I rode swiftly down a dark and dusty forest road in the dead of night. Despite it being early summer, the thick branches of the trees carried a cold, dark secret that slithered around my ears and made me pull my cloak closer around my neck. There was no moon; the only light that guided me was from the few stars that were able to peek down through the black leaves and laugh at my ridiculous and reckless mission.

I had been riding for days, far westward until I was far past the borders of Layrucia.

I was now in the provinces.

The provinces! The very name sent a chill up my spine. I shivered as I thought of the outlaws and poverty - stricken commoners that occupied these parts. Criminals who at any moment could pounce upon me to steal anything I might have that would be of value.

They would be disappointed if they tried, though. I had nothing.

I was a prince. The prince of Layrucia. But I had nothing to offer the king I was now seeking. A king, not by royal blood, but by the icy glare of the blade. A man that was lawless, reckless, and tricky, but with enough cunning and brilliance to outwit even the sharpest of men - the real trick was to live to tell about it. He had a reputation of being fearless - perhaps because he was feared by all who knew him - and undefeated.

A man who had made a name for himself. A king who erected his own kingdom in this forsaken land, built on the lives that he had so eagerly taken.

I had nothing to offer this man. But I needed his help.

I soon reached the end of the woods, and with it, the fortress that the king resided in. It was dark and ominous, with bleak towers and high walls.

"Who goes?" a man from the gates called to me.

I dismounted my horse and tied it up.

"I am Almeron," I answered, approaching him. "And I have business with your master."

"My master doesn't do business with anyone unless he wants to," the man sneered.

I looked at him and laughed softly.

"He'll want to see me," I told him.

The man walked closer to me, so close we were almost nose to nose. He stared hard into my eyes.

"Oh really?" he asked coldly. "Didn't realize we had hired an entertainer for the evening."

I took a step backward. He moved forward again. Quickly I seized the man's shirt and pulled him close. My other hand hovered over his face. I snapped my fingers; an orb of pulsing black - purple power appeared.

The man's confident expression very swiftly melted away as a look of fear replaced it. I willed the power to swirl around the man's head. The dusky light reflected off his glazed eyes.
Quite satisfying.
For me. 

It had been a long time since I had witnessed the fear of my power this close.
He frantically tried to claw away, but I held my grasp.

"He'll want to see me," I said again.

"What are you - some kind of sorcerer?" he gasped out.

"No," I replied. "But I can be."

I shoved him forward.

"Now let me in," I demanded.

The man stumbled and fell over his own feet. He scrambled back up and ran the few steps to the gate.

"Open up!" he yelled into the night.

Nothing happened for a moment, then the gates opened with a groan and a sigh. I shoved by the guard and walked through the inner courtyard. I was met there by another man, who guided me into the fortress and all the way to the room where his master was.

"A man here to see you sir," he announced. "And a Layrucian by the looks of him."

I looked up at the man that the guide was addressing. He sat in nothing short of a throne in the center of the large, drafty room we were in. I could sense that the room was full of people due to the nervous energy that was making the air overbearingly heavy. I couldn't see them, however. I could hardly see anything.

But the man on the throne! I could see him clearly. He had a tall stature and a strong build. His attire was a ragged tunic covered by dark armor, and a torn cloak that reached down to his ankles. His skin looked tough and calloused, and was so covered in scars you could hardly tell what was scarred and what wasn't. His face was a bit clearer, with the exception of a long, jagged red cicatrix that ran along his left jaw. His eyes were decided and dark, his hair was dark - everything about this man was as dark as night.

"A Layrucian?" he said now, in a deep, chilling voice. "What is a Layrucian doing here in the provinces?"

I stepped forward and replied,

"Not sightseeing, I can assure you."

He leaned forward and examined me closely.

"Well, if you are not here to see the riveting sights of the provinces," he answered me, "what does Layrucia want with its outlaws?"

I walked closer to him and countered,

"Outlaws? Perhaps that's what Zipporah says of you. But I don't see you that way. No, what I see here are fierce warriors - "

The king's sudden uproar of laughter startled me into silence as he said,

"Fierce warriors? What does Layrucia know about fierce warriors?"

His expression became hard.

"Layrucia knows soldiers, yes," he continued, "it understands the sullen mediocrity required to be considered, mm, acceptable. But the very moment one reveals themselves as - different; someone who shows enthusiasm, ambition, what happens?"

He slammed his fist on the throne.

"They are counted as dangerous. Monsters, enemies even. Layrucia has no room for greatness. Therefore your so called 'fierce warriors' are forced to leave."

The fearsome king stood and glowered down at me.

"So you will find no fierce warriors here. No criminals, not even outlaws. Here, you will only find the enemies of your country."

The room seemed to whisper angry threats to me. My skin crawled with fear. But I had to stay ahead of the king.

"Then I belong among you," I responded, beginning to pace. "For I, too, am an outcast of Layrucia."

He nodded knowingly.

"Oh I know you are," he said, "Prince Almeron."

I was silent for a moment. So he knew who I was. No matter.

"The past is past and I refuse to dwell in it," I answered.

The king grunted.

"'The past is past - and I refuse to dwell in it,'" he echoed. "You are a prince. You could be a king. King of that deceitful, backbiting country they call Layrucia. Yet you say you belong here among the enemy."

He looked at me expectantly. I said nothing.

"Hm, no matter," he continued. "I remember that - favor I did for you all those years ago. Who was it? Ah yes, it was - "

"Enough!" I yelled, my voice resounding off the walls.

The room rustled in anticipation. The air was heavy. Too heavy. He looked at me thoughtfully.

