The wind forced a chill deep into Mathew's spine when he heard the name Deimos.
He instinctively reached up to scratch at his own neck, feeling the cold metal of where the Iron Mind met his flesh.
Siyah's face had gone pale with shock, her mouth forming a tight 'o' as she stuttered out a response.
"T-the Forest of Terror? That's w-where we are headed?"
"What is that place? Is it really that terrifying?" asked Mathew.
"Well, it's in the name, isn't it? Every fable I was told about it growing up was about children getting lost in the woods and eaten by monsters"
"Huh. But those are just fairytales, right?" Siyah didn't look convinced.
"On the contrary, the true Deimos Forest is more perilous than any fairytale depiction," Argus said. "The trees grow so thick that they often block out the sky. This allows almost complete darkness to exist there, which can mean only one thing: Nightspawn."
"If it's so dark, how will we know which way to go?" Siyah asked.
"There is a guide who lives on the edge of the forest. He should be able to take us safely through that dreadful place."
"But why go through that at all? What are we really doing here, Argus? What does Ophelia want out of this?" Mathew said.
Argus looked at him, then nodded slowly. He got onto the ground and began to draw with a stick. He drew a circle inside a circle, which looked sort of like a donut.
"This is Tellus." He said, then he pointed to a spot and drew an 'x'. "This is where we are, in the kingdom of Doria." Then he sectioned off a part of the map:
"This is the forest of Terror, and past here is Attica and the river Lethe, which we need to cross."
"Scyvia? That's where we are going?" Siyah said, raising her eyebrow.
"What is that place?" Mathew ignored the odd look she gave in response. He expected it at this point.
"Scyvia is the holy land of the dragon. It is a proud country that does not get involved with the affairs of others, and it is strict with outsiders." Argus clarified.
"Why are we going there?" Argus hesitated for a moment, then replied:
"To petition them to lend us troops."
Something started to click for Mathew. Why had Ophelia gone after the powerful blessing from Dread's Temple? Why had she recruited him and the sisters? If she wanted to build an army of some kind, there must have been someone she wanted to fight.
"Before she killed him, the bounty hunter said something." Mathew said slowly, "That she has a price on her head because she killed her own family to steal the throne. The 'traitor princess' he called her."
"What do you think of that story?" Argus questioned
"From what I have seen, I wouldn't put it past her. She seems like she would kick a dog or push a child out of the way, as long as it meant getting what she wants." Mathew didn't know why he was speaking so frankly in front of Argus. This was the man's lady he was insulting. But for some reason, he felt like being honest.
"I see. Well, she was not always like that." Argus said.
"If that's true, then what really happened?" Mathew pressed.
Argus drew a cross in the middle of the center circle, dividing it into 4 sections.
"This is Elysium. Our country is divided into four houses, one devoted to each of the Elysium gods: Order, Purity, Valor, and Protection."
"And Ophelia is a descendant of House Valor."
"Yes, as am I. This is what makes us Tier Three Enhanced humans: because we have the blood of the god of Valor in our veins. Every ten years we hold a democratic election, and the people of the nation vote for two Praetors to govern over Elysium for the next ten years. The Praetors are chosen from the heads of each of the houses."
"And Ophelia is one of them?"
"She should not have been." Argus said, "She was fourth in line."
"But everyone else was killed…"
"Yes."
"Not by Ophelia?" Argus laced his fingers together, and he stared at the ground.
"It started when her father, Polonius, passed away due to a mysterious illness. Descendants of Valor have incredible constitutions, second only to descendants of Purity. After he passed away, Ophelia's uncle Marcellus, who was next in line to the throne, tragically lost his life on a hunting trip. These were very suspicious coincidences, but there was not enough evidence."
"You think someone poisoned her father, then set up the uncle to die in a staged accident?"
"There are many in House Valor that could claim the throne with the head family gone. This almost guaranteed Praetorship."
"Even though it's a democratic election?" Mathew said, rubbing his metal jaw.
"The House of Order has not had a viable candidate for the last few decades. Likewise, for whatever reason, in recent years the powers granted by the god of Protection have begun to weaken and become unreliable. Any blessings or boons either malfunction or simply fail, with only inheritance remaining strong. Because of this, the house has fallen to ruin."
"So it's pretty much a done deal that the next Praetors would be the heads of Valor and Purity. That means there really is a plausible motive for offing Ophelia's family. But how do you know she didn't do it herself?"
"Because she was targeted too," Argus said. "Not even a month after the death of her uncle, a powerful assassin showed up to kill her and her brother, Laertes. Her brother held off the assassin so she could escape, and it wasn't until the next morning that we learned he had lost his life. Ophelia fled and hid at a nearby shrine."
"A shrine to Valor?" Argus shook his head.
"Ophelia cried out to her ancestor goddess, but she gave no reply. So, in desperation, she prayed to the god of the shrine, Order." Something clicked in Mathew's mind.
"And then she had a vision, didn't she. She met a god." He said.
"Yes," Argus replied. "In that vision she was in the divine realm, and Order spoke to her. She asked her to become her disciple, and Ophelia readily agreed. The goddess granted her a boon, the Chains of Order, and revealed many things to her, including the locations of powerful blessings."
"Like the rod you stole from my temple," Mathew said bitterly.
"Yes."
"And so what, you guys are just going around gathering artifacts now? What's her end goal?"
"I do not know. But when she told me her own house was after her, I quickly gathered what resources I could, and the two of us escaped Elysium together. It seems, however, that those who conspired and schemed against her have framed her for the deaths of her family. Such evil is unforgivable."
Mathew nodded. He didn't think Ophelia's cruel behavior was justified, but he now understood why she would be so bitter and jaded. Thinking about her still made his blood run a little hot, though.
"Are you all planning to simply waste time chatting about pointless drivel?" Ophelia's voice called from the carriage. "We need to move quickly."
Argus stood, and Siyah fell in step with her sister on the way back to the carriage. Mathew walked closely behind Argus. He recalled Ophelia's words to Theron:
"I've had enough of liars and schemers."
A thought crossed his mind.
"Argus?" He said softly. "Why did you decide to help her? Why do you continue to follow Ophelia's orders?"
Without turning his head, Argus simply replied:
"To atone for my failure."