Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They were in a room. Specifically, a meeting room. They were meeting about the discovery of netherite that Infernus has.

And by the cursed gods, Lingulini decided to throw Cynikka under the bus. He started spouting lies, and for some reason, the other rulers believed him.

Cynikka was sitting across from him, her hands clenched in her lap. Zynn was standing by her and was the only one who really noticed how absolutely pissed Cynikka was. Cynikka’s wings were tightly pressed against her back, something Zynn had only seen her do when angry or nervous.

However, Cynikka wasn’t speaking out against what Lingulini was saying. She was waiting to, it seemed like. She had such a genuine urge to yell at him, tell him to stop painting her as this evil tyrant, but she knew that would only cement the other rulers’ beliefs of her as one.

A thought came to her head. A memory from when she was recently traded, adopted by, sold to, she didn’t know, her grandfather’s kingdom.

They were walking on the outer walls of the frigid kingdom. Her grandfather was walking by her, his face was almost like stone. She wrapped the cloak that her grandmother had given her tighter around herself.

“Cynikka, do you want to know something that happened at one of my meetings today?” He asked as they passed by a group of the kingdom’s guards, she couldn’t remember what they were called. Cynikka responded with a small yes, still looking over the wall into the frozen wasteland beyond it.

“One of my council members was spitting nonsense, questioning my rule. He was causing problems for the rest of the members, grilling them to give in and agree with him. So you know what I did?” He spoke, his voice just as cold as the place he called home. 

He answered the question before she got the chance to reply, “At first I talked to him, told him to cut that nonsense out. But did he stop? No. So I took care of the problem. I put my blade through him.”

Cynikka’s steps stopped for a moment at the mention of him killing someone. He must’ve caught it because he stated something after that.

“You might think that killing him was harsh, but you have to understand something, Cynikka. Death can not be avoided. He was an active threat to this pillar of society we have here. If I let him live, if I let his ideals and beliefs fester and grow, it could bring what I’ve worked for, for so long, down. He would’ve cost so many more lives if I hadn’t taken his.”

She thought about it for a moment before speaking, “Like a scale? A single stone that weighs the same as hundreds of pebbles?” She saw him slightly nod his head at that. 

“Yes, Cynikka, like a scale,” he answered.

Like a scale was what this was. Lingulini was the rock, and he needed to be taken down.

“At first I talked to him”

Do that first. If you just follow what he did last, it’ll look bad on you.

“Lingulini, you and I both know these are lies. You offered to be our mining team, we gave you supplies, you gave us nothing, we didn’t even know there was netherite,” Cynikka butted in, standing up from her chair.

“Cynikka, both you and I know that isn’t true. We were there first, and you wanted the mafia’s land,” Lingulini snapped back. He knew he was close to winning this battle against her, seeing as she had let him lie so many times before that.

“Lingulini, stop these false statements,” she warned. Her hand gripped the table hard.

“What are you going to do, Cynikka? Let me guess, you’re going to sic your guards on me because you can’t bother getting your hands dirty?” Lingulini rolled his eyes while saying this.

That was the last straw for Cynikka. One of her hands naturally reached for where she normally kept a short-sword at her waist. She cursed at herself when she realised she hadn’t taken it with her.

Guess she’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.

What happened next was as sudden as a blink of an eye. Cynikka slid across the table, tackling Lingulini to the floor.

The other leaders jumped out of their seats at this, but no guards came to help. Both Infernus guards and members of the Mafia didn’t make any means to move.

Lingulini pushed Cynikka off, making her hit the table with a thud. He grabbed the sword from his inventory. Immediately after, he swung for Cynikka, and she dodged to the right, causing him to slash her side.

Cynikka staggered for a moment after that before going to punch his face. Linguini stumbled back, his free hand coming to block the blood dripping from his nose.

Cynikka tried to punch him again, only for him to dodge and swing his sword at her face. She let out a hiss of pain as his sword connected with her face, creating a cut from her left cheek through her right eye. 

Cynikka’s hand came up to press against her face. She rammed back into him, taking him down with her. Her foot kicked his sword away from him.

One of her hands came to grab his neck. Lingulini let out a grunt of surprise at this, but it was quickly silenced by a hiss of pain as she punched his face.

Cynikka’s fist collided with his face again, his blood coming to coat her fingers. She punched him again, the crack of bone snapped, ringing in her ears as she punched him again.

And again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

She only snapped out of this haze when she felt Zynn tug her off him. Zynn wrapped her arms around Cynikka’s shoulders, holding her back from the now-dead man on the floor.

Blood splattered her face, a mix of hers and his. She stared at the dead body for a moment, her brain still high on adrenaline. Once the adrenaline wore off, she fully felt the effects of the fight, specifically the burning, searing pain across her face.

“Cyn, calm down,” Zynn whispered, barely audible for anyone else in the room to hear. 

“What the actual fuck was that?” Schpood spoke up from the other side of the room. All the heads turned to him when his voice rang out in the silent room.

He was staring in disbelief, but unlike Benji, he didn’t show any display of horror. The room was silent for a moment longer before a member of the Lingulini Mafia spoke up.

“What the fuck are we doing?! She just murdered our leader!” They yelled, their voice a clap of thunder in the otherwise silent room.

“Come near her and you’re dead,” Zynn snapped back. She immediately took her sword out of her inventory, pointing it at the Mafia.

“Can everyone just calm down?” Benji spoke up, his voice as calm as the nation he ruled. He walked to the centre of the room, standing on the table.

“We need to, though I hate to say it, put you on trial for this, Cynikka. You just murdered another leader in a meeting with little to no explanation,” Benji explained. 

“‘Little to no explanation? That’s bullshit! He was spouting lies!” Sir Edzar spoke up from where Infernus had been sitting. His hands gripped the table, his knuckles turning white and his golden ‘horns’ glinting in the light.

“Explanation or not, she needs to be tried. We’ll put her in a cell of whatever nation the trial is held in, and talk about this there,” He stated.

“You are not putting our queen in a cell of another nation!” One of the Infernus guards shouted.

"Well then what do you suggest then?!” Schpood yelled from his side of the table.

“We could put her in our own prison until this is sorted out. That way she can still be…contained, but we don’t have to put her in the hands of another nation,” An Infernus guard suggested. However, their suggestion was met with an instant uproar of disagreement from both other nations and Infernus.

However, at this idea Turntapps finally spoke up, “That isn’t a bad idea, surprisingly. But how do you know you’ll follow through with that and put her in a cell?” 

“A soldier from another nation could go with them to make sure the deal is followed,” a voice chimed in.

“But you would need someone willing to go to that…nation,” Schpood butted in, a hint of disdain for Infernus clear in his voice. 

“I could do it, my emperor,” 5pyder chimed in from beside him. 

Schpood whipped his head around to face his second in command when he said this. After that, they started a hushed conversation, which wasn’t very hushed in a completely silent room. After a few minutes they concluded their conversation.

“5pyder will go with you and guard her cell,” Schpood stated. He paused for a moment before continuing, “But if I hear that you tried hurting him your kingdom is dead meat,” he locked eyes with Zynn while saying this. Both of them having a look of disdain for the other in their eyes.

“Everybody clear out, this meeting is concluded,” Turntapps ordered. He signalled for the covenant to follow him out of the meeting room. 

One after another people started to filter out. Sir Ezran got some Infernus guards too, to start leaving.

Zynn finally let go of Cynikka once everyone started to leave. Both Schpood and 5pyder lingered however. Zynn noticed how Cynikka was still out of it the entire time, the fact she just murdered someone with her bare hands still lingering.

“You’ll have to put shackles around her wrists, won’t you?” Zynn asked, not fully looking at the two of them.

“Yes, since that would be what Infernus would do to any other prisoner, correct?” 5pyder both stated and questioned. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from Ish knows where.

“I can do it, just in case she’s still…violent,” Zynn suggested, a bitter taste heavy on her tongue as she said the last part. A flimsy excuse to stay with her lover queen. 5pyder handed her the handcuffs.

