Chapter Four: Shackles of Eternity

“The experiment is an abject failure, Koyori. You and Lui wasted valuable resources on something that I told you repeatedly would never bear fruit.”

Towa looked down, staring down at her feet. The Grandmaster of the Order paced back and forth. He was a mean old bastard with little tolerance for the slightest error, even among his senior staff. Lui and Koyori stood quietly, taking the scolding.

“What do you have to say for yourselves? And you, test subject number three thousand eight hundred and one? What say you? Five years and yet you display no signs of a Gift, much less one of extraordinary quality.”

Towa gripped her sleeves. She hated whenever he did that. Whenever the Grandmaster was in a foul mood or decided he held a grudge towards another member of the order, he’d refer to them by number rather than name.

“I… I don’t know. I have no idea why I can’t use my gift. But that doesn’t mean-”

“Silence! I will hear no more of it.” he said, turning around to gaze out the window as he smoked his pipe “Test subject number three thousand eight hundred and one, you are dismissed. Lui and Koyori will have to justify why I ought to expend yet more money and resources to continue this fruitless endeavor.”

Towa scrunched up her eyes tight and exited the Grandmaster’s office. This meant one of two things: she was either being excommunicated or she was being sent to Bronze Cross where the fighting was heaviest. Excommunication, despite it being a direct mandate, was treated exactly the same as desertion. You would be marked for death and any Spears you happened to run into would be compelled to kill you on sight. Whatever the verdict, Towa was likely going to be sent to die.

She stormed out of the castle, marching through the front gate and down towards the forest. She punched and kicked one of the trees, taking all of her anger out on it. Why couldn’t she just use her gift?! What was wrong with her?! The latest bloomer among them had discovered hers just two months after the initiation and she could hardly fight. Yet Towa, for all her strength and elegance, was nothing but a mere superhuman. In the Order of Spears, superhuman was not enough, especially after all it took to produce her. Someone came up behind her. a close friend and training companion: Mano Aloe.

“I’m guessing the meeting did go well…” she said

“No…” Towa said, tears beginning to form in her eyes “They’re thinking about excommunication.”

Aloe’s eyes widened.

“They can’t!”

She looked at her with desperation.

“What am I going to do?”

Aloe placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ve got an idea. I think I may know something you can try that will awaken your gift. I haven’t told anyone but… my gift is a bit deeper than it first seems.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to give you a piece of my gift.”

Towa used her whetstone to sharpen her blade, mindlessly watching as the sparks fell onto the ground below her. She appreciated the solo time. It was easy to forget after having been working alone for such a long period of time. Though she cared a lot for Botan and Fubuki, she couldn’t deny that she liked the solitary life of a Spear at times. She turned her head as she heard a door open, allowing Shiori and Botan to exit.

“-trust me. You’ll do fine. I can see the potential for it in you. And if I’m wrong, I’ll happily give you my fire staff.”

“Ok…” Botan said in an unsure voice “I’m telling you though, I can’t do magic.”

The two stood out in the center of the field overlooking a forest. Two Sisters lay just beyond, marked only by the large clock tower jutting up from the tree line.

“Now, the thing with summoning is it always acquires a debt. The greater the spell, the higher the debt. So, I want to try something simple. We’ll start by courting the Great Wolf of the Sacred Hunt.”

“Great Wolf of the Sacred Hunt…? Is that a goddess I’ve never heard of?”

She laughed.

“No. Not all summoning is given to us by the Goddesses, even if the spells are related in some way. The Great Wolf of the Sacred Hunt is half divine and said to be the companion of Coco. I’ll demonstrate.”

Shiori took a blade and a roll of paper from her pocket. On the paper lay a chalk drawn pentagram and she set it down flat on the ground as sliced across her palm.

“I call upon the Great Wolf of the Sacred Hunt. Hear my cry and come to my aid. As my payment, I offer you my blood.”

She took her hand and let the blood run down onto the circle. The paper burst into flame and, from the flame, a large, imposing ghostly wolf emerged with glowing white eyes.

“For some summoning spells, a pentagram is required to form a proper entry point into the waking world. Since my home and its surroundings are covered in wards, summoning conventionally would never work. It’s also a good strategy to fix your mana to one place and keep it stealthy.”

The wolf vanished into thin air and Shiori pulled out another pentagram.

“You try.” she said encouragingly “You know, I taught Towa to summon. She was so adamant that she’d never have a use for it and man did she pout.”

