Hero Dyes - Blue

Son of the Golden Sage, Yosin: Once we recollected ourselves from battle, we made our way back into the ballroom. To our surprise, the orb swelled massively. Most of the room was occupied by it. The energy swirling around it became a vacuum that was sucking in anything and everything near by. Before this became too alarming it suddenly burst, like a bubble popping. All was calm as the darkness over the town had been lifted. Having said that, death still lingered as an eerie atmosphere fogged the land.

“We made it worst.” My father spoke as he randomly ventured into another room. There were masks on the floor, smoking ever so lightly. He rushed to the window and growled at what he saw. He slammed his fist on the window seal and rushed past us. I quickly followed behind him as the three of us began sprinting for the front doors. Once we barged through them and raced out into the streets we all gasped. I couldn’t believe my eyes as my father was completely right.

“They’re gone… All of them, they’re all…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish my thoughts. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears as we slowly walked through the town. So many masks were laying on the ground. It was hard not to crush a few of them as we walked.

“What happened here? Where are all the puppets?” Bridget asked as her expression switched from confused to sadness. She knew what happened, she simply didn’t want to hear the truth.

“We killed them. Everyone that lived in this town, every person wearing a mask, they’re gone because Masque is dead. That is why the orb in his ballroom grew so big. The moment he died it swelled up with all of their souls to the point of collapsing. If the soulwell had remained intact then we could have saved them. Whatever purpose that soulwell served was accomplished upon his death.” Tears streamed down Bridget’s face as my father explained the situation. This wasn’t a victory at all. This was a huge setback. Once again, we slaughtered many just to kill one. At this rate, we’ll look like the villains and these tyrants will shine like saints.

After our long walk through the ghost town of masks that decorated the ground, we decided to venture back to Ulrik’s kingdom. Bridget insisted that we check on him to see if he needed more help. Honestly speaking, I just think she needed a quick fix to get over what happened after we slayed the Count. Either way, it gave us time to regroup and decide on our next course of action pertaining to the next tyrant we needed to face. From what my father has told me, this one is always hard for him. Once we entered into the kingdom we were greeted warmly and with high praises. Bridget soaked it up and paraded around to hide the truth of the matter. While the crowd was distracted by her victory celebration and fabricated story, I followed my father back to our room within the castle. Before we could settle in my father turned around with watery eyes, yet rage and hate oozed out of his skin.

“My son, we MUST convince Bridget that facing this next tyrant won’t be easy. It is urgent that she follow our lead and do as we tell her. We CAN NOT lose her to this heartless savage. Do you understand me, my son?” I paused for a moment as his voice deepened. His eyes glowed a hateful red with every word he spoke. The room shook slightly once he finished speaking. Even he noticed his rage was filtering out. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he waited for my reply.

“I understand the scar this man has put on you-”

“He isn’t a man!” His wild and crazed glare silenced my voice as he took a step towards me. I steadied myself as my entire body trembled. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me. Then again, the look in his eyes told me otherwise.

“Father, we don’t have to face him yet. We can move on and face another until we are ready.” He shook his head no and turned towards the window as he sighed.

“It has to be him. This is the way I’ve done this, I’m not going to change it now.” I shook my head and balled up my fist in protest. I had to take a stand, at least to understand why he won’t move from his old ways of doing this.

“Obviously the way you have done things has never worked. You yourself have witnessed that time has changed the tyrants and how they operate. You’re discovering new things about each of them, so why stay-”

“Because it comforts me, boy! I don’t know as much as I should! However, the one thing I do know is that the first three tyrants on my list aren’t the ones I was normally afraid of! They were easy and dealt with swiftly! This champion of ours has struggled through two tyrants and I’ll be damned if she dies because I made a change to what I know!” I waited until he calmed down. Luckily he turned his head towards me so he wasn’t shouting outside the window. He took a few more moments before sitting himself down on the bed. I sat down next to him as he prepared another speech.

“Our next target isn’t the worst of them. If she can’t make it past this one, then that is how fate wants it to be. If we skip him and by some chance win a few more battles, we still need to face him regardless. I refuse to put any more time and energy into this hero than needed. I don’t want to waste time getting nowhere… So, either she makes it past Prince Outis, or our journey ends here.” He smiled lightly with a heavy heart, as if he knew we weren’t going to make past this tyrant. I believed we would. I had to, there wasn’t any other feeling that could replace this victory in heart. We needed to win and keep winning to finally end this madness.

“Okay, I’ll see to it that Bridget understands. However, if I’m going to convince her, I’m going to be the one to train her.” His eyes locked with mine as he thought about it. I could see his expression was against the idea. He soon looked away from me and simply shrugged.

