2:00 PM | Docks of Rhinestone | Kingdom of Rhinestone

“Tania, fetch me the water!” cried Tania’s father.

She cranked the pulley handle clockwise and pulled the bucket up from the side of the dock. She struggled to untie it off the rope, but managed to get the bucket full of water and brought it to her father.

“You must learn the ways of the fishermen. We need this water to keep the fish fresh and alive until they’re bought. Soon I will have to teach you how to fish, young one.” Tania’s father told her.

Tania looked up at her father’s face, a gentle face worn down by the day sun and a hard life. It was the face that gave her hope and strength. Having lost his wife to childbirth, he had tried his best to be both her father and her mother. This was the face that loved her unconditionally, the face that cried with her and laughed with her. The face, unbeknownst to her, which she would see alive for the final time.

“RAIDER SHIPS BOARDING! HEAD TO COVER!” announced a guard.

“Tania! Go, hide inside a barrel. Whatever you do, do not come out!”

Tania ran behind a wooden structure and slipped into a barrel, trying to gaze through a tiny hole on its side. The raiders raised a plank and dropped onto the dock, scourging anything they could find. Soon, they overran Tania’s father and his small market of fish.

“Leave!” Tania’s father said as he waved his dagger around, threatening the raider men. “I shall not give you my fish!”

“We are not asking for it, we are taking it! The best thing about raiders is that we do not tolerate people who speak against us. Kill him!!” bellowed the leader.

Tania watched as the raiders slowly surrounded her father, closing in to leave him no room to run. She couldn’t handle watching her father die, so she stumbled out of the barrel and darted towards them.

“Don’t hurt my father!”

4:00 AM | Rhinestone Shore | Kingdom of Rhinestone

The sound of hooves echoed through the night. Metal clanked up and down as the knights rode across the beach. The stars in the night sky glowed rather bright.

“What is it?” pondered a knight.

Two knights stopped at the beach with lanterns held up to the shore. A figure lay on the sand.

“I think it is a human, probably a raider washed up on shore.”

“I have never seen a female raider. Are you sure?” asked the knight, puzzled.

“Well even if it isn’t, it has nothing to do with us. Let’s just continue the patrol.”

The knights started to ride away, until a sudden crossbow bolt came soaring through the air, impaling one of the knights.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

A black figure appeared out of the darkness.

“Well, here I am. Any last words?” asked the figure with a smirk.

The knight was in shock with what he had just seen. No words came out of his mouth. He had no place left to flee. The figure aligned its crossbow with the knight’s head. Its finger moved to the trigger and shot. A flock of vultures appeared. The sound of raspy, drawn-out hissing sounds filled the air. The noise, so loud yet so quiet.

“Feast,” the figure said.

The figure’s eye caught a body on the shore and hastily started to walk towards it.

“A young one, perfect for the Spearow. I might just have found someone worthy of the battle. Off we go then,” the figure said, as she shot her crossbow into the sky and disappeared with the body.

6:00 PM | Spearow Hidden Village | Kingdom of Tarsingston

“Where am I?” asked Tania.

“Oh, you are awake.”

Tania looked around, muddled from her recent experience.

“You have forgotten some things haven’t you, perhaps some descriptions will help spark your memory?”

“What do you mean by this?” Tania asked, still staggered and confused.

Suddenly, A flash of images surged into her brain, as she pictures a bunch of memories of her past life. In the end, there was a clear picture of a vulture over her dead body.

I am… dead? But how, the last thing I remember was sprinting towards the raider and hearing splashing noises. A vulture? What does this have to do with me? Am I really dead, Tania thought.

“No, you are not dead. At least not anymore. You see, I am a member of the Spearow. An assassination cult you can say, but we can be anything you imagine us to be. I know you are confused and most likely tired. We can talk later. For now, you should rest, training starts at dawn.”

Tania just sat and glared at the woman. Her face had no emotion at all, just a blank look and wide eyes. Almost as if she had a veil over her thoughts. She was soulless, and that could be taken literally. As the woman was leaving, Tania seemed to regain her consciousness and called out.

“Wait.”

The woman looked back, reading Tania’s mind and acknowledging her request. She reached for her hood and folded it back, uncovering a pretty woman with the same, soulless look. However, she had emotion to it, a small glimpse of a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

“I am Morana. I was once a young girl who came from a wealthy and royal family. I was next in line for the throne. I died by poison, but I was told later that it was on purpose. I was brought down to the Spearow after my death and started my training, there being when I got introduced to an event called The Battle of the Spearow. The Spearow Headmasters have a battle for the throne, as there is only one spot for a ruler. I started to train day and night, never taking time out to rest. I should not be boasting, but it is well known that I am the greatest crossbow wielder of all time. It is my signature weapon, something that we all get at one point during life or even after death. This tournament is where we choose the next Black Saint. The Black Saint is one of the most powerful roles given to a person. You hold the greatest power, as you are the commander of the Spearow. You have to find your fighter, which is why I have chosen you to be my acquaintance. I will train you until you are ready. Do you wish to wield a certain weapon?” Morana explained.

“You wield a crossbow, right? I like the sound of that, so let me use a crossbow like you.”

“One of the hardest weapons to master, but I accept your decision. Now rest, nobody said this isn’t going to be a grueling experience,” Morana said.

