“There’s a tree that hangs over the outer wall. We can jump down from one of the branches.” Anisha explained as she led Shawn out into the grounds of her estate.
The young female knight was wearing a simple brown traveling cloak, a loose hanging tan shirt, and black pants similar to the ones Shawn had been given earlier. Though he had seen her face before, Shawn was suddenly struck by how attractive Anisha really was. Years of training had given her an athletic figure. Her skin was well kept and free of any unsightly blemishes. As Anisha pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail, her chocolaty brown eyes spotted him watching her.
“What?” She looked down at herself. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, I, uh.” Shawn scrambled to come up with a reason to be staring at her. “I guess I was just wondering about…”
Shawn’s eyes found the scabbard at Anisha’s hip.
“Your sword!” He pointed to it with a bit too much force, causing Anisha to take a step back in surprise. “Won’t people think it's strange to see someone walking through town with a sword?”
Anisha placed a hand on the pommel of the sword defensively.
“This stays with me at all times.” Her voice was cold.
“Okay.” Shawn felt his face lose a bit of color at her reaction. “I was just under the impression it was a bit out of place. That’s all.”
Anisha sighed. “No, you’re right. Sorry. It is a rare sight to see a blade in this day and age.”
In one swift motion, Anisha unsheathed the blade and held it flat in her hands. Shawn once again had to marvel at the perfect craftsmanship of it. The long, elegant blade balanced perfectly on the flat of her palm. The razor-sharp edge was dyed a deep red that faded to black the further away from the blade it went.
“I don’t suppose you know anything about this sword?” Anisha asked Shawn.
Shawn shook his head.
“This blade is known as the Crimson Ash. For over a century it has been a symbol of the most powerful warrior in the human empire. My family has carried this blade into countless battles and fought in more battles than anyone could possibly imagine.” Anisha announced proudly. “Through that conflict, a pact was made between the blade and my bloodline. Only we could wield the Crimson Ash and harness its power. In return, the blade is fed souls of powerful enemies to preserve its existence.”
“Wow.” Shawn hadn’t expected such a hard-core backstory to Anisha’s sword, though, it certainly looked the part. “So how can no one else use the blade?”
“Here.” She offered the pommel to Shawn. “Try for yourself.”
Shawn hesitated. He didn’t want the sword to feast itself on his own soul, but he figured Anisha wouldn’t give him the blade if it was too dangerous. Shawn reached out with his right hand and gripped the handle. A chime immediately sounded in his ears as he lifted the sword from Anisha’s open palm.
Warning. You do not meet the requirements necessary to wield ‘The Crimson Ash’. Requirements not met:
- You do not possess the blood of the Goldrin family.
- Blade skill. Your blade skill is too low to handle this weapon.
The blade immediately tripled in weight in Shawn’s hand. He cursed and tried to bring his other hand over to keep the sword from falling, but it fell to the ground with a heavy thump. Anisha chuckled.
“That’s what happens anytime someone other than a Goldrin tries to use it.” She leaned down and picked the sword off the ground.
With an effortless flourish, she flung a few bits of loose grass from the dark steel and sheathed it back at her hip.
“That’s incredible.” Shawn flexed his hand to recover from his surprise. “How often do you have to feed it… you know, souls.”
Anisha laughed. “Not often. It has seen battle so often over the past century that it has never really been an issue.”
Anisha pointed to the tree leaning over the outer wall she had mentioned earlier.
“Come on.” She jogged over and began to scale the bark. “We should get going.”
Shawn followed, still curious about Anisha’s family and the Crimson Ash.
“So, does the sword have a lot of special abilities? I mean, it must be pretty impressive to be used for so long, especially considering the development of firearms. There can’t be many knights like yourself out there, can there?”
Anisha paused just above Shawn along the tree trunk. “No. I don’t think there are any others.”
The sadness in her voice was much deeper than Shawn expected it to be. Anisha reached the first branch that reached over the estate walls and began to crawl atop it. When she was out far enough, she swung her legs over and flipped down to the sidewalk below. Shawn followed, albeit with a lot less grace, but he landed next to her without incident.
“The war has changed.” Anisha explained as Shawn dusted off his clothes. “The demons were too effective in close range combat, so we needed to adapt. Technology was devoted to keeping the enemy as far away as possible. Leaving me a relic of the past.”
Anisha nodded her head at the closest street away from the estate walls and began to walk quickly in that direction. Still talking as she traveled.
“Don’t get me wrong, humans are better equipped to fight off the demon threat now.” Anisha rushed to clarify her meaning. “That no man’s land you saw out there? That used to be within the heart of human territory. We lost so much during the early days of the war. With the arsenal at the military’s disposal now? Humanity is far better equipped to defend ourselves.”
“Where does that leave you then?” Shawn asked.
Once Anisha’s estate was out of sight, the pair slowed their pace to a casual walk.
“Well. My ancestors went from being at the front of the battle, surrounded by armored knights to cover their flanks, to being held in reserve. Every generation they used us a little bit less.” Anisha scoffed. “My father was paraded around as a symbol of hope, but he almost never saw combat. The wielder of the Crimson Ash, reduced to a simple mascot to keep the people inspired.”
