The sun smiled down upon the world of Eldrin, flaunting its luminous brilliance across the seven continents below for all to see. Its rays blazed a path through the soft clouds that rolled along lazily throughout the day, streaming down to find their way to the lands of Kanden, and surging across the rocky badlands until they came upon the swathe of green that surrounded the sprawling port city of Wulfdonria. As they came to their destination, they sang a ballad of glee to all those who would look upon their brilliance. These were the cascades of spring that heralded the coming of new life. Under these beams of sunlight, a story began to unfold.

The people of the city were ignorant of the daylight's blessing. They hid beneath the brims of hats and the cowls of cloaks, shielding themselves from the sweltering heat in any way they could. Some chose to conduct their business in dark alleyways, but most entangled themselves within the larger crowd out in the open, flocking towards the ships swaying in the turquoise waters as each person went about their day mechanically.

Amidst the buzzing throng of bodies, a woman moved through with a slight limp to her gait. A tall figure, she walked with her hood clutched tightly over a head bearing coarse tangles of unkempt hair, making sure to hide her scar lined face from any who would happen to look in her direction.

Underneath her cloak, she hid the garbs of an ashah. The twelve-pillar pendant of the Faith swung beneath her shirt, tapping against her chest in tune with her long strides. Though she hid her true nature well, anyone who got close enough could see her mixed heritage. The Ridonian blood of her mother's side did little to mask the strong Asruelian features she'd inherited from the father she'd never met.

That was just one of the ashah's many unique qualities. The amber skin of her left hand was marked with yellowed tattoos shaped into strange symbols, worn rough by her years of training and the many adventures she'd endured. She was still a younger woman, but she moved with the heaviness of a person whose bones were weighted by the burdens of a hard life.

Then there were her eyes. Even beneath the shadows of her hood, unnaturally serpentine eyes gleamed with an unnatural luster of gold that could only be accomplished by arcane means. The woman's pupils traced their way through the flowing stream of bodies, following a path that only one such as her could see. She picked her way through the mob, reflecting on how long it had been since she'd last walked these streets. To her, it almost seemed a lifetime ago.

Wulfdonria was a rapidly changing place, even for somewhere like the continent of Kanden. In times long gone, the city had been an establishment of the Faith, existing under holy law and operating accordingly. Of course, in those times the Faith of the Twelve-Enlightened had been more of a glorified inquisition than a religious institution.

The towering shadow of Ironhold prison loomed in the distance as a reminder of that era, its crumbling spires still rising higher than any structure around it. Once it stood as an emblem of the Faith's unquestionable rule, but that too had decayed when the people made their declaration of independence, bringing an end to the religious oppression and kicking the Faith from their doorstep. Still, even two hundred years later, servants of the Faith weren't usually welcomed, so the servant of the twelve found herself alone on her journey.

Nearing her destination, the ashah veered away from the noise filled cluster of the trade square. She made her way down a dark alley towards a rickety sign marking an indiscriminate doorway as the entrance to a tavern. She stopped with her hand on the door, taking a moment to release the clasp that secured the double-edged sword at her hip in place.

She opened the door slowly, rusted hinges squealing out a long announcement as she made her entry. The conversation of the few huddled patrons died immediately as her footfalls echoed throughout the room. She took a momentary glance at the tavern's only inhabitants; Five haunted looking men circled around a table.

The ashah only looked at them for an instant, but it was long enough to catch sight of what she was searching for. They passed around a bag filled with powder that made their eyes redden as they sniffed it. Chips were arranged on a Queen's Tower board, though they'd lost all interest in the game. On each of their chests was the same marking that she knew she'd find in this place. It was nothing more than the simple image of a pillar broken off at the base, but to those who understood its meaning, it symbolized so much more.

To her, it stood for everything that she hated in this world. The broken pillar was the mark of heretics and criminals. the Faith held them responsible for spreading vile rhetoric and turning the ears of the faithful away from the wisdom of the Twelve Enlightened Ones. The ashah cared nothing about that though. Even though it was her duty as a servant of the Faith to hunt down the evils of Eldrin, her interest in these men stemmed from a more personal matter.

She looked from the scraggly group hunched over their drinks, to the person standing behind the bar. This she found to be an even more curious sight. Instead of the gruff middle-aged man she expected to find running every tavern, there was an unkempt girl who was likely too young to drink herself, much less attend to others.

"Looking for a brew?" the girl asked warily, her hands roaming the depths of a mug with a cleaning cloth.

The ashah looked down at the thin girl, reaching into her shirt to pull out her chain. She watched as the server's eyes widened in recognition as they met the symbol of the Faith's protectors.

"I'm looking for a person," she said flatly.

The serving girl's eyes flickered over to the shoddy looking men. The ashah could see the silent signal in them. Even more, she could feel the harmful intent in the air build until it was thick enough to cut.

Chairs scraped behind her as the patrons rose to their feet. The tension in the room spiked instantaneously. The ashah found herself all alone, surrounded by enemies, but there was no measure of unease within her. Just as she could feel the maliciousness of these people, she could sense the other emotion that battled within them. It was a pure unabashed fear directed solely at her, and it was well warranted.

"Your friends here would be wise to leave this conversation between two women a private one," the ashah said with a twinge of hoarseness to her voice as she raised a calloused hand.

A soft yellow light danced on her fingertips and slowly grew into a burning flame of arcane power for all to witness. To others, this sight would have surely been a spectacle to behold, but in the eyes of her current company, it was the most dreaded display that they could have the misfortune of observing.

Any in their line of work would know what they were seeing. They'd all heard of the golden flames that could consume the souls of the wicked while doing no harm to the woman from whence they were born. They knew that she carried a sword of starsilver that had cut through the hearts of the most heinous of the Faith's enemies. They'd all heard of the phantom who hunted down heretics no matter how infamous their reputation or how far they fled.

"Who are you?" the server whispered, her ignorance making it clear to the ashah that the that the girl wasn't as close to the heretics as she'd initially thought.

The nervous quiver in the girl's voice tugged at the corners of the ashah's mouth, almost betraying her grim expression with a smile. "I'm just a woman who appreciates fine wines and not being interrupted by unwanted company," she said, making sure to add a sinister undertone to her words. "Now, I suggest your companions run along while you and I have a little chat."

She turned to face the men, smelling the strong scent of piss wafting from one of them. "No doubt they'll want to scamper and tell their mistress of my arrival?" she suggested, letting the smirk she'd been suppressing finally show on her face. "I've been looking forward to my little reunion with Helena for a good deal of time now."

The men looked at each other, each of them as unsure as the last before they turned and stumbled their way through the door. The ashah stifled a chuckle as she watched them scramble away. They'd be returning soon enough, no doubt in greater numbers, but by then she would hopefully have the answers she needed.

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