Chapter Text
Introduction
I'm sure that when you think of the word realm, you don't just think of the king, or the queen, the descendants, the royalty itself, you think of a group, a whole, but this whole is only what it is thanks to those who make it up, a Realm can exist in a certain location, and a certain location, and it is mistakenly believed that this is all it is, but it's only possible thanks to its population, to the people, to what each and every one of its inhabitants means, but there are times when unity can be compromised, our Realm was protected by a group of warriors who called themselves "The Paladins", brave elite warriors, and very skilled magicians.
This was not always the case, they arose out of chaos, they were necessary to face the dangers that the realm faced, mainly dragons and goblins, after two wars they finally brought peace, and as a consequence, they were no longer required, so they rested, they had already succeeded.
In his absence, the magistrate emerged, a group commanded by Karne, and made up of former members of the paladins, all peace began to crumble when an enemy appeared that they could not defeat, the greed for power.
What makes power dangerous?
The effect it has on the one who achieves it.
01: The Coat
I woke up, I had been exhausted by the last days and I knew I would need to rest, while I was still in bed I looked out the window to confirm that it was already night and I could notice that it was, then, I removed my bandages to observe my wounds, I noticed that they were healing, I put clean bandages to cover them again, and I stood up, walked to my table, where I had placed a pile of blueprints, not simple and boring blueprints, they were the DAMN BLUEPRINTS, these that cost me so much to get, I stole everything on my own, of course, but to get information about their whereabouts I had to pay for them, with favors more than anything, people know I can be better than a mercenary, if they want something done I'm the one. Now, blueprints for what, you may ask... well, first I must put you in context a bit.
My name is Maeve, since I was little I have been on my own, in the streets many hate me, they call me a thief, but today I am a great fighter with knives and I have made a name for myself, I am a half-breed... half tigron to be precise, tigrons are a race of cat men, but more than throwing hairballs I have a great advantage, I can see better at night, better than anyone else, I am the best of both races in one person, now... who am I going to steal from?
They call themselves The Magistrate, there is a kind of civil war blah blah, war for me is just a business, these blueprints I obtained are from one of their fortresses, inside, there is something that interests me, in my world you hear many things, more with my improved hearing range product of my miscegenation, rumors have been circulating, I have questioned people, some cooperated for a couple of coins, others, well, something more radical was necessary, everyone has talked about the room in the fortress, the magistrate's archives, it is well known that all kinds of treasures and prototypes are hidden there, but recently I heard about a relic, a coat that grants powers to its wearer, personally, I think it's worth going there and check it out, in this world almost everything is possible as not to believe in the existence of such a relic, magic is real and incredible things can now become reality, mostly thanks to the crystals... even if it turns out to be just a rumor, anything I steal from there will be worth the trip.
The crystals contain power, they are a source of magic, were the cause of the civil war, so of course they are already being used to make weapons... I've heard stories, not too much. I got hold of these blueprints so I could get in there, I saw every passageway and every weak point, but it wouldn't be easy.... I took my knives, as many as I could and a bag I had prepared for the occasion, I had two hooks that I'll use to enter the fortress, it was already night so the time had come, I went out through my window, I climbed my way to the roof, thus reaching the rooftops, I started to run, I jumped from roof to roof until I reached the place, I went to one of the entrances that was to the east, there were guards, but luckily, I had a plan....
I started to look everywhere, an ally would be waiting for me here, I started hissing so that he would show himself, suddenly it did, a black cat climbed on the roof, I petted her as I used to do, and pointed out the place, I gave her instructions to wait, I came down from the roof, I surrounded the area so I would not be seen, there was a wall, about 4 meters high, there was no entrance but there were two towers, separated a few meters from each other, I stayed close to the wall to avoid being seen, then I took out of my bag one of the hooks, tied a rope to it... I waited patiently, when I saw an opportunity I flipped it and finally threw it, it hooked at the top, I pulled it to make sure it would hold, when I saw that it did I began to climb, being careful not to make noise, I was skillful enough to achieve it, I still had my bag, once I went up half the way I opened it and took the other hook, this one had a thinner and shorter rope, I repeated the process, this time I hooked it to the nearest tower, I tied the other end to my waist, now I diverted my gaze in the direction of the roof where I was a few minutes ago, I made a sign.
