AN: This fic is cross-posted and updated on AO3 more or less daily. I will be posting here on in chunks of 5 chapters each after the fact, so if you want to read the most recent chapters along with fun lore notes each chapter check the story out on there! Enjoy~


"But there are people out there who won't make you feel worthless. You just have to find them."

For a brief second Hunter believed the youngest Blight. Then he'd caught sight of the key hanging around her neck, and the Golden Guard took over.

Now he stood in the snow looking at the skull of the Titan he and his uncle were trying so hard to please. After a moment he pulled out the now cracked portal key, a drop of Titan blood spilling out as he gazed at it tiredly.

It's broken, but it's better than any artificial key he's been trying to create. He'll be pleased.

The underlying doubt nagging at him disappeared when a splash of red landed on his fist with a trill. His attention shifted to the palisman with a small upturn of his lips.

"Oh, hey." He greeted. Appreciation swelled in his chest as he looked at the little cardinal. It had saved him from being struck by the weird dog-rat's— they called it King for some reason— magic. To his surprise it had also helped him hold his own against the youngest Blight, meaning his success was directly linked to the palisman's assistance. "You stuck with me the whole time, huh, bird."

It tweeted in response, and to Hunter's shock he could almost make out words.

"Not bird," it seemed to say. "Red."

His eyes widened before a genuine smile broke out across his face. "I think I understood that. Is that your name? Can you say it again?"

"It's Red."

A laugh bubbled out of him, the fact he was speaking to a bird formed from wild magic of all things almost funny. "Weird. Can you say other things?"

"Yep. Your name is Hunter, and your voice is not annoying."

The teenager blushed at the comment. "Thanks for that, Red. It's really not a big deal though. Kiki's just jealous of me because I'm the emperor's right hand man, and I don't care what the Owl Lady thinks. She was probably just messing with me anyway."

"Still," it chirped pointedly, "I thought you should know. And you can call me something else other than Red. That was the name my past witch gave me."

"Past witch? Did something happen to them?"

The palisman was silent for a moment before it chirped sadly. "You could say that, yes. But it's okay; you're my witch now! This calls for a new name."

"Oh. You want me to name you." The bird nodded. "Huh. I'm not really good with names though. I probably would have named you something obvious like Red if you hadn't already been named that. I'm not really someone you'd call creative."

"You can do it. I believe in you."

If his cheeks reddened it was because of the cold.

He thought hard as he trudged through the snow, the palisman having flown to rest on his shoulder as he walked. After over a minute of deliberation he opened his mouth.

"What about what the human called you before? Li'l Rascal? Or maybe just Rascal for short?"

"That sounds nice," it agreed with a short chirp.

"Rascal it is then."

They spoke for a long time, the cold and exhaustion weighing Hunter down not stopping him from unconsciously slowing his pace so he'd have more time to chat with his palisman. He told it of his life: how he'd been taken in by his uncle at a young age, who later showed Hunter he was a natural when it came to wielding artificial magic. He was a prodigy at hand-to-hand combat as well. His studies were even more impressive. Despite being born without being able to perform magic on his own he soaked up magic theory like a sponge and in only a year's time had enough experience to take down almost all other members of the emperor's coven.

"I could probably take Kikimora too," he stated cockily as if trying to impress Rascal further. "During our last fight we were both too out of it to perform our best, but if we were in an actual witches' duel, somewhere she couldn't cheat, then I could take her. Uncle trained me himself, you know. Not all the time. But sometimes."

"Impressive," it tweeted back. "Your uncle. You care for him a lot."

"Of course I do! He rescued me when I had nowhere else to go. Wild magic killed our family, remember?"

"You did say that. Do you know how? Do you remember what happened that day?"

His ears burned, ashamed. "No. I don't recall anything before I woke up in my uncle's castle. But he wouldn't lie to me, if that's what you're implying. He's hurting because of wild magic. That's why I kept pushing you away. I thought you'd get me killed or something."

"I would never harm you, Hunter. I'm your palisman, and you're my witch. I chose you. Whatever happened to your family could have been caused by wild magic, but like any weapon that magic could have been wielded by someone who meant to cause harm. Wild magic doesn't naturally hurt creatures. It heals them, because magic is life."

He gulped. He'd always thought as much, but this was the confirmation he'd needed. Countless books like From Bones to Earth: A Study of Wild Magic reiterated the fact wild magic was just one of the many forms of magic. His palisman staff and the artificial one his uncle had gifted him were more or less the same, though with Rascal being born of wild magic it meant he could potentially grow stronger than he could with his usual staff. He'd felt it during the fight not too long ago. Sure it had taken him a hot second to get used to— he'd never wielded a palisman staff before— but the moment he'd broken free from the Blight's abomination magic he'd felt it.