Zynn grabbed Cynikka’s wrists slightly struggling to secure them. She could tell Cynikka wasn’t resisting, wasn’t…trying.

“I’m sorry, my queen,” she whispered when she got the handcuffs fully on. She pressed one hand to Cynikka’s back and the other tightened around the handcuffs before pushing Cynikka to straighten up. Cynikka’s wings flattened against her back at this, making it harder for Zynn to keep her hold.

5pyder walked over to the two of them before asking, “Are you ready to go yet? Rather be there before dark.” Zynn nodded before she started to walk Cynikka out with 5pyder behind her.

When they got out of the building there were a few Infernus guards waiting for them. There were also some Westhelm soldiers who were waiting for Schpood. When the Infernus guards saw the three of them they prepared to leave for their home.

The Infernus prison felt like a desolate wasteland. They rarely had any prisons so there wasn’t much of a need to keep it clean. However, the king always ordered people to come clean the prisons monthly.

Zynn headed for the closest cell, gesturing for 5pyder to help open it since her hands were busy. The metal creaked with unuse as 5pyder opened it fully, he leaned against the bars of the cell, preparing to stay there the rest of the night.

Zynn un-secured the handcuffs before changing them to chain Cynikka’s hands in front of her.

Cynikka hadn’t spoken the entire walk back. Zynn couldn't tell if she was remorseful or just tired, her steps saying both. Zynn led Cynikka to the bed before walking out of the cell.

“I’m going to get a first-aid kit,” she stated as she walked away, her steps echoing on the blackstone floors.

5pyder kicked the cell door closed after she left. A few seconds later he let out a sigh, his hand coming up to run through his hair.

He stood there for a second longer before closing his eyes.

Chapter Text

Cynikka barely noticed when Zynn walked back into the cell. Her boots tapped against the stone floor. 

“Cynikka, I need to treat your injuries, so can I see your face?” Zynn asked as she opened the first aid kit. Cynikka slightly moved her head so Zynn could see it better. However, when she got a good look at her face she grimaced a lot.

“Is it that bad?” Cynikka asked, slightly wincing at the movement of her mouth irritated the injury. Well that answers it.

“Should be, you just got your face cut by a Netherite Sword,” she stated as she pulled out some disinfectant from the kit. “This is going to hurt, so brace yourself,” Zynn warned as she dabbed the disinfectant on a cloth.

Cynikka let out a hiss of pain as Zynn started dabbing the wound with disinfectant. Although, she didn’t catch the look Zynn gave after she noticed something.

When Zynn first put the disinfectant on she noticed that the wound had already started to get slightly infected. She could guess the volcanic ash had fallen in the wound already, plus all the other things from when they walked back to Infernus.

After a few minutes of dabbing at the wound Zynn put the disinfectant cotton ball down. From what she could tell about the wound, it would need to be stitched up. That wouldn’t have been that bad if it wasn’t for the fact that the first-aid kit didn’t have anything to numb the wound.

“There’s nothing to numb the wound with, so this is going to hurt. A lot,” Zynn warned as she got the stitches ready to thread through the wound. She could also feel Cynikka tense up at the mention of there won’t be anything to numb the wound with.

After a slight struggle Zynn finally got the suture through the needle and tied it. She grabbed Cynikka’s other cheek to help steady her ability to stitch the wound. 

This was going to take awhile.

Zynn tied the suture off by Cynikka’s right eye brow. It had taken 30 minutes to do this since she had nothing to numb the injury with. The wound ran from the left cheek bone across her face to stop at the right eyebrow. That also meant it cut straight through Cynikka’s right eye leaving her half-blind.

“Cynikka, did you get hurt anywhere else in the fight?” Zynn asked, making sure that she didn’t miss anything.

“I may or may not have got stabbed, no gashed, in my side,” Cynikka confessed before her chained hands came to peel the torn fabric of her cut slightly up. And right there was a gash from the center of her stomach to her left side. 

Zynn grimaced at seeing the wound. It was worse than the one on Cynikka’s face from the fact it had started to get infected faster, and had bled more. She was confused on how it had stopped bleeding, but remembered how Cynikka had stated that dragons heal differently.

Zynn got to cleaning the wound the same way she had done to the scar on Cynikka’s face. However, she remembered to wrap gauze around it once she finished the stitches this time. She did go back up to the scar on Cynikka’s face to bandage it too.

Zynn finished cleaning Cynikka up and started to pack up the first-aid kit. She looked at the clock on the hallway wall and saw that it was around 11 p.m. She stood up and stretched for a moment.

“I’m going to go to bed, I’ll see you again in the morning, Cyn,” Zynn whispered to Cynikka before walking to the door of the cell.

“See you in the morning, Zynn,” Cynikka responded, her voice quieter than normal. 

5pyder, who had been leaning against the bars, stood up to lock the cell behind Zynn. However, he didn’t have a key, but that problem was quickly solved when Zynn handed him one. He then quickly locked the door, the metal clinking as he did so.

They sat there in silence for a moment before 5pyder spoke up, “Why’d you do it?”

“Hm?” Cynikka hummed in response.

“Why’d you kill Lingulini?” 5pyder clarified, his head coming to rest against the gap in the bars.

Cynikka didn’t answer at first, only a sigh came out of her mouth. She laid down on her, non-wounded side, her wings pushed up against the wall.

“If I had let him live there was a possibility it could bring down all I’ve worked for, it could’ve caused a war even,” She explained flatly.

“How could letting him live start a war?” 5pyder asked, he thought she was just being dramatic about it, not making any sense.

“He could’ve started a revolt against Infernus. He could’ve made you all see me as some terrible tyrant whose kingdom was just as bad as her. It would cause more conflicts about the Netherite, and greed would’ve caused a war,” she stated. She couldn’t tell if she was just paranoid about it, or if she was on to something.

5pyder sat there for a moment before responding, “Was what he said true?” He understood that she could easily be playing him, trying to make him sympathize with her. That was a common manipulation tactic after all.

“I didn’t even know there was Netherite in the volcano until today if I have to be honest. The Mafia had ghosted us after offering to be our miners, so we haven’t gotten nor heard from them since then. Along with that we still supplied them with food and tools, you can easily check that by looking at the resource counter we have,” She ranted her voice lacking the anger any other Ruler would rightfully have.

“So you’re saying that if I went to wherever you counted your resources I’d find records of you giving the Mafia resources, but them giving you none?” He clarified.

“That would be correct,” She answered, slightly shifting in the cot to give her wings more room.

“Well, why’d you kill him anyways? Couldn’t you use those records to prove your innocence?” He asked and silence followed for a minute.

“It’s like a scale. Even if I had done that and proved my innocence he still had the Netherite and Gold. He weighed the same as all my citizens, and if I let it fester he would weigh more causing my citizens to meet their ends. He would’ve done something at some point, would’ve pointed his sword at me, accompanied by his group,” she justified. 

However, before 5pyder could respond she continued, “Imagine Schpood was in my place, and he had someone like Lingulini questioning his rule. Painting him as this horrible villain. If he had done the same as I did, would you understand him? Would you sympathize with him, would you understand the exact reason he did it, and defend him?”

5pyder didn’t respond to her hypothetical. He didn’t even know his answer to the question. If it had been anyone else, he would’ve immediately jumped to say yes, by Ish he would get offended if anyone asked him that. He was as loyal as a dog to Schpood, it was loyalty to his emperor some would say love even.

“Yes, I would defend him. I would stick by his side the entire time,” 5pyder answered. He knew that this was where Cynikka was going. He knew that the line between what was good and what was wrong was bordered by who's point of view you were looking through.

"Just go to sleep, Cynikka. You'll need it for your trial tomorrow," 5pyder stated ending the conversation. He heard Cynikka hum in response before shifting slightly.

5pyder took out his sword, holding it in front of him in case anyone came in the middle of the night.

Cynikka opened her eyes and she was in a flower field. She sat up, her hands not redistricted by the cold metal anymore. She felt the wing blow against her as she stood up, stretching her wings.

