Winter has begun to fall over Aurum as a frost spread over the usual green land. The farmers outside of Aurum have stopped their work, sending in what they had left to be bought and traded among many inside of the Kingdom. Animals that once grazed in the stretching fields were now closed into their pens and a thick blanket of snow blanketed the ground. Inside the city snow brushed across the streets and huddled on top the roofs. Usually the sign of snow met the people of Aurum would begin their preparations for the holidays, since they were defiantly a big thing to be celebrated here, but this year the sheets of white brought a gloomy feeling. The holidays were the last thing on the people of Aurum's minds. In terms of the war they were caught in with mortem, snow and the cold weather only brought more difficult times for the people and the soldiers out fighting.
In the city street's many people still wondered around, looking at the offers the vendors had and perhaps trying to make money themselves. While the rich and middle class walked around there were those that were down on their luck that sat to the sides and watched, some begged and received a few stray coins, others didn't want to beg and some, who had been on the streets long enough to steel without getting caught, stole things form the vendors carts, and even some pickpocketed. Among the crowds of people traveling up and down the streets a familiar group can be seen walking together. The twins walked together alongside Ninel and Rin, the four mages were out on their off day to do some shopping. They all were dressed warmly as they pushed through the crowds and attempted to stick together. Ninel and Rin already had a few bags and items with them that they'd bought, Reiki also held a package in his arms which contained his new coat, and Dan stayed empty handed.
Over the past year the four have excelled in their studies, all but Reiki were currently in their second stage of training. The shine of a golden colored pin on their clothing showed that off. The pins on the girls and Dan's chests showed two over lapping starts with ten points all together, attached in the middle of a thin golden circle with a design that represented one of the many forms of a magic circle. And in the middle, was the head of an eagle, representing the griffon on the Aurum flag. These pins represented their now elevated status among mages, but it mostly showed of their ability to go on missions for King Zeus or anyone else in the castle. The day Dan had got his own Reiki had gushed about how cool it looked on everyone, and gloomily wished that he had his own.
Dan huffed slightly, his breath visible as he breathed out. he adjusted his red scarf better around his neck, but he was still chilly. "Reiki, let's just head back to the castle now. We don't even have enough money to get anything else, so there's no use freezing."
"Come one Dan, we never get to just go out and explore the city anymore!" Reiki complained, stopping in his tracks when Dan did, Ninel and Rin continued with their conversation, disappearing across the street. "Why are you being such a stick in the mud?"
"I'm not. I'd just rather not walk around in the cold for no reason."
"Fine, but I want five more minutes!" Reiki demanded, shoving his packaged coat into his twin's arm. "Hold this while I go look in that shop over there!"
"Wait, Reiki. Wouldn't you want to wear your new coat now? Before going in with all those…wealthier people."
"What?"
"It's just a bought you this nice coat with the money I made last week, you should put it on now."
"Dan…are you…?" Reiki flushed red a bit, looking down at the loose sleeved shirt he wore. It wasn't that old or dirty or anything, just something one would normally wear in the spring and was made with a lower quality. "Are you embarrassed of me!?"
"No." Dan stated calmly compared to Reiki. "We're in a high-end part of the Kingdom, so you'll just fit in more."
Reiki looked almost offended. "I'll be fine without it." He turned to walk towards the shop he had his eyes on. Dan groaned, rolling his eyes and moving out of the way of the people passing by. Inside the shine of the expensive furniture and other goods reflected in the blue of Reiki's eyes. He grinned, his ungloved hands leaning on one of the countertops so he could lean and get a good lock at the sparkle of the expensive looking jewelry and other accessories laid out. Reiki awed at the sight, he'd never really seen anything with this many diamonds and jewels like this before, maybe through windows or on a woman's neck. That and growing up in the outskirts of Mortem neither he or Dan were faced with much luxury. His eyes lit up as he took golden pocket watch in his hand. The grand design, shiny gold and expert craftsman's ship. It was a grand sight in his eyes. He knew he couldn't buy something like this, not many people could. Biting the inside of his lip his grip tightened a bit, a familiar urge to conceal the expensive item away and leave with it came over him, something he hadn't done since he was a child. He knew better though, knowing that he better get back to Dan Reiki lowered the watch about to set it down when a woman's shrill voice confronted him.
