Chapter One: Red and Black Mist

Eight winters passed since the Indulger was captured, eight long campaigns of struggling war. A little girl no more than twelve years of age closed her eyes and breathed deep, born in war, raised on the run from it.

The echoes of the humid air from afar turning into rain. Gentle warm downpours, the last remains of the Lost King’s Forest were still shining bright under the glimmering moonlight. She saw herself within every fallen drop and crystalline puddle, a young pale face with short red hair, her reflection untainted by ash and blood and innocent brown eyes. She looked back towards her clan, a small refuge of families and forgotten flags all gathered in the moonlit clearing. Scattered tents housing wandering nomads finding security with numbers, the Rothree Clan; welcoming all who showed scorn for the Paladins.

She wandered away from them, treating herself to the humid forests of the rainy, summer night before reaching the end of the small strip of pine-trees. She saw her mother and father standing together near a dwindling campfire, remnants of another safe day past. The mother was holding a small grey satchel in her hand as she looked to her husband with worried and frustrated eyes.

“…It’s not too late, Lamel” she argued, subdued yet audibly aggravated as the girl eavesdropped on the conversation, hidden under the distant nightly shades. “I will not have another soul fall under his will, Helen” Lamel argued, Helen looking away and scoffing. “Who cares, you survived and we still have the means to do it again”. “Lawrence was willing, he gave himself to the flames and died trying to save us”.

“He was a fool” Lamel argued. “He was a hero!” Helen argued back. “He knew what had to be done, we need to try”. “How much longer do you think we can hide away like this?” Helen asked, pacing around the fire with her arms crossed behind her back and the satchel gripped between her fingers.

“For as long as we need to” Lamel answered, the rain gaining subtle strength as it fought the dwindling campfire, smoke struggling under the pounding drops. “And what happens when they finally catch up to us?” Helen asked, tossing the satchel over the smoke and into Lamel’s hands. “They take us, alive I hope” he responded. “It’s all we can do, hope” he continued, Helen scoffing in a bitter manner.

“I didn’t realize the book of Ownah taught us to be cowards” she said. “Don’t be a fool, Helen” Lamel responded. “What happens when we realize we just don’t have the training or manpower to fight off the Paladins?” he looked at the satchel, the smooth grey cloth creasing between his fingers as he felt the powder within tumble and shift, the dwindling flames at his feet moving with them.

“You underestimate us, numbers are not important, power is…” Helen mused, her gaze peering through the humid smoke. “Besides we can’t keep running forever, sooner or later we’ll be forced to fight”. “We need the power of the black fire at our side”.

Lamel’s eyes narrowed as he tossed the satchel to the ground, the fire in front of him dying completely leaving the two with only the chilling winds and rain. “Absolutely not, they already treat us like barbarians, monsters; we should not give them another reason to come looking for us”. “Maybe there’s another way… maybe…” Lamel attempted to reason, Helen already knowing his argument well.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” she interrupted him, Lamel talking over her in response. “Where does this sentiment of pride leave us?” “Nowhere, we live as animals because we refuse to see that the world has changed”. “We just can’t live like this anymore, we need to surrender for the good of the clan”.

“Oh, how fucking noble of you!” Helen sarcastically and bitterly insulted. “For the good of us all, our family” he continued to argue, Helen clenching her teeth as she looked away with disgust. “I refuse to let those golden bastards get away with what they’ve done!” “Have you forgotten what they did to our home, our stories, our lands!?” Helen argued, Lamel letting none of it sink in as he simply brushed his wife aside. “They’ve already won though, I can’t fight them all and neither can you”. “Why should we fight a war we simply can’t win?” he continued, Helen turning back around swiftly. “You’re a hypocritical fucking coward!”

“Don’t you fucking speak to me like that!” Lamel said. “You would condemn everyone around us to a pointless, lost war just to satisfy your lust for revenge!?” he suggested, Helen’s temper still unextinguished as she continued to argue.

“Big fucking talk coming from you!” “After everything we’ve done for you you’re the one still running”. “Our fate will always be the same as yours you pious bastard, even if you refuse to acknowledge who we are”. “I’m not about to die forgotten in fire because some pious holy ruler says I’m not worthy to enter her city!”

