20. Unique Perspectives

Raymond, Crimwal and Peeta looked at each other as strange sounds came from behind the wall Kalos had made to separate the bath from the rest of the bubble.

"Wow," Peeta said with a sigh.

"Mmm." Crimwal sounded in agreement.

"You know he'll kill you if you make a big deal out of this, right?" Raymond said as he took a sip of tea when, in truth, his reaction was similar to that of his fellow campfire sitters.

Kalos eventually destroyed the wall, revealing a fully transformed, but slightly dressed Eevana and a red-faced Kalos.

"Enjoy your bath?" Peeta asked.

"Mmm?" Crimwal prodded as well, but both of them were struck by tiny stones, courtesy of Raymond.

Kalos and Estella quickly walked over to Estella's tent.

"You're both terrible, you know that?" Raymond said as he put out the campfire. He then slid into his tent and went to sleep.

Crimwal and Peeta did the same.

.

..

The morning arrived quickly and Raymond noticed that the skies were clear.

It had been so long that he had gotten used to Kalosýni's artificial light.

Raymond walked out of the bubble and stretched his arms as wide as they could go. Then he noticed an entire convoy of horses approaching the bubble.

Raymond carelessly re-entered the bubble and walked over to Estella's tent.

He entered to find Estella singing a beautiful song to her sleeping child and a sleeping Kalos. Next to Kalos was Eevana who was still in her saepenar form.

Raymond couldn't help but smile.

About a century earlier, he'd have been ordered to capture Kalos and kill Estella and Eevana.

Raymond thanked Kalos once again for helping him live in such a bizarre reality.

"Kalos. Wake up." Estella whispered and the boy instantly awoke.

"Come, boy," Raymond said.

Kalos joined his father outside the tent where he saw Peeta and Crimwal packing up their camping equipment, along with everything else.

"Peeta and I are going to speak to the adviser. You and Crimwal will prepare Estella for movement because no matter what happens out there, we're going to Carimae." Raymond said as he placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Ok. Now dismantle this damned balloon." Raymond said and like that, the bubble faded into nothingness as the horses in the distance continued to approach.

Raymond and Peeta approached the incoming horsemen, two of which, they recognized.

"Isn't that the-" Peeta almost said.

"Yes." Raymond agreed as the horses came to a stop.

"Treacherous Raymond, you're ordered to come with us." Eminence Vinaar said, her head wasn't hidden under a helmet this time and Raymond could see her rather short brown hair and sharp green eyes. Her face was riddled with scars, but Raymond knew they'd heal up in no time.

"Nice to see you again, your eminence, but I don't see any extra horses," Raymond said as he looked around.

"You shall follow on foot," Vinaar said as Quintin gave both Raymond and Peeta the stink eye.

"Alright," Raymond said as he and Peeta walked towards Vinaar.

They all headed up the path towards what looked more like a sacred shrine instead of the tent that it was.

Several dozen knights guarded the tent and they all looked at Raymond with intense amounts of hatred. So much so, it was as though Raymond could physically see it oozing from their eyes.

Raymond and Peeta were then led into the large white tent, where they saw a little woman?

She sat on a rather large throne which was rather high as well.

Raymond frowned as he really couldn't tell whether the person in front of him was even an adult due to their petite physique.

"Kneel before Advisor Evon Breetus!" Vinaar yelled before kneeling herself.

Over fifteen high ranking knights filled the tent, but Raymond didn't kneel.

Peeta followed Raymond's lead, although he was fine with kneeling.

"Insolence!" Quintin said as he created a fosblade, which he pointed at Raymond.

The other knights all raised their spears and pointed them at Raymond.

"Calm yourselves! Raymond no longer believes in the teachings of our order. He is no longer bound by our code. So let him be." The one known as Evon said with a voice so soft and delicate, Raymond almost smiled once he heard it.

"Anyway, I'm short on time so I will make this brief. Raymond the betrayer, a great war is coming and we need your services. We want you to train ten legions of knights that are of similar to your level or slightly lower." Evon said as his cold grey eyes looked down on Raymond.

"I'm going to have to deny your request," Raymond said rather casually.

"It wouldn't seem as though you are confused about something. What I said was merely the tip of the topic that is my order. Yes, I want you to give me ten legions of knights and yes, I expect you to do so diligently. But it would seem that my order may have come off a tad bit… flexible." Evon said before clicking his small fingers.

