S4:CH1

Aida looked at the fires all around her in North Castle. The Battle for North Castle has ended, but there was still a war tearing her in her heart. In front of her lay the corpse of Leon, who she thought would always have her back, but now, he was simply… gone.

A man arrived behind her. She knew who it was without trying to see him.

“Why does it hurt, Kindred?” Aida spoke while still looking at the flame. Kindred only looked at her in empathy about the situation with his right hand in his pocket, while his left hand was holding his scabbard. He had just come back from burning the body of William and the dead valkyries, and seeing his former comrade like this was something he could only describe as melting his chest, perhaps in sadness as well.

Kindred walked closer to her, then took his hands off and let them go. He slowly embraced Aida from behind, and Aida closed his eyes before slowly turning around to embrace him.

“It will be alright. It will pass. What matters is he lived his life being with his friend.” Kindred said, as he continued to hug Aida, while she started sobbing. Kindred took off his gloves and caressed Aida’s hair, before holding her face gently and wiping off the tears in her eyes. There, Aida could see his former general closer than she had ever been. A blankness of shock wrapped her mind, as if she suddenly felt something different. Kindred saw her eyes, fixated towards him, Aida’s heart pumped faster, as she felt her body slowly grow warmer. However, Kindred kept his blank expression, but realized what she felt. She was feeling helpless, emotional, and perhaps desperate.

Kindred leaned in for a kiss, and Aida closed her eyes as she accepted it immediately. As she leaned in forwards, their faces grew closer and closer together as they were about to embrace. When their foreheads touched, Aida expected his lips… but suddenly they weren’t there. As Aida slowly opened her eyes, Kindred was holding her shoulders and him breathing a bit heavily.

“We can’t…” Kindred said, before putting his gloves back. Aida could still see the fresh shifter blood that he had just killed. The feeling of disappointment turned into a ring of understanding in her head. Aida nodded and only held his hand. “Thank you, Kindred.” she said, before looking back at Leon to take one of her arrows out, to then put on Leon’s burning body. She sighed, let out a tear, then began to look at the fire.

4 months have passed, and the Red Blood Regiment grew immediately in size. Peasants from Ravena, Karthus, North Castle, and even from places that they have not gone through yet, such as Drasek, Sicarius, and even rogue Democrats from Vontur. To the people who have turned to the red soldiers, it was a massive shock to them that such a nation that fought for liberty then decided to become the conquerors themselves. Not to mention, they had turned against The Red Blood Regiment - The group that had helped them create the Republic in the first place. The militia that freed them from the clutches of the orcs during the Great Orc War. 

To the loyalists however, this was a blunder. The Republic had to expand. The ideals of Democracy were something non-negotiable. It was for the greater good. Millions of peasants suffered from countless tyrannical kings or queens who have no guarantee of their benevolence in ruling. It was simply a matter of time before such a dictator like the Magrin Kings and Queens would oppress the shifters, or any minorities they could get their hands upon. However, after their defeat in North Castle, there was massive fervor growing in the Vonturian Citizens to protest against the military campaigns. Valheim Stoneheiss was one of the few who debated in the Vonturian House of Representatives that the war must continue. However, he was overruled by the congress, and was forced to be demoted due to his actions in the campaign. Among the people that opposed him were surprisingly, one of his closest comrades - General Nathaniel.

The decision to limit the military actions of Vontur however was not because Nathaniel was a traitor, nor was it because of him feeling any sort of remorse. He still wanted to expand the ideas of Vonturian Republicanism, but he also knew that Vontur had to regroup and fortify once more to prepare itself for any invasion coming from the Selyrian kingdoms. They needed protection, and they needed more allies.

On a smaller note, Nathaniel smiled, as he watched the continued debate happening in the Vonturian House of Representatives, as a Specialist from the CSS, Talf Willand, whispered to him, confirming his suspicions.

“Republican rebels are brewing in Karthus and Hreinngar.” he said, before immediately walking away, as the crowd of representatives in the house clapped, signaling the agreement to withdraw from The Frozen North - at least for the Vonturian National Army.

“Welp…” Nathaniel said to himself as he put both of his hands in his coat pockets. He looked at Valheim, who was staring at him while sitting in the front of the audience, glaring at him deeply. Nath stared at him back, before walking away.

