ã€ŠPath of Ascendanceã€‹


 Volume 1 Prologue

    ¡¸Prologue¡¹

    [The year 2849. The month of flame, day 29]

    ¡°¡­. Now then, it¡¯s time wrap this up. Carry out the task that you¡¯ve suffered so many hardships to accomplish or be killed.¡±

    The man¡¯s voice resonated throughout the nearly empty throne room. The painting that once lined the walls now laid on the ground and were covered by a thin layer of dust. The banners that had been proudly displayed were reduced to tattered scraps of fabric on the verge of collapse. Deep cracks had formed in the once immaculate marble walls and floor.

    To the common observer, it would seem that this castle had been recently abandoned, however that observation was only partially correct. While the imperial family and their servants had fled years ago, the being that they fled from took the castle as his residence.

    The terror that scared off the previous inhabitants now stood in front of his blackened and decrepit throne as he stared down at the latest batch of ¡°heroes¡± that came to oppose him.

    In stark contrast to the squalor that he resided in and the tattered gear the five people before him wore, the man¡¯s clothing remained immaculate. He wore a simple black vest over a white silk button down shirt. His black dress pants lacked even a speck of dust and his dress shoes were polished to a fine shine. The only thing out of place was the black cape with a red interior that hung over his shoulders.

    Besides his attire, there wasn¡¯t all that much remarkable about the man¡¯s appearance¡­ well, nothing except his glowing red eyes and raven black hair.

    The man was enveloped in a dark maleficent aura so potent that it would drive lesser men insane.

    ¡°Honestly, are you just gonna stand there all day or are you gonna kill me already?¡±

    Despite the morbid subject matter, the man spoke in a rather calm and aloof tone as if he were discussing the weather.

    Those most confused by this bizarre situation were the heroes that had been sent on this suicide mission to kill the man in front of them, a mission to kill the Demon King.

    Though they had managed to penetrate his stronghold with relative ease, they truly learned the definition of despair shortly afterwards. No matter what spell they used, no matter what techniques they employed, no matter what tactic they utilized, they were unable to put a single scratch on the demon king.

    One by one the Demon King brought the heroes to their knees, and just as the heroes prepared for death, the Demon King instructed them to kill him.

    ¡°Is this some kind of sick Joke!?¡±

    The heroes¡¯ leader mustered his courage to demand an explanation. His once pristine armor had spider-web cracks in certain places while the breastplate had been caved in. Even with a broken sword, he stood in front of his allies and tried to keep the monster¡¯s attention focused on himself. The Demon King smiled as he stared down at the insect that still had the will to defy him.

    ¡°This is no joke, it;s merely a conclusion to a masterpiece seven decades in the making. Now, everyone has their part to play, and it¡¯s time to play yours.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fuck around!!! Is this all just a game to you!? You¡¯ve decimated entire continents, laid waste to millions, and brought this world to the brink of collapse!¡±

    A young girl, barely past her seventeenth year was the next raise a protest. Despite her protective robes having multiple scorch marks and tears, and her staff being broken in half, a fire still burned in her eyes.

    ¡°Haa, in the grand scheme of things a few million lives are almost meaningless. How many times do I have to tell you? Quit wasting everyone¡¯s time and kill me. Look, I¡¯ll even make it easy for you.¡±

    The Demon King¡¯s maleficent aura suddenly vanished as he held out his arms and exposed his chest.

    ¡°Dna emalf esira, ymene ym nwod ekirts.¡±

    Even though she know it was pointless, the young mage raised her broken staff and launched a fireball at him. To the surprise of all but one of the people in the room, the attack actually managed to hit the Demon Lord square in the chest, even knocking him back a bit.

    To his disappoint, the flames died out before they could do anything but burn him. However, the Demon King continued to speak in his calm tone.

    ¡°See, now was that so difficult? Ah, before I die, know that everything I own belongs to you lot now. ¡±

    For a moment the heroes were dumbstruck that a such a weak spell had been able to hurt the monster that shrugged off their best efforts mere moments ago. However, it lasted but for a moment as the heroes¡¯ instincts kicked in, they caught their second wind and began their assault a new.

    ¡°May the wicked fall the ruin, ?Heaven Fall?¡± ¡°Begone from my sight, ?Emperor¡¯s Charge?¡± ¡° Crash down like a mighty storm, ?Radiant Hurricane?¡± ¡°Emalf cinomed, em rednih taht sloof eht ot etsaw yal ot ouy nopu llac I¡±

    The heroes gathered what little strength they had left to unleash their most powerful attacks against the Demon King.

    Even as he was stabbed with a spear, burnt by the flames of hell, battered with a barrage of light arrows, and endured heaven¡¯s wrath the Demon King only smiled.

    ¡°May destiny guide my blade as I tempt fate yet again, ?Luck¡¯s Embrace?¡±

    A pale aura surrounded the heroes¡¯ leader as he raised his broken sword and charged at the Demon King. However, even as the Demon King¡¯s charred and heavily wounded body was impaled, his composure never faltered.

    ¡°My role has been completed, wh-what proceeds rest on the shoulders of the next generation now. The foundation of¡­ that which is to¡­ come¡­ shall be built on the corpse of that which came before.¡±

    The once all powerful Demon King now struggled to complete his sentences. As his legs gave out, he clung to the hero that dealt the final blow.

    ¡°May¡­. your life¡­¡­be a gloriously brief¡­.one.¡±

    With his last words, the Demon King¡¯s life fizzled out, his body falling to the floor shortly afterward.

    The five heroes were left in a state of utter confusion as they looked upon the Demon King¡¯s corpse.

    They failed to realize what had truly occurred here. Even though they had slain the Demon King, all of them felt as if he had somehow won in the end.

    In the coming years, they would realize just how accurate that assumption had been¡­.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

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    ¡¸Prologue Part 2¡¹

    [Year 9, The month of Air, day 23]

    Ten years after the Heroes slew the Demon King the world as it once was came to an end.

    The year immediately following the Demon King defeat was a truly joyous one, it felt as if a dark cloud that had hung over the entire world had finally passed.

    To honor the death of the terror that plagued the world, the calendar was reset to zero and the first of what was suppose to be an annual celebration was held in the remaining counties.

    However, there was never another celebration as the true ramifications of the Demon King¡¯s defeat surfaced.

    The Demon King had not laid waste to the world on his own. When his conquest began he created a multitude of monstrosities to serve him. The monsters were of various shapes and sizes, and certain members of their ranks processed powers and abilities unmatched by the average soldiers.

    No longer tethered to their master, the monsters dispersed all across the world. The mighty dragons claimed the tallest of mountains and depths of the ocean as their territory.

    While the majority of the beast-like and humanoid monsters spread to every inch of the global; they roamed the deserts, seas, plains, and forests; adapting to the harsh conditions of those environments with relative ease.

    Some of the intelligent species began to form communities and distinctive cultures in the wreckage of fallen kingdoms.

    If that was the only outcome of the killing the Demon King produced then it damaged could have been mitigated, however, a plague spread throughout the human population when they attempted to resettle the lands devastated by the Demon King¡¯s forces.

    The source of the plague was the Demon King¡¯s residual mana, which had seeped into his former territory.

    While all living beings absorbed small quantities of mana from the environment, as if it retained its owner¡¯s malice, the Demon King¡¯s residual mana took on a parasitic quality and rapidly invaded any host it came into contact with.

    Excess amounts of this mana lead to weakness, discoloration of the skin, high fever, and in most cases a slow and painful death.

    Although certain plants and beings with naturally high mana reserves could survive in these environments, humans were the most susceptible to this corrupted mana.

    Though futile attempts were made to counteract the plague, it would take a century before the corrupted mana would start reverting back to a more natural state. Even then pockets of this corrupt mana, this miasma, remained.

    The world simultaneously endured an extend reforestation period as plant life able to survive the miasma taint grow faster and larger than they normally should have.

    The reduction of available land combined with the plague only exasperated the tension between the remaining kingdoms.

    The seventy-year war of attrition the united forces waged with the Demon King had consumed the majority of all available resources. The standard rationing policies that had managed to support the kingdoms till the end of the war were not suitable for maintaining postwar societies.

    With the prospect of returned agricultural land no longer viable and the fear of disease restricting long-distance travel, food production and distribution was placed under the iron fists of governing bodies.

    Eventually, the countries, already on the verge of collapse, were forced to fight for what little resources they had between them. The previous war had already taken a toll on the people, but these circumstances arising one after another were too much for many to bear.

    Massive revolts occurred all across the remaining kingdoms, almost everything that remained of the previous world collapsed in on itself.

    The elves seeming immunity to the miasma plague allow them to find protection and sustenance in the lands no humans dared to tread. It wouldn¡¯t be until the fiftieth year of the new calendar that the effects of living in such an environment made themselves known.

    As for the Heroes that killed the Demon King, it could be said that they didn¡¯t fare much better.

    The spear wielder was one of the first to fall to the plague. As he was a member of a minor noble family he was at least allowed a proper burial, instead of being cremated like the others.

    The young sorceress had simply vanished shortly after the celebration had been held. After a six-month long search, she was declared dead.

    The elven archer returned to her people and eventually took her rightful place as the Elven Queen.

    The constant disasters, with no end in sight, lead to faith in the church all but vanishing. As a result, the priest spent the remained of his life in exile, dying of natural cause in year forty-eight at the age of ninety-four.

    The leader managed to gather the remains of his native country¡¯s knight order into a militia that laid the foundation for the first human country to rise out of this chaotic period. He died in the year thirty-two at the age of sixty-two. He left behind a wife, a son and two daughters. His dying words were a simple question.

    ¡°Even in death, the world was in the palm of your hands wasn¡¯t it?¡±

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    ¡¸Prologue Final¡¹

    [Year 337, The month of Storm, day 5]

    In the forest capital of the elven Kingdom of Eybevan, general Erin Kalaus impatiently waited as his wife gave birth to their first child in the next room over. His wife had gone into labor for twelve hours ago, and things had gone silent about thirty minutes ago.

    Though he was a veteran army commander, he couldn¡¯t calm his nerves as he waited for any piece of news.

    After what felt like an eternity, the midwife finally entered the room. However, the solemn look on her face caused Erin to worry.

    ¡°Did something happen!? Is Aislinn alright!? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ the baby?¡±

    ¡°The baby and your wife are fine. The delivery went without issue and the two are resting now.¡±

    Erin breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the midwife¡¯s explanation.

    ¡°I was worried there for a second, so when can I see the two of them. Is a boy or a girl? Does the baby have my eyes or Aislinn¡±s fair sk©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Lord Kalaus, perhaps you should take a seat.¡±

    The midwife interrupted Erin¡¯s stream of questions before his hopes could raise any further . Erin¡¯s eyes took on a sharp glint when he noticed the midwife¡¯s wavering tone. Glaring down at the midwife with look known to send shivers down the spines of hardened warriors, he asked her a simple question.

    ¡°What aren¡¯t you telling me?¡±

    ¡°The-There¡¯s always a one and five hundred chan©¤©¤¡±

    Erin didn¡¯t even give the midwife the opportunity to finish speaking as he immediately ran out the room.

    ¡°Wait!!!¡±

    Erin paid the midwife no heed and burst into the bedchamber where is wife rested. While his sudden entrance startled the midwife¡¯s two assistance, Erin paid them no mind either, instead his sight focused on his sleeping wife and the small crib next to her bed.

    Aislinn¡¯s normally vibrant blonde hair was matted down with sweat and her complexion was paler than normal, other than that she seemed perfectly fine as she peacefully slumbered.

    After acknowledging her well-being, he slowly walked up to the crib. A small baby wrapped in swaddling blanket slept in the crib and by all appearance was healthy.

    However, the wisp of black hair atop its head and its light brown skin showed just how wrong that assumption was.

    ¡°It-it¡¯s a boy, my lord.¡±

    The midwife stepped up to Erin as she spoke but he continued to ignore her and proceeded to walk up to the crib. Almost as if in a daze, he raised his right hand and forcibly opened one of the baby¡¯s eyes. What he saw was a crimson cornea with a black pupil.

    ¡°Why¡­? Why must that monster¡¯s wicked curse affect my child?! What have I done to deserve this?¡±

    Centuries ago the elves took to the forest as a means of escaping the collapse of the old world. Though they didn¡¯t directly suffer from the Demon King¡¯s miasma that enveloped the land they came to inhabit, a small portion of elves born after that time took on the features of the monster that brought the world to its knees.

    Even after some communities relocated these babies kept on appearing in the elven population.

    Their dark skin and black hair resulted in the children receiving the label Darh¡¯ki, and were refused to be accepted as actual elves. The Darh¡¯ki were considered barely a step above demi-humans on the Hymanie continent.

    Originally, these demon children were killed without prejudice, but after a while, a more humane method for dealing with them came about.

    ¡°Although a storm seems to be on the horizon, the foundation should arrive within three days once contacted.¡±

    ¡°The foundation¡­.?¡±

    The foundation that midwife had brought up took it upon themselves to deal with the Darh¡¯ki. For the first decade of their lives, the Darh¡¯ki would receive basic survival training from the foundation before being set free at the border of Kingdom¡¯s territory.

    Those that survived eventually found their way to a human town, where they faced prejudice and fear. With few other options, the Darh¡¯ki became bandits, were forced into slavery, or were devoured by the criminal underworld.

    ¡°I-I need some time to think this over. Till then move the child to a separate room and don¡¯t allow Aislinn to leave this room or see the child.¡±

    ¡°I understand my lord.¡±

    Erin managed to regain enough of his composure to give instructions to the midwife and her assistants, who immediately began acting on them.

    Three days after the birth of his child Erin awoke to find that both the boy and his wife had disappeared under the cover the previous night¡¯s rainstorm.

    What he and the midwife had failed to realize was that Aislinn had awoken during their conversation three days earlier.

 Chapter 1: Their Life

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 12]

    ¡°Erin¡­.¡±

    Sunlight poked into a few holes in the roof of our one-room shack when mom¡¯s restless tossing and turning woke me up. There wasn¡¯t a lot of furniture in the room only a small bed, a box of miscellaneous items, and the dresser with a few half-melted candles on top of it.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Nooo! Nooo!¡±

    ¡°Mom! Wake up! Wake up!¡±

    I grabbed mom¡¯s arm and tried to shake her awake. However, I¡¯d forgotten something important.

    ¡°Aaah!¡±

    Her eye popped open as she let out a pained yell and snatched her arm away from me. I¡¯d hurt her again. Even though she had told me about it, again and again, I kept forgetting to hold back my strength.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to.¡±

    Mom held onto her arm as she looked around and gained her bearings. She let out an extended sigh when she remembered where she was.

    ¡°Haah, it¡¯s okay Geisai. Mommy was just having a nightmare. You were only trying to wake me up. It¡¯s not even that bad, see.¡±

    Even though she was trying to make me feel better, the newly formed bruises on her right arm only made the pit of my stomach feel heavy.

    ¡°Come on, how about we get something to eat? We should have a few pieces of dried meat left over, so how about we add it to today¡¯s oatmeal, hmm?¡±

    ¡°Okay!!¡±

    ¡°See, now that¡¯s the way you should start the morning.¡±

    Mom started messing with my hair when she saw me smiling.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go bring the meat down while I get started on the oatmeal.¡±

    I nodded my head before going outside. Despite the sun coming rising in the sky the floor of the forest was still covered by a layer of fog.

    When I squinted my eye I could just barely make out the bending road a couple of yards away from our home. Since it was possible to get lost in the forest around this time, I tried to keep the road within view while I ran towards our storage tree.

    Mom said that meat and other foods could attract animals and monsters if we keep them in the shack, so we hung them from the branches of a big tree. Occasionally, we would find animals roaming around the tree trying to figure out how to get to the food.

    It was fun to mess with some of the animals that circled the tree whenever mom left me at home to visit the village.

    When I reached the storage tree the first thing I noticed was the different sets of tracks around the base of the tree and the remains of one of our holding bags. The second thing I noticed was the large brown boar eating the leftover meat that had been in the bag.

    {Squeaeee}

    The boar started squealing when it noticed I was there. It lowered its head in a stiff-legged stance in front of it¡¯s freshly gotten gains. I wasn¡¯t gonna be able to get the meat back so I started to slowly backstep from the tree, however, I stopped in my tracks when I looked up and found a couple arrows embedded into the tree in the area around the other bags.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    That was a mistake, as the boar took it as a challenge and charged me.

    ¡°*Barf*¡±

    Before I could react, I felt the air being knocked out of me as the boar tackled me. After I hit the ground, the sour taste rose in the back of my throat, and I barely had enough time to roll to my side before I began vomiting.

    {Squeaeee}

    Before I could catch my breath the boar charged me again. I managed to dodge out of the way but I ended up rolling through my own vomit.

    ¡°MOMMY! MOMMY!!! MOM-ohmp.¡±

    The boar tackled me once again, but this time its tusk managed to snag my shirt and it dragged me along the ground for a couple of seconds before the shirt ripped, and set me free.

    Not wanting to get hit again, I roll away until I hit something hard. Opening my eyes, I realized had hit a nearby tree.

    I frantically searched around for the only to see it charging straight at me. There¡¯s nowhere to hide and I didn¡¯t want to be hit anymore.

    ¡°Aaah!¡±

    I started throwing stones at the boar to making it stop, but most of them missed their mark. The one that managed to hit the boar only hit one of its tusks, snapping it in half and tripping it up for a second.

    ¡°Haaa!!¡±

    {Squeaaaaee!!!}

    All of a sudden mom came rushing out of the with the two knives she alway kept nearby. Before the boar could even turn in her direction, mom had throw one of her knives into its side and was closing the distance between them with her other knife raised.

    ¡°Haaah!!!¡±

    {Squeaaa-}

    Mom repeatedly stabbed the the boar with her knife, even after the boar was no longer capable of moving.

    Within a matter of seconds a stab wound-ridden body laid on the ground. When I mom started walking towards me in her blood-soaked clothes, I couldn¡¯t hold back my tears anymore.

    ¡°Wahawahah!!! Wahahahawah!!!¡­.¡±

    ¡°Honey it¡¯s alright mommy¡¯s here. Everything¡¯s alright.¡±

    <hr>

    It took me twenty minutes to quiet Geisai down.

    That encounter with the boar had really shaken him up. When I had heard him scream for me I ran towards his voice as fast as I could. By the time I arrived his brown over shirt had been shredded and he was covered in his own vomit.

    However, Geisai didn¡¯t seem to be hurt at all.

    The area looked as if two massive creatures had fought in it with the shallow holes all over the ground, trees that had small pieces of bark stripped away, and the freshly turned over patches of dirt. Yet, he remained uninjured.

    I unconsciously grabbed onto my bruised right arm, as the realization of what must have happened dawned on me.

    Though I¡¯d heard that Darh¡¯ki had strange bodies and had even witnessed it first-hand¡­

    Just how dangerous could he become? Even though he was only seven, he was stronger and more durable than most adults.

    ¡°Sniff¡­. Mommy?¡±

    When I looked down at Geisai I could have sworn there was a faint glow around his body, but it vanished in a blink of an eye.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Come on let¡¯s go back home and clean ourselves up.¡±

    With a head shake, I cleared my head of unnecessary things and tried to pick Geisai up like I used to. However, Geisai backed away from me and pointed toward the bags we hang up in the large tree behind us.

    ¡°¡­ The arrows.¡±

    When I looked at where he was pointing I saw the several arrows sticking out of the tree. Seeing as so many of them missed the ropes they¡¯d been aimed at, this whole mess was probably the result of someone¡¯s misguided attempts to scare us away.

    ¡°Haaa¡­ There¡¯s nothing we can do about that now. Come on¡±

    I forcibly grabbed his hand and practically dragged him back towards the isolated shack the village leader allowed us to stay in. While he was sympathetic to my peculiar situation, there no way he¡¯d allow a Darh¡¯ki to stay in the village.

    When we reached the shack I went in and grabbed a couple of rags and what remained of the bar of soap I managed to get my hands on a few months back. Depending on how much I could get for the boar meat and the cost of a new set of clothes for Geisai, there¡¯s a chance I could buy some more of it. Then we don¡¯t have to skip our bi-weekly bath.

    Geisai had already stripped off his ruined shirt by the time I came back outside. His ribs clearly poked through his brown skin and his normally curly black hair was matted down by vomit.

    But, strangely enough, there wasn¡¯t a scratch on him. With a decent wash and some new clothes, no one would suspect that he¡¯d just survived an animal attack.

    The two of us quietly walked to the two barrels of water we keep behind the shack. The larger one held are drinking water, while the smaller one was for our bath water. Though it was a far cry from the tubs I used to bathe in, it got the job done.

    After popping the lid off the smaller one I was treated to my own reflection. My once vibrant blonde hair was a dim light brown now. There were deep bags under eyes and my cheekbones were more prominent than they once were. Even my pointed ears seem to hang lower than before.

    I was but a shadow of what I once was.

    ¡°Mommy, are you alright?¡±

    When his crimson eyes looked up at me, I could see the worry in them.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. I¡¯m fine honey. Mommy¡¯s just tired.¡±

 Chapter 2: The Price of Safety

    The sun had just rose in the sky when we finally reached the hill that overlooked a medium-size village.

    The village sat in the center of a recently cleared field, one that still had a few tree stumps scattered about. A thin wooden outer wall surrounded buildings in various states of completion and a medium sized wheat field. A more robust internal wall surrounded the mix of stone and wooden one-story houses and a grain silo.

    A few yards away from the village was the eastern edge of a large lake. A small mountain laid on the opposite shore. However, even from here, it was impossible to see the northern and southern tips of the lake as the lake entered into a more densely populated section of the forest.

    While most of the buildings were made of wood a few years back, they¡¯d been slowly transitioning into stone buildings. It was obvious that the village was on the verge of becoming a small town. It¡¯s hard to imagine with these place will be like in a few years.

    Our reason for coming here was the contents of the pack striped to Geisai¡¯s back.

    Once we¡¯d cleaned ourselves up after the boar debacle and had a bit to eat, Geisai and I retrieved the boar¡¯s body and relocated the remaining bags to a new tree. While it took a bit of time to find a new tree to hang them from, it beat the alternative of having a repeat performance later down the line.

    I spent the rest of that night butchering, processing, and preserving the boar. The boar¡¯s hide was too damaged to trade for anything, but once it was finished drying out and with a bit of stitching it¡¯ll make a decent blanket for winter.

    I was able to carve off about a hundred pounds of meat from the boar, but we¡¯d only brought about eighty pounds with us, along with a few other commodities.

    Some of it had been added with some wild vegetables to make the stew we had for last night¡¯s dinner and today¡¯s breakfast. The rest had been salted and stored with the rest of our food.

    ¡°Alright, Geisai this is far enough.¡±

    With a small nod, Geisai removed the pack from his back and held it out in front of me. While he had carried the pack without issue for the past two hours, I already felt encumbered by merely lifting it.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll be back in a few hours. Don¡¯t venture too far out of the forest or too deeply into it. If you come across a human or monster just run towards the village as fast as you can. If it¡¯s another elf hide as best as you can. Do you understand me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, mom.¡±

    I stared into his crimson eyes for a few minutes before turning away from him and began to walk down to the village.

    Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have brought him along with me on this trip, but the ones responsible for shooting down one of our storage bags might come back while I was away. They could hurt him if they learned he was alone, or worst yet he might hurt one of them.

    Things should die down after I speak with Donovan, but until then I would keep Geisai as close to me as possible.

    After about half an hour of walking, I finally reached the village¡¯s outer wall and was greeted by a pair of guards. Both muscular guards wore lightweight brown leather armor, but one wield a bow and the other a spear. Though they couldn¡¯t compare to the Eybevan city guards, they were rather impressive for a small village that bordered the human country of Wherthadia.

    ¡°Hold it!¡± ¡°Stop!¡±

    The two of me when I tried to pass the gate.

    I narrowed my eyes and readied myself for trouble.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem gentlemen?¡±

    However, that seemed to be unnecessary given how the two flinched back when I glared at them.

    ¡°T-There¡¯s no problem. Chief Donovan just told the guards to stop you at the gate if you showed up, miss Aislinn. Just wait a moment so we can inform him that you¡¯re here.¡±

    I relax my guard a bit as one of the guards ran into the village. The only thing that crossed my mind as the guard¡¯s back disappeared in the distance, was the how grateful I was for picking up intimidation skills from my husband.

    The guard returned a few minutes later with a slender man in tow.

    The man that the guard brought with him was about 5¡¯5 and had his shoulder-length blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. Though his light-green clothes only had simple spiral designs sewn into them, they were in immaculate condition His sharp cheekbones and narrow emerald eyes just emanated an aura of professionalism despite him being barely a century old.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Honest, it was hard to imagine just how far he would go in life.

    I adjust the pack I was carrying before offering the man a slight bow and greeting.

    ¡°Good morning, chief Donovan. Is seems that you wanted to speak with me?¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Aislinn. Haven¡¯t I told you multiple time that you can just drop the ¡®chief¡¯ when you talked to me?¡±

    His voice a little too high for a man but didn¡¯t carry even a hint of malice in it when he replied.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly be so disrespectful to my benefactor?¡¯

    ¡°Have you been taking care of yourself? Has the season been treating you well?¡±

    I thought I heard a bit of disappointing in his voice when he immediately changed the topic, but I must have imagined it because his face hadn¡¯t changed in the slightest. Though it was have been nice to spend some time chatting with him, Geisai was waiting for me.

    ¡°Now Chief Donovan, you wouldn¡¯t have had your guards stop me at the gates just for a bit of small talk. Excuse my bluntness, but could you state what business you have with me? This pack in rather heavy after all.¡±

    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s continue this discussion in my home. One of you, carry Aislinn¡¯s pack for her.¡±

    The casual tone he¡¯d been using up till now was replaced with a business-like one, as he turned around with the confidence that his orders would be followed, which they were. The spear-wielding immediately took the pack off of my hands when I offered it to him, and after I stretched a little the two of us followed after Donovan.

    Despite it being so early in the morning field workers and contractors were already getting ready for work. While they smiled and showed their respect to Donovan, but some of those that have even an inkling of who I was scowl in my direction.

    ¡°Haah¡­ I¡¯m used to it¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    Donovan looked back at me when he heard me muttering.

    ¡°Nothing¡­ ¡±

    Donovan simply shrugged his shoulders and in a few minutes later we arrived at his home in the center of the village.

    The house was a simple two-story red brick building. While it wasn¡¯t anything fancy it served it purpose.

    After entering the building, Donovan led us to his office room which had a large wooden desk piled high with parchments of various sizes.

    ¡°Please take a seat.¡±

    Donovan gestured to the chair in front of the desk as he took his own seat. Things were silent for a moment as neither of us knew how to continue the conversation, and the guard was just standing in the background.

    ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re here now.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ I know this is going to be rude on my part, but have you been keeping track of your child, especially at night?¡±

    I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms so that I could pull the small dagger I had hidden under the bandage of my right arm.

    ¡°What are you trying to say about my son?¡±

    ¡°¡­ You see, a few quivers worth of arrows have gone missing over the last couple of weeks and there have been sightings of a small red-eyed figure around the village at night.¡±

    ¡°Chief Donovan, you¡¯ve helped me ever since I first came to this village. You gave me a place to live, you¡¯ve been understanding of my desire to raise a Darh¡¯ki child, and above all, you¡¯ve been my only true companion for the past couple of years. However¡­¡­¡±

    I tried to keep my nerves steady as best as I could in this situation, but I¡¯d reached my limit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare sit there and try to accuse my son of theft!!¡±

    ¡°Aislinn, I¡¯m not trying to accuse anyone of anything. I¡¯m just trying to find out what happened to our arrows. It¡¯s just that resources are a little tight right now. We can¡¯t afford to be unguarded until the first phase of the construction is complete¡­¡±

    ¡°If you want to know where your lousy arrows are there still embedded in a tree nearby my home. Some bastards decided to use my storage bags for target practice!!!¡±

    My temper flared as the prospect of dealing with this prejudice again, especially from someone that I¡¯d trusted.

    When I tried to leave the room in a guard that came with us tried to block the doorway, so I drive my knee into his crotch as hard as I could. The man¡¯s eye rolled into the back of his head as he fell over, but I was too angry to pay his pain any thought.

    ¡°Aislinn! Wait!!¡±

    Donovan ran from behind his desk and tried to grab me, but he stopped in his tracks and held his hands up after I draw my hidden knife on him.

    ¡°¡­ Aislinn, there is no need to act so irrationally. If you say that someone has damaged your property, I¡¯ll send a guard to investigate.¡±

    I glanced down at the guard at my feet after he said that.

    ¡°A different guard. Look Aislinn, all I¡¯m trying to do is figure out what¡¯s going on. I don¡¯t intention to harm you or your son.¡±

    ¡°Humm Haaa. Humm Haaa. Humm Haaa. I¡¯m sorry. I lost my head for a moment.¡±

    I lowered my knife and offered Donovan a meager apology.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come back in a couple of weeks with what you need to get in contact with medium-sized supplies that should be willing and able to do business so close to the border. I know it won¡¯t excuse my behavior, but it¡¯s all I can offer you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it. A couple of guards will come around to investigate your claims about the arrows in a couple of days.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your forgiveness, Chief Donovan. If you¡¯d excuse me I have some business to take care of.¡±

    After offering Donovan a deep bow and collect my pack from nearby the unconscious guard I left the house as quickly as I could, only breathing a relieved sigh once I reached the open market near the inner wall.

    ¡°Haah¡­ I¡¯m running out reasons for him to keep me around.¡±

    I¡¯d managed to get by here because Donovan wanted to turn his small village into a town and I had managed to pick up a few connections, useful to that achieving that goal when I fled the capital. With a few fake names and sob stories, I¡¯d been able to support myself and take care of Geisai, even if I had to leave him alone for extended periods.

    However, the construction was well underway now and I¡¯d just promised Donovan the last few names I had to make up for that outburst. This place was also receiving a lot more foot traffic now, and there¡¯s no telling how active this place would become once the conversion into a town was complete.

    ¡°Maybe, this is a sign that we should leave this place¡­ ¡°

    As I made my way towards the merchants¡¯ venues willing to do business with me, the confrontation with Donovan continued to repeat itself in my head.

    There was once a time when I¡¯d never had acted in the way I just did, but things were different. They¡¯d been different for a while now, and honestly, I have no idea how to they could go back to what they once were, or if they even could

 Chapter 3: Something that Shouldnéˆ¥æª› Have Been Witnessed

    ¡°Haaa¡­¡±

    Mom had entered the village a while ago, and I was really bored. After walking as close to the lake as I could without stepping into the clearing, I played around with whatever I could find in the area. I knew I¡¯d done all that I could when I began stacking stones into a pile.

    That had been a few minutes after mom left.

    With nothing else to do, I picked up a stick and started drawing the letters in the dirt. During the last cold season, mom started teaching me how to write and count. Mom said that this stuff would be important to know, but she never told me why when I asked her about it. She would just look away from me and tell me to continue to study.

    I was halfway through the alphabet when the sound when the stick snagged onto something. Whatever it was wasn¡¯t all that deep in the ground, so I bent over and started to dig it was up with my hands.

    The item was wrapped in a woolen cloth and was almost as tall as me. After pulling the cloth back I a polished black bow. A brown string was attached to the ends of the piece of wood will its center was slightly caved in.

    I remember seeing some of the village guards carrying one of these around, but why would someone hide it here.

    *Snap*

    Before I could think about it the sound of a snapping twig caught my attention.

    Someone was heading these way.

    I started to panic because I had no idea what to do. Mom only brought me this close to the village a couple of times before and she always told me to never to be seen by anyone under any circumstances.

    I rewrapped the bow and tried to cover it up as best as I could, but the approaching footsteps were getting closer by the second. Even if I ran, I wouldn¡¯t know where I¡¯d be running or how to get back here.

    The bushes in the area were too thinly spread out to hide in and it wasn¡¯t like I could¡­

    Within moments of being in sight of the approaching, I leaped towards the nearest tree and started to climb. Once I was completely hidden by the thick layer of leaves and branches I tried to remain as still as I could. I was about seventy feet of the ground and should be within the canopy.

    I closed my eyes and tried to listen for those that were approaching.

    ¡°... why did she show up now? I thought she only passed through the village every oth©¤.¡±

    My eyes snapped open when I heard someone speaking. That was weird. I only intended to pick up on their footsteps, but I could clearly hear everything that they had been saying.

    But more than that, they had been talking about my mom. As far as I knew we were the only people living outside the village and mom did visit every month or so.

    Wanting to hear the rest of the conversation, I closed my eyes again and focused on what was happening on the ground.

    ¡°... you did what?! Are you trying to ruin everything?!¡±

    ¡°W-We only wanted to get a bit more practice and we figured that no one would get hurt. No one saw us and we aren¡¯t assigned to patrol that area this month.¡±

    ¡°You idiots!! That woman has a connection to Chief Donovan. Getting her and her spawn involved is only gonna drag him into our business before we¡¯re ready!¡±

    The were at least three people on the ground. The one yelling at his companions had a voice rougher and deeper than the other two and seemed to be the leader of the group. The other two seemed to be younger and afraid of their leader.

    ¡°B-But we were already blaming the Darh¡¯ki for the arrows we¡¯ve been taking. What¡¯s the problem with bring©¤¡±

    The sound of a punch connecting interrupted the member that had been speaking.

    ¡°There¡¯s a difference between pinning the blame on those that aren¡¯t there and those who are. If the woman had come on her usual day it wouldn¡¯t have mattered if our lie was found out. We would have been heroes to the people and Donovan would have only been able to give us a slap on the wrist at best.¡±

    The man with the rough voice paused for a second as if he was trying to maintain his composure.

    ¡°But thanks to you two, everything is at risk. Now if we don¡¯t act quickly then we¡¯ll lose everything.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t mean to, we just wanted to be what you said we could be.¡±

    Silence suddenly blanketed the forest below and I started to wonder if they were still there. Opening my eyes again, I lowered my head to take a peek at what was happening on the ground.

    Although I could only see the from a weird angle, I was able to see the group that had been talking.

    The largest of the trio was a head or so taller than mom was and had a slick muscular build. His messy, pale blonde hair was cut just above his shoulders. The man was clad in brown leather armor and wore a specialized glove on his right hand. In his left hand he carried a similar bow to the one I found buried in the ground and a small quiver of arrows was strapped to his back.

    His face was rather angular, he had a few wrinkles on his forehead, and his chin was covered a thin layer of hair, however, the rest of his face was offset by the man¡¯s striking dark green eyes.

    While he wasn¡¯t talking, he was gesturing towards the two other people with his right hand.

    The two people in question were shorter than mom by a few inches looked almost identical to one another. They wore the same leather armor as the older man, but their''s just seem a little too big for them. They had the same pale green eye and matching hair styles. The only thing different about the two was that the one on the right had a fresh bruise on the left side of his face.

    All of a sudden, the older man notched an arrow and fired it in my direction. I couldn¡¯t move a muscle as time itself drew to a crawl with the arrow¡¯s approach. Everything in me wanted to dodge but my body refused to move. My mouth refused to open as I tried to yell for mom to come save me.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    [Gaaa]

    Just as I gave up all hope time sped up again as the arrow flew above my hiding spot and lodged itself in a giant black bird¡¯s chest.

    As the bird fell to the ground I caught sight of its razor-sharp beak and claws and the red blood freely flowing from its chest wound.

    The bird hit the ground below with a resounding thud. The bird¡¯s blood began to pool around its twitching body.

    ¡°Hahaha! Did you see that?! One Shot One Kill! That¡¯s how you do it!¡±

    The older man¡¯s attitude completely turned around from what it was before. His joy bled through his rough voice as he celebrated his kill, all the while his companions looked on in slightly confused excitement.

    ¡°That was amazing Mr. Ashin. I didn¡¯t even notice the razorclaw was there.¡±

    The older man, Ashin, really enjoyed the praise on of the younger man gave him.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you boys are still to green. Follow my lead and in a century or two you¡¯ll be able to detect a fly in a thunderstorm.¡±

    ¡°Really!?¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course. But you need to get same real experience under your belt first, and you''ll get it too if stop fucking things up.¡±

    Ashin¡¯s good mood had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. The cheerful mood of the was returned serious mood from before.

    ¡°Now listen up, it¡¯s only a matter of time before the Donovan send a team out to that woman¡¯s shack to investigate the arrows you left there. The time frame in which we have to act has been greatly reduced due to that.¡±

    ¡°So, what are we gonna do now?¡±

    ¡°Okay, in a couple of days we¡¯re gonna go for a training session in the western forest. Once were far enough away from the village we¡¯ll circle around and gather all the gear we¡¯ve managed to hide so far. Then we¡¯ll head towards the monsters'' cave¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna fight the ogres now!? Bu-But I thought you said we need to scout the area first!? You said we¡¯d be going in blind otherwise¡±

    ¡°Now, whose fault is that? Look, ogres usually live in packs of 5-6 members. After we observe their behavior for a day or so, we can kill a some of them off with a few traps when they leave their den. The others can be killed in their sleep if possible.¡±

    Though Ashin¡¯s companions were still worried about the idea they still nodded their heads.

    ¡°Alrighty then! Let¡¯s not let this day be a complete bust. Pick up the razorclaw, we¡¯re bringing it back with us.¡±

    With that last order, Ashin turned on his heel and started heading back to the village, while his companions picked up the large bird and followed after him.

    Even after the group left the area I didn¡¯t climb down of the tree until I could no long after I stopped being able to hear them. For a while, I simply stood around thinking over what had just happened.

    Though I¡¯d over the things I¡¯d heard I didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Those people were the ones that shot down our bag but it didn¡¯t seem like they¡¯d do it again. That older person was scary but he didn¡¯t seem to care about mom and me all that much. They blamed me for something I didn¡¯t know about, but that won¡¯t matter soon.

    ¡°Maybe I should tell mom about this... Mom!!¡±

    I¡¯d been so caught up in everything that I¡¯d forgotten about mom. Without a second though, I started running the opposite direction Ashin in order to avoid crossing paths with them and I circled back to the spot mom left me.

    After a couple of minutes, I found mom looking around the forest with the pack she¡¯d taken sitting at her feet. There was a bit of sweat on her brow and the bandage she had wrapped around her wrist had been undone, revealing the discolored skin beneath it.

    When she heard me coming her pale green eyes turned towards me, allowing me to see how deep the bags under them had become.

    ¡°There you are, Gaisei. Did you stay out of trouble? No one saw you did they?¡±

    ¡°No one saw me. I practiced writing while you were gone.¡±

    I thought about telling her what I heard from Ashin¡¯s group but mom said something I never expected to hear before I could speak up.

    ¡°Gaisei, we¡¯re gonna be moving soon.¡±

    Her tone was flat when she said that, but her took on the same sharp glint to them she had when she killed boar a few days ago.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while now. The village is only getting larger by the day and that boar incident has decided it.¡±

    ¡°But where are we gonna live?¡±

    A small smile appeared on mom¡¯s face while she handed pick up the pack at her feet and handed it to me.

    ¡°When you were a baby we used to travel around all over Eybevan. In fact, we only stayed here for so long because a friend of mine asked me to.¡±

    There was a hint of bitterness in mom¡¯s voice as she made her way towards the road that leads home.

    ¡°Besides, an entire world exists behind this small forest and there¡¯s so much more out there for you to see.¡±

    ¡°But, I¡¯m d¡­ different from everyone else.¡±

    I almost spoke the word that Ashin called me, and I rather avoid explaining where I¡¯d heard it. Before I could say anything else, mom suddenly stopped and looked down at me.

    ¡°Honey, no one in this world is born the way they are without a purpose. We may never realize that purpose ourselves that doesn¡¯t mean that that purpose doesn¡¯t exist. While some people may no accept what you are, I have no doubt you¡¯ll find your place in the world.¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand everything she said but I nodded my head anyway.

    ¡°So... when do we leave?¡±

    ¡°In a few weeks. Once we get home we¡¯re gonna start getting ready.¡±

    Mom started walking again and I followed behind her.

    The news about the move made meI forget to tell mom about Ashin¡¯s group.

 Chapter 4: Nightmares and Coping

    Rain¡­ I¡¯ve always hated the rain, but now I couldn¡¯t been more grateful for the downpour we were experiencing.

    Overhead the night sky was blanketed by dark storm clouds and rain drops bombarded the land, made it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of you. Though it wasn¡¯t the bone chilling rain that preceded the winter season, my skin had gone numb by the time I exited the city. There was no doubt that rivers would flood and landslides would block the road.

    A sane person would find shelter and wait for the storm to pass, but that wasn¡¯t an option available to me. The only way to save my baby was to brave this storm and get as far away from this city as I could before he could send someone after me.

    My baby was only a few days old, yet Erin had sentenced him to die.

    How could he?! Were all his talk of love and wanting to start a family so flimsy that they couldn¡¯t accept that our baby looked different. This child was suppose to be the proof of our love but Erin tossed him aside like a piece of trash!!!

    I wouldn''t allow him or the foundation to take my baby, so I ran. Once I regained enough strength to stand on own, I put together a small pack of necessities and fled into the night with my son in tow.

    Exhaustion had started to set in by now and the forty addition pound my clothes seemed to weigh weren¡¯t helping me in this regard. I long since lost track of how long I¡¯ve been running or where I was heading. The rain, darkness, and the forest had started blending together the moment I made it beyond the city limits.

    With no other option I continued to run in a straight line and hoped that the storm would cover my tracks. One foot in front of the other, inch by inch, the world around me faded to the background as every bit of energy I could muster was placed into achieving that simple goal.

    ¡°Waaah Waahh!!¡±

    Then I heard a sound, a sound so small and weak that it was barely audible over the thundering ran. My son was crying, perhaps he¡¯d been crying for a while now, but I¡¯d been so wrapped up in my own head I hadn¡¯t even noticed.

    It was then that I made the mistake of looking down at the bundle I¡¯d been carrying till now. Just as I reached to unveil his face, my next step connected with nothing by air. As while as my son crying, I hadn¡¯t noticed I¡¯d been walking up a hill, and now we both were paying the price that oversight.

    I¡¯d been looking down at my son one moment and in the next the sky and the ground started swapping places with one another. With every switch I felt fallen branches and rocks bite into my skin.

    While the tumble might have lasted a couple of seconds at most, relief flooded my senses once the world righted itself. Laying on my back, I had but a moment of rest before I realized I wasn¡¯t holding my son anymore.

    Leaping up to my feet I frantically looked around from my son.

    It didn¡¯t take long to find him.

    The sky blue blanket he¡¯d been wrapped in had come undone during the fall and the was covered in dirt and grim.

    ¡°No¡±

    Tears started to block my already limited vision when I saw the red start to bleed into the fabric. Nearby the blanket was a jagged stone, also dyed red.

    ¡°No¡­¡°

    I mind didn¡¯t want to accept with my eyes saw. I felt as if a stone had been dropped on stomach.

    ¡°No¡­ No... ¡°

    His body laid there unmoving as a mix of blood and ran pooled around him.

    ===========================

    ¡°Noooooooooooooooooooooo!¡±

    I woke up from my nightmare in a cold sweat. The shabby furnishing I¡¯d managed to acquire over the last couple of years were still there. But more importantly Geisai was still here, comfortably sleeping right beside me, while the sound of raindrops hitting the roof could be head in the background.

    Though he was small for his age, he was healthy and he was alive. However, the nightmare was still on the fringes of my mind. If I hadn¡¯t grown used to them I probably couldn¡¯t make it through the rainy seasons. Every time it rained, without fail, I would be racked with nightmares. Initially, I dreaded falling asleep, frightened that the nightmares would persist, but as soon as the storm passed my restful nights would return.

    ¡°Etingi emalf, tserus¡±

    The half-melted candles on top of the dresser spracked the after my small chant. While I was never a very powerful magic user my precision was non-matched. It came in handle when Erin¡¯s eyes lingered on another woman. Remember how he would run around trying to put out the fire on his backside brought a smile to my lips.

