"Defeated?"

Blikrot had just received the news of the smashing defeat of some of his Infernos at the hands of a witch and a sailor. Apparently, one of the witches had somehow escaped from the seige of Witches' Haunt. Four Infernos had appropriately tracked her down, and surrounded her in the middle of the night.

But she had had company. A sailor was there to help her...and her magic had worked.

One of his commanders had been turned into stone.

But how could it be? He had the blessing of the resident dragon of the Forst of Falling Leaves! No one could defeat him, or his army! Yet the messenger was standing right in front of him, trembling with fear.

"Where was this? Where did that witch defeat those Infernos?" Blikrot asked. He needed to know. He couldn't allow anger block his thinking. What had the soothsayer said? "With otherworldly powers, your foe may defeat you...you have made many foes with your reckless actions." So was this witch his foe who had the power of defeating him? But can a witch's powers be described as "otherworldly"? This was getting confusing. Things were getting out of control. It was time to take measures.

"King Blikrot, this happened in the pine forest to the north of Witches' Haunt," the messenger said.

"Ah," Blikrot said, and again silenced himself, lost in thoughts. "Your foes will be drawn to the Forest of Falling Leaves..." But he had already taken care of that. He had placed many Infernos as guards near the vicinity of that forest...but still he felt uneasy. It wasn't all that far from the Witches' Haunt. It would take the witch months to get there--if she really was about to go there--but still, it wasn't all that far.

"Your enemies will have access to a weapon that you conceive of as imaginary," the soothsayer had said. Will the dragon give the witch that weapon? Or had the soothsayer been talking about...the Shadowblade?

He used to listen to stories about mighty warriors from his mother, back when she was still alive, back when everything was alright. In many of these stories, the warriors would find a mysterious, mythical sword that had unbelievable powers...a mythical sword that could be obtained from an equally mythical place, named The Temple of Eclipse.

Blikrot had always wanted to find that sword. Yet he had also always known it was just a figment of imagination. But could he be sure? He never really had the chance of asking his mother...

"Listen to me carefully. Find the oldest historian alive in Heart and bring him to me. Also, tell the Infernos who fought with that witch to prepare a capture-painting of hers. Distribute it everywhere, but specially in the villages near the Forest of Falling Leaves. Remember, the same rules of alerting me apply, as usual. Anyone who sees the witch must shed some of his blood on the capture-painting to alert me. Don't forget this must be explicitly stated on the capture-painting. Understood?" Blikrot said.

"Yes, sir." The messenger left.

Blikrot smiled to himself. He had taken sufficient measures. The witch was a goner. So was her sailor friend.

In the meantime, far away from Blikrot's castle, Arthur, the Infernos' commander who had left his service, was walking briskly across a grassland.

The afternoon was moving rapidly towards evening, and before sunset, Arthur wanted to be inside the forest he was walking towards.

He had been on the run ever since he left Blikrot. Because he was sure Blikrot was fully capable of sending hundreds of Infernos just to hunt him down. Luckily, he had been able to evade them so far. Luckily.

But he couldn't depend on luck forever. He was still dressed as an Inferno, but his face was hid under a black hood, and most of his figure was covered by a large black cloak. Not much of a disguise, he knew that well.

He had to take measures. He hadn't left Blikrot without any reason. Blikrot was getting crazier by the day, hell-bent on killing every dragon in Heart and destroying their shrines. The corruption of Blikrot's army was also getting out of hand. Arthur knew Heart depended on him. He was Heart's most able and trusted soldier. And he had had enough of Blikrot. To hell with that insane Blikrot, it was he who deserved to be the King.

It was time for a rebellion.

But before he could even initiate a revolution, he had to try his luck with the Forest of Falling Leaves.

He knew where that forest was.

But a question remained: how would he be able to walk through that forest without stepping on any of its leaves?

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Author's Note

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Hi there!

Remember who the sailor mentioned in this chapter is? It's Shivam of course. He's wearing a t-shirt and jeans, traditional apparel of sailors in Heart!

So tell me what you think of this Arthur guy. Do you think he can be trusted? Will he be able to stop Blikrot?

Don't forget to vote!