[There will be minor pov changes as the story progresses; It will contribute to the story and the upcoming acts]
"Eira!"
A loud voice shouted across the camp, near the edge of the 'peaceful plains', the imperials had set up an expedition group. Among the group was a young woman who... wasn't the most capable.
A young woman, wearing a slim black fit with armor scales and a helmet that kept her hair tucked within, came running across the camp in a hurry. Some of the watching descenders by the fires began to smirk, and some even snickered at the sight.
"You think she's in trouble?"
"Whatever it is, only the goddess of judgment would know," Another guard said.
The young woman arrived in front of the larger tent, guards standing posted with silver spears — they gestured for her to go inside.
She was more concerned than happy.
She took a deep breath before entering, prepared for whatever would come at her. Once she stepped inside, she noticed the plain interior; there were books stacked up on each other on the side. several scrolls and crates of weapons.
At the center was an unfinished map on top of a large table, pencils lying scattered on top of it.
"...Cadet Eira"
She was startled by the mention of her name, snapping out of her attention towards the interior. Behind the desk stood a taller gentleman, wearing a fancier attire mixed with armor plating; it was her commander.
"Yes, commander!" she halted, straightened her back, and gave the man her salute.
The man tapped his finger against the wooden table; his face was stoic and colder, piercing her gaze like a cursed one eating up your soul. Eira, the young woman, had expected this.
He continued to stare at her. After a grueling minute of silence, he huffed, his hand moving in a swift motion to the side.
"...At ease".
She put both her hands on her thighs, feeling restless. And she did her best to stay silent without being showered in sweat and panic.
The man walked over to the scattered wooden chairs behind him, placing one behind the table and one for Eira herself. He gestured for her to sit down — She knew she was in for a long conversation.
As she settled down, the commander began to speak.
"The recent expedition into the beyond was a total embarrassment for our unit and soldiers. We went down there with how many?" He said before then, asking, knowing she had the answer.
"...We went down with 43 descenders, sir...".
"And how many returned?"
An awkward silence followed for 5 seconds, and she mustered up her answer to her full honesty, her eyes glued to the ground under the table.
"...30 descenders, sir".
The commander nodded in agreement. His cold expression not changing at all, continuing to worsen Eira's building anxiety. His sharp gaze turned down to the map between them, sliding a pawn of a soldier on a recorded area.
"That's thirteen casualties, 6 of them who were unfortunate to encounter a climber, and the rest?....".
His eyes darted back up to her, his tone turning more stern and serious.
"Dead by the hand of their own companion's clumsiness."
Eira felt her body freeze, her expression darkened in sadness and guilt. She didn't dare look the commander in the eyes — She recalled the incident, it began running back to her mind, everything.
She wasn't sure what to say; all she could come up with was "I'm sorry". Even by saying that, she was sure he'd lash out at her. Her eyes remained against the floor beneath her.
The commander looked at her once more before sighing, his expression loosening more, a face of "What should I do with this girl?" Or "Can she even be a descender?" She believed her overthinking was probably right, after all, it was her fault.
"Cadet Eira, I mean no disrespect to your lineage or family, but I'm starting to question if you're capable of a descenders position. Our work is to head to the beyond and explore the unknown reaches and further below. Only the strongest and hardened fighters come here...".
He was right, Eira wasn't the strongest, due to her petite body, she had a harder time handling the most casual of armory, a sword? her thin arms could barely hold onto the long steel, let alone swing it.
"I've seen your records, Cadet Eira. You're a smart person, someone like you should've sought out the academy of scholars, someone with your intellect could be used in the imperial capital".
Eira felt cold; she knew the commander was trying his best to give her a warmer reality check, but in reality didn't really help. It had been like this for years, she recalled her trainee days — since then, people always found a way to make her feel less superior.
"...I...I have my reasons, sir...".
She managed to say, just barely, her hand clenching on top of her hips, afraid that the conversation would lead to somewhere she wouldn't want it to be.
The commander sighed once again. He inhaled longer, taking good time to feel the refreshing air. He stood up from his chair before pouring alcohol into a clay cup from his steel flask. He slid it towards Eira, gesturing for her to drink.
"I'll give you one last chance to make it up for your faults, knight".
At the mention of a chance, Eira's gloomy eyes began to shine; he would give her a chance to make up? She hadn't expected the commander to be this generous to her.
"Earlier this morning, I got a report from scouts in the north-west of the treaty plains that a flying creature had been spotted hovering above the plains before falling into the forest near the lake. The eyewitnesses aren't sure what they saw, but it resembled a monster".
Eira quickly became concerned. A monster in the treaty plains? That would mean the ecosystem and the natives in the area would be in danger. She became serious, her expression telling the commander everything he needed to know.
"I've already handpicked a few descenders to go look for the creature...".
The commander paused for a second before continuing.
"I haven't really decided on a leader yet". He looked at her with a confident and rather cheeky smile.
"I want you to lead the investigation, and I want to receive a full, detailed report about what it is, why it's there, everything directly from you. Do you understand, Cadet Eira?"