    ¡°No. Do what you have to. Trying to distract yourself won¡¯t help¡±

    After a rough head shake, I turned my eyes towards Geisai. Even knowing what he was capable of simply looking at his sleeping figure only showed a small child in need of protection. As carefully as I could, I placed my hand over the back of his head and brushed his hair aside.

    [It¡¯s still there¡­]

    My voice was barely a whisper whisper as I looked upon the faded vertical scar that covered the back of Geisai¡¯s head.

    The night I ran away from my husband was the worst day of my life, but the morning after had brought about a degree of jubilation that I¡¯ve never before experienced.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    After our tumble down the hill I spent the rest of the night cradling Geisai in my arms as I cried my eyes out. I¡¯d thought I¡¯d killed my son before my husband could even hand him over to the foundation. Whenever my throat became sore I just sat motionless and contemplated with to do before the weight of what I¡¯d done caused my sobs to begin anew.

    Through tear-filled eyes I looked down at what I thought was my son¡¯s corpse, occasionally catching a flicker of a light in the corner of my eye. As the sun appeared along the horizon I¡¯d made my decision.

    I wrapped Geisai¡¯s body in his bloodstained blanket and laid him down next to me. After a moment of hesitation, I drew one of the knives I brought along and raised it to my neck.

    ¡°Whaaa! Whaaaa!¡±

    The blade had just cut into my skin when a baby¡¯s cry stopped me.

    ¡°Whaaa! Whaaaa!¡±

    I thought I¡¯d gone mad but a baby was crying. Tossing my my knife aside, I uncovered Geisai¡¯s face to find that he was alive. Somehow my baby was alive.

    The moment all seemed lost a drop of hope fell into my lap, and since then I tried my damnedest to not let it go to waste.

    Slowly raising from our bed as to not wake Geisai, I made my way over to the shabby little dresser in the corner and opened the bottom drawer. There were a few miscellaneous tool in the drawer but the brownish stain on the blue cloth made it easy to pick out what I was after.

    After moving a few Items off of it, I unwrapped Geisai old blanket and held up the old jewelry box that it concealed. When I fled the capital the small wooden box had a fine polish to it and solid gold latch, now the wood had dulled and the latch had snapped off a while ago. The rings and bracelets that the box once contained had also been sold or traded over the years.

    All but one.

    Lifting the box¡¯s lid revealed the emerald encrusted bracelet. The band was made of solid gold and the large emerald centerpiece was sit in a star-shaped golden frame. It was the engagement bracelet Erin presented me with two decades ago. Erin spared no expense in having it crafted and it might have sold for a fair amount of money, but fear of the item leading him to me kept me from selling it. That was my excuse anyway.

    ¡°I should stop holding on to the past.¡±

    Despite knowing that he was going to kill our son some part of me still loved Erin. A part of me still held out hope that he¡¯d welcome Geisai and me back with open arms. A part just wanted us to be a happy family.

    Drops of water suddenly started landing on the bracelet. I looked to search for the leak but the roof still held up.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    When I touched my face, I realized that I¡¯d started crying at some point. Maybe it was a foolish of me to long for the impossible, but everyone sought relief wherever they could find it.

    Sometimes losing yourself in unachievable fantasies was the only way to get through the doldrums of an uncaring world. Simply forgeting about life¡¯s challenges and be immersed was idealized life was one of the few escapes I had. It was only the matter of remaining tethered to reality that make such expeditions dangerous, as completely severing one¡¯s self is the shortest route to death.

    Luckily I had something important that always gave me the strength to come back and face the world.

    My little Geisai.

    After a few minutes the rain finally stopped. I placed the bracelet back where it''d been and blow out the candles.

    Tomorrow, I needed to prepare that list I promised Donovan and start sorting through the what we own for the essentials.

    It¡¯s been awhile since our last move and much preparation needed to be done. If everything pans out like I want, we should be able to leave right after my business with Donovan is settled. It might be a good idea to head south and without winter in a cave or tent.

    Eventually I dozed off while thinking of my plans for the future.

    <hr>

    In a certain house within Sinedo Village:

    ¡°Why do you have to be the one that goes? Aiyana¡¯s birthday is coming up, are you just gonna miss it?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright, I¡¯ll only be gone for a couple of days at most. I wouldn¡¯t miss my precious flowers birthday.¡±

    ¡°Ashin, you shouldn¡¯t push yourself. It¡¯s only been a few months you regained the ability to stand without assistance. Surely another guard ca©¤¡±

    ¡°Selina, you¡¯re worrying too much. All I¡¯m doing is showing a couple of rookies the ropes. Could you apply the salve to my back? ¡±

    ¡°Haah, fine.¡±

    Ashin cut off his wife¡¯s attempt to talk him out of the training excursion. He¡¯d already put too much into his plans to be dissuaded now. He especially didn¡¯t need to be reminded of that incident, as one was quite literally etched onto his flesh. Ashin laid face-down and shirtless on marital bed and did his best to ignore Selina¡¯s worries.

    Over his century and a half long life Ashin had managed to acquire quite a number of scars despite never venturing too far away from the village he was born in. Some had been from dealing with monsters and wild animals that wandered too close to the village, others were from dealing with bandits that started making trouble in the area.

    While most of the scars were mementos of past victories, the newest one all but certainly spelled the end of his current lifestyle. A few months back a Giant Flame Viper had set up a burrow in the wheat field, so Ashin and a few other guards had been sent to kill it. Unfortunately, the monster snuck up behind them and stuck with its flame breath.

    Though Ashin had managed to duck his head in time, flames burnt away his leather armor as if it were parchment. Then the flames reached his flesh. The pain of having fat and muscle seared off his back was enough to knock him unconscious.

    He awoke to find his wife and daughter weeping over his body and an overall sense of numbness. From what he¡¯d heard he¡¯d been one of the lucky ones, the two that¡¯d been standing next to him when the Viper attacked died from their injuries and another four fell before the monster was slain.

    Even with the villager healers assistance, there¡¯d been a high chance that of him not making it.

    ¡°Aah! That stings¡±

    ¡°Hold still, I¡¯m almost done.¡±

    Though he¡¯d started down the road to recovery he knew that he was slower, that he was weaker, that he was less than what he had been. It would take decades to return to what he once was, but that was time he didn¡¯t have.

    Sinedo was in the midst of converting into a town. New faces were arriving every month and it wouldn¡¯t be long before an injured guard would be rendered useless.

    ¡°Finished, now that wasn¡¯t so bad was it?¡±

    As Ashin stood up he could clearly see the worry on his wife¡¯s face.

    ¡°Selina, everything¡¯s gonna be fine. When I get back we¡¯ll celebrate Aiyana¡¯s birthday.¡±

    ¡°You promise?¡±

    Ashin embraced Selina and gave her a deep kiss before answering her with a wicked smell on his face..

    ¡°I promise. It¡¯s getting late and I have to be up early tomorrow, so unless you want to try giving Aiyana a little brother or sister we should get to bed.¡±

    ¡°Why did I marry you again?¡±

    ¡°Because of my charm and roguish good looks.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, it''s time to reevaluate my decisions¡±

    ¡°Haha, goodnight, my love.¡±

    If Ashin let things stay as they were, his family would suffer in the coming years. There was little he could do besides fight and soon his diminished abilities won¡¯t be enough to provide for them. He needed to cement his position in the village before the transition was complete. Being a local hero would offer them a bit of protection and open a few doors for him and his family.

    As his drifted off one thought occupied Ashin¡¯s mind: His plan had to succeed, no matter what.

 Chapter 5: Everything Falls Apart (Part 1)

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 18]

    ¡°Ahhhh!!¡±

    ¡°Nooo!!! Zander!!¡±

    ¡®¡¯Leave him!! there¡®s nothing you can do now¡±

    I half-dragged/half-carried the remaining twin away from the one that had been captured. Even as we ran, I could hear the visceral sound of the poor bastard being ripped to shreds by the ogres chasing after them. If they lived through this, the sound of wet slabs of flesh falling to the ground would haunt me for months. However, the guilt I felt for the kid¡¯s death and the relief for the distraction said death caused would haunt me till the end of my days.

    As the remaining twin, Garrick, and I entered a dead run in the brief reprieve we¡¯d been given, I reflected upon how things came to this.

    A couple of days ago everything had been going on as planned. After leaving the village and gathering our equipment the three of us set off on the day and a half long trek towards the cave the ogres had come to inhabit.

    It was like they¡¯d been on a camping trip, with the twins asking about any and everything that caught their attention and me happily imparting my knowledge on to them. After setting up camp a good distance away from the ogre¡¯s cave they got to work scouting the area and preparing traps. Things seemed to have been going fine as they baited and trapped their first couple of ogres, but on the morning of the seventh day, I began to feel that something had been off. By that point they¡¯d killed five orges yet more of them emerged from the cave and in larger numbers.

    ¡°Garrrraaaagggghhh¡±

    The roar behind them us me back to the present. They¡¯d been running for a good hour now and it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out whose stamina would wean first between us and the fifty or so ogres chasing them.

    It was only a matter of time before the two of us met the same faith as Zander. Out of sheer desperation, I frantically looked around for a safe haven or a way out of this situation. As tree after tree flew by a small ray of hope appeared in the corner of my eye.

    Taking hold of Garrick¡¯s arm I made an abrupt left turn.

    ¡°Hey!!!¡±

    ¡°Shut up¡±

    I silenced Garrick¡¯s complaint in a hushed tone before tossing him into a natural trench I saw. After leaping in myself, I started rubbing the moist mud over my body.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Trying to stay alive, and if you want to do the same hurry up and hide.¡±

    Barely restrained anger was visible on Garrick¡¯s face but he shut his mouth and started copying me. In a matter of seconds, the two of them were covered head to toe in mud and foliage, laying flat on the ground.

    They¡¯d completed their camouflage not a moment too soon as ogres stepped upon the trench''s rim mere seconds after they had laid down.

    While my view was obscured a bit by the foliage covering his face, I could still see them from his position. There was also a clear difference between the ones we had been killing and the ones that started to come out of the cave two or three at a time.

    The ogres they¡¯d been dealing with had been around six feet tall, had biceps the size of my thigh, and had puffs of hair covering their yellowish skin. The two thirty centimeter-long fangs that grew from their underbite were rather dull and their beady red eyes were rather unremarkable and unfocused.

    While they might have been physically intimidating they weren¡¯t all that difficult to deal with, in fact, trapping and killing them made me question why the village considered them such a threat.

    It was only when our base camp was attacked did I realize the true terror we faced. The sun hadn¡¯t even appeared on the horizon when the perimeter alarm went off. I barely had time to notch an arrow before the ogres descended upon us.

    Except those ogres had been an entirely different from what they¡¯d faced, their limbs were wrapped in thicker taut muscles, their fangs sharpened by extended use, and their frame stood almost twice as tall as the ones that preceded them. It¡¯s almost as if they¡¯d been dealing with chi?

    ¡°Garrraagh!!¡±

    A shudder ran down my spine, but it wasn¡¯t because of the ogre¡¯s roar. The ogres scanned the area a bit more before they left, their camouflage had done its job.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    However, the two of them remained motionless. It wasn¡¯t until the combination of fear and tension drained from their bodies and about twenty minutes had passed did we stand up again.

    ¡°By the ancestors what have we done¡­¡±

    My voice trailed off as the full brunt of the realization dawned on me. If he was right then the ogres wouldn¡¯t stop until they were dead.

    ¡°What have we done!? What have we done!!? We have done nothing!!! You did this!!!! You got my brother killed!!!!!¡±

    Garrick¡¯s temper flared when he caught wind of my mumbling.

    ¡°Be quiet, do you want them to hear you?¡±

    The ogres were still searching for them in the area and now was not the time or place to deal with his hang-ups.

    However, Garrick had been pushed beyond his limits by the loss of his brother.

    ¡°We did everything you said! We put up with your abuse and did everything you said, but what did it get us!? ¡°

    ¡°Shut up!! Things weren''t supposed the happen, but whining about it won¡¯t solve anything. We ne?"

    ¡°You killed my brother!!! I¡¯m through listening to you!!!¡±

    Garrick turned his back on me and started to walk off.

    ¡°Just where do you think you¡¯re going!?¡±

    ¡°Back to the village, where else!?¡±

    I was beginning to regret my decisions about all of this more and more by the second. With my irritation barely in check, I grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to look at me.

    ¡°Are you an idiot!? The ogres are still after?

    ¡°Garagh!!¡±

    ¡°Fuck!!¡±

    That roar originated from close by, Garrick¡¯s shouting must have brought them back. We had to get out of here.

    ¡°Gaah!¡±

    Before I could do anything I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. Looking down I saw the short dagger stuck in the right side of my abdomen, the blood already starting to flow in generous amounts.

    Looking up, I was met with Garrick¡¯s cold-blooded glare.

    ¡°You deserve everything you get and more.¡±

    With that simple send off Garrick yanked the dagger from my chest and started running off in the village¡¯s general direction. I watched his figure fuse into the horizon while I slumped down into the trench with a hand over my wound.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the ground began to tremble. One after another, large shadows flew over my head in pursuit of Garrick. The ogres used all four limbs to run, moving in a jagged but somewhat effective running cycle.

    At first, I thought they¡¯d simply ignore me, but today just seemed to be the day life wanted to kick me while I was down. One of the ogres broke away from the pack and headed in my direction.

    ¡°What only one, why don¡¯t you toss in a few more of them for good measure?¡±

    I didn¡¯t even know who I was talking to anymore, but what I did know was that death was charging straight at me and my options were limited. My vision was becoming more unfocused by the second and ogre was only a couple yards away, swiftly closing the distance.

    However, I wasn¡¯t afraid. Death was mere moments away, but the only thought that crossed my mind was how thankful I was for mandatory magic training.

    ¡°Raeps ym sa htrof gnirps, ssyba nezorf eht morf.¡±

    A foot in front of me a large jagged icicle rose out of the ground. The ogre recognized the danger all too late. It tried to swerve out of the way, but the momentum of its charge was too much overcome at the last second.

    ¡°Gyaooun¡­¡±

    With a gush of blood and the sickening sound of flesh and bone giving way to a foreign object, the ogre let out a pained wail as it impaled itself through the chest. Even if it somehow freed itself, the blood loss and the new hole in its chest should kill the ogre.

    ¡°Uggh¡­¡±

    While ice wasn¡¯t an all too common magic affinity, I couldn¡¯t have been more thankful of possessing it now. The versatility of the magic was only offset by the amount of mana it took to produce and shape the ice.

    But, all I managed to do was delay the inevitable. My wound was still bleeding out at an alarming rate and fatigue was taking its toll on me. I could feel my conscious fading away by the second and knew I wasn¡¯t long for this world.

    My bid had failed in the worst way possible and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Garrick ran my name through the ground if he managed to make it back to the village. There were many things I regretted about my life, but the largest of them would have to be leaving my family to fend for themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    With a final felting apology, I closed my eyes and awaited the end.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    [Papaaaaa!!!!]

    ¡°FuuccccccK, that stupid fool!!!¡±

    I¡¯d been so occupied with my own self-pity I¡¯d forgotten that Garrick was leading an enraged pack of ogres towards the village. Even if they killed him before he reached the village, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to quell their rage. The village was in danger, my family was in danger.

    I hastily tried to stand up only to fall on my face.

    ¡°Damnit¡±

    My legs had already gone numb and the rest of my body wasn¡¯t that far behind.

    ¡°Get up!¡±

    I tried to stand once more but my legs wouldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Get up! Get up!¡±

    It was no use, I wasn¡¯t going anywhere. I¡¯d lost too much blood and was too tired. I pressed down on my wound even harder and laminated have received it.

    ¡°Fucking close already!!! Wha aaah!!¡±

    Out of nowhere, it felt like a fire ignited within my wound, burning its way through my insides and exploding once it broke the surface of my skin. The sharp pain spreading through my body drove away the numbness that had overtaken me.

    ¡°Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!¡±

    I could hear my own screams as I leaped to my feet in a vain attempt to make the pain stop, however, it was minutes before the pain would subside. Everything hur? wait, the throbbing from my wound had vanished. Looking down, I saw that the wounded section of my abdomen had been covered in a thick layer of red ice.

    How?

    I could barely move much less control the flow of my mana.

    ¡°... not important now.¡±

    With a shake of my head, I cleared out the unnecessary things. Right now, I had to get back to the village. Before I left, I cast another look towards the impaled ogre. It stopped moving some time ago and now only dark red blood streamed down its body, but it was still breathing if barely.

    ¡°If I was in your position I would do the exact same thing as you, so for your brethren''s sake pray that I don¡¯t end up in your position.¡±

    Not even knowing if the beast could hear me anymore, I spoke my piece and began limping my way towards the village.

 Chapter 6: Everything Falls Apart (Part 2)

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 20]

    ¡°Be careful with the bags Geisai. We can¡¯t sell anything if they¡¯re too damaged.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    The sun sat high in the midday as mom and made our way towards the village.

    For the last couple of weeks, we¡¯d been preparing to move. First, we separated everything we owned into the things we¡¯d need, could sell, or was completely useless. While there wasn¡¯t all that much to sort through, mom seemed to have trouble selling the some of the stuff off.

    Right now mom was walking beside me while I carried three sacks over my back. We¡¯ve been coming to the village almost every day, yet mom hadn¡¯t even sold half of what she wanted to.

    Today was the last day we¡¯d come to the village. If mom whatever mom couldn¡¯t sell would be left behind or burned before we left the day after tomorrow.

    Apparently, we would need some money for our trip, but when I found a fancy box wrapped in a dirty cloth mom yanked it out of my hands and told me to not to mess with it. While the looked like it would easily sell, mom was adamant in her refusal to do so.

    Whatever that box was, it must have been really important to her. It was probably for the best to I leave it alone.

    But, after I found it we began eating more food than normal, so that was nice.

    I wondered what we¡¯d do for food when we left our current home, but mom said that we had enough dried food and herbs to last us through autumn. She didn¡¯t tell me anything but she knew about traveling so there was nothing to worry about.

    We weren¡¯t that far from the hill that overlooked the village now and there was something I wanted to ask mom before she left.

    ¡°Hey, mo©¤¡±

    ¡°Gaaayh!!¡±

    ¡°Uaaah¡± ¡°Uaaah¡±

    When I tried to get mom¡¯ attention a yelling figure burst out of the underbrush a few yards away from us. Both mom and I were caught off guard by its sudden appearance, but mom barely had time to draw her daggers before the figure fell to the ground.

    ¡°Stay back, Geisai¡±

    Mom placed one of her arms in front of me and started to slowly back away. She always did this whenever an animal crossed our path. But, it wasn¡¯t a monster that appeared, it was a person.

    ¡°Mom, he¡¯s hurt.¡±

    The man that appeared was covered in dirt and blood, his pale blonde hair was matted down by sweat, a large piece of his right ear was missing, and his flesh of his left arm had been torn down to the bone just beneath the shoulder. I thought he was dead at first, but I saw that his chest moved up and down.

    Something big had attacked him and it could be following him. My legs started to shake when I thought of that.

    What if it was still around?

    ¡°...sai.¡±

    What if it attacked us?

    ¡°Gei¡­¡±

    What if©¤

    Geisai!¡±

    ¡°Whoa!!

    ¡°Geisai! Listen to me! I need you to calm down.¡±

    Hearing mom¡¯s shouting got my name got my attention. At some point I¡¯d dropped the bags I¡¯d been carrying and started to walk backward. I think she¡¯d been talking to me for a while but I hadn¡¯t heard her, but she held out one of her daggers with the hilt facing me.

    ¡°Geisai, take this and if you hear anything coming, run. Run as fast as you can and don¡¯t look back.¡±

    ¡°But©¤¡±

    ¡°Geisai! Do what I tell you and take the knife!¡±

    Not wanting to anger her anymore I grabbed hold of the worn hilt and took the blade from mom.

    ¡°Huagh.¡±

    After sighing, mom slowly made her way towards the fallen man, stopping for a moment every time the man jerked around. When she was right beside him she poked him a couple times with her foot.

    ¡°Ouaghhh.¡±

    When the man let out a pained moan, mom readied her dagger before trying to talk to him.

    ¡°If you can hear me speak up.¡±

    ¡°I-l¡¯m ale-ve. Get tou vellaghe Haeve to worn thesm.¡±

    I could barely understand what he said but mom continued speaking to the man.

    ¡°Worn them? Worn them of what?¡±

    ¡°O-O res dozzesens of them. Brouther Brouther ?????? ????? ¡±

    The last part of what he said was impossible to understand, but mom froze for a moment when she heard it.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Before I could say anything, mom started to frantically move around. She looked between me, the fallen man, and the direction of the village while walking around in a circle.

    Mom did that several times before stopping in front of the man and calling me over.

    ¡°Geisai, come here.¡±

    Mom¡¯s tone didn¡¯t leave any room to disobey her, so I ran up to the fallen man.

    The stench hit my nose almost immediately, the smell of dirt, piss, and blood caused me to gag at first. I didn¡¯t understand how mom could bare to be with this man for so long.

    ¡°Breath through your mouth, honey. You¡¯ll get used to it soon, but now I need you to do something important.¡±

    ¡°Huaan haa. Huaan haa¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, keep doing that. Now, you see that man¡¯s injured arm, the place where the bone is sticking out?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t hard to miss seeing as most of the flesh had been torn off just below the man¡¯s right shoulder. I nodded my head at mom¡¯s question as I the stench was still getting to me.

    ¡°Alright honey, I need to to grab that section of his arm and snap it over your knee as hard as you can.¡±

    The man started screaming and jerking about when he heard that, however, he must have been pretty worn out because mom was able to hold him by sitting on his chest.

    ¡°Geisai, hurry!!¡±

    Not wanting to disappoint mom, I quickly grabbed hold of the man¡¯s injured arm and snapped it off. It came off easily, I didn¡¯t even have to break it over my knee like mom told me to.

    ¡°Aaaaaggggghhhhhhh¡±

    ¡°Gah.¡±

    The man¡¯s reaction immediate, his violent buckling being enough to throw mom off of him. But that was only a brief burst of energy, as the man fell to the ground as quickly as he shot up.

    Once she was sure the man wouldn¡¯t get up anymore, mom stood up and approached him again. She took out one of her dagger hilts and placed it in his mouth. When she looked up at me the usual warm in her eyes had been replaced with a cold glare she usually had when killing wild animals.

    ¡°Honey, you can drop that now.¡±

    I realized I was still holding the man¡¯s bloody severed arm after mom said that. I tossed it aside as quickly as I could and tried to wipe the blood off my hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we have to do this to save his life. We don¡¯t have the time to do this gently.¡±

    I think she was trying to comfort me, but she wasn¡¯t even looking at me anymore.

    Her eyes were locked to the stump where the man¡¯s arm once was.

    ¡°Emalf gnisnaelc dewicked yaway nurb.¡±

    <hr>

    The smell of burnt flesh filled my nostrils as I did my best to seal cauterize the boy¡¯s stump. The boy had succumb to the pain halfway through the procedure, and it was probably for the best that he had.

    If surviving the trek back here hadn¡¯t damaged the poor boy¡¯s mind the dismemberment was sure to do the trick. However, it was a necessity, the arm had already begun to show signs of infection and he would¡¯ve bled out before we reached the village if left alone.

    The boy¡¯s life would neve-

    ¡°Gaaaarrrraaaagggghhh¡±

    ¡°Mom!? What was that?¡±

    The origins of that roar weren''t too far from here, maybe a mile at most.

    Now wasn¡¯t the time or place to pity a stranger. The village had to be warned about what was to come and I needed to find a safe space for Gaisei and myself.

    Pity and guilt could be dealt with later, but right now we needed to get moving.

    ¡°Geisai, we¡¯re going to the village. You¡¯re gonna have to carry him there.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ What about the bags?¡°

    Geisai was overwhelmed by all of this, as he should be, but he was at least he was aware of his surroundings.

    ¡°They¡¯re not important anymore. We have to go. Now.¡±

    Geisai hesitated for a moment but he bent down and hustled the boy¡¯s body over his shoulder. While seeing a seven-year-old left easily lift someone more than twice their size was a sight to behold, but Geisai¡¯s strength had its uses.

    Once he found his balance we began half-jogging our way down the hill. However, the closer we got to the village the more worried I became. With a bit of luck, we should be able to get into the village without much issue, but what came after was a different story.

    We¡¯d made it halfway thru the wheat field before the farmers started kicking up a commotion.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­¡±

    ¡°Has she lost her¡­¡±

    ¡°...for letting a Darh¡¯ki stick around.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­¡±

    All around us I could hear their voices, some openly criticizing me, other simply curious about what was happening. Then there were the outright insults and degrading comments, it was because of them that I never brought Geisai here after the first visit.

    I wanted to see how this was affecting Geisai but he was walking ahead of me so I couldn¡¯t see his expression, but he did speed up shortly after the insults started.

    It was a bit of a blessing when I saw Donovan walking out of the village gate, even if he those around him didn¡¯t seem all too happy to see me.

    However, before either of us could say anything, a young woman and a man beside her spoke up first.

    ¡°Garrick! What have you done to my son!?¡±

    ¡°Get your filthy hands off of him!?¡±

    The man was moments away from tackling Geisai but stopped in his tracks when I drew my dagger. The guards drew readied their weapons at this, but Donovan intervened before things got out of hand.

    ¡°Enough!! All of you lower your weapons! That¡¯s an order.¡±

    The normal professionalism in his voice was replaced with an unwavering commanding tone. No one dared to oppose, so everyone reluctantly lowered their weapons.

    ¡°Aislinn.¡±

    Understanding what he wanted I nodded my head and gave Geisai an order, all the while paying close attention to our surroundings.

    ¡°Put him down, honey.¡±

    Without a word, Geisai walked forward and placed the bo- Garrick on the ground. The pair I assumed were his parents immediately descended on Garrick¡¯s unconscious form.

    ¡°Get him to the healer.¡±

    A couple of helped Garrick¡¯s parents take him deeper into the village.

    ¡°Aislinn, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Came across him on our way to the village. We did what we could to keep him alive, with what we had on hand.

    Before he passed out he worried of a massive group of ogres heading towards the village.¡±

    The crowd went silent for a moment upon hearing my explanation, confirming something I heard a while back. I few years before I settle here, a devastating ogre raid had destroyed the field just days before the harvest and even killed the previous village chief.

    Given the effect just mentioning ogres had on the villagers, I imagined that a lot of people lost something important that day.

    ¡°Lies! How do we know that her spawn didn¡¯t attack the poor boy?!¡±

    ¡°Who the hell said that!?¡±

    My temper flared as I tried to find the source of that idiotic comment. However, everyone remained silent.

    ¡°Before, you fools speak your baseless claims just ask yourself what the hell I would gain from bringing the boy here and telling such a blatant lie. If I wanted to I could have left him to die, and left you all to your fate. I-¡±

    ¡°Enough! Aislinn, that¡¯s enough.¡±

    Before things got out of hand, Donovan brought things under control once more. After taking a deep breath, he began giving out orders.

    ¡°If there is even a slight chance of an attack coming, we must prepare for it. All guards, begin to fortify the outer wall! Any able-body fighter shill take part in the coming battle. Women, children, and those unfit to fight are to take shelter behind the inner wall!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going Geisai.¡±

    As I turned around and prepared to leave with Geisai, Donovan stopped us.

    ¡°Aislinn, where are you going? When I said women and children, I meant all women and children. That includes you and your son.¡±

    ¡°But, Chief. It¡¯s a Darh¡¯ki.¡±

    Donovan gave the guard that spoke up a cold look as he repeated himself.

    ¡°Women, children, and those unfit to fight are to take shelter behind the inner wall Do I make myself clear?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes sir.¡±

    The villager burst into action almost immediately, all of them rushing do as they were instructed, as Gaisei and I were lead into the village.

 Chapter 7: Everything Falls Apart (Part 3)

    ¡°Archers, launch volley!!¡±

    There was barely a moment in between my order and hundred of arrows arcing into the sky.

    ¡°¡±¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±¡±

    From the edge of the village¡¯s wheat field, twenty ogres roared in annoyance more than anything as the arrows barely penetrated the top layer of their skin. Even from here I could see some of them plucking out arrows like one would remove a splinter.

    Less than an hour had passed before the validity of Aislinn¡¯s warning was proven. The ogres emerged from the eastern edge of the forest, and unfortunately, our defenses hadn¡¯t even been half complete.

    Out of the village¡¯s five hundred population, only two hundred and thirty of them were suitable for combat. Of those, less than half of them had any experience beyond hunting and the occasional drunken brawl.

    To compensate for this, I tried to place the fifty most experienced guards and hunters on the outer walls rampant with as many arrows as we could gather. The others were divided between smaller units that assigned to specialized tasks and the last line of defense.

    Considering that results of the last ogre raid had refreshed within the mind of the villagers, the overall morale wasn¡¯t that high, but their backs were against the wall and the ones itching to leave had nowhere to run and hide.

    So long as they were here I¡¯d get the most out of them.

    ¡°Second volley!!¡±

    Once more the Arrows flew into the sky, but before they even reached the pinnacle of their arc, I was already trying to think of a strategy to buy more time. We could only get off one more volley, at best, before the ogres reached and subsequently broke through the wall.

    I turned towards my second in command and leader of the guards, Callum, and asked him a simple question.

    ¡°How long until preparations are complete?¡±

    ¡°Chef what you asked for is©¤¡±

    ¡°How long!? ¡°

    ¡°At least a couple of minutes.¡±

    I was a bit grateful for that assessment because it was at least something manageable.

    ¡°Third volley!!¡±

    ¡°¡°Graaagggh¡±¡±

    I didn¡¯t even bother to watch the predictable results of the volley, instead, turning to the dozen or so men off to my right.

    ¡°At my signal.¡±

    The group was composed of the village¡¯s stonemasons and artisans, but their de facto leader managed to nod his head despite his knees buckling. It would have to do.

    Returning my gaze towards the ogres below, I began to measure the distance between them in the wall.

    Forty feet

    Twenty-five feet

    Ten feet

    ¡°Now!!¡±

    ¡°¡±Symene rou fo ecaf eth ni gnidleiynu dnats. teef rou htaeneb dnuorg yrev eth, pu esir¡±¡±

    A fifteen-foot wall of dirt and rocks sprung fort blocked the ogre¡¯s path a mere yard away from the wall. Despite the structure''s sudden appearance the ogres didn¡¯t even bother to stop their change, slamming headlong into the earthen wall.

    Even though more than thirty ogres had collided with it the earthen wall held. However, that wasn¡¯t enough to stop them.

    ¡°Gaahhaarr¡±

    After righting themselves, the ogres started to claw out chunks of the dirt from the wall. Had it been a simple mound of dirt they would have cleared it in a matter of seconds, but with each claw-full of dirt was replaced almost as quickly as they were taken.

    However, this wasn¡¯t a permanent solution. The earthen wall only covered a third of the wall we were stationed on. Once the ogres realized that, there¡¯d be nothing we could do to stop them from attacking an undefended section.

    Luckily enraged ogres weren¡¯t known for their intelligence, and they mindless tried to remove the obstacle directly in front of them. But the strain maintaining the earthen wall was already starting to show on the faces of the mansions and artisans.

    They had been selected to carry out this task because of their affinity to earth magic, but that affinity didn¡¯t mean that they had the skill or ability of trained mages. Even now, some of the younger and less experienced of them were on the verge of collapse.

    ¡°Chief, we¡¯re ready to go.¡±

    Callum came up to me with the news I¡¯d been waiting for.

    ¡°Archers, fall back and prepare for melee combat! Defense management, increase the walls size and density of the wall to its maximum then fall back! Support one, start coating the wall with the concoction! Support two and three, await my command.¡±

    Everyone began to act upon my orders at once, with the archers marching down one ramp as another group began tossing a steaming concoction at the wooden wall out of whatever container they could get ahold of. I even saw a few people using cups and ladles making round trips between the wooden wall and the communal drum the concoction had been boiled in.

    Down below the earthen wall thickened to a depth of three feet and stopped regenerating itself as the mansions and artisans all fell to their knees in exhaustion. I couldn¡¯t expect any more from them and ordered a few soldiers to help them down the ramp.

    After reaching the ground, I silenced the others and entirely focused on my sense of hearing. Everything on this side of the wall was deathly silent, opposed to the constant cacophony of roars and claw slashes that came from the other side of the wall.

    While it was a difficult task to separate the sounds from one another, I stayed my hand until I was certain the ogres had breached the earthen wall.

    ¡°Support two, collapse the wall!¡±

    Although the wooden stood an impressive twenty feet high, it was only a series of large wooden panels held together by a few connecting pegs and supported by the scaffolding behind it.

    It wasn¡¯t all that surprising then, that when the pegs were removed, it was a relatively easy feat for a determined group of people to knock the wall down.

    Though it stalled for a bit, three sections of the wall were sent crashing down on the heads of the ogres.

    ¡°¡±Garrgghhaa¡±¡±

    The sound of splintering wood and pained cries filled the area as the ogres were flattened under those wall sections. Had the enemy been bandits or less resultant breed of monster, the weight and momentum would have been enough to kill them, but the ogres were a bit tougher than that.

    It was a good thing we managed to scrape together enough oil and animal fat for my plan to work them.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Support one, dump everything on the pile and make way for support three! Everyone else ready your spears!¡±

    What remained of the concoction was toss onto the pile of the sluggishly moving limbs and broken wood. Once support one was out of the way I gave the order they everyone had been waiting for me to give since this encounter began.

    ¡°Support four, fire everything!!¡±

    ¡°Etingi emalf¡­¡±

    ¡°Llaberif...¡±

    ¡°Onefrni sseldne...¡±

    The chanting of various spells blended into an incomprehensible slurry as everything from fireballs to streams of fire decided upon the oil, wood, and boiled fat covered ogres.

    ¡°¡°Aaaaggggghhhhhhhhh!!!¡±

    The smell of burning flesh immediately clogged my nostrils as the ogres were set ablaze, but the danger hadn¡¯t passed yet.

    Some of the ogres were already starting to break away from the inferno. However, what awaited them was a concave of elves armed with speared were ready and waiting to deal with them.

    Every time that an ogre broke free they were frantically stabbed until the charred body could no longer move. Unfortunately, there were another twenty or so ogres left.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    Thirty minutes. It took thirty minutes before the fires or the spires snuffed out the last of the ogres. The smoke, sweat, and the smell of burnt flesh permeated the makeshift battlefield. What remained of the ogre horde was a pile of butchered corpses and the still burning bonfire.

    By the end of it, we¡¯d lost ten people, thirty or so others had been badly injured, and the everyone else sprawled out on the ground or using their spears to remain standing.

    All things considered, it was a far better outcome than one would expect given the situation.

    ¡°Alright, anyone that can still stand let''s get to work dousing the fire and start moving the©¤¡±

    ¡°¡°Garrraagh!!¡±¡±

    A shiver ran down my spine as I heard that roar. The ground began to tremble once more as thirty more ogres made their way towards the village. The majority of our remaining combatants were left dumbfounded as they realized that the battle wasn¡¯t over yet.

    ¡°Ha¡­ ha hahaha!!¡±

    It was the half-crazed laughter of an unknown man that managed to break us from our trances.

    ¡°Hold your ground, remember we¡¯re the only ones standing between them and our loved ones. Don¡¯t falter!¡±

    While I said that, my mind was already trying to overcome this no win situation. My last strategy had been a major gamble, the success of which depended on all of the ogres perishing in one fell swoop. That was the reason, they were heralded right in front of the sections of walls we collapsed with the arrows and earthen wall.

    But now, a massive gateway had been opened for the second wave of well-rested ogres and all of our combatants could barely raise their weapons. Even if by some miracle we triumphed, there would be heavy casualties.

    As the leader, the responsibility fell on my head.

    ¡°Fallback to the inner-wall! Support one, support two, and defense management guard the archers and support three as they retreat!¡±

    While some of them began to move in response to my orders nearly half of them didn¡¯t budge or had already started fleeing.

    ¡°All of you¡­¡±

    My voice trailed off with a shake of my head. No matter how well they had performed just before these weren¡¯t soldiers, they were regular people that had been pushed well beyond their limits. To expect anything more of them now would be asking too much.

    I wish the best of luck to ones that fled, and to the one left immobile¡­ at least they could buy us a bit more time. With a heavy head, I turned my back on those unwilling or unable to follow my orders and ran towards the inner-wall.

    It wasn¡¯t long before agonized screams and the wet sounds of flesh being torn from the bone. Those brave enough to look were horrified by what they saw and doubled their efforts to reach our last line of defense.

    ¡°Aahhh!!¡±

    ¡°Nooooooooo!!¡¯

    When the ogres caught up to the slower runners our organization fell through, as people began tripping others to save their own skin.

    By the time I reached the main gate the two hundred and thirty we started with had been reduced to a mere forty men, while twenty-five ogres bared down on use.

    The only thing we could do was hold our ground and take as many of them with us as we could.

    ¡°I should have told her I loved her when I had the chance.¡±

    Being trapped by the machinations of fate left me with a strange sense of clarity even as the distance between us and the ogres shrank.

    ¡°If we shall fall, we shall fall defending our home!! Htap rouy taht lla nwod ekirts. Edalb ym sa tca ot nopu llac, dinw eth fo stirips!¡±

    Nearly invisible blades flew from my position in a random patterned and cut down a few of the charging ogres.

    ¡°¡±Haaaaaaaahhhhh!¡±¡±¡±

    With a final war cry, the remnants of our forces engaged the ogres head on. The battle was brief but brutal.

    Even as some of my men were impaled by the ogres¡¯ claws and fangs they would hold on long enough to jam an arrow into one of their assailant¡¯s eyes or launch a fireball down their open mouths.

    Despite our best efforts, for every one of them, we killed three of our own fell. As the bodies continued to fall around me, I would cast an offensive spell whenever I heard an ogre¡¯s roar.

    Without stopping, I cast spells one after another, not stopping even as I felt blood seeping from every orifice and my vision began to blur. In a desperate attempt to continue the fight, I kept trying to continue cast spells.

    It was only when I was sent flying and abruptly stopped by a collision with the main gate did I stop and take in my surroundings.

    About a dozen or so ogres remained standing and my men had been reduced to bloody slabs of meat scattered across the field. I attempted to stand up, but the new gaping hole in my abdomen made that rather difficult.

    As the act of simply breathing became a chore in it of itself, I could only pray that to whatever ancestor that would listen that at least some of people would get away.

    That was the last thought to cross my mind before release was brought at the hands of one of the ogres.

 Chapter 8: Everything Falls Apart (Part 4)

    Everything was quiet.

    Us and a couple hundred villagers were huddled together in the center of the village. Those who were too feeble or old to fight on the frontlines had taken it upon themselves to form the last line of defense.

    A while the sound of battle had reached the village¡¯s main gate, the ogres¡¯ roars and the combatants¡¯ desperate screams frightening everyone this side of the wall.

    But now, everything was unnervingly quiet. Even as the sky transitioned to a light orange hue, the world around us remained silent.

    ¡°Mom, is it over?¡±

    I looked down at Geisai when his one question break the silence. However, before I could answer him a man across from us spoke up first.

    ¡°Silence that spawn of your before it gets us killed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Geisai lowered his head and offered a meager apology upon hearing that.

    I glared at the man that spoke out but he and the crowd behind him remained unaffected by it. The speaker had visible wrinkles on his face, eyes that were barely a shade above a dull green hue, his blonde hair was starting to grey, and faded scars peeked out from under his brown tunic and pants. If he wasn¡¯t in his fifth century already, he was getting close to it.

    ¡°My son has a name and it is not ¡®spawn¡¯. If you¡¯re that worried about making noise why don¡¯t you snap at the other mothers trying to console their children.¡±

    Judging by the group of men and women that swarmed around him, I imagine that he¡¯d built up some degree of respect in the village, and I was proven right almost immediately as one of the followers snapped back at me.

    ¡°Watch your mouth!! We¡¯re only in this mess because of you! I don¡¯t know what Donovan was thinking letting a thieving Darh¡¯ki and it¡¯s whore of a mother anywhere near the village!!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard that the little monsters been stealing from the armory and warehouse.¡±

    ¡°Did you see how she tried to leave earlier, I bet you they led the ogres here to district Donovan from his investigation.¡±

    These fucking idiots!! This is why I never wanted Geisai to enter the village.

    Right now, they were all scared out of their wits and Gaisei and I were the outsiders, the canvas they could release their frustrations on without consequence in this time of uncertainty. So, I understood why they were acting like this, but that didn¡¯t mean I was gonna sit here and take their abuse.

    ¡°Lesson here you piece of sh©¤¡±

    {Dunn} (Duunn} {Duunnn}

    Before I could even finish that sentence something began to pound against the main gate, and it was getting louder.

    ¡°Everyone prepare to engage the enemy!!¡±

    The man that started this whole mess took charge of the situation as he and a few of his followers joined the others surrounding the main gate.

    {Duunnn} (Duuunnn} {Duuuunnnn}

    Cracks were starting to appear in the gate now and a few of the children had started crying.

    ¡°Take my hand, Geisai¡±

    I held out my left hand to Geisai and wrapped the fingers of my right hand around the hilt of one of my daggers.

    {Duwwnn}

    ¡°Ugh!!¡±

    The gate exploded in a shower of splinters and metal rivets. While a few women and children go caught in the blast, the ones closest to the gate received the worse of it. A few of them even fell to the ground and started to bleed out because large pieces of debris wound up embedded in their chest.

    However, there was no time to mourn any of their deaths as the ogres began to pour in from behind the destroyed gate.

    There were at least a dozen of them. All of them were injured to some degree, some covered in light burns and others with one or more of their protruding fangs snapped off. Anyone could tell that they¡¯d won a hard fought battle, unfortunately¡­

    ¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±

    That roar was the signal for the massacre to begin.

    These ogres had managed to tear through every able-body combatant the village had at its disposal, so the leftovers didn¡¯t even stand a chance.

    Before the any of them could raise their weapons, the ogres descended upon them.

    ¡°Aaaghh¡±

    ¡°No. Noo!!¡±

    ¡°Help¡±

    Bodies and severed limbs were sent flying as the ogres tackled, trampled, and torn apart the last meager line of defense. The remaining villagers were left dumbfounded as their final hope was utterly decimated, but only for a moment. Once the realization of what was to come dawned on them chaos broke out.

    ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Aaaaggghhhh¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Some mother grabbed their children and started running in every which way, but others simply fell to the ground defeated, as the ogres closed in on them. A small mercy to those the ogres killed was that at least it was relatively quick and painless.

    Those that fell or were intentionally tripped up were trampled by the crowd. Every now and again someone would focus enough to fire off a magic spell, the only for it to barely affect the ogres or miss the target completely. Balls of fire or fist sized stone connected with anyone unlucky enough to cross their path.

    While the ogres were certainly a threat, it was the unintentional act of self-cannibalization performed by villagers that produced the most violent deaths.

    ¡°Mommy?¡±

    Geisai¡¯s voice broke me out of the trance the gruesome sight had placed me in.

    Shouts and the sound of crying children surround us, and staying here any longer would be detrimental to our well-being. Looking down, I could see tears in Geisai¡¯s eyes, and at some point blood splatter had covered his body.

    ¡°Honey, keep up with me and don¡¯t look back no matter what.¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait to hear his response before I began to drag him towards the western side of the village. There was nothing more I could do here, I¡¯d warned them that the ogres were coming but that wasn¡¯t enough. As we waived our way through houses and alleyways the only thing on my mind was getting Geisai to safety.

    There was a small reinforced gate at the back of the village, but if I knew about it the other survivors would know about it. Rather than trying to break through the crowd, we should try to sneak out undetected.

    Things seemed like they were going our way until something came and tackled us from behind.