Power. Wild magic had been coursing under his fingertips, and unlike the cold metallic feel of his artificial staff this time it had been warm. Alive. Welcoming. Ready to answer his will and bend to his desires.

He'd felt like a real witch. He'd felt happy, and he could tell Rascal was too.

"Thank you, Rascal. I appreciate it. Really."

"I know you do. I can sense them, your emotions. Just like how you could sense when you gripped me too hard the day we met."

His jaw dropped, startled and impressed at the same time.

"Whoa. Really? That's incredible."

"It's because of our bond."

Bond, Hunter thought in awe. Never in a million years would he thought his closest friend would come in the form of a little red cardinal carved for a magical tree. Yet here he was, closer to a bird than he was nearly anyone else in the world. Only his uncle held a bigger space in his heart.

He chose not to say anything. They continued walking until the sun began to rise, the harsh gray outline of Emperor Belos' Castle standing out against the colorful backdrop of the sky.

"This is it," he told Rascal, who immediately turned into the inanimate, toy-like version of itself it could assume. He patted at the pocket containing the key with a tired sigh. "Hopefully this will show him I'm not replaceable."


Getting the coven guards to let him in wasn't an issue like it was in Latissa. Due to Kikimora's dumb hand-dragon-demon-thing having eaten his golden mask people knew what the Golden Guard looked like.

"Sir, welcome back!" One of his subordinates greeted as he approached the door.

"Morning," he replied dryly. Then, as an afterthought, he paused. "Did Kikimora arrive yet?"

"No, sir, she hasn't."

A delighted grin took over his face. "Excellent. If she asks you didn't see me, got it? Tell anyone else on duty the same."

"Of course, but may I ask why?"

"I was on a top secret mission for the emperor. That's all you need to know."

With that he stalked off, shoulders high until he found himself at the giant double doors leading into his uncle's throne room. It was early, he knew, but he also knew Belos spent nearly all of his time in that room communing with the Titan.

He knocked, and he was sure Rascal could feel the anxiety rolling off of him in droves.

Everything's going to be fine, he reassured himself miserably. Sure I disobeyed orders and snuck out, but this should make up for it. It has to, right?

"Who bothers me first thing in the morning?" Belos' voice could be heard from the other side of the doors. "Kikimora, have you already returned from your latest task?"

"It's me, Emperor Belos." Hunter switched into the Golden Guard at a moment's notice. "I have something for you I'm positive you'll want to see."

"Very well then. Come in."

He entered, closing the door behind him immediately. The last thing he needed was someone eavesdropping again. Once the door was secure he spun on his heel and made his way to where his uncle stood before the throne, as well as the beating Titan heart. Just like the day before a torrent of cursed green cut across his wizened face.

"Hunter," he regarded with a displeased tone, "you're filthy. Did you come to tell me you disobeyed my orders of staying inside the castle?"

The Golden Guard bowed, his fingers folding into fists to stop them from shaking.

"I apologize for going against your direct orders, uncle. I merely wanted to follow a lead from a tidbit in a book I'd read in the library," he lied. "If punishment is in order I understand, but first," he paused, pulling out the portal key from his pocket. At the sight of it his uncle's eyes grew wide. "I found this. I hope—"

"Give it to me!"

Hunter froze, fear washing over him like an icy bucket of water. He'd been yelled at by his uncle plenty of times. This time was different. Belos had never sounded so… demonic.

"Are you hard of hearing?" The emperor roared once more, breaking the teenager out of his stupor. "I said give it to me!"

"Y-yes, uncle." He scurried forward, holding the key out to his uncle who snatched it out of his hand faster than his eyes could track. As soon as the key was gone from his hand Hunter took a step back, his brow breaking out in sweat.

It felt like eternity until Belos spoke again. When he did his voice wasn't demonic, but it was still sharp enough to kill.

"Where did you find this?"

"Eclipse Lake."

"Liar. There is no Titan blood left to be found there, let alone a portal key in some semblance of good shape."

"I did find it there! I mean, I think it was dropped by someone. Kikimora was there with other members of the coven guards searching for Titan blood too, and when I went to search Eclipse Lake myself it seemed like there was some sort of scuffle. I don't know if it was the human looking for Titan blood herself, or some other mining failure caused by Kikimora, but when I arrived there I found it partially buried under some dirt."

The lies kept piling up, but he couldn't stop it. As much as he hated lying to his uncle he knew he couldn't say anything about following Kikimora there just so he could steal her glory. He also didn't want the youngest Blight involved after she'd given him exactly what he'd asked for. They were too similar for him to throw her under the bus even if Kikimora burst in blaming her failures on them, the Owl Lady, and their strange pet.

