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Black and White

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And so shall they rise,

his children, clad in black.

Close to edge of demise,

returned here now to attack.

 

They shall come upon us all,

and know not mercy, pain, or fear.

They shall hear the Baron's call,

and shall they then quickly appear.

 

They will bear powers understood,

to be of death and no life within.

They shall bring ill, not good,

and ruin the world with darkest sin.

 

Fear the cry of that foe,

Disciples shall be their given name.

For when, to that war, they go,

this world will never be the same.

 

Brother Forth, Followers of the Baron.

 

----

 

Rylain nodded, half agreeing.

"Yes... I hope you're right, and this is nothing more than the ramblings of mad cultists. But if it isn't... and Brother Forth is right...."

He trailed off as Akane appeared, taking her seat by him, yawning.

"So they all know, then?" she asked. "I found this on the door."

A paper, quite like the one given to Quinn, was in her hand, signed by Brother Forth and the Prophet. She put it back down on the table, uncomfortable.

"Well this is great..." she muttered.

"How's Haruki? Does he know?" Rylain whispered.

"No. I hid the paper from him. He doesn't know what's going on." Akane assured. "But he'll learn from the other children, I'm sure."

"I hope not." Rylain replied, despondent. "I don't want him to worry. He's too young for that..."

"No one is too young to worry, Rylain." Akane responded. "No one."

 

----

 

Geralt felt a bump as Miles boarded the train not far from him. He obviously hadn't seen him, because he was turned the other way.

"Miles!" Geralt called out, pulling himself further up the train to reach the man. "Are you alright? Did something hurt you in the forest?"

He knew Miles still probably feared him, but what else could he do?! He moved further up the train, concerned for Miles' health.

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Miles’s head jerked upright when he heard a familiar voice over the roar of the wind and the groan of the train. Squinting against the sun and the pain in his head, he managed to make out a blurry figure moving across the train towards him. Of course Geralt would have boarded the train as well. Forcing himself into a sitting position, he pulled himself backwards slightly as Geralt approached. So now he was concerned. Earlier when he was stabbing him in the back, his brother hadn’t seemed to care about his well being. After all, it was his fault. Whatever he had done during the attack or after he had fainted was causing a clear interference. Not only could he not hear or feel the Baron, he couldn’t even hear or feel any Beasts. After spending years growing used to other noise in his head, the feeling of being connected mentally with others was comforting. Lacking it felt like he had been left alone and forgotten yet again. Not only that, but the headaches whenever he tried to use his power was stifling as well. He didn’t want to have to feel the chill of the wind or the cold, metal roof of the train. He didn’t want to feel confined like he had nowhere else to go. He needed it back and he needed it back quickly.

“Don’t act like this isn’t your fault,” Miles snapped, pushing himself further away from his brother as he approached. His hair, now a complete mess thanks to the night on the forest floor, was pushed away to cover his face as the wind whipped through it. His tattered shirt snapped against his body in a similar fashion, pushed forwards by the wind and the force of the train propelling forward. Lifting a hand up, he pulled his hair away from his eyes, trying to keep it away from his face as best as he could. While he had stopped moving backwards for now, he was considering rolling off the train if Geralt got too close. He couldn’t fight right now. While he was angry at this point with Geralt, he was also afraid of him. He wasn’t anywhere near ready to stand up to him and likely wouldn’t be for a very long time. Lifting his other hand to his head, he dug his fingernails slightly into the skin on the left side of his forehead, trying to dull the headache that was still pounding from when he had used his powers to board the train.

 

——

 

“Then we’ll fight it,” Quinn replied with a frown. That was what they always did and what they would continue to do. “It doesn’t matter what they look like, they’re still Beasts. It doesn’t matter what the Baron makes next, we still have our Lord’s power. As long as we do, we will always have a weapon to fight against any of the Baron’s forces.” She set the paper down on the table and watched silently as Rylain and Akane conversed. Pushing her mugs aside, she set her palm on the paper that had been handed to her with a determined but stern frown. “We can’t let it get to us. If we let it unnerve us, we’ll become uncomfortable in battle and lose ground. If it was a serious problem that arose, one of the Cardinals would step up and help. Those four could take down any Beast, no matter what it looked like.” She lifted the paper up and folded it up neatly, tucking it into the pocket of the pants she wore before standing up. “I’ll be going down to the town that was attacked yesterday to help with repairs. You’re welcome to join me but I figured it would be the best thing to do on my off day."