    At first, I thought it was an ogre, but I was still alive. I rolled as I hit the ground and looked up to see what had hit us.

    ¡°This is your fault, all of it is your fault!!¡±

    A crazed woman was straddling Geisai as she wrapped her hands around his throat. While he struggled to break free, her legs had his arms pinned to the ground and he couldn¡¯t get any leverage.

    ¡°Get away from him!!!¡±

    Before realized what I was doing, I¡¯d gotten up and kicked the woman in the head. She was staggered for a moment, but it was enough for Geisai  to knock her off. When she tried to right herself I drew my dagger and buried the blade into the left side of her chest.

    After yanking the blade out, the woman fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. It was only after my temper cooled did I realize what I¡¯d just done. I tossed the bloody dagger aside, yet my hands continued to shake. This was the first time I ever had to kill someone and it made me sick to my stomach.

    However, the pandemonium around us meant that I couldn¡¯t dwell on this for too long.

    ¡° Geisai, are you okay?¡±

    I did my best to maintain my composure, but when I turned towards Geisai he was eye level with me.

    I panicked for a bit until I realized that I had fallen to my knees at some point. While he looked a little disheveled, he was no worse for wear, though the red of his eyes seemed more encompassing than normal.

    ¡°Alright honey, we need to get moving a©¤ bu¡­ burgh¡±

    The vomit came up as I spoke, lucky Geisai had reacted fast enough to dodge most of it. Once my stomach was completely empty I was finally able to think straight again. I couldn¡¯t afford to breakdown right now, once Geisai was safe I could deal with all of this later. On shaky legs and with Geisai¡¯s help I managed to get to my feet.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going?¡±

    ¡°Mom, what about¡­ ¡°

    Geisai¡¯s voice trilled off as he looked back at the woman¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Protect what¡¯s important to no matter the cost. The world can be a cruel place, and you might have to act with the same amount of cruelly to survive it. Now, let¡¯s get going.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure who I was talking to, Geisai or myself.

    ¡°Garrraagghh!!¡±

    The red in Geisai¡¯s eyes seemed to expand as an ogre¡¯s roar reached our ears. I slowly turned my head in the direction the roar originated from. There was a single ogre down the narrow street we were on. Its body was covered in shallow cuts and one side of its face was a bright red color. The fresh blood dripping for its claws indicated how active the monster had been.

    Its sights were set on us, so running would be pointless. At least, if both of us tried to run.

    ¡°Geisai, keep going down this street and turn left once you hit the wall. You should find a tall building, climb up that and it should be an easy jump to the top of the wall. Carefully shimmy your way down the other side, run into the forest, and don¡¯t stop running til morning.¡±

    I drew my spare dagger and pushed Geisai behind my as I gave him some simple instructions.

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°Geisai!! Do what you¡¯re told!!!¡±

    ¡°But©¤¡±

    ¡°Now!!!¡±

    ¡°*Sniff*¡±

    Thankfully Geisai did what I told him to, but I didn¡¯t turn around as his footsteps became further away.

    ¡°Garrraagghh!!¡±

    As if it had been waiting for this moment, the ogre let out a bellowing roar before it began its change. Every bone in my body was telling me to get out of the way, but I refused to budge.

    It was only when the ogre was within a yard of my position did I move. Crouching down, I dove under the ogres¡¯ massive body at the last second, Rolling to my feet before the ogre realized where I went. I started chanting a spell immediately and entered a dead run towards the ogres back.

    Flames erupted down my forearms as I ran, yet I felt no pain or heat whatsoever. Just before the ogre faces me, I leaped onto its back and wrapped my arms around its neck.

    ¡°Guuuuaaarrraagghh!!¡±

    The ogre began to flail about the moment the flames made contact with its yellowish skin. For the second time today the smell of burnt flesh overwhelmed my nostrils. That combined with the ogre¡¯s stench made me grateful that nothing was left in my stomach.

    ¡°Guagh!!¡±

    ¡°Uaag!¡±

    Blood began to drip from my mouth as the ogre slammed against a nearby building back first. I still hung on despite the pain, but I couldn¡¯t keep this up for long.

    ¡°Uaaghha!¡±

    Once again the ogre slammed me against a building, I felt the bones along my spine snap, but I held on.

    The third collision caused the sight in my left eye to go black, and the feeling in my back had vanished along with it.

    My effects weren¡¯t in vain though, after the third hit the ogre¡¯s movements began to dull. The flames had started to eat through the hard layer of muscle and was cooking the ogre¡¯s esophagus

    Just a bit more. I had to hang on for just a bit more. I had to¡­

    The fourth hit finally broke my hold. I felt weightless for a moment before hitting the ground a few feet away from the ogre. I tried to stand up but my body didn¡¯t respond to my commands. The bones sticking out of my limbs may have had something to do with it.

    ¡°Gauu- Gua-¡±

    The ogre tried to let out another roar, but it was no use. I imagine that its throat had been damaged beyond repair. Even if it didn¡¯t know it, the ogre already died.

    It was only a matter of time before it ran out of air and suffocated. Though it could still breath through its nose, that wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to keep its massive frame moving for long.

    The remainder of my vision darkened a bit as the ogre¡¯s shadow loomed over me. It was obvious that the monster was going to finish me off, but my death was assured anyway.

    I was tired, so very tired. The last few years had drained more from me than the sum total of my other one and a half centuries. So long as Geisai was safe, I could be at peace.

    The ogre struggled for a bit, but it managed to raise one of it tree-trunk like arms above its head.

    ¡°Aaaahhh!!¡±

    Out of nowhere, a small blur tackled the ogre from the side, knocking it down. It was only when the blur began to speak did I realize what had happened.

    ¡°Mommy!?¡±

    Geisai was kneeling over me with tears in his eyes. He¡¯d came back, my little hope came back.

    Behind him, a silhouette began to form, a silhouette that seemed so familiar to me.

    With what little strength I could muster, I spoke my last.

    ¡°S-Should have¡­ so reckless¡­ Just¡­like your father.¡±

    Geisai  was yelling something, but I could no longer hear him. I prayed that he wasn¡¯t soon to follow me as the world went dark and I was allowed to rest.

 Chapter 9: Everything Falls Apart (Final)

    ¡°Mommy?¡±

    She wasn¡¯t moving. She should be moving We had to go now.

    The tears in her clothes showed the numerous bruises across her body. One of her eyes was gone and her legs were bent in the wrong direction. That must have been why she wasn¡¯t moving.

    ¡°Mommy, I can carry you if you want. I¡¯m strong enough to do it, but you have to wake up.¡±

    I grabbed her arm and tried to shake her awake but she remained quiet. Though heat of her arm hot enough to burn me, no life could be felt under her skin.

    ¡°Please, wake up¡­¡±

    Water droplets started to fall on mom¡¯s face but I didn¡¯t think it was raining. Why did this happen?

    ¡°Mommy, we¡¯re supposed to be moving right? There¡¯s still a lot of work to do, right? We can¡¯t do anything if we stay here?¡±

    Was it my fault?

    I¡¯d left her here by herself I should have stayed to help. I¡¯m stronger than her, yet I ran away.

    But, I¡¯d only been doing what I was told.

    ¡°Mom-my, Ah- wah aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!! Wahaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!.....¡±

    This was too much. Someone, anyone make this day go away. Give me back my mo©¤

    ¡°Guaaa!¡±

    Something large hit me.

    I think.

    I¡¯d been kneeling over mommy one moment and the next thing I know I was sent flying into a wall. When my eyes regained focus, I could make out a large figure standing over mommy a few yards away.

    ¡°Ueeh Hehe¡­¡±

    That thing¡­ That ugly yellow thing!! I remember now, it was responsible for hurting mommy. It was the reason mommy won¡¯t get up anymore.

    ¡°Eeeh hehe...¡±

    I tried to stand up, but my right leg buckled under the weight and made me fall over again. I only took my eyes off the thing just for a second and saw that my leg had been bent in the wrong direction. However, the thing had managed to raise its fist above mommy within that second.

    ¡°Heeh Ueeh heeh!!¡±

    It was gonna hurt her again. I started crawling towards them as fast as I could but I was too late. The world seemed to slow as the thing brought its fist down on mommy¡¯s head.

    ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!¡±

    A shout escaped my throat as I watched the insides of mommy¡¯s head splatter on the ground. Color began to drain from the world as the liquid spilled from her skull, the only color left was was a deep shade of red.

    In front of me, the thing dropped to its knees and grasped its throat for some reason

    Was it mocking her? Celebrating for what it had done to her?

    That thing. I won¡¯t let it get away with this!!

    A warm feeling began to spread over my body but that feeling turned into a sharp pain when it reached my right leg.

    ¡°Ahhhaaaagghh!!¡±

    The sheer pain of it all caused me to roll on the ground for a few moments. It was as if a fire had been lite under my as the bones of my legs moved back into their proper order.

    ¡°Gua¡­¡±

    That one sound refocused my attention to the thing, it¡¯d become disoriented for some reason and struggled to breathe.

    Just looking at it was enough to spur me on. I powered through the pain and managed to stand on all fours. In the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a strange light flowing from my body, but that wasn¡¯t important right now.

    It would die!!

    No matter what it took, the thing would die.

    ¡°Haaahh Ahhhhhh!!!!!¡±

    With a yell, I ran up to the thing and tackled it as hard as I could. Unlike the last them, the thing was sent flying back when I hit it. However, I¡¯d already been chasing after it before the thing reached the ground. With a large leap I landed on it chest and started to hammer its face with my fists.

    Over and over again my fists hammered into the things hard flesh, the skin on my knuckles peeling off and my finger bones snapping with every other hit, the sharp pain from before pulsating within my hands only fueling my rage.

    I didn¡¯t know how long the cycle of pain and anger lasted but the thing was almost unrecognizable when I finally stopped. At some point, its torso had been ripped open and few ribs stood straight up. The blood and various organs littered the ground around us, the creature now lying in a pool of its own blood. Worst of all was the head, strips of flesh had been torn from its skull, teeth had been shattered or were missing, and one of its large fangs had been stabbed through its throat..

    There was a metallic taste in my mouth and I could feel things stuck between my teeth. I was breathing heavily and color was starting to return to©¤

    ¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±

    A roar suddenly came from down the street. Another thing was standing there in perfect health. I killed it, yet there was more of them. More of the things that hurt mommy, more of the things that took mommy away.

    ¡°¡°Haaahh Ahhhhhh!!!!!¡±

    ¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±

    I had to kill! I had to kill them all!!

    The last thing I remembered was the world dipping back into the red before the thing and I charged at one another.

    <hr>

    I was too late and only had myself to blame for it all.

    Around me the died and the dying transformed my home into a hellish landscape.

    Beyond the destroyed gate, beyond the various piles of corpses, beyond the edge of hope, I walked deeper into the epicenter of the misery. The tavern I frequented had been reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble. The only wares the marketplace had out were the mutilated corpses of my fellow villagers. The once lively streets were now embraced by death¡¯s eerie silence.

    Almost in a daze, I continued to stagger my way through, simultaneously aware of and not caring about the trail of blood my wound was leaving in my wake or how chaotic my breathing was becoming.

    The frozen blood that kept the worst of the wound¡¯s effects at bay, that ice had started melting late last night and my attempts to refreeze it had failed. I bandaged the wound as best as I could, but without the proper items there was little I could do.

    Not that it mattered I anyway, I¡¯d been a dead man for two days now, it wasn¡¯t a matter of if but when I would finally drop.

    The only things keeping me going were the two strands of hope left in the miserable excuse of the life I had made for myself.

    ¡°They''re not here either...¡±

    There were only a few place left where they could be hiding unless I alread?Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°Noooo!!¡±

    ¡°Stop!!!¡±

    ¡°Help! Mommy! Daddy!!¡±

    ¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±

    The pleas of survivors and an ogre¡¯s roar cut off my chain of thought when it reached my ears. I¡¯d ignored a few shouts like this before, but this was different. One of those voices belonged to my daughter.

    With all the strength I could muster I started shuffling my way toward the point of origin as quickly as I could.

    If I did one thing right, I would keep her safe.

    Before I realized it I reached the center of the village, but the destruction even managed to reach this far into the village. Singed patching of ground and a few mangled bodies littered the area. A few of the buildings had or were on the verge of collapse, but one building, in particular, caught my attention.

    A single ogre stood in front to the chief''s house, freshly mangled corpses laid at its feet and at clawed into a moderately large hole it must have put into the building. I could just make out the figures of various people cowering within the house. They must have been discovered on their way to this location.

    I started to search the area for something to use as a weapon, there was a slight chance that Aiyana was in there and I couldn¡¯t fight an ogre bare handed. The terrified shouts of the people trapped by the ogre and the wet sounds of bodies being torn apart spurred me on.

    Just as I managed to yank a worn dagger out of a severed arm I found along the ground, I realized the number of screamers had been greatly reduced. The ogre was mere seconds away from finishing its gruesome deed.

    However, before I could even start towards the ogre I heard the sound which heralded our doom.

    ¡°¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±¡±

    More of them were coming and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Even if by some miracle I managed to kill the ogre I wouldn¡¯t leave the fight unscratched. The best case would have me succumbing to my injuries shortly after the fight. The worst case would be me buying the survivors enough time flee the chief''s house I was reduced to just another corpses.

    Anything more than one ogre was asking for the impossible. I had to act before the others arrived. I readied my newly acquired dagger and prepared to change the ogre but something strange had happened.

    The ogre, who mere moments ago relentlessly pursued the trapped survivors, stood immobile on its hind legs.

    Something was wrong and when the ogres we¡¯d heard finally arrived I understood what that something was.

    As the two ogres turned onto the main road, I shocked by the condition they were in. The one out front had a chunk of its left arm missing and its right arm hung limply at its side. It struggled to maintain its balance, the bloody stump of what was once its right foot the likely cause of that.

    While the lead ogre was in pretty bad shape, it was leaps and bounds above the one trailing behind it. The entire left side of its face had been ripped from its skull. One of its eyes had been yanked out. The flesh on its right arm had been reduced to ribbons, and its intestines hung out of the gaping hole in its stomach.

    It was like they¡¯d been mauled by a wild animal, but what the hell could maul an ogre?!

    ¡°Ahhhaaaagghh!!¡±

    The two heavily injured ogre were a couple feet away from the first ogre when a small figure dropped onto the slower one from a roof of a nearby building. Immediately after the two hit the ground blood gushed into the air as small creature torn into the ogre¡¯s throat with its teeth.

    Even when the ogre¡¯s body stopped convulsing the small creature gnaw at its neck.

    ¡°Garraaghh!!¡±

    It was wasn¡¯t until the first ogre ran up and sent the creature flying away with a punch did it release its hold. Even from here I could hear the sound the creature¡¯s bones shattering upon impact.

    When the dust settled I was able to get a better look at the crea-, no child? The kid couldn¡¯t have been more than a few years old, even then he seemed rather thin for his age. The ogre¡¯s punch had caved in his chest, but the blood that covered him from head to toe made it impossible to determine anything else about his condition.

    In any other situation, the death of such a young one would have been a tragedy, but the effect was a bit diminished here. However, the boy had my respect for killing one of the orges and distracting the others. While the ogres examined their fallen brethren, I took the opportunity to creep my way towards the chief¡¯s house.

    Red bricks and blood littered the ground in front of the hole in the wall, peering inside revealed severe people raving in pain. Based on the smashed hands and deep bruises, they must have tried to fight back or flee the ogre.

    Though I wanted to help them I couldn¡¯t, at least not in the way they pleaded for me to help.

    ¡°Aiyana. Aiyana, are you here? Can you hear me, Aiyana? It¡¯s papa.¡±

    I kept my voice as low as possible, as I searched the house.

    ¡°Daddy!?¡±

    My lovely Aiyana jolted up from behind an overturned coach. At a glance, I could tell that she¡¯d been through a lot of hardship. She was pale as a sheet, her dress was covered in dirt, dried blood was mixed into her shoulder-length hair, and her emerald eyes were still wet with recently shed tears.

    ¡°Eugh.¡±

    My side stung when Aiyana hugged me, but I did my best to hide it from her. It wasn¡¯t that long ago that she couldn¡¯t even reach my kneecaps.

    We stayed liked that for a moment, being utterly absorbed in the sense of safely a loved one could provide.

    However, it was a feeding moment.

    ¡°Aiyana. Where¡¯s your mother?¡±

    That simple question was all that it took for the tears to start flowing from her eyes. I was so close¡­

    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright sweetheart, daddy¡¯s here now. Come with me, we have to lea-¡±

    ¡°Garraaghh!!¡±

    One of the ogres noticed us. I pushed Aiyana behind my back and raised the dagger I picked up. I would not let them take my daughter. Everything else was fine, I knew I deserved worse, but she was innocent damn it!!

    The two ogres prepared to charge at us, but the remaining injured ogre was tackled to the ground from by the suddenly back up boy. Before anyone could react to his sudden return, the boy ripped one of the fangs right out of its jaw and stabbed it through its chest.

    In a matter of minutes, the boy had slain two ogres.

    I don¡¯t know which of us was more shocked, me or the last ogre.

    A golden aura enveloped the boy¡¯s body and from this distance, I could see and hear the bones in his chest snapping back to their proper position as while as get a look at his face.

    ¡°Darh¡¯ki¡­¡±

    ¡°Ahhhaaaagghh!!¡±

    His pitch black hair should have been a dead giveaway, but the blood and dirt covered up most of it. But those eyes, the seemingly endless depths of those completely red eyes, there was only one type of monster in the world that had eyes like that.

    An enraged Darh¡¯ki had descended upon this already doomed village.

    It won¡¯t stop until it was dead or everything around it was.

    The Darh¡¯ki and the remaining ogre now stared down one another. These monsters would clash with one another, but only one would survive.

    Unfortunately, it was easy to see who the victor would be.

    While the Darh¡¯ki had made an impressive showing so far, exhaustion could clearly be seen on his face and his element of surprise was gone. The ogre was relatively unscratched and entirely focused on the boy.

    ¡°Daddy?¡±

    I looked down at Aiyana and immediately knew want needed to be done.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move, sweetheart. It¡¯ll be over soon.¡±

    I looked back up just in time to see the battle begin. The Darh¡¯ki ran at the ogre on all four before leaping at it, going for a quick kill right from the start. However, the ogre easily swatted the Darhi¡¯ki away.

    The Darh¡¯ki rolled to its feet just before the ogre brought both fists down on the spot it¡¯d just been. Utilizing the opening, the Darhi¡¯ki rammed its shoulder into the ogre¡¯s knee before darting away.

    ¡°Gaauughh!!¡±

    The distinctive pop of a joint dislocating preceded the ogre''s pained roar. Not letting up, the Darh¡¯ki tried to take a bite out of the ogre¡¯s neck but it was a second too late. The ogre caught the Darhi¡¯ki in mid-air and repeatedly slammed it against the ground before tossing it aside.

    When the Darh¡¯ki tried to stand its golden aura began to diminish and it struggled to find its balance. This fight wasn¡¯t gonna last much longer.

    The ogre¡¯s attention remained focused on the staggering Darhi¡¯ki as it limped its way towards it. Now was the perfect chance to strike.

    I¡¯d been inching my way closer to the ogre¡¯s back ever since the Darh¡¯ki first attack. As the ogre raised its fist to strike down the Darh¡¯ki, I stabbed it in the eye with my dagger.

    ¡°Gaaaaaaaaarrraaaagghhh!!¡±

    ¡°Daaddyy!!¡±

    I heard Aiyana¡¯s scream and the ogre¡¯s roar before weightlessness took over, only for the weight to be brought crashing back when my body collided with the cheif¡¯s house.

    ¡°Guah ahh.¡±

    Blood flew out of my mouth as pain wracked my entire body. I wanted to get the ogre¡¯s attention and I succeeded too well. I even as my vision started to fade I could only smile as the ogre limped its way towards me.

    One of the first things I ever learned as a part of my job was that you never leave a wounded prey unattended.

    ¡°Ahaaaaaaaaa!!!¡±

    The Darh¡¯ki leaped onto the ogre¡¯s shoulders and grabbed its head from under its chin. The ogre frantically tried to shake the Darhi¡¯ki off, but the Darhi¡¯ki¡¯s grip remained firm. Slowly but surely, the Darhi¡¯ki managed to stand up on the ogre¡¯s shoulders, and started yanking at the ogre¡¯s head as hard as it could.

    Though only a few moments must have passed by, it felt like an eternity before tears started to appear around the ogre¡¯s neck. With one final tug and a blinding flash of golden light, the Darhi¡¯ki ripped the ogre¡¯s head off.

    The golden aura that surrounded the Darhi¡¯ki completely vanished as it and the ogre¡¯s body collapsed on the ground. Even as the blood began to pool around it, the Darhi¡¯ki didn¡¯t even try to move, were it not for its chest rising and falling you¡¯d think that it was dead.

    A dead ogre and an unconscious Darhi¡¯ki was the best outcome one could ever hope for. Now I just had to finish the job.

    Unfortunately, I was incapable standing anymore.

    ¡°Daddy!¡±

    I turned my head towards Aiyana when she called my name and ran towards me. She had to live, no matter what.

    ¡°The¡­ boy¡­ tak- take care o¡­ boy¡­.. Saf-Safety¡­ find¡­ the boy¡­¡±

    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±

    It was too hard to talk anymore, with the last of my strength I tried to give Aiyana the dagger but it fell out of my hand halfway. The world went silent after that. I¡¯m sure Aiyana was still talking to me, but I could no longer hear her.

    Selina, wherever you are, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll follow.

    The world went dark.

 Chapter 10: Alone Together

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 25]

    ¡°I think I liked it better when it was quiet.¡±

    The rainstorm outside had been raging for a couple of hours now, and the seemingly endless stream of falling washed out all other sounds except the cracking of the twigs used in our makeshift fire.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could use fire magic, can you?¡±

    Even though I gathered as wood and hay as I could and placed a ring of stones around it, the fire refused to grow any larger than a small flame. We would have been in trouble if it were a winter or summer month, as the holes in the building would have made it impossible to stay warm, and we had enough problems as is.

    ¡°You don¡¯t talk much, do ya?¡±

    On the opposite side of the flame, a boy younger than me laid flat on his back on a pile of blankets I managed to put together. He was covered from head to toe in bandages and the stench of the healer¡¯s salve coming off him could be smelt a yard away. While there was a shirt folded beside him, the only thing he wore was a pair of oversize brown shorts. The boy¡¯s original clothes had been damaged beyond repair and the scraps that remained of them had been soaked through with blood.

    Besides, it wasn¡¯t like the original owners would be needing them anymore.

    If dad were he©`

    Just thinking about everything that had happened brought me to the verge of tears. I clenched the dagger dad had given me before he¡­ before he passed on, for comfort. The hilt was rather worn out, the single-edged bladed had been snapped off at the center, and I even had to scrounge up an ill-fitted sheath for it myself.

    Overall, it was a pretty terrible birthday gift.

    ¡°Can you say something? Anything? ¡­.Haah.¡±

    I¡¯d been trying to get the boy to talk to me ever since he woke up three days ago, but he remained silent.

    The lack of progress was starting to annoy me, but I couldn¡¯t force him do anything if he didn¡¯t want to.

    I dusted myself off as I rose to my feet and made my way over to a window sill on the far end of the room. When I¡¯d been setting up our little camp, I tried to make the furniture as a fort, but I gave up halfway because I couldn¡¯t move some of the heavier items. While the dining table remained where I found it, most of the chairs and tables were just scattered around the room, making the room a bit tricky to walk around.

    {Duuaaawwnn}

    The thunderbolt struck down nearby when I made it to the window. There was a large clay bowl resting on the ledge outside the window. It¡¯d been collecting water ever since it started raining and it was now filled to the brim.

    ¡°This should be enough.¡±

    I managed to bring the bowl back to our makeshift camp with only spilling a third of it on the floor. Not wasting any time, I took a clean rag, two small plates, a couple of bread loaves, and a cup out of a half-empty sack. though a couple days old bread was still edible, at least for now.

    After slicing the bread with my dagger, I split them between the two plates I sat one plate aside and poured some of the water into the cup before dipping the rag into the bowl.

    ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready.¡±

    I picked up a plate of bread and bowl of water and brought it over to the boy. There was no reaction from him as I sat down and brought a piece of bread to his mouth. Even when I started pressing the bread against his face, the boy just laid there.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t it to go to waste do you?¡±

    I was starting to get worried now, the boy hadn¡¯t eaten anything since he woke up. Maybe he¡¯d come out wrong after fighting those ogres with dad, but he wouldn¡¯t heal if he didn¡¯t eat.

    ¡°Haah, maybe tomorrow?¡±

    After a few minutes of trying, I placed the plate down beside the boy and picked up the soaked through the rag.

    Grabbing hold of the boy¡¯s lower jaw I opened his mouth and slowly started wringing the water into it.

    Once the bowl had been emptied, I went back to my own spot and started eating my share of the bread. It was a little stale but dipping it in the water helped soften it up.

    With a full belly, I laid down on my own pallet and tried to get some sleep.

    ¡°See you in the morning. Hopefully, the rain will stop by then.¡±

    Wish the boy a good night, I shut my eyes and allowed the cascade of rain lull me to sleep.

    ===========================

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop!!¡± ¡°Keep running!!¡±

    Everything was wrong. People were shouting all around me and I didn¡¯t know where we were going.

    Mom was moving slower than normal after she fell down when everyone first started running from the ogres. I was scared when she disappeared under the feet of the other villagers but managed to pull herself free a couple seconds later.

    Since then we¡¯d been running every which way, trying to find safety from the monsters. I tried to hold on to her hand as we ran after a small group of people in front of us, but her grasp loosened by the second, and we¡¯d started to fall behind the others.

    ¡°Garrraaaagghhh!!¡±

    The ogre¡¯s roar sent a shudder down my spine, but I kept running with all I had. All I knew was that to stop was to day, however, I didn¡¯t making it far before I was roughly pushed forward, preceding a wet crunching sound behind me.

    I didn¡¯t look back to see what had happened, to do so would have been to die.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let go, mom, we can make it!¡±

    I didn¡¯t even know what ¡°it¡± was but I tightened my hold on moms hand and ran faster than I¡¯d ever ran in my life. I was so focused on running that I didn¡¯t realize how easy it was to pump my arms until I caught sight of mom¡¯s hand in the corner of my eye.

    Everything below the wrist of the hand wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°Ahhh!!!!¡±

    I was so distracted that by the hand I ended up tripping and falling flat on my face.

    ¡°Help! Mommy! Daddy!!¡±

    I screamed and shouted for help but no one was around me. My home was collapsing before my eyes, and I was all alone. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I struggled to stand up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, mommy¡¯s right here.¡±

    ¡°Mommy!!¡±

    My head snapped up when I heard mom¡¯s voice but I didn¡¯t see her.

    ¡°Mommy, where are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here, sweetie, can¡¯t you see me? I¡¯m right in front of you.¡±

    She sounded like she was right beside me, but I couldn¡¯t see her at all, maybe I was just hearing things? Only when I looked down did I find the source of my mom¡¯s voice.

    When I fell I lost hold of the hand, it seemed to have landed a few feet away from me.

    However, it didn¡¯t stay there. Slowly, but surely the hand had started to inch its way towards.

    ¡°Come on, sweetie. Come join mommy.¡±

    For some reason, hearing mom¡¯s voice coming from the hand was scarier than the ogres had been.

    I wanted to run, but my legs refused to move, I was helpless as I watched the hand¡¯s approach. Once it was within range, the hand readied itself before leaping at my head. Before everything went black, I saw the palm of my mother¡¯s hand closing in on my face.

    ===========================

    ¡°Ayaaaaaa!!¡±

    I jolted awake in a cold sweat. The fire had been reduced to a few cinders and the rain storm outside had been reduced to a drizzle. At some point, the boy had fallen asleep and continued to remain unaware of me.

    It was another nightmare. Yesterday, it had been dad''s corpse, and the day before that it¡¯d been both mom and dad.

    I brought my knees to my chest and started rocking back and forth on my pallet. I wanted my family back. I didn¡¯t know what to do, everything was gone, and I was scared.

    Only when my rolling caused me to knock into my dagger did I take notice that some of the things were out of place. Picking the dagger up, I looked around the room once more.

    I¡¯m sure I left the dagger near our food sack, the water bowl had been placed back on the ledge, and the folded shirt that should have been by the boy was pooled at my feet. Both plates were emptied and stacked off to the side of the fire pit, and the furniture had been arranged in a complete circle around us.

    There were only two people that could have done this and it hadn¡¯t been me. A smile appeared on my face as my gaze wandered back to the sleeping boy. Though things were still bad, at least I wasn¡¯t alone.

    I guess that it was the best I could hope for in this situation. As I started to drift off again, I was a little bit more relaxed than before. However, one question occupied my thoughts.

    How did the boy do anything given the terrible condition of his body?

 Chapter 11: Apathyéˆ¥æªš Decline

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 22]

    Everything was numb. When I woke up a while ago nothing felt quite right. Even though I wasn¡¯t hurt or anything, I couldn¡¯t find a reason to move.

    Maybe it had something to do with what happened to mom. Whenever my mind started to wander, which happened a lot since the only thing I could look at was the ceiling above, I would relive her death. But, I felt nothing even as I rewatched the monster smash her head in. I distinctly remember the mix of sadness and anger seeing that had caused me at the time, but now it was like I¡¯d been detached from the entire thing.

    It wasn¡¯t just recent memories that felt this way when I tried to recall different events in my life, the same sense of detachment would seep coil around my mind.

    Maybe my head was broken?

    Not that it mattered all that much. It''s not like had anything to worry about. With mom gone I didn¡¯t know what I was gonna do anymore¡­

    I never realized how much she took care of my needs. She grew and cooked must of our food,

    ¡°Hay¡­¡±

    Made sure I bathed and had clean clothes to wear.

    ¡°... you listening?¡±

    She would protect me no matter what. And what did I do for her in return?

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Nothing much really. I would occasionally watch her as she completed tasks, move heavy objects or look through books when I was told to, and abandon her when she needed me.

    Not that any of that mattered a¡­

    ¡°Haaayyyy!!¡±

    ¡­ All of a sudden a girl¡¯s head blocked my view of the ceiling. She¡¯d been saying something for a while now, but it didn¡¯t seem all that important. I probably wouldn¡¯t have paid her any attention had it not been for her assertive behavior, so I guess I had to look at her until she went away.

    If it weren¡¯t for the red veins that surrounded her green eyes her high cheekbones would have been her most noticeable feature. Her hair was a bit shorter than how mom usually kept her¡¯s, and her skin was a little pale.

    I guess she¡¯d pass for a normal person¡­ but she had this strange habit of sticking wet ragging in my mouth and attempting to move large objects around.

    I was getting tired and the girl seemed like she would be talking for a while, might as well get some sleep.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 24]

    She was at it again. The strange girl was making a huge racket as she did her her best to move around something in the room.

    ¡°Heaha ugh! Move already!¡±

    Despite being bigger than me she wasn¡¯t all that strong, but it wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary I suppose. If I had to guess, I never met anyone stronger than me, though, I haven¡¯t met that many people though. But, given the way mom reacted to my strength and the things I was capable of doing, it was obvious that I wasn¡¯t normal.

    It made me wonder why I was ever scared of anything. If I hadn¡¯t ran away I could have saved her. I¡¯d been afraid.

    ¡°Forget it!!¡±

    It seems that she finally gave up, for now anyway. I saw her feet in the corner of my eye, but tshe left my line of sight without a word. I heard her fiddling around with something before she came over to bother me again.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay you don¡¯t have to cry anymore. I¡¯m here with you.¡±

    The strange girl''s voice was softer than normal as she brought a dry towel to my face. I received a clear look at her stressed out expression while she gently dabbed the towel near the area around my eyes.

    I didn¡¯t know how long we stayed like that, but the shadows had started to stretch along the ground by the time she took the now damp towel away. Throughout the whole affair, she¡¯d constantly told me it was okay and that we safe.

    Why did she do that?

    I knew I was safe already and if anything she was that needed to hear those words, not me. The more time I spent with this girl the stranger her behavior seemed to be, maybe she was wrong in the head too.

    ¡°You alright now? I need to get dinner ready. If you need anything just shout for me... Not like you will...¡±

    I¡¯m pretty sure I wasn''t supposed to hear that last part, considering the girl had stood up and was walking away when she muttered it.

    She was strange, but it wasn''t bad having her around.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 25]

    ¡°Ayyhhhaa!¡±

    The strange girl¡¯s sobs forced me awake again. Normally I would have tried to ignore her but tonight was especially bad.

    I tried to block her out like before, but it wasn¡¯t working. What if she rolled into the embers and hurt herself, or me?

    ¡°Ayyhhhhhaaa!¡±

    Her outbursts weren¡¯t helping things either. If it had been anybody else I probably would have left them alone, but something inside of me refused to do that. The girl may have been weird, but she been taken care of me for the last few days. She could have washed her hands of me on the first day or simply left me in the street she most likely found me she found me in.

    But she didn¡¯t.

    Mom allows said to never leave allow your debts to linger. Strange, I felt a small pain in my chest when I thought of mom.

    ¡°Hugh. Just for a little bit.¡±

    Using my arms for stability, I managed to sit up on the little pallet I¡¯d been laying on. Spending a couple of days laying on my back left me feeling a bit stiff so I crack©¥

    ¡°Aaayyhha!¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±

    The stiffness in my body, over-sized shorts, and the bandages were a bit annoying but I managed to stand up. I was a bit unbalanced on my feet and ended up knocking over the clay bowl she collected water in. It was a rather ineffective method, what she needed to do was find a sturdy barrel and some thin fabric to cover it with during rainy days.

    I stumbled my way over to the weird girl¡¯s pallet and looked her over. Her shoulder-length hair was matted down by sweat and she constantly tossed and turned in her sleep. She was mumbling about something in between her outbursts.

    She must have been having a nightmare. Mom was a bit more©¥

    I tried not to think about her too much. She wasn¡¯t here anymore and I needed to deal with weird girl now.

    My mind went back to one of the time she¡¯d first talked at me. She¡¯d been cradling a long object like it was important to her, I think she even showed it to me once, but I hadn¡¯t been paying attention. It wasn¡¯t hard to find it given how much it stood out from the rest of the items in the room.

    ¡°... a dagger?¡±

    I walked over to the half-empty sack on the ground and picked up the dagger that laid beside it. The blade¡¯s edge was cutting into the leather sheath and the engraved wooden hilt had been worn down after years of neglect.

    ¡°Aayyiahha!¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡±

    I went over to my pallet to picked the cloth that weird girl had left beside it before returning to the weird girl. The moment I placed the dagger in her hands her outbursts settled down a little. She would still fidget about every now and again, but it was an improvement at least. I throw the cloth, which was actually a shirt, over her and looked over the room.

    Home had been in better condition than this place, the hole there weren¡¯t as large anyway and the furniture was laid out better. It probably looked better before weird girl started to mess with everything, but I could see what she was trying to do. I¡­ think.

    After stretching my hands over my head, I grabbed hold of a nearby table and gave it a pull. Only to hear a cracking sound as I fell on my but with bits of splintered wood in my fists.

    ¡°...¡±

    I¡¯d put the same amount of force into it as I normally did when moving something. Maybe I was more out of it then I thought.

    I stood up and only placed one hand on the table and gently tugged on it. The wood strained beneath my figures but the table jerked along the ground.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ This is gonna take a while.¡±

    A few minutes had passed before the table was set in place, but the circle was only half finished. Although, the fact that weird girl slept through that was impressive, I was sure she¡¯d wake up at some point.

    I spent the next couple of minutes moving the various items in the room into place, only stopping to eat the bread left at my pallet and place the¡­ now slightly cracked bowl back on the window ledge.

    The last thing I remembered was hearing weird girl¡¯s scream as I drifted off to sleep.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 26]

    My eyes snapped open when I felt something poking me in the face. Sunlight was peeking in through the holes and made everything shine. Weird girl¡¯s head was right above and there was this strange smile on her face.

    ¡°Good morning.¡±

    Her smile gradually turned into a frown after a while and she seemed disappointed about something as she started to get up.

    ¡°Morning.¡±

    ¡°I know you could talk!!¡±

    I don¡¯t know why but seeing her overreaction made me a little happy.

 Chapter 12: An Outstretched Hand

    He finally said something! His face was still a blank mask but at least he spoke.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? How old are you? How come I never seen you around the village before?¡±

    I tried to talk to him but he went silent again. However, that did not mean that there wasn¡¯t any reaction this time.

    The boy¡¯s red eyes darted back and forth in his head like he was struggling to comprehend everything at once. Maybe it was too much for him to take in.

    ¡°Haa, don¡¯t worry about it. Also, thanks for cleaning up the place.¡±

    I was a little miffed that I couldn¡¯t get anything else out of him, but progress was progress. Even if getting him to talk was like banging my head against a wall, he must have had some awareness of his surroundings. Why would he have finished our furniture barricade and cleared away the plate otherwise?

    I stood up and went to collect the water from the window ledge. The bowl was only about halfway full and there were fracture on the side that I¡¯m sure weren¡¯t there before. Maybe a bird or something had knocked into it....

    Overhead the sun was shining brightly shining and I could hear bird songs in the distance. Had it not been for the partially destroyed houses it would have been a good sight to start the day on. If things were right the empty streets would already be filled with farmers and guards getting ready for a day¡¯s work. The smell of freshly baked bread and pastries would travel on the breeze that blew through the village. My home would be lively instead of in this current abandoned state. I shook my head to clear my mind before my thoughts lead me to a place I didn¡¯t want to go. ¡°Focus on the here and now, not the past.¡±

    I quietly repeated that phrase again and again as I brought the water over to the rest of our supplies and took stock. Five loaves of stale bread, half a bowl of water, a few pieces of jerked meat, and half a block of cheese. We had three plates, a few clay cups, and three metal folks.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to find some more supplies soon.¡±

    At best it would get us through the day after tomorrow if we limited the water we drank.

    ¡°...Geisai¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The boy¡¯s nearly silent voice surprised me. I turned in his direction to make sure I wasn''t hearing things.

    ¡°... My name is Geisai.¡±

    ¡°You know the old language?¡±

    The confusion on the bo- Geisai face when I spoke in the language was all the answer I needed, so I returned to the common tongue. Besides, I only knew the basics of it anyway.

    ¡°Nevermind. Nice to me you Geisai. My name is Aiyana.¡±

    Geisai nodded his head and looked back at the ceiling. There was no way I would let things end with that. I put together a couple of plates of bread and cheese and made my way over to Geisai.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you decide to start talking?¡±

    I started asking him questions as I sat a plate down a few inches away from his face and took a seat beside him. The last thing I wanted was for him to go completely silent again, fortunately, he hadn¡¯t eaten for several days now. Like mom always said, there existed no being without wants, and discovering them granted you a bit of power over someone.

    At first, he didn¡¯t do anything, simply stared at the ceiling like usual, but his eyes started looking in my direction as I tore off pieces of bread and popping them into my mouth.

    A smile couldn¡¯t help but form on my face as I watched him struggle not to look at the plate at his side. He held out for a few minutes but he eventually stretched his hand toward his plate. I had him.

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    A second before he grabbed it I snatched the plate out of his reach.

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna get away with that silent act anymore.¡±

    Geisai looked annoyed about it, but he remained lying there.

    ¡°Alright, so why did you start talking to me?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    It took him a minute but he finally whispered simple answer.

    ¡°... It felt right.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    Geisai simply nodded his head. I tore off a piece of bread and held it to his mouth, he devoured it without hesitation. While it wasn¡¯t the most informative response, it beat the one-sided conversations we¡¯d been having.

    ¡°How come I never saw you befo¡­before that day?¡±

    Again, there was a pause before he answered.

    ¡°We lived outside the village, we were gonna move but now¡­ I¡¯m alone.¡±

    His voice remained the same emotionless whisper as before and his blank expression remained, but tears started to form in his eyes.

    I picked up a towel and wiped his face clean.

    ¡°You know, I thought I was alone too. But I woke up this morning to find someone had tried their best to comfort me last night.¡±

    ¡°... A repayment of kindness. Mom said to never leave a debt unpaid. Doing so would chain you to a person or location.¡±

    ¡°Is that such a bad thing? Being connected to something, I mean.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    We spent most of the morning like that, just talking to one another, only pausing to eat and clear away tears that certain topic dragged out of us. We give each other the championship I didn¡¯t even know I was desperate for. It was only after the sun reached the peak of the sky did I stand up.

    ¡°Geisai, I¡¯m going out for a little while. We need more food and other things, and I already searched this place. I¡¯ll be back in a bit. You¡¯ll still be here, right?¡±

    ¡°...Yes¡±

    He closed his eyes after that brief reply, a few seconds later his breathing steadied out and I could hear light snoring. I guess he¡¯d been tired out by everything. He¡¯d be cute if it weren¡¯t for the old bandages over his body. Might as well add a new set of those to the list of things needed.

    After clearing away the plates, I picked up my dagger and an empty sack before setting foot outside for the first time in days.

    It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to direct sunlight again. Since I already cleared out the five closest houses already, I ventured further away from our base than before. Rubble began to crowd the street the closer I got to the front of the village, slowly my search down a bit. While I was able to find a few useful items, but most of the food had been damaged after being left in the storm or was starting to spoil. I continued down the street until a horrible stench stopped me in my tracks.

    The source of the smell was a couple decomposing corpses a few feet away. One of the corpses was that of an ogre. The copse beside was slumped against the wall, a deep claw slash had been gouged into it from the top of its right shoulder into the center of its chest. It was rather easy to understand that person¡¯s fate, but the ogre was a bit different. The fact that it was laying on its stomach a few feet away from the other corpse meant that it died right after killing the person behind it. The ogre¡¯s skin had been dyed brownish red color, its back had been torn open, and its origins had been ripped out through the opening.

    The ogre probably died shortly after its spine had been torn out, but whatever killed it had continued to destroy the body after that point. I¡¯d seen something like this be?

    ¡°Aaggh!!¡±

    My head started to hurt all of a sudden. My legs fell out from under me as images began flashing through my mind. Blood¡­ death¡­ Mommy¡­ Daddy¡­ Crimson eyes¡­

    It was too much!

    The shadows had started to stretch towards the west by the time I stood up.

    ¡°Ugah! It stinks here.¡±

    Falling asleep on the ground, I should have taken a nap with Geisai before I came out here. I picked up my dagger and the empty sack after dusting myself off. There were still a couple of hours left in the day, so I could still find something useful before returning to Geisai.

    However, an unexpected noise caught my attention. It was an out of place creaking sound you usually heard when walking on a old wooden floor. When I turned around I saw the dead body starting to move.

    Slowly but surely a corpse started to rise to its feet. Every fiber of my being shouted at me to run, but I stood there and watched as icy blue lights overtook the green in the corpse¡¯s pupils. Whatever that thing was it wasn¡¯t natural. It was a monster I never saw before, and it was looking straight at me.

    ¡°Aaaagggggggguaaaaah!!!¡± ¡°Aghhaahaugh!!!¡±

    My own scream was overtaken by the monster¡¯s shout. My legs finally began moving again. I ran and didn¡¯t look back. My surroundings blurred around me as I ran, every turn and every shortcut blending into one another as fear drove me forward. However, no matter where I went or what I did, the monster was never far behind.

    While I managed to stay ahead of the monster for a couple of minutes, I could hear it gaining on me. Even as I tried to pump my arms harder and searched for an escape, my legs continued to get heavier and heavier.

    ¡°Aagh!!¡±

    When I tripped over something, I knew that it was over. I couldn¡¯t run anymore, I had to fight it. My hands trembled as I grabbed onto my dagger¡¯s hilt.

    As the monster descended on me, I drew the blade and stabbed in its general direction. A wet substance covered my hand as my dagger buried itself into the monster abdomen. The monster had been so focused on getting to me that it had impaled itself on the blade.

