As i walked across the hard mountany floor of the miles long sanctuary of my kind, I heard it's massive gates shut tight from close by. Between the two massive walls stood a girl. Early 20's, blonde with a stroke of blue here and there, and not too tall. She had a bag hanging over one of her shoulders and seemed to be talking to one of the Corporals. He pushed what seemed to be a map into her hands, and pointed in my direction. A new arival, and what seemed to be my new responsibility.
I was not incorrect. The girl nervously walked towards me as she seemed to succomb under the weight of the bag. As she stood before me, she dropped the bag on the floor and held her fist against her heart. "Atleast she knows how to salute", i thought. After i had awsnered hers with a salute of my own, i introduced myself and let her follow. Just like i thought, she was mine. Mine to teach how to kill, how to show no remorce or mercy, how to not think of the people who will be left with sorrow in their hearts at the death of one they loved, of one who's life we are ment to take. The moment i knew this, i also knew this was going to be a challange. She seemed far too loving, far too kind to be one of us. A killer. This was going to be interesting indeed. I offered to carry her bag, and show her to her living space.
Hey there you.
I've been around.
Nice meeting you.
Lenor. That was, she claimed, her name. Lenor Lelane. A student from the village deep inside the Kama forest. The reason as to why she came her remains a mystery to me. She only said that she cannot return to her place of birth and ancestral home due to harm befallen on others. Considering it was not in my interest, nor my business to dig deeper in that which is not mine, i let it be and let her get acquainted with her new surroundings and left the building.
Some of the words on this page we're highlighted. Mostly the names, and something in the lower left corner that I could not possibly read. It looked foreign.
Page Twelve
Hear the drums
Hear the horn
Hear the drums
Fear our thorn
Two weeks have passed since Lenor joined our organisation, and two weeks since I found Sita and brought her here. Tricobcheck had declared her OK, patched her up, and send her back to me. Following the basic protocol, I was forced to question her and discovered that she did indeed come from across the Iron sea, and was a citicen, or so she claimed, of the Empire of Se. Empire of Se. Normaly, every Serian was thought to be a heartless, thickheaded higher-than-thou bastard. But not Sita, no. There was something about her that I just couldn't figure out, and would probaply recognize later on. Due to the hatred against Serians from my people, somehow, all availible quarters miraciously vanished, making me take her in. Ontop of that, I was also forced to train Lenor. She appears to excell when using the somewhat more primitive weaponry. Blades, bows, you name it, whilst failing to even grasp the basis of reloading a Semi-Automatic Lady's finest.
And if that isn't enough, open war has been declared between the Kingdom of the Shaded fist, and the people in who's lands we reside, the Nostratorians. I guess that visiting Nilara is out of the question for a while now.
Throw me out of the tempest
Call forth the faces of old
Put me back into the tempest
I'll make them pay a thousand fold
I had began my day quietly. A stop at the chappel of Za't just off the compound road, followed by more intensive training with Lenor. After weeks and weeks of constant practice, she was able to kill an eagle from seven clicks away. In a month's time, she would be granted her Executioners Arch. Her class' weapon of choice. A bow with a two meter wide-spread and all sorts of fun little toys. Plus a little dagger attached to its bottom, just incase.
As I dragged my tired body back to my quarters to check up upon Sita when I heard a most desperate voice behind me. 'Kynfell Vilende!' It shouted. As I turned I saw one of the officers, pale faced and trembling. As I desperately tried to calm his voice, he started telling about Nilara's mission across the Iron sea. She was supposed to take out some bigshot minister of Seta knows what. Then, the officer dropped the words "Missing in action, presumed dead. Presumed dead. Nilara. Those we're the only words I heard. I heard their chilling bitterness, and crashed down unto the ground. The emotions I felt, love, hate, despair, sadness too deep, it felt like I was going to explode.
I screamed. By Alenor I screamed. I shouted to the absolute fullest of my volume, pushed my vocal cords to near tearing. I cursed, to the deepest of my Latin. The entire compound heard my screams of pain as I drew my dagger and randomly started hacking and slashing into the air, as if I wanted to cut the very gods themselves. I violently grabbed the officer by his jacket, and screamed in his face to arrange for transport to her last known location. I even believe I broke his nose in a blind moment of pure, cold rage. I stormed into my quarters looking for my gear whilst completely forgetting about Sita, and the fact that she wasn't -here-. Catching a glimpse of Lenor running towards me, I started looking.
'By them all, I'll make them pay', echoed through my head.
Brothers dead
Famillies torn
Sisters dead
Hate is born.
The Iron sea looked even more beautifull from above. The brown metal waves filled with small sips of Lunar blue crashing down upon eachother. A wild sight. As if the world knew that it was about to be torn asunder by war and rivalry. Lenor sat behind me, asleep in her chair. The foolish little girl was going to need it since, for some reason she had incisted to join me in my search. As a senior officer, I could have easily denied her request. But the sincerity in her eyes, the hatred towards the Shaded fist for what they did to Nilara, those things convinced me to allow this foolish young girl to join me. Which was strange, considdering that, to my knowledge, Lenor has had no dealings with Nilara what so ever. I should ask her about that later.
The sea disappeared behind a wall of black fog and clouds as we entered the Iron lands. The desolate, barren lands now came into full vieuw. Dreadfull thunderclouds ever shattering the skies. The dark brown and dead soil looking ever treacherous. I noticed Lenor's hand holding mine tightly. Either out of fear or..Something else. I allowed it, looked at her, looked at my rifle and pistol, then awaited the landing.
Sirens sing
A step ahead
Sirens scream
This land is dead
I felt a chill go down my spine as I jumped out of the helicopter. Nilara followed shortly after grabbing her bow. As the helicopter lifted off and moved further and further away from where it had dropped us, we gazed upon the silent and dead northlands of the Iron lands. The fantoma marshes. Even though the sun was at its brigthest, the marshes remained dark. The wet, shallow grounds were covered in black roots and a fog that gave off a most dreaded aura. Here and there were puddles just deep enough for you to twist your anckle in, and behind the dead plants one could see eyes moving, deep, dark eyes followed by sounds of movement. The helicopter had disappeared, and we were on our own. I could see a sence of dread, a sence of fear, almost terror in Lenor's eyes. Even I, the infamous Vilende, instructor for the Snikmorder recruits was afraid. I told Lenor not to worry, that it was all in her head as we made our first steps. I just wish I believed that too.
After what seemed a decade of walking through the dreaded marshes, we reached the path that would take us beyond this dead land of horror. To leave it, we would have to go through the Fantoma forrest. The Fantoma forrest. It is said that those who enter it, never leave it completely. Part of their soul never leaves the forrest, and the part which does is said to slowly die. It is said to start with simple headaches followed by increased paranoia. One will turn against his friends and get to fear his loved ones before dying a slow, but certain death. If you believe those story's that is. And by the looks on Lenor's, and my face, we did.
Upon entering the forrest through the path, I constantly felt as if there were eyes upon me. As if something awaited its chance to perform it's twisted act. All I knew at the time was that I had to leave these lands, and fast.
We kept walking for almost two more hours, almost glue'd to eachother when we saw something right infront of us on the path. I held my breath, by Seta I held my breath. I, we, were afraid.