Smells Like Horse Manure

There was sadness somewhere in Kaido. The sadness no son could avoid when seeing their last parent mortally wounded. But the anger in him washed over it like a flood on a riverbank. He was so absorbed by it that Kaido did not even notice the person beside him. 

"Prince Kaido!" yelled the voice beside him. 

Finally, Kaido's attention turned away from his father, and the man's voice beside him materialised into Xora Xaine, the castle steward. Kaido immediately turned the handle of the edged-light sword in the steward's direction, who only responded by raising his hands in surrender.

"Peace, my Prince," said Xaine, "I am an ally. I will help you escape the city."

Even though he was drunk with anger, he could still recall the code that Serra had told him to recite when identifying the person meant to help him escape. 

"The leaves in Muva are brown in summer," recited the prince.

"Yet the grass will always be greener," said Xaine. 

It was the exact phrase that Serra had told him the man who would help him would say. Still, it was strange that the person was Xora Xaine of all people. The short, lean man with thinning brown hair and dark brown skin was a member of the clan that served House Challus even before the Decade of Decimation. They had been loyal stewards to Castle Ibriathan for centuries before the castle became the centre of power in the world. So why was a Xaine man so calm about seeing a Skarred person standing over the dying Imperatus? 

As Xaine led him to their means of escape, Kaido asked the steward his reason for breaking faith with House Challus, but the answer he was given was less than satisfactory. 

"There are many ways to serve loyally, my Prince," said Xora Xaine. "I serve the House Challus, not just your father. And at present, your father was the second biggest danger to the House."

"Then what am I?"

Kaido knew the man to be stone-faced, but surprisingly, Xaine smiled. 

"You, my Prince, are an opportunity."

The pair arrived outside the orchid, where there was an awful-smelling wagon with two brown horses attached to it. Xaine led Kaido to the back of the wagon and opened the carriage apron, revealing that it was full of horse manure. 

"Fertiliser meant to be delivered to Scoria," explained the steward. "You see that box there in the corner? You will go inside it, then I will cover it over with manure. The city guard tends not to be keen on searching baggage of this sort. I do apologise though; these are not appropriate travel accommodations for a prince, lesser or not."

"They are appropriate for a kin slayer though," said Kaido. 

He sloshed through the manure on his way to the box. He did not mind the smell. It reminded him of the castle stables. It reminded him of Thunder, who Serra had insisted must be left behind for the meantime. The city guard was always on alert regarding pegasi with riders coming in and out of the city, so even if he flew out, they would be followed. Still, before Kaido closed the box above him, Xaine promised that he had arranged for Thunder to meet him in Scoria.

Not long after Kaido felt the wagon begin to move, he heard bells clanging. He recognised the rhythm of the clangs. This specific rhythm was reserved for the birth or death of a member of the royal family. They had found Zerre's corpse. It did not matter whether he found a way to rid himself of the Skarr curse; Kaido was marked for life in a completely different way. 

Kin Slayer. Guilty of regicide. Yet still the only emotion he could feel was anger. The more it burned inside him, the brighter the orange marks on his body glowed. In Scout training, they were taught that the Skarred had trouble controlling their emotions. That the dark forces that gave them monstrous powers also made them emotionally unstable. It must have been true. 

Kaido felt like a prisoner to his own rage. He punched the box in frustration. The world he knew was gone. Now he was being taken, gods know where, to a fate he had no hand in choosing.  All he could do was lie down, buried in horse faeces. It was where a man like him belonged.

The wagon came to a sudden halt. The sound of the city mourning the death of its ruler was replaced by the hustle of merchants, refugees and armed men at the game. They must have been in a line; he could feel the wagon move forward infrequently. Soon enough, they got to the front of the line. 

Kaido could vaguely hear Xaine arguing with one of the guards who seemed unwilling to let them leave. Something about Ash Beasts being sighted nearby, and the Zerre's death meaning nobody could leave. The arguing went on for a short while longer. But the wagon began moving again after a jingle of coins indicated that a bribe was made.

It was a long while before the wagon's momentum was interrupted. Suddenly Kaido felt like he was hoisted high in the air. Before gravity could get its hands on him again, Kaido willed his edged-light sword to activate, and he cut out of his box. The wagon was half smashed on his left and floated perpendicular to the ground. Fearing the prospect of getting crushed under it when the wagon finally descended, Kaido cut through the apron above him, then he jumped off the wagon. 

Kaido was fortunate that they were still in the Imperatus Forest, which stood four miles from the capital. After he jumped off the wagon, he fell close enough to a large tree to stab it with his sword. The woods' resistance to the edged-light blade was enough to slow down his descent. He landed on the ground with the type of roll pegasus riders were trained to do. The wagon crashed to the floor not far behind him. 

Kaido tried to ignore the sound of the injured and dying horses. They sounded too much like Thunder, and they were beyond saving. Instead, he listened for Xaine's whereabouts. His eyes were immediately drawn to the massive Ash Beast stalking towards a half-awake Xaine with blood washed over half his face. 

The Ash Beast resembled a lion. However, it was thrice the size of a real lion, furless, with ashy-black skin with orange markings similar to Kaido's own. It also had three heads, which seemed to sprout from the same neck, with the other two being upside down on either side of the monster's ears. All three of its mouths were open, ready to kill. 

The prince yelled at the monster to get its attention. From what he had been taught, Ash Beasts did not kill to eat. They were kept alive by some sort of magic and did not need sustenance for survival. They killed for sport, so they would always attack the able and strong over the injured. Horros's teaching proved true; the Ash Beast turned in his direction and sprinted toward him. 

Kaido also began to sprint in the direction of four large boulders close to one hundred yards to his right. Whilst running, he dodged bursts of fire and lava that shot out of the two upside-down heads. 

A bit of lava singed the ankles of his boots as he dodged. Again, the heat did not affect him, but it melted away the leather on his heel. He stepped right into a thorn which buried itself an inch deep into his foot. In one move, Kaido seamlessly pulled the branch that the thorn sprouted from and continued running, not missing a step.   

The Ash Beast and the boulders were both ten yards away from the prince. The monster lunged at Kaido. He felt four shallow cuts rip through his cloak, shirt and skin. Kaido used the boulder to jump up into a backflip, which landed him on the monster's neck after its second lunge caused it to crash into the same boulder. With a roar, Kaido swung his sword at the right upside-down head. It fell off the beast like dead skin. The creature growled in pain, jolting up so suddenly that it threw Kaido off its back. 

He landed on his feet. Before the Ash Beast could launch another attack, Kaido cut through a tree to his right. He angled the cut so the tree would fall onto the Ash Beast. The monster collapsed as the tree struck the remaining upside-down head. The prince rushed at the dazed creature and cut off its right front leg. The monster fell forward slightly, which put its lowest head in the range of Kaido's edged-light sword. In two swift swipes, Kaido cut off the lowest head's jaw and scalp. 

One head remained. The head that shot out lava. The monster desperately began firing lava out in all directions. Its eyes were grievously damaged. It failed to hit anywhere near Kaido. With a sprint, dodge and thrust, the fight was over. 

The beast collapsed for the last time.