Chapter 1

Smouldering tobacco lay waste to the once pristine air, swirling through the darkened room. Echoes of heels clapping the wooden surface hammered into the ears of every member of the Henla Guild. Glasses clinked, and the pungent scent of alcohol filled Rhaenyx Maltalor’s nose. She pushed her way through the crowds to the bar, picked up a metal mug, leaned against the cobble bench, and pushed a piece of paper towards Kaia, the bartender. On it was the name of Malakai Hamirez. Besides his name, his fingerprint, with blood for ink. Kaia took the paper and stashed it under the counter.

“Still sitting at the top, I don’t know why you take continuous jobs, it’s not like anyone could beat you anyway.” She grinned pulling out a bottle of liquor, filling up Rhaenyx’s mug once again with that sickly toxin.

“And I don’t know why I continue to drink this poison.”

“You drink it because I make it Rhae,” Kaia retorted.

“Got any more work for me?” Rhae swallowed the contents of her mug, pushing it towards Kaia, placing her token on the bench beside it.

“I saved you a job that I know you’ll like. You remember that Maron guild?” Kaia pulled out a folder flipping through the worn pages.

“You mean the moron guild. No one in there is competent enough to defend this damned kingdom. The only thing that is stopping us from being invaded is the Amiran guild.” Rhae growled, pulling out a small knife and stabbing it down into Kaia’s book, on the page of the Maron guild.

“Stop ruining my books! Assassins have been charging more because I don’t have all the information that you keep destroying.” Kaia ripped out the knife and tossed it into my empty mug. “Anyway, the nobles have been complaining of being overly charged, and their jobs not being taken care of by the mercenaries. The Amiran’s have already turned down their offers, so they came to us. They will pay you 50,000 arkans to either get rid of them, or teach them a lesson they won’t forget. They also promised you will not be charged for their murder, and any other reasonable crimes committed.”

“Reasonable?” Rhae taunted.

“If you don’t want this job, I’m sure someone else will. It’s the highest paying job in the five rings!”

“No, no, I want it. But don’t nobles hate us?”

“They say we break the law, but I say, we do what we want, when we’re hired to.” Kaia pulled a card from under the desk, scratched the guild’s name on it and handed it over to Rhae.

“I’ll be done by sunrise.” Rhae dropped two Arkans on the bench as payment for the drink, and took her token, tucking it into her pocket. Rhae pushed her way out of the guild house and onto the cobbled streets.

Rhaenyx Maltalor, an assassin for the Henla guild, and the only member with over 500 kills. She had been arrested three times, but had left within three days due to bail, or destroyed evidence of the crime. She had striking blonde hair, and pale skin due to the lack of sunlight. Rhae wore ocean blue gear, that fell from her shoulders, to just above the ground. Two slits ran from her hips down to the ground in front of her legs. She wore three belts, one around her hips, another around her waist, and the last on her lower chest. Metal plating covered her shoulders, with leather bands, strapping them on tight. She wore knee-high leather boots, with metal plating down the front. The soles of her shoes hid daggers, and many pockets lined her gear. Two katanas crossed her back stretching over her shoulders. Rhaenyx was an intimidating woman, to say the least, but she was also well known. Citizens fled the streets in fear when she walked the stones, many others bowed.

Her only competitor was a new assassin, Dynamere Raenaleous. Her kill level was climbing fast, and she was the only member who took work faster than Rhae; most say she never sleeps. Dynamere wore full black leather, with bands covering her limbs, holding dangerous weapons. Dynamere specialised in poisons, particularly taking a liking to a famous violet poison that paralyses anyone who touches the liquid. Most of her kills were done by poisoning the kegs of liquor in the taverns that were handed off to the guilds. The next day guild houses would be littered with bodies.

Before the Henla guild had opened, thousands of guilds littered the 2^nd ring, however now, hundreds are left, spread out across the ring. Others moved to the 3^rd and 4^th ring in fear. The royals are stupidly ignorant of the rising success of the Henla guild, taking down the population by the thousands. They only see the oversupply of food coming from the 5^th ring, and feast every night in celebration.

Rhaenyx sauntered through the streets staring at the temporary tents people had set out between the guild houses, approximately 50 metres between each one, trying to sell goods to the guilds. Her gaze made all those in her presence avert their eyes, in hopes that no target had been laid upon them. Rhae smiled, pulling off her hood, flipping her golden hair out of her eyes and staring down at the hobbling merchants. They weren’t in the legal ring for trades, which would be the 3^rd ring, but they were convenient here, so no guild enforced the rules. A patrol by the palace guards happened once a week, on that day, the merchants were gone, either hidden by generous guilds or taking shelter in the underground tunnels that ran through each ring.

