{"submission_id":"2419551","keywords":[{"keyword_id":"5471","keyword_name":"anthropomorphic","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"13390"},{"keyword_id":"1139","keyword_name":"battle","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2625"},{"keyword_id":"8247","keyword_name":"black wolf","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"205"},{"keyword_id":"932","keyword_name":"death","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"6928"},{"keyword_id":"398","keyword_name":"demon","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"25456"},{"keyword_id":"14130","keyword_name":"destruction","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"1064"},{"keyword_id":"1447","keyword_name":"elf","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2797"},{"keyword_id":"8096","keyword_name":"epic","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"650"},{"keyword_id":"2193","keyword_name":"fantasy","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"16625"},{"keyword_id":"1557","keyword_name":"furry","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"57509"},{"keyword_id":"236","keyword_name":"gay","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"104660"},{"keyword_id":"75596","keyword_name":"half elf","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"49"},{"keyword_id":"165","keyword_name":"male","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"844220"},{"keyword_id":"4196","keyword_name":"medieval","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"1263"},{"keyword_id":"2819","keyword_name":"peril","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"1512"}],"hidden":"f","scraps":"f","favorite":"f","favorites_count":"1","create_datetime":"2021-04-12 06:51:16.535829+02","create_datetime_usertime":"12 Apr 2021 06:51 CEST","last_file_update_datetime":"2021-04-12 06:48:09.130098+02","last_file_update_datetime_usertime":"12 Apr 2021 06:48 CEST","username":"damijon","user_id":"381274","user_icon_file_name":"191650_nin1_a_thick_mist_expands.jpg","user_icon_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/191/191650_nin1_a_thick_mist_expands.jpg","user_icon_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/191/191650_nin1_a_thick_mist_expands.jpg","user_icon_url_small":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/191/191650_nin1_a_thick_mist_expands.jpg","file_name":"3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","thumbnail_url_huge":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.jpg","thumbnail_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.jpg","thumbnail_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.jpg","thumb_huge_x":"300","thumb_huge_y":"299","thumb_large_x":"200","thumb_large_y":"199","thumb_medium_x":"120","thumb_medium_y":"119","files":[{"file_id":"3545328","file_name":"3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.doc","mimetype":"application/msword","submission_id":"2419551","user_id":"381274","submission_file_order":"0","full_size_x":null,"full_size_y":null,"screen_size_x":null,"screen_size_y":null,"preview_size_x":null,"preview_size_y":null,"initial_file_md5":"244df7591924f30b8c9335be3dbb0293","full_file_md5":"244df7591924f30b8c9335be3dbb0293","large_file_md5":"","small_file_md5":"","thumbnail_md5":"6e8efe8bd00e9c8a8d56e17c80e420af","deleted":"f","create_datetime":"2021-04-12 06:48:09.130098+02","create_datetime_usertime":"12 Apr 2021 06:48 CEST","thumbnail_url_huge":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.jpg","thumbnail_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.jpg","thumbnail_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3545/3545328_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_twelve.jpg","thumb_huge_x":"300","thumb_huge_y":"299","thumb_large_x":"200","thumb_large_y":"199","thumb_medium_x":"120","thumb_medium_y":"119"}],"pools":[{"pool_id":"69796","name":"Lev's Tale (Boy Heroes Series: Part 4)","description":"Epic no. 4 in the series ","count":"12","submission_left_submission_id":"2416791","submission_left_file_name":"3540802_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_eleven.doc","submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3540/3540802_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_eleven.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3540/3540802_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_eleven.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3540/3540802_damijon_levs_tale_chapter_eleven.jpg","submission_left_thumb_huge_x":"300","submission_left_thumb_huge_y":"299","submission_left_thumb_large_x":"200","submission_left_thumb_large_y":"199","submission_left_thumb_medium_x":"120","submission_left_thumb_medium_y":"119"}],"description":"","description_bbcode_parsed":"","writing":"[b]THE BOY HEROES FROM THE LAND OF ERIK (A Series of Epics)[/b]\n[b]Epic no. 4[/b] - \n[b]Lev’s Tale[/b]\nBy [i]DamiJon[/i]\n\n[b]Chapter Twelve[/b]\n\n\tHolt's horse races beside Aldan as they venture outwards to where the King’s castle is. About three tenths of a mile away they find Lev standing in the midst of an empty road, his back facing them as he kneels down to touch the cobblestone ground. Suddenly the cracks in the ground are webbed by a thin red line that steams with heat. He stands up, facing them, his eyes now cold and black, empty and corrupted. “Go.”\n\tMore than three dozen soldiers march and surround the wolf-demon boy in a matter of a minute. Without turning his back, he holds out both of his arms and their bodies are lit on fire and thrown back into the air away from him. “Go. Now.”\n\tAldan slows his horse, dismounting before the beast stops. He slaps the beast on the flanks, sending it away. He stands in front of Lev. One hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw, but right now it rests in its scabbard. “I can't do that, Lev. You know that.”\n\tLev leaps back on one foot to get a safe distance away from him. As soon as he touches the ground, he rises both of his hands up slowly and with discomforting effort. The ground rumbles as if it were an earthquake. Rays of fire erupt from the ground, forming a circle half a mile across, caving all of them inside, along with a fourth of the castle and its walls, which are immediately lit aflame. As he stands, he holds out his left hand to form a flame, then uses the right to cast a barely visible shield. “See how easily they died? None of you will be any different.”\n\tWith a sigh, Aldan stands, dropping out of his combat stance. His chin drops to his chest. He unfastens his helmet and tosses it aside. He steps toward Lev slowly, unbuckling his chest piece and letting it fall to the ground. “I know, Lev. I know I can't stop you.” His gauntlets and greaves fall to the ground. “I've known for days that the only sure way to stop you was to run my sword through your heart. And I had my chances to do that. But I couldn't.” He points to the smoldering bodies. “Those are all mine. My fault they're dead.” He points at the castle. “Mine as well. Every chamber maid, every stable boy who just died there is mine, too. Because I could have just stabbed you and saved them all. But I couldn't do it. I can't kill you. You're my son, Lev. Bryan loves you. How could I explain killing you to him? I already killed one boy I loved. I couldn't do it again. And now Bryan and Mikey and Jay and Ursula and all the others will die to. The Cruiberg will have gotten what they wanted.”\n\tLev, or what seems to be him, smiles, and laughs maniacally. “Hahahahah!!! You fucking idiot! You really think I care about your children and friends? Or any of this kingdom? Who is it you think possesses this body right now? Certainly not Lev, not ever again. That boy is gone. You'll never speak to him ever again. Now prepare to die.” \n\tAn arrow is fired to Lev but disintegrates before it comes too close. Holt prepares another, no matter how useless it is. Suddenly a blur of flames and smoke fills the street and the boy vanishes. Other warriors and men of the king follow out, not knowing what to fight, but are quickly thrown into the air. Screams come from every distance. Limbs fly to the clouds. Out of nowhere, a bolt of fire kills the horse that Aizen and Holt are on. Cruiberg sympathizers with their faces painted in red paint burst from out of the trees. There's not many of them, maybe twenty, but it's currently them against three.\n\t“Dammit! You made me do this, bastards!” Aizen pulls a dagger from out of his bag, putting it down beside the dead horse and runs out to them with Holt to protect Aldan from being attacked. Out of nowhere, Lev sprints out and attacks Aldan with a sword made of fire, which cuts and burns at his right arm. Right before he can notice that he's attacked Lev brings his sword up, striking his back and just barely missing from hitting a death blow.\n\tAldan draws his sword. He keeps his eyes on Lev. Fire swords hurt. But they cauterize the wound so he won't have to worry about fatigue from blood loss. He's had worse wounds. “Holt! Remember our sparring session. Stay calm.”\n\tHe points his sword at Lev. “If you're not Lev, who are you then? I'd like to know the name of those I slay. Makes it easier to give offerings.” He feints in, an attack against the legs, testing more for speed and reactions than an effort to do real damage. He concentrates on defense, on being able to parry and deflect and incoming blows.\n\tLev jumps up and uses his fire power to explode the sword, sending shards of it spraying outwards everywhere. Pieces of the sharp blade bruise and penetrate Aldan's skin. He fires another bolt of fire, which should have directly blown a hole right through his body, but somehow he comes out from it unscathed. Aldan's necklace glows fervently. “Oh, what a bore. Fire won't work against that, but there are other ways to kill you.”\n\tAizen fights with his back against Holt's as they break and come together, killing anyone that comes in their way. The young blonde elf grows tired already, wishing that he had his staff or parents sword with him, which would make things a hell of a lot easier. He runs out and spars with one man three times as tall and large as him, blowing his hand off with a fire spell, but is kicked in the back by someone else. Just as soon as he thinks he's dead someone launches a sword right into the chest of the man he injured, then leaps up to decapitate the other. It's Bryan. “What are you doing here? You, you can't be! Dammit! Watch out!” Aizen throws his dagger to the left of Bryan, which jams right into someone's skull. He grabs him by the arm and leads him away from the attack, yelling out for Holt to follow.\n\tUnfazed, Aldan draws a dagger. The dagger will work just as well. He can move it more quickly, avoiding Lev-thing's bolts. “Still afraid to reveal your name. I wonder why. Lev's not gone, is he? He's still in there, fighting, struggling against your control.” He lunges in, aiming for the right wrist, a follow through already in motion to hit the left wrist if that's a better target. He watches the boy-demon, looking for any sign or Lev. Any glint in the darkness of his eyes, any shadowy bleed over. He has an idea, but the others have to remove the Cruiberg first. He needs time. Time.\n\tLev uses the shield from before to stop the dagger from attacking him, then kicks up and knocks him upwards in the jaw. Right as he comes down he takes a few steps back, throwing out bolts of fire to the remaining guards that dare come near him. It's silent now. Holt sprints back over to Bryan and Aizen and they reach back near the horse, watching the two fight it out. A sword flies right into Lev's hand and he charges right as Aldan is getting back up, aiming right for his neck. “Now you die!”\n\t“Twenty years of fighting. Twenty years of training. Against men. Against elves. Against demons and vampires and the walking dead. Drakes and monstrous beasts that defy sanity.” Aldan reacts without thought or hesitation. He moves slightly to one side, his neck well out of danger. Simultaneously he grabs Lev-things wrists, pulling and twisting. A loud pop is followed by a scream of pain and the clatter of sword to the ground as Lev-thing's left wrist and forearm are snapped. Aldan doesn't release the creature, instead he drives it to the ground, using it's momentum and his own weight to ground the thing. Resting on top of the body, Aldan twists and covers the boy-thing, using it's unbroken right arm in concert with Aldan's arm to squeeze and immobilize Lev's neck. He increases pressure. His choice is simple. Snap Lev's neck, retrieve the sword, stab it's heart. Aldan can't do that. He believes that somewhere, Lev struggles to reclaim his body.\n\tHe tightens his grip, blocking the blood flow to the brain. The fight should be over in a few seconds, as the body goes unconscious. Aldan turns to Aizen. “Be ready with fire! You'll know what and when!” Then he whispers to the Lev-thing. “Sleep now. Lev needs his body back. You get out and get back to your Cruiberg masters. Warn them that I'm coming for them. The kingdom will ride with me. Hell will ride with me.”