This is a story that AtomicBomb354 and I are working on together, so don't be confused when you see posts by AtomicBomb and me.

This may contain violence, dark themes, tragedy, and nightmarish things.

Twisted World


Prologue

Two shining white eyes looked out from the shadows. They glinted with something that Mernic couldn't comprehend. He didn't dare speak, for fear of what the thing would do. Instead, he reached out with the threads of his conscience, feeling for it. Hello, he thought. What are you? Who are you?

Another mind nudged his curiously. The touch seemed... friendly. It examined him through thought, moving around. It reminded Mernic of something like a puppy sniffing a new person.

The thing's conscience drew back slightly, inviting him to take a step forward. Mernic did so cautiously, tense and alert. He caught sight of a feathery ear, twitching as he came closer. The foreign creature emitted a bird call, soft and reassuring. It took a step towards Mernic, still crooning quietly. It tossed its head at the mouth of the cave. Mernic turned and went, and the creature followed.

Talons clicked on the floor as it moved, and a strange sound, like wind swishing through tall grass, accompanied them.

When Mernic turned around, he saw the blazing eyes blink. And then the thing emerged into the moonlight, and he realized that it barely even resembled a bird, as he had expected. But more like a---

Needles stabbed into Mernic, going all of the ways through him. One impaled him through the neck, not giving him time to scream, and he stood there staring for a moment, at those shining white eyes, the shrill shriek dying in his ears.

And then he toppled over the cliff screaming a silent scream that was cut off long before he hit the haunting sharp rocks.

Chapter 1

"Be still, Janimo."

I squirmed uncomfortably, my ears twitching as the healer dabbed the gash on my abdomen. The smell of the crushed herbs wafted up endlessly from the cloth, tormenting my nose. Wearing my heavy armour for several hours under the light of the sun and the exhilaration of battle had left my whole body drenched in sweat, and so the grains of sand that had made it through the small gaps clung to my skin, causing me great discomfort.

At this moment in time, I was regretting my decision to take on the prince in the jousting tournament. For a start, his technique was flawless - something that I had recognised from watching him previously. One jab underneath the ribs, a dizzying fall, and sharp contact with the floor - all in the first round.

I covered my face with a gauntleted hand, brushed my long silver hair away from my forehead and exhaled slowly. I was a fool t-

"Agh!"

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a sharp sting of pain. I sat bolt upright, suddenly grabbing the sides of the wooden chair. The healer let out a disapproving grunt, and continued to tug, pulling the fabric tighter over my wound. I breathed in sharply through my teeth, the pressure releasing only very slightly once she had finished tying the knot at the back.

"Now leave. I have others to attend to."

Without a complaint, I slipped on my woven shirt, gathered my chest plate and helmet, then exited the darkness of the medical tent.

Camp twenty-seven was my least favourite of all of the outposts that I had visited. For a start, the passageways were narrow and winding, not straight as they should be. The tents were unorganised, pitched in random clusters all over the fields. Not even the important structures, like the armoury, were close together, meaning that one would have to retrieve their weapons in one place and their orders from the other side. Neither was there a definitive map, as everything seemed to shuffle around every few days.

Before I could get lost in my thoughts, I was approached. Upon recognising the figure, I frowned.

"What do you want?" Re-adjusting the position of my equipment slung over my shoulder, I turned to face them.

I never liked Maliya. In fact, I only kept the mage around purely because she was a fantastic navigator. Her wrinkled face was always stretched into a grin whenever she had a comment that was meant to mock me in mind, and, this grin accompanied by the sparkle of her cerulean eyes, as I could see at that moment, meant that she was not going to be merciful with her words. With the swish of her elaborate robes, she came to a halt in front of me.

"I must congratulate you on your stupidity." She gave two sharp claps, then clasped her hands together. "Seriously? What did you expect?" Flicking her grey hair away from her jaw, she rolled her eyes. "Anyhow, this is not what I am here to discuss. It is a matter that is a lot less spectacular than your fall."

My pride was still sore from my defeat. I could feel my face heating up with each mention of my failure, but I maintained my composure, and decided to give her a chance.

"Go on."

I had never seen Maliya so reluctant to speak before, and neither had I heard her voice so unusually quiet. The words hardly left her lips.