She knew she was dreaming, for she had never seen nor' ever set foot in a paradise like this. At some point in time she might've had a chance of not having to dream of a paradise like this. However, she knew that now she would never get that chance, that chance she so desperately wanted floating away in the wind like a sunflower petal.

Cynikka started walking through the field, the flowers flattening under her boots. She let her wings splay out, she never felt the wind against them in Infernus. The last time she felt the wind under her wings had been in the frigid nation her grandfather ruled, but alas that had fallen long ago.

She closed her eyes, taking in this small slice of calm before the storm. When she opened them she saw a white figure in the distance, they were sitting down angelic wings splayed behind them.

She walked closer to them realizing they were a silhouette a fragment of what once was. Cynikka walked up to the silhouette, sitting down next to them.

"Power is like a tree," They spoke, their voice a melodic song.

"It grows from a small sapling and grows," the explained. They held out their hand and a small sapling appeared in it.

"Some times it gets cut down before it's supposed to, its bark tearing as it falls to the forest floor," they continued. The tree in their hand having a cut pierced through the middle and falling down onto their palm.

"However, some times it prospers, surviving through years upon years, growing," the tree stood back up, and this time it grew, branches formed from the white silhouette of a tree and reached.

"Every ruler, just like a tree, has the choice to chart their own path. To either wither in the snow and not come back in the spring, or to persevere through the winter and come back stronger."

Cynikka sat there for a moment, thinking about what the figure had said. She knew that she would be the first tree; the one that withered and didn't come back. Her fate was already sealed from the moment she had been born in the frozen kingdom.

Her kingdom might say she was the tree chopped down. The lumberjack: that filthy man who held a mafia in his fists.

She looked out into the endless horizon of the field. The figure sat next to her, not saying anything. She splayed her wings behind her; the dragon attribute a direct link to the curse that would soon befall her.

She knew she would wake soon, would open her eyes to be in the cell. The clock on the wall infront of the cell a countdown to her trial. The trial that would decide her fate; the trial that would send her to the gates of death, or keep her feet in the land of the living.

The figure beside her stood up, a pair of angelic wings unfolding behind them. Cynikka joined them, but instead of prestine, white feathers she had dark, crimson scales.

"Though it may not seem like it, your future is yours to chart, yours to decide. A curse may spill onto the page of your life, but it shall not stain it indefinitely," they spoke, turning to look at Cynikka for the first time.

Cynikka stared back at them, the white expanse of their face looking back at her.

And for a moment she saw features on their face.

Pale skin, blue eyes, blond hair, and a golden crown. For the split second she saw their features she took into account the three gems that adorned their crown.

But, when she blinked she wasn't in a vast plain. They were back in the the cell that spelled her doom.

Chapter Text

Cynikka woke up to being shaken awake. She groggily opened her eyes to find the familiar face of Zynn. She slowly sat up, her wings sore from how she had slept that night.

"Come on, Cyn. We have to head to Westhelm for your…trial, and we have to walk there for some gods forsaken reason," Zynn explained, annoyance clear in her voice about having to walk to basically the other side of Yggdrasil.

Cynikka didn't say anything, but instead just swung her legs over the side of the bed. Zynn helped her seeing as Cynikka had her hands restrained by the metal cuffs.

"Can I get something to eat, please? I'm…I'm fine with really anything," Cynikka asked, stumbling over her words slightly. Zynn nodded before saying something to one of the Infernus guards outside the cell.

"I'll be at the trial, don't worry. I'll just be sitting with the covenant instead," Zynn stated as she walked Cynikka out of the cell.

Cynikka could vaguely make out some of the Infernus soldiers conversations around her. She estimated there were about ten of them, one half to escort her, and the other half to escort the representatives of Infernus for the meeting.

5pyder walked over to the group of soldiers, talking about something Cynikka couldn't make out. She could still see the lingering effects of their conversation on his face.

The humid winds of Infernus greeted her when they got to the edge of the volcano. Cynikka let out a small sigh of relief about finally being out of the suffocating cell.

She watched as half the soldiers went to escort the representatives that were going to her trial. Through the crowd of soldiers and her citizens she could make out the ginger and blond hair of two of the people she cared about.

She snapped out of thought when Zynn slightly nudged her. She looked at Zynn to see her holding out a piece of bread.

"Here's some food. We're in a hurry so that was all the soldiers could quickly snatch from the kitchens," Zynn explained as she watched Cynikka take the loaf from her hands. A small thank you stumbled from Cynikka's lips.

It didn't take long for the group to start walking to Westhelm, the five soldiers creating a sort of circle around her. 5pyder was in front, leading them down the path to his home.

Cynikka slowly ate the bread as they walked. The words of the silhouette fresh in her mind. Her wings were folded tightly against her back, something that didn't go unnoticed by Zynn.

She heard Zynn whisper something towards her. She could only guess it was Zynn reassuring her, but Cynikka couldn't make it out. The voices around her blocked out like she was underwater.

The conversation she had with the dream figure replayed in her mind again and again. Had they really meant what they said? Cynikka couldn't tell if she had to be honest.

She didn't realize how slow she was eating the bread until she looked at where they were and saw that they were about halfway there. She finished scarfing down the rest of the loaf, slightly choking a bit on it. Luckily for her no one seemed to notice it.

As they walked through the harsh wasteland they all called home Cynikka looked around. She could see some of the other nations on the horizon. People were coming from all of them to decide her fate.

She didn't like thinking about that. Her fate was pushed into the hands of people she rarely met and people that she didn't agree with. She pushed that thought away, trying to focus on anything but the trial.

Anything but her end that was nearing.

The Colosseum was dusty if she had to be honest. Which made sense too, considering people fought in this place daily.

Zynn had left to go join the covenant for this meeting when they arrived. She gave Cynikka a few words of reassurance before she left. However, it wasn't long before a few Westhelm soldiers had switched places with the Infernus soldiers to lead her inside The Colosseum.

And here she was. Standing in the center of The Colosseum, hands chained in front of her. She mostly just stared at the dirt ground beneath her, sometimes looking up to see how many people were there.

She accidentally locked eyes with Benji for a moment. In that moment she could see the small look of pity he gave her. He understood better than most others she was "friends" with seeing as he actually became her friend, not just a "friend".

It took about thirty minutes for everyone to filter into The Colosseum. She didn't bother with trying to count how many people there were, the sound of voices around her speaking for itself after all.

Schpood stood up, silently stating that he was about to begin the trial. Within a minute the voices lowered and The Colosseum was silent. She could tell he would much rather just make her fight and get it over with than have this trial.

"As you all know we are here today for the 'trial' of Cynikka. She murdered another leader, Lingulini, at one of our meetings, and is here to be judged," He stated, hints of disdain clear in his voice.

"I would normally say that she should fight for her innocence, but by the suggestion of other nations, by other nations I mean Elysium, she should be tried instead," He continued, shooting a glare at the Elysium council.

It was silent for another moment before the new leader of The Lingulini Mafia spoke up, "She is guilty! She murdered our leader in cold blood, and should meet the same fate as him!" A few murmurs of agreement came from The Lingulini Mafia and some other people throughout the crowd.

"He deserved it! Your 'Mafia' is nothing more than lying scumbags who play victim!" Sir Ezran yelled from where Infernus was seated. He stood up, anger flashing on his face. Cynikka was honestly surprised that it was him instead of Harvest that yelled out. Seeing as Ezran was the more level-headed.

"Liar! You call us scumbags while Infernus is nothing more than a pathetic cult!" The same person yelled out. They were only feeding the flames of anger, using it to try to make Infernus seem worse.

"Your 'queen' deserves to rot in hell! That's the only good thing that she can do-" The person started again before Harvest cut them off.

"Don't you fucking dare talk about my wife like that you pathetic imbecile!" He yelled, his voice spitting with venom. His hands gripped the seat, a small crack forming in the stone.

"Calm down please," Benji spoke up, standing up from his seat. Surprisingly enough the two arguing factions did pipe down and stop yelling at each other.

