Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Negotiation

The Chaos Harpies had suffered some damage from the attack the herkleri had launched, but more than having hurt them, it had enraged the monsters because of the act of defiance it signified. And due to their anger having a very specific target now, no one paid Tiar and Bara any mind, instead turning their full attention to the blue-skinned rebels after recovering from their explosive powder.

This allowed the Viktar to finally start restructuring both himself and his apprentice, while personally being able to endure the pain of the healing process without making a sound, the female almeya shouting in anguish once again. Little could be done to ease her suffering, however, or rather, much more of that suffering was yet to come. Knowing he couldn’t help her with anything else, her teacher now looked at the other creatures left on the plaza and what their state was.

The harpy executioners for each of the six almeya nobles had not yet fully come to their senses after the partial burns they had suffered from the dark blue powder. They still lied on the triangular magenta pavement stones with yellow outlines and cursed under heavy breaths, some making attempts to get up, others not having moved much.  Only now did Tiar notice they were not of the standard, but of the ironwing harpy type, meaning they could turn their feathers to steel to make unified metal blades of their wings as they had in the present. No chance was given to use those weapons, though, as several herkleri reached them, a single wrathful slash of their swords with blades glowing in bright green beheading the executioners.

They weren’t even given the opportunity to plead for mercy, that not being the case with the seventh almeya noble on the plaza who had stood by the side of the Chaos Harpies rather than his own people, that man having currently fallen to his knees in front of the herkleri man who carried the child prince on his shoulders. That carrier stood out among the other representatives of his kind in the area not only by being the biggest, most muscular and most armored among them, but by the color of his skin as well. It was mint-green in contrast with the blurple for the rest, Tiar realizing then this man was a member of the group of herkleri known as the Crowns of Old.

According to some, all herkleri had once had mint-green skin, only after coming in contact with many Order champions being given their blessing that led to the change of their skin color while also gaining additional protection. A smaller part of their race had refused the blessing, saying they were too sinful and not worthy of such honor. Many have claimed that those with mint-green skin are the most noble of their people, representatives of that group forever being tied with the line of herkleri planetary leaders. Due to not having received the blessing of Order, they trained much harder than anyone else, this explaining the build of the prince’s carrier, which probably only served to add to the fear in the heart of the almeya begging him for mercy.

‘These other nobles endangered all almeyas with their actions, sire! Please! I only gave them to the harpies because of what I feared they might do to my people!’

He looked at the ground, desperately searching to grasp something there with his hands, but failing due to the absence of any objects around him.

‘A weapon … isn’t there a weapon around …?!’

After his search yielded no result, his eyes met those of the prince and his guardian again.

‘I beg of you! I didn’t know you would attack now! I’ll join you! I swear I will!! I have wealth and power! You will need those if you want to crush the forces of Chaos! Surely you must realize you need me!! Spare me and all I have will be yours!! Just …’

‘One who has betrayed his very neighbor will surely betray again. No matter the reason, I cannot allow for creatures capable of such things to join our ranks. Os, please.’

As the prince was done speaking and the tears the traitor’s eyes were brimming with overflowed in unison with his cries that were of not only despair, but protest now, the one who carried the boy suddenly sheathed his great sword.

‘Stop! You’re not even almeyas! If I am to be judged, it should be …’

Tiar noticed the blade of the guardian’s sword was also different from those of the other weapons wielded by the herkleri, being the only one with a snow-white color. A second later he saw the prince take the bow that hung on his back and shoot an arrow with a tip glowing in bright green with it, hitting the traitor in the middle of the forehead. As the arrow found its mark, the cries stopped and the corpse left with a shock-ridden face fell on the ground right next to the dead harpies he had supported. The prince sighed while putting the bow on his back again.

‘I am indeed no almeya. Dying by my hand was an act of mercy for a man whose treachery was definitely committed out of fear. If your own people had got their hands on you, your death would’ve been much slower and more painful.’

‘A just call, my prince. Though one this cowardly slime hardly deserved.’

‘May God place his judgment on me for what I have done when the time comes, Os.’

The leader of the herkleri now turned to Tiar, all pity being sapped from his eyes and replaced with a mixture of hatred and disgust.

‘Now, let’s pass our sentence on the other traitor here.’

The old-crown herkleri nodded and moved toward Tiar and Bara while the other members of the rebels’ race who had killed the ironwing harpies helped the nobles they were about to execute get up, cutting the chains they were bound with. A loud clatter was heard when each chain fell on the pavement stones, Bara’s restructuring continuing because her teacher wanted to be more delicate with healing her, which provided the Viktar with an opportunity. The other sounds being heard around and the pain the female almeya was still in would allow Tiar to negotiate with his saviors without fear of her discovering his identity.

‘Many thanks for saving us, prince.’

‘That almeya woman … what is she doing with the likes of you?’

‘I saved her life some time after parting ways with you. And we’re now bound to each other.’

‘Oh, that makes things simpler, then. Os, kill her first as she’ll be easier to dispatch.’

The old-crown herkleri attempted to unsheathe his sword, Tiar’s fury at the death threat toward the pink-skinned beauty reaching a boiling point then as he sprang to his feet, standing at least two heads taller than the prince’s guardian, grabbing the hand on the weapon’s hilt. As strong as he was, the man with mint-green skin was still no match for the Viktar, being forced with much annoyance to put the blade back in its sheath as he and Tiar stared at each other.

‘Just because I saved you last time we met does not mean I won’t turn you to ash if you dare lay a hand on her now. Keep that in mind as you act from here on.’

