All the children died at this place called DirtLand.
Alto tells me that is not how to say it, that I am going to offend someone, but I do not care, and you can offend anyone by using any proper term, so I can say DirtLand as much as I want and no one can stop me.
No one can stop me until it is difficult to get a ticket to get to DirtLand.
Apparently, everyone wants to visit a place where many people have died over three days on television and for some reason, there is a collector’s edition t-shirt as well to go along with the event.
Disgusting.
A lot of the defenders, or whatever they called themselves, have a base in Atlaan, and some of their families stayed on the base at DirtLand. Many of them have died, and I don’t feel sorry for them; it is what happens when you go off to war, you die.
Everyone else however feels much differently, so the tickets to DirtLand are gone.
I wait at home, bored, for months, inside, so bored, and it is the rainy season, nothing to do. I do not have an ID to buy a ticket, so Alto gets me a fake one, and I don’t really want one because what is the point if I cannot read my own information?
He asks me what name I want for the last name, tentatively, and I give him a strange look, and then I realize I have been with him for quite some time. This house has made me stupid, always indoors, because I have realized something I should have understood long ago.
That if people never break up, they will stay together which will lead to marriage.
I cannot use my real last name on a fake ID, and I don’t want to use his, so give me the last name SICIURNGRS, at least, that is what it looks like to me, whenever I look at the plastic, laminated card.
On the morning of my departure, Alto tells me that he hopes I have fun and that he will be there for me when I return because disappointment is hard for everyone.
What disappointment? Do you think I won’t find what I am looking for?
He smiles, his go-to when he is trying to trick people, but the tricks don't work on me, and I smile back, telling him that I won’t return until I have it, and then he is not smiling anymore.
My court-appointed guardian Adonis comes along with me to DirtLand. He wants to go, and he’s excited to visit, but then he is upset when I start talking about the sword. He starts to look at me the way everyone else does.
Their head does this slight tilt, they frown but catch themselves, and smile, they don’t argue with me, but they nod and gently try to change the subject, because I am crazy, unhinged, and unstable, and I know Adonis is only coming with me to make sure I don’t hurt myself the filthy liar.
It is a week-long trip to DirtLand and I prepare myself for disappointment.
I arrive at the funeral, dressed for the occasion. I wear all white, as is tradition, but Adonis is wearing black. His facemask is black, as are his shoes, small leather jacket, jeans, and shirt, and I do not understand why anyone would wear black to a funeral.
People give me dirty looks.
“You can’t wear white to a funeral, Nero.”
“We wear this to funerals on Paradis!”
“This is not Paradis.”
I don’t want any extra attention, but I can’t change. We left the hotel immediately to get to the funeral hoping that I could find the stranger with the sword, and I’m so tired.
So very tired and cold.
He must be dangerous, so I have to be careful. I heard online he planned it all with the witch.
I’m nervous and tired with everyone staring at me, and now I have to deal with extra problems when a tall, pale man approaches me. He’s wearing a black suit with a simple black tie, and he’s so tall I have to crane my head up to look at his face.
He stares right into my eyes, and for some weird reason, he turns red.
“I… we need to talk alone,” he whispers.
“Why?”
“I just want to talk to you alone,” he insists.
The silverback gorilla gives me the same look Alto gives me and I know, I am his piece of meat. For some reason he is staring very hard at me, searching my face, and I don’t want to be next to him any longer.
“Why are your eyes green,” he asks.
Adonis and I walk away as fast as we can, and the pale man looks disappointed.
We ran as it started to rain, to the nearest shelter, an old temple. Murch? Something the dirt people called it, I wasn’t sure. When we came inside it was dark, but the witch’s partner, the red-haired knight is there.
He sat there, quietly, whispering something to someone. My heart raced as I was so close to true power, no one could ever hurt me again. But all of a sudden, I was scared.
I stop because nothing ever works this well for me, nothing ever worked out this well for me, nothing, this is all a dream, soon I will wake up again, stuck inside the prison, I am crazy and this is a dream.
I am crazy and a loud voice is in my head, something is burning but there is fire, I am sweating but still cold.
Someone has hurt you, I can tell. Come to me, he said.
So I did.
“Adonis, we found him,” I say.
Thunder strikes the ground outside, and the man jerks back to look at me. As we walk towards him, I see that he and I are the same and I do not like it. His hair is shorter, and he’s bigger, yet he looks like a sad deflated balloon. His arm is broken, and I look him up and down, knowing that he can’t fight me.
He’s another Alto, all bark and no bite.
