by Ink Blood
How could anyone who lived like such animals be a part of the Empire? He continued through the marsh-like village, passing one rotting and broken hut after another. The dirty children moved out his way with great energy, Seran trying not to get hit by the flying water. If this were a battlefield or some such environment then such dirt would be normal for him, but since it was a village filled with pigs and dogs and who knows what else, there could have been anything in the mud that was being flung at him.
Finally he arrived at the pier, a long wooden structure that stretched out of the mud and into the sea. It was surprisingly clean considering the state of affairs in the village. The sun beamed down onto polished oak and glistening blue and white blankets of waves.
Three fishing boats of miniscule size floated in the water, tied at the bow to large logs the stuck out higher than the rest of the pier. At the end, however, was a slightly larger one big enough for ten people and with its own engine. It was a double floor vessel with the engine room below and the cabin on the deck.
The engine was already roaring by the time Seran walked over to it. It could not have been hard to guess who he was compared to the people of village.
Steam and smoke poured out of two exhaust holes in the side of the boat whilst an ungodly roar of an aging engine made Seran’s heart beat far too fast for his own good. There was an elderly man with a rather large grey beard and brown tunic and pantaloons combination awaiting him.
“My lord,” said the sailor, “we are ready to leave immediately.”
“Very well,” replied Seran, boarding the old ship.
*~*~*
12
AEON
“Let me out! I tell you, let me out!”
The screaming and shouting hadn’t stopped since the young girl had woken up. It was not as if she had a bad place to stay. It was warm with a large bed and a desk to right at. The window would allow her fresh air and a view of the sky.
Aeon doubted she had even been on an airship before so why make such a fuss about staying in a room for a few hours? He placed one hand on the door, feeling a warmth coming from the room that had never existed before she was there. He shook her head, brushing off the idea and returning to the real world.
“I have already explained to you, dear Alexia; that we cannot allow you to roam freely aboard this vessel.”
“I do not want to ‘roam freely’. I want to go home!”
Aeon sighed heavily. He looked at the ground with open eyes before returning his gaze to the door. Opening the sliding panel that stood at eye level, he saw the young girl sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. She had changed into the white sleeping garments they had provided, with the pleated ends and designs around the neck and breast. Alexia looked beautiful, fit for a night with a king.
“I am sorry my dear,” he said through the hole. “But you know that we cannot allow that. The fate of the Ringlands depends on you being here.”
“But I do not understand that! Why does it depend on me!?”
“Because, young Alexia, you are the one who will bring her to us.”
“Bring who-”
Before she could finish her sentence Aeon closed the slat shut and began to walk away. He had said too much to the young girl. If she could somehow get a message to the wrong people they may understand what it is that the Inquisitors seek.
He walked along the red carpet that lined the floor, through a hallway decorated with wooden panelling and archways to hide the dull metal of the airship’s body. The Titan I was the most luxurious airship known to the Ringlands, and yet she was still complaining about it. The sound of flute and violin bounced through the hallways from the mess hall whilst men and women strolled through the corridors going about their business.
The airship itself had six floors, making it one of the largest airships ever created. The lowest floor contained the armoury and maintenance sections where the engineers slept and worked. The next floor up was the engine room and above that was the mess hall and sleeping quarters. The following floor was the hangar bay, used for personnel transports and other such smaller craft, including Aeon’s personal shuttle.
Finally the top two decks consisted of the cockpit on the lower deck, the open deck on the above and cannons on both.
Aeon made his way through the luxurious décor and toward the mess hall, which had been designed to resemble the dining halls of the noble families in the Alexandria Empire. After all, the Tıtan I had been Queen Elisa’s personal transport ship during the initial Ringlands war until the Inquisition took control of it from within and turned it against the Alexandria Empire that built it.
Instead of the standard four person iron or steel table and bench sets that filled most airships, the Titan I had three long wooden dining tables fit for fifty people each. The chairs were of dark wood with red velvet cushions and ornate carvings of a winged horse in the back. However, those had been covered since with more cushion as it was the insignia of the Alexandria Empire.
More wooden panelling lined the walls and even the large open floor and ceiling given the impression as a manor house or some other similar estate.
Aeon took his place at the head of the table as everyone in the room stood and waited for him to sit down. In unison they followed his lead and took their places once again. It was crowded in the room, with more and more men and women entering all the time, all of whom saluted Aeon as his wrinkled and burnt fingers clutched a fork that rattled the food toward his equally damaged mouth.
“My Lord,” said a young woman with golden locks and one blue eye. The other was green. She wore the night blue pantaloons and shirt of the Inquisitors except herself was far tighter than others’. “We will arrive in Argent within two hours.”
“Very good,” replied Aeon, gazing up a the woman. “Thank you Selina.”
“You are welcome, my Lord. Is there anything else you need of me? Anything I could do after the food has finished?”
