Land of Confusion

[Mari]

The compound known as the Seventh Sanctum sat directly below them. Shadowed in the early morning light, the wooden structures and cabins surrounded by dense forest filled Amari’s heart with a heavy sense of dread. Beside her stood Taka; tall and proud, as a Ronin should be, his exterior unflinching and calm.

Amari turned her golden hued eyes toward him. The bitter cold winds picked at strands of his ivory hair and let them sway gently in the breeze. She took a deep breath and exhaled steam.

“Taka…” Amari’s voice weighed heavy with apprehension. She reached out and her fingers danced delicately over his gauntleted hands to interlock with his, finding a comfort she so desperately wanted to hang onto.

“You are not to set foot into the Inner Sanctum. I may hold sway within the place, but not so much so that I can allow a sworn enemy to the Crimson Hand wander free.” Her words were a heavy warning spoken with the steeled and heartless authority of one who could call herself the second in command.

His steel gaze never once left hers as he spoke with a concise inflection. “As Promised Amari-Chan, I will not put myself in harms way for the sole purpose of avenging you.” His vow was followed by a squeeze of her hand.

The warming gesture was welcomed but did little to alleviate the turbulence she felt. As a final goodbye to the man she had come to know the last few weeks, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. His skin was cool and prickled at her touch. As far as the ronin was concerned, he’d see her again, but Amari knew better. This would be their final goodbye, for the wrath of Lichensith Ulroke was absolute. Even with her new found energy, her cleansed soul, and a sense of independent self worth, the assassin’s control ran deep in her veins and her psyche.

“Sah-ya-nora.” The woman poorly spoke in Akashiman, Taka’s native tongue, in a bid to set him at ease. With that final, gentle touch of skin, Amari was gone.

***

The cold, wet, snow sloshed into her boots as Amari dragged Noels corpse through the centre of the Sanctum, hefting the entirety of his weight over one shoulder; the thick coarse rope dug into her skin but she persevered. The other hand held a wooden bound book tight to her chest, the artifact that caused all of this, it was worth more to her than anything in the world.

Few people littered the grounds, it was too early for the roughians to be awake, and those that were knew well enough to keep to themselves rather than approach the redheaded woman. Most of them...

She was approached by Advencia, a small succubus whose curled golden locks bounced with every step she took. Her long ruffled dress trailed behind her in the wet snow, and her chest, as always, looked as though it would burst forth from the tight bodice around her torso. “I thought I smelt you.” She cooed, her tail flicking side to side. “It’s about time you came back~ “

Advencia was excited to see Amari’s return, and spoke in hurried excitement. “I’ve been busy! I’ve killed so many, I got into a fist fight with Calleus.” She stalked closer and gripped Amari’s upper arms tightly. “Look! Look! Not even a scratch on me. He’s sportin’ a black eye though!” Advencia finished with a melodic laugh.

“Advencia…” Amari said, exasperated. “Please not now… I have urgent business.”

Advencia pouted, her brows furrowing. “Mistress… what’s going on?”

Amari shoved the book into Advencia’s hands; the book was important, but Amari trusted the demoness, Advencia had proved herself not only loyal, but caring toward her. “I will explain later, right now It is very important you get this to Madison. Tell her I’m coming to see her soon. Don’t stop for anyone, not even Ulroke. Can you do this for me?”

Advencia looked up at Amari, noticing something different about her. Her entire being seemed to be brimming with energy, she even emitted a faint glow in the dim morning light. Advencia could practically taste the divide in it. The woman was in a very precarious state, a push in either direction could drastically change how she functioned and that both concerned and excited the demoness.

Advencia stepped closer toward Amari. She was never able to feed off someone by just being in their presence before, and it was exhilarating. “I will Mistress, but she is no longer here, she is in Tirel.” She carefully took the book in her hands. “However I will do this for you… The hand is here for you.” Her icy eyes darted to Noels’ body behind Amari. Now seeing at least in part, why Amari was teetering on a dangerous slope. “I’m sorry for your loss… He was loyal to you, because of him many of us see you as our leader, and no longer Ulroke.” Advencia held the book tight to her bosom, further accentuating her assets. “You know how dangerous he can be…” Advencia met Amari’s gaze, “Be careful.” She turned and headed toward Madison’s research labs, flowing white dress trailing behind her.

The book of the Ar’Tuel, her origin, was safely on its way to be decrypted, it was one less thing Amari had to worry about. She breathed a small sigh of relief watching Advencia before she disappeared round the corner of a building.

Now Amari had to tend to Noel’s deceased form, thanks to a constant stream of magic, his body had yet to rot or decay. Amari turned and kneeled by his side, she gave him a once over to ensure there were no abrasions or lesions on his body. He looked so peaceful, almost as if he were just sleeping. It still hurt to think that he had died, even more so to think she had come all the way here, risking Taka’s life in doing so…. Only to find out that the one woman who could bring him back had left the Crimson Hand. Amari felt guilty, the man had gone insane due to magicite poisoning, blinded by his rage. If he hadn’t of gone deep into the cave to retrieve the book, he would still be here now.

“You’ve been nothing but loyal to me, and look where that landed you…” Amari whispered as her hand danced over his forehead. She then checked his pockets and sure enough, there were still a few shards of magicite. Amari swore as she threw them to the snow, her hand instantly burning at the contact.

“And what is this?” The rich, velvet voice was all too familiar as Lye reached down and scooped up the crystals with a gloved hand. “Scarlet, care to explain?”

Shit, he came outta nowhere fast.

“It’s….Magicite…” Amari said tersely, not wishing to explain it further, she diverted his attention. “As for Noel, he fell in battle. I wanted to get him to Madison, but… I hear she has gone to Tirel...” Amari stood up and stepped forward to pull Noel further, but she was stopped by Lye.

“Why?” The tone of his voice grated on Amari. She knew it's condescending nature, and that it’d be followed by -- “Noel was a worthless asset to the Hand. He’ll serve better as a corpse.”