"I might have an idea that'll make both parties happy," he explained, grabbing the attention of most people in there. "Since Infernus, and Elysium, rather not have Cynikka killed, and The Lingulini Mafia wants her dead how about we go directly in the middle of that? We could just exile her."

In 3…2…1, yep there goes the roars of disagreement. Cynikka thought as Benji finished his suggestion. It wasn't a bad idea, but had a good amount of holes in it if she had to be honest.

"And how'd you know she'll stay in exile? How'd we know if another nation gave her help?" Turntapps asked, his voice surprisingly level. A direct opposite to some of the people that were disagreeing around him.

"Throw her in the tundra and make a pact that'll stop nations from helping her, and if they do, murder them," Schpood answered. Some of the disagreements stopped after that.

"The tundra? You know for a fact no one can survive there, let alone someone who's home is in a volcano," Benji, for the first time, disagreed.

"We can give her some supplies then. Like a bit of food, seeds, and a sapling. Then she'll have enough to barely survive and we won't have to deal with this problem anymore," Schpood compromised.(didn't know he could do that)

"We could do that," Benji started before turning to the center of The Colosseum where Cynikka was standing. "Do you agree with that?" He asked, which didn't make sense to the other leaders because her opinion didn't and shouldn't matter in this.

"Oh, I guess that's fine. I honestly didn't believe I was even going to make it out of here alive anyways," Cynikka agreed, if she had to be honest she'd already given up once she stepped into The Colosseum.

"I guess we're doing this- Alright if you agree with sending Cynikka to be exiled to the tundra raise your hand!" Schpood shouted, grabbing everyone's attention.

Cynikka decided to look at the floor, not wanting to see which people voted yes to exiling her. She only looked back up at the stands when she heard Schpood tell everyone to put their hands down.

"By the vote of majority it is decided that Cynikka, now ex-queen, of Infernus," Schpood started, and Cynikka could see how the Infernus representatives tensed at the title, "By the vote of Yggdrasil you are hereby exiled to the tundra, never to step a foot out of it for the rest of your days."

Cynikka looked over the edge of the snow in cased mountain. A group of Westhelm soldiers had come to make sure she followed the orders of the exile. Schpood and Benji, who had barely been allowed to come, also were there.

"So do I just run down this mountain?" Cynikka asked. She knew that once she stepped into the Tundra she would have started her exile, no way of coming back.

"Not yet, you still need your supplies," Benji answered walking up to her with a sack that, supposedly, contained a spruce sapling, ten seeds, and fifteen raw potatoes.

When she grabbed it he whispered something else in her ear, "ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ¦ᓭ ᔑꖎᓭ𝙹 ᔑ ᓵꖎ𝙹ᔑꖌ ˧ꖎ𝙹⍊ᒷᓭ ᔑリ⟍̅ ᓭ𝙹ᒲᒷℸ ̣⍑¦リ˧ ℸ ̣𝙹 ᒲᔑꖌᒷ ᔑ ⎓¦ᓭ⍑¦リ˧ ∷𝙹⟍̅ ¦リ ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ℸ ̣𝙹𝙹. ℸ ̣∷ǁ ᒲᔑꖌ¦リ˧ ¦ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣𝙹 ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ ᓭ⍑𝙹∷ᒷ ℸ ̣⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ∴¦ꖎꖎ ʖᒷ ǁ𝙹⚍∷ ʖᒷᓭℸ ̣ ʖᒷℸ ̣ ¦リ ᓭ⚍∷⍊¦⍊¦リ˧" His voice was abnormally serious while saying this.

(There is also a cloak, gloves, and something to make a fishing rod in there too. Try making it to the shore that will be your best bet in surviving.)

Cynikka nodded, taking the bag and hoisting the strap over her shoulder. She had forgot he knew the old language, it was something not many people today bothered to learn. She guessed that's why he used it to tell her this.

Cynikka took a deep breath, slightly rotating her wrists now that the chains were off them. She turned away from the rest of the steeling herself for what she was walking into.

Before she could stop herself she was running, running into the icy cold wilderness. She knew that Benji was right, that she needed to get to the shore it was the going to be the warmest area and the safest to stay in.

She knew that she would have to run hundreds of blocks, but she kept running. It was around four p.m the night air was going to set in soon, and if she was caught in the icy landscape she would be dead meat. Dead before she spent a day in her exile.

Her lungs started to burn when she got a quarter of the way there. She cursed herself for that, knowing she should be better than that seeing as she came from a place whose winters were worse than this.

By the time she could see the shore in the horizon her lungs were burning and her side felt as if it would explode after another step. But she was so close, she could stop when she got to the shoreline she repeated in her head over and over again.

Once her feet hit the gravel of the shore she collapsed. Her lungs burned like the eternal flame itself had punished her. She felt the scar on her side start bleeding again, her hand coming up to shakily press against it.

She knew she should open the bag Benji had given her and take out some food. But her entire body felt numb, she couldn't get herself to pull the bag off her shoulders. She stayed on her hands and knees a moment more before her arms buckled under her, leaving her to lay on her side.

It wouldn't hurt to sleep, to close her eyes for the night, to skip her first night stuck in this frozen hell. She felt her eyelids get heavy, her body not moving no matter how much she tried to.

She felt the sweetness of sleep pull her into its arms, taking her away from her exile.

Taking her away from this…this…

Barren Wasteland.

Chapter Text

Cynikka blinked open his eyes, the sun shining down directly over them. He sat up finding himself in the flower field again instead of the cold gravel he had originally collapsed on.

He looked around the dream scape again, trying to find the silhouette again. It didn't take long for him to find them, but this time they were standing on a ledge that wasn't there originally. He started to walk to the silhouette just like last time.

He stood by them looking over the edge they were standing on. Beneath the ledge was a sprawling kingdom that He hadn't seen before. He could make out a few flags that littered the kingdom, they showed three colored stripes with what he thought was a sun in the middle.

"What kingdom is this?" Cynikka asked the silhouette. For a small moment their wings brushed against each other before Cynikka quickly retracted his wings to press them against his back.

"It is Tricolor, and was the kingdom I ruled before I came here," they answered solemnly. A pang of sadness in their voice. It was easy to piece together that the silhouette probably died in the middle of their reign and was sent to this place in death.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you die?" Cynikka asked. He could feel them tense up at the question before a small sigh escaped their lips.

"I was killed by someone I thought I trusted. She thought it was for the good of our island, and was later killed for it anyways," they explained. They continued looking down at the kingdom, a hint of longing in their stature.

After a second the figure held the hand out and a small light shined from it. Within a blink of an eye the kingdom that was once there changed into Cynikka's own kingdom.

"What?! How'd you do that?!" Cynikka exclaimed, he couldn't believe they could just do that with a flick of their wrist.

"You can do almost anything in this limbo between life and death," they replied before looking down to the volcano nation. They studied it for a moment before speaking.

"Your kingdom seems to flourish even though the circumstances of it seem to go against that ideal entirely," they stated. A hint of surprise in their voice at the kingdom.

"That's because the eternal flame provides for us. It gives us fertile soil to farm on and bus selling rivers to fish from," he explained, his voice carrying admiration for what he called the eternal flame.

"The eternal flame?" The silhouette questioned, their head tilting in confusion at this.

"Yes! The eternal flame is what we worship in Infernus. The kingdom wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the blessing of it and Dante!" Cynikka explained, happy to explain their beliefs to someone. He could notice the slight confusion the silhouette still had, "Oh, Dante is the dra- the volcano we live on!"

The silhouette noticed the slight slip up Cynikka made. "What were you saying before volcano?" They asked and immediately noticed Cynikka freeze at that.

"Oh nothing, I just mixed my words up for a moment. Do that a lot," he answered swatting the question away.

The silhouette didn't reply to Cynikka after that. They seemed to be thinking.

"Why'd you give up in the trial? You didn't say anything to defend yourself with, you just stood there…accepting your fate," The silhouette asked, stretching out their wings behind them.

