there is a reason that I did not want to escape to the empire from the beginning. I had thought of it before, but with it being too risky to travel that much distance with the barrier about to collapse any second, and to be honest I don't want to be in the empire yet.
I am meant to be the monster of course and it is not a very pleasant feeling. to explain what it is that I will do, I have to tell a story, the story of the monster.
many years ago, during the time of the first emperor, there was a civil war much like this one. nobody remembers the exact reason for which it had happened, just that it did. many think that it is the reason we have such strong rules to deal with civil war. the only reason that it stopped was due to the monster. that is not his or her actual name but a name given to him (or her) due to the brutality of the murders committed. people from both sides were killed, their heads ripped apart from their necks. the monster killed so many people from either side that they stopped the civil war to deal with him(or her). the monster managed to kill seventy-two people from each side, each holding a class seven power at the very least and holding a key position on either side. he or she was never caught. from then on, there have been many people mimicking such kind of brutal tactics to stop a civil war. otherwise, the throne and the nobles are always fighting. there is a string of monsters that can be tracked from the first emperor to now. there is even an army called the monster's servants, whose job is to make sure that the military does not have any infighting. you think otherwise these general commanders would be so passive when literally any organisation that has people from the throne or the nobles is fighting. thankfully the army is still peaceful. do you think that those battle junkies from other races will leave any excuse to fight?
anyway, now is not the time for me to worry immediately about all this. once we escaped the city of madness, we were still in totemic territory and I didn't have the strength to deal with the totems. these last few weeks have been exhausting. right now, both phantom snow and bloody mage are following me. phantom snow, most likely will leave in a couple of days and so will bloody mage. Phantom snow is still a mystery. I wonder who his master is, but that is not my worry at the very least. as for bloody mage, if his identity was revealed, there would be another civil war. he is better of in the forests, where he shall be returning soon, though the nature alliance won't allow him there. it really is the wrong time for the bloody mage to appear. maybe he is better of with me.
as for me, I shall be going to the frozen wind farm. it is a small village high up in the mountains and the place where the emperor has a secret base. it shall have the weapons that I can use to kill and more importantly, the list of people I need to kill. these are names picked by the third emperor to kill on either side that will have the most impact. I am not supposed to cripple the empire, just shock it enough to make them stop fighting among each other. I think only the third emperor can achieve such kind of a tactic. though if the throne were to be losing, then he would not be interfering. I am telling you that without him, that this civil war would not have lasted so long without him.
anyway, It is not my place to worry about all
of this, I have my own headaches to deal with and this is not helping. I understand why the third emperor is so worried, the old gods are hard enemies to beat. it took an alliance of multiple species to beat them the first time. just look at us and see how chaotic it is in the humans. the other species are the same, though humans are the worst in that matter. it is not time for me to think too deeply on this matter.
for now, I just want to rest, if possible sleep. well, before sleeping I do have something to do. I need to give respect to the fallen soldiers. it is a habit of mine. while I did not know the soldiers that well, I will still do it. I will not be able to sleep if I do not give them proper respect.
me - little kids, help me to dig a pit in the ground will you?
the kids are clearly not willing. we have been traveling a lot of distance. we have been traveling for the last couple of weeks.
me - just do it, it won't take long.
with that, I gave the kids the duty of digging the ground. they are doing their work with a lot of complaints. as for me, I need to find a plant. every time that I need to make a grave to respect fallen soldiers, I always plant the sapling of a soul song tree to respect them. it is a common plant, something that you can find anywhere in this world. it only has a very grand name. the tree has very weak magic imbued to it. whenever wind passes through it, a crystal song can be heard from it. that is why it is a favourite of the nature alliance.
after searching for a very long time, I finally found it. the sapling of a soul song tree. by the time that I found it, the kids had managed to dig a decently sized hole.
me - rest up for now, okay. wake up a bit early tomorrow morning.
saying so we went to sleep, quite peacefully, I must say. as a soldier, such kind of sleep is rare for me. though, my bed is not with me. in our hurry to leave the city, I left my tent in the city. my nice comfortable house has been lost. another loss I guess.
