Chapter 19 - Moray

Argo sat with his legs hanging over the side of the cliff, staring at the ceiling, quietly planning.

It had been a mess of an argument when Constance found out what his plan was after she got away from the crowds. 

But in truth, even he did not want to go through with it. And was still searching for another way. Any other way, that would allow them to move along.

He turned his sight to the top of his head. The girl had chosen to follow him, following the fight.

She was sitting on the stone floor braiding his hair mindlessly while staring at him. She had braided it, and undone it several times by now.

Her own hair was chopped up, and far far shorter than when they had first met, since she had too many stray ends and dead clumps.

But, she had also taken a bath, which had been hell, since she'd refused the water forcing him to put her to sleep, for the bath, though he reckoned it was worth it since she didn't stink to high heaven now.

Her body had been covered in scars at that time.

He closed his eyes, feeling his hair get tangled up in her fingers. It was a little painful since she was quite forceful with his nice hair. 

He recalled once again, that though she never left his side, she still hadn't spoken a word.

It was almost worrisome, but he didn't care to push the issue.

He raised his hand, and touched her chopped hair, it was a shame that needed to happen, to remove the weeds, so flowers might grow.

He squinted, he had missed some places, but for now, it was good enough. After all, he didn't want to leave her bald.

His mind flashed a face, and his mood soured, he lowered his hand and stared at the starry sky of the Hold, wondering where to go from here and what to do.

"Won't allow another Crissus…? What a joke," But, he knew in his heart, he had been swept away by that joke, for he was even then, still thinking of a better way through, "Do you like fairy tales, girl?"

Her fingers slowed down for the first time since she had started abusing his hair, and that was answer enough for him. 

She stared at him, and then, with a pomf, fell back to stare at the ceiling's myriad lights as well. He almost found it comical, and then turned his sight back at those lights, too.

He spoke slowly, "...A long time ago, there was an evil lich. It took what it wanted, and destroyed what it didn't. To create a world, where only the things it wanted, were left."

The girl's eyes started connecting the stars in the sky together, as she heard his tale, "With enviable power, and the ability to complete their goal, it ruled for millennia-, a millennia being a thousand years. A year is three hundred and sixty-...it ruled for a very long time. Until one day, somewhere in that sea of despair, there came an infant's cry of hope. A fire had been lit." 

Argo sent his senses around and knew there was no one here, in this isolated place, and so, despite the exhaustion wrecking his body, he lifted his finger, and a violet aura escaped from it, creating a map of the continent. 

His Aura was not born out of some sinful desire. But from his single-minded search for Freedom. 

His aura was dark in many places, fluctuating crazily in others, storms, rivers, death, life and rebirth, a deeply meaningful air found its home there.

He had studied in the Imperial Capital relentlessly, until not a single book was left unread, in their ancient library. And so, his storytelling, the stories he had read, so many times, fell off his lips like wind cutting through a forest. 

The girl peeked out from behind her eyes, at the world she had never seen before.

She saw six fires burn weakly amid that abyssal continent. Giving light to the lost.

"Chosen by God, Fate, or Chance, six people with great power were born. And from them, the first seeds were sown, to end that tragic era. But, they could not travel the land as it was. The danger was too great. And they were too weak." 

The image changed. Hordes of tiny undead swarmed, some were werebeasts, some were giants, some were pixies, others were gnomes, and many were zombies crafted from human corpses.

An undead parade of nightmarish proportions wandered the continent. Everywhere they walked, there was nothing but destruction. Following the will of their creator.

"It's said, that the Heroes could teleport, through the grace of the Goddess. Disappearing in one place, before, given time, appearing in another, as though drawn there. But, no one had been able to teleport since. And with time, many scholars believe, that it was not teleportation, but that there was no way to know, how fast they arrived from one place to the other. For every place they got to, in the nick of time, they failed to save countless others. In that kind of desperate age, they fought harder still." 

Though he wanted to give it exactly as he had read it, he didn't want to dilude her, into believing only the fairy tale, but to also teach her the underlying principles. 

Bravery, Perseverance, Discipline, and Sacrifice.

Argo had a tinge of emotion on his lips. He too, had learned, from these tales, that he couldn't help, but be brought back to those times, alone and forgotten in the corner of the imperial library. 

It was simpler, back then.

Now as a man, he knew that those times, and how he felt in those moments, had molded him into who he was now. Without those times, he would have been a very different person.

He wanted to live quietly, free from the threat of death.

Because of this, he couldn't help but admire and respect those heroes, who fought against that desperate era, against impossible odds and won.

Her eyes sparkled a little. 

No matter who one was, the tales of the heroes who brought humanity from the brink of extinction would always raise an insufferable pride.

However, as much as it was a time of triumph, it was also a time of sacrifice, and he didn't fail to show it, in the art he portrayed so filially, in his creations with his aura.

Heroes and those they saved, stood on the countless that had cried out in vain.

"Eventually, after slaying the Profane Demon, the Heroes descended into the Underworld, and brought the Lich King to face its own ruin and swearing on oath, to never allow such a thing to happen again. Thus, the nations of man were founded before the Goddess." 

A pile of bones was left in the air, as his aura slowly began to retract back into his finger, which he had been using like a brush.

He could feel her little hand grabbing onto the hem of his shirt, though he didn't know if she knew it or not.

"...Would you like to know more?" 

She turned and stared at him, with that same emotionless round gaze, but, this time, he could see the girl, peeking out from behind those heavy curtains.