The wind picked up its pace, bringing the salt of the sea with it. In the Porthosian seas, one could taste the sea salt by just inhaling the air around them. It didn’t help when you were at sea, as it would assault your nose the second you touched its waters. Princess Eleanor Magrin was its first hand witness.

Being in a ship was not an easy thing for Princess Eleanor. She grew up being pampered and being surrounded by most of the maids of the Karthusian Royal Family, not being guarded and surrounded by knights wearing pure Dwarven Steel, with battle scars all over their faces and body. She remembered walking in the castle’s garden where the path was always smooth and shiny, where she picked flowers that smelled more pleasant than lavender - compared to now, where the stench of fish, and the constant rocking of the ship, kept on making her trip and losing her balance. And if the heat of Southern Selyria was not enough, then the splashing water was enough for her to lose patienc-

A massive wave erupted in front of the ship, causing a splash of water to hit the deck. It was fine at first, but as she saw that it not only smelled like fish, there was also an octopus on the deck. As it latched on to her, she screamed.

“EW EW EW GET THIS CREATURE OFF ME!!!!” she shouted, before a streak of blue liquid erupted from its skin, as Anemona, now the new Adjudicator (Vice-general) of the GEG, stabbed it with her spear. A face of pure shock crept on her face, as he looked at Anemona looking at the squid in curiosity.

“I apologize for that, your majesty.” she said, before picking up the octopus and carrying it to the other knights on the deck. As Anemona showed it to Commander Tarrick, the blonde haired man roared in laughter as he grabbed the creature with his bare hands and lifted it up to the sky.

“Guardians!!! This afternoon will be a good day to have fried octopus!!!” he said.

That was it. That disgusting fact that these knights would eat something so gross, was enough for Eleanor to feel something grumble in her stomach, to her throat. She was doing her best to control it when she was still suffering with the salt and rocking motion, but this was the final straw…

She ran to the side of the ship, clawing at the ship’s shrouds while her mouth was facing the sea, she let out her vomit and coughed all over. Adjudicator Anemona and Lady Efthalia immediately ran to her, patting her back. The two GEG Knights knew that this trip would not be easy for her. It was a bother sometimes, but they both admired her dedication at the end of the day.

The sun was still refusing to shine on the sky. Lady Namaari, of the Apothecary Wolves Institute knew that an early morning coffee, while the sun had not risen yet, was always a good sign that she was going to succeed at her plans. As she leaned on the poles of the camp’s entrance, she saw a figure from afar.

Captain Regis Caelum opened his eyes as the birds chirped outside his humble home. He arranged his blankets and pillows as he then went to his kitchen to prepare his breakfast. He had some cheese and bread, but there was also dried fish from yesterday’s leftovers. Not to mention, his new order of Sulhari seeds had finally arrived. He grinded them into fine powders and put them in a strain. He prepared a fire so he could boil the water in a pot, before putting them in the powder, mixing it, and letting the powder let its contents flow into the hot water. He waited for minutes upon minutes as he drank his water and ate his dried fish cheese sandwich. The sun had slowly crept up in the sky, but it did not show itself yet, making the sky glow in an ocean-like blue. It was enough light for Regis to turn off his lantern, as more of the natural light shone over the house. As the boiled water finished mixing with the seed powders, he was ready to drink it. Legend has it that this drink called ‘coffee’ could energize and focus someone’s day. Whether it was true or not, there was only one way of knowing.

As he drank the coffee, he noticed the slightly bitter taste of the drink. It wasn’t necessarily disgusting, but maybe…

He reached out to his counters to grab a clay pot, enclosed in a cork. He popped the jar open and he smelled the honey that was inside of it. He poured some honey into the coffee and began to taste some as he experimented it to his liking. When the sweetness was just right, he began to drink the wooden mug full, feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.

Walking along the Porthosian city was always a sight to behold for him. Many events were going to be held, and this meant that a lot of people were coming to see everything here, especially the colosseum. But he was not going there for now. Games and enjoyment can wait soon. For now, he had to be ready. He already had his breakfast, now it was time to go to the public bath.

