VENM

by Inquisitor ryke

Vasren Corvus, a former mercenary and now a student of beacon. as he attempts to heal the wounds of his past he meets a colourful cast of characters who will join him on his journey. But escaping his past isn't that easy, and he quickly realises that his past life is reluctant to let go. However even more jarringly, is vasren himself ready to abandon his past?

1. Chapter 1, fire and blood

hello, this is inquisitor ryke with my new story. For those of you new to my page I hope you have a pleasant read. For those of you who have come here from RAVN. Please forgive me.

here is chapter one, so as always. Have a pleasant read.

Chapter one:blood and fire:

The airship floated forwards, a stately, dignified kind of motion that captured the eye and held it. It's six wings gently moved up and down, like the fins of a great whale. Below it, a sea of green forests rolled across the landscape, a deep, peaceful carpet.

Vasren leaned against the railing, looking out at the clouds that kept the lumbering ship company. Behind him was the city of mistral, the origin point of their cargo, and his assignment. The river glistened below them, winding its way through the forest towards the ocean.

Vasren breathed deeply through his nose, and back out through his mouth. The wind tasted of life.

He felt a soft pressure on one shoulder.

"What are you doing out here, Vas?"

Vasren chuckled and bowed his head. "I must confess I don't know the answer to that, Astrid. What do you think I'm doing out here?"

Astrid laughed, a gentle, musical sound. So full of life, so full of vibrance. He smiled where she couldn't see.

"How in the hell would I know? Sulking maybe?"

Dust, he loved that girl.

Vasren put a hand to his chest and stiffened in mock hurt. "Me? Sulk? I'm hurt."

"Oh I'm sure you'll get over it." She laughed and leant against his side.

Vasren put an arm around her waist, and she wrapped her left arm around his back.

"I'm sure I will..."

They stood there for some time, a comfortable silence falling across them, a velvet shroud. It was the quiet of two young people, alone in a beautiful place, no words were necessary, the mere presence of one another was enough to fill the silence.

Vasren smiled at the thought.

Astrid leaned her head against his shoulder. "So, have you thought about the letter yet?"

Vasren sighed, the letter had been troubling him for weeks now. "Of course I thought about it, and I'm still not sure what to do about it. I mean, for starters I'm two years too young."

Astrid shrugged.

"It happens you know, if a candidate shows enough promise they send the message out early. It's quite a privilege actually."

Vasren grunted acknowledgement, conceding the point.

"But still, I don't really know what to think about it, it's a huge change from what I do now, from how I live now."

Astrid spun him around to face her. "Look, you can't stay a mercenary for ever, sooner or later you'll end up dead, that's just how this line of work tends to be. Now, your being offered a chance to get out, to change you path. If you don't accept this, I will personally beat you senseless."

Vasren smiled and hugged her. "Alright, Astrid."

She smiled and nuzzled into his neck.

"I'll miss you though, Astrid"

She snorted. "Come on, you can see me on weekends, or even at the holidays. I'll try not to get killed while your gone." She grinned at him and extricated herself from the embrace. She gently touched his cheek. "But before you worry about all that, let's finish this job shall we?"

Vasren nodded and turned around so his back was to the railing, long coat flapping around his legs. Astrid turned around to walk inside, her hair streaming in the wind.

Vasren Corvus rubbed his temples, attempting to dispel the encroaching headache he was getting.

The airship groaned as it continued to fly, it's bloated cargo hold filled with container after container of dust, bound for the markets of vale. He snorted derisively to himself. Markets of vale? All this schnee company fire dust was headed straight to the military, that was for damn sure. So long as he got paid though, he didn't care.

"Hey, Vas."

Vasren turned to see Aren leaning out the door of the passenger area.

"Yes?"

Aren walked out to join him by the railing. "You got a second, Vas?"

Vasren shrugged. "Sure, we have a while till we make port after all."

Aren nodded and relaxed against the railing. "Yeah I just wanted to ask your opinion on something. I, uh normally wouldn't ask but I'm kinda... I dunno unsure? I suppose and I"

"Get to the point please"

"Yeah sorry" Aren breathed deeply and blew out a long breath. "Do you think, uh, Zoe and I..."

Vasren gave him a flat stare. "Why in the hell would you ask me about that? Of all people?"

Aren laughed ruefully. "Yeah I guess your right."

He shivered and pulled his jacket closer over his body, the worn leather creaking slightly. "How do you stay out here? It's so cold this high up."

Vasren chuckled and patted the younger mercenary on the head. "You just gotta toughen up junior, nothing else for it." Aren glared at him, then relented and smiled up at him.