“No. He was worthless to you Ulroke. He was a loyal compatriot and servant to me.” Amari gave a heavy sigh, it had all been for naught. She doubted she’d be able to haul Noel all the way to Tirel. She wasn’t even sure where it was. “I won’t tolerate you tarnishing his name.”

[Lye]

He stared down at her and the lifeless puppet she tended. The scowl on his face, seeming ever permanent, grew in intensity.

“He was expendable,” the assassin growled in reply. “Servant, companion, or otherwise, Noel served no purpose to me. If that waste of air provided you some manner of comfort, good. At least he did something with his miserable existence.”

Lye diverted his attention to the gems in his hand. To the touch alone, they burned like frostbite yet seemed no different than any other precious gem or mineral. Until, his memory dredged up the face of a young blonde girl and her redheaded friend. Lye’s fingers wrapped around the crystals in a firm fist.

“Enough about that wretch. Where did you get these?” He asked in regards to the content in his hands.

“THIS is why you are losing loyalty amongst your men!” Amari snapped back. “Your men look to you for guidance and support and you treat them like tools.” She stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “If you keep pulling that shit, you’re going to find yourself right back in those cells. You already drove Madison away, she’s only one small push away from contacting Aure. You need to watch your goddamn attitude.” Her eyes darted to the magicte and she appeared to take a step back. “Those were in a cave, in Dheathain. Fuckin’ nearly killed me. Just get rid of them, they’re worthless.”

The minutia of patience he had for her pulled taut and snapped. His palm open and slammed the jagged stoned into Amari’s throat, fingers gripping her firmly. Sparks of light lifted from her form and began to be absorbed by the bloodied crystal. His teeth bared and a roar of anger spilled forth.

“If these men need coddling, they can work for a noble! I’ll be damned if some privileged bitch lectures me about loyalty amongst killers and thieves! A common goal, that’s what keeps us from slitting each other’s throats in the night! If you have no use to the cause, you’re lucky to be alive and you--!”

His grip tightened and he lifted her to the tips of her feet. He trembled, not from exertion, but from his unbridled anger toward her insubordination.

“You are alive because I will it! Madison be damned! She chose her path of books and ‘the greater good’! You have a purpose and a use. You belong to me and will do as I command! Am I clear?!”

He let her free with a shove toward the icy tundra and her felled lover. His chest rose steadily, each breath escaping his lips like clouds of heated steam.

She crumpled to the floor, a shaking hand reaching for the shard in her throat, too small to cut through, but enough to cause blood to trickle down. “I-I’ve been nothing but loyal!” She gasped. “I’m...not your tool.” Her eyes flickered as she attempted to pry the crystal from her throat as it leeched shades of golden glow from the woman. “I want-wanted to help you..” She gave another gasp for air, her head falling into the snow. The magicite having a clear and detrimental affect on her, especially now that it was partially imbedded into her skin. “I am NOT your tool.”

As the last word left her lips, his boot found her stomach. Her speech turned to coughs and gasps for air. While she struggled to find her breath, the assassin reached down to the motionless corpse of Noel and hefted it over his shoulder. The cold and hardened face of disappointment wore on Lye’s features as he looked down on her.

“You disappoint me, Scarlet,” hissed the tyrant. “I taught you better than this. You’re not some tool, but I won’t have you talking down to me! You need to wake up.”

As he spoke, Lye began walking toward an animal pen in the distance. The rich aroma of excrement and rot wafted from it as the massive boars within nested in their own filth.

Amari normally was able to pull herself back up after such a beating, but she didn’t leave her spot, crumbled on the snow. “Y-Youre the one who needs to wake up, U-Ulroke.” Her brows furrowed, “G-give him a proper burial.” She struggled to take a deep breath, before shouting after him. “ULROKE’!”

Lye slammed Noel’s body against wooden table. The top of the table was stained black with the dried blood of previous bodied that once laid upon it. Scores and valleys from a butcher’s cleaver marred its surface. With one of his blades from his back, Lye cut away Noel’s clothing to expose the pale, colorless flesh beneath.

“This is the burial this man deserves,” Lye growled, driving the blade into the corpse’s sternum and pulling it roughly toward the groin. “A dead man is a dead man!”

Lye’s gloved hand plunged into Noel’s gut and emerged with a handful of innards he quickly cut free from the rest. From the table beside the pen, he cast the remains to the boar’s trough and plunged in for more.

[Mari]

She was nestled deep in the cold snow, the bite of the ice nipped at her flesh and sent ripples of goosebumps and shivers through her body. The numbing pain was a stark contrast to the burning in her neck. The Magicite had barely pierced her skin but its effect was clear. With each ragged breath Amari found it harder to breath, with every rise of her chest her heart thumped harder and harder against her aching ribs.

“Ulroke….” her voice was weaker now, words barely a whisper spoken through cracked, bruised lips. “S-s-stop….”

Amari was helpless, she had to watch as her efforts were ripped and pulled apart by a merciless man. Tears dotted her eyes. It had all been for nothing. She tried so hard to bring Noel back, and she had failed, she wanted to make it up to him, she wanted to apologise for the magicite, and she wanted to show Taka that the man wasn’t an ape headed brute. Now...she’d never get that chance.

She hiccuped and flinched as Lye bought the cleaver high over his head and with a series of ‘Thwacks’ that echoed around them, started cutting through Noels limbs, carelessly throwing each one to the boars.

”Taka I’m so sorry I wasted your time...Noel… dammit why did I let you come with me?

With a great deal of effort Amari rolled onto her stomach, coughing into the snow, she could smell the metallic iron from her own blood, her arms ached as she pushed herself up. “I...I am Amari….”

She lifted her head, ignoring the thumping pain that ebbed at her temples. Head blazing with a brilliant golden fury that burned in the dim light. A burning defiance she had never shown him, even before he broke her and moulded her into his ideal. One that he was no doubt afraid he’d one day see. “I… I… am Amari, third born of the Ar’Tuel and guardian of Ghyran’s creations and b-bringer of life.”

