Chapter Twenty: A Night Of Fun

So, what do you do when you're bored? Humans and Hidden are similar in this sense, as both love doing stupid shit to make time fly. Now, there are different levels of stupidity for each race. Humans will get drunk, and nearly kill each other. Hidden, will get drunk, then use our magic to burn down buildings and towns.

Okay it doesn't normally get that far. But bad stuff does happen, and you know when a Hidden party is going down.

I've never had the pleasure of being bored and getting entertained in the normal way, from either perspective. Maybe when I was child, but that's been so long it doesn't matter. My parents were loners, which explains a lot. I was never taught the way for entertainment, and probably never will.

I'm only mentioning this because for the past few days I was preparing for what me and Sasha have planned, but got done a little early so I've been trying to do something fun. Alas, I failed in even in this simple task. Bah, who cares. Having fun isn't what's important. Last time I checked I wasn't brought into this world to entertain it.

Sitting in my study, I sharpened Ever Heart, enjoying the metallic noise created by the wet stone. For a sword that's lasted thousands of years, you'd think it'd know how to sharpen itself. Necromancers, old bastards aren't we? Humans talk about us in their myths as though we are villains. As though we were devoid of feelings.

Of course we had feelings. Just not many.

I bet you are all wondering by this point if I would ever talk about necromancers. Personally I don't want to, but here's something to help ease your appetite.

The necromancers were once a great and powerful race, feared by all. When the races all lived in the Light Layer, none challenged us. Not even the magicians, who were also feared by all. Our temples were the epitome of death. Darkness was our ally. Light would not dare show it's face in our lands. It was in the temples of the ancient necromancers that Dark Magic was not only discovered, but also abused, brought to its full potential. Just thinking about it makes me horny.

In my research, I've found a few things worth note. When all lived in the Light Layer, the Hidden races not only had temples, but gods to worship. The shifters' shamans could harness nature itself. Witches and warlocks could create magic and science that none could deny. Fae could control the skies, vampires ruled the night. And I hate to admit it, but the magi could perform feats of magic so outstanding it put all but one group in their place.

But then something changed.

I won't go deep into the details. That's for a later period. The Great Migration began thousands of years ago, the leaving of the Hidden, to a place called Earth. And the gods that we all once believed in, disappeared. We stopped in their worship. Maybe that's why they vanished.

Whatever the reason, now the Hidden have no idols except those they make themselves. Huna an example. The Queen of the Fae, a woman so wretched and beautiful that none would question her. I do not like her. And her me.

I feel like I got off point.......oh yeah, necromancers. The Light Layer before the Migration had never been peaceful. Not a destructive mess, but not perfect. Remember how I mentioned we left because of a variety of reasons, including war? The Migration wasn't just an at once thing. It happened over decades, the last few years having the most traffic.

The necromancers though never took it well, they loved their lands. Their grand dark temples. As a result there were several wars between the necromancers and magi. Long before the Migration, the Magi and Necromancers hated each other. Rivals? Sorta. Both power hungry and violent, both on the verge of dominance. They were in constant warfare, either politically or physically.

Necromancers held their ground for the most part, our love for death making us kings of the battlefield. I want this to be clear. If true war breaks out, and I still live, even the Witch will find it difficult to stop me.

Or I could be dead. Whatever.

That's enough of necromancers. We're a boring subject. To lame for the young kids nowadays.

Halina walked in, leaning on the door frame. "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for tomorrow. Sasha has gotten ready for the.......coup I guess. Fina has collected some friends. I've talked to all the heroes." Huh, now that I think about it, I've never taken a councillors life before. Thrilling. "You're witnessing history."

"And you think the people of Lake City won't question the murder of three important figureheads?" she asked. "'Cause that seems like an important detail."

I didn't stop sharpening. "Buddy actually thought of the solution. We're just going to blame the Assassins Network. Some bullshit lie that the Network was working with them and the councillors betrayed them. Or, if all else fails, luckily for us we have the perfect scapegoat. Me."

"What? You? You'd take the fall for such an heinous crime?"

"Er--yeah. I'd just take the blame, leave before they 'arrest me', and restart life somewhere else." Not the most ideal situation, but one that I'm willing to do. "Only if the Network lie fails. Other than that I'll be in the background the entire time."

Halina came near me, picking up a piece of paper. "What's this?"

"The list of heroes in Lake City on my side," I said. "I managed to talk them, and informed them on our plan. Most of it. I hope none of them rat us out. That would be bad."

"I'm sure it will be okay. Even if you're figured out, you can still stop them right?" Halina still read the list, and then she scrunched her lips. "Valory isn't on here."

The sentence processed, before I smacked my face. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. I forgot about her. Damn. I don't want to see her. But I suppose I gotta."

Just thinking about it made me sad.

