Lord Shadow

The chaos is ongoing. The screams and shouting of anger continue in the square.

The sound of people beating each other, the Avengers shouted threats and the Magus hurling magic all could be seen by Azul.

But Azul also had hardened his heart, the moment he decided to step out. He had hoped that Zinar would step out. Since he saw her among the crowd, he had hoped she would step out

Because this is as much is her dream as it is his.

This is what he talked about with Tyr and Zinar a long time ago. Of their wish to create a new and a better world.

In that world there will be no Reaping, no more unnecessary war that taxes the peasant and the common folks.

It was a dream….but now unintentionally, today, at this day of the Reaping, this is that first step.

A rebellion against the Empire and the Church of Thonos.

Tyr was a peasant but he talks about this idea of supplanting the Empire authority and power with bravery.

And Zinar always dreams of such world. Azul also dreams and yearn for that world.

They talked about the rebellion in other corners of the Empire with gusto and dream to become a Rebel against the Empire.

For Azul while he did not appear to crave power he is a noble. A True blue blooded noble. It is his belief that noble should not treat their servants a treatment akin of animals.

And he himself did not like the practice of Reaping.

He could not understand it even though he has been going to church with his family since he was a chill that could read and write.

Should he let the crowd decide what to do, or make a brutal example or take them alive and try them for their crimes?

But who should try them?

And for what crimes? To the eyes of the Empire, they Church did no crimes. This has always been the way.

The peasant sacrificed to the church, their blood paved the way for the Empire conquest while the sons and daughters of the peasant is givens some blood money.

Then they would grow up to be healthy and then married another peasant and give some children.

Then it is their turn to be reaped and their sons and daughter will get the Blood Money form the Church

Round and round it goes.

The cycle of blood continues and suffering upon suffering is heaped upon the peasantry….till when the war will stop and at which point the Empire will stop killing its citizens.

Azul smiles bitterly as he thought of it.

He knows there is only one thing the Empire understands.

Brutality and force.

If he wanted to create that world he dreamed of…..being nice won’t cut it.

Azul look at the charging crowd and then he shouted, his eyes red, his hair fluttering as he throws the staff lying on the ground to one of the Avengers trying to kick a peasant.

Like a sharp spear it flew through the air, whistling as that staff pass through the crowd and hit the Avenger on the face.

The force causes that Avenger face to become depressed as blood spurted out from his eyeballs and his nose and as he falls down he died of choking of his own blood.

‘Let no Magus, no Learned Ones, and No Avenger alive! Let their blood shed and collect their blood as penance for their crimes against the people of Aethens!’

The crowd listening roar in excitement and approval

‘ARGGGH!’

‘AYE!’

The Magus has already been stomped on and punched enough by the crowding mob that she looks nothing like the haughty magus before.

It was Ymir that ended that Magus life with a swift strike of a dagger to her throat.

She convulsed on the stand, her hands trying to stop the spurting blood from her neck, her blood drenched the plank below

Her blood drips down through the gaps of the execution platform.

The Avengers some of them are in their last breath, gasping for air as the peasant stomp their faces and their bodies.

Some of them are unrecognizable from a meat patty sold in some marketplace..

The mob took the Sword of the Church that already fall down to the ground and is now using it reaps the lives of the church men and women with it.

Death…..like always seems to pervade the entire town square of Shurley.

But today it is not the blood of the peasant that is sacrificed to Thonos. Today, it is those who professed their love for Thonos that is sacrificed.

Their blood spills the execution stand, dripping down.

Azul look down at his feet as he saw the blood flowing down from the platform dripping down across the gaps of wooden planks and like flowing water, flows towards him as he walks to the Reaping platform.

A Magus managed to get away in the chaos by levitating herself and went away as fast as possible.

Azul still look at the blood and shakes his head. He knows that this blood needs to be purified by the Church before it could be used as Blood Magic.

This is why he wanted the fact that he could use his blood to use magic be a secret.

If people know he could use his own blood to use blood magic without being purified by the Holy Instrument of the Church, Azul shudders to think what would happen to him.

Then a shout sounded on the air, shaking the town square

‘You dare rebel against the Church, heretics!’

As the last of the Avengers being sacrificed to the anger and wrath of the peasant mob, and the kids were released from their bondage, the eyes of everyone in the town square drift upwards to the Magus that has come back.

She seems to have a few more vials of blood thus she has the courage to return.

She seems to be floating on the air and a few of the peasant shrink back. But only a few among the crowd seems afraid.

Many of the peasants are still governed by anger and in anger, they were brave and courageous

The Magus looks toward Azul with hatred in her eyes and a bit of fear.

‘So decisive for a young boy’ she thought to herself as she saw Azul standing there, his feet is deep in a muddy soils of pooling blood.

‘Heretics!’ She snorted as she looks at the crowd looking at her like she is their prey. Then she pointed her finger toward Azul and shouted

‘What is your name little heretic!’

Azul then sighed and said

‘My name is Azul of House Verignon’ he said coolly. He knows trying to hide it is futile. It is better to just come out with it.

Then Azul shouted

‘Run back to Ashaya and tell the Empire that Shurley will have no more Reaping.’ The Magus hearing this causes her face to turns red because of anger.

She look at the vials she have on her bracelets and seems to be contemplating whether she could kill this kid and then run away to safety from the mob.

She sighed as she knows that is not possible.

She did not think she would encounter such situation today, thus she did not bring to many blood vials from the Church.

She then looks at the peasant looking at her with a face of anger and more than that it is the killing intent around them, fearless and unconstrained that causes her to take a second look at the people of Shurley.

She was astonished above all else.

