The dim lights, cast throughout the narrow stairwell, slowly dimmed even more as General Valdrin reached the bottom of the short, narrow steps and pulled the thick black door open. The flames from the torches were snuffed out as the strong winds of the current storm swept into the stairwell and ripped the heavy door from Gant's hands. It hit the wall and lay still as the two men stepped out onto the stone walkway, surrounded by surging waters, with the wind strong and rain hitting and stinging their faces.
Gant looked over his shoulder and saw Amadeus drink in the freedom that he had just gained. The general thought the man was going to run free and plunge into the water to secure his own freedom but instead, Amadeus surprised the general by waiting patiently for the military man to continue down the walkway.
As he continued down the misshapen stone walkway, jagged and threatening, General Valdrin looked out at the storm raging above their heads. The large marble pillars, which held the castle above the water, dove deep into the icy depths of the Fallen-Gale Ocean and surrounded the walkway and his ship, but the storm was still present around them. The weight of the entire castle rested above their heads like a threatening mass but the storm seemed to threaten to tear it down at any minutes. With high waves, thick biting rain, severe winds, loud thunder and sky cracking lightening, the storm looked like Hell on the world.
The midnight black sky hanging overhead didn't comfort him any as he stepped out onto the main deck of his ship and was suddenly caught off- balance by a surging gust of wind. Captain Albalis met him at the railing of the Ocean Hawk, his flagship, and regarded him with worried eyes. "General, we need to get moving back to shore. This storm is picking up. We can't stay here much longer." Those worried eyes, that looked up at him in fear, turned towards the walkway and squinted through the heavy rain in confusion to see Amadeus shortening his distance to the ship. "Is that him?"
General Valdrin nodded and shifted his gaze to the prisoner as well. "Yes, that's him; the only hope we have left." He noticed that Captain Albalis had already spoken to the crew, the ship was ready, and as soon as Amadeus was aboard, they'd pull in the anchor and set sail back for shore. He hoped they could make it safely in this growing storm.
His hand automatically shot to his sword hilt again as he watched Amadeus. The same gust of wind, that had knocked him off-balance, had also hit Amadeus and parted his coat and cloak, revealing what he wore underneath. Fear flooded Gant's mind along with hope; the hope seemed more present now then ever.
Beneath the coat, Amadeus was clad in all black clothes, dampened and heavy from the rain, with a broadsword strapped to his hip, a spear strapped to his back, two daggers hidden beneath his belt, and a hand axe strapped to the other side of his hip. A chain ran up his chest and over his shoulder, securing a silver breastplate over his breast with an emblem of a black skull with a blue rose entwined through the empty eye sockets and gaping mouth of the skull.
Amadeus stepped up onto the boat and Captain Albalis immediately gave the order to pull up the anchor and set sail back for shore. The castle was five miles off shore and in this weather, Gant thought it might take an hour or so to get back to shore; he was going to be careful with his ship.
"Amadeus?" He slowly and reluctantly released his grip on the sword hilt and turned to face the prisoner. "Welcome aboard my flagship, the Ocean Hawk. This is Captain Albalis, commander of the Ocean Hawk and my most trusted military leader." He looked between them and then saw that Amadeus' eyes were already searching the captain up and down with interest.
"Captain Veronica Albalis," the captain said, holding her lace covered hand out to Amadeus, who took it and gave her a bow worthy of a palace ball, not a military ship in the middle of a storm. "Commander of the Ocean Hawk as the general has said and honorable captain to Kilrinyin." Her dark green eyes, eyes that jumped out at people with unearthly beauty, met Amadeus' hard blue eyes and the prisoner smiled happily. She brushed long wavy shoulder-length black hair, wet now from the storm, out of her face and frowned at the tall man before her. "And I don't appreciate your wondering eyes prisoner! Don't let me catch them wondering again or I'll cut them out!"
"I'll try not to let it happen again, Veronica," Amadeus replied softly, the smile never leaving his face. His voice was soft and lordly. "But your beauty is so magnificent that it'll be hard for me." He glanced at Gant and laughed. "Women in the army General? A lot has changed in the seven years that I've been locked away."
"Not necessary, prisoner," Veronica answered in an uninterested voice. "I'm one of the only women in the Kilrinyin army. Our nation is so exhausted from war that I thought it would be my duty to take up arms and fight against the Dar Margerth like my brothers have. The world is nearly at an end prisoner and someone must step up and take the threat head on."
