Chapter 1
“Who are you?” Elina shouted at the figure. He did not reply and kept to the shade of the trees, only his dark red eyes were clear to her. He had leapt from the undergrowth moments before and would have snapped her neck had she not stumbled over an oddly shaped rock. She circled to the right and was prepared when he charged her.
Rolling on the ball of her booted heel Elina launched a destructive kick into the approaching man's chest. He countered with a straight left glancing off her cheek bone and her eyes hardened in anger. Her hand flashed out but it struck air as the figure ducked and cannoned into her chest. He was off balance.
Her eyes glowed as she lashed out in a roundhouse cannoning him on impact but he narrowly ducked under a consecutive fierce sweep which would have shattered his skull. The figure kept to the shadows of the canopy of the trees, its dark red eyes narrowed and before she could take another breath he charged again screaming a high pitched note that did not sound human. Elina took two steps back levering herself and leapt forward, her boot connecting with the man’s abdomen. Desperately his hands snaked out taking hold of her leg. She winced at the sickening sound of snapping bone as her other boot connected with the man's temple. Form her view she could clearly see the head twisting a trail of sinew and saliva spilling from his crescent shaped mouth. The body flew back releasing his hold on her as she landed lightly on her feet. The corpse showed no sign of movement. Elina sighed and knelt beside the body turning it so the head was facing towards the sky and she tried not to notice how it was bent in an inhuman angle. He was not breathing. She felt foolish checking the heartbeat of a man whose neck she had just snapped but there was an inhumanity in the way he fought that made her cautious. After finding no pulse she took a good look at his features and judged him to be ugly, his eyes were uneven, one bulging and his face was covered in strange boils, his skin was diseased on the left side of his cheek. Her blood chilled as she saw his mouth was twisted into a hideous grin, the sides of his cheeks tensed allowing the smile to spread into a crescent moon. Why had he attacked her? She could not fathom an answer but her eyes lingered to his shoulder plate of iron where there was an emblem of a sun carved into it. Under the emblem were straight lines which she could just read out to be the word ‘Regiment,’ but she had not heard of the word before.
She left the body where it was.
Scratching her rough fair hair she made her way up the steep slope feeling the sweet air fill her lungs, the feeling of adrenaline already fading from her. Nothing but the bird songs and the sound of gushing water of roaring rivers could soothe the primal battle spirit within her. The leaves rustled softly as the refreshing autumn breeze touched her cheek and she smiled long forgetting the imperfect corpse behind her.
From the level horizon in the distance came into view a small wooden cabin, with bright flowers on the windowsills, their beauty on the sun's rays. She remembered when her mentor Gareth had first planted them, it was a pointless mundane task that she had requested but he took care of them to this day. How long had that been? She pushed the thought from her mind and as she neared the flowers… Madelines she recalled, the door opened and a tall man wearing a dark leather cuirass walked into sight.
"You're late," Gareth growled, but he produced a crooked smile. His face was radiating authority; it was impossible to tell whether he was thirty or fifty except his eyes still had a youthful glow.
“Late?” she asked.
“You should have been back an hour ago.” She did not reply as she knew this was true, she was tempted to tell him about the corpse but she knew he would be displeased.
"It is of no matter," he said shaking his head unimpressed by her reaction and he turned back into a room with a warm orange ambiance as the light poured from the windows, the wooden shutters wide open, blowing in the light breeze. The fireplace was dark black, extinguished in the corner and beside it were two comfortable armchairs surrounded by fallen books. Elina's eyes hardened as she saw a stranger sitting on Gareth’s chair. His eyes were purple and flecked with silver lines... it sent shivers down her spine. He was handsome, welcoming almost but there was something that told her to avoid him, an instinctive judgment.
"You can introduce yourself if you wish," Gareth said to the seated man. He nodded and stood up with an outstretched hand, which Elina took cautiously. His hair was black, covering his left eye naturally and his mouth was pursed in a slight smile.
