A Seraphim

By perhaps two hours to dawn, Tatheya pulled the hood of her cloak over her crimson coloured hair and picked up her pace. She wanted to reach the woods before morning.

She was a beautiful young woman in her late teens. Nineteen years she had walked the world, or more like the worlds.

Some that knew her very well would say that she had her father's eyes, dark blue. But then, she did not have anyone that knew her well, she never let anyone close, and she hadn't told anyone where she was from, or who her parents where.

Sure, she had been born in Tethe'alla but had since a child known about the two worlds and has since then travelled frequently between them.

She gave a sudden smile. Now that the grandson of Kvar was gone, she had some days off before she had to report to Ian.

She looked up to the east and her eyes caught the Tower of Salvation and she suddenly realised something.

The Chosen of Sylvarant! She's probably reached the Tower by now, but what happened?

She suddenly gave a resistant groan as she realised what she had to do.

In order to find out more she had to go to the Renegades and ask Yuan of the latest news. Indeed she had been lazy to update herself on the Chosen. And here she bragged on about knowing everything!

The latest news she had found out about the group was that they had killed Kvar. And that was at least a month ago.

As the sun was on the brink of rising she finally reached the woods. She stepped forth to a set of bushes. They would seem like ordinary bushes, but in fact, they worked as a camouflage to…

She pulled away the bushes, one after one, to finally give way for an ice blue and white Rheaird. It was small, and formed to give ultimate speed. It had been designed for spying by the Renegades and Tatheya had stolen it on her last visit to them.

She could not use it a lot in Sylvarant since it was a shortage of mana, but it had a direct link to a large supply of mana from the Renegade's base so she managed to use it anyway.

She turned it on and she could feel the mana flowing within. She then mounted it and hovered fast up in the sky, hid in the clouds where no one could see her.

She then turned her direction towards Triet.

She had indeed heard about Kratos joining the Chosen's group. Why hadn't Yuan done something about it? With Kratos they would indeed the reach the Tower of Salvation, and fulfilling Yggdrasill's goal, faster.

Why did he join the group?

Tatheya had indeed heard much about the angel Kratos. The way he was described was as a cold-blooded murderer.
Well, I guess if you'd live four thousand years your feelings would become kind of…dull.

Tatheya had only seen Kratos twice, though. Once as a small child, only, she was not aware of whom he was then, and once a few years ago, when she was at Yuan's base, Kratos had come by. She'd been in the room, talking to Yuan, as one of his workers had come by, bearing the words 'Lord Kratos is here.'

(16 years old.)

Yuan nodded. 'Send him in.'

Tatheya knew enough to realise that she should not let Kratos see her, in case something would happen in the future. So she had sneaked out the room, but turned around halfway through to peek into the room. She suppressed a gasp as she recognised the man who entered the room.

Kratos walked over the floor to the base with firm steps, his wild fiery hair following his movements.

'Yuan,' he said with a greeting nod and Yuan replied it. None of the seraphim seemed thrilled to see each other. As Tatheya compared the old friends to each other she realised that there was a rather big difference between them.

Kratos face was silent and cold. As if years and years of fighting and hard way of living had created several layers on it, preventing it from express any feelings at all.

Yuan, on the other hand, had a face of more relief. It was not as hard and restrained. Perhaps Yuan seemed more unburden because he believed in a better world than the one Cruxis had created? Tatheya did not know.

From the moment she saw him, Tatheya knew that Kratos had more intentions than he claimed to have. For a moment she thought she could see a little of what was in his mind through his dark eyes.

Yuan had described him as a warrior, a cold one. But in that moment it appeared to Tatheya something else. Something, a hint of a sadness. But then, the moment was gone and she found herself overhearing the conversation between the two angels.

'For your information, Yggdrasill is not happy with the fact that you did not come to our meeting in Derris-Kharlan,' Kratos said, walking around the room as if looking for anything suspicious. Tatheya made sure to stay hidden.
'Please, as if you have attended every one,' Yuan replied sarcastic, the chill in his voice revealed. Kratos turned to him, giving him a look that seemed tricky, a look very unusual for Yuan to see in his old friend.

