The laughter of children echoed amidst the courtyard of the old church. A wall of grey stones, as tall as a full grown man, traced the churches boundaries. The passage of time had left the wall in poor standing. Pieces of stone had cracked and tumbled to the ground, leaving the wall uneven. Coupled with the effects of time was the recent abuse caused by children, proving much more devastating than the slow wear of time. Erected in the center of the courtyard rested the two goddess of love, forever facing away from one another. The statue stood almost two stories tall. It’s once fine finish worn away by weather and neglect. The church was the oldest standing buildings amidst the town. The church had once stood at the centre of town, but now rested on the outskirts. A fire had passed through town many years ago, destroying most of the town’s buildings. Many were laid to rest in the churches cemetery in do to the fire. After the fire many opted to build their homes and places of business’s closer to the towns well, leaving the church upon the outskirts of town.

Children hung off and played about the statues of Teresa and Clare. Disregarding the protests of the nuns the children ran freely, laughing and taunting the clamouring nuns.

“Now children, that is no way to treat the fair goddess's of love” A man draped in monks robes and hood said as he stepped through the arched gates of the courtyard. A warm smile rested naturally upon his face as he greeted the children.

“Father Glenn!” the children shouted gleefully as they rushed to greet the returning priest. The children swiftly formed a small group surrounding the priest. Glenn had a youthful face despite the strands of silver hair hanging loosely over his barrow.  Though the children tugged and pulled at Glenn’s robes, he remained firmly balanced. In spite of being pushed and pulled on Glenn kept his eyes tightly shut.

“What did you bring us this time?!” A young child asked as he reached out with his open hands.

“I bet its candies!” The children's faces lit up even more with their speculations. Crouching to be level with the children, Glenn pulled his sleeves up to show the children his hands were in fact empty. However, this did not deter the children, in fact it seemed to drive them almost in to a frenzy. With a quick motion of his hands a pouch appeared in Glenn’s right hand.

“Now how did that ever get there?” Doing his best to look shocked, Glenn listened as the children hollered in approval. Gingerly opening the pouch; Glenn reviled it to be filled with all sorts of sweets. The children quickly lunged forward to clam the candy for themselves. However, Glenn raised the pouch over his head with the same speed he used to make it appear; insuring the bag of treats was well out of reach of little greedy hands.

“Now, now, children, what did I tell you about sharing and even proportions?” the children slowly took a step back as dejected looks appeared on their faces.

“And wipe that look off your faces!” The children were always amazed by Glenn's perception, regardless of his blindness. “Now then, let us see who gets what.” Glenn said as he lowered his hand with the pouch. Glenn began to break up the pouch of candy in to fair proportions for each child. It was never debated upon who got what. A blind man handing out treats was the luck of the draw. No one ever complained, a preferred sweet could always be traded or bartered for. That is until one child held his hand out towards Glenn's face.

“You gave me less than everyone else” the child said meekly.

“Did I? Surely not, surely you are just hiding a few candies in your other hand.” the child blushed in embarrassment as he opened his other hand to show it was indeed true.

“And what did I say about greed, young Lukas?” The child could not bring himself to answer the priest.

“Two more for pretty little Connie, complements of young Lukas.” It only took Lukas a moment to realize he was missing his two candies as Glenn handed them to the young girl. Reaching out to reclaim his treat, Lukas found his wrist grasped firmly by Glenn.

“Now, now, Lukas, this is your lesson for attempting to fool a blind man. I could have taken all your sweets away.” Hearing Glenn's words Lukas tightened his grip on his last remaining candies. “Next time, be fair and you will not have to repeat this stark punishment. Now go along and play with the others.” Glenn said as he released the young child, who in turn quickly took off in a grumpy mood.

“Oh and children, please treat the two goddess’s with much more respect from now on. They do not deserve such treatment.” Chuckling softly, Glenn took in a deep breath as he stood to his full height. Pocketing the empty pouch, Glenn slid his hands in between the sleeves of his robes. Dodging a few of the children, Glenn made his way towards the entrance of the church. Halting his slow stride, Glenn raised his head slightly towards a nun that had placed herself in front of him.

“Ahh Sister Dalya, it is a fine evening, don't you agree?” Glenn greeted with the same warm smile.

“Why do you continue to do that? I have told you to stop bringing the children treats!” The sister said trying to keep her voice low but firm.

“Please sister, they are merely children. Candies and sweets are just a part of childhood. Surely we can't just rob them of that.” He said before his expression darkened “haven't they been robbed of enough?”

Dalya suddenly stepped back finding her self taken off guard by Glenn's sudden change of expression. Glenn always wore a warm smile for all; suddenly changing that was unnerving to those that knew him. Tripping over her words the sister was interrupted as an elderly priest in long dark robes stepped out from the church.