Belos narrowed his eyes at him. After what felt like hours underneath his scrutinizing gaze he hummed, putting the key somewhere in his cloak. He then began walking forward until he was standing directly in front of Hunter, who looked pointedly at the ground.

"Chin up, Hunter. You did well."

Eyes shining, the teenager did as he was told.

"Really?"

"Yes. You've given me one of the most important pieces to making sure the Day of Unity goes by without a hitch."

"And the human? Should I find and question her, or…?"

"I don't really care what she does. When the time comes she'll seek me out on her own, and I'll have to thank her for her foolishness." He stated while patting the key triumphantly. "Poor girl will be furious she lost something so important. Let her wallow in her own failure for a while. Let's talk about you instead."

"M-me?"

"Yes, you. While you did sneak out of the castle I think I can look past that as long as you don't do it again. Is that clear?"

"Yes, uncle."

"Great. Now why don't you get cleaned up and rest. You look like you've been out all night."

Hunter blushed. He had, and if it were that obvious he must have looked worst than he smelt.

"Okay. Um, does this mean I can start doing jobs for you again? Have I proved myself capable?"

Belos smiled. "Sure," he agreed, pulling out Hunter's artificial staff from the confines of his cloak. The teenager let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when it was securely in his hand again. "I'll call for you when I have a task for you. Until then take my advice and stay in the castle. Sneaking around doesn't suit the Golden Guard; you wouldn't want the other coven heads to think you defected like Lilith and Raine, do we?"

Hunter had to be hearing things. There was no way Raine Whispers of all people had turned traitor.

"The leader of the Bard Coven betrayed us?" He questioned, horrified.

His uncle smiled at him sadly. "They did. Formed an entire group against me right under our noses. Luckily Kikimora has them detained somewhere safe, so we won't have to replace them before the Day of Unity. Try not to let it bother you too much. I know Raine was a kind person, but that's exactly why they turned against me. They cared too much for wild magic witches and their freedom, losing sight of what is really important.

"I told you wild magic was dangerous," he reminded his nephew, a hand going to Hunter's shoulder as if to squeeze it comfortingly. Instead it just made the teenager hyperaware of Rascal's inanimate form resting in his pocket barely a foot away.

He forced himself to breathe.

"I understand, uncle. If there's nothing else you want from me I'll go clean up and rest like you ordered."

"See that you do."

A minute later Hunter was standing outside the throne room, doors closed, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. His plan worked! He was forgiven, more or less, and he gained his uncle's favor back all while thwarting Kikimora.

"Why if it isn't the traitor."

Speaking of Kikimora…

Hunter stiffened, his body naturally making adjustments so he could spring into battle at any moment. Then he remembered he'd just gotten his staff back. He really didn't want to lose it again, not after how miserable the last mission had gone without it.

Deciding to use his wit, he drew himself up with feigned pride even as magic sparked at Kikimora's fingertips.

"That's a funny thing to call me when you were the one to sabotage my last mission, leading to the emperor not getting the palismen he so desperately needs. Or should I tell him about the time when you ordered your creepy hand-dragon to dispose of me, hmm? I bet he'd put you in the conformatorium for that. Only a traitor would try to kill the emperor's right hand man."

"Some man you are," she shot back, livid at being threatened. "You're just a spoiled child."

"Cut the crap, Kiki. I know you overheard my conversation with uncle. You know we're family, don't you? Kill me and you won't live long enough to see the Day of Unity."

She growled, her magic fizzling away. Instead she tried to walk past him only for him to stop her by slamming the bottom of his staff at the ground effectively blocking her path.

"Your story?"

"I'm going to tell him about the visitors I fought off in the mines. Surely placing the blame on them doesn't bother you, does it?"

His eyes narrowed. He thought of the kindness the human had shown him even after how horribly he'd treated her. It was safe to say if the emperor caught wind of her surrogate mother, weird pet, and purple-haired girlfriend's involvement in the mines it might end with some arrests. Or worse: petrifications.

"That's a shame. I already informed emperor Belos the human was involved, and he chose to let me deal with her when the time comes. I also may have informed him there was an accident in the mines due to incompetence of the person in charge of the task." He smirked. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Why you—"

"Don't mention any names, and I won't mention yours. Got it? He's my uncle, remember. Who do you think he'll listen to if it comes down to it? You," he laughed haughtily, "or me, his nephew?"

Kikimora seethed. Her eyes had narrowed into slits, but so had Hunter's. He wasn't standing down, armed or not.

