Chapter one: The Slaughter

"HAHA finally… a break!!"

It's been three days after the last full moon. Today marks the 5th year anniversary of Lena Rosol's services in the military of her country. She, along with 50 other soldiers who have endured the horrors of the military and war have earned themselves a break of rest, to which they will be departing to their homes at mid-day.

"Lena! Eat!" The captain had thrown a large feast for the descending soldiers in honour of their success. Although the captain is most often greedy and ungenerous, to save face in front of the guests, he commences a great gathering that could feed an entire village!

He then says in a hushed voice, "You don't want to embarrass me in front of our guest, do you?"

Lena's eyes are drawn to this 'guest'. A confident and well-built man with curly brown locks for hair and broad shoulders that could take up a space for two. Gold armour hugged his figure and gold jewellery was interwoven in a side braid.

Her gaze lingers for mere moments as she watches him drink tea from the common clay cup, peaceful looking and quite charming as if his profession in this world was not to command soldiers of war. This esteemed guest was the general of the royal kingdom's military army. He was only second to the king, earning his place as general rightfully so.

On his back, a sword resided. The sheath complemented his general armour, with carved gold details displaying Arabic calligraphy and a dragon that spread wide across his chest.

Gold armour was worn by those of high status, while silver was worn by soldiers under the command of said high ranks. Lena therefore wore an armour of silver, that perfectly hugged her shoulders and waist. She wore navy blue robes that crossed at her knees, and boots of leather, commonly worn in the military. Despite their obvious difference in status, rank, and appearance, Lena diminished any doubt as she thought to herself, 'I could take him in a fight.'

Just as she thought so, General Nabeel lightly choked on the bread he was eating. Seeing his current state, Lena passed him the jug of water from across the table. Their eyes met for a moment as he thanked her, just so, Lena had another thought, 'And I'd win, easily.'

...

A sparring match awaited the soldiers before their leave. The match was a proof of ability, strength and combat skills.

The match was the captain's idea. He believed, what better way to demonstrate his teaching skills than to have his soldiers spar in front of the guest?? And so the spar began.

With each match, a winner was chosen. Soon it was Lena's turn to jump in.

Before the fight, the soldiers were given a wide weapon option. A range of swords, daggers, axes, sabres and more than could be imagined were laid out, ready to be chosen and used to their potential.

Without hesitation, Lena reached for a pair of swords. While her opponent held a single sabre, she found it fun to use both hands in combat. She'd describe it as 'two is better than one because what are two arms for if not two swords?' This was her answer when her fellow soldier friend questioned her behaviour. Although a childish answer, Lena believed maximising the body's ability would bring out the most potential.

As they heard the ready signal from the captain, Lena's opponent lunged at her, aiming straight for her side. Using her right arm, Lena blocked the attack with one of her chosen swords and swiftly placed a strike with the other.

With each attack, Lena blocked with one sword and attacked with the other, proving her abilities are at large when compared to her opponents. She bustled through the remaining soldiers, winning each match. Just before she could turn to her captain and claim victory, the esteemed guest, General Nabeel, had gotten out of his seat and made his way to the field.

With all eyes on him, they watched as he approached Lena and unsheathed his sword. With a smile, he said, "Let's see what former general Hamza's daughter is capable of." At that, he attacked first, leaving Lena no time to unsheath her swords. She dodged nevertheless, although the attack was too close. Unsheathing one sword, she blocked his attacks but found no opening to strike herself.

She felt as though she was being tormented and decided to end things quickly. Just as he attacked once again, Lena's sword blocked his own. The force of this hit was enough to make the general take a step back. Just as he did, Lena turned and unsheathed her second sword. Now, her back was against his chest as one of her swords blocked his own and the other pointed at his neck. A moment in this position was enough to make anyone uncomfortable, and with that, she removed her swords and stepped back from the fight.

"I'll have you know that General Hamza's daughter is quite capable." She said

With a smile, the general replied, "So I've heard."

...

It took Lena three days by horse to reach the outskirts of her home village. It had been a year since she had last seen her family and the people of her hometown.

