Martin’s growl was punctuated by shining kanines, as he smirked with delight at the prospect of cleaving the traitor in two.

His sword was alight with a fiery golden glow, and drove down at Mirio from up high.

SHING

Sparks grinded off the edge of each sword as Mirio spun Ember up to deflect the blow.

STEP STEP

Twisting and turning in delicate steps, Mirio moved like the cast shadows in the light of their blades, sweeping out to Martin’s blind side. The golden light of their blades glinted off Martin’s shining armour as he swung and smashed with a followup combination, trying to pin down the elusive footed spy.

SHING

Mirio darted forward and forced a clash of their blades, digging his toes deep into the grass he thrust forwards with his weight and tossed Martin back a couple of steps. Swinging the tip of his sword between Martin’s eyes he called out with a gritty purr in his voice.

“You are letting it escape!”

Mirio’s eyes darted behind the armoured paladin before him and into the shadows of the trees.

*What the hell is that thing? How can I get this idiot to spot it?*

“Your tricks won’t work on me kid. You think I didn’t know from the start that you weren’t a real paladin?! You may have fooled the Duke and those peasants, but I always saw you for the liar you are”

Martin’s golden eyes glared at Mirio through his visor.

“Just listen!”

“Witness the power of a true paladin you pretender”

Martin’s armour clanked as he repositioned himself and lunged towards Mirio, blasting divine light from his sword as he swatted Mirio’s blade to the side.

Mirio dashed backwards several steps and squinted his eyes.

*Fuck, using my own tricks against me. Now I see why that move is such a go to, he almost got me*

“Bwahaha!” Martin screamed as he spun his sword high above his head and slashed it wildly towards Mirio.

SHING SWIP FWET DING SWIP FWOOM

A series of spins and thrusts launched out at Mirio between blasts of light from Martin’s blade.

“What is happening!?” a passerby said as stopping at the far edge of the park.

Stuttering flashes and the clash of metal echoed out through the trees as a wyvern screeched in the skies above.

The woman clutched onto her friend’s hand as it seemed as if a patch of shadows came alive and shot past her into the alleys beyond.

“What was that!?”

“Let’s get out of here!” her blonde friend replied as she dragged her behind her in a rush towards the lakeside.

The rapid pitter patter of footsteps echoed out through the trees, as Mirio peered out of the corner of his vision along the path the assassin had taken into the alleys.

*It’s already gone! Shit…*

SHING

Mirio cast his sword in a wide arc, to deflect the heavy two handed blow of the Duke’s elite paladin.

*Fuck this!*

Mirio stared Martin in the eye for a tense moment before shooting off through the trees in a streak of blue light.

SWISH

Martin’s blade slashed through a cloud of blue air where Mirio had once stood.

THUM THUM THUM

Mirio’s legs pumped hard as he spun and shot through the alleyways.

“Damn it! You won’t get away!” Martin snapped through his helm.

The alley walls towered over Mirio like laughing shadows as he shot out of the lake district and through the market square.

Martin pulled off his gauntlet and tipped up his visor just enough to slip two fingers into his mouth. A sharp whistle pierced through the trees and into the sky above the city.

FWOCK FWOCK THUNK

Snatching the reins of his wyvern he sunk into the saddle and lunged into the skies above.

TAP TAP TAP

Mirio’s footsteps rang out through the alleys. Flecks of light danced in tune with lively echoes of the distant bustle of the city as buildings turned to streets, and streets to buildings once again. He didn’t know exactly where he was heading or why, but his heart was racing and he couldn’t get it to slow down. It was as if his body HAD to keep moving or else it might shatter into a thousand pieces. The deep throbbing pump of blood in his veins, keeping him together as a madness seeped through his mind. Flickers of magical light shone from within his eyes, like ink bleeding into water from tiny pin pricks. The silver threads that seeped from the world winds swirled all around him, and now he felt them swimming through his mind like chaos itself was reaching into him.

*I have to keep moving*

His foggy vision cleared by the force of his will as he found his way into the red streets of the eastern side of the city and to the base of the red mountain. He stared up at the Duke’s palace far above, perched high in the side of the mountain.

*Why did I run here?*

“Mirio?! What are you doing here?” Dasha said with a squint of her eyes.

“Hey, did you see anything weird pass by recently?”

“What do you mean by weird?”

“Like, did the shadows move, or was there a threatening presence in the air?”

“Not that I know of, but the Duke has just given out the command for everyone to be on high alert, the Princess has escaped the palace and there is a fear that Rainal’s assassins are in the city”

“Yes! That had to be it. I didn’t know what that thing was at the time, I half thought I was imagining things or going crazy, but I found it following the princess in the lakeside park”

“You what?! Is she still there now!?”

“No, she got away to a wyvern back to the palace”

“Oh… So she is safe then, good, I thought it was going to be a long night”

“She is back at the palace, but I don’t think she is safe. I can’t describe how I know it, but I can just feel that its not over, we have to get to her before that thing does!”

