“And then I’ll show you the Iron Craw. It’s not the best looking place but a lot of fun people go there, it’s where I met Lyzian. Oh and that’s-” Adelie cuts himself off as he takes in his surroundings. They landed on the opposite side of Mwinda, towards the massive desert end. Rolling hills of brown sands surround them, yet the sky is as clear as any day. “Weird, there’s no desert storm.”

“Desert storms are common here? I thought these hybrid areas only took on the terrain, not the weather.” Marn keeps a stern face on as she marches next to Adelie, the heat of Szal causing her robes to stick to her.

“Yeah but the Molilpeka-'' Adelie sees the look of confusion form on Marn’s face, “The Windcrafting Sky Lord of Mwinda Village is usually here kicking up a storm.” He strides ahead of Marn to the top of a sand dune. “There, you see that nest? It’s usually resting there.” Marn makes her way next to him and takes in the massive nest. Ripped bluewood trees compose the majority of the nest with the leaves lining the interior. “ We usually send a few people to put offerings down at the bottom,” Adelie says as he points towards the base of the nest.

“You say that like it’s normal to see a nest that big. You could probably fit in a whole district there, maybe even two.” Adelie and Marn slide down the sand and land at the foot of the nest, though at such a close distance, it was more of a mountain than anything else. “I don’t want to see the thing that can use fully grown bluewoods as twigs,” Marn says as she enters the nest’s shadow. Adelie doesn’t respond, instead he continues forward, much to Marn’s surprise. When they set foot on the swamp side of the village, Marn’s senses go into overdrive. “Hey, you said that this place is pretty lively right?”

“Yeah.” Adelie’s apprehension coats his next words, “ especially since we’re preparing for the Szal Festival.” The dull sensation of panic slowly rises from the pit of his stomach. Where were all the people? The Szal Festival was at the end of the month and Mwinda Village always stocked up on seafood. Adelie glances at Marn and she nods affirmingly. They set off up the hill and down the valley, moving with shared purpose. They arrive at the southern entrance of the village and Adelie exhales in horror. “ What the hell happened to the village?”

The utter stillness of the village turns that dull sensation of panic into a full blown inferno, threatening to burn Adelie alive. Mwinda Village is a small area of Grezia, but the energy could match any of the capitals of the 10 Great Kingdoms `` There should be merchants setting up shops over there, and sailors going to the Iron Craw...but, there’s no one here.”

“No, there are people here, they’re just hiding.” Marn’s eyes bounce from dwelling to dwelling. Those who have awakened as a Gladius can detect when others around them are wielding any bladed weapon; even those that they can’t see. She moves to remove her robe, but Adelie gestures for her to stop.

“Wait, something’s happening.” A translucent wave of energy washes over the village, bringing the sounds of life with it. Villagers start appearing in front of Adelie and Marn as if they had been standing there the entire time. Adelie looks around in complete confusion as people he’s never seen before fill Mwinda. “That was..a cloaking technique?”

“I didn’t know your village had Evokers in it,” Marn says with just a hint of annoyance.

“We don’t, or we didn’t until now I guess.” Adelie and Marn resume walking through the crowds until they stop in front of the Iron Craw. Adele's eyes widen as the building in front of him is no longer the quaint bar he used to call home. “I don’t understand what’s going on here? There’s supposed to be a thatch roof, and this section over here should have a different piece of plank, and the-” Marn steps past Adelie and enters through the newly constructed double doors.

The halls of the Iron Craw erupt with an energy usually reserved for the Shouthouse; scores of drunk men and women are engaged in everything from drinking competitions to full displays of crafting. If it weren’t for the regulars Adelie could point out, he wouldn’t believe that this really was the bar he came to call home all those years ago. “This place is huge! It’s twice the size it used to be, and everything is up to date. Look, there’s more than two bathrooms.”

“I don’t have a reference point for any of this,” Marn says, “ but from what you’ve told me, this place isn’t supposed to be this nice or popular.” She scans the crowd and after making her assessment, she relaxes her shoulders. “ Quite a bit of Gladius here, I count 50 but there could be more.” Those who’ve awakened as Gladius can sense the presence of other Gladius and anyone carrying a bladed weapon, within a certain radius. Gladius of enough skill can conceal themselves from others, though to do so in Marn’s presence would set them far apart from the average warrior. “ Hey, there’s someone coming at us.”

