As the days came and went the lack of information and sightings had started to become tiring. Her worry about the sample she had given Alchem had left the last few nights she spent in bed sleepless.

It was like a sign from the gods when she returned from her daily supply run in the city of Rosas that she saw the terrible terror that occured the night prior.

She stared in terror at the blood which stained the cobbled road and quickly followed its trail. It grew larger and larger until it all pooled in front of the church doors. She watched as the nuns sat on their knees, attempting to scrub away the red sticky and slowly drying mess.

"What happened?!" She blurted out in shock. Adrian stepped up to her and looked around the bloodbath they both faced.

"Alistair came here last night. He murdered a whole group of people and kidnapped a young girl. We tried to follow, but lost track as his wolves stopped us by attacking. Serena managed to slip past but I'm unsure what happened next."

"Serena?! Is she alright?" Lysithea grabbed a hold of his arm and he looked down at her hands and then into her golden eyes.

"I'm not sure alright is the right term. She returned this morning. Beaten, bleeding and in shock. She's inside the church if you want to--"

Lysithea immediately let go of the Shahermerites and rushed inside the old building. It took a moment for her to get used to the more dimmed and candle-lit room compared to the light of day outside, but as soon as her eyes adjusted she spotted Serena, sitting by one of the pillars, swaying back and forth with her arms around her knees. Her grey short hair was messy around her head. Her ashen skin bruised and one swollen black eye scarred her usual youthful face.

Next to her sat Tristan, with a hand on her arm, trying to calm her down.

Lysithea ran forward and dropped to her knees, pulling Serena close. The girl clambered onto the blonde-haired woman and hugged her tight. She was freezing cold and trembled like a leaf in a storm, at the end of autumn, in Lysithea's arms.

"Serena! I heard what-... what happened. Are you alright? Why did you go after him?"

"He had Julie! He dragged her by the hair towards the Shattered woods to the north. I had to go after him!"

The girl sobbed and Lysithea felt her nails dig into her arms.

"I followed them into a cave, saw him hunched over her. He was drinking her dry! He then stopped and saw me. He knew I was there! No one ever knows I'm there… never… never…"

She stuttered and sobbed. Lysithea stroked a hand over her back and looked towards Tristan who locked eyes with her but remained quiet.

"He grabbed me by the neck. Called me a disgusting rat and said he would let me live only so I could come back and tell everyone that they have awoken his wrath and that there is no turning back." 

Serena pulled away from Lysithea, tightly held her shoulders in her hands, and shook her. "There is no turning back! He's coming for all of us, we're all going to be drained of all our blood and die!"

Lysithea grabbed a hold of her friend and pulled her back into a tight embrace. She sobbed against the blonde-haired woman's chest and Lysithea turned her attention towards Tristan.

"How did-... did this happen? It's not like Alistair to-... to mass murder without purpose like that. He has never done so before. There isn't even-... even a single one of the people he's preyed on who he left to-... to die."

Tristan placed a hand on Serena's back gently but continued to look at Lysithea.

"They taunted him again. Tried their hardest to make him angry so that he would attack them. Which he did."

"But why?! Don't they-... they know it's dangerous? He can't control himself when he's angry!"

Tristan shook his head as Lysithea felt tears burn in her eyes. She hugged Serena tighter and held her against her chest as close as she could.

"I know…" Tristan sighed heavily.

"They want to be-... be a hero so badly that they poke the bear just-... just to make themselves seem better by trying to slay him in self defence?! They're just-... just cruel! They're putting so many-... many in danger by doing it."

"I know Lys, I know but there is little we can do. They want to prove themselves by slaying a Redferne."

"...it's not fair." Lysithea whispered. Burying her face into Serena's hair. "They are making him into-... into a monster."

She tightened her hold on her terrified friend. 

"It isn't fair."

The whole building nearly shook as a man's shouts and screams burst inside as one of the priestesses opened the doors. 

All three of them nearly jumped out of their skin and Tristan quickly got up on his feet, frowning heavily with his eyes narrowed. 

"One moment…" He mumbled as he picked up his two swords which had been leaning against the wall. He exited the building and Lysithea watched him go nervously, still cradling Serena. 

"That sounded like Cormac…-" Serena mumbled as she pulled herself away from the blonde woman and swiped away tears which stained her ash-grey skin. 

"Cormac-..." Lysithea mumbled and then quickly got up on her feet. "Give me a moment  I need-... need to meet this man."

As she left the church she was immediately pulled behind Tristan who hid her away from view. When she opened her mouth to ask what was happening he hushed her and gestured towards the middle of the street. 