“We’ll need a plan of action besides facing him head on. She’ll lose if we attempt such a foolish approach.” I nodded to agree with him as we continued to ponder on this. It then dawned on me that I know nothing about this tyrant. He always spoke quickly about him then pushed on as if he didn’t want to speak much on it. Even though it would plague his mind, I needed more information on him.

“Why do they all call him Odin’s Son?” I asked, to which my father eyed me for a second as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

“It’s his sword, Gramr.” A voice came from the doorway. We shifted our bodies to see the speaker.

“They say Odin himself gave it to him. It possesses the power to control lightning.” Calad adds as he leaned on the door frame with his arms crossed. He had that half smile displayed.

“How long were you standing there?” I asked, to which he simply shrugged and fiddled with a letter in his hand.

“Does it matter, you’ve said what you said. Who cares if I heard it or not… Oh, by the way, this is for you, Golden Sage.” He spoke as he walked towards us and reached out his hand to give my father the letter.

“It’s an invitation to Outis’s grand celebration. Now that the Count is dead he is claiming the land as his. Seeing as he is the new ruler of the oversized town, he is throwing a party. You were selected specifically to come.” As he spoke my father opened the letter and I began to read it over his shoulder. Once we finished he handed it to me to read it over again. We were both thinking the same thing as we confirmed the contents of the letter.

“This letter doesn’t mention Bridget.” I started off, to which my father finished our collective thoughts.

“Nor does it mention Yosin by name. It simply titles him as my son.” Calad shrugged once more and walked to the door.

“Everyone knows who you are, Golden Sage. However, your son and Bridget are something new to the eyes of the tyrants. As far as they all know, Bridget is simply a number in Magnus’s army. They have no idea that she is a Dye Hero.” My eyes widened at this realization. This was perfect!

“We could plan an assassination strike!” I never thought me and my father would say the same line at the same time. Let alone talking about killing another person. We looked at each other and smiled as ideas started to unfold within our minds. We both dimmed our smiles and lowered our heads as we realized such an attempt would be impossible.

“Bridget is too stubborn to carry out a stealth mission.” I voiced, to which my father grabbed my shoulder lightly and smiled.

“As I said before, she either dies by his hand or pushes forward. If our journey ends here, then so be it.”

“You could just poison a blade and cut him deep enough for the venom to take its course. Even if Bridget does break away from the plan, all she would need to do is poison him and stay alive until it kills him.” I blinked a few times at Calad’s words. It was pure genius. I turned to my father as he pondered upon this idea. He slowly nodded as if there was hope for us.

“Maybe, just maybe. The problem with this plan would be convincing Bridget to use another sword or dagger to deliver the strike.”

“Why couldn’t she use her own blades? Couldn’t we just coat her swords with the poison?” I asked, to which my father shook his head no.

“Her swords are blessed, coated with their own magic. Even if she doesn’t know how to use them the poison itself would evaporate the moment she picks up her swords. Their own magic would cancel out the venom.” We continued to think about this plan once my father explained the flaw within it.

“Convince Ulrik to lend her his sword. Make him tell her that she needs to kill Outis with his sword in order to bring his family honor or something. Get the poison from the portal master, Ellen, and coat his blade with it. Problem solved.” Calad’s half smile turned into a wider smile as his cocky posture seemed to belittle us. He thought himself so clever at that moment. Actually, he was. It was the perfect plot to convince Bridget to look at this mission differently. We would need the aid of Ulrik of course. I doubt he would disagree.

“How do you know Ellen can make poison?” I asked. Calad smiled as he crossed his arms while shaking his head.

“Have you ever heard of the Hard Heart Witches?” My father thought about this question for a moment. It seemed like he didn’t know, or maybe forgot.

“They were twin sisters, gifted in magic in ways others weren’t. They would prey on men and kill them after they’ve slept with them.” I answered, which shocked my father as he looked at me confused. I shrugged and nervously smiled as I continued.

“They had a bounty on their heads. I’d ask about them on the rare occasions I ventured into the marketplace. They also had elaborate paintings of them in their act.” I swallowed hard as I felt my father’s judging eyes scolding me. At least, that was the reaction I was expecting. I was completely wrong when I felt his hand slap my back as he uttered a loud ‘Ha!’

“Pervy like your old man. True wisdom lies within that mind of yours, for great men think alike.” He patted my back again with a ‘heh’ as I lightly chuckled for a moment.

“All of it was false.” Calad interjected, bringing us back to the topic at hand.

“They weren’t twins. In fact, they weren’t even sisters. Also, they weren’t targeting men, nor did both of them sleep with the men they killed. Ellen took in a wild and reckless young lady as her student. She looked after her as if she was her younger sister. However, this young lass was too horny for her own good. Apparently she was a slave to a very cruel elf. Ellen freed her yet her itch for sex was never quelled. So, she would meet up with men and give them her body in return for whatever they wanted.”