"My name is Seth," he muttered abruptly face remaining passive, Elina was not perturbed and smiled back.
“I am Elina Moonstone."
"A pretty name!" he exclaimed, though she could tell his eyes were glowing in mirth.
"So why have you come Seth?" ignoring the man’s expression.
“I have travelled far, would you at least feed me before you demand anything?” Elina’s eyes blazed at the audacity of the seated man, but Gareth was merely smiling.
“You earn your food.”
Seth's face turned sour and gone was his smile instead replaced with a face of malevolence. The fire place crackled and Elina blinked in surprise as she did not notice the fire being lit, it was as if Seth had used some kind of magic to light the coals. The silence extended as she picked up the scattered books and listened to the soft breathing of anxiety.
“They’re coming.”
Elina threw a confused look at Gareth but was surprised to find him having a similar expression on his face.
“Who?” he asked.
“The Regiment, they know where you are.”
A tense atmosphere surrounded both the figures and Elina remembered the corpse with the sun emblem. She now understood they were assassins, most likely after Gareth, but why had they targeted her? The thought of becoming a hostage and thus a burden to her master manifested into cold rage. The sun seemed to set a little more as the orange light darkened yet both figures made no effort to move, leaving the windows and door open.
“How did they find me?”
“Come now,” Seth chided, “They're not idiots.”
“I suppose,” Gareth admitted. “Elina would you make some supper for out guest?”
“But-“ she started fully aware they did not want her in the conversation.
“Now!” Gareth said impatiently.
She obeyed instantly and crossed the room to the kitchens vexed at their actions. As she held the kitchen knife next to the bone of ham she realised her hands were trembling. She set the knife down and tried to suppress it but it was to no avail. Fear had struck her as she thought of the prospect of assassins, but it was also something else, the eyes of Seth. There was something alluring about them yet they scared her, it was as if he could see into the corners of the soul where even she could not access. She harshly stabbed the knife into the ham ripping it with trembling frustration.
Seth ate in silence, his eyes closed as if he did not wish to look at what he was eating. The cuff of his dark wool robes were rubbing against the wood of the table and she longed to cut them off, she found it immensely irritating. Gareth was eating without abandon chewing often with an open mouth, spilling food everywhere though looking totally relaxed making Elina chuckle slightly at the two polar males.
“You’re welcome to stay a couple of days,” Gareth said.
“That will not be necessary.”
“I have a preposition to make you.”
“Go on. Having someone like you owe me something is definitely desirable.”
“Bastard,” whispered Elina under her breath spearing a piece of ham with her knife.
"Tutor Elina in the way of the blade."
Seth's face became passive and Elina's hand froze.
"Surely you would be more appropriate.”
"I grow old boy. It is about time anyway…”
Elina noticed there was a tone in his voice that resembled attachment and desperation; Seth seemed to notice this too as his face softened.
"I will train her... if she proves to be interesting."
“Who says I agree with this?” she interrupted. Seth, his eyes turning to ice, loomed over her in cold rage and uttered,
“Know your place.”
She bit her tongue to stop her retort and nodded but her mind was flaming at his comment. As Seth's dark purple eyes met her own she closed them, she was missing something.
"Master, what do you mean by it is about time?"
"It means Elina," Gareth said slowly, "That I'm going to stay here to wait for the killers to come to me."
"Ah... so that was it," she replied quietly.
*
Elina awoke that morning feeling refreshed, truly the combat with the unknown assailant made her sleep without dreams. She listened in her bed for any noises but there were none and she leapt out of bed alert. This was now a game, to kill the assassins first or be killed by them, it was the most exciting game. Guilt touched her then as she remembered that it was her master’s life on the line and she felt a sudden need to exercise her body. She donned her metallic breastplate, gauntlets and boots. There were strange small engravings around the rim of each piece of armour, she could not read them but Gareth had told her that they were magic words. She scoffed, the prospect of magic was impossible.
