As Blaise dropped into the cavern, he felt his youth slipping away.

He crashed against the floor and curled up on the uneven, damp rock, closing his eyes. He could hear the flapping of bats' wings all around, they had been following him since he fled Rains Shadow. His right hand made a fist and he cursed himself for being so foolish.

Did I truly think this day would never come? He thought to himself. Idiot! I am such an idiot!

Blaise screamed in frustration, his voice echoing loudly, and he forced himself onto all fours. It was then that Blaise realized that he was going to die. He wanted to cry--it wasn't his time to die. Life felt so short to him in that moment, yet he knew that he had lived so, so long already.

Opening his eyes just a little bit, he could see his hands. One minute they were a boy's, then an old man's, then a boy's again. Different versions of himself flashed before his eyes, along with bits of his life. A clear night sky with millions of stars. A winter huntress riding atop a white stag. An old man wearing a hood. Darkness. Lots of dusty books. Crossbows firing and velvet capes. Feathers. A city devoured in flames and exploding light. Bats flying around him in a vortex. Forests of pine trees. Broken glass covered in blood. Darkness again. Something inside told him that he needed to be calm through all this. Relax. Just relax.

Trying to relax, Blaise felt his form steadying again, and breathing deeply, he rose to his feet. Maybe he could control it. Maybe...

Two figures stood right in front of him.

Blaise jumped back instantly. His heart was racing and he put a hand to his chest. Their bodies were dark, hidden within the shadow of the cave, and they made no move towards him, so they weren't from Rains Shadow. Good. That still left him wondering how the two had found him in the first place.

Who were they? Were they Rvyni? Bounty Hunters?

The taller one opened its eyes. There was no mistaking those things--esk eyes. They glowed red in the darkness with irises a brighter, solid orange with no pupil. At least one of them was esk then. That wouldn't be a problem, hopefully. Blaise had always thought esks were slow-witted.

"We did not intend to frighten you, Great Master." The esk and his friend stepped into the light.

Ahhh. Blaise thought as saw them clearly. So the other one's is a girl. She was a Rvyni girl too, with glossy, light pink hair which fell around her shoulders. And the man--the one with the esk eyes--did not even looked like an esk. In fact, he looked more human than esk, besides the eyes and dull skin of course. Even his hair was red-blond--which was incredibly rare among the esks, and he had a lean build. A man in his twenties or thirties.

Blaise readied his speed disc in the back of his head, but found nothing. It didn't matter. If the both of them wanted to attack, he would be ready to run; he was quick enough on his own. "I am not frightened of...what are your names?"

"I am Purlip, and this is my husband Thadan." said the woman.

"You may call me Thad." The esk-man held out his hand.

Blaise frowned, refusing Thadan's gesture. There was something...off...about this couple. They seemed almost too friendly. Even the bats who hung upside-down on the damp cave walls shifted restlessly, as if they somehow were aware of Blaise's emotions. "What do you want?"

Thadan took a couple steps forward, "To make a deal, Great Master."

A cold breeze blew from the depths of the cave, smelling stale and unusually damp. Blaise stood up straighter, feeling a rush of confidence. Purlip hugged her knit coat tighter and Thadan did not move or blink. Both of them were outsiders here in the cave, for caves belong to the bats.

"Great Master? Why call me that? Speak." Blaise commanded. What a title, though. And what deal?

"Why, you are the oldest and most experienced disc operator in all of history, are you not? When I was a child, my parents told me stories of you, the legendary villain who would come during the darkest hours of the night and take your most valuable possessions. In Eskan, every parent tells their children to keep their collectibles near."

"And in Rvyn, too." Purlip cut in, "All the storytellers speak of the half-monster who rides on the wings of a bat. You have grown quite the reputation over the ages."

Half-monster? Blaise had not heard that tale. How amusing. He grinned. "So you two have come in search of a finding and meeting a legend have you? Well, I can assure you that I am nothing more than an ordinary human with a rather dangerous hobby."

The Rvyni sniffed, "Ordinary? I beg to differ. Though, are not at all what we expected to say the truth."

"What did you expect then?"

"Someone a bit...older." She lifted her eyebrows expressively on that last word, probably in reference to Blaise's adolescent form.

Blaise frowned and rolled his eyes. If these people had come all this way to see him, then fine, they had seen him. They should go now. He should go now. These two seemed to have strange intentions. "Very funny." He turned and stalked into the darkness.

"Stop! Great Master, you insult us by leaving us here without a bargain." Thadan's voice carried well in the lonely cavern.

Blaise turned back into the light. He was growing tired of this. "Bargain? What bargain? And I insist that you stop calling me 'Great Master', since I am not associated with either of you strangers."

Thadan rubbed his chin and glanced over to his wife. Then he looked directly at Blaise. "Very well. As for the bargain...do you, perhaps, have a place where we three can sit and discuss?"

"No." Blaise said coldly. "If I did it would be too dark for you to see. If you have not yet noticed, I do not keep any lights in my home."

Neither Thadan nor Purlip seemed offended, as Blaise had intended. "Of course. We will talk here then."

Sighing, Blaise leaned up against the side of the cave.

"My wife and I have scoured the world to find you, not because we wished to confirm a legend, but because we are in need of your talents. Our lives have been dedicated to searching various records and books, all of which have led to you. For only you can perform this task."

