mother. Zaheed, on the other hand, pursued power, and by all means, he was going to get it, or die trying.

"Now let go of my neck, king. Don't we both want a blessed start of something that could turn out to be something good?"

Zaheed leaned in unnecessarily close to Deborah's face for he had an issue with her first sentence, "First thing's first, never tell me what to do, my lady." The king releasing her neck, "Other than that, yes, I would want our start to be... good." Zaheed turned to the door, hand against the hilt of his sword, as he pointed his hand in the direction to his destination, "But come, let me show you where you will be staying."

Zaheed led his newly hired "mage adviser" to her living quarters and where she also will be fostering her research. The two traveled down stairs into the dungeon. The reason why Zaheed showed Deborah to a room underground was because they will be discussing certain topics and plotting certain plans, that Zaheed preferred no one else hearing, although he has never been quite fearful it came to eavesdroppers and tattlers, because he knew he had the talent of manipulation and swaying the truth into his own.

The room was actually quite big, Zaheed had it already ordered to be clear, thus the room itself was vacant. The room once was a torture chamber, but Zaheed demanded that it be cleaned and cleared of cobwebs, however the bloodstains were that of impossible to be completely washed away. The room had it scars, and true scars only fade away.

"Whatever you want you will get," Zaheed granted her. "Of course, if it never intrudes with my plans. But yes, you will be treated well, as if you are of the royal family also." Zaheed lowered his voice and muttered, "Although, I would not be quite using the word family." Then coughed, clearing his throat, "Said you were from the slums, now you will be treated far better than any duke or duchess in the tribe. The necessary furniture pieces will be on their way once you inform the servants of what type of specific appliances meet your taste, including style and color."

Yes, Zaheed spoke the truth, he was going to give Deborah what ever she wanted, well if it did not oppose him of course. "And that also goes for whatever books and scrolls you want when it comes to research. When it comes to my dream of controlling more than one element turning into reality."

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It was an divided Deborah that followed the king to this strange place where she should be staying at. She had a hard time believing that she would be provided with a place to stay, but there was a small part of her that was somewhat excited about it. Even though she was walking downwards, to the chilly parts underneath the castle she couldn't really complain since she had experienced such a change. Living in the slums one day and the next in the castle, well the dungeons but still it was the castle. But there was one thing that destroyed that slightly happy mode for her, it was the fact that he had told her not to tell him what to do. It was easier said than done however and it made her slightly irritated.

As they reached the room Deborah looked around, it wasn't the prettiest thing she had seen. Cold. But bigger than what she was used to though. Without asking and even before he had started talking she had already started strolling around the room, inspecting it closer. While she did she started to wonder what kind of room it was, in her mind it seemed unlikely that rooms just where unused. But as she walked she started to believe that it was better to convince herself that the royalties had room and money to waste on empty spaces since her imagination had taken a turn to ideas she didn't really favor.

"Whatever you want you will get. Of course, if it never intrudes with my plans. But yes, you will be treated well, as if you are of the royal family also. Although, I would not be quite using the word family. Said you were from the slums, now you will be treated far better than any duke or duchess in the tribe. The necessary furniture pieces will be on their way once you inform the servants of what type of specific appliances meet your taste, including style and color.

Deborah spun around and watched the king, stunned by the news not the comment after them. She had totally ignored the part about his plans, but it was highly unlikely that she would even come up with something like that. But to be offered anything she could come up with that was huge, even though she should had ideas popping in her mind. All of those things that she wanted to have and never had the chance to lay her hands on was swiped from her mind, it was blank. The news was too big for her to handle.

"And that also goes for whatever books and scrolls you want when it comes to research. When it comes to my dream of controlling more than one element turning into reality."

Deborah wasn't that found of books and reading, probably because it wasn't her specialty. Sure, she could read, even though she probably wasn't the best at it and it had been a long time since she had done it lastly. But if that was what it would take to stay down here and not get sent back to the slums or worse get her head separated from the rest of the body then fine. She would read. Even though she had no idea what she was supposed to read.

So after a moment of silence she started to stroll around the room again, arms folded, "I will let the servants know what I desire when I know then. And about the books and the scrolls, I would rather look for them by myself since I can't really say what I am looking for. I think it would be better for me to be shown the library and the parts of interest in it."

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General King Zaheed

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"Very well, the servants can give you a tour of the palace including the library, but for me now, I must harvest military plans," Zaheed responded, knowing now he was in full control of every army the fire tribe owned. Because even before, when he was general, it was a thorn against his side to know that though he commands, he also had to carry them. Though not anymore, Zaheed had only one boss, and that was himself. "I'm sure you will find your stay here quite enjoyable, and I believe and hope, I can say the same about your service.

Zaheed turned to exit the run, and as he did, Zaheed was stopped by a messenger who called out his name, "King Zaheed." Zaheed folded his arms, with a furrow in his brow, he answered, "Yes, what is it?" And while Zaheed gave his question, he sensed their be a problem, especially in the nervous and pale face of the man who served as the informer. But lately, Zaheed been given an expression of such, perhaps the kingdom started to feel another side of Zaheed, a darker atmosphere that surrounded him. But the common explanation for that is because Zaheed lost his father and now brother, thus reason why he seems so... black inside. But in all truths, Zaheed lost all light in his heart decades ago.

"The queen... she's-- she is perhaps on her last breaths. In all respects, King Zaheed, you should go check on her," the messenger suggested, but the suggestion felt more like a command to Zaheed. And Ivana's title of queen bothered Zaheed, that termed meant authority, it meant power, but she had none of that. Zaheed wanted to be the only person with a title resorting to control.

Zaheed twisted his body, rotating with strong force as he dunk his armored fist into the servant's stomach, feeling the crackle of a rib, "That may have been a suggestion of yours, but since when where you my adviser." The young man was on the ground, clutching the stricken spot on his body, as he coughed and groaned with pain. "That's right," Zaheed said. "I have none. Learn your place, or next time this happens others will suffer to scrub your remains from off the stone tiles." It would not be any surprise if Deborah heard Zaheed, the scene happened only a few meters away. But the reason why Zaheed didn't kill the servant, was because he did not want to appear to be a lunatic, that surely could start riots, and even get him overthrown, besides he may get the point where he ends countless lives of innocent because he felt like it. But for now, he must gradually get there, build his power, construct the intimation and fill his people with fear.

Zaheed walked to his mother, Queen Ivana, she was deathly ill. "Zotar?" she called out, expecting her younger son, because Zaheed had not yet appeared for her weak eyes to see. "Gabriela?" she then spoke out for her daughter, and finally her youngest son, "Zenas?" But not Zaheed, and though he wished to be mad that she didn't call him, he knew he had no right to be, not really. For Zaheed, separated himself from everyone besides his father and Zotar, because his father was the prize and Zotar was the competition, and Zaheed was only set on winning Zarfu's favoritism. And when Zaheed couldn't win that, he went for the throne instead, and went at any cost to get it.

"No, it is me, King Zaheed," he did not even acknowledged that dying woman was his mother, or that he was her son, and that was because he felt no connection. It was not that Ivana was a horrible mother, she was great one, a loving nurturer, but it was that Zaheed pushed that love away for his own ambitions.

"Zaheed? Oh, yes my oldest. Son... W-where is Zotar?" No one had yet informed Ivana of Zotar's kidnapping, no one wanted her to die in worry. But Zaheed was now irritated when she asked for Zotar. So Zaheed did the cruel thing to answer, "He is dead." Well, to Zaheed he good as dead, so he lied.

"D-dead?" Ivana cried, sobbing. "N-no, no, no..." Ivana paused to look up at Zaheed, she reached out a hand but he just stood there still, unkind enough to not embrace his mother in her last moments. "At now in my last seconds I see you, Zaheed, my son. But soon... I will see Zotar and your father. I love you..." And with that Ivana gave her last breath, the sickness had overwhelmed her, or so the entire world will believe, but Zaheed knew the truth lied in poison, his poison. Zaheed was a snake after all, he pierced her with his venom.

In rushed Zenas and Gabriela, Zenas wrapped an arm around his sister as she panicked to run over to her mother, "Is it too late?" she asked, with her long curls wrapped against her face in a messy fashion, a way you would know she rushed to get to palace. "I... I...," Zenas could not finished his sentence as he dropped to the ground besides Ivana, holding her cold bony and in his, crying himself with Gabriela. And in their grief, Zaheed was a statue, no emotion, no affection.

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"Very well, the servants can give you a tour of the palace including the library, but for me now, I must harvest military plans."

While the king spoke Deborah only granted him a short glance, she didn't give him a nod in agreement or a proper answer. Why? There wasn't a good reason for her to act like that, it was not like he had said anything to offend her in that statement. She had already known that he would leave as soon as he had gotten this over with. The reason for her to act that was simply because she was a sullen person. And it was sort of a silent statement that she could do whatever she wanted to and if it was to ignore him then so be it. It was not like he had time to argue because of such actions at times like these and Deborah knew it.

She listened to the footsteps on the stone tiles as he left the room with her back towards the door but as soon as he left she turned around and was just about to leave the room. It wasn't like she believed she was allowed to leave the room but neither did she think that she was a prisoner, they hadn't locked the door. But with the hand on the doorknob she stopped to listen to the discussion outside instead. Hearing the thud from something dropping to the floor and the couching Deborah made sure to at least try to make a mental note about what could happen if she try to take up to much space and authority. But somehow she believed that the note would disappear in the mist of thoughts with time, or perhaps it would be gone tomorrow.

Hearing the footsteps get more distant out there in the hallway she opened the door again and walked outside, not to ask the servant how he felt or if he needed help. No, the only thing she honored him with was a silent look. Not even of concern but of derogatory. With that she simply left the room, deciding by herself that she was going to be her own guide. It was not like she needed someone to show her around. How hard could it be?

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Eirene had spent all evening and probably most of the night inside her basement making notes on what she had discovered, not something new for the world. But something new for her. And that was mainly what mattered, she wanted to learn new things. She wanted to gain more knowledge, as long as she discovered something new every day it was a good day. Not that this day had been bad even without it. No, she believed that this day had been an extremely good one even without the wonders of what a human’s body could hide.

When she was done she washed her hands and the equipment’s in the bowl of water she had prepared beforehand. She let all the candle's flame dies out so the room fell in complete darkness, but even if the room itself was like a pitch black hole around her and the single candle she held in her hand. With it she left the room by walking up the stairs, while she locked the door to the staircase she noticed something however. Even if it was faint something could be heard in the night, screams. In wonder Eirene walked over the grass and to the front of the house, gazing out into the night, wondering why it was such a ruckus outside this night. It didn't seem to be full grown panic so it couldn't be an attack, but what could steer such emotions then?

She was just about to walk out the gate as someone grabbed her shoulder so sudden that she dropped the candle in her hand. The little flame started to burn the grass surrounding it, but the small fire didn't have a chance since the one who grabbed her scooped water out of the ocean by only his will and made it travel to the small flames. The one who had grabbed her was no one else but her oldest brother, Eden, he had not moved an inch while executing the little quenching assignment, "Father wants you to come inside, it's not safe out there."

Eirene wrinkled her forehead as she watched her older brother, she found it odd that he were there. He had his own house with a wife and kids, he should be with them at this time of night. And even though she wanted to go out to see what was happening she followed him inside the house again while glancing backwards, out at the night, with longing eyes.

When they arrived inside she saw something even stranger, everyone was awake. Even her father who would need to get up early in the morning to return to the palace and his duties. Somehow she started to wonder if it was something she had done, nervously she started to fiddle with the dark blue dress she wore. But what could she have done? A thought that jumped around in her mind was of course the body she stored down in the basement, but if they knew about it and didn't like it, shouldn't they have told her before?

While she stood there and thought to herself her father started to speak, declaring why everyone had been gathered. Well everyone but one. It struck Eirene as she looked around the room that Embla, her older sister by two years, was missing. She wondered if it could be so that she had run away from home since she had just been promised to a man Eirene knew Embla disliked. It was not that he was a bad man, it was because Embla were in love with someone else but their father would gain more by giving him to the other.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted once more by her father explaining that Embla had left the house earlier this evening, father had seen her himself but decided not to stop her since he felt like she would escape home if he had done so. But this night was a dangerous night to be out in, which was why Eirene had been stopped as she tried to leave. Words had been told that an assassin had gotten inside the city and was out there. Embla was still out there and no one knew where she was.

As soon as their father had explained it all he told her older brother's that they needed to join him in the search. The four of them left the house, leaving Eirene and her younger brother alone. Both of them stood in the doorway watching as their family rushed out into the night to find the lost member.

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In the darkest hours just before dawn started to disperse the night sky the rest of the family returned. When they did Eirene and her younger brothers were still awake, there was no chance that one of them could fall asleep in the middle of this. They had just been sitting in the living room area in front of the fireplace and stared into it. Neither of them had spoken a word, there was nothing to say. Sure, they could sit there and pat each other's back, try to make each other feel better, cheer each other up with pretty words. But the words got stuck on the way up, neither of them could lie like that. Neither of them wanted to bring it up, the topic was too heavy to even think about. Even though Eirene wanted to think about something else, and she tried so hard to change the pictures in her mind she couldn't. The thought of Embla always snuck back and screamed inside her head. Screamed at her that Embla was out there when something like an assassin snuck around.

But as soon as Eirene and Eli's father and older brothers returned they quickly got up onto their feet’s again. Just about to rush out to the main entrance to welcome them all back and Embla as well. They never got the time to do so though, the four men wandered into the room without even taking off their coats. As they did both Eirene and Eli searched behind them with their eyes, looking after Embla. But she never showed up and the youngest children could understand what it meant even before their father tried to explain it with a cracked voice. Even though he tried to act strong in front of them they both could see that his heart was filled with sorrow.

After their father had told everyone about Embla's death every one of them was sent to bed. Well, her oldest brother was sent to the couch since neither of the other family members felt like letting him walk through the city by himself to his own house. Once inside her own bed, tucked down carefully by her father Embla lied there and stared up into the ceiling. She found it a bit odd that her father had been there to tell her goodnight, it been had aged since he had done something like that. She was an adult now so there was no need for such things. But she guessed that it was the shock from losing his oldest daughter that made him act like this towards her. She was his only daughter left now.

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Time had continued to go forward like it was cogwheels that hadn't been oiled in a long time, it moved slowly, creakingly and stood completely still at other times. Cailu wasn't being himself, he felt more hated than ever. He was hiding inside the leader's mansion most of the time, inside his room, in his bed and refused to go out of bed. He was like a sulky child, feeling bad for himself for something he had brought upon himself as well. It was as if Ara somehow had spoiled him with just her presence and now he was being like this. Servants or other's came to knock on the door from time to time and asked him to perform his duties as the leader. It was a funny thing however since he wasn't the leader and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. It was Ara who told him what to do, now he was like a lost puppy.

In the end the servants gave up and the only thing they did was bring him food. After a while they stopped doing that as well since they just got so angry with him. They knew it was his fault that Ara had been sent away, it was his idea. And of course they all disliked him for it but they just tried to act nice, but in the end their friendliness had a limit and they had reached it. So he was all alone in the big mansion. Listening to the noises from the outside, there life carried on but in there - in the cold, empty, dusty mansion it was only silence. Silence and Cailu's groans of agony. He was not a strong person, not by himself, not without Ara. He needed her to show the way first.

In the end he reached his limit as well, he couldn't go on without a proper meal. His stomach was so empty it felt like it had started to eat itself up. So since Cailu himself couldn't cook at all he swept his cloak around himself, covering this face. He knew it was a simple and probably failure as an disguise but he just didn't feel like showing his face to the townspeople. He didn't want to see their either. He just wanted to be left alone and be without their dark gazes.

So out he went, in his so discreet disguise. Even though he couldn't see them he knew that everyone was looking and that everyone knew who he was. But at least he didn't have to see them and that was all that counted. He walked over the trampled dirt paths, he knew where he was going. The only place he could get a cooked meal as long as he paid them, the inn. There was only one in the small village Airedale. But at least there was one.

When he reached it he pushed the heavy oak door out of his way and walked as far into the inn as possible, sitting down in one of the darkest corners. There he waited for someone to just take his order and then go again, leave him alone so he could sulk in his solitude.

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The castle life wasn't as fun as Deborah probably had imagined it to be while still living in the slums, being there and gaze towards the castle you imagine that their life was easy. Carefree. That somehow disaster didn't strike them at any time. How now that could work since everyone dies, get sick, wounded and so on at some point in life. But being on the outside you just can't imagine things like that, at least Deborah couldn't. But even though Deborah didn't care the slightest about the dead queen or king the rest of the castle seemed to care an awfully lot. Even though time moved on most of the people still seemed to mourn like there was no ending to it. Not that Deborah had gotten time to think about such things much, she had been busy reading. Not being the best at it she had to put all of her focus on those strange curlicues to understand what they tried to tell her.

Deborah had spent almost every day since she had moved into the castle inside the library doing something she would rather not do. She flipped through book after book, eyed parchment after parchment. There was no end to it. So many books and so little that were relevant at all. It had gotten so far that she had started to see letters haunt her in her dreams when she was asleep, they were everywhere.

But one day it happened. As she tiredly eyed through yet another really old parchment something captured her eyes. Or at first she was just about to miss it and put the parchment with all the other's that she was already done with when some words stood out a little more than the other's. The Element stones, the parchment itself didn't say much. It was basically just an old fairy tale or myth. Or so it seemed at first when she looked at it. It told the story of four stones or jewels, they each held the ability to control one of the elements by touching them. As she read it over and over Deborah started to wonder if it really just was a fairy tale and why it would be kept in the library if that was the case. It just seemed odd, even though it was old and had probably been lying there for ages, why? Why would someone even put a fairy tale in here, she had always thought it was supposed to hold the history of the Fire tribe and Murtovaara intact. So something about the fairy tale just seemed so... strange. Even though she wasn't sure if it was something she should bring to the king she decided to do it. It was something, better than nothing. And if he also thought that it sounded unlikely that the library would keep myths and bed time stories intact perhaps she was right in her suspicion.

So when she left the library she brought the parchment with her, dead set on showing it to him when he had time over to come down to her room. And there she waited for him while reading the lines over and over again. Thinking, or at least trying to think about it.

When he finally arrived she rose from her chair and held out the parchment for him to see, "I found this today. At first I thought it was just a myth or perhaps a fairy tale but then I realized that it was very strange that your library would contain something like fairy tales. So what do you think?"

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General King Zaheed

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Of course Zaheed had to attend his mother's funeral, being absent would cause an outrage. But though Zaheed was king, and knew he had power, he would not wish for riots, not another headache. Though after traditions had been settled by cremation of Queen Ivana, Zaheed was interrupted in the ancient tomb of royalty by Zenas , Zaheed's youngest brother. "King Zaheed," Zenas did not bother to call Zaheed brother, they never really felt like brothers anyways. Though Zenas once did try to gain his brother's love, tried to impress him, but noticed how Zaheed was always acted friendly to Zotar, little did Zenas know the amount of hate Zaheed bottled up against Zotar. So Zenas gave up, besides he has his sister, Gabriela, Zenas and Gabriela, they have the closest sibling family relationship out of any other member of the household, well besides Zotar and both his parents.

"What is it boy?" Zaheed turned to look down at Zenas, because he was far shorter than him. But Zenas always hated when Zaheed referred to him as boy, some little kid. But he ignored it... for now. He did not have a short temper like Zotar.

"Have you heard, people are starting to say the Thanos family is cursed. Our family is cursed. First, the death of our father, the kidnapping of Zotar, and now the death of our mother."

"Do you think I care about rumors?"

"No... But neither do I think you care about this family," Zenas looked up at Zaheed with a glare and a frown. Like Zotar, and really like the rest of his siblings besides the oldest, he cared about family. "Mother died and you just stood there, like a statue, and did nothing. And why is it that though Zotar has been kidnap you also do nothing?"

"Are you questioning your king?" Zaheed's voice got more hostile as he but a tight firm grasp on the hilt of his sword.

"King? Can you for once be a brother?" Zenas sighed, "But yes, I am questioning you."

Zaheed titled his head as he pulled the blade from its sheath, "I do not tolerate any form of disrespect, boy."

"What you going to lunge that sword through my chest? All these years Zaheed, I wanted you to treat me like a brother. I wanted to gain your approval. But no, you always centered your attention to Zotar instead. Its like no matter what I do, you will never love me. So why don't you stab me, or better yet," Zenas grabbed the blade and placed it against his neck. "How about you make it slow, let me bleed to death, watch me suffer, its all you ever made me do."

"Zenas! Zaheed! Stop! Stop! Not another death!" Gabriela rushed to discover the quarrel between her two brothers, she didn't want to lose anymore family.

But Zenas knew Zaheed was not going to do it, he could see the outcome of his brave move so clearly through Zaheed's eyes. Zaheed couldn't do it, he now felt so alike to his brother. Watching approval, love from someone but never getting it. It was like a arrow had been struck right through Zaheed's heart in the blink of an eye- wounded, to feel like he committed the same action Zaheed hated his father for. Zaheed forcefully pulled the sword back and stormed off in between a mix of regret and aggravation.

The next day Zaheed was called to Deborah's room, which her living quarters were quite extravagant, lavished with only the best of quality furniture. He even ordered a chandelier be installed into her room so the place would feel less inside of a dungeon. And in fact you would not know her room was once a torture chamber. Truly, Zaheed wanted his mage to be comfortable, especially because that mage was Deborah. And Like he said before, she was his precious jewel, jewels are not kept in raggedy bags, but beautiful glass cases. Besides, Zaheed did put in consideration that she once lived in the slums, so he wanted to show her the paradise he could give if she obeyed, and hell if she didn't.

"I found this today. At first I thought it was just a myth or perhaps a fairy tale but then I realized that it was very strange that your library would contain something like fairy tales. So what do you think?"

"Come let us sit," Zaheed waved his hand over to the table so he could discuss with her sitting down, standing up made his feel more at attention but also more tense, he was not too long ago a general. "Let me see...," Zaheed grabbed the parchment. "Gabriela... she likes fairytales." Gabriela was also the mage of the family, but why didn't Zaheed ask her to help him in his grand scheme? It was because he knew she was refuse to do anything that would go against the tribe, she was always passionate about the nation, country before self, like everyone else in the Thanos family besides Zaheed.

"And though this is fairytale, I am not going to laugh. You are my mage, not a jester. I will take this serious. But I would say I am not convinced the Element stones are even real, less do I believe they will allow me to bear another power. Though, we must start somewhere. So tell me Deborah, why the Element Stones? Do you faithfully believe in them? If so, where are we to even begin to obtain them?"

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"Come let us sit," When the king waved at her to return to the place she had just left Deborah couldn't help but snort before she actually did what he asked for. She just found it annoying that she had stood up in the first place, if she had known she wouldn't had left her seat at all to great him. Yeah, that was her manners, non-existing. "Let me see..."

As the king eyed through the page Deborah kept looking at him the whole time, listening to him mentioning someone who liked tales like this one. But the reason for Deborah to look so intensely at him was basically to see what kind of reaction he would be giving, she wanted to be prepared if it would be a bad one. And even though it wasn't precisely a good one either it was fine, he didn't look angry at least.

"And though this is fairytale, I am not going to laugh. You are my mage, not a jester. I will take this serious. But I would say I am not convinced the Element stones are even real, less do I believe they will allow me to bear another power. Though, we must start somewhere. So tell me Deborah, why the Element Stones? Do you faithfully believe in them? If so, where are we to even begin to obtain them?"

Hearing him not get her point at all made her frustrated, so frustrated that she by now had smacked her hands down at the table while rising up. Leaning over the table closer to his face while glaring at him, "No, listen to me, you got it all wrong! The thing is I don't believe this is a fairy tale and that is why I brought it to you. If I had considered it to be a fairy tale I would have left it in the library. My point was that I found this in your library. And the castle library is supposed to only store information about the tribe and the city. And all I've read through have been about things like that until I found this and if it was just a fairy tale, don't you think that someone would have thrown it out instead of placing it in there?"

After her small explosion Deborah calmed down, placing herself at the chair again but something she couldn't just shake off was her bitter expression. She was still angry at him. "Just think about it like this, what if this wasn't just a fairy tale at some point in time? If it's true that someone stole the stones it could be a long time ago, time moves one and people forget. But no, I can't say that I faithfully believe in them but it's still something. It's the first explanation I've found to the powers other than 'it's our faith to be brilliant and thus we gained our abilities from the Gods'. And don't lie and say that you've ever considered that to be a good explanation."

The second question he had asked for another thing though, Deborah hadn't thought about it. If it all was true, couldn't those stones be anywhere? They could even be at the edge of the world by now. But she tried to think about it, dragging her hand through her hair over and over again while sighing. Thinking hard about it and just like reading, thinking wasn't exactly her thing.

In the end she couldn't come up with a good explanation, she had just ideas or thoughts to share with him, "Well... King, if you were the one who stole the stones why would you steal them? Of course if you knew about their powers perhaps you wanted them for yourself and if that was the case they are probably far away by now. But shouldn't we've at least heard tales about someone with so much power by now? But if you think of it like this, you didn't want their power, why would you steal them? And who could come up with such an idea?"

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General King Zaheed

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As soon as Deborah stood up from the table, so did Zaheed. Though Deborah spoke in anger, Zaheed was not one to resort to that type of emotion. In fact, the king was quite good at bottling inside any feeling of his, it is what he did most of his life. Wear a mask, have self-control. But what did bother Zaheed the most was indeed when Deborah stood up, and he was not going to let her in anyway be over him. Like in every circumstance where Zaheed feels threatened or disrespected he immediately touches the hilt of his blade. Zaheed gave a long glare at Deborah as she spoke before he completely turned to face he wall, showing his strong disapproval. If it was anyone Deborah would be dead, but Zaheed knew he just had to be patient, just as he was patient with Zotar. He was not going to be foolish enough to attack her because he lacked any restraints. No, that is something Zotar would do, act impulsively. And Zaheed was going to do everything in his power to not end up like his brother.

