The carriage had been on the path that led north for about half an hour. It rode along the bumpy path as its passengers thought back to their individual experiences of the town that was Llendor.

The man driving the carriage saw a clearing in the forest so he decided to let the horses rest.

The carriage came to a slow stop and all of its passengers hopped off. Except for Estella, who was helped out by Kalos.

Speaking of Kalos, his face had been in a comical pout for quite some time. Unbeknownst to the others, he was desperately trying not to think of the number of lives that had just been lost on this dreaded night.

Estella pinched his cheeks and prompted that he help her sit on a certain log. He helped her down slowly, making sure she was comfortable.

“Go talk to him.” She said softly, after noticing that Kalos had been staring at his father for some time.

Kalos gave her a slight nod and walked over to the carriage where his father was conversing with two men clad in silver armour.

“Thanks for what you did back there, it's good to see that no matter how old you get, you can still serve the goddess and help others.” One of the nights said.

“Humph! We didn’t really need your help old man, but you did make things easier for us.” The other said as the giant that was Kalos approached them.

“What in the world is wrong with this one?” The rude sounding knight asked as he stared at Kalos.

“Who? Oh- This great oak of a boy is my son.” Raymond said with a proud smile.

“That’s no son of yours geezer, he looks like the eminence of light, he does!” The man exclaimed.

Kalos wasn’t really in the mood for jokes, so he tapped his father’s shoulder and when Raymond looked into his son’s eyes he realised that Kalos needed to talk to him alone.

“Uh- please excuse me, gentlemen. My son and I have to discuss some things.”

“Do as you please.” The rude knight said as Raymond and Kalos walked deeper into the forest.

Kalos stopped, prompting his father to stop as well.

“What happened?” Raymond asked. His voice low and full of concern.

“I- I had to… someone tried to hurt aunty again and…” Kalos stuttered. His chest ached painfully and his thoughts felt muddled as he thought back to the scene from before when everything went red.

Raymond sighed and walked closer to his son.

“You said he was dreaded.”

“Yes.”

“Then you killed no man. What you killed was no more than a beast. Men who are afflicted by the dread lose all sense of reason and thought. They act on the one evil instinct that drives their bodies, to eat a singing child. Remember that it was you who wanted to bring the woman along. So I expect you to be able to do so without fail.” Raymond didn’t know what else to say to comfort his son. From a young age, Kalosýni was an energetic and honest boy. No matter what he did, he always found a way to enjoy it. But what joy could be found in death?

Raymond had lied and told him that the dreaded aren’t human and that they are animals when the truth was far more complicated. But if Kalos were to see it like that, then he would mostly succumb to a darkness Raymond feared would turn the boy into an unfeeling agent of death. He then noticed his son was sniffling. He looked into the boy's eyes and found that he was doing his best to hold in his tears.

Raymond realised that his parenting was partly to blame.

Back at the farm, Raymond would encourage Kalos to do his best as a simple farmer boy. He never took the time to teach him about the darkness of reality and the truth of the world.

Raymond grabbed his sons shoulders.

“I’m sorry, perhaps what I said was too… cold. Yes, the dreaded were once people and yes, killing people is bad. But if you want to protect Estella then you’re going to have to accept the fact that people, dreaded or otherwise, will try to hurt her. In those moments, everything will become secondary and your only job will be to ensure that she is safe. I, on the other hand, will fulfill my own purpose in protecting you.” Raymond said as he gave his son a big hug.

Kalos accepted his father’s hug but something else was bothering him at this point.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could use magic?” Kalos asked as his anxiety was washed away by his father’s warm hug only to be replaced by curiosity and the feeling of betrayal.

“Shh. That conversation is for another time.” Raymond said in a desperate attempt to avoid the subject.

“You know what? I’ll teach you how to cast magic, but you must promise me something.” Raymond said, his expression grim and his tone serious.

“What?” Kalos asked, with a hint of hesitation.

“Only use my teachings to protect the ones you care about, ok.”

Kalos gave his father a slow nod as the two returned to the carriage where everyone sat around a little fire.

Kalos sat next to Estella and the woman he’d saved. They both had their eyes on one of the knights.

“There is no higher honour in the land I tell you. Those of us who are chosen to serve the goddess Eirini truly are blessed. Bask in the presence of the closest thing you’ll ever get to a messenger from Nesrafaar, me. Oh and my brother.” The rude knight from before said rather loudly.

Kalos turned to the pale woman, whose face was hidden beneath her long black hair.

“What’s he talking about?” Kalos asked.

