Zectas Book II: Heraldic City of Coatl Read Free Page A

used my Intelligence. When I fought against the fast Maneators, I used my Strength. When I fought against the smart Maneators, I used my Agility."
     
     
Mitleid paused as he looked to one of the windows in the dome. It looked like he was reminiscing the times when he challenged his brother Maneators.
     
     
"Slowly the different Maneators gathered around me, as I continued to challenge them. Our collective mind set of sadism subsided. We gained a sense of camaraderie. The walls of our differences started to break down. We started fight matches to expend our bursting energies. Once we were drained, we started to become different individuals. We started feeling emotions and ideologies. In our new enlightened state, my brethren decided to call me their leader, they said that I was the reason why this miracle had happened. We became more than what we were meant to be."
     
     
Mitleid took in a deep breath, and let out a loud roar.
     
     
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
     
     
"Our evil creators took notice of this. They gathered us into a gigantic casting circle. There, they placed a curse upon us. As long as their prized possessions remained within their treasury, we would become sadistic, vicious guardians twice as we were originally created. The curse would trigger when intruders would come inside the labyrinth."
     
     
The Maneator King's eyes looked sad and regretful.
     
     
"Unbeknownst to me, I was given a second curse. If anyone were to attack me I would gain twice my abilities and be filled with rage until I kill my attacker. When all of this was completed our creators left us alone again. We thought nothing of the curse. That curse only strengthened our original purpose, we didn't see any significant changes. After a few years. A group of intruders came inside the labyrinth. They were somewhat skilled, for they reached the third level. We only saw flashes of what happened. We must have tortured them for hours. After the slaughter, we saw  the remnants of a battle, with all the intruders bodies lying on the ground. We didn't like the feeling of losing control of our own bodies. Because of this we made our internal competitions more elaborate and exhausting. I was never defeated, not even when I was up against three of my brothers. I got cocky, and asked to challenge six of them at once. I couldn't handle all six of them and got hurt, the next thing I knew, more than thirty of my brothers' bodies were lying on the ground. I killed anyone who came within my range."
     
     
Mitleid slumped down and had both his hands pointing upwards as if bowing and asking for forgiveness. Smoke started to feel sorry for the beast. Not once did the light in the casting circle change. It remained a constant green.
     
     
"One of the creators saw the whole massacre. He contacted the other members of the Tenebris. Together they decided that they could make a sport out of my mad curse. They placed me in the first level of the labyrinth. There the corrupt city officials would send the citizens who were in their way and would brand them as criminals for execution. I can't remember how many I've killed... On one of the executions, all four members of the High Council of Tenebris came to see me kill this particular individual. He must have been someone who wronged them greatly for all of them to be present. I made sure that I would be nearer to them before completely losing it. When I regained my consciousness, I found the dead bodies of everyone in the high council. I grabbed the key from Fortner, the gatekeeper of the labyrinth."
     
     
"I see, that's how you got possession of the key. Is that perhaps a master key for the labyrinth? With that you managed to escape but why didn't you free your fellow Maneators?"
     
     
"I think this key is some sort of master key. With me being in the first level, I quickly found the exit. I was about to go back for my brothers, when the other Tenebris came. I was lucky with the High Council