Zaheed continued to let her speak as he kept silent, listening to her go on. But even after she had finished he was still quiet said not a word. Until he heard her say, "Well... King, if you were the one who stole the stones why would you steal them? Of course if you knew about their powers perhaps you wanted them for yourself and if that was the case they are probably far away by now. But shouldn't we've at least heard tales about someone with so much power by now? But if you think of it like this, you didn't want their power, why would you steal them? And who could come up with such an idea?" She asked questions, Zaheed did not want questions he wanted answers. Sure, she could do the whole cool thing with light, but if Deborah does not come up with a solution to his problem, then she does not seem at any value as he once thought.

"Deborah," he finally let his low voice break the silence he drug out for a long period of time. "I want answers, not questions. You have special talent, I have already addressed my interest by hiring you as my mage. I see potential in you, do not allow my vision to be clouded, or let me see differently of you." Zaheed turned, he started now circling around Deborah, hands now behind back at attention, the way he took every step was in a march. "I can understand if you are aggravated. I am asking you to do the impossible. However...," Zaheed stopped as he unleashed his blade, he twirled the sword with his finger, almost as if he was just playing with it, though he also stopped that and instead pointed the blade at Deborah's neck. "I also can lose my patience, get aggravated, maybe hurt you." Zaheed put the sword back in its place by its belt, "But let's see I don't throw fits, and I expect you not to either."

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"Deborah, I want answers, not questions. You have special talent, I have already addressed my interest by hiring you as my mage. I see potential in you, do not allow my vision to be clouded, or let me see differently of you."

I want answers, not questions, it was easy for him to say. Since he wasn’t the one being forced to answer the impossible questions. Deborah on the other hand was angrily clenching her fists as he started to walk around her, feeling insulted by every word that left his mouth. It was hard for her to answer those questions, why she asked them out loud was because she wished for him to speak his mind. Not only say that he could stand the theory, she needed a push in some direction. But did she get anything at all? No. She was forced to do everything on her own, how he thought when forcing her to do so she had no clue about. It all seemed rather stupid.

Hearing him admit that he indeed was asking the impossible from her didn’t make anything better, feeling the cold sharp tip of something touching her neck neither. In that moment it was as if her heart beat got stronger, rising the temperature of the room as her clenched hands started to glow brightly. But did she actually throw a fit? No. Even though it took her all of her self-restraint to not stand up so fast that the chair would fall to the ground and jump the king she managed to sit still. The only thing that moved was her hands that was shaking from hard she clenched them. When the sword was removed the shaking stopped however, the light got dimmer and dimmer as well until it disappeared and she just sat there silently staring at the table. “Fine, king.”

With a deep sigh she dragged her hands through her hair again, staring at the letters. How was she supposed to give any answers? It was not like he let her get help from anyone, not even himself. This was something brilliant people should discuss with each other, not something someone like Deborah should do by herself. With a sour pitch in her voice she shrugged in the end, “I still believe that if they were stolen for someone to get powerful we should have heard something about someone like that. Word spread fast if it’s something that would intrigue the public. So I guess that if they got stolen it wasn’t in that purpose. And let’s just say that it was someone in Imos that did it, who could it be? If it was those people in Lakeshore shouldn’t they use them against you in your little war? If it’s those tree huggers in Shadowfen shouldn’t they as well be using them in their little dispute with the Water tribe. So who’s left? Airedale. And yeah, all other inconsequential villages. That's just a thought, not much.”

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General King Zaheed

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Zaheed was asking too much, he knew that. In fact, yet again his hypocrisy was showing again, he asked her to meet a goal she could not reach. He wanted her to just spout out a whole plan of how to bend more than one element within just seconds. Being the oldest, Zaheed was pressured by King Zarfu, sometimes, like Deborah, he was given goals impossible for him to reach. And oh how much he hated how when he wanted help or some sort of assisted, he would just be punished or pushed even harder. Zaheed knew he was not perfect, but there was wicked crimes committed to which he did not identify as a sin. Like being power hungry and doing whatever it took to get that power even if it meant the kidnapping of his brother and poisoning his mother, being a hypocrite, and even more, owning his father's flaws, that brought shame to him personally.

“Fine, king,” Zaheed heard Deborah respond as he sat back down in the chair, but he rubbed his temples and sighed, "I apologize, Deborah. Forgive me for my rude and rash behavior." Yes Zaheed truly did apologize, he had not only pushed Deborah beyond her limits but insulted her for not meeting his impossible goal. And another reason why he had treated Deborah like so earlier, was because he never worked with anyone before, yes sure, he has worked for, and gave orders, but never had he worked with.The only time he had ever been cooperative with another being was when he was wearing a mask as he always did around Zotar. But no, he was no longer holding that false image, being someone he was not, especially not with someone who was actually of great importance to him. "Continue."

“I still believe that if they were stolen for someone to get powerful we should have heard something about someone like that. Word spread fast if it’s something that would intrigue the public. So I guess that if they got stolen it wasn’t in that purpose. And let’s just say that it was someone in Imos that did it, who could it be? If it was those people in Lakeshore shouldn’t they use them against you in your little war? If it’s those tree huggers in Shadowfen shouldn’t they as well be using them in their little dispute with the Water tribe. So who’s left? Airedale. And yeah, all other inconsequential villages. That's just a thought, not much.”

"Thought, yes now is a good time for that," Zaheed confessed, he was trying to now be more open now and less demanding. "And deep thought may just bring us to a solution. But these stones, they could be anywhere? Are the Element Stones the only way, or there another path we could take?" Zaheed was quiet, he put on a serious thinking face, instead of barking orders. "Maybe... I could somehow absorb power, another element from a soul, even it be temporary. Perhaps there is some form of dark magic that will allow me to suck the element out someone. However, don't get me wrong, I'm not dismissing the idea of the Elements Stones, I am only bringing up yet another thought of mine."

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"Thought, yes now is a good time for that. And deep thought may just bring us to a solution. But these stones, they could be anywhere? Are the Element Stones the only way, or there another path we could take?"

Another path, Deborah wasn't sure of how he meant by that. This was the only thing she had found yet, perhaps there was other information inside that library somewhere. But where it could be hiding was not something she could even imagine. But either way she found it hard to come up with what sort of solution he was talking about, would he pray in the temples to be granted another power? It didn't seem likely regarding to his character. Or did he think that he would just simply be able to tame another element by the power of his will to do so? It still didn't sound like anything that could happen, even though Deborah didn't question his mind at all. He seemed to have plenty more willpower and ambitions than most people around.

"Maybe... I could somehow absorb power, another element from a soul, even it be temporary. Perhaps there is some form of dark magic that will allow me to suck the element out someone. However, don't get me wrong, I'm not dismissing the idea of the Elements Stones, I am only bringing up yet another thought of mine."

When the king was finished declaring what kind of other solution he was thinking of Deborah leaned forward cowering her mouth, thinking hardly. She hadn't heard of something like that happening before. But even though it hadn't happened before didn't mean it was impossible, she had heard about people that had evolved their powers to involve more than what they're supposed to do. For example she had heard tales about an air bender that could form impenetrable barriers of air just like the fire benders could create the same thing but with fire instead.

When she finished thinking it through she looked up at him again, "You basically mean like how the water people are able to drain human bodies of their liquid, but instead of draining it from the liquid you want to absorb their life force? And if that's possible you hope that it would grant you their powers as well? I don't know... I'm sure you as well have heard the tales about the air bender which is able to create her own version of your fire shields, so let's just put it simple. Should it not be possible for you to learn how to drain humans as well? The question is just... how." With that Deborah got quiet, sinking down into deep thoughts again. It was not like she could learn him how to do it, she was not aware of how they did it. And the tales about the air bender did say that she had been taught by a fire exile. But Deborah had never had anyone to teach her anything. She had learnt by herself since she was the only one she knew of that possessed her abilities.

"You know, I never had anyone to teach me how to control my powers since I'm the only one. I learnt by myself, digging deep inside myself to find the answers. So I guess you should be able to learn a version of their extracting ability even without the help from someone possessing that power."

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General King Zaheed

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"You know, I never had anyone to teach me how to control my powers since I'm the only one. I learnt by myself, digging deep inside myself to find the answers. So I guess you should be able to learn a version of their extracting ability even without the help from someone possessing that power."

Learn? So know Zaheed was simply going to learn the element as if he was a youngling of the element's tribe. Well, it did seem more likely then off on an egg-hunt to find the stones. And it was also better than taking citizens from foreign tribes hostage for a plan that may not even work, but only arise tension, even a war. Besides, if it meant learning, it meant he could depend on himself, on his body. And Zaheed liked how Deborah included herself in this, it gave him an example, something to hope for. She was able to create something different. Though she was air and fire, she made light.

"Learn? So, I could even learn how to bend water, just like that?" Zaheed asked, for water was the one element he wished to know the most, because it was the water that fire had the most tension with, and it was always like that. But Zaheed wanted have power of his rival and no longer make water a weakness for himself.

But maybe it was possible, Zaheed's veins were not quite fired nor heated really, in fact, he drew more attention to his sword rather than his fire. So maybe with the absence of an inferno, he may actually be able to learn another element. But would the water cancel out Zaheed's fire? There were risks with a plan, but Zaheed motive was the old saying, High risk, high reward. Because the even bigger risk was that Zaheed could indeed die from these, according to the tale of the stones, though he does not put any belief in the fairytale. There were those who touched one element stone, but when they touched another their bodies could not handle the energy, they simply crumbled lifelessly and died.

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"Learn? So, I could even learn how to bend water, just like that?"

When the king uttered the sentence Deborah didn't just sigh, no she leaned her whole face down onto the palm of her hand. And like that she sat for a while, just being tired because of the whole discussion. It was like she couldn't communicate with the man at all, he heard what he wanted to hear and if it was what she meant didn't matter. It was tiring indeed. And at some point she started to doubt that she was the less intellectual person in the room. However, it could just be so that his mind was so stuck on one idea that it didn't bother to hear other things than that specifically matter.

In the end she lifted her head upwards again, dragging the face against the hand. No, she wasn't being nice towards him, but she wasn't being angry and throwing fits either. And that was what he had asked her to avoid. "No, no seriously, you are not listening to me. That was not what I said. Clear your ears and listen carefully this time, alright?

I did not say that I think you would be able to control water just like that. What I said was that I do know that people have been able to evolve their powers to be able to do more than most others, not that they got stronger in their usual abilities but that they discover new ones. Like that air bender that now can create a shield around her and other's that not even the sharpest sword can cut through, just like your fire shields. But! She had a fire exile to teach her how to do it."

With that Deborah got quiet and pounded her fingers against the table, she was trying to figure out if the king understood this time around or if he still just heard what he wanted to hear. In the end she just decided to hope for the best and so she continued, "Just like she was able to master a fire technique in her own special way I think you should be able to master a water technique in your own way. And the thing about fire is that it devours its surrounding, destroys it. So basically if you tried to master their extracting technique shouldn't you be able to extract something else than water? What if you by mastering it would actually devour their life source? Just like fire does, it feeds on the environment and devours all life which is around it to keep on burning. If you could do something like that, perhaps their powers would transfer to you as well since that's a part of their being?"

That was it, a longer and more detailed version of what she had thought. If the king didn't understand it this time she would give up and just let him go with his idea, even if it wouldn't work. Not that she could know, she just found it very unlikely that it could work like that. To be able to just change like that because you wanted too, wouldn't people had discover that by now if that was the case? And if it was like that shouldn't she be able to create fire like any fire bender, she had tried to make it work while she had been young and really tried to make it work. She had wanted it so bad, to fit in and be like everyone else. But not even the smallest candle had lit itself by her willpower.

"King, you're a fire bender," As she said it Deborah leaned over the table and pointed at his chest, "It's in your blood even though you don't like it or are satisfied with it. I think you should search inside yourself for it, not the fire itself but its desire to devour everything. Not a hunger for power or any sort of ambitions like that, I think you should search for a hunger that's deeper down than that. I don't know, I just know how I found and learned to control my powers. When you don't have anyone to show you the way you need to find it by yourself. You have been taught what you can do with your powers by those who were older than you, but what if they didn't even know the possibilities? Now it’s your turn to discover your abilities again, forget what they said and rediscover them."

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General King Zaheed

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Zaheed watched as his mage covered her face in frustration. "No, no seriously, you are not listening to me. That was not what I said. Clear your ears and listen carefully this time, alright?" she had commanded him, however felt no need to rush to his blade when he did. So she was aggravated, but the thing was, that Zaheed was always a man who took a want and pursued it, but not did he strive to make that goal, but as quickly as possible. So really, though he will not admit it nor be aware, he was not quite even listening to her, but instead was focused on his plan instead and dismissed hers.

"I did not say that I think you would be able to control water just like that. What I said was that I do know that people have been able to evolve their powers to be able to do more than most others, not that they got stronger in their usual abilities but that they discover new ones." She went then on to explain what she had said earlier with Zaheed even further. He sighed, listening to it again. Zaheed did not want to evolve his power, he wanted to possess another one. But as it seems, he could not, it was perhaps what he had hoped not to be, impossible. Now, he wished he had more faith in the Element Stones. Well, touching a few rocks and possibly not dying but gaining its power, sound a lot easier than having to somehow evolve his fire, into something he has no clue will become.

"King, you're a fire bender," Zaheed noticed Deborah point at him, he now did have to fight back the feeling to be feel like she was trying to dominant him. Therefore he struggled to not concur to a violent rash movement. She was just trying to communicate with him. So what Zaheed was tightly grab the arms of the chair, which really did had the stiffness inside of him, and instead looked like he was sitting up and at more attention. "It's in your blood even though you don't like it or are satisfied with it. I think you should search inside yourself for it, not the fire itself but its desire to devour everything. Not a hunger for power or any sort of ambitions like that, I think you should search for a hunger that's deeper down than that. I don't know, I just know how I found and learned to control my powers. When you don't have anyone to show you the way you need to find it by yourself. You have been taught what you can do with your powers by those who were older than you, but what if they didn't even know the possibilities? Now it’s your turn to discover your abilities again, forget what they said and rediscover them."

As Deborah's words dripped from her lips Zaheed loosened up and let a hand go form the arm of the chair. He rose his hand upwards though it was covered by an armored glove. Rediscovered, Zaheed liked how Deborah said that, it made the work to create his own ability seem least like work and more like an adventure. Maybe Zaheed, for once, can appreciate his magic. Because he never was quite attached to his flames, especially because he could never be better than Zotar when it came to bending fire. So Zaheed gave up and spent more time maneuvering his blade. When Deborah finished her sentence Zaheed rose from his seat but not as abruptly as he first did, but more gentleness and slowly like he was digesting all of what Deborah had said. "Thank you, I will immediately begin to searching deeply into my abilities." Zaheed started to walk to the door but stopped, "Deborah, I like it when you speak your mind. There are so few I permit to do so, but there are so few that breed wisdom like you." And with that Zaheed made an exit.

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Sitting in the corner of the tavern Cailu felt like sinking down into the earth, not like how the earth benders did but what he wished for was more like decomposing until he was nothing at all anymore. Get buried and disappear. The whispers inside the room didn't make anything better. They just made him feel worse, he missed Ara more than anyone and everyone acted as if he didn't care at all. Even though he was so hungry that his body ached it started to feel like a bad thing to come here. At least people hadn't realized that it was him yet.

As soon as that thought entered his mind he regretted it, feeling how something warm creeped around his neck and shoulders. He was aware of the fact that it was human arms but it still got his heart to skip a beat, coming from nowhere like that. And to be precise, Cailu had never been a physical type of person so a stranger hugging him from behind wasn't his idea of pleasing moments.

”Well, if it isn't Cailu, hello there, sweetie… is there anything I could do perhaps do for you, honey?”

Cailu watched quietly Felicity as she appeared beside him, it was not a surprise that it was her who had attacked him. She was probably the only one that could come up with such an idea when it came to him, blushing he covered his ear she had just been whispering into with his hand. It felt hot, he was embarrassed and because of that he averted his eyes from her. Staring down into the table instead.

"U-Uhm..." Cailu lost his voice, it got stuck on the way up. He got to nervous, not only because of the company and the fact that he needed to say something but also because Felicity touched him so casually. The heart in his chest was beating so wildly in his chest that he felt like fainting, he was more than light headed now, "Uh... H-Hello Felicity..." For a slight moment Cailu tried to look up into her eyes when he greeted her, but he quickly looked down again, hiding his face with the hood. Mostly because it felt like his face was burning up or melting of his skeleton by now, "U-Uh... Y-You know... N-None of those w-who work in the m-mansion comes to work anymore... A-And... Uh... I'm here to e-eat... I don't care what it is... I p-pay..."

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"Thank you, I will immediately begin to searching deeply into my abilities."

Deborah watched quietly as the king started to leave the room, she was satisfied with the result. For once the king had actually listened to her instead of manipulating her words to fit what he wanted to hear. And it was not like Deborah could teach the king how to use fire or water, she would probably not even be able to teach him to manipulate light. Basically because she had no idea what his potential was, sure he carried fire in his veins but that didn't mean that all that he had been taught by others was all there was. And that was what she felt like she could teach him. That he had to find his own potential, and he had understood it. The future ahead felt like it could be exciting now because Deborah didn't know what could happen.

"Deborah, I like it when you speak your mind. There are so few I permit to do so, but there are so few that breed wisdom like you." And gone, the king left and there she sat shocked by the message that ending phrase had carried. Even though Deborah by now was pretty sure that the king saw her as an asset, or he had even said nice things to her the first time they met since she was so different. But that had all been because of her abilities and that was what he had been appreciating, now he actually said something nice towards her persona. It tickled something inside her in a good way, she started to change her opinion of the king.

In her current state she thought to herself that perhaps he wasn't so bad after all, he had sure been very generous when it came to most things. And even though he was demanding it could be because he was stressed? It seemed to be much work to be done when you had so many people to take care of, so of course he would be stressed. Or at least that was ideas that formed inside Deborah's mind, making excuses for him for how he acted from time to time. Deborah was much more understanding and easier to work with once she had gotten that small feeling that she indeed was respected and valuable for the other one.

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General King Zaheed

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King Zaheed summoned Deborah to his study. Though why did he not meet her in her room? It was because Zaheed was so deeply latched onto his studies it was like he could not leave them, nor waste time it would take to walk to the lower levels of the palace. And it was apparent by the sight of Zaheed's study that he had indeed took ever word Deborah advised and even commanded to heart. Books both about fire and human anatomy were either piled high in stacks or knocked on the floor and opened wide. Scrolls about water were spread out either on his desk or on the floor. But it was not just books and scrolls that were present in his room, against another table were cages of mice. It was not uncommon that Zaheed had mice in a cage, he was known to be a man who delights in zoos, but it was uncommon that he would have them in a study.

As soon as Deborah entered the room Zaheed turned around with the look in his eyes of restlessness and exhaustion. His sleep deprivation was apparent for the dark circles clearly showed below his pupils. But though his physical state was tired, he smiled, he looked happy. Though it was because he was sleep deprived but strangely happy that gave the appearance of a madman. Zaheed particularly excited to see Deborah, thus he immediately rose from his stool dashing to his mage, he called her name "Deborah!" Except as he did so Zaheed tripped over a clutter of books, collapsing to the ground. And though he fell and lacked a preferred amount of energy Zaheed rose to the ground like it was nothing. He let the energy of his emotions steer him, as he always did.

"I-I have something to show you." Zaheed strutted over to the table of cages where he opened one and pulled a rodent out. "Remember a couple days ago when you told me to search for a hunger that's deeper down within me, and to rediscover. Well I took all of that to heart." Zaheed lied the mouse on the table where he placed his pointer finger on the tail to prevent it from scurrying away. "Isn't he so cute? Well, not anymore." Zaheed then took his hand and lied to fingers on the back with the tips of his finger touching the neck. The mouse started to squirm as Zaheed fed the rodent his heat, giving the creature an obsessive amount of it to the point it felt its only blood boil from inside. "I learned that fire element really is not about the fire, its about what's inside- the heat. And you know what needs heat, us humans. So then I thought, if there is anyway I could manipulate the heat from the internal anatomy, forgetting everything I have been taught about my abilities. Pretending as if I did not know how to light a single flame, but was only just discovering nothing but heat. I learned how to transfer heat, absorb it."

The power Zaheed had learned could be used for healing, such as if a fire soldier was stuck in some position where his heat was running low, another soldier could sacrifice his life by transferring his own heat to his fellow soldier so that at least he has enough energy and power to finish the mission. Or it could be used as a weapon to what Zaheed had done and give hyperthermia and cook someone from the inside. It was so Zaheed, gritty and unsusceptible that it was he who played with your body.

Zaheed let go of the rat once its body had finally gave up due to the harsh temperature. The creature laid dead and motionless, just like that, Zaheed killed it without drawing a single ounce of blood.

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To be summoned by the king, to actually be the one that went to see him instead of just getting visits from him inside her room when he or she herself had something to discuss, that was a first. But it was not like Deborah complained. She took it as a good sign or at least some sort of sign. And it would be a lie if she denied havening even the slightest interest in what the matter could be, it intrigued her. So it was not like she dragged her legs after her when she went over there, but running would be beneath her dignity.

However, what greeted her on the other side of that door was something she not even in her wildest fantasies would be able to imagine. To watch someone as the king, it was the king, not just call her name in some sort of excitement and then fall flat to the ground. Well, it wasn't something she or anyone else could see every day. But now it was taking place in front of her and the only thing she could do when he fell was wrinkle her entire face in a grimace, while wondering what had possessed the man. Because to her this all was certainly out of character for the man, he had most of the time acted so stern and mighty, like he was better than the others. And suddenly he seemed human. It was all too odd for Deborah and for a short moment she was thinking about turning around and walk out the door again.

The stuttering didn't help his cause, she was seriously wondering if he had hit his head when falling or gotten sick. Or lost it completely. When it all was happening not even once did Deborah ask him how it had gone or if he was fine, all she did was stand in the door opening while folding her arms. Carrying her usual sour expression, because she couldn't find this funny. Not even slightly. If it would be described with one world she would probably pick creepy.

"Remember a couple days ago when you told me to search for a hunger that's deeper down within me, and to rediscover. Well I took all of that to heart."

How did he expect her to have forgotten that already? Deborah just sighed at the statement, she had a hard time tolerating people when they acted normal and when they acted crazy they were even more annoying. However, just as Deborah was about to give up on this meeting and return later when the king had collected himself the interesting part begun. It captured her attention immediately, hearing him speak of how he had actually followed her suggestion. And when he started to demonstrate it all she couldn't help but get dragged closer, in the end she had placed herself beside him while watching the mice die. For once the king had succeeded to impress her, this was much more than she had thought he would be able to do. She was completely blown away by it actually, that he had mastered such a technique by himself in matters of days.

With a grin Deborah nodded slowly, to even try to call what she did a smile would be an exaggeration, "Congratulations king, you didn't fail to impress. I guess you are more astounding than I at first thought. I'm really impressed actually, it's the first time I've seen something like this."

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General King Zaheed

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"Congratulations king, you didn't fail to impress. I guess you are more astounding than I at first thought. I'm really impressed actually, it's the first time I've seen something like this."

Zaheed chuckled, "But these are just mice. Come, let me show you the true wonder of this power." Zaheed turned and led Deborah out of his study and to the castle's dungeon. There they walked through a hall of cells, though even at that point the king said nothing, he wanted to keep it all one big surprise. Zaheed order two guards to follow him, but this was only so that they could unlock a cell and shackle the prisoner, but he dismissed him after they did so. Now most of the prisoners in the castle were those that were yet to await their execution.

As soon as Zaheed's eyes locked with the prisoner's it was like Zaheed started to act like himself again, serious and empowering. It was like Zaheed dipped his tongue into a flavor of bitterness while he stared into the eyes of the incarcerated man. "Do you know what I hate more than murders, than liars, than thieves. Its rebels and traitors, those who commit treason." Immediately Zaheed's anger took control as he unsuspectedly launched a grasp on the man's neck. It was on an impulsive wrath, something Zaheed is not quite known to have, perhaps Zotar, but not as much for Zaheed. He just wanted so badly to take all his hate out against the man and squeeze the life out of him. "My men caught this ill-witted dissenter trying to conduct a riot. He announced on the streets that I was a weakling." Zaheed feared that he would be labelled one due to the entire time that he had been king that he had not yet dispatched a mission to rescue his brother, nor has he avenged his father's murderers. But weakling, that very word angered him, now he was being called one. Zaheed felt he had devoted his life to strength, to be praised for being one of strength. No, Zaheed was not going to tolerate the disrespect, not one bit.

"But who is the weak one now?" Zaheed removed his tight firm grab on the neck and adjusted his hand to the criminal's heart. He dug his fingernails deep into the man's skin as he then pushed all of his heat to the prisoner. And just like the rat, the man then experienced hyperthermia. But what scared him the most was that this was all of Zaheed's doing. Zaheed then went to recite passages of the medical books he had read, "In stages of hyperthermia victim experiences heat sweating, quick rapid short breaths, dry skin all while blood vessels dilate in an attempt to increase heat loss. Accompanying dehydration can produce nausea, vomiting, headaches, and low blood pressure. The latter can lead to fainting or dizziness, especially if the standing position is assumed quickly. In severe heat stroke, there may be confused, hostile, or seemingly intoxicated behavior. Heart rate and respiration rate will increase as blood pressure drops and the heart attempts to maintain adequate circulation. Eventually the victim will experience organ failure therefore resulting in death..."