“Something about how he’s so special and how we should appreciate him for his work and the work the order is doing for all of us.” The woman said, her voice dry and almost wheezy.

Kalos pulled out his water skin and handed it to her. The woman tucked some of her long black hair behind her ear, revealing that she was far more pale and sickly than Kalos had initially thought.

She took a sip from the water skin, but when she tried to give it back to Kalos, he shook his head slightly, prompting her to drink all of its contents.

“Thank you, err-"

“My name is Kalosýni, but you can call me Kalos. What’s your name?” Kalos said with a bright smile.

“Eevana… Eevana Talun.” The woman said with a rather weak smile.

“You are a villager. Your father was once a knight. She is a villager. That one is a criminal and this one… this one is a whore.” The rude knight said as he shifted his gaze from person to person.

Kalos held in his already shortened temper with a vice grip as the knight paced around the campfire.

“Normally, we would have captured the criminal and let the whore die a slow death, but I am as strong as I am merciful. I’ll allow you to escape my lawful hand this time.” He said with his chin high.

“Umm… what’s your name again?” Crimwal asked.

The knights face visibly reddened.

“I am the knight Alis Aventor, it would serve you well to remember the name because you’re looking at the next eminence of light!” Alis said with a puffed chest.

Crimwal let out a giggle, which infuriated the knight.

“Anyway, leave now and never show your face to me again, lest you find yourself on the sharp end of my blade.” He said in a rather serious tone as placed his hand on the sword on his waist.

Kalos exchanged glances with Eevana. Her expression was grim.

“Umm… where do you live exactly?” Kalos asked.

Eevana's eyes shifted as she fidgeted with her fingers.

“I- umm… don’t really live anywhere.” She said softly before tightly sealing her lips.

Kalos understood that he was treading on rather thin ice, so he turned to his father who was talking to Crimwal about something.

“And why on earth would I do that?” Raymond asked.

Crimwal waved his hands frantically.

“Like I said, I sincerely apologize. I didn’t-“

“You didn’t think you’d meet us again.” Raymond interrupted the flustered thief.

“Well… yes. But I’ve seen the error of my ways.” Crimwal said while placing his hand on the left side of his chest.

“Wrong side.” Raymond corrected and Crimwal moved his hand over his heart.

Kalos then turned to the knight who was discussing something with his brother.

“I’ve already made up my mind,” Alis said.

“But doesn’t our order promote helping the unfortunate and shepherding the wretched?” His brother asked.

“Trevenor… think about what you’re saying. You want us, knights of the order of light, to associate with literal filth?” Alis asked.

“Wait!” Raymond said, catching everyone’s attention.

“Before we even begin discussing who’s who and such, I want to make one thing clear. I’m not going to Eslaf Retnec. My son, Estella and I are headed somewhere… further. I hope that's clear.” Raymond declared.

“But you’ve yet to teach me any of your wisdom, sir,” Alis said with a surprisingly desperate voice.

“Uh- Dad… can Eevana come with us?” Kalos asked.

Raymond rolled his eye’s.

“And where did you find this… woman?” He asked with his hands crossed and eyes narrowed.

“Umm… back at the motel?” Kalos said hesitantly.

“I could go somewhere else if me tagging along is a problem,” Eevana said with a defeated expression.

“No. You tagging along isn’t the problem. My son’s heart is.” Raymond said plainly.

“Ugh. Fine. She’s coming along. But no one else-"

“What about me?” Crimwal asked.

“What about you? First of all, you’re a thief. Secondly, don’t you live in Llendor?” Raymond asked.

“Well, actually I have been thinking about becoming an adventurer of sorts and you’ve presented me the opportunity,” Crimwal said, forcing Raymond to turn to his son for aid.

“Mmm? I think he should come with us.” Kalos said, much to his father’s dismay.

“You do know that you can get arrested for associating with a criminal. Regardless of whether you knew he was a criminal or not.” Alis said matter of factly.

“Well, that settles that,” Raymond said with a sigh, but then Crimwal fell to the ground and knelt before Raymond. Although surprising, the scene looked rather appropriate.

“What are you doing?” Raymond asked.

“I want to come with you.”

“Says the man who stole my coin purse.” Raymond scoffed.

“I apologized, didn’t I? Ok, I’ll turn over a new leaf. Just give me a chance.”

“Why do you want to tag along so badly?” Raymond asked.

“Because-" Crimwal stopped himself.

“Because it might be interesting.” He said with a chuckle.

No one spoke.

“What? You think I didn’t notice? You and your son are definitely not normal, that coupled with the pregnant lady and it sounds like you guys are going to have one awesome adventure and there’s no way I’m missing out on that.” Crimwal said with a determined expression.