"We planned to embark today to camp twenty-three, but it appears that we are missing someone. One of those sell-swords you hired to help us when we reach the raider camp just south of there. He seems to have vanished, and we cannot find him." I dismissed the issue with a wave of my hand.

"No matter. We shall hire someone else when we reach the next outpost." Part of me was somewhat concerned however, and my crimson-coloured eyes quickly scanned the crowds. "Go get yourself ready to travel and find the second sell-sword while I don my armour. We leave at sunset, with or without one of them."

--

The sun was creeping beneath the charcoal horizon as Maliya returned with one sell-sword. He was scruffily-dressed, and had little more than a few scraps of armour strapped here and there across his body. I greeted him politely with a nod of the head, and watched through the thin visor of my helmet as Maliya spoke of the route ahead.

"Through the forest, then past the lake beyond that. There should be a second forest on the other side, with perhaps a few caves that we could delve into."

"Maliya, I could not care less about caves. I am not one for unknown places with an unclear reward." I gave her a narrow stare. "My goal is clear, and that is to acquire whatever those bandits have. I know they will have riches, and so I will go there, not mess around in somewhere that may or may not contain anything of worth." I gestured towards the sell-sword, who was absentmindedly fiddling with the worn hilt of his axe. "He is not here for that either. So tell us, Maliya, what is going to kill us out there? We need to be prepared." Maliya shook her head.

"Wildlife has not lived in the forests around the twenty-third camp for many years." When she noticed my unimpressed look, she continued. "I shall still place up a ward and some magical traps if you wish."

"Thank you. That is the answer that I wanted." I sighed, then glanced over at the murky shadows beneath the trees. "We shall leave, then. And swiftly - I don't want a soldier of a higher rank commanding me to stay here."

With that, the three of us marched on into the darkness.

Chapter 2 ~ Azelear

A dark haze covered the large village. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud as far as the eye could see, but it wasn't that kind of dark haze. It was the dark haze where the air itself was tense, and all were fearfully alert, and it made everything seem gray and threatening to the eye.

Three had died of things unknown in the last week.

A small girl was lying below a tree with various circular bites all over her skin.

Another man had egg-sized welts all over his body.

The third was an elf, who was lying at the bottom of a cliff with spines impaling his body.

Something was attacking, and it was spreading throughout the land. I barely paid any mind to it, brushed the topic off when it was mentioned, but on the inside, there was a tsunami of fear rising to the brink.

What if it got to me? Or my six-year-old brother, who was just learning to read? Or Perulio? What if it attacked them? I wouldn't know what to do then. I don't think I would be true to my name then if one of them died.

Azelear. It means "Survivor" in the Old Language.

How could I survive without Perulio, my life-long friend?

That is the one question that runs through everyone's minds. What if it kills somebody I love?

. . .

"Ayye!"

I hit Madelyn in the thigh with a Whip Talon in the side. He cried out in pain and replied with an excellently placed Ridge Step Sequence, slamming into my left rib, shoulder, and ankle. I laughed to myself as his foot received the pain and I received nothing but a slight stumble.

I have the scales of a pangolin. The Secret Stalker. The Greatest Protector.

Madelyn should have known better than to kick me. His foot is probably broken. Probably shattered.

My scales were raised now, like a porcupine raises its quills to fend off an attacker. This was instinct. I was being threatened. Unlike a real pangolin, though, I do not curl up into a ball.

Most of the time.

I grinned at Madelyn, who was now attempting to adopt a Acacia stance on one foot. A defensive stance. Never go on the defensive when you're against me, Madelyn.

He moved to block a Sea Spine, but he had the kick mistaken with the Quill I was throwing at him. My armored foot slammed into his head, and Madelyn crumpled to the ground, defeated and unconscious.

It was the day of the Choosing. Who would be chosen to be Kashaitair?

Not me. I had the greatest skills of the Swarm, but I am a Jaborwa. A Curse.

"Exceptional performance, Merque Azelear," praised Kashaitair Tidan. "A promising performance." I smiled coarsely. It couldn't have been promising if there wasn't even I chance I could win.

