《Last Son》


 Prologue and a little more

    PROLOGUE


    Along with the others, I stumbled to my feet, forcing myself to stare at the ground. I try to avoid any further contact with the boss or anyone. I always thought to myself it could be simpler if everyone would just leave me alone, but I¡¯m never that lucky.


    In this orphanage, there was one boss and he was the worst. He stood around looming over your shoulders, trying to find any reason to beat you to a pulp, even looking at him funny would get you whacked.


    ¡°Wake up, wake up, ya lousy maggots, get on wit¡¯ it before I smash your heads in.¡± That was Max, a chubby oaf of a man and my boss. He walked into the sleeping chambers of the orphanage bringing with him the foul stench of sweat and blood. He carried a club and torch and smacked any kid who came near, that caused us to usually wake up to the sounds of sobbing and pain.


    While he wasn''t the only worry I had, the older children were another one. They liked beating on the younger workers and especially me, they call me things like a monster, abomination, and worthless. At this moment in time, I am a scrawny young boy at the age of 14 with two small patches of scales growing from my back. When I first came I had a third, but it was ripped off when I got here. Max ripped it off thinking he could make some quick coin. He found that it turned to dust once it was removed from my body.


    I¡¯ve always hated the place, it¡¯s an orphanage built on the outskirts of town with the buildings back lodged into the side of a mountain, or so it appears. Only the people on the inside know it¡¯s really a child labor mine.


    ¡°Quit looking at dat ground you halfwits, ya best get to work before ol¡¯ Max gets mad!¡± Someone collapsed from Max¡¯s swing faced dead on the ground. A person fell on top of that body, then another person, and another one. ¡°Don¡¯ fall over ya fools, now Maxi mad.¡± Everyone quickly ignored and walked past the dead bodies. This was a daily scene I witnessed.


    Once we reached the mines, many went off to pick at the wall while the rest of us would shift through the dirt and mud looking for anything valuable. Sometimes we¡¯d find small stones of ore. Those stones would then be exchanged for food or other necessities, like clothing.


    After 12 years of working around the kingdom and here, I found various rocks and crystals. The largest block of ore I found was the size of a thumb, but that was only enough for a whole piece of bread. I didn''t even get to eat it, one of the older kids ran up to me forcing me to the ground, then sat atop me eating my hard earned food, that night I went hungry, again.


    We spent hours mining into the wall. Most of the days consisted of waking to the sounds of Max beating people who were close to the door, his guards droned over us to make sure we worked. If any of us fell ill on the job they would cut us down right then and there, not even bothering to move away from the rotting corpse. Next, we would get a chance to eat. We¡¯d line up in front of them while they stood looming over a pile of food and clothes. Yet only a small sum of us got anything and rarely anyone went for clothing. Finally, we would be sent to bed, some starving and some sickly.


    One night, I awoke to the sounds of screaming. I found that the kid sleeping to my right was flailing and scratching at his ear screaming the words, ¡°HELP ME!! ITS AN EARWORM!!.¡± Soon after, Max strode into the room with a knife in one hand and a torch in the other. As he approached, he didn¡¯t bother to avoid the bodies beneath him, crushing frail children beneath his feet. He didn¡¯t spare a glance at the boy as he slit his neck. ¡°Shut up ya worthless runt!¡± Just as quickly as he had come he was gone, leaving as if nothing had happened. I and the others became terrified. I now was encasing my head to keep the worms at bay with my tiny blanket and hands, that thought made me shiver throughout that night. When I awoke, I found worms swimming in a pool of blood and pus that had once been a person. Some of the blood stained my blanket and shirt during the night. They were some of the only things I owned.Stolen novel; please report.


    --Hero¡¯s fall meeting--


    Far off away from the Orphan Mine, the king has called a meeting, calling the other kingdoms to discuss a matter of grave importance.


    ¡°What are we going to do? The demons knock at our doors and the hero is on his last pair of legs! Nothing is going as planned. I will not let him pass when he has no descendants!¡± A plump man¡¯s voice resounds over the conference hall as he stood with a wine glass in his hands.


    ¡°Stand down Berus. I understand what you''re trying to say but we can''t do anything for him. For the hero has already passed away this morning.¡± A Chorus of murmurs broke out among the crowd.


    ¡°The hero is dead? You mean to tell me that Leon, warrior of demon and builder of the great wall has died? Then what are we waiting for! We need to summon a new hero from the other worlds!¡± Berus interjected in a condescending tone.


    The King shouts, ¡°As I¡¯ve said, we cannot unless you have thousands upon thousands of slaves to sacrifice at hand. Even if you did, I would not allow it personally. No human soul should be put through that kind of torture again. We are lucky that he gave pity upon us and helped us in any way he could.¡± The king then slammed his fist onto the armrest of his golden chair.


