Chapter 6:

Daniel Xander, Chapter 6: A Heinous Blood Oath

Daniel Xander, Novel 0: Awakening


"Are you sure you are feeling ok?" Asked Liz for the 5th time as they got into the elevator.
"Yeah, Liz. I am perfectly fine." He said faking a smile at her. Why was she so worried about his well being anyway?

Penelope Sherman's story had certainly left Daniel shaken. After a while of silence, she'd insisted that they leave, and given him her contact details incase he ever needed some help with siege factions or apartment owners. Daniel had just nodded absently. He didn't care what a siege faction was. His mind was too full of Samuel's past. So his father had gone off to the second plane after he'd chosen to save his dead senior. And this had rendered both of them useless since they had lost their Imperiums, and their tactical minds weren't anything extraordinary. Is this why his Imperium was repressed? Because his father had lost his own. He finally saw what Nathan had meant when he'd told Daniel that he didn't see Samuel Xander as a hero. But what about Daniel? Did he see his old man as a hero? He was honestly conflicted. Not because he totally understood what had happened, but because of how he was told Samuel and Darius had been subjected to the public.

"Liz," he said looking up at the display screen in the elevator; they were on the 25th floor, "do you think my old man was a hero? Is a hero? I mean I remember you saying that he was something of a war hero, so I am assuming....."
"I can't be more grateful for what Samuel did that day." She said shortly.
"Why is that?"
"Because, the man he saved is my father."
Another revelation, another dull swoop in his stomach. But it kinda made sense. Darius Brown had a daughter and wife he'd wanted to take care of.
"I see." He said.
The elevator pinged and the door opened slowly. They were on the 30th floor. Daniel and Liz stepped out into the corridor. People were filing in and out of the office rooms which were on both sides of the corridor.
"I thought this was a border," muttered Daniel half to himself.
"It is," answered Liz, "the thing is, the real territory of Anoterose stretches beyond the Egress, but we can't exactly move our border there. Also, this works as a base for military operations."
"Why though?" Asked Daniel, "If you guys are all super powerful, why can't you move a simple border?"
"That's because-" she paused suddenly, looking towards the other end of the corridor. Daniel followed her gaze, only to catch a glimpse of a young man dressed in an armour plate with the image of a lion splashed down front. He disappeared around the corner as suddenly as he'd appeared.
"Follow me." Liz said and broke into a very fast walk.

Daniel followed Liz through a metal door which said: To the top.
So this door was probably leading to the top of the wall. He went through it and started climbing the long flight of stairs, huffing. Seriously, he needed to catch a break. His stomach ached from climbing all of these stairs. He was tired and starved. Penelope hadn't offered them any snacks. Just a cup of coffee. At least his hunger was making him forget about the long, long story Penelope had told him. He'd asked her how his father had kept in touch with them. Apparently, Samuel sent them a letter every month through Smith Baker. So all of his father's late night excursions were probably just him delivering letters to Smith through semi mortal postal service or something. This world was so different than the one from his comic books. This world was definitely hidden from mortals, but because of the entity erasing all those who used their powers carelessly. Also, this wasn't exactly located on earth. Like Liz had told him, a different space, a different time, and a different reality altogether. Daniel finally reached the top of the staircase and prepared to throw open the door to get out.
He paused, his hand on the handle. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. A subtle chill passed over him. He retracted his hand from the handle, and started to focus, hard. He didn't even know what he was focusing on. He just closed his eyes and let his instincts take over. Suddenly, he entered a state of hyper-awareness. It was as if some had woken him up very unexpectedly. Like he'd woken up from a dream in which he'd been falling. He could feel the air on his feet through his shoes from the small opening underneath the door. And then, came the voices, very clear.
"........3500 Zedarins. That is a month's pay." Said a voice. Daniel realised with a jolt that it was Nathan's voice.
"You deserve it you know. You needed to be penalized sooner or later. That kid was shaken from your display of unhesitating violence. You know you could have just evaded or vapourised the ghouls. You were trying to shake him up, weren't you?" Said the other voice, sounding very cold. It was Liz.
"You've a strong intuition Miss Brown. But that doesn't mean you are always correct. No, I wasn't trying to shake the kid up. I even asked him if he would be able to tolerate the sight of blood. He did say he wasn't bothered by blood. I just wanted to make quick work of those beasts. That is all." Replied Nathan.
"You know Kyle," said Liz with a humourless laugh, "your personal bias against Samuel Xander isn't helping your case. Smith Baker dropped by my Faction Office yesterday. He told me what all you said to the kid and also how you lost your temper when he retaliated. Also, about the beatdown you subjected him to this morning-"
"The boy attacked me." said Nathan. There was an edge to his voice now.
"I am willing to bet my left hand that you let him attack you." Said Liz sounding cold as ever. This was way different than the exchange Daniel had witnessed in the forest. For one, both of them were sounding very hostile. "You knew you'd get a free pass if the kid attacked you first. In other words, you had to show him your dominance. So petty you make me wince."
"Is that so?" Said Nathan sounding somewhat bored, "Is this affection you are harbouring for the boy, Miss Brown? Shame. You two just met today. Not to mention he is a tad bit too young. Maybe, taking things slow will help. Or are you defending him because you feel indebted to Samuel Xander? Seriously Miss Brown, that man's actions had nothing to do with you. You shouldn't feel indebted to him for something he didn't do for you-"
His voice was cut off by a very loud snigger from Liz.
"Oh my god, you two faced swine," she said, her voice derisive, "you really think Smith Baker hasn't told me about this split personality you have? You act all formal and proper whenever you are around people who openly pose a threat to your reputation. Even when they are your juniors! But whenever you are with people you know you can get away with offending, you start acting like the wannabe tough guy you are. I don't feel indebted to anyone. I am forever grateful to Samuel for saving the life of my father! And as for the boy, he is inquisitive, smart and he is the only one until now who hasn't been drooling over you ever since you guys came here. I remember the last girl you escorted. Nathan this, Nathan that! You are nothing but a coward. If I didn't feel this sorry for you-"
There was a loud smacking sound. Daniel had a feeling that Nathan had hit Liz. He opened his eyes and stared at the closed door in front of him. An unexplainable rage was starting to flow through him towards Nathan.
"Damnit!" Came Liz's voice from beyond the door, sounding very casual, "I didn't mean to hit you back that hard! Honest! Jeez. Nathan, your nose....."
"This isn't anything that can't be fixed." Came Nathan's voice, sounding very odd, as if he had his nose plugged, "I apologise. I let my anger get the better of me. I deserve this. Afterall, I tried to hit you, and you have the power of an elephant even without your Imperium. Anyway, I have some work for you Miss Brown. You need to brief the boy about the blood oath and everything there is to know about Karstum and Smaragad. Also, enroll him into your or Miss Sherman's Siege Faction. I will take my leave now. My nose is bleeding a bit too much. Have a good evening." There was a woosh, which Daniel assumed was just Nathan flying away.

