Hero Dyes - Blue

Lord Ulrik: As I stared at the map of the region I huffed with annoyance. The marks on it showed where these attacks had occurred. They were increasing rapidly and I didn’t have enough men to dispatch until High Knight Leon returned. I was praying to the goddesses that the messenger reached him quickly. To be honest I don’t know why Magnus sent Leon on these raids. They were far off across distant lands, just to slaughter and conquer something we won’t even tend to later. Either way, my focus was on these puppets showing up and terrorizing my people. Funny how I say that so naturally. My people. As if I always had this role. Must be from years of preparing myself to take the throne of Geminis. At this rate, I’ll be lucky enough to save this land let alone take control of an entire kingdom.

“We have arrived, your highness!” Calad’s voice startled me. I held my composure as I remembered his rude behavior when I was to be knighted as a Geminis Knight.

“Lord Ulrik, I heard you have requested our assistance with your current situation.” The old sage added as Bridget walked alongside him. His son was on the other side looking around our base of operations. It was like he had never seen so many tents and canopies set up before.

“Yes, I requested your assistance. I’m having trouble dealing with these puppets. I’ve heard tales of them, we all have, but to actually see them within our land is unsettling. They have taken over our people and used them to kill innocent lives, including my knights. Some of my knights were turned into these abominations. For a moment we were fighting ourselves before we could trust one another again. I gathered all the mages with the best knowledge of these puppets. All of them pointed to you, saying you would know how to deal with this best. So, here I am, begging for your assistance.” After my long winded speech, hoping the sage would sympathize with me, I waited for a response. He didn’t seem to be moved by my words. I could only imagine how many times someone else in my position requested the same.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” My eyes widened in disbelief as I finally saw it. The great concern he had been hiding all this time. What baffled me the most was that he was at a loss on how to deal with this.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? Isn’t this just another cycle for you, another run through this quest? Have you not seen this unfold before?” The old man looked at me as if I was insulting him. He huffed and focused on the map before us.

“Count Masque used magic before, this much is true. He would hypnotize or place spells on some of his victims, but never actually use cursed masks to do so. You see, these masks steal the soul. In a sense, he is capturing them in their masks, and then absorbing their soul from the mask elsewhere. Some take longer than others, but eventually they become his. Once the mask is broken or removed, they die.” My frustration was growing the more he talked. Sure, he was explaining the details of the events that were taking place. However, I didn’t need an explanation on how it worked. I needed answers on how to save my people from further torment.

“Everything you have told me so far has not produced an answer to solve this crisis. What can we do to stop this? Is there another way to remove the mask, with magic or perhaps something else? How do I fight these puppets without killing my own people?” I felt my voice raising the more I questioned the sage. He simply kept calm and pondered on this as he stared at the map.

“Well, besides Calad here, I don’t have an answer for you. He is the only one that has removed a mask and did not kill the host while doing so. Then again, my son is a different matter since he can not die… Honestly I’m confused as much as you are.” Before I could shout my protest against his answer he lifted his finger to silence my roaring before it began.

“The only thing I could think of, would be to destroy the master mask. If we kill Count Masque, then their souls should return. In theory, mind you. I do not know if this will actually happen. Once again, out of all the times I’ve done this, Count Masque has never used a tactic like this. He has evolved a great deal.” He spoke, almost as if giving the tyrant praise. Was this fun for him? To see how much things have changed since he last attempted to save the kingdom? Was that still his goal here? I had several questions, but something he mentioned struck my mind once more.

“You mentioned that Calad managed to remove one of the masks from your son.” The sage simply nodded his head and motioned to speak. I didn’t want to hear another word, that was good enough for me.

“Then it’s settled. Calad, you will be on the front lines-”

“No…” Everyone fell silent as Calad rejected my command. Perhaps he didn’t realize it was an order I issued, not a favor I asked.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me correctly, Sir Calad. I’m ordering you-”

“Unrespectfully, I already said no. Don’t force my answer into action and leave this land without a lord to rule over it.” My mouth hung open ever so slightly as fear swept over me like a roaring wave. I tried my best to display a fearless expression but everyone saw through it. Even more so when I didn’t comment back and just glared. This was the first time I’ve seen Calad display a look other than a half-smile. The look he was giving me was one of murderous intent. Like a lion ready to kill.

“Lord Ulrik!” A knight ran into the tent shouting and pointing. He spewed some words out that none of us could understand as he tried to get me to come look at whatever he was talking about. He rushed out the tent as we followed and sprinted towards the outskirts of our camp. Within the woods I saw them, puppets rushing towards us. However, their movements were unorganized. They were chaotic and too spread out for a well formulated assault. Then I saw them, the ones they were running from. They coated themselves in thick green cloaks or scarfs. Most of them had axes while others had bows and long swords. For very large men and women, their speed was impressive to see. It was like a hunting game had ensued, and the prey were the masked villagers and knights. I watched as they pounced and fought the puppets. What baffled me and shocked me to the core, was that they were ripping off their masks and saving the host as well. Each time they touched the mask it would glow green and then pop right off.

