"I am..." The voice returned, "I guess I was... Eshan."
"Eshan?" Crinnan repeated. "Are you..."
"I am the one you killed." Eshan replied. "You saw my son, Aron... you stole me from him..."
"How?" Crinnan replied, "Is this some kind of dream?"
"A dream..." Eshan replied. "I wish it were. I hope it is... but i see through your eyes now, I feel with your skin... and... despite my efforts, I cannot walk with your legs or reach with your arms. I can only think my thoughts and feel my feelings... What have you done to me, Demon?"
"Why do you Govians keep calling me that?" Crinnan asked, "Why am I Demon?"
"Because you are!" Eshan shouted, his voice echoing through the entire void of darkness. "You are Demon, filthy sinner. You have broken the ways of the Emperor and Goddess Dura'Ana and you have bound my soul to this darkness instead of letting me pass into heaven!"
"Fuck you and your heaven." Crinnan replied, "Fuck Cidro and Dura'Ana. You got yourself killed, you could not handle your own weapon. You emptied your whole magazine before you even had me in your sights!" Crinnan snickered and Eshan fell silent.
"You robbed me of Aron." Eshan said, "I will never see... my son... again."
"Yeah well that is how this works." Crinnan replied. "You are surprised that you, a soldier, died? It is not my fault. Had you not died I would have. Do not blame me, blame Govia. Blame your Goddess. Blame yourself even, I do not give a shit... how the Hells do I wake up from this, I am through with you."
"You wish to awaken." Eshan said. He was silent for a moment and then Crinnan heard him laugh. "Awaken then. But only after you guarantee me that I will one day see my son again."
"I will awaken when I fucking please." Crinnan replied. "Why would I make a deal with a Govian?"
"You will awaken when I will it." Eshan replied. "Just like you pass into this realm when I will it. Now, promise me." Crinnan thought for a moment and realized that Eshan may very well have been telling the truth. He had, up to that point, received no explanation as to why he was entering and leaving the dark realm he had been, why he was falling unconscious. Even further, he realized that if he was just dreaming then making promises to a figment of his imagination would do no harm... though he doubted the idea that what he was experiencing was a dream.
"Fine." Crinnan replied. "But no more of this. Do not make me fall asleep anymore. Do not make me dizzy or any of that shit. I have work to do. Promise me that and I will... find a way."
"Fine." Eshan replied. "Now awaken."
***
"Ah there he is now." Crinnan heard Sage's voice say as he slipped back into consciousness. "You see? Simply weakened by the journey, catching but a mere moment of respite."
Confused, Crinnan opened his eyes and looked to Sage. He wondered if Sage was talking to him or simply caught in a monologue. Crinnan had no problem doubting the latter…
"Our guest here," Sage said nodding behind Crinnan, "I should say, a most selfless individual, wandered upon us and showed concern for your state."
Crinnan turned his head and saw before them a Govian soldier standing with his rifle trained on them. Crinnan groaned as the soldier turned his head and spoke into a radio clipped to his shoulder.
"The Demon is in my custody. Send transport to my position."
Chapter 4: Part Two
The Bishop II
22nd of Ramlia - 346 AG
10:00 - Canrom City
She sat alone at a booth in the dimly lit bar with her hood raised and her hands gloved. The glass of Dravink in her hand was tilted slightly toward her so she could look inside. As she gazed into the green liquid she considered all that had just happened. Korros was dead, that much was for sure, but her satisfaction had been short lived. The vision of the Demon had rocked her to the core, the idea that he had made it... that he was alive. Shaking her head, she swallowed a drink of the dravink and leaned back against the cushioned booth.
"I am going to lose everything..." She said to herself, disregarding her thoughts of the Demon for a moment. "That little girl... she knows my name..."
Sarasin thought herself a fool to have forgotten about the little red haired girl that was sitting next to Korros. She feared the girl would talk, would report her... at that point, after seeing what she had seen it was almost a certainty. Sarasin imagined that the child was with inquisitors at that very moment. Gently, she placed her cup down on the dark wood table before her and breathed.