Liz said something about Nathan which Daniel wished he hadn't heard. Then, he heard Liz walking towards the door, her footsteps growing steadily louder. Immediately, Daniel took two steps back and clutched his knees, acting as if he'd just run a marathon.
The door opened before him and Liz came in.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, "You are already here! What took you so long?"
"Too.....many....stairs....got.....lost...." He wheezed, hoping that she would buy his act.
"Ahhh, sorry dude," she said, sounding apologetic, "I forgot you haven't had much to eat. You know what? I will buy you dinner." She smiled down at him. Was she really being nice to him because she felt indebted to his father?

Daniel didn't have to keep up the pretence of his tiredness by the time they got down. By now, he was genuinely having trouble walking in a straight line. So much so that he'd almost fallen from the top of the wall. The view had been amazing from there. It was as if someone had plucked the gemstone like stars from the sky and scattered them across the land. The lights from huge sky scrapers and small houses gave the impression of a vast city. So this is what Nathan had meant when he'd said that Anoterose was on the same level of technological civilization as earth. Looking back, Daniel saw the huge forest through which they'd been walking. Something was glowing with a fiery orange light some 2 kilometres away from the wall. The Egress, maybe. Beyond the vast forest was an unimaginably huge mountain range, the kind of which Daniel had seen in Nat Geo. The sky over the mountain range had aurora like lights and was also covered in glittering and twinkling stars, much in contrast to the sky over the city. The wall streched as far as the eye could see to the side. Disappearing into the mountainous forests. But looking around, it was clear the city in front was surrounded by mountains.

"The eastern border of Anoterose is all mountains and forests. That is also a reason as to why this border has to double as an office. We have to make sure we keep track of mystical beasts and unregistered semi mortals, smugglers and anyone with malicious intentions." Liz had said.
Now that they were down, Daniel felt the exhaustion of the day take over. He followed Liz, who was walking as briskly as ever. He'd even dropped his chocolate in fright when Penelope and her men had surrounded them. The road they were both walking on was very wide. But the weird part was that the trees on both the sides of the road were littered with tiny gargoyles with glowing red and green pupil less eyes. They were seriously creeping Daniel out. The road stretched back to the border, cutting into a T before reaching it and leading along both the directions.
"So, what is the name of this city?" Asked Daniel, trying to distract himself from his grumbling stomach.
"This one is city Omega." Replied Liz, "We just refer to our cities by Greek symbols or incidents which might have taken place here."

He wondered how much about this place he needed to know. He knew now that Nathan was charged a hefty sum because he'd hit Daniel. And now, he'd told Liz to tell Daniel about the blood oath.
The blood oath didn't sound like a topic Daniel wanted to discuss over dinner. But at the same time, the blood oath was presumably why he was there.
"So," he said trying to keep the conversation going, "what is the incident that might have taken place in this town?"
"Well," said Liz, scratching her chin, "it's called the town of giants, because of the occasional giants who appear here. But it's main name is still city Omega."
"Giants?"
"About 20 meters tall, hairy, vicious. They smell disgusting. Class 2 mystical beasts."
"Oh."