"Because I didn't see the point. I knew that I wasn't going to get out of the trial alive no matter how hard I argued. I only got out of there, and here, because of Benji. I also didn't entirely believe you when you said that my curse didn't stain my life, and I expected to be taken by it. I expected it to take my life in that courtroom," Cynikka explained. He seemed to have given up long ago.

"You need to believe it. Belief can be a strong thing. It can cause the deaths of many, it can also save the deaths of many. You just have to have a strong belief and not falter with it." The silhouette turned to look at Cynikka.

"Remember that. That is what will keep you alive and that is what will stop the curse."

Cynikka blearily sat up. However, this time he was on the cold, gravel beach. He felt the familiar sting in his side and face, the scars a crimson mark on him.

He stood up stretching his wings before trying to get a look at his surroundings. To his right was the seemingly endless tundra, a death trap to try to survive. To his left was the frozen ocean, patches of ice littered across it gleaming at him.

He decided the best course of action would be to make a plan, a list. He reached into his coat pocket finding the small notebook in it and the pencil. He opened up a new page and started a priority list.

1: Get trees grown and stable.

2: Start a farm with the potatoes.

3: Shelter.

4: Get a mine going to get resources.

5: Fishing dock, put the fishing rod to use.

Cynikka looked at the list and decided to get started with the first thing. He pulled the sack of his shoulders and opened it.

He could see the cloak, gloves, and sticks & string that Benji had smuggled in this. A silent thank you to him. Cynikka quickly pulled the gloves on and tried pulling the cloak on. He had to sacrifice one of his shoulder pads to get it to stay on his shoulders. He secured the cloak under the other shoulder pad, it covered about down to his waist.

He riffled through the bag again until his hands wrapped around the sapling, pulling it out to see it was a spruce sapling.

At least they had the decency to make it the good wood type. He thought to himself before standing up and walking to where the snow covered the grass.

He bent down, starting to brush away the snow to allow him to plant the sapling down. After a few seconds he got a small area cleared and placed down the sapling.

Okay, task one is partly done. Need to replace some of the gravel with dirt so when the tree grows I can make a hoe and start farming. He thought as he stood up and walked towards a small hill to take dirt from.

After an hour-ish Cynikka finished moving dirt to the shore. He sat down half-exhausted and cold. He thought about maybe taking a nap while waiting for the sapling to grow. However, that was quickly shut down when he got jump-scared by the tree finally growing.

Well, at least now he can get the wood he needed to make a hoe. He stood up and walked a few paces to where he planted the spruce sapling.

Time to get chopping, he thought as he started to punch the first log.

Once Cynikka finished punching the tree down he made a crafting table. He knew he would need to save the wood, so for now he just made a wooden hoe. After that he opened the sack of supplies he'd been given and pulled out the potatoes from it.

Cynikka walked over to where he had placed the dirt and started to convert it to farmland. Once he got all of the dirt converted he started to plant the potatoes. He only had ten of them so it didn't fill up all the farmland he had created. Which wasn't a bad thing seeing as it would allow the empty farmland to absorb the water.

Cynikka looked over to where he had planted the tree before and saw that the leaves had de-spawned. He walked over to it and started to pick up the saplings, sticks, and a few apples that had dropped from it.

Cynikka started to clear out more space to plant the sapling he had gathered from the tree. The tree had dropped about four of them, which was a good amount if he had to say so himself.

Once he finished clearing an area for the saplings he placed them down around five blocks from each other. Cynikka knew it would be better to make a giant spruce tree, but he would rather grow the amount of trees he has first.

Cynikka walked over to the crafting table and sat down by it, happy to finally rest. He pulled a few photos he had in one of his coat pockets to look at them.

The first few were when he was younger and still in Aculon, plus his grandfather's nation. Most of them were formal photos taken of the entire family, they were meant to be hung up and displayed, not for the memories.

The next photo was one of Harvest, Edzar, and him. It was still a professional photo meant to be viewed by his kingdom, but it wasn't as cold and lifeless as the others.

The one after that was of him and Zynn. It was a casual one that Zynn had somehow convinced him to do. A small smile tugged at his lips at this photo.

The very last photo was one of him and Benji. He couldn't even remember when this happened, but it was a photo of Benji messing up Cynikka's hair after—from what he remembered—Benji finding out he was, exactly, five-inches taller than Cynikka.

Benji had been one of his most genuine friends and allies. They had met originally to decide an alliship between their two nations, and something about Benji made Cynikka open up to him.

Benji had also been the only person Cynikka had contemplated telling about what really lay beneath the lava. What Dante really was truly. However, fate has a way of changing that, and he never got the chance to tell Benji.

Cynikka put the photos back in his coat pocket. He knew it wasn't good to dwell on them, it would only make this exile worse. He let out a shaky sigh, his breath creating a puff in the frigid air.

He leaned more against the crafting table, the wood digging into the membranes of his wings. Cynikka knew there was a better position for his wings, but it would mean giving up his headrest.

Cynikka looked out towards the icy-grey ocean. The sunset is alluminated off of it, casting warm tones that contrast with the cold tones of the tundra. Oh, how easy it would be to just jump in that water. To let all of his pains go away.

Cynikka closed his eyes, pushing down any thoughts of the coming days. Planning and worrying wouldn't do him any good until he had the ability to worry. And the ability to worry meant he would need to have a stable shelter and food source. Two things he definitely didn't have.

But those where things for him to worry about tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Cynikka sat at the edge of the shore. Watching as the icy water lapped at the gravel shores. They looked at the horizon, watching the sun slowly rise to start the morning. Just how they fell asleep, the sun setting, and waking, the sun rising.

They stood up letting out a yawn as they stretched. They sprawled their wings out the light glinting off of the black scales. There was rarely a sun in Infernus, the light coming from the lava below them and the lanterns that lined the buildings.

They looked behind them seeing the new saplings they had placed while they waited for the sun to come up. There were a few sticks and apples lying on the ground from some of the de-spawned leaves.

Cynikka walked over to their crafting table and looked at the notebook on it to see what was next on their list.

3: Shelter.

Oh right, they needed a place to sleep. They looked around, trying to find a good place to build their house. However, most of it was just plain tundra with little flat land to build on. Guess they'll have to make do though.

Cynikka used the wood they had gathered to make a pickaxe so they could mine a hole to get stone. They walked to a small hill they had taken dirt from and started to dig a small staircase on the side of the hill. Cynikka decided to mine until their pickaxe broke so they could have extra cobblestone to use for the house and more tools.

Cynikka looked at the half made cabin(?) that took them the entire day to build. They thought it would be safest to mine the rest of the night which would also allow them to maybe get some ores. The sun had already gone halfway beneath the horizon, casting an orange hue across this arctic land.

Cynikka walked down the small tunnel they had dug. It went down about 5 blocks before stopping to make a hole they had used to dig cobblestone in. They walked to where they had found some coal earlier, although they hadn't mined it earlier.

As they started to mine the coal they heard something. A hiss from behind them. They turned around pulling out their sword, but it was too late.

They got blown across the hole, their back hitting the stone wall with a loud thud. They looked at the explosion site finding small remnants of the grass like monster that had blown them up. Cynikka could feel the warm crimson of their blood slowly run down their head.

"Fucking creepers," Cynikka mumbled as they got up. However, immediately after they fell against the stone wall. Their entire body still wracking with the effects of the explosion. Cynikka let out a grunt of exertion as they pushed their body off the wall, their ears ringing like a million bells were going off in them.

Cynikka barely got any time to collect themselves before an arrow pierced their shoulder. They caught themselves on the stone wall. They looked to where the arrow came from and saw the white figure of a skeleton.

They pushed themselves off the wall barely dodging another arrow from the undead. Cynikka ran at the skeleton swinging at it with their stone sword. Cynikka heard the crunch of bones ring through the hole as their sword connected with the skeleton.

The skeleton staggered back before shooting another arrow at them. At the same time Cynikka swung their sword hitting the upper spine of the skeleton, decapitating the skeleton.

