The Longest Night

Eastauf crouched in the shadow of a chimney, staring at the towering wall. The sun was almost set, and the only light was a glimmer of deep purple behind the Castle of the Order. Both the Castle and the Imperial Palace faced each other from opposite sides of the city. Like two warriors that were about to do battle. Nothing stood between them, except for the homes of the minor nobility. She had to find a way into the palace without any of the guards seeing, but she couldn't see any. She could only see the polished helms of the guards on the parapet glowing in the twilight.

As she thought of a way past them, a cold wind blew, sending a chill up her spine. The assignment had sat like a weight on her chest ever since receiving it. As an apprentice, she had been training under Magister Vankoor for roughly ten years, but Eastauf thought she was ready to strike off on her own. She was eager to show Vankoor, the Grand Magister, the whole order what she was capable of. That was until this assignment. Now she wasn’t so sure. She would give anything to go back to training under Vankoor. She would gladly do whatever trial Vankoor had cooked up. She was well-known for creating sadistic trials, which was odd considering how personable she was.

In the street below her, a lamplighter finished with the last of the streetlamps. They bathed the cobblestone street in a sickly, yellowish-orange glow. Then, she saw it. Eastauf wasn’t sure how she had missed it, but near the corner of the wall was a massive oak tree. The trunk was on one of the only strips of land next to the wall on this side of the palace. And its canopy stretched over the wall enough for her to make it over unseen.

Eastauf crept to the edge of the roof, sticking to the shadows, and jumped to the roof of the next building. She repeated the process until she was across the river from the tree. Eastauf closed her eyes and swept any stray thoughts from her mind and jumped. Eastauf concentrated on slowing her descent, and she felt the weight of her body lighten. Her feet lighted upon the soft grass near the tree, and she opened her eyes.

She shimmied up the tree until she was near the branch overhanging the wall. She scanned the parapet to either side of the branch, making sure the way was clear. Then, she focused her thoughts and dashed across the branch. Despite having her full weight on the branch, it did not move. At the edge of the branch, she dropped down to the parapet below, took a step, but froze.

Below were two guards standing in front of what she had thought was a shed. Her concentration broke for a split second as she stepped onto the parapet. But it was enough time for the full weight of her foot to knock a large stone loose. The stone bounced off the roof of the shed and clanged against one of the guards’ helmets. He staggered, as the other turned and made eye contact with Eastauf as she stood frozen at the edge of the parapet.

Eastauf leaped, clearing the short, narrow structure. In midair, she outstretched her right arm. Orange pinpoints of light swirled around her fist. Before the guard had a chance to react, a silver sword materialized from the light. It gleamed with the telltale glow of an Adept’s conjured weapon. She swiped the sword down in a vertical arc as she hit the ground, knocking the guard back. In a fluid motion, Eastauf launched her sword at the second guard who was beginning to gain back his senses. As the blade flew, it transformed into a bolt of orange light. It struck the second guard’s chest, and knocked them over.

“Who’s down there?” One of the guards on the parapet shouted. Eastauf heard a clinking sound from his jostling equipment as he ran. Eastauf grabbed one of the guards by his armor straps and threw the body into the shadows under the parapet. Then, she ran over to the other body and dragged it with her into the shadow of the wall.

She sat down in the darkness while the guard overhead searched the area that she was just in. She leaned her back against the cold stones and wiped away the sheen of sweat on her forehead. She closed her eyes for a second. There’s no going back now.

“Apprentice!” Eastauf heard Magister Vankoor call out to her from behind, an edge to her usually cheery voice. Eastauf stopped and turned toward her master.

"Good morning, Magister," Eastauf said, smiling, as she turned toward her mentor. In the distance, she saw Magister Vankoor a few feet down the walkway. She wore silver-trimmed black robes that were much too large for her. They hung well below her ankles, mere inches from dragging on the ground. She had her brown hair pulled back into a bun. Errant wisps of hair flailed around her head as she hurried towards Eastauf. Vankoor had been her trainer for about ten years now. Ever since Eastauf had completed initiate training. She had been a fifteen-year-old child; the youngest of one of the most powerful families in the empire. Her father was a member of the Council of the Nobles, comprised of members from all the noble families in the empire. He had pulled some strings for the Order to admit Eastauf five years earlier than was typical. As such, Eastauf felt like she had to always prove her worth to the other initiates, and the Magisters alike. But she never felt like she had to with Vankoor.