"Dismissed!" he barked. I left the Choosing arena and my scales automatically flattened, the tension of the battle ebbing. Tomorrow was the Choosing Ceremony, where the new Kashaitair would be announced to the entire village of Corseto.

In fact, if I had the choice, I wouldn't even come to the Choosing Ceremony.

I dashed through the cobblestone streets of Corseto, my scales scraping against walls as I swerved to avoid a loose dog and a boy chasing after it. I turned sharply down an alley on my right and kept going. Finally, I emerged into the market.

I stayed close to the walls to avoid the wary eyes of villagers, skirting around the stands and huts, closing my ears to the shouts and gossip that rang throughout the place. I scanned the side of the street. There.

I sprinted to a stall with fruits and vegetables showing off their colors as they sat proudly in their crates. But I knew that that wasn't the best part of it.

The man at the front looked up and stepped back immediately. "Get away, Jaborwa! Youll scare off my customers!" I raised my eyebrows playfully and his face split into a smile and his cheerful brown eyes lit up again. "Yelling that is only going to attract more stares, Merton," I said

"Wait there," Merton said, waving the comment off. "I've got what you need in the back."

He slipped back through the piles of food, tossing his sandy hair as he went. I grinned. I was glad that there was someone in the market that was at least kind to me. A boy leaning against a stack of vegetable crates glared at me darkly. "What?" I demanded.

"You shouldn't come over here anymore," said Jamaal sternly. "You're poisoning his mind with your cursed words. Might as well leave right now, if I were you."

I threw my hands up in the air. "What is your problem, Jamaal?" I said hotly. "I am not. And what are you going to do to me if I don't leave? Throw a pear at me?"

Jamaal knew better than to provoke a fight with me, and he learned that the hard way. "I'll call the Swarm on you," he retorted. I laughed at his useless threat. "You know they won't touch me. I'm a part of them, and they wouldn't dare insult the pangolin. I marvel at your idiocy sometimes."

He rolled his resentful blue eyes and turned away, ending the conversation. "Here you are!" said Merton, who had just returned hauling a few pounds of quail. "See you in a few days then?"

"Yes," I said, taking the meat. "And, do you happen to have any of the feathers left? I only need one or two."


He held out a fistful of the blue and brown feathers. I walked off briskly without saying more.

I entered my musty wooden hut, which was lit by a few flickering oil lamps and dust swirled through the air. It was a two-roomed home; one room for sleeping, and the other for everything else: cooking, eating, playing; everything else.

My mother walked out of the bedroom wearily. "Hello, Azelear," she said smiling. "How did you do?"

I let out a long sigh. "I did very well, Mother," I said slowly. "But you know that I'm not going to be Kashatair."

Mother sighed as well, her shoulders moving down with her breaths. "Maybe there's a chance." She looked back up and now her smile was strained. "We can at least hope."

I nodded solemnly, and she wandered back into the bedroom, closing the door that separated the two rooms. I placed the meat on a polished slab of stone and sat down heavily in the lonely wooden armchair that sat in the small living space. There was no way that I could get higher. I was going to have to stay this way for the rest of my days.

I must have drifted off at some point, because I was awakened by Herre bursting through the door and throwing himself onto me. "Hey, I laughed. How was school?"

Herres face brightened even more and he cried excitedly, "We learned a new letter, and we spelled out the word Tree. I did it all by myself!"

"Did you?" I said. "Well, if you'll get off of me, I have something for you."

Herre hopped off of my chest obediently and I flexed my scales as I stood up. I took the quail feathers carefully from the dining table(which I would have to wash later) and presented them to Herre's waiting hands. His big amber eyes widened with the purest excitement and he jumped up and down, jittering. "Thank you, thank you, thank, you Azelear! They're so pretty!" He hugged my waist, the farthest up he could go, and stroked my scales. "You are the best big sister ever!"

I grinned down at him and tousled his white-blond hair. "Now be quiet, Mommy's asleep."

"Okay," Herre whispered. He went quietly through the bedroom and out the back door to the overgrown garden that we had given up on months ago, I followed him.

"Herre," I said. "Can you---"

"Shhh!" Herre quickly hushed me. "You'll scare the Grielowes."

A smile played on my lips and I crouched down in the soft soil next to him. I pointed and said softly, "Look, there's one. It's coming towards us. Quiet now, don't frighten it."

