Shadow of the Abyss

Raven could not resist the scowl on her face, nor the Vale wrought glaive from appearing in her hand. And moved like a black flash.

There were a few gasps followed by shouts of 'wait' and 'don't be foolish,' but Raven heard none of it. This woman, Iliana, simply didn't deserve to be her Master's anything. She was a bully. An arrogant bully who deserved no better than death.

Sword and Glaive clashed. And the world appeared to dim beneath them, illuminated only by the fountain of ember fountaining towards the skies. Icy fury that made the sun feel coldly blazed from the Forsaken's eyes as she struck in quick succession using a blade, polearm, and fist in tandem.

They moved as if in a dream, their blows heavy, and their bodies blurred and exaggerated. Sound appeared to follow only after they moved, unable to keep up as they took their battle to the skies.

Iliana seemed shocked. "Another Grandmaster. Interesting." her sword snapped like a whip across the polearm, forcing Raven back twenty paces. "It's just not enough. You must have learned from watching. You've got some nice eyes." Read exclusive adventures at empire

Raven breathed, but the tension in her body never lessened. She could pounce at any given moment. They had only clashed a few hundred times, but in that single breath it took, she felt the difference. Not just in skill but power and experience. Iliana outclassed her in every category.

"Go. Tend to your Master. You look like you're about to cry. Any battle we have will go in one ear and out the other."

Raven had been about to protest, but Iliana did not give her that honor. She vanished much like the winds across the horizon.

"You! You! Mean woman!" She screamed and Bit the vilest curse she knew. Stomping her feet in the air as if she stood on solid ground, she growled before hurrying to her Master. No one got in her way as men parted to make way.

She brought him to the Medarc, who seemed to be in the middle of a lesson with Medusa when she kicked open the door. The two looked at her and said almost at the same time, "Again!"

Raven blushed in her Master's stead, though her voice was hard like steel, "Help him!"

"Bring him here," The Medarc said. He sounded more annoyed than happy for one seeking to nurse their young master back to health.

Raven glared at the man; this was the one she needed to rely on. No. Never. She took a step back, laying her eyes on Medusa. A Sister of the Vale. A Forsaken.

She would do.

As if reading her mind, Medusa smiled, throwing an eye to the irritated look of the Medarc, ready to explode. She giggled but accepted their Master with open arms.

The Medarc certainly smelled like a Transcendent. They all had that 'clean' aroma, but it didn't matter to Raven. She wanted someone who would do their all. Not someone who would show irritation. If she had her way, the man's head would be on a pike as a warning. Medarc or not.

He might have served Arsene well in the past, but that was then, and this was now, or so Raven firmly believed.

"You can leave," Raven said to the Medarc.

He seemed surprised, then outraged. "Girl, this is my ward!"

Raven's eyes were as cold as ice, but her words appeared even colder. "Outside." She decreed in a palatine accent that brokered no room for argument, much less peace. Something in her stirred then, power. Authority. It seemed to dominate the ward, focusing on the Medarc. Medusa felt it, too, frowning uneasily.

"Raven…" she said in a careful voice. "Master needs his rest; no need for—"

"I am his guardian." her amethyst eyes burned. "I will not have anyone. Anyone! That speaks of my master in irritation by his side. Even if they did right by him in the past."

Near the door, Tasha popped her head in. "You heard the Kings Valeguard. Out. You know our Master's temper.

The Medarc grumbled something Raven had not even tried to make out. She had already called for the other Forsaken, channeling them to appear to guard the outside of the ward. Therion and Alyssa appeared, much like stone statues gripping Vale wrought swords and shields.

"You can control them," Tasha said once he Medarc stormed out of the room, out of earshot.

"My authority amongst the forsaken is second only to my Master. As his guardian, it is my right and their honor."

Raven hated the way she now talked. She wasn't one to command; she hated the idea of it. It felt wrong. All of it. She wasn't a good leader. Worse, she was childish.

A little slow and ignorant. But for her Master, she would do anything.

Medusa chuckled. She had lain Altair down and had taken the girl into her arms. Only then did Raven realize large pearly tears were flowing from her eyes. She had never felt so guilty before.

"You think Big Boss Med will be mad?" she sniffled.

Tasha nearly slipped. "Big Boss, what? Nevermind. He'll be fine. He'll probably forget the matter in a few hours. Men do strange things like that." Medusa nodded, echoing her thoughts.

It had taken a rain of kisses from Medusa for the tears to stop and for Raven's childlike smile to return, if only barely.

"Will Master be alright?"

"Yes. The tether is still alive; Master will be fine," she assured her before turning an eye to Tasha, and her words became colder. "What are you doing here?"

Tasha answered as if she hadn't heard the coldness. "Oh, just checking on Master. A month of training. I was sure he needed to relieve some stress." she glanced around, and her voice became softer, almost to a near whisper, coated with Mana. Only the three could hear her now. " There are spies.

That was obvious before, but it's even more obvious now. These maids and guards were all conditioned by the imperial family and then the Dutchy. It makes sense there is a spy or two, but they are getting desperate. I think…"

"Someone might try to assassinate Master," Raven said dully, the guilt in her heart disbursing like a mist on a new day. She looked Tasha in the eye, and the woman frowned. She wondered why. "Take them to the dungeons. Master gave the Imperial Family a warning. If this is them, then it's a slap to our face.

I will not turn the other cheek."

"That could…"

"The Dungeon. Break them if you can. No, I know you can. Shatter their conditioning and have them spill everything to you. A spy who can be caught can't be too useful. Not this early in the game of Courts and Thrones."

Suddenly, Tasha grinned. The woman seemed to have many faces today. One minute, she is frowning, then smiling, and now proud. She needed to pick one.

"I'll do as you say. Plus, it'll allow me time to practice. I have been feeling rusty."

She was off before Medusa could say a word.

"That could be an issue later."

Raven nodded. She had learned much from watching her Master and Iliana battle. Much like how they could create hundreds of attack patterns with their bodies and swords, foreseeing near the future or some part of it, Raven knew she could do the same in terms of schemes. She only needed to open herself to the idea, to that part of the world.

Altair would be better at it, she was sure; he already had the mind, the madness for it. Schemes were not something she liked, but if she could root up any scheme to have her master killed, then…

"You said a week, right?" Raven asked to reconfirm her Masters status.

"And then three to get him back to full power. Soul Exhaustion is a dreadful thing."

Raven nodded. "Then I shall create more Forsaken in my Master's stead. We shall go hunting. Whatever experience he gains goes to him anyway, so it'll get him stronger. Perhaps if his soul is strengthened through the Origin System, he'll awake sooner."

"You can do that?" Medusa asked in disbelief. "Create more Forsaken. I thought…"

Raven shook her head. She couldn't before, but after Altair had broken through, that restriction was gone. She was sure the Vale Queen and Saintess could create Forsaken now, too. All it took was their master's permission. But now that he's unconscious… There was nothing to stop them from raising an army.

How she knew this, Raven could not say. It was a matter of instinct, much like how humans needed to breathe. Perhaps the origin system might register it within her when she begins raising Forsaken.

"They will be Sired to me, but also Master. So, there shall not be any chance of betrayal."

"...C…Can I do so, too?"

"If you have to ask, then you probably don't have the Authority," Raven decreed, a little regretful when she saw Medusa's downcast expression. She didn't mean to sound so hard. " Sorry. But I'm sure Master can grant you the authority."