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Prologue
Ever since the council crowned Orrin the new King, everything had gone to hell. The King had felt the previous administrations had granted we state alchemist too much freedom. He started by instituting a curfew. No alchemist was allowed out past 12. After that they began restricting us the use of certain public facilities, like bars, movie theatres, and restaurants. There was also the ban of public use of alchemy. Then they wanted all alchemists, even the civilian alchemist, to register with the state. These rules were different but we could manage. We knew we needed to follow the will of our King. It was our duty as state alchemist to follow orders. But the last straw was when they started instituting "The Mark"
Chapter One
"Ahhhh!" cried a young boy in the middle of town square. He was surrounded by onlookers on every side. They were witnessing a young man, like so many others, receiving The Mark of the king.
"Quit your moaning it'll only hurt for a moment. There. Now you're a dog of the military, congratulations." said an alchemist pulling away the hot brand in the shape of The Mark away from the young alchemists forearm. The air smelled like hot metal and burnt flesh.
"Now repeat after me," said a second soldier "I, state your name, hereby pledge my undying allegiance to the King. I swear to protect and serve His Highness the King till my last breath. And I will strike down on all those who defy and betray the King in anyway. Hail Orrin" recited the soldier.
The young alchemist recited the oath of the State Alchemist in a weak and feeble voice. He slowly rose to his feet almost falling over.
"Oh. Don't worry that's the side effect of the mark," said the second soldier as he helped the young man up to his feet "It's an alchemic burn that uses your energy to attach itself to you. Your strength will return back to normal by the end of the day. Just get plenty of rest and water into your body." He told him, "Good thing that you accepted the mark or we would have had to arrest you." He smiled as he walked away with his partner. "Now go get yourself cleaned up and report back to base at 0900 hours for processing and assignment." ordered the soldier.
The crowd started to crowd around the new State Alchemist. They started talking amongst themselves and to the boy.
"They can't do this!" yelled one person, "making all the alchemist register with the state and then forcing them to join the military and branding them."
"They can and will," replied another townsman, "anyone who refuses to abide by the law will be arrested or killed."
"Well it's the only way to ensure the safety of the general public," yelled a large man in the crowd, "I mean these people are dangerous. We can't just have these human weapons walking the streets unsupervised. Who knows what will happen. We all heard about what happened in Shikaru. That alchemist killed four people. We can't let them roam free." He explained
"YEAH! Yelled a few people in the crowd.
"If you ask me, they should have been started this a long time ago." screamed one woman. A few people nodded their heads in approval with her statement. Some looked at her with disdain. Clearly not everyone was ok with what was happening to the entire alchemist population.
The boy stood up and started to speak
"This is the will of the King so we must obey." He whispered, "As for all those alchemist that have refused the will of King Orrin. I will hunt them down and bring them to justice, as it is my duty as a soldier and alchemist." He proclaimed. The crowd went quiet at the boy's words.
Then the boy turned and headed for his home. The rest of the crowd started to do the same. Some of them resumed their conversations.
"I hear a lot of State Alchemist have found this new law absurd and have left the military to go underground." whispered one lady to another "they feel that the mark is degrading and unjust because they have a skill that the King is not fond of."
"I heard that there are rumors of a group of alchemist plotting to take the government down." replied a man that was listening to their conversation.
"That's not what I heard. The word around the country is that a lot of the alchemists are leaving the country for good."
"Well good riddance. It would be a lot safer around here if they were gone."
On a train bound for Central there are three siblings riding together. The oldest is sitting by a window watching as the countryside becomes more urban while his two younger twin siblings complain to him.
"Atlas, why are we going to Central?" asked his younger sister, "you know that it's the most dangerous place for people like us."
"Artemis!" exclaimed her twin brother, "don't say that too loud while we are in public. You'll give us away."
"Apollo, you know that I hate it when you use my first name." cried Artemis
"I'm sorry Tensa. Jeez Tenny I don't understand why you don't like your name." said Apollo as he turned to face the window next to him.
Atlas closed his eyes and ran his hand through his black hair as he listened to the twins bicker back and forth.
"You both know that Central is the only place to gather the supplies we need for 100 miles," sighed Atlas, "Tenny needs parts and tools to repair our automail and besides Rush Valley, this is the best place to get them." he explained as he lifted his mechanical left arm. "This is also a great time for you, Apollo, to restock your medical supplies."
