1 Chapter 1 - Prologue
[The ruins of The Grey Monastery, Berlin]
In the ruins of the once infamous Grey Monastery, the distant caw of a crow echoed through the air. A shadowy figure shuffled toward a dimly lit corner. With each step, the figure's thick coat rustled. A pocket watch was produced from the depths of the coat and checked under the flicker of a broken lamp. Despite the musky scent that hung thick in the air, the man was unperturbed. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a flick of his lighter, and took a deep drag - exhaling a cloud of smoke into the frigid air.
"You're here, Ritter."
The man, Ritter, shifted his eyes towards the shadows where another cloaked figure emerged.
"Diana. Should you even be using a cloaking relic? The flair was unnecessary. Relic fluctuations could have been picked up by enforcers." Ritter grumbled with a slight hint of worry.
Diana chuckled coyly and stepped out into the light. She would be considered to be an alluring woman, if not for her unusually pale complexion and eyes void of emotion.
"You worry too much. Our scouts cleared the perimeter before you arrived, there's nobody else here. Unless, of course you count the ghosts living in the ruins."
"Don't patronize me. Do you want the intel or not?" Ritter muttered as he took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled.
Diana tilted her head playfully and crossed her arms, "Let us hear it then."
"We've managed to locate it."
"Truly? A Regalia? Where is it located?" Diana questioned with sultry excitement, the words rolling off her tongue as her emotionless eyes shone with delight.
"Not so fast! First, give me what I asked for. That was part of our deal." Ritter growled as he flicked his cigarette away and took a step towards Diana. Ritter towered over her and stared her down menacingly.
"You must be joking if you think you can get what you want without first providing intel on the Regalia. Have you...forgotten who stands behind me?" Diana raised her tone of voice and glared back unflinchingly.
Diana's fingers snapped, and the shadows of the ruins stirred. Figures draped in cloaks emerged from every corner, encircling Ritter and her. Each one held a distinct weapon, from guns and crossbows to glistening sharp daggers. They formed a tight circle, their expressions unreadable behind the hoods of their cloaks, and Diana's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Ritter's heart raced as he found himself surrounded. He swallowed hard, trying to steady his nerves.
"Scheiße!" he muttered under his breath.
His voice wavered as he spoke, "F-fine! Let's all c-calm down and talk this through."
He fumbled in his cloak's pocket and pulled out a small USB drive, his hands shaking as he held it up. "You want the intel? H-here," he said, his voice cracking.
"There, that wasn't so hard right?" Diana was grinning from ear to ear as she snatched the USB out of his hands.
With a deft movement, Diana plunged her hand into the darkness, and a crackling sound filled the air. The fabric of space itself twisted and warped, creating a small tear that was visible in the air. She slipped the USB drive into the gap and made a few quick, fluid gestures with her hands. A burst of electricity crackled through the air, and the rift sealed shut, leaving no trace of its existence.
"I hope your information on the Regalia is solid, Ritter. For your sake." Diana paced her way towards Ritter and ran her cold bony fingers across his cheeks.
Ritter stumbled backward, his confidence faltering. "I h-have proof," he stammered. "Verified by the likes of Professor Shiva and Professor Adrian." He glared at Diana, his patience waning. "It's time. P-please hold up your end of the bargain."
"Hmm, reassuring, but troubling. It seems our knowledge is not as exclusive as we thought. We'll have to start reducing the numbers. One by one." Diana's pace quickened as she turned away from Ritter, gesturing for her cloaked companions to dispose of him.
"This was not what we agreed upon! Y-you wench!" Ritter protested as he was prepared to defend himself against the cloaked figures.
However, a sudden interruption stopped her in her tracks. A new figure emerged from the shadows, whispering something into her ear. Diana's expression soured, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Count yourself lucky, Ritter," Diana said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "The Relic enforcers have arrived, and I'd rather not have them trace your death back to us."
She leaned against the ruins' walls, her demeanor poised yet calculating, signaling for her comrades to follow suit. "Comrades, vamos!" With a sly grin, she vanished into the shadows, blending in seamlessly with the darkness around her.
As for Ritter, he remained in a state of shock and aghast as he laments his fate for being outplayed and being left with the short end of the stick. Only the silence of the night remained to soothe his frustration.