Surprised by how his demeanor had changed toward the ones he believed himself incapable of hurting during their last meeting, the Order champion also understood something else. It was the power of Order that had made him so reluctant to use violence on any of the herkleri before, but something else had surfaced after his reunion with their kind – the bond he already felt he had with Bara and the urge to defend her.

This stemmed from emotion and that emotion was strong enough to overturn whatever control Order had of him in that particular moment. That meant it was perhaps possible to use strong emotion to free himself from the grasp of the Great Power he normally served in other moments like this one.

‘Willing to protect her, are you? Is that how much you’ve grown to care for the peoples you’ve spent hundreds of years tormenting?’

‘I am not what I once was. And whatever I am now, you need me, boy.’

The emotions he thought of had got the better of him, Tiar’s last statement making the temper of the prince’s guardian rise in its own right. His grip on his sword’s hilt hardened, the Viktar feeling with surprise he was now almost being overpowered by this herkleri man when the boy gently put a hand on his shoulder. Within a second, the old-crown’s expression became calm, his attention shifting from his opponent to his liege.

‘Stop, Os. At least for now. I’ll allow what he just said to pass without punishment.’

‘As you wish, my prince. I may cut him down in a minute or so, though, even if he’s still speaking then.’

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‘It won’t take that long, don’t worry.’

Tiar glanced at the servant with the same amount of hostility he saw in his eyes as a warning before looking at the master.

‘Let me ask you this: how many men have you brought here with you? I’d wager you don’t have a sufficient force at you back because you couldn’t have gathered such for two days while so far away from your home world.’

‘Don’t mention my world, Distroya. I haven’t been there in far too long, nor do I need to be to muster a force of my people. Instead of speculating about my armies, why don’t you elaborate on how you can be useful to me exactly?’

‘Not to you. To all the peoples of Yut. You know who I am. I am the man who knows the Chaos forces of this dimension better than anyone else. And the strongest being in Yut, even if I’m not at full force yet. And look at what’s happened with us. You were so persistent to separate yourself from me and in just two days, we were brought back together, evidently both of us having come to Negite in search of allies to start a rebellion. Do you think this mere coincidence? For I consider it to be God’s will that we are to fight together.’

The prince was still managing to hold his anger at bay, but his guardian lost control again, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets as he roared at the Griffin Slayer. His face wasn’t the only thing under strain, all his muscles having become tense as well due to the effort of keeping him from committing further violent acts.

‘Does your blasphemy know no bounds?! You would dare mention God …’

‘Stop, Os! Calm yourself for a bit longer so we can hear him out!’

‘God, Order, Destiny … call it what you want. My point is you cannot crush the forces of Chaos without me. You can at least tolerate me until the enemies in this city are dealt with, can’t you? So just stop trying to fight me and let us end the monsters already.’

‘While you haven’t mentioned it, I believe you will want something in return.’

The prince’s childish appearance made Tiar forget at times he was actually hundreds of years old. And he had become very intelligent and perceptive for that time, so much so that even a former Distroya could not fool him.

‘This young almeya … as I said, she is bound to me. Yet she doesn’t know who I truly am. I will tell her in due time, but that will happen when I decide the right moment has come. Until then, I ask you not to reveal my identity to her. She knows me only as Arit, a champion of Order sent to help this dimension. That is how it should remain.’

‘And if I keep your secret, you will assure my triumph against the armies of Chaos? Against YOUR armies?’

‘I don’t have an army. I don’t have anything right now. Anything except her. All I ask is that you don’t take her from me by telling her the truth yet. And in return I’ll share all the power and knowledge I have with you.’

The prince’s guardian was far from convinced by the look on his face, his contempt for the Viktar rising above the normal amount every now and then as it happened after his latest statement.

‘Spoken like a true servant of Chaos, trying to tempt us to accept your gifts of darkness.’

‘Os here is not the last one you’ll have to convince, Tiar. The other herkleri who were captured with me also know who you are and they will tell others as our forces grow, none of whom will accept you. I don’t think you’ll be able to keep lying to the woman for long.’

‘You’re right. It will be best for no one to learn who I really am for now apart from the ones who already know. And as for the revelation of the truth … I choose to follow the path of secrecy on that regard at my own peril. But never mind me, prince. All I want to know now is if we have terms.’

As the child prince pondered the Viktar’s proposal, Bara’s restructuring was finally complete, the pink-skinned beauty looking at the two herkleri and her teacher with confusion. After what felt like an infinite span of tension-filled silence, the boy finally spoke.

‘We have terms for now, “servant of Order”. We shall fight side by side to free this city.’

The leader of the herkleri then looked at his guardian, as if already knowing he was going to speak against his decision.

‘And you will protest against this no longer, Os. That is an order from your prince.’

While clearly being highly displeased, the old-crown didn’t further question his liege’s command.

‘Yes, my prince.’

The group of rebels who had rescued and freed the almeya nobles now came to their prince, Tiar noticing the harpies around had united and were pushing back the herkleri and any other creature on the plaza that resisted them.

‘We can no longer hold them, my prince! Not without more support from the locals! What are your orders?!’

‘Not to worry, men. Our counterattack beings now. Isn’t that right, Arit?’

As the reluctant allies looked at the other once again, Bara intervened before Tiar could answer, but with a question instead of confirmation.

‘What is happening here exactly?’

The young woman’s teacher answered her as he charged at the Chaos Harpies first, a smile exuding confidence having formed on his face while he picked up the almeya to throw on his shoulders in a fashion similar to the prince and his guardian.

‘Prepare yourself, Bara! It’s time for your first lesson in using magic!!!’

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