Hi guys! Here's the first story official story chapter, a bit late but here it is.

This is my first time writing and posting a story so I hope I did okay.

Enjoy!

Also *When sending in an OC in the subject line please address it as (name, guild) just to help me organize*

**NOTE 1: I'm closing submissions for the main, Valkyrie Dawn guild for now, BUT submissions for all other guilds both legal and dark are open and I am still accepting male and female characters for those guilds.**

Episode 1- The girl in chains

Date: November 15, X792

Location: A Forest on the border of Albion

"Where the hell is the entrance?" A girl with thick, wavy brilliant rose-colored hair asked, eyeing the dead undergrowth and trees surrounding a healthy-looking mountain with frustration in her plum-colored eyes. She was wearing a burgundy off-shoulder dress, the skirt stopping at her mid-thighs and her sleeves stopping just below her elbows. The dress was accented by a deep violet bow that was tied just under her chest and white ruffles that went across the bodice of her dress as well as the top and bottom of her sleeves; finishing off the look was a pair of knee-high dark brown boots.

"How should I know?" Her companion said annoyed, he had messily spiked yellow hair and orange eyes. He wore a deep tan sleeveless double-breasted coat with dark brown and cream accents with ornate detailing shaped to the form of lightning; he also wore dark pants, held up by a dark gray belt and fingerless dark brown gloves that matched his boots. "I thought you'd find it."

"Are you saying you can't?" The girl asked, looking unimpressed as she looked at the dead bushes and trees again. "I guess that just shows how smart you are Rhys."

"S-shut it, Cress!" Rhys snapped, his face getting red, knowing that his partner could be right.

"If there's no entrance we'll just make one" A new voice spoke up, causing the bickering pair to jump at the unexpected presence.

As one the duo looked back and saw a young man with neatly layered dark brown hair around their age looking at the base of the mountain with a grim expression in his greenish-blue eyes. "You can practically smell the dark magic in the air." He mumbled, mostly to himself.

He was wearing a simple dark blue tunic with a mid-high collar and a white stripe going down the tunic and two dark brown buckles going across his chest that he paired with plain gray pants and mid-thigh high brown boots that were covered in hard armor. Over his clothes he wore a long, hooded white coat that went down to his mid-calves, the sleeves of his coat being tucked into brown gloves that were covered by more armor and his shoulders also being covered by pauldrons. he also had a broadsword attached to his hip.

"Maybe if you weren't bickering you would have found it by now," A harsher voice agreed, causing the other two to flinch. They looked past the young man's shoulder to see a young woman with silvery-white hair standing behind him, a stern glare in her pinkish-red eyes.

She was wearing a white double-breasted dress that stopped at the top of her thighs. The buttons, as well as the accents of the dress, were gold and she wore a matching cape that stopped at her mid-thighs, the cape was attached to the dress by small, silver shoulder pauldrons. She also had mid-thigh-high dark gray socks and black ankle-high boots.

Both Rhys and Cress blushed in embarrassment, ducking back down behind the bushes, and glancing at each other sheepishly.

"When did they get here?" Rhys whispered.

Before Cress could respond, they were both smacked rather hard on the back of their heads by Hilda who had walked up to join the pair. "No bickering."

"We weren't!" Rhys snapped back, rubbing his head. He may have spoken a little too challengingly because his comeback earned him another slap, this time across the face.

Cress watched the scene before turning back to Gian who still hadn't taken his eyes off the mountain. "Well... this mission should be easy," she said sidling up to Gian's side, a happy smile on her face. "We have the help of one of Laias' favorites." She smiled, suddenly clinging to one of his arms.

He stumbled, caught off guard by her sudden action; he glanced down at her, "Laias doesn't have favorites," He said, blushing at her proximity, but he gave her a gentle smile nonetheless, "She loves us all equally, that's why her light shines on everyone."

"Says the guy who can hear her voice," Cress said back, pressing her chest against his arm and enjoying how red his face got.

Fed up Hilda grabbed the back of Cress' dress and tried to pry her off Gian, but the girl wouldn't budge. "Let's go, we've wasted enough time standing around. Do something useful before I send you flying home."

Rhys watched the trio with a blank look on his face; no matter how Hilda tried, she couldn't get the rose-haired girl off an increasingly flustered Gian. "You're the one who's wasting her time. You know how Cress' brain shrinks when he's around."

