Chapter 2 – A Letter from Home

Explaining what I'd seen to Ashley was hard enough but reading the letter in the study was harder. It was a crumpled not as if it had been passed down over hundreds of years. There were scratch out marks and I presumed it had been recopied. I went to read it out loud, but then read the first line that specifically said not to say anything out loud. I pointed to that part and faced it towards Ashley.

"I'll read it first and then give it to you," I said, she nodded and sat down in the office chair. I looked at the paper and read:

To the next defendants,

Do not read this out loud no matter what you do they are probably listening. We know this has probably come as a shock to you both, but it is necessary. Members of Mayhem are trying to control the world's leaders and tempt everyone to sin. Although they are relatively powerless, they can rally people to their cause and make them fight against you. For the remainder of your life, you will need to work against their forces in your continent. There are other defendants, but you are not to converse with them ever. Their needs cannot be corrupted as well as your needs. The previous defendants have passed on their memories to you. If you pick a topic and search your mind, you will likely come across a memory to help you and your cause.

If one of the previous defendants warned you about The Event, your experience will be slightly different. The Event is when the Lord of the Members of Mayhem arises to try and gain a foothold into our world. His name is Crisis. He is a dragon, but he can take many forms. As parts of him reach connection on Earth, you will need to destroy them. There are four parts. If any one of these parts goes undestroyed, he will return in his true state. The first part is his legs. They take the form of something along the lines of a Balverine or other fast animal. The next form is his arms. They take the form of apes or animals of strength. They arrive as a pair so you will need to destroy both of these. His wings arrive as one bird or flying animal. His head is last and it takes the form of a man hooded and cloaked in black. He is extremely dangerous and usually wields the Sword of Mortalis. You will need to work together to defeat him. The event only happens once every fifty years and corresponds with the Catholic Calendar. This is why Jesus Christ's actual birthday is not year 0.

Since the two of you are now married, the ultimate forces in this world blessed you with three years of freedom to hone your skills with a Light Blade and magic as well as grow as a married pair. Enjoy the three years, but do not forget your duty. You cannot escape your fate, so you might as well enjoy it as well as each other. You will need to go to the armory and find fitting armor. Your continents armory is located in the back of the desk is a switch that opens the armory. Please use this weaponry responsibly. This also will serve as your home.

Good Luck,
Annalise and Michael
The Original Defendants

I finished the note and passed it to Ash. I sat down as she read it. Everything was about to change. I ran my hand under the desk and felt around a button. I pressed it and a piece of the floor under the desk lifted up and moved over. There was a ladder under where it was and small lights running down. I got on my knees and climbed under the desk. The ladder ran down for what seemed like forever. Ash passed me the note.

"I'm going to leave a note for my parents to let them know we're ok," she said. "My great-grandmother told them once that something would happen where I'd have to leave them. She entrusted them with the job of not to sell the house. Why don't we go down that ladder to find a place to talk about what happened."

"Good idea," I said.

I began climbing down the ladder and it took probably thirty seconds for Ash to finish the note. She began climbing down after me and I looked only to find myself getting a view up her skirt. We had been dating for two and a half years, so I had already seen her in nothing but underwear, but I felt this wasn't the time to get an erection. I went down to the bottom after another thirty seconds of climbing and found myself facing the inside of a warehouse.

"Damn," I said, staring.

"What?" asked Ashley, as she came down the ladder and turned to face the room. "Damn."