Embedded Files
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
It was a quiet evening in Ravena. It had been 3 months since the second siege, and many people had now learned how to move on from the recent conflict. For the regiments, they learned that they had to work together in order to survive. And for General Kai, this was proving to be both difficult, and something uncertain. Kindred was known to always stick to his principles of preserving the democratic rights of the people, before developing closer ties with the loyalists of the royal family, but with him gone, and more complicated problems arising, he knew that this was not the simple problem that his predecessor had encountered.
The moon shone brightly on the cozy atmosphere of the Red Blood Regiment's base. Along the countless peasants and red soldiers, came the arrival of the assassins in black uniform. It was General Ailyn, along with her most trusted companions.
"General Kai." Ailyn called, seeing Kai in a bonfire along with his comrades. "New orders by the king. I am aware that this regiment is the best when it comes to tracking targets in the far regions, so I gave these to you."
Kai looked at her as she handed out a paper. As he read it, he found himself being shocked, and puzzled.
"What about you?" Kai said.
Ailyn smiled, then walked back. "I'll be away for classified reasons. I'll let my brothers and sisters be of help to you when you need them."
The rest of the Black Valkyrie Regiment then disappeared in the darkness.
***
The cold and windy Eastern Camp was rife with death and forgotten memories. Ruins of the Great Orc War was present in each tent, and it gave the perfect shelter for the two men living in its stead.
"So is this the place?" A long-bearded man with horns said, sitting at the bed of the tent they were in.
"I suppose so. This is indeed Ravena." A short-bearded man with antlers replied said, taking a sip of tea from his cup.
"Are you sure you are going to do this?"
With the horned man asking, there was a moment of silence in the camp. The man with antlers sighed, then looked at the distance.
"Yes." The man with antlers replied.
***
"Gather around, comrades." General Kai said. The sun was slowly rising in the early dawn of the Red Blood Regiment's base, and it was the perfect time to start their mission. "We will be separating into 2 groups."
The regiments then proceeded to create 2 separate groups. From the 2 months that have happened, there have been multiple changes in the regiment. Aida was promoted, and this meant that she was now a lieutenant. This also meant one thing.
"Comrades, we have received word from the Black Valkyrie Regiment of a high-valued criminal named 'Jericho Meril'. What he does is still unknown to us, but he's described as a black-haired bearded cervidian exomen. So kindly look for a man with antlers." Kai said.
"Aida." He followed. "You will lead Squad B."
Aida nodded, followed by a group of soldiers from the Ravenian Expeditionary Force. It was Liam, and their new recruit, Kai Tsuchida. They seemed to be sent by Nathaniel as some sort of assistance to the mission. Following the 2 months, there was also change within the Vonturians, as now, they've changed their organization's name to Committee of State Security. Liam decided to follow Aida's squad, while Tsuchida followed the new red general.
They travelled through the day, until it became night. Aida was the one in charge of the second squad, assisted by Lake. When they arrived at the Southern Camp, no one was there. Or so, that's what they thought.
A sound of movement...
"Who's there?" Lake said. He stared at one of the tents in the area. He then walked slowly to one of the tents in the area. Aida got her bow ready, her hands beginning to warm up. The sounds of movement stopped, and it was obvious that it came from the farthest tent in the area. Lake put out his sword and began to walk inside the tent. He opened it.
A boy with red hair stared at him with a look of shock. They eyed each other for a moment, before a sudden burst of movement came from the boy.
"Oi! Get away from me y-you filthy human!" The boy shouted, pushing Lake away as he bolted out of the tent.
Before the boy could get away, Lake immediately pointed his sword sideways, making the boy stop. "Who are you?" Lake asked.
"None of your concern you red-blooded whatever." The boy snapped back.
Aida was there to watch the scene unfold. She was stunned. She knew who this boy was. She knew what he was before this whole situation. No. It cannot be him. Not right now. But what is he doing here anyways? She thought to herself.
***
The first squad arrived at the Eastern Camp, and the cold heights of the month of Frimaire was tame and accessible, mostly because it was summer. It was perfect, as they needed that advantage when exploring its heights.
"Black beard. Black hair. Antlers." General Kai said to himself, as he travelled the snowy plains. Along their squad, they suddenly saw a campfire in the distance. "Get down." He then said.
The people in the campfire seemed to be relaxing. One was taking a nap, while the other was sipping a cup of tea. One of the new recruits from the Red Blood Regiment peaked through the snow and said...
"Is that the person we're looking for?"
Kai nodded, then called Tsuchida and the other soldiers. "Get ready."