And I took him into a new world, where funny little creatures called Grielowes crawled around in the tangled underbrush of the dead garden, having adventures and playing and jumping. Herre breathed steadily, like he had done it thousands of times, which I knew he had. He carefully cupped his hands around the imaginary creature and lifted it up to his eye level. "Hello," Herre said to it kindly.

The Grielowe gave a small chatter in response. "It tells us that she has a baby that's starving and he needs only a little seed," I whispered. "I will find one, and why don't you go and look at the baby?"

Herre nodded and stood up with the chittering Grielowe still in his hands. I ventured off to find a sunflower seed from the small shed that slumped against the wall. I felt around on the dirt floor, finally managing to close my fingertips around a little brown seed that was covered in dust. I blew it off and exited the shed, closing the door carefully behind me, as if the shed would collapse in defeat if I shut it too quickly. I walked to where Herre was crouching and handed him the little seed, which he fed to the whimpering baby Grielowe that laid in a small tangle of dried grass.

"The mother thanks us," said Herre happily. "Goodbye, little Grielowe." And with that, we stepped back into reality, and the creatures were gone.

Chapter 3

Even from this distance, I could hear the steady rushing of the waterfall. Stepping out of the shadows revealed a stream of pale water, glistening despite the clouds concealing the moon. Not far from its base, Maliya and the sell-sword were gathering the liquid into leather waterskins, barely able to hear each other's voices.

Loose pebbles crunched underneath my boots as I made my way over to them. The beauty of this small clearing was beyond what I had expected to see in the somewhat uninviting forest, but there was no time to admire it.

"Maliya!" I called, pausing a few metres from them. The mage lifted her head and glanced over her shoulder at me. "You have spent too long here. We need to keep moving." A frown tugged the edges of her mouth downwards. With an inaudible sigh, she stood, replacing the cork of her waterskin and turning to face me.

"Sometimes I wish that you'd be a little more patient." She mumbled the words, thinking that I would not be able to hear them from this distance. My ears flattened slightly, but I did not comment. By her side, the sell-sword was tightening his armour straps, not meeting my gaze.

But before we could continue on our way, I needed to go and retrieve the supply bags from underneath a tree. I had left them leaning against a gnarled and blackened oak not far from the waterfall, but, when I went over, I observed that something was wrong.

"Reiterate for me... Did you say that there is no wildlife in this forest?" I brushed my hand against the first bag, checking for holes. The second bag was in the same state - completely untouched, without a scratch. The third bag, however...

"Yes, yes. Not for hundreds of years. They were hunted to extinction by the natives." I heard the rustle of movement as Maliya shuffled, uneasy about my repetition of the question. "Why, is something wrong?"

I lifted up the supplies, a bag in each hand.

"Explain to me then, how we have lost some supplies? I have been stood here watching over them, and I only looked away for a minute when I came to you." Maliya seemed taken aback, a visible shiver shaking her body.

"I... I cannot be sure." She approached warily. Her eyes scanned the two bags, and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, her gaze dropped to the space where I had set them down. She knelt, inspecting the floor for marks of any kind, but, finding not a single depression suggesting that something had been there, she froze. "Magic. It has to be magic. There's someone else here - we should travel with caution." I was not satisfied with her conclusion, but, equally, I had no evidence to declare that the cause was anything else.

With a nod, I handed one of the bags to Maliya. I had my doubts about the trustworthiness of the sell-sword, and so I had to take my precautions. "If we can get far enough by sunrise, we can rest. But until then, we cannot leave the supplies unattended, under any circumstances."

--

Our second stop was close to the edge of the forest. I had not anticipated the place to be so expansive in size, but, as well as that, the crushing air of paranoia that hung over our party made the journey feel like hours. Every turning, every dip in the land; someone had to go ahead to check that the way was clear. It left everyone on edge, and in a somewhat bad mood.

My side still ached from the wound. I unclasped some of my armour, lifting it to check the bandage wrapped tightly around it. The whole area had gone a deep crimson, and, when I carefully tried to lift the cloth, it agonisingly peeled away from my skin. Though, after steeling my nerves and tearing it away as quickly as possible, I managed to remove it.

