Zedd was hard on the witch's trail. He knew that she was in Ash Lake, a city of outlaws. 'She planned her escape very nicely. But she left a trail behind. Lucky I met Dismas back then,' Zedd thought as he urged his mare to run faster.

Zedd Darkstar was an unusual man. He had the body of a man in his twenties, but had the wisdom of an old scholar. He had the youthful exuberance and the wisdom of kings. What Zedd didn't possess was a family. He could barely remember what his own parents looked like.

This was not because he never knew them. In fact Zedd lived with his parents until the age of sixteen. Most times, people tend to remember experiences, feelings, but never the details. Zedd remembered his mother's kind nature, his father's drinking habits. But he couldn't remember their faces or their voices.

It's with this pain that Zedd woke up every morning. It's with this same pain that he was riding his mare towards Ash Lake. Zedd had been riding for half a day. He was planning on reaching Ash Lake by night. 'If I want to trap the witch, then I must catch her off guard,' he thought. Thinking and planning was his only way of forgetting pain. He'd throw all the painful memories aside in order to plan his actions.

'It's good that I planted one of my Little Fairies in her belongings.' Zedd also had an unusual power. Not only was he a strong fighter, he was also a magic user of sorts. His magic was ancestral, more powerful than that used by sorcerers and witches in the four continents, but bound by strict rules.

"Riders," Zedd whispered. "They're armed." Zedd looked around. The road he was riding through was surrounded by rubble. He was in an old Oasis. "Water must have dried out. This must only mean one thing." Bandits inhabited the place, robbing any unlucky traveler who happened upon the place.

'I didn't think the outlaws had become so bold. To get so close to Sendra, the Chancellor and his Custodians are getting sloppy,' he thought as he cast a spell to conceal his real face.

"Oy!" one of the riders shouted. "S'cuse me sir, we're lost. S'pose you could show us the way?"

'Cla.s.sic!" he thought as he scanned the approaching riders with his unusual eyes. "I suppose," Zedd shouted back. "Approach, I'll even escort you to your destination if possible."

The three riders smiled. One of them had lost most of his front teeth. Another had a broken, swollen nose. "Thank the G.o.ds we found you kind sir." The rider that first spoke reached Zedd.

"What happened to you?" Zedd asked.

"We was attacked kind sir. The bandits came at us from behind the walls. They was so many sir. We had to flee, leave our families behind." The other two riders reached Zedd. Each of them stood on one side. He was surrounded.

"I a.s.sume," Zedd started. "That the bandits you speak of are hiding behind the pile of rubble that surrounds us, right?"

"Yes sir!" the first rider said, his smile even larger this time.

Zedd let out a long sigh then looked at the three riders surrounding him. "The story you just told me. Was it of a family you just robbed?"

"What's it to you?" the first rider, who was apparently their spokesperson and leader, said.

"Nothing, I just wonder what type of punishment I must use on you."

The leader of the bandits started laughing loudly. His laughter got louder and louder after which the other bandits followed. "Ya mean to punish us? Us? Yer all alone mister? What can ye do?"

Zedd swiftly swung his sword. His movement was unnoticeable. The moment the bandits heard the sword click, it was already sheathed. The leader's face was cut in half. The upper half slowly slid down to the side then, with a heavy thump, fell on the ground.

The other bandits, terrified, all attacked at once. You may think it stupid, but it was the only reaction they knew. When frightened, you fight. Perhaps, with numbers and luck, one can prevail against the dark powers.

Perhaps, by stomping one's feet hard enough, one could hope to kill the frightening insect that invaded their property. But what happens when the insect you meant to stomp vanishes?

The two riders' swords collided. Zedd had vanished and reappeared behind the bandits that hid by the rubble. All of a sudden screams were heard and blood splattered. The crumbling walls were painted red. The riders, along with the other bandits on the other side, started panicking.

From behind the rubble Zedd appeared again, slowly walking towards his prey. "Who do you pray to when frightened?" he shouted at the petrified band of outlaws. "Will you call for your mother?" Zedd instantly appeared beside one of the riders, pointing his sword at his lower parts. n.o.body knew how he reached his target so quickly. To the others watching, it felt like he just vanished then reappeared next to the rider.

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"Will you pray that your G.o.d, whichever he is, would come and help you?" Zedd asked. His eyes were black, his pupils golden and rectangular. In his anger, he'd forgotten to keep the concealing spell active.

"What? What are you?" the rider asked.

"Look at them eyes!" a bandit exclaimed.

"Tis the Devil, he got 'em black eyes!"

All bandits started whispering, some called the man attacking them a Devil. Others called him a sorcerer. Zedd smiled then looked at the group of bandits in front of him. "The Devil is a manmade concept. Go ahead and call me one if you'd like. But I'm far worse than your Devil."

The rider screamed. His high pitched wails penetrated his comrades' ears. Zedd had thrust his sword down at the rider's hip joint. With every twist of the sword, the man wailed and begged even more. The pain was unbearable. His friends could only wince at hearing his screams and pleas.

Then it dawned on them. They were all going to die unless they fought back. They had to fight back or run. The only rider left was the first to understand the urgency of the situation. He kicked his horse, urging it to run as fast as possible. Zedd looked at the rider, trying to escape from the slaughter.

"Run boy! Run!" He shouted at the fleeing bandit.

That day, news reached Sendra. A group of bandits had been decimated by a Devil. The word used to describe the group of brigands wasn't bandits though. The NewsCo decided to use a more appealing t.i.tle. After all, NewsCo was a corporation. It wanted to sell its newspaper with attractive t.i.tles.

