Son of Sacrament

DREAM ONE:

Around her was darkness, the cold and enveloping embrace of her prison. She knew not her name, her purpose, or even her being. The only thing she could grasp onto was the knowledge that it was her thoughts, her mind that acted independently of this void. With a deep breath, she let even that slip. She was nothing, in this very moment it was as if she did not exist, but without warning or care, she was blinded by the light of reality.

“Open it,” his voice consumed her mind. He didn't yet have a name, but his sheer presence near her awoke a writhing flame within.

“Chamber is open sir, you may proceed.” The second voice stuttered, submissive in his tone, trying its hardest to not provoke their master.

“Rosalin,” the senior voice dug deep into her mind, callous in its pronunciation, “Can you hear me?”

Reality began to settle as Rosalin's vision cleared. She still could not move, tight straps of metal held her up in the cylindrical prison. The man whose words pierced her mind stood proudly before her, his face covered in peeling flesh, revealing the charcoal bone underneath,

“Get her ready for testing, let us see if our newest addition was worth the trouble.”

A warm hand grasped onto Rosalin's arm, time itself seemed to slip away as the mumbling murmurs of a young man called out to her, “Get up girl, you're going to be late.”

CHAPTER ONE

Sweat dripped down her pale white skin, as Rosalin tore the covers off of her bed. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry. Stepping up and out of bed, she moved over to her small kitchen just on the other side of the one-room flat. The lights that dangled over her table had yet to be turned on, with the rate the rest of the planet was consuming power, turning them on would be irresponsible. Tossing her bowl of rice onto the table, Rosalin sat and stared out her frosted window. The sight of rain battering against the glass had become an all too familiar sight as Deltorie, Captial of the Deltorian Empire had now become a prison of its own making. The pitter-patter that had once endeared her to the rain now was a constant reminder of the never-ending torrent from the clouds.

It had begun rather unfortunately at Her Majesty Queen Draline the Twenty-Sixth's golden jubilee. From that day onward no contact from the entire Idle Galaxy, no escape, no freedom, just a hopeless decay. Wiping the grains from the corner of her mouth Rosalin quickly pulled over her light brown shirt, buttoning it up and moving over to the coat rack. Placing the dense black jacket over her shoulders she reached into her inner pocket to feel for her invitation. Clasping the cardboard between her fingers she bent down to retrieve her final addition. Her belt brown holstered both her blaster and her sword breaker, both of which she would need to today.

Fully dressed Rosalin stepped into her boots and followed the motion out of the door and into the hallways of the apartment. It didn't take long for her to step outside, at last, she might even make it on time. Although she was the best hunter planetside, her reputation for being imprudent had begun to grow. Perhaps it was the rain that flooded the streets of Eden, or like many others perhaps it was simply the depressing sky that loomed overhead as she made her way through the public housing. Whatever it was, it wouldn't a problem for long.

Making her way into the underground Rosalin watched eagerly for the signs that marked the Deltorie Science Bureau. It was the organization she worked for most of the time, dedicated to eliminating the rain. They'd figured out the source of the monsoon almost immediately. The array of towers plastered around the planet, that provided planetary shielding among other functions, most notably the long-unused and defunct weather manipulation project. The real mystery they'd yet to solve was why, the towers were guarded by legendary warriors, known as Knights of Deltorie. The ones tasked with guarding the towers however had gone rogue, killing every man, woman, and child in sight before plunging the world into a never-ending cycle of rain.

The full extent of Deltorie's arsenal was used up trying to shut off the towers. Even then, only after a fierce battle was the first tower put offline. From then on, the Science Bureau enlisted the aid of Loyal Knights of Deltorie, as well as civilian forces, known as Knight Hunters, to go into the remaining towers to kill the Rogue Knights. It had worked so far, despite heavy casualties, they'd shut down all but one of the towers.

Wiping the raindrops from her face, Rosalin looked up towards the massive complex known as the Deltorie Science Bureau. It looked like it was designed by a child. Large portions of the building were placed scattered along the acres of land connected by twisting hallways and sewn together by an overgrowth of vines and other shrubberies. There were no visible windows other than the large glass front doors, a testament to the isolation inside. It was building honoring the scientific effort, pushing past boundaries in the hopes of progress, never knowing when to stop.

