Chapter 79 – Assignment: Crimson Shadows
The Luther Citadel's War Hall was alive with tension.
Envoy Knights flanked the grand table where the High Command convened. Maps sprawled across the surface, marked with red ink and black sigils—signs of the Shadow Guild.
Jean stood at the table's northern edge, her new silver cloak trimmed with blue—the emblem of a newly anointed Envoy Knight. Whitney rested by her side, watchful and silent.
Grandfather Charles surveyed the room. "We received word this morning. One of our outposts near the borderlands has gone dark. No messages. No survivors."
He tapped the map.
"Shadow Guild."
Gasps followed. Even among the Luther Clan, that name was spoken with caution.
Jean's hand gripped Luxclade. "Which cell?"
"The Crimson Shadows," said an older knight grimly. "Assassins trained in aura suppression and dark infiltration arts. Mercenaries for hire, but with a deep grudge against our Clan since the Fall of Taras Vale."
Charles continued, "They're targeting Envoy outposts. Testing our strength."
A younger Envoy asked, "Why now?"
Jean answered without hesitation. "Because the Succession War has started. They think we're distracted."
Charles turned to her. "Jean, your first mission as an Envoy Knight is this: travel to Ravenglade, the last reported location of the outpost. Investigate. Eliminate all Shadow Guild threats."
Another voice rose. "Alone?"
"She will not be alone," Charles said. "Her guardian travels with her. That is enough."
Jean saluted. "It will be done."
---
Later that night, Jean and Whitney rode beneath the pale moonlight, the forests of the southern border stretching ahead.
"You smell it?" Jean whispered.
Whitney nodded. "Blood. Steel. Shadow."
They arrived at dawn.
Ravenglade was a ruin. Burned wood. Scorched banners. The smell of death lingered in the fog.
But no corpses.
"Too clean," Whitney muttered. "They didn't just kill. They erased."
As they ventured deeper, a voice echoed from the treetops.
"Too slow, Emissary."
Blades flashed—Crimson Shadows descending like ghosts from above. Their auras hidden, their strikes silent.
Jean's eyes flared with light.
"Let's see if ghosts bleed."
---