Shadows in the Sky (Open to Midnight members and Aurelans)

Stars and moonlight shone down on the worn dirt road, casting sharp shadows that each seemed to have a secret to hide. A single mounted figure rode down the path, disrupting the eerie silence of the night. The rider's head was tilted upwards, face largely hidden by long hair and a hood. Eyes almost as dark as the night sky sparkled in the dim light as they scanned the heavens.

The stars were one of the few things that brought Sundavar calm. She had entertained the thought more than once of fleeing the cities for good, trying to make a life for herself peacefully in the wilderness just so she could see the clearly at night, but she knew she never could. She was a thief and a murderer, it was too hard to simply leave behind a past like that. The only reason she was travelling between cities at all was that she had been given a job offer. Well, "offer" wasn't exactly the right word; it had been let slip that a certain task ma benefit from the services of Umbra, and that information had found it's way to her through contacts who had no idea of her identity. The suggested gold was good enough to make her journey worthwhile, however.

Presently though, her sharp eyes picked out something unusual in the spread of lights above her. A dark spot, seeming to glow somehow, noticable because of the absence of light. She reigned in the horse, coming to a stop to let her get a better look at it. Something about it struck a chord with her- she had never been a superstitious person but something about that sight just made her want to run and hide. At first she thought she was imagining things but as she watched...her eyes widened. She had been correct.It was indeed getting larger...closer.

A primal sense of panic filling her, she flicked the reigns once more and held on as the horse lurched into a gallop. She had bought the animal as a foal and trained it to be the best damn horse in Aurela, and it was well used to making daring escapes with her. Of course, they were usually escaping from pursuing guards, not errant cosmic anomalies. She didn't even know why she wanted to flee, even if the thing really was coming closer what hope in hell did she have of outrunning it? Minutes passed before she worked up the courage to look back again, and almost immediately she turned away again. There was no doubt that the rock or shadow or whatever it was was getting closer. It looked like a tear in the sky surrounded by white flames.

She kept her head down, pushing the horse hard. She crested a hill, a small forest spilling out ahead of her. She paused once more, letting the horse rest. She looked over her shoulder and had to stifle a cry. The comet- for undoubtably now it was solid- was blotting out a large section of sky and clearly hurtling towards the earth, blazing white fire dancing around a jet black core. She was about to turn and run again when the pressure of it entering the atmosphere suddenly hit, and for a moment she lost track of what was happening. She heard a bang, then was thrown to the ground as her horse reared and went sprinting off through the trees. Instinctively she rolled and landed in a crouch, looking back just in time to see the object roar past and crash into the trees a mile or two ahead. Even so, she still felt the impact shaking through the ground.

She stood slowly, shaking. She had no idea what the hell had just happened, and despite every scrap of sense yelling at her to flee, she was determined to find out. She set off at a sprint, heading towards the crash sight and occasionally pausing to whistle, hoping her horse would return before she reached it. Whatever the reason, she didn't want to face it alone.

The area around the impact side was on fire, though the damage was surprisingly limited, as if the comet had slowed before impact. The sky around it seemed far, far darker than usual, and a sense of dread seemed to fill the air, nearby animals scattering in panic from the crash.

A ball of dark energy seemed to hover in the middle of the crater. It was slowly shrinking, reducing itself until it began to take on a humanoid form. Two feet clamped into the ground, the almost molten ground cracking around them. A pair of glowing red eyes flickered open, scanning this new landscape.

Find it Makael. Find the book!

The worlds compelled him to do their bidding, and he began to walk toward the edge of the crater, holding out his arm as a massive greatsword was born into being from the void, grasping it firmly with his fingers. He rested it over his shoulder as he looked to the horizon, spotting a shadow moving toward him.

Sunny swore under her breath as she ducked through the branches, the stream of profanities serving to calm her somewhat. She could feel the air growing drier and knew the impact must have started fires ahead, yet something about the air felt oddly cool. It wasn't that the temperature itself was low, there was just a...a feeling in the air. A feeling that was creeping her the fuck out.

What the hell was she even thinking? She always tried to avoid dealing with anything magical, she lacked the abilities needed to counter it, yet here she was running straight at something obviously supernatural. Three times so far she had narrowly avoided tripping over fleeing wildlife, surely that alone was one massive tip off that she should be running the hell away? She held a knife in her left hand by this point, needing the other free to move the occasional branch aside. Something was drawing her closer and she knew she wouldn't be satisfied until she knew what was going on. Curiosity always had been a weakness...