"In any case you should come inside, Vasren, the rest of the gang is all there, join us."

Vasren nodded. "Just gimme a sec, I'll be right there."

Aren nodded and walked inside.

Vasren took another lungful of the clean, frigid air. The wind blew through his hair, the obsidian strands floating across his eyes. He shook his head to clear the strands away, tucking them behind his ear.

Wait a second, what was that? Vasren leaned against the railing, squinting into the distance. An airship, just a small one, not even as big as the bullheads used by most companies. It was sleek and streamlined, with a pair of close-set engine nacelles. It looked like some rich kids leisure yacht. Vasren made a dismissive sound and turned towards the door.

SCHINK.

Vasren turned slightly, eyes wary.

A large portion of the railing was gone, right where he had been standing. In its place was a mass of mangled and twisted metal. He ran back to the railing and looked back down at the airship he had seen before. On its back was a heavy cannon of some sort, it's barrel smoking. Vasren drew testament with one smooth motion, pointing the sword at the unfriendly airship and opening fire. A fifteen millimeter cannon spat flame from the centre of the sword, between the two blades. With each shot the barrel depressed into the shock absorber, reducing the recoil enough to wield one handed.

The Rhythmic boom shattered the silence on board the airship, drawing several of his fellow mercenaries from the passenger compartment.

Zoe spoke up. "Vasren, what's going on?"

Vasren rolled backwards, ammunition spent. Once again the deck plate was split open by a shell from the cannon on the other airship.

"Battle stations, there's a smaller airship down there firing at us, see if you can drive him off."

Zoe nodded and sprinted inside, the other three mercs on her heels.

Vasren slammed a fresh mag home and moved to the crew area at the front of the ship. On his way over he saw Aren running towards him, concern on his face. "Vas, there's two more behind us and closing in fast, though they don't seem armed."

Vasren snarled. "Boarders then, get most of the people to counter the boarders, but get Darius down below to try his luck at sniping the gun crew, alright?."

Aren nodded briskly and moved quickly to obey.

Change of plans.

Vasren ran into the bridge, where the captain was franticly looking through the ships periscopes.

"How long until we reach port?"

The captain looked up from the eyepieces, panic setting in across his face.

"About an hour sir, if we remain undamaged"

Vasren nodded and ran through the doors of the bridge, slamming them open with more force than he intended. No matter. The passenger compartment was nearly empty, everyone but a few crewmen had already assembled at the back of the ship.

The six of them stood shoulder to shoulder on the rear balcony of the ship. Astrid threw him a grim glance and rolled her shoulders. Aren drew his pistols, slamming fresh magazines into each gun and cocking the slides. Astrid unlimbered her own weapons, a pair of short swords, each fitted with a handgun at the base of the blade.

Zoe, Darius and Raynor drew their weapons as well, metallic sounds ringing across the deck. Finally Vasren drew his sword, testament. The twin, parallel blades were a smokey grey alloy, each three feet long and razor sharp. The blade widened near the tip, before curving back inwards to a pair of sharp points. Between the flat, inward edges of the blade was a long barreled cannon with shock absorbers wrapped around the base of the gun.

He held the sword up by his face, observing the approaching airships from between the points of the blade. He swung his sword to rest at his side and took up a fighter's stance. The small airships were closing fast on the lumbering freighter, their quad engines audible even from this distance.

A third ship, which Vasren recognized from earlier, rose up to take point in their formation. The three sharp, black shapes shadowed them like wolves stalking prey.

Vasren smiled. This prey has teeth.

Astrid stepped forwards to the railing. "Alright guys, get ready. Vasren, Zoe, Raynor. Down here with me, Darius and Aren, you get up to the roof and give us some fire support."

The team nodded and quickly spread out across the airship.

Vasren stepped up next to Astrid, coat flapping behind him in the wind. "Who do you think these guys are Astrid?"

Astrid shook her head. "I don't know Vasren, but whoever they are, they picked the wrong ship to capture."

Vasren nodded. Astrid turned and looked at him, smiling. She pulled his head down and kissed him. It was a brief kiss, but the sensation lingered on vasren's lips. He stepped to the right to give himself room to fight. The Pirates were closing in fast.

Gunfire erupted from the bow of the lead airship, wild erratic shots that fell short of the ship. A single shot rang out from above them and the gunman fell silent. Darius smirked behind the scope of his rifle, calmly tracking another target.

