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Chapter 18: Shroud of Fear
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2022-09-17 14:06:05Related chapters
The Black Hellblade Chapter 19: Learning of Honor
By the time Ronan had dragged his feet to the dining hall, Trainees were already chowing down. Big vats of steaming eggs, sausages, bacon, and biscuits lined the wall near the plates and utensils, and Butterfly Trainees formed a single-file to get their fill.At the sight of Ronan, the clamor in the hall stopped, and somebody dropped their plate to the floor. After a second of hushed whispers and dirty looks, a fit man with shining red hair hurled a buttered biscuit at Ronan.Ronan barely needed to lift his face to pinpoint the biscuit's location. He swiped it out of the air before it pelted his head. Two more biscuits and a sausage were chucked at him, but Ronan snagged these out of the air too while proceeding to the line to get his food. "Who knows where The Black Snake will slither to next!" a woman murmured in his ear from behind. A man who had just got his tray of food approached Ronan then sneered, "A creature that crawls on the ground doesn't belong around those with wi
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 20: A New Trio
Although Freya and Alfred were long gone, Ronan leaned in close to listen to Clove."The Novice exams are coming up," she said, slicing a sausage, "and Alfred and Freya intended on sabotaging any chance you had at passing."Ronan looked at her puzzled. "What're the Novice exams?""Oh," Clove said, adjusting in her seat. Ronan could tell her bandaged leg was bothering her, and he felt bad for inflicting the wound. "The Novice exams are how you put your Ranks to good use. I guess maybe things worked differently with the Serpents. But once you hold the title or Novice, you're able to accept missions to hunt monsters and help people in the city."Ronan nodded, feeling a surge of energy strike him. He attacked his own breakfast. "Sounds like a rite of passage."Clove held out a forkful of eggs, sipped at her coffee, and replied, "Exactly right."In that moment, Ronan noticed that beneath the once pretentious and arrogant facade, Clove really was quite cute. Her pale blue eyes reminded
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 21: The Dance of the Butterfly
Ronan scrambled out of his bed and to the Hellblade. "Where the hell did this come from?" he muttered to himself while looking at the Hellblade. Had somebody placed it in his room while he was sleeping? Ronan slid the curved sword from its sheath and backed into the corner of the room. He stood beside the Hellblade and asked, "Is anyone there?" Ronan searched through the dark for any movement. In the Hellblade's faint glow and the few strips of sunlight peeking through his window, he saw that he was alone. "I'm losing it," he muttered, and he sheathed the curved sword. The Hellblade slipped from its place on the sill and fell to the stone floor with a clank, then vanished. "What in the—"Then the rooster crowing above the temple's stables woke Ronan from his sleep. It was significantly brighter out, and the sky was a crisp orange. Wavy pink clouds cascaded slowly in the sky. "Did I dream the whole thing?" Ronan asked, rubbing his eyes. Beside his bed, only the curved swo
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 22: Ike's Test
Ike limped up to the wall and took a deep breath. He looked behind him at Ronan. "I don't think I can do it." Ike rubbed his leg that had only recently been taken out of the cast. Ronan and Clove ran beside him. Alfred rolled his eyes. "This lot is so weak.""They're pathetic," Freya scoffed. "Don't be afraid, Ike," Clove said. She forced a smile but was concerned for him. It's not that she didn't believe he could do it, it was that she could hardly handle the idea of Ike getting hurt once more. "I've got no idea how to make such a jump," Ike confessed. His muttonchops blew in the breeze. Ronan put both his hands on Ike's shoulders and rubbed away the knots. "Loosen up," Ronan said. "Don't focus on the jump, focus on the bell. And when you need to make the wings, breath out and envision yourself landing safely."Maritza couldn't have given better advice herself. Ronan continued to remind her of herself. He had an incredible understanding of his abilities, and an intense,
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 23: The Novice Exams