"Maliya, pass me the medical supplies," I grunted through gritted teeth. Behind me, I heard her rummage through her bag, the contents rustling as she dug through everything. There was then a pause.

"I'm sorry Janimo - it appears that the bag that was taken contained what you need. I... I suppose I can try and gather something that may ease the pain, but I cannot be sure if the plant grows here." When I moved to face her, she winced at the sight of the gash.

"Do that, then." At that, she left.

The previously mute sell-sword decided to speak to me for once, now that Maliya was no longer in the area. He took out his waterskin, popped the cap off, then began to sip the water.

"I think you should be little more respectful towards her, you know," he said, raising his hand to gesture towards where she vanished into the trees. "She knows some great stuff. Maybe you should be kinder, since she does so much for you." I folded my arms across my chest.

"She owes me a lot more than you realise, sell-sword." I narrowed my eyes, watching his expression. "Do not speak to me of respect when you do not know the whole truth." I lifted my helmet from my head and placed it between two branches on a small tree. Almost immediately, the heat released from my face, the colder surrounding air chilling me. "Might I ask, how many times have you been betrayed?" A dumb look crossed his face.

"Never. In fact, this is my first job." As he went to drink from the waterskin, I noticed something flicker in the liquid. It was a tiny black stick-like object. Now that I focused on it more, I could see more dancing in the unusually pale water.

"Stop drinking that. Now." The sell-sword's attention was snapped away from what he was doing. He lowered his arm, staring at me as if I was mad.

"Why? What is wrong?" He shook his waterskin a little, gazing into it. "It's just water." I was about to explain, when he gulped more of it down. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, smiling very slightly. "See?"

Mere seconds after his bold statement, shock struck away his smirk. His eyes bulged in their sockets as he slowly reached up to his throat with one of his hands. Horrified, unsure of what was going on, I hesitated, watching with widened eyes as he began to turn a deep shade of purple.

After mustering enough strength to move myself from my spot, I rushed over to him. I paused only for a moment once by his side, pain shooting up my abdomen from that short burst of fast movement. I grabbed him by the back of his chestplate as he wheezed, and proceeded to force his head to tilt upwards.

"Open your mouth," I demanded. The sell-sword's pupils darted around as he gasped. He was losing consciousness, and his ability to control his own body, but he managed to weakly do as I asked.

Black spines. Slick, as if coated in something. They had stuck together, clustering at the top of his throat and lodging themselves in the soft walls. The ball was firmly jammed in, not moving despite all of the coughing that the sell-sword was doing to dislodge it.

As an act of mercy, I took a dagger from his belt, then slid it underneath his ribs.

A choking sound followed, the sell-sword's eyes glazing over as crimson liquid spewed from his mouth and splattered onto my chest. Carefully, I lowered his body onto the floor, and brushed my hand over his face, closing his eyelids over his empty eyes.

I did not much time to react to what happened next.

Something shot over my head, hitting a tree with a loud THUNK! I was on my feet only a short amount of time later, already searching for whatever was attacking.

It wasn't until a second object flew past my ear and jammed into the soil that I saw it.

It was lizard-like in appearance. Small, with various globules of skin all over its almost gelatinous body. And randomly across its skin, within these strange blobs, ebony spines.

I backed away, grabbing my helmet. I didn't dare take my eyes off of this abomination, not even to adjust my armour for battle. My hand swiftly went to my sheathed longsword as it slipped from its perch and landed on the grass, its thin tail waving stiffly as it inspected me.

I wanted to shout for Maliya, but I did not want to startle it and give it a reason to attack. I did not even dare to try and inch my way over to the two bags - instead, my only steps were away from the beast, into the undergrowth where I could then make my escape.

With a snarl, it leapt forwards. I hadn't expected it to be able to cover so much ground in a matter of seconds. I felt the round ends of its legs suction to my skin as it clung to my face, and its two stubby arms grab at each side of my head.

I let out a muffled scream, scrabbling with my hands to try and throw it off. I sunk my fingers into its back, almost impaling them on its spines. Beneath my fingertips, I could feel the bulges in its skin swell, the tension of the surface increasing.

