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MyttyDW
Awoo?
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2020
Chapter 1
Rune tossed and turned, unable to get any rest. The same vision ran through her head whenever she closed her eyes — gnashing teeth, frothing drool, and claws as hard as mythrite tearing through flesh and bone like paper. Blood flying everywhere. Her heart pounded in her chest until she finally gave up her attempts to sleep. She slowly slid off her bed, stripping out of her nightwear. She realized her tail was tucked from fear and forced herself to relax. It was just a dream, after all. She grabbed a simple shirt and breeches from her dresser - the clothes her mother hated - before pulling them on.
The light of the full moon was all she used tonight, keeping the crystech lanterns deactivated in hopes of not waking her mother or the servants. ‘Workwear is for men, women should dress proper,’ her mother always said when she was caught.
Her mother was old-fashioned, though, and Rune had never agreed with her sentiments. The divide between Iastan nobility and the working class was oft considered traditional, but plenty of other nobles worked nowadays. Shaking the thoughts away, Rune grabbed her kerchief and quietly slipped out of her bedroom. The rest of the household was asleep given the midnight hour, which made sneaking out an easy task. She reached the front door without issue and grabbed the knob.
“Rune?”
She winced at the sound of Matron Kelbia’s voice coming from behind her. Biting her lip, Rune turned around and looked at the motherly aeteron. The beast-woman’s eyes could see in the dark much better than her own; her long, fluffy tail was still while tall ears flicked atop her head. Rune knew Kelbia's graying muzzle was showing her disappointment.
“Sneaking out again, young lady?” Kelbia asked the young woman, brushing some of Rune's brown curls behind one of her beast-like ears. “You know your mother wouldn’t be happy.”
“I know, but I can’t sleep. I just want to head down to the docks.”
Kelbia sighed softly. “Just don’t bother the handlers too much, okay? As long as you don’t get in trouble, I’ll pretend I didn't see you.” She paused for a moment, tail flicking in thought. “If there’s anything you need to talk about-“
“I know, Kelbia, but I’m fine. Just a restless night. Thanks, love you.” Rune quickly and silently slipped out the door, closing it behind her.
The port city of Utelis was usually quiet during the nighttime hours, and today was no different. Rune walked quickly through the streets towards the docks, where she knew that there would be dock workers unloading a late-night shipment; there was a golem handler with them that she had gotten to know.
Something was different tonight. The vision from her dream flashed in front of her eyes once again, and Rune could feel her heart starting to pound. It pulsed in her chest hard enough that it rang in her ears like the beat of a drum. The air felt colder than it should have in early autumn, making the hair on her arms stand on end. A sense of wrongness dominated her mind, a shiver of fear running down her spine. Whatever was causing this was getting closer.
"Everything alright, ma'am?" someone asked. One of the guards was approaching, his crystech lantern shining on her face a moment later. "Ah, Rune. Sleepless again, are we?"
Rune blinked a few times to stop the sunbursts after glancing into the light of the crystal. “That you, Kalle? This isn’t normally your patrol.” She knew some of the night guards after being stopped a few times. By this point they were content to let her be on her way — despite the repeated warnings from her mother; Kalle normally was on a daytime patrol in the upper city. “You lose a bet?”
He chuckled awkwardly and shook his head, scratching his cheek with one of his claws. “Nothing like that. Yarin is getting married tomorrow, so I took his patrol so he could get some rest.”
“Aren’t you the one he's marrying?”
“Well, yes but–”
“No buts, Kalle. Nothing’s gonna happen tonight, you need your sleep ‘cause it’s your big day, too.” Rune grinned at how he seemed to squirm. “If the captain gives you trouble, tell him the lord’s daughter gave you an order.”
Kalle opened his mouth a few times, looking for something to say, but he was cornered. After a moment he sighed and shook his head. “You’re a troublemaker, my lady. I have no choice but to follow your command. The dock got a shipment just ten minutes ago if you’re interested.”
“Of course I am!” Rune knew, or at least hoped she knew, what was in that shipment. Her heart raced for a different reason as she waved goodbye to Kalle and ran towards the docks. The fear from before was suppressed, but it hung above her and her shadow flickered as if it wanted to escape into the moonlight. Her long legs carried her to the pier, where she found the crew unloading cargo — including a huge crate she had been waiting for.
"Ahoy, Rune!" The captain, an older nobleman with graying hair and laugh lines, waved her over. "You figured out we got your golem in, did you? I was going to save it for your birthday."
Rune was giddy by this point and couldn't help the little bounce she gave in her excitement, nor the wagging of her tail. "No, I just couldn't sleep. But it's true, he's in there?”
