A shadow crept through the streets. Sometimes with the appearance of a man, then dissolving half or completely into nothingness. After his confrontation with the black-clad female, Shin had been scouting around the city, checking how the invasion -which he could now say for sure it was- was progressing on both sides. The numb feeling in his wrist had subdued and he had applied a makeshift bandage on his side to stop the bleeding, leaving only a faint feeling of pain. To prevent a second unwelcome confrontation, he had remained invisible most of the time. However, he had switched to using his environment as a cover instead, since his skills demanded his constant concentration and took their toll on his energy as well. He ran fast, silently and in a slightly crouched fashion, using the shadows as well as his dark clothing and the overall unnatural darkness to his advantage. He avoided the main roads, to make sure he wouldn’t be struck by a lost arrow or run into too many people. Being invisible after all, isn’t all that effective in a crowd where people are able to feel you. Besides, he knew the alleys rather well so he wouldn’t have to worry about losing his way. He sprinted through the small alleys of Amaryth in the direction of the docks, where most foreign soldiers and free citizens were apparently going. Meanwhile, his mind was just as active as his body, analyzing his findings thus far.
The invasion troops had secured all of the outer city with the possible exception of the harbor, which was the only part of the city Shin hadn’t checked upon yet. The foreign troops were currently starting their first attack on the inner city where most surviving Othean troops had ensconced themselves. As here and there torches were ignited, the whole city slowly started to brighten in order to fend off the anomalous darkness, slightly diminishing the advantage of surprise which the elite troops had possessed thus far. This elite force of black-clad women had spread across the city and seemed to only be chasing certain targets. Their primary weapon was the sovnya, but they also made use of swords and several knives or daggers, he wasn't sure about the exact number as of yet. A very odd aspect of the whole conquest was that none of the invasion troops seemed to be raiding the parts of the city which they had conquered. He had studied and seen several professional armies in action and most of them still pillaged the cities they attacked. If they didn't live off of the spoils they gathered during raids, that meant they were remarkably content with their wages. A second striking aspect of this invasion was that in the last few hours, Shin had only occasionally stumbled upon skirmishes, mostly between guards and the foreign troops. The normal citizens were apparently taken to the city’s outskirts where they were most likely confined, or guarded if you will, without any bloodshed. These actions testified of a very strong discipline among the troops as well as a strange sense of kindness -or meekness- among the foreign troops in Shin's perception. But why?
His pondering was interrupted by an outcry and the clattering sounds of battle only a few streets away from him. Shin quickly shrouded himself in shadows and even put in some extra effort to make himself utterly invisible, despite the dim light which was spread by the torches not too far away from him and the rapidly unfolding scène.
The fight he had stumbled upon this time was between two of the elite black-clad women and a third woman. The latter, who wasn't clad in black, was obviously an Oragossi and used a weapon strikingly similar to that of the other women. The black-clads were facing the other end of the alley and even if he hadn't been shrouded, they wouldn't have noticed his sudden emergence. The fight appeared to have only just started and Shin watched from the shadows, intrigued by the deadly dance the three were performing.
The Oragossi was obviously being pushed back into a defensive fighting style. Her two opponents were faster than her, but she still managed to deflect their sovnyas with her glaive and employ swift footwork to evade the hits which were aimed primarily at her legs. Their sovynas seemed to turn into a blur as they rapidly pulled back and lunged again, only to be deflected and pushed aside. The Oragossi on the other hand wasn't able to land a single blow on her attackers and her defence wasn't completely impervious. As she was deflecting a lunge from the left, the rightmost black-clad managed to land a hit on her lower leg. Once.. Twice... It was, however, not enough to bring her to her knees, she was still standing, with a look of anger and fierce beauty plastered onto her face. As time went by, fatigue and an increasing fury started taking their toll on the Oragossi. Where the black-clads only slowed down a bit in their speed, she had to endure more and more hits, mainly on her shoulders and legs, as fatigue and apparent anger were weakening her defenses. At some point it seemed as though she was giving in to either one and there was no doubt that she'd be overwhelmed by her foes.
