This was inspired by something I submitted to Thisisthee-n-d on Tumblr, but as of my posting this they have not responded to it. Also, this is technically an AU and I know it's horribly written, it just bothered me that no one talks of the Combat Forces' existence. And I wrote this in an hour so I know it's pretty bad but it's not the worst thing I've ever written.
I do not own Magi.
It had started with Pisti.
The blonde general had been found in the courtyard, her pet birds slaughtered all around her mangled, cold, dead body. Her body had been torn to pieces, carefully placed to look like they were all attached when in fact, they weren't. Her pink outfit had been torn with her limbs, blood coating the sleeves and pants and near the collar. Her assailant had oddly taken care not to harm her torso, even when cutting off her head. Blood stained the bricks of the courtyard, from both the giant birds and the Artemyran Princess.
But that wasn't even the most gruesome part. Oh no. The part that struck the most fear and horror into everyone was the grinning smile carved into her face, the blade having sliced through mussel and the blood drying on her delicate face replicating that of the ominous grin Zepar always had on his face, her being the only member of his household, the vessel unable to be found yet.
Everyone had been put on high alert, and Queen Mira Artemina of Artemyra had mourned the loss of her youngest, but it seemed she didn't blame Sinbad or Sindria. She blamed Al-Tharman, as most everyone else did. Guards were placed to follow the rest of the Generals, and Ja'far had quickly gotten to work along with the others to figure out how, who, and why this happened. However, no one could tell what happened exactly. There had been residual traces of magic around, but it looked like Pisti had been killed by an ordinary blade. Which didn't make much sense, if you thought about it. Why would magic need to be implied if Pisti was already dead? It made everyone who looked upon the scene as it was being investigated sick to even think about it.
Pisti had always been so very cheerful, her smile brightening anyone's day, even Ja'far's when he was stressed. But, she had also been the first target because of that.
If nothing special had been used to kill Pisti, like poison, it made it that much harder to find the culprit.
The people grieved in their own way, but it seemed Spartos, Sharrkan, and Yamraiha had been the most affected by Pisti's murder, may her soul forever rest with the Great Flow of the Rukh.
The three of them didn't know what to do; their best friend had been murdered. But the pure rage they felt at the death of their friend only fueled their desire to bring her killer to justice. Although, when Spartos had locked himself inside his room to grieve, Sharrkan and Yamraiha realized that what they felt was nothing compared to what Spartos was feeling. Everyone knew of his feelings for Pisti, heck it was more obvious than Sharrkan's feelings for Yamraiha, but they didn't think it was enough for him to lock himself away.
Sharrkan and Yamraiha also felt guilty, since they couldn't help at all. They couldn't bring themselves to fight over if magic or swords were better, because they knew both were used in Pisti's murder.
But, before anyone was ready to, everyone had to pull themselves together and continue on with life without Pisti.
After all, there had been absolutely no clues, and even Ja'far couldn't find anything that could help lead them to the culprit, so what else could they do but be on guard and wait?
The next person to go had been Yamraiha, her borg unable to protect her under constant battering. Her murder had been more delicate, and it seemed she had been done in by suffocation. Her body was slumped over her desk, an almost normal thing to be seen there from when she had spent too long working on a spell.
However, her cold, lifeless body showed otherwise.
But, two murders in and something was the same both times that struck speculation into everyone. Ja'far had discovered both bodies, and he had the assassination knowledge to kill both girls without leaving any kind of trace behind. So people seemed to blame Ja'far, if they weren't blaming Al-Tharman. It seemed like people's trust was easily misdirected when death was on the line.
However, when someone pointed this similarity out, the remaining Generals were outraged at this. Sinbad, however, was the most outraged. Ja'far had to calm him down very carefully to keep the peace. Yamraiha was gone, and so was Pisti.
Who would be next?
Turns out it was Spartos.
He was speared through with his own spear, right through his heart. He had been pinned against the wall in the training grounds of the Silver Scorpio Tower, his head down and blood dripping down his torso, the crimson against his silver armor a bright color and glistening in the light.
So when Sharrkan found him this time, there was no questioning who had become sick at the sight of the young Sasanese Prince.
He'd be able to be with Pisti now, at least.
His body was returned to Sasan as part of their doctrine, even if they didn't want to.
Sinbad knew his generals were being targeted, and he did everything he could to protect them. More guards being placed and Sinbad himself watching his Generals very, very closely. Nothing he could do could stop it, and every time the thought they were safe, another murder occurred. No one was safe, not even the people he cared about most.
Sharrkan was next; his chain wrapped so tightly around his neck that it was imbedded into his body, the chain buried deep into his mussel and coated in blood. He was found on Yamraiha's grave, his blood drawn into a heart in mockery of his feelings for the witch.
It wasn't the worst thing though.
It was the same day that Drakon and Hinahoho were found dead, Drakon had been burned to death, his scales burnt to a crisp. He was found in his house, next to his wife who had been stabbed in the heart.
Hinahoho however, was found near his wife's grave, his children fast asleep around him, unaware of what had happened to their daddy. Hinahoho had been poisoned, and it was one of the few things that gave them any kind of hint as to whom had done this. It was a poison made of Baobarobu roots and papagoreya seeds, and so it really didn't do much to help except to tell them that it was someone with access to the baobarobu tree and the papagoreya fruit, which both grew on Sindrian land.
But this left only two Generals left, and Sinbad dreaded what would follow. Their only clues were that they were already inside Sindria, they had a lot of time on their hands from the time it takes to make the poison, they had enough strength to take down the generals one by one, and there was multiple since it seemed that Hinahoho, Drakon, and Sharrkan were all taken out at once.
But they couldn't think of anyone that had a reason to kill them that would already be in Sindria.
The Combat forces, one by one, replaced the deceased Generals. It seemed that no one had any way to take out Masrur or Ja'far, and slowly, over time, everything returned relatively to normal. Hinahoho's children went back to Immuchak, save for Kikiriku. He replaced his father. The six new Generals needed to be properly trained in what to do, and the culprit was never found for the murders.
Everyone assumed Al-Tharman did it, or Ja'far did.
And every year new people came up to Ja'far and blamed him, but he ignored it. He had a suspicion of who had killed his friends, but he couldn't voice it or risk being considered a traitor to Sindria.
As long as the Ex-Combat Forces stayed away from Sin, Ja'far wouldn't talk about it. He would mourn his friends, but he would never voice it.
After all, who would believe him that the people who swore to protect Sindria and all of its people had killed their master's?