Aaron squirmed, trying to break free of the ground. His tail end was tightly wedged. The sword had hurt- it had missed his throat by mere inches. He wasn't about to let that happen again, but he lay half in the ground hacking and spluttering, hoping to convince the others that he was incapacitated. It seemed to work, as the dark knight and the one with the blaster seemed to have completely forgotten about the fact that he was still conscious and alive. The man in the top hat suddenly came closer, approaching him. Is this person really that foolish? Aaron thought. Well, he might as well take advantage of it.

Leaning all his weight forward suddenly, he reached out to swipe at Salfira. At the same time, he released a burst of flame at the other two men, though its power was significantly reduced by the fact that his neck was injured. Nevertheless, he laughed as the fireball hurtled toward them.

The dragon squirmed, then suddenly reached a claw out to swipe at Salfira. Salfira was too focused on Mika and Darken to notice the outstretched claw at his side. When he turned his head, the Dragon's claw filled his vision. It was too late to dodge, Salfira raised his arms up in front of his fact to guard himself. Just as his hands reached in front of his eyes, the attack connected and Salfira was flung tens of meters away.

Salfira rolled across the snow for over a hundred meters before stopping. He lifted his torso from the ground and rotated his body so he would be sitting on the ground. He raised is right arm, and in an instant, the snow around him rose and started to coalesce into spikes in the air. They were compressed to formed large elongated ice crystals, all tapered at both ends. A large number of ice spikes were formed before Salfira swung his arm down. Immediately, the spikes of ice rushed towards the dragon at blazing speed.

"Guys. I believe that you may not have incapacitated the creature enough," Salifra's voice was projected towards Darken and Mika as he made his attack.

There is a surprisingly common rumour that all mages are insane, and that those that deny it are either mages themselves or insane. There is also a rumour that states that every person in the world lies half the time, yet tells the truth the other time. This rumour was eventually discredited when it turned out that the rumour was only half true. Whether these two rumours are connected or not varies a lot depending on the person you ask. There is also a third, far less popular rumour that states that all mages are insomniacs. I was fairly certain that this rumour was false given that in Jopo most of my fellow villagers had relatively regular sleeping schedules, yet I was beginning to think that the rumour did have some merit. At times, I would forget about sleeping in favor of learning more magic. In any case, this was one of those rare days when I genuinely felt tired. I looked at the window again. It still wasn't night. I looked at my room next. It was relatively well organized, and I could put my book away in the shelves for later use. Of course, I didn't. I would be ashamed if someone stole it from me, so I generally kept the book around me at all times.

All of my predecessors had edited it, and I was one day going to add to it as well. Of course, even if someone did steal it from me, they wouldn't be able to read it. The book was written in a numerous amount of languages, mostly in ancient texts that almost no one understood now. Thankfully, I could decipher it. No one would be able to decipher it all without training, but it was better to be cautious. I held onto the grey book tightly. I looked towards my bed. It was a rather simple bed, and had a blanket. The colour of both was a rather disgusting looking green, but I didn't really mind. I carefully removed my sword from my back. It was strapped across my back, and sleeping with it on my back was not an experience I wanted to try. Still, perhaps it would be an enlightening experience somehow? I made a mental note to myself to make sure that I tried that later. In any case, for now I placed the sword on the desk along with my newly acquired chef's hat. I then headed towards my bed and fell asleep. Some people likely think I'm insane for not taking off my boots and continuing to hold the book, but for some reason Dark Mage Boots are really comfortable and I had to be careful. Also, I needed to try many new things, and perhaps this would be a good thing. The people reading my thoughts also likely think this a waste of time, assuming they exist. I'm not exactly sure if they do, but they might.

As I succumbed to darkness, I felt rather strange. Almost as though I had suddenly discovered that the world was actually controlled by a giant puppet named Hal but I then forgot it. That was an unlikely theory, but some people would disagree. Or at the very least I think so. There's likely some people who would disagree that people would disagree, but that would start a rather complicated chain of events. In any case, what actually happened was that I suddenly felt as though I wasn't sleeping. I tried moving around, and that seemed to work, but I wasn't sure what was going on. I then realized that my eyes were still closed and I opened them both. I then looked at the most horrifying sight I will likely ever see in my life. Or at the very least I think so. Some would say that it was a great sight, but I disagreed strongly. In any case, the sight was... almost nothing. Everything was dark, yet I still existed. What was even more creepy is that there was a table that seemed to float in the middle of nothing. The table was a simple circular wooden one with two opposing seats. Seeing as I had nothing else to do, I took the seat closest to me. After a bit of waiting, I closed my eyes to think for a moment. When I was done thinking and opened my eyes again, I noticed something very different.