At the entrance, Rosalin waited as she always did, watching as the glass doors automatically opened the way inside. It was much warmer inside the lobby a comfortable and welcoming air, smelling of hand sanitizer. Looking around the large foyer Rosalin made eye contact with one of the receptionists. Stepping over to her Rosalin rested her drenched arms sleeves down onto the counter.

“Doctor Sumo is waiting to see me.”

The lady barely looked up from her computer, “I'm sure he is. Do you happen to have an invitation on you?”

Opening her coat and rummaging through her pockets Rosalin pulled out the piece of the card she had felt prior. However as she moved to hand it over, the writing on the letter caught her attention, 'From Lucena.' This was not her invitation. Her hand retreated back into the safety of her coat, placing the card once again deep into the shelter of her pocket.

“I must have left at home. I hope this won't be an issue.”

The receptionist didn't look up this time, “Good day Ma'am.”

Bureaucracy was the best indicator that one was inside The Empire, it cluttered everyday dealings, stopped important work from getting done, “I insist that I speak to Doctor Sumo Xenophone.”

Her voice was more commanding than she had hoped, almost aggressive in its assertiveness but regardless of her tone, it seemed to draw the attention of a bald-headed man who had just walked down the tall flight of stairs at the other end of the lobby. He wore a pitch-black labcoat, contrasted with his patriotic red tie that sat well presented flat on his chest. At his waist, a sheathed dagger he used to rest his white-gloved hand.

“Rosalin, I would implore you not to speak to my staff that way,” he spoke elegantly, an indication of his rich upbringing or perhaps simply his role within the government. Doctor Sumo Xenophone the chief scientist at the Deltorie Science Bureau and master of the Knights of Deltorie, walked down towards her.

“Sorry doctor.”

Taking his hand off his dagger the doctor walked over to a small white door that introduced one of the rooms that littered the foyer. With his fingers, he called Rosalin over to him before opening the door and welcoming her inside, “Rosalin, Rosalin, Rosalin,” his voice drifted off as he shut the door behind himself, “What am I going to do with you once all this is over?”

Rosalin dared not look him in the eyes, rather moving over to the guest chair that sat on her side of the room. Once seated in the comfort of the leather cushions she looked up towards her employer who moved behind his oak desk, sitting himself down in the much more comfortable-looking office chair, “I'm sorry doctor, I haven't been sleeping well as of late.”

Sumo smiled as he placed his onto his desk drawers and removed a pen and paper, “We've known each other for a while, why do you insist on calling me 'Doctor' all the time?”

Of course, she was going to refer to him by his title. The man that sat across from her was in charge of the Knight's of Deltorie, not only was he the head of the entire facility, he was the right hand to the Queen herself. If it wasn't for his efforts Deltorie wouldn't be as close as it was to ending the rain, “Force of habit I suppose.”

“Indeed,” Sumo lowered his balding head. His dark hair had long but reseeded back revealing his olive skin underneath. Now only a thin line of hair guarded the circumference of his head.

Taking the opportunity Rosalin glanced across the table towards a piece of paper the doctor was reading. Scribbled at the top, coordinates just outside of Eden, “What are you doing that for?”

“It's the location of the rogue knight.”

“Isn't it in the tower?”

Sumo looked up, her question seemed to bother him, “Unfortunately not.”

Rosalin leaned back in her chair, the leather squeaked against her damp coat. A rouge knight was not something she was unfamiliar with - she after all was the one they most often sent in to clear out the towers, “I'll take it you want this knight dead then?”

"Her life is irrelevant,” Doctor Xenophone tone dropped its posh façade as he stopped his writing and pressed a small button on the surface of the desk, “Janet could you please send in Mr. Walker please.”

Within a few minutes a scrawny young man hobbled into the room, his face as pale as snow and his hands shaking uncontrollably, “This is Knight Hunter, Jake Walker, he was the only survivor of our most recent expedition into the primary control tower.”

Rosalin turned to face the man, his lips were swollen and one of his eyes was covered in gauze, “This wasn't the work of the knight was it?”

“Indeed it was not,” Sumo stood up and calmly approached the hunter, placing his hand upon Walker's back, “It has been the assumption of everyone in this bureau that the rain was caused by the Rouge Knights within the towers. As you are aware, the one that lies just outside of Eden is the commanding tower, and only with its deactivation will the other liberated towers follow suit.”

