IABD 30: The Dream Slayer

Night had fallen over the mountains.  

The rains had come with it. 

A downpour lashed the Stonebreaker home, turning the evening miserable for the guards patrolling outside; they hugged their cloaks tight around themselves, watching the house. 

Their lord had ordered their number doubled; Earl Eklund feared the Stonebreakers would be planning something to rescue Bregindoure. Yet, he assumed their schemes would involve daring break-ins and violent escapes. 

He was wrong on one account: the battle for Bregindoure’s life would not be fought anywhere near his castle; he had no way of knowing what Matthias could do in the world of dreams. 

“It’s ready.” Altaizar handed a small bundle to Matthias. “I am gifting this to you—transferring its ownership—so that you may manifest it in your dream-realm. Be careful, use it wisely. We do not know if your plan will work, but—if it does—you must pick the right moment. Pick the wrong moment, and it might only make things worse.” 

“Got it.” Matthias took the bundle, holding it close and carefully. He shifted his position on his bed. “Thank you, Altaizar.” 

“When you are done, gift it back to me. Like I said, it’s not common. If you break it, replacing it will be extremely difficult.” The mage stood. “I’m going to fetch myself a cup of water, then I’ll be back to watch over you. What you are about to do is incredibly dangerous, so proceed with caution, but…” His grey eyes locked onto Matthias’. “…if this is your goal, let nothing stop you.” 

He nodded to the young man, then left the room, leaving him with Beggahasta and Dagma. 

Matthias faced his mother. “I’ll stop Breg from seeing himself as a beast.” 

Beggahasta reached out, squeezing her son’s shoulder. “I have always had faith in you. Do you remember the notes and words to the song?” 

Matthias nodded; he had no musical training, but he could sing what she had taught him. “I have them memorised.” 

“Tomorrow we’ll visit Bregindoure in that terrible place during the daytime and talk to him,” Dagma said, softly. 

“I will play the harp for him then as well,” Beggahasta added. “You will sing for him at night, Mattias and I will play for him during the day.” 

“Together, we’ll do this.” Matthias gripped his mother’s hand.  

His stomach twisted. 

Part of him was having a hard time believing his own words completely. 

‘I wish I didn’t have to fight him,’ he thought. ‘I wish I could just talk to him…but the Rune of Clarity comes through battle. I have to survive him and help him reach his breakthrough. Five nights. I can do this in five nights.” 

His attention returned to his mother and sister. “In less than a week, big brother’s going to be free. I’m going to it, because I have to.” 

### 

Matthias dragged the dismantled tiger-cage through the doorway between his dream-realm and Bregindoure’s nightmare. 

Blackness painted the sky, only broken by the crimson light of the Rune of the Berserker. The blood bog steamed around him. Thousands of skulls stared from the islands’ surfaces, empty eye-sockets gaping. 

There was no sign of his brother. 

Matthias lifted the cage above his head, keeping it out of the steaming blood. 

His heart pounded in his ears. 

“First night,” he whispered, checking over his equipment. 

His sword and warhammer were securely belted to his waist, joined by a new weapon: a dagger he’d carved from one of the demonic beast’s largest fangs. The knife’s hilt was simple, wrapped leather: it would do for now. The magical gauntlets covered his hands and his spear hung across his back. Chainmail sheathed his tall, broad form, and a shield was strapped to his arm. 

A visored helmet protected his head. 

Despite the weight of his armour, it felt no more constricting than a thick set of clothing, due to his Awakened strength, endurance and agility. He doubted the armour would hold up completely damage free against the most powerful blows from his brother, but anything that could shield his skin would be better than nothing. 

He carried the dismantled tiger cage deeper into the bog, trying to find a good place to set it up it in the bloody marsh. None of the islands would work: the skulls were too loose to anchor the poles in place. 

Thankfully, the ground under the bubbling blood was firm.  

It should do. 