"Yup, straight from Tereil. Gave your request to the guild master myself."
"Really? I wasn't expecting them to consider it, especially not so soon."
Captain Mocont grinned. "Well, I'm sure he sees the wisdom in making friends in the Kingdom. Your father is going to those alliance talks alongside the king, is he not?"
The Republic of Tereil was the northern of the three nations, a place of progress where many of the greatest minds in history had emerged. Rune had long wanted to visit the guild halls and see the inventors at work, but her mother forbade her from making such travels.
That woman still thought she could shape Rune into a ‘respectable’ member of the nobility, and her father was lately too busy in the affairs of his land to entertain such a request. He was scheduled to leave Utelis to travel northwest to discuss an alliance with Tereil alongside the king of Iasta. Gyox, the western empire, had grown in its hunger for land.
"Ah, yes, this letter came with it," the captain said after a moment, holding out a sealed envelope for the young halfbreed. "If I was to hazard a guess, it might explain the lack of delay."
Rune thanked him again as she took the letter, eagerly tearing it open. The penmanship was that of someone well-instructed, the parchment carrying a sense of formality. The contents, however, were most intriguing to her…
Dear Lady Rune Herisad of Utelis
I am Urieal Aventus of the Tereilian Crystech guild, and I am the one who crafted your golem. As the successor to the guild master, it is my honor to present unto you a golem built to your request. As a person, it is my pleasure. The captain I entrust your golem to has spun tales of your beauty and smarts to me, and I find myself quite smitten with the idea of you. Perhaps someday soon you and I may get to know one another?
Cordially,
Ser Urieal Aventus
“Something exciting, young miss?” the captain asked with a raised eyebrow and a full grin as if he knew what the letter contained.
Rune was blushing a deep red as she looked up from the letter and pouted at the captain. “You told him I was beautiful, you old sea dog? That's a stretch of the imagination if ever I heard one. I mean, look at me after a long day! Sweaty, coated in muck and grime?”
“Let me stop you there, young miss.” Captain Mocont, though usually easygoing and fun, could command the attention of his crew with a single shift in tone - and Rune now experienced that firsthand. “Traditional Iastan beauty is all well and good, but there is much more than that. On this, I promise I did no disservice to you. Now come, let’s introduce you to your golem.”
It took only a quick command for two of Mocont’s sailors to come with prybars to pull the crate open. Inside, lit by the full moon, was her golem. It was inactive, of course, but the sight of the steel-plated machine had her giddy as she stepped towards it. As she reached out for the machine’s chest, the moon was blotted out by clouds.
“Rune, look out!”
Except it wasn’t clouded. Startled by the captain’s roar, Rune stepped back just in time for a dark figure to crash into where she had been standing. The stone dock cracked under the impact. The figure stood tall even with its hunched back, two arms splitting into four. When it turned around to gaze at Rune, it was with dangerously glowing red eyes.
"Power…" it growled out while stalking toward Rune. Three finger-claws on each of the thing's four hands caught the moonlight like a freshly sharpened blade. It lunged at Rune, thrashing at her and catching her lower chest, tearing through her clothes and skin like parchment. She stumbled back as blood poured from the wounds, staining the stone below her.
A gunshot rang out, a lance of crystal energy piercing into her foe. Captain Mocont held his chargelock pistol, barrel smoking, as the crew that had opened the crate rushed onto their ship to rouse the rest. The shot had pierced into the monster's hide, yet the smoking divot in its shoulder did not seem to slow it down at all as it then charged the Captain, who roared a challenge while drawing his cutlass.
Rune's hand laid over her wound, fruitlessly trying to keep her blood inside her. I have to do something, she thought as she watched the captain doing his best to fend off the monster. He was fighting well, for a human. But humans weren’t as strong as other sae’len, let alone the bestial aeteron! She stumbled toward her golem and placed her bloodied hand on its chest, which housed the crystal core. Contact with her blood sealed their bond and jumped the crystech machine's heart. The thrum of magic filled the air while the golem’s joints started to glow with energy and newly-active joints creaked slightly before settling into place.
“Golem, help the captain!” Rune cried out to the machine even as Mocont’s crew rushed off the ship with rifles and swords at the ready. Her golem reacted and moved faster than she thought possible for a mass of metal half again as tall as most. It slammed one of its great hands into the back of the creature’s head, its pneumatic grip closing around the skull and shoving its face down into the dock. The pure force generated by the golem’s powerful blow shattered some of the stone below them, but that was not the end of it. The golem threw the creature away, a splash sounding as it hit the ocean. A wave of silence washed over the docks, only the sounds of the ocean after the chaos.
