INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS

Her hands and ankles were bound by glowing red pulsing power, making it difficult for her to walk. The long white dress she wore had blood-red unrecognizable markings on them. Her arms too had dark paint patterns which appeared to be insignias. On the top of her long dark hair was a thick silver crown with seven dark blue gems. Her face was pale and dry, her ice blue eyes showed lack. The people in red robes around her walked closely but not too close to touch her; their faces hidden under their hoods. The people around the lava pool continued to chant, hum, and sing. Gravemoore stood at the end of the path, near the edge of the boiling lava, waiting for Alyssa Roseshadow.

The Discoverer kept her eyes at Gravemoore; her gaze unwavering, determined, unafraid. She walked confidently, unafraid. Clyne frowned. He wondered what she is doing in the Mort. He wondered if she, in fact, worked for the Rosein Army and lied about helping the Elders’ Chamber, Consortium, and Regalis. He wondered if she knew that the Rosein Army caught him and the others.

“What is she doing here?” Nate asked, looking confused.

“Were we betrayed?” Clyne voiced out his thoughts.

“No, it can’t be.” Nate sounded so sure. “She looked like a prisoner herself.” He’s right.

Alyssa Roseshadow was halfway from Gravemoore whose creepy smile reached his ears.

“Did you know?” Tessa asked.

“No,” the leader of group of Elipse replied, “Not until she was brought here.”

“But do you know why she’s here?”

“She’s probably the reason for the lava.”

“Wren infiltrated today,” Kol added. He had been quiet. “We don’t know everything.”

“Were you really unable to get hold of her before?” Clyne couldn’t see his expression.

“Yes,” he answered calmly, “She wasn’t answering.”

“Now we know why,” Lei whispered.

When Alyssa Roseshadow reached Gravemoore, he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face the crowd. He whispered something to her, and she shook her head.

“What are they going to do to her?” Lei asked.

“The Blood Sacrifice will now begin!” Gravemoore shouted as if he heard Lei’s question. Clyne paled. Blood Sacrifice? Gravemoore shove Alyssa Roseshadow toward another Rosein.

“They’re going to kill her.” Nate’s eyes widened.

“This is our cue,” Cleac, the Eclipse member behind Nate, said, “They won’t notice us if we leave now.”

Wren, the leader, moved to trade with the man behind Tessa. Clyne turned and saw the man touching the wall. Clyne and the others acted as his cover while he worked.

“We cannot leave,” Nate said; his gaze never left Alyssa Roseshadow, his jaw clenched.

“Nate…”

“We cannot leave her,” he cut Lei off. Clyne didn’t get close to Alyssa Roseshadow, there was something foreign about her that both intrigue and bothered him. But he understood Nate. Clyne couldn’t abandon anyone in danger.

“We cannot stay longer,” Wren said, his voice deepened, “We have to follow the plan.”

Clyne recounted the plan in his mind. Before splitting up, Ciar informed Clyne’s group that some members of Eclipse had been monitoring the fortress for a month. The Eclipse planned to use the Rosein Army’s own weapon to blowup the base without fighting them because there were only 13 Eclipse members to the Rosein Army’s 400 in the Mort fortress. The Regalis and Eclipse had to leave before the bomb explodes. What kind of weapon?

“What is happening?” Clyne followed Lei’s gaze. Gravemoore now stood on a platform with Alyssa Roseshadow. He had his hands on her shoulders. The hot red lava churned below them. Clyne sweated just watching them stand so near it.

“Rise!” Gravemoore shouted “Rise and fight for us!” The chant got louder.

“We offer you: The blood for hunger, the soul and body for life, the power for strength. Rise, Abyss Guardian; Rise from the fire; Rise and fight for us!”

“Abyss Guardian?” Clyne knew it was a name but he hadn’t heard of it before.

“A very strong monster, a sleeping monster,” Kol answered. “They’re calling him by sacrificing her.” Clyne gasped. His fear grew every second yet Alyssa Roseshadow didn’t look afraid as she stood above the pool of lava.

“We have to stop it,” Tessa said. Clyne nodded.

“The Soul Gems will do that,” Wren said, “That’s why we have to leave soon.” He sounded annoyed.

“No,” Nate interrupted. He clenched his fists. “I will try to save her.”

