Zone E

Aleyah, Aleyos, and Yuto fought against Team Delta and gained their place in Sentinel’s Strike Force. Lenos Sawano, a soul excavator for Sentinel, took them to the stronghold where they met Theon Crest, the overseer of all Soul Strike Teams. Day after day, he instructed them with tasks best suited for their capabilities as a new team under Sentinel. This ranked Team Trinity number 21 out of 26 on the boards.

Outside of the four strongholds: Sentinel, Orion, Valkyrie, and Royal, there are 17 Zones inhabited by several enemies that are against humanity’s cause. The zones were split by regions amongst the four strongholds. Near Sentinel are zones D, E, H, and K. Currently, Team Trinity is escorting a shipment of weapons to a human outpost in Zone E along with five other soldiers.

Two wagons filled with crates holding short swords and axes are being pulled by horses through a forest. Each of the horses has a soldier riding on them while the other three are walking in front of the shipment. Yuto, Aleyah, and Aleyos, all in their soul forms, are walking behind the wagons, watching over the weapons.

“You know, if I wanted to be an escort, I would’ve worked for my uncle back at Lillith District. He was a trader and good at his job,” Yuto complained.

“Stop complaining Yuto, we signed up for this,” Aleyos replied.

“Yeah, but I thought we would be taking the fight to the Gods with the rest of the strike teams. Not supplying outposts with equipment.”

“Whatever task they give us, we’ll accomplish it without failure,” Aleyah stated.

She turned to Yuto which was running behind the others. “We’ll have our moment.”

Yuto stared at her for a second and gave her a smile, “I suppose all this escorting isn’t so bad. It helps us get to know the land better.”

Aleyos patted Yuto on his back with such force that it almost knocked him down. “That’s the spirit Yuto!”

Aleyah and Aleyos laughed as Yuto regained his balance and complained to Aleyos how forceful the pat was on his back. Hearing the soul witches enjoying themselves in the back, one of the soldiers walking in front of the wagons spat on the ground with disgust and mumbled words under his breath. One of his fellow soldiers heard him and laughed.

“If you think they’re so funny, why not join the witches in the back, Ren?” The soldier suggested with distaste in his mouth.

Ren looked at him as he paid her no attention, “Can’t take a bit of laughter Seth?”

Seth turned to her, “You know damn well that laughter is not my problem.”

“Keep it down Seth,” the soldier that was in front of them said.

“We have our orders and they just so happened to tag on a strike team to help us. This zone was just obtained a couple of weeks ago. It isn’t fully safe for us to be delivering weapons and supplies to Outpost Defiant.”

“Ramsey is right Seth; besides, we should be close to a nearby town. When we stop for the day, the first round is on me,” Ren cried in a cheerful tone.

“The sooner we get this mission done, the sooner we can get the hell away from these soul witches,” Seth replied, but it was not soft enough for Aleyah to not hear.

Her eyes contacted the back of Seth’s head and tried to listen in to their conversation. All she heard were laughs, the sound their armor made when brushing against each other, and the wheels of the wagons rolling along the dirt path they followed. Her sudden mood changed and a tight grip was placed on one of the blades she held. To calm her, Aleyos, grabbed the hand that tightly grasped her blade. She turned to him and looked into her twin brother’s eyes. She always found comfort in them because it reminded her of their mother’s.

Letting go of the blade handle, Aleyos separated himself from her and went back to his position. As he walked pass Yuto, Aleyah’s eyes caught him staring at her. Yuto knew something was up as well, for he was the one who pointed it out to Aleyos. She shook her head to notify him that everything was okay. A smile was exchanged between the two and they focused their attention forward once more.

The sun was setting and the skyline glowed with an orange color. The group spotted a village just over a hill so they headed there to rest.

Crowpeak Village

As they entered the village, there was silence. It was abnormal, the place seemed abandoned. They stopped in the middle of the town and scattered around the cargo.

“Hello? Is there anyone there?” Ramsey shouted. His voice echoed throughout the town. There was no response.

“I don’t like this, Captain,” Ren said.

“Me neither,” he agreed. Ramsey walked over to Aleyah. “Does your team have a sensory type witch?”