“I heard that.” Towa called from where she was sitting

Shiori chuckled.

“I know. And you know it’s true!”

Botan put the paper flat on the ground then used her claws to rip open her palm.

“Remember,” Shiori said “Incantation first, offering second.”

“Alright…” Botan said, feeling the blood run down her arm “I… I call upon the Great Wolf of the Sacred Hunt. Hear my cry and come to my aid. As payment, I offer you my blood.”

She turned her hand to the side and let the blood run down onto the parchment. Sure enough, it burst into flame and the same spectral wolf emerged from its ashes. Botan looked overjoyed.

“I… I did it! I actually did it! I used magic!”

Shiori smiled, doing a small clap.

“See? I knew you could do it.”

Towa smiled.

“Good job, Botan!”

“Thanks, Towa!” she called back, ecstatic

“Now, what’s useful about the Great Wolf is that she can find just about anything so long as you have a sample of whatever you’re looking for. She’s very useful and I’ve called upon her more times than I can count.”

The spectral wolf faded away and Botan couldn’t stop smiling. Her whole time as a spear she couldn’t cast a spark, couldn’t ignite a single flame or freeze half frozen water, yet summoning was so easy that it hardly felt like she did anything at all.

“You have to teach me more spells, Shiori!”

“Alright, I’d be happy too.”

“Not right now.” Towa said, approaching the group “We have work to do. We also have to get replacement spears and provisions, as well as new horses. We can study afterwards. Where’s Fubuki?”

“Still in the house.” Botan said “She wanted to take a little nap I think.”

“Alright. I’ll be back.”

Towa went off to the house to fetch Fubuki and Botan looked up at Shiori, positively beaming.

“Thanks so much, Shiori.”

She smiled at her.

“Don’t mention it. Like I said, I’m here to help. My home is always open. If you’re ever on the road and happen to be nearby, don’t hesitate to pay me a visit. And… I am always up to share a number of embarrassing stories about Towa as well.” she chuckled

“Tell her anything like that, Shiori and I’ll personally give you a demonstration of how much I’ve improved.” Towa growled from inside the house

Shiori covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.

“So, how many summoning spells are there?” Botan asked

“More than I could possibly count. And the greater the spirit summoned, the higher the cost. Sometimes it can be so high that magic can’t bring them back. Take a look at this.”

Shiori rolled up the sleeve of her right arm, exposing a rather large mass of skin to be missing.

“My goddess…”

“It’s not as bad as it looks, though it is completely numb. But it is something to keep in mind when summoning. Sometimes it’s a debt that magic can’t get around.”

Towa emerged from the house with a rather tired looking Fubuki, standing out in front of them.

“Alright. Ready to go?”

“Yes.” Botan said

“Ok. Then let’s be off.” Towa looked at Shiori with a smile “And thanks for teaching Botan summoning. That will serve her well in the future without a doubt.”

The trio walked down the path through a small section of the forest and towards the boundary of the city. Its most striking feature at first glance was the three arches at every intersection into the city. Each arch had hanging from its curved top a series of wind chimes etched with several runes to which the city owed to its long-lasting peace. It lay free from the creatures of the Abyss who dared not pass them.

The town itself was a strange amalgamation of Kanbalan and Hijauan culture, taking heavy influence from Sana and Aki. The large beads that hung between houses reminded Botan of home, filling her with the desperate longing again. Each link from house to house was said to provide a spiritual connection from Sana to those who dwelled in the homes as well as linking believers of the faith in the same way. The houses themselves took cues from both cultures, sporting the Kanbalan tradition of pointed, almost teapot-like rooftops painted various colors with walls of very thick wood without windows. Windows, as tradition stated, were signs of distrust in Aki’s precognition. What set them apart from normal structures of the type from both regions were the skylights atop each roof around its rounded edges, perfect for viewing the stars on a clear night. In a clever work around to avoid the blasphemy that such a thing would be, the skylights were, instead, comically large vents, allowing anyone to peek out from the spaces between the slits.

As was so common among towns like these, its square held a statue dedication. It portrayed Sana and Aki both holding hands as though they were dancing, with Aki’s head pointed to the sky and Sana’s to the ground, a clever representation of the mythos surrounding the two: Aki, forever looking towards the stars for her daughter’s safe return and Sana, forever looking down upon humanity to remind them that she hadn’t forgotten them. Botan reached into her shirt as they approached the statue and held her prayer beads to her lips, whispering a prayer to receive Sana’s blessing.