"If she talks..." Sarasin continued, "She will ruin me." Her gaze nervously raised to one of the televisions mounted on the wall behind the bar in the center of the room and she watched to see if the news was reporting anything on her.
"No..." She said, shaking her head. "It is still too soon. I still have time... Lazarus will help me." She brushed her hair out of her face as she set her cup down. "Lazarus will understand. He will save me" She glanced over at the screen again and wrung her hands together. She felt like she was acting crazily but she dismissed it, she allowed it considering the circumstances.
"Is everything alright my lady?" The voice of a female asked her. Surprised, she looked to her right to find a red haired teenage waitress standing before her. Sarasin nodded her head and lifted her hand in dismissal.
"All is well." Sarasin replied. "Thank you."
"Is it?" The waitress asked. Sarasin glared at the waitress and nodded her head.
"Yes." She replied, returning her gaze to her drink. "Now if you will..."
"Everything is okay... even after you killed him?" The waitress asked. "You did it right there, right in front of me..." Sarasin's grip on her cup strengthened and the glass cup shattered in her hand. Quickly she stood up from her seat, placing her hand on the hilt of the rapier at her side. She turned to face the waitress but discovered that she was gone. She also noticed that everyone in the bar was looking her way.
She once again lifted her hand in dismissal and sat down. What was going on? Was she seeing things? Her glove was soaked with dravink and so she removed it, placing it on the table in front of her to dry.
"Rough day?" a voice asked, not giving her time to process what had just happened. Her heart was racing as she looked up and saw that the bartender had left his bar and approached her with a towel in hand, ready to clean up her mess.
"Indeed." She replied, scooting out of the way. "But all is well." She tried to keep to herself but the bartender took a seat across from her. He was an old Humaan with thin hair and lines all over his face. Sarasin ignored him and hoped he would be quick.
"You know." The bartender said, as he scooted the broken glass into a pile, "I noticed you when you walked in. There is something... something almost regal about you. The quality of your clothes, the way you walk... that elegant looking rapier at your side." Sarasin hummed but did not speak.
"What led a person like you to a place like this today?" He continued, "Sura'a of all days, should you not be resting? That is what Sura'a is for is it not?"
"I am." She replied shortly. "This place is very restful. Thank you."
"Well I am glad you think so." The bartender replied, wiping up the last of the Dravink. "But you do know... you do realize... that you are not actually here, right?" Sarasin looked up at the bartender and lifted an eyebrow.
"What?" She asked, "What are you..."
"Something is weighing heavily on your mind." He said. "I talk to distracted folk all day. To those lost in their own minds. You, my lady, are distracted."
"Oh." Sarasin replied, shaking her head. "Yes..." Her mind was indeed a haze, so much so that she was afraid of speaking anymore.
"Well if you are interested." The bartender continued, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. "I have something that could help with your... predicament." He produced a small plastic bag filled with glimmering gold powder. "For a being in a predicament such as yours, I will give you a very good price..."
Sarasin sighed and reached in her pocket, producing her Govian Military ID. She
tossed it across the counter and the bartender closed his eyes.
"Oh shit. Please..." He said, "My Lady, do forgive me. I didn't know, I'm just tryin..."
"Unless you desire to spend the rest of your days in prison then I suggest you leave me alone." Sarasin said with an annoyed tone, "Right now." The bartender nodded and quickly stood up and walked away, snatching up his packet of sugir on the way.
"Wait." Sarasin said, not removing her gaze from the table before her. The bartender stopped and turned back around.
"Y... yes my lady?" He asked.
"Send the red haired waitress back to me. I wish to speak with her."
The bartender looked a bit perplexed. "I employ no waitresses that are red of hair my lady." he said, "You must... you must be mistaken."
"That cannot be true." Sarasin said, standing to face the bartender. "Do not protect her, one of your waitresses approached me earlier. Where is she?"
