Ghosts and Reapers

A Beautiful Day

Mason Garnace. Not a name that many people would recognize in the city of Aera, but one that the people who could would bring good memories. Why this was, well, that was a simple question to answer. Mason was a glass half full kind of guy. He enjoyed walks in the park, working, vacationing, talking, he never had any complaints. People could not get enough of the guy.

He wanted things to stay that way.

Mason wasn't too much of a chad, but his features weren't exactly a turn off either. He had bright brown eyes, a soft complexion and a slightly tanned skin tone. Muscles weren't bulging, but you didn't want to pick a fight with this guy either. He was well built, to say the least, and he took pride in that. He enjoyed his life; work that was financing seemed to come easy to him, he had a salesman personality that could sell you your own stuff, and he had so many likable traits it made it hard to keep your eyes off the guy while he was in the room.

... or, well, it was hard.

April 26th, 2045. A hard date for Mason to forget. The tall male was walking with a good friend of his, and the two were discussing business.

"-now, Mason, you know that Arms and Co' was a big deal. That might be your biggest steal yet, and you're still being humble? You should ask for a raise, get a promotion, gamble the damn company! You know they would do anything to keep you on board." Said a shorter man with a man bun, a pudgy body and sunglasses that might make you confuse him for a cop if not for his physical features.

"Richie, now you're just pulling my leg. I'll tell you now what I told you in Vestin, and Farion, and Acton; I don't want it." Mason said before pausing and sighing. He gave Richie a calm smile. "... I love my work. My position. The people I meet. The lives I make better. I already get 30% commission from every sale I make. I help keep the company afloat- I'm not gonna decide to hold it hostage."

Richie frowned at the response. Though, mason was right. He had told him that several times. "Gah. Look, I know you're happy, but you could be happier. You could run Aera and no one would have a problem."

As Richie was talking, Mason would wink at some ladies who were walking by. They almost seemed to swoon, though one of them gave a confused look as the man passed, quietly chartering and looking back and then chattering again. Mason gave Richie a soft chuckle, and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"The gods blessed me with my gifts. I will not thank them by taking away the opportunities other people have." Mason smiled, white teeth shining brightly in the illuminated sunlight.

Richie almost said something, but as soon as he tried to speak the pair would hear a rumbling. Immediately, Mason would drop the frown, looking around as his hand frantically moved down to his pocket. He reached for a device; a small metal one that seemed to illuminate with a colored holographic screen that expanded before the pair could hear screams followed by the sound of more shaking. Richie has pulled out his device, too, and cursed.

"No Goddamn connection- Mason can you get anyone?" He looked with a slightly fearful look in his eyes.

"No- I can't-" He would say before the sound of what might be confused with a Jet could be heard. Above the city, bright flashes of light seemed to be moving in from the west, and they would stop up there and hold position. Thing is, anyone with half a high school education and enough time online would know exactly what those are. The militaries special dogs, big beefy suits donned with metal wings, powered by crystal.

"Valkyries?" Mason said almost stuttering.

The city of Aera was one of many that was run by the kingdom of Morton, a kingdom that prides itself in making the powerless, well, powerful. The valkyries were a perfect example of this. Run by Crystal, a magical substance that could sustain magic users many times over, these massive machines had all female pilots, and were typically used to break lines or defend against oncoming attacks. While conflict was not unheard of by the citizens of Morton, what was unheard of was the coastal city being on the front lines. With valkyries here, that meant that something big was happening.

-and, more importantly, they needed to get the hell out of there.

"So much for a walk in the park..." Mason muttered as he slid his holo device in his pocket and looked at Richie. "Richie, let's get out of here before the Vanguard shows up and we get dragged into this."

Richie looked at his device, and then down south towards the apartments. "... my family. I'm-... I'm not gonna leave them. Mason, good luck getting out of here. I'll call you when I can." Before mason could say anything, the sound of civilians screaming drowned out any chance he could speak. They were running from the beach, presumably where the attack came from, and it already seemed that the fight had begun. Up above, the Valkyries began raining down fire on the targets, and in return, arcs of colorful energy seemed to bound into the sky, forcing the Valkyries to stop shooting and reposition. However mesmerizing the sight was, though, Mason was woken up as people began to run into him and almost knock him over. Getting back in the game, he would move with the crowd, thankfully heading in the direction of his own house.

'Cmoncmoncmon gogogogogogo.' Were the only thoughts in his head as he sprinted forward, eventually outpacing some of the people around him as he spotted his car. He thanked the gods that it was fine, and made his way towards it, almost able to unlock it when, suddenly, everything went black.
____________

Mason woke up with blurry vision and... he was hot? Quickly, he would look to his right leg and see part of it on fire, which he quickly swiped at and put out- through grunts caused by quick stabs of pain. As he blinked and tried to take in the scenery, what had happened became more clear as he saw the horrors of true war for the first time in his 23 years of living.

Corpses. Stinking, burning corpses. Severed limbs scattered about the pavement, people who were half destroyed attempting to pull their organs back into their bodies. He almost threw up- thankfully, it wasn't lunch time and he hadn't eaten yet. Forcing his eyes away from the horrendous scene, he took rushed and scattered breaths before pulling himself up.

Limping back towards the original direction he was headed, he would finally reach his car- though, now it had a fair amount of blood on its right side, and bits of ash and pebbles and charcoal beginning to cover it. Mason would hold out his hand.

"I-Illumis." He managed, his voice ragged and sloppy. The car would start up as a glow from his hand started the engine, and with the snap of his fingers, albeit a painful snap, the car doors opened as he stumbled in through the passenger seat and crawled into the driver's seat.

He would think about what he had just seen, the urge to forgo any food from the last month now coming up but he managed to keep it down. There was only one kingdom with the firepower to destroy such a large group almost instantly; Vestria.

Vestria and Morton had been long time enemies; economically, politically, hell even sports between the two were extremely competitive. However, not once in his whole life had mason ever expected a direct attack from the kingdom... on a civilian populated coastal city no less! Regardless, he knew he had to move far west. He had seen enough here to know that if he remained, he'd end up like the people who were getting shredded to pieces out there. Mason grimaced, the pain in his left leg burning like hell.

Then, his thoughts drifted back to his walk.

"... Richie."