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World Fire Reaffirming Desires
When they returned to the Amber Hall, Stag was very, very disappointed. They had not noticed how much time had passed. It was the next morning already, and Stag had been expecting them for a game of poker. Not only that, but they were also in too weak a state for their training.‘Very well, training will be postponed for today, but you will suffer accordingly.’ Stag eyed all of them. ‘Now, tell me. Something is amiss.’Arla looked from side to side of the training hall, noting how Stocke, Rickter and Kets were practicing hand to hand combat. ‘There is a secret that you must know, but I am not sure if, well, everyone else should hear it. It concerns the very history of Justisar itself.’Stag furrowed his brows. ‘Do Locke and Trys know?’ He looked to them, and they nodded. ‘Then everyone should know. I trust everyone here. Stocke! Rickter! Kets! Get over here. Miles, make sure no one can overhear us.’Miles reached into his pocket and threw down an odd, shell-shaped token. It gave off a
World Fire Royal City, Justisar
‘Where on earth is that Stocke lad?’ Stag kicked up his feet onto the table and looked over his cards. He peered over at Locke, who had quickly taken to the rules of the game and saw that uncertainty in his eyes. He does not have a good hand at all. He turned to Kets, who always wore her heart upon her sleeve. Nor her.Arla, Miles and Rickter were in a game of darts. Rickter had shown considerable growth with his aim, and Miles stressed his pride in Rickter’s developing skill to Stag just last night. As always, Trys was shovelling down bowls of rice.Wait a minute, something was wrong …‘Ahh!’ Stag let out a scream and jumped to hit feet, pointing at the headless figure of Trys. He dropped his cards, pocket aces, goddamn it, and ran to Trys. ‘Oi, girl! Where’s your head?’Trys’ laughter sounded out from the other side of the room. Her head was smiling from ear to ear on the couch, cackling to herself. Locke smirked and noticed that Kets was pale in shock.‘Come on Kets, you know that
World Fire Manipulative City, Justisar
‘Well, while you deal with the Royal Army Office, I’ll be off by myself,’ Kets said. ‘I want to do some shopping.’‘Are you sure you’ll be safe by yourself?’ Stag asked, looking uncertainly to Locke, as if to see what he thought.‘Of course I will. I know how to keep myself out of trouble.’Locke cracked a smile. ‘Oh, I don’t think that’s very true.’Kets gasped. ‘Locke, come on man, help me out here. I don’t want to go to the Royal Army Office. Do you know how dreadfully boring that place is? I don’t want to go there!’‘Go on, then, leave us to suffer by ourselves.’ Stag gave her a small, playful push. ‘Ugh, I hate having to go to this place. Follow me, Locke, it will be easier and faster if you’re with me. Hopefully they don’t try and trip me up on any baseless claims or anything.’They split up and went their separate ways. Locke and Stag went into the Noble District where the Royal Army Office was while Kets stepped through the streets. She wandered through the Military District o
World Fire Classist City, Justisar
Kets, eyes to the ground, the heavy weight of the hammer weighing her down, crashed headfirst into someone. She almost dropped the hammer, and as she regained her balance, she glanced behind her, gave a short wave and muttered an apology under her breath.She took another step forward, but that same person grabbed the cuff of her uniform to prevent her from taking another step.‘Sorry, girl, but a sorry is far, far from enough.’ It was a man’s voice, edged with the signs of grand nobility. He let go of her cuff, grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around to face him. His eyes were cold and cruel, and Kets bit at her tongue as he inspected every corner of her body. The man was unnaturally tall, almost twice as tall as Kets, with vibrant orange hair and a face contorted like a vicious tiger. His eyes lingered on the badge of the Amber Army.‘Amber Army, eh? A vicious smile crept over his mouth, demented, and far different from Cracker’s. ‘What’s a rat like you doing here? Has Stag made h
World Fire Passion Defines All
Ya …Ha …Ha …Pain. Every punch that hit her filled her with nothing but pain. Every second was spent suffering in it or fearing the next crash of it. But still, she refused to cry. She refused to do anything but stare Lion down. She could not let him have the upper hand. She could not forfeit her soul. She refused to give him any pleasure or catharsis. She refused to let Stag, the person who had given her a home, and sheltered her from all woes, down.‘All you can do is stare at me, but you can’t do anything else. Is this the best that Stag has to offer me?’She said nothing and glowered at him.‘What can I expect from such a hopeless and fickle man. He leads the worst unit in the Royal Army. He is a continuous embarrassment to us all. Anyone with half a brain wants to see him chased out from the army. What a pathetic excuse for a captain … no, what a pathetic excuse for a human.’Kets jammed her fist into his wrist and wriggled herself free in the moment of shock. Lion’s insults to
World Fire Wicked City, Justisar
There was an air of silence that passed between them. Kets kept her lips shut and her eyes intent, staring at her legs. Every now and then, her legs would wobble, and she would give a brief smile, but it seemed as if there was a barrier that prevented her from gaining her full control back. Locke kept by her side as Stag paced the alleyway.‘Well, at least we won’t have to return to Justisar for a while. That’s a positive,’ Stag said.‘Did you sort out everything in the Royal Army Office?’ Kets asked.‘Sort of,’ Locke said. ‘They could not entirely verify my identity, because, well, I’m from city in the middle of nowhere, which is now destroyed. Stag made a good case to them, but I think they were quite reluctant to have me officially join.’‘That’s because you’re joining my squad,’ Stag said. ‘If you were to join anyone else’s team, everything would be over in an instant. Oh well, at least this is one less thing on my mind. I’m eager to get back to the Amber Hall as soon as possible,
World Fire Grim City, Justisar
But what if they’re right? I’m also suspicious of her now that I can hear their accusations and their claims.Then what am I to do?The woman took another step back and a knife, coated with blood, fell out from underneath her uniform. Her face, which was pale, turned a stark white, as the horror of evidence fell to the ground. The crowd, up in arms from their accusations, looked like rabid dogs in that moment.This must be hers!Locke turned to Stag. ‘Stag, we can’t let them get her.’ A look of pure shock had stuck to Kets’ face since they had arrived here. She
World Fire Homely City, Justisar
Rag returned with his arms laden with plates of a delicious meal. He set them down on the table and smiled as Locke and the other’s eyes lit up at the sight of the meal. It was a mouth-watering mixture of medium-rare steak drizzled with tomatyne source, with a side of salad.‘Eat up, eh. And Stag, make sure you pay this time.’Stag broke out into laughter when Rag returned behind the counter. ‘Does he really think that I am going to pay?’ Quite elegantly, betraying Locke’s perception of him, Stag cut a slice of the steak and placed it in his mouth, wiping his lips with the serviette when he was done. ‘Carla, I think you have a confession to make, don’t you think?’Carla gave a stiff and curt nod, keeping her eyes down to her laps.‘Well, spit it out.’Carla refused to speak.‘I found you with a knife soaked in blood. Out with it, or you will regret it.’Still, she did not speak.‘And your family will regret it, too.’Carla’s eyes widened with shock. ‘F-fine. I did it. I cut their neck