"This god of yours seems mighty harsh" she said without thinking "An unborn child...it's life snatched away before even had a chance..."

Aranida was shaken to the core, but she knew she had to be strong, if not for herself, for the rest of her troops that relied on her. Her tears had stopped falling, but she felt fragile. As if she would shatter at any moment and break down once again. She breathed deeply and stopped Avia from ripping the weapon from her abdomen. She had noticed that the medic had finally ran over to their side.

"The medic has arrived," she said sombrely.

Two other soldiers carrying a stretcher between them gently placed Avia onto it, taking care that no further harm was done to the woman and placed her into the caravan that had been brought along for she, Aranida and the child to rest in, and carry various personal belongings should the need arise. The medic shooed Aranida out of the caravan, and closed the door behind himself. He didn't want his impetuous mistress to make things more complicated than they already were. Preparing various ointments, salves, and surgical tools he prepared to remove the fetus and then clean and mend the wound.

......

Aranida, having been shooed out from the caravan returned to the horse she had abandoned. She shook herself from the daze that she had found herself in and climbed back onto her horse. It was difficult. She felt like a failure, but there was not much she could do.

"Errol, Jason, Samson, and Galahad," she said, addressing the four who she deemed one of her most loyal of soldiers. "While Avia is in the caravan, I need you to protect her at all times. Let no one besides me, the boy or the medic inside."

"We will do our best," they replied while striking their hands against their chests. Aranida nodded and left the four men. She climbed back onto her horse and exhaled. She needed to calm down and continue the journey. One of the younger troops who tended to the horses had taken Avia's horse so that it would not be left behind.

"Alright my Dragons!" she spoke from atop her horse "We have met an obstacle and have barrelled through it clumsily, but at least we still live. Let us march forward!"

Eris gave Sera a slight smile as she finished her food. "So, Qalim, how long has it been since you have seen your kinsmen?"

_______

Giving Tyr a slight nod Lear made his way for the hallway before being stopped by a tense Galaonis.

"What's the matter?" Lear question in a foreign tongue.

"Nadev spotted a group of men entering the village via the opposite gate we entered, he sent Lucien to investigate and it just so happens it's a famous Cleric, they call him Gonye Dishan. He has ties to the Neo-Potak movement. It's not safe for us to stay here." Galaonis spoke openly so that Tyr could understand as well. "Right now Eris and the messenger are out on a walk, we need to gather them quickly.. Nadev seems almost intent on having Lucien kill the old bastard and if that happens this town might break out into a miniature war zone. I'll attempt to persuade Nadev that this isn't a grande idea, but the backup plan is to get out of here before he can actually make up his mind about what he wants to do, he'll be pissed but he'll live with it."

Lear nodded, quickly turning to Tyr. "Hear that? Looks like we need to hunt down the girls."

Tyr turned away from the balcony and walked down the hall toward his room. He entered and quickly threw on his shirt and sheathed his sword. He returned to Lear and Galaonis no sooner than he left. His eyes were wide and his expression was blank, as it was earlier. He felt the same urge as before.

"Tell Nadev: I have been called and I will kill for the cause," He uttered.

An unknown force had influenced him and changed his entire personality at that moment. No longer was he doubtful of his own purpose; now he knew that he was to be a zealot for a cause he did not believe in. God had forced himself upon him, he knew it. He was merely a tool to further his agenda. Everything Tyr had believed he now knew as true.

"Long enough for your people to claim sovereignty over our Filistine Desert," Qalim replied in an amused voice, "I take no offense over that really. Kingdoms rise and fall after all."

By now he was polishing off the rest of the partridge before fetching a few coins from his pocket. That was half of it blown on an exotic breakfast. Chiding himself, Qalim decided to be more mindful of costs in the future.

"Come now, we should hurry back before Tyr loses another arm."