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"You can't be serious? Immortality? That's your big goal?"

"Why not?"

"It's a hunt for fool's gold, Dr. Skarsgard. There is no point to it. It's like searching for the philosopher's stone, or Shangri'la. Immortality is just a joke."

"With that mindset, yes. But I'm convinced-"

"Convinced of what? That you have a better chance of finding it than the last hundred thousand who tried?"

"No. But I have more resources to work with, and I'm just as motivated as they were."

"But why? What's the point of wasting your life away, searching for something you may never find?"

"Because a life, to me, no matter how insignificant, should not end before they wish for it to. Every life means something."

 

"Every life matters."

 

----

 

Geralt pulled himself further up the train, trying desperately to reach Miles. He could sense the man's fear, his caution, his trepidation. The man who had once called him brother had a right to fear him. But Geralt's mind kept telling him there had to be a way to prove that he truly wanted to make amends...

"It is my fault! I admit it! It's all my fault!" Geralt shouted above the roar of the wind. "I admit it! But you know you won't make it far without my defense! I can tell! You're having problems using your powers, aren't you? Are you expecting to just walk among people in bloody clothes and with a wound like that without someone reporting you!? If you go to a hospital, you'll be revealed!"

This was his last hope. He didn't want to use this tactic, but Miles was forcing his hand. And all of this was true. Miles looked like he'd just killed someone, or someone had attempted to kill him. While the latter was half-true, it still didn't mean anything if people saw him like this.

"I don't look as wounded! I'll go in the city for you, I swear!" Geralt began again, crawling to Miles as best he could. "I will get us clothing and a place to stay within the city walls. I'll do it for us both, I promise to you. You have no reason to trust me, I know. But can you not give me one more chance to redeem myself, brother?!"

 

-----

 

Rylain moved from his seat, sighing as he rubbed his face. He helped Akane up, and then placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go with Quinn, to help with repairs. Can you stay here and take care of Haruki?" he asked, concerned.

"Of course. Besides, I'm not feeling too well after yesterday. The amount of magic I used..." she said, smiling. "I'll be fine. Please, go see what you can do."

"I'll be back soon." Rylain assured, leaving her to walk with Quinn as the two headed for the exit.

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Miles’s fingernails dug deeper into his skin. Whatever his problem was, whatever was giving him this pain was inside his head. It hurt and ached and Geralt was clearly the one who had caused that since it hadn’t hurt before. But now he was here, looking concerned and offering his help. He wanted a chance to prove himself and redeem himself and yet with each passing moment the pain in his head only worsened and he still could not feel the Baron or anyone else. Dragging his nails across his own skin in an attempt to find some relief, he scowled and stared at his brother. “You want a chance?” He yelled back, grinding his teeth together. “Then get out of my head! I don’t know what you did but I can’t hear anything. It hurts whenever I try to use my powers and I can’t talk to the Baron at all. I don’t care what you want to do at this point but just stop messing with my head.”

He lowered his head down at this, burying his face between his knees and gripping the back of his head tight, trying to simultaneously defend it and squeeze it to try to distract himself from the pounding. It had gone away before but it wasn’t ceasing now. It was just a constant throbbing like his brain was bouncing about inside his skull. He just wanted to speak to the Baron again and feel that connection. He wanted the feeling back that he was connected to something that was so much bigger than him but cared about him so much. He needed it.

 

—-

Quinn pulled on her long coat, covering her arms with thick fabric. It could be fairly cold journeying quickly from the fortress to other areas as the fortress was situated on a mountain side so it was a good idea to bundle up for at least the first part of the trip. As they walked towards the stables, she buttoned up the coat before, finally, they arrived at the door that led to the stables. Reaching out, she grasped the doorknob and pulled the door open, letting the familiar smell of hay enter the hall.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Quinn suddenly stopped and glanced over her shoulder as quiet, barely audible footsteps brought a tall figure closer. The woman moving towards them seemed to glide across the floor and her eyes stared directly at the both of them. While the woman herself was not familiar, the large crest just below her neck was and Quinn took a cautious step backwards. A Cardinal. She’d never actually met any herself since they usually remained deeper within the fortress but she had heard so much about them. Stopping a short distance away, the Cardinal looked briefly between the two of them before focusing on Rylain.

