Almega: Part 1 ~ Heart of the Reborn

[FlameMaster5]

SPOILER: Click to show

Q - How long is an average fantasy novel in chapters?
A - Science fiction and fantasy novels typically have a word count between 90,000 to 125,000 words. The sweet spot, according to Donald Maas, is 100,000 to 115,000 words.

Q - How many pages (words) are in an average chapter?
A - Some will tell you 2,500 words is the average, while others will say that 3,000 to 5,000 word chapters are more likely to be the norm. Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words.

^Probably good to keep these notes nearby.
Thanks, Google! XD

Also, military time chart! ;]

Book rated T-M for:
Smoking and Alcohol Use
Occasional Strong Language
Fantasy Violence
Suggestive and/or Descriptive Themes (like Sex and Murder)




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.: ALMEGA :.

Part 1:
Heart of the Reborn

There once was a Bird in a tree that reached high among the clouds
Singing songs of a Great Fish
Until a Serpent climbed up and devoured the Bird
And then there were no more songs...

_^Overture

"Where is it, Adarethue? What have you done with my Heart?"

"…You will never find it.”

Amid a floating palace in the sky, a fair and golden-haired queen stood composed before a monstrous man.

She posed beside by her husband and king Deth'rakhaz with head held high, their beloved son just below in the folds of her white dress.
The opposing beast, the Meidran Royal-Master, molded his face into something of animosity towards her. At his side, his Commander awaited orders on how to proceed with this apparent trial.

No guards on either army were present.
No handmaidens. No servants. No citizens.
There were no other witnesses.

"If you will not return what you have stolen from me", the Royal-Master growled, eyes flashing a sinister shade of red, "then I will take what is most precious to you. Gemel, bring me the boy!" His Commander responded without hesitation, marching straightforward to retrieve the child at her feet.

But Adarethue did not waver. No matter how agonizing it was to watch Gemel pry her baby from her hands. Not even when her husband looked at her with desperation. Even when the Royal-Master smirked back at her, it only strengthened her resolve.

The monstrous man turned, walking back towards a swirling rift from whence he came, saying, "Nocture belongs to me now as long as you remain hiding my Heart, Adarethue. Return it to me in M'Xelninun, and you'll see your son again. Until then..."

She watched them disappear from the grand hall, tears now streaming from her mauve-colored eyes.
A whisper managed to escape her.
"We did it to save you..."

[FlameMaster5]

_{^{Chapter 1 - The Festival of Passing}}

The Festival of Passing - It is a time for the people of Lloryncia to remember their ancestors and any late family members, to be happy for the day as they remember that the black and red Kalsamtorr of Passing has guided their loved ones to peace in the afterlife. On this annual day, the darkness and fear of war are blotted out, for Yuxe stands with them.

Daylight for the Llorians was spent gathering all that was needed and then some for the grand celebration to come once the sun went down: food provided by the harvest this year, enough drink to make one stagger, and fireworks and lanterns to light up Festival Lane from the Marketplace all the way to the Town Square. Woven streamers dyed scarlet flowed between each home and shop of two districts, uniting the city as one. Candles lined to create a flickering aisle from the entrance of the kingdom to Castle Llor's courtyard. Families gathered together, Theroce nobles and Mikune peasants alike, ready to usher in the protector demigod.

Night finally graced them. As soon as the moonlight bathed the party-goers the real festivities began! Good king Nicholaus Lloryn and his Swords(designated knights of the castle) made an appearance in the middle of Festival Lane among the people to formally invite the divine beast into Lloryncia. The front gates were commanded open and entering over the drawbridge from the Howling Fields came the thundering claws of the enormous canine. Yuxe had appeared, per usual, for his yearly honoring.

People cheered and swarmed around the massive, wolfish monster as soon as he entered Festival Lane. A fashioned wreath of crimson silk and chiming bells was slipped over the broad neck of the kalsamtorr as he parted through the crowds, more and more hands reaching out to caress his horns and thick patches of fur. Yuxe let loose a howl as fireworks began, the sky lighting up bits of colors in his fiery eyes. His most devoted now fell to their knees at the sound of his cry, now weeping themselves as they called out to their deity the names of their lost loved ones they prayed he would guard for eternity.

Followers of Canidae Cathedral all dressed in robes of colors to match Yuxe then emerged in multitudes from the crowd. Each of the dedicated played music from drums to harps to bagpipes, all the while dancing in choreography that rung the bells they wore. The Highe Priestess among them finally broke out in the chanting of ancient Llorian between her soothing songs, her blissful laughter sometimes escaping to create a melody on the wind as she twirled in a dance around the mighty kalsamtorr. People sang and clapped along as the celebration continued in the glow of the lanterns and the moon.

Among the merrymakers, attempting to make merry himself and failing, is a seventeen-year-old boy named Jade. The youth had remained in the back of the crowds for half the evening now after sending two of his youngest brothers home after enough sweets for the night. He quietly watched the parade that clung to the coat of the passing Yuxe and found his eyes wetting. Though this holiday was in fact meant to be a joyous occasion it was still laced with grief for him as he remembered the loss of his beloved parents. He whispered solemn prayers for them now, voice only heard by the acute hearing of the beast he pleads to.

"I know my father yet lives - I know it in my heart. Please, Yuxe, bless him with your might and bring him back home to us! Mother is gone, and nothing can change that, but still... Continue to safeguard her spirit so that we may rejoin with her as a family in the afterlife. I beg of you. This is all that I ask."

A single tear was shed.

The young man closed his eyes and simply allowed himself to feel the drop gently cascade down his cheek, all the while listening to the people around him continue to laugh and sing as he breathed more evenly to bring himself back into the moment. He would not leave this festival somber, nor would he bring the low tides to his brothers. A quick brush away of the stream from his face and Jade returned to the world around him.

A nudge was then on his shoulder. The youth found his smile as he now faced the white stallion that remained to wait at his side. "Worried about me, Calisson?", Jade asked, placing a hand just on a velvety nose. The faithful steed then pushed his snout repeatedly into the boy's palm, almost as if nodding in response. "Thanks, buddy, but I'm alright. It's just this day, you know?" Nickering answered him as he now placed his forehead against that of his horse, his smile stretching a little further by the comforts his companion offered. "I appreciate that. You always have the right things to say, huh?" As Jade continued to stroke the face of his steed he cast a sideward glance back to the steadily moving party and sighed as he realized Yuxe was drifting right along without him. He nodded firmly. "Come on, let's catch up. The night is far from over!"

On cue, Calisson lowered himself to the cobblestone streets and Jade mounted immediately. With a quick flick of the reins, the stallion was off cantering alongside the candles back towards the center of the demigod's storm of fans with his rider in tow.

As Jade came to the edges of the continually moving mass of fellow Llorians that clung to their deity, he leaned back in his saddle to give a gentle signal to his steed to go into a trot as they followed along now. He watched the proud kalsamtorr step almost in rhythm to the music and song that the Highe Priestess conducted, his shoulders lax with head raised high as his heavy paws pit-pat loud enough to hear over his bells. The crowd cheered louder as Yuxe neared the center stage of Festival Lane where King Lloryn waited. They tossed marigold and lily petals that had been dipped in the oils of lavender out to shower the divine beast together with their affection.

When the demigod reached the stairs of the stage, hoisting the fallen petals in his wake in an array of color and sweet wafting aroma, he entered a dais and into the wide-open arms of Lloryncia's ruler.
"Welcome back among your children, Kalsamtorr of Passing!", King Nicholaus bellows joyously, and the people hailed happily now as the creature rested a large head in his hands. "Yuxe, you grace us once again with your presence! You selflessly shield and guide our perished kith and kin as they traverse through the mires of the hereafter until they find peace. As we do every year, we honor and thank you today for this absolute love you show us. For when it comes our time to pass, we will find comfort in knowing that you will be at our sides!"
Jade pulled on the reins to come to a halt amidst the gathering below and a roar of praises and applause erupted around him. He himself couldn't help beaming at the amazement of the creature before him on display. How awesome and beautiful that Yuxe really was despite the fierce nature of his guardianship.

Fireworks started up again. The Highe Priestess and her twirling troupe of clerics entered the dais to circle their mighty deity and king. Jade wasn't sure if it was the spinning of the dancers or the loud bursts in the air, but he saw the kalsamtorr startle. Yuxe reluctantly pulled away from King Nicholaus and stepped stiffly back a few paces, looking unnerved, whining quietly as saliva dripped off his chin.
He didn't appear to be swallowing.

The ceremony continued without notice when the sovereign of Lloryncia began inviting children from crowded families to come up on stage to greet their Demigod of Passing. Soon Yuxe was surrounded by squealing and giggling youngsters that hugged him tightly, their tiny fingers tracing the intricate spirals of scarlet in his raven pelt to grasping onto his bull-like horns. Jade smiled at the kids playing with the placid beast as he remembered fondly of his first time meeting Yuxe. However, his face molded into something of concern when several of the children began turning to their families with large clumps of fur in their hands that came easily loose. There were now huge bald patches exposing scabs and lesions on the body of their deity, some places worse with peeling fresh wounds that oozed blood and fluids. It wasn't until a careless small hand slapped a spot of the taint that the kalsamtorr yipped like that of a common dog and alerted everyone else at once that something was quite wrong.

Music and festivities came to an abrupt halt.

The creature responded to his pain by turning to the little 'assailant' and growled with a now foaming mouth while hunching his back up defensively. Jade tensed as this warning sent the kids screaming and fleeing back down the front stairs of the stage to their equally frightened parents for their safety. When the king attempted to draw closer to the beast to both calm him and judge his condition, Yuxe rigidly turned towards him with snout curling, ears pinning back, and tail tucked beneath him. The Highe Priestess immediately caught her good king by the arm, pulling him back into the fold of his Swords.
"Caution, Your Majesty", she tells him, gesturing to the change now seen in his fiery eyes, "Yuxe is not well and he seems to not recognize his Llorian children…” The Sword Commander promptly turned to her sovereign at this time and began escorting him and the Highe Priestess back to Castle Llor with an order to the remaining knights to make formation around the dais until she returned.

Caging the four-hundred-pound kalsamtorr in a ring of armored Swords of Lloryn caused the beast to go from feeling threatened and submissive to his shoulders rising above his lowered head as he now snarled aggressively. Everyone gasped in horror when the creature began coughing and sneezing forcefully and then vomiting blood that he inadvertently bathed himself in, causing him to shake the foulness off his damp hairs onto anyone unlucky enough below. Crowds shuffled back with cries of disgust at the raining red. They could only watch uneasily when a robed priest unthinkingly went to the aid of his demigod and was met with the monster beginning to circle him as a hint of green flashed in the pits of his gaze.
Jade narrowed his eyes when the beast crouched and opened his disease-riddled maw to howl menacingly.

Yuxe was going to attack!

The heavy angst in the air burst into terror when the kalsamtorr lost all sense of control and went into a rampage of tooth and claw on the center platform. Yuxe pounced on the defenseless priest first and mercilessly crushed him in his jaws before turning on the Swords that surrounded him. He easily overpowered the barrier of knights through sheer strength alone and landed into the masses below, sending the public now screaming as they pushed and shoved to get away. The beast, blind with rage, broke anyone in his fangs too slow to evade him.

Jade, witnessing the shedding of Llorian blood before him, watched as the maddened deity began to tear his way through Festival Lane and going quickly en route towards the Town Square and Castle Llor beyond that in a full-force charge. The youth now found his hand reaching back behind his saddle to take a long, metal shaft into his grasp. He was not a Sword like his father, but he had long been practicing to become a man of his caliber. With that, the young man knew it was his duty to safeguard his people and thusly his family.
Snapping the reins, Jade commanded, "Let's go, Calisson!"
The steed reared with an uproarious neigh and jolted into a gallop, his rider leaning down in close to his neck with spear handled in front of them like a jouster.

The cobblestone path and sea of frantic people seemed to blur in his vision as Jade honed in on his rapid target. Ahead Yuxe continued to berserk, plowing over carts of abundant provisions and offerings, and anyone caught underfoot without cease. The youth giving chase spurred Calisson forward until he was riding now alongside the raging beast that mindlessly bounded forward. "Yuxe!", Jade called out above the shrill cries around them. "Can you hear me?! Please, almighty lord, calm yourself! The people of Lloryncia - your children - are dying to your unbridled fury! You have to stop!" The glowing eyes of the demigod rolled aimlessly in his head, crazed, no light of awareness setting in as he raced along. The boy adjacent glanced numerous times to the kalsamtorr, searching still for a sign of his senses, but grew desperate as he now reached with his spare hand out to one of his beloved deities. "Stop! Please, stop! You can't--Yuuuxe!!"

They crossed the border into the Town Square and sent unsuspecting citizens retreating into the corner shops and alleyways nearby. The drawbridge leading to the courtyard of Castle Llor was up ahead, and coming in clearer and clearer as they spurred onward. It would take circling just around the fountain centerpiece here in the heart of the city and then king and castle would be in danger. Jade couldn't allow that to happen. "Bring up the bridge!", the youth yelled out to the Swords above on the outer wall, each taking notice of the monstrosity and rider now charging towards them. "Hurry! Don't let Yuxe inside!" Several of the knights on duty poured out over the scaffold immediately to take up defensive positions below while others heeded the warning and began lifting the drawbridge. The structure moved gradually, slowed by its weight.
As Calisson snorted in his wild run beside the creature, Jade on top was preparing himself with spear poised for attack. He found more tears dancing in his eyes, now overwhelmed by not the beauty of the kalsamtorr but the awfulness. "I'm so sorry, Yuxe...", he wept, closing in for a strike. "Den Mother Ulloryn, please, forgive me..."

The young man then jabbed the sharpened point of his weapon into the haunch of the demigod's leg; a strategic blow. This sent a yipping Yuxe crashing down upon the cobblestone streets and sliding into the outer edges where candles continued to line the square, setting the beast with his fraying hair aflame. Jade pulled back on the reins to slow his steed to a complete halt. Now just behind the blockade of defending Swords, he turned with an astonished gasp to see the creature rise up even still.

An eerie wail sounded out over the kingdom.

The demigod standing now appeared as a demon. His furs seared quickly away to reveal more and more blisters, large and full of taint. The spiraled markings on his shoulders and hips that once held shoots of crimson hair now glowed and wavered like the edge of a hot poker. Flames continued to engulf him, dancing wildly, seemingly a part of him. When he raised his head ever slightly, his curving horns emerged from the fires and struck a new kind of fear into the hearts about him. His burning eyes then appeared and flared a sinister shade of verdant inside a hollowed darkness. Yuxe, maddened by a plague, was only angered further by the charring of his flesh. He snarled fiercely as he began to hunt his Llorian prey.

A deity no more, Yuxe leaped forward onto the nearest knight. Jade watched in horror as the monster's teeth cleanly removed the Sword's head from her shoulders as his claws went piercing two others through their armored chests. Witnessing civilians left in the nooks of the square screamed as loudly as the dying men and women before them. These soldiers that attempted to defend the youth at their backs failed gruesomely when they would not attack their demigod in fear of upsetting Den Mother Ulloryn. The canine turned upon them one by one in vicious succession until all that remained was the young warrior atop his horse that had dared to strike first! The evil that was now Yuxe fixed his corrupt sight on the boy, stalking slowly with his high shoulders that caused the bells around his neck to chime bizarrely in the flames.

Preparing himself to face the demon before him alone as he believed his father would, Jade dismounted from Calisson at last as he gripped firmly the lance between his fingers. His blue eyes shot forward to meet those of green pyres before a shivering look at that grinning set of blood-stained teeth. He felt the fear prick and prod through the belly of him until it climbed up his spine to the base of his neck, standing his hairs up high, until he swallowed the terror down to begin the loop of dread coursing within him once more. The whine of the drawbridge sluggishly closing behind him was the only thing in this moment that allowed his gaze to narrow on the kalsamtorr before him; his courage to stand toe-to-toe with a monster only stemming from the determination to protect others, to hold Yuxe off until the castle was secure. He now slapped the hide of his steed, causing Calisson to bolt off without him to safety, before turning to Yuxe with the spear in hand in hope of luring the creature in for a blow that he expected neither of them to survive.

As Jade began to circle, the festering and smoldering Yuxe recognized through his haze that the young man was challenging him. The curling snout of the beast turned to follow the point of the spear, nose sniffling at the scent of his own blood just at the tip, and barked so loud that the air pushed the boy back slightly. The youth recovered quickly as the flaming monster approached with head low to the ground, bull-like horns facing directly, giant claws pounding and rasping against the street as he stalked. Jade took a deep breath, ignoring the nauseating mixture of rotting and burning flesh as best as he could, to ready himself for the inevitable attack. He noticed the crouching of the demon, the rigid steps, the lock-on of those eyes that all apex predators had.
The fangs were coming. There was no stopping them.

Yuxe pounced to go for the kill. He brought Jade easily to the ground with gaping jaws rattling before the face of the boy in a fierce howl. The young man, staring into a cavernous maw lined with teeth, surprisingly found himself roaring back as he unpinned his left arm from heavy claws to plunge his spear straight back into the closing mouth of the kalsamtorr. Yuxe bit down on Jade's bicep just above the joint, one large tooth making a clean hole straight through and crushing the surrounding bone. The youth stifled his cries, eyes squeezing tightly shut before flashing back open in defiance. He forced his broken arm to thrust the metal shaft. Yuxe erupted suddenly with a moaning yelp. The point of the spear had gone through the back of the burning monster's skull, seen jutting out just between the ears.