---

Bahaa sat there in shock. It was not so much the bloody murder that shocked him but rather, it was the way the assassin was so adept at finding his mark and escaping unharmed. It truly was testament Grimwald's skill. Then, another thought struck him. This Grimwald was relatively unknown because so few were able to witness him in action. Once again, Bahaa sat in awe of the master, attempting to commit every single detail of the event to his memory so that he may transcribe black on white later.

He remained silent as the company, and his horsed, moved far from the gates of his home town.

"What are you on about?" Galaonis questioned, positioning himself in front of Tyr. "What do you actually expect to do?"
____


"Suppose so." Eris stood leaving a small sack of coins behind to pay for the meals, scooping up Qalim's in the process. "But please, take your money my funds are much less limited than yours" Eris insisted as she caught up with Qalim.

Tyr puffed his chest up at Galaonis.
"Out of the way. I am a vessel for the creator. I am a zealot for the cause."

Tyr reached over his shoulder for his sword. Deep within his conscious self knew he was no longer in control, and as much as he did not want to attack Galaonis, he had no control over his own actions.
-----
Sera followed Eris and called out to Qalim.

"Please, let's not talk about terrible things like that! You and Tyr are too rash, I'd rather not have these thoughts in the back of my mind. You two should be more like Lear and his people," she pleaded.
-----
Outside the tavern, a man leaned against the wall, smoking a spliff. Most of his body was covered in a cloak and he wore a wide brimmed hat. As the three of them exited the tavern, he rose his head and scanned them. He noticed they all had yellow eyes and scratched his throat. None of them looked similar to the image provided to him.
He shrugged.

"If they're looking for yellow eyes, I don't think they'll care if they're not exactly the same person."

He spit out the spliff, stamped it out and followed at a safe distance.

A cold look over took Galaonis, his temper was running short and his patience for the situation had long since gone missing. With one quick and decisive move he backed away and drew for a pistol on his side, bringing it to a standard firing position, he stood silent for a moment allowing his eyes to pierce into Tyr's.

"You will stop, and you will explain yourself to me."

*voided post*

-Ichigo

Tyr glared back into Galaonis' eyes, his expression unchanged.

"I am a body that will kill what stands in the way of the message. If I die there will be no loss for the message, I am but a tool of God." He replied monotonously.

Tyr released the sword and it fell back into the sheath with a muffled clang. His arm rose and gripped the barrel of Galaonis' gun. Tyr began to speak again, but this time another voice sounded, deeper and more dynamic than Tyr's.

"You are of little faith like the vessel. Judgement upon your misguided souls will be swift. The vessel will not be harmed by your hands. I have chosen what has the weakest mental resistance and I will not allow my efforts to dissipate as quickly as they came to be."

Qalim took the money somewhat hesitantly, despite the reasoning behind her words.

"Then I shall make sure you are treated to a feast when we come by my home."

Sera caught up with them.

"Please, let's not talk about terrible things like that! You and Tyr are too rash, I'd rather not have these thoughts in the back of my mind. You two should be more like Lear and his people," she pleaded.

"My apologies if I have offended with my joke. I suppose you do not share in my brand my humour. Still, please, go on ahead with Eris, I will follow from the shadows."

She told him to be careful and so he shall. Whenever Qalim walked alone, he never was worried if someone was following him as he could deal with almost anything. The messenger of course was not trained like him and he could not maintain a conversation and still keep a watch on anything that could spell trouble.

He was sure he would not object as he broke away in to a side street and raised his hood in the midst of the crowd. Waiting a few moments for Sera and Eris to continue on their way before he followed after them.

The man rose his eyebrow as he spotted Qalim slipping into the crowd and nearly dissipating into thin air. He scratched his throat again as he stopped to think. He couldn't just let this shadow run off and give him the ability to strike at anytime, it just was not fair play at all. He drew a gleaming silver pistol from under his cloak and tipped up the wide brim of his hat. Angling the gun upward, he fired off a distraction shot, sending the crowd into a frenzy, scattering in all directions like a confused herd.

