The Crimson Field

Before the Beginning

The bartender didn't think much of the stranger's mask. Probably some crazy guy with a strange sense of fashion, with a hood drawn low. He was used to all kinds of people walking in for a drink. He took the coin and laid a mug of beer on the table. The other patrons were less enthusiastic. The fiery red phoenix on the mask marked the stranger as a member of Mythic, a guild of infamous and ruthless cutthroats from the Far East. The stranger was used to mutterings and hostile glances. No one, however, was crazy enough to get into a brawl with a Mythic.

Soon, however, their attention was captured by loud cheers coming down the street. Partisan, the Chief Global Strategist, had come down to inaugurate a new hospital in town. The people loved him. They remembered the old days of poverty and irrelevance before The Syndicate was established and brought wealth, power and prestige to these lands.

The bartender, after being distracted by the noise for a moment, glanced back at the place where the stranger was sitting. He was nowhere to be seen.

"... I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that we will take the utmost care to...", Partisan suddenly was blinded by a momentary glare. His instincts took over and he ducked, as the knife thrown at him sailed harmlessly over his head. "Get that bastard!", he shouted as the Syndicate security agents ran behind the stranger.

It wasn't easy to chase him. The stranger weaved through the crowd and ran off into an alley. "Moron doesn't know it's a dead end", whispered one agent to another, "We got him".

When they entered the alley though, the agents were in for a shock. The stranger was nowhere to be seen. Syndicate agents raised a perimeter and scoured the area for hours, but it was fruitless. The man had disappeared.

The atmosphere in the board room was tense. After calming the people, Partisan had been rushed to the Syndicate headquarters under heavy security. "I distinctly remember seen this hilt pattern before", Shiho, the Chief Security Officer, said. He had been examining images of the knife for several minutes, "I just need to recall where".

Just then, the Chief Operations Officer, Adam, entered the room. He had been out on a call with one of his analysts, who were working to gauge the composition of the knife. "I think we know who it is", Adam said with a grim expression on his face. "Of course!", Shiho shouted, "I have seen officers from The Commonwealth use knives with hilts of the same design." As the rest of the board stared at him in shock, Adam was the first to break the silence. "I think you are mistaken, Shiho. There was a rock wall behind Partisan. The blade cut through the rock like cheese and embedded itself in the wall. Only sunsteel blades are capable of that. My team confirmed the same."

Sunsteel was an extremely rare variant of steel produced in the factories of the Children of The Light, a religious cult from the south. Its production was a closely guarded state secret. Sunsteel weapons were used by senior priests of the light in combat and in their ceremonies.

"Well it looks like there are some rough days ahead", Partisan said. "I will send out word to our allies. The Commonwealth and Hedge Money seem to have created a coalition against us."

Sphinx, the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, was observing the sunset from his garden. The garden was located in a hill, overlooking the city. His guards stationed outside the garden, evenings were the only time of the day he was truly alone. He looked at the city, and although the sun would go down soon, many blocks were still dark. After their disastrous conflict against Hedge Money and Swamp had ended, Commonwealth cities were left in ruins. The rubble had been cleared away and although things were slowly coming back to normal, electricity and water supply was still intermittent.

"Thinking about why did Quack betray you, eh, Sphinx?"

Sphinx spun around to see a man he didn't recognize. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood drawn low over his eyes, and the lower part of his face was covered by a mask. On the left side of his mask, there was a symbol of a fiery phoenix. Mythic.

"Don't worry, my friend. Commonwealth will get the chance to take revenge soon."

Before Sphinx could think up an appropriate response, the stranger rammed a knife to his throat. "W...who?", he croaked. The stranger removed his mask and pulled his hood up, and Sphinx stared in horror at a face he knew too well. He wanted to call out to his guards, but drowning in his own blood, his voice came out as a hoarse whisper. The stranger pulled out his knife, twisting it to inflict maximum damage, and walked away. Sphinx, the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, was dead. Long live the king!