As soon as the man dropped to the ground dead Zaheed also stumbled but fell against the cells' wall to catch himself, but then too did he fall to his knees shivering. Zaheed had been overusing his power, but not only that, as Zaheed fed the rebel his heat, Zaheed lost his very own. Zaheed body heat was now dropping incredibly low and the weakness of his method was revealed. It was not the weakness of the power however, he knew how to use it correctly perhaps he would not be in deathly temperatures now. But Zaheed was never an expert with magic however he was indeed flawed when it came to it. "But... Hypothermia," Zaheed identified what he knew was a fault with his use of this new power. Day and night he practiced and practiced, trying to get over the withdraw he suffers, but only failure. "C-core b-b-body's lost of subsistent b-b-body heat. Moderate stages include violent shivers, muscle mis-coordination, mild confusion... Surface blood vessels contract further as the body-- as the body-- as-- as..." Zaheed was just so cold he could not finish his sentence, but just remain their shaking, feeling helpless.

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"But these are just mice. Come, let me show you the true wonder of this power."

If Deborah had been interested to find out what the king had wanted to show her before it was nothing compared to what she felt now. She wasn't sure what it was that she felt so for but she just found it all very thrilling. So of course she followed the king closely behind as he walked out and made way to the dungeons. She found it odd at first but then the pieces started to fall into place.

When he entered one of the cells Deborah just stood in the opening watching what was happening, listening to the words that were said. Deborah didn't care the slightest about traitors, and she doubted that the king cared about such things either. He had said it to her personally, that he didn't care about the tribe. He cared for himself. And that was what she thought trigged the king's anger, that the man had spoken badly of king Zaheed himself. She found it rather funny that he claimed that it was the treason that bugged him.

As he displayed his ability once more but this time on an actual human Deborah stayed away this time, she had seen it up close once so she just kept her distance. It was still just as amazing as the first time she saw it, if not even more this time around. It was not that Deborah was a horrid person, okay she was. She couldn't help but delight in the ability and the way the creatures died. It was all so terrific.

At least Deborah believed that until the king himself fell to the ground, and as he did she stood still just watching him. There were a lot of unusual words in his descriptions of the powers. What he called it to name two, she translated them to extremely hot and possibly extremely cold. At least that's was what it looked like having him shivering and stuttering on the floor, suddenly his earlier behavior didn’t seem so odd anymore. If this was the results of him practicing his new ability she could understand his earlier personality change.

Without moving Deborah just smacked her mouth, "So, what now king? Should I save you or just ignore it?" She was just being mean, she had no reason to let him freeze to death. If she did that it would only lead to her own death, she was the last one being around him when he died. She would be blamed for it.

Without waiting for an answer, because she doubted she would get one, she just walked over to him and crouched down, "No worries, king. You have me on your side. I won't let you die, so I guess I should warm you up then?" With that sentence her globe of light appeared from her palm, floating in the air. She let it grow until the heat of it could be felt inside the whole room, making her who wasn't cold at the moment get small sweet drops covering her face. The thing about Deborah's light was that it wasn't just pretty, it was warm as well. The best description of it would probably be that she created small sun's that she controlled, and the bigger she let them get the darker the color they had got while the heat got more intense.

While the globe floated in the air in front of the king she started to rub his limbs to get the circulation going again, she guessed that it worked like that. Deborah didn't know, she had no clue about anything when it came to the body and its anatomy. But it wasn't like she could ask the king either since he was so cold that the only thing that had left his mouth in the end was words she couldn't even distinguish because of his horrible stuttering.

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The nest day when Eirene woke up the night before seemed to be a dream. It sounded so unlikely that someone had died, wasn't that just too ironical? If it was because Eirene had lost the true meaning of death after thinking about it so much or something blocking the tears and sadness Eirene couldn't answer. She just didn't feel sad, well not the way she knew she should be experiencing it. She wasn't crying, she wasn't unable to get out of bed in the morning. She just felt empty, as if something was missing. Horrible enough she even thought to herself if she would be allowed to study the body later. She knew the answer to that already, it would be no. So there was no meaning to even ask.

When Eirene made her way out of her bedroom she found the house to be oddly quiet, it was as if the whole building had sunken deep down into slumber. Not even a single sound could be heard, and as she walked around looking for the others she didn’t find anyone. In the end she was standing in the middle of the living room and wondering if everyone was still sleeping because she had not been bold enough to check their chambers. That would be too intrusive of her, but while she passed her father’s room she could hear sounds be made from the inside. It was odd because usually he would be at the palace by now, she lightly knocked on the wood.

The sound from the inside stopped and soon enough the door opened, through the gap she looked up at her father's swollen face. It looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep that night, his eyes red and watery. Eirene had seen this happening before, when her mother passed away so she knew he had been crying. But not even the look of her father's crying face made it sting in her chest, she still felt empty. As if her emotions had taken an vacation and left her body.

With a rough and rasping voice her father tried to force forward a smile, it turned out to be a grimace instead, "Oh, it's you Eirene... Do you need something?"

Eirene just shook her head while still looking up at him without blinking, "No, I'm good. I heard sounds from the inside and found it odd, you're usually not at home this late in the mornings."

For a short moment surprisement got displayed on the man’s face when he realized how sunny it was outside, because inside his room the curtains where still covering the windows making the whole room look as if it was still night, "Oh, I'm sorry dearie... I didn't realize... Uhm... Actually, I have something I would like you to do. I meant to go and give them this by myself but I guess I forgot..." With that her father disappeared for a short moment, hurrying into the room again while Eirene stood and waited outside the door. When he returned he placed an envelope in her hands before stroking her head softly, "This, give the king and the other's this. It's my resignation letter."

For the first time this morning Eirene got thrown off guard, she stared down at the letter and was just about to ask her father what he meant but the door had already been shut close again. It still confused her however, for him to do something like that just because of the death of Embla. Perhaps he blamed himself or his work, that it somehow was a part of why she had died along with three other's that night.

Even though Eirene never got her answers to why her father decided to withdraw his position as an adviser she walked over to the palace, she doubted that anyone else of her siblings would do it. While inside she told the guards of her reason to visit and told them that her father had requested her to deliver the message personally. In the end she did get the directions to which she would be heading and so she walked through that stunning place again, taking every ounce of it inn with her wide opened eyes.

When she finally arrived to the place the guards had directed her too she knocked lightly on the door once again and waited for an invitation. When she got one she entered the room and walked over to their leader and held out the letter, "It's from my father. He wanted to give it to you by himself but he... is unable to leave his room at the moment. Oh!" On the inside Eirene cursed her forgetfulness and she curtseyed, "It's a pleasure to meet again, my Lord."

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General King Zaheed

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"So, what now king? Should I save you or just ignore it?"

Zaheed was really now showing his weaknesses, but it was not like he wasn't planning to. Sure he was hoping that he would not collapse to the floor and wrap himself in a ball begging, for some type of heat. But he always was not absolutely sure that he ad mastered his power. Thus he brought his mage to assist him in overcome the obstacle. However even if Deborah simply did choose not to say him, Zaheed knew that he would have to lay there in his own self-created torment until his magic was strong enough to light a saving flame. It was what he had been doing for the past couple days, reason for why he had been acting strange earlier. But what Deborah could do was kill him, which of course Zaheed would not be quite okay with, but its not like he could do anything about it.

But why did Zaheed put himself in a situation like that? Let his guard down and show is weakness to Deborah? It was because if there was one thing Zaheed was good at it was reading people, thus reason he also had the talent of manipulating people. And something told him that Deborah did not see him as an enemy. And something was indeed when he was testing her, the first time, when he grabbed her neck, she did not attack. The second time was when he drew his sword out against her, still she did not attack. So there was no sign that Zaheed could suspect that Deborah would want him dead.

"No worries, king. You have me on your side. I won't let you die, so I guess I should warm you up then?"

Zaheed was never a man that ever wanted someone's help, but he could not be aggravated that she help him, not after experiencing the potential of Deborah's magic. Sure he had seen the glowing orb, but to feel it- that was amazing. It opened his eyes to heat and the power of. It inspired him even more to look deeper into his own though he had failed numerously to rid his body of its after-effects. Zaheed would have started at the bright ball but his eyes were not use to the light, thus he was forced to close them. However he definitely could still feel the greatness.

When he was finally heated up, Zaheed realized something, its not about the power that amazed him, its was the one using that power. And because of this, he knew he made the right choice. But well sure, she was rude to him at times, but the same went for him, especially when he decides to get aggressive. Zaheed rose up from the ground as he looked into Deborah's light gray eyes. Since their second visit in her room, Zaheed was beginning to actually like Deborah herself and not her power, he started to see her for her, and not some object, not some precious jewel. It was first her wisdom that impressed him, now her loyalty that could be said to have charmed him.

"Amazing... And I'm not talking just about your powers, you are already know how impressed I am with your abilities. But what you did... I admire your loyalty. Glad to have you on my side." For once he was happy with another being, besides his pet raven. And for her loyalty, Zaheed truthfully respected Deborah, something so few people gain. But there was so few people that Zaheed believed cared about him, or more like accepted the fact that they cared about him.

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For a while Deborah was wondering if she was doing the helping right, if it was this that she should be doing. Sure, she could go and ask the guards for help to bring the king up from the cold dungeons but something told her that he wouldn't have appreciated her doing so. But however, Deborah had never been forced to help someone recover from such severe hypo... hype... whatever he had called it. Coldness. But when the king moved again, even rose to his feet’s, Deborah patted herself on the back mentally for succeeding.

"Amazing... And I'm not talking just about your powers, you are already know how impressed I am with your abilities. But what you did... I admire your loyalty. Glad to have you on my side."

For a short moment Deborah lost her focus and just blinked at the praise, she had heard him praise her persona once before. But now he did it again, it wasn't her light, he actually called her amazing. That short moment when she got completely distracted was the exact moment the light she had created died out as well, it imploded and vanished from what the eye could detect. Even though she found it rather humiliating that her surprise was shown so clearly it wasn't anything she could do anything about when it already was done so she just straightened up her back again and shrugged slightly. Acting as if it was nothing, a child’s play, easy, "You are absolutely right in that statement. Indeed, I am amazing. It's not a secret."

If Deborah was even the slightest embarrassed from stating such a thing? No, not even a little. If there was something someone would learn after getting to know Deborah it was the fact that she was extremely self-centered. All was about her and what was best for her. And of course the king's satisfaction with her were what was best for her and she never said no to compliments. She adored them, even though she wasn't that used to hearing them come from others. But that was even nicer.

Cocky enough she added with a grin, "Well, you're not so bad yourself. But I can understand that's it's hard to surpass someone like me." If she regretted it after letting it leave her lips? No, actually not. She had just saved the man the man - according to herself, she felt like she deserved to act this way. And it was not an uncommon act coming from her.

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Eirene watched quietly as their leader spoke to his advisors and the how they all left the room. It was not like she wanted to disturb anything important, however, she doubted that it was what she had done. Her father had been missing and they couldn't make any decisions without hearing his opinion too. But that time was over now, she knew it but it was still hard to accept. To think of her father as something as simple as just a noble it just didn't fit him. Or fit the previous version of her father, a new one had emerged.

When they were alone she took her time studying Zianro as he read the letter her father had written. Not even she knew what it contained, or she knew the basic information but not how detailed it was or which words her father had used. But by the expression that was shown she doubted it was good ones. Perhaps she was a bit creepy were she stood and just watched without blinking, but that was sadly the way she was. She liked to observe, she found pleasure in doing so.

"However, what your father has done now is make my life even more miserable. The fool. Does he know how long it takes to pick a successor? I'm gonna have to pick one of your siblings or even you, but I doubt you'd want that kind of job."

When the mentioned of her Eirene just yanked slightly backward with a disturbed look in her eyes, to be positioned as her father's successor was the last thing she wanted to happen to her. She was not even a little interested in politics and such a position would force her to dedicate her life to such things. No, that was not something for her.

"Being a ruler is so Lonesome! The palace feels like an isolated dungeon when the ruler doesn't have a spouse or issue, something your father and some of the other advisers were trying to push on me... But I digress, the reason for your father's resignation is personal, and I quite understand that. Your sister, correct? A thousand apologies and my condolences."

"Oh, yes. Father couldn't handle the news, he didn't even want to get out of his chamber to greet me this morning, he just handed me the letter. I think he blames himself for what happened to her, that his position was what brought that upon her." There was no fuss, Eirene got right to the point and spoke of her thoughts about the issue, she didn't see why she would need to avoid the topic. As mentioned her emotions about it all was defected. "Anyway, if the successor needs to be someone from my family I would advise you to take my oldest brother in consideration. He like politics and has been discussing it with father since he got old enough, he's a strong mage as well. I do think you would like him, I like him. He's nice."

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General King Zaheed

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"You are absolutely right in that statement. Indeed, I am amazing. It's not a secret."

Zaheed had no problem with Deborah believing she was amazing, no problem at all. But it was not until she had said, "Well, you're not so bad yourself. But I can understand that's it's hard to surpass someone like me." It was that second sentence that bothered him the most. Zaheed saw it that because he revealed his weakness, that she found Zaheed lesser than her. Even though she may have been fair from what he assumed, Zaheed starting to believe it was mistake displaying his power until it met perfection. However even when she did say such, Zaheed's face did not change, in fact, anyone would think he was not offended, not offended at all. His face didn't change, he did not saying anything but, "Is that so?", but even then his tone did not change.

The reason why Zaheed summoned Deborah in the first place was not only to show how he could transfer heat by either absorbing or feeding it to other sources, this sources being living breathing bodies, but also so that he would hear her advice or instruction of how to overcome the hindrance. But now, he feared he asked her, he may sound weak, and if there was one thing Zaheed hated to be it was indeed weak. He already let enough walls down, and at this point he was not in the mood to ask. He was not curious nor was he open to hear anything else she said.

But why did Zaheed continue to act like he was completely fine? Thanos men were always taught if you have a problem with someone then either work it out, but if you are not willing to do even that specifically at that moment slit their throat, or have their head on a pike. It is better to settle your problems right there and then rather than to brew a storm of revenge. But Zaheed was one to wait, because it was not all the time that the settled things or that he resorted to violence, such as with Zotar. Instead Zaheed waited for either the perfect time to strike, or the perfect time to make a comeback. And that was what he was going to do with Deborah, wait until he was strong and able to show dominance, bring a comeback.

Though for now, he exited the dungeon and retreated back to his study were he then continued on his path to becoming that god he pictured himself to be.

ooc// Just on an off note red bold text is Meka italic is voice and black bold is Crow

“This place is not where you belong, move on immediately.” The soft words floated in the back of a young women’s mind, ignored fort he most part, as she walked down a sickly looking street that reeked of despair. It barked at her, critiquing the unkempt appearance the surroundings had taken on since entering this city. The dismembered voice nagged at the women as she continued, growing louder and more resentful with each step she took further into the city.

“The Gods shouldn’t speak of their worshippers in such derogatory ways, it is very unbecoming of you.” She quipped at the voice, the interjection shocked it into silence giving her a few moments of peace as she continued, yet to see a single person. Mekaisto had heard stories of the grand Murtovaara, the largest city in Imos, and she had heard that there were people in need of help here. The city, while surely grander the closer you got to the King, was in ruins in the outskirts, poverty had taken hold of these people in a similar fashion to parasitic insects.

“Please, as if any of these meat bags could be considered worshippers. This entire place looks as if it has forsaken the world, replacing its forests with buildings, and the dirt with stone.” The voice retorted to her, its words clearly articulating the distaste it felt for what the people of Murtovaara had done. Meka stopped to scoff at it, her long wooden staff rapped against the cobbled road she was traveling.

“You are aware that stone is part of your precious nature?” She tugged at the wolf pelt draped over her head, the wooden antlers sewn into the top used to feel like a burden she carried for her gods, but recently they had felt lighter and her burden felt less. It had her wondering if she should remake the pelt with real buck antlers. She tried to tune out the voice as it began on a tirade about how she should be angry in its place as a child and worshipper of the Gods, and although she knew it was right Meka had come to Murtovaara for a reason and did not plan on leaving with out it.

She whistled softly and looked up as a bird the color of the night sky circled over head before swooping down and perching on Meka’s outstretched arm. Her deep red shawl protected her arms from her bird’s piercing talons. The bird was haphazard looking at best; its feathers were patchy and uneven looking and its beak and talons looked jagged and unkempt. To any passerby the raven would look a sickly mess, but it was Meka’s soul animal.

“I looked around but could not pinpoint any shops selling the item you are looking for.” It squawked before climbing up and settling on her shoulder and nestling itself there quietly. Meka sighed, she knew finding the cauterizing powder made only in Murtovaara was going to be hard, especially since she didn’t even know how deep into the city she was going to have to travel, but that powder held special properties that couldn’t be find in normal herb remedies to easing the pain of cauterizing a wound. It would be a valuable addition to her collection.

Tugging at the wolf pelt, she pulled it so it hid most of her features, although Meka knew she wasn’t one for subtlety, between the red cloak, her raven, and the antler helmet, any she passed would have their attention drawn to her. She didn’t mind though, Meka had spent her childhood the infamous bad luck child, a few strangers giving her disapproving looks would not be hard to brush off.

Meka paused when she spotted a few children playing in the street off to one side. They did not look healthy, much too skinny, but somehow they still managed to have the energy to goof off, it made her smile a bit and she walked over to them. They didn’t notice her until she was nearly towering over them and their reaction was to scream and run, not that Meka could blame them, she was probably a frightening sight for young children. She placed the handful of colorfully wrapped candies in her hand and placed them on the ground, if they wanted it, they could take it on their own. Over Mekaisto’s time travelling she had learned that food was the best way to win over animals and people alike, and when treating a child candy was the best way to earn their trust. She pushed herself up with her staff walking away at a leisurely pace.

“They took the candy.” Her raven, Crow, mumbled against her ear, Meka couldn’t help but smile, hopefully the candy brought they a small amount of happiness. She continued on her way, and as Meka got deeper into the city the population became more dense and the attention she was bringing herself became much more apparent. She continued walking until she got to what appeared to be a merchant distract, the streets lined with canvas stand vendors who were more interested in a sale than what you looked like.

“Smelly, disgusting, I hate it here.” Voice chimed in, a coherent sentence from what had been a long string of inaudible mumbling. Meka wrinkled her nose at the comment.

“Do gods even have a sense of smell?” She asked perturbed, her sudden comment drawing the attention of a few people around her, but they all shuffled away.

”Of course, we can smell, I smell everything that you smell. You should not be subjecting an all powerful god to such things.” It bit back.

”If you’re so all powerful and godly, why don’t you move your nose somewhere else?” She shot back unimpressed. As she waited for a response Meka’s attention was ripped away as someone bumped into her, as she moved to snap at them the sharp jingling sound of coins stopped her. This man was stealing her coin purse.

“Theif!” She screeched, not hesitating to take off after him in the busy street. “Somebody catch that man, he’s stolen my money!

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"Technically I am an exile of that tribe, but yes I can use fire magic. Don't worry, I only use fire to harm when absolutely necessary. Which has been a lot recently, and that bastard Zaheed is to blame. I am only in your village to relax and now that you are sulking in a corner I am here to help you."

Cailu immediately relax a little when the man admitted to being exiled from the tribe, if that was the case he didn't need to worry about having the fire tribe knocking at the front gate any minute. If he had to deal with something like that as well as being on his own now, it would be too much. Something like that would just be too big for him to handle by himself, he would panic and not know what to do. He would embarrass not only himself but the tribe and Ara as well, make them all look bad.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, I will see you tomorrow at dawn to start your healing process. And don't try to get out of it, you would only be cutting yourself off from the world even more."

When the strange man left the table once more Cailu just scratched his chin in confusement, the man spoke of them meeting again the next morning. But was it an order or would the man just show up at the front door and knock? It was not like he could go to the wrong house, it was obvious which house the leader lived in and it was not that hard to find for a person that had never been there either. It was in the center of the village, whichever way you took you would be able to find it at some point.

For a while Cailu continued to ponder upon the strange man’s words and what he could have meant by that. It was not like the man could give orders to Cailu, it was Cailu who ran this town. He was the one giving out orders, even though it hadn't been many the last couple of weeks. But it just felt so strange. Whatever idea he man now had Cailu doubted he wanted to be a part of it.

When the outside world got darker Cailu in the end decided to leave the tavern so he just pulled the hood of his cloak lower again before greeting Felicity goodbye and left.

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The hours got long and dreadful when you were sitting inside the room without no windows located in the castle's basement. Sure, Deborah had everything she could wish for and more down there. It was so much more than what she had gotten before, but even though she had all of those worldly thing it still didn't make her presence down there more stand able. She wasn't a lover of human interaction and she had never been one, but to never actually meet anyone else but castle guards from time to time and only have four compact stone walls to stare at. It could break anybody in the end.

It got to her, the loneliness and lack of human voices. Even though she wasn't forced to stay inside the castle she had, mainly because she knew that she needed to be available to find once the king felt like meeting her again. If she was gone when that was going to happen she guessed he would be even more dissatisfied with her. Why he even was that in the first place was not something she could understand but she didn't try to understand it either. She just knew that he kept his distance and that was why she felt like the walls was getting closer to her, making it hard to breathe since he was the only one she actually spoke to inside this huge pile of stones.

So when she couldn't stand it anymore, when it felt like her solitude would lead to her mind actually breaking apart she left the castle in the end. Not caring about being available when the king needed her, it was not her problem anymore. What was he going to do about it anyway? She wasn't chained to the walls. Once outside it felt like she finally could breathe with ease, she wasn't running away - she took a break from being someone else’s property.

She had no destination, no one she wanted to visit or talk to. Actually she didn't have any plans to interact with anyone outside either, it was just a relief to have people around her and hear their conversations like some distant murmur instead of the echoes of footsteps in the dungeons. But her peaceful stroll got disturbed by someone suddenly shouting for help. Did Deborah usually help people? No. It was not something that came naturally for her. The fact that she helped the king was mainly because that was what she was supposed to do, she had gotten chosen and of course she wanted to prove that she indeed was the best one for the job.

But just today because she in fact had the thief running towards her she choose to help. But it wasn't because she wanted to help, she was annoyed and angry after being forsaken for so long that she just happened to let the poor man be the outlet of those feelings. What she did was simply punch the man when he was about to pass her, and to be honest to feel the impact of her knuckles and the man’s body was wonderful. It was like all of her stress just ran off her and turned into a small puddle on the ground.

Mekaisto chased after the man who had stolen from her without hesitation, but despite that she found the distant between her and the man growing with every passing second. The young woman was not the most physically capable, she relied much more heavily on her knowledge than physical abilities, and that was proving to be disastrous in this situation. It didn’t help that her antlers, which hadn’t seemed any a burden a few hours ago, felt like the weight of the world. If the thief got away with her money she’d have no way of buying the cauterizing powder she had travelled so far for. Leaving this city without that powder was not an option.

“I knew you shouldn’t have expected anything less from people that live in a place with no trees.” The voice chimed as she focused on keeping an eye on her thief. Meka could only hope that something would halt their getaway, whether that be some sort of Good Samaritan or the man’s own clumsiness she prayed to the gods for some sort of help, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still losing sight of him.

“Crow don’t lose sight of the thief, I’ll have to follow you.” She managed to pant out as her lungs burned from pursuing the man. She was not fit enough for this kind of physical exertion. Luckily, as Crow took off she was able to slow to a walk, leaning heavily on her wooden staff as she watched the flight of her companion as it followed the thief.

“Of all the towns and villages we have travelled to never once have you been pickpocketed. I was right when I said we should leave, but no, you had to go against the will of the gods and now look where you are.” The voice ranted in the back of her head loudly and gleefully, clearly pleased that it had been right about not coming to this city. Meka tried her best to ignore it as she followed the path to where Crow swooped down into the mass of people and pushed forward until she was coming up on where he landed.

“Oh Heavens, please just be quiet? It’s not going to make me leave.” Meka snapped as she came up on the scene. The thief was on the ground clutching his side in pain, Crow perched on his shoulder and a satisfied woman looking down at the scene. She took in the scene kicked her foot into the thief’s side as hard as she could.

“Don’t steal from people who have the gods on their side!” She shouted before connecting another kick into his side. Crow squawked as the man shuddered under the impact and flapped back to the perch on her shoulder. Meka leaned down and pried her coin purse out of the man’s hand and turned towards the woman.

She looked very tall and extremely tough, and Meka felt the need to brace herself when she spoke to the woman. “The gods have given their thanks and blessing for your assistance.”

“I’m not blessing anyone in this city. Voice retorted immediately after her statement and Meka felt herself groan in exasperation.

“Would you stop being difficult for five seconds? You’re throwing a tantrum like a child.”

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Deborah watched quietly as the man sank to the ground coughing by the impact, she couldn't care less for him or the lady that soon showed up. The fact that the tiny lady started to kick the man only brought a small sneer to Deborah's lips as she watched the man's face express his agony. She had always enjoyed the pain and sorrow of other's because it always felt like some sort of revenge every time, that they got what they deserved. Because everyone was in fact bad people, there was no good ones in this world, so when disaster struck them Deborah just felt like they had it coming. She knew she wasn't a good person but she didn't try to be one either.

Something that truly annoyed Deborah, or made her pity the smaller woman, was the fact that she continuously spoke of gods even when she expressed her gratitude. Deborah didn't believe in gods, she found the thought of them ridiculous and everyone that did have faith delusional. She didn't like to speak to them or even pay them any attention so the only response she gave the express of gratitude was a low grumbling sound that didn't let the listener figure out the true words. But her dissatisfaction could clearly be seen.

