Legacy of Dreams: Freedom

by Thomas J. L. Green

  “They are checking the wagons. I think they are searching us to see if we are smuggling in Palai soldiers,” Tal’Sec evaluated.

  Which both Iowen and I are.

  44

  Iowen

  Cinderwell wasn’t as massive as Grimdawn, but that was that much dirtier. The city was built into a side of a mountain, buildings were spread out in large chaotic patterns and the city had multiple walls, which well documented how the city was growing over time. It was only natural. The Upheaval made countryside dangerous, so people flocked to cities to seek the safety of the walls. The humongous fields surrounding the city were full of people and guards. The city didn’t look nearly as war-like as the guards had described. There were soldiers everywhere, often camping at provisory barricades and outposts, but there was no sign of any conflict. There was a wounded person here or there, occasional lightly burned houses but no traces of larger smirmishes.

  “Definitely a setup,” Iowen evaluated., “I am going to check something, I will meet you in the arena complex,” she added and left the group.

  Luna wanted to follow her, but Iowen stopped her.

  Iowen wandered through the streets for a bit, then found what she was looking for. It was small, undecorated but the symbol of the sun was unmistakable. She entered the temple of Alnil. Iowen didn’t know why she came here, what drew her here, but something did. She saw the symbols of Alnil many times. All the Urushnii from her team wore them, Ghalkel had a massive temple and every city had at least a few. Always smaller than those of Palai, undecorated, but present.

  “Greetings, child,” a man greeted her. He was dressed in a simple brown robe and had a sun shaped pendant on his neck.

  Iowen ignored him and went to the main hall. The temple was simple, inside were wooden seats, bare altar and carved decorations. All displaying the sun, nature or ordinary people doing ordinary things.

  “Are you lost?” the priest asked softly after a while.

  “No,” Iowen retorted.

  “Why have you come here?" she continued.

  “I don’t know”

  “Don’t you?”

  There were no other people in the chapel, only Iowen standing in the middle of it and the man sitting by the door.

  “I met a strange man in the past year. He gave me freedom, conditional but still freedom. I don’t know what to do with it.”

  The man smiled. “Most don’t. They just don’t realize how precious it is since they never lost it. You will find your purpose, eventually, that is.”

  “Purpose? I murdered men before I knew how to read, I was doing it till I got caught and became a slave. Now I do it ever since I was released and will likely kill people for the rest of my life, no matter what I choose to do,” Iowen remarked bitterly.

  “Would the world be any different if you didn’t?” he returned a question.

  “Maybe?“ Iowen tossed up in the air. She knew it wouldn’t and somehow, it made her feel lighter.

  “That is the age we live in. One person cannot change it,” he mused.

  “What do I do? I can’t put it behind me… I feel like I should use this second chance for something good, something grand, but I don’t know what or how or when…” Iowen returned to her problem.

  Lucas did technically ask me to do something for him, but he wouldn’t force me if I didn’t want to do it in the first place. He didn’t force me into anything since he carried me out of the slave camp.

  “Just keep doing what you feel is right and you will eventually realize you had done it already.”

  “What if I cannot tell what is right? The longer I go, the more I realize I just can’t tell good and evil apart,” she conceded.

  “Do they have to be apart? All coins have both sides. Which one is the main one? That usually becomes clear only in retrospect, almost never in advance. One day, you will find the place where you belong. There you will know.”

  Iowen took down the half mask she normally wore in town and put down her cape.

  “Will I?” she asked. To his credit, the priest didn’t wince when seeing her face.

  “Of course, you will,” he smiled.

  “Thank you,” Iowen whispered and went to put her mask and hood back on.