“Wait, wait, wait… Hold on… She was a wishing sex doll?” I asked, to which Calad thought for a moment then nodded his head to confirm this.

“Yes, that sounds about right. She would grant them a wish after she had her fun with them. Sometimes that was their wish, simply to ride her until they were content.”

“How does Ellen fit into this story, since you said she didn’t take part in this.” My father redirected the conversation. Calad sighed and continued his story.

“Because her student used forbidden magic that she taught her, including poison, Ellen would sneak in once they were done and pretend to be a second part to the package. Sadly, she would infect them with a poisonous kiss. Depending on how she felt that day, either their blood would turn cold as ice and freeze their heart, or their blood would turn into lava that hardens quickly. This turned their hearts into stone once she pulled away. Hence the name Hard Heart Witches.” We both stared at him with disbelief. My mouth was agape as the room fell silent. I cleared my throat slightly and prepared to speak but my father did instead.

“How do you know all this? Why would such a thing be true?”

“Because she tried it on me.” My eyes widened as his words rang so loud within my mind. She tried it on him? What does that even mean?

“It’s simple, really. I had my fun with said student of hers, then she came in through the window and seduced me with a kiss. However, instead of killing me it only enraged me. So I left a mark on her chest to remember me by. As blood spilled all over the bed she tried to flee. I caught her and forced her back onto the bed until she healed herself. Once that was done I told her I’d decorate her body with more gashes if she didn’t explain herself. Once she did, she requested that I do her a favor-”

“You’re the knight that slayed the witches.” I interrupted. Calad simply smiled his half smile and nodded. How could he be so calm about it? He took the life of a broken young girl who needed someone to direct her. Then again, he never said how much of a mentor Ellen was to this girl. Who knows how much directing Ellen tried to put forth.

“Once again, they weren’t witches, and I only killed one… Now, if we’re done here-”

“I know you…” My father suddenly spoke. His eyes were squinting as he tried to remember. Nothing came to mind, seeing as that was all he stated.

“Perhaps, once upon a long time ago. That isn’t relevant now, so I’ll most likely see you again.”

“Thank you, Sir Calad.” I bowed my head to display my gratitude towards the knight. He simply waved goodbye and headed out of our room.

“Don’t worry, father. We’ll obtain the aid of Ellen. We’ll use Calad’s story to see if it’s true. If it is, then she’ll comply. I’ll then convince Bridget of our plan. This invitation might be what we need to perform this task.” My father was silent as I spoke. Was he still trying to remember who Calad was?

“Father…”

“According to the invitation we only have five days to come up with a plan and master it. I’ll speak with Ulrik myself to obtain his sword. In the meantime, get closer to Bridget. Make her trust you more than ever before. Sleep with her if you have to, I don’t care. We need to make sure she doesn’t mess this up. Everything has to be flawless, understood?” His eyes twitched a bit as he spoke. I could see the stress was getting to him. To suggest sex as a means to persuade her was beneath my father. This quest has only made him more bitter and desperate than I’ve ever seen in my entire life living with him. Maybe this wasn’t unusual for him. I don’t know his exact thinking or attitude when it came to this mission. I wonder if this impossible task brings the worst out of everyone. My silence forced him to speak again.

“I’m not worried about your ability to convince her, I’m worried about her ability to pay attention and stay focused on the task.” He added as he spoke softer and sighed with weariness. He stood up and walked to the window again to gaze at the stars.

“Just because she goes along with our plan doesn’t mean she’ll stick with it… May the goddess steer her right. If not, then she’ll be another fallen hero, another failed champion.”

“You’re okay with this though, aren’t you. You’ve given up on her since she defeated Magnus.” I stated. My father shook his head lightly and turned to face me.

“No, my son. I gave up on her the moment I met her.” He paused for a moment to return his sights back to the stars.

“I don’t have faith in any of them, honestly speaking. If I’m being open about my feelings, I don’t believe this curse will ever be lifted. I’ve yet to meet a warrior that would change my mind completely. None of them has ever made me confident with each tyrant they took down. It only made me panic more. No matter who we face, no matter what hero the goddesses will give us, I’ll always doubt the end result. It’s only a matter of time before Bridget fails. I’m counting on it… She’ll never change her heart, thus, she shall fall…” As heartless and cold as that speech was, my father had a point. This just irritated me more. He was completely right. I couldn’t think of any other way this would end but in her death. I needed some air, and some alone time with her. She wasn’t going to see logic in just words. I’ll have to prove to her that my resolve to see this through is solid. I hope hers is above or just the same as mine. Regardless of how I feel about this mission, we can’t lose now. I’ve learned so much and we’ve adapted very well so far. Please, Bridget, don’t fail all of Geminis.