I tell you now. Men who believe they are doing the right thing can be the most dangerous. For men who can justify the atrocities they commit have no depth they won’t sink to. That being said, I want you to imagine how much worse one arrogant enough to go as far as to claim to be a god can be.

  -Neldor Uritoris

  Galen awoke the next day, the day before their departure, feeling nervous.

  He’d thankfully managed to fall asleep early last night, and thus had managed to wake up sooner than normal. Early enough that he should have enough time to speak with Aleksi about what Arvad had told him.

  Assuming the man was awake, that is.

  I sure hope he’s up already… Galen thought as he finished dressing and strapped Redian to his back.

  “It will be fine, boss!” Redian assured him, “based on the data I have gathered, you have approximately an 86% chance of success!”

  …I have to ask. Just how are you coming up with those percentages? Galen asked, skeptical as he walked out his tent.

  “Lots and lots of calculations that involved far too many factors for your feeble fleshy brain to comprehend!”

  Uh huh… suuuuure.

  “I’m serious!” the sword protested his skepticism, “besides, I’m trying to ENCOURAGE you! 86% chance in your favor are very, VERY good odds.”

  Galen smiled, I guess you’re right. Thanks, Redian.

  The Sentient Weapon gave him a mental salute, “Remember, boss! I’ll be here if you need me!”

  With that reminder, Redian withdrew, though Galen could still feel the sword in the back of his mind.

  He decided to take comfort in that as he made his way towards Aleksi’s tent.

  His steps slowed as he neared, however. If what Arvad had embarrassingly hinted at yesterday had indeed occurred, then the LAST thing Galen wanted to do was barge in his mentor’s tent. Lusha would probably tear his head off if he did. And it felt incredibly awkward for him to… knock? Call out to them?

  He found, much to his relief, that he needn’t have worried about how to approach, as he saw Aleksi step out of the tent, looking surprisingly refreshed.

  The man noticed his approach from the corner of his eyes and gave him smile.

  “Morning, lad!” Aleksi called to him, “you’re up rather early.”

  Galen nodded to return the greeting, “Yes… there’s a reason for that.”

  “Couldn’t sleep?” the man guessed.

  “It’s not that,” he took a deep breath, “I need to talk to you. And it can’t really wait. In fact, it’s best if we talk about it before we set out on our journey.”

  Aleksi pondered on that, and gave him a serious look, “I get the sense that this is going to be a difficult conversation.”

  “It will be,” Galen confirmed, feeling guilty, “and I’m sorry in advanced for springing this on you first thing in the morning.”

  “No need to apologize, lad,” Aleksi gave him a reassuring smile, “come, let us go somewhere we can speak in private. My tent won’t do, however…. For… reasons.”

  Galen flushed, and answered a bit too quickly, “Uh sure! Definitely. Not a problem. Um… how about my tent?”

  Aleksi nodded, and the two made their way there.

  He felt incredibly nervous as they arrived and his mentor prompted, “Well, lad? What did you wish to speak about?”

  Galen took a deep breath, “It’s… it’s about Milton…”

  Aleksi waited for him to continue. Galen couldn’t read his mentor’s expression. He did note, however, that the man’s stoicism seemed forced.

  “Or rather,” he swallowed, “it’s about Morpheus.”

  His mentor seemed to tense at the mention of that name, as he asked with forced calm, “Where did you hear that name, lad?”

  Rather than answer that, he asked a question of his own, “Is… is it true you two are related? That he’s your nephew-”

  “Who told you that?!” Aleksi suddenly snapped.

  Galen jumped back a bit, startled at the sudden burst of emotion.

  Aleksi took a deep, deliberate breath to regain his composure. He stared Galen down, however, to show he wanted an answer.

  “Remember, boss,” Redian suddenly reminded him, “that weirdo Arvad DID say you could throw him under the bus so… get to throwing! Oh, I hope this metaphorical bus is HUGE.”

  He ignored that last part.

  Hesitantly, Galen answered Aleksi, “It was Arvad.”

  His mentor let out a long suffering sigh, and muttered, “That voiding man… I swear-”

  “He didn’t tell me everything!” Galen interrupted, quickly clarifying, “he only told me that Milt- I mean Morpheus, was your nephew. And that he was the son of your sister. He didn’t tell me anything more than that.”

