Time Tells

"The origin and creator of the Mantra Blades were, and continue to be, unknown. However, what is certain is that the Blades were created in a forge, long since abandoned, and widely forgotten. Though a select few knew the location of the forge, it remained unknown that a scripture was inscribed within its walls. The scripture spoke thus "Ye who collecteth all of the Mantra Blades shall have their wish fulfilled"

- Historian, Megan Haruth, 1478

******

Many had heard tell not long before of nobles visiting from Haflastus down there in Sitaarnujum. Nobody knew why they'd come to visit such a desolate place, a desert with none but golden dunes to greet them-- they were here nonetheless. The most significant thing to note is the fact that they were a notorious family up in the north of Haflastus, a family known for their feats in battle - The Cirillo Family.

There was a celebration among the denizens of Sitaarnujum's capital, the many nobles dragged along with the Cirillo Family in an attempt to curry favor-- special guests of the Alqayid.

It could be said that all the family members of the Cirillo family are adept at combat which one could've surmised from what was said before, but most would fail to assume for the most part that such a fact would apply to its children as well. The leader, Duke, of the family, the steadfast Gregorio Tavros Cirillo. A known wielder of a Mantra Blade, one who had gained power within the hierarchy of Haflastus through his feats on the battlefield, wielding the Mantra Blade, Gae Bolg. Many a soldier remembered the vague visage of him sitting atop a mighty stead, much larger than the horses which surrounded them, soldiers also sat atop, staring in admiration. Enemies across the battlefield engrained in their minds that image, a man holding a spear larger than himself, his glare sending shivers down the spines of both friend and foe. He was enraged during this battle-- his daughter, Kleio, went missing not long before this battle and his grip was significantly stronger than normal, itching to shed blood.

After the battle, many years later, they had found her again, or rather, she found them. Kleio had returned to them, but the abuse she had suffered while she was gone, her time with assassins and brigands alike left the mother enraged. Wife of Gregorio, Mother of four children, Kassandra Choreftria Cirillo, another formidable figure in the Cirillo family went on a warpath against the criminal underground of Maroon which is the capital of the northeastern sector of Haflastus, known to be one of the only people capable of facing Gregorio, who was her husband-- not even his Brother, Gramacio, could stand up to the overwhelming power of Gregorio.

Gramacio was not here today though, instead, it was only him and many a detractor waiting to take advantage of the Cirillo name which had followed them from Maroon.

As mentioned earlier, the children as well were formidable opponents in battle, the oldest taking part in a war not too long before Kleio's return, killing many in battle with his capable abilities, being both rooted in System and General Martial Arts ability: Golair Bolsanaro Cirillo, being 20 years old, the second child being 17, participating in gladiatorial battles within Salvantis behind the backs of his parents, and then Kleio Kynigos Cirillo herself, who was practically raised by assassins since the age of 5, now 13.

The bustling streets were riddled with Kalpit, Alzalam, and Sitaar alike, the sparse sightings of stray nobles and foreigners scattered amongst them. It was a blight to the eyes of the lone Sitaar man sitting on a bench in the middle of the city, turning his head and being met with the massive megastructure that is the Alqayid's Qalea, lights peering through the windows of that brutalist building-- another eyesore to the man, Alqatil, which is what people called him, seemingly waiting for something.

Another man, farther way, loitering at a higher elevation getting a better view of the Alqayid's Qalea, almost admiring the view, the building itself towering over the small ant-like buildings of Alnajm, the capital city of Sitaarnujum. He wore similar wares to Alqatil, Riah was his name, Half-Kalpit, Half-Sitaar. He didn't share the hard carapace of his fellow half, specifically his Kalpit side, only sharing the wings of his fellow man.

Riah leaned to the side, still resting both arms on a wall that blocked him from falling off the large piece of elevated ground which was inside the Alnajm's walls, "Hey!" Riah jumped, startled by the sudden yelling of a guard approaching him from behind. "What are you doing here!?"

"Ah~" Riah threw their hands up, turning toward the guard, "What's going on good sir?"

"What are you doing here!? This is Noble ground!"

Riah's eyes grew wide, "Oh~!? Really! I just thought this'd be a nice few of the Alqayid's Qalea good sir!"

"That doesn't excuse you stepping on Noble ground as a commoner such as yourself," The Guard paused sighing, "I'll escort you- are you from here?" The Guard groaned, "You look like you're from here!" The Guard's mood fluctuated quickly.

"No, no! I'm not from here!"

