Seraphina Celosia's Story

Chiara moved silently through the underbrush of the forest, a few paces ahead of her prince, as she had been instructed. it was long, tedious work. Having to constantly check the forest shrubbery for traps, all of her senses constantly alert to the slightest unnatural sound, was exhausting, and it put her in an irritable mood. Especially when Ulmo insisted on repeating something that she was sure was becoming something of a mantra.

"We should be back there, fighting those icy, bastard children. Instead, here we are, crawling like animals through this forest."

Chi grunted softly, pushing a branch out of their path with a strength that it didn't appear that she physically possessed. She agreed with him. She would give anything to be out there with her Father, her sword in hand, cutting down the scum that was the Ice people. Such a cold, heartless race. She scowled at the thought of them and continued the trek, and then they left the hooded protection of the forest.

Atop the hill , they had a good view of the landscape before them. Rolling hills, and a baking hot sun, just the way she liked things. She sighed, exhaling her irritation and looked up gratefully to the wide expanse of sky. She had quickly grown bored of the greenery around them as they traveled through the wooded lands.

Ahead, the tower loomed, both promising and menacing. She'd heard only stories of its previous use, but as far as she and her prince were aware, it would be empty and waiting for them. She glanced at the young man that stood arrogantly beside her and grinned as she wiped a dirty hand across her brow.

She quickly followed Ulmo at his shouted command, taking her place and continuing to check the forest area as they moved through it until they reached the foundations of the tower itself. Once there, something was wrong. Firstly, the most obvious - a horse. A large stallion, that barely glanced at their approach. Chiara was instantly alert.

"Wait...Quiet" She muttered, holding a hand up to emphasize and signal the need for silence. She glanced back at the prince and moved slowly and without any sound across the grassy ground, examining the dirt.

Tracks...Here, they'd come from this direction. It was the horses shod hoof marks in the soft ground. And just ahead...the human that had led the creature. Chiara frowned, but couldn't tell if it was male or female. But as she was just about to give up, and return with her findings back to the Prince, she saw something different. A different set of tracks. Definitely female. Young. perhaps around her own age. She frowned.

This strange female was obviously affluent, if she had her own horse. Chiara looked back at the animal, then froze as she noticed something as it gleamed in the failing sunlight. From her position before, she hadn't been able to see, but now it was clear. Printed into the steel of the stallion's bridle was an emblem, and it was the emblem of the Royal House of Ice. At that realization, Chiara cursed and withdrew back to her prince, drawing Ustrina as she did.

She spoke in a hushed tone. How much noise had they made coming here? "My Prince. They're from the Ice lands. One female and a companion. They arrived maybe...half an hour ago. They don't appear to be heavily armed, but they're in the tower" She paused, glanced up at the structure, then back at the male, knowing she had no right to instruct the royal Prince on how to react to the situation.

"What should we do?"

Chiara moved silently through the underbrush of the forest, a few paces ahead of her prince, as she had been instructed. it was long, tedious work. Having to constantly check the forest shrubbery for traps, all of her senses constantly alert to the slightest unnatural sound, was exhausting, and it put her in an irritable mood. Especially when Ulmo insisted on repeating something that she was sure was becoming something of a mantra.

"We should be back there, fighting those icy, bastard children. Instead, here we are, crawling like animals through this forest."

Chi grunted softly, pushing a branch out of their path with a strength that it didn't appear that she physically possessed. She agreed with him. She would give anything to be out there with her Father, her sword in hand, cutting down the scum that was the Ice people. Such a cold, heartless race. She scowled at the thought of them and continued the trek, and then they left the hooded protection of the forest.

Atop the hill , they had a good view of the landscape before them. Rolling hills, and a baking hot sun, just the way she liked things. She sighed, exhaling her irritation and looked up gratefully to the wide expanse of sky. She had quickly grown bored of the greenery around them as they traveled through the wooded lands.

Ahead, the tower loomed, both promising and menacing. She'd heard only stories of its previous use, but as far as she and her prince were aware, it would be empty and waiting for them. She glanced at the young man that stood arrogantly beside her and grinned as she wiped a dirty hand across her brow.