"Amadeus Nightvale. You may call me Amadeus, Veronica."
"And you may and will only address me as Captain," the woman spat back angrily, which Amadeus thought was still beautiful in her manner. Her smooth body swayed with the motion of the ship as they started forward through the storm. "And as far as I'm concerned, you don't have a name prisoner! Not with what you've done to the world, killer!"
General Valdrin turned his gaze back to Amadeus and once again wrapped his hand around his sword handle, afraid that the man was going to erupt and kill the woman, a good friend of his. But instead, Amadeus nearly nodded in understanding, lowered his gaze to the deck boards of the ship, and whispered softly, "Very well, Captain. Now if you'll please excuse me. General, do you have a library aboard, or even a small collection of books? I'd like to brush up a little on the past seven years before we reach shore. Captain." He bowed his head to her and turned to face Gant.
"I'll be watching you prisoner," Veronica stated, turning to leave. "I think you may have mad a big mistake Gant." Her black high-heeled boots carried her black and gray clad body away, with the lace at her wrists and neck rippling in the wind like diamonds of the very waves of the storm.
"I've never understood women," Amadeus told General Valdrin, "but damn have I missed them." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow to the general; an answer to his question was in order.
"We do have a couple books onboard Amadeus," General Valdrin replied, scratching his head uncertainly. "But they'd be on the lower decks. I'll have someone escort you there. But I can't guarantee anything special. The books you're probably looking for are probably at the Royal Library in Kilrinyin. But take a look if you want."
"Thank you General."
Gant called over a sailor and soon the man disappeared into the bottom deck of the ship with Amadeus behind him. It was the first time General Valdrin had let Amadeus from his sight; damn, he hoped he had made the right choice. He hoped he didn't regret it. He examined everything on deck, decided it was fine, and left his crew to do the job they were there to do. He went below to his cabins where Veronica was waiting for him. She was seated in a high-blacked chair, bolted to the floor, with her heeled books on the bolted down table in front of her and a frown on her beautiful face.
He gave her a weak smile as he closed the door behind him and took a seat in the chair across from her. "I know what you're going to say Veronica. But you agreed to bring him aboard too. It was King Lairwil's wish and we couldn't ignore it."
"I know," Veronica agreed, shaking her head and taking her feet down from the table. "But something about him doesn't sit well with me. And it's not just the way he looked at me either. That's expected from a prisoner. But he was so calm when he spoke. He didn't sound like a killer, which scared me even more. He sounded like a gentleman that had been wrongly imprisoned!"
"But you know as well as I do Veronica," Gant started, giving her a small smile from across the table, "that Amadeus wasn't wrongly imprisoned. He admitted to ever murder he committed. He admitted to them without remorse captain, but believe it or not, this man is the only hope we have left."
She shook her head in frustration more then anything else and leaned over the table, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice as if she thought someone might overhear her words. "But he wanted to see a library! What kind of murderer wants to read books? He didn't want to study up on the past seven years Gant, he wanted to see what your ship had aboard. He wanted to see the layout of the Ocean Hawk in the least noticeable way. Can we truly trust him?"
"Yes we can trust him," General Valdrin whispered back confidently. He realized he was whispering too but didn't pay any heed to it. "Of course we can trust him. There's something about his presence that makes me trust the man. Call me crazy but I honestly think that he killed all those people because they deserved it, not because he wanted to. He's an assassin but something about him makes me think that he doesn't have a killer's heart."
Veronica threw her head back and laughed, a sweet rich sound. "You actually believe that Gant? That he's not a killer at heart? He is as much a killer as any other prisoner in there and you can't deny it. I know his plan Gant, even if you can't see it, and I won't be blind and stupid to it. I'll watch him and make sure he doesn't pull anything off that might jeopardize anyone aboard this ship or back on land. If no one else will step up and take the responsibility then I'll take it."
As she got up and stalked towards the door, with the black sheathed war sword swinging, as gracefully as she walked, at her hip, Gant called after her, "You have it all wrong Veronica. He's a brilliant man. He is studying up on the past seven years so he can be up to date with what's happening around us." Another gust of wind hit the side of the ship and thunder cracked the black sky overhead. "You'll just have to trust him captain. You don't have time to watch his every moves."
