Act 1: Stepping Stones Towards a Bitter End

"Maevus! This has gone on long enough, surrender and face the kingdom for your crimes against humanity. Maybe they'll consider you a quick death if you turn yourself in here and now!" The knight spoke as he unsheathed his great sword.

"Hmm? Turn myself in? I'm so close to reaching the end... Will you also be using your life as a stepping stone towards reaching it?" Maevus asked as he stabbed the man in the gut.

"Stop right there!" The knight ran at Maevus with the sword pointed at him.

Maevus dropped the man and quickly parried his attack, and put distance between them.

"Knight; what's your name?" Maevus asked with a smug expression upon his face.

"My name is Ayleth Sombergh-."

Maevus immediately closed the distance between them, slashing his face leaving a wound. "I will make sure your relatives know you died for a greater good." Maevus said.

Ayleth immediately went on the assault again trying his hardest to kill Maevus although Maevus parried all of his attacks and continued catching him every time he had to pull his sword back. Ayleth pulled the dagger from his waist and jabbed it into Maevus' arm. Maevus quickly stepped back and pulled the dagger out of his arm.

"You managed to draw blood from me... You have my acknowledgement." Maevus let out a hearty laugh.

"May the gods bring you back in your next lifetime, and we have this bout again."

Maevus raised his sword and prepared to attack. Ayleth, exhausted, raised the great sword one last time. His arms began shaking and the wound on his face bled profusely. Maevus looked on as he stood with no energy lost. The blood slowly leaked down his right arm. Ayleth and Maevus ran up to each other and their swords clashed, Ayleth tried using the last bit of his strength to bludgeon Maevus, but the sword slid off of his and Maevus caught Ayleth's entire left side exposed. A loud slink and immediate thump rung through the battlefield. The sword cut through bone and Ayleth's arm fell to the ground. The sword fell to the ground, Maevus delivered a kick to Ayleth's chest.

"Fuck!" Ayleth screamed in agony as blood flooded out of the wound. He held where his arm used to be trying to stop the bleeding. His eyes reddened, with a look of despair rested upon his face. Making a final stitched effort, Ayleth threw blood in Maevus' direction; but this would only prolong his demise. Ayleth ran for his life, exhausted, huddling over corpses. He tripped when he got to a clearing. Slowly falling in and out of consciousness, he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Maevus laughed maniacally, he was way too calm for the amount of people he'd just fought.

"Maevus! Please don't do this!! You don't have to fall through with this! There's still time!" Ayleth yelled, pleading for his life; slowly backing further into the clearing.

"Oh, this had to be the way. I tried going about it more peacefully but this country chose to go to war against me. So therefor, you'll all be fuel towards my goal. I walk above the realms of man and convene with the Primal Gods of this putrid world. But for a greater purpose... This is how it ends."

"Please!!" He steadily pleaded.

Maevus grinned and walked up to the downed knight finally.

"This was fun, may the Gods grant you another life... To whichever one you pray to."

He stood there bloody, as he jabbed Ayleth in the throat. Blood slushed out immediately as he tried gasping for his last breath, choking on his own blood. Maevus had this eerie but calm look upon his face. The air was thick, and the sun hid beyond the overcast clouds. The sound of flies could be heard surrounding the bodies as though decomposition had already begun.

"I finished the ritual, I summon thee! I call upon the heavens for valor and all its glory, won't you grant me my wish?!" He screamed to the sky.

The clouds began to split, and the sun shined through and bathed his pale but bloodied skin. The gods were indeed listening. From past the splitting clouds, came down a beautiful woman in a black cloak. In her hand, she held a scythe and a scale.

"Your fate was decided the moment you picked up that grimoire... But I suppose this is a fitting reunion. You've shown loyalty and patronage whether you know it or not. Your reward will be greater once you see the bigger picture. However, you will now walk with death no matter where you turn and everything you encounter will turn into death. The price of your sins are far too great, Fourth Horseman of Apocalypse. Great Death, this is your wish." The scale finished balancing and it landed on Greater Death.

A bolt of lightning shot down hitting Maevus, he immediately fell to the ground in agony. The bolt singed his entire body as he laid in between the thousands of corpses. The woman vanished into thin air after. When he finally came to, he felt brand new. He realized his entire body had healed from the prolonged war. He stripped down to his undergarments and began walking. This was the beginning to an eternity of solitude.

