A relentless storm of rain and hail laid siege to the stone tower walls. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, illuminating the grotesque stone carvings lining the walls of the massive tower. The sleek stone walls let not a single drop of rain seep inside, though this was to be expected from a tower constructed by a master architect. All was dark within the tower, all except for a tiny flicker of candlelight upon the top floor. A large map was laid out across a table in the center of the room, chess pieces arranged across the numerous empires and principalities. Most of the black pieces were lumped together on the mountains of Rel' Davir, save for a few pawns which were scattered across the map. At the center of this force was the black queen, the candlelight casting her shadow across nearly the entire map. The black king, or what was left of it, quietly smoldered in the few surviving embers in the fireplace.
A slender hand reached out from the darkness, gently taking hold of one of the black knights. sliding it across the map, the knight came to rest at the outskirts of the mountains. This unorthodox game was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door. Answered only by silence, the door slowly creaked open. An armored soldier stood in the doorway, the candlelight reflecting off of his steel plate mail. Falling to one knee, he lowered his head.
"My queen, I've received word the scouting party in Tel'Vash has been uprooted."
The hand reached over and took hold of one of the pawns. The wooden piece immediately burst into flames, quickly turning to ash. With that, the soldier closed the door, the sound of his hasty retreat echoing through the corridor. The fireplace suddenly burst to life, illuminating the room. Most of the furnishings were wood, dark cherry to be specific. in the far corner of the room was a large bed fitted with white satin sheets. Its four posts reached to the ceiling, a velvet curtain hanging down from them for privacy. The rest of the wall space was taken up mostly by bookshelves, all of which had books crammed tightly into every shelf. At the center table sat a young woman dressed in an elegant silk nightgown. She continued to stare at the map before her, her hazel eyes shifting from territory to territory, her mind constantly reassessing the positioning of her pawns. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail, which hung limply down the back of her chair. She tapped her nails against the table, letting out a sigh. She began repositioning the pawns on the map, pondering the best strategic placement. Using the uprooted spy patrol as basis to assume there would be heightened security among her enemies, she decided to pull back for now. She scribbled down some orders on several tiny sheets of paper, encrypting each in a different code. As she finished, there was another knock at the door. Letting out an agitated growl, she looked over at the door.
"What is it now?" she snapped.
A well dressed woman opened the door, standing in the doorway at attention. She wore a long satin dress, the neckline rimmed in a plethora of precious stones. Her blond hair was tied up in a bun, leaving her soft, almost motherly complexion unobstructed.
"The nightly watch has informed me that some hapless glory seekers are headed this way. The first batch should be here by nightfall tomorrow. Should I have the standby troops deal with them, or do you wish to wait?" she asked.
"I've been rather bored lately. I think I'll put on a little display for them personally. The least I can do is let my face be the last thing they see before they die."
"Very well. I'll tell them to stand down until your mark. And one more thing, if I may. It's getting rather late. Promise me you'll get some rest, will you? I know you have your ambitions to go after, but I don't want to see you run yourself into the ground again." the woman replied with a tender smile.
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind. Goodnight Marie."
"Goodnight mistress Rhianna." Marie replied, quietly closing the door behind her.
"Oh, Marie! Before you go..." Rhianna called, gathering the memos sitting in front of her.
The door gently swung open, Marie graciously awaiting Rhianna's request. She smiled, standing in the doorway watching Rhianna.
"You can come in. You know you don't have to wait for my permission. You and I both know each other far too well for that." Rhianna sighed.
"But still, it's out of respect, milady." Marie replied, walking over to where Rhianna sat.
"I suppose. If you could bring these to the aviary and tell Romand to send them to the wolves. He'll know what I mean." Rhianna answered as she handed Marie the small stack of letters.
Marie took them and gave a slight bow.
"Now while I take care of this, you go get some rest, alright?" Marie smiled.
Rhianna simply laughed for a moment, shaking her head.
"Such a dotting mother you are. I'm surprised you've not had children by now."
"As chief of the medical ward, this place is full of my children, and you, my most precious daughter, need sleep." Marie teased, patting Rhianna on the head.
"I will, I will. I need to be well rested to entertain our guests tomorrow. Don't go overdoing it yourself either, Marie. I'd hate to be the one having to take care of you." Rhianna smiled.