"I'm watching you, Golden Guard. The moment you mess up," she promised, miming a finger running over her neck, "I'll be there."

He pretended to be unfazed, but Rascal suddenly felt heavier in his pocket.

"The same to you."

With that he spun on his heel, leaving Kikimora fuming in his wake.


It was mid-afternoon when Hunter woke up.

"Ugh," he groaned, waking up to an aching body. "Why do I feel worse after sleeping for so long?"

"Because your body isn't used to getting a good day's rest."

"Ah!" He shot up, the familiar voice catching him off guard until he realized it was just Rascal. The little red bird flew from his windowsill onto his bed, cocking its head in confusion. It made Hunter feel embarrassed. "Sorry, Rascal. You just caught me off guard."

It rubbed its head against Hunter's knee as a way of apology, making him smile.

"Well," he drawled before pulling on his usual Golden Guard gear sans the mask, "I guess it's time to get to work."

"Work?"

"Yep. I'm going to check in with the coven guard captain to see if she has anything for me to do."

"But you're supposed to be resting."

He rolled his eyes. "I've rested enough." Rascal squawked indignantly, not even using words to convey its intent. "First of all, rude. Second of all, these eye bags are basically permanent. It doesn't matter if I sleep for five hours or twenty; they're there. They only looked worse yesterday because I didn't get much sleep the few days prior."

"Still, you should be taking it easy while you can."

"Asking the captain if she has anything for me to do is taking it easy. Have you seen our guards? Just me being there to make sure they aren't slacking off is better than sitting in my room rereading the three books I own."

"You could try to find more books on wild magic," Rascal suggested.

Hunter frowned. "That's easier said than done. Uncle got rid of texts about wild magic from all libraries but his own private one, and I've already snuck in there enough times to read what few books I could find. Any other books out there were probably burned."

"Not all of them. Luz the human has a few in her room within the owl house. You seemed to enjoy speaking with her about that one book; maybe you can ask to borrow a new book from her?"

He could feel his defenses click into place. Hunter felt the Golden Guard's response on his tongue far before his own curiosity could win out.

"I will not go turning to a magicless human for help, especially when she lives with a criminal. I'll learn through practice like I always do. Maybe," he said quietly, his own childlike innocence sneaking back in, "maybe later tonight we can sneak out and run through some spells. Until then you should lie low, okay? Blend in with some of my stuffed animals or something if someone comes by. No one should, but I don't trust Kikimora. If you need to escape for any reason I'll leave the window open so you can."

"Okay, Hunter. Just be safe."

"I will."

"And make sure you eat. That purple-haired girl was right when she called you scrawny."

"Again, rude."

If he made triple sure to lock his door, well, that was because he was annoyed. And if he made a stop at the kitchens to grab a snack it was because he was hungry in general, not because he'd been told to eat. Obviously.

"Golden Guard?"

He hummed in acknowledgement as he finished off a glass of water.

"Hello, Captain. I'm glad to see you made it back from the mines in one piece despite Kikimora's recent temper tantrums."

The woman cleared her throat. "I, well, she has been a bit stressed out lately."

"And paranoid. Don't forget about paranoid."

"She was worried about you stealing her glory from her, which you did," the captain accused.

He ground his teeth. "I wouldn't have done that if she hadn't provoked me. Remember the crash in Latissa? She brought down my airship not only almost killing me but nearly breaking the palismen in the process. Then she had the audacity to lose control of her creepy dragon pet allowing the palismen to escape. Who did emperor Belos blame? Me. So of course I stole her glory yesterday. She'd already caused me to fail the emperor once. I was not going to let her get away with it."

Captain, her actual name escaping him, nodded slowly in understanding.

"I'd argue with you, but your story checks out. She lied about you dying in the crash to begin with. Not to mention she's been weirdly fixated on one-upping you for the emperor's favor. She's also," she looked around to make sure Kikimora wasn't around, "being kind of a jerk lately. She threatened to throw me into the caverns yesterday."

"I won't let that happen," he promised. "You're too important to the cause to be thrown away like that."

"But aren't we all replaceable?"

"I don't want to be replaced!"

His own shout of desperation from the night prior replayed in his head, and a sad look entered his eyes.

"Maybe, but some would be harder to replace than others. You? Far harder to replace than Kiki."

The captain sputtered, obviously flustered by the roundabout compliment, but she straightened up when he did.

"Anyway, is there anything I can help you with? Emperor Belos wants me working in the castle today until my next mission is ready."

"Oh, um, not really? There's not much going on today."

"I see. If that's the case then perhaps I—"

"Oh Golden Guard!" A feminine voice sang as she sauntered over to them, the ever-present hand on her head making him pull his lips back in a snarl. "I was just looking for you. The emperor would like a word with you. It appears he has a task for you."