After finding a secluded area deep in the nightmare world, he tied the wooden stakes together, hammering the poles into the ground under bubbling blood, then secured the trap door. 

Matthias took a deep breath, looking at the wooden cage partly submerged in steaming blood. 

“Can I even do this?” he wondered aloud. “There’s so many things I’m just guessing at, and if I fail, Bregindoure dies.” 

He swallowed. 

‘Way of Stone, Way of Stone, Way of Stone,’ he thought, embracing comfort in the refrain. 

Matthias touched the precious item tied to his belt. For a long moment, he meditated, letting all his fears pass through him. 

Then he opened his eyes.  

“Lock your mind into what you have to do. Focus yourself. It doesn’t matter if the plan is good or bad: it’s the only plan you have, and you’ve got to make it work. Are you going to let this hellish place be your brother’s world until he gets his head cut off by a piece of filth?” he asked, spitting in the blood. “No. No you are not.” 

He took his spear off his back, gripping it in one hand. 

“Your brother has been loyal to you your whole life. And what do we repay loyalty with?” 

He slammed the visor on his helmet down. 

“Loyalty.” 

Matthias Stonebreaker moved through the blood and darkness, his spear at the ready, eyes scanning through the slit in his visor. He remained quiet, his intent focused on being as silent as possible. 

A gnashing sound appeared on his right. 

He turned, wading between the islands of skulls, following the noise. 

There, he found his brother—seemingly bigger than before, his form warped like some horrifying cross between three demonic-creatures, tiger, eagle and bear—looming over an island piled high with skulls, feeding on the bodies of his family. Nearby the gallows swayed, emaciated remains of his enemies swinging from them.  

Matthias’ tendril rose from his shadow, reaching down to his belt, wrapping around the hilt of the tiger fang-dagger, drawing it from its sheath.  

He stood in place, watching his brother for several heartbeats, then his voice rose in song. 

The tune he sang was a favourite of Bregindoure’s from childhood: a song of freedom sung in the elder tongue of Evalmera, reminiscent of their roots back in their barbaric days living deep in the forests in the Age of Wolves. 

It was a fitting song, its lyrics whispering promises of sunlight unbroken by the canopy of hostile trees, freedom to roam without fear for one’s life…and freedom from beasts. 

Bregindoure paused, his snout still dripping blood. 

Matthias continued singing, his young voice cracking between the high notes of a boy and the deep baritone of a man. It was by no means the finest song ever sung, but his intent was not to mimic a warbling bard in an Ostarite opera house. 

It was to reach his brother’s soul. 

Matthias Stonebreaker eyes met those of Bregindoure Stonebreaker. 

Neither moved. 

There were no words needed to pass between them. 

None had ever worked in this nightmare before. 

Bregindoure’s body shuddered and his roar shattered the silence. His monstrous claws tore at his own flesh, and he howled. 

Matthias kept singing, raising his spear. 

The giant beast’s muscles flexed. 

Matthias tensed. 

Bregindoure sprang. 

His immense strength catapulted him over the blood bog, claws spread, jaws parted, red mist floating from between his teeth. Matthias continued his song, jumping back and throwing his spear, aiming for Bregindoure’s side. The steel tip connected, barely biting through his brother’s thick hide. Matthias rolled to the right as Bregindoure sailed past, he kept a tight grip on his shield with his right hand, while transforming the gauntlet on his left. 

Bregindoure tore the spear free. 

Mathias rolled to his feet, skidding across the skulls. 

Bregindoure tensed for another leap. 

Matthias aimed his gauntlet and fired. 

An obsidian spike hit the giant’s shoulder; a bestial roar followed. Leaping after Matthias, the younger Stonebreaker gave ground, focusing his intent on surviving his brother, still singing and raising his shield. 

Bregindoure’s claws rose. 

Matthias’ shield followed, his energy poured into his arm with the Way of Stone, as he’d done against the demonic beast-tiger. 

