text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, war]
  
  Year 32
  
  "It's not just a celebration for Roldan, it's the celebration of the victory over the Felkans." You remark.
  "I know that, but why is he getting a special parade? Roldan wasn't the only one who brought down the Felkan Kingdom! He wasn't even the only general!" Alison exclaims.
  "He was involved in the brunt of the major conflicts, including most of the vital forts and cities and most importantly the last siege on the Felkan capital." You reply.
  "As I recall YOU played a major role along with several others!"
  "Well Roldan's also been making great progress in eliminating the gnolls tribes on our western borders too. We probably won't be having any trouble with them anymore at the rate he's going."
  "And as I recall YOU also played a major role in that during the Felkan War! Hell, so did I and continued to do so long after you got transferred to the frontlines! Shit, if it hadn't been for us keeping those mongrel barbarians back who knows how the war would've turned out?"
  "Alison why are you so angry about this?"
  "I just don't understand why you aren't getting a big parade or accolades either." Alison says as she finishes getting dressed.
  "I dunno, I'm not really concerned about it though." You reply apathetically. "Besides you know I don't care for all this kind of pomp and flash that comes with these sorts of celebrations anyway. If I didn't have to be here out of formality I wouldn't even be attending."
  "Maybe, but it doesn't seem fair that you've been getting punished just because you married me."
  "Here we go, this concept again..."
  
  Alison goes into her usual rant about how since you got married to her, you've been getting less important assignments. She feels that the Emperor has been punishing you by keeping you in the background while allowing Roldan to take more of a prominent role such as sending him to conquer the gnoll tribes of the west.
  
  You can see this argument, and you have even entertained it a bit from time to time, but ultimately you've dismissed it, mainly because despite everything you're still reporting directly to the Emperor. You're still his most trusted of all his advisors.
  
  You're still his son.
  
  Besides its not like you're sitting around doing nothing. The Emperor has just been keeping you closer to home because this is where you're currently needed. With the recently acquired Felkan territory and the westward expansion, the Eyes are a little stretched so you've mostly been trying to eliminate the new bandit havens popping up in the old Felkan territory along with helping to fend off any desperate gnoll raids that attempt to sneak through. You're also supposed to be making sure the new "citizens" aren't planning to rebel, but given how badly they were beaten down, they're just glad that you're allowing them to live. So far no seditious activity has been detected.
  
  True, you'd rather be out there conquering new lands in his name and getting into the heat of battles rather than playing super sentinel, but at least you get to see Alison more often. It's a good trade off as far as you're concerned.
  
  As far as Roldan is concerned you aren't worried about him being "favored." This large celebration for Roldan is more Jacob's idea mainly because Roldan has largely become well known along with being well liked throughout the Empire. Not just by the military, but by the normal citizens as well. He's generally regarded as a hero of sorts.
  
  Jacob practically begged the Emperor for this special celebration because he felt it would be good for overall morale throughout the Empire. Well that, and the fact Jacob feels "vindicated" that his own influence on the Eternals has proved successful. Though you sort of had a major role in Jacob's fortune in that endeavor as well, something else Alison mentions in her rant.
  
  "You know, I might be getting sent to the unexplored land east of Nalin. There's been discussion about expansion in that direction." You say to Alison in the hopes that it will calm her down a bit.
  "Yeah? Well I certainly hope you'll get your own special celebration when you conquer whoever lives there. I'm sorry. I don't know why this is getting to me. This doesn't bother you, so it shouldn't bother me. You're right anyway, I guess if you'd really fallen out of favor you would've been sent to go tame the inhospitable usksha desert south of Nalin alone in a loin cloth welding just a wooden sword."
  
  You chuckle at Alison's scenario.
  
  "Okay how do I look? Do I look presentable for the Emperor's palace?"
  
  Alison stands before you in a black dress. It isn't excessively fancy, but it's certainly not something peasant would wear. While you've seen Alison in civilian clothing before, you've not seen her in something so elegant.
  
