The duo walked all through the night; the forest seemed to have no end. They had to walk past a tree with what seemed to be a gravestone for the first sign of civilization to appear. The hooded devil who went by the name LUMINA, seemed to show a bit of emotion at the sight of the gravestone even if just for a brief moment. This drew the attention of her weird, unusual acquaintance. 'I wonder who that belongs to' he thought, eyes fixed on her figure advancing through the darkness like it parted before her–and yet she seemed out of place within it all. The night passed and day broke as their journey to the city drew to an end.
The city of Athens, the capital of the Southern continent. Home of the most impenetrable fortress in all of Tenria. Unlike all of the other continents it refused to be ruled by the Empire which led a decade long war. Seeing as its colonization was impossible, the Empire insisted on forming an alliance that would give them free reign over their affairs in exchange for their army.
Housing a high population of citizens, with eighty percent of them being Awakened and the rest…Mundane. It has grown over the years. Athens had become a safe haven for Awakened that had a problem with aligning themselves with the Empire, increasing its might. The city was surrounded by an impregnable wall.
The rulers of the Southern continent were a council; made up of the King and an Elder representing each region.
The duo finally arrived at the massive gates of the city, there appeared to be a pair of guards that seemed to verify the identity of those attempting to enter the city. The guards looked to be middle-aged men dressed in red and black armor with a red moon engraved on its breastplate. The sight of their armor seemed to stir something inside the Devil as her aura grew sharper and colder leaving a cut on her cloak, this did not go unnoticed by the man by her side.
He shifted his gaze towards the gates and to the men that stood before it with stern looks on their faces. 'She probably has a problem with them, I should find another way–' his thoughts came to a halt as he noticed the Devil walking towards a patch of trees a little off the path. "Wait" she said as he attempted to stop her, she retreated behind the trees for a little over half an hour. A woman with pastel mint hair and sharp emerald green eyes emerged from behind the trees dressed in a simple looking purple long dress and a pair of sandals. She carried a big basket on her arm, she looked like a simple young lady.
'What in the actual hell!' The man thought; he tried to link the ruthless, cold Devil he had met a few days earlier, with the peppy soft looking lady before him. The 'Devil' approached him, her eyes cold and expressionless like always, but vaguely brighter. "What are you waiting for?" she said as she walked past him in the direction of the gates. "A devil in a dress?. Now I have seen everything" he muttered to himself as he trailed behind her with his hung low in confusion.
His eyes darted from side to side as they made their way onto the path leading up to the town, he seemed to be the center of attention as he watched both male and female passers-by stare and whisper amongst themselves. His pride began to grow once he realized the gazes were those of admiration–he raised his head up, dusted and straightened his clothes, and used his hands to comb his hair backwards. He picked up his pace as he noticed a pair of what he could only call Belles staring in his direction and giggling amongst themselves. He walked past the silent, straight-faced Devil before him, but something strange happened–he could barely feel any gazes falling on him and the two 'Belles' were staring past him…but there was nothing past him he thought. '...except…' he thought as he turned slowly, wishing and praying he was wrong. He could not have been right–SERVES YOU RIGHT–a magnificent sight stood before him. A petite young lady with short hair that blew ever so subtly in the wind, her purple dress seemed to absorb the light making it stand out despite their simple nature, as if that wasn't enough, her figure seemed to be illuminated by the sunlight highlighting slightly toned figure and beautiful eyes, pointed nose, small lips and are overall, astute expression–I'M SO SINGLE–. His heart skipped a beat or two as he laid eyes on this Divine Masterpiece. 'How can a goddamn assassin be so beautiful?' he thought as his shoulder fell–gravity doing its work. As though mocking him, the wind tousled Lumina's hair enhancing her already regal aura. "Oh come on" he yelled drawing the ire of the Devil's onlookers.
A few minutes later.