They ended up hailing a cab 5 minutes later. It was a pretty normal green coloured Sedan. But Daniel couldn't help wondering how much of the semi mortal infrastructure was duplicated from the infrastructure of earth. They had cabs and cafe's. A proper government. Maybe, even apartment complexes. But they didn't even belong to earth. So how long had they been keeping an eye on earth? And why only earth? Maybe, he should sit tight. Somebody would have to answer his questions eventually.
The tall buildings Daniel had seen from the top of the wall were now visible. There were all sorts of colourful lights coming from the lobbies. And then, all of a sudden, it was as if they'd entered a different place entirely. The pavements were crowded with people walking around. There were all sorts of shops, bakeries and whatnot. From the car window, Daniel could only get a limited view of what all was going on outside. It looked like he'd just entered every metropolitan city ever. Except for the fact that a lot of people were in uniforms and armour plates. Badges of gold gleamed from the chests of important looking individuals. Suddenly, Daniel heard the car door slam behind him. He turned, startled. There was Liz, dressed in a very casual fashion. She'd gotten rid of her armour plate and was wearing a plain maroon t-shirt, jeans and sandals. Her hair was open and fell down to her shoulders and she was fiddling with her wrist watch, looking annoyed.
"Uhhh," said Daniel, thoroughly discombobulated, "when did you even change?"
"While you were looking outside," said Liz distractedly, still fiddling with her watch.
Oh-k. Superspeed certainly had a lot of benefits.

About twenty minutes later, they reached a huge building with a board over the entrance: Madron Coffee House. Traditional cuisines available now.
"Like it?" said Liz from behind him, looking up at the board.
"Yeah," said Daniel, feeling like if he tried to control his hunger anymore, he would actually end up devouring the waiters.
"Let's go in then." Said Liz walking past him, "And you better get all of your doubts cleared today, because tomorrow-" she paused abruptly.
"Tomorrow what?" Asked Daniel, tired of everyone not completing their sentences.
"You'll see." She said and pushed the door open. Daniel followed her inside.
It was a really elegant place, lit up with beautiful amber lighting. And it wasn't like any of the other restaurants Daniel had visited. For one thing, the other restaurants he'd visited didn't have tables hanging upside down from the ceiling.
The people sitting there seemed to have no problem. One elderly gentleman was sitting on one of the upside down tables, stirring his coffee and taking sips from it at intervals. Daniel almost wanted to yell out at one of the waiters catering to the table directly underneath the one on which the elderly man was sitting. All around the place, there were normal tables, on the floor, and overhead were tables suspended from the ceiling. Daniel looked towards the far end of the room. There was a cash counter there, and sitting behind it was a young man looking like he was in his mid twenties. Out of all the people in the restaurant, he was the one who stood out the most. His ink black hair fell into his very dark eyes. He had hollow cheeks and a rather pointed chin. He was wearing a black jacket over a white t-shirt, and was talking to a guy in uniform whose back was visible. His armour plate was white with inky blotches of black splashed here and there. Only, the blotches seemed to be moving very slowly around, like a bunch of jellyfish.

"Shall we get a table, then?" Said Liz, breaking him out of his reverie.
"Yeah! Sure!" Said Daniel feeling a bit embarrassed at his lack of awareness just now.
Liz nodded and gestured him to follow her. She began walking past the tables of laughing families and armoured soldiers. She came to an abrupt halt in front of the wall, and raised her foot. Daniel thought she was gonna kick down the wall to go through and Daniel had to fight the urge to tell her that doors are better suited for something like that. She didn't kick the wall, but simply set her foot on it. Then, she pushed herself up with her other foot. Daniel was sure she was gonna fall and instinctively put out his hands, wondering if he would be able to catch her.
She didn't fall. She simply set her other foot down onto the wall so that she was now standing horizontally. She began walking up and then, she set her foot onto the ceiling, pushed up, and now, she was standing upside down so that Daniel could only see the top of her head.
So this place has some sort of gravity control, thought Daniel, pretty neat.
He looked up to see the now upside down Liz who was staring back down at him.
"Well?" She said grinning, "What are you waiting for? Follow me, my protege!"
Protege? Sure...why not?
Daniel took a deep breath. Sure, if this place had gravity control, he wouldn't fall, right? Very cautiously he lifted his foot and set it onto the wall. Immediately, he felt a pressure acting on him. It was as if solid hands were pushing him forward from neck down, but at the same time, pulling him towards the floor. The same was the case from the wall. Solid hands pushing his front away from the wall, and pulling him at the same time. He lifted his other foot trying to not think about falling downwards. He hadn't even realised that his eyes had been shut this whole time.
The feeling was gone. Slowly, he opened one eye, then the other. It was a complete shift in perspective. Suddenly, it seemed like the tables which had been on the floor and ceiling just now were suddenly on the walls. Daniel walked towards the wall which had previously been the ceiling for him and shifted his feet onto it. The world flipped before him, and suddenly, he was back on the floor and there were tables set on the ceiling. But not quite. He looked up. Sure enough, the door through which they had entered was on the ceiling, and there were upside down people streaming in and out of it.
Ok, this was seriously cool.
Daniel located Liz on a table for two people and went to sit down opposite to her.
"Pretty cool restaurant." He said conversationally.
"Yeah. You might already have figured it out, but the owner has imbued the place with his Imperium." She replied, still grinning.
"Gravity control?"
"Gravity control."

