Michael continued to run, the flesh on his feet regrowing as his speed tore it off against the cold stone ground. He couldn't feel the pain, it was nothing compared to what roiled inside his mind. Hoplite had fully gone off the deep end and betrayed Terna, he'd fully Thawed and was going by his original name. Not only that, he had insisted that Lord Jyn wasn't human… His hero was effectively dead now. Hoplite was gone and a traitor, he wasn't worth following any more… and yet a treacherous thought kept trying to surface, one that he could barely keep down.
What if he's right? And what if it's okay that he wants to be free?
He froze in place, fingers biting into his palms as he attempted to bury the thought. It went against everything he was ever taught, everything he'd ever known. Lord Jyn had disappeared before Michael had even been born, but he still loved his leader regardless. Lord Jyn had saved humanity, he would never have lied to them-
But he did abandon us.
Michael snarled again, baring his fangs like the monster he'd become. Lord Jyn hadn't abandoned them, it could have been an accident. Lord Jyn coulda been testing out some new lightspeed tech or something and it accidentally sent him to the other side of the universe, that had been the prevailing theory, though no one except those First Arm snobs knew for sure.
Jyn hadn't abandoned them, and he was human, no matter what Hoplite said. Michael turned back down the incline with a scowl. He couldn't just leave Cat down there by herself with a compromised Hoplite. He'd acted too rashly, he'd head back down and get her, but he and Hoplite were done. To betray Terna in that way was unforgivable. It hit Michael then that this must have been why he'd been re-indoctrinated originally, this exact thing may have happened before.
It wasn't the first time a Hoplite had gone rogue, and it certainly wasn't the first time that Thirty-Seven had. There was a solution to this, all that needed to be done was put him back in the Chair. Michael felt revolted with himself as the idea crossed his mind, but that was all he could think of to get Hoplite back. It was impossible though, the Sparrow wasn't equipped with one, and even if it was, how the hell would they get up to the ship from here? The drop pods were a one way trip, they couldn't fly them back up there. Even if they could, how would they capture him, more like how would Michael capture him?
Michael was far stronger and faster now then he used to be, but he had no delusions about what Hoplite could do to him if he fought back. This was a pointless train of thought, it was best to just give up and move on. Hoplite was effectively dead, Michael just needed to accept that. He might be a freak now, but he was still a marine, and he had a duty to fulfill, even without Hoplite. The crew of the Sparrow could still be alive out there somewhere, and they needed his help.
He had a death wish, no doubt about it, but that could wait until after this mission was accomplished… Particularly after he found Nate, as long as Nate was alive, Michael could let himself die. Ignoring the itching treachery in the back of his mind, he ran back down the incline until he once again reached the base, seeing who was once Hoplite talking with Lance. Cat was sitting up, wrapped in a blanket, her expression blank. Lance locked eyes with Michael, and he glared back until she averted her gaze.
He was certain that she had played a role in Hoplite's death, but despite that he struggled to hate her, because that horrible thought that Hoplite was telling the truth continued to plague him. It disturbed him to no end, and it was becoming more difficult to ignore. Michael needed to distract himself, he approached Cat, not looking at the traitor or the elf as he moved toward her, squatting down to be eye-level with the diver.
"We gotta go." Michael told her, "Stayin' around him ain't a good idea no more."
After a moment, she nodded sullenly, rising from the ground.
Hoplite said nothing as Cat approached a crate, "Our gear is in here." She said, tone completely emotionless.
She sounded drained, not just in the physical sense. It was as if her very soul had been torn out of her body. He moved up to it, seeing that inside lay her jets and his armor, along with their weapons. He shot a glance at Hoplite, but the traitor didn't move to stop them as Michael began donning his gear. It felt weightless on him now, as if he were wearing a suit of air. As terrible as his mutation had been, he couldn't deny that the increased strength was nice… but it wasn't worth never being able to see the sun again.
His eyes widened when he realized that he'd charged straight through the dark cave without any source of light whatsoever. Had he been so distraught that he'd forgotten his fear of the dark? Or was it simply that he could now see perfectly in it? He shook his head, flicking on his headlamp after Cat finished equipping her diving gear. There was plenty of food in the crate as well, but despite everything Michael didn't feel hunger… not for food. He hoisted the crate up over his head with ease, turning to see if Hoplite would try to stop him.
Secretly hoping that Hoplite would try to stop him, as much as he hated to admit it.
