Summary:
After the death of her mentor and guardian, Koi embarks on a journey with her best friend Megami to track down the assassin that murdered him and repay the favor. Along the way, she meets several new allies and realizes that her quest for revenge has become embroiled in what will become the final showdown between Koi and her followers, and the Crimson Lord and his assassins. It may all come down to one warrior's allegiance...

Character Profiles:

Koi Joketsu:

- name means "dark heroine"
- does come from nobility, but hates being reminded of it. the only people she considers family are Megami and Perry.
- loves spicy food, not fond of sweets
- has no problem doing physical labor or hard work
- has trained with twin daggers since she was six, and is highly adept at them, but her skills are overshadowed by those of Megami, Yume, and other companions.
- has no magical skill whatsoever
- very suspicious of anyone she meets
- the only person Megami will listen to now that Perry is gone

Megami Shizen:

- name means "goddess of nature"
- joined Perry's group of freedom fighters about a year after he founded it
- Perry is the only person ever to earn her respect. She believes that Koi could earn her respect as well if she would just stop letting emotion get the best of her
- has the ability to produce and control balls of extreme static electricity from charged particles in the air around her, but the energy it takes to control the electricity can run out
- acts ditzy- and to a point is rather strange- but has a clear and deep sense of right and wrong; capable of random good advice
- the best medic ever to graduate from the healing academy in the capital of Sardis, Vardel
- prone to trust just about anyone unless they give her a reason to mistrust them
- when her trust is proven misplaced, she considers it unforgiveable
- impatient and very likely to use violence to get her way at times
- a great cook- when she's not eating

Sabishi Yume:

- name means "desolate dream" (Yume is his actual first name, his surname is said first due to Eld etiquette
- a maer; he was sold by his mother along with his sister to Lacerus when he was four
- became an assassin at the age of 8
- blinded by Lacerus at the age of 10
- met Koi and Megami at the age of 19
- quiet, relishes privacy, dislikes physical contact
- used to being in control of others; does NOT like being told what to do
- everything he does is in pursuit of whatever goal he has set in his mind; he thinks only of reaching that goal, come whatever consequences
- an adept user of shadow magic and aetra (a maerish style of sword techniques, both single and double)
- worked as Lacerus' top assassin for seven years
- was imprisoned by Lacerus for intent to commit treason
- many secrets are hidden in his past and his motives....

Zoku Reiki

- name means "thief profit"
- a common thief
- Bonded with a feolyn named Hyo at the age of 3
- meets Koi, Megami, and Yume at the age of 15
- can communicate with Hyo and is very protective of him
- rarely thinks of more than how to turn a situation to profit him
- cocky and reckless
- the only thing that can make him act seriously is threat to himself or to Hyo
- not a good fighter; relies more on his ability to escape practically any situation

Raito

- a mysterious youth found by Koi and Yume inside the Shima compound in the midst of a massacre
- has some serious amnesia due to the Lunar Seal performed on him that seals all memory and magical power deep within the subconscious
- has a very gentle and naive personality, possibly due to the amnesia, though it is most likely his true personality
- dislikes meat

Avery Shitashi

- the master of the Merchant's Guild
- Yume's ONLY friend. the only person Yume does not feel homicidal urges towards on a daily basis when in constant contact
- the same age as Yume (19)
- gentle and a bit scatter brained, but he has some serious common sense; a good strategist, for all his day dreaming
- the only person to quit working for Lacerus and live
- extremely powerful fighter, but a pacifist
- twin brother was killed by Yume on Lacerus' orders when they were ten
- has forgiven Yume, though Yume cannot forgive himself

Lacerus Yakuri

- dictator of Sardis; known as the Crimson Lord
- bought Yume and Aowyn from their mother and trained them as top assassins
- extremely unstable
- misogynistic, bipolar, narcissistic, and sadistic, among other things
- extremely cunning
- bought Yume at the age of 30
- blinded him at the age of 36
- currently 43
- obsessed with Yume (including physical attraction)
- possesses powerful magical abilities gained through blood sacrifice

Iyashi Zankoku

- name means "dispicable heartlessness"
- delivered Yume and Aowyn to Lacerus from their mother when he was 19
- witnessed Yume's blinding when he was 25
- is currently 32
- another member of the Erito (Lacerus' top five assassins)

Sabishi Aowyn

- so far, only seen in a flashback dream of when she and Yume were sold by their mother
- seems to be extremely likeable; Yume's mother liked her more than she liked Yume
- sold with Yume at the age of 3
- was initiated into the Erito at the age of 9 when Yume was blinded

Places, Objects, and Terms (no particular order):

Geiris- the city where Perry found Koi and decided to adopt her (mentioned in prologue)

kasen- a pasta dish of meat and noodles (first mention in prologue)

prisel- a soup dish made of vegetables and noodles (first referred to in chapter 5)

Crea- and island region known for spicy food (mentioned in chapter 1)

cedr rolls- basically cinnamon buns =] (first mentioned in chapter 2)

rana- the monetary unit of Sardis (first mentioned in chapter 2)

maer- a race of calculating people still steeped in Eld tradition and known for their mercenary ways (first mentioned in chapter 6)

Eld- the ancient original civilization of Sardis (first mentioned in chapter 6)

aetra- a style of swords techniques known to the maer (first mentioned in chapter 6)

Kantai- a small town near the coast (firt mentioned in chapter 6)

Tosa- the walled city of the maer (first mentioned in chapter 6)

the Erito- the top five assassins in Lacerus' forces

Shima- an uncharted island compound near the port of Nagisa; used to train the Erito (firt mentioned in chapter 13)

Nagisa- a famous port city, home to the Merchant Guild's (first mentioned in chapter 13)

koshira- a creature that feeds on living energy; created when a human ingests maerish energy pills (first mentioned in chapter 13)

Latka- a small farming town (referred to in chapter 15)

electropulse- a small charged weapon designed to burrow into flesh and deliver fatal amounts of electricity when activated (first mentioned in chapter 15)

feolyn- a cat-like creature with high intelligence (Hyo, Zoku's partner)

Sardis- the country Lacerus controls (general knowledge)

Lunar Seal- a powerful sorcerer's seal which barricades memory and magical power deep within the recipient's subconscious; is horribly complex, easy to screw up, and requires massive blood sacrifice

The Aurus Council- a society of powerful sorcerers given the task of imposing order on the magical community; known for their heavy-handed punishment and high disregard for the lives of non-sorcerers

Index:

Prologue: [link]
Chapter 1 (Mission): [link]
Chapter 2 (Loss): [link]
Chapter 3 (Vow): [link]
Chapter 4 (Rescue): [link]
Chapter 5 (Unwelcome): [link]
Chapter 6 (Conflict): [link]
Chapter 7 (Memory): [link]
Chapter 9 (Revealed): [link]
Chapter 10 (Distrusted): [link]
Chapter 11 (Drunk): [link]
Chapter 12 (Saved): [link]
Chapter 13 (Decision): [link]
Chapter 14 (Seaside): [link]
Chapter 15 (Festival): [link]
Chapter 16 (Damned): [link]
Chapter 17 (Innocence): [link]
Chapter 18 (Thievery): [link]
Chapter 19 (Death): [link]
Chapter 20 (Blinded): [link]
Chapter 21 (Slaughter): [link]
Chapter 22 (Complication): [link]
Chapter 23 (Burned): [link]

Note:

If you read a phrase or a fact that you don't understand or feel I need to add, please let me know by note or comment and I will thank you and add it as quickly as possible. This will be a constantly edited post, as I will add information when it's introduced in the story- that way I give aay no plot twists =]

A demain! Thanks for reading!