The forest pulsed with the rhythmic clash of metal as skilled warriors sparred, the air thick with the scent of sweat and determination. Amid this chaos, a woman raced with uncertainty, her brow furrowed with concern.
"Commander where is the Lord?" she asked, urgency lacing her voice.
"At ease." He commanded his soldiers. "He's in his office with Cassius and Redrick," the commander replied, his tone firm yet reassuring.
"We've received word from the Mystic. It seems worse than we anticipated." She haste.
With a sharp nod, he beckoned her to follow him to the office. The weight of the news pressed heavily on their shoulders.
"Come in," a voice called from within after he knocked.
"What brings about this disturbance, Cedric?" Therion asked, his gaze sharp and piercing.
"Lord, we've received news from the Mystic," Cedric said, his voice laced with exhaustion.
Therion raised an eyebrow, extending a hand for the letter. He scanned its unsettling contents, his expression darkening before passing it to Cassius with a scoff.
Cassius's face paled as he read. The letter detailed the relentless rampage of a bloodthirsty group known as the Twilights—phantoms who had plagued the land for five years, attacking without warning and vanishing as if they never existed. Villages lay in ruins, and not a single survivor remained to tell the tale. They exhibited no remorse; their cruelty knew no bounds.
"After three years of sending the Laelaps to track them, we finally have intel," Cassius announced, his voice laced with disbelief.
"They've been scouting the Fallen City," he continued, the words hanging ominously in the air.
"The Fallen City?" Redrick frowned. "There's nothing but rubble left there."
"Perhaps on a regular day," Cassius replied, urgency creeping into his tone. "But the blood moon starts tomorrow, which means the Undertaking ceremony starts with it—Oracles and new members of each sector will be there for seven days."
"When you put it like that, it sounds dire," Redrick remarked, a knot tightening in his stomach.
"If we think it's bad, it's probably ten times worse. Something doesn't seem right," Cassius said, his pace quickening as he rifled through scattered files on the desk.
"What are you doing?" Therion asked, his irritation piqued as his once organized desk was now a mess.
"Something doesn't add up. I have a bad feeling about this," Cassius admitted, frustration evident in his voice.
"Explain," Therion demanded, crossing his arms.
"Consider this: we've always assumed the Twilights' attacks were random. Yet, one thing that remains consistent in the reports is that they always attack on the last day of the blood moon every year. Why?" Cassius pressed, flipping through the pages with fervour.
"Here, hold this," he said, passing a case file to Redrick. "And give me the map."
Spreading the map across the table, he urged, "Call out the names of the places the Twilights have attacked."
"Mulestone Tribe, Muatick Tribe, Muak Tribe, and the Mulluck Tribe," Redrick confirmed.
"Tribes so small they aren't even marked on the map. What else do they have in common?" Therion mused.
"They're all villages in the Mu District," Cedric chimed in.
"How'd you know that?" Cassius asked, his brow furrowing.
"I'm the diplomat, remember? I've studied the districts, and they all start with MU, doesn't take much of a genius" Cedric replied with a hint of pride.
"What could they want in the Mu District?" Redrick questioned, unease creeping into his voice.
"The Fallen City isn't even in the Mu District. We're missing something," Therion said, his mind racing.
"Let me see the Twilights' file," Cedric requested.
As Cassius continued to pace, Cedric flipped through the case file, his expression shifting from confusion to realization.
"Oh!" Cedric gasped, drawing attention.
"What is it?" Cassius leaned in, eager to understand.
"The casualty reports from each village are… strange," Cedric said, narrowing his eyes.
"Strange how?" Therion pressed.
"Typically, in an attack, who bears the brunt of the violence?" Cedric asked the room.
"The men, of course. They're the frontline," Redrick answered.
"Exactly. But the Twilights have a different approach," Cedric said, placing the file before Therion with a sigh.
"That's impossible. The stats indicate more men were injured," Cassius interjected, reading through the file again.
"And that's precisely why we overlooked it! We were focusing on the general casualty numbers. Look closely," Cedric insisted.
"What are—?" Therion began, only to pause as he reread the file. Understanding dawned on him. "Fuck!"
"Care to share?" Cassius asked, flipping through the file for missed details. "It still shows a majority of casualties are men," he murmured, confused.
"That's the point he's making," Therion explained, his voice low and intense. "Look at this: Mulestone, population of three hundred fifteen—sixty-two men severely injured, twenty-one women aged sixteen to nineteen dead. Muatick, population one hundred thirty-three—Twenty-nine men severely injured, seventeen women aged seventeen to twenty dead. Muak, population one hundred seventy-two—fifty-three men severely injured, twenty-one women aged eighteen to twenty dead. Mulluck, population ninety-seven—twenty-two men severely injured, fifteen women aged nineteen to twenty-one dead."
"How could we have missed that?" Cedric wondered; his voice laced with disbelief.
"So, they've been targeting women," Cassius concluded, the weight of the realization settling heavily.
"Not targeting," Redrick corrected. "If women were their main targets, they'd slaughter them all."
"Ah!" Cedric exclaimed, an epiphany striking him.
"What?" Cassius asked, brows knitted.
"They aren't targeting women at random. They're targeting a specific age demographic. Look at the file, it started with Mulestone, women ages sixteen to nineteen and the last known attack was last year at Mulluck, ages Nineteen to twenty-one." Redrick mentioned.
"But why not just attack the ritual every year?" Cassius questioned confused.
"The ritual only takes those who are turning twenty-two the year of, they started attack women from the age of sixteen" Cedric interjected.
"Which means they've known what they're look for five years, they just didn't know who" Cassius marvelled.
"Think about it—they could have attacked more villages, yet they strike once a year during the last day of the blood moon, ages leading up until twenty-one. It feels orchestrated, as if they're searching for someone. And the age range aligns perfectly with those attending the ritual this year."
"All twenty-two-year-old women will be present" Cassius interjected, dread creeping into his tone.
"But not just all women" Therion motioned to the map on his table, tapping it with his index.
"Women from the Mu district, and because the mu district is the last tribe, they'll coincidentally have their ritual on the last day of the Blood moon." Redrick confirmed.
"Looks like we'll be in attendance this year after all," Therion sighed, the gravity of their situation hanging heavily in the air.
"You know what to do" he nodded his head at the three men standing tall before him.