Despite her efforts she collapsed back into the snow. “And...I-I will not...have you...desecrate...my friends...corpse…” She spoke between ragged breaths, trying to keep focus on the visage of the silver haired assassin.

The edge of his blade fell and the head of Noel leapt from the table to the snow. Lye’s body held steady, motionless for a brief moment as Salvar’s frigid breeze filled the silence. He punctuated it by jamming his tanto into the wood where he left it to stand on its own. Wordless, he bent over and plucked the head from the tundra.

“What did you say your name was?” The words left his lips low, and guttural. He turned to face Amari, her friend’s remains dangling by the hair in his firm grasp. Lye’s boots broke the packed, icy snow with each step. A sharp crackle echoed in his approach.

“Y-you heard me.” Amari knew he was near, how near, it was hard to say. Her vision had blurred to the point where Lye was nothing more than an inky black smudge against waves of white. Every minute movement for her was agony, she tried to break free, to project her soul away from the body but the magicite held it fast to its physical form.

Amari shut her eyes, she knew she were to be punished. Severely, but Ulroke needed a good slap of reality. She wanted to remain loyal to him, she wanted to keep her promise… to ensure he smiled, just once...out of contented warmth... but how could she when he was being so ruthless?

She heard him kneel down close to him and place something into the powder in front of her. Though difficult to see, Amari looked up to Noel’s bloodied expression. Guilt wracked her body.

“Was he ‘loyal’ to you?” Lye asked. “Were you kind to him? How did he die, Scarlet? In battle, or some self sacrifice for delusional affections? I did not kill him, did I? You place your anger in the wrong place.”

“R-Remove the magicite.” Amari breathed, she was barely able to respond with the crystal literally sapping her life away. The man’s questions swam in her head, and although she didn’t speak the answers they hung heavy in her heart. Noel died for her sake, how was it that Lye was able to pick up on it so easily, knowing that the man died because he had affections for her?

She felt his warm hand reach for her neck and prepared for his firm clutch. Instead, she felt the sharp pain of his fingers prying the remnant crystals from her skin. A trail of light followed the crystal as he pulled away and wiped it free of her blood.

Amari jolted and felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her body, she immediately sat up her hand shooting for her neck. “NEVER. A-AGAIN!” She spat at him.

“Answer my question, Scarlet.” Lye knelt down and picked Noel’s head up by his hair, pressing it into her lap. “How did he die?”

Amari glanced down, her fingers wove into the dead mans hair, his blood soaked through her wet clothes, still warm. If she weren’t so accustomed to such grotesque mutilations she would have thrown up. Instead, she swallowed the feeling of nausea. “Magicite poisoning...he went mad and attacked a man, who killed him.” Her words grew softer with each sentence as she bit her lower lip. “I was….always kind to him….” She whispered. “Noel…” Amari wrapped her arms tightly around his head and pressed her face into his matted hair. “I’m sorry…”

“Your affections killed him,” Lye stated. He stood tall over her, his judgmental gaze ever watchful. “Were you firm with him and knew his limitations as I did, you would not have exposed him those dangers. He was an errand boy at best, nothing more. Do you see that?”

Amari gripped Noels head tighter, wondering if his words were true. It made sense...if Amari had been just a little more blunt with the man, maybe he would have survived. Her thoughts drifted to Taka, and his pep talks.

“No….” Amari whispered, she couldn’t let the man talk her down.

“You’re wrong.” She carefully set Noels head to the side. “I saw a great man, who died to aid his superior. One who was ever loyal, and who had my back in battle. My kindness did not kill him, the magicite did, Aislinn said it corrupted his mind.” Her eyes drifted to her arms, which were virtually free of corruption. The people who were the sworn enemies of the Crimson Hand had done so much for Amari, she couldn’t just back down now.

She pushed herself to her feet and looked down at Lye. “I feel sorry for you, you struggle to comprehend how meaningful a kind act can be.” She shook her head, “I wonder if you are even capable of such kindness, or if it died all those years ago.”

[Lye]

The talk of loyalty and emotions grated on his nerves. Advencia, Madison, Noel, all three seemed enchanted by Amari’s ideals of a compassionate relationship. Those same relationships that meant death for anyone close to Lye. Whether by his choice or fate’s, those who felt emotion toward him perished. He had no room for it.

“I am aware of what a kind act can do. It is the sweetest poison,” he spoke with bitterness and drifting nostalgia. “This world is not kind, and I would have figured you had learned that by now.”

His gaze drifted to her pristine arms, devoid of the black corruption. How he failed to notice until now bothered him. Moreso, he felt violated by its sight. As if the gutter rat he plucked off the streets of Knife’s Edge now stood before him, defiant now as she was then. His head lifted, gaze locked on her hands.

“I see. You’ve fallen for yet another, have you? More lies? Was Lamont not ‘kind’ to you as a child?”

He grinned as he elicit the action he wanted within the girl. “Don’t you DARE say that name around me! I’ve fallen for no one!” She didn’t sound entirely sure of herself. “I told you what I went to do, I told you I’d seek out my origins; and now I know them, and a large tome of information is being ferried to Madison to decipher its text as we speak. I thought the world unkind Ulroke, I thought it harsh and cruel. I saw the people I cared about ripped away from me, I saw the things I love shrivel and die in my grasp.” Her angered words continued, and he watched, as the smallest of crystalline black cracks began to appear on her pristine skin.

“I don’t need you patronising me!” She hissed.

“So the pot calls the kettle black. Who started this lunacy with that?” Lye pointed at the head at their feet. “You give your affections too freely, Scarlet. Believe what you will, but that will be your demise. Have I not told you my experiences? You rather see that loss for yourself?!”

She brought her hand up and slapped him across the face in response. “Shut up! You experienced loss, but you’ve shut yourself away, that’s YOUR fault! You’re so blind to what is right in front of you! At least I’m trying to push forward!” More cracks appeared on her skin and he knew he was getting to her.

