Dame walked down the hall that led to the dock where her custom Leviathan ship rested. Celest Michaels, her smuggling partner, walked beside her, her short silver hair blowing in the breeze. Soraj, the trading empire that floated in the sky, was reachable only by Leviathans, the ships invented by Soraj engineers. The two smugglers, Dame and Celest, finally reached the ship. It was a beautiful ship, curved and sleek. The hull was a beautiful shade of black that contrasted neatly with the shiny wood floors and pristine white sails. This ship had seen dame through most of her smuggling career and she had fitted it with an extensive array of defenses and increased its speed and handling, but it lacked extremely powerful offensive capabilities. Dame opened the door to the cargo hold where the duo stored their goods and where people stayed. Dame walked casually to the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat. Dame rolled her shoulders in a relaxed way, making sure that her trusty dagger and pistol were well within reach if things went south. She turned on her Leviathan and gave a sigh of relief as it hummed to life. She turned on the cold climate adapters and put on a warm coat. Since the cargo she was delivering was to Glacius, she had to buy a warm set of clothing to account for Glacuis's architecture being made of solid ice. Glacius was a big employer to smugglers like her and Celest, ever since Soraj had stopped trading with any of the other nations due to Ignation teaming up with Seisan and the Faedom. Dame didn't have any loyalties to who she smuggled for, all she cared about was getting paid and getting out alive. "Hey Celest," Dame said over the speaker system that came with every Leviathan. "Buckle up. It's time to deliver our goods to our dear friends in Glacius."
"Ok. I'm buckled. Go ahead." Celest replied, her tone dripping with the joy of adventure. Celest was a smuggler for the excitement of it, and she was good at surviving. Dame didn't know anybody who could survive as well as Celest. It also helped that Celest could shapeshift. Dame turned her thoughts away from her companion and focused on her job. She slowly lifted off the dock and gunned the acceleration, speeding away from Soraj and heading toward the planned landing dock in Glacius. Soraj didn't care what their docks were used for as long as it was for business. Soraj was all about business. Dame looked around at the gigantic ice sculptures that made the houses and buildings of Glacius. It was all rather pretty if you could stand the cold and rigidity of the ice. Dame didn't particularly like Glacius, it was too cold or her tastes, but ever since the war it had been host to a thriving black market. As dame eased her Leviathan into one of the many docks that had cropped up since the war had started. Dame looked out through the cockpit window at her client. She wasn't surprised to see that it was the Winter Sovereign, the ruler of Glacius. Ever since the war, Glacius and its powerful dynasty had been furthering the black market and spreading the goods obtained from smugglers ,like Dame and Celest, to the citizenry. Dame carefully parked her Leviathan and opened the loading doors. Celest walked confidently towards the Winter Sovereign as his attendants started to unload the items Dame had smuggled for him. "I must thank you two for your continued service to Glacius. With all the rumors of smugglers disappearing, I thought you two might stop dealing with us."
"I'm not very superstitious and you're one of the best paying clients we have." Dame answered as she oversaw the flow of goods, each box containing everything from new weapons to modified armor. "The only thing that would stop us from doing business with you is if I deem it to be a bad deal." Dame continued. As the Winter Sovereign opened the boxes and took inventory, Dame beckoned Celest over. "Celest, I'm sure you've noticed." Celest nodded saying, "Yeah, I think we should bail. I can sense that something is up."
"Let's sit tight for and when we get paid, then we can leave." Dame said, sliding her dagger to a more easily accessible position. Celest frowned, worry obvious on her face. "Don't forget Dame. Money is as slippery as an eel."
"You forget that I have sticky fingers." Dame replied, leaning against the hull of her ship and gazing at the Winter Sovereign counting his shipment. One of the attendants took a small package from one of the boxes and rushed away from the hidden dock. The Winter Sovereign turned to the two smugglers, a smile as sharp as a icicle on his face. "Well, everything seems to be here, so I guess you want your money." He said, slowly pulling out his wallet. Then it all went south very fast. Alarms activated, their keening noise almost deafening in the closed space. Celest sprang into action, vaulting over some empty crates as she concentrated. Dame sprinted behind a ice outcropping as she drew her gun from its holster. Three Glacium cryomancers walked out slowly from the hallway the attendant had run down. Dame looked over to the stack of empty boxes where Celest sat, eyes closed and brows furrowed in concentration. Dame gave a sigh of frustration as she loaded her gun. Guns, or any firearm for that matter, didn't fire material bullets, but instead fired the aura, the energy field that surrounds all living things and supplies all magic. This made the bullets of guns fire differently depending on their wielder. Dame Finished loading her gun and signaled to the silent Celest. The two had made many plans in case a client tried to double cross them. Celest would shift and distract them, while Dame would sneak around and incapacitate the threat. Dame focused her aura, closing her eyes and letting it fall over her like a blanket. When Dame opened her eyes, the cryomancers would see nothing. Dame's invisibility cloaked everything, even her clothes and shadows, but it didn't make her ethereal. She had to be careful of her enemies so that they didn't bump into her accidentally. Dame waited, hoping that Celest would hurry up and shift already. A roar from behind the crates and the emergence of a gigantic bear, signaled that it was time to act. Dame leaped over the ice outcropping that hid her and fired her gun at the nearest cryomancer, the invisible bullet striking him and incapacitating him. Celest, in bear form, had charged the other two cryomancers, roaring savagely and bounding towards them. One jumped away, freezing the ground in front of him as he backpedaled. The other tried to make a wall of ice, but Celest tore through it like it was paper and tackled him, pinning him to the ground under her sharp bear claws. Dame lined up her shot and the last cryomancer was down. Dame let her invisibility disappear and walked toward the Winter Sovereign, who was cowering in the corner. "So that is why so many smugglers have been disappearing." Dame said, angling her pistol at him. "It was because you were killing them off."
