"I don't know Luke, it seems a bit high," I mentioned, staring up at the tree in the Warden's yard.

"Nonsense!" Luke slapped a hand on my back, "You can do it, then Alaina won't be able to find you so easily when it's your turn to hide."

I pouted, adjusting the collar of my meringue-coloured tunic that Luke had knocked to the side. "I told you, I'm much better as a seeker anyways." The tree loomed before me, intimidating in its size, so much taller than my childish body.

"Yeah, and we're all tired of getting found in two drips. Now stop making excuses and just go already." He put his hands on my back again, this time pushing me towards the tree. With the trunk already only the breadth of a finger away from my face, I sighed.

Shakily, I reached up to a branch right above my head, bracing my boots against the bark. It took a lot more effort than I was used to, but as I pushed from my feet and pulled from my arms, I started to make some progress, until I was sitting on a limb maybe a single stride above Luke.

"See? I knew you could do it," he cheered. "Now hang from your knees. It's fun; it feels like flying!"

"I- I'm not sure if I want to do that," I answered. The ground was already so far away... and if I fell... I clutched the branch I was on tighter, shaking my head.

"Come on, I do it all the time, and I'm fine. You won't fall, I'll make sure of that."

"All right..." I responded. Flipping my body around, I hooked my knees over the edge of the limb, and, taking a deep breath, let my body fall back until I was hanging in the air, arms and hands drooping down.

"See, what did I tell you? Fun, right?" I nodded in agreement, feeling a bit strange with my head upside-down. A sense of pride filled me, almost covering up the small amount of fear. I could climb trees!

"You better be watching him, Luke." I heard Alaina call out from the side. "You're older so if he falls it's your fault." She tossed her dark braid over her shoulder with a huff.

"I am watching him!" Luke argued, whipping his head around to face her. "If he falls I'm right here." It was at that moment that my knees began to shake. They suddenly felt so much more tired. I was slipping, I was going to fall, but the scream caught in my throat as my legs were wrenched from the tree.

"Xoris! Are you all right?" Luke's shout yanked my head out from somewhere that had been dark and dizzying. Now I could feel the back of my head hurting, and the sight of a rock coated in emerald blood caught the corner of my eye.

"Luke you ashclaeve I said watch him now his head is bleeding!" Alaina was yelling, oddly more panicked than I felt. I just wanted to sleep, and as the Warden was called over, the last sounds I remembered were the 'tsk' that came as he examined the injury, and him telling Luina that it was going to leave a mark as I passed out in his built arms.

𓂀

"Are you quite satisfied with yourself, Stained?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Xoris held up his hands, breaking eye contact with the Fae woman if only to regain himself. "I didn't mean to break anything. I only wanted to speak with your rulers-"

"I am one of the rulers, and I have nothing to say to you. Goodbye." She lifted a hand, but Xoris reached forward, taking hold of her pointing finger.

"But this is important, so please hold your majik for a moment?" It came out as a question. Why had he done that? He really shouldn't make contact with someone who could quite possibly shoot a hole through his hand.

"Don't put your dirtied hands on me!" She yanked her wrist back, as if even through his gloves, being Stained was a grime that could be left behind on her dark skin.

She took a step back, and Xoris was finally able to take in the scene around him. He was in a living castle, seemingly built from one ancient tree with woven twigs and leaves forming the walls and ceiling of what appeared to be the throne room. Though the Fae woman was right in front of him, he could see the other ruler, a pale Fae unmal with sharp wings sitting on a throne next to a pedestal holding a single, shared crown.

"I'm very sorry," he apologised again. He needed to start from the beginning. "I didn't mean to barge in like this, and I'm aware of the preconceptions your race has of my country. However-"

He clasped his hands together lightly, beaming at the ruler if only to clear some of the sickening tension that was beginning to fill the air. "I would be most grateful if you considered aiding us in the war. You see, Korim is quite low on majik-users with the constant invasion, and those that we do have are needed for running our society and already cleaning Water or creating resources. But, with your help, we'd have enough soldiers to finally put this battle behind us and become a better unified country as a whole!"

He took a deep breath as he finished speaking, smiling at the prospect. Of course, the king hadn't sent him to connect the two kingdoms, but Xoris didn't see the harm in suggesting it. After all, why wouldn't they want to work together, especially if they shared a common goal?

"We don't want our people attacked by the Beasts, and we don't want to become a unified country with your ashclaeve of a king," the other ruler began, tapping their fingers against the side of their throne in brisk annoyance.