“Wait, one last thing. What happened to me?” Tania asked.

“Oh, yes of course. You were thrown off a dock and drowned. You washed up on the shore, dead. We are all dead here. But, through the process of the ritual, we are brought back to life to serve the Spearow. If you look in the mirror, you have a vulture symbol on your back. Given by the ritual for many reasons, one of which is to pledge your allegiance to us. Back to your death, however, I sensed you and came to get you. Some knights got in my way, but as if that matters for a Spearow,” chuckled Morana.

“What do you mean by ‘as if it matters’?” Tania asked, puzzled.

“Oh, you don’t know. Well, we cannot get hurt. The worst that could happen to us is to get all of our limbs chopped off where we cannot do anything. Like I had stated earlier, we cannot die but our body is still normal. Some Spearow members do have the ability to kill other Spearow members, however, there is a weapon. A weapon that used to be wielded by Uthgar that has the power to kill us.”

“Who is Uthgar?”

“Well, Uthgar was the greatest warrior of all of Tarsingston. Some argue he could

easily be the strongest warrior of all time. He could take out armies on his own. I suppose you have heard of the Crystal Of Chaos?” Morana asked.

“Yes, I have, why?”

“Well, Tarsingston traded Uthgar for the stone in need of power. However, even with the power of the stone, they could not activate it. They needed great magic to use it. That magic is only being wielded by the leader of the Spearow. But Uthgar knew of this and hunted the leader of the Spearow beforehand. Once Uthgar slew the leader, the Spearow were gone forever. Well, at least that’s what the stories say and what everyone thinks. We live in the shadows, still making unnoticeable assassinations around the kingdom. This is not important anymore, this is all the past. Our current leader, Flako, wants the crystal of power from the vault of the king. He has sent many people to go fetch it for him, but none have prevailed. Anyways, I am not taking any more questions from you. Go to bed, and I shall wake you at dawn. Now good night.” Morana blew out the lights and shutting the stone doors.

4:55 AM | Spearow Hidden Village | Kingdom of Rhinestone

Tania woke up early from the chime of bells. She slept on a stone with leaves to sustain the warmth. It was too dark for her to see, but the sudden flare of a torch gave light to the room, uncovering Morana leaning against the wall.

“I see nothing wrong with waking up early. Come now, let me give you a tour.”

Tania got up, still in the same clothes as the day before. They were dirty and ripped, but Tania was used to them from her meager upbringing. When she got up, she felt light. She could move fast like nothing was weighing her down.

“Thoughts?” Morana asked.

“Huh?” Tania responded, looking up at Morana.

“Well, how do you feel? Go ahead and test your new power,” Morana cried, giving Tania a nudge.

“What power?” Tania asked.

“Every member of the Spearow is special in their own way. You are light, meaning that you are fast and perfectly built for an assassin,” Morana explained.
“Woah, that’s cool! Let’s keep going!”

“Don’t get too excited. Come, follow me,” Morana stated, instigating Tania.

Tania skipped through hallways upon hallways, the place being exceedingly large, considering it’s underground. Tania did not feel tired or sleepy, even though she had been skipping for around an hour.

“Well, here we are,” Morana said, walking through the door and revealing a colossal training arena.

“Wow, this is massive. How many people is this supposed to train?” Tania wondered.

“Just one, this is your special private arena. We have close to 40 for every person in the Spearow. You chose a crossbow, so let us go to the arena, shall we?”
Morana led Tania to the crossbow training area of the arena. There were targets and bolts everywhere, a never-ending chain of supplies.

“Here we are, let me teach you the basics. You are young, how old?”

“I am 11, but I am mature enough. Coming from my household, I was in charge of a lot of things and luckily got exposed to things which made me grow up very fast,” Tania explained.

“Wow, you might just be better than the others. I see something in you, I cannot wait for the day to come when your power exceeds mine.”

EIGHT YEARS LATER

“Good morning! C’mon guys, wake up! We have our first assassination mission today!”

“Shut it Tania,” Morana said.

“Oh come on, it’s exciting!” Tania yelled.

“Quiet down Tania. There are still a couple of hours until we go. Let us sleep,” Ratchel said.

“Fine, but you better be up!” Tania said, skipping out of the room.

“Ugh, she’s too excited about this. Such a serious mission and she is so jumpy,” Morana sighed.

3:00 AM | Outskirts of Castle Efran | Kingdom Of Tarsingston

“This man has committed treason, and must pay for his sins! Any last words?” asked the priest.

Tania was just passing by while jumping from roof to roof to head to the target when she overheard some noises coming from below.

“Yes, your majesty,” he mocked as he spat blood onto the priest’s face.

“I will one day watch you die, slowly.”

“Burn him at once!” commanded the priest.

Suddenly, a massive fire ignited and smoke filled the area.

What is going on down there, Tania thought.

She moved closer to the area and caught a glimpse of a boy running into a corner that she was near.

“Wait, is that Wallace?”

She jumped down and hid nearby in the shadows. She peeked over the corner and saw Wallace over some random man, about to plunge him with a knife.

“Stop!”

The front end of the blade stopped a margin away from the man’s face.

“Step away, or else you die,” Tania stated.

“Hmph, I doubt you could shoot faster than I can swing,” Wallace replied, while he edged the knife closer to the man’s face.

“I would not test it, Wallace.”