"I'll be going now, Rhianna. Do enjoy yourself tomorrow." Marie smiled, walking out the door.
Rhianna locked the door to her room and walked over to her bed. Sliding under the covers, she reached out her hand and snapped her fingers, extinguishing the roaring flames of the fireplace. A subtle grin pursing her lips, she curled up and drifted off to sleep. That night, a sound sleep was hard to be had, but in Rhianna's case it wasn't out of the norm. Screams and wildfire danced through the dark void of her subconscious, fragmented memories passing like brittle leaves in a windstorm. Though the imagery was disjointed and nearly unrecognizable, the emotional pain and trauma they carried with them was quite clear. A loud knock at the door suddenly jolted her from her tumultuous slumber, nearly stopping her already frantically racing heart.
"There is a knight standing outside, no doubt trying to figure his way across the moat. I was told you wanted to deal with these intrusions personally." A voice called from the other side of the door.
"I'll be right there..." Rhianna sighed, crawling out of bed.
Opening the armoire next to her bed, she thumbed through her large selection of dresses and robes. Being in a rather playful mood, she decided to go with a rather form fitting red dress. Slipping out of her nightgown, she stepped into the dress and pulled it up her body. Turning her back to the mirror, she began weaving her fingers in front of her, watching as the lace ribbon followed her lead, tightening up the dress. Grabbing her staff, she walked out onto the balcony.
Looking down, she saw a knight pacing back and forth at the edge of the moat. He was so preoccupied with his current dilemma, he didn't even notice Rhianna watching him from above. She simply laughed as she waited, watching as the knight tested the depth of the moat with his sword. Holding her hand out in front of her, she began heating the moat water to a boil. The heat of the water coursing through his sword, the knight scurried back in pain, nearly dropping his sword in the moat as he did. Looking up, he finally noticed Rhianna leaning over the balcony.
"I was wondering when you'd decide to pay my attention." Rhianna laughed.
"Reaper Queen, I've come for your head!" the knight called up to her.
"So that's what they're calling me now? It neither fits me nor does it flow with any sense of rhythm. I'm rather unimpressed. But enough with that, I implore you, come and get it." She smiled, freezing the moat to further goad him into drawing nearer.
"So be it!"
As the knight rushed forward towards the moat, frozen spires flew up from beneath the thin layer of ice covering the moat, cleanly piercing through the knight's armor. Mortally wounded, the knight fell to his knees, blood pooling beneath him. Rhianna simply sighed, turning her back to him.
"Good riddance."
With that, she snapped her fingers, shattering the ice beneath the knight and plunging him into a watery grave. She slammed the door shut behind her as she walked back inside, leaning her staff up against the wall. She flung herself onto the bed and closed her eyes, relaxing as the warm sunlight blanketed her body. In such a peaceful bliss, she couldn't help but doze off, but her slumber was short lived.
"Don't tell me you went back to sleep! Breakfast is ready for you downstairs in the dining hall!" Marie yelled from the other side of her door.
"You're the one who told me to rest, remember?" Rhianna replied, tightly holding a pillow over her head.
"Yes, but I can't go letting you use that as an excuse to skip meals." Marie replied.
Knowing Marie wasn't going anywhere, Rhianna rolled out of bed and opened the door. Following Marie downstairs into the dining hall, she shuffled over to the table. At the head of the massive oak table was a plate of scrambled eggs topped with shredded bits of fried ham. Taking a seat, she twirled her fork between her fingers, just staring at the plate. Pushing the food around with her fork, she propped her head up in her hand, staring blankly downwards.
"You should eat something. You're constitution is poor enough as is." Marie prodded, walking up behind her.
Rhianna simply shrugged, eyes fixed in her lap.
"It's those dreams again, isn't it?" Marie asked, rubbing Rhianna's shoulder.
"They're more memories than they are dreams...memories from before this damn war..." Rhianna sighed.
"It'll all work out, you'll change things for the better..."
"Change it or not, I can't change the past! As much as I want to, nothing will ever erase that day from my mind. No amount of change can ever make that better! Nothing can heal the pain I must bear night after night!" Rhianna interrupted.
