“But…” she wanted to protest.
“Calm down, Anne, I am expecting him and I am sure it will be alright. Please show him to my office,” he tried to calm her down.
“Found it!” sounded from behind Anne. She shrieked and jumped.
Behind her stood a tall and muscular man clad in carefully crafted black scale armor. He had long black straight hair, handsome pale young face with piercing blue eyes. Over his head was a black hood that extended into a large cloak which weaved behind him. He held a large single bladed war axe over his shoulder.
“Sorry for popping in early, had a good trip,” he tossed up as he moved past Anne into the room. Anne was pale white.
“It’s alright, Anne, you may leave us,” Edward dismissed her. This time she didn’t protest.
“I hope you don’t mind,” James remarked as he walked through Edwards cabinet and picked a bottle of bourbon. Either by chance or aim, he took the most expensive one, popped it open with a finger and took a large gulp from the battle.
“I don’t,” Edward smiled.
“Edward Collward, head of the Slaver Union,” Edward introduced himself, hoping to turn the topic to business.
“James, the bandit king,” the man smiled. He put down the battle axe and went to shake hands with Edward. From up close, James seemed even larger.
No, not larger, intimidating. You don’t need to know anything about him to know that this man is dangerous.
“Jean told me you have an offer I won’t refuse,” James tossed up as he sat on the chair across the table. Edward sat down and collected his thoughts.
“As you likely know, my organization has entered into a slight conflict with the Holy Order of Palai,” Edward started.
“And you are losing, badly and wonder if you couldn’t get out of trouble by recruiting me,” James remarked.
“I believe you shouldn’t be shy of crossing the Order, given the bounty it already has on your head,” Edward stated.
“If the price is right,” James agreed.
“What would the right price be?” Edward Collward asked.
“Full ownership of all your slave hunting companies and a small sum of two million gold,” James smiled.
Amazing! To say that with a straight face!
“Good one. I will sell you my slave hunting companies for somewhere around half a million per piece, then if you do a good job over the next half a year, I will give you half of the gold spent back as a reward,” Edward retorted.
“That puts me on minus; I am better off raiding whatever Palai leaves behind. Got quite a bit from the lumber camp already,” James laughed.
So that’s where the gold disappeared to. Steals my gold and comes to taunt me with it… he is positively crazy. I can work with that.
“Then how about something else? I pay you your expenses while working for me if you do well enough, I let you pick a few pieces from my personal treasury. Say one per successful mission from the normal one or one per three successful missions from the artifact one. From what I have heard, you have a taste for antiquities plus I will toss in some gold if you do well,” Edward pivoted.
“I keep what I take from Palai Order and we have a deal,” James smiled. “Also, I know you will not accept it now but, for a price, I am willing to command any number of troops you would give me command over,” James added.
“I will keep that in mind,” Edward agreed.
“We meet in Cinderwell in about three weeks, my office,” Edward ordered.
They shook hands and James left, taking the bottle of bourbon with him.
Alright, I have had my share of dealing with psychopaths for today. Now I have to deal with the less pleasant issues.
The market was as full as ever. Edward fought his way through the people to reach the keeper of the beasts. After some searching, he saw what he was looking for. Tiny and devilishly cute, a tiger cub no older than a few days. It looked like a small ball of soft fur with cute little eyes and smile. He had a pink bow tied around its neck and had it packed into a small cage. On the way home, he picked up some raw meat and milk. He then covered the cage with a piece of cloth and went pick up Elizabeth from school. She was happy to see him and was half singing the whole way home. She never stayed silent.
“When are we going to leave?” she asked impatiently.
“Tomorrow after lunch,” Collward replied warmly.
“I will pack all my things! Finally, I can do something useful!” Elizabeth was beaming.
“First, I have something for you. Close your eyes,” he told her softly.
She did and covered them with her hands. He took the baby tiger out and put it on the table in front of her.
“You can open,” he told her.
Elizabeth screamed and carefully hugged the little tiger. He had never seen her so happy. For the rest of the evening, she kept playing with it and then took it straight into bed with her. She named it Niuffie.
The next day she packed all her toys and dolls, then some clothes too when he reminded her she might need them and they were on the way.
“Why are we stopping here?” she asked him when the coach stopped few hours behind the town in front of a cave entrance.
“We are not going by coach. Come,” Edward got out and picked most of her baggage, then lead the way to the cave. Elizabeth followed, holding Niuffie in her arms.
“What is this place?” she asked, looking at the massive iron door he opened so they could pass inside the dungeon.
“One of my secret hideouts,” Edward revealed, “there is one close to each city, always two hours away by horse, hidden close to some high mountain with a steep cliff next to it.”
“Why?” she asked, suddenly suspicious.
“You will see why, just remember it. You may need them one day. The door will recognize you and open when you insert any key,” he explained.
“That sounds complicated,” Elizabeth protested.
“Just remember it,” Edward insisted.
“Dad... what is that?” Elizabeth realized what in front of what they were standing in front of a massive metallic object. Not just an object, it looked like a creature. Edward smiled and stretched out his hand. Golden light shone from his hand into the creature. The metal shook and stirred and started getting up. It was over thirty meters long, massive head filled with teeth, had huge wings with sharp edges, stood on four legs ending with claws and ended with a long tail with a sharp barb.