“I am Cardinal East. I need you to escort me to the exact location where you found this book.” Juliet produced the diary in question with a fluid motion. Unlike when Rylain had brought it to the Fortress originally, the book now sported several bookmarkings poking out of the top but otherwise looked exactly the same.

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A Cardinal?

"This must be very serious if the Prophet's own personal guard left her side for something that seemed so trivial at the time." Rylain said to ease the tension, but now he was feeling a bit of anxiety. The Prophet's guard - the four Cardinals - never left her side unless something was extremely troubling, or unless someone was making an attempt on the Prophet's life. For them to show up now... This was far more troubling than Rylain could ever have anticipated.

"We were on our way there, now...." Rylain said, frowning, but he bowed as well to show his respect to the Cardinal. "Please, follow us and I'll show you exactly where I found it. But I did report the scene to one of the others..."

He trailed off, then suddenly froze.

"No... No I didn't... I thought nothing of it... And in the excitement, I thought the Beasts had just found another few victims.... I didn't even... Curses." he said to himself, mainly.

He got atop his horse and quickly kicked its sides to send it off in a hurry. Whether the Cardinal followed or not, he had to get there and make sure the scene still existed....

 

----

 

Geralt sighed, stopping just short of two feet of Miles.

"I don't know why he's not speaking to you, or why you're feeling pain. I haven't felt anything at all, and I haven't heard a word. I don't know."

He frowned, concerned.

"I.... I do carry medication on me for headaches... If I still have it... If you want it.... I used to have them all the time when I was first ... saved." he muttered, reaching into his pocket.

Somehow, through all that, the bottle had survived, though a side of it had been dented and the cap had been knocked a bit loose. However, the medication within looked fine.

"Here, if you want." Geralt offered two of the pills to Miles, hopeful.

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The smallest of frowns appeared on Juliet's face as the Apostle admitted he did not report the scene. Well then, there was only a small chance the scene had been preserved. Animals would have probably been attracted to it and if the scene was important, it was most likely already gone. But if there were even some clues left over, it was important to look them over. Anything that could lead to the author of the book or one of the creatures mentioned would be a fantastic lead in the right direction. "I do not take chances," She replied, making sure the book was safely tucked away.

Striding quickly into the stables, she made her way to the large shire horse already being tacked up by a few regular humans who had been informed she would be riding. The horse was a dark brown color with the exception of it's legs, which were white. It sported a white mane and tail and had a white star patch on it's forehead. Quickly jumping onto it's back as the helpers hurried to undo the cross ties, she spurred the large horse forward until it was following Rylain's own horse. He knew the way so following him was the best idea. Only a few seconds later, Quinn burst out of the stables on her own horse and kicked its sides, trying to get it to catch up to the two others already well ahead of her.

 

-----

 

Miles didn't move initially, opting to remain curled in on himself. Geralt didn't know why he was in pain or why the Baron wasn't reaching out. After his betrayal, it was likely the Baron wouldn't talk to Geralt at all. But with his own head out of sorts, Geralt was his only immediate connection to the Baron, or at least the Beasts. He could call at least Beast to them, right? If he did that, he might start to forgive him for nearly killing him before. He hated feeling so isolated when he was used to feeling so much more. He wanted to return to how it was before when his mind was shared and he could feel others there. Right now, even though he was sitting right in front of him, he couldn't even feel Geralt. It felt so wrong. "Can you try talking to him? Or at least a nearby Beast" He asked, finally looking up at him again.

At the offer of medication, Miles reached out and pulled the pills from Geralt's hand, eying them up. He never really took medication. He had been a poor orphan before a Disciple and as a Disciple, he didn't get sick. He probably couldn't get sick. But he was willing to try if it meant getting rid of the pain. So he popped both of the pills into his mouth and crushed them between his back teeth to chew them up. Immediately, his eyes widened as he he coughed loudly and jerked forward, spitting out the mashed up medication onto the top of the train. What the Hell? Grunting, he wiped his tongue against his wrist, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. "What the Hell?" He asked, looking up at Geralt. "Is it supposed to taste like crap?" He coughed a few more times and eyed his sleeve, considering trying to wipe his tongue off on the fabric.

Edited by pudding

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Geralt had to stop himself from laughing. Now wasn't the time. He removed a few more from his pocket, handing them to Miles again.

