Part 3: A girl named...

In the year 1214 of the Potentate calendar, the lieutenant colonel commanding the "Evil Hunters" battalion, the good lord Sir Goethe Greyskies, was advancing along the border between the Baldov Pentapolis and the Mar-Mortem Domain. This young man, hailing from a family of priestly powers, was on a mission to crush my first revolt.

*Manuhell Baldovo, Supreme commander of the pagan rebellion.

I, Magnet Baldovo, was born and raised in the dominion of the semi-arid northern lowland cities, which was known as the Baldov Pentapolis. Meanwhile, the Mar-Mortem Domain separated the mountains and highlands of the Holy Kingdom of Granheim from the lowlands where the pagan kingdoms lived.

Both domains, situated on the north-east side of the Great Southern Island, had sworn allegiance to the "Holy Kingdom of Granheim" and had been faithful servants for a hundred years.

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Goethe Greyskies was a rising star of the realm. Despite his youth, he had come to pacify my revolt in the Baldov Pentapolis with absolute devotion.

My revolt was, in truth, a widespread rebellion. I had started it in the small port settlement of "Baldov", where many pagans had grown weary of the Potentates' regime due to heavy taxation. This port was subject to high taxes designed to favour the docking of ships on the Potentate side of the island, specifically at the port city of "Bayport", which was the second most important city for the Holy Kingdom.

It should be noted that the north and east of the great island feature rugged coastlines with numerous ravines that hinder the existence of major ports, leaving Baldov as the sole competitor to Bayport (The Holy Kingdom of Granheim) at that time.

The news spread across the entire island: a Baldovo lord had driven the golden ones from his land at the end of the year 1213.

I was 28 years old back then. Although I was of medium height, I had a rather sturdy build. Those months in the rebel ranks made me lose all desire to trim my beard or hair, both of which had grown quite long. My skin bore the mark of the pagan coastal regions that abounded in that part of the island. I confess that during that time I had been a student of my ancestors' magical arts, but I also studied anatomy and natural sciences, through which I moved away from fanciful practices and advanced towards the mastery of reason within vital energy.

By contrast, Lieutenant Colonel Goethe Greyskies, aged 21, came from one of the most powerful families in the entire Holy Kingdom. He had eyes as blue as the beaches of Bayport, and his hair was as golden as the sun. A golden suit of armour protected his body, specially blessed by the Grand Prior of the realm. The horse he rode was one of the swiftest on the entire island, and his sword was already beginning to be known as one of the most powerful in the second royal army; hence, he attracted both envy for his qualities and origins, and the admiration of many more.

As a heightened display of his worth and capability, the lieutenant colonel crushed my rebellion in the year 1214 and took me prisoner to face justice before the royal authorities in Holyfort.

Holyfort is the city that provided entry into the Holy Kingdom of Granheim from the north. To get there, the lieutenant colonel had to leave the northern domains and finally cross the Holy River.

Along the way, they did not stop treating me like an obscene libertine. I still believe that dragging a drunken man from his bed and tearing him away from the delight of his women ought to be a capital offence, and I made sure to let everyone in the "Evil Hunters" battalion know it. This caused a conflict with the combat prior, Elohí Amber, the son of a prominent merchant from Holyfort.

For the Potentates, having multiple sexual partners, as was my case, was frowned upon. Generally, believers married and lived with the same woman for the rest of their lives, at least publicly. Although there were many born of the flesh, or bastards, who generally did not inherit surnames. The same went for the offspring of conquerors and native islanders.

While the combat prior was reprimanding me, the lieutenant colonel walked over to a small waterfall. The young man watched the fresh spray fall onto the tiny stream where the soldiers, horses, and prisoners were drinking. He marvelled at how clean, clear, and crystalline the water was.

The young Potentate warrior attempted to touch the water with his hands when he heard a gentle splashing. Glancing back up, he found a girl of about 16 years of age looking at him with tearful eyes. The lieutenant colonel started slightly, but was enchanted by the young woman's exquisite features. Particularly striking were her eyes of a gorgeous golden colour (perhaps the prettiest eyes he had ever seen in the whole of Granheim), along with slightly cinnamon-toned skin and very fair hair that looked pinkish in the light. She was finely dressed in linen and what appeared to be the boots of a golden suit of armour encrusted with ruby-like scales—precious stones of immense value in these latitudes.

None of us had ever seen anyone like her. It was that girl. A girl called into this world.

*Goethe Greyskies, Lieutenant colonel of the "Hunters of evil" battalion.