The Guard's head tilted to the side, "You look to be Sitaar!"

"W-Well, I am, but I'm not from here-- you've heard that some can be born outside the Star - I am one of them - the family moved out to the outer countries before I was born, see?" The guards tilted their heads again, and two other guards approached from behind them. "S-Sir?"

The Guard sighed, "I'll escort you then," They turned to their comrades, "They accidentally trespassed, we'll-"

One of the Guards looked Riah up and down.

"You…?" The Guard grimaced before meeting Riah with a bone-chilling grin, "Aye… why don't we have a bit of fun, it'd be the right punishment, yeah?"

Riah took a few steps back, furrowing his brow, hands in the air, startled by them bumping into the half-wall behind them. Riah clicked their tongue, glancing back at the wall.

The other Guards nodded, one speaking out, "That is a fitting punishment, yeah?"

Another Guard chuckled, "Normally it'd be a significantly bad punishment," They spoke towards Riah, "This one is much more fitting for such a beautiful lass, submerged by her ignorance, don't you believe so boys?" They nodded to each other.

"Man…"

They glanced at Riah with raised eyebrows.

"I am a man, not a woman."

They smirked at each other, "Fitting punishment nonetheless is it not?" The one Guard who spoke snapped back to reality, the top of one of their friend's heads missing as the other one was completely decapitated, sat on their knees, blood staining bright garbs. The Guard screamed, immediately attempting to reach for his weapons as he retreated, taking a defensive position before falling dead, as they fell, their head fell off their body, a cut so clean that not a single piece of jagged flesh could be seen.

Riah had used their wings to make themselves as fast as possible, completely overwhelming the men with their skill and weapon; a False Mantra Blade. A mimicry, a blade lacking the permanence of an Artifact or a Mantra Blade itself. Fragile, yet powerful.

Gregorio sat patiently in one of the many dining rooms within the Qalea, sipping on wine and reading a book, on guard. Gregorio's breath is audible, he's focused on his environment, yet still relaxed, licking his lips on the remaining drops of wine that might've stuck to his mustache.

Gregorio clicked his tongue rhythmically, furrowing his brow and wrinkling his nose, placing a large metal block onto the table creating a loud thud. The object had two blades at the end of it with a lever at the bottom, a small pole sitting in the middle of the blades, keeping them together, the blades themselves being intricately designed, a red lining etched into the metal along with various symbols. Gregorio tightened his jaw, scanning the room, grabbing the object, and quickly swinging it to the side, the compressed blade turning into a spear; the Gae Bolg. Gregorio spun around in his seat, the table he was sitting in front of before not blocking him anymore, facing the doorway to the dining room, wine in one hand. Gregorio clicked his tongue a couple more times, before throwing his cup at the wall, a figure clad in black jumping out of the way.

Gregorio grunted, quickly getting out of his seat, grabbing the bottom end of his Gae Bolg, and swinging it at the assassin.

The Assassin ducked, the swing missing them, what the Assassin didn't know though was that Gregorio quickly closed the distance, spear at his side, leg raised. The Assassin attempted to distance themselves by jumping back but before they could Gregorio stomped down onto their stomach, slamming them into the wall. The assailant vomited, Gregorio, planting a knife in their neck, killing them.

The Assassin's body fell to the ground with a light thud, Gregorio turning his attention toward the hall outside the dining room, slowly moving towards the open door, listening closely.

Gregorio cleared his throat, lightly swinging his spear, a thin red string surrounding him as he began entering the hallway, swinging to his right, the red string danced, lighting up the hall. The many Assassins attempting to hide their presence immediately began attempting to dodge the string, two Assassins being caught up in the attack, being cut into ribbons, blood shooting into the walls, and the other Assassins beginning to climb onto the walls. Gregorio took a few steps back, swinging his Gae Bolg upward, the string flying across the walls, an Assassin jumping through the gaps while the last two struggled to move away, one attempting to follow his in-tact compatriot, dying in the process along with another assassin. The string dissipated as the last assailant began to rush Gregorio, reeling one arm back and swinging.

Gregorio jumped back, expecting to dodge the attack, but was slashed regardless, a shallow wound cutting through his shirt and chest. Gregorio was shocked, his attention though immediately snapped back to the Assassin dashing past him, reeling their arm back again.

Gregorio grumbled, jumping away from the Assassin, and moving into a stance for the first time during this confrontation, "An Artifact?"

