A.N: Sorry for the late update, I completely forgot about it last night

The servant standing before his desk shook with nervousness. They were the head butler, the one who ordered the others around and the one Harudan had asked to keep an eye on the children from the Sanctum of Ishin. They were only young and new and had many things to learn, but that wasn't the main reason why he had done it.

"What have you heard?" he asked and drummed his fingers against the edge of the table. Jonin stood in the doorway, watching in silence.

The servant trembled. "I'm... The girl, Ashera, told the other children that she and His Highness spoke, but it didn't make much sense to me," he said, his eyes darting about the room.

"Tell me anyway," he ordered with a sigh. He'd always known that the children from the Sanctum of Ishin would be useful in some way, he'd just needed to figure out how. And he had, through Nerin.

"She said something about a man named Isiah, that he was something called the Beast and that he would save them from you," the servant explained, his hands clasped together in front of him.

Harudan sat back in his chair, a frown pulling at his lips. The servant had been right, it didn't make sense, but some of it was familiar. "Do you know what this Beast is?" he asked and sighed when the servant shook his head. "Then leave me. If you hear anything else, come straight back."

"Of course, Your Highness," the servant said, bowed, and left the room.

The small amount of information he had gotten ran through his mind. Isiah, that had been the name of the monk, which meant that Nerin knew he was still alive somehow. Harudan cursed and stood from his desk. So Nerin knew that he'd been lying to him, which wasn't going to help his attempts at gaining back his trust.

If he wasn't grieving, then what had he been so upset about since they arrived back in Ishmar? Was it being there? Did he truly think that the Princess had actually cared about him? Nerin always had been too innocent, too trusting, so maybe he had. Even so, it didn't give him much of a reason to cry.

"What did any of that mean?" Jonin asked from the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm not completely sure, but I think I need the books from across the hall. Could you get them for me?" he asked. A roar sounded behind him as Ignis flew in from the balcony to land on his shoulder. He smiled and patted him on the head as Jonin went across the hall.

The books were the same ones he had used to study the crystal. If the little girl was excited about whatever the Beast was, then it had to be something to do with the Old Gods. The books would finally give him some answers for once, instead of leaving him tired and confused. After that, he wasn't sure. It all depended on what the books told him.

Jonin stood next to him as he spread the books out on the desk, skimming the pages for anything about the Beast. Its full name was the Beast that was Promised, a person chosen by the Gods to save Vishera from evil. Its power was unknown, as were most details about it, but all the books agreed on its role.

If Nerin had told the servant girl he'd sent that the Beast was supposed to save them from him, did he believe that Harudan was evil? He wasn't, he was just trying to do what was best for the realm. King Ouron couldn't run his country, Harudan could do a better job and he would once he took over.

But, from the sounds of things, the Beast was there to stop him. Nerin believed it was Isiah, the monk who could control fire. And that was more than enough evidence for him. No one else could control flames like that, but the Old Gods weren't real, that much had been proved by Sol and Lune's discovery. So the Beast that was Promised shouldn't be real either.

But that was the only explanation for what the monk could do. Running a hand through his hair, he looked to Jonin. "What do you think?" he asked.

Jonin shook his head. "I don't know. It sounds impossible, but Nerin appears to believe it," he said. "If this is true, then we know what the Princess's plan is."

"To get this supposed Beast to Ziya to stop my army," he said and sat back down in his chair with a heavy sigh. He never should have told Jonin to leave them behind. He had stupidly thought that if he broke open the crystal, he wouldn't have to worry about the monk and his powers, but that wasn't the case.

"So, what do we do?" Jonin asked, staring down at him with raised eyebrows.

He didn't know the answer. Part of him wanted to believe that it wasn't true. The Old Gods didn't exist, so neither should their Beast, but he couldn't deny what Jonin had seen and what he had heard. It all made too much sense. The monk's lack of answers in Huton made sense too, he didn't want Harudan to know what he was. He wanted to stop him without issue.