\n\tSlowly, Lev's vision shrouds back to normal, but his eyelids quickly close. A black smoke emerges from out of his body, beginning to take human form. Aizen runs out towards them and throws out an enormous canon of fire toward it, but the blast is blown away. Once it has cleared, the real culprit shows his true form - the genocidist that Aldan met with and told him how to kill the shadow creature. He wears a dark robe, signaling that he's a dark mage. A bolt of electricity is sent towards Aizen, shocking him to the ground. In a split second, he jumps to Aldan, stepping over Lev's unconscious body, and he grabs him by the forehead with both hands. “You didn't save the boy. All of your family is dead. The entire kingdom is dead, except you. You're left to see that is all your fault.” \n\tAldan's mind is taken over by the horrible memories of war, seeing his elf lover torn to shreds, all of the brutal killings he's committed over the years in the name of justice. He see's his husband die again and again, hearing his voice curse him and tell him that he doesn't love him anymore. He see's all of his children die one by one, slaughtered by Lev, and the rest of the kingdom set a fire. False images that seem all too real to him. The dark mage speaks, “Yes, suffer knowing that all of this is your fault. You hold the sword. Now turn it on yourself.”\n\tFar off by the trees, Allahna and a mage cast a spell to counteract the dark mage. Her distorted voice tries to tell him to try and fight back, that everything he's seeing is fake. The genocidist levitates a dagger from off of the bloody fields and presses it into Aldan's side, twisting it as he lets go. He pulls it out and steps away, looking down at Lev and begins to kick at his stomach. “Filthy demon! Fucking wolf scum! We almost had your race, too! Now they'll all think that you did this. If only you were awake to see your friend kill himself.” \n\tHolt tries to hold onto Bryan as he cries out his boyfriends name, hoping that he's not dead. Meanwhile, Aizen drags himself over to where the dead horse is, taking his bag and putting over his shoulder. “Don't worry, Lev. I'm coming to save you.” He holds out his hand aiming it to the dark mage, but all of his power has run out. The first time it has ever happened to him at the worst possible time.\n\tHis hands slick with blood, Aldan wrenches the knife from his side. Pain burns through him. The images still flood his mind. He clutches the amulet. He thinks to himself, \"one more push, Aldan, one more and you can be with Drew. After one more push.\" He watches the genocidist kicking at Lev's unconscious body. It wasn't Aldan who killed Drew. It was that bastard dark mage.\n\tAldan lunges to his feet, launching himself at the dark figure. His free hand gouges at the mage's eyes and he plunges the dagger up through the old man's lower jaw, through his mouth as the blade penetrate the roof of his mouth and into his brain. His fingers dig into the man's eye sockets and Aldan holds on to his face as their combined weight drags the man to the ground. Aldan twists the blade, pulling it out and dragging it from the man's left ear to his right, cutting an inch deep.\n\tExhausted, Aldan pins the dying mage to the ground with is body. His voice is ragged and weak as he whispers, “Fool. I've troll blood. A dagger to the side is piss in the wind. Fire would have killed me, but Drew outsmarted you. His amulet. . .protected me from your fire. . .The demon boy outsmarted you from beyond the grave.”\n\tAldan continues cutting and stabbing. Penetrating every vital organ, opening every major artery and vein.\n\tDragging himself to Lev, he listens for the demon-boy's heartbeat. “You can't die, Lev. Bryan loves you. He needs you.” Struggling, Aldan pulls his amulet out and presses it against Lev's chest as he collapses on top of him, the crystal glowing brightly as it is pressed between them.\n\tFrom a far distance, a voice screams out, “Master! No! You fucking bastards! The mage's apprentice sprints out to where Allahna and the white mage are.” He slams his fist right through the white mage's face, killing her instantly in the most disgusting way. Before he can attack Allahna, Holt appears and swings his blade to him, only being blocked by a blade of his own. \n\tHolt yells out at the priestess. “Get away from here! Hurry! Help Aizen and the others!” He holds the apprentice off for as long as he can, but his tiredness is obvious. Bryan runs out towards his boyfriend and father, whom are collapsed and covered in the blood of their enemy. Finally, Aizen has made himself over to the two of them and begins a ritual healing prayer over the two of them, his own necklace, along with the other glowing.\n\tThe apprentice never lands a blow but continues to knock Holt down with almost every attack. He remembers the feint that Aldan taught him and is able to get a clear blow right across his chest but is kicked against a tree in the process. The young dark mage pulls out a sharp blade and kisses the tip of it. “You took away what matters most to me. Now I take away one from you.” Right as he tosses it, Holt jumps on top to put off the aim. The blade stabs into the back of Bryan's shoulder blade, throwing him to the ground before he can get to his father and lev. Aizen screams out, tugging at the two of them to wake up and heal already, but his powers are too slow. \n\tAllahna appears beside him, praying over Aldan. “What do I do? I have to help Bryan.” \n\tA hand grabs at Aizen's arm, firmly gripping it. Lev uses him to sit himself up. He see's Bryan in the grass, the blade in his back, and then the dark mage fighting with Holt. “This ends... Now!!!” He holds out his arm, screaming as the scorched walls of fire surrounding them dissipate and the red lines in the ground vanish. He imagines the dark mages heart, shuts his eyes and closes his fist. The mages heart explodes and Holt pierces him into the gut, falling down as well in exhaustion.\n\tThe street is eerily quiet. No bird song, no crowd, no onlookers cheering the victors. Just the sounds of breathing and crying. Allahna work furiously, whispered prayers on her lips as she moves from Aldan to Bryan. As she examines his wound, she curses. “Gods bane! Poison!” She takes her own knife and cuts the wound. Quickly, with an edge of calm that's becoming frayed, she searches through her satchel. Finding what she seeks, she crushes brightly colored orange and yellow flower petals, combining them in a wooden bowl with water. Closing her eye, she prays over the mixture, her hands weaving above the bowl, her fingers doing an intricate dance as she invokes the goddess Selune.\n\tShe washes Bryan's wound and pours a small amount of the brew into Bryan's mouth. He swallows automatically, his face covered in sweat and etched in pain. Lev tries to drag himself to his love, but his left arm is useless, the pain excruciating. Aizen helps him closer to Bryan, where Lev takes Bryan's hand in his. Tears flow down his cheeks. “Will he live? He has to live!” \n\tAllahna shakes her head. “I do not know. It's his will and my Lady's magic against the poison now.”\n\tAizen looks back at Aldan, then to Holt. Aldan shakes his head and waves him to his lover. “Go to Holt. I'll be fine.” Aldan lays back and closes his eyes. He hears the sound of galloping horses along with booted feet on cobblestone. The tell-tale clink and jingle of armor and sword tells him that the guards are arriving.\n\tAizen runs off to his husband, helping him up to his feet and walking him to where the guards come to view. “The world didn't end, did it? We saved it.” He's not enthusiastic or proud of it, just states the facts.\n\tLev reaches over, kissing the top of Bryan's head. “Please, stay with me. Gods, Lord of Light, take me, not him.” With the lack of energy after casting the final attack, he falls back into a deep dream.\n\tGuards of the castle and many prisons arrive, examining the dead and injured. One of the men steps off his horse, holding onto his scabbard as he looks to Aldan. “We're taking this one with us for questioning.”\n\tLooking at the commander, Aldan smiles, exhausted and aching. “I promise not to resist. Keep civilians away from the battlefield and bodies.” Struggling, he sits up. He may heal more quickly, but wounds still hurt and Aldan aches from dozens of cuts caused by his exploding sword as well as the wounds from the mage. Two of the guards help him to his feet. He looks at Allahna, and Lev as he passes out over Bryan. She looks back at him, her face lined with worry and stained with blood and soot.\n\t“I don't know, Aldan. I think I was in time.” She returns to wiping Lev's face and wounds.\n\t“He's strong.” Aldan tries to sounds confident. “He's got the same blood as I do. Do what you can. Please.”\n\tA dozen stables take the injured, including Lev and Bryan into one together. Allahna enters it and speaks to the three white mages inside, explaining their injuries and what they'll need in terms of help. She works rapidly and quick with them. Before it's taken off, two guards enter to make sure that Lev is transported to a prison hospital instead of a normal one, as insisted by the king for his immediately needed trial. A guard explains to Aldan, “The human boy will be taken to the white mages hospital and be given the highest class care above all, since the children always come first before men. For the other boy, the demon-wolf, the king has ordered that he be healed and tried in court. If he's not awake by the time it begins, then you and any other witnesses will need to come forth to plead your case and explain what happened here.”\n\tAizen and Holt walk to the guard, the blonde demon ranting. He didn't do anything! “We demons have nothing to do with Cruiberg! Even the biggest idiot could connect those dots. This was work of the Cruiberg and you know it! The king knows it!”\n\t“Doesn't matter.” He mushes the boy out of the way whether he's innocent or not. “It's what the king wants.” He walks off, riding off with the horse and stable.\n\t“Where do we go now?” Holt squeezes his husbands hand. “To the hospital where Bryan is being taken or wherever they're taking Lev?”\n\t“I'll go to the prison.” Aldan's voice is tired, but steady. “Aizen, I know Lev is your friend, but you're too emotional. Please, watch over Bryan for me.” He takes Aizen's arm. “Please. If he wakes . . .when. When he wakes, tell him I'm fine and that I won't let anything happen to Lev. I promise.”\n\tLooking to the guard, Aldan fixes him with a stare. “Take me to the prison with the demon boy.”\n\tThe guard looks at him for a moment, then nods. “It will make it easier for the trial, I suppose.” He orders Lev loaded onto a small cart. Aldan is 'asked' to ride along, but not to speak to the demon-boy. Chuckling, Aldan agrees. Lev's unconscious anyway.\n\tAs their cart moves slowly away, under heavy guard with mounted knights in front and behind and footmen along the sides. The guards don't speak to Aldan and keep civilians away from the cart. As they move further from the battle site, more and more people watch from the edges of the road. The call out for word of what's happened, but the guards don't respond. Aldan realizes that they are being taken to his prison, a realization that puts his mind somewhat more at ease.\n\tThe ride is uncomfortable and unsettling, distressful to say the least. Thousands of people from the kingdom have left their homes and gone out into the street in fear looking for answers to what's going on. Hysteria is growing and every man on duty is trying to calm the citizens from thinking that they've been torn asunder by another war. Once they get to the prison the mages take the cart that Lev is being held on. He's taken upstairs and the lights come on. They lead him to a small and bright room and get to work on his arm. Aldan waits by the door patiently, eventually walking out and standing on the ledge to look down at the prison. Every prison guard that works there is on duty, armed to the teeth, and many other warriors of the King are there just in case if anything is to happen. It seems there's some commotion downstairs as well as if things have already heated up. Prisoners are screaming, beating on their cells, and some are wailing out for them to shut up. The warden notices him staring from below, sighs, and makes his way up. Aldan knows what that look means. He's only seen it a few times since he's worked at the prison. \n\tSlowly, the warden marches up the stairs, slumping down on a chair and lighting a cigarette. “Crazy how fast things can escalate and explode in just a short amount of time. But it's over now, right?”