Zev was the first to arrive and stood at the back of the Great Hall, watching as Holy Knights rushed in. After a while of waiting, Emilia arrived with the last of them. Grand General Vulux came in shortly after and immediately began to shout out orders. Back straight and eyes forward, Zev waited patiently for his orders. The knights cleared out in groups until only he was left. When Vulux’s eyes met Zev’s, he scrunched his face into a scowl. Without a single word, Vulux turned and stomped out of the room with a few guards following behind him. Unable to contain himself any longer, Zev rushed after him. He cut him off at the entryway courtyard. 

“Grand General, what are my orders,” he demanded. 

Vulux stormed toward Zev and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, shaking him violently, “I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you! You stay in the Hall. You don’t touch anything, you don’t do anything. I can’t have you messing things up in my city!” 

Zev instinctively put his hands on Vulux’s wrists and glared back at him, but he bit his tongue. Despite holding back his words, Zev’s gaze was enough to send Vulux into a violent rage that even he has never seen before. Vulux moved his hands from Zev’s collar to his throat, lifting him to his toes. 

“I should just take care of you right now.” A malicious smile grew on his face and a crazed look flashed in his eyes. 

Zev reached back with one hand and grabbed his scabbard. Forcing it forward, he jabbed Vulux in the stomach with the hilt of his sword. Losing his grip on Zev, he dropped him and held his stomach as he stumbled backwards. The guards around them began reaching for their swords, but Vulux signaled them to stop. Before he could reach for his own sword, a brilliant beam of light shot up from the east, catching their attention; it was followed shortly by the sound of an explosion. The light was blinding, almost as if they had been staring directly into the sun. While their vision slowly returned to them, screams of fear and confusion could be heard from the public over the ringing in their ears. Vulux’s shouting at the hysteric guards sounded distant to Zev; his heart clenched with fear. His eyes grew wide with panic as he slightly stumbled towards the dissipating light. 

“That came from Botanica…” he whispered as he began to run toward it. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Vulux shouted. 

Zev stopped and turned to him, “That light. It… it was in the direction of Botanica.” 

“Are you stupid? That rotten little town is the least of our worries. You don’t make your own orders, you follow my orders. You will remain here and assist in damage control,” Vulux demanded. 

“But sir,” he contested.

“If you leave now, I will have you named a wanted criminal,” Vulux threatened. 

Zev’s head hung defeated, “No matter how hard I tried to prove myself, I don’t think anyone has ever stopped seeing me as a criminal. You were the worst out of all of them.” He raised his head with a glare so piercing and violent, it sent shivers down the guards’ spines. “And I’ll be damned if I let anything bad happen to the one person who saw me as something more than my past mistakes. Call me a criminal. I don’t give a damn. But I’m not wasting another minute here.” 

Vulux was taken aback by his answer, “Wh-What? You’re kidding. You’d really risk going back to prison?” 

Zev smirked confidently, “You actually believe you can catch me again? Good luck trying to find me in this chaos.” 

Zev then turned and sprinted out the gates, knocking the guards out of his way. They followed him out, but soon lost him in the crowd. He pushed through, ignoring the anarchy going on around him. Stores were being looted, carts were tipped on their sides, and people could be seen worriedly shaking their loved ones, trying to wake them. Guards and knights struggled to control the situation. Through all the panic, no one seemed to notice the dark, purple holes that ripped through the sky, across the ground, and areas in between. They did not even notice that things began emerging from the holes.

As Zev passed a merchant’s cart, a horse hysterically jumped around trying to come undone from its bonds that had gotten stuck in the broken boards, nearly kicking him. Forcefully, he grabbed the horse by its reins and calmed it down before freeing it. He hoisted himself onto the horse’s back and rode through the city, his desperation showing through the animal’s frightening speed.

Maneuvering around the wreckage proved a difficult task with splinters flying as powerful hooves pounded on the debris littered, cobblestone streets. Anyone trying to grab a hold of the horse was kicked off by Zev. As he rode through the maze of streets, a man covered in blood limped out blocking the road and called for Zev to stop. Sighing with agitation, he pulled the horse to a halt. He examined the man and noticed that he kept one hand tucked in his shirt and his limp was not consistent. His face and body closely resembled that of the pickpocket from earlier.

“Please, sir. My family. Help us,” his voice hoarse. 

Zev scanned the area suspiciously. From an alleyway, glinted the tip of a sword. The top of someone’s head could be seen behind a pile of rubble. He then drew his sword and pointed it at the man. “Come no closer.” 

“I beg of you,” he limped toward him. 

As the man drew nearer, Zev gritted his teeth in frustration, “I told you to come no closer.” 

“Please, sir. Are you not a knight? Have you no humanity?” Shakily, he reached out towards Zev with his untucked hand. 

“I have more humanity than you I’m sure.” Zev growled as he brought his sword down on the man. 

The tip of his sword sliced across the man’s chest, blood splattered across the ground. The man fell back, a dagger fell from his concealed hand and clattered on the ground. A group of thugs emerged, brandishing weapons. 

“I don’t have time for this,” Zev scowled. He tightened his grip on the reins and urged the horse forward. The frightening aura that resonated from Zev scared the horse more than the brutes that approached menacingly. It burst forward and pushed through the crowd closing in on them. 

Through the maze-like streets, they sped to the East Arch. As they came upon it, Zev could see that the guards who once monitored the area were now either dead or unconscious. In the moment he was passing through the Arch, from the corner of his eye, he could see one of the guards stir. Thunderous hooves pounded against the dirt road, kicking up dust. Past the farmlands he rode, noticing more people awaken. His focus was drawn to the sky as the color began fading from red to purple and then back to blue with the clouds also having returned to their original, welcoming state. 