"Marine." Hoplite said right as they both reached the incline.
Michael paused, not turning around.
"It was a pleasure serving with you. Good luck out there." He said, tone genuine, "Never have I served with a more loyal marine."
Michael's face scrunched up as wet darkness began to fill his eyes. He continued up the incline with Cat following just behind him, pitch-black tears flowing down his cheeks as he went.
Jason watched as Michael left with Cat, carrying the crate of food and gear over his head as he went. He didn't want them to go, but he did not control them, he wasn't in their command structure any longer. They were as free of him as he was free of Terna, and he wouldn't dare force his will upon them. Genuinely he wanted nothing but the best for both of them, hopefully they could make it out of the Fiendwood alive, or find the other crewmen of the Sparrow.
He sighed when he finally saw them disappear around the spiralling wall of the cave. Again, he couldn't shake the feeling that he would see them again, be it here in the Fiendwood or somewhere else. It was a struggle to let them leave, even now after he'd made his decision… They needed to stay safe.
"He was sad." Lance told him after a moment of silence, "I don't think he wanted to go."
"He's loyal to Terna, he wouldn't compromise that to stay here with us." He explained.
"It's still such a shock to me that, after you just got them back, they're already leaving…" She said, trailing off.
"I know." Jason said, "But again, that's their choice to make. We have other things to take care of now." He continued, changing the subject, "We need to find Kazon and neutralize him, I can't back out of that now. We should link up with Twindil and the others, we'll need their help."
Lance tensed, "I don't think they would want me around after everything I've done."
He shook his head, "It was a difficult situation for all of us, Lance. If you just apologize I'm sure it will all be fine."
Lance looked up at him with an expression of disbelief.
"What?" He asked.
"It isn't that simple." She told him, "Saying sorry isn't enough."
Jason frowned, "Why not?"
"I outed Twindil as a Pillar-Born, I told the dwarves about the new Pillar-Gods, and they used that to find out about her parentage. I would not blame her if she desired my head on a pike." She frowned, averting her eyes.
"Twindil isn't like that." Jason told her, "She prioritizes peace over all things, she won't want revenge."
"She wants revenge against Kazon though." Lance said, "Speaking of which, how are we supposed to go up against him without Twindil by our side? His hatred will turn us against one another."
He had forgotten about that… that was a problem, he didn't want to risk hurting Lance out of artificial hate. There had to be a way to resist that aura-
"You all done out there!?" Lithia screamed, "Lance your break is over! Get back in here!"
"Hold on!" Jason shouted angrily, "We need to make a plan of action, your screeching won't help us!"
"I do not screech!" Lithia screeched.
"We have time, Jason." Lance told him, heading back into the chamber, "I need to learn as much as I can before we go."
He followed after her, "Learn what you can, but we can't stay here for too long, Twindil and the others still need food and water."
Lithia waved a hand dismissively, "They have Theopalu with them. If they found out about his true nature, which I believe they have, he can use Maintain Body to feed them. They will be fine."
"How do you know that they found out?" Jason asked, "I only learned about that because you decided to share."
"I watched his head get blown off by that Telegad fellow," Lithia explained, "Such a thing could never kill him though, he's likely grown a new body by now, and there'll be no explaining that away easily."
"Alright, so he can use that spell on others, not just himself?" Jason asked, "Could I use it on Lance and Nolvi once we go topside?"
Lithia nodded, "It's simple, all it requires is physical touch, then you cast the spell as normal. It needs flesh against flesh though, no barriers, or it won't spread to surrounding bodies. You can put a bare hand on their shoulder or put your foreheads together, but there can be no buffer between your skin and the one you wish to feed."
Jason nodded, "Affirmative."
That was good, incredible even, now they didn't have to worry about a food supply. Still, water was an issue, but his earlier theory of purifying water with Raw Foundation must still be applicable. As Lance sat down to concentrate on grasping the flame, he asked Lithia if it were indeed possible for that to work. The corpse confirmed it, saying that the whole reason the curse could spread through ingested water was because there may be living things within it that carried it. It wasn't a guarantee that the water they drank would have those microbes, but the risk was great and there was no point in taking it. Running Raw Foundation through it would remove the cursed microbes entirely.
This did make him wonder about other microbes though, microscopic creatures didn't just reside in water, so why then had no one been cursed so far? He asked this of Lithia as well.