"Hello, Ewyn." The newcomer sitting opposite of me said. He was bald, had a brown beard, had several scars, had deep red evil looking eyes, was smiling like a maniac, and was holding a bloody knife in his hand and eating a military ration. This did not surprise me. In this day and age, everyone seemed to know your name. I only responded by waving back, since I wasn't exactly sure how to respond in this situation. Thankfully, a glass of grape juice materialized on the wooden table, and I gratefully took it. I waited for the newcomer to start talking. It was an uncomfortable silence, and both of us did not seem to know who should speak first. Thankfully, the newcomer cleared his throat and continued.
"Err... hm. Well, I suppose I'll get straight to the point. My name is Armand Uaususuaua. I'm not exactly sure how that's pronounced, and you probably don't either. My parents were lunatics. Anyway, I am here for a very good reason. To eliminate you, a threat. I am the owner of a large company... and our best selling product is military rations. Yes, we sell them. It's hilarious." Armand said, and then evilly laughed. I could now tell that this man was very evil. Any man who knowingly sold poison and labeled it as food was clearly evil. I took another sip from my grape juice.
"Anyway, you are a threat. You clearly hate military rations, and there's too high of a chance that you'll go on a journey to destroy them all. Which is why we now BATTLE!" Armand said, and the table disappeared.

What happened next was very odd. All of a sudden my wooden chair turned into a throne, as did Armand's chair. Within a blink of an eye, he disappeared. All of a sudden, I felt as though I almost disappeared. The nothingness turned into... something. More specifically, I was looking at a map of some kind that I couldn't look away from. There was nothing on the map but a brown ground. This was either normal or odd.
"All right then... prepare for battle. Just follow my lead and you may survive!" Armand said, laughing evilly as if to further establish that he was a blatant villain.
"Just imagine some kind of army in your head." Armand continued. I did. The result was that standing on the ground was a mage army, far more than I could count, likely in the millions range.
"Now, for my counterattack! Go, Ration Army!" Armand said, and all of a sudden giant military rations appeared. These military rations looked like cartoons. They were mostly dull looking bars, but somehow they had gained legs and arms. Most of them were carrying a sword.

After a tense moment, the two armies collided. My mage army cast many spells against the ration army, and it seemed like an even battle. The ration army just kept charging, and I realized that they would win if I did nothing. I decided to try summoning something else.
"O'er the battlefield the wind blows... summon, giant cannon." I whispered. I wasn't exactly sure why I spoke like that, but it seemed to work because in the middle of my mage army arrived a giant cannon. Said cannon was very shiny, and automatically aimed at the ration army, causing many rations to die to the purple shots that the cannon fired.
"O'er the battlefield the blood of our kin is spilled... metor." I whispered. All of a sudden, several meteors fell from the sky and hit the enemy military rations. What was much more surprising was that the enemy kept regenerating. The military rations broke into smaller pieces that took on their own lives.
"Hm... not bad!" Armand said, and I could hear a clap coming from somewhere. He responded to this by summoning a gigantic military ration that was even bigger than my cannon. The giant military ration would likely fall soon, but it would also take my cannon down with it. I quickly analyzed my options for a battle strategy. I would need to find some way to win quickly. The military rations kept regenerating too quickly, and my army would lose in a battle of endurance. I then thought of the most powerful weapon I knew of. Realization struck me quickly.
"O'er the battlefield a grey morning ends... summon, horn." I whispered, still not exactly sure why I was speaking in such a strange way.

What suddenly happened was a very quick change in the tides of battle. All of a sudden, all of my mage army was equipped with a horn and loudly played it. I would have to thank Mr. Akihiro later for introducing me to this weapon. The horn was powerful, and the military rations all surrendered.
"N-no! This power... it's impossible! I yield! I shall return next time with a counter-strategy." Armand said, and the map suddenly disappeared. In the blink of an eye, I was suddenly back to the nothingness that I was at previously. I took my seat again. I then noticed that I was still holding my grape juice and finished it. I placed it back on the wooden table, and almost as soon as I did, the glass of grape juice was suddenly filled again. I took a sip. It was apple juice this time. This did not surprise me at all. A lot of people prefer apple juice to grape juice.

