Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Jane led the charge with Charlie on her side and the Descendants providing support. She felt like a superhero. Every time she found one of the volunteers fighting for their lives against a hideous monster, she would always leap into action, standing in between the beast and their victim.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take it from here.” She said as she gave a smug grin towards another young man on the ground, surrounded by large demonic creatures, each one with six legs, skin like a toad, a large mouth, curved deer-like antlers, and a sharp hook-like tail.

They snarled at her, backing away into an opening beside a nearly frozen-over lake. “Oh?” Jane turned to the man they were surrounding, and his wrists and ankles seemed to be injured.

“So, you’re the type to hook and drown, huh? Back off now, or else you’re the ones who’ll be swimming with the fishes.” She cracked her knuckles as Charlie groaned in the back.

“How many one-liners do you have?”

“Well, when you’re imprisoned, you tend to think a lot about them in your spare time. I’m sure you’ll think of a few.” Jane surveyed the forest for a bit. It was still quite dark, so she was thankful for the flames in her hand that illuminated the way.

The battles so far weren’t just heroics for the sake of it- actually, no, they were, but they were also for testing out her newfound capabilities. The new Name she was granted was innate, meaning she didn’t have to create any signs, symbols, or even speak for them to activate, merely will them into existence.

They also burned quite well, even against this harsh winter, but now she wondered if they could even burn in water.

Jane carefully walked forward, making sure to count each one of these monsters, making a note that there were four of them, and all were in sight. Of course, there could be more in the water; she has to account for that.

They were pack creatures, meaning she could possibly take them one-on-one, but she wanted to take a risk for more knowledge. Anyway, even if she got stuck in a sticky situation, the others could help her out.

Huh… It’s been so long since she had someone to watch her back. It felt like the good old days again.

Another step forward, and then suddenly her wrist was wrapped by the hook-like tail as the beast jumped into the water, dragging her in. Without any resistance, Jane was forced into the lake, her whole body submerged in ice-cold water.

Her mind flashed as she remembered how Epithet did something similar to her when they caught her. They would nearly drown her and keep her locked up until she nearly passed out in the water before bringing her back up.

She focused on that memory, of that pain, of how she felt as those bastards watched her squirm in the tank like she was nothing more than another test. In an instant, her palm burst into flame, unbothered by the waters around it.

The monsters snarled at the flames, moving away from them as even the beasts deep within the lake slithered and swam away from the fire.

To this, she grinned, aiming downwards as she focused her mind yet again. She remembered one of those torture sessions. They called it a bath to wash her of any impurities for testing. They forced her into a giant tank like she was a fish in an aquarium, naked as the day she was born.

She held her breath, just focusing on surviving another day. That’s when she found someone else in the tank with her. A young boy, she didn’t know his Name at the time, but he was struggling in the water to try and hold his breath.

Jane went to him, tried to calm him down, even gave him some air, but it was no use.

She remembered when the young boy gave up when he let out his final breath. His eyes were all dull and devoid of life. It was like staring into a fish. He floated there in the tank, and all she wanted to do was join him in his eternal rest.

When they pulled him out, they attempted to resuscitate him, but it was already too late. He was dead. They then dissected his body later for their studies…

His Name was Mikey. He was just 15 years old. He was an orphan who joined up with the Choir, and that’s all she knew about him other than his death. He was just another statistic for them and another memory for her.

Anger swirled inside of her; those bastards would pay, one by one. She would make sure of that, they would burn, all of them, without fail. If they think they could judge life, then she should judge theirs!

In an instant, the flames in her hand exploded downward, spiraling to the depths as it pushed her upwards back to the dry land as if she were on a jet.

Charlie ran towards Jane, and so did the other Descendants, followed by the small group of people she rescued. They wondered if she was okay, but they all sighed in relief when they saw her grin like the madwoman she was.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this.” She stood up, soaking wet, and she shook her hair like a dog. The Descendants stood around her, raising their own flames to heat her up.

“Hmmm, this might actually take a while. There were around a thousand volunteers, guards, and Magi altogether.” She looked up at the sky as it turned increasingly dark.

“And we don’t have much sun time, too. We’re going to need to make camp in whatever place the Descendants have in store for us.”

“Are you really going to try and build up an army? Like, what’s the game plan here?” Charlie’s tattoo began to glow, perhaps it was just the Magick around them, but there was something familiar about the tone.

“Yes, build up an army, find a way off Galfania, and then take down Epithet.” Jane fixed her hair as Charlie stared at her, gobsmacked.

“Y-You can’t be serious, take them out? They’re the backbone of Phorash. The ones who own nearly all the possible Names in Phorash! They’re unbeatable, and frankly, even if you do take them out by some miracle, they’re keeping the order of Phorash together; without them, it’s going to be chaos!”

