Prequel 1/5

The Archer

Stood high over the deserted town below was the Archer dressed in her chromed armour complete with helmet, gauntlet and grieves. From beneath the helmets edges her violet eyes scanned the buildings; keeping watch for any movement. The city was one of several that had been constructed by magic beyond the realms of the normal world; accessible to few it allowed those whose usual training regimes would disturb most humans and mages to hone their skills in a non-intrusive environment.

Stood in the bell tower of a grey-stone church, the Archer stepped into the pale blue sunlight, allowing her hand to drift up over her shoulder from where she removed the vivid silver bow, engraved with centuries of magical knowledge and raised it before her. Between the empty houses below, houses that were an exact copy of those in the city they protected, a figure had appeared. A man, around the six foot mark, dressed in long white robes with a plain white leather belt around his waist with a sword lashed upon it, stepped out from behind the stone work and looked around from beneath the brim of his white-trimmed coolie hat. The Archer allowed herself a slight smile to touch the lips of her otherwise emotionless face as she pulled back the string on her bow. In a flicker of light a white arrow had appeared, it flickered and sparkled in the light as the magic that ran along it buzzed into life. The arrow left the bow with startling speed, crossing the several hundred meters and striking the ground inches off course from the white-figure but that didn’t matter as the arrow exploded in a tower of dirt and crackling lighting. When the dust settled there was no sign of the white-figure and the bell tower was equally vacant. Landing in a crouch, the Archer moved quickly across the rooftops towards what would be (in the real world) the old guard-house with its high-walls and barricaded doorways; it even had an armoured mesh tower for her to fire from. From nowhere the white-figure appeared on the rooftop between the Archer and her destination. “The bell tower; how predictable.” He looked down at the Archer with his emotionless green eyes; he had short dark hair that was set into spikes but hidden beneath his pristine hat. The Archer frowned as she noticed the arrow hadn’t so much as dirtied him let alone caused any damage. Deciding not to fight on the rooftop the Archer chose to flee, using her magic to put distance between the two of them. Appearing in one of the alleyways between the buildings the Archer took to running, masking her magical presence as she moved, dodging between the houses and putting as much distance between her opponent and herself. Over boxes, under fences and through several houses, the Archer continually kept an eye on the rooftops above her and the streets behind her but after several minutes of inaction she decided it was time to take to the rooftops and so with a burst of strength she vaulted off a box and used momentum to swing herself up onto the roof.