[ WP ] Break the Villain .

I wrote the prompt with this song in the background: [ click here ] ( https: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=ZxnqSTzq6-w ) 
 
 They called him the man with the golden voice. 
 
 When Mayhern spoke, the people would listen. When he preached, the people would drop to their knees. And when he walked, the world would fall silent to hear his very footsteps. 
 
 He was the most respected priest in the land, and the chronicler of our adventures against the Dragon Emperor. 
 
 “ What will you do? ” asked Mayhern, bobbing up and down upon his horse. “ The people are not yet ready to accept you. ” 
 
 I let my gaze linger on the horizon. Ahead stood the grand capital of Klesia; it was a sprawling city, built upon four gigantic islands, each sloping up towards the floating castle of King Neruvia. 
 
 “ I don ’ t know, ” I answered. It was true. I didn ’ t know where to go. 
 
 Cathy rode up beside us and poked Mayhern in the shoulder, causing his armor to clank loudly. “ Gisella will be fine, ” she said. “ She ’ s a hero! When the people hear of her exploits, they ’ ll warm up to her. ” 
 
 I grabbed the cowl of my hood and pulled it further over my head. 
 
 “ Gisella, ” said Cathy. “ Don ’ t run away, okay? There ’ s nothing wrong with necromancy. If anyone says otherwise I ’ ll put an arrow between their eyes. ” 
 
 “ Don ’ t do that, ” I whispered. 
 
 “ I ’ m just joking, ” said Cathy hastily, but I saw her fingers slide over her bow. 
 
 I glanced at Mayhern, but he didn ’ t need to answer. I still remembered the glare he gave me when I was first inducted into the ranks of his army. They wanted every able bodied magic user, male or female, against the might of the Dragon Emperor. 
 
 The king ’ s recruiters had been everywhere, from the grand houses of the lords and nobles ( coincidentally, all their children suddenly came down with a bad case of consumption on the day of conscription ) to the slums of Blackvine, where children over the age of fourteen were herded out in droves. 
 
 And then they had found me. In the plague infested houses of Maple ’ s End, I was the only survivor. Well, survivor was putting it wrongly. 
 
 Because I am already dead. This body of mine lives through the necromancy passed on through my mother. 
 
 In any time of peace, I would ’ ve been put to death for practicing forbidden magic by Mayhern ’ s church. But the King was desperate. They wanted every magic user – any magic user in the ranks of their armies. Anything to stop the onslaught of the Dragon Emperor ’ s demonic army. 
 
 Turns out, necromancy is pretty good when everything around you is dying. 
 
 Turns out, the Dragon Emperor ’ s absolute barrier only worked against living things. 
 
 Mayhern sighed. “ I might be able to turn a blind eye for now, but the rest of the church will not. Your presence will not be tolerated in front of the king. ” 
 
 I cocked my head towards him. “ And what would you have me do? ” 
 
 “ Ride. Far and away. And don ’ t worry about your share of the rewards. The church will send someone to collect and transfer to you – “ 
 
 “ Oh really? ” growled Cathy. “ The very same church that tithes half the commoner ’ s pay? ” 
 
 “ I can not speak for all our denominations – “ 
 
 “ Then maybe you shouldn ’ t speak at all. It wasn ’ t your god that won us this war, Mayhern. But it certainly was your church that ostracized Gisella ’ s people. ” 
 
 “ She has no people, ” said Mayhern simply. 
 
 Actually there are plenty of necromancers out there. But I didn ’ t dare speak those words. 
 
 We reached the large gate of the kingdom. Ahead, the Klesian guard shacks held four guards, watching our every step towards them. 
 
 “ So you ’ ll be going to the city then? ” asked Mayhern. 
 
 “ …Yeah. I guess. It might be nice. ” To walk around the city like a normal person. To see the sights for once. 
 
 “ Your choice. ” 
 
 The guards formed a barrier in front of the gate. “ Hold there! In the name of the King, state your name and business! ” 
 
 “ Grand Priest Mayhern of the Sixteen Apostles. I bring with me the two heroes of the land: Cathy of the Swiftarrow Clan and Gisella from the guild of Zera. ” 
 
 The guards immediately focused their eyes upon me. “ Necromancer? ” they whispered. 
 
 “ Indeed, ” said Mayhern. “ But she is under my protection. ” 
 
 “ Understood…but Grand Priest, we have rules for this. ” 
 
 Mayhern waved them away. “ Go on then. ” 
 
 The guards ran into the shack and after much deliberation, pulled out a large sigil out of a sack. He ran back and presented it to Mayhern. 
 