A few moments later the conductor yelled over the PA system "now approaching Central Station!"
As the trio exited the train, they noticed that a large group of people were running toward something. Some looked excited but others looked worried.
"Where are they running to?" asked Tenny
"I don't know but I think we should see what's going on." replied Atlas.
They followed the crowd through the city till they came to a large courtyard in the middle of Central Square.
As they looked around to see what all the commotion was about, they noticed that the crowd had surrounded a man suspended in chains above the ground and guarded by military soldiers. Atlas immediately recognized the man as the legendary Frozen Blade Alchemist.
"What the Hell" Atlas muttered to himself "Why is a national hero and a war veteran being strung up like a criminal?"
Tenny, seeing the unsettling look on her brother's face, leaned over toward him and whispered "What's wrong Atlas?"
"That man is a hero to this country. Even though he is young he has a lot if battle experience. He has fought in countless battles and has never failed to complete his objective. I don't understand why he is being treated this way."
A man in front of them hears their conversation and answers Atlas's question.
"He is being executed for refusing to bear The Mark of the King."
Atlas knew that the penalty for refusing to accept The Mark was severe but he didn't know how severe. He swallowed his disdain and watched as a rough looking soldier came out to address the audience.
"Who is that?" he asked the man in front of him
"Oh him. That's Fenrir 'The Hunter'. He's the leader of the King's personal hunters, The Wolf Pack. They search for rogue Alchemist that have refused to obey his will. They are the best of the best in the Kings Army." answered the man.
Fenrir turned and addressed the audience.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, today you will witness the execution of a great hero turned traitor. The Frozen Blade Alchemist and former Head General of the King's Army, Marcus Cain, has refused to accept The Mark of Orrin and thus has chosen death over imprisonment ." he paused and smiled to the crowd, "Since the role of Head General will be vacated upon his death, I have taken it upon myself to assume the position."
As he proclaimed himself the new General people started whispering. Fenrir just chuckled and turned his attention to Cain.
"Any last words Cain?." he said as he unsheathed his sword and began walking toward him, "No, I've waited too long for this, you don't get to say a word" he smiled. As he got closer to him, someone yelled out "STOP!"
"Who said that! Show yourself." Fenrir angrily said to the crowd. As he scanned the people, he noticed a woman step out. She slowly walked towards Fenrir and began to speak.
"This man has committed no crime. He doesn't deserve to be executed" she bravely continued towards him, now only about four feet away. "This man is a hero and des--" She was cut short. At that moment, Fenrir, without a word, slashed her across her body from hip to shoulder. Her eyes rolled back as she fell to the ground, blood spraying out of her fresh wound. Fenrir slowly turned around and started to clean his blade as the crowd looked on, speechless by the brutality they just witnessed.
"Clean this mess up," he ordered his men. He turned back to the crowd.
"Anyone who defies Lord Orrin or his will shall be dealt with accordingly. Do we have any other volunteers?" he said slyly with a toothy grin. No one says anything. "No Takers? That's that I thought, you humans are all the same, living a pathetic existence, always needing to be put in their place. Always needing a constant reminder of who is superior."
Apollo whispers to his brother and sister,
"He speaks as if he isn't human." The people started shouting at Fenrir for saying those insults.
"You can't say that about us, you're human too!"
As they became more and more unruly, Fenrir ordered his men to file in front of Cain and himself giving them the order to shoot anyone who tried to cross their line.
The angry crowd, fueled by the brutal killing of an innocent woman and the insults of Fenrir, began to approach the soldiers. They were now only ten feet apart and the soldiers were getting anxious as sweat dripped from their foreheads. One soldier went to wipe his brow and noticed that one of the civilians was reaching into his pocket.
Panicking the soldier yelled
"He's got a gun!" and fired a few shots into the man's chest.
As the man fell he pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal he was only holding a pocket watch. The other soldiers open fire at the sound of his gunshot. The soldier realized his mistake, but it was too late.
The three siblings looked on in horror as the crowd started screaming and running around them; trying to find safety while the bodies of fatal gunshot victims fell around them everywhere. Fenrir just stood by and laughed at the sight.