The Assassin slashed the air once more and Gregorio met his attack with a slice with his Gae Bolg, overpowering the Assassin and destroying their dagger, and sending them flying into a wall, knocking the wind out from the assailant. The Assassin began coughing violently, that being their last memory before getting their head lopped off from their shoulders and slapping onto the ground.

Gregorio growled, making his way down the hall over to where his family was, turning a corner and being met with a chaotic sight; corpses lining the walls, Knight and Assassin alike, two assailants being the remnants of the battle. They appeared to be stronger than the Assassins he had met previous, forcing Gregorio to bring his guard up.

It was a quiet night at first. Kleio was sleeping with her sister beside her in bed, the cold air outside seeping into the walls. Kleio groaned, eyes straining, a prickling feeling coming across her skin, looking to the door not too far from the foot of her bed, light peering through from lamps hanging outside. Kleio blinked, attempting to narrow her vision, focusing on the feeling that surrounded her, shadows suddenly passing by the door in a flash, no sound coming from whatever could've caused the blockage of light from within the hall outside. Kleio sat up, covering her sister, leaning to the side in an attempt to see better in the dark, which was already a significant amount.

Kleio pressed her lips together, slowly shifting across her bed, hopping off, the slapping of her feet hitting the cold limestone below, quickly making her way onto carpeting, almost hopping to it due to the sudden shock of the cold ground below. Kleio gasped, pausing for a moment, staring at the stone ground that she had just stood upon, looking back to the door.

Kleio approached the door, lowering herself to the ground, attempting to look under before seeing a shadow move close, blocking the light outside.

Kleio decided to retreat, quietly stepping back over to her bed. She grabbed the nod of her drawer, slowly opening it, making sure to make as little noise as possible until opened enough that she could spot her knife within. Kleio let out a long and quiet breath before inhaling again, keeping it long and as quiet as possible, grabbing the knife, and clutching it near her right breast. Kleio shuffled back to the bed, slowly entering it, this whole time the door to her room slowly opened inch by inch letting in more light from the outside.

Kleio fully laid herself down, hiding her knife hand beneath the cover, keeping her sister obscured, and closing her eyes. She focused on her ears, a stinging sensation setting in as the sound around her became louder, even the quiet steps of an Assassin becoming audible as they approached, creeping slowly across the room.

Kleio noticed a second noise, another Assassin following behind, loitering around the door, peering from behind them periodically, the only thing behind visible being the black silhouettes of their capes draped around their outfits. The main Assassin approached the bed, raising their knife into the air. The exact second they bring their knife down onto Kleio she quickly shifted her body, the knife going through the bed sheet that covered her, quickly using that to cover the knife and jumping onto the Assassin, stabbing them in the neck multiple times. The Assassin at the door quickly ran into the room, lunging at Kleio.

Kleio dodged the assailant's knife, dashing between their legs, stabbing them in the back of the leg in the process, the sharp pain causing the Assassin to spin around quickly, swinging their knife at Kleio, cutting her shoulder.

The Assassin took in a deep breath, jumping onto the ceiling and ambushing Kleio from behind causing her to jump back, a stabbing motion hitting her in the arm, digging deep, blood spilling out and drenching her sleeve. The Assassin brought reeled their arm back again repeatedly stabbing at Kleio who dodged most of their attacks. Out of irritation, the Assassin kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the floor. Kleio began coughing violently, the commotion waking up Kristina, lifting herself from the bed and rubbing her eyes, "Sister?"

"KRIS!"

Kleio screamed, the Assassin almost immediately lunging at Kristina causing her to scream, crawling quickly away and falling off the bed just before the Assassin could reach her a loud popping sound rang out, and the Assassin dropped dead on the ground causing Kristina to cower in a corner of the room. Golair entered the room, pistol in hand, letting out a long sigh, scratching the side of his head with a dull knife, drenched in blood.

"Brother!"

Kleio attempted to cross over to him but collapsed due to the loss of blood, Golair catching her. Kristina quickly ran over to both Golair and Kleio, Golair picking her up in the other hand, and bringing them both to the bed.

Golair placed them down, grabbing the blanket near him and tearing a piece over, wrapping it tightly around Kleio's arm, and tearing off another piece, tying it enough to cause a dense knot around her shoulder, the knot placed in her armpit.

"Squeeze here," He pointed, "Got it?" Kleio nodded, tightly pressing her arm against her body letting the knot in her armpit do the work. Golair looked to his youngest sister, Kristina, lightly pushing her towards Kleio. "You two stay close…" He sighed, "Just… Just stay here."

