RISE OF THE SWARM

The group rode out of the forest, their goal reaching Cavora city. Sir Aldric the knight led the group, his sword ready for any surprise attack that may come from the beast. He looked back at the boy, still amazed at how he survived. He was placed on the back of the horse which belonged to the old adventurer.

The woman slowed her horse down slightly till they were in line with the old mans.

"Do you think the beast that did that is still following us?" She asked quietly turning to face the old man.

The old man chuckled and, with a smile, turned to the girl.

"That's the thing, I don't think it was a beast at all." He quietly whispered back his blue eyes glinting with mystical energy. He rushed his horse forwards catching up with Sir Aldric.

The girl looked at the old man's figure, confused in her mind. What did he mean by that, he couldn't possibly believe the boy had taken down all those heretics by himself without any magic, she thought to herself. She didn't press the issue further as she hurried her horse to match the pace of the group.

"Can you tell us more about the heretics?" The old man asked Aldric out loud.

Sir Aldric looked up, one of his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Why would you want to know more about those filthy creatures." He said.

The old man laughed before answering.

"Well, you see apart from being a mage, i'm also a sort of scholar. I've never been to this part of the empire so i've never heard of this cult group." He said.

Sir Aldric nodded in understanding.

"Well, you see, these heretics are part of a religious cult called the church of fangs. They worship an evil deity the name KogMaw. The beast at the end of time. They deal in horrid blood magic as well as human experimentation. They believe that killing and consuming their victims will get them closer to their god and make them stronger, so they terrorize the empire's outskirts, sacrificing villages and sometimes towns in massive rituals like the one we just saw." He said darkly.

"But at least this is one less group the church doesn't have to worry about." He turned and said with a smile.

"Fascinating." Garrik the old mage responded. He turned back, readjusting Liam on his horseback. That's when he saw it a black stone attached to a necklace hanging on Liam's neck.

"Fascinating indeed..." He muttered under his breath.

Nightfall was upon the trio; they had covered some ground on their journey towards the city, but still quite a distance was left for them to reach their destination. They had set up camp on a small clearing. A fire was lit, it blazed in the night providing warmth and light for the trio. A small rabbit was being roasted on the spit, as Garrik sat by the fire sharpening his sword with a whetstone he had found.

Garrik leaned against a tree reading a book. While the woman sat high in the tree, still wearing her brown cloak. No matter how Garrik had asked her to remove it, she had refused each time.

"Your partner is quite strange?" Aldric said, interrupting Garriks reading sesion.

Garrik let out a smile, turning to face Aldric.

"Indeed, she is, but I attribute that to how she was raised." He said, putting down his book.

"Say, from which part of the Empire do both of you come from? You don't seem like you come from Cavora or any of the surrounding cities." Aldric asked curious about their origins.

"Hmmm, well that true. We both come from the Aurora city." He said ever with that smile of his.

"Good god, you both come from the capital? You both are quite far from home then." Aldric said out loud, expressing his shock.

"Is it really that shocking, it is really just another city."

"Another city? Another city," Aldric said, bursting out in laughter. The girl in the tree looked down her interest piqued on the conversation the two men were having.

"I have to say mage, you really do have sense of humour. The capital city isn't just any city. It's the heart of the Aurorian empire. Its the place where some the strongest people in the Eldrian continent could be found." He said with reverie

"On that note, have you ever seen the imperial family?" He asked.

Aldric laughed once again, this time at the curiosity of the night.

"And why do you ask?"

"Well of course I have to ask, I probably will never see the imperial family in this life, so i have to know about them." He said with excitement.

Garrik nodded in understanding.

"Well, there's not really much to say as i haven't seen them much. But what i can say is that they are powerful individuals. The emperor can literally hold up the sky by himself, safe to say with him the empire can never be destroyed. Same for her majesty."

"What about the prince?" Aldric interjected.

"Well the prince takes much after his father, strong, bold and wise, which is the exact opposite of the princess. She's a rebellious child, god knows how much trouble she had placed on her family. I heard recently she had escaped from the capital in search of a magic relic." Garrick commented, silently giving glancing at the girl in the trees.

Aldric laughed at this, he never knew the princess was such a person.

The night passed on quick. As the group awoke early morning, and began their journey towards the city.

Liam on the other hand experienced something else entirely.

Liam opened his eyes, but he saw nothing. All around him a sea of black. No light was present at all. He tried screaming into the darkness only for nothing to respond. Thats when memories began to flood his mind.

Memories of his earlier battle of how he ruthlessly slaughtered the heretics. He could feel every sensation, their blood on his hands. Their screams on his ears. The smell of thier blood. He tried to puke but nothing came out. Suddenly a voice punctured through the darkness.

"Save us" It said.