The castle loomed high and mighty in front of Xoris, the late sky's light reflecting brilliantly off the maintained stone. He panted, feeling his fast heart rate circulate all throughout his body. He had never exerted himself so much in his life, the endless walking with the weight of the armour holding back his every step along the way.

At least it gave me enough time to calm down and go back to normal. Or at least, as normal as he supposed he was going to get. He hadn't managed to alter anything internally, if the red scratches along his arms from the countless thorn bushes along the way meant anything. He swore that he could feel random twitches and pulls under his clothes from time to time, but as far as he could see, which was admittedly much less than before, all the extra eyes had closed up. Aside from him feeling the constant need to scratch where they had been, he doubted anyone would notice.

All the same, he tried to stay on alert as he approached the drawbridge. Xoris attempted to focus on the gate before him, or the guards who nodded in respect to his new title as he continued forward. Anything was better than looking down to see the bright red moat, a good hundred strides below him at least. Still, the thought of the fall invaded his mind, and he quickly ran through the last couple steps until he was on the other side of the gate.

The small, upper class town inside the gates lay before him, but he was only here for the castle itself. A few shouts and screams sounded around him, despite him only passing through, and he decided to keep his head down, his yellowish skin tone flushing a bit in embarrassment. Only a little further and they'll be able to give me a fitting punishment. It only makes sense to get treated as a monster for now.

He was lucky enough to pass Kraim right before entering the building itself. He tapped the shoulder of the short man, which resulted in a squeak. "Oh! Y-yes, Thing of Eyes and Teeth?"

"I wish to meet with King Lloyd. I've returned from Avrim Keep," Xoris informed him. Hopefully if he kept it terse enough, the whole ordeal would go faster. It was hard to steal himself with his own plan as is.

"Of course, but may I ask whatever the reason is? Was the battle not a success?" He motioned for Xoris to follow him.

"No, it was, but I'll go into more detail when we get there," Xoris explained as they navigated through the many halls and passageways he hadn't gotten much time to look at in the ten days he'd spent here. A dark presence seemed to resonate from a door on the right, causing him to glance over worriedly, but Kraim sauntered past it, taking a left until they were in the same throne room he'd been presented in only two tallies ago. The king sat in the centre of it all, his face lighting up as he caught sight of them.

"Ah, there you are, Kraim! Just the man I wanted to see. And, you brought the Thing of Eyes and Teeth with you! What a pleasant surprise, although I can't say I expected you back so soon."

"Neither did I," Xoris muttered, the thought of his next words already feeling like a weight on his shoulders. "But I fought another battle at the keep, and I won. That being said, I'm here to turn myself in."

The king's eyes popped out at the notion, his surprise seemingly enhanced by Kraim's audible gasp next to him. "T-turn yourself in? Whatever for? For winning a battle against hundreds of Stained singlehanded? You're a hero." The advisor stumbled over his words as he crept closer, the silver clasp standing out against the rich purple of his robes. It was shaped like a hook and eye, the latter being far too literal as it appeared to be stabbed though by a blade to hold the fabric closed. Xoris winced at the idea it formed in his mind before focusing back on the conversation.

"No, I'm not. This... doesn't feel right to me. I feel like a monster, and just senselessly killing like this... I can't do it. I understand that abandoning the war would be treason against Humanity, and I don't support the Beasts, so I'm going to turn myself in willingly now." He held out his wrists, waiting for the cold metal of chains to wrap around them.

"But... Xoris, was it? We're not about to arrest a person who's already agreed to aid us so much," the king began, looking warily at the advisor at the sudden display.

"I'm the Thing of Eyes and Teeth. A thing, not a person. I lost the right to call myself that long ago." The words hurt, but this was his final chance to stop something like the only two battles he'd had from ever happening again.

The king paused for a moment, looking downcast for a moment before speaking again. "That may be true but... Whatever you did was done for the greater good. We cannot rightfully lock you up for saving our people. That's why you were hired. To use your power to help us end the war. It's been going on for generations now. I can't risk losing our only option to turn the tide, not when we are down to... what was it again?"

"The last ten percent of our land," Kraim filled in for him, his hands fumbling against each other in worry.