“Is it… is it over?” Rune asked with a sigh as she slumped against a nearby mooring post. Her shirt was stained red where it wasn’t torn from the monster’s claw.
Captain Mocont knelt beside her and gently peeled her hand from the wound so he could inspect it. He hissed in sympathy and shook his head. “Henry! Fetch a guard and a healer! The rest of you stop gawking and keep your guard up, it might still be out there.” One of the younger men didn’t even bother to salute before he ran into town to follow orders. A few moments passed as the captain pressed a cloth against the wound to stem the bleeding.
“It is still out there.” A man, someone Rune had never seen before, emerged from the darkness with an air of unconcealable gravitas. He wore a pair of heavy-looking pistols, one at each hip, and his long, white cloak hid his face beneath the hood. “A shattered will not be defeated so easily… nor will it be deterred from its prize.”
“Prize? What’re you saying, man? What was that thing?” Mocont growled without taking his eyes off Rune. “Why did it attack Rune?”
“The young miss? She was attacked for her crystalline heart. These things, these monsters. The shattered. They seek out people like Rune and devour their hearts. There will be time to talk later.” Even as he spoke, the man did not look away from scanning the ocean. A moment later, the misshapen creature clawed out of the water; at the sight of the white-cloaked man it snarled, drool dripping from sharpened teeth.
“Power!” it roared, charging faster than most would be able to follow. Rune opened her mouth to command her golem, but no sound came. She was only able to watch in horror as Mocont was thrown away from her and—
Nothing. The robed man stood in front of her, blocking the monster’s claws with nothing but his arms. The faint glow of magic surrounded him. He pushed the creature’s arms away, his cloak torn but his flesh unmarked. It tried once more to strike him, but he blocked again and pulled out one of his heavy pistols, a design that Rune had never seen before. The barrel met the monster’s chin and a loud report followed, a shot of crystal energy blowing a hole through the top of its head. He then pressed it against its chest and fired twice more.
As the echoes of the shots faded, the creature — the shattered — slumped to the ground and began to flake away into what looked like pure magic. The energy flowed into the man, causing him to glow brighter, yet a trickle found its way to Rune. Her wound began to seal, slowly, but she had lost too much blood. Her vision went blurry as the world went dark, and the last thing she heard was her name being called…
Rune awoke with a start, her face drenched with a cold sweat. Her hand flew towards her chest where she had been wounded only to find nothing - not even a scar. It couldn’t have been a dream… It felt much too real, she thought as her ears twitched. She could hear voices muffled from beyond her door, and they sounded as if they were arguing. She sat up, once more surprised by the lack of pain she felt.
“Lady Rune!” her handmaid, a young aeteron named Julin, perked up when she saw Rune stir. The amber fur around her eyes was matted and damp as if she had been crying, the thought of which made Rune smile sadly. Julin and Rune had been friends since childhood when they met the night her father became a lord. Julin’s father was the lord’s advisor, so when the two children hit it off it was only natural for Julin to be assigned as Rune’s companion. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I’m supposed to accompany you!”
Rune chuckled and shook her head. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Julin. I just had a bad dream and went for a walk.” Though it did end in relative disaster. “What of Mocont? My golem?”
Before Julin could answer, the door to the bedroom opened. Her younger sister, a full-blooded human sae’len, walked in with puffy red eyes. When she saw that Rune was awake, her tears started up again and she ran to the side of the bed, crawling on and hugging her tightly.
“Hey, Wrynn. What’s going on? Was the wound that bad?” Rune asked with a small frown even as her hand came up to stroke her sister’s blonde hair. “You’ve both been crying up a storm, that much is obvious.”
“Y-You died!” Wrynn whimpered in between sobs, her hands clinging tight to the shirt Rune wore. There was no way that the younger sister would be able to get her words out, so Rune looked up at Julin, hoping her friend could shed more light on what Wrynn had said.
Julin, for her part, was working hard to keep her composure. “That man, the one who saved you, said it’s perfectly normal for people with your… heart, is how he put it.” The handmaid stood and walked to the side of Rune’s bed, sitting beside her and Wrynn. “But your heart stopped, you were dead… he insisted you be somewhere comfortable when you ‘woke up’.”
“It’s been three days!” Wrynn cried into her sister’s shoulder. “And now he’s saying he has to take you away!”
“Rune?” This time when the door opened her mother and father walked in, accompanied by Kelbia and the man from the night of the attack.