Hunter gazed at her, suspicious. "Really now?"

"Of course," Kikimora responded with a small chuckle before turning away from them. "Well, I'm off to the conformatorium. I've got prisoners to interrogate. Don't mess up, Golden Guard."

She walked away laughing, leaving the captain and him to look at each other blankly.

"I guess I should be off. Keep up the good work, Captain."

The masked woman bowed. "I will, sir. Good luck on your new task."

"Thanks," he said before walking off towards the throne room. Titan knows I'll need it.


"Hunter."

He inclined his head, respectful as ever.

"Yes, uncle? Kikimora told me you had a new task for me."

"I do. Despite her failure in not finding any Titan blood she did find some strange carvings in one of the tunnels in the mines. They were copied here," he held out a scroll of paper. Hunter took it, unfurling it so he could see the almost rune-like language running across the page. "It appears to be a coded map of sorts. She thinks it could be a clue on where to find more Titan blood. I don't have time to look into it myself, but I trust you to do it in my stead. You're a smart boy. Cracking a code like this will be child's play for someone as sharp as you."

"Thank you for this great honor. I'll begin deciphering it right away."

Belos nodded, pleased. "See that you do. Should you need any research materials you may send a coven guard to the Bonesborough Library to grab what you need."

"I understand. I will not fail you, uncle."

"I trust you won't."

Dismissed with a wave of Belos' hand, Hunter practically ran to his room. A minute later he was sprawled out on his bed, the scroll taking up one half of the available space and a few books taking up the rest.

This time the chirp of greeting didn't surprise him.

"Hunter?" Rascal asked, its little head tilted in befuddlement. "You seem very excited. Why?"

He grinned, his chest puffing out with pride. He gestured to the scroll with a nerdy look in his eye the bird recalled seeing when he was talking about magic from the savage ages.

"Uncle gave me another job! First I'm going to break this code," he said as he started marking symbols and finding patterns across the scroll, "and then I'm going to follow the map to wherever it leads."

"Where does it lead?"

"Not sure, but it's bound to have Titan blood. And when I bring it back uncle will be even more proud of me."

Rascal didn't respond. Even if it had Hunter might have tuned it out, all of his attention having turned to deciphering the runes on the scroll. So Rascal waited. It was content to sit next to its witch, occasionally moving when Hunter did. In the end it ended up falling asleep on his back since the he'd eventually gotten tired of sitting up and decided to lie on his stomach with his notes spread out before him.

Day turned to evening, and evening to night. Eventually the passing of time caught up with Rascal. Hunter, on the other hand? He had yet to so much as get a drink or go to the bathroom.

"Hunter," the bird chimed in around midnight, landing on top of his notes for good measure, "you skipped dinner. You should get something to eat and drink, then head to bed. The puzzle will be here in the morning."

Pink, almost scarlet eyes met his palisman's.

"But I've almost solved it! There's just one rune I can't make sense of. I can infer it, I guess, but there's a chance I might alter the meaning of the entire message if I don't confirm it for sure." He sat up, rolled his shoulders, and stretched his arms all while squinting down at the scroll. "I could use a small walk though. Wanna come with? The castle should be quiet now, so if you hide in my hood you'll likely be fine."

Rascal chirped with joy, flying to Hunter's shoulder before crawling so it was situated and hidden underneath the hood of his cloak when he pulled it up.

Nodding in approval, Hunter reluctantly left his notes and made his way to the kitchen for a light late night snack. Rascal tried to get him to eat more but he pressed that he wasn't that hungry. He'd basically slept half of the day away before lying in his bed for the remainder of it after all. Other than drinking three glasses of water (then subsequently having to make a quick trip to the bathroom) he was fine. Okay, perhaps his eyes were a bit bloodshot from staring at runes and reading all day, but still. The bags under his eyes weren't any bigger. He at least had that going for him.

He was about to head back up to his room when he paused, an idea springing to mind.

Wait a minute. I've seen the rune I'm missing before in one of uncle's books! It's ancient, so it won't be in any of the books I have or in the library. I need to see if uncle will let me borrow his books right away!

"Change of plans, Rascal." He whispered as he changed course. "Can you hide in my pocket for a few minutes? I think the last piece of the puzzle I need is in uncle's study."

The palisman didn't give a verbal response. Instead it wiggled its way down his cloak and into his pocket before going inanimate like it often did to stay hidden.

Hunter smiled, his heart filling with warmth. "Thanks little guy."

A few minutes later he stood outside his uncle's private study, not a single coven guard in sight.