\n\tSinking into a chair next to him, Aldan assures the warden. “The worst is over. Here at least. I'll take one of those, if you don't mind.” Aldan lights up and inhales deeply, suppressing a cough It's been a while. “Used to smoke like a chimney in the field. Nothing else to do most of the time. Yeah, thanks to Steel, we were able to stop the attack and slay the mages responsible. They framed the demon boy that was carted in. Used him, controlled him with their magic. They did the same thing to Drew. He was a little older, was able to resist them long enough.” He stops and stares down at the glowing ember before taking another drag. “There'll be another war over this. That's practically guaranteed.” Looking down into the courtyards Aldan asks. “What's going on? Things seem agitated, more than I'd expect.”\n\t“You really want to know?” He takes another drag on his cigarette. “Come on. The boy will be safe. Follow me.” The warden slaps Aldan hard on the back, letting the cigarette hang from his mouth as they head down the stairs. He pulls out his keys, willing his way to open the door that leads to zero block, then the next three doors as well. Two guards stand by on duty sitting at their chairs. He shows him Alexander's cell, where the gate is clearly open to it. Nobody is inside. “Fucker escaped shortly after you left. Nobody knows how he got out of those chains, but he clearly outsmarted us. Knocked out ever guard and made it out of the prison without even being noticed because of the tension and chaos that had already been going on. There's a watch out for him, but there's too much going on at the moment for there to be any chance of him being caught. A perfect time for someone like him to escape...” \n\tThe warden enters the cell, grabbing a piece of paper and showing it to Aldan. “Only you, the King, and I know about this paper. He left a few names of people involved in attacks on the demons and today’s plot.” He points below the names. The warden flips the paper to the back, revealing a letter specifically noted to Aldan. It reads, \"My beloved Aldan. Consider this as a small gift for being a friend to me as I expect you are to any other prisoner that you have. If you are to live, and I'm sure you will, I promise that we will meet again. No matter where I end up, I'll always make sure to spare you. I'm not a coward nor am I a traitor. My name is Alexander Steel and I belong to nobody, no kingdom, no army, no family, nothing at all. Look to the dark mages home. I'm off to join the Cruiberg now and hopefully take command of an army of my own. If I can't have our Kings head, then I will gently slide my way to the Cruiberg King’s and have a crown of my own. Until then, ta-da. ~ Alexander Steel.\"\n\tShaking his head, Aldan sighs. “I'm a little disappointed.” He leans against the cell door. “I owed him a couple of good fuckings. Now I'll have to go to war to find him and pay off my debt. He could have killed the guard instead of knocking him out. That was a message for us, too.”\n\tThe pair slowly make their upstairs back to the healing chambers. Aldan observes the guards casually, out of habit. He sits, waiting for word on Lev or for the King's Inquisitor to arrive for the investigation. While he waits, he asks for warm water and clean cloth. He washes his wounds and his face, cleaning and bandaging the worst of the cuts and the stab wound. “Do you think you can have some whiskey brought? These do sting a bit.” He leans his head back and closes his eyes. “I've a hundred things I need to do before I can rest, Gerald. I hope the Inquisitor doesn't dally.”\n\tHe thinks of Alexander. Amoral more than evil. A trickster with a cruel streak, but capable of mercy. He would have been good to bed a time or two. He thinks of his family. The patience of Kate. Dealing with a husband lost in his own desires, trying to keep a marriage together in the face of a love ordained by the gods. The students, the prisoners, the dancer, Cameron. When does Kate come first? He dozes, remembering their first dates and the years since.\n\t“I'll grab us a bottle. We'll have it down by the end of the night. I don't expect to sleep, anyway.” The warden goes to fetch a bottle, pouring two glasses for them. “It's warm and cheap but does the trick. It will be a minute before the Inquisitor arrives, but they'll be here within the hour.”\n\tAldan nods and takes a drink. He smiles as the amber liquid burns pleasantly on the way down. “This is the good stuff.” He's mildly surprised and very grateful. He takes another sip, savoring it this time before swallowing. The two men pass the time quietly. A guard approaches ever few minutes to make some report or another to the warden, but Aldan is allowed to rest undisturbed.\n\tTrue to form, within an hour a small group approach. Two armored warriors, one in front, the other trailing behind, their chest pieces emblazoned with an eagle's claw holding balanced scales, serve as escorts. A young man, head shaved and shoulder stooped and rounded, dodges around the lead warrior. The young man slips out of a large pack, undoing straps and buckles at a rapid pace. Behind, in black and gold robes, carrying a small rod, a woman follows. An anthro. Jaguar? Or Leopard? Her hair is cut short, her ears are rounded, very lightly furred. She walks with a lightness and grace, her tail held high above her head, swaying gently.\n\tShe stops in front of the warden and Aldan. Both men stand. The lead guard speaks in a somber voice. “High Inquisitor Lysandra commands your attention, Warden Gerald Blackwell and Captain Aldan Jaeger. Under authority of His Majesty, King Haleax II, you are both detained.” He steps back as she steps forward.\n\tHer eyes, slit like a great cat, burn with an emerald brightness. As she regards Gerald and Aldan, the bald man quickly assembles a small chair. He places it behind her with a loud clack against the stone floor. Without looking, she sits. She gestures for the two detainees to take their seats. She waits as the man assembles a small stool and a portable writing table, setting it with quills, ink and paper in a well-practiced enterprise.\n\t“I speak with the voice of the King in this matter. Explain to me now who is to die, who is to live, in the matter of the today's attack and those of the previous two nights.” She speaks almost with a purr in her s's and r's. Her tail sways from side to side, reminding Aldan of a cat watching a mouse. The final figure of the group, a young girl, moves forward, pouring a purplish liquid into a small silver cup, holding it with easy reach. The Inquisitor warns. “Deceive me is to deceive the King. To deceive the King is to die. You may begin.”\n\tThe young man dips quill in ink and holds it over paper, waiting.\n\tAldan looks at Gerald. “You first or me?”\n\t“As far as I know, the only ones that are to die are any Cruiberg sympathizers. The boy in that room is not one of them. No demon would ever side with them. This should be obvious.” He refills his glass.\n\t“He speaks the truth. His role was as an unwitting pawn.” Aldan shifts, refilling his own glass. “The Cruiberg, through their agent, have been targeting demons born with certain gifts. They use rituals and magic to enter their minds, weakening them with dark thoughts and whispered doubts. The more the demon is worn down, the more the mage can control them. Today, he took total control of Lev. None of what happened was Lev's choice or will.”\n\tThe Inquisitor nods. “But these were his actions, his powers, yes?”\n\tShaking his head, Aldan explains, “He was controlled.” He thinks for a moment. “It's as if I took one of your guards weapons and used it to kill someone. He gestures at the lead escort, who glares at Aldan. “If I took his sword and killed someone, does the guilt lie with the sword? With him since it's his? Or with me since I was controlling it?”\n\tA few officers arrive with papers and hand them to the Warden. He sets them down on a desk beside him, speed reading and looking them over with a grin on his face. “Here.” He hands the papers to the anthro. “A tip had told us that we should investigate the houses of a librarian and sorcerer, whom is also a dark mage connected with Cruiberg. Him and his apprentice were the ones responsible for the attacks, as was planned for almost a decade now. All of this can be found in the letters him and a Cruiberg warrior exchanged.”\n\tShe nods and one of her escorts takes the papers, handing them to her. She reads through them and passes them to the scribe. “Enter these into the record. It is your contention then, Aldan Jaeger, that the boy, Lev, is blameless in these crimes?”\n\t“Yes!” Aldan exclaims. “In fact, I would submit that Lev, Drew, and the other boy are victims in this as much as anyone else. The first victims, in fact.”\n\tShe stares at Aldan. Her tail is moving in a more agitated manner. “Yet, the city is alive with rumors. It is well believed that the demons are involved in these attacks. And it cannot be denied that they are involved.”\n\t“Unwillingly involved.” Aldan answers quickly. “Unknowingly. One of the goals of their plan was to sow distrust against the demons. If you punish Lev, you further those plans.”\n\t“Yet, the people will need a focus for their anger. And his body did commit these crimes, even if we accept that his mind was controlled.” She looks at Aldan square. “Make no mistake, you are on trial as much as he. You knew of the danger he presented and did nothing to stop him. True?”\n\t“I wasn't going to kill a boy for what he 'might' do.” Aldan's tone is harsh I tried to stop this. “I confronted the mage in his body. Lev would never have attacked me. Never.”\n\tShe regards Aldan coolly.” Perhaps. Unfortunately for you, matters of justice rest with me, not you.”\n\tIn the distance, a door is opened and running feet approach. A man's voice yells. “Stop! You cannot go in there!” The escorts turn toward the noise, one of them placing himself between the fracas and the Inquisitor, the other watching Aldan and Gerald. The running feet get closer and stop.\n\t“Ah, hem! Gerald raises his voice. We have thirty-two of the fifty-five Cruiberg sympathizers that we currently know of being put into our three prisons as of this moment. There are plenty of people to execute if the public needs to see blood for what has been done. That boys blood, nor any demon, will be shed in the course of this determination. Whatever you excuse you have for it is invalid.”\n\tLysandra narrows her eyes at Gerald. As those two stare at each other, Aldan peers around the escorts. He spies a shock of green hair. The escort nearest the noise, reaches out. Two small squeaks escape as he carries to forms forward, dropping them on the ground between the Inquisitor's party and Aldan and Gerald. Jay and Milliken scramble to their feet, running to Aldan and hiding behind him, holding each other and him.\n\t“These belong to you?” She asks with disdain.\n\t“Yes. Milliken is my son, Jay one of my students.” He protectively wraps an arm around each of them. “What are you doing here? Bryan's at the Healer's College.”\n\t“I know. He's awake. The White Mages say he'll be fine, just fine. He begged us to check on Lev and bring you these.” Mikey explains as he nudges Jay. “Give him our petitions. Please.”\n\tJay goes into Mikey's back, finding the collection of papers with signatures, and personal letters with them, all that go towards petitioning the execution of criminal youths. He hands them over to the younger girl, staring idly at the anthro. Milliken explains, “We've gathered more than five hundred signatures and demand that you and the king look at them thoroughly. Kids shouldn't be tried and sentenced to death, regardless of what crimes they've committed. It's barbaric and many citizens agree.”\n\tGerald's mouth drops in shock. His thoughts are mixed on the subject, but for the moment feels and understands why the two boys feel the way they do. Jay tugs on Aldan's shirt. “Can we see Lev?”\n\tKneeling down, Aldan whispers, “Not yet.” He looks at the petitions as the young girls hands them to the Inquisitor. He pulls both boys close and hugs them tightly.\n\t“Child, you do not make demands of the King, nor of me.” She thumbs through the papers. “Still, five hundred you say? Some of these names are known to me.” Her eyes unfocus for a moment and she bows her head. After half a minute, she looks up, her eyes clear, if watery. “It is as you say. Although we now have over forty of the collaborators in custody. Evidence obtained in their capture confirm your claims. The boy, Lev, shall held blameless.” She brings the end of her rod down on the stone floor, signaling the finality of her ruling. “As to the petitions, what would we do with such criminals?”\n\tThe bald scribe seems confused. “Do I record this, M'lady Inquisitor?”\n\t“Yes,” she turns to Milliken and Jay. “Do we imprison them for the remainder of their lives?”\n\tMikey bites his bottom lip, looking to his father. “I don't know. Give them time, but don't kill them!”