All of a sudden, as if it was always that way, a person was sitting in the seat opposing mine. It was not the same person as last time however. This person was carrying a harp, and wearing a red fedora of some kind with a feather. This person had a rather calm look on his face. He had black hair and had both of his eyes closed, seemingly too focused on playing his harp. The song he was playing seemed to be a rather sad, melancholy piece. He opened his eyes, and had a slight look of surprise. This only lasted for a second before he took off his hat and did a very slight bow. Something told me the bow would have been lower if this person wasn't sitting. He quickly put the hat back on.
"Ah, hello. It appears as though I was killed by wolves... Zak definitely stacked the odds against the village though. I'm not sure why I'm here... is this some kind of dream I'm having as I'm dying? I'm a bard by the way." The bard told me, sounding friendly enough but definitely confused. I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about, so I only shrugged. Nothing that had happened so far was very odd, so there was likely an explanation.

"Well, my story certainly ended on a sad note... then again, I have to admit that the fact that I lasted so long is kind of funny. My name is Fortuna Telyer, but no one guessed that I was the fortune teller until I was betrayed... pretty funny actually. That's why I legally changed my name to The Bard. Still rather stupid, but at least it wouldn't get me killed... now, how do I get out of this weird dream? What's your name anyway...? You don't look like any of the villagers." The Bard said.
"Well, no matter where you are, I'm sure that your village shall always be with you in your heart, and you'll be able to get out of this place... assuming it is a dream. I think it may be a dream, but that's just what I think. The main question is whether or not it is my dream or your dream. So now we have to find out if this is my dream and you are the product of my imagination, or if it is the other way around. Alternatively, we may be the products of a different person, or perhaps just the products of a deranged imagination. I think the deranged imagination might be listening into us right now. It may have gone over that way. My name is Ewyn by the way. I'm a mage of Jopo. My parents are merchants." I responded while pointing to my left and the general direction there. The Bard looked confused at first, and then closed his eyes. He lowered his hat, obscuring his eyes as well as most of his face. A moment after this happened, he simply... disappeared. As if he never existed, The Bard vanished. This did not surprise me. Bards tended to wander a lot of places, and generally did not stay in one place for long unless forced to, or it had some advantage to them.

I was beginning to wonder whether or not there was some kind of point to this dream, and then thought that perhaps there was some hidden meaning I had overlooked. Or perhaps the hidden meaning had missed me and was now frantically searching for me. I imagined that the hidden meaning would be very upset that it had missed me, and would be hoping that it would not get fired. Or at the very least I think so. Before I could pursue this train of thought further, another person suddenly appeared in the seat opposing mine. This person looked rather nervous, shy, and confused. He looked like he was around 19 years of age. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, a grey sweater, and black jeans. He turned to look at me. He cleared his throat to speak.


"The Old Man is playing another trick on me... he seems to like making my life torture. All of the contestants are dead except for Sympho, Drayce, and I. I'm actually surprised I made it this far. Anyway, I need to stop rambling like a mad man. This whole thing is insane, but I can pull through. I've somehow got thunder magic on my side... I'm not sure how long it will last though. I need to find Drayce, form an alliance with him, and then defeat Sympho... maybe the Old Man is actually being merciful and sent me here to collect my thoughts? Heh... sorry. I keep talking... you probably have no clue what I'm talking about. My name's Christoph by the way... Christoph Alfons... you seem human. I'm not going to ask you for your name... just... thanks for listening, okay? For all I know, I could be going insane and you may not be real." The nineteen year old named Christoph said. He seemed rather stressed by something. From what I could deduce Christoph was a thunder mage of some kind. He was apparently in some kind of contest... one that involved death apparently. For some reason, I felt rather grateful that he had thanked me. He seemed to have been through a lot, though I still wasn't exactly sure what.