Maritza grinned and commented, "The Novice exams begin in several minutes, and here you all are, training up to the last second."Green and black Essence glittered around Ronan and Ike, filling up the progress bars beneath their Marks of the Butterfly. A second tally etched its way onto Ike's shoulder, and the ink emblazoned on Ronan's forearm indicated that he was close to reaching his third Rank."Nice work!" Ronan exclaimed, giving Ike a hug and slapping him on the back. "The very same to you," Ike said. His muttonchops were so long they seemed as though they were straight out of an oil-painting of an old and wealthy noble. Ike bounced up and down on his freshly healed leg, shadow-boxed the air for a few punches, but then lost his balance and nearly tripped over his own two feet.Thankfully, Ronan was there to catch him by the cuff of his shirt. "Easy, friend," Ronan chuckled. "Save your energy for the exams.""He'll surely need it," Maritza said, setting her arms behind her
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 24: Unleashed Beasts
Ronan's Mark of the Butterfly glowed white, and he jumped twenty feet in the air to the right. Even though he moved fast, the hairs on his arm were scorched away by the dragon's fire. Fireballs smashed into the ground where he had been, setting the ground aflame in a warm blaze. The fires grew so large they were like a wall, and they separated Ronan from Clove and Ike, who had also only narrowly dodged the dragon's attack. "Are you alright?" Clove shouted out over the crackling flames. The dragon lifted its gray nose before getting too close to the fire, then flapped its wings upwards and headed back to the sky. Smoke gushed from its nostrils as it angrily roared. "I'm okay!" Ronan shouted. "We're alright too!" Ike exclaimed. The edge of one of his long muttonchop sideburns was cindering, and Clove patted it out for him. She held his face in her hand for a moment, and Ike felt empowered. Ronan got as close to the fire as he could and explained, "The dragon is missing his left
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 25: Moonlit Festivities
The celebration was epic. Clove and Ike were escorted by Elders to a private bathhouse deep inside the temple, where the two scrubbed off the thick amounts of dragon's blood from under their skin and nails. They were brought sparkling wine by the bottles, and heaps of expensive, exquisite food. Once they were clean, the two feasted in a natural hot spring outside the temple by a lush garden. Ike dangled a grape bundle over Clove's mouth, and she nibbled one grape for each of Ike's questions about herself that she answered. With the warm, refreshing waters of the hot springs around them, Clove and Ike discovered through their elated conversations that they both viewed the world quite similarly. Both wanted to use their new position as Novice to help those who had succumbed to inner-weakness, just as they had once before. If the perception of the Butterfly Nightblades were arrogant, pretentious aristocrats who hid away treasures in a big temple, then they agreed to prove themselves
Last Updated : 2022-09-17The Black Hellblade Chapter 26: Trust and Love
Ronan was ushered away from Maritza the second he stepped through the door. Clove and Ike, both well into their cups, each grabbed Ronan by one of his hands and led him to a feasting table. He enjoyed a goblet of fine red wine along with a heaping plate of roasted steak and potatoes.As he bantered with drunken Trainees too intoxicated to hold a proper conversation, he exchanged the occasional glance with Maritza, who was seated at a large table overlooking the banquet. She was seated beside Lord Wallace and his slicked back black hair and cold, smug face, along with several Elders in hooded, purple cloaks. Kneeling before the table of Masters was Alfred with his hand over his chest. The leather strap securing Alfred's white mask to the back of his head slid up and down as he spoke. Whatever he was saying was making Maritza's lips curl in disgust. "Don't look so grim," Ike slurred with a laugh. He wrapped his arm around Ronan, and Ronan caught him before he toppled to the floor. F
Last Updated : 2022-09-17
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The Black Hellblade Chapter 50: True-Self
