1. Skill Sets

With his thumb running over the edge of his obsidian dagger, Kalian leaned against a chilly stone wall. Before him was a Human male bound to the chair, his voice muffled by the gag but still screaming. The only indication of interest Kalian gave was a head tilt. His face remained expressionless. Ice Age. void.

"Do you want me to stop?" In a gravelly voice, he inquired. With tears streaming down his cheeks, the man gave a forceful nod. "Are you going to tell me what I wish to know?" The man gave another nod.

Kalian let his magic grow weaker. His hands lost the faint blue glow surrounding them, and the icy spirals in his wings shimmered. Straightening up, he tore the gag out of the man's mouth. Kalian flicked the tip of the dagger at his chin and motioned for him to continue.

"The village you mentioned is something I've never heard of," the man muttered.

Kalian's eyes grew strained. "You're sticking with that story?" Magic writhed at his fingertips as he raised a hand.

"Wait, please!" The man gave a start at his ropes. "I'm only the captain. The information you seek is not with me. You need to locate an individual with a higher rank! Someone who possesses historical documents and reports."

Kalian questioned, "Who?"

"I...I'm not sure. A commander, or a general, or both."

"Who?" There was a snarl in his otherwise icy voice this time. "I need names."

"Helenander! Near Tower Dawn, there is a Commander by the name of Alexander. He may have some information."

"Might?" Kalian's fist closed tightly around his dagger's hilt. Would you send me pursuing this Commander in the unlikely event that he has information to share? Tell me, person. What prompted you to enlist in the Iron Blades?"

"To rid the world of cruel monsters like you!" In a courageous moment, the Captain spat. "You look great! Even though I haven't done anything wrong, you are tormenting me! The tales are real. Night Faeries are merely crafty devils who ought to perish."

"Moreover, Day Faeries are kind gods," Kalian muttered. "Do you believe that also?"

Not at all. They are also deserving of death. You guys all do!"

Kalian became more enraged, and the ice in his veins hardened. His wings flared, and he put a fist around the Captain's throat, making the Human look directly at him. "Was the death of my little girl justified? A youngster who had never hurt anyone before? My spouse did? "The woman who, following the Soleone War, worked herself to the bone tending to wounded Humans?"

"Everyone...you," the Human moaned. "You all...deserve...death."

Kalian felt a surge of magic and his senses were overcome by a familiar, eerie calm. After sheathing his dagger, he let the Human go. The man let out a gasp. With his hands placed on either side of the man's face, Kalian fixed his gaze on a spot on the wall. The man fell back in his ropes with a loud crack and a sharp twist.

Kalian took a step back, disregarding the man's uneven neck structure. His steps as he left the room sounded like a thunderclap coming through his pointed ears. After arriving at the main floor of the house, he went up to the first sink he saw.

Although the warm water didn't make Kalian feel any cleaner, he still managed to scrub blood off his face and hands. A tightness of guilt filled his chest, but he pushed it aside. Usually, he did. He looked up to see his reflection in the mirror. Kalian looked at his own face, questioning whether his wife would still recognize him. If only his daughter could still make him smile at the corners of his mouth when he was reduced to a frown.

He had not grown much older in the previous two years, physically speaking. Kalian had reached his twenties, having developed at a Human's pace, like all Faeries. Then his aging process had slowed, and he had become accustomed to his own kind's seemingly endless lifespan. Even at 205 years old, he still appeared to be in his mid-20s.

The hollow appearance in his denim eyes and the scars on his back and wings were the only things that had changed about him. When Kalian sprayed water on his face once more, he noticed that some blood clots were still visible on his tanned skin. Grasping the edge of the counter, he inhaled deeply. His damp black slate hair curled against his neck and hung just below his brow.

Kalian took a deep breath and shook his wings. Finally, he made himself let go. He peeped into the Captain's office across the hall. If he looked at it again, maybe he'd find something more substantial. Kalian started rummaging through cabinets and drawers, looking through each letter and map he found. Not much seemed to be able to assist him in his search.

On the other hand, the Captain might have had time to destroy his more significant documents if he had known he was coming. Kalian looked over at the hearthrug. He looked at the crackling flames, his limbs locked into place. All the papers that had been there were reduced to ash. He had no reason to approach any closer. Kalian wrenched his eyes away and took another look around the room.

A feather landed in his hand. Raising an eyebrow, Kalian stared at the letter he was holding between his fingers. The moment he saw the seal, he tore it open. Kalian ran his fingers through his hair and quickly glanced over the contents.

"Gabriel, of all times," he whispered. "You need me when I'm busy." With a sigh, he tucked the letter into a fold on his leather jacket and headed out of the house.

Spreading his wings, Kalian launched himself into the sky, allowing the warm air currents to take him beyond the Human's dwelling. Kalian closed his eyes and inhaled the crisp smells of rain and soil as the wind tousled his hair. Orphic was welcoming spring. His preferred season. It used to be, anyway.

Kalian soared above the rolling green meadows that made up the Night Faerie's domain. Just beyond his field of vision, across the shimmering Astrum River, lay the Day Faerie lands. Each of the two races of Faerie had a King and Queen of their own.

Though Kalian had only met the King and Queen of Day a few times, he was well acquainted with his own King. He had heard the stories, but he did not know his Queen as well. Kalian had seen them both at their coronation ceremony seven years prior, at the end of the Soleone War.

That war and the deeds of the former King and Queen of Day had led to the formation of the Ironblade group. Emeric and Ezlyn used magic to turn humans into vicious creatures known as Soleones after capturing them. They had ordered the animals and their people to move forward and destroy the Night Faeries.

If not for the three Human Governors who inspired their people to support the Night Faeries, his kind might have perished forever. Following the conclusion of the war and the deaths of Emeric and Ezlyn, animosity between Humans and Faeries began to decline. Though Kalian had foolishly believed that things would only get better, the arrival of the Iron Blades made his people targets.

Kalian had seen Scindoes—human-faerie hybrids—killed for no other reason than a Faerie's exceptional beauty. Witches were put to death because they dabbled in magic and their diluted blood from Faeries. Witches could be taken by the Ironblades at any time, as they were all descended from Faeries. It made no difference how long their blood ties had been. And whether they were young or old, pureblooded Faeries were killed for meat just like animals.

Kalian pushed away the memories that flickered before his eyes. He was going to speak with his King and Queen for the first time in seven years. His half-dreamed, half-conscious arrival was not necessary. Kalian shot another burst of speed, and Noctis's outline materialized on the horizon.

强◦☽◦强◦☽