Something strange was heard. Jade listened closely and swore he heard ancient Llorian being spoken in a whisper between guttural growling. The meaning of the words he could not understand, but the words themselves were crisp, harsh, and enunciated so clearly that they filled the boy with dread...

The demigod now crashed over on his side; dead. The young man might have noticed he was being pulled along, caught on the beast's fang, had his mind not just been filled with a haunting message. The only sound snapping Jade back to reality was the firm closing of the drawbridge at last, and then he allowed his gaze to scan over the death and destruction left behind. There was blood everywhere.

Blood from the citizens. Blood from the fallen Swords. Blood from the slain Yuxe himself.
Kalsamtorr of Passing, indeed.
Jade then pulled himself off the canine and cried out from the agony as the tooth came off to remain wedged in his arm. Now his blood dripped, too.

Tainted. From the start of Festival Lane to the drawbridge just before Castle Llor, everything was tainted. And so was anyone that had gotten the corrupt blood either on them or in them, including the dead bodies that met their end. The disease would spread.
Would they all go mad as Yuxe did?

Jade, knowing his fate was to die quickly from either blood loss or infection, managed to stand and ordered the last few witnesses(the Swords on the wall and a handful of cowering people in the corners of the Town Square) of what transpired here to burn everything in the area: all the linens, carts, food, the dead bodies, anything at all that Yuxe touched or got his blood on, and then the demigod as well in a funeral pyre. These sound words were the last bit he could offer of himself to his people. As the citizens finally stood in shock, the youth staggered away from the battle scene into quiet alleyways to attempt making it back home. He had to make sure his family was safe, that none of them had gotten caught up in the chaos. He even had to say goodbye before his own time of passing.

Through the back passages that lead somewhere into the Mikune District, just making it past Canidae Cathedral, Jade stumbled and slumped wearily against the walls. He painted the corridors in a long stream of red anytime he bumped and pushed on through the night on his left arm, the blood steadily exiting his body. His eyesight was blotching, coming in and out, and he could feel his breathing getting more and more shallow as his heartbeat drummed loudly in his ears. Finally, he couldn't go another step.
This was it, he thought. He would die right here, alone, in the dark.
Bleeding to death.
Not what he had planned for his final moments.

But perhaps it would be better than the infection that awaited him otherwise.

The young man felt himself tip forward as the darkness took him, going unconscious from the blood loss. His tired and battered body was falling, seemingly doomed to drop to the empty path and bleed out without anyone ever knowing... When a figure materialized from behind and caught him.

A towering shadow, fast to snatch up the boy in his arms, made off quickly to a nearby empty inn within the same district.


_ _ _

The old and abandoned lodge burst open with a swift and decisive kick to the door as the tall man entered, carrying the young warrior in a clutching embrace over to a waiting table with lit lanterns hanging overhead. The boy was practically dropped onto the bar as a definite scent of blood began to fill the large hall. With the stranger now removing stained upper garments on the youth, searching in the dark with almost impatience, he found the real site of injury at the bicep, a tooth jutting out. Such perfect ivory skin was already defiled by swollen black veins. The blight would spread.

Ruined. Completely ruined.
His jaw ground. But only for a moment.

He then heard the young man stir with a quiet moan. The boy was still alive, if only barely. He listened to the youth struggle there on the table, his breathing coming in and out as a wheeze.
It would be easier to just let this pup bleed out now, wouldn't it? The Blight of Yuxe would be a horrendous way to die. Why save him just to have him face the inevitable later?
The strained voice of the boy then whispered, "I'm... Sorry..." His eyes fluttered every once in a while just under the lids, stuck in a fever dream. “I'm sorry... Mother. I'm sorry... Father." The corners of his eyes then released a few tears. "I... Couldn't keep... My promise..."

Grief? Guilt?

Probably from whatever disappointments he apparently feels to the amount of pain he is enduring.
But... What if the pup doesn't die?
What if he survives the infection?
What if he becomes...

Immune.

The tall man nodded very slowly. To himself, obviously.
Perhaps it was worth giving the boy a chance. Even if it were slim.

He leaned over the young man. The stranger patted the youth on his cheek several times, encouraging him back into the here and now with hopefully some focus for a time.

At the very least... Interrupt the chain of needless apologies.
His gelid voice then asked, "Boy... Hey, boy, still with me?", now peering into slowly opening blue orbs. "What's your name, boy?"
"P-Prism... Jade Prism..."
The tall man now grinned, a gleam in his eye. "Well, Jade Prism, today is your lucky day."

[FlameMaster5]

_{^{Chapter 2 - The Nightly Visit}}

Darkness and flame...
Blood and screams...
Fear overwhelming...
He was reveling in it.

Crowds scurried away squealing and scattered throughout the floating city to escape his shadow. He pursued leisurely, his guards ahead cutting them down one by one along with the resisting soldiers.
He found himself stopping just inside the courtyard to gaze up to the beryl castle up ahead; his destination. It was then he heard moaning, realizing he was towering over an injured soldier that lie there helplessly at his feet.
He felt a wicked smile etch onto his face just before a writhing tongue caressed his lips.
The struggle. The heaving breaths.
The raw blood and flesh.
He knelt.

The soldier gasped, suddenly coherent enough to fear him, clawing aimlessly at the broken path in an attempt to crawl away.
He chuckled darkly. Laugh echoing loud to create a wave in the space around them. Like a predator stalking its prey, he toyed with the crippled man, allowing him futile efforts to retreat for sheer enjoyment. When the wait became mundane, and the hunger impatient, he snatched the wretch by his head tightly.
The soldier whimpered now, foreseeing his fate.
He brought the casualty close, opening his maw to growl viciously.

And then...
With his other hand, he plunged into the victim's chest, quickly removing a freshly dripping heart before discarding the rest for scraps.
He smelled the muscle in his palm. The scent was so delicious.

Closing his eyes with a smirk, he went to bite into the juicy red--

_ _ _




The door creaked open. A sliver of light entered the master bedroom to cast his small shadow on the wall.
"Jade...", the young voice called out, calm yet concerned before bursting into a fit of coughs.
A moan from the bed came, followed by the rustling of covers.
"What is it? Everything all right?"
"It's Redd", came the hoarse response. "Will you go to him?"
There was a groggy sigh this time. Before long his figure was leaning out of the cot in the darkness.
"I'll be right there..."



It was the fourth hour. The house was still in the twilight.
Jade had gotten up from his bed, despite being tired and overworked, to light his way through corridors with a lantern for the sole purpose of following very faint sounds.
Coughing. Sobbing.
The softness of these sounds grew louder as he made his way to a certain small bedroom in the west corner of their little residence.
Though exhausted, he believed his body was beginning to expect interrupted sleep. He had made such visits before (throughout his life even) but his time spent awake in the after-hours was becoming more frequent lately.
That was worrisome.


The door was open.
He stood there in the doorframe a moment as the lantern swayed slightly by the chain, illuminating the room further to reveal two small children waiting patiently in their respective cots.
One had come to get him and now was nuzzled back into his covers while attempting not to bark and wheeze from a coming cold.
The other was terrified, sitting there in his bed with his knees pulled up to his chin, arms wrapped tightly around his legs, shedding a stream of tears.
He sighed with concern for them both and then moved into the bedroom to tend to the youngest first.
Take responsibility. Care for your family.
That's what he had always been told.

"Hey, lord-lings..."

Jade, eldest of five brothers, spoke with a warm tone housing real parental instinct as he came over and placed his lantern down on the dresser between the two youngster's beds. He gently sat down on the edge of the cot and faced the little ten-year-old boy that shivered beside him to gaze deeply into a single, ocean-shaded eye.

The child was staring back, wide eye like that of broken glass as tears ran endlessly. He managed to bring one trembling hand to the scarred side of his face while the other reached out to grasp firmly around his older brother's arm.

"J-Jade... Jade, I--" He choked, simply breaking into a whimper.

Jade moved immediately to catch his brother in an embrace, holding him close as any real father would.

"Redd... Hey, I got you, ok?" He glanced over to his other young brother that lie watching solemnly nearby as he pressed Redd into his chest, stroking his head to calm the boy. "Azul is here for you, too - Being a big brother like he should", Jade then adds, smiling at the now coughing child in the other bed before going further. "I know this is hard for you. I know you are scared. Now, tell us about it."
Azul leaned up from his covers with a nod, wheezing slightly with a hoarse question that was every bit concerned.
"Was it the part with the soldier and the heart?"

Redd, the little boy haunted by recurring nightmares for as long as he could remember, lift his head to rest on Jade's shoulder as he looked over at Azul and found himself settling down enough to attempt making sentences.
"Y-Yes... The part where I... Attack... That man. And his heart--" He swallowed, shaking, eye squinting with pure disgust as he imagined the pictures over and over in his mind. "I can see his face, hear all those people screaming! I can still taste the blood in my mouth! I hate it! I hate it..." He hid his face again in the shirt of his big brother, sousing the fabric more, crying out in pain and fear that was muffled by a tight hug. "Jade, am I going to be a bad person? I don't want to hurt anyone! Make the dreams stop! Please..."

Jade sighed.

Exhausted. Stressed.

He then took Redd by the shoulders firmly and shook the boy once to get his attention completely. When the child was quiet and only his tears came down, that's when his face was aligned to look into the set of deep blue that gazed back before him.

"Now, you listen to me - You're not a bad person, and you're not going to be", Jade states, ever so calm and certain. "I know how the sequence of these nightmares go, and I know tomorrow night I will hear all about what happened to some floating city in the sky. I've heard these stories so much that I could probably picture them perfectly myself. They are dreams, though, and they can't hurt you or me." Then he lovingly grinned, brushing back a few stray strands from Redd's damp face. "All I try to prevent is you becoming anything like Shaydenn and Solis, and I don't even worry about them becoming like what you describe in your head. I tell you that we will get through this and I wouldn't say that unless I believed it myself! Alright?"

Redd nodded when his brother gently released him. He sniffled until he could breathe more evenly, wiping away any remaining drops off his cheek. As he snuggled back into his pillow and covers he was comforted by Jade remaining there at his bedside with the full intention of staying there until he could doze off.

Just over, Azul made a weary smile in spite of battling a fever. He was glad at least that his nightly visits to Jade paid off with his little brother feeling more at ease. However, the twelve-year-old knew that sleep for him and Redd both wouldn't come very easily.

So he made a request.

"Jade... Can you tell us more about Mother and Father?"

The young man laughed lightly. He brushed his hands over his tired eyes before positioning himself more on the edge of the cot to face the inquiring child. He then yawned, "At this hour?"
Azul gave him his best performance of an innocent pout until he made himself giggle between wheezing.
Redd gently tugged on the edge of his sleeve, too, before nestling further into his blankets.
The boys begged in unison, "Pleeeease?"
Jade passed them both a raised brow as the corners of his mouth turned upward. He found himself quite willing to give in to them and their playful antics.
"All right. What would you like to know?"
The children exchanged looks, in nonverbal communication with one another, and then they both turned to their eldest brother.
"What was Mama and Papa like Jade?", Redd asks.
"Do you think Mother, wherever she is now, is with the gods in the sky?", Azul adds. "And Father... Do you think he is alive, that we'll see him again??"

Jade fell silent. He stared into the soft, orange glow of the lantern as memories of their parents came back to him in both calming and haunting whispers. It had only been a month ago since he last prayed to Yuxe at the Festival of Passing.

He could feel something gripping him within.

Anguish? Guilt? Fear maybe? 

No matter. He wouldn't allow a tear to form.

Not tonight.

The stand-in parent for these children then reached over slowly to the dresser to collect the glass figurine of Ulloryn, holding it up to where the light glittered off the crystalline.
"Mother was an honorable woman, one of the finest people in this kingdom. Anyone would say so that knew her. She enjoyed the simple things, saw the blessings of the gods in places and people that you or I might not. She gave more of herself, expected nothing in return, and always wore a smile, even in the darkest of times. Father would say she was like the glint of light on the edge of his blade - Radiant in beauty, dancing with grace, and shining beside him no matter the circumstance." Jade paused, turning the statue of the canine beast in his hands. "If there was ever anyone worthy of passage to the Highe Gods... It was her. I am certain a kalsamtorr escorted her spirit to the heavens, if not by the Den Mother herself."

He then returned the idol to her rightful place, the replica of the demigoddess beast now facing him in her captured position for an attack against foul beings.

"Like this statue, Father was a protector of his family, too, and of the kingdom itself as a Sword of Lloryn. The people of Lloryncia befriended him and honor him for his caliber as a knight. He was virtuous, did what was asked of him within reason, and defended his citizens selflessly in a number of battles. Most of all, he was everything I wanted to be. That I still strive to become." Jade managed a smile through the agony of remembrance. "On the day the Third Kvasian War ignited... Father took me aside and explained to me that I was now the provider. That I would take care of all of you and all else that we had until he returned. It has been years since we parted, but..." His prayer at the festival came rushing back. Stronger even. "I know in my heart he is still alive. I know he will come back to us."

He then pulled his gaze away from the mesmerizing imitation to the young faces of his brothers, whom both now appeared to be at ease from the stories and slowly drifting to sleep.
"Jade...", Redd spoke hazily, quite drowsy now in his pillow, "I sometimes hear you talk to Mama and Papa as if they are with you. Do they protect you like the kalsamtorr?"
The young man smiled warmly at this, leaning over the cot now to look deeply into the single, sleepy blue orb of the ten-year-old.
"More than the kalsamtorr, if I may be so bold", Jade whispers, placing a kiss on the child's forehead.
Redd seemed content with this, nodding, and then closed his eye entirely to slip into slumber.

Azul made another smile, however feeble in his sickness, at Redd drifting asleep when Jade silently came over to sit on the edge of his bed.
"I miss Mother and Father...", the boy says quietly, holding back a fit of coughs to not wake his little brother. "I can barely remember their faces, but I know being with them made me happy."
Jade nods to agree. He gently stroked the boy's face and became more worried at the heat coming off him.
"Yes, Mother and Father are not with us. This is exactly why I am taking care of you all the best I know how. Azul, have you been feeling any better?"
The ill child shrugged slightly, eyes opening and closing wearily.
"I don't feel all that bad tonight - Just sleepy", Azul lies. It wasn't convincing to his wiser older brother.
Jade sighed and then gave the boy a kiss on the head as well.
"If you need me during the night, just come to my room, you hear me? I will look after you if you continue to get worse."
Azul closed his eyes.
"I will, Jade. I promise."

The young man then got up quietly from the cot, picking up his lantern from the dresser as he did, and then started for the bedroom door.
"Goodnight, Jade. We love you."
He turned slightly to hear the mumbling voices of the children fall into silence, and he beamed warmly as he walked out of the room to head back to bed himself.

"Goodnight, lord-lings..."

[FlameMaster5]

_{^{Chapter 3 - An Atypical Afternoon}}

The morning had come early, and too soon for Jade Prism. Bells sounded from Canidae Cathedral that woke him at the eighth hour. He had promptly risen from bed, got dressed in his designated Sword uniform, and slapped his sheathed blade to his hip. After he ate a quick breakfast, he did his usual check on the children while they slept before exiting the home to report to his Sword Commander at Castle Llor. It was his third day of training.

A grueling six hours followed. Jade learned that being a Sword of Lloryn meant that you were shaped and tempered into an ardent weapon, designed to protect king and country with your very life. He was paired with several elite knights throughout the day for sparring matches in the courtyard. Each one of them specialized in different armaments and magicks, making each one a new challenge that forced him to his limits. Considering that he had to utilize his right hand to swing a blade nowadays, Jade found he was doing surprisingly well against his formidable opponents. So much so that the Sword Commander ordered her Captain Doughall to soundly defeat him in the last round of the afternoon sessions.

By the fourteenth hour, trainee Swords were relieved of their practicing and strongly recommended to go home to rest before patrol duty on the castle walls later that night. Jade fully intended to heed the advice of his Commander and was homeward bound atop his steed Calisson as soon as he was dismissed. The ride back through the Mikune District was a quiet one until a familiar voice broke the silence nearby.  

"You did quite well."

He turned to the tall man that now sauntered alongside his horse.

"Gemel... You saw that?", Jade asks, looking away with a sigh. "I didn't think you would be capable of watching me while sparring over there yourself. I think the Commander just wanted to see Sir Silas knock me flat on my face."

A chuckle managed to escape Gemel. As his long strides kept in perfect pace with Calisson, he barely even had to stretch when he clapped the boy on his shoulder.

"Do try to go easy on yourself; you were at a disadvantage from the start with your injury. Which, I've been meaning to ask, how is your arm?"

The youth glanced down at his recovering limb before pulling back his sleeve. His fellow Sword watched as he proceeded to undo his bandages. Exposing the skin, they both examined the broken arm. There was scarring just above the joint, but surprisingly not as much as Gemel expected to see. However, the veins across the entirety of the limb still remained jet-black despite the seemingly healthy, fair pallor of the boy. Jade attempted to flex his left hand and hissed at the sting that ran from his elbow to each finger.

"Still hurts like hell...", Jade answered through grit teeth.

Gemel hummed and simply nodded.

