4 Prologue: Admonishment

The sinister figures chasing after the fairy-like girl appeared like enemies who held the ability to suppress the men without lifting any of their fingers.

Although their hands had immediately gone to the hilt of the sword at each of their waists, the earlier drive to protect the young girl had been shaken. None of them were sure their abilities were able to protect the child in need of saving.

Glancing again at the little girl's slight figure as she ran towards them with all of her ability, the men felt their resolve become reinforced once more. If they didn't help soon then the innocent child would be overtaken by her pursuers--and none of them wished to abandon her to what might happen if she were captured.

Their hearts aching with anxiety at the rapidly closing distance between the suspicious figures and the little girl, the men jumped into action. Rising up to her defense, three of them immediately drew their swords and ran towards the girl, making it so she was positioned safely behind them.

The fourth and most threatening man in the group approached the girl and acted like her personal bodyguard, hiding her slight frame directly behind his sturdy body.

When she was finally protected by the strangers she found loitering around the courtyard, the girl turned to look back at what was happening behind her. Ignoring her labored breathing and pounding head, the little girl watched as her savior met with the three men that had bravely placed themselves in her first line of defense.

As the man nearest to the cloaked figure raised his sword in a visible effort to attack, the little girl shouted, "No!"

Either not heeding her call or not hearing her yell, the man skillfully hacked at the figure before him. Thankfully the person inside the cowl had expected as much, as they quickly changed their stance and caught the blow delivered by the man with both of his blades.

Another, more sturdy looking man in the line rushed forward and met the man with the demonic mask head-on, receiving a strike which he blocked before they began their own duel. Their strengths were evenly matched and their fighting styles were more brutish than the carefully honed skills and agility the person in the cloak practiced.

Her heart rising in her chest, the little girl moved forward from her hiding place, panicking on her savior's behalf. Dreading another ill-feeling serving as a premonition, the girl looked between the man who had been hiding her behind his frame and the duels before her.

While the little girl was getting more and more frightened by what might happen, the man in between the two fights had chosen between his two options of attack. Turning to where the person who had saved her was evading each attack his opponent attempted, he quickly found an opportunity.

Letting out a mighty war cry, the final man began moving forward to stab at the person in the light absorbing cloak.

Tugging at the sleeve of the man acting as her meat shield, the little girl barely managed to gasp, "H-He's the one who was trying--to help me!"

With her desperate eyes looking at the man she was talking to, the little girl winced in pain from looking so far above her. The acuteness of the discomfort in her head could only be a bad sign for the little girl, but she fought through it to look up at the man before her as tears began to fill her eyes. She had successfully found people to help her but in return had brought more trouble to her savior than they had faced earlier.

The gruff looking man looked down at the girl and attempted a smile. Looking at the blood freely flowing down her face in direct contrast with her light skin, he gently placed his hand close to the source of the dark liquid. Then he quickly manipulated the energy around him so it began soothing the pain and worry the child was experiencing.

Then the man began speaking to her, saying, "I know, don't worry. My subordinates might be dull but I recognized him immediately. It'll take a few moments of fighting for them to come to their senses and understand who was the true problem before them. For now, we'd better look at your head."

The calming effect of the man's confidence eased the girl's panic.

Against her will, the little girl's eyes filled with tears that almost immediately began to overflow down her cheeks. As she sniffed and tried to push back the pain and fear she had been forced to overcome she grabbed on to the large man before her, finding security in his gruff appearance. Looked down blindly to wipe away her tears, the girl revealed as little of her insecurity as possible.

The sight of blood coming off onto her hand along with her tears brought a strange ache into the gruff man's heart. Quickly pausing his first aid, the man looked for a place to move her that was more convenient for healing where the girl might find it easier to calm down.

Glancing around quickly he spotted a partially hidden area against the wall of the nearby tavern that had boxes and barrels that would be easy to sit on. Offering her a hand to guide her to a nearby barrel, the little girl accepted the gruff man's kindness.