Once again, in the blink of an eye he disappeared. Christoph had disappeared even faster than the others. As I wondered about this, the nothingness changed to... something. Or, rather, the nothingness instead became a light blue colour. In addition to this, the wooden chair I was sitting on was suddenly made of iron, or something similar. The circular table changed into a very different table. This table seemed much more fitting for a meeting room, as it was now long and rectangular. In addition to that, it now seemed to be made from some kind of material that was azure coloured. What happened next was that there were now three seats on the opposite end of the table, all with occupants. To my left sat a middle aged looking man. He was wearing a grey robe of some kind. He seemed to be a wanderer of some kind or another. He had short grey hair and a brown beard. Sitting directly opposite of me was a black haired, brown eyed individual who appeared to be in his early thirties. He was wearing black robes. To my right was a female, wearing brown robes. She looked like she was in her early thirties or late twenties, and had medium length brown hair and hazel eyes. All three of them looked at me. I wasn't exactly sure how to react in this situation, so I took another sip of apple juice. I waited for one of them to speak.

"Well... this is going to be hard to explain. Well, let's get this out of the way. I'm Alan, the depressed, insane maniac wearing black over there is Allen, and the one wearing brown is Alyn, and gets annoyed too easily. You're likely wondering why our names are all similar, and who were are." The middled aged man named Alan said. I wasn't exactly sure what I was wondering at the moment, so I responded.

"I'm not exactly sure whether I'm wondering something or not, then again, I am almost certain that I'm wondering about whether I'm wondering about something or not, but if I am I would likely be wondering about that, but I wasn't, then I wouldn't exactly be sure. Since I'm not sure right now, I suppose it could go either way." I said, not exactly sure how to respond. I noticed that my glass had run out of apple juice, and I wasn't very thirsty in any case. After a long pause, another one of them decided to speak. This was one was the one named Allen, who was apparently insane and depressed.

"The boy confuses us all! He is clearly an alien from Outer Seven Nine, and we must kills him! NWEHEHEHEHEHE! Why is it that my life is tortured by alien fools!? WHY!?" Allen said, and then started crying. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, and something told me that my other two guests didn't either. The one who had not spoken previously now spoke.

"Err... well, this could have gone better. Let's get this clear. You remember that voice you had previously heard in your head that warned you against doing certain things? Yeah, well... that was us. Also, we were blatantly lying through out the whole thing. All three of us are dead you see, and bothering people is our only form of entertainment. We're spirits... sort of. What I mean is, that a certain SOMEONE just had to try out his latest spell that somehow managed to kill our physical bodies, but our souls lived on. It's complicated. Anyway, we can't really do much since we have to remain trapped in some kind of magic artifact, or else we suffer an extremely painful death... which may be preferable at this point. We can travel through objects, if they have some magic in them. This process has gone on for... I don't know how long now. Anyway, now our spirits are in that magic short sword you own. So you're our host, more or less. We can't do much of anything though. We were all mages when we were alive but not having your physical body kind of makes it hard to use any magic, so we can't really provide anything in battle and- WILL YOU BE QUIET!?" Alyn said, at first calmly and then more irritated before punching Allen. Allen responded by pouting and whispering something instead. I noted that around the time she emphasized "SOMEONE" she glared at Alan.

"Right... well, we can't really provide much other than companionship or advice. So yeah... I'm not sure how long we'll be around, sorry about the exposition dump. You can even pretend we're not here. Also, anything we may have told you while pretending to be an wizard was a lie. For the most part at least. Feel free to contact us at any time... just think hard enough, I don't have an instruction manual. Anyway, we can't stay here for long. We interrupted some dream of yours... something to do with military rations, bards, and some death contest... no comment. We'll tell you the story of why we have similar names later, but personally... my parents wanted a boy. Depressing I know." Alyn ended. I accepted this explanation without question, as there was no reason for them to lie, and I still wasn't sure if we're all products of a deranged imagination, not necessarily my own. I nodded and as soon as that happened, everything went dark again. Everything disappeared, including the empty-glass of apple juice. I remembered what had happened earlier and opened my eyes.