As they passed through the only market of the district, carts of fresh grains and produce creating a cramped maze full of bustling buyers and sellers all around them, Jade quickly concealed his arm back in the folds of cloth. Gemel noticed how careful the new Sword was with his condition. It seemed they were both fully aware that Lloryncia was now a fragile and frightened place after the festival.

The older knight leaned in with a hushed voice, "And how are you feeling otherwise? Better, I hope."

"Exhausted, but...", Jade paused, meeting a calm and collected verdant stare, "I'm alive and well - Thanks to you. I owe you my life. Perhaps now that I'm a Sword of Lloryn I'll be able to repay you."

"Just focus on your recovery for the time being", Gemel replies, picking up a pear and tossing more than enough coinage to the fruiterer as they passed by. This earned the tall man joyous gratitudes before even taking his first bite. "Commander Lloryn expects much out of you, you do realize? King Nicholaus and the majority of Lloryncia were persuaded during your trial--"

"More thanks to you for that", the youth chimes in.

"But that was simply because fear drove the normally devoted to abandon the need to punish you for slaying Yuxe. Lady Persephone, however, does not scare nor sway easily. You will need to carry yourself well around her at all times to earn her favor."

Jade looks thoughtful a moment as they began exiting the market. "It's not my imagination. She really did want to see me fail."

"Ultimately, as your superior, she does not want anything less than victories from you", the older, more experienced knight explains to the boy. "Just at this time she is merely having trouble coping with the loss of her deity of choice. Be prepared to face whatever she can throw at you."

"So... Our Commander loathes me? Wonderful", the youth groans, guiding Calisson now onto the dirt trail that would lead them home.

Gemel couldn't argue with that, continuing along beside him.

"Essentially."

_ _ _

There was an incredible warmth on his face. A light was shining through his golden strands of hair to seep into his left cheek. He smiled. Quick flashes in his mind formed pictures, images of a day in the kingdom with Mother and Father nearby. A day with them that had never existed, nor it possibly could.
It was her simple touch, her smile, her laughter.
It was his embrace and pride in him.
They were the warmth. His parents.

The sunlight from outside shifted with moving clouds, and then a bright ray came through the window to softly shine there over his other cheek. His eye flickered. The pictures dancing in his head dissolved. He rose up quickly in his cot to clearly see his bedroom.
The vision of his parents was gone.
And so was Azul from the opposite bed.

Redd exhaled deeply. He threw his legs over the cot while rubbing his eye sleepily, mumbling to himself while reaching over to the bedside drawer.
"I overslept... Again..."
There was a loud clink as his fingers bumped the glass kalsamtorr statue, and he jerked his head up to actually pay attention to what he was doing.
"Sorry, Den Mother Ulloryn!", the boy blurts out, repositioning the fierce idol more in the center of the dresser with both hands, staring at her gaping jaws as his eyebrows curved slightly with honest apologies to the guardian beast.

He then allowed his hand to glide over the spiny back of the creature carefully, tracing the designs in her fur and horns, and then back to her tail to finally rest his hand below on the dresser to find a long, dull cloth. He arched his neck backward and securely wrapped the fabric around his head. After the boy masked his left eye (and the scar with it), he nodded to the statue before standing to gather his boots and satchel filled with small icons made of ametrine for his everyday protection.
Jade always said to start the day with what you need.

Redd went to exit his bedroom door. Just as his hand rested on the knob, he heard them. Shaydenn and Solis. The rowdy laughter of his older brothers sounded throughout the house. Most likely the two were going on about their fights with the other boys in town or pursuing the young girls around, or perhaps about the fights that won them the company of a few said girls in town.
Yes, most likely.

But such topics would change instantaneously if he were to show his face out there now, the suitable new subject of entertainment for his teenage brothers.
The teasing. The punching.

The let's strap Redd to the Cades' bull named Butch, or become a target for any other easily angered farm life.
Whatever his brothers had in mind today.

Redd sighed.
"Maybe Jade is home by now..."

Whether by mustering courage or the simple need to satisfy his hunger, the little boy finally exited his bedroom. Quietly he passed down the hall that opened into the small common room. Here the intonations of his family were getting clearer. The tickling scent of salted meat and spiced vegetables was also stronger. He could only assume his brothers were in the kitchen preparing lunch.

Through the opened window of the room, he caught the busy sounds of all the neighboring people in the area, too. Farmer Cade was collecting the remainder of the harvest for this year before proceeding to plow more fields, and Smithy Dagny was shaping more weapons and everyday use tools between perhaps searching for a new apprentice blacksmith. Even the bustle of the market down on the other side of the district was faintly heard in the wind. The Mikune commoners were all hard at work. And here he had gone and slept too long once again.

Redd then made his way to the entrance of the kitchen. The muffled laughter, boasts, and chatter from before was now completely audible as he peered inside. There at the bar counter was Shaydenn pulling out the giblets from a large pig as Solis sharpened the butchering knives with a whetstone. Azul was also with them (though looking rather pale this morning) and was helping by peeling potatoes and slicing onions at the table.

However, Jade was not home yet from his morning training as the boy had hoped. Seeing his older twin brothers made him feel something akin to apprehension. He began shedding any guilt that had settled in him about oversleeping and chores unattended to when he realized there would have been no productivity among the household if he were being teased the whole time.

He remained silently watching and listening as a new stream of conversation began.

"If you had to choose", Solis started, lifting up the knife in his hand to inspect it before glancing over at his brothers nearby with a wry smile, "which one of the Mable sisters would you shake the sheets with? Lanie, Lacy, or Leisha?"
Redd inwardly sighed at this from the doorway.
Shaydenn responded differently, immediately bursting out in laughter. He leaned forward over the counter close to the dead animal he had been gutting as he tried to regain his composure.
"Who says 'shake the sheets'!? Sol, you kill me...", Shaydenn cracks up with a wide smile plastered on his face despite being now up to his forearms in juice and blood. "Though the answer to your question is none of them. Nice girls, all of 'em, but can't say they make me want to rise early - If you know what I mean."
Redd rolled his eye.

"Really? I thought you might like ending up with a noble girl", Solis replies, stepping over to nudge his twin in the shoulder before moving over to the table to sit across Azul. "And what about you? You're awfully quiet today."
Azul looked up from the rings of onions he was setting aside to Solis, managing a small smile that convinced no one that he was actually feeling well.
"As long as Zariah Dagny exists, there is no contest. Sorry, Sol."
Shaydenn nodded from behind, still yanking out pieces of the pig that was now unrecognizable.
"Gotta say, I agree with Little Brother. I've got my sights on Alyssa Cade, and there's no changing my mind about that. She's a farm girl. Farm girls always end up rolling in the hay, am I right?"
Redd just shook his head disapprovingly.

Solis stood, patting Azul on the head as he did, and moved back over to the counter to watch his brother pull the heart out, with them both making a grimace as a result.
Redd stared at it from the distance, unnerved by it.
"Yeah, well, I heard from Missus Biggs that Alyssa will soon be attending that academy in District Theroce, and the school is made for girls only to teach them how to be proper", Solis says, catching a garnet glance from Shaydenn. "Seems her father wants her to become a lady when she gets a little older. Probably will try to marry her off to some nobleman, too."
Shaydenn turned to him, a glint of irritation in his eye.
"Did Margie say anything else about Alyssa?"
"Hey, don't kill the messenger, just sayin'. And, no, nothing more I can recall. Are you done gutting that thing?"
"You know, you had the easier job, so for you to even ask...", Shaydenn started to hiss, and then just sighed when he heard his stomach rumble. "Yes, I'm done. Now, hurry up and carve. I'm starving..."

As Shaydenn continued the subject with disgruntled groans against the wishes of Farmer Cade, moaning on about how he just wouldn't allow it over and over, Redd saw his chance to make it for the front door just inside the kitchen to escape. He could slip out quietly while they were talking, and he could tend to chores outside until either Jade came home or the twins had to leave for the night shift at Biggs' Bar. He stepped out over the wooden floor, creeping along. He came inches away from the door when a loud CRAAANNNK exploded into the room from a creaky board.

The boy tensed up, frozen in place before his arms swung loosely at his sides in defeat. He stiffly turned to let his eye fall on his brothers, who were all now very aware of his presence.
"Afternoon, Redd", Azul greets, weak smile pleased to see him all the same.
He smiled back before laughing nervously at the twins, waving once at them.
"Heh heh... Hey, guys..."
Shaydenn and Solis stood there, leaning on the kitchen counter with their arms folded, both forming smirks with shines in their blood-shade eyes.
"And just where are you off to?", Solis asks, brow rising.
"Yeeeaaahhh, Baby Brother, we haven't seen you all day!", Shaydenn adds, throwing his filthy hands up in the air, gesturing at the time gone by. "We were wondering if you'd ever wake up! There are things to do, and we have a veeery important job for you..."

Redd hesitated only a moment. He reached for the door to flee, but as he pulled it open Solis was already there to push it firmly back shut. The boy tugged the doorknob against his brother's strength before his little arms gave out.
"We knew you'd volunteer. Such a good sport about it!", Solis says, sarcasm dripping off every word. "Today your job is to entertain Azul, right Shay?"
Redd turned to make a dash for the hallway to return safely to his bedroom, but Shaydenn met him around the table to pin him between the two. The bucket of discarded pig parts was in his hands.
Azul watched in confusion as to how all this concerned him.
"Absolutely!", Shaydenn replies to Solis, a scary smile stretching over his face. "Just look at Azul, he obviously feels terrible!" He inched closer to Redd to have his shadow swallow him. "You think if I just dumped this gunk on your head it would make Azul laugh? Laughter is the best medicine after all! I know it'd make me laugh, so why not give it a try!?"

Solis then grabbed Redd's arms from behind, trapping him.
"No, wait, please don't!", Redd cries, squirming to free himself. "Last time you did something like this, it wouldn't wash out my clothes for weeks! And I smelled for the whole day!"
Azul coughed and wheezed as he stood as fast as he could to come between them, facing Shaydenn and the pail he was holding high over them.
"Sol, Shay, quit it! Y-You're not helping, and this isn't funny!"
Shaydenn lowered the bucket of mess with a feigned frown, still laughing.
"Awww! C'mon, Azul! Redd's having fun. Aren't you, Redd!?"

Redd somehow wiggled free from Solis, moving towards the empty side of the table to create space between them. He waited for whatever else they would try next.
Solis shrugs, letting the play end on his part, now just chuckling it off. However, Shaydenn continues to antagonize Redd by plunging his hand into the pile of guts to retrieve the organ on top: the heart.
The teenager grins, gleam in his eye. "What was that part in your dreams, Baby Brother, about the heart? You were eating it, right? Well, here's a nice juicy one for ya right here!"

The boy watched in horror as Shaydenn approached him with the gory thing in his hands before he started racing for the other end of the table, his older brother giving chase.
"N-No! Get it away!", Redd screams, his whole body shaking.
"Don't run! Come baaack~!", Shaydenn calls after him, snickering mischievously.
Azul and Solis watched as the two went around and around the kitchen. They sigh, seeing that this fun was both cruel and getting them nowhere closer to lunch.
"Alright, Shay, knock it off - He's had enough", Solis says, still a corner of a smile on his face.
"Shaydenn, stop it!", Azul protests, bursting into a fit of coughs after. "I-I'll...tell Jade...if you don't stop it right now!"

With that, Shaydenn came to a halt. He pulled his arm back and went for a throw to try tagging Redd just at the end of their game. Redd gasped, ducking just under the table to barely miss the heart as it flew by and out the kitchen window.
The teenager frowned.
"Damn! Just missed..."

Curious about just where the ticker landed, Solis then made his way over to look out the window. He searched the front yard until he saw a line of bushes just near the road, the cardiovascular organ sitting neatly on top looking like a fresh ripe apple. He turned around with a hand slapped to his mouth. Suppressing his giggling proved impossible.

"Mmhmmhmmmph! Shay! Shaydenn, come look at this!"

Interest piqued, his twin immediately sprung around the table. Shaydenn saw where the heart was perched and then pointed while laughing loudly.
"Whoa-ho! Damn, I have a great arm!", the teenager exclaims, hand coming down to rest on his hip. "A little farther and it would have splatted in the road! Now that would have been hilarious!!"
Solis chortled beside him, shaking his head.

Behind them, Redd had moved away to stand closer to Azul. The boy gasped deeply but quietly, trying to catch his breath, and swallowed hard to keep back the tears that danced just at the edge of his eye. He broke into a cold sweat as an intense boring of terror was felt in the base of his neck. Images of his awful dreams just flashed in snippets over and over in his mind. He didn't understand his nightmares at all, making him only more afraid of them.

Azul caught his little brother's face. There was a fear just cousin to that of when he would wake suddenly at night. He reached out and gently took Redd's hand, which caused the boy to look over at him. Azul, looking weaker than he had moments before at the table, gazed back with concern while giving him his best smile that said It's ok, I'm right here.
Redd squeezed Azul's hand a little tighter, forming a small smile at him in return.


The front door then opened. In entered Jade.
The laughter from the twins ended abruptly as they turned their attention to him and observed right away a scowl.
Redd and Azul started to greet their eldest brother warmly, but the growing anger that came off him in waves warned the two to stay silent until spoken to. They shuffled back near the table and waited.
Shaydenn was not as wise to do this. "Father-Brother! Welcome back! How was your morning training with the Swords?"
Jade ignored him and stretched his arm to the window, speaking in a scolding tone, "Would someone please explain to me why there is a HEART in the hedgerow!?"

Solis and Shaydenn then stood tightly side-by-side, with Solis putting the knife down carefully on the counter and Shaydenn hiding his bloodied hands behind his back while looking off somewhere, whistling.
Jade looked at the pair suspiciously a moment before seeing the carved up pig behind them. He formed a stern look on them, but especially on Shaydenn when he realized who had been handling the giblets. He made an exasperated sigh, holding back any yelling as he looked over to Azul. "Mind helping Sir Gemel clean up outside, please? I need to have a talk with your brothers..."
Azul collected the bucket of ick before nodding to him as he heads out without complaint. As he passes by to exit, Jade pats him gently on the head as he noticed the boy's ever-growing sickly color.
His concern was building, but one problem at a time.

Jade sighed yet again as he glanced over at the twins before facing Redd. He asked with irritation towards the situation, "What did they do this time?", already forming an unpleasant picture in his mind of what goes on while he isn't at home.
Redd quickly wiped away what little evidence there had been of his crying, breathing in deeply to try settling his shaking body. He focused on Jade until he felt calm enough to speak.
"They were making fun of my dreams again... Solis grabbed me, he was going to let Shaydenn pour pig guts all over me! And then when I pulled free, Shay took the heart and chased me around the kitchen! He only gave up after he threw it at me and missed..."
"Right out the window!", Solis adds, chuckling.
Shaydenn's face started to split with a grin, but a glower from Jade made him look nervously back.
"C'mon, Father-Brother, it was all in play! It was just a joke, I never meant any harm by it. I thought Redd was having fun, but apparently, I guess not!"
Redd stomped his foot at this.
"Don't lie, Shaydenn! It was all completely on purpose! You both knew how that would make me feel and you did it anyway!"

Immediately Jade came between them - more for the purpose of calming down Redd than anything - and crossed his arms over while staring at the twins closely. The duo looked back at him only momentarily before facing away, slightly intimidated by their older brother.
"You two... When will you learn?", Jade exhales heavily. "You both must be gluttons for punishment because every day you do something, whether it be getting into fights in town or tormenting your little brother, and I have to set you straight. I tell you, I just haven't the energy nor the time for it!" He shakes his head, exhaustion overwhelming his features rather than annoyance. "I think you both could use some extra work to help keep you distracted, don't you think? If I don't give you a chance to be bored, then you won't be getting into trouble. You'll stay and help the Biggs' after your work shifts at the bar with whatever they need, and in your free time you'll be helping Farmer Cade."
Solis and Shaydenn turned back to him with faces disgruntled.
"What!? But we're already swamped!", Solis objects.
Shaydenn growled, "You can't just--!"
A storm-filled glare shot back at them. The twins were silenced.

"I'm sorry, did I make that sound like a request? Don't argue with me and just do as you're told!"

Quiet swept through the kitchen as each of the boys averted their gaze from their eldest brother. Shaydenn and Solis stood tensely together. They felt almost frozen under the chill of Jade's stare. Redd, though duly defended, also kept his head down. The weight of pressure and static in the air was slow to dissipate. It wasn't until the young knight turned that the three of them began exchanging looks. They spat in unsaid babbles, all of it blames on one another. 

A terrible sound was then heard.

Retching, just from outside.

"Jade, come quick!"

An urgent call from Gemel struck Jade with alarm. Without a word, the Sword dashed his way out. Redd, Shaydenn, and Solis ended their unuttered bickering at once, all equally filling with concern. They hurriedly followed into the front yard.


He was down on his hands and knees just at the fenceline of the neighboring Cade Farm. Vomiting. His body trembled from an aggressive fever between the violent struggling. Color had all but drained from his face as sweat glistened off his cheeks and neck. He felt foul. His insides writhed. Even his bones ached. The exertion and overwhelming pain widespread over his body did not begin to ease until he felt his shoulder being gently grasped. There was another hand being pressed firmly into his back, enough comforting pressure to focus on that seemed to ward off the need to gag.

"Azul... I'm here."

"I-I'm alright, Jade. Really..."