“I know,” she could feel her employer's frustration bubbling.

“Then you are also aware that the rouge knights guarding these towers will die for them?”

Rosalin was taken aback, “Sir, you've sent to kill over half of them?”

Sumo lifted his hand from the back of the soldier and placed it onto the hilt of his dagger, “Then tell me Rosalin, why is the Rouge Knight Zero Twenty Three not guarding her tower?”

Rosalin looked upon her fellow hunter, his body was clearly injured, but none of the telltale injuries of a Knight, “Maybe it got bored?”

Sumo smiled as his grip tightened, “Perhaps.”

As the doctor began to move back towards his seat, without warning he suddenly slammed his fist into the wall crumpling the plaster, “But why then, did a Knight of Deltorie along with a group of civilian hunters die when entering the tower yesterday?”

She didn't have an answer instead, Rosalin waited patiently for Doctor Xenophone to answer himself.

“I don't know either Rosalin, Jake here can't talk, or wright or anything, and the Knight we sent in there is dead. The only hope for answers is you.”

“How?” Rosalin stood up eager for his response.

“The data core in Knight Zero Eight, it is with this rouge knight, she seems to be guarding it. Retrieve the data core and we will have our answers.”

Rosalin turned to the desk and picked up the piece of paper Sumo had been writing on, folding it she placed it into her coat pocket and made her way to the door, “Anything else I should know?”

“There's a truck waiting for you outside, it'll have Zero Twenty-Three's file in the glove box.” Sumo moved back to the table guiding the soldier with his hand to the seat Rosalin had been in just seconds prior, “try not to get yourself killed Rosalin, this one has a record for brutality.”

“I'll keep that in mind, sir,” Gripping the door handle Rosalin opened it letting the cool foyer air rush past her, “but no promises.”

CHAPTER TWO

Sage pulled the covers over his scaly body, the wooden floor where he lay provided little in the way of comfort or warmth, yet he was not going to complain. It was almost time, at least he thought, in his dozy state time seemed almost none existent. He wasn't asleep, he couldn't get much of that, rather his eye was closed and in his mind, he thought of better times and more excuses as to not get up. Finally, he threw the thin cloth off of himself and proceeded to stand using all of his willpower. Yet as his cold head lifted itself up lazily Sage stopped himself from going any higher. His sleeping quarters, if he could call them that, encompassed little more than two square meters of flooring sitting under a staircase. Crouching down he made his way out of the closet he called home and into the main building. Outside the smell of dust and old books awoke him faster than any coffee could. Coughing and waving his good hand in front of his face he called out to the building's owner.

“Stigma you here?”

His question was quickly answered as the floorboards above him began to creak and help fill the main hall with even more particulates. Moving over to a small wooden chest Sage opened it. Inside was everything he was going to need for the day. His hook was at the top of the pile, a leather gauntlet strapped onto his right arm in place of his now missing hand. Under that sat his clothes, a beige fur coat he had acquired after the rain settled in, his deep brown pants and matching shirt, and most importantly his leather eyepatch. Hoisting his equipment out and onto the long table that sat in the middle of the room, his attention moved towards the staircase. Hobbling down gripping tightly to the wooden banister was his old boss Stigma. Previously the infamous White Dwarf Gang leader, he was now nothing more than a glorified manager.

“For Salvation's sake Sage put your fucking clothes on,” his nasal voice took a while to get used to, particularly this early in the morning but Sage heeded his words and began getting dressed.

“You know what time it is?” Sage looked up as he pulled up his pants.

“Clock says eight. So you've only got an hour to be at the bureau.” Stigma had finally stumbled his way to the ground floor. The Qur'ak stepped, his crutches leading him forward, his one leg trying to catch up behind him.

“Trucks ready?”

Stigma picked up a book from a chair and sat down, placing the novel onto the table, “It better be, seeing as how that was your job.”

Two months Sage had been living here, two months they had been planning this heist. It wasn't something they could ever try again, a once-in-a-lifetime chance. With his eyepatch strapped over his socket and his coat placed over his shoulders, Sage moved back over to the wooden chest. The final pieces inside lay deep within. Reaching his hand down he pulled out his rapier, his pistol, and the documents that he would need for all this to work. The two months were about to end.

