Alchemi ( volume 1 of the "Swirdiniad " series

Oaths and Memories

The bar was cleared out of drunkards, hookers, and minor thieves for the night. Soren stared at the hooded figures showing no visible emotions.

"You have done a good job eliminating the target. We have another task for you to do." a woman said

Soren looked at her and said," My contract only allows you to give me one target to get rid of."

A short figure held up a piece of battered and browned paper, " Is this the oath?"

Soren gasped and stared at the paper. How did these people have access to the oath?

Two oaths are made for every Fellashumists. One stays with the Order and one is kept in an underground vault guarded by a wyvern named Troye.Soren had to take care of Troye for a few months as a punishment for trying to steal his main oath from the Order. He could say that it was a ..... weird experience.

Without thinking, he suddenly blurted out, "How did you get past Troye?" he regret saying that.

"Troye?" a figure asked. Soren kept silent.

"Anyway, if you want proof, have a look."

Soren touched the paper and his worst memory replayed itself.

His younger self shouted at his father, "I don't want to be a murderer like you!" his father unholstered a weird contraption and pointed it at younger Soren's head.

"Yun-Sao-Ren, you will kill her."

Soren was trembling in fear, and he hesitated but said. "and, I shall."

He held out his palm and his father placed the gun in his hand. Soren stared at his lover in the eye. She was on a wooden chair. Her white hair covered her face. She wasn't a cursed one. Soren wouldn't accept the fact that she was an Alchemic creation.

He held the gun to her head and she looked up at him, "I'm sorry Soren." a tear slid down her cheek. She closed her eyes and looked at the clean marble floor of his father's office.

Who was Soren? At that time, Soren was oblivious to the Swirdin naming process. He looked at her and he started to cry. "I'm sorry, Fei-Xin-Mei."

He pulled the trigger and a loud 'bang' was heard. He closed his eyes, afraid to look at the corpse of his loved one. He flicked the safety on and dropped the contraption. Fiem was gone. There would be no more picnics in the meadows and playing in the snow.

"Good job, Yun-Sao-Ren." his father pat him on the back and walked away.

Soren was back in his presnent body, gasping for air. 'This never happened, this never happened.' he silently told himself.

"Yes,"pant,"this is real"

"Your next task is to eliminate  Faria Allenwye, the first daughter of the former king. Write this message on the wall. Show it to no one.If caught, put up a fight, but if they mange to successfully  subdue you, tell the captors that your superiors are the rebels."

Soren bowed and said, " Yes master,"

The hooded figures silently walked out of the bar and Soren was left alone to gather his thoughts. This was just another day in his very long life.

He turned his back on the counter and stored his gravitational potential energy in the counter. He jumped out and landed on the windowsill of a house.It would be better to get over this quickly.