"Hm? You mean a favor? I don't recall ever doing favors. How would that be in your books?"

"I assume you are suggesting that we would ask you to do this without payment?" Thadan chuckled, "Do not worry, we pay well."

"Pay well? Hah!" Blaise nearly broke out laughing. The two were dressed like Neurean peasants. "I am a burglar! Certainly you understand that money means nothing to those who steal...the kind of things that I do."

"Trust me, we understand." Thadan blinked, finally. Those strange eyes were beginning to glow more brightly. "Blaise, what I am asking you do is locate someone. A special someone.

"As you know, the human race used to be more than servants. They used to even have their own kingdoms and lands in the east. Eventually, after centuries of economic and political failure, only one kingdom remained--the small city-state of Summernorth--the Last Kingdom. With time, even that fell to the conquests of Eskan. My mother's ancestors saw that the humans would never rise again to be a world power...so they slaughtered them and turned the survivors into servants."

"Ahh...your mother's ancestors. So you father wasn't an Esk then?"

Thadan ignored him and continued with his monologue, "The night that Summernorth made their last stand, the Queen mysteriously disappeared, according to my sources. She was also in possession of a very special Eternity Disc--one that could turn the hands of time. Unfortunately, the Queen knew little of the disc and she unintentionally went forward in time instead of backward."

"You are suggesting that she...survived?" Blaise felt a sense of horror, memories flashing him back to older days.

"You knew the Queen personally then? I figured as much out of one so ancient."

Blaise swallowed, trying to relax himself and keep his delicate form in-tact. "Then, you want me to find Regn--the Queen?"

"The Queen is dead, unfortunately."

What? Then..."How do you know this?"

"A grave in northern Eskan, not too far from the ruins of Symmernorth. It was engraved with the date and cause of her death."

How did this man discover the grave? How? "What exactly did it say?"

"She died nineteen years ago. In childbirth."

The room spun, and Blaise felt himself shimmer, overcome with emotion. He clung to the jagged cave wall to keep himself from falling over. Above, the mass of bats took flight in a frenzy. I haven't felt this emotional in...centuries. The mere thought of that woman sent his mind into a panic.

Thadan continued as if he hadn't noticed anything, "You know what this must mean then, do you not? The Queen left an Heir, and I want him...or her."

"This...this is who you want me to find for you?" Blaise took deep breaths, calming himself, returning young again.

"Precisely. And in return, I can give you something you need. Something vital." Than paused as if waiting for Blaise to ask what. "If you bring me back the Human Heir, I will repair your disc."

Blaise narrowed his eyes. He didn't trust Thadan-- discs couldn't be repaired. He had lived for thousands of years but never once did be come across a person claiming to be able to fix damaged discs. This man was ridiculous!

"You do not believe me?" Thadan shook his head. "Let me prove it to you." He nodded to Purlip at his side.

Purlip reached into a small bag tied around her waist and pulled out a simple disc memorite, which she handed to her partner who slammed it onto the cave floor. In the near-darkness, the glass sparkled and flew apart into a million pieces with a loud ring.

Thadan stooped down to a crouch, wearing an ugly smirk on his face, and then studied the shards, holding up his right hand. Another disc appeared, glowing with an intense bright yellow light. Thadan's fingers began moving, and soon the light became overwhelming, and Blaise had to hold up a hand to shield his eyes.

As the light faded, Blaise closed his mouth. He had not realized his mouth was hanging open.

There laying on the ground was a clean, undamaged disc, which Purlip took and placed back into her pouch. Thadan then tested the repaired disc himself, demonstrating that he was still able to operate it. It worked. That was not supposed to be possible. "Can I guess? Another Eternity Disc?" But Thadan did not carry a disc box. Wouldn't he have wanted to keep it somewhere more safe? How did he find an Eternity Disc...and one I didn't know about?

Thadan nodded, raising his eyebrows smugly. "Are you convinced yet?"

Blaise studied Thadan. This deal might allow him to live on. He knew he was a selfish man; Blaise had hidden in the shadows while the world had torn apart around him. He hadn't been subjugated; instead, he had become the oldest living thing in memory. With his precious Eternity Disc repaired, he would live on and be able to see even more. Blaise was not ready to die, not yet. Not until he had seen everything, and experienced everything this world had to offer him.

But, still, something felt inexplicably wrong inside of him. If he found the Heir--assuming there was such a person--it would mean the end to hope for his people. Thadan--an Esk--would undoubtedly need this Heir to finally end the Last Kingdom and finish what his ancestors started. With the Heir dead, there would be no hope left. It would mean the end to the possibility of his race being brought out of service. The end to all of the lies. By bringing the Heir to Thadan to be killed, Blaise would be betraying all of humanity, dooming them to live meaningless lives for the rest of time.

"No." Blaise said.

Thadan's eyes flashed with red-hot anger. Immediately, he stood and walked closer to where Blaise was sitting. "Purlip, give it to me." The Rvyni woman approached her husband silently and placed a small object into his hand. "I hoped that I would not have to give this up."

He held up a golden coil, which glistened as if newly forged. "This is the Indelina Eternity Disc. I believe it is one of the final pieces to your collection, and what you came here for in the first place."