What? Xoris' mouth fell open slightly in shock. "But... how can you just stand by when thousands are dying outside your walls? Don't you want to help?" Xoris prompted, glancing between the two.

"We help plenty by not being involved. Both sides are violent, unethical, and wrong. We're not about to throw away lives and our financial stability to become involved in that," they answered back, using a free hand to push strands of long black hair out of their face, revealing deep green eyes that glared at Xoris. He knew he didn't have a lot of time to talk with their impatience. But what could I possibly offer them in return? All he knew was that he needed to strengthen the army. He had to, no matter the cost.

"We could... pay you, so that you don't lose anything. Like an investment." He nodded rapidly at the idea. "I'm sure if you help out enough, the king would be sure to more than compensate you." He hated the idea of paying for lives for money, but he couldn't think of much else. The majik of this place had settled into him, like thin, wispy barbs that danced and seared across his skin. It was already difficult to focus under the pressure, and the majik was only adding to it, loosening his grip on Humanity drip by drip.

"You mean with the chips that we don't use, that Humans mined forcefully out of the ground?" the woman retorted haughtily, the tips of her ears flicking up with her harsh laugh. "This is why I hate your country. So thoughtless. How does it feel to be dragged around by their every whim, Stained?"

"I'm not a-" he cut off his original sentence. It would technically be a lie, and he was not a liar. He grit his teeth, hating how itchy they felt. Even now, he could feel the start of hard bumps running along the roof of his mouth, several rows of fangs clamouring to push their way out whether he wanted them to or not. "I'm not dragged around by them. I'm here by my own volition, and am not returning home empty-handed."

"Then you are going to die, by your own volition." With that, she twisted her hand, and Xoris watched as the rays of light shining through the tree wrenched themselves unnaturally to slide towards him. In an instant, a beam dashed across his face as a hot slice of pain. He yelped, taking a step back to hold his singed cheek.

"That is your only warning. Leave."

"No!" he yelled, taking hold of his sword. He would fight if he had to, but he refused to fail, for Luke's sake. As the Fae's majik stabbed inside him for the final time, he let go of the hold, releasing his muscles as he felt the soft movement of a blink on his cheek, right underneath his gloved hand. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't understand why you all just, won't, listen!"

He matched the woman's gaze, not entirely sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn't a coaxing, alluring sensation flooding his veins. A complete opposite to the solid heka he'd had in the cage earlier, this was a sweet, intoxicating feeling, and as his eyes caught the sharp blue of the queen's, he watched as the stiffness in her body released. The speckles of light dropped, and she lowered her hands, looking up at him blankly as though there wasn't much running through her mind.

He felt slightly shorter for a moment, and it took him a moment to realise that he was mainly focusing with the second set of eyes on his face. The feeling was stronger there, and he felt as long as managed to maintain eye contact, her sudden suggestibility would hold. Oh. A smile pulled across his lips, just a little bit too high on the left side. So this is what the purple does.

His hands were back to being folded in front of him, bumps on the glove's fabric where it sat awkwardly on top of more eyes. Coloured shapes rose up in the dark spots of his vision where the leather pulled too tight over them. He wanted to take them off, but there was no need for that. Clearly two was enough to have the queen listen as she should have from the start.

"Now that you've stopped attacking me, would you please write up a contract so that your people can work for us?" he asked, tilting his head sweetly with the question.

The Fae nodded, turning around in the room as if she was searching for a reed pen and papyrus. Xoris' eyes followed her movement, making sure whatever spell she was under held nicely. "Thank you!"

"Stained! What are you doing to my wife?" It came as a shout, and Xoris jumped. He had completely forgotten about the other ruler for a moment. They made sure their presence was known though, as they stood up, death in their gaze. As a fist made its way towards his face, he tried to set up the same connection, focusing another purple iris on the ruler, but he realised all too late that the only one not covered by his armour or gloves sat on the back of his neck. They were just barely out of its line of sight no matter how much he tried to angle it.

The shot then connected with his face painfully, the throbbing of fresh blood quickly spreading across his nose, feeling warm and sticky as it trickled from his nostril. He had no time to move before another connected with his jaw, bashing the teeth in his mouth together. A snap sounded in the third row and as he swallowed the bit of blood that rose up in his mouth, he could feel the scraping of the bone chip being dragged down his throat painfully. A call for guards rattled in his ears, but he pushed past the darkness beginning to close in all directions, wrenching himself out of the unmal's grasp.

"I was just trying to get you all to listen to me! Really, there's no need to fight!" Xoris ducked as the ruler swiped their arm, the shadows of the room falling into their command. His own on the wall behind him reared up, a gap splitting to show an unnatural smile as it gleefully stretched out a jagged arm, stabbing deep into his neck.

