Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Kalliope sat in the back of carriage that her family placed her in for the trip to Fort Sella. It was only a day's ride by carriage so they were likely only a short ways away now.

Her family's compound was most close to Fort Sella, but was essentially in the middle of nowhere. It was isolated and peaceful, such was the case with all the great clans.

The road was uneven and rough, so much so that it might have been as comfortable, if not more, just to sit on an actual horse. However, this was something her father insisted on. He did not want anyone to see that he was sending his daughter to the fort. The officers inside were aware of the plan to have her train in real combat there, but other clans did not need to know that information.

It was suspicious enough that she had been granted permission to graduate early from the Academy, so the Gray Wolf Clan did not want to reveal any more of their hand. Too many of the great clans knew about her brother's mission and it lead to his death, so by keeping as much secret about Kalliope as possible, they would lessen the risk to her life.

Granted fighting in combat was threat enough, but it would be beneficial to not have to worry about betrayal. Many of the soldiers at Fort Stella were members of the Gray Wolf clan as well, so there was lessened concern about information leaking out of the fort. Plus, her father Atil, knew that Kalivas would be there and that would scare most rats into scurrying into the darkness.

"Lady Kalliope, we are approaching the gates." The voice of the driver called out.

She quickly gathered her things. She was already wearing her leather armor, but set to the side were her shield and then her sword in its sheathe. Kalliope stood up in the rocking carriage and secured the weapon on her hip and the shield on her back. She also checked boots to ensure that her daggers were properly secured as well.

As the strongest member of the younger generation in her clan, Kalliope was blessed with Compatibilities for Sword Arts, Shield Arts, Dagger Arts, and light magic. Though she was completely inept at the healing side of the magic, she was capable with the boosting and enhancement spells that it came with.

Enhancement spells were rather difficult to use and so most people could not use them until the Intermediate Rank.

The carriage jostled her around roughly as it came to a stop. Once she had regained her balance, she placed a hand on the door and pushed it open. The fresh breeze filled her senses. Wind blew her hair back and the gentle sun warmed her face. However, it was only gentle because it was early in the morning.

Due to how close Fort Sella was to the border with Alorek, it was actually a rather barren and rocky place. Normally the sun scorched and the wind scarcely blew except for the transition from day to night or vice versa.

Her boots crunched against the rocky ground as she stepped out into the morning light. Turning to the right, she saw the magnificent walls of the fort towering over her. They were nearly three stories tall and encircled the entire fortress. The gates that stood before her were made of iron so that they could withstand a full assault, long enough to prepare for a counter-offensive.

'Of course if Uncle Kalivas were to attack them, he would shatter them with a single swing.' She thought to herself while grinning stupidly.

"Hold! Who approaches?" one of the guardsman questioned. He was adorned in chainmail and a bucket helm and held a pike in his hand. His cohort wore the same armor, but was equipped with an axe and shield.

"Kalliope of the Gray Wolf clan, daughter of Atil. I am stationed here starting today." She called out.

The guards looked at each other and smiled at how resolute and determined the girl sounded. The one with the pike let out a long, monotone whistle that fluttered between a high and low note at the end. A moment later, the sounds of chains rattling was heard and the gate began to slowly rise in front of her.

"Welcome to the fort, Lady Kalliope."

"Thank you."

Once inside, she took in the surroundings. Inside the wall looked like a small village with a few dozen buildings. Though there were no civilians in the fort. Each one served a purpose for the garrison here which was set at almost two thousand strong. It had a capacity for nearly ten times that in emergencies, but adding additional forces at the moment may cause early provocation towards Alorek.

Eroa was much weaker in terms of military might to their neighbor and heavily relied upon the joint threat that they posed with their alliance between Eroa and the human kingdoms.

The young woman moved through the pathways between the buildings and followed a scent that she was familiar with. Passing a few interesting places, like a smithy, alchemist, and a healer's hut, she swiftly made her way to one of the several training grounds inside the walls.

This one was meant for close quarters combat training. There was also one set up for magic and ranged combat as well. Keeping them separate was more costly, but it allowed them to specialize each location for their respective needs.

Standing like a giant against the other soldiers, there was a man with darkened skin, rippling black muscles and short black hair. He had a long, skinny tail poking out behind him and two cat ears on the top of his head. One was torn in half though, likely from a previous battle. However, the injury only served to increase his intimidating presence.

The man held a two-handed battle axe in one hand and was standing in the middle of a circle of other soldiers. Three of the man's opponents attacked him at the same time, however with a single swing of his axe, all three were thrown backwards and out of the practice ring they stood in.

Four more attempted to attack him, mid swing. However, his left hand glowed right as he began to recover from his earlier swing. The glow quickly faded and a similarly shiny aura covered his body, though it was barely perceptible. Faster than even Kalliope's trained eyes could see, he quickly changed direction and swung back against the four men who thought to take him unawares.

They two were tossed out of the ring by the strike landing on the ground like a heap of ragdolls.

The giant beastman's back straightened and he quickly turned around, locking eyes with the much smaller blonde girl.

"Kalliope." His voice was deep and gravelly. To an enemy it would strike fear. But to her, it was a familiar voice of her father's closest friend that she basically considered an uncle to her.

"Uncle!" Kalliope ran up to Kalivas and gave him a huge hug with all her strength. Not that it would do anything since she was Intermediate and he was a King Rank. Her head only came up to his pectoral muscles so from far away it looked like a child hugging a grown man instead of a nearly fully grown young woman hugging a giant.