Myrrh

M Y R R H

GENTLE HEART CARRIES STRENGTH TO WARD AWAY THE DARK

CLASS: PRINCE

---

---

Myrrh never quite understood what battle truly meant. Training was difficult, of course, but with the guidance of her family she excelled both with magic and with the blade. Training with a close friend made it almost enjoyable, however. Despite Kos' smaller size and weaker blows, his agility made him a challenge even for her. Together, they worked almost in perfect sync, a formidable challenge to others in their class when placed together in a team. Even when she joined Commander Zurala's legion and fought on the front lines, she did not understand. In an odd way, it was almost like training. She and Kos worked as a team: he used his superior agility to strike any who slipped past her or threatened her in any other way, and she used her strength and magic to shield and conceal him. It was a successful method and one that helped them climb the ranks unusually fast. Successful, until that day. That day, Myrrh learned the true meaning of battle... and loss.

---

---

---

---

---

---

Myrrh snarled, lashing out and rending apart the vessel before her, watching as another swiftly took its place. Another blow landed, yet it hardly seemed to make an impact as the swarm of vessels continued to push forwards. She grimaced, feeling exhaustion in her limbs, knowing that any comrades still standing felt the same. At her side fought her closest friend, a grizzly expression on his face, his ragged breaths audible over the sounds of battle as he expertly used his smaller size to weave around her and strike any vessels that slipped between her powerful blows.

"Kos! We need to retreat!" she growled, parrying a blow from another vessel.

"What about the others? What about the commander?" the Mirror asked, his gaze briefly meeting hers.

"I don't know! I don't see them. Kos, it's just us. We're almost surrounded! If we don't retreat now, we never will!"

"Myrrh, they could still be out there! They might need help!"

"Kos... if they're still out there, they're gone. If we go looking... we'll just join them. Someone... someone at least has to make it back to report."

The Mirror growled, hesitating for a moment before finally nodding. "Alright, fine. You go ahead and start clearing a path back, I'll get any that follow us!" he said.

Wordlessly, she nodded, turning and slashing through several vessels in their path. She could hear him close behind her, keeping close enough to travel along the narrow path she carved, never allowing a vessel to slip between them.

"Myrrh! Kos!" A familiar voice echoed, catching their attention. Myrrh quickly spotted the source: a small Veilspun hovering over them, a tiny light held in his maw.

"Sendran!"

"Hurry! Follow me, the others are this way!" The little Goetia screeched, pointing and flying off, Myrrh and Kos following close behind.

Nothing in the world could match the sheer relief Myrrh felt upon seeing several of their comrades still standing together, surrounding the injured. She could see several other Veilspun returning as well, though no one else followed.

"Commander Zurala! I found some others!" Sendran yelled, catching the others' attention. Panting, Myrrh and Kos burst through the final line of vessels, finally entering the relative safety of their legion.

The commander turned to face them, crimson and black fur alarmingly soaked, a wing draped over another Goetia's back as one leg hung limp. Absent from the scene was her massive sword, seeming to have been lost or destroyed in the battle.

"Are they the only ones?" the commander asked, eyes darting to the small flock of Veilspun above. Hesitantly, each Veilspun slowly nodded.

"So be it. This battle is finished. Retreat. Anyone still capable of fighting, cover for the injured. Veilspuns, light our path home," Zurala ordered, watching as her injured soldiers limped away.

"Myrrh."

"Yes, commander?"

"You have command. Give what orders you deem are necessary," the commander ordered, finally allowing herself to be helped away.

"Understood. Alright! You all heard the commander! Get moving!" Myrrh roared, beckoning the others back.

As the injured struggled away, the remaining Goetia inched backwards, weapons continuously cutting down any vessels that came too close. Slowly, the battlefield reached brighter areas as they neared the city, the stream of vessels gradually decreasing to a trickle.

They were nearly there.

Myrrh almost loosed a sigh of relief. It seemed no one else was going to die today.

"Retreat! All of you! We're close now, reinforcements are coming!" Myrrh ordered, skidding to a stop and watching the remaining Goetias quickly fall back. She frowned at the sight of numerous vessels giving chase, taking a chance and firing a fiery spell into the the mass of darkness. The Guardian let out a sigh of relief as her comrades reached her side, taking a moment to count how many had reached her.

'One, two, three... four, six, ten... ten... ten... No. There should be one more. Someone is missing. Who's missing? Who-'

She gasped.

Kos.

Realization struck like lightning. Her friend wasn't among the Goetias that passed her. A curse left her mouth as she scanned the surroundings for any sign of him.

'Where is he? Where is he?' she thought frantically, oblivious to another comrade tugging at her wing and urging her to flee.

A flash of shiny red caught her attention.

'There!'

She moved before she even fully registered the situation. Her blade came down, cleaving through the vessel that pinned her dear friend, freeing him from its grasp. The blade fell into the blood soaked dirt with a soft squelch, utterly forgotten as Myrrh wrapped both forelegs around Kos, her powerful wings shakily lifting both into the air and away from battle.

Myrrh all but crashed into the ground, having just managed to fly to an area that the vessels could not easily access. She panted, shoulder aching from the impact, momentarily concerned that Kos was injured in the failed landing.

"Y-you're insane, Myrrh," Kos said, gasping and crawling out of her grip. She only laughed.

"T-that's not funny! You could've died!"

"And you would've died if I didn't do anything," she answered.

"Well, yes, but..."

"But?"

"...I don't want you to die, Myrrh."

"I don't want you to die either, Kos. You're the closest friend I have."

"W-well... I... uh..."

"What is it?"

