The city of Ingold served as a great pillar to the Kingdom of Artros. It sat atop Mount Karji, guarding the path to Dlanic.

  Ingold established an impressive economy by mining gold from the mountain. It was a buzzing city known for diverse shops and traders. Parades and festivals would run through the city all year long. However, the city was silent. Ingold was engulfed in darkness–a tower through its heart.

  At the base of the menacing black tower stood a girl with a maroon and white ribbon in her golden hair. She looked up at the marvel, eyes wide. It pierced the sky, leaving a black titanium scar above the city. Thick white clouds hid the top of the tower while the snowfall piled on the tower’s deep engravings. She did not understand the ancient symbols. Nobody did. At least no humans.

  "Andrea," a young girl with bright yellow eyes said. "The others are almost here."

  Andrea remained fixated on the tower. Snow fell slowly, partially covering her gold hair.

  "Andrea!"

  "Ah, yes," Andrea said. "Sorry, Sarah."

  "How many floors do you think it will be?"

  "I don't know. No way to tell," Andrea said.

  "The last level 5 was only one floor,” Sarah said, forcing a smile. “Maybe we will be lucky too."

  "Lucky? It took 7 attempts to clear that tower. Hundreds died."

  "I know," Sarah said, stepping beside Andrea. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

  The two girls sat for a while with their heads in the clouds. Sarah pulled snow off of Andrea's hair as the cold mountain wind from Mount Karji blew their hair in every direction. Andrea never had to look far for her. Even when they were causing mischief around the castle walls, stealing bread from the head chef’s morning batches. They were inseparable. Sisters, even. But not by blood.

  The tower cast a faint shadow over the girls whose necks ached from looking at the sky. The shadow climbed over the city’s walls and continued out of the city limits. Not much survived outside of the city’s walls. They reached high into the sky, nearly doubling the height of the capital’s walls. A shield from the extreme cold.

  Shutters slammed into the sides of homes as the wind blew through the empty streets of the city. The hinges cried out in pain, but the tower remained motionless. It did not sway, nor did it protect itself from the cold. Andrea's eyes moved from Sarah back to the tower.

  "It's interesting," Andrea said.

  "What is?"

  "These towers. It's almost like clearing them is a sign of affection to the gods. Like clearing their test is a thank you for their gifts."

  "I guess,” Sarah shrugged. “It doesn't matter how many people you send in; it remains a challenge, unless it's a low-level tower."

  "Right. Theoretically, one person could clear this tower," Andrea said with a big smile. "Even though it's a level 5."

  "You battle crazy women,” Sarah said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “This is why you scared everyone at the academy. All the boys avoided you like the tower's plague."

  "That's not true! I had many people I talked to.”

  "Name one."

  "Well, there was V–," Andrea started.

  “Victor doesn't count," Sarah groaned. "He was required to mentor you."

  Andrea kicked the snow off her boots, and drew odd shapes in the white. "No fair. What about the twins? They should be here soon anyway."

  "Wow, so popular. Three people. You were always training so it only made sense. Also you're the Princess, that carries enough reason alone.”

  Andrea couldn’t deny that. People treated her like a goddess, keeping their distance. Damien didn’t, she thought. I hope the gods are treating him like a Prince, too.

  Andrea's eyes widened and a smile spread from her lips. "Wait, there was that one guy."

  "Who?," Sarah said, holding her smile as if she didn’t believe her.

  "The boy with beautiful purple eyes.”

  “Ah, right. The boy with no name, face, or existence. But he had purple eyes. It's been awhile since you mentioned him.”

  "But, he was real!" Andrea mumbled. "I've never seen anything like it.”

  "Eyes are commonly affected by gifts,” Sarah said, pointing at her own. “But I’ve never heard of a gift with purple eyes. You know I went to your graduation, right? No one like that existed.”

  “But I swear he–,” Andrea started.

  "Captain Andrea Silverfield," a guard interrupted.

  The Artros soldiers were dressed in a shiny silver chestplate with the King’s lion on it. Brown straps ran across the soldier's chest, fastening a pauldron to their right shoulder. They wore leather for their undershirt and pants. Ingold soldiers were allowed to wear an additional maroon coat over their uniform which all of them took advantage of.

  "Yes," she said, jumping slightly.

  "The others are here now," the guard pointed to a bar at the end of the street, his red sleeve contrasting with the dull streets of the city.

  "Ah, thank you. Any word on the prisoners?"

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "Yes, they will arrive tomorrow. Here is all their information.”

  The guard pulled out a letter with a yellow seal, signifying the King and Council’s authority.

  "Thank you," she said, handing it to Sarah. "You're dismissed."

  The guard turned to leave but stopped. "Ah, I almost forgot. Another letter for you."

  It had a blue wax seal stamped on it. Blue? Not Red? Andrea looked at the envelope, but nothing was written on it. She went to open it, but was interrupted by the sound of shattered glass. She stuffed the letter in her coat pocket, and the girls ran down the street.

  Andrea arrived first with Sarah close by. She saw three men entangled in a fight. One of the men wedged himself in the middle of the other two, keeping them from hitting one another.

  "Don't hurt each other," one boy yelped. He had bright white hair that rested below his eyebrows.

  "Oh, it's getting good now," said an older woman–maybe in her mid twenties–with bright red hair.

  The two men separated shared the same face. Big bushy black eyebrows covered their faces, and a wide chin that anchored their head. Sarah sighed as soon as she saw them.

  They scratched and clawed, trying to get free from the man in the middle. He was huge with black, greasy, slicked-back hair.

  "Andrew! Connor!" the large man shouted. "Knock it off, the Captain will be here shortly."