“Hang on, hang on, what thing? And what the hell makes you think you can rush to the side of the royals, you are just a city guard, not a knight”

“Its an assassin! Some kind of insectid, fast as hell, and devious in how it moves. I know I’m not a knight but I’m here to help”

“Hrmm, an insectid assassin, if anything could get past secure checkpoints, I suppose an insectid assassin could. I’ll head in and rally to the side of the princess”

“Great” Mirio said as stepping forward onto Dasha’s outstretched hand.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“I’m coming with you”

“No, you are staying here. Don’t fret, if what you said is true you have done enough. Let me handle this from here”

“What if you need backup?”

“I won’t” she said with a wink as she stepped through the arch of the doorway.

FWOCK FWOCK FWOCK

Mirio’s eyes shot up to the skies as the enormous outstretched wingspan of a wyvern blocked out the starlight.

THWACK

Mirio was flung through the air and tumbled across the ground.

“Ugh…”

With heavy limbs he dragged himself to his feet and peered through his foggy vision towards the roaring jaws of the beast that had just stomped him.

Beads of light swirled in a vortex at the centre of the beast’s throat.

“Shit” Mirio said as he cast up his hand.

FWROOOOAAAAAAR

The blistering heat of the wyvern’s breath caused the stock crates on either side of Mirio to blast into splinters, as the red stone below his feet began to melt and char. Yet amidst the stir of the flames Mirio stood firm, and flicked the fiery ribbons to the side.

Martin snarled as he tossed off his helmet in frustration.

“Why won’t you just burn!”

He jumped down onto the red stone and stared up at Mirio with his golden eyes tinted red by the flames that still licked up wood and fabric of what was previously a storage area.

The wyvern stomped in place uncomfortably, and then leapt back into the sky. Mirio stared at it as it became a shadow again amidst the stars.

“Do they not like the ground?” he asked

“You dare ask me a question like we are colleagues?” Martin snapped back

“I just noticed, they don’t seem to enjoy being down in enclosed spaces like this, they always take off”

Martin spun his sword and flicked its tip to point between Mirio’s eyes.

“Draw your weapon and fight”

“I’m not here to fight you”

“Bullshit”

“Damn it, you are wasting time, I’m not a fucking spy!”

“Words won’t save you”

“I’m not trying to save myself, I’m afraid that if we waste time fighting here, then whatever is happening tonight will pass us by without us being able to stop it”

“There is no US”

The flash of Martin’s sword cut through the air in a wide arc. Mirio shifted off to the side and spun under the blade, his hand flung up and let loose a burst of flashes.

SHING SHING SHING

Martin struggled to keep track of the traitor as he moved side to side between flashes.

THUNK

Mirio’s elbow smacked hard across his temple, causing his head to reel back and him to stumble back a few steps before wildly swinging his sword to defend.

“Grrr, you cocky little shit!”

Mirio stared at Martin blankly as feelings inside of his body pulled his focus elsewhere. The world winds swirled past him as if drawn by a giant vacuum that swept up into the mountain. Martin’s words were muffled by the intensity of the world winds as they shot by.

FWIP FWOOSH SHING

Mirio spun up his sword and pushed Martin back as their blades clashed with sparks of magical light.

The magic swirled off Ember’s edges like ink flowing into water. Mirio’s eyes bulged a little as the magic pulled at his focus. He felt trapped between the swell of the magic dripping from Ember, and the enormous vacuum opening up behind him up in the mountains.

Reality had shifted for Mirio, and it showed no signs of shifting back. Were his senses broken? Or was what he was seeing now, something that had always existed, yet he had always closed himself off from.

The warble of Martin’s voice broke through as the Paladin lunged forwards with another assault.

The flash of their blades lit up the streets like the flutter of fireflies as each warrior circled and dodged the other’s blows. The smoke from the wyvern’s fire drifted low through the wide street catching flecks of magical light in its particles.

A grey fox limped around the street corner, and clutched at his heart in shock as his eyes widened to the sight. Two blades leaving scars of light as they passed just fractions of an inch away from each figure.

“I really have to get home, the streets really aren’t safe tonight” the old fox grumbled as he hurried off.

Beads of sweat began pooling on Mirio’s forehead as his visions and sense for magic in the world around him intensified. The boundary between the material world and the world winds were no longer separated by a clear margin in his mind. Magic bled freely into the winds, and the winds pulled silver threads through the fabric of the material realm.

As Martin lifted his blade, the lattice of silver threads warped and shook, letting off a sound like the ringing of chimes. Mirio felt as if he could even close his eyes, and he would still be able to hear his movements. His eyelids became heavy, and his body sluggish as his magical senses took over his connection to the material world.

*No… I can’t lose my grip… Martin can still cut me down… I have to come back*

Martin stepped forward and twisted his hips to start the kinetic chain of a forceful blow. It smashed hard against Mirio’s defence. He twisted again, driving the force from his toes.

