A lone boat was pushed by the waves toward two islands connected by a massive bridge. The smaller island was a single hill toward the bridge, which led to the second, massive island placed on top of the cliffs. The first island served as a way to get to the level of the second island. If the natural walls of the island weren’t enough of a protection, more human-made ones were placed near them. It was barely visible from the bottom, but on those cliffs, behind those walls, was a town.
Once the boat hit the ground of the smaller island, a person rose from inside it. His coat was soaking wet, but at least it covered his face from irritating raindrops. As he walked up the steep hill toward the bridge, he observed as the contraction grew in size in front of him. The building was colossal, with the bridge being wide enough for five carriages to pass through.
On this massive, empty bridge, he stood out like a sore thumb. The gate guards were quick to notice him. The two men watched awkwardly, since he was the only one coming, and they waited for the man to come closer so they could talk to him.
The hooded man seemed to limp from time to time. Once one of the guards noticed it, he approached the man and asked: “What might bring you here, traveler?”
The second guard stood still by the gates, waiting for his friend to sort things out for him. He couldn’t hear what they were saying over the rain, while in truth the hooded man didn’t say a word. After a moment of thinking, when the guard was about to ask again, the man lowered his hood, revealing his tanned face with a black beard sprouting from his chin.
“Squad captain Taizen… My apologies. I didn’t recognize you.” The man turned around and whistled to catch the attention of the people on the tower. Once they looked over, the guard spun his hand around, gesturing for them to open the gates. The guard was about to offer a helping hand, but Taizen refused by simply lifting an open hand to the man.
Both guards watched as the man entered the safety of the walls. Past the gates, there was a main road forward and another line of walls on both sides of it. To his right, there was a training ground and housing for the recruits, while on the left side was a more official base of operations often referred to as The Center. An entrance to any of those sides was a half mile away from the main gate. It made the walk longer, but it gave the advantage to the order if someone or something were to bridge the gate.
Standing by the two entrances, he regarded both of them, unsure of where to go. On his right was a massive training ground, and around it were many buildings of various sizes, while on his left side was a massive building with three wings, looking like a combination of a church and a castle. Many windows were small in size and often blocked by metal bars. Just by looking at them, it was easy to tell that the outer walls were very thick and probably could withstand a few cannonballs before collapsing. Yet it stretched so high, with each floor being around fifteen feet in height. In the central wing, a tower stretched from it, reaching far above the walls of this settlement.
The front doors to the building were twice his size, prepared to withstand a ram and hold on while the warriors prepared for battle. Even the columns inside the building were strategically placed to grant a cover for those inside while not giving much to those coming from outside. On one side, they were square for people to hide themselves, while on the other side, they were cut diagonally so it would be nearly impossible to hide behind them.
Taizen walked around the halls of The Center, surprised by how empty they were. As if something had happened and he was the only one not informed about it. After all, he was missing for quite a while. Then he heard a conversation which led him to two people in full armor talking about their visits to other islands.
One man was as tall as Taizen, with his armor being mainly made of leather and a few plates of steel protecting his vital organs. To his belt, he had attached two short scythes fully made of black iron. He constantly had to push his long streak of hair away from his mouth because, as he laughed, it would tickle him.
Right in front of him was a lanky man with much more plates of armor, but enough to not restrict his movement. The plates on his arms and legs were oddly designed. They were bent outward, looking almost as if they had unrepaired holes in them. His blond hair was cut short with a few longer strands on the right side.
“Isn’t that Taizen?” The man with the long hair had to use both hands to keep the wisps away.
“Taizen? But wasn’t he listed as…” The lanky man trailed off as he turned around to face the newcomer.
“Dead?” A third voice of a woman suddenly echoed behind Tazien, hidden behind the pillar.
“So there were survivors! Oh… I am so glad to see you, Taizen, glad you are okay.” The man with long hair extended his arms as he moved to hug his friend, whom they thought was long dead. He suddenly froze as the woman who was hiding appeared right behind Taizen with a blade nearly pressed to his neck. “Veronika, what are you doing?” The man asked in disbelief, the second warrior sharing his surprise.