I really need to talk to them about getting distracted and sleeping on the job, he thought with a growl. What if someone snuck into the emperor's study while it was unguarded? Important information could be stolen for Titan's sake!

Filing his concern about the matter away for later, he rapped his knuckles on the door and waited. And waited. And waited.

He tried again. And waited.

He must be resting, or maybe he's working on fixing the portal key. I guess I'll have to wait until morning to ask him about borrowing his books.

He turned to leave when the compulsion for him to check the door took over. After checking to make sure no one was nearby the put his hand on the doorknob and twisted. To his surprise it was unlocked. Either his uncle was more worn down than he liked to admit, or he was too sure no one would be stupid enough to enter his study without his permission and live.

Against his better judgment Hunter slipped inside. What Belos didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? Especially if it meant Hunter could impress him by cracking the code to the map sooner.

Finding the room empty he immediately began to gloss over the spines of several books. It took a few minutes to find the title he was looking for, and another several minutes for him to find the section which contained information on the rune he was researching. A total of maybe fifteen, twenty minutes passed by the time he was sure he'd found the final piece to the puzzle.

"I found it," he whispered to Rascal. He knew the palisman could hear him even if it couldn't reply. "That means tomorrow we can—"

The words died in his throat as his eyes caught sight of, well, what looked to be a drawing of his eyes in a book splayed open on his uncle's desk. Upon closer inspection he realized it was actually just one of a few diagrams for an ancient spell of some sort.

Grimwalker? He frowned, the phrase throwing him for a loop. In his experience spells containing the word "grim" usually meant the magic was of evil origins or was from the school of necromancy. Either way it was odd his uncle would be reading about such a topic. Belos must be trying to prevent wild witches from performing such a heinous spell. Duh.

He looked at the ingredients list. Galderstones? Sure Belos had sent dozens of coven guards to find them, but none of them had ever been successful. It had gotten to the point the ones who hadn't perished or gotten lost on the way swore up and down such a place didn't exist. They said the mythical Looking Glass Ruins were just that: a myth.

Palistrom wood? Sure there was a limited supply left, but the majority of it had been harvested not too long ago by Belos himself. It was all he could do to stop witches from crafting their own palismen as well as keep himself whole after the accident.

Stonesleeper lungs? Hunter wasn't too sure about them, but if was anything like the Selkidomus scales Belos obviously didn't want them in his possession. If he was trying to cast such a spell why did he order Hunter to slay a Selkidomus in the first place? The order had not been to bring him any scales or even the beast's head. He'd been told to kill one, plain and simple.

The last ingredient gave him pause though. A "Bone of Ortet", it read. Strange.

"Huh. In the savage ages an ortet was only referred to in terms of cloning plants. It was the original. The one the cloned plants were copies of," he mumbled under his breath before he snapped his fingers. "Although in another text the word was often replaced with ramet, which means an independent member of a clone. Basically this is a cloning spell and one of the ingredients is a bone from the person wanting to make a clone of his or herself. That has to be it." After a second he made a face. "Gross."

What confused Hunter about all this information was why? Not why was Belos looking into it, because that much was obvious. He knew his uncle's body was failing. A new, cloned body would likely mean better health overall. What he didn't understand was why his uncle was seemingly getting rid of all the ingredients needed to make one if it could potentially help him. Was he afraid of someone else learning how to perform such a spell? Hunter supposed it was game-changing knowledge. The constructs the Blights made had nothing on honest to Titan clones. The last thing enemies of his uncle needed was to make clones of themselves. Or worse, an army.

His eyes roved over to the page on the left, a knot forming in his gut as he looked over the physical development of a Grimwalker.

Abnormal growth rate, advanced learning abilities, defining features… dark magenta eyes? Crooked nose? That's… oddly specific.

A hand rose to his face, tracing the curve of his nose before his attention went back to the text.

It says here sometimes certain physical deformities of the creator carry over to the grim— the clone.

A memory played in Hunter's head. It consisted of him waking up from the incident that took away his family to see his uncle sitting there at the foot of his bed. After the shocking revelation of what had happened he remembered crying, his uncle's hand coming to rest on his head. When he'd eventually gotten a good look in the mirror the first day he'd been taken in he recalled finding a piece of his left ear was gone. It was the same ear Belos himself had a notch in.

"Isn't that something, Hunter? We match."

Slowly, Hunter backed away from the desk. For some reason he was having trouble breathing all of a sudden. His chest was tight, yet he didn't know why. No, that was a lie. He knew why his breaths were beginning to come out in uneven gasps.

He was afraid.

