Chapter One

Chaos/Failure

The world around her was in flames.

But she didn't care. She was too engulfed in her own brand of fire. The heat of the fight, the taste of blood on her lips, the excitement of metal hitting metal or penetrating flesh – these were the things that made her feel alive. This is what she was designed for, this is why Alanis was created: to fight, to kill and to revel in it.

Chaos surrounded her, painful screams and shouts of agony and fear fed her resolve and will, as her thirst for violence grew stronger. Her Kingdom was falling and all she cared about, all she could see were warm bodies begging to be torn apart. She answered their pleas by slashing her sword across their fragile skin and enjoying every moment of it.

And then, suddenly, the world stopped. Silence engulfed her and her vision became focused, her mind resolute in one single purpose.

The sound of the horn was hypnotizing. Her King was calling her.

She had to go to him.

Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed. Only her King and his protection. There was no higher calling.

Alanis ran towards the castle, shoving and pushing whoever was on her way, friend or foe, there was no distinction anymore. They were just obstacles in the way to her King.

A man stood in front of her, his sword ready to strike. Without even slowing her step, she swung her own sword in front of her and, with inhuman speed and an inhuman heart, promptly slashed his chest open.

Ignoring the bloody carcass she was leaving behind, she ran. She ran towards the sound of the horn, to her King. She ran deeper into the darkness, into the Castle Grounds. The closer she got to the Royal Gardens, the lighter the air became, the sky was less red, it was deadly blue and the screams and echoes of the battle were only a distant noise. She always thought those woods were enchanted. Maybe they really were.

The Royal Gardens were so massive in size and splendor they resembled more a magnificent forest. They held a heavy aura of magic and wonder, beautiful and peaceful in all their natural darkness. It was a maze of old and majestic trees, wild flowers and hidden paths waiting for an outsider's soul to get lost in them.

It was her favorite place to be, apart from the place she held at her King's right.

She ran as fast as she could through the maze, guided not only by her urgency and knowledge, but mainly by instinct. Her body moved on its own, perfectly in synch with the natural world, completely dominated by her carnal need to save her King.

Alanis finally arrived at the Garden's entrance; a sculptural and ancient stone fountain surrounded by a semi-circle of stone benches, a place breathing history, where Kings of older times had held their war meetings, had signed treaties and dealt truces and asked important questions to the stars.

Immediately, she knew she wasn't alone.

He was waiting for her and, as soon as she saw his eyes and his stance, she knew he was her kin. She felt power emanating from him and wondered what he was capable of.

He didn't wait much to prove her right.

He never moved, but the world did. The earth morphed into a murderous wave and, with unnatural speed and brutality, tried to swallow her whole. In one swift and confident motion, she extended her arm, opened her hand and concentrated, creating an invisible and protective wall around her. The impact destroyed the earth wall and was so strong she had to concentrate to keep her shield intact.

Through the smoke and dust she saw him. He still hadn't moved an inch, his face still as expressionless as before.

He was only testing her. This was nothing.

She grinned, her blood boiling, her thirst rising, excitement taking over her.

Finally, a worthy opponent. Finally, an interesting match, a real challenge.

Without warning, and with the speed of the wind, she ran to him. Focusing a generous amount of energy into her arm and wrist, she prepared to throw him a punch that would certainly shatter a normal man.

He was not normal, though.

Before her wrist could reach him, another powerful wall of earth rose from the ground, shielding him against her murderous blow. Her fist hit the protective wall, breaking it with the strength of the impact, and before she had time to react, the very ground she was standing on swallowed her feet, effectively trapping her in place.

For a short second, she had to marvel at her opponent's abilities. She had never seen this kind of power before, not even among her kin.

He didn't give her much longer to dwell on it though, as her instincts quickly begged for her attention.

He wasn't standing in front of her anymore.

Turning around as far and fast as she could, feet still buried deep into the earth, she came face to face with him. A new deadly wall of rock and earth was erected and, with a mocking smirk and slight wave of his head, he unleashed his weapon with killer speed.

Summoning as much power as she could, she managed to create a new shield of invisible energy, powerful enough to stop the wall's momentum. She only allowed enough time for him to lose his victorious smirk, as she successfully manipulated his own weapon against him. She threw it back at him, not by controlling the element of earth itself, like he did, but by manipulating the air around it.

She smiled, as he jumped backwards to avoid the imminent clash.

It was obvious he wasn't used to having a match.

Taking advantage of his evasion, she once again focused her energy to her pulse and punched the same ground holding her hostage, shattering earth and stone and freeing herself from her unnatural bound.

Alanis jumped backwards as well and, as soon as she stared ahead, she found numerous huge rocks mercilessly flying in her direction. She punched the first, destroying it, evaded the second, kicked the third out of her way, but was incapable of escaping the forth. It hit her in the stomach, dragging her against the same row of stone seats she had been admiring just a few minutes before.

The impact shattered the stone and gifted her with a wave of burning, acute pain. She could taste blood in her mouth, which both amused and infuriated her. She hadn't had a taste of her own blood in years.

As always, her fury fed her power and her energy was released in one powerful blast, destroying the heavy rubble that had rested on top of her.

Sensing a new onslaught of deadly stone coming her way, she jumped high into the air and hid behind the remains of the seat row. As his attacks hit the ancient stone protecting her, she took a few seconds to close her eyes, take a few deep breaths and focus.

Defending and evading weren't her style. She much preferred, and enjoyed, the thrill of the attack.

