Arc 4: Chapter 24: Blood and Iron
As I approached Rose Malin over the wide courtyards of the capital’s church district, a fog blew in over the bay. It spilled into the streets, choked the alleys, filled the canals to bursting. Bell towers and high walls covered in crenelated stone and sneering gargoyles rose through the brume, like ghost spires in a phantasm city.
As the fog enwrapped me, I recalled the words of the dark elf Irn Bale, who’d given me the black armor I wore.
You are no thief in the night, and it diminishes you to act like one. Face the evil. Punish it.
I heard Ser Maxim’s words, earnest even in the midst of his despair.
Our mien during benighted times shows our true worth, you mustn’t forget that.
Umareon’s divine contempt, like a brand, scalded through the other voices.
Like all mortals, you hide your truth behind a veneer of nobility and higher purpose. A twisted truth is no different from a lie.
I remembered Cat’s lips against mine. Her soft cries echoed in me.
I heard Dei’s pleading voice.
You have to know that I do love you. That wasn’t a lie.
And her voice seething with anger.