Stigma, his bug eyes staring over at his accomplice, “Go over the plan with me, I just need to make sure you got this.”

Sage closed the chest and stepped over more books that were strewn across the floor. He positioned himself opposite Stigma, who hadn't taken his eyes off of him, “Take the truck from outside, drive to the Science Bureau.”

Stigma nodded, “Make sure you present those papers, and for the love of Salvation put the knight's file in the glove box!”

“I hope this hunter is as good as they say. From what I've read in that file Miss Clay ain't no pushover,” Sage felt a tingle down his spine, “regardless, let them fight the rogue knight, kill the hunter, take the core.”

“And?”

Sage placed the documents into his coat's inner pocket and looked towards the front door, “Burn the truck, take the rail back here and act as it never happened.”

The dusty bookshop filled itself with the sounds of rain and the gusts of wind, “Sage,” Stigma stood up, pressing his hands against the table and forcing a smile, “we'll fix this, I promise.”

With a nod, Sage left his partner grabbing the keys by the door, “Sure.”

Watching the rain hit the worn roads and tuning out all noise but the tinny patters of the rain he felt almost tranquil. As Sage peered forward he felt a cold and smooth hand press against his arm, “Are you watching the road serpent?”

His trance was quickly lifted as Sage looked over quickly to his passenger, “Yeah I am, just thinking is all.”

The woman who sat beside him rolled her eyes and lifted her feet up onto the dashboard leaning back in her chair. She held a piece of paper in her hands, hastily folded with a list of words he could not quite read. Stigma had made him very aware of his passenger's skills, her expertise, and the fact she was rather unimpressed by serpent folk; however, that was not an exclusive trait to her by any means. Serpents were not a particularly well-liked species in the Empire. Unlike humans, Qur'ak or even the Mogri, Serpents had developed a reputation of being criminals and despots, a stereotype he himself fit easily into. Criminal life was easy to fall into when you're a desperate serpent fleeing the clutches of the reservation moon of Romeo. Sage lifted up his hand and went to rub his itching cheek. Like a second instinct, he stopped just as he felt the cold press of his metal hook against his scales. He still wasn't used to it, this unnatural attachment to his body. Placing his hand back down he could feel the eyes of the girl on him,

“Is there something you want?”

The woman lowered her legs back off the dash and swiveled in her chair to face him, “I don't think you are paying attention. Not planning on killing me are you?”

“What?”

The woman had folded the paper neatly back into a small rectangle holding it between her fingers, “I asked that no serpent be my driver and yet here you are.”

Sage couldn't take his eye off the road, the long winding stretch prohibited him from turning his head, “As you mentioned before. I'm just doing my job ma'am, got all the paperwork.”

“And yet you don't even know my name.”

Sage could see the underpass that lead out of Eden, “Rosalin, Rosalin Ebonhawk wasn't it?”

He couldn't stop himself from turning to see her reaction. Her face, a pale white rested itself thoroughly unimpressed. Sage had worked with humans before, even ones that hated his guts, but this girl that sat expressionless next to him somehow topped them all. Rosalin remained silent as she turned herself back to look out the passenger window, the journey ahead wasn't physically long, but the silence made it feel as if it was going to stretch off into infinity.

As they emerged out of the underground tunnels and up into the gushing flow of never-ending rain they saw it. The source of all his misery and guilt. The weather control tower stood tall, reaching kilometers into the sky and piercing the clouds that stopped even the most durable of ships. It was much more than a control tower however and since the project of weather control was first abandoned it was turned into Deltorie's first space elevator. The tower itself reached well out of the atmosphere and was used to help dock vital spacecraft. Yet with a rogue knight inside the tower remained empty.

“Ever heard of living metal snake?”

Sage pushed harder on the accelerator climbing the steep incline to the main highway, “Medical thing isn't it?”

Rosalin leaned back, the Jenifier's file firmly in her hands, “Extremely rare, but it seems to be the knight's augmentation. She's filled with the stuff.”

Sage looked at the horizon the shadow of a large complex emerging over it, “So what? She's like invincible?.”

Rosalin looked unconvinced, “I didn't say that, she might just need some more 'encouragement' in order to finally be at peace.”

“Peace, ay?”