"What was that?!" Cress demanded, turning to glare at him, but still not letting Gian go.

Finally, Hilda sighed, letting go of Cress and turning back to the mountain. It was more important to worry about the task at hand than how uncomfortable Gian was.

From what she understood, there was dark magic spreading from this mountain. It had gone unnoticed at first but the increasingly dead trees and undergrowth that was spreading further away from the mountain had finally caught the attention of a traveler. The incident was reported to the Sanctuary of Sage and in turn, the Grand Sage delegated the job to Valkyrie Dawn.

It warmed Hilda's heart that the Grand Sage trusted them with this. After the events of X773, he had always been one of their strongest allies and defenders, believing that they could turn their fortune around. Now, they could finally prove him right.

"We have work to do," Hilda said strictly, glaring at all three. "We need to end this situation before it gets out of hand. She turned towards Gian. "You said that you could practically smell the dark magic. Is there a place on the mountain where it's more concentrated?"

Gian shook his head, "I can't tell. All I know is that whatever ritual is happening here, it's making the air thick with dark magic." He looked down at Cress, a thoughtful look on his face.

She looked confused for a second before perking up, nodding enthusiastically, "Leave it to me!" She finally pulled away from Gian and suddenly her disposition changed, a serious look settling into her plum-colored eyes as she focused on the mountain.

Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, she raised her hands up in front of her, palms facing the mountain as a pale pink magic circle formed in the space between her hands. Cress then clapped her hands together and a pulse of magical energy beat out of the circle. She waited ten seconds then clapped again before waiting another ten seconds; she repeated the cycle five more times while the rest of her team waited patiently.

To the blind eye, it may have seemed like Cress wasn't doing anything, when in fact, every time it looked like her magic circle was pulsing it was actually sending out wave after wave of vibrations through the surrounding area. The vibrations making their way through the thick rock of the mountain and surrounding area; looking for a place where the earth may be less thick or a passageway.

Finally, Cress opened her eyes looking triumphant. "This is the place alright. I think there's an entrance at the eastern part of the mountain."

"I knew you could do it," Gian said as they started creeping towards the mountain, making sure that their backs were covered.

Cress beamed, "Of course, there was never any doubt!" She grinned at him, leading the way with confidence.

"You were just complaining how it was impossible to get in," Rhys points out from behind them, only to grunt in pain later when a mini shockwave hit him square in the stomach.

Gian glanced back, chuckling nervously, "I'm sure we would have found a way to get in eventually." He said, trying to play the mediator.

"That is correct," Hilda said, nodding, a confident smile on her lips. "If we hadn't been able to find the entrance then the only way in would have been to chop the top of the mountain off. Problem solved."

Rhys sweatdropped. "No... I'm sure that would have actually caused more problems."

Cress stopped walking, looking at an area of the mountain expectantly as if thinking the door would open by itself. "It's here." She looked at the boys expectantly. "Who wants to knock?"

Rhys took a step forward, a grin on his face as lightning crackled over his arms, "I'll do it."

"No, I'll do it," Hilda said, summoning a large, gleaming black halberd with gold accents into her hands.

"Shouldn't I do it?" Gian asked seriously, "The door may be enchanted with dark magic, I'll be the one that comes through without-" He ducked away when Hilda completely ignored him, swinging the large ax head around, and slamming the tip of the spike into the rock.

A glowing black magic circle immediately activated, tendrils of inky black magic reached up and around the halberd before wrapping themselves tightly around Hilda's unprotected arm, staining her clothes and fingers black.

"Hilda!" Gian cried out in worry, especially when he saw the older girl wince.

Hilda didn't say anything back however, she just calmly buried the tip of her halberd further into the rock, completely focused on pushing against the energy that was coming out of the seal, and once the tip of her spike was completely embedded into the rocky surface she counteracted the magic with her own:

"Breath of the Niflheim," Tendrils of ice immediately blossomed from the spot where the spike of Hilda's halberd touched the rock, digging deep into the rock of the mountain until it started to crack and eventually break the doorway down, revealing a long, dark tunnel into the mountain.

Hilda let out a breath and straightened up, turning to her three companions who were looking at her with varying expressions of worry and exasperation. "Sorry, that took longer than I expected."