He looked down at his menu. What in the world? What were these dishes even supposed to be? Mariana fish fingers, amber lamb curry, western style flying pork ribs......
Liz was staring down at her own menu and Daniel was about to ask her what he could order. Suddenly, a tall, good looking guy with a very prominent burn on his forehead pulled away a chair from one of the other tables set it down on there table and sat down as if he'd been invited.
"Elizabeth darling!" Said the guy, bowing down to Liz in an old fashioned way.
"Rowse." said Elizabeth, hardly looking up from her menu, sounding really uneasy.
Daniel looked at him. His medium length straight hair reached down to his ears and was black at first glance, but looking closely, they were actually a very deep shade of blue, almost black. He was also wearing a white armour plate uniform, with inky blotches of black, which on closer examination also turned out to be the same shade of blue as his hair. Like all the uniformed people he'd seen till now, Rowse also had a design splashed down the front of his armour. The design of a scaly winged beast; a dragon spitting fire. He had bright and energetic black eyes, handsome facial features and a muscular build. The burn on his forehead was directly over his right brow, and seemed to be hidden partially by his hair.
"I got so worried when you didn't call me back!" Said Rowse dramatically slapping his forehead with the back of his hand, sounding extremely distressed, "I had to cover for you when you disappeared with the tank just to prank Nathan!"
"No one told you to cover for me, Darius." Said Liz through gritted teeth, "I could have handled the geezer myself. But whatever, thanks for covering for me I guess."
"Anything for you, Liz darling!" Said Darius yet again, looking really happy.
Liz sighed almost inaudibly.
"Have you decided on what you want?" She asked Daniel, setting down her menu.
"Uh, no, not really." Said Daniel distractedly; Darius Rowse was humming under his breath.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot, you wouldn't know what to order. This is your first meal in Anoterose after all." She said, her smile back in place, "Should I order something for you, then?"
"Yeah, that would be great!" Said Daniel thankfully.
"And you," said Liz, her expression immediately changing, "what do you want to eat?"
"Whatever milady is having!" Said Darius Rowse inclining his head towards her.
"I am just gonna order you a bottle of water." She said warningly.
"So cruel." Muttered Darius Rowse, "I will have the flying pork ribs then."
"Good." said Liz. Then, turning to Daniel, she said, "How about a good, soupy, curry? It's pretty heavy, but tastes like heaven."
"Yeah, sure." Said Daniel.
"Who is this?" Asked Darius Rowse, turning to Daniel for the first time.
"Daniel Xander." Replied Daniel, sitting up a bit straighter than normal.
"Wait," said Darius, his finger on his lip, his expression puzzled, "have you been with Liz this whole time?"
"No, it was Nathan who escorted me here. I only met her this evening." Replied Daniel, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Stop making him uneasy, Darius." Said Liz, "He is my god brother."
"What?" Said Daniel and Darius together.
"He is that Daniel Xander? Samuel Xander's son?" Said Darius sounding surprised. It wasn't clear if he was pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised.
"We are god siblings? That's a thing?" Said Daniel.
"Ummhmm." Said Liz, taking a sip from her glass of water, "Your father is my god father. My old man hadn't been as scared of dying as he'd been of leaving me alone. My mother is a weak woman who can't do anything by herself. Samuel promised that he would take care of me if a tragedy befell my parents."
Yet another piece of this huge, incomplete puzzle. So this was why Liz felt obligated to help him out? This was why she was being so nice to him? Well, atleast something finally made sense. But how many new people he was gonna meet today? And how many of them were gonna be related to him? That was the question. He thought of Penelope. The tough and familiar woman, who had turned out to be his cousin.
"Hey, Liz?" He asked, "What is Penelope's Imperium?"
"Water form manipulation," said Liz, "she can manipulate water in the air, living bodies and well, water anywhere basically. She can expand it, freeze it, turn it to steam, anything that has got something to do with water, she can pull off."
"That's powerful." Said Daniel, impressed. He thought of the high pressured industrial water jets that could cut through the strongest of metals.
"It is." Agreed Liz, "She is the 4th ranked semi mortal and a decorated millitary official as well."
"Whoa." Said Daniel. The uptight military woman was a decorated officer. And Daniel might end up joining her Siege Faction. Hopefully, she wouldn't torture him.