The man stepped up and gave a small bow. “Lady Rune, I am glad to see you’ve awoken. My name is Ferral, and I am a Vigilant.” As he straightened, Rune looked the man over. He was tall with wiry limbs and short black hair. His weapons were nowhere to be seen, but his sharp brown eyes made it clear he did not need them. “You know what a Vigilant is?”
Rune bit her lip and glanced at her mother and father, both sae’len. They held differing views on what she should learn, and neither of them had told her about the Vigilants. “They’re a group of people who fight monsters, right?”
“You’re not wrong, but there’s much more to our order than is common knowledge.” Ferral paused for a chuckle, “Not that we’ve tried to change that lately. It’s better that way.”
“Better that way?” Rune cocked her head. “Julin said you mentioned my heart… that night, on the docks, you said something similar. I don’t understand.”
“Of course you wouldn’t, and the answer is one reason our order is relatively secret. Kenterra is full of magic, I’m sure you know. The magic crystals, like those that power the heart of your golem—”
“They grow much like trees and flowers, right? Everyone hears that spiel, it’s part of basic schooling. I’m sure you’re not about to treat my daughter like a child?” Rune’s father spoke up now. His short black hair was peppered with gray and he looked down his crooked nose at the Vigilant, who shook his head.
“Nothing of the sort, it’s important context. As much as our world is imbued with magic, so too are we. And some of us are born with something… extraordinary. A crystalline heart. Some lose control of it and that is why I must take you with me, Rune. Back to the vigil. Otherwise, you will become like the creature that attacked you.”
Silence washed over the room and all eyes stayed on Rune, who blushed under the amount of attention she was getting. “So if I don’t go with you, I’ll become a monster?”
“Essentially.”
Rune’s mother looked between her husband and her daughters before sighing. “If you would give us a moment, ser Ferral, we would like a moment as a family.”
Ferral nodded at that before he left, leaving just the family as well as Kelbia and Julin. Rune continued to pet Wrynn’s hair with the younger girl buried in her chest, hiding the sadness that undoubtedly filled her eyes. Everyone was quiet for a while, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on everyone in the room.
“So… I guess I should pack,” Rune said with an attempt of humor in her voice, though it fell flat.
“Rune, you don’t need to go. We don’t even know if what he’s saying is true,” Lady Herisad said softly. “Fighting monsters is not-”
“Oh, please do stop with that Mera!” Kelbia’s outburst had everyone suddenly looking at her, the matron soon glancing at the floor and stepping back. “Apologies, my Lady. But if there is danger to Rune, would it not be irresponsible to ignore it?”
Something flashed in Mera’s eyes, but the Lady seemed to bite it back. “We don’t know there is danger to my daughter, matron.”
“And yet I was attacked by a monster,” Rune growled, feeling annoyed with her mother. “It struck Mocont too, but it was coming after me. And if things like that put other people in danger, then I want to help.”
“Fighting monsters is not how we raised you!”
“Enough!” Lord Herisad, though often soft-spoken, had a voice that easily commanded attention. “This is Rune’s decision, Mera. She’s grown up, and if what this Vigilant said is true, she’ll be in danger no matter where she goes.”
Rune smiled at her father before looking down at Wrynn. Her younger sister was still clinging to her, but she was strong. “You’ll be fine, sis. I’ll miss you too, you little goldbloom.” Wrynn giggled a little, satisfying Rune before she glanced at Julin.
“I’m going with you, Lady Rune,” Julin said before Rune could even open her mouth. “It’s my duty as your handmaid to keep care of you - I can’t do that if you’re not here.”
“Julin, look-”
The aeteron woman shook her head. “No. You’re also my best friend. I’ll go where you go. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Okay?” Rune was silent, making Julin frown and push her shoulder. “Okay!?”
Rune shook her head and sighed with a smile. “Alright, Julin, fine. You can come with me. Of course, you’ll need to tell your parents.” Met with a dismissive handwave, Rune chuckled. “Okay… I should probably pack, though. Honestly.” She looked up at her parents again, who nodded and left with nary another word.
Kelbia, though, had stayed. “Rune?” the matron’s voice was soft and worried. “Just remember to write us, okay?” Your parents just want what’s best for you. Promise me you’ll be smart and stay safe.”
“As safe as I can be, Kelbia,” Rune said as she gently pushed Wrynn back to her feet. “I promise, though. I’ll send my first letter once I arrive.” And probably one to Urieal, too. Need to thank him for the golem at the very least.
The matron seemed satisfied and collected Wrynn before shepherding the younger woman out of the room. Julin smiled at her best friend and left, likely to go negotiate around her parents. This left Rune alone in her room.
“Time to pack,” she said to the empty air, standing on wobbly legs. “Adventure, here I come… I guess.”
