Lucretia wasn’t the sort to sit behind a desk, letting her weapons gather dust while the world was at a tipping point. Where chaos and it’s ilk continued to rush around causing calamity upon calamity to the innocence of fiore. It made her sick that some that sat in the same chair that she was present in thought of even doing so. The reports that sat on her desk unsigned, unlooked at for a time longer than was acceptable irked her. The pages, seated knights, lieutenants and captains came in often and were looking for assignment from their superior. Many of them were new, many of them were impulsive. The pages most of all.

Let us help please!

She’d look over the information in the reports; thinking over how best to tackle this sort of situation. The one that she was now in command of. Many gangs were around and many of them were the sort that would apply pressure on the families of those that were here. So lucretia had a thought. She would pick two of the most deadly gangs that not even captains would touch…

And clear them out herself. As a testament and example to all those underneath her. She’d ready her spear, ready her armor. The helmet sat on her head awkwardly for a moment before she tugged it down. None here spared her a second thought. Some of those that were placed in her care wondered why she had taken so long.

”Captain commander wolfenstein; if I may ask what took you so long to make up your mind about this?”

Her eyes flicked to one side, a stern looking captain with many scars on his face and one that she could see trailed down his neck and into his armor was the one to ask the question. She’d adjust a bit and pop up her visor. Her body was unfamiliar to many but she had lengthy conversations with the captains that were placed under her to what she expected of them all.

”I had to read and understand the largest threats. Today I will be taking out one of them. Tomorrow I will be taking the next. You and your other captain that they placed under me are to have the Lieutenants and seated knights keep the civilians away from the fighting. Take your squads of pages and have them escort them out of the blast zones.”

Blast zones? Lucretia didn’t sport any magic at the moment even though the necklace she wore was to be reputed to give her the powers of the dragonslayers. The fact she took command in such a way and with such a caring idea about the civilians put her in a surprisingly good light of those that thought her nothing but a wild beast the crown had placed into command.

She had risen from captain rapidly upon her entering of the rune knights and it was no joke. He seemed to hesitate for a moment but nodded his head, barking commands as lucretia took towards the city.

It was a bustle of activity, knights escorting the elderly, the young, even those that didn’t need it. She’d pause when she saw the other captain, a grizzled old man with an eyepatch. She’d tap him on his shoulder; he’d whip around and look up. Paling as he recognized her.

”Captain commander! I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. We’re still getting the civilians out of the blast zone but we’ve cleared the street of the hideout as you asked. It’s a little slower than we’d like-”

”It’s good enough for me to get started don’t worry.”

Lucretia twirled her spear for a moment and glanced at it; lately the lion had been less and less responsive to her commands and she couldn’t blame it. Her inner beast was frankly more powerful than it and it was slowly going back to being a simple weapon for her rather than a conduit of her power. Soon it would be time for her to pass it on to another or let it go all together.

The street was silent as they watched her walk towards the hide out. It wans’t long before some from within yelled some explicit statements causing her to snort. As she approached they warned her not to come any closer. But as she came within a stones throw the windows would be blasted open. An array of magic and other things launched at her. The citizens and her knights barely blinked as lucretia was already in motion.

The door was kicked down along with the wall that seated it. It had been reinforced but lucretia’s strength passed all standards of what safety brought to helm and it wasn’t long before she got to the nitty gritty of the culling of the dark mages or gang members that lay within. It was grisly work.

The slaughter lasted long into the evening and then eventually as night fell so too did the noises. Dead silence and many knights seemed worried as there wasn’t anything moving around the entrance or about the hideout. A few thought to approach after a few long minutes but they seemed surprised as lucretia appeared at the entrance. Dusting herself off.

At some point she had taken off her helmet and she’d take a moment to survey the area. It had been a good twenty or so gang member… with about half as many dark mages. She’d give her report to one of the Lieutenants that came to her and she’d eventually send him off.

”Captains! The citizens can return to their homes. Get the pages in here and have the seated knights meet up to sweep the area for stragglers. Any lieutenants that are available meet me for a moment.”

It had been her time spent as a hunter that led her to have such knowledge of how to handle individuals enmasse like this. Sure while her teams had been smaller this was no different. She was presented with a good chunk of the Lieutenants. She spent the next hour or so explaining what she had done there and how she went about clearing it out.