'Perhaps not, and this was not of such importance,' he said and turned his back once again to Yuan, his face now turned to Tatheya who prayed that she was not visible.

'However,' he turned to Yuan and Tatheya allowed herself to exhale, 'we did discuss the matter of the Chosen with Remiel.'

Yuan looked up, his face before bored, now suddenly alert.

'Remiel? The angel from Derris-Kharlan?'

Kratos gave Yuan a look that told him that it was a stupid question. Where else would an angel come from? Yuan did not spend as much time in Derris-Kharlan as Yggdrasill and Kratos.

'Will he be the one guiding the Chosen?'

'Indeed it will seem to be so. Even so, he's been desperate for a higher order and Yggdrasill is going to give him a chance.'

There was a silence; Yuan seemed to be bothered by something in what Kratos was saying. Tatheya took the opportunity in the lack of conversation to study Kratos more. He was wearing a uniform of black, but with leather coloured in a peculiar angelic colour strapped around his chest, legs and hips, to then be concealed by a cape of dark blue. More Tatheya did not take notice of before the conversation started again.

'… Why do you call him that?'

Kratos looked up from have been studying some papers that lay upon the desk of the angel. He had a confused look in his eyes, which his fiery red hair chose to fall into as he cocked his head to the side.

'Call who what?'

'Mithos. You call him Yggdrasill. Sure, in public he is known as that, but in our eyes he should still be known as Mithos, the one he was before this…acting this role of God.'

Kratos paused, considering what Yuan just had said.

'Perhaps. But he is not that boy anymore, you will have to admit.'

'And he is what now? Yggdrasill, the God?'

Tatheya looked at Yuan, seeing that he let his despise for Yggdrasill show for once. It was certainly not good for Yuan to have Kratos notice such a thing. But then, it seemed as Kratos shared the same despise, although not as big as Yuan's.

For he let out a dry and short laugh. No humour in it, just a dry laugh.

'Indeed, you are right, Yuan. He is not a God, he hasn't even grown mature in all these years. But he is the wielder of the Eternal Sword and that is to be respected. Even if he chooses to use it for the revival of Martel.' The latter part of his saying made Yuan give a small winch as he heard the name Martel. Indeed Kratos saw that and chose not to engage the matter more. For he knew that Yuan still loved Martel, and on that part he knew that Mithos and Yuan would be enemies.

Yuan finally broke the tense silence.

'Is that all why you have come, Kratos? To hand me a warning from Mithos? Surely you have not only dragged yourself all the way here for that simple matter.'

There was a silence.

'No. I came here to give you a report of the Chosen of Sylvarant.'

Yuan looked at Kratos.

'You want to give me a report of her? Me, the one who actually wrote the report? Why?'

Kratos looked at him from across the room, standing by the fireplace.

'If you attended the meeting you would know what it meant. We are going to study both the Chosen of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, for the journey will start in three years, and preparations are need to be made.'

'Surely it will not take so long Remiel to learn the process?' Yuan asked.

'No. Preparations are need to be made for… for I am going to accompany the Chosen on this journey.'

Yuan looked up, surprised.

'What?'

Kratos did not reply.

'What are your reasons?'

Kratos looked up.

'That, my friend, we will discuss on our next meeting,' he said and looked at him, 'if you are planning to come, that is.'

He then left the room, leaving Yuan to his thoughts, before Tatheya re-entered the room, appearing as is she hadn't heard anything, which seemed to work.

'So what did Kratos want?' she asked lightly, as if considering the angel a normal worker for Yuan. Yuan only chose to cast a tired glance at her, leaving the mark that he did not intend to discuss it. But then he gave a sigh.

'It seems Kratos is going to accompany the Chosen of Sylvarant on her quest to the Tower of Salvation.'

'What?' Tatheya asked, acting surprised and then a question slipped out of her.

'Why?'

'I am not sure. Indeed, until now, I thought Kratos wasn't that eager about the Revival of Martel, but he just proved me wrong.'

'I don't believe he's going to do it just because Yggdrasill tells him to,' Tatheya added with a stating tone.

Yuan gave her a dark look.

'You don't know Mithos, or Kratos for that matter. You have no idea what they are capable of.'

Then with a sigh, he left the room.