A surge or roaring men was heard, as the man in antlers suddenly looked to its direction. He then looked back and grabbed his friend on the tent. "Khalil, wake up! The Ravenians are here!" He said while grabbing his companion away from the tent. "Run! I'll hold them off!"
The man who he was with was an bosian vastayan exomen. He looked like a human, but had horns of a bull. He panicked as he gasped at the Red Blood Regiment running towards their camp. "B-but..." He said.
"No buts! Just get the tool and run! Now!" The man with antlers shouted.
Khalil sprinted as fast as he could, all while his friend stood by with his arming sword ready to fight. As the Red Blood Regiment, and the Vonturians came, there was no turning back.
The man swung his sword at Tsuchida, but the Vonturian was fast enough to dash backward. Kai Tsuchida then countered with thrusting his spear towards the chest of the antlered man, but the target simply caught the spear. He was about to strike the Vonturian with his sword, but a small fireball hit his back. He fell to the ground with a loud thump in the snow. The one who threw the fireball was revealed to be non-other than General Kai. The man in antlers was about to stand up, when he found himself being aimed at by a bow.
"Sir Xavier. Keep an eye on him." General Kai said. "Kai Tsuchida, alert the others."
When Tsuchida nodded, the red general then put one knee on the snowy floor. He then said.
"So you're Jericho Meril. I heard you were wanted by the Black Valkyries."
Jericho only scoffed, before being checked up by Xavier. Kai followed...
"Tie him up, Sir Xavier. We will need him for the investigation."
The archer nodded, before putting ropes behind Jericho's back. They then headed to the Western Camp, while the Vonturians went towards Aida's location.
***
“Now, if you take a step forward, I’ll be forced to use my super-mega-ultra powerful power!”
The red-haired boy said, looking at both Aida and Lake. Lake looked at him with this obsurd, child-like claim.
“Yeah, you hear me! I’ll turn into a mighty dragon and tear this camp apart!” The boy continued to claim.
"Aida, you're hearing this?" He asked. When he looked at Aida however, he saw that her face was serious. He realized that this was not just a simple bluff. He then sighed, and said...
“We need you to warn the others, Aida.”
Without any hesitation, she nodded and ran back to the main camp.
“I see, you’re getting your loved ones to safety first, very thoughtful, I must say.” He praised, “I’m kind of proud of you, Lake.”
He stared at the boy in confusion. He was puzzled as to why he knew his name. A person with a red-hair. This description sounded familiar. Along with this, his accent also hinted that he was from Karthus. He swore he must have seen him before...
“Alright, so, you’re either going to let me leave, or you’re going to face my wrath.” The boy would threaten.
Upon seeing this situation, someone decided to creep slowly from the shadows behind the boy. Lake saw this figure and decided not to act, assuming this person was on his side.
“Alright then, young boy, are we going to have a duel then?” Lake said.
“Of course, but don’t come crying to me if you lose!” The boy barked back.
Lake immediately made the first move, attempting to strike at his thigh but missed as the boy would jump back.
“Cheap move, but now it’s my tu-!”
The boy suddenly found himself being grabbed by the figure behind him, restrained.
“You’re going to drop your weapon off this cliff, or it’s not going to end nicely.” A commanding voice was heard behind him. It was Kai Tsuchida, along with Aida holding her bow. The boy struggled as he attempted to break free.
“Oi! Let go you scoundrel! This isn’t your duel!” The boy shouted, still wiggling to escape. Lake kept his guard up despite the boy being restrained. He began to wonder if this 'dragon' transformation was even real?
“You better let me go, or I’ll do it! I’ll destroy you all!” He desperately pleaded.
“Mhm…” Tsuchida said, smirking a bit.
Suddenly, the boy's veins glowed in a red light, his body shifting within it. Caught off guard, Kai immediately let go of the boy. The redhead then became smaller than his original height. The glow faded as a Tanuki stood in his place. The two stared at him, surprised at the 'dragon' before them. Before they realised who it was, the tanuki immediately took off at a fast speed away from the camp.
From the distance, the tanuki shifted back into a human. It was the redhead again. He then shouted...
“You’ll never take me alive, red-stained villains!!”
Lake attempted to ran for him, but was immediately grabbed by Aida, shaking her head.
“Let’s let him go,” Kai suggested, “We’ll meet him again someday, for sure.”
***
Back at the camp, King John of North Castle arrived, wearing his signature armor, now with his purple and rust-colored cape. He looked to be afraid at Jericho, as if there was something bothering about him.
"Why is he here?" John said.
