The Prodigies: The Return of Equinox

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Quillian, The Six, and the Demoness

"Listen up you three." The commanding officer of the Militant Prodigies in the Gorund Mountains pulled Garvhoz, Svetra, and Seilan our of their usual classes and had them in his office. The place was neat, plain, and, above all, had an atmosphere of cruelty. Not a single thing in the room had given any sign of it, but the meticulous placement, cleanliness, and plain look of the office, as a whole, was a reminder that only perfection was acceptable.

"It has been brought to my attention that the Hall of Vera was attacked by rouge witch. Is this true?" The commanding officer, though no longer training to fight, was still well built. He had an unbreakable jawline, heavy brow ridge, a nose that had been broken many times, and eyes that spoke of the years under his belt. His hands bore scars, scars of knives and swords, of burns magical and otherwise, his fingers told the stories of how they had been broken and set stronger than before. In a word, the commanding officer was, intimidating.

"Yes." Garvhoz answered without thought, but with loyalty to secrecy. While he felt he was responsible to tell the truth he knew that not all truths were worthy of being known. "The witch had summoned the Shade and ran off. This was after a poisonous apple had been given to a homeless woman and then to one of the local lords." The story, as Alegna was quick to think of, was solid.

"The report says that the 'witch' was able to influence the actions of one of the Ranger Prodigies. Alegna, to be exact. This Prodigy has shown previous attempts at attacking humans, as well as several lethal instances of feeding on humans. What makes you think that Alegna is not planning to undermine the whole attack on Equinox. To, in a way, help save his master."

"Master?" Seilan asked.

"We believe that there are groups of people who know of Equinox's return. And in knowledge of that, decided to worship him. That worship has then turned into action, the action to facilitate his return. And if that weren't bad enough, we have been asked to take care of them, and then some."

"What do you mean?" Asked Svetra

"There is a new Quillian. There has been a Demoness attacking and pillaging as she pleases. And to top it off, the Council wants us to secure the Swirling Lake."

"Quillian?" Said Garvhoz. "What's that?"

"Quillians are much like Prodigies. Except we know exactly where they come from. They are an extremely powerful human who has access to a range of abilities. It is believed that they have access to everything the previous Quillian could do. They only appear in the South East of Aviagard. In the Quill Valley specifically. Not a single one has been able to escape the valley, giving us the impression that there are certain powers that hold it there. Even so, the last one spoke of Equinox, and of its liberation from the valley."

"So you're saying that we should go and kill it before Equinox comes?" Seilan felt a bit attacked by the implication. "Does the Council not think we'll be able to kill him?"

"No, they think he can be freed once Equinox comes back. As soon as he's there, the Quillian will be free. That's scary enough as it is since twenty Royal Guards went to kill the last one and only two returned." The trio all flashed a look of approving impressment. They felt they could all kill the same number, but to think the new one is stronger than the last felt like a mighty tempting challenge. Especially as a coordinated attack.

"Are you sending just us?" Svetra

"No, I'll be sending only one of you."

...

"What?!" Noromac was completely flabbergasted by the proposition.

"Yes, I'm only sending one of you to deal with the Demoness." Volum was solemn about the whole briefing.