Anne-Marie.

A holy and chaste name given to mortal saints for their service in the scripture of holy beings thought to be gods of great divinity and power.

Today, the woman known as Amaranth was dead, and the woman known as the Saint Anne-Marie would rise to the holy right of her position at the forefront of the great Allegiance of Heavens.

“And do you solemnly swear to uphold the truth, just, and noble cause of our order, no matter the task given to you, no matter what things you may do or horrors you may witness?” The high council of Elder Saints stood around the bare and pale woman, blades held high as they initiated her.

“I do my lords and ladies.” Amaranth remained cross legged before them, eyes shut and breath stead with a calm she had prepared for this momentous event. To be before the holy Elder Saints was a gift of it’s own right, but to be given their rule and wisdom was another thing entirely.

“Then rise. You are no more the woman you were. You are now the holy instrument of our coven, the Saint Anne-Marie, the Mighty Arch-Saint and hand of this council.” The many blades that surrounded her lowered towards her, as she rose to accept her role and newfound duty.

As she rose, she could feel a warmth draw across her skin, causing her to inhale lightly as she opened her eyes, her sight burning with a holy fervor she could only expect. The great divine armor of the Arch-Saints before her flowed across her skin, giving her a holy glow and a light of divinity.

Her newly anointed armor settled to her skin as she adjusted, the Elders around her sheathing their blades, the Divine Eye stepping aside and offering Anne-Marie to the blade that rested before her. It was ancient and archaic in design, yet it had been passed through the many centuries from Arch-Saint to Arch-Saint, a relic and sign of their divinity, said to grant the holy right to challenge any enemy of the Coven.

“I accept this gift with a humility of a thousand worlds.” Anne-Marie strode forwards and reached out to accept the blade, her hand placed against it’s hilt as she wrapped her fingers around it slowly, inhaling with a slight tinge of excitement to her.

She lifted the surprisingly heavy blade, taking a moment to adjust to it’s vast weight before sheathing it and turning back to the council of Elders. “What is your bidding.” the Divine Eye smiled and nodded to her. “Quite perceptive of our instrument. Your first task is already awaiting you.”

The Elders parted to show a starmap of Coven controlled territory. “One of our many covens is being assailed by an armada calling itself the Siren’s Calling. They require your aid immediately. You are to repel them and make an example of their leader for this grievous assault against our holy right.” The Divine Eye waved her forwards, ushering her to the exit of the room.

“Once you have completed that task, we have many more for you to attend. Make haste.” Anne-Marie simply nodded at her orders, turning and marching from the building. She would have time to revel in her new power in the lifestream. Until then, she had much work to attend to.

Anne-Marie marched from the high tower of the Elders, many coven workers passing by her and bowing in respect as she marched past. She took her time descending the great stairs of the tower to admire her home one last time, for she doubted she’d return here in the coming battles. The great stone city below, and the vast city floating above, contrasting each other with a great gap in both technology and belief.

The city and lands below believed in the words of the coven as they were inclined to, doing as the Elders dictated, whereas the sky continents were more lenient in their foolish beliefs and concepts. They were allowed sanctuary amid Coven worlds, so long as they obeyed the laws and rulings of the Coven.

At the great Lightbridge, Anne-Marie paused to take one lasting breath of her world’s rich summer air, the bio-fumes of the continent above giving it a rustic feeling it as she smiled. Something to give her comfort as she carried out her orders.

……

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……

She had not expected this.

A great and endless campaign across many galaxies, worlds, solar systems, all ending in either success or failure, Anne-Marie’s mighty force and fleet winning them with strategic victories when needed, but she had never expected such an attack as this.

It was either great brilliance or insanity that drove this warrior she had encountered to attack the holy world of the Elders. It was either true strategic might or simple stupidity that he brought an army barely big enough to be detected, and then swept through their defenses as if they were chaff to be cut.

