Odd... like the dense fog of a moonless night, a soft blanket of haze on all sides. In all honesty I wasn't quite sure what I'd expected really, angels, demons, yet this had never crossed my thoughts.

So this is what it's like to die.

I wouldn't say it was entirely bad, if anything it meant I would find myself at peace. However my mind was plagued by memories of my death just moments ago, and a sense of regret overcame me.

It was not for my lack of skill that I met my end, as my tutors had taught me well. I was skilled in the arts of magic and the blade, able to wield both with a sense of pride. No, it was my lack of experience that caused my downfall.

Unlike most that wandered the wilds, I was of particularly high birth. I was a noble, and an easily recognizable one at that. This in turn made me a rather tempting target for cutthroats of all types, be they bandits or other. It was due to this that I had been assigned a set of thirty men to act as guard. They were to accompany me in making a delivery across the kingdom, an offering of sorts.

We had gone to collect it at first, and we were on our way back. The offering was to the Goddess, as thanks for her mercy and protection from the beastial children of hers. But that was not all, during the delivery we had acquired a message that needed to be brought back immediately. The village we acquired the offering from had been in constant battle with another for some time, and surprisingly they were in the middle of forming a truce. To uphold this truce both the God and Goddess would need to be present, to work out the... finer details.

For all intensive purposes it should have been calm for the remainder of the journey. Perhaps had I been more wary, I'd have seen the oddity in the battle to come.

I could hear the cheering from outside, most of the men breaking out into laughter and glee at having nearly finished our long journey. Even small bouts of song had graced my ears as they reveled. Many bandits had stalked the edge of the main city's surrounding forest, seeing traveling merchants as easy prey in the dense foliage. However we were thirty men strong, only a fool would strike at such a large size.

And so the fools made their move. I was in my tent, attempting to rest as I would need to make the offering to the two divine rulers directly. Yet I was awoken as an arrow struck the dirt next to my head. 'Awoken' probably wasn't the right word, alerted was more like it as I'd not been graced by sleep at the time.

In an instant I'd rushed from the folds, Pale Bloom in my hands and primed for battle. The blade was a close companion of mine, one that I'd held in every journey I made. It bore a blackened blade, darker than midnight and with the barest hint of shine. Said blade extended from a single white rose that acted as guard, almost as if growing from it. A stem made it's way from the bottom around the handle, the pale stem looking to wrap and ensnare the very shadows themselves. A spherical crimson gem acted as pommel, finishing off the elegant weapon.

I wielded the blade with pride, taking in and appreciating it's beauty. It was a gift, one I'd gotten with my promotion from the Goddess.

"Die!"

I swept myself to the side at the scream, drawing the blade across the attacker. My strike tore open the flesh just below his ribs, cleaving through the hide tunic as if it were butter. He let out a scream as he dropped to the ground clutching the bleeding wound.

I simply ignored him as I charged into the fray, he'd fall shortly I was sure.

Our opponents were vicious, their fighting styles being more akin to that of wild animals. Arrows littered the battle field, yet none of the guard had looked to have taken any damage from them. Unlike the bandits that thought us an easy target, the guard as well as myself had our aura awakened. The victor had already been decided from the start, after all how does one hope to stand a chance against those possessing aura?

Still they charged and fell, clearly outmatched by the others. I myself had taken out several on my own, sustaining minor hits along the way. Yet my aura remained strong, well above half as I laid waste to another. It was then that my luck ran out.

I had just brought my blade back forth when I'd taken notice of an odd figure standing off in the distance. Garbed in a muddied and tattered cloak as their silver eyes seemed to bore deep into my very soul. I was naturally confused, who was that? And why were they just standing there?

I was awoken from my stupor however by a sharp pain rushing throughout my chest. Glancing down I stared at the blood caked blade erupting from me. Bursting from where my heart was, it stood defiantly as if taunting me for my stupid mistake. I was supposed to be focused on the battlefield yet I let my attention waver, and I paid the price for it.

The blade left it's place in my heart as it was not pulled, but torn from me, leaving a flow of crimson to the grass below. I felt my body numb as I dropped to my knees, my breath lost as I watched the cloaked figure approach. They kneeled down before me, their hands... her hands gently cupping my face.

The small delicate fingers trailed across my cheek, taking hold as she directed my head to face her. Who was she? Why was she here? I was left with questions as my sight started to fade, yet I saw an unknown pain in her eyes. Her voice was the last thing I heard before the darkness took me.

"I'm sorry... but this is the only way, please forgive me".

Author's note

...

Alright, so I decided to rewrite this chapter in particular. This is the only time I'll be doing this, the other chapters will stay the same as I'm using them to see how I grow as a writer.

But this chapter has always stood out from the others as I was drunk when I first wrote it. So this is the new chapter 1, not much has changed from the original.

I've tried to keep the original feel it had before, while adjusting it to match the style of the beginning chapters after it. It's still short, but not as short as before.

Anyway that's about it, nothing important has changed plot wise, it's just a new flavor.