"And what about me?" Pouted Darius Rowse, "You aren't gonna tell him that I am one of the greatest warriors of all time? How I saved you; the love of my life from those werewolves?"
"I saved you, you fool." Said Liz, irritated, "And stop calling me that! Seriously, one of these days, I am gonna-"
"Have you guys decided on what you wanna order?" Said the waitress, suddenly arriving at their table. She was about as tall as Daniel. Maybe, 2-3 inches taller, and very pretty. She looked like she was his age, with long black hair that was tied back in ponytail with a fringe in front of her forehead and strands framing her cheeks. She had a delicate face and a very sharp gaze. Her bright blue eyes were lined with beautiful eyelashes, and she wore black semi rimmed spectacles. She was dressed in a white off shoulder top, jeans and white shoes.
"Yeah," said Liz, "I will have Mariana fish fingers, the guys will have an amber lamb curry and western flying pork."
"Very well." said the waitress smiling, and walked away.
"So, can we get back on topic?" Said Daniel, trying to ignore Darius and almost everything that was irritating him then. "Can you finally answer my questions?"
"Yes," said Liz, her eyes brightening a bit, as if she found his curiosity very enjoyable, "ask whatever you wanna ask. I will answer everything I know."
"No restrictions?" Asked Daniel uncertainly.
"None at all."

Daniel took a deep breath. Finally, he was gonna find out why he was here. He was finally gonna find out why his dad had to send him away.
"Why am I here?" He asked.
"You Daniel, are here to serve this country of yours." Replied Liz, "Before you go on, I will have to brief you with a history of these two countries, Anoterose and Katoterose."
"All ears." Said Daniel, leaning forward.
"Good," said Liz. Then, taking a deep breath, she dived right in.
"Our country Anoterose was formed around an Egress in the November of 1619 AD, earth years. I will tell you why we are using earth years as our estimate for now. If, we are to take semi mortal years, then, it was formed on year 696. Months didn't yet properly exist then. We just took our 4 seasons and worked with them as best as we could. The reason our country was formed in the first place is because our president, Karstum, is the heir of the throne of Katoterose. He was overthrown by an equally powerful commoner Smaragad, who deemed Karstum unworthy of the throne of Katoterose. Karstum, in turn, took his 10,000 followers with him and left for a far away land. After coming across a place well guarded by the forces of nature, like the sea, the mountains, et cetera, he looked for an Egress and found one coincidentally in the heart of the forest. He swept away then land with his Imperium. Leveled the area he needed and created a country with a different infrastructure. After some time, Karstum sent his immortal ally Smith Baker to the second plane and asked him to secure a system with intelligent life. Smith Baker secured Earth. A planet with lucious landscapes and ingenious people. Meanwhile, Smaragad, the commoner who had over thrown Karstum found an Egress of his own leading into the fourth plane and summoned an army of mystical beasts. The strongest ones imaginable. At the same time, Karstum began sending semi mortals to earth in order to learn more about the place. After learning about Karstum's endeavours on earth, Smaragad sent his own people to Earth. Or tried to, atleast. They were all slain by Smith Baker. Smaragad knew that he had to, instead, send mystical beasts into that plane, so that Smith Baker wouldn't sense them. Immortals cannot sense the presence of beings from other planes, and as all mystical beasts come from the fourth Plane, Smith had to go around the place and slay them. But immortals get tired too. After a good 1 year of hunting; and I mean 1 year as in no breaks in between, he gave up and instead, let the semi mortals fend for themselves. He became a moderator. He would keep a check on semi-mortals who entered his system and then see if they were threatening it. If yes, then, he would destroy them. If no, then, he would let them be. As time went on, Smaragad's grasp over earth became painfully limited, and he busied himself with the summoning of mystical beasts. He would send them to our borders and he has control over all of them, simply because we lack an Egress which can take us to the fourth plane. After a while, Karstum began to change the socio-economic landscape of Anoterose. Influenced by humans, he made it so that we wouldn't be mindless buffoons anymore. He took technological and scientific ideas from earth and taught his people about conventional laws. The science behind things. We no longer needed brute force in order to solve our problems. We finally were on the path to development. With the powers of our Imperiums, we were able to predict human technology, and soon, we surpassed the technical advancements of earth. Though the amount of things we have actually adopted from the earthlings; it's honestly shocking. The term 'mortals' was the one coined for earthlings. We have no idea if Katoterose knows about the number of developments we have made. Karstum is pretty sure they have no idea. Soon, we began adopting names. By God, semi mortal names were the most complicated thing ever. We adopted months. And we came up with a generalised idea of time, instead of the abstract one we had before. We adopted a variation of democracy, though it's basically irrelevant since Karstum gets elected as the leader all the time. And that is the history of the two nations, at least up till now."

