Maybe I got a little excited. This is where I took many, many liberties about this world and made up my own shit. I hope it's entertaining.


"So...how long have you been the lord of the swamp?"

Damien grinned nervously at the agitated beast he had been traveling with in a tense quiet for almost two days. Thus far, his attempts at conversation had been thoroughly rebuffed by his companion. Lord Arum had only spoken to direct him ('If you insist on shelter you spoiled human, you may fashion one from those leaves. Not those leaves, THOSE leaves!"), or to save him from blundering into something at the last moment ("That plant in front of you is fireweed. You'd best avoid it if you want to keep from singeing your petals, honeysuckle"). Although the latter seemed to give the beast some pleasure, it did nothing to que pleasant conversation between the two of them.

Damien's attempts to break the quiet by reciting some of his newest poetry had been rewarded quickly with a sudden swipe at his ankles that landed him flat on his back, and had felt distinctly like a tail. While Damien liked the tiny smirk that pulled at the other's lips, his rear wasn't appreciative of the treatment and he hadn't tried again.

Still, even in the quiet, Damien felt such a pull toward the man.

Er, the creature. Yes, the...creature. How could it be that he kept stumbling over that in his mind? Lord Arum looked far from human, with all of those glittering teeth, his lovely green scales, down to the way he held his four strong arms. Not to mention the claws.

Yes..definitely not human. And yet, he still thought of him as... a man.

Lord Arum glared at him, but he seemed to sigh.

"I am no longer Lord of anything."

Damien's heart leapt at the response, but as soon as the words registered his brows pulled into a frown. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Does this look like a swamp to you?" Arum asked, gesturing to the thick woods around them. "I have left my home, and after this journey I will not be returning. I am...just Arum, now."

"Oh, dear." Damien's voice softened as his mind flooded with guilt at the thought of unhoming the creature.

As though he could read his thoughts, Arum scowled deeply again. "Don't flatter yourself with guilt. It was time for something new, anyway. Not that it matters, but I had been ruling the swamp for nearly half a century."

Damien blinked. "A half a century? Saints above, aren't you leaving your life behind? Are you not worried for the chaos your absence would bring?"

Arum quirked an eyebrow (as much as a lizard can), looking down at Damien as they walked. "Not particularly. The realm of monsters is much more efficient than the world of humans. There will be a small battle, maybe two, before the next Lord is chosen. Pneumatum, the salamander had her eye on it, however. I doubt many would challenge her."

"A salamander? Hmm.." Damien mulled this over, wondering at the world of monsters he knew so little about, at least for having made a living from their demise. "Is she..large?"

"Ha! She is fearsome, but she is a tiny thing. Couldn't be much bigger than you."

The taunt took a moment to register fully, and Damien protested. "I am nearly to your shoulder!"

"With or without the boots?"

At Damien's furious sputtering, the creature laughed his husky chuckle, and Damien found himself smiling at the sight.

"It is good to see your spirits back, friend lizard, even if it is at my expense."

Arum sobered somewhat at this, but his walls didn't completely return. "Taunting you has become a preferred pastime, as long as I must suffer your company."

Damien paused to bow playfully. "You do me such a kindness, dear friend."

Arum opened his mouth to retort, but froze suddenly, his eyes narrowing into the forest ahead of them. Damien squinted as well, although the forest looked just as it had through their entire trip. Before Damien had the chance to ask what had disturbed his companion, two of Arum's four hands were grabbing him and moving dizzyingly fast. When they stopped and his vision came back into focus, Damien realized he was in a tree, so high up he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. His breath hitched in fear and a third hand clamped around his mouth. Damien closed his eyes, trying to ground himself. As his mind cleared, he began to hear footsteps from below. He looked down again, spotting a basilisk. The little beast itself was hard to see, although the trail of death it left was clear. As it made its way along the forest floor, everything it touched began to wither and brown.

Damien sighed through his nose and closed his eyes again.

"That creature down there is as bad as you are," Arum whispered into his ear.