Rhae felt the bubble of the liquor she drank and pulled off to the side, pushing her way through the people to the front of the most famous food merchant guild representative tent. She pulled out a curved blade, shining in the murky sunlight, she flicked it towards the merchant, “Give me your best cake, or I’ll kill you and take it anyway.” Rhae pulled out two silver Arkans, which is equal to one-quarter of a gold Arkan. She dropped it on the table and pulled her blade back as the merchant hurriedly dropped a sponge looking loaf on the bench and backed away. Rhae grabbed the cake, holding her blade tight ready for any ‘noble’ guild members. She stretched her neck revealing a blue tattoo on her neck, which depicted a small curved dagger with jewels encrusted along the blunt edge. Another jewel lay in the handle, the jewel of the Goddess’. The dagger was believed to belong to the Goddess of Death and was lost long ago, deep in the labyrinth underneath the kingdom, like a maze at the centre but spreading into small paths leading to the surface further away. To use the underground tunnels, one needed to own a hound, the only animal in the kingdom that can guide someone through the labyrinth. They were killed long ago and only roam outside the walls.

Rhae wandered down the path a little further, digging into the dry cake. The sound of metal boots echoed down the slim path. She turned around to see the Merchant waving them down, just as they appeared around the corner. The merchant pointed at Rhae, causing her to turn around as two nobles- covered in dirty metal armour with chain underneath- swung their weapons around towards Rhae. She quickly ducked under the swords, sweeping their feet, and rolled off to the side. She forced herself into a sprint, pushing herself down a gap between two tents. She burst out the other side only to sprint across a yard and end up at the back door of the Daegar guild, an armoury guild. Rhae swung her dagger down across the lock, ripping it from the door. She pushed her feet onto the door, forcing it open, and continued sprinting, jumping from table to table, kicking beer off the wooden benches, causing an uproar of drunk blacksmiths behind her. The nobles burst through the back doors, immediately blocked by men throwing the mugs and screaming in a fit of rage. They bombarded the nobles demanding justice for their spilled liquor. Rhae slipped out the front door with a grin across her face.

Rhae later arrived at the front door of the merchant guild. She pushed open the door, silencing everyone in the room. She slowly moved towards the bar, dropped a gold arkan on the bench when she was met with a mug of sweet alcohol, Gharane, or commonly known as ‘Sweet Sin’. It was thick, filled with sugar, and loaded with alcohol. One glass will get you drunk, and three will kill you. Rhae took a couple of sips and turned around to face the staring crowd.

Assassins of the Henla guild only came to a merchant guild when they had business there. “Right, I suppose I should get to business then?” Rhae was met with silence and puzzled expressions. “I’ll take those boring, dull expressions as a yes.” She jumped onto the bar, picking up a barrel of Gharane in her arms, inspecting the wooden exterior. “I’m sure a merchant guild cannot afford the luxury of a silver chandelier, especially one of that design.” Rhae grinned as she captured the gazes of every person in the room with her melodic voice. “My name is Rhaenyx Maltalor, and it’s time to burn.” She flung the barrel towards the intricate chandelier hanging from the roof. The barrel was pierced by the many spears that lined the edges, causing the vibrant purple liquid- with mauve bubbles floating through it- to spill down across the tables below it, causing the guild members to scramble over each other to get away from the liquid.

Rhae threw another barrel grinning at the surrounding chaos. A lamp sat on the bench beside her. Stepping back, she kicked the lamp across the room to the centre of the spillage that flew across the room from the pressure of the pierced barrel. The liquid immediately burst into flames, consuming the centre of the building and anyone still in the area. The room turned into a blazing inferno, spreading panic and fear through the hearts of every member. Rhaenyx darted through the backdoor behind the bar, shoving a stick in the gap between the door and wall, blocking the door from opening. She wandered to the front of the guild house watching the smoke escape into the open air. Two members pushed their way through the front doors, covered in ashes. Rhae quickly pulled her dagger on them, and drove it through the back of their neck to the front, the fastest way to kill a human with a dagger. She pulled out the card she was given by Kaia and dipped the corner in the first member's blood. Just as she did, the roof of the building caved in, falling in a mess of burnt timber. As the barrels crashed and burned, an explosion sounded from inside blowing down the walls. Rhae dropped to the ground covering her head from the rubble that burst from the walls of the collapsed building. A small stick of wood shot into her leg, impaling her calf, tearing through the muscle until it pierced the other side. She stood up quickly once the explosion was over, stamped the card in a pile of ash, smudging it over the paper, and sprinted up the hill, limping from the pain of the wound, to watch the rest of the building burn to the ground, and the oncoming nobles search the area for the one responsible.