"If you drink the little bastards, they could do some actual damage to your guts, even if it's mild. Pain is still pain and you will be cursed." Lithia told him, "Though these would count as Lesser Fiends, the microbes would need to cause significant pain to you in some fashion in order to spread it. Again, it's entirely possible that you could pass un-purified water with no issue, but why take the chance?" She told him, "Just a small mote is enough, dip it in there and you'll send them all to the hells. That means no being scared of going at it raw-"
"Grandmother-" Nolvi began, a suffering look on her face
"I wasn't being dirty! Jason needs to use Raw Foundation, he can't avoid it if he wants clean water." Lithia snapped, "I'm not thinking of such things at all times of the day child!"
Nolvi rolled her eyes.
Lithia gasped, "Are you sassing me!?" Lithia asked, clearly shocked, "Your sweet old grandmother, and you're sassing me?"
"I'm not sassing." Nolvi said in a flat tone.
"Yes you are, if you had a room I would send you straight to it!" Lithia pointed at her, "Your break is over too, go stare at that wall until it dents!"
Nolvi didn't reply as she stomped over to the wall, and began staring at it. For all Jason knew, that genuinely could be training for Nolvi, she had always been able to inflict damage with them, after all. Yet if Lithia couldn't break her own prison, there was no way that Nolvi would have been able to.
"...We also need a way to counter Kazon's magic. If he makes us hostile to one another, we might never make it to him." Jason said, "Twindil had been keeping us safe from his influence, but until we find her we need an alternative solution to this problem."
"Little Nolvi will be fine, but she can only guard herself. I can teach you to do the same." Lithia said.
"Affirmative, what spell is it?" He asked.
"Spell?" Lithia asked, "You don't need magic to counter it, you need patience and a clear mind. I can project this hatred as well, I used to fell entire armies with it, Kazon can only do it because he stole it from me." She explained, "He can't even do it half as well as I can. I will project that hatred here, in a controlled environment, and you will learn to battle it, to clear your mind of it. If you can't, you won't last long up there."
Jason hesitated, "I don't know if that's a good idea." He told her, "I don't want to hurt anyone."
"You know as well as I do that I won't allow that to happen." Lithia smirked, "I will project to you and only you, as Lance is concentrating and Nolvi already knows how to control herself. If you can resist the hatred I put on you, Kazon's will feel like nothing but a gentle breeze. Are you ready?"
"First I need to go find Michael and Cat." He decided, "They can't go topside without this training either."
He had been determined to let them go, but in all the tumult of the past few days, he'd forgotten about Kazon's hate aura. If they get above ground, they may all turn on one another. A slight sense of dread filled him when he realized something about the Ternans that had landed here. They had all been exposed to the hate aura as well… meaning that they had likely slaughtered one another already. Searching for them could be completely pointless, unless it was lone survivors like Cat. How had he not taken this into consideration once everyone had been affected by the aura?
They were likely all dead by now, or cursed. Cat may have been the lone exception in all the Fiendwood. Considering how many Ternans and Final Kind he'd seen among the hordes, it was safe to say that he wouldn't find survivors from either faction here, not after how long it's been. Maybe if they were just outside of the aura, maybe at the shores of the continent?
He turned to leave, readying himself to reason with Michael, but Lithia shook her head, "It will take them weeks to find that exit without Spirit Sight, you and those Pillar-Born will have slain Kazon by then."
"Are you sure?" He asked, "Cat can fly, and I assume that Michael can see in the dark perfectly now."
"Even with that, it would be like a worm trying to find its way out of a pile of hay- it'll get there eventually, but it won't happen overnight."
"Then how are we supposed to get out of here before they do?" Jason asked, narrowing his eyes, "At this pace they'll get topside well before us."
"Oh sweetheart," Lithia giggled, an alien sound from a parched desert of a throat, "I can just put you up there. I cannot escape this place, but I can remove people from it. Do you not remember the tome that little Nolvi took from that chapel?" Lithia asked, "I can sense members of my brood from a great distance away, but I could not simply summon her here, as much as I would have liked to. She needed an anchor for me to pull on, something that was in my possession, so I took a risk and sent my grimoire. I knew she wouldn't be able to resist its pull, when she grabbed it I was able to talk with her, to explain myself, and to unlock her spirals, then I brought her here."
"Wait, if you can send things out, why can't you teleport yourself out of here?" Jason asked.