Then four knights carrying two badly beaten people entered the tent.

Raymond instantly recognized their beaten faces.

It was Neelae and Hagert from the town of Tolman and they were bound to wooden constraints which were coated in what Raymond assumed was their own blood.

"I've read stories about you and I heard that it was the love for your wife that caused you to take the lives of your men. But, your wife isn't here now, is she? So, I'll have to use a different form of leverage and please do not misunderstand my intentions. I'm not some cruel man who wants to torture you for my enjoyment. No, I want to save the people of Crafia." Evon said as the knights surrounding Raymond and Peeta approached the two.

"Now, I know people like having choices so here's a choice. You will serve me willingly and we triumph over darkness. You'll be executed in the end, but you would have saved countless lives. The current eminence is unfortunately unfit for the title, thus I've resorted to using such barbaric methods of… communication. Oh, and your second option involves the death of your son along with everyone else you've found yourself growing fond of. Now, I must reiterate. I'm not doing this out of hatred or something like that. I just want to save my people. So, what will it be, betrayer?" Evon asked. His cold eyes seemingly freezing the air in front of his beautiful face.

"Hey, Neelae!" Raymond yelled. Seemingly ignoring Evon.

Peeta noticed that a tiny vein popped on Evon's forehead so he started sending magic to his arms and legs subconsciously.

Neelae's head dropped from the constraints that bound her mostly naked body.

"Neelae, I'm about to leave, but I'm going to ask you a question before that. Did you enjoy serving the order?" Raymond asked.

"I don't know what you're doing but I advise you to stop as fifty of the orders most powerful knights are surrounding that little carriage of yours. If you want your son to-"

"Did you enjoy serving the order? Because I didn't. Peeta didn't. He just stuck around because he had a big crush on me."

"Hey!" Peeta whined.

Enraged, by being ignored and interrupted, Evon's face twisted slightly.

"Restrain them!" He ordered, but before any of the knights could even move, Raymond released a portion of his darkness, stopping all of the knights in their tracks.

Vinaar and Quintin were the only ones who could move, but Peeta summoned his Eexel and stop in front of them, blocking them from either aiding Evon or attacking Raymond, who took care not to kill Evon with his aura.

Raymond walk over to where Neelae knelt.

"They turned us into monsters. They made us kill and oh did we kill. Losing ourselves as we did. So, I ask again. Did you enjoy serving the order?" Raymond asked.

"If you did, then Peeta and I will leave you to your fate-" Raymond said as he crouched down to her face.

"But if you didn't. If you think there's more to life than conquering and destroying the lives of innocents all in the name of the gathering of power, then I extend my hand to you. My son taught me that some journey's eventually end, but that, in no way, stops you from having more." Raymond said.

Vinaar dashed to Evon's side and found that he was unconscious.

Quintin struggled to move under the pressure coming from Raymond, so moving anywhere was going to be difficult.

Neelae tried moving her bruised lips.

Raymond leaned closer to her.

"Please… free me…" She whispered.

"No, that's not what I want to hear. If you come with us, there's a chance you'll experience far more pain than you already have. Are you willing to step out into the true unknown?" He asked.

"Yes…" Neelae said as her once white hair hung from her head. It had been stained by blood and dirt so white it was no longer.

"Good. I'm looking forward to having another warrior on our team." Raymond said as he broke her free from her bonds.

"I heard what you said, you know. I'm like three times the warrior she is." Peeta cried.

"I know," Raymond said before hoisting Neelae onto his shoulder. He then looked at Hagert who was unconscious.

"Come get this one." Raymond instructed.

Peeta sent his Eexel into the void and grabbed Hagert after breaking him free.

"Stop!" Vinaar yelled.

Raymond and Peeta ignored her as they walked towards the tent's exit.

"Those two have traps inside them. We should probably-"

"Too late, I've already disarmed them," Raymond said as they left the tent to be greeted by the spears of over fifty knights.

Raymond and Peeta ignored them as they walked off.

Raymond absorbed his aura and it wasn't long before they heard a soft scream coming from behind him.

.

..

"Ah! it's the dark lord!" One of the last remaining knights said.

Kalos facepalmed again as he and Eevana stood atop a pile of unconscious knights.

"See what I said?" Eevana asked as she rubbed Kalosýni's back.

"I still don't care. You're beautiful and if they don't see it then… they're idiots."

"Kalos- did you really just say that?" Eevana asked mockingly.