Walking slowly under his guiding eye, she soon arrived beside one of the barrels the man had seen. Making sure to ask for permission first, the gruff man picked her up to place her comfortably onto the wooden barrel.

Once she was seated, the child let go of the last of her faux strength and immediately began sobbing.

Resuming with the soothing of her wounds, the large man before her felt his heart pang with empathy for the little girl. He couldn't imagine what she had experienced this night. Knowing that her age was too young to have a hardened heart against such circumstances, the man only hoped that she had a safe place where she could spend the time required to begin healing her emotional distress.

Slowly calming down from the treatment, the little girl's sniffles lessened as she rubbed at her face. Looking up at the man before her, she attempted a watery smile.

Then she asked, "Who are you?" with a slight giggle.

Smiling kindly and more naturally toward the child, the man replied, "You can call me Niklas."

Feeling more and more relaxed by the gentleness shown by the man before her, the little girl slowly began to trust Niklas. His confidence and impressive build despite the white in his hair made him seem more likable to her as well. She was about to reply with her name when her entire body tensed.

"Get back!"

Yelping her warning, the little girl shoved Niklas' chest so suddenly that he staggered a few steps back. The long needle that flew between them narrowly missed hitting the man that had been trying to help the girl.

Both of them watched as it pierced the stones where Niklas had been standing. Shuddering at the power and absolute stealth behind the thrown object, Niklas immediately began drawing in energy from as far as his abilities could reach while he searched for the person who had targeted him.

Feeling the surge of power in the air, the little girl's eyes turned sharp as she looked above her to try and see where the dart was thrown from.

Suddenly jumping from the roof of the tavern, a man wearing the garb of a hidden guard appeared before the little girl and Niklas. Landing in front of the child while facing the man that had been helping her, the mysterious person made no further actions as he faced off with the bulkier man.

Niklas felt a rush of anxiety fill his chest when his attacker came between him and the helpless girl. Taking in a deep breath to relax his muscles and prepare himself for the coming fight, Niklas assumed a defensive stance. Waiting for his opponent to make the first move, he also continued his constant drawing in of energy to continue close to a bursting point.

Niklas was instead thrown off-guard by the little girl's next actions.

"Master!" she suddenly cried out, jumping unsteadily down from where she was sitting on top of the barrel.

Appearing by the mysterious man with an enthusiasm that was rarely seen in her, the child began beaming when she reached his side. Immediately tugging at his unique clothing, the girl gained his attention quickly.

"Master, this man is very nice, so don't bully him!" the girl gushed, "He spent his energy making my head not hurt and is with the other people helping me."

The dark eyes on the wizened face of her master carefully analyzed the child looking up at him. Once he assured himself of her safety, the girl's master relaxed his attacking stance.

Turning to Niklas, the man spoke without removing his mask in a surprisingly smooth tone of voice, "my sincere thanks to the sir who helped this one's disciple escape danger. Although she is quite troublesome, aiding her in this time of need will not be overlooked."

Bowing to Niklas for several seconds, the mysterious man showed his gratitude fully.

Sizing up the man before him, Niklas considered his words before he abandoned his defensive stance and let out a large breath. The little girl felt her hair move as the energy levels in the air around her suddenly increased as he released his stored energy.

Before long the energy dissipated as if nothing had happened

"I have no use of your thanks," Niklas replied calmly, "I am naturally inclined to help those unable to help themselves."

Rising from his show of sincerity, the girl's master replied, "a quality both admirable and obstructive, I am sure."

Embarrassedly shifting his gaze, Niklas performed a short bow to hide his reddened cheeks before reintroducing himself, "I am Niklas Brekhus, leader of the Contaafriet mercenary group."

"My original name is Hakon Lystad," the girl's master replied, "though I have many aliases. My background is too vast to speak of so simply, but the most relevant fact is that I am this brat's master for the time being."