It doesn’t matter that he’s bigger than me.
“Give me the sword,” I say. “You don’t understand what it is, and I need it.”
He looked to the ground and his lips curled, afraid of me. Now I know why Alto does this. It’s fun. It’s nice to be in charge, to see him afraid. He must be, with my big coat, and fancy clothes I wore just for today.
It was a good day until he opened his mouth.
“…No…”
My brain hurt as I listened to him say the word no. He can’t tell me no. He’s nobody. It doesn’t matter that we look alike. He’s probably one of those con artist shapeshifters, stealing whatever random face they see in a crowd.
I stare him down, but in defiance, he stares back at me, and I wonder why he’s no longer afraid.
Maybe I didn’t scare him enough? I should do all the things Alto showed me.
“I don’t know you. You just showed up. This isn’t yours,” the imposter says.
It’s time to scare him. He’s so rude, taking what is mine. He tries to stand up and leave, but I grip his weak shoulder, and he cries like the bitch he is.
“Sit down,” I scream.
I smile a little as I push him back down, and he winces in pain, and I love to see him break.
So weak.
Like glass.
Now it's time to do it just exactly as Alto taught me. Make them think that I’m giving them a chance, or even a choice when there isn’t one.
“I don’t hurt cripples, but you’re making me change my mind,” I tell him.
Adonis then took my hand off his shoulder, for whatever strange reason. How could he? I’m here to get my sword, not let some fool think he’s better than me.
“Don’t hurt him. He is just doing what he thinks is best,” Adonis tells me.
I don’t say anything, and I’m upset. Not with Adonis, or the idiot, but with myself. Why do I always listen to him? Why is he so nice to everyone, even people who don’t deserve it?
He’s too nice. It will get him killed if he’s not careful.
The door swings wide open, and one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen in my life walks in. I stare at her, and for some weird reason, I feel like I know her. Her face looks so familiar.
I know her. I have to. Where have I met her before?
There’s no way I could forget a beautiful face. She shakes off the water from her black umbrella, and bounds over with a grin on her face. The room itself seems brighter with her in it, and for some reason my face gets hot.
Who is this woman, and how can I have her?
“Ace, I didn’t know you had a sibling,” she asks.
She sticks out her hand to shake mine, and I can’t touch it. I’m afraid, now that she’s closer up. I know where I’ve seen her face before. There’s a painting, near the entrance to my mother’s office, back at my old home, with a picture on it.
This woman, her face is on it.
Every part of me is screaming in terror, and I’m trying to remember what the label on the frame said. All the paintings had names on the bottom, and I can’t remember it now, with this face, staring right at me, smiling.
That painting is so old, and I know that this person is not human, but a demon in someone’s skin. Her sparkling body and smile are to trick us all, but I won’t let it. I try not to let her know I’m afraid and I answer her.
“I’m not his sibling...I’m Nero, and I’m here to collect my sword.”
This is a witch. I know it must be. Why is there a picture of this witch in my old home?
“I’m sorry, who are you,” the witch asks. “That cannot possibly be your real name!”
I’m grateful that she doesn’t know my real name. I heard some of these monsters can control you once they hear your name. She must be one of them, trying to trick me with her pretty smile, nice smelling hair, and.. chest.
“Does it matter,” I tell her. “You aren’t able to use the sword anyway! Only those of pure blood or pure soul can use the celestial objects.”
The witch looks upset, and somehow even when angry, she’s still beautiful. Before she can say anything, I take the chance to get my sword. I pull it right out of the scabbard, slung over the idiot's back, and I know that I am home.
This sword is my new home.
He tells me that he wants to kill all of House Regalis as well, just like me. After he had been taken out of the tomb by a grave robber, he learned that Prima, a born liar, had stolen the land from his children.
It doesn’t matter that you are a born liar as well, the sword tells me. You have renounced their name and are born anew.
My hair bursts into flames and it doesn’t hurt. I think I hear screaming but it doesn’t matter. I’m home. I’ve found a friend, and he’ll make sure no one will hurt me ever again. Adonis pulls me away from the idiot, saying something about leaving, but I don’t care.
The witch tries to protect the idiot, and I’m glad that I took it from him.
They must be working together. How else would this idiot have something this powerful?
“Give it back,” the idiot screams.
“No. You don’t even know this sword. It’s alive!”.
“I know. Like my watch.”
“This sword was made to exact revenge, and once you have it you cannot use it, or else it will engulf you in flames! What would a weak thing like you need this sword for?”
