Cacoethes' Works

 Chapter Fourteen: First Prince of Zaw TWO DAYS LATER, Gronjas was preparing a carriage and a small army of servants to accompany them on their journey into Tbai. He brought no other disciples or warriors with them, and put a cloth hat on Nilhin’s head to help disguise him among his servants as they exited the Hvit Fortress. Their journey to the Tbai border would take nearly three weeks, and it was along the border that they were to meet with the first prince of Zaw.  The journey was long and arduous, but it was only this way because Nilhin had to suffer the constant and persistent company of Gronjas, who didn’t trust him not to run away it seemed. Gronjas kept Nilhin by his side, despite having dressed and told him to act like a servant. He was not treated like a servant, he was treated like a well-liked criminal being transported.  However, they soon came across a bustling city, flourishing under the border between territories, and built into the side of a small mountai...

 Chapter Thirteen: The Escape Plan HE WAS SURROUNDED by the warmth of many blankets, and the soft presence beneath him indicated a thick mattress. Whoever had brought him to their room, was someone of importance, prestige, or both. Even Nilhin’s mother hadn’t been afforded such luxuries and she was the most popular courtesan at the Ya Brothel. The more Nilhin’s senses returned to him, he started to realise he was bound with shackles around his wrist, and his arms were forced against his sides with rope that burned just a little whenever it touched his bare skin. Nilhin immediately began to struggle, trying to wriggle out of the ropes, because there was no way he’d get out of the shackles on his own.  The curtains on the side of the bed were pulled back to reveal Gronjas, and the man sat on the edge of the bed. Nilhin let out a whimper when his calloused fingers came for him, but they only brushed against his forehead and pushed his bangs off his skin.  “If you were really...

 Chapter Twelve: Revelations WHEN NILHIN RETURNED to the dormitory to prepare for the beginning of his lessons, he found that his trunk was turned over, and his bed was both a mess and sopping wet. He didn’t want to think of why that was, but he flipped his trunk over. It was empty. His trunk carried his uniforms, and his most precious possession. He looked around the room, at the other boys and men that were standing and observing his reaction. Kveda stepped up.  “We heard that foxes scent mark things,” Kveda said. “We were just trying to tell you that this isn’t your place.” Nilhin didn’t care about their dramatics.  “Where’s the book that was in my trunk?” he asked, remaining polite but no less demanding that someone who wanted their most valued treasure. Kveda motioned to the wet bed, and Nilhin pushed the mushy blankets aside to see that the rest of his clothes as well as his book were all covered in the same liquid -- more urine by the acrid smell of it. He didn’t c...

 Chapter Eleven: Legend of Xiu Ming (Part One) THERE ARE TWO ways that Xiu Ming is rumored to have been born. The first is through deceit. His father was tricked into procreating with a fearsome she-devil disguised as a beautiful woman, but the other is that his father, a scholar, was a helpful man that was out one night carrying dozens of scrolls in his arms. He came across a group of hunters trying to find a pelt to sell, and they had cornered a magnificent, large fox -- perfect to make a luxurious pelt from. Surely her skin would sell for quite a large sum, but she was too beautiful and innocent a creature to die for human greed. From a distance, Xiu Ming’s father, Xiu Bei, threw his scrolls at the offenders, making wild sounds like ghosts and monsters to spook them away.  Of course, they ran after some time, and Xiu Bei had to gather his priceless scrolls he had just flung around. The fox he saved, however, was so large because it wasn’t a normal fox at all. She was a fox ...

 Chapter Ten: Solving the Olgar Mystery THE SECOND TIME the behemoth moose-rider graces Nilhin with his presence is at the banquet for their successful night hunts, almost a week later. That huge man, as Nilhin had come to learn, was Hvit Forin, the clan leader. Said man was only twenty years old, and had been the clan leader for quite some time due to his father’s untimely demise. Nilhin was sitting at the high table with the other four members of the Orikani subunit, and he was sitting furthest from the clan leader, since Kveda had decided he deserved that privilege, having killed the squirrel beast. Nilhin hadn’t even bothered to fight with him. Ever since that night, that hunger, that had finally been sated, was slowly returning, and Nilhin was starting to crave fulfilment again, only he didn’t know how to get it himself. He needed someone to give it to him, it seemed, like his mother or the squirrel beast.  “So you killed the squirrel beast?” Hvit Forin asked. Kveda nodde...

 Chapter Nine: Beast or Beast AS GRONJAS HAD said, there was a wild hunt scheduled for his subunit, the Orikani, in a western town. The forest around it had been terrorised by a squirrel beast that had apparently ravaged their supply of grain for the upcoming winter. Nilhin had yet to experience the winters of Krokstad, but from the rumors and the way people spoke of it, the winters there grew very harsh and very cold. He departed with his subunit, carrying his sword strapped to his back. It almost dragged the ground due to its impressive length, but it was actually less heavy when he could support it with his entire body.  He followed at the back, because he wasn’t wanted near the others, nor did the new captain, Ogar, want him anywhere near them. They got to the town, and headed into the forest around it, just waiting to be hunted. The beast didn’t approach them at all during the day no matter what they did. “We’ll set up camp here,” Ogar commanded, motioning to a relatively...