The capital of the Valorian Empire was lit up under the night sky. Fire danced across rooftops without a sign of stopping anytime soon. Shouts echoed throughout the streets without an end. The lamps lit up as the alarm that alerted the city rang out.
A woman dressed in an elegant dark blue silk dress held the helms of her dress as she ran. Her jewelry changed together as her breathing became heavy. Her smooth brown hair bounced left and right.
"Jaileen, slow down!"
A voice that sounded exhausted called out. Yet, the woman kept running.
There was no time to stop, no time to wait. She needed to get out of this city before it was too late.
There was no telling how long went by as she darted through the streets. Dodging all those she came across.
The city guards were in a duel against some men. The city guards were not wearing any heavy platted armor, instead they wore a light uniform with metal plates in certain places. It protected them enough from taking a blow in a vital spot, but not enough to stop them from receiving a deadly attack.
Their opponents were donned in various outfits, all of which were similarly fitted to match the city guards. Their weapon skills could not match the city guards, but that was not needed.
What they had were numbers. Three of them for every city guard, meaning the guards were always outmatched.
As Jaileen ran past the two forces locked in combat, she took a moment to glance back. She did not see her husband in sight, nor did she hear his voice anymore. She ran on pure instict alone. To the place she assumed would be safe, which was not this city.
The two knights that protected her and her husband's estate died. It was not even due to being outnumbered, instead they were outmatched. Bested by some nobody.
Witnessing them fall, Jaileen knew she had to leave. Without any proper protection she would die, and when her only protection fell, she had nothing left. Her husband was useless, but that did not mean she was better than him. Jaileen knew her limits but her husband did not.
It only took her a moment of looking back for her to be caught off guard. Something hard hit her, causing something inside her body to crack.
On the ground she coughed trying to catch her breath but also trying to see what hit her. One hand on the ground, another on her chest she slowly rose. Two, three men stood in front of her. They were holding thick sticks, as thick as her arm.
"How's it feel to be the one on the ground, huh?"
One of the men asked.
Jaileen was dazed, wondering who these people were. They did not look like rebels nor guards nor anyone she knew.
As she opened her mouth, one of the men struck her.
Her legs buckled under the blow as she cried out in pain.
"Beg bitch. Beg for mercy, beg us to stop, beg for someone to save your pathetic life!"
She did not understand. Why were they assaulting her? What did she do?
"Your kind always thinks they are superior just because yall have money. Yall ain't got shit, look at you now crawling on the ground like a lost puppy. Die, bitch!"
The three men hammered away at Jaileen with their sticks. Beating her while she was down, not letting her get one word out. She felt helpless, the pain was too great for her to bare. Her vision started to get hazy as everything around her started to turn black.
What was this? Death?
The three men watched as her body spasmed on the ground like a bug refusing to die. They laughed and enjoyed being on top.
"No amount of wealth or status can save you now."
One man told Jaileen, but she was unable to hear him.
Things were changing. The status quo was about to be reversed. They would now stand at the top and the nobles of this city would bow down to them and their king.
They've been oppressed for too long, it was about time they got what rightfully belonged to them.
A swirl of black mist appeared in front of them. They were stunned by this sight as they slowly backed away. A figure stepped out from the mist as the shadows beneath the three men's feet moved. Wrapping themselves around the men's body, forbidding them from moving.
Slowly the dark shadows approached the men's neck as they felt the black shadow tightening its grip. Struggling was useless, none of them could escape.
Their white faces turned blue as they began to suffocate, yet before they passed out they found themselves looking behind them. Their heads twisted on their body like a screw.
The pain they felt could have been longer, more slow. Instead, it was over in a flash.
A young boy and a tall robust man appeared from the corner. Both saw the scene in front of them but only glanced at the bodies for a moment.
"Stop rushing ahead, you need to conserve your mana."
The young boy said as he removed his hand from the shaft of his mace. His blue eyes looked to the right as he fanned his hand at the bystanders. Telling them to go back inside before something happened to them.
The woman with long platinum colored hair stared into his eyes. They both locked on to each other for twenty seconds before she finally spoke up.
"You don't need to worry, I can handle myself."
She told him.
