And he told them everything he knew, starting from the beginning of it all. All while Argent continued to sleep peacefully, the fever now had broken. He would tell the boy the tale when he was older. There were things he wouldn't understand and other parts that weren't suited for a child to hear. Iver sat at the desk, and Ordephus had settled at the foot of the bed. Noctifer, on the other hand, insisted on leaning against the wall despite Ordephus saying he could pull a chair from the workshop.

He told them how a dragoness named Larrag had fallen for a human, and out of pure desperation had traveled to Illovona where she begged Faerie King Agkael to give her a human body. He asked for her firstborn in return, and she foolishly agreed. She awoke in the woods soon after, where she then met the man and learned his name: Zahn. They quickly fell in love, and immediately began planning their future together. That all came to a startling halt, however, as they soon realized she was with child despite not having laid together previously. So he cast her out, believing she had betrayed him. Heartbroken, Larrag then traveled back to Illovona to demand the King to explain what he had done to her. Her response was only a smirk as he repeated the conditions: He would give her a human body if she gave him her firstborn. King Agkael and the Dragoness Larrag were wed, and she wept bitterly all throughout.

Thus was born Agkaneel; the first of the dragonkind.

It would be another twenty years before she escapes, having had ten of Agkael's children. Dragonkind sons. She then found Zahn once more, telling him all that had happened and the truth of her form. They would lay together that evening after reconciling, and she made sure to lay with her husband that night as well. The Faerie King didn't know of her infidelity until her eleventh son was born: A child with brown hair and clear blue eyes. The same as the child's true father, a human.

"So how did you end up with this?" Noctifer asked, referring to Ordephus' white hair and red eyes.

"My hair is due to age, believe it or not," he replied with a small smile, but it soon disappeared as he continued. "My eyes, however, well . . ."

Enraged, Agkael tried to take the infant from Larrag's arms, but she ran. She ran as far and as fast as she could. But she was soon cornered at the Cliffs of Kur'u. Seeing that she was prepared to fight, her teeth sharp and scales climbing up her neck as two horns now perched on her head, the Faerie King set his final plan into motion. He knew the dragoness would not give up easily, so he had captured the very human that started it all. With her lover before her, bloodied and bruised, she was given a choice: The life of her lover, or the life of her newborn son. But she could not answer. So with a fatal blow, the Faerie King killed the human and cursed the eyes of the child with the blood of his father.

No one quite knows the cause of Larrag's fate after that. Some say she stepped back in horror, while others say the unstable ground crumbled beneath her feet. But there are those who say she jumped, unable to stand the torture any longer. The place she was believed to have fallen became known as Larrag's Heart.

It was the intervention of the gods themselves that saved the baby's life, however, as Ventura, the Warrior Queen of Nimn, found the red-eyed boy on the shore. She then took him in, raised him as her own son, and named him Ordephus.

Nearly twenty years passed, and Ventura raised two capable children she was proud to leave her kingdom to when the time came: Crowned Prince Ordephus and Princess Utoria. While Ordephus had proved himself to be competent in leading an army, Utoria—also quite adept with a sword—chose to focus her efforts on diplomacy since her brother lacked a fair amount of tact. Ordephus may have been next in line for the throne, but Ventura hoped they could rule together. She would never live to see her wishes come to light, however, as she was assassinated by the Fae, leaving behind the mighty Kingdom of Nimn—the ultimate protectors Amaredeia depended on—to an unprepared brother and sister. The court took over for a year, letting them adjust to their new responsibilities and grieve for their loss, but that was all the time the prince needed. It was a very short ceremony, only those who needed to be there present, as Ordephus relinquished his crown to Utoria, making her Queen of Nimn.

The next few years became more tumultuous as the court became unable to control their prince. It soon came to the point where they couldn't, and they grew scared. Especially when he learned how to use strange magic. The court begged for Utoria to do something about her brother, and as she was also unable to ignore her growing fear, she listened. She was the one who personally delivered the sleeping drought to Ordephus, knowing he wouldn't suspect her before they bound and carried him away to a special cell. One that was warded by powerful barriers created by elves and two iron cuffs were seared to his wrists as a precaution. It was in that cell where he remained until Agkaneel came to retrieve him.

