The Shadow Man & His Light

We're All Someone's Monster

Alina's POV:

On our way to Os Alta, we are ambushed by Fjerdan soldiers and one attempts to kill me, but is killed by General Kirigan after he rescues me from being killed. After he kills the Fjerdan soldier, I climb onto the back of his obsidian black horse and we begin to ride the rest of the way to Os Alta. After a while, my tailbone begins to hurt and we stop. I get off his horse and lean over to cough a bit. After that, he hands me his handkerchief to wipe some of the blood off of my face and then we get back on his horse and continue riding towards Os Alta and the Little Palace. When we arrive, General Kirigan instructs one of his Heartrenders to escort me to my new room. When I arrive in my new room, I am bombarded by maids and a Grisha woman with fiery auburn hair and a white and gold elaborately embroidered jacket on that she explains to me is a Kefta. After she is done making me look less injured, she allows me to get ready for my outing with General Kirigan. She shows me a black Kefta that he had made for me and I request it to be made blue. I go outside to see him waiting for me. He removes his Kefta and is left in his under jacket, pants, boots, and shift top. He gets onto his horse and I get onto the only horse left and as I am getting comfortable on my horse's saddle, he finally speaks after a few moments of pure, utter silence.

    "Please, call me Aleksander."

    "Ok," I respond and we continue towards a more secluded place to train, or so I think. When we arrive in the clearing in the woods outside of the wall surrounding the Little Palace, we get off our horses and walk towards a fountain in the middle of the clearing. After we get closer to it, he finally speaks since we left the Little Palace.

    "What do you see?"

    "Someone's version of me."

    "Or perhaps the real you has finally emerged."

After he says this, he moves around to the right side of me and begins to pull sticks and twigs out of the fountain and continues to talk to me as he does this.

"How are you adjusting to life in the Little Palace?"

    "It's good, training is good, or at least I think it is. It's hard to tell with Baghra sometimes, isn't it?"

    "Always. Is your room satisfactory?"

    "Well, I've never had warming stones put in my bed before. I am glad to have Genya. I'm just not sure I understand where this road leads."

    "I do know how you feel, Miss Starkov. When I was a boy, I would come here to escape and hide, once I realized I was the descendant of the most hated Grisha in Ravka. I'd come here, throw a coin. Make a wish in the fountain. The same wish over and over again. That I could be anyone else."

    "This is his story, isn't it?"

    "You know it just from these old pictures?"

"Of course, every child learns the history, not just Grisha. Hundreds of years ago, Anastas, the king, hired a Grisha as his military adviser. A Shadow Summoner."

"You can say it. The Black Heretic."

"The Heretic grew hungry for more power and the king, fearing a coup, put a bounty on his head and any Grisha who stood by him. The Heretic knew he was outnumbered, so he attempted to create an army using the same forbidden science Morozova once used to create his amplifiers. But he failed. He created The Fold instead. And was killed by it. Along with countless others. Was I properly schooled?"

"I have devoted my life to undoing the great sin of my forebearer, but I'm never seen as the solution. Only as a reminder of the problem. And they always need someone to blame."

"That's why you look at me like that, isn't it? I'm your solution. Only, if I fail, they'll turn on me. And I'll be the brand-new Heretic. "

"If you believe anything.....believe I will not let that happen."

"I appreciate the sentiment but...."

"I shall be right by your side. You and I are going to change the world, Alina. I should get you back. Baghra does hate tardiness."