The claw came down. 

The impact rocked Matthias’ body, catapulting him through the air. He rolled with the blow, letting the force drive him across the blood-bog to the next island. 

His body landed among the skulls with a heavy impact. He instantly rolled to his feet, checking his shield. 

Crushed. 

His arm screamed with pain. Not broken, but injured. 

He couldn’t take another hit like that without something breaking. 

He started moving, clambering over the skulls, giving ground as Bregindoure leapt after him in a blur of speed and power. The young greatfolk’s song grew strained, the lyrics broken, his breathing strained, but the song never stopped… 

…and he was noticing its effect on his brother.  

Bregindoure’s blows did not hit quite as hard as when Matthias first fought him in the dream world. His speed was still terrifying, but not as impossible to deal with. 

The song seemed to be working. 

He kept singing as he ran toward the trap, Bregindoure still behind him. 

He kept singing as his tentacle slashed his dagger across Bregindoure’s chest when he came close. 

He even kept singing when Bregindoure caught him with a blow that sent him flying—the Way of Stone barely saving his ribs—throwing him into the blood bog. Matthias surfaced, pulling himself onto the nearest island. 

His brother appeared behind him, close enough for his hot breath to warm the back of his helmet. 

Matthias held his breath, turning, firing his gauntlets in quick succession. Snaps and cracks announced obsidian spikes flying free, launching into Bregindoure’s chest. 

Monstrous jaws clamped down. 

Matthias’ spiritual form shuddered. 

Then, he awoke, gasping for air. 

Beside his bed; his mother and Altaizar were rising from their chairs. Dagma was asleep in a chair across the room. 

Matthias held up a hand. “The song…” 

“What about it?” Beggahasta asked. “Did it work?” 

“It reached him, and I’m going back in.” 

### 

Matthias changed his strategy for the second attempt. 

He found the tiger cage the minute he entered his brother’s nightmare, immediately recognising his threatening roars of rage in the darkness.  

It didn’t take long for Matthias to find him. 

Bregindoure was still raging on the same island Matthias had vanished from, his claws digging through mounds of skulls.  

This time, the young greatfolk did not approach too closely, respecting the very limit of his gauntlets’ range. He dropped into a half-crouch on another island, transforming a metal glove into its obsidian form, then levelled the gauntlet at his brother, pausing.  

“I’m sorry, Breg,” he whispered. 

He began singing. 

And fired. 

The spike struck Bregindoure in his side. 

A roar followed. 

Matthias turned, sprinting away.  

Bregindoure charged through the blood swamp, closing in on him with long strides. 

‘Make it to the cage,’ Matthias thought, continuing the song.  

He kept turning and firing spikes into the giant chasing him every few paces, and though he missed often, he kept Bregindoure’s attention. 

‘If I could just get him to the trap—’ 

A sharp howl came from behind him. One of pain. 

Matthias turned, his song faltering. All he could do was scream in frustration. 

Nightmare-Dagma had appeared, charging into Bregindoure’s side, driving her lance deep into his body. 

A grinning nightmare-Matthias joined her, “Death to giants and monsters both!” he hissed. 

“Leave him alone!” the real Matthias cried. 

“Oooo, what do we have here? Another playmate?” Nightmare-Matthias turned his steed, bearing down on his younger self. 

His warhorse blurred, galloping at speed. 

Only a quickly held breath saved him. 

Matthias woke up cursing, finding both Altaizar and Beggahasta hovering over him. 

“Are you alright?” his mother asked. 

He cursed again. “We’ll have to try again tomorrow night. It’s too late now. Those two nightmare-knights got to him.” 

Beggahasta sighed. “As long as you are safe. We’ll see Bregindoure tomorrow during the daytime and I’ll play the harp for him. Hopefully, the song will encourage and soothe him to a degree and give you a better chance tomorrow night.” 

