Rashim

Rashim was due a visit to the castle after he had been promoted to the ranks of the Riders. Instead, days before his official visit, wearing clothes that screamed his status among the well-dressed mages around him, Rashim had found himself inside the throne room. Face to face with the king of the city.

Rheta had dragged him along her side to serve as a witness to the events that had transpired. He insisted she would not have been doubted, being a trusted woman to the king. Unfortunately for him, the leader of the Amazons was hard-headed. And she also threatened to pull out the sword that had weakened his knees out again.

Not having a choice, he followed her, assuring hiding mages they stumbled across the threat had been nullified. In the section of the city right before where the highborn lived, they lived in houses made from brick and stone, instead of the mud and straw huts those in Trader's Haven. As usual, there was no putrid smell of the rotting flesh of rats or birds that had been unlucky enough to nick off the trampled food they found on the bustling streets.

Traders usually went about as well, but they must have been authorized by the King's soldiers before stepping foot out of Trader's Haven by paying a hefty sum most would rather save and use for something more profitable than the stuck-up mages closer to the castle who felt they were at the top of the world. This was where Rashim was privileged to train, in a secluded field only accompanied by a medium-sized square-shaped house.

"How are we going to get there before the sun sets?" he had asked the woman that marched on silently ahead of him. He was tempted to slip away and head towards the other Rider Trainees to check if they were all right.

"I'll buy us a horse when I see one," she replied nonchalantly. "Or we could hop in a carriage, but it seems everything shut down when Belphegor attacked."

Rashim gulped. "Belphegor... He's one of the demon's strongest fighters right?"

"Yes," Rheta nodded. "He's been a major pain in my ass since the Amazons disembarked on a scouting mission outside the city. I should've known he'd pull that kind of dirty trick."

"He also said something about the 'Hakai.' What did that mean?" he asked, referring to the rusty sword she had used to fend off the demon.

She remained silent for a second, wordlessly debating on whether to tell him what she knew or to keep quiet about it.

"Whatever it is, it was strong enough to keep a demon of his rank at an arm's length," she said. "But the blade..... It almost feels like a godsent present, sent to me to eradicate the demons from Ceros."

"How are you so sure?"

"I just feel it. The power that courses through my body when I used it is unparalleled. If there are more weapons like this, we have to gather them and launch an attack on the demons."

"What if that's the only one?"

Rheta looked back and shot him a withering glare. "Pessimistic bastard," she muttered. "If anyone would know about the 'Hakai,' it'd be the King or one of the people in his court."

"Oh. Well, I could get us closer to the castle if it helps," Rashim suggested, imagining the long walk ahead and dreading it. At the rate at which they were going, he doubted they would have found any horses along the way.

"Using your Heka without appropriate authority is unacceptable," she stated. "I believe the standard of the Riders hasn't dropped?"

"How did you-?"

"No ordinary person would come near a demon without a weapon," she explained. "The only weaponless people we have on Ceros stupid enough to come close to those pale bastards are either madmen or Riders-in-training."

"Or you," he added.

"Or me," Rheta agreed. "Using your Heka shouldn't matter anyway. I think I count as the appropriate authority."

Rolling his eyes, Rashim questioned her once more. "Are you sure?"

"You're the one who suggested it," she snorted. "Now hurry up. We only have seven days remember?"

Nodding, Rashim grabbed her hand, drawing in his blueish aura. He acknowledged her impressed look as she watched him coat himself in an aura nearly as thick as hers when she battled Belphegor. Shutting his eyes, he envisioned the gates of the palace he had only managed to glimpse from hundreds of meters away while on his way back home from the training camp.

In his mind, he drew out every detail perfectly, from the tall, firm towers that flanked the castle from four corners. They were a dull grey, not admonium steel, but strong enough to withstand a siege. It had no moat around it, as those inside relied on the mages on the outside to serve as some sort of barrier in the case of a large-scale demon attack.

In the area right in the middle of the four towers, surrounded by the walls that connected them, stood the main building itself. It was painted red, the color of the fiery aura of the mages bred from the royal family. The roof was the only anomaly, consisting of the other colors of mages' aura. From the vantage point he recalled, the first color he could see was the golden color of the mages blessed with the ability to manipulate light. The second was the brown shade for the mages blessed with the ability over the earth, like Rheta. On the other side of the golden color, white represented the mages gifted with power over the winds. Then the three behind, the ones he couldn't see, were the black for the mages who could manipulate the darkness of the world, green for those who could control any liquid body, and lastly blue for the mages who could manipulate lightning. Like himself.

From what he recalled being taught in the orphanage, and from what he had noticed from all the mages he had encountered, was that despite a group of mages having control over the same elemental ability, their usage and application always varied. Those graced with blue aura could manipulate lightning but in different forms. One person could coat themselves in pure lightning and enhance their speed or attack power, while another could fire off blasts of lightning at will. It was rare to come across mages with the same method of using their Heka.