She dropped to a crouch as she neared the clearing, somewhat surprised by the relative lack of fiery destruction. It seemed almost calm, like the eye of a storm. She resisted the urge to gasp at the unnatural figure at the heart of the clearing and instead crouched, still and silent, simply observing. She didn't know who or what the person was but she knew she didn't want to be on the wrong end of that sword.

As he emerged from the crater, the shadowy figure looked around again, taking in a view of this new world. He had been brought here by his masters bidding, so perhaps they had finally tracked down their lost quarry?

He had noticed the shadowy figure disappear, and was about to move toward where he last saw it before he was distracted by the sight of more shadows advancing on the crater, faster than the others. Seemed like natives, perhaps scavengers, coming to see if there was anything worth taking from the crash. He stopped walking, looking in their direction, their movement speed clearly slowing as they noticed him.

He looked what he assumed was their leader in the eye, beginning to advance toward them, sword still over shoulder. They all fell into defensive poses, looking clearly panicked. Seemed to be armed with pickaxes and crossbows, obviously not professionals.

"The book. Tell me where it is and I shall kill you swiftly and without pain."

The men, now clearly in a state of blind panic, scattered, most of them dropping their weapons. Makael's eyes glowed brighter as rage filled his mind. Almost at once he charged them, impaling their leader through the gut with his sword, holding his corpse high into the air.

"I have no time or patience for cowards!"

The splattered corpse of the scavenger fell to the ground, as he was already upon his next victim, tearing out his throat with a bare fist, before slamming it into the man next to him, smashing a hole through his head. Only three left now, and they were screaming in terror as they vainly attempted to flee from the monster. A swipe of his sword tore the first cleanly in half through the middle, both sides collapsing in a bloody heap, while the second received a downward stroke, severing the top left side of his body.

The last he chose to savor, grabbing the fool by the scruff of his collar and holding him up to his face. The man wet himself, the fluid tricking down his leg and onto Makael's boots, which made him rear slightly in disgust. The man with a trembling hand, held his crossbow to Mak's head.

Go ahead. it'll do you no good."

The man pulled the trigger just as Makael rammed his sword right into his brain. The two fell, a crossbow bolt protruding from Mak's head. The scavenger was clearly dead, the sword still protruding from his head, but the Dark warrior seemed lifeless as well...

The unfortunate woman's eye were locked on the scenes of murder before her, unable to bring herself to look away or run. She was accustomed to violence and had to deal with death everyday, hell she killed for a living. But this was different, it was fucking slaughter. They may as well have been children trying to fight off an orc raiding party, but even that seemed like a fairer fight than this.

She was about to cut her losses and make a desperate run for it when she saw the crossbow being pushed against the thing's head. She froze a second longer, watching the bold embed itself in it's skull. She let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding but remained crouched a few moments longer, instinct making her wait until she was sure the danger was gone.

She rose slowly, eyes darting about for any sign of further danger before she moved into the clearing. She approached the body of the being and carefully nudged it with her boot, ready to spring back and run if it so much as twitched.

Almost in an instant his eyes snapped open, and he rose to his feet, looking down on the woman who had been nudging him, before grabbing her by the collar and holding her up to his face. He hesitated for a moment, before wrapping a hand around her neck and starting to tighten it around her throat, slowly strangling her.

"I'm looking for a book. Tell me where it is, and I'll make it quick."

He took a better look at her face, his expression changing all the sudden to one of surprise and horror. That face... He'd seen it before! But... where? He couldn't bring himself to kill this one. She didn't deserve it. He dropped her to the ground, holding his head as he felt the punishment of his master shock his body. His master was clearly enraged, as he rarely disobeyed.

You fool... Kill her! Kill her now! DO AS I COMMAND!

Makael slammed his sword into the ground, doing his best to ignore the pain. He looked up at the woman, wracked by both the pain and an unexplained guilt, before sinking to his knees, pounding the ground with his fists, cracking the earth. His eyes glowed brightly, full of self loathing.

"NO! I WON'T... I WON'T!"

His master, clearly realizing it wasn't going to work, allowed the pain to subside, leaving him in silence as he knelt on the ground, in front of what would no doubt be a terrified stranger. The glow in his eyes dulled, and perhaps for the first time in a long time, there was a clear expression of sadness on his face. Problem was, he didn't know why...