CRACK

Martin’s eyes shot open as he saw a break in Mirio’s defences.

Bending his knee inwards, he swung his blade wide around his head, and drove his blade with all his might to crash through Mirio’s guard.

Mirio’s eyes were hazy and distant, his grip on his sword loose and full of gaps, almost as if the very fundamentals of his swordplay were falling apart. A warping grid of energy moved within the depths of his eyes, as his hair flowed in the gentle breeze.

Martin’s sword tore through the air, a spark travelling down the edge of the blade and igniting its edge with a roaring flame, as he pushed deep into Mirio’s position with his front foot.

*Aha! My lead foot is past his, I can’t miss! I have him!*

The world winds storming around Mirio slowed as the grid of silver threads moved in a wave as Martin stepped forwards.

All that Mirio could feel was a terrifying sucking force towering over his back, and before him the flicker of magics, and the sound of chimes as each delicate thread of the world winds played their gentle music. He knew he had to pull himself free from this place, but knew that he could never do so by stepping backwards…

“I must go deeper…”

The silver strands shook and trembled violently and grew thicker as Mirio gripped onto them with the force of his mind. The vacuum behind him, grew stronger, and the winds sweeping through the strands of silver raged like the most vicious of storms.

His eyes softened, and his senses sharpened.

It was as if his actions had won a one sided bargain, his prize, an otherworldly composure as everything swept past him in a roar.

*I can handle this…*

Mirio gazed up at Martin without a worry in the world, as his movements caused the silver threads of the world wind to pulse out from the edge of his body. The future and all its myriad of possibilities drew away from the touch of his flesh as he poured forth his intent.

Ember rattled, stirred by the violence of the world winds, but then straightened like the tightened string of a bard’s lute.

Mirio placed his weight into his front foot, and lowered his center of mass as he swept his blade in a short arc towards Martin’s flaming sword.

The swords clashed with a blast of light that painted the walls all around them bright white. And as the light faded, Mirio’s eyes lay fixed on a spot past Martin’s right shoulder.

Splinters of the Paladin’s sword shattered like glass as the fire that once surrounded it spun around a vacuum before fizzling out.

Martin reeled back in horror, as once where his sword had been, was now a hollow place filling with the chill of the night air. He pulled his hands back as Mirio’s sword tip snapped to the edge of his throat..

The path of Mirio’s sword still scarred the air, zigging through the path of Martin’s sword and zagging back to where Martin gritted his teeth.

Magic swelled off Mirio’s blade as it gently tapped the skin on Martin’s neck.

Martin’s eyes swelled in disbelief, at the impossible swallow’s tail cut Mirio had just pulled off. How was it even possible? Had Mirio moved instantly? Whatever the truth was, it didn’t matter now, as all that remained was the horrible realisation that this godless heathen, traitor, and false paladin had utterly bested him.

“No” Martin let out as he dropped to his knees, eyes wet with tears, “Noooooo!” he continued with a wretched scream.

Mirio sniffed with a cold demeanour and gazed down at Martin ruthlessly.

“I’m not the spy”

His voice purred as he spoke almost as though his words were part of a song or incantation, “You just want me to be”

“What do you know of it!?” Martin screamed out as Mirio turned back towards the doorway Dasha had left through moments before.

A chill rose up Mirio’s spine as he stepped into the passages of the palace walls. Fresh blood flowed from the necks of the two guards stationed at the entrance to the courtyard.

The world winds howled around him, a mash of magic distorting his vision as he tried to figure out where the lifts to the mid mountain palace were.

*They have to be here somewhere*

SHING SHING

“Ack!”

His eyes rose to the sound of blades slicing against armour. It was coming from behind the patio where he had first met the Duke. As he gazed around to the guard towers and positions, each one carried an uneasy silence.

*How could it make its way in like this? Didn’t Dasha just come through a few minutes ago?*

His footsteps echoed through a long hallway paved with polished white stone as he rushed through to an open shaft at the far end.

*The platform is gone?*

Mirio turned his head upward to see the bottom of the lift as it locked into place at the top of the towering shaft.

His vision blurred and warped as he searched feverishly for the lever to call the lift back down.

“Ah!” he said as he pressed a tile on a pillar next to him emblazoned with the royal crest.

His gaze turned towards the swarming darkness above as silver threads traced their way up the shaft towards its epicentre.

“Damn it, what is going on up there?”

…

Wisps of Calypso’s dark hair fluttered in the wind as she stepped into the long hallway. Mirio stood at the far end, with his sword tip held back down behind his hip to guard his back in case of an ambush.

Her eyes searched through the silver threads that surrounded his silhouette until she grasped onto the one she was looking for. The thread wrapped tightly around his heart, and spread throughout his body like branches of a silver tree.

The gruff voice of the god accompanying her sounded in her ear.

“What are you looking for in this kid? He isn’t the source”

“Yet he sees it as we do…”