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Condemned To Death
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17th September, 1507
"Huff... Huff..."
Sounds of heavy breathing of a man and woman's intermingled gasps echoed through the still summer air. The noises emanated from the weathered shed nestled in the far corner of Elise's overgrown backyard. Accompanying the labored breaths were deep, rhythmic thuds that reverberated through the sun-baked earth, causing the meadow grass to vibrate.
Inside the shed, the air hung thick with the scent of sweat and old wood. Seren stood hunched over an enormous-looking contraption. His face was a mask of exhaustion, eyes squinting against the rivulets of sweat that streamed down his forehead. His forearm muscles bulged impressively as he spun a weathered wooden handle attached to a vertical wheel.
Across from him, Elise was slumped against the wall, her chest rising and falling as she fought to regain her breath. Sweat cascaded down her flushed face, tracing glistening paths along her neck before disappearing into the already damp fabric of her clothes. Her hair, once soft and silky, now clung to her skin in damp, unruly tendrils.
Seren cast a glance at Elise as he asked, "Huff... How did you... use this thing... by yourself before?" His voice, though strained, carried a note of genuine curiosity.
Elise, still panting heavily, took a moment to respond. "...I... didn't... use this giant grinder myself. Huff... I... just forced my brother Dylan to do it for me." A mischievous smile played across her lips, a stark contrast to her exhausted state.
"My condolences for your brother," Seren quipped, his arms burning as he maintained his grueling pace. Above the large bowl, two massive logs of wood hung ominously, rising and falling with each turn of the wheel. They crashed down into the bowl below, pulverizing the white crystals into an ever-finer powder.
"Shut up," Elise retorted, her tone a mixture of amusement and exasperation. With a groan, she pushed herself off the wall and staggered to the opposite side of the bowl. Grasping the second wheel, she began to spin it, her movements slower than Seren's but determined. Her muscles screamed in protest, but she gritted her teeth and pressed on, matching Seren's efforts as best she could.
Due to both Seren and Elise sweating so much, the whole shed was starting to feel hot and stuffy. The scorching sunlight coming through the window and the tens of candles lit around the shed didn’t make this heat any better.
Seren, feeling the room heating up to unbearable levels, looked towards Elise with a smug expression. "Hey, why's the ventilation here so bad? It feels like a desert in here," he teased, his voice strained but playful.
Elise felt a surge of irritation, her right eye twitching slightly as she responded with a mix of anger and sarcasm, "Oh, I'm sorry for the shitty ventilation in this barbaric world. I should have opened a portal back to Earth and called some engineers to come and install some modern ACs for your majesty's comfort."
Seren: “Hehe, would be nice if you did that for me”.
Elise: “Go to hell”.
Just as their banter was reaching its peak, the door of the shed swung open. Elise's mother stepped in, a welcome breeze following her as she carried a tray laden with food. The scent of home-cooked meals slowly filling the air.
"Kids, I brought some food for you guys," she called out, her voice a soothing balm to their tired ears.
Both Seren and Elise stopped the grinding process and quickly went over to Elise’s mom.
When Elise approached her mother, her eyes locked onto the glass of cold juice. Without a word, she snatched it up and tilted her head back, gulping down the refreshing liquid.
"Slow down, it's not going anywhere," Seren commented on the side. He thanked her mom again for the food before taking a glass of juice and taking small sips of it while taking little bites out of the cookies that were on the tray.
Elise lowered her now-empty glass, gasping for air. Her eyes, bright with renewed energy, fixed on Seren. "...My soul would have already disintegrated from this absurd heat by the time I'm done drinking this at your pace," she quipped, her voice raspy but playful.
Elise's mother watched the exchange with a quiet joy. She'd always worried about her daughter's quietness around peers, but here was Elise, bantering freely with Seren. It was a side of her daughter she rarely saw outside the family, and it warmed her heart.
...
"Clean up the bodies and wipe all our traces. Leave some clues on the Silverthorn family," Kaelen commanded, his voice cold and detached.
Standing atop a spire connected to a medieval-style mansion, Kaelen surveyed the gruesome scene below in the courtyard. The once pristine grounds were now a web of death, with bodies scattered across the mansion and training grounds like discarded dolls. The metallic scent of blood wafted up on the afternoon breeze.
Beside him, a man with short black hair and simple attire stood silently. His eyes followed the movements of men in dark blue clothing as they methodically dragged corpses across the ground, leaving crimson trails in their wake. The victims ranged from young children to the elderly, their lifeless eyes staring accusingly at the sky. Most of their throats were slit, while a few others had battle marks left on them.
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The black-haired man, his face a mask of indifference, broke the silence. "Out of the 129 members of the Whitewood family, we eliminated 125 within 30 minutes," he reported, his tone eerily calm given the brutality of their actions. "Three superior rank 1 members escaped into the forest. I've dispatched 10 of our men in pursuit."
He paused, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice. "What should I do about the last member? The 17-year-old Lexarch currently at the Academy?"
There is a pact between the three major families that no one other than the students is allowed near the Academy. Unless one is a Lexarch certified by the principal of the Academy, they will be killed without hesitation, even if it’s the Chief of Chimera Vale.
