A girl’s ambition

A long time ago, a younger Cecilia in her twenties stood guard at the border of the light kingdom, protected by the interior of a large white gate, connected to a giant wall built around the kingdom's edges. It was a thankless job, if not a bit superfluous. Due to the nature of conflicting elemental energy, hardly anyone would try to enter the kingdom, and those who did would do so through a planned attack, not by waltzing through the front door.

Amongst the many days of standing in this one spot, she would often find her thoughts drift towards calling it boring; a notion that she might have repeated if her dedication to her duty didn’t perturb her from doing so.

As she stared out beyond the gate, into the vast wastes that were the deadlands, she was greeted by her usual company of bones upon bones, but amongst them was something a bit unordinary; two figures in the distance, slowly walking towards her. Surprised, but excited to see a new development, she stood to attention as they got closer; there was a man and a woman, holding one-another by their shoulders as they stumbled forward. They slowly inched towards the gate, stopping in front of it as Cecilia confronted them.

“Stop there, intruders! Less you actually intend to invade the land of light!”

Both seemed weary, but not entirely out of life; still with some fight left in them. The woman’s eyes perked up as she spoke first.

“Please, we aren't invaders. We're from Kurenia, but the king doesn't know about this; we come here on our own terms!”

The man seconded her statement, speaking with just as much conviction.

“Yes, please hear us out! We want to work for you instead of Kurenia; we’re prepared to offer all the information we have, along with our eternal servitude!”

Cecilia gazed upon the pair with due suspicion, but in particular examined the man's jagged black armour; a particular set burned into the minds of all the dark kingdom's enemies.

“I recognise that armour; you’re a ‘dark sun’, working alongside the king himself. Surely you live too luxurious of a life to betray him?”

“I do, but my own wife and son receive none of the perks; they still live in the slums, and the king has even threatened to kill them if he’s not satisfied with my work. We seek protection and better conditions after your people take over the kingdom.”

The man’s eyes showed no signs of doubt as he spoke clearly, leaving Cecilia to cross her arms, slightly perplexed at the situation she’d been presented with.

“In other words, we’re the lesser of two evils for you, hmm? And you promise to be entirely beholden to our kingdom?”

The woman spoke up with even more vigour; the seriousness on her face being hard to ignore.

“Yes, we do! Even our son; we’ve instructed him to wait at the border of the dark kingdom, but he’ll do anything you say, as long as you protect him!”

Cecilia looked at the gate behind her; it wouldn’t be too long until the next soldier came to swap positions with her, in which case she knew she would lose her agency over the situation. Turning back towards the pair, she took action.

“I’m interested, but best we discuss the finer details a little further away from the walls; if any of my allies see you at this stage it may cause trouble.”

The pair agreed, and once they were ready, all three of them began to walk through the deadlands. Eventually, they arrived at one large skull that overshadowed every skeleton around it; one of a dragon. Cecilia noticed several large Hidreuze crawling around its exterior; she glared at them, and they fell under her control, slithering just out of sight.

“Come, this seems like a good place.”

Not giving time for any protests, she gently led them by their backs into the interior of the skull. She gestured for them to sit to the side, which they did, after which she took off a sizable leather sack strung around her arm, and placed it in front of them, taking several steps back afterwards.

“Here; I have some of my own supplies for when I’m on duty. You must be tired after such a long journey.”

“Oh, thank you, we would be very grateful!”

“Indeed, that is very generous of you!”

“Oh, please, it’s my pleasure.”

Cecilia smiled as the couple turned their backs to her, scouring her inventory for all the food it contained. As they grinned from ear-to-ear, pulling out supplies, she drew her sword. Her eyes took aim at the exposed neck of the man, and with both hands, she swung her blade down.

A resounding clang echoed throughout the walls of the skull. Cecilia’s face froze as her blade had stopped in its tracks, with the man’s skin covering itself in dark energy, fully hardening around itself. She pulled back her sword and the man rushed to stand up, his face flowing with confusion.

“Why!? I thought we were going to work together!”

“Sorry, but the benefits I’ll receive from besting a dark sun is worth far more than any cooperation you could provide.”

The woman stood in front of her partner, her chest glowing as dark energy surrounded her hands, turning them into spikes that shot right towards Cecilia, just narrowly blocking them with her sword. The swordsman proceeded to block the incoming attacks, waiting until the woman tired before charging forward to attack; the man rushed to get in the way, hardening the skin around his head and clashing into the blade. Cecilia drew back, grinning with excitement as she stood upright.

“So, these are your powers! Good thing I decided to gather an army first, otherwise I might have actually lost.”

She held her other hand up into the air, turning her wrist, and a horde of Hidreuze descended onto the couple. They yelled with shock, finding themselves quickly overwhelmed as the creatures covered them, draining their energy from their bodies, reverting their magic and leaving them defenceless. As they remained, unable to move, she strode closer, brandishing her sword once more.

“You fought well; I commend you for that, but it’s over now.”

The pair struggled to even move, feeling the life being drained out of them. As the woman saw her face reflected in the blade, she let out one last remark through faint breath.

“You don’t deserve … to be a soldier.”

That comment in particular stirred Cecilia’s anger, fully bringing her blade down upon the woman; silencing her forever. Once finished, the swordsman turned stoically towards the man, whose own expression was now fuelled by disgust.

“You deserve to see nothing less than the deepest depths of-”

Her eyes were cold, barely allowing him to speak before her sword brought an end to his existence. As she confirmed were no more words out of either of them, she stepped back, having finished her work.