(the next day)
me - under the song of the seven great trees, I bring thine to sleep. under the tree of soul song, ...
like that I kept chanting for some time. the nature alliance does have a lot of rituals. regardless, it is the only style of funeral that I know which doesn't need the bodies of the dead. it also happens to be the most wordy. the kids woke up sometime after I started. they found it quite weird that I am holding a funeral. that is the nature of war. the city of madness was destroyed. every soldier that fought for it has been killed. there is nobody other than me that can hold a funeral for them. at the very least they shall have a grave. it is a luxury most warriors don't get. most of us are thrown in piles or worse of eaten on the battlefield.it is something that is not in my fate, too. someone with my ability shall be converted into a weapon. my bones shall be made into knives, my flesh medicine. it has already been done many times, though it was with my original body. now if that were to happen now I will definitely die. my soul just needs some time to adapt to my new body and my old immortality shall return.
anyway, complaining aside, I finally complete the ritual and began to pour mud into the ground. I plant the sapling and close the pit that the two kids made.
me - thanks, bloody mage, for helping me like this. you can leave us now, phantom snow. this is empire territory from here. you can return to your master now.
(the two kids are eating their breakfast. some kind of a rabbit roasted. )
phantom snow - yes, I will leave in a while. I have to leave in a couple of days.
bloody mage - what about me. should I be returning to the forest.
me - you will stick with me. the nature alliance won't allow you into the forest and you will destroy the empire if you were to go now and make yourself popular now. the empire doesn't need another reason to fuel a civil war and you will cause quite some mess. anyway, with your powers you need to be taught how to keep your self-control.
like that we have travelled for another couple of weeks, on foot this time to the village.
as promised, phantom snow left after two days, leaving me with a lot of questions. not anybody can acquire a book just like that. thankfully he doesn't seem to be a local. the village I am going to is quite popular among the emperors. anyway, I have long learned not to be too curious about anything related to the books. most of them have deadly masters.
anyway, I can see the effect of the civil war on the people. the region surrounding the capital city always was underdeveloped, mainly due to the terrain of this region with very few large-sized cities. now the number of these cities has decreased even more, most likely destroyed by the people that built them.
me - so little kid, how are your studies.
bloody mage - well, I can't really say I have learned much in the recent days. I did not have the time to learn much. I did learn a couple of blood spells, but there are too many spells in the third page. by the way, I have been reading the fourth page and I can understand some parts of it. should I try and execute them.
me - the third page has seventy-two spells, most of them are basic spells. you need to have a mastery of these spells or you can't really achieve much with the fourth page. how many have you learned?
bloody mage - I have learned about seven, the eighth is the blood vapourization spell. I just can't get a hang of it.
me - I am not worried. we might be at war, but we are not in immediate danger. you need to be very good at these seventy-two spells. these spells will allow you to keep your sanity in the later levels and an insane bloody mage is something I don't want to see again. no matter what happens don't check out the content of the fourth page without completely mastering the third page.
bloody mage - okay, I won't open the fourth page again.
I must say this brat is getting ruder with the day. then again what can be expected from the bloody mages. power and impulsiveness are never are a very good combination and the bloody mage will not ever lack in both. in a way, killing him would be the safest option, but I have many reasons not to do so.
after reaching the village. it is a small place, with a dozen or so houses. to anybody outside it would seem like a mere farming village, one of the many trying to farm the tough lands of this place. In some way, I respect the people trying to change their lives in this place.
at the inn, or more accurately the entrance to the emperor's base. this inn is a special place. every room in this place has a tunnel, reaching down into a base deep in the ground. I don't think there is an emperor as sneaky as the third emperor. well, having the ability to see everything going on in the empire will be quite useful for such kind of things.