"Took longer than you-" Rhys stuttered, unable to process what he was hearing.

"Hilda your arm!" Gian pointed out.

Hilda raised her arm, studying the damage that the curse had done to it: the places where the black magic was able to touch skin was burned and blistered and her sleeve was now charred away. "I'll have Otto look at it when we get back home." She said, not bothered at all, leading the way into the tunnel without another word.

"What's with that attitude?" Rhys grumbled as they marched in after her, noting that a thin layer of frost was covering the tunnel, just proof of how far Hilda's magic had spread in a short matter of time.

"Well, she is master's daughter after all." Cress reasoned, not as worried as the others since out of the three, she had known Hilda the longest.

"What if she couldn't fight after that?" Rhys asked back.

Hilda stopped walking, turning to look at the three of them. "I wouldn't have to worry. After all, I have you three protecting my back." She started forward again leaving the other three to follow her in stunned silence.

The team made their way further down the hallway until it split off, one path still heading straight while the other led to the left.

"Which way?" Hilda asked, looking at Cress who shook her head uneasily.

"I don't like this place. I've been trying to hear deeper into the mountain, but everything is muted." She said back.

"It's also odd that no one's come after us," Gian noted, his eyes narrowing. "We forced our way in, I doubt that no one noticed by now."

Hilda hummed before nodding. "We'll split up, Rhys and I will continue straight. Gian, you, and Cress go left. If we run into trouble, I'll send Fendry for you. Cress, if you need help, just shake the mountain."

"Right!" Cress said, nodding her head enthusiastically.

"Just try not to kill us while doing it," Rhys said as he and Hilda continued straight down the hall.

The two watched Rhys and Hilda disappear from view before Gian looked down at his rose-haired teammate. "Let's go."

Cress just nodded and followed after him, "What do you think we'll find in here?"

"Nothing good. The request we got from the Sanctuary of Sage was to find the cause of what's killing the nature in the area. Whatever is happening in this mountain is the workings of Naia. If we run into anything, stay behind me, Cress."

Cress' steps faltered for a moment before she pulled Gian to a stop; grabbing onto his wrist and when he turned to her, he was surprised to see that she wasn't gushing like usual but instead glaring at him.

"Don't get all heroic on me," She said seriously, "You may be one of Laias' blessed, but I am not a damsel in distress."

Elsewhere in the mountain...

Amused laughter filled the air of a dark room, the only light coming from an orb that a cloaked woman was using to watch the intruders of the mountain.

"Madam, what should we do?" Another cloaked figure asked, watching as the intruders made their way further into the mountain. "If we continue to sit idly by, they'll ruin our operation."

"Let them." The cloaked woman said dismissively, "We have what we came here for. Even if these children stop what's happening here, it won't change anything for us."

"What if they find the children Madam?" The man asked back.

"I think it'll be fun if they find them, don't you? All of them." A sick smile formed on Madam's face; she clearly wanted the children to be found. "The despair of those who follow the path of light is the sweetest thing."

The man grunted, "So, you're saying we should evacuate and leave them be?" Disbelief colored his tone as he looked at her.

The Madam laughed at the ridiculous question. "No, whether or not we lose this mountain, we're at least going to have some fun with them."

Cress and Gian:

Gian trailed behind Cress who was huffily marching ahead, "Come on Cress, I know you're not a damsel in distress," He reasoned. "Isn't it normal to want to protect the people important to you?"

Cress' face turned beet-red, and she was glad that he couldn't see her face. "I guess," She grumbled looking down for a moment, only to freeze when she looked back up. "Gian..." They had finally reached the end of the hallway and at the end, there was a door.

"What is it?" Gian hurried to Cress's side and scowled once he recognized the symbol; it was a circle made from five hydra heads stretched out: Hydra's Wroth. "I should have known," His fist tightened, and Cress gave him a worried look.

He took a deep breath, moving to open the door but stopped when he saw the thick chains binding it shut. Without a word, he drew his sword, the hard steel gleaming in the barely lit hallway.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Cress asked nervously.

"There's a high chance it's what we came to end," Gian assured, easily cutting away the chain. He slowly pulled the door open and immediately the smell that poured out made him want to gag and Cress clasped her hands over her mouth, trying not to breathe. It smelled like rotting meat and feces.