The boys stepped over the lawn to see Jade already at Azul's back. Gemel remained close to them with Calisson, standing guard to keep passing people moving on the road nearby. The bucket of yuck had been dropped and spilled in the grass and this morning's breakfast painted a stake in the fence. The mixing smell of claret and vomit was carried on the wind. Redd felt almost sick from it himself.

Shaydenn leaned in towards Solis, asking with confusion, "Was it the giblets?"

"Couldn't have been; Azul always helps out with the cooking", Solis answered, a grim certainty in his tone. "This is something else. Something bad. You saw, he was quiet all morning - He must have felt awful this whole time."

From behind the twins, Redd peered out as soon as he heard his brother coughing forcefully. He watched and listened as Jade did his best to calm him. All concern molded into anxiety as soon as spritz of blood were seen coating Azul's lips. Redd gasped quietly. He heard Jade do the same.

"Azul... Azul, you're bleeding. I need to get you to Dr. Mikune. Now."

"I-It's nothing... I-I'm fine...", came the low, weary argument as Azul began pulling himself up to his feet in clear attempt to not cause them further worry. "I just...need rest. T-That's all." He took one step back toward the house, with a whist exhale, and fainted. Jade instantly caught his fall, to Redd's relief. As the Sword turned Azul over on his knee more blood could be seen dripping from his mouth.

"Azul! Oh, gods..." There was fear in his voice, something Redd had never heard before. Not out of Jade. "Ulloryn, please--!"  

Redd felt the panic rise up in him.

This was something bad, just as Solis said.

It's the disease, the child thought. The Blight of Yuxe!

He was pulled from his thoughts about the horrific plague that had spread and killed people all over the city when Shaydenn and Solis began rushing to Azul's side. Promptly, Gemel turned from his position to come between them and their infected sibling. 

"Stay back, pups. He isn't well."

"Azul, we're coming!", Solis calls anyway. "Hang in there!"

Shaydenn snarled at Gemel, "Out of the way, Sir Bulwark! That's our little brother over there!"

The knight just took Solis firmly by the arm before purposefully tripping Shaydenn to the ground, securing the more defiant teenager under his boot. Restraining them was simple enough.

Redd approached slowly as Jade hoisted Azul up into his arms. A shake of Gemel's head warned him to just watch his eldest brother push through the agony of his left limb to carry and lift Azul onto the back of his horse. When Jade finally pulled himself up into the saddle he exchanged looks with his younger brothers.

"Watch the house...", Jade simply orders. He met a cool stare from his fellow Sword before slapping the reins. "Go, Calisson! Yah!"

The boys were left with worry as Jade and Azul disappeared on horseback.

And with Gemel, who had no comforts to give them.

[FlameMaster5]

 

_{^{Chapter 4 - The MSR}}

A creeping fear whispered dreadfully in his mind. That Azul had caught the same plague that ultimately killed a demigod. That his little brother was dying. He couldn't shake such bleak thoughts as he hurried them both through the district toward the MSR, Mikune Sanitarium & Research. His only hope rested with Dr. Mikune, that maybe the good doctor had made some progress with his research since they last met. That maybe it wasn't too late.  

Upon reaching the hospital doors, Jade wasted no time. He gathered Azul up in his arms, prepared himself for the shock of pain that would come surging through his left in the next moment, and slid off Calisson's side to drop to his stumbling feet. He struggled with the dead weight of his brother but pushed on as he broke through the entryway to rush past wandering orderlies and nurses in the plastered white corridors. He ignored alarmed voices and demands for him to halt. There was no stopping his weaving through the halls until he came to the office of one Dr. Eston Mikune in the north wing.

Jade barges in. The bursting doors sent papers flying and off the desk as a startled Dr. Mikune jumps with a yelp of surprise. Eston composes himself at once. He gathers a few floating notes before turning entirely to a familiar young man that held his little brother in his doorway. The medic finds that both boys were covered in a bloody mist from the waist up, with the older of the two fraught with worry and the younger pale as a sheet. If only the sight of people christened by tainted blood, including children, astonished him still. Unfortunately, it did not.

"Dr. Mikune! Please help!", Jade cries, his strength giving out. Eston moves quickly. The doctor catches the slipping child just in time and gently takes him from the young Sword. Jade gasped through the shooting agony of nerve impulses under his bandages but followed his trusted physician as he gently laid the new patient out over his desk. "I-It's my brother Azul. He's sick."

The doctor said nothing, casting glances at Jade's wrapped up limb between analyzing the ill boy now under his direct care. He feels the anxiety building around him in the room, hearing the young man just next to him move restlessly in this silence. "Eston... I think he's been infected!"

A clearing of his throat and Eston looked at the youth again shortly, saying calmly, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Jade. Looks like I may need to reset your arm while you're here." The doctor began collecting a number of lanterns to place around Azul to further inspect him before the older brother became more impatient. "Now then, I want you to tell me anything you can about Azul's condition. When did you notice he was sick? Hours ago? Days? List any symptoms you can recall. Most importantly when did he start having hemoptysis, or coughing up blood?"

Jade felt his chest tighten. "I-I don't know when I first noticed. Maybe five days ago?" He stood by with a painful twinge of guilt as the man continued to poke and prod his little brother with palpating fingers. "He first was coughing, the cough got much worse. He was wheezing. Fevers hit him hard yesterday. And today we found him puking and coming up with blood that only started at a quarter past this last hour. I-I raced him here as soon as--!"

"He doesn't appear to have any skin irritation...", the doctor interrupted, still peeking through strands of hair and nooks in the small body of his patient. "Did he show sign of any dysphagia, or trouble swallowing? Did his behavior alter in any way?"

"What does that have to--?" The youth quieted himself. He allowed silence to pass between them as distinct memories of Yuxe sparked in the forefront of his mind. "No. Not that Azul made me aware of. Does that make a difference?"

The physician leaned over further as he gently opened the lids of Azul's eyes, peering inside one at a time while bringing a lantern closer or further away. "Coughing, wheezing, pyrexia, emesis, and hemoptysis are all present", Eston verbally documents, pulling away from the child at last. "An absence of lesions and dysphagia. Eyes adjust normally to light stimulus but mental condition won't be totally known until subject wakes." He turned to Jade. "I think you know better than all of Lloryncia the answer to your question. If Azul were having the last of these symptoms..."

The doctor didn't finish.

Jade didn't need him to.

Scrambling noises could be heard building somewhere in the halls of the hospital as the quiet settled between them once more. As Eston proceeded to remove contaminated clothing from Azul, Jade remained at his brother's side while listening to the sounds of hurried nurses approaching.

"Doctor! Dr. Mikune!", the Head Nurse called, coming to collide with the doorframe of his office. She hung there for a minute, heaving for air, as more nurses gathered behind her. "S-Sir, I'm so sorry! This boy just rushed past us. W-We tried to get him to stop but--"

"Perfect timing!", Eston exclaims, ignoring both explanations and the growing confusion among his staff. The doctor slipped the tunic off his patient. He presented the boy's clear skin to his nurses, showing them there was little need to worry about coming into contact with infectious substances. "Ladies, I need you to take Azul Prism back to Evaluation and get him cleaned up. I will be just a moment. If he comes to before I arrive, inform me immediately."

The nurses came together to carry Azul away, saying in unison, "Yes, Doctor!"

"I'm going with them", Jade says, to which earns him a firm hand over his breast. The young man yields as Eston came further between him and the departing group of nurses.

"That moment I mentioned wasn't for me to smoke my pipe, Jade. I needed to inform you that I will be performing a few more tests on the boy. We need to make absolutely certain that this is, in fact, the same ailment, thus allowing you as head of your household to make decisions on how we move forward in Azul's treatment."

Jade glanced past Dr. Mikune to see the staff turn a corner before returning his attention to his physician. The youth held his eyes with a reflection of some desperate need. He tried again, insistently, "I'm going with them. My little brother is sick, and I'm not leaving him!"

"You will wait - Patiently", Eston softly but firmly orders. Jade wasn't sure if it was because he was now a Sword that he felt inclined to obey this or if it was because of the almost fatherly tone that the man possessed. "You will remain here in my office until the evaluation is complete. As soon as we know for sure, I will report back to you with the details." There was a pat on his chest as Eston looked him over once more, with a pause on his left arm. "And I will also assess you then."

As the doctor turned and left him within these confines, Jade obeyed.

He felt the leftover light sensation of Eston's hand over his heart for a time before the heaviness settled deeply inside.

Worry. Fear. Doubt.

A little hopelessness, maybe.

All the while, his arm was burning intensely between the numbness. The sting was haunting, only reminding him of the madness of Yuxe and how the demigod now must be laughing at his attempts to save his brother.

Waiting was the hardest part. And to do so patiently... Inexecutable.

The young man had paced and circled through the office a number of times between listening to the bubbling of some lab equipment in the corner that he had failed to notice before. The scattered papers had all been collected, browsed through, and reorganized on the desk. A shelf just on the wall that had everything from surgical instruments to glass vials to tomes on medicine had been brushed with a finger, whether by curiosity or for simple distraction. An hour passed filled with nothing but his fidgets.

When Dr. Mikune finally did return, Jade couldn't help but meet him at the doors with anxious grasps at his shoulders.

"H-How is he? How did the tests go? Is Azul--Does he have--?"

The doctor cordially pried each finger off his white lab coat as he surveyed his now immaculate office, saying in his usual unhurried way, "I see you cleaned. Do you have trouble with your anxiety often?"

"Eston... Please." The stress in the youth's plea was the cue for him to press forward, guiding them both back over to his desk. He gestured for Jade to simply take a seat, and eventually, the boy complied once realizing that the discussion wouldn't begin until he did so.

"The tests ran smoothly...", the physician begins, seating himself as well. "We took several salivae, mucus, and blood samples from Azul. We thoroughly inspected him for skin irritations. I was able to clear your brother of ever having dysphagia or lesions, which leads me to believe that he will be mentally stable once he comes to. However--"

"However...", Jade echoes staidly, sharing with the man his grim but unsurprised stormy stare. 

Eston nodded with most compassion, sighing, "However, the samples also confirm that Azul does, in fact, carry the same disease that had stricken you, this Blight of Yuxe." The doctor carefully went on after Jade averted his gaze, noticing the boy was shaking. "It is not an infection easily spread, although seeing it more and more amongst the city makes it appear otherwise. Currently, the only victims of this disease are those directly bitten or from those exposed to corrupt blood specifically by Yuxe. I believe our Llorian people are still falling ill due to the mass amount of contamination the kalsamtorr left behind; blood in our streets, in our linens, and in our produce. It's been nigh impossible to cleanse everything. Could have been a simple drop of blood on an apple that made your brother sick."

"I should have torched the Town Square myself...", came Jade's reply, and Dr. Mikune realized then that his quivering was from a building anger that directed inward. As his physician first and confidant second, Eston decided it best to go on for now.

"Unlike most, you know full and well the nature of this ailment. The symptoms are unyielding and progress in severity over time, and many do pass on in a matter of days after hemoptysis has been reported. But as with you, that isn't always the case! You fought, built immunity, and survived! There may not be a cure in Lloryncia for the Blight but we at the MSR are working tirelessly from those that are infected to find one. Now..."

In the brief break of speech housing both despair and hope, Jade had trailed his thoughts away to Azul and all the more that waited for his brother.

Pain widespread over his body. Fevers, chills, fatigue, and all-around malaise. 

Coughing. Bleeding. Stomach upsets from both ends.

Even delirium from dehydration, seeing things that simply just weren't there.

Jade blinked away his horrible thoughts (even some memories) when the doctor continued. "With you being the provider of your family, you have two options concerning care for Azul. You can either admit your brother into the MSR for treatment... Or you can always let him return home. Either way, he could pass on or come through it just the same. Although I believe he will have a much better chance under my personal observation. But the choice is ultimately yours, Jade."

Despite his self-blame and inner turmoil, the young man made a shake of his head at all the wrongness of this situation and began tearing off his bandages. Eston watched with intrigue as each piece of cloth was ripped off in a whirling combination of agitation, trepidation, and impatience. It wasn't until Jade placed his exposed broken arm on the desk that the doctor caught a shimmering defiance in his eye.

"I was bitten, and I lived", Jade answers, both of them drawn to the pulsing black veins just under his skin. "It's as you said; I'm immune now. Take my blood for your research. Maybe it will help you develop a cure for Azul." He pushed again when the medic looked unsure. "Please, you have to try - I can't lose him..."

Dr. Mikune held a stare with the stubborn young Sword for some time before finally nodding in agreement. He turned to his shelf to retrieve a collection of medical supplies: cleansing alcohol for disinfection, a tourniquet, a needle with rubber tubing attached, and an empty glass vial. The doctor moved closer to his repeat patient and gestured for him to sit and lie back on the length of his desk. Eston bathed his own hands in alcohol before proceeding to clean a section of the boy's arm and the needle as well. He secured the tourniquet just above the elbow, motioned for the donator to make a fist, and then drove his needle into a particularly bulging ebony vein. Jade winced at the singe of his nerves rather than the sharp point.

Noticing his discomfort, Eston says while measuring the blood gathering, "You alright? - I know that arm is sensitive."

"I-I'm excellent", Jade replies, realizing now just where Azul got his unconvincing fibs. The doctor smiled at this as the vial was nearing full.

"A pint should do. I can start all Blight patients on a trial drug derived from this sample tonight."

"Take more!", the youth urges. "Take as much as you need! If it will help, then--"

"I have as much as I need", the man says gently, removing the needle and cleaning up his overly generous volunteer. "I can't send you back to your Commander totally depleted. In fact, I can't send you anywhere without first resetting this arm..."

Even as Eston prepared him with a local anesthetic, Jade was brought a little solace from his blood donation - knowing he did everything he could right here and right now for Azul - before seething from intense pain when the bones in his forearm were jerked back into alignment. The initial snap was nothing however in comparison to the electric waves that seared up and down the entirety of his limb afterward. The youth held his breath, hissed, and then started the cycle again while his eyesight blotched a couple of times.

"Argh, gods! T-That really... Smarts!"

"Breathe through the pain, Jade - I don't want you fainting on me", the physician tells him, to which Jade nodded before he took in a gasp in an attempt to remain present. Eston held firmly as he began to bind his arm in fresh bandages. "The local was mild to keep you lucid for the Swords later. Try your best to focus on something else." 

Sparks continued down into his fingertips. Temples tensing, the youth croaked, "A-Any suggestions?"

"Certainly. Tell me, how are the other Prism boys doing?"

"B-Besides being...worried about Azul? - Good...", Jade answers through grit teeth, swallowing down another cry that wanted out at a jolt in his elbow. "S-Shaydenn and Solis are a handful, always getting into trouble, but that's probably...because they don't know what to do with all that...pent-up energy they have."

"How tall are they again? Last time I patched those boys up they looked nearly your height." 

The young man could picture the twins now, beaten and bruised that day when they bit off more than they could chew in a fight against seven other boys in the district. He managed a short laugh. "T-They are both three inches taller than me now! At this rate, a day will come where...I will have to look them in the throat."

Eston chuckled, looping the cloth around his wrist, "You can take up any grievances with Yeshyad; Seems the Kalsamtorr of Vitality has blessed them. Those boys are going to be monstrous when fully grown."

"No girl in the kingdom will be safe...", Jade sighs, shaking his head.

"And what about your youngest brother?"

A familiar numbness settled in to replace pricks and needles in his arm as all thought transitioned to Redd. Even more, Jade found himself wondering about the nightmares that more often than not plagued his brother and that maybe the good doctor might be best to confide in about these troubles.

"Eston, do you know anything about recurring dreams?", the youth asks, feeling the man next to him pause on decorating his limb briefly before hearing a curious hum. "It's Redd - He has these nightmares that seem to chain to one another and replay, sometimes night after night, and they have become rather frequent as he has gotten older. He's had them as long as he's been able to speak! I thought maybe with time they would pass, but no such luck. Have you ever heard of anyone else having something like this? Should I be worried??" 

"Most interesting...", the physician mused, wheels turning in his mind. "I have personally never heard of these dream sequences happening to anyone in Lloryncia, except now for your brother. Perhaps these nightmares are the effects of early trauma from his encounter with the Highe-God of Death. Or maybe they have been bestowed visions of Den Mother Ulloryn of profound things to come. For certain, I couldn't tell you. But should you be worried? - No, as I think you do plenty of that already!"

The young man could neither agree nor disagree with anything Eston said and simply nodded as he was satisfied with the possibilities. For now.

As soon as Dr. Mikune finished patching him up, Jade was on his feet with all attention returning to his sick brother somewhere in the hospital. When he turned to the doors of the office his face couldn't help but mold back into concern. "I'm ready to see Azul now. Lead the way, Eston."

"Azul will not be awake just yet, Jade...", the doctor replies as he showed the youth out, guiding them through a maze of alabaster hallways. "I suggest you go home for a brief respite before your evening patrols begin. If you won't rest, at the very least you can inform your family of Azul's condition."

"Wait--!" The young Sword began to argue as he realized Eston had led them to the foyer of the MSR.

"Now, that's a doctor's order!", Eston tells him, waving him outside. "If I see you here again today, Jade, I will simply just have the nurses make you a cot in the opposite wing."

"But--!"

"Keep off that arm, you hear? And I promise you that Azul will have the very best care while you are away. I will see you tomorrow!"  