But Nerin, poor, trusting Nerin, had done exactly what Harudan had expected him to when he ordered for one of the monk children to bring him his food. He told her everything, thinking a young soul like her wouldn't say a word. She was a child, all they did was spill secrets, something Harudan had relied on.

"We need to talk to Nerin," he finally said and opened one of his desk drawers. The book he'd taken from Nerin sat in there, waiting for someone to translate it. After what he had just learned, it was far more important than he had first thought. He needed to know what it said and he needed Nerin back on his side.

Without another word, he stood from the desk once more and strode towards the closed door. Jonin trailed behind him, as silent as ever. For a moment, he stopped by the opposite door. It had been a long time since he had been in to see the crystal, but he wasn't going back in until he could do something about it.

"And the monk? This... Beast?" Jonin said as they walked, curiosity lacing his voice.

"We need to get rid of him, but we also need to know how," he replied.

"And you think Nerin is going to tell you?"

He let out a loud sigh. "I don't know."

It was a matter of talking to his brother and getting more answers than what his butler had given him. There was obviously more to the monk and the Beast and everything that had happened since the treaty than what the little girl had said. Things got lost from ear to ear and it was better to get it from the source, if the source decided to tell him.

He didn't bother to knock on Nerin's door, just strode in. The boy startled and jumped from the bed as if he had been doing something he shouldn't, but there was no sign of anything. "Harudan?" he said. "What's wrong?"

Harudan stalked over to the desk and tossed the book onto it. "Tell me about the Beast," he ordered. He had to be gentle with how he handled it all. Nerin would immediately accuse him of listening in, but he had an excuse for it all.

"You- You were listening to my conversations!" Nerin yelled and he resisted rolling his eyes.

"No, I wasn't. I had someone translate part of the book for me." Another lie, but Nerin would never know. Some lies were necessary to get what he wanted, the consequences be damned. "You've been talking about this with someone? Who?"

Nerin would lie, badly, but he would still lie, that much was obvious. "Nothing, no one," he muttered and locked his gaze on the dark rug at his feet.

Harudan sighed. "Nerin, what is this?" he asked. Jonin stood in the doorway again, watching them. If Nerin tried to run away, he would stop him, but from the look on the boy's face, he knew there was no getting out of it. "You know that this war will benefit everyone in the end. The Princess is trying to use this Beast to stop me, isn't she?"

It took a moment, but reluctantly, Nerin nodded. There was no getting out of it and slowly, so slowly, Harudan would get the answers he sought. If he could get his brother to tell him about the Beast, he might be able to get answers on the crystal as well. The two had to be tied together in some way.

"And who is this Beast?" he asked. If he started with questions he already knew the answers to, he could make sure that his little brother wouldn't lie to him.

When Nerin didn't answer for a long moment, he was tempted to prompt him again. Over his shoulder, Jonin narrowed his eyes at him, but he gave him a reassuring smile. A whisper reached his ears, faint and choked. "Isiah."

"The monk?" he asked and Nerin nodded. "That's why he can control flames, isn't it?" Another nod and he cursed again. So he really believed it, that the weak and crying monk was someone strong enough to stop him.

"Something needs to be done, Harudan," Jonin said from the doorway in his gravelly voice.

Nerin made a noise in the back of his throat. "You can't! He's peaceful, he's not going to hurt you! He just... He..." he trailed off, desperation written all over his face.

"Just what?" Harudan asked, glaring down at his baby brother.

"He doesn't want war."

"And how is he going to stop me if he doesn't hurt me?" he asked. It was impossible. There was nothing a lowly apprentice monk could do to take him from his throne without killing him.

Nerin bit his lip, the skin paling. "I don't know."

With a sigh, Harudan turned back towards Jonin. "We'll talk about it later," he said, but both already knew what needed to be done. They knew the Beast's weakness now, he was a pacifist, meaning that he wouldn't try to hurt anyone who attacked him. With the dogs and another hunting party, Jonin could find him and kill him before he tried anything to stop the war.