"That's probably where the elven version came from," Ordephus commented, rubbing his wrists absently, "since they speak of the gods locking away their corrupt creation, unable to kill him."

Iver didn't know how to respond to that. It was one thing hearing about all the things Ordephus had done in the past from the words of others, but after having traveled with him . . . he felt no hatred. He glanced at Ordephus' wrists, imagining the scars that had long since disappeared after probably countless deaths and revivals.

"I am sorry." He didn't quite know what he was apologizing for, either the fact that it was the elves who helped entrap him or that he was betrayed in such a way, but Ordephus only shook his head.

"You aren't the one who should apologize; I am. This all happened before your time whereas I'm the one who commanded half of Ichorwood be burned because you're a fae-blooded race." He sighed. "I don't blame Utoria, though. She was only doing what she thought was right for Nimn. I just wish I could have told her that when I had the chance."

He shook his head, quick to continue with the tale.

He had always known he wasn't completely human, especially when he didn't age at the same rate Utoria did, but it was Agkaneel who told him the truth. He told him how his mother was a dragon and his father was a human. He told him of what Agkael had done to their mother. He told him of Larrag's fate, and how he didn't know his youngest brother was alive until he began hearing tales of the red-eyed prince of Nimn who had gone insane. In truth, it was the right thing for Agkaneel to do by finally answering the questions that plagued Ordephus' mind, but he had miscalculated how unstable his youngest brother really was.

"Apologies for interrupting," Iver said, "but if your father was human . . . how are you able to wield mana? Was he a changeling or had fae-blood?"

"His father was neither of those," Noctifer replied with a smirk, and Ordephus gave him a sharp, pleading look. This only confused Iver even more.

"But how else would he use mana?" Realization slowly dawned on him, and he narrowed his eyes at the legend, who pointedly looked away trying to be nonchalant. "He did not."

"He did."

"Anyway!" Ordephus quickly cut in, continuing the story soon after.

With his body now receptive to mana (There was no point in hiding it. Noctifer had already tattled on him, that traitor), he began to properly learn how to use magic under the guidance of Agkaneel. He told no one, however, of his plan of revenge against the Fae. It didn't matter if he now lived in Illovona alongside other dragonkind. It was Agkael who was the cause of his life becoming a living hell, as far as he was concerned, and had planned the murder of the woman he called Mother.

He had developed and openly portrayed an assortment of odd habits throughout his life, so no one questioned him as he paced around the Faerie Kingdom of Illovona, muttering to himself with his spellbook in hand. It was only when lines of mana filled the streets—laced with foul-feeling energy—as the kingdom suddenly began to sink down into Druuo did anyone realize what he had done. He had placed a trace with every step he took, drawing an invisible array to all but him. Agkaneel could only watch in horror as Ordephus cast the final barrier, holding a sword that radiated dark energy, finally trapping faeriekind where they still stood today.

Thus was the start of the Fae-blood Wars. Sides were picked swiftly, though not in favor of the humans, it was soon realized. Agkaneel had joined Ordephus despite feeling uneasy about it all. He had personally witnessed and lived through the evils of the Fae, especially his father, so he, too, had a grudge. The rest of their brothers, however, had either joined the Fae or stayed to the side, unwilling to get involved. The elves joined the Fae, the dwarves and giants stayed to the side, and the dragons kept to themselves. Humankind was truly at a disadvantage.

"I never saw it as a problem, though." Ordephus kept his gaze to the floor as he grimaced. "In extension to manipulating my own lifeforce, I had discovered that at the moment of death, others' remaining lifeforce lingers for a few seconds before disappearing. I used the battles to absorb the released lifeforces into my sword, biding my time until I could reinforce the barrier that trapped the Fae in Druuo. After that, well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you what happened."

"So not only can you use your own lifeforce, you can use others' as well?" Noctifer asked carefully.