The sting of her hand prickled at his skin. In the brisk air, the faint outline of her hand grew rosen on his face. The fire of anger swelled in his verdant eyes and his teeth clenched. From a brilliant blaze, it quelled to an ember, smothered by his will to contain himself.

“And you’ve opened yourself up. For another Shinsou, for another Noel, Advencia, and even another man to lie to you like your brother. To drop your defences for what? Love? Or perhaps something more sinister? Your brother loved you.” He shook his head. “No, you give your affection too freely. Compassion has its purpose, but not now and not here. It is only for those you trust with your life. And if he couldn’t protect you, why care for him?”

She shook her head, Amari was never good with words. “I j-just….” She gripped at her heart trying to find answers that she didn’t have. “I can’t answer that.” she muttered, defeated. As her anger lessened, so too did the cracks.

Lye noticed this, and wondered if it needed to be cemented in her again. Without it, she couldn’t use the blindingly dark, and useful abilities that came with it.

“You’re only throwing them to the wolves for your own name.”

“You’re suggesting I’d bring death to those I became close to?” She asked, her voice cracking.

“The more people you cling to, the more of a target they’ll become. You will get them killed unless they’re strong enough. Noel was weak. Your affection killed him despite what object or action struck the final blow,” Lye stated. His weight weighed down on the decapitated skull. “Whatever stuck this idea of compassion in your head is a poison and needs to be dealt with. Give me a name.”

“No.”

Lye’s gazed at her through slits.

“You won’t get a second opportunity. Surrender the name, or surrender yourself,” he warned.

She paid little heed to his warning. “No, Master Ulroke.”

“So be it.” His words came swiftly as his blow. A balled fist rocketed into the square of her chest, knocking her breathless, Amari collapsed to her knees, her fingers catching hold of his hand, she squeezed tightly with a concentrated look on her face, but released it as she rolled onto the floor.

“You can’t use your gifts.” Lye stated. “Pathetic, to think I was once proud of you. You were my strong Scarlet, able to hold her own, now look at you.”

Lye knelt down beside her and lifted Amari’s head eye to eye. “I’ve grown tired of your obstinance.”

As he rose, he purchased a handful of her hair and like the first few days of their meeting, he dragged her through the packed snow toward the longhouse against the cliffside. Her usual fight was weakened from the magicite, but she still held onto his wrists and tried to flip her body out of his grasp. “Uh..Uhlro..Stop!”

He kept silent, aside from the echoing thud of his boot into the massive doors leading to the grand hall. The solid oak groaned and creaked open and frigid winter air washed over the polished stone floor. Embers from the central hearth burned bright and dulled from the sudden waft as he dragged her past and to the doors at the back of the room.

“I can walk!” She hissed. “I’ll answer your other q-questions just not that o-” She broke into a fit of wheezed coughs as he stopped his stride enough to plant a boot into her chest. Shoving the door open to the inner cavern of the sanctum, he dragged her into the room and shut the door behind them.

“I’ll beat the answer out of you if I have to,” Lye warned. As he spoke, he shed his winter furs and pulled a single mythril khukri from its scabbard on his thigh.

Amari pushed herself off the floor, unafraid. “Go ahead! Why the hell should I tell you every little thing I do?” She challenged him. “I wasn’t afraid of you back then and be damned if I am now!”

Face flat as slate, he drew a fist across her face. “You call yourself loyal but you withhold answers from me?” Another fist drove into her gut, careful to avoid cutting her with the blade in its grasp.

Amari heaved, coughing again, her cheek and left eye already began to swell and redden. “Y-You should ask the right questions.” She muttered with a bitter laugh. “You taught me that.”

“Then tell me who or what is responsible for your change,” he spoke, pacing around her like a wolf to its prey.

“I told you; a woman named Aislinn Orlouge.” Amari gingerly lifted a hand to reveal the piece of Jade that had been woven into her hair. “She wove this into my hair, and she receded my corruption.” She paused, offering him a snide smirk, as if she knew that wasn’t what he meant.

Lye whipped out and snatched the jade in her hair. A fell swoop of his blade cut it free into his hand and a boot slammed into her stomach, sending her to the floor. As Amari gasped and coughed, he held the adorned hair in his palm with curiosity. He turned it over, then shot a look toward Amari.

“You didn’t mention that name before,” he growled. “Orlouge…”

The name forced his hand shut around the trinket, leather groaning loudly under the strain of his might. A muffled crack sounded from his fist before he cast the clump of hair to the floor. Broken jade scattered to the dirt.

“Tell me.” he stepped swiftly beside her, his hot breath close enough to dance across her skin. “Were there other Ixians? Was there a man named Sei? Where did this happen?!”

Amari rolled onto her back, her fingers pushed his hair away from her face, only for it to fall back into place. “Probably. No. Dheathein, after I fell unconscious in the magicite cave.” Her eyes fell to his, and she locked her gaze. “I almost died, permanently. She saved me.”

“Why?” he hissed. “Does she know about the Hand?” Amari shook her head in response.

Lye stood, his gaze adrift in the haze of his own thoughts. He paced away from her for a moment, clearly troubled by the news. Magicyte in Dheathain, Ixians on site, and now her obstinance. What did they tell her? What were they after? Were they organized? Where was Sei Orlogue?

“Just the one Ixian?” Lye asked, his tone softer and more quizzical. “What were they doing there…” The last question drifted off as if asked to himself.

Amari pushed herself back to a seated position, her hand tenderly upon her bruised face, golden light danced across her features and she had healed both her face, and her neck. “There were more. I don’t know what they were doing there. I was a little preoccupied, yanno.. dying.” She muttered bitterly. “Not that you seem to care.” She stood and started dusting herself off, shaking the dirt that clung to the wet blood on her clothes. “Are you done posterizing? I got shit to do.”