Elizabeth and Niuffie both stared with wide eyes.
“That’s Bladewing.”
“Hi,” Elizabeth squeezed out. Edward laughed.
“It’s not alive; it is a machine powered by magic. A mere imitation of what a dragon would look like,” Edward explained as he walked to it.
“Does it breath fire?” Elizabeth asked carefully.
“It does and much more,” Edward smiled as he started putting her things on top of it. By the end of its body was a part prepared to carry baggage. He had his things already packed so was just attaching Elizabeth’s bags.
“Does it fly?” she probed.
“You will see soon. Come closer, Ellie, I need to strap you up,” Edward announced.
She walked forward carefully, Niuffie was hiding in her arms as if not seeing the machine would make it disappear. Edward gave her a while to get ready and then put her up to the back of the saddle and strapped her in. He strapped Niuffie too, making sure to get it tight enough to prevent a fall but not too tight to suffocate it. Then he got onto the front saddle and strapped himself in. The mechanical monster started moving.
“I am scared!” Elizabeth breathed as she held onto his back.
“Don’t be, Ellie, one day you will fly it too,” Edward comforted her.
“FLY?” Ellie shouted.
Edward didn’t answer and had the mechanical dragon jump through the large window of the cavern off the ledge. Ellie started screaming. He let it fall for a bit and spread its wings when he felt the updraft. They turned a
nd shot up. A few minutes later, Elizabeth got tired of screaming and just stared. They were already up above the clouds.
“Dad… is this for real? I keep pinching myself, but I am not waking up,” Ellie said after a while.
“This our magic, it’s called the Puppet Master. We attach strings to objects and make them move with our will,” Edward mused softly.
“What are you talking about dad? You have magic? I certainly don’t have any!” Elizabeth protested.
“Does it look like I don’t have magic?” Edward asked warmly.
“No… it looks like I am still asleep and will wake up soon,” Elise stated.
“It is real, Elizabeth,” Edward whispered, “one day you will have it too.”
“How do you know I can do that? How do you know I have anything! I can’t do any magic!” Elise challenged.
“You will learn it,” Edward announced.
“But it won’t be like yours. Everybody’s magic is different! That’s what they taught us in school!” Elizabeth refused.
“It will be exactly like mine. Magical talent passes on from parent to child and since you will practice it the way I did, your magic will be exactly like mine,” Edward explained.
Elise didn’t find the strength to protest and just admired the scenery for a long while. She tried to touch the fluffy clouds as they were flying straight above them but was disappointed to find they are just a bit wet and nothing else.
“Will I really be able to use magic, dad?” Elise asked after a long while.
“Yes. You will learn how to prepare for it, how to use it and how to hide it,” Edward confirmed.
“Why would I hide it? Magic is awesome!” Elise challenged.
“Because I had done some very bad things to good people and the other good people will not want it to happen again,” Edward revealed.
“Why did you do bad things, dad? We shouldn’t do bad things, especially not to good people!” Elizabeth exclaimed sharply.
“Some I had to, some I wanted to, some just happened by themselves because of me,” Edward explained calmly.
“I haven’t done any bad things, why would they punish me for what you did?” Elise protested.
“Because they are afraid. Afraid of me, afraid of my power. When they see you have it, they will remember the fear,” Edward revealed.
“That doesn’t make sense!”
“One day it will.”
“Hold tight,” Edward said suddenly after a long discussion. Elise did. They plunged into the cloud. Elise started screaming. They dove down fast. The dragon suddenly stabilized with a large impact and flew. They were in the mountains, flying among their peaks. They were faster than any animal, faster than the wind itself. Elise could barely breathe as they were maneuvering between the cliffs, only meters above the tops of trees. Suddenly, they whirled and stopped midair close to one mountain. Edward made them glide down to land on its side.
“We have arrived,” Edward announced as he leaped down the mechanical dragon and went on to unfasten Elise and Niuffie. Elise took the tiny tiger in her hands and tried to wake it up. She succeeded soon and Niuffie greeted her with a meow that made even Edward’s heart melt. As they got off, Edward took the wrapped spear from the dragon and motioned it to go inside the cave. Elise was playing with Niuffie in the meantime.
“Where are we dad?” Elise asked sweetly when he returned.
“In Zaraguza highlands,” he replied, “I need to go handle something, you stay here and protect Niuffie.”
“Protect her… from what?” Elise looked confused.
“Mountain cats, eagles, whatever else lives around and would love to snack on a baby tiger,” he smiled. Elise widened her eyes in fear.
“I can’t do that. A mountain cat would eat me!” Elise protested.
“Not if you get it first,” Edward smirked and unwrapped the spear. He handled it to Elise. It was longer than she was tall. She could barely hold it with both hands.
“I can’t use this,” she challenged.
“You can if you try. Niuffie can’t defend herself yet; you will have to do it for her until she grows up,” he smiled as he ducked in front of her.
“Don’t worry, it will be alright,” he hugged her and then kissed her on the forehead before he rose up again.
