The Blood CharmChapter 2 - Inner Darkness
"General Khur's log, entry 117
Strangely quiet day today. Scouts reported enemy movement 3 days ago but still no sign of an attack. No doubt this is the calm before the storm.
Annika has requested that she be assigned to Secondary Defense. It's about time! I was beginning to wonder if that girl would ever stop being such a bleeding heart. Surely my stories of wartime glory have inspired her fighting spirit! Still, I must admit I was a bit surprised. She was always so intent on being assigned to scouting missions in order to avoid shedding blood. And now all of a sudden she wants to be assigned to Secondary. I wonder if there is something more to her sudden change of heart."
"Doctor Blith's journal, entry 93
There have been far less injuries for me to attend to recently. I am thankful for this break in action, while it lasts.
I've spent the extra time continuing my research on pain relieving drugs. The experiment with the purro roots was a failure. I am unable to repeat the success of the first test. Perhaps it is not the root itself that provides the results I seek.
There is something strange about the way Annika is acting lately. She usually comes in for her weekly check-up without a single scratch. She told me she refuses to shed the blood of another and always insists on taking missions that do not require her to fight. But today she came in with a large gash on her left arm. She told me she has been assigned to Secondary Defense, which is a surprise to me. Her superiors have always been understanding of her decision to avoid violence. It seems strange that they would suddenly assign her to such a position. I can't quite explain why, but somehow I think she wanted to be assigned there."
"Reina's diary, entry 66
I am concerned about Annika. We've been friends since childhood and I've always known her to be a kind and gentle person. Everyone knows that if it were not mandatory, she would have never enlisted to the army. She always tells me how she'll leave the army as soon as she has served the required two years. But lately she's been acting really strange. She smiles less now and seems so intent on fighting. She also spends a lot of time by herself. She didn't even say hi to me in the training room today.
I know it sounds crazy, but I think it has to do with the Blood Charm. That's what Annika and I call that medallion she found the other day because of the blood-red coloured stones that decorate it. She told me she liked it because it symbolized the worth of blood and how it was wrong to spill it. She wears it around her neck all the time. Is it just coincidence that she only started acting like this a couple days after she found it? I talked to Doctor Blith today and he agreed that there is something strange about the way she's acting.
I told her I was concerned but she said she was just having a mood swing and that I was just being paranoid. But my gut tells me it's more than that.
Tomorrow, I will speak with Doctor Blith about the Blood Charm. I think I will also tell him about Annika's troubling past. I promised not to tell anyone about her... condition. But I don't think I have a choice."