Confused, Damien made to ask what Arum meant, but found he couldn't quite get words out at this height.

"I had him banished from the swamp because no one could get anything done, the way he prattles on. We'd be stuck here all day if he caught me."

Damien breathed out a laugh at Arum's deflection leaning his head back to wait out the basilisk's passage.

He was inclined to make a quip about protectiveness, but it was then that it occurred to Damien exactly what he was leaning back on, what he was being pressed tightly into.

Or rather, who.

Damien felt his cheeks heat as the warmth from the creature registered to him. He was flat against the underbelly of his companion.

Not seeming to notice the awkwardness of the situation, Arum whispered to him again. "If I let go of your mouth, do you promise not to do something foolish?"

Damien nodded, and the hand was withdrawn. His face felt flushed and his hands were clammy, but they were moving again and it was so disorienting that he had to jam his eyes shut once again and focus solely on not thrashing in the creature's arms.

Thankfully, they didn't travel like that for long and soon Damien was placed feet first on the ground once again.

Immediately, he dropped to his knees and let his forehead press into the dirt, threading his fingers through the sweet, sweet grass..

"Oh, saints above!"

Arum scoffed. "Is the brave knight afraid of heights?"

Damien looked up at Arum, his four arms crossed in two sets and a smug look on his face. Damien knew just the thing to wipe it off his face. "You know, Arum, your skin is quite warm for a cold blooded creature."

Arum's smirk fell instantly and his eyes widened. Damien grinned, hoping for more banter but instead he watched as the scales around Arum's face gained a bit of an orange hue. Was he..blushing?

"I didn't know you could blush, friend lizard! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked.

Arum turned on his heel and began walking quickly away, thumping his tail against the ground angrily and muttering something that sounded a lot like a curse against humanity. Damien ran after him, but this time he didn't find their quiet uncomfortable.


The next morning, after Damien had packed up his makeshift camp (insert snide comment by Arum here), the pair didn't have far to travel. After only an hour of walking, they came to what appeared to be a wall of trees.

It didn't span far, but what did was impressive. From where he stood, Damien could see what appeared to be seven tremendous *cypress trees (he could recall their identification, as his near miss with fire-weed had motivated his study of plant life).

"By the Gods, what is this?" Damien whispered. As they approached and he had a better view, Damien observed that the trees curved as a circle rather than the straight wall he had thought they were. They were bigger than any other cypress trees he had ever seen, and he couldn't remember having passed any before as they traversed the woods. He moved closer to the trees but refrained from touching them. They were clearly unnatural, and Arum had already spent nearly three days scolding him for his ineptitude in the forest.

"This was the first thing I built when I came to my senses," Arum said cryptically as he approached behind Damien.

"You made this?" He asked in surprise. Damien inspected the area around the trees, noting that nothing else seemed terribly magical about the area..

From one of his four sleeves, Arum pulled out a strange looking grey leaf. It looked small in Arum's hand, but it was roughly the size of Damien's forearm. He watched as Arum pushed it against the brush. To his astonishment, the seemingly impenetrable thicket of needled leaves curled away from the leaf. Impossibly, the branches slid away to make room on the bare bark for Arum to press the leaf against the tree.

When he did, the tree began to rearrange itself even further. A gap began to form, widening until it touched the two neighboring trees and there was a hole in the circle, it's dimensions allowing for Arum's comfortable passage. Damien stood anxiously by, caught between wonder and worry.

Arum stepped deeper into the circle of trees, then paused. He turned, frown set on his features.

"Are you coming?" He asked, impatience clear.

Damien breathed out a laugh. "Oh, yes! Of course."

Arum didn't look impressed but moved forward anyway, allowing for Damien's passage behind him.