"What is that?" Cress asked, the shaking in her voice noticeable despite being muffled by her hands.

Gian pulled the door open wider and immediately wished he didn't; if the smell was bad, then the sight inside was a hundred times worse: the room was full of death and decay.

There had to be dozens of bodies, twisted and bone-thin, dressed in nothing but rags, the ground was stained dark with blood and who knew what else.

The two of them stared stunned before Gian took a numb step forward and then another. "... what is this?" He asked, eyes unblinking at the sight in front of him. He fell to his knees, unable to hold himself up any longer at the horror before him.

Now that he was closer, he could tell that whatever killed these people must have been horrifying; it was clear that they had barely been fed and some of their faces were twisted with looks of terror. Their bodies were even worse, their arms and legs were bent in odd angles and some even had their necks twisted all the way around.

"They're..." He looked up to see Cress had followed him, her plum-colored eyes reflecting his horror, she swallowed thickly, clearly trying not to throw up. "They're just kids."

Gian's head snapped back around, it was true, their faces were clearly ragged and rough from torture, but the frames of their bodies showed that they were either children or teens.

"Damn them..." Gian slammed his fist into the ground as rage bubbled in him. "Damn them!" He felt sick, not only with the people who had done this to children but at himself. Didn't he become a follower of Laias to prevent things like this from happening?! He was supposed to stop guilds like Hydra's Wroth from spreading pain and suffering but he hadn't even known this was happening. How many more dead children were there? How many more deaths would there be?

"Gian, it's not your fault," Cress said, putting her hand on his shoulders, seeing his inner conflict. "You... we couldn't have known this was happening."

"We shouldn't need to know," Gian said, stumbling to his feet and heading out of the room, unable to stand being there a second longer. "We're supposed to stop this type of thing from happening in the first place." His eyes were dark, and he couldn't meet her eyes.

"We couldn't save them," Cress agreed, "but there must be others here that we can save. Let's find them," Cress said, trying to sound optimistic but it wasn't carrying through, she was shaken by what they had just seen too.

Gian just nodded, continuing down the path past the door they had discovered with Cress at his side, neither of them noticing that they had left the door open behind them or that the dead bodies were starting to twitch.

Rhys and Hilda:

"Is it just me or are we going down?" Rhys asked.

"There's no doubt about it, we're heading under the mountain instead of through it," Hilda said thoughtfully. "It also troubles me that we haven't come across anyone."

"You're right. Hopefully, Cress and Gian haven't drawn any unwanted attention. We saw the mark for Hydra's Wroth a while ago didn't, we? Those guys are nasty."

Hilda nodded in acknowledgment, at least they now knew who they were dealing with, but this dark guild... it made her want to finish their job and leave as fast as possible. Hydra's Wroth was known for razing villages and experimentation, who knew what they'd find here? She hoped Gian and Cress were okay.

"Hilda, there's a light up ahead," Rhys said. "I bet that's the source of the magic that's been spreading through the forest." He grinned, "Let's end this now and rub it in Gian and Cress' faces. I bet Mr. Perfect Knight will be disappointed he lost the chance to be a hero."

He started to run towards the end of the tunnel, "Rhys wait!" Hilda hurried after him. She caught up to him just as he reached the end, both finding themselves entering a large cavern and in the center was a large magic circle, crackling with dark mana.

"That is definitely the source of what's causing the surrounding forest to decay," Rhys mumbled, "But why?"

"Why?" A female voice asked, causing both Hilda and Rhys to go on high alert as they searched for the owner of said voice. "Isn't it obvious? What's the most natural thing in the world? Life. Isn't it reasonable to want to collect it from such a natural source?"

Both of them looked up as the owner of the voice finally revealed herself to be a thickly cloaked woman, neither of them being able to see her face as she floated down from the ceiling.

"You're stealing life from the plants and animals around here?" Rhys asked in disbelief.

"What do you plan to do with it?" Hilda demanded, wordlessly summoning the large halberd back into her hand.

"That's for me to know and you to find out if you survive," she said nonchalantly.

"Do you think you can take us both?" Rhys challenged, grinning cockily as lightning started to run all over his body. "You're not even calling your minions to help you."

