Chapter 15: Chapter 15 – Am I Seeing Things?

 

"Hello, young lady." Venn said as Aila approached. "May I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Was that you out there?" He asked.

"You mean the burial pyre?" Aila asked.

"A burial pyre? Ah, we haven't done things like that in centuries. Usually, it's a simple burial in a family plot, unless they have some coin to get one at a temple." Venn explained.

"I see. Well, it's part of what I believe. Once a person dies, their sins are finished. It's also a crime to badmouth them, or disparage them when they aren't there to defend themselves. If they were evil, their bodies should be thrown to the wolves. If they were good, friends should speak about them, and remind the living of their good deeds." Aila explained, and smiled. "A Final Rest, if you will." Venn smiled.

"That sounds like something I might request when it's my time. Oh, there was a disturbance in town after you left." He looked around. "The Inaris gave Rirn some trouble."

"Looks like I have to teach them a lesson, once I find out what they did." Again, they saw that red glow within her eyes.

 

* * *

 

Aila stared at the sneering guards. She was angry this time. Not in a rage, but a slow burning anger for what they did to Rirn.

When she came into the town, she saw his stall had been damaged, he had a black eye, and the six stone bear plates had been stolen by an elder in the clan.

Now she was here to get compensation for Rirn, and get her property back.

"Whoever stole the bear plates from Rirn is to return them." She said to the gate guards. They sneered.

"Oh look, a little girl wants something from our clan! We're so scared!" The guard said in a mocking tone. At this point, Aila's anger rose by another notch. It seemed that far too many people thought they had power, and didn't check their arrogance against reality.

"Since being nice does nothing, I'm going to stop being nice." Aila walked away from the gate, which made them jeer at her, until they saw her next actions.

"Am I seeing things? Did she just uproot that old oak tree?" The guard asked in shock. His fellow guard felt his knees begin to weaken.

"Are you seeing things? What about me? I just saw her cut the root ball off with her hand! And the limbs just turned to dust! Did we just kick a stone bear in the balls?" He asked and only turned towards his friend for a few seconds, when he saw the guard point.

"Monster!" He turned back. The woman they just laughed at was in front of them, the tree raised as though it was a club, which now fell on the space between them to smash the gate to splinters.

One passed out from the fear, while the other pissed himself. Aila sneered at them this time.

"Only this makes you afraid? You should learn some respect!" Aila held out her hand, palm outward, and pictured a flame thrower. Flame elements rushed out and burned the splintered gate, as well as the large wooden gate frame and guard tower, which turned them into nothing but ashes.

"Until I get my property back, and this clan pays compensation for healing Rirn, I'm going to keep destroying this entire compound!" The guards freaked out and started to scream.

Aila's voice vibrated with the power she used, and during her entire sentence, the ground shook as she used unfamiliar earth elements.

That drew attention from many places, including a place even the Magistrate feared to offend.

 

* * *

 

"That's a lot of power." The Black One said as she sat beside her sister, the Seer.

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"Truth. I also feel light elements, and dark. How can she have both light and dark? Wouldn't they fight with each other inside her elemental space?" The Seer asked.

"I do not know, sister. The scouts have said that she's brought in many beasts. Two days ago, she brought in a flame wolf. Yesterday, she brought in a stone bear and three flame wolves. She has a lot of power." the Black One said quietly.

"What bothers you, sister?" The Seer asked.

"She just appeared. The forest has a night unlike any place in the kingdom. A thick gloom fills the branches of the trees, and only allows dark elemental beasts to roam about. That gloom moved last night. Three nights ago, I'm sure I didn't feel a thing, but last night, it moved." She said quietly.

"That forest is quite dangerous.  Does she really live out there?" The Seer asked.

"The gate guards reported her existence for a small reward. Information is our business, right?" The Seer nodded. "We sent a Black Guard scout to watch for movements right after that. The guards said she killed five mercenaries who attacked her. She came out with the other beasts early yesterday. She killed nineteen mercenaries on her way back, and spared one to send a message. She spent the previous night in the forest." The Black One said, and rolled her eyes as her sister slipped right up to her side.

"Can we..."

"You know we can't, sister." She held out her hand to show her sister how it was wrinkled, and weathered. "I'm getting close to the end, and dark elements affect you." This was also something they were used to, the inevitable. The Black One frowned as she felt a presence approach quickly.

Knock knock knock.

"Enter." One of the Black Guards came in and knelt down. "Speak. Why do you bother us during our time?" They knew it was against the rules to interrupt the personal time of the Seer, and the Black One, but this was important.

"Seer, Black One, this scout has something to report!" He seemed excited. "The one from the forest, the one we've kept an eye on, we saw her uproot an oak tree from near the Inaris clan's gate! She turned parts of the tree to dust!"

The Black One was shocked, while her sister did not yet grasp the meaning. She did, however, confirm his words.

"Truth."

 

* * *

 

"Report." The Magistrate looked out his window while he tried to maintain a calm facade. The steward was anything but calm.

"She destroyed the gate by using the oak tree as a club!" His hands shook. "She burned the gate, and destroyed the frame, as well as destroyed the wall for several feet in both directions! When the guards inside, their more 'elite' guards, came out to stop her, she killed them by slicing their heads off. Or tearing them off. An elder tried to stop her and was burned to ashes."

"I see. Is she still killing?" He asked.

"No sir. The Patriarch came out, and returned what one of their elders stole. He also paid compensation for the damage. Five hundred silver." The steward said, but his voice cracked a few times. He couldn't calm himself, as he had rushed out to find out what was going on, and filled in the report himself. That young woman scared him to death.

"Hm. She may clean up this mess for me, without me having to waste a single soldier." He thought for a moment. "She's strong, but it's still within our reach to remove her if she becomes a problem. Don't interfere. Just keep an eye on things." The steward nodded, left the report, and retreated from the room.

"Opinions?" The Magistrate asked.

"She killed a stone bear. She's already out of the kingdom's reach. We don't agitate the problem in Underground Black, so we should not agitate an even stronger being." The hidden guard shivered.

He had already written a note to his former guild, and let the Master Assassin know of the danger in angering her.

"She's young, and lives in the forest. That place may take care of that problem for us. It's Underground Black that is the real problem. They are in Aros, a knife waiting to stab us in the dark." The Magistrate said quietly.

"They are also a tough piece of meat that only a rank three beast could take." The guard retreated, and hoped that the Magistrate wouldn't be stupid enough to get the monster in Underground Black agitated. They haven't taken care of it until now for one important reason.

They couldn't deal with the consequences.

 

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