“You know she won’t stop until all of our kind are gone” Helen angrily explained, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Exactly, so why don’t we just turn ourselves in to their judgment?” he questioned, Helen pointing at him through the smoke with a furious expression in response. “The Uluair, the Botchen, the Reagars and everyone else from here to the Grey Shores have abandoned this war!” “We’ve lost, eight fucking years of fighting and the Protector just rains down fire on us whenever we even make an inch towards Patronage”.

“There’s NOTHING left!” Lamel continued. “No more lands to die for, no more freedoms to claim, no more stories to champion, it’s all gone, burned away!” “Why don’t we just surrender already!?” “You know damn well why; none of us would survive their ‘judgment’ especially not you”. “Can’t you get it through that thick fucking head of yours that surrender is not the only option?!”

“This clan is our family!” Helen argued, Lamel’s eyes unmoving as he sank his gaze. “What about our actual family?” he questioned. “Would you condemn our little girl to a life of bloodshed and running!?” he continued, Helen finally ending her argument as she yelled “Don’t you fucking bring up Morna, she deserves better than this, she deserves a real home, she deserves to be free!”

“I will kill every last one of those bastards who’ve denied her a home!” “The book of Onwha guides me, and I will not give up my god or my family!” Morna backed away at the thunderous sound of her parent’s boiling tempers, inadvertently stepping on a stray twig in the process and snapping it loudly in two.

Helen and Lamel silenced themselves as they turned to face Morna standing hidden in the darkness obscured by the forest, their hearts dropping momentarily out of fear before realizing who it was. Morna ran away at the prospect of confronting her parents when they argued, fleeing into the woods. “Morna… wait!” her father shouted. Helen looked on as Lamel chased after her, staring into the dead campfire and picking up the grey satchel. She sighed forlornly as the rain grew heavier just as she heard the sound of distant marching.

Morna stopped after running through the identical soaking wet pine-trees, her breath taken from her as she panted. Her father finally caught up to her and grabbed her arm violently. “Let me go!” she shouted, Lamel refusing to release his grip as he kept her from moving. “Morna, what are you doing out here!?” “Why aren’t you back at the center camp with the others!?” he asked in a panicked and frightful tone. Morna continued to struggle, ignoring her father’s question.

“You know how dangerous it is to be out here all alone!” he berated, Morna’s energy waning as she ceased her struggle. “Don’t you ever wander the woods on your own again!” “Do you hear me!?” he continued, Morna looking away, avoiding eye contact with her father as she fell to her knees in the mud. “I just, I… I’m sorry, I wasn’t going to wander too far” she apologized. Just like that her father’s temper quickly cooled. After a brief quiet moment the two rested themselves in the forest, the canopy of trees shielding them from some of the pelting cold rain.

“I’ve told you before Morna, your mother and I have responsibilities to the rest of the clan, we can’t have you wandering off every time we have to leave the center camp” he explained.

“I’ve heard Rior and Uldred talking though, they said that the war is over and we lost, that we have nowhere left to go”. “They said that the Indulger has forsaken us and… ” Morna said, recounting thoughts of words with an innocent tone. “They said that… it’s only a matter of time before they take us away just like they did the soil, our books…”

“They want to take everything away” Morna continued, the rain losing its gentle pattern as the weather slowly grew more chaotic. “You know I won’t let that happen” Lamel quickly reassured his daughter.

“But what if they do?” Morna asked, her father taken aback by her blunt questions. “Look, don’t listen to Uldred, Morna, he’s just… going through a hard time”. “I promise you I won’t let the Holy ever take you” he said, grabbing his daughter’s hand and forcing her attention. Their eyes met and Morna smiled. “I know it’s silly, I haven’t even seen a single one of them in a while too” Morna spoke, her father lightly chuckling. “Maybe everyone else in the clan is just trying to scare you” he suggested. Lamel cocked his face to the side with a sly expression as Morna frowned childishly.

“I’m not scared” she pouted, her face visibly frustrated as her father laughed. “It’s okay to be scared, Morna” he continued to gently mock her. “I’m not scared!” she repeated, her father continuing to chuckle even as she turned away. “It’s alright. Little Wolf, I’m just teasing” her father said after calming himself. Morna looked up towards the foggy moon hidden in the rain, childishly avoiding eye contact with her father. “I know you’re not really scared” he said in an attempt to calm her as he reached out his arm to invite Morna back under the pine-tree.