I awoke to find myself in my bed. I calmly and slowly got up, still clutching the grey book. I looked at the window. It still wasn't night, so either I had slept through a whole day, or I had a very short rest. In any case, I no longer felt tired. I walked over to my desk and opened my book again. Learning more magic was very important. All in all, it was a rather average journey so far. Or at the very least I think so. Some would say that my journey was very exciting, but I don't think so. I continued reading the grey book, which for some reason has no name. I suppose that a long line of Elders couldn't decide on one, so I just called it The Grey Book, and that seemed to work. Perhaps one day that will be the official title of the book, but it's just as likely that someone will call it The Pink Book for seemingly no reason at all, but then again, perhaps there is a reason I haven't thought of. In any case, I continued reading to learn more magic...

It was dark outside. Another day had gone by... but I didn't feel tired at all. The last few days had been very troublesome... but now, I finally had a goal in my life. I would recover two pieces of my past and destroy them, just at they deserved. This night however, I did not feel tired. Perhaps I was anxious. I had decided what my route to Sabolin would be. Tomorrow morning, I would go down to the harbor and see if there were any ships for a city nearby Sabolin... perhaps Kalisdale or Trin. I don't care what it takes... somehow, I was going to find my parents, and Darath was my best way to find them. But then what would I die when I finished my goal? I had a whole life to live. My parents ruined my childhood, but I still had my adulthood. Would I just find some monotonous task to do every day, for the rest of my life? No, that wasn't the life I was headed for. I am still a thief, no matter what.

I took a deep breath. I do not care about anything other than my goal. I need to stay focused on my goal... I suppose I could serve Darath after that. After that... the thought alone made me much more aware that I was thinking of killing my own mother and father. Was I hesitant when I thought that? My parents were monsters... lower than scum... I was the target of their frustration and anger. That did not change the fact that I would not have been born without them. Still, I would be doing the world a favor if their blood was on my hands. The world did not need them, and I was doing a good thing. You could call it petty revenge or justice I suppose... either way, my mind was set in stone. I wasn't going to back down on my goal.

I got up from my bed. It was night, and I was having trouble sleeping. I needed to take a walk... of course, if Fellum was anything like Terum, the streets were dangerous at night. I honestly didn't care at that moment. I needed to take a walk... clear my mind. I could hold my own in a fight in any case... and if I was mugged, well... I can be quite resourceful and cunning. I quickly checked my wallet... I didn't check to see exactly how much Sone I had, but I definitely had enough to last a while. I would be able to get a boat to Darath and pay an inn. If worst came to worst, I could always fall back to what I was good at and steal again. Most of my attempts did not end as badly as my encounter with the guard... I still couldn't believe how careless I was. That guard was a perfect target, yet I forgot an important rule... anything can happen. For ignoring that rule, I nearly paid the price of my life. Of course, that guard also ignored this rule, and he paid the price instead. Perhaps it was scary that I was happy when killing him... am I going insane?

I quickly took something from my room, a torch. I had told the inn keeper that I may take a walk, and after failing to convince me not to, he gave me a torch. It wasn't lit of course. I opened the door to my room, got out, and locked the door with the key the inn keeper had given me. I quietly walked downstairs to the outside of the building. Outside, I took a deep breath. Something about fresh air always made it seem new. It was still dark however, and my torch wasn't lit. Thankfully, there were much bigger torches scattered around the city. Candle like stands all around the city that were on fire... what were those called? I wasn't exactly sure... perhaps they were called torches as well. In any case, I lit my torch with one of them.

I took another deep breath. It was quiet... how eerie. I honestly didn't care where I was going... I was just going to take a short walk after all. Perhaps I'd wander for a bit. I made sure I had both of my daggers with me. Perhaps I was being overly paranoid, but I could not take the risk of being attacked while having only a torch to defend myself with. Perhaps I really was going insane... oh well, if I was, then I'd make sure both of my parents were dead before that happened. Besides... maybe death wouldn't be so bad? I quickly brushed aside that thought. I was clearly going insane... there would be little point in being suicidal as well.

Night had fallen in Jeru and most people were wise enough to hurry home. Not that such a thing mattered to Exa. Her job at this time was to kill the scum of Fellum and if that meant breaking into a few houses then so be it. However, for the first time in a while she had her first target decided upon before she even got out of her house.

Exa made her way to the hotel, passing through as many alleyways as she could. As usual, she was wearing black from head to toe, even a hood and mask but if she could be even more inconspicuous then that was ideal. She had to kill the crazy guy who had actually come to Fellum. Not just lived there. He had been somewhere else and had dared to set foot here. She had to kill him, one way or another. If that meant taking the whole hotel down with him, then so be it.

