The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 7 - Blinding

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 1 - Rebirth

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 2 - Three Stooges

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 3 - Spirits

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 4 - Magic

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 5 - A New Friend

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 6 - Plagued

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 8 - A Newly Familiar Face

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 9 - The Dragonstone

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 10 - Family

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 11 - Sisters

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 12 - Connections

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 13 - Trouble in Town

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 14 - Foreign Emotion

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 15 - Grief

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 16 - In Motion

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 17 - Escape

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 18 - Shared Pressure

The Rebel's Crown - Extra 1 - A Cat's View

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 19 - The College

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 20 - Celebration

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 21 - Friends

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 22 - Trials

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 23 - Suffering

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 24 - Nobility

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 25 - Avery

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 26 - Sick

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 27 - Getting in Trouble

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 28 - Consequences 

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 29 - Cold

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 30 - The Painter

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 31 - The Party

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 32 - A Friend's Dilemma

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 33 - A Promise

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 34 - Trauma - Part 1

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 35 - Trauma - Part 2

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 36 - Down Below

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 37 - A Lead

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 38 - Determination

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 39 - The Heart

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 40 - Distractions

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 41 - Prelude

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 42 - Tourney - Part 1

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 43 - Tourney - Part 2

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 44 - Tourney - Part 3

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 45 - Tourney - Part 4

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 46 - Disqualified

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 47 - Premeditated

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 48 - Taken

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 49 - Rescue - Part 1

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 50 - Rescue - Part 2

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 51 - Rescue - Part 3

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 52 - Rescue - Part 4

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 53 - Monster

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 54 - Forces of Nature

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 55 - Final Round

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 56 - Compromised

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 57 - Broken

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 58 - Rampage

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 59 - Flight

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 60 - Distant Signs

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 61 - Helpless

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 62 - Walled In

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 63 - Outside

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 64 - A New Promise

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 65 - Bloody Secrets

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 66 - Misdirection

The Rebel's Crown - Chapter 67 - Pointless

&lt;p&gt;The Plague Beast shrieked. Its eyes rolled back into its head as a malevolent violet aura filled them and spread throughout its body and out in thick tendrils. The beast readied to charge, but a familiar figure wrapped in a blue aura leapt from the trees, ramming against one of the creature’s ragged limbs, snapping the long appendage in half and causing the Plague Beast to stumble sideways.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Plague Beast screeched at the blue figure as another limb quickly replaced the broken one, cutting off the dead appendage at the base. The creature used this new limb to swipe at the blue figure, connecting with a hard thwack, throwing him towards the caravan and into the trees behind the wagons.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I watched as Damian slowly trudged out from the trees, carrying a thick tree branch as a weapon. Slowly, the man’s aura crept up the wooden club until it wrapped it completely, as it did his own body. He stopped for a moment and turned to Jaime who stood nearby.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Normally, I wouldn’t use a weapon since my fists are more reliable, but sometimes you need that extra reach.” He rushed out in a single moment then sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Damian and the Plague Beast charged at the same once, colliding in a flash of violet and blue.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Astrid hurried over to where the mages that were with the caravan had gathered. There were four of them in total, each one with a purple aura emanating from their eyes. Astrid commanded each of them with a vicious tone that would be more at home on the front lines. I’d never seen anyone with such a commanding nature during my time in the war. Even Sir Duncan seemed to have given up any ideas of leading the battle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Each of the mages that had gathered placed a hand on Astrid’s back, channeling their mana into her. The blue aura from her seemed to grow more dense as the moments passed until one by one, each of the mages’ auras faded and they stumbled away. Astrid, however, looked to be more energetic than I had ever seen her.