Introduction
100 Parts of Mortis Custos! How awesome is that?!
Sorry I am a bit delayed. I had a terrible migraine yesterday!
The last part of the story is here: Mortis Custos Part 99 by 
To start at the beginning of the story please see the links provided at the end of this post!
Viewer discretion is advised due to gory violence! Undead! Swords! Death! Beware!
Part 100
Magna did not bother knocking on the door of the cottage as she entered. All she wanted to do was get to Derric so she could see if he was alright.
Her guard dropped and this indiscretion nearly cost her life as razor-sharp talons raked the air towards her throat but stopped short.
"Your Majesty!" Came the gasping cry.
Magna smiled ruefully. She had been a fool to just have walked in without her sword up. Even if it was a hut in the forest where her injured friend was laying.
"I am so sorry!"
"You are forgiven Helga." Magan replied. "My fault for not knocking and barging in. Where is he?"
The harpy led her to the next room that held a fireplace and several sofa couches. Derric lay shivering under a thin blanket on one of these. Magna knelt next to Derric and inspected his wounds.
As might had been expected of a shape changer like Derric, the healing was already well at work and progressing swiflty. She just hoped that there was no infection and that Derric had enough energy in him to affect the healing.
"We should light a fire." She declared.
Helga groaned. "That is what I was trying to do until you got here! Flint and steel does not work well in the claws of a harpy!"
If it were another time Magna might had laughed at the situation. The flint and steel were next to the fireplace. She could not imagine how Helga must have been sitting while she struck the two items together
Magna drew her sword and walked to the fireplace. Without thinking about it, she stabbed the blade into the woodstack. Her blade burst into flames and along with it the fireplace soon crackled to life.
"How did you do that?" Helga asked. "Did Adiran teach you magic?"
"He did not." Magna said idly, looking at the tip of her blade. "I have no idea how. It just felt... like I should do it."
"Right." The harpy replied. "You stay here with Derric. Stay close to him, while I go out and fetch more firewood."
Magna did not argue. She merely nodded as the harpy left. She walked over to where Derric lay. He was still shivering, but less so. The heat was building up a little in the cabin, though there was still a terrible cold draft in the room.
She was too tired to think of anything but needs. She climbed inot the sofa and skooted Derric's limp body over and climbed into the blanket where he lay. She wrapped herself over his one side.
He smelled a bit of blood and sweat. Some of it was seeping into her clothing but again, she did not mind. Derric's body was very muscular and smelled of a wild animal and of a young man. The sweat smell was not overpowering.
Soon enough she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
Helga returned a while later with more firewood. She saw the Princess had gotten under the covers with the Beast Prince. She had smiled at that. It was a good way to keep the changling warm.
She fed the fire more wood and sticks and settled in near the fire on her haunches. She would keep an eye out for them. All would be well.
"Where is Magna?" Adrian asked.
His future self came to him then and held a finger to his lips. "She's nearby. She is attending to one of our injured friends." Adiran smiled at Adrian. A knowing smile. They had an uncanny bond now that Adrian knew who Adiran was that even his twin sister did not have.
"Right." Adrian said, sitting up. He shook his head. "So we won?"
"Sort of. We are at least clear of imminent danger." Adrian answered. "The Avatars have gone, the undead army has been defeated. The ghouls have mostly returned to the forst and the life-drinkers have left."
"But?" Adrian asked. "You sound like there is more to it."
"You really are a smart kid."
"Well that just sound strange coming from myself!'
"Take a look. Over there."
Adrian looked to where his older self had pointed to. They were inside the castle, he realized. It seemed like a dream, seeing the place filled with humans, people of all ages.
There were civilians that had been moved to the castle for refuge during the siege. The women and even majority of the children over the age of five were doing what they could to help the medics with the wounded soldiers or helped the understaffed quartermaster with moving things here and there.
On the one side of the courtyard was a large group of armed men that was not part of the general milling around of the crowd. They were also far more sombre in their attitude.