    ¡°Haugh Haugh Haugh¡±

    However, relief that washed over me only lasted for a moment.

    ¡°Aghhaahaugh!!¡±

    The monster¡¯s arm shot out and grabbed a hold of my outstretched arm. Struggling against its iron grip proved to be useless, no matter what I tried, the monster wouldn¡¯t let go.

    As the monster¡¯s gaping mouth closed in on me, I shut my eyes and waited for the end.

    But, the end never came.

    ¡°Tirips fo dibw lla revers dna tuc.¡±

    The sound of a woman chanting filled my ear a moment before the monster released its hold on me.

    ¡°We made it just in time. Hey, you alright?¡±

    When I turned towards the source of the voice I was greeted with a hand offering to help me up. Once again, a twist of fate had saved me.

 Chapter 13: New World Reality

    There were two women standing over me, and I recognized the one that was bending over me with their hands out.

    ¡°Oh, your Selina¡¯s and Ashin¡¯s daughter, aren¡¯t you? Ai- Ai- Aiyana, right?¡±

    Her hair had lost some of its luster since the last time I saw her, and her clothes were lightly dusted with mud and dirt. The skin around her face was a sickly pale color and she fidgeted around as if she couldn¡¯t sit still. A focusless distant gaze had replaced her once warm and welcoming eyes, but she was without a doubt, she was my neighbor.

    However, before I could answer her, she inched closer and closer to my faces, her voice getting higher and higher as she spoke. Even though she was looking directly at me, it was like she was far away from where we were.

    ¡°Come on, Come on. Don¡¯t just sit there, take my hand. We have to go, can¡¯t stay here, too dangerous now, can¡¯t stay¡­ah.¡±

    Something was definitely off about her but she just saved my life, didn¡¯t she?

    ¡°Adria, stop pressuring the girl. Give her some room to breathe.¡±

    My neighbor, Adria, was pulled away from me by the woman that had appeared with her. I was finally able to get a good look at the unknown woman. The brown gown she wore was in better condition Adria¡¯s skirt and blouse, but not by much. Visible wrinkles were all over her face and her blonde hair had a decent amount of grey mixed into it. Unlike Adria¡¯s unfocused eyes, her¡¯s carried the same cold and shape edge you could hear in her voice.

    ¡°S-Sorry. Sorry. She lives, and that¡¯s good. That¡¯s good because she lives¡±

    ¡°Be quiet. Little one, I understand why you¡¯re on edge but stop put that thing in our direction ¡±

    I hadn¡¯t realized I still had my dagger raised until she said something about it. The knuckles on my hand were pale white, and my hand still trembled. I was still scared, but I¡¯d been scared for since that day."

    ¡°Wh-Who are you? Wh-What are you doing here?¡±

    I could hear the stutter in my voice when I asked the pair a question, but I couldn¡¯t help it. My heart was still pounding and it took everything I had to keep my breathing steady.

    ¡°We¡¯re the survivors! Our ancestors¡¯ mercy is as deep as the ocean is vast.¡±

    While Adria continued to speak in her strange manner, the older woman remained silent, her gaze focused entirely on my right hand. Although every part of my body fought against it, I lowered my dagger to my side, only then did the older speak to me again.

    ¡°My name is Nonia. While I would have prepared to meet you under different circumstance, no one can dictate fate¡¯s course. Can you stand on your, little one? If undead are starting to rise we need to leave before more converge on this location. Tell, where is the rest of your group? We and a few others have been hiding out in the eastern forest. I assume you all have been on the opposite side of the forest.¡±

    The old la- Nonia, seemed to know what she was talking about. Maybe, she¡¯d been through something like this before? In any case, I stubbled my way to my feet and tried in vain to wipe off the gunk from my clothes. The liquid that came out of the monster was starting to harden and the stench had already started to set into my skin.

    The body of the dead monster laid just a few feet away from me. Its head had been sliced clean off along with a good chunk of its chest. Strangely enough, the body was rotting faster than it had been before. Whatever had been holding it together and allowed it to move had left the monster¡¯s body.

    ¡°Thank you, Nonia and¡­ Adria. I appreciate your help. I haven¡¯t left the village. M-My father saved us before he di-di¡­¡°

    Adria still seemed off in her own world, while Nonia cold eyes examined me like I wasn¡¯t even a person.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, little one. No one that survived what happened did so without losing someone. It impressive that you managed to survive on your own for so long. You can join us and start contributing to the community. Now, grab your things and let''s get a move on. The quicker we leave the better. Come along, Adria¡±

    Nonia didn¡¯t even give me time to say anything before she walked away and picked up a sack similar to my own, but her¡¯s was actually full of stuff instead of being half empty. Adria followed after her without a word, her steps practically leaking happiness not befitting of our surroundings.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Wait! Wait! I¡¯m not alone. There¡¯s another person with me, he¡¯s a little boy that can¡¯t move around that much!We can¡¯t just leave him!¡±

    ¡°...Huahhh. Let¡¯s go and get him. Where do you have him stored away?¡±

    Nonia stopped in her tracks for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh and turning on around.

    ¡°The more the merrier. Is he a nice boy? My daughter would love to meet a nice boy.¡±

    ¡°Be quiet Adria. Little one, time is of the essence.¡±

    She did have to tell me twice. I picked up my fallen sake and began leading us back to the house. Luckily I¡¯d mostly ran from the monster in a straight line so it was easy to find the right street after a few minutes of searching. Behind me, I could hear Adria happily humming a song and Nonia¡¯s annoyed groans. The two of them were weird but, they didn¡¯t seem like bad people.

    There were more people too. I couldn¡¯t wait to tell Geisai about this. Maybe having Adria sit down with will make him more willing to open up to me.

    I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that thought brung to my face, but that smile soon vanished as we came upon the ogre corpse from before. It remained in the pool of dried blood and flesh I¡¯d first found it in, but that didn¡¯t mean it would stay that way.

    ¡°Little one, tell me, is this where you first encountered the undead?¡±

    I could only nod my head in response to Nonia¡¯s question, however, I didn¡¯t expect what happened next.

    ¡°Emac yeht ecnehw morf tusd eht ot lla ecuder, dlo fo semalf.¡±

    A yellowish flame in the shape of a cross sprung into being and immediately decided upon the corpse once she had finished her chant. The corpse was reduced to ashes in a matter seconds, the dark circle being all that remained of the monster.

    ¡°Huah Huah Huah¡­ Was wondering¡­ Huah... why an undead rose so quickly.¡± Nonia was panting pretty heavily as she tried to speak.

    Her cheeks had turned a deep shade of crimson and her forehead was covered in sweat. She¡¯d been perfectly fine a second ago but now struggled to remain upright.

    ¡°There There.¡±

    Adria patting Nonia¡¯s back for a few seconds before she was shooed away.

    ¡°Little one, remember what I¡¯m about to tell you, it may just save your life one day. Under normal circumstances, if a corpse is left unattended for a month or so the mana inside the body starts to change into miasma.¡±

    I didn¡¯t quite understand everything she was saying but I nodded my head anyway since Nonia still needed time to regain her strength.

    ¡°The only exception to that rule is when a corpse is left in an area of highly concentrated miasma. This why you should never leave the dead in the deeper section of the forest¡­ or next to monster corpses. You understand?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±

    Nonia finally righted herself and simply asked, ¡°How much further?¡±.

    It was only a short walk but to the where Geisai was waiting. It¡¯d been a few hours since I left him, so he was bound to be worried about me. Hopefully, he hasn¡¯t done anything too reckless.

    ¡°How¡¯d you managed to move the furn-?¡±

    Nonia¡¯s voice had trailed off shortly after we cleared the barrier. When I looked up at her, I saw that her eyes were pinned to the sleeping Geisai. Something had changed in her eyes, as the icy gaze had been replaced with unbridled anger as she uttered a single word.

    ¡°Darh¡¯ki!!¡±

    She dropped the sack that she had been carrying, drew a small blade from her right shirt sleeve, and charged Geisai with her dagger raised. I barely had time to figure out what was happening before my body began to act. Without a second of hesitation, I raised my arm and throw my dagger at her.

    While it would have been amazing if dagger buried itself one of her arms or legs, but I¡¯d settle for the dagger knocking her in the back of her head like it did.

    ¡°Aagh!¡±

    Nonia let out a pained cry as she fell into our makeshift fire pit. All of the commotion caused Geisai to snap awake.

    ¡°Adria kill the boy! Kill the monster!!¡±

    ¡°Tirips fo dibw lla revers dna tuc.¡±

    Adria completed her chant before I could do anything to stop her. I could only watch in horror as a nearly invisible blade flew towards Geisai. Although he leaped to his feet and tried to dodge, Geisai wasn¡¯t fast enough.

    ¡°Nooooooo!!!¡±

    I could only yell as I watched the blade slice into Geisai¡¯s chest, the blood spraying from his wound as he was knocked to the ground. I¡¯d just gotten him to open up to me. I was supposed to protect him. Yet, I¡¯d gotten him killed.

    I could feel the tears rolling down my eyes as I fell to my knees. I¡¯m sorry, Geisai. I¡¯m sorry, father. I didn¡¯t have much time to lament the results of my mistakes before Nonia¡¯s backhand knocked me to the ground. My stinging sensation in my cheek hurt more than hitting my head on the ground.

    ¡°Welp, how dare you try to deceive us!! Adia, go cut off that thing¡¯s head and find something to tie the girl up with!¡±

    ¡°Yes Yes. Kill and capture. A shame, my daughter would have loved a nice boy. But we can¡¯t have monsters can we?¡±

    I only caught a glimpse of Adria moving about before I saw her body flying across the room. A loud thud accompanied Adria¡¯s body hitting the wall behind us and crumpling to the floor.

    ¡°What-¡±

    Nonia managed to get one word out before a small figure tackled her against the wall.

    ¡°Huuuuaaaah¡±

    I could hear the air leaving her body as her eyes clouded over and she fell to the floor.

    After checking to make sure she wouldn¡¯t get back up, Geisai walked over and practically lifted me to my feet.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    I couldn¡¯t answer him. Even though he spoke like nothing was wrong, there was a gaping cut across his chest. How was he even standing?! He should be de-

    ¡°Wha¡­?¡±

    Before I could finish that though I noticed the light coming off of him. While the light covered his whole body, it was mostly concentrated across his cut. It was already being filled in with new flesh, the edges of the cut were already closing.

    My arm moved on its and smacked him in the back of the head.

    ¡°Ouch. What was that for?¡±

    ¡°I thought you dead.¡±

    Tears still streamed down my face, but the reason behind them had changed.

 Chapter 14: Old Wounds

    ¡°Are you sure that those will hold?"

    ¡°It should be fine. How are you feeling?¡±

    My chest still hurt a little and my clothes were covered in dry blood, but I was more hungery and tired than anything. The cut completely closed a little while ago and only a faded scar remained. I¡¯d been taking a nap before a someone¡¯s shouting woke me up. Before I knew what was going on some big sharp thing came flying at me. I tried to dodge it but I hadn¡¯t been fast enough.

    The world went dark for a little after that, but I came to just in time to see a strange woman standing over me with a knife. I did the first thing that I could think of and pushed her away.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Aiyana, who are those people?¡±

    Aiyana had just finished tying up the strange woman and old lady, that I slammed against the wall, with some rope cloth that had been laying around. There was a large blackish-green bruise on the old lady¡¯s head, but she was still breathing. I hadn''t meant to hurt her badly, but my body moved on it own when I saw her standing over Aiyana.

    ¡°Th-They''re survivors, like us. We¡¯re not the only ones that lived. I thought that we could go with them, but¡­¡±

    My chest began to hurt when Aiyana stopped talking and looked at me. Although it was only there for a moment, she had the same distant gaze mom would have whenever I lost control over my strength. I didn¡¯t know what they saw when they looked at me like that, but I knew whatever it was scared me.

    ¡°We¡¯ll worry about it later, for now, lets see what they brought with them.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay.¡±

    The sky outside had turned orange by the time we finished going through the sacks the ladies brought. They¡¯d managed to collect a lot of things, to say the least. There were multiple sets of clothes of various sizes. Some of them were either too big or too small for the two women. A few scrolls of parchment and other writing items. A bag of small metal disks with an image of a bird of some kind etched into them.

    Aiyana said those items would be useful, but it didn¡¯t seem like she was totally sure about that. In any case, the food they¡¯d collected was more important than any of the other items. Seven medium-sized slabs of cured meat, five loaves of hard bread, three bags of wheat grain, and a small bag of mushrooms.

    Depending on how you used them, there was enough food to last three or four people a month, give or take a few days depending on the age of the bird.

    ¡°Geisai, try these on and see if they fit.¡±

    Aiyana thrust one of the smaller set of clothes to me before picking up a set for herself and walking behind the overturned table with our water bowl for some reason. She¡¯d handed me a new brown overshirt and a pair of shorts. While they were still a little too big, the clothes fit better than what I¡¯d been wearing.

    ¡°Uah¡­ augh¡­¡±

    The older lady began to stir just as I finished getting the shirt over my head. Aiyana came back from around the table when she heard the lady¡¯s moan. Instead of the dirty and smelly clothes she¡¯d had on, she was wearing a light blue overshirt with a flourished collar and a pair of brown pants.

    ¡°Geisai, if she starts speaking nonsense gag her before she can finish speaking. If she breaks out tackle her again. Understand?¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    I nodded my head along with what she was saying while my eyes remained on the half-dazed woman.

    Slowly but surely, the woman became fully awake and started to look around her surroundings. There was a silent pause when our eyes met before an angry mask overtook the woman¡¯s face and she began to struggled against the bounds around her hands and feet.

    Unfortunately for her, the knots held strong.

    ¡°?????? ??????????? ?????...!¡±

    I balled up a nearby scrap of cloth and stuffed it in her mouth when she started shouting in that strange way mom and Aiyana sometimes did. But, Aiyana was displeased me for doing so.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡±

    ¡°You told me to.¡±

    ¡°... you really don¡¯t know anything about the old language do you?¡±

    "...Hugh."

    I had no idea what she was talking about and she seemed to realize that fact as she simply signed and took the cloth out of the woman¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Girl, if you have an ounce of sense in that head of yours you¡¯d kill that beast before it kills us all! Donovan, you damn lust-blinded fool, I hope your spirit rots away in the mire of sorrow for the blight you have allowed festering for so long ??????!!¡±

    Her venom and hatred laced her words almost hurt to listen to and half of her spite wasn¡¯t even directed at me.

    ¡°Why are you doing this? Geisai hasn¡¯t even done anything wrong.¡±

    The older woman stopped shouting curses when Aiyana questioned her behavior.

    ¡°Don''t you dare address that creature with such an honorable name. Done nothing wrong? Foolish girl, your youth and peaceful upbringing has left you ignorant of the nightmares of the lost age. He and his kind are the worst plague inflicted upon all of Lantza. Nothing but death and misery is left in the wake of the Darh¡¯ki.¡±

    People didn¡¯t even try to hide their hate when that word left their mouth. Why did simply seeing me make people act like that? Why was being a Darh¡¯ki such a bad thing?

    ¡°What are you talking about? He¡¯s just¡­ just a boy.¡±

    You would have been more convincing without that pause, Aiyana.

    ¡°Child, do not deceive yourself. Holding on to that monster only welcomes suffering to your door. They may resemble us, but that is but a mere facade. The beast that lies beneath will relish in the blood of your loved ones once set free.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    When I looked over to Aiyana I saw that she was trembling. Something the old woman said had shaken her.

    ¡°Try to deny it all you like, but you knew the truth. The very truth that was etched into our very being since his kind¡¯s progenitor laid waste to the world before. If©¤¡±

    Aiyana stuffed the piece of cloth back into the woman¡¯s mouth before she could say anything else.

    ¡°Geisai, don¡¯t listen to a word she said. It not true. Not a word of it.¡±

    ¡°Bu©¤¡±

    ¡°Nonia never lies, for lying has no value to her.¡±

    I flinched when an unfamiliar and singsong voice interrupted me. The woman that had cut me had woken up at some point and was staring off into the distance now. Her blank expression gave away nothing as she laid on the ground and rattled off her passionate statement.

    ¡°There are many things that lead people to lie. For love, for hate, for profit, or any number of things. People are capable of lying to anyone, even if the one they lie to is themselves. However, people never lie in vain.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? What does this have to do with anything?¡±

    I was having trouble making sense of what she was saying, but she ignored my questions and continued on with her rambling.

    ¡°That¡¯s why Nonia will never lie. All her reasons to lie rest under the hill. Why lie when your heart was buried long ago. Do you think my daughter would like to stay under that hill, Nonia? She¡¯d have to be put in the middle though. She always loved being in the center of attention after all.¡±

    Tears suddenly started to stream down the older woman face after the rambling woman stopped talking. I tried to comfort her but I lowered my hand when she glared at me. Even with tear-filled eyes, her look was more frightening than any wild animal or monster.

    Aiyana was lost in through as she clenched her dagger, the rambling woman hummed a weird song, and the older woman continued to cry. It felt as if a dark cloud hung over the entire room. Everyone was hurt in some way, but there was nothing I could do to help them. Worst of all, it seemed like I was to blame for all of it.

 Chapter 15: Planning Ahead

    By the time the stars in the sky illuminated what remained of my village, the two women had become quiet again. Geisai and I had finished off the last of our original stash of food and the last of the rainwater for dinner. I wanted to try and ration out the food a bit more, but Geisai had been hungrier than normal and the bread wasn¡¯t gonna last much longer, so we just ate until we were full.

    ¡°So, what are we gonna do now?¡±

    Across our small fire, Geisai finally spoke up again after he¡¯d finished eating. His eyes had been darting around his head for a while now. Whatever had been going on in his head was left for him to know, but his question was a good one. We couldn¡¯t stay here for much longer, even if we didn¡¯t have two people tied up in our hideout.

    Scavenging for food wouldn¡¯t last much longer and gathering water from the lake would mean regularly traveling the ruins of my home. That wouldn¡¯t have been an issue if it weren¡¯t for those monsters from before¡­ those undead. A lot of people... died when the ogres attacked the village. According to Nonia, the undead normally took months to get moving, but all of the dead ogres made them rise faster. Even if only half of the dead people became undead the village would be full of them.

    Then there was Adria and Nonia themselves, or rather the group they belonged to. I didn¡¯t know how many there were, but it was only a matter of time before they sent someone to find the pair. We¡¯d be right back in the situation we were in this morning once they discovered us.

    If we stayed, sooner or later we¡¯d be caught or killed. I knew these, but it didn¡¯t mean I knew what to do about it.

    ¡°What if I just leave?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Geisai¡¯s question dragged me out of my own head. When I looked directly at him, I noticed red¡¯s of his eyes had faded to a dull crimson shade. I tried to get get a better looked at it, but he jerked his chin towards Adria and Nonia.

    ¡°You got along with the two of them before you brought them here, most of the old lady¡¯s rant was directed towards me, and I¡¯m not like you. It may be difficult at first, but if I leave you can join their group and get out of here without issue.¡±

    I was taken aback by how much thought he¡¯d poured into it.

    ¡°How do you know that I got along with them?¡±

    Geisei gave me a strange look, almost if he couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d asked him that, before speaking an answer.

    ¡°If they¡¯d simply found this place accidentally, they would have been a bit more cautious in their search, just in case a wild animal or monster was in here. But, they were loud enough to wake me up and were relaxed enough to be caught off guard. Either they had a general idea about what was in the building, or are dumb. They wouldn¡¯t be alive if they were dumb and you¡¯re the only one that could have told them what was in here.¡±

    He was more perceptive than he let on, but, most of the time I¡¯d known him he¡¯d been asleep or staring at the ceiling. I didn''t really know all that much about him beyond the obvious and what he¡¯d told me this morning. What he was capable of was a complete mystery.

    ¡°If I leave, you can plead with them for forgiveness and leave this place.¡±

    Geisai¡¯s voice was even and was looking straight at me, but something about what he was saying felt wrong. It was like he¡¯d already decided on how things would happen and he was just asking the questions because he felt he had to.

    The more I thought about it the tighter my grip on my became. I do know why, but that made me angry.

    ¡°Once they fall asleep, I¡¯ll take a bit of food and leave. By morning I should be far enough away, that they won¡¯t be able to follow me. Thank you for putting up with me.¡±

    For a moment he looked less alive than a walking corpse. The sheath was practically digging into my palm when got up and smacked him on the back of the head.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get to decide everything on your own, you little brat!¡±

    Geisai tried to speak up again, but I didn¡¯t give him the chance.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Just because some old lady yelled at you didn¡¯t mean you can run away the first chance you get! My father gave his life to protect us and I spent days patching you up and looking after you. I thought we were getting along. I don¡¯t want to be alone anymore.¡±

    The words just a few from my mouth with no restraint. He didn¡¯t deserve it, but I directed everything that had been building over the last few days at Geisai.

    ¡°Everyone, Everyone I cared about is dead. No matter what anybody thinks the two of us are together now. We can¡¯t go back to how things were before. Throwing away the few things you have left won¡¯t make things any better.¡±

    ¡°But, you¡¯ll be better off without me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk as if you know what¡¯s best for me!¡±

    At some point, I¡¯d started hugging Geisai. He could throw people across the room and fight ogres with his bare hands, but he was so small and thin, it felt like he would shatter in my arms if I squeezed too hard.

    ¡°I won¡¯t abandon you, so don¡¯t try and run away from me.¡±

    I felt Geisai small hands grasp my shoulders before he pushed me away from him. My heart sunk because I thought he was still gonna leave, but when I looked into his tear-filled blood red eyes, I realized that that wasn¡¯t the case. He was looking up at me as if he couldn¡¯t believe that I was real.

    It felt nice being looked up to, and I hated to rune the moment but¡­

    ¡°So, any other ideas?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here and we can¡¯t go with the old ladies, but I don¡¯t know where we can go. In fact, where did you live before? I never saw you in the village, so maybe we could stay there...¡±

    Geisai made a serious face, that was a little cute actually before he spoke again.

    ¡°Our home is just west of the village¡¯s entrance. We can stay there but¡­¡±

    His downcast eyes and hollow tone were all I needed to give up on that idea. Home just wasn¡¯t home without anyone there. However, Geisai surprised me again.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s the caves a couple of days out of from our home. Mom used them to store food for winter. She said that hanging too much food around the home would have been dangerous. We can go there.¡±

    Nonia suddenly jerked her head up when she heard what Geisai said, but she didn¡¯t say anything, content with glaring at us.

    ¡°A-A cave?¡±

    Geisai vigorously nodded his head. The light had returned to his eye, to the point it seemed like they were faintly shining, and he was the most energetic I¡¯ve ever seen him. A destroyed village full of monsters or a dark cave.

    ¡°Haah, I guess there¡¯s no helping it. However, we¡¯re gonna need more supplies before we go. What we have now won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    I released Geisai and made my way over to the pile of goods Adria and Nonia had collected. It may have lasted one person a couple of weeks, but only about half of that time for two people. Given what Nonia had said about the other people in their group, there must have been other pairs savaging the village for supplies, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t survive for long.

    ¡°W-We don¡¯t have to take all of it. Half should be more than enough to get where we need to go.¡±

    Geisai was beside me before I even realized it.

    ¡°What are you saying? We¡¯re gonna need everything we can carry. No one¡¯s gonna take care of us anymore, we have to take care of ourselves.¡±

    Geisai went silent for a moment and his eyes wandered over to the tied up pair across the room. I didn¡¯t want to hurt him, but our childhoods ended days ago.

    ¡°Have you forgotten that they tried to kill you? They wouldn¡¯t do the same if our positions were reversed.¡±

    I expected him to plead with me or simply accept my decision, so I was a bit shocked by what came out of his mouth.

    ¡°My mom said that you should never lower yourself to the level of those that hate you, and pinning all the blame on them would be doing just that. Things wouldn¡¯t be like this if we hadn¡¯t brought them here, they didn¡¯t just come here by random and attack us, we brought them here without knowing them and are responsible for that.¡±

    Something was off about what he was saying, but I waited to see where he was going with this.

    ¡°Since they didn¡¯t kill us and we didn¡¯t and don¡¯t want to kill them we have to part ways with them at their expense but not their rune. If they come after us again, then they don¡¯t deserve mercy.¡±

    ¡°Where did you learn that?¡±

    ¡°My mom said that¡¯s how I should deal with strangers I couldn¡¯t hide from.¡±

    Geisai gave me another strange look when he answered my question. Maybe he¡¯d never had a childhood, to begin with.

    ¡°What do you think we should do for supplies, then?¡±

    ¡°We can cut down the food around my home and take the things mom saved for the move.¡±

    How long would those things last us? Could things really be so easy? What will we do in the years to come? Those types of questions filled my mind, but given our options, we couldn¡¯t worry about anything but the immediate future.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll only take half of their supplies. And, we¡¯ll salvage a few necessities and take care of something important before we leave the village behind. Understand?¡±

    Geisai reluctantly nodded his head.

    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll take turns sleeping to make sure those two don¡¯t try anything. You¡¯ll take the first watch. Don¡¯t fall asleep and wake me up when the sky starts turning blue.¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for his reply and simply made my way to my pallet. Today had been a long day and I began to drift off almost immediately. Tomorrow was the beginning of m-our new life and I needed all the rest I could get.

 Chapter 16: The Long Goodbye

    [Year 344, The month of Flame, day 27]

    ¡°Do you see it?¡±

    ¡°I think s- ah, found it. Give me a bit of room and I¡¯ll send it up.¡±

    ¡°Hold on a second.¡±

    After I called down to Geisai I took a few steps back from the collapsed building. Before, it¡¯d been a two-story tall building with a store on the first floor and a small house on the second one, but the fire had brought the whole thing down. We¡¯d spent the last hour or so digging a tunnel through the charred wood and stone.

    Halfway down I realized that the two of us couldn¡¯t continue together, and Geisai¡¯s small frame meant that he could go deeper without widening the tunnel too much and risking it collapsing on his head.

    ¡°Alright, go for it Geisai!¡±

    A few seconds after I shouted a large rucksack came flying out of the passageway, straight for my head.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    I ducked my head just before the sack hit me and heard a dull slam as the rucksack hit the ground behind me. Not standing at the tunnel entrance had been the right call.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m tried to hold back, but I¡¯ve been having trouble with my strength ever since I woke up.¡±

    Geisai apologized to me as soon as he crawled out of the ruined building. His face and hair were covered in a mess of sweat, dirt, and soot. Moreover, his eyes had turned a dimmer shade of red than normal.

    The sack must have weighed thirty pounds at least, yet Geisai had been holding back when he tossed it out of the tunnel. Just want was he fully capable of? That was something I needed to look into, but there were more important things to worry about now.

    I stood up and dusted myself off. These were new clothes and I couldn¡¯t have them to falling apart at the seams in a matter of days. After making sure that the rucksack itself wasn¡¯t damaged, I undid the drawstrings.

    ¡°How did you know there was a hidden compartment down there, or that the sack would be there?¡±

    ¡°Huh. Ow, one my friends saw the town butcher hide things behind the counter when he thought no one was looking. So, one night we snuck in while he was away and took a look behind the counter. Back then, we didn¡¯t think what we found was all that interesting, but¡­¡±

    I never realized the value of the small white crystals that filled the rucksack until now. I¡¯d wanted to get it a few days ago but I wasn¡¯t sure I could have dug it out on my own.

    Geisai took few crystals and licked it off his fingers. It was kind of funny watching his face scrunch up for a second, like watching a cat flinch away from a bowl of lemon juice.

    ¡°Uh, salty¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, what did you rock salt would taste like? We¡¯ve wasted enough time here, there are a few more places to visit and I¡¯d like to leave before nightfall.¡±

    I pulled the drawstrings closed and struggled to lift the bag. The weight was lifted from my shoulders when Geisai easily hualed the sack up with one hand while carrying the rest of our things with his other one.

    ¡°So, where are we going next?¡±

    ¡°T-The schoolhouse. Follow me.¡±

    Overall, we¡¯d a productive day. With Geisai help, I managed to knockout Nonia and Adria before untying their bounds and since then, we¡¯ve been collecting what we¡¯ll need to start our new lives. Some of the things I wanted to get had either been destroyed or not where they should have been, but the items that had been in harder to reach or in hidden locations were relatively untouched by fire or other survivors.

    ¡°You know, my mom said that our village was the largest one in the region. She said that when I grow up it would have been a larger city than even the capital.¡±

    For some reason, I couldn¡¯t stop speaking about things that didn¡¯t matter anymore. Even as we walked through the remains of my home, things I¡¯d nearly forgotten about keep coming out of my mouth. Well, I¡¯d been talking at Geisai for days now, maybe I just found it easy to open up around him.

    ¡°I remember being really excited by that. The idea of having more places to explore and more secrets to find kept me up that night. I wanted to see it all, and couldn¡¯t wait for the builders to finish the new wall¡­ We¡¯re here.¡±

    I¡¯d been so wrapped up in the past that I nearly walked right past the school. The scorch marks covered the walls of the one-story stone building. Honestly, it would have been hard to pick the school out of its surrounded buildings had it not been for the small practice field full of worn training dummies sit up in the back.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    I opened the heavy door with a solid push and started making my way towards the smallest of the three rooms in the building.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s a school?¡±

    Geisai¡¯s simple question stopped me for a moment, as the full extent of his isolated life finally hit me. He may have been stronger than most adults, but he was practically clueless about how the world worked.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    That was an issue that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Only when we reached our destination, did I finally answer him

    ¡° Well, I heard some of the schools in major cities teaches people how to read, write, and do math; but parents or older siblings usually did that here. However, everybody has to come to school once their magic starts to manifest around twelve or so. In fact, that¡¯s the reason we¡¯re here.¡±

    I began to search the shelves as I explained my intentions.

    ¡°You see, next year I¡¯ll be twelve, and unless I have the right scrolls and items, my magic could be stuck in an unstable state for months or even years. Eventually, you¡¯re gonna go through the same thing too, so it¡¯s better we take what we¡¯ll need now rather than losing everything we own and have to risk coming back here.¡±

    ¡°I see, so I¡¯ll be able to do things like that invisible blade the strange lady used?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, it depends on what elemental affinities you have.¡±

    When my hand slide over a small leather-bound trunk, I knew I¡¯d found what I¡¯d been looking for. Taking it off the shelf and opening it up revealed a bag full of different colored crystals, worn out old scrolls with instructions written on them, and some metal medallions with weird symbols carved into them.

    I had a handful of months to figure out how it all worked hopefully that would be enough time.

    ¡°Alright, one more stop and then we can go. How about we take a break first? We don¡¯t want to tire ourselves out in a dangerous part of the forest.¡±

    Geisai thought it over for a while before nodding and sitting our things down.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    The sun hung high in the sky as we finally approached our last stop. I hadn¡¯t meant for lunch to take so long, but I got talking about people and other locations in the village, and before I knew it an hour had passed.

    Not wanting to overburden him, I took some of the lighter items off of Geisai shoulders and carried them myself. It may have slowed our speed a little, longevity was more important than speed.

    ¡°You never said what else we needed.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    "We have clothes, pelts, food, and items we¡¯ll need to make more of those things when we¡¯ll need them. If it''s about water, the cave isn¡¯t more than a day away from the lake, so what else is there left to do?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess you could say it¡¯s a personal reason. Once we take care of it, we¡¯ll head straight for the main gate. I promise.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    It was quiet for a while after that, as I ran out of topics I wanted to talk about and wanted to put off what needed to be done as much as I could. However, you could only drag your feet for so long, and eventually, we came upon the bloodsoaked square I¡¯d spent the last few days trying to block from my mind.

    The stench of rotting flesh and dried blood still dominated the air, the massive bodies scattered about the area probably being the main for that. However, it wasn¡¯t the heavily damaged buildings or even the bodies that kept me away. No, what kept me away was the memories of what I lost here.

    I never wanted to return here, but I couldn¡¯t live with myself if I didn¡¯t take care of this. Looking straight ahead, I took a step forward on shaky legs, but Geisai stopped dead in his track all of a sudden.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    When I turned back to him, I saw that the reds of Geisai¡¯s eyes had doubled sizes and he was grinding his teeth so hard it seemed like they would shatter. Something had set him off and whatever it was must have been dangerous for him to react like this.

    I tried to seek out whatever riled him up, but I couldn¡¯t find anything. Moreover, Geisai¡¯s line of sight remained focused straight ahead. It took me a second to realize what happened.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to come if you don¡¯t want to. I¡¯ll only me a few minutes. Yesterday, I ran into something called an undead. If my father¡¯s body isn¡¯t taken care of, he could turn into one of that thing, I can¡¯t leave his body sitting there.¡±

    This was a place where Geisai had been badly hurt. Just the memory of the event must have been traumatizing for him. I should have just left him back at the school instead of dragging him here.

    ¡°You¡¯re father? That person is your father?¡±

    Through clenched teeth, Geisai asked his questions as he pointed in the direction of my father¡¯s corpses.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s him. You may not remember, but he saved us. So saying him from becoming an undead is the least I can do.¡±

    Geisai eyes darted about for a minute or so, but eventually, the reds resided and he let out a sign.

    ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡±

    I turned away from Geisai and started walking towards my father. Every footstep seemed heavier than the last and my stomach started to fall has I drew near him. By the time I could see his empty eye sockets I felt like I was moments away from vomiting.

    It took everything I had to pull out the makeshift torch I made this morning and the flint and iron striker we¡¯d found.

    After a few tries but I managed to get a fire going, however, even though I knew what I had to do, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it. I stood there, burning torch in hand, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to lite my own father on fire.

    He gave his life to save me, taught me how to write, and read me bedtime stories. How could I just destroy his body like this?

    Just as my eyes became clouded with tears Geisai snatched the torch out of my hands and throw it onto my father.

    ¡°Nooo!!!!¡±

    I desperately tried to stop the flames from consuming my father, but Geisai¡¯s iron-like grip held me back. I begged and I cried, but Geisai wouldn¡¯t let go of me. I had to stand there and watch as my father was burnt to a crisp.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    I don¡¯t remember the immediate aftermath of what happened after that. All I know is that when I came to my hands and arms felt sore and my nails were chipped pretty badly. Whatever happened in between seeing my father off and now was blank in my memory and Geisai refused to talk about it.

    The silence between us was only broken when we neared the destroyed main gate. The rotten stench was so strong here that it became impossible to take a step forward without bile rising in my throat.

    ¡°We can stop now and try tomorrow if you want.¡±

    Geisai offered me his hand and a way out, but I shook my head at the offer.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t leave now, I¡¯ll never be able to do so later.¡±

    After wrapping thin rags around our faces, we ventured into the killing fields, the village¡¯s new expansion had become. Body parts in various states of decay littered the ground, and the mound of burnt ogre bodies was hard to miss.

    Halfway through, my stomach couldn¡¯t handle it any longer, and I wound up leaving my lunch behind me.

    Once we finally reached the cliff that overlooked village, I took one last look at the only home I¡¯d ever know. My village was a shell of what it once was, but I¡¯ll never forget what it had been for me.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

 Chapter 17: Final Hurdle

    The blue sky was slowly overtaken by orange hue as Aiyana and I traversed the path back to my old home. It¡¯d been a fun day all things considered. We¡¯d spent most of the morning exploring the village and collecting various items we¡¯d be needing in the future. I had fun learning about the ends and outs of the village from Aiyana, and she¡¯d been eager to tell me everything. But, when we reached the center of the village she changed.

    While the area had more dead bodies in it than any other place we visited, something about the place had scared her and I tried to find out what.

    Then I saw him.

    While his skin had taken on a light grey color and his hair was full of gunk, I remembered the man¡¯s angular face and his unique eyes. He and his followers had been the ones that brought the ogres here. They were the reason that mom had died!!

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Aiyana had tried to start up a conversation with me a few times now, but I¡¯ve been too distracted to answer her. While her skin was a shade lighter and she didn¡¯t have any light wrinkles, she and that man had the same eyes and cheekbones. If you saw them together, it would have been impossible not to see that they were related.

    It¡¯d been his fault, it just had to have been. A few weeks ago I heard him talking about ogres with his two partners a few weeks ago. If I¡¯d told mom that day or just brought it up at anyti¡­ No, No, he did it, he was to blame.

    He had to be.

    ¡°Seriously, what''s the matter? Do we need to stop and take a break?¡±

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡±

    ¡°Doing what?¡±

    ¡°Nevermind.¡±

    It had been bothering me for a while now, but she always seemed to know what I was thinking at any given time. Even though I never said anything, she just seemed know whenever something was bothering me. Honestly, it was a little scary.

    ¡°Anyway, once we¡¯re over that ridge up ahead our old house is just a little bit off the beaten path. We can camp out for there for the night and start collecting the food in the morning.¡±

    There was something else I needed to do, but I should be able to take care of that once we reach the house.

    ¡°Geisai, why did you burn my father¡¯s body?¡±

    I was afraid she would ask me that. Why did that guy have to be her father? Given how she reacted once his body had been dealt with, Aiyana must have cared for him. If I told her the truth she might lash out again or even leave for good.

    My feet stopped moving at the thought of that and it felt as if a stone, heavier than everything we had combined, fell into my stomach. I¡¯d just found her, I didn¡¯t want to lose her already.

    I could try to lie but she¡¯d just see through it like she does everything. No matter what I had to avoid doing anything that would make her leave.

    ¡°Geisai, answer me.¡±

    Aiyana dug her heels it at peak of the ridge and made it clear she wasn¡¯t moving another inch unless I could drag her along, but she¡¯d hate me if I tried to do that.

    ¡°I-It looked like you were having a hard time of it. You kept saying that it was something that we needed to take care of before we left the village, yet you just stood there. When the torch was half burnt away, I-I realized that you couldn¡¯t do what had to be done so I did it for you.¡±

    ¡°Is that¡­ Is that true?¡±

    I could only nod my when she asked me that question, the fear of the other reason coming out locking my mouth shut. If lying and the truth were out of the question, the only thing left was a half-truth. Afterall, nothing I said had been false, I just left out a few things.

    For a while, Aiyana said nothing as she gave me a hard stare. The silence had become heavier than it had been before, a gentle breeze drew my attention to just how much sweat covered my back as I waited for her to do something, anything.

    ¡°...Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Aiyana¡¯s voice was so quiet I could barely hear what she said.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m the older one, I should be doing the harder things, yet every time things get difficult you have to take care of it.¡±

    For a moment Aiyana looked softer than she normally was, but it was only for a moment and she was back to normal after a quick shake of her head. She must have been really bothered by it the differences between if she revealed her vulnerable side so easily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. My mom say- said that everyone has things they¡¯re good at and things they¡¯re bad at. I can lift heavy things and carry a lot of stuff, but I had no idea what half the stuff we needed was until you told me about them. In fact, I wouldn¡¯t have even known how to find them if it weren¡¯t for your guidance.¡±

    While bringing up mom caused a deep aching in my chest it was worth it if what I said made Aiyana feel better.

    ¡°R-Right. We¡¯ve wasted enough time here, I want I don¡¯t want to be out here when the sun sets.¡±

    Without another word, Aiyana started moving again. For now, it seemed she was satisfied with my responses, but I¡¯d better avoid mentioning that man as much as possible.

    ¡°By the way, why are you so strong anyway? I mean it''s not a bad thing, it''s just a little wield to see you do what you can do.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. For as long as I can remember, I¡¯ve always been strong. My mom used to say that she was afraid I would never walk because I didn¡¯t stand on my own until I was four, but my earliest memory was of her teaching me how to left rotten eggs without breaking them.¡±

    I wish I had more to say but all I had to go on was what my mom used to say about my body. The first time I managed to move all the eggs from one basket into was really fun because mom made beef stew that night and because it meant I wouldn¡¯t have to spend the day washing off rotten egg yolk.

    My skin began to itch for some reason, and when I looked up I saw Aiyana was openly staring at my face.

    ¡°So they do that when you¡¯re happy.¡±

    ¡°What does what?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. So which way are we going now?¡±

    There was something she was hiding but it didn¡¯t seem to matter.

    ¡°Follow me. Once w?¡°

    ¡°Geisai, why¡¯d yo? ah.¡±

    I grabbed a hold of Aiyana and ran into a denser section of the forest. However, we were still too visible so I dumped everything into the bush and dragged Aiyana behind the largest tree I could find.

    ¡°Geisai, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Sheesh. Listen.¡±

    While a bit reluctant, Aiyana closed her eyes and took in her surroundings. As concentrated I started to pick up the sound of footsteps and foliage parting. There were at least three of them and they were heading in the direction we''d just been heading.

    ¡°... certain that it was the Darh¡¯ki?¡±

    So they were people then, probably other survivors, but what were they doing out here. Unless¡­

    ¡°He could have been such a nice boy, too bad he turned out to be a monster. My Reina can¡¯t be associated with someone that doesn¡¯t even know how to treat a lady.¡±

    ¡°Haah¡­ Enough, Selina. Jericho, I may be old but I know Darh¡¯ki when I see one. The pair said they were heading towards the shack, has there been any strange movement around the area since we¡¯ve been gone?¡±

    So two of the three were the ones we left back in the village and the other person was one of their companions. It seems like they managed to catch up to us.

    ¡°The children haven¡¯t seen anything, and the others have been scouring the forest for other food staches. We thought something happened when you two didn¡¯t show up yesterday, so we were trying to secure resources before we went searching.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, but we need to tighten our patrol. That Darh¡¯ki is different from the normal kind and it''s going to take everything we have to deal with it once it reveals itself. Hav... ¡°

    Their voices began to fade into the distance, yet neither Aiyana or moved for a couple of minutes. Only after I could no longer hear their footsteps did pull myself away from the tree we hid behind.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have spent so long gathering supplies. Not only have those two caught up with us, they managed to warn their allies that we were coming.¡±

    Aiyana¡¯s expression had turned dark after she said that. She must have felt guilty about that, but it wasn¡¯t her fault.

    ¡°Geisai, do you know anything about hunting?¡±

    ¡°A little, but not enough to do it correctly.¡±

    While I¡¯d seen mom set up traps and kill the animals that wandered too close to our home, I don¡¯t think I ever saw her do much beyond that.

    ¡°Without that food, we won¡¯t last that long.¡±

    Aiyana began pacing back and forth while muttering to herself.

    ¡°Aiyana, I know where the food staches are, it doesn¡¯t seem that they¡¯ve found all of them yet.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t trust that. As far as we know, they could have found all of the staches and haven¡¯t realized it. How long will it take to reach the cave from here?¡±

    ¡°A day in a half if we keep traveling through the night.¡±

    Aiyana thought it over for a bit longer before she spoke up again.

    ¡°Geisai, we¡¯re gonna need that food, even if it only last us long enough to learn how to acquire more of it on our own. While I¡¯m sure that those people haven¡¯t done anything wrong, that food is rightfully yours to begin with.¡±

    What she was saying made sense so I nodded my head and waited for her to continue.

    ¡°So, this is what we¡¯re gonna do. We¡¯ll drop everything off at the cave and then rest for a day. That way we¡¯ll be well rested and they¡¯ll be on edge from waiting for us to show up when we sneak back here. We¡¯re not gonna take all of it but we''re gonna get our fair share of the food.¡±

    ¡°How are we gonna do that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m working on the how right now, and I¡¯ll have an answer in a few days, but we have our goal set.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t a lot to go off of, but I just have to trust her.

    ¡°Alright. Follow me. It¡¯s a bit of a winding path to reach the cave so stay close behind me.¡±

    There was a slight pain in my palms as I hardened my resolve. If anything happens I¡¯ll take care of it. No matter what I wouldn¡¯t run away.

    Never again.