Raymond sighed.

“Fine. You can come, but if you steal from me again, I’ll cut off your arms. Also, we’ll have to part ways once we reach the border between Crafia and Carimae.” Raymond said.

“Sure, I just want to see what else happens on the way.” He said as he packed the pots and pans.

Estella, Kalos and Eevana all gathered their things as well, as they prepared for the next leg of their trip.

“Wait? Where are you all going?” Alis asked.

“Carimae,” Raymond said as he too readied himself for travel. They were too close to the cesspool that was Llendor for them to get any peaceful sleep.

“Wait, what? Why would you travel to that wasteland? There’s nothing there.” Alis said.

"Whatever you hope to find is probably dead by now,” Alis added bluntly, but Raymond and company walked away and headed down that path that led north.

Kalos took his mind off of Llendor and the two knights and moved on to a more important subject.

“Hey, dad. Can you teach me that trick as we walk?” He asked.

“Fine. Since you won’t stop bothering me about it. But don’t use it in the open, lest you attract more trouble.” Raymond warned.

Kalos simply nodded and awaited further instructions.

“Ok. Stick out your hand.” He instructed and his son.

“Ok. What now?”

“Picture a sword made of light in your hand and focus on that image,” Raymond said as they walked.

Kalos did as instructed. He focused on an image of a sword landing right in his hand. He did so for about two or so minutes before realizing something was amiss.

He looked at his father to see that he had a strange expression.

What's wrong with dad? Kalos wondered. He looked back and saw that everyone had a similar expression. Everyone, except Eevana who smiled weakly at him.

“Pff, hahaha!” His father broke into a loud laugh and he was followed by everyone as they too had been watching him focus on forging his sword of light.

Even Estella laughed, much to Kalos’ sadness.

“Aww, chin up boy. I’ll teach you the proper way to use light magic, but a certain condition needs to be met before you can do so. You’ll need to be patient, ok?” Raymond asked sincerely. He was fortunate Kalos was a forgiving soul, because all his son did was pout and nod.

Their trip went on as such before Raymond saw that everyone needed some rest. Everyone except his son, that is.

“Mmm… I see a clearing to the left there. We’ll rest there for the rest of the night.”

The group set up their camp beds, with Eevana having to share a spare bed with Crimwal, who fell asleep surprisingly quickly.

Kalos helped Estella find a comfortable spot. She too, eventually found peaceful sleep as the night wore on, with the only ones remaining awake being Kalos and his father.

“Dad,” Kalos called out.

“What?”

“Why did the people of Llendor behave the way they did. I know it's a lawless town but still… shouldn’t people help each other instead of hurting each other?” Kalos asked.

“Well, unfortunately, I don’t know why exactly Llendor ended up the way it did. But I do know that darkness exists within the heart of every man. As he grows so too does the darkness within him. However, every man is also born with good within him and If you commit yourself to doing good, you’ll be rewarded with a good life.” Raymond explained.

“Mmm.” Kalos hummed as he thought back to the scenes of Llendor. He hated how it all felt so random. Back in Silves, when there was a dispute between villagers, there was usually a reasonable cause. Whether someone stole someone else’s cattle or tempered with someone else’s crops, it all made sense.

Kalos decided not to think any more of Llendor, looking to the future for more adventure. He eventually fell asleep dreading ever leaving Silves, but Crimwal was right. They were in for an interesting adventure and Kalos didn’t want to miss a second of it, good or bad.

.

..

Kalos had been asleep for about an hour. Satisfied with the current situation, Raymond got up from his bed and walked over to his sleeping son.

He then knelt over him as black fumes rose from his body. The fumes, black and full of malice, moved over Kalos’ body and coated him evenly.

Raymond’s hands trembled as his body burnt with what could only be seen as pure hatred. He heard a twig snap behind him, so he quickly turned his head to find nothing.

He returned all of his focus back to his son, who shivered, possibly due to the night's cold.

Raymond ran his trembling hands through his son’s hair before the black fumes disappeared and he returned to his bed to sleep.

.

..

What did I just see? Crimwal wondered as he desperately tried to not piss himself.

Raymond looked nothing like the playful, yet dependable father figure he initially thought he was.

No. What Crimwal had just seen was the truest manifestation of the word evil. Of all the blood he’d watched spill, of all the evil he’d seen before, none of it came close to the being of terror that stood before him as he cowered, but something confused Crimwal.

He could’ve sworn that Raymond's eyes were glowing blue. Confused and frightened beyond words, he tried to block out any more thoughts of the incident and forced himself to fall asleep.