Pouting at the man whose clothing she was still clutching onto, the little girl quickly turned a toothy grin to Niklas, "and I am Iselin!"

Nodding to the two people before him, Niklas smiled. He was relieved that Iselin had interrupted the fight between himself and Hakon, otherwise Niklas might have irreversibly damaged his relations between the two before him. Despite how much younger Hakon was than he, a bad impression would only be the seed for a rocky relationship. Furthermore, Niklas was unsure of his abilities in winning against Iselin's master in a fight . . .

Hakon turned towards the young Iselin who still hadn't let go of his clothing. Sighing at her dirty appearance, the master swiftly picked up the little lady and held her at arm's length.

"I look away from you for one hour and you end up like this? There's no need for such a useless disciple. Come, let us clean you up before I knock some sense into that thick skull of yours."

Setting the small girl on the barrel she had been sitting on previously, Hakon began treating her head wound. Prodding at the lump on her head, the little girl cried out in pain and tried to push away Hakon's hands.

"No!" Iselin yelled, a grumpy look on her face, "I want Niklas to do it! He's much nicer."

Hakon's eyes narrowed at the little girl. His hands were like lightning when he grabbed her chin and pinched her nose out of annoyance before he turned to where Niklas stood watching their actions.

"You heard the girl, come on over and treat her before she gets even more spoiled," Hakon grumbled, turning to watch the five men who were still fighting in the courtyard.

Iselin grinned at Niklas as he approached her and fully accepted his presence as he began manipulating his internal energy to mend her physical injuries.

Quickly bored from analyzing Nikals' unchanging face, Iselin began looking around for something to play with while she was waiting for Nikas to finish his job. Immediately attracted to a cloudy stone hanging from his neck, Iselin reached forward and touched the intricate jewelry.

As she admired the way the silver wound around the stone and connected to the chain that hung around Niklas' neck, the man himself watched with curiosity as the child played.

All others who had touched the stone before had been repelled by the aura surrounding it, but he could tell for some reason the child was unaffected or accepted as a friendly presence by the necklace. Casting the puzzling reality aside, Niklas refocused on healing Iselin's wound. He would ponder the implications of such a coincidence later.

Meanwhile, Hakon was critiquing the five men that were fighting for no cause in the courtyard.

Crossing his arms, he first considered the brutes that were swinging their swords at each other without a strategy. He frowned at their terrible fighting and scoffed at the festival mask one was wearing to hide his face--it was too obvious a disguise, especially as the man had chosen a demon mask instead of something more conspicuous.

Ignoring them once he came to the conclusion that their fight would end whenever they had exhausted their reserves of strength, Hakon glanced toward the other battle that was happening.

Two of the men were working together to suppress a person in a dark cloak. They were glaringly mediocre at sword fighting, but their teamwork was almost perfect and nearly impenetrable for a single person to break through.

As for the one who was cloaked, Hakon was quickly impressed by their usage of two different blades. Although they would be infinitely more skilled in the future when they fully matured and became more familiar with their weapons, they were already frightening enough in their ability to dodge and find opportunities to throw off their opponents.

Watching calmly as the fights continued, Iselin's master was quickly bored with the people he could bring down in a second if they faced him head to head.

Turning back to see Iselin messing with Niklas' necklace, Hakon sighed at the ease in which the girl had taken a liking to the older man. He had been trying to instill a sense of danger and suspicion into the child that should have been second nature to Iselin given her upbringing, but she often and easily forgot his lessons whenever she was wandering the streets on her own.

Shaking his head at the girl whose starved emotions often led her to trouble, Hakon impatiently called, "Iselin! Which one was the one who hurt you?"

Looking up from the stone she was spinning around, Iselin's wide eyes took a while to comprehend what her master had asked. Then her little mouth opened cutely with her realization and she answered from where she sat on the barrel.

"It was the man in the mask that grabbed me!"

The instant the final word had left her mouth, Hakon was already in motion.