Morna sighed, looking outwards, the word ‘scared’ reminding her of what her mother used to fear, what she used to say. A quote from the stories the unholy coveted, the red, forbidden books. “’To run is to be human, to fear to run is to be a coward’” she whispered under her breath, her memories falling to what was lost in the growing fires that surrounded them. “Still reading I see, that’s good” Lamel commented, raising his daughter’s spirits slightly.

“It’s getting easier, the words are still complicated but I want to hear the stories”. “Uldred refuses to read to me” she continued, her tone slightly pouty. “It works though, if he just read the books to you then you wouldn’t learn. “You know your alphabet, you can take it from there” he commented. “It’s wonderful, I struggle to read those stories and your mother never even learned but you, you’re ambitious, Morna, always were”.

“Thank you, they tell such wonderful stories, I wished I had a chance to see them for myself” “Monsters, heroes, celebration, animals…” she paused briefly. “I wish I could have seen the animals” Morna sighed. Her father gave a pause as he stood up. They both stood tall, side by side, Morna holding her father’s leg to shield herself from the cold winds and rain. They looked up towards the powerful moon piercing the rain-clouds and smiled.

“The book said the woods used to be so loud and fun but now the beasts are all gone, now they’re quiet” Morna spoke, her face sullen as Lamel caressed her shoulder. “They’re not all quiet” he said, looking outwards along with his daughter. He smiled as Morna looked up at him with gleeful anticipation. Lamel cocked his head back and looked towards the sky, letting out a wolf-like howl that echoed across the rainy night sky.

Morna laughed as her father let the noise soar across the forest, waiting in anticipation for a single moment, a single sound to respond only for him to hear nothing but quiet rain. With her expression still plastered with childlike joy she imitated her dad, her voice carrying sound much louder and farther as she arched her back, the wolf howling back in the distance. Morna jumped up and down afterwards, grinning openly all the while.

Their sounds echoed like a reflection within themselves, the wolf howling hearing the same voice from another tongue howling back. Lamel smiled as he looked down at his daughter, her face practically glowing in the night as she looked out towards the horizon. Lamel stared outwards with her. A blaze of subtle smoke rose in the distance as he gazed upon his campsite and noticed much to his disbelief a fire rising from the camp he had set up.

Morna looked up, noticing her father’s concerned expression. “What is it?” she asked, her father breaking away his embrace as he reluctantly approached the fire. He turned to Morna and said “get back to the center camp” before heading off towards the distant smoke by himself. Morna stood back if only for a moment as she could soon hear the distant cries of her friends and family. She saw the fire rising higher as her father left her sight, she had to follow him unseen into the darkness.

She stopped in her tracks for a moment as the woods grew ever darker and her father disappeared from sight and sound entirely, a strange voice overtaking her thoughts as she closed her eyes. She clenched her fists, the world seemingly stopping in time as she opened her eyes and looked down to see a steady stream of blood disappearing into smoke in front of her, frightening her but never stopping her. She turned her gaze away and yet something compelled her to move forward regardless, to chase the trail of blood into the black forest.

The trail seemed to go on and on, she knew she didn’t run this far. The forest itself seemed to be leading her, guiding her out of the woods and towards her father’s direction. Every step she took was without thought, without ambition or volition of her own. She seemed to move only by instinct, she could feel her teeth as if they were growing sharper, her sight becoming misty and vaguely red. She finally emerged from the woods, her feet scattering mud as she halted her sprint.

Out in the campsite she saw her mother and father along with several other men and women of her tribe on their knees with blades to their throats. The Golden Paladins, the shining monsters she was warned about since birth, the ones who denied her a proper home and health. There were six of them, all clad in their garish shining steel and gold, stained in fresh blood, crimson and copper fighting the silver and black sky.

Morna turned her eyes to see a fresh pile of bodies, five in total, still clothed and holding iron swords in their broken hands, their dead unsettling eyes staring at her. “…I won’t ask again, where is the Demon!” one of the soldiers demanded to know as the rest fanned the flames, throwing bodies one by one into the pyre. The men and women on their knees simply sat in a line, Morna noticing her mother still holding the satchel in her hands behind her back. It was too small and neutrally colored to notice in the night yet somehow her eyes were drawn to it. Morna lamented, her mother was last in line, she watched her kin die one by one, helpless.