"Maybe not later but as long as he's aboard, I won't let him slip from my sight." He opened the door and left General Valdrin sitting alone in his quarters. Sighing deeply, hoping to reach shore as soon as possible, Gant stood up and opened a nearby cabinet. He pulled a bottle of ale from the cabinet, poured himself a glass, and returned the bottle afterwards. This was going to be harder then he thought.

Veronica left the general's quarters and started down the hallway to the stairwell, and then down to the lowest deck of the ship. With three lower decks in all, to hold the crew and cargo, the ship's small portable library had to be stuck in a small room at the far end of the lowest deck. It was there to be used but it was small enough not to take up too much room on the ship.
As the waves, created from the strong gale, smashed against the side of the war vessel, Veronica found herself stumbling off-balance. She had lived most of her life on ships and for a wave to do that to her, she knew it had to be a strong storm raging outside the hulls of the Ocean Hawk. But she wasn't going to worry about the storm outside. All her thoughts were focused on the storm just waiting to explode as he sat in the library supposedly reading up on the last seven years that he had missed while in prison. There was a good reason why he was in prison and she knew damn well that he shouldn't have been released.
And as long as he was aboard the ship, she wouldn't let him leave her sight. She didn't trust him; not even with a single silver mark that a stranger might off-handedly toss his way. She needed a way to watch him. But she knew that guards would be too easy for him to spot, even guards the hid well with the surrounding crew. She had to remember that the man was a professional assassin, a professional killer, and he knew all the tricks that were hidden in the pages of different books. She could watch him herself but hell, she knew that would be too obvious. He'd be able to pick up on that the moment she started her little spying operation. She just had to get the fact through her head that she had to trust him for the time being but it wouldn't be easy in any way.
Catching her balance almost immediately, she paced her steps quickly and soon found herself standing outside the thick black door that led into the small library onboard the ship. Pushing the door open with ease, she walked into the small dimly lit library, with its low ceiling and bookshelves crammed full with books of various kinds. The library was silent and she noticed that no one was present.
Wrapping her hand around the handle of her sword, which she had found out she could use better then half the men onboard the ship, she slowly started into the library with searching eyes. The prisoner might have left already; she was sure a crewman had shown him to his temporary quarters but she didn't quite remember. Anger bubbled up inside her. Not anger towards Gant or the prisoner but anger towards herself. Why had she worn these bloody high-heeled boots today? They echoed throughout the library with each step she took.
Moving around a bookshelf with ease, doing her damnedest to quiet her boots, she saw an oak table bolted to the floor with the prisoner seated at the chair behind it, also bolted to the floor. Books, both open and closed, covered the table and slid back and forth with every shift the ship made with the waves, like a bizarre balancing dance. She sighed heavily and slowly moved closer to the table, keeping her hand wrapped around the handle of her sword. She noticed that the prisoner's cloak and coat with thrown over the back of the chair, leaving his damp clothes and armor visible. His spear was unhooked and leaning against the table within easy arms reach.
"These books are magnificent," the prisoner started, never looking up from the book he held in his hands. "They're quite useful. Thanks for allowing me to use them." Veronica noted that he had pulled most of his hair back but on either side of his face, it hung over his eyes and cheeks, making his blue eyes secret and threatening when his head was lowered. "I'd thank Gant but that can wait until later. Since you're the captain of this ship, I believe it's you I should be thanking."
"Save your thanks for someone else," Veronica cut in sharply, anger on the tip of her voice. "You may have fooled everyone else but I'm not as easily fooled prisoner! I know what you're up to and I'll make sure it ends when we reach shore. Trusted or not, I think they made a big mistake letting you out of that prisoner and I'll be damned if you're going to walk on the free soil of my continent."
She expected an angry argument, a snappy remark, maybe even an angry attack but he gave nothing. She tightened her grip on the handle, ready to defend herself but the man didn't even glare at her with fury filled eyes. He simply nodded, closed the book, and leaned back in the chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. No anger was present anywhere on his face but instead he held no emotion at all.
The ship rocked again and she braced her legs to keep from falling. "I see what you think captain but I assure you that I'm not going to attack anyone onboard this ship. And if you want to see me back in that prison, it might even be arranged. All depending on how I carry out this job of mine, which I don't even think I know what it is yet." He paused and brushed hair out of his face. "I don't expect you to like me Captain so I'll do my best to stay out of your way, all right?" He raised his eyebrow in a questioning gaze, waiting for an answer.