As it turned out, Exa was shocked to see how easy it was all going to be. The fool had actually come outside. She supposed the hotel staff didn't have the courtesy to warn him of the serial killer on the loose. Or perhaps the young man was one of those brash types who thought they'd never die no matter how many risks they took. If that was the case, she'd be doing the world good getting rid of him. And if not, she'd certainly make people more considerate in future. Had the hotel staff warned him about the dangers of Fellum at night, he may not have had to die.

Either way, she figured it was clear that he had no idea how much danger he was in. Therefore, he would go down easily from a surprise attack. In his hand he was holding... a torch. That would do. Exa was hidden in the shadows so she was confident that she would not be spotted before it was too late. In the victim's hand, his torch became denser, then sharper... then it lengthened, the enflamed tip shooting towards his face. The intention was for it to drive through his skull.

One of the first things you ever learned about the world was that carelessness could get you killed faster than anything. Of course, like many rules, occasionally people do not follow this rule and pay a price because of that. I was almost one of the people who had paid the ultimate price. Carelessly, I had let myself become less aware of my surroundings. However, survival is like a sixth sense, one that I have honed ever since I ran away from home. It was this, that at that moment, saved me from serious burns or, quite possibly, a very painful death. I felt odd walking around, holding my torch. Almost as though I was being watched... I knew that this meant that someone was following me. I was expecting a thief, or a mugger at most. What I did not expect to happen was my torch to suddenly change shape, and for the flames to grow, almost killing me. This was either some kind of magic, an illusion, or I was going insane. Possibly more than one.

From personal experience, I knew that thieves always hid in the shadows. It was not a stretch to assume that killers did the exact same thing. I quickly threw the torch towards the shadows, hoping to find out my would-be killer, and perhaps hopefully even set them on fire. The latter was too much to hope for, as I did not hear any screams. What did happen however, was that for a brief moment I saw a figure of some kind appear. The assassin, apparently. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, and I could discern the figure that was trying to kill me, but not much else. I took out my daggers, one in each hand. Whoever this opponent was, they had some kind of special skill. I would likely lose in a battle. I was very fast, so I just needed to find a way of escape... I wasn't sure what my opponent was capable of.

"The irony... the Shadow of Terum now has someone following him. I don't know who you are, but I have a goal and can't die yet. If you try killing me, know that if I die, I'm going to make sure you die along with me." I said to my would-be assassin. I was not going to die so easily. I still had a goal to accomplish, and I wasn't going to let an assassin stop me. In any case, I took note of my surroundings. I needed to be ready for any kind of attack.

To Exa's surprise, her target had avoided being killed by throwing the would-be murder weapon in what was supposed to be her direction. Perhaps his bravery was not completely unfounded, however she still thought he was incredibly stupid. She noticed his aim didn't quite match his reflexes as the distorted torch was flung towards the shadows. She could tell it wouldn't hit so she simply let it clatter to the ground a few metres away. Regardless, she could tell it wasn't all in vain on his part. His eyes were facing her now, so the flames from the torch must have lit up the area around her just well enough for him to see her.

Exa didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed as this guy, rather than beating a hasty retreat, took out his daggers and actually tried to threaten her. Did he think he was some kind of hot shot just because he hadn't died right away? Exa had come across lucky people like that before but they never lasted a second blow. He spoke of being 'the shadow of Terum'. Was this supposed to scare her as well? She had heard of Terum but in recent years she hadn't caught up on the news much. This 'shadow of Terum' meant nothing to her. The only nation she heard much of was Darath because it was such a hot topic. Still, she never put much thought into anything unrelated to her goal. Therefore, she didn't care a bit about this guy's dream.

He had daggers out... how easy this would be. She'd kill him in a way he would never see coming then move on to her next victim. As his only weapons, this boy must have put a lot of faith in these daggers. What was to come betrayed this faith. The blade of the dagger in his right hand was distorted, bending in order to drive itself through its owner's wrist.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my right wrist. I felt rather cold... I knew this feeling. I had been through it multiple times in my life. A quick look at my hands confirmed it... I was... bleeding? This occurred far more often that I would like it to... yet what surprised me was what had caused the bleeding in the first place. The dagger in my right hand was the cause? The blade was distorted... just like the torch. The difference being that the torch was meaningless to me, but both of my daggers meant a lot to me. I was now more aware of what my would-be assassin was capable of, but that isn't what I was focused on. What I was focused on was that, in that moment, I suddenly stopped caring about the present.