Grappling hooks launched from the lead ship, embedding themselves in the hull. The four mercenaries on the deck formed a rough wedge shape, Astrid and Vasren taking the fore as Raynor and Zoe stood wide on the flanks. The other airships nose pushed against the railing and a veritable horde of enemies leapt over the prow to land amongst them. The first few were knocked down by gunfire from above, but the second wave quickly got amongst the closer ranged combatants. Astrid swiftly dispatched one with precise strikes of her twin swords, the blades easily disarming him.

Vasren cleaved downwards at one, snapping the upraised assault rifle he tried to use to block. The combatant's eyes widened as Vasren sent him flying with a kick to the solar plexus. The next one however was right behind him. Vasren stepped back and brought the sword to a fencing stance. The combatant was dressed similarly to all the others, a black jacket with blue interior and a design of a flame emblazoned on the front. Other than that they all wore black combat gear and masks over the nose and mouth.

Vasren smirked and swung towards his next opponent, who lithely stepped backwards beyond the reach of the blade. Oh well. Vasren squeezed the trigger under the crossguard of his sword, sending a fifteen millimeter high explosive shell screaming from the barrel to impact the combatant. The unfortunate enemy was sent cartwheeling back into his ship. He took a moment to glance around. Raynor was holding his own against five enemies on the right side. Astrid was dodging effortlessly between the attacks of the combatants she was facing, while striking back with graceful ease. Vasren glanced in front just in time to see a new combatant leap from the ship.

Unlike the others her jacket reached her knees, and was trimmed with a stark white. In her hand she wielded an elegantly curved katana, a white ribbon attached to the pommel. The two warriors studied each other for a moment, contemplating. Vasren leapt to the attack first, sword slashing forwards in a powerful horizontal sweep. The girl blocked it easily, skidding slightly on the smooth deck. She disengaged and struck back, her sword flickering outwards like a snake. Vasren barely dodged it, the sword slicing the tips from the hair on his right side. Vasren swung again and again, trading blows with the girls at speeds almost too quick to follow.

Vasren was breathing hard after only a minute of fighting, the exertion getting to him quicker than he would like.

He had to end this now. Snarling he swung a vertical sweep at her, which she easily sidestepped. Perfect. Using the momentum from the strike he spun himself around and planted a kick in her stomach, smashing her against the railing on the deck. Vasren kicked again, this time to her temple for the knockout blow. She was quick though. She grabbed his foot and twisted, forcing him to spin in midair to avoid a broken ankle. He hit the deck hard, and she was on him instantly. He brought his sword up to block barely in time. Her weapon pressed against his, both hovering directly over his throat. For a while they struggled, breath rasping and eyes blazing. Vasren strained upwards,both hands wrapped around testament's hilt. He pushed violently upwards, unbalancing his opponent. She cursed as he hefted her bodily sideways to land on her back, winded. He drew back a fist and punched her in the temple, knocking her out cold.

To his left and right the rest of the Pirates lay in groaning heaps. Raynor was on his back, hands clutched to his side. Astrid and Zoe ran over to him, while Vasren made sure the leader was tied up and the rest were all unconscious.

Raynor groaned, blood seeping through his fingers slowly. Vasren knelt down next to him as well. Zoe looked at him, tears standing in her eyes. She shook her head. Vasren stood up and bowed his head. He turned to observe the other airships. They were drawn up close, close enough for him to see the two figures standing on the prows. One was a giant of a man, he wore a sleeveless uniform and had an enormous maul in his hands. The second was slimmer, and had a halberd like staff, with a blade at either end.

The ships rolled a pair of cannon out of hatches on the sides and split up, one going around each side of the cargo hauler. Astrid looked up from Raynor's body, expression grim. Vasren dove at her and Zoe, knocking them both to the ground and holding himself over them as the airship cannons opened fire.

The air erupted in smoke as high explosive shells blasted across the deck, shrapnel spraying in all directions. Vasren grunted and closed his eyes tightly, acrid cordite invading his nose and mouth.

Darius and Aren sprinted to the far end of the roof, before skidding to a halt, watching the shrapnel storm edge inexorably closer. Darius slung his rifle across his back and took up a sprinting stance. Aren braced himself to run as well.

Darius closed his eyes and slowed his breath. Then he broke into a run, legs powering him forwards the progress of the enemy cannon. Aren followed, barely a second behind. Darius hit the last stretch of intact roof and leapt forwards, right as an explosion ripped apart the passengers area. He landed and rolled, careening into a table and chairs. Aren landed behind him running over to him while crouched.