"My minions, you say?" The tone of her voice caused a shiver to go down both Hilda and Rhys' backs. "Do you mean people like him?" She held up one hand and a puff of dark gray smoke appeared at her side.

As the smoke faded, it slowly revealed a man that was clearly one of her subordinates, but something was off, he was being restrained by light purple mana that was thread-thin and he was thrashing around wildly. He also couldn't talk for some reason.

"If he's a minion they talk too much and think they can express their ideas. It's rather ridiculous." The woman said, sounding bored. "And a waste... if he had just kept his thoughts to himself, I wouldn't have had to cut off his tongue."

"Y-you what?!" Hilda demanded, she wanted to move and cut this woman's head off or at least spare the clearly terrified subordinate from her torment but something about this woman made her entire body freeze up.

"I cut off his tongue," she said simply, some of the thread-thin strings of mana unraveling themselves from around his body and floating by the man's head. "As the Madam of my guild, it is my right to punish insubordination as I see fit. In this case, taking the most valuable thing any person can own."

As if following a cue, a large amount of the Madam's magical threads shoved themselves down her terrified subordinate's throat, causing his body to twist and bend in inhumane angles, the sound of the man's muffled screams and breaking bones resonating through the cavern.

"ENOUGH!" Rhys finally found the will to move and launched himself at the Madam, hoping to strike her full on or rip her captive away from her. "Lightning devil's rage!" He let out a blast of lightning from his mouth.

The Madam just laughed and easily dodged, taking her prisoner with her. She dodged once again through the air as she twisted out of the way of Hilda's halberd, which she swung at the woman from behind. It missed the Madam but left a trail of ice in the air.

"A sneak attack isn't very noble," The Madam noted before turning to her subordinate turned captive who had gone limp.

With them all near the ground, both Rhys and Hilda could see that blood was dripping from the man's eyes, ears, and mouth. He was still jerking a bit, but it was clear that it was the threads in his body jerking around and not the man himself. Finally, the threads seemed to find what they were looking for since both saw the threads twist in his mouth before an audible snap was heard.

Both of them looked on with stunned disgust as the threads pulled a brilliant ball of silvery light out of the man's mouth, allowing his body to drop gracelessly to the ground now that it was no longer needed.

"What is that?" Hilda asked, unable to take her eyes off it.

"I told you, it's life." The Madam said, holding it in her hand. She glanced down at the dead body of the man, shrugging. "It's precious... even if it's from him and others like him."

"You mean to say... you killed all of your subordinates?!" Hilda demanded enraged, unable to stand her a moment longer, "Valkyrie soul: Pruór." Hilda's body was enveloped by white mana, her power enveloping the air.

Once her mana faded, Hilda's clothes had clearly changed, she was wearing a full set of heavy black-and-gray armor, the halberd she had been wielding before replaced by a battle-ax three-times its size.

"Jord's Eruption," Hilda launched herself at the Madam, trying to smash the large battle-ax against her body but the woman held up her hand, creating a shield to protect herself at the last minute. However, the earth still broke all around her.

Rhys charged in after Hilda, "Lightning devil's blitz!" He shot out six arcs of lightning towards the woman at an extreme burst of speed.

All the bolts of lightning hit her dead on but once the dust cleared, the woman stood as if nothing happened.

"What?" Rhys looked on in utter disbelief. No normal human should have been able to stand after that. He looked closer and saw that barely visible threads of magic had formed around her, protecting her from his attack.

"Don't get frustrated Rhys," Hilda warned. "This woman isn't normal."

"Of course not, I'm superior to you both." The Madam said, but she wasn't looking at them, she was staring at the magic circle in the center of the cavern. "But I have to say, I'm surprised that you're even here. I thought you were from the guild no one trusted anymore. A guild who doesn't have the trust of the nation could never dream of beating us."

"It's true that people may say that we're traitors and dark mages, but we're mages of Valkyrie Dawn, and our vow to protect the people hasn't changed," Hilda said glaring at the Madam, white light enveloping her again as she switched formed. "Valkyrie soul: Guór," This time she was dressed in orange and black armor, her silvery-white hair having highlights of bright orange and her weapon being a longsword that looked like it was made of molten lava.

"I'll be honest," The Madam said, floating back up into the air, "I like your spirit and you've impressed me. As a reward, I'll end my hex on this land." She simply waved her hand through the air and the magic circle that had been glowing in the middle of the cavern vanished.