“No,” he turned to face her again. His expression twisted with disapproval. “You can be brought back from the dead, so remind me why dying is a problem for you. If Noel knew that, he may not have offered his life for you.”

Lye stepped closer to her. “And where exactly do you have to be? With that book you talked about? Or something else… There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“You aren’t listening, I was dying. Not a regular death, but a permanent death. That magicyte, Ulroke. That can kill me. Permanently. No revival, no rebirth. Nothing. I’d cease to exist… so yeh, it was a fuckin’ problem!” She snapped. “As for Noel! He died because his mind was poisoned by that same. Fucking. Stone. He was killed by an Ixian Knight and he fought with all his fucking strength! Stop fuckin’ talking down to me , and assuming shit you don’t know!” She spat, the truth unwittingly spilling from her lips as she continued her angry tirade. “Of COURSE there is shit I ain’t telling you! I don’t want to!”

“You misunderstand the definition of loyalty, and now I know how to keep you from coming back from the dead,” Lye growled. “Thank you for that.”

With a clenched fist, he possessed her body with shadow. He chuckled darkly.

“To think Noel was killed by a woman, pathetic.” As he spoke, he lifted Amari toward the wrought iron door in the cavern wall which lead to the dungeon.

[Mari]

“You wouldn’t dare let me die like that!” She hissed as she felt her body tighten, constricted with dark shadows that coiled around each of her limbs, cutting into her circulation, weaving around her chest and neck and constricting her motion as she was pulled helplessly into the air. “He died by a ronins hand, and even if it were a woman, that’s a fuckin’ insult and you know it!”

The constrictions tightened around her neck as she was bought through the doors and further down into the dungeon, she knew this would happen. She knew she’d be punished for withholding information, but she couldn’t just rat out Taka like that. He had done everything to help her, he risked his life, and his men were all so very worried for him. Amari promised both Aislinn and his men that she’d do her best to ensure his safety.

“The hell, Ulroke.” Amari gasped, “You’re being an a-ass.”

“A ronin?” His words were genuinely curious. “Perhaps the masked Akashiman? How rich. Noel deserves more credit than I gave him.” He carried her down the steps, suspended by invisible chains.


Amari inwardly winced, and stayed silent at his words. She wasn’t expecting him to guess who it was, she had been very vague with her answers on purpose. She felt a heavy weight settle in her stomach, and it wasn’t from the increased pressure of his invisible grip. Amari had to say something, her silence may give too much away. “I don’t think he wore a mask, he had a sword and…..black robes.”

As they arrived in the dimly lit chamber lined with cells, the pungent aroma of moss and excrement wafted freely in the stale air causing Amari to gag. They past the silent and broken tenants, Lye flung Amari into an empty cell and slammed the barred door shut. She ricocheted off the back wall and fell to the floor, pain wracked her body and her skin was grazed by the gritty dirt, but she pushed herself to her feet and headed straight to the shut door, pulling on the bars. “You can’t keep me here!”

“Odd,” Lye added. “I wasn’t aware of another Eastern swordsman in their ranks. What was the name… Taka? One of the generals?”

Silence.

Silence hung in the air almost as thick and stagnant as the smell of rot and decay. Amari knew she had messed up, she shouldn’t have come back here with him. She should have scouted first, and then she could have diverted toward Madison. Taka would be safe then. Amari clung to the hope that the man kept to his word, and was now long gone. Whatever torture Lye had in store for her wouldn’t matter, because he’d be safe.


“And so what if it was?” Came Amari’s reply, her head hung low.

Lye’s lips spread to a toothy grin. “Now I have two names. Two Ixians that are still alive.” His fingers traced the bars. “And I can hunt them down.”

“Don’t you dare!” Amari spat back. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on Taka!” She snapped, her hand darting through the bars and grabbing a fistfall of his hair. She yanked him toward the cell, the bars vibrated as his forehead collided with the metal. “He’s off limits!”

Amari used her other hand to grip onto his jacket, pinning him against the bars. “I serve you, and ask for nothing.” She muttered in a low tone. “I’m asking this now. You leave him be.”

Teeth clenched and fire in his eyes, Lye stared intently back at her. Amari didn’t notice the reach of his arm behind her, but she felt the cold bite of metal into her back. Amari arched her back, a shrill cry of pain echoing in the chambers, her flesh burned and she could feel blood seeping from the wound but she refused to let go.

Her head reeled back forward, her fingers began to blacken as they entangled themselves further into his hair. “I said LEAVE. HIM. BE.” Amari gave another hard tug. She’d suffer through all the pain, she’d bite her tongue and deal with it, she’d allow herself to become fully corrupted again, if only it would continue to keep Lye here, and away from him. She couldn’t let anyone else die for her.

“Enough!” he roared and Amari felt her fingers lose grip. Amari’s hands wildly tried to reach for his spectral form but to no avail. “You are in no position to make demands and it is clear to me now that they’ve done something to you far beyond robbing you of your power! You will sit in this cell and think on your actions! In the meanwhile, I will pay your Taka and Aislinn a visit and give them your regards!”

As he turned to leave Amari began to panic, this was the opposite of what she wanted. She couldn’t be the reason he or any of the others were hurt. “He’s not the one who did this to me! I tricked him, slept with him!” She shouted in desperation in hopes she’d get his ire turned toward her again. “He’s done nothing to me, he’s only helped me… Just leave him alone!”

She saw him stop in his tracks just before the stairs leading out. His hand braced on the corner of the wall but he didn’t look her way. Instead, he merely scoffed, shook his head, and vanished from view. Only the echo of his boots left behind.

Amari’s hands slid down the bars, her body shook and despite her best efforts tears spilled over her cheeks. “Please Lye…. don’t…” She whispered. She weakly shook the bars. “If I were...corrupted….I could break free…”

[Tainted Bushido]

He almost wish he had his Nodachi on him. It would have made the fight he knew was coming more comfortable for him. He hadn't taken the Rat’s tail from his chambers since the last of the Knights evacuated Castle Ixia. It was a small bit of nostalgia he indulged in as he walked clearly down the path. He knew he had been spotted and didn't care someone would fetch Licensith Ulroke, and he would get his meeting without demanding it.