Eira nodded, understanding her assignment right away. In the happiness of giving a new chance, she stood up, saluting the commander with the utmost respect she had for him now. She was determined to make the commander proud and get to the bottom of things.
Minutes later, she began stepping out of the tent, and she could almost cry from joy. She suddenly felt giddy and ready for whatever was to come at her. For some reason, she could even dance from the overjoy filling her heart.
"I can do this... I will do this!" She said to herself, determined.
"Look at you, aren't you in the mood?"
A sudden girl chimmed in, A stronger and clearer voice. A woman with dark skin as majestic as the night, long curly hair running down her back that fit almost like royalty, she was equipped with full steel armor.
"The commander must've let you scoff-free".
She looked over her shoulder before turning fully to her. It was a fellow knight, another woman she was familiar with, a small relief falling upon her.
"Descender Muneera".
The dark skinned woman, Muneera, approached her side, her arm sliding around her shoulder, her finger dotting on Eira's nose, similar to a older sister teasing their younger sibling.
"How did the conversation go?"
She'd ask, curious and seemingly knowing.
Eira felt rather nervous; she was too excited to tell Muneera about it, but knew she couldn't explain it yet, after all, it was only a chance. She felt it wasn't important until she proved her worth.
"...The commander gave me a new chance. I'll be leaving in a few hours towards the forest in north-west from here". As much as Eira wanted to tell her about it, she had to be patient.
"Oh, really? Mind telling me about it? I'll be stationed at the camp for the next two weeks, so it'll be boring for a while until the next expedition".
Muneera said, her hand lifting Eira's chin toward her. It felt seductive in a way, but that was just how that woman was; she loved getting a reaction out of her.
"I won't tell you until I'm back".
With a giggle, Eira answered simply. Muneera looked at her for a moment before unwrapping her arm. She let out a sigh before saying,
"Seeing how you're being so secretive, I can only make theories in my head".
Muneera contemplated, her eyes glued to the clouded sky above them.
"If I were to guess, then I'd think the commander gave you a risky mission for proving yourself after the incident in the beyond, a mission where you might risk your life".
Eira got startled a bit but didn't show it. She was saying the exact thing she would be doing — knowing her since her trainee days, she knew of Muneera's sharp intuition, even if it was only a mere guess. Following with a subtle nervous laughter, Eira answered.
"...H-Haha, you're close".
Muneera kept the smirk on her face, suddenly grabbing Eira by her wrist and walking.
"...If so, then let me at least give you a blessing of protection before you leave".
Not being able to withstand her strong grip, Eira was forced to follow her. She wasn't bothered with it; in fact, she knew how much Muneera secretly cared about her. They became good friends on their first day as expeditioners — She never gave it a second thought about Eira being reliable, which made her happy.
Arriving at her shared triangle tent, a flat, makeshift bed. The tent wasn't empty like Eira's; it was decorated with books, artifacts, and loads of candles.
Muneera came from a rare lineage of shamans. She was into spiritual history and a rare religion that couldn't be found anywhere on 100th hill; nevertheless, she was still a descender.
Muneera settled down on her makeshift bed, making Eira sit down across from her. The dark skinned woman crossed her legs before searching through her artifacts stacked beside each other on top of a flat crate.
"Before you leave, let me give you the blessing of protection".
Muneera pulled out multiple bird feathers, banded together with a wooden handle at the bottom. Eira sat down and watched as she began her religious process.
Even though she herself was part of another religion, she was curious about the blessing of protection. Her curiosity to learn new things is still strong within her.
"...Is there a god behind the blessing?"
Eira had asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Muneera replied with a smile, her voice softening a bit from her usual stronger tone.
"Yes, we call him the prophet Nèmey... A figure in my religion who believed in the full protection from the cruelty and insanity of the beyond and above, he created traditional blessings that would protect you from descending or ascending our world.
Eira tilted her head more, her curiosity piquing further. She knew about her strange religion, but this was new. Her eyes were glued to the band of colored feathers of green and white, wondering about the correlation.
"What are you going to do now?"
Munerra pulled out a small bowl between them, filling it to the half. She then got a small leather pouch resting amongst her belongings, a pinch of salt — It suprised Eira.
"Salt? You shouldn't go all your way to use it, I don't want you to use something so... expensive". She said, hesitantly. Muneera didn't listen in before she dipped the feathers into the salted water.
"...It's fine, you're my friend after all... If what you're doing soon is dangerous, I'll go my way to help you even if you don't like it".
Seeing how much Muneera cared, Eira couldn't say no. Shortly after she began chanting in a foreign language, Muneera forced a beautiful voice that was soothing to the ears.
She was taken by surprise once Muneera began casting the water from the feathers on her face. She got startled and shook, but didn't say anything.
A minute went by, and she was done. Eira stood up from her position, feeling her buttocks getting stiff from sitting on the hard ground.
"The prophets will protect you in whatever you're doing, Eira. Be careful out there". She said before waving her off and went to rest on her bed.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it".
Once she stepped out of the tent, subtle drops landed on her nose, the sky was shifting into a darker gray — signaling for rain. Eira decided to head towards her own tent, preparing for the mission within an hour.
"...Hopefully the weather won't affect the mission too much".