Cynikka collapsed against the nearby wall. They reached down to their gut, feeling where the second arrow had connected with them. Cynikka had rarely seen these monsters before, so seeing them up close was definitely a new experience for them.

Cynikka sat there for a moment. They knew from a few books the monsters couldn't spawn with them sitting in the hole. Cynikka knew they'd need to take the arrows out soon, but they deemed that not a big problem and shoved it to the side.

They shakily stood up walking back over to the coal vein. They pulled out their stone pickaxe again and it connected with the the stone.

It was barely daytime when Cynikka resurfaced from the mine. They had gone through at least three pickaxes. They had gotten too much stone to count, a little under a stack of iron, and a bunch of coal.

Cynikka also realized when they had hit a cave that they were probably close to the ancient city. They knew it was rumored to be under the arctic mountains, yet when they went down they found some sculk. Although they immediately walked away from the sculk, and went the other way.

Cynikka noticed how the saplings had finally grown. They hoped this was going to be enough to finish the house. They needed to have a place to stay if they were going to survive this hellhole.

It took Cynikka until midday to finish the rest of their house. It wasn't the best, but it definitely wasn't horrible. They used some things from their old friend—who wanted to be a builder—had talked about.

Cynikka noticed some of their potatoes had finally grown too. At that moment they realized that they also hadn't eaten since they'd gotten here. They had planted all their food without thinking about needing it to eat.

Cynikka walked over to the farm land and started to harvest the fully grown potatoes. After replanting them they were left with 12 potatoes to eat. Cynikka counted out in their head that they'll last them six days if they eat two a day, or it could last them twelve days if they really preserved the food.

There were definitely more than eight cobblestone left, so they could bake the potatoes instead. In a place like this that felt like a luxury.

The warmth seeped into the back of their coat as they sat against the side of the furnace. Cynikka felt the warmth seep through the scales of her wings, helping soothe the ache that ran through the cold scales.

They had the materials to place a fireplace on one of the walls. However, they were too exhausted at the moment to do that. Which was most likely because the heat from the furnace was making them want to sleep.

The dimming of the coals in the fire told them that the potatoes were probably ready now. Cynikka reached in pulling out the now baked potatoes. They did feel as their hand got burned, but they couldn't be bothered to care. They had gotten burned so many times in Infernus they barely noticed it now.

Warmth. That was a scarce feeling. The potato they held radiated with heat. It slightly burned into their hands, but the feeling of warm food in their hands overcame that. They brought it up to their lips before tearing through the skin of the potato.

Although it had nothing on it, it was the best feeling they've had since meeting Zynn. The warmth seeped through their body as the potato traveled down their throat. Within seconds Cynikka finished off the potato. They hadn't realized until then how much they were starving, how much they ached for a small piece of food.

Cynikka looked out the fence-window they had made while building this. It was around four p.m. They knew they wouldn't be able to go to sleep for a while, so they pulled out their journal. Looking at the list they found what they needed to do next.

5: Fishing dock, put the fishing rod to use.

Right. Benji had given them a fishing rod to make. A fishing dock would also serve as a better source of food because they could fish there more often than the potatoes could grow.

Cynikka stood up slowly, still tired from not getting any sleep the past night. The warmth of the furnace had helped her wings, allowing the blood to pump easier with warmth now. In a few strides they reached the chests, pulling out the supplies needed to make the dock.

The wind was frigid around them, the early night breeze heavy around them. They walked to the shore finding a spot close to the farm, but not beside the farm. In their mind Cynikka measured how long the dock would be and how much wood this would need.

It had taken them until after sunset to build the dock. Mostly because the first few times they had built it, it looked weird. Luckily, on the fourth or fifth time they finally got the dock right. Right now they were placing torches on the dock, trying to make sure it looked good. Cynikka didn't have enough iron to waste it on lanterns so torches would have to do.

They could see the furnace glow from the cabin when they looked back. The iron they had placed in there would hopefully be done by the morning. Which meant they would be able to have better tools and get access to so much more stuff.

The gray waves underneath them were lapping at their feet. Luckily the dock was far enough above the waves that they didn't have to worry about the water reaching their feet.

Cynikka threw the hook into the water the bobber floating lazily above the frigid waves. They slightly leaned against a wooden crate they made hastily. Cynikka hoped it was built well enough to hold the fish they were going to catch, or hopefully catch at least.

The bobber started to get pulled under water and Cynikka yanked the rod up. They had learned some technique from the fishers at Infernus when they would go and help them in the early days. They almost lost their grip on the rod when the giant fish popped out of the water.

It landed on the wood with a slimy thud, sputtering around, trying to get back to water. Cynikka grabbed their stone sword and quickly peirced it through the head, killing it within seconds. Blood spurted onto their hands, a grim reminder of what got them here in the first place.

Around two hours later the crate was around half-way full, and they had killed enough beings for their liking. Cynikka's eyebrows started to feel like weights, slowly tugging them into sleep.

Cynikka scooted over to lean against the wooden beam, the crackling of the torch right above their head. Luckily in this position Cynikka was able to stretch out their wings behind them.

Their eyes lids got heavy as sleep overtook their body. Cynikka's limps fell to their side and their wings started to flatten again the wood.

Sir Ezran sat in the abandoned room of his mother's office. He was reading through a letter his spy sent him. He had never trusted the mafia, so he had his most trusted guard spy on them.

His entire body seethed with rage as he read the letter. Holding the invisible ink to th flame.

…They have been planning since the start to overthrow Infernus…Planning on doing it soon since it's been a few months since Lingulini's death…More equipped than our army. I've smuggled some of their netherite however.

He fucking knew it. Nothing good came out of those lying bastards. He sat the blank page back down on the desk with a thud.

In return he picked up one of his mother's many journals. This one however had a dragon on the front. that had an unnatural purple hue.

Why did she have to have so many things she never spoke about?

Chapter Text

Sir Ezran let out a hiss of pain as the needle poked at his finger. He quickly shook his hand, now bloodied by how many times he's poked it.

Sir Ezran was trying to fix up his old satchel. He was required to go to the Covenant to discuss political matters, and with the threat of the Mafia he didn't want to leave anything too important behind.

There wasn't much leather fabric he could get his hands on so he had stolen some old leather armor from the armory. So far he had the bag part of it fixed up, but right now he was working on the strap.

It didn't look very pretty since the leather was all different shades of brown. His thread was something he had gotten from one of the sowers in Infernus. They had shown him some basics, but right now he was on his own when it came to this. That also meant the thread was at least higher quality than the leather.

It had taken him another hour to finish sowing the satchel together. He also earned a handful of bandages. Ezran stood up and pulled the satchel over his shoulder, checking if it was strong enough to hold his things. It didn't break immediately, so that was a good sign.

Ezran walked over to the small stack of books he had on his dresser. One of them was his own journal, another was some military arrangements and plans he had smuggled from his father, and the other two were journals of his mother that he had deemed important.

Ezran carefully packed all the books into his satchel. He quickly walked over to the bird cage in his room, almost forgetting to pack some of the food in his bag for his Volcano Swiftlet, Hermes.

Hermes was…something to say the least. First off, he was abnormally large for the type of bird he was. Most Volcano Swiftlets were around the size of a human hand, maybe bigger. Meanwhile, Hermes was about the size of a raven.

Second, Hermes could see an image of a golden apple and go search and bring it back to Ezran. That wouldn't be abnormal if it wasn't for the fact he had done this before Ezran even named him or trained him. He could also send messages between Ezran and his friend reliably.

Lastly, Ezran SWORE Hermes had a human type consciousness. Not that type of bird consciousness, but instead the mental capacity of a human. That bird had side-eyed him so many times it wasn't even funny.

A knock on his door snapped him out of thought, however. He turned to the door to find his mother's bodyguard, Zynn, standing in the doorway. She was going to escort him to the covenant and back before moving back to stay at the covenant permanently again. After the exile of Cynikka, Zynn had no reason to be at Infernus anymore.

"Are you ready to go yet, Ezran?" She asked, leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed against her chest. She looked around his room for a moment while she waited for him.