\n\t“The Army.” Aldan looks down at Mikey, ruffling his hair. Mikey glares at him as Jay reaches over to smooth his hair down. “I've overseen dozens of executions of children. Most of them for one crime. One. Give them the chance to redeem themselves. There's going to be a war, that's for certain. Go through their cases and offer the ones that aren't irredeemably corrupted the chance to serve in the military. The Royal Army or Royal Navy. They'll need recruits and some of these prisoners have made one bad decision, one horrible decision. We shouldn't kill children. We're supposed to be an enlightened kingdom.”\n\tHer tail swirls and she taps the head of her rod against her chin. “How would we sort the truly wicked from the redeemable? And if a boy joins service to the king and offends thereafter?”\n\t“They should be punished as a child, not an adult.” Milliken stands straight and with confidence. “Aigua Kingdom has their age set to fourteen and yet ours is still set at ten. Shouldn't we be following in the footsteps of our neighboring kingdom and have ours at least match theirs?” He remembers of how Drew was only thirteen. That would have made him redeemable if he were in Aigua. “Give them a chance! Our young brains aren't developed like you adults. Read it in the books! If they offend, then put them back and give them time until they can at least prove themselves again. But you can't keep doing this. Please...”\n\tShe looks at the petitions again. “You make very good points. Justice without mercy is no justice at all. And we are at least as enlightened as the best of our neighbors.” She nods at Aldan. “Letting them prove their redemption through service is a practical consideration with a practical solution. I shall place this matter before the King and his Curia. Only they may change the law.” She watches, with a subtle glint in her eyes, as Jay and Mikey drop their heads and Aldan opens his mouth to speak. She holds up a finger. “However, I am not powerless in this matter. Warden, it is my order that executions of children below the age of 16 be halted pending positive affirmation from His Majesty. See that this edict is spread to the other prisons, to take effect immediately.” She turns to Aldan. “It shall be your responsibility to recommend prisoners who would qualify under this idea, should it become law.” She taps her rod on the floor again. “So it is ordered, so it shall be done.”\n\tShe smiles for the first time. “You raise good points, little men. Your father should be proud. You may all be asked to advise on this change in law. Since you feel so strongly.” The bald man disassembles his stool and desk, and the Inquisitor's chair as she stands. She bows very slightly to Gerald, Aldan, and the boys. “The kingdom, it seems, owes quite a debt to you all. It shall not go unpaid.”\n\tMikey immediately hugs at Jay, who is already crying with tears of happiness. Justice for his brother. Justice for his boyfriends step-father. Maybe even justice for others. Mother wants to see Lev in the morning, if she can. She's probably still seeing Bryan now and hoping to see him discharged as soon as possible.\n\tThe Inquisitor and her party leave. Gerald and Aldan heave sighs of relief. “Good. Good. I don't want you two heading home without me. The streets are still too chaotic, I'm sure. We'll wait here for word on Lev.” Aldan turns to Mikey. “How long were you working on those petitions? Who helped you?”\n\t“Just Bryan and I. We started the day after Drew was...” Jay squeezes him tighter, kissing his head. “And we hid it because we didn't know how you would react. It was something that we spent every day working on, finding families affecting it, those just leaving the executions. We never went to witness, but we spoke with many of the guards here, even the executioner himself signed and wrote a note on the petition.”\n\tOne of the mages emerges from out of the Healing Room. “The boy has some very serious injuries to his left arm, which was torn out of place, and to his stomach, which caused some internal bleeding in his body. Luckily, these issues are not of any trouble for us to deal with. We have him in a cast at the moment and under some medicines to help heal his stomach. If it were a human, the case would be a bit more critical, but being that he's wolf, black wolf actually, and demon, I'd give or take that he will wake up in three to four days. Are you his guardian? Adoptive father? Or are his parents somewhere else?”\n\tThe warden sorts through the stack of papers on the small desk to the side of him, finishing his glass, and anxiously looks at Aldan with concern on his mind.\n\tPausing and thinking for moment, Aldan answers, “Father-in-law. Teacher as well. We can send for his grandparents. Is there something you need from them?”\n\t“I'd contact them and have him visit as soon as they can so that they want to see him. My partners and I will wrap up our duty and be back in the morning. Chances are that we have more than enough work to do elsewhere.” She heads back into the room.\n\tThe guard holds his hand in front of Aldan's ear and whispers. “I'll need to speak to you privately at some point about some things.”\n\t“Why don't you two see if you can sit with him for a bit. Don't try to wake him, just be with him and let him know you love him. And that Bryan is alright.” He nods to the warden. “I'll be back up here to get you in a few minutes, okay?”\n\tBoth of the boys hold hands, nod, and enter into the healing room. Once they've left, the warden sighs. “With all of the new prisoners, I'll need to work with the inquisitor a bit more on rescheduling things here. You should try and tell all of the prisoners on your caseload that their dates are going to be pushed back a bit or put on withholding. We only have so many cells though... I'd say that even with these new motions set in place, things will need to continue on as smoothly as possible until the new law passes, if it does.” The warden fills back up his glass, taking a large sip down. “You disapprove, don't you?”\n\t“Disapprove of what?” Aldan finishes his drink, setting the glass down up side down. He's had enough and still has so much left to do.\n\t“There will be no real withholding here. Not by definition. Their times might be pushed back by a week or month, but having their sentences withheld for too long will upset the families or loved ones that were hurt by our prisoners.” He finishes his glass, slamming it down.\n\t“I suppose so. But she gave her orders. For now, the clock stops on the executions. If the law doesn't get changed, well, let's hope that doesn't happen. And if the law does get changed, everyone has to get used to it.”\n\t“Then here's to the changing of times.” He clanks his glass to yours. “I'll leave you be. I know you have a lot left to do, as do I in this fucking nut house.” He lights another cigarette, offering one to Aldan. “You take care of yourself. Take a few days off if you must. I'll pay you for them anyway. You should be getting a medal from the king himself for what you did today.”\n\t“Thank you, Gerald. My paper-work might be a little late on this one.” Aldan chuckles and sticks the cigarette in his pocket, careful not to damage it. As the warden gets back to his work, Aldan enters the healing room.\n\tOne of the mages finishes packing their goods, standing by the door while the other two sit nearby the boy in prayer, joined by Milliken and Jay. As expected, Lev's entire left arm is placed into a cast and is well asleep. Even more surprising, the boy has returned to his normal demon-form, with only his wolf ears and tails showing.\n\tAldan watches Lev's breathing. He watches Milliken and Jay pray over their friend. When the other mages rise from their prayers, Aldan thanks them and kneels down next to Lev. He places a hand on Lev's chest, feeling his heartbeat. It's strong and steady, but slow. Bowing his head, Aldan prays. After nearly a half hour, he looks at his boys. “Are you two ready to go back and check on Bryan? Maybe we can take him home?” They both nod, standing and stretching before taking each other's hands again. Before leaving, Aldan leans down and whispers to Lev. “Sorry about your arm. Rest up, Lev. If you see Drew, tell him I love him. Love you, too, wolf-boy.” The three of them, Aldan, Jay, and Milliken, exit the prison and begin the long walk to Bryan's healing halls.\n\tBoth of the boys stand close to their father, holding hands while Aldan has his arm wrapped around the two as they leave the prison and head out of the prison. While it's not as compact outside as before, there are still plenty of people trying to get answers out of officers, guards, and warriors that are on the street. Milliken mutters, “I hope everything is cleared up by tomorrow. This is just crazy. The castle must have really gotten hurt if it's this bad out here.”\n\tJay asks. “How long do you think it'll take before they pledge war?”\n\t“It won't be long, Jay.” He looks down at the green-haired boy. “We should let your mother know that you're all right, shouldn't we? Funny, I didn't think of that until just now. It's like you belong with us.” He grimaces I'm sorry, Jay, that was thoughtless of me to say. Changing the subject, Aldan continues I think the machinery is already in motion. “The formal announcement will be tomorrow or the day after.”\n\tThey're almost to the healing center, which is by far the most chaotic of all places right now in the kingdom. “If you go off to war, does that mean we won't have a school counselor again?”\n\t“I'm sure they'll find someone to take my place. If I go, that is. That's something I'd have to talk over with Kate. It wouldn't be fair to up and decide that without talking to her first. I'd be leaving her with a half dozen kids and a baby.” His mind drifts back to Drew. “But I owe them blood. They tried to use Drew and Lev to kill us all. They made Drew a killer, Lev too. The Cruiberg have to pay for what they've done.”\n\tThey head into the hospital, where a mage speaks with them and guides them to the third floor where Bryan stays. He's already bandaged up and dressed to go, Kate and the young ones with him as well. Milliken runs up to him and hugs him tightly, while Jay stands by the door. Bryan looks at Aldan with concern. “Is Lev okay? Can I see him? I need to see him right now!”\n\tAldan gently brings Jay with him into the room. “You're part of the family, too.” Kneeling down next to Bryan, Aldan hugs him tightly, careful to avoid his wounds. “Lev is still unconscious, but he'll be fine. The healers say he'll sleep for two or three days but should make a full recovery. You, swordsman supreme, need to rest yourself. Tomorrow after school, you can visit and sit with him.” Kissing Bryan on the forehead, Aldan whispers, “You're the bravest little sonuvabitch I've ever seen.”\n\tMilliken puts a hand on his older brothers shoulder. “We're here for you. If you want to cry or talk to us, we're in the same room as you! You're not alone. None of us are. Plus, we're going to need each other a lot more in the coming future.” Jay bumps Mikey into the shoulder, telling him to mention the petitions. He darts up and remembers. “We gave the petitions out and there's a big chance that the law is going to change, so not everything is bad!”\n\tBryan smiles, hugging his brother. One of the mages speaks to Aldan and Kate, telling him that he should rest as much as he can, but they're surprised at well he heals. After checking out they all head home, catching their breath and trying to find some sense of normalcy to return to. Bryan takes his bath alone, remembering how him and Lev had fucked in here before. He kisses his father and mother good night before heading to his room with Jay and Milliken. Jay writes a letter to his parents, then whistles for a long period of time before a raven finally comes to him. He hands it off, giving it a silver as well, and curls up in bed with his newfound boyfriend. The raven was a transformative anthro, probably having a busy night itself. \n\tMikey pulls out a book and begins reading to a tired Jay before he asks his brother. “Are you going to be okay, big bro? You can see him in the morning. After school the two of us can go find his grandparents and let him know where to visit him.”\n\tBryan sighs as he holds the pillow Lev used. He smells it, clutching it to his chest. Somehow, it makes it easier. “I'm okay. I just miss him. He's so warm when we sleep together. I feel cold and my bed seems so big and empty.” He rolls over, facing his brother and his boyfriend. “I'm glad you guys are here. Yeah, tomorrow we'll see him.” Sighing again, he closes his eyes. Mikey and Jay can't help but feel the sadness and uncertainty that plague Bryan.\n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"THE BOY HEROES FROM THE LAND OF ERIK (A Series of Epics)
Epic no. 4 -
Lev’s Tale
By DamiJon
Chapter Twelve
\tHolt's horse races beside Aldan as they venture outwards to where the King’s castle is. About three tenths of a mile away they find Lev standing in the midst of an empty road, his back facing them as he kneels down to touch the cobblestone ground. Suddenly the cracks in the ground are webbed by a thin red line that steams with heat. He stands up, facing them, his eyes now cold and black, empty and corrupted. “Go.”