That cat came down from there and stood between the two guard posts, she began to meow, really loud, it was time, I helped myself with the first rope to take flight, I moved quickly making a run along the wall, I ran to the left, opposite direction to the tower, then I ran with all my strength to it, I jumped freeing myself from the first hook and helping me with the second one, with the speed I took, adding the fact of being tied to it, I managed to reach the guard post, there was a guard waiting for me, I hit him with a knife, and quickly I threw others two to the other tower, hitting another guard, I was lucky, these were the only guards that didn't seem to be wearing helmets, they thought they were very safe in here, I made a sign of gratitude to the cat, now it was time to continue, I took the rope that I had thrown and threw it inside, I helped myself with it to go down, I was already inside.
I could hear the soldiers, I had to be careful not to be discovered, I still had the blueprints, I had tried to memorize them but it was impossible not to forget certain parts, I checked them and took the passageways that almost no one knew, each step made me feel that I was close, I finally locked myself in a room, to catch my breath a little, suddenly, I could feel someone approaching, I looked in all directions, looking for where to hide, I threw myself behind some containers, someone entered the room, He seemed to be patrolling, he was a rather stout man, hidden behind a large armor, he had the colors of the Aico house, they were red and gold, this man must be Khan, the faithful puppy of Lian, the heiress of the ruby throne; Khan took his time but finally passed by, I took advantage and sneaked out of there, I went to the vault, as I could I hid in the shadows, I avoided being seen at all costs, I was already close.
The entrance to the vault lay before my eyes, it was protected by two guards, each one armed, it would not be easy, but I know that I could deal with them, the question would be, they would manage to alert the others?, but at this point I had to risk , so I did what I thought best, I made some noise, to alert them, like clever kids, one would keep protecting while the other would come to see the origin of the noise, I hid, waiting like a predator for its prey, when I had the guard within my range I came out of my hiding place, jumping deftly from there and cut his legs to throw him off balance, at the same time I tried to get hold of his weapon, which I managed to do and hit him in the head, but not without not alerting the other, who took his and pointed at me, I threw myself in his direction and rolled on the ground, when I got back on my feet I threw the other weapon at him, and I got my knives and, of course, there he was lying on the floor, I made a real mess with him, but I think he got what he deserved, the door was in front of me, I was ready to open it until I heard a shot, I had a fraction of a second to move, I threw myself to the floor, the shot hit where I was before, again that great figure had appeared, Khan, the man behind the armor.
He was surprised when he failed to hit me, I could tell he didn't know what I was capable of, but soon he began to continue shooting, I moved as best I could, dodging his shots, once he emptied his magazine and had to reload I took advantage and threw him a few knives, which did nothing, his armor protected him well, again he prepared to shoot me, I realized that this way I would never beat him, I had to make him enter my game, lower him to my level; I dodged as I could, I jumped, rolled on the ground and when I landed I threw my knives in the direction of his weapon, Khan, who had little mobility, could not avoid it, his weapon was ruined, he threw it to the ground in anger.
"Who do you think you are?" he said. I had succeeded, but before I could claim victory, he pushed himself towards me and give me a blow that sent me flying, I was only stopped by one of the walls of the fortress, it had hurt me a lot, apparently I don't know everything about him either, his suit seemed to be propelled with the power of the crystals, I could see that there was one on his chest, he propelled himself again, this time I managed to dodge the blow, I picked up some knives that were on the ground and tried to counterattack, it was useless, my knives can't do anything to him.
I tried to run up to him to attack him, but to my surprise from his left hand he deployed a shield, I stopped myself before colliding with him.