  “Nothing else?” Aleksi questioned.

  Galen shook his head, “He said that he thought it best that you be the one to tell me the rest.”

  Aleksi was quiet for a long, LONG while. Finally, he walked to a nearby chair and all but collapsed onto it, suddenly looking as though he’d aged several years in the past few seconds.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Hey, are you alright?!” Galen asked, alarmed.

  “I’m fine, lad,” his mentor responded, though his voice seemed hoarse and strained, “I’m simply remembering bad memories…”

  Aleksi clicked his tongue with annoyance, “Arvad… that voiding man… at least he respected my privacy enough to not tell the whole story without my permission. Problem is, he had no right telling you as much as he did.”

  Galen reluctantly responded, “He said that the reason he told me was because you never would. And that it was important I know…”

  He hesitated, but found the resolve to finish his thoughts, “And I think I agree with him. You know my damage, Aleksi, regarding my sister’s death. I don’t really know yours.”

  Aleksi, thankfully, nodded, “I suppose that’s true enough. Take a seat, lad. I warn you, however, that my story… that this story isn’t for the faint of heart. Do you still want to hear it?”

  “I do.”

  “Then come.”

  Galen grabbed another chair and sat in front of Aleksi, waiting nervously, bracing himself for what he was about to hear.

  “My story lad, at least in the beginning, isn’t that interesting,” Aleksi began, leaning back on his chair, “I was born in a city west of Ignis. Second Circle. Which made me part of the middle class of the Dominion’s society. My parents both were descendants of one who managed to make it into the Second, and they had me and… and my younger sister, Nora.”

  He paused, reaching for the water-skin at his belt. He took a quick swig and continued, “Our childhood was normal enough. We lived, we played, with our family being like any other. As I grew older, I found I had a talent for battle, while my sister, Nora, had a talent for singing. She was blessed with such an angelic voice. If you could have heard her singing, lad, your jaw would have hit the floor. Not only that, but she was beautiful, particularly for a denizen of the Second. And unlike me, she was a very gentle person. She couldn’t harm a fly if she wanted to.”

  He chuckled, though there was no humor in the sound, “When I turned fifteen years old, I joined the Dominion’s army after being scouted. I didn’t see my family for several years, though we remained in touch. The Dominion, for all their many faults, had marvelous technology. Among that was the ability to be able to speak with my family even from a distance, at any time. A form of wireless communication.”

  “Like a phone?” Galen asked.

  Aleksi gave him a confused look.

  “Okay, so not a phone…” he muttered before trying again, “how about… a radio?”

  His mentor nodded, “Yes, that was it. It was a kind of radio that those of us in the army could use to communicate with our loved ones. Even when actively on duty. I made sure to keep in touch with my family, and even had the rare opportunity to visit. I was… well, a normal soldier of the Dominion. And…”

  Aleksi hesitated, looking ashamed for a moment as he admitted, “And yes, that meant that, at the time, I’d been incredibly loyal to the Dominion. I… void I even worshiped Athanasius at the time. That would soon change… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Years would pass with nothing to note. Well, other than finding out that Nora had gotten married. The man she wed was another Seconder, and, at the time, I thought he seemed like a good enough man. Not long after I turned twenty-five, however, things changed.”

  He leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees, “One day I’d received word that we were to be deployed in my home city. Apparently, they were selected to host Athanasius himself on one of his rare visits into this Realm. The festivities were to be held in the First Circle of the city, naturally. Though, a select few Seconds were given the ‘honor’ of attending.”

  Galen flinched at how Aleksi had growled the word “honor” with such anger and vitriol.

  The man composed himself and continued, “Among those Seconds allowed to attend was myself and… and Nora…”

  Galen felt his stomach drop, a bad feeling bursting in his gut at what was coming.

  Aleksi took a deep breath, “There was a week long festival to celebrate the god Emperor’s arrival. In the middle of the festivities was a choir. Singers, the best of the best, were carefully selected to gather and sing praises to Athanasius. Among them, being my sister. However, unlike the rest, Nora was given the special privilege of singing a solo for the Emperor. It was the best performance I’d ever heard from her, and the crowd, lad… You should have seen how they roared with approval once she’d finished her songs. But then… all went silent when Athanasius came down from his lofty throne, clapping with an impressed look upon his voiding face!”