Or at least she would have been, but this was the moment that Shin decided to do something out of character. He had watched the fight with the cold sentiment of a spectator watching a play. However, at some point he had unconsciously started to clutch the hilt of his twin swords. He could turn the tables and save this woman's life or he could remain silent, do nothing and watch the foreign woman's life drain from her eyes. Shin knew he was more than capable of doing the latter. Had he, after all, not done the exact same thing not even a few hours ago as he had watched Yeong-An die? But Shin had known the petty lord, he knew that it was his own fault and that Yeong-An had killed countless innocents before today. Could that be what motivated the foreign troops as well; A sense of protecting the innocents?
Deciding to act before he could reconsider, Shin stepped into the light while remaining invisible. Without a sound he drew one of the twins and brought it into a defensive stand to his left. He slowly approached the black-clad woman on his right and thrusted his sword forward, straight towards her back. Only when she dropped her sovnya did the woman seem to realize that she had been struck from behind and as Shin removed his blade, she collapsed. Startling both of the remaining combatants momentarily. As if invigorated by the sight of her enemy’s blood, the Oragossi was the first to recover. She uttered a bestial growl and lunged at her remaining foe, beating aside her sovnya with a fierce attack and trying to close the distance between them. The black-clad woman, however, knew when to retreat. Seeing she was now outnumbered she leapt backwards and darted into a nearby alley.
Shin could have killed her as well, but allowed her to retreat. He concluded that he had been right in questioning their motives before, their forces had thus far acted responsibly and he would not pass unnecessary judgment upon them. He had already saved one desperate life at the cost of another, and so the scales remained balanced. Returning his attention to the wounded Oragossi woman, he saw that her guard was still raised. She held her glaive defensively in front of her torso and her eyes flickered back and forth rapidly as she struggled to find some sign of Shin. He continued observing her under the cloak of invisibility as she put her back against a stone wall, limiting her avenues of escape but preventing a strike from behind. He walked in front of her silently, skillfully treading on the balls of his feet so as to avoid even a whisper of his boots against the cobblestone.
Even in the dim light Shin could see several rivulets of blood trickling to the ground at her feet, each one coming from a different wound. He could not tell how severe they were in the darkness, but it wouldn’t do for him to save her from assailants and then allow her to bleed to death on the dark and empty street.
“Are your wounds serious?” he asked, shifting back and forth so as to disguise the direction of his voice.
The Oragossi did not respond immediately, instead she began taking deep controlled breaths in an effort to rein in the battle fervor she was immersed in. Shin could surmise from watching her fight that she let anger get the best of her rather easily. He had witnessed warriors like that before and for some it proved an effective combat style, however, it was a style that played towards raw strength and endurance. Something the Oragossi’s light frame suggested she lacked, which made her enigmatic to the logical Da-Hyunin. Watching her closely, Shin saw the flushed tone fade from her cheeks and the rigidity of her posture loosen. It even seemed as if she had shrunk from the fierce warrior he had beheld before into a simple girl.
“Reveal yourself, then we can talk,” she finally replied. Her glaive was held firmly and her gaze was more focused, despite the obvious distraction her wounds created. Shin saw little harm in showing himself to her now, she had regained control of her senses and appeared less likely to lash out. Putting more distance between them, because it is always best to err on the side of caution, he allowed the invisibility to unravel. He exposed everything except for his face, that he kept shrouded. With a pale cloth he wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it, trying to express that he meant her no harm although the message might be easily misinterpreted by some.
“Are your wounds serious?” he asked once again, with an identical inflection and volume. Glancing at the multiple cuts she had endured, the Oragossi grunted and reluctantly leaned her glaive against the wall. Shin could see some of the more shallow incisions were beginning to clot and dry themselves, but they would still require her attention. He supposed, however, that her crude ministrations answered his question well enough.