  No one noticed Andrea standing in the doorway. Sarah face-palmed.

  "I don't care, I'll beat her ass too," Andrew yelled.

  Andrea knocked so slightly that only one person in the room noticed. The girl had thick glasses, bright blonde hair, and deep green eyes. She sat in the corner of the bar reading her book, not paying any attention to the fight. However, once she noticed Andrea, she stood.

  "Same here! I'll tear through the Captain to get to this waste of space I call a brother," Connor said. Andrea could always distinguish the two apart because Connor was typically calmer, but if they were close together there was no telling.

  "Let's see it," Andrea said softly, lifting the table that fell and broke the glass window.

  Everyone froze. She set the table on its legs and moved closer to the two men. The girl with thick glasses was already saluting. Andrew and Connor didn't move a muscle. The large man let go of their collars. "Hello, Captain, apologies," he said while saluting.

  Andrew moved his clenched fist into a salute but did not look at Andrea. Connor mirrored the motion. She moved closer.

  "I'm not one to turn down a fight. Let's do it, two on one.”

  The two men said nothing, holding the salute. They held their breaths and stared at the patterns in the wooden floor. No one spoke.

  "Guess not," she shrugged. "Should I be worried about you two? This is a black tower!"

  "No, Captain," the twins said quickly.

  "That goes for all of you,” Andrea said, her eyes wandering to every person in the room. “We need to be perfect in this tower. Everyone here has likely lost someone to a tower. This is a black tower."

  The wind whistled through the broken window, filling the silent room.

  "If we fail, thousands will fall to the Blood plague. I need all of you in the tower. Your gifts are one thing, but I need people to watch my back."

  There was a brief pause. The twins raised their heads to meet the Captain’s fierce eyes. Her golden hair was held together by a maroon and golden ribbon. It could not fight off the mountain's will, as it blew aimlessly in the wind.

  "Now," Andrea said lightheartedly, trying to lighten the mode. Not many relaxed, however. "Let's introduce ourselves. I'm Andrea Silverfield, Princess of the Kingdom of Artros. My goddess is the goddess of war."

  She pointed at the twins. "I know these two already, but introduce yourselves anyway."

  "We are the Xavier brothers. Our god is the god of combat," Connor said, putting his arm around his brother.

  "I'll go next," Sarah said. "I'm Sarah Lin, my goddess is the goddess of archery." She said while shooting an imaginary bow at Connor.

  The red-haired girl stood up after. Her chair cracked as she stood, and the cold avoided her. Andrea already knew the latter half of her name from her fire red hair. She was also part of the Royal Family.

  "I'm Emily Erwick, my goddess is the goddess of fire," she said, bowing.

  "You're an Erwick," Andrew said.

  "Yes, well, half at least," Emily said. “Its nice to finally meet the Princess.”

  "Nice to meet you. More royalty is always a pleasure," Andrea said, returning the bow.

  "Hello, everyone! Y'all can just call me Flint. My god is the god of strength," he said while flexing. "I hope we can survive this together."

  A few people laughed at his thick southern accent. Andrea knew the giant from her time with the Lion’s Guard–the personal militia of the King. They say he could crush boulders with a measly hug.

  "Hello, I'm Mace Fry," the boy with white hair said. "My god is the god of health. I'll try to heal any of your wounds while in the tower, so protect me."

  "Just stand behind me, nothing will get past," Flint said, flexing again.

  Andrea stepped to the center of the room. An elite group assembled in front of her. Each with their own specialty and purpose for the tower. The Council chose quality over quantity for the first attempt. A wise choice, I think.

  "The Kingdom assembled the–"

  "Um, I haven't introduced myself yet," the girl with thick glasses said. "My name is Rae Blackshire, my god is the goddess of memory. I specialise in mapping the areas of the tower. And the puzzles."

  "My apologies, Rae," Andrea said, bowing slightly. "As I was saying, the Kingdom handpicked you for your talents and elite abilities."

  "What about the prisoners?" Emily interrupted. "What purpose do they serve?"

  All eyes turned to Andrea. Prisoners entering the tower were not an Artros custom. Andrea had never heard of the practice until the Council informed her of the party going into the tower. An ideology that saw the prisoners as necessary sacrifices to clear the tower. Fodder.

  "They will be chained," Andrea said, rubbing her head. "Any attempt to flee or sabotage will be met with death, no questions asked. All of you have direct authority to take their lives."

  "Okay, who are they?" Andrew asked.

  "Ah, Sarah, I gave it to you. Can you tell us what it says?"

  Sarah stepped into the center near Andrea and cut the letter open, destroying the yellow wax seal.

  "The first prisoner is Olivia Thorn. She was caught spying for the Kingdom of Beldovia. Giving them coordinates to three of the Kingdom's secret armouries. Her goddess is the goddess of stealth. She can turn invisible for as long as she can hold her breath. She's been serving a 10-year sentence."

  Sarah went to flip the page when she noticed the red ink on the page. "One last thing. She can never be trusted."

  "No shit, she's Beldovian," Andrew said, shifting in his chair. "Alright, who's next?"

  Sarah turned the page over. An unnatural shade of white spread across her face, as her eyes stopped at the top of the page. Andrea had never seen her make that expression before. Not even when the two girls were caught trying to sneak into Fenrim during their youths.

  "Please, gods, anyone but him," Sarah said, crumpling the paper. "The Council must be crazy."

  "Who is it?" Andrea said, leaning on the edge of her seat. Abne Stingki? Xder Flongry?

  Sarah sat hunched over at the entrance of the bar, head in her hands. Her breathing turned erratic. The name caught in her throat, but she forced it out.

  "It's Ryder Hartigan."