He grit his teeth as a cry formed at the back of his throat, choosing instead to try and roll to the side to avoid another attack. The heavy patter of footsteps grew as hundreds of Fae of all sizes climbed what sounded like stairs, before bursting into the room. He looked over at them, and he could feel his hold on the woman instantly break. So they're going to refuse. His heart felt heavy as he glanced at his hands. He hadn't wanted to fight anyone – the opposite, really– but they weren't leaving him many options.

His gloves slipped easily off his arms, and he threw them to the ground as he got a full view of the circular room around him. It was so aggravating to him, how quickly they all jumped to arms to kill another, but refused to protect. A cool, logical energy began to feel him as he staggered towards the ruler, barely aware of his surroundings. His thoughts felt almost beyond him as his quickly numbing fingers brushed against the hilt of his sword.

What a waste of a life. Holing yourself in your castle, ignoring the problems of the real world around you. People were out there, suffering, all because they refused to help. Luke died, because they refused to help. And they just want to kill everyone and live in their own little world stuck in denial! If they were going to live uselessly like that, then he couldn't see why they deserved to live at all.

A curved view of the world from his forearm told him that the queen had regained herself, forming a low stance and angling her hands to control the light of the realm itself once again. As a beam shot in his direction, he titled his sword, reflecting it to another end of the room, singeing a hole in the tree.

Another sharpened shadow reached up from the floor as the first ruler raised their palms, heading towards the crack of space between his belt and breastplate, hoping to squeeze inside. Xoris could already see the multitude of vines a guard was sending from behind, but had no choice but to step back into them if only to avoid the shadow's swipe.

Branches wound around his arms and legs, pinning him in one spot. Xoris pulled against them, but it held fast. "Now." The queen smirked, drawing close. "This is what you get for not leaving when asked." The crown was held in her hands, the reflective surface catching light from all angles, splitting it into a rainbow hue as it spread across his skin. It burned, badly, and he could feel welts and sores beginning to rise.

Xoris looked at her, at her dark face not even showing a hint of sympathy for his suffering. He had come here in peace, but they had taken that from him in an instant. It was clear no matter how hard he fought, how much he proved himself, it would mean nothing. An urge inside him returned with its strange but logical reasoning. If he was going to return empty-handed either way, then really, his actions from here on didn't matter. None of it did.

With that, he twisted his hand down, forcing the mouth that formed there to bite at the plants that held him. They snapped under the pressure, and with his hand free, he reached up to backhand the queen, the green eye on the top of his hand making contact with her face. It was nothing but stone by the time it hit though, the sensitive area getting filled with pebbles and dirt. He winced. I should have thought that through more.

His small amount of thinking was quickly undone by the screams that began to fill the enclosed area. Some said to run, others were filled with confusion or begging for mercy. He ignored it all.

He used one hand to lift his breastplate enough so that his side could bite at the bitter-tasting vine around his middle, and with that he wrenched himself out of its stubborn hold. The beating of wings filled the air as a few smaller Fae rushed towards him, but he simply looked around, forcing them to drop out of the air as a stone, or stop in their tracks. As the Fae queen twitched on the floor, Xoris could tell he hadn't finished the process, with the edges of the rocky hold advancing far slower without his continued focus. All the same, alive or dead, she was no longer a threat as she fell to the floor, unmoving.

"Don't look at it!" the first ruler shouted, tears streaming down their eyes as they looked at their wife one last time. Xoris watched as they lifted a dagger from their regal-looking belt, but couldn't make eye contact fast enough before they plunged it into their face, stabbing their own out. He ducked to the side, panic flooding through him as fast as the adrenaline as he narrowly avoided another vine from the guards.

It wasn't the others he was concerned about, especially as a purple iris landed on the Fae who had so kindly held him down before. In fact, it was practically child's play to urge the man forward and onto the tip of his held-out blade, watching as the mesmerising light blue of Fae blood ran onto the floor. No, these reinforcements weren't the issue. It was the ruler who had taken out their own vision to bring down Xoris' own.

As he cleared out the room around him, he kept a single eye on the unmal. Another guard attempted to block his view though, holding up two glowing fingers, reaching out to him. The air around his palms crackled, sending jolts of pain through Xoris' chest from the potency alone. He couldn't let it touch him. Every muscle in his body warned of what would happen if it did.

He ducked as the Fae darted forward, glancing upwards with an eye on his hand. The sword was already difficult to use, and the fact his target was moving so quickly wasn't helping. His mind drifted back to the violet energy he had felt before. What it could do. All right. He stood, backing up a step as he focused out of the purple ones embedded on his face once again.

