CHAPTER 1: START

“Come join the Sons and Daughters of the Shepard and receive the ultimate honor, the Shepard shall bring all of his flock into the Holy Land, do not fear his Judgement and repent! We shall assist you in overcoming the abusive hold that your Religion holds over you.” The priest reaches out and places his hand on my shoulder “What say you son?”

            Letting out a sigh I nod to my sister. “Kill him; we do not need any more unease to spread amongst our people”

            The priests face turns a raging red. “You dare mock a Son of the Shepard?” He roars, tightening his grip on my shoulder “I shall show you heathens to mess with our holy one!” Rearing his other fist back he swings at me only to stop as his arm falls off. Letting go of me he clutches at his shoulder, trying to stop the blood gushing out.

            “You’d think you’d be able to size up your opponent before you tried to kill them, some Shepard you are. Your Bishop proved more of a challenge, and he was blind.” Yawning I take a cleaning cloth out of my jacket. “Remember, clean the blood off yourself after a victory. No sense in catching whatever disease the trash brings our way.” After wiping the blood off her face, I turn back towards the priest I lift him up by the collar of his shirt. “Now, any last words?”

            Looking down at me, the priests face pales even whiter as he sees my ever present smile. “You…you’re Kael…” The hope that maybe he had picked a winnable fight fades from his eyes, replaced with a resigned sadness. “I never thought that the Reaper of Hope would be the one to kill me…There are stories of you Kael, some rumors, some written in our holy book. But they all mention one thing…That smile of yours.” With a maniacal laugh of one who has lost all hope he bursts into tears. “I am sorry Shepard! Forgive me for failing to spread your word!”  

“Now I have to clean myself off.” I look down as the blood sprays from his neck, his head resting on the road. Turning towards my sister I tap her on the head. “How many times do I have to tell you, let me put them down before you finish the job?” She gives me a sly smirk before wiping the blood off my face.

“How many does that make now, brother?” She says with a snicker.

“I think he was the last from the caravan that came a few weeks ago. So 42? I think? Man I have no clue, each one of them just kind of blends into the next.” Digging through my coat pockets until I find my notes. “Let’s see…” Looking through them I check off the guy we just killed. “Ivor Igorsen, 41^st Priest of the Shepard, counting the Bishop that makes 42. We’re done here.” I flash my sister a devious grin. “We get paid, and guess what that means.”

My sisters’ face perks up and she chirps along with me. “We get to eat!” Laughing we link arms, strolling down the road towards our hometown, passing many fellow Ortians, appearing to just be another couple on their way home after a long day working the fields for the reigning lord of the area. With friendly nods we slip into the crowd, listening to the newest gossip and laws that have been passed down from the nobles.

“So anything new in the west?” my sister asks a farmer casually.

“Oh nothing much miss, the damn Shepards Flock trying to convince the lord to defect, now what you’ll want to watch out for is if you’re traveling south, closer to the border with them. Rumor has it that the lord is aiding them in their travels. It would do no good for our Heralds to get caught.” With a wink following his last sentence, he picks up his pace as we slow ours down.

“Well, maybe it’s a good thing, but how did he know?” I ask my sister with a puzzled expression on my face.

“Well, it couldn’t be your smile now could it?” She replies with a giggle. Shoving me we break off from the group as we near a crossroads. “Now shall we just hurry back, my sweet brother?” Her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Letting out a half-hearted sigh I smile at her. “Let’s go get paid, then we can enjoy the rest of our evening.” Turning towards the north, our eyes start to glow a soft yellow, splitting the Planes, opening the portal to Deaths Dimension. Linking arms one more, we take the last step home. “Death, we’re home!” My sister yells as the portal closes behind us. Skipping off to get our paycheck, she goes ahead of me, going right past Death in her rush.

“Nice to see you back Kael, Reaper of Hope.” Death says embracing me. “Blood Singer” He whispers in my ear as he pulls away.

Tensing up I look him dead in the eye. “We agreed to never bring that up.” Calmly returning my gaze he pats me on the back.

“It was just a joke, boy don’t get so serious over something that has no sway in my land. One cultures taboo can be another’s greatest honor you know. Now I should probably get back to my desk so your Lover doesn’t worry.” With a wicked grin as my face loses its smile he vanishes.

“I really do hate you Death, I really do.”