 Chapter 18: The Price of Survival is Suffering

    [Year 344, The month of Embers, day 1]

    Under the rays of the full moon, Aiyana and I scouted my former home from atop a tree quite a few yards away. Aiyana had traded her sky blue outfit for a dark blue blouse and black pants while I was wearing a dark green overshrit. While they were a little big on her they made it easier for her to blend into the background.

    ¡°There are more of them than I thought there were.¡±

    Aiyana¡¯s comment directed my gaze towards the bonfire set up outside of the house. While couldn¡¯t make out their faces, I could see that there were four adults hanging around the fire, eating and talking to one another, their weapons easily within reach. Four more adults were standing guard around the area, each one holding a spear and wooden round shield. Then there were the children. A couple of them must have been sleeping in my old home, given that most of the furniture had been taken out of the house, but five of kids were sleeping outside in makeshift pallets.

    There must have been eighteen people down there at least. We only expected half of that number at most, but we clearly underestimated other people¡¯s survivability.

    ¡°Should we not do this then? If some of the older kids get involved we may not be able to get away.¡±

    Aiyana considered what I said for a moment before shaking her head and pointed something out, ¡°Look.¡±

    She pointed toward the location where one of the guards was keeping watch. Several of mom¡¯s food staches had been strung over the tree closest to the house. There were also a few slabs of cured meat wrapped in stitched together leather bags.

    ¡°Is that all of them?¡±

    ¡°No, but its most of them. I think only the ones mom placed furtherest away from our home are left.¡±

    I¡¯m surprised that they not only managed to find so many of them, but they also managed to go through them so quickly. Mom had hidden enough food to last us a through winter if we couldn¡¯t find a new home, yet most of it was gone.

    ¡°Haah¡­ I guess enough for two people doesn¡¯t go far for a dozen people.¡±

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re clearly capable of hunting and with a couple more trips back to the village they should have all they need to start baking or they could have the kids forage¡­ Come on, let''s get started.¡±

    Aiyana began to climb down the tree after that, and while I did follow after her something bothered me. What she said made sense, but there was this strange hitch in her voice as she said it. Maybe there was something I was missing?

    ¡°Hey, if bakings an option, why don¡¯t we do that too?¡±

    When we were halfway down, I asked Aiyana about the only flaw that I could think of. Yet, her tone remained normal when she answered me so that probably wasn¡¯t the thing that worried her.

    ¡°Baking is a skill that requires time and the right items to do properly. I¡¯ve never even done it before and we¡¯d only be wasting food if we tried it. There are a lot of adults in that groups so one of them must be capable.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡±

    Once we reached the base of the tree, we collected the items each of us would be needing. I tied my bag full of stones to my waist and readied the leather sling Aiyana had made for me, while she put on the looped belt and examined her dagger before sheathing it on her waist.

    ¡°Remember the plan?¡±

    ¡°Yea.¡±

    I would be the distraction, drawing away or incapacitating as many of them as I could. Ariane would use the opportunity to sneak up to the camp and cut down the staches as we needed. Since I was the fastest and strongest I stood the better chance of not getting caught, but that meant she had to tie the staches to herself and drag them to the main path. Once she was safe, she would give the signaland I would lose the guards in the deeper parts of the forest and meet back up with her.

    It was a good plan, but their numbers still worried me a bit. There was a chance that some of the guards would stay behind when I revealed myself, while Aiyana was smart it didn¡¯t seem like she could fight off multiple people at once.

    ¡°When you¡¯re ready, count to twenty and then gather their attention, then keep an ear out for my signal¡­ We can do this.¡±

    After that final bit of instruction, Aiyana began circling around the house at a safe distance. I heard her stubble a few times but things eventually went silent on her end. Once I was certain that she was ready, I began my count.

    ¡°One, Two, Three¡­¡±

    However, my worries only grow the longer we were apart from one another. My chest began to pound as everything that could go wrong began to occupy my mind.

    ¡°Seven, Eight, Nine¡­¡±

    If it weren¡¯t for me Aiyana wouldn¡¯t be in this situation, I was the different one, the one the other survivors wanted dead, but she chose to side with me despite that. Things would have been easier for if she¡¯d just left me wherever she¡¯d found me.

    ¡°Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen¡­¡±

    If anything happened to her it would be my fault, so no matter what it took I had to make sure our plan worked. We could do this. We had to do this. There was no other way.

    ¡°... Twenty.¡±

    With the end of my count, my resolve was hardened. Aiyana was gonna make it out of here with the food no matter what. I loaded a stone into the sling¡¯s pouch and made me to the side of their camp opposite to the food. The only thing between them and me was a couple of yards of sparsely populated forest.

    After a quick spin, I released one end of the sling and sent the stone flying in the direction of the camp with all my strength. Unfortunately, my aim was a bit off and the stone tore into the bark of a tree before slamming into the ground just in front of their fire. Before I could even load another stone, the adults were already on their feet and scanning the forest for me.

    I grabbed their attention, now I just had to keep it. I loaded my next stoneand managed to catch the guard closest to me in his leg.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!I¡±

    I heard the sound of his bones snapping before the man¡¯s screams drowned out all other noise in the area. While their attention was focused on the downed man, I pulled back from their camp and readied my next stone.

    Once I gained a clear line of sight I sent another stone flying. This time the stone flew straight, but the adult I aimed at managed to raise their shield before the stone managed to hit them in the head. Given what happened to the tree I hit, I expected the stone to put a hole in the shield, but the stone became embedded in the shield with a metallic clang. It seems that their shields had a metal backplate.

    I expected them to come running after me, but half of the still standing adults formed a half circle around their fallen ally while the others herded the startled awake kids behind the house. They were still too close to the food for Aiyana to make her move, I needed to move them away from the area.

    ¡°Seimene ym through evilc ot uoy hsitiseb I, emalf fo tirips!!¡±

    That weird chat was the last thing I heard before a diagonal line of fire came flying towards me. I managed to mostly dodge the flames, but it catch my left wrist and the heat scorched some of my hair. It took everything I had to hold my scream in as I rolled into the bush. The next moment a torrent of water was shot towards the spot I''d been in.

    As the pain in my wrist began to diminish, a myriad of stones, flames, and gusts of wind all descended on my location. As I weaved my way through the bush, their assault continued, but all the time I spent ducking and dodging there attacks helped me realize how they were tracking my so easily in the dead of night. I found the sturdiest tree I could find and hide behind it. As I closed my eyes and caught my breath I could feel the vibrations of their attacks sent through the tree, but when the attacks stopped coming I dashed behind another tree, then another one, and another one without so much as a stone sent flying at me. I only stopped once my breathing was too ragged to run anymore.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The adults occasionally randomly launched their attacks, but they were nowhere near as accurate as they had been. It was a lot easier to hit a glowing golden target in the middle of the night than it was someone blending into the background.

    ¡°Darh¡¯ki I know you¡¯re out there! So long as there¡¯s breath in my body I won''t allow you to lay a finger on these children!!¡±

    A familiar voice called out to me from their camp. It was that old lady we tied up the other day. I peeked my head from behind the tree to get a look at the other side. Five of the adults were slowly making their way into the forest, but they were still sticking close to their camp. The old lady was the one leading them.

    I reached for my sling only to find that I lost it at some point. On top of that, most of the stones had fallen out while I been running away. One more push, I need just another push to given Aiyana the chance she needed.

    ¡°Nonia!! That¡¯s my house. My mother and I lived there for as long as I could remember! Everything there belonged to my mother, and it now belongs to me. I don¡¯t care what you do but you can¡¯t do it here!!¡±

    A fireball slammed into the tree next to the one I hid behind. In that moment, I bent the smallest finger on my left hand back and let out a scream.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!!¡±

    First came the pain, but the glow from before followed behind it. I tried to calm my breathing as I listened to their footsteps. They were still cautious in their approach, not rushing in for the kill like I expected them to. Nonia definitely told them about my healing and strength, so they must have been trying slowly wear me do before attempting a killing blow. However, they didn¡¯t attack me with an elemental assault like before. Maybe they were the ones being worn down?

    Aiyana hadn¡¯t given the signal yet so I still needed to keep them away from the food. I grabbed a handful of stones and dashed out in front of the adults. While I caught them off guard, most of the stones were deflected by their raised shields when I throw them. Before I could do anything else, a sharp pain in my leg took up my attention. It felt as if a pillar of fire had been shot directly into my leg, bring me crashing to the ground before I could escape behind another tree.

    ¡°Whaaaa! Huah huah¡±

    When I looked down, I saw that the spearhead had embedded itself into my right leg. I couldn¡¯t afford to stop here, I could already hear them approaching me. I grabbed hold of the spear shaft and pulled it out.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    Taking it out hurt even more than it did going in. The glow had started up again and the pain was starting to disappear, but I couldn¡¯t get away from them anymore. I rose to my feet and used the spear to hold myself up.

    When they stopped a few feet in front of me, I was able to get a good look at the adults that I¡¯d been fighting. They were looked tired and old, older than mom had been. While Nonia hate for me bleed through her expression, she and the four people she brought with her looked worse off than I did.

    One of the men was sweating badly and blood was still visible on the bandages that covered their left eye, while he didn¡¯t look as angry Nonia he was determined to see this through. The oldest looking of the group was missing an arm was heavily scarred across his face, he must have been one of the ones that had been sitting around the fire, instead of one of the guards I saw. The other woman had a poor complexion and looked like she hadn¡¯t slept for a couple of days, her trembling keep her shield and spear moving even though she stood still. The last man looked the healthiest and youngest out of the lot, but even he had two boards splitting his bandaged leg. He was also missing his spear so I must have been leaning on his now.

    These were the people I¡¯d been fighting¡­ them? From a distance, they seemed a lot more imposing.

    We stood there in total silence, waiting for someone, anyone to make the next move. The glow eventually faded, but I didn¡¯t want to put any weight on my legs just yet. I didn¡¯t know how long we would have stayed like that had a sharp whistle not cut through the night.

    That was the signal, Aiyana managed to do her part, somehow. There should have been two healthy adults, one injured adult, and a group of kids back there, yet she¡¯d managed to get the food from them. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted her.

    ¡°Whaaa!!!¡±

    I¡¯d forgotten for a moment that this old people were trying to kill me. The trembling women took the opening Aiyana¡¯s signal had created to stabbing me in the stomach with her spear. While the others seemed taken back by her actions, once the glow returned all worry about me vanished from their eyes. The man with the bandaged leg, having taking Nonia¡¯s spear, and the one with the missing eye joined the trembling woman and began stabbing me repeatedly. Legs, arms, chest, face the pain in one part of my body didn¡¯t have time to diminish before new pain erupted in another part of my body.

    ¡°Ahhhhhh! Gaugh.¡±

    ¡°Keep it pinned down, don¡¯t let it get away!! Suoirolg rour touba gnird, htreah eht dna snus eth sdnammoc how ey, regnirdemalf lanrete, siralf nopu llac I... ¡°

    Nonia urged the others to keep up their attacks before she began chanting something. The faint orange glow around her body screamed danger to me, but the three stopped me from doing anything about it. They weren¡¯t doing any lasting damage, but they had me surrounded. If I didn¡¯t hurry Aiyana might come looking for me and be dragged into this fight.

    ¡°Stoopppppp!!!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t allow this to continue. I kicked out and managed to catch the man''s uninjured leg, causing him to collapse on the ground. Though the other two tried to cover him, I bought the shaft of my spear down his head with all of my might. While it did cause the spear to snap in two, the man went down and stayed down.

    With the broken spear in hand, I blocked the other two¡¯s attacks as best as I could and waited for another opening. I didn¡¯t have to wait long because the trembling woman began to slow down almost immediately. She didn¡¯t have the physical cability to keep up anymore, when she pulled back for another stab I tackled her to the ground. When I heard the breath escape from her lungs I knew that she wouldn¡¯t be getting up anytime soon. Now I just needed to get aw?

    I lost the time in between me standing up after tackling the woman and my back colliding with a tree, but I didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it as the previous one-armed man came swinging at me with a stone fist.

    He kept me pinned to the tree with a series of heavy blows, at one point I lost sight in one of my eyes but the wet feeling of blood leaking from my mouth remained constent. With my remaining eye, I noticed some of the stones that made up his arm were starting to fall off and he was starting to struggle just like the trembling women had. I just have to hold out a bit longer and wait for my chance.

    ¡°Dlrow siht dekciw eth egrup.¡± However, I never got that chance because the man ducked away when he heard Nonia complete her chant.

    A melon sized blue ball was heading towards me, but my legs were still too unstable to dodge it. If I couldn¡¯t dodge it I just had to throw it off course. The moment the ball was it range I tried to swat it away with the back of my hand, and immediately came to regret that decision. The blue ball exploded on the back of my hand and I experienced the worst pain I ever hand in my life.

    ¡°IAIAIAIAIA¡± The screams couldn¡¯t even leave my throat as a flailed around in agony. I began banging my head against the ground because that felt less painful than chilling sensation thar was running up my arm. Gold and red clouded my vision as tears streamed down my eyes. Every part of me wanted the torment to end, but it seemed like it never would. Dying would have been a preferable to this.

    After what seemed like an eternity, my senses returned to me. There was a wet spot in my pants now, the taste of my blood filled my mouth, and the tip of my tongue was shorter than it had been before. My right side was so tender, that even a gentle breeze sent new waves of pain through my body. Most of my shirt had been burnt away and the right side of my head felt colder for some reason.

    ¡°How? How is he still alive?¡±

    ¡°Is that thing even a Darh¡¯ki?¡±

    I paid the voices no mind as my eye wandered over my right arm. With the shirt no longer there, I got a clear view. The edges the wound were pitch black, makign it seem like a canyon had form in the remains of my arm. The glow was almost invisible now, but small strands of muscles and skin were struggling to fill in the cavity the fire had left. I could still feel anything below my elbow, I image I would still be fling on the ground.

    I just wanted to sleep now, this had gone on for far too long and I just wanted it to end. My eyes began to close as I waited for the darkness to take me, but then I heard it. From a distance I could make out another sharp whistle, Aiyana was still waiting for me. I couldn¡¯t just leave her there waiting for me, we were so close, I just needed to reach her. Using my left hand as support, I got to my knees and eventually managed to stand up.

    The heat had been so instance that the surrounding trees had been chard black and some of dirt aroud me had turned into red clumps along the ground. The only ones left standing were the one-eyed man and me. Nonia and the one-armed man were laying on the ground with disbelief on their faces. They really expected that blue fire ball to kill me, or maybe I looked as terrible as I felt.

    I couldn¡¯t find the broken spear from before, so I stubbed my way towards the trembling woman¡¯s body. The one-eyed man gripped his spear with one hand and came running at me. I couldn''t dodge even if I tried, so when I fell to one knee I punched forward with my left hand, the blow landing right between his legs. I didn''t see it, but I heard him fall to the ground. He didn¡¯t get back up.

    I picked up his dropped spear and dragged myself over to the one-armed man. He struggled to get to his feet for a bit but stopped when I stood over him. He actually smiled at me before he shut his eyes and waited for what came next. I rose the spear and slapped him across the face with the flat side of the spearhead. He was done without much issue.

    Almost done.

    I almost blacked out on my over to Nonia, walking seeming more difficult than it should have been, but I stayed on my feet. Even with all of her allies down and her inability to run from a wounded boy she still looked like she would fight till the bitter end if she had to. I should have hated her for what she did, but I just didn¡¯t have it in me. I raised the spear again and repeated what I had done with the previous man. But, I wasn¡¯t done just yet. She¡¯d overheard Aiyana and I talking about our plans. She might come after us once she recovered. I couldn¡¯t go through this again. Not now anyway. Using the spear as a support I left my left leg and brought it down on her right knee. She jerked around for a bit before settling back down.

    I heard Aiyana¡¯s whistle for the third time. Just one more thing. Wait a bit longer Aiyana, I¡¯ll join you in a little bit. I didn¡¯t look back at the people behind me as I began making my way towards my former home.

 Chapter 19: What Do You Choose?

    My feet dragged along the ground as I neared the edge of my former home. My vision started to blur a while ago, the surroundings blending into one another one moment and clear the next. It was getting harder to stay upright as my right side was holding me back. I tried to move my hand at some point, but nothing came of it, so my arm just hung there, a dead weight that only slowed me down.

    With every step, I drew closer and closer to the house, but I wasn¡¯t really thinking about that anymore. Despite the pain in my right side and my damaged eyes, only one thing was on my mind. Straight ahead of me, constantly out of reach she stood there, urging me forward. She looked really pretty, she was always pretty, but the bags under her eyes were gone and she was wearing a fancy white dress I never saw her in before. Even though she wasn¡¯t walking I could never reach her. I wanted to run up to her but I couldn¡¯t even walk without the spear in my left hand much less chase after her.

    ¡°Geisai, that¡¯s it come to me, come to mommy.¡±

    All of a sudden I was back inside my home, struggling to reach mom, who was kneeling on the opposite side of the room. I didn¡¯t even know what she was called back then, but I did know she was a source of warmth in the cold drafty house and if I could reach her I would be warm too. There was a constant ache in my legs, but that had been there for so long I¡¯d become used to it. With my all of the strength my little legs could muster I attempted to stand up only to fall down immediately.

    ¡°Come to mommy, please come to mommy.¡±

    At the time I didn¡¯t notice the desperation in her voice back then, the only thing I cared about was being warm. I tried to stand up again, however, my legs were still unstable. Lucky when I started to fall I managed to catch myself on the wall. It was a weird experience for me to be standing, but after a while, the moment discovery passed and I began to inch my way towards mom. Mom urged me forward with every step and, while I did stumble over my own feet a few times, I eventually managed to reach her. With a final push, I managed to reach her open arms. Her warmth and orange glow were so welcome that it was impossible not to let her embrace me.

    ¡°Auch!!¡±

    I came back to my senses when I stepped on a flaming log with my right foot. I jerked my foot away and clumsily backed away from the campfire. When I checked the bottom of my foot, I saw it had already begun to swell up. Just like my arm, it wasn¡¯t healing like it normally did. Maybe something was wrong with me? Probably had something to do with that blue ball Nonia had thrown at me.

    I cautiously set my foot down and took a look around the camp. The first thing I noticed were the three adults laying on the ground. One of them was an old man beside a fallen boar right where the food had been hung up. A couple of the leather bags had been cut down and the old man was missing his shield. The other man laid close to the house and was the one I managed to hit with my sling when I first came here. A purple bruise had started to form on his broken leg and the way his body was sprawled along the ground made it seem like he''d been trying to get away from something and was attacked from behind. Finally, there was the woman that had been traveling with Nonia, she was in between the man with the broken leg and the guard by the food, and out of all of them, she looked the worst. There were shallow cuts all along her face, a large bump on her forehead, and the midsection of her dress had wet brown lines running through it.

    When I took a closer look at the camp, I notice that the trees around the food had deep cuts in them and some of the bushes in the area had been cut in a weird manner. The house¡¯s door was still shut but the floorboards were creaking. All of this together explained what happened to the other kids and why other adults didn¡¯t join the others when things started to get loud on in the forest.

    Aiyana had managed to do what she set out to do. She wasn¡¯t just smart she was capable too. Either way, there was only one thing left to take care of now. Mom suddenly appeared again, right in front of the place I needed to go. I didn¡¯t even notice that my feet had begun moving again, taking me closer to my goal and my mother.

    ¡°Geisai, you need to do better than this.¡±

    Mom was stood over my shoulder as I tried to write down the strange symbols she had been teaching me without breaking the reed pen. I¡¯d already broken the previous three and the work I managed to do wasn¡¯t acceptable. I usually liked it when mom taught me things, but this writing just seemed boring and unimportant compared to things like animal skinning and knot tying. My hand trembled a little as I brought the freshly dipped reed to the piece of parchment. However, my first couple of strokes ended up tearing the parchment and I accidentally snapped the pen when I pulled my hand away from it.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± My voice came out softer than normal as I hung my head after another accident. No matter how many lessons I had I always lost control of my strength when I was nerves. We didn¡¯t have much, to begin with, yet I kept breaking things.

    ¡°Haah, it¡¯s okay Geisai. When I go back to the village I¡¯ll pick up some more. You don¡¯t have to cry.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t noticed the tears running down my cheeks until she brought it, but I couldn¡¯t stop them even as I wiped them away as fast as I could.

    ¡°Why do I have to do this?!¡± I could hear how high my voice had become when I shouted at mom. It wasn¡¯t her fault that writing was difficult for me, but she was the only one I could direct my frustration at. However, she didn¡¯t shout back at me, instead, she hugged me and tried to comfort me in her own way.

    ¡°Geisai, I¡¯ll love and support you no matter what, however, I won¡¯t always be here for you. I want you to have more than what I can give you, but because of what you are others will try to stop you from achieving anything.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    She paused for a moment and drew away from me. I could see myself reflected in her green eyes, and I also do something else in her eyes, but I didn¡¯t know what it was. After a moment, mom finally opened her mouth again.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to try twice as hard as anybody else just to get half as far. I know it''s not fair, honey, but fairness is a rare commodity in this world. That¡¯s why I want you to have as many advantages as I can provide you.¡±

    ¡°Why should I even do anything if things are gonna be that hard for me?¡±

    The smile she gave me when I asked her that question seemed a little sad. ¡°Honey, you¡¯ll understand when you¡¯re older. Now, I¡¯ll put this stuff away and get started on dinner. Why don¡¯t you review the copies I made, they should be in the top dresser drawer.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    I stood up and ran to the dresser, only for something to hit me in the back of the head, making me fall down just in front of it. When I looked up, I saw a boy around Aiyana¡¯s age standing over me with a tree branch. His hands were shaking and he looked more scared than anything else. I could see the house door had been opened and a couple sets of eyes were looking at me from behind it. I probably would have noticed him if my mind hadn¡¯t been focused on my mom, who¡¯d disappeared again.

    The boy rose the branch and prepared to hit me again. I turned on my back and lifted the spear shift in between his legs as hard as I could. The boy dropped the branch and fell to his knees, holding his private parts with his hands. That hit slowed him down but he could still get up from that.

    I needed to get away before the boy recovered or the others realized they could attack me all at once and win. Turning over again and getting to my knees ¡°bawah¡±... it was a bit too much for me and I throw up everything in my stomach. Everything hurt but what I was after was right in reach, I lifted my hand from the spear and opened the bottom drawer. The jewelry box was still there and I opened it to find mom¡¯s bracelet, the green stones gave off a low gleam under the light of the campfire. When I saw the furniture had been moved out of the house I was afraid someone would have taken it.

    Aiyana had her broken dagger so I should at least get this one thing, right? I grabbed the bracelet and placed it my mouth, allowing me to grab the spear and get to my feet once more. The boy was still holding his privates and when I looked toward the house the door was slammed shut by the people inside. I wished things didn¡¯t have to be this way, but the world can be a cruel place after all.

    I began walking away from the only home I ever knew for the last time.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    Mom had appeared again at some point, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore. She was in the direction I needed to go in so I just had to follow after her. As long as I was with her everything would be alright. No matter what happened she always seemed capable of handling it.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay baby, everything''s gonna be okay.¡±

    It¡¯d been a year or so since I¡¯d learned to walk, and mom had planned to take to on my first trip outside. However, a large thunderstorm was raging and nearby lightning strikes had me crying in mom¡¯s arms. Every beat of thunder sent a shiver through my spine and caused me to squeeze my eyes shut tighter.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, mommy doesn¡¯t like the rain either. As long as we¡¯re together nothing''s gonna hurt us.¡±

    Mom tried to comfort me for but I sunk deeper into her arms as another lightning bolt struck somewhere nearby.

    ¡°Geisai¡­¡±

    It was safest here. Like she said nothing would hurt me as long as I stayed with wrapped in mom¡¯s arms. As she began to hum me a lullaby, the thunder outside lost my attention. Only her warmth of her body and the lull of her voiced mattered.

    ¡°Geisai...¡±

    Nothing else mattered, I just had to stay here. Just stay in this nice warm place.

    ¡°GEISAI!¡±

    A voice shouting my name like a beat of thunder snapped me out of my dream. I¡¯d fallen to my knees a short distance away from the meeting place with Aiyana. Mom¡¯s bracelet lied just in front of me and I let go of the spear in order to grab it, however, I struggled to even lift my arm anymore.

    ¡°Geisai!! Geisai!!! Geisai, answer me!¡±

    The voice from before was getting closer. I turned my head to the right and saw Aiyana was running towards me as fast as she could. She was carrying the missing round shield and had a couple food bags dragging along the ground behind her. As she came closer I noticed her bottom lip was split, one of her eyes was swollen shut, and there were shallow cuts on her arms and legs.

    ¡°Humhamumum Humhamumun.¡±

    My head snapped forward when I heard the humming again. Mom stood there in the distance, her eyes looking down at me as if she were waiting for me to do something. I wanted to call out to her but my voice wouldn¡¯t come out. All I could do was lift my left hand higher. If I could just reach her, I knew my arm, my foot, and my eyes wouldn¡¯t matter anymore. The people that had hurt me wouldn¡¯t matter, nothing else would matter ever again.

    Mom began to draw closer as my eyes became heavier and heavier, after spending the whole night at a distance she was finally coming to get me. However, Aiyana reached me first.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. Please, Please don¡¯t die...¡±

    I could hear her crying as Aiyana hugged me. However, mom stood over us now, her hand outstretched and waiting for me. Her fingertips were just out of reach, just a little more and I would be with mom again. One more, just one more push is all I needed. But, Aiyana suddenly drew me deeper into her embrace, putting all the more distance between me and my mother. We were so close, yet so far away.

    Aiyana¡¯s warmth didn¡¯t come close to mom¡¯s and she was a bit awkward as she rocked me back and forth in her arms. I strained my arm to reach mom, but the next words Aiyana spoke caused me to pause.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t leave me alone.¡±

    It was barely a whisper but I heard her plea. My arm fell to the ground, just before I could grab mom¡¯s hand. I knew that if I took her hand I wouldn¡¯t just be leaving the fear and pain behind, I would be abandoning Aiyana with them. If I took mom¡¯s hand I would be running away from the things I still had. With what little strength I had left, reached deep inside myself and pulled out what little I had left. It wasn¡¯t a lot but it was enough, a flash of gold momentary blanketed the area. When it passed mom was no longer there and the dark finally took me, yet one thought managed to cross my mind before everything went dark.

    In this cruel world, I wouldn¡¯t abandon those that cared for me.

    Never Again.

 Volume 1 Epilogue

    [Year 344, The month of Embers, day 7]

    A sudden rustling woke me and it took a moment to adjust to the lack of light as I sat up. Even though I spent most of yesterday sleeping my shoulders and face still felt pretty sore. Nevertheless, I rose to my feet and stretched my hands over my head, the low ceiling remaining just out of reach.

    Once I was fully awake and could see I took a look at Geisai. It had been his restless sleeping that had awoken me. While he looked better than he had been a few days ago, he still didn¡¯t look good. The cavity in his right arm, although a bit more filled in was still there. Almost all of his hair was burnt away, the pupil of his right eye was crusted over with a scab that made it impossible for it yo shut, and his body was covered in other bruises and burns of various shapes and colors.

    Any other person could have died from all of that damage, but Geisai didn¡¯t. A faint glow had appeared around his body shortly after I carried him back to the cave and it hadn¡¯t gone out yet. Slowly but surely, the light was healing his body, even the scab over his eye was starting to peel off. As long as the light continued to work he should make a full recovery.

    However, knowing that didn¡¯t do anything to ease the pain in my stomach. It¡¯d been my plan that had caused him to end up like this. Even though Geisai had been worried about the numbers, I pressed on with it anyway. If I hadn¡¯t rushed things maybe we could have come up with a less risky plan, but I hadn¡¯t done that when the chance was right in front of me.

    I shook my head and tried to put those things aside, at least for now. My mother said that mistakes are meant to be learned from, not dwelled upon. Next time, I''d think things through a bit more. In any case, there was a lot of things I needed to prepare before Geisai got better. No one else was gonna look after us anymore and we each needed to do our part to make this work.

    Just a casual look at Geisai made it clear that he¡¯d done more this his fair share of the work already, so now it was my turn. I strapped on my dagger, grabbed one of the leather canteens we found back in the village, and picked up the spear Geisai had with him when I found him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a little bit. Stay safe.¡±

    I left the cave after checking on Geisai one last time, but I ended up stumbling over something. The creature was less than half my height and had greenish-brown skin. It was missing a few of its razor-sharp teeth and had its throat slashed open, along with a couple other stab wounds across its unhealthy thin body.

    ¡°I really should get rid of this thing.¡±

    I used the spear to nudge the body towards the large rock Geisai had to move away from the cave entrance when we first got here. The thing had been a hassle to deal with, but at least the blood and urine semi-circle I made from it should keep away other pests, at least for a while anyway. Once Geisai wakes up we would have to find some more large rocks and make a barrier around the entrance.

    Anyway, I¡¯d better hurry. The edge of lake Talsom was a few hours away from here, if I hurried I could be back before noon.

    <hr>

    [Year 344, The month of Embers, day 10]

    Seventeen days after Sinedo was decimated by a horde of ogres a nobleman¡¯s caravan arrived at what remained of the village. After a quick investigation revealed what had occurred, the nobleman order his men to search the surrounded area for survivors and to gathering the dead for an impromptu funeral service.

    Three days after his arrival the nobleman¡¯s soldiers returned to camp with word of a large group of survivors in dire need of medical treatment and food. After dispatching a unit of soldiers and a few field medics to recover the survivors the nobleman waited with bated breath for their return.

    ¡°My lord, perhaps you rest for a while.¡±

    The nobleman glanced down at his personal caretaker. She was a rather slim woman in a light blue summer dress. Although her high cheekbones and shoulder-length platinum blonde hair gave her a rather striking appearance, she carried a kindness in her mint green eyes that few could ever match.

    While her lord stood at an impressive six feet, his clothes, whose style and quality was reflective of his status, hung off his frame as if they¡¯d been made for a larger man. The lord¡¯s as pale as a sheet and the deep bags under his dark green eyes also contributed to his gangly appearance. He looked as if he were a man ready to join his ancestries in the Great Beyond, however, his current form was actually an improvement over how he¡¯d been previously.

    Several years ago, his worried parents had hired his caretaker to nurse the noble back to health. Back then the neglect of his own health had resulted in him being bedridden. He¡¯d refused to eat and bath himself properly, rarely left his home, and had been caught purposefully hurting himself multiple times by his servants. He¡¯d already been written off as a lost cause by many of his associates, but his caretaker¡¯s ceaseless efforts managed to restore her lord to a functional state.

    ¡°My lord!¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    ¡°I have been calling out to you for a quite some time, but you just stood there watching the sunset. Should I have you placed in a field to scare the crows and wildlife away.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    While she chuckled at her own jesk, her Lord''s face remained blank as he intensely studied her face.

    ¡°Perhaps we should go for a little stroll while we wait. Where is my cane?¡± The lord¡¯s suggestion was an unexpected but welcomed one.

    ¡°My lord, you¡¯ve been leaning on it this entire time.¡±

    After a quick look, the lord nodded in response to his caretaker¡¯s observation.

    ¡°So I have. Thank you, Rania.¡±

    The lord offered his arm to his caretaker before immediately lowering it.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°A taken man, I know. My lord, we¡¯ve been over this before. I¡¯m sure your wife will be pleased with yourcontinuous display loyalty.¡±

    Rania began walking after brushing off her lord¡¯s apology. She¡¯d grown used to her lord¡¯s eccentricities over the years and could predict his behavior in certain situations. Even without turning around she strutted ahead confidently, knowing that he was following after her. Despite the circumstances that brought them here, Rania knew that this trip was helping her lord in ways that she couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°My Lord, you¡¯ve gone rather quiet back there is something wrong?¡±

    However, her lord didn¡¯t answer her like he usually would have by now, so she turned around to check on him, but he wasn¡¯t there. Instead, he¡¯d wandered over to the field where the dead had been gathered. He¡¯d examined a corpse for a moment before moving on to another one as if he were searching for something. After a few deep breaths, Rania placing he dress sleeve over her mouth and followed after her aloft lord.

    Even with her mouth covered, the stench of the weeks-old dead bodies was almost too much for Rania to bear and she nearly vomited, but she remained firm and eventually reached her lord''s side. He was silently kneeling over the body of another dead woman, whose face had been covered with a dark cloth.

    ¡°My lord, perhaps we should leave¡­¡±

    Rania attempted to sway her lord when she saw him reaching towards the cloth over the woman¡¯s face, however, her efforts where in vain. Her lord pulled off the cloth and revealed the mangled remains of the woman¡¯s head.

    The back of her head had been smashed open, one of her eyes hung over her face like a shriveled up plum, and the days of being exposed to the element had greatly damaged her skin. But, it was still possible to make out what the woman had looked like when she was alive.

    It was a shame that so many lives had been brought to such a violent end. Even if some of the survivors knew who she''d been, the woman the other dead, and the village itself, would be lost to the aninal of time.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Rania''s lord suddenly dropped to his knees in front of the woman''s body and began frantically appologizing.

    Rania tried to comfort her obviously distressed lord but was interrupted by the approach of an unusual wagon. The wagon had no wheels, was made of a strange silver metal, shaped like a flattened oval, and wasn¡¯t attached to any beast of burden. Yet, the wagon still managed to propel itself forward through the air. It was a project the Ministry of Magic had been working on. It¡¯s driver simply had to infuse the wagon with mana in order to make the wagon move. Rania¡¯s lord used a few of his connections to secure the wagon for this trip. It had mostly been used to carry luggage and supplies, but its current cargo was of the living variety.

    The soldier that had been driving the wagon brought it to a halt a few feet away from Rania and her lord before dismounting and bowing his head.

    ¡°Lord Kalous, the survivors have been brought to you for inspection as requested.¡±

    The soldier had expected his commander to react in some manner, yet he was ingored. It pained the soldier to see the shadow of a man his commander had been reduced to. The sudden request to see the survivors had sparked a hope within the soldier. A hope, that the man he admired was still there.

    The soldier prepared to leave when one of the survivors spoke up.

    ¡°Hey, I recognize her.¡± A man with a freshly bandaged leg suddenly leaped his way forward. His clothes were filthy and even Rania caught a whiff of alcohol coming from him.

    ¡°No doubt about it, she¡¯s that beast¡¯s whore of a mother.¡±

    ¡°Ievos, think of where you are and show some respect for the dead.¡±

    An elderly lady tried to calm the man down, but all it seems to have done was urge him on, as he continued to spit venom.

    ¡°Respect for the dead, that whore¡¯s spawn broke my damn leg and robbed us. We would have starved if these people hadn¡¯t come along. What happened to that thing, was far too good for her.¡±

    ¡°Enough Ievos!!!¡± A heavily scarred survivor managed to bring the drunk under control with a loud shout, but it was already too late.

    ¡°A whore¡­ You called her a whore¡­¡±

    Everyones'' attention was focused on Lord Kalous, as he rose to his feet and turned towards the drunkard. The fire that had been absent in his eyes for several years was reignited once more.

    ¡°Commander? ¡°My Lord¡­¡±

    Neither the soldier or Rania had even felt such bone-chilling aura before. They remained frozen in place by fear as Kalous slowly approached the wagon.

    ¡°What else do you call a woman that spreads her legs to get what she needs.¡± Either out of bravery of sheer stupidly, the drunkard disrespected the dead woman once more.

    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU EVER CALL MY WIFE A WHORE!!¡±

    There wasn¡¯t a cloud in the orange-tinted sky above them, yet no one within ten miles of the village didn''t see the breif lightning storm that attacked the area. Certain patches of the field had been set aflame, trees along the plain¡¯s edges were toppled, and the animal had been thrown into a frenzy.

    When the lighting settled, Lord Kalous was holding the drunkard over his head in a brutal stranglehold. The children were cowering in fear behind the other adults as they waited for the monster to vanish. The drunkard uselessly struggled as the life was slowly drained from him. Today would have been his last had it not been for Rania¡¯s presence.

    ¡°My lord, Erin, please stop!!¡±

    Rania grabbed ahold of her lord''s arms a pleaded with him to stop.

    ¡°You swore to protect your countrymen from any threat, yet you yourself are attempting to kill them. Killing him won¡¯t bring her back!!¡±

    The drunkard suddenly fell to the ground and began gasping for air, on this day he had barely avoided death. Kalous fell to his knees and began to weep, yet the fire in his eyes hadn''t subsided.

    ¡°Aislinn, forgive me.¡±

    As the soldiers rushed to put out the flames, general Erin Kalous could only weep over the loss of wife he¡¯d driven away.

 Volume 02 Prologue

    ¡¸Volume 2 Prologue¡¹

    [Year 351, The month of Rain, day 3]

    After the month of frigid cold, life has started to pierce through winter''s white veil. The recent rain showers have caused sporadic patches of greenery to pop up along the forest floor. A few bears and small woodland creatures have begun to rise from their slumber. In a few weeks, the snow will be gone and the greenery would overtake the forest once more. However, the revitalization of nature also meant the reinvigoration of the darker creatures that dwell within the forest.

    The squirrels and rabbits that dared to peaked their heads outside immediately retreated into the barrows when they sensed the presence of an approaching monster. The creature tread through the forest, its black eyes scanning the area for any potential threats. The creature stood at six feet tall at the shoulder, and at seven feet if you included the rack of palmed antlers that set atop its head. Its disproportionately muscular forelegs ended in thick black hooves that were capable of caving in an adult male¡¯s chest cavity. Its brown fur was streaked with pitch black strips and was thick enough to repeal the claws of large cats and regular arrow. A pair of fangs the size of a grown man¡¯s pointer finger could be seen peeking under the creature¡¯s broad snout.

    Although creatures such as it weren¡¯t the deadliest beast to roam the forest, their strong bodies, omnivorous nature, and unique magic meant that few would attempt to challenge one of these solitary creatures. The young bull was on the cusp of adulthood and was searching hunting in order to fuels his further growth and make up for his reduced winter food intake.

    As the trees began to thin out as he neared the watering hole, the bull began to notice the sound of something following it.

    {muuhhhrrrmuuhhhrrr}

    The bull let out a threatening ballow to scare away whatever was following behind it, however, the creature continued to follow after it at the same distance. Since its pursuer wouldn''t leave, the bull prepared to fight them head-on. However, when the bull turned around to face its follower it caught sight of a narrow object before pain rocked its body and it''s left eye went permanently dark.

    {rrhuuuooohamuuhhhrrrmuuhhhrrrhuuuooohar!!}

    As the creature writhed in pain the black strips along its fur began to glow a bright yellow color as it instinctively raised stood on his back legs. Earthen spikes violently shot out of the ground in an arc when the bull brought its muscular forelegs down on the ground. The creature continued to turn back and forth, releasing its magic in an attempt to kill the being responsible for hurting, however, the bull hadn¡¯t even located its attacker before it was racked by another jolt of pain and darkness overwhelmed it.

    {rhrrrmuuhhhrrrhuuuooohar!!}

    The bull flew into a blind panic when it completely lost its sight, unleashing a torrent of earthen spikes every time it randomly rammed itself into one of the nearby trees. Even when the bull¡¯s fur was wet with fallen snow and the glow of its stripes faded the bull blindly attempted to flee the darkness that had overtaken everything. However, the moment that the bull lost the ability to produce its earthen spikes was the moment that its life had become forfeit.

    As the moose stumbled over itself, a figure wrapped in brown furs dropped from a nearby tree and began to chase the blind bull. Despite only walking on two legs the figure managed to cover the distance between itself and the bull in a matter of seconds. Once the figure ran alongside the bull, the figure knocked the bull to the ground with a shoulder tackle, inadvertently snapping the bull¡¯s right hind leg in the process.

    {rrhuuuoohhrrrhuuuooohar!!}

    The bull let other another pained cry even though it could sense that its time was coming to an end. A distinctive sound, that couldn¡¯t occur naturally occupied the bull attention before a cold sensation bite into its neck. The last thing to occupy the bull consciousness was a growing cold sensation across its body as a warm liquid flow out its throat.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    <hr>

    The terrae alces was already dead by the time I reached the ground. Several trees in the area had large chunks of bark missing from their trunks, the ground resembles miniature cliffs instead forest floor that it was. I imagine that it would be a few days before any other animal would dare to venture in this section of the forest. If a single thing had gone wrong, we could have been caught in this localized disaster.

    ¡°Haah.¡±

    A sigh escaped my lips as I started to walk around the aftermath of today''s hunt.

    ¡°You know, if you¡¯d just shot the thing in the head, this could have ended a lot quicker.¡± There was a slight crack in Geisai¡¯s deepening voiced when he called out to me.

    I raised my head and found him tying a sturdy rope around the terrae alces¡¯ lower body. He¡¯d been growing at an amazing rate for a couple of years and the patchwork furs he wore now, already straining to fit around his chest, reflected that. It wouldn¡¯t be long before I had to look up to him when we spoke.

    ¡°Geisai, my water shots aren¡¯t strong enough to pierce the hide of large animals, let alone a monster¡¯s skull.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, petty sure you just wanted to show off that you could shot out a raging animal¡¯s eye with your magic, while I¡¯d be lucky if my lights manage to distract anything.¡± Even though he was complaining, there wasn¡¯t a hint of malice reflected in the grin he was showing me.

    His wind-blown curly black hair reached just below his shoulders and his left eye was shining brightly. However, only half of his right eye shone, a white patch of scar tissue covered the other half of it. That, combined with the faint burn scars on the right side of his face, acted as a clear reminder of what happens when things went wrong.

    Still, Geisai remained cheerful as he took the other end of the rope and throw it over a large tree branch and then grabbed a slightly rusted nail off of his belt. The spike was a little bit longer than my hand and was meant to be used in a village main gate. I don¡¯t remember why I¡¯d picked up a couple of them all those years ago but they¡¯d proven to be useful on a number of occasions.

    After Geisai found a sweet spot in the trunk of the tree, whose branch he throw the rope over, he began to embed the nail into the truck by hammering it in with his bare hands. While he did that, I noticed a glimmer near the terrae alces¡¯ body.

    ¡°You broke another knife. You won¡¯t be satisfied until we¡¯re left using sharpened sticks, will you?¡±

    ¡°What do you want from me? There was a lot of flesh to cut through and I had to get it done before this guy managed to stand again. I was a rush and lost control for a second. We still have a dozen or so knives left.¡±

    ¡°Haah¡­ we have six.¡±

    ¡°Huah! That¡¯s not ba©¤¡±

    ¡°Out of the original twenty we brought with us.¡±

    I knew he wasn¡¯t breaking our things on purpose, it was the same strength that he was using to hoist the terrae alces into the air that was the problem. Somehow, his already impressive strength was increasing. At this point, his strength was outpacing his ability to rein it in. Hopefully, it¡¯d stop once his growth period passed.

    Geisai tied the end of the rope to the embedded nail and then took a few tentative steps away from it. Once he was sure the knot would hold, he placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, that grin beaming brighter than ever.

    He seemed proud of his accomplishment, but we couldn¡¯t have him getting too big of a head. A man with an ego listened to no one be themselves. Or something like that, it''s been a while since I heard that phrase.

    ¡°Nice job, it was almost done currently.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®almost¡¯ ? I slit its throat to avoid damaging its fur and I¡¯m even draining it to help preserve the meat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all fine and good, but you forget to dug a hole for the blood to fall into. Just because the terrae alces scared away the other animals doesn¡¯t mean that predators won¡¯t be attached to a pile of bloody snow.¡±

    I had to struggle to hold my smile back as his confident grin slowly turned into a frown, but his next question caught me off guard.

    ¡°If you knew that, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ it was a test, a test to see if you remembered you¡¯re lessons.¡± It was a weak excuse but it was better than admitting that it¡¯s slipped my mind. Luckily he seems to have believed it.

    ¡°Haah¡­ Are you gonna help me dig a hole, are am I gonna have to dirty my hands alone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help, but let''s use these instead of our hands. The ground is still hard and I''d rather keep all of my fingertips.¡± I pulled two irregular slabs off of my belt and held them in front of his face. They¡¯d been a clay platter Geisai broke a few days ago. With a few pieces of thick thread, a bit of filing, and some a couple branches I turned them into some makeshift hand shovels.