  “Tell me more of Alnil,” she said and sat down on a wooden stool. He did, the priest told her the story of two sun brothers, Palai and Alnil. Brothers who descended unto the world from the sun to cleanse it from evil and restore it to peace. Palai, the God of sword and flame who purges all evil and Alnil, the God of life and death who restores everything to how it is supposed to be. He talked of their conquest of the world, how they freed men from the rule of dragons. He talked more about Alnil, who loved all under heavens and led the men to peace and happiness. Iowen heard many men preach before, but this was different. This was the first time she felt that the priest truly believes and practices what he preaches. Suddenly, she felt bad about never hearing any preaching of archbishop Nashimaeal. Was he the same? She didn’t know but told herself she would find out. She let the priest talk and he talked for hours. Only when the sun started to set, she rose. She had time to study the priest during the talk. He looked in early forties but likely wasn’t. His hair was grey and face shaved clean, but there was something in his eyes and speech that made him feel old. His eyes were of a bleak color and while his robes hid it, his body was clearly built and muscular. He moved with natural grace, flowing through the room like the wind when gesturing through his speech. It wasn’t visible when he was sitting, but as he moved, Iowen realized that he was very tall, maybe even over seven feet. She didn’t know because the time she spent with the Urushnii completely threw off her measure for how large and tall a human should be. She was tiny compared to all of them, so this priest felt small even though he was likely more than a foot taller than her and she was over six feet tall.

  “You look like a warrior. How do you deal with killing?” she asked as she rose.

  “I carve a small statue for every person I kill. It doesn’t change anything, but I feel like I left my sin with that statue”.

  “What’s your name?” Iowen probed.

  “Zakuma.”

  “Iowen,” she smiled.

  “What haunts you, Iowen?” he asked, his eyes piercing through her.

  “I helped in making thousands of people burn alive. I didn’t know I was doing it, I would have never done it if I knew, but I did it and I can’t change it,” Iowen breathed.

  “You are terrified because it doesn’t make you feel nearly as bad as you think it should,” Zakuma observed as he met her eyes with his, “and you have already been forgiven, which makes you feel even more conflicted.”

  “I don’t deserve to be forgiven,” Iowen aimed her gaze at the ground.

  “Forgiveness isn’t earned, it isn’t deserved. It can only be given,” he announced.

  Raven… what the hell have you done to me?

  “Thank you,” she whispered and went on to leave. On her way out, she grabbed an amulet with the symbol of Alnil from the shelf.

  Iowen found her way to the arena easily. Few questions with the guards led her where she wanted to.

  “You know the process, pretty boy,” she announced as she entered the room of Luna and Raven.

  Raven smiled and picked up his things.

  “You can’t just kick him out,” Luna protested. She was in her bed going through the book, again.

  “Watch me,” Iowen grinned.

  Soon after, Raven left through the door, his things in his arms and Nibbles on his shoulder. Iowen closed behind him and removed her face mask and hood.

  “That’s so mean!” Luna protested.

  Iowen walked a bit forward then pounced on Luna, pinning her on the bed. Iowen held Luna down with her body, their faces only inches away.

  “We will need some privacy,” she mused as she pulled a soft sheet of silk over Luna’s mouth and kissed her through it.

  “That had quite some lust behind it,” Iowen
evaluated once they finished.

  “I thought you were supposed to ask before doing something like this,” Luna challenged.

  “You had a crush on me…. didn’t you?” Iowen probed.

  “Maybe,” Luna blushed and kissed Iowen again. This kiss was longer and Iowen went on to start undressing Luna.

  “That fast?” Luna asked in confusion.

  “Welcome to girl-girl relationships, once you kiss me, you are mine,” Iowen purred as she quickly undressed Luna, then went to her bag to dig up a large silk sheet to throw over Luna while Luna finished undressing. Iowen went for another kiss and let Luna undress her as well.

  “You are forgetting to keep up the shy act,” Iowen smiled after the long kiss.

  “You are forgetting I like the cold,” Luna smiled and took off the silk sheet Iowen put between them. She pressed Iowen into her and wrapped them both in the sheet.

  “Hmmh, people usually scream in pain when they do this,” Iowen remarked.

  “I am tougher than most people.” They went on cuddling and kissing for a long time. Finally, Iowen slid her velvet gloved hand down Luna’s body.