"What happened to Brother? Father? M-Mother?" Kleio asked.

Golair slowly turned toward Kleio and Kristina, "I… I don't know yet."

"Goma… what happened to Goma?"

"I don't… I don't know Kleio."

"You do… Brother…"

Golair's expression became sour, quickly gaining his composure, "I have to find Father." Golair crossed over to the door, turning back to his sisters, "Don't leave… okay…"

Kleio nodded, holding back tears, Kristina incessantly asking questions into her ear, attempting to hold back tears as well, much louder that her older sister. Golair left, Kleio looking to the ground, closing her eyes and swallowing her grief, holding Kristina close.

Golair returned to his room where the corpse of his younger brother was, shocked that his Father had arrived before him, Gregorio looking down at his son's lifeless body with a stern expression on his face, jaw tightened, hands shaking. Gregorio closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I acted too late… I shouldn't have done that."

"F-Father n-"

Gregorio looked Golair in the eyes, cutting him off instantly, "Golair…" Gregorio was met with silence for a few seconds.

"What is it, Father?"

"Where is your Mother?" Gregorio questioned, eyes shifting to his left, turning around to look at what he heard before turning back to Golair.

"I-I don't know I-"

Kassandra rounded the corner, her arm, and foot bandaged, the foot clearly in worse condition, the cut looking deeper, blood seeping into it deeply. "Greg, Son! Whe-" Kassandra stopped, quickly spinning around.

"Mother, stop!"

She halted, "What!? I want to see i-"

"They're fine! I already checked up on them!"

Kassandra's head whipped around frantically before locking eyes with her dead son's body, breathing becoming more frantic, tears welling up in her eyes. "W… W-Where is… Ezekiel?" Kassandra took in a deep breath, looking to the ceiling before running one hand through her hair, "I'll fuck…" She broke out into a screaming fit, slicing a wall beside her.

"Mother! Calm down!"

"Ezekiel…" Gregorio mumbled, "I'll go look for him."

"Kleio!" Golair yelled causing Gregorio and Kassandra to whip their heads around to look at what Golair was screaming at, Kristina was in tears running to the group, screaming for her mother as Kleio attempted to control her, failing, barely able to stand up straight, pale and covered with blood. "What are you, guy-!?"

Golair was cut off by an ear-piercing whistling coming from outside the Qalea, "Get down!" Gregorio scream, grabbing Golair by his arm, running to Kleio and Kristina, Kassandra attempting to cross over to them until all hell broke loose. From outside the complex multiple shells slammed against the Qalea, breaking through the walls, and rubble fell onto the city below causing immediate chaos. There were four rounds, the first two rounds hitting two sides of the middle floor which was the same floor that the Cirillo family resided in, and the next two rounds slamming against the topmost floor and the bottommost floor. Each round caused the limestone walls to melt, which contributed to the damaged city below, not cooling down until a few minutes later, where all that was left was debris and the hardened and black shells of whatever had shot the Qalea with whatever force that was used, to begin with.

Once the dust settled and the hearing of those inside had returned, more Assassins entered the building, surrounding everyone inside. Six Assassins in total enter the middle floor, three on one side and three on the other, jumping in almost as if they were floating.

"Bastards… The lot of you!" Gregorio growled - armor that wasn't there before now worn on his body-- an artifact that was attached to his neck that covers his body when activated. Gregorio spun his Gae Bolg, slamming the butt of it into the ground causing a red string to spread across the room. The armor on Gregorio's body is slightly melted, making it a struggle to move, but that doesn't stop him, making a wide stance and bringing his spear close to his hip, the string spread across the room being pulled toward him, tightly winding itself close to the tip of the spear, two of the Assassins believing this was a perfect opportunity for them to attack. Gregorio swung at one of the Assassins who retreated, another one ambushing him from behind with a shotel, reeling their arm back over their head causing it to glow, swinging at Gregorio who spun around in response to the presence he felt behind him, jumping towards the assailant that retreated before. The Assassin, the one now just behind Gregorio goes in for a stab, aiming for the gaps in his armor whilst the assailant in front of Gregorio has swung, a blue mass of energy, curved and sharp quickly barreling toward Gregorio.

Not even a few seconds before both attacks reached Gregorio he pulled himself into the air, defying gravity, hanging in the air from his Gae Bolg, upside down, using the size to vault over one of the Assassins, spinning his spear around and stabbing them in the ribs as they spun around to meet Gregorio face to face, the spear almost completely poking through the Assassin, his skin bulging on the other side, most of the Gae Bolg's blade getting stuck in their stomach.