So she went for it.

She ran from her protective spot into his perfect and clear view and, as she expected, he skillfully deviated his aim towards her. She decided to repeat what had worked before and used her manipulation to kick and punch the huge rocks into her submission. Unlike before, she didn't use enough power to destroy them, rather just suspend them on the air she controlled, quickly returning them to their original master with as much speed and killing intent.

He easily evaded them, but she wasn't trying to hit him – not yet. She just wanted to keep him busy. As he shielded himself against the incoming obstacles, she concentrated deeply to use her power and manipulate de water pouring uncontrollably out of the broken fountain. She used it like a whip at first, prompting another defensive move from him, and then, with as much strength as a wall of concrete, she threw a great wave at him. He managed to shield himself in time, but it wasn't enough, as the water swallowed his defensive wall and pushed his body into the ground.

Alanis' smile grew wider and she ran towards him with glee and excitement – she could already feel her wrist punishing his body, she could already taste his defeat. But once again, he cut her happiness short as the earth beneath him quickly swallowed his body. She stopped abruptly and couldn't help but exhale a frustrated grunt, like a child throwing a tantrum. Searching frantically around her, Alanis was quick to find him. He was standing on the opposite side of the entrance, his arms crossed in front of his chest, a smug grin gracing his features once again.

It was then that it hit her. At first, she had pinned his evasive attitude to a fighting style, she assumed he didn't like close and physical contact. Now, she finally realized it was much more than that.

She studied him and he seemed content to stand and mimic her. Something was wrong. He had been standing behind her for at least three seconds before she found him - more than enough time for a Warrior of his caliber to at least begin an attack. If he didn't, it could only mean his main intention wasn't exactly to defeat her.

Her eyes widened with realization. He was a distraction.

With a sinking heart she finally noticed that her King's calling had seized. The night was silent.

Panic took over her, her heart shooting blood at high speed throughout her whole body. Without wasting one more second, she turned from her opponent and ran with all her might towards the Castle, towards her King.

He didn't follow.

Inside the castle, the scenery was of death and defeat and the atmosphere was that of a war that was long lost. It was deadly silent, the only noise breaking the heavy muteness was that of her frantic feet running along the beautiful stone floors and echoing through the massive halls. It smelled of smoke and raw flesh and fresh blood. Along the way, corpses littered the corners of every room, lifeless bodies of sacrifice.

Finally, the majestic doors that protected the Throne Room stood before her and, with a mix of anger and urgency, she focused a new wave of destructive energy into her feet, kicking the strong wood and effectively bursting into the room, almost destroying the once magnificent entrance.

What she saw froze her blood. The shock had her lost in time and space.

It was her biggest fear unfolding in front of her eyes, a scene taken straight out of her worst nightmares.

The Crown Knights had been utterly defeated. The very few that remained alive were incapacitated to fight. The Throne Room was destroyed, it was nothing but a gigantic tomb, a terrible confirmation of their horrible ruin. It was filled with soldiers faithful to another Crown, loyal to the banner of their enemy and conqueror.

In the middle of this hell, was her beloved King, robbed of his dignity, stripped of his power. He had been forced to kneel, his hands bound behind his back, a sword menacingly hanging in front of his throat.

It broke her heart, or whatever it was she had in its place.

Her King's eyes were fixed upon her, defeat, loss and anger consuming them.

"Alanis," he said, his deep voice echoing throughout the death chamber, "you failed me."

"NO!" she screamed, tainted with pain and despair. Her King's words were like poison in her veins, like a thousand burning blades stabbed deep into her skin.

She ran to him, but couldn't get close as the enemy soldiers quickly surrounded her.

Alanis could only see blood, her thirst for it deeper and more urgent and painful than ever. She grabbed her sword and, with unnatural speed and hunger, slashed flesh, tore limbs and broke bone. No matter how many kept coming, she had become death and she was determined to honor that title.

The carnage only stopped when he appeared – her kinsman, the master of earth, the conqueror's Warrior. This time, he wasn't grinning, he was coldly staring at her, his gaze filled with as much murder intent as hers.

Deep down, she knew she couldn't win. She knew she couldn't fight the men and this Warrior at the same time, on her own, and be graced with life and victory.

The image of her fallen King, her failure to protect him, the despair, the intense hatred and anger, they all turned to blinding madness.

More subconsciously than otherwise, Alanis unleashed a powerful wave of raw destruction and chaos. All that surrounded her was crushed by the impact – all but her kinsman, who managed to calmly escape before death hit him. All that was human was destroyed, the very floor she stepped on was turned to dust, the walls and tall marble columns completely incinerated.

The massacre continued, until a deep voice broke her spell:

"Warrior!"

She fixed her eyes on the foreign King. There he stood, beside her own Master, his features cold and calculating, confident, an evil smile drawn on his lips. One of his hands grabbed her King's hair and the other held a sword to his throat.

Her blood boiled. She only saw murder.

"Warrior," he repeated, "you have devotion for your King, I see. That's admirable. If your love is that deep then you should know it will do you no good to continue this madness, for I will cut your beloved's throat before you can spill any more blood from my men."

And Alanis knew he spoke the truth. There was no lie and no mercy in his eyes. She saw the blade dangerously close to her King's skin and desperately made the only decision her heart allowed. Her gaze dropped to the ground in shame, bowed to her Master and whispered: "Forgive me, my Lord."

Between all the destruction and chaos, and with a broken and heavy heart, she ran, she vanished.

But she would return.