“Would you stop being difficult for five seconds? You’re throwing a tantrum like a child.”

She had taken a few steps away from the scene, about to leave and continue her stroll somewhere else where she wouldn't need to be bother with someone nagging about gods this and gods that. However, just when her foot was about to hit the ground a third time she instead stopped right in the middle of the movement. She felt how her over lip twitched at what the woman said, because clearly she couldn't interpret it as if the woman was talking with someone other than her. Who would it be no one from the surrounding had done or said anything?

With a quick turn Deborah marched back to the woman with darkness in her eyes. She was already moody because of the last couple of days and this was pretty much the event that made her mood cross that last line before an explosion. With a voice as bitter as it could be she folded her arms while looking down at the woman, "Difficult? 'Throwing tantrums'? What are you speaking of, god lover?"

"Difficult? 'Throwing tantrums'? What are you speaking of, god lover?" Meka paused for a moment, her eyes trailing over the towering woman who had looked as if she was about to leave. Despite she being the one to catch Meka’s thief, the young women found that she didn’t like her, at all. When Meka had expressed her thanks the other woman couldn’t even muster a single word to show that she acknowledged Meka had spoken to her. Just a grunt, which was not only rude, but insulting.

“Leave her be little one, starting fights with this one will not end well for you.” The voice chirped in the back of her mind, but it sounded tepid and unsure. She ignored it because now Meka felt like she had a bone to pick with this rude woman. She turned to the woman and squared her shoulders. Pulling back on the wolf pelt shrouding her face in order to get a better look at the tall lady she scowled.

“If someone expresses gratitude towards you it is at the very least polite to acknowledge them. Were you never brought up with manners?” It stirred unpleasant emotions in her stomach that Meka had to tilt her head up in order to make eye contact with the unpleasant women because she was so tall. The smaller girl felt her grip tighten on her staff, she may have been smaller and most definitely weaker than this woman, but she would not back down.

“Little one, I can’t have you getting killed in a petty squabble, the Tall one is too strong, I’ve got too much left to do.” The voice murmured in a tone Meka guessed was supposed to be calming, but it only made her frown become more pronounced.

“She may be stronger, and taller, but I will not stand for this rudeness.” She said, not breaking eye contact. Her eyes were set, determined not to be intimidated, just because the woman standing before her was larger and stronger. The voice was whining in the back on her head, becoming louder and more desperate for her to flee from this scene. It was the first time the voice expressed anything close to desperation, and she wondered if the Gods hadn’t so much had choosen her, but gotten stuck with her.

And while that wasn’t so much a pleasant thought, Meka was not a stranger to what confrontation did to people, she was also not a stranger to being assaulted by people who did not appreciate her not backing down when they were aggressive towards her. She was used to being named called and having garbage and rocks thrown at her. She had spent her life not being pushed around no matter the situation, and she was not about to back down because the Gods suddenly decided it wasn’t a good idea. She had never let anyone control her, and while she loved her Gods, thye would not control her either. She would live the way she wished to live.

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There was always such a strange satisfaction filling Deborah's body when someone reacted like she wanted them to do when she provoked them. A warm feeling that filled her stomach and spread, close to the feeling of butterflies because of the tension in the situation. She couldn't put her finger on why it was like that, if she got nervous because they prepared to talk back or if it just was the thrill of the moment that made it feel like that. Either way she enjoyed it to such an extent that it did border on too much.

“If someone expresses gratitude towards you it is at the very least polite to acknowledge them. Were you never brought up with manners?”

The last comment just made Deborah laugh, a cold mocking one. She found it hilarious, that the tiny lady complained about her manners of all things. But sure, she was right, Deborah couldn't care less about such trivial things. With a mocking grin she bent forward towards the woman, like she tried to get on the same level as her but it was in fact just a demonstration of the fact that she indeed towered over the other one, "Well, can't you ask your gods why I wasn't brought up with manners? Or why not ask them why I had to raise myself? They are 'gods' right, they should be able to answer those questions." With a cold voice she added after straightening her back again, "Well, I suppose I forgot to teach myself manners, so terrible of me."

Once again the woman was talking but somehow Deborah didn't feel as if the woman spoke to her, but neither anyone around them since it seemed as if she actually answered someone but no one had said anything. This did make Deborah slightly confused which could be seen in her face, as always she was like an open book to read. Her eyebrows that was already furrowed because of anger changed direction slightly while she eyed the woman from the tip of her feet’s to the horns on her outfit. It indeed was a strange woman, probably not from around here - she didn't exactly look like anyone from Murtovaara. But Deborah couldn't say where she came from either since she had no experience from outside of the city, she had never felt like traveling and neither had she had the money needed in her possession earlier.

After Deborah had realized that the woman was actually talking to herself she got a bad taste in her mouth, she hesitated for a short moment. She saw the woman as crazy and the thought of crazy people did make her a bit uncertain. They had a tendency to be unpredictable and she didn't fancy it too much. For a short moment she did think about leaving before it got ugly but her pride stopped her, both her heart and head told her that even though the woman was crazy she didn't need to fear her. Deborah knew that she was strong, she knew that if it turned for the worse she could take down the woman even without her special abilities.

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In the middle of his rampage he felt how he was lifted up from the chair and in rage his rampages just got worse. He cursed the men that dragged him out of the tavern and he cursed towards his oldest friend as well, but it was always like that. The man was used by now, he knew that tomorrow morning he would find Eden at his doorstep apologizing for his behavior. Everyone that was a regular knew that it always was like this with the oldest deSoleh son.

When he had gotten dragged out from the place he wouldn't try to get inside again, instead he would wobble home instead. His wife knew about it as well and she would wait up for him to return so she could help him get into the bed. It was the usual procedure. I was somewhat of a must, no one felt the need to change it. The owner and friend of Eden made a lot of money on his drinking problem while his wife knew that he would return home at almost the same time at night since they would close the door for him at almost the same time every day when it happened.

So while he started to make his way to his own house he didn't notice the other drunkard that left the tavern and headed sort of the same direction. To tell the truth he was too busy focusing on where he put his feet’s because it felt as if he was walking on a ship in the middle of a storm, everything just swayed around him.

The revelation that this woman had not had an easy childhood brought a pang of regret to Meka’s mindset. Still though, it was not enough for her to back down from the tall woman. She had heard the spiel before, ‘why did the gods do this?’ and ‘Gods can do anything on a whim, right?’ the Gods worked in mysterious ways, in grand ways, their own ways, that was why they were gods. Humans, no matter how strong, no matter how miserable, could not understand how they acted. Even Meka could not understand all their whims and actions and they spoke directly to her on a regular basis.

“The Gods are not wish granters, they keep the balance of the worlds, not the people.” She retorted stiffly. Meka felt her features tighten as the tall woman bent down to reach her level, clearly as a way to try and demean the smaller woman and point out her advantages over Meka. It made anger bubble inside of her. There are things people cannot change about themselves, specifically their physical aspects, this person was clearly just a jerk to highlight them, and her scowl morphed into a glare.

The glare didn’t let up even as the other woman’s facial expressions changed. The familiar wariness strangers took up with Meka when they realized something off. Something she was very accustomed to by now. The rude person in front of her would say more rude things about her, surely, when they realized she was not like everyone else. She softened her glare, but paid specific attention to make sure her expression did not give any other emotion away other than discontent.

“Little one, this is the last time I ask nicely, leave this city.” The voice whispered to her patiently and she had to suppress a growl.

“Stop calling me little one, I have already told you I am not leaving until I get the powder.” She hissed the words to the voice, but did not break eye contact with the woman in front of her. The woman in front of her already had made her opinions about Meka, from the way her expression shifted ever so slightly, and the momentary pause, the small woman knew that she had come to the conclusion Meka’s mental state was not healthy. There was nothing she could do about that.

“I demand your apologizes for insulting not me, but my gods who had so graciously given you their gratitude.” She said matter-of-factly, slamming the end of her staff down to the cobbled street as she spoke. She felt the Gods that spoke to her rumble in disagreement inside her head, but did not acknowledge them this time. She had no patience to continue indulging their child like behavior.

“I refuse to leave you alone until I have received a genuine apology.” Even though this woman was stronger than her, if Mekaisto sent Crow on her tail she doubted the woman could get away. She would be able to catch up to her eventually.

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“The Gods are not wish granters, they keep the balance of the worlds, not the people.”

Deborah had never understood why people choose to believe in such things as gods or some sort of magical force controlling the world and what happened. Why would people put their faith and wellbeing in things that couldn't be proven to exist? It puzzled her but not in a good way, it annoyed her. She found those sort of people extremely frustrating, priests and priestess of all types. They all just preached about the same things - making people believe in foolish nonsense to get some sort of control over them. Or their money.

Without Deborah even giving the woman an answer she once more snapped and complained about someone or something calling her little one, Deborah found her crazy talk extremely unpleasant. So her upper lip twitched once more but this time in disgustment, revealing the teeth's for s split second while she wrinkled her nose. If the woman’s appearance and crazy talk wasn't enough there was another thing that Deborah had noticed. While she had stood here talking with a woman a single raven was circulating above them, she knew that people kept birds as pets but she found it rather creepy anyway. Not the crow itself but the fact that it was still up in the air just flying round and round.

“I demand your apologizes for insulting not me, but my gods who had so graciously given you their gratitude. I refuse to leave you alone until I have received a genuine apology.”

Once again Deborah just responded with a cold laughter, "Apologize to you gods? Kid, I am not apologizing to anyone. Not you or your gods. And clearly there is nothing you can do to force me to do it either. I advise that you stop with your foolishness because people that makes me angry usually end up blind. Do you want to become blind, child?" As she spoke you could notice how the space between her tightly grasped fingers started to glow more and more, a bright sharp light shine through them. It wasn't that Deborah lost focus and let her emotions take over, it was all a demonstrations of her power.

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As he made his way towards his house he heard the sound of someone else throwing up and it did make his own stomach make backflips, he felt how everything he had drunk under the evening was coming up again. It was an unpleasant feeling but somehow he was able to keep it down and just continue his wobble.

It didn't take long before he reached his own doorstep, with a weak hand he pounded on it to capture his wife's attention and like always he did. After a few seconds she opened it for him and helped him inside. Eden's own house was not nearly as fancy as the family house where most of his siblings that wasn't married yet still lived but he liked it anyway since it was his own. But of course he lived close to the mansion, his father and deceased mother wanted to keep their family members close to them.

Once inside his wife helped hem upstairs to where their chamber lied, once there she helped him get out of the clothes and wobble to the bed. Once his head hit the cushion he fell asleep immediately. She however continued to stay up for a while to just clean up after him, but soon she lied beside him as well.

”Apologize to you gods? Kid, I am not apologizing to anyone. Not you or your gods. And clearly there is nothing you can do to force me to do it either. I advise that you stop with your foolishness because people that makes me angry usually end up blind. Do you want to become blind, child?" Meka figured it would not be easy to get this woman to give sort of apology for insulting the gods, that much she had figured out from the short time she had spoken with her that she would not bend to Meka’s will. She had watched this woman’s expression distort in disgust when Mekaisto had snapped at the voice. Every once in awhile she let people go when they insulted her, but something about this woman was getting under her skin. People always gave her nasty looks, people always wrinkled their nose at her, so why should this woman be any different from anyone else?

She watched the woman’s eyes flicker up to Crow, her soul animal circling the sky above them, keeping an eye out for others and allies of the tall woman, and she listened to the woman’s threats. Violent threats were always fun, but she did not retract her previous statement. Blindness was nothing to be afraid of, Meka had met many people in her travels who had lost senses and they had been no different from anyone else. The small girl crossed her arms over her chest and planted herself firmly. “Your intimidations will not scare me away.” She stated boldly, and even as her eyes flickered down to the woman’s hands she did not back down.

”Get out, if you stay the possibility of death is impossibly high!” The voice quipped at her, yet she continued to oppose its will. She felt disgust bubble in her gut as she watched the woman’s hands glowing, the light escaping through the cracks of her balled fist. Meka had figured this woman was a member of the fire tribe, but she had met people of the fire tribe before and had never seen a power that produced light. Mekaisto clicked her tongue and flicked her eyes back up to the tall woman’s. The light coming from her fist was bright and strong, it looked warm and she knew the possibilities of such a unique power could be endless.

“It is a shame you have such a beautiful power,” she started coldly. ”Its potential is wasted when used in such ugly ways.”

Meka kept her expression still and serious, aware that she was provoking the woman in front of her, but she was always one to say what she thought. The ability to create light was something special, incredibly so, she was surely favored by one of the gods at a point in time.

The small girl whistled softly for her raven and it swooped down to perch on the end of her staff. Its unkempt feathers sticking out haphazardly and awkwardly like a botched haircut. It looked from the tall woman to Mekaisto and then back at the tall woman. “It does not appear she has any allies in the area coming to aid her.” He squawked his head tilting as he watched the woman with the unusual power.

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“Your intimidations will not scare me away.”

The only response given was a shrug of the shoulders and a roll of her eyes, Deborah didn't get impressed by the woman’s guts. She found them foolish if anything, like she lacked some sort of survival instinct or was just plain stupid. But there had to be people like that in the world as well presumably, Deborah was probably one of them as well since she time after time challenged or got on the kings nerves even though she knew he was the one who held her life and wellbeing in his hands. Perhaps it was the reason why the woman annoyed Deborah even more, she reminded her of how mindless she was herself.

“It is a shame you have such a beautiful power. Its potential is wasted when used in such ugly ways.”

Once again she simply shrugged as she let the ball of light out of her, revealing it to the world. She wasn't ashamed, true she had been once since she wasn't a true fire bender but it was like the woman said. A beautiful power, but also a strong one which was what Deborah put most of her focus on. "You may think it's used in ugly ways but powerful people have found it rather impressive. Why try to be good when the rest of the world is rotten? I choose to just follow the flow and act like everyone else, whatever keeps me alive at the end of the day is good enough for me."

For once in this argument Deborah didn't insult the woman at all, at least not intentionally, the only thing she spoke was what she found to be the truth. It was her way of life and if people had a problem with that it was something that would only bother them, because she knew what had kept her alive. And landed her a place in the castle as well, if she had focused on something like lightshows because they simply was pretty she doubted that the king would even glance her way.

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If the mansion had looked torn and worn out before it was nothing compared to its state at this point. It was like a dead shell, like everything inside it had abandoned it, fled the darkness and sadness which had consumed it. All by himself like always lied Cailu, sleeping. It was the only way for him to hide from the hatred that flooded over him from the tribe. The traitor. He couldn't take it anymore, it was all too much.

But even though Cailu wished to stay inside his dreams and escape reality there was a limit to that as well. Even though it took him a while to awake fully he did notice there was something different with the air around him. But he didn't have the strength to think about it too much, he just stretched out and yawned before slowly sitting up instead.

"Good morning. You sure sleep in late. Tell me, what was your dream?"

The stranger words awoke Cailu rapid, shocked he stared at the man sitting at the end of his bed as if it was something normal. In his tired state Cailu had no memory of what had happened the night before so it wasn't all that strange that he swept his hands towards the man. Making a harsh wind hit him so he was knocked to the ground in self-defense. Because strangers in the bedroom when you wake up would startle anyone, at least it gave Cailu a small heart attack.

After he had done it last night’s conversation made itself reminded in the back of his head and with a rather gloomy mood Cailu swept the blanket around him before standing up, "Oh... It's you..."

When the woman brushed off her responses Meka wasn’t surprised. The way their argument had been going she had already figured that this woman would not take anything she said seriously. Meka was just the crazy girl looking to pick meaningless fights. The woman probably thought she was stupid, insignificant, anything she said was to be brushed off. Her patience was wearing thin and Meka wasn’t getting any closer to getting an apology out of this woman for the rude things she had said about her gods.

When the woman released her power Meka felt her heart stutter in surprise. The release of the light trapped her in her fist looked as though she held a small sun in her palm, and it caught her very off guard. This power may not have been bestowed by the gods but one of the gods actual powers, it was truly magnificent. She could tell by the empty quietness in her head it had startled the voice as well. She cleared her throat as she regained herself, listening to what the woman then spoke.

"You may think it's used in ugly ways but powerful people have found it rather impressive. Why try to be good when the rest of the world is rotten? I choose to just follow the flow and act like everyone else, whatever keeps me alive at the end of the day is good enough for me." The smaller girl felt her stance relax when the woman finished speaking. Her words echoed that of someone who saw that the world had abandoned them. Meka wasn’t sure how to speak to the woman to get her to actually listen to what she had to say. She took a breath and glanced at Crow before looking back at the woman.

“Your life is sad because you let people control you. You limit yourself so much when its clear from your power your life is meant for great things.” Crow cooed in agreement, and she reached up to pat his head. Although Mekaisto had made it a point in her life to never let anyone control her she couldn’t help but relate to this woman. Feeling like the world was pitted against you was a miserable thing, and it made a person look at the world as if survival was the only point to life, just like how this woman seemed to feel. Meka sighed before continuing. “You should leave this city because the rest of the world is so much different.”

”Little one, your goal was to get an apology from this rude woman, stop having a conversation you are wasting time.” The voice was being characteristically difficult, the only position he had taken since she stepped into this city, and Meka rubbed at one of her temples. Dealing with the negativity of two separate entities was bringing on a rather strong headache.

“I understand that you do not care for what I have to say, but I insist you give me an apology for saying rude things of my gods.” Meka wouldn’t consider herself an optimist, but she did try to see the things around her in a positive light since she had spent so much time ignoring the negativity thrown at her. But with the gods acting in such a difficult way she wanted no more than to leave this city as soon as possible.

(ignor)

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“Your life is sad because you let people control you. You limit yourself so much when its clear from your power your life is meant for great things. You should leave this city because the rest of the world is so much different.”

It was all just a matter of perspective, different people would suggest different things. And Deborah guessed that this stranger wouldn't exactly call working for the new fire king was a great thing. But to Deborah it was, even though he was a rather harsh and strange person. But the king was the first one to actually see her power as something great in its own special way and not something abnormal and faulty. Which probably was the reason to why she ended up being a servant to the man. So the stranger was right in one thing, Deborah did end up letting someone control her even though she did try to fight the amount of control he had over her.

"Leaving is easier said than done. As I said, powerful people found my powers impressive, impressive enough to hire me of all people," As she spoke Deborah glanced back up at the castle wondering to herself if she had been gone for too long and her absence had been noticed by now. She decided that it wasn't the case, she wasn't that important. Not important at all actually, if she was she wouldn't be kept in the dark for so long without any information, right? "If I decided to leave the city I would probably end up dead. You know, the Fire tribe doesn't take treason that well. Or I would just end up in chains in the basement instead."

Deborah's thoughts got abruptly stopped as she realized that she had said slightly too much. She was used to being outspoken and not fearing telling anyone anything, but clearly someone she had started arguing with at the street wasn't the right person to tell such things to. After it been done she instantly regretted it, so she dragged her hand down her face while letting out a tired sigh.

“I understand that you do not care for what I have to say, but I insist you give me an apology for saying rude things of my gods.”

Another sigh was let out under the palm of her hand and Deborah glared at the woman from behind her fingers, "Forget it. It's not happening. Now if you are just going to continue to rant about such insignificant things I'm just going to leave because I have better things to do." Like returning to her room before people got upset with her for just leaving without saying anything. Before the little lady could refuse Deborah simply turned around once more while starting to walk back to where she came from.

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The visitor was a much stranger man than Cailu had thought, hearing his laughter from the floor. It did make Cailu take a few steps back while wondering what was wrong with the man, he didn't like him one bit. He made Cailu uncomfortable, it didn't help that Cailu was dressed in his undergarments at the moment - he was nowhere near being respectable dressed for a meeting at the moment.

"Now that is what I am looking for! I am always awed by the natural flow of Wind! You sir have a gift. A gift of the throne of an elemental village. But you fear the responsibility of your title. Now allow me to help you learn how to use it."

If the man’s words was supposed to encourage him it did the opposite, Cailu just wanted to shout at the man that he was wrong. That everyone was wrong. It was not his throne, he knew that now. He had learnt that he didn't want it. He wasn't created to be the one sitting on the throne, he was supposed to protect the one who was. But he couldn't because of all of this madness. That was the reason to why he was trained in how to use his power, so he could protect her. Not himself or the village.

"Ready to begin?"

The smile of the man just made Cailu turn away his eyes, avoiding any sort of contact with him before placing himself on the bed again. "No, no I'm not. And you are wrong." The words felt heavy, like big lumps he had to force out from his mouth. It was never easy to speak, but now it was even harder. The words came from such a deep dark place, the place he found himself in now. He had learnt by his mistakes - he was not the right man for the job as the leader. He wasn't even the true leader, but he now felt like it was wrong that he even pretended to be one. If Ara indeed got better by the treatment she received in Northpass they should stop this act, she could handle herself.

"It's not my responsibility and clearly you have seen that my village doesn't think so either. There is only one true leader here and it's not me." When he finally was able to get it out he suddenly realized what he was supposed to do, what his true responsibility was. So in a sudden movement he stood up once more before moving to his clothes, "But I should be with her, not here playing some charade. It was wrong in the first place and it's wrong now. If you truly are a friend of our tribe you must already know who our true leader is."

"Leaving is easier said than done. As I said, powerful people found my powers impressive, impressive enough to hire me of all people, if I decided to leave the city I would probably end up dead. You know, the Fire tribe doesn't take treason that well. Or I would just end up in chains in the basement instead."

Meka was stunned to silence for a brief moment, surprised by what she had heard. She had heard that the Fire Tribe had its problems, she had seen that when she first approached the city, but the way this woman spoke about her decision did not seem right. In her own tribe Mekaisto could never recall a death sentence, more so a death sentence for wishing to leave and see the world. She watched as the woman’s eyes flicked away and followed them to the castle, probably where she worked and maybe even lived. To think that the Fire Tribe something that sounded like a dungeon was baffling, a basement full of changes sounded something more akin to an adventurous sexual escapade than a form of punishment. She jerked her head back and made a face of mixed disgust and horror at the thought of ‘adventurous sexual escapades.’

Meka cleared her throat, “Leaving is easy, you just have to stop making excuses.” Serious, all strange thoughts cast aside and forgotten. The woman in front of her looked surprised that she had given Meka any information about who she was and what went on within the walls of the Fire Tribe and Meka wondered how often this lady really got outside. However; Meka felt like she was wearing her down, and if she stuck around long enough she would definitely be able to get a sincere apology out of her. The tired sigh was only encouragement for Meka to stay that much longer.

"Forget it. It's not happening. Now if you are just going to continue to rant about such insignificant things I'm just going to leave because I have better things to do." As the woman made to leave Meka darted around her and cut her off, splaying her arms open in an effort to block the woman’s path. The smaller girl refused to let this woman escape until she got what she wanted.

”Little One, just let this woman go while she is no longer threatening violence.” The voice whispered in her mind despite the fact that she was the only one that could hear it, she sometimes thought Crow could hear the gods too, but he always insisted that he couldn’t. Needless to say Meka continued to do what she had been since entering this city, ignoring the voice.

”I cannot ‘forget it.’ This may be insignificant to you, but the gods are more important to me than my life and I insist that you give them your apologizes.” She glared at the taller woman. “I will not leave you until I hear it.”

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It was not that Deborah tried to leave the scene because she didn't want to lose her cool. She didn't care the slightest about exploding in front of people if she got mad enough. This situation just wasn't something that she wanted to be a part of, with all this talk about "choices" and the fact that the woman was a lost case when it came to her mental health. It was tiresome to listen to such a delusional person, to Deborah it sounded like the woman had no idea how the world worked. That it wasn't some fairytale that would work out just because you wanted it too.

But even though Deborah did try her best to stay calm it did hit a nerve when the woman suddenly barged out in front of her, going on about her gods once more. ”I cannot ‘forget it.’ This may be insignificant to you, but the gods are more important to me than my life and I insist that you give them your apologizes. I will not leave you until I hear it.”

A few seconds went by without anything happening, Deborah just stared at the crazy person in front of her. But in the end she just smacked her mouth before taking another step towards the woman, ending up so close to her that she almost could feel the woman’s breathes against her skin.

"Oh? You won't leave? Do you think I care about what you think?" It didn't take much effort to just shove the smaller woman to the side and just continue. Even though the woman didn't look that strong Deborah realized the moment she touched the woman that she did take a bit too much strength into the movement. But Deborah didn't see the unnecessary violence as something bad, rather something positive. If it was her that had been shoved to the side while she was a weak one she wouldn't try to proceed. She hoped that her greeting physical would scare the annoying woman away.

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Cailu’s excitement that just had begun to light shortly died out as the man once more touched him cautiously. From showing a hint of a smile on his side Cailu's mouth started to point downwards in a grimace instead, deeply disturbed by the touch. It was one thing when he was fully dressed inside a tavern, but to have the man just calmly feel him up in his undergarments inside his chamber was a completely different thing. And Cailu hadn't appreciated the earlier touching either. So if he had quickly withdrawn his hand the night before his suddenly flinch backwards to avoid getting touched was even more violently.

As the man had started to explain his true intentions with visiting Airedale Cailu only hissed slowly, "Do not try to touch me again. Ever." Even though the things the man said was important Cailu couldn't sit quiet and just listen to it. He needed to get those few words out of his system, he couldn't stand the thought of having the male approach him once more.

But after that he listened carefully at the stories. Surprisingly he had no idea that the Fire tribe had changed leader this recently, Ara probably knew already like with everything else. She had probably discussed it with him as well but like with most things he had forgotten about it because it was just too much for him to keep in his head. All the names, the plans, the places - what to do and not to do. He couldn't deal with it.