### 

“I’ve always loved that song,” Bregindoure’s hoarse voice scraped from his throat like sand on rock. 

The Stonebreaker family had gathered in Eklund’s dungeon.   

Beggahasta plucked her harp, playing her eldest son’s favourite song, singing the words while Dagma sat, attentive, as Matthias stood behind them, watching his brother’s face. 

The oldest of the Stonebreaker siblings’ eyes were closed as he listened to the song, humming along with it. Crusts had formed around his eyelids; his lips were cracked and his skin was paler than usual. 

“How are you holding up down here?” Matthias whispered. 

“Alright.” Bregindoure kept his eyes closed, his words quiet. “As alright as a man in a dungeon—inside a coffin—can be.” His attempt at laughter rasped out in a coughing spell.  

Dagma jumped up, going closer to the bars. 

“Have you been sleeping well?” she asked. 

Bregindoure’s brow furrowed. “Well enough...” He opened his eyes, their gaze falling on his mother’s harp. “That song…I think I dreamed about it last night. I only wish the rest of the dream was as nice though.” He gave them a wan smile. “I don’t know what my next few days hold, but you are making them easier.” 

His younger brother knew he was trying to put on a brave face for his family. Not once had he mentioned the horrifying content of his dreams. 

Matthias looked into his eyes. “Big brother, you’ll get through this.” 

“You are my son, and I am proud of you,” Beggahasta added gently, continuing the song. 

“We’re here with you, Breg,” Dagma said. 

Bregindoure forced his smile wider. “I have the best family. Don’t worry: I’ve been using the Way of Stone to focus myself, and see if I can find a way to develop the Rune of Clarity. I am trying my best. To the very en—” He paused. “—to the end of my imprisonment. I will do this.” His eyes hardened. “I will see myself free, and with you all.” 

“That’s it.” Matthias said, his tone fierce. “You can do it, brother.” 

### 

“Have you given any thought to my offer?” A familiar voice called lightly. 

The Stonebreaker family paused in the hallway outside the dungeons, turning to find the smiling, skeletal form of the earl, surrounded by several guards. 

Eklund eyes fell on Dagma. “There’s no need for you to suffer and spend your time in dirty dungeons, child. Your fa—” 

“Shut up.” Dagma glared up at him. 

His eyebrows rose. “Feisty. And Beggahasta, have you seen reason yet?” 

“Shut up.” The barbaric warrior replied. 

Dagma giggled. 

Matthias’ smile was ferocious. 

“Charming.” Eklund made a face. “Well, you do have four days.” 

He turned his back.  

“Use them well and consider my offer. You are running out of time.” 

### 

On the second night, Matthias again entered his brother’s dream to save his life. Crouched behind a hill of skulls a few islands away, he found Bregindoure bent over the corpses of their family as usual. 

“You won’t have to keep dealing with this nightmare for much longer.” Matthias shuddered, looking over his shoulder. 

The tiger trap waited, partially-submerged in the blood bog behind him. 

On the previous night his mistake had been setting up the cage, then tracking down Bregindoure: he hadn’t wanted to risk carrying the bulky thing too deep into the nightmare in case he was spotted before he was ready. 

But that meant that the trap was too far for him to reach it when the chase began. 

This time, it was closer. Easier to lure Bregindoure to it. 

“Alright. Second try.” He stood on the hill, and began his song. 

His voice rose, filling the dark—warbling and cracking—but bursting with his intent and sincerity. 

Once again, his brother stopped what he was doing and turned toward him. 

The brothers faced one another, bathed in the light of the Rune of the Berserker burning above. 

Bregindoure growled, but the rumble grew softer. His bestial body began swaying slightly, as if in time with the song. From the dark, came the echo of harp strings being plucked. 

The tune was familiar. 

‘He’s remembering!’ Matthias thought as he sang. ‘He remembers the song from today!’ 

His older brother swayed. 

Harp strings played. 

Matthias sang. 