“Adelie? Adelie!” A hefty man in his middle years lifts him up and hugs him with all of his might.

“Nice to see you too, Wali,” Adelie says, trying to break free from his embrace. “You mind letting me go now? I’d like to breathe.”

“Oh, sorry son, I just got excited for a bit.” Wali puts Adelie down, which in itself is a feat considering Adelie is over a foot taller than him.

“I see you’ve still been hauling stones in your free time,” Adelie says as his breathing pattern returns to normal, “ you sure you didn’t awaken at some point?”

Wali gives a full belly laugh, exposing his gold molars. “ I could say the same for you my boy! If you want to work for me at the docks, I could pay you very well.” Wali sees the displeasure creep across Adelie’s face, which causes him to laugh even harder. “By the two suns boy, you’re still so easy to read. I know you’re dead set on being a guildmaster, I’m just having fun.”

“Hey, what’s going on with all of this anyways?” Adelie gestures to all of the people occupying the Iron Craw. “ Since when did this place get so popular and habitable?”

“How ‘bout we get us some buda? There’s some new flavors in stock, including some non-alcoholic ones.”

“It’s still the work day, and you hate buda. What happened to the Craw? Did Ayl finally take out a loan? Oh and where’s Eba? He promised he’d meet me here”

“There’s a new menu item-”

“Wali. What is going on? First you want buda and now you’re talking about eating from the Iron Gullet Menu? Where’s the lunch you always bring in?” Adelie’s eyes Wali up and down. It’s been 5 years since he’s last seen the man and much like the bar itself, he too had changed. Wali still had his tanned skin, a side effect of working at the docks, but his clothing was far too nice for a dockworker. “ I thought you looked different because you finally shaved that beard of yours off, but there’s something else going on. How can you afford those silks?”

“What? I can’t buy myself some nice silks now?” Wali laughs but not nearly as hard as before.

Adelie moves to speak but feels Marn’s hand rest on his shoulder. He turns to her and she slowly shakes her head from side to side. “Wali, if I wanted to meet someone about a request, where in the village would I go?”

“Oh did someone make a guild request?” Wali places his hand on his chin and strokes the memory of his beard. “ It’d have to be down at the Longhouse. There’s a room in the back for private meetings, but you’ll have to show your request to enter.”

“Longhouse? I thought it couldn’t be built because we’re not a big enough port?”

“Things have changed, Adelie,” Wali says flatly. “Anyways, it’s about time I get back to work. See you around, Adelie.” Wali gives him a less forceful hug and leaves the bar.

Adelie draws in a breath before exhaling loudly. “Well that was weird. I wonder what has Wali acting so strange?” He turns to Marn, “ I think I’ll come back later when there’s less people here. Let’s go to the Longhouse and get this request started.” Marn nods in agreement and the two leave the Iron Craw.

“So, do you think it’s far enough?” Marn asks Adelie.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Ya, there shouldn’t be anyone on this path and we’ve been walking for about 15 minutes.” Adelie took Marn on the direct route towards the Longhouse. The distance from the top of Mwinda to the bottom near the inlet, where the Longhouse is located, is only a half hour journey by foot; however, it’s right along the division between the desert and swamp, causing the path to always be in a constant state of flux. To avoid this, most travellers opt for the side paths through the swamp. “ How many do you count?”

“Only 10. I guess the others must have taken the other route.” Marn stops with one foot on the dry sand and the other in wet moss. She looks at her right, “ If I take these ones, you’ll have to handle the rest at the Longhouse.”

“I’m ok with that, but you could probably take them all on,” Adelie says as his feet sink into the soft, wet ground. “ They’re weak, I can feel it.” Adelie looks into the air and quickly back at Marn, “ Hey did you-” without even finishing, Marn removes her robe and unsheathes her blade.