  "Really you didn't need to dress up for this thing, I certainly didn't. I just made sure I didn't have a tear in my trousers and polished my armor."
  "Maybe that's because visiting the Emperor's palace isn't that big of a deal to you. For me however this is a new experience. Just glad my mother's old dress fit me, since it's practically the only fancy thing I own."
  Well, you look lovely and dangerous as usual. The rapier on your hip is a nice touch. Didn't realize that's what all the upper class ladies were accessorizing with nowadays."
  "Ha ha, I said I wanted to look presentable, I didn't say I was going for high society. I'm still a soldier by nature, I'm not going anywhere without a weapon. "
  "That's my girl, let's be on our way." You remark and the pair of you set off for the capital in a carriage.
  
  Alison's mood is much better the closer you get to your destination. When you arrive, the capital is already pretty busy along with the surrounding countryside. The city guard and a few soldiers are busily trying to keep order and keep the path clear for the parade later. The palace is certainly less chaotic and you take the opportunity to show Alison some of it. She mostly enjoys the ancient armor and weapon displays along with some of the statues. You have to admit, before you came here with Alison, you never really admired them before.
  
  Doesn't take long before someone who knows you approaches. It's Jacob and a brunette woman who looks about your age. She must be a soldier of some sort because she's dressed in armor.
  
  "There you are, I was wondering when you'd arrive! When did you get here?"
  "I don't know, a half hour ago I guess. I was showing Alison some of the palace since she's never been here before."
  "Ah yes, Alison! It's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face! Better known as Major Krozer for those of us that have only known her through her military deeds. I heard how you were instrumental during the Felkan War on the gnoll front! That was great work! Between you and your husband here you really paved the way to the destruction of those barbarians."
  "Thank you for the recognition." Alison remarks politely. Ever the professional, she knows not to bring her personal feelings into a setting like this.
  "Everyone should remember that even though a special parade is being held for General Roldan, all soldiers who did their duty during that terrible war are to be honored and respected. Actually scratch that, ALL soldiers of the Empire should be." Jacob says as he looks over to the warrior woman.
  "Oh I'm sure I didn't do anything nearly as impressive as my husband or even the major and her husband here. But I suppose can be glad that the kobold and usksha population is a lot lower due to me." the woman says.
  "Brenda, don't sell yourself short! You know you've done great things as well." Jacob says.
  "Brenda?" you ask. You didn't even recognize her, but then it has been quite a while.
  "Yep, it's me. Been a long time. I figured you wouldn't recognize me right away. Oh, sorry about all that y'know...back in class."
  "As I've told everyone else Brenda, all in the past. All in the past." You say.
  
  The four of you speak for a moment exchanging general pleasantries. Jacob seems even happier than Brenda about Roldan's celebration. In fact in the whole time you've known him, this has to be the happiest you've ever seen him. Eventually the four of you head to one of the palace's large balconies where you can view the entire parade.
  
  Three of the five known Eternals are here, and it makes you wonder where your other classmates are since it seems like they would be important enough to be here. When you ask Jacob this question, Jacob says Warrick is indeed here, but is currently working as head of security for this celebration being Sightmaster of the Eyes and all. As for Kane, Jacob stumbles a bit over his words.
  
  "Well, erm...Kane is having personal problems...he's been reassigned to Rask while he uh...works things out. They're always having problems with the occasional giant lumbering down from the mountains and the stray feral ogre bands there anyway."
  "Jacob, I'm well aware of Kane's condition, you know."
  "You are? Yes...I suppose you would, considering you've visited Gnome's Home in the past. (Sigh) Well then you know its best that he's not around other normal people, even other soldiers. He's still loyal to the Empire, he just has to be isolated. So he's at a very remote outpost at the edge of the northern Rask Mountains. He keeps a look out for potential attacks and if he...gets hungry he's away from civilization and has the beasts from the mountains to prey upon."
  
  You shake your head.
  
  "Jacob, I can appreciate that you're trying to help Kane, but I wonder if his reassignment is really a good idea. What's stopping Kane from losing complete control and wandering to a nearby village and slaughtering it?"
  "He won't. He's extremely far away from the nearest civilized center and even Fort Defiance. The only victims of his will be giants and the like. And they're enemies of the Empire anyway. Look, can we discuss this later? The celebration is starting." Jacob says.
  