A moment of calm seemed to settle over her as his hand tightened around her neck, the certainty that she was about to die oddly removing her fear. She managed to lift her head enough to stare into his glowing eyes, her hood falling to reveal her face properly for the first time as she uttered a strangled "F-fuck you!"

An instant later she found herself hitting the ground again. She gasped for breath and spun round to look up at her attacker, who now seemed to be going through some sort of fit. The calm from before instantly evaporated as survival instinct kicked in and she backpeddled furiously across the clearing, never taking her eyes off of the monster before her. Scrambling to her feet and frantically drawing another dagger, she continued to back away but couldn't bring herself to look away and run.
"What the fuck are you?!"

Makael shook his head, seemingly devoid of emotion now, looking at the threatened woman in front of him. The ground around his sword was cracked with a creepy white glow. He picked it up, resting it over his shoulder as he got back to his feet.

"I wish I knew."

A noise caused Makael to look to the west, where a number of lights were flickering, and angry shouts could be heard. The sound of thundering hooves drowned out the noise as one shout rose above the west.

"This way! I saw the bitch go this way! Lets string 'er up!"

What was now clearly a column of riders surged down the hillside, rumbling toward the crater with weapons drawn. Makael looked at the mob a few times, then back to Sunny a few times. It was easy to put two and two together.

"Friends of yours?"

Not really knowing what to think at this point, she kept her weapons drawn, twirling them in her hands. A nervous tick of hers. Reguardless of wether or not he was a threat now, this being whatever it was had slaughtered without difficulty or mercy, so the last thing she was going to do was let her guard down. Still, the sound of hooves brought her back to reality. Her eyes darted about to quickly to follow, jumping from Makael, to the approaching mob, to around the clearing for hiding spots. She couldn't be sure who the riders were but it was a fairly safe bet the didn't want a chat with her over tea and biscuits.

She swore under her breath, knowing she had no hope of fleeing without her horse and finding nowhere she would feel comfortable hiding. She could always climb a tree but then, that seemed like the sort of thing they would be expecting. Besides, chances were they could already make out the figures in the clearing. After a tense moment she reached a decision, stowing her knives in her jacket.
"Look I don't know who you are or what you're deal is, but if we're at least on speaking terms then do me a favor and keep the buggers occupied for a minute."

With that she turned and scrambled up the nearest tree with a grace that suggested she was rather too used to situations like this. The tree was large enough to have branches that would support her and provided some cover, plus she reckoned she'd be able to jump between a few of the branches. She crept along one of them, settling into a crouch and once more drawing a pair of knives, ready to throw them the second one of the riders came into sight.

Makael sighed, keeping his sword over his shoulder as he faced down the approaching armed men as the girl hid. If she were anyone else... it'd just be another dead coward. But he couldn't kill this one. He couldn't. The men stopped just short of the craters edge, dismounting their horses and pacing casually toward Makael.

"HEY! BUDDY! YOU HAVE SOMETHING OF MINE!"

Not even moving a muscle, Makael's face remained grim. [color]"I find that unlikely."[/color]

The group of men were not impressed by his stern and uncompromising reply. [color:6d3d=dark red]"GET A LOAD OF THIS IDIOT! THINKING HE SCARES ME! ME, THE BARON OF THE SOUTH COAST!"

Makael clearly did not give a flying fuck. He stood his ground, in front of the tree, between the men and Sunny. The dull glow of his eyes increased in luminosity a little. The gang leader walked closer, flanked by four of his brutes. All with Crossbows and Shortswords.

"All the action that goes on in all the villages, the towns, the ports around here... they get it from me. Drugs, sex, all the good things in life. From me you hear! That bitch you are protecting stole from me... and she's gonna pay for it!"

He looked up at the tree, raising his voice again. "I know you're up there you bitch! Don't think I didn't see you scramble up there! When we get you down, we're gonna fuck every hole in your body and slit your throat! You'll be begging for mercy before the e-"

He was cut short as Makael wrapped his hand around the mans neck, lifting him off the ground and snapping his spine in one move. His limp body fell to the ground as Makael looked at the dead guys posse, his eyes burning bright red now.

"You have walked into your own death. Stay and die, or flee and die. The choice is yours. But rest assured, you die here. And now."