“There is no Demon here!” the man shouted, the sweat and dripping rain falling under his eyes as he looked up with a maddening glare, a small red book clenched in his hands. The soldier swiftly took his blade, slashing it across his throat. Helen gripped the satchel ever closer behind her back out of fear. She turned her gaze away from the gruesome sight as the body fell limp and lifeless into the mud, his face drowning in a red and brown puddle. One of the other soldiers quickly stepped by the Paladin’s side, grabbing the fresh corpse by his hair and dragging him into the pile behind him. The others rifled through his things all the while and tossed the red book into the flames along with the numerous burning corpses.

“Devil worshippers and barbarians, coveters of the false text; the world sheds no tears for your losses!” “We know what your kind hides, one of you must be cursed with the mark!” “Simply give the Demon to us and your pointless lives will be spared!” the Paladin announced to the captives, the insult causing Morna to grit her teeth violently, her eyes narrowing as she contemplated leaving the darkness. She wanted to emerge from the shadows and fight regardless of the outcome, her father was next for execution.

Helen looked back, noticing the crimson red shine behind the tree, her daughter. Her hair was soaked with rain, the color resembling the blood that spilled into the ash covered soil at her knees. “We can guarantee safe passage to Patronage to the man who would only turn in the monster you all covet!” he continued, the entire clan simply keeping their heads down all the while, their sights turned from the horror.

Lamel looked up, his expression frightened but nonetheless defiantly silent as the steel of the Paladin reached his neck. “I will not hesitate, tell me what I need to know and I can guarantee your safety, fail and you will only meet death.” “I promise you, the civilized world will not shake at your demise; do the smart thing” the Paladin spoke directly to Lamel, his eyes gazing towards the pile of bodies as yet another one of his friends was dragged into the fire in front of him. He stayed quiet.

The Paladin did not hesitate, he swung his blade across the sky and in that moment, that one split second everything simply stopped. Morna rushed forward upon seeing the shining steel reflect with its blood stained magnitude and Helen in a fit of desperation threw the satchel into the pyre of bodies, the cloth and leather swiftly burning as the flames seemed driven to devour it. Morna ran, every step creating ripples, every breath feeding tears as she held her hand out, seeing the blood on the Paladin’s sword, the stained armor he wore as a badge of ‘honor’.

The Paladin lost concentration as his vision was separated from Lamel, fractured between the woman standing up and tossing the bag into the flames and the young girl charging at him from the woods. Morna reached the Paladin, her speed blurring her vision against the rain as she grabbed the soldier and dragged him into the fire in a desperate struggle.

The both of them fell into the pyre as the flames morphed and changed. Helen screamed out in fear and protest, rushing towards the pyre. Lamel was frozen with shock as he simply stood and watched the horrific spectacle helplessly.

Morna could feel no burns as she closed her eyes, she felt calm yet broken, the world around her shifting and dying. She could hear the screams of the Paladin as his flesh boiled and burned a mere arm’s length from her ears. The little girl smiled as the fire turned black.

She stood up, her entire body covered in embers and flames tearing away at her skin leaving nothing but searing black marks and glowing crimson eyes gazing through the thick smoke. The fires rose, black in flames with bright orange embers swirling around them like a plague of hellish locusts, spinning and swirling in a powerful storm as she stepped out of the pyre. The bodies at her feet collapsed into char as the rest of the Paladins looked on with horror. The flames rushed toward them all, quickly consuming them but never letting them die with haste.

They burned, seconds spent in pain becoming years felt in agony as their deaths did not come quickly. They begged to an uncaring god for the pain to stop, the fires rushing and consuming everything in the madness. Helen ran in the opposite direction, the Paladins and barbarians alike were all suffering the same fate, Lamel included.

Morna screamed and cried with terror and laughter, her jaw nearly unhinged as the mortal whites of her eyes faded into blood red hues. Her sight saw through fire as the black flames engulfed the entire clan, friend and foe alike. The screams of the Paladins were fueling her chaotic rage. She stomped and jumped in place like a psychotic imp, her tongue sharp and pointed and her skin charred and black. The fires burned away the trees around her, spreading and growing until finally the screams stopped, leaving her only with the fearful echoes of her own twisted new voice.