To pass the time, she thought over the events of the past, and what has led her to this day. She had always held a passion for combat and ever since she was young, her father, a retired army general, would teach her all that he knew.

General Hamza was a great and famous archer. Selected by the king of his time, he became the king's second hand and the general of the country's army. One night, the general's troupe was ambushed in camp by rogue beasts and ghouls. He was attacked and suffered a great injury to his shoulder, no longer was he the archer he was. He could no longer instruct war or train soldiers, so he retired and came back to his hometown where he settled down with a lovely woman and had one child, Lena.

Seeing her martial skills and passion for combat, her father allowed her to enlist in the army at 17. With that, she participated in wars against beats, ghouls, sahereen (magic wielders) and more to help the human civilisation of their kingdom live on.

This world was divided into territories that held kingdoms, empires, domains and realms. The sky held the angel realm as well as the jinn (ghosts) kingdom. The lands carry the human kingdom, the beast domains, sahers, ashbah (ghosts), shifters, and more. The underworld is a place of chaos. Carrying seven levels of pure hell, the underworld is full of ashbah, ghouls, demons, walking dead, and anything a nightmare would entail. Although it is full of horror, the residents along with their seven kings and queens see no joy in war but in toying with each other and pleasing themselves with their abnormal ways of entertainment. Once in a while, they'll come out to play, but what's more fun for the dead than the underworld anyway? The corruption and chaos is not one an outsider could handle, and if one was to accidentally enter the underworld, they had no way out.

Rogues are those who are either banished from their realms or venture out on their own into the lands that connect heaven and hell. The human civilization was slowly ceasing till 111 years ago when humans were guided by a king. He led them as they built a kingdom, prepared an army and increased their chances of surviving in a world where they're proven to be a monitory. Since then, the crown has been passed down the family generations. This generation is the third generation of the crown. The king of this time was nowhere near as great as the first, but still very much strong and worthy of praise. With his guidance, the human civilization is stronger than ever and with each war against the beats, the humans prevailed and expanded their territories to great heights. The kingdom now resides in the middle of the peninsula and is surrounded by four villages, including Lena's. The military was formed with soldiers from each village, as they fought to protect the capital and kingdom from the borders.

During her five-year enlistment, Lena worked hard and improved her skills in training as she ventured in her father's footsteps, in hopes that one day she would lead an army just like her father did.

As she got closer to the village, the scent of fig trees surrounded her. By the time she arrived closer to the main village entrance, a scent of burning mixed with the peaceful fig scent.

Alarmed she tugged at her horse's reins, urging it to go faster as she headed into the village. As she reaches the gates, the scent of fire engulfs her as her eyes burn from both the smoke and the scene in front of her.

Parts of the village are on fire. Screams can be heard in all directions, children in their mother's arms are crying and bodies are lying dead on the ground. Lena urged her horse to move through the fires and towards her home. Her once peaceful and quiet home was now on fire. Pulling at the reins, Lena jumped off her horse and ran to the house door, breaking in by using her own body to break down the door.

"MAMA? MAMA??!?" running into the house she found her mother lying on the ground. She quickly grabbed her wrist but she felt no pulse. "No… no. No. No. No! NO! NO!" She held her mother out of the house in hopes of finding a doctor, her father, or anyone who could help save her mother.

"BABA! BABA! WHERE ARE YOU?" There was no answer.

Still holding her mother, she mounted her horse again and tugged the reins as she made her way to the town's central area. Bodies lying lifeless all over the grounds, mothers clutching their lifeless children while also being burned alive. "SOMEONE! ANYONE!!" Again, no answer.

She laid her mother down and began to run around looking for any survivors, anyone that could help. Knocking down doors, all houses were empty or held the dead but she could still hear screams and wails. Then, the sound of a man in pain sounded nearby. Lena ran towards the sound, praying that someone from her hometown was still alive.