Rune tossed and turned, unable to get any rest. The same vision ran through her head whenever she closed her eyes — gnashing teeth, frothing drool, and claws as hard as mythrite tearing through flesh and bone like paper. Blood flying everywhere. Her heart pounded in her chest until she finally gave up her attempts to sleep. She slowly slid off her bed, stripping out of her nightwear. She realized her tail was tucked from fear and forced herself to relax. It was just a dream, after all. She grabbed a simple shirt and breeches from her dresser - the clothes her mother hated - before pulling them on.
The light of the full moon was all she used tonight, keeping the crystech lanterns deactivated in hopes of not waking her mother or the servants. ‘Workwear is for men, women should dress proper,’ her mother always said when she was caught.
Her mother was old-fashioned, though, and Rune had never agreed with her sentiments. The divide between Iastan nobility and the working class was oft considered traditional, but plenty of other nobles worked nowadays. Shaking the thoughts away, Rune grabbed her kerchief and quietly slipped out of her bedroom. The rest of the household was asleep given the midnight hour, which made sneaking out an easy task. She reached the front door without issue and grabbed the knob.
“Rune?”
She winced at the sound of Matron Kelbia’s voice coming from behind her. Biting her lip, Rune turned around and looked at the motherly aeteron. The beast-woman’s eyes could see in the dark much better than her own; her long, fluffy tail was still while tall ears flicked atop her head. Rune knew Kelbia's graying muzzle was showing her disappointment.
“Sneaking out again, young lady?” Kelbia asked the young woman, brushing some of Rune's brown curls behind one of her beast-like ears. “You know your mother wouldn’t be happy.”
“I know, but I can’t sleep. I just want to head down to the docks.”
Kelbia sighed softly. “Just don’t bother the handlers too much, okay? As long as you don’t get in trouble, I’ll pretend I didn't see you.” She paused for a moment, tail flicking in thought. “If there’s anything you need to talk about-“
“I know, Kelbia, but I’m fine. Just a restless night. Thanks, love you.” Rune quickly and silently slipped out the door, closing it behind her.
The port city of Utelis was usually quiet during the nighttime hours, and today was no different. Rune walked quickly through the streets towards the docks, where she knew that there would be dock workers unloading a late-night shipment; there was a golem handler with them that she had gotten to know.
Something was different tonight. The vision from her dream flashed in front of her eyes once again, and Rune could feel her heart starting to pound. It pulsed in her chest hard enough that it rang in her ears like the beat of a drum. The air felt colder than it should have in early autumn, making the hair on her arms stand on end. A sense of wrongness dominated her mind, a shiver of fear running down her spine. Whatever was causing this was getting closer.
"Everything alright, ma'am?" someone asked. One of the guards was approaching, his crystech lantern shining on her face a moment later. "Ah, Rune. Sleepless again, are we?"
Rune blinked a few times to stop the sunbursts after glancing into the light of the crystal. “That you, Kalle? This isn’t normally your patrol.” She knew some of the night guards after being stopped a few times. By this point they were content to let her be on her way — despite the repeated warnings from her mother; Kalle normally was on a daytime patrol in the upper city. “You lose a bet?”
He chuckled awkwardly and shook his head, scratching his cheek with one of his claws. “Nothing like that. Yarin is getting married tomorrow, so I took his patrol so he could get some rest.”
“Aren’t you the one he's marrying?”
“Well, yes but–”
“No buts, Kalle. Nothing’s gonna happen tonight, you need your sleep ‘cause it’s your big day, too.” Rune grinned at how he seemed to squirm. “If the captain gives you trouble, tell him the lord’s daughter gave you an order.”
Kalle opened his mouth a few times, looking for something to say, but he was cornered. After a moment he sighed and shook his head. “You’re a troublemaker, my lady. I have no choice but to follow your command. The dock got a shipment just ten minutes ago if you’re interested.”
“Of course I am!” Rune knew, or at least hoped she knew, what was in that shipment. Her heart raced for a different reason as she waved goodbye to Kalle and ran towards the docks. The fear from before was suppressed, but it hung above her and her shadow flickered as if it wanted to escape into the moonlight. Her long legs carried her to the pier, where she found the crew unloading cargo — including a huge crate she had been waiting for.
"Ahoy, Rune!" The captain, an older nobleman with graying hair and laugh lines, waved her over. "You figured out we got your golem in, did you? I was going to save it for your birthday."
Rune was giddy by this point and couldn't help the little bounce she gave in her excitement, nor the wagging of her tail. "No, I just couldn't sleep. But it's true, he's in there?”