“Who are these men!” I shouted to the knight that led us this far. He simply shrugged and rattled something off.

“We don’t know, my lord. We have only heard tales of their existence in this forest but never actually seen them. We call them Forest Guardians, or Foresters for short.” I barely paid attention to his words as I was captivated by their attack patterns. Of course, they didn’t save all of the victims, as those that actually fought back met their fate at the end of their blades. I began to move towards the large group as they finished eliminating the last threat. The others followed close behind, except for Calad. He stayed in the tent as we proceeded to greet these Forest Guardians.

“Greetings! I am Lord Ulrik!”

“You are not the lord of this land.” I stopped walking as their leader spoke. I assumed it was their leader for someone to reply with such a bold statement. He was tall. No, I’m sorry, huge! Compared to me he was almost a giant as he approached. His hair was dark green, and his eyes shone a yellow color in the sunlight. In fact, most of his warrior’s displayed green hair or a dark red. He wore mostly animal fur and bones for armor. Having said that, they were coated with something I have never seen before. It appeared to make the fur and bones stronger, like actual metal armor. It was amazing to simply be in their presence.

“Lord Magnus is dead, I have taken over as lord now.” I replied after a short pause. The giant man crossed his arms and huffed.

“No one is lord of this land, until all eight tyrants are dead.” This instantly brought the sage to speak out of excitement.

“What do you know of the eight tyrants? What does it matter who is lord of this land?” The sage stepped forward and marveled at the giant man as well. I could see it in his eyes.

“Lord Magnus had an understanding with my chief. His people and our people used to live as one. Now we are separated, but still bound by honor to keep our pact alive. He catered to our needs. In return, we bring him resources and protect this land from the other tyrants.”

“The other tyrants? Why would he need to protect the land from other tyrants?” I asked, to which the sage spoke up instead of the Forester.

“Geminis, and the two other kingdoms under Damaris’s rule, are split up between them. Once one of them dies, depending who it is, the others try to take over that land until they return. When they do, sometimes the tyrant that dies has to fight for their land back. As you can see, Count Masque is trying to take over. Once again, this is something new to me. Masque has never been ambitious enough to take over Magnus’s land, let alone use such magic to do so.” The giant huffed as he shook his head at the sage.

“You’ve been gone too long, Golden Sage. This isn’t something new. He has been doing this for decades now. Many puppets, as you call them, have entered our territory several times. Sometimes, Lord Magnus would have us work with them to acquire resources. Either way, they weren’t allowed to take this land, that much we can agree on. As for the rest, you’re going to be surprised at what you learn when facing Count Masque.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the Forester just warned the old sage of something big. The look on the old man’s face had me worried about Bridget. If the sage’s knowledge was too old to properly handle this quest, she could die facing Count Masque.

“We’ve wasted too much time talking. Come, temporary lord of this land. We have a lot of planning to do.” The Forester ordered. I was frozen with awe. It felt very similar to when I would be at Lord Magnus’s side planning tactical assaults with him. I cleared my throat and balled my fist as I was about to ask a question I already knew the answer to.

“First, my name is Ulrik, Lord Ulrik. Second, why do you call me temporary lord? Do you not have faith in the sage and his Dye Hero?”

“No…” He quickly answered as he turned around and glared at Bridget. It was like he was disgusted with her.

“She will die because she wears a fool’s heart. The only thing strong about her are those swords she carries. Without them, Count Masque will kill her. If not him, then Odin’s son, Prince Outis, will surely be her demise. Regardless, if the sage does not strengthen her body and mind, she will fall and Lord Magnus will return… I look forward to seeing Lord Magnus once again.” This aggravated both Bridget and the old sage as they glared upon the Forester. This shouldn’t have come to a shock for the sage, as I’ve seen the doubt in his eyes pertaining to Bridget. The fact that she has an overwhelming amount of doubt within herself does not help at all.

“I’m wondering why the sage hasn’t ended her life and started over with a new Dye Hero. You sages are known for such acts when you find your chosen one to be less than.”

“That was my parents doing, not mine! I stayed true to each hero I came across! Each hero that was selected for me I trained and nurtured! Blood, sweat, and tears forged the heroes that-”

“That failed regardless.” The large man interrupted the sage. The tension was thickening by the minute. I needed to stop this so we could move on. Otherwise the sage and his companions might chase away the only force capable of fighting these puppets while saving the lives of my people.

“As you said, we have spent too much time talking. Let us move forward so we can keep your pact with Lord Magnus, regardless of his current state. I vow to uphold his pact with you in his stead.” The Forester looked at me and thought for a moment. He then nodded his head to agree as he motioned for me to lead the way.

“Brother, send word to our chief. Let him know the name of the temporary lord of this land. Lord Ulrik.” He tells one of his men. They nodded and went the opposite way as we made our way back to the camp.

“I’m sorry, I’m usually less absentminded than this. I never asked your name. To whom do I have the pleasure of thanking for saving my people?” I asked, to which the Forester looked upon me and smirked as if he liked being called a savior.

“Gulliver. My name is Gulliver, general of the Oak Platoon.”