\tMore than three dozen soldiers march and surround the wolf-demon boy in a matter of a minute. Without turning his back, he holds out both of his arms and their bodies are lit on fire and thrown back into the air away from him. “Go. Now.”
\tAldan slows his horse, dismounting before the beast stops. He slaps the beast on the flanks, sending it away. He stands in front of Lev. One hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw, but right now it rests in its scabbard. “I can't do that, Lev. You know that.”
\tLev leaps back on one foot to get a safe distance away from him. As soon as he touches the ground, he rises both of his hands up slowly and with discomforting effort. The ground rumbles as if it were an earthquake. Rays of fire erupt from the ground, forming a circle half a mile across, caving all of them inside, along with a fourth of the castle and its walls, which are immediately lit aflame. As he stands, he holds out his left hand to form a flame, then uses the right to cast a barely visible shield. “See how easily they died? None of you will be any different.”
\tWith a sigh, Aldan stands, dropping out of his combat stance. His chin drops to his chest. He unfastens his helmet and tosses it aside. He steps toward Lev slowly, unbuckling his chest piece and letting it fall to the ground. “I know, Lev. I know I can't stop you.” His gauntlets and greaves fall to the ground. “I've known for days that the only sure way to stop you was to run my sword through your heart. And I had my chances to do that. But I couldn't.” He points to the smoldering bodies. “Those are all mine. My fault they're dead.” He points at the castle. “Mine as well. Every chamber maid, every stable boy who just died there is mine, too. Because I could have just stabbed you and saved them all. But I couldn't do it. I can't kill you. You're my son, Lev. Bryan loves you. How could I explain killing you to him? I already killed one boy I loved. I couldn't do it again. And now Bryan and Mikey and Jay and Ursula and all the others will die to. The Cruiberg will have gotten what they wanted.”
\tLev, or what seems to be him, smiles, and laughs maniacally. “Hahahahah!!! You fucking idiot! You really think I care about your children and friends? Or any of this kingdom? Who is it you think possesses this body right now? Certainly not Lev, not ever again. That boy is gone. You'll never speak to him ever again. Now prepare to die.”
\tAn arrow is fired to Lev but disintegrates before it comes too close. Holt prepares another, no matter how useless it is. Suddenly a blur of flames and smoke fills the street and the boy vanishes. Other warriors and men of the king follow out, not knowing what to fight, but are quickly thrown into the air. Screams come from every distance. Limbs fly to the clouds. Out of nowhere, a bolt of fire kills the horse that Aizen and Holt are on. Cruiberg sympathizers with their faces painted in red paint burst from out of the trees. There's not many of them, maybe twenty, but it's currently them against three.
\t“Dammit! You made me do this, bastards!” Aizen pulls a dagger from out of his bag, putting it down beside the dead horse and runs out to them with Holt to protect Aldan from being attacked. Out of nowhere, Lev sprints out and attacks Aldan with a sword made of fire, which cuts and burns at his right arm. Right before he can notice that he's attacked Lev brings his sword up, striking his back and just barely missing from hitting a death blow.
\tAldan draws his sword. He keeps his eyes on Lev. Fire swords hurt. But they cauterize the wound so he won't have to worry about fatigue from blood loss. He's had worse wounds. “Holt! Remember our sparring session. Stay calm.”
\tHe points his sword at Lev. “If you're not Lev, who are you then? I'd like to know the name of those I slay. Makes it easier to give offerings.” He feints in, an attack against the legs, testing more for speed and reactions than an effort to do real damage. He concentrates on defense, on being able to parry and deflect and incoming blows.
\tLev jumps up and uses his fire power to explode the sword, sending shards of it spraying outwards everywhere. Pieces of the sharp blade bruise and penetrate Aldan's skin. He fires another bolt of fire, which should have directly blown a hole right through his body, but somehow he comes out from it unscathed. Aldan's necklace glows fervently. “Oh, what a bore. Fire won't work against that, but there are other ways to kill you.”
\tAizen fights with his back against Holt's as they break and come together, killing anyone that comes in their way. The young blonde elf grows tired already, wishing that he had his staff or parents sword with him, which would make things a hell of a lot easier. He runs out and spars with one man three times as tall and large as him, blowing his hand off with a fire spell, but is kicked in the back by someone else. Just as soon as he thinks he's dead someone launches a sword right into the chest of the man he injured, then leaps up to decapitate the other. It's Bryan. “What are you doing here? You, you can't be! Dammit! Watch out!” Aizen throws his dagger to the left of Bryan, which jams right into someone's skull. He grabs him by the arm and leads him away from the attack, yelling out for Holt to follow.
\tUnfazed, Aldan draws a dagger. The dagger will work just as well. He can move it more quickly, avoiding Lev-thing's bolts. “Still afraid to reveal your name. I wonder why. Lev's not gone, is he? He's still in there, fighting, struggling against your control.” He lunges in, aiming for the right wrist, a follow through already in motion to hit the left wrist if that's a better target. He watches the boy-demon, looking for any sign or Lev. Any glint in the darkness of his eyes, any shadowy bleed over. He has an idea, but the others have to remove the Cruiberg first. He needs time. Time.
\tLev uses the shield from before to stop the dagger from attacking him, then kicks up and knocks him upwards in the jaw. Right as he comes down he takes a few steps back, throwing out bolts of fire to the remaining guards that dare come near him. It's silent now. Holt sprints back over to Bryan and Aizen and they reach back near the horse, watching the two fight it out. A sword flies right into Lev's hand and he charges right as Aldan is getting back up, aiming right for his neck. “Now you die!”
\t“Twenty years of fighting. Twenty years of training. Against men. Against elves. Against demons and vampires and the walking dead. Drakes and monstrous beasts that defy sanity.” Aldan reacts without thought or hesitation. He moves slightly to one side, his neck well out of danger. Simultaneously he grabs Lev-things wrists, pulling and twisting. A loud pop is followed by a scream of pain and the clatter of sword to the ground as Lev-thing's left wrist and forearm are snapped. Aldan doesn't release the creature, instead he drives it to the ground, using it's momentum and his own weight to ground the thing. Resting on top of the body, Aldan twists and covers the boy-thing, using it's unbroken right arm in concert with Aldan's arm to squeeze and immobilize Lev's neck. He increases pressure. His choice is simple. Snap Lev's neck, retrieve the sword, stab it's heart. Aldan can't do that. He believes that somewhere, Lev struggles to reclaim his body.
\tHe tightens his grip, blocking the blood flow to the brain. The fight should be over in a few seconds, as the body goes unconscious. Aldan turns to Aizen. “Be ready with fire! You'll know what and when!” Then he whispers to the Lev-thing. “Sleep now. Lev needs his body back. You get out and get back to your Cruiberg masters. Warn them that I'm coming for them. The kingdom will ride with me. Hell will ride with me.”
\tSlowly, Lev's vision shrouds back to normal, but his eyelids quickly close. A black smoke emerges from out of his body, beginning to take human form. Aizen runs out towards them and throws out an enormous canon of fire toward it, but the blast is blown away. Once it has cleared, the real culprit shows his true form - the genocidist that Aldan met with and told him how to kill the shadow creature. He wears a dark robe, signaling that he's a dark mage. A bolt of electricity is sent towards Aizen, shocking him to the ground. In a split second, he jumps to Aldan, stepping over Lev's unconscious body, and he grabs him by the forehead with both hands. “You didn't save the boy. All of your family is dead. The entire kingdom is dead, except you. You're left to see that is all your fault.”
\tAldan's mind is taken over by the horrible memories of war, seeing his elf lover torn to shreds, all of the brutal killings he's committed over the years in the name of justice. He see's his husband die again and again, hearing his voice curse him and tell him that he doesn't love him anymore. He see's all of his children die one by one, slaughtered by Lev, and the rest of the kingdom set a fire. False images that seem all too real to him. The dark mage speaks, “Yes, suffer knowing that all of this is your fault. You hold the sword. Now turn it on yourself.”
