Orpal’s empty stomach, wounded ego, and lack of human interaction for months had driven him to the brink of insanity, something that she couldn’t allow to happen.
Without Orpal, Night had no way to get revenge on Lith and without it, she had nothing left. Her Court had betrayed her, her mother was hunting her down, and the spell to destroy her crystal body was now public knowledge.
‘If this moron’s mind shatters, everything I’ve sacrificed so far will be for nothing!’ So she had him take a break from his training from time to time and join an Awakened human city.
Orpal had prepared countless aliases for his Balkor copycat plan and his shapeshifting abilities were remarkable. As long as Night remained sealed within his chest, no one would perceive her and on Jiera no one knew his energy signature.
Language wasn’t an issue either since the Horseman could speak like a native of any of the biggest countries. Orpal always introduced himself as a rogue Awakened in search of food and shelter after a monster tide had invaded the safety of his lab.
Between his blue core and wretched appearance, it was easy to believe. The guards granted him access, but they also mocked him and called him a coward for hiding like a rat for that long while the rest of the Council fought.
He hated them all, wishing to crush them under his heel, but after months of isolation, the sound of another voice was a balm for his ears, no matter what it said.
Orpal had plenty of money and jewels but those things had no value now. He also possessed magical ingredients, but the last time he had tried to buy food with them, his properties had been seized as an entrance fee.
Human cities on Jiera operated on merits that could only be earned by doing something useful for society. Anyone with a practical skill could exchange their work for merits and buy whatever they needed.
In Orpal’s case, Raaz had taught him how to farm while Night how to fight and use magic. He refused to cultivate the land considering it beneath him so the only way he had to earn merits was by fighting.
He would bring the heads of the monsters he killed and be rewarded for it. He would have loved to carry a mountain of corpses and earn the respect that he deemed to deserve but Night cautioned him against it.
‘If you show so much strength, people will start wondering why they have never heard about you. If they start to dig into your background, they’ll find nothing and no one to back your story, they’ll get suspicious.’ She said.
‘Nonsense. I just need to show them a couple of spells and-‘
‘Since you never bothered creating your own, you would have to show *my* spells and the rulers of the city might recognize them. We are talking about the cream of the crop of the Awakened society. They are not morons and they know me.’
‘Then I’ll reveal that I’m a powerful hybrid. My Vurdalak powers-‘
‘Are more than enough to justify your prowess and have a single call to Garlen expose your identity, you idiot! Anonymity is your best ally so keep your head low and shut up.’ Night cut him off and ended the conversation.
Orpal gritted his teeth but said nothing, knowing that she was right. At first, he was always content to have people talking to him and his stomach full. Those were the moments when he felt and acted like a normal person.
He shared the hardships of the rest of the citizens, feeling frustrated and unappreciated like anyone else. The problem was that, just like back on Garlen, the moment his basic living problems were resolved, his ego made such an existence unsufferable to him.
‘This isn’t fair. I’m supposed to be a General at the head of an Awakened army, not a foot soldier that everyone bosses around. I am the Horseman of Night! I possess a legendary mage tower and Davross equipment.
‘I shouldn’t be forced to live in a dump among people unworthy of licking my boots!’
Such thoughts would become more and more frequent until he was forced to leave a city lest he revealed his true form in a tantrum. Night never stopped him because she wanted him out practicing.
She wanted him angry and out of blood. She wanted Orpal to be Orpal and easy to manipulate as she saw fit.
That day, they had returned to Naerma after running out of provisions. Meln preferred to stick to a few cities because it gave him a sense of familiarity and because the guards already knew him.
Going to a new place would have meant repeating his story and enduring the hazing and the insults again. He was eating beef stew while waiting for his provisions to be delivered from the local store when he caught an alarming piece of gossip.
“May those jerks from Garlen and the day they stepped foot on our land be damned.” Rhom, a bright blue-cored Awakened guard hawked and spat with pinpoint accuracy in a plant pot.
“What jerks from Garlen?” Orpal tried to sound indifferent while he fought to keep his food in his stomach.
“Don’t you know?” Rhom was flabbergasted. “Where have you lived until now? Under a rock? Oh, right. My bad.”
The tavern erupted in a burst of laughter, making Orpal clench his teeth and ball his fists. Night knew the language of Jiera, its history and tradition, but having lived on Garlen during the past few decades, she was unaware of anything that was considered common knowledge for a local.
Orpal had to explain it by claiming to have been in secluded training for a long time. The depth of his ignorance and the fact that despite his alleged ripe age he was still at the blue made the joke never get old.
He would have loved to take out Thorn and shove Rhom’s laughter down his throat along with the speartip, but Orpal couldn’t afford to be chased out of Naerma. Not until he made sure of what was happening.
He and Night had escaped to Jiera because there no one had ever heard about the Dead King or the spell to destroy Night that Baba Yaga had shared. His existence was on the brink of becoming even more precarious so he swallowed his pride and smiled.
People took turns explaining Orpal how Garlen’s Council dared colonize Jiera under the pretence of helping solve the ongoing crisis. The voices grew louder and angrier as they spoke, often adding a profanity every other word.
The more the citizens of Naerma got riled up, the calmer Orpal became. It was clear that there was no chance for an alliance. The Councils weren’t going to exchange knowledge so as long as he kept away from the colonists, he would be safe.
“They’ve come on their fucking Train, acting all high and mighty.” Rhom said, spitting once more. “That thing is made of so much Adamant and white mana crystals that we could have built an arsenal with it, but those fuckers only care about themselves!”