“This town is so… unique.” Fubuki said in wonder “I’ve never seen anywhere like it.”

“It is.” Towa replied “It’s always been one of my favorite towns in the Empire. There’s nothing else like it. In all my years of traveling I’ve never seen such a happy combination of two cultures on such elegant display like this.”

Botan put the beads back into her shirt.

“My question is why do they think they’re sisters? Both religions describe them clearly as mother and daughter, it’s why Aki is also called the Weeping Mother.”

Towa shrugged.

“I’ve never been in town long enough to ask.” she said, reaching into her tunic to pull out a large coin pouch “I need you both to restock our supplies and get us new spears. Don’t buy anything other than the essentials, understand? I’ll get us new horses.”

“Yes, Towa.” they said in unison

Towa gave them the coin pouch and went down the street to look for her mark. She walked until she reached the west end of town, stopping just outside the archways.

“Don’t move another inch, or else.” a voice said from behind her

A spear poked into her back just enough to draw the smallest bit of blood. She turned her head slightly to gaze upon Aloe. She slowly raised her hands.

“It’s been a long time. You look so strange without your horns.”

She gave her a nasty glare.

“You think I’m stupid? You think I wouldn’t know if you came looking for me?”

“Did Shiori tip you off?”

“No, of course not. Bitch didn’t extend a single hand to help me unless I paid her, even when I was injured.”

Towa said nothing, keeping her eyes fixed to Aloe’s face.

“Well?” Aloe asked in an angry tone “Is that all you have to say to me? Not going to beg me for your life? Or try to make a deal? No trying to convince me to rejoin the order?”

She remained silent and unflinching, opting to stare her down instead.

“Oh, I see… I see what you’re doing. You’re trying to bait a reaction out of me. Well, you’ll have to try a lot harder.”

Aloe raised the blade to Towa’s neck.

“I’m giving you one chance to leave and never come back, Towa. You and your new friends you’ve got. Refuse and I will kill you.”

Towa once again refused to respond and Aloe glared at her, looking at her with remorseless eyes.

“Have it your way.”

She quickly sliced clean through Towa’s artery and she fell to the floor, blood pouring out of her wound like gas from a pressure pipe.

Mio opened the door to the morgue and walked inside. It was a sad, deary place with naught but a few candles to aid visibility in the windowless building. The manager followed behind her, supervising her to make sure her conduct remained appropriate given the nature of the bodies she was examining. Two bodies lay on wooden tables with white sheets over them.

“These are the bodies?”

“Yes. The left is the Pontiff, the right is the sister. Please be especially careful when examining them.”

“I promise that I will be.” Mio reassured him

She pulled away the sheet containing the previous Pontiff’s body and looked at it carefully. The legs had indeed been removed yet it didn’t look like it had been done with force. Both limbs appeared cleanly cut without any irregularities in the slicing.

“Were the legs this clean cut when you brought him here?”

“Yes.” he said “Odd, isn’t it? Like it was done with a saw and anesthesia.”

“Yes… really odd.”

Mio examined him up and down for any marks or distinguishing features. As Moona had said, it truly did appear as though no struggle was made in his death. No bruising, no marks, no broken bones or even chipped fingernails. The body was almost suspiciously pristine.

“What about the rest of his body? Was it cleaned up for funeral preparation?”

“No. We received it only two days ago.”

“Two days ago…?”

“Yes ma’am. Is that an issue?”

“No, no… just… thinking.”

Mio put her hand to her chin. Two days ago? Moona said it hadn’t struck in three. Either they had left the body in the bedroom for an entire day while they interrogated the guards or someone was lying.

“Do you happen to have the severed legs?”

“Yes actually. One moment.”

The morgue director walked over to a wide table with a large brass box, carting it over beside the exam table. Mio looked inside and, just as with the body, the legs exhibited no uneven cuts. It was as straight and precise as someone cutting through steak. She took one leg and examined it thoroughly, finally stumbling across a possible clue: a mark in the shape of an anchor.

“What’s this? Aren’t members of the church forbidden from having tattoos?”

The director looked at it closely then gave her a stern glare.

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to. And I’d suggest you stop hallucinating things before something bad happens.” he said sternly

Mio got a child down her spine and nodded, understanding the thinly veiled threat immediately. She put the leg back into the case and examined the second, finding nothing special or out of the ordinary. Covering the previous Pontiff’s body back with the sheet, she moved on to the sister.