Anne-Marie could barely bring herself to stop shaking as she stared in a blind fury at the destruction she saw before her. The cities were burning, the sky erupted into chaos and fire as the sky cities burned, crumbling to the world below in their destruction and flame.

She had never thought that something so horrific could have ever happened, even as she ordered her fleet to converge on the world. The Elders were lost, the cities ravaged and razed to the ground, armies clashing all across the world as it’s oceans boiled, it’s skies burned, and it’s air choked with smoke.

In one final and decisive battle, Anne-Marie finally ordered the final resort used. Her fleet retreated, the enemy declaring it’s victory as it’s leader stood at a throne of blood, bone, and death, watching and waiting, knowing that this fight was far from over. She made sure to remember that face, as her fleet retreated to a safe distance from the world.

That smug smirk of his, those silver eyes that pierced like needles through her armor, making her feel sick and disgusted all at once, as that rich black fur was more often than not drenched in the blood of both friend and foe.

“All ships, prepare to fire.” Anne-Marie stood at the helm of her mightiest cruiser, exhaling sadly as she watched the nearly two hundred battle cruisers prepare their firing solutions. “When ready to fire, we may pray.” She crossed her hands over the hilt of her blade as she gave the order.

The countless armaments barraged the world, shattering it’s surface, cracking deep into it’s core and splitting it to rubble, the following explosion causing many aboard the many ships to look away at it’s brilliance. Anne-Marie let out a sorrowful sigh as she watched the great explosion, expecting nothing to have survived. Until she saw a peculiar streak of black through the explosions, rippling outwards.

She could have sworn she saw the face of her enemy fly from the explosion, but surely no creature could survive such a cataclysm. She waved it off as a mere regret in the destruction of her homeworld and the annihilation of the center of her Coven’s worship.

…..

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…..

Many centuries passed until the great leader of the Coven, Anne-Marie finally passed away. the last great Arch-Saint, she left no heir to follow in her footsteps, her old age finally consuming her weak and weary soul as she gave in to the crushing force that had risen after the fall of the Coven. The might Siren Queen would surely be a mighty and fierce warrior and ruler.

Anne-Marie did not expect, however, what came when she finally gave in to her weary old body. She was promised by her coven a great and endless field of rich bounty and pleasure, with any desire she had to be granted at a whim. Not...this.

“Yep.”

“But the…”

“Nope.”

“And you’re not….”

“Nope.”

The rather irked woman that stood before her rolled her eyes at the Saint, tinkering with the impressive and rather massive blade she wielded. “You’re dead, and I’m here to collect on your rather...powerful soul.” Anne-Marie could hardly believe what she heard. Surely she couldn’t be dead, and still clung to life and was lost in her delusions.

And yet, before her lay her corpse, eyes shut as it lay there still and unmoving, Anne-Marie left with grieving Generals and Leaders at a great loss at her death. “Surely I can’t be truly dead.” The woman before her shrugged, wielding her blade at the Saint and commanding her, “You’re dead, now let’s get moving.”

Anne-Marie could hardly comprehend what happened in the following moments, her vision blurring and fading multiple times, until she finally stood before a behemoth a woman. The woman had her arms crossed, and she stood like a vast monitor of some great kingdom before the Saint, certainly larger than any mortal warrior she’d encountered before.

“Name.” The woman leaned down to look at her as she spoke out. “Saint Anne-Marie.” The woman gave a slight hum, eyeing her over for several moments. “Tell me Saint, would you rather rot away in a blissful paradise, or would you rather retain all your might and continue in what you believe is right?”

Anne-Marie paused at that, unsure of what the woman meant and what her intention was. “I wouldn’t know. I would surely continue in what I believe is right and just, but I would surely die once more-” The towering woman before her smirked and slammed a fist down upon the unsuspecting Saint. When the darkness and swirling chaos in her vision cleared, she blinked away the final dots in her eyes as she staggered in question at what happened.