"I... I do not employ..."
"Answer me!" Sarasin shouted, raising an open hand in his direction. He fell to the floor, covering his head with his arms and screamed. A couple regulars got to their feet and started walking toward Sarasin.
"Whoa now!" A male voice shouted above the rest, quickly approaching the two. "That's enough of that, all is well." Sarasin recognized the short brown haired male and sighed, lowering her hand.
"Brother..." She said, approaching him. He scooped her up and she tearfully wrapped her scarred arms around him.
"What are you doing?!" He gently asked his sister as he released her. "Come on, let's get you out of here before you cause any more harm. So sorry everyone!" He waved everyone back to their seats and guided Sarasin out the front door.
The brother and sister stepped out onto the city's sidewalk. By then more people had come out of their homes and were either driving on the street or walking by the tall buildings that composed Canrom City. Sarasin and her brother stood silently before he turned to her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking her up and down, "Nobody hurt you, right?"
"I am fine." Sarasin replied, "I am happy to see you again Rubaan"
"As am I." Rubaan replied. "It has been so many years... why, I hardly recognized you. Just look at you!"
"Yes." Sarasin said, "It has been too long... I am sorry for that, I have been..."
"You are an important person." Rubaan said, "I understand and don't hold it against you." Rubaan grabbed his sister's hand and started to lead her down the street. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" She asked as the the two walked away from the bar and past a fruit shop.
"To the pier." He replied. "Where we can be alone... I have so much to tell you."
"About what?" Sarasin asked.
"Things..." Rubaan replied, "Things have happened. I only have the faintest idea of what they mean... they are things I couldn't tell you on the phone... dangerous things."
"Are you okay?" Sarasin asked, "Is your family okay?"
"For now..." Rubaan said as they approached a vehicle. "Here we are." Sarasin chuckled when she saw where Rubaan had led them.
The two stood before and old red two door car. The front fender was black, as it had been replaced many years before, and patches of rust peppered the vehicle. Sarasin saw a dent on the rear bumper and shook her head.
"Same old Caroset." She said, shaking her head, "Father's old car... you know all you have to do is ask and I would buy you something newer."
"No way." Rubaan replied, "I don't accept handouts, you know that. Besides, I keep this baby running pretty well. Well... me and Dauid... mostly Dauid."
"Dauid? That blind old one-handed Humaan?" Sarasin asked, "He is still alive?"
"He is." Rubaan aid. "Just as crazy as ever too."
"Indeed?" Sarasin asked as she took a seat in Rubaan's car. Rubaan hopped in his own seat and closed the door behind him, sighing as he did so. Sarasin could tell something was bothering him.
"How are mother and father?" Sarasin asked.
"Mother and father are well." Rubaan replied. "Little Alma was recently born, she is beautiful, has red hair like you. She's only a few months younger than my son."
"How is he?" Sarasin asked. "I have yet to see him."
"Healthy." He replied. "You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to come by and see mother and father."
"No." Sarasin replied. "They believe me to be dead. They have believed it for years... For them to know that I am... who I am... would be too much for them."
Rubaan hummed and pulled out into the street. "You may be surprised." He said. Sarasin watched a look of distress spread over his face and leaned in closer to her brother.
"What is the matter?" Sarasin asked.
Rubaan sighed and shook his head"Weird things are happening Sayraa." He said. "I mean... truly weird and evil things are happening."
"What do you mean?" Sarasin asked.
"There is so much to tell..." Rubaan replied. He took a right and continued driving toward the pier. "Things that I can't explain in our short time together today have happened to me... unbelievable, terrible things... you'll think me crazy but I have witnessed a malevolent force arriving on this planet with evil power that we cannot begin to understand... " He paused for a moment to find his words. "Did you get the... Demon... vision?"
"I did." Sarasin replied, perplexed by what Rubaan was saying. She recalled the image she had seen earlier and the voice she had heard in her head.