"Because I am bound to this throne you see here. I cannot leave it, and the Pillar-Gods choose not to listen in on me… They know I will plead for my freedom." She sighed, "They're right, I will. It was Darax who bound me here in the first place, when he was on the brink of ascension he brutalized me, beat me within half-an-inch of my life before locking me in here. That was all the way back in the Third Age, that bastard… I wish I could take revenge one day, but now that he's a god that's impossible. From what Nolvi told me, he ascended to embody War itself, appropriate for a half-ogre freak like him."
"You're getting off topic." Jason told her, crossing his arms.
"Muh?" She asked, refocusing, "Ah right, I can send things out, but not myself. I only had my grimoire and my clothing, but it needed to be the book for it to work as an anchor, since I can summon it back. It is bound to me much the same way as my amulet, so if someone is holding it, I can bring them here… save for Kazon, of course."
"Why doesn't Kazon come here to finish you off?" Jason asked, "You seem like a massive security risk to him."
"Now look who's getting off topic." Lithia pointed out, "If you must know, it is because he fears me. If he was before me, I could easily take back what was stolen, then he would be doomed. Now, let my hate flow through you, if you can resist me then Kazon's hate will be nothing to you."
There wasn't really a choice here, this was a mental fortitude that he would need to develop. Jason knew he wasn't ready to counter it yet, on the way over the bridge he'd succumbed partially to it until Twindil began protecting everyone. If he could resist a stronger variant of it, then he'd have nothing to worry about when he got overground, just like what Lithia said.
"Alright. As long as you make sure I don't hurt anyone." Jason said, uncrossing his arms.
Lithia then waved her hand lazily at him, and just like that he was frozen in place. He struggled to move, but just as the Long Lords had done to him before, his armor was locked. Immediately after that, Lithia glared at him, and Jason tried to lunge for her, to crush her skull in his hands and paint the walls with her rotting blood. This foul piece of dried garbage, how dare she hold him down, how dare she play with Lance like a toy! He snarled, straining every muscle against his armor in an attempt to reach her.
"Jason calm down!" Lance shouted, standing up.
"Don't approach him, and focus on your training!" Lithia yelled, the noise of her sniveling voice like styrofoam rubbing together, "This needs to be done, and it'll be your turn right after!"
"I'll kill you!" Jason shouted at Lithia, feeling blood vessels begin to burst before immediately regenerating, "I'll eat your organs and wear you like a coat!"
Lance shot him a look of horror before backing away from him, just out of sight.
The surface of his skin literally began to steam, turning a light red as he continued to strain, wrath bringing his blood to an actual boil. It hurt but he couldn't care, as long as he got his hands on Lithia, that was all that mattered. He pushed himself beyond his limit, but his armor only lightly twitched beneath his strength.
Then just like that, the heat was gone. Jason's head hung as he gasped for air, blood and sweat dripping from his face in unison. He'd never felt so angry in all his life, not against Theopalu or even the Final Kind. How on Earth was he supposed to fight back against such intense vitriol?
"Are you alright?" Lance asked from beside Lithia's throne.
"I'm fine!" Jason gasped out, feeling dizzy, "I just need a moment… Is there a way to counter this with a spell?" He asked Lithia, his breathing heavy.
"This too is no spell, that is why it cannot be dispelled." Lithia said, "That is why you must strengthen your will, exposure will increase your resistance."
Jason shook his head, "Twindil blocked it with magic."
"Nolvi told me all about that, Twindil did no such thing." Lithia waved dismissively, "All she did was cancel it out with her own aura. Spells will not counter it."
He grunted, "Fine then. Lance, could you sit behind her throne instead of by me?" He asked, looking to her.
"Why?" She asked, "You don't want to hurt me, right?"
Jason nodded, "That, and I don't want to lash out at you. If you're in my line of sight I might try to go after you… I don't want that."
"You'll prioritize whoever you hate the most." Lithia told him, "You'd need to hate her more than me in order for you to shift your attention to her."
Jason let out a sigh of relief, "Good. Still though, just in case, I don't want you seeing me like that." He continued, looking back to Lance, "If you could at least look away from me, this is going to be an ugly process and I don't want it impacting your view of me."
Lance shook her head, "It isn't your fault, I do not think less of you for it."
Jason smiled, "Thank you. I still insist that you look away, as a favor."
Lance hesitated, "Alright, if you insist." She told him, turning away before sitting down.