She was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She had never heard anyone remark in such a calm and creepy way before. It terrified her. It was as if this man was trying to high something from the rest of them and only when the time was right would he announce it. But that thought scared her even more. Her eyes drifted to the spear and suddenly she thought that that might be his secret and he was merely waiting to strike at a good time. He was a trained assassin after all.
But the spear wasn't the thing bothering her. What was really scaring her was the emblem on his breastplate. The seemingly grinning black skull with the beautiful rose upsetting the balance of the two had something about it that didn't sit well with her. And the worse part was that she knew she had seen it before but she couldn't quite remember where.
"If you'd please excuse me Captain, I'd like to get back to my studying. We'll be landing on shore soon, I can feel it with the steadily decreasing shifts of the ship and I'd like to know as much as possible before we land. I want to see if these Dar Margerth are mentioned anywhere. Could I have some privacy please Captain?"
She nodded, with her eyes still locked on the skull and rose emblem on his breastplate. "For now prisoner," she muttered as she gathered herself again and met his hidden gaze. "But I'll still be watching you prisoner. Don't think you can get away that easily."
"Very well, Captain."
As he lowered his gaze back to the open book in front of him, Veronica turned and started for the library door with a quickness that she had never before known. The way the skull-so familiar to her in some way- had been grinning at her with the innocent rose entwined around it, made her nerves freeze and fear bubble up deep inside her. And besides, the man was right, as much as she hated to admit it, but they were close to shore now. The man might have been a prisoner for seven years but he was still knowledge of many things and apparently war vessels was something in his knowledge.
Before she had made it five feet, her eyes fell upon a white backed book poking out from the shelf in front of her. As she neared it, she slowed and gasped in horror. She didn't know if the prisoner heard her and she didn't frankly care. Pulling the book out with trembling fingers, she held it in her left hand, and stared down at the cover in free. On the cover was a black skull with a blue rose entwined through it; the small emblem that was on the prisoner's breastplate.
No title was apparent but before she knew what she was doing, she reached behind her belt and pulled out a black handled dagger with a purple crescent moon, with three purple stars to its right, decorating the shiny handle. Of all times, not now, she yelled furiously in her head but she was powerless to it. She turned the dagger upside down and took the end of the handle between the thumb and middle finger of her right hand and began to swing it back and forth; slowly at first and then faster. As she did this, she closed her eyes in anger, gripped the book tighter in her left hand, and gave into the vision that flashed as clear as day behind her closed eyelids.

A high vaulted ceiling to a large ballroom of a palace. The ballroom was brightly lit and the tall windows that made up the walls let an excellent view to the full moon hanging overhead in the dark midnight sky. Balconies lined the room allowing a cool sea breeze to sweep through the room where the king and queen had dozens of people entertaining their many guests. Lords and Ladies danced and conversed in the large room, sipping wine and eating appetizers that the many servants carried on trays laid across their shoulders.
All the guests were dressed in fine clothes and seemed to be enjoying the ball as much as the king and queen were. Veronica walked across the white tiled ballroom and saw a tall man walking across the tiles as well. He wore a finely cut high-necked black coat, buttoned all the way despite the heat. He was clad in all black and his short black hair had been spiked in an attempt to pull attention away from his dark blue eyes but their was so much color held in those eyes that they seemed to catch your soul from afar. She knew they caught and held her soul, despite the fact that she had never been at this ball and had never seen any of these people in her life. Veronica was always in the visions that flashed before her and most of the time they were a mystery to her. She had never been at any of them. What troubled her was the black sheathed sword swinging at his hips. It wasn't a decorative sword but instead, it was a sword meant for a battlefield, not a ball.
The black clad man, with the penetrating eyes, was a shadow walking among the light.. His reflection looked back up at him from the white tiles and as the smirk crossed his face, he looked like a nightmare walking among dreams.

"Gods!" She whispered in sudden knowing confusion and opened her eyes. She dropped the book and turned shyly to face the prisoner sitting at the desk. She was surprised to see that the book he had been holding was now on the table and he was staring at her with wide eyes. She slowly stopped swinging the dagger but didn't lower it. "Who are you?" She whispered and was surprised that he didn't hear her.
The fear regained control of her as he stood up and started across the table towards her with a look in his eye of murder. "Bloody hell!" He yelled as he neared her. His gaze shifted from the book on the floor to her and back again. "Oh bloody hell!"