"If Zaheed is not King of the Fire Tribe, he will increase his strength now that he is not fighting the Water Tribe, and more than likely attack the Earth Tribe, and guess who is smack in the middle?"

Cailu did get that Bellistrad must mean that Airedale would be stuck in the middle of such a war but it did bring a wrinkle between the withe haired man’s eyebrows. The last time he had studied the map over Imos Murtovaara the city where most of the fire wielders and their leader lived lied in the North - the mountains. Far to the East of them Shadowfen lied hidden in the deepest forest Imos had, that was something Cailu knew for certain since his tribe had a close relationship with them. Or they exchanged services and traded. But the funny thing was that Airedale lied to the South and slightly to the West of Murtovaara. Which meant that they wouldn't be in between the both cities in case of a war, sure it would be troublesome since they wouldn't be able to trade with the Earth tribe anymore but that was all. Or perhaps he meant that it would put them all in a difficult position since they had such a close relationship which could lead to the Earth tribe hoping for them to step in and help them in the fight?

The statement was strange anyway and Cailu didn't like it when he didn't know what to think of things.

"What I need you to help me with is convincing Zianro to release Zotar, and then help me heal the anger in Zotar so that he can help us take Zaheed out of the picture. If this plan works, we might finally have peace in Imos between the four tribes."

When all was said Cailu had a lot to think about, if it was true it would indeed lead to trouble even though it wasn't in that way that Cailu though that Bellistrad meant. But to make such a decision, Cailu didn't like it. And he knew that he wasn't the right one to even try to talk someone into doing something, he would just stutter and probably destroy the whole meeting by his disqualification. So in the end he just shook his head, "I can't do that. But I can meet you in Lakeshore with someone who can do it. I will talk to her and take her with me. I can't take you with me to where she is so go to Lakeshore and just await our arrival. You will know when we will arrive because we do need to notify the Water tribe’s leader before we just show up. I-- I mean uhm she is the leader of our tribe so yeah..."

"Oh? You won't leave? Do you think I care about what you think?" Mekaisto opened her mouth to retort something rude and aggressive back at this woman but was cut short, and off guard, by being shoved by the woman. She felt her balance go off kilter as she fell hard on her rear and let out a surprised squawk that was echoed by Crow as it fell off its perch on her shoulder. The raven flapped its wings hard, barely able to save itself from a hard landing similar to Meka’s.

Meka felt her temper bubble up inside herself as the tall woman walked away, her back looking extremely vulnerable and attackable. Her eyes darted from side to side watching as now of the people that passed her by offered Meka any assistance, and pretended not to notice her. That was fine though, the young woman assumed that a lot of the people in this god forsaken city were just like that tall woman, but that didn’t mean she had to stand for it.

”Meka, I can see from the look in her eyes what you are thinking, and I do not think this is a good idea.” Meka paused for a moment, of the two voices that constantly imparted wisdom upon her the girl had always been more inclined to listen to what Crow suggested. It surprised her that her spirit animal was actually agreeing with the gods in her head about leaving the tall woman be because usually Crow’s advice opposed the will of the gods. She glanced at her rough-around-the-edges bird and then at the retreating back of the tall woman. She balled her hands up into fists in frustration and looked apologetically at her spirit raven.

”Meka, please-“ The small girl didn’t get to hear whatever it was Crow was going to say as she charged forward and rammed her shoulder, and all of her body weight, into the back of the woman. She hoped that by using all the force of her weight, and a running start, she would at least be able to push the woman down in a fashion similar to what she had done to Meka. The small girl decided that even if her strength wasn’t enough a surprise attack would aid her the rest of the way in knocking the woman down.

“I will not go down without a fight or an apology from you.” She demanded loudly, pointing an accusing finger straight at the nose of the taller woman she had been having a stand off with earlier. Her antler hat had been knocked nearly off her head when she had rammed herself into the woman, and without dropping her pointed finger used her other hand to straighten back onto the top of her head. She could feel several onlookers pause and give the two attention at the mention of a fight breaking out. Nothing drew a crowd better than violence.

”I literally cannot believe you right now Little One, the gods will not aid you in escaping the predicament you know find yourself in.” The voice sounded exasperated and tired, as if it had finally thrown in the towel. Meka huffed in annoyance. “I do not need your assistance to escape my predicament.” She shot back at her voice, mocking its own words as she said them.

Turning her attention back to the tall woman she squared her shoulders and glared determined, ready to completely lose if the woman decided she really wanted a physical fight. The odds of Meka getting pummeled to death seemed increasingly high as of the moment. She could feel the voice stir nervously in the back of her mind, trying to influence her mentally, but refused to waver.

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The thing that happened next was not something that Deborah had planned or even considered. She felt the impact, when something hard suddenly hit her back. She hadn't been prepared for it at all and so she stumbled forward. She was so close to fall to the ground because of it but in the last minute she regained her balance. Still leaning forward like she was still in the fall she turned around just to meet the smaller woman's eyes. The moment she did that they flashed for a short moment, expressing fiery hate inside them.

To hear the tiny person talk about a fight Deborah snorted once again in annoyance before stretching out her body, "You want a fight huh? Think you can take me on? Please. You make me want to laugh." Even though she expressed such a sentence she didn't look the slightest amused. In fact she looked as if she was ready to beat anyone into a pulp.

At this point Deborah didn't even think clearly, she was so angry that she just charged at the smaller woman with her hands glowing sharply once again. She wasn't going to use her powers at the woman but she was so angry that she couldn't control it. But using her powers wouldn't give the same sensation and the only thing Deborah wanted to feel by now was how the smaller woman’s bones break with the force of only her fists.

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After days of traveling Cailu and Ara finally arrived at Lakeshore. It was the first time for Cailu to see the Water tribe’s main city and it was more stunning then he could had imagine it to be. For Ara it was the second time to see it, but she was just as astounded as her cousin since she had been so little when she was here last time. That she had just followed her father here while he had some business with the late Water leader as well.

When they entered the city they met some of the city's guards, Ara was obviously the first to approach them with a friendly smile while Cailu just watched from the background. She explained that both of them was from Airedale, which anyone could figure out because of the color of their hair, and was going to meet their leader. That they had sent a message announcing their arrival before so that he should already been informed of this. After she was done explaining their reason for coming one of the guard hurried away to the palace to tell lord Azura about it while the cousins got showed the way to the stall where they could have their horses while visiting Lakeshore.

When they had left their horses the both of them followed one of the guards which guided them to the palace. From the beginning they had walked in an ordinary pace since the both of them by now looked healthy, but something that both the guard and Cailu noticed was that Ara still had some problem with walking. She was still slow and had to use her crane, even though she had gotten her strength back and wasn't as fragile as she had been before traveling to Northpass she was still unable to fully use her left leg.

Meka was surprised that she was able to gain any leverage on the woman, that the strong looking lady in front of her actually stumbled as Meka rammed her body into the other. The wave of accomplishment that warmed her insides didn’t even last a moment as the woman caught herself and turned on her heels to face Meka. Her enraged features nearly made the small girl flinch and the voice stuttered to life at the sight.

“Run, Little One get out of here now.” The voice in her head wasn’t so much concerned now as angry, her disobedience to its desires had proven to land them in a dangerous situation. Well, more so landed herself in a dangerous situation, the gods in her head would not so much feel the pain that would come out of this fight. "You want a fight huh? Think you can take me on? Please. You make me want to laugh."

“Are you crazy? Of course I can’t take you on, I’ll lose in a heartbeat! But I don’t like you, and I refuse to back down.” She wasn’t sure if the woman was actually listening though, she mostly just looked really mad and ready to completely destroy the smaller woman. It made Meka freeze for a moment, fear solidified in her veins and made her limbs feel heavier than concrete, and then as the woman charged at her she felt a rush as her limbs became light again. Meka flinched back from the woman raising her arms to block the oncoming attack, unsure of what the God-given power the woman possessed would inflict upon her.

Crow screeched as the woman lunged at Meka and circled above them unable to do anything. The blinding light of the woman’s power shown brightly and Meka clenched her eyes closed as if it would lessen the damage taken on by the attack. When the woman’s punch hit her it caught Meka off guard, she had been expecting some sort of fire attack, not a physical one.

The attack sent Meka flying back, skidding against the ground like a well skipped stone across a lake. Her arms throbbed from taking the brunt of the attack and she thanked her gods that they hadn’t snapped from such a strong punch. Her staff had been knocked out of her hand as well, lying a few feet away, and she had various abrasions from hitting the rough ground that were already starting to bleed.

“Meka leave, now. I will abandon you if you do not.” The statement was the first to make Meka falter in her stubborn fight with the voice. She had never considered the idea that the voice would or could leave her, and she hadn’t been without it for as long as she could remember. Her heart thumped against her chest in rhythm with her throbbing arms and her made a quick motion to grab her staff before darting in the direction opposite the woman.

“I won’t forget you!” She yelled as Meka ran away, the idea of the voice abandoning her was much scarier than keeping her pride in tact.

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The sight of the annoying woman tumbling to the ground by the force was indeed a sight Deborah enjoyed more than usual. It was just something about the woman that made the whole situation more satisfying. But the moment her fist met the girl’s arms it sure was a bit disappointing, she had aimed for the girl’s nose. The plan was to destroy that annoyingly pretty face, sadly it wasn't happening in one punch. Because no, Deborah wasn't nearly finished by that point. Her plan had been to turn her opponent to a bloody mash but her prey suddenly lost all of her courage and ran.

Confused by the sudden escape she stood there and massaged her knuckles with brows still furrowed. The people that had been staring at the scene started to move again, continue with their daily lives since there wasn't anything more to say. The entertainment was over. Deborah could have chased the other woman but it simply wasn't worth the effort. So as the strange woman disappeared in the crowd with her strange raven following her highly above the human’s heads Deborah turned around and walked in the other direction. Back to where she came from.

As always the castle towered over the other buildings on it hill, from there you would really feel as if you looked down at the ordinary people. The closer she got to the building the more she dragged her feet’s after her. All the solitude had really gotten to her and even though she knew it was best to return she didn't feel like doing it at all. The more the castle grew as she got closer the more she dragged her feet’s after her, getting slower and slower in the movements. Her breath turned into something more like sighs, with every in breath she breathed out through her mouth in despair.

Once she passed the gates it was as if the castle walls closed around her, swallowed her whole into its deep abyss. Like she disappeared from the world. Yes, she was free to wander around where ever she wanted but she felt more like a prisoner by now. And as soon as she got into her room she could almost hear the key turning in the door. Locking her inside. But the door open when she turned the doorknob, she left it that way, wide open, as she sat down onto the bed and just stared at the opening while thinking back at what the girl had said. Leaving is easy, you just have to stop making excuses.

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General King Zaheed

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King Zaheed stared intently at his hand, as he had been doing to many parts of his body over the course of the last few weeks because things have turned to abnormalities. Muscles that surged down the whole right arm had enlarged and swelled up five times the regular size. The same as went for his hand with fingernails ascending out like a short sword blade from the long menacing fingers. Yet on his left, his arm remained the same. And as for his torso, it grew at an unhuman state of volume as his back formed him to hunch over with the spine poking through flesh. He had also morphed taller, his legs heightening as if he were a giant, but he looked more than that of one, instead, he looked like a monster.

Zaheed was the clear example of what happens when a man hungers for more. He care not for balance, all he desired was to devour. After he was heated and saved by Deborah when he misused his powers, he felt that he revealed to his mage a weakness in himself. That day Zaheed told himself never again, because now he was ready to show all of Imos who he truly was. For once, he was going to stop the games and strip off his mask.

Zaheed discovered something in his time of finding powers of a god, as he were absorbing heat, he started to sense another essence deep inside a vessel body, he found power, the magic all of Imos bear. So he did what anyone would expect Zaheed to do, he robbed them of their gifts, leaving victims powerless. Though he would not be able to bend other elements, he would be able to feast upon the very extract of magic. Their magic energy would course through his veins, making him stronger and more deadly, yet the question Zaheed lacks to be concerned about is, how much more power can he absorb before his body refuses to take anymore. Are there limits to his madness?

Zaheed heard something fall behind his causing a great disturbance to him, thus he turned around to have seen his raven friend, Icarus. The bird had flown in such a hurry he lost his stability, but it was for Icarus had urgent news.

“Zaheed! Zaheed!” he squawked, a noise only Zaheed could understand, and only was it Icarus permitted to call on the King by just his first name. “I-Its about Bellistrad!”

“What did he do, run away?” Zaheed questioned, stepping closer to Icarus, to which then the bird backed up, noticing what Zaheed had become. But instead of asking questions about Zaheed’s body, Icarus decided to stay relevant.

“Much more than that, I’ve been spying on him just as you ordered, and Bellistrad seeks to free your brother… And he got the air tribe involved.”
There was a pause, Icarus was afraid what may happen next. But Zaheed only laughed. “So the boy wishes to help out little brother. I doubt he be successful, but perhaps it would have been better that I had killed him. Yes, that is what I should of done.” Zaheed snatched the bird by its neck. “I will have you know I commanded he find the shape shifting tribe for you!”

“Zaheed, I know! I know! You wished to find some way to undue the curse, so you hoped on finding the ones who form animals, perhaps to find a way to break the spell. You wanted me as a man once again, I know. Could you comprehend how dearly I covet my old life?”

Zaheed held the bird up higher, tightening his grip. “My friend, your words portray you as a weakling. I shall make the weak strong!"

“W-what are you doing!” Icarus squirmed as he felt something surge through his soul, he felt something he had not felt in years- magic. Zaheed transferred his magic to the body of the bird once man. And as this power grew inside of Icarus, so did his physical being. The black wings swoop out in large stature, as his beak sprouted through greater lengths in a point. Icarus looked as twisted as Zaheed, yet Zaheed saw Icarus as a worthy opponent against his enemies and a pleasant and menacing sight to be displayed against his bulging shoulder.

“I will stain Imos with my existence! So you said Bellistrad wants to free Zotar? Heh, well I better let baby brother know what it means to truly be in control. We attack the earth tribe at nightfall! Zotar will blindly love me for it.”

Just as Zaheed had ordered it, soldiers surrounded around the earth tribe at nightfall, though in secret. Archers were prepared and ready to fire their flaming arrows against the tribe dominantly surrounded and constructed of trees. Since Zaheed had been king, the military of the fire tribe has advance, though even when he was a general, the fire tribe had always been known for its great stance military wise. But Zaheed has drafted all boys of the tribe of age seven, the amount of training without rest has proven to be brutal but effective, but yet his men were ready as they will ever be.

Zaheed stood slightly in front of his men, though he wore not armor, for his body had emerged too large to fit any longer. Besides, his body was not the only thing growing bigger, it was also his pride, his belief that his body had sunk image to that of a god, thus no longer did he need things of mortals, such as armor or even weapons. Instead Zaheed wore a pair of trousers and a deep dark crimson cloak with its hood lurking over his black locks. Against his shoulder perched his grisly pet bird.

Zaheed brought Deborah along with him, he wanted to show to her his greatness, that he was not weak and what vision he promised when he first met her was coming true. “Are you prepared to witness reality molded by my hands, Deborah?” He looked down at her, for his height reached above all others. It was a surprise to everyone else of what creature Zaheed had turned into. “Experience it, be immersed in my eminence, all of Imos will be.” Zaheed suddenly with great force sung his arm up signaling for the archers to fire, and then it started. A wave of flames soared against the great black sky, reaching for Shadow in a fiery fiendish embrace. And when the first arrow struck into the bark of the tree village, all hell fell upon the nation as it burst into flames.

“Slay those who decline their salvation, and deliver it to those who surrender through their capture as slaves!” Zaheed commanded his men as the arrows flew over them. “Today I shall deliver the children of fire into warriors strung to the call of glory!” As soon as the arrows fell onto ground, infantry fled Shadowfen, and Icarus jumped off of his master’s shoulder and launched into the night to screech battle cries, to intensify the earth tribe’s fear. Zaheed also entered seeking the head of the leader, with power and pride blinding his eyes. He wanted to be worshiped, but above that, he wanted to be feared, so much so, he spared a few so that they may cry to the other nations in message of the horror Zaheed has wrecked upon them and that he will not stop here.

“Ah… I never sought out fire so beautiful, not until it was forged in my name,” He spoke to Deborah. Zaheed stood before the Shadowfen’s grand tree which held the leader’s home, but now burned in an inferno. It was the aftermath of the battle, the earth tribe was destroyed, though not extinct, no Zaheed surely would put his new slaves to work in an army against the rest of the tribes of Imos. “I wonder what nation I will burst into flames next, perhaps the air tribe, yes.” He acted so causal when it came to destroying tribes, because he did not see it as destruction, he saw it as a game of conquering. “Will the fire tribe praise for joy, their god has arrived? No, not just this tribe, but all of Imos will see my godhood. Yes, I put death to the old myths of divinities by pronouncing it illegal. How does that sound, Deborah? The lawbreakers be beaten into submission of my worship.”

He saw himself as a god, and would force others to as well, but little did he know, or more like, accept the many flaws that hindered him. Such as flaws in his physical body- unbalanced, heavy, and in will of recklessness, and no one mustn't forget the flaws in that sinister mind of his for there was no strategy only a hunger for pride and power.

---

Lord Vinicius

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There he stood, wrist stretched and bounded by chains as they were from day one. He was being fed, but only to the very subsistence in order to keep him as Zianro toy, or so Zotar felt. Another cruel joke Zotar witness Zianro play was the candle. Whether or not Zotar was a fire bender, he was a human, and all people need some type of heat to forbid them from death. So Zianro's men put a candle inches away from Zotar's reach so that he could have only poor ounces of the warm, but also enough to mock him, enough to give him a false sense of hope.

But Zotar did keep in thought, how much longer does he have to live, before Zianro gets bored? He was surprised he has been able to survive this far, but when does the day that ends his misery- when does that day come? Will it ever come? It was as if the thoughts Zotar did conceive were either concerns and worries mixed in with confusion and questions. He knew he was never going to surrender, Zotar was too stubborn for that, even in his weakest moments, he was not going to surrender to Zianro. Instead, he hungered for an escape as he did from the first second he was imprisoned, but now, he had only believed that escape would come out of death. And he would take it if he could.

Though it was not until this moment that forced a change of mind. Something came over Zotar, no it was like he came over it. Zotar felt his veins be filled and his body consume an energy so long ago he had felt. It was heat, real heat, no mockery, no tease, no joke, this was real. But did Zotar believe that at first, that he was feeling something more than grief, that he was alive? Of course not, it was unimaginable. So, as soon as he felt the first thread of heat, he told himself it was a dream. Sure he will go along with it, but he trusted he would wake up to suffering all over again.

Zotar felt the heat in his veins, but he concentrated all the power to the shackles latched to his wrist. And by that, he was able to demolish the metal by melting it. And as soon as the cuffs were off, Zotar felt the wrist, he rubbed his finger on the bone, for the shackles hugged on so tightly, the skin and flesh were crushed beneath the metal. Zotar stepped to the candle, he stomped his foot against the wax, feeling the flame burn into his heel, and he loved every second of it. He dipped his fingers into the hot wax, toying with it, but though he told himself again, it was only a dream.

Zotar looked to corner of his eyes, a light, like footsteps. Maybe the dream was trying to tell him something, so he followed it. He pressed his hands against the wooden door meant to lock him in, but he burned through it, to chase the light. Zotar knew he had to hurry, he did not know how much time he had left before guards smell the smoke from the door.

The light let him through tunnels and out of the dungeon. He was on the surface, but that had not yet hit reality to him, still in thought this was a dream. Zotar was also not observant of his surroundings, other than not be caught, for he was not sticking around to admire anything, instead his mind focused on the light. Even when he made to Zianro's palace, he did not try to bring up such a thought, to him, that would be insane, freedom does not just show up one day, or does it?

The light let him to a person, this was when Zotar started to believe this was real. He stepped closer to what appeared to be a blue haired young man. All Zotar's eyes were stationed on was him, for the light follow this one person and no one else. Zotar doubted the stranger would recognize Zotar, for the once strong healthy lord, now closely resembled a skeleton with a thin mask of skin. Zotar's hair grew longer, so did his beard, and because of the stress and worry, he looked slightly older. There was one part about him however that could identify him as a former ruler of the fire tribe, it was the brand marks from the day he wore the traditional arm guards of lords generations before.

However, as soon as Zotar stepped close enough to the man, Zotar touched his shoulder. He wanted to know if this person was real, or was it just a hallucination? If he was not dreaming because a dream would not possible go on this long and make a bit of sense, then Zotar questioned if he was delusional. But as soon as Zotar laid his fingers on a stranger, feeling that this was a real person. A person that was not Zianro or one of his heartless guardsmen, someone that was not going to hurt him.

Zotar immediately then wrapped his arms tightly around the man, never wanting to let go, determined to never be alone again and to never let solitude bite against spine and into his mind. It was an embrace that expressed the amount of desolation Zotar were strangled and suffocated with. Sure the face was familiar, he did not know who this was, he did not know this was Bellistrad Indorial the exile he wished arrested, nor did care. An abundance of emotion flooded Zotar, it was something he could not let dwell inside, so Zotar wept in joy with his head buried deeply inside of Bellistrad's shoulder. Zotar was known to be a man who acted on emotion, but not like this. He never cried in public, even when his father died, he knew he had to be strong for his people, especially when he found out he was going to be lord.

But now nothing else mattered to him right now, but this moment, that he was actually in contact with someone. He ached for many things he lost when trapped inside of his cell, one of those things being utterly the ability to know you are not alone. He felt the heat of another soul, and it was enough to bring him to tears and his voice into sobbing.

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She had created a monster. All she had wanted to do was help. Do what she was assigned to do. She wanted to do good, or bad, she had no idea what she had wanted when she had uttered those cursed words. But it wasn't this. This was wrong. So wrong. She had just wanted to help him. Not destroy him. Perhaps he had always been a monster and this was just him showing his true colors. But Deborah couldn't help but feel guilty for what was in her presence. She tried to accept what she had done but it was so hard. She created a monster.

For the first time in her grown up life Deborah was scared. Genuinely terrified by something or someone. She almost felt ashamed for all the things she had feared as a kid, that she could be so scared of something as pathetic as those people. Now she knew for the first time what fear really was. How it made all of her inside go numb as if it froze her so deep it went straight into the core.

While standing there, watching something she knew she should enjoy. The flames, the screams, the destruction of what once was one of the pieces of the heart of Imos but wasn't anymore. She couldn't enjoy herself. Neither did she say anything even though the monster spoke her name. For the first time since finding her inner strength Deborah made herself smaller. She wasn't demanding space, attention or anything. She still kept her arms folded but it wasn't to seem strong, it was more like she tried to hug herself. Hide herself. When Shadowfen burned to the ground Deborah only wished to be somewhere else, having the girl's words ringing inside her ears. Leaving is easy, you just have to stop making excuses. Lies. All of it was lies.

She couldn't face the monster, she couldn't look at the man. The voice was the same. It still sounded like the one she had agreed to work under, the one that indeed had promised her that she would be siding with a god. But she couldn't see this creature as a god. And it sort of hurt, hearing the voice of a man she had respected coming out of the mouth of something so wrong. And she had sort of liked the man as well. Well, he had been the first one to actually see her. The first one to look past the fact that she wasn't able to create a single flame by using her mind and he still thought she was special. He had seen what she already knew. And now this. Deborah couldn't help but blame herself for what had happened to the man and no she didn't see this as a good thing. She couldn't see it as a good thing. She only saw a monster were it once had been a man.

“Will the fire tribe praise for joy, their god has arrived? No, not just this tribe, but all of Imos will see my godhood. Yes, I put death to the old myths of divinities by pronouncing it illegal. How does that sound, Deborah? The lawbreakers be beaten into submission of my worship.”

"Uhh..." The sound continued to sound for a minute straight without Deborah even trying to face the self-declaimed god, she didn't know what she was supposed to say or how she was supposed to act. But in the end she forced her usual grin curve her lips while she for the first time that night stared up at what she had created, "It... sounds magnificent.... King." She had hesitated, uncertain what she was supposed to call the man now. He called himself god, but she had no idea what you were supposed to call "gods". So she hesitated and simply went with what she had used to call the man before he had turned into a monster. "Is there anything... I can do? Or... something."

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General King Zaheed

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"Uhh..." What was this? Zaheed rose his eyebrow in concern, something was odd. It seemed Deborah was afraid? No, a woman like her looks and acts as if she could fear nothing. Even before times in the castle when Zaheed clutched her neck, she did not seem scared at that moment, instead only irritated or threatened. But now, now, she was behaving much differently. "It... sounds magnificent.... King." Did she truly think so? Or was she just agreeing to save herself. Zaheed sensed the same type of comportment as he did with his men. Was it how he looked? Yes, that had been the reason, wasn't it. Zaheed wanted Deborah to respect him for his strength, did he want her to be terrified of him. He could not say yes to that.

"Is there anything... I can do? Or... something."

"Ah...," Zaheed stepping closer to Deborah, approaching her face to face, with only a couple of inches away for distance. "Now you are trying to avoid me. You want to leave my presence. If it was anybody else, I would not have much a problem with it. But was it not you, that led me and my body to this state? You told me to find myself, to rediscover my powers. And now... now you are scared? You out of all people."

Zaheed was not mad, it was what he wanted, people to fear him, make his subjects shudder at the sight of him. But he did not ever consider Deborah as one of those people to do so. "Thus, what, what now? Are you going to glow your shining ball and threaten to blind me?" Being feared, totally feared, it was not what Zaheed wanted after all. Because even as a young boy he wanted praise from his father, that what he wanted from Deborah. He in a way, like this father, he wanted Deborah to praise him. All others of the world, could shake in terror, but Deborah, he now targeted her as the unit he sought to please.