To Mak's surprise and pleasantly, the posse charged at him with their Shortswords, hacking at his flesh. In a few strokes, they had severed one of his arms... which almost as swiftly was drawn back into place by dark energies surrounding the wounds. In mere seconds he was totally unharmed, and almost grinning as he swung his Greatsword in a wide arc, ripping four of them in half in one go, their upper bodies crashing to the ground before their legs collapsed. The ground was now stained with their blood, as the others charged in desperately.

The first had a sword thrust through his face, before being swung in an upward direction, sending his brains scattering to the winds. The second was cleaved in two from the shoulder to the torso, dead before he even hit the ground. The third parried a few blows, much to Makael's delight. But a harder stroke split his blade in two, the shards flying into his eyes and blinding him. He fell to his knees, clutching his face. Makael was impressed with this one, giving the screaming man a swift death by beheading. The last one took a look at his comrades... and put his own sword to his neck, slitting his throat in one clean slice. He collapsed to the floor, his blood pooling around his corpse.

Makael wiped his sword off on one of the corpses, before resting it over his shoulder again. His armour and face were splattered with blood. He looked up to the tree.

"They are dead. You can stop hiding now."

Sunny simply stared, open mouthed. She hadn't even had the chance to throw her blades, the fight had been over so quickly. After a moment's hesitation she slipped down from the branch, landing in a crouch with her knives still drawn. She stood staring at the figure, at this point having no idea what to make of him. She glanced briefly at the corpse of the group's leader, her lips curling in disgust. "That bastard's been chasing me for monthes...wouldn't have been a problem if my damn horse hadn't bolted. Guy's been pissed at me ever since I turned his favourite whore into a lesbian. Of course he was probably pretty annoyed at the gold theft too, but.."

She trailed off, the charismatic grin on her face faltering as she once again realised her situation. Not that talking her way into trouble as much as out of it was something new for her but then normally she didn't engage in casual discussion with supernatural murderous horrors. When she turned back, the humour had left her face and her stance was once again guarded.
"You could kill me with a fucking blink. Why protect me? Shit, why listen to me talk and not kill me right here?"
She began to approach him slowly not entirely sure herself where this sudden burst of confidence was coming from, but she was sure she had hit on something important. "Why fucking care?"

Makael holstered his weapon into the massive sheath over his back, seemingly unfazed by her questions. Almost at once he began to walk away from her, not even uttering a word for a few moments. Then he stopped, turning to look at her.

"When I figure that out, i'll tell you. I have work to do for now."

His masters voice sounded in his head once more.

You disappoint me with such idiotic mercy... but this one may yet be of use. Bring her along with you. Her knowledge of this land will be a boon to our search for the tome. But Makael... fail to kill when I command you to again, and you shall never have your past back... am I clear?"

Makael closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a deep sigh. But he obeyed. Turning back to the woman, he walked right up to her and looked her in the face.

"You will accompany me. This is not a request."

She stared, dumbfounded as he walked off, disbelief turning to annoyance when he ordered her to follow. "Wait, what? Like hell I will! I don't even know you! All I know is you're a murdering psychopath who-" She paused, her eyes darting to the corpses dotted around the clearing. She shifted a little then grimaced when she realised her boots were sinking into bloody mud. "...murdering psycho who probably saved my life. Guess that's irony for you..."

She sighed deeply then shrugged, gathering up her weapons and starting to trudge after him, lifting her hood to hide her expression. "Fuck it. I suppose life is prefferable. I'm not leaving without my horse though." She raised her fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle before going back to swearing under her breath, folding her arms as she watched for the animal.

Fortunately by this time it had calmed down a little and approached after a minute or so. It was clearly spooked by the stranger though, and she had to coax it into moving, just guiding it by hand for now. "So, you got any plans on where to go or are you just gonna wander aimlessly until you find another village to burn?"

"My plan... is that i'm looking for something. And you will help me find it."

He continued his brisk pace, not even looking at the Horse. The blood on his armor was mostly dry now, though it started to rain, washing off the rest of the blood slowly. The rain trickled onto his head and ran down his face, though not even making him blink. A flash of lightning lit his face up properly for the first time, he looked like any other human really, expect for the eyes. And his expression was blank, as it had been since he arrived.

This woman would come in useful. Able to seek information without raising suspicion of Makael's presence, able to direct him to the right places, and above all, give him a voice to listen to that wasn't his masters endlessly droning on about power and his locked memories. His head tilted slightly, catching a glimpse of Sunny with his peripherals.