"Ok," said Daniel, a hand under his chin, "so why didn't Smaragad come to earth himself if he didn't want Karstum to secure it?"
"I didn't say he didn't want Karstum to secure it." Replied Liz, "He simply was afraid that the mortals would pose a threat to him. After examining them and learning that they weren't gonna pose a threat afterall, he simply sent his mystical beasts to hunt Karstum's allies here. He couldn't send semi mortals because-"
"Smith Baker was already here." Said Daniel, "Yeah, I got that part. But what now?"
"What now?" Said Liz casually.
"Where do we go from here? Don't we have a purpose? What do you guys even do?" Asked Daniel exasperatedly.
"We work on reclaiming our homeland from Smaragad and liberate the people there." Said Liz.
"One thing," said Daniel, "Karstum created a whole country by himself? I mean, he had his 10,000 allies, but still. How big is this place?"
"Well, Anoterose's area is similar to the area of Greenland. I dunno about Katoterose. But yeah, Karstum's Imperium is omnipotent creation. He can essentially use the immense and unquantifiable energy to create whatever he wants." Replied Liz.
That made sense. If Karstum was this powerful, then maybe it was possible for him.
"So what service do I have to be of?" Inquired Daniel, "What do I have to do?"
Liz's expression immediately darkened. Daniel understood that this was the part she was gonna have difficulty making him understand. He himself didn't know if he wanted to understand it properly or not. Whatever this debt thing was, it was gonna demand a lot from him. He didn't know if he was ready or not.

Liz opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as the waitress came along and set a bowl of golden soup in front of him and a plate of bread beside it. Then, she set down Liz and Darius's dishes in front of them.
"Thanks a lot, Cecile!" Said Liz, smiling up at the waitress, "At what time will your shift end?"
"Oh, by 11:00. I will be out back if you want to talk to me." She said smiling back at Liz.
"Excellent." Said Liz as the girl walked away.
"You know her?" Said Darius, chewing his pork noisily.
"Don't talk to me while you eat, moron." Said Liz sighing, "Yeah, I know her. She came here a year before you are actually supposed to come here, because her Imperium was too flashy and hard to control. Her parents are veterans and they retired to earth after a few years of service. It's actually impressive how much she changed. She was such a spoiled, privileged brat. And now she is my most trusted subordinate."
Suddenly, something struck Daniel.
"So, who escorted her?" He asked.
"It was Nathan. She is the semi mortal he escorted before you." Replied Liz. Then, scrunching up her face, she began talking in the imitation of a teenage girl, "Oh my god! Nathan! Look at his eyes! His nose! His mouth! My god! He is the best! Can I have his picture? Do you guys sell his posters?!" She scoffed and continued normally, "That is what she was like so long ago. But she really underwent an immense transformation. She is super tough. I don't know what happened to her, but one night, she just came back from a hunt in tears. There hadn't even been any casualties or serious injuries. But she completely lost it. After that, she began to change subtly. She laughed less, and was more brooding. She put in every bit of effort she could into mastering her incredibly difficult to master Imperium. She really is a talented one."
From scornful spoiled brat to trusted, tough subordinate. Maybe, this was the change Nathan had been talking about. Maybe she'd witnessed something gruesome. But the question was, will he undergo any change? One year was a long time, and he really didn't know if he wanted to shed behind his old self and morph into something else. Someone unhindered by cruelties. What was gonna happen?
He subconsciously looked up, to the floor which was now the ceiling for him. The girl was holding a tray in hand and was walking past the upside down tables. Now that Daniel looked at her, her face didn't look all that delicate. There was definitely an underlying toughness in her expression. She turned and looked diagonally up to where they were sitting. Luckily for Daniel, Darius waved at her right at that moment and she waved back, smiling. Daniel looked back at his curry. He was incredibly scared and nervous now. Was he a coward? Was he really unwelcoming of change?

"By the way, why are you so interested in her?" Liz said teasingly, though Daniel only half heard her, "You know, if you think she is pretty, I can introduce you-"
"Why am I here, Liz?" Asked Daniel, still staring down, not being able to look up.
Liz's face dropped instantly. She took a sip of water and skewered her fish with a knife.
"You are here," she said, examining her fish, "because of an oath. When Karstum gave sanctuary to his 10,000 followers, he swore to himself that he would reclaim Katoterose one day. But after witnessing the unwillingness of his followers when it came to participating in the 'Siege of Katoterose', he was just about to give up. He wanted to make a utopia. A society free of evil. But Smaragad wouldn't leave us alone. He sent his soldiers, mystical beasts, and whatnot to try and destroy us. It became unbearable for Karstum to keep this up. He devised an oath signed with blood. Every single person he'd taken under his wing would have to serve in the army and contribute to the reclamation of Katoterose. And after they are done with their part of the reclamation, they will have to send forward their descendants. Every individual must participate in a siege program before they turn 16, or else, they will be erased. There is no evading the sentence if you break an oath signed with blood. This caused serious outrage and high profile officials quit left and right. But in the end, most of our ancestors had to sign the oath, partly because of the spite they harboured for Smaragad, and partly because only Karstum could provide the means for our livelihoods. Only he could facilitate our lives. Everyone signed, and this oath is gonna continue until the successful siege of Katoterose. The two demands of this oath are as simple as they are scary.
"The first one: every individual has to participate in a siege program towards the reclamation of Katoterose before they turn 16.
"Individuals who have been of special service are allowed to join the government programs or continue to work as veterans on earth."

