Introduction

The Gift of Blood

Beyond the mountain pass doth glow
The bleeding sun beneath the snow
That riles the fiery impassioned flow
Of a river crimson letting go

A blade reflected in ones eyes
The solemn truth masks all the lies
Twice tried to darken all the skies
But thrice, it comes with paradise

The novice, at the end of the marking ceremony for priesthood, begins to commemorate the 3rd and 4th stanzas of the prophecy to her memory as is tradition.

With love impure by timeless sin
A crystal heart forms within
The iron foe, the devil's kin
Is turned by touch of innocent skin

Iron firmament might hold the foe
Beneath the bleeding sunshine glow
But the day is set to end all woe
With forbidden love letting go

Not very many would understand the last two stanzas, which is why it was kept from the general public-- the part about the "iron foe" being "the devil's kin" or that "innocent skin" should be subjected to the devil himself would have caused too much worry among the pleasantly ignorant citizens of Carnelia. Carnelians have been too peaceful, have forgotten the wars, have grown luxurious in their lifestyles. They remember neither pain nor hurt. Only want and satisfaction existed in their seemingly purposeless lives. It was a beautiful place spoiled only by the rottenness of the people's hearts.

Many do not even recognize what this poem truly represented. Some think of it as an oath. Most of the lower priestesses think it is merely a song to sing in prayer during vespers. The higher priestesses think that it holds a truth in it, but they do not realize the taste of fate embedded into it. Perhaps its holds the fall of Carnelia, but none seem to realize that.

The novice or, shall we say, the newly inducted priestess stood up after she recited the last two stanzas. She was the last to achieve the mark of the gift. Set apart from her families and half-blood siblings by the circumstances of her birth, she was immediately given to the open arms of the Sanctuary. She was rare in the land, her features and complexion was a common controversy among the people. Her pallid skin immediately sets her apart for spiritual purpose (for fair beauty is required to become a loyal servant of the gods and goddesses), but her dark abyssal hair was often marked too plainly among the many golden and white heads in the priestess line. Her hair wasn't merely dark black, but it seemingly absorbed the very light around her. Black hair such as hers, as is said in old midwife tales during those days, was the mark of a fallen angel. Clearly she was a contrast of both good and evil.

It didn't help that the circumstances of her birth was odd. She was not born within the range of Carnelian land nor in that of any other country. She was born at sea, in the middle of the invisible lines that marked the jagged territory of countries. No land could claim her but she was in Carnelia by her own choice. Citizenship went only by land of birth, not by parents.

Her mother was well known as the "new" Queen of Carnelia during the time, but her father could not have been the King. Either the young priestess was born of virginal causes or the Queen had committed treason. Her father's true identity however is never the main punch-line of any story or joke. The Queen, with one look at what she bore, quickly asked for the release of her life. No one knew what the Queen saw, only that she seemed to hide in her eyes both relief and regret—a most confusing combination—at the sight of her daughter.

Kaoru Kamiya was disowned.

No one was ever kind to her except for her sisters. The women of the Sanctuary saw in her a distinct purpose. How the likes of her ever came into favor by the High Priestess was still unknown because there was no apparent reason as to why the High Priestess would grant this one child a home within the convent and not in the local orphanage. Many theorize that Kaoru bewitched the High Priestess, that she is the deceitful devil in a woman's body. However, all talk is silenced at the sight of her. A beautiful devil indeed.

Her priestess' mark was not received with welcome by the people, but it was expected. She had the gift: The Gift of Blood. Only time will tell how she would use it. This bloodgift is very peculiar for it can only be used once. It is said that every individual with the bloodgift is fated to a certain death—or a certain life. The bloodgift controls the person and not the other way around. It harms her, it protects her, it keeps her alive—even when she wishes to die. Symptoms include high endurance, high agility, and, to the people around her, strange features as well. She was what one would call unbecoming and unwanted in front of her face in order to conform with general opinion. Yet many dreamt of her in the secret of the night, only to wake up panting in awe and terror since the subconscious of their brain had long believed that she was not quite human. She couldn't possibly be one of them--not with how she subtly became the most skilled swordswoman in the country and cursed the late Carnelian dynasty. She was untouchable.

Today Kaoru was allowed out of the city walls. After being inducted as priestess, she was given the duty to watch the walls for the whole night, and if fate were kind to her and agreed to her marking as priestess, then she would come back alive in the morning.

It wasn't a surprise that she didn't.