He was sure the appearance of an Ixian General in the Inner Sanctum of the Crimson Hand would warrant as much.

Any hope he had of leaving was quashed once he stepped beyond the small building at the outskirts. He had found his answers, what he needed to proceed and keep his promise to Amari. He needed to confront Lye, as Seth called him, and teach the man what true leadership was. He let a soft prayer toothed Kami leave his lips as he reached down and grabbed the Porcelain Mask that hung from the saya of one panther twin blades at his hip, and placed it firmly over his face. This was not a time for the kinder, gentler Taka, this was a moment of Justice.

He continued down the path and saw men running before him, some shouting out warnings as a crowd had begun to form before them. Taka was sure this was a once in a lifetime spectacle, and some of these people would get a second time to witness it. He kept up appearances, if only for their memories. He was going to March out, and he wanted them to know that as well.

One of the men stood squarely in his path, and the Ronin stopped a respectable distance away before he spoke, “Are you to take me to your Master?”

“Master nothing, I'm going to gut you and get his thanks. He'd elevate me for saving him the waste of his time,” the man replied.

Taka shook his head as he continued to walk his footsteps always seeming to find purchase in the correct parts of the snow as he did and spoke, “Do not be a fool. I would not knowingly walk into a den of murderers and thugs if I was afraid of the common men there.”

Taka slowly moved by him. He weighed an attack only to get a stare down from the Ronin that stopped him cold in his tracks. Somehow the man knew if he drew steel he was dead, there would be no offer of mercy. He casually raised both hands before he gestured down the Path, “He was putting Scarlet in lockup last I heard, I'll take you to the dungeon entrance. From there it's your stupid ass on the line, not mine.”

“Many thanks, I am General Taka, Dark Blade of the Ixian Knights. If you should have need to make introductions,” Taka replied in turn. The man was taken aback by the polite demeanor as he moved. A few gangs moved to settle on the Ronin before their compatriot waved them off. It seemed no one wanted to put off what was going to be a wonderful fight for their master.

The courtyard for the Inner Sanctum was littered with blood. Taka could see the tell tale signs of a scuffle, short lived. He crouched kneeling beside the tracks before a hand gently brushed against crystal, the all familiar form of Black Magicyte. He felt the heat of anger fill his frame as he spoke, “What did your Master do to Noel’s body?”

“Threw it to the pigs, said that was what the man deserved,” The thug replied. Taka nodded almost expecting such an answer.

“Arigato, my friend. If you would inform your Master I am here to talk to him I would appreciate it,” Taka replied.

The thug looked at Taka for a moment as he spoke, “You ain't angry at all of us?”

“I reserve my anger at the man that orchestrated all the suffering you create. I cannot blame the men for following their leader, I can hold that leader responsible however,” Taka replied nonchalantly.

The man nodded before he took off at a jog towards a large Cavern off to the side of the courtyard. Taka merely remained, even as the other men began to mill about what was certainly a day of unusual occurrences.

[Lye]

Amari’s whimpers faded into the darkness as Lye emerged into the large cavern. The silence of the room only accentuated the loud thoughts brewing frantically in his mind. Again, the Ixians posed a problem to his plans. Once again they became an obstacle despite having robbed them of their most treasured member. A deep sigh slipped past the assassin’s lips as he massaged the pounding headache amassing in his temples.

“Foolish child,” he muttered.

Lye continued back out into the open courtyard of the Inner Sanctum where the newly fallen snow threatened to hide the remnant shards of magicyte from the world. Standing in the center was an armed man with a white porcelain mask. The figure wore the robes of an Akashiman, and the mask turned to view his entry to the courtyard. Lye halted, his gaze fixed on the Ixian before him as only the icy Salvic air sat between them. The assassin breathed deeply with a look of disgust on his face.

“You look lost, Ixian.” The words dripped with ire and venom. The ruffian who stood near the ronin, unarmed, took a step back. Lye’s gaze listed to the several others who watched from their vantage points. None of them injured nor armed. “I see you didn’t force your way in.”

Those words, heard by the few, turned their gazes awry in guilt.

Taka reached into his pocket, producing something before he tossed it before the Master of the Crimson Hand, “You have things that belong to my men. I want them back, all of them, and if not all, what you have left. They are not your things to play with or give. We have some things belonging to your men, but they are locked away, should you wish, come to Castle Ixia and I will return them to you. I trust you remember where that is.”

A patch, with frayed threads landed before Lye with a shield, upon a single star was found. It was obviously a symbol of the Ixian Knights, and stared resolutely up at the Assassin. A silent reminder of the war between the two factions. The assassin looked up.

“The spoils of war must not be a concept in your lands, foreigner,” Lye stated. “Pray tell what of mine you have that I’d be interested in.”

“I did not keep stock but I'm sure we have weapons from your attempts to kill me in my sleep. I'm certain at least one or two might be missed. I also want their bodies, but upon hearing what you do with your dead, I see the concept of war crimes must not exist in your lands.”

Lye snickered. “They do, but I walk outside trivial law. Keep those trinkets if you like. Consider them gifts. Now, leave Ixian.”

“You mistake my words for a request, I don't do requests with cowards,” Taka replied firmly, “I find requests aren't adhered to because their cowardice overrules their better judgement.”

Lye placed a hand atop the pommel of his remaining khukri. “So, a demand then? Bold, but I’m disinclined to accept.”

“I am not one of your subordinates Ulroke, I will respond in kind if you draw steel. You have a choice before you, you can give me what I demand and I go or I can take them after we debate it in the manner of your choice. Even if you fail to accept the laws of the land, you are not immune. Though that is an ignorance I find oddly fitting of you,” The Ronin remained resolute even as he shifted subtly in stance. Preparing for whatever the Assassin could throw his way.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lye added with a charismatic nod of his head. “However, you forget where you are. So my offer is leave and live, or stay and fight for your old memorabilia.”