Lena reached an open area, full of men and women screaming in agony. Although they were still alive, they looked no different than the walking dead, she approached a man who looked to be the same age as her father. As she got close, she realised he was under some kind of spell, and simultaneously being burnt alive. "I CAN'T HANDLE THE PAIN!" Another yelled, "AGHHHH!! MY SON! WHERE'S MY SON?!!" Another, "SOMEONE KILL ME NOW!," and another, "KILL ME I CANNOT HANDLE THIS PAIN!" All that could be heard were screams of pain and after finally realising that there was no way to save them, Lena decided to put these people out of their misery. She unsheathed her sword. The sound of the sheath was enough to grasp all their attention. "PERFECT! COME HELP ME QUICK!!" "RELIEVE ME OF THIS PAIN SO I CAN BE REUNITED WITH MY SON." "AHHHHHH KILL ME!"

Lena approached the first man. Although he was begging her to take his life, he still looked terrified of her blade. The look of horror in his eyes stopped Lena from what she was about to do, but his following screams were enough to bring her back to reality. Without warning, the man grabbed the edge of her sword and pierced himself in the stomach while her hand still clutched onto the hilt.

"What're you-"

"AHHHHHHHHHH" his screams now louder than before. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST KILL ME!"

Lena knew a stab in the stomach wouldn't kill him right away, and that he needed to be slashed in the throat or stabbed in the heart. As if hearing her thoughts, the man took the sword out of his stomach and again pierced himself while clutching her hands and sword, but this time in the heart. "YOU'RE KILLING ME! YOU'RE KILLING ME! WE GREW UP TOGETHER AND YOU'RE KILLING ME!" Lena drew out the sword, and just as she did the man fell limp onto the ground.

Tears rolled down her face as she turned to face the rest of her people, all watching her hopeful that she would end their pain by ending their lives. One by one, she ceased their screams as she slashed their throats, giving them what their living souls begged her for moments ago.

Now all she could hear was silence. She continued to walk with what little hope she had, as she looked around at all the corpses. The ones she put an end to and others that she watched die. Till she found a body that looked familiar.

General Hamza was a strong, confident and courageous soldier. Lena knew that he'd be the first to protect and act as a hero.

She walked towards his now limp body, sprawled on the ground. Each step grew slower as she found it hard to accept the reality before her.

Her father held a bow in his left hand, and his right held an arrow just as he used to, only this time, his right arm was not attached to his body and was lying on the ground next to him.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO BABA NO!"

Lena ran towards her father's corpse and hugged it as she cried and shook her head in disbelief. Her father's body was limp in her arms, no longer the warm embrace she once looked forward to. She cried into his shoulder till she could no longer cry. Feeling frustrated she began to scream and strike the ground. "WHY? WHY? WHY?! WHY NOW? WHY THEM? WHY DID THEY ALL HAVE TO DIE? WHY DID THEY NEED TO BE KILLED? WHY DID I HAVE TO KILL ALL THOSE PEOPLE? WHY WAS THE ONLY WAY TO HELP THEM WAS TO KILL THEM? WHY??" Just as she screamed, the corpses surrounding Lena began to move.

Realising this, Lena stood up in hopes that someone was still alive. Suddenly the corpses began to rise. "The Walking Dead." Lena knew of the Walking Dead, and it seemed that many of the villagers had come back to haunt. She unsheathed her sword, ready to attack when she felt a movement directly behind her.

Lena's father had turned into a walking dead as well.

"Oh no no no no no no"

"Baba it's me. It's Lena. Please wake up. Please." Lena knew her father was gone, and that this was just his blood, along with the villager's blood that wanted revenge for their deaths. But they were all attacking her? Why her and not the culprit?

She thought to herself, 'Why are their corpses attacking me? Unless I…'

She had no time to think as the walking dead began to attack her from all directions. Lena swung her sword and attacked, killing many. When her dad approached she only dodged and attacked others, killing what was left of the people of her hometown. Their corpses now in shreds. She was heartbroken. Finally, her father was all that was left. Lena couldn't move to attack him, and could only stand there as he began to scratch at her with his left hand.