In his case, he could teleport himself and a single individual anywhere, but he has to envision where he's going precisely so he wouldn't end up a few meters higher or lower than he was supposed to. There had been cases where he messed up and accidentally landed with a box he was holding wedged inside a horse of a passing carriage. It was certainly not an experience to remember. His Heka took a lot of aura to use and because he was traveling to such a distance with someone else, he suspected he'd pass out the second they got there.

Luckily, he had been taken to a hill not too distant from the castle during one of his days with the Rider trainees. And like he did everywhere with his photogenic brain, he lapped up every detail he could spot in case there was ever a day he'd need to rush to the castle.

"That's a lot of aura you've drawn in," Rheta faintly mumbled from behind him. "Amazing."

'I feel like throwing up,' he thought, gathering in even more aura. Not only was he scared of landing wedged in the ground with Rheta split in a clean half, but he was also afraid of what she would think if he was to mess it up. 'I can't hold this for much longer anyway. We have to go now.'

"Brace yourself," he choked, giving Rheta a millisecond to realize what he meant, before vanishing into the air with a loud zap.

For Rashim, it was instant. One second he was beside the white house of some uptight mage, the next he was standing atop green grass, the leader of the Amazons on her knees beside him, hurling our imaginary vomit. He looked down at her, about to make a remark when his legs caved in. He fell face-first into the ground, taking a mouthful of the earth as he smacked his head.

"Aha. I knew there was a catch," Rheta said, now on her feet. "Gathering that much aura was still impressive though. Would you like to join the Amazons?"

"Mhmmphhmmm," he replied, shaking his head. "Mmmmm."

"Oh, please," she grunted, rolling him over onto his back.

Rashim spat out the grass and sand in his mouth and sat up. "Thank you."

"That's not what I want to hear, boy," she smirked. "I asked you a question."

"Ah well, you see," he struggled, rubbing the back of his head. "Give me some time to think about it. Ey?"

Shrugging, she stuck out a hand. "Let's get going."

Rashim grabbed her hand, grunting as he was pulled to his feet. He took a quick note of how firm her hands were without commenting on them. "Thank you."

"Cut the formalities. Call me Rheta." Stopping, she thought for a second. "Lady Rheta sounds much better actually."

Rashim rolled his eyes and dusted the deep brown sand off his clothes. He was already regretting picking a white tunic over the black one he had kept underneath his pillow the day before. Now, assuming he made it back to his small hut with his head still on his neck, he would spend days scrubbing the dirt off his white tunic.

For now, he had bigger problems to worry about. The fact that he had managed to transport himself to a close proximity to the castle was a problem on its own. The spot he had taken them led directly to a guardpost situated just around the gate. Due to Rheta's status amongst the mages, they could've gotten through easily, but Rashim was worried they would turn him away because of his societal status.

"They wouldn't dare," Rheta assured him, reading the look on his face. Reaching up to pat his head, she roughened it up affectionately. "You're also a witness in the events that transpired. I'll be damned if they try any stupid crap."

"If you say so."

Walking down the narrow road, only surrounded by rocks and dried-up grass, Rashim suppressed his excitement. Being his first visit inside the castle, he was highly anticipating it to be a nice experience. He hoped he'd come face to face with the King's Four Horsemen, the epitome of Verdack's Military strength, asides from Rheta and the Amazons of course. He had the feeling they were going to be the arrogant, blood-lusting animals he thought they would be. It was only a matter of time before he confirmed his theory himself.

As he suspected, they came down the bend to find a small wooden shack with a rectangular hole big enough for two people to fit inside. It looked like it was worn out, beaten, and abandoned, but Rashim knew it was what the guards stationed around the castle wanted it to look like. It seemed out of place, being incomparable to the castle that stood a ways ahead of it. But it looked insignificant enough to drop the guard of anyone foolish enough to have tread that far into the King's territory.

"Who goes there?" a brazen voice called out, halting Rashim and Rheta in their tracks.

Rolling her eyes, Rheta replied. "Lady Rheta of the Amazons and company."

A short, muscular grey-haired man stepped out, wearing a black cloak covering whatever he was wearing. Rashim spotted the bulge of his sword, hidden within his long cloak. His brown eyes lazily studied Rheta, acknowledging her, before moving on to Rashim.

"And who may 'company' be?" he asked, his eyes creasing up with a look of unmistakable disgust.

"A mage who showed more courage than any of your companions," Rheta spat. "It would do you well to look at him with more respect."

Taken aback by her scolding, the man bowed and mumbled an apology to her before doing the same to Rashim.

"What brings you here?"

"You are yet to receive a report on the ongoings within the city?" Rheta frowned. "We need to see the King. It's urgent."

Evidently confused, the guard looked to Rheta questioningly, but she offered him no explanation. The only thing he got was a firm face that let him know if he didn't comply, she would dispose of him and move on herself.

"Let us go then," he sighed, spinning on his heel. Walking to his post, he stuck his head inside. "Edward!" he barked, waking his partner. "I will be leaving for a little while. Keep your damn eyes open."

"Not like anything would happen," the man hidden inside yawned.

Gritting his teeth, the guard gestured at both Rashim and Rheta with his head, urging them to follow him.

"To the King."