"Why aren't you happy? Don't you hate the world and people because of your past being raise in the slums? Years of being seen as low as dust, being spit on as if you were nothing? Shouldn't you of all people be happy when we burn it? When we give the world a piece of who we are. We have power to do whatever we want..." Zaheed paused. "Wait, that's right, I have not shared my ability. Do you want me to..." Zaheed was talking about transferring his power to her, just as he did to his bird.

---

Lord Vinicius

---

Zotar's thin body, or what was left of it, was shielded by a cloak given by Bellistrad. But still, it was a mystery to him who this man was, though also Zotar did not care. For after being locked away for who knows how long, Zotar was not going to be picky about his rescuer. He however, perceive thought of what was going to happen next, no instead, he treasured this moment, Bell's presence. But the best part of all this, was that it was real, not some dream as he once considered. Because yes, Zotar in the past, has had dreams that only felt like a mockery. Dreams of escaping, being back in the tribe, or even dreams with a world where his father never died. In such deep misery, it had gotten to the point, what in his life before imprisonment he would consider good dreams, had too become a nightmare. Because those good dreams felt only there to express and emphasis the horrors of his present life.

"It is alright now Zotar. I will keep the cold away from you. Until you are ready."

Looking up to the man, confused and in question, Zotar asked in a low quiet voice, this being the first time he has talked to someone and it not being Zianro in weeks, perhaps even a month. "R-ready? Ready for what?" That was when it all clicked, "Wait, why am I here... anyways? Where is here?" Zotar back away from Bellistrad to now observe his surroundings, but that was when the anger that had once been strip from him returned, and it was an eruption of fury.

Because as soon as he looked Zianro in he face, he felt his insides boil, and every muscle he did have, flexed in tenseness. Everything Zianro did to Zotar swarmed his mind, he wanted vengeance. "Zianro..." teeth were gritted as Zotar spoke, but he was not going to go by Zotar any longer. "You took everything away from me!" His veins started to brighten, with the brand marks glowing the most radiant. "My family, my hope, my spirit, even my own name!"

Like it being natural to him, perhaps maybe because it was, Vinicius angled his hands where the right was over the left with space in between for the forging and conjuring of a ball of fire. As it grew, Vinicius spoke in all bitterness and rage, "Before I hated the water tribe because of traditions, histories. Almost like I was born to. But now, now its personal. And I will make you remember that when I am kicking your ashes about until my foot breaks." Vinicius did not care that he was much weaker than Zianro, well, perhaps weaker than anybody in the whole nation he was captive by. But Vinicius was crazy and ridden with enough rage, he was willing to die trying to kill Zianro.

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Those few brave minutes when she actually was able to face her creation ended abruptly as he came closer, as soon as she could feel the warmth of his breath Deborah adverted her eyes from his. Staring intensely to the side of his head instead, at the fire behind him. Was she ashamed of herself for doing so? Of course she was. If she could she would probably dig her own grave right there and then just to hide herself and her shame underneath the dirt. She was so extremely disappointed with herself for looking away. But she just couldn’t bear looking into his eyes at this point. Not now, not yet.

What he said was just adding salt to the wounds, to her it felt like he did it on purpose. Hurt her. She saw it as some twisted revenge of his for turning his body into that. She knew that it was her fault that he looked like that but she simply didn’t want to listen to him telling her that as well. Because, she felt so guilty already. Every sentence felt just like a dagger piercing her chest with extreme force. It already hurt so badly inside of her at this point because everything he said was true.

“Why aren’t you happy?” Yes, why wasn’t she happy? It was true that she had all of her life wished to see the world burn. To have her revenge, or what it now was that she wanted. She didn’t know anymore. She just felt lost. “Shouldn’t you of all people be happy when we burn it? When we give the world a piece of who we are. We have power to do whatever we want...” Deborah didn’t like hearing him describe them as a “we”. Even if he had looked like a man when he said it she still wouldn’t enjoy that choice of word. She had always seen them as a you and a me. Him and her. Separately. Not a we. And now Deborah felt that the title was even more wrong. “Wait, that’s right, I have not shared my ability. Do you want me to...”

“No!” Suddenly Deborah was able to raise her voice for the first time since seeing what the king had become. Her protest came out a lot harsher than she had expected it to however. But she wasn’t stupid. That bird the king had wasn’t normal, just as abnormal as the king. She could figure out by herself why the bird looked like that. At least she thought she could. And she had no intention to turn into something even close to what the king had become. Sure, she knew that she probably deserved it for turning him into that. But that didn’t mean she actually would let it happen or wanted it to. She didn’t want to turn into something like that. She was happy with herself the way she was already.

Even though the king still was too close for her to feel comfortable she turned her eyes towards him once again, looking straight into that gaze of his. “No. I don’t want you to do that. I… I believe I am who I want to be already. Don’t change me.” With a deep sigh she inspected the creature for the first time and smacked her mouth afterwards to just add the smallest amount of attitude, to fake being fearless, “I’m going to be honest with you. You are not exactly something I would describe a feast for the eyes at the moment. And it will take some time to get used to you looking this way. I’m not used to it yet. And I’m still a bit shocked I guess… It was not like you, I don’t know… gave me a hint? Before you revealed your new… look I mean. So… I'm just trying to process all of this? It’s quite a lot to take in in such a short amount of time.”

---

General King Zaheed

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“No!” So she really did believe his appearance and new ability was disturbing and distorted. Zaheed was handing out power to her, his power, and she just declines it strongly. Was it truly that bad as others had seen it to be? Zaheed did not understand, he thought this was a good thing, his new powers allowed him to gain a victory by conquering the earth tribe, thus strengthening his own. Ironic how when finally Zaheed quits the games, and stops from hiding himself behind false emotions, lies, and illusion, when he reveals who he truly is emotional, his physical state changed too.

“No. I don’t want you to do that. I… I believe I am who I want to be already. Don’t change me.”

Change, that is what Deborah said. Is that what she saw him as? So that is what happened, she made it sound like something bad. She strongly refused to let Zaheed transform her into what he had turned himself into. She commanded him not to change her. And from when they first met each other Zaheed could not stand being commanded by anyone, even if the order was put in a friendly light tongue. But now he was not mad at Deborah, he saw her differently from when he first met her.

“I’m going to be honest with you. You are not exactly something I would describe a feast for the eyes at the moment. And it will take some time to get used to you looking this way. I’m not used to it yet. And I’m still a bit shocked I guess… It was not like you, I don’t know… gave me a hint? Before you revealed your new… look I mean. So… I'm just trying to process all of this? It’s quite a lot to take in in such a short amount of time.”

It was still about the looks, even after everything he had done, take her advice, find his new power, conquer a tribe, and she still hung on to his appearance. So, what did it feel like? Well, it felt like a stab through the chest for Zaheed, like someone hurt him- she hurt him. It felt like his father. Yes, Zaheed at that moment, experienced the same feeling he felt when he could not make his father happy, when he sensed his father's favoritism for Zotar.He tried to make her proud of him, did everything she said, but yet, she seemed afraid, like she did not want this to happen.

Thus, what did Zaheed say back, what did he do to her? He said, "Oh..." And he did nothing. What was there to do? He might just scare her again, perhaps to the point she runs away. When Zaheed said Deborah was special, he was not lying, because to him Deborah was the one person he valued to the point he worshipped her, he sought out her approval, just like the way he wanted his father to be proud of him. And when he did not get it, he was not angry, but instead he was sad. This was no longer power-hungry Zaheed who thought he was a god, instead Zaheed acted as he did when he was a young boy, before the hate against the tribe, against his family, when he just wanted to make a certain someone happy. And though he conquered a nation, Zaheed felt like he failed.

And his sorrow was clearly experienced as he looked down at the ground, and just remained silent. No more bragging or boasting, no more threats, no more questions, just silence.

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There was one thought that came to Deborah's mind once the king got silence, fragile. Something with the silence just made his new appearance easier to accept. The way he behaved, he just seemed smaller somehow. Deborah couldn't help but wonder if the king actually was rather weak on the inside. But it was not something she had seen from him before so it caught her off guard, she had actually thought the king was unable to feel anything but anger. Apparently she was wrong.

She was just there to keep the king company. The only reason she was brought there was to be on display. Or no, that wasn't right. She wasn't on display, it was the other ones that got to shine. The king as well. She was just there to watch the others show off what they could do. What a true fire wielder could do, not some fraud like her. The king had indeed complimented her for her abilities, told her they were "special", but words were still just words. Just because someone uttered them didn't mean they were true. Now she knew that they were a lie, that she would never be good enough for this tribe.

But if she was supposed to just keep the king company while all the others had their fun she sure wasn't doing a good job at the moment. Neither did she know how she was supposed to cheer him up or what it was that she needed to do. In uncomfortable situations like this she usually walked away or got irritated, but sadly that wasn't going to work this time.

"Um... you know this is actually the first time I'm outside of Murtovaara. Is it strange that it feels like I've entered a completely different world? I don't know but it looks so different," She still thought that the whole situation was extremely uncomfortable and the fact that she conversed with herself didn't exactly help. But what was she supposed to do? She just hoped that something she said would at least make him stop staring at the ground at this point. "Does all of Imos look like this? I mean, it's so green. Or it was before."

Without noticing it she had started to walk back and forth beside Zaheed while thinking about the world she had never even tried to discover. Now when she finally had, she was disappointed at her younger self for not even trying earlier. It felt like she had wasted so many years of her life inside of Murtovaara. "Is it strange that I'm looking forward to when you will attack Airedale? I've never seen it, but I'm pretty sure that's where my father lives. Or lived. He's probably dead or something. Even if he isn't it's not like I'm going to recognize him. I've never seen him before. Or my mother. But I don't know, most of those who control the air lives there, right? He should be there... It just gives me this strange feeling inside when I think about it. That I may catch a glimpse of him without even knowing it. It's complicated... It's like I'm angry and excited at the same time."

Once she stopped moving so did her mouth, since the king wasn't speaking she had just started to think out loud. Now she realized how much she had told him and shut her mouth instead. She continued to stand still like the king for a while until she turned around to face him once more, "So... You still haven't explained how your heat experiments turned into... what this is that you do now. So, what was it that you found after you rediscovered your abilities?"

---

General King Zaheed

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While the whole time Deborah spoke, more like Zaheed, she rambled. He got to a point where he stopped listening, it was almost like she spoke to keep things from feeling awkward or uncomfortable. But Zaheed was busy thinking, pondering, asking himself, Did I waste my time? That question being directed towards Deborah. Was it even worth trying to get her approval? Why did he feel like he always had to? It was because he always did, he was just following the pattern of his life. Because even after his father and before Deborah, he was still beckoning for praise, it just being from Zotar, but only in hopes that he may not know Zaheed's plan to steal the throne.

After his silence, Zaheed finally took his eyes off of the ground and onto Deborah's face. He got what he wanted, didn't he? So why did he want more? That's the word, more. Why did he always feel like he wanted more? No, he should just accept Deborah as what he hired her to be, a mage. She was supposed to guide him to a newfound ability worthy of taking a nation. And she did it.

“I believe we are done here,” he had announced, folding his arms and sighing. It was as if now he was disappointed with himself. He was not going to lie to himself, he liked Deborah. At first, it was because of her unique power, then it was because of her history. Her past of being lowly looked upon and not accepted, he felt a connection there. And Zaheed could never fight his empathy for others, when he knows the same feeling of rejection. He felt bad for her, just as he felt bad for Zenas, his youngest brother, thus decided not to take his life.

But it was then that Zaheed learned a lesson, he could not make people like him. He could not force them, because force only brings fear. It was a point Zaheed wished he grasped way earlier in his life, because he acknowledged that now was too late for him to change for the better. His body, his mind, it was too twisted and deformed to ever undo what has been done.

"When we head back to Murtovaara, I assure you, Deborah Sigrun, you will be paid for your service. I did appear to make it sound as if you were trapped in a deal where there was no going back, no leaving. But I wrong. I was foolish enough to believe--" Zaheed stopped himself, he didn't need to go into detail. "You are not my prisoner, you are my mage, more like you were my mage. Your goal was to lead me to a new power, and you have fulfilled it. Congratulations, you are dismissed."

---

---

---

---

For a while Deborah just stared blankly at the king, thinking about what he had just said. Dismissed, the word bounced around in her head. Not even one feeling got expressed on her face, it was like every ounce of what made her human, her feelings and expressions, had gotten washed away leaving just a shell left. But then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again and the light in them was back. The power that had been gone since she saw his new appearance was back and she was angry. No, angry was an understatement. She was furious. Not only because she lost her employment but because she didn't actually have one in the first place. She felt used, tricked, like a big joke. And she was tired of all of this.

"Oh, really?" The mocking tone of her voice was so distinct that even the dullest person would be able to detect and for the first time this evening she was the one that got closer to the king, "I'm dismissed? From being your 'mage'?" The laugh that emerged was just as mocking, cold and harsh. "I was never your 'mage', king. And let me guess, I was never meant to be your mage either? Your goal was to lead me to my new power, ooh, was that what I was doing? Because I remember it differently. I didn't do anything. It was you that lead yourself to your new power while I was stuck in the basement for... I don't even know how long!"

She felt fooled, like this had been a big joke the entire time. Like it was one last gruesome display from her own tribe that she was wrong. That she had just been kept in that basement for the fun of it. Now, when that tribe concurred land she wasn't even let to participate in it. She was only here to see how a true fire wielder should be, how wrong she was. And now she got dismissed. Of course she would think it was a joke from their side. A cruel joke. She had nothing now. She didn't have a place to live in the slums nor in the castle, she didn't own anything else than the clothes she had on her body and neither did she have money. And she needed the money he offered for his cruel joke. But her pride didn't let her take that money or what sort of payment it was that he offered.

The king may believe he had seen her true power, the strange woman may have thought she had seen Deborah's true power. All of the world may think she had already shown it. But she hadn't. She had told the king about it, but he hadn't listened. When she was angry just a little of it got displayed. Her glowing fists, it was only a sample. But now. Her fists was glowing as they always did when she was mad, but there was more. All of her was glowing. Light radiated from her skin all over her body, a harsh blinding light. The fire around her faded in comparison, it was like the night in the forest suddenly had turned into the brightest day. The king had shown his true face, now she showed all of them her true appearance for the first time. This was what she kept under control and hid all the time, the true face of her power. She was like a sun that walked the earth.

"I refuse to get paid for this! To get paid for being trapped inside that basement in solitude without knowing whenever I would be 'needed'. But I never was needed, was I? The only time you came to me was to show what you could do. Oh, could it be so that you had another real mage that actually got to help? While I was only there to play the fool? It wouldn't surprise me. You fire wielders are all the same! I was never good enough to help because I wasn't one of you, I've never been and I will never be either. So keep your filthy money, king."

---

General King Zaheed

---

Zaheed was mocked, and by the first words that came out of her mouth with that mockery now turned the monster that Zaheed could be against her. She had pride, enough that Zaheed believed that she could not admit that she was working for him. As if she could not stand being under him. Was she trying to rise above him? The way she carried herself, that was how Zaheed decreed it.

As she talked, as she glowed, there was changes Zaheed made also. Because though she glowed, not particularly an ugly thing, in fact beautiful perhaps, yet when Zaheed tensed, a grotesque image he unleashed. Something he had not done before, for he had not felt so infuriated before, no until this moment. Every muscle, even the ones that irrationally poked out and about flexed, bulging, with every vein amongst his flesh jolted from the skin. His back hunch, face darted down to the ground as he clenched his fist. Something about Zaheed was not normal at that moment, well, nothing he had done was normal, but now that abnormal creature was ready to attack, not because he had a delusional vision to make a god of himself, but because Deborah had awaken the rage from inside him. And Zaheed, unlike his brothers and father, did not get mad so easily, he often bottled the anger inside, thus created him what he is today. But he was now ready to unleash it all.

With his left hand, he back hand slapped her, the though that was not the hand being unnaturally large and massive. Yet it was enough force to bring her to the ground. "To be formal, you were my magical adviser! It was what you were hired for! So don't act like you were my prisoner! Don't act like you did not have purpose, like I made you worthless! I listened to your advice and instruction! And you know well enough, I don't do that for everyone. In fact, I confess to worshipping you! I wanted your favor, it was why I always showed you my progress, so you would be pleased with me!"

After she had been knocked to the ground Zaheed jumped on her legs, feeling the bones of them crack out of place. "So, no Deborah, you didn't play the fool, I did!" And then by that moment, he witnessed a powerful flash of light. He had never seen something so bright, yet when it was over he saw nothing but darkness.

"What did you do to me!" Zaheed roared randomly punching where he felt her torso and targeted it. He jammed fists into her stomach with each blow getting harder and harder, ribs shattered. "What did you do!"

---

Lord Vinicius

---

Even after Zianro had extinguish Vinicius's ball of fire, he still wanted to fight, and not just the water lord. Vinicius wanted to rip apart every member he saw apart of the tribe. He doubted he could even trust the man who supposedly rescued him. Because by the sound of it, this man was once friends with Zianro. Yet he could not attack, after trying to conjure that fire before, he felt dizzy. His body was not probably well enough to start busting flames out yet, not after it had been deprived of so much. When they exited the palace, Vinicius felt blinded by the sunlight, he had no choice but to weakly squint his eyes. Thus he could barely see the rubble of the palace and what it took for Bellistrad to free him.

Well now, I suppose we should find a place to rest and get you healed both physically and spiritually. We wont have much time until this all spills over and you need to be prepared." On the horse, Vinicius was confused. He did not know what to believe, yet his mind started to go to one place, one idea- slaved. Sure, it did not feel like a slave deal, but Vinicius did not feel free. This random man comes to get him and tells him he needs to be prepared. Prepared for what? But one question only led to others, like How long was I gone? What has happened since I was gone? What is going to happen now?

"Correction, we have no time."

"Wait," Vinicius finally spoke up. "Who are you? And what do you want from me? I get the feeling you did not free you. You want me to do something, what is it?" Everyone was feeling something, everyone but Vinicius. Was it their powers, that told them of the violence among the earth tribe? Because if that was so, it gave reason why Vinicius felt nothing for his powers where in the same state as that of a young adolescent first learning to do something amazing with his fire. So Zianro really did damage him.

---

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---

Had Deborah understood that what she said would enrage the king? Yes. Had she understood how angry he would be? Yes sort of. Had she understood that she now was in great danger? No. She wasn't even scared. The rational part of her brain had shut down completely. Now she was just angry because of the way she had been treated. The fact that he could see it in a completely different way was something never even would cross her mind.

When the first hit struck her cheek she wasn't prepared, it came like huge shock. And how powerful the king actually was were a surprise as well, the fact that she tumbled to the ground so easily... it was humiliating. Her confidence was based on her strength, without it she feared she would end up turning into what she once was before. Now she somehow seemed weak, at least compared to the king. She was just about to jump up from the ground and attack the man when he started talking, suddenly she felt even more confused.

Worshipping? He must be lying. She had never even noticed that or thought about it. It just seemed too strange so she couldn't accept it. Her confused mind didn't have the time to think more about what he said, the few seconds she had been dazed by what was said the disaster hit. At first she couldn't even understand what had just happened, but then when she tried to move. When she tried to stand up to defend herself. The pain. She didn't scream instead she let out a single squeak when she gasped.

She knew she had already lost and the only thing she could think of was that she was about to die. She knew she was going to die. Everyone that opposed the king died. That was something she knew very well and she had angered him either way. She didn't feel regret though, she could take it. There wasn't anything she would miss, she didn't have anything to live for. When lying there thinking about it she wondered why she had kept on struggling for so long just so she could live. Now it seemed like a waste.

But she wasn't fine with just dying. If the king would be the one to take her life she wanted to at least take something from him as well. But in this situation the only thing she would be able to take was one thing, but she guessed that it was a very dear thing. It wasn't his life or someone else’s that he cared for. But when she shut her eyes she couldn't help but grin. Her skin stopped glowing for a short while but just as it had stopped it was back again, but much stronger this time. It was blinding, like an explosion of light that radiated from her body. She knew that the king wasn't the only one that had gotten affected by the explosion, those close to them would be effected as well. At least if they were watching the fight at the moment. And she was happy because of it. Destroying those people’s lives. Taking away something everyone was extremely dependent on.

When the king got closer, clearly confused by what had happened and blind, Deborah breathed slowly. Sure on that he would kill her. But he didn't choke her. He didn't smash her head with a stone, he would probably not even need one to do it. He didn't even slash her with something sharp. Instead he punched her stomach. But not once or twice. At some point the pain got so unbearable that she just got disconnected from her body, her mind shut down. But it was too late because she had already experienced the most humiliating part of the evening. Deborah had felt how her eyes watered and how the liquid ran down her cheeks. She cried for the first time in many years.

---

General King Zaheed

---

When Zaheed heard the sounds of crying from Deborah, he stopped, for the king did not want her dead. Thus, he slowly got off of her, not quite sure where he was position, but in the end he was on ground and on his feet. Soon approached him were soldiers that had been also blinded due to their closeness of the fight. They were confused, they asked Zaheed questions, but he was not in the mood to answer them.

"Shut up!" he hollered to the troops, thus dispatching silence among them. Though not for long because Zaheed then whistled for his friend. "Icarus!" Zaheed called his name, most people thought Zaheed crazy when he spoke to the bird, yet the creature always obeyed him, so he were not see much of lunatic for that reason. "Sound for the others."

"As you wish," the bird responded, though everyone else could only hear chirping. Icarus then soared up high to the red sky to then screech wildly, therefore bringing other soldier, though these ones being able to see. After Zaheed left, Shadowfen was reduced to nothing more but ashes, though the king did not just walk away from his new conquered land. Instead, slave camps were settled. There they would deal the slaves, but also train others to become forced warriors for the king.

Back in Murtovaara, Zaheed had Deborah locked away in a dark room constructed inside of the dungeon. She was shackled to the ground while lying also there on the ground. She remained still broken, for Zaheed would of course not bring her to healers and physicians, not after what happened back in Shadowfen.

He entered the room, a place only filled and immersed with darkness and nothing put. Even if Zaheed had his sight, he would not be able to see his hand in front of his face, not inside a room like such. But that was the type of setting he wanted Deborah trapped inside, he specifically commanded his men to do so. Because how frightening would it already be to be trapped inside, shackled against the floor with a man bloodthirsty like Zaheed, but now it was dark.

"I dismantled you...," Zaheed hung his words eerily in the air. His heavy foot steps were sounded and could even be felt through the floor pacing around her in circles. "Dismantled, it is word people use when they break things. But I don't see you as a thing. Because I don't get mad at things. But people... that's a different story..."

Zaheed stomped his foot, the one not abnormally large, against her body. He then shifted it to her neck when he felt it, putting all his pressuring there, bringing her to close ties of death by choking. "You mocked me! You blinded me!" Zaheed removed his foot to then replace it with his hand. And showing just as strong Zaheed was he pull her up from the ground, breaking the chains that kept her there, and threw her against the stone wall. "You could of left! Yet you thought me weak didn't you! Do you find me weak now?!" Zaheed's grasp was still on her neck, yet he was not strangling her as hard this time. "My eyes may not be of use, but I still see. I see what I feel! And I feel power, the energy of magic that courses through your veins. In the midst of darkness, I see a vessel of power."

---

Lord Vinicius

---

"Well, let me start at the beginning. I don't know if you have realized this already, but Zaheed is now King of the Fire Tribe." When Vinicius heard this, it was no surprise, of course Zaheed would take the throne once empty. In fact, Vinicius was happy for his brother that he had been crowned, yet Vinicius had no knowledge of the violence and warfare Zaheed and wrought while using the fire tribe people as his instruments of destruction. Vinicius only had none how much Zaheed yearned to be king one day, even when he acted like he was fine when discovering his younger brother was entitled instead.

"He made a deal with Zianro to kidnap you so he could gain the power of kingship. Zianro also has another female fire exile, who I assume you know since they wanted to use her to get to you. Right now Zaheed is probably attacking the Earth Tribe, and I fear the worst for them."

That was when Vinicius felt the instinct to be defensive, because he did not know why he should trust a stranger. Sure, the stranger may have led him out of the dungeon, but why? Perhaps it was a test, but only a test to see whether or not Vinicius was an able enough slave. And when the man made such claims against Zaheed, Vinicius felt hurt, that was his brother. He trusted Zaheed even though there was a rivalry between them. Throughout the first few days after their father's death, Zaheed was so positive and encouraging. To Vinicius, it all felt genuine, but Zaheed was always a good actor. Maybe he would of been one if not born unto a royal family, with eyes since childhood, set on a throne, on power. The man continued, he spoke of a female, however Vinicius had no idea who he was talking about. Vinicius knew no female exiles, so what, or more like, who was this man talking about? Vinicius was confused.

"You have been a prisoner for almost the last month, if my memory does not deceive me. Maybe six weeks, not entirely sure since I only figured it out sometime after it happened. Anyway, I need to prepare you so you can defeat Zaheed and take back the throne. No pressure, eh?"

Vinicius furrowed his brow, no, he was not going to be used, especially if that meant fighting his own brother for a complete stranger. So he did not let the man finish, he ceased him after that by saying, "Hold on-- stop, stop." Vinicius turned his body and dropped himself to the ground. "You accuse my brother of dealing with Zianro! Even if my brother wished to betray me, it would not be with an ignoramus like him. Putting charges like that against my own family does not settle well with me, especially when you want me to fight him. You did not even answer my question, who are you?"

---

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Deborah had never been good when dealing with darkness, even as she grew older she still felt as vulnerable when trapped inside it. She wasn't scared because of the shadows that could be seen in a normal room, she knew that they were only shadows. She was scared because of the things she couldn't see. Being trapped inside that dark room, chained to the ground, felt like the utter mockery. But there was no one that knew about her fear so she guessed that it was because of her power that they choose such a room, she was light and they gave her darkness. But she didn't care, as soon as the guards left the room she would breathe out a tiny light orb that would hover above her face until the door opened again.