"Yup, straight from Tereil. Gave your request to the guild master myself."
"Really? I wasn't expecting them to consider it, especially not so soon."
Captain Mocont grinned. "Well, I'm sure he sees the wisdom in making friends in the Kingdom. Your father is going to those alliance talks alongside the king, is he not?"
The Republic of Tereil was the northern of the three nations, a place of progress where many of the greatest minds in history had emerged. Rune had long wanted to visit the guild halls and see the inventors at work, but her mother forbade her from making such travels.
That woman still thought she could shape Rune into a ‘respectable’ member of the nobility, and her father was lately too busy in the affairs of his land to entertain such a request. He was scheduled to leave Utelis to travel northwest to discuss an alliance with Tereil alongside the king of Iasta. Gyox, the western empire, had grown in its hunger for land.
"Ah, yes, this letter came with it," the captain said after a moment, holding out a sealed envelope for the young halfbreed. "If I was to hazard a guess, it might explain the lack of delay."
Rune thanked him again as she took the letter, eagerly tearing it open. The penmanship was that of someone well-instructed, the parchment carrying a sense of formality. The contents, however, were most intriguing to her…
Dear Lady Rune Herisad of Utelis
I am Urieal Aventus of the Tereilian Crystech guild, and I am the one who crafted your golem. As the successor to the guild master, it is my honor to present unto you a golem built to your request. As a person, it is my pleasure. The captain I entrust your golem to has spun tales of your beauty and smarts to me, and I find myself quite smitten with the idea of you. Perhaps someday soon you and I may get to know one another?
Cordially,
Ser Urieal Aventus
“Something exciting, young miss?” the captain asked with a raised eyebrow and a full grin as if he knew what the letter contained.
Rune was blushing a deep red as she looked up from the letter and pouted at the captain. “You told him I was beautiful, you old sea dog? That's a stretch of the imagination if ever I heard one. I mean, look at me after a long day! Sweaty, coated in muck and grime?”
“Let me stop you there, young miss.” Captain Mocont, though usually easygoing and fun, could command the attention of his crew with a single shift in tone - and Rune now experienced that firsthand. “Traditional Iastan beauty is all well and good, but there is much more than that. On this, I promise I did no disservice to you. Now come, let’s introduce you to your golem.”
It took only a quick command for two of Mocont’s sailors to come with prybars to pull the crate open. Inside, lit by the full moon, was her golem. It was inactive, of course, but the sight of the steel-plated machine had her giddy as she stepped towards it. As she reached out for the machine’s chest, the moon was blotted out by clouds.
“Rune, look out!”
Except it wasn’t clouded. Startled by the captain’s roar, Rune stepped back just in time for a dark figure to crash into where she had been standing. The stone dock cracked under the impact. The figure stood tall even with its hunched back, two arms splitting into four. When it turned around to gaze at Rune, it was with dangerously glowing red eyes.
"Power…" it growled out while stalking toward Rune. Three finger-claws on each of the thing's four hands caught the moonlight like a freshly sharpened blade. It lunged at Rune, thrashing at her and catching her lower chest, tearing through her clothes and skin like parchment. She stumbled back as blood poured from the wounds, staining the stone below her.
A gunshot rang out, a lance of crystal energy piercing into her foe. Captain Mocont held his chargelock pistol, barrel smoking, as the crew that had opened the crate rushed onto their ship to rouse the rest. The shot had pierced into the monster's hide, yet the smoking divot in its shoulder did not seem to slow it down at all as it then charged the Captain, who roared a challenge while drawing his cutlass.
Rune's hand laid over her wound, fruitlessly trying to keep her blood inside her. I have to do something, she thought as she watched the captain doing his best to fend off the monster. He was fighting well, for a human. But humans weren’t as strong as other sae’len, let alone the bestial aeteron! She stumbled toward her golem and placed her bloodied hand on its chest, which housed the crystal core. Contact with her blood sealed their bond and jumped the crystech machine's heart. The thrum of magic filled the air while the golem’s joints started to glow with energy and newly-active joints creaked slightly before settling into place.
“Golem, help the captain!” Rune cried out to the machine even as Mocont’s crew rushed off the ship with rifles and swords at the ready. Her golem reacted and moved faster than she thought possible for a mass of metal half again as tall as most. It slammed one of its great hands into the back of the creature’s head, its pneumatic grip closing around the skull and shoving its face down into the dock. The pure force generated by the golem’s powerful blow shattered some of the stone below them, but that was not the end of it. The golem threw the creature away, a splash sounding as it hit the ocean. A wave of silence washed over the docks, only the sounds of the ocean after the chaos.
