Prologue

<p>Gaia, Amazon rainforest.<br/><br/>Ray flew across the wilderness, chasing the rogue through the forest. The beast knew there was no escaping the Silver Sentinel, and still it ran. As much as she enjoyed the feel of the wind on her face and the tingling mana coursing through her body as it converged to the faint magic array on her left shoulder, Ray knew she had to finish the job. An instant later the Jaguar was dead at her feet, an arrow having pierced through it's skull. Ray called for a cleanup team, enjoying the dissipating mana, as she laid the beast to rest, in accordance to ancient funeral rites. By the time the team made it's way to the specified location, the Sentinel was nowhere to be found, the only proof of her presence, the telltale traces of slowly disappearing silvery mana, floating around the dead beast.<br/><br/>At home, in the luxurious apartment she had turned into a cozy place, Ray showered - making sure to use her aromatic bath lotions.<br/><br/>Being a Sentinel was not exactly a choice when someone was born as powerful as her, and as much as her title might imply, she did not, in fact, hunt Rogues for the sake of hunting them. Rogue; a term used to describe those who have lost all reason, who leave in their wake rivers of blood and mountains of corpses, regardless of their species. <br/><br/>The Kah'Vox Clan was an ancient organization that handled all cases of Rogues. Eliminating or capturing Rogues was necessary for the safety of the world itself, the instances and consequences of a Rogue's continued existence littered history, and no one would want to see such events unfold again. However, while all might seem peaceful and serene, many species did not appreciate other species' presence on their territories, so the job of taking care of Rogues simply fell to the Sentinels, as their title guaranteed them access to nearly anywhere in the world. The clan was loyal to none but itself, and as such, those loyal to the clan were viewed as members of the clan and not of any specific species. One of the main positions in the clan was that of a Sentinel, the ranks of whom Ray joined the moment she awakened.<br/><br/>Ray mainly operated on Gaia, formerly known as Earth, since she had wished to stay closer to her birthplace. Her strength and power did not allow her to exclusively work on Gaia but she did spend most of her time there. That same strength and power were also the reason why she enjoyed hunting so much, since using either of them when she was not on duty could easily get her into trouble with the authorities; whenever she used her powers, should she let go of her unyielding control, the mana that she could channel would be so strong and potent, she could hurt a person without even being aware of it. Being a Sentinel was the only way she could freely use her power and not have to spend the rest of eternity wearing a mana seal.<br/><br/>Ray came out of her lengthy shower, dried herself and put on a light robe before making herself a sandwich and grabbing a carbonated drink, simply wanting to relax and bask in the afterglow of her mana usage. Taking a bite out of her sandwich, she switched on her wall display, or simply her TV, for some background noise. Then she switched her attention to her mail. A note from her squad leader popped up on the corner of her tablet. Someone had sent her a letter, a physical letter, in this day and age.<br/><br/>She made her way to her delivery port, a small teleportation device used to transfer small items that had cost her an arm and a leg. However, considering her irregular schedule, it was a pretty good investment. Sending small everyday items to and from her different dwellings around the world made traveling incredibly easy, and light. She gingerly lifted the blood red envelope off the small platform and slipped the letter out. On a thick card that was as large as her hand was single line of calligraphy. She choked on her bite of sandwich. And reread the handwritten words again...unfortunately, they did not change.<br/><br/>"I would be most pleased if you could attend my oath ceremony next week.<br/>-Ascending Overlord Xa"<br/><br/>"Hell", Ray muttered, still staring at the card.</p>