"Come on Darius, let's get over to Astrid." He looked down and took hold of Darius's arm. "Look, we need to hurry, before they-"

Aren stopped suddenly. Darius entire front was covered in blood, welling and seeping from a multitude of deep lacerations on his front. The shell had sent a deluge of razor sharp shards of metal straight up at him from underneath, blasting straight through his aura and killing him instantly. Aren bowed his head and gritted his teeth. He looked up grimly and ran over towards where Vasren was.

Vasren got gingerly to his feet, back aching from the impact of all the shrapnel from the HE shells. Astrid and Zoe stood up behind him, just as Aren came through the door. He drew both his pistols and checked the slides. His eyes alighted on Raynor and he gasped, then bowed his head again. Vasren looked down through the doorway, catching sight of Darius's outstretched arm. He shook with rage. "From now on... Keeping them alive is not a priority"

Grim, furious nods went round the group.

Astrid spoke up. "Aren, get to the left side with me, Vasren and Zoe, get the right."

The mercenaries set off in opposite directions, weapons drawn and eyes ablaze. The airships were docked now, cannons rolled back into the hull in order to allow the troops aboard. Vasren roared with fury and bowled straight into them, testament carving a bloody swathe through their ranks.

His first opponent was cut down almost instantly, testament shattering his upraised sword and smashing him to the deck. Vasren spun and swept his blade sideways, knocking a second opponent straight over the railing. Zoe ran past him, a blur with fiery orange hair. She swung her spear in blinding cuts and jabs. Three enemies fell, strewn across the deck like broken puppets. Vasren raised testament and dispatched the last few combatants with pinpoint shots. Zoe came to a stop, breathing hard, with tears streaming down her face.

BOOM!

The cannon in the side of the airship fired a shot at point blank range. Zoe spun inhumanly fast and raised her hands, golden light forming a transparent, tinted shield that pointed towards the airship. The shell detonated thunderously, the blast wave throwing Vasren backwards to skid across the deck. As the smoke cleared the slight figure from earlier stepped out from behind the cannon, pole-arm in hand. He turned towards Vasren, who now stood a scant eight feet from him. He looked down to his side, where Zoe lay. She was still, her brilliant orange hair matted with blood. The shield had blocked the shell, but the shrapnel had continued through and perforated her.

"What a waste." The figure said, deadpan. He spun his staff idly and looked coldly at Vasren. Vasren gritted his teeth and gripped testament with a white knuckled ferocity. The figure turned his head and spat next to Zoe's corpse.

"DAMN YOU"

Vasren leapt forwards, too quickly to dodge and hacked at his opponent, his sword seeming to split the air itself. The warrior brought his staff up and caught the blow. He then swung his torso around and flipped Vasren over. Vasren was, however an experienced fighter, and he twisted midair and landed on both feet, sword up in a guard position.

The man sighed, seemingly unhappy.

"This is such bullshit, I didn't sign up to kill kids."

Vasren ground his teeth. "Really? Because you seem to have taken to it rather well."

The figure's eyes narrowed and he leapt to the attack, blade swinging. Vasren deflected the first blow, the curved blade slicing through the air scant inches from Vasren's face. Vasren powered his blade forwards, aiming straight for the throat. However the second blade was quicker, using the turning momentum from the first strike to whip the blades around quickly. The steel raked across his breastplate, the ceramic armor saving him. The impact however unbalanced Vasren's own strike, and he tripped and fell into the wall of the passenger area. The staff slammed down towards him, the point aimed straight at his chest. He brought testament up, barely. The blade skidded off the sword and buried itself next to him, punching straight through the thin metal off the wall. Vasren kicked out at his opponent, who leapt back lithely.

Vasren fired his cannon at him, point blank. The shells detonated thunderously against the whirling blades of the halberd. One, however got through and slammed into his aura, seriously depleting it. The halberdier staggered back from the sheer velocity of the round. Vasren tucked his shoulder in and charged. The halberdier once again deflected the force of the charge, trapping the haft of his halberd inside Vasren's arms and swinging him around. Vasren flew through the gaping hole left by the cannon to tumble into the passenger area. He stood up, slamming a new clip of shells into his cannon. A shattering sound went off behind him. He turned to see Astrid vault through one of the few windows still intact. She was breathing hard and had blood spattered over her face.

She turned to look at Vasren, eyes shining with tears. Vasren stepped towards her, then turned to face his assailant. Astrid stepped back to back with him.

"Aren, is dead. That bastard with the hammer got him. Zoe?"

"She's dead too, just us left."

Astrid sobbed slightly. The halberd wielder stepped through the ruptured wall, twin blades held at a diagonal.

"You have just this one chance to surrender, lower your weapons, and you will not be harmed."