She didn't know what to do. She was powerless to stop anything; she was always weak after a vision. Before she could draw her blade, the prisoner grabbed her right wrist-not in a painful grip but in a strong grip as if he was doing his best not to harm her-and gently and painlessly twisted her arm behind her.
He pulled the dagger from her hand and stuffed it behind his own belt as he moved his body behind her. Pushing her head forward, he threw her hair over her shoulder, and exposed her naked neck. "Oh to hell with Gant and his damn secrets!" The prisoner yelled loudly. Veronica sighed in embarrassment and knew that he had found her tattoo. The tattoo of the purple crescent moon and three purple stars that rested on the back of her neck.
He turned her around and she looked up into his eyes with a fear that she had never known. Who was this man, really? He didn't release her wrist but she didn't feel anything from his grip, it was so gently. "I think you and me need to take a little walk Captain." He started towards the door and she was surprised to find that he wasn't dragging her but she went peacefully with the same fear present in her eyes. "I think it's time we uncover all the secrets." He told her as he opened the door and started down the hall with her following.

Gant turned in his chair as the door of his quarters was thrown open with a violent hit and Amadeus stalked in, pulling Veronica behind him. He gripped her wrist tenderly but the fear present in her eyes wasn't a comfort to him. He trusted Amadeus but if the man had hurt her in any way, he'd be sure to see him dead, not back in that prison.
"What's the meaning of this?" Gant asked, standing up from his chair as Amadeus closed the door, leaving the three of them alone in the small quarters of the ship. "Amadeus, I'll have to ask you to release her immediately before I have guards arrest you again. I trust you Amadeus, you know that, but I will not tolerate you harming any of my crew. Especially not one of my oldest friends. Now, please, let her go."
"I don't have any intention of harming any of your crew General," Amadeus started in a calm voice, "but I'll only let her go when I have some answers. I don't want any secrets among us Gant, but I see that that's going to be a difficult thing to ask. I just want a couple of answers and then I'll release her. But I want you to know that I have no intention of harming you, the captain here, or any part of your crew General."
"I assure you Amadeus, there are no secrets here. I wouldn't hold any secrets from you my friend." He slowly started to move around the table but thought better of it. He held Amadeus' word as true and decided that the man could have already killed them both easily if he had really wanted to. "There are no secrets here Amadeus."
Amadeus laughed and pushed Veronica across the room to Gant, pulling her dagger out of his belt quickly after. "If only I could believe you General." He drove the dagger deep into the wood of the desk with one downward swing of his wrist. "But I'm afraid that you're lying to me, Gant." He looked between the two of them with strong eyes. "Why didn't anyone tell me that you had a Psyclearin onboard?" He pointed to Veronica. "Her secret wasn't going to stay hidden for long General. Why wasn't I told?"
"Not many people know Amadeus," General Gant said, softening his voice. "And I'd really appreciate it if you kept your voice down. I'm sorry Amadeus but I didn't know it would be a problem for you. It's just that in these times, we needed all the help we could get. Veronica is from Kilrinyin and an old friend of mine but she is a Psyclearin. We didn't want to keep it a secret from you Amadeus, we just didn't know you'd be this uncomfortable with it."
General Valdrin knew that many people were uncomfortable being around Psyclearins but it couldn't be helped. With the Dar Margerth destroying the known world, Psyclearins came in handy when they were on the general's side but there weren't many of them left. Psyclearins, the people that had visions of the past and future and most people living wanted them dead. People called them demons and shadow-bringers but Gant thought they were a big help to the military. And hell, his friend was one of them so he'd never turn against them.
"I'm not uncomfortable with it General," Amadeus started, leaning against the wall to keep from falling over. Gant noted that the ship was slowing and the waves weren't as strong. Perhaps they were finally reaching shore. "But I just wanted to get it out on the table that's all. I don't want any secrets among us General. I think we'll be able to trust each other much more this way."
"And I agree Amadeus," General Valdrin replied happily. "Secrets never get anyone anywhere. We'll be able to work well together with nothing hidden." He moved forward and held out his hand to Amadeus, who took it and shook it. "Agreed, no secrets then." Gant moved back around the table and patted Veronica on the shoulder, comforting her.
"That's not everything," Veronica said, turning to face Amadeus. Gant gave each of them a questioning, confused look, and then recoiled at the angry look that Amadeus was directing to Veronica. "I want to know something prisoner."