"Please!" Begged the Winter Sovereign. "I'll pay you anything. Just don't kill me." Dame looked at him, distaste alight in her eyes. "Just pay us our agreed fee, but know that from now on, neither of us will accept any job you have for us." The Winter Sovereign almost cried in relief as he handed over the sum. "Thank you." Dame said before shouting to Celest, "It's time to go!" Celest, still in bear form, sauntered over to Dame and crammed herself through the doorway. Dame closed the storage door and took some clothes from Celest's room, there were six rooms, one being held by Dame and the other by Celest. Dame threw the clothes on the couch and left Celest to shift and change, walking back to the cockpit and sitting in the pilot's seat, the controls grasped calmly in her hands. Dame lifted off the icy dock and headed back to her dock in Soraj, her pockets considerably heavier than when she had left that morning. The trip back was short and uneventful, just the way Dame liked it. Dame parked her Leviathan right where it had been twelve hours previous. "Well, looks like it's time to call it a day huh?" Celest said to Dame as the two walked toward the apartment they shared. "Yeah. tomorrow will be a busy day finding a new employer." Dame replied.
"Maybe our new employer found us." Celest said as she reached the door to their apartment. "What do you mean?" dame inquired as Celest pulled a letter from their mailbox.
"Looking for two smugglers that are willing to escort people into the Ignation empire. Meet at Seisan border. Any fees paid." Celest read. "Well? Should we answer them?"
"Since they were so nice to send us a invite, I think that we should indulge their offer." Dame replied. Celest gave her a odd look as Dame entered the room, plopping on the couch and stretching vigorously. Celest shook her head as she laid down on the bed. "I hope you know what you are doing."
"Don't I always?" Dame retorted, a smirk on her sleepy face. Celest scowled as Dame fell asleep. "I hope this doesn't go south." Celest said as her eyes drooped with sleepiness.
Dame awoke to a beautiful Soraj sunset, but then all the Soraj sunrises were beautiful. She walked over to Celest and nudged her awake. "It's time. Let's go." Celest got up and drowsily exited their apartment and made for Dame's Leviathan. Dame took off, speeding towards the meeting place. Soon the place was in sight. It was pretty open and lacked cover, but that made it a good landing spot. As they landed, Celest saw three figures. One was clad in stainless white travel clothes, another figure, clad in pruple, stayed close to the white figure, and the last figure was clad in a light red that was reminiscent of fire, but it wasn't the red of Ignation uniforms. As Dame parked, the three figures advanced toward the Leviathan. The white clad figure greeted them graciously, bowing slightly to them. "Thank you for answering our request." The figure in white said. Her voice was warm and kind and had a royal quality to it. "My name is Roxy Galen and these are my associates, Lucina, in the purle, and Dina, in the red." Dina spoke up at this saying, "I'm not one to mince words, so I'm getting straight to the point. I want to kill Ignation's Emperor." Dame took a few steps back, amazed by this bold as brass warrior. "And you want us to smuggle you into his castle right?" Celest said, her tone as acidic as poison.
"Yes." Dina said simply. Roxy stepped forward saying, "You will be well payed according to the fee, which you can decide." Dame walked forward, hand extended toward Dina. "You have yourself a deal, and all I ask is two million Crowns." Dina shook Dame's hand without hesitation. "Deal" As Dame and Celest were about to lead Roxy, Lucina, and Dina onto the ship, they heard the roar of a Leviathan. A dark red Leviathan with the royal insignia of Ignation printed on it in black landed next to Dame's Leviathan. The door opened, and a tall figure with dark red hair and eyes the color of a burning fire. It was the infamous Emperor of the Ignation empire, known as infernus, Richard Gardner. Dina's hands went to the two swords at her belt as she advanced towards Richard as she shouted "I challenge you to a single combat to the death!"