At the blink of an eye, forty years had passed. The world as I once knew was completely different. The Ascian kingdom, all slaughtered in the name of my goal. I received the greatest gift and curse the world will ever know. After the Ascian kingdom collapsed, Tailin took over the land and forced the survivors of the Ascian kingdom to the edge of the continent. The Celus kingdom subjugated a village near the lake of old Ascia and there have been talks of an invasion from Celus. I spent nearly fifteen years across the Great Blue Lucian Ocean. After I learned everything I could, I returned to what was my home after I woke up. But now, I reside deep in the forest near the Twin-split River, nobody dares come near this part of the forest. This is where the story begins now.

"I could really use a shave." Maevus spoke out loud as he felt his beard; its length was passing his abdomen. He grabbed the blade off the stack of papers and walked down to the river, started in layers first Maevus grabbed enough, so it'd be right under his neck. He cut it and the hair fell below his feet, grabbed it and put it behind him. Then he continued cutting. He got it down to stubble upon his face. He also cut his hair down to the length of where he'd once had it earlier in his life. Maevus walked back to the cave with the hair in hand, he dropped it into the cauldron and lit the fire. He grabbed some foxglove and hemlock off the shelf and threw dashes of both in. Finally, Maevus grabbed the grimoire and stood over the pot. He said a few lines and poured a purple potion into the cauldron. The mix turned a bright red then turned completely clear. He netted the hair out and poured in another clear potion with a drop of his own blood. The fire underneath the pot spiked and grew larger. He continued reciting the spell and the fire went out. The mix turned deep red. Maevus tasted the mix and felt it was missing something. He realized he missed the peyote extract he'd been letting become potent for a month. He went to grab it then added a cup worth into the mix, then he mixed the cauldron until a sweet scent like honey came from the cauldron. Maevus tasted it again and his eyes glowed. He poured the potions into small vials and put them into the satchel separately wrapped in fabric.

He decided now would be the time to attempt to deliver the elixir of life to civilization. Maevus wore a talisman around his neck that suppressed Great Death, so he's able to interact with life. He headed for a nearby village to heal the sick as he's been doing with his temporary fixes for a few years now.

"Good morning, Merlin, you're looking as youthful as ever!" One of the older women said to Maevus as he walked into the village. He smiled and replied good morning. He made his way to the clinic, west of the central entrance.

"Well, what do we have here? Merlin you're back already? I was going to put in an order for later this week." The doctor said.

"No, it's fine. This will be free of charge, where's that patient with the lingering illness?"

The doctor led him to the back where she was laying. Maevus reached into the satchel and pulled out a vial with a small spoon.

"Please take this, it will help you." Maevus said as he held the girl's head and gave her a spoonful of the potion.

She drank a small portion and began coughing. The doctor became concerned for a moment. She began coughing louder and blood came up, the doctor looked alarmed then she started glowing as if she was light. She stopped coughing, and her skin regained its pigment, and her ailments became healed. "What was that!?" The doctor walked up to Maevus.

"After twenty years, I finally figured out the formula. This will heal the world." Maevus said grinning.

"Th-thank you, mister." The little girl said, she stood up and started walking around. She realized she was completely cured.

"Let's chat doc." Maevus said walking out of the clinic. The brisk wind cut through the air, leaves danced gracefully and the seasons were finally changing.

"So, I'm thinking of taking this elixir to the town in the Tailin kingdom to make the name of Merlin known." Maevus spoke.

"Go for it, there are far more in need within the towns who have no access to healthcare. Besides, you're going to have to become a citizen of the town. Everything is at your grasp."

After healing a few more patients, Maevus went back to his home and created a variety of sizes for the potion. He made a space spell for the excess jars, vials, and cases of potions and set them in there. He caught a ride with a merchant on the way to one of Tailin's towns.

"So, this is your first time in Tailin?" The merchant asked.

"No actually. It's been quite some time." Remembering that Tailin is now what Ascia used to be.

The wagon clattered ahead on the ragged road as they continued to talk about Tailin. There were a line of carriages stopped ahead of them so they stopped. Maevus got off and walked up to the front what was going on.

"Pay a fee or pay with your lives!" One of them said with a very large sword. Maevus analyzed his stature and noticed he would be slow with it if swung at full strength. The others seemed to be of strong stature but they didn't seem to be the ones in charge.

The other merchants and other citizens looked afraid.

"Fine, if that's how you want it. I'll handle this." Maevus said.

Maevus pulled off the cloak and unsheathed the sword. His insanely chiseled muscles glistened as the sun reflected off of his body. His hair flashed back white, and he walked towards them. The first bandit ran up to him with the sword pointed towards him. Maevus parried the first attack and threw him, the second tried sneaking Maevus, but he dodged him by jumping over him. Maevus put the sword up and decided to just use his hands.