Marie gave an apologetic sigh, patting Rhianna on the head.
"I'm sorry, Marie. It's just so hard to live with sometimes, but it's my burden to bear. I can't be taking it out on you or anyone else..."
"It's okay to set you emotions free. You can't hold it in forever, you know? Keeping it all to yourself will only make it worse." Marie said with a soft caring smile.
"But I have an image to uphold!"
"Not around me you don't." Marie interrupted.
"I know, but still... This is my burden to bear. You have your own problems to worry about..." Rhianna sighed.
"You're still stubborn as ever, aren't you. Even when Zann was still around, you had to do everything by yourself. Taking on the world's problems single handed is a fool's errand, Rhianna. You can't do this alone. Please, just let me help you..."
"So long as you keep doing your job, you're helping plenty. As for my personal motivation for my ambitions, it's not of your concern." Rhianna groaned.
"You may think that, but I still can't help but worry about you." Marie sighed.
"I know, but this is something I have to come to terms with on my own. It's not me being stubborn. Trust me, I'll be okay." Rhianna smiled.
"Alright, but that doesn't change the fact you haven't even touched your food." Marie scolded.
"Oh, I've touched it plenty. I just haven't eaten any of it." Rhianna laughed.
"You need to eat something. The scouts saw more adventurers nearby, so you'll have a lot of company to entertain today." Marie sighed.
"Bah, fine..." she groaned, taking a fork full of ham.
Rhianna took her time eating, her mind still mulling over the events of her past. Leaving the plate still half full, she rose to her feet and returned to her bedchambers. Locking the door behind her, she buried her face in a pillow, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her mourning was soon interrupted by a voice calling to her from outside. It was faint, but clear.
"Excuse me? Is anyone there? Hello?"
Rhianna dried her eyes and walked out on to the balcony.
"You have rather impeccably bad timing. What is it?" she snapped.
Looking down, she saw a young man standing at the edge of the moat. He was dressed in merchant's clothing, his only form of protection being a small short sword sheathed at his hip.
"You've got quite a bounty on your head. I figured I'd stop by and meet the famed Magus of the Dark, Reaper Queen, Lucifer's Daughter, or whatever else they've been calling you lately." He replied, leaning against a nearby tree.
"So you're after the bounty on my head, is that it? You've come to try where hundreds more have failed, and now rot in the bowels of hell?" Rhianna spat, a small flam erupting in the palm of her hand.
"Not quite. Yes, I've run into a bit of trouble in regards to money, but I'm not about to take on a suicide mission to fix that either..."
"So what are you getting at exactly?" She asked, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Give me something that will prove your death. I'll get my reward and you'll finally have some peace and quiet. How about it?" He called up with a smile.
"So you're a coward, great..." she growled.
"Not at all. The way I see it, you're the only thing standing in the way of ending this war..."
"I'M the one standing in the way of ending this war? Are you daft? The two kingdoms have been at each others throats for years!" Rhianna yelled.
"They've formed an uneasy alliance hoping to take care of a common enemy, namely you. If you were to be taken out of the equation..."
"They'd go right back to killing each other. Nice try though." Rhianna sighed.
"But what if it did work? There would finally be peace. What happened in Rurrick will never happen anywhere else!" the man yelled back defiantly.
Rhianna's heart nearly stopped, memories flooding her mind. Letting out a heavy sigh, she turned away to hide her tears.
"Out of all the towns and villages devastated by this war, why name Rurrick?" she asked, her tone gravely serious.
"Because I'm the only survivor." the man replied.
"That can't be! I was there watching as it burned to the ground! I had just returned from the census to find it burned to ash!" Rhianna cried.
"That can't be right! All the residents there were born in that town. Besides, nobody would move out to the middle of nowhere..."
He paused for a moment, his mind putting together the missing pieces of what had happened that day.
"...except... a girl who just wanted to get away from it all..." he continued.
"Who met a boy with dreams too big for the world to handle..." Rhianna finished.
Looking down at him, she smiled.
"It's been quite some time, Matthis. If I hadn't thought you to be dead, I still wouldn't have recognized you." Rhianna laughed.
"At that distance, I don't think anyone would. And I never expected to find you here of all places!" Matthis replied.