The first thing that Damien noticed was that it was unusually bright for such a small space surrounded by trees this tall. The area was a perfect circle, maybe twelve feet wide. He came and stood beside Arum, who had pulled a small sac from one of his pockets. Arum then approached the center of the circle, where there stood a tall, elaborate flower guarded by a fairy ring of mushrooms. Damien instantly recognized it as dragonsbane, although it wasn't from his book; dragonsbane -particularly its roots- make a lethal poison when ingested. Because of this, it was outlawed in the Citadel. Damien had always thought this was a shame, as the plant itself was quite beautiful. It's ornate, fire red petals arranged themselves to the light in the shape of a dragon's head. Specialized leaves jutted up at the back like horns, modified petals in the front hung down beside the pistil like many fearsome teeth. The stamen of the flower were an unusual grey color, curling up like smoke around the 'mouth' of the flower. On his walks with Rilla, they had located several of the plants growing deep in the forest. She had taken the time to teach him about the plant as she collected the nectar ("A crucial part of the antidote," she'd told him), and he had listened in quiet admiration.

As Damien watched Arum slide his hand into the satchel and pull the plant up, roots and all, and carry it safely back, Damien wondered if good with botany was part of his 'type'.

Arum frowned at him. "Why are you being strange, human?"

Damien cleared his throat, feeling put on the spot. "I am not! I am merely...observing!"

The lizard didn't quite look convinced, but he sealed the bag with a clean white string and tucked the satchel away nevertheless. Arum breathed a sigh. "I suppose I should not be ungrateful that you have refrained from pestering me with questions."

He swallowed. "I do. Have questions, that is. Yet, you do not seem to enjoy answering them. It seems that you prefer to tell me in your own time."

Arum's eyes narrowed in suspicion at this.

"What is this place?" Damien asked, voice gentle. "What purpose does it serve?"

His companion turned his chin, eyes taking on the distant quality they always did when he was considering something.

"Later," He said, and walked out between the trees.

Damien hurried after Arum, not wanting to get stuck in the enclosure. The smile on his lips was a little wan, as the rebuff was not unexpected but still unpleasant. At least it gave him some time to think.


Damien looked curiously at Arum as they reached the stream. The sound of water trickling over rocks grew to a soothing babble as Arum found a comfortable place to sit on the mossy ground.

Damien looked dubiously at the beautiful, clear water as he came to rest beside Arum. "Is this the, ah, river? The one on the sixth day?"

Even though it was so small, Damien hoped so. While his feet were more adjusted to the walking than they had been in the first few days, they were tired and a bit sore. It would be a welcome reprieve to be done for the day.

Arum nodded. "Yes, this is the most shallow section. It is deceptively deep near the middle, and we're near the home of the white eels, but this will serve our purpose."

"The white eels?"

"They won't harm you if your intentions are pure."

This was all Arum said on the matter.

Damien observed as Arum set about making a small fire. Damien's offered help was met with silence, and so he chose to take the time to rest, and watch. Arum's eyes were distant with thought as he sprinkled something over the sticks and bark he had gathered, muttering quietly until blue flames sprouted. They grew tall quickly, licking up the sides of the wood as if they were savoring a meal.

Damien's eyes grew wide, as he had never seen magic before, but he found he couldn't voice any of the many questions that were swirling through his mind. The seriousness of Arum, his deliberate, careful movements felt ominous.

When Arum stood and walked into the woods without a backward glance, watched him go.


It was hours past nightfall when Arum returned from the forest. He didn't greet Damien, who was roused out of a sleep he didn't realized he'd fallen into by Arum's return, but went to his cloak and removed the satchel and sack containing the blue stone and the dragonsbane. He took out a few more things Damien couldn't make out in the low light, and set them on a large rock near his side. Finally, Arum lowered himself to the ground by the fire, crossing his legs and drawing his tail up near the side of his body. Two of his four hands rested on his knees, the other two lay clasped together in his lap.

"Tonight is..going to be strange. You have traveled with me these six days, and before that, you…" Arum trailed off, closing his eyes. He sighed heavily before looking at Damien once again. "You...deserve to know."

Damien swallowed thickly, nodding slightly to prompt the lizard. He was afraid to speak, afraid it might interrupt what Arum was about to say.

"Would you like to know how I came to be the lord of the swamp? Why you see something..human in my eyes?"

Damien waited a breath, wanting to be sure he needed to answer.