I'd have to at some point though. "Halina. Hold the fort down while I'm gone. If Fina's friends show up, I'd prefer they stay outside."

She nodded, and I went to do one last task before hell broke lose.

XXXX

"What do you want?" Valory asked, opening the door a crack. I actually want a lot of things, but now's not the time to name them.

"Matters of importance. Critical, one might add," I said with a smile. "Shit's about to go down Valory, and I thought you might like to hear it."

Her scowl could silence a raging werewolf. The door swung open with great displeasure. I went into her apartment - if you haven't noticed, we love apartments -, probably the cleanest one that exists in the entire world. Imagine a New York sitcom apartment--that's what Valory's looked like. She was dressed exquisitely, a nice turquoise dress and plenty of matching jewelry. The witch motioned me towards the counter. I sat on a tall stool, smelling the cinnamon scent and lavender air freshener. It made my stomach churn.

"Please speak. I'm terribly busy, and must continue on with my business." Valory poured me a glass of water, handing me the fancy cup.

Odd, she seemed unedged.

Weird.

Meh, it's not my problem. I went over the story, the Sleeping Witch and her war, my part in the game, and what I wanted. I didn't mention we're starting our assault tomorrow, for safe keeping. Some secrets should remain quiet.

"Why would someone as sophisticated as me want to fight in a war?" she asked. "It's above me."

"I figured you'd say as much." I'll sleep fine without Valory. One does not need every tool in the toolbox. "Got any snacks before I hit the road? No? Aw."

Yet her stare didn't dematerialize as I went for the exit. My fingers just nipped the handle when, "Is that all?"

"Huh?"

Her small frame got close, with slight cleavage showing. A thing about Valory is her hair is far more red near you than at a distance. Her lips puckered. "You didn't try. Am I that useless to you?"

"You never want to compromise with me Valory," I rebutted. "You've never worked with me. Ever. What's the point in trying?"

"You insufferable little......has it ever occured to your tiny mind that maybe if you stopped being so stubborn I could work with you?"

Stubborn? Since....since when? "I'm just a man Valory. This is no longer about pride. I am now willing to cooperate. But I have zero patience for a woman who steps into my path."

Valory reeled in surprise. Her perfect eyes scanned me. How pretentious.

"Fuck you. You twisted man." Oh boy, breaking out our adult words. "You've always looked poorly upon me. Don't act as though you are innocent. I've trained my ass off to get here, and you've cast me aside like shit. How dare you act as though you are better than me?"

"For the love of my sanity. Valory, if you want to help, please say so," I said, the bitter words leaving my tongue. "I don't care if you're better than me. I never have. But now's the time to use your skills. Otherwise, stay out of my way."

There was knock. Short and simple. I laughed. "Hey. Guests. Nice."

Valory nearly cried. "Shit."

The next knock sent the witch literally backwards. Okay, now I was confused. "Want me to get it?"

With no response, I took that as a yes. I opened it without another precise hit, and a near exact copy of Valory greeted me. Well, not quite exact. This one was taller. And poofier hair.

I gasped. "Oh, it's your older sister. Uh, what was her name? Kook? Snook? Rook?"

"Sandy," she said walking in.

I snapped my fingers. "Patrick! That's gotta be it."

Sandy's rather cute face went from zero to deadly in one second. Her tone implied death, and dishonor. "Who is this man Valory? I don't recollect you having a boyfriend."

Her own fingers tapped nervously, not sure how to answer. So I did. "Hey there Patrick. I'm Ditto Night. I'm presently not dating your sister. But who knows, maybe that could change. You looking for a brother-in-law?"

Ah, now the information was passing through her adorable red head. The Asore's are notorious for being well-to-do. Interesting that one would come out here in such an untimely manner.

"You! You're the one my parents and sister had difficulties with," she screeched. Fuck, I didn't know it was possible for someone to be more annoying than Valory.

Clearly, I was mistaken.

"Listen, I'd love to stay and chat, but I got shit to do. Busy toppling governments and whatnot." I shrugged casually, getting my cold shoulder prepped. My 'get the fuck away from the Asore' escape tool. "Like the United States."

Before I took even a step, Sandy said, "Honestly Valory, even after all this time you are a disappointment. A disgrace. That's why I'm here you know. Mom and Dad are upset at your lack of communication. And now that Dawn City has issued a city guard to be raised, things are more hectic than ever."

City Guard? Oh ho, that's clever. Real clever indeed.

"You've basically failed here Valory. I've half a mind to drag you back--"

"--Excuse me, if I may be so bold," I interrupted. "But you do understand Valory is more powerful than you correct?"

Valory looked like a beaten dog. God, I do have to do everything. Even fucking stand up for others. Pathetic.