All around, the nightmare world seemed to brighten… 

…until the Rune of the Berserker flared, like an angry, vengeful star. 

Bregindoure stiffened, clawing at himself. 

Gnashing his teeth. 

Roaring, red mist poured from his mouth. 

‘Here we go.’ Matthias thought, raising his gauntlets. 

Bregindoure charged, kicking up a fountain of red as he burst through the bog. Still singing, Matthias fired on his brother. Cracks echoed through the dark, spikes slamming into his charging body. 

Matthias bolted away, scrambling down the skulls, jumping into the bog, luring Bregindoure in the direction of the cage. Just at the trap door, shadow-tendril gripping the tiger fang dagger, he waited, holding his gauntlets steady. 

Bregindoure closed on him, red mist rose from his lips like smoke. 

The tendril snaked out, pulling Matthias to the top of the trap right before the giant reached him. 

Just like with the demonic beast-tiger, Bregindoure’s momentum drove him onward, barreling into the cage, hitting the back bars, shaking the entire structure. The tentacle swept out, dagger slicing the vine, releasing the trap door, it slammed shut.  Bregindoure raged inside, throwing his immense body against the poles, cracking the wood more than the tiger had. His strength was that of the berserker, but Matthias continued singing, using the tentacle to anchor himself to the top of the cage. He aimed a gauntlet between the wooden bars, continuing to fire. 

‘Keep fighting,’ he thought. ‘The Rune of Clarity must be gained in battle. Wait for your moment, like Altaizar said.’ 

Matthias transformed one of his gauntlets back to its natural form, reaching for a pouch on his belt. Spikes kept firing, the song kept repeating, he kept looking for a moment when he could see Bregindoure’s eyes.  

But things began going wrong. 

Bregindoure was thrashing too wildly and Matthias could not see his eyes. 

Wood splintered. Cage bars began breaking: Bregindoure was much stronger than the demonic beast-tiger. Before Matthias could react, the trap exploded, catapulting him through the air, his song cutting off as he landed in the blood bog. 

His head plunged beneath the ichor as he thrashed around, trying to bring himself to the surface… 

…then a great, big, clawed hand dove into the bog, finding him, pressing him down, preventing him from rising. Claws closed around him, digging into his chainmail. 

He emptied his lungs, not breathing. 

His spiritual body trembled. 

He awoke in bed. 

“Did it work?” Beggahasta was rising from her chair across the room. Altaizar had already risen from his. Dagma was asleep in hers. 

“No.” Matthias’ tone was somber. “The song worked, but…it wasn’t enough. I have to give it another try.” 

### 

Three more tries. 

Three, were how many more times he tried to save his brother that night. Yet, they weren’t enough: Bregindoure always destroyed the trap before Matthias could see his eyes. 

After the third attempt, the Nightmare-knights forced him to give up as they attacked Bregindoure; Matthias tried to stop them, but the Nightmare-Dagma nearly impaled him with her lance. 

He woke up fuming. 

“No good?” Beggahasta asked. 

“No, I’m doing something wrong. Bregindoure’s thrashing too much in the trap. I can’t get a good angle on his eyes. Not from the top of the cage.” 

“Unfortunate,” Altaizar said. “It sounds like you’ll need to get closer.” 

“Exactly what I was thinking…” Matthias murmured, looking up at his mother. “Can you help me? I think I need to make a modification to the trap.” 

### 

On the third night—with only two more until his brother was to be executed—Matthias Stonebreaker slipped into Bregindoure’s nightmare with the cage on his back. 

This time, he wore no helmet, and the trap—dismantled as it was—had been altered. There were more poles. More vines to tie them with. It would be larger. 

“This is it,” he swore to himself. “No more Nightmare-knights. No more berserker rage. No more prison.” 

He moved through the blood bog, now very familiar with it. It did not take him long to find his brother in the dark. 

Except this time… 

…the rune-marked was alone. 

