Arvaken English Version

Chapter 1: The first flight

prologue

The night had fallen over the forest like a black blanket. It had covered it completely. There were no stars; the clouds concealed the sky, and only a few fragments of moonlight managed to pierce through them between the branches. A pale moon appeared and disappeared among them. The wind carried ash between the trees and made the leaves tremble, as if the forest itself wanted to flee. It carried with it the smell of damp earth. But there was another smell, one much stronger: blood. The ground was devastated. There were broken trees, destroyed walls, dying torches, ruins covered in dust, abandoned weapons and shields; others were buried, others broken or covered in blood and bodies. Hundreds of bodies from different clans lay there, dying, shattered, unrecognizable. Some had not even drawn their weapons. This did not look like a battle. It looked like the place where absolute chaos had taken place. But amidst the silence and the cold of the night, nine silhouettes remained standing. Only one of them was separated from the other eight: eight figures dressed entirely in black, eight warriors who had crossed enemy territories, wars, and losses to reach that night. Eight leaders of eight clans facing a single man who had enough strength to confront them. A ruthless, Machiavellian man: Ragnar, the man responsible for that night existing. The leader of the Wolf Clan.

Ragnar remained calm. His body was covered in scars. One of his eyes was completely blind; a deep scar crossed the area around his other eye. Three long marks, as if claws had torn through his face. That wound had a name: Raiha, the leader of the Tiger Clan. But Ragnar was not the only one who had changed since the last time they had met. Raiha was there, and now... she was blind.

Her face was partially covered with a black bandana that covered her nose and mouth, just like the other seven. Her eyes were blindfolded with a black strip of cloth. But she was standing, serene, as if darkness meant absolutely nothing to her. Ragnar watched her for a few seconds and smiled.

—Raiha...

She did not respond.

Ragnar tilted his head slightly.

—It seems... now someone else is the one who cannot see.

The other leaders remained silent. Raiha slightly raised her face toward him.

—And yet I can find you.

Ragnar's smile grew smaller.

—That remains to be seen.

Raiha replied:

—I already found you once.

Ragnar touched the scar that crossed his eye with two fingers.

—Yes. And you left me with a memento.

Raiha remained motionless.

—It wasn't enough.

—No. But it hurt.

Then Ragnar turned his gaze toward another figure. A man wore a kind of hood over his head and a bandana that covered his nose and mouth; only his eyes were visible.

Ragnar smiled.

—And you...

The man did not respond.

Ragnar took a step.

—Do you think that with that hood you can make me fail to recognize you?

The silence grew heavy. Ragnar slightly raised his head.

—Reiki.

Some of the leaders looked toward him. Reiki did not respond.

Ragnar continued:

—From being my best man... you became a traitor.

Reiki finally raised his gaze.

—I didn't betray you.

Ragnar frowned.

—You didn't?

—You betrayed what your father taught us to be warriors.

Ragnar let out a laugh.

—Are you still talking about my father?

Reiki remained silent. Ragnar watched him for several seconds.

—I gave you an army.

—Yes.

—I gave you men.

—Yes.

—I made you one of the most respected warriors in the Wolf Clan.

Reiki replied:

—And you destroyed it.

Ragnar stopped smiling. Reiki continued:

—I will not allow you to turn what Zen built into a machine for destroying clans.

Ragnar slowly lowered his gaze.

—Then you chose to stand against me.

Reiki replied:

—I chose to stand against what you became.

For a few seconds, neither spoke. Ragnar looked at the group again, and then he saw a young man who was now grown, taller, much more marked by war, but recognizable.

Ragnar smiled.

—You're here too.

The young man did not respond. Ragnar pointed at his face.

—Although now you're missing something.

Helgi remained motionless. The empty socket of one of his eyes was visible; the great Raven seal surrounded it. The memory was still there, the night Ragnar had taken his eye.

Ragnar smiled.

—Do you still remember it?

Helgi clenched his jaw.

—Every day.

Ragnar replied:

—So do I.

Helgi said:

—I lost an eye.

Ragnar stopped smiling.

Helgi took a step.

—You lost one.

Ragnar slowly touched the area around his blind eye.

—No.

He looked at Helgi.

—Not yet.

Raiha listened to every word. Reiki remained ready. Helgi adjusted his bow. The other leaders said nothing. They all knew the stories. They had all lost something because of the man standing before them, but Ragnar seemed to enjoy it. There was something almost sickening about the calmness with which he acknowledged each wound, as if he were walking through a museum built from his enemies' scars. Then Ragnar slowly extended his arms. The two great Wolf seals were exposed beneath the moonlight. Two broken marks, one on each arm. The manifestation of his power began to press against the surroundings, his spiritual seal fragmented in two, the result of greed and power, taken to a monstrous level by Ragnar.

Ragnar looked at the eight.

—After so many years... all of you ended up returning to stand before me.

Raiha replied:

—This time we aren't running away.

Reiki added:

—This time we're together.

Helgi raised his bow.

—And this time... you're not facing children.

Ragnar remained silent. Then... he smiled.

—I like that.