  You nod and return to Alison to watch the parade. It is indeed a lavish sight. You see soldiers in impression armor marching in complete unison performing drill techniques with perfect timing. You see wizards creating small extraordinary feats of magic to entertain.
  
  As you sit there watching you do sort of lose yourself in the moment and actually enjoy just being a "spectator". Being there with Alison certainly helps make you feel normal for a while.
  
  Then comes the big moment. General Roldan arrives on a giant extravagant platform carried by a dozen or so elven slaves. He stands there in very shiny ornamental armor with an equally ornamental weapon by his side. He waves to the crowds on both sides and accepts their cheers. Brenda and Jacob are both smiling and Jacob is shouting louder than anyone else on the balcony.
  
  "Sheesh, you'd think he was the one married to Roldan." Alison remarks.
  
  You snicker at her comment and then suddenly as you're watching Roldan wave on the platform, you get a very bed feeling. You don't know why or how, but all your instincts scream out at you that something very bad is going to happen...
  
  And then it does.
  
  A cloaked figure suddenly materializes right behind Roldan. From this distance you can't be sure, but it doesn't look entirely human. As the crowd's cheers become sounds of horror, you see this figure draw two curved blades and in one quick move decapitates Roldan before he even knows there is an attacker behind him.
  
  His body and head don't even hit the surface of the platform before the cloaked figure disappears again. The elven slaves at this point panic and drop the platform, this is soon followed by the rest of the citizens generally running all over the place and soldiers swarming the streets trying to maintain order. The city is in chaos.
  
  Jacob is just sitting there in shock. Alison has immediately ordered everyone on the balcony to get inside the palace. Brenda on the other hand has already left; you imagine she's taken to the streets to go find her husband's assassin herself.
  
  "That was a fucking shadow." You say to yourself.
  
  > secure the palace
  If this is some sort of shadow attack then the first thing you need to do is keep the palace secure, in particular the Emperor. Besides the city streets are going to be mayhem, you doubt if you'll be able to track down the assassin that killed Roldan. Hopefully others will get him though.
  
  Despite Alison getting most of the people back into the palace, Jacob is still sitting on the balcony in shock.
  
  "He...he...he's not...he can't..." Jacob stutters.
  "Jacob get your ass inside now!" you shout and drag him inside.
  
  You and Alison both start taking control of the situation telling the guards to lock up every opening they can and the mages on duty to magically seal up the rest. Alison tells the guests to find some place safe to gather, but you don't really care about any of them. Your number one concern is the safety of the Emperor.
  
  "Alison, I need to..."
  "I know, the Emperor. Go. I can help with keeping shit together here."
  
  You rush down to the Emperor's den constantly looking around the whole time. You keep thinking that a shadow, or whatever that was that killed Roldan is going to suddenly materialize at anytime.
  
  When you get inside the Emperor's chambers, he's in bed asleep. You don't want to wake him, but he needs to know the situation.
  
  "Huh? Mmmh? Oh hey...(cough cough) what're you doing here? Are the festivities already over?" he asks.
  "Emperor, there's been an assassination. General Roldan was killed during the parade by what I think was a shadow. We're currently trying to secure the palace just in case this is part of a greater attack."
  "Sounds like a lot happened while I was taking a nap. Shadow huh? Thought we killed all of them. Guess they were just playing a waiting game as usual. Always a few loose ends aren't there? (cough) I imagine Jacob isn't taking Roldan's death too well."
  "Not at all, he's pretty much in shock and was babbling the last time I saw him."
  "Hmm, well it is a shame. Roldan did turn out to be one of our best generals. I'll have to make sure he gets a nice funeral. If we can't celebrate his successes in life, at least we can honor him in death. (cough cough)...what's wrong my son?" the Emperor asks when he notices that you're looking slightly troubled.
  