After an awkwardly long walk since, they finally made it to the gates. The two guards were instantly mesmerized by Lumina's–almost drooling–they almost forgot to do their job. Regaining their senses, their gazes shifted to the beautiful man that stood by her side. Their countenance turned serious as it dawned on them at exactly the same moment…'we don't stand a chance'. Lumina, noticing this, flashed them a small, soothing smile that only intensified their glares at the nobleman beside her. Their gazes were cold but they did not carry any cruel intent nor anger. Maybe a little jealousy, but who wouldn't be. He was moving with such beauty, and he was a beauty himself. 'Such unfairness by the world should be a crime, nobles seemed to always end up lucky' one of them seemed to think.
"Who are you…sir?" One of the guards asked, letting his eyes convey his envy, while carrying out his details. "He means, what family might the young lord be from?" the other asked cautioning his partner with a gaze after coming to the conclusion that he was noble. The dignified aura the young man exuded had raised his suspicion, and it was better to avoid angering such people. If he was indeed a noble, where was his escort? That was the question running through their minds.
The man looked at them confused at the mention of his 'noble family'. He traced their gaze to his dusty outfit noticing a tear on his side. It must have ripped at some point during his 'nature walk'. Despite the state of his shirt, he could not dispute that he seemed to resemble a noble. Especially with the way he carried himself, anyone would mistake him for a man of repute; that is until he opened his mouth to speak.
"Noble…Oh yes, I am a noble obviously. How else would you explain my dressing." He lied as he straightened himself up, intensifying the dignified aura he exuded. "I am not trying to question the young Lord's status…" the soldier who asked for his family name replied with his head bowed to show respect. "...we just have to inform the elders of every nobleman that visits the city, my Lord." the soldier that spoke rudely to him continued. "Oh…well…Ehm. I'm known as Kael Darven. Son of Lord Bourn of Calsi." He replied with the first thing that came to mind. His answer earned him a few odd looks from the guards. "Calsi? Isn't that on the other side of the continent" the rude soldier asked, confused by what could be so important that one would embark on such a journey. "It certainly his" Kael's tone drained of his enthusiasm as his blunder dawned on him. 'Why would a noble make such a journey on his own. Stupid, stupid' Kael scolded himself. He had failed to think this true. "The young lord was sent to deliver a message to the Elders as part of his training, but his carriage was attacked by a group of bandits. He managed to escape into the forest where I found him." Lumina cooked up a story at the drop of a hat, or had she known what she was going to say all along. 'Cunning and beautiful. Foxy…that's good' Kael's thoughts drifted off once he realized Lumina could handle the situation. He didn't completely zone out as he acted ever so slightly to convince the soldiers he had truly been attacked.
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"Your majesty. Elders. I come bearing terrible news. Lord Bourn of Calsi is no more." The messenger said kowtowing towards the king and the Elders. "What!" one of the Elders jumped to his feet; he was an aged man with a short grey beard, and barely any hair on his head. He was dressed in a sleeveless blue robe with gold accents. The absence of sleeves revealed a tattoo of a warhammer on his wrist. "When did this happen? Why am I just hearing of this no–" the Elder yelled at the kneeling messenger. His aura raging. "Elder Caldre" a soft voice coming from the throne interrupted. The voice was accompanied by an oppressive aura. "My condolences on your loss, but you are in front of your King and the Council. Get yourself together." the King said, retracting his aura. The King pinched his nose ridge, letting out a relieved sigh. "I know how much your son means to you. Due to your relationship with my father I will accompany you to Calsi for his funeral" The king continued standing up to leave. His gold cape ruffled as he straightened his figure. He was dressed in a stylish Gold and Violet robe and a pair of black boots fastened by ornate buckles. "My apologies, Your majesty. It would be an honour to my late son if you bless us with your presence." Elder Caldre replied, his head bowed, his fist clenched. The king stopped in his tracks causing the rest of the council already standing to turn his way. "Elder Brig, you will be joining us" he said before proceeding. "And can someone please take care of that." he pointed towards the middle of the room as he exited the room.
A second after the King exited the room, all eyes fell on the passed out messenger sprawled on the floor.