“That would be my brother.” She called upon Aleyos and he walked over to them. “Can you sense life here?”

“I can, but it’s faint. For some strange reason, my aura feels tampered with when I try using my abilities.”

“So, you too huh?” Yuto walked over and entered the conversation.

Aleyah became worried. Her aura was perfectly fine and yet Aleyos and Yuto’s were not. This also troubled Ramsey, the leader of the squadron. He walked back over to his troops and told them to be at alert. They unsheathed their swords and held onto their shields.

Nothing happened for about a minute until the doors of the temple in the center of the village suddenly opened. They all focused their attention on the man wrapped in black robes walking out of the building toward them. When he stopped, they had a better look at him. His head was shaved clean and he had a priest look to him. He was a bit rounded and his voice sounded raspy once he spoke.

“Welcome travelers!” He shouted. His arms were opened wide welcoming them all into his town. He continued, “There is no reason to taint this holy land with blood!”

Everyone turned their focus to Ramsey. They waited for him to give them the okay to put down their swords, but he wasn’t so sure yet. He felt disturbed by the eerie presence the town gave off and the priest did not help the situation.

He took a few more steps forward, “Please, I insist. We do not get visitors often and because of the war, it is hard to…lay trust with armed men and women such as yourselves.” The Priest said.

Ramsey looked passed the priest and saw men, women and children walking out of the temple. They hid behind the walls trying to observe what was going on. He lifted his hands and his men sheathed their swords.

“I apologize for the scene. We thought something bad had happened since we didn’t see anyone around.”

“No need for apologies good sir.” The Priest folded his arms over one another and turned around. “They mean us no harm! It is safe!” He shouted to the people in the temple.

They walked out of the building and greeted everyone at the cargo except the members of Team Trinity. Every time they got close, they would just stare at them as if they were a rare sight to see. This confused Aleyah, but she kept silent until she overheard a young girl speak to her mother about them.

“Are they warlocks too?” She asked. Her mother yanked her arm to warn her to stay quiet. The townspeople looked over at the girl and their eyes showed fear and anger. The girl hid behind her mother.

“She didn’t mean it.” Her mother was frightened.

The Priest clapped and got everyone’s attention. “Now, now, we have guests and the light of the moon has blessed us with its presence. Brother Ridley, please give these soldiers a place to stay and a stable to put their horses.”

Brother Ridley, a slim man dressed similarly to the Priest with a hood attached to his robe, walked over to the Priest and kissed the back of his palm, “Yes your grace.”

This caught Yuto and Aleyos by surprised, but Aleyah’s focus was on the little girl. She has never heard the term ‘warlock’ before and this interested her. Brother Ridley walked over to the soldiers, “Please follow me.”

The two horse riders pulled the reins of the horses’ saddles and followed Ramsey, Ren, and Seth as they were taken to the stable. Aleyos, Yuto, and Aleyah followed behind them, but as they walked, the townspeople stared at them again. This made Yuto feel uncomfortable, but Aleyah and Aleyos felt that something did not feel right.

After the horses and cargo were left at the stable, everyone was taken to Ridley’s home. He had a sizeable house built of wood and stone. Pictures of his wife and son were hanging on the walls. A fire was lit at the fireplace keeping everyone warm.

Aleyah was the closest to the fireplace. She felt the most heat and it soothed her nerves. After a while, her eyes wandered into the flame. Within the fire, she saw a reflection of herself. This was an ongoing thing with Aleyah. Anytime she would stare into a lake or a flame, she could see herself staring back as if the reflection was observing her own soul.

Seth stood next to Ramsey as they watched Aleyah stare into the fire. Yuto was in the kitchen helping Brother Ridley clean and Aleyos was outside with Ren and the two other soldiers. They were all back in normal clothing which now represented Stronghold Sentinel.

“I told you, Ramsey, those soul witches are as weird as they come.”

“Drop it Seth and call me captain.”

“Alright ‘Captain,’ what is your best guess?”

“Best guess for what?” Ramsey asked with confusion.

“On a scale from one to insane, how broken do you think this witch is?” He gave a chuckle.

