Known Missing!

ANAKIN WOKE UP to the sound of a loud horn blowing from the palace grounds, and a loud voice called; "The king returns!"

He stood up and rubbed his eyes. He did not know when he had fallen asleep, the last thing he remembered was trying to think of a plan on how to get a tutor. He hurried to the window and looked out, the library was situated on another part of the palace, but it was a tower and the view stretched far, so Anakin could see his father and his men returning.

He quickly closed the books and left as they floated back to their shelf spaces. He then hurried down the stairs and came out to the palace grounds just as the portcullis was being raised and the horses came marching through. He stood near a pillar and watched them approach, and then he noted that behind the men, was a short, stocky, ugly looking creature bound by its arms and dragged along.

"What is that?" He asked the guard closest to him.

"That is an orc, young prince," the guard said.

Anakin stepped forward. He noted that orcs did not look anything like the books. This one was more uglier.

"Welcome back, Your Highness," Ser Arlen said, going on one knee.

"Thank you, Arlen," Lord Hederick said, climbing down from his horse.

"How was the visit to the grand coven?" Ser Arlen asked. "Successful, I hope?"

The king grunted and glanced at Anakin. "Taking your studies seriously, are you, boy?"

Anakin nodded "Yes, father. But –"

Lord Hederick pointed at two guards and yelled. "You both, take the prisoner to the dungeons. Give him bread and water."

"Yes sir!" Immediately, the two guards did the king's bidding.

"Father, I want to –" Anakin started to say again but was cut off as Lord Hederick brushed past him abruptly.

Daryth snickered and leaped down from his horse. "We went to war," He whispered to Anakin. "I fought with the Orcs, you should have been there… not that you would be able to do anything about–"

"Daryth, Shut it!" Lord Hederick snapped and then said to Arlen. "Arlen, tell me about your visit to the market today," He walked towards the palace. Ser Arlen gave a quick glance at Anakin before he said, "It was uneventful, sir. I bought a pack of direhounds. They're well-trained and will be prepared for your next hunt."

"Hmm," Lord Hederick said. "Well, there will not be a next hunt for the time being. The woods are dangerous for now." He brushed his thick beard with his fingers before he said, "And is there any word on the street? Amongst the people?"

Confusion was written all over Ser Arlen's face and he said it. "My king, I – I am confused. What word are you talking about?" Ser Arlen stammered.

"Talks of war…" The king replied in a low tone. "An apocalypse, perhaps…"

"Huh, apocalypse?" Ser Arlen asked.

"These are strange times, Arlen," The king said and stopped walking. "We found an army of Orcs marching. They said they were headed for the North, where the apocalypse would begin."

Ser Arlen had a disbelieving look in his eyes. "You don't really take the word of Orcs seriously, sir. Do you?"

Lord Hederick scoffed. "I want my son, Anakin to start sword fighting and strategic planning added to his tutoring schedule."

Anakin's eyes widened because he had wanted to ask his father when he would start training on how to fight earlier.

"As his Life level is low and can't be a mage, I want him to be a swordsman," Lord Hederick said. "You can train him."

Ser Arlen turned to look at Anakin and nodded. "Yes, sir. I will train him in sword fighting."

"Good," He continued his walk back to the royal hall. "Now, send Fletcher to me…" Fletcher was the royal messenger. "I need him to send ravens to the kingdoms. Especially the northern kingdoms."

Ser Arlen bowed and turned in another direction to get the royal messenger.

Daryth and Anakin also stopped behind. As soon as the king was out of sight, Daryth flicked a finger and threw a small ball of flame at Anakin's arm before he laughed and walked away so he did not see what happened next.

Instead of the flame scorching Anakin, it settled on his forearm the way a drop of water would settle on an oily surface. Anakin twirled the arm and watched the ball of fire move around until it came to his palm, then, slowly, it dissolved into his palm. Anakin absorbed the life energy and smiled.

~ ~ ~

"WHAT DO YOU mean Kamizoel isn't on earth anymore?" Tanis's voice boomed. He turned to Vanya and asked, "Did you not punish him as I said?"

Vanya nodded. "I sent him to earth as a puny weak human as you asked."

Tanis stood up from his throne slowly. "I. Did. Not. Ask." He said. "I command and expect you to obey."

Vanya nodded and lowered his eyes.

"Where is he now?" Tanis asked, turning to look at Marzurk.

"An alternate realm, Lord," Marzurk said. "He is in the body of a young prince."

"Why will a tiny demigod like Kamizoel cause all this trouble?" Tanis asked.

"Maybe because you underrate him," Vanya said. Tanis looked at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You only see him as a demigod. A lesser god," Vanya said after taking a deep breath. "You seem to forget just how powerful he is, regardless of his rank."

"What would you have me do?" Tanis asked angrily. He was a proud god that hated when others saw what he did not see, and when any other person was right about something.

"I would advise you to see Kamizoel just how he is," Vanya said. "His strong spirit. His immense strength. Do you know that he was not broken after 700 years in the void?"

"What?"

"What?"

Tanis and Marzurk asked simultaneously. They knew how intolerable that dark empty vacuum was. Tanis stood up from his golden throne and floated down the few stairs to stand in front of Vanya and Marzurk. "Where did you say he was again?"

"An alternate universe called Ansalon," Marzurk replied.

"Hmm," Tanis said. "And he is in the body of a young prince?"

Marzurk nodded.

"Does he know who he is, and about his past life?"

"We think he might remember a few things," Marzurk said. "More memories would come as he grows older."

Tanis nodded. "So even still in his punishment, Kamizoel has still somehow found a way to interfere with the issues of humans in Ansalon."

"What will you do?" Vanya asked.

"We can not bring him back here. That would be kidnapping the prince and future heir of the Ansalon continent," Tanis said. "And it would be interacting with fate, going against the whole point of the punishment."

They were silent as Tanis thought of his next line of action.

"Kamizoel forces my hand!" Tanis finally said. "We do nothing. Let him be."

There was a flash of anger across Marzurk's eyes but it was gone in an instant and he bowed. "Okay, Tanis. I will head back to my quarters now."

Tanis waved them both away with his hand.

Marzurk went into his quarters, he could not believe how easy Tanis was letting Kamizoel off after this. As he paced the length of the room, Kamizoel's words kept echoing in his head, "You remain in the Ethereal realm and keep on being the errand dog of the other elder gods."

Those words kept on increasing in volume and frequency until Marzurk could not take it any longer. He closed his eyes and created a portal.

For the first time in all his existence, he was going to be going against an elder god's wishes. And not just any elder god, but Tanis himself.

But that thought did not deter him as he crossed the portal into Ansalon.