With the hospital doors shutting him out, Jade slowly turned as he heard Calisson nickering at his back. He sighed deeply. At the very least, he knew Azul was in good hands even if he couldn't see him quite yet. So his only choice was to mount his steed and ride for home. Per doctor prescribed.

He just hoped that the boys had behaved for Gemel.

[CS Revolked]

Ok, so first off I'm really sorry for breaking the rhythm of the story. It'll trigger my OCD that it's being separated by my comment, but I really need to comment because aah! so good!

Ok, so, I'm really interested in what we're seeing here! So many cool ideas. So, let me start with the beginning and go through. This is just like a stream of consciousness.

SPOILER: Click to show

• So, I'm already eyeing up Gemel. I know he's a villain but... ya know, spidey-sense tingling.
• I love the Festival of Passing. It reminds me of the Mexican Day of the Dead. As necrophobic as I am, I just like that idea. I liked reading about how the Festival goes down and I smiled watching all the revelries until...
• Yuxe! Man, that escalataed quickly. I loved the detail of Yuxe turning into a psycho and attacking everything. I always struggle with action scenes, I can't do them, but you made it look so cool. I imagined each attack really well. I'm not a gore person, but even the image of the knight's head getting bitten off was good. Which is funny, considering my current projects.
• Jade is braver than I ever could be. I want to know these Llorynian whispers, damnit!
• I hope Jade is ok, he's cool.
• Azul is precious. I wanna cuddle him. Although, maybe not - don't wanna get infected.
• Dark nightmares are dark. Well done, though.
• Gemel is a twat.
• I still like the scene with the heart and everything. Don't judge me.
• Solis, just wanna quickly clarify, nobody says 'shake the sheets'.
• Gemel is a still a twat. Go figure. I'm sure he had something to do with Azul.
• Cliffhanger. Can't wait to see more.
• Your writing skill is so lyrical and pretty. It's like a blossom-clad breeze scattering across a wind.

Honestly I'm really glad you started writing it proper. It allows me to see it as it would on the page. I like to imagine I'm holding a book in my hands and reading it like that. I'm chuffed at what you've put down. There's immediate tension, questions and a want and desire for me to read on. That's important! And you execute it really well. I've had the privilege of seeing maps and stuff from this place and to be able to use it now is awesome.

One more note: Gemel is a twat.

Keep going and I will read!

[FlameMaster5]

Well, considering that I have emailed Ch1-2 to three people(my mom, sister, and Ray) and they haven't even taken the time to read... Trust me when I say your input is much appreciated, Ames. You can read to your little heart's content! :3

SPOILER: Click to show

I am VERY pleased to hear that Ch1 was well received. And the Day of the Dead was in fact a huge inspiration for the Festival of Passing. I'm glad that you picked up on the themes! Actually I'm just glad that you could 'see' it - scenery is my weakest area, admittedly, so good to know things didn't get lost in translation so far. XD

I know Jade is your favorite so far. ;] I look forward into molding these boys into the men they will be one chapter at a time! Although, I can't say you'll ever stop loving Jade. I certainly can't. XD

I absolutely will not judge you for the scene with the heart.

I love it so much that I barely edited it. For now. Was just too delicious. Haha!

'Gemel is a twat'. I'm STILL laughing about this. ^^

But I'm glad the writing is giving you inklings of something...not quite right about him.

For now all I want is little pricks in people's minds. That's how it happens in real life usually.

Until the shit hits the fan. D:

'Your writing skill is so lyrical and pretty. It's like a blossom-clad breeze scattering across a wind.'

^I just beamed when I read this. I mean, when I write, I never know how the flow comes across. Sometimes I feel jarring, which isn't always a bad thing when I play my cards right. Other times I'm in this 'zone' where everything feels poetic. So I read it, but another set of eyes or a few(c'mon family and friends, I need your help!) is a good thing to get their feelings on it.

And your reviewed stream of consciousness is exactly where I want you!

If you're reading it like a book now, then that only means you'll love it in paperback.

I will not disappoint. :3

And yay, Ch.4 done!
Took awhile for the additions/editions. XD

[FlameMaster5]

 

_{^{Chapter 5 - An Incredible Distraction}}

Unease. Anxiety. Tension. 

The Prism boys were beside themselves with worry. 

Was Azul ok? Was he badly ill?

What would Dr. Mikune have to say?

These were the questions in mind but they dared not ask.

Not even amongst each other.

After Jade took off to rush Azul to the district hospital, the boys found themselves in a haze. The simple order to watch the house burrowed deeply into each of their minds because otherwise all there was left to do was wait in a state of suspension. Each of them, in some silent agreement, decided to clean up what they could of the mess spread over the yard as the first act of household care.

When the pig giblets were regathered and correctly disposed of, Redd couldn't help but notice that the heart was missing. A dog probably snatched it up, Solis had said. Not a problem that it was gone just as long as it stayed gone, Redd kept to himself.

By now the three were back inside the kitchen, cooking up the sizeable amount of salted hog on the hearth while doing their best to keep darker thoughts at bay. Shaydenn, as designated chef of the home, manned a large spit at the fireplace and slowly turned succulent carved sections of smoking meat. Solis prepared any remaining onions and potatoes from the table before fetching a loaf of rye bread and vialed honey from the pantry. Redd assisted them both. The boy churned spices with mortar and pestle to sprinkle over the ham, sliced the bread, and lastly proceeded to clean the counters down with a hot water and sand scrubbing. Such efforts to ignore the circumstances at the MSR provided the longest record to date of them getting along without teasing.

Then Redd's belly rumbled.

"Haven't had your breakfast yet, huh, Baby Brother?", Shaydenn comments. Redd turned from scrubbing counters to see that lopsided smile. "Don't forget - I did offer you your favorite!" His singular cobalt eye sharpened in annoyance. He knew that Shaydenn was just as worried about Azul, but hiding it through that grin and the jokes only made him a bother.

Looking off, Redd sighed with a mutter, "I don't remember seeing any Apple Crumble..."

"Awww, really? Well--" Shaydenn was just about to pick at him further when he was tapped on the shoulder by Solis, his twin pointing out the window to the still stationed Gemel outside. The pesky one made a face. He hated the thought of being stomped flat by a seven-foot, fully armored knight when Redd tattled on him. Perhaps it was best to keep low-key for a bit.

"We're both starved, too; The pottage we had worn off hours ago", Solis says, stomach growling to support his statement.

Shaydenn nodded while trained on the slow spinning meat before him, swallowing a mouthful of water before adding, "But have no fear! I will have us feasting like nobles soon enough!"

As the ham neared smoky perfection, the trio realized that a loud quiet had settled between them once more. No amount of whining from the spit or hissing of the fire could keep dreadful whispers of thought out of their heads. All the terrible things that could be happening to Azul right at this very moment were invasive. The only way to ward off such repetitive ideas was to keep busy, and there was little to do within the home for three when divided.

That's when Shaydenn decided that tackling chores at the neighboring Cade Farm would not only spend his time productively but also provide a distraction. Hopefully an incredible distraction, he tagged on, and his brothers both knew that could only translate to Alyssa. Redd offered to help, knowing it could be sometime before Jade and (with any luck) Azul would return. Solis opted to stay behind to keep lunch hot and ready for when they got back. With that Shaydenn gave his twin explicit instructions on how not to burn the meal or himself before wrapping an arm tightly around Redd to head out.

They started toward the barnhouse. Hopping the fence of their front lawn, Redd and Shaydenn were immediately on farmland, passing through rows upon rows of ripening fruits and vegetables. The two had no trouble finding their way even as golden wheat stalks grew tall around them as they had only to follow the scent of hay and horses on a northern breeze. When coming to a clearing they stood on a hill lit brightly in hues of crimson and yellow, fallen leaves at their feet from under a towering tree, overlooking the entirety of the homestead. They scanned over groups of livestock and carts full of gathered harvest. They spotted Farmer Manfrit Cade laboring in the fields, to which they waved and he hollered fondly back. They even saw young Alyssa and Zariah Dagny. The girls were shoeing horses in the entryway of the barn. Perfectly in the way of the boys' destination.

"Need some help ladies?", was the first thing out of Shaydenn's mouth as he approached them, Redd trailing just behind. The strawberry-blonde lift her head from trimming the edges of a hoof. Her brown eyes briefly met those of garnet and then she went right back to work. His heart skipped a beat. He sighed blissfully. "Hi, Alyssa..."

"Hello, Shaydenn", she answered, deliberately with a bored breath. Then she perked up. "Hello, Redd!"

Redd beamed at this as Zariah came just around the mare with a horseshoe and bolts.

"Hey, Alyssa, Zariah!", the boy greeted warmly as Shaydenn pursed his lips in slight annoyance next to him. "We came over to help! Got any chores for us?"

"If you boys need to fill your pockets, you sure came to the right place", Zariah says with a wink, now helping Alyssa line up the horseshoe before pounding away with a blacksmith hammer to secure it.

The males waited a moment, watching the girls work together, listening to the nails go in, and thought it best to not try interrupting between the noise. When they were finished, Alyssa dropped the hoof and rose completely to face them. She wiped away the sweat that had gathered just above the bodice of her dress, and Shaydenn had to swallow another mouthful of water.

"This is a farm - We'll work you hard if you want it!", Alyssa laughs, waving away the horse to have another come straight to her. "Why don't you start in the stables like usual and then head out to pasture. Tidying up and feeding the animals. And if that's not enough, Papa sure wouldn't mind having some extra hands for harvesting!"

"You can work me as hard as you like...", Shaydenn answers with a crooked smile that only earned him a shake of her head.

Redd ignored his older brother, much like his female friends, and affirmed, "Right! We're on it!"

As Alyssa had suggested, the boys began inside the barn with the stables and made their way outside to the corralled animals. They divided the work between them as evenly as possible.

Shaydenn took clean-up duty. There was an incredible amount of manure to shovel at a farm, he realized, and he wondered how the smell never seemed to bother his dearest farm girl. She wasn't afraid of labor, or sweat, or getting a little dirty. He felt admiration for her, aside from a mass amount of other feelings. But thinking of all she had to do every day made him not complain one bit and just got his job done.

For her. Anything for her.

Redd was in charge of nourishment for the farm. He tended to the horses firstly, with remembering to leave Calisson fresh hay and water for when Jade returned. He proceeded next to the other animals: cows(purposely avoiding any eye contact with the bull Butch), pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens. He even took a moment to simply observe a chick hatching within a coop, mesmerized by such struggle to emerge from a shell, smiling wider each time the tiny bird peeped for its mother.

Nature at its finest, the boy thought.

When they were finished, Redd and Shaydenn were well aware that there was still more that could be done in their time waiting for news from the MSR. So they continued. They went out to assist Farmer Cade out in the gardens to pick ripe fruits and vegetables, which included the season's best: Pumpkins. Manfrit needed all the help he could get, and rewarding the boys with a cut of some of his crops and coin was his way of making sure to keep their hands around.

They were always welcome, the farmer had told them, and he wouldn't let them soon forget!

According to bells sounding in the distance from Canidae Cathedral, it was now the sixteenth hour. There would never be a shortage of tasks to do on a farm, as Manfrit reassured them, but the boys were either growing tired or bored after toiling in the fields. And as more and more time had passed without seeing Jade, the two felt a building concern for Azul that no amount of work could change.

Soon they would go home to simply wait.

Something was not right in their world and they knew it.

"You both beat or just getting lazy on us?", Zariah teased when they returned to the barn.

Redd set an armful of apples, carrots, potatoes, and garlic at her feet before stretching wide, yawning, "Shaydenn could keep going but I'm pretty tired now... Makes me wonder how Mr. Manfrit does this all day!" Alyssa stood from finishing up her last horse to smile at Redd and his thoughtfulness just before jumping when Shaydenn dumped a hefty amount of pumpkins, squash, and cabbage before her.

"Got bored, I admit", he answered, now passing his maiden a look beset with charm. "Much better things to look at over in this direction..."

She cast her glance away, attempting to disregard both his words and his lingering stare. "Well, my father and I appreciate your help all the same. We should probably grab a wagon for your crops here to haul them back to your place."

Zariah, noticing the captivated gaze Shaydenn held on her friend, clapped her hands together with, "Not a problem! I'll go fetch us one!"

They began loading the produce as soon as a cart was brought around. Both girls volunteered to chip in, grabbing up multiples of whatever small they could hold to add to a growing pile. The boys were left to handle the heavier goods. Redd took care to lift twenty-pound pumpkins one at a time while Shaydenn hoisted as many as his arms and balance allowed. With the four of them, it should have taken no time at all to have the wagon completely laden. However, the teenage male was having difficulty not studying the gentle curves of young lady Cade - especially when she bent over.

Redd came over to his brother as soon as he saw that dreamy half-smile. He knew well enough by now that Shaydenn had temporarily checked out, and to further progress he would have to take singular pumpkins from him until he was empty-handed. The child was set on this intent but found his little arms were being weighed down by three large gourds.

"S-Shaydenn! I can't--"

"Hmm?", his brother hummed, unfocused. "Go on, just take 'em over! You got this."

Redd puffed, beginning to lose his footing, "W-Wait! They're... Too... Heavy!" 

Shaydenn came out of his infatuated daze and into uncontainable laughter when he turned to see Redd weeble-wobbling in all his efforts to not drop the veggies. He tried to tell his baby brother through gestures and incoherent words to just let them fall but his splitting side made any attempt at communicating this impossible.

Zariah looked over to see just what was so funny while Alyssa sighed, ignoring Shaydenn as she continued to reach for scattered fruits.

Redd then stumbled and tipped backward, yelping, "H-Help! Shay, this is your--Wah!"

He crashed right into the unsuspecting farm girl, sending them both over the unstable boards of a nearby pig pen.

Shaydenn felt a chill up his spine when he heard Alyssa scream.

The petite adolescent pushed Redd off her with a farmer's daughter's strength and groaned when she looked at the both of them covered in mud. At first, she was just irritated by the mere inconvenience of being filthy. But now her jaw gaped open in furious horror as she pawed at the cleanly ripped bottom of her dress.

A new dress her papa had bartered for.

"Alyssa, Redd, are you two alright?!", Zariah called as she and Shaydenn halted just outside the pen.

Redd slowly got to his feet, brushing what he hoped was only mud from his cheek and clothes before gently shooing away a curious swine at the back of his britches. When he turned to his fellow muck buddy and noticed the damage to her apparel, he started to frantically apologize. "Alyssa! I-I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?! I didn't mean to--!"

Her palm flew up to shush him as a russet glare shot up at his brother at the fenceline.

Shaydenn stood there with a stupefied grin, etching into his mind forever the delicate lace of her exposed pink bloomers. That is until he caught sight of her enraged features. He flashed her a nervous look with a clearing of his throat and proceeded to reach over the broken boards to offer her a friendly hand, but she swatted him away like a fly. He recoiled.

But which sting was worse, in his hand or in his heart?

"Rraaagh! SHAYDENN!", Alyssa screamed as she struggled, digging her boots into the slop to stand with a wave of her arms, slinging bits of mud. "Look what you did! You IDIOT! This is all your fault!!"

"I was going to say that!", Redd chimes in.

Zariah punched Shaydenn in the shoulder, adding, "Moron..."

He huffed back at them.

Alyssa burst into tears. She began spewing in a sad and mad tangent, with everything coming out from how stupid Shaydenn was to how tired she was to her worries about replacing the dress. She even apologized for being mean just then to Shaydenn, too, and told Redd that she wasn't mad at him for knocking her down. The boys easily accepted this, trying to calm her. But even Zariah was at a loss to make her feel better.

"Yo, Shay, lunch is-- Whoa, what's up with Alyssa?"

They turned to see Solis coming around the stockpiled cart of vegetables.

His brothers were initially at a loss for words but Zariah managed to inform him with simply, "Shaydenn made her cry."

"Wouldn't be the first time", Solis remarked with a wink. He now stepped over into the muck himself, taking the farm girl by the arm like a lady, and leading her out of the pen.

"Hi, Solis...", Alyssa sniffled, and he gently wiped a stream off her cheek. "What brings you here?"

Shaydenn gave his twin a bewildered look as he passed by with his maiden.

Patting her hand in his, walking along toward the wheat stalks that bordered near home, Solis said warmly, "Lunch is ready. Smoked ham - Y'know, from that hog your father gifted to us for Jade making Sword? Should be right tasty! You ladies are welcome to join us, of course."

"Count us in!", Zariah exclaims, now rushing up to be taken by his other arm. "Sounds delish!"

Redd and Shaydenn exchanged sighs, left with the mess, now wrangling up the last of the pumpkins. As the older of the duo lift the two-hundred-pound weight of the wagon with ease, he nudged his baby brother when they started behind the group.

"That's gonna cost me; I don't think Alyssa will ever forget that! I would say 'nice going', but..." Shaydenn trailed off, a glint in his eye now that he had an uninterrupted view of her lacy backside.

Redd looked at him strangely, then with disgust. "Uh-huh... Right. Well, you better be nice to me. Wouldn't want you to have to explain anything about Alyssa to Jade later, now, would we?"

"You little--"

"That's for earlier!", Redd smirked. 

Shaydenn hummed. He felt almost proud.

Blackmail done right by one so young.

"Alright, Baby Brother, alright..."

The youths conversed more on their way back to the Prism house for lunch.