"I know they're still alive. I know you lied to me," Nerin said, pulling him back to reality. "Why did you lie?"

"To keep you safe. If you knew they were still alive, could you promise me that you wouldn't have tried to run away again, even though you know that they don't care about you?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. Nerin faltered, his gaze flicking between the two men before him and his breath came out in sharp pants. "That's what I thought. They left you behind Nerin, they don't need you, but I do. We're the last of our family, we have to stay together."

Nerin growled low in his throat and ran his hands through his hair. "What do you want from me?" he asked.

"Your help, that's all. What gives the Beast his power? When I went to the Sanctum of Ishin, the Mother said his powers were weak, but that is obviously a lie. Can you tell me?" he asked. He kept his voice quiet, almost sweet. He couldn't scare Nerin anymore than he already had.

Nerin stayed silent as he walked over to the desk and picked up the book. "It's... There are these stones, in the old Sanctums, the ones hidden away. The Old Gods made them to house Isiah's power until he could master it, I think. It was Ishin's stone that let him control the flames."

It all sounded far too complex, but he wasn't going to argue when there was evidence right in front of him. "How many of these stones are there?" he asked.

Again, Nerin hesitated. "Five," he whispered. "One for each God."

"And how many does the Beast have? Just the one?"

"Three."

This time, both Jonin and Harudan cursed. Nerin may not want him to kill the monk, but it was necessary if he wanted to win the war. The Princess would try as hard as she could to stop him and with the Beast, it was entirely possible. Now more than ever, he needed to find out what was in the crystal.

"And the book? What does it tell you?" he asked and crouched down in front of Nerin. "Please, for the sake of Brenmar, we need to know."

There were tears in Nerin's eyes, but when he spoke, his voice was clear. "It's a journal of a person who went to the Sanctums and spoke to the Gods. It tells the true history of the Old Gods."

"It's been telling you where to go, hasn't it?" he asked and ran a hand through his hair when Nerin nodded. At least he was in the possession of the book so that the Princess couldn't figure out how to get the rest of the stones. It wasn't fully translated, meaning they might not have been given the next location before they were captured. It was an advantage for them, one they would have to use to the best of their abilities.

It also meant that there was a possibility that the secrets of the crystal and how to break it were written somewhere in the book. Whatever was in the crystal would help him stop the Beast and win the war, because the Beast would be the only thing to cause him to fail. Of course, he would send Jonin after him first while he figured it out. There was no way he was letting the monk run around with the Princess without doing something to stop it.

"I need you to do something for me," he said and tapped the book. "I want you to keep translating this for me. There's information I need. I'll show you what I mean when I have more time. But if I want to win and make Vishera a better place, I need this translated, do you understand?"

Nerin nodded, then quickly shook his head. "No, wait, I don't think I can. I shouldn't have told you anything. Gods, I-" He cut himself off, his face so pale that it was almost white. Harudan reached for him and he took a step back, clutching the book to his chest.

"I'm not going to take it. I'm leaving it with you. Think about it, alright? I need your help, so just think about it," he said and stood, using one hand to ruffle Nerin's hand.

As he reached the door, sending a sly smile Jonin's way, Nerin's voice followed after him. "I'll come to dinner tonight," he said, sounding more nervous than sure.

"Good, I'm glad. I'll see you tonight then," he said and smiled kindly at him. He closed the door as quietly as possible and as soon as it was just him and Jonin in the hall, he let out a loud sigh. "That was... I don't know. Gods, this is worse than I thought."

"I know. I'll get started on preparations to leave soon," Jonin replied. He didn't even need to tell him what he planned anymore, the man knew and would do it without argument. They started down the hall together, hands brushing together. "But do you think it's a good idea to give him the book?"

He shrugged. "I have a plan, just trust me," he replied.

"Of course," Jonin said and grabbed his hand. "With everything."