The entrance room had fresh air filtered in by the windows and she gazed at the fireplace, it was already lit. Gareth seldom awoke at this period of time and she deduced it must have been Seth. Training with him would be hellish she decided, already disliking the man intently. There was an arrogance about him that she found irritating, yet at the same time it felt as if he had the right to be arrogant.
Elina proceeded to opening the door of the cabin, looking from side to side in the early morning sun to look for the robed man but he was no where in sight. She shrugged and set off on a short run. Her steps were short and conservative but her eyes were roaming and searching for uneven terrain. She was well used to running in her armour, Gareth had made especially sure of that. The new edition of the sabre however hindered her, Seth had given it to her last night and she was told to carry it at all times. The scabbard dug into her hip as the waist buckle came a little loose and she swore in pain. She stopped to readjust the buckle and took a long breath ready to begin her run again.
She took two steps before something burst from the undergrowth of bushes and hurtled towards her with speed. Elina reacted on impulse drawing her sabre and slashing towards the blur but missed. The figure hurtled towards her and cannoned her off balance and she felt a strange sensation of flesh against her metallic half breastplate. She opened her eyes as she fell to the floor and instantly shielded her face and felt something tear at her armoured gauntlets. Peering between the gap of her guard she stopped resisting in horror at the sight. On top of her was a humanoid shape but there was no skin only red flesh and blood seeping from its body and onto her clothes. It screamed an inhuman note preparing to strike at her once more. Its eyes were hanging from its sockets and the mouth just a hole with disfigured but jagged teeth, the claws extending from its fingers thick and corrupted. The smell emitted by the being was vile and Elina felt her strength seeping into fear. She flailed desperately, tears rupturing from her eyes as she tried to dislodge the figure but it continued to tear through towards her, its jagged teeth so close to her face that she could hear its course moaning. Her eyes widened and she screamed, she did not want to die like this. The creature staggered as one of her punches made contact with its rotted flesh but all that she felt was a strange sensation of soft pulp as her hand was trapped in the orifice that she had created. She tried to dislodge it but that only shortened the distance between them.
The figure tensed as a sword ran through its chest, it grunted but turned its head fully to get a good look at the attacker who stabbed it from behind. Seth did not look surprised and disembowelled the creature by ripping free the blade effortlessly. The corpse dropped to the floor with a splash of blood and Elina scrambled away hastily, eyes wide in fear and tears running freely down her cheeks. Her hands were shaking as she was staring at the blood on them and back towards the body.
“Are you alright?”
She did not reply. She was looking away from the sight in front her as she breathed heavily to regain her composure.
“Let’s go back,” he suggested his face softening. She was willing to do that. The face of the corpse had sent shivers down her spine, not only because it was disfigured, but because she recognised the corpse as the man she had killed yesterday.
*
“By the words of the Almighty himself I do not believe this is the right course of action,” the tall man with blue hair said.
“We hardly have a choice Endymon,” the strict women behind the desk said.
“But Commander Liandra, Gareth is…?”
“Yes he is,” she said impatiently at Endymon making him flinch. “Take my daughter Celes along with you I am sure you’ll enjoy her company.”
“With all due respect, your daughter is not fit for this task at all.”
“She is, because she is my daughter, leave Endymon,” Liandra dismissed.
“But if I could….”
“Leave now!” Liandra shouted making Endymon run out the door. She smiled slightly to herself knowing she went a bit overboard, but then again she wanted to test the skills of Celes. Almighty himself? Thought Liandra grimacing. She would pay a fortune to spit upon the grave of the God who abandoned his race for selfish greedy desires. She shook herself from those thoughts and thought of Celes once again. Yes this could be interesting, looking at her tarot cards she shrugged and shuffled them laying them in a pentagon shape. She placed one in the middle and turned it over.
It was the Tower card… there was to be hard ships first, Liandra saw from the card. Then she carefully turned every card around, Chariot, Strength, Death, Lovers and Magician.