Taka sighed, “I see Seth is right, you are lost to blood lust. Is everything with you a matter of Life and Death? Are you so lost that even you cannot see how embarrassingly childish this appears?”

The mention of Seth narrowed Lye’s eyes. He grit his teeth before entertaining the idea further and his brow raised. “Did you honestly expect me to believe you would come here just to collect the remains of your fallen? Just one man, no other motives? Or did you come here for her? Revenge? Do you have others lying in wait? Don’t play coy with me, swordsman. It’s a waste of my and your time.”

“Perhaps you are not familiar with Akashiman customs, but we honor our dead. They gave their lives to fulfill a dream, and I will not rest until their loved ones can know their final fate. That patch belongs to the Reformation Team, and their member had a debt to society. It's my job to let society know they paid that debt. Perhaps in your army, where their lives are mere trinkets for you to play with that's a foreign concept,” Taka replied, he seemed to ignore the question of Amari, “We respect our dead, Assassin.”

“The dead are the dead. If you want rags and worn blades, so be it. I can have them collected and returned to your castle. Anything else?” The assassin’s tone became insincere and mocking.

“I wish I could take you at face value, but your actions and words are seldom one. I want them now on a wagon ready to go by nightfall. You had your chance, you blew it, suffer consequences for your actions like a grown man, rather than a mewling child,” the Dark Blade looked upon Lye with a leveled cold stare. He appeared to not give ground to the Assassin in an antagonistic fashion on purpose.

Lye chuckled and he shook his head. He entertained himself enough. Either way, the Ixian couldn’t leave. Doing so would only invite the remaining Knights to descend on the Seventh Sanctum. So, without a word, he dug his hand into a pouch behind his back. Though it seemed as if he were reaching for a weapon, Lye pulled into view a small piece of jewelry and threw it at the swordsman’s feet.

“As you wish,” he added as Kayla’s anklet nestled into the fallen snow. “We’ll start with that.”

[Tainted Bushido]

Taka knew he was in for a whirlwind of emotions when he began this fight. He knew Lye would be as a snake, attempting to slither out of any corner Taka could force him into. He also knew that he may uncover unpleasant truths in the man’s demeanor. What he wasn't prepared for was the Anklet that had allowed Kyla Orlouge to adopt both branches of Mystic Magic to be dropped before him.

Carefully he knelt, keeping one hand near the Tanto at the small of his back as he carefully lifted the anklet and stood up looking at it. He could feel the magic thrumming through it, and knew it was the real one, not a counterfeit. He looked up at Ulroke his voice still amazingly even as he spoke, “Any more trophies you wish to admit to?”

“Your head perhaps?” And finally, the thrum of steel rang out. Taka had expected this when he went to gather the anklet, but even now he was unprepared as he should have been. Chiding himself he let go of his plan on using a drawing strike as he tried to pull Rengoku from its sheath. His eyes deadening as he prepared himself to battle the Master of the Crimson Assassins.

Lye threw a kukri at the Ronin's head, an attack easily dodged. He brought his Katana up into a rest position as the thrown weapon flew by his head, Ulroke gave him a disgusting grin as he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Taka was confused by what transpired until the blade dug into the flesh of his back. The Ronin grunted in pain, stumbling forth in a staggered step, before he turned and brought his blade out in an easily dodged attack.

The blade however was parried wide as a boot sent the Ronin skidding across the ground. He grunted as he came to a halt, taking up stance with his blade before him again. Ulroke laughed at Taka and mocked, “Not what I expected from a general -- far slower than Ambrose.”

Taka slashed at the Crimson Assassin only to have him laugh as the blade passed harmlessly through. Taka had encountered magic before, but this was on a level far beyond what he was prepared for. It reminded Taka he was not ready for what he had set himself before. Amari had warned him from the sanctum, now he knew why. Lye was far more powerful than Taka had given him credit for.

Lye phased through Taka, an altogether unsettling feeling before he kicked out the feet from under the Ronin. A tut left his mouth at the act, and Taka knew he was being played with. Lye was going to destroy Taka bit by bit in front of his men, but Taka refused to stay down. He returned to his feet as Lye looked at him and shook his head.

“Archers,” He said firmly as he raised his hand. Taka heard the sounds of hundreds of bows stretching, before he closed his eyes and focused back on the Crimson Assassin. The fun was over, now it was time for Taka to die.

[Mari]

Amari’s throat was hoarse, she had been screaming, loudly, unabashed, and without reprise. She knew that anger, negativity and inflicting pain caused the corruption within her soul to simmer and that was exactly what she was trying to do. She focused on the pain in her back from the wound Lye inflicted, he had left the small dagger in the cell with her, so she had used it to small lesions all over her body, she sat breathing heavily.

The man in the cell to the left of her was now a mangled bloody mess. Gory entrails that were once his eyes clung to the blade and her now blackened hands. It was working. Small, broken laughs bubbled from her as she shifted to tug at the bars again.

“Oh? What’s this?” A guard had approached the bars, burly, about twice the size of Lye. “Well isn’t it Scarlet herself. I heard you were back.” He knelt down by the cage, reaching in to grab her chin and pull it toward him. “Also heard you lost those nasty dangerous abilities of yours, pissed off the Master, led an Ixian Knight...Who you had the audacity to fuck, to our doorstep...my I’m surprised you aren’t dead.”

“The fuck do you want Tauros.”

The man grinned, “Oh, many things, Scarlet, many things. Do you know they’re fighting up there, right now? Master and the Knight?”

Amari felt her heart skip a beat, “W-what?” That couldn’t be right, Taka had promised her… he had sworn on his blade that he would not follow her into the sanctum. So why was he here? After everything...did he really lie to her? “Tauros, you’re full of shit.” She hissed as her eyes narrowed.