The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow from the horizon. The horse heaved and its pace began to slow from exhaustion. In the distance, Zev saw smoke rising from Botanic; it was dotted with red and orange speckles. He encouraged the horse onward, only receiving slight resistance. As he arrived at the edge of town, he hurriedly jumped from the horse, hardly waiting for it to completely stop. Dust rose up around him as he landed on his side with a thud. He scrambled to his feet and ran with all his strength, occasionally tripping over debris. Anxiety tunneled his vision leaving him unable to see the shambles of what used to be his beloved little town. Broken, burning buildings turned to ash and several of his fellow citizens were crying out in pain and loss. He ran past the baker and her husband, cradling their child whose face was burnt beyond recognition. The beautiful jewel embedded fountain, once the people’s pride and joy, now lay as a heap of rubble. The air was thick with smoke and he covered his mouth with his gloved hand and he blinked furiously from the stinging in his eyes. His quick pace slowed to a halt as he arrived at his destination. He stood before a house completely ablaze, the petite garden now decorating the front with soft mounds of black snow. He rushed to the door, but a voice stopped him in his tracks. 

“She’s not there you know,” a voice sang from behind him. 

Zev spun around, his hand going straight for his sword. Before him stood what looked to be a monster. It looked as though it was almost human, but upon its face was a mask of dark scales that faded to skin with similar patches on the rest of its body. Horns poked out from its head like a crown and sharp claws protruded from its fingers to match. Through its mask of scales, crimson eyes seemed to glow with malevolent eagerness as a wicked grin revealed sharp fangs.

“Who are you? What are you?” Zev demanded. 

The creature laughed and bowed dramatically, “Fenix, at your service.” 

Zev drew his sword and pointed it at Fenix, “Tell me what you know.” 

“You’ll have to be a little more specific than that,” Fenix teased as he leisurely strolled towards Zev. 

“What happened here and how do you know she’s not in there?” Zev’s anger grew with every step Fenix took. 

Fenix stopped when the tip of Zev’s sword rested on his chest. Fenix grabbed the sword roughly and tightened his grip until black blood spilled from his hand. As he eyed Zev, the tattoos on his wrists caught his attention. He slid his bloody hand down the sword. Zev flinched at the grotesque sight and yanked his sword from his hand as he jumped back. “A miracle happened. A curse happened. And your girl was at the center of all of it.” 

“That still doesn’t explain anything. Why is my town, my home, burning to the ground?” He asked, voice slightly strangled.

Sighing he responded, “Look, I don’t know much more than you. However, I can tell you this, your girl is being hunted down. The world as you know it is turned on its head, so, if you don’t want to end up dead, I suggest we make a deal.” 

“Not a chance,” he barked. “You must be insane if you believe I am that dense.” 

“Oh, come now. We both know what you desire.” Fenix shook his bloodied hand, splattering black droplets on the ground. The plants struck by the blood shriveled, as if all life had been sucked from them. Zev steadied himself, sword again pointing at Fenix. Fenix grabbed his dark hair with his bloody hand and laughed madly as blood dripped down around his face. In spite of this, Zev noticed a sort of distant look in his eyes. As though his actions were not matching his thoughts. Fenix slowly lowered his hand that appeared as though it had already started healing. Zev noted how the blood does not seem to affect the creature.

Keeping up his guard, Zev insisted, “Threaten me all you want, demon. I will not be swayed.” 

“Threaten? No, no. You misunderstand. I’m simply showing you what I have to offer,” he gave a gentle smile as wisps of inky smoke began to swirl around him. “Powers not of your world. We need each other, we need this deal.” 

“What kind of deal?” 

“Your girl has something I want. Bring me to her and I’ll help you survive.” Fenix held out the bloody hand that looked to be half healed.

“You truly are insane to even think I would agree to that. I will not let you have her,” Zev growled. 

“I assure you, my intentions are pure.” He placed his other hand on his chest.

“How do you expect me to trust such nonsense?” 

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t expect you to trust anything, but I know you’re desperate.” 

“I’m not making a deal with you. I won’t let you anywhere near her.” 

Fenix put his hand down, “Fine, fine. Good luck standing against the Grand Matremile.” 

Zev flinched. “What do you mean?” 

“Oh, you didn’t know? He’s the one who put a bounty on her. I doubt she’ll last long. But such is fate.” Fenix started to walk away, his pace slow, an amused grin on his face. 

“If you wanted to get something from her so bad, why are you here? If you’ve already seen her, why are you not with her?” 

Stopping, Fenix gritted his teeth, “I can’t get near her unless she allows me.” 

“That doesn’t make sense.” 

“She had been gifted magic leagues beyond my own. Trying to get near her it’s like… Like a dirty, little, worthless peasant trying to get close to a queen.” 

Zev smirked. “So maybe you need me more than I need you.” 

He shook his head. “Not necessarily. I can sense her general direction and you have no clue where to start. I have powers to offer you and you can help me blend in. I’d say we’re about equal.” 

No response. Sighing heavily, Fenix turned and walked back to him. “Look, we’re both desperate for something and we need each other for it. I have no intentions of hurting her. I will help you find her and keep her safe.” 

Zev lowered his sword slightly, “You swear by it? You will not harm her.” 

Fenix held his, now healed, hand out once more, “I swear 5it.” 

Zev shook the blood from his sword and sheathed it. He could sense Fenx’s sincerity, or at least hoped that his instincts were right. Stepping forward he sighed, defeated, and took his hand, “Then it’s a deal.”