"If you two are quite finished, we have work to do." Lithia complained, right before another wave of pure wrath took control of Jason.
"I'll turn you inside out!" Jason shouted, coming to a boil once again, "Reach in, grab you by your jaw and pull you out the other side like a sock!"
"How charming." Lithia said flatly.
He growled and cursed her name until finally, she relented again. Jason huffed as he fed himself with Foundation to repair the damage inflicted by the heat of his anger. Then Lithia did it again, and again, going through the motions of this for an hour until finally, something changed.
"I'll-" Jason hesitated, eyes shutting tight before he let out a deep exhalation.
He had to control himself. Just because he wasn't Hoplite didn't mean that he didn't have that same steely discipline. He reigned himself in, feeling his blood cool ever so slightly as he fought to clear his mind.
"Finally." Lithia said, her voice reigniting his anger.
"Be quiet!" Jason yelled, his skin crimson as he felt every vein in his face begin to pop, "I hate you and hope you die!"
"That's progress from when he said he'd pull me inside out like a sock." Lithia noted, "I'm guessing it'll only be a few more hours of this before he can remain stable."
His breath caught as he realized he was steaming again. Once more he shut his eyes, not wanting to look at Lithia else his rancor be reignited.
"That's no good, little Dragon." He heard Lithia tsk, "What will you do when Kazon's projecting, close your eyes? You know as well as I do that would spell your doom, now slide open those yellow orbs of yours and take in my glory!"
"There's nothing glorious about an old rotted piece of jerky." Jason growled, opening his eyes to glare, "Look at you, you're pathetic. Whatever you were in the past, that's gone now, anything you've done has been forgotten except your sins. I talked with the locals, I've heard stories about you, how they use those stories to keep their children in line." Jason hissed, seething, "Only a monster would leave an impression like that, one that lasted throughout thousands of years when everything else is forgotten. It's no wonder you were locked in here, you're a rabid animal."
"So charming." Lithia cackled, "Anything else to add?"
Jason gave a rictus of a smile as he continued to steam, "Theopalu must have seen what I do now." He told her through clenched teeth, "No wonder he left you-"
Lithia yawned, her casual dismissal of his insults bringing him back to a boil.
"You-"
"You are nothing more than a scared little boy, upset that daddy turned you into a weapon. You call me pathetic? Pah!" Lithia laughed, "It practically took a God to put me away, what happened to you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes, "All it took to lock your true self away was a few mean words with some beatings thrown in, I guarantee it."
His jaw clenched, "You have no idea what we went through!"
"We? You had siblings then?" She asked, resting her chin in her leathery palm.
"Don't you talk about them!" Jason raged, trying to break free of the armor to reach her.
"Lithia-" Lance began.
"Hush girl, I must aggravate him until he can build a tolerance to this. If I don't, then none of you will stand a chance against Kazon." Lithia interrupted quickly, immediately turning her attention back to Jason. "All dead by now I assume, or worse, given your clear mental weakness, I assume that all your siblings are similarly in poor shape. Your father must be devastated about what wretched failures you all turned out to be."
"I'll kill you!" Jason shouted, feeling his blood vessels explode beneath his skin.
"That's enough!" Lance stood again, "You go too far, you shouldn't be mocking his family that way!"
"Did I not explain myself to you already? You must be as thick-headed as this one. You'll be quite the project too once it's your turn to stand before my gaze." Lithia sighed, "Oh well."
Jason began frothing at the mouth, each muscle in his body straining against the Phalanx suit. Lithia continued to prod at him from there, each jab pushing him to new heights of anger until eventually, she released him again. He blacked out for a few seconds, raising his head to see Lance standing before him, looking up concerned. He felt bone-tired, his eyes heavy and stomach growling… he fed himself with Foundation, his body restoring itself as it used the energy provided.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Lance asked him, clearly concerned.
He suppressed a sigh, "I have to. This is nothing compared to the Chair, I'll be fine. Just ignore me and focus on getting a grasp on Foundation. I won't die, I promise."
"I'm more concerned about what it is doing to your mind." She replied with a frown, "Your mental wellbeing cannot be benefiting from this torture."
"It has to be done." Lithia told her, "It will be a torturous process, do not doubt that. It will be harder for him than it was for Nolvi… Blame his Dragon blood for that. These creatures don't feel emotions as normal folk do."