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Hamil, how do you kill something if it heals faster than you can hurt it?” Astrid asked, turning to her protege, excitement filling her face.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Kill it faster.” Hamil immediately blurted out.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The boy had Bark in his arms. He had grabbed the wooden dog just as the Plague Beast showed itself. He clutched it tightly to his chest as he watched the battle between Damian and the creature.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“And what if that doesn’t work?” She quizzed him once more.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Hurt it until it can’t heal anymore.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“And how do we decide?”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Whichever comes first.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A bright smile spread across Astrid’s face as she heard Hamil’s words, “That’s what a Freelancer needs: determination. The determination to see a fight through ‘till the end.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Astrid rose both palms toward the Plague Beast as the aura from her eyes flared more brilliantly. Two magic rings materialized in front of her hands. The rings slowly began to change as the aura flowed more strongly from her hands and soon, the normally pale rings had become blood red. Quickly, Astrid began to etch into the rings simultaneously, both emitting a high-pitched whistle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;From what I could tell, the etchings on both rings were identical in every way.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Hamil!” Astrid shouted, her face strained. “If performing a spell backwards erases it, what do you think happens when you overlap two identical ones?”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The look on the boy’s face gradually changed from one of confusion, to one of surprise as both blood red rings started to move, overlapping each other and syncing perfectly. What remained was much darker of a red color with an even louder whistle emanating from it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Damian had grown visibly exhausted from his struggle against the Plague Beast. His attacks had become slower and his aura thinner. The creature, however, suddenly turned towards the group of mages and Astrid who stood with her menacing magic ring, ready to fire. The creature quickly dashed towards the woman, though not quick enough. The blood red ring flashed a brilliant light as an enormous ball of flames rocketed towards the beast, exploding on impact. The explosion expanded out, absorbing the entirety of the Plague beast, a good portion of the guard post and a large amount of the ground. The explosion faded fast, leaving nothing behind besides smoldering rock and dirt.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Seeing that the Plague Beast had been defeated, everyone in the caravan, even Sir Duncan, began to cheer. Even I would have, given the chance. Damian raised both fists to the sky, then fell flat on his back as his already thinned aura faded. Bark took this opportunity to leap from Hamil’s arms and run to the exhausted man. Anyone could tell that the man dreaded what the wooden dog would do, but it simply curled up beside him. Astrid nearly collapsed as her aura quickly dissipated. Luckily, she caught her footing and was able to keep herself upright.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“What you just did was incredibly dangerous.” Pert spoke in a low, cold tone. “You could have easily burned through your own heart.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Lighten… Lighten up, old man.” Astrid replied snidely, taking time to catch her breath. “I didn’t see you fighting out there. And what do &lt;em&gt;you &lt;/em&gt;know about magic?”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Pert didn’t reply, but turned towards the crater that had been left behind.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Hamil helped his teacher over to a wagon.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“How did you do that? With the magic ring changing color? And stacking them! That was awesome!”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“That thing with the color change is something that you can do once you reach the green stage. At that stage, your magic will be able to take on an element that embodies who you are.” Astrid explained. “I was able to do it the same way that I helped you summon those golems. Sharing mana is a fast way to reach new abilities. Though I don’t want to admit it, the old man is right. What I did was very dangerous, so don’t ever try to copy it!”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Hamil nodded his head and smiled at his teacher who grinned in return.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Could you let everyone know not to bother me for a little? I’m afraid to say, but I won’t be moving for a little while.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Through the entire fight, Jaime had been frozen in place, unable to move at all. I could feel something inside her screaming that terrible things would happen if she were caught. Luckily, Pert had been within arms reach of her the entire time. I wasn’t sure what he was capable of, but he definitely seemed confident.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Everyone was busy calming their oxen and ensuring that their supplies were all accounted for and that every person was accounted for as well. Jaime and Hamil had volunteered to trade places with the two Freelancers while they were resting. Once everything was ready, the caravan started moving again, only to stop again suddenly. I peeked around to the front to find that a platoon of around 30 soldiers on horseback had gathered to block the way forward.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We have seen signs of at least a fifth level mage engaging in battle in this vicinity. We would like your cooperation in investigating this matter.” One soldier spoke, approaching Sir Duncan to introduce himself. “Captain Vance of the Renae City Defense Forces.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sir Duncan stepped from his wagon to speak to the captain and introduce himself as, “Retiree Captain, Duncan Filbus of His Majesty’s twenty-first battalion.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The two men greeted in an interesting and unusual way. Both men pressed their right fist to their chest at the same time, knocking elbows.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“It is nice to meet a fellow Captain.” The captain spoke in a monotone voice, with Sir Duncan replying likewise.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The two of them exchanged conversation in some coded language that I had never heard before. This conversation, however, ended quickly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Now, If you would please escort my men and I to the site of the battle so that we may collect our own evidences.