But why should he be? Perhaps his uncle did create him. Perhaps his uncle lied to him about his past, which would explain the absence of his earlier memories. Perhaps he was a Grimwalker, a clone. But didn't that just mean Belos truly cared? If he wasn't just taken in but created to be as great as Belos himself then Hunter was lucky. He could thank his uncle for his genius level intelligence, being born with a purpose, and having his basic needs taken care of.

And his lack of magical abilities, although that wasn't his fault. It just meant his uncle was even more respectable for being born with such amazing magical might despite their ancestors not having magic.

Still, if he was clone, didn't that make him a construct more than an actual person? Was he even alive? He could bleed. He'd gotten hurt on enough missions to know that. What about his heart? Was it a magical rock instead of the mass of muscle tissue it should be?

All rational thought left him when he tried to think too hard about this. It said it right there in the text. He was a construct. As much as he was a copy of Belos he still wasn't really "alive" in the same sense. Not if he had a Galderstone for a heart, plant matter or scales for flesh and muscle, stones in his lungs, and the bone of his own caretaker hiding somewhere under his skin.

This isn't right. I never had a mom and dad. I never grew up the way normal kids did. My name— did he name me Hunter? Because my main job was to hunt down palismen for him? No. That can't be true. He told me that story about the human realm. He gave me lessons in magic and combat. He's taken care of me for as long as I remember— he cares about me. He does!

But what if he just cares about himself because I'm basically him? Or, or…

"The Titan has big plans for you." He remembered Belos saying.

What plans? What was his purpose other than helping Belos capture palismen? He couldn't do that anymore. Between the shortage of them, palistrom wood, and his own changing opinions on the morality of the matter he was done being a hunter. Even the thought of watching his uncle crack open another palisman to help improve his condition made him want to be sick.

I've been so stupid, he thought while checking to make sure Rascal was still safe. He worked on steadying his breathing as he crept out of the study, closing the door softly behind him. Rascal shouldn't be here. If Belos knew he'd kill it in an instant.

He ran to his room as fast as he could, not even bothering to look back. If he grabbed his staff so he could go for a quick fly to clear his head that was his own business. Well, him and his new friend.

"Hunter?" Rascal questioned as its witch took off in the night, the palisman coming to life in his pocket. "Hunter, what's wrong? You're upset. What happened?"

He couldn't speak past the lump in his throat. This made Rascal trill worriedly. By the time it worked its way out of his pocket and perched on his shoulder Hunter could feel wetness on his face. Darn it. He was crying. He was the Golden Guard for Titan's sake! If anyone saw him he'd—

The feeling of feathers brushing against the underside of his scarred chin made his breath hitch. Rascal sent a feeling of assurance through their bond, a long string of thoughts and feelings that spoke volumes more than words ever could. It screamed protection, understanding, and love.

"It's going to be okay," it said without words.

Hunter cried harder. He knew Rascal was right, because Hunter was going to send his new friend away. He just wanted to spend a little more time with him before it came to that. He could be selfish for a bit longer. Following the map could be their sort of first and last official adventure together. Then he would say goodbye.

I'll do it tomorrow after the mission is complete, he decided. It's safer for both of us this way.

It was going to hurt them both a lot. He knew this. But the pain would be worth it, wouldn't it? He was going to do this to protect Rascal. He had to. Because the alternative was much more painful. Letting go of his friend and palisman was bearable in comparison to watching it crumble into dust.


The next day he woke up feeling numb. Part of him wanted to confront his uncle about his origins, but another more loyal part of him rationalized he didn't need to. Belos had his reasons for keeping him in the dark. Hunter was probably too young to understand. Maybe his uncle would explain things to him when he was a bit older? Or perhaps it didn't matter. He knew from the way Belos pushed him to do his best that he cared for him. He was concerned about keeping him safe. He'd never hurt him despite the hard time his condition was giving him, the recent bouts of rage making him scarier than usual. It wasn't like he would ever do Hunter harm. He was family after all.

Well, flesh and blood anyway.

"Good morning!" Rascal chirped after a few minutes of Hunter being lost in his own head. "Are you feeling better today?"

Hunter put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He didn't want to worry his palisman any more than he already had.

"I'm feeling pretty good. I don't think I've slept so much as I have in the past two days in months."

"Good! You need to take care of yourself more. Speaking of, you should get something to eat before you tell your uncle about the message you uncovered."

"Fine, but only a little. I'm not usually hungry first thing in the morning. I've got to let my stomach settle a bit, you know?"

"Not really. I don't need to eat and drink like you do."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Right, I forgot. You're a palisman. Can you eat though?"

It shrugged, its little wings rising and falling almost comically, something Hunter found super adorable. Not that he would say that out loud of course.

