Roland arrived in Teirm the next day. It was cold and windy. The ships creaked and rocked in the swell. Waves crashed up and over onto the docks. Very few inhabitants of city were out. Windows were locked tight, carts were no where to be seen. The only people that seemed to be braving the storm were two guards at entrance southern entrance to city.

Roland slowly trotted up to them and dismounted. He didn't remove his hood. The horse he rode was soaked, he was soaked. Every part of his body was wet. The horse had to constantly move around to keep from sinking into the mud.

"Halt! State your business!" shouted the one guard.

"I'm here to find passage to Narda."

"What is your name?"

"Aldrich Barthold."

The guards eyed him for a moment longer before letting him pass. Roland entered the city of Teirm. The city was ghostly quiet. Roland took the horse by the reins. When he found a suitable place he tied it off, and from there he headed to docks. There were several ships in the water, three a long the dock and 3 tied off out at sea. One ship caught the rider's eye. It was a ship of the empire, but it was small enough for a one man crew. The heavy rain pounded against Roland's back as he looked over the ship from his place on the dock. He looked around at then took off his cloak.

A guard was patrolling the docks when he spotted Roland drop his cloak.

"Hey!" the guard ran onto the dock. Roland turned his head and looked at him. "What are you doin, son?"

Roland just looked at him and walked closer to the edge of the dock. "Come on, back away from the dock. You don't want to do this."

Roland leapt from the dock and dived into the frigid waters. The guard looked over the side of the dock and waited for the rider to reappear, but he didn't. "Fool." Roland swam towards the Empiral ship, anchored just a few feet from shore. The current was strong and it took Roland awhile before he finally reached the hull of the ship. With the simple utterance of a word he was on deck.

The ship was by no means grand. Slightly bigger then a fishing trawler and just big enough to get him where he needed to go. Thanks to the raging storm around him no one saw Roland as he dropped the sails and readied the ship. He needed no magical help to get the ship moving. The wind was blowing north. He glanced back at the walled city of Teirm and headed off into the storm.

Vanya raced through the storm to Teirm. She arrived later that night. The guards stood at their usual place.

"Why are you in such of a hurry little one?" asked a guard.

"My. . .my. . .horse was stolen. I followed the thief here."

"Could you describe the thief?"

"Black hair, facemask, scars, and black clothes he also might look a little strange in the eyes."

The guards looked at one another. "We didn't see his eyes kept his hood up. He arrived here just a few hours ago. We'll have the guards search the inns. He has to be here somewhere."

Vanya nodded and entered the city. She found a room at one of the many inns and there she waited for news about Roland. There was a commotion outside, the sound of boots splashing through puddles. Torches were alit as people streamed to the docks. Vanya followed suit. She pushed through the crowd until a guard stopped her.

"What happened?" she questioned him.

"They're searching for a man who threw himself from the dock."

Vanya looked down and spotted Roland's cloak on the ground. Fear gripped her. She couldn't see into the sea the storm was too bad. There was another commotion the adjacent dock. "SOMEONE'S STOLEN THE PHOENIX!"

Roland. . .

The crowd shifted to the other dock. "Can anyone see it?" asked a citizen.

"THERE!" someone shouted and pointed into the distance. The outline of the ship could barely be seen as it sailed into the fog. "Can we stop it?"

There was already an answer soldiers were piling into another boat and heading off for the Phoenix. Vanya jumped in. "Get out! You can't be in here!"

"You'll never reach him! I can help you!" she muttered something under her breath and the boat took off propelled by some force. It quickly caught up with the ship. The soldiers had no problem climbing on board. Roland was at the wheel with a smile on his face as they surrounded him.

"Move away from the wheel! You're under arrest!"

"I think not!" Roland leapt into the air, and unsheathed his swords. As he came back down to the deck he sliced three guards, blood sprayed everywhere. A guard carrying a spear charged him. Roland easily parried the attack, stepped to the left thrusting the sword in his right hand upwards slicing the spear in two. The rider twirled and stabbed the soldier in the back. Two more soldiers charged him. He blocked the sword and the spear; he spun again catching one soldier off guard and decapitating him. Blood sprayed from the body as he slumped to the ground.

Not one soldier moved. Roland stood with his swords ready, blood covered his body. He smiled at them, and stretched his neck. His eyes turned black. Something had awakened within in him. The blood on his face felt amazing, he wanted more. Roland had a bloodlust.

Without warning he leapt into the air bringing his swords smashing down on top of a soldier nearly cutting him in two. Many of the soldiers were abandoning ship. The others stood cornered and frightened. Without a second thought he slaughtered all of them. Blood ran from the deck and into the ocean. The rain washed it all away. Bodies were dragged overboard by the surf.

He sheathed his swords and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Vanya smiling at him. She brought her lips to his ear, "Good. Do you feel it? Running through your veins? It's taken over. You're mine."

Roland just looked at her. Vanya cupped his bloody face. She stared directly into his dark eyes and smiled. The boat sailed into the storm, and disappeared into the fog.