"You there! Yes you, I saw the way you've been eyeing those." The pudgy woman hurried to his side. "You were about to steel that, we're you?" Her azure eyes narrowed, her hand clamping around his wrist and forcing him to drop the watch with a loud clang.
"No, I wasn't- let go!" He snapped, pulling away from her. "I was just looking."
"What's a street boy doing in here anyways?" A man's voice questioned.
Street boy? I haven't been called something like that in a while… "Listen just let go and I'll be on my way."
"No, you won't! Not until a soldier gets here, I know kids like you, so I know you've taken something." Reiki's face went hot, a certain moment from his childhood suddenly flashing in his mind.
It had been a murky day in Mortem, raining on and off all day and the air was stuffy and humid. Two young children could be seen within the marketplace, twins that only appeared to be around eight or nine at the time. They walked, hand and hand, whoever their mother is wasn't around with them as they timidly walked the streets. But something happens to disrupt their peaceful walk. Reiki had broken away from his brother, leaving Dan without a hand to hold as he excitedly rushed forward at the sight of a puppy across the way. grinning, he'd always wanted a puppy of his own, but for now to see them on the street was all he could have. His small footsteps are stopped and a woman's yelp is heard. Reiki had run straight into an older woman who'd just steeped from the carriage she'd been riding in. his hands instinctively grip at the blue of her dress, as he took a small step back to look up the black-haired woman. His mouth opened for an apology, but his was cut off by her string of complaints.
"Get it off me! He's so dirty, he'll stain my new dress!" She screeched, her husband's coming up beside her, dressed just as nicely as she was and leaning against a sleek, black walking cane with a silver handle.
"Steep aside darling, I know the scam this brat is trying to play and it won't work." The man's icy gaze glared down on Reiki. "I've seen many poor brat like you. Bumping into and steeling from others in the confusion!"
"No- I wouldn't-"
"Reiki!" Dan had run up in time to see the shine of the man's cane strike across his twin's face. Reiki wasted no time in breaking out in tears, leaving Dan to angrily shout at the man to stop and leave them alone.
"Leave him alone. He wasn't trying to take form you"
"I just wanted to see the puppy…" reiki tearfully muttered, flinching as a hand was risen to strike at the both of them.
"Stop it!"
"Stop." Dan's shaky voice as he tried to catch his breath was heard, "let go of my brother." Reiki snapped out of his memories, looking over to see Dan speak a few more words before pushing his scarf aside to reveal the gold of the badge on his chest.
"Oh, my! A mage of the state." The woman spoke in surprise, quickly releasing Reiki.
"Whatever." Dan ignored what the woman tried to say next, "come one Reiki were going back to the castle now." Reiki followed without another word of complaint.
Meanwhile, Rin and Ninel had remained walking the street, unaware that their fellow mages had gone back. Rin skipped aside Ninel, humming a tune. "I'm glad Mary allowed us a day off." Rin spoke up. "we've been working nonstop for weeks."
"I agree, but we're back to training tomorrow morning."
"I know. Things have really gotten tough." Rin sighed, "I was excited when Mary told us we'd start learning spells, but it's hard to cast the successfully. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten myself tangled up in my own spell!"
"You and Dan will pick it up soon, you two are really excelling in these studies." Ninel smiled, glancing to her. "To be honest I'm a bit jealous!" The girls shared a laughed, walking and chatting until they stopped to enter a bakery. The pair were greeted by the warm smell of bread and other baked goods. The girls were only in for a few minutes before walking out with a bag of goods in hand.
"Ninel, the Holidays will be here soon, do you parents plan on coming then?"
"No." She sighed, "I wish they could, but King Zeus orders they stay in Asper for now." Despite originally being moved to Aurum to be kept safe by Zeus and his men, Ninel's parents had been ordered back to Asper some time ago. Aurum had once been the safest place for them to be, but their home Kingdom is, since Mortem and King Hades was only a day away and Asper took several days to said too. That and King Neptune had buckled down on the security of his Kingdom. No one got in or out without being cleared, and any Mortem ship was taken out on sight. With King Hades slowly pushing towards attacking Aurum its self, King Zeus contacted King Neptune. Ninel would've gone as well, but she still had work to do with her teachers in Aurum.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear."