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“It would be my pleasure.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Everyone, begrudgingly, turned their wagons around and followed Sir Duncan back to the stone guard post where a large crater now sat in the ground.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The captain frowned when he saw the battlefield that the checkpoint had become.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“And you say a Plague Beast appeared to the south of here and pursued you to this point, where the Freelancers that you are transporting defeated it?” The captain asked in his monotone voice, raising his eyes to meet Sir Duncan’s.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Beads of sweat started to appear on Duncan’s brow as the captain questioned him. Even I could feel that there was more to this captain that he wasn’t saying.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Y-Yes sir.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“No need to be so nervous, sir. We are only gathering evidence to report back to the Freelancer’s Guild in Renae. Plague Beasts are not the kind of problem that one laughs at.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It took them several minutes, but the captain’s men finished their survey and returned back to their leader, to whom they whispered their results.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The captain nodded his head slowly and started to walk back to their horses.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“You are all free to go. However, please refrain from destroying any public properties from this point onward.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As they marched away, I noticed something among the soldiers’ horses. It was a jail wagon, and it looked very familiar. I hovered closer to see the two familiar faces of baldy and baby-stache. Skunky was understandably absent from the trio, though the other two didn’t look too worried about that at the moment. They both had their eyes fixated at the sky behind me. It was then that I had a terrible sense of dread rush to me from Jaime. I quickly turned to see an orb of convulsing flesh twisting and bubbling in the sky.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“You can feel it too, right?” One of Campo’s goons spoke, the fear trembling in his voice.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Thass Lior.” The other mumbled under his breath in shock.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“No! Lior! Why did they do this to you?” Both brothers sobbed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Suddenly, the flesh-ball stretched out and formed a large spider-like abdomen. Just past this abdomen, eight long, furry, spindly legs shot out, spraying a horrible smelling mucous all around. Finally, the familiar face of skunky forced itself through the skin of the ball of flesh, though this time he had six eyes and enormous teeth protruding from his gaping maw. This creature’s entire body was thicker than before, with a combination of flesh and fur making up its entire body, and though it was slightly smaller than before, the aura flowing from its six pale eyes was yellow in color.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This new creature dropped from the sky and screeched once more as it agilely dashed towards the wagon that Astrid and Damian were resting in. Nobody had time to react, or at least I thought, because just before the spider-like Plague Beast could make contact with the wagon, enormous roots shot from the ground, swiping at the beast and knocking it away. The force of the attack had smashed in the beast’s abdomen, though like before, it healed almost immediately. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I had an idea of where the roots had come from and found my answer when I looked to find Bark hiding underneath Pert’s lumber cart. It had its body firmly dug into the ground, but what attracted my attention was that it had two shining gemstones in each of its eye sockets and that a green aura was flowing from the gems.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Everywhere the spider dodged to, enormous, thorny roots shot from the ground to slash at it. It was a stalemate. The spider was fast enough to dodge most of Bark’s attacks, though not sturdy enough to get close enough to attack. Then I noticed something strange in the Plague Beast’s movements. It no longer aimed for Astrid and Damian, but for the jail wagon where baldy and baby-stache were. Then the worst happened as all the roots that Bark had been summoning all withered at once. I found the wooden dog in the same space as before, though the gemstones in its eyes were dull and cracked.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The beast almost instantly reached the two brothers and smashed the enclosure with its large legs, exposing the criminals, though it did not act. Instead, it stood frozen in place, staring at its former brothers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;L-Leaaavvveee… nnnoooowwwww&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.” The beast spoke in a distorted and broken voice.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“Lior, are you still in there?”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ggggoooooo&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;!” The creature roared.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Baldy and baby-stache didn’t wait for another message and booked it into the woods. Any of the soldiers that tried to follow after them were hit with blasts of the Plague Beast’s venom, melting through their clothes and flesh almost instantly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;There’s no way we can kill that thing.” Hamil murmured, his eyes distant.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Suddenly, a flash of yellow light exploded from beside Jaime and Hamil as Pert disappeared. The man had rushed into battle, a battle that was too fast for the untrained eye to recognize, though there was one easily recognizable part of the fight. Pert was losing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I could hear Jaime screaming inwardly to do &lt;i&gt;something&lt;/i&gt;. To move. To try and help. To do anything. And so she did. She stepped forward, moving closer to the whirlwind in the crater that Pert and the beast created as they fought. She raised both her hands and closed her eyes. I could see in her mind, two forces battling: one, a whirlwind of golden stardust, the other, a cloud of deadly, violet smog. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Suddenly, spirits started to materialize in the air by the thousands, blinding everyone in the area with a brilliant light. The light grew brighter and brighter, making it hard even for me to see.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then everything went dark.&lt;/p&gt;

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