Somehow, Illia had the sense to leave her quarrel with Wallace and stand in front of Maritza. Alfred's bullet went right into the back of Illia's neck, and she choked on her blood as she fell to her knees. Maritza then noticed Alfred and put up her sword to his next shot, as if that might protect her.But Ike, grabbing his dominant and bloody arm, hurled his lance at Alfred. The lance's impact on Alfred's shoulder took his arm clean off, and his arm holding the gun fell in front of him. Blood gushed from the socket and Alfred hyperventilated. Scindo went to Illia's side, trying to put pressure on her bleeding, but in turn only taking precious seconds of air out from her lungs. "No, no, no," Scindo repeated. "Illia, please." Wallace started to laugh, and he went for Scindo next, but Maritza stopped the strike with her own sword. Ike hovered over Clove, who was twitching in a pool of her own blood. "Even if you defeat me," Wallace chuckled playfully, "none of you will have a
The Black Hellblade Chapter 49: Ronan's Will
Clove and Ike stood back to back, watching through their panting breaths as Maritza transformed to her next level in The Shroud system."What the hell just happened to her?" Clove asked. The more and more she saw of The Shroud, the less trusted it and its demonic aura.Ike thrust his lance at one of the six remaining Order warriors, keeping the cloaked figure at bay. "I've got no clue," Ike said dismissively. "But it's Maritza. We can trust her. Be glad she's on our side."Clove let out a timid grunt, before using her dagger to parry a blow from yet another Order warrior. There were too many dead Seahorses to count, and as much as Clove thought she might be able to lead these warriors into battle, she was doubting if she would even make it out alive.Above them, the sky shook as the dragon roared. Ronan was on its tail, his hair whipping in the wind, as it flew around. Ronan stabbed his Hellblade between the scales and climbed the spikes lining the base of the dragon's tail."Ro
The Black Hellblade Chapter 48: Old Rivals, New Enemies
Maritza heard Ronan shout for her as she rolled backwards, then regained her footing in a standing position. The Shroud's Runes coated half her body, and along with one of her eyes becoming black, the large black butterfly wing had protruded from her shoulder. She had saved herself by amplifying her Butterfly magic with The Shroud, but she was feeling the weight of using such power. Already, she wanted nothing more than to fall to her stomach and pass out, or allow her knees to buckle. She panted, and the smokescreen her marking had created started to clear. "Ronan!" she called out. "I'm okay! Finish off the dragon."Ronan stood past the clearing smoke, his sword raised with both hands. He got a clear look at Maritza, safe, then darted off towards the dragon circling the sky overhead. That left Maritza with only her opponent. The rest of the smoke dissipated, and Wallace was kneeling in a small crater from where he had landed with his hand around his sword. His sword's blade t
The Black Hellblade Chapter 47: Dragon's Fire
Both doors to the main gate swung open, and Ronan was nearly face to face with a gray-scaled dragon. It was as tall and wide as the giant burning tapestries illuminating its jagged, black teeth, each one as large and wide as Ronan's own body. The dragon exhaled thick mounds of soot from its nose, the force of which blasted back Ronan's hair and made him need to ground himself. Martiza tugged at his arm. "Run! Come with me!"Ronan shook his head and held his sword outright. It gleamed a black so strong even the dragon winced. "Go with Illia and take out Wallace," Ronan said, not casting his glare away from the dragon's deep, dusty red eyes. From the corner of his mouth he added, "I know you can defeat Wallace."Without another word and without wasting another second, Maritza dashed off with Illia through the left hatch. Ronan could hear Scindo, Ike, and Clove beckoning out orders as the three dozen Seahorse Nightblades rushed to the grassy fields. Just beyond the dragon and it
The Black Hellblade Chapter 46: The Order of Thirteen
Ronan's head ached like he'd woken from a nightmare that had stolen precious hours of sleep. He drew the Hellblade in a fast black arc as he saw that the sleeve of Scindo's trench coat was torn by blade slashes. Blood trickled from Scindo's arm and down to his fingers, then to the grass beneath by his feet.Ike snatched a lance out from the ground near the fire pit, and Clove pulled a dagger from a leather sheath on her lower back. From her hip, Maritza drew her father's curved sword. Ronan put his hand on her wrist and said, "You're not going out there. You need to sit this out." Maritza tugged her hand away and snapped, "Like Hell I am!" Scindo cut between the two and added, "The Black Butterfly is needed. It's her that they want." Ike rolled the sleeves of his tight white shirt up and asked, "Who's they?"The ground shook and the Nightblades were put off kilter by a roar that exploded into the air. Bright orange flames the size of a lake shot into the air, and even from