The other bandits ran at him as he let his guard down, he parried all of their attacks successfully and laughed at them getting angry they're not hitting. The bandit with the great sword ran at him; Maevus punched him so hard, his jaw shattered on impact, and he dropped immediately. The other bandit managed to hit Maevus, but it did little to no damage, he grinned with a grim expression as if he was enjoying it. He punched the man in his liver, and he dropped immediately coughing up blood. The other bandits ran away in fear leaving those two. Maevus stood over the man and drew his sword as his expression grew more sinister. He started to pull the sword back but then one of the merchants spoke out.

"Thank you! I don't know what might've happened had you not stepped in." One of the other merchants said.

Maevus snapped out of it and realized what he was about to do, putting his sword back into its sheath. He looked down at his hand and pressed the ring he wore onto his forehead, going to retrieve his cloak.

"No worries, besides... We're headed to the same place." He replied.

Maevus tied the bandits up and threw them into the back of the carriage for the town's guards to handle.

"You learn that from your old teachers? That was some skill."

"Oh no, I learned that from spending so much time in the forest, lots of bears to deal with." Maevus replied laughing. They got back onto the wagon and everyone headed toward Tailin.

They made it to the town's gates and dropped off the bandits as they went in.

"Make sure to stop by the guild for your reward before you leave." One of the guards told Maevus.

As the wagon rolled into town, it seemed lively. The fresh scent of flowers could be smelled from the wagon. Kids were out playing at the playgrounds, across the road was the guild which stood in the center of town. The shopping districts were set surrounding the guild and playgrounds so no carriages and horses could ride through leaving everything at walking distance. Maevus hopped out of the back of the wagon and headed for the guild.

"Oh, a new face around here, we don't get lots of those around this time. Are you looking to register with this town's guild?" The guild attendant asked.

"Oh no, I came to collect my reward, it should be under the old man's name. Normandy..." Maevus replied.

"Oh! I've been waiting for you. Those two men you helped turned in had large bounties on their heads for a string of robberies over the last few months. If you'll follow me to the back, I'll get you ready and on your way.

He followed her back to an office type of area. "If you'll have a seat right there, he'll be right in. I'll go get your reward." She said smiling.

"What a gleeful woman, maybe this town did change for the better." He thought to himself.

"You must be the one and only Merlin, I've heard much about you." The man said as he walked into the room, he took a seat at the desk.

"I'm the guild master, Gil Dryad. It's a pleasure to finally match a face with the name." He spoke with his hand out.

"The pleasure is all mine." Maevus replied.

"Dryad... That name..."

"I'm sure Verona's already told you about the immense bounty on those people you brought in, but I wanted to thank you again for seeing that to completion. Also, the beginning of the Dungeon hunting season is coming in a matter of weeks. Would you be interested in joining?" He asked.

"Maybe, but might I interest you in a business opportunity?" Maevus asked.

"I'm all ears." He replied.

"I made an elixir that can completely heal all ailments. I'd like to sell some to the adventurer's guild. If you'd like to see the potion in action, we can go down to the infirmary. But that's if you're willing to do business with me." He spoke, reaching for one.

"My interest has been piqued. Let's head down." He said as they walked downstairs.

Maevus walked up to the injured man and offered him a spoonful of the potion, he was against it at first but looked at how serious his injuries were and weren't getting better. Maevus pulled out a tiny spoon and put a small portion of the potion on it. He fed it to the man and the man immediately screamed in pain as his body began glowing, the scars that once tarnished his face quickly vanished. The guild master was concerned at first, people began coming over to see what was happening. The man's eyes opened, and he stood up.

"You cured me, mister! I thought I would never walk again!" He screamed as he ran out of the building in excitement.

"So, how many are you willing to sell?" Gil asked.

"I'll start you all off with forty, but it's not going to be cheap. Also, a small portion will take you a long way. So in total, that will be four hundred gold or eight hundred and ninety-six silver pieces. And if you'd like to purchase smaller vials, they're five gold or twelve silvers per unit." Maevus spoke while doing the calculations.

"Four hundred!? I'll have to consult with the capital, but you've got yourself a deal." Gil said, shaking Maevus' hand.

"Here's your reward, there's also a coach outside waiting to take you to the capital." The guild attendant said.

Maevus grabbed the large bag and put it into his satchel, it lumped up then slimmed back out. He headed out to the coach and got inside. The capital was a short way out near the top of the town. When they arrived at the top, Maevus had a crazy flashback of what he did back then. He clenched his fist and looked up out of the coach.

Essentially, just a mansion outside of town, with flowers lined down the long road. It was a beautiful sight to see truly.