Kai could feel what the matter was. Jericho was not only known by the Black Valkyrie Regiment. Even North Castle knew about him. But why? the red general then looked at the antlered man. Xavier then put his hand on his shoulder. "They're here."
Aida and the other squad arrived. She then whispered something to her general, which made his eyes widen. "Right." He said to Aida.
"We'll leave at dawn." He announced. "Take rest."
***
"Now's my time." Khalil said, moving down the hill he was resting on. The base was now closed for entry from peasants, and the charity works were now being cleaned. The Red Blood Regiment soldiers were now sleeping.
Khalil shifted into a house finch and flew towards the base. He found a tent from one of the soldiers. One of the mage guards then sensed a dark magic user in their midst. "Shifter!" A guard said, alarming the members. A squad of soldiers then ran towards Khalil, and he found himself running away. The Red Blood Regiment learned their mistakes after Crescentias attack not to trust outsider shifters, and this was his first-hand taste of that.
* * *
When morning came, General Kai immediately got his comrades ready to go to the dungeon. The report of a shifter was passed to the officers, so the regiment was extra cautious of any rogue shifters in the area. The Vonturians volunteered to stay, and along with them was Liam.
The Red blood regiment was on high alert on whoever they were about to meet. Luckily, there was none in the trail. Everyone felt safe, but something about this made Kai cautious.
"What are the shifters doing here..." He thought to himself.
He looked back at his men and saw so many faces. "One of them here could be in the Clan of Aeryth." He thought to himself. "But no. The Valkyries never pointed that Jericho was an Aeryth member. This shows on his clothing anyways."
Kai still thought deeply until they reached the castle grounds. He then looked at his men again.
"Put two men on the entrance." He said, before entering the dungeon.
The Red Blood Regiment put the man in one of the cells. He wasn't speaking, nor was he trying to move away. He only glared at the humans in the regiment. This sparked some sort of curiosity within the members....
A man arrived in the dungeon. While most of the men ignored him, Kai knew what this meant. "Keep an eye on him." He said to Xavier.
General Kai entered the cell, guarded by 2 men. He saw Jericho just sitting in the chair. No one seemed to be bothered by him, except for the ones who have the larger power. Besides, it was the Black Valkyrie Regiment who wanted him. He knew their methods. If he could not get this man to speak now, only time will tell on what kind of interrogation techniques can those kinds of people do. Kai wanted to resolve this peacefully - he was a member of the Red Blood Regiment after all. Their clauses demanded that they have to treat prisoners in a dignified manner. He swore an oath to protect the people, and treat them with kindness. But then again, should he? If the King of North Castle was scared of him, then is he really an 'innocent'? He had to find out. If not for him, it was for Jericho's sake as well.
"Jericho Meril, correct?" Kai asked. The cell was dark, but the dim lights of the torches revealed the man's face. He appeared to be in his late thirties, and the beard did not help in trying to make him look young. When he nodded as an answer to the general's question, he could see the stiffness of the man's shaggy hair. The general sighed and continued with his questions.
"What brings you to Ravena?" He asked, making Jericho lean back from his chair.
"To see the land of the diverse, of course. It's a shame that you would arrest me immediately."
"The Black Valkyrie Regiment gave orders to arrest you. The Black Valkyrie Regiment - one of the most elite units in this kingdo-."
"I know who they are."
Jericho interrupted, slowly leaning forward towards Kai. The general was unfazed. He wasn't sure if the man had powers. He didn't have glowing eyes like darkins, nor did he ever used any sort of magic when they tried capturing him. For Kai, he could take Jericho down if he did anything funny. The problem was, he also knew that Jericho was already aware of this. So why was he being aggressive? "Something must be up here." Kai thought to himself. He sighed, then talked to Jericho again.
"This isn't a game, Jericho. If it was just the Town Watch Regiment trying to find you, we wouldn't do the mission." He said. "Seriously, who are you? Who do you work for?"
Jericho smirked at Kai. "You really think I am like the humans and their so-called 'chain of command'?"
"You don't know how far the Valkyries will go when they want someone captured." Kai said, walking closer to Jericho. The man with antlers scoffed. He then said...
"And you will never know how far we will go to liberate all shifters and vastayans from the oppression of humans. You will pay."
Kai sighed. He knew that there was nothing else he could do to make him talk. He though deeply on whether or not to protect Jericho. But he had a dilemma in his mind on whether or not Jericho was worth protecting. They had prisoners before, but non of them involved a man specifically being hunted down by the Black Valkyrie Regiment. He walked out of the cell.
"Xavier. Our agreement." He said.
"Aye, sir." Xavier replied.
"Well hello there." Kai said, now looking at the horned man beside Xavier.