The parking lot of Timber Tim's was much larger than he had first anticipated, the sprawling hive of empty car parks filled with the downpour of nearly a years worth of rain. He could feel the truck slip and slide as he attempted to park, the water reaching up to almost drowning the tires. With his right-hand firm on the steering, he swerved into a car park directly next to the main entrance of the building, reaching over to the hand break he noticed it was already up. The hand of Rosalin Ebonhawk lifted itself away from the break and over to the door handle where she clambered out and into the rain, “Wait here snake.”

Sage rolled his eye and followed suit making his way out of the driver's side, cringing as his legs became submerged in the dirty, freezing water. Timber Tim's must have been one of Deltorie's largest hardware stores, the sheer scale of the entrance almost intimidated the serpent as he had to step back to take a full view of the massive glass door that guarded the dark interior. As Sage moved further back he felt the cold press of metal against the back of his head.

“I told you to wait in the truck,” Rosalin said sternly, pressing the barrel of her gun deeper into the snake's flesh.

Sage turned around to look at his aggressor. She was aiming a blaster into his forehead, “You're not going to shoot me with that at this distance. You'd do just as much damage to yourself as you would to me.”

Rosalin's scowl almost seemed to fade, but whatever glimpse of joy she got from his response faded instantly as she holstered the blaster and reached for the blade on her hip. Sage stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, “Ay no need. I understood the rules, they're just stupid.”

“You'd live longer if you listened to them, serpent.” Rosalin removed her hand from the hilt of her sword breaker and moved over to the large glass door wading through the dense water, “I've never had a driver so bold, nor one so aware of firearms.”

Sage looked at the back of the woman's head, her long black hair reached down to her shoulders, the ends of it looking as if they had been hacked off with a cleaver, “I'm a specialist for this mission in particular hence the reason for me being a snake.”

“Why would I need a specialist?”

Sage moved over to her, “You ever retrieved a data core before?”

In the pounding rain Rosalin drew her sword and plunged the blade straight into the glass door, the impact shattered it, causing a cascade of splintering shards. The shower of glass covered them both, mimicking the rain that flowed around them, “Follow me then.”

Sage attempted to avoid the barrage of glass in vain, pulling his coat over himself shielding what he could of his face, “I wonder if the Knight knows if we're here now?”

Rosalin was already stepping inside, the current of water washing down at her feet began to fill and spread out over the once dry marble tiles of the hardware store. The warm air from inside rushed outwards, the scent of wood's and paints filled Sage's nostrils as he followed behind the woman. The interior of the store aside from the newly formed puddles was dry, a welcome respite from the outside downpour. Unlike other shelters across Eden, the store had an untouched feel to it, a relic almost, of a time long before the rains, back when the sun shone in the sky and the stars of the night sky shone just as bright. With careful steps, Sage did his best not to slip whilst trying to keep pace with the determined march of Rosalin.

“You know for a professional you seem to just be walking into the nest of a rouge knight pretty nonchalantly.” Sage couldn't risk looking up the glass and water made each of his steps feel as if they would be his last.

With a bound Sage made his way to where the outside water had yet to reach, taking another step forward free from slipping he felt himself slamming into Rosalin. Falling back and into the water he had just avoided and pushing Rosalin down onto her knees, “And for a professional, serpent, you are anything but.”

Lifting himself up he moved over to assist the human who remained hunched over, “Need a-”

“Quiet.”

Rosalin spoke softly, her voice almost being drowned out by the faintest patter of rain. Sage looked around, his single eye dancing around the seemingly infinite rows of shelving and renovation materials, “Jenifer?”

Rosalin stood back up, her hands firmly gripped onto the hilt of her sword breaker, the blade itself pointed outstretched aiming down the many aisles, “It knows we're here.”

In sync, both of the hunters moved further into the store, Stigma had given relatively no information on this knight, it was supposedly invincible, kept alive by two horns that flooded the knight's systems with living metal. Living metal, for all

intents and purposes, did not exist. It had been developed under the guidance of the last head of the science bureau.

Sage drew his blade, a long rapier that had been resting on his hilt. Although he could not hear the knight, he certainly felt its gaze. With rapier extended, Sage stood away from his companion, “Jenifer! We come in peace, show yourself!”

Rosalin's stare stuck him harder than his previous fall, “Fuck.”

A faint hiss of what sounded like steam echoed out from one of the aisles, “A serpent? Sent by Sumo? He must be desperate!”