"That's enough!" said Khan, sure that I couldn't do anything to him, and he wasn't wrong.
But it was not the end, I had an idea, I moved away from him, retreating, I placed myself right in front of the vault door, waiting for him, I threw my knives and I tease him with my hands while I placed myself on guard to provoke him. I could notice his angry expression, so as I expected he withdrew his shield and launched himself in my direction, I slid, passing him underneath, he did it with such force that he smashed the door, I took advantage of this opportunity, now I jumped over him, thousands of treasures at my disposal, but I came here just for one, I didn't have much time, the man was getting to his feet, finally my eyes found what I was looking for, I couldn't believe it, it was real, it was just as described, it was a coat, midnight blue, covered with purple crystals... It was in a display case, I hit it with my elbow and the glass broke, I pulled it but a sleeve got stuck in it, I quickly took out a knife and gave it a cut at the sleeve, the rest finally remained in my hand, I put it on.
"Do you have any idea what you've done by coming in here? I don't know who you are, thief, but you're not leaving this fortress alive." said the Primus of House Aico, blocking my entrance.
Suddenly, I began to feel different, I stretched out my arms, I got a big surprise when I saw it, energy began to radiate from my body, coming from the crystal, so I felt how it began to also flow throughout my body, causing my pink hair began to glow.
"Are you the only one stopping me from leaving? Because if that's the case... I'll get out then." I said, getting ready, I started running, I noticed an increase in my speed, and Khan definitely noticed it too, I rammed him, knocking him down before he could get his shield out again, I hurt myself a little in the process, but it was necessary to clear the way, I picked up some of my knives, I noticed that I was able to transfer the new power to them, so I threw them at him, and to my surprise I could see that they penetrated his armor a little, Khan was now on his feet again, I had to get out of here as soon as possible, he propelled himself back to me and managed to grab me, he threw me towards the ceiling but thanks to my agility I bounced off it, I rolled to soften my fall, there I was, again with my knives in hand, Khan pulled out his shield, but I was ready this time, I ran up to him, he got into a defense position, waiting to be rammed, but I surprised him by jumping, I propelled myself on the roof and went over his shield, making him fall to the ground, I stabbed one of my knives into his chest, right into the crystal, the crystal stopped emitting the glow it was emitting a moment ago, I wasted no time and stood up, I ran from there, I no longer had time to play, I had what I wanted, discretion was no longer possible, nor necessary.
I felt great, this coat was definitely made for me, of course, I made my way to the exit, in the process I had to avoid the shots of a few guards, I was at that guard point where I came from, I was already on the outside of the fortress, the rope I had thrown was still in place but suddenly many soldiers were positioning themselves to shoot at me, they surrounded me, finally Khan appeared again.
"Don't move!" He ordered, I had no choice but to raise my hands, I had to get out of here, all this could not be in vain.
"Get down on the ground, surrender or we'll open fire! You decide, street rat!"
Ah... I have been called that way so many times, a simple rat steals to eat, many years ago I got out of there, now I am on a totally different level, and today you are going to see it, I clenched my fist, I tried to concentrate all the power in it, finally, I brought it to the ground, releasing it, everyone took their hands to their eyes, they had been blinded.
"I can't see!" yelled one of the soldiers. "What did she do? What's going on?"
Some of them started shooting, I rolled to get out of the firing point, Khan apparently hadn't been affected, maybe he was far from my range. I turned my head, I saw the wall, I was still on my knees, I gained momentum and jumped with great force, I managed to soar through the air much higher than I had ever done in my entire life, reaching the end of the wall, I grabbed on and finally managed to climb up, I grabbed my two hooks and jumped out, I didn't need them anymore, I was a totally different person, I scurried over the rooftops and disappeared from sight. By the time the white haired girl appeared it would be too late, I had what I wanted.
"Sir, she ran away, what do we do?" asked one of the soldiers.
"I'll inform Lian immediately, she must know about this."