Taking a bath early in the morning was always beneficial to Regis, as the public bath was not always crowded, and it provided him ample time to think quietly with his thoughts. He was thankful that the pyromancers of Orealis made sure that the bath was heated, as he knew that such mornings would not be perfect if he had an extremely cold shower. As he sat on the massive square pool, he felt relaxed as he closed his eyes-

“Hello Captaiiinnnnn!” a voice of a man squeaked from across the bath. It was one of his men, being kissed by another one of his men. He groaned in annoyance. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Emperor Martius Maximiun banned relationships in the military. He could report them now and get them killed, but he did not want this small infraction to ruin his peace.

“You’re always lonely, captain. Do you not have a woman?” asked one of the men cuddling the other.

“Or a man.” the other soldier said, making them both giggle.

“I rather you focus on getting ready, soldiers.” Regis said, before having his palms covered in water to wash himself. “This is the emperor’s first day, and people from all over the world will be congratulating him.”

Princess Eleanor vomited onto the floor of the Porthosian port, making the fishermen there look at her. Efthalia was there to rub her back and get her ready to stand back up again.

“Thank you,” the princess said.

“Minotaurs, centaurs, Sicilian grapes, what else do we need to learn?” Mr. Giggs Chitinni said, who was leading a group of students in Porthos. “We still have to wait for Martinus to let us pass.”

Kindred put his left hand at the SUV Student’s left shoulder, while his right hand held a dagger, pointing at the student’s back. He saw the familiar faces of Sune, and Giggs in the area, which led him to believe that this was their one way inside the castle. The area was secured. The CSS seemed to not have a lot of forces for this mission, so they realized that there was nothing to be nervous about.

“Huh?” the student exclaimed, as Kindred gripped the knife tighter. He was hoping the student would just listen, or would just fear him. He did not want to move further or cause any harm if necessary.

The student moved further to him, ignoring his presence. He left him no choice. As he was about to stab the young man, he felt a sense of discomfort in his chest. He couldn’t continue. He couldn’t do it. And there he was, seeing the student walk away like nothing.

“What were you doing???” Commander Valerie whispered, before grabbing her knife and walking past Kindred. Kindred then grabbed her and immediately pulled her back to him. He then looked at what was in front of them.

“Hold. Why are you dressed like that?” Specialist Talf said, looking at Kai in the disguise. “What in the name of Ekaj is wrong with you, young man?”

Talf had been tasked with guarding the palace for the CSS’s interests. He was bored, but he knew that this mission was necessary to protect Vontur - at least that’s what his superiors posed. He wanted this done, and he wanted this quick. The weather for this nation was too hot for him. And it was only getting worse when he saw the person in front of him, who was clearly a man, dressed as a woman.

Kai felt uneasy and suspected that the plan was not working. He knew that if the CSS found out about him, then he would simply be dead with their countless mana nullifier arrows on their VACs. One thing was for certain however - Catherina would pay for this. He had to think quickly nonetheless. He had to give an answer. Think. This was Porthos. There has to be something…

“Young man?” he said, before realizing the answer. He walked forward, and stomped towards the man. “YOUNG MAN???”

Talf walked back, starting to become afraid of the… man? Woman? Thing? He didn’t even know the answer anymore, but all he knew was that this person was becoming hostile.

“HOW DARE YOU ASSUME WHAT I AM???” Kai said, trying his best to raise the pitch of his voice, while the rest of The Black Valkyrie Regiment assassins stared at him. Perhaps in concern, or perhaps in confusion. One thing was for certain however - this was working. Ravenheart had already lockpicked the side door of the palace, and they could now enter the building through it.

Sir Caelum arrived and patted the shoulder of Talf. “Calm yourself, frater.” he said, before looking at Kai. “I always thought that our dear Emperor only liked women, but perhaps he is simply following the tradition.”

“W-what?” Talf said, making Caelum chuckle and look at him.

“Meunza. Admit it, we’re lost.” Lyka said, holding the map of Porthos while looking at her friend. “We came here to escape North Castle’s chaos, and not to walk hundreds of miles for an entire day.”

“Don’t be such a crybaby.” Meunza replied, continuing to walk. “Besides, you still owe me for not having your head on a spike by that one CSS soldier.”