There were no gallows around. 

No bodies that he was chewing on. 

He was all by himself. 

Bregindoure was growling, scraping his claws along the skulls on his island, and gnashing his teeth. He was twitching with rage. 

Matthias retreated down the other side of the slope of skulls he’d climbed to watch his brother from a distance, and slipped into the blood bog.  

He removed the cage from his back, re-assembling it swiftly and quietly, tying the poles together and creating a new shape. 

When he was done, he looked over his handiwork. 

The cage was longer, with a trap-door on either end. Inside, there was a partition down the middle, separating it into two long chambers. 

Each one was big enough to hold Bregindoure. 

Matthias took a deep breath. “This is it.” 

He climbed back up the nearby island’s slope of skulls, fixing his gaze on his older brother in the distance. 

Then he began the song. 

The sounds of his mother’s harp instantly filled the air, playing louder than the night before. Bregindoure froze, transfixed.  

The Rune of the Berserker flared in the sky. 

As did the Rune on Bregindoure’s right hand. 

His roar shattered the silence, crimson mist boiling from his long snout. 

Matthias’ heart skipped. ‘The Rune knows! He must be getting close to finding clarity, so it’s trying to stop him or test him! That’s it, brother, you can do it! Come to me—’ 

Bregindoure lurched forward, growling and clawing at himself, body swaying back and forth with the music. 

Arrogant laughter suddenly filled the dark. 

Matthias’ song nearly faltered. 

He looked behind Bregindoure. 

‘No! Why now? They’re early!’ his thoughts screamed. 

The Nightmare-knights were riding over a hill behind Bregindoure. Nightmare-Matthias and Nightmare-Dagma sneered as one. 

“Look, brother!” Nightmare-Dagma laughed. “The Beast thinks he can be a man!” 

“How amusing!” Nightmare-Matthias cackled. “Beasts must be caged and slain! Come beast, do battle with us! Just as you were meant to! Be slain!” 

Bregindoure whirled on them, raging, clawing at the skulls. 

Matthias’ heart pounded. ‘If they show up earlier each night, then I won’t have a chance to save him. I have to do it now!’  

He resisted the urge to call his brother’s name. That would be a mistake. 

Words hadn’t reached him before. 

Let these nightmares use their words. 

He would let the ancient song speak for him: a song of freedom.  

A song of freedom from beasts. 

Matthias’ voice grew louder. 

His mother’s harp did too. 

Bregindoure turned to face the real Matthias, growling. 

He roared. 

He charged. 

Nightmare-Matthias bellowed. “Come sister! Let the hunt be joined!” 

“After him, brother!” Nightmare-Dagma cried. 

The two knights galloped after their brother. 

Matthias raised his gauntlets and fired. 

An obsidian spike shot toward Bregindoure, piercing him and keeping his attention. 

The other fired toward the knights, distracting them, slowing their horses.  

Bregindoure redoubled his speed, closing in on his real brother. 

Matthias jumped from the hill, continuing the song. 

‘Bregindoure charges in a straight line when he’s enraged like this,’ Matthias thought, heading toward the cage. He remembered baiting the tiger, driving it into a rage and making it charge into the dust cloud. Here, the trap was hard to see properly, half-submerged in the blood. ‘Breg won’t break his charge or hesitate.’ 

The lessons on fighting a beast echoed in his mind: if he provoked their behaviour, even a chaotic berserker could become predictable. 

He ran to the trap, going around to the far end and stepping inside. Taking no chances, his tentacle shot up, cutting the rope to the trap door he’d just come through. The door slammed down behind him, securing him inside the far section of the cage. Up ahead, another wooden partition was in place, dividing the cage in two. Now, there was only one entrance into the trap, and it was on the side Bregindoure was coming from. 

Matthias’ shadow tendril rose beside him, drawing the tiger fang dagger as he raised a gauntlet and aimed it between the gaps in the partition that divided the cage in half. The gaps were too narrow for Bregindoure’s thick arms to reach through. 

