Heather Faalzar


    August 14 2065


    Soneria


    I faced it down.  My target was a Fallen One.  A hideous, vaguely- humanoid, writhing mass of corrupted flesh and anger.  It towered over my small frame at well over eight feet tall.  I gave off an irritated sigh, putting my weapons of choice, a pair of large claws that manipulated time-space to make them able to cut basically anything, on my small hands.  The creature raised an arm and swung at me, I flipped backwards, dodging the physical blow, but getting hit by a shockwave of concussive energy right in the back.  I fell flat on my face and skid for a few feet.  Getting to my feet, I get serious.  I remove an imaginary block in my head, and I feel power start to surge through me, my body starts to glow an intense purple.  I crack my neck, extending my arms, inviting it to hit me..  The Fallen One hurls a massive bolt of fire at me.  I channel all of my power into my feet and dash at it, rolling under the bolt of fire.


    “Gotcha.”  I say, springing out of my roll and delivering a brutal swing at the creature.  It comes apart like a hot knife cutting a stick of butter, blood spraying every which way as it collapses into a lump of gore on the ground.  I wipe my face clean of blood and take a bottle out of my pocket, popping two pills from it.  I feel the power in my body receding, the mental block replaced.  Walking over to the corpse, I confirm that it is dead.  As I inspect the body, I get a tingling in my back.  I leap backwards, a rifle round obliterating the corpse.  I look up and see a figure in the distance.  It has long, pink hair billowing in the howling wind of the Sonerian wastes, and is carrying a rifle of improbable size.  As she approaches me, I call out to her.


    “Stop.  In the name of the Ascended Guard, I command you to halt and Identify yourself at once.”  The figure stops.  I approach her and see that her face is horrifically scarred, likely from a burn.  She gives me an odd smile.


    “The name’s Meredith Jonston, Heather.”  She calls out.  A chill runs up my spine.  Being an officer, I’d heard of her before but seeing her in person was somewhat disconcerting.


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    “Drop your rifle this instant.”  I say, readying myself for a fight.  To my surprise, she complies, her rifle falling to the ground.  I approach her.


    “Did your mother never tell you to give your own name if somebody else does?”  Meredith asks, her voice having a terrifying calmness to it.


    “I’m Captain Heather Faalzar of the Ascended Guard.”


    “Faalzar huh?  No wonder you have shit manners then.”  I get defensive.


    “My mother has nothing to do with this.  I have to take you in, there is a kill/capture order on you, you know.”


    “Your mother has everything to do with this actually.  And you can try and take me in.  I guarantee you will fail.”  Meredith says, revealing two knives each with a blade roughly eight inches long.  I charge her.  Suddenly, I am flipped onto the ground, Meredith on top of me with a blade to my throat.


    “H-how?”  I ask, dumbfounded.


    “You are WAY too early to face me.  Even Karen would have been able to dodge that.”  That comment sets me off.  I kick her off and start swinging wildly, getting blocked blow for blow by her knives.


    “You...”  I begin to release the mental blocks on my Affinity when she points a finger at my head.  A blast of purple light emits from her finger, hitting me in the head.  I get shoved backwards, but I maintain my balance.  Meredith begins to be enveloped in an extremely malevolent-looking glow.


    “I hope you appreciate my gift.  Bye.”  She says, disappearing.  A crippling headache erupts through my head and i fall to the ground.


    “I wasn’t strong enough.  She got away.  I’m still in their shadow.”  I say, defeated.


    “Then maybe you should get rid of them.”  A voice says.  I look around, confused.


    Nobody was there.