"Yes," he said emphatically. "More than you know."

Arum nodded once, and then found he couldn't keep his eyes on the man before him. He looked away and began.

"Before I was Lord Arum...I was once a knight like you."

Damien blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth, then promptly closed it and did his damndest to wait for Arum to continue.

"It was at the birth of the Second Citadel. I lived through the days of your precious Saints. I, myself, once aspired to be like them. To be the pride of my parents, who died too young, building the Citadel. For much of my life, I succeeded. But I carried a mortal sin within me."

When Arum didn't continue for several long moments, lost in a pain that had ached for decades, Damien found a whisper tumbling from his own lips. "What was it?"

"Love."

When the monster met his eyes, there was such a spark of life, of passion, that the breath was stolen from Damien's lungs.

"Foolishly, I had loved one of my fellow men. Since we were boys, really. And because he returned my affections, it was truly only a matter of time until we would be found. He was named as you were, after one of the Saints. Sir Aaron and I foolishly thought we were impervious to the law, and believed our secret safe. He had heart but he..he was not the most impressive knight the Citadel had to offer."

Arum's eyes flashed dangerously with anger as he spoke. "In a disgustingly political move, I was sent away on a fool's errand meant to kill me. When I survived and returned, I was awarded a hero's welcome and the news that Sir Aaron had been tried and executed in my absence."

Damien's breath caught in a gasp. "No...surely, the crown-"

"Damn the crown!" Arum shouted, and the fire cracked loudly in response to his fury. Arum closed his eyes, collecting himself. When he opened them, his temper was muted but disgust evident.

"It was a different time in many ways. There are secrets that history had not the stomach to record." Arum continued, ignoring Damien's frown. "Neither of us had known our proclivities were an open secret among the ranks. I was young, and strong. Aaron was kind of heart, and soft. The king saw my talents, but felt he couldn't harness a warrior of my..persuasion without risking shame." There was a soft, malicious chuckle from Arum. "His plan to further the greatness of his kingdom by harnessing my genius failed, spectacularly."

"What did you do?" Damien asked, rapt with attention.

The beast shrugged a shoulder. "I was a broken man. With my future slaughtered, I renounced my knighthood. I drank myself blind every night for weeks, raging about the town until I was thrown into the woods to sober. It was there that I became what you see before you.

"A woman found me, drunk and weeping. Had I known better…" Arum sighed once more, running a clawed hand tiredly over his face. "She offered to end my suffering. I didn't know what she was, and I accepted. I had no idea what it would cost me."

Arum stared sadly into the fire for a pregnant pause. Damien watched the fire play across his form, flickering shadow and light against those shining green scales almost hypnotically, unable to speak.

"She was a norn. Do you know what that is, little honeysuckle?"

Damien shook his head, unable to tell if that was taunting or..affection.

Arum looked to the sky, at the wealth of stars. "Norns are ancient, powerful beings who can shift the destiny of men, and Saints. Such matters of men are trivial to them, but my pain was so great that she...found me. She looked into my being and found my humanity to be the source of my misery, so she took it in the form of my heart."

"I...I don't understand," Damien found himself saying.

Arum reached over to the rock, digging his hand inside the sack Damien had given him at the start of their journey. He moved gracefully over to Damien, taking one of his hands and gently opening his fingers. Arum placed the shimmering stone in Damien's palm, closing his hands around Damien's warm fist. When Arum looked into his eyes, the stone gave a single pulse that caused him to jerk in surprise. Arum held his hands still, until he withdrew with the rock.

"My heart hasn't beat since it was taken from me. But you...it beats for you, foolish, kind human." Arum returned to his seat, leaving Damien in a stunned silence. He continued. "When my heart was taken from me and turned to stone, I was filled with rage. I stole and imbibed and destroyed to ease my suffering, vowing revenge on the Norn who had changed me. The more time passed with my heart hardened, the more I changed. All things in this world contain multitudes. Inside each of us is good, and bad. Tranquility, and monstrosity. Scales came first...things were lost, and others gained until I became what you now see. I didn't know that my pain was far from unique, my situation far from special. In the end, I was faced with no choice but to accept this new life, and the hunt for my humanity became less of a quest and more of a fight for power.