The Assassin, equipped with a shotel began rushing to Gregorio in an attempt to help their comrade, along with the other four Assassins who began rushing him with spears.

Gregorio pulled his spear away from the impaled Assassin, pulling their intestines out with it, string-shredding pieces of flesh that could impede the sharpness of the Gae Bolg.

The Assassin raised his shotel into the air, glowing once more and swinging down on Gregorio with a mighty blow that was blocked, but powerful nonetheless, sending Gregorio backward into a group of two Assassins. "Stop this!" An Assassin held Kleio hostage with a knife, carrying Kristina in the other arm passed out. "If you continue this, I'll kill them both!" Gregorio's eyes grew wide, straightening his posture and tightening the grip on his spear.

"You'll kill them regardless, yeah?"

The Assassin paused for a moment, "Yeah," The moment they even attempted to slit Kleio's throat their arm came flying off, remnants of a red string left in its wake before getting their head cut off by Kassandra, grabbing Kristina and holding her in one arm just as the Assassin fell.

Kassandra took a deep breath, closing her eyes and focusing on the sounds around her before opening them again, the two other Assassins who entered from the other side of the Qalea were both dead, one cleaved in two, and the other assailant having their throat slit. Kassandra pushed Kristina onto Kleio, "Leave," She demanded, pointing in the opposite direction of the battle, "Kleio, you need to take your sister and leave."

"B-But…" Kleio glanced at her Mother's leg, completely mangled, with burn marks and melted skin. "You-You're hurt!"

"Kleio!" Kassandra silenced her daughter, "You need to go…"

Kleio shook her head, looking to her father who had dealt with one of the other two Assassins, the last one managed to cleave through a chunk of his armor. Gregorio took a deep breath, attempting to focus on the assailant in front of him, another ear-piercing whistling sound coming from outside interrupting this concentration. The Assassin attempted to take the opportunity to attack Gregorio, but instead was deflected just before running over to his daughter, and jumping on top of them, Kassandra saw a flash of light barreling in from outside, covering her daughters with Gregorio, hugging all of them, armor spreading across her body as well, just like her husband. The Assassin quickly absconded, jumping away from the resulting explosion, more melted debris falling onto the city, Guards and Citizens alike attempting to recoup as quickly as possible.

The room was filled to the brim with steam, the temperature at an absurd high, Gregorio practically melted into the ground, his wife dead, laying not too far away from them, half of her body missing. Gregorio began breathing heavily, looking around the room, noticing the corpse of his first son, Golair, something he appeared to have not noticed previously-- looking down at the two children he had protected, struggling to stay alive, drenched in sweat and dry blood. Gregorio slowly rose, armor fuzed into his skin, scraps, and debris falling from his torso. Pain and multiple thuds could be felt on his body, breathing became a struggle as blood filled his throat, spitting it up, looking to whoever hit him with shaky eyes. Multiple spears were slammed into his back, and multiple Assassins greeted his gaze. Gregorio fell back to the ground, keeping his back in the air in an attempt to not crush the only children he had left.

"We need to take his weapon." One of the Assassins spoke, Gregorio powerless to do anything, almost becoming completely still as his blood left his body. They pulled the Gae Bolg away from Gregorio, still gripping as hard as he could making it a struggle for the Assassin until one of them shouted, "Fuck it!" Cutting his arm off.

An Assassin grabbed the arm, prying the fingers off the Spear.

"Tyranis, you're here."

A man entered the destroyed floor they were in-- Kleio had woken up by now, peeking out through the gaps of her Father's arms, only capable of looking at the many feet scattered about, one being distinct - this was Tyranis - boots much louder and larger than the men who surrounded him.

"Ezekiel is coming, let's end this quickly." A deep gravely voice came from Tyranis who was handed the Gae Bolg. He sighed, looking at the pole of the spear, "He isn't dead." He commented, "Give me a spear," One of the Assassins hand him a normal spear, and Tyranis crossed over to Gregorio, "Goodbye…" Tyranis stabbed him one last time, right in the head, killing Gregorio. "Now…" Tyranis paused, looking at the Gae Bolg in his hand as it burns an insignia into his palm, "We're done here, let's move."

A sudden scream forced everyone to be alerted to another person's presence leading to the death of four Assassins-- Ezekiel had reached them.

