Aaron went missing after his visit to the castle. Later, the story reported to the public was one of sacrifice, for the Great Kingdom of Esnoch.
The story was that, the King and Aaron were ambushed by mysterious assassins in the outskirts of the kingdom. Protecting the king, Aaron fought till his death and the King was able to return alive and unharmed.
Majority of the public believed this story, while a few in high positions knew the truth. Even though they found out about what had really happened, no one dared to say a word against the King.
This news was especially hard for Marie who was catered for by Aaron since young like a big brother, even though they weren't related. It was the same for Aaron's group, the 8th pillar of the kingom.
The 9 pillars of the kingdom were like the kingdom's military, which consisted only of mages, as they were well respected above normal soldiers. In this world of magic, mages were the power force in many aspects. If one doesn't have the aptitude for magic, they can only grow to become commoners and work ordinary jobs, or odd jobs. Now that Aaron was dead, the 8th pillar would need a new captain, and even though they all loved Aaron, there was nothing that could be done.
Simon would have to step up and take the role of captain, and although he didn't like it at first, he had no choice but to accept. Being the captain of a pillar was one thing, but being the captain of the 8th pillar was a whole different level.
The reputation Aaron had brought to this fabled pillar had brought them from just being mid-ranked amongst the pillars to the top. No other pillar could even dream of comparing, they were simply unfathomable, and the level they had reached was unattainable for any other person in the world.
Taking on the responsibility of being the head of such a group was too much to ask from a Grandmaster Mage, but after hearing that someone else would be assained as the captain, he made up his mind and took the position. He could not let someone else come and tarnish the captain's work.
"Marie, get yourself together, you've been crying for hours now. You always acted tough and hard-headed around him, I never knew you cared this much." A girl Marie's age said her as she walked gently towards her friend who stood by the curtain, looking outside.
As she moved closer to Ashia, her metal plated amour clinging slightly together, she placed a hand on Marie's shoulder in an attempt to console her. She knew the kind of pain her friend was going through, since she herself had experienced something similar with her parents. Marie took her hand off the curtain she held open to wipe her eyes. As the curtains fell, she turned and walked towards her bed.
"Thank you for worrying about me Rina, I'll be fine." Marie said, as she forced a smile unto her face.
Later that same week, Marie received a summons from the King. After getting there, she was briefed on a mission, directly through the King, surely it had to be an important mission if the King was to give out the briefing himself.
"My Lord, you summoned me." Marie said as she took a knee, with her face pointing towards the ground.
"Yes. As you might have figured out, I have an important mission for you."
"What kind of mission requires the King himself to give the briefing my Lord?" She asked with a hint of worry, all the while remaining respectful.
"First of all, let me apologies for having to send you on this mission. I know you are still mourning the death of Aaron, but this mission cannot be delayed. Come with me." The King said as he stood up from his majestic throne.
They went to a room where the King completed his briefing as he pointed out certain things on a map that lay on the table positioned at the centre of the room. Her mission was fairly simple, not really worth the urgency it was given. She had to exterminate a group of mages that were sent by a rival Kingdom. Their number was estimated to be about four in total. As a Grandmaster mage herself, it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but it won't be too difficult either.
As the night dragged on, at about a little before midnight, Marie set out on her mission towards the north. She would have to intersect the enemy mages before they get too close to any village in the surrounding area close to the border.
Good news was that they were yet to enter the Kingdom's territory, so she had a couple of days be they get to the nearest village from the border, and would be about three days from the position they were last reported seen.
Camping was easy, as she had learned it since her younger days when Aaron would take her training in the forests. Sitting there alone beside a fire amidst the forest, she couldn't help but remember her beloved teacher and brother, the pain came back anew, and before long she fell asleep with tears in her eyes.
She had planned to just have a quick snack before continuing her travel since she hadn't eaten the whole day, but ended up falling asleep, not like the appetite was there to begin with. Some wild animals were quick to show their interest in sleeping body of meat, but it wasn't even a challenge as she made quick work of them.
"I was careless. Let's continue moving again."
It wasn't long before Marie got to an area that had less dense covering. It was the predicted route of the mages she had to kill. She hid herself behind the trunk of a tree that was positioned on an elevated ground close to the designated path.
While the enemy mages were still a good distance away, she cast a kind of smokescreen spell that made it look like this part of the forest was foggy, so that when the enemy would get there, they wouldn't be suspicious of the sudden change in the surroundings.
With the preparations in place, she waited patiently for her targets to walk into their deaths.