Page 95 of The Ballad of a Bard

For War, he created a replication of his steel helmet, tossing it into Valkrigge for those who lusted for blood, for sport, for murder. A fitting place in his opinion.

The Imp offered up their own suggestion, and he listened to them. A small wand that held their hat on the end, with tiny silver bells that rang with madness and glib delight. He added that to Rieking, curious to see how long before someone sought it out.

He made himself a replication of his heart, of his power. A silver chain and a crimson myocardium that he delicately dropped to Tazali. And for the loveliest of them all, for his beloved Northern Star, he made a compass. One with a broken handle that always pointed to one’s truest north. He lost it alongside his own.

For centuries everything became better.

But Heartache became lonely.

He’d taken so many pieces of himself, sacrificed for company and love and trust, adding them all to his immortal life. But there, in the center of it all, he understood that kind of love he longed for wasn’t the sort his friends could give him. They offered companionship, nothing more.

He wanted lust.

He wanted life.

He wanted love.

His own powers seduced him, turning and transforming him into a straggled man. He searched Hisaith for any sign of it, a chance to have those gifts that he gave to the humans.

Heartache fell.

He landed in his realm that he adored so much, allowing himself to gain that of a mortal shell, thanks to Dream as she wove her sleep magic and dulled the power that oozed off of him. He gained the name Connor Levy and began his search for that thing that he was desperately missing. And with his first step into a human life, the others followed.

Imp became Kaleidos Dunbar, as if their name couldn’t be more obvious. They pecked a farewell kiss to Heartache and dashed off into the horizon. War scoffed and followed, saying that he wanted to experience the way that blood felt, if it were like anything he’d imagined. A single name he chose, Grimm. Simple and easy, with no recognizable charm to be found.

Muse came without any convincing, not that he’d truly convinced any of them in the first place. But she delighted in the name OsiraTalon, exploring Tazali and all the riches it held. Dream went with her, linking her arm through hers and taking up the name Ivalisse Legend.

Only North stayed behind to watch them all from above.

Heartache found the very thing he was searching for a couple centuries later. He knew it would take time, and he was nothing if not a patient man. And life, time, rewarded him for it all. In the arms of a wonderful woman with black hair and hazel eyes that stole his breath, like she was one of the very same Saints he’d created. He let himself fall for her, explaining everything then and there. She’d coyly known, producing his talisman and offering it back to him in exchange for a mere kiss.

He gave her that and so much more.

Heartache gave away his heart.

And with it, he blessed all of his other immortals with the wonders and delight of love, of a partner simply meant for them. Soulsaints, he called them. One for each if they chose to seek them out. The humans would never know, never feel pain if their other half never sought them out. But if they did, then they would glow brighter than before.

Within four years of his life on Hisaith, Heartache created another life with his mortal love. He’d heard of the other Saints doing the same, blessing humans with additional powers, siring lesser Saints. They peppered the realm in all of the continents, naming themselves with titles that matched their newfound magic.

With his very own half Saint, Heartache named her after his love of the colour red.

Crimson.

Forty Five

He felt the tug on his soul. The very thing that bound him to this mortal plane, his heart crying out at something to the far east of Hisaith. To the Empire of Tazali, he knew in his heart of hearts. Heartache knew what lay there,whocalled him home. Because there was only one person in this realm that he trusted enough to leave behind his most valuable item, his artefact.

Only one person clever enough to figure out how to use it, how to summon him back in their most desperate times. Only one person that he’d happily rush back to if they needed him.

The artefact that controlled him should have been the most valuable thing in his life, but it wasn’t.

Because those would be his children.

Even if Cobalt wasn’t biologically his, he loved that child more than life itself. Wanted nothing but the best for him as he grew into a strapping young lad. Which was why he’d left when the boy came out. When he’d seen the thick, sable hair and known instantly that something had happened to the love of his life.

Before her dying breath, she’d sobbed and told him the truth. A secret so dark, that she’d never wanted to share it in fear that it would come back to haunt her. And yet, it was the very reason for her death. Because Cobalt was not his son. And she’d only ever willingly entered the bed with him.

From the moment she died, Heartache had issued a curse towards the man who took advantage of her. A curse so powerful, that it latched onto him and his bloodline. So from his first hacking gulps of air, the newborn boy had begun to slowly inch closer and closer to death. The last piece of the love of his life, and Heartache had killed him before he’d even begun to live.

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