The Black Hellblade Chapter 45: Nightmare Celebration
At that night's celebration of the Merchant exams, Maritza slow-danced with Ronan by the rumbling fire pit. She inspected him for the first time in a while; black stubble peppered his face, chin, and neck, and his hair had grown out to almost touch his eyes. He matched the Seahorse Nightblades in size and strength, and on his left arm were three black markings— first and foremost a snake, and coiled on each side of the snake was a butterfly and a seahorse. Beneath each marking was five tally marks.Maritza suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt. She couldn't even recall when the last time he'd received a new rank, or what his progress had been since she had retreated to their room. She had been enveloped in such a cloud of darkness that she had not been there for him to support him through his training, or to celebrate his accomplishments.In the light from the fire pit, Seahorse Nightblades twirled and spun their partners around, clacking mugs of beer and glasses of rum together. Ike
The Black Hellblade Chapter 44: Silver Rum and Silver Tongues
Scindo rubbed his chin, entertained by Clove's playful question."Well," Scindo said, "I suppose the last good gulp of water I had was earlier this afternoon, to hydrate after a morning of loading a ship with crates of tea to be shipped out East."Clove smiled and raised a brow. "Tea?" she asked, in a charming yet prying sort of manner."Yes," Scindo grinned. "Tea, though I far prefer rum."Clove nodded and swiftly replied, "Ah yes, your rum! I've had quite a few bottles of the stuff you brew myself, and I must say, it's quite good. And I'm sure a natural seafaring man such as yourself has tried many different rums, and has quite the advanced palette, has he not?""Flattery, my dear Ms. Clove, will get you everywhere. I've had my share of fine rums, from as dark as a puddle of mud to as gold as the sands on our beach."He set his hands on his hips and laughed. "All have gotten me a good bit drunk. Now aren't you supposed to convince me to buy that jar of water?""I'm glad you'
The Black Hellblade Chapter 43: Dark as the Seafloor
In the following weeks, Maritza wasn't the same. The blank, absent expression never left her face, and along with looking pale, she had lost fifteen pounds. Ronan had tried talking to her but it was to no avail, and he'd given her plenty of space to process her near-death experience, though he couldn't hide his concern any longer. Maritza was in her usual spot in their bedroom, sitting in front of the vanity mirror shaped like an opened seashell, staring at her own white face. The plate of grilled fish and green beans that Ronan had left beside her for dinner the previous night was still right where he had set it down, untouched, and beginning to stink from remaining out all night. Ronan's nose scrunched and he removed the plate, set it aside, and tripped on an empty rum bottle at the feet of Maritza's chair. He never saw her eat, and the only movements he ever did witness were when she poured a stiff drink and occasionally sipped at it. Ronan's heart sank, and he couldn't remember
The Black Hellblade Chapter 42: Submerged
The clear sea water was pitch black from the night's raging storm, and he could only briefly see whenever lightning struck.Then, several little yellow glowing seahorses swam past Ronan. They glittered and glowed near a crimson coral reef, and there Ronan saw Maritza, tangled in thick vines of kelp. He swam further below and towards the seahorses, who all started squeaking and trying to pull the kelp away from Martiza. A flash of lightning and a whip of thunder frightened the tiny seahorses away, and Ronan was left once more in the dark. He stuck his hand out and felt Martiza's arm, then tugged and yanked and pulled. He was running out of air, and he felt his lungs start to ache. Finally, he tore Maritza free. The tips of long kelp leaves itched at Ronan's chest and legs as he pulled Maritza to him. In the darkness of the seafloor, he could see nothing, but he knew Maritza to be unconscious. Her body was limp in his arms, and he choked as his heart raced. He couldn't hold hi