"Slaughter At Sendra's Suburbs!" Extra papers were issued and people started speaking of a Devil that targeted poor areas. Zedd however, had no idea of the news spread around him. If he'd known, he'd be delighted beyond measure.

'I shouldn't have shown them my real face,' he thought as he kept riding towards Ash Lake. 'But then again, they'll never be ready for it, might as well start now.' Zedd urged his horse to move faster. He was out of sight now. If he rode without rest, he'd reach Ash Lake in two days. But he wanted to reach the Inn by nightfall.

"Pharah," he said, addressing his magnificent mare. "There's no one watching now. You can go all out. When you see the city gates, go back to your usual speed."

The horse neighed then started galloping. At first, the wind started caressing Zedd's face. But as the mare increased its speed, Zedd's eyes started watering. He closed his internal eyelids then continued observing the road. He had to reach the city before the witch suspected Dismas. 'She's paranoid. She'll no doubt suspect something. If I allow her any opening, she'll surely use it.'

For a month, he'd been observing the witch. He'd seen her with Garland on many occasions. Her energy readings were unusual, too pure for a witch in the Kozagan Desert. He knew she had a hidden agenda. But he couldn't get too close to her. She was wary of her unknown observer. 'Perhaps, that was what pushed her to steal the star and disappear. Perhaps I pressured her into stealing it in this fas.h.i.+on. It's not like her to leave a trail behind.'

Zedd was an unusual man. He also sought unusual humans to rally them to his cause. He was determined to see the empire fall, for personal reasons. He knew it wasn't the best motivational speech to convince someone to join him. But he had a different way to convince his potential recruits to join.

Once he lived among villagers near a prominent city. The villagers had to work the fields to pay the city n.o.bles' taxes. They had a lake they could fish from. The fish was a national delicacy the city had taken credit for. For years, those poor villagers toiled the ground, killed marine life, all for the benefit of the greedy n.o.bles.

Then one day, a villager discovered a strange island in the middle of the Lake. The cave in the island hid an Aether Vein, the source of Life Force that allowed everything to live and thrive. The cave soon became a matter of national interest. The rich n.o.bles in the city disputed owners.h.i.+p. After the battle for owners.h.i.+p ended, the new chancellor of the city had the villagers work tirelessly to harness energy from the Aether Vein.

The villagers were too tired from work to even think of rebelling. Zedd worked among them as a fisherman. For years, he tried to open the villagers' eyes to the truth. Pushed them to rebel against their oppressors, claim their right and live a meaningful life. The villagers, too tired, too stupid to even consider Zedd's words, just ignored him and shunned him. Only a little girl intently listened to his pleas. She had lost her parents to exertion, she hated the lazy diplomats even more than the man with black eyes.

Frustrated, Zedd took the girl then went to the city. With his silver tongue and his immense knowledge, Zedd landed a job at the city council. The man had time, he was not in rush to make a point. For four years, Zedd worked in the city council, until he became Chief a.s.sistant. He convinced the council and the Chancellor that the village was a threat to them. "The villagers don't like citizens. They conspire to rebel against us. They feel used. What they don't know is that they're dispensable. Let's capture some and make an example of them."

The chancellor ordered villagers with rebellious intents to be captured then executed. Noticing the horror that befell them, the villagers' eyes were finally opened. Zedd came back to the village. His speeches attracted more attention. The Chancellor, realizing Zedd's scheme, decided to attack the village. "He's used us, and they'll listen to him. Attack them all," the chancellor ordered. "Raze that village to the ground!"

Zedd, with his supernatural abilities and excellent tactical awareness, managed to repel the chancellor's forces. That was the day people started talking about the devil with black eyes. But that was in the eastern continent of Aurunn. With the help of NewsCo, the empire heard of the Aether Vein and ordered the Chancellor executed.

"You see child," he said that day to the little girl he took under his wing. "This world is twisted, recognizes the powerful, only the powerful. Will you live as the poor orphan who lost her parents to the empire's crazy schemes? Or would you stand your ground and fight back?" Ever since that day, the little girl devoted herself to fighting the empire. Zedd became known in the east as the devil with black eyes. Wherever he went, chaos ensued. Zedd's fame had reached the western continent after the events near Sendra.

'That rider must have spread the news of the attack already. NewsCo won't miss the chance to write an extra about this "tragic incident." The witch always follows the news. She's bound to read about the slaughter. I must reach the city tonight.'

Zedd urged his mare to go faster. He had to trap the witch before she'd think of escaping. 'Little Fairy, where's the witch now?' he asked. The information that reached Zedd wasn't in words, but in pictures. He saw a big room, on the third floor of a tall Inn. 'That's Osimir's Rest. She's still in the city. Little Fairy, keep an eye on her and notify me if anything changes.'

Zedd had multiple familiars to his side. They were his creation. After he came across Ancestral Magic, Zedd started experimenting with trans.m.u.tation. Although it required tremendous amounts of energy, if trans.m.u.tation is done properly, it could allow the caster to create powerful familiars.

Black Eyes changed a normal horse into an Aode, warhorses from another realm. These could travel a hundred times faster than normal horses. Their bones were stronger than steel. Their hoofs could break a city gate.

He had also made Little Fairies, small b.u.t.terfly-like creatures he used for reconnaissance. After years experimenting with different species, Zedd had made an army of those small servants, following his every command. The trap he was preparing for the witch was simple, yet completely out of her expectations.