"So there is some fire in you after all," he mused. "Not the pathetic imbecile full of the emotion you had when you first came to see me to solve your little conflict, are you?"

I glared at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked me in a low tone. "Do you hate it? Hate that feeling boiling in your gut? Hate for your father? Anger at your banishment? Anger toward your sister, who betrayed you, her best friend, all those years ago?"

I clenched my fists at my sides. He studied me for a long moment.

"Or perhaps - perhaps that burning feeling inside you is - shame."

"I will not be mocked!" I snapped angrily. "And Zipporah was never my friend."

"Oh no, of course not," he replied. "We don't mock our own. And Zipporah is too great to worry about the man who shared the same womb in which she was concieved. But let us remember who the leader is here. You may be a prince in Layrucia. But this - " he spread his arms wide - "this is Lenchow! You have no power or authority here."

I grimaced.

"Of course," I replied meekly. "Forgive me."

The king nodded his assent.

"But of course," he continued, "here we pay our debts. And you, your Highness..."

He descended the stairs and stood in front of me. He towered far above my head.

"You owe me a very large debt indeed."

I tried to look him in the eye but it was nearly impossible. His look was so full of anger and hate; anger and hate that I was sure was rooted far past this moment I spoke with him. I knew mercy would not be an option.

But I never depended on mercy.

"And I will repay you," I told him. "With something worth far more than anything you could possibly dream of."

"I'm not interested in gold or jewels, not even your precious trevanium," he said.

"Nor am I," I declared, "I am offering you a weapon."

He looked at me with a new interest.

"A weapon?" he repeated.

"Yes," I continued. "A weapon that would set the boundaries of your country once and for all. The credibility of the greatness of Lenchow Province would never be challenged again. And you, your Highness, would be King of the kingdom of Lenchow, your kingdom, forever. "

He mulled on this for a long moment.

"You have my interest, Almeron," he said finally. "Now what is this weapon that you speak of?"

I smiled slyly.

"Zipporah calls them the heroes of Layrucia," I answered.

A noise like a loud hiss erupted in the room. The king laughed - a cold, chilling laugh that could make even the greatest of warriors tremble.

"The heroes of Layrucia!" he shouted mockingly.

"Of course, " I countered. "They possess the power of the Elemental Crystals of old. Because of this power,  they are feared by all."

"I don't care if the Royals of the Northern Kingdom faint dead away at just the uttering of their names!" he declared hotly. 

He sat in his throne, brooding for several moments. I shifted nervously.

"Alright your Highness," he said finally. "Where are they? Where are these - heroes that are supposedly mine?"

"They're in Layrucia," I told him. "And if you want them, you must catch them. But if you can, they're yours."

"You lie!" he yelled at me. "And you're wasting my time. Now get out, before I am inclined to rid Layrucia of its greatest failure."

Two men came and grabbed me from either side. I crossed my fists and slammed them to the floor. Suddenly a large black - purple dome surrounded me. It pulsed menacingly and expanded in all directions. The men were thrown to the ground and remained there, motionless. The hissing began again, this time accompanied by nerve - shattering shrieking. More men appeared and reached out to grab me, but their king motioned them away.

"Check their bodies," he ordered, gesturing to the men on the floor.

Two men hurried to do his bidding. They bent over the bodies. Examining the anatomies of the men, they confirmed they were still alive, but were in great distress.

"Of course," I replied. " I would not kill a soul in this comany. But I could. No, these men are in greag internal conflict with themselves. Their greatest beliefs are being challenged, and their wills shall be bent, should I choose to do so."

The king grunted as he contemplated what I said. 

"Perhaps," he said to me slowly, "perhaps you can be of some use to me after all,  your Highness."

I nodded.

"I have a proposal," I told him. "You catch these four so - called heroes. And I, using this - "

I held up my fist, now absorbed with pulsing power, "will manipulate their wills."

"But what is their will?" he asked me.

I shrugged.

"On the surface, it appears to be to liberate Layrucia."

"I don't believe it."

"Nor do I. But whatever their deeper, more personal wills are, they will change."

"To what?"

I bowed low.

"To you, oh King of Lenchow," I said. "They will each be devoted to you, no matter what they think now. And you will have ultimate control of the elements - fire, ice, earth, and lightning."

"Hmm," he mused. "Alright, Almeron. I will catch these heroes; I will do it myself. And you will come to meet your end of the deal. And if you don't, well..."

He drew a sword from his sheath and fingered the edge of the blade.

"I will hunt you, your Highness. I was a Layrucian myself once, you know. I know every square inch of your country. You cannot hide from me, no matter where you go, or who helps you. I will kill anyone in my way.  And the Prince of Layrucia, the wielder of power, will be mine. And if you refuse this deal now, " he now pointed his sword at me, "I will kill you where you stand."

He smiled wickedly.

"Do we have a deal, your Majesty?"

 The room suddenly smelled of bloodlust. Finally, I admitted it to myself.

I was surrounded by Layrucia's greatest assasins and murderers, banished long ago for their crimes. For the blood they had shamelessly split for their own benefit. This was the king's army.

I had no chance against these highly trained killers, these monsters.

I stood still, petrified.

Sell yourself or die, Almeron, I thought to myself.

It was not a deal worth making, nor was it one I was willing to keep.

But I had to. I feared something much more powerful than the criminals in the room, than the man in front of me, even the power of Zipporah's heroes.

I feared a much greater power indeed.

"Of course," I answered slowly.

The king nodded his approval. I bowed low once more and began to walk out of the room.

"Oh, and Almeron," he called after me. "Please remember, no one outwits Rohann, king of Lenchow. Not even the great Power Wielder. He who tries, well, he will not suffer lightly."

I shuddered as I left the room.