“Who are you? Why did you help me?” she asked, as she began bandaging the more important wounds with strips torn from the hem of her tunic. Cleaning the wounds with water would have to wait.
“The more important question is...who are you?” Shin retorted. “Those black-clad women, they targeted you for a specific reason. What was it?” It would service Da-Hyun to understand what the invaders sought, and the extent of their capabilities. There were a limited number of possibilities regarding their choice to target the Oragossi woman, and he suspected he knew the answer already. Shin could see her cold glare, and knew that she didn’t appreciate having her questions disregarded, but that was immaterial as far as he was concerned. She seemed to consider his words carefully, as if mulling over whether or not to share her information with him, but she eventually conceded. Reaching behind her head, she pulled her long braid over her shoulder and indicated an ornamental clasp at its base.
“Considering your abilities, I’m sure you can imagine what this is,” she stated with a smirk. “Does that answer your question?”
Shin nodded pensively, not that she could see his gesture while his face remained cloaked in shadows and invisibility. With their advantage of both agility and numbers, the black-clads should have been able to kill her if they had wanted to, but they had seemed more intent on harrying their target, which led him to the conclusion that their objective was to subdue relic users. That was interesting information, and perhaps dangerous, he realized that it might have been a mistake to show mercy on the other assailant. If their goal was to obtain relics, they now had two targets and it was likely reinforcements would arrive swiftly. His eyes shifted to the body lying in a dark red puddle beside them. Hiding it might put their pursuers off track, but how long would it take for the woman to return with reinforcements? Moreover, how would he manage to break into one of the houses, hide the body, make sure the Oragossi wouldn’t be attacked in the meantime and disappear before their pursuers reached them? The benefits didn’t outweigh the risks and escaping as soon as possible would be their priority. With a glance, he evaluated the Oragossi woman’s condition. Despite her bravado, he could see that she would need help making it out of here safely. Fortunately, he had been sent to identify potential threats in Amaryth several weeks before the Da-Hyuni representatives arrived and, in doing so, had become quite familiar with the layout of the city.
“Follow me.”
The frown and dark expression that appeared on her face clearly showed that the Oragossi didn't like to be ordered around, especially not by some strange relic user whose name she didn't even know. After a few whispered but elaborate curses -some of which Shin surprisingly recognized to be Da-Hyuni- and a vexing lack of movement, she finally replied.
"And why should I? I don't know who you are or what you want. If you don’t want to tell me why you saved me and where we’re going, I can find my own way just fine."
He had to admit that she was strong-willed, despite her wounds. Still, he could hardly repress an irritated sigh. Did she not understand that the black-clad would soon return with her friends?
"You know just as well as I do that we don't have the time for questions. She'll soon return with reinforcements."
Her expression didn't change, but she was obviously fully aware of their circumstances and so she slowly walked towards him, still holding her glaive. A faint limp bore witness to the severity of her wounds. As she halted before him, Shin couldn’t help but notice that the woman was half a head shorter than him, which however didn't decrease her intimidating look. She looked up at where his face was supposed to be and gave him a menacing look, which was somewhat shaky as she didn't know where exactly to glare at.
"Know that I don't trust you, or anyone for that matter. You may have saved me, but gratitude doesn’t equal obedience."
He continued studying her face and expression before nodding. After which he turned around abruptly and confidently walked into a nearby street. He adjusted his pace and movement to make sure that she'd be able to follow him, which also included remaining visible enough to be followed. The woman didn't walk half as silently as he had hoped for, her injuries were keeping her from walking in any style apart from a pained limp.
"Yuu." He suddenly said as they were passing through the third street leading away from the battle scene.
"Me?" She mumbled, perplexed.
Without looking back, he explained the single word in a soft tone.