There was silence. Absolute silence. Liz had stopped eating and had her gaze fixed on him, steady. Daniel stared down at his bowl as his heart dropped down to his stomach. So, this is what all this was about. He'd been right about the whole 'going to war with Katoterose' thing on the plane. Now he was the one who had to take part in this war as well, before turning 16, otherwise he would be erased. He wouldn't ever be able to do anything with his life. He forced himself to calm down, as rage burning up inside him made blood pound in his ears.
Liz looked extremely disconcerted by his lack of reaction. He decided to put up a calm front. This, he reminded himself was all for his father. More for himself than his father. There actually hadn't been a debt. It had all been a heinous blood oath.
"Hey man, are you ok? You look really pale." Darius said.
Daniel turned to look at him, and was surprised to see genuine concern in his eyes. He took a deep breath. If he was gonna be a part of this war, so be it. He would be able to quit in one year afterall. So why sweat it too much? He could keep to himself and be on the sidelines. Participate in a passive way. That would be alright.
"I am fine," said Daniel, more strongly than he felt, "but like I said, you still haven't told me what I have to do."
"The steps can all wait." Said Liz, looking a bit relieved, "The important thing is rest, for now. Food and rest. After we are done eating, you can take a short walk with Darius. He can answer any other questions you might have. He is a part of the infrastructure development team, so he can tell you about all differences we have with the infrastructure of earth."
"Sure." Said Daniel shortly. He looked down at his curry. Surely, it would no longer taste as good now that it was all cold. Reluctantly, he picked up his spoon and tried some. It was almost as if something had exploded in his mouth. A starburst of flavours. Sour and spicy and sweet. He hadn't even realised how hungry he was. He began to wolf it down, not worrying about etiquette or anything else.