Switching tactics out of desperation, I pushed against it. The harder I tried, the further I managed to get it away from my face, until its limbs could stretch no further. With a strange noise, it detached, and the force of my hands send it flying into a tree. When it made contact with the surface, it burst, slime spattering across the dark wood.

Before I could be attacked again, I pulled on my helmet and strapped my armour up. Without a bandage between my body and the plating, my wound rubbed uncomfortably, leaving my abdomen slippery with blood within a few minutes.

Drawing my weapon, I glanced around. Everything had gone still, with the exception of a light breeze whistling through the branches.

It was at that moment, Maliya returned. Though when she noticed the sell-sword's corpse and the splatter of the creature, she halted.

"What... what happened h-here?" The leaves that she was clutching dropped from her arms. Her gaze flickered constantly between the two things that she had seen. "Janimo... what have you done?"

"The waterfall was poisoned," I responded slowly, trying not to distract myself from my surroundings. "Whatever it was that did so... I believe it was what just attacked me." I gestured towards the viscous liquid dripping from the tree with my sword. "It's not safe here. We need to move." When Maliya made a move towards the supply bags, I shouted to her. "No! Do not bother. We need to leave."

My warning was well-timed.

She only just brought up a shield in time. A sharp, needle-like spine struck the translucent green surface. A large crack snaked across the magical barrier, and Maliya withdrew in terror.

From amongst the leaves, the creatures swarmed. Hundreds of writhing monsters crawled from the trees, hissing and growling at our presence.

I cursed as Maliya hurriedly mumbled the words to her incantation under her breath. At her last word, a burst of light erupted from nowhere, spreading into a dome-like shape that encompassed myself and her. A cloud of black reflected off of the strengthened shield.

Bewildered by the sudden glow, I simply stood there, until Maliya seized me by the arm.

"Come on! It will only work for so long!" she shouted over the deafening multitude of different sounds coming from every direction.

I began to follow, but soon found myself unable to, the gash in my side causing me too much agony, even from the slightest movement. I cried out, unable to ignore such pain, and pressed a trembling hand against where the wound was, stopping in my tracks. Gasping for breath, I watched through blinding tears as Maliya's form began to vanish through the bushes.

Come on! I have to move!

I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to take steps forwards. Soon I was running again, spurred on by the horrific screeching of the beasts behind me.

It wasn't for long though.

Eventually, my body simply gave up on me. My legs could no longer support me, and I hit the ground, knocking what little air I had in my lungs out of me. For the first few seconds, I clawed at the dirt, trying to get myself up again, but, in the end, I was defeated by the pain.

Maliya had returned, noticing my fall. She knelt by me, and tried to encourage me to get up.

"Janimo! Janimo, get up!" Tugging at my arm, she tried everything in her power to get me to shift. But I had lost the energy to run; all I could do was lie there. My whole body was numb, with the exception of the throbbing of my injury.

It was at that moment that Maliya's focus changed. She looked upwards, a shadow falling over the both of us.

"What... What is it...?" I choked. Mustering what little strength I could, I rolled myself onto my uninjured side.

Two wings were almost still as the form hovered there. Muddy-green eyes were fixated on the two of us, emotionlessly watching from his higher position. Armour, dented and scratched, fit poorly on his somewhat withered body, with the appearance of something from ages passed.

And on the side of his head, a large mass had punctured his skin with various tendrils. It had the texture and colour of rotting vegetation, and pulsated with every breath that the fairy took.

All of a sudden, the repulsive combination of man and parasite convulsed, throwing its head back. For a moment, a glint of humanity rose through the dead look, and his mouth formed unexpected words.

"Please... don't..." The appendages of the parasite tensed, and a gurgling scream left the fairy's mouth. Soon, he was back as he was, and extended an arm out, blackened, claw-like fingernails pointing directly at myself and Maliya.

I shut my eyes.

Chapter 4 ~ Azelear

It was dusk, and the sky was a dim, musty orange, with thin streaks of pink. It was a beautiful sight, but it didn't get rid of the terrible stifling feeling that anyone could die at any moment. A creature could attack.

I froze. Perulio's grandmother, Nitchin, was sitting outside in her faded purple rocking chair, staring out with her sharp eyes. I gritted my teeth. Why today? I had to talk to him. About tomorrow. About anything.