“Wasn’t that because of the wyver-”

“A-a-ah!” Meunza replied, putting her finger on Lyka’s head, completely missing her lips as her entire face was covered by her sack hat. “We’re here to enjoy the scenery, and the food from the Emperor’s festival, not to argue.”

Lyka growled, but then immediately stopped when Meunza jumped in the air while squealing in delight.

“We’re here!” she said, arriving at a homestead in a busy Porthosian street. Meunza knocked at the door, and waited. And as Lyka arrived, so did a group of Red Blood Regiment soldiers, buying items on the street.

“These people seem to be everywhere.” Lyka said, seeing how the Red Blood Regiment soldiers tried their best to communicate with the peasants in the native Porthosian tongue, only to realize that most of them could speak Selyrian fluently.

“Northerners.” Meunza commented, before hearing the creak of the door in front of them. “Noelle!!!” The pink haired girl hugged the person they were visiting, making the house owner hug her back.

Martinus Triventius, of the Sovereign University of Vendeaux looked around only to see that a lot of the guards were sleeping, or were simply not doing their job in the throne hall of the Imperial Palace. Back in the old days, he remembered how heavy the punishments were if a soldier was caught sleeping on his job. However, he assumed that perhaps this was indicative of how Porthos had become incredibly peaceful now. Life was about trade-offs after all.

He led his students to the palace as they were given the permission to survey and study the area. Several Porthosian scholars guided them as they continued to look at the different arts in the palace. Martinus, however, was looking at somewhere different. As the nobles from all around the world gathered to greet the new emperor, he looked at everyone in the crowd, before seeing what Emperor Martius Maximiun was doing. Relaxing in a stoic posture, while being guarded by a massive metal golem beside him.

Martinus walked between the crowd. Some didn’t know who he was. Some felt fear, seeing an undead man walk in the throne room. The Porthosian elders however, felt a sense of a different kind of fear - the type that makes you stiff, as if he was a demigod in front of you, as if the phoenix itself has arrived in this important event, like a blessing or curse to the emperor. They could not believe it, as they thought he was a myth, a legend, or simply dead.

“Salve, your Imperial Majesty,” he said with a raspy voice, which would usually be ignored for its low volume. But this one was unique, and it simply made the entire room murmur in silence. Martius instantly found himself widening his eyes, as he saw the man himself in front of him. “It is a first time of me seeing a Golem, let alone this size.”

“Do not lecture me about pride, you dead old man,” Emperor Martius said, glaring at the SUV professor in front of him. “I always looked up to the ages of the Ancient Porthosian Empire. You were as glorious and strong when you were still alive. Now here you are with your corpse refusing to rot after thousands of years. You bring shame to this empire.”

“This empire? You call this joke of a nation an empire, boy?” Martinus replied, walking closer to him. “When I was a boy, I reached Ravena, Karthus, and the Arkasian lands all without celebrating countless gold and women for it.”

“Oh really?” Martius said, as his breath started to smoke. “Then did it give you pride to kill those tribesmen? Those without magic.”

“And did it give you pride to slaughter those orcs at Doshgolobi? Those without magic?”

Martius snapped his fingers and a massive flame erupted from the torches of the room and into his hands. Martinus only stood, slowly putting his left foot forward for a sideways stance. But as they stood, the double doors opened suddenly, showing the golden armored visitors. Sune immediately got to the front to escort Martinus out of the way. Princess Eleanor had arrived.

“You’re too late, girl.” Martius said before sitting back to his throne. “I’ve heard enough of what Karthus can do to such a strong Porthosian.”

“Please, your majesty,” the princess said, looking at the emperor. “Think of the people.”

“The people want me. What is there to ask further?” the emperor said, before the crowd of nobles cheered for him.

“I meant the common folk, your majesty.”

The nobles slowly went silent, before slowly looking at Eleanor. The princess saw their faces stare at her after she uttered the words. She then looked at Martius, and saw him slowly smirking.

“Tell me, girl.” Martius said, before the GEG put their hands to their weapons, unsheathed.

“You will address her majesty as-” Anemona said, before being cut off by Eleanor.