“Do you have her dismembered arms?” Mio asked

“Yes. One moment.”

The director returned with another brass box containing the sister’s arms. As she inspected them both, she once again spied the same mark: an anchor. She knew it couldn’t be a coincidence at this point. It had to be the killer’s mark, something the morgue director seemed quite intent on shielding from interrogation. The question was, was it due to guilt or was it because it would tarnish the Pontiff’s record?

She looked over the sister’s body for anything else out of the ordinary. Much like with the Pontiff, the body was entirely undamaged apart from the arms, as though she simply died and her arms detached themselves. She had one clue and one suspect and all of it amounted to precious little.

“Thank you for allowing me to check the bodies. I know it’s probably not very welcome since I’m an outsider, but I appreciate you letting me try.”

“You’re very welcome. I hope you can use whatever you’ve found to bring whatever is doing this to justice. Allow me to walk you up front.”

The two walked back to the entrance only for her to be stopped by the director.

“Yes? Is something the matter?”

“Do you like lumber? For your spears, I mean.”

Mio raised her eyebrow.

“Um… I… I suppose. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I have a friend in the lumberyard who is quite skilled at finding the right lumber for wood-based spears. In fact, he has quite the eye for things that may be difficult to spot when it comes to such work-related specialties.”

The man gave her an exaggerated look as he said it, calling great attention to the last sentence as he spoke it.

“Where is this lumberyard?”

“North side of town at the gate. I would highly recommend a visit. He may be able to share things about lumber that you would never find yourself, even being from such a prestigious guild.”

“Thank you.” Mio nodded “I’ll see if I can stop by.”

She exited the morgue and looked down at her feet. Either this man knew an insider who could point her to clues she wasn’t aware of or this was a very obvious trap.

“You absolute fool…” Aloe said, said “Or, maybe this is what you wanted the whole time.”

“What I wanted…?” Towa said in a strained voice “Hardly.”

“Still alive? You really are tough. Don’t worry though, I won’t screw up this time.”

She lifted up her spear, readying to cut her head off only for Towa to move at lightning speed, leaving only a rainbow-colored blur in her wake. Her neck had completely healed as though there was never a wound at all and the two began to clash, metal clashing against metal.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone?!” Aloe yelled, launching a flurry of strikes at her “What? Is Lui gonna know? Is she following you or something?”

Towa lifted the arm of her spear up to direct Aloe’s strike far out to the side, leaving her torso completely vulnerable and her arms awkwardly stretched. With a hard kick to the stomach, she threw Aloe backwards into the grass as she barely managed to keep on her feet. Towa didn’t hesitate, throwing a bolt of lighting into her only for Aloe to catch it like a baseball. Towa looked on in surprise.

“Cool, isn’t it?” she said, crushing the plasma in her hand with a thunder crack “Picked that up while on the road. Your magic isn’t going to help you too much.”

Towa ran forward and began dueling her again, striking ferociously. Aloe held a palm out and fire began to light in it only for Towa to use the moment of hesitation to chop her hand clean off her body. Aloe fought through the pain, knowing if she took her focus away from even a moment, it would mean death. She jumped backwards, using her superhuman strength to break her spear in half for better use with one hand.

Despite her loss of a limb and shortened reach, she fought no less skillfully, pushing Towa back inch by inch, even landing a slice across her cheek. She pulled her leg out wide, as though providing an opening, and Towa raced to chop through her ankle, only for Aloe to kick dust in her eyes. As she reared back, Aloe sliced clean through her nose, causing blood to pour down her face. The two stood at opposite sides of the road, panting and covered in sweat. Each were pushing themselves to the limit.

“Why won’t you speak to me?!” Aloe shouted “We were comrades! Friends! Don’t you have anything to say?! It’s been five hundred years!”

Towa put her hand over her nose, sealing the wound with magic and casting the blood off her face. She stood up, looking at her with a cold, uncaring expression. Aloe became enraged.

“You know…” she said, her hand clenching her spear so tight it shook “I always thought that maybe, deep down, you regretted not coming with me and abandoning the Order… now I see you’re just like Lui… like Koyori… a sadistic, cruel piece of shit who cares only about herself and about how much carnage she can cause with her power.”

Towa put her spear forward again, once again refusing to speak. A crowd of onlookers began to form, intrigued by the commotion between the two master Spears battling to the death. They called out to Aloe, cheering her on and she smiled at them, dusting herself off.

“So be it then…” she huffed “I’m done with the foreplay.”