Along the way, Zariah was struck with the sudden realization that neither Jade nor Azul ever arrived at the farm. Her curiosity about why they weren't present was mostly fueled by her huge(and well-known) crush on Azul, but she tried to make her question seem as casual as possible. "So, where are the other Prism boys? I wouldn't be surprised if Jade was trying to catch up on some sleep between shifts, but I figured Azul would have been first to volunteer to help you guys out with chores." 

But when the males were hesitant to answer, she and Alyssa both became concerned.

"Something bad happened today...", Redd managed, and the girls almost stopped in their tracks.

The twins shook their heads and waved them along to follow, answering in unison, "We'll explain once we're settled at the house..."

As they crossed the front lawn, ever-watchful Gemel turned to observe and acknowledge the children. The knight noticed right away the condition of Alyssa's attire, with mud caked on both her and Redd. He stared as Shaydenn hurried them inside, the teenager laughing nervously before taking the wagon around back to avoid the continued scrutiny of the Sword. "I told them it wasn't chocolate, but they just didn't listen!"

Gemel simply raised an eyebrow.

[CS Revolked]

Ugh, you're such a tease. You can't do this to meeee!

In other news, sheeeet! The heart is gone?

Oh I wonder who that could be?

And sending Azul get well soon card. Hopefully Jade's blood will in fact provide a cure. Somehow, though, I'm thinking Azul might die.

[FlameMaster5]

I must admit, I AM a tease! ;]

And that's right! Ze heart is missing!
Bum-bum-BUUUM! D:

Far as the rest goes, I can neither confirm nor deny what will become of dearest Azul.
I leave you in suspense! (For several chapters to come! LOL! XD)


And look! We made it to the second page for posts! WOO-HOO! ^^

[FlameMaster5]

 

_{^{Chapter 6 - A Brief Respite}}

The way home was all but a blur.

Somehow he had squeezed back through the bustling district market, passed by the small houses or huts of his neighbors, and made it to the Cade Farm to stable Calisson before ever realizing he had set foot in his front yard. Every thought had remained on the MSR and Azul, and if his blood would make any difference for his dearest brother and the others afflicted.

Thank gods that horses had minds of their own.

Or else he would still be at the stairs of the hospital.

"Azul has been infected, hasn't he? - Dr. Mikune confirmed it??"

Jade painfully nodded, making his way over to the dutiful Gemel that waited for him at the door.

"Eston advised me to admit him into the-- He was still passed out when I--"

"Jade." His neck craned upward once addressed by that consistently calm voice. "As I recall, I found you beaten bloody and unconscious. There was nothing more I could do for you for two weeks other than to stitch you up and feed you whatever I thought you could keep down. You battled your sickness alone with a stranger in an old and dusty lodge, not in an infirmary surrounded by nurses and a skilled medic."

The youth, despite burdened by his worries, looked thoughtful a moment. He didn't know how the tall man knew all the right things to say and when, but he did. Always collectedly, cooly, and even emotionlessly, but he did.

Perhaps it was the mere contrast to his feeling like a whirlwind within that Jade appreciated.

"You're saying Azul will come out of this... That he'll be alright."

Gemel made no expression. "I'm saying his conditions are much better than yours were; it increases the likelihood that he will survive this by tenfold. If I am under the right impression, Dr. Mikune won't stop until he develops a serum to combat the disease. Succinctly, Azul is being well observed."

The practicality and reason behind these words were by some means comforting. Not the most uplifting, but at least probable. Enough for Jade to nod once more with a bit of peace.

His fellow Sword then adjusted and brushed past him, at last moving like some statue come to life, proceeding at once towards the strip of road that lead back to Festival Lane and thusly Castle Llor.

"You're off then?", the young man asks, disappointment trickling in. "Not going to join us--"

"Before you offer me a place at your table", Gemel interrupts, not looking back even as he called, "you should know you have a pack of pups waiting inside for details on your brother. Explanations will be necessary, and they are going to want them to come from you - Their alpha if it pleases you. We will meet again shortly at the palace when reporting to Commander Lloryn."

Jade could only watch as Gemel slowly shrunk into the distance.

Would have been nice to have had his support inside, the youth had thought. He wouldn't even have to say a word, just to stand there like a suit of armor as he always did would have been plenty.

How was he going to tell his family? 

Not what, but how - He had to be considerate of age differences.

He didn't want to frighten them. At the same time, he didn't want to be unrealistic either.

Feeling completely unprepared for all this, and yet still responsible to handle it, Jade took a deep breath to compose himself before entering the home.

He came in quietly. To both his surprise and relief, Jade now witnessed a scene quite typical of the afternoons playing out before him in the kitchen. Redd and Zariah were at the counter with a basin washing cutlery(splashing water on each other and giggling in the process), while Shaydenn and Solis were setting the table with the help from Alyssa, who made sure that it was done properly. Lunch was prepared, house tidy. The boys were seemingly in high spirits with one another, kept in check by the good nature of the girls that were among the household so often that they felt like Jade's own little sisters.

He waited silently in the doorway.

Just to watch. Just to listen.

It was almost like nothing had happened, and he wished it could stay that way.
But finally, Alyssa looked up from placing utensils after catching him standing there in her peripheral. The smile she had adorned wiped off her face immediately, and he knew reality had begun to settle back in when she noticed Azul was not at his side.

She unthinkingly placed a hand over her heart. "Oh... You're back."

Jade braced himself as this caught the attention of the group. All eyes were now greeting him in a confounded mixture of interrogation, anxiousness, and warmth for his return. The peace that was had been disrupted and contorted into a congested space, and he felt like the air had been snatched from his lungs. Everything was racing and still at the same time. The room even waved slightly, black spotting his sight here and there. He felt almost ill. Realizing the stress was not pairing well with just having given blood, he breathed in slowly again to refocus on their joint stares.

But they weren't staring at him. Not exactly, anyway.

Their eyes seemed mesmerized, burrowing into his chest.

Or his uniform?

Then he remembered.

Blood. Azul's blood.

He was still coated in a fine red mist from the waist up.

"Is-- Is that his--?", he heard Zariah start through the building fog in his mind. He couldn't even look at her as she sniffled now, panic beginning to rise. "Where is he? Is Azul ok?! Jade, tell me!"

"Azul is with Dr. Mikune - I admitted him into the MSR; he's sick", Jade answered, and he noted the almost distant tone in his voice.

Seemed Gemel was with him all along.

"The hospital... How bad is he?"

Such a simple question but it was weighted. Heavily.

He opened his mouth to continue but the words wouldn't come. He could only force himself to acknowledge his brothers; Redd hopping down from the counter while still managing a small smile at him, and Shaydenn and Solis taking their seats at the table with their unspoken understanding that the situation was more serious. That's when he felt a hand on his arm, and Alyssa there to save him from this speechlessness.

"Why don't we let you take a moment to clean up, hmm?", she says, now gently guiding him away. "You're tired, and you could use a hot meal - Just like Papa after a long day. We'll talk about this over lunch, alright?"

There was no arguing with the young lady. She led him to his bedroom (even though she knew he knew the way) and left him to redress himself.

The Sword sighed. Fatigued. Standing there at the side of his bed, Jade slowly shed his uniform one sleeve at a time. He mindlessly struggled to free his left arm while looking longingly at the covers below him. Never before had his bed seemed so inviting. But he knew he couldn't sleep.

Not with how things were. His day wasn't even halfway through.

When the ruined and yet brilliant royal coat slipped off his shoulders and into a heap at his feet, he turned to the mirrored nightstand nearby to dip his hands into a waiting basin. One splash on his face, then another. As he gripped the edges of the pan he honestly considered just dumping the whole thing over his head. That's what it would take to be even slightly awake.

But then the floor would be wet.

He moaned at the unfairness of that before dropping down to open a drawer lined with a few fresh clothes. A solid linen shirt would have to do for now until he could equip a new uniform coat at the palace later. He found he much preferred the white, blue and gold colors fashioned in the likeness of Ulloryn to the drab gray or brown of peasant life - made him feel important, needed, and more like the man he thought he ought to be.

Honorable. Like his father.

As thoughts he rather not think about right now came regardless, things about his father, his mother, how they would be handling everything with Azul if only they were here... Jade began slipping his shirt on, one sleeve at a time, and then felt something bump and push into him from behind. A short laugh escaped when he stumbled a bit, a cheek pressing against his bare back as little arms wrapped around his torso.

"Hey, lord-ling... You ok? I didn't scare you back there, did I?"

"I'm alright, Jade. I'm just glad you're home."

The young man found his lost smile through the warmth sinking into his middle and finally turned around to have Redd come into the fold of his arms, too. He squeezed the boy, his youngest brother nuzzling there against the fabric over his abdomen.

The smaller voice then spoke again, innocently, "Jade... Are you ok?"

He felt his bottom lids start to burn, threatening to spill over tears.

Nevermind stress and exhaustion. The question alone was enough to make him fall to pieces.

But as he glanced over at the nightstand mirror to view their embrace being reflected back to him, there was almost adamantly paternal whispers within.

No. You're needed right now. Just as you have always been.

And whatever color you wear... That won't change.

"It's ok if you're not...", Redd then says softly, slowly looking up at him, unaware of the internal argument that took place inside his beloved guardian. 

Jade fell into the singular gaze below him, ocean-deep, and felt his smile genuinely widen. He then looked out of his bedroom back towards the kitchen, saying warmly, "I'm not, but I will be. Thanks for cheering me up some, buddy." He ruffled the boy's hair fondly. "Now, let's go join the others. They're waiting."

Following the mouth-watering scent of smoked ham back, Jade and Redd returned to the kitchen and the adolescents that were now seated in patient anticipation. Zariah and Alyssa acknowledged them immediately as they parted to proceed to the opposite ends of the table. The eldest took his place at the head with the youngest at the foot, the twins on the left side with the girls on the right, and a spread of food in the center before them. There was quiet as Shaydenn carved the meat and Solis distributed dinner sides, serving each of them generously. Not a single word was spoken until their plates were full, and everyone turned to Jade.

He nodded. First things first.

"Divine Demigods of the Kalsamtorr,

You who wanders the wilderness,

You who stalks in the moonlight,

You who runs and leaps

Between the brush and ashen trees,

Lend us your primal strength,

And the wisdom of your glowing eyes.

Teach us to relentlessly track our desires,

And to stand in defense of those we love.

Yuxe, walk with us through the mires of our passing.

Yeshyad, howl with us in the joys of our life.

And Ulloryn,

Guard us as we move through this world..."

A collective agreement followed this prayer with, "Let it be." The six now breathed at last with the tension breaking before beginning to eat at their own paces.

"So... Does Dr. Mikune know what is making Azul sick?", Zariah asks in her most comfortable way possible, looking at Jade briefly before casting a downward glance at her plate, fearing the worst. Shaydenn and Solis exchanged glances with their eldest brother to convey their concern for Azul, too, but they opened with their usual jokes and teasing; it was better to keep the mood light, they thought.

"I'm sure... Little Brother is just trying... To get out of chores", Shaydenn replies between bites of ham, licking the corner of his lip after a throaty swallow. "Mmm. Y'know, I think I outdid myself."

Solis gave Zariah a wink, adding with a grin, "Or maybe he's just lovesick."

She did not look amused. Neither did Jade as he rubbed his temple with a sigh.

"From what Dr. Mikune described to me...", Jade then began hesitantly, taking a moment to drink from his mug of cider as he constructed his next words carefully, even somewhat vaguely, "Azul has been afflicted with the same ailment I endured only weeks ago. His condition seems dour, but Eston will keep him at the MSR and oversee his care personally. There he has the best chance of recovery." He held a gentle stare on Zariah until she finally picked up her fork in an attempt to eat with some acceptance of this, and then passed his best reassuring glances to Alyssa, then Redd, and lastly again to the twins. But Shaydenn and Solis, both sitting at fifteen, knew better than to expect any miracles and just continued to shove food in their mouths to keep from saying anything negative.

Partly, anyway. The carrots and potatoes were delicious.

Alyssa mused after a nibble of honey-rye. She brushed down the front of her dress that was newly borrowed from Zariah, almost distractedly, and asked, "How long do you think he will be there at the sanitarium, Jade?"

"Could be a couple days, weeks...", the young man answered staidly, shrugging with uncertainty. "I honestly don't know. But for however long I know it's best for him."

"Well, I don't like it." She held her head high, now spearing a piece of meat.

Jade half-smiled at her display of frustration. He felt that way too in the presence of Dr. Mikune. Only he doubted he could ever be as scary as her even at his worst.

"Trust me, Alyssa, I don't like it either."

She looked pleased with him briefly before hearing loud belching from across the table. Her eyes set sharply on the pair that now paused from stuffing their faces.

"MANNERS!", Alyssa scolded.

The twins retorted sarcastically, "What are those?", before flashing her wry smirks.

Normally, Zariah would have burst out laughing at her friends, but she could not stop thinking about Azul being sick and cooped up at the hospital. Away from her.

Away from everyone.

"Jade, you have patrol again, don't you?", she says, hardly a question. She went on when he came to attention. "Then my family and I will visit Azul at the MSR since you yourself won't be able to see him tonight. And I promise I will visit him every single day henceforth until he is better!" 

Before the Sword had a chance to respond, Shaydenn commented, "Yeah, Father-Brother, you do whatever it is you do out on the wall and we'll take care of the rest!"

"Right, Shay and I will look after him as soon as we finish up our shifts at Biggs' Bar", Solis tethers on. "You can count on that. Leave everything to us."

"Hey, I want to go see Azul, too!", Redd chimes in finally, catching now a reluctant look from his eldest brother. "Please, Jade, can I go with them later?"

Just as Jade was about to lean against this, Alyssa convinced him with, "Don't worry, Jade, I'll be right there! Papa won't mind me tagging along, so I'll keep the boys behaved."

The young man felt himself breathe in, completely and evenly without forcing himself, for the first time today. A weight had just lifted off his shoulders, and he realized just how much pressure he had been under. Knowing there was a plan and more than his own watch to look after Azul brought relief and hopefulness at last in these dark times.

He wouldn't have to carry the load alone. His family and friends were with him.

"Thank you - All of you", Jade answers, passing each of them a heartfelt smile. "I don't know if I say it enough... But I am grateful for all of your help. I appreciate all the household duties done, and promises to be there with Azul when I simply can't, and--" He waved a hand over his plate, still yet untouched but had every intention on finishing now that he was more at ease. "This smoked ham, which if it tastes half as good as it smells I'm in for a real treat - Alyssa, you will thank your father for me, won't you?"

"Of course!", the farm girl replies, smiling back ear to ear. "Consider it done!"

He nodded with another easy breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is--"

"I know, I know... You love me", Shaydenn jests with a feigned sigh, garnet eyes twinkling. "And who could blame you? - Coming home to a hot meal every day. YOUR WELCOME!"

"More seriously, though, Jade...", Solis starts between chuckling at his twin, "We know, ok? I know we complain a lot and give you a hard time, but we're still in this together."

"Always", Zariah says with utmost affection.

"Yup!", Redd adds, beaming brightly, fork raised high.

Then bells rang out over the kingdom.

The group was gently hushed. Reminded that time was ticking right along, Jade began his meal while the others resumed eating, following his lead. Soon he would report for duty and he knew the night would be longer than his day; it would be unwise to patrol on empty. Besides, as his fellow Sword so advised him, he needed to be prepared for whatever his Commander had coming to him.

He would not disappoint. 

As the heat of succulent ham, creamy vegetables, and honeyed bread filled his belly, warming and comforting him further from the inside, Jade listened to the soft tinkling of utensils and chewing around him. That familiar peace of his home had resettled somehow. Though concern for Azul was undeniably present within each of them, they all seemed pacified. His discussion with them went better than he expected. Or maybe it was just Shaydenn's cooking.

Admittedly, his brother had outdone himself.

When the twins stood moments later, having practically wolfed down their food between both silence and conversation alike, they made a stop just at the end of the table on either side of Redd before directly gazing across at their eldest brother.

"We'll be off to the bar now, but before we go...", Shaydenn paused, hand placing over his heart, and Jade readied himself for the inevitable sarcasm, "I almost forgot that congratulations were in order! Let us mark this as the first annual Happy Sword Day!! Please do remember us for ALL your future catering needs." 

"Hear, hear!", Solis cheers with a salute, then a broad smile.

The Sword sighed with an irritable squint. He almost believed that nothing ever happened this morning. "Thank you?", he managed, and they just grinned back.

Shaydenn dropped down beside Redd, nudging him slightly in the shoulder. "This goes for everyone, but especially for you Baby Brother..." The hand on his heart was placed now over his stomach. Sincerely. "If you don't clean your plate, just leave it - We'll get to it tonight. Promise."

Solis chuckled with, "Makes your job washing dishes easier, eh, Redd?", before they started towards the door.

Redd could only giggle back.

"Have a good evening, boys!", Zariah says, now standing herself to help clear the table.

Alyssa follows the twins to the door, waving them out with a fond farewell. "I'll see you two later - Redd and I will be waiting for you. You will be on your best behavior in the meantime, won't you?"

Shaydenn and Solis flashed her with their signature mischievous smirks before she gave them her hands-on-hips and expecting russet glare. They shuffled off, deflated.

"Yes, Alyssa..."

