A silver-haired soldier made his way through the city of Melbourne with a neutral expression a gait so robotic he might have been an automaton left unattended.
His vermillion cloak ruffled in the wind, flashing the silver armour that went well with his hair.
If it wasn’t for the terror the vermillion colours of his cloak spread wherever he went, people would have noticed his immaculate looks and refined posture.
Instead, everywhere he went, people cowered and scrambled out of his way. And so, he walked unhindered, passing the clean streets of this humble Merchant town. In the distance, a shabby tavern stood amongst other establishments closer to the Town Square.
Normally, this Tavern would be crawling with people looking for a good cup of mead, but not today.
Today, it was drenched in the aura of fear. Only a few dared to approach the establishment. That was because this place was one this man and his comrades loved to frequent.
The tavern itself was a little rundown compared to the other establishments in the Merchant town, and surprisingly, the owner liked it that way.
Fortunately, the shabbiness was just its outward appearance.
Being home to many drunk individuals of Glass and Wood Temper Ranks, the tavern had seen its fair share of bar fights. For that reason, the owner had shifted his focus away from renovations to magical reinforcement. That way, this rundown structure was actually stronger than the best-looking buildings in Melbourne, capable of withstanding the full power of a Wood Rank Level Five.
In the past few days, however, the atmosphere inside had taken a turn as the Emperor’s men were above Wood Rank Level Five, their captain being the only one in the Stone Rank.
The silver-haired man pushed the doors of the tavern open, now used to the strange vines that grew on the outsides and, surprisingly, even on the insides of the establishment’s walls.
The few people who saw him—regulars who loved their booze a bit more than their lives— cowered and looked away.
He ignored them and approached a large man seated in a dark corner holding a goblet of mead in his hands. The old captain looked more troubled now than he’d ever been. His comrades knew all too well how difficult his job was. That’s why they carried out their tasks tirelessly in the hopes of making his work easier.
“Captain,” the silver-haired soldier bowed.
“Yusa,” the captain’s voice rumbled, “Tell me you have something.”
“Nothing, sir. It’s come to my notice, however, that the boy we met at the market the other day is a lot harder to find than I assumed,” Yusa replied.
“Right… that one. Seemed like the stand-up guy,” the old man spoke, taking a long sip of his mead.
“Didn’t you say yesterday that we were to keep an eye on him?” Yusa responded.
“What about it? I already used my Reveal eyes to look into him,” the captain responded.
“And what did you see?”
“I saw…” the man went silent just for a bit, frowning as though something was flashing through his mind before he let out a long sigh, “…nothing. But there was no spell or enchantment on him.”
Yusa furrowed his brows, “No one’s that clean.”
The captain was quiet for a bit before turning to a man beside him. His head was on the table as though he was sleeping, “What do you think about all this, Creed?”
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“I think that boy is a mystery… much like the one we’re looking for. Loved by the world, a gaze as old as time and with the power to control guardians. What sort of monster can exist with that kind of power?” the man spoke, not bothering to lift his head off the table.
“As long as we follow the instructions we were given, he won’t be able to use that power against us,” Yusa reminded them.
“We agreed to hunt down this boy only because of how dangerous he is but no one said it would be this hard to find him,” the captain growled.
“What if he’s changed his face? What if he has an artefact that allows him to keep himself hidden?” Yusa tried.
“From what I know, magic like that is high-level,” the captain sighed.
The man beside him, however, lifted his head off the table, deep in thought, “Fitting territory for the one loved by the world, don’t you think?”
………………………
Alaric had been walking home when he froze and rested against a wall. His eyes had a slight green tinge to them, the result of the vines he’d spread around Melbourne giving him more information than he was used to receiving passively.
[ This doesn’t look good. ] Alia’s voice rang in his head.
[ No… It doesn’t ] Alaric responded as he made his way for Sariah’s home.
Outside, he made his way to her backyard and picked up a practice sword. He had to clear his mind. The sword in his hand started moving through the strenuous katas of the Dance of the Sword as his mind soared.
The day had provided him with more challenges than he’d expected to experience. One thing was for sure, his gut was telling him to be careful. Melbourne was becoming less and less safe with each passing day.
His blade cut through the air as his body blurred across Sariah’s backyard. He held his form and continued to battle the imaginary silhouettes of powerful beasts.
‘There’s that thing that’s been whispering information into my head every once in a while. What is that?’ he wondered. Alaric wanted to know a lot of things now and could really use the information he’d been receiving now of all times.
{ What would you like to know, Keeper Candidate Alaric? } the voice echoed in his mind.
Alaric, who was currently locked in a devastating spinning kick, nearly tripped. His catlike instincts kicked in, allowing him to transition into a cartwheel that placed him back into the Dance of the Serpent.
Under normal circumstances, his guardian would have intervened and told him to start again from the start… but this wasn’t one of those times. Alaric’s body continued to fly about the backyard in a chaotic yet intricate dance of elegance, his sword sending chaotic torrents of wind in its wake.
‘Who are the Emperor’s Soldiers? What do they want with me?’ Alaric yelled into his mind.
{ The Emperor’s Soldiers, colloquially referred to as the Emperor’s Men, are a group of well-trained soldiers sworn to serve the Emperor and carry out his will. They take orders from the Emperor or any of his Generals, usually referred to as Pillars and Apostles. }
‘Apostles… Pillars…’ Alaric was even more confused now. He knew there was more to this and that a hierarchy established even more terms for him to grasp. He did, however, catch on to what the voice was saying.
‘So you’re telling me one of these Pillars is after me?’ Alaric thought inwardly.
Alia chuckled in response, [ I’m not sure that’s how that ‘voice’ works. It can explain terms and give you information but it won’t offer an opinion. Besides, if a Pillar was after you, you would be dead by now. ]
Alaric felt like stopping his training right then and there, [ Alia… ]
The emotions that went spilling into his guardian explained more than his words could say. His heart was beating fast under the emotions that currently ran through his mind.
Why was his guardian acting like she knew all this? He had no idea what a Pillar was… and yet, Alia was answering his question instead of the weird voice that seemed connected to the Tower of Seekers.
Alaric didn’t know how he was getting information from the Tower and would investigate that later but right now, he had his guardian to interrogate.
“Yes, Alaric. I know what a Pillar is… and what an Apostle is. It’s never been useful information and it probably isn’t useful information now. I’ll still tell you what those are though,” the guardian responded.
Alaric remained silent, going through his katas as he transitioned to the Dance of the Bear. His guardian had a lot to explain.
How did his guardian know about this, anyway? While she knew a lot about guardians and the world in general, wasn’t information on the Emperor a little outside her territory?
[ Why would human matters be out of the territory of the Guardians that guide them? ] The guardian scoffed, [ Simply put, the Emperor has four Pillars… and those Pillars have Apostles. I’m guessing whoever had the power to send the Emperor’s soldier was probably an Apostle. ]
[ Is there a limit to how many Apostles a Pillar can have? ] Alaric asked.
[ I’ve heard the limit is six but I’ve never heard of a Pillar having that many Apostles. ] Alia replied with a shrug.
[ Apostles are strong, aren’t they? ] Alaric frowned.
[ Something like that… Consider Darth an ant at their feet ] the guardian responded with a shrug [ Don’t let it stress you though. If we do come in contact with them, we’ll figure out a way. ]