“I don’t want to die, my king,” Egor sobbed. “But...I also don’t want others to die

because of me. How did I come to have such a curse? Am I possessed?”

“Do not pay heed to the whispers of the shadows,” the king replied, rubbing his hand

through Egor’s hair. He removed his hand off of Egor’s head and held out his palm to him. Egor

combed his hair with his hands, recollecting how this seemed so familiar.

“If you want to stop yourself from taking the life of another, then come with me. This

world we live in is one of unnecessary suffering, suffering which you yourself know all too well.

Elves and humans consider ourselves superior to all life in this world of ours but yet we cannot

overcome something as fundamental and everyday as suffering. I wish to relieve you of this

suffering by living with me in my castle, but I cannot bring you with me unless you wish for it to

be. That is the only condition I have. Leave this place of sadness and live a better life with me, I

ask of you.”

The king stepped back, and sat down on one of the bottom steps. Egor looked at his

hands, his tattered clothes, his scrawny physique, his dirty skin, and the charred incinerated place

he called a home. He looked up with a fierce look in his eye and firmly answered, “I will go with

you.”

A smile appeared across the king’s face, “Excellent, let us leave immediately,” and

before Egor knew what had happened, he found himself with the king in a massive room, built of

stone columns, adorned with fine tapestries on the walls and long wooden tables down the halls.

Elegant chandeliers illuminated the room, along with the beautiful sunlight that shone through

the stained glass windows. Egor slowly spun around trying to grasp everything at once, and was

at a loss for words.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? I suppose you have never seen anything like this, am I correct?” he

chuckled to himself. “No need to answer, after all, this place is your new home.” Egor looked

with wide eyes at the royal being that brought him here.

“All of this?” Egor asked.

The king laughed again, “Of course not; this is merely where we eat! Your quarters are in

the upper level.”

“But how…”

“I too wield a unique ability, just as you do. Are you prepared to overcome your own so

you may see it as I do and not as some curse?”

“Yes, I would, my king. My nightmare has ended, my dreams have only just begun.”

“I do not wish for such formalities from you, Egor Belph. I do not wish to be viewed as

your overload, but as your friend and mentor. Let me show you that which you desire.”