My daggers... they had seen me through a lot. I stole both of them from a merchant at a young age... I could think of many instances where I would be dead without them. It would be more accurate to say that the daggers were friends, not weapons. Even during the toughest times, I still had them. Unlike people, they never betrayed me... they were loyal to me. Now... this assassin had changed that. This assassin had forced a loyal comrade to betray me. Why? I did not know of anyone in Fellum who would want to kill me... so was the assassin doing this... just for fun? For their own sick, twisted amusement? Was the world trying to spite me? I suddenly returned to the present, still bleeding. I could have dropped the dagger, but I couldn't. Perhaps I was just bloody sentimental... pun not intended. Truly, I was going insane, making jokes to myself while I could die. I didn't care though. Nothing else mattered. All I knew was that this assassin was trying to ruin my life, and they were going to pay the price for that.

"Heh... hehehehehehe... I might die today, my friends have betrayed me... my life still has a purpose though. You are going to die, assassin. I shall show you no mercy... I will be smiling when I stand over your bloody corpse. Heheheh... I don't care any more... even if it costs me my life, you are going to die a merciless death. Sabolin, Darath, my daggers, my own future... none of it matters anymore! Perhaps this is what Lazlo meant when he told me about battle... no matter. The amount of blood that will be spilled would make Marielle proud... heh... look at me, babbling like a mad man, to a person who probably doesn't even care. Hahahaha... I only hope that my parents die like the scum that they are. Heh..." I said, laughing. For some reason, I couldn't help laughing. Perhaps I was going mad, perhaps it was just blood lust. In any case, at least one person was going to die... I honestly didn't care if it was me now. In any case, I took both of my daggers and charged at the general direction of my assassin. My right dagger was still oddly shaped, but I honestly didn't care at that point.

Narome felt a slight high. He knew it was odd that he considered asking something an achievement, but his social ineptitude had bothered him long enough. Maybe he could actually find out something now!
"You know, I don't suppose I could show you the ship as you ask me these questions, Mr Tondoe... Um, I mean, pardon me, err, Narome?"
Damn. This was unexpected. However, by this point, Narome was determined. He wasn't going to be distracted, no matter what! He would make a strategic stop after asking his first question, hopefully making sure Ikanovich would forget what they were doing. Ikanovich began walking again, Narome following soon after.
"Uh, right... First of all..."

Suddenly, Narome stopped mid-sentence. There were two questions that came to mind when he thought of 'top-priority, ask first' questions. The first - what happened on the Defiant. This would tell him what happened, how he got on this ship, and the results of the battle. Important information. The second question - What is the Ebon Hawk? This was perhaps a bit more practical, and would explain the current situation. He didn't exactly know where he was going, who these people were, or what was even happening. After a few seconds, he decided that the first question would be asked first, as it would most likely lead into the second question.
"... Mr Tondo-er-I mean-Narome?"

"What exactly happened on the Defiant after I passed out?"
Ikanovich slowed to a halt, his hands on his hips and his head hung. He sighed, and turned to Narome.
"Well, things got a bit messy, I'm afraid. I never expected anything like this..."
"Like what? Tell me what happened back there!"
"Well, you see... Sabolin was completely obliterated. There's absolutely nothing left except the castle."
There was a short silence. Narome couldn't exactly call Sabolin his home, and had even spent a long time terrorizing it's citizens... yet, he still felt some degree of sadness, and even guilt. To think, so many people were lost over this quarrel. A quarrel that was ultimately caused by him.

"After you passed out, King Minoru collected you along with Kea. You may not have been aware of this, but there were some mages battling atop the Defiant. They half-destroyed the place, actually. One of them appeared to be protecting the Defiant, while the other one, presumably Darathian, seemed to be hell-bent on destroying it. From what I was told, I'm quite certain the Darathian mage ended up charging an absolutely gargantuan spell, which is what caused Sabolin's fall. The Defiant... didn't make it. ...Well, that's the basic idea, anyhow."