"Let's leave here," Tyranis whispered.

"I wonder who you all are…?" Ezekiel spoke, holding the corpse of an Assassin, dragging them by the collar. Ezekiel lifted them close to his face, grabbing a symbol underneath their coat with his other hand. He waved the symbol around, "Not good carrying emblems like this around."

Tyranis cursed under his breath, slamming the butt of the Gae Bolg on the ground causing the string to surround him, "Let's get this over with…"

Ezekiel sighed, "Yes… let's do that," Ezekiel closed his eyes, "For those who have intruded on my domain, I shall eliminate thee, bringing the utmost terror upon thy being, fall under my grace…" Ezekiel pulled his Mantra Blade out from its sheathe, a thin blade with blue lining and engravings going up the back of the blade.

Tyranis raised the spear, throwing it at Ezekiel, a red beam of light following it as it shot at Ezekiel like a bullet, slamming against a wall and causing more rubble to spread, the attack missed through, Ezekiel holding the blade upside down, placing it back in its sheathe with a loose grip before quickly taking the blade out once more before returning it to the sheathe just as quickly.

In that second the Assassins nearest to Tyranis went on alert, one of them attempting to block the attack with a shield getting bisected in the process along with the amputation of many of their compatriots.

Tyranis jumped into the air to avoid the attack - recalling Gae Bolg to his hand. Tyranis, during his air time, looked to the ceiling quickly stabbing the Gae Bolg into it, hanging from it with one hand and looking down at Ezekiel who is preparing for another attack. Just as Ezekiel was gonna attack again, Tyranis pulled the spear out from the ceiling causing it to crumble onto people, landing on Gregorio's corpse and covering Kleio and Kristina, making it harder for her to understand what was happening outside the protection of her Father's corpse, but this didn't last long, Kleio passing out shortly after what Tyranis did.

As the ceiling fell Ezekiel sped up to an almost incomprehensible speed, jumping on pieces of rubble in an attempt to get closer to Tyranis who, from Ezekiel's perspective, looked to be going in slow motion as he ran down the hall, almost about to round a corner with two Assassins who managed to recover from becoming amputees. Ezekiel shot over to them, spinning as he landed back onto the ground, cutting one of the Assassins in half, the other assailant just in front of them became alert, taking a stance and reading their weapon, "Tyranis, GO!"

Tyranis nodded to them and just as he turned away, that Assassin was cut in half by Ezekiel, still rushing Tyranis down as he lowered himself to the ground, launching himself forward becoming significantly quicker.

Ezekiel went into a stance once more, lowering himself as much as possible, the butt of his sword practically touching the limestone below, the grip on his blade becoming stronger and stronger before clicking his tongue, swiping upward and clashing with another Assassin, specifically Riah, whose blade broke in contact against Ezekiel's Mantra Blade, sending them flying, collapsing on the ground. Riah peeled themself off the ground, looking at the hand wherein their now broken weapon used to be-- the hand was broken, mangled, blood spilling out from the broken flesh.

Ezekiel noticed another figure that had approached him, specifically Alqatil holding a False Mantra Blade, specifically a sword with golden etching. Ezekiel groaned, "This is… This is a travesty." He growled his words, unsheathing his blade and pointing it to the both of them, "If you wish to die, come at me!"

****

Someone situated on a stead looked out to an open field, the vague silhouette of an enemy camp could be seen from afar. This someone was known as the Crow, wearing a black helmet that looked to have a beak, a jacket placed underneath their chest plate and shoulder pieces, the hood of the coat having black featherings at the end of it along with two hanging sleeves just above their long leather gloves sharing the same black feathering as their hood.

"Is something wrong, Crow?" A General, specifically the one who had hired Crow for the battle, asked.

"Nothing, just contemplating."

"I see…" He moved up to the Crow on his horse, looking at the enemy camp from afar. "Hope you're worth it."

"You know what I'm capable of."

The General bit his lip, "I don't know you-- I'll reserve judgment for the battle." The General turned around on his horse, walking the other way.

The Crow looked back out to the open field, "Soon… Soon it'll be drenched in blood… all of that… green." They sighed, "General!"

The General stopped, turning to the Crow from afar, "What?"

"Do you fear?"

The General cocked his head to the side, furrowing his brow, "What?"

"Do you fear? Are you fearful of the outcome of this battle?"

The General kissed his teeth rhythmically, thinking, "I can't help it… they're… they're Salvantis."

"Don't let people see that, General."