Reed stood still, looking at the map of the world he'd never known of, the Hidden World they called it. To him, it was just a dream he had no time to bother with.
Many things were more important to him at the moment. He would not falter in forgetting them, he would not forget the hidden love he had for Linette, the tight friendship he built with Geraint.
All Reed could do was hope, and Penburn's dreams were just a bump in the road for him, an hourglass waiting to be drained.
"If this means," Reed said to Penburn as Rhewl watched in silence, "if this means I can find my friends if helping you will assist me in this dusted hells of an endeavor, then I'm in."
"Penburn told me a bit of your situation, Reed," Rhewl voiced, "you say this person you were with..." And he stopped, obviously trying not to assume the possible fatality of Linette. "was in the unfortunate event you were in."
Reed nodded, remembering what could be, remembering holding Linette's still hand for the last time.
"If that's the case," Rhewl continued, "then the Profaner that took your heart possibly had something to do with that other person. But this is all speculation."
"Penburn." Reed called to him, "How does one attract their own Profaner?"
Penburn looked at Rhewl and back at Reed, wondering for a second before giving him an unfortunate answer.
"I'm not sure. They just approach you when they need to present their courtesy."
"I see," Reed muttered.
Penburn picked up a thin stick of chalk and traced some parts of the map in Mozlyn. He dotted a path around a few pointed marks and through a haze of dark hue and stopped at the symbol of a box.
"This is the path to Mor'Nair," he said, "the safest one at least. Reed, for a while now, we've planned on finding some antidote for Zemizel, and since there are some rumors of Mor'Nair possibly having one, then my current goal is to bring Zemizel back to who he was."
"You told me it's death to those who get near, those not of their kind?"
"Kingdom devils lurk all through Vastilence. I'm sure some of us walk their lands, too."
A noise came from above as steps started descending the ladder from the other room.
Interrupting their conversation, Tainch and the familiar face of who Reed thinks might be Maddis.
"Welcome back." Penburn greeted. "Things are moving, Maddis. Where've you been?"
Maddis looked at Reed as he waved, remembering him from the entrance of Dromair. The familiar, less disheveled, long tattered hair now running down to his shoulders rested, even darker than it already was.
"Reed right?" Maddis said as Reed nodded. "I see Furnella took good care of you bringing you to Penburn?" And Reed nodded again. "Good."
"I explained some things to him on the way here. You don't need to worry, Penburn." Tainch said.
"Anyway, since most of everyone is here, the medallion users as the least, except for those two lovebirds," Penburn said.
"Dante and Elise are on a job, Penburn," Rhewl spoke up. "You don't need to worry about them, either."
"I know, I know." He said.
"Where are the other two?" Reed asked.
"Both have infiltrated the kingdom of Gavender for the last four months," Penburn replied. "They are currently doing what their Profaners have assigned them."
"Wait!" Reed exclaimed, "Those two others have already been approached by their Profaners?"
"Dante has," Maddis answered. "Elise is accompanying him."
"What was courtesy assigned to him?"
Everyone other than Reed looked at one another as they showed grimness in their faces.
"I'll tell you about it another time. Not now." Penburn said.
"You people know others in the kingdoms?"
"Not many," Maddis voiced. "they are all, of course, Zemizel's contacts. Thus, Penburn continues playing the role of Zemizel, after letting some of them know his predicaments."
Reed nodded with the rest of the statement Maddis had told him, and he was taken aback by how much these people were accomplishing for themselves.
"To sum up," Penburn said, running a hand over his thinning hair, "our plan is this: We'll send a team to Mor'Nair to find Sevyn Jaeger. I found Jaeger's name in one of Zemizel's letters. We're hoping this Jaeger person can point us in the right direction to solve our current problem. With luck, we'll get the answers we need."
"Wait, who is this Jaeger?" Reed asked.
"Some orphan warden."
"Orphan warden," Reed repeated, wondering what kind of man he was and his relation to Zemizel.
"Listen, I'm done for now, this was just a quick explanation of things to come, and some insight into the newest member of the Hardly Hearts." Penburn gestured to Reed in awkwardness, he could tell not many had cared much for the name other than Penburn himself.
"Rhewl," Penburn continued, "Reed is similar to you in the beckoning of medallions. Please show him how best to understand it. The rest of you," and Penburn looked to Maddis and Tainch, "search the Dark Market for any underground letters from Gavender."
They all nodded and both of them left, Maddis tapping Reed's shoulder before climbing back up the ladder with Tainch. Penburn made his way out shortly after and soon it was just the two of them. Rhewl and Reed.
Rhewl walked up to the wall of weapons and snatched a short sword of some kind. He tossed it in the air and flipped it a few times before turning to Reed and throwing it at him with incredible speed.
Reed had no time to react. He just stood there as the blade rushed past his ears and pierced the back wall before clanking to the ground.
"Are you insane!" Reed shouted.
"How many were there during your 'death'?" Rhewl said, his calm, warm face turning darker like he was someone else.
"What?" Reed questioned, "When I failed to protect Linette!" Reed was furious at the act of danger Rhewl did to him.