“Brother Glenn, may I have a word with you.”  The elder priest said as he motioned for Glenn to follow.

“Why of course, brother Rowley.” His expression back to its warm natural state, Glenn followed the older priest in to the church, leaving Dalya in the courtyard shaken and confused. Once in Rowley's private chambers, Glenn faced towards a window over looking the courtyard. Sister Dalya seemed to be rather busy with the hyper children. Sitting at his desk, father Rowley stared at Glenn sternly.

“I have let you stay here for many years, Glenn. I did so because you said you wish to change your life and that you were looking for redemption.” Glenn nodded in reply as he turned to Rowley.

“Yes, that is true. And I am very grateful for you taking me in and allowing me to stay here.”

“Than why do you continue to risk everything by doing stupid things like just now?”

Confused, Glenn began to rack his brain for the answer to what father Rowley was upset about. “Is this about the candy?”

Slamming his palms down on the table, father Rowley stood firmly as he stared Glenn down. “You know damn well what this is about! You are being careless. What if someone finds out?! I could be branded a heretic, stripped of my position or worse!”

“That would be troublesome for the both of us, I suppose.”  Glenn said, keeping his expression light and cheerful

“You supposed correctly!” Letting a sigh escape his lips, Father Rowley moved to be standing beside Glenn. Staring out the window, Rowley let his shoulders drop.

“Do you want me to leave?” Glenn asked as he turned his head to face the elderly priest.

“No, I just want you to be more careful. You have made a lot of progress since you came to this church, I believe.” Rowley admitted as he let a soft smile cross his lips.

“So . . . I can still bring the children candy?” Rowley simply stared at Glenn for a long moment before he began to laugh.

“You have been a good friend these past long years.” Rowley said as he placed his hands on each side of Glenn's face.  

As night came Glenn assisted sister Dalya in rounding up the children, a chore that proved difficult do to their early sugary treats. Glenn could not help but feel blessed that he could not see the dirty looks he received from sister Dalya that evening. Sister Dalya was not chosen to watch the children because of her gentle touch. She could almost stop a yoma in his tracks with her glares, as some of the children liked to joke.

When the children were put to bed, Glenn went about the grounds putting out the lights. Stumbling in the dark was never a problem for Glenn and he often volunteered to do such tasks.  Proceeding to his chambers, Glenn removed his hood to revile a head of trimmed silver hair. Glenn's chambers were nearly bare only a bed, chair, and desk donned his room. The bed seemed as though it had not been slept upon in some time. Neglecting the bed entirely, Glenn took the chair by the backrest and slid it in to the corner of the room. Sitting himself on the chair, Glenn leaned back pushing the chair tightly against the wall.
Drifting to sleep, Glenn found himself reliving a past memory that was more than a life time ago.

Glenn had entered in to a blurred and distorted world that seemed more like a dream with in a dream. The best he could make out was that he appeared to be walking upon a dirt road with two others. The two others were large figures that he could not help but feel aggravated towards. He could not make out any fine details of their figures, leaving their appearance and gender a mystery.  

“Who is this brat?”

“Some rookie, I guess.”

“Why do we get stuck with him?”

“He is supposed to be special or something, I think.”

“He is just one of the new ranks isn't he?”

“Why don't we test him?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

A flash of metal obscured Glenn's vision before he was jarred from his rest. A familiar feeling washed over Glenn, causing any grogginess to leave him immediately. Jumping to his feet, Glenn swiftly threw his hood back over his head as he left his chambers. Coming to the hall of the church a great force caused the ground to quake from under his feet. Dust fell from rafters as candle stands wavered and fell under the sudden force. The sound of falling stones echoed in to the hall from outside, followed by screams. Glenn soon felt the warmth of a lit flame upon his face as a voice spoke up.

“Glenn, what has happened, an earthquake?” Father Rowley asked in a concerned tone. Holding a lit candlestick, Rowley shined it across Glenn’s face so as to see him clearly.

“No, I fear it is much worse.” Glenn said as he turned towards the churches doors. “We must leave, all of us, we maybe able to sneak past it.”

“Sneak past what? What in lord’s name is going on? Glenn, please explain what is happening” Glenn said nothing in reply as he stood facing the door as if it may buckle at any moment. Grasping Glenn's shoulder with his free hand, Rowley forced Glenn to face him. “Tell me what is happening, I can not just tell everyone to leave in the dead of night.”

“Please, trust me Rowley; we have to leave, quickly.” Rowley stood silent for a long moment before he nodded his head.