Eastauf was about to ask how she was faring this morning when Vankoor interrupted her. “Come with me, immediately,” Vankoor said, directing Eastauf to follow.

Eastauf shuddered at Vankoor's curt tone. "Is everything alright, Magister? Did I do something wrong?" What could it be? She had accomplished every task she assigned to her. She wracked her brain in the endless moments that it took for Vankoor to respond.

“No, er yes, er—,” Vankoor stammered, struggling to find the words to say. “Come with me, and I will tell you what I know.”

Eastauf followed Vankoor back through the garden. Stone walkways bisected the grounds in front of the main keep. At each intersection, a statue stood commemorating a great figure from the Order's history. They passed a statue depicting Vertorem, the goddess responsible for all creation. She was emerging from the light, holding her staff high above her.

Eastauf and Vankoor passed through the open portcullis in the interior wall and toward the steps of the main keep. The main keep was one of the tallest buildings in the city of Arcaedis, second only to the Emperor's palace. The original architects had constructed the interior wall and the keep of the same slate gray stones. But later architects had covered those stones with a facade of gleaming white marble.

"I'm sure I piqued your curiosity, so I will do you the courtesy of briefing you while we walk," Vankoor said. The two entered the keep and walked through the keep's foyer. The clicking of their boots hitting the tiled floor echoed off the stone walls. Vankoor set an easier pace for Eastauf as they entered a corridor typically off-limits for apprentices.

“The Grand Magister has summoned you,” Vankoor said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“F-for what?” She replied, choking on the words.

Vankoor continued cutting her off, “He has a special mission for you. If you complete it, he will grant you the title of Magister.”

Eastauf’s knees wavered, feeling as if they may give out at any second. “That, that’s amazing!” She exclaimed, but she did not see the same excitement in Vankoor’s eyes. Her eyes, with irises the same rich black color as coal, were wide, the whites streaked with red blood vessels. Her usually smiling mouth was bent in a frown.

"Normally, I would share your enthusiasm, Apprentice, but, in this instance, I only feel worried. I do not know what the Great Magister has in store for you, and to be honest, I worry a great deal for your well-being. I-," Vankoor paused as the two arrived at the end of the corridor. Her eyes looked to the statue of Ademan standing at the end of the corridor. It was as if she was beseeching the founder of the Order for words of wisdom. "Remember what I have taught you." Vankoor placed her hand on Eastauf's arm. Feelings of warmth radiated through her body from the touch. Vankoor looked into Eastauf's sea-green eyes. "Eastauf, you are the greatest of all the apprentices that I have taught. I know you will succeed, despite my apprehension. Be safe, and the next time I see you, I will greet you as an equal."

“Thank you, Magister,” Eastauf replied, feeling tears forming in her eyes. The two shared a quick embrace, and Vankoor waved her hand. The statue shifted to the right, revealing a narrow staircase that lead up to one of the castle’s spires.

“Hurry, apprentice. The Grand Magister awaits.”

Eastauf applied gentle pressure to the ancient wooden door, and it swung open. She emerged from the dank tunnel that the Grand Master had shown her on the map of the palace grounds. The tunned had led to a cellar beneath the palace’s servant area. It had taken a few moments to regain her concentration. Her mind dwelled on the thoughts of the hapless guards she had killed. Did they leave behind family, partners, children? She told herself that she would have time to dwell on that after she completed her mission. Yet, the guilt was still there, lurking in the dark recesses of her consciousness.

She looked for signs of guards or anyone who would give away her presence. The last thing she wanted was to kill anyone else, especially one of the palace servants. At least she could cling to the fraying string of logic that the guards were in a dangerous profession. Such duties put them at risk of premature death, especially under a brutal tyrant. Yet these thoughts did little to assuage her sorrow at having to murder them. But the servants would not have any such risk. At least not from her.

She crept toward a set of rickety wooden stairs leading up to the surface. Focusing her mind, she felt her weight decrease and ascended the stairs. She reached the landing and opened the door which led to another darkened room filled with foodstuffs. Still no signs of servants or staff. It was late enough that they had prepared the last meal of the day and left.

She moved through the larder and the tomb-like silence of the kitchen. The dining room and corridor to the back staircase to the emperor’s residence were as deserted as the other areas of the palace. She expected the servants' area to be empty, but wouldn’t there be at least one guard patrolling this area? Anyone who was able to make it into the palace could have no problems making it to the Emperor undetected. Meaning that she was probably walking into a trap.

Eastauf entered the chamber. The few candles burning in the room did little to dissipate the shadows along the edges of the room. She felt a dull ache of anxiety in the pit of her stomach.