"Linette huh?" Rhewl repeated, "So that's her name?"
"What are you getting at, Prodomor?"
Rhewl looked wide-eyed, surprised at what Reed had called him before a smirk emerged as he reached for his hair and further tied it.
"You're the first to call me by my last name like that." He said, "But that's not what is important. Again, how many were there?"
Reed muttered the number of the people he could remember, their faces a slight blur.
"Four black horses," Rhewl repeated, "three sets of black armor. And one gleaming armored man."
Reed nodded.
"I recall Penburn telling me of the white armored one, possible he is of no direct line to Mor'Nair. I'm not sure."
"And," he continued, "tell me, how would I fare against the one you fought?"
Reed was confused at his question, as he hadn't seen Rhewl in action before. But it wasn't long before his eyes widened.
Rhewl grasped at his chest, his eyes darkened even more. They drained any bit of ambition they had before a flash of an orange-reminiscent sky blinded him.
As Reed removed his arm from the front of his face to see what Rhewl had done, he could see something similar, yet so different.
A metamorphosis overcame Rhewl's upper body, mirroring the transformation Reed had experienced, yet with its distinct character. Dark reddish metal, the color of dried blood, erupted from his flesh, spiraling upward in intricate patterns. Unlike the uniform coverage of Reed's armor, Rhewl's metallic skin twisted and writhed, snaking around his torso in asymmetrical paths.
The metal's journey culminated in a striking formation that originated from Rhewl's back, cresting over his shoulder like a crimson wave frozen in time. It tapered into a sharp, feather-like projection that aimed downward, an abstract sculpture of hardened brutality. If Reed squinted, he could almost discern the outline of a maroon wing emerging from behind Rhewl, its base anchored to the lower front of his body, lending him a demonic aspect.
In Rhewl's grip, a sword unlike any other scraped against the floor, its tip leaving a faint trail on the ground. This was no slender silver blade like the one Reed's medallion had conjured; instead, it was a menacing slab of midnight steel, broad and imposing. Oblong holes perforated its flat surface, giving it the appearance of a massive, jagged steel. Despite its formidable size, it fell short of the Argent Knight's sword in length, trading reach for sheer, crushing mass.
Rhewl's gaze, unwavering and intense, bored into Reed. The blood-red metal had not spared his neck, creeping upward to encase it in a collar of barbs. The steel jutted outward from his jawline in wicked spines, framing his face like the petals of a lethal flower. This grisly ornamentation only amplified the piercing quality of his stare, a silent challenge etched in every line of his transformed visage.
"Incredible," Reed whispered. "What do you call such a thing?"
"I don't do names." Rhewl simply said before lurching forward with his large sword ready to be swung at Reed.
Reed jumped back before slipping on the stone floor. Looking above him, he could witness the dark world of steel slicing empty air before lodging itself into the stone wall.
"Are you trying to kill me!" Reed shouted in fear. But nothing came of Rhewl.
Rhewl's metallic fingers grasped Reed's collar and threw him with furious strength to the other wall, causing him to land and heave.
Reed looked up, recovering from the pain at his back, witnessing the already dead look on Rhewl atop him with a hand up and a blade charged.
Rolling to the side, Rhewl's blade barely missed Reed as it sliced a bit of cloth from the vest.
"Beckon your medallion," Rhewl said monotonously.
"I need to focus!" Reed responded.
"Then die."
Rhewl plunged his massive blade into the stone floor, anchoring it like a monolithic obelisk. With his hands now free, he lunged at Reed, driving his armored fists into Reed's unprotected abdomen. The impact forced a spray of blood and saliva from Reed's mouth, spattering across Rhewl's already flame-hued visage, intensifying his infernal appearance.
Doubled over and clutching his battered midsection, Reed's mind raced desperately for a solution. He was acutely aware of his vulnerability; the absence of his sword and the protective silver armor left him exposed.
In this moment of crisis, Penburn's words echoed in his consciousness: "Discard one thing for another." The wisdom crystallized in Reed's thoughts as he braced for another punishing blow.
"Discard everything to survive this moment," Reed rasped, the mantra galvanizing his resolve.
Suddenly, Reed's form erupted in a nova of pristine radiance, a stark contrast to Rhewl's crimson aura. The brilliance momentarily blinded the chamber. Reed felt a profound transformation sweep over his torso—a spreading coldness, a hardening shell. Gleaming silver steel, brighter than before, sprouted from his flesh in rigid geometry. The metallic carapace ascended, engulfing half of Reed's face and leaving only his left eye and cheek exposed. His auburn hair cascaded over the armor just beneath his temple, leaving the only hot point of his cold visage.
As Reed's vision refocused, he found Rhewl poised before him, the obsidian blade raised in a defensive stance.
In response, a filament of silver materialized in Reed's grasp, elongating swiftly toward Rhewl Prodomor. Despite the immediacy of the threat, Rhewl had already retreated a stride, the razor-thin edge of Reed's mercurial weapon glancing harmlessly against the dark steel.
The two stood locked in a tableau of potential violence—Rhewl, a bastion of sable strength, and Reed, now a Knight of Argent.