"I umm....." The man said, nervously sweating in front of Kai.
"You seem to be nervous...."
"Wh- me? Nervous? Noooo...... It's just hot in here...." The man said.
Xavier looked at this horned man. There was something extremely wrong going on here. Kai walked closer to Xavier and patted his shoulder. This was the signal.
When night came, the soldiers ate and rested - all except for the man in horns, among others. The only thing that was heard, was the burning wood coming from the fireplace and torches. The horned man looked from his left and right. Then he got to the locks of the cell. He lock-picked it until it was open. Then, he got to Jericho. "That took you a while..." the man with antlers said.
The horned man was non other than Khalil. He got his friend free, and they were almost out of the cell, when suddenly...
"Stand down."
Xavier said, holding his bow on an armed position, ready to pull his bow and fire as soon as possible. Khalil closed his eyes. He didn't know that someone was already following them. What followed was 2 men moving in to apprehend them. Jericho said...
"Did you bring the items?"
"What!?" Khalil said, his eyed widened, and his body walking back a bit. "We're doing it here!? Right now!?"
"We have no time." Jericho replied.
Khalil sighed, and took something out from his pocket. He then threw away some flasks of green liquid on the ground. The flasks broke, immediately creating a cloud of smoke throughout the entire cell. Screams of the soldiers followed, making Xavier call upon more men. Suddenly, Jericho jumped out of the cloud of smoke, his blade pointed forward, ready to stab Xavier. No. This was too close for Xavier to react. He had to pull his bow, and that would be convenient if they were on a given distance. But now, it was different.
"Xavier!" Kai shouted at the archer, who found himself being tackled by the general to the ground. Jericho's blade missed his target, but he continued to run away, followed by Khalil.
Aida paused, took her hand to her quiver. She grabbed an arrow, then placed it on her bow. Time slowed down for her. She pulled the strings and aimed her weapon at Khalil's leg. Xavier noticed this and followed suit. The two archers let go of their bows and hit the right leg of the horned shifter. He tried to shift back to a bird, but was too injured. Jericho noticed this and stopped, only to see that the soldiers were about to be near Khalil.
The shifter then threw more flasks towards Jericho. The antlered man caught it and began to walk back.
"Go." Khalil said, causing Jericho to nod in hesitance.
Khalil then proceeded to stand up, still running to the outside entrance. When he climbed up, he was met with Micah's sword. He turned around, and he was slashed to the back. This was followed by Kai's fireball. He fell to the ground, injured, losing blood. However, he noticed something in the distance. It wasn't someone he knew, but it definitely looked like a shifter. His eyes slowly closed, and he found himself being pulled up, and carried. He then realized that he was being carried by the shifter that he saw. He felt his nerves coming back, as well as his conscience. However, the cut from the back was still present, and the more he moved, the more it widened. He knew that if he continued being carried this way, his body could potentially snap in half.
With a swift push, he yanked himself off his carrier's arms and fell to the ground. The boy, who was carrying him, looked immensely puzzled, but seeing the Red Blood Regiment closing in, he knew that he was cornered, and had no good when it comes to dealing with this. He decided to run away.
Kai arrived at the scene, seeing the boy. "Thomas?" he whispered to himself. "I thought he was dead after the attack of the White Knights."
"General! Liam is dead! And so were our squad from the REF!" shouted Tsuchida.
Kai looked at Khalil deeply. Attacks, Jericho, Thomas. "What the hell are they doing here?" He asked himself. The voices around him seemed to stop, and all he could think of was how all of this was making sense.
"General Kai!" Tsuchida grabbed Kai by the shoulder, causing the red general to look at him. "The Western Base has been attacked."
Kai looked at him, then at Khalil. He then said...
"Call the men and get them to the Western Camp. And I need someone to call Ailyn. We need answers."
***
Back at the Western Camp lied Liam, unconscious on the floor. Liam's right eye was already taken out, and it was only a matter of time before the other soldiers found out about this incident. Above him was a man. No, this was a rodentian man, wearing a wolf's head. He saw that Liam was not breathing anymore, so he decided to leave.
A couple of minutes after the attack was finished, Liam's body twitched. Then came a sudden burst of energy from him, causing him to inhale as much oxygen as possible. He gave heavy and raspy breaths, trying to recover, while his injuries were catching up to him. He took out a bottle from his bag, which showed it to be empty. He then said...
"So it does work..."
He carefully stood up. He was old, and his time here was already finished. He had to get out of here, away from Ravena at least. This is not his place anymore, and it was evident from the broken tents and walls from the recent attack. He walked over to the forest, drinking his potion.
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