Both Rhys and Hilda looked at the spot where the circle was only a moment ago in shock, unable to understand what had happened; but it was clear that whatever dark magic was happening in and around the mountain had just vanished.

"Don't look so shocked," The Madam laughed, "I already got what I needed from here and your friends have found something interesting." The Madam's eyes narrowed under her cloak. "It would be a shame to kill you before seeing how things play out.

The Madam began to fade out from view, "Stop! Surtr's Judgement!" Hilda swung her sword and an arc of blistering flames flew through the air towards the Madam, going through her near-transparent form as she completely faded from view. "Come back here!"

"If you want me to face judgment, come find me." The Madam's voice floated through the air. "I can't wait for our next meeting children,"

Hilda and Rhys stood in dead silence for what felt like hours before turning to face each other.

"What just happened?" Rhys asked, unable to process the sudden change of events.

"She let us go," Hilda said plainly, dispelling her magic and changing back to her base form. She was frustrated but another smaller part of her was relieved. She knew that if that woman had chosen to fight them seriously, both she and Rhys would have probably ended up dead.

Cress and Gian:

"Boom Boom: Clap!" Cress clapped her hands together hard, sending out a powerful shock wave down the tunnel in the direction from which they came.

Her targets? The corpses of human children that she had found along with Gian mere minutes ago.

After they had left the first room they found, the pair had continued down the hallway until they had heard the sound of something dragging from behind them. Much to their shock and horror, it was the corpses of the dead children they had just left behind, some dragging their mangled limbs or bodied as they tried to reach them.

After a moment of panic, the two had deduced that they had to force them back, no matter how they felt. The corpses were clearly under a reanimation curse.

Cress' shock wave hit the corpse's dead center, even shredding off a limp or two from some of them. But the sight made her sick, even in death, there would be no rest for these children.

"Don't falter Cress," Gian cried out, slashing through two of the corpses, hard determination in his eyes. "Lux" His sword let out a burst of purifying white light at a cluster of their attackers, cutting through soft, rotting flesh.

"Sonic: Shriek," A pale pink magic circle formed in front of Cress' lips, and after taking a deep breath Cress let out a sonic scream, sending a large number of the dead flying away from them.

"There's no end to them," Cress breathed raggedly, starting to feel drained. How long had they been at this?

"Lichtval," Instead of answering, Gian pointed the tip of his sword downward and buried the blade into the rock, causing blades made of light to burst from the ground and impale the child corpses from underneath.

"Cress, I got a glimpse of it a while ago, but around the corner, there's a door. I think we can barricade ourselves in that room for a few minutes. At least until we get a message to Rhys and Hilda."

"But what if that's another storage room for them?" Cress demanded, nodding to the steady stream of undead that was trying to attack them.

"Or it could be a storage room," Gian said back.

"Not likely," Cress snorted, "Scoppiare," a spherical bubble of pale pink mana formed around Cress' fist, and she punched out, sending another powerful shock wave into undead bodies. "But it's not like we have any other options. If we run, they'll eventually catch us. And we're not leaving without the others. Finding a place to hold out is probably the smartest idea."

"Let's go," Gian nodded, slamming the blade of his sword into the ground again, "By the light of Laias," A blinding white light formed a wall between them and the undead and that's when Gian took his opening. He dashed forward, latching onto Cress as he did so, and ran.

The two reached the door in no time, ignoring the fact that it wasn't chained or locked like the other door. Gian swung the door open, shoved Cress inside, then slammed the door shut after him. He then looked around quickly for something to block the door, thanking Laias when he saw an old but sturdy-looking drawer that he quickly moved to fortify the door.

"I'm tired," Cress gasped, resting her hands on her knees as she struggled to breathe. "There were more of them out there than I thought."

"Cress..." Gian trailed off, causing the brilliant rose-colored-haired girl to look up and freeze as well: right in front of them was an unconscious girl.

The girl was lying in a deep red magic circle and had chains around both her wrists and ankles. She was dressed in nothing but a dirty rag, and her hair was coated in a thick layer of grime and possibly blood since neither could really tell what color it was.

"Shit," Surprisingly, Cress was the first to move out of the two, she darted to the girl's side, checking for a pulse. After a moment, she sighed in relief. "She's breathing."