She has been to Shurley for five years to conduct these Reaping and these peasants usually were so afraid of her that they do not even dare to match eyes with her.

But today, they were as fierce as lions and as bloodthirsty as wolves.

With that boy leading them, he turned a pack of sheep into a pack of wolves.

The Magus looks at Azul and snorted

‘No more Reaping?’ then she laughed.

She put two fingers on her heart and declares a sacred oath

‘As Thonos my witness, the Church will wring the blood from every last man, woman and child who participated in this rebellion!’ Before Azul can respond, she flies away, fast as lighting.

But the crowd seems to not hear the threat as they are still enveloped by a feeling of rage. One of them whoops and said

‘To the house of Count of Cartegena! Let us loot their estate!’ one of them shouted.

Another added among the crowds

‘The nobles have bled us and abuse us no less that the Church and the Empire! It is time for them to pay for their crimes too.’

‘AYE!!!’

‘HUH!’

‘HUH!’

The cheers were deafening

As Azief saw this Azief was reminded of the French Revolution spoken in history.

This is probably how that Riot and massacres that cover France started and how it started to snowball.

‘Off with their heads’ the peasant shouted. Azul saw some of them are peasants that are acquainted with Tyr and old man Ben.

And then another person shouted

‘Let us sack the market and take the merchant gold! They are the same. Sucking us peasant dry like leeches!’

Another cheer of acknowledgement sounded all over the town square.

If there is a profession hated the most by the peasant it is the merchants.

Azul saw it. Zinar saw it. The kids gathered around Azul and Zinar as the adults keep on shouting and screaming, discussing where to burn, loot and pillage.

Erena seems to be crying while Ymir is consoling her.

The peasant seems to be primed for more vengeance against their oppressors.

Azul could already imagine it. In a blink of an eye they would surely begin to ransack nearby trader houses and burns down nobles estate.

Azul had a plan. The noble…..is still needed in that plan. After all the main primary concern are still the Empire and the Church of Thonos.

All orders seem to be thrown away in this crowd of mob. All that could be seen is chaos. And Azul could feel it. Killing intent that’s seems to be billowing to the heavens.

Azul look at the crowd, his face is uncertain. He could shout anything and they would probably listen but what should he shout?

Zinar come beside him and hold his hand

‘Azul, what should we do? The mob seems to be crazy’ Zinar herself seems afraid of this development.

Azul could understand why…but he could also understand why the peasant is acting like this. All it takes is a spark.

Today, Azul provide that spark. And once something exploded it is air to put it the way it was before.

Zinar is looking up to Azul, seemingly unsure as Azul is

Azul sighed

‘What would Tyr do?’ He ask himself and Zinar heard him

‘Azul what are you thinking?’ Azul squeeze Zinar hand as he seems to be trying to search for confidence for what he is attempting to do.

Then he look towards Zinar and said

‘Zinar….do you remember what we always talked about with Tyr? We always talked about building a new world, a better world. I promise him that when I grow old enough, I would go to the Capital, gain power and influence and bring him to the Capital to help me in building that world. My plan is to become the Emperor Ministers and advise the Emperor to stop the institution of Reaping. Slowly me and Tyr would change the world. And I want you to be beside me when I did that.’

Then he sighed, his smile bitter, his eyes seems to lose some luster as he could saw all the blood spilled today.

‘But today…today I understand. The Empire will never want to listen to the cries and pleadings of the peasant. Since they viewed the peasants as nothing more than just a blood supply, they never would have stopped. They could not be reasoned with because they don’t want to listen.’

Azul squeeze Zinar hand harder

‘This is the first step’ Azul said to her but it was mostly to himself.

He knows that Tyr would surely want to loot the entire town. They talked about this too. What should be done when they started a rebellion?

They should gather foods, and valuables. But Azul had a different thought. If he did that…what is the difference between him and the Empire?

Looting the town, yes, it hurts the nobles and the Church….but it also hurts the peasants and the common folk.

So, without hesitation he shouted to the crowd

‘Stop this madness, my fellow people of Aethens!’ His voice seems to boom.

Azul knows why his sound could travel so far and wide. It is because the effect of the blood is not yet dissipating.

It is also the reason why the staff he throws before to that Avenger was so powerful causing that avenger to die with that throws.

‘Don’t loot the town. We are not some lawless mob!’

Azul is already 15 years old, considered almost an adult in Aethens old customs.

But among the crowd there are many old bones, stonecutters, and miners, people that have their lives ruined by the Empire, Nobles and the Church.

But young as he is, Azul have stop the Reaping of children and many peasants who undoubtedly felt thankful and gratitude in their hearts is present among the crowd of angered mob.

The crowd of mob like being showered with cold showers stumbles to halt from all that excitement of wanting to loot and burn the village and the city.

They falls silent and looking shamefaced and hesitant.

A few of the older men among the mob step out and look at Azul.

‘Well then, Azul of House Verignon what should we do now?’

The peasant in the mob turns to Azul and looks toward him, asking him what to do.

It was at this moment Azul understand what is happening.

Not only the rebellion he dreamed of with Tyr and Zinar is a reality, but he is recognized as the leader of the rebellion.

But Azul knows it is not safe to talk here. The Church will come back and they might even come back with the Empire soldiers.

Azul look at the forest in the distance. He knew that the only chance he had right now is drawing more support and he knew he had to fight back.

The Empire will not be merciful. They would probably come and Reap the entire peasantry of Shurley as retaliation.

A guerilla attack

‘We will go to the Forests.’ Azul said, pointing his finger to the Vast Forest in the distance. It is one of the largest forests in Aethens and it is located juts near Shurley.