She quickly followed Ulmo at his shouted command, taking her place and continuing to check the forest area as they moved through it until they reached the foundations of the tower itself. Once there, something was wrong. Firstly, the most obvious - a horse. A large stallion, that barely glanced at their approach. Chiara was instantly alert.

"Wait...Quiet" She muttered, holding a hand up to emphasize and signal the need for silence. She glanced back at the prince and moved slowly and without any sound across the grassy ground, examining the dirt.

Tracks...Here, they'd come from this direction. It was the horses shod hoof marks in the soft ground. And just ahead...the human that had led the creature. Chiara frowned, but couldn't tell if it was male or female. But as she was just about to give up, and return with her findings back to the Prince, she saw something different. A different set of tracks. Definitely female. Young. perhaps around her own age. She frowned.

This strange female was obviously affluent, if she had her own horse. Chiara looked back at the animal, then froze as she noticed something as it gleamed in the failing sunlight. From her position before, she hadn't been able to see, but now it was clear. Printed into the steel of the stallion's bridle was an emblem, and it was the emblem of the Royal House of Ice. At that realization, Chiara cursed and withdrew back to her prince, drawing Ustrina as she did.

She spoke in a hushed tone. How much noise had they made coming here? "My Prince. They're from the Ice lands. One female and a companion. They arrived maybe...half an hour ago. They don't appear to be heavily armed, but they're in the tower" She paused, glanced up at the structure, then back at the male, knowing she had no right to instruct the royal Prince on how to react to the situation.

"What should we do?"

Derren Jon Snowshade

The young man waited for the princess to tend to her horse, as he examined the area. It had been a while since he left the city walls, recently, his job had been too peaceful for his liking. The sound of steel clattering in the yard, the young rookies learning to fight properly for it was their Guard's Duty. Perhaps he has just been to oblivious to things. Of late, all he could think about was his family, dreams of the past tormenting his walk in the present.
He wondered, had his younger sisters married yet? Had his mother claimed the throne of the household, or did she pass it on to the younger son. Had they even remembered who Derren was, what he looked like, what he sounded like. All the questions in his head, they made him angry, and sad... But at the same time, he felt relieved, he followed the path he set out for himself, and had survived just fine untill now. He stretched his neck, tilting his head to one side, then to the other. He looked back at the princess, his duty now, was to protect her and the Royal family.

Then he looked back at his steed, which had already found himself at home in the abandoned shed. He snickered, beast needed no attending to, as expected. The stablemaster had to be a real doofus if he thought that Derren Snowshade would have the time to look after his steed, or even the desire to. However, the hoofbeast had served as a loyal companion through the years, and Derren would not appreciate having another horse.
"Bane", he called him. The steed looked up at it's rider, raising his head. Derren walked up to him, gently patting his mane. "A name fit for a warrior, would you not say." He murmured to himself, "Slayer." The name made him think, 'Bane, Bane of what? Surely there had to be a fitting title, even for a battle-steed.'
He shook his head, they would find out in time. He grabbed the mane on the steed's poll, inspecting it. A black colour, just as the rest of the horse.. Dark like the night, or a nightmare. He ran his head down to the horse's back, giving it a gentle pat, before standing up. He made his way towards the Tower entrance, looking over at the Princess, as if gesturing her to follow him.


"M'lady, your care for the hoofbeast is heartwarming, but we must move forward. There is only as much time in a day untill it's dark." He told her, bowing his head down respectfully before he spoke.

(sorry guys I went to post after I got home and then the internet went down)

Ulmo sighed. Two ice landers, probably here to try and collect a bounty on the prince. Without a word, he waved his hand forward and crept towards the tower noiselessly. It seemed to be hours, but in actuality, the two had made it to the wall of the tower in a few minutes."Come on." He whispered to Chiara. Confident she was following him, Ulmo walked as silently as possible around the back side of the tower, to the cellar's door. With a tug, the wooden panels swung on their rusty hinges, uttering a small creak as they did. The cellar was dark and dank, reeking of age and wine. It was exactly what Ulmo had believed would be down there, yet it still filled him with a sense of dread. Beneath the shadows, the casks of alcohol and the layer of dust that no doubt coated the floor in a fine powder, something seemed to radiate a power that he could feel. He didn't expect Chiara to feel it. Ulmo was raised on the stories of great kings that could sense, see and even fight greater powers than their own, back when Fire and Ice had been required to work together to survive. But that was very, very long ago. Up until now, Ulmo had taken no stock in those stories, simply brushed them aside. Now, he realized that there could very well be something out there. Perhaps, it was the reason that neither side had approached the Citadel Tower in centuries.

