In a large wooden conference room many young men and women in white uniforms were working frantically like bees in a hive.
My name is Sir Sebastian Ravenwood, a Lieutenant-Captain of the ship Gray Lily. I am a soldier from the nobility under the command of my uncle, Lord Perceval Ravenwood. Who is the Captain of this vessel. We are from the Misiril Theocracy, members of the Silver Purgatorial Knights, and right now we are on the hunt.
"Target is on the move. Fire at will."
"My Lord, the target has taken cover within the forest."
"Tell the Cannoneers to switch to incendiaries."
"With all due respect, that will burn the forest down, Lord Ravenwood."
"That concerns me, how?"
"It will be done"
A scrawny, twig like man then picked up an Arcane device shaped like a cup with a metal wire attached from the bottom to relay the command to the gun batteries. Moments later, the muffled sound of cannon-fire, reverberated the ship's Command Center.
The man who ordered the attack, was standing proudly in a decorated and fanciful uniform. With a white theme and embellished with gold and silver, it gave the impression that the uniform glowed with the purifying power of the sun itself. And no less impressive was the man who wore it. Though he was getting on in years, Lord Perceval Ravenwood, my uncle, had the noble and terrifying visage of a war god as his neutral expression. Though wrinkles and deepened laugh lines were accumulating, his well-toned, iron like body held nearly all the power it held in its use youth. Leaning on a decorated longsword as a cane to give an imposing atmosphere as he bellowed out orders to those in the room.
As Lieutenant-Captain I was his second in command. Like the shadow cast by the sun I handled most menial and day-to-day tasks so that he could focus on the more important things. To his right I was looking into a floating orb the rough size of a human head, that hovered above the desk in a wooden cubicle. This was a very powerful Arcane Device known as an 'Orb of Clairvoyance'. It had the ability to view and focus on the environment around it. With the short range of twenty miles, the orb, could be used to view an area from the general scene from the ship's starboard side, to an up front and personal view of a tiny pebble fifteen miles away. The tool was invaluable when doing reconnaissance or for finding and eliminating gun battery targets.Fifty of these orbs lined the wall; all of which were being utilized to the fullest extent.
"Lord Ravenwood, you need to see this."
"What is it Sebastian?"
"The target has a cloaked companion. When repositioning the viewing angle, though the cloak obscures the face, you can clearly see glowing red eyes."
"What are you trying to get at, Sebastian?! Speak plainly!"
"What I'm trying to say, is that if a certain someone were to travel north at breakneck speeds from Tact, That person would be around here, wouldn't he?"
"What nonsense are you rambling about?! Unless you mean, no, you're wrong. He's DEAD! I know how much you admire that bastard, but there is just no way…."
"But what if their is! Lord Perceval Ravenwood, with all humility and due respect, I implore you to at the very least consider the possibility!"
A far-fetched hypothesis it may be, but on the off chance that the cloaked man was that person, and more importantly, was working with the target, the consequences would be far reaching. My uncle, no, Lord Ravenwood, also recognized the severity of the possible crisis. His face tightened in response as he scowled deeply, his ferocious expression becoming even more so. We glared at one another in silence, the only sounds being the roaring of the cannons and the chatter of the Communication officers as they gave coordinates and firing distances to the Cannoneers. Lord Ravenwood broke the tense silence first.
"You are dismissed for the rest of the day, Lieutenant-Captain. Return to your quarters and reflect on your insubordination. This is a place for action, not ludicrous crackpot theories."
"My lord.., please…"
"Your input will be noted. If, just if, the two survive, I will personally issue a request for reinforcements and ground support. Happy?"
"Elated, my lord. Thank you. I'll see you later, Captain."
Under the curious glances of the surrounding officers, I left the Command Center for my living quarters.
"What are you all gawking at? Back to work, all of you. We won't rest until the target is vaporized!"
…..
Experiment 117-F, that was the name of our target. It's origins are highly classified, even being a Vice-Captain wouldn't get me access to that knowledge. However, I could guess at it. Based off the name, it's abilities, and it's sheer war potential, it was obviously a product of Arcane Modification. Born from the idea that if humans could create powerful Arcane devices from metal, mana, and the blood of a 'Blessed', that they could do the same to themselves. It almost always ended in horrifying and inhumane disasters. Only the gods know how many died, before a single successful specimen was created, and only Death himself knows how many after.
'I almost pity the poor creature', thinking such thoughts, I briskly walked through the Mithril and wood hallways. Passing by soldiers dressed in white and silver, I was filled with purpose. I turned down a few hallways and passed a great number of doors, until I reached my room. A knight in ceremonial silver and gold stood at attention next to my door. I smiled unintentionally as I knew who was under that helm.
"You're dismissed of guard duty for today, Lady Francine. I have to brood and reflect on my actions, and I don't need a guard for that."
Quite surprised, a soft but feminine left the helmet. Lifting up the visor, an attractive young woman was giving me a rather skeptical glance.
"What did you do this time?"
"Insubordination apparently. Will you stop giggling?!"
"Sorry, hehehe, I can't help it. If you weren't the Lieutenant-Captain and a noble to boot, you'd be a little red smudge a few thousand feet below us."
"What really sucks is that I can't eat dinner now."