"I'm not worried about your ability with magic nor a sword. But neither will be worth a thing if you are out of mana or stamina."
The young man replied.
She wanted to tell him that she has not used that much of her energy, but from the young man's behavior so far she knew it would be useless. Did he picture her pushing herself to the limit? For these people?
Her eyes locked onto the three dead corpses that lay before her. The amount of power she exerted on them was minimal, it would not even put a dent into her mana reserves.
"We have three blocks to go before we make it to the temple. Do you want to stand here and tell me how I should use my abilities or do you want to make it to the temple before something disastrous happens?"
She asked him.
She was right, they should not waste their time here. Besides, he was starting to see how pointless it was to give her advice. With what he knew, saving mana was the right choice but it was not like he could just tell them everything. If that happened, he did not know how they would act or respond.
The young boy approached the woman that lost consciousness. He placed his finger on her neck and could feel a slow pulse. She was still alive.
"Heal."
A white light ran across the woman's body as her wounds started to visibly heal themselves. Her fingers twitched as her eyelids started to move.
Jaileen opened her eyes to see a young boy dressed in a suit of armor armed to the teeth. Next to him a knight and a long haired woman. From the looks of it, she could see that the woman was some sort of noble.
At a closer glance, she saw who it was.
"Angelia... Frost?"
It was a name she never imagined she would pronounce. After all, the Frost estate burned to the ground and with it so did all the members of the Frost lineage. For there to be a member of that family here right now standing before her, she had to he dead.
Yet, why did it look like the city? Why was it cold? She could not have ascended and entered Nessa's embrace.
Angelia glared at the woman but could not figure out who she was. It was easy for her to recall a person's voice, but not this one.
Jaileen got up from the ground seeing that her wounds were healed. She bowed her head slightly towards Angelia.
"Thank Nessa that you are here. With you here our situation might be better."
Jaileen said as her body started to relax.
"Stop. I'm not here to help you, nor did I save you."
Angelia responded, not wanting to hear Jaileen speak praise of her. There was also the chance the woman would harbor some idea about Angelia. She was the daughter of Dezmond, and people knew she was a mage. But was she the only mage in the city? No.
Jaileen's eyes shifted from Angelia to the young male.
"Vulcan Del Lezhalt."
He said as he held out his hand.
Jaileen's eyes grew wide for a moment but still greeted him in the way she was taught.
'Wasn't he supposed to be hiding away in his estate? No one has really seen him since the gathering at Lord Frost's mansion. Why was he here?'
Jaileen had many thoughts rushing through her head.
"A word of advice, you should stick next to your guards. Don't know why you are fleeing alone."
That's when Jaileen remembered her husband. She frantically looked around her but did not see him.
"My husband... he... he..."
Jacob shook his head.
"If he's out there, chances are he's dead. Keep going in that direction, you'll be safe."
Jacob told her as he pointed behind him.
Jaileen looked at him and gritted her teeth. She could not offer him anything nor could she command him to help her husband.
Slowly she walked away, only looking back at their party once.
"You told me to save my energy yet you go wasting yours. You can't save everyone, so you should not try."
Angelia said.
"I'm not planning on saving everyone. But saving her now means that if anything happens later and the nobles are involved, she might be willing to help me out."
"So you plan on saving her husband too?"
"No, I only helped her because she was here. I'm not going to go out of my way to search for someone I do not know. Let's go."
Jacob replied to her as they headed towards the temple. The path to the temple was empty. No one in sight until they arrived at the holy building.
A mob of people stood outside the gates trying to enter. Torches in their hand, makeshift weapons in their arms with blistered faces and red eyes.
They were yelling, crying out towards the temple. Demanding they cure them, to repair them. However, the doors stayed closed and the gate stayed shut.
It was pointless to try and break into the temple. The building was protected by a hold barrier, one that probably went up after the first explosion occurred. If one had impure intentions then it was impossible to enter the premise.
Jacob knew that and he had a feeling Matthew and Angelia did as well. But it looked as if the people outside the gates did not.
He felt bad for them, but he did not feel that bad. They were in his way, and with the situation the way it was he knew that they would attack him the moment they spotted him.
The question he had to ask himself was if he could kill these people trying to seek help.