The Storyteller (THE LEGENDS OF AARYAH #1)

TALE ONE OF CHANGE - Xemelie

It was past midnight when Barin heard the noises and the screams coming from the upper floor.

The chase began soon after. Barin didn't even know who he was chasing and yet, he found himself running as soon as he was ordered to do so - running with the intention to kill. No Yashiv that got into the Headquarters of the Third Division had ever left alive.

"Take'em! Take'em, Anóe, Ronek, Morden!" Captain Xhil Frejn had screamed only some minutes before as the intruders had scattered taking different ways to confuse the Executioners on patrol. But Barin and his comrades knew already what their final purpose was: leaving the Headquarters and Kashej too, very probably.

They didn't let that trick work and took the emergency exit - a shabby underground tunnel accessible from the recruit training camp if you knew where to look - to take advantage of the situation once again.

That night it was the Justice Guards Archers and the 23rd Century's Swordsmen and Magic-Borns - both High Ones and Demons - Squad's task to keep the building safe and protect its secret activities from the prying eyes of the enemies of the Sultanates.

Barin Morden, Jes Ronek and Gilbert Anóe had been friends ever since they'd been assigned to Frejn's Squad. To them, running through the underground tunnel felt exactly like every other military simulation they'd been doing in their Trainee years. Except that this time they were Executioners and they were hunting preys that had something far too important for the Third Division and for Kashej. They couldn't afford to lose them.

In the distance the Patriot Executioners heard the sound of arrows thrown by the Justice Guards and the quick, loud orders to open the fire again as soon as the soldiers realized they weren't able to take them down.

Jes opened the big iron door at the end of the tunnel and got out first. He charged upfront the enemies in the arms yard, no second thoughts, no hesitation. He didn't need a weapon or a shield, just his fists. People called him the Brute because he was a big guy, tall like a Giant and strong like a Demon. But whoever knew him personally knew also that he had a big heart; he was just as generous as only a Human could be.

Barin and Gilbert followed him more cautiously, one going left, the other right. They kept closer to the walls of the Headquarters, while archers covered their way to the Yashivs throwing arrows at them so that the enemies would keep their focus on the battlements and on Jes.

Even if they were outnumbered, they still looked confident. The Yashivs used their Ability to create Water and made it their only but indestructible weapon to fight back the arrows and Jes. Besides, every scar on their bodies disappeared few seconds after it was inflicted. A Demon - an Impure, Barin thought - stood by their side and combined her Healing Arts with the Yashiv magic protected by a barrier no Human, no fesmejic creature - creatures born without magical powers -, could ever break.

The Demons and the High Ones - Humans born with Magic or that had gained it after signing a Blood Pact with a Demon - on patrol that night would have been there soon and they needed to back them up and hold on until that very moment.

Barin and Gilbert were upon them a second later and attacked like their life depended on that single dwell, Barin barring down on them, a two- handed sword within held tight within his grasp; Gilbert delivering swift attacks, daggers held in each hand.

Then he saw her.

He would have recognized her anywhere, as well as her long, blonde hair disheveled by the wind and the fire burning in her amber eyes.

The Angel swooped down from the sky with immense power and lethal grace. The bright, white aura around her enveloped everyone as soon as she hit the ground and Barin found himself blinded by such a strong light for a few seconds.