Her tone of voice grew deeper and seductive as her eyes gazed into his. She put a hand on his and wrapped her fingers around it. Aeon twisted his head to the left, his eyes rolling up and down his assistant.
“Come at the same time as always,” he said, smiling as he watched her nod in agreement and walk away. She shook her hips far more than normal as she walked back to her seat to finish eating.
Aeon continued to stare at Selina as he finished his meal of roasted lamb and boiled vegetables. The voices of his advisors and subordinates passed straight through his head until they mentioned the young Alexia back in her room.
Selina had come over to the same table to join the discussion as Aeon’s assistant and she glanced at him when he flinched and turned his eyes away from her at the mention of Alexia’s name. He looked back at his assistant just in time to see her red lips mouth the words ‘bring her as well’.
He shook his head and continued the meeting.
“My Lord, what will we do with her?”
“Alexia will be of no trouble, I am sure,” he replied to the dark haired man on his left. “We will continue to have her in that room with the door locked until we have returned to Norian.”
“But my Lord, what if she proves dangerous? She has already tried to escape once when we brought her food.”
“She will remain in the room and you will continue to make sure she is comfortable, do you understand?”
He stood from the table swiftly, shaking it ever so slightly. The knives and forks clattered a bit and Selina jumped up, putting an arm around him.
“Let me help you,” she said as she carried him out of the mess hall. Looking back at the others they spoke with, she continued. “You should know not to make him stressed!”
Selina helped him walk back to his sleeping chambers. He was clutching his heart as he walked, hunched forward as if he had been grown in a box that was too small for him. He had to keep one arm on the wall and the other wrapped around Selina just to stop himself from collapsing.
It always
made him feel so weak when this happened. How was he supposed to continue leading the Inquisition for her if he couldn’t even carry himself from the mess hall to his room.
Together they reached Aeon’s room, the door laced with night blue and purple velvet. Inside were candles in every orifice of the room. A large bed fit for a king or queen sat in the middle with a midnight indigo quilt and a set of poles rising up to support the suspended ceiling of the bed as well. The symbol of the Arcana, an A surrounded by images of each of them, hung on the wall to the left of the door.
Selina carried him to his bed as he slowly turned around and sat down on the mattress. Breathing heavily, he watched as the young and nubile woman slipped off his shoes before helping him slide up the bed to the pillow.
He found he could not take his eyes off her, like always, as she began to twist and turn her body in a most sensual manner, unfastening her shirt and letting it fall to the floor. Her pantaloons were next, and Aeon could not help but smile at the fact that she wore no underwear.
In her soft and clear birthday suit she crawled onto the bed and lay down next to him.
“I think we need to calm you down a little my Lord,” she said as her hands began to explore.
*~*~*
13
EINAR
The streets of Saylae were silent still. The sun had woken entirely and burnt high in the sky, scorching Einar’s eyes as he walked along the roadways, water still pouring from his eyes and down his face.
Yet even in the bright sunshine the town felt as if it were covered by a pitch black cloud. The citizens had their heads down as they walked with their hands in their pockets or behind their backs. The usual sound of clattering horse shoes had disappeared, and the market was all but abandoned. It was almost too much for just one murder, or so thought Einar. Yet he knew it wasn’t just the idea of a murder that caused such a darkness to come. It was the way it happened.
To have slain a family in such a brutal matter at a wedding and covered the wedding hall with their blood was beyond redemption. Such an act was beyond imagination for most people, and yet it happened.
“What kind of man could have done this?”
“How could someone even think of such an act?”
Men and women whispered and gossiped but it was obvious to Einar that no one had actually seen the murder scene. They were all questioning who had done and how rather than asking why the Inquisition felt it necessary to kill Rin and Ari.
They weren’t rebels or spies for the Alexandria Empire. They were just a pair of villagers who were getting married and planning to become farmers. So why would the Inquisition need to take their lives? It made no sense to him.
For now he had to concentrate on Alexia. After she was safe he would investigate Rin’s murder.
Approaching the docks of the city, he was greeted with the sight of six different ships. Four of them were small fishing boats with oars, almost laughable next to the two ferries that were docked as well.
Einar walked over to the sailors who stood near the boats smoking pipes of tobacco. One wore the sign of Argent, the White Wolf, on his shoulder. The other wore the Dragon Skull of Kihro. He approached the White Wolf directly, walking past the Dragon Skull without a second glance.
“I am looking for a ferry,” he said directly, glaring at the sailor through his tears.
“We’re only going to Argent and back. If you want to go some other place, find another ferry.”
“I am going to Argent. How much is a single journey?”
“You not coming back any time soon? Is that not a bit curious? There’s just been a murder here, you know?”
Einar’s eyes opened wide and filed with fire as he glared at the man through the top of his eyes.