"Yes!" He said while pouting.

The last conscious knight tried running towards his horse.

Kalos created a ball of dark magic and skillfully threw it at him. Hitting the knight right in the back of the head.

Eevana clapped her hands in an attempt to lift Kalosýni's mood.

Meanwhile, Crimwal and Estella patiently waited in the carriage.

"He's amazing isn't he," Estella said.

Crimwal raised an eyebrow.

"Amazingly scary." He said.

"I know his power is… a bit unreal at times, but I think it's his kindness that's shines through that." She said before offering Keema to Crimwal.

"Hello, little one. Uncle Crimwal here. I'm more amazing than Kalos, no?" Crimwal asked while making a silly face.

The baby blinked its big brown eyes and smiled? Crimwal couldn't tell. It didn't have any teeth so it looked like it was just opening its gummy mouth.

"Could it be that you're jealous?" Estella asked while kicking her feet.

"No. If there's one thing that I've learnt on this trip is that the freaks will be freaks so let them be." Crimwal said.

"What does that mean?" Estella asked.

"I'm perfectly fine with me being me. It gives me a unique perspective on the situation. You see, to Kalos, fosblade is a toy. But to me, it's a weapon of mass destruction. Kalos may never fear his power the way I do, but I think it's important that the fear exists." Crimwal said before noticing that Estella was pouting.

"Dammit, now you're doing it too! Stop it." Crimwal begged, but Estella continued puffing her cheeks.

"Kalos is not scary!" She said before opening her arms, asking for Keema.

Crimwal handed Keema over before sighing.

"It's not Kalos I fear. It's that ocean of incalculable possibilities that lives within him that scares me." Crimwal said. He then heard the sounds of two people bickering in the distance.

He jumped out of the carriage to find Raymond and Peeta carrying two people, who they dropped next to the bath.

"Hey, dad! Who are those two- oh... it's them." Kalos said as he approached his father by the bath.

Kalos looked at the two corpse-like bodies before him and looked at his dad with curious eyes.

"They don't look so good," Kalos said. He saw shattered pieces of what looked like daggers inside them and various other problems.

Raymond placed his hands on his waist.

"I know. That's why you're here. Come." Raymond said as he knelt over the two bodies.

"There are a bunch of broken fosblade pieces inside them. I want you to carefully dissolve them and take them out. Eevana, I need you to link up to them and keep them alive as Kalos works." Raymond instructed as he too channelled the light within the two unconscious bodies.

Eevana's fingers changed into needle-like probes that she then placed into the arms of the sleeping Neelae and Hagert.

Kalos and Raymond spent the next ten or so minutes Extracting the fosblade pieces before their little operation was completed.

They then wiped away all the blood and dirt from Neelae and Hagert's numerous wounds before they eventually woke up.

"What's going on?" Neelae asked, her voice hoarse.

"Well, according to the little heart to heart chat you and I had not so long ago, you've chosen to begin your life anew. Whether or not you want to join ours is entirely up to you." Raymond said as Hagert awoke as well.

"What the- Eminence Raymond? What- the advisor… he said that we were going to die." Hagert said while looking at his bare chest.

"And you almost did, but luckily for you, my son and I know a thing or two about light magic." Raymond boasted as he pointed at the freshly refilled bathtub.

"Go on. Get cleaned. We're wanted criminals, you know. We can't stay this close to the capital for long." Raymond said as he walked towards the carriage.

Peeta handed them some towels, some clothes and soap, before joining Raymond.

Kalos heated the water in the bath slightly before he and Eevana joined everyone else in and around the carriage.

Neelae looked at Hagert.

"I'm sorry-" She tried apologizing, but Hagert cut her off.

"No. We were both at fault. At least our men won't suffer for our mistakes." He said as he slipped his legs into the bath.

Neelae silently entered the bath and the two painfully cleaned themselves.

Raymond and the others discussed future plans and Raymond had his eyes on the horse the other knights brought with them.

"So, with two knights, we'll have more manpower, but they're injured for now. So, Crimwal will drive the carriage, Peeta and I will take two horses with me guarding the front and Peeta guarding the back." Raymond said.

"But I want to be inside the carriage where it's warm and safe." Peeta protested.

"Too bad. Those two are wounded and may never recover their full strength. We'll have to do most of the heavy lifting. Now, onto a different but equally important issue. Our supplies are running low. I believe there's a small fishing town that's next to the other side of the Iann river..." Raymond said.

