Chapter 1 part 2 - Joining the Sirens

     "You won't find him 'ere, ya."
     "I'm so sorry, good sir, but I thought you could help."
     "Oh, we will; so long as you're footin' the bill, ya!" The current Siren Head-Commander was a man that went by the name of Jealousy. Once an infantry general for the reckless 'suicide squad' of Daylon, Jealousy became the natural choice to succeed his father. His face plate had a skull emblazoned on the forehead in a dark crimson, and Kelvin prayed it was not blood. 
     The members of the Sirens were eccentric. The first thing that set them apart from other mercenaries; the armour. Each wore a suit of armour that was identical to his comrade. This decision was made to prevent segregation or isolation of certain groups. The second was their choice in recruitment. They took anyone, regardless of their background, birth, or even gender. Kelvin noticed separate bathing chambers and changing rooms, but it was impossible who was what, thanks to the identical armour.
     The final thing that made them odd were those masks. Each individual had his own mask. It was a modified theatre mask, but flat and featureless. It was made of a midnight-coloured metal. The colour and the shape of the mask made the surface reflective and appeared like a mirror. When someone received a promotion, instead of a patch or badge, they received a small amount of a red paint. They were allowed to put stripes or shapes on their mask. 
     But when they were promoted to commander, the paint that they had accumulated was wiped off, and they were given a more permanent, dark red paint. They were then allowed to put their own design on their mask, one that identified them and them alone. Some dyed their whole mask red. Others, like Jealousy, put small symbols on. To each his own.
     Every Siren was required to wear their mask at all times. The reason was two-fold; It was the only way to identify each other, and the Sirens were only 'part-time' mercenaries. They were people who wanted to live double lives. Controversial, yes, but effective. The mask rule was initiated to protect that other life from mixing with the life of a Siren.
    Jealousy moved and Kelvin snapped to attention. Kelvin, a wiry man, was built to be an assassin. Thin, short, black hair and a pale grey skin colour added to his stealth capabilities. When combined with his mastery of both Time and Dark magics, he was completely undetectable until his blade met his target.
    He had been given a set of armour and a mask, so that he could stay within Siren regulation. The light metal plates made minimal sounds as Kelvin followed Jealousy down the hallway. The black leather and metal only added to the man's skills. "Just a few questions before we get started, ya?" The Commander motioned to a chair. "What shall I call you? Do not give me your real name now, ya?" Kelvin sat. "How about Belligerence?"
    "Too long."
    "Bravery?"
    "Too positive."
    "Blood?"
    "Nah, somethin'...somethin' tidy and dangerous, ya?"
    "Blight? Like an illness."
    "Blight, ya? I don't...it ain't tidy..." Jealousy said it to himself a few more times. "Well, I rather like that! Now then, Siren Blight of the Leneel church, what can I do for ye?"
     "I'm looking for a man named Peterson. He escaped from Ken a few years ago. We hired the Sirens to help us search, but you are a very hard man to get in touch with. We even paid in advance."
     "I'm sure you understand, as a man o' the blade. We needed to make sure you were not comin' to do us in yerself, ya?"
    "So you kept me running in circles for all those years just to save your own hides?"
     "Aye, we did. But that be all in the past, ya?" Kelvin sighed. His brother had told him he was too soft on people, but Kelvin could not get his blood to boil like Klyne could. He found it hard to hate the man sitting before him. "Anyway, do you know where the man is?"
     "Aye we do. He done destroyed that infernal 'Lunar Forge', ya? He opened his mouth, said a few words. Then zip, shloop, plop, BOOM! No more forge, ya?" Kelvin was in awe at how the man described the event. But even more in his mind was the capabilities of the man to destroy forges; once thought indestructible monoliths from a long forgotten era. Impossible, thought Kelvin as he shifted nervously in the chair, no one should be able to destroy a forge...unless a Zero Matter Zone can negate the old magic keeping the forge alive. If it can, that would make the ZMZ the most powerful spell in the world. It would upset the magical balance.
     "Anyway, did more good than harm, ya?" The man kept going, oblivious to 'Blight's' thoughts. "After all, too many creatures were pourin' out o' it, ya? He saved more lives by closin' that forge than the weapons made from it did." Kelvin came back to reality. "Where is he now?"
     "On his way to Atlantis to charge up his focus. The thing musta been drained completely after the whole wibbly-wobbly ball thing he created out there, ya?" Again, Kelvin was awestruck. But now he knew where to go. "Alright, I'll leave at once."
     "Not so fast, laddie. I'll help you, but you gotta help me, ya?"
     "I already paid you, what now?"
     "We got some strange new-comers here in the force. I'd like you to investigate them and report back to me when you can, ya."
     "Fine."
     "Good! Their names are Guile and Sorrow. Sibling duo, ya? I may not like 'em, but them names are great, ya?"
    "Fine then."
    "But do be careful around this Guile fellow though, ya?"
    "Why?"
    "He's dangerous."
    "I deal with danger all the time."
    "Not like this, ya?"
    "How bad?"
    "Take yer problem, and multiply it by cancer." Awestruck. Can people actually talk like this? That was just... Kelvin's inner rant was cut short by the tension in the air. Jealousy looked up at Kelvin. The blazing gaze coming from that man's mask seemed to pierce through into Kelvin's black soul. Jealousy's demeanour had completely changed. He went from a unintelligent lout to a strictly disciplined soldier in a matter of seconds. "I also perceive you are not all that you say you are. I perceive you are dangerous, a menace...a threat." The thick atmosphere seemed to suffocate Kelvin as Jealousy came to his ultimatum.

"And I will not hesitate when killing you to protect my people if you are."