  "I was one of the ones chiefly in charge of hunting down the shadows. The fact that I missed one or possibly several so that something like this could happen...I feel like I failed." You explain.
  "Nonsense, you did what you could to the best of your ability. I've always known that. Don't even start playing what if for this situation, because it's not worth it. While this event has certainly been tragic in that it ruined what was supposed to be a happy day, this really isn't excessively serious in the scheme of things. (cough cough) If you were worried about me, don't be. Even in my less than magnificent state, I'm more than able to handle a shadow or even a dozen of them. Assuming they could even get in here in the first place. Its probably just one crazed shadow that somehow hid under a rock all these years from our purges and thinks this one act is going to bring us down. Foolish of course, but what can you expect from such fanatics?"
  "You don't think this sort of thing could cause instability in the Empire?"
  "Hardly. (cough cough) The citizens might panic about things for awhile, they'll be fearful of the big bad shadows' return for revenge or whatever stories they'll make up, but ultimately it all works in our benefit I'm sure you know. (cough cough) We get to continue to display how without us they would be at the mercy of dangerous forces that would have destroyed them long ago."
  "So...what did you want me to do now?" you ask.
  
  The Emperor begins to sit up a bit more before answering you.
  
  "Nothing. In fact (cough cough) after things calm down a bit, you can return to your regular duties in the newly acquired Gan and Ibim provinces. I can handle things here in the palace and the city, just get Jacob down here and I'll start hammering out the plans."
  "You really don't need me to do anything?"
  "No, your talents are far more useful doing what you're doing right now. Besides, with Roldan dead you might be needed more than ever on that side of the Empire. Last I heard there were still gnolls running about. (cough cough) I of course appreciate your concern as always my son."
  
  The Emperor begins to slowly get out of bed and you take your leave. When you get back upstairs everything is more or less peaceful. Alison and some of the other officers have been making sure the palace is secure. Alison tells you there have been no signs of any potential attackers. Reports from outside the palace are about the same, other than Roldan's assassination the only other causalities have been from soldiers trying to maintain order or from people getting trampled in the initial chaos. No shadows or anything else like that.
  
  "So what's the next move? What did the Emperor tell you?" Alison asks.
  "He told me not to worry and when things calm down outside to just return to my normal duties." You respond
  "That's it?!"
  "That's it. He wants to see Jacob though, is he in a more coherent mindset now?"
  "Compared to before? Yeah, but he's still pretty shaken up. I know he's been crying."
  
  You walk over to Jacob who is sitting quietly in a chair with his head in his hands. He's still very upset. You have to repeat yourself twice when telling him that the Emperor wants to see him.
  
  You and Alison stay at the palace for a few more minutes, but when you get news that a carriage is able to take you back to Fort Stalwart you decide to leave immediately. Its hectic trying to leave at first since there is still a bit of turmoil in the streets as well as the surrounding countryside, but once you're a few miles from the capital the ride becomes more relaxed.
  
  Alison asks you if you're certain about leaving.
  
  "The Emperor told me to just return to more normal duties and not to worry, so that's what I'm going to do. If he says he can handle this incident himself then I have no reason to doubt that. Besides, he also said with Roldan dead I might be needed more on the western borders anyway." You say.
  "Hmm. I guess all those times I worried about you being punished seem sort of silly now...sheesh...today was surreal. I mean I've seen a lot of stuff in my years of service, but nothing like this. The general consensus seems to be that it was a shadow that killed Roldan. Certainly looked like one from where I was sitting." Alison replies.
  "I don't see what else it could've been. Similar style of clothing, invisibility, incredibly quick, sneak attack, the elements were all there. (Sigh) Damn."
  "You alright?"
  "I just...well I dunno. I just can't believe we...I missed a shadow. Really thought we got them all when I killed Cyrus. The Emperor said it wasn't my fault and I know it really isn't but I still feel like this is a major loss."
  "Yeah, I can imagine you'd feel that way having worked together with Roldan during the Felkan War."
  "Heh, well to be honest Roldan and I were never close. I mean we were professional and civil, but we never really did become what you'd call friends. Still though he didn't deserve to die like that. He wasn't just an excellent solder and general, he was an Eternal and I guess that bond was there to an extent even if it was faint. Now there's one less of us."
  "I guess given that you all grew up together and were subjected more or less to the same training, the other Eternals are sort of like, your siblings?"
  "Yeah, I suppose in some ways they are. Funny that I never thought of that before." You remark.
  