A week ago...

Rei was surrounded by perhaps a hundred or so of bandits. He held his katana's sheath, covered in bruises. He was slightly breathing heavily, while his eyes darted around the area. There is absolutely not a single inch of opening for him to escape, but Rei wasn't about to give up. [I need to create a path for myself. I won't be able to handle if this keeps up...] His breathes gets heavier as he slowly builds up the adrenaline inside him. Suddenly, a few bandits jump towards him. Rei was able to detect the attack just in time for him to counter the attack, with the katana half-sheathed, and kicking the man back. Several more comes lunging towards him, which where he evades the attack by jumping back. Taking the chance, he withdraws the katana at a speed so fast, the enemies couldn't keep up. With the katana sheaths back, a couple of slashes were already in motion. He continues his combo by jumping towards one of them, kicking them in the face and then repeating his last attack; withdrawing and sheathing his katana at an incredible speed. Slowly, a path was formed in front of him.

Rei wanted to take the chance, when a man almost two times higher than he is stood in his way. He held a club in his right hand, and it was resting on his shoulders, where he then lifted the club and dropped it back down, repeating the process a couple times. "You aren't getting away, Mindless Machine. This is where your life ends!" He swings his club down at a fast speed. Rei sidesteps the attack, but the giant's next attack was faster. He swung the club to the side where Rei stood and hit him. Rei received the damage full on, resulting in his coughing blood. He flies away in an instant, but regains his stance quickly. He continues coughing blood where he wasn't given a chance to recover. The giant lunges at him at an unbelievable speed and kicks him with his knee. Rei is again sent flying and this time, smashes himself against the wooden wall. The giant slowly walks his way through Rei, where Rei barely stands up. Blood continues to flow down from his mouth. "Ready to give up and let us kill you?" The giant asked in sarcasm, then laughed in very loud voice. Rei struggles to lift his head up, only to reply with a "Fuck you, you dick. How about you go and rape your own mother instead of stealing, you lifeless punk? I bet your bitch doesn't even want you." He spitted on the giant.

Obviously, he was pissed off. "That's too bad. Now you have to do die the hard way." He raised the club. It gave Rei a shade, and seconds later, the club went down. Dusts was created as a result from the heavy attack. One would assume that Rei would be dead, but there were a lot hesitations. They thought that this man was supposed to be invincible as he doesn't die in any situation, but this time, he gave in without a hitch. There must be a catch. The dusts soon cleared off, but there wasn't any remains. Not even a hint of his death. Only a giant hole in the ground. Suddenly, a shadow towered over the 'audience'. All the bandits turned to the side, only to find a figure standing there, his hands on his sheathed weapon. He stood right next to the giant, who was clearly shocked by this. Rei stood there with bruises all over his body. He was supposedly to be only able to barely move, but here he is, standing like nothing happened. The shock was something they shouldn't have kept for a long time, as Rei likes to take chances. "Iaido." The giant suddenly screamed. His club dropped to the ground as his body slowly follows. However, there was something missing. The upper half of the head. Blood started spurting all over, like a storm. The bandits slowly gets covered with the crimson liquid. "One way dragon." The body fell onto the ground lifelessly. The bandits were shocked for a moment, and then they ran. They ran away in pure horror and gore. One of them fell. He tried to get back up, but a shadow towered over him. He turned and tried to scream, but it was too late. Rei's blade pierced the man's skull without hesitation. That will be another one of many stories of why he was called the 'Mindless Machine'.

---

Present...