She took a big leap backwards, well outside the boundaries of the city.

“You were trying to keep me inside the town so the runes restrict my gift, right? Well-”

Towa shot forward, interrupting her speech in an attempt to finish the battle quickly. Her blade narrowly missed her neck, being stopped short by Aloe’s blade shielding it with its broad side. Not missing a single opportunity, Towa yanked her blade down and tore a section of her shoulder before pulling back. Aloe’s body began to glow a brilliant shade of blue in lines throughout her skin that took the shape of many interwoven triskelion. Atop her forehead light a red symbol consisting of a swirling circle surrounded by two squares each overlayed across the other to form what looked like a star. It was Aloe’s calling card: the Sun Cross. Towa’s body glowed similarly, only each line was an angry red, cutting deep into her flesh. Towa stood rooted in place; eyes wide in terror. Her body began to contort awkwardly into a pose resembling that of a crucifixion. The battle was over.

“I gave you a chance to walk away, Towa.” she said, her body’s glow fading “You should’ve taken it.”

The red triskelion markings across Towa’s body didn’t fade, keeping her there as though they were divine cuffs. She appeared motionless, yet, in her eyes, one could still see that she was very much alive and conscious. A woman approached Aloe.

“Is… is it over?”

“Yes… it’s done.” she replied

“What did you do to her?”

She glanced at Towa.

“I gave her an eternity to think about what she’s done. Please make sure no one comes around for a few days. She could still be dangerous and-”

“TOWA!” a voice called from down the walkway

Botan and Fubuki came running, brand news spears in their hands. In that moment of distraction, she began to break free of her binds, the sheer force of Towa’s spirit snapping each line one after the other. She quickly made a break for Towa, hoping to kill her before she could loose herself, only to find a white fox biting the open wound that once held her hand. She yelled, tossing Fubuki to the side and watched as Towa broke free. Towa pointed her spear forward.

“Give up now and I’ll make it painless.” she said

“No chance!” she fired back

“So be it…”

Before any of them could react, Aloe dove into the crowd of onlookers, holding an elderly woman with a spear to her neck.

“A-Aloe…? What are you doing?” the woman asked

“One wrong move and I’ll kill her, Towa. You understand me? I’ll-”

Towa’s blade was halfway through the woman before she could finish her sentence. Aloe’s vitals only narrowly dodged the blade, opting for a large portion of her side to be sliced open instead. Blood began to pour out of the open wound profusely and her skin began to turn pale.

“What the hell did you do that for?!” Botan shouted

Towa gave no reply, whipping her spear to the side to throw off the blood that had collected on the blade. Her eyes were full of malice and hatred, as though the woman she had just run through were just as culpable. Fubuki looked stunned. She had never seen her behave so ruthlessly. Towa continued her march forward and her wings sprouted forth, glowing every shade of the rainbow. Botan looked into the wings; almost positive she could see something in their glassy reflection. Images of Towa, of Aloe and of others she didn’t recognize. It was like she were peering through her memories, perhaps through time itself. She saw herself atop a mountain with a man she didn’t recognize. Blood. Death. What on earth was this? She reached Aloe and held up her spear, ready to run her through and finish the job. She held the spear high in the air, yet the blade didn’t move.

“Well…?” she asked weakly “Are you going to do it or not? If you wait too long, I’ll be able to recover or… or I’ll die… you’ll have killed the old woman for nothing.”

Towa’s spear shook in her hands and her muscles froze stiff. Aloe smiled.

“I see…” she chuckled “No wonder you wouldn’t speak to me.”

Aloe got up, the triskelion symbols lighting her skin again.

“Goodbye, Towa. I missed you.”

As though she stopped time, the blood that had been pouring out of her side and her severed hand stopped mid flow as the symbols on her skin lit up again. Towa remained still throughout it all, her eyes full of emotion.

“I hope we don’t meet again.” Aloe said with a sigh “But… it was nice to see your face.”

Aloe began to wander off into the woods and Towa’s wings shattered, causing her to collapse to her knees.

Reine walked about the various shops and homes, feeling a sense of great unease. Last she was here the streets were bursting with life. People from across the empire seemed to always fill the streets at all times of day, trading, talking and looking at the great church. Seeing these same streets completely devoid of life was unsettling, as though she had been transferred into a dimension without inhabitants. She walked to the east side of the town, coming across the perfect place to start: the tavern. No shortage of those drunk enough to say all sorts of things they would normally not say. She opened the door, thankfully finding it far more bustling than the street outside and took a seat at the bar. She put a small pouch of money on the table and ordered some ale. If nothing else, she could certainly use a drink. She looked to the man beside her. He slowly swayed back to the forth, clearly well past tipsy. The perfect place to begin.