An hour later he was flying away from the castle, the map to his destination folded and stored securely in his pocket. He was fully dressed in his Golden Guard attire (sans mask) with Rascal in its usual hiding spot under the hood of his cloak.

As soon as they were far away enough from prying eyes, Hunter whistled. Immediately Rascal crawled out from under his hood and trilled.

"Hey little guy," Hunter greeted with some fondness. "Sorry about earlier. Uncle got too close for comfort, didn't he?"

"He seemed to be concerned for you. He could tell you were nervous."

"Of course I was nervous. I snuck into his study last night. Then there's the whole Grimwalker thing I don't know how to bring up. I mean, I should, shouldn't I? If I'm not a witch or a demon or even a human I feel like I should know."

Rascal's reply was a chirp full of worry. "You deserve the truth, but from what I've seen of his condition bringing something like that up is bound to get you into trouble. I don't want to see my witch get hurt."

Hunter frowned, his hands clenching his staff tighter.

"He wouldn't hurt me."

The palisman said nothing, its own doubt permeating the air along with Hunter's. They both knew Belos was not fairing very well without taking in any more magic from stolen palismen. They also both knew he wouldn't be getting any more, because Hunter couldn't look at palismen the same way he had before meeting Rascal.

They flew in silence for some time. Bonesborough came and went underneath them, and eventually they flew over a forest that appeared to be teeming with colossal vines. Forearm Forest, his knowledge of the geography chided. According to the riddle-like instructions he'd deciphered the place he was going was just east of where the mythical Looking Glass Ruins would be located due south. The runes hinted that there was a rock formation that looked similar to a mountain that had its upper half shaved off.

"Oh!" Hunter exclaimed, sharply directing his staff downwards. Rascal waited until he'd landed to flutter to its witch's other shoulder.

It tilted its head inquisitively. "Why did we stop?"

He wrung his strangely clammy fingers, a sudden shyness taking over him.

"I thought maybe I could try practicing using you for this mission? We fought well together at Eclipse Lake after I got the hang of you. If you don't want to it's…"

Rascal was a staff in his hands faster than he could finish his sentence.

The smile he gave it reached his eyes, something that didn't happen often.

"Okay then," he stated confidently, magenta eyes shining with determination. "Let's do this."


Half an hour later, his patience was thinning.

"There's nothing here," he said. The despondence in his voice was palpable. He pulled out the scroll and reread everything over again once, twice, thrice; still, he gleaned nothing new. "If there was anything I guess it's already been taken. What do you think, Rascal? Should we just leave?"

His staff morphed into Rascal's living form. It landed on Hunter's outstretched fist using it like a perch.

"That's up to you. Your uncle won't be upset, will he?"

He shrugged, uncertain. "I don't know. It's not my fault the map led me to nowhere. But his curse is acting up when I come back empty-handed he might—"

"Watch out!"

If it hadn't been for Rascal shifting into its staff form and Hunter's quick reflexes he would have found himself captured by not one, not two, but three Abomaton 2.0s. Standing atop the one in the middle was none other than Kikimora herself.

"Well well well," she sang, "what do my little eyes see? I see the Golden Guard wielding a staff composed of wild magic. Very amusing. Tell me, Golden Guard, what would your uncle say if he knew you had a palisman in your possession while he suffers the affects of his condition? One would almost call such an action treason of the highest variety."

Not if he doesn't find proof of your claim.

He got into a half-crouch, wielding his staff defensively. "Funny you should call me out for treason when this is the second time you've attempted to kill me. Emperor Belos said himself that the Titan has big plans for me. If you kill me he'll—"

Kikimora flicked her hand. Two of the Abomatons advanced on him wielding morning stars and bladed weapons among them, forcing him to duck and roll out of the way.

"That's the thing, Golden Guard. Emperor Belos might be very upset if he knew I killed his precious nephew; however, there's one problem with your plan." She let out an evil cackle. "He'd have to find out I was here, wouldn't he? If the Abomatons end you here I can just sit back and let him think you died while on your mission. I could also bring your palisman to him, gaining me more of his favor. Great job cracking my code by the way," she added almost as an afterthought. "I worried I might have made it too hard, but it seems you do possess some intelligence."

It all clicked into place.

"You dirty little demon!" He seethed, anger taking over. "You won't get away with this. When I make it back to the castle I'll make sure he petrifies you for your crimes."

She rolled her eyes. With a snap of her fingers the Abomaton she was on morphed into what appeared to be a tiny blimp of sorts. It was grotesque yet apparently functional if her floating up several yards in the air proved anything.

"Kill him," she commanded, and the two armed monstrosities on the ground attacked.