"And what pray tell do you mean by that?" Sandy strutted, fucking strutted, to me in her heels. What, intimidation? Please girl, even the Lord of Demons himself once quivered before me. Though this could be similar. "I am the older sibling. Valory would barely be alive if it wasn't for me."

"Oh, it's just you smell weaker. A lot weaker," I said. "The difference is there. I'm shocked you couldn't sense it yourself. Hell, the margin is pretty big."

Valory sorta perked up at the compliment, standing at full length. I bopped the older sister on the nose. "Nice meeting you. I thought I'd never meet the famous Patrick Asore. Welp, nighty night."

The cold shoulder materialized, used as a tactical distraction as I bolted out and left back for home. Alright children, a difference no matter the size can change fate. Wanna know why this to be true?

Valory's tiny smile as I retreated.

Minds are playable just as anything else. Learning where the button is is all that counts.

XXXX

Halina was waiting for me as I finished up in the second floor. Noting her furrowed brows, a conversation was on her mind.

"What's up there?" she asked. "A big secret?"

"Very. Something far too dark for your simple human eyes," I said. It was late, but the final touches had to be done. Peeling an orange, the girl joined me as I texted my friends. "No I'm not going to tell you."

"Come on. It can't be that bad." She poked me, repeatedly. "Why not. What's so bad up there?"

Groaning, juice hit my eye, stinging it. "Ancient secrets that only my kind used to know about. Madness and death. Going up there would break your tiny human mind."

"Hey. My mind's not tiny," she said offended. "Just average sized."

"Actually it's probably bigger." Humans are dumb, but individuals can be intelligent. Makes me wonder if there's any hope for them. "Sorry. It's off limits still. I had to do some horrible atrocities to get it perfect."

And so we kept to ourselves until Halina said, "Where did you find Ever Heart?"

"Huh. Finally, an interesting question." I became much more enthused. A story that I mostly don't have to lie about. "In the Spirit Layer. Though the Layer is used as a shortcut for Earth distances, it is quite huge. Exploring like I love to do, going past a particularly flat part, I noticed a slight curve. Finding the curve, it turned out to be a cave. The Immortal Slayer laid within, amongst a litter of other discarded items."

"Not much of a story."

"Yes. Not everything needs to be complicated." Yet the world has other plans. Nobody asked you to make things difficult world. There was less bird chirping outside now winter was taking hold. I never held the world to high standards. Such is fate. "Halina, you ever hear of the Origins of Life?"

Her head tilted. "No."

"This will be good for your book then," I said. "The most famous of all Hidden mythos. The Origins of Life is supposedly a magical object where life was formed. Then magic, where it flows from. The mythos is the Hidden's most hunted history. Historians and treasure seekers for ages have tried searching for the object. With no avail." Pausing, the legend wrapped around Halina's mind. What's one creation myth among thousands. "The Witch seems to be hunting the myth as well."

"Is this like an 'end of the world' issue," she said while eating crackers, "or an 'search of ultimate power' type thing?"

"Beats me. The Origin is a myth. Nothing says it can either grant power or destroy life. Theories upon theories exist, but those aren't helpful."

The Hidden are old. Very old. Sometimes things don't get recorded. When multiple races struggle in wars and whatnot, precious memories get lost. Now, where do lost items end up? Go on, think.

It's pretty straightforward.

"Is it a good thing I'll be gone tomorrow night? How messy will this coup be?"

With any luck, it'll be a night to remember. "It will go down as a night of infamy. The future will recall the day as ordinary, until nothing but blood flowed into the streets. The line of heroes and villains will be skewed."

"Heroes and villains. Two roles that are defined," Halina muttered, like she was grasping for meaning. "Two roles that are always played out."

"There's no such concept of heroes and villains." Philosophy isn't my strength, but having seen the world, I've grown and nourished my own ideas. "No right and wrong. Only sides. One side versus another. The Witch versus the Necromancer. Ha! Who sounds more villainous? Who's victory will be more ruthless?"

For those who seek the path of villainy, a person must be willing to give up morals, ethics, and their past life. What you want must be down the most grueling, dangerous, and terrible path. I have fought many heroes and villains, hearing their justice and purpose. Blah. The Hidden play games as though the pieces have no motives. In the end, we are monsters in the worst possible way.

We simply do not care.

"Why do people trust you Ditto?" Halina messed with her fingernails, attempting to clean them. "You don't seem like the trusting type."

"Fuck if I know."

I would point out that necromancers in general were never trusted, but I think that's not what she's saying. I've met people who are dogs, who trust and follow anyone with a bone. They are the most dangerous, since even the most grand argument would have no effect to swaying their positions.

A rule of necromancy--never raise those you care about.

We are not dogs.

A rule of life--fear the unknown, but don't be afraid of it.

We are not cowards.

A rule of death--care little for the aftermath.

We are destroyers.

And I march to the sound of all three.