A Song of Silence

Chapter 110: A Mission in the Dark

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The next month went by slower than I would have liked. I had returned to the Istlean Ruins as quick as Millie would carry me. Time was a wasting and I didn't have much of it to spare. Not anymore anyway. True to her word, the army had disbanded and had been sent home for the time being. I was not met with a warm welcome, not that I had expected one. The Istlean people had a right to be suspicious of strangers. They had been terrified all of their lives and a stranger arriving was just another person to terrorize them.

Wasting as little time as possible, I got to work. Firstly, a few visits to the more corrupt Generals and soon enough there were resignations from all around. Their subordinates came next. Their servants and the fae they terrorized were only too happy to tell me their identities. The unsalvageable ones found themselves at the bottom of a river or thrown off of a cliff. I was fond of electrocution as well, but that pointed the target right at me and I didn't need to be arrested right now. The savable underlings were told to take their leave and were threatened extensively to change their ways. When they returned, if nothing changed then, well, they would end up dead.

The amount of blood staining my hands was unimaginable. Many of the corrupt went back to their old ways and I had to kill them. I went down, level by level, soldier by soldier. They sent numerous men after me to catch me and stop the killing. Those men died and I continued my mission. They called me wrath because they could never see my vengeance coming. And indeed, those that did not learn their lesson the first time, merely died.

I could tell the difference that my presence made though. Women and children were able to freely walk the streets, no longer in fear of being raped or violated. Men stood straighter as they walked to work, their backs no longer bent from the beatings of soldiers. Food shipments arrived and everyone had plenty to eat. The riots stopped. The fear ended. It was peaceful. It was safe.

For everyone but me, that is. With every death I could feel my soul grow darker. I could feel my hands shake in shame. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. They were very bad men, but their screams still kept me up at night. It was balance. It was penance for the lives I had taken and would continue to take. Corruption had become too rampant in these parts and I was here to put an end to it.

It was almost the end of the month when I believed my mission to be almost completed. People milled about peacefully. Things were now taken care of and the corrupt soldiers had changed their ways or been killed. The soldiers that had once been part of the Istlean army had put their weapons away or hung them on the wall. It was nice and peaceful and my word was finished.

I did not bother walking along the peaceful streets as I should have. I was too polluted and haunted from all the lives that I had taken. Each death was like a scar on my soul that I felt every time my  heart would beat. I just knew the people would sense my wicked, scarred heart and run away from it. From me. So I merely contented myself with watching the peacefulness I had created and hoped it would stay, even for a little while.

From the news that had reached me in the Istlean Ruins, Lady Roseline was doing very well for herself as a member of the High Kings inner circle. Azazel had gotten his head out of his ass and finally realized that Lady Roseline could be a valuable ally. The information and diplomacy that Lady Roseline added to the court was invaluable. Schools had been built. The court of knives had been adequately subdued. It was even rumored that she had seduced the long time bachelor king and that they shared a bed. If that last rumor was true, I didn't blame Azazel for moving on. It still sting though, that he had moved on so quickly and I had not.

It would sure sting even more if that rumor proved to be true when I went back to the Capital in a few days. By that time my oath time would expire and either I would die, or I will have completed my mission. After that I would leave the Capital and travel as I had originally planned. But most of all, I would do everything in my power to move on from Azazel. I was not one to fall in love or be lovesick over lover, but miraculously I had. My foolishness had only led to heartbreak and I was determined to get over the cause of said heartbreak any way I could.

The village people reported nothing was amiss and that their troubles were mostly gone. The high king soldiers that still remained lived in fear or had changed their ways so they were safe from me. I packed up my things from the village people and prepared to return to the Capital. I hadn't come with much, but the generosity of the Istlean people had left me with enough things to make my traveling bags bulge. It warmed my abnormally cold heart when the people had given me theses gifts and it had made this past month quite bearable. Now that I was leaving, I knew I would miss these people that I had silently protected and guarded. It would now be up to them to protect themselves.

Early in the morning, i saddled up Millie and headed on my way. My bags were packed full of everything I had been given, which made Millie snort in protest when everything was being packed up. The trip was long, but the weather was good, so there wasn't much trouble. My black cloak warded off most of the bandits. The few that did tried to rob me ended up screaming in agony and writhing on the floor. I had no patience for their foolishness. Every time I harmed them though, I could feel my heart growing darker and darker. I no longer had the stomach for my own cruelty and my actions, past and present, sickened me beyond words. I barely ate and slept. I lost weight and my reflection in the puddles that we passed was of a wraith. I stopped looking in the puddles.

When I finally arrived back at the Capital, it was with no fanfare or greetings, but stoic silence. Before returning to the castle, I payed a visit to Xyla. She admonished me for not visiting as often as I should have, but she quickly forgave me. I didn't bother visiting Jameson. He had helped me hide Rose s d Zion from my father, but I knew some things could never be forgiven, so I let him be. On my way into the castle, I was greeted by another familiar face. High healer and righteous old brother tech, Madame Dietra met my gaze as we passed in the hallway. No doubt hearing of my success in the Istlean Ruibs, she gave me a slight nod before continuing down the hallway, her subordinates scurrying behind her.

When I reached the meeting room, the door opened for me and inside waited he entire inner court, waiting and watching. I could feel their stares as I walked in. Shock and a host of other emotions played out on their faces as they looked at my thin and sleep deprived body. I spoke first, "I believe my mission to be completed. There was peace when I left the Istlean Ruins and with any luck, it will stay that way." Speaking directly to Lady Roseline, I now say, "If my mission is not complete, I will be dead by the end of the day and you may return home. If not, then we will see what happens." With that I turn on my heel and flee from the room before I can be assaulted with a barrage of questions regarding my appearance.