\tFar off by the trees, Allahna and a mage cast a spell to counteract the dark mage. Her distorted voice tries to tell him to try and fight back, that everything he's seeing is fake. The genocidist levitates a dagger from off of the bloody fields and presses it into Aldan's side, twisting it as he lets go. He pulls it out and steps away, looking down at Lev and begins to kick at his stomach. “Filthy demon! Fucking wolf scum! We almost had your race, too! Now they'll all think that you did this. If only you were awake to see your friend kill himself.”
\tHolt tries to hold onto Bryan as he cries out his boyfriends name, hoping that he's not dead. Meanwhile, Aizen drags himself over to where the dead horse is, taking his bag and putting over his shoulder. “Don't worry, Lev. I'm coming to save you.” He holds out his hand aiming it to the dark mage, but all of his power has run out. The first time it has ever happened to him at the worst possible time.
\tHis hands slick with blood, Aldan wrenches the knife from his side. Pain burns through him. The images still flood his mind. He clutches the amulet. He thinks to himself, "one more push, Aldan, one more and you can be with Drew. After one more push." He watches the genocidist kicking at Lev's unconscious body. It wasn't Aldan who killed Drew. It was that bastard dark mage.
\tAldan lunges to his feet, launching himself at the dark figure. His free hand gouges at the mage's eyes and he plunges the dagger up through the old man's lower jaw, through his mouth as the blade penetrate the roof of his mouth and into his brain. His fingers dig into the man's eye sockets and Aldan holds on to his face as their combined weight drags the man to the ground. Aldan twists the blade, pulling it out and dragging it from the man's left ear to his right, cutting an inch deep.
\tExhausted, Aldan pins the dying mage to the ground with is body. His voice is ragged and weak as he whispers, “Fool. I've troll blood. A dagger to the side is piss in the wind. Fire would have killed me, but Drew outsmarted you. His amulet. . .protected me from your fire. . .The demon boy outsmarted you from beyond the grave.”
\tAldan continues cutting and stabbing. Penetrating every vital organ, opening every major artery and vein.
\tDragging himself to Lev, he listens for the demon-boy's heartbeat. “You can't die, Lev. Bryan loves you. He needs you.” Struggling, Aldan pulls his amulet out and presses it against Lev's chest as he collapses on top of him, the crystal glowing brightly as it is pressed between them.
\tFrom a far distance, a voice screams out, “Master! No! You fucking bastards! The mage's apprentice sprints out to where Allahna and the white mage are.” He slams his fist right through the white mage's face, killing her instantly in the most disgusting way. Before he can attack Allahna, Holt appears and swings his blade to him, only being blocked by a blade of his own.
\tHolt yells out at the priestess. “Get away from here! Hurry! Help Aizen and the others!” He holds the apprentice off for as long as he can, but his tiredness is obvious. Bryan runs out towards his boyfriend and father, whom are collapsed and covered in the blood of their enemy. Finally, Aizen has made himself over to the two of them and begins a ritual healing prayer over the two of them, his own necklace, along with the other glowing.
\tThe apprentice never lands a blow but continues to knock Holt down with almost every attack. He remembers the feint that Aldan taught him and is able to get a clear blow right across his chest but is kicked against a tree in the process. The young dark mage pulls out a sharp blade and kisses the tip of it. “You took away what matters most to me. Now I take away one from you.” Right as he tosses it, Holt jumps on top to put off the aim. The blade stabs into the back of Bryan's shoulder blade, throwing him to the ground before he can get to his father and lev. Aizen screams out, tugging at the two of them to wake up and heal already, but his powers are too slow.
\tAllahna appears beside him, praying over Aldan. “What do I do? I have to help Bryan.”
\tA hand grabs at Aizen's arm, firmly gripping it. Lev uses him to sit himself up. He see's Bryan in the grass, the blade in his back, and then the dark mage fighting with Holt. “This ends... Now!!!” He holds out his arm, screaming as the scorched walls of fire surrounding them dissipate and the red lines in the ground vanish. He imagines the dark mages heart, shuts his eyes and closes his fist. The mages heart explodes and Holt pierces him into the gut, falling down as well in exhaustion.
\tThe street is eerily quiet. No bird song, no crowd, no onlookers cheering the victors. Just the sounds of breathing and crying. Allahna work furiously, whispered prayers on her lips as she moves from Aldan to Bryan. As she examines his wound, she curses. “Gods bane! Poison!” She takes her own knife and cuts the wound. Quickly, with an edge of calm that's becoming frayed, she searches through her satchel. Finding what she seeks, she crushes brightly colored orange and yellow flower petals, combining them in a wooden bowl with water. Closing her eye, she prays over the mixture, her hands weaving above the bowl, her fingers doing an intricate dance as she invokes the goddess Selune.
\tShe washes Bryan's wound and pours a small amount of the brew into Bryan's mouth. He swallows automatically, his face covered in sweat and etched in pain. Lev tries to drag himself to his love, but his left arm is useless, the pain excruciating. Aizen helps him closer to Bryan, where Lev takes Bryan's hand in his. Tears flow down his cheeks. “Will he live? He has to live!”
\tAllahna shakes her head. “I do not know. It's his will and my Lady's magic against the poison now.”
\tAizen looks back at Aldan, then to Holt. Aldan shakes his head and waves him to his lover. “Go to Holt. I'll be fine.” Aldan lays back and closes his eyes. He hears the sound of galloping horses along with booted feet on cobblestone. The tell-tale clink and jingle of armor and sword tells him that the guards are arriving.
\tAizen runs off to his husband, helping him up to his feet and walking him to where the guards come to view. “The world didn't end, did it? We saved it.” He's not enthusiastic or proud of it, just states the facts.
\tLev reaches over, kissing the top of Bryan's head. “Please, stay with me. Gods, Lord of Light, take me, not him.” With the lack of energy after casting the final attack, he falls back into a deep dream.
\tGuards of the castle and many prisons arrive, examining the dead and injured. One of the men steps off his horse, holding onto his scabbard as he looks to Aldan. “We're taking this one with us for questioning.”
\tLooking at the commander, Aldan smiles, exhausted and aching. “I promise not to resist. Keep civilians away from the battlefield and bodies.” Struggling, he sits up. He may heal more quickly, but wounds still hurt and Aldan aches from dozens of cuts caused by his exploding sword as well as the wounds from the mage. Two of the guards help him to his feet. He looks at Allahna, and Lev as he passes out over Bryan. She looks back at him, her face lined with worry and stained with blood and soot.
\t“I don't know, Aldan. I think I was in time.” She returns to wiping Lev's face and wounds.
\t“He's strong.” Aldan tries to sounds confident. “He's got the same blood as I do. Do what you can. Please.”
\tA dozen stables take the injured, including Lev and Bryan into one together. Allahna enters it and speaks to the three white mages inside, explaining their injuries and what they'll need in terms of help. She works rapidly and quick with them. Before it's taken off, two guards enter to make sure that Lev is transported to a prison hospital instead of a normal one, as insisted by the king for his immediately needed trial. A guard explains to Aldan, “The human boy will be taken to the white mages hospital and be given the highest class care above all, since the children always come first before men. For the other boy, the demon-wolf, the king has ordered that he be healed and tried in court. If he's not awake by the time it begins, then you and any other witnesses will need to come forth to plead your case and explain what happened here.”
\tAizen and Holt walk to the guard, the blonde demon ranting. He didn't do anything! “We demons have nothing to do with Cruiberg! Even the biggest idiot could connect those dots. This was work of the Cruiberg and you know it! The king knows it!”
\t“Doesn't matter.” He mushes the boy out of the way whether he's innocent or not. “It's what the king wants.” He walks off, riding off with the horse and stable.
\t“Where do we go now?” Holt squeezes his husbands hand. “To the hospital where Bryan is being taken or wherever they're taking Lev?”
\t“I'll go to the prison.” Aldan's voice is tired, but steady. “Aizen, I know Lev is your friend, but you're too emotional. Please, watch over Bryan for me.” He takes Aizen's arm. “Please. If he wakes . . .when. When he wakes, tell him I'm fine and that I won't let anything happen to Lev. I promise.”
\tLooking to the guard, Aldan fixes him with a stare. “Take me to the prison with the demon boy.”
\tThe guard looks at him for a moment, then nods. “It will make it easier for the trial, I suppose.” He orders Lev loaded onto a small cart. Aldan is 'asked' to ride along, but not to speak to the demon-boy. Chuckling, Aldan agrees. Lev's unconscious anyway.
\tAs their cart moves slowly away, under heavy guard with mounted knights in front and behind and footmen along the sides. The guards don't speak to Aldan and keep civilians away from the cart. As they move further from the battle site, more and more people watch from the edges of the road. The call out for word of what's happened, but the guards don't respond. Aldan realizes that they are being taken to his prison, a realization that puts his mind somewhat more at ease.
\tThe ride is uncomfortable and unsettling, distressful to say the least. Thousands of people from the kingdom have left their homes and gone out into the street in fear looking for answers to what's going on. Hysteria is growing and every man on duty is trying to calm the citizens from thinking that they've been torn asunder by another war. Once they get to the prison the mages take the cart that Lev is being held on. He's taken upstairs and the lights come on. They lead him to a small and bright room and get to work on his arm. Aldan waits by the door patiently, eventually walking out and standing on the ledge to look down at the prison. Every prison guard that works there is on duty, armed to the teeth, and many other warriors of the King are there just in case if anything is to happen. It seems there's some commotion downstairs as well as if things have already heated up. Prisoners are screaming, beating on their cells, and some are wailing out for them to shut up. The warden notices him staring from below, sighs, and makes his way up. Aldan knows what that look means. He's only seen it a few times since he's worked at the prison.
\tSlowly, the warden marches up the stairs, slumping down on a chair and lighting a cigarette. “Crazy how fast things can escalate and explode in just a short amount of time. But it's over now, right?”
\tSinking into a chair next to him, Aldan assures the warden. “The worst is over. Here at least. I'll take one of those, if you don't mind.” Aldan lights up and inhales deeply, suppressing a cough It's been a while. “Used to smoke like a chimney in the field. Nothing else to do most of the time. Yeah, thanks to Steel, we were able to stop the attack and slay the mages responsible. They framed the demon boy that was carted in. Used him, controlled him with their magic. They did the same thing to Drew. He was a little older, was able to resist them long enough.” He stops and stares down at the glowing ember before taking another drag. “There'll be another war over this. That's practically guaranteed.” Looking down into the courtyards Aldan asks. “What's going on? Things seem agitated, more than I'd expect.”