  He took another swig of his water-skin, this one longer. He wiped his mouth and continued, “You have to understand, lad. Throughout the entire event, the man hadn’t showed one iota of emotion. His face had been like a stone. Unmoving… unchanging. Yet for him to not only display such expressions… but for him to come down from his throne? You can imagine the hushed whispers that erupted from the crowd when that happened. Then, Athanasius spoke…”

  Aleksi’s hands had begun to shake, though he didn’t seem to notice. His gaze seemed unfocused, as though he were reliving the memory as he told it, “His voice… it was like lightning cutting through the darkness. Like thunder booming, annihilating the silence that had been present before. In an instant, everyone heard his voice, all the hushed conversations dying simultaneously. Void, it felt like my very bones rattled as he spoke. He said… he said…”

  He broke out in a cold sweat, taking another swig of his water-skin, “He said… that in all his years on Avani, he’d never heard a voice as majestic as Nora’s. He… he then made the announcement… that he claimed her as one of his wives…”

  “His what?!” Galen spoke up, rattled, “and ONE of them?!”

  Aleksi nodded, blinking his vacant eyes, seeming to come out of the memory. He eyed Galen, raising a brow, “Yes, lad. The thing about Athanasius is that, as the self proclaimed god of mankind and being worshiped as such, he can take whatever he liked, whenever he liked. It didn’t matter that my sister was already married. She wasn’t the first wife he’d ever taken. Nor was she the last.”

  “And no one had a problem with that?!”

  Aleksi shook his head, looking nauseated, “Not one, lad. Her husband said nothing about it. Void, he viewed it as an honor that Athanasius took her. Maker above, our parents threw a small feast in our home to celebrate it!”

  Galen shook his head, horrified. He tried to imagine being in Aleksi’s shoes… It was simply too much… It was disgusting, atrocious even!

  “What about you?” he asked quietly.

  Aleksi couldn’t meet his eyes, “Didn’t you hear me earlier, lad? I said not one…”

  He couldn’t say anything to that. Especially not when he saw the abject shame in the man’s eyes when he finally did muster the nerve to make eye contact again.

  “I will say this, lad,” Aleksi said quietly, “looking back I… I did feel… disturbed. The feeling, however, was buried deep, DEEP in the back of my mind. It did persist, though, and grew with time. We didn’t hear anything from Nora after Athanasius claimed her. That was normal, as I’ll soon explain. A few more years would pass, and despite my own attempts to reach her, nothing came of it. Then… one day I was scouted.”

  “Scouted? For what?”

  “I was scouted,” Aleksi sighed, “to see if I was worthy of joining the Shadows of Athanasius.”

  Galen’s jaw dropped.

  He ignored his reaction and continued, “I was tested and deemed unworthy, though being scouted at all is a great honor in the eyes of the Dominion’s society. I met people and made some connections that I would later use to learn what became of Nora… Lad, she… I found out she was dead…”

  “How-”

  “They killed her, lad,” Aleksi interrupted, “he killed her. I dug around, asking my newfound contacts to find out what became of her. By then, I already figured she was dead… but I just had to know. It was then that I learned the truth… From a Rebellion spy no less, though I wouldn’t know that until later. I learned exactly what being a ‘wife’ of Athanasius Durai entailed. And it differed greatly from what we’d been publicly told.”

  Aleksi tried to take another swig of his water-skin, but must have found it was now empty, as he threw it to the ground in frustration. “There are two reasons why the god of the Dominion might take a woman as his wife,” he continued, “one reason, and the most common one, is that he simply found someone with prodigious talent and potential. Enough that he finds them worthy to sire him a child or two. The other reason, one incredibly rare, is that he simply finds a woman he fancied and took her. That was the case for my sister, Nora.”

  He took a shaky breath, “After bearing a child or two… the babies are taken by the Dominion once they no longer need to be breast fed. To ensure they get all the proper nutrition they need to grow up healthy. Typically this happens within the year of their birth. And after… After that…”

  Aleksi clasped his hands together to steady them, for they had begun to shake more violently, “After that, lad… the mother is killed.”

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