Both girls remained for a little longer before they, too, dismissed themselves. They tidied the kitchen to assist their neighbors, clearing away plates to the counter (with leaving any tidbits for the twins as requested) and properly stored leftovers in the pantry or in the bottom cellar where coolest. When they finished, Zariah reinforced that she would be visiting Azul with her family very soon and Alyssa explained that she would return shortly to stay with Redd after telling her papa everything. With that, they waved goodbye. For now. 

"Redd... You seem in good spirits", Jade said once it was just the two of them, with the only other sound between them being the dying flames of the fireplace. "You appear to have forgiven Shaydenn and Solis. I assume that you all were getting along fine then while I was away?"

The boy nodded with a deliberate slow bob as if deciding to give his teenage brothers a pass. This time around. "Yeah, I guess so - I just wish I didn't have these stupid dreams", Redd answered, picking here and there at his vegetables. "But they were ok. I think they were too busy being worried about Azul. In their own way, you know?"

Jade nodded similarly to that of his little brother, pushing his plate up a bit with finishing his meal. "They do have a way about them, most certainly. And about your nightmares--"

"Azul has the Blight of Yuxe, doesn't he? There's no cure, right??"

This blunt interruption left the young man stunned. Dumbfounded even.

As he stared into a blue eye across from him he felt the hairs on his neck stand ever slightly. His mind was reeling, wondering just how the boy even knew what the sickness was called when he himself had only just learned of the name earlier from Dr. Mikune.

"H-How did you--... Redd, where did you hear all that?"

"From Sir Gemel. He told me everything", came an innocent reply. "When he brought you home, you remember? Your arm. He said that the demigod bit you and you got sick. He called what you had the Blight of Yuxe, said it was really bad but you got better somehow when others just--..." Redd didn't finish, watching what color Jade did have in his face drain away.
"Did he... Specify? The sickness? What all really happened to me??"
Redd shook his head with, "No. I asked, but he wouldn't tell me. He said you would explain later. Why did Yuxe bite you anyway, Jade?"

The young man felt his chest tighten.

He wanted to keep all the details carefully tucked away. Redd was still so young, wouldn't it be better to wait until he was a little older to explain? But, as he realized, that was before when it was only him that had been struck with the Blight and survived. More and more people were suddenly falling ill to this strangely sudden disease. And even more importantly, Azul was now sick, too.

Jade tensely exhaled.

He knew he couldn't protect him. Not from this.

The young Sword decides to have a discussion with his little brother. He tells Redd everything about the nature of the plague to how it likely came to spread; how slaying Yuxe during his madness must have contaminated the Town Square and anything produced nearby, which is why they had stopped buying any food or clothes except those provided by their own district.

Hardly a positive conversation. However, Jade closed with a possibility of there being hope for Azul and others with the disease. He unwrapped his left arm just enough to show Redd the puncture mark where Dr. Mikune had drawn his blood, saying there may yet be a cure.

The Highe-Gods willing.
Redd understood to not be overly optimistic, but he couldn't help smiling a little through the gloom, now saying, "Den Mother Ulloryn is with Azul, right? I'm sure she will protect him, just like she protected you."
Jade made a warm smile back.
Their parents would be proud of Redd right now.
He certainly was.

"I think we could use a little enjoyment right about now, don't you think?", Jade says as he finally stood, knowing that he should use his time wisely before patrol. "What do you say, Redd, up for a ride on Calisson through town? Might clear our heads and hearts for a bit."

Redd practically leaps from his chair, the remainder of his food completely forgotten. "Really?! Yeah, let's go!"

Suggestions like this were worth just seeing the boy light up.

The young man collected his little brother, wrapping a loving arm around him as they started for the farm. "Can you teach me how to ride more while we're out, Jade?"

He fondly agreed to this. How could he ever say no? "Of course. You'll be a knight yet!"

[CS Revolked]

I like character developments in this section. We're starting to get hints of possible foreshadowing. And we're beginning to feel the heavy burden placed upon Jade due to his responsibilities. Hell, even he needs a little reassurance sometime. He needs someone beside him. I'm interested to see what becomes of the Alyssa placing an unknowing hand over her heart. That's foreshadowing if I ever did see it (NGL I do love some foreshadow. I do it without even thinking.)

I DEMAND MORE!

[FlameMaster5]

I have to admit, I am loving the character developments myself!

In the very very VERY early scripts of this book, tucked away in a binder that actually lays open on my bedroom floor, there was never this much exploration of the toons or even the real building of a world. Everything was so fast paced that it failed to create a picture. Scenery is my weakest in writing (I feel it is, anyway), but considering where I started even that area is just better by default. XD

I feel like I hit upon every character well in this Ch6.

I think it most definitely is paving way for future interactions even.

And this Ch, thus far, is the longest. Won't be out of the entire book, but is so far. ;]

There's just a lot of emotion in this Ch.

From hopelessness, to togetherness, to sarcasm(lol)...

SPOILER: Click to show

And isn't Jade and Redd just beautiful?
I swear, I even cried writing a few of these scenes! D:

[FlameMaster5]

_{^{Chapter 7 - Biggs' Bar}}

Cheerful bellows all around. Swirling smoke from lit pipes.

A heady aroma of sweet beer and bread.

Welcome to Biggs' Bar.

Upon entry from a service door, just behind the length of the counter, boisterous applause erupted from drunken patrons to greet the two adolescent stewards they had come to know and love. The twins cheered back at their adoring customers, raising fists high into the smoke hovering above them, before rushing up to clap old Fallow tending bar on the shoulders and waving out to young Odette serving fare. They shook hands with friendly regulars over the counter, knowing each face by name and their drinks by heart, as they steadily made their way out of the service nook to turn and pass through a curtain in the back. 

Into the kitchen and living quarters of Heorhiy Biggs and his wife Margie, the owners of the bar.

Shaydenn and Solis stepped in to spot Margie right where they left her. At the woodstove. The plump woman was always cooking. Already she had heaps of warm bread and pies on a nearby three-tier circular table, with even more on the way. When Odette came in to collect the next batch from her bakery and passed along what orders were highly demanded this evening, Margie turned to finally see the teenagers after kindly sending her waitress away.

She threw her paunchy arms up high and wide, almost singing, "There are my boys~!"

The youths couldn't help but beam as she waddled over in her marigold dress to embrace them. Margie squeezed them in tight and firmly up against her large bosoms before planting motherly kisses on their cheeks. Little red lip-prints were left on their faces, and they didn't mind one bit. "Oh-ho-ho! Come in, sit down awhile before your shifts! Heorhiy and I were just about to have dinner and dessert - You boys hungry?"

Nevermind that they just had the biggest lunch of their lives. While delicious, the smoked ham and veggies had barely hit the sides for them both.

"Do you even have to ask?", Shaydenn answers, wrapping a loving arm around the stout woman that had practically adopted them.

Solis shortly laughed, saying, "Always a 'yes'! You know we can't pass up your cooking, Missus B!", as she led them in further to the dining table where her husband waited.

Heorhiy, a man heavy as a grizzly bear and resembled one too, dressed in stark browns and a furred overcoat with silver buttons down his massive belly, lounged in his chair as he swigged beer and puffed on his cigar. He was a surly brute, stubborn and self-indulgent, unyielding when it came to talking business and funds with Theroce nobles that bordered on his establishment. But when he saw the boys he gestured for them to come on over, a smile spread wide over his doughy face. He gently slapped them both on the chops, sausage-like thumbs rubbing off some of his wife's lipstick. They were like his sons.

"Ahh... Back for more, eh?", Heorhiy said in his husky, slothful way as the pair took seats across from him. He swilled down his beer, and Margie promptly refilled his stein. "Comin' in early, half-starved before work. That big brother of yours not feeding you?"

"Of course Jade does", Solis replies, salivating even as he spoke from the enticing whiffs of cheese and fruit tarts all around them.

Shaydenn grinned almost nervously when Heorhiy looked unconvinced. "We just haven't the heart to tell him that it's never enough! Might put a dent in his ego, yanno? Things should improve with him making Sword and all, however."

The rotund man simply hummed at this. As he took another puff of his cigar, his wife set a huge platter of food down before them. Tonight's supper was Cream O' Hydrafin, sided with broccoli and garlic bread, and for dessert Mulberry Pie. All in gargantuan portions.

"Well, you boys are getting so big, so fast - You seem taller every day!", Margie says, placing mugs filled to the brim with ale down for the teenagers before plopping into her chair between them. "You're just growing up, and since I can't keep you in my pockets forever--" She stroked Solis behind the ear before turning to Shaydenn to pat him gently on the stomach. "Eat as much as you like!"

The youths had no objections.

They waited patiently for Heorhiy to be served first, like how good tribesman would for their patriarch, before laying claim to their main course pots and dinner sides. Margie, knowing well that although they may be twins they still didn't like to share dessert, slid their own individual pies in front of them.

The boys were completely spoiled here, and they knew it.

But they also knew they could just be themselves and do no wrong here in the loving company of the Biggs, whom they adored since childhood. There was no being scolded, grounded, or given chores(aside from actually helping run the bar). That made this portly, parental couple the only ones in Lloryncia they felt they could be truly open with.

About their feelings.

Worries. Fears. Doubts. Even grief for their early losses.

And about their bodies.

Rapid changes. Growing confusion and aggression. Immense hunger.

There were even simply things they nor anyone else could explain about themselves, like their strangely colored eyes for example, which Margie had always told them must be blessings from Yeshyad.

So as they began eating dinner, at last, they knew they could be honest.

About Azul. About how deeply concerned they actually were for their little brother.

"Heorhiy... Margie... There's another reason why we came by early...", Shaydenn began, pausing to chug down half his ale in hope that its alcoholic content, mild as it was, would help take the edge off. He understood now how Jade must have felt. Explaining everything. As he thought about how to do the same as his eldest brother, Margie was already refilling his mug and he wasn't sure if he felt good about that. Considering how much he rather forgot today ever happened. "You know that sickness that's been going around? That nasty infection that Yuxe caused, the one that made Jade--"

"Not worried about catching the ick, now, are ya?", Heorhiy interrupted, and Shaydenn quieted to let him finish. Although the twins had never been spoken harshly to by Heorhiy, they also never challenged him like they often did with their Father-Brother. But then Jade didn't weigh six-hundred or so pounds and bark like a mad dog at nobles. "From the time you were a small pup, you've not had so much a sneeze. Neither one of ya! Don't fret, lad - I supply my bar with only the best eats, and the beer takes care of itself!"

"That's just it... We're not worried about ourselves, Mister B", Solis spoke up, and Heorhiy and Margie both made something of curious expressions between sipping their creamy goulash. "We came to tell you something. Something bad that happened today. I don't know how else to say it other than just to come out with it, so..." He took in a breath, and he noticed Shaydenn bracing himself once again for hearing the news a second time. "It's Azul. He's sick with whatever is spreading. He's at the MSR right now as we speak, and Jade conveyed to us that it was serious." There was a knocking of wood when the adults dropped their spoons, mouths gaping open, flabbergasted. He was half-afraid that one might have heart failure.

"Oh no-ho-ho, not Azul! Not my little Lapis Azuli!", Margie cries, fanning herself immediately as she struggled to hold back the floodgates. "That poor child, that precious angel! Ulloryn, bless him..."

Heorhiy had sad eyes, shaking his head in dismay. "Folks have been sayin' around the bar how shitty this malady can be. Comes up on ya fast, takes ya down just as quick. A youngster like Azul fightin' something like that? Prayers that he doesn't walk with Yuxe too soon."

The twins had hoped to hear something more uplifting from their guardians.

Solis slammed his fist down, causing all liquid contents spread across the table in bowls and mugs alike to slosh, before his voice rose out of him with surprising tenacity, "Hold on! I know this is of ill report, but let's not give up hope just yet! Jade was one foot in the grave and managed to climb out, maybe Azul can too. Have faith that he will come out of this." He watched as Heorhiy and Margie formed warm smiles on him, and then he felt himself grin before biting into a piece of garlic bread.

"And just on which side?", they heard Shaydenn retort, slicing through this confidence like a dagger. "You heard what Father-Brother said; Azul's condition is bleak at best. You think he was being vague because he sees sunshine on the horizon?!" The grownups were taken aback a moment, while Solis felt his invigorated spirit begin to diminish at the sight of his brother, normally housing such fortitude, begin to shed tears. "What if Azul doesn't get better? What if he--..." Shaydenn found himself being brought into the fold of Margie's embrace with his head placed just on her pillowy breast.

She petted him, fingers stroking through his fine raven hair as she followed through to his neck and shoulder. "Oh, honey... No-no-no. Solis is right; We can't think that way."

The boy in her arms sniffled, then choked out, "I-I'm sorry... I just--... I can't help it! I tried, Margie, I tried pushing the thought away, distracted myself anyway I could--"

"It's true - Shay paired up with Redd to help out extra over at the Cade Farm today", Solis adds in, and the woman cradling his twin now made a nod as she put two and two together.

"But nothing worked!", Shaydenn managed to go on as more frustration became evident. "Not even seeing Alyssa made me forget entirely... In fact, I was only reminded that Manfrit is going to send her off to District Theroce to some academy soon - Solis told me, by the way - and I won't get to see her for only the Highe-Gods know how long! And then there's Jade--"

He fell silent when Heorhiy masterfully slid over his decorated kalsamtorr-stein, not even spilling a drop of the frothing beer. "Now, ya listen here, sonny. Down that fast 'cause you're spewing out everythin' at once, like every other stool-sitter out there! Go on. All of it." Shaydenn hesitated a moment to look at Margie and Solis before leaning up to take the stein in hand. As he began to gulp down the beer as told, tasting the bitter-sweet splash back at his throat, he realized the fat man beaming knew him better than he knew himself. It was like Heorhiy had heard his thoughts before about wanting to forget it all. And he wondered if he actually could as he set the stein back down on the table, empty, now gasping for a few breaths as a chuckle escaped the bar owner. "Attaboy! Marg, pour him another. And get the other one some too. Let 'em drown their sorrows for a bit, yeah?" His wife quickly collected another stein for Solis, then filled their mugs full until the suds were just threatening to bubble over.

When Margie returned to her seat between the boys, caressing the face of one to dry a stream away while watching the other start on his first round of amber brew, she said gently to them, "Not too much now. You've just had a hard day and you're tired, so drink slowly and eat up. You'll both feel better then."

The teenagers couldn't argue with that, nor could they argue with either comfort promotion: the beer or the food. In fact, they soon understood that the combination was utterly complimentary, and the whole reason why this bar business was an outstanding success.

They might have felt proud to be a part of that success too.

That is if they weren't so concerned with numbing themselves.

A couple more drinks, a few potfuls of stew, some dinner sides, and a whole pie later... Shaydenn was slumped over onto Margie's shoulder, belly swollen and sated, out like a light as he wisped out quiet breaths. Likewise, Solis was finally full as he pushed his plate up and lounged back in his seat, catching a grin from the large man that did the same.

"Feelin' better about now, eh?", Heorhiy assumed by a returning smile to him, taking a long puff of his cigar as if to boast shamelessly about his way of problem-solving.

"Yessir", Solis replies, content, feeling slight weightlessness in his head. He passed a glance over to Margie, seeing that the motherly woman had resumed petting his brother as he slept. "Everything was delicious. Thank you Mister and Missus B. I only wish that Jade and Redd were here. They could use your hospitality too, no question!"

Margie perked up, like a friendly dog upon call. "Well then, extend our invitation to them, hon! Come over for an early dinner tomorrow - All of you. I haven't seen Jade in forever it feels like. And little Redd... I just hope he will do alright with this news of Azul, the poor dear."

With a firm nod, the youth answered, "I'll spring it on Jade first thing in the morn. Yanno, before the excuses come up and all. And don't worry about Redd. He may be young, but there's a spirit in there you just can't break. I envy him a little, Shay probably does too."

A soft simper escaped her as she placed a kiss upon Shaydenn's forehead. "Not at the moment, he doesn't." Margie now smiled as another light of an idea graced her eyes. "You know what? I'll make a special batch of Cheddar Pumpkin Stew tomorrow. For Azul, when you see him. I know it's his favorite. You can bring it to him after our gathering, how's that?"

"He'll love it, Missus B. It'll get him back on his feet in no time, I'm sure of it!"

"On that note...", Heorhiy began, removing his cigar from his teeth just long enough to clear his throat. Loudly. Solis wasn't sure if this was intended to wake his brother or not, but Shaydenn jolted upright anyway while squinting what was undoubtedly a bleary red gaze. "You boys should start taking your workload lightly for a while. Priorities, see? For Azul."

Rubbing his eyes to clear the haze, Shaydenn spoke, albeit a bit disoriented, "You mean work less? Here, at the bar? Sure, if we could - I'd love nothing more than to just come by to eat and drink with you here all day." The teenager made a toothy grin. "But Heorhiy, you know better than any Mikunesman that money doesn't just get rained on us. Unless there's a Highe-God of Coin you've been hiding, hmm?"

"Jade needs our help to support the family, Mister B", Solis tagged on as respectfully as he could muster. "We're doing more and more for Farmer Cade just to keep our heads above water. Your bar is how we earn most of our contribution, though. How will we survive? We can't cut back, not even a little. Now more than ever..."

Heorhiy then did something the twins had only seen him do a handful of times in all their years knowing him.

He stood!

He moved lazily, and his big belly rocked the table forward a bit as he hoisted up finally, but he did.