She wanted them to practice the same sort of events with the pages and seated knights to better deal with gangs in the future. They’d nod and some of them started to take notes; the ones that didn’t she’d ask to find her some more of the places. The tough gang that was in there was more of a threat because of the dark mages. She’d eye the fact her fur was singed in a few places and the end of her long mane of hair was sooty.

”Something wrong Captain commander Wolfenstein?”

”It’s fine. Fire mages often give me some issues. But that one was inexperienced. Powerful. But inexperienced.”

She had to rate him around a B or A rank at best; but he was more intelligent than physically powerful. She’d ponder about the idea of how she’d go about clearing the second hideout…

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Lucretia didn’t sleep that night. No she sat up on the walls, staring out over the city. She could hear the bustle and the chatter. The happiness of those around where she had cleared out the gangs. She had sent off many to do work and many more would still be doing as she had asked of them. The pages were lined up, given detailed explanations of what was expected of them. She’d turn each and every one of them into a beast in their own right.

Not a single page was like her, none of her seated knights, no apprentices… no lieutenants and no captains. Not a single one did she smell that gift on them and it saddened her a little bit. As the night continued the earlier captain approached her. As they were both not wearing their armor and neither had the posture behind them to signify that they were on duty…

”You can speak freely. Don’t worry about the title shit. I know it’s for when others are around.”

”I mean no disrespect. But… What does doing both of these accomplish? On your own?”

Lucretia couldn’t help but cast a curious glance to the younger captain; he meant well she figured but she would also have to explain herself to him. So that he would completely understand and that he wouldn’t question her like this in the future. She was building a team and she definitely wanted him on it.

”You had seen the inside? What I had done. On my own?”

”I have yes.”

”That represents decades of training, decades of doing the right thing at the right time. What I want is every single page down there. Every apprentice down there to turn into a bastion of security for the people. Like you, like the other captains and the others beneath you. I will turn each and every one of you into an absolute monster on the battlefield and to protect those that call upon us.”

Lucretia would turn to him; staring at the captain as he seemed to squirm under her gaze. The werewolf was a powerful being. A being that commanded respect but did not demand it of others. No she had earned it.

”Tommorow Captain. You will see what I am capable of without anything other than my body.”

That was a promise. Beyond a doubt.

The following morning was a hive of activity across the city. The citizens were moved rapidly. They already knew the points; they already knew what lucretia asked of them. She wasn’t wearing her uniform. Or at least wasn’t wearing her battle uniform. What she wore referred to her commoner equipment. Walking up the street towards the gang hideout. They had heard about her and opened fire early.

The speed that she had surpassed what she had moved like before; with no armor to weigh her down she practically danced up to the door. With a fierce kick that rivaled the blow from before they were not only rewarded to see the house shudder; but the whole of the wall get blasted in.

There was an awestruck moment on both halves. Lucretia leapt from foe to foe. Rendering them incapacitated one way or another. Breaking necks, shattering spines. One she even kicked the head off of and sent it flying down the street out of a window. Their new captain commander was not a joker. Not someone that they could simply ignore the command of or party under nonstop.

She was going to make them earn their place among the rune knights one after another and they would find that while she would be brutal. She would also be kind and fair. Unlike the prior day this gang was a little more prepared for sure… but she handled them with more ease than before.

Stepping out of the front of the ‘base’ she’d be picking something out of her teeth. It looked like she had found an apple at some point and was partaking in the fruit. Or maybe during the battle she had picked it up. Hard to really know.

”I am going to turn Era upside down and every single person under my command will be helping me.”

Both of her captains gulped and she’d walk past them; the first day the younger of the two had accepted her. Now the grizzled old man got to see what she was capable of… He’d shake his head as Lucretia went off to make her report to the kingsguard that oversaw all of them. If he was even in his office.

”Well lad I think we lucked out…”

Lucretia felt like two gangs weren’t enough. That she would take the fight to every single one of those that made their home within era. She didn’t party after the success of both ‘operations’. She didn’t really join in with the others. She had to reflect on the actions of today and the one prior. Approaching them brazenly would get their attention rapidly but that was fine. Her goal after this was to hit the strongest group left and move down the list.

It was a long bloody list; one that she intended to shorten until told to stop.

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