“ Thirteen spears for thirteen crowns, Thirteen spears for thirteen crowns, Thirteen spears for thirteen crowns, Thirteen spears for thirteen crowns.” She repeated her chant endless in between cold laboured breaths.

Her foot sank deep into the snow as she stomped along at times shyly and nervously peeking over her shoulder at her companion to see if she was still there, she was afraid she would turn around and find that she was alone, the last of her companions frozen to death.

“ My lady, how much further to this place?” The voice that spoke was Ein Virgil, and she marched with a straightened back a uniform distance behind her master for most of the trip. She never wobbled in the wind and honestly didn’t seem phased by it at all and lady Veni believed it.

“ My beloved knight, if my visions are correct then we can’t be much further. Please hold on, we have passed the point of no return awhile ago.” There was true love in her voice as she spoke to her knight, a grand type of love that was more motherly then romantic.

“ My lady I made a vow in the name of the primordials that I would follow you until the end, I would throw myself to the lions for you any day.” The knight spoke with a casual reassurance her eyes running down her masters back then back up to her head.

“ I can always count on you, Knight Vigil,” Veni spoke in a matter of factly way as she pushed her hands deeper into her coat pocket, the snow was getting softer and deeper but they were near there destination, they would make it within an hour.

“ No, lady Veni it is I who am in life debt to you.” This was a quick response spoken from the heart with little thought to it.

“ Then stop using my family name! Are we so distance you must remain formal even now?” From childish tantrum to serious question her tone and voice shifted as she spoke like a grand actor on a stage, a little disingenuous part was hidden by her charming voice. Honestly, Veni didn’t care what she was called, but she was scared that if her knight stopped talking then she would never hear her again. She was scared that she would soon be abandoned and even more scared of what she planned to do.

“ Then please call me Ein as well.” A small smile broke out on the knights otherwise stoic but sleek face. She had a magnetic appearance that drew in the eye and held it there almost supernaturally. With unnatural red eyes, pale white skin and naturally red lips Virgil and long smooth black hair that seemed to pour from her head like ink. Her armour didn’t help and although it wasn’t supernatural it was a well-polished back steel full pate suit that screamed intimidation at anyone who saw it.

“ I will think about it if you don’t freeze to death before we reach the prophets final resting place.” There was a friendly joyfulness to her response.

Time passed, Veni seemingly finding some trust in her knight’s intentions to remain but this time it was the knight Vrigle who asked a hesitant question.

“ And find these magical items that can defeat the thirteen greed kings?” Her voice showed off her powerful doubt. She wanted to believe in her master, but she didn’t fall completely braindead, she had her doubts and a part of her followed her master with another motive. She wanted meaning in her life, and she felt the only way to do that was through achievement. Virgil believed that her master was capable of miracles, it was faith in this more so then the woman that had lead to Virgils almost fanatical loyalty.

“ They’re not magical,” Veni said as she sliced her finger out of her pocket and through that air as if to cut down the idea itself. It was a comical sight to anyone but her beloved knight who face her with seriousness.

“ Then my lady, if you don’t mind me asking… what are they to hold the power to slay such demons if not magical tools left by the old prophet?” Spoken with a raised eyebrow and curiosity.

“ They are thermonuclear warheads.” Lady Veni said this like she was confessing to a murder and in a way she was confessing to the intention to do something much worse. To Virgil, it was clear that her master felt these words were all she needed to say for Ein to understand, which prodded her to push gently by revealing she was ignorant.

“ My lady I don’t know what those are,” Virgil said this more to remind her master then to inform her master, as her master often expected others to know what she did as if they could read her mind. It was aggravating for Ein but something she endured and although her voice was filled with a gentle intention to understand something inside Veni grew frustrated equally in return at the idea of actually explaining what she intended to do, she replied as vaguely as possible adding words to extend the time she would be able to think of some way to justify what she planned to do. However, if her justification was for Ein or herself wasn’t something either could tell you.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

She wanted to bring her knight around to the idea that what she planned to do must be done and justify the consequences without letting Ein know what the consequences of what Ein was helping her do really was. Because she feared that Ein would not follow her plan when she realised that she planned to use 4 billion lives as bait to kill thirteen people so she was scared of being alone, and she was scared of being unable to justify it to herself. In her mind, she had already crossed the point of no return in more ways than one.

There was one final reason, Ein’s ignorance of technology was a clear reminder that Veni was alone. Her situation made her unique. She believed she was different from the rest of humanity, special herself with a special mission. That is how she looked at the prophets' memories.