"I... Oh, nevermind. We... we should head back. I bet the others are worried."

"...Alright. Let's go," she said, getting to her feet and limping off. She heard footsteps as Kos slowly followed, but within seconds only silence remained.

Myrrh froze, a chill creeping through her body. Slowly, she looked back, dreading the sight that would meet her. She gasped, eyes widening in alarm, heart pounding in her chest.

Kos, her closest friend, stood as if paralyzed, eyes as wide as hers but unseeing, jaws open in a silent cry. Veins of black twisted and pulsed along his shiny red scales, the darkness spreading with every beat of her friend's heart, slowly morphing red to pitch black.

"M-myrrhhh... R-run."

She almost choked at the twisted, grating voice leaving her friend's body. It sent chills throughout her body, leaving her almost frozen in place out of shock.

Suddenly, he vanished in a blur of dark red and black, flying towards her in a frenzy.

Had she still had her sword, she could've cut him down in that very moment.

The afflicted crashed into her with enough force to knock her down, something which Kos had never managed before. His claws raked down her face and her vision blurred as blood dripped into her eyes, yet somehow she managed to find and take hold of his legs before he could land another slash. He thrashed wildly, assaulting her ears with an unholy, echoing scream. Teeth sank into dirt as she dodged bite after bite, her wings gouging deep scars into the ground as she battled to get to her feet.

"Kos!" she managed to yell. "Kos! F-fight it! Fight back! Don't let it win! KOS!!!"

Any other Goetia would call her a fool for even trying. She knew as they all knew. Once affliction began, there was no stopping it.

So why was she even trying?

Perhaps it was because, between the web of blackness, red scales still shimmered. Perhaps it was because it took unusually long for the process to begin - had they not just conversed mere moments ago?

Perhaps - and she thought this was the most likely reason - it was because she simply did not want to see a friend die.

Afflicted beings were rarely allowed to live, after all.

"K-Kos... Please. Please don't..." she begged, bloodied tears forming in her eyes. Her heart raced in alarm as she felt him wrench one paw free of her grip, eyes following the limb as it grabbed one of Kos' spare knives and moved towards her exposed neck.

Deep down, she knew she could win this fight if she only struck back. But... she couldn't move. Instead of tensing and preparing a counter like she had trained, Myrrh slowly went limp in his grip, eyes moving to meet his gaze one final time.

"Kos... I... I don't want you to die," she whispered, an idea springing into her mind. She briefly apologized, then let loose a single blast of magic in one last, desperate attempt to save him.

The afflicted Mirror let out a strangled cry as flames engulfed him, rearing back in shock. The blade that threatened to strike her fell harmlessly to the side as the flames spread, her friend’s eyes widening with shock at the same time. A sliver of the Goetia she knew so well sprang back into them, horror spreading on his face as the situation dawned on him.

"M... Myrrhhh... I... don't... want... you... to... die..." he choked out. Then, in a single fluid movement, he kicked himself free of her, landing mere meters away as she scrambled to her feet.

"I don't want you to die!" he screamed, his entire form rigid and cloaked in the remains of her spell. "I don't want to kill you! I don't... want... to hurt... anyone!"

Myrrh's eyes widened in shock. Perhaps she was merely seeing things, but it almost looked like the black was stopping, maybe even giving way to the familiar shiny red and flames. Perhaps he could control it, unlikely as that was. Perhaps the magic helped, unlikely as that was.

More likely, she just got lucky that the bout of madness ended as swiftly as it did.

"Kos!!" she called out, ending the spell as he crumpled to the ground, forepaws gripping his head, and screamed.

---

"Explain."

Myrrh shuddered. Even when injured and rather ill, Commander Zurala's glare was a powerful and unnerving thing to face. Taking a deep breath, she began.

"Stop."

"Commander?"

"I know what happened. You do not need to explain that, as it is rather clear. What I want you to explain is why you could not kill him or even fight back. So, explain yourself."

"I-I... I just... He's my friend, commander," she whispered, looking down at her paws.

"What he was does not matter. Are you so naïve to think you are the first to watch a friend fall to affliction? Do you believe you are the first to fight a friend after the Entity has taken them?"

"I- no! No, of course not. I just..."

"To top it off, you even stopped others from killing him once you two were found. Why, Myrrh?"

"I..." Myrrh paused, mulling over what she wanted to say. "Commander, I... was selfish. I didn't want my friend to die, so when he attacked me I didn't fight back. And... and when the others came... I stopped them."

"And if he had attacked them, what would you have done? Would you have protected him still? Would you have sat back and watched? Or would you have done as you should and helped your comrades destroy that abomination?"

"I... don't know."

The commander sighed, startling Myrrh slightly. "Samaria was right. You are too young and inexperienced for any of this, nevermind the position I put you in. For that, I apologize. It was a misstep as a commander to allow you and Kos to join us while so young, an act of desperation to restore this legion's fighting ability. Myrrh, I expect a request for resignation from you on my desk within the week."

"But-"

"No buts. Place the request or I will remove you myself. There is simply no room for such indecisiveness on the front lines. Look at me, Myrrh," the commander ordered, meeting the young Guardian's gaze. "You argued for his life and your wish was granted. Kos will not be killed, for now. He will remain in the Firefalls. He will remain restrained and imprisoned. He will be studied closely due to the uniqueness of this situation. And you... you will be responsible for it all. Stay here, Myrrh. Look after your friend. Ensure no harm comes to him or to anyone around him. Know that his fate rests entirely on your shoulders, for if you ever allow him to so much as scratch someone else, I will personally ensure that Kos is killed. That will be your end of this deal, do you understand?"

"...I understand, commander."