Gian let out a sigh he'd been holding and hurried over to join them. "Hey," He shook her shoulder gently trying to wake her up.

The girl jerked away from him immediately her eyes squeezing shut, "No..." Her voice was hoarse from not speaking or perhaps screaming... maybe both. The thought shot anger through him.

"Please, please just leave me alone." The fear in her voice was palpable and her thin body was starting to shake. "I can't take anymore."

"We're not going to hurt you," Gian promised, making his voice as gentle as he could, not wanting to frighten the girl any further.

"That's what they always say!" The girl snapped, her eyes shooting open to glare at him, suddenly lunging forward with a ferocity that she hadn't shown moments ago.

He leaned back in surprise, meeting her dull amethyst-colored eyes with his own, and in them, he saw the fear and anger at her situation clearly, maybe even a hint of surprise. He clearly wasn't what she had been expecting to see.

The two just stared at each other for a while before Cress cleared her throat, drawing the girl's attention to her. "We mean it. We're not part of Hydra's Wroth."

The girl edged away, "How can I know you're telling the truth?" Her eyes shone with a mixture of distrust and uncertainty.

"Of course, you can," Gian said earnestly, wanting more than anything to get her out. He would not let another person die in these mountains. "We're mages of Valkyrie Dawn and we walk the path of light set by Laias."

"Laias?" The girl asked confused.

"The Goddess of light and creation," Gian said, surprised that she didn't know who Laias was. "She protects all innocence in the world, I'm sure that's why she led us to you."

"A bit late don't you think?" The girl snarked, looking at her appearance and the chains.

Gian stared back. "She protected you as much as she could, after all, you're still alive..." His fists tightened in regret. "While others are not."

There was a sudden bang against the door and Cress shot to her feet, alarm dancing in her eyes. "Listen you may not trust us, but we're your only way out of here. So, the way I see it you only have two choices: come with us or stay here."

The girl hesitated, looking at the chains around her wrists and then her ankles. "I'll come with you." She said after a second of hesitation.

"Thank you," Gian smiled at her and for some reason, her face felt like it was burning, and her heart picked up speed, but she didn't know why.

He pushed himself to his feet and drew his sword, causing the girl to cower away from him. Gian saw her movement and smiled reassuringly. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said again before swinging down, easily cutting the chains.

The girl looked in awe at the small piece of chain that still dangled from the cuff on her wrist before looking back at him with the same awe. It was clear that she hadn't expected him to free her.

Gian's smile softened and he offered her his hand. "Let me help you,"

"I can stand by myself," The girl said, stumbling to her feet but she wasn't standing for long when her feet suddenly gave out from under her.

She shut her eyes, expected to crash back down to the floor but instead found herself pressed against something warm and soft.

Confused the girl blinked open her eyes and saw that she was tucked against Gian's chest, his face a few inches away from hers. It clicked in her brain that he must have caught her and why was her face burning again?

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I-I'm fine. And I can walk by myself so you can let me go." She said, trying to find balance on her own feet.

Instead of letting her go, Gian scooped her up as if she weighed nothing, carrying her securely against his chest. "If you can't stand it's better if I carry you."

Cress glanced back at them. "Ready?" Her eyes went back to the door which seemed like it was going to collapse at any moment.

"Are you?" Gian asked back.

"Of course, it'll take more than a horde of-" She cut off when she heard familiar voices.

"Lightning devil's rage!"

"Bifröst!"

Hilda and Rhys.

Cress and Gian shared identical looks of relief while the girl clung to Gian, unable to recognize the voices and flinching at the sound of inhuman screams and the earth breaking. And maybe, the sudden silence that followed was the worst of all.

Gian glanced down at her, "Those are our friends, they're here to help us."

"How can I trust them?" The girl asked.

"You trust me, don't you?" Gian asked, watching as Cress moved the drawer out of the way of the door before cautiously opening it.

"It's hard to trust a person when I don't even know their name." She muttered.

"It's Gian. Gian Morgenstern, I'm a mage of Valkyrie Dawn."

And that's the end of chapter 1!

I hope you enjoyed it, I feel like the ending was a bit abrupt but I felt that if I didn't end it there it would go on forever.

Please review and let me know what you think.

Chapter 2: Valkyrie Dawn