The shadows stretched long over the sprawl of the wilderness as Riry leaned against a moss-covered boulder, catching her breath. Her Sleeping Leviathan companion pulsed faintly, like a beacon, floating calmly beside her. She had been running for days, avoiding every road and safehouse known to her family. With every step forward, she defied the life she was born into.


    Riry Bomra was bred into the proud blood of Bomra. Privilege had never known any lack of her, nor the expectations that surrounded her. Family members sat on an empire born upon the back and sweat and toil of many generations spanning over vast swaths of tracts of land around the peaks of the Mana Veil. To Riry, that legacy weighed like chains: splendor and power-the shackles to be broken.


    She had renounced all that for something far greater-than meaning and truth, far from the desolate halls of political ambition, away from the presence of her father-Lord Vortan Bomra whose will-to-power and boundless greed know no satiety of time and experience.


    And here she is.


    It was the soft rumble of a mana-powered skimmer cutting through the air, and Riry''s head jerked up from where she''d settled on her tail, her sharp eyes catching the sleek, silver glint of the imperial craft weaving through the treetops. Her Leviathan hissed faintly as its translucent form curled protectively around her shoulders.


    "They''re here," she panted, her fingers digging tighter into the hilt of her light-blade. She looked to the shadows close by, where Jun stepped silently into view, Yogundr curled tight around his arm.


    "We have to go," Jun said, his voice firm but urgent. "They won''t quit till they get you."


    Riry nodded but didn''t budge. She fidgeted with the utility belt straps, then drew out her blade. "Running won''t cut it anymore. They''ll just keep on hunting me." She looked at Jun with a burning gaze. "It is time for standing and fighting."


    Jun paused, and then nodded again. "Then let''s make them rue for doing so.


    Imperial guards stood perfectly in line. Obsidian armor, with runes placed upon it that glowed with an ethereal light, helped them move like a military team with a definite purpose. All of them were carrying mana-forged arms. Their movements were amplified through the enchantment of their exosuit. Amidst all of them, Captain Allis Vray stood, looking at all of them with a cold and calculating aspect, all of her postures radiating authority.


    "Riry Bomra." Captain Vray bellowed, his shout amplified by his magic. "In the name of Lord Bomra, retreat back to home. Surrender now, and none of you will be so much as so much as even scratched."Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Riry stepped out as her bright light-blade lit up so brightly that she could hear its clamor like the buzz of victory. "Tell Vortan I''ve played enough to be his play thing.".


    Captain''s eyes darkened. "Rebellion is sure to invite agony. Make it easier, for yourself at least."


    “You should worry about yourselves,” Riry shot back, raising her blade. “Because I’m not going quietly.”


    With a nod from Vray, the guards charged.


    ---


    Chaos erupted in the clearing. Riry''s sword slid with fluid precision into the first rank of guards, slicing through their ranks, as Jun moved like a ghost, his void-forged swords in hand as he carried them into their ranks. Yogundr coiled in and lashed out, dragging a screaming soldier into darkness as a light burst, billowing in blinding radiance, knocked the advancing troops back through Riry''s Leviathan.


    Not a drop of mercy could be seen by the guards; yet they were that agile. Decades of torture exercises had polished their plans, their coordination perfect. Riry panted in short breaths as she parried an attack vortex created by two guards, her muscles burning from strain.


    "Jun!" she yelled as she evaded a blast of mana energy. "I am surrounded!"


    Jun appeared beside her, his shadow blade deflecting a strike aimed at her back. “Stay close,” he said, his voice steady despite the chaos. “We’re stronger together.”


    They fought side by side; their movements seemed chiseled to perfection as if they had trained for years. However, the guards were too many and their enchanted weapons began to overwhelm them. Suddenly, there was an explosion of energy that sent both Jun and Riry sprawling, their weapons skidding out of reach.


    She waned. And up she got, stumbled, slipping on her legs within her dress. Captain Vray slowly stepped. She walked towards Aislyn and the captain sword flashed intent lethal intent. "You have fought well," she said, close to a deferential voice. "This however is accomplished.


    She hadn''t time to say a word. Burning slid down along her side. She looked down, saw that her tunic was spreading darkening blood over the fabric there. Jun knelt beside her, groaning as he touched at his own leg, that gashed down there crimson red and deep within his skin.


    "Riry," he gasped hoarsely. "Sorry."


    She gritted her jaw in place and kept herself upright. "This''s not over yet," she muttered, gripping the knife in shaking hands. The chance to stab before she got there didn''t last, however as Captain Vray gestured. A bolt of mana energy was unleashed that crushed into Riry, immobilizing her.


    Dimly, out of the corner of her eye, Riry felt that Jun''s eyes went crazy at the same moment she felt her line-of-sight torn out of her control


    ---


    When Riry opened her eyes, she found that she was tied to the skimmer, her wounds roughly bandaged. The drone of the craft''s engines filled her ears as the horizon smeared outside the window. Captain Vray sat across from her, her face a mask.


    "You should have quit, the captain said finally. "It didn''t have to end like this."


    Riry''s eyes flashed with defiance, though the pain seemed to have weakened her a little. "You don''t know anything about me."


    Vray''s gaze softened a little. "I know enough. Your father isn''t a forgiving man. You''ll wish you had stayed hidden."


    Riry turned her head aside to refuse to talk. In the background, the tops of Mana Veil stood severely pointing toward the home land she wanted to forget long time ago. Her fist was clenching tight as she muttered silently that she will come back: this time; no; next time would be different. She would return but this time it will be different as she will triumph.