"What about yours?"
"I was planning on going to see them, but I won't be able to stay for long, so I'll probably end up back with you and the twins."
"Speaking of them, I wonder if they've gone back yet?"
"Probably, I heard Dan complaining earlier." Rin shivered a bit, moving to the side as a group of playing children ran past them. "Have you heard that Zeus wants to go on with the winter festivities?"
"What?" Ninel was a bit surprised. Around the Holidays every year Aurum held a giant winter Ball and many other festivities around the city, and everyone had expected them to be canceled due to the war brewing.
"He's still trying to get his council on bored, but I hear he really wants to hold the Ball." Ninel had never attended one of Aurums Balls before, but she had heard of how extravagant and wonderful they turned out to be. In her opinion, she found him even considering the idea to go on with it as dangerous.
Meanwhile as Ninel and Rin went on to talk about the topic while walking the streets of Aurum, another group of people could be found talking about the Winter Ball as well. Inside the Aurum Palaces meeting room King Zeus sat at the end of a long table, Aguma and Yuki were stationed by his side as always and Dynamis was seated along with his armies general, Samuel Thomas, and a few other important members of the Kings court. Even Mary was present, silently listening at the end of the table.
"I just don't see how this could benefit us in a time of war!" One of the men spoke. "Going on with the Winter Ball will only leave us open for attack!"
"I have to disagree." Dynamis spoke up. This was a small surprise to the others in the room, usually Dynamis quietly listened and put very little input into meetings like these, even when Zeus himself questioned the young man he was fairly quiet and short answered. Recently the gifted male had changed, nothing too drastic, but he was a bit firmer when speaking, a bit more vocal on his opinions when it came to matters like these. These changes had hardly been questioned by anyone though, as many took it as him reacting to the mistake he'd made a year ago that led to the deaths of the team sent to Mortem. "Every Winter we have held this Ball, I see no reason we shouldn't now. As our King has said before, these festivities have always represented a special time of year that brings people together for just one night. The rich and the poor put differences aside and attend this Ball together and celebrations continue on in the streets."
"I agree with Dynamis…if it's worth anything." Yuki spoke, he normally just silently took notes during these meetings.
"Go on Yuki, you have something to add?" Zeus looked to his young advisor, who dropped his quill to clear his throat.
"Yes, I believe what King Zeus and Dynamis are trying to tell us is that this Ball is something that our citizens look forward to and enjoy every year. Yes, we are caught in dark times with Mortem, but we should not let that control our every action. Morale is low to be honest, our people fear every day, and if throwing this Ball will make them forget and come together for just one night then I think we should do it. It might even spark a new sense of pride in them and that can always lead to a rise in support for our cause."
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Zeus smiled as Yuki pushed his glasses up in slight nervousness. "Yuki has provided me and you all with a good reason to hold the Winter Ball. As our General said earlier, we have no reason to worry for our Kingdoms safety. Hades wouldn't dare a direct attack on Aurum, and even if he were foolish enough to, between the Asper guards stationed here and our own we have more than enough security to spread to every corner of our streets. Entrances and security around our border would be doubled." A course of hushed mumbles filled the room as the people spoke it over with others beside them. Discussion of the topic went on longer, but by the end of it Zeus had decided that he would indeed hold his Ball in one week from now.
Outside of the Aurum Palace in the training yards the newest group of recruits can be found, standing at attention to the older men in charge of their training for the day. The group of young adults could be heard putting their all into the training. Outside at the castles entrance charts filled with goods can be seen stopping to be unloaded. Above in the clear blue sky large beasts darted across to land and settle on top the many towers of the Palace. These beasts known as Griffins perched on top the highest towers that over locked the city, their sharp eyes looking over the land for threats. They were made up the body, back legs, and tail of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle, and talons as their front feet. Many people from other Kingdoms were often started or even frightened at the sight of these beasts soaring the skies and living at the very tops of Aurum's towers. This is because it was quite uncommon to see these beasts outside of mountains ranges or the Nix peaks.