Shaydenn and Solis gawked at him as he lumbered over. They never even noticed when Margie rose up to stand lovingly at her husband's side. Heorhiy chuckled as he loomed over the youths, a sparkle in his snuff-colored eyes, pulling objects up from his coat. Before the boys even had a chance to register what they were, the large man was slapping bulging pouches of coins in their hands.

"Listen, I don't mind sayin' that Marg and I would feel plum terrible if that youngster took a turn for the worst and you were not there, ya understand? Until Azul is well... Ol' Biggs has got ya covered!" 

Beams of gratitude split over their faces instantly. All worry about the situation seemed to blow away.

"Well... You're the boss, Big Guy!", Shaydenn answers as they stood, smile becoming more and more crooked. "Whatever you say goes! We'll start slacking off tomorrow evening then. Try not to miss our faces too much, yeah?"

Solis embraced their adopted parents, saying, "A simple 'thank you' just wouldn't suffice...", squeezing them tight as they, in turn, wrapped their arms around him. "We love you guys! This makes all the difference..."

When the time for their shifts drew near, Odette popped her head in briefly to suggest that she and Fallow were tidying up before the transition. Now Margie planted more kisses on her boys before Heorhiy clapped his chosen sons on the shoulders and ushered them toward the heart of his establishment. Like a mother bird pushes her chicks from the nest, the large man pushed them out of the kitchen and into the bustling bar.

But the youths were ready to face whatever came next, at last feeling completely at ease. 

And full pockets and full bellies were definitely added bonuses!

[FlameMaster5]

_{^{Chapter 8 - Grave Memories}}

A moonlit sky on a chilled autumn night.

Candles line the cobblestone path. Lanterns hung on every shop and cart.

Woven streamers dyed scarlet between Mikune and Theroce.

And sweets. So many sweets.

More than he could ever remember having before on a Festival of Passing!

As a languid flow of pedestrians moved along beside them, the two seated atop Calisson together, Redd only wished he had not left the event so early that evening. Seeing now Festival Lane void of the annual decorations reminded him that he would never lay an eye on Demigod Yuxe again.

He could only imagine how Jade must have felt.

There would be no bringing it up then. They were simply going to enjoy this ride.

The boy breathed in deeply. Sealing his orb tightly, he focused on the warmth of the sunshine and his big brother just at his back, the cool breeze, and the chittering of brightly fallen leaves on the street. He could not contain it. A grin spreading ear-to-ear, he giggled as he swayed lightly in the movement of their horse. He accidentally gave a cue by merely his posture before coming to a sudden halt, and then that ever-patient and guiding voice spoke over his shoulder.

"Remember that Calisson listens only too well. The things you ask of him should all be clearly communicated through your body; even your weight shifting sends a message. Squeeze your thighs to slow the pace, legs to quicken. Now, keep going. You're doing great, Redd."

"I'll just keep practicing!", Redd answers as his eye flew open with determination and equal enthusiasm, gently pulling the reins and pressing Calisson onward in a steady trot down the lane. He could almost feel the smile on his shoulder. "One day I'll be as good as you! You'll see! Then maybe I'll be strong enough. Head toward the Town Square, right?"

"Right - Just follow the path...", he heard Jade say, a settled curiosity at the end of his tone. "And just what do you need to be stronger for? You know I'm not pressuring you to become a Sword like Father and me." There was a brief pause. Redd restrained from laughing, knowing his brother was bound to be recalling his words just before their horseback tour. "I encourage it... Maybe often. But I would encourage you even still to do whatever it is that you want with your life. Same goes for your brothers. So, have you given that any thought?"

Redd picked up his gaze, staring now into a clear sky, looking further than the blue into some far off reach that only his mind's eye could see, and replies dreamily, "All the time. I want to see the world, Jade! I want to see everything in Almega: the people, the places, the creatures. It would be a lot of exploring, but exciting!"

"And dangerous", Jade warns. "Not to mention short. Mount Kvasir borders North and an endless sea surrounds us. A field brimming with kalsamtorr is all that lies between us and our enemy - that is until they become brazen enough to battle again full-force. There's just simply not much else beyond that." Redd frowns. Suddenly the protective stone walls surrounding Lloryncia seemed more like a cage to keep him in. "And getting yourself hurt or worse isn't worth the gamble. Not to me anyway."

"But, Jade... Aren't you in danger?", the boy challenges mildly, nodding his head left to refer to his brother's bandages. "Being a Sword, I mean. You said Papa fought battles with the Kvasians as a knight. And your arm... You never even left the city for that. If you counted the Blight too, it's not safe anywhere right now, don't you think?" An astonished silence bored into him from behind now. He wondered if Jade, too, had ever given any thought about his choice to serve. Or maybe it never felt like a choice at all. He quickly went on to avoid any lingering on darker thoughts. "I wouldn't want you to worry, and I know I'm not big like you yet... But I just know there is more out there! I've seen it."

"In your dreams, I'm guessing", Jade says as Redd conducted their steed further toward the heart of the city. "I thought you hated your nightmares. Or have you considered they might have some value?"

Taking in the ever-clearer shapes suspended over the fountain ahead, statues of the beast deities circled with spraying streams above them into a pond below, the boy answers fervently, "I do hate them! I never want to see them again!" A short laugh came. Redd sighed; he hadn't made his point. "Ok... The dreams are bad mostly, but... There's this one where you can see really really really far! From somewhere way up in the clouds - maybe from that palace in the sky?" He mused over that with delight. The thought of a floating castle above them at this very moment made him almost giddy. "Anyway... I saw forests and sands and seas, mountains even! Places no one has seen before, Jade! There was also this really big white thing in the middle of everything... But the clouds were in the way, and I always wake up before I can see it..." He blinked away the images, feeling a mild mist nearby, coming back to see he was leading Calisson alongside the fountain. Right. His point. "If I were stronger... I might not be so afraid. I could then adventure, face the dangers, and find these places! Someone out there has to know something about what happened to Papa, right?"

Through an expected quiet, the time of hesitance it took to craft a carefully-worded response, Redd focused particularly on the statue of the Demigod of Vitality. The likeness of Yeshyad was captured in graceful prance over the water, slender head held high with such elegance; more fox-like with horns curving out and upward, intertwining at the top, spiked edges like a jeweled crown. His accurately-painted fur was white and green, with the tall hairs down his spine like flowing grass. A beautiful beast. As was the Life of the world he symbolized. The boy could only hope that certain people would always be in his. Azul immediately came to mind, along with his back passenger that finally answered.

"Sure... Of course. Just let yourself grow up a little bit, and you know what? Maybe we'll find Father ourselves. Until then, Redd, you have to promise me: no adventuring without me or your brothers, understand?"

"I understand, Jade - Promise", he replies, sincere through-and-through, as Calisson gradually slowed to a stop after rounding the fountain. He could now feel the body behind him stiffening, and he wondered if he sounded unconvincing. "I mean it! After my dreaming... Whatever I see... You and Azul are always there. So maybe one day, when he's all better and I'm grown-up like you said, we can see the world together! I know I won't be afraid with you two by my side." Redd grinned, for once allowing his nightmares to alter with pictures of him and his brothers thwarting monsters and evil-doers, all highly dramatized in valor and glory. Only he broke away from himself when he noticed there had been no response even still and that Jade hadn't seemed to move a muscle. Not even a breath.

He whirled back in the saddle. His eldest brother was sitting rigid, face ashy and glistening with sweat. His normally stalwart eyes were full of a strangling combination: fear, sorrow, and guilt, glazing over a particular patch of cobblestone just feet from them. Redd then knew. This was the exact spot where Demigod Yuxe-- No, where a monster was slain. "Jade?" To the boy's relief, his brother finally took a breath as he tore a now startled and confused gaze away to meet him. Redd gave him a look of concern until Jade's features molded into something more familiar, something calm and reserved. For a moment they merely listened to the people passing by. "Jade... Are you--?" 

The young man shot a glance over his head, nodding over as he spoke at last.

"That alley... Take that way."

Redd pursed his lips, perplexed. He turned back to regain control over their mount. Seemed Jade didn't hear a word of his promise. Instead of arguing or pondering further over what just happened, the boy guided them away from the Town Square and into a labyrinth of backroads through District Mikune.

They said nothing. Passing through the narrow and unkempt alleyways, wedged between tired homes and impoverished bazaars, where only a sliver of light peeked over rooftops, Redd quietly directed Calisson as he answered merely gestures from his brother. Jade had extended his bound arm outward, allowing his tingling fingers to touch and trail over the sides of the walls, following what the boy thought was some invisible marker to find...wherever they were going. But with a closer look, squinting through the shadows, there was a crimson streak of something painted dry. Blood. Redd stifled a gasp. This was the path Jade took the night of the festival, when he very nearly bled out, when he almost--

The cardinal vein ended, and with it, the paved street broke into a dirt path. Soon after Redd was motioned to turn another way to where the great and towering stone wall of Canidae Cathedral hugged their left side. Jade continued to stream his fingers over the surface, faintly feeling the cool slab between tinges of numbness, before they were forced down the backside of the holy architecture and out into a bright clearing. Ahead was an old lodge that was now in mid-repair(a place Redd recognized well enough by now as Gemel's pad) and just over was black gates to the Gardens of Passing, Lloryncia's cemetery. To the boy's confoundment, Jade nudged him to curve toward the graveyard. He silently complied.

Entering the necropolis, Redd guided them through an initial passage of tall hedges riddled with roses until rows upon rows of tombs came into view, with one large gated sanctum nestled at the very back. Arrangements of marigold and white lilies were neatly between graves, and bowls for offering oils or flowers rested at the foot of each plot. The cemetery housed Llorians in eternal rest over centuries past. Some died old, some died young. Some had been nobles, some commoners. Royalty and Swords too. And now some perished by an abhorrent plague. But every one of them was guarded by black kalsamtorr statues to remind visiting family that the Demigod of Passing was with their loved one's spirit.

But, as Redd thought, how can Yuxe be with them when he himself is dead?
This question he couldn't answer. Not well anyway.

And it made him uncomfortable when considering Azul.

As if Calisson had been a part of his inner thoughts and feelings, just as confused or unnerved by this place as he shifted his weight restlessly, the boy finally decided to ask for both their sakes, "Jade, why are we here?" His brother remained speechless. Gently taking the reins, Jade navigated their steed toward a specific headstone in the third row designated for Swords and their families. Redd now could make out an engraved image of a smiling woman just below the keeping statue, with beautiful text inscribed to match.

In Loving Memory Of

ELEUTHERIA PRISM

Beloved Wife & Mother

No farewell words were spoken

No time to say goodbye

You were gone before we knew it

And only Ulloryn knows why 

He felt a mixture of warmth and gloom begin to well up inside him.

Their mother. She looked exactly as he pictured she would.

They came to a stop just at the foot of the grave. Jade promptly dismounted, gathered a handful of flowers from the gardens nearby, and knelt to make his offering. Redd carefully slid off the saddle and followed the lead of his brother closely. He waited next to Jade, as patiently as he could muster. But the longer he stared at the face of his deceased mother the harder it was to hold back his curiosities.

Jade never told him or Azul how she died. Shaydenn and Solis never divulged either.

Was it a secret? Or, like earlier today, was it just delicate to explain?

From the poem written below on her headstone... 

He guessed she was taken too soon. Too sudden.

After a while of the two just staring at the grave, taking in every intricate detail from little nicks in the stone to the fine velvety lines in the given petals, Redd desperately wanted to know. "You always told us about Mama and Papa, what they were like, what you remembered about them. I miss them just from your stories. Jade, you've never brought me here... What happened to Mama? How did she die??" When Jade eventually did speak, the boy didn't expect such directness to his inquiries.

Among the Mikune district, she stood out front of her small home as she cradled her one-month-old baby boy, softly singing hymns and rhymes well-known to her Llorian people. Now and again she turned to face the window at her back to catch glimpse of her smiling husband playing with their other four sons in the kitchen, but upon feeling a sudden chill she tore all attention to an oddly slender, darkly-draped figure that approached her in the yard. The woman stepped back with an alarmed gasp, holding her swaddled child closer to her breast. She only knew this wraith to be one thing: the Highe-God of Death; appearing to her after being sought out and blessed by his life-giving counterpart.

The wraith was bent on taking everything away from her. Starting with the boy.

He outstretched his bony hands for the child. The woman backed away as she shielded her baby, wrapping her arms tightly around to protect him from a reaching death-grasp. Within a blink of an eye, he was looming over her, paralyzing her. A single touch and she screamed from the life starting to drain from her body. Nonetheless, she held on firmly to her son as one final effort, determined to safeguard him from this fiend.

"Eleutheria!!"

She heard her husband call out for her, his hurried footfalls from the house coming ever clearer, as she struggled to counter each prodding finger aimed at her child. The ghoul hissed menacingly in her face, every strike setting in spreading decay.

She felt her strength waning.

When her husband emerged from behind the creature, flashing longsword already in mid-swing for a posterior blow, the specter responded with crushing force from shadow-like tendrils that protruded from the back of his robes, sending his assailant soaring to the ground.

He now had a clear opening.

Sharpening the tendrils like needles and driving them forward, the Highe-God of Death pierced the woman's body like a pincushion, intending to snatch the life from his small victim in one fell swoop.

She gave out a wail of pain before her breath broke abruptly in her throat, mouthing only a name she desperately tried to plead out to but couldn't articulate: Adarethue.

Her body collapsed in the grass. A pool of blood quickly seeped out from beneath her.

She was dead.

But as for her baby...

A much smaller, shrill cry erupted in agony from her still clutching arms.

The boy had survived!

One of his little eyes now drained blood instead of tears, blotted out by an umbral spine that somehow had not quite gone deep enough. The remainder of his tiny body unscathed.

Blessed was this child. Blessed indeed.



"On that dark day ten years ago", Jade began solemnly, turning fully to the singular blue orb that now stared back at him, "a dark figure came - garbed in ebony with eyes set crimson - that ruthlessly attacked and killed Mother. They call him throughout Lloryncia the Highe-God of Death. He was coming for you. Mother was protecting you when he struck her down with a barrage of dark quills. Your sight? That's how you really lost it." Redd felt his jaw slacking, awed as his brother pushed on. "Father managed to chase off the fiend with help from friends, I assume. Another man and woman stood with him. I don't remember their names, barely even their faces; only that the woman had this lengthy silver hair, and I thought it odd because she was seemingly young. But none of that matters."

What did matter, Jade? the boy thought, almost feeling sick from both the anxiety and impatience to know the full story. "All that did, all that does, is that I rushed out to Mother's body... Punctured and pouring out... There was so much blood..." Just when Redd didn't want to hear more, didn't want to listen to that dread and sorrow continue in his brother's voice, Jade shined some light at the end. "And then I collected you... You were bloody and crying and frightened, but safe. I made certain of that."

The boy then understood. The reason why they were here, in this cemetery.

Mama died for him. Papa fought for him.

And his eldest brother safeguarded him.

Everything that Jade did, everything that happened with Yuxe, was a mirror and constant reminder of the sacrifice their mother made that day.

Horror. Grief. Regret. Even the pain in his arm.

Redd knew his brother would face it all. Again and again, if he had to.

Just to keep him safe.

Realizing this Redd escaped feeling disturbed and heartbroken about the origins of his disfigurement and instead felt only greater affection for his family. Jade especially. The boy never felt more secure and loved than he did right now.

As he resumed looking at the face of his mother in the headstone, Redd began to wonder about all the things his brother told him. Mostly about this Highe-God of Death. How this evil being struck him, that losing an eye was no mere accident and was, in fact, an attempt on his early life.

Why? What was this monster's reason?

He then thought about something else. Maybe something far more important.

"This being...", Redd mused quietly, glancing at his brother that now devoted full attention. "When he attacked me... Do you think he put a curse on me? That maybe that's why I have these bad dreams??"

He turned back to see Jade giving him a look of surprise. Perhaps his brother expected to hear doldrum comments about his tellings. Maybe his brother believed he hadn't understood the gravity of his tale.

What Jade was actually thinking right now was, if he hadn't been the wiser, he would have thought the boy was standing right there in the MSR with him when Eston explained about the Blight or enlightened him with his theories about the dreams.

But that Redd would never know.

"Dr. Mikune seemed to think so", Jade confessed, and Redd made a troubled hum while simultaneously being eased by the familiar steadiness in his tone. "Or, he said that possibly the dreams are visions of something more to come; a blessing on you from Ulloryn."

"What do you think, Jade?"

"I'm not sure I agree with either of his proposals... But I do know this: that you are still here, that Azul is still here, and I will do whatever I must to protect my family. No god can change that."

Immediately Redd rose off his knees to hug his big brother tightly.
Jade closed his eyes through the embrace, his thoughts on their parents and how he refused to fail them.

They remained this way for a while in the quiet company of the dead.

When the two were ready, having had a full day with heavy discussion and much to ponder on, Redd and Jade mounted their horse to leave the cemetery behind and make for home. The young Sword would have to head off to patrol duty after, and the boy would do his best to pass the time as he prepared for his later hospital visit.

But even with all that being said, there was still here and now to enjoy their ride.

"Let's go, Calisson!", Redd announced triumphantly, taking them off into a successful gallop.

He guided them all the way back home on his own.

And they did find their laughter.

If only once for the day.