“How are you doing?” Reine asked with a smile

“Oh… oh I am… I am doing just wonderful lady…” he said, looking at her with lazy eyes “Hey… I… I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“Why don’t I get you a drink? Maybe we can become friends.”

“Ah, shit really? Absolutely, lady. A person who… who gives… me… fuck what was I saying?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She waved the bartender, calling for another drink to be given to the man she was buttering up. They chatted for a small bit as he got another drink in and Reine made her move.

“It’s sad about the late Pontiff, isn’t it?”

“Truly…” he muttered “that… that man was… ugh… woman? That Pontiff was one of the best we’ve ever had.”

“It’s a shame. What do you think of the new one?”

“Don’t… don’t tell anyone I said this but… she’s a HUGE bitch…”

“Is she widely disliked?”

“Oh yeah… and she… she… she hated… last Pontiff… everyone… everyone knew she was gunning for that position and-”

“I think you should probably stop.” the bartender said sternly “You and your new friend there. Her grace, for all her flaws, should not be insulted so openly.”

“I understand. Well…” Reine said “Thank you for the talk. Here.”

Reine put a small coin pouch next to the man, got up and left the bar. Not a lot to go on and it could just as well all be untrue, but if there was any truth to the statement, the Pontiff was a woman who was a scheming career climber. To most, this would prove suspicious. But in the world of religious politics, it would be easier to find a person who wasn’t a scheming bastard. It was all too typical for such a thing to occur. She looked around. The only other place she could possibly scour for information was the inn. As she drew closer, she found herself surrounded by four guards wielding halberds.

Watame went out with her horse to the old battlefield that had, until now, remained relatively untouched. All seemed quiet, peaceful. The wind gently brushed across the discarded armor and the rusty swords as the vegetation slowly began to swallow them into the earth. She guided her horse by the reins, looking carefully for any clues she could find when she noticed something odd: empty suits of armor. There had been no decay, no bones and no signs scavengers had eaten the corpses. If they were simply taken away to be buried, why remove the armor and leave it behind? She continued walking across the field for any signs of strange activity yet found none. It lay undisturbed, a perfectly preserved graveyard with nary a sign that anything was amiss apart from the empty suits of armor. What sort of beast would do such a thing and do it so thoroughly?

She ventured to the center of the battlefield, finding an odd sight: the bones of a soldier. Only it was as though he had fallen from the sky, laying on his back with outspread arms and legs and bones that had clearly been crushed by impact force. There lay a perfect circle around him that remained untouched by any amor, shields or swords, almost like a blast radius. She let go of the reins and knelt down to investigate the remains. All seemed as she might expect of someone who fell from a great height: the spine and ribs had been crushed, as was the pelvis and sections of the upper arms and legs. The metal of the armor was bent and warped yet was not of the same make and model as the other suits she had seen. It bore no coat of arms, nor was its headplate fashioned in the style of the others. She lifted the mysterious knight’s visor to inspect the skull.

It was human so far that she could tell. Eight missing teeth, no doubt slammed out from the fall. She could find only one irregularity: an anchor looking symbol on the inside of the skull’s eye. She thought for a moment. A curse? A ward? Perhaps it could even have been a mark left by someone after the fact as a way of identification. Such a practice was far from unusual given that, often, people would come and pick up the various discarded articles of battle. There were many things the marking could pertain to and all of them required a very different method of disposal. If it were a curse, she would first need to break the curse in order to dispose the body. Were it a ward, it would be a mistake to remove it at all. She stood up thoroughly perplexed by the entire situation. All she could do was consult Reine. She would have far more information on such matters.

With a loud neigh, her horse suddenly bolted, taking off in the opposite direction. She quickly shot to her feet, looking for what spooked the horse, yet saw nothing. She put her arms up, gathering wind in her palms to launch at the potential attacker, yet none came. No armed men. No horrific abomination from the beyond. No wraith. Not so much as a footstep. All was completely quiet. She stood there for a solid ten minutes, not moving one muscle in anticipation of the threat. Could it really have just been something like the wind? She slowly let the wind dissipate from her hands. She still had to investigate the graveyard. As the wind died down, she looked at her hand and noticed something peculiar: a mark resembling an anchor.