"Oh, yes, I just have to go by my mom's study real quick," he answered, pulling his satchel over his shoulder. He could see Zynn tense at the mention of Cynikka. A pang of guilt seeped into him, he knew the two of them were more than friends, and mentioning Cynikka would obviously be a sting in the side.

He walked out of the room and started walking down the hallway to his mother's study. It was always locked, but that never once had stopped his ability to get in. He pulled out the lock-pick from his pocket and quickly undid the lock. With the years of practice he had doing this it was a piece of cake.

"Did you just lock-pick her door?" Zynn asked, and Ezran slightly jumped. She had been so quiet he hadn't even realized she had followed him. She seemed to notice his surprise and let out a small chuckle.

"I do it all the time, she doesn't care. At least I think she doesn't care, I don't even know if she knows," Ezran explained. He pushed open the wooden door quickly walking inside, "I'll take just a second, just got to grab something," he murdered. Zynn just stood in the doorway looking at the room.

Ezran walked over to the desk and pulled a framed photo off of it. It was of Harvest, Cynikka, and him. He turned the frame over popping out the back of it to reveal the crisp, glossy paper. He guessed she hadn't taken it out of the frame since she put it in, preserving it, and making it seem like it was just printed yesterday.

He sat the frame and back of it down on the desk and held the photo in his hands. Would there even be a royal family of Infernus if the mafia went through with their plans? Would he ever see the stern but soft face of his father again? Or the soft and warm eyes of his mother?

He didn't even realize his hands were shaking, or that a tear welled up in his eye until Zynn spoke up, "You okay there, kid? You look…sad to say the least," she asked, concern evident in her voice. For someone who was deemed a cold-blooded killer and one of the most dangerous on Yggdrasil, she was surprisingly kind and soft spoken.

"Oh, yeah, just…memories, y'know?" He quickly stammered as he placed the photo in his satchel. He could hear Zynn respond in agreement. However, he couldn't focus on that when a thought crept into his mind.

If the Mafia went through with their plans and actually won everything in this room would be of use. All the notes and records his mother had stored in here. He couldn't let them get their hands on it in the chance they won.

He glanced back at Zynn making sure she wouldn't see him doing this. He carefully, hands shaking, took out a small flint-and-steel he had in his satchel. There was a stack of papers on the desk, he carefully sparked the flint-and-steel on the side facing away from the door.

Ezran watched as a small flame carefully caught fire, slowly catching onto the rest of the paper. He quickly packed the flint-and-steel away and walked to the door, almost bumping into Zynn.

"Need to lock it back up, don't want anyone getting in and taking things," he stammered. Almost as soon as Zynn stepped out of the doorway he closed it and bent down to lock it from the outside. Right before he closed it he could see the small flame…well not so small flame now.

Zynn seemed to notice how giddy he was because she commented on it, "Are you sure you're okay, Ezran? You've been acting weird since I got here," she asked. She could feel that something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Well, why shouldn't I be? This is going to be my first diplomatic meeting I've gone to without my mother there taking the front. Also, it's with the covenant, and I'm guessing not all of them are as kind as you," he quickly lied. It wasn't entirely a lie, more like a half truth, but it wasn't the actual reason why he was giddy.

"You'll be fine, kid, I promise you. Besides, if anyone starts anything with you they won't be able to talk again," she responded. She let out a small laugh at the threat she had just made. She laughed even harder at the sight of Ezran's face paling at the threat.

"Come on, we should leave now. Rather get there on time than late, don't want to make Turntapps annoyed," she explained, hoisting Ezran up from where he was crouched by the door. He stumbled after her, still surprised by being pulled up with little to no notice.

"Where's your bird?" Zynn asked Ezran. They were walking back from the diplomatic meeting. Zynn said he had done good at it, but if Ezran had to be honest he felt like he did horrid at it.

"Huh?"

"You know, that big…eagle that you always have? Every time I've come here you always have it with you," Zynn explained.

"Oh, Hermes? Well, first off he's not an eagle. He's an abnormally large Volcano Swiftlet, and he is MY abnormally large Volcano Swiftlet," Ezran explained defensively.

"Okay, no need to get defensive there kid," Zynn said exasperated. She put her hands up in mock surrender. She tried to hide her smile as they continued walking.

"Besides, you didn't answer my question. Where is he?" Zynn asked again.

"Oh, right. He's with a friend of mine at the moment," Ezran explained. The said friend was the spy he had in the Mafia. None of the members of the Mafia actually came into Infernus, so most couldn't draw the connection with the bird and him.

The two of them continued walking for a bit. Having snippet conversations, but they never were long conversations. However, the conversations died down as they started to get closer to Infernus.

A black bird silhouette started to appear in the distance and get closer to them. Within seconds it dive bombed the two of them. Zynn slightly jumped and Ezran flinched when the bird landed on his shoulder.

"Oh, Hermes. Shouldn't you be…" Ezran started before trailing off. Suddenly, a look of horror flashed on his face. "Oh, no. Fuck."

"What's wrong Ezran? Why are you panicking?" Zynn asked, concern laced into her features. She placed her hand on Ezran's shoulder, but he immediately pushed it off.

"Hermes is supposed to stay with my friend, especially since I'm gone. If he's not with my friend that means something bad must've happened. He doesn't just fly off like that, not without my friend letting him go," Ezran explained before rushing off to Infernus.

Zynn quickly followed after him, yelling at him to come back. Luckily she was faster than him and able to catch up fast. However, she stopped in her tracks as she looked at the volcano. Her eyes widened in shock.

Fire and chaos, but not from the fire Ezran started. There were Infernus soldiers fighting against Mafia members. Zynn quickly pulled Ezran back as he started to run towards the chaos. She could hear the sounds of yelling, swords crashing, and so much more.

"Get off me!" Ezran yelled at Zynn. Hermes scratched at her face causing her to let go. Ezran continued to run up the volcano. His feet surprisingly fast up the steep slope of the volcano. Zynn stumbled for a second before running up the volcano after him.

Zynn grabbed Ezran again when he got to the top of the volcano. Her arms wrapped more tightly around him this time. Only then did she see the full scale chaos that was happening.

It was an all out war.

Members of the Mafia attacked Infernus killing anyone in their sights. They'd already gotten into the Ashen Bastion. Dead bodies littered the bridges that connected the Ashen Bastion to the crest of the volcano. It was an all out massacre.

Fire.

Fire had started to stream out from windows in the Ashen Bastion. She knew she smelled smoke earlier right before they left, but it was still there? After this long?

"Nononononono…Zynn! Please, let me go! I have to go help them!" Ezran yelled at her. He withered and squirmed in her grip, trying to get out. However, she was a peacekeeper and he was just a prince in no way did he have the strength to overpower her.

However, before she could respond a member of the Mafia climbed to the roof of the Ashen Bastion holding something up in their hand. Zynn realized what it was when a choked sob escaped from Ezran.

They were holding Harvest's decapitated head. His eyes glossed over and wide with anger and a mix of fear. She could see the cut off stump of his spinal cord and arteries hanging around the bloody hole of his neck. It would've sickened her to look at if she wasn't someone who had caused wounds exactly like that herself.

"Please…I need to…" Ezran sobbed, twisting in her grip.

"No. I can't let you go in there and kill yourself. It'll be nothing more than running into a pit of dripstone-" a stinging pain ripped through her head as Ezran wretched an arm free and elbowed her chin. She stumbled back, a pained yelp escaped her lips.

Ezran ran off to the Ashen Bastion. Donning his Infernus shield and his diamond sword.

Zynn pulled her diamond axe from her inventory and ran after him.

Chapter Text

It was nothing but chaos. There were skirmishes outside the Bastion, but most were inside of it. Looking for him Ezran thought. Did they know he was on a diplomatic mission? Choosing this time to attack when the prince would be away, when the people would only have one royal to turn to.

He pushed through the Bastion doors and immediately saw crimson blood splattered all around. It looked as if the wither came and left. He pushed through, trying to find the main part of the fight. It was most likely on the higher floors.