\t“You really want to know?” He takes another drag on his cigarette. “Come on. The boy will be safe. Follow me.” The warden slaps Aldan hard on the back, letting the cigarette hang from his mouth as they head down the stairs. He pulls out his keys, willing his way to open the door that leads to zero block, then the next three doors as well. Two guards stand by on duty sitting at their chairs. He shows him Alexander's cell, where the gate is clearly open to it. Nobody is inside. “Fucker escaped shortly after you left. Nobody knows how he got out of those chains, but he clearly outsmarted us. Knocked out ever guard and made it out of the prison without even being noticed because of the tension and chaos that had already been going on. There's a watch out for him, but there's too much going on at the moment for there to be any chance of him being caught. A perfect time for someone like him to escape...”
\tThe warden enters the cell, grabbing a piece of paper and showing it to Aldan. “Only you, the King, and I know about this paper. He left a few names of people involved in attacks on the demons and today’s plot.” He points below the names. The warden flips the paper to the back, revealing a letter specifically noted to Aldan. It reads, "My beloved Aldan. Consider this as a small gift for being a friend to me as I expect you are to any other prisoner that you have. If you are to live, and I'm sure you will, I promise that we will meet again. No matter where I end up, I'll always make sure to spare you. I'm not a coward nor am I a traitor. My name is Alexander Steel and I belong to nobody, no kingdom, no army, no family, nothing at all. Look to the dark mages home. I'm off to join the Cruiberg now and hopefully take command of an army of my own. If I can't have our Kings head, then I will gently slide my way to the Cruiberg King’s and have a crown of my own. Until then, ta-da. ~ Alexander Steel."
\tShaking his head, Aldan sighs. “I'm a little disappointed.” He leans against the cell door. “I owed him a couple of good fuckings. Now I'll have to go to war to find him and pay off my debt. He could have killed the guard instead of knocking him out. That was a message for us, too.”
\tThe pair slowly make their upstairs back to the healing chambers. Aldan observes the guards casually, out of habit. He sits, waiting for word on Lev or for the King's Inquisitor to arrive for the investigation. While he waits, he asks for warm water and clean cloth. He washes his wounds and his face, cleaning and bandaging the worst of the cuts and the stab wound. “Do you think you can have some whiskey brought? These do sting a bit.” He leans his head back and closes his eyes. “I've a hundred things I need to do before I can rest, Gerald. I hope the Inquisitor doesn't dally.”
\tHe thinks of Alexander. Amoral more than evil. A trickster with a cruel streak, but capable of mercy. He would have been good to bed a time or two. He thinks of his family. The patience of Kate. Dealing with a husband lost in his own desires, trying to keep a marriage together in the face of a love ordained by the gods. The students, the prisoners, the dancer, Cameron. When does Kate come first? He dozes, remembering their first dates and the years since.
\t“I'll grab us a bottle. We'll have it down by the end of the night. I don't expect to sleep, anyway.” The warden goes to fetch a bottle, pouring two glasses for them. “It's warm and cheap but does the trick. It will be a minute before the Inquisitor arrives, but they'll be here within the hour.”
\tAldan nods and takes a drink. He smiles as the amber liquid burns pleasantly on the way down. “This is the good stuff.” He's mildly surprised and very grateful. He takes another sip, savoring it this time before swallowing. The two men pass the time quietly. A guard approaches ever few minutes to make some report or another to the warden, but Aldan is allowed to rest undisturbed.
\tTrue to form, within an hour a small group approach. Two armored warriors, one in front, the other trailing behind, their chest pieces emblazoned with an eagle's claw holding balanced scales, serve as escorts. A young man, head shaved and shoulder stooped and rounded, dodges around the lead warrior. The young man slips out of a large pack, undoing straps and buckles at a rapid pace. Behind, in black and gold robes, carrying a small rod, a woman follows. An anthro. Jaguar? Or Leopard? Her hair is cut short, her ears are rounded, very lightly furred. She walks with a lightness and grace, her tail held high above her head, swaying gently.
\tShe stops in front of the warden and Aldan. Both men stand. The lead guard speaks in a somber voice. “High Inquisitor Lysandra commands your attention, Warden Gerald Blackwell and Captain Aldan Jaeger. Under authority of His Majesty, King Haleax II, you are both detained.” He steps back as she steps forward.
\tHer eyes, slit like a great cat, burn with an emerald brightness. As she regards Gerald and Aldan, the bald man quickly assembles a small chair. He places it behind her with a loud clack against the stone floor. Without looking, she sits. She gestures for the two detainees to take their seats. She waits as the man assembles a small stool and a portable writing table, setting it with quills, ink and paper in a well-practiced enterprise.
\t“I speak with the voice of the King in this matter. Explain to me now who is to die, who is to live, in the matter of the today's attack and those of the previous two nights.” She speaks almost with a purr in her s's and r's. Her tail sways from side to side, reminding Aldan of a cat watching a mouse. The final figure of the group, a young girl, moves forward, pouring a purplish liquid into a small silver cup, holding it with easy reach. The Inquisitor warns. “Deceive me is to deceive the King. To deceive the King is to die. You may begin.”
\tThe young man dips quill in ink and holds it over paper, waiting.
\tAldan looks at Gerald. “You first or me?”
\t“As far as I know, the only ones that are to die are any Cruiberg sympathizers. The boy in that room is not one of them. No demon would ever side with them. This should be obvious.” He refills his glass.
\t“He speaks the truth. His role was as an unwitting pawn.” Aldan shifts, refilling his own glass. “The Cruiberg, through their agent, have been targeting demons born with certain gifts. They use rituals and magic to enter their minds, weakening them with dark thoughts and whispered doubts. The more the demon is worn down, the more the mage can control them. Today, he took total control of Lev. None of what happened was Lev's choice or will.”
\tThe Inquisitor nods. “But these were his actions, his powers, yes?”
\tShaking his head, Aldan explains, “He was controlled.” He thinks for a moment. “It's as if I took one of your guards weapons and used it to kill someone. He gestures at the lead escort, who glares at Aldan. “If I took his sword and killed someone, does the guilt lie with the sword? With him since it's his? Or with me since I was controlling it?”
\tA few officers arrive with papers and hand them to the Warden. He sets them down on a desk beside him, speed reading and looking them over with a grin on his face. “Here.” He hands the papers to the anthro. “A tip had told us that we should investigate the houses of a librarian and sorcerer, whom is also a dark mage connected with Cruiberg. Him and his apprentice were the ones responsible for the attacks, as was planned for almost a decade now. All of this can be found in the letters him and a Cruiberg warrior exchanged.”
\tShe nods and one of her escorts takes the papers, handing them to her. She reads through them and passes them to the scribe. “Enter these into the record. It is your contention then, Aldan Jaeger, that the boy, Lev, is blameless in these crimes?”
\t“Yes!” Aldan exclaims. “In fact, I would submit that Lev, Drew, and the other boy are victims in this as much as anyone else. The first victims, in fact.”
\tShe stares at Aldan. Her tail is moving in a more agitated manner. “Yet, the city is alive with rumors. It is well believed that the demons are involved in these attacks. And it cannot be denied that they are involved.”
\t“Unwillingly involved.” Aldan answers quickly. “Unknowingly. One of the goals of their plan was to sow distrust against the demons. If you punish Lev, you further those plans.”
\t“Yet, the people will need a focus for their anger. And his body did commit these crimes, even if we accept that his mind was controlled.” She looks at Aldan square. “Make no mistake, you are on trial as much as he. You knew of the danger he presented and did nothing to stop him. True?”
\t“I wasn't going to kill a boy for what he 'might' do.” Aldan's tone is harsh I tried to stop this. “I confronted the mage in his body. Lev would never have attacked me. Never.”
\tShe regards Aldan coolly.” Perhaps. Unfortunately for you, matters of justice rest with me, not you.”
\tIn the distance, a door is opened and running feet approach. A man's voice yells. “Stop! You cannot go in there!” The escorts turn toward the noise, one of them placing himself between the fracas and the Inquisitor, the other watching Aldan and Gerald. The running feet get closer and stop.
\t“Ah, hem! Gerald raises his voice. We have thirty-two of the fifty-five Cruiberg sympathizers that we currently know of being put into our three prisons as of this moment. There are plenty of people to execute if the public needs to see blood for what has been done. That boys blood, nor any demon, will be shed in the course of this determination. Whatever you excuse you have for it is invalid.”
\tLysandra narrows her eyes at Gerald. As those two stare at each other, Aldan peers around the escorts. He spies a shock of green hair. The escort nearest the noise, reaches out. Two small squeaks escape as he carries to forms forward, dropping them on the ground between the Inquisitor's party and Aldan and Gerald. Jay and Milliken scramble to their feet, running to Aldan and hiding behind him, holding each other and him.
\t“These belong to you?” She asks with disdain.
\t“Yes. Milliken is my son, Jay one of my students.” He protectively wraps an arm around each of them. “What are you doing here? Bryan's at the Healer's College.”
\t“I know. He's awake. The White Mages say he'll be fine, just fine. He begged us to check on Lev and bring you these.” Mikey explains as he nudges Jay. “Give him our petitions. Please.”
\tJay goes into Mikey's back, finding the collection of papers with signatures, and personal letters with them, all that go towards petitioning the execution of criminal youths. He hands them over to the younger girl, staring idly at the anthro. Milliken explains, “We've gathered more than five hundred signatures and demand that you and the king look at them thoroughly. Kids shouldn't be tried and sentenced to death, regardless of what crimes they've committed. It's barbaric and many citizens agree.”
\tGerald's mouth drops in shock. His thoughts are mixed on the subject, but for the moment feels and understands why the two boys feel the way they do. Jay tugs on Aldan's shirt. “Can we see Lev?”
\tKneeling down, Aldan whispers, “Not yet.” He looks at the petitions as the young girls hands them to the Inquisitor. He pulls both boys close and hugs them tightly.
\t“Child, you do not make demands of the King, nor of me.” She thumbs through the papers. “Still, five hundred you say? Some of these names are known to me.” Her eyes unfocus for a moment and she bows her head. After half a minute, she looks up, her eyes clear, if watery. “It is as you say. Although we now have over forty of the collaborators in custody. Evidence obtained in their capture confirm your claims. The boy, Lev, shall held blameless.” She brings the end of her rod down on the stone floor, signaling the finality of her ruling. “As to the petitions, what would we do with such criminals?”
\tThe bald scribe seems confused. “Do I record this, M'lady Inquisitor?”
\t“Yes,” she turns to Milliken and Jay. “Do we imprison them for the remainder of their lives?”
\tMikey bites his bottom lip, looking to his father. “I don't know. Give them time, but don't kill them!”
\t“The Army.” Aldan looks down at Mikey, ruffling his hair. Mikey glares at him as Jay reaches over to smooth his hair down. “I've overseen dozens of executions of children. Most of them for one crime. One. Give them the chance to redeem themselves. There's going to be a war, that's for certain. Go through their cases and offer the ones that aren't irredeemably corrupted the chance to serve in the military. The Royal Army or Royal Navy. They'll need recruits and some of these prisoners have made one bad decision, one horrible decision. We shouldn't kill children. We're supposed to be an enlightened kingdom.”