"Not again" a younger looking middle-aged man with long snow white hair said as he made his way towards the messenger. His sandals barely made any sound as he walked. He squatted beside the unconscious man checking his heartbeat whilst trying to avoid staining his white tunic. His eyes pulsed with a white gleam as a white and gold aura seeped out of him, enveloping the man. "Get away from him stupid–" a feminine voice said to the squatting elder. "we both know he's dead. Can't you at least restrain yourself. Read the goddamn room" she continued. The female, Elder Dill was the only female on this council filled with Old men. She herself seemed to be around the same age of the white-haired Elder–Yama–. She had long black hair covered by a black pointed hat. Her face barely visible behind her veil. Elder Yama paused as his aura began retreating towards his chest. His eyes returned to their normal black color. "Dill, sweetheart. Why do you hate me so much?" Yama said turning around to face the other elders. His face changed. It looked…younger. The middle-aged man was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a young adult man. Elder Dill's face froze as her eyes drifted ever so slowly to the older looking messenger lying behind him. "You monster" she yelled as her eyes shone a violent violet color. "What are you yelling for?. All I did was shave off a few years." He said covering his ears. A mocking smile adorning his lips. The sight of his smile made Elder Dill's skin crawl.
A violet mist-like aura rushed towards Yama from her open hands. His smile faltered for no less than a second, only to be replaced by a loud, eerie laugh as it failed to reach him. "Enough!" Elder Caldre said his hand around Dill's neck. Her eyes lost their glow as she struggled to breathe. "We all know how this bastard is. But you of all people have no right to correct him." He said lifting her. "Your mere presence sickens me. A Woman on the Council." he spat. "If I had a choice…you'd be stuck in a kitchen all your life." His voice echoed across the room. She could barely hear anything anymore. 'To think I would die at the hands of this misogynistic prick.' She thought as her eyes grew blurry, she saw the faces of all the other elders. They all looked away ignoring her. She couldn't blame either. After all Caldre was the strongest of them all, second only to the King. What could Scholium of her rank do against a quasi-sage rank Kyrexian. 'I wish I could at least rid the world of that bastard' she thought as she laid eyes on the laughing Demon that was Yama. His eyes seemed hungry, a chilling look that made her mind falter. 'And now I will have another meal for him' her mind grew quiet as her hands dropped to her side. "Get up" a voice resounded in her head as she felt the Oxygen filling her lungs. Her heart that had grown quiet a second ago now thumped like a drum. Her senses came back as she heard a familiar voice. "76.77.78.79.80" she opened her eyes to see a standing figure. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the stream of light reflecting onto them. 'How did I get here?' she thought as she looked around her room. From the table with scrolls littered atop it to the mountain of robes and dresses peaking out of her wardrobe. "You are a real mess." a voice said from her side. It seemed familiar yet different. A voice she detested with her very existence. She turned to see the familiar white hair of Elder Yama. "What…are you doing here?" She tried to get up. "Calm your horses," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. His hands felt too cold to be human. Her eyes returned to his hair, noticing its lack of luster. Something felt different. She tried to see his face but his hair poured to the side blocking her view. "You just came back from the dead, maybe don't start a fight with me" Yama's voice pulled her back to reality. His hands left her shoulders as he gave a weak chuckle. "Your body should be back to normal in a week or so. So just rest." He said as he made his way to the door. Dill could only watch him leave, the odd feeling she felt leaving with him. His foot hovered above the doorpost as he stopped. He spoke, his voice regaining a little bit of its eeriness. "You almost…I mean died trying to avenge that mundane messenger. It's funny because now a lot more will die to save you." The sound of his foot hitting the floor, sent Dill's mind into a spiral trying to figure out what he meant. Had she died? If so, why would others die to save her? 'His Caste's disability' she thought as everything fell into place.
He was a Scholium… a healer, but it came at the cost of his lifespan. Their Caste were sought out due to their ability but they were as rare as a Kyrexian was common. Due to their disability, they had to find a way of utilizing their power without dying in the process. That was how the most unorthodox of all techniques was formed. Life steal. It granted a Scholium the ability to drain a being of its own life. This was what Yama had done to the dead messenger.
He had used his ability to heal her, this meant he would need to restore the life force he had used. This was what he meant. If she had not lashed out over an already dead man. Who knows how many people would not be walking to their deaths right about now. A tear trickled down her face. "It's my fault"