Anisha gripped the pommel of her blade tightly. “Now here I am. Stuck inside my own home. One step away from being a prisoner.”
“But why though?” Shawn shook his head. “Even if technology has progressed so far away from the sword, surely they could still use you. You rescued me from a demon that broke through those defenses. The soldiers use bayonets, that’s just a sword you stick on the end of a gun!”
“There’s another part of the pact my family made with the sword that I didn’t tell you about. Anyone with Goldrin blood has an extremely hard time having children.” Anisha grimaced. “My family tree is extraordinarily small and very easy to trace back to the roots. I’m…”
Anisha threw up her shoulders in a helpless shrug. “I’m actually the last living member of the Goldrin bloodline.”
“Oh.” Shawn felt the anger he had been venting moments before deflate. “What happened to your parents?”
The pair had reached the river that ran through the length of Central Maston. Anisha didn’t cross over to the far side like Shawn had the day before. Instead, she turned westward and began to walk along the promenade.
“My mother died when I was two years old. My birth was extremely unforgiving on her body, and she never fully recovered. My father was so desperate to actually make a difference in the war that he volunteered to be part of an operation to push into Demon territory and destroy one of their forward bases.”
“They let him go?” Shawn asked in disbelief.
Anisha laughed and her smile turned sad. “Not willingly. He called in a lot of favors and even black mailed a few people to get the position. Almost five thousand men and women were sent on that strike mission. Only a few hundred returned. My father was barely alive when they dragged him back over the defensive line. He died a few days later.”
Shawn felt a lump form in his throat as he listened to her story.
“My dad was a firefighter.” Shawn cleared his throat, trying not to let his emotions show through too much. “Do you guys have those over here?
Anisha looked perplexed for a moment before her eyes lit up. “Oh, yes. You mean he was a member of the fire brigade?”
Shawn nodded. “His team got a call about a fire in a large building downtown. It was bad. The entire thing ended up collapsing in on itself from the damage. My dad…”
Shawn stopped and leaned against the railing. He looked out over the river and took a moment to regain his composure. Anisha joined him, standing silently to his left.
“They said he pulled out four people and was going back in for a fifth. He wasn’t one to turn back from danger, especially if someone was in danger.”
Anisha placed a hand on Shawn’s arm. They stood like that for a few moments before Anisha turned to face Shawn directly.
“I think our dads would have been good friends.”
“Yeah.” Shawn laughed and wiped a bit of moisture from his eyes. “They probably would have been.”
Shawn’s eyes drifted over the rippling water below and onto a nearby footbridge. Purely by chance, his eyes caught sight of a dark blue homburg hat bouncing behind a few pedestrians.
Shawn straightened up in a flash, causing Anisha to pull her hand back with a worried look.
“I’m sor…”
Shawn cut off her apology without letting his eyes leave the hat. “No, you’re fine. I just saw something.”
A brief break in the traffic over the bridge was the only opportunity Shawn needed to confirm his suspicions. It was the man from the day before.
“Anisha.” Shawn spoke while he continued to watch the man cross the bridge. “Do you know what a necromancer is?”
She tried to follow his gaze but turned back with a frown. “No. What is that? What’s wrong?”
The man in the homburg hat turned to the west and began to walk along the river. Shawn immediately followed him, Anisha a few steps behind.
“Are there magic users in this world? Does magic exist?” Shawn asked.
“Yes.” Anisha caught up and matched Shawn’s pace. “Though it's very rare in humans. Almost everyone that has even a small aptitude for magic is taken by the military from a young age. They serve in the military for most of their lives.”
“Is there magic to bring dead things back to life? Or to make corpses walk or fight using magic?”
Anisha blanched. “Not that I know of. I’m not really a magic user though.”
“What about the light you created when you landed and saved me from that demon?” Shawn recalled the holy light that emanated from Anisha when she dismounted her griffin.
“I suppose you could consider that magic, but it comes from the Crimson Blade. It has a number of abilities that I can use in combat. Well.” Anisha suddenly seemed ashamed. “Actually the Daylight ability is the only one I’ve really been able to use thus far. I practice daily but I get the feeling some of these abilities are only something I can learn through actual combat.”
Anisha shook her head. “That’s beside the point though, why are you asking me this?”
“There’s a man a little bit ahead of us. The one wearing the homburg hat and tattered suit. Can you see him?”
Anisha scanned the people in front of them and stopped on Shawn’s target.
“Yeah. I see him.”
“I have an ability that lets me see a basic description of what someone is capable of. That ability says that man is a necromancer.”
As Shawn spoke, the man took the next left and began to walk down a large busy street. Shawn glanced over his shoulder to make sure the road was clear of vehicles before following the man across.
“Is there anything special down this road?” Shawn called back to Anisha.
She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “The rail station is at the end of this street.”
Shawn felt his nerves tingling. If someone wanted to cause a lot of damage to a local population, a train station would be the perfect place to do it. With that somber thought, Shawn reached back and grabbed Anisha’s hand.
“Hurry. We’ve got to keep sight of him.”
The pair weaved through the thick foot traffic as they continued to track the mystery man.
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