Stormhaze

Chapter 1: Ryken

Gillien felt a chill run down his spine as he braced for the solar flare. He had taken his pills and coated his skin in purple gel, but the fear still lingered. Clutching his seat with whitened fists, he watched through the window of the gunship, seeing a barren quarry that looked like a dried-out seabed with pillars of smoke rising from its many crevices. The gunship shook and rattled as it flew through the black clouds, its jet engines crying.

Squeezed between Grand Arkon Kilas and the other soldiers, Gillien hunched forward, bracing for impact, sweat pooling in his stormsuit uniform. The cramped room boiled as Seren's red sunrays flickered ever stronger. It wasn't the solar flare itself they feared, as it was a mere wave of light made harmless by the gel, but the thought of knowing this might be the one.

"Keep your arms and legs closed!" The pilot's voice crackled through the intercom, making everyone curl themselves into fetal position.

The burning buildings of Ryken stood like runway lights showing the way into the quarry. Everything shook as the ship descended through its black smog. Lights flickered, partially drowning the soldiers in total darkness before stabilizing in the clear, eventually slowing down to cruising speed as they approached the quarry's landing pad.

Gillien looked at Kilas sitting stoically, not even a drop forming in his clean-shaven face, or a strand of his black hair lying out of place. How? A stab of shame surged through Gillien as sweat trickled from his messy, blonde hair into the deep scar on his right cheek. Fuck flying. He closed his eyes and fought to close his mind, relying on his sixteen years' worth of experience as an Etherion guard.

A thunderous noise shook the shuttle as it landed. The doors in the back of the gunship opened to a scorching heat. Dust, illuminated by Seren's red sunrays, blew inside the ship as its soldiers marched out. Gillien and Grand Arkon Kilas remained seated, waiting to be given the all-clear.

A soft beep sounded from Gillien's calleron display on his wrist. "General Brodd will be meeting us soon, sir. The report states the quarry is mostly operational again."

Kilas looked outside the window with his one brown and blue eyes. He straightened his gold and burgundy uniform, speaking with his refined, regal-like accent. "Then he has done good work straightening out the locals, but reinforcements should have arrived sooner."

"Agreed. Fifteen friendly casualties were reported, a dozen more than the attack last month." Gillien said.

Kilas' eyes narrowed. "The public cannot know about this."

"Countermeasures are already being taken," Gillien said. Kilas raised a brow, as if telling him to elaborate. "General Brodd has deployed his soldiers to quarantine Ryken completely. No one can enter or leave without his approval."

"Good, we need to eradicate these traitors before any rumors come out. I have enough to worry about as it is... I just got word my guards discovered a spy in Argead."

Gillien's eyebrows shot up. "A spy in the capital?"

"I just signed to have him executed for treason," Kilas said, gazing out the window. Gillien fell silent. "Something is changing; I can feel it. I think someone is testing our resolve—observing our weaknesses from afar."

Don't you always think that? Gillien almost blurted but retained his composure, choosing his words more tactfully. "Should I increase your number of Etherion guards, sir?"

"Not yet. It is just a feeling for now. Besides, why do I need more Etherion guards when I have you?"

"Thank you, sir," Gillien said, "if you do decide to increase your bodyguard count one day, you may have two of me with you. My boy just completed his Etherion training."