"Don't ask Psyclearin," Amadeus snarled angrily. "It's not time for you to know. It's not time for either of you to know! It's something I don't exactly like talking about." He took a step back and crossed his arms. "Don't give me that look Captain, I know what you want to ask."
Gant gave each of them questioning looks again. What was going on here? "I've seen that symbol before prisoner?" Veronica pointed to the emblem on his breastplate with a steady finger. "What does that mean prisoner? What's it stand for?"
Before Amadeus could answer, a knock rang on the door quickly followed by a crewman entering without receiving permission from Gant to do so. He bowed, first to Gant and then to Veronica before saying, "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you. Sorry to bother you Captain. But it's just that we've reached shore and uh. Well, sir, you might want to take a look at it for yourself."

"Very well, I'll be up in a second."
The man bowed deeply to both of them again, gave Amadeus a quick glare, and then left the room, closing the door again. The ship was being to slow even more and before either of them could speak again, Gant said, "I'm sorry Veronica but this'll have to wait until another time. No secrets Amadeus, that goes for you as well. I want to know this as well as Veronica does, we deserve as much, but now I need to see this. You need to see it too Veronica." He walked to the door, opened it, and looked at Amadeus. "You're with us too." The three of them left the quarters behind them and soon they stood against the railing on deck and the sight before them was something that Gant had dreaded since the first battles of the war had been fought.
"This can't be happening," Veronica whispered sadly. "This is a nightmare."
"Nightmares are as real as anything else Captain," Amadeus answered, matter-of-factly. "And this is what war brings. Even to your shores."
Gant turned and ordered for the ship to be docked as soon as possible. The storm wasn't as bad on shore. The rain had become a damp mist but the winds were still as strong as ever. As the crew hurried about getting as much done as quickly as possible, Gant turned back to the other two. "All right, when we get ashore we need to see if there are any survivors."
They both nodded and General Valdrin let his gaze take in the entire view of the carnage and destruction. The seaport city of Skylin was in ruins, with fires blazing in the distance and thick black smoke only adding to the already darkened sky. Dead bodies of Kilrinyin soldiers, clad in the dark blue and gray armor of Kilrinyin with the red falling star emblem of the nation on their breastplates, covered the red sand covered beach and the bloody streets of the city. The waters on the shore were dark red with blood from fallen soldiers and burning wreckage from Kilrinyin ships floated in the shallow depths of the shore and harbor, with the Soaring Moon Shore covered with signs of battle.
"Did the Dar Margerth do this?" Amadeus asked curiously.
Gant nodded. "Yes they did. This was a military city for Kilrinyin; a defense against sea attacks. It appears that the Dar Margerth got the better of us Amadeus. Skylin is destroyed and our fellow comrades are murdered. There's no telling where the Dar Margerth might be now. Those ships over there," he pointed to the larger ones, the ones meant for the ocean, "those are the ships of the Dar Margerth. It appears that they took causalities as well. The larger ships are theirs, the ones with the white sails I mean."
The Ocean Hawk docked in the harbor of the destroyed city and the soldiers aboard jogged up into the streets of the city with weapons raised, looking for any survivors or possibly any enemies that might have stayed behind. It was a bad night for the city and Gant didn't think it was over yet.
In took his crew three hours to sweep through the entire city, door to door, and onto the Soaring Moon shore. They found a few dozen injured Kilrinyin soldiers that the doctors began to nurse back to health immediately but the only men of the enemy that they found were already dead. It appears that a battle occurred strongly and quickly and the Kilrinyin Empire lost more men then the Dar Margerth. The shore and city was littered with bodies and Gant had his men immediately start to clean up. He ordered the burning of the fallen men the next night; it was a burial that every soldier deserved. It appeared that for now his crew was the only Kilrinyin unit close to this area and they were the only ones between any other Dar Margerth invasions and the main land. It appeared that they'd be in Skylin much longer then they expected.

Amadeus helped in the search among the city. He had received a message from General Valdrin an hour or so ago to meet him in the town hall for lunch. Apparently they had something to discuss and the general wanted him to be a part of it. It was perhaps an hour or so after dawn and the sun was hidden in the sky behind darkened clouds that had moved in from the Fallen-Gale Ocean. The rain had stopped for the time being but the wind was still as strong as ever. The storm was getting closer to the mainland and it appeared that nothing was going to stop it. The bloody coast of the Soaring Moon Shore was going to be hit with a strong storm soon.