“I trust you, Glenn. I will tell everyone to prepare to leave.” Rowley quickly left the hall to proceed to the churches quarters. Most had already been woken from the initial tremor and were quickly gathered in the main all, many still in their bed clothing. Words of protest by the children and fellow priests were silenced as the screams of the villagers continued to permeate the hall.

'What's happening, I'm scared.” Young Connie said as she clung to the skirt of Dalya's nightgown.

“Do not fear child, we are safe within these walls.” Dalya said in an effort to sooth the child's fear.

The stench of blood flowed strong from outside, causing Glenn to cover his mouth with his sleeve. The smell was so thick he could almost taste it on his tongue. He could only feel thankful the others could not smell it, yet. Any panic could ruin their chances of escape from this sudden terror that had besieged their village.

“Everyone put out your lamps.” Glenn said as the priests and nuns began to light lanterns to guide them in the darkened hall.

“Do as he says” Rowley ordered, causing the priests to quickly douse their flames.

“Father Rowley, what in the name of god is happening? Are bandits attacking the town?” Dalya asked as she approached the elderly priest.

“I'm sorry sister; I have no answer for you. Let’s just-” He replied before Glenn spoke up.

“Were leaving” Glenn said in a loud enough voice for all to hear. Though the priests and nuns were not accustomed to following Glenn, he alone appeared to be the only one aware of what was happening. Fear of death began to pass between the adults like a sickness. The children, however, were left in a fog of confusion as the adults guiding them fought the panic welling up inside. Beads of sweat began to form on the priests brows. Children began to grow restless; some even broke in to tears.

As Glenn reached the main doors of the church he proceeded to push one of the doors open. The old hinges groaned in protest, but gave way regardless. Taking a moment to listen, Glenn led the small procession in to the courtyard. Though the church stood on the out skirts of town, darkened silhouettes of crumbled buildings could be seen lining the streets. Small fires burned amongst the rubble from up turned oil lamps. The screams that filled the night air had nearly completely faded in to moaning sobs. The Nuns attempted to divert the children's gaze from the shadowy ruined buildings, an effort to keep the children calm. As Glenn reached the entrance of the courtyard he turned to the group, causing them to halt.

“We will head in to the forest and make our way to the mountains from there. Remain as silent as possible.” Glenn said before father Rowley stepped up beside him.

“I will assist you brother.” Rowley said, an effort to calm the fellow priests, more than a few had concerns about being led down a path by a blind man.

“You are too kind.” Glenn said as he forced a smile.

Before Glenn could continue on a dark figure, nearly the size of the church it's self, appeared behind him. Everyone fell pale as they stared up at the looming creature.

“Rowley, get everyone back to the church.” Glenn said, though he knew the church would provide little if no protection from the beast that had just discovered them.

“Everyone back to the church, bar the doors with whatever you can find!” directed Rowley as he led everyone back towards the church.

Screams filled the night air once more as child and adult stumbled over each other to return to the confines of the stone walls of the church. Finely turning to the beast, Glenn held his arms out at his sides, a modest and useless attempt to hamper the beast.

“Leave here now; you have already had your fill, surely.” Glenn said as he attempted to reason with the massive shaded figure.

“Foolish man.” The figure said as the moon came out from behind a darkened cloud. Moonlight pouring over its features the creature could be seen to be an awakened being. It had a reptilian appearance to it with long clawed hands and elongated maw to match. Fresh blood still staining its claws and snout the beast crouched to meet Glenn. Grasping the arch way, the awakened being leaned its head under the arch.

“Your selfless devotion to your flock is touching; I'll save you for last, a reward for your courage.” Smirking, the beast reviled a row of blood stained razor pointed teeth. With one swift fluid motion the awakened being grasped Glenn in it’s vice like grip. Blood sprayed forth from Glenn’s mouth as bones broke under the force. Claws carelessly racked over Glenn’s body before the beast threw him aside. Striking the statues of Clare and Teresa, Glenn fell to the ground, his body broken and bleeding. Propping himself up, Glenn watched as the Awakened being effortlessly tore down the arch way before moving forward. Reaching out a hand towards the awakened being, Glenn soon fell limp as he fell unconscious.  As Glenn's consciousness faded he could only hear the sounds of shattering wood followed by screams.

As Glenn came to he attempted to pull himself to his feet, but only fell forward as his legs failed him. Falling to his hands and knees, Glenn forced his legs to obey him as he climbed to his feet. His body was battered and he could tell something was broken as pain shot down his back. Breathing was difficult, his ribs had been broken, cracked, and   bruised. Placing a hand to his chest, Glenn cringed in pain at the slightest touch. Spitting a mouth full of blood to the ground, Glenn gritted his teeth as he grasped the statues base. Using the statue as a brace, Glenn stumbled around the statue until he could face the church. As Glenn came to face the church he fell back to his knees as the strong smell of blood met him. Glenn prayed and bagged to whatever god that may be listening that it was merely his own blood he smelt. But, even Glenn knew such hopes were foolish, He did not have to see what was in front of him to know what had transpired. Blood covered the interior of the church, pews lay shattered and upturned. Blood flowed forth from the church's shattered front gates in a grisly crimson stream.