 “ Rules are rules, ” said the priest. “ We have to give up our weapons. Gisella, that means you ’ ll have to surrender the souls you keep. ” 
 
 “ Souls aren ’ t classified as weapons, ” I pointed out. 
 
 Mayhern recited a passage from his holy book. “ Alcefiore 20:85. If a person may hold a soul that is not their own, then he has blasphemeth the name of God, and he shall be barred from the city of God. ” There was a long pause. “ The ‘ city of God ’ refers to the capital of Klesia. ” 
 
 Cathy snorted. “ In church they taught me that the city of God meant heaven. Now you ’ re twisting it to mean the city itself? ” 
 
 “ Look, I ’ m not exempt from the rules either. ” Mayhern handed over his battle mace and buckler shield to the guards. 
 
 Cathy grunted and surrendered her bow and arrow. 
 
 “ Gisella? ” asked Mayhern. 
 
 “ It ’ s fine, ” I said. Handing over the souls I collected was not a big deal. Mind you, it was the same as disarming me ( which I supposed was the point of it all ), but then again, everyone was told to give up their weapons. 
 
 I touched the sigil and felt a tremendous pull. In an instant, all the voices inside my mind were muted and shut out. The soulmates I had earned on the battlefield, their lives I had taken with their blessing, were all gone. 
 
 I was empty. 
 
 Death had never bothered me. I could always hear the voices. I could still feel the presence of those long gone. But now, for a brief moment, I truly understood what it was like to lose someone. 
 
 “ It ’ s done, ” said Mayhern. Then he turned towards me. “ I ’ m sorry. ” 
 
 “ What – “ 
 
 The whistle of arrows reached out ears. Flights of them. Hundreds of them, black against the dark sky. 
 
 At least ten of them pierce my face. The sharp metal slices through my eyes, nose, and lips. In less than a second my skull is punctured repeatedly. I was blind. The impact threw me off my horse, and I heard it neigh and scream. 
 
 I remember my powers. A black cloud forms around me, but the torrent of arrows pierces through and disperses my shadow shield. I call out to my friends, to my dear soulmates, but none answered. 
 
 Then it stops. My body is pinned to the gravel by a hundred quivering wooden shafts. My remaining ear hears a gurgle. It was a sound that should not have come out of that mouth. Cathy. My lovely Cathy. Cathy who had protected me all this time. Cathy who had loved me and promised to love me forever more. 
 
 Cathy who is dead. 
 
 Then the hard sound of gravel crunching beneath boots. Leather touches metal. Mayhern ’ s gloves grip his battlemace and I can see his image in my mind. The same grand image that the army worshipped; his strong posture, his bulging muscles, and that violent look in his eye as he stared down the demon army of the Dragon Emperor. 
 
 He brings the mace down on my skull and pulverizes my brain. 
 
 “ Oh Lord, grant me strength to consecrate this vile corpse! ” 
 
 The mace smashes my windpipe and severs my spine. The next hit breaks my ribcage open and crushes my lungs. 
 
 “ I consign this villain into oblivion! I consign this godless being into the void in thy holy name! ” 
 
 -- -- 
 
 They called him the man with the golden voice. 
 
 When he spoke, the world would listen. 
 
 And now, Mayhern stood upon the wooden podium erected in the city square. For he is the chronicler of the crusade against the Dragon Emperor, and he is the only hero to have returned alive. The people gathered around him, their ears perked up, and their hands clasped in prayer. 
 
 But beneath the crowd ’ s feet, a shadow began to form. 
 
 “ People! I come to you now, to speak of a greater evil than the one I have just vanquished! The Dragon Emperor may be dead, but I have seen his true form! His visage was blasphemy, his body was profaneness incarnate, but his mind was true heresy to our Lord and Savior! ” 
 
 Mayhern could speak all he wants. But he couldn ’ t stop the death that was coming. 
 
 “ The true evil still lurks out there. I have seen such evil even within our very ranks. I have felt the disbelief in your hearts! People, let not your minds turn against our Lord and Savior. Let not your hunger for power turn to the dark arts. Stay true to the path laid down by our God and accept his holiness into your hearts. ” 
 
 Because there was one more soul Gisella had harvested. 
 
 “ The greatest enemy I faced was not the Dragon Emperor. I saw a villain far more depraved and immoral. A villain who dabbled in necromancy and death! A villain who had turned away from the kind face of God and spat at his feet! ” 
 
 Cathy ’ s body had not been consecrated. Cathy ’ s soul had not come in contact with the holy sigil. 
 
 So let Mayhern speak. Let his golden voice ring out through the streets and echo in the alleys. 
 
 In the end, Gisella would have her revenge. 