Suddenly, 10 hooded figures surround Marn and Adelie. Each of them wearing the strange clothing Adelie had seen earlier; long black cloaks that cling to the body like a living shadow with purple lines intersecting at random places. At the center of the cloak, all of the purple lines meet to form the initials N.E. From a cursory glance, Marn can tell that the cloaks are coated of Engraver make,which also tells her that her enemies aren’t just ordinary mercenaries; though to them she might just be. Between Adelie and herself, they only had enough lim to purchase mismatching armor sets. A black pauldron on her right shoulder. A blue armguard that completely covers her right arm. Black chainmail that covers her entire torso and blue greaves. Adelie couldn’t afford to have their clothing Engraved, but he insisted that they have a matching color scheme.

“Are you just going to stand there like a bunch of statues, or will you draw your weapons?” The space around Marn distorts as waves of power emanate from her blade and travel around her body. Gladius fight by channeling ather into their weapons and having their ather sent back to them in a feedback loop.

“You’re a Gladius?” The figure standing directly in front of Marn approaches her. “I’ll make you deal, if you kill your charge over there, I’ll let you join our guild.” At this close of a distance, Marn can tell that it’s a man underneath the cloak even though his voice is disguised. He’s smaller than her, but experience has taught her that an engraved cloak can alter the size of a person.

“I’m not one to enter talks with someone who feels the need to hide themselves,” Marn says as she keeps the tip of her blade pointed at the enemy in front of her.

The man places his hand around his neck and squeezes. The hood disappears and the shadow-like quality of the cloak goes along with it. He traces his fingers around his neck until his middle finger and thumb meet and a necklace forms along the traced path. In front of Marn stands a man of notable stature with emerald green eyes and platinum gold hair. His armor follows the same design pattern of the cloak but fully protects his body unlike Marn’s. “I’m Eral Hodin,” he says as if that alone is enough. “ I know it’s an honor to be in my presence, but please try to keep your composure.” He moves his hand through his long, golden hair and flashes a sort of devious smile reserved for lovers. “ So then, about my offer, what do you say?”

The name sits in Marn’s mind for a moment, circling the fog in her memory. She ignore it and lunges at Hodin and he parries it with his right hand. Hodin spins around the blade, towards Marn and delivers a strong left to Marn’s gut. Marn intercepts the punch with her off hand and uses it as a springboard to push herself back. She lands next to Adelie a few feet back and the rest of the crowd readies to attack. “ Oh I like you,” Hodin says, “ If you can beat my men, I’ll see to it that you’ll be my new right hand.”

Adelie looks to his left towards the swamp side of Mwinda. “Hey you can handle this right? I need to go check on something.”

“Of course, but they might not let you go so easily.”

Adelie smiles, “ Oh well if they follow me, I’ll just beat them up.” He looks back down the swamp, “There’s something weird going on there and it’s bothering me. I won’t take long, beat this guy before I get back.” Adelie runs past two of the cloaked figures and neither of them move to attack.

“What are you doing?! Go after him!” Hodin’s words cut through the air and snap his people to attention. They apologize to him and give chase to Adelie, along with 3 other allies. Hodin turns his attention back to Marn, “I normally wouldn’t send so many men at once, but I heard the way he spoke about them. I’ll have them break his bones and drag him before me for real punishment.” Hodin looks down at the ground and grimaces at the mud created by the intersection of desert and swamp. “Honestly, the things I do for this guild,” he muses to himself before giving his men the signal to attack. In an instant, the men change into their armor and draw their weapons. Marn quickly takes stock; the 2 men directly in front of Hodin drop to their knees and notch their bows, the man to her right twirls his twin daggers in his hands, the one behind her grabs the hilt of his longsword and the man to her left takes out an ax.

The archers fire their arrows, but Marn severs the arrowheads before they reach her. The archers separate, one heading towards the desert and the other to the swamp. They fire their arrows again but this time Marn jumps out of the way. As she lands, the sword wielding man engages her. Marn easily parries each of the man’s strikes, but anytime she moves in for the kill, an arrow flies from either direction and forces her to either block or move.