  As you reflect on all that's happened, Alison reaches out to touch your hand, you look over at her and return her smile with one of your own. Happy that you have her.
  
  Then your smile disappears when a bolt grazes your ear and hits Alison right in the eye. Her blood splatters on your face and her body slowly goes limp in your arms.
  
  You turn your head around just in time to see the assassin hanging outside the carriage window with one hand and his other arm reeling back from having launched his bolt from his armbow.
  
  It's definitely a shadow, but from this range you can also see it's also not human. The face is either severely burned or rotten. It grins at you with blacken teeth and before you can react, it rapidly climbs up which is followed by brief scream from the carriage driver and then the ride gets a lot bumpier really quick.
  
  The shadow has probably killed the driver and is probably in the process of detaching the horses. Meanwhile you're still holding the body of you beloved Alison.
  
  > chase the assassin
  With revenge filling every inch of your body you immediately open the carriage door with the intent of climbing up to meet your attacker. No sooner have you opened the door when a rotting hand from above attempts to stab you in the face with a dagger.
  
  The blade superficially wounds you as it slices across your cheek. Unfazed you immediately grab the hand and pull down as hard as you can. The moment you do so you suddenly feel an unnatural drain of energy. Magic is definitely at work here and it's sapping your strength. Despite this, the shadow tumbles off of the roof, but on its way down it grabs your own arm with its other hand and the pair of you fall from the carriage.
  
  Unfortunately, when you're pulled out of the carriage you don't clear it completely and your ankle is run over by one of the back wheels of the carriage that is still in motion. The bone snaps and you know it's broken along with your nose when you fell flat on your face on the hard road.
  
  The shadow has recovered from his own fall much better having landed on his feet. You push yourself up just in time for his foot to kick you in the ribs. You roll away struggling to put some distance between yourself and the attacker.
  
  "Y'know when I was brought back I was given very specific instructions not to kill you...but I believe I will ignore them. After all I'm already dead, what else can be done to me?" you hear the shadow hiss in a raspy tone.
  
  You attempt to raise your hand to cast a flame blast, but the shadow grabs your wrist and you feel an even greater drain on your strength than you did before. At this close range you can smell the rot more strongly.
  
  "Oh no, you burned me once before, not again." The shadow hisses as it drains your energy. With its recent comments, you realize this isn't just a shadow or even some undead horror possibly masquerading as one. It's Cyrus.
  
  Your whole body feels like its been beaten with a stone pillar yet you manage to muster the strength to pull your dagger and stab Cyrus repeatedly. You aren't even aware of where you're aiming, you stab it in the arm, in the shoulder, in the chest, in the face and wherever else you can reach until it lets you go and staggers back with your dagger still in its body.
  
  You're dizzy, weak, and have only one good foot, but try to stand up anyway. Cyrus pulls the dagger from his body and does his typical shadow speed tactic in an attempt to rush into you with the dagger. You barely manage to put up a small force shield to block the blade from going into your stomach. Still the impact of the hit knocks you back down to the ground breaking your concentration on the spell. Cyrus kneels down to grab your neck, he's not even squeezing and you feel the life leaving your body. You start to fade in and out of consciousness.
  
  "Now I'm going to show you something truly eternal. Death. They say the dead feel nothing, but that's not true. It's a lie just like the lie I believed about Dendrin meeting me for the afterlife. You know what I experienced instead? A very dark place filled with pain until I was ripped out of it and put back here on this mortal realm. That's where you're going brother. You're going to a very dark place filled with pain and I'm going enjoy every moment putting you there."
  
  At this point you have no idea what the hell Cyrus is speaking about, all you know is he's more talkative in death than he ever was in life and that if he's going to kill you, you wish he'd just shut up and do it already.
  
  Things get fuzzy again just as Cyrus' fingers release your neck. What happens next is a blur. You do hear familiar female voice though.
  
  "Th