Episode 112: Grudge
Written By Karl White
The disappearance of Herakles sent a shockwave among those fighting for the Light. While Uti's death was tragic, he wasn’t an Eternal. Herakles was one of the oldest champions they possessed...and if someone like him could simply vanish, then no one was beyond the Dark’s reach. A feeling largely absent among their ranks settled, they were vulnerable.
Gérard Roux and Bhekizizwe had been missing without a trace since ‘95. The Processions relentlessly advanced. The Dark was gaining ground. And with each fallen ally, the defenders of mankind found themselves asking a question none wished to voice aloud. If Herakles could be taken, who’d be next? Circles tightened and everyone sought strength in numbers.
With another warrior removed from the board, Joseph Frost turned his attention to the next names lingering in Orem Black's memories. Gérard Roux was instrumental in Orem's downfall, but the ancient Crusader was lost somewhere within the Abyss itself. Broderick Zayne, who’d wounded Orem with the Rhongomyniad beneath Rome, had vanished so completely, even Joseph's newly acquired powers couldn’t locate him. That left Veera Sarin and Aolani. The pair pivotal in Orem’s banishment to Oblivion.
Veera & Aolani - © 2025 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Unlike many of those preparing for the end, Veera and Aolani found a measure of peace in the years following Orem's defeat. Settling in her native Hawaii, they built a life together while steadily restoring the Order of Wormwood to its former glory.
Under Veera's guidance, the Order’s ranks swelled with more magicians, mystics, and protectors drawn from every corner of the globe. New generations were trained, honing their powers for the difficult years ahead.
Even surviving members of the original Wolf Tribe had joined the effort. Unlike the others, Buell and Vilaya, recognized shortly after their creation, the Dark’s deception, and sought to thwart the side of evil at every turn. Over the centuries they refined their mastery of Fire and Water, preparing for the final conflict they believed inevitable. Warriors such as them helped make the Order one of the last great bastions the Light had.
Buell and Vilaya - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
For Joseph, that presented a formidable problem. Veera and Aolani weren’t only surrounded by powerful allies, but powerful in their own right. Together, they possessed magic rivaling even Joseph’s inherited abilities. A direct confrontation offered little certainty of victory.
As Joseph searched for a way forward, he found himself wandering through memories belonging to both he and Orem. Long before the Dark, before Oblivion, and before any of them understood the roles they’d one day play, there had been three boys…Orem, Joseph, and Veera. They grew up in one another's orbit, and to outside eyes appeared to be friends.
The truth was more complicated. Veera was born with abilities in magic. Brought to Britain by his Uncle Banerjee, Veera was a “Hand” member of the Order of Wormwood. Paired with Joseph’s father Fredrick, he was the young assistant in the magic act. In reality, Veera was sharpening his powers, but the group prohibited anyone outside from knowing, leaving both Orem and Joseph unable to understand why Veera was constantly whisked away to join the adults. In the absence of truth, resentment quietly took root.
Young Veera - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
Those feelings only deepened with time. Veera was different, an outsider. He possessed gifts neither understood, and carried secrets he couldn’t explain. His silence was mistaken for arrogance, and childish teasing hardened into bitterness. As the boys got older, both Orem and Joseph became convinced Veera had been given something they’d been unfairly denied.
Years passed, and their worlds changed. Yet some wounds refused to heal. Possessing Orem's memories alongside his own, Joseph bore the bitterness of two lives. Every perceived slight felt twice as sharp. Every grievance reinforced by decades of anger. He should’ve felt remorse for the way they treated Veera. But what lingered was the old envy. To Joseph and Orem, Veera represented everything they’d wanted as boys. He was the one their fathers trusted. The one singled out for greatness. The one who seemed destined for something more.
The hunger for revenge grew in Joseph. He wanted to kill Veera. The thought came easily enough. Veera was Eternal, but with power at Joseph’s command, his enemy could be overcome under extreme circumstances. There was a certain satisfaction in imagining tearing Veera to pieces. Yet the longer Joseph considered the prospect, the more he recognized the practical difficulties. Veera Sarin was not a man easily cornered, and if Joseph intended to hurt him, he’d need something more than brute force.