Right behind Taizen stood a woman in full armor with barely any gaps in it. From the waist to her knees, a red cloth hangs with a banner of her squad, a sword piercing the skull of a shark-like creature. Instead of the usual cloak like the rest of the warriors, she had a grey fur cape which only extended to her elbows. Her fair hair was tied into a thick braid, hanging on her shoulder. Right under and to the side of her left eye, there were two deep scars. Using a single hand, she held a two-handed longsword.
Her voice boomed like thunder, which brought everyone to attention. “I could say the same to you, Kronel. I couldn’t shake this odd feeling for a while, and now I know why. He looks exactly like Taizen… Except for a tiny detail… The tip of his middle finger on his left hand was cut off, yet somehow it seems fine… Identify yourself, intruder.”
All the tree warriors waited for the man’s response. The lanky man was slowly reaching for something on his back, while the man with scythes didn’t budge at all. Tensed by the sudden realization, after all, Veronika was known for her conviction and her odd hunches, which always were right, and yet another one was true.
As the intruder was about to open his mouth, he suddenly took out a sword that was hidden under the hood, striking the woman’s longsword away. Veronika was ready for anything, but the force behind this quick strike caught her off guard. Without a proper swing, he had so much strength to push her away and speed to follow up with another attack.
The impostor was about to strike Veronika, but he had to withdraw his sword and block the tip of the spear, which was about to pierce his shoulder. Lifting the sword and placing it on his back, he stopped the blade. Right behind him, the lunky man had a very long spear in his hand. The thrust had a lot of power behind it, even though the man was standing eight feet away from them.
Taking a step to the side and then forward, the intruder was about to advance to the spearman and cut off his advantage in distance, but then suddenly, from above, as if jumping in the air, he saw a flashing scythe flying toward his face. The once joyful face now looked so focused, like when a predator has its eyes on its prey.
Even with a surprise, the man was able to react and lifted his sword, as it was about to cut off the long-haired man’s hand, the warrior, mid air, jumped away. As if there was an invisible block that he used to leap away. The intruder wasn’t surprised by his sudden jump, but he looked at his sword with some sort of confusion.
If he were to say anything, it would be “Why did I slow down?” His eye turned to the woman standing behind him with an extended arm. There was no mistaking it; she had done something that gave her companion time to escape.
“Kronel! Seweryn! Try to catch this man alive for questioning! But there is no need for him to be in full pieces.” Veronika shouted as she suddenly moved forward with a surprising speed that nearly matched that of the intruder. The man was forced once again to block an attack, feeling the strength behind it, he couldn’t fight back as he was being pushed away.
He wasn’t concerned that Veronika was pushing him away; the more worrying matter was the direction they were moving, right toward the spearman. For the first time, the intruder spoke, connected with the voice, his face that was similar to Taizen, and the words he said gave chills to the three warriors.
“Gate… Open…”
Right near his blade, a light appeared and expanded, creating an explosion that shook the whole building. Veronika was somehow able to avoid most of the explosion, only leaving her with a few burn marks on her armor and fur. Yet she seemed to breathe heavily; whatever maneuver she just did took a toll on her.
Looking around, the intruder tried to check his enemy's position. Through the smoke, he was able to spot the woman and the spearman, Seweryn. His eyes darted from one corner to another, looking for the man with scythes. He suddenly felt a strong presence next to him, a killing intent so strong he could feel being cut in many spots from that single direction. He swung his sword, disregarding the possibility of blocking it, completely focused on attacking. Yet as he swung his sword and faced the unusual presence, he saw nothing.
As he heard a thud of a footstep, he lifted his sword and turned around to block an upcoming slash, yet he was too slow, his left hand was cut off, and he hit the ground. Not giving a chance for another slash, the intruder commanded, “Gate Open.”