To the far east of the courtyard, the awakened one stood on all fours as it feasted on the remains of a priest that had attempted escape. Releasing the priest from its jaws, the awakened one stood to its full height as it sniffed the air. The awakened one exhaled violently as it slowly turned towards Glenn, grinning mischievously before approaching him.

“So you're still alive. I thought I may have killed you with that blow.” The Awakened one said as she bent forward to come level with Glenn. “I will have to kill you quickly. I was hoping to play with you a little. However, I sense yoki near by. Some bothersome pests must have caught up with me.” Coming back to her full height, the awakened one raised its hand to strike Glenn down. Before the awakened one could strike, Glenn vanished instantly. The sound of stone crumbling caught the awakened ones attention, causing her to look to the head of the statues. His hand firmly embedded in the face of the Clare statue, Glenn stared in to the awakened one’s eyes with a pair of gleaming golden eyes. Retracting his arm, the statue of Clare broke apart with explosive force as Glenn struck out at the awakened one. Slashed across the face the awakened one hollered out before swing a hand violently at Glenn. As the awakened ones hand came down, Teresa was the next to fall as it gave under the immense might of the awakened ones blow. A cloud of dust filled the courtyard causing the awakened one to thrash about wildly in its frantic search for her attacker. Calming it's self, the awakened one held its claws at the ready as it sniffed the air, but only filled its nostrils with pulverized marble. Gritting its teeth, the awakened one hissed loudly as it searched among the dust cloud for any standing figure.

As the dust began to drift down to earth, the awakened one caught sight of Glenn standing in front of the church. Preparing to rush its prey, the awakened one froze as it noticed the object in Glenn's right hand. Held out at his side Glenn gripped a claymore with a symbol resembling a crosslet cross upon its blade. The sounds of cracking bone could be heard coming from Glenn as his bones set themselves.

“Wh. . . What are you doing with a claymore!?” The awakened shouted as it pointed a long clawed finger towards Glenn.

“I thought it would be obvious by now.” Glenn said in a monotone as tears stained his cheeks.

Hissing loudly the awakened one lowered it's stance as it prepared to strike. As a trickle of blood ran down in to the awakened ones right eye Glenn vanished as he thrust himself forward. In the time it took the awakened to blink its right arm fell loose as Glenn's claymore sliced through it. Foul blood sprayed upon the stoned courtyard, mixing with the already spilled blood of the awakened ones victims.

H... how did you!?” she shouted as she attempted to locate Glenn once more. Behind the awakened one, Glenn skidded to a stop upon the cobble stone of the courtyard. Turning to face the awakened one, Glenn dug his feet down as his thighs and cuffs began to deform as he focused yoki in to them. As Glenn Lunged forward a loud whistle tore through the courtyard.


When the whistle pierced the awakened ones ears it found its self drifting away from its legs. A scar lined the courtyard as Glenn came to a stop, his blade firmly embedded in the earth. Using his blade to stop his quick motion, Glenn flinched as his arms screamed at him in pain. The sudden stop invoked by his arms had torn their fair share of muscles in his arms. Holding on to his claymores hilt with both hands, Glenn glanced ahead at the Awakened one as it came crashing to the ground.

“How are you doing this? This is not possible! It's impossible!” Looking about her in a panic, the awakened one spotted her severed arm. Reaching for the arm she soon found her last arm pinned down by a claymore. Slashing forward Glenn relieved her of her last limb. His legs still coursing with yoki, Glenn stomped his foot down upon the awakened ones chest, causing her ribs to crack as he pinned her down.

“You must be an offensive type, since you have not regrown your limbs, yet.” Glenn said as he held his claymore lax in his hand.

“Damn you! Who are you!? I'll kill you!” She shouted as she struggled fruitlessly

Extending her tongue, the Awakened one lashed out with it only to have it split in two as Glenn held his claymore in its path. Screaming in frustration, the awakened one gargled as she thrust her head back, shattering the stone beneath her head. The awakened one gasped for air as Glenn stomped down on her chest.

“You have taken everything from me, for what?” He said in a low lifeless tone. “For guts . . . I’ll give you guts.” Though his arm protested in jolts of pain, Glen brought his claymore up over his head to shine in the moonlight. “I'll give you more than you could ever want!” Glenn said as he brought his claymore down to fill the ruined town in the death scream of the beast.