"Hurry, you two find somewhere to hide!" Atlas demanded to his siblings
"But what about you?" asked Apollo
"Don't worry about me."
"We're not leaving without you!" Tenny screamed.
"Just go! I'll be fine." he assured.
As the two left him, he heard Fenrir give the order to his men to hunt down and kill all who interfered with the government affair. He then watched as Fenrir turned to Cain.
"Are you ready to die?" Fenrir asked with that toothy grin of his. It was then that Cain looked up and saw something that made him smile.
"What's so funny?" asked an irritated Fenrir.
Cain just looked at him and said
"…Duck…" and before Fenrir could turn around to see what he meant a large rock hurled into him knocking him across the courtyard and through the side of a store bringing the roof down on him.
"Heh, they're finally here." Cain muttered to himself.
As some soldiers cornered a group of civilian children in an alleyway they heard someone yell
"Hey! Leave those kids alone!"
As they turned around to face the voice at the opening of the alley, they see a figure in a white cloak with a hood that obscured their face.
"Open fire!" yelled one of the soldiers. As they raised their rifles the hooded figure dropped and placed a gloved hand on the ground and a transmutation circle appeared around the soldiers. Then the earth beneath the soldiers gave way and they fell under the city. Then the alchemist took their hood off and revealed her face.
"Hey guys I'm Terra Ross, the Earth Shaker Alchemist." said a young blonde haired girl with goggles on her head. "You guys should follow me." she smiled.
Back at Central Square, three hooded figures approached Cain. One of them took out a piece of chalk and drew a transmutation circle on the chains binding Cain. The circle glowed and the chains turned into two swords as Cain fell to the ground. As he rose the three people took off their hoods. There were two men and one woman. The tallest of the group was a man with red hair and deep red eyes. Under his cloak he was wearing a white skin tight shirt under a modified black tactical vest and black white and grey camouflage pants, the same as the others. He carried a few hand guns on him and a rifle across his back.
"It's good to see your again Major Reeves. Or should I say Arsenal Alchemist?" smiled Cain as he shook hands with the red headed alchemist.
"It's a pleasure to see you too sir." Replied Reeves.
The next person that Cain addressed was a shorter thinner man with glasses. He had black hair in a ponytail and deep brown eyes. He was wearing a backpack and also had a number of pouches on his person. As he shook Cain's hand a charm bracelet was visible.
"New trinket Lieutenant Davis?" asked Cain as he pointed out the bracelet.
"Ha, this was my father's bracelet that he used to make his antidotes. I've modified it and added more circles so I can create a wide range of antidotes and potions."
"Well I guess you didn't receive the title of Apothecary Alchemist for nothing." Cain said as he turned to the last member of their group. It was a young woman with blonde hair and vibrant green eyes. She looked at Cain and saluted him.
"Welcome back General." She exclaimed as he came to her.
"Now Lt. Bell, there is no need for formalities here. I am no longer a General in the King's Army. I guess I don't have to call you all by your ranks either but old habits die hard," he said as he shook her hand. Lt. Bell almost turned a bright red at this gesture but sustained her emotions.
"Sir, we have brought you a little gift from home." Said Davis as he opened his backpack to reveal a uniform like theirs and a white cloak. "Sorry but we couldn't bring your swords into the city due to the fact they are very noticeable and recognizable. Though we did manage to bring your glasses and canteen of water for you."
"Don't worry Davis that will do just fine." Cain said as he picked up the swords made from his chains. "Now how many of the others are here with you three?" he asked.
"Well there are the three of us," replied Reeves, "We also brought four more alchemists with us to help with crowd control if the situation called for it, good thing we did" as he looked around at all the dead bodies. "Wish we would've been here sooner though, not this many people would have died," he said with sorrow look on his face.
"The others should be helping the people get away from the soldiers and taking them somewhere safe." Explained Davis. " We are the only group that came into Central but we have transports waiting with guards to take anyone who wants to go back to New Haven."
"Ah, good" Cain replied.
Suddenly, a large primal roar was heard across the square.
"AHHHHHHH!" yelled Fenrir as he emerged from the rubble of the wrecked building, his clothes torn as he bled from his arms. His eyes, now full of black, looked as if he'd turned into a rabid beast on a killing frenzy.
"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill ME!" he roared in the distance.