‘Come on, brother!’ he thought, hearing his thunderous approach. ‘Come to me!’ 

Bregindoure charged over the slope of the island of skulls, racing for the cage. The Nightmare-knights thundered over the hill after him. 

Matthias sang louder. 

Bregindoure barreled down the hill of skulls. 

His massive body bounded into the trap, colliding with the partition. 

Matthais’ tentacle cut the last vine and the trap door fell, sealing the cage on both ends. 

Both Nightmare-knights drew their warhorses up short. 

“That cage will not be your sanctuary, beast!” Nightmare-Matthias called. 

“We’ll cut our way in!” Nightmare-Dagma threatened. 

Matthias only sang louder, firing his obsidian spikes through the partition. 

Bregindoure roared, fixing his eyes on his younger brother and clawing at the partition, trying to tear it down. The wood—reinforced with The Gift, by Beggahasta—cracked under his razor-claws and titanic strength. 

But, held. 

Matthias exhausted his energy, firing with a single gauntlet and slashing at Bregindoure through the bars with the tiger fang blade gripped by his tendril. His other hand reached down to the pouch, undoing its laces. He clutched the delicate object inside. 

Bregindoure suddenly screamed. 

Nightmare-Dagma and Nightmare-Matthias were shoving their lances and blades through the slats in the cage, stabbing his flanks. The berserker started to turn, viciously snarling at them. 

Matthias’ voice raised in song, focusing his intent on reaching his brother’s very soul. 

Bregindoure froze, turning back to his brother, meeting Matthias face to face. 

Tears burned in his eyes, anger, sadness and despair burned there...along with a flash of recognition. 

‘Now!’ Matthias thought, his song swelling to a crescendo. He focused his intent. ‘See yourself! See the truth of who you are, brother!” 

He pulled out the object Altaizar had gifted him: 

A mirror crafted of Dream-glass.  

“Dream-glass. The crystal is formed from melting the sand of dreams,” the mage had once explained. “It’s able to capture light, sound, breath and thought…in Old Magic, it can be used to capture souls.” 

The eyes were the windows to the soul. 

So, what if Bregindoure could see a reflection through those windows…a reflection that properly captured his soul? 

Matthias presented the glittering mirror toward his brother. 

Bregindoure’s eyes caught the mirror… 

…and he stilled. 

Matthias did not know what he saw in that reflection—that was for him and him alone—but the windows to his soul, his eyes, opened ever wider. 

The harp played louder in the darkness. 

‘Breg, see yourself,’ Matthias thought. ‘You are no beast. What you see in the mirror is the real you.’ 

Bregindoure stared at his reflection even as the knights continued to cut through the cage and into his body, laughing all the while. 

His teeth ground. His form shook. His eyes cleared of tears. 

Bregindoure looked at his brother, clenching a fist. 

He broke through the partition. 

Matthias continued singing, ready to hold his breath as the claw reached for him, it rose, then came down… 

…patting him on his head. 

Matthias gasped. 

The Rune of the Berserker burned brighter above. 

“I am no beast,” Bregindoure growled, gnashing his words. “I practise the Way of Stone. I control my rage. I am a child of Beggahasta. I am brother of Dagma. I am brother of Matthias. I…” 

The Rune of the Berserker burned on his right hand. 

“…am Bregindoure Stonebreaker.” 

On his left hand, a crimson light blazed like a newborn star. 

###

Author's Note

AND SO WE HIT IT ON A SPECIAL ONE-TIME SATURDAY RELEASE DAY! Highest tier is now 24 chapters ahead of public release. Next week, we will be upping the schedule temporarily as we releaser on royal road.

Thank you for reading my lil' story so far. Been a lot of fun.

Not going to lie this entire chapter was inspired by Dark Souls/Bloodborne lol.

Cya Monday!