Within a flash, a pale and gaunt figure sprinted out of the aisle labeled 'Hardwoods' too suddenly for anyone to fully react. As Sage blinked he felt the spray of viscous liquid covering his face. The iron-rich fluid dripped down his long face, as Rosalin gripped the arm of Jenifer Clay, her hand poking out of the girl's back, “He told me to kill you first.”

Rosalin coughed, a spray of blood wretched out of her mouth, and her gaze fixated onto the ghostly eyes of the rogue knight before she finally collapsed. Motionless, the limp body of Rosalin slid down gently off the gore-covered arm of Jenifer Clay, the twenty-seventh Knight of Deltorie. The stepping over the corpse her maw opened, ready to Sage who stood frozen in terror, “That was too easy. I was hoping for a fight,” the glassy eyes of the knight locked onto him, “I hope you'll do better.”

Sage's grip on his rapier tightened, Jenifer stood too close for an effective thrust, but even if he could attack, her speed was nothing short of terrifying. Considering his options Sage clenched his jaw, wiping the blood from his mouth, “Don't suppose we can just talk this out?”

Jenifer Clay was more disgusting than he had first imagined, her face was pale and her skin tight showing off her rigid jaw bone. Just as Stigma has stated atop her head were two horns that protruded outwards from her skull connected to her bald head through a mess of wires and tubbing. Further down he could see the effects of the living metal, the pulsating shinning silver that constructed her chest and arms. It moved around like a liquid but from the damage her arm did to Rosalin, it was certainly solid enough. Her mouth opened to speak revealing a linning of horribly jagged teeth that littered her greenish gums, “What do we have to talk about serpent?”

Slowly and obviously sheathing his blade as to not incur the wrath of the knight, Sage began to make his way around her, “You see I do not work for Doctor Sumo, and I am not the partner of this human here.”

Jennifer's brow raised in suspicion as her glassy eyes wandered over to the shattered door, “No? Then who are you may I ask?”

Hand and hook raised, Sage squatted down next to Rosalin, patting her down and checking for any sign of a pulse. Placing two fingers against Rosalin's neck he realized the worst. The gaping hole through her chest was a clear indication of her state. He was now alone. Looking up towards the pacing Knight, he waited until her cold stare moved across the expansive entrance. Taking the opportunity Sage reached over the corpse pulling at the holster resting trapped beneath Rosalin. Unclipping the blaster Sage stood back up, priming the firing mechanism, “You aware of the incident on Callendrone?”

Turning to face him Jenifer paused at the sight of the glowing blaster. Taking one step back she tried her best to recoil away, “Well I'm the Knight Slayer.”

With a flick of his wrist Sage arced up the blaster, pulling back the trigger. It let out a violent hiss as a spray of liquid aragonite covered his target. The gun was designed with armor in mind, even if armor these days were all bulletproof the liquid crystal heated up to insane temperatures would seep into the cracks of even the most advanced suits and grow outwards and inwards, plunging shards of the original aragonite crystals deep into the victim's skin. Deadly from mid ranges, near useless from afar, and suicidal from up close, the aragonite blaster with the weapon of killers. In an instant of touching the cold liquid metal chest of Jenifer Clay, the crystals began to form, jutting inwards all over her body causing the knight to keel over in pure agony. Throwing the blaster down and pulling out his blade Sage jutted it deep into one of the Knight's horns causing the glass casing to burst open letting a gray slime cover the floor. However, as Sage tried to pull his rapier out the living metal within the glass chamber began climbing and slithering up his narrow blade.

In an instant, he let go recoiling his hand to his side. Stepping back Sage dropped the now empty blaster, quickly drawing his own pistol. Slowly Jenifer Clay stood back up, her body littered with shards of orange crystal many deep within her flowing armor, “You are a fool, an idiot, a worm! You can not kill the might, the unending resolve of Deltorie! You can not slay the brilliance of the great Doctor himself!”

Sage fired, his bullet melting into the flowing armor of the knight, “Shit.”

Holstering his pistol Sage sprinted deeper into the bowls of Timber Tim's, jumping over Rosalin's body and discarding her blaster. Turning only for a second to see Jenifer tearing the injured horn from her head and tossing it aside, “Run Knight Slayer! Run while you can!”