“Is it… is it over?” Rune asked with a sigh as she slumped against a nearby mooring post. Her shirt was stained red where it wasn’t torn from the monster’s claw.
Captain Mocont knelt beside her and gently peeled her hand from the wound so he could inspect it. He hissed in sympathy and shook his head. “Henry! Fetch a guard and a healer! The rest of you stop gawking and keep your guard up, it might still be out there.” One of the younger men didn’t even bother to salute before he ran into town to follow orders. A few moments passed as the captain pressed a cloth against the wound to stem the bleeding.
“It is still out there.” A man, someone Rune had never seen before, emerged from the darkness with an air of unconcealable gravitas. He wore a pair of heavy-looking pistols, one at each hip, and his long, white cloak hid his face beneath the hood. “A shattered will not be defeated so easily… nor will it be deterred from its prize.”
“Prize? What’re you saying, man? What was that thing?” Mocont growled without taking his eyes off Rune. “Why did it attack Rune?”
“The young miss? She was attacked for her crystalline heart. These things, these monsters. The shattered. They seek out people like Rune and devour their hearts. There will be time to talk later.” Even as he spoke, the man did not look away from scanning the ocean. A moment later, the misshapen creature clawed out of the water; at the sight of the white-cloaked man it snarled, drool dripping from sharpened teeth.
“Power!” it roared, charging faster than most would be able to follow. Rune opened her mouth to command her golem, but no sound came. She was only able to watch in horror as Mocont was thrown away from her and—
Nothing. The robed man stood in front of her, blocking the monster’s claws with nothing but his arms. The faint glow of magic surrounded him. He pushed the creature’s arms away, his cloak torn but his flesh unmarked. It tried once more to strike him, but he blocked again and pulled out one of his heavy pistols, a design that Rune had never seen before. The barrel met the monster’s chin and a loud report followed, a shot of crystal energy blowing a hole through the top of its head. He then pressed it against its chest and fired twice more.
As the echoes of the shots faded, the creature — the shattered — slumped to the ground and began to flake away into what looked like pure magic. The energy flowed into the man, causing him to glow brighter, yet a trickle found its way to Rune. Her wound began to seal, slowly, but she had lost too much blood. Her vision went blurry as the world went dark, and the last thing she heard was her name being called…
Rune awoke with a start, her face drenched with a cold sweat. Her hand flew towards her chest where she had been wounded only to find nothing - not even a scar. It couldn’t have been a dream… It felt much too real, she thought as her ears twitched. She could hear voices muffled from beyond her door, and they sounded as if they were arguing. She sat up, once more surprised by the lack of pain she felt.
“Lady Rune!” her handmaid, a young aeteron named Julin, perked up when she saw Rune stir. The amber fur around her eyes was matted and damp as if she had been crying, the thought of which made Rune smile sadly. Julin and Rune had been friends since childhood when they met the night her father became a lord. Julin’s father was the lord’s advisor, so when the two children hit it off it was only natural for Julin to be assigned as Rune’s companion. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I’m supposed to accompany you!”
Rune chuckled and shook her head. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Julin. I just had a bad dream and went for a walk.” Though it did end in relative disaster. “What of Mocont? My golem?”
Before Julin could answer, the door to the bedroom opened. Her younger sister, a full-blooded human sae’len, walked in with puffy red eyes. When she saw that Rune was awake, her tears started up again and she ran to the side of the bed, crawling on and hugging her tightly.
“Hey, Wrynn. What’s going on? Was the wound that bad?” Rune asked with a small frown even as her hand came up to stroke her sister’s blonde hair. “You’ve both been crying up a storm, that much is obvious.”
“Y-You died!” Wrynn whimpered in between sobs, her hands clinging tight to the shirt Rune wore. There was no way that the younger sister would be able to get her words out, so Rune looked up at Julin, hoping her friend could shed more light on what Wrynn had said.
Julin, for her part, was working hard to keep her composure. “That man, the one who saved you, said it’s perfectly normal for people with your… heart, is how he put it.” The handmaid stood and walked to the side of Rune’s bed, sitting beside her and Wrynn. “But your heart stopped, you were dead… he insisted you be somewhere comfortable when you ‘woke up’.”
“It’s been three days!” Wrynn cried into her sister’s shoulder. “And now he’s saying he has to take you away!”
“Rune?” This time when the door opened her mother and father walked in, accompanied by Kelbia and the man from the night of the attack.