“Why can it only be used for revenge? That’s ridiculous!”
“The soul of the First King, Unas is alive within this sword. He killed the celestials after they consumed his daughter, and trapped their souls within various items. If you don’t even know this, why would you need the sword?”
“I know the story”, said the witch.
“You do,” the idiot asks. “How?”
Yes, how? What does the witch know? Why didn’t she take it for herself?
“They are fables from my home planet”, said the witch. “Stories to teach children that holding grudges only ends in sadness and emptiness.”
“Shut up,” I scream. “That’s not true, and-”
“When Unas defeats the Celestials and traps them in the blessed objects, he realizes that he is no better than them”, she continues. “He and his wife, the witch Isolda, trap him inside the sword. The Celestials were immortal, and it was the only way for Unas to make sure that they couldn’t hurt anyone.”
Is this true Unas, the idiot thinks.
I tense up, hearing the idiot's voice inside my head. It’s gross and wrong, and I feel that we are the same. We are the same. He and I are inside the same home, and it’s wrong. I don’t want to be there anymore.
I miss Alto.
Yes, it is, he tells us. You should let me go. You have no use for me, and I need to help another victim of Prima’s lies.
We are all victims of Prima.
Thousands of years later, her lie has hurt us all, leading to me being inside this strange old temple, with an idiot and a witch. I don't want that witch coming anywhere near us, and I don’t ever want to return to DirtLand.
“I will make sure to kill my enemies, unlike Unas,” I declare. “You better stay out of my way, bitch .”
The witch takes my challenge, and I stare into her eyes, feeling strange once again. It’s not an attraction, but something gross. Her skin seems to turn from its pink hue to red, and she holds a silly little stick, but I can sense a strong power inside.
There’s another one inside there. I know it. The witch is stronger than she looks.
“I swore to defend the weak with kindness from evil like you. The next time you return here will be your last,” the witch says.
“Nero, we should go. We got what we came here for,” said Adonis. “There’s a funeral going on. We shouldn’t disturb them.”
I pretend like I don’t want to leave, but I go anyway. I don’t want to be around her any longer. She’s wrong. Everything about her, this place, it’s wrong. The farther we get from the old temple, the warmer I start to feel.
No longer are the idiot’s thoughts inside my head, and now it's just me and my new best friend.
I’m Unas, he tells me. I’m sure I’ve seen you before, little one.
Adonis and I run through the rain, and stand under one of the pop-up tents, the downpour coming down even more. People are leaving, calling teleporters-for-hire, getting into limos and taxis, and I call for one as well.
Everything is a lot to take in, and once I wring the water out of my long hair and start to think about everything that was said, everything that happened, it still does not feel like I have everything.
It must be because this is just the beginning. I just need to work harder.
“Nero, where did you learn about all of this,” Adonis asks me.
“My family. I bet you didn’t believe me either, just like Alto.”
Adonis is quiet, and I know his answer. Instead of the look, everyone gives me when I spoke about the sword many times, he is the first to give me a look of fear, but I can only see it in his eyes, his brow furrowed, and when I hold the sword I can taste it, and it makes me feel so good.
I take a few steps away from Adonis, and try to have a conversation with Unas. He’s more than welcome to tell me everything he knows, and soon, I learn things I wish I never had.
“You say we’ve met. I’ve never met you in my life,” I say.
I saw you for the first time as an infant. The other one too. You should be nicer to him, as you are all pieces of a singular soul.
“ What!?”
It’s true. Your mother did it, said Unas. We would talk daily because she tried to get information out of me.
“You were in the room with the others then,” I ask. “With the talking boots even?”
Yes. She kept me but refused to touch me, but was more than happy to give me away!
The sword laughs, and steam comes out of it. It shakes a little, and then harder as he laughs louder, and no longer does it feel like home.
That horrible woman tricked her son into taking a baby off her hands, and tried to be nice to me to learn secrets! Another born liar, filthy and damned.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” I scream.
Adonis stares at me, worried, and asks quietly, who I’m talking to.
“The sword of course.”
He doesn’t believe me, and Unas’ laughter booms even louder in my head, crashing down with the heavy rain. I don’t want him anymore. I’ll get rid of him once I get my revenge, and hurt those who hurt me.
That’s so cute, Unas whispered. Everyone else who’s held me said the same thing, and they all died.
“I’m different,” I whisper.
Do you think you are special enough to break the Curse of House Regalis?
The sword mocks me as my ride arrives.
I get in, and now I’m scared, and I don’t know why.
