Tales Of Vindictus Berseria II - The Morrigan Wings

Chapter 1: Prologue

History is but an interpretation. As one truth is given, another is lost to the ether.

Connor York looked at shining moon, painted against the stars. Not a single cloud in the sky. A light breeze blew between the trees and houses. Peace was something painstakingly struck in Stonebury. Looking at the gate before him, he turned around and heading into the woods.

Seven years. Hard to believe that Shepherd Artorius Collbrande was killed by the Lord of Calamity.

A great deal of people cried learning the news. A great memorial was to be built in Loegres.

But the Abbey needed a new hero to rally about. A new savior for these dark times. Daemons are still roaming around, but the malakhim had abandoned them.

So came the Redeemer, Shepherd Eleanor Hume.

Connor wanted to believe this, but he remembered the Abbey's order regarding her. The first Traitor, Damnatio Memoriae. Yet she had the complete backing of the Midgand Empire's Prince.

Frustration vented with every step. The reformation of the Abbey under Hume's rule wasn't the easiest transition. Legates Shigure Rangetsu and Melchior dead and hundreds of Exorcists leaving the Abbey. Some even denounced the Church with the Ascension of the Sixth Empyrean, Maotelus.

Hardliners in the Imperial family added their reluctance. The four years since were hell and back, slowly gathering support from the people.

And yet…

Mysterious disappearances have taken across the Empire's further towns. People or caravans disappear overnight. The sounds of dangerous monsters lurking in the deepest shadow.

With so much on her hands, Shepherd Hume ordered a diaspora. The Abbey and its people into exile.

And Connor was not happy. Not one bit.

All that pain and effort, shuffled off like a piece of parchment.

Without an Exorcist's artes, what could man do against the darkness?

If only Artorius was still alive.

With a lantern in hand, the young man continued his patrol. The dark was drawing deeper and deeper despite the full moon. Drawing a blade, he kept himself steady. Just the sounds of the night.

No, that's not right. The sounds were dead. Muted. Gone.

A single snap in the air and Connor hopped back. An arrow stuck in the ground here he once was. Shadows moved between the trees and branches. This was no wind that carried between them.

Under the moonlight, the shadows ducked and dived at the Exorcist, snipping at his lighter armor. Cuts drew deeper and deeper as he hacked back. These shadows relentlessly attacked, between martial artes and daggering hidden artes.

Winds slashed through his padding, drawing blood. He gulped. He couldn't fight them like this. Running, he took a turn towards the town. But further it seemed away. The woods grew, the dark darker and darker still. Droplets became rivers and he panicked.

Connor dropped his weapons, running with no end in sight. A light pain stuck in his thigh. Another arrow. He widened his eyes, tumbling to a fall.

"Do you know what your sin is?"

The young Exorcist stared up at an armored figure. Dark blood red orbs glowed behind the armor slits of the being's helmet. With a single stroke, Connor choked on his own blood. His throat laid open.

"It is pride…"

His assailant was patient. Whatever this monster was, it would stay, watching him painfully bleed out. Shadows collected in the corners of his eyes as pain and numbness took over.