“You just died again.” The woman smirked at her, sat before her. “Crushed under my fist.” Anne-Marie sputtered for a few moments, before realizing. “I can’t die...I can’t die!” she was both horrified and overjoyed at the realization. With this profound and mysterious power that she’d been granted, she could surely return and- “Ah. There it is. Sorry lass, but you’re dead.”

“How can I be dead if I can’t die?”

“Simple. you’re a soul. A soul can’t die, but a body can.”

“How does that even work?”

“Would you like the long or short version?”

“Short if you could.”

“Okay then.” the woman rubbed her head and got to explaining. After many hours had passed, Anne-Marie nodded in vague understanding as she soaked in the knowledge. “So….I am currently a soul, an incorporeal being that is made of pure energy, essence as it’s called, unable to be destroyed or killed, but able to die and lose strength. And if I accept your offer of working for one of the many powerful ‘realms’ associated with ‘reapers’, I can become one myself and continue to uphold my holy right?”

The woman nodded, shrugging. “That’s about as simple as I can put it. So, what’s your answer then?” She held a hand out, the hand far larger than Anne-Marie herself, as the woman waited for her answer. “I will….accept your offer.” She reached out, before she realized the woman was muttering as her hand closed around Anne-Marie, crushing her.

When her vision cleared once more, she realized that she felt much stronger than she had ever before. “Your realm is the realm of the Knights Errant. You will be stationed there to work under their king and rulers. Understand?” Anne-Marie nodded lightly as she inhaled and exhaled sharply, adjusting to the sudden strength she felt deep in her body. It was if the strength she felt in her youth had suddenly returned almost tenfold.

For the next many centuries, Anne-Marie worked diligently for her commanders, never questioning what she was ordered to do, but always training and working away endlessly to improve upon herself. Though she may not agree with what she did, she never questioned it, deciding that so long as she upheld her beliefs, and did not let her work cloud her beliefs, then she would not be corrupted or tainted.

Finally, after many eons of work and endless training, she was finally given a challenge that truly stood up to test her strength when the princess of the realm, princess Olivia returned in a huff, badly beaten and bruised.

…..

……

……

……

Such a crushing defeat. How could one creature be so overwhelmingly powerful? how could such a monster exist and have others fervently defending it’s obvious evil and defiance of nature. The light is supposed to win, not the evil and dark incarnate.

For many weeks, nearly two months after her crushing defeat, Anne-Marie staggered through the realm, heckled and harassed many times by any and all who passed by her. How could such a realm as this be so cruel and jaded. She was a holy warrior of the light and divine, how could they so willingly treat her as though she were a common harlot.

She was nearly raped multiple times, only escaping as they struggled to remove her armor. Never in her life, nor her death had she been exposed to such...depravity. After what felt like an agonizingly long month of no food, nothing to drink, heckling, near rape, near murders, and no way out or anywhere to go or return to, she could only think of one last place to go to for help.

When she arrived, she hardly expected to be allowed near the property, let alone to approach the door and knock. The wolf stood before her, looking over her pitiful state as she stood there, feeling naked and weak before the one who’d beaten her so savagely and easily. “Come on, let’s get you settled in, dressed, fed, and cared for then.”

Countless thoughts rushed through her head, but for now, all she could think was ‘thank you’, as she followed the wolf to one of the many rooms of that surprisingly vast mansion she was being escorted through. Despite what she had done, and what she had intended to do as her orders, those of the house seemed to welcome her openly, as though she’d done nothing wrong.

The wolf explained to her with a sluggish smile. “Don’t worry. Each of this household, whether family or resident has come to this place through hard times, and more than most of the residents have tried to murder, kill, or destroy this family, realm, or me on multiple occasions. Just try to settle in, take your time, and you’ll fit in just fine.”

Anne-Marie nodded lightly as she reached her room, looking within. “this’ll be your room. If you need anything, just ask. Also, if it’s food, avoid Avaria in the third floor kitchen. She’s a glutton.” Anne-Marie could only give a questioning look as the wolf walked off, leaving her to enter the room. “Light give me strength.” She exhaled as she walked in and closed the door behind her.