~*~Prologue~*~
It was dark. Night's thick tendrils had crept over the land, ensnaring every tent, rock, plant, and occasional patrolling watchman. It was quiet, with only the sounds of sleeping citizens and panting dogs. The small village of refugees had no idea what was about to happen: just the way Iris liked it.
Iris was a special assassin for the military. No one but a select few knew about her; she never left witnesses. She sat against a rock about twenty kilometers out, surveying the area lazily as she tied up her long ebony hair into a bun. Her ivory mask concealed her empty eyes and her black suit covered the scars she had amassed in her training. She sprinted unbelievably fast to the village, drawing her katana and decapitating the watchman before he even saw her. No alarm. Perfect.
She had orders to eliminate every villager. There was no discrimination as she snuck in each of the fifty or so tents: children, women, men.....all died before they even awoke. None had time to scream for mercy: just the way she liked it.
The job took less than twenty minutes. She grinned as she stalked away from the town. No one would know of their demise: they were hidden in a mountain valley in a desert unoccupied for several days in every direction.
A simple sound alerted her to a problem: a muffled cry then rapid footsteps. She quickly and silently sprinted to the source: a sixteen year old girl who had been walking around. Her dark skin and red eyes betrayed her Isbalian heritage. She squealed pathetically as she saw Iris in her peripheral vision and tripped. Iris slowly walked around so that she was facing the cowering child...
"You're just as old as me....won't you spare my life?" pleaded she.
"And why should I, Ishbalian?" Iris's voice was a monotonous, empty soprano tone.
The girl began to cry anew, praying to her god. Iris allowed her to beg pathetically for a few seconds, then quieted the night with a quick stab to the neck. Her mask was now a crimson red, as well as her skin. Sure that she was the last, she stumbled through the night, lost in the dark abyss that left her without feeling or pain.