\tHer tail swirls and she taps the head of her rod against her chin. “How would we sort the truly wicked from the redeemable? And if a boy joins service to the king and offends thereafter?”
\t“They should be punished as a child, not an adult.” Milliken stands straight and with confidence. “Aigua Kingdom has their age set to fourteen and yet ours is still set at ten. Shouldn't we be following in the footsteps of our neighboring kingdom and have ours at least match theirs?” He remembers of how Drew was only thirteen. That would have made him redeemable if he were in Aigua. “Give them a chance! Our young brains aren't developed like you adults. Read it in the books! If they offend, then put them back and give them time until they can at least prove themselves again. But you can't keep doing this. Please...”
\tShe looks at the petitions again. “You make very good points. Justice without mercy is no justice at all. And we are at least as enlightened as the best of our neighbors.” She nods at Aldan. “Letting them prove their redemption through service is a practical consideration with a practical solution. I shall place this matter before the King and his Curia. Only they may change the law.” She watches, with a subtle glint in her eyes, as Jay and Mikey drop their heads and Aldan opens his mouth to speak. She holds up a finger. “However, I am not powerless in this matter. Warden, it is my order that executions of children below the age of 16 be halted pending positive affirmation from His Majesty. See that this edict is spread to the other prisons, to take effect immediately.” She turns to Aldan. “It shall be your responsibility to recommend prisoners who would qualify under this idea, should it become law.” She taps her rod on the floor again. “So it is ordered, so it shall be done.”
\tShe smiles for the first time. “You raise good points, little men. Your father should be proud. You may all be asked to advise on this change in law. Since you feel so strongly.” The bald man disassembles his stool and desk, and the Inquisitor's chair as she stands. She bows very slightly to Gerald, Aldan, and the boys. “The kingdom, it seems, owes quite a debt to you all. It shall not go unpaid.”
\tMikey immediately hugs at Jay, who is already crying with tears of happiness. Justice for his brother. Justice for his boyfriends step-father. Maybe even justice for others. Mother wants to see Lev in the morning, if she can. She's probably still seeing Bryan now and hoping to see him discharged as soon as possible.
\tThe Inquisitor and her party leave. Gerald and Aldan heave sighs of relief. “Good. Good. I don't want you two heading home without me. The streets are still too chaotic, I'm sure. We'll wait here for word on Lev.” Aldan turns to Mikey. “How long were you working on those petitions? Who helped you?”
\t“Just Bryan and I. We started the day after Drew was...” Jay squeezes him tighter, kissing his head. “And we hid it because we didn't know how you would react. It was something that we spent every day working on, finding families affecting it, those just leaving the executions. We never went to witness, but we spoke with many of the guards here, even the executioner himself signed and wrote a note on the petition.”
\tOne of the mages emerges from out of the Healing Room. “The boy has some very serious injuries to his left arm, which was torn out of place, and to his stomach, which caused some internal bleeding in his body. Luckily, these issues are not of any trouble for us to deal with. We have him in a cast at the moment and under some medicines to help heal his stomach. If it were a human, the case would be a bit more critical, but being that he's wolf, black wolf actually, and demon, I'd give or take that he will wake up in three to four days. Are you his guardian? Adoptive father? Or are his parents somewhere else?”
\tThe warden sorts through the stack of papers on the small desk to the side of him, finishing his glass, and anxiously looks at Aldan with concern on his mind.
\tPausing and thinking for moment, Aldan answers, “Father-in-law. Teacher as well. We can send for his grandparents. Is there something you need from them?”
\t“I'd contact them and have him visit as soon as they can so that they want to see him. My partners and I will wrap up our duty and be back in the morning. Chances are that we have more than enough work to do elsewhere.” She heads back into the room.
\tThe guard holds his hand in front of Aldan's ear and whispers. “I'll need to speak to you privately at some point about some things.”
\t“Why don't you two see if you can sit with him for a bit. Don't try to wake him, just be with him and let him know you love him. And that Bryan is alright.” He nods to the warden. “I'll be back up here to get you in a few minutes, okay?”
\tBoth of the boys hold hands, nod, and enter into the healing room. Once they've left, the warden sighs. “With all of the new prisoners, I'll need to work with the inquisitor a bit more on rescheduling things here. You should try and tell all of the prisoners on your caseload that their dates are going to be pushed back a bit or put on withholding. We only have so many cells though... I'd say that even with these new motions set in place, things will need to continue on as smoothly as possible until the new law passes, if it does.” The warden fills back up his glass, taking a large sip down. “You disapprove, don't you?”
\t“Disapprove of what?” Aldan finishes his drink, setting the glass down up side down. He's had enough and still has so much left to do.
\t“There will be no real withholding here. Not by definition. Their times might be pushed back by a week or month, but having their sentences withheld for too long will upset the families or loved ones that were hurt by our prisoners.” He finishes his glass, slamming it down.
\t“I suppose so. But she gave her orders. For now, the clock stops on the executions. If the law doesn't get changed, well, let's hope that doesn't happen. And if the law does get changed, everyone has to get used to it.”
\t“Then here's to the changing of times.” He clanks his glass to yours. “I'll leave you be. I know you have a lot left to do, as do I in this fucking nut house.” He lights another cigarette, offering one to Aldan. “You take care of yourself. Take a few days off if you must. I'll pay you for them anyway. You should be getting a medal from the king himself for what you did today.”
\t“Thank you, Gerald. My paper-work might be a little late on this one.” Aldan chuckles and sticks the cigarette in his pocket, careful not to damage it. As the warden gets back to his work, Aldan enters the healing room.
\tOne of the mages finishes packing their goods, standing by the door while the other two sit nearby the boy in prayer, joined by Milliken and Jay. As expected, Lev's entire left arm is placed into a cast and is well asleep. Even more surprising, the boy has returned to his normal demon-form, with only his wolf ears and tails showing.
\tAldan watches Lev's breathing. He watches Milliken and Jay pray over their friend. When the other mages rise from their prayers, Aldan thanks them and kneels down next to Lev. He places a hand on Lev's chest, feeling his heartbeat. It's strong and steady, but slow. Bowing his head, Aldan prays. After nearly a half hour, he looks at his boys. “Are you two ready to go back and check on Bryan? Maybe we can take him home?” They both nod, standing and stretching before taking each other's hands again. Before leaving, Aldan leans down and whispers to Lev. “Sorry about your arm. Rest up, Lev. If you see Drew, tell him I love him. Love you, too, wolf-boy.” The three of them, Aldan, Jay, and Milliken, exit the prison and begin the long walk to Bryan's healing halls.
\tBoth of the boys stand close to their father, holding hands while Aldan has his arm wrapped around the two as they leave the prison and head out of the prison. While it's not as compact outside as before, there are still plenty of people trying to get answers out of officers, guards, and warriors that are on the street. Milliken mutters, “I hope everything is cleared up by tomorrow. This is just crazy. The castle must have really gotten hurt if it's this bad out here.”
\tJay asks. “How long do you think it'll take before they pledge war?”
\t“It won't be long, Jay.” He looks down at the green-haired boy. “We should let your mother know that you're all right, shouldn't we? Funny, I didn't think of that until just now. It's like you belong with us.” He grimaces I'm sorry, Jay, that was thoughtless of me to say. Changing the subject, Aldan continues I think the machinery is already in motion. “The formal announcement will be tomorrow or the day after.”
\tThey're almost to the healing center, which is by far the most chaotic of all places right now in the kingdom. “If you go off to war, does that mean we won't have a school counselor again?”
\t“I'm sure they'll find someone to take my place. If I go, that is. That's something I'd have to talk over with Kate. It wouldn't be fair to up and decide that without talking to her first. I'd be leaving her with a half dozen kids and a baby.” His mind drifts back to Drew. “But I owe them blood. They tried to use Drew and Lev to kill us all. They made Drew a killer, Lev too. The Cruiberg have to pay for what they've done.”
\tThey head into the hospital, where a mage speaks with them and guides them to the third floor where Bryan stays. He's already bandaged up and dressed to go, Kate and the young ones with him as well. Milliken runs up to him and hugs him tightly, while Jay stands by the door. Bryan looks at Aldan with concern. “Is Lev okay? Can I see him? I need to see him right now!”
\tAldan gently brings Jay with him into the room. “You're part of the family, too.” Kneeling down next to Bryan, Aldan hugs him tightly, careful to avoid his wounds. “Lev is still unconscious, but he'll be fine. The healers say he'll sleep for two or three days but should make a full recovery. You, swordsman supreme, need to rest yourself. Tomorrow after school, you can visit and sit with him.” Kissing Bryan on the forehead, Aldan whispers, “You're the bravest little sonuvabitch I've ever seen.”
\tMilliken puts a hand on his older brothers shoulder. “We're here for you. If you want to cry or talk to us, we're in the same room as you! You're not alone. None of us are. Plus, we're going to need each other a lot more in the coming future.” Jay bumps Mikey into the shoulder, telling him to mention the petitions. He darts up and remembers. “We gave the petitions out and there's a big chance that the law is going to change, so not everything is bad!”
\tBryan smiles, hugging his brother. One of the mages speaks to Aldan and Kate, telling him that he should rest as much as he can, but they're surprised at well he heals. After checking out they all head home, catching their breath and trying to find some sense of normalcy to return to. Bryan takes his bath alone, remembering how him and Lev had fucked in here before. He kisses his father and mother good night before heading to his room with Jay and Milliken. Jay writes a letter to his parents, then whistles for a long period of time before a raven finally comes to him. He hands it off, giving it a silver as well, and curls up in bed with his newfound boyfriend. The raven was a transformative anthro, probably having a busy night itself.
\tMikey pulls out a book and begins reading to a tired Jay before he asks his brother. “Are you going to be okay, big bro? You can see him in the morning. After school the two of us can go find his grandparents and let him know where to visit him.”
\tBryan sighs as he holds the pillow Lev used. He smells it, clutching it to his chest. Somehow, it makes it easier. “I'm okay. I just miss him. He's so warm when we sleep together. I feel cold and my bed seems so big and empty.” He rolls over, facing his brother and his boyfriend. “I'm glad you guys are here. Yeah, tomorrow we'll see him.” Sighing again, he closes his eyes. Mikey and Jay can't help but feel the sadness and uncertainty that plague Bryan.
","pools_count":1,"title":"Lev's Tale - Chapter Twelve","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"2","rating_name":"Adult","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"5","name":"Strong Violence","description":"Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death","rating_id":"2"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"t","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"47","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","digital_price":""}