The man stepped up and gave a small bow. “Lady Rune, I am glad to see you’ve awoken. My name is Ferral, and I am a Vigilant.” As he straightened, Rune looked the man over. He was tall with wiry limbs and short black hair. His weapons were nowhere to be seen, but his sharp brown eyes made it clear he did not need them. “You know what a Vigilant is?”
Rune bit her lip and glanced at her mother and father, both sae’len. They held differing views on what she should learn, and neither of them had told her about the Vigilants. “They’re a group of people who fight monsters, right?”
“You’re not wrong, but there’s much more to our order than is common knowledge.” Ferral paused for a chuckle, “Not that we’ve tried to change that lately. It’s better that way.”
“Better that way?” Rune cocked her head. “Julin said you mentioned my heart… that night, on the docks, you said something similar. I don’t understand.”
“Of course you wouldn’t, and the answer is one reason our order is relatively secret. Kenterra is full of magic, I’m sure you know. The magic crystals, like those that power the heart of your golem—”
“They grow much like trees and flowers, right? Everyone hears that spiel, it’s part of basic schooling. I’m sure you’re not about to treat my daughter like a child?” Rune’s father spoke up now. His short black hair was peppered with gray and he looked down his crooked nose at the Vigilant, who shook his head.
“Nothing of the sort, it’s important context. As much as our world is imbued with magic, so too are we. And some of us are born with something… extraordinary. A crystalline heart. Some lose control of it and that is why I must take you with me, Rune. Back to the vigil. Otherwise, you will become like the creature that attacked you.”
Silence washed over the room and all eyes stayed on Rune, who blushed under the amount of attention she was getting. “So if I don’t go with you, I’ll become a monster?”
“Essentially.”
Rune’s mother looked between her husband and her daughters before sighing. “If you would give us a moment, ser Ferral, we would like a moment as a family.”
Ferral nodded at that before he left, leaving just the family as well as Kelbia and Julin. Rune continued to pet Wrynn’s hair with the younger girl buried in her chest, hiding the sadness that undoubtedly filled her eyes. Everyone was quiet for a while, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on everyone in the room.
“So… I guess I should pack,” Rune said with an attempt of humor in her voice, though it fell flat.
“Rune, you don’t need to go. We don’t even know if what he’s saying is true,” Lady Herisad said softly. “Fighting monsters is not-”
“Oh, please do stop with that Mera!” Kelbia’s outburst had everyone suddenly looking at her, the matron soon glancing at the floor and stepping back. “Apologies, my Lady. But if there is danger to Rune, would it not be irresponsible to ignore it?”
Something flashed in Mera’s eyes, but the Lady seemed to bite it back. “We don’t know there is danger to my daughter, matron.”
“And yet I was attacked by a monster,” Rune growled, feeling annoyed with her mother. “It struck Mocont too, but it was coming after me. And if things like that put other people in danger, then I want to help.”
“Fighting monsters is not how we raised you!”
“Enough!” Lord Herisad, though often soft-spoken, had a voice that easily commanded attention. “This is Rune’s decision, Mera. She’s grown up, and if what this Vigilant said is true, she’ll be in danger no matter where she goes.”
Rune smiled at her father before looking down at Wrynn. Her younger sister was still clinging to her, but she was strong. “You’ll be fine, sis. I’ll miss you too, you little goldbloom.” Wrynn giggled a little, satisfying Rune before she glanced at Julin.
“I’m going with you, Lady Rune,” Julin said before Rune could even open her mouth. “It’s my duty as your handmaid to keep care of you - I can’t do that if you’re not here.”
“Julin, look-”
The aeteron woman shook her head. “No. You’re also my best friend. I’ll go where you go. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Okay?” Rune was silent, making Julin frown and push her shoulder. “Okay!?”
Rune shook her head and sighed with a smile. “Alright, Julin, fine. You can come with me. Of course, you’ll need to tell your parents.” Met with a dismissive handwave, Rune chuckled. “Okay… I should probably pack, though. Honestly.” She looked up at her parents again, who nodded and left with nary another word.
Kelbia, though, had stayed. “Rune?” the matron’s voice was soft and worried. “Just remember to write us, okay?” Your parents just want what’s best for you. Promise me you’ll be smart and stay safe.”
“As safe as I can be, Kelbia,” Rune said as she gently pushed Wrynn back to her feet. “I promise, though. I’ll send my first letter once I arrive.” And probably one to Urieal, too. Need to thank him for the golem at the very least.
The matron seemed satisfied and collected Wrynn before shepherding the younger woman out of the room. Julin smiled at her best friend and left, likely to go negotiate around her parents. This left Rune alone in her room.
“Time to pack,” she said to the empty air, standing on wobbly legs. “Adventure, here I come… I guess.”