During the time that Nemesis reigned over the land most of the magnificent creatures and animals that roamed the land were infected with the darkness that the god exuded, taking control and transforming them into evil beasts that only obeyed his command. After the defeat of Nemesis some beings reverted to normal, or had to be killed due to being stuck in a vicious state. The beings that returned to normal moved to the forests in Celo, where they could live peacefully. Though some spread across the many Kingdoms, and a few even left the land to travel where nobody dared to. The evil beings were taken care of everywhere, except in Mortem, where Hades captured and locked them away to keep at his exposure. Much like the Harpies that decided to live in Nix's mountains, the Griffins wanted to stay in Aurums land, of course, this caused problems for the settlers in Aurum, but eventually an unspoken deal was made. The Griffons protected Aurums people when needed, and in turn Zeus gave them needed food and shelter, as well as protection form the people in the world that wished to hunt them.
Now the winged beasts soared the skies more often now that tension had broken out between Mortem and Aurum. Down below King could be spotted looking up at them as they seemed to be swapping places with other Griffons, like a shift change almost. King smiled up to the beasts that protected himself and the others that roamed the busy area outside of the castle entrance. King held a small book and quill in his hands, he was supposed to making sure that all the expected shipments arrived today, especially the weapons and furs coming from Celo. Furs were an important component for the soldiers now of year, and though Nix normally provided Zeus with the best and finest furs, Queen Artemis had been unable to get anything to Aurum without going through Mortem, or being seized by Mortem soldiers. King sighed setting the inventory book down on the create he'd been leaning on. His actions were brought on by the familiar sight of a young man approaching him.
Bao, the younger brother of Kuro Blackheart, had been coming almost every day to check up on the news of his still missing sister. Everyday King had to tell him that there was still no sight of her. Bao walked up to King with a small smile, but the look in his amber eyes told King all he needed to know. It was evident that the young man was beginning to lose hope on the subject of his sister. After a whole year without a single sign of the young woman returning to Aurum, everyone had concluded that she'd perished at the Harpies will, but Bao, King, and very few others still held a small sliver of hope that she would return. But after a year of nothing to cling on, Bao was begging to lose hope, and though King still firmly believed his teammate would show up, he wondered if it were time for he and Bao to begin the moving on process.
His team's death still cut deep within him. Zeo, Kuro, Masamune and Toby had been deer friends and comrades to him for so long, to have them ripped away from him on a mission he was supposed to be on only to be called away on different bossiness tore him apart at first. The grieving process was never easy, King was sure he wasn't completely over it yet, he probably would never be. After taking time away from the army for many months to get back in his original mindset to serve, King returned with his emotions sorted and settled out. Still, he did tear up at the sight of their graves, or overcame with a deep feeling of sadness in his chest when he spotted their family members or happened to walk by their old rooms, but he was slowly healing. When king returned to Zeus' army he didn't jump back into his usual leader type role, instead he took on trivial tasks like today and patrolling the castle and streets.
King sighed deeply when Bao stopped before him to begin speaking, again he would be forced to tell the grieving brother that Kuro still hadn't been found, and it slowly tore him up inside, whether he realized it or not.
The smell of alcohol was strong in the tavern as a young man pushed his way through the mess of drinkers. The young man's nose scrunched slightly as he didn't like the smell of beer coming off these men and their drinks. His blue eyes shifted around as he approached the bar where a young woman was serving. The red-haired male steeped up, waving to get her attention and speaking loudly over the noise, "I'm looking for Argo Garcia, any clue where he is?"
The raven-haired girl shook her head, "nope."
"But you know who I'm talking about, right?" The girl sighed, setting a man's order down and approaching him.
"Yeah, I know him, give me a name and I'll tell him you stopped by." The waitress's golden eyes watched him carefully. Her raven hair was pulled up loosely and silver streaks mixed with her raven locks.
"Hawk Shinobi." The young man told her, "yours?"