Darius Rowse and Daniel left the restaurant half an hour later. The curry had been so good that he'd ordered himself another. The waitress; Cecile, had looked at him like he was an actual animal. Maybe, these people weren't used to hearty eaters.
"You can walk and move around ok?" Asked Darius.
"Yeah, very well." Replied Daniel, twisting and flexing his arm around a bit.
"That's good." He said, and began to walk away from the restaurant. Daniel followed him trying to keep up the pretence that he was alright. His father often said that his tension often reflected in his walk. Maybe, all he needed to do was convince them that he just walked weird.
"So, how is this place different from earth? Or the system on earth?" Asked Daniel.
"Curious one, aren't you?" Said Darius with a good natured chuckle, and Daniel felt the knot in his stomach ease up a bit. He hadn't expected these people to be so easygoing and welcoming. His interactions with Nathan had really made him lose hope.
"The schooling is obviously different." Said Darius, "And of course, I am starting with the schooling because education is of utmost importance here. Now, you see, we do learn basic math and science; but for the most part, we study the rules surrounding the limits of semi mortals in the 3rd plane, and the removal of that limit outside of the third plane. We learn a ton about mystical beasts and other creatures which pose a threat to us. Other than that, everything is the same. People who aren't a part of the military cannot use their Imperiums without a proper permit, kinda like the ownership of firearms. Though, unlike firearms, we have our Imperiums with us the whole time, so we have to take harder countermeasures against rule breakers. We have everything here that's on earth. Malls, cinemas, cafe's, everything."
"That's quite amazing." Admitted Daniel, "What about siege factions?"
"You see, a siege faction can only be opened by a very powerful semi mortal. We have annual tests which decide whether or not we are capable of operating our own siege factions. Currently, only 5 individuals have passed that test. Once, you become the leader of a siege faction, you can hire your own people who can set up entrance exams for your siege faction. So that anyone who wants to join your siege faction can give that exam and get in. The work of a siege faction is to gather information regarding a particular targeted area of Katoterose. After a sufficient amount of information is gathered, we attack. Different siege factions handle different roles. Sometimes, there are conflicts regarding who gets to lead, who stays on the attack front, which faction defends, all that."
"So, you guys are the army?" Asked Daniel, puzzled.
"Sorta. Not everyone can join a siege faction since the examinations are so tough. The thing is, since everyone has to participate in a siege before 16, there has to be a way for them to be able to do that. So they join the infantry. The infantry is the government controlled army. The siege factions are controlled by brilliant and usually young individuals. The old generation usually retires to the sidelines after a respectable tenure of service."
"So, the main purpose of the whole system is to-"
"Take back what belongs to us."
"Which are the 5 siege factions?" Asked Daniel.
"They are all owned by the top 5 ranking semi mortals." Said Darius, "Faction Lion belongs to Nathan Kyle, a prodigy when it comes to strategies, Imperium use and military tech. Faction Elephant belongs to Bruce Lopez, the one who is truly invincible. His youth is what made people underestimate his faction. No one was laughing when he claimed an entire city under the command of a semi universe buster with just 30 soldiers. Faction Hawk is under Liz. The one with near unquantifiable speed and power. Her battles are over before her opponent has a chance to blink. Faction Leopard belongs the the queen of the mountain. Penelope Sherman. The toughest faction leader with an indomitable will and an Imperium so versatile she can go toe to toe with the most powerful individuals. Word has it that Miss Sherman alone is enough for taking down 50 entire giants. Then, there is Faction Dragon, which is mine. And well, I am not really able to hold a candle to these others I mentioned. But I am still a semi system buster. So there's that." He finished somewhat uncertainly.
"I mean, you passed the exam, so there's that," said Daniel, trying to sound reassuring. But really, he was thinking about his options at the moment. He was gonna be taken into Faction Leopard or Faction Hawk. But what about the entrance exams? He wasn't gonna get a free pass now, was he?
"What's your Imperium, by the way?" He said, turning to Darius.
"Ultimate pyrokinesis." Said Darius. He held out his hand to Daniel. Daniel was about to ask him what he was doing until he noticed something. The nail of his middle finger looked incredibly long and rough in comparison to the rest of his nails. It was really weird. On the other hand, his thumb was black in colour and it was definitely giving off a kind of glint in, reflecting the lights from the buildings to their left as the continued to walk. How hadn't he noticed this before?
"So, what are your nails-" Daniel began, but suddenly it clicked. The nails were actually a way for him to create fire. If his power was fire control, then it wasn't useful unless he always carried a source of fire around, like a lighter. That could get tedious. His nails must act like flint and striker. When rubbed suddenly, they must create sparks which he could control.
"Your expression says you have gotten it all." He said looking somewhat impressed.
"Your nails; do they act like-"
"Flint and striker, yeah. This is a mutation, actually. My father could create fire out of thin air and do anything with it. Instead of his power, I developed a mutation which allows me to somewhat create fire. The sparks which fly out of my fingertips when I strike my middle finger with my thumb are actually an example of small scale combustion. I can control them and expand them to engulf entire planets in fire, atleast in the second plane. Here, the scale it much smaller obviously. Ofcourse, my power is blown up to stupid proportions in the second plane. I essentially don't need my nails to create sparks. I can expand the cores of planets, control plasma, and anything which emits a certain amount of heat."
"And you think you are below the people you just mentioned?" Said Daniel incredulously. Seriously, with an ability like his, it was more like thermo-kinesis than pyrokinesis.
"My power only seems formidable in the second plane, trust me." Said Darius shortly.
Daniel said nothing to that. The streets were getting quieter, and his feeling of unease had subsided a bit after talking to Darius, who really seemed like a good guy.
"I am kinda surprised that you know so much." Said Daniel, trying to lighten the mood, since Darius looked a bit sad. Maybe, talking about how he felt inadequate was a bit too much for him.
"I was gonna dismiss you as some creep who just wanted to stalk Liz." He continued.
"Why you little-" began Darius furiously, but he seemed to catch on to the idea of Daniel trying to lighten the mood, because he cleared his throat and continued in a mock formal tone, "I might seem like a flirt, but it's all in good taste. I am actually just teasing Liz, and it feels like she actually has caught on to that idea. Jokes aside, she is actually my best friend, which is why she invited me here in the first place. I actually couldn't have asked for a more supportive friend than her. She really knows how to cheer people up."
"Is that what she is like?" Asked Daniel.
"Well," said Darius chewing his lip, "she is known as the big sister of all faction leaders. And for good reason. But the thing is that ever since her father lost his Imperium, all the expectations fell onto her. People expect her to achieve greatness and glory exceeding that her father and godfather were able to achieve. She isn't as strong as them. Not yet. But she is putting every bit of effort she can. But that's not enough for the angry mob which gossips about everything. No matter how much stronger she gets, she will never be the best. That is what the people think. That is why her mood changes so quickly. She tries to keep up the happy-go-lucky persona all the time, but I know she can't keep it up forever."
Daniel couldn't help but feel bad. He'd always had people gossiping behind his back. He'd never really cared about that. But to shoulder the burden of becoming as great as the two greatest war heroes? That was an unimaginable burden.

"Yeah, yeah, I feel so bad for her." said Liz sarcastically, making both of them jump a mile. She'd materialised out of nowhere. Perks of having superspeed, maybe.
"I really need to take my little brother with me." She continued as both of them stared. She clapped Daniel's shoulder, making him stagger forward.
"Come on, your sleeping arrangements have been made. So follow me." She said smiling at him.
"Right." Said Daniel massaging his shoulder. He turned to Darius.
"So, I guess I will see you around?" He said.
"Sure thing." Replied Darius with a small grin.
"Please tell the geezer that he is gonna be joining by tomorrow evening." Said Liz, addressing Darius.
"Sure thing, milady!" Said Darius, grinning.
Daniel thought that Liz might smack him, which she did, but her expression was a playful one. She turned and walked away as Daniel followed, turning back to wave at Darius, who smiled and waved back. He turned and walked away, stopping at one of the stalls near the pavement, buying something maybe. Daniel turned too and began to follow Liz to wherever his sleeping arrangements were for the night.