“ Right, before the coming of the Greed kings, before ice covered all the seas before the first magics came to this world… was the age of information and at this age, humanity built weapons of unnamable horror and power. The prophet collected a bunch of these a thousand years ago, thirteen of them. One for each greed king.”

“ Is… is that also why he build thirteen grand cites? Thirteen spears, thirteen greed kings, thirteen greed kings and thirteen families, thirteen secret weapons?”

“ No… the prophet saw that these cites would become the perfect… targets. The future of humanity lies in your exiled clans that have learned to live off the land again and have become strong in magic but weak in technology. Also, it’s actually thirteen hundred nukes” Veni didn’t sound too sure of herself when she said this and even Ein got the idea that she didn’t want to talk more, however, Ein believed it was because she didn’t know much about the subject not because Veni had something to hide. However this also cleared up Ein’s doubt, no one device could overturn the alien invasion of her world but thirteen hundred could arm and army, and an army empowered by items of grand magical strength even if small in number could overturn the saturation.

“... what do you mean by targets?” Ein asked curiously. She reached up and held her chin in a vice grip as she would do often when trying to envision something.

“ They… were built to be bait so we would know where the greed kings were when we use the weapons.” Veni rubbed her arm and darted her head off to the side, she also took two steps to the right so Ein would be all but directly opposite from where she was looking.

“ So, we will take these weapons and liberate the cites from the tyrant demons?” Ein said with a level of respect for her master that topped her already borderline fanatical appreciation of her.

“ It’s not far, comes on let us hurry up.” Veni cut the conversation off there and started to pick up her pace, which leads to her having a minor death struggle with the snow that refused to just get out of her way. She was never like the prophet, she just didn’t have the talent he did, although she wasn’t sure anyone else did either.

Lost in thought the snow finally won and Veni tripped only to be caught by her knight Ein who lifted her back onto her feet.

“Please promise me that no matter what happens you will never leave me Ein!” This was the true feelings of Veni’s heart.

“ Of course lady Veni. I will gladly dance to my death beside you. Did I not make an Oath to the fowl god Diakota that no matter what as your guard I would die before you or be cursed.”

“...”

“ For the death of these monsters, there is nothing I won’t do,” Ein said not what she felt or believed but what she believed her master wanted her to say. Unfortunately, Veni saw what her knight did, she detected it. Maybe things would have been different if Veni didn’t feel she would be abandoned after the deed was done, but she didn’t want to be alone.

“...”

“ Lady, you have gone quite, are you ok?” Ein asked slightly worried.

“ I’m fine I just feel bad about what I have done to you,” Veni said, quickly hoping to skim past this part of the conversation, she wasn’t good with guilt.

“ Ha, my lady you should feel nothing I decided to swear an oath to the blood god to prove my loyalty. Please it was my decision.” Ein always felt silly when she saw others preaching out their oaths and promises they kept because most curled up in fear when you got a third party to ensure them. Ein had no problem making any oath or claim for power to a dark god because all she would have to do is not go back on her word and she would stick to her Veni regardless. In that Ein found her oath to become a source of her pride and identity as it showed that she was willing to ‘put her money where her mouth is’.

“ You are a fool! I… I told you to do that so you wouldn’t follow me on this suicide mission! I didn’t want this off you, my sister!” There was an actually heavy sense of pain in Veni’s voice that Ein didn’t understand. To Ein this was nether something different or something new but that was not the case to Veni, this was the first time Ein chose to notice that.

“ Really? Well, then I have a confession to make as well when I first approached you I just wanted to see what these rumours of an ice witch were all about.”

“ You bitch, I haven’t been called a witch for a long time why bring back such shitty memories at the end?”

“ Because sometimes I feel like you forget how much we have been through together already, how many adventures, how many Veni?” There was a flat empty almost whisper to her voice that seemed to be reproachful.

“ I don’t know… I stopped counting.” Veni was a little annoyed by the question. She didn’t like being dragged away from the present.

“ I didn’t.” There was a breathlessness to her words as she spoke them. It was layered with a distant desire.

“ Ein?” Veni turned her head as she felt like Ein was staring holes into the back of her forehead only to turn to see a loving stare smothering her from behind. Not the vengeful reproach Veni was expecting.

“ I remember everything we have done together.” Ein closed her eyes and smiled. She was filled with satisfaction and gratitude at this moment.

“ Then let us stick together till the end then.” Veni sniffs the air as she turns her neck to scan the surroundings.

“ Of course. My lady, I am here for you always.” It was a quite reply filled with love.

Veni the ice witch, died three days later.

Ein Virgil died, three years later.