The Master had been listening all the while they talked. He felt guilty for not being there for Lunae. The water had been especially cryptic of late, and he didn’t understand why. When Linth came inside, he was relieved that there was a party that the young ones had to go to. He remembered the days of his youth, when all he wanted to do was party and have a good time. He waited for them to leave before he got up. He needed more answers, so he went to the altar and put his hands in it.
Waves could be heard crashing about, and the Master felt as if he were wading in the water. He always loved that feeling; it made him feel at home. The Master realized in his studies that every Master had a pull to the water, in some way. It was like they had a connection to the water that he could not pinpoint. He waited for the water to say something, but it did not. The last time he put his hands in the water, it gave a warning.
“Tides have changed, the old will flourish or die, two sides of a coin will present themselves, and much blood will be spilled,” the water said. This had left a bitter taste in the Master’s mouth, and he felt frail. This time, it told him to kill the prisoners. So he left the hut to do just that.
He looked outside to see many of the Piskal people dancing and shouting. He walked outside, trying not to be detected. The Master walked beyond the circle of people, observing their happiness. He saw Fulch and Lunae dancing together, full of laughter, since Lunae clearly didn’t know how to dance. The Master wondered how much help she would be tomorrow. He longed to join them, but he was too old for such things, and he had business to attend to.
The Master walked up to the hut where the Lord resided and walked in. What he saw was a very sour man. The Master never liked this man; he was always power hungry, and after the magic of the people left, he became bitter. He craved the attention of the people, and he, in turn, turned into a tyrant. Making soldiers out of men who followed him and everything he represented. They were radicals of all the insane rhetoric the Lord spewed out. The Master walked up to him and this time decided not to bow. Nartuck looked up, disgust in his eyes.
“I see, Master, tell me, have you just been mocking me behind my back all these years. Since you clearly knew you had the heir. Did you think oh I’ll make a fool of him one day, this will be fun?” Nartuck said. The Master shook his head. He never understood the simple minded.
“My Lord, I was unsure when the water would want me to bring back Fulch. The last one in my care was there for centuries. I am here for your prisoners, or have you forgotten my job?” The Master said. Nartuck stood up when he heard this; anger fumed from him.
“You haven’t done your job in years!” He said. The Master had no time for this, and his impatience was showing.
“Listen here, Piskal. You do not command me, the water does. You do as the water says, or have you lost your way?” The Master said clearly as a threat. Nartuck understood and sat back down.
“Verdom!” Nartuck yelled, and a man came out, fierce eyes, strong build, but young, the Master thought.
“You called my Lord?” Verdom said, trying to hide his gaze from the Master. The Master saw this and tried to hide his amusement.
“Bring the Master to the prisoners, I’m sure he would like a chance to interrogate them,” Nartuck said. Verdom bowed and asked the Master to join him. They walked outside to the cages, and the Master thought about how far they had fallen. No more magic, they were a shell of themselves. He remembered the days when their prisons were the finest on all the worlds. They would bring their prisoners to them because no one could escape. These, on the other hand, were made of wood and twine.
A Rhudon and a Porpura man were sitting there with smug looks on their faces. The Rhudon man was tied to the ground, his arms bound to his body so his claws could not be used. The Master was confused why they were together, and he intended to find out, even if that meant going against the water. He decided to start with the Porpura man.
“Why are you here?” The Master said. The Porpura man smiled, unwilling to tell the Master anything. The Master knew this and was ready for it. He started to warm up the water inside the man, and the look on the man’s face became worried. The man slowly started to shift, feeling uncomfortable. The Master smiled, knowing it would only get worse. Next thing the man did was to rub on his arms and legs, heat permeating, stinging his insides. Then he started to groan, anger consuming him. Then the man tried to take the water from the Master, and this shocked the Master. He then pulled the man’s water towards him, which made the Porpuraian scream.
