FROM THE ASHES

"Sparrow, the Flock is in attendance. Please commence the meeting."

Hawk gestured to Sparrow across the crowded meeting room. Located at the top of the Cloud Level Monastery, this chamber provided rare privacy to the heads of the order. Sparrow began:

"I've gathered the Flock to discuss two subjects. The first is an orphan girl who arrived at our door today. The second is a vision I received.

"As a monastery we have traditionally denied entry to women, for obvious reasons.

"However, I've requested accommodations be made for this girl."

"Impossible!" Blue Jay suddenly blurted. "The Cloud Level Monastic Order has never had a woman in 600 years."

"For once, I am inclined to agree with Blue Jay," Cardinal said. "We have all abandoned our worldly connections to come here, in accordance with a strict code. We cannot pick and choose the laws by which to abide."

Sparrow slowly nodded as he listened to the concerns of his counterparts before continuing.

"I appreciate your views and opinions, brothers. I hope my next point will convince you of the necessity.

"Cloud Level Monastery will soon be destroyed."

A gasp rippled throughout the chamber. Sparrow's visions had never been wrong.

"I felt the darkness envelop the mountain; I saw the blood stain our walls. The influence of the Ashen Prince will finally reach our place in the clouds.

"However, destruction is but the end of this cycle. This girl is the spark that will ignite the flames of rebirth and lead the continent into a new cycle.

"So it is foretold."

The room fell silent. Though the monastery was nominally decentralized, Sparrow was their de facto leader by virtue of being idolized by everyone. They would follow him to the ends of the world.

"Gwen, please come in," he shouted toward the doorway.

The circle of monks turned to face the entryway.

A girl of perhaps seventeen silently stood in the torchlit doorway. She wore a single tattered tunic that exposed her long and sinewy limbs. Her pale white hair was held in a single intricate braid that ran down her back.

Pigeon, a former thief, assumed a combat stance. "She is armed, sir. Two hidden daggers at her waist."

Everyone stood up hastily and brought their arms up defensively. Sparrow remained seated, legs crossed.

"The wheel turns," he whispered.

Suddenly, the girl in rags bent over and burst into the room with incredible speed. She became a shadow whose deadly hands flourished two reflective knives in the dim light of the torches.

In an instant, Blue Jay and Dove lay dead on the floor, their necks opened cleanly.

Hawk made a wild grab at the shadow flitting around the room, but his arm was quickly severed at the elbow. He opened his mouth to scream but the bloody foam from a punctured lung was all that came out before he collapsed.

Pigeon and Cardinal surrounded Sparrow in a defensive formation. They recognized that Sparrow, the former wizard-turned-seer, was concentrating on a spell incantation.

It was their last hope.

The shadowy assassin materialized in front of Pigeon and stabbed toward his chest in a flash, but he was prepared.

"[Disarm]!"

As he reached for the blade the assailant collapsed onto her back foot, spinning and slashing immediately in the opposite direction around Pigeon. It was a feint, and her attack was aimed at Sparrow!

Pigeon redirected his skill, but not before the dagger pierced Sparrow's abdomen deeply.

He made contact with the girl's wrist, and she let go of the dagger on her own, causing Pigeon to slip slightly off balance.

This was enough. The other blade was driven up through his skull from below and savagely pulled back out before Cardinal could even react from the other side.

As Cardinal turned, the former cleric aimed his hands at the girl, and cast [Guiding Bolt]. The radiant light was blocked by the dagger, but it broke the blade cleanly in two.

The girl dropped the blade and flipped forward over Cardinal, landing behind him. As he turned to face her, a thick [Shadow Blade] of ethereal shadow pierced his chest, and he fell instantly.

Gwen, holding the Shadow Blade, stepped over Cardinal and Pigeon to stand in front of Sparrow, who still sat with eyes closed, enthralled in his own mind.

She readied her blade, and as she moved to strike the monk's head, his eyes opened.

"[Modify Memory]!"

○○○

Gwen blinked twice.

The air in this room was crisp and thin, as if she were breathing clouds. It also reeked of metallic blood.

She looked around and noticed the room was full of men in crimson-stained robes all lying on the floor.

While scanning the room, her eyes finally came to rest on a man seated in front of her. His hands were extended toward her, as if she were a fruit just out of reach. He had a knife in his gut that was bleeding horribly.

Gwen gagged as she looked at her own blood-soaked tunic. Several grisly red pools had also formed on the floor.

She screamed as loud as she could, "Please! Someone help this man! He's been stabbed, please, anyone!"

The man was silently smiling as he lifted a red hand up to her face and wiped her tears.

"Be the Spark, child."

He sputtered before his hands went weak.

A moment later, several monks rushed in from outside the chamber. One of them vomited immediately.

Two of them rushed to Sparrow and carried him from the room. The last monk approached the crying girl, wrapped her in a clean robe, and brought her to the sleeping quarters.

She had already passed out by then.