These were not the soldiers of his mother's army, nor were they militia. It took Adrian a moment to realize who they were - The Blaze Knights, warriors of the Church. He had read a lot about them and he had heard that they had been part of this battle, but he had not had much time to think about them.
At the time, it had seemed fitting that they were here to fight against the undead but if Adrian could recall, they were often as bad for those they saved as the creatures that they saved the people from. Yet now they congregated around a being Adrian was sure they should have been itching to destroy. Instead these Knights looked reverent and listened with their full attention.
Mortis was the one they were listening to. Even though the ancient king wore his full armor, it was obvious to Adrian now that the man was undead. Besides some finer details of the man, Adrian could sense his nature across the courtyard. There was a big man in the center of the group of Knights and when Mortis said something else this man bowed and the other Knights followed suit.
Adrian's eyes wandered from the group. He felt light headed. Sense.... Mortis... sense...
There was something else.
He looked up to the wall of the castle where a number of men were stationed to watch the inside and the outside of the castle. One of the men drew Adrian's attention. There was a buzz, a hum about him. Then he saw it.
There was a cloak of darkness about the man, another figure was seeping its was in and out of the man, as it turned its head, so did the soldier. The figure inside the soldier carried a different feeling than Mortis. Adrian recognized it easily.
"Uncle. On the wall. Look." He said.
"Yes? What am I looking for?" Adiran was standing straight up now, scanning that area.
"The soldier, third from the left." Adrian said, trying not to point.
"What about him?"
Adrian looked at his uncle... his former... his future self. "You cannot see it? There is a spirit... a thing from the Dark One in him. It is watching us and everyone in the square."
Adiran cursed under his breath in a language that Adrian did not understand. "Wraith." As the only word that he said audibly. "Mortis!" He called.
The Knights all turned to look as well as Mortis. "Yes?"
"We have company!" Adiran said loudly then looked down. "Quickly boy, are there any others?"
Adrian looked around a bit. He also tried to feel the same feeling at the one on the wall. He shook his head. Power glowed from his uncle's fists, a deep dark blue light. He wished his uncle would teach him this stuff already.
A chain of light shot out from Adiran's hands and arched over to the wall. Before the soldier could move the chain wrapped around the man. The soldier screamed then. It was not the scream of a man. It was louder and had a feral wailing quality to it that echoed across the landscape.
Women, men and children screamed and began running in all directions as the wraith clawed itself halfway out of the soldier's body in a way that Adiran assumed would be visible to other people.
Mortis had already sprung into action. The Knights stood and gawked after the Ancient King as he lept over a small obstacle the Knight himself seemed surprised to feel himself lifting off the ground. He arched through the air and was coming down nearly on top of the posessed soldier.
His sword, now crackling with power, swung out above the man's head and where the blade connected with the spirit it exploded in a flash of golden light. A final tortured shriek, the creature was gone.
There was a glow around Mortis and the Blaze Knights sunk to their knees. The big man that was their leader called out. "You see O Lord! You are our saviour! You are the true God of Dragonshold!"
Dozens of other commoners dropped to their knees before their nascent if somewhat unwilling God. Mortis stood on the wall, looking down at the people gathering in the courtyard as news spread. The revenant looked bewildered and there was a moment where Adrian was sure the Ancient King would have rolled his eyes if he could.
Adrian heard a strange sound next to him that made his head snap around and then realized that it was Adiran that had made the sound. The mage was bent forward and had his cloak over his face so people could not see.
Adrian was laying down and quite close so he could see. Adiran was stifiling a laugh. They shared eye contact and Adrian had to bit his lips as they both did their best to stop laughing out loud before everyone!
Wrapup
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I had fun with this.
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and the current Chainstory Library
Mortis Custos Parts:
The Reader List
If you would like to be tagged in every episode of Mortis Custos, leave us a comment and get added in, miss nothing!
The Watchlist:
If for any reason you do not want to be tagged for a future episode, please let us know and we will remove you from the watchlist.