THE MISSION

STIFF LOOKING MAN, that’s what I can see from the reflection of myself as I face a wide mirror. Pale skinned, blue eyes, with a spiky dark hair.

I put on my back our pride finery of our kingdom. It’s dark shiny and cool looking though, fine leather mixed with steel beneath it—our armor. As I clad myself with it, I feel like I’m clad with killing intent in putting this suit on. We make our own choice of design in our dark suit, as long as we bear the kingdom’s crest.

I decided mine to be sleeveless, to make it comfortable in moving and swinging my sword. In my left shoulder is a piece of metal armor that I’ve placed, connected to my leather-metal suit. I intended it to shield me from my any counter-attack during a battle. It works and helps me save from a deadly and unexpected clash. As I’m a left-handed one, I’ve enwound my left hand with loose linen with a mixture of chain mail beneath it. My right hand is exposed from the sleeve down to my black leather gauntlet. I leave it like that as it makes me surmise easeful like that.

As I’m glaring at the reflection of myself in the mirror preparing to report for duty early in the morning. I put my right palm to my left chest where our crest of our kingdom is crafted. And I could see its draft, by the look of it, it’s an armor shaped, with bluish scales shining like jewels. It’s like a hiding creature trapped in that shield fettle. The scales emblematizes a camouflage or invisibility. And that describes the kingdom of Chamenos. As we vanish from the face of the earth and hide our presence from the enemies. But the scales also insinuate that a beast hidden among the enemies is present. A dangerous beast that could prey on any kingdom. Yes, that’s who we are. We are a powerful and dangerous kingdom that is always in a season for wars.

I touch the armor shape and run my fingers to every shining bluish scales. What a beautiful craft!

A sudden thought came into my head, about the tales of our kingdom. That we have existed even during the ‘Dark Era’. And survived the war of ‘Nameless Kings’ that started a thousand years ago. But that war ended 300 years ago, and after the war wound up, a new era was born, and it was called the ‘Era of Kings’ and the counting of years was lost. And they have started to count the years after the war ended. So today is 313 EOK or Era of Kings. Tales are told about the Paradeisian’s king and our very own king who partook in the war of the nameless kings. That’s how old our king is.

With the power of grace and a cherub sword, kings nowadays slow in age, and they live longer than any man in this world. This place we call earth has become a world of ageless kings.

But I begin to question my own mind. Why the war won’t end? What are we aiming for? All I can see is that we need to survive; we need grace for our kingdom to outlast. And today that’s all I can see that is leading us into engaging in battle, into war and conflicts, the greed for grace. And I realize that by now, kingdoms have lost the true purpose and a dead-on aim of wars.

Something is troubling me as I entertain these questions after questions in my mind. And I have a nasty headache afterward. Well, to be honest it’s every time I do this, it’s like, I’m not allowed to solace this kind of thought.

In a sudden, I thought that who knows we have fallen so deep of being lost in how to live in this world? What are we fighting for now? Are these missions and wars that we are occupied with make sense after all?

Something flicker in my brain that reminds me. That these very thoughts are treacherous towards the kingdom. But how could it be one, when I’m only entertaining some thoughts, and I haven’t done any treacherous acts? Well, no one knows though that I’m thinking this to my own mind.

“I am a legionnaire of the Kingdom of Chamenos, my life is for this Kingdom.” After I utter those words, I know that there is something, a vigor. Fueled by grace takes over my mind and heart that it becomes tense and tight. And my emotions are sinking as if I am being sanctioned by a menace, but a nix one.

I take a rearmost glare to myself in the mirror. And proceed towards my door as I’m going now to our alcove.

As soon as I pull up unclosing my door, a chilling presence is standing outside my door. I couldn’t help myself but to jerk back.

Guess who’s at my door? It’s Commander Fritz! He’s tall and pale-skinned than I am. Wearing a black leather suit and half of its front on the right side is covered in thick fur. I can see the chill smoking from his body. It’s like his flesh and blood are made of ice, indeed, because that is his prowess—snow.

“I’m sorry I scared you. I was about to knock. But before my knuckles hit your door, you pull it to open,” he says with his cold tone with a half-smile and serious face.

And every word he utters there is a chill coming out of his mouth, and the coldness from him is reaching me. He is so intimidating.

“It’s okay, Commander, but why have you come here? I know we have a mission today that’s why I prepared early,” I say.

“The mission will be postponed, and it will be move on the next few days,” he says and pauses. He is looking at me frosty. “This one is a tough mission. I’m here to give you an option. You can decline it or proceed with it,” he says seriously.

At the back of my head, I am terrified and wondering what is he talking about. I’ve been out for a diverse kind of missions. What makes this one different?

“How serious and tough is it, Commander?” I ask him then.

I think he would pause for a while to give me an answer. But right after I ask him he replied right away, “This mission could kill any legionnaire who would proceed to it.”

My eyebrows almost connect. It gets me serious right away. And he continues, “I’ll let the others know about this mission. You still have until tomorrow to decide.”

He turns around and leaves.

I am still standing, not making an inch of a movement thinking about this mission. And the way commander said it, it gives bleak to my bone. He was telling the truth, and he was worried. Something is off about this mission. But again, what makes it different? I know all the information about the mission. It’s only a grace enwrap mission. Nothing new.

“The day has come,” I say behind my teeth.

Though I’m still half asleep and about to be awakened, I open my eyes from a vast rest. I regain my cognizance before my alarm hits the time I’ve set. I’ve settled, I will proceed to the mission.

As soon as I arrived at our brigade’s alcove, it looks like they have decided to go for the mission as well.

I’m amazed. These are elites that I will be going with on this mission. The famous Willie and Wilson brothers. They fight with their combo assault that they are known for. That no one ever survived from them in a battle, that’s what the tale says. Just looking at them could tell how masterly they are. They are both muscular.

Wilson wears a circling steel plate in his chest. A message gets across into my mind that it’s a pie hole of a canon. No one would dare to face him as it would mean destruction. He wields the blaster sword! A powerful cherub sword!

And Willie is daunting. He wears a black suit with a melted silver from his neck to his chest. And every time he moves, a light gleam from it, a piercing gleam that no eyes can endure. His cherub sword, the lightning blade, a wicked and a powerful one!

What a surprise! The four monster sisters are here as well. Lady Kathleen, Lady Raiva, Lady Christine, and Lady Cristina.

Tales are told about these four siblings. Their power has no equal, and their beauty shines in the kingdom. I could see it, all four of them are like flowers in the mountains that no one has ever seen.

Their faces are like angels, and they all four are like twins. You can’t identify which is who but only by looking at the shape of their swords and the color of their necks raiment. As each of them has different colors as it indicates their power. I’ve never seen them fight on the battlefield yet. This is my first time fighting alongside them. What an honor for me!

Lady Kathleen has a pink flower raiment knitted around her neck, a pink grass as it seems, that adds a glow to her beauty.

Lady Christine has a long open blue cloth leveling her nose. The blue raiment covers her mouth. And it hides half of her full comeliness, but with that, still her presence is beauty.

Lady Cristina has silver dried leaves on her neck and shoulders.

And Lady Raiva the smallest among them but not the youngest. She’s the second oldest of the siblings. She is the only one who has silver hair among the sisters. Tales are told that she is cursed, that’s what it made her hair color changed when she was born, they say. She wears thick lavender flowers.

The way they show off themselves, they always stay close to each other, in a mien, as if they are always at war.