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[Outside the ruins of The Grey Monastery, Berlin]
Blue and red lights were flashing outside the ruin walls. It was a busy night for the enforcers in Berlin. Unregistered relic signatures were detected a while ago, and besides that someone tipped them off on some suspicious figures lurking about.
A middle-aged gentleman with a tapered hair cut and a full beard stepped out of his car. He nodded at the enforcers who were marking the perimeter of the ruins and they tipped their hat back at him. He fiddled with his vest a little and walked towards one of the enforcers.
"Good evening officer. Where may I find Major Leona?"
"Sir. Let me take you to Major Leona," the officer saluted and gestured.
"Thank you kindly, officer," the gentleman nodded and followed after him.
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Under the dimly lit flickering lamp, a stern looking lady stood with her arms crossed. She was wearing the standard enforcer uniform which was white with blue trims, and the gold stripes on her shoulder indicating her rank. She waved her hands outwards and a burst of energy surged out with her as the center.
"Hmm. It's faint...but they were definitely here," Major Leona mumbled, her brows furrowed.
"Why the serious look on your face Major?" the gentleman from earlier quipped as he stepped out of the shadows, led by the officer from earlier.
"Sir Ragnar! When did you arrive in Berlin?" Major Leona saluted towards the gentleman, who smiled back gently at her.
"At ease, Major. Let's focus at the case at hand. Was it really -them- ?" Ragnar questioned as he sniffed the air, nose twitching.
Major Leona grinned as she saw this, dismissing the officer who was escorted Ragnar. As the officer left to return to his post, she walked towards the ruin walls and placed her hand on it. She closed her eyes and sent what seemed like a very small traces of energy into the walls. The shadows that were cast on the ruin walls stirred slightly.
Ragnar nodded, impressed, "As expected of my successor." He approached the same ruin walls and placed his hand as well. Seconds later, he removed his hand, shook his head and sighed. "This was no ordinary cloaking relic. It also produced a short term shadow portal...but to where?"
The two stood there, processing their inner thoughts as the cold night air permeated their skin. Neither spoke as they thought to themselves : who was bold enough to trigger an unregistered military grade relic in the middle of the city? Was it really -that- organization? But most importantly...the question was : Who tipped the enforcers off?
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[Elsewhere, Unknown Location]
A tall brooding man with a heavily scarred face was standing across a fireplace, clutching the hair of a woman who was badly beaten. She was sprawled on the ground, bruised and battered, muttering weakly, "Please...please...no more."
"You will tell me what I need, Miss Anderson. Or you will continue to suffer," he warned her. He then retrieved a hot fireplace poker and held it near her face, demanding, "So, tell me."
Before Miss Anderson could respond, the shadows in the room began to stir. A cloaked woman emerged from the darkness and knelt before the man. "Sir, we have retrieved the information on the Regalia," she announced.
The man raised an eyebrow, pleased with the news. Miss Anderson whimpered and continued to squirm weakly, while the man stood still, processing his thoughts. "Well done, Diana," he said, nodding with a slight smile as he relaxed his grip on Miss Anderson's hair. She collapsed weakly onto the ground and attempted to crawl away.
However, what followed was a high-pitched scream of agony that would pierce the souls of anyone who heard it. Diana did not dare look up or anywhere else for that matter. She kept her head down until the screams died down.
"Now that Miss Anderson has been dealt with, let us leave this place and proceed with the plans," the man declared. He dropped the poker and proceeded to leave the room, stepping over several other mutilated and burnt up corpses along the way.
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Notes
The Grey Monastery : An actual monastery now left in ruins in Berlin, Germany
Relics : Mysterious and powerful objects that suddenly emerged in 1998 that are capable of both wonderful and terrifying feats. Our novel's plot centers around these objects.
Scheiße : German cuss word. Along the lines of sh*t and damn.
Vamos : Spanish for "Let's go"
Relic Fluctuation: An energy that is released by relics when used
Relic Enforcers: The equivalent of law enforcement in this world
Relics Featured
Cloak of Shadows: Mass-produced version of military grade relic developed for stealth and assassination purposes. The original is suspected to be a relic known as 'Vlad's Mantle' that has other augmenting abilities besides stealth.
