Traitorous Dreams

Liet slowly pushed the thick oaken door open. The utter darkness inside burned his eyes that were accustomed to the brightness of the Sun magicks that illuminated the God-King Jinka's throne room. This particular door led to the single most accursed place in the seven kingdoms of Man, the dungeon of the God-King.


Only rumors ever escaped the blood-mired halls, never men. Rumors of iron cells, where the warmth and light of the Sun and it's magicks never released the icy hand of darkness. Rumors of tortured prisoners, expiring in excruciating torment, their strength and will sapped by hideous agony. Rumors of shattered minds after the God-King's Illusionists nightmares of horrors, terror, and desperation flayed your mind as surely as their whips flayed your flesh. Liet was unsure what he would find of his beloved Kyt, but he was bound heart and soul to search her out, if only to confirm her death with his own eyes.


His eyes finally adjusted to the blackness. He noted quite quickly that this search would likely take quite some time. Extending out in front of him was a seemingly unending tunnel of cells, each with a small barred window allowing a view of the occupant. To both of his sides were curving pathways. He considered his route for a moment, then seemed to decide as he pulled his sword from it's sheath. The sword was still wet from the blood of the slain God-king, and Liet took only a moment to wipe the blood off with the lower end of his tunic, grimacing in disgust as he did. Finally, he knelt down and carved a cross into the soft stone floor, a marker to him in the unending sameness of these tunnels. This precaution in place, Liet turned to and proceeded down the left path. He passed five halls, all similar to the one he came from, until he came back upon the cross he had marked. The dungeon was a huge six pronged wheel, or so Liet figured. Hundreds of cells. Thousands of cells. Despair almost overwhelmed him in that moments, but suddenly he perked up. He looked down the hall of cells, then began to run straight down it. He passed cell after cell, every single one empty. He wasn't sure what that meant, but as he continued he saw not a single soul in the cells. Eventually he came upon a door made of silver and gold intertwined and emblazoned in the God-King's Sun crest. Liet Pressed softly on the sun symbol, and the door slid back easily at his touch on well oiled hinges, opening in two parts with the Sun crest splitting in half.


Once again Liet was blinded, this time by the light of the place. His magick-sensitive vision was overwhelmed by the concentration of Sun Magick, even as his normal sight was blinded by the brightness. He cried out briefly, then his eyes recovered from the onslaught, and he saw her. Laying, eyes shut, in the middle of the room was Kyt, his love whom he had braved the wrath of the God's Kingdom to save. He ran to her side, ignoring everything else about the room. He gently picked her up, tilting her head up and feeling for her breaths. He was relieved to find she only slept, and even at his touch her eyes fluttered and she began to stir. His eyes could not leave her face, the face he had not seen in almost a year. His arms could not disentangle themselves from the warmth they had not felt in just as long. Slowly Kyt finally roused, and registered some response as she recognized her savior.

"Li-...Liet?" She managed to whisper.

Liet could not even speak. He just buried his head in her breast and cried, for the first time since losing her, his anger finally gave way to joy as they were reunited.


For a moment she simply held him, singing soothing words, but then Liet stiffened up in alarm. A sharp pain came from his back, and already he felt bleeding, bleeding he knew would kill him in mere moments. Only then did he feel the dagger that her hands held, only then did he see that her clutch was that of a killer, not a lover, only then did he see her smile was not that of a fair maiden, but that of a gleeful killer.


"Why?" He mouthed, his breath already being stolen by Death.

She never answered him, as at that moment another door into the room opened, and in stepped...The God-King.

Liet's face contorted in rage and he managed to rise back up to his feet, pain and numbness trading for control of his body.

"Turns out you were right," The God-King shrugged as he spoke. "I was too easy to kill. Or at least my servant was."

Yes, that makes since. Liet thought to himself. He would never put himself in harms way.

"I fight for an ideal, for Love, for liberty, for freedom. I may die, but my love never will, even if it's turned against me." Liet retorted, then collapsed, feeling the full press of death on him.

"Yes, die you shall" The God-King said with a chuckle as he wrapped his arm around Kyt and held her close "Isn't that right Love?"

The sight of Kyt in the God-King's arms was the last mortal vision Liet would ever have.


Liet awoke beside a azure lake, sitting on a hillock in the ideal country. Around him were fields and pastures, broken only by the odd softly curving hill. As far as Liet could tell, he was the only person in this idyllic paradise, and for a moment that was true.

A lone traveler appeared coming up to Liet on the hill. The traveler was stooped and wore worn robes and a formless, pointy hat. He came to sit beside Liet, and only upon seeing the wizened face and Silver eyes did Liet recognize the man. It was Zifnab, God of Travelers and Wisdom.

"You did well boy, you did well. The whole land will be freed from the hands of the God-King because of your sacrifice. A thousand years from now your name will still be legend and the tomb which you're fellow rebels will build for you will still stand, a testament to the price of freedom. One good man's life."

"You tell me this like it's why I went. I never cared about the God-King or his kingdom. I only wanted her..."

"That's the thing about you mortals. You never focus on the big picture and you always blind yourself to the truth. A relationship is built upon equal giving and taking by both parties. For you and Kyt, you gave and she took, but rarely gave. You loved her with your whole heart, yet she never loved you back. You in your blindness believed she did, and it took her killing you to even instill the doubt. Simply put, you were made for her, but she wasn't made for you. We God's have a plan for all of your lives, and for you it was to destroy this man who thought he was a god, now maybe you don't understand our ways, but you aren't meant to. I'm god. You're not. It's simple."

"Will I ever see her again?"

"You just don't listen do you? Well to answer you, no. This is heaven, paradise. Here is where the heroes and the saints go when they pass on, along with all goodly folk. For her sin, you're beloved Kyt will burn in the abyss for a thousand years, then she will also come here, but by then you'll understand just how trivial such a pursuit is. Here the love of gods will sustain you, though we don't forbid you to love mortals, in time you will understand that she simply is not for you to have."

"Why am I a hero? I did nothing more than a normal man would do. IS every man a hero for defending what he loves and fighting to keep it?"

"Are you really? A normal man would of counted her lost and gotten over it. You fought a Demigod himself to get her. Though you were doomed to die, your love for her was pure and faultless, while normal men never have such emotion. You are a hero of love if nothing else. That's another thing with you mortals, always so willing to give up. Just give up and forget it, never fighting for what the love, so willing to let go of what we gods give them. But now I'm just musing. I will leave you to your explorations. If you ever have need of me, simply call out."

And with that, the god disappeared, and Liet wandered the land, alone, yet somehow better for it.