“I will try,” Elise squeezed out, holding onto the long black spear. It scared her, but it did make her feel safer.
“Who are they?” she breathed as she noticed the two women standing next to Edward. They were attractive women clothed in plate armor and wrapped in black cloaks. They were identical.
“The twins. They are weapons I use when going somewhere dangerous,” Edward revealed.
“They are people!”
“No. They are just made to look like people.”
“Why? Why young women?”
“Because men feel bad about killing young women. The sole purpose of a weapon is to kill. Anything that serves that purpose makes it a good weapon. The twins are an excellent weapon,” Edward smiled.
“This is insane!” Elise shouted.
“Take care of Niuffie,” Edward waves as he embarked on the road leading down the mountain.
Elise got tired of holding the spear soon. She took Niuffe and put her on her lap and arranged the spear to hold by a rock, so she didn’t have to lift it up all the way from the ground. She was sure she cannot use it, but what could she do. Nothing made sense to her. Half a day ago she had a breakfast in her home in Grimdawn. Now, she was in the middle of nowhere in mountains with a mechanical dragon and a long spear.
She sat there and waited, hoping her father would return soon.
“It doesn’t work when you don’t hold it,” a mean female voice taunted from behind her. Elise shrieked and turned. Out of nowhere, a devilishly pretty woman stood behind her. She was young, tall, had a messy long blond hair, tanned skin, and yellowish eyes. She was dressed in brown-green scale armor. She had two arming swords crossed on her back. She was tall, had incredibly strong and intense flowerly scent coming from her.
“I’m Astril, Astril Hellwind,” she introduced herself.
“Elizabeth Collward,” Elise tried to answer steadily, hiding the fear.
“That’s a lot of stuff, it’s gonna take you a while to carry all of that,” Astril was already turned around, looking at the baggage on the back of the mechanical dragon.
“Carry? I am not going anywhere! I am waiting here for dad!” Elise protested.
“That’s gonna be a long wait,” Astril chuckled.
“Just give her the letter,” a cold voice of another woman resonated through the cave from the entrance.
At the entrance stood another woman and this one took Elizabeth’s breath away. She was dressed in a thick black coat outlined with white fur and had a black collar around her neck. Her skin was paler; her eyes were azure like the sky. Her hair was golden brown and she had a massive sword on her back. She was beyond beautiful.
“Come on, Zerae, I wanted to prepare a bit,” Astril challenged.
“Astril!” the woman slapped at the other with the word.
Astril reached into her armor to pull out a large envelope. She handed it to Elizabeth.
“That’s from your dad. We’re gonna get the bags,” she said softly and went to the baggage strapped to the dragon. Elise stared at the enveloped. She knew the seal; it was her fathers. Other women came into the cave and started taking the baggage. Elise ignored them and carefully opened the envelope to read the contents. Inside was a single letter.
‘Elizabeth, my dearest daughter,
I have spent my entire life building something. I have built an entire empire, but I didn’t build it for itself. I built it to achieve something and I did. Out of all my achievements one truly stands out. You. You are the greatest achievement of my existence.
You are what I will do anything to protect. To protect and to teach you, that has been my sole purpose ever since you were born. Yet I can’t teach you anymo
re, not myself, for the only thing I can teach you is to become me. You must not become me. Therefore, I cannot protect you anymore.
My sins have caught up with me. I will fight it, fight till I have breath within me, fight to whatever end awaits me. I will do so for years, decades, centuries, for as long as it takes. Yet to protect what I hold the dearest, to protect you, I must let you go.
This is where we part ways. I am going to fight a war you cannot take part in. You must not take part in. The dream daughters have lived free in these lands for over a century, they have and they will stay away from my war. Live with them, learn from them, learn how to live on freedom. That is something I could have never taught you, something more precious than what I could ever give you.
As the last gift from me, you will find a black leather bag among the baggage. It contains all my knowledge of our magic, of our art. Learn our art, master it and it will protect you when I cannot when nobody else cannot either. To that end, I leave you the two greatest weapons I could, Bladewing and Black Spear. Bladewing is my strongest puppet; Black Spear is a weapon that was once wielded by the demon king himself. There is nothing these two weapons cannot kill. Learn to use them, master them, protect your life, protect your freedom with them.
Do not become like me, find the way to be yourself, to be free. I was born in the void beyond the sky, that is where I will forever watch over you. No matter what happens to me. Do not become me.
With love,
Edward Collward
also known as
Scint’Har’Iinn’Ix, the Puppet Master’
39
Salazar
Salazar enjoyed the archbishop’s speech immensely. Nashimaeal was preaching about freedom and forgiveness so fiercely it felt like fire will start falling from the sky at any moment. He pondered how much of the forgiveness part was aimed at the audience and how much of it was for himself. Archbishop Nashimaeal was known to be a peaceful and compassionate man. What his Order did last night was neither peaceful nor compassionate. Quite the opposite, actually. He was happy to see that.
Killing should never be unanimously approved, especially mass killing. To see the archbishop being blazing angry at Lucas wiping out the local slavers suggests that the Order has still kept its humane side.
Legacy of Dreams: Freedom Page 25