“Please.” Eleanor whispered softly. Galeon stood forward, showing his size and strength to the GEG. Some of the knights started to back away, but Tarrick slapped their shoulders, urging them to stand their ground. Martius reveled at this sight, and chose to ignore Anemona’s threat.

“Which nation has the largest number of public baths?” Martius asked.

“Porthos, your majesty.”

“Which nation has the biggest colosseum?”

“Porthos, your… majesty.”

“And how many criminal syndicates does Porthos have?”

“...none… sir…” Eleanor pondered, before looking down. She looked all around her and found herself looking at nobles staring at her. Some even giggling at her. She clenched her fists before looking at Martius. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You tell me, your… majesty. Last I heard Vendeaux has been a breeding ground for crime after the Karthusian Town Watch preferred to just lie with the Democrats. The savage shifters of the Aeryth have joined your societies. Your citizens have no entertainment, and no infrastructure. You cannot even wipe your own peasants asses when they take a sh-”

The sounds of swords unsheathing rang loudly. Eleanor almost squeaked, but was covered behind the shields of the golden soldiers. “We had enough of you disrespecting our princess.”

“Disrespect?” Martius stood up once more, before looking at Eleanor, then to Martinus. “You lecture me about the happiness of the common folk when your people’s filth has no place to be. You tell me how uncivilized my empire is when I let you in as my equal. You think you could come here acting like you, northerners, own Selyria?”

Eleanor tried to speak, but Lady Rachel held her hand, before looking at her, shaking her head.

“You. disrespect. Me.” Martius said, before waving to Galeon, gesturing to him to kill the entire squad of the GEG.

As Galeon walked forward, a man stood in the shadows, in a room beside the throne. As he prepared his blade, crouched in the darkness, he took the opportunity to move forward, knowing that the Golem was no more. It was Kindred, trying to focus as his attention shifted from the emperor, to the GEG. When Galeon was already forward, he sprinted, but as he stepped into the light, he saw an eye. He saw it from across the hall. An eye that belonged to a dark skinned… vampire. Staring at him, as if this vampire had been staring at him for such a long time.

“Emperor Martius, to your right!!!” Daimon shouted, making Martius look towards Kindred as he was still sprinting. Kindred jumped, but these precious seconds were enough for Martius to grab his shield and deflect the assassin’s attempts at a kill. When he yanked his shield forward, this made Kindred jump back and land on his one knee. The rest of the BVR tried to fight the other nobles, but Galeon had turned his attention back to Kindred. When the nobles saw the assassins, and saw the one in front of the emperor, one of the Porthosian nobles screamed.

“It’s him!” They shouted, before trying to fight the other assassins.

Martius heard, before looking at Kindred through his eyes. He smiled once more, before seeing that his sword had fallen to his feet. The emperor kicked the sword to Kindred, and chuckled at the sight of it.

“Kindred Osiris.” Martius said, as he spun his gladius and put his scutum down. “Your stories have reached the high nobles of the south, you know.”

“Those stories good, or bad?” Kindred replied.

“They say you’ve gone soft. Tell your wife I said hello.”

A metallic hand reached for Kindred’s waist and lifted him into the air, before smashing him down to the ground. He put his hand to his head, and it prevented the shock to his neck, but a crack was still heard on his chest. A pain. A very sharp pain he knew all too well. He groaned, and immediately jumped behind, grabbing his chest.

“Sounds like a broken rib.” Martius said before looking at Galeon. “I told you he is mine.”

Galeon nodded, before walking back to the GEG and slapping the unit to falter to the side.

“Well I suppose it’s not a fair fight anymore considering how he has a disadvantage.” Martius said, as he saw Tarrick as only one left in the GEG fighting Galeon after the rest were knocked back by the slap. Cyrus, the advisor of the GEG, rallied the troops back, and one of their men, Thorkell, had to carry Princess Eleanor to the door, while Tarrick continued to fight Galeon.

“Kill him.” Martius said as he looked at Kindred, making Galeon turn back, ignoring the sword strikes of Tarrick. Kindred tried to run, but the rib seemed to have sliced open an artery, making him unable to breathe. He immediately took something in his pocket and saw a potion. As he opened the bottle, he took one swig of it and started to walk away. It was healing, but it was not instant. This made Galeon get to him just by walking, making it easier to finally get the kill. Kindred knew that this was not enough time for him to escape. Even if he fully healed, Galeon would just smash his skull, and he would be dead. In here. Not in the north, but in a foreign land. Ironic, although it might as well be fitting. He was an immigrant of the north after all. As he closed his eyes to accept what was going to happen.