“How did you do that?” The Master said, releasing him. The Porpura man was groaning; fear was now encapsulating him. No one but the master’s should know this power, the Master thought. He needed to get to the bottom of it. He then started to boil the Porpura man’s water. The man screamed for him to stop, and that is when the Master brought him close to death. The man lay on the ground, tears were steaming as they fell from his eyes.
“Tell me now, or I can keep doing this until you beg for death, and then I will still keep doing this ‘till your mind breaks,” The Master said. Masters could be cruel; this is known. The fury of the water was something not to mess with. The Porpura man knew this, but still was defiant. The Master knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out for long; he reeked of fear. The Master began again. The screams were getting louder. Verdom was getting nervous; he had never seen anything like this before. The Master took a note of this; the soldiers were weak men, the Master thought.
The torture was happening for quite some time. The Porpura man was spewing up blood, which made Verdom throw up. A warrior ran and got Linth after hearing the screams. Linth came and sized up the situation as the Master was taking a break.
“Why are we hurting the Porpuraian?” Linth said. The Master didn’t know how to answer that. So he ignored him. The Porpuraian was ready to talk, begging the Master not to continue, but the Master did not oblige him. The screams were loud as he pleaded, saying he would tell the Master everything he knew.
“The gifted one!” The man yelled. This made the Master stop. He bent down and stared into the cage where the man lay, skin smoldering.
“He is the one who gave you this power?” The Master said. The Porpura nodded.
“Why were you sent here?” The Master asked. The man got up on his knees and took several deep breaths.
“We were sent to kill you and the woman you are with,” The man said. The Master wondered why were the Porpuras and the Rhudons working together to try to kill him and Lunae. This made no sense. Especially since the leaders couldn’t possibly break the bond they made in the ceremony, but since this Porpura man has the power to control water, maybe he didn’t know the rules at all.
“Who ordered this?” The Master demanded. The Porpura man was hesitant. This is when the Master started to pull his water. He screamed.
“Brurock!” The man yelled. This is when Linth stepped in.
“It is known that Brurock goes against his father, and he hunts us. We have seen some Porpuras with him. Now that he is here and has seen you, you are a prime target. We have confronted Narutay, but he seems oblivious to the reason why,” he said. This concerned the Master. Something was going on here that the water had chosen not to tell him. Is the water turning on me? The master thought.
“Who gave you this power?” The Master said. Then the man became brave.
“The gifted one, he will conquer you and all that oppose him. He hides in the shadows waiting for his time. You will be no match for him. He is even more powerful than your precious water!” The man said. A fanatic, the Master thought, and he didn’t want to play this game.
The Master walked away from everyone and thought of a plan. He needed to teach Lunae the ways of the water, and he needed more information, but he was tired, and he couldn’t let them see him falter. Lunae would do the executions. The Master could not.
“Linth! Go to the open field tomorrow at first light and prepare an altar for me. The spot must be secured, and when I tell you to bring these men there. They will die there,” The Master said, and Linth bowed.
“I must get back with Fulch and Lunae,” Linth said, and the Master said that he would accompany him. As they walked back, the Master slowed down, breathing heavily, and slouched over. Linth saw this and walked at his pace.
“I may need to rely on you, old friend,” the Master said. Linth put his hand on the Master’s back.
“You can count on me,” Linth said. As they got back to the party, the Master straightened up, and he saw that Fulch and Lunae were still dancing, even worse than before. The Master smiled at this, and that is when Lunae saw him. She came running up to him and gave him a huge hug.
“Master! You must dance with us!” Lunae said, almost yelling, and the Master laughed. Lunae was purely intoxicated.
“I don’t dance anymore, I’m too old,” The Master said. Lunae scoffed at this, almost falling over.
“Nonsense! Come, come! Dance with me! Like you used to,” she said. This made the Master think back; he had forgotten all those years ago that he would dance with her. This brought life back into him, and he agreed. They spent the night dancing and drinking.