Tears filled her vision not because she was physically in pain, but rather because she knew the only way her father could be buried and able to rest in peace was if she brought an end to him now. While he still tried to knock her over with what strength he had, Lena said through tears, "I'm so sorry baba… I'm am so so sorry." With that, she lowered her head and raised her sword, ending her father's pain. Just before he fell to the ground, he smiled at Lena just as he usually would.

Lena's tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. She yelled in pain and frustration, for what felt like the tenth time that day. Her screams of mourning and agony could be heard throughout the whole village and just as she screamed, a dark atmosphere engulfed the village air. Lena was too distraught to notice as it began to rain and thunder now replaced the sounds of screaming.

Just then, blood from each laying corpse began to leak out of their bodies through their wounds. The blood travelled towards Lena while she yelled and cried over her family's passing and the slaughter she was forced to do. The blood trailed onto her thobes and reached her exposed skin. Lena could feel it seep into her skin but she paid it no mind. The blood, now litres worth all gathered onto her body as it tainted her skin in a tattoo-like shape. By the time she realised what was truly happening, the blood had created patterns of weapons, dragons and more all over her body.

Alarmed and confused she stood up and took off her armour. The tattoo-like pattern had spread across her body. Suddenly as he moved her arm, it moved in a suit. She watched as the blood changed into different forms and patterns in her skin. As she moved her hand to touch, the blood on her arm spread to her fingertips as it began to flow out of her skin. Lena opened her hand completely, which changed the shape of the blood. The blood was no longer a flowing liquid, but now a sharp-looking blade.

Taking a step back, she extended her arm, which also extended the length of the blade. "Huh?"

Lena then thought of an idea. She visualised a sword in her head and motioned her arm around. Proving her idea true, some of the blood on her person was extracted from her skin and formed a sword in her palm. Swinging the now-formed sword, it made the same sound and was as sturdy as a regular sword. She then aimed at a nearby wall and threw the sword. Just as she thought, not even a moment had passed when the sword dissolved back into its liquid blood state and returned to her. Trailing up her body as it again seeped into her skin, joining the rest of the blood into its tattoo-like shape.

There was no way to rid her body of the blood. She had been cursed.

She felt confused and scared as she'd never heard of blood turning into cursed matter and tainting the skin. And certainly not of someone who could manipulate the form of blood.

Still distraught at the events that engulfed her today, Lena turned to the laying corpses. Picking up what was left of her father, she walked towards where she laid her mother some time before. Bringing them together, she began her prayers and buried them so that they could finally rest in peace.

.....

An hour had passed after the burial. Lena began to repeat her experiments with manipulating the blood. Each time she visualised a different weapon. By moving in different motions, she learned to control the blood and summon more than one weapon at a time.

Days passed as she trained. She adapted quickly to the new combat technique she had just been cursed with.

Days turned to weeks and then a month had finally passed before she felt stronger than ever. Although the curse that taints her skin makes her no longer human, Lena has discovered many uses for it. The blood had a mind of its own.

As the blood moved on her skin, it demonstrated many of its uses. It can form weapons, ways of travel, clones and more at her command. It could even manipulate the behaviour of others, just by attaching some of the blood to the nape of those around it.

....

The word of the village massacre had spread. Soon the whole kingdom and surrounding villages knew of the deaths of Lena's village. Curious, many people came by to 'visit' and 'take a look'. Although this truly entailed robbing the homes of the now-dead people.

Lena watched them intrude from the shadows and grew disgusted by the people of her kind. She could not afford the humans to discover her curse or else she'd be locked up, tortured, experimented on and then killed. She decided to keep herself hidden and play dead. Soon the others in the military along with the captain would pronounce her death and she'd be able to move on in this life and protect herself with her new abilities.

She drove all intruders without being seen. The village had now formed a reputation of not only "the massacred village" but also "the haunted village". This made people grow even more curious and she realised she could no longer stay there, hiding. Lena gathered her necessities, covered her head, and put on her father's golden armour. Then, she ventured out of the village and began her journey into the nearby capital.