"Books... where do your kind keep their books? I am looking for one... a special one."

Water spilled over Sunny's heavy coat and hood and she shivered, though not from the cold. Something about the guy just creeped her the hell out. The eyes didn't help...sure she had dealt with magic types before, elves in particular seemed fascinated with using it to change their appearance, but why the hell would you make them as damn evil looking as that? And why would someone looking for a bloody book murder a bunch of innocent villagers? She had met some pretty driven thieves and merc in her time but that was taking it a bit far. Then the whole arriving in a meteor thing...she needed to stop thinking about things.

"Book huh? Well I'm not exactly a librarian but I do have a talent for hunting down valuables..." She paused for a moment, thinking to herself. "I was heading for a city not too far away, got something I need to do there. I know there's a pretty old library there, don't know if that might help you. I know a few people who're good at tracking stuff down too, if you've got a description. Does sort of hinge on you not trying to murder everyone you see though." She glanced at him again, doing her best to think of the situation as just another job. "So, you got a name or do I just call you Big Guy With the Sword?"

He kept his eyes on the journey ahead, but indicated to her to lead the way.

"You may call me Makael. It is... as far as I know, my name."

He would now proceed to follow her, though he was considering her request to not butcher everyone he came across. His masters directive was clear. All who got in the way must be destroyed. No exceptions. Clearly his master was listening in, because his voice sounded in his head once more.

Do as she asks, for now,only kill those who try to stop us. Discretion is... likely our best option right now. Find this library she mentioned Makael, and find the tome.

Makael sighed, looking at Sunny. He gave a short nod, before looking ahead once more.

"Very well. I shall avoid conflict until it is needed."

Sunny nodded a little, falling silent for a moment. She did consider giving him her alias instead of her name, but then what good would that do? Besides, he had already seen her face. Eventually she shrugged a little to herself and said "I'l keep that in mind. Call me Sunny, just don't shout it out too loud." She subconsciously flashed him one of her winning grins. She led the way, eventually heading back to the dirt road she had been following before. It was more risky, but it would be faster and she was guiding a one-man killing machine so she figured they would be alright.

The sun was rising when they finally reached the city in question, casting a bloody red hue on the sky. The centre of the city was build up on a hill with clustered stone buildings giving it the look of a citadel. That section was protected from the rest of the sprawling slums by a wall, dotted with towers. They were already starting to pass the odd hut and farm building when Sunny muttered to Makael "You might want to pull up a hood or something. Glowy red eyes aren't exactly inconspicuous."

Makael shook his head, his eyes dimming until they seemed brown in appearance. He looked toward the city, already sensing the mass of life within, almost overwhelming his masters urge to kill already. But he kept himself under control.

"My eyesight is... diminished. But I see well enough. I shall try to... as you put it, blend in. Now direct me to the place where you keep your books."

Almost at once he was striding toward the city, Looking human for the most part. He would likely blend in well, at least for now. The main guards were covered by two guards, each with a spear. They looked the no-nonsense type, and would likely give them a careful check before allowing access.

Makael gave each of them a short glare, but was for the most part, completely calm as they looked the pair over.

"HALT! State yer business in the city!"

Sunny appeared completely unphased by the guards, simply reaching into one of the many pockets hidden inside her jacket and fumbling for something. "Morning gents. Not up to anything sinister I assure you, I'm just a courier. This here's my bodyguard." Her tone remained completely even as she spoke, suggesting that lying was second nature to her. A moment later she pulled out a slightly dog-eared note, handing it to the guard to inspect. "As you can see, everything's in order."

The guard barely even glanced at the note, spending a brief moment scrutinizing the ink seal at the bottom before handing it back. "A'right, in you go. Just make sure the big'un don't cause any trouble." Sunny simply nodded, flashing one of her wining smiles as she tucked the note away before proceeding down the now clear path. She waited until they were out of earshot before glancing back and muttering "And this is why forgery is so fuckin' easy. Poor bastard couldn't even read. It's annoying really, I put in all that effort and nobody bloody notices..."