I looked around for a way that I could slip past her.

I bit my lip as I looked up at the tree that grew behind the broad fence that circled the city. I wasn't very good at climbing, but I could just reach the lowest branch. I was worried that my scales would be too heavy and the branch would break. I bounced on the balls of my feet, deciding. The tree or go home?

I went back to the alley where the tree hung over and I swung up and over the fence, onto the limb. The bark felt like rust on metal and it scraped my hands, blood beading on the small cuts. They stung, but I moved on. I looked down at the roof of Perulios home. If I jumped, I would fall right through, no matter how strong the tiles and thatching was. There was only one way,

I slid off of the branch and onto the rim of the fence. It was just wide enough for me to put one scaled foot in front of the other and grip the sides with both hands. I edged slowly around, careful not to slip and fall. The first time I had done that, one of my scales had cracked off. It had hurt so terribly that I hadn't been able to scream.

Finally, I had gotten directly behind the hut. I breathed in and out to calm myself. My scales gradually flattened and I looked down. I jumped and rolled to take the momentum off of my fall. I shock reverberated through me, but I could feel no further damage. I looked back up at the fence and silently told myself never again.

I grinned and walked to the back door, knocking a rhythm that Perulio would recognize. He walked to the door and smiled when he saw me. "How did you get in?" he asked, his voice light and mischievous

"I jumped."

"From the fence?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Of course I did. I had to choose the riskiest way to avoid your grandmother."

Perulio laughed softly and waved me inside.

The interior of his hut was bigger than mine, with three rooms instead of two, plus the porch outside. He led me to the fourth empty room where we always went to hide away because no one ever went inside of it; of course, no one actually knew it existed.

Perulio had dug out a hole in the thick, soundproof walls that was big enough to hold me, Perulio, as well as Herre if he ever came over with me. He had made sure that the walls were soft so they did not scratch my armor and had left enough room for my tail to curl around. He had hidden it well behind a stone that resembled a table. Somehow, he was the only one who knew how to move it.

"I'll be right back," said Perulio, disappearing through the entrance. I leaned back against the wall, still recovering from the shock of hitting the ground. I breathed in the damp earth smell that filled the little room, letting the soil calm my senses. My muscles relaxed. I was safe here. Nothing could get to me.

My friend returned, and in his hands, he held a bowl of sugared beetle wings. He always had some hidden away for me. When I was with him, I felt good, knowing that someone actually cared about me outside of my little family.

As Perulio closed the door, my long tongue slowly snaked out and curled around one of the crispy wings and pulled it into my mouth. The sugar tickled my tongue and lightened my heart as it passed down my throat. I rarely showed my unusual tongue to anyone, but little did they know that it gave me the ability to speak thousands of languages.

Perulio only had to say two words. "The Choosing?"

I sighed and described my series of battles against my comrades in the Swarm, the defenders of Corseto. He laughed when I told him about my final combat against Madelyn. "Stupid he is!" he smirked. "And to think that he actually kicked you hard in the scales. His foot is going to be ruined for the rest of his life." Light played in Perulios eyes. "He will rule the day he ever challenged Azelear, the greatest of the Swarm."

His words made my heart lift and a smile flickered across my face. Sometimes it felt strange to smile when all was wrong. "Please. He was clearly trying to ruin his foot so he would no longer have to pull his wheelbarrow of dyes all the way across the village after training. He's just too lazy."

Perulio's smile widened, but his face fell when he saw my eyes go cold. "I will never become Kashatair, you know."

His shoulders slumped. "How can they not see that you are no Jaborwa and that your curse it a gift?" He looked meaningfully into my eyes. "You are an extraordinary fighter. You are invincible with glistening scales that cover your skin. You can speak thousands of language with your beautiful tongue, and you are loyal to Corseto, your army, your family, your friend."

I caught how "friend" was singular. My gaze was unfocused. "They will never see. Only your eyes are not blind to who I really am."

Perulio came closer to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and stroking my scaled tail with the back of his hand. I closed my eyes and leaned against him, careful to bear my own weight so I would not crush him. This was too much for me. Even if I was chosen, not one of the Swarm would obey my command and respect me with their loyalty. And how could I even go that far, being the way I was?

