Rule 9

The day after Edemas had last seen Alloues he had adjusted well to his new environment. The mountains were different than anything he had ever lived on before but already he knew how to live among them. It was difficult to find a good shallow cave to move into but he managed to do it anyway. He had just moved in when Nazoram stopped by. “Oh dear, Edemas my friend there’s no need to live up here with the peasants. You are my champion after all, why don’t you live in my stronghold I showed you in your dream.” Pride welled up inside me as I realised what this meant. I truly was his champion and he was willing to let me live among him and his elite guard in his underground fortress. “I am very grateful for your kind offer my lord, but to win the hearts of your subjects I need to live among them. I thank you for your offer though.” Nazoram looked at me sadly and replied. “I wish you luck although you may find my subjects are quite different from what you're used to. They do not often care what happens around them and are greedy as thieves. They are but poor peasants after all.” I was curious to meet these said thieves. “No matter, I shall try regardless.” Nazoram turned away as his cape began grew around him like a cocoon. When it completely covered him he disappeared in a bright sudden flash of violet light. Edemas decide to take a break from working and go see the subjects of this strange land. He left his small home through the mouth of the cave and started down a long winding path to the valley between the two largest mountains of the tan rocky range. In the valley was an interweaving series of tarps set up to provide shade. It was where the peasants spent the most time, they drank and gambled and shopped. It was less out of necessity than routine that they headed down there, they simply didn’t know what else to do. Edemas walked to change that. He couldn’t wait to fight for Nazoram in war. As he was the champion of this country Nazoram had sent him a dream last night getting him up to speed on what weapons he would have at his disposal. He had seen a set of pitch black spiked armor that was so dark it seemed to be fashioned from the dark sky on a moonless night. There was a flail whose ball end was covered in small deadly poisonous barbs. A magic crossbow that never had to be reloaded and ripped peoples souls from their bodies. It was strange, just yesterday he would have despised these cruel instruments of agonisingly slow but certain death. However today he simply desired to use them, oh how knowledge had changed him? How long would it take to start and win a war. Who would they fight? How long would the country last? What was the best way to- His thought was cut short by a dirt crusted peasant that ran straight into him running. He fell to the ground outraged. How dare this filthy commoner have the audacity to smash into his own savior! As Edemas stood he reached for his sword. What? Where was his sword? Why was he touching the side of his pants and not the hilt of the black blade given to him by Nazoram himself? Edemas looked up and saw the villager sprinting away sword in hand. He had just been stolen from! The thought outraged him! He sprinted after the child who was waving his sword in the air like a lunatic. The madman reached the edge of the village and began weaving through the people sprinting to the other side of the market. Edemas dove into a tent who’s flap was still falling from the boy who ran through it. He entered the tent just in time to see the boy leaving on the other side. He roared his outrage and barreled through the rest of the tent and out back into the street. He saw the boy trip over a green box full of apples next to a food stand. He charged up to the boy and with one smooth motion picked him up by his shirt collar and slammed him against a nearby house’s wall. “You think you can steal from my boy!” Edemas yelled, “I’m your savior, your prophet your god!Guess you got more than you bargained for, thief.” He raised his fist and pulled it back level with the boy’s nose. The boy began to cry softly and his face was a mask of fear. Edemas sent his fist forward but at the last moment it got batted aside by a watermelon lobbed through the air. Pain exploded in his wrist and he cradled his arm. “We don’t want you here, false prophet!” The old man who lobbed the watermelon walked up to Edemas and began to yell. “You can take that all your savior crap right to hell young man! You're just a rotten, dirty piece of- Edemas quieted him with a swift kick to the groin. An apple flew through the crowd of angry villagers around him who had gathered to see what was causing all the commotion. The apple hit him in the temple and he toppled over sideways landing on his broken wrist. Edemas started screaming in pain. The entire crowd began to hurl anything nearby at Edemas who was writhing in pain on the ground still screaming. Edemas took another watermelon to the head and passed out...

“Edemas, you awake yet?” Sabrina must be up. Edemas thought. I wonder where she’s been? He opened his eyes and saw Nazoram standing above him smiling. “Feel better yet?” Edemas sat up. Of course she hadn’t gone anywhere, he had. “You know you don’t need to be easy on the villagers, Edemas.” Nazoram said. “I’ll show you how to handle them.” Soon nothing would be the same as revenge is the strongest of corruptions...

Sabrina was anxious to find out where Edemas had disappeared to. Shortly after they entered the room she heard a loud, booming sound and entered the room they were in to check if anyone had gotten hurt. Only problem was the room was empty. No people, no footprints, no sound, oddly enough even the furniture was gone. After that she had paced around the house waiting for their return. She heard a knock on the door. She opened it to see Alloues alone outside smiling sadly while tears crawled slowly from his eyes to the ground. The next 3 words he said changed her life more than anyone else’s was ever changed in the history of this alien world. “Edemas is gone.” Alloues explained everything to her and she took it all in without making a single noise. She didn't move at all except for the silent tears running down her cheeks. When he was done talking she asked her only question. “What do we do now?” To her surprise Alloues answered it...