Introduction

Amethyst watched from the sides, her balance wavering when her sister came into view. She steadied herself against the tree as best she could, raw emotion pouring out as if it were the first time she'd seen her in years.

Sena, oblivious to the girl behind the tree, continued to battle a young man with wooden swords. The firm thuds of them viciously whacking against each other were dull, and did not ring out in the night. Sena had a bright gleam in her eyes, vivacious and unyielding to the other's skill. Amethyst smiled to herself, remembering how she used to be at that age.

Sena was very much like her sister, tenacious and lively, often seeking out trouble. In Amethyst's younger years, she'd been forbidden to practice swordsmanship due to her feeble body and illness. But she would watch the men of the court train during the day, and sneak off to practice their moves at night. Amethyst thought, if our father could see her, sneaking out to meet with a boy at night! Not even to sneak a kiss, but to train!

She nearly laughed, but suppressed the urge. She snuck a few more glances before she was satisfied, seeing that her sister was doing well.

Amethyst made her journey back to the Third after a few brief moments. Even a miniscule second of her sister's face was worth the long trek.

She kept her hood up as she retracted from the palace, drawing a symbol on her palm while she walked. Energy pulled into her hand, lighting up a vibrant violet glow of the once invisible sigil. As if blowing apart the wisps of a wishing flower, Amethyst blew across her palm, the electric energy pouring off into what looked like a wall.

A transportation spell like this consumed a large amount of spiritual energy, but she had no shortage of it. Even after the long journey there, it still buzzed and fell off of her like a glowing white aura. Only other casters could see, but it was like a field of lightning. She'd originally planned on walking back, but with so much power, she had to get rid of some of it.

She immediately felt relief as a large portion of the energy created a gateway for her to cross. She shuddered as she walked through, and again when the wall of power closed behind her.

Amethyst sighed a breath of relief, glad to see her sister well, and glad to be back in her own home.

When she looked around, however, this place wasn't her little shack at all!

She'd miscalculated the distance again. She'd never been very good at calculating such a thing, but was still surprised to have been so far off. She was on a rocky cliff, overhanging the sparkling, midnight blue waters of the Nara Sea. She was taken aback, realizing her mistake. But after the saltwater mist fanned her face, she smiled.

The warm, summer night coupled with the light sea breeze was something she seldom enjoyed these days. She stayed for a few moments, now more relaxed having released some of the nearly-bursting energy.

She stared out into the deep water, illuminated by only the light of the moon and the few, dim stars. Her smile faltered a bit at an unpleasant memory, but she replaced it with thoughts of her childhood. She and Sena had spent many summers on the opposite shore, playing in waters just like these.

Just then, a glimmer of something silver caught her eye. She glanced down below the cliff, silently taking a few steps forward. A glint of silver from an unsheathed sword had caught the moonlight just right.

Curiously, Amethyst got up right to the edge of the cliff. From this position, she saw a small strip of sand lining the shore beneath the cliff. On this sandy beach knelt a figure by the water. They silently washed their weapon.

Amethyst cringed and thought hard whether or not to say something. After a moment of deliberation, she called out from overhead.

"You shouldn't wash your blade in salt water unless you wish for it to rust!"

The figure turned slowly, as if not at all alarmed that they had been discovered.

The figure, dressed in long black robes and with equally dark hair pinned up with a hair stick, turned to look up at Amethyst. But no features were distinguishable behind the horned mask on their face.

Anyone who had seen the mask would have been shaken a bit. It was black, as to fit in with the rest of the figures ensemble, and had what appeared to be a full set of pointed, yellowed teeth across the mouth. Atop the mask sat two bone horns, equally yellowed and chilling, sharpened finely like the teeth.

Amethyst, while a bit surprised, was not afraid. Living in the Third, sights such as these were common. It was something she'd grown used to, as the demons she had faced had faves far more daunting than a well-crafted mask.

The figure only looked for a minute, not advancing to her nor responding. They sheathed the sword and hung it back on their side, bowing politely.

Amethyst bowed back, but upon raising her body upright, the figure had disappeared.

She stared at the empty spot in which they had stood for a moment, smiling with curiosity written into her features. She raised her brow as she saw residual spiritual energy shift with the sand.

A caster? She wondered.

But after a minute or two, she turned on her heel and made her way back home. While she questioned the appearance of the residual energy, that seemed to be of the ghostly variety, it wasn't all that unusual in this area of the world. So, in returning to her humble little shack, she pushed the thought aside.

Waiting for her outside was Rei Li, his back propped against the wall beside the door. He immediately perked up upon seeing her, rushing to greet her.

"Amethyst, did you hear the news? Why are you going out at a time like this! Do you plan to die and leave me alone? What can I do by myself!"

She rolled her eyes, patting his head of curls without pausing her steps. The two approached the door.

"Reirei, you can't expect me to cower in fear each time a hunt is led." She smiled as they entered the shack, but panic was still in the air.

Rei tilted his brows in annoyance, lips pursed like a child.

"I'm not asking you to cower and hide, but to make a journey to the Imperial City? It truly seems you are plotting your own death!"

Amethyst ignored him, closing the door behind them. She pulled out a chair for Rei to sit in before pulling out the kettle.

Rei crossed his arms, reluctantly sitting at the table.

"How can you be sure you won't be caught one of these days? They'd kill you, you know." His words were more solemn than before.

Still, Amethyst grabbed a brush from the table, drawing a sigil on the kettle. The brush disintegrated at once, the kettle heating.

She then prepared two cups and tea leaves, only saying,

"It's more complicated than that."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I think you can't fight back. But you're always wasting your energy on useless things, even now! What if you get caught and you've used all your power on heating kettles?"

Amethyst laughed in response, setting out the tea cups. She had used a transportation spell, and heated the kettle, and still was rippling with extra energy. Running out of spiritual power was not something she'd faced in a long time, and wasn't something she feared in the least.

Fighting against imperial officers, other casters, that was a bit daunting. But she was confident, if not a bit arrogant, in her strength and skill. In six years, a raid nor a hunt had scared her. Nowadays, she barely even bothered to hide her face.

She finished preparing and sat down opposite of Rei. He drank a few sips from the cup in front of him, simmering down a bit. Amethyst followed his lead, drinking a bit slower.

"So why did you come to see me? Surely you weren't just worried." She teased.

Rei shook his head, swallowing and looking up again.

"I have some news you might find interesting, but only if you promise to wait until the hunts are over! Then, I'll tell you."

"Two more days, I'm sure I can wait to act. Go on, spit it out." She urged.

He swallowed another sip of tea. It was a bit funny how proper he looked, sitting with a straight back, both hands gentle but firm on the cup. His personality didn't reflect his appearance at all.

"There's been talk of a cursed weapon in Togu. They say it's been passed around by a few merchants. One cut his hand shipping it out and two days later, he died from spiritual defiance."

"The Violet Hand of Death?" Amethyst asked. She was quickly on high alert, rather intrigued by the idea of getting her hands on it. They'd discussed this before, but never had she thought it'd be possible to obtain.

"Could be, could not be. Probably worth checking out."