He turned to Clyne.

“Make sure Lei and Tessa are safe-”

“What are you talking about?” Lei was glaring at him. “We can protect ourselves.”

“And I want to save Alyssa too,” Tessa added.

“You can’t.” Marcus, the guy behind Clyne, squeezed Clyne’s shouders. “We can’t let you.”

“What?” Clyne expressed. Wren shook his head.

“Ciar ordered to keep all of you safe.” Nate was about to argue when Gravemoore spoke.

“The others first!” He gestured toward the crowd. “We save the best for last.” He grinned at Alyssa Roseshadow who looked unbothered by Gravemoore and the pool of lava. What happened next took Clyne’s breath away. From the crowd, someone jumped into the boiling lava with a disturbing cry. The scream was only for three seconds but Clyne felt the hairs on his arms stand. Before he could release the breath he was holding, another person jumped.

“No, no, no,” Tessa whispered.

“Oh God,” Lei breathed out.

“It’s time.” Wren removed his hands on Nate’s shoulders. Clyne turned around and saw that an open door appeared on the wall behind them.

“The same thing will happen to Alyssa,” Nate said softly. He faced Wren and met his stare. “I have to do something.” Tense silence enveloped the two; neither one of them wanted to back down.

“We are wasting time,” Marcus insisted. “Cleac is waiting.” The man beside the open door looked annoyed and impatient but he remained silent.

“He’s right.” Tessa looked around. “You leave. We will save her.” Wren’s frown deepened. He removed his gaze from Nate.

Another shrill painful cry made the Regalis shiver. Clyne’s heart was drumming fast beats on his chest but he refused to be swallowed by fear. His gaze swept the place to look for any weakness. He found none. The place was crawling with hundreds of Rosein Army. Gravemoore restricted the Regalis and Kol’s elementals. If we try to use them, he’ll notice us.

“Are you out of your mind?” Wren gritted his teeth.

“What’s the point of saving you?” Marcus frowned at the Regalis.

“Thank you but sorry.” Nate sighed. He eyed the Eclipse’s red robes. “May we borrow your robes?”

Marcus shook his head but Wren nodded slightly, looking a little frustrated. Four of the Eclipse members shed their robes while the others stand as covers and guards.

“I don’t understand why you want to save her,” Marcus murmured. “You’re friends with her?”

“No,” Clyne replied, “But we can’t let her die if we can save her.”

Clyne noticed that Kol had been quiet. He followed his gaze at Alyssa Roseshadow and Gravemoore. After the third sacrifice, the Rosein Army started dancing as they chanted. Kol’s face showed sadness, longing, and a hint of anger. Nate’s face moved in Clyne’s line of vision. Tessa and Lei moved closer to him.

“We have to get to the platform,” Nate started. He gestured at where Alyssa Roseshadow, Gravemoore, and a dozen Rosein Army stood. “We’ll take him by surprise.” Clyne nodded.

“Tessa and Lei should stay on the ground,” Clyne suggested. Tessa was about to argue but Nate agreed.

“Once we get closer to her, you can use elementals to stop anyone.” Tessa and Lei looked at each other before nodding hesitantly. The sounds of lava boiling and bubbles popping on its surface made Clyne stare at the red hot lava. He imagined falling into the pit; screaming for only one or two seconds before his skin hit the burning liquid; screaming again, louder and higher, because of the burning pain, unable to swim away, until it takes his life, until he is reduced to nothing but a part of the lava pool. He shivered involuntarily due to his imagination.

"Is this ok, Wren?" one of Wren's men asked.

"It's what they want."

"We can't wait for you," Wren said firmly.

"We know," Lei answered, "We won't ask you." Clyne realized that he and his friends might

not make it out alive. He might not see Aria, Faz, and his other friends again. This was the reason why he hugged Aria tightly and why he thanked Faz before splitting up. No words of goodbye was said.

After thanking Wren and his men, Clyne and his companions fixed the hoods on their heads and made their move toward the platform.

"Kol, thank you for coming with us," Tessa whispered.

"My pleasure," he replied.

They were a few feet from the stairs of the platform, keeping their hoods below their eyes,

moving swiftly but quietly through the crowd, when Nate chuckled.

"What?" Clyne asked.

"She rolled her eyes at me." She's a weird woman.