Uther made it back to the southern wall with about an hour to spare. Being so late, he had to rush to restock and supply himself for the hunt ahead, but an extra bit of coin made even the shops about to close keep their doors open for a little while longer. Once done, Uther brought his borrowed horse back to the barracks and hurried down to the port. There, he found the ship he was supposed to join.

It was a Stormrider, a smaller ship than most of the naval ships the empire had, but as their name suggests, they handle rough weather with impressive ease. They were fractional rig sloops and very fast vessels. The ships required less crew which has allowed small strike teams of Skjoldheim warriors to take on would-be invaders, and get out before they could mount a serious counterattack. They were also incredibly swift and could make long journeys by sea much quicker than ships even three times their size.

Uther smiled as he saw the ship. His master, Ronnie, had taught him how to sail on a Stormrider, and the sloops were his favorite type of ship as a result. There was a freedom out on the open ocean that couldn’t be fully described.

Uther boarded the vessel, and found that he was not alone. Running about the ship and getting it ready to disembark, were three Skjoldheim marines, the naval soldiers of the nation. Sitting in the back were two other men, both of which wore the same grey cloak that Uther had. The Fettore there were two humans. They were middle-aged and in the mid-ranks among the warrior clan. The first was Lee, a bulky and muscular man with a bald had and a thick, red beard. The other was Nicholas, a clean shaven man with tightly gelled black hair, a serious expression and a pair of small round glasses on his nose.

Uther had worked with the pair before, back when he was just an apprentice. The duo were close friends and often took on group jobs. They always seemed to have each other’s backs. After a few minutes, the ship weighed anchor and set sail to the northwest.

“Well, the whelp has grown into a true Fettore.” Lee chordled goodnaturedly as Uther sat beside them.

Nicholas pushed up the bridge of his glasses, “Yes, it seems that miracles really can happen, no matter how undeserving.” He said the last bit under his breath, but the other two warriors heard him.

Uther sighed. Nicholas hadn’t really cared for him since Uther first met the man, and it was apparent that the spectacled Fettore hadn’t changed his mind. “Still a dick I see.” The doomed said, not hiding his disappointment. “I am just as dedicated as you to seeing Skjoldheim thrive and our patron’s power grow. I’ve devoted my life to doing so.”

“I do not doubt your conviction, boy. I never have.” The nasally man said before raising his chin up to look down on Uther, “It is your control that I find lacking.”

“Control?! You cannot be serious, Nicholas.” Lee said, shock clear on his face. “Young Uther here killed a patron, let me repeat, a patron when he was just a mere unbound apprentice. I can only think of a couple who have ever done something like that, and they’re in the halls of Elysium now.”

Nicholas raised a hand, “I know. I know, Lee. It is most impressive, but, even a blind goblin runt could accidentally stumble upon a gold coin. If you remember, last we worked with Uther here, he fought more like a beast than the creature we were hired to kill. Nearly killed a civilian. I’m skeptical that the same reckless fighter that couldn’t control himself we saw then acquired the finesse and precision to truly kill a patron.”

Uther winced at those words. Nicholas was right. He had nearly killed a civilian on accident. Seven years ago, while apprenticing under his master Ronnie, the pair had joined Nicholas and Lee on a hunt for a particularly murderous monster. It was a Hulder, a monster that had the appearance of a human woman in the front, but its backside was almost an entire sharp-toothed maw. Uther had recklessly charged in and attacked the monster impersonating a worker in a bathhouse.

Due to the nature of that attack, Uther had nearly gored one of the actual workers by accident. She was fortunately okay, but it was still a hard memory for the doomed.

“Well maybe Uther can clear the confusion once and for all, and tell us what really happened.” Lee said.

That made Uther wince even more. The complete story of what happened that he had killed a patron and gotten the nickname “Bane of the Sabertooth” or “Saberbane” for short, was not a comfortable one. The only ones who knew the whole story were him, the Jarl, and Gungnir itself. He sighed. Seeing as it was going to be at least a couple days’ journey by ship, he decided to give a vague explanation as to what happened. He didn’t want the details being spread about the city-state.