  “Looks like someone is ready,” Iowen snickered.

  “For you… always,” Luna smiled.

  Iowen kissed her, then slid up her body to put her crotch in front of Luna’s mouth.

  “How about you having some ice cream first?” Iowen purred as she took Luna’s head in her hands.

  Luna went on to give a long strong lick to Iowen’s coochie.

  “What’s with that tongue? It’s like triple the normal size,” Iowen stared.

  “Long story,” Luna whispered and went on to start working on Iowen’s honey cave. Iowen was soon moaning strongly. The texture of the silk covering Luna’s mouth was great, Luna’s tongue was long, wide and strong. Pleasure shot through Iowen with every lick and she got quickly lost in it.

  “I have to know how you got this,” Iowen breathed after a while.

  “Sometimes, I really pissed James off. When I did, he would tie up my arms and legs, then hang me on a hook by my tongue,” Luna admitted.

  “I guess I should send him a letter of appreciation,” Iowen smiled.

  “Is it that good?” Luna asked shyly.

  “Stick it out fully,” Iowen commanded. Luna did. Iowen went there by her hand and measured it. “Push with it against my hand,” she commanded. Luna obeyed.

  “It’s longer and thicker than most men’s pecker… how much can you use it with this strength?” Iowen pried.

  “Wanna see?” Luna smiled.

  “Sure do,” Iowen smiled back and pushed her crotch atop Luna’s mouth.

  It took hours before Iowen couldn’t handle it anymore. She finally let go of Luna’s head and slid down on her. Luna’s face was frozen mess.

  “You really are tough, aren’t you?” Iowen smiled.

  “Can you please remove the ice from my face? I can’t open my eyes and my nose is stuck.

  “In a bit,” Iowen chuckled and slid down on Luna.

  “Quite the waterfall,” she evaluated when checking Luna’s crotch.

  “Tee hee,” Luna giggled. Iowen went on to inspect it with her hands. She could barely slide in one finger given how toughly it was clenched.

  “That’s one hell of a virgin pussy.”

  “One of the features of the regeneration.”

  “Is it…” Iowen roughly slammed in two fingers. Luna screamed out a moan. Iowen made her roar with pleasure in a few minutes.

  “That was fast.”

  “I was excited.”

  “Let’s try a bit more.”

  Iowen went on to mess around with her fingers, switching between making circles and moving them in and out. Some intense minutes later, Luna was breathing heavily, visibly exhausted. Iowen slid back up on her and softly removed the ice from Luna’s face.

  “You really are a sucker for pain, aren’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Oh really… if I went like this on a normal girl, she would scream in pain and run. You look like I just kicked you up into heaven instead,” Iowen smiled.

  “I know I am weird... sorry,” Luna said awkwardly.

  “You don’t need to apologize, I like you like this,” Iowen breathed.

  “That’s not what I was apologizing for,” Luna smirked. She turned the tips of her fingers into short claws. Luna dug the claws into Iowen’s back and ripped eight lines through her skin along the entire curve of her back.

  “OUUUUUUUU! What the fuck?!” Iowen shouted in pain.

  “I like to mark my prey,” Luna smiled and kissed her.

  “You shitty little bitch.”

  45

  Lucas

  “We are fucked,” Miranda kicked off the meeting. They were all there, Miranda, Merewen, Nashimaeal, Elias and Lucas. All the top leadership of this operation.

  “The slaver army swarming through the city, has all entrances locked and checks everyone coming in. We have thousand soldiers in the city and can’t really get in more. Even the Shadowless can’t move in and out easily. We can’t openly siege the city since they effectively hold it as a hostage,” Miranda summarized the situation. She was right on most parts. They took too long to move between the cities. It was only natural since the slavers gathered whatever private army they had in Cinderwell, Slupsey and Xona, which were all much closer than Grimdawn.

  “Nothing we can’t overcome,” Lucas weighted.