Aleyah heard what he said and quickly turned around, “What did you say?”

Seth and Ramsey looked at Aleyah and noticed she was fuming. Ramsey took a couple of steps forward, “Please ignore him–”

“You heard me witch.” Seth grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back as he walked closer to Aleyah. “But instead of asking my captain here, how about I just ask you.” Looking down at Aleyah, he stood in front of her. The age and experience difference showed between the two. “How broken are you?”

Feeling insulted, Aleyah shouted, “You don’t know a damn thing about me!”

Her voice was heard from the kitchen and both Yuto and Brother Ridley came rushing out to see what was all the commotion.

“Aleyah, is everything okay?” Yuto asked.

Before giving her a chance to respond, Seth continued, “If it was up to me, your team would not be here. We would have left you back at Sentinel’s front gate. We don’t need help from some soul team. Especially one who is fresh out the pan filled with a bunch of children.”

As quickly and forcibly as she could, Aleyah grabbed onto Seth’s shirt, swung him around, and hung him over the fire. Everyone was shocked except Seth. He didn’t show an ounce of fear.

“Please stop this. Let him go- Seth, apologize!” Ramsey tried to calm down the situation, but it didn’t help. Aleyah could not hear anyone.

“Do it. Kill me like the insane witch you are. Prove me right.” Seth provoked on.

Aleyos, Ren, and the other two soldiers rushed into the building and saw what was going on. Ren shouted out Seth’s name in a pleading matter, but once again, Aleyah refused to hear anyone. At that moment, she wanted to push Seth into the fire and watch him burn for what he said, but she knew that would have multiple consequences and it would solve nothing. All she wanted was an apology, but instead, she got her brother’s hand on her shoulder to tell her to let him go on a safe surface.

She swung him back to his position and let go. He wobbled around to try and get his balance, but Ramsey was there to catch him.

“What happened?” Aleyos asked.

“I don’t know,” Yuto responded.

“I’ll tell you what happened. That leader of yours tried to kill me-”

“ONLY after you provoked her by calling her broken and insane.” Ramsey interrupted Seth. “Now I don’t want to hear another word from you, do I make myself clear?!”

Seth looked away and Ramsey grasped his collarbone, “I didn’t hear you private.”

“Ye…yes…” He replied in pain. Ramsey released his grip on his collarbone and in response, Seth started to massage it to ease the pain.

Furious, Aleyah stormed out of the house and Aleyos and Yuto chased after her. After making their exit, Aleyah was already down the path toward the entrance to the town where they had first arrived.

“Aleyah!” Her brother cried.

She stopped but did not turn to them. The clouds covered the moon’s gleaming glow and not many stars could be seen in the night sky. It was a perfect setting to hide her face in, but she still refused to show it.

“Talk to me, sister. Talk to both of us,” he continued to beg.

Yuto began to add on, “I wasn’t there for the full thing, but if there’s one thing I know about you, is that pass all the pain and suffering you and Aleyos witnessed before meeting me and my grandfather, no one is as together and sane as you two.”

The clouds separated, and the moon shined on them. Seth’s words hurt her more than she had realized. Tears fell down her red cheeks and onto the dirt. It was a rare sight to see Aleyah cry, but Aleyos knew the burden she carried. One would think it was twin intuition, but Yuto understood as well.

Losing their mother and father and becoming orphans at the age of 7, life was not easy to retain for a child at that age during the time of war. It was not until they were 10 when they would meet Yuto and his grandfather and it was not until they turned 14 when yet another family was taken from them. So of course, Aleyah felt broken. Everyone she loved, minus Aleyos and Yuto, had died by the hands of the Gods…by the fate of this war.

Her sanity weakened even more after joining Sentinel. With the numerous missions, they were tasked, not one enabled her team to put a dent in the Gods’ army. This started to make her see things differently. Was she on the right side of the war? Were all her efforts and training pointless in the end? She needed answers and she was not going to find them here.

“Don’t follow me!” Aleyah yelled as she ran toward a nearby forest. Aleyos and Yuto watched as her body disappeared pass the trees. They stood there in the moon’s gleaming glow until it became covered by the clouds once more.