He rushed through the Bastion towards the stairs. He tried not to look at the dead bodies that littered the blood-stained ground. He finished climbing to the second floor, however as soon as he reached it he felt a blade swing at his head. He barely dodged in time, the sound of it cutting through air ringing in his ears.

Ezran lunged to the second floor wanting the even ground to fight on. He got back up to his feet, pulling out his shield that barely blocked another swing from a sword. He grunted as the force of the blow caused him to stagger backwards.

"Looks like the little prince is here now. Time to put you in your place like I did your father," the attacker threatened. Ezran scoffed at his threat. No one could beat his father in a fight, maybe some Peacekeepers, but not a pathetic Mafia member.

His train of thought was cut off quickly as the blade came down on him again and he barely dodged out of the way this time. Ezran's blood ran cold however as he saw the weapon his attacker was using. A netherite sword, but not just any netherite sword.

This one had fire on it, and only a single sword had that ability. His father's. Harvest had been blessed by the Volcano with a netherite sword enchanted with the eternal flame itself.

This was the one who had held his father's head over the Volcano. They had killed him themself.

Ezran gripped his sword harder and sprung off his feet. He swung his sword at the attacker, however they blocked it with their shield and retorted by swinging their own sword at him.

A flash of panic spread across Ezran's face when he realized his sword had gotten stuck in the shield. He yanked it out but he did it too late. The sword slashed through the air as the flaming blade connected with his elbow.

A scream of pain erupted from Ezran's throat when the blade cut through his arm. A searing pain ripped through his body as his forearm was cut off from his body. He fell to the floor, his head hitting the Blackstone floor with a sickening crack.

Ezran's hand came to cover the bloody stump of his old forearm. He had to stop himself from throwing up at the sight; the flesh had burned and twisted from the flame. His jagged bone peaked out from the crimson red flesh that poured out an immense amount of blood.

"Aw, is the little prince not so high and mighty anymore?" The attacker taunted. They walked over to tower over him. Ezran could make out their pathetic, cocky face scoffing at him.

"You know when I kill you I might just throw both yours and your father's heads in the ocean. Or should I throw them in the tundra and hope that bitch finds them?" They lifted their sword preparing to strike Ezran down, but a voice rang out from behind them.

"What did you just call the queen?!" The attacker turned around to find the source of the voice, but within a second an axe was thrown and pierced their skull. They slumped down to the floor with a loud thud, crimson blood starting to flow from the wound. Ezran could see chunks of their skull and brain pushing out of the wound.

Ezran looked up to see Zynn on the other side of the hallway. She must've come up the other set of stairs, and by the looks of it, killed a few people on the way up. Her face flashed with anger at the, now dead, Mafia member.

Zynn crossed the hallway in a few strides immediately coming to crouch beside Ezran.

"I told you not to run in here. Fuck, now your arms gone," she scorned, taking in the bloodied mess of Ezran's used-to-be left-arm.

"Zynn…?" Ezran choked out, his eyes starting to fog from blood loss. He heard her say something after, but the words were lost in the mist starting to surround his mind. However, the mist immediately cleared as a burning sensation seared through his body.

Zynn had used the flame-enchanted netherite sword to try to close up the wound. The flesh burned, but luckily it started to close up. Her free hand came to hold Ezran down from squirming away from the sword.

After at least a minute Zynn pulled the sword away from the now burned, but closed up, wound. Ezran shook, his body still wracking from the effects of the blood loss. However, his mind did start to come back to itself after a few minutes.

"We need to get out Ezran, more Mafia members could come up here at any time. Also no offense, but you'll be dead meat if they find you," Zynn urged. She helped pull Ezran to his feet. Ezran stumbled for a moment, almost falling down again.

"Wait, can I have the sword? It was my fathers and-" Ezran started before Zynn cut him off by shoving the sword into his hand. He quickly sheathed it in his shoulder sword sheath(?).

Immediately after Zynn yanked him down a different hallway when she heard footsteps. Ezran let out a small yelp before having to compose himself to keep up with her. Zynn continued to drag Ezran down a smaller set of stairs that led out to one of the bridges.

"We need to cross the chains, we'll get mauled if we go on the bridges." Zynn continued to pull Ezran behind her. However, he ripped his arm from her grasp to instead run on his own behind her.

A yell rang out as a Mafia member saw them crossing the chains. Zynn pulled her bow out from her inventory and shot an arrow at the other player. Ezran watched as it hit the person directly in the neck, the body slumping down onto the floor of the bridge.

"Come on, Ezran! We can lose them when we get down the volcano!" Zynn yelled at him, trying to overpower the yells that had started to erupt from the Mafia.

His lungs were burning. Ezran and Zynn had run across the scorching mesa until she dragged him into a small canyon. He could hear the sound of Mafia members yelling out, and he could make out some of them deciding to give up.

Ezran breathed out a shaky sigh of relief as he heard the voices and footsteps grow quieter until they weren't audible. Zynn put up a hand, telling him to wait. After a good five minutes she dropped her hand and started to climb out of the canyon.

Once they got to stand on top of the dust filled ground Zynn spoke, "I'm going back to the Covenant. You can come with me, Turntapps won't let the Mafia come after you." Ezran thought about the offer. She was his mother's bodyguard, she was trustworthy. The Covenant should be trustworthy with that fact in his mind, but he still couldn't trust them.

Ezran didn't know if it was just what happened with the Mafia in his head, or his trust issues, but he couldn't believe it in truth.

"I'm sorry Zynn, but I just can't go with you," he answered. Ezran could see the way her face cracked at his refusal.

"Ezran, I get that the Covenant doesn't seem the best place, but it is. I've lived there since I came to this damned island, and it's surprisingly safe. Please, I can't…I can't fail protecting someone again," Zynn pleaded with him. It was an uncharacteristic sight and feeling.

"I promise I'll be fine, Zynn. I just…I just can't go there, I'll find somewhere else to stay. I just can't stay there."

"Please…just stay safe, Ezran," Zynn gave Ezran one last look. She hoped he would reconsider, that he would go with her. She couldn't fail Cynikka, she couldn't fail protecting the last thing of her lover Cynikka she had left.

"I will."

Ezran stood there alone. He had watched Zynn walk towards the Covenant. He wasn't ready to leave yet, however. He didn't even know where to go if he had to be honest.

Westhelm? No, they had never liked Infernus thought of them as weird, religious, volcano people and nothing more. They would give him up to The Mafia if they asked for him.

Nevermore? Maybe, but he had never fully trusted them. He'd been there a few times, but they always rubbed him the wrong way. Also, how did he know they wouldn't do the same as Westhelm would? How did he know they wouldn't give him over in a blink of an eye, or more like a piece of Netherite.

Netherite.

That was the deciding factor. The most powerful metal in the world. It only resided in the volcano, and The Mafia had a monopoly on it now. They could make as many bribes with that in their sleeve.

Was there a nation that wouldn't take Netherite in exchange for a life?

Elysium.

The nation of peace. The leader was a friend of his mother if he was correct. Benji wasn't it? That man had always confused him, but he didn't seem like the one to be bribed. His nation was for peace after all. They wouldn't give that up for a piece of metal.

He knew they were by the bay. He'd seen maps in his father's room that showed all the territories. That would be a hell of a walk if he remembered the direction of it. However, time didn't seem to matter anymore, did it?

He had enough food and resources in his inventory that it could last him a trip to Elysium. At least he hoped it could last him that long.

Well, hope was the thing that kept him going now. He didn't have anything to lose anymore. The only thing he had was his life, and what worth was that to him if everyone in that life was gone or dead?

His mother was exiled.

His father dead.

Infernus was gone.

His friend was dead too, probably.

His bird was gone.

The only thing that hadn't been taken away by the cruel hands of fate was hope. And even that was hanging by a thread, threatening to snap at any moment. He shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

Ezran turned to the direction he remembered Elysium was. He let out a shaky breath and started his walk to the nation of peace. His walk to surviving this hell he had called home since he was seven.