    Geisai reluctantly took one of the shovels and began digging a ditch we could bury the blood-soaked snow and dirt into. After checking our surroundings I bent down and joined him.

 Volume 02 Chapter 01: The Calm

    [Year 351, The month of Storm, day 12]

    I awoke in complete silence instead of the expected sounds of metal being sharpened or the rustling of scrolls. Aiyana must have already left for her morning exercise then. After I took a moment to enjoy the rare bit of quietness I rose from my pallet, stretched a little, and dressed in some of my lighter fur leggings and an over-shirt. Once dressed, I grabbed a pair of medium sized wooden rods and picked up a small food satchel and a partially full leather canteen.

    Before I left our cave, I took a quick look around. Aiyana¡¯s workstation took up most of the back wall, surrounded by various items, such spears and fur clothing, in various states of completion. There was a small narrow passageway on the left side of the cave that led to our skinning and butchering table. Our pallets and clothes and clothes took up the majority of the cave¡¯s central area and the right side was taken up by the surviving scrolls and extra items, like bags and the like.

    This was cave was the largest one we¡¯ve lived in yet. While the first cave had been homey, but it¡¯d become too small as Aiyana and I began to grow and accumulated more items, so we had to move a little more than a year after we started living there. Since then we¡¯ve moved two more times, going further and further west along the mountain range, and our current home would probably be the last one. It was spacious enough to fulfill our needs and if we went any further west this distance from the lake would become too much of a hindrance.

    I nearly tripped over the alarm as I made my way outside. It was a bit of an annoyance to hop over the tripwire and push through the heavy leathers out of the way, but it beat having Aiyana forcing me awake every time she needed to relieve herself like when we used boulders to block the entrance. The sky above was covered by dark clouds, with only a few patches of blue managing to slip in here and there. The snow and ice may have vanished but they gave way to weeks of sporadic downpours. At this rate, we¡¯d have to dig the runoff trenches around the cave if the rain keep up.

    ¡°The rainy season is always such a bother to deal with, no matter what I do it never feels like I can get all the mud off.¡±

    After that soliloquy, I began treading down a familiar path. We¡¯d marked the trees when we first arrived, but I¡¯d walked this path so frequently I didn¡¯t even need them anymore. I began eating a few pieces of salted meat and my favorite type of berries along the way. The berries I picked were apart of the first batch of the season and their bundles of droplets were rather juicy, with a slightly bitter aftertaste to them.

    As I neared my destination, my ears began to pick up the distinctive sound of the air parting ways. When I finally reached the small clearing within the ring of boulders I was treated to quite the slight.

    Even though her skin glistened with sweat and she¡¯d tied her hair up, her graceful movements and the sheer beauty of her form created a truly mesmerizing effect. She¡¯d removed her over shirt at some point, so only tightly wrapped bandages covered her top half, while her toned abdomen remained completely exposed as she swung the staff in measured arcs. The staff within her hands almost equaled her in height and obviously carried quite a bit of weight to it. Yet, she managed to thrust the end of the staff in three puts along an invisible horizontal line before she span on her heels, the staff creating a {woosh} as it followed along with her moments.

    She then crouched down with her feet spread an equal distance apart from one another as she began using the staff to defend herself against unseen threats. Left, right, overhead, center mass. Her stance remained firm as she protected her vitals. After standing straight up she transitioned to another series of thrust, this time each one striking the same location above her head, but from three different angles.

    No movement was wasted as she continued her violent dance. Every strike utilized her natural agility to close any gaps in between her strikes, while simultaneously chipping away at the balance and health of whatever invisible enemy she was fighting. Hers was a dance that beautiful to watch, but disorientating to take part in as her opposite number.

    After a final serious of blocks and staff thrust, Aiyana allowed the staff to fall to the ground as she clenched her knees and began letting out deep rapid breaths as sweat began to pool around her feet. It was only after her breathing stabilized did she seem to notice I was there, her forest green eyes carrying a hint of playfulness in them as she looked up at me.

    ¡°You¡¯re up earlier than usual. I didn¡¯t even have to beat you over the head with a stick to get you up before noon. The sky isn¡¯t gonna start falling is it?¡±

    ¡°The sky falling would be preferable to the rainstorms that happen every other day. If this keeps up we¡¯re gonna have to build a ship and wait out the ensuing flood.¡± There was a smile on my face as I approached Aiyana and offered her some of my food. She gestured off to the left and shook her head at the offer though.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°No thanks, I brought my own. Besides, last time I had those berries I couldn¡¯t hold anything down for three days.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just accept that you got a bad batch of them and move on? These are really good and would make a pretty decent jam.¡±

    Our conversation continued as Aiyana picked up her staff and made her way over to her food and shirt, with me following behind her. When we reached the small flat boulder she¡¯d placed her things on, Aiyana sat down and took a long drink from her own canteen, droplets of water falling to her chest and her exposed abdomen.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Not really, it''s just that your bandages are starting to come undone. You need some help fixing them?¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    There was no hesitation from either of us, but my hands still tumbled a little once I finished tying her bandages up. I¡¯d been staring again. It wasn¡¯t so bad when it started, but as the year dragged on, it became a bad habit that I needed to break before it caused any problems. If I turned her away I would lose everything. Again.

    ¡°Geisai are you alright?¡±

    I could see worry in Aiyana¡¯s eyes, my thoughts must have been showing on my face again. Even when I tried to hide it, she seemed to know have some idea of what was on my mind. Outright lying wouldn¡¯t accomplish anything, so I had to do that again.

    ¡°Remember, that dead bear we came across a few days ago? The one with the broken limbs and burns. Well, I did a little poking around the area we found it last night, and retraced its steps.¡±

    While Aiyana could tell when something was bothering me, she couldn¡¯t read my mind. Since lying was out of the question misdirection was my only option. Some things were best left unspoken, and what I told her was the true, even if it wasn¡¯t the truth that she was asking for. Besides the condition of the bear''s body had been so terrible, it had warranted a casual looking into at least.

    ¡°What did you find?¡±

    Aiyana¡¯s stare had turned cold, any concerns she had for me had become secondary issues as she sought out any information on a potential danger. It was this nature of hers that had kept us safe over the years and it was the reaction that I¡¯d wanted to bring out of her.

    ¡°There were remnants of a small camp about a half a night¡¯s walk away. A trial of footprints entered the camp grounds from the south and left towards the north. There were a few shallow graves dug beside the camp as well. From what I can tell, there were at least a dozen or so people in their group. They¡¯re experienced enough to fend off a wild animal with minimal losses, but not much else. Whatever brought them out here was important enough that they would carry on their task despite having to leave some of their own behind.¡±

    Aiyana placed her hand under her chin and began to process everything I¡¯d told her. There were a few details left out but nothing so important that it would make a difference in her decision. After a few moments, Aiyana spoke up again.

    ¡°It¡¯s my understanding that my former village had been the only one this far out in the forest, but it''s possible another one could have popped up while we¡¯ve been living on our own. Are you positive that they were heading north?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m positive, I tracked their footsteps in that direction just to make sure they hadn''t circled around.

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit troubling. The forest should start to thin out in the direction they¡¯re heading in¡­ Even if they¡¯re on a training excuse, there would be no point in venturing out that far. Also, they should have returned their died to the village instead of just leaving them in shallow graves. Something is just off about all of this.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, their village suffered a similar fate as yours or a mudslide forced them to leave.¡±

    ¡°... Maybe, but with their numbers, someone should have realized they were heading in the wrong direction. If they¡¯re seeking shelter, they should be heading deeper into the forest instead of leaving it. Of course, this is all speculation at this point.¡±

    ¡°How about we just follow after them for a while and see what they''re up to?¡± I already knew the answer to the question, but I asked anyway.

    ¡°That¡¯s too much of a risk. Even the losses they suffered could have been due to them being caught off guard more than anything else. There are too many unknowns involved with that group of people. The smarter thing to do is pull back from that area for the next few weeks. If they¡¯re still using traversing that it after that point, it may be necessary to look into it a bit further.¡±

    Though she stopped after that and resumed eating her share of food, Aiyana¡¯s mind was only half with me now. The other part of her mind was already scoping out the area in question, finding the ideal location to scope out the small group of people without being seen, and determining what tools we might need if things became violent.

    Though I¡¯d only brought up the issue to dodge some unwanted questions, I¡¯d planned to tell her about what I found tomorrow, after I dug up the graves to examine the bodies naturally. All evidence pointed to the bear killing them, but it never hurt to be sure. Either way, there wasn¡¯t else I could do at this point but wait and prepare for what is to come.

    The scars on my face suddenly began to itch, but I refused to scratch them. Aiyana would frown if I drew attention to them. Instead, I sat most of my things down, removed my shirt, and readied one of the staffs I¡¯d brought along with me.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re here, want to get a match in once I¡¯m done warming up?¡±

    Aiyana¡¯s head snapped up when I asked her that question. It seems that she had returned to the present. With a slight grin on her face, she said ¡°Sure¡±, before she looked away again.

    It¡¯d been a while since the last time we sparred with one another, and I¡¯d like to see how much I¡¯d improved since my defeat. With that in mind, I walked to the center of the clearing and began my warm-up exercises.

 Volume 02 Chapter: Sparring

    I could feel the sweat gathering in my palms as I held one of the wooden rods I¡¯d brought with me. In front of me, Aiyana stood in a low stance with her staff held at a diagonally. Her body was as motionless as the boulders that surrounded us, but her eyes were darting within here skull, seeking out an exploitable within my own stance. Despite the sound of birds singing in the distance and the rustling of the leaves, I know that her attention was entirely focused on me. She gave away nothing while simultaneously taking in every little tweak I made.

    Simply trying to brute force my way through this fight wouldn¡¯t accomplish anything. When we¡¯d first started training I just overwhelmed her with my strength, but after a while, it became harder and harder to hit her. She had an answer for every swing, thrust, feint, and parry I made and once I got caught in her rhythm I wouldn¡¯t escape until I admitted defeat.

    My only chance of victory was to knock her off balance before she had time to react. Interrupting her rhythm before it had a chance to really get going. So what was the best opening act?

    Barely a moment had passed in between me being in a ready stance and my rod coming down in a single-handed overhead swing. Aiyana''s staff was already raised to block my attack, but I¡¯d expected that. Before the blow connected I let the rod fall out of my right hand and took a half-step back. I saw the utter surprise run over her eyes as I caught the rod in my left hand and immediately launched into thrust. The tip of the rod grazed her abdomen before she took two large back-steps.

    She hadn¡¯t seen that coming, but that trick wouldn¡¯t work twice, I had to follow up before she regained her composure. I felt the muscles in my legs tense up before leaped forward and followed through with a two-handed horizontal swing, but she¡¯d managed to catch it with her staff. However, as the rod bounced of her staff, I hooked my left leg around hers and yanked it from right under her.

    Rather than try and fight against my strength, Aiyana immediately braced herself and allowed her body to fall to the ground. I stabbed at her central mass with the rod, but she managed to roll out of the way. Unfortunately, despite doing my best to hold back, I¡¯d managed to bury the rod a few inches into the ground. Before I could pull it out, I felt the end of Aiyana¡¯s staff slamming into the right side of my face. I clenched my teeth and winced as my vision blurred for a moment, but that moment was all that she needed.

    A sharp kick caused my left knee to bend backward before a series of body shots had me to staggering. Aiyana knew that it would take more than this to keep me down, even now my body was wrapped in a golden light and the bones in my leg were popping back into place. Instead of trying to put any distance between us, Aiyana continued her assault, in between every couple of limb and body shots she would strike my head with a heavy blow. As my vision began to swim I dropped to a knee and struggled to block some of her attacks. She seemed to think that I''d fallen into her rhythm, but I was exactly where I needed to be.

    Two blows to the side, an overhead strike to my left shoulder, a kick to my right leg, and then the horizontal head stri?

    My left hand shot out and grabbed hold of the staff in the middle of her swing. I immediately rose to my feet and forced the other end of the staff into her abdomen.

    ¡°Huuaaaaaah¡±

    I could hear the air leaving her Aiyana as she released her hold on the staff and fell to her knees while clenching her abdomen. With a short dash, I closed the distance between us, turned on my heel, and slammed my elbow into the left side of her face. She flew back a few feet before landing on her backside. She was already beginning to stir, so I chucked the staff away and clenched my fist to deliver the finishing blow. Just as she setup I pulled back my arm and charged at her, however, I made a slight oversight. Aiyana had managed to position one her legs in the right place and kicked out with all her might, her foot slamming right into my crotch.

    ¡°Hiyya Aaaaahhhhh¡± I took me a while to realize that the high pitched squealing I was hearing came from my own mouth.

    My own momentum combined with the force of her kick had made the blow all the more painful. The world went white for a moment as my knees hit the ground. Even with my fast healing, it felt like an eternity before the pain subsided. For a while, I even questioned if I would be able to use my penis properly again.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    I suddenly became familiar with the sensation of a wooden rod slamming against my throat at ludicrous speeds. It began difficult to breathe for a moment and impossible to see anything clearly.

    ¡°Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!!¡±

    When I saw a shadow in front of me, I reacted on instinct and throw out a straight right punch with all of my strength behind it. However, when I remembered where I was and what I was doing, I immediately redirected my fist, just managing to miss the shadow by a slight margin. Unfortunately, that shadow hadn¡¯t been a figment of my imagination.

    Aiyana¡¯s arms cradled my head as she used a bar to force my head down, while she simultaneously brought her knee up. A loud crack accompanied a crunch before I fill backward. While I was enjoying my view of the cloudy sky above, a sudden weight on my chest demanded my attention. Aiyana had me pinned to the ground with her legs and held a broken piece of wood over my throat, hair had come undone and her skin was covered in sweat and dirt. Her breathing was ragged and I could already make out the bruises forming on her cheek and abdomen.

    ¡°Alright, I give. I give. You win.¡±

    Only after I managed to choke out a hoarse response did Aiyana toss the broken piece of wood aside and roll off of me. It felt like more time had passed than it actually had. For a while we just laid there, neither of us uttering a single word, as we looked at the sky above. Only when did glow around me subsided did Aiyana speak up.

    ¡°You know, that opening move was a bit reckless. You left yourself open for an enemy chop your arm off.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why it''s only intended to be used against an opponent once. Either the enemy would be dead once the fight was over, or I would never try to use the same trick on them again. How¡¯d you managed to reach your staff so quickly? I¡¯m pretty sure it landed on the other side of the clearing¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t reach it. You dropped your rod when you started cupping your crouch. I made do with that.¡±

    I rose to my feet and offered Aiyana a hand, but she shook her head and stayed on the ground.

    ¡°Let me take in this view for a while it looks like it¡¯s gonna rain tonight so I want to take in this view before its nothing but gray clouds for a week.¡±

    I struggled to not roll my eyes at that and proceeded to gather the broken rod pieces and staff from around the clearing, snagging the unbroken rod along the way. Aiyana had just rose to her feet by the time I returned to her side. The bruise on her abdomen had begun to turn a dark shade of purple and she winced when I lightly brushed my fingers along the side of her left cheek.

    ¡°Admiring your handiwork?¡±

    ¡°No, just trying to figure out how long I have to wait before I have another chance to best you. My laziness is dependent on how long it''s gonna take you to heal.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but not everybody can stab themselves in the foot and just walk it off.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯d been dark and you were the one that left the knives all over the place before you fell asleep. How was I supposed to know I¡¯d slice my toes up when I got up to relieve myself.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m about done here. You wanna come with me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll catch up in a little bit, there are a couple things I want to work on while I¡¯m out here.¡±

    Aiyana simply shrugged her shoulders, gathered her things, and climbed over the boulder on her way towards the cave.

    ¡°Haah, that was close.¡±

    My lack of control was a real problem, it¡¯d nearly gotten Aiyana killed. The whole point of these sparring sessions was to prepare for inevitable violent altercations, not to actually kill each other. Yet, if that last punch had connected Aiyana wouldn¡¯t have walked away from that bout. One slip up and everything would have been over. The thought alone sent shivers down my spine. If this continued? no, I wouldn¡¯t allow things to continue as they had been.

    I gathered my thing up and headed in the opposite direction Aiyana had gone. My approach scared away the animals that had set up the nest and barrows in this area. When we had moved the ring of boulders into place, there''d been a few boulders left over that had been too small or misshapen to use, so we just dumped them a few yards away from the clearing. A few of them have already fallen to the ground, though it must have happened recently, given the stainless areas on the pile and the fallen boulders

    After placing my things down nearby I approached a boulder about half my size, pulled back my fist, and punched it at about half strength. A couple slabs of stone fell off the boulder when my knuckles embedded themselves four or five inches into it. When I pulled my fist back I could see the whites of my bones pecking through the skin.

    ¡°Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!¡± Then the pain set in, followed shortly after the soothing golden glow wrapping itself around my arm.

    ¡°Punching boulders. The best idea I ever had.¡± Despite my protest, I pulled my fist back and tried to punch the boulder with half of the strength of the previous hit, however, the imprint was three inches deep instead of the two inches I¡¯d hoped for.

    ¡°This is gonna take a while.¡±

 Volume 02 Chapter 03: When It Rains

    [Year 351, The month of Storm, day 14]

    Geisai was lazing around his pallet with a couple of scrolls he must have read a dozen times by now, while I was busy filing grooves into a hand full of wooden stubs as part of a project. The thunderstorm outside had entered its third day, meaning we¡¯d been cooped up in our cave with nothing to do for that long. The monotony of staying inside had gotten to me halfway through yesterday and I¡¯d been doing my best to avoid counting the stalactites on the ceiling for the third time. Luckily Geisai accidents had provided me with enough materials to get this project going.

    ¡°Geisai, could you come here for a second.¡±

    After a bit of grumbling he put down the scrolls he been reading and came over to my little station.

    ¡°What?¡± Even though he¡¯d spoken in his regular tone of voice, his eyes were a slightly darker shade than normal, so being inside was starting to get to him.

    ¡°Could you melt this down for me, I¡¯m gonna need it in a little bit.¡± I held up a small bag of beeswax we¡¯d managed to collect during the winter. Thankfully, the cold had made it easy to smoke them out and collect the honey and wax.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    When he took the bag away from me, my hand reflexly shot out and grabbed a hold of his wrist.

    ¡°What¡¯s with this?¡±

    Geisai had bandaged his hands, but there was no reason for him of all people to do that. I saw a slight spark in his eyes, but it was replaced with his usual grin and eye color before I could figure out what it meant.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on something new since our last sparring session. For now, the bandages are a necessity, but once everything is settled you¡¯ll be in for quite a shock next time.¡±

    The pit of my stomach did a little flip when he brought up that fight. Honestly, it was becoming more and more difficult to figure out what he was gonna do when we fought. I may need to learn how to fight with entirely different weapons just to keep up with the wild Ideas he was coming up with.

    After I let go of his hand, Geisai with to gather the kindling, pots, and waters he needed to melt the wax. While he was doing that, I took out the box of broken metal. I¡¯d been keeping the largest and most usable pieces of metal from all of our broken knives and spent all of yesterday night chipping them into useful shapes. Now that the handles were finished, I could finally put all of it together.

    ¡°Teeh¡±

    When I tried to pick up one of the blades, I received a powerful shock. The faint hint of burning leaves and twigs helped explain what was going. While I was still annoyed about being shocked, watching Geisai brought a smile to my face. He had begun boiling the water in the larger of the two pots he¡¯d collected, but the interesting thing was what was going on around his body. Every couple moments, small arcs of lightning ran across Geisai¡¯s body. While he wasn''t affected by it, if I was any closer to him my hair would stand up and my own clothes would shock me with every movement.

    A shame that, despite having been born with such a rare magic affinity, he wasn¡¯t capable of doing much beyond that lightning field, and it had taken quite a bit of effort for him to do that. When I¡¯d turned twelve my magic would flood the cave unless I suppressed it with the elemental necklace, however, six months after Geisai¡¯s twelfth birthday he hadn¡¯t shown any signs of his magic awakening.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    At first, I¡¯d thought that he¡¯d gotten his birth month wrong, but he¡¯d been adamant about it being the in the month of storms. He¡¯d said his mother would always make a special meal to celebrate his birth, instead, he argued that his healing must have been his magic affinity and he simply developed it early. While the scrolls mentioned some people showing signs of magic a few months earlier than normal, Geisai said he¡¯d always been able to heal quickly. Eventually, we just had him test out a few spells from the different elemental types until he found one that he could use.

    However, even when we found out he had lightning powers, he was incapable of using the spells properly. No matter what incantation he uses, Geisai is only able to make that field of lighting around himself. Not to mention the fact that, since he had a magic affinity neither of us knew what the deal was with his healing. Was it just an ability all darh¡¯ki were born with?

    Wait¡­

    ¡°Geisai, we forgot your birthday!¡± Geisai turned around and raised an eyebrow at my comment. He took a moment to think it over in his head before he made the realization himself.

    ¡°Oh yeah, it was a few weeks ago, wasn¡¯t it? Oh well, we¡¯d better remember it for next year.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say about it?¡± He usually made a big deal about birthdays, so it was a bit of a shock that he just brushed it off like that.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s the point in bringing it up beside keeping track of our age?¡±

    It was my turn to be stumped. Even back in the village, there were a couple major celebrations that were held throughout the years, but besides those, age was mainly used as a sign of status. In fact, the only celebrations I could really remember was the one prior to one¡¯s awakening and the passage into adulthood held for villagers that reached their fiftieth year.

    ¡°Not-Not, really. I just remember birthdays being important to you.¡±

    ¡°It''s not the day that¡¯s important, but the memory of the days I spent with my mother.

    Without her to celebrate it with, it¡¯s just another day to me.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with what he said but it was still a little sad to hear him say that without any inflections in his voice. Geisai turned away from me and placed the smaller pot on top of the pot with the water.

    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter. What are you gonna use this stuff for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m making a set of throwing knives and I need something to bind the mischief handles to the blades. I figured we could make something useful out of the trash we had while we wait for the water to sweep us away.¡±

    ¡°I guess our supplies are starting to run thin. Better make use of what we can before it becomes useless.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yet in a couple years we¡¯re gonna have nothing but furs and stones tools. With any luck, we¡¯ll still be capable of verbal speech by then.¡±

    For some reason Geisai¡¯s back suddenly became stiff and his hands stopped just short of dumping the beeswax into the pot.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± All I could do was wait for Geisai to answer. Only after he placed the wax in the pot and covered it did he respond.

    ¡°Do you want to spend the rest of your life living like this? Is it even possible to keep going like we have been?¡± It was a question that I¡¯d asked myself multiple times before but had done my best to ignore it.

    We¡¯d managed to get along fine given our circumstances, but we¡¯d reached the plateau of we could achieve with the things we had and the knowledge we possessed. This cave, half-filled with broken things and primitive furnishings, was the best that we had. If things had been different it wouldn¡¯t have come to this, but there was no point in thinking about that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wish I had the answer, but I don¡¯t. All I can do it do the best that I can with what we have.¡±

    Geisai just sat there with his back turned to me, something I¡¯d said had really gotten to him, but I didn¡¯t know what.

    ¡°The best we can do isn¡¯t what you deserve.¡±

    ¡°What? Hey, where are you going? Geisai, Geisai!¡±

    Though I called out to him, Geisai walked off without responding to me. Even though it was still pouring down, he walked out into the storm before I could catch up to him. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯d been doing, but Geisai didn¡¯t return until the next morning.

 Volume 02 Chapter 04: First Contact

    [Year 351, The month of Storm, day 16]

    {Twack} {Twack} {Twack}

    The knives made, what could only be called, pleasing impacts as they embedded themselves into the target a few yards away. Of course, that may have had something to do with me imagining that the round target hanging from the tree branch was actually Geisai¡¯s face. He was avoiding me.

    {Twack} {Twack}

    Just like yesterday, he was gone before I woke up this morning and stayed out after I went to sleep. The only reason I knew he was coming back was the supplies and those awful berries he¡¯d snuck back in to take.

    {Twack} {Twack}

    Something had set him off the other day, but I couldn¡¯t help if he refused to be in the same place as me, let alone talk! I reached for another knife, but only grabbed the leather cover they had been placed in.

    ¡°Haah¡­ maybe I just need to let him have this time to himself.¡±

    Geisai always retreated into himself when something bothered him. Trying to force him to open up would only drive him further away. Still, just because I was used to this behavior didn¡¯t mean I had to like it.

    I began plucking the throwing knives out of the target and started planning out the rest of the day. The sun had just managed to break through the thick layer of clouds today and there was nothing much to do. I could go bathe, but that would be a waste of time with all mud around here. I could practice reading and writing for the hundredth time, but I could practically rewrite every scroll we had from memory at this point. Even if I went hunting, I could only pick up some mid-sized game without Geisai. Besides, I could eat three or four times my normal amount and we¡¯d still have two weeks worth of food left.

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯d stick around long enough to skin and gut it if I leave a fresh kill on the butchering table.¡±

    It was only when someone was gone did you realized how important they were to you. Geisai¡¯s absence was quite restrictive, everything I could come up with was dependent on him being with me. Well, nearly everything.

    After removing the last knife, I returned to my starting position and began throwing them again. Out of everything, this was the only task I could think of that had some merit to it. Whenever Geisai decided to grace me with his presence again we were gonna have to venture into unknown territory, and being able to face whatever we came across there from a distance would be beneficial.

    Whatever Geisai was doing, I just hoped it wasn¡¯t anything stupid.

    <hr>

    ¡°I knew I should¡¯ve gone back for a shovel. I gonna have to drop by the lake on my way back.¡±

    The mud was caked onto my arms up to the elbow and I was pretty sure that the only way to get my furs clean would be to burn them.

    ¡°Never digging up a grave in the middle of the rainy season again. It just isn¡¯t worth it.¡± I rose to my feet and futility attempted to wipe the mud off my knees and clothes. But after a sleepless night and a proactive morning, I didn¡¯t have the energy or desire to waste time on the dirt.

    While I was trying to cool my head after that slip-up back in the cave, there wasn¡¯t a lot of things to do besides punching boulders and leaping through treetops. By the time the sun had reached its pinnacle yesterday, I was bored out of my mind. Then I remembered that I still needed to examine these shallow graves.

    Accepting that cleaning away the mud was an impossibe, I collected my newly acquired wares and started back home while I thought over what I¡¯d learned. After half a day¡¯s trek and a few hours of digging, I¡¯d basically found what I expected to find and something else. While their bodies had started to decompose, the claw and bite marks on the bodies show that a mauling had killed those men. From the location of the wounds, they had clearly been caught off guard when they were attacked. So, everything was pretty much in line with what we had speculated, everything except for one detail. The bear¡¯s victims weren¡¯t elves.

    Their faces, or the ones that still had faces, had prominent blemishes and wrinkles that not even the oldest of elves would have. Their ears were rounded in shape and their skin was a shade too dark to belong to elves, yet too light to belong to someone like me. I¡¯ve never seen brown eyes on any elves either. However, I felt like I¡¯d seen or, at the very least, heard of people like them before. Maybe in an old scroll that had fallen apart some time ago.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Another oddity about the corpse was the lack of burial rites. They¡¯d only been wrapped a thin blanket before being buried in their shallow graves, they¡¯d also been left in their bloody leather armor. Whoever buried them hadn¡¯t even bothered to gather the deceased''s¡¯ personal belongs to be burnt as a sign of respect for the fallen. It was almost as if¡­

    I suddenly stopped in place, every rustle of bushes, every snapped branch, and every shifting shadow began setting off warning signs in my head. My head began darting back and forth as I peered into the shadows and listened to the slightest signs of movement.

    ¡°Fuck. I should have waited a bit longer.¡±

    The sheer stupidity of coming anywhere near those graves dawned on me as panic drove away my tiredness. If Aiyana were here I¡¯m pretty sure she''d beat me over the head with a rock until I lite up brighter than the sun for making such a stupid mistake.

    When I heard something approaching from behind me, I jerked my head to the left just in time for an arrow to graze my cheek before it got stuck in the ground a few feet in front of me. My eyes remained locked on the fletching as blood trailed down my cheek while the cut closed itself, however, I could make out movement on my left. It seems that the friends of the deceased had arrived.

    ¡°Aiyana¡¯s gonna have to wait in line for the head bashing.¡±

    Before their bowman could notch another arrow, I dropped the pack of wares and ran off. I couldn¡¯t afford to lead them back to the cave, so I ran in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, that led me right into one of their numbers. A man about two inches shorter than me jumped out from behind a tree and took a swing at me with a single-edged curved sword. I used the back of my left hand to knock the flat side of the sword aside, burying its blade into the same tree that man had jumped out from behind. When the man tried to pull it free, I gently tapped his head with my palm. I was behind the tree before his unconscious body hit the ground and another arrow bounced off of the tree I had been standing in front of a moment ago.

    ¡°Damn it. Should¡¯ve just hung around the lake today.¡± I¡¯d been so focused on the graves I¡¯d allowed myself to be surrounded without even realizing it. Who knows how long they¡¯ve been lying in wait for their chance to strike.

    I was outnumbered, had no idea of what they were capable of, and was only running on fear and a half-empty stomach. The only perceivable advantages I had was my familiarity with the layout of the forest.

    When I shut my eyes and listened, I could make out five of them slowly closing in on me with their weapons at the ready. If I managed to break through their encirclement, I could possibly tire them out or get them to give up their chase by running around in circles. If they were stupid enough to chase me all together or their numbers were so insignificant that chasing me in shifts was impossible for them to do, I could get away. Maybe I could lose them if I managed to hold out until nightfall or I reached the mountain range, whichever came first.

    {Snap}

    Stepping out from behind this tree would give the bowman another shot at my back, and a few arrows in the right places would slow me down just enough for his friends to gang up on me. The Bowman on his own would be easy enough to handle, but he was a major threat when combined with the others. Well, there was a way to deal with the problem, it¡¯s just that the solution would be considered crazy under the best of circumstances.

    ¡°3¡­ 2.. 1..¡±

    At the end of the count, I jumped from behind the tree and spirited straight toward my five pursuers. While most people would consider it insane to do so, most people couldn¡¯t heal broken bones or deep cuts within moments of receiving them. Plus, I doubted the bowman would risk hitting one of their own, so if I could incapacitate the five of them I could make a break for it even if it meant taking a few arrows with me.

    Shock was visible in the eyes of my pursuers as I grabbed the closest of their numbers by the face and throw him into a tree. Some bark fell on top of the man as his body crumpled to the ground, but I I didn¡¯t stop to admire my handiwork. I grabbed the arm of a man who held a spear of some sort and pushed his arm inward at the elbow.

    ¡°AAAAAAAUUUUUUUHHHHH¡±

    The man dropped to his knees as he clenched his broken arm. However, the burning sensation in my right side prevented me from ensuring that he stayed down. When I looked down I saw that someone had left a dagger in my abdomen. My body was already trying to heal itself, but the blade was in the way. Then I felt the edge of another sword cutting across my back and a blunt object slamming into my right shoulder, driving the point that I couldn¡¯t afford to slow down right now.

    I crouched down and rolled forward when the guy with the sword took a swipe at my neck. The cut and the fractured bones were starting to heal on their own, but the pain in my side persisted. When I rose to my feet, I spun around and backhanded the guy with the mace with my left hand, while I grasped the dagger and yanked it out with my right hand.

    Three down, two to go.

    However, my vision began to blur all of a sudden. Something was wrong. I hadn¡¯t lost enough blood for it to affect me yet. I dropped to one knee when the world began to spin. Then two arrows pierced my back. I noticed two things. First, that the wounds were shallow enough that my body was pushing the arrow out on its own. And second, that the arrows had simultaneously come from completely different directions. There was another bowman. I should¡¯ve thought of that, but my failing vision prevented me from criticizing myself.

    It was only when I looked at the dagger in hand did I realize what had happened. Not only did they bring two bowmen, they¡¯d also coated their weapons in a poison of some kind. I had to get out of here quickly.

    I tackled the closest moving object and tried to make a run for it. However, something latched onto my leg and dragged me to the ground. Before I could react a strange powder was blown into my face.

    ¡°Kuaaf Kuaaf Kuf¡± Every breath allowed more of the powder to enter my lungs, but I managed to kick off whoever had been holding me and stumble away.

    Three more arrows found their way into my body, one of them digging into my right knee. I tried to hop away but to no avail. I remember landing face down before I lost consciousness.

 Volume 02 Chapter 05: Captured

    ¡°...Unsafe¡­ get...¡­ before it¡­ in our sleep¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ you will follow me¡­. or do¡­ challenge my¡­¡±

    The sound of two unfamiliar voices arguing dragged my back into the realm of consciousness. My head pounded as I did my best to pry my eyes open. Everything felt sluggish and any attempt to move my arms and legs ended in failure. It was only when I noticed the flames falling from the sky and the orange horizon across the ground did I remember what had happened.

    I¡¯d been ambushed after making a foolish mistake and apparently, they¡¯d kept me alive for some reason. As I struggled to free myself, a pair of legs approached me before a set of arms lifted my head up and blow more of the powder in my face.

    ¡°Cugh Caagh Caug¡± The back of my throat burned like fire as the power forced itself into my body. A blanket of darkness overwhelmed my mind once more, but, unlike before, I managed to stay awake.

    However, the pair of legs seemed satisfied with the results and simply allowed my head to fall as they returned to their sit around the campfire. Although the new bout of sluggishness had overtaken my ear remained functional so I did my best to catch whatever it was my capturers had been discussing when I¡¯d woken up. It took a bit of effort on my part, but I managed to cut through the powder induced vail and focused on the voices all around me.

    ¡°... with enough poison to kill an ogre and yet it¡¯s still alive. Bringing it back with us is the dumbest thing we could possibly do.¡± The man that spoke in a strange manner. His words dragged a bit and, every now and again, he would vocalize unnecessary sounds. It was so bad, I had to filter it all out just to get the jest of their conversation.

    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected with darh¡¯ki. Back in Hovan, I heard of one that was capable of lifting a fully loaded cart, And, the mule that pulled the cart over its head.¡± The next man spoke in a simulator manner, but his voice was little slurred.

    ¡°All the more reason why this is a stupid idea. You saw how the arrows were pushed out of its body. That thing managed to fend off all of you off even when we were in the best condition and had the drop on it. How are we gonna deal with it now that Bryan¡¯s arm is shattered and Caleb can¡¯t even walk under his own power anymore!? Think of what Greyham would have done, you have to realize that this is foolish.¡±

    The sound of angry stumping preceded a rough hand yanking my head up again. This time I was able to get a look at my captors through my half-closed eyes. The one that stood out the most was©¤

    ¡°Foolish was taking this stupid job in the first place! Foolish was getting yourself killed three days into a week-long trip! Foolish, is coming back into elven territory to collect your damn brother corpse just so you can give him a burial that¡¯ll be too damn good for him!!¡±

    I heard the tears begin to fall even as the guy holding my head began shouting. There was also a sour stench clinging to him and I could practically hear the longing in his voice. It was unfortunate that the dead rarely replied, and when they did, it wasn¡¯t pretty.

    Based on the silence that followed, the man had hit a few sore spots with his rants. Things were finally starting to fall into place regarding the shallow graves and dead bear, but there were still a few unknown factors. In any case, I did my best take in their appearances. Two of them were missing so they must have been patroling the perimeter, and I couldn¡¯t see anything but the sheens of the guy holding me.

    The standing directly in front of me was a foot or two shorter than me, there were a few strands of grey mixed into his unruly shoulder-length brown hair. The specialized leather bracer he was wearing and quiver on his back meant that he¡¯d been one of the bowmen. He had a scruffy beard and a few scars across his eyes and cheek. Fresh pain and lost was reflected in his eyes, but beneath that laid a strong resolve.

    It was obvious who the man with an arm in a sling was. He was the second shortest of the group and his eyes were slightly glazed over as he leaned against a tree. The fact that he wasn¡¯t writhing in agony suggested that his friends had given him some of the stuff they were giving me. To the right of him was another man with a splint on his leg and bruises on his exposed back. I couldn¡¯t see his face, but he had shoulder-length blonde hair and a strange black pattern inked on his left shoulder.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The man that had blown the powder in my face was a bit on the slim side, had sheet-white skin, and bloodshot grey eyes. Though the others had stopped what they were doing, he alone continued to pour the powder into small packets with strange implements. While he was apart of their group, he didn¡¯t seem all that bothered by the mentioning of the deceased.

    The final member here had skin darker than my own. He was bald, had almost black eyes, and was the most muscular of the present group members. He leaned against a tree and did his best to seem uninterested as he lazily stared in my general direction, but angry behind his eyes was unmistakable. When he turned his head away I could make out a purplish bruise on the right side of his head. He must have been the one I knocked out first.

    Beyond their facial features and skin tones, there wasn¡¯t much else to distinguish the men apart from one another. They wore similar leather armor and they weren¡¯t carrying many personal items with them. I would have liked to see more, but the moment that had allowed me to evaluate them in the first place had passed. The man with the hold over my head regained enough of his composure to resume the conversation.

    ¡°No-Now if we want to give my brother and Tavin their due without going broke, and find a healer for Bryan and Caleb we¡¯re gonna need more money than this job is paying. We get back to Lancaster and sell him to Riache. He¡¯s worth 600 seks at least.¡± The man finally released my head and walked off after that, however, the one he¡¯d been arguing with asked an important question.

    ¡°Do we even have enough danken powder to make it back?¡± It was the powder man that answered the question.

    ¡°It depends on how we use it. Given that the darh¡¯ki started waking a couple hours after receiving a dose large enough to kill ten men several times over, it will take multiple doses a day to keep him sedated for the three-day trip. We have just enough to if we use it all on him, but unless we want to deal with the wails of those two the entire way we¡¯ll have to keep them sedated as well.¡±

    ¡°Do you hear that, Renvar? It¡¯s your men''s¡¯ well-being and the mission versus taking your prize. If you won¡¯t kill it for common sense¡¯s sake, do it for those things.¡± There was another bout of silence before a new deep voice spoke up.

    ¡°I¡¯m all for honoring our fallen, but not at the cost of our lives.¡±

    ¡°Than what do you suggest we do? Leave them in those shallow graves and wait for¡¯em to come back as monsters.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying at all. I just believe that taking this one is a mistake.¡± Those words sent a chill down my spine. He couldn¡¯t mean what I think he did.

    ¡°This one? Do you believe that there are more of them?¡± Than powder man seemed hostile in his response, but the other man maintained his composure.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time dealing with Darh¡¯ki, and one thing always remains true. When you find one of them, several remain in hiding. That one is their forerunner, one of the best they have to offer, trying to take him isn¡¯t worth the effort. But it''s another story for the ones still scurrying about. Without their fighter, they should be easy enough to catch and contain a few of them.¡±

    No NO NO NO! I tried to break out of my bonds body my body still refused to obey my commands. I didn¡¯t know anything about other Darh¡¯ki, people like my given the way they used the world, but I would not allow them to touch Aiyana.

    ¡°So, how do we find the others?¡±

    ¡°That my friend is simple, we just get our friend there to led us to them.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯ll do it?¡±

    ¡°Of course he will. After we persuade him to do so. He may heal quickly, but I¡¯d wager it still feels pain. Merkru, how long before the dose wears off?¡±

    ¡°A few hours at least.¡± the powder man¡¯s reply was a brief one.

    ¡°Alright, then we sleep in four-hour shifts. Everyone carries a danken pouch just in case. Come morning, we¡¯ll begin getting answers from our friend here in the morning.¡±

    While there was a bit of reluctance from the man that had been arguing with him, the group agreed with Renvar¡¯s suggestion.

    As they went about preparing their meal and inspecting their equipment, feeling began to return to my limbs. However, before I could do anything, a pair of legs walked up and my head was raised for the third time. The dark-skinned man looked down at me with a vicious smiled on his face.

    ¡°Better safe than sorry.¡±

    That was the last thing I heard before the man let go of my head and smacked me with the broadside of a sheathed sword.

    I lost consciousness again after that.

 Volume 02 Chapter 06: Pain Renewed

    [Year 351, The month of Storm, day 17]

    A chilling splash of cold water woke me up.

    ¡°Cauuagh Cauuahhgh¡± The world started to come into focus as I coughed up the water that managed to enter my mouth.

    A thick layer of fog blanketed the ground and the sun was just beginning its arc along the sky above. On the upside, I was no longer hanging upside down from a tree. However, that was the only good thing about any of this.

    Even now, flashes of jumbled memories of me waking up only to be drugged again ran through my mind as I struggled, to no avail, to raise my hand. My back was up against the trunk of a collapsed tree and my arms and legs were bound together with thick rope in front of me. I was starving, soaking wet, and could barely wiggle a finger. Also, I was completely naked.

    ¡°Sorry for the rude awakening my resilient friend, but you have enough danken flowing through your veins to kill a man several times over, and we need you conscious for this.¡±

    The deep-voice belonged to the angry dark-skinned man. He was standing on the opposite side of a small fire with an empty canteen in his hand. The three new faces accompanied him must have been the drunk leader from before and the pair that had been on patrol last night. The strange metal implements that hung above the flames were already red hot. I couldn¡¯t stop my mouth from forming into a self-deprecating smile as I realized the nightmare I¡¯d awakened to.

    ¡°Now, I know elves teach your kind our language so the silent treatment won¡¯t work on me. I won¡¯t lie and say that you¡¯re gonna live through this, but how long this is gonna take and how painful it¡¯s gonna be depended entirely on you.¡± The dark-skin man continued to speak in a calm tone as he put the canteen down and slowly put a strange leather glove on his right hand.

    ¡°Get to it already. We¡¯re already a day behind schedule and I¡¯d rather not be caught in elven territory.¡± The impatient tone of voice and blood-shot eyes marked the medium-sized man as the drunken leader from last night. He was less impressive than I thought he¡¯d be, with his dull brown hair and a scruffy beard.

    ¡°Patience, Renvar. This isn¡¯t something you can rush.¡± The unknown on the right spoke up in response to their leader¡¯s pestering. He was the shortest of the men, barely at the shoulders of his leader, but also the most muscular of the bunch. His arms were as thick as my thighs and there wasn¡¯t a single strand of hair on his head.

    ¡°We¡¯re not bad people you see. We¡¯re just trying to make a living in this world, just like everyone else in this godforsaken world.¡±

    The dark-skinned man ignored his companions as he continued to speak in a calm voice. He reached out with his right hand, grabbed hold of one of the red-hot pokers, and held it a little bit away from his head with a wide grin on his face.

    ¡°We only want you to answer a couple questions. Just tell us a few things and you can fall into a permanent dream.¡±

    The man slowly approached me. Each of his footsteps caused my heart to beat faster than it had been the moment before. They hadn¡¯t even done anything yet, but there was enough sweat flowing down my back to rival a river.

    When his hand reached out, I tried my best to move away, but he easily managed to grab my chin with his left hand and was forced to look directly at him. His figure blocked out all other things, but my eyes were drawn to the ever approaching poker. Only when it red hot end hovered just above my left shoulder he did the man speak again.

    ¡°Tell me, where are the others of your pack? How many of them are you? When are they expecting you to return?¡±

    Once again, I desperately tried to break free of my bonds, but I couldn¡¯t even summon a tenth of my usual strength. However, that¡¯s when the burning began.

    ¡°AUGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    My pained screams tore away the visage of the quiet early morning forest as I was racked with a type of pain I hadn¡¯t felt in quite some time. An explosion of golden light blinded me, yet the pain I felt in my shoulder had my full attention.