Liandra could not make sense of the order and she turned away from them. Her eyes were heavy and she knew she was overworked; there was a time when this place had been so peaceful. She slowly closed her eyes and as she did so the cards glowed faintly with light before extinguishing into the original dull self... the Chariot changing slowly to the tarot card Fool.
*
Outside Endymon breathed a heavy sigh, he knew she was faking her anger yet it still frightened him. He ran his hand through his dark blue hair, his hands reached into his pockets and he placed orange visors over his eyes, his sight increased and cleared and Endymon was grateful for such artefacts. He saw Celes walking down struggling to keep a hold of a stack of books, he shook his head, this was to be his partner this time, it could make things… difficult. She suddenly impossibly stumbled under thin air and the books all splashed out in different directions and he ran forward catching some of them with dexterous hands.
“Careful,” Endymon said with a smile holding up a selection of books. Celes grinned and rubbed her knee, he could see it was bruised but she tried her best to hide it.
She was short, her hair long dark, eyes large and a smile that was so innocent it was a dangerous weapon concluded Endymon. He also had to note with some appreciation that she did not look like her mother at all, Liandra had blond hair which was tied in a bonnet behind her head. She was handsome enough, but her face was always frowning whereas Celes was totally open and trusting.
“Endymon?” Celes asked quietly. He snapped out of his thoughts, realising with embarrassment that he had tried to compare mother and daughter and offered a hand to help her off the floor.
“The books are not for studying I take it?”
“Very funny!” she said sarcastically, “I need to get these to the library as quick as possible, a favour.”
Endymon sighed, “I’ll go with you then, there is something I want to discuss with you.”
Celes smiled and gathered a few books and walked along the narrow wooden corridors until when reaching the double doors she turned around and opened the door with her back revealing large marble passage ways and a statue of gold in the centre overlooked by a stunning glass dome. The marble stones and open passageways were newly polished and there were milling females in the same white tunic, waist skirt and armour that Celes wore signifying their status as students.
They made their way deeper down where the Sun’s light did not reach and Liandra infused fire orbs which burned in these marble hallways. The gas filtered out by a wind contraption to complex for him to understand, apparently it was an artefact left behind by ancient people, he did not want to think about it. If such a great civilisation existed how did it disappear? Was that time going to come for this era? The thought frightened him.
The library was again domed with high shelves reaching out to the sky, the librarian thanked them and looked towards them with a mischievous grin, which both Endymon and Celes ignored.
“You said there was something you needed to tell me,” she reminded him on the way back.
He brought up Liandra’s request and Celes laughed. After reiterating that it was not a joke, she had a look of shock horror on her face.
“I’ll see you outside in the court gardens by the entrance gates tomorrow. I’m sorry but your studies have to wait because your mother calls for you.”
Endymon turned around and closed his eyes not wanting to see Celes’ reaction… and he heard nothing as well.
He slept restlessly that night twisting in his bed in frustration giving up sleep altogether and trying to calm his thoughts. An assassination was his next task, but it would not be easy if it was Gareth. His disembodied face flashed before his eyes and Endymon grimaced, he did not like this task at all. Dawn rose and he swore before levering himself off the bed and into the courtyard below where Celes was standing already looking at the reddish rise of the Sun, her expression far away as if dreaming.
“The journey will take about a week,” Endymon told her. She seemed a bit sceptical and it made him rethink the distance.
“It’s about a week,” he nodded with confidence. Celes shrugged and hoisted her pack over her shoulder and secured the string around her shoulder. Endymon did the same and they started walking through the front garden. He looked back to the place he called home. It was a large white structure with huge spirals and stunning stained glass windows. The castle that looked like a church Endymon knew as he turned his head around. Celes groaned and walked faster, Endymon knew why she was agitated. To her it was only a prison and not the home in which he saw it.
“Why did my mother select me for this?”
“Because you are her daughter. You are next in line to become the next head of the Regiment, Angels to combat the Undead. You need experience, conviction and strength to become a respected leader,” he recited.
“I hate this place…”