Ordephus didn't reply right away. "I can. But even my corrupt mind back then knew that playing around with active life that wasn't your own was deplorable by any standard. The only reason why I know I can is because Elistar was just as mad as I was." He gave a dry laugh. "Even now I'm not quite sure what he was to me. He was too distant to be a friend but too trusting to be a colleague. We actually lived in this tower together for a time."

And there was a time of peace after the first war despite the emergence of a new threat: the unseelie. With the fae trapped in Druuo, some began morphing into a monster as their souls became corrupt with anger and vengeance. That was when the first wizards that they knew of today began to evolve as Ordephus taught them how to maintain the barrier and fight off the unseelie. Many were still unhappy, especially as humankind slowly began taking over all of Amaredeia. But none spoke louder than the dragonkind who had since grown in numbers, as well as becoming renowned wizards and magic wielders in their own right. It was when small skirmishes and rebellions started occurring in various locations did the humans once again ask for Ordephus' help. This time, they wanted to end the Fae-blood Wars once and for all.

"I was nearing the end of my life when the second half of the Fae-blood Wars had started, even if I still looked physically young," Ordephus stated. "And if I'm being honest, it was Elistar and his ability in making an assortment of elixirs and potions that was keeping me alive at that point. I had wasted so much of my lifeforce. But . . . as much as I tried blaming it on the fact that I was dying, I've always known the real reason why I sided with humankind. It was never to 'leave the world as a better place.'"

It pained Iver to watch as Ordephus recount the events of the end of the Fae-blood Wars. Perhaps if he hadn't known or cared for him as a person, he would have thought the legend deserved every bit of regret he felt. But he did, and he didn't like how Ordephus slowly curled up into himself, drawing one knee to his chest while looking forward with a haunted look in his eyes. He didn't push him to complete his sentence as the other paused suddenly, skipping over to vaguely describe the curse that kept him tethered to Amare. There was enough information there to know what had happened.

The rest was commonly known history, from the ongoing wars between humankind and dragonkind and how the Order of Ordephus came to be. It was almost comical in how each bard's tale had a fraction of truth to it, but as the story was fully pieced together, it no longer became a laughing matter in the slightest. In the end, there was a victim and a villain, but it was hard to determine which Ordephus fit into himself.

"Nothing sedates a human's need to conquer," he said. "Those were the words the monk said before I killed him. And I truly never forgot them. It was after that did I remove myself from history and began using illusions to create false identities for myself. Until now, in fact, I've simply accepted that I would live until the end of time to see my mistakes play out." He suddenly straightened, a determined look passing through his eyes as he repeated, "Until now."

Noctifer pushed himself off the wall and took a step towards him. "Until now?"

"I've fought against the tyranny I've caused, but that was only under the guise of an ordinary human," he stated, standing and turning to face the swordsmen. "Better late than never, but it's time I stop cowering behind masks."

"Does that mean . . ." Iver looked between Noctifer and Ordephus. "Not that I doubt the conviction, but I am curious. Why now do you wish to do something about it as Ordephus? As you?"

Ordephus glanced at the sleeping boy's forearm where the brand stood darkly against his skin. "I made sure to avoid the dragonkind at all costs. I had done enough to them, after all. But Argent—" He took a breath and clenched his fists. "They had gone too far. To brand and enslave war prisoners is one thing and just as horrible as it sounds, but children? To purposefully capture and separate families? I created the Order of Ordephus as reinforcement to keep them under control—still bad—but not to inflict this amount of pain and bloodshed. As I had started this, I will end this, even if it takes another millennium to do so."

Noctifer nodded his head in approval to the declaration, and Iver couldn't help but grin.

"You know what they say in times like this," he said, downing the remains of his now-cold tea. "May Ordephus save us all." The cup was set down with a distinct clink as he leveled Ordephus with a glare, rolling up his sleeves. He did not forget that the fool had drained his own lifeforce before becoming immortal and still actively does. "And if there are no consequences."

Ordephus didn't stick around for long, rushing out of the room while saying something about running errands.

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