"That should draw you out, shadow," he muttered, a sinister grin plastered on his face.
--------
The gunshot scared Sera, who instantly clung tightly to Eris. Her eyes fluttered around, looking for the cause of the strange noise.

"What was that? I've never heard a sound so shocking in my life!" she stammered, afraid for her life.

Qalim didn't think someone would try and flush him out this soon. Regardless, he already had several blades drawn but out of sight after the shot rang out. The crowd were stunned for moment. It was the moment preceding the panicked escape. He was only a step away from the original street he came from before he spotted the gunman.

Now the people were running. He waited for a clear line of sight before he threw the knives and ran with the crowd.

"Your move," he said mostly to himself.

More knives were in his hands as he immediately continued running in to the next street, hoping to lay an ambush if the gunman followed.

The new voice took Galaonis by surprise but after hearing his words a plan had already been formulated in his mind, a new, and better solution to the problem at hand had presented itself. Lowering his pistol he took a step away. "What do you intend to do with the body." He remarked in a smug, almost pompous manner. "Or rather, what did you intend to do with the body?"


_____

Eris grabbed quickly at Sera and pulled her to safety in a back ally. "It's a gun, it fires a projectile that will pierce your skin and cause massive damage." she answered back as she quickly scanned the area for escape routes. "I believe it's time to hide for a bit, I think Qalim with handle this.. If he's in trouble, he'll call for me."


_____

It wasn't far away that Lucien was tracking the Cleric, waiting for his orders to strike, but it was in his silence that he heard the sound of gunfire at the opposite end of the village. Leaping off of the low roof he once sat perched upon he blazed through the early morning crowd towards the gunshots, but stopped short as he felt a massive, yet ever so slight change in energy around him. The Inn was the source and although the gun fire could be urgent he felt that the energy was much more important to investigate.

"The body will be my trusted zealot for the message when I choose," the voice boomed in defiance. "Mortals shall not stand before the message."

In one smooth motion, Tyr dragged the sword from the sheath and swing it over his shoulder toward Galaonis's side. He swung it with full force, intending a killing blow.
-----
The man stepped forward and held his revolver before him, left hand resting over the hammer. He caught sight of Qalim as he emerged from the alleyway to throw knives.

"Alright, let's see if that drug they gave me actually does what they promised," he mused, locating the knives. "Visualize what I need to strike, and the bullets will do it for me..."

He pulled back the hammer four times as swiftly as possible and as each bullet fired he winced in pain. Each bullet deflected a knife and they fell to the cobblestone street with a clang. Rolling the cylinder and reloading, he held the revolver out again, shaking in anticipation of the pain.

"Steady... draw in an image of the shadow's legs..."

Taking in a deep breath, he pulled back the hammer six times. After the sixth bullet left the barrel he knelt down, his body in intense pain and began to compose himself. It was up to the drugs now. If the Neo-Potak was telling the truth, he should have gained the ability. Qalim, the shadow, had to be taken down if he could follow up on the yellow eye posting. Anything to get him off his legs would allow him to catch the other two.

The good news for him is that he would not have to actively search them out. If the shadow goes down he'll know that he gained the trueshot, and because he caught sight of the yellow eyes leaving the tavern, he could fire off some shots to find them.

But what bothered him the most was the pain. It was much worse than what the Neo-Potak suggested, and he wanted to end this quickly so he would reduce the amount of bullets he shoots. Anything to avoid the pain and degeneration.

It was close, almost too close. Galaonis had thrown his body against the near wall of the corridor to avoid the slash, back peddling away to regain his footing. Lear had readied himself to attack pulling his off hand weapon, a dagger, for his blade was left in his room. Preparing to fight Lear presented the tip of his weapon towards his enemy, at once he prepared to charge so that he may close the distance immediately but his movements were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Lucien who had begun to barrel down the opposite corridor, his sabre full drawn