Rei knelt down in front of the throne. His usual expressionless face was what struck fear into the soldiers of the palace. Most of the gulped every moment he was in there, but not the king. He was unafraid of Rei's overwhelming gloominess. Instead, he stepped all over it. "So you are the famous 'Mindless Machine'. I guess you do look like one." He was definitely right. Rei's ability to kill without showing expression was what gained him his title. He wasn't given a title for no reason. The king shrugged it off. The king was once a man who won millions of battles. He was once the strongest soldier in the kingdom, but now, he decided to run the job of a king, in order to govern this kingdom he decided to make for himself. The king, who was resting on his elbow, sat up straight. He carefully observed the kneeling Rei, before giving him his orders. "Mindless Machine. I hired you in order to keep my daughter safe. You shall be paid when she comes back to the palace successfully in one piece. Once you fulfilled that, I shall have my finest investigators and guards to thoroughly search the entire kingdom. We will not leave a single stone not turned. Now be on your way. Danger draws closer to my daughter as we speak. I shall see you again, young man." Rei stood back up and turned towards the door.

Not longer than 15 minutes, Rei managed to reach the tower he was supposed to find the princess. he trekked through the forest and now he is finally out. An enormous tower stood in front of him, and there seems to be already visitors. A stead was spending it's time munching on the grass placed in front of it. There then, he found two people, a female and a male. A closer look had him confirmed that the female was his target, and the other must be presumably the bodyguard. He assumed that these two were his target, especially the princess. He approached the princess, who was clearly a young lady who expressed a more amount of interest in the outside world more than an average person. "Are you Princess Seraphina Celosia?"

As he walked into the tower with the princess, his attention was drawn by his surroundings.. He was not sure what it was, but it didn't feel right. Just stepping into the tower made him feel uncomfortable, they were clearly to be on their guard. Had it been warriors, mercenaries, assassins, or something else , he doubted it would come out and greet them with open arms. The feeling of such an old place, abandoned, and yet not seeimg to be in it's worst shape made him curious to the point he believed that someone had to be there. He had the luck of being in many places alike, abandoned, and sometimes, with inhabitants still roaming the halls. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Derren looked at the Princess, he could see her be uneasy, but it didn't look like she was bothered by the interior, most likely, it was something else. He looked up at the cieling, he could hear the crawling of what sounded like spiders. Small ones. And the sound of the wind passing through the cracks in the walls, blowing in dust and dirt.

His attention reverted back to the Princess as she spoke, and then, to another voice. He turned on his heel, un-sheathing his sword. He remained silent, looking at the newcomer. He would let them speak, but would remain at the Princess' side, incase this was no simple person. However, something about this man felt off.. Even somewhat familiar, but Derren did not have the desire to guess.

"I am good sir, why do you ask?"

That just confirmed it. She is Seraphina Celosia, the princess of the Kingdom of Ice and the target of his current mission. She definitely looks the part, although most will probably mistake her as a commoner who had no idea what the outside world looked like, if she weren't wearing royal dressers made by obvious master tailors. Rei took out a letter from the inside of his black coat and handed it to the princess. He didn't forget the guard behind, however, he can sense an enormous amount of power rivaling his own emitting from the guard. He wouldn't want to mess with him since he doesn't need to. Rei also sensed a aggressive presence somewhere near them. Presumably assassins sent to kill the princess? Or maybe they were undercover agents from the Kingdom of Fire? He didn't want to bet on anything before having solid evidences. He took a few steps back and waited for the princess to finish reading the letter.

While he didn't want to, Rei opened the letter halfway when he was travelling to this tall tower. Inside it were the following words:

Dear princess,

This is the Captain of the Royal Army. I have wrote this letter in accordance to your majesty's orders. He have hired a mercenary to followed with you along your journey to exploring the world. This man, although a mercenary and is infamous for being a killer, is undeniably strong. He will prove a great aid in your journey, along with Sir Derren. We only hope that you would be safe at all times, and your father is trying his best to protect the place you will eventually come back to. I can only hope that in this letter, you can see that everyone in the palace is worry about your safety. We are all trying our best to fulfill your majesty's wishes; that is to see you come back to home in one piece.

I best stop now. I am about to head into war with the wretched Kingdom of Fire. Wish me luck.

Rei thought it was more cliche that a touching letter. They were as if saying that Rei will fail. Well, news to them. He ain't gonna. No way he is gonna die when he is that close to finding the traitor who set ablaze his home and mercilessly killed his family. Even if he had to give up this girl's life, he will find this man and kill him. He swore upon his family who lives in the world up above the sky, beyond the clouds.