"Haha! Never fear! I've got you covered bud. I am an expert in smuggling free food, that no one cares about."
"Fran, you are many things; a great many things. But theft, smuggling, and stealth are clearly not your strong suit."
"Well, see you later bud. And just so you know, I am fantastic at stealth. After all, if no one is conscious to see you, you'll never be seen."
"I worry for you sometimes…"
The only reason I had a room to myself on this crowded ship was because of my status as a noble and as the Lieutenant-Captain. Though with only enough room to fit a bed and a dresser, and to stand up straight in, this room was far from the comfortable and extravagant lives most nobles lived in the Misiril Theocracy. Even so, it had a cozy atmosphere.
I flopped right onto the firm bed, not caring whether my uniform got wrinkled or not. I laughed a little when I thought of my talk Lady Francine.
…..
We were very unlikely friends, the two of us. Francine was a former peasant, who soared rapidly through the ranks of the Misiril Theocracy's military by her own strength. Using the overwhelming power of her two 'Blessings', she racked up numerous military achievements. I was the second son of one of the Misiril Theocracy's Great Noble Houses, the House of the Holy Duke Ravenwood (Holy Duke is the highest position nobility can have, excluding the ruler of the Theocracy, the Divine Emperor). Not being the heir to the household, I was able to live a free, but rather 'pampered life'. However, when I saw the struggles of those that worked for my family, I had the crazy idea, "what would it be like to be them?"
So I left home without notice and walked among the peasants and common folk in the capital of my families' territory, Blackbirch, for nearly two weeks. I was gone for that long not because no one looked, I was simply not found. Like everyone else in my House, I had the 'Blessing' of Light. If one manipulates it just right, they become invisible.
I learned many things about the world, especially about it's darker under side. When I returned home, I felt that the Noble's Castle I lived in was really just a gilded cage. Who knew that my chance to escape it would come soon after I came back.
My return was met with tears of relief, but my parents became worried about my whimsical development. So after a late night discussion, it was decided without my consent, that I would be placed under the command of my father's youngest brother, Captain Percival Ravenwood, to learn military tactics and 'discipline'. I shipped off at the age of twelve.
Eight years passed, and after five years of tactics and training, and three years of active duty, I became the youngest and most promising Lieutenant-Captain in Misiril Theocracy history. I was twenty at the time I met Lady Francine, who was twenty four.
She was a Commander at the time, and was acting in the role of a diplomat's guard. She boarded the Gray Lily along with the diplomat. Everything was fine for awhile, and we never saw each other exempt during meals, were the officers and invited guests ate.
Later that night, my bladder had reached its limit, and I rushed to the bathroom. I was going to pass right by the diplomat's room, when I heard the sharp recognizable sound of a slap. Curious, I halted and put my ear to the diplomat's door.
"Get your hands off me. Bastard. I wouldn't even be guarding you, if this wasn't a request from the higher-ups."
"Please, please, baby calm down. Why don't you guard me in the bed?"
"NO! I'll scream! This is harassment!"
"It's your word against mine, baby. Now get on the bed!"
"NO!"
I could only sigh. Sexual harassment against females within the military was strictly forbidden, mainly due to practical reasons (Pregnancy). Violators faced harsh labor and complete removal of military rank. Nobles however, if they paid a hefty fine, could get away scot free. The diplomat was a Noble who obviously could pay the fine.
The moment I decided to step in, was the moment , the situation changed. As I opened the door, the diplomat pushed Francine down. Or tried to anyways. Francine 'Blessings' were from the 'physical' category. She had both super human speed and strength. When the diplomat was about to forcefully push her down, that was the final straw. She had endured what she had long enough! She had warned him one to many times.
She threw a simple left and right straight punch, but the power and speed of the blows was so great, it looked like the diplomats chest and head popped like a squashed grape. She killed him.
The whole affair exploded into an extremely high-profile case. If I hadn't testified against the supposed 'murder' of the diplomat, as a member of House Ravenwood, Francine would have faced execution because of her 'commoner' status. Honestly, this was dangerous for me too.
Since it was me who defended her case, and that she had a number of notable military achievements, she escaped the whole debacle with only having her rank been demoted to Knight. She was then placed under me at her own request as my personal bodyguard. I was surprised to say the least, and asked her why, surely guarding someone was a bitter experience.
Her response was, "You're different from the usual Noble trash. To defend my case so vehemently, even using noble authority to help a commoner like me with no benefit to yourself. Unlike that scumbag, you are someone worth guarding. Besides, I've been a bodyguard since I was seven. Only became a soldier because it pays better."
"Well, work hard and don't kill me."
Like that, our unlikely friendship began.
…..
Reminiscing about old times; it had been four years since then. During this time I gradually fell in love with the kind and clumsy Francine, though I had never said it out loud. While I lay in that bed thinking about all kinds of things, I decided that the very next day would be the day I told her I loved her, and ask her to marry me. I thought I could provide a good life for her, as I was a son of Ravenwood after all. Though I don't own any land of my own, I was on very good terms with my eldest brother, the heir of the House of Ravenwood. I could ask him to prepare a residence for me in the territories' capital Blackbirch. With a warm, but flustered heart I closed my eyes and went to sleep. The sound of the thundering Cannons being my lullaby.