Galeon stopped. And knelt down, as if something had hurt him. It wasn’t fatal, but it caught his attention. It was Tarrick, not with a sword anymore, but holding a warhammer.

“So my sword doesn’t nick you, but these blunts do eh?” Tarrick said, before hitting the golem’s heel even harder, causing him to make a ‘roaring’ sound. Martius grunted, causing him to raised his gladius and shield. A panicked maid ran across him causing him to grab the maid aside to throw him to the wall. A black cloud of smoke popped up from Kindred’s hands.

“Step aside, woman. I’m here to show that sometimes, you would have to do things yourself,” Martius said. By the time he threw the maid, Kindred was gone.

“I agree,” the maid replied with a deep voice. Martius’s eyes widened, causing him to look. He saw him. He was General Kai Ellington.

“Manus Draconis.” the red general said, absorbing the fire from the torches, before blasting it into the emperor, and Galeon. The power was immense, sending Galeon and Martius through the castle door, forcefully opening it until the GEG and the BVR finally had a chance to escape.

“Let’s move.” Kai said, before the rest of the northerners ran to the market, dodging arrows from all the Porthosians. The Red Blood Regiment arrived with their reinforcements, escorting the rest of the other northerners to the docks.

“Why aren’t there more guards? Aren’t they sending in their reinforcements too?” Tarrick said, as he ran with Kai on the market.

“Ask the blacks about that.” Kai said, before looking at the other Porthosian and CSS guards, sleeping. Tarrick looked around, then looked up to see the assassins jumping from roof to roof.

“Dishonorables.” Tarrick said, as he continued to run.

The northerners arrived at the dock, as the northern sailors moved quickly to get the ships to the sea. The GEG’s ship had finally gone away with the princess. However, what was left was that with the RBR, who had so many people getting ready to leave. The lines seemed to be never ending, as they just kept on going, filling up more and more ships until they heard a bell from afar.

“We don’t have much time,” Kindred said to Ail, still with his hands to his chest.

Ailouros looked from afar and saw the Porthosian Imperial Army now charging to the RBR’s line, slicing more and more as they went. One of the people running seemed to be a young 12 year old girl, with wings.

“Euthalia?” Lady Noelle said, speaking from the boat, looking at the young girl, yelling for her to run faster.

“We have to go now.” Ail said, before going to Faust and Requiem. “We need our sailor to sail away, before all of us die in this boat.

“Wait! WAIT!” Noelle said, grabbing Ail by the collar. “She’s just a child.”

Ail looked at the people running and saw the girl she was talking about. Indeed it was, as she saw it. “Then you shouldn’t have recruited her.”

“Oh please, my beautiful Karthusian.” Kindred said, still sitting. “Tough of you to talk about recruiting children.”

“I’m from the Karthusian Order.” Ailouros said, before turning her head to him. “Our ways aren’t your ways, Osiris.”

“My brothers and sisters in Ravena always tell me to never leave your fellow assassins behind.”

“Well it’s a good thing I’m not a Ravenian then. Faust, man the ship.”

Faust immediately went to the sailor and put a blade in his neck. “Get us moving or I will move this blade,” he said.

The sailor immediately nodded, and hesitantly called upon his men to move. As the ship sailed, Noelle could only watch as the remaining comrades that she had just met were stuck in the dock, forced to fight the Porthos Imperial Army by themselves. Euthalia tried to fight as well, but that wouldn’t be enough to fight a legion. In the end, there was nothing they could do. The Porthosians of that day however, called the massacre ‘The Emperor’s Dessert’.

General Kai washed his face to take off any sort of powder that made her look more feminine. Kindred saw him from afar and watched.

"What was he up to anyway? Why was he wearing.... those?" Kindred asked, before Commander Valerie finally arrived and handed him a piece of paper.

"Battle plans by Emperor Martius to invade the north. We knew he would not like peace. We just needed more time." Valerie replied.