Walking through the empty streets of Skylin, with his head down, thoughts of the night before running through his head, he barely heard the woman's soft sobs. Stopping and standing in almost complete silence, he listened closely and hear her sobs more clearly. They were coming from an alleyway just ahead of him.
Not knowing what he was going to expect, Amadeus started forward and turned into the narrow alleyway, gasping as a sudden gust of wind lifted his cloak and coat out around him, once again uncovering that damn emblem on his breastplate. Damn that emblem and everything that went with it. But he couldn't ignore something related so closely to him; he could just push it from his mind.
A young woman about his age was kneeling down over a young fallen soldier not ten feet away from Amadeus. He started into the alleyway and was taken aback as the woman unsheathed her sword and turned to face him with swollen, tear-filled eyes. Sorrow covered her face with anger hidden deep below.
Veronica stood before him with wide, sorrow filled eyes, and tear- streaked cheeks. She wiped tears away from her eyes but they were instantly replaced with more. She sheathed her sword and sobbed, "I don't want to hear any of your foolish speeches now prisoner. Not now." She sobbed and turned back to the young man. "This was my baby brother. I told him not to become a soldier but he was always so stubborn. He'd never listen to anyone, especially not me." She laughed nervously and sobbed again. "His life was cut short because of foolish people's pride!" She turned to face him again and yelled, "But I don't know why I'm telling you any of this prisoner! To you, he's just another body! You have no emotion for anyone! You murdered all those people in cold blood and you felt no remorse!! I don't want to hear anything from anyone! Especially not you!"
She pushed past him and left the alley behind, moving fast, and still wiping tears from her face. Amadeus stood there for a moment looking at the miserable kid before him-only a kid of no more then twenty-and then turned and started out of the alley as well. These people thought suck awful things of him and none of them were true.
Amadeus found Captain Albalis standing alone among a garden of roses and tulips. Tall dogwood trees, already covered with hundreds of white blossoms each, surrounded her and the little sunlight that peeked through the dark clouds shone down around the surrounding area. Amadeus walked into the garden and stopped a couple feet behind Veronica's shaking and sobbing body, with her back to him.
Amadeus stood among the dogwood trees as the wind picked up again and rained white blossoms down over him and Veronica. She looked like a sobbing angel while he upset the view and looked like a black clad shadow of doom, covered in white blossoms. "Captain?"
She turned to face him with tear filled eyes and began to shake uncontrollably as more tears fell from her face. "I never asked to be a Psyclearin." She sobbed sadly, looking first at him and then down at her quivering hands in embarrassment. "I never asked to see those visions; I never asked for any of this!"
"Captain please, it'll be."
"Why did they have to take his life away?" She cut him off with her sobs as she wiped more tears from her face. She looked like a destroyed child standing before him but he wasn't ashamed to see it at all. He felt so sad for her that he didn't know what to say. "But what do you know prisoner? You take away lives just like those bastards! You're not different from them in any way! All the evil inside them is doubled in you!"
He didn't flinch from what she said. He knew he expected it and took it well. "I'm not an evil man Veronica." He looked away from her and wiped a blossom off his shoulder. Turning to face her again, he said, "I'm sorry for your lost Veronica, I really am. But I want you to know that I am not an evil man. I did my job and the only people I killed deserved it. They were all murdering bastards themselves. I rid the world of them. I saw no evil in your brother's eyes and I swear to you Veronica that I will avenge your brother in any way possible."
She wiped more tears from her eyes and met his gaze with her own fearful one. "Thank you Amadeus. I appreciate this." She walked over to him and pulled him into an awkward hug that he was completely caught off guard with. Of all the people to be hugging him ever, she was the last one he had ever thought of. And surprisingly she had actually used his name.
"It'll be all right Veronica," he whispered into her hair as she buried her face in his chest and sobbed uncontrollably. He gently wrapped his arms around her in his own hug and looked past her shoulder at the fires and smoke blurring the sky not too far away. "I'll be all right. We'll get back at the men who did this, I swear we will." She sobbed some more and began to shake again in his embrace. He stood holding her as she sobbed over her brother's death with the white blossoms spinning around them in the small garden, with the strong wind of the gale blowing as strongly as before.