"Perulio!" I flinched as Nitchin called him outside.

"I'd better go, Azelear," he said, a far-off look in his green eyes. "I'm sorry. I will see you at the Choosing Ceremony though, won't I?"

I managed a weak smile as he removed the stone door and crawled outside. He would be the only one there that wanted to watch me be nominated. Mother would be too occupied with Herre to come, and Merton would be counting his stocks.

I wandered quietly home, walking past the now empty porch with the lonely, chipped rocking chair and the broken wind chimes dangling from a red string. The sky was dark now, thick with stars, but they seemed dim and angry, twinkling with hostility, warning me. I lowered my gaze to the dusty ground marred by cart tracks and the footprints of people and animals alike. My own feet left there mark there, and no one ever stepped there until the wind had swirled them away.

I sat down in my chair in the front section of my home, wanting to be alone and not in the cozy company of my family. Before I knew it, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

My eyes jumped open at the sound of footsteps outside of my hut. The moonlight cast strange shadows through the crack in the shutters that covered the window that was empty of glass. I tensed, preparing for anything that was to come. And then there was silence outside of my door for a long time. I began to settle back in the wooden seat when three figures burst silently through the door and threw three glittering objects.

I watched dumbly as the daggers sailed through the air and deflected off of my hard scales. One was lucky though and found its way between them, cutting my skin. I drew a sharp breath, but yanked it out and threw it to the floor. It was Gunder and two others that I recognized as Teri and Dune. They came at me, and it was clear they were there to kill me, their eyes glinting with bloodlust. I swung my leg across the ground and swept it under Dunes ankles and he fell, holding back a cry of pain. They didn't want anyone to know they were here. Typical.

Gunder was my close second in the Swarm Trials, but I would always be better than him. He had always loathed my skill. He thought I was a threat to him. He thought I might have a chance of becoming Kashatair instead of him. Teri dodged a Horn strike and returned with an uppercut to my jaw. My vision blurred, but I shook it off and managed to kick him in the diaphragm with the heel of my scaled foot. My blood continued to flow onto the ground, watering the dirt floor that I had carefully swept several times a day.

Teri fell, gasping silently, not able to get a single iota of air into his lungs. And then I was whirling with Gunder, dodging and sidestepping, kicking and hissing. I threw him against the back wall and he groaned quietly. I stood and looked at him, shoulders heaving. And then he snatched one of the knives from the floor and hurled it towards me. It struck true and lodged between my ribs.

I gasped with pain and I struck him across the cheek with an armored hand and I fell sideways. I dropped to my knees and clutched at the dagger, grasping the hilt and pulling it free. Blood spurted from the wound and webbed across the thinner scales that lined my stomach and chest.

I removed the three attackers from my home and left them in the streets, then I went to the door of the resting room and looked at Herres sleeping face one last time.

And then I ran down the dark empty streets to Perulios hut and crossed the creaky wooden porch, leaving a trail of blood as I went. I entered his room and shook his shoulders, hard. His eyes snapped open and I put a finger to his lips to hush him. "Perulio," I said fiercely. "Perulio, you have to protect them. You have to protect Herre. I have to go."

Perulio hesitated, as if to protest, and then nodded. "I promise, friend."

And then I fled back down the road, past the unconscious figures I had fought, past my home, past the market, past the ceremonial square, and then out the gates that were unguarded because of the Choosing. I did not look back at my city as I ran into the woods, the moonlight barely piercing the trees. I couldn't look back.

I don't know how long I ran through the forest, but the stars continued to glitter when I heard screams. I stopped stock still, fearing the scream was my own. I looked down at my wound. It had stopped bleeding, but I was covered in blood. What had screamed? It hadn't seemed human, and it had sounded like a thousand hollow wails.

I was stupid. One of the strange creatures that killed was nearby. I progressed slowly, looking around to the long shadows cast by the trees. Suddenly I heard a more human cry. "Please... don't..." and then a scream.

I ran towards the sound and came upon a terrible sight.

Hundreds of strange, lizard-like creatures stood behind a fairy that looked like it was infected with an unknown disease. I realized then that it was the fairy that had screamed. And at its feet two elves cowered, one seemingly wounded. And then the fairy turned to me with a dead, hostile stare.