That was just what she did this time as well, she would lie there staring into that fragile light source while wondering how she ended up this way. What she had done wrong in her life and why she wasn't already dead. She couldn't think of one reason for her to still be alive. When lying there at the ground with only the small light ball as company her life seemed even more meaningless then it had before she ended up in here. At some times she even wondered if she in fact already was dead and this was how death was, but her aching body spoke against that theory.

When the door opened she didn't think much of it and just continued to have her eyes closed while pretending she was sleeping. Not because the person in the room would think she was but because she wanted to fool herself. "I dismantled you..." If there was one voice Deborah never wanted to hear again it was that one. As soon as he spoke her eyes went wide open while she scanned the surrounding, trying to see where he was. She couldn't see him, but she heard him, she felt him in the room.

Suddenly more than before, when his foot pressed down on her body she just groaned in agony. But that was only the first time she felt it, as soon as it had found her neck she desperately tried to get her hands there to shove away the foot. The feeling of not being able to breathe was a lot scarier than she had imagined it to be, she could feel how her thoughts got more blurred by every second. As soon as the feet was gone she gasped after air, taking as much of it into her lungs as possible. Thankful that she still could do it. She wished to never have to endure it again, but that was easier to pray for then making it real. As the king’s hand closed around her throat Deborah couldn't do anything more than just be tossed around like a doll while coughing and groaning. Her body didn't let her fight back. She could only helplessly dangle in his grip while waiting for him to end it.

More groaning than actually talking Deborah still made an effort to not seem weak, "Yes, you seem so much weaker now than you did before. I respected you, now? No, not at all."

---

General King Zaheed

---

"Yes, you seem so much weaker now than you did before. I respected you, now? No, not at all."

"I to be the one weak?" Zaheed questioned, moving her from off the wall to now lifting her above ground. "You need light to see, you are blind in the dark, whereas I walk in. Let us see who is weak." Zaheed slung her down to the cold stone floor. "Stand, if you are strong. Prove that I am the weak one." Zaheed scoffed. "Oh that is right, you cannot see in the dark. Let me brighten up the room. Have a taste of my light..."

Zaheed surrounded the room with a wall of fire, it was one of his signature moves. The flames brought about light, yet he was not doing that to help Deborah, but so she could see herself lying on the ground unable to climb to her feet with legs broken. "Do you feel that heat, that fire. Oh, wait, you don't like that do you? Being shown your inabilities. Sure you cast a ball of light, blind me, but I can burn you." Zaheed approached Debora closer. "Yet, I rather not. You said I was weak? Why don't you get up and fight me then? Oh... that's right, I dismantled you."

Zaheed was done with his rage, now he was just being bitter, though he did not hate Deborah, because by her blinding him he actually felt stronger. Because no longer did he only sense magic energy, he saw it, blurs full of colors. Blurs being bodies, color being their element. He could see it from rooms ahead if he wanted to. But the sad thing was they weren't people, they were power.

"So, either you could just lie there struggling, or I can fix you. You don't the sound of that, don't you, Deborah? But what choice do you have? Either way you are still going to feel weak. Its your choice, but if you lay there, I will absorb your energy, it might even kill you, but I will be stronger." Zaheed continued to pace in circles around her. "I don't why you came here, but I will say this, your power, it is unique and with training it might prove to be useful. Killing you would be wasting it." Zaheed was done trying to gain approval. "Oh, what is this? Are you feeling used? We could of left on good terms. You did this, you asked for it."

---

Lord Vinicius

---

Bellistrad Indorial, Vinicius now remembered that his brother was actually after this guy. So, Bellistrad does seem like the person that would make false claims against Zaheed. Now, he was doubting he should stay with Bell, and thought perhaps the best idea may just to start running now while he was on the ground with his smoking contrapment Vinicius had never seen. Yet he didn't, because Vinicius feared me would be making a big mistake, and perhaps Bell was there for a purpose other than to free him.

"No, I don't know what that is," Vinicius refused the puff. "If I wish to build my body up to the stature it once was, I mustn't sit, I mustn't rest, and do what you are doing... whatever that it. But yes, let us go to Shadowfen, let it be you who rides the horse, and I the one pulling it. I need to gather my strength. Though to answer your question, if I ever escaped from Zianro's dungeon, I planned on killing him. Getting my revenge, why else do they call me Vinicius? You might be an exile, but may know in fire tongue, it means vengeance."

What Vinicius was about to ask may sound odd, yet that was one thing, one thought, and constantly popped into Vinicius's mind. "I am grateful that you had taken me from Zianro, yet I wonder am I you slave? Do I have a choice in this?"

---

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Deborah couldn’t judge what was the worst thing about this moment, everything seemed so equally bad. The pain because of earlier, how easily he just tossed her around like it was nothing or the humiliation. Once thrown down onto the ground again she just groaned, her ribs was killing her after the impact. Even if her legs wasn’t broken she doubted she would be able to stand up at that moment.

As the walls suddenly lit up by the hostile light of the flames Deborah closed her eyes, even though she had watched her own light orb inside this room her eyes couldn’t take the brightness. As he spoke she slowly opened them again while trying to scan the surrounding and the king himself, "Sure you cast a ball of light, blind me, but I can burn you."

"I’m not scared of fire, burn me all you want." Yes, she was still putting up the though act and wouldn’t stop any time soon. But his threat didn’t scare her the slightest, even if he was serious in what he said she still wasn’t even nervous about it. She was already in pain and she already had a past with the fire, she knew how it felt.

The king was right in his assumptions, Deborah didn’t like the sound of what he offered. She would rather lie there and keep on struggling in the dark with her orb than accept his help. "Its your choice, but if you lay there, I will absorb your energy, it might even kill you, but I will be stronger."

"You--," For the first time Deborah dropped the though act, she just stared at the king quietly, suddenly she understood why his appearance had changed so drastically. That was what he had done. "You actually succeeded with finding a way to absorb other’s energy? Not their heat but their powers… Oh… I thought it was impossible… I guess I was wrong."

Even if she thought the kings new discoveries was wrong, she couldn’t help but be fascinated by it. She had truly thought that it would be impossible to do something like that but he had actually found a way. Somehow she doubted that she wanted to know how he had discovered it. Neither did she want to discover what it felt like to get something like that ripped from her hands, how life would be without it.

"Oh, what is this? Are you feeling used? We could of left on good terms. You did this, you asked for it."

"No, I didn’t ask for this, you did. When things didn’t go your way or people didn’t say what you wanted them to say, when I didn’t say what you wanted to hear you stopped listening. Every time. You always got mad for being corrected. You pushed me away. The only thing I did was being honest with you. If you wanted to hear lies or have a mindless fool that just would nod and agree with everything you said you should have hired someone else. But fine, continue to put the blame on me and fool yourself. Leave me here to rot or kill me since you are so scared of hearing peoples true thoughts. I won't stop telling you about my point of view. When you are done with that you can just go back to playing with your mindless dolls that just nods at everything you say."

---

General King Zaheed

---

"Now let me tell you this, I have not a problem with correction," Zaheed's tone went back to aggravation rather than acting as if he was stronger and superior. "My life has been enthralled with correction..." Zaheed paused, and turned around as he stopped circling around her but instead walked away. Lowering his voice to a muttered he said, "My life, hm, no one knows about it, what lies behind these castle walls, underneath this crown and this hard, power-feeding body. Perhaps... perhaps no one should."

Once Zaheed finished speaking to himself, well half of it was to himself, the other half to Deborah, he turned around and stepped back to her. "But your mockery, that was different, that was unnecessary and waste of your breath. I've gotten to many measures... and much blood... to get to where I am as king, and that name deserves none of your mockery. What was this about me pushing you away? Do you jest? Remember at Shadowfen when I was speaking with you, you know before you pissed me off, well was it not you who asked if you could do something? It was apparent, you wanted to get away from me... No, wait, are you talking about when I did not see you for weeks and weeks? What more do you think I was doing?--"

Zaheed stopped, he knew there was a better way to put it, a better way to put all of this together. So Zaheed ceased the fire that surrounded them, he didn't need that. No more games, no more intimidation, no more trying to domineer himself, nothing but an honest confess. "Do you recall when I first showed you how I could attract and detract heat from bodies, and how I messed up and transferred so much of my heat that I collapsed to the floor, shivering and shaking. At that moment I felt weak, so blithering weak. I hate being weak, but what I hate even more is being weak to those I sought to impress."

Zaheed let another pause go before he continued, "Sure you may scoff when I say I wanted to impress you, but just think back to the beginning. When I first met you I opened up a glorious vision, told you that you would be fighting with a god. Because that is what I wanted to be, a god, indestructible, undefeatable, and immune to weakness, enough so that you would be amazed with me. Then I gave you a room, sure it was in the dungeon, but I tried to dress it with all splendor that I could, even said if you had a problem with it or needed anything more that you could send letter to my servants.

I had reason to not put you above in the castle itself, because above the surface, that's where all the eavesdroppers and fools that can't mind there own business roam. No one thinks to look at what lies underneath. But I wanted to keep my things secret, and I entrusted those secrets with you. But back to the fact that I didn't see you for weeks, it was because I was doing my all to come back to you strong, so I would not be on the floor again helpless. But now... now I see that is what I've done to you..."

---

Lord Vinicius

---

So Vinicius was not a slave, so he had choice. And though he did not believe Bell, Vinicius still wanted to see for himself what lied of Shadowfen. So Zaheed supposedly was raging war against the earth tribe, as he could recall Zaheed was the one that preferred they not. Therefore, one could imagine in Vinicius's shoes it seemed odd for his brother to do so.

When Bellistrad got upon the horse, Vinicius grabbed the rope and began leading the horse, hoping he was going the right way as he was following signs and trails that committed guidance to the earth tribe. "Do you know how long it will take for us to reach Shadowfen?" After his question had been answered Vinicius said nothing more, and did only what he knew mattered at the moment and it was getting to his destination. He had a goal in mind and was not going to stop for anything. That was how it always was, commit to a responsibility and surrender to nothing else- that was his determination, and what others called being stubborn.

He went hours without stopping, no matter how much his body ached, or when his feet and legs screamed for less, he did not care. But even his carelessness could not stand a chance to his body when it collapsed. With Vinicius on the ground, he tried pushing himself off, but when he did get back on his feet again he fell. "I must keep going," he spoke out with a tone of anger frustration of how fragile his body over time had become, with how much it was damaged by his enemies.

---

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---

The more Deborah listened to the king the more confused she got, she wasn't sure anymore what she should think. She had no idea what the man thought or felt at the moment, if he was angry or not. The tone of his voice and even the choice of words they varied so much. One moment he could sound angry and the next he almost sounded nice? Or he actually sounded like he had good intentions.

"But back to the fact that I didn't see you for weeks, it was because I was doing my all to come back to you strong, so I would not be on the floor again helpless. But now... now I see that is what I've done to you..."

"I am not helpless!" She was upset, not angry, being described as helpless just made her upset. Desperate to prove him wrong, that she still could defend herself even though he had broken the bones in her body, she tried to show it. She was actually struggling, she tried to get up from the ground. She would be satisfied with just being able to sit up to prove that she wasn't helpless. After just one try she gave up after pained sounds, he had been right, she was unable to get up this way.

What hurt the most was admitting that she indeed was helpless on the floor, that she was weak this time. That he had won, just admitting the defeat inside her head to only herself troubled her. Admitting it out loud was even harder. So the fact that the bitter tone in her voice was back was not so strange. It was not because she was angry at him or anyone else, she was mad at herself, "Fine! Perhaps I am a little... helpless. You are right!" After her confession Deborah went back to just being silent, too annoyed to say anything more.

One thing Deborah couldn't stand was the fact that she had gotten herself into this mess, because it was true that she had started the fight. But it was simply because he had trigged her anger and Deborah was a possessive person deep down. Even though she had been scared of the king that night it didn't stop those feelings, because she still thought of herself as the only one that deserved to know what he was doing and had discovered - all the time. The fact that he had avoided her for such a long time hadn't amused her at all and before this moment she hadn't even known what he had been doing. Then he had felt like dismissing her after all that and she had just not been able to keep her mouth shut.

---

General King Zaheed

---

"Fine! Perhaps I am a little... helpless. You are right!"

Thus Deborah then admitted so. Zaheed liked to be right, it does better for him than being wrong, well it was what he had hoped in most situations. But he could understand why she would not wish to state so, because though Deborah was not a full-bloodied fire bearer, yet she has lived in the tribe her whole life. And within the tribe, there has always been a sense of determination and persistent to never admit to weakness, to never surrender even if it means a better chance of survival. Zaheed had it, consuming power to claim strength yet retreating from weakness. But also did Zotar have the same type of trait. Zaheed then thought of his brother, perhaps the most stubborn person he ever met. He would of never accepted a surrender. The king wondered what Zianro did to him, but as he could recalled Icarus informing him that Bell equipped a plan to free him. Zaheed would like to know how that went.

Zaheed was considering that he put her bones back into place now by himself, it would be extremely painful, yet that was what he was thinking of doing when he was enraged. Yet now, he felt that to be sadistic, and sure he was a megalomaniac, but not sadistic. "I will summon guards to bring you to healers. I am letting you know that if you still wish to leave, the opportunity for that is still present. Yet, if you do not, I will meet you soon." Zaheed then had to guess where the door was as he felt around for it, because though he could sense people, that was it, only life forces, not objects nor structures. Same thing went for a good amount of his soldiers, but they will still be useful, Zaheed was sure of it. So, in between the time he just had departed from Deborah and the time he will be meeting her again, Zaheed planned for his next attack. Without his eyes, it was as if he could feel himself become stronger when it came to the intellect, though Zaheed was already a man to be identify as clever when he was not mad with power. Without his quick wits and cunning behavior he may have not made his way thus far as king. But not, bearing not a single ounce of strength he had to be more thoughtful of each step he took physical and mentally.

After working upon his strategies to overtake the air tribe, he went to train his blind soldiers. He would have to be harder on them, to break a quite impactful hindrance. But Zaheed was determined to make those men his strongest, perhaps the blind warrior will one day because some of a myth, because there was one thing Zaheed was certain, they were going to be legendary. There was not weakness that Zaheed believe could beat him, well, that was what most fire tribe members had in mind.

When he finished training the soldiers, Zaheed walked his way as best he could to where Deborah was taken so that healers could tend to her wounds. Deborah had enough time to leave if she wished so from since Zaheed last had spoken to here. Yet, the question was, did she stay? Zaheed opened the door...

---

Lord Vinicius

---

"We will camp here for the night."

And though Vinicius wished to go on, Bell thought otherwise, it of course being in best benefit for Vinicius. Vinicius in the end agreed to the idea of camp, "Well, alright, this will be the first time I get to sleep lying down, instead of hanging from chains." Yes, event he concept that he would be touching the dirt as he rested, that gave him joy. Since he had been ripped away from his castle and robbed of what he once treasured and needed, even the smallest things sparked a type of happiness he never felt even when having those past luxuries.

While Bell worked on clearing the campground Vinicius was going to make himself useful though he was exhausted and tired. Thus, he ventured out but not to far to some trees, there he scouted for branches because he did not have a blade to cut down the tree itself. With the many different sized branches he drug them back to the camp ground. Vinicius then built two small shelters one for himself and the other for Bell. Even though Vinicius just met the man, a man that he did not entirely trust, he was still going to in a way, look after and take care of him just as he did to Vinicius. It was because of his many missions in the military with his father, because during those years serving as a warrior for his people, he learned that what holds any army together is the brotherhood bred, because without unity there is division and with division there is disaster. So Vinicius learned with whoever he is traveling with that he cannot declare a threat treat them as a brother until so does the time come that he can decree differently.

After the half hour, he sat with Bell, still thinking about his blue fire. That was different, though Vinicius never liked the color blue, though he has blue eyes himself. It was for that is what the water tribe uses to identify themselves, just as the fire tribe uses colors like red, orange, and yellow.

"Eat, you'll need it. I can get you some meat as well if you want it. I don't eat meat anymore myself."

Grabbing the bread and flask of soup Vinicius responded, "Meat-- Hunting, may help me train my combatable skills, though to really consider it, hunting is not like fighting. No man looks at a hunter and thinks of him as a soldier. Because hunters hunt animals and soldiers fight men, man and animals are different. Animals kill to survive, it is one reason for them, but for a man, it could be a thousand. Heh," Vinicius chuckled slightly and then turned his head briefly to Bellistrad and then back at the fire. "My... my father told me that when I was little boy. I wanted to go hunting instead of training. Because hunting was quiet and still, yet in training there was a lot of yelling and running and fighting and... well.. I should of just been happy with anything he told me. I would do anything in a heartbeat if he could just be with me now."

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The fire tribe didn't possess the same healing abilities as those from the Earth tribe, they couldn’t heal by just touching someone. But they were still skilled in the original ways to cure the sick. Which in Deborah's case meant to let the body heal itself after they had fixed so the bones would heal correctly. So even though she had been moved from the cell and wasn't chained anymore she was still stuck where she was.

As time went by and Deborah continued to be stuck in bed just waiting for the day when they would tell her she would be able to walk again. To have her legs strapped into the splints was not that comfortable and days passed, weeks as well. Or she thought so, she had lost count of time. She just knew that by the end of it she had the feeling of thousands ants crawled around inside her body, she just wanted to get up from bed and move around the room again.

When she finally was allowed to be without the splints and walk it was not as easy as she remembered it. She had been handed crutches to make it even possible for her to walk but even with them it was a lot harder then she had thought. When she was trying her hardest she still only could limp forward. It was frustrating. Every small step she took made her more frustrated, what was she supposed to do now? She couldn't even walk properly and it would continue to be like this for some time forward. But she spent most of her days practicing even though the healers told her she should take it easy in the beginning.

Of course she knew that she was allowed to leave whenever she wanted to do so. But where was she supposed to go? Deborah didn't leave, she waited once more. She liked to think that she was a woman of honor. She had promised to work under the king and since he had withdrawn from dismissing her she decided keep that promise. So when the king finally decided to visit she was still working on her walking. But as soon as she noticed him she stopped immediately, "Oh... You are here. If I've known you would come here I would've made myself a bit more presentable... Or at least avoided letting you see this."

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General King Zaheed

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Walking in Zaheed saw the healers and made a gesture with his head that signaled for them to leave. Zaheed preferred things to be private. You never know what stories can be spread and information twisted inside the walls of a castle.

"Oh... You are here. If I've known you would come here I would've made myself a bit more presentable... Or at least avoided letting you see this."

"See what?" he asked, confused to why she would mention him see anything. The only form of sight or really vision Zaheed had left, was to sense life forces. But other than that it was nothing, just darkness and blobs which were people, their energy. Zaheed stroked his beard, trimming it would not be easy of course blind. And he wouldn't want a servant with a knife anywhere near his face. Growing out will have to do for now.

After an awkward pause sunk in Zaheed decided to speak out, “Your legs… how are they?” Zaheed cared to know how much damage he was capable of though his intentions were not kill her. Death is not always the best option for a situation, yet Zotar always thought otherwise. Zaheed thought his brother too ignorant to not allow himself to be led by his emotions. One day that will hurt, and hurt more than anything else ever had.

“My intentions were not to kill you, my intentions were to make you suffer,” he was honest at least. “Crushing your legs and leaving you crippled was also not of my intentions.” Why Zaheed did not think to leave her legs unusable it was perhaps because making someone cripple cannot be undone, so if he did do that it may be a mistake, one he might regret and never be able to fix. Because now, her bones could be put back into function, yet his eyes could never be cure. Did he ever regret that he did not make Deborah cripple yes, but he did not let his emotions guide him this time.

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Lord Vinicius

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Vinicius did as Bellistrad had told him, whatever this was, he was going to trust him. Though, hours pervious, Vinicius felt uncomfortable, but he knew he had to get over that if he wanted to know who Bell really was- his strengths, skills, weakness, fears. So in the cross-legged sitting position, he continued to listen to Bell.

"I want you to focus on your energy at the base of your spine. Tap into it like you were about to fire bend. Sort through the emotions that come from there, and tell me what you feel."

This was quite odd for him, he never heard of this time of method for anything. What was he trying to do? Extract information from him, it did not seem so, because what would someone want to do with his feelings? That's not valuable information to Vinicius, so Bell could not be a spy. Then, what was this for?

"W-what I feel?" Vinicius questioned. "I... I feel like I need to fight. Yes, you told me to tap into my spine like I were to fire bend. And when I create fires I burn things, that's what fire's about- burning." Yes, he did not know at all how to answer that question. Was he suppose to say something deep and sentimental, Vinicius did not know that. Sure Bell told him to sort through his emotions, but all he could feel was a sense of instinct to be defensive. So that was what he did.

"Feel your fear that you impose on yourself, and let it go. Forgive yourself and let it fall from you."

"Fear? I-I'm not scared though," Vinicius claimed, though he was in denial, even trying to convince his own self that he did not feel the touch of fear. Of course he was scared, he did not know what was happening, but he suspected Bell was talking about his past. There was many things Vinicius wanted to say to Bell that night, like the past is the past and why does he want to go digging up what can't be undone.

That night, Vinicius pondered what Bell had said, Forgive yourself and let it fall from you, he was talking about the death of Vinicius's father, that was what Vinicius gathered though at first he had hoped that was not what he was speaking of. Vinicius did not want to think about forgiving himself, he did not want to dwell on the impossible. Because his mind steered with another direction with images- flashbacks of that night. Much like this one it was peaceful, calm with the sound of a warm crackling fire. Then suddenly they were ambushed, no they were trapped by cages of roots and thorns conjured by earth benders. Vinicius, with all he could of done, he burned through the plants that entangled him, but there was just so many of them. And by the time he finally made his way out and to his father, it was too late.

First struck the feeling of fear, then of regret, now anger. And Vinicius was never one to bottle his anger, not like his brother. His anger overflowed far to much to be contained. So he slipped away during the middle of the night where he found himself a pile of stones and boulders. There he struck the surfaces of the rock, over and over feeling the cartilage of his knuckles crumble with the skin bleeding. It hurt, it hurt bad, but nothing hurt more then being trapped. It was sad, because now though he was free, Vinicius still feel the chains around his wrists, the thorns surrounding him, with water like ice lashing against his freezing flesh. This was worse than being taken captive by Zianro, because now Vinicius faced that he created his own prison.

When the pain had gotten unbearable he yelled out in anger and frustration as he fell to the ground, griping a hold onto his bloody hands with knuckles opened and swollen.

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"See what?"

"Wait... You're still blind?" The response surprised Deborah, when she had seen him the last time she had been certain that he would still be unable to use his eyes but the fact that he still was unable to use them was not something she had ever considered. It was not like she had been in control of the explosion that time, it had been a spur of the moment type of thing, and when she wasn't in control she wasn't able to control the outcome either. So the fact that the damage was permanent did come like a shock.

Even though the king acted as if he still was blind Deborah had a hard time accepting it so when he went silent she made her way over to him just to get a closer look. It was not like she knew how to see if a person was blind or not, but she still wanted to see it closer. She had never actually seen for herself what her power did to people. When she finally realized or at least agreed to believe that the king indeed was blind she almost flinched away from him, "Oh... Sorry about that... or something. It seems to vary a bit, the effect I mean. Sometimes it's permanent and other times people regain their vision. I was certain that you had regained it as well... With your ability and all that. Um..."

If the king hadn't regained his vision it meant that his men hadn't done it either, even though Deborah should feel bad for doing something like that she didn't. Or she felt bad for blinding the king she was supposed to help - even though she was fired when it happened. But the tribe's army she didn't care even the slightest about, it could as well be complete strangers.

“Your legs… how are they?”

"Better, I'm just glad they don't force me to stay in bed anymore. I can't say I like being this way, limping forward like some old lady, but I guess I deserve this. So I'm not going to complain any more than this." At least not so he could here. Deborah had no intention to stop being angry about it inside her own mind, it wouldn't hurt anyone and clearly most things she thought about was things she disliked. Which probably was the reason to why she never stopped being so grumpy all the time. "So, why are you here?"

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General King Zaheed

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"I first wished to know of your condition, and now I hear you can limp. That is better then not walking at all. But getting onto my second reason to coming here, I do not know where to go from here with my powers." Yes it was true, Zaheed was unsure of what of goals and potentials he had left for this new ability for him. It was because he had done the impossible, what he would never think could happened did. Now what?

"Thus, I now believe I will focus my mind on other matter such as conquering other nations and strengthening my troops. As I had said before Shadowfen, you did indeed fulfill what I had planned when I hired you to guide me." Guide Zaheed never put it like that, but it made sense now and was actually quite beautiful that way, knowing that Deborah has the ability to conjure light, bringing him out of the dark lack of magical knowledge. "Hm, Deborah how do you feel about being an agent? Of course you will have no ties to the military, so you won't have to worry about that. But instead picture yourself as a rogue, perhaps even accompanied with other ragtag warriors."

Yes, though Zaheed was once a general he did not completely rely or put faith into his soldiers, because there are some things troops won't do. No, they care too much about honor and glory, yet with the right price mercenaries will do anything. "Now most kings do not value mercenaries yet, I am not like most kings. And besides, I believe you will fit right in, most sellswords are looked down upon for their past and unusual powers, therefore they cannot never find a job as a soldier. But no matter, its perhaps more fun as a mercenary, less rules."

Zaheed believed Deborah will heal in a matter of days, or even perhaps in just one week. He has seen soldiers reeking with death, yet they still manage to bounce back up and fight.