    The skin on my left shoulder literally started to boil when he pressed the red-hot poker against it. The all too familiar smell of my own burning flesh blew away the sluggishness of my mind. I flailed around as best as I could, but the man¡¯s grip on my chin remained firm and I was forced to endure the burning all over again. Blood filled my mouth as the poker dug deeper into my shoulder, the newly formed layers of flesh in its wake helping the piece of metal lodge itself into my body.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    I don¡¯t how much time had passed before it happened, but the man reached a point where my body healed itself fasted than the poker could cut through it. Even when the man used both hands, he couldn¡¯t get the poker any deeper than halfway through my shoulder.

    ¡°You are a tough one, my friend. Most men would have passed out or bitten their tongue clean off by now. In fact, that¡¯s why this is an unpopular method amongst professionals, you can¡¯t get any information out of the dead and dying after all. But you, you¡¯re special.¡±

    ¡°Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuu!!!!!¡±

    With a vicious yank, the man managed to wring another yell out of me.

    ¡°By Azul, it¡¯s already closing. Not even a priestess could heal an injury that quickly.¡±

    ¡°You think all Darh¡¯ki heal like that?¡±

    ¡°Impossible, we would have heard about it by know if they dead.¡±

    The leader and one of the other observers were speaking about something. It probably had something to do with the hunk of bloody flesh clinging to the poker in the dark-skinned man¡¯s hand.

    ¡°You see my friend was right. Normally I wouldn¡¯t be so forceful with my methods, but our time constraint and that body of yours have given me a bit of leeway. However, I hate unnecessary cruelty and try to avoid it whenever possible. Just tell me what we want to know.¡±

    As he spoke in his calming tone, the man bent down and lifted my head so I was forced to look him straight in the eyes. That was how I knew he was lying through his teeth. That gleam in his eyes and the barely contained grin on his face didn¡¯t belong to someone that was reluctant to do any of this.

    ¡°Where are the others of your pack? How many of them are you? When are they expecting you to return?¡±

    The image of Aiyana¡¯s bloody and bruised face flashed through my mind in response to the repeat of the questions. No matter what, I couldn¡¯t allow them to get their hands on her.

    ¡°Hawck twooe¡± I don¡¯t know which one of us was more surprised that I managed to spit a glob of blood in his face.

    ¡°You piece of shit!!¡±

    That was the only intelligible he said before he proceeded to beat me over the head with the poker. I even managed to get a taste of my own shoulder when he shattered my front teeth with it. Eventually he tired himself out beating my head in and took a long enough break for my swollen eyes to open back up.

    However, before I could breathe a relieved sigh and spit out teeth fragments, the three watchers descended upon me. My body was moved unto the fallen tree, with one of them holding my feet down, another practically sitting on my arms, and the third forcing my left completely open.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dark-skinned man approaching with a new poker. This one ended in a narrow point no larger than my little finger.

    ¡°This is your last chance before things get really bad for you, my friend. Where are the others of your pack? How many of them are you? When are they expecting you to return?¡±

    Aiyana¡¯s face flashed through my face again. Death was the preferable option letting them get to her. I respond to the third round of questions with a, now almost toothless, smile and prepared myself for what was to come.

    ¡°Haah, very well, my friend. I command you for knowingly choosing a dog¡¯s death.¡± With a steady hand, the man pushed the poker closer and closer to my left eye.

    ¡°Gyuaaaaaaaaaagu!!!¡±

    The day had yet to truly arrived but I had been forced to relive the worst pain I¡¯d ever experienced. However, the thing I focused on the most throughout it was that I¡¯d managed to clench fists.

    <hr>

    Something was wrong. Geisai hadn¡¯t returned this morning to collect his daily rations.

    Where is he? Did a wild monster get to him? What monster could do him in?

    Those question racked my mind as my pacing dug a ravine into the floor. Geisei never ventured more than a day¡¯s travel from whichever cave we occupied. Even at the worst of times he always made sure to come back and leave me some way of knowing he was safe. Yet, when I woke up the was no message from him. Those awful berries and the canteen I¡¯d set out for him last night had gone untouched as well.

    ¡°If he¡¯s messing with me, I swear I¡¯m gonna wring his neck¡­¡±

    Normally there wasn¡¯t anything in the forest that posed a serious threat to him. Sure, a few of the monsters could give him a bit of trouble, but his strength and healing ability would see him through. Although it was possible to he managed to get stuck in a pit or under a boulder somewhere, but that was unlikely.

    Unless he¡¯d done something stup?

    ¡°No. There¡¯s no way he could have done something so incredibly dumb.¡±

    I stopped in place when the worst possible explanation crossed my mind. He said it took half a day to reach the shallow graves if he went there and something happened to him it would explain why he hadn¡¯t shown up today. But what in all of Naelm would convince him to go there?

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll get it out of him later.¡± I really wish I was wrong, that he was just dozing off by the lakeside, but if there was even the slightest chance I right, I didn¡¯t have the time to check the safe areas first.

    ¡°Spears, full canteen, dried meat, throwing knives¡­¡±

    The list items I needed escaped my lips while I ran around the cave collecting them. I had no idea what I would actually need. Despite all the ¡°what if..¡± scenarios we¡¯d cooked up over the years experiencing the real thing chilled me to the bone.

    ¡°That should be right.. here it is.¡±

    I pulled out the last thing I needed form under a pile of furs. The dark brown leather jacket had a cross-strap sash, with numerous loops running along it, across the chest area, the mid-drift was metal-plated, and the shoulders were propped up by the thin metal plates sewn under the leather. However, the standout feature were the golden leaf emblems on the cuffs.

    It¡¯d been several years since we pulled out of a collapsed house and I guess now was as good a time as any other to give it a test run. Once I gathered everything up in a makeshift bag, I dashed out of the cave northern bound and prayed that I was wrong.

 Volume 02 Chapter 07: Once Forgotten

    The sky above had turned a bright shade of orange by the time I finally reached the graves Geisai had spoken of, and my worst fears have been confirmed.

    The graves were now empty, crudely dug up and left exposed for anyone to find. Dried blood was left in district panters a bit away from the graves, with a few broken arrows left jutting out of trees or on the ground where they¡¯d been dropped. The path heading in the eastern direction had been thoroughly trampled over, and, based on the opposing footprints, it seems that a number of people had carried something off in that direction.

    A struggle had taken place here recently and it was obvious that the side with the greater numbers had won. The mounds of dirt and damaged tree trunks centered in a single area indicated that the battle had been quick and brutal. The defeated hadn¡¯t gone down without a hard fight. However, only the fact that there wasn¡¯t a body or burnt pyre around offered me a small bit of relief.

    ¡°Of course, they could have dragged the body off to dispose of it elsewhere¡­¡± After a quick shake of the head, I began to weigh my options.

    Simply following the trail, whoever ¡°the victor¡± were, left behind was the course of action most likely to send me walking right into an ambush. However, the slightest chance that Geisai was still alive meant that I couldn¡¯t simply ignore this either. Peaceful negotiation was out of the question, as I doubted that the those that fought here would be open to it if any of their own had been lost.

    ¡°So, only one real option then¡­... Time to go.¡±

    The normally comforting sounds of the forest were making me jumpy in this place and I couldn¡¯t deal with flinching at every sound or sign of moment on top of everything else. Besides standing out in the open only increased the chances of being ambushed, so I decided to retreat to my makeshift base.

    Halfway between the place we found the mangled bear and the gravesite laid a unique collapsed tree. At some point in time, the massive tree had fallen atop a clump of smaller trees, that had somehow managed to support the dead tree. The tall foliage that had sprung up in the intervening time had turned to small place under the tree into a perfect hiding spot and makeshift base.

    I wasted no time in stripping off my furs once I was safely behind the tall foliage, the cool evening breeze causing my skin to prickle. However, I paid the sensation no mind as I replaced the furs with the brown set of trousers and the armored leather jacket, its previously empty slots now occupied by my throwing daggers. Finally, I grabbed hold of a familiar handle and pulled the dagger free of its worn sheath. Though the dagger¡¯s tip had been snapped off the remainder of the polished blade had been sharpened to a fine edge.

    ¡°Father. Mother. Please watch over us and help guide me through these trying times.¡± My lips gently brushed against the broadside of the dagger before sheathing it once more and strapping the blade to my waist.

    Despite the jacket being a size or two big, I was as ready as I¡¯d ever be. I would¡¯ve liked to take a couple of staffs and spears with me, but the route I¡¯d be taking was heavily dependent on nimbleness and coordination. Besides Gensai would never let me live down falling to my death because I tripped up on the butt of a spear.

    ¡°... Please be alright¡­ at this point, I¡¯d settle for you being half dead¡­¡±

    With another shake of the head, I ran back to the gravesite while taking note of even the slightest shifts in my surrounds. Once there I found the tallest tree closest to the trampled path and began to climb.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°What was what?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t hear that? Something, Something else here¡±

    Hundreds of feet below, two people stopped in place and began looking around.

    ¡°It must have been a wild animal. Come on, we gotta get back soon, or we¡¯ll go hungry.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Not like I have much of an apatite anyway. I could barely hold down breakfast after Verof¡¯s first round with the Darh¡¯ki.¡±

    ¡°Where did Greyham even find that guy?¡±

    ¡°How should I know? We needed an extra set of hands for the job and he was the only one crazy enough to join. I think h?

    The two figures walked off after a bit of searching. Even though one of them had stared directly at me for several moments, he acted as if I weren¡¯t there.

    Was something wrong with his eyes? Also, why were their ears so short and round? Did they mutilate themselves as apart of some kind of ritual?

    In any case, they¡¯d mentioned Darh¡¯ki, and the only time I heard that name was in relation to Geisai, so at the very least held still been alive the last time they¡¯d seen him. Wither or not that''s still the case remained to be determined.

    Once there was enough distance between us, I pressed my back against the tree trunk before taking a running leap off the largest branch. I had a bit of a stubble, but I managed to shamble my way onto the new tree¡¯s branch.

    My heart pounded as I rose to my feet and repeated a mantra this wasn¡¯t all that different from the pranks I used to play on Geisai in my mind, despite the additional fifty feet involved. Following the path from the treetops had been a gamble, but doing so provided me with an advantage over those I was pursuing. The pair continued on their way, paying me no mind as I continued my death-defying leaps from tree to tree. Only when they reached the small clearing could I finally allow my nerves to rest as I purchased atop a beach a few yards away.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just Geisai, people really don¡¯t look overhead.¡± While my observations continued to escape my lips, my eyes were already roaming on the small campsite.

    The pair I¡¯d been following walked over the nearby campfire where the majority of the group had been gathered for their nightly meal. All of them appeared to be men and each of them had the strange rounded ears like the first pair. One of the men said something that managed to get a laugh out of nearly everybody while another one sat a plate of cooked meat and bread rolls in front of a man with an arm in a slang and a man with the casted leg.

    Besides their strange ears, there wasn¡¯t anything too unusual about the party, but something cold took root in the pit of my stomach as I watched them. When my eyes drifted towards the other source of light in the camp what I saw caused the chill to solidify into a block of ice.

    A circle of iron pokers surrounded him, each one of them skewering piece of bloody flesh, the trials of blood tracing back to a naked figure spiraling along a fallen tree. His face was covered in slowly closing cuts and lesions, the cut on his cheek being deep enough to reach bone. The golden light around his body was missing its usual radiance, making it almost invisible against the late evening sunset. Even though one of the men forced his head up and smacked him across the face hard enough that the sound of the impact reached my ears, Geisai didn¡¯t react in the slightest.

    I let it happen again. I swore that I wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to hurt him like this ever again, but there he laid broken and abused because I¡¯d allowed it to happen. I knew there was an unknown group within the forest, I¡¯d allowed him to wander about on his own.

    I wasn¡¯t gonna lose anyone ease!!!

    They would pay. They would all pay for what they did to my little bro?

    ¡°Whaa¡±

    That last thought trailed off as I grabbed a hold of my right wrist. At some point, I¡¯d drawn one of my throwing daggers and had been moments away from using it.

    ¡°Heeh Haaah Heeh Haaah Heeh Haaah¡±

    I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself before I did anything rash. I¡¯d been so caught up in the heat of the moment I¡¯d almost done something utterly stupid. Geisai was still alive, but attacking without a plan would only get us both killed or captured. The last thing needed in this situation was a raw emotional response.

    The fallen tree Geisai was sat against was at the edge of the clearing. It would be easy enough to reach him under the cover of darkness. It was unlikely that all of them would sleep at the same time in this undefended location. It was easier to take out one or two men would and fleeing into the night would be an easier task than fighting all eight of them while carrying Geisai on my shoulders. Once he was safe, we could figure out a way to deal with those strangers.

    The palest of their ranks suddenly stood up and handed the two injured men something they proceeded to snort it into their noses. After a few seconds, the pair started to doze off and the pale one picked up a leather pouch and walked over to Geisai, passed the man that had slapped my brother before.

    Given that Geisai should have easily been able to free himself and the amount of trust the other seemed to have in the pale man, he must have had a way to confine Geisai. Depending on what it was, it might be necessary to incapacitate him before making our escape.

    The pale man held the pouch over Geisai¡¯s head and prepared to do something with its contents, but something unexpected happened. The golden light around Geisai¡¯s body suddenly dispersed and was replaced with lightning sparks.

    ¡°GAAH!!!!¡±

    The pale man only had enough time to let out a shout before Geisai sprung up and freed his hands of their bonds. Without a moment of hesitation, Geisai pulled back his fist and punched the pale man. However, it wasn¡¯t one of the punches he throw when we spared. It was a punch that sent his forearm through the man¡¯s chest.

    Silence completely overtook the clearing as everyone, including me, hadn¡¯t expected that to happen. But the silence lasted but for a moment.

    ¡°WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡±

    Geisai let out an animalistic yell that caused all of the men below to flinch and I was briefly reminded of being a little girl cowering in a corner of a half-destroyed building.

 Volume 02 Chapter 08: Darhéˆ¥æªi Unbound

    ¡°WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡±

    When I¡¯d first heard this sound, I¡¯d just assumed that it¡¯d come out of an ogre¡¯s mouth. But, there was no ogre in sight as the piercing yell caused my ears to ring. However, I finally received confirmation of a thought that had been in the back of my mind for a few years now. After all, what better to fend off monsters than another monster?

    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t a monster.¡±

    Despite the lightning arcing across his body, Geisai¡¯s legs were still bound, and he was as naked as the day he was born atop the fallen tree, yet the men didn¡¯t move. The last thing any of them wanted to do was draw the ire of monster they¡¯d brought into their camp. He had all eyes on him, everyone waiting for him to do something before making their next move.

    However, it wasn¡¯t him that shattered the frozen moment.

    In the space between one breath and the next, one of the injury men leaped to their feet only to fall face down into the fire.

    ¡°Wahahaaaaaa!!!!!!! It burns, its burns!!¡±

    ¡°Haaaaaaaahhh!!!¡±

    ¡°Kill that thing already! Hurry!¡±

    Everything exploded into action following the man¡¯s scream. Geisai let out an animalistic cry and broke free of his bounds with a single jerk. Meanwhile, the rest of the men scrambled to reach their weapons or merely flee, it was hard to tell from here, and I couldn¡¯t afford to stay here and find out.

    I started climbing down the tree trunk as fast as I could, ignoring the cutting bark against my palms along the way. Time was the least plentiful resource I had at my disposal, and I couldn¡¯t afford to worry about minor issues right now. I could still hear the screams and shouts from here.

    ¡°No No No!!¡±

    ¡°Caleb!!¡±

    ¡°Azathan help us.¡±

    As soon as my feet hit the ground, I dashed off in the direction of the camp, the shouts of terror and pain guiding my way. Once I reached the bush in front of the clearing, what greeted me was a hellish landscape.

    Blood soaked into the ground around the camp, broken pieces of armor and weapons were scattered all over the place, and the stench of death clung to the area. The remnants of the campfire were slowly burning the upper body of some unknown man, The man with fresh burns on his face wasn¡¯t far away from him, his body now contorted into a ragged form with hard angles sticking out where they shouldn¡¯t. The brutality of this battle was well above anything I¡¯ve ever come across.

    In the center of the camp, Geisai stood over the man with the leg cast, with his fingers digging into the man¡¯s lower back. His eyes were almost wholly reded over, and blind fury had twisted his face into a vicious scowl. Without a moment of hesitation, Geisai lifted the man over his head and tore him in half with ease.

    Blood and viscera rained down on Geisai head while the bisected corpse fell to the ground. But, Geisai merely wiped the blood out of his eyes before his body began jerking about, his eyes seeking out the next prey. The upper body had landed a few feet in front of me, allowing me to see the look of sheer terror frozen on the man¡¯s face. It took everything I had to hold down my meal as the stench of it all was more potent than any animal or goblin corpse.

    In the corner of my eye, I caught sight of an archer aiming his bow at the back of Geisai¡¯s head. In between, one breathe and the next, I unsheathed my daggers and sent them flying straight at him before he could let a single arrow fly. While one of the knives bounced off the bow, the other one managed to slice into the man¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Ughh!!¡±

    That pained yell proved to be the man undoing. When Geisai heard it, the man immediately became the focus of Geisai¡¯s undivided attention. With a single leap, Geisai erased the distance between them, grabbed hold of the man¡¯s right arm and tore it off.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Gyuaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!¡±

    The man fell to his knees in agony, the blood flowing from his shoulder like a mighty river as his body rapidly began to turn pale. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the man his pain was intense, yet short-lived. Geisai grabbed hold of the man¡¯s neck and, with one yank, pulled the man¡¯s head and spine out. He casually tossed man¡¯s head aside and resumed his search.

    ¡°Hey, you bastard! Over here!¡±

    Following the shout to its origins reveal three men standing at the edge of the camp with their weapons raised.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m gonna let you get away with this! You killed my friends, and you think I¡¯m gonn?¡±

    ¡°YOUUU!!!¡±

    The man in front of the trio didn¡¯t finish his rant before Geisai cut him off and began charging at them. While the man in front stayed rooted where he was, the other stepped forward on his sides, with what appeared to raised nets in their left hand.

    I see.

    The one in the center was the bait to lure Geisai in range, and once caught, they would gang up on him. A rather crude, but effective means of putting an end to Geisai¡¯s rampage¡­

    If he were an animal, that is. Loud noises and posturing were nothing but a minor distraction for a person dead sit on a cross of action.

    Geisai paid the shouting and baiting remarks of the central man no made heed; his undivided attention was on the man to his right. The same man that had previously slapped him in the face earlier. Seeming to realize the fault with their plan, the central man attempted to intercept Geisai, but that achieved nothing.

    When the central man was in striking distance, Geisai delivered a powerful forearm strike to his ribs. No matter what happens after this, the sound of multiple bones simultaneously shattering was something I would never forget. The man had been sent flying, and there was any sign of him ever standing again after he landed a few feet away.

    However, Geisai didn¡¯t even glance in the man¡¯s general direction as he chased after the now fleeing man. He was dead set on catching that man, and it was clear what his intentions were once he got ahold of him. Despite the man having a head start on Geisai, the distance between then had vanished before the man could get more than a few feet away from the camp. His fate was sealed the moment Geisai pinned him to a tree with a shoulder tackle.

    ¡°AAUUHHA GYAAAAAAN!¡±

    The frightened scream returned my attention to the last man standing. He was running in the opposite direction of Geisai as fast as he legs could take him. However, it didn¡¯t matter in the grand scheme of things. Even if he managed to get away, he had nothing but the clothes on his back and was heading straight into the monster-infested forest. It¡¯d be a miracle if he were still alive by tomorrow night.

    But¡­ We need one of them alive for a bit longer.

    ¡°Haah¡­ Eiemene ym nwod ekirts dna worra yht emoceb, retaw gniwolf fo stirips.¡±

    The leaf cuffs on my jacket suddenly lit up before a conical mass of water rapidly formed in my hand before it flew through the man¡¯s left leg like it was parchment.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Gyuaaa!!¡± The man tumbled to the ground with a thud, but he desperately crawled in his continued attempt to flee.

    That shouldn¡¯t have happened; my magic couldn¡¯t have the power to do something like that. At best, that spell should have only left a shallow cut along his thigh. It was just meant to, should¡¯ve only been capable, of slowing him down a bit. There he was crawling along the ground like a worm after a rainstorm.

    I stared down the cuffs for a moment, but the light they¡¯d produced had already disappeared.

    ¡°Another thing to look into later. For now¡­¡±

    I picked up a palm-sized stone and slowly approached the fleeing man, grabbing a piece of cloth before I reached the duel crimson and clear trails he left in his wake. With a steady hand, I raised the stone on brought it down on his head, halting his movements in the process. Then I did it a second time for good measure and processed to tie a tourniquet above his leg wound. With that settled, I propped the man upon a tree before following after Geisai.

    ¡°AH HAH HYAHAH! AHHHH!!¡±

    I heard him before I saw him. He held a body up at eye level as he continued to punch away at its head, the speed of those punches increasing with each grunt.

    ¡°Geisai.¡±

    Teeth, blood, and scraps of literally beginning to fly off after a certain point.

    ¡°Geisai!!!¡±

    A large chunk of a man¡¯s lower jaw landed at my feet.

    ¡°GEISAI!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    My shout finally managed to reach him. Geisai went rigid as he dropped the body and slowly turned around. Blood and dirt were caked into his hair and seemed to be in a daze, his mouth opening, and closing as if he couldn¡¯t formulate words. While the reds of his eyes were shrinking, merely glancing at his eyes was enough to send a chill down my spine.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Geisai. I¡¯m here. It¡¯s over now.¡± I held my arms open and spoke to him in a calming tone.

    Geisai vanished from my view for a brief moment before appearing right in front of me. He fell to his knees and began hugging my waist, the blood on his face running as tears started to stream down his face.

    ¡°Aiyanna, you¡¯re safe. You¡¯re safe.¡±

    There was nothing I could say in response to that. I could only kneel down and do my best to comfort Geisai while he cried for the first time in several years.

    However, doing so gave me a clear view of his handiwork. There was a fist-sized hole in the body¡¯s chest, one of the hands were missing a few fingers and was only a good yank away from falling off. And the head¡­ there wasn¡¯t one anymore. All that remained of it was a diminished stump attached to the neck. Unlike the others, this had been a drawn-out process that Geisai would¡¯ve extended beyond this if it were possible.

    As night finally overtook the remnants of the day, I knelt there comforting my brother in the aftermath of his slaughter.

 Volume 02 Chapter 09: First One

    [Year 351, The month of Storm, day 18]

    The gentle breeze that accompanied the coming dawn carried the stench of blood and burnt flesh. Although the fires had been put out and the blood was beginning to dry, there was no rain to mask the stench that lingered in the area.

    Last night, after Geisai had calmed down, we took a few supplies and set up a makeshift camp near the shallow gravesite. We brought the lone survivor with us and bound him to a tree. Though, I had to stop Geisai from ripping the man¡¯s head off on three separate occasions. I¡¯m pretty sure he would have spent the entire night glaring at the man if exhaustion hadn¡¯t overtaken him. He would¡¯ve looked adorable, with his peaceful expression and drool running down his chin, if it hadn¡¯t been for the dried blood and dirt that coated his skin.

    When I awoke, Geisai had already taken up a spot a few feet away from the still unconscious man. He¡¯d done his best to clean up, but there wasn¡¯t much he could do without a trip to the lake. While Geisai appeared to be as immovable as a mountain, there were slight muscle tics all across his body, and the reds of his eyes were rapidly contracting and expanding.

    ¡°Geisai¡­¡±

    I softly called out to him, but he jerked his head around so fast it seemed like it was at risk of flying off.

    ¡°Haah¡­¡±

    I¡¯d just gotten him back, but he was too on edge to keep around for what needed to happen. I picked a few things up off the ground and rose to my feet.

    ¡°Here, eat.¡± I held out a few strips of dried meat and a canteen.

    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡±

    ¡°... Geisai, there are a lot of things we need to take care off today, and I don¡¯t need you dropping like a stone halfway back home. Eat.¡± I did my best intimidating glare and pushed the food closer to him.

    Although a bit reluctant, Geisai took the dried meat and bit into it. He¡¯d been running on anger and not much ease for the last day or so and it wasn¡¯t long before he was wolfing the food down. After his second and third helping, I handed him a stone and began asking him what I needed to know ahead of time.

    ¡°Geisai, how did they catch you?¡± The question visibly wounded Geisai, but he eventually managed to choke out a response.

    ¡°I had nothing better to do, so I decided to do a bit of scouting. They ambushed me with poison-coated weapons and two bowmen. Before I could break free, one of theirs blew some powder in my face, and I lost control of my body.¡± Cracks began to form along the stone''s surface as he relived the experience.

    ¡°Then, this powder was how they keep you pinned down? How did you break free?¡±

    ¡°I-I couldn¡¯t, at least not at first. No matter how much I wanted to, my body refused to move. I felt weak. I felt helpless. POWERLESS...¡±

    (CRARCH TOOW)

    The stone had been reduced to pebbles as Geisai breathing became erratic.

    ¡°Geisai, calm down. Breath, just breath.¡± I handed him another stone and did my best to soothe him. Four stones later and a brief flash of gold, he¡¯d brought himself under control.

    ¡°At least, that was how it was at first. The longer it went own, the more flesh they yanked out, the more pain they inflicted, the more control I regained.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they give you more of that powder or was one dose strong enough to last the whole day?¡±

    ¡°No, the pale man blow the powder into my face three times over the course of the day. While none of them had been as large as the initial dose, a few of them said that it¡¯d been enough to kill a man.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they keep the dose size consistent?¡±

    ¡°They wanted me to tell them where you were? Heehe. You can¡¯t force someone to talk unless they can still feel pain. I guess it worked in my favor. The effects shortened with each successive dose. When I heard they were stopping for the night, I know I had to escape before the pale man gave me enough powder to knock men out again.¡±

    ¡°Did you learn anything about them? Where did they come from? Why were they here in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Not much. Someone had sent them to complete a task, but they lost their original leader when they crossed paths with the bear. He took over for them afterward. Other than that, I just picked up a few names and place I¡¯d never heard of and that most of them were afraid of being caught inside the forest.¡± Geisai pointed to the man tied to the tree as the pebbles fell from his left hand.

    While it wasn¡¯t as much to go off of, someone the pieces were falling into place. Now, I just needed to tap the other source of information.

    ¡°Geisai, can you find your way back to their camp?¡±

    He raised an eyebrow at the question but nodded his head nevertheless.

    ¡°Okay, I need you to go there and gather up anything useful. Then, I want you to move the body next to the fire pit and start gathering kindling. I should be finished by the time you¡¯re done with that.¡±

    ¡°What are you gonna be doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna have a little chat with ou?.¡±

    ¡°NO! I¡¯m not leaving you alone with that bastard!¡±

    A flash of golden light momentarily blinded me. Geisai had leaped to his feet before I could finish that sentence, his golden cloak covering his body from head to toe, and his pupils lost in the sea of crimson that had become his eyes. He was at his breaking point. Before he could grab the unconscious man, I used my canteen to splash water into his face.

    The golden cloak vanished, and he was left standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

    ¡°Hey!¡± After the second shot, he let out a shout and wiped the water out of his eyes. The pupil and ever a bit of white had become visible again.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°That is exactly why I¡¯ll be speaking to him alone. I can¡¯t trust you not to kill him halfway into the conversation in your current state. We''re dealing with a completely unknown entity and now, more than ever, we need information. And he is the only source we have.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ what if we move deeper into the forest and forget that this ever happened.¡±

    ¡°Geisai, we sit in between an unknown and the known threat, and that gap we occupy is only growing smaller. The only way we can survive is if we stay ahead of things.¡±

    For a brief moment, it looked like his anger was gonna get the best of him again, but all of the tension drained from his body with a single sigh.

    ¡°Haah¡­ You deserve better than just surviving.¡±

    There it was again. He¡¯d said something similar before storming off the other day. If survival wasn¡¯t the goal then what was? I¡¯ll have to come back to that later.

    ¡°Let''s compromise. You can stay, but you¡¯re gonna be out of sight and, under no circumstances are you to show yourself.¡±

    ¡°But, what if?.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my final offer.¡±

    After thinking it over for a bit, Geisai reluctantly nodded his head.

    ¡°Good. Now find a hiding place. I need time to prepare.¡±

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    Above, the sun had completed half of its journey to the top of the sky.

    Once the bond around the man¡¯s left arm I took a step back and viewed my handiwork. The man had begun to stir a while ago, but after a few knocks against the tree trunk and another argument with Geisai we stripped him of everything but his undergarments and overshirt. Ropes around his slightly flabby waist and head pinned him to the tree. His arms hung slack, suspended by rope bound by two nearby trees, and his legs were tied up six times over.

    No matter how much he struggled, he won¡¯t be getting out unless his strength rivaled Geisai, and I''d prepared for that. I¡¯d stripped as many daggers to my person as I could, and had hidden some other weapons throughout the area. Geisai hung from a tree directly behind the man, willing and able to pounce at a moment¡¯s notice. I also had one other safeguard. It took a bit of searching, but the blood covered bag of powder.

    We were as ready as we could be, no use putting it off any longer. I picked up a bowl of water and tossed it in the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°Haa!!¡±

    The ropes binding the man¡¯s arms became tuat as he struggled to break free. However, the ropes held. After a bit of flailing about, the man looked up at me and froze in place. His bloodshot eyes darted back in forth, his struggling to find a way out of this situation. A useless effort, but I commanded him for the effort.

    ¡°I know you must be confused, but there are a few things my superiors and I need from you.¡± I kept my voice steady and revealed nothing on my face. When the tears started falling, I knew I was doing something right.

    ¡°You suddenly appear in our forest, running around like a chicken with its head cut off and screaming bloody murder, and we''d very much like to know the why and how of the situation.¡±

    ¡°Damn it. Damn it. They¡¯re dead. Everyone is dead.¡±

    He needed a little direction; otherwise, we weren¡¯t gonna get anywhere. I reached out and grabbed ahold of his face.

    ¡°Dead? Who¡¯s dead? Where did they die? How?¡± They were simple enough questions to start off with, and after a bit more weeping, he finally answered.

    ¡°My brother, my friends, everyone. That thing killed them al- aaah¡± I¡¯d didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d tightened my hold until he let out a pained cry.

    Might as well go with it.

    ¡°Details. Give me the details.¡±

    ¡°Fuck! It was a damn Darh¡¯ki! One of your fucking rejects! Heugh©¥ Why do you elves get off your high horse and deal with those animals instead of burdening us with them? Huh?!!¡± He strained against the ropes again, but they held firm.

    This was easier than I thought it¡¯d be. With the right amount of force, I should get him to give up the information I was after.

    ¡°See, was that so difficult? A couple more questions and we can wrap this up. Now, what are you doing in our forest?¡± I forced the man to look me straight in the eyes and bared down on him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, we were short on time and needed to get the job done. Damn it. They didn¡¯t deserve to die like that, not even Merkru.¡±

    I was losing him to his grief, and we couldn¡¯t have that. My fist moved like a burr, the meeting of my knuckles and his face creating a satisfying crunch. While the blow had dazed the man, he was back to straining against his restraints and spewing curses, so I hit him again, and again, and again.

    By the time my fist hurt too much to hit him anymore his left eye had swollen shut, and his bottom lip had split open. The ropes had dug into his wrist, and a stream of tears flew from his undamaged eye.

    Ignoring the man¡¯s feeble cries, I asked my next question.

    ¡°Who sent you on this ¡°job¡± and why did they do so?¡±

    ¡°FU-FU-FUCK you, bitch!¡±

    Bitch? Was I supposed to be offended by that? I could hurt him again, but I needed one working hand after this. Let¡¯s try something else.

    ¡°Haah, it¡¯s a shame that things have to come to this. Don¡¯t worry though. We¡¯re still in the middle of the rainy season, so you won¡¯t have to worry about drying out, getting food might be difficult.¡±

    I turned on my heels and began walking away.

    ¡°Y-Y-You¡¯re buffing! Hey! Hey!¡±

    The man shouted at me, but I kept walking.

    ¡°I wonder what I should have for dinner tonight. Maybe roasted boar stew or spit-roasted chicken?¡± My voice was just loud enough for him the hear me.

    ¡°Wait!! You can¡¯t get away with this!¡±

    My legs stopped for a moment, but that was only to give him a false sense of hope.

    ¡°Such a shame we never figured out who that group of dead travelers were.¡± I resumed walking after that line.

    Ten feet. Twenty feet. Thirty fe©¤.

    ¡°Okay! Okay! It was Lancaster! Lancaster hired us!¡±

    Never heard the name before, but revealing that could be counterproductive, so marched back to him and loomed over his restrained figure.

    ¡°Now, why would Lancaster do that?¡±

    ¡°A war is brewing between Lancaster and Greton. The two cities have been fighting over a gold mine that sits on their shared border. Each side is looking for an edge, and we promised Lancaster we could deliver it to them.¡±

    ¡°You risked bringing down the wrath of the forest for something so trivial?¡±

    ¡°Please, I¡¯m just a mercenary. If you¡¯re looking for a target go after Lancaster or Greton.¡±

    I could ask for more, but revealing my lack of knowledge could be detrimental at this point. Besides, any further information he could provide wasn¡¯t worth the effort of dragging it out of him.

    Time to finish this.

    ¡°I suppose we¡¯re done here. Thank you for your cooperation.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re gonna let me go©¤ Where are you going!? AAAHHHH¡±

    After I put of few feet between us, I spun on my heels and kicked him in the head.

    ¡®¡°What are you doing?! I answered your question, you said you¡¯d let me go! Gyaaaahhhhhhhhh!!¡±

    Another scream was torn from his throat as one of my daggers dug into his left shoulder.

    ¡°Let you go? When did I ever promise something like that?¡±

    The second dagger embedded itself into his gut, the third into his right shoulder, and fourth in between his sixth and seventh, killing the next scream before it left his mouth. His gaping mouth was all the invitation I needed to smash his teeth in with a snap kick.

    ¡°Spewtht... Why?¡­ Spewtht.¡± He managed to get out a single word in between spitting out blood.

    ¡°Why? Why? WHY?¡± It was impossible to hold back any longer.

    ¡°You tortured my little brother you piece of shit! You¡¯ve earned all of this and more!¡±

    My father¡¯s dagger pierced his neck and created a new mouth before it left. Only shocked remained in his eyes as his lifeblood poured out of his body.

 Volume 02 Chapter 10: Wrongness in Nothingness

    Freshly spilled blood ran along the broken blade of my dagger, and there wasn¡¯t a shake or tremble in my hands. The blood flowing from the man¡¯s new smile slowed to a trickle, yet my heartbeat remained stable. Looking into focusless eyes didn¡¯t spark a reaction in me.

    I didn¡¯t regret killing the man. In fact, he deserved a lot worse than what he got. If I had to means and time, he would have endured all the pain and suffering he and his men had infected on Geisai and more. With everything said and done I felt nothing in the end.

    But something in the back of my mind bugged me.

    ¡°I thought we weren¡¯t gonna kill him?¡± Geisai¡¯s question drew me out of my head.

    He descended from his hiding spot, going from a free fall to a rolling landing with one flaunt motion. His earlier anxiousness almost entirely gone from his face as he walked past the corpse without a second glance. It was wasn¡¯t that long ago that he was chomping at the bit to kill the man, but now that he was dead the man could¡¯ve been a rock for all Geisai seemed to care.

    Another ping hit me, this one causing a slight pain in my chest.

    His emotions shouldn¡¯t change so quickly, should they? Something about it seemed off.

    ¡°No, I said that we needed him for information. I never said we needed him alive after we got what we needed.¡± Doing my best to push my nagging feeling aside, I wiped the blood off my dagger and sheathed it.

    After a quick look above, I breathed a sigh and started pulling my throwing knives out of the man¡¯s body. Depending on how long it took to clean up their camp, we could make it back to our cave before midday tomorrow.

    The last knife remained lodged in the man¡¯s left shoulder when I tried to pull it out. I tried to yank it out with a bit more force but¡­

    ¡°Augh.¡±

    I received a shot of pain through my hand for my trouble. Next time I repeatedly punched someone in the face, I needed to wear some hand protection.

    As I rubbed my swollen knuckles, Geisai reached over and pulled the knife free with ease.

    ¡°This is what you get for losing your head.¡± The self-satisfied smirk on his face almost made it seem like everything was normal.

    Normal¡­? Was this our version of ordinary?

    Ooh, so that¡¯s it.

    ¡°Geisai¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­?¡±

    ¡°What we- what I did just now, was something that needed to be done.¡±

    ¡°The bashing his face in or using him as a target board?¡± It felt as if a stone landed in the pit of my stomach when he said that. His eyes had a bright crimson gleam to them as he gave me a full grin.

    But, that was to be expected given that he¡¯d performed the act while he wasn¡¯t in his right mind.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°Geisai, listen this is important.¡± I took a deep breath and tried to find the right words.

    ¡°No matter how much I wish things were different, we¡¯ve killed people, not animals or monsters, but actual people. They had names, families, and their own goals. But, we killed them nevertheless.¡±

    ¡°They deserved it! They tortured me and would¡¯ve done the same to you if given a chance!¡± The fire had returned in Geisai eyes, but what I had to say need to be told here and now.

    ¡°I know that. I¡¯m not saying that they hadn¡¯t earned their deaths, but we can¡¯t let our anger, no matter how justified, blind us to the fact that they¡¯d been people. I wish things were different, but we may find ourselves in a position where we have to kill again. If or when that situation comes up, we can¡¯t allow ourselves to forget that some of those we kill well be people.¡±

    ¡°Why? We don¡¯t owe them anything. Why should we give those that try to hurt us that much?¡± His joyful tone had vanished. There only something cold behind his words. For the first ever Geisai eyes had turned the shade of old blood. There was no anger, just contempt.

    And he had every right to feel that way, but it still didn¡¯t sit well with me.

    Seven years ago, everything I knew was turned on my head when the basic of my being was yanked away by an uncaring world. But the experience didn¡¯t kill me,  instead of dying in the wreckage of the past I was forced to live beyond that tragedy. I should¡¯ve died, I probably would¡¯ve on my on, but I had someone with me, someone that gave me a purpose.

    However that part of me was still missing and it there¡¯d been no way to restore had been lost, it could only be replaced. Had the proceeding event been less jarring, I probably would have noticed the gradual changes before now. What had once been incomprehensible became a regular part of my daily routine.

    Killing wild animals for food or because they got too close to our dwelling, leading goblins into collapsing tunnel traps, or dropping Inpulsa Vespa nest on the occasional troll or giant bear. I initially had misgivings about performing those actions, but now, those things were nothing more than occasional tasks.

    I just killed a man.

    After inflected a fraction of the pain and suffering he deserved, I killed him with a simple stroke across his throat. I killed him, and if you took away the anger behind the act, it was no different from killing a goblin.

    It wouldn¡¯t take much for killing people to become just another annoyance, just another occasional task.

    And that scared me, or rather, what that would mean frightened me. Buried deep within me, the last remnants of the girl I could¡¯ve been was on the verge of fading away, and I wasn¡¯t ready for it to disappear.

    ¡°Geisai, our hands are already stained with blood. If we don¡¯t acknowledge them as people, if we start killing indiscriminately than we¡¯d be no different from the monsters you¡¯re painting them to be.¡±

    Our haven was on the verge of collapsing, and I doubted we would survive without spilling more blood. It was impossible to stop the flood, but we still had the power to give direction to its flow. It was a thin line to navigate, but traversing it was the only way to hold on to myself. No matter how cruel we had to be to survive, I didn¡¯t want to become complete monsters.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what I become in anyone else¡¯s eyes¡­  But, if you say that¡¯s the right thing to do, then I¡¯ll do it. No matter how many we kill, no matter how low my opinion of them are, I won¡¯t belittle who they were in life. Okay?¡± His expression softened a bit before he cast a glance toward the body. The bitterness was still there, but he was doing his best for my sake.

    I reached over and hugged him. ¡°I love you.¡± It was a symbol statement, but Geisai¡¯s body went stiff.

    ¡°Athm, I take it we won¡¯t be leaving him here.¡± He pulled away from me and turned his attention to the body. Right, we still had a lot of things to take care of. Besides, staying here was probably uncomfortable for him.

    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to have his shambling corpse wandering around the forest in a couple of days. Take him back to his camp and start gathering the rest of the bodies around the firepit. I¡¯ll join you in a little bit.

    Geisai gave me a hard stare.

    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m just gonna gather the kindling. Once I get back, we can start sorting through their things.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re still gonna take their stuff? What happened to respecting them as people?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re taking the time to dispose of their bodies properly, and we¡¯ve already acknowledged them as people. What are the dead gonna do with material things?¡±

    ¡°Oh, for a moment there, I thought we were gonna burn them with their things.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a difference between acknowledgment and irrational behavior. Come on, let¡¯s get to work.¡±

 Volume 02 Chapter 11: New Beginnings

    [Year 351, The month of Flame, day 12]

    The sun was halfway through with her descent from the pinnacle of the sky. The now orange sky seemed to stretch towards the horizon endlessly. It would be a beautiful scene if it weren¡¯t hot enough to fry hercinia eggs.

    While the heat on its own would be taxing to deal with, but sitting in a tree covered from head to toe in leaf-covered thick leathers wasn¡¯t helping my mood.

    ¡°Why did I agree to wear this stupid thing?¡± My canteen was empty, and it felt like the furs had doubled in weight since I put it on, but Aiyana had insisted that I wear them.

    We were supposed to go to the lake today, we¡¯d planned it a few days ago, but rumblings of the north had squashed any chance of that happening. Instead of a nice, relaxing day by the lake, I was stuck here up to my knees in my own sweat.

    ¡°Haah, couldn¡¯t these guys have chosen a cooler season to come here? Or, better yet, not at all?¡± Complaining wasn¡¯t gonna solve anything, but it took my mind off of things.

    Just as I considered tearing into the tree to drink its sap, my ears picked up on something. In addition to a high pitched buzzing, fou? No five people were heading my way. They were in such a hurry that they didn¡¯t even stop to pick up the things they were dropping with every other step.

    Finally!

    I leaped to my feet and pulled down the bear skull helmet over my head in preparation. Each heartbeat brought them closer and closer to my position. Anticipation raised awareness of my surroundings by tenfold. The group¡¯s clumsy trek through the foliage drowned out all the unnecessary information in the area. Their labored breathing sounded as if they were panting a few feet away from my face. The stink of the own sweat overpowering everything else. I could practically taste them on the air.

    The rest of the world gradually faded away, leaving behind nothing but them, me, and the distance between us.

    Closer

    Closer

    Closer

    The group blister-covered humans burst out of the foliage in a mad dash. Three men and two muscular women, in various states of undress, ran from the swarm of Inpulsa Vespa. The shiny blue insects were about half the size of my palm, had stingers the size of my little finger, and created small arcs of lightning. On their own, one vespa was a nuisance, but a colony of them could kill a bear given enough time.

    While the vespa were extremely territorial, they never went more than five hundred feet away from their nest. Even now, less than half of the nest continued the pursuit.

    If the fleeing group managed to reach the clearing a few yards away, they would be safe from harm. However, they wouldn¡¯t reach it. Not under their own power, anyway.

    When the lead running passed by the tree I resided in, I pounced. Faster than any of them could react, I landed in the middle of their formation and grabbed the lead runner by his hair, and simultaneously stopping the woman to my left with a backhanded punch.

    One down.

    The man behind me couldn¡¯t stop in time and wound up bouncing off my back following a brief collision. As the man rose to his feet, I bought my right knee up to my abdomen before delivering a solid kick to the man¡¯s fast. He fell flat on his back and didn''t get up.

    Two.

    The man and woman that had been running on my right side didn¡¯t even break their stride to check on their companions. In any case, they¡¯d managed to put a decent amount of distance between themselves and me. Let¡¯s correct that. The man I held onto struggled to free himself from my grasp to no avail. I grabbed hold of his trousers, and with a quick spin, sent him soaring through the air.

