Disclaimer….

Ragnarok Online is property of gravity…blah, blah, blah

However:

The characters and story are mine, but the characters are representations of real people…..

Ah whatever….

Enjoy!

Morning. The sun was up and the birds were singing, but in the barracks of Glast Heim, morning sunlight and songbird melodies were but myths. Little to no light ever entered the dark interior.

Kirono Winterheart awoke to the sound of a familiar voice calling her name.

"Kiro…hey sis, wake up, its morning already.

It always came as a surprise to her that her younger brother's voice always echoed with laughter and a childlike innocence. Spending a year in this hellish lair had not taken away his optimism and cheerfulness. He was such a far cry form his sister, who seemed much older than a girl who had seen seventeen springtimes should. Death had nearly become as regular in her life as breathing. She had lost so many of her guild mates. The Forgotten Angels were becoming fewer each day. Fate was cruel, Kirono was still grieving the passing of Seraphine when Mark had been taken away from them as well. Meredith soon followed. The new recruits were anything but a few, but they could never replace the ones who had fallen. Of the original twenty Forgotten Angels, only five remained. To make matters worse, all five were in a bad state. Cherry was ill, Bethany had suffered a breakdown, Michael had become withdrawn and introverted, and Cyrus was on the brink of becoming psychotic. Kirono knew that leadership was a big responsibility, especially since she was the least skilled of the lot. Though she was still but an acolyte, and the other four were already priests and had seen more years than her, they still looked to the young girl for wisdom and guidance.

She sighed and enclosed her locket within her hand. It felt cold against her palm. Ten years had passed since Silver had first hung it around her neck, and she never once allowed it to be removed.

"Sis! Come on! Time's a wasting! Master Schale wont wait for you forever!"

Once again, Shinjii's voice did an excellent job of shattering her train of thought. She stood up and, after fixing her clothes and locating her prayer beads, she followed the impatient swordsman down the narrow, gloomy corridors of the barracks. She dreaded her training, and would avoid it if at all possible, but unless she strived hard and poured all her effort into her training , she would remain an incompetent leader for as long as the Forgotten Angels were still in existence. Everyday she put on an mask similar to that of a smile and exhausted all her energy in practicing the spiritual arts. It was worth all of the physical and mental pressure and torture, for soon she would finally be a shaman. She would finally be strong enough to safeguard her friends, soon she would be worthy of being the leader of the Forgotten Angels, soon. But for now, she must train. With all her practice of being a spiritual medium, she had almost suffered an emotional and mental breakdown, yet she remained strong. The pain didn't matter. It would be worth it when she had completed her training, for then she could keep her guildsmen safe.