"You're supposed to just swallow them. Not chew them up." he suggested, also offering a small canteen of water. "I should have given you this as well. But over time, you learn how to simply take them without a drink."

He leaned back a bit, letting the wind of the train blow past him, moving his hair. He considered the option but then shook his head.

"Unless you're adamant, I'd rather not call Beasts to us if I can help it." he stated, crossing his arms. "I don't trust those things. At all."

He sighed, frowning.

"I also don't trust the Baron. You may think of him as kind or benevolent, but anyone who would create those abominations.... Can't be good." he said, despondent.

 

------

 

Rylain's horse sped along the terrain, kicking dirt and grass upward in a frenzy. He pressed forward, concerned. Would the scene still be as it had been?

Soon, the town was in sight again. He quickly swerved, turning to his right to follow the destroyed town wall. People who were working on reconstruction looked at him oddly as he rode. Some of them began to whisper in worry. If a known Apostle was here, did that mean there was another attack coming...?

"Don't worry! Just a.... patrol!" Rylain said, turning again.

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An involuntary shiver passed down Miles's spine before he looked upwards at his brother. That would have been much nicer to know before he made the mistake of crushing the pills between his teeth. Was taken medicine so common place that he was just expected to know that? Even then, the pills looked a bit large to swallow without chewing them first. Taking pills, he grabbed the canteen in the same hand and took a moment to silently brace himself for the bitter, dry flavor that was sure to come. Shoving one pill onto his tongue and trying to force it to the back of his throat, he tipped his head back and drank quickly from the canteen. Despite how large the pills looked to him, it went down without a problem. The bitter taste never came so the second pill went in his mouth and down his throat without a fuss either. Thank the Baron. After everything that had gone wrong in that day and the previous one, it felt like just one more thing was going to push him over the edge. It really didn't matter how large or small it was, he was already at his wit's end, he couldn't deal with that much more.

"He took us in," Miles protested, wiping a drop of water from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Looking up at Geralt, he frowned, planting his hands on the top of the train. He couldn't stand, he had to stay down. He was too tired and could very well fall off if he tried to do anything other than just cling to the top of the train. "I don't care if he is good or not. Nobody ever looked at me twice before he did. Do you think people are kind? Do you think the Lord is benevolent? Then where were they?" He stared up at Geralt now, nose wrinkled up in distaste. No, he didn't believe the Baron was kind. Nobody could call him that when the Beasts killed regularly. But he didn't really care. Humans killed one another and Apostles liked to think themselves above the rest when all they did was kill as well. So what? If he was going to have to kill or be killed anyway, why not throw his lot in with the only thing that had ever helped him? It was ridiculous and stupid to bite at the only hand that ever even considered loving you.

 

----

 

Quinn had fallen in line by the time they reached the village once more. While only a day before everyone had been fleeing for their lives or trying to barricade themselves away, the town had returned to a much more lively state. There was still clearly something sad looming over the village but seeing people out and about and trying to repair everything felt reassuring. It didn't matter how many times the Beasts attacked or how many times they had to fight them back. People would always recover and seeing that amount of strength in normal folk was reassuring. People would survive this war and they would recover when the Baron was finally defeated. They would always build themselves back up. Humanity was resilient.

 

 

----

 

Momo sniffed at the grass, thier eyes closed in thought. The scent was certainly faint but their nose was never wrong. They didn't need to look like an animal to know blood had been spilled there. Not only that, but there was no mistaking the feeling in the air. As a Beast, they were largely composed and held together by the Baron's power. That meant it resonated with them and they could actively feel it in the same way she could feel other Beasts and the Baron himself. This entire area did not only reek of blood, but also hummed loudly with the Baron's energy. Since the Disciples were meant to be humans that were blessed with the Baron's power as well, it was unsurprising their blood would contain some of the Baron's energy. So even if the blood was more or less gone from sight, having been licked clean by forest animals, they was on the right track. Tapping their chin in thought, they paused and looked out towards the village. Not that way, they had come from that direction. Had the lost lambs gone deeper into the forest? They would need another lead if they were going to get anywhere with this.

Sighing loudly, the Beast set their hands upon their hips, trying to think. If the blood was gone, there wasn't much for them to look at. They needed more clues. Had anyone seen the disciples? Perhaps asking around could help. They were meant to blend in, after all.

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