Twelfth year of Emperor Archaldes (One year before the Emancipation)

Adrianna was alone in the shoulder-height grass at the top of the hill. She lay motionless in the dirt, covered by an old sheepskin covered in soil and grass to break up her outline. Only the most experienced hunters would recognise her as anything more than a part of the landscape, and her prey were certainly not that skilled. There were four small buildings on the farm below her. Only one was occupied, she’d decided after laying on this hill for more than a day. There were three people visible at all times, each going through the motions of conducting farm work even though they clearly didn’t know what they were doing. They were guards, then, but they showed little knowledge of the area. They never patrolled and didn’t bear any weapons other than the usual daggers worn for self-defence. There were at least two sets of guards, which made six definite occupants of the farmhouse, though Adrianna suspected another four were inside and never showed themselves. She’d given that report to Kane earlier that morning, and now he would lead a detachment of the Emperor’s Guard to strike the cultists hideout and capture their leader. This little outbreak of Elkur-worship would soon come to an end.

It always came down to moments like this. Adrianna felt her heart begin to race as she caught her brother’s scent, along with the four soldiers who followed him. All the waiting and planning was about to pay off. The three cultist guards were oblivious to the approaching danger. Adrianna could see Kane’s group approaching, moving like ghosts through the tall grass surrounding the farm as they approached from the east. The small scattering of animals were mostly on the western side and oblivious to the new arrivals. For just a moment, Adrianna regretted the plan. Kane would get the blood and the glory. Her role was to observe and then report back to their commander once the kills were confirmed. The sword strapped to her back would not spill blood this day. She assured herself that this wasn’t a waste.

The first guard dropped, struck by two silent arrows in his throat and chest. A second turned at the noise but was caught by an arrow through the eye and collapsed. The third guard never got a chance to respond. Kane rose up behind him and plunged a dagger through the back of his skull. The cultist was dead before he registered the attack. The security eliminated, Kane and the four soldiers approached the central farm house in a line with swords drawn and ready.

They are not safe.

The voice in Adrianna’s head was no longer a stranger. The wolf within would guide her steps and warn her of danger. To hear it now, though, was a surprise. She rose slightly to try and get a better view of the farm house. They are not safe, the voice repeated. He will need you.

“Kane is strong enough for anything,” Adrianna murmured. We will see.

One of the soldiers stopped and looked down at his sword. Kane noticed and said something quietly to him. The soldier ignored him and kept staring at his sword until he finally took hold of it with both hands and plunged it into his own chest. Three cultists burst out of the farmhouse at the same instant, screaming curses as they charged Kane’s group. Adrianna didn’t move a muscle as Kane stepped forward to meet them, his sword slicing through flesh as he struck them down.

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Adrianna listened to the voice. She threw off the sheepskin covering and ran down the hill. Kane had killed the cultists, but as he took a step towards the farmhouse one of the Emperor’s Guard charged him, unleashing a mighty blow with his sword.

“Kane!”

Alerted by Adrianna’s shout, he spun and parried the blow. He faced three of his supposed comrades, each circling him with murder in their eyes. The first stepped forward, ducked under Kane’s attack, and swept his blade towards his commander’s knees. Kane took a single step backwards, and when his attacker was off balance he sent his blade through his throat, severing his head in a single blow. Adrianna was close now, and pulled her own sword from its back-mounted sheath. One of the soldiers turned as she brought the blade to bear and tore it through his face. Kane had killed the final soldier by now, and the twins looked at each other for a moment.

“The wolf warned me,” Adrianna told him, and he nodded.

“The heretic…he turned them,” Kane said. Adrianna grunted.

“He won’t have such luck with us,” she replied, and flexed her fingers on the sword hilt. Kane nodded and led the way forward. They paused at the door for just a moment before Kane smashed it down with a single mighty kick. They charged inside to find an old man seated on a wooden stool in an empty room. The twins kept their swords ready and stood on either side of him.

“You seek a son of Elkur,” the old man said softly. Despite his age, there was a surprising strength about him.

Adrianna shook her head. “No. We seek a betrayer of the Arcane.”

“I see.” The man looked up at her, a grim smile on his wrinkled face. “And you have come to kill him.”

“You have rejected the laws of the Arcane,” Kane announced as he stepped forward. “The Emperor commands your surrender or your execution.”

“The Emperor serves those who are themselves but servants,” the man said, and stood tall. His eyes shifted between the twins. “Yet my faith in Elkur is secure. You may kill me, but you will not stop him. But may I at least ask which of you will bring the killing blow?”

“My blade has tasted blood this day,” Adrianna growled. “It has not been satiated.”

The man nodded thoughtfully, as if he had predicted the response. He turned away, and Kane glanced at Adrianna. She shrugged and lifted her sword. The old man whispered something, but Adrianna ignored him as she stepped forward to deliver her blow.

The cultist gave no warning as he jumped away, his hand slipping below the stool as he moved. When he came to his feet, he held a jagged blade in one hand. Adrianna covered the distance between them in two strides, ignoring the pain she felt in her head as the cultist tried to get inside her mind. He swung his dagger, but her first strike severed his hand. He stared at the bloody stump for a second before her second blow cut him almost in half.

“A son of Elkur indeed,” Adrianna said, standing above his corpse and letting the sword hang by her side. “Dead like all the rest.”

“He was powerful.” Kane almost sounded respectful. He had sheathed his sword and now stood in the doorway looking at the soldiers that he had killed.

“Not powerful enough,” Adrianna replied. She grunted. “All men bleed. All men die.”

It wasn’t much of a eulogy, but it was all that the heretic had merited. He was not the first of Elkur’s servants to die by her hand, and he would not be the last.