“Ronnie and I were tasked with protecting a small fishing town from a set of recent beast attacks. Turned out the beast, a black sabertooth tiger, was a patron. The reason it had been so successful at killing people despite them being in a walled city was that it had a pact-wielder amongst the civilians working as a double-agent. I had..unfortunately been tricked by this villager, and Ronnie saved me from the sabertooth’s attack. He took the attack that was meant for me…” Uther went silent for a bit. The sound of the wind and the water crashing against the boat the only noise that was present.

The two older Fettore said nothing, but just waited patiently for Uther to finish. They had both lost brother and sisters-in-arms. They would not push Uther to speak until he was ready.

After an unknown amount of time to Uther, he continued. “As you well know, my master was a legend. Just because he’d been dealt a mortal wound, didn’t mean the hunt was over. By the time I was able to rejoin the fight, Ronnie managed to kill the treacherous pact-wielder and inflict a serious wound to the patron beast. That’s how I was able to kill it.”

“There’s gotta be more to it than that.” Lee said.

“That’s all I’m going to say on it.” Uther replied.

The snide Nicholas adjusted his glasses once more. “I see then. You were a lucky opportunist.”

Lee punched his comrade in the shoulder in disapproval.

Nicholas rolled his eyes, “But..you’ve earned some trust in my book. Prove to me it’s not wasted on this job of ours.”

Uther didn’t say anything, he just looked out into the waves.

After two days’ travel in the Stormrider, made it to the Nilelands, the home of the Empire. Though most of the land was harsh, dry desert, the land to either side of the Nile River that runs along the middle of it along with its smaller tributaries, was a lush oasis. The coastal city that they were making port at, Thalassia, was not connected to the Nile however. Thus, it was dry and rocky as far as the eye could see.

The Stormrider was greeted by a small contingent of guards. All of them were equipped with the standard white armor and kopesh assigned to all imperial soldiers. Uther did notice that the man standing in front of his comrades had distinctly nicer versions of equipment compared to the others. He was obviously the one in charge.

Though the Empire and Skjoldheim were not enemies, Uther knew from enough of his interactions at their offices that they weren’t looked at fondly by most of those imperials either. Since the Nilelands Empire spanned much of the world, its citizenry was rather diverse. Here in the heart of their territory though, Humans, Lizardfolk, Doomed, and Seraphim made up the majority.

Humans truthfully were the predominant race throughout all of Eldryndr. They were prolific breeders and a number of races were once humans before the Great Cataclysm. Both the doomed and the seraphim were great examples. If Uther was honest, he didn’t really care for seraphim. Unlike the demonic heritage of the doomed, seraphim have ancestry connected a divine entity that is still detectable inside their blood. Most of them had wings, they almost always glowed with a warm light, and they were always beautiful, as if their features were chiseled from stone.

Due to those things, many were looked on with innate awe and trust, very different from the doomed. The seraphim were also innately powerful and were oftentimes the favored choice to a be a patron’s pact-wielder. Even the Emperor of the Nilelands was a power seraphim pact-wielder. Uther didn’t really care of what other people thought in general, but what bothered him was that so many seraphim acted like they were better. If they were humble or kind, fine, but much too often seraphim looked on other, especially doomed as if they were beneath them.

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Not shocking at all to Uther, the leader of the military greeting party was a winged seraphim. Standing just behind him on either side were a pair of lizardfolk soldiers, both of them looked like bipedal crocodiles and looked ready to draw their khopesh in an instant. Before the ship could fully dock, the seraphim spoke out to the foreigners. “Halt! State your purpose for being here, greycloaks.” He ordered.

Though Nicholas was technically the de facto leader of the party, both he and Uther were not the best with people in general. So, on their way across the open water, they elected to have Lee do all the talking as he was good at keeping everyone peaceful. “Hail soldier. We come in peace. We’re here for a job given to us by your empire directly.” Lee said, then tossed the small coin, enchanted to hold a piece of the Emperor’s unique mana signature.