She shook her head before stopping and turning to Makael, suddenly feeling oddly torn; one one hand she wanted to get as far away from this man as possible and back to her normal life, but on the other...she wasn't sure. There was something damn strange about him. "Alright...look, I've got some business to attend to here. The library's next to the cathedral at the top of the main street you can't miss it" she gestured along a crowded main road that looked to be about a mile long, that ended in a grand looking stone building. "If you're gonna find you're book anywhere, it'll be there." She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted any further contact with him. "....there's a tavern on the corner just over there, I forget the name but it's the one with the Orc skull mounted over the door. If you need any more help, I'l be there later." There. Giving him a meeting spot couldn't hurt, could it? She could always bail later if she wanted to.

Makael was almost impressed by her trickery of the guards, looking back at them as they passed. Most of the people passing them looked at him with hidden fear, clearly terrified of this bulky stranger with his massive sword. Didn't bother Makael much though. If not for Sunny's request and his masters orders, they would be corpses already.

As she explained her plan to meet him at the tavern later, Makael nodded in agreement. "A sound proposal. Very well, I shall go and seek my book, and I will find you if I do not locate what I seek. If I find the tome, we shall not meet again."

As they parted ways, Makael made his way toward the Library, which stood out from the other buildings. Well, apart from the Cathedral. He pondered checking the Cathedral after, due to the fact it would likely have its own depository of ancient of forbidden texts. He pushed the massive wooden doors open, the Library attendants turning to see who had entered this usually quiet and empty building. Given that most of the city-folk couldn't even read, only the elite would usually visit this place.

Remember Makael, stay civil. For now. If we startle the mortals before we find the tome, they may try to destroy it.

Makael spoke in a low voice, with a blank tone. "Where do you keep your ancient tomes? I seek their knowledge."

The head librarians voice trembled, his fear from this stranger clear. But he helped anyway, anything to get the man to leave him alone. "...A...At the back, the rear wall where the study desks are located,,,, if you would like one of our attendants to show you..."

"No. I can handle myself."

As he began to walk away, one of the more naive attendants called after him. "Please be aware that the library closes in 30 minutes! Don't be too long."

Makael completely ignored him, walking to the back of the library and beginning to search through the tomes, pulling them out to check, before tossing them over his shoulder like rubbish.

Subtle Makael... very subtle... Ugh... just be quick about it! Now you've startled them we won't have much time.

The head librarian watched in horror, signalling to one of his attendants. "...Please get the city guard. I think this one is going to be more than we can handle."

A couple of hours later, Sundavar sat hunched over the bar of the tavern she had mentioned with a glass of whiskey in her hand. The job had been piss easy, not really worthy of her attention but then gold was gold, she wasn't one of those stuck up assassins who followed a strict code or something. She was beginning to wish she had a better ranged weapon though, throwing knives were effective and she was deadly accurate, but it was still hard to hit targets at long range with them. If she had a crossbow or something she could have made the kill at a much safer distance, but both them and conventional bows were too bulky for her liking...

her train of thought was interrupted as her honed survival instincts detected the clattering of armour outside. She glanced over her shoulder, squinting out a window in time to see a group of guards charging up the street. "Oh fuck no..." She sighed heavily and downed her drink, hurrying out of the establishment and starting to sprint towards the library. Somehow she just knew her companion was causing his own unique kind of trouble. That didn't quiet explain to her satisfaction why she was running towards him instead of away, but well, she supposed she liked living dangerously.

The trail of guards corpses led from the entrance to the back of the Library, where Makael was still tossing books left and right. Several had been simply run through, others decapitated. The head Librarian himself had met an ironic end, his mouth stuffed full of books. More guards would run in occasionally, and the same deathly screams would fill the air. The other guards chose to be cautious, forming a cordon outside the Library while they sent runners for the town garrison.

A crowd had gathered from the commotion, and the city guard were desperately trying to disperse them. "Please, for your own safety, return to your homes and lock the doors!"

Another guard flew through the library doors at high speed, slamming into a house opposite, his blood splattering everywhere, onto the houses and the onlookers. In a panic, the crowd fled, screaming, most heading for the city gates. Some of the city guard lost their nerve, they too fleeing in blind panic. The march of the local garrison could be heard approaching though, the thunderous clatter of heavy steel and the sound of multiple swords being drawn from their sheaths.