He pushed her chin away and opened the cell, “White haired man, wears a mask. Prattles on about honor? Funny. He asked for all the Ixian Knight trinkets we had, yet not once asked for you.” Taurus stepped into the cell, blocking Amari’s immediate exit. “I think he was using you to get here.”

“Liar!” Amari snapped as she pushed herself to her feet, kukri in hand she aimed it at Tauros’ jugular but he caught her arm in his hand and pushed her to the back wall. His other elbow tight against her neck. Amari coughed, and spat a glob of spit and blood onto Tauros’s face.

The hulking man laughed. “No, sweetheart, just a theory. Just a theory. But think about it. He finds out you work for the Crimson Hand, and suddenly he is incredibly kind and considerate? You’re too trusting, you’ve fallen for the enemy and you’ve grown weak, and I’m going to show Master you aren’t worth the time nor the effort he puts into you.”

“What the hell you gonna do?” Amari hissed.

“Not touch you, if that’s what you think. You’re a little too...living for my liking. Sides…” He pried the Kukri from her hand. “You pulled out the eyes of the last men who did that to you.” In one swift motion Tauros tossed her to the floor and straddled her. Pinning her arms to her sides underneath his hulking weight. “Know what I say?” He leaned in close and whispered. “An eye for an eye.”

He ignored her screams as he pried open her lids with one eye, the other, with surprising delicacy was pushed into her socket,he spun the blade around her socket and tilted it to the side, removing the eye, and detaching it from the optic nerve. He did this to the second one. “I wonder if your revival regenerates lost eyes, do you think your little hero would want these?” He asked.

Amari screamed and writhed beneath him, her eyes nothing more than bleeding sockets.

“LET ME GO! MASTER! MASTER! ARGH….T-TA..A.AAHH..” She switched between the two names between agonizing cries.

Tauros pulled her up and out of the cells by her hair. “This is why I like ‘em dead.” He muttered. “No noise. No movement. Even calling out to the enemy, fuck you’ve fallen far.”

He pulled her to the fight, with Amari still screaming, a thin crimson trail of her blood behind her. “Yo, Master.” Tauros called to Lye with a nod. “Did you a favor.” He carelessly tossed Amari’s milky eyes to the centre of the battle. “Courtesy of the men she felled. She’s a traitor.”

Amari was choking on her cries, body writhing in the snow as her shaky hands clutched at her face. Every so often they’d spark with a golden light, but they’d quickly fade, she was in too much pain to concentrate. “M….Mas…..” A sharp kick to her side caused her to roll over and throw up a sickly yellow bile.

[Lye]

His hand held high, judgmental gaze fixed on the Ixian in front of him. The signal to fire fell but halted shy at the roar of a ruffian from behind. From a curtain of silvered hair, the assassin diverted his gaze in a foolish move. There, Amari lay writhing in the snow. Hollowed sockets ran red with her blood and two stains in against the white winter canvas marked the missing pieces.

“Tauros!” Lye roared. His hand formed a fist, and the strings of bows fell slack. “You imbecile!”

“What? Why?” He knelt down and gripped Amari’s chin in his hand, pushing her face toward Lye, her cries had turned to gasping whimpers. “She deserved this, and you know it. Besides…” He turned his gaze toward Taka. “The Knight needs to see what happens when he messes with your property.” Tauros grinned as his tongue lapped up the blood that stained Amari’s face.

“Silence cretin,” Taka snapped his voice colder than the dunes about them he turned his ire to Lye, “This is what your leadership created. A rule by fear and pain is great for discipline, until the men realize anyone under them can also be manipulated in the same manner. He chose his path based on what you taught him, based on your actions showing him it was okay!”

Lye refused to dignify either of them with a response. He let his actions speak for themselves. The assassin’s steel flew threw the air toward Tauros and as the brute motioned to defend himself, Lye appeared before him. His gloved hand slapped against the meat of Tauros’s face, too small to grip it properly, but enough for the intended purpose.

“Penance for your sins,” Lye growled.

Violet light erupted from the assassin’s palm directly into Tauros’s skull. His brutish voice exploded into agony as he reeled backward and collapsed upon himself. Wounds opened from head to toe across his body and blood poured freely from beneath his leathers. His screams of agony faded into hushed whispers as the magic robbed him of his voice. The color of his eyes faded into cloudy irises as blackened flesh crawled up from the neckline of his tunic. Tauros’ fingers grew necrotic, becoming blackened bone in seconds until the struggle for life ended with a sickening splorsh. A wave of red ruptured from his chest and the brute fell silent in a crimson puddle.

Amari’s weak form lay at his feet, her shaking hands tugged lightly on the leg of his pants, she was covered in the thick ichor and blood of Tauros. “L-Lye…”

Taka remained impassive watching the execution as it gruesomely was carried out. His gaze never left the man who died before him, his demeanor statuesque at the gory carrying out of justice. His eyes moved to Amari, and he seemed conflicted. Finally he moved, ignoring the sounds of a few of them men as he gently moved to Amari’s side, “Are you alright?”

Upon hearing Taka’s voice, one hushed whisper left Amari’s lips, even in her rasped breathing it was dripping with betrayal. “Liar.” The effort expended to mutter the word left the dying woman unconscious.

Lye’s steel pressed against the Ixian’s neck. “On your feet, swordsman.” The Ronin obliged him, standing carefully under the blade. “You could have cut me down just now, but you did not. Regardless, our fight is over. Sheath your blade.”

Taka's reaction was hidden behind the mask. His eyes not giving anything away. He looked at the man and stepped back before he spoke, firmly, “Because I refused to act against my honor, you are ending this fight? Or has disciplining your men soured your taste for this?”

“You are outskilled and outnumbered,” Lye stated. “And I am bored with you. Stay if you like or leave. Raise your blade again, and you’ll suffer a similar fate to this man.”

Lye’s own blades returned to their sheaths. He turned his back to the swordsman and lifted Amari from the frozen tundra. Without another word, he carried her back within the longhouse, her crimson hair draping lifelessly over his arms.