The seraphim soldier caught it with deft ease and examined it. “Indeed.” His eyes then widened and looked like he was looking off in the distance, the telltale sign that some sort of system notification appeared in his vision. The seraphim’s mouth moved as he silently spoke what he read. His eyes quickly went wide, and he muttered “Shield Division,” loud enough for all on the boat to hear his words. After he closed his notification, the soldier’s demeanor changed. He went from defensive to downright insistent.

“My apologies. Please, dock your ship and we will take you to your clientele at once.” He turned to his troop. “Soldiers, help the port workers get this vessel secure at once.”

The humans and lizardfolk had a slight look of confusion on their faces at the command, but the quickly did as ordered. In rapid fashion, the sloop was tied up against the wooden dock. “Quickly, gather your things, and join me. We must depart at once.” The seraphim said to the three Fettore. Uther didn’t know what exactly was “Shield Division,” but it was enough to get the powerful soldier visibly on edge.

Excited to get started on another hunt, Uther quickly hopped off the Stormrider and was quickly followed by Nicholas then Lee. The soldier then began walking away without preamble after he silently gestured for the Fettore to follow. They did and gained a better understanding of Thalassia as they traversed through it. Like the city of Glintin in the Diamond Dynasty Uther had been in, it was a dry place but full of people and trade.

Unlike Glintin, the majority of buildings here were made of beautiful granite, tile, and marble. Many of them possessed clean white columns as well. Many merchants hawked their wares to them as they passed by. Uther had a bit of a melancholy smile as he saw a young boy helping his parents’ fruit stand, the similarity with his past striking deep. After twenty minutes of walking through the area, they eventually made it to the imperial office.

The seraphim just raised his chin as he escorted them in, and the soldiers keeping guard quickly moved out of the way. Uther, Lee, and Nicholas were led up a spiraling staircase, past another guard and too a thick door made of a black metal, voidsteel. Set in the door was what the Fettore presumed to be the symbol of this so-called “Shield Division.” It was made of white tile and in the shape of a rectangle, but it ended at a singular point on the top. Uther hadn’t ever seen much of voidsteel before, but it was famed for its magic-absorbing properties. Thus, it worked wonders to use it for protection. Its power worked against it in terms of enchantments however. Since it absorbed magic, no one had ever found a way to enhance the items. So, they often weren’t crafted into weapons.

The Fettore were led into the room to find another seraphim in it. The winged man was standing on the opposite side of the large open room working at a table against the wall and muttering incessantly to himself. On the table, were various glass beakers, tubes, vials filled with various liquids and materials. All of them were either boiling, burning, melting, and in one specific beaker, freezing. It was clear he was an alchemist of some kind.

“Er, hem,” the soldier that had escorted them, cleared his throat nervously.

“I’m working,” the alchemist said with obvious annoyance. He didn’t even look back to acknowledge them. “This better be good, or it’ll be your head

“Your majesty,” the soldier replied. “We have the Fettore here to help you with the task you’ve requested.

The alchemist’s neck snapped up. “Oh!” He said excitedly as he turned his head slightly to finally see who’d entered his lab. As he moved to fully engage the Fettore, he gave a casual wave of his right hand to the table. A dark aura emanated from his palm that instantly snuffed out all the flames and chemical reactions. As quick as it appeared, it was gone again. That darkness gave Uther a sense of unease when he saw it. It seemed an anathema to the subtle glow that all Seraphim possessed. Uther noticed that some of the materials inside the containers were actually gone completely, like they were never there.

He used Odin’s Eye on the alchemist.

Name: Seteshan Rezkhetep

Level: N/A

Race: Seraphim

Pact Status: Bonded – Ra

Profession: Alchemist Specializaion: N/A

Class: Noble Specialization: N/A

Languages: Common, N/A

Feats: Zealot

Pools & Resistances

N/A

Owing a portion of their heritage to literal divinity, Seraphim retain a fraction of their ancestor’s power even without forming a bond or pact. They always retain a slight glow to their bodies as they divine power cannot be fully contained by their mortal forms. With stronger than average bodies and possessing wings, they are difficult foes to combat. Still, they are not invincible, and their hollow bones are quite susceptible to blunt damage.