Derren stood at attention as the princess was handed the letter, but as soon as he noted that the princess seemed more at ease with the stranger, he lowered his sword. Upon further inspection of the man, he had noticed that he resembled someone described as the 'Mindless Machine'. He was impressed by what he had heard of the man from different conversations with soldiers and rookies, but even though he was not sure if that actually was him, it made him stay alert.

As he was handed the letter he secured his sword onto the ground, leaning on it, he quickly inspected contents of the message. He was right. However, upon reading, he had noted that the man was here for the same reason Derren was, to protect the princess. He folded the letter and put it in his pouch. He looked at the princess, narrowing his eyes, if her father had sent more guards, Derren was almost sure this was a place to be wary of.

He sheathed his sword, "Very well, m'lady." he nodded as the princess pointed out having an odd feeling. "I would suggest we tread lightly, I get the feeling this place is not as 'life-less' as we may have assumed."

Rei knew that they sensed something about this tower, but something was off. He could sense a small, faint power in here, however, he can't sense as strongly as the other two might. He had grew up with this inability. He couldn't as much supernatural powers as the others, but he can definitely detect presences better than most people. He had relied on this in his everyday life, and it proved to have helped a lot. But if he cant detect these supernatural powers which might have been enemies, he would have been placing himself into great risks. He never trusted luck too much, and risk was just something that depended a lot of luck. Ever since they entered the tower, he could feel the power stronger than when outside. It's small, but definitely detectable.

He found this mission to be rather boring. The princess already had another powerful guard with her, so why sent him too? Rei wanted to question the man who sent him here, but then again, the same man promised him something he would not have found until years later, so he accepted the mission. Now he's here, passing the moment quite peacefully with his target and her guard. Speaking about the guard, he had a sense of rivalry from him. Either because he's powerful or just because he wanted to have a duel with him. But Rei passed that idea. No way could he focus on a duel now. Not until he found the man he was looking for the past 6 years.

"i believe we should find a room...to sleep in!"

Said the princess while blushing after. Rei nodded and proceeded upstairs, where a circular walkway came after the stairs, doors closed from the side. Rei approached the first room, only to find the rusted lock broke down after a gentle touch. Rei attempted to push the door, where it then crumbled and fell down on the floor to the opposite. Inside was a small room with all the things you expected to find in one; a bed, a desk and chair with a black paper and feather pen on the desk. An empty shelf resided to the side of the bed. Rei tried the bed, where one of its leg broke down, causing Rei to think that this room fails. He exits and starts searching the others, but all of them resulted as same as the first room. Broken, 'bed-less' or an empty hole on the ground. Rei came back out of the last door he searched and went to the railing, looking down to check if the other guard or if the princess had found a room to rest in. Hopefully they did. Rei didn't want to have to sleep on the hard ground again.

Despite Derren's love for more agile tactics, he felt like something about this place was wrong, stealthing or not. As they scouted ahead, he could have sworn something was wrong with this place, and yet he just couldn't see what. Vibes.

He looked at the newer guard, cautious. Why had the King sent him? Did the King know something, that Derren and the Princess weren't told? And if so, would the newcomer know? So many questions, it almost frustrated Derren to be so confused. And yet, the other man seemed just as clueless about this, as Derren was.

"i believe we should find a room...to sleep in!"

He snickered silently to himself. "Very well, I believe there should be some empty rooms." He nodded, tilting his head. He had noticed that by the time he said that, the newcomer had already left in search of a room. Had they all managed to find a place to rest in, he could go talk to the man. He had quite some interest in him, especially if the man was the Mindless Machine.

He nodded once more at the Princess, "M'lady, please be cauteous." he told her, before making his way down the hall, checking out some rooms in progress. He managed to find an old store-room, an empty room, and what seemed to be a mini-armory. He walked into the armory room, perhaps there could be an old crest, a clue to who owned this place before it got deserted. But Derren had no such luck, all that was in that room, was broken steel, dust, and an abandoned weapon rack. He sighed, he did not have a good feeling about this.