Jason frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Dragons feel emotion more intensely than other races, hate, anger, sadness, love, all of it is amplified for you. Say that my single finger here," She continued, raising her index, "Is the upper most limit of what a mortal can feel, while this," Lithia raised her other hand, showing all five fingers, "Shows the upper limit of your emotions. Your capacity for all of these is leagues above that of mortals. Why do you think your blood boils when you are enraged? You feel it five times stronger than anyone else does."
Jason's jaw dropped slightly at Lithia's words. Back when he was a child, Commander had always made sure to teach him to control his emotions, that if he let them rule him they could literally end his life. That teaching had taken priority over everything else, every Hoplite was taught that emotion was something meant to be bottled away, to not be acknowledged. Was that why his brothers and sisters were all equally distraught by being taken from their mothers? That first day back in the barracks, everyone had been crying uncontrollably, even Jason himself… He had always chalked it up to the simple fact that children were attached to their parents, and that separating them would be traumatic.
Certainly any child would have felt that way, it wasn't strange that all three-hundred of them had been weeping. Yet, that sadness had continued on for a week straight, it had wracked their entire being to the point where they had to be force fed to survive… that wasn't normal?
"Your capacity for hate then, is also five times greater. Lance will not be brought to boiling as you have, as she can't feel to your extent. She'll learn to control it far faster than you will." Lithia continued, turning to smirk at Lance, "Why do you think he's already so protective of you girl? When a Dragon gets attached to someone or something, they'll do anything to protect it."
"Any good friend would do that." Lance pointed out, crossing her arms, "We haven't known each other for a long time, but we've spent just about every day together since he's crashed here, it's hard not to build some rapport in that time frame, even if we have argued here or there along the way."
"Perhaps," Lithia told her, "But remember this, he sees you as his friend now, but as time goes on and you spend more time together, that perspective might change."
Jason narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"
Lithia shot an irritatingly knowing glance at Lance, who just stared back a moment, clearly confused. Then, for some reason, the tips of her ears began to turn scarlet.
"Don't be ludicrous." Lance chided, sounding baffled as she shook her head.
Did Lithia mean that he would get into an argument with Lance and then come to hate her? That was ludicrous.
"That's right, I could never hate her." Jason nodded.
"Of course not." Lithia crooned, shooting Lance another smirk.
She looked away then, pulling the points of her ears downward.
Lithia chuckled before turning her attention back to Jason. "Are you ready for another round?" She asked.
He was, but he needed a moment to think, "Not yet. Please release me, I want some water."
Just like that, the lock on his armor was gone, and he could move freely once again. He left the chamber, approaching one of the many crates before squatting down and guzzling down the contents of his canteen, brow furrowed as he thought. His whole life, he had a capacity for emotion that outstripped common people? It hadn't felt that way, yet how was Jason supposed to know that?
He sighed again, his gears spinning as he stared a hole through the floor. If Lithia was bringing him to the peak of his hatred, then did that mean he had never truly hated the Final Kind? He shook his head, he certainly had hated them, but never to the point of frothing boiling madness. Theopalu had gotten him to that point, but it still paled in comparison to what Lithia had made him feel. Theopalu hadn't made Hoplite's skin steam or blood vessels burst, after all.
Maybe this intensity was why Hector had been obsessed with re-uniting the Hoplites. He loved each of them so greatly that he'd been setting up plans to capture the rest of them over time, as he'd caught Jason. Hoplite Twenty-Two, or Orion, had been next to rescue, but Hector had vanished and Jason was captured well before that plan could be executed.
Hector was likely dead now, that world he'd been on was purged by Darkwatch after Jason had been retrieved. Yet, even as they had forced him into the Chair, he had an intense hope that he had somehow survived the purge, as impossible as it was. Terna wanted to capture Hector as well, to re-indoctrinate him to serve the Eighth-Arm… but apparently they couldn't find him. Either that, or Hector's crimes were too severe to justify keeping him alive, some First Arm noble could have pulled strings to make sure that Hector was killed, rather than captured.
His head hung the more he thought of his brother. He needed to move on, whether Hector was dead or alive, Jason would never get to see him again. Before he knew it, tears began to fill Jason's eyes, dripping to the stone as he reminisced on the short time he'd spent with his brother after he'd been freed. It hadn't been fair, they were people too, none of the Hoplite's had asked to be born, why could they not live their own lives?
How could a father do this to his own children?