Hey, first of all, I want to thank everybody for the reviews. And now the new chapter:

It was a lazy afternoon in what was supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year. Apparently, the weather didn't know that because it was freezing cold – there was ice along the shores of Lake Mulsantir and the villagers assured her that it had always been like that during the summer. Cayla didn't want to know what was winter like in Rashemen.

She was sitting on a big rock in the middle of the snowy plains, right next to the Mulsantir gates. It was quiet here, quieter than it was in the city and the cold stirred her mind and cleared it from all of the fuzz that was there most of the time. So she stood there and dreamed of the future.

'One, what do you want to do when all this is over?' she asked her invisible companion, who was probably behind her. But then again, he was always behind her - one step away from her and oddly enough that didn't give her a reason to fear him.

.:Kill things.:.

'And after that?' Little by little, she was learning that all he wanted to do was end lives.

.:Kill other things.:. Awkward silence ensued. After a couple of minutes, she quietly said:

'You're supposed to ask me what I want to do in the future.'

.:Why?:. She sometimes forgot that the undead don't think like the living any more. It probably had something to do with death. Or maybe she just didn't know this at all.

'Nevermind.'

.:So...what do you want to do when all you're done with Rashemen?:.

'I'm not sure...I'll probably kill Gann, then resurrect him, then kill him again. And after that...maybe I'll return to West Harbor – the village I come from. Will you come with me then?'

.:Where you go, I follow. I am your servant and I'm supposed to do what you want me to do.:.

'Aaaw, thanks! You're really a big sweetheart, even though you don't admit it.' Apparently, she didn't quite catch the part with the slave and the master and the part where One of Many wanted to kill things. But the Many had to admit that aside from them being an undead construct with multiple personalities with the only desire to bring pain to the living, they really were a big huggable puppy.

So she put her palm on his claw, lifted herself from the rock and kissed his cheek. Then she smiled at him and continued to stare at the horizon. It was so white that it made her eyes itch, but she didn't turn her gaze away even then – she probably couldn't realize it was bad for her to continue doing this.

'But maybe...maybe I can become a traveling warrior-lady. I can bring horror and pain to the people all over the world!'

Were those her thoughts? A month ago, she wouldn't have said something like that. But if it wasn't hers...then whose thought was that? Was it the Gift talking or maybe the Many?

.:But mistress...are you sure? Don't you remember the last traveling warrior lady we met?:.

'Oh, her... I remember her, alright. Safiya was still with us then...'

Dramatic flashback starts in 3...2...1...

They were in Ashenwood then. They've had killed the Wood Man and gasping for breath, sitting or lying in the deep snow, watching how the snowflakes fell on their armors, on their blades...on their bodies, all covered in blood...

"Have no fear, for I am here and I will save you! Kyayayaya!" a sudden yell echoed along the clearing and the hills near it.

"You're a little bit late, whoever you are." Said dryly Safiya, wiping the snow on her robes.

"I am Zana, warrior princess and I am here to save this country, for I am good and righteous andsuperspecialawesome! Kyayayaya!"

"Will you help us fight against the Wall?!" asked Kaelyn with a zealous tone to her voice. The rest ignored her question – they were getting used to that, even though it scared them sometimes.

"Save this country? From who?" asked Gann in his soft, feminine voice.

"I shall free this country from the evil spirit eater! I have the power of good and my girlfriend, Gavriela, with me!"

"Your what?" interrupter Cayla, seeing how close were the words of the imposter to the beginning of every Wall speech Kaelyn gave them daily.

"My girlfriend. Is that a problem? Kyayayaya!"

"Isn't she kind of...female?"

"Yes. But you are not allowed to speak, oh evil one, because I will stop you!"

"Sure, whatever...but why are you screaming in the end of every sentence?"

"It's a warrior-princess thing, don't pay attention to it. Kyayaya! And now prepare to be killed to death!" the warrior shrieked and took a heroic pose. It really would've been epic if Safiya hadn't interrupted – she started laughing and continued to do so until tears streamed though her face and froze on her nose and her stomach started hurting.

"Kill her." The wizard said, gasping for air. "Kill her until her speeches kill me."

"Sure. As you wish." Cayla murmured, drawing her sword again and sending a sign to the Many to join the battle.

Dramatic flashback ends here.

That was then and this is now. Overall, Safiya had been a great companion...follower, she corrected herself. Until the Dove scared her away, that is.

'You're right, I definitely don't want to be a warrior lady. But I can still bring pain to the innocent.'

.:Yes! And we together shall bring horror to the living! We shall slay armies, crush empires and eat little children!:. He had to admit, the sorceress didn't need to use violence at all. Just one smile from her and those armies would kill themselves so the last man standing could smile back to her and those empires would crushed themselves if she said so. There wasn't any need to give any arguments at all – the sparkle in her eyes was enough to bring sweet madness to anyone who looked at her. But the girl didn't even realize all of that! She used her charms only to get out of awkward situations. She needed someone to guide her, to tell her what to do! If this was a cheap three-penny novel, a light bulb would've lit on top of the Many's head. Because for the first time in a while, the voices of the Many united in one susurrus, whispering softly to the dominant soul words of treason and deceit. And Malvor the demonspawn now knew what to do with the sorceress.

"Mistress!" a voice echoed from the distance and drifted in the air like a bitter scent, making Cayla's muscles shiver and her Gift stir. The owner was definitely scared and probably running away from something. The panic was so close, so delicious to sense...

She turned around, jumping to the ground and subconsciously taking one of One of Many's tentacles in her hand.

"What is it, child?"

.:Ask him quickly and then feed on him.:.