Marn breaks away from the swordsman and finds herself standing in ankle deep swamp water, exactly where she wanted to be. She moves her head out of the way as an arrow flies past her from behind, and runs towards the archer in the swamp. The distance between her and the archer is twice the length of her blade and the archer is well aware of this fact; as is Marn. The archer moves to pull another arrow from his quiver but feels a warm, wet liquid spray across the side of his face. He looks at Marn, who hasn’t closed the distance, and sees her completing a sword swing as if she could cut him from that distance. The archer hears something heavy hit the water next to him. He looks at the ground and sees his arm, covered in a mixture of blood and mud, laying just on the surface of the water. The guttural scream that leaves the archer’s mouth causes everyone but Marn to hesitate. She drives her blade through the breastplate of the archer and without missing a beat, grabs his bow and arrow.

The instant she grabs the weapon, Marn sends her ather through the bow and aims it towards the other archer. Gladius have the ability to imprint their skills and proficiency with a certain weapon type to any weapon of that class. That same ability also allows them to read any imprinted weapon and utilize the skills associated with it, as long as the current user is capable of doing so. Marn’s eyes glow with a golden hue as she zeroes in on the archer across the way. She fires the arrow and before it strikes her target, Marn pulls the blade from the nearby archer’s chest and blocks a strike from the longswordsman before driving her blade through his stomach; killing the two at the same time.

“You should have kept the extra men,” Marn says as she assumes a battle stance, “ it would have been almost a fair fight that way.”

Hodin’s arrogant smile melts away, replaced with something in-between rage and excitement. “ That move you did, that was from the 13 Blades Style was it not?” Marn doesn’t respond. “ Yes, I believe that was the 1st form Hollow Edge.” Hodin looks at Marn’s ankles and removes a dagger from his waistguard. In the blink of an eye he throws the dagger in between Marn’s legs and a rush of bubbles come to the surface. A body floats to the surface, that of the man with the twin daggers. “ I assume you knew he was waiting beneath you, I just sped things along. Now we won’t have any distractions.”

“You’d kill your own man, just to have a one on one battle with someone?”

“Oh these aren’t my men, not really,” Hodin casually says, “ they’re just some recruits I was testing out.” He touches the back of his armor and black mist appears as he draws a weapon from it. A silver, thin blade with a circular black guard and purple pommel. “I’ve heard stories about how strong 13 Blades swordsmanship is, please...allow me to test it!” Hodin travels 20 feet in one step and thrusts his weapon towards Marn. His attack is blocked and the force of the two Gladius colliding creates a shockwave, blowing the grass and water away from them.

Adelie stands on the natural mud path of the swamp, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of his pursuers. “Hey, you can come on out now!” he yells, “ I know you’ve been watching for a while. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

The space in front of Adelie distorts and another figure draped in a black cloak appears. “How did you know I was here? I used my crafting to conceal myself.”

“Oh that? It was the same feeling I had when I was in Mwinda Village.” Adelie walks up to the figure, “ That was you too right? I guess that makes you an Evoker. So why are you following me?”

The Evoker removes her cloak. Loosely curled black hair with purple tips fall around her shoulders, with a few falling across her brown face. “ I was following you to make sure that you didn’t get killed by those guys from Night’s End.”

“Night’s End? I thought that guild was history. Wait, who are you?”

The girl’s violet eyes meets Adelie’s, “ My name is Izia Holcroa.”

“Hey, you’re the one that left the request at the Shouthouse. Why are you here and not at the Longhouse?”

“I'll explain everything once we get there.” Izia looks at the bodies on the ground, “ I think you’ll do nicely though. Where’s your partner?”

“Marn? Oh she’s back that way dealing with the rest of those Night End guys,” Adelie says, pointing back with his thumb.

Izia’s eyes widen, “You left her alone with Hodin?” The Evoker moves past Adelie in a hurry.

“What’s the matter? That Hodin guy didn’t seem all that dangerous to me.”

“That’s because his armor suppresses him! Now hurry up, unless you want your friend to die!” Izia takes another step but suddenly finds herself parallel to the ground. “Excuse me, what are you doing?”

Adelie looks down at Izia, who is currently underneath his right arm. “ You said we need to hurry. I can get there a lot faster than you can, just don’t throw up.”

“I’m an Evoker, I can just- wait why would I throw-” before Izia can get the words out, Adelie explodes down the path, causing the trees in the swamp to shudder from the force.