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Lord Vinicius

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He was awaken with knuckles stinging and hand throbbing in the morning by Bell. To his surprise Bell did not make much of a reaction. But instead they gathered up what they had and left the camp with Vinicius like before taking the ropes and leading the horse. But before they left Vinicius tore off fabric from the cloak given to him so that he could use it as bandages for his bloody hands.

When we get to a fork in the road, take the left path. I would rather not go to Murtovaara just yet."

"I was not planned on it, I was headed for Shadowfen." Yes, Vinicius wanted to make it there first, he wanted to see if this was true, his brother attacked the earth tribe. During the journey Vinicius walked many steps through hills and streams he went, though stopped when he felt his body aching for him to quench his thirst. He tried ignoring it long enough but had gotten to the point of staggering steps and dizzy vision.

Stopping, Vinicius did not actually want to dip his hands into the pond he approached, he felt sick when just looked at water ever since Zianro's dungeon. But it was what his body wanted, and if Vinicius wanted to survive then he had to listen to it. So Vinicius cupped his hands together for a drink. And as he submerges his fingers, he could see the blood from his hands mix into the liquid. While doing so Vinicius asked Bell, "How much father did you believe we are from Shadowfen?"

[center]
Bellistrad Indorial

Bellistrad woke to the sound of water nearby, and slowly perked up. He adjusted his book and put it away for the moment as he looked up at the sky. It was a little after noon already by the suns positioning. He looked around and found they were nearing Airedale. They had not yet gotten to the second cross path, which leads to either Airedale or on a north path to Shadowfen. Bellistrad stood up straight in his saddle, his feet balancing on the leather as he looked far ahead on the trail to judge their distance.

He only noticed that Zotar was tired when he stopped and went for a nearby pond and asked his question. "At this pace we should arrive a little sooner than I thought, maybe two days after this one." Bell started stripping off his clothes when Zotar wasn't looking and jumped over his head to dive into the pond with a whoop and splash. Unlike most other firebenders, Bell could suppress his fire nature enough so that water did not hurt him for a short time. He was unable to bend fire with any strength while this occurred however.

Popping his head out of the water Bell squirted a stream of water out of his mouth at Zotar playfully."I think this is a great place to rest for awhile. Why don't we fill up water skins and have a bite to eat before we go on, eh?" He swam around in the pond for a while longer than exited and dried off with a burst of fire across his body. He re-clothed himself and took out some dried food, giving some to Zotar and eating some himself before filling up their water skins and canteens. He had a quick smoke before getting back on the horse and thinking about where they would be going next.

"Now, there is another fork about a mile up the road. Go down the northern path on the right and we will be clear all the way to Shadowfen. Watch out for fire soldiers, I don't know how many will be in the area."

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The king visited her just to ask her to turn into a mercenary? It was probably a good thing that the king was still blind because she was making faces as he talked, the whole mercenary thing was not something she had ever considered doing. Sure, she liked the thought of getting paid for something. And that something would most likely be something she was good at doing. But mercenary? He couldn't be serious. At least she knew now that she indeed was fired. But what was the point with him coming here just to give her suggestions on what else she could do?

The more the king spoke of it the more annoyed Deborah actually got, it was the choice of words, his speech just made her even more certain that mercenaries was the lowest scums of the earth. Dishonored. The worst kind, the lowest beings that walked on the earth. And he wanted her to become one of those. But what was she supposed to do? She was still homeless and unemployed. So if the king wanted her to do that she would turn into one of those and leave Murtovaara. She was supposed to honor the promise she had made and if this was the way then fine.

"So a mercenary, huh? I guess I could do that or something..." But she wouldn't be excited about it, not even slightly. Not after the way he put it. And this talk about her working together with others. It was simply not her thing, but now... apparently that was what he wanted. "I will leave Murtovaara tonight and start with this new way of life. Something else you want to add before I get going? I don't really have anything to return to or get before I leave so I figured the sooner the better. I don’t have any reason to stay here any longer."

While she talked she limped over to the bed once more and sunk down with a heavy sigh once she was done. The new information gave her a headache. If she had been slightly annoyed before it was nothing to how she felt now. She was in an extremely bad mood, forehead decorated by deep wrinkles as she stared down at her hands. Just the thought of even approaching such a group made her so irritated that she felt like punching the king for only asking. But even when being this angry she knew it would only mean bad things this time. So she only sat there and growled on the inside.

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General King Zaheed

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Zaheed could tell Deborah was not much happy or even in the slightest form happy about his new idea. Yet, there was a chance he did not say it the right way. So as she may her way ever so slowly to her bed grumbling, Zaheed continued speaking, "Hm, perhaps I did not say it quite as so it should be put. They are not actually mercenaries, well, I guess in a way they could be called that, but a better word to identify them would be assassin." Zaheed did not know if that made things better or not, but he was being clear and honest what type of people he was talking about. "They of course all work alone, and by they, I mean my three other assassins, each one has a different target or general task they fulfill each with such secret information." Zaheed's voice was now lower, he was speaking of something he would not typical want eavesdroppers to hear.

"But now, I have a new target..." He of course talking about his brother, yet she did not know, she did not know anything of what he had done to gain the throne. But soon she will. "It is going to be one of the most important matters at hand. Let's just say that this target determines whether or not I stay as king." Zaheed would be putting a lot of faith in Deborah to be hiring her for a type of mission as such, but he felt she could get things done without having pity emotions or patriotism get in the way. "Though I understand you have never had rogue training. No worries, I will try to train you all I can in a matter of three days." It will be quite a task, especially knowing that Zaheed is a warrior not a rogue, yet he has trained thousands and thousands of men and women of the tribe in his military career. Besides he would get a little help from a friend.

"However before we start that, I will meet you in your room once you inform a guard you are on your way. Because there are things I must tell you in a much more private setting." Zaheed made a small bow with his head before taking his exit. He already started thinking about the words he would gather, all the secrets he would tell.

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Lord Vinicius

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Vinicius watched as Bellistrad fully submered himself into the body of water, something Vinicius would never dared to do, and really never has done. Yes, it was true, for even when he decides to maintain a quality hygiene he does not bathe but instead is showered with water and perfumes, but never does he dip himself into the water. After their break, the two, headed back to the trail.

"Now, there is another fork about a mile up the road. Go down the northern path on the right and we will be clear all the way to Shadowfen. Watch out for fire soldiers, I don't know how many will be in the area."

"Soldiers, huh?" Vinicius did not want to discovered yet and if it weren't for his brands he would not be. But because he had ripped part of the arms from the cloak for bandages, his marks shown. Vinicius stopped, "Is there anything I could use to cover my brand marks, I prefer not to be found out yet."

Though Vinicius since he was taken, had the urge and the ever most desire to run back home, he wasn't, he wanted to be wise about his decision. However most in circumstances Vinicius proves to be impulsive when it comes down to making choices. It seemed his time as Zianro's prisoner has matured Vinicius. He had plenty of time rotting away and thinking about life and death. Now it was time to put those thoughts to the test.

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The more information she received the more uncertain she got, everything just seemed to get more and more entangled. More confusing. The headache got stronger and stronger and by the end of his speech she had covered her face with her hands, just trying to listen to what he said. Her position in the tribe just seemed to get more and more diffuse, she couldn't really understand what was going on around her. First she got dismissed, thrown into jail, getting told she was supposed to become a mercenary and now she was supposed to be an assassin? Of all things in the world it had to be an assassin.

When the king had left she didn't make any attempt to get out of bed. Instead she let her torso fall backwards and land softly on the bedsheets. All the new information made her tired, not physically but mentally. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about anything anymore. There had been too many emotions shifting places since all of this started. And it was wearing her out. So she just lied there and stared up into the ceiling for a long time, letting out one sigh after another.

When all of her frustration had slowly been released by every puff of air she let out between her lips she finally stood up and limped out of the room. One small part of her wanted to just stroll right out of Murtovaara without listening to the king or doing what he wanted. But then there was that larger part of her that said it was wrong. So in her slow pace she made her way towards the castle once more. Dreading the moment when she would step inside those gates once more.

The thoughts was still moving in such a fast pace that she almost couldn't understand what she had just pondered about but there was one that returned to her over and over. The thought of her suddenly being assigned as an assassin. She knew there must be better people that would suit such a title much better. It didn't matter how much she tried to wrap her head around it she just couldn't, the thought was too out of line. The second thought that occupied her mind was about how she was supposed to just walk right into the castle. She had made the king blind. She had made soldiers blind as well. She was fired, or sort of fired. Why would she be allowed inside the castle?

Strangely enough she was, she had been jailed just a moment ago but now she was just allowed to simply walk right past the guards. She couldn't help but feel as if it was a trap. Everything was a trap. She was so stuck in this mess, she wasn't able to get out of it anyway she tried to. It was a enormous death trap, whatever she did would end up with her dead. She couldn't trust anyone anymore and it bothered her.

Once down in her old room she sat down at the table, drumming her fingers onto the wood while waiting. She had informed one of the guards like the king had told her to, but for how long she had to wait this time was still a mystery. It wouldn't surprise her if she would have to sit down there and wait for weeks again.

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General King Zaheed

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Zaheed entered Deborah's quarters, though this time he brought guards with him. It was not that he needed soldiers to defend him, no he was very much capable enough to handle himself. Yet, the king instead wished to send a message- that he was the one with advantages here, he was the superior. Ever since what happened in Shadowfen the question of whether not he could trust Deborah still lingered in her head. But why dispose of a tool when you can instead fix and put it into function? Tools, weapons, things, that all he saw others as since his sight had been taken away, all he can see now is power, energy, not faces, not expressions, just power. And he had an appetite for power, though he also had self-control. And he had not made the decision to drain Deborah of hers.

Once he was actually inside the room he waved off his guards, he needed privacy, and only wanted to show his control for mere quick moments. He wanted for all of the men and women to leave before speaking, "Now... I give you the choice, do you wish to become an assassin? I do have another job for you. Though its actually you keeping your old one, well you would still be my mage. Though not in the same way..."

Zaheed started to do his thing again where he paced around Deborah. It was extremely uncomfortable for he did it in a way a lion stalks in a circle around his prey. But Zaheed liked the thought that he showed he was the apex predator here. "So Deborah you know how I said when you were inside your cell, that if you were not going to get up, if you were merely just going to lie there that I would absorb your power. Well, I can still do that now, but I give you the benefit of a choice. Become an assassin and face a path that may prove foreign even uncomfortable for you or.... Hold out your hand."

Of course he did not need her to hold out her hand in order for him to feed off her magic source, but he enjoyed giving her the illusion that she had power while also showing his superiority. Zaheed stopped, not sure if he was facing her or not. "I promise... I won't kill you. Make your decision now... or you know what, perhaps it be better I do this."

Zaheed focused on the glowing light he saw through all the other darkness of his blind vision. There he transferred a very small amount of his energy source to hers. "Did you really believe I was going to devour you? Or make you an assassin? I strengthened you, I can do continue to do so, when on my side, perhaps not specifically in that way. But I'm sure you get the point. Your fate is determined by how you answer this question, Deborah what is it you wish to become? If there be any position you want, say it now."

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Lord Vinicius

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They approached what was suppose to be earth tribe territory, but he did not see any of their tribesmen. What if Zaheed was a bad man, a monster? No, Vinicius rejected his mind to make such thoughts, he loved his brother, and believed Zaheed felt the same way. But what if Bell was right, that Zaheed basically sold him off to Zianro. Could Vinicius find anywhere in his heart to forgive him?

"We must be stealthy about this, because if my brother's men are here they will take fast notice of two wandering travelers and a horse." Vinicius stopped, he perhaps thought it be best he go by himself, but he was in no shape to defend himself against a band of military trained soldiers if he were caught, and Vinicius did not want to go home, not yet. He wanted to sort things out first. "Do you have any weapons with you, Bellistrad? A dagger? Maybe two?"

No Vinicius was not planning on springing into any type of combat, though he wanted to be best prepared as he could. After the night of ball, Vinicius felt always had to be prepared for anything.

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When the king showed up Deborah didn't think much of the guards he had with him, to her it was pretty obvious that he needed someone to guide him around the castle, how else would he avoid walking right into a wall? So his intention wasn't getting through at all. When he started pacing around her she didn't bother with following his movements with her eyes, instead she focused on her hands that lied on the table. She was used to this behavior by now, it was not like his need to show how superior he was had emerged recently. No, she had seen it since the beginning. She was used to it, the only difference now from then was that she wasn't fighting it. Instead she just accepted it.

Half into the lecture Deborah's headache was back, this wasn't making anything clearer. She still had no idea what was going on. She just knew that she didn't like it, it was as if she saw how the noose appeared around her and got tighter and tighter. "Hold out your hand." The last reasonable part of her mind told her that it didn't matter, but the moment the words was let out into the open she moved the hands from the table. She held them close to her body, protecting them, the last thing she wanted was to lose what made her who she was. But she knew it was silly, she had seen how the king was able to transfer heat, he had touched the man’s chest, not his hands.

"I promise... I won't kill you. Make your decision now..." No Deborah doubted that the king would just kill her off, if that was what he wanted he would have already done it by now. He had so many chances to just kill her off - Shadowfen, when she was jailed, when he came to visit her and now. No, she knew he wouldn't kill her now. If that was his plan he had taken too much time to do other things, unnecessary things. "Or you know what, perhaps it be better I do this."

Deborah couldn't figure out what the king did or what he meant. But there was something, she couldn't place it at all. But a sudden warmth, no not warmth it was more like an intense heat. Something burnt her on the inside. It was like her being got in contact with a flame, it didn't burn her skin. It burned her soul. Whatever it was she was positive the king had something to do with it. And for the first time this meeting she felt extremely uncomfortable. She didn't need to fear for her outer shell, instead she needed to fear for the thing it protected. The thing people couldn't see with the eye, the thing she thought was indestructible and unreachable.

"Your fate is determined by how you answer this question, Deborah what is it you wish to become? If there be any position you want, say it now."

What she wished to become? The question was unexpected, earlier all he had talked about was what he wanted. Now she suddenly got to pick? At least tell him out loud what she wished to do. And it was strange, she was even more confused. Making faces again before shaking her head, he couldn't see it but she did it anyway. She just tried to grip the whole situation and the only way for her to express all those emotions inside of her was to grimace her way through it.

When she had finally sorted out her own feelings she looked up at the blind king with as much composure as possible, "I'm here to honor the agreement we made, the promise I gave you when you felt weak. I promised to be on your side and I'm here to be on your side if that is what you want from me. If that means I need to turn into a mercenary or an assassin it doesn't matter. I will follow your order. If you want me in here studying my own powers to see if I can find a way to give you back your sight that's fine. If your order is for me to leave Murtovaara and not come back that's fine as well. So the answer to your question is simple. I wish to keep my promise, any way you want me to king."

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General King Zaheed

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Loyalty? Zaheed was not expecting that, not after what happened in Shadowfen. But what confused him even more was her saying that she would be fine if his decision were to forbid her to ever come back to work for him. But no matter, Zaheed believed her because she did have the choice and chance to leave, but she didn't. Thus, she proved to be trustworthy to lay a very important mission into her hands.

Zaheed ceased his pacing and instead back up, folding his arms. "Very well...," he responded, preparing himself for the news he was going to soon release. Yes, there were places in his mind doubted that he could trust her because that was just him as a person, always wary of others, never sure who they really are inside because he knows from himself, people are liars. The only being that yet knows about his sinister schemes to the throne was Icarus, his bird, but other than him, no one. "Deborah, do you recall me mention that I went through much blood to get to where I am as king?" His voice was much lower now, perhaps the lowest volume he could put it in and not be inaudible. "Well, I was not lying of course, but-- Hm, let me start from the beginning. Let us have a seat."

Zaheed staggered his way, finding a chair, he eventually needed help from Deborah. But this was it, the first time he spoke to a someone about his past, who he was as a person, and unleashed his dark secrets. "Lord Zarfu, my father, broke the tradition of the eldest son of the king takes the throne, and decreed Zotar become the tribe's next leader. I should of suspected it sooner, because you see ever since I was a child nothing I ever was could hold a candle to Zotar in my father's eyes. Nothing. And it was not like I did not put any effort, I was General of his armies, I was the reason for his success, well much more than Zotar. Because what was he to my father? A prince, that was it, a mere prince, he had no military rank, yet Zotar was the golden child enough so to steal the throne away from me. And I was determined to go through any extent to get it back. But what really pisses me off was that Zotar was one always angry, so much so he named himself Vinicius, vengeance. He had no right to be angry, he had the throne, I should of been the furious one. And I was, but I did not let him know that...

My mother was ill, so she was not in a state to rule, so Zotar took over. And in the meantime, I devised a plan to get rid of Zotar and to make sure my mother stayed sick. Thus I met with Zianro Azura, the leader of the water tribe, and discussed a plan to sneak his men into the castle on the night of Zotar's ball where he then was kidnapped. Of course situations like this happening within the fire tribe is not unusual, they have a past of assassinations of kings so that others may take their place.

But whatever Zianro did with Zotar I don't know, but I do know he is free and knowing Zotar he will try to come back here as if he is welcomed. And I cannot risk that, especially knowing it is his right to take back the throne. And thus that is the reason I needed you as an assassin, because I believe you are the only person I can trust with this type of information. And of course, because I need Zotar eliminated before he reaches this castle."

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Lord Vinicius

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The feeling of a sword in hand was one step to forging Vinicius back into the skillful warrior he was rather than a mad wrestling with self-torment and hate. He tightly wrapped his grip around the hilt as he stroked his finger down the flat side of the blade, "It has been long..." It indeed had, the last time he was equipped was the night of his father's death. So one could imagine the mix feelings Vinicius was flooded with, feelings and thoughts like, Those murders will pay. No, I shouldn't be impulsive, shouldn't make a stupid mistake that I can never get myself out of. But what if restraining myself is a stupid decision?

Vinicius finally just put the sword down by his side, those thoughts will have there place later. But Vinicius was grateful to have it at hand, but not only that, he started feel better about this Bellistrad. He armed Vinicius, he did not have to do that, he could of lied and said he had no weapons with him. Yet he didn't, and because of that Vinicius felt safer around him. Besides, Bell did seem like a smart guy for now though there were things about him Vinicius did not understand. Though bringing up the suggestion that they should not conjure any flames was a wise choice, one Vinicius agreed to in a swift nod.

He followed Bell to spot under a tree with a branch to act as a roof. "Let us continue with breathing techniques. Similar to those used in fire bending, meditation breath is all about calming the mind and body while keeping a steady rhythm. Eventually your thoughts will drift off on their own. Count your breathes and concentrate on the same subject as our last session." And then there goes that part about Bell that Vinicius did not understand, well Vinicius has heard about meditation, but never really met anybody who actually meditated. But because Vinicius so far trusted Bell for first freeing him and second giving him a weapon Vinicius did not ask questions but inside cooperated.

He sat crossed legged, closed his eyes, and tried remembering what they last talked about while meditating, whatever that was, which he presumed breathing slowly and calmly. He started to think about his father again, how much he always wanted to make that man proud, doing his best to do so. But that was the thing, doing his best, that got Vinicius thinking, Was I not doing just that, my best? What more could I do? What more could anyone do? He felt like he was pleading himself innocent in front a judge, that judge being himself. And that was when he responded back, Nothing... nothing. You did your best, Zotar.

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Finally Deborah started to understand what was happening around her, pieces started to make sense. She didn't feel as lost, getting tossed around inside an ocean of new information that just kept on replacing each other. And as she listened she could understand why the king had chosen to give her, of all people in the world, such an important assignment. It was not because she was good at such things. It was because she didn't care even the slightest for the tribe or their previous king. Which only led her to the conclusion that the other assassins probably was fire tribe members since they wouldn't be fit for such a task.

Horrible enough she got kind of excited by the idea, to eliminate the previous king. That if something would turn her into someone, even if she died trying. She would die and be remembered for it. People would remember her powers, and even if she would fail in killing the man she could at least make him go blind. She would be satisfied with that.

But there was something she still was extremely uncertain about, "So, I'm supposed to kill your brother? I have no problem with that, I see it as a privilege in fact. But... how am I supposed to kill him? You know very well I haven't dealt with these sort of things before. I'm not even a soldier, well at least not an educated one. And I guess he can protect himself... Well, I think you understand what I'm implying. How am I supposed to kill him before he kills me."

She didn't fear death now either, which was why she had walked right into this. Sure, she found it a bit unsetteling. The thought of dying made her nervous, she remembered how it felt to be choked by the current king, and she didn't exactly like the feeling. But she didn't have anything to lose. Just a lot to win. So she wanted to succeed, even if most of her was in doubt. She just knew that she needed to kill him before she died herself. Because she was almost certain this would be the end of her.

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General King Zaheed

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Zaheed was pleased that she was completely fine with taking the job of an assassin. He felt it a wise choice to put her in the place of one because she had a unique power, one that could not identify her with a tribe. Because Zaheed knows proof from the murder of their father, Zotar will blame a whole tribe for the assassin.

"Well, I think you understand what I'm implying. How am I supposed to kill him before he kills me."

Yes, Zotar was a talented fighter, he was quick and fought like a rogue. Yet with Zaheed knowing that Zotar has been locked away from almost a month and most likely it was by the hands of Zianro, he is not nearly as skillful as he once was. And his honor was another thing, as Zaheed recalled on his younger brother's coronation, Zotar refused to duel a woman. He was always like that, being a polite gentleman. Though Zaheed cannot bet he will act the same way again, perhaps not to an assassin.

But if there were one thing the king was confident in, it was his training. Sure, he would only take a matter of three days training her due to time, though Zaheed has trained thousands of men and women before in both warrior and rogue classes. And Deborah also had that power of her, she could easily blind him and then swiftly slice his throat. However, Zaheed was going to give her freedom in how she wishes to execute her kill.

"That will depend upon the weapon you choose and also the tactic. Though I wish for you to be not in far distance, so no arrows nor throwing knives, because I want you be sure this man is my brother. Thus you are going to have to check his forearms; if they are covered with any sort of wrapping, you must rip it off before killing him. Which may not be hard for you if you simply blind him, rip any covering off, and discover if he is Zotar are not. Tomorrow I will get an update of the suspected location and a suspected man that may be my brother.

However you have another interesting option, you could go undercover. This will buy you time to get closer to him without him assuming anything and thus easier for you to make your kill. f you decide to do this you will require less combat training and inside more insight information about Zotar. A stab to his back gives you a higher chance of survival. But the choice is yours."

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Lord Vinicius

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"Zotar... do you believe me now? Your brother needs to be defeated one way or another."

Vinicius frozed letting his eyes absorb the horrid sight in front of him as his back was faced Bell. So Zaheed really did attack Shadowfen, well, attack would only be vague, he burned it, exploited it; Bellistrad was right. But Vinicius did not agree with him, no, not when hearing that Zaheed should be defeated for conquering Shadowfen. "Its Vinicius...," his words were like venom, menacing even threatening. His whole body had tightened start from the spine and spreading throughout with fist clenched and brow deeply furrowed.

He was trying his best not to allow his palms to erupt infernos, but the anger inside of him boiled profusely, so much so that his veins glowed like red hot iron, with light sweeping out of the crevices of his fist. One moment Vinicius felt he could actually trust this Bell, he began to like this guy. But now, Vinicius was one step from doing something he may highly regret, something rash, something deadly...

"These people deserve this," he growled. "Their people killed my father!" Yes it was true, rogue earth tribe assassins though hired by the water tribe, but Vinicius did not know that. And even I he did, with this much anger and vengeance, he did not care. "How dare you hope for my brother's defeat, when they were destined for this the second the first drop of my father's blood fell." Zotar lifted up the sword in his hand, marching closer to Bell in an offensive stance. "Who are you? Bell, is it? You really believe my brother should be my enemy here?"

Vinicius could already tell Bellistrad was in enough pain as it was, but he did not care. He was mad at Bell, for him to wish for his brother's downfall. Right now in Vinicius's eyes, Bell was hurting his family. And there was one trait that stuck out very dominantly about Vinicius, he was a family man. And when anyone held such unrighteous claim against them, he was willing to end them.

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“Undercover?” Deborah hadn’t even considered that option, it hadn’t showed up in her mind. Not until the king mentioned it. And even though it was a good advice, that would indeed get her close to the suspect and make it easier to find out if it was the kings brother or not there were still some problems. These problems was Deborah herself. She wasn’t exactly someone nice, she didn’t talk that much with people. Aside from the king himself. Which probably was the person she have had the longest conversations with in her entire life. She simply wasn’t a people person, and she doubted that she would be able to get along better with the younger brother than she did with the older one.

“Are you sure I would be able to do something like that? I’m not questioning your plan but--,” Yes, she was. That was why she paused, trying to figure out how to ask it in the most polite way. “How am I supposed to go undercover? If your tales are true and the people your investigating right no indeed is your little brother… shouldn’t that mean he is extremely hard to get close to now? I mean like… suspecting everyone? And I have never really been that good at not getting angry at people… all the time. Wouldn’t I just get kicked out of the camp in the end? Before I’ve been able to confirm that it’s him?”

That was all of her concerns, she hadn’t been able to put it more nicely. So even if she would like for that plan to work, since it seemed to be the easier one – if it was anyone else but her that was going to work out just fine probably. But her? She doubted it. Was she just supposed to stroll right into the man’s camp and place herself there, not caring about any protests at all? And what was she supposed to answer if he asked her who she was? Deborah had no clue. That was why she asked. Because she wanted it to work out.

“I haven’t really done anything like this before… I just want to succeed…” She was just being honest, showing how much she wanted it to work. Because Deborah didn’t deal with lying or tricks, she was an honest person. She told the truth. All the time. Sometimes a bit exaggerative version, but all of it was true.