The Northerlands book one: The Knight of the Order of The Reborn.

Chapter one: Harmony day

It is a tradition in the Northern Highlands to take a stranger to bed on Harmony day. Deville couldn't exactly call the vampire Alex a stranger, after all she had know him since she was just a little girl, but she didn't know his new vampire lover at all. She end up taking both to bed on Harmony night.

Deville awoke the next morning groggy from wine and blood lose (Vampire always liked it kinky). It took her a moment to realize that the sun was already high in the sky.

"Hex it!" She said aloud, rushing to put her clothes back on. Her voice was loud enough to awake Alex.

He rubbed his eyes and gave out sleepy yawn "Why are you leaving in such a hurry for?"

"Because Mistress Ferula is going to kill me ...slowly"

Alex yawned again "Can I have your boots after you gone?"

Deville threw one of the boots at his face.

"Hey"

"Don't "Hey" me you deserve that" she said playfully

"But I was only joking" Alex protested

"I know, which is why you didn't get both boots in your face."

Deville slipped both boots on. They were two size too big and made for man, but they belonged to her deceased father , and she refused to wear any other footwear.

"See you tonight " she said as fled the cottage.

Arriving at her Mistress house, she found Ferula waiting for her in the living room. She sat on a on her rocking chair, above her,hung on the living room wall, was a painting. It depicted men dressed in golden armor with a three branched tree painted on there shields. The men were burning mostly naked woman at the stake.

"Deville when I first took you as my apprentice what was the one rule that I gave you?"

"Always be on time, but you see it was harmony day, and I-"

"Do not "but" me. Ferula said in a stern voice. "It was a rule and you broke it, I was going to teach you how to properly summon a elemental, but because of your actions you can spend the day scrubbing these floor spotless. "

Deville let out a groan as she went to kitchen to get a scrubber and bucket.

"Just be thankful you live in place where you can celebrate Harmony day." Ferula said when she heard her groan of disappointment . " You could have been born is the Sutherlands, where all form of celebration and pleasure are illegal on pain of death."

Deville resisted the urge to role her eyes. Ferula was always going on about the dark lands to the south where "Ignorance and hate rule" and where " The religion and law are one and same." and where "Men with three branched trees on there shields burn witches alive."

Deville had to admit that the stories were terrifying the first time she heard them, but Ferula had retold them so many times that they had lost there bite.

Ferula and other old timers acted like an army could come from the south at any moment and "destroy our way of life", but it had been several hundred year since South had fought with the North. No Southern had crossed into the northlands in generations and even those had been easily killed on site. Deville was not afraid

"Why should we be afraid," Deville thought to herself. "When it comes down to it we have witch, vampires, werewolves and they do not. Let them come"

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Far away in the Southernlands

Meriel was five foot nine, almost six feet tall, with a muscular build and her hair cut short she was often mistaken for man when dressed in full armor as she was today.

Meriel's armor was worn and in desperate need of replacement. Her sword appeared old and brittle, an illusion to hide the swords holy power. On her shield was a three branched tree, a symbol of her faith and her power.

The men that surround her wore no armor, and their weapons were little more then improvised farming tools , but they out numbered her 30 to 1.

Rain fell in torrents all around her, the sky lit up as lighting flashed. Meriel called out "Blue Eyed Pierce, you and your banned of evil doers have committed many sins. You have stole from the poor and needy, you have killed unarmed men, you have raped virgins in front of their family and friends, but it is not to late for you or your men. Confess your sins, repent and you will be shown mercy. I will take you to the cathedral, there they will show you how to set right what you have broken. Once you have done that you can be rehabilitate and renter society.

Blue Eyed Pierce smirked with confidence, he had never seen a knight of Order in battle, and believe the stories about their power to be exaggerations. He would soon find out how wrong he was.

"How merciful of you." Pierce said mockingly " Allow me to repay your mercy, kill her".

The men rushed toward her, Quick as the lightning over head Meriel decapitate one man and put her sword through the heart of another.

The rest of the men hesitated, startled by her speed. After a short pause two men tried to rush at her, each one coming from opposite sides. They probably thought that if she killed one of them, the other would get a cheep shot at her unprotected back. They were wrong.

With a slight prayer to Him, she called on His power through her scared weapon. She leapt eight feet in to the air.

The men caught off guard by her inhume leap smashed into one anther, banging their heads together.

Meriel landed on ground, take her sword she cut both men into two pieces . She did this in one great swing as easily as a mortal man may tear a single blade of grass. The lightning flashed and the light reflected off the blood that now covered her.

The bandits ran from her, in fear and panic.

"If these men get away they will bring pain and suffering on all the weak and innocence they encounter. " Meriel inner voice spoke.

Taking her sword she drove it through the hear of the nearest fleeing man. The next one saw her coming and tried to reach for a knife, but Meriel had already severed his right arm before he completed the action.

Pierce tried desperately to rally his fleeing men "Reform you fools he is but one man and we are many, working together there is no way he can-" Pierce call was cut short as Meriel sword went through his throat and out the other side.

All through the night she hunted them down, one by one. None escaped her. By morning she finale confronted the last and youngest of the bandits. Instead of trying fight like the others he dropped his weapon and fell to floor.

"I confess my wrong doing and repent begging you by His enduring forgiveness. Please show mercy."

"Some times the young do possess wisdom." Her inner voiced said. She put away her sword and spoke "The ancient words say He show mercy to us all, what choice have I but to fellow His example.

She pulled the man to his feet. "I must however ask you to come with me to the cathedral set right what you have broken, as sigh that you have truly repented of your old ways.

The former bandit was all too willing to agree.

This my first chapter what do you think of both, Deville and Meriel? What first impressions do they give you. Please give your reaction to both character in the comments. I very much appreciate your feed back.