The God of Jesters
Chapter 526 - 8.09.3 Dearma

Chapter 526: 8.09.3 Dearma

The first five years of Heroth life were filled with misery. The old village where he grew up never liked him.

Their hatred was so potent that Heroth and his father were forced out to live on the outskirts of the village, forced to face the elements on their own. Sometimes, he and his father hid in the house to hide from the wolves and the weird things that walked in the night.

Those were the scariest nights for him, but he could tolerate it all due to his father who never left his side.

But all good things come to an end.

Heroth remembers that day very well. He had tried to enter the village to sell some harvested herbs, but he was thrown and bullied there. And in his anger, he beat up a few kids, causing a great issue which might have resulted in a severe punishment for him.

But his father, the kind man he was, groveled in the steps of the village to spare Heroth. A scene that the young Heroth took the wrong way. He felt wronged, he hated himself for forcing his father to beg for his life.

And in his embarrassment, Heroth had run away from his father.

He didn’t know who to hate. He was never wrong, nor was his father wrong, and for some reason, Heroth even thought the villagers were not wrong as well. He went there knowing how he was treated there and anyone in his place wouldn’t have made such a mistake.

But he did and the one to pay was his father.

"Why..." A child barely ten years of age had wondered such questions, why did the people hate him, why was he forced to live away from the people? Why didn’t his father not abandon him?

Such questions filled his mind as he looked at the moonlit skies along the shore.

And during that twin moon night, or what something called the Daedic Full Moon, cries for help came from the seas. "Who?" And still reeling in from the shock the ignorant Heroth had followed that sound to danger.

Running in the direction he came across a silhouette of a person with long hair, which when walking closer turned into that of a bloated woman that was easily visible due to the moonlight. "Drowner..." Cried Heroth as he ran away, he knew this beast. Born of those drowned to death, his father had told their tales countless times. But he never thought he would meet on this day.

And as his father had said, once a Drowner sees you, escaping it is impossible.

These things ran fast, they were the undead that dragged their prey to the seas, drowning them hence their name. And Heroth would have been one of the drowned as well, if not for his father who came in time.

"Boy... Run, don’t look back." Were his father’s last words that he remembers.

The Drowner is an undead beast with the sole desire to drown others, so as long as it gets a victim, it won’t follow others to go for the kill. Which is how Heroth survived that night. A night of shame and a night of abandonment.

Come morning he was already looking for his father along the shore all alone, as no villagers would help him.

And he did end up finding his father, or at least his floating corpse.

"What a foolish little child you were..." The wraith commented.

The ambush of the Radiant Knight Alabasta had made the two closer. Heroth opened up about his past to the Wraith, who just scoffed at Heroth’s foolishness. "If you had stayed there, you could have saved your father... do you know this?"

"I... I didn’t know I had any power at that time, I could have done something."

"You’re speaking as if you did something wrong. Running away from problems that you are unsure of is the best choice to make. Don’t let chance dictate your life."

And Heroth really didn’t let chance dictate his life.

Looking around, there were many beautiful people around him, which was in contrast to his ugly old mug, But that’s who he was, a simple fisherman boy who became an adventurer. And generally, people in his profession barely care for their looks.

"Don’t worry Mister Heroth, the arrangements have been made, I will see that nothing unjustly happens to you." A tall woman spoke in a simple voice, showing a golden brooch in her arm to notify Heroth who she was.

"Raja spoke of you... " As the two continued talking under the tight watch of Knight of Lies.

Heroth’s eyes also wandered around for a bit, finding that this church was closer to what one would call a King’s Court.

In the King’s place was one of the incarnations of the Goddess of Truthful Deceit, a blind woman holding a bronze Scale in her hand.

Ugly to look at without any distinct craft, it gave Heroth a heavy feeling already.

It was a legendary Relic of God, its name famous among the masses as the Karma Tarazu, or in simpler words, the weighing scale that measures one’s Karma.

It was a tool that could extract the truth out of even legendary beings, so it would be hard for Heroth to lie at all.

Though he was not alone he was looking at the scale. The Woman next to him also found the Scale a bit fascinating, and her eyes lit with a golden hue before calming down. "There is nothing to worry about, the scale has limits, there are ways to bypass it if you answer the way Raja has taught you." Heroth nodded, finding this all a hassle, but it was better than being hunted by the Radiant Knights again.

Anything would be better than that. He still recalls clearly how annoying the last one was, a Radiant Knight that had hunted Jester for decades, almost making him fall as well.

’That woman does remind me of that old monster.’ The name Alabasta still gives him nightmares.

He was among the strongest Heroth had ever seen.

If not for Malidi all those years ago and his illusions, Heroth might have turned a Collateral when Alabasta came for Jester’s life.

But in hindsight, it can be said that the Knight was not wrong one bit if the rumors surrounding Jester are even a little bit true.

"Everyone, move to your positions, the court will be in session." Came the order by one of the Grand Knights, causing everyone to move to their seats, including Heroth, who attracted the most attention from the nobles as well as Knights employed by the church.

It’s rare for such a hearing to take place, and from the fact that the church didn’t use force to deal with the enemy, it can be seen that either the backing or the strength of the individual was too much to handle almost turning overwhelming.

To most though, it was their first time seeing Heroth, the man at the center of this controversy and the ones on defense were none other than the Bartender’s Guild which has spread some important benefits to the members of the jury, who also had a sway on the little bronze artifact named Karma Tarazu.

As for how it all worked, only those involved knew it. Pea did as she was asked by her superiors and changed many minds with the benefits that she gave them.

*****

"Hmm hmm."

Hmm Hmm uhm hmm."

"Humma aah!" A weird man without arms walked the streets of South District, finding the joy around a bit too cancerous in his eyes.

"Time changes, the world changes, but these mortals remain the same." Invisible to the world and to the people, his steps were not detected by anyone.

Including the small deaths that happened when he accidentally brushed past certain mortals, causing their bodies to burst apart.

No chaos was left in his wake, everyone just did as it was a natural occurrence. And the man enjoyed this all a bit too much.

"It’s rare they allow me to act out... can’t miss out on the opportunity." There was a certain thrill of watching Mortals live their lives and then die suddenly. A sick sense of pleasure that helps him retain the man’s sanity.

"Now let’s see if the mortal is still the same as before or not." When he nodded his head, the calm streets suddenly reverberated in cries of pain and fear. The illusion was undone with a simple nod, spreading the fear of death among the populace as some hid in a hurry fearing another attack, while some looked for the perpetrator.

"Still like rabbits. Cute little critters." The man’s name was Dearma, Dearma Dark Hound. Belonging to a famous Noble family from the Nothern district which doesn’t exist anymore. Because Dearma killed them all himself out of boredom one day.

An act that had shaken the city of Rudrain two centuries ago, causing Dearma to be sealed by the leaders of Rudrain and then treated as war fodder when it was required.

They have used him multiple times throughout history, even including a certain war with Old Duke Wortham, where Derama ended up losing both of his arms.

An injury that was the greatest humiliation to him, but more than that Humiliation he hated the fact that he was now used as a tool by the Royal family. ’One day.’ he had promised to end the Royal family bloodline one day with his own hands.

But for now, these foolish mortals should suffice.