The night was restless in the streets of Ofina as the wind howled and snowflakes flurried about. Bright skyscrapers dotted the skyline as multiple airships floated in and out of the city's airspace. On the edges of the city, however, many older brick and mortar buildings stood instead. In an alley stained with blood, the snow piled across the cobbled ground and atop bodies of disfigured people. A lone man stood in the middle of the carnage with a bloodied sword that had the long barrel of a rifle attached along its length. It was eerily quiet as the man eyed the corpses, inspecting for any sign of life as the crunches of footsteps approached him from behind.

“You're quick with your work, Captain Sokolov. I fail to understand why they sent me when they know you're capable with these low-level jobs,” the approaching man said as he stopped directly behind Sokolov who slightly turned. He was dressed in a similar attire of a gray armored overcoat and soldier's cap with the emblem of an eagle grasping a vine of thorns in the middle. The only difference was that Sokolov had two ornately designed shoulder pads  alongside the trims of the coat that glowed an amethyst purple. Sokolov gave one last gaze over the bodies before the blade was engulfed in a purple light and the blood evaporated. 

“Who knows, Winston? With all these incidents with rogue mages, demon outbursts and whatnot, I’d imagine high command is getting restless,” responded Sokolov as he twisted the rifle-blade in his hands and sheathed it on his back as he turned to Winston. 

“Are you done here? What about the bodies?” asked Winston. Sokolov blinked for a moment in confusion then sighed aloud. He raised his hand into the air and gave a quick snap of his fingers. A flash of purple light  was let out and the bodies were enveloped in brightness and glowed like the lingering stars above. After a brief moment the corpses dissipated and the brightened alley was again covered in the darkness of night.  

“Now, I am done. Let’s get back to headquarters and inform the inquisitors of this success. I'm sure they are itching for good news after all that's happened recently,” spoke Sokolov as he passed Winston on his way out of the alley, noticing the man shaking his head as he stepped out on the sidewalk. Winston quickly caught up with him and the two walked side-by-side down the empty streets. 

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There were few people out this late at night, even fewer riding carriages or driving cars down the usually bustling streets. It was quite snowy this year, especially for Ofina where blizzards were an uncommon occurrence. It was quite comforting to Sokolov, a native of the northern lands where winter weather was a fact of life. 

“Ah, right. The Field Marshall wanted me to mention that he had another job for you when you returned,” said Winston casually as they crossed a street. Sokolov turned to Winston with a curious look. 

“Really? Another job already? The Inquisitors must really be backed up with jobs from the Assembly. This week I’ve done over ten alone,” replied Sokolov with exasperation. The Arcane Assembly was the organization that governed the use of anything magic related in those nations that are a part of it. The Inquisitors were the special judicial branch that investigated the abuse of Assembly rules and jurisdictions. 

Sokolov and Winston were, however, a part of the elite military unit of the judicial branch  called the Jaegers. The Inquisitors focused more on the investigation of crimes while the Jaegers were the ones that dealt out the punishment while also performing other combat related duties. The two groups worked hand in hand to keep the rule of magic law functioning as normal to avoid conflict between the many mage groups across the world.

“Aye, I have done about four myself. I do wonder what’s causing the uptick in cases though,” said Winston while scratching his chin. Sokolov shook his head and sighed. 

“That’s beyond our job description, Winston. We leave that bit for the Inquisitors to deal with. Anyway, did the Marshall say what the job was about?”

“They weren’t very descriptive, other than that it was a long-term job in a foreign country. Didn’t specify where, however.” 

Sokolov nodded and silence returned as the sounds of crunching snow filled the void. The Jaegers were usually a quiet bunch who focused on the job at hand, and small talk was not one of them. The two quickly made their way through the snow-laden streets as the sun began to rise on the horizon.