Emperor Martinius III of House Durand stood in front of a massive window looking out onto the city below. He was tall and gaunt. His maroon robes, trimmed in gold and silver, hung off him. Long, thin strands of white hair hung from his head. A strange, blue haze appeared to surround him as if his body emanated it.

"Eastauf, daughter of Ramdel, Duke of Haramar." His voice was low and deep, and it sounded as if many people were speaking in unison.

Eastauf froze at the sound of her father’s name and title. Images of her family raced through her mind. Her mother, her father, siblings, nieces, nephews. A sinking feeling washed over her, fear gnawed at her. But it was not for hersel; it was for her family. How does he know me?

The Emperor turned around. His long robes hung all the way to the floor, giving the illusion that he was floating. When she saw his face, she knew why he was glowing. His skin was almost translucent and had blue veins running beneath it. But they weren’t veins. It looked like…energy…coursing through his body, causing his skin to pulse. His eyes were bright blue, instead of the brown in his many portraits hanging in the palace. And they glowed and appearing to be smoky as dust floated through the faint light.

“I know why you’re here, Eastauf. That old fool, Nikido, sent you to kill us. Probably mentioned something about how we’ll destroy the Order. Is that correct?”

Eastauf remained silent, still frozen in place by the fear and bewilderment of the situation.

“Well, it turns out he’s right. I will destroy the Order, someday. But not today. In the meantime, I have a proposition for you. One that is better than anything Nikido could ever offer." Martinius, or whatever this was, floated closer to Eastauf. She could smell the odor of rot wafting off him. Corruption, like a corpse that had come back to life. "Join us," he smiled, a wide, toothless grin that allowed more of the blue, smoky energy to escape.

The light mesmerized yet repulsed Eastauf. However, she fought the urge to run away. To escape and protect her family. But she also wanted to find the source of the light…

Eastauf took a step forward. Martinius’s smile grew broader the closer he got to her. She extended her hand towards him, feeling the intense desire to bathe herself in the blue light. To feel it envelop her. To feel it coursing through her body.

Eastauf focused and blasted the Emperor's frail-looking frame with a deluge of orange light. She hoped she caught him off guard enough to end the fight before it even started. To her horror, the energy passed through him and disintegrated the window and wall behind him.

“Pity you resisted,” Martinius intoned. “It could have gone much easier. Detain her.”

The shadows came alive as a dozen warriors leaped from the shadows. Each brandished a silver sword, which radiated a hazy blue light. Eastauf conjured a short sword in each hand and attacked the closest group. Her swords were a blur of orange energy as she sliced her way through the warriors. She moved like a blade of grass in the wind as she dodged and parried their strikes. One warrior stabbed in her direction, while another leaped, intending to hack down upon her. Eastauf dodged the stab and the stabber's legs out from under them as she pivoted behind the one who had jumped. She raked one of her swords across their back, while parrying a blow coming from another attacker.

These warriors were Adepts, and well-trained ones at that. Yet none of them seemed to be trying to land killing blows. Presumably to incapacitate her so the Emperor could do whatever horrible thing he had planned.

She fought off the second group, but more appeared from thin air. As soon as she killed one, three more would take their place. Eastauf grimaced as one of the warriors cut into her leg. It was only a superficial wound, but it was enough to make her focus slip. She blocked an attack from one of the three warriors in front of her when she felt a burning sensation in her side. Her swords disappeared, and she dropped to one knee as her injured leg could no longer support her weight. The pain in her abdomen was excruciating but not life-threatening.

Warriors on both sides of her grabbed her arms, and a third came from behind to hold her head and torso still. Eastauf tried to wriggle free, but it was of no use. The warriors securing had superhuman strength, and Eastauf was paralyzed with pain and exhaustion. Martinius glided so close to her that she could smell the corruption his body effused. "This vessel has outlived its usefulness, as you can see." He held one of his hands, and she could see cracks in his skin allowing more of the strange, blue energy to escape. "But your body should be strong enough to contain our essence." Martinius placed his hands on either side of Eastauf's head. His hands were cold and sapped the heat from her body. Strange visions flooded into her mind. The room melted away, replaced by an aerial view of a primitive village.