"As the people of the Citadel had bested me, I swore to never be at their mercy again. I sought knowledge and control, I built a network of information. Over time I collected pieces here and there of the norn's magic. Roots of dragonsbane, grown from one's own blood; a swallow from the most fertile river, blah, blah...eventually I had all I needed."

"But you..you didn't change back."

"It was easier to cause harm to the Citadel as a monster. You'd never guess the productivity of four arms."

Damien frowned at the smirking lizard. "But you have decided...why now?"

The humor fell from Arum's face, and he shook his head. "Surely you aren't blind to my reasoning."

Damien swallowed hard, heart thudding. "Then how, um, how did the queen come to have your heart?"

Arum's expression changed to something inscrutable before he leaned back and decided to continue. "It was a precaution I took. I kept my heart close for some time, before I realized it's weakness."

"Weakness?"

Arum chuckled. "When you live among beasts, you learn to guard your treasure. But when those around you see what you hold close, they see leverage. To keep it safe, I waited until the queen at of the time gave birth. I arranged for it to be sent as a gift to the new child, signed from a far off diplomate that may have..lost track of his Lord's original gift while traveling through my swamp. Once every decade or so I travel to the heart of the Citadel to make sure it is still safe. The longer we were apart, the weaker our connection became. It was safe as a quiet, mysterious heirloom of the royal family."

They fell quiet together, as Arum stared down at the stone in his hand. Damien looked away, down the river to where the light was creeping up over the hills. He watched the sunrise slowly, shifting the palate of the sky from the endlessly dark black, to deep reds and warm purples and soft pinks. After some time had passed, Arum sighed softly and Damien turned back to him.

"This is not going to be pretty, honeysuckle. You may want to avert your eyes."

Before Damien could ask just exactly what in the world that meant, three things happened very quickly.

He noticed Arum's four hands were far more full than when he had looked away, holding the dragonsbane, two vials, and his heart. Damien recognized Rilla's colorful seal, the bright red color denoting an antidote, cork absent.

Arum tossed the dragonsbane into his mouth, roots and all, chewing quickly before throwing back the contents of Rilla's vile in one smooth go. He swallowed it down with the stone, and the final vile that Damien realized must be riverwater.

He sat, held in place by shock. He had never seen anyone willingly touch, let alone consume dragonsbane and for the first time ever, he felt a tendril of fear grip his heart that Rilla's antidote had better goddamn work.

Arum closed his eyes, a soft smile on his lips. For that moment he was perfect, calm, and still. Then his body seemed to collapse into itself.

The big, muscular body of Arum crumpled to the ground. Four arms clutched his stomach and a cry of pain ripped its way across the quiet morning.

Damien was instantly at his side, reaching for his companion only to recoil in surprise when his hand fell upon frightfully hot scales. The scales beneath his palm were angry and pulsing. He looked to Arum's face and watched in horror as the bones of Arum's jaw broke and shrunk and reformed. The screams cut off sharply as his vocal chords changed, and there was a desperate grunt before Arum's eyes fell closed.

The scales there were changing too, becoming brown and smoothing out into...skin. Movement caught his eye, and Damien looked down to where Arum's second set of arms seemed to be burning away, becoming darker and darker until they were black and broke like ash before crumbling to dust. A glance told him that the tail was receding in much the same way and-

Saint's above!

Damien averted his eyes from Arum's nudity.

He let out a sharp breath when he looked back to Arum's face. He had..ears, and eyebrows and a handsome, buttoney nose, and cheekbones and a sharp, strong jaw and a wealth of dreadlocked hair.

Damien cupped his cheek, and Arum's eyes fluttered like those of someone struggling to cling to consciousness. Damien stared at those same, violet eyes, as they finally slipped closed, and stayed.


*cypress trees represent grief and mourning, looool.

Next chapter should be the last!