    ¡°Ahaghhah!!¡± ¡°Gaah!¡± Despite the projectile¡¯s flailing about, I managed to catch the fleeing man in the back. The bone-snapping crunch that accompanied the two tumbling to the ground put a smile on my face.

    ¡°Get off me!¡±

    The man that had been knocked down struggled to untangle himself from the limp projectile. He was so focused on the task, he didn¡¯t even have time to react when my left fist caved in his left cheek as I ran past him.

    In the corner of my eye, I saw the man collapse with no sign of getting up.

    Three.

    Four.

    The remaining woman continued to run, but ragged breathing and drop off in speed showed that fatigue had begun to set in. She had lasted far longer than I expected her to, but this was the end.

    Once she was within range, I outstretched my hand and tried to grab on to her. My fingers just brushed against her back when she suddenly stopped, pivoted on her heel, and slashed at me with a hidden knife.

    I tried to dodge her attack, but my own momentum caused me to stumble over my own feet as something wet began trailing down my left cheek. I stomped down with my right leg to rebalance myself and ran my pointer finger along my cheek. It came back blood red.

    My hand started trembling as my eye remained locked on the blood on my finger. My blood.

    The woman raised her knife for another strike, but they wouldn¡¯t get any more blood from me!!!!!!

    ¡°Haaaaagh!!¡±

    The knife fell to the ground as my fingers wrapped around the woman¡¯s neck and hoisted her into the air. The woman desperately tried to pry my finger off her throat by my hold not only remained firm, but it also tightened. Her desperate kicks gave way to dangling legs as the last of her breath fled her body, and the lights dimmed in her eyes.Stolen novel; please report.

    Every fiber of my being wanted finish her off. I wanted to see the remainder of the light vanish as she suffered a fraction of what I was forced to endure. It would be so easy to end their lives. All I had to do was relax my control a bit more, just a bit more and their life would be snuffed out like a candle in a rainstorm. I wanted to do it. If I had my way, I would''ve done it already. But¡­ But, none of them had presented enough of a threat to justify doing so.

    Aiyana would be disappointed.

    ¡°Hugh. Five!¡± The woman¡¯s limp body fell to the ground with a thud. Although faintly, she was still breathing.

    I threw my mask off and stripped away the heavy leathers. What was even the point of wearing any of th?

    ¡°Ouch!¡± I smashed whatever had stung my back, only to find greenish pus and a set of crushed wings.

    A few vespa were still in the area. Great.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    When nightfall fell a rustling in the bushes announced Aiyana¡¯s return. She was dressed in similar thick leathers to the ones I wore. Her face was flush, and sweat dripped from her hair as she dragged two large sacks behind her.

    ¡°Hey there. Mind lend me a hand.¡± She didn¡¯t even turn in my direction, but something told me she knew where I was.

    I descended from my perch and approached her in at a slow pace.

    ¡°This is the sixth group. There were only three days in between them and the last one group.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Yes, you can count really good. Now get over here and help¡­ me.¡±

    In-between one word and the next, I hosted the three sacks over my shoulder and began walking towards our guest. There hands and feet had been bound, and their eyes had been covered by thick strips of cloth.

    ¡°What¡¯s in these anyway?

    ¡°Enough clothes, food, and weapons to get our guest out of the forest. I had to secure everything else while avoiding an angry vespa swarm. So, was there any trouble on your end?¡±

    ¡°Not in particular. There were five days between the last group and the group before them. The intervals are growing shorter.¡± I set the sacks down at the base of the tree the scouts were lined up against.

    I turned around to find Aiyana taking long deep drinks from her canteen. When she offered the canteen to me, I yanked it from her hands and tried to take a swing, only from droplets to come out.

    ¡°You monster.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you need to conserve your supplies. Here.¡± She tossed me an extra canteen and gave today catch a once over, her eyes lingering over the woman with the bruised neck before she shrugged her shoulders and walked away from the group.

    ¡°The conflict between Lancaster and Greton must be nearing its breaking point if they keep trying to get the edge with the forest pathway. The people they¡¯re sending in are getting more reckless, either through lack of experience or the looming battle making their paymasters impatient. Things are gonna be getting busier from here on out.¡±

    ¡°Aaah.¡± I wiped the excess water from my lips before picking up a particular item and followed after her.

    After making ourselves comfortable around the fire, Aiyana stared up at the sky and let out a sign. ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it?¡±.

    Up above thousands of small lights blanketed the sky above. It was as if a rainstorm had been frozen in place and left for everyone to take in the spectacle. Looking up at it was a beautiful, relaxing moment after a long day, but there was one crucial matter that needed to be addressed.

    ¡°Aiyana, we can¡¯t keep doing this.¡±

    ¡°Doing what?¡±

    ¡°Chasing off the scouts they keep sending into the forest. It''s like we¡¯re trying to block off a stream with a piece of cloth. Even if we keep doing what we¡¯re doing now, eventually, the sheer numbers will overrun us. We need to consider another approach.¡±

    ¡°And what approach would that be?¡± Aiyana was listening, but it was gonna take a bit more to get her to accept the idea.

    I held up the item I bought over with me and unwrapped the time. While rather old, the thing had been well maintained by its former owner. It was a dull brown color and ridden with small dents along its surface. A long strip of metal ran down its center, something seems to have been broken off of it at some point. However, the most essential feature was the discolored faceplate that had crudely been attached to the item.

    ¡°A helmet? Are we gonna start selling them to the scouts?¡± Though she joked, the smile didn¡¯t reach her eyes. She was already putting the pieces together in her head.

    ¡°I say we join the fight and help bring an end to all of this.¡±

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be that easy? That, with a helmet and some bravado, we can leap in and cut down every enemy that dares to cross our path?¡± I doubt she even noticed the frustration in her voice, it actually brought a smile to my face.

    ¡°If things were that easy for us we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation¡­ I have no delusions of this ending without sacrifice, but, as you said, we sit between a known and unknown threat. Certain death awaits us on the known path while a chance at life can be seen amongst the unknown. Venturing into the strange and dangerous land is worth it if we can grab ahold of that chance.¡±

    The thoughts that had occupied my mind for the last month had come spewing from my mouth, and I couldn¡¯t stop even if I tried. At the very least this need to be said here and now. Otherwise, there may never be another chance to free Aiyana out of this degrading lifestyle.

    ¡°Even if those cities fight each other till the end of time, at the very least, we can escape being caught in the crossfire¡­ We¡¯ll hit the ceiling on what we can learn from the scout, but the more we interact with them, the greater advantage the next group will have over us.¡± Our catch and release tactics couldn¡¯t work forever. Even though we did our best to hide our true appearances during our ¡°talks¡± with the captured scouts, we couldn''t hide everything from everyone all of the time. Sooner or later something would slip by our notice.

    ¡°The scouts are disjointed sellswords split between the two warring cities. On the off-chance they start talking amongst themselves, why would they risk someone else taking the prize?¡±

    ¡°Our cave is filled with hundreds of reasons why they would band together. An opportunity at revenge and an even split of the profits is tempting enough for some them.¡± I paused when I heard one of the scouts begin to stir, but a well-timed stone to the head by Aiyana took care of the issue.

    She was really getting good with projectiles.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me being spotted. T-The first ones proved that I can get by so long as I hide my eyes and ears. People like their torturer seemed to be a common enough for no one to raise a brow over. I know this is still a major risk, but sometimes risks are necessary.¡±

    The silence seemed to drag on for an eternity, each moment of emptiness seemed to last a lifetime, but Aiyana eventually opened her mouth.

    ¡°After we finish eating, we¡¯ll drop them off near the mountain and camp for the night. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll track their path out of the forest and then return home.¡±

    ¡°Aiyan?¡±

    ¡°Geisai, listen to me! You¡­ You¡¯re right. What we¡¯re doing is a temporary solution to our major problem, I expected Lancaster or Greton to have won by now, but something is dragging out this entire affair. Yes we need to see what¡¯s happening outside the forest, but we have to go about it the right way, We need a plan, but what you have isn¡¯t a plan, it''s the basis of a plan at best and a list of disjointed ideas and goals at worst.¡±

    ¡°Aiyana?¡±

    ¡°That is why we¡¯re gonna go home and hammer those ideas into an actual plan. You can¡¯t simply pack a bag and run headlong into the unknown. A lot of preparation needs to be done before we depart.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± I couldn¡¯t contain my excitement and leaped about thirty into the air. Unfortunately, the way down ended with a flash of gold and a crunch.

    ¡°Alright, Alright! Hehe, stop it before you wake the dead. Ha Come here, watch the stars with me. Hahaha¡± Aiyana tried and failed to hide her laughter as she patted the group beside her.

    Once the glow faded, I set the helmet down and joined her. Up above the starry night expanded without borders.

    ¡°Maybe, we can learn what that¡¯s like one day.¡±

    ¡°What are you going on about?¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡­ Nothing important anyway.¡±

 Volume 02 Chapter 12: Tentative Steps into Civilization

    [Year 351, The month of Flame, day 26]

    ¡°Careful, Careful. We need it tight enough so that nothing can get in, but loose enough for us to open when we get back.¡±

    ¡°For the hundredth time, I got.¡± Getting an earful from Ayiana wasn''t pleasant at the best of times, but the sun hadn¡¯t even come out yet and the late night yesterday¡­ or earlier today wasn¡¯t helping lighten my mood in the slightest.

    With one final shove, I maneuvered the final boulders into place before stepping back and eying my handiwork. The entrance to the cave, our home for the last few years, had been completely sealed shut. Not even a speck of dust could get through the blockade I put together. There were actually two layers of boulders, with a layer of leathers in-between them to block any rain or mud from seeping through any crevice.

    Since we didn¡¯t know how long we¡¯d be gone, Aiyana insisted that we be though in preserving our home. Even now, she was covering the sealed entrance with vines and other greenery, just in case some curious sort wondered across the cave while we were away.

    I had nothing else to do, so I walked over and examined what we¡¯d be taking with us while Aiyana went about her task. The largest two bags were filled to the brim with about half of the weapons, leather arm, and other pieces of equipment we¡¯d managed to procure from the forest¡¯s recent string of guest. Excluding the items Aiyana and I had set aside for our personal use, everything was left inside the cave for a rainy day.

    Next to the equipment was our camping supplies. A couple mates and fur covers, ten days worth of food and water, and four sets of clothes. Then, there were our assorted items such as ropes, whetstones, spare canteens, bandages, and few blindfolds.

    The final Item we were bringing was a small sack of metallic disks Aiyana had put together. I thought it just added unnecessary weight to our load, I didn¡¯t even know why she collected them in the first place, but she insisted that the disk would be useful where we were going. Maybe she was planning to shape them into some kind of weapon or use them in one of her traps, either way, the disk had been tossed in with the rest of our supplies.

    ¡°Ready to go?¡±

    I turned around and nearly jumped out of my skin when I found Aiyana standing behind me with a smug look on her face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡±

    She was too good at doing that. While she¡¯d always had a knack for blending into her surroundings, after the incident she¡¯d trained herself to the point where I couldn¡¯t find her if I didn¡¯t know where to look. I swear she didn¡¯t even make any noise when she walked anymore.

    ¡°You need to pay more attention to your surroundings. The place we¡¯re going is gonna have a lot more people moving about, and if you don¡¯t keep your wits, you¡¯ll get lost in the shuffle.¡±

    Despite the impasse she placed on the warning, for a brief moment, I saw longing swelling within the depths of her eyes. The desire was only there for a moment, but it was enough to validate this journey in my eyes.

    ¡°What? Is there something on my face?¡±

    ¡°No, not anymore. Anyway, let¡¯s get going. Don¡¯t want the sun to rise before our journey begins, do we?¡±

    I reached for the heaviest items as I changed the topics. Better get going before Aiyana found another reason to delay our departure.

    Her worries were understandable, but things would be different, those that tried to hurt her would be dead long before they could reach for the drugs.

    ¡­

    ..

    .This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°It¡¯s smaller than I thought it¡¯d be.¡±

    It took four days for us to exit the forest after we left the cave. The trip might have been quicker if we¡¯d followed the same route our last group of guest had taken, but we didn¡¯t want to run into scouts, so we took a roundabout route to the edge of the forest. After another two days traversing the slightly hilling grass plains, we came upon the city(?) down below.

    Well, I think it was a city. A log wall, separated the handful of buildings that I could make out from here from the circular field the town (?) sit inside. The three gates built into the wall were sealed shut, despite it only being midday. Certain sections of the wall were extremely faded while others appeared to be brand new. Even from yards away, most of the buildings weren¡¯t much larger than the one I used to live in before I met Aiyana. The field wasn¡¯t looking too good either, with the patches of overturned dirt scattered across the side of the field facing us.

    I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this place had been abandoned, but that wasn¡¯t the case. When I squinted, I picked up two distinct moving masses behind the wall. The larger one was gathered in the large open area in-between the buildings, while the smaller of the two were masses huddled around the gate facing the damaged part of the field.

    Something had definitely gone down here, but what?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s Grerton.¡± Aiyana¡¯s comment drew me out of my own head.

    At some point, she managed to change into her combat vest, dark leather pants, and knee-length string-up boots. She had two belts of throwing knives wrapped around her chest. A slightly curved single edged short sword hung on her waist, and her father¡¯s broken dagger sit comfortably above her hips. The hood that hid most of her face only added to the air of mystery and intimation she gave off.

    ¡°...Huh? Why do you say that?¡±

    ¡°Does that place look like it can afford to seen wave after wave of sellswords into our forest? I doubt the place has been there for more than a few years at best. If it weren¡¯t for the field and storehouse, I¡¯d call it a builder village.¡± Aiyana made that comment as she slid on her metal-plated bracers.

    ¡°A what?¡±

    ¡°Villages and cities don¡¯t build themselves. Usually, builder villages are short-term housing for builders to stay in while they work on the primary stages of building. Anyway sto?¡±

    The ground began to rumble before Aiyana could finish that comment. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the source of the disturbance.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± The words escaped my lips before my mind could process what I was seeing. Aiyana and I dropped to the ground and tried to make ourselves as small as possible before the creature saw us.

    The creature appeared on a hill a few yards away from the one we were on. It stood two or three heads taller than me. Two short black horns topped the creature¡¯s head. The monster¡¯s box-like face ended in flaring nostrils that rested above its mouth. Its stout naked body was covered in matted gray fur. Wounds, both old and new, criss crossed over its body, with the long diagonal scar across its abdomen standing out the most.

    A monster like that wouldn¡¯t survive in the forest. Its size made not only low-hanging branches a hazard but also eliminated many options for shelter. Those muscular limbs looked powerful, but its beady eyes left the beast practically blind to surprise attacks or pounces, rendering any strength its had useless in areas densely packed with trees. If the monster stepped into the forest, a pack of goblins might be able to take it down under the right circumstances.

    However, in this vast empty plane, few creatures could oppose a monster like that. Without any trees to hinder its movements, or block its sight ambushes were all but impossible. Given its supposed strength there were a few instances where it would lose in direct combat. If we came across the monster in its prime, I doubted we could survive an encounter with that monster unscaved.

    Aiyana and I remained motionless until the creature descended the hill it stood on. We only rose to our feet after the monster was no longer in sight.

    ¡°That was unexpected. A moment slower and we would¡¯ve¡­ Geisai, why are you smiling like that?¡±

    Seeing that monster put everything into focus. The damaged field, sealed village, and the monster¡¯s newer injuries all of it fell into place. When pulled together, the disjointed pieces of information created an opportunity too tempting to pass up.

    ¡°Aiyana, can we kill it?¡± My question was simple and straight to the point.

    ¡°What are you going on about? Why would we do something so unnecessary?¡± While she was quick to voiced her complaints, I could see it in her eyes, she was already running the scenarios in her head.

    ¡°If we can kill it, we¡¯ll have the means to conduct a trial run, gather additional information before we reach Greton, and test our abilities outside the forest. So can we do it?¡±

    After a moment of silence, Aiyana answered,

    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely lose some of our equipment in the process, but we can kill that thing. What do you have in mind?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stop smiling even if I tried.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna save that village from the monster that has plagued it for who knows how long. We¡¯ll save the village in as loud and obvious a manner as possible.¡±

 Volume 02 Chapter 13: At What Costs?

    {Hrrooonnhhrrooonnh!!!}

    [Krrrrrrrrack] [Krrrrrrrrack]

    {Hrrooon!!}

    [Baroom!!]

    ¡°Its broken through!!¡±

    ¡°Hold the line! We have to buy enough time for the woman and children to escape!¡±

    The man¡¯s booming, commanding voice barely managed to prevent everything from devolving into chaos. These men were old farmers and amateur hunters, not soldiers and seeing the minotaur¡¯s fist poking through the gate was a horrifying sight. While a handful of men ready to lie down their lives, the majority of them were moments away from fleeing with their tails between their legs. After several sleepless nights spent awaiting their own demise, it wouldn¡¯t take much to set these men off.

    And who could blame them?

    For the last four days, a minotaur has terrorized their small village, tearing through their field as it slowly chipped away at their gate. At any other time of the year, they would¡¯ve packed up left when they realized they couldn¡¯t slay the minotaur. However, the crop was still two weeks away from being ready, and the village lacked the supplies necessary for them to reach Grerton.

    At least, their supplies wouldn¡¯t last if they attempted to take the entire village with them. There was a reason those younger than their third decade were going along with those that were fleeing the village.

    As these men readied their makeshift polearms and bows as they watched the beast¡¯s massive arms rip through the remains of the southern gate. A strange sense of calmness overcame the man when the reality of the situation set in. They found solace in the fact that they, at the very least, their deaths would spare their families from a slow and painful death.

    ¡°Holdfast! To the last man!¡±

    {Hrrooonnhhrrooonnh!!!}

    [Baaroomm!!]

    The gates were tossed aside like rags, and the moment they¡¯d dreaded finally arrived. The monster had finally broken through.

    There was silence. No one moved a muscle as the minotaur stomped its way into the village. Its muscular arms were twice as thick as a man¡¯s leg, and its hooves left deep imprints into the ground. Despite most of the injuries being scarred over, fresh blood dripped down the monster¡¯s left shoulder. Though small, those droplets offered the men hope, they might be able to kil?

    {Grooorrrnoon Hroroonn!}

    However, those hopes were immediately dashed when minotaur attacked one of the houses in a fit of rage. Each of the monster¡¯s punches placed a new hole in the structure. When it came upon the support beam, the minotaur snapped the support like a twig, bringing the whole house down with a tremendous crash.

    ¡°¡±Gyauun¡±¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!!¡±

    ¡°Save me!!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re gonna draw its attention.¡±

    {Hroroon!!}

    All of the panicked shoutings finally clued the minotaur into the men''s existence. There was no chance for an order or warning to be given, not that they would¡¯ve done any good anyway. In the span of a single monster, lowered its posture and charged the men with its massive horns.

    Some grasped their weapons with trembling hands, while others closed their eyes and awaited the inevitable.

    However, a moment passed.

    Then another.

    Then another.

    ¡°GrooHrorn!!¡±

    ¡°What in the world?¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The men were left awestruck at the spectacle before them. In-between them and minotaur stood a single helmeted man, his eyes wholly concealed by a discolored visor attached to the helmet.. engulfed in a golden aura. Somehow the man had managed to grab hold of the minotaur¡¯s horns and stop its charge.

    The stranger turned his head toward the men and uttered a single statement with a playful smile on his lips.

    ¡°Unless you want to die, get out of the way.¡±

    The men wasted no time in their compliance.

    ¡ô¡ó¡ô¡ó¡ô¡ô¡ó¡ô¡ó¡ô

    My boots dug into the ground as monster tried to break free. Honestly, my hold on its horns wasn¡¯t the best they could¡¯ve been, but this was way different from any terrae alces.

    Aiyana had been chewing my head off ever since the monster broke through the gate.

    Once the men were at a safe distance, I released my hold and rolled to the left. I heard a loud crash as I leaped to my feet and reached for a sword that wasn¡¯t there. It must¡¯ve fallen at some point.

    {Hrooroon!!}

    Unfortunately, the beast managed to pull itself from the wreckage of the house it¡¯d crashed into before I could find the missing sword.

    ¡°This complicates things, but¡­ Come and get me¡± I taunted the strange monster as I positioned myself in front of the destroyed gate.

    {Hrrongorn!!}

    The beast charged me with reckless abandon.

    ¡°At least it¡¯s not the horns this time.¡± I lowered my stance, brought my left hand and leg forward, and waited for the hit to come. The village and the fleeing men were all placed in the back of my mind focused on the task at hand.

    {Horrongon!!}

    The monster opened with a straight right punch when it got within striking range. A

    Straight punch. It wasn¡¯t a faint, or a false opening. It wasn¡¯t a set up for another attack or anything. Aiyana would never use an attack so easy to read.

    I waited until the fist was right in front of my face before I leaned my upper body to the left. When the beast¡¯s forearm pass where my head used to be, my right arm shot out and coiled around its extended arm as I pulled back my left hand.

    Let¡¯s see what one could do.

    Before the monster could react to the situation, I smashed my fist into his box-like snout. A sharp rush of pain shut up my arm as the sound of my pointer finger breaking was overshadowed by the thud my punch created on contact.

    The golden light flared up as I released my hold on the beast¡¯s arm and took two leaps back. I could taste the blood in my mouth, but it was a small price to pay for silencing pained shout. My opponent was bleeding profusely from its nose and unsteadily rocked on his feet. He was dazed but not out of the fight.

    A finger was enough to stagger the beast, it was a testament to the monster¡¯s durability, as fragments flew off boulders at this level.

    ¡°Hmm, those months punching rocks is paying off.¡±

    Based on these results three or four should be more than enough to finish this guy off, but we need to drag this out a bit more.

    ¡°¡°Aggghhh!!¡±¡±

    Shouts drew my attention towards the house in the rear of the village. A few of the men from before managed to gather up enough courage to attack the staggered monster. That wouldn¡¯t have been a bad thing a few moments ago, but they failed to notice that their target had regained his footing.

    I suppose a few of them dying would keep the rest of them out of the way. The leaders of the doomed charge realized their mistake and tried to retreat when the monster righted itself, but it was too late. As men stumbled over each other, the beast let its fist fly.

    ¡°Geisai!! Tnerruc ruoy tsniaga gniog yllof eht seimene enim wohs. Revir ythgim a fo ecrof eth htiw ekirts dna lliw ym hguoht rehtag, retaw fo stirips.¡±

    Without turning around, I caught the item that had been thrown at me as a gush of water flew by my head. I didn¡¯t even wait for Aiyana¡¯s spell to hit it¡¯s target before I started running. The sword left its sheath just as the men were swept away by the current.

    {Groonhh!!}

    I stabbed the blade deep into the monster guts and hit the dirt to avoided the revenge hit. After enjoying the taste of the dirt for a moment, I rolled away before the incoming hoof could stomp on my head.

    Leaping to my feet, I saw that Aiyana was already on the attack. At some point, she¡¯d managed to stick three of her daggers into the monster¡¯s chest. She was already in the middle of another chant even while she dodged the monster¡¯s ineffective flailing.

    Before the monster could bring its left fist down on Aiyana¡¯s head, I stepped inside the monster¡¯s reach and knocked its arm aside with a forearm strike.

    {Groooooooogh!}

    I felt something in my arm snap, but the golden aura immediately eased the pain. The monster wasn¡¯t as lucky. The strike bent it¡¯s arm the wrong way, and now it simply hung off the end of the monster''s elbow. Not willing to waste the opening, Aiyana finished her chant and sent two narrow streams of water into the monster¡¯s eyes.

    {HARRRROOOOOOOOOGHH!!} The monster arced its head towards the sky as it bellowed.

    ¡°Up, together.¡±

    At her command, I grabbed her by her dagger belt and tossed her into the air. While she was up there, I grabbed hold of the sword embedded in its gut and guided it through to the other side.

    Aiyana landed in a crouch as the monster¡¯s body hit the ground. Blood and viscera escaped the new smiles we gave the beast on its neck and stomach.

    Even if it were still alive, it would wish it was dead.

    ¡°You were supposed to wait until I lead the monster out of the village.¡± I made sure that she was the only one that could hear me, but Aiyana didn¡¯t reply.

    When I looked at her, she stared back at me with cold eyes.

    Was something wrong? Though she was a little pale under her hood, she didn¡¯t seem hurt, and my golden aura had already passed.

    She walked up to me and readjusted my helmet without a word. After a quick pat down, she turned on her heel and started walking toward the drenched men she¡¯d saved.

    ¡°Aiyana¡­?¡±

    Aiyana stopped for a moment and looked back at me.

    ¡°Never again.¡± She said nothing else and resumed her purposeful walk towards the men.

    I was left standing in the pool of blood that had gathered at my feet.

 Volume 02 Chapter 14: Adoration, Irritation, and Information

    ¡°¡°Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaa!!!¡±¡±

    ¡°Praise, Osmir!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re alive!¡±

    It took a few moments for the villagers to accept the fact that they were still alive, but it was easy to discern when that realization crossed their mind. Grown men fell to their knees and weep while others let out primal shouts of jubilation. A few of the braver or more foolish of their ranks began to desecrate the monster¡¯s corpse. None of the villagers had expected to come out of the confrontation with the strange monster alive.

    This debacle provided a good measurement of their strength, the general threat that type of monster possessed, and our relative standing in these strange lands. While important, those were things to be addressed at another time.

    The dull throbbing sensation in my left ankle kept me tethered to present and reminded me of my rashness. Geisai only threw me into the air like that so I could pull myself up on a branch, but without anything grab onto I fell back to the hard, unfeeling ground after I slit the monster¡¯s throat. If I¡¯d taken the time to think things through, I probably would¡¯ve come up with a better plan of attack, or at the very least, decided against walking on an injured ankle.

    Again, that was something to deal with later aside for later.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±, Hearing the normally comforting voice only managed to rekindle the flames of anger I barely managed to keep in check. After taking a deep breath, I turned around and faced Geisai.

    Despite the tumbles he took during the fight, the helmet and visor remained in place. His left bracer had become misshapen, and I could see the old blood dripping from its seams. The sword had been snapped in two, and his right-hand gauntlet was in tatters. Other than those minor things, he was no worse for wear than when things had started, and that did nothing to improve my mood.

    We deserved more than a couple scrapes and a bruised ankle for what we did. It was only by sheer luck that the worst that happened was a few houses were destroyed. Why did I allow things to go so far? I could¡¯ve stopped this before things got out of hand, yet helped facilitate this entire mess. If could, I¡¯d go back and slap some sense into my former self for agreeing to Geisai¡¯s plan.

    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Geisai raised his broken sword, and I grabbed the hilt of a throwing knife when we heard someone clear their throat. I guess recent events and living in isolation for so long made us a little weary of strangers.

    The villagers had finished celebrations and now trembled before their, apparently violent, saviors.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Gesai.¡± I slowly released my hold on my knife and Geisai reluctantly followed suit, but he didn¡¯t even try to hide the self-satisfied smile on his face.

    The tension was still palpable between the villagers and us, but we were waist deep in this mess and might as well see things through to the end. I took another deep breath and tied to speak in as non-threatening a manner as possible.

    ¡°Hello, we were on our way to Grerton when we saw your village being attacked. My name Aiyana and this is my associate Geisai.¡± Every world felt like it was adding another stone to the pit of my stomach, but I managed to say them nevertheless.

    Strangely enough, there was no response from the villagers. Their eyes just shifted back and forth between Geisai and me.

    ¡°Nice to meet you. By the way, would any of you happen to know how to get to Grerton? We seem to have gotten a bit turned around.¡± Geisai stepped forward with a smirk and spoke with an amused tone of voice.

    Not even that managed to get a rise out of the villagers. Were they still trying to comprehend this entire affair? Maybe we should try again in a little?

    ¡°Madam Elf, True Warrior, we are forever indebted to you for saving our small insignificant village!¡±

    ¡°Please accept our eternal gratitude!!¡± ¡°Thank you for saving our lives!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡±¡­

    After the first man spoke up, the others followed suit, voiced their thanks in the same strange manner emphasizing the wrong part of their words and unnecessarily elongating certain letters. While their mouths spoke words of praise, the unmistakable glint of fear was reflected in their eyes.

    ¡°Well¡­ this is unexpected.¡± As I watched the very people we¡¯d endangered do there best to appease us, I couldn¡¯t help but agree.

    ¡­

    ..

    .

    A short while later, Geisai and I found ourselves waiting inside the village chief¡¯s house while a group of villagers went about retrieving the woman and children before nightfall. The two-story house was built upon a stone foundation, and its frames were made from a stronger wood than the rest of the buildings in the village. The furnishings were old but well-taken care of by their owner. Everything from a polished dining table to the padded lounge chair had a lived-in feel to them. However, the eye-catching piece was the rusted single-edge sword that had a jagged semi-circle missing from its blade and the battered wooden shield that hung above the small fireplace on the opposite side of the room.

    After he retrieved the supplies we left behind to fight the monster, Geisai took up a spot against the wall opposite to the entrance. Though he looked calm on the surface, the entirety of his focus was placed on the door, his body ready to leap into action should the need arise. I guess not being able to see what the villages were during had put him on edge.

    I was seating off to the side by the dining table. As a show of good faith, I removed most of my weapons except for my father¡¯s dagger and the set of knives hidden within my boots. Also, I¡¯d removed my hood and allowed my face to be on full display, as there was no point trying to keep a secret that was already out.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°They should¡¯ve come by now.¡± Ignoring Geisai¡¯s comment, I tried to figure out how they discovered I was an elf. The clips I¡¯d sown into my hood held it in place even when I hung upside down, so there was no way it came off during that fight. Perhaps?

    ¡°Aiyana¡­¡± Geisai lightly shaved me before quickly returning to his spot against the wall.

    The next moment, the door opened, and an old man entered the house. He was a head taller than Geisai and twice his width. However, his bulk came from the thick layer of muscle that covered the man¡¯s frame. The tan shirt and pants that looked baggy on the other men clung to him like a second skin. Speaking of which, his skin was a couple shades darker than Geisai¡¯s and seemed to be as tough as old leather. There was more grey in his short hair than its original brown. One of his eyes was covered by a large scar, and his nose was a bit crooked as if it had been broken and allowed to heal incorrectly.

    The sharp glint in his eyes said more about the trials he¡¯d endured than any words ever could. He was a step above any of the sale-swords we¡¯ve faced. If it weren¡¯t for the wooden peg he had instead of a left leg, I imagine that he would¡¯ve fought the monster himself. Honestly, I couldn¡¯t tell which of them would win that fight, but it would¡¯ve been quite the spectacle to behold.

    His gaze wandered over us before he opened his mouth, ¡°Sorry of the delay, Lady Aiyana, Sir Geisai. My name is Biran Munan, the chief of Asgle. As you might imagine, moving a group of frightened people back to the very place they fled from isn¡¯t the easiest of tasks, especially when they¡¯re told wild stories about two people killing a minotaur as easily as one would reap the crop.¡±

    The man¡¯s, Biran¡¯s, voice was deep and booming. Unfortunately, he still spoke in the same strange manner as the others. Grasping what he and the others said was like filtering water out of mud, it was doable, but it required a bit of effort.

    ¡°So were you one of those that found the story unbelievable?¡± Geisai¡¯s previous anxiety had vanished, and his playful attitude had returned, he¡¯d also began to mimic the villagers¡¯ speaking pattern a small degree.

    ¡°Frankly speaking, yes. If you were a band of six run-of-the-mill mercenaries, I still wouldn¡¯t have believed it, but hearing that the two saviors were an elven ranger and a true warrior did a great deal to convince me.¡± I¡¯m pretty his smile was meant to be friendly instead of invoking the image of a predator stalking its prey.

    ¡°Forgive me, but you and your ilk use the term ¡®true warrior¡¯ to describe my associate, why do you do so?¡± I did my best to extract information without letting on just how much we didn¡¯t know about the world. Being unfamiliar with strange terms was better than coming off as completely clueless.

    ¡°I suppose those of the Eternal Forest would have no use for such titles. Among our kind, the title ¡®True Warrior¡¯ is used to distinguish between those that have learned techniques from the lost era and those that managed to pick up a weapon without hurting themselves. Hehe.¡±

    ¡°Oh, such a strange distinction to make. According to that logic, wouldn¡¯t career soldiers and seasoned veterans also fall into the latter category?¡± What in the tormented plains was the lost era? It seemed too risky to ask about that topic, besides information about the social order were more useful to us at the moment.

    ¡°Normally, those types are the ones that find or pay for the techniques.¡±

    ¡°How can your men be so sure that I possess one of those techniques?¡±

    Biran¡¯s eyes narrowed at Geisai¡¯s comment. ¡°Boy, I don¡¯t know who taught you, but nearly every man in this village has first-hand experience confronting a true warrior.¡± For a brief moment, a flash of anger ran across Biran¡¯s eyes as they wander to the broken sword and shield above the fireplace. I see they were personal reminders, not trophies.

    ¡°You may be a novice, but a golden man capable of matching a minotaur in strength can¡¯t be mistaken for anything but a true warrior.¡±

    Geisai¡¯s smile remained, but his hand was already on the hilt of his broken sword. We¡¯ve already put these people in enough danger.

    ¡°It seems things have gotten a bit off topic. Biran, surely you didn¡¯t come here to pick a fight with my companion, did you?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Lady Aiyana. The habits of a former soldier die hard. I came here to officially thank you for saving my people and our village. For many of us, this village is the only thing we have, the thought of losing it is more traumatizing than facing a horde of minotaurs. Hehe.¡±

    ¡°I assume, then, that fighting off minotaur isn¡¯t a common occurrence then?¡± A fair question to ask, but the smirk wasn¡¯t necessary Geisai.

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. We weren¡¯t dumb enough to build our home in their territory, but four days ago something chased them out of their grazing field in the east. The one you killed fell behind the rest of the herd and decided to stick around.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where the herd was headed? How many of them there were?¡±

    ¡°A couple dozen or so, and if I had to guess, I¡¯d say they were making their way toward the Shabal Mountain Range. With any luck, the wyverns and minotaurs will kill each other.¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t say it, Biran was more worried about whatever scared a dozen monsters out of their homes. We¡¯d best avoid whatever made the eastern plains its home now.

    ¡°Biran, we informed your people of this before, but we are on our way to Grerton. Would you happen to know the way there?¡±

    ¡°Come on, three more days wandering the plains, and we¡¯ll be in Grerton in no time.¡± I had no idea what Geisai was on about, but not playing along could be detrimental.

    ¡°You said the exact same thing five days ago. I¡¯d rather like to find the city before the dawn of the next era.¡±

    ¡°The next era¡­? I¡¯m touched you still have that much faith in me.¡± He went as far as placing his hands over his heart to complete the act.

    ¡°Lady Aiyana.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Biran?¡± The village chief crossed his arms and stood just a tiny bit taller than before.

    ¡°You are our savior, and so long as it is within reason, I¡¯ll do my best to help you. However, before this conversation processed there is something that I must know. Are you visiting Grerton as a traveler or as an elven ranger?¡± Geisai remained silent, but a bit of that tension managed to seep through his joking facade.

    My answer would determine which path this interaction would go down, but I still had no idea what the second option was.

    ¡°I assure you, that if I were on official business, I wouldn¡¯t be wasting my time dealing with a small village¡¯s problems, or cavorting with the like of him.¡±

    Biran¡¯s stare seemed like it would bore a hole through me, but he eventually relented and let out a sign.

    ¡°I suppose you have a point. Please forgive me, Lady Aiyana. You must understand, this village is currently under Grerton¡¯s protection, and the looming war with Lancaster already has everyone on edge. The city is five days due north of here on foot. So long as you stick to the main road, you should arrive there in no time.¡±

    ¡°See, I told you we were heading in the right direction.¡± If Geisai wanted to try my patience, he was succeeding.

    ¡°Thank you, I don¡¯t suppose your village can put us up for the night? We¡¯ve been traveling for quite some time, and I¡¯d like to spend one night not having to sleeping with one eye open.¡±

    ¡°You are more than welcome to stay the night. Tomorrow we begin the arduous task of rebuilding what the minotaur destroyed, but tonight we celebrate, both of you are, of course, more than welcome to join in the festivities. Till then, please make yourselves at home.¡±

    Biran turned around began to leave before he suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Lady Aiyana, I know the uniform is a source of pride for soldiers, but it¡¯s for the best that you wear something else when you arrive in Grerton.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    Biran simply smiled and said, ¡°People are a lot more welcoming when the shadow of death that follows elven rangers isn¡¯t a concern.¡±

    With that, he left Geisai and me to our own devices.

 Volume 02 Chapter 15: What Lies Beneath

    Geisai waited till Biran¡¯s uneven stride mixed in with the going ons of the villagers outside before opening his mouth.

    ¡°Well, it was less than what I was expecting, but we did get some bits of useful information. That ¡®True Warrior¡¯ thing is interesting and using that is a better explanation than having none at all whenever light up in front of people. Still, that lost era stuff and what he said about elven rangers left me with more questions.¡±

    He¡¯d dropped the villagers¡¯ strange speech pattern he¡¯d been mimicking and spoke with his usual clear voice. His uncaring attitude wasn¡¯t an act, there¡¯d be no reason to keep it up with just us here.

    ¡°Maybe we can delay our leave for a day or two. See what else we can learn from these people. With any luck we?¡±

    ¡°Geisai do you remember what I told you? What we talked about after our first encounter with the sell-swords?¡±

    Geisai¡¯s posture became rigged when I cut him off, and a faint red glow peeked through the his visor. However, as quickly as it appeared the light vanished and the tension left his body.

    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± He tried to speak in his usual tone, but there was an unmistakable edge in his voice that hadn¡¯t been there before.

    ¡°I told you that I didn¡¯t want us to become monsters, that no matter what we had to do to survive we couldn¡¯t allow ourselves to become as bad as people would view us. Herding a minotaur into a helpless village for our own gain is one of the most monstrous things I can imagine doing!¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back my anger and disgust at our actions any longer.

    No matter how you looked at, we could¡¯ve inflected the same tragedy we suffered on people that hadn¡¯t done anything to deserve such a fate. Even now, I couldn¡¯t get the image of mangled bodies and bloodstained wreckage out of my head. One slip up, one mistake, that was all it took for a stream of blood to flow across our hands. We would never clean away what was already there, but I¡¯d rather kill myself than force someone else to go through that nightmare. There was?

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡­ What¡¯s not to get?¡± I¡¯d expected angry denial or a sorrowful apology, so the genuine confusion behind his simple statement was perplexing.

    ¡°The minotaur was going to attack the village even if we didn¡¯t choose to intervene. All we did was speed thing up a little, that¡¯s it.¡± His was completely calm and even with that helmet on I could tell he was giving me a strange look. He honestly didn¡¯t see what was wrong with what we did. I¡¯d been wondering how he could act like nothing was wrong while carrying  the weight of what we did on on his shoulders, but it turns out all he¡¯s been carrying were feathers.

    ¡°Ho-How could you say that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the truth. The villagers had been prepared to abandon this place by the time we arrived. The first group had been ready to throw away their lives to buy the others the time to escape. We sped things up half a day at most. Our involvement saved more lives than our neutrality would¡¯ve ended.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it!? The moment we intervened we placed the lives of every villager in our hands. If we failed and they all died, all the blame would be on us, not the minotaur. We¡¯d be the ones that took life with reckless abandon. We¡¯d be the ones that destroyed the survivor¡¯s lives¡­¡± My temper fizzled out, and I was left feeling like I¡¯d been dunked in a frozen lake. Were we already too far gone to interact with civilization?

    ¡°Ahh. This is about your home, isn¡¯t it? Sorry, I didn¡¯t take that into consideration when I came up with the plan. In the heat of the moment, I cast aside all unnecessary matters.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    {Klanwp}

    My body moved before I realized I¡¯d gotten out of my seat. My right arm shot out faster than Geisai could react and a stinging sensation ran through my fingertips as the slap echoed throughout the room.

    ¡°How could say that about our home?! If you ever cared about it at all, knowingly sending monsters into another village should be incompressible!¡± Despite all the effort I spent trying to keep my cool, here I was shouting like a child.

    Geisai rubbed his cheek for a bit before he spoke up again.

    ¡°Well, we know the helmet works, I only felt half of that slap.¡±

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking this seriously?!?¡±

    ¡°The place you called home was never mine. My home was a small shack in the middle of the forest. Half of my life was contained in those four walls.¡± The glow began to peek through his visor again, but the intensity behind his voice was as captivating as it was frightening.

    ¡°My memories of that place were of people insulting and threatening my mother because she dared to bring me into the village. Of a woman trying to strangle me to death as the world collapsed around us. Of my mother dying in vain, because, despite everything thing she taught me, she  decided to risk her life to save those ungrateful pieces of shit instead for running away and hiding!¡±

    ¡°Geisai!¡±

    The golden light suddenly erupted from Geisai¡¯s body, and I had to fight the urges to draw my hidden blades or run away. He was clenching his fist so hard that blood was dripping onto the floor. His breathing had become erratic, and the glow from his eyes was so intense I was surprised it didn¡¯t melt through the visor.

    Anger¡­ No, he radiated hatred in its purest form, and the slight thing would set him off. Or so I thought.

    Instead, he took a deep breath and slowly unclenched his fists. A faint golden glow clung to his body, that and the blood trickling down his hands the only indicators that I hadn¡¯t just imagined his outburst, no matter how much I wish I had.

    ¡°People easily fall back on cruelty and violence when under distress or it suits them. Personal experience, especially recent events, have driven that fact home. You say we should treat people as people no matter what and I did. By gaining their admiration, we¡¯ve lessened the chances of them harming us and gained vital information from these people. I won¡¯t apologize for that, but I do apologize for involving you in the plan. I didn¡¯t consider your feelings about the attack a village. Next time, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡±

    With that, he turned around and headed towards the entrance.

    ¡°Did you ever consider the parents and children whose lives you endangered?¡± Geisai froze just as his hand reached for the door handle. He didn¡¯t look at me, but he eventually responded.

    ¡°No, no I didn¡¯t, but it doesn¡¯t change anything. Our safety and well-being is more important than other people.¡± It was a simple but honest response. I couldn¡¯t ask for more.

    ¡°Keep that up, and you end up becoming an example of the very thing you hate. Next time, I¡¯ll make the plan. Your judgment is faulty in these types of situations.¡±

    He didn¡¯t say anything and quietly left the building, the door gently closing shut behind him. Noise permeated throughout the village, yet I was left alone in silence.

    ¡° Haa¡­ I guess we were both in the wrong here¡­I¡¯m an idiot.¡± I felt utterly drained. Somehow a simple conversation was more taxing than fighting, and I had only myself to blame. I¡¯d allowed time to delude my memories of the past. We¡¯d been together so long that I¡¯d began to think Geisai and I had always been together.

    He had every reason to mistrust and hate others. I¡¯ve personally bore witness to the results of his previous encounters with people, but so long as he had that stupid grin on his face, I was able to overlook things that were too complicated to deal with.

    He only carried a few scars on the surface, but inside he was¡­unique.

    ¡°why was he so insistent on leaving the forest, then?¡± If anything, recent events should¡¯ve drove him to go deeper into the forest. Maybe he just wanted the chance to strike back at those who hurt him. But he could¡¯ve accomplished that by staying in the forest and killing any sellsword we came across.

    {Thunk Thunk}

    ¡°Lady Aiyana, pardon the intrusion, but is everything alright?¡±

    A sudden knock drew my attention. The voice at the door was female and seemed to be concerned about me.

    ¡°Lady Aiyana?¡±  I could ignore her, but what good would that do?

    I did my best to put everything else aside and tried to put on a presentable face.

    ¡°Ughn¡­ Let¡¯s do this.¡± I stood up and prepared myself for another round of uncomfortable conversations.

    I opened the door and got my first look at the person brave enough to visit me.

    ¡°Ohh¡­¡± To say that I was unprepared for what greeted me was an understatement.