Veera and Aolani enjoying the journey - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
The opportunity came in 2020, as Veera and Aolani traveled to England to meet with the restored Order of Wormwood. They could’ve reached their destination through magic, as they’d done countless times before. But the recent losses left them weary. Even something as simple as teleportation left them vulnerable to attack. Instead, they’d travel by ship, savoring the chance to enjoy the world they’d spent so long protecting, and enjoy each other's company.
But even the strongest relationships bend beneath enough strain. Veera and Aolani endured the Abyss together, rebuilt the Order together, and spent decades strengthening one another against the Dark. Still, the approaching end weighed heavily upon them. On the trip, a minor disagreement turned into a stubborn argument, and when the ship docked in the Canary Islands, the pair agreed to spend the afternoon apart. A sensible decision.
Lifetimes spent in close proximity can challenge even the healthiest of relationships. So while Aolani sought solitude at the hotel pool, Veera wandered the quiet coastline at Playa de Papagayo.
It was there an unfamiliar dread settled over him. Subtle at first, an instinct warning him to danger. Then he saw a hauntingly familiar face approaching along the beach, and the sensation became certainty.
The last time Veera had seen Joseph Frost, he was old, preserved unnaturally by dark forces and worn down by the weight of impossible years. The man walking toward him appeared young once more, restored to the face Veera remembered from Black Manor long ago.
Dark Joseph - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
JOSEPH: Hello Veera, it’s been...ages.
More troubling than his look was the power Joseph held. Veera recognized unmistakable traces of evil. The essence of Orem Black was somehow inside of Joseph. The realization sent him immediately on the defensive.
A wave of power erupted from Joseph, turning the bright afternoon sky overhead black as night. Veera responded in kind, meeting the assault with magic of his own. Yet something about the encounter felt wrong. Joseph fought with tremendous force, but with a strange distance to him, as though the man standing before Veera was hollow.
Meanwhile, at the hotel, a handwritten note arrived for Aolani. A message from Veera, apologizing for their argument, asking her to return to their room. It was exactly the sort of gesture he’d make. Despite their disagreements, Veera possessed a tender heart and rarely allowed conflict to linger. But entering their cabin, something struck her as off. A moment later the environment fell away, she’d unwittingly walked into a mirror dimension. And as she went for the door, it was gone. Aolani was trapped.
Back on the beach, Veera continued his fight with Joseph, pushing against power he hadn’t felt since Orem's fall. He struggled to understand how Joseph had become the vessel for something so vast. Then, with a sudden surge of magic, the truth was revealed. The Joseph before him wasn’t flesh, but a projection. A carefully constructed fragment of will designed for a single purpose -- keeping Veera occupied.
A well laid trap - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC
The real Joseph stepped from the shadows of the mirror dimension. Aolani reacted, gathering her magic, preparing to strike, but never got the chance. Joseph's power wrapped around her like invisible chains as he siphoned away her strength. He didn’t seek to kill her, instead, stripping the power she carried. Aolani resisted with everything she possessed, but Joseph had chosen his moment carefully. He needed only to weaken her long enough to open another door.
Veera frantically teleported back to the hotel, searching for Aolani. Their room stood empty, but traces of the trap remained. He reached with his mind's eye, beyond the veil separating realities. He saw fragments. Joseph harvesting Aolani’s power. A black fissure opening. Her being banished into darkness and the breach sealing shut.
Veera lacked the power to purge the mirror dimension, but even if he did, it’d be too late. Joseph hadn’t merely taken Aolani, he’d hidden her somewhere Veera couldn’t see, beyond the reach of his gifts.
The love of Veera’s life had been torn away to a place no vision, or spell could reach. Joseph had come seeking revenge for Orem Black, but chose not to answer the pain with death. Instead, he inflicted a punishment far crueler...heartbreak. He banished what mattered most to Veera, sending Aolani to another realm, just as they’d done to Orem.
TO BE CONTINUED…