In perfect and disciplined order, they marched in a box formation into the library. It seemed quiet for a few moments, before shouting could be heard, demands to surrender and come quietly, or be cut down. There was more silence for a little longer, followed by the clashing of heavy steel, but not for long. These noises were quickly replaced by screams, cries of pain and gurgling, as Makael began to make short work of them. One was hit with such force that his limbless torso blasted out of the roof, the debris scattering on what onlookers remained below. One unfortunate individual was skewered by a plank, right through the eye, killing him almost instantly.

The Library floor, the pavement outside, hell, the walls of the church were now coated in thick layers of blood. Almost everyone remaining had fled, or was crouched in a corner, soiling themselves. Makael disregarded all of this, returning to his search, checking book titles before tossing them away.

A pity... Burn this city to the ground when you are finished Makael, we shall leave no trace we were here. The locals will blame it on bandits or some rogue warlord.

It was a relatively simple matter to sneak past the remaining guards, Makael's antics having thrown them so completely into disarray. Still, she did find herself stopping several times as she climbed over corpses and splashed through blood, asking herself just what the fuck she thought she was doing by actually going towards this thing. What exactly was she hoping to achieve? Just because he hadn't killed her yet meant she had some sort of hold over him?

No, she eventually figured, I just feel responsible for him. For some reason. She swore violently under her breath right up until she finally entered the library, where the sheer mass of dead bodies caused the words to choke in her throat. Sure, she was pretty much a murderer, but she killed bad guys for the most part. Certainly not entire garrisons of trained soldiers. She shook her head and eventually just cried out "...the FUCK?!" , those two words somehow conveying everything she felt at that moment. She turned and stared at Makael, drenched in blood and still tossing books around, as though expecting at any moment to wake up screaming from a bizarre nightmare.

It is not here. I would have sensed it by now. We are done here, Makael. Have the girl find us another library.

Responding to his masters command, Makael dropped the remaining books to the ground, most now a large pile in the middle of the room. He took a candle from the wall, hurling it onto the books before blasting the weak flame with energy from his Greatsword, causing the fire to turn instantly into a raging inferno. He turned, not even waiting for Sunny's permission, grabbing hold of her and hurling her over his shoulder as he carried her out.

"The fire will consume the city. It is time for us to leave."

He didn't even run, just calmly walked out of the city as the fire spread to the surrounding buildings, as if it had a mind of its own. Explosions began to ring around them, debris showering the ground behind them. Makael was not hit by any of it, nor the fire, and Sunny remained safe on his shoulder. The flames grew larger and loud, the roar almost deafening as house and shop alike were consumed in what seemed like hell fire.

The great city gate collapsed behind them as they left, the outer walls crumbling and caving in not soon after. The screams of those still in the city were sometimes heard above the flame, but quickly silenced as they burned to death. The fires leaped high into the air, probably visible for miles around, and it would be a matter of time before the nearby settlements sent their own garrisons to investigate. But it would be too late. Makael and Sunny would be long gone.

Without a single thought or shred of regret, Makael had just caused the deaths of at least 1,200 people.

He set Sunny down on a hillside overlooking the city from a distance, the orange flames almost making it seem like daylight in the bitter night sky. He sat on a rock, looking down at the city as he muttered to Sunny.

"Sleep now. Your mortal mind must be fit to guide me to more books."

To her credit, Sunny did try to move to grab the candle while she still could, but fast as she was, she was still only mortal. An instant later she found herself flung over Makael's shoulder as the small fire quickly grew. For a moment she was too stunned to react, but she quickly regained enough of her senses to struggle in his grip. "The fuck- let GO! What did you just DO?!" Of course, she had no hope of getting anywhere, but she felt like she had to do something amid the chaos rapidly unfolding around her.

The fight slowly drained out of her though. As they left, she could only stare at the destruction her companion had caused. She had seen some horrible things over the course of her life but never so many innocent people slaughtered so casually. The worst art was she couldn't help feeling responsible in some way- after all, she had brought Makael here.

She didn't resist when she was dumped to the ground, sitting motionless and limp as she stared at the smoking remains of the city. She shook her head slowly, turning her head to stare at the man who had caused it. "Why...why the fuck do that! Those people wouldn't have done a damn thing to you!" Before she knew what she was doing she was on her feet, a knife in each hand as she marched towards Makael. For an instant, rage was overpowering survival. "What the hell is so fucking important that you need to kill every bloody person who crosses your path!" She moved to strike him with the weapon in her left hand, knowing in her heart that it was futile but no longer caring. "And why in the name of the gods rescue me?!"