"You three go help the others with the civilians. I will take care of this." Ordered Cain as he drew his chain swords.
"Yes sir!" The three said as they saluted and put their hoods back on before they left.
"Wait sir, take this radio with you so we can coordinate an escape plan." requested Lt. Bell. She handed Cain a small radio, which he attached to his belt.
"Right." as he turned to face Fenrir.
As he turned Fenrir, without hesitation, began to rush right at him in an uncontrollable rage, looking more like a wolf than a man.
Cain stood still as he opened his canteen and poured out the water in front of him, creating a rather large puddle. He put his canteen away and he stepped back a few paces and readied himself as the beast of a man drew nearer. Now Fenrir was on him, their swords clashing as they tried to disarm each other. Fenrir was a very skilled swordsman but his ability was nowhere near the skill and precision that Cain possessed. It was only a matter of time before Cain started gaining ground on Fenrir, dealing him fresh wounds to accompany his already torn body from his encounter with the building.
Blind with rage, Fenrir started to attack more wildly and more predictable. Cain easily countered and attacked, quickly disarming his opponent.
Fenrir, sensing defeat, pulled out his side arm. Atlas, anticipating what would happen next pulls a blade from his harness under his vest and hurls it at Fenrir. Just as the blade was about to meet its mark, Fenrir quickly turns and snatches the blade out of the air, and turned his gun onto Atlas. Atlas realized what was coming, but all he could do was throw his hands up in defense. A single gunshot rang out as Atlas fell to the ground. At that moment, Cain, taking advantage of a distracted Fenrir, quickly took his blade and pierced the ground, activating the transmutation circle on his palm and sending the alchemic energy through the sword, into the puddle below. The water rose up and froze around the body of the raging Fenrir, quickly locked him into an ice prison leaving only his head free to breathe.
"You're too feral Fenrir," announced Cain as Fenrir desperately struggled to gain freedom from the ice, "Your rage blinds you and causes you to do unspeakable things and make foolish decisions. I fear for the future of the King's Army now that you've assumed its command. You rushed into the fight not realizing that I baited you into a trap. You forgot to account for your opponent's strengths and instead turned your aggression onto an innocent who interfered." He walked over to Fenrir and held his blade to his neck.
"But I am not going to kill you," he whispered to him, "I refuse to stoop to your level. You will always remember the day I spared your life." Then he turned and walked away as Fenrir continued to struggle out of his imprisonment, cursing his nemesis as he did.
He approached the fallen body of Atlas. "Such a pity someone so young had to die so early…"
"I'm not dead yet" Atlas said as he sat up from the ground.
"How did you survive that shot? Fenrir never misses his kill." asked a surprised Cain as he helped Atlas to his feet.
" One of the perks of having a metal arm" showing his left arm with a bullet lodged in his forearm. "There is going to be hell to pay once my sister finds out though." he smiled.
"Well I thank you for your help but next time don't be so reckless. He could have killed you."
"You're worrying to much. I have been taking care of my siblings and I for a long time. If he hadn't busted my arm I would have tried to trap him in this circle." pointing at the transmutation circle that they were now standing in.
"You know alchemy?" Cain quipped, intrigued that this young man knew how to create such a complex array in so little time.
"I know a good bit, I prefer to work with water but lack the instruction. So I worked with what I had."
"Well we can discuss this later. For now we need to regroup with the others. It is to dangerous here."
"Not before I find my brother and sister."
"It is too dangerous to stay here now that the situation has escalated out of control. The king is bound to send reinforcements, especially since alchemist were involved. If your siblings are as competent as you say they are, then they would have found safety with the others. But for now we need to leave and regroup with my men."
The thought of possibly leaving his siblings behind was unsettling but Atlas knew that Cain was right. "Fine lets move." They left the Square and started through Central.
"Lt. Bell, status report." Cain yelled into the radio.
"We have all the civilians that want to leave loaded up and ready to ship out. We are just waiting for your orders sir."
"Good work Lt. I want you all to protect the citizens until I can rendezvous with you. How are you and your team?
"We are all ok, Reeves sustained a serious wound to his leg but lucky for us we found someone to patch him up so he should be ok.
"That's excellent I want you to sit tight. If I'm not there in 30 minutes then take the civilians back to Haven. Do you copy?"
"Roger that sir."