The mist of her eyes soon melted away as she dropped to her knees. Laughter turned into sniffling tears as the frightened little girl was returned her sight, the demonic black smoke clearing as the center pyre died. The raindrops gently fell in rhythm in the afterglow of the atrocity. Night soon turned to very early day, the foggy blue becoming hazy orange and grey as Morna wept alone, her mother left missing and her father unmoving as he lied in the dirt. Morna crawled over towards him, her limbs returning to her control after a long struggle. She feared the worst, the voices inside were silenced under her tears as the embers and smoke followed her.

She reached out her hand, still on her knees as she saw her father lying in the mud with his face covered in ash and blood. She placed her palm upon his face leaving a crimson print over his eye, terrifying her as she backed away out of fear, gripping her hand tightly. She looked at her arm, her skin flustered and red, a black snake-like scar pulsating across her flesh. She could feel the blood rush and swim in her skin, two rivers merging as one all from that one scar. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tight, wrapping her arms around her father and weeping loudly.

“I’m so sorry, Morna…” Lamel whispered, Morna’s eyes widening in surprise. “The flames of the Demons have touched my flesh before… forgive me, I never wanted this to happen to you” he spoke, his voice gentle as he rose to his knees, the father and daughter’s eyes meeting, both shaded in blood red.

“Why, father?” “What’s happened to me?” Morna questioned, her voice quivering and her breath uneasy. “All this time, they were looking for us, they were looking for you?!” she continued to question, her voice growing more stressed with every word. “Why didn’t you tell me!?” “Why, why did this have to happen to me!?” “Why!?”

“Our clan, our family!” “It’s all gone, all of it!” “I killed them, I know I did!” “I’m a monster, I’m a monster!” “I can’t… I can’t even…” Morna panicked.

“Shh… hush Little Wolf, calm yourself” he attempted to reassure her, his arms wrapped around Morna in loving embrace but his eyes turned away from her in shame. “Everything’s going to be alright, just relax… find your soul… listen to the sounds of the wolf” he whispered, Morna’s manic weeping losing strength as she slowly loosened her clutching embrace, the tears drying in her eyes.

“…It seems they’ve finally snuffed us out; we can’t stay here anymore, Lamel” Helen said, out of sight from Morna but directly in front of Lamel as she emerged from the smoke. “They’ll send for more after seeing the rising smoke, they always follow the fires…” she explained, keeping a subtle cautionary distance from the two Demons as Lamel looked away in shame.

“We’ve done everything to protect you, keep you safe… another falls to their clutches… my Little Wolf…” she said, her voice distant and cold as she looked upon her daughter, the flushed and burned skin and black mark. “I’m so sorry, Morna… everything’s gone”. “We need to head south soon before they show up again” she wept, kneeling down and holding her attention as Morna turned from her father.

“No… I know what we have to do; there’s nothing left for us in this wasteland”. “No more running, we only have one more option…” Lamel said, his eyes narrowing and his voice gaining confidence only to be quickly interrupted with silence, Helen’s thoughts resting with his. “She’s still so young, maybe… maybe they would spare her, we could…” Helen spoke, looking away as Lamel finished her sentence for her. “It’s the only way; it’s our last chance… our only chance”.

“Damn it…” Helen cried softly, hugging Morna as she asked “what’s happened to me?” her mind flushed with knowledge of Demons but not with what they truly meant. She would be hunted for the rest of her life, the book of Ownah taught her that. “You’ll be fine, Morna, you’re still you, you still feel your soul…” she softly cried. “I’ll scout ahead for the Blessed Road…” Helen said, standing herself up as Morna looked up, still on her knees.

“Just keep her safe for now, Lamel… and be ready when I return”. “We’ll be marching for Patronage soon and I’ll… be making preparations”. Morna looked on as her mother walked away, her mind fractured and hazy. She could feel herself break as the whispers of the Demon spoke to her, her father’s broken soul shared with her as they both saw their eyes reflected in each other, a haze of Red and Black Mist.

Next Chapter: The Winter Sun