"Kuro, I don't know my last name, might not even have one." Kuro looked at him with tired eyes, almost as if she's given up on everything and faced only serving at the tavern in the center of Mortem.
Kuro had no memories of why she had woken up in Mortem, what had happened to her, or who she even was. She'd awoken between the borders of Nix and Mortem, likely dropped by the Harpies that had carried her away. With a great pain in her head and an injured leg she was forced to travel to Mortem in search of help. She received aid from an old couple that lived in the outskirts of Mortem, staying with them until she was healed enough to get to the city and figure out her next step. With amnesia clouding her mind she had no choice but to seek a job and find a place to stay beside the dangerous streets. For the past year she'd been working here with no recollection of her family or friends back home, hell, she didn't even know where home was.
"Make sure to let Argo I stopped by, he owes me a favor." Kuro nodded, but was clearly waiting for something. Hawk quickly realized what she wanted and pulled a few stray coins from his pocket, handing them over and mumbling that everyone in Morten was the same.
Hawk left the tavern, steeping into the crumby streets outside. He was annoyed that Argo hadn't been there. Hawk had done some work for the older man, and was entitled to a favor. This favor would be his ticket out of Mortem and back to his homeland of Aurum. If anyone could him back home it was the Garcia siblings. Hawk had been in Mortem when war broke out between the Kingdoms, and before he could leave King Hades declared that no one would be allowed in or out of Mortem. The King was serious about it too, when Hawk tried to get out of the terrible Kingdom he'd only been laughed at by the guards and forced back into the city. Sighing again Hawk began down the streets to get back to the inn he'd been staying at.
After war broke out King Hades ruled down on his citizens with an iron fist. An even stricter curfew was enforced, homes were searched often for a mage in hiding with nowhere to go. Those found harboring a frightened mage were often killed on the spot. All mages found were taken to the castle where they weren't heard from again, and were kept locked away where they would soon be forcefully trained to join Hades army. Fear and poverty spread like a wildfire in the Kingdom as now there was nobody for traders to trade with and make money, funds were poured into the Mortem army and the Royals. This made life in the city harder than ever with the pour struggling to live on the streets. Those who openly opposed the Kings actions were jailed or executed. Guards that walked the streets were often found attacking a citizen who dared to over step their boundaries, the King did nothing to care for his people as he was enveloped with the war and breaking Nemesis free form his imprisonment. Things had never been worse, and they would only get darker as the days go on.
This is why Hawk needed help to escape the Kingdom, that and his hatred for King Hades, but who didn't dislike the King now days? The Garcia siblings were con-artists and thieves, who, for the right price would get anything done for a client. Some time back Hawk had helped Argo Garcia get some information on the guards that guarded a bank in the center of the City, much to his disliking he had to help due to the issue of running out of money and not wanting to turn to the streets. Now in return Argo said that he and his siblings would help in with anything he needed, and he needed to go home.
"Hey you!" Hawk had only just gotten outside of the inn he was currently staying at, and he'd barley turned the knob to his room when two gruff voices from a pair of soldiers stopped him.
"What is it?" Hawk looked over his shoulder to them.
"Have you seen a runaway mage around? Small girl, light hair and blue eyes, not much younger than yourself." Hawk looked the men over, hoping that they would believe his answer, he didn't need the trouble of these men bothering him.
"Can't say that I have, check the tavern down the road." Hawk watched as the men contemplated believing him, but eventually went on to rush down the road in search of the runaway mage. Despite not caring much for mages, Hawk did feel a pang of sympathy for whoever the escaped was. They were likely to be caught and forced into prison like everyone else had been. Hawk sighed, shaking his head as he pushed his door open to walk into the small inn's room. The room was small with a bed and desk. A wardrobe sat beside the window to his left and unlit candles were places around the room for the nighttime. It was dark in the small room as the curtains were drawn closed, a small beam of light broke through the dimness and spread across the wooden color and bed.