'Was that a command?'

.:No?:.

'Oh, alright then.'

"Mistress, the big scary lady with the wings sends me to you. She said that there is someone you need to see at the berserker lodge."

"I see. But why are you scared?"

"She...she looked at me with a weird glint in her eyes and...and... she talked scary things about my soul going to...going to rot at some wall...and then she sent me to get you and...is my soul going to decay on some wall, mistress?" There were tears of fear on its eyes and it was shivering, palms on his knees and wet hair on his eyes.

"Yes", was her laconic answer. Her demonspawn friend urged her to draw her sword, cast a spell, feed on the child like the Hill tribe taught her to do.

She needed only one second in order to feel the power of the child's soul, the hidden energy, flowing in his veins. And another second to unleash her hunger and then dispose of the corpse, leaving nothing but heat and sweet scent in the air where its body had once been.

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One thing that Cayla was proud about was the color of her skin. It was darker than her hair – which was light chestnut – and most importantly, it had the color of the planks from which the Berserker lodge was made. So she could easily hide there and listen to the words of the newcomer. Irony, she could've sworn that he didn't exist at all – she still thought that her past before the Gift was non-existent. That was one of the reasons the Many hated her – she gave up every detail from her past life she didn't like and a person without a past is a person without pride.

So she listened to the nostalgic words of the pale man and watched him with a dumbfounded expression and he didn't see her at all. Maybe he, too, thought her to be a ghost.

When she arrived, she didn't know what to expect. Kaelyn had been in front of the door, leading to the lodge. She waited patiently even though the expression on her face had shown something a little bit different – apathy to the world she lived in. Gann told the sorceress once that their divine songbird lived in an imaginary world, behind empty walls – it was a concept simple enough for a personal world.

"Here you are." She had spoken with a soft voice and stared into the empty space. After what happened just before they visited the Sunken City, the Dove's eyes had gotten a little disconcerted. "There is a man inside the lodge. He spoke your name, your title. Perhaps you know him."

"Err...thanks for telling me?" it was more of a question than a statement - Cayla didn't know what was expected from her.

"Go inside, speak with him. Maybe that way you can gain inner strength to face your past and thus to face your future." One of the things the sorceress hated about Kaelyn was the fact that the Dove always spoke with riddle. Aside from the Wall speeches, actually.

And now Cayla was inside and she didn't know what to do. It wasn't a joke anymore – when she had faced Bishop and Zha...Zhji.., Zhjah...the Z-person, to her it was just a way to pass time. She didn't take them seriously, because they were just ghosts, a part of her imagination.

But this ghost here...was more real than the others.

"Hey, Cayla, that you? I can barely see you, your skin actually merges with the planks." It was one of the berserkers whose name she always forgot. They all had weird names like Vladimir or Andrei and pronouncing them was impossible for her. "We have a new visitor here. He thinks himself to be a great storyteller, but listening to him is quite boring." The barbarian patted her shoulder and pushed her into the wall of people. "The only thing he talks about is that Old Owl Well thingy. Can you make him stop? It's very annoying and if he doesn't cease that we'll be forced to rend him unconscious."

After a couple of minutes, spent in awkward silence and staring, she finally gained the courage to speak.

"Oh...um...hello, Casavir. Been a long time, huh?"

And the voices of the Many exploded into her head. It sounded as if they were jealous of the imposter who prided himself to be Cayla's friend. After all, how could he be?

And for the first time in his un-life, the demonspawn who was currently in control of the Many, realized that they didn't know what to do. They didn't know what they wanted! When she created them, the obvious step was to make her believe they are her only friend, the only one she could really trust. And they had succeeded. The second step was to make her evil, because that was the right thing to do. And they were trying hard and it seemed that she was giving up, giving in to the pressure of her dearest of friends and her servant. But what then? What would happen after that?

And now the person she thought to trust the most had entered her life again. The Many were scared from the unknown. They were a good servant and because of that, they had checked her memories of the past life Cayla had. From what they'd learned, she was just a confused little child who didn't know what to do and then the paladin showed up, gave her something to live for – he gave her a path in life she could follow. So she became kind, generous and helpful and when Casavir disappeared, the sorceress lost her path.

So the most obvious thing to do was to dispose of the paladin. Otherwise, their Mistress wouldn't be so open to manipulation and what would happen to the Many then?

"My lady?! I have been searching for you for months on end! Where have you been!?" How dare he speak like that to her, the Many spoke in one voice. He was speaking like a parent to an irresponsible child who had stolen a cookie from the jar. But in the end, he slept with her even though he prided himself to be like a father to her. So, the brave and courageous paladin didn't know what to be or how to act either!

"It's hard to believe, trust me. But it doesn't matter now" she smiled.

And when he tried to hug her, the Many attacked him.

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'How could you!' she screamed, sending the thought to him.

.:It was the right thing to do, Mistress.:. Actually, it had been the most primal thing to do. A swing of a tentacle, a claw in his muscled back and he had ceased to be. It was easier this way, even though it had made Cayla very angry. Soon, she would forget about that like she forgot about everything else from her past life.

'He was my friend...my lover...and you killed him!'

.:He was, I don't deny this. But did you even think about him while we were traveling from one part of Rashemen to another?:.

'I...didn't. But that doesn't matter!'

.:He's just a ghost that returns to haunt you! You've found your way of living now and he could only hold you back!:. The demonspawn knew that she would just give up the argument. Forgive and forget and not because she had a good heart – in the end, she just didn't care about anything at all.

'I guess you're right. It's not worth the drama.' And with those words she took one of his claws in her palm and walked to the Veil theater, ready for another adventure.