Uther had undergone rigorous training with his analyze skill while being trained as an apprentice. For hours he would practice using it and absorbing the information rather than manually reading it. After years of work, he had improved much. Uther wasn’t able to fully assimilate the information instantaneously, but he was pretty damn quick now. Where it would take him minutes, the doomed only needed seconds to fully absorb the information his analyze had given him.

Uther’s master had helped him to more fully focus on his targets to better glean info specifically too. As a hunter and being under the tutelage of a powerful warrior, Uther had focused on finding weaknesses with Analyze. After he formed a bond with Gungnir, his analyze had evolved into Odin’s Eye. That ability worked using the System to bring about the information he willed to have seen, thus the description about their hollow bones.

Still, to get so little information on the seraphim, Uther assumed he wore some kind of protective ward. Seeing the Alchemist profession did ease some of his concern though. It must’ve been some kind of profession-based skill that allowed him to suddenly stop all the chemical reactions on the table. When the alchemist turned to face them, the soldier immediately took a knee and bowed. “My prince, these are the forces Skjoldheim has sent at your behest.” He said.

The Alchemist, a prince apparently, raised an eyebrow. “Truly?” He smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes. Like all Seraphim, he looked to be sculpted from stone. There were some distinct features though. His skin was noticeably more tan than any other Uther had seen. He was also very unassuming. No noticeable muscle was present on his thin body, giving him a vibe he never had to put in much physical work. That made sense to Uther since he was a prince.

While his body was smaller than the soldier with them, his wings were garguantuan in comparison. Though they were tucked-in, they were just centimeters from touching the ground. Lastly, his eyes were of note. They were adorned in the distinct eye-liner that the imperials wore and his irises were two different colors, one purple and the other green.

“So, this is the “elite” squadron that Skjoldheim has sent?” He asked in clear condescension. “You look like dirty street urchins.”

Ever the diplomat, Lee answered, “Though our appearances may be humble, I assure you we are more than capable of the task your emperor has deemed too dangerous for you to deal with. Uh, your majesty.” He hastily added the last part, keeping a sarcastic smirk. He didn’t say anything offensive, not directly, but the implication was there.

“You dare speak of the emperor that way?!” The seraphim soldier yelled. “I’ll cut your head from your shoulders for such impudence.” He and the two crocodilian lizardfolk drew their khopeshes. Both Uther and Nicholas instantly summoned their spears.

“Enough, Khemir!” The prince shouted. “Sheathe your weapons.”

“But my prince-“

The purple and green eyes of the noble glared at the soldier. After a few more tense moments, he and his subordinates sheathed their weapons and stood back.

Setashan then turned back to Lee, a scowl clear on his face. He snalred, then licked his surprisingly sharp-looking teeth in annoyance. “Trust me greycloak, I would not have employed your services unless I had no other choice. He then leaned in close to Lee, he standing a good four inches taller than the mercenary. “Know this. If you fail or displease me, you and your puny nation of barbarians will face the wrath of the empire and of my division.”

Lee continued to stay calm under pressure. He hadn’t even summoned his spear like Nicholas and Uther had. “Trust me, your majesty. The faster we’re pointed to the target, the faster we’ll get out of this place. We barbarians pride ourselves on our strength. In fact, it’s one of our core tenants, and we’ve got a hunter here that’s made a name for himself by dealing with beasts. So rest assured, we’ll handle this problem creature you’ve got.”

The prince looked at Uther and sized him up. Uther estimated that he was about the same age as himself. The doomed Fettore felt something pass over him as the man gazed at him, instantly recognizing that the prince was using some form of analyze. “A hunter profession without a specialization?” He scoffed. “It appears that the famed ability of the Skjoldheim Fettore has declined among the generations.”

“My ability is more than enough.” Uther asserted.

The prince raised an eyebrow and gave a condescending grin, “For your sake, it better be.”