Hawk looked around suspiciously, despite it being quiet and the way he'd left it, something about the air in the room was strange. Walking in the blue-eyed male closed the door and pulled the curtains open to brighten up the room, immediately spotting the reflection of an earring discarded on the floor. Raising an eyebrow as he picked it up in confusion, this defiantly wasn't his. With being more alert to find if anyone had been in his room, Hawk caught the scent of females perfume and a strong smell of ink mixed with liquor. He paced around his room, looking under the bed, and every other possible hiding place in the room before coming to the wardrobe. With a new feeling of alertness and anger that someone had defiantly been in his room, hawk pulled the doors open to catch sight of a small figure sitting, hidden by the coats hanging inside. The female's legs were pressed to her chest as she nervously looked up to Hawk, deep blue eyes fearful of what would happen now that she'd been caught. Greyish lavender hair was a mess and laying down her back and around her sides with hair falling slightly into her face as she looked up.
Hawk had pulled one of the Shuriken from his side out held it concealed in his hand. She didn't look like much of threat, but he'd at least have it if she were to lunge and attack him. His other weapons were packed away with his other tings by the doorway. "I can explain…" The girl spoke and Hawk steeped back as she crawled out to push herself up, smoothing down the skirt of her simple sleeved white dress.
"Who are you and what are you doing in here?" He questioned, eye narrowing in suspicion.
"I'm Lily, Lily Evans." She stuck her hand out for him to take, but he didn't make a move to. Realizing that it was stupid thing to try and shake his hand, Lily dropped it with a nervous clear of her throat. "I'm not here to fight you or anything, or steal from you. I just needed somewhere to hide form those guards and your window was open so I crawled in and hid when I heard you coming in. I-I didn't think anyone would be back so soon and didn't have time to leave!"
Hawk gave a sigh of relief, stashing away the weapon he'd previously taken out before reaching to grab Lily's arm and pull her towards the door. "You're the escaped mage I'm assuming."
"Yes- what are you doing?"
"I could be killed for even talking to you, let along having you here, so you need to leave and go somewhere else."
Lily immediately stopped in her tracks to pull away from him. "Wait please listen to me!" She begged, "They'll just kill me when they find me! I'm no use to them at this point- I'm not very strong and my magic isn't made to fight with."
"Listen I'm sure you a great person, but I don't feel like getting into trouble for this." Hawk looked back to her, a small amount of remorse as he opened the door to kick her out.
"Come on! Just let me hide here until night, then I can go somewhere else and it'll be easier to get around. I can pay you?" She quickly pulled a pouch of gold and silver coins form her bag, presenting them and fully willing to hand every last one to Hawk. "I can give you more once I get to Aurum…I'll get them to you somehow."
Hawk bit down, slightly conflicted as he slowly pushed the door back closed. "You're trying to get to Aurum?"
"Yes…it's the only safe place I have left to go."
"You'd be better getting to Nix. The border is right there and you can easily hide in the mountains and get to a nearby village."
"I can't go there. Aurum is where I need to go. I have a friend there and King Zeus protects the mages that come to him seeking help." Hawk took the bag of money from her, only taking a small handful and tossing it back to her. "you can stay for the night, but if anyone comes here looking for you, I'm turning you in."
"Really?" Lily grinned. "Thank you so much! I owe you!"
Hawk nodded, "Yeah whatever, just get down and stay away from the window. I don't need anyone recognizing you."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. Thank you again- uh, what's your name?"
"Hawk." He sighed, wondering just what kind of danger he'd put himself in.
I'm feeling quite motivated, so here the next chapter. I don't have much to say other than I hope you guys like the chapter, and a few things to say about the next three chapters. This chapter was supposed to contain all the info and scenes for Mortem and Aurum, to catch you all up on what's happening after the year we skipped and to see the new characters and conflicts coming up. I cut this chapter in half because I didn't want it to be too long. So, this is the first part and the next chapter will continue on with this. So, chapter 13 will be all about Asper and Celo, and 14 is for Nix. Afterwards things will be the usual set up.
Since more OCs are being introduced, if I write you OC out of character just let me know and I can make any changes needed. And one final note, I want to say thank you to you all who read/review on this story. The time you take to review and read really makes me want to go on with this story and very much appreciate them. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the update.