It made me jump backwards in terror.“The Shadow Warriors are attacking you.” Maia announced.Surely enough, my eyes could pick out a dark shadow on the ground in the clear form of a man holding a sword. Confused, and without knowing what to do, I stood there, wondering how to fight them.“Shadow Warriors cannot come close to you if you have a light surrounding you, the same way real shadows cannot come close to a light. Find a way to be above the glow of your torch.”This proved to be a spark of enlightenment for me. Without wasting any more time, I ran to the nearest tree, climbed up to a branch that looked sturdy enough to hold me, and sat on it. At the same time, I held my torch upside down and waited, while more of the Shadow Warriors gathered until I could count twenty of them. Their forms moved on the ground, clearly frustrated, while the Keres who hung in the air on their clouds fixed angry glares upon me. They were clearly not happy about my escape.From my safe place, I wat

Dwarves are unsettling people.Not to discriminate against them, or to mark any as less human than they actually are, but it does take the mind quite some time to reconcile who they are, and the fact that they're just like you and probably far older, only in a smaller body than yours is.So when I looked at this Warlock of Corynthe, the man who had set so many tongues wagging that the most intriguing stories about him were told, it was not hard for me to see why. My desire to see him — fueled and watered by Maia that these stories had awoken instantly died away, only to be replaced by a feeling of unsettling, one that made my body want to twist and fold within itself.The first was that he was far too small, even for a dwarf. Looking at him was like staring at a man the size of a big baby, his muscles rippling on the edge of his skin. Next was his face. Seeing it for the first time made me think it was a mask with how fixed it was, made so that his expression was a cunning, deceptive

No one said anything the moment he did.Personally, I was terrified of this man, but tried my absolute best not to show it. I looked about the rest of the seated generals, watching and hoping that one would wish to snatch me from his grip and take me under their tutelage, but none did.“We have all agreed, then, that Bruma will add the new soldier to his ranks.”They made grunts that had no inclination towards dissent, and I knew it was all done. Bruma, who was about the same size as I was and with no eyes in his sockets, arose from the midst of the other generals and walked towards me — without any aid — reached for my hand, took it in his, and shook it, while I gaped at him in surprise, wondering if the pink emptiness in his sockets had their own ability to see.“Welcome, soldier. I will be honoured to help you sharpen your skills.” He said, touching his other hand over the union of mine and his. “I will give you both the opportunity to speak to each other, as the new soldier will

A newfound respect for Bruma grew within me.“And you lost your eyes doing it?”“Yes.”“How?” I asked, failing to understand the meaning. How he lost his eyes.“I did a lot. Fought wars. Shed blood. Lived until I decided that I did not want to be a man anymore. Being a man was limiting, like how Alexandros had conquered the world and lost himself not long after. I did not want to be close to being a god anymore. I wanted to be a god, to live forever. And to me, defeating the Invincible Soldier was my reward, the key to making me one.” I thought of my reason for fighting the Invincible Soldier. Mine was because I had to, because Hades forced me to. “I journeyed, shutting my now wide open ears to all who told me that I was set on a foolish mission, and reached the tomb. I hear the road is dangerous and perilous now, but then it was only a road, and you could find more people on it. I bought weapons, drank wine, slept in enough brothels to father a country, and told everyone I was goi

I jumped to my feet, staggered, wondered if I was unsteady because of the wine, and then went outside the tent. All was bathed in greyish silver with the moon hanging overhead, and an unsettling quiet went through the whole camp. I took a few steps, remembered that I knew enough of the camp to get myself lost, and returned to the familiarity of Bruma's tent.The torch was burning lower, and I looked around for the servant. He was nowhere in sight, while Bruma lay like a contented baby, with an occasional, unconscious chew, and a more frequent snore to punctuate his sleep. For me — maybe because of how irregular my sleeping periods had been as I travelled, I remained awake, watching over him.He was more comfortable to see now that he had his eyes closed, and I looked at him, thinking of our conversations. While I bore Hades nothing but hatred over what he did to me, not far from me was a man who seemed content, even appreciative of his lot from the gods. I thought he was happy to be h