"I think... well... it has to all be connected." Rubaan replied. "Call me crazy, but the Demon... the things going on with me, the thing I have seen... I think everything is connected and something bad is about to happen."
"Something bad?" Sarasin replied, "Like what?"
"I have no idea." Rubaan said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if the whole damn world ended." Sarasin hummed and Rubaan pulled into a parking spot as the two arrived at the pier.
"Lets watch the water for a few minutes." He said as he put his car in park. "You can tell me what is going on with you."
Canrom city was situated on the coast of the Great Vikith Sea, a large body of freshwater nearly twenty times the size of the city. Before Sarasin and Rubaan were many docks and docked ships of varying sizes and purposes. Sea birds flew overhead, honking at one another and occasionally dipping into the water for a meal. The brother and sister walked up to a wooden bench from where they could see the whole pier and took a seat.
"I am rejoining the army." Rubaan said, looking down at his hands. "It is what I must do to prepare for what is to come... For now... I am a member of mother's guard... but soon I will be sent to work with Commander Xian."
"Indeed." Sarasin said. She was concerned with the way her brother was speaking. "I suppose I will watch for you on the battlefield then..." She sighed and shook her head. "Oh how you complicate my life."
"Me?" Rubaan asked with a chuckle. "Never." The two laughed but their joy slowly died out and they were left sitting in silence.
"I killed a man today." Sarasin said. "I killed an evil man."
"If he was evil then he deserved it. The world is better off." Rubaan replied, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Who was it?"
"High Priest Korros." Sarasin replied, biting her lip. Rubaan looked up from lighting his cigarette but only for a moment. He lit the cigarette, took a drag and exhaled.
"That's not good." He said, rubbing his chin with his free hand. "The entire planet loves that man."
"Yeah..." Sarasin said. "The entire planet... except for me... he is the one I told you about, the one who..."
"You don't need to finish that sentence." Rubaan said, waving his hands. "I kind of just put all that together... so what is the likelihood of you getting in any trouble?"
"I do not know." She replied, scratching the back of her neck. "The only people who saw me were Monks of The Severed Tongue... and a little girl... she heard Korros say my name."
"Monks don't break their vows." Rubaan said, taking another drag from his cigarett
e. "And the government doesn't listen to crazy little girls. I think you will end up okay." The two sat for a while and silently stared out at the pier. The cool breeze blew in from the water and through Sarasin's hair, knocking her hood off. She lifted it back into place and stood.
"Thank you brother." She said, looking down to Rubaan. "Thank you for meeting me today. I love you."
"You know, you don't always have to go back." Rubaan replied. "You could just... you could just come home, you know? Mother and father think you're dead... come home, join the resistance, we could use somebody like..."
"Enough, Rubii." Sarasin said, glaring at her little brother. "You know I cannot."
"What's stopping you?" Rubaan asked, standing to face her. "Really, what is stopping you. Fear? Are you afraid they will find you?"
"Somewhat." Sarasin replied. "I am in over my head, there is no leaving the Govian Empire. Especially a person in my position, you should know that. They would find me and our whole family within a day."
"Oh bullshit." Rubaan said, waving his hand dismissively. "They have been looking for mother and father for years."
"And I have been preventing them all from finding them." Sarasin said, "Without me, you would all be in grave danger."
"Keep telling yourself that." Rubaan said with a hint of anger in his voice. "If you think you're the only one capable of protecting this family then you are delusional. We are strong, we are capable..."
"You are." Sarasin said, stepping up to her brother. She put a hand on each of his shoulders and pressed her forehead against his. "I love you brother. I must return to my people now before I am missed. Please, take care of yourself. Please, if you are in danger, let me know and I will help."
"Yeah..." Rubaan said. "I love you too sis. Don't forget who your people really are though." Sarasin gave Rubaan a thin smile and stepped backwards.
"Wait." Rubaan said, holding his hand out to stop her. "Look... I know I have sounded crazy today. But I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?" Sarasin asked.
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