The Lady of Light saved us
the one with the purest heart of all.
She gave us reason to rejoice
after thirteen years of suffering
we are finally free.

Then where is the Lady of Light now?

She left this world to be with her mother.
To sit to the right of the Balance Goddess.

~Holy Texts of Amaryllis

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"Three days passes quickly."

Quicker than Honey had expected to say the least. However, by the third time the sun fell behind the horizon, Honey found herself staring down upon the city of Muurin. The city was surrounded by towering walls cut from a dark and glassy stone that Honey didn't recognize, forming a perfect circle around the city.

There were three entrances into Muurin, each an equal distance from the others, with two tall towers on either side of the city's entrances. Honey could easily imagine this city once being a great military city, filled with soldiers and war heroes alike, protecting their kingdom with their lives but now, it looked like it was rotting from the inside out.

As god and Lekki passed through the large gate, Honey stayed close to Lukas, fearing that if she strayed too far away she might end up on the wrong side of a guard's sword. Yet they passed through without question, although Honey did catch, one guard, staring at her as if he was trying to decide just what she was.

He said nothing though, letting both Lekki and god pass without a word. When they arrived in the city, the sun was just falling behind the great pines, but it seemed as if the city was just awakening, as candlelight poured from each house and Mutare were beginning to spill from the homes into the once deserted streets.

The inside of the city was just as impressive as the outside, with each house was beautifully crafted from the same dark stone as the walls. However, the glassy material wasn't just a single dark color as Honey had first thought but instead had a thousand different shades varying from dark blues to greens.

The material reflected the candlelight that spilled from the houses giving the impression that it was moving, dancing under the light of a thousand stars. Honey's eyes glowed with excitement as she stared at the colors. This was unlike anything that she had ever seen before.

At the very heart of the city, Honey could see what looked a castle, where she guessed the rulers of the city lived, unaware that a god and Lekki had just entered their peaceful city. And hopefully, they would never become aware, either. Lukas turned down another street, with Honey following close behind.

Honey quickly realized that this one was far less crowded. Only a few stray Mutare were outside on this one, but they quickly disappeared back into their houses when they saw Honey and Lukas walking down the cobblestone street, with a confidence lost to most of the Mutare in the city.

"Why are they scared of us?" Honey finally asked as she looked into the windows of one house to see the two small faces pressed against the cold glass, watching them with clear fear in their eyes.

"They think we're Renegades," Lukas answered, looking straight ahead. He and Honey hadn't spoken much, with the exception of when Honey asked one question or another. Yes, gods still needed to eat. No, they weren't going to stop until dawn.

He always seemed to answer with a simple yes or no, and after the second day Honey had stopped asking questions altogether, and just focused on keeping pace with the god. This was one of the few times he'd given her more than one word for an answer.

"We're here," Lukas said, so suddenly it shocked Honey.

They were standing in front of a small shop, that looked similar to all the other buildings in the city. Lukas pushed his way through the pine door, that gave a loud screech in protest, walking into the brightly lit room, with Honey on his heels. As the Lekki girl entered the room her eyes widened as she tried to take in everything at once.

One wall was lined completely with swords, while another had a stack of bags filled with grain. From the back, the shopkeeper walked into the room. He was an ancient Mutare the face he once possessed hidden by a thousand wrinkles and a balding head. He was hunched over but was still a half a head taller than Honey.

"So you've finally returned Lukas," the ancient Mutare said, his old voice raspy as he spoke, inspecting the god with warm brown eyes. "And who might you be, young Lekki?" The old Mutare asked, inspecting Honey. It took Honey a moment to realize he was speaking to her. She had just expected him to ignore her like all the other adults in her village.

"H-Honey," Honey said, stuttering he own name. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," she said, giving him a nervous smile.

The old Mutare simply gave a warm chuckle and shook his head, eyes still trained on Honey. "You Lekki never change," he said, giving her a toothy grin. His teeth were yellow and blackened with a few even missing in some places. "My name is Harac, Ninth Rank," he said, giving the Lekki girl a slight dip of his head.

"Wonderful, now we all know one another," Lukas said, his patience clearly waning. "Harac we need supplies. The usual, please. And quickly this time," he snapped as Harac sighed looking up at Lukas. Lukas was at least half a foot taller than Honey, and several inches taller than Harac. However, Honey could tell that this hadn't always been true.

"Always in a hurry, Lukas. Life's gonna pass you by in a blink if you keep this up," he commented. "Although that's not a problem for a god like yourself," he said with a small chuckle. "So you said the usu-"

He was cut off as the door to the shop swung open. "Harac!" a voice screamed as a figure stormed into the room. They wore a cloak as dark as midnight, the hood up as to hide their face and a sword that had been broken at the hilt, the blade nowhere to be seen, clutched tightly in their left hand. "Harac said the sword would not break but break it did!" the cloaked figure said, or perhaps hissed, tossing the old Mutare the broken sword, who caught it with ease. "When I asked for a..." The cloaked Mutare trailed off as he noticed the other two who were already in the shop.

"Well look who it is," the old Mutare simply said with a chuckle. "Dai you're just in time. I don't think you've met Lukas yet. I was just telling him how he needed to slow down every once in awhile. You could probably take some of that advice yourself," he said, laughing at himself.

"Some do not have the luxury to take things slow, Harac," the cloaked Mutare snapped, and Honey noticed his words were different from the other Mutare. The accent on the was heavier than the rest, and there was something about him that made all of Honey's hairs stand on edge, as she suppressed a shudder.

"The troubles of a Tenth Rank," Harac said shaking his head. "Anyways where were we Lukas..." Harac trailed off. "Oh yes. You said you wanted you usual?"

However, Lukas was no longer listening to Harac. His eyes were trained on the cloaked Mutare. "So you're a Tenth Rank?" Lukas asked, looking over the Mutare. "Nothing more than a slave in the Mutare empire?" he asked, and Dai turned to him.

"Yes," the small Mutare answered, his tone firm, but there was the slightest twitch from underneath his hood, betraying his true answer.

"So no one would miss you if you disappeared?" Lukas asked, and the god could almost taste the fear that radiated from the Mutare as he asked the question. That was all it took for the god to draw his blade, and point it at the Mutare, his calm demeanor never disappearing even for a heartbeat as Honey felt her heart pound in her ears.

What was Lukas thinking? Honey knew they needed a Mutare, but was it really right to simply attack one that just so happened to wander into the shop at the wrong time? It didn't seem so, but Lukas didn't seem to care.

"Don't," the young Mutare whispered, his voice sounding smaller than it should have been as the flames crawled up the young god's blade, devouring it's shining metal. A deadly glint sparked in the young god's eyes as he raised his sword, ready to strike down the young Mutare in a single swipe.

Then he brought the blade down.

A U T H O R ' S N O T E

Man do I me some cliffhangers.

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Until next time!