Curse

The Uniter

Stars.

Wisps of mist.

A billowing golden supernova rocking the faint line of Crysmond.

That was all he could see. He felt nothing; he did nothing. He just obeyed.

Prince Heith had lost track of time ever since the Blood King was defeated. Now he gazed upon the planet he once lived on; Crysmond, from his agonizing prison in space. The golden wall of force rocked mighty Crysmond, and it lurched backwards, as if slamming against a wall. Heith sighed. It had been so long. He longed to set foot on the Plisvian islands again: to live again.

But that was impossible.

Janus, Glazio, Thorn, and Simiak. They were the ones who imprisoned his here. Heith doubted that anyone could face them combined. But there was little Heith knew about the rest of the world. The global law of infiltration prevented that. Heith had learned to ignore the immense pain that his prison brought, reducing it to a sharp pain once in a while. Heith looked down at Crysmond with a sad smile.

"They are at war..." He whispered. "Yet they do not know it."

Suddenly, Heith groaned. The pain was back. How he cursed his chains. A drop of blood rolled down his cheek. Heith gritted his teeth. Even after all this time, the prison seemed to find new ways to cause him agony. That was only one of the reasons he wanted to get out of there. Glancing up at the golden storm again, he noticed something in it. Shaking it off, he dismissed it as a hallucination.

Heith closed his eyes, begging for sleep. When it came, he gladly accepted it.

When Heith opened his eyes, he saw the sky. Not the same sky he woke up to for the past millennium, but a clear, blue sky with billowing clouds. He sat up warily, only to fall back onto his back. It still hurt. A boy stepped into view.

"Welcome back, Prince Heith."

Heith blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.

"What?"

"Sit up."

The boy stepped nearer and helped Heith up. When he was sitting, the boy brung a chair over and sat on it.

"You remember who you are, right? You're on Herdale."

"Isn't... That the Simiak?"

"It was, but it's not anymore. Stormguard is."

"Uh..."

"I'm one of them. Unlike the other three, we don't hold a grudge against you. So we figured you would like to live again. That's why we started researching a way to teleport."

Heith nodded.

"You're on our camp on the Blood Kin territory. We thought you could give strength to our troops."

"I... I'm not sure I can handle it. But thanks for breaking me out of the prison anyways."

"Well.... We have a place for you anyways. We have excellent hospitality, even at war. A fresh bath and a feast is already prepared for you."

"Thank you." When the boy walked away, Heith looked up into the sky.

"Anathia..." He whispered before he fell sleep again.

"Lore."