Kaelen didn’t say anything for a few seconds as he stared off into the distance in the direction of the Academy, which couldn’t be seen from there. He then said, “Leave him be for now. We can use him to spread the news about the Silverthorn family and kill him in an act of ‘accident’ afterwards”.
The man nodded. "Yes, I understand," he affirmed, before his tone darkened slightly. "There's been an update about Susie Verlain."
Kaelen's interest piqued. "What is it, Torin?"
Torin's voice became grave as he began, "As I previously reported, she has been living with that kid Seren for the past week. This is related to Seren rather than Susie. Last night, we discovered that Seren has come into contact with Glowhaven."
Kaelen's gaze remained fixed on Torin, his eyes cold and unreadable. The silence stretched between them. After a few moments of contemplation, a smile crept across Kaelen's face, but there was no emotion in his eyes, giving it an unsettling, artificial quality.
"Report this to the Enforcers," Kaelen instructed, his voice smooth and controlled. "And report back any changes in the situation."
In Chimera Vale, order was maintained through 'The Village Directives', a set of iron-clad laws created by the three major families. For example, one such law forbade Lexarchs from killing each other or another law that required every Lexarch to contribute to the village by joining the Enforcers, the Borderland Protector's Society (BPS), or completing a set amount of missions assigned by the BPS.
One particularly law included in the directive states, ‘Any unauthorized Lexarch found trespassing upon restricted grounds within the village shall face severe consequences, as determined by the Enforcers.’ The term 'restricted grounds' was intentionally left vague in this law. Among Lexarchs, it was common knowledge that the Academy was considered a restricted grounds. But Glowhaven was different— the general public does not even know the existence of this Glowhaven and this skewed wording that was purposely put into the Directives gives the Enforcers an excuse to punish anyone who stumbles upon Glowhaven, even by accident.
Torin's brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of curiosity crossing his features. "Do you want to get rid of Seren to recruit Susie into the Frostshade family?" he asked, his tone carefully neutral. He knew Seren was starting to get close to Elise as well, who was originally a direct descendent of the Frostshade famile and also Kaelen's cousin. Torin didn't know what kind of attitude the Frostshade family has toward Elise so he was careful not to do anything that would otherwise suggest him leaning toward Seren.
Kaelen's chucked lightly, almost playful. "No, that's not my main goal, but it would be nice if that happens."
Torin's confusion was evident in his voice as he pressed further, "Then why?"
"It's to test the Enforcers," Kaelen said, his grin widening, revealing a hint of teeth.
Seeing Torin's continued bewilderment, Kaelen explained, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "I'm sure from our information network you already have the gist of what's happening in Glowhaven."
Torin's eyes narrowed as he sifted through the recent intelligence, searching for the connection. Suddenly, realization dawned on his face, his eyes widening slightly.
"The Elysium consortium..." he murmured, the words heavy with newfound understanding.
"Yes," Kaelen confirmed. "The consortium incident is likely related to Glowhaven, and the only ones with authority to go down there are the Enforcers. While the Chief is out of the village, his secretary Elara is placing immense pressure on the Enforcers to crack down on what happened to the Elysium consortium."
"But then how does this relate to Seren?" Torin asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Kaelen's voice dropped to a low, conspiratorial tone. "You might not know this, but the Enforcers have been desperately trying to infiltrate the Ravens' ranks. The requirements for joining them are incredibly strict. There's even a specific test developed by them that determines if you have any ties with the Enforcers or any other village authority."
Kaelen then fell silent, his eyes glinting with expectation as he waited for Torin to connect the dots.
Torin's face remained blank for a moment, his mind racing to piece together the puzzle. Suddenly, his eyes widened with realization again, and he breathed out, "Seren is the perfect man for the job."
Taking a deep breath, Torin asked apprehensively, "You want to use Seren to learn how far the Enforcers have progressed in their investigation, right?"
Kaelen nodded, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "Yes. The Enforcers keep all information about their internal matters confidential, even from us as one of the major families. Seren doesn't belong to any organization or family, and he's also a student at the Lexarch Academy. From the Ravens' perspective, he would be an ideal pawn to spy on the Academy without alerting the Enforcers. If the Enforcers punish Seren or put him to death for trespassing into Glowhaven, we can then conclude that they have no need for him."
He paused, letting the implications sink in before continuing, "But, if the Enforcers' investigation is still in its early stages, then they may refrain from punishing Seren and instead leverage his situation to make him join the Ravens undercover, to investigate what happened to the consortium."
Hearing this, Torin felt a wave of relief wash over him, grateful for having accidentally uncovered Seren's secret. This knowledge would allow them to monitor the developing situation in Glowhaven closely and avoid being caught off guard if a war were to break out. The Ravens are not any weaker than the Enforcers and in the unfortunate event that the Enforcers were to fall, the political landscape in Chimera Vale would change drastically. Such a power vacuum could potentially spark rebellions among the mid and large-sized families as the Valorheart, Frostshade, and Ashbourne families scramble to establish a new village order.
"Keep your senses sharp," Kaelen advised, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon where the sun blazed fiercely.
"We are likely in for some very troubled times ahead."
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Condemned To Death
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