There stood four of Rosas’ guards, dressed in their thick dark brown and muddied green uniforms, with heavy and rusty steel helmets on their heads. They circled a man who was tied to a pole, shirtless.

The guards watched the crowd as they gathered, hands behind their backs and with their heads held high.

Lysithea moved away from Tristan who, in slight panic, attempted to keep her hidden, but despite his paranoia it didn't seem as if they cared about her presence or knew who she was as they didn't so much as look at her.

"People of the outskirts, we present to you one of your own. He is to be punished for spreading misinformation and lies concerning the protectors of Rosas and the Emperor himself." The captain of the guard shouted, her voice strong and determined. She was slightly shorter than her colleagues and on her hip hung a pistol.

Lysithea stared at the weapon.

"What is that?" She whispered and Tristan leaned down to be able to speak with her in a hushed tone.

"Banned weaponry. It comes from across the sea. I guess she has a permit."

Tristan sounded disgusted and frustrated, much like everyone else, no one liked or cared for Rosas' protection forces. They had respect, but only in the form of avoidance, in fear of being punished for something that was either trivial or untrue. 

"Don't listen to these brainless thralls!" shouted the dark haired man as he struggled against his restraints behind the guards. "They are corrupt and controlled by the Emperor! They don't care about the law or their people." 

The guard captain peered behind her shoulder at the man who continued to shout. She nodded and her colleague proceeded by beating Cormac over the side of the head.

Lysithea pressed her hands against her lips and stared into the ground, her eyes wide and pupils trembling at the sound of the man's painful shout.

"You can't silence me! You're all controlled by vampires! You're nothing but darkness and evil pawns!" 

The man was hit again.

"Argh-!... beat me all you like! It's thanks to you that we're being attacked by night creatures every night! You allow them here! They pay you and you look the other way. Even the cult hiding in the sewers. You don't care about safety or innocent lives!"

"That's enough."

"No! It will never be enough. I will ne-... Gahg!!" The guard pushed a big piece of cloth into Cormac's mouth and pulled his face up by the hair before he turned him around, forcing him to bare his back towards their captain.

"Cormac Stray, you have been found guilty of spreading misinformation and lies in our fair City. You have in doing so endangered innocent people and caused damage to our everyday lives. Therefore you are to be whipped one hundred times, upon your shoulders and upper back, as well as being stripped off any titles and known records which are in your favour. You are to walk Rosas' streets as a nameless man until you've proven that you have the ability to change into a lawful citizen. If you turn to crime once again you will be hung from the neck until dead." The captain rolled up the scroll she had been reading from and took a couple of steps to the side.

"I want you all to be witnesses to his punishment for the crimes committed. Begin!" 

As she shouted the area was filled with the harsh lashing sounds of leather, and the loud impact slowly gave way for a wetter and wetter sound as spatters of round red pearls scattered through the air as the whips made impact upon Cormac's naked back. 

The man screamed at first, biting into the cloth which had been placed so far into his mouth that he nearly choked. Slowly those screams became silent as the man slumped forward, hanging against the pole, lifeless.

Lysithea covered her ears with her hands and trembled as the scene was being played out. Tristan wrapped one arm around her person and held her close, as if trying to protect her from the whole experience. 

The guards then left the man hanging against his wooden prison, unconscious, as they made their way back to the city. The murmurs of the people who spent their days in the outskirts filled the street as gossip and rumours were being shared. 

Lysithea slowly looked up, staring at Cormac who's back was so broken that she could see his muscle tissues as if there had never been anything but red paste covering them all this time.

She pulled herself free from Tristan and rushed forward, untying the man and letting him slump sideways onto her. She wrapped her arms around him after getting the damp cloth out from between his teeth and attempted to bring him up on his feet as he slowly stirred awake.

Tristan looked around the street nervously as he hurried towards them and aided Lysithea in getting Cormac into the safety of the church.

They brought him towards the beautiful clear pool of water where Lysithea gently placed him against the wall, forehead leaning against the stonework so she could begin to clean his horrible looking wounds. 

"I'm so sorry about-... about this." She whimpered as she heard him wheeze and splutter up saliva. 

"No-... no need-... th-- thank you." Cormac's voice was hoarse and trembling. He didn't seem to have much energy left and before Lysithea could do anything else the priestesses gently grabbed a hold of her and pulled her away so they could use their medical knowledge to aid him better.

Lysithea held one hand over her mouth, staring downwards as she heard the gasping and heavy breathing of the horribly damaged man and Tristan gently guided her back towards Serena where they would stay throughout the night, in silence.