Vasren gritted his teeth, rage boiling through his veins. They couldn't win. The halberd wielder had easily outclassed him, while Astrid was in no shape to fight. His eyes teared up, this was no way to die. He heard Astrid's weapons strike the floor before she slumped, and fell to her knees. Vasren Half turned, seeing her bowed on the floor. He turned back towards his assailant, who waited patiently. Testament dropped from nerveless fingers, and Vasren too fell to his knees. The halberd wielder nodded, and gestured towards the wall. Astrid and Vasren sat against the twisted and mangled steel, defeated.

A second figure walked into the room, a massive maul held in both hands. The head of the maul was spattered with blood. Aren's blood. The halberd wielder turned to him.

"Make sure these two don't cause trouble, I'll check the cargo."

The huge warrior nodded, and turned to face the defeated mercenaries. The halberdier disappeared below decks, leaving them alone with the maul wielder. Astrid had her face buried between her knees, and her arms wrapped around her legs. Vasren cast a venomous glare at their captor. Silence hovered over the room for a moment like an oppressive shroud. The maul wielder turned his head to look at Astrid, calculating. Vasren tensed. He didn't like the look of this, he stood between them and their weapons.

The brute reached down suddenly and gripped Astrid's collar, lifting her bodily off the ground. She squirmed, but couldn't shake the brutes grip. He studied her intently, his eyes scanning her face, her wounds and the fear in her eyes.

"Let her go."

Vasren was standing now, fists clenched and eyes ablaze. The brute laughed, the action shaking Astrid around like a rag doll.

"Alright, whatever you say pal."

He threw Astrid sideways, to send her crashing against the wall. Vasren growled low in his throat. Then stiffened. Astrid was barely moving. Her arms and legs were strung through the wreckage, her chest rose and fell with juddering, labored breaths. His eyes widened in horror as they alighted on the twisted girder jutting from her stomach, blood gushing from the ugly hole through her abdomen. The maul wielder hesitated, shocked by what he had done. Vasren charged forwards, smashing the brute from his feet and retrieving testament. The brute rolled to his feet and swung his hammer at Vasren, the heavy blow more than capable of smashing Vasren's chest even through his seriously depleted aura. Vasren rolled underneath the blow and leapt upwards, testament slashing repeatedly across the brutes chest. The massive warrior staggered backwards, aura gone. Vasren roared with fury and drove testament straight through his chest, the twin blades emerging dripping from his back. Vasren pulled the trigger of his cannon, the heavy shell bursting through the rib cage of the brute and detonating inside his chest cavity.

"Burn in hell, murderer."

Vasren yanked his blade out of the corpse and ran over to Astrid. Astrid coughed and spluttered weakly. Vasren quickly assessed her wounds. The girder had pierced at least two major arteries, as well as tearing apart her digestive tract and rupturing her kidney. She would be dead in moments. Vasren fell to his knees, and held her close, sobbing uncontrollably. Astrid wheezed, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth and onto Vasren's coat. Astrid died against his chest. Vasren stood up, tears streaming down his face and blood coating his front. All his friends, the girl he loved. All of them. Dead. He picked up testament from where it lay at Astrid's feet.

He turned and walked out to the cockpit. The inside was a charnel house. The captain and his crew were all dead, a shell had punched straight through the side of the hull and fragmented, shredding the entire crew. Vasren walked up to the control panel and cracked his knuckles. Time to break some shit.

Vasren began randomly pulling levers and pressing buttons. Anything that looked important. The ship began to lurch and shudder in flight, it's six stabilizing fins thrown out of kilter. Vasren stepped behind the wheel of the ship and took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Don't worry, Astrid. I'll see you soon."

Agony seared through him and he fell forwards,losing his grip on the wheel. His right arm was in agony. A large, razor sharp blade was embedded in his shoulder. Footsteps traveled towards him, though he was only dimly aware of it at this point. The halberdier from earlier pulled the blade out of Vasren's shoulder, causing the swordsman to scream in pain. The grim faced warrior gripped the halberd in both hands and raised it. Vasren kicked the wheel.

The ship lurched sideways, the motion throwing Vasren's assailant across the room to disappear out the shell hole. Vasren skidded slowly across the floor, pain dimming his vision almost as fast as blood loss. The wings, now completely out of kilter shook violently and one by one, were ripped from the airship by the air pressures. Without its primary source of lift the airship's nose began to droop, and it began to hurtle downwards in an uncontrollable dive. Vasren closed his eyes, and parted his lips, a single word escaping, drowned out by the scream of wind and tortured steel.

"Astrid..."