It wasn't hard to establish a thrumming connection, resting his consciousness into someplace slightly beyond his body. Stay. He pushed the thought forward, forcing the guard into a standstill. Fear shone in his eyes, but Xoris couldn't bring himself to care as he raised his sword.

It was much easier than he expected, dragging the blade through one arm, then another as the floor became spattered with blue. Screams filled the air, but it seemed distant as a sense of thrill ran down his spine, tugging his lips and hand into wide grins. For a moment, he wondered if it was cruel, unethical even to tear apart a body like this, but he pushed the thought away. After all, it wasn't as though he was killing people. People helped one another, worked together, upheld their role in society. I'm not even a person, and I do that much.

No, this was the same as the last battle. Just a room full of enemies meant to be taken down, and who better to do it than the paladin to the Human king?

With that, he put a foot lightly on the corpse's shoulder, pushing down to tug his sword out. It released with a wet squelch, and he flicked it if only to clean the blue off the blade slightly. At least the room was quiet now, the only sound left behind a soft tap as the ruler came to stand: the last remaining Fae. Cerulean blood dripped down their face as the unmal drew closer, eyebrows furrowed over the deep, jagged cut that had replaced their eyes.

"You think you can just come here, offer the most naive proposition in the world, and try to kill the love of my life when things don't go your way?" It was a scream of pain and fury as they drew a sword from their belt, a white, crystal blade with hundreds of cracks. Xoris backed up as they strode closer, his feet tripping on wayward bodies and azure puddles. He focused all that he had on the ruler, trying to pry into him with every ability he held, but with no window into the body, it had no effect.

As the blade broke into shards, all suspended and ready to strike from every controlled angle, Xoris scrambled backwards, hitting a door which he opened only to tumble back onto a balcony outside. The sky was almost entirely closed despite the time of day, the world cast in shadow.

Xoris gulped, realising his mistake. With a cry of anguish, the ruler charged at him, their arms outspread as every dark shape on the walls and floor bent to their will. Tendrils of black wound under every space and crack between his armour, lifting Xoris up to suspend his body over the edge of the wooden balcony, the stabbing hold in his skin being the only thing keeping him from falling down the entire length of the tree and onto the battlefield below. That dizzying sensation of the sheer height was clouding his mind again, and he glanced up to see the ruler standing on the edge above him, a menacing look filling what would have been the otherwise elegant features of their face.

"This is the end for you, Beast," they muttered darkly, bloodied wings tucked behind their back as they raised a hand to drop him. Instantly, the knives of shadow were wrenched out from him, the wind playfully pulling his breath from his chest and stealing his screams before they could even be formed. Then he was falling, drops of red flying upwards in his descent. He was going to hit the ground, and he would die. All the while staring at the apathetic face above him.

As anger flooded through him, he emitted one final cry and whipped his right arm forward, sending his sword upwards at an incredible speed. A horrifying squelch sounded as he saw the blade make contact with the ruler's neck. It was the last thing he saw before the sky fully closed, and he made his descent to the ground below.

His back slammed into the floor painfully, and yet, it wasn't the flat angle he'd been expecting. Despite every sore muscle in his body screaming to do otherwise, he rolled over to find he'd landed on a dead body. How he could still see with the total absence of light was beyond him, but he could easily make out the corpse, and it wasn't the only one. All around him lay shredded wings and bodies torn limb from limb. All things he had mercilessly hacked at until they'd finally stopped.

He felt an oozing sensation spreading across his hand on the ground, and he looked down to see it coated in blue. He held it up, staring for a moment before dragging it across his face, his eyes widening.

He had done it. He had taken down his enemies, like a true hero. An excited, exhilarated breath tore through him as the sky lit up above him, showing a pale orange as the purple Cracks in the sky were revealed like webbing veins. It was only visible for a few drips though before it fell back to its constant black. Moments later, a rumbling, splitting noise shook the ground itself.

Xoris looked up at the sky, a chuckle pushing through him as he stared at the cycle of light and dark. It had started as one simple laugh, but he couldn't stop himself as he glanced up at the spectacle through sticky fingers. The force of it shook his shoulders and torso as the sound pulled out of the mouths that covered him.

"Huh, I guess that monk was right. The Crack was coming early this tally."

~~~~

Hello. Awgy here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This was a fun one. The start of many war crimes. ^v^

Anyways, while it's not a banner, here's an art of Xoris not doing anything suspicious with uhhh... blue paint. Yes. As always, thanks for reading!