The Venerate Order

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Strafe

Despite the chaos all around, I somehow felt at ease. Roya twirled her giant weapon in front of me, shrunk it down to a knife's length, and sheathed it on her lower back. I'd never felt vibes off anyone like this in my life. I felt at peace, even with my adrenaline pumping.

Venturing to introduce myself, I took in a breath and said, "I'm Strafe and this is my wolf, Brutus."

I reached to shake her hand, but she got startled and stepped back.

"Oh, I forgot about this custom. It has been a while since I've done this. Sorry, we do not usually have this sort of ceremony when we meet people for the first time in my country," Roya smiled as she shook my hand.

"Where are you from? And how does your weapon change shape?" I scanned her in curiosity.

"I will show you what it can do if we make it out of here alive, Strafe-Sah," Roya replied.

"Strafe-Sah?" I noted.

"It is our way of saying 'brother or sister.' We say it to people we love and care about," Roya explained.

"Ah, I see."

"Nice to meet you, Roya," Brutus said as he approached.

"Well, aren't you something, Brutus-Sah," Roya noted as she rubbed his head.

"I can smell those people you were talking about, follow me," Brutus told us.

We continued our way through the garden. Most of the fighting had shifted near the Senti warship. I noticed a Sorian Sky-ship approaching in the distance and knew we didn't have much time left. Roya cautioned that when two warships engage each other, much death and destruction is left in their wake.

I felt extremely remorseful as we made our way through the city. Bodies were littered everywhere, accompanied by screams of the wounded and unrelenting gunfire. This was hard for Brutus, too. Even though his breed had been used for war in the past, he was actually a very nice wolf. His heightened intelligence made him hyper-alert to what was going on.

We both felt happy to be around each other, it helped boost our morale. I decided that Roya and I should walk on foot alongside Brutus so he could save his strength. We made our way to the city center, which was a vast, open space that formed the heart of the city. Where there once were clothing shops, restaurants, big business, and bustling city life, there was now only devastation and desolation. They copied Times Square I joked to myself.

When I looked across the city center, there was a rush through my body. It was the same feeling as I had when I first met Roya. Green and blue lights were flickering in the distance. I had no idea why but my heart was telling me to move toward them.

"Do you feel the connection, Strafe-Sah? This is destiny," Roya touched my shoulder and pointed toward the lights.

"What are you sayin'? That this was supposed to happen?" I assumed.

"You have been invited to a greater calling, all of us are to become Guardians. Protectors of the world," she replied as she blinked and looked towards the dots of light.

"I don't understand? Are you saying we were chosen for, for these powers?" – more answers led me to ask more questions.

"We'll talk about this later but right now we need to help this city. You with me Strafe-Sah!?" Roya responded, offering an open hand to me.

I nodded my head as she pulled me over some debris in the road. We fought our way down several streets lined with soldiers and those strange creatures. Three Senti soldiers came at me and aimed their weapons. Brutus was occupied fighting some creatures, and Roya was helping him. I really need your help right now, to save this city, I prayed to the God Blade.