“Sounds way better than whatever it has now.” Jane stared back at Charlie, her eyes steeled as the Watchtower guard saw a blazing flame in her pupils.

“You’re mad, insane-“ Suddenly, she heard it, Magick was invoked, that of a Contract.

Charlie turned in the direction of the activated Magick and heard several gunshots fired away.

”Oh? Sounds important. Can you sense anything specific there?” Jane asked Charlie as she turned to the survivors who were currently huddled by the Descendants, providing them warmth and cover from other attacks. She then gestured for them to stay but to keep watch around as they dashed towards the area where they heard the gunshots.

“Contract Magick…” Charlie looked down as she realized what that meant. The only people who could have Contract Magick to be used were those from-

“Epithet Magi. So some of those bastards chose to live, huh? I’ll make sure they regret that.”

“We can still work with them. Like you said, the more, the better.”

“Only if they acknowledge what they’ve done, and decide to work under me this time.” Jane’s tone was bitter, but Charlie couldn’t say anything to it. She knew what they did to her and her friends; there was no way to talk her down.

She could only wait and watch as both of them made their way over to a river. There, Jane saw several small creatures, no bigger than a child, covered in fur with large claws. They snarled at the survivors around it who kept on trying to shoot them with their guns to no avail, only angering them more, it seemed.

“By the Warden’s Blade! What are you, damned creature?!”

A familiar voice was heard amongst the gunshots as Charlie and Jane’s minds reeled over to the time of their death. It was the last voice they ever heard, for it was of Professor Rook. Around him were Mollie, Henry, Derek, and Topher, all of whom were trying to shoo away the strange little creatures with no progress in sight.

Immediately, Jane quite literally hopped into action, jumping in front of the small party before opening up her hand to reveal a burst of flame. The small creatures recoiled in terror, scattering away as the rest breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally, someone who could actually-“ Rook’s voice dropped as he saw who came to his aid.

“So you still live… At least you can make yourself useful. Now then, come with me, I will need to find a way to contact the other Magis about-“

“No.”

Charlie dropped down beside Jane as she stared at the standoff between her and Rook.

“You are under Contract. One you signed yourself, I command you, Jane Marcellus, to obey me!”

But, nothing happened, no glow, no Magick invoked.

A smile grew on Jane’s face as she began to laugh.

“What? T-that’s- that’s impossible! Everyone here is bound by the Contract, no exceptions, even those that came back to life, their existences are bound!”

“You are correct, but the Harbinger has blessed her warrior to be free of such stipulations. She has rebirthed her anew!” Another Descendant came into view, walking alongside the edge of the river.

While he looked like the others, Jane noticed he felt different, as if there was a strange aura around him that felt like a cool breeze through the middle of the night.

“That’s- Tch, this place is horrid. None of its rules make sense.”

“Correct, and I’ll use its rules to ensure Epithet is nothing more than ashes after a fire. Thank you for everything, Professor Rook. You’ve shown me the malice of those who only care about progress. I’ll make sure your dust is scattered to the earth to help the grass grow, ensuring that you will help more people in your demise than you ever did in your life.” Jane gave a little bow with a cheeky little smile and a wink.

“You wretched girl. What do you want? Fame? Money? Power? That’s what you anarchist types are always after. Anything can be yours if you get us out of here. I promise we shall be more useful than any backwater street rat we picked up for this failure of an expedition.”

“I want revenge.” A mad grin grew on Jane’s face as she raised her hand towards Rook, the flame flickering not just on her palm but in her eyes.

“You foolish wench! Do not try something so idiotic, the others are still under my Contract. Protect me now!”

At once, Charlie, Henry, Mollie, Derek, and Topher all aimed their guns at Jane, who scoffed. “Oh? I thought you could offer me anything? Afraid to suffer and die? But you weren’t so compassionate about everyone else you took down… do you even remember their Names?”

“Oh, quiet down, you morally obsessed self-victimizer! We were defending ourselves against the likes of you. The actions of the Choir put many working families at risk. Do you know the Names of those who have suffered because you stole their shipments? Or those who suffered because you ruined their jobs? Have you no shame?!”

“You’re right, I don’t know their Names. But I do know the Names of those I helped, of those I saved, and those that you killed. You have done nothing but ensure that people are stable because of Epithet, that you’re the only ones keeping the world safe and sound, and that it’s all just a small price to pay.”

Jane narrowed her eyes, and Rook felt as if she were staring deep into his soul. “I’ve seen the price- I’ve paid for it too. It’s the steepest I’ve ever paid, and I’ll make sure no one else pays for it.”