He turned back to the artificial sky. He wasn't a very good teacher, with his words, but he felt the need to have it be said, even if it was clunky.

"You should know, that knowledge is a burden. The more you know, the less you know, and the more you realize you can't change any of it." He couldn't help but come back to his thoughts, regarding the invasion, the truth behind it, that was now in question, and the problem at hand.

He put his palm over her eyes.

She was unresponsive. 

He formed words, on his lips, "When you open your eyes, you will see my hand. When you move my hand, you will see the mountain. When you remove the mountain. You will see the sky. Now, what do you think happens when you remove the sky?" 

She grabbed his hand, and peeked over it, at the artificial stars. And then she looked at him. He smiled slightly. 

"You'll just have to remove the sky to find out." 

She gave him a look, and for the first time, something other than just those dead fish eyes stared at him. He couldn't help but laugh.

It was the first time she had seen him laugh so candidly. The girl behind the curtains, couldn't help but be left staring. She felt like she had seen something forbidden. 

Argo internally sighed, as his laugh faded out.

If she chose to keep his question at heart and follow the path to the answer, she might be able to uncover her own truth and awaken one of the Three Disciplines. But, he didn't expect that, and he didn't continue thinking about it, either.

He zoned in on breathing coming from somewhere nearby.

It looked like they weren't as alone as he had thought in this deserted corner of the Western Section.

Standing up he dusted himself off. He had a good idea of who it was and his disposition changed like the flip of a coin.

The girl caught onto the change instantly, and stood up beside him, grabbing the hem of his white cloth shirt, and looking up at him.

He bent down to pick her up. 

He leaned in, as though to give her a little kiss on the cheek, a display of affection to others, and whispered something in her ear, before turning back to look ahead.

A man a head shorter than himself, stood there watching him from the alley between buildings. He could see several more men there, and he could feel the presence of weak auras.

Knights.

He didn't have his sword on him, and using his aura to show the girl those stories, had taken its toll. That level of control was taxing.

"We meet again, Sir Moray." 

Moray?

Argo quietly looked past David, at the thugs behind him, who looked scared but ready.

He could see behind those eyes. 

They were deathly afraid. But it was not of him.

Moray, he surmised, was the fake name that Constance had provided for him when the leaders of the community asked.

It was the name of a species of oceanic creature, that tended to be quite the temperamental thing.

He idly noted it, she always needed to have the last word, it seemed.

"As a companion of the Hero and close confidant, I am certain you know a lot of things we wouldn't. If we can work together, then, we can help each other. I can provide information, and a strong line of communication to the people. And you will be our link since the Hero can only speak comfortably with you. Not only that, but I can also provide support."

David's offer sounded good, to the ear. But Argo wasn't so naive. 

He wanted to be the enforcer of the 'Heroes Will', which would put him below two and above hundreds, effectively securing his own safety and the safety of those Knights he had recruited for his own safety, as well.

Had he promised them things, once they made it out? Argo internally shook his head.

When push came to shove, he was certain that those Knights wouldn't help him or anyone.

And David would use the Heroes name, and drag it through the mud, to get his way, in trying to not only survive but thrive throughout the journey. 

He knew the type of person, that would be bold enough to come out like this. And he knew that this type of person would only turn against them, at the most critical time. He could not be relied upon.

And the Knights he had brought, could not be given any leeway, either. 

"This is important for your young daughter too." David smiled from ear to ear, he peeked from squinted eyes, at the girl, "She's weak, and a long journey would be too difficult. What say you?"

Argo's headache was beginning to worsen.

What David had said, could all sound like a good-faith proposition. But, he had toiled in the underworld for too many years, and undergone too much, to be fooled by this low-level scheme.

At first, he had thought, that maybe it could be worthwhile to use these fools to teach Constance a lesson about people, but, he had heard enough. This person was far too great of a liability.

He walked forward with a smile, and spoke, "...I'm glad to hear that there are still good people on this earth, even in dire circumstances like these." 

He put out his hand, and David shook his hand excitedly. The Knights behind him eased up as well.

As he did so, the little girl held in Argo's other arm reached forward and stabbed David in the throat with the dagger that Argo kept hidden in his sash, which she had grabbed while David had been talking from behind Argo's back.

David couldn't even dodge either, since he was caught in Argo's vice-like grip. 

The last thing David saw, was Argo taking out a handkerchief and gently wiping the girl's face, which had gotten a drop of blood on it, chiding her,"...Next time don't stab that part. It's too messy. Aim for here." 

David felt aggrieved, though not for long.

He was gone, by the time Argo touched the girl's throat, in the place he wanted her to stab next time, "It's a faster send-off, as well. More humane." 

He tossed the handkerchief on David's body, covering his face, he didn't take the dagger back from her, it was her first murder, and that weapon, was hers now. He didn't have an interest in taking it back.

The Knights drew their weapons, but couldn't summon forth their Auras.

Aura, being the soul taking shape in the physical world, could only be coaxed out, and controlled, when one was completely in tune with oneself. But when one was consumed by fear, it was impossible.

It had been one of the first things he learned, upon studying the Three Disciplines, that fear, above all things, was the greatest killer of any Knight, Magician or Priest.

They were terrified of dying, and so had gone along with David's plan. 

And the soul, when afraid, hides...

They threw themselves at him, seeking to cut him down, to be rid of their fear.

...Therefor he had only to do a single thing, to win...

He looked up, exposing his throat.

...He had to become death.