  “Without burning down the city or significant part of it?” Nashimaeal joined in. Everyone twitched in their seats uncomfortably as he said it. Everyone except for Lucas.

  “Couldn’t really organize that anyway,” Lucas admitted, “I will find a way to the city, Miranda get your men ready, you will have a wider list this time around. Resistance unknown. Merewen, Elias, have your men ready and hidden. Maneuver them to the back of the mountain to stay out of sight. Nash, please pack up and head to Xona. You won’t be able to make it to the mass in Cinderwell at this rate and I am afraid I cannot guarantee your safety anywhere around it either. I will head to the city and find a way in,” Lucas revealed.

  “Is it worth it? This sounds very dangerous,” Nashimaeal challenged.

  “It is, but we can’t give up at the first sight of trouble,” Lucas retorted.

  “Very well then, I will go get ready to Xona and drop a mass or two along the way,” Nashimaeal conceded.

  “You know we are fine,” Elias smiled. Merewen and Miranda nodded.

  Lucas went on to comb the city before going to the arena complex. He didn’t have to but gave himself the liberty. He spent two days searching for his spear in the ashes of the cavern city, without success. It was either lost or someone took it. Lucas waged on the latter. So, he went on to check the slavers’ soldiers if some wouldn’t happen to have a long black spear. Nobody did. Pissed, Lucas turned to the arena complex. He knew he would eventually reunite with his spear, but he was still missing it.

  He went through the arena complex to get used to the pathways. This one wasn’t as well marked as the one in Grimdawn, so it took him a while to make a system in the layout and mark it all down in his memory. He found Iowen easily; she was on a small balcony looking over the city.

  “Still angry?” he greeted her and approached to stand next to her on the balcony.

  “Don’t come close to me!” she cut back sharply. Lucas stopped by the wall.

  “I can’t believe I ever let you touch me!” she added with palpable hatred in her voice. Lucas said nothing and just stood there, leaning on the wall. “You promised me you would try to help them. You lied to me.”

  “I didn’t lie to you. We were so outnumbered; we would have lost thousands of men would if we tried to siege the city in standard manner. And we still likely wouldn’t have helped anyone,” he explained.

  “What about the hundreds of innocent people in there? Did you ask them if they are fine with being burned alive? With being your sacrificial pawns? What happened to all
that freedom talk? Where is the freedom for them?” Iowen pressed on.

  “I hope they found it in death. Thanks to them, others will find it in their lives. Splinters fly when you cut down a forest. Innocent people die all the time, whether by my hand or not,” Lucas retorted.

  “Go to hell, Lucas,” Iowen spat.

  “I tried, they didn’t want me. The heavens is afraid of me, so I am stuck here,” he smiled grimly. They just stood there for a long silent while.

  “I guess I will go, then,” Lucas evaluated. Iowen clearly did not intend to forgive him and there wasn’t much was willing to do to repent.

  “No mission this time around?” Iowen asked back.

  “Would you do one?” he probed, curious.

  “I hate you and I will never forget or forgive what you did. But I understand it. I hate you for it, but I do understand why you did what you did. So, tell me what you want of me, agent,” Iowen pushed out through her teeth.

  “I need a detailed map of the mines, one with correct distances and up to date state of things, no older than a few weeks,” he breathed.

  “In how long?” she inquired.

  “Three days,” Lucas stated.

  “Is that all, agent?” Iowen pressed.

  “Yes,” Lucas confirmed.

  “Alright. Now fuck off!”

  Lucas left without a word.

  That didn’t go well. I hope Luna feels a touch more cooperative.

  Lucas made his way through the arena complex, silent as death. He put on the featureless white mask as he was approaching Luna’s room. She was busy eating, holding half of a sheep’s carcass in her hands. Lucas knew where the other half was. He snuck in and prowled to stand behind her.

  “How was the book?” Lucas announced his presence. Luna leaped up and whirled to face him.

  “Jack? Ever heard of knocking on the door?” She asked angry and surprised.

  “Time to meet your part of the bargain,” Lucas announced.