The Story of Cassandra

Cassandra continued to trudge along the Silk Road, following rumours from passing travellers and merchants that her target was still ahead of her. She was on the right path but the fact that with every passing stranger introduced another tale of bloodshed, her curiosity and braveness had started to wane. More so when she stopped to listen to a preacher who claimed that in the city of Moscow, about two hours walking east from Cassandra's current position, a massacre has occurred. Apparently her target had burst into wedding party and butchered every last soul there, which was about twenty-five people, then left without no-one trying to stop him, only to slaughter again.

The thoughts of this event toyed in Cassandra's mind for a while after that. Although there was every chance she would be slain like the many others before her, she had promised herself that she would take revenge on the monster for taking her own sister's life, Sophitia. That had happened a few years ago now but the memories of the moment she was murdered still dwelt in Cassandra's and her family's minds. They had asked Cassandra herself to destroy the man who killed her sister so there was no doubt that Cassandra could not be deterred by such stories. She thought of how the families of the recently murdered must feel after such an attack, taking into account her own feelings she could not allow the murderer to live and after many hours of thinking as she walked along the cold mountain trail she readied her mind to take on the beast of a man. She only hoped that someone would destroy him before she had a chance to.

However Cassandra had always been an unlucky individual, except for in the heat of the battle. Her trusty sword and shield named "Hermia" and "Mars" were the tools she used to take on her foes, which there had been many of on her journey so far. Even the day before she had been challenged by a thief, who carried a measly pocket knife, for the money she held. She cut him down easily, leaving his scarred body in the care of a local inn owner and stating that she "found him on the way here" as to hide his criminalities. However at the present day, when she had just left the mountain environment, she found herself directly behind her target. She had just come across two bodies, dead, in warm blood and the slayer walking away slowing on the horizon. It was now or never.

She took out her sword and shield and charged at man in front of her. He turned, sensing her ferocity directed towards him and Cassandra saw him again, after three years of searching. The knight looked the same as always, as though he had never taken off his semi-covering armour which was a dark metallic blue. The man was sometimes known as "The Azure Knight" because of the colour of his armour however this was not his real name. He liked to be known as Nightmare and although Cassandra knew this she never referred to him by that name. Nightmare looked like a normal human being by the shape of his body, except for the grotesque and frightening left arm, which was green, large and clawed. This was usually used to grab and tear his victims and made Cassandra, and the many others who had seen Nightmare, feel as though he did not look human underneath the armour. This was why the people who saw usually said he was more like a monster than a human being. However this was not all. The weapon that Nightmare carried was bizarrely shaped and looked to large for anyone to hold in one hand, which Nightmare did. It was a sword, quite triangular in shape and had a large, oval eye near the hilt in the centre of the sword. No-one knew why there was an eye in the sword, but people believed it had something to do with the soul extracting ritual Nightmare performed after killing his adversaries.

Suddenly Nightmare disappeared and Cassandra stopped in her tracks. A fog rolled over where the monster had vanished and it sent chills along Cassandra's arms and down her neck. She felt like she was being watched and she shuffled awkwardly on the spot. A sound behind her made her turn her head, it was Nightmare and he had raised his sword.