The village was made up of log buildings with thatched roofs. People of all genders moved between the houses. They wore clothes made of animal hides. Some wielded spears made of wooden shafts and stone points. They spoke to one another in a foreign language, but she understood every word. A blue light flashed on the horizon, and everyone looked up from what they were doing. The light roared across the ground, causing the people to writhe in pain as it engulfed them. Above the horizon, she saw a beam of light that looked like a silhouette of someone with feminine features. The person raised a staff into the air and another burst of blue light exploded from the end. Her vision flashed white, and she was back in the palace.

Eastauf stopped fighting as the image faded. The warriors let go of her, and she fell to the floor. “I accept,” she whispered. A mixture of rage from the vision and admiration for the beauty of the light roiled within her. The emperor smiled, and blue smoke poured out from his mouth, curling around the corners. The top of his head folded back until it touched the back of his neck, and the emperor’s body fell to the floor, leaving only a blue mass of energy. The light entranced her as it emitted more columns of smoky light. Her gaze fixated on a point in the mass. She thought she could see a face inside of it as it penetrated her body. The energy burned as it coursed through her. Her head felt like it would explode as the memories of dozens of people rushed in. Then, she understood completely why she must destroy the Children of Vertorem.

“Quickly, the Emperor is in grave danger!” Nikido shouted as he hobbled across the foyer. Imperial guards and black-clad Magisters streamed past him and up the main staircase to the Emperor’s rooms. One Adept ripped the locked door to the residence off its hinges and tossed it aside.

For decades, Nikido had been grappling with the problem of what to do about Martinius. Contacts within the palace had provided all manner of stories. Inquisitors pulled people from the streets and took them to the palace, never to be seen alive again. One source said she saw guards piling corpses onto a barge docked behind the castle. She said that the bodies looked as if it had been hollowed out, leaving only the skin. Nikido wanted to put a stop to this madness, but he felt powerless. Until a year ago when he received a message to meet someone in the dead of night.

The stranger had told Nikido to send his youngest and most powerful Adept to the palace to kill the Emperor. Once the emperor was disposed of, the stranger had a ruler waiting in the wings. One who was more considerate towards the needs of Adepts and the Order. And far less brutal. Nikido could blame the assassination on a rogue apprentice and have them executed. And in what way does this benefit you? Nikido had asked but got no response. The owner of the mysterious voice had vanished. Nikido had thought about this proposition for a long while. He wasn’t sure he could live with the decision to sacrifice one of his young Adepts. Especially with no guarantee that the stranger could, or would, follow through. But Nikido had to stop Martinius’s reign of terror, and he had no other alternatives.

“I will go first,” Nikido bellowed, approaching the entrance. Nikido crossed the threshold and shouted, “Apprentice Eastauf, you are under--.”

The Emperor’s body was lying in a heap in the center of the room. It appeared to have been…hollowed out. Eastauf stood behind the body and in front of a gaping hole in the wall. She looked uninjured, but there was something strange about her. She had a smirk on her face, and her blue eyes appeared to be glowing. I don’t remember her having such striking eyes.

"Grand Magister," she said, her voice eerie as if many people were speaking in unison. "We are glad to see you."

We? He thought as he gestured for the guards and Adepts to join him. "Eastauf, you are under arrest for the murder of His Imperial Majesty, Martinius the Third!"

“Will you be remanding me yourself, Nikido?”

Nikido turned to look behind him, but no one was there. There had been at least a dozen guards and half as many Adepts on the other side of the door. Yet, their lifeless corpses littered the hallway.

“Wh—what foul manner of sorcery is this?” Nikido asked. He stumbled backward, lost his footing, and fell to the floor. He heard a popping sound and felt excruciating pain radiating from his hip.

“We should thank you for this body, Nikido. It was a great choice,” Eastauf said, holding her hands out in front of her to inspect the palms and turning them over to do the same with the back of her hands.

“W-who are you?” Nikido said aloud, his voice quivering in fear.

“I am the one who will cleanse this world of your filthy existence, as you and your deity had once done to my people eons ago.”

“What people?” Nikido asked, unsure of what Eastauf, or whatever she was now, was saying. Is this why Martinius had turned into a bloodthirsty monster?

“Unfortunately, you will never discover that, Grand Magister. But the rest of the world will soon find out.” Eastauf walked past him and exited the room. Nikido let out a sigh of relief. As he did, Eastauf turned to face him. “Kill him and burn the palace to the ground. Leave enough evidence to make it look like the Order was responsible.”

The last thing Nikido saw was Eastauf turning away from him. As she moved, a strange, blue glow seemed to emanate from her body. He felt the burning sensation of a conjured weapon run through his back and chest. As his life drained from his body, his last thought was of how beautiful the light appeared.