"You can call me Yuu.The only other thing you need to know for now is that I'm leading you somewhere saf-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden beam of light blinded him and stopped them in their tracks. "Amatsu's very own shadow..." He grunted as his eyes adjusted to the afternoon sun that had suddenly reappeared. Before he had the time to do so, the sky turned crimson red and a feeling of doom descended upon him. Dark questions raged through his mind, filling him with more despair than he had ever felt in his adult life. Why was he helping this woman? Why was he risking his life at all? He should just accept his own weakness and flee back to Da-Hyun where he would be safe. He should just leave the woman to die and hide in a corner, or at the very least sit down. He suddenly felt so tired...
"What do you think you're doing? Keep moving! These lights no doubt mean that they're planning a second ambush or an attack of some kind."
The woman's voice seemed to be far away and Shin suddenly realized that he had not only halted, he had sat down in the middle of the street.
"By all the gods..." The Oragossi sighed and lifted her glaive. A sudden sting of pain in his wounded side broke the trance Shin was in. He let out a soft pained yelp and she smirked. "Before you sit down and enjoy the view, would you mind showing, or at least telling me, where we were going?"
Shin glanced down at his bleeding side, focusing on the pain to clear his mind of the cloying webs of anguish which sought to cast him into despair. Whatever foul aura had taken hold of him seemed to have a severely lessened effect on the woman. He could see an uneasiness to her stance as she nervously glanced up at the sky, but she maintained her composure well. He could only assume it had something to do with the effect of her relic. There was no time to postulate, however, they had dawdled too long already. Indicating for her to follow him with a quiet hand gesture, Shin proceeded. They were, unfortunately, heading in the same direction which the black-clad had disappeared in but there was little choice in the matter given the constraints of time.
Turning a corner onto a larger street, Shin stopped abruptly as he heard the scuff of cloth against stone over the labored footsteps of his companion. Acting on instinct, he pushed the Oragossi against the wall with one arm, clamping a hand firmly over her mouth to halt any protest as a figure cloaked in black became visible to his well-trained eyes. She was scanning the street from the shadows of an alley across from them, her clothing and weapon revealing her to be another of the foreign agents. The Oragossi attempted to push his hand away, but he applied more pressure to hold her in place. Fortunately, she ceased her struggling as she too spotted the black-clad. To the Orogassi it might seem that they stood in plain view of the enemy, but Shin was focusing all of his will on maintaining the illusion that this was just another empty street. The exertion was draining what reserves of energy he still held, but he could not afford to move lest they be spotted. After a few agonizingly slow minutes the scout made a hand gesture, signalling an all clear, after which she proceeded into the street with four more of her comrades appearing behind her. They darted past the two evokers with frightening agility, disappearing into the alley the duo had just come from. Shin continued to hide the two of them from view for as long as he could manage, before finally his invisibility dropped completely. His previously hidden mask was now visible as well and he barely managed to reduce the light it emitted so that the mask didn’t act as a beacon for enemies.
He nearly collapsed from the strain, and felt the despair creeping into his mind once again, but a firm hand on his shoulder roused him once again. The Oragossi pushed him forward into action, and he stumbled onwards, too tired to care about how loudly he was walking. Fortunately, they did not have far to go. In the alley that the black-clad’s had come from there was a drainage shaft with a deceptively placed grate. Shin struggled with it for a moment, but then the Oragossi pushed him aside. She grabbed the bars in both hands and squatted, pulling up with her legs and plucking it from the ground with surprising comfort despite her wounds. She made a face when the smells of human waste, decayed food and worse things filled the surrounding air. “Couldn’t find a way out of the city with less filth now, could you?” Her sarcasm and obvious attempt to lighten the mood were wasted on the bone-weary Shin. He would have given her a cold and irked reply, were it not for her mischievous smile. That, and the fact that she nimbly swung her legs over the edge of the dark hole and let herself drop down before he could think of a proper rebuttal. A splashing sound and a muffled curse informed him that the Orogassi had landed safely and that the sewage water was rather cold. He swiftly followed her example and disappeared into the darkness.