“I know that very well,” he said with a voice more suited to a drill sergeant. “Rin was my friend and now he is dead, killed by the Inquisition as far as I can tell by their symbol being painted on the wall. My sister is missing as well, kidnapped and taken to Argent. So you will forgive me if I do not accept and join in with your little games right now and rather just ask once again for the price of a single journey.”
Both sailors stood silent and motionless for a few seconds before the man from Argent scratched his head. He stepped back to open the path to the boat and stretched out an arm as if to say ‘continue’.
“The price?”
“This is a gift,” said the sailor, looking at Einar with eyes distant and half empty, yet strangely caring. “I apologize for my joke, I did not know your situation. What has happened to your sister? How long has she been missing? Perhaps we may have seen her.”
“She and I were at home last night. We went to bed at the same time because we share a bedroom, but when I woke up she was gone.
Our neighbour’s son confessed to helping a man come into our village and take her. He said the man was going to Argent. His father is dealing with him now and I will travel to there to search for her.”
“What did she look like?”
“She had long brown hair and always wore a purple piece of fabric in it. She would have been dressed in a brown tunic with a second piece of purple fabric wrapped around her shoulders.
She is about the same height as my shoulders and rather thin compared to the woman of Saylae.”
The sailor paused, his hand open on his chin as his eyes looked to the sky. He breathed heavily as Einar waited for a reply. The sailor’s face returned to his level with an empty expression.
“I have not seen anyone like that going to Argent. Which means whoever took her must have had enough coin to use an airship as it is the only other way across the seas.
Get on board and we will take you there as fast as possible. We leave within the hour. Just waiting for the captain to return.”
Einar smiled to say thank you before walking along the wooden pier toward the ferry. The boat itself had three floors. The top deck, exposed to the elements, contained the crew’s cabin and the helm, as well as a deck area for passengers to sit on. The deck area was made of whitewashed wood flooring with wooden chairs resembling beds more than anything else.
The middle floor held the passenger’s rooms. Each room contained a wooden fold away bed and a bedside table with candles for light at night. They were plain room at best, but on a ferry you did not need luxury as the journey would only take a few hours. There was cafeteria of sorts on the same floor but it was very small in size.
On the bottom floor was the engine room, filled with smoke and steam. Men worked constantly to funnel fuel materials into the burning stove. The engine was far out-dated, with little in the way of electric heating rods. Instead it used the now archaic wooden burning method to heat the water.
Einar made his way to the top deck, climbing the stairs and passing passengers of all origins.
There were men and women of class, strutting around in leather and velvet, as well as children running around in little more than rags. On the stairs he had to dodge to the right to avoid a young woman moving far too fast without looking.
She was calling out a name which Einar assumed was her child’s. On the deck he found even more people. Some were drinking fine wine whilst others were gulping down water as if they had never tasted it. It truly was a perfect example of life in the Ringlands since the Alexandria Empire came so many years before. It was, however, getting better under the control of the Inquisition.
The Inquisition were the heroes of the Ringlands. They had brought peace and prosperity back, although it was taking a while to filter to all the citizens. They were heroes, so why did they murder Rin? Why would one of them take Alexia? Einar could not understand it.
He gazed out to the sea and the boat finally began to move. The captain had arrived and made his way to the crew’s cabin. The roar of the engine increased fourfold and the water seemed reluctant to give way to the heavy ferry.
“Alexia,” started Einar, talking to the ocean. “Where are you? What is going on? Please tell me something.
I need you. You are all the family I have left.
I will find you. I will find you and I will learn from this man what is going on. How could the Inquisition do this Alexia? Tell me something. Where are you?”
The boat tore through the ocean at ever quickening speed. He would be in Argent in just a few short hours. He would be there for the first time in his life.
*~*~*
14
NATE
“The Valkyria? As if this could get any worse,” said Charles.
Nate looked at his friend, not really sure what he meant by that. The engineers and soldiers that surrounded them moved closer. The man who called himself Irving stood and faced them, learning on his walking stick.
“I see our reputation precedes us,” said the one legged man. He hobbled toward Charles as Nate watched, confused by the turn of events as well as how Charles knew these people.
“What reputation?” Nate’s voice almost cracked as he spoke, the words quietly forcing their way from his throat. “I have never heard of you.”
“Never heard of them?” Charles’ voice erupted and filled the entire hangar bay with a gruff surprise. “How can you not have heard of them, boy? They fly across the skies blasting at Alexandria Empire, Inquisition and Peaks soldiers alike. They kill anyone and anything and for what? Money? Fun? Why do you do it?”
He had turned toward Irving again half way through his little speech, raising a finger as he prosecuted the man in his own hangar bay.
Irving simply stood still with a large smile on his face and eyes as open as his ears as he listened to the screaming man.
“We do not kill for fun, good sir,” he started. “And we certainly do not kill for money. We are not Sellswords or mercenaries. We kill those who attempt to control the lands for themselves. We are the Valkyries, and this is Valkyria. We will protect the freedom of all but removing those who attempt to take it.