"Yes, but I heard it's a really bad place now. We can't risk going through there with Estella and Keema, no matter how powerful we are." Crimwal cautioned.

"I see. Then how about Marf?" Raymond asked.

"Ooh, yes. That sounds ideal. It's still the centre of farming in Faacri so resupplying shouldn't be a problem." Crimwal said.

"Good. Now the only other thing we need is money… I'm almost all out." Raymond said.

"Kalos can't contribute since his pocket is also mine, Estella can't contribute, Eevana can't contribute and the baby can't contribute. Leaving you two." Raymond looked at both Crimwal and Peeta.

Crimwal waved his hands frantically.

"I- umm… my mom usually gets things for me so I don't usually carry around that much money, hehe," Crimwal said as he slowly backed away.

"I'm broke because I spent twenty years of my life hunting my arch enemy!" Peeta awkwardly announced.

Raymond's eyebrows furrowed and he unleashed the true might of the eminence of light.

"So, you're telling me that you plan on eating out of my pockets for all eternity?" He asked.

"I won't be around for that long. Maybe thirty or forty more years, that's isn't so bad right?" Crimwal said as he backed away.

"I-" Peeta struggled to defend himself.

Raymond absorbed all of his power back into himself before pacing around the carriage.

He wondered if bringing Neelae and Hagert along was a bad idea, especially with their supplies as low as they were they weren't even that low, it's just that Raymond wanted to be prepared for the worst.

Neelae and Hagert approached the group who silently eyed them.

Neelae looked at the beautiful Estella. She saw her holding a beautiful little parcel. Neelae then turned her attention to Raymond, who looked like he was deep in thought. Neelae looked at Kalos, then noticed that he was standing next to the incarnation of cruelty, but she decided not to panic. Neelae saw the whole group carelessly bickering with itself and for some reason, this brought a faint smile to her face.

Kalos then approached Neelae.

"You don't have any money, do you?" He asked while comically narrowing his eyes.

Neelae tried her best to avoid eye contact with the saepenar standing right next to Kalos.

"Umm… no?" Neelae said nervously.

Kalos sighed before turning his head to Hagert, who looked at Eevana with frightened eyes.

"You?" Kalos asked and Hagert shook his head.

Kalos sighed before returning to the group.

"Dad, they don't have any money," Kalos reported.

"Ah well, we'll just have to wing it and see what happens. Everyone, take your places. It's a long ride from here to Marf and we'll have the kingdom on our tail, so let's go!" Raymond said as he walked towards the group of horses the knights used. He took two by their reins and led them back to the carriage.

"You're going to Marf?" Neelae asked.

"Yep. Hop in if you wanna tag along." Raymond said as he mounted one of the horses. Peeta did the same.

Neelae turned to Hagert who looked conflicted.

"I'm going to join them. What about you?" Neelae asked.

"I- I want to, but… what do we do from here? Do we live the rest of our lives like the criminals we once hunted? Sleepless nights and the constant paranoia… is that what you truly want?" Hagert asked.

"What do you propose we do?" Neelae asked as Raymond's group finished up getting ready.

"We return to the order and…" Hagert leaned in closer to Neelae.

"We beg for forgiveness, receive our punishment and be done with all this. The worst that could happen is they strip off all our titles and you lose your family name, but at least we'll be free." Hagert said.

Neelae's brows furrowed.

"But that's assuming they don't kill us and end everything there. And besides…" Neelae looked at Raymond's group.

"I don't think living life the way they do is such a bad thing." She said, her eyes asking Hagert to join them, to join her. But Hagert didn't budge.

"Alright, Let's make a deal. I'll go with Raymond and you'll return to the order. We'll meet again in a month right here and whoever had the most problems joins the other, ok?" Neelae suggested, even though she knew exactly what would happen as soon as Hagert returned to the order.

Hagert nodded in agreement before the two approached Raymond.

"I won't be coming with you. I don't know if you'll-"

"It's alright, I understand." Raymond said.

Hagert nodded nervously before walking towards the group of horses.

"Won't you need supplies?" Raymond asked as Neelae got into the carriage.

"No, it's fine." Hagert said before looking at the pile of unconscious knights.

"Goodbye then," Raymond said as he and the others drove off into the distance, leaving Hagert alone. He dusted his hands before getting to work on his plan to seek forgiveness from the order.