"But, why not train better men, or get soldiers who are more adept in majik? When I was drafted, I was thrown onto the fields before I even knew how to swing a sword, and my entire life I could never use majik in school. I was practically sent to the fields to die. I'm sure with better armies, we'd have a much better chance at winning, rather than relying on one... soldier," Xoris argued. The current system seemed pointless as it was.

"We do get Humans who are adept at majik, but only somewhat. Korim runs on people who can continue to offer the resources we need. Those who can shield, summon water, or fight are needed in certain positions to guard or provide for farms and keeps," Kraim explained. "They are the only reason we can support our population in our shrinking country. We're borrowing as many people for the war efforts as we can, but if we take much more, we'll fall apart."

"And you're telling me you want to be saved by something like this?" He gave up bothering to try and look Human. Maybe, if they could see him as he truly was, they'd understand his position better.

Freeing up his mind, he opened his eyes, getting the strange visual of being able to see much more of the room around him than he had only a few drips ago. The grey stone ceiling bowed overhead, while a crimson carpet trailed out of the room behind him, looking a lot closer than he knew it was in relation to his head. In front of him lay Kraim and the king, completely opposite in their small and large statures, the only shared feature being the look of terror on their faces. Now do you understand? Xoris thought as he glared at them. He had never had to look intimidating before, but he tried his hardest to scowl, if only to accent the numerous fangs in his mouth.

"Oh..." the advisor trailed, and Xoris could sense his shiver even from a few strides away. It was like his energy caught for a moment, flickering like a candle flame. It soon brightened though, as he began to speak again. "I see you've collected some new features since our last meeting. How wonderful, and it looks like you have two of the Beast's nine eye colours at the moment." He clasped his hands together. "How useful that will be."

"I-I'm not exactly looking to gain the rest." Xoris figured he had more than enough at this point. He shook his head. They were getting him off topic. "The point is, if you want to take out a Stained, I am laying myself at your feet. Go ahead, before I change my mind." He took a knee on the floor.

The room stilled into a silence until the only sound was the dripping of Xoris' water clock, until he could make out a whispering sound between the other two men. Finally, Kraim stepped forward. "What brought this on? You seemed eager enough before you left for the keep with the general, only to return like this."

It was as if the metal in his blood suddenly gained a weight to it, the memory of the general's words to him causing it to pump ever faster. "I went to visit my friend, and he passed away the night before the battle, his body burned before I could see him again." The words started to run out his mouth, harsher as the familiar, cold feeling of fury coiled in his chest. "If you had just respected your soldiers and treated them equals, despite their ranks, it never would have happened!"

"-Xoris! Sir!" Kraim cut in. "We would by all means go about that, if we had more adept men. With only so many Humans that can do majik, they are the ones that need to be kept the most safe, and are treated differently. Other races, or lesser fighters must fight in the frontline in turn."

Kraim continued to explain after that, but Xoris had stopped listening. His mind had paused on the words, 'other races', and was refusing to let it go. "So, what you are saying," Xoris began, cutting his rambling off. "Is that if the Fae joined the war, they would all fight on the frontlines, and it would offer enough people skilled enough in majik to even out the ranking system, and put an end to the drafts?" He wanted to make sure his reasoning was correct.

Kraim squinted at him, seemingly in confusion. "...Theoretically, I suppose, but the Fae refuse to let either side come near the forest, and have refused every time we've asked for their aid. So while it is a nice idea, it simply-"

"I'll go."

"What?" This time the question came from the king.

Xoris pushed himself up off the floor. "I'll go and bring them back to fight. If I can convince them, then you must agree to ending the draft, and letting them take care of the fighting. After that, the only help I want to lend is on a strategy-end, and return back to my study at the end of the day. You wouldn't even need to keep my pay." A feeling of determination was beginning to spread from his toes, upwards to his face, as his eyes all closed slightly, pleased at the idea. This way, he wouldn't be getting blood on his hands, nor would he be turning his back on his country.

"...And if you don't?" the king asked, his fingers impatiently drumming against the armrest of the golden throne.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Then I go wherever you send me, fight however you need me to, and if I fail that, accept whatever punishment you deem worthy."

"Very well." He eased his large self off the chair, Kraim rapidly hurrying to follow behind him as he walked down the carpet. "Oh, and Xoris?"

"Yes, your highness?"

The king's uncaring whisper sent chills through his spine. "It doesn't matter to me which option occurs. Either way, you'll be useful. Good luck on your journey, and I expect you back before the next Crack."