    Berus spoke up this time ¡°Who cares!? This will help us get rid of a few peasants within our streets.¡± Berus then whispered to his guards ¡°Most importantly, it will ensure I live!¡±


    A noble in green clothes rose ¡°Berus I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t mind giving up your all your vineyard slaves to fuel this project? My King, this oaf, ought to pay for this project he so wishes to be done.¡±


    All the peasants stood and shuffled into straight lines, hoping that the king wouldn''t allow their lives to be given up in such a way again. Every single one of them remembered the first time they performed such duties. The summoning cost the kingdom nearly one-fifth of their population and they still haven''t recovered from the heavy price. The Hero who was summoned wasn''t even that strong, he was exceptional at fighting, but couldn¡¯t compare to a knight and could do nothing to the hordes of demons. Although, he did build a wall to fend them off and did possess some commanding abilities. He was also renowned for revolutionizing large scale combat.


    ¡°I honestly question how smart you all really are, Berus. Now, what kind of kingdom would I have if I continued to throw away lives at this rate? We¡¯re already running low on manpower as it is¡±. All the peasants standing in the lines now saw their king in a positive light, in their pov, he was a man willing to save their lives.


    Another royal stands, this time clutching his staff ¡°Then what would you have us do my king? If we are not to summon someone, then what shall we do?¡± The old man said as he was struggling to stand. He couldn¡¯t sit down, because standing when speaking to the king or someone of a higher power was required by law.


    ¡°I don''t know what to do. Xerin? Any ideas?¡± The king turned his head toward a man hidden to his right. As Xerin approached, everyone could tell he was a regal knight of the finest order, easily surpassing the last hero in sword skills after all the years of practice. He wore brown leather armor with iron plates that cascaded down his body. Golden cloth threads hanging from his shoulder and a cape with the crest of the empire, an image of a sword piercing the clouds. ¡°My king, I believe we should fortify the walls and create an army strong enough to push them back in the coming years. We must do this if we wish to survive!¡± The king then subtly nodded to Xerin''s demand.


    A young nobleman with a yellow banner stood next to the old one and raised his voice ¡°My king, you would have a lowly commoner tell you what to do, we all know he is just a commoner leaching off your standing and wealth. Why I could easily beat him myself!¡± As the king was about to rebuke him, the old man smacked the child on the head with his staff ¡°Listen here lad that may be a commoner, but he is still on the king''s royal guard, now sit down and shut up!¡± the child took his seat without further incident, his face plastered with a look of fear.


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then, I will send Xerin and the royal guard off to the walls.¡± Just as the meeting was coming to an end, a man in full plate with purple strappings and a cape, shoved open the 20-foot tall metal doors, not caring if he interrupted with the loud bang and the clanking of his boots on stone flooring. He made his way through the hall, now filled with an aura of dread. The king stood up to say, ¡°Ahh Darius. Nice of you to make it, I was beginning to think that the Great Dragons weren''t going to show up to this world shattering meeting.¡±

 Finding Something Special P1

    Today was just another simple day at the orphan mines to everybody, but to me, everything changed. Waking up, I found myself already stumbling toward the mines with a small rock hidden in my hands. This was my ticket for a better meal and I have been saving it for a week. Nothing good would come from holding your rocks out in the open, nearly everyone would try to steal them. If they were thin, strong, or malnourished, they would find a way to steal them.


    ¡°Get to work with the lot of ya.¡± Max shoved us into the cramped mines one by one. No torch, no nothin¡¯. Everything was going by uneventful until somebody acted up.


    ¡°No! I''m not going back in there! THE WORMS EAT YOUR FLESH FOR STEALING THE STONES!¡± The slave gripped the edges of the door that led into the mines as guards pushed with all their weight trying to make him fall in, but he didn¡¯t budge and continued to cling to the edges. Once they found out he wouldn''t move, they stabbed him with spears until he became limp. His corpse tumbled through the doorway with a sickening splat at the bottom. Nobody said a word and we all silently went down the doors into the darkness that was beneath.


    The mine may not have been lit with torches besides a few crystal-like rocks jutted from the walls. They held a blue luminescence that sparsely lit the cave to light, revealing all of the ragged workers and the black sludge that formed near their boots. Small worm-like creatures could be seen swimming within the sludge.


    ¡°Hey, you runt, what''s in your hands, is it anything for me?¡± Blitus, who was one of the larger orphans, put his hand on my shoulder and spun me around. He took my hands and squeezed on them until I dropped my precious stone. With a thud, it landed on the ground. This stone was by far the largest one I have ever found. It was roughly the size of my thumb and a pinky¡¯s width larger. Right when Blitus snatched my stone, I gave up on it ¡°Ha what a treasure, I''m sure I can get some new pants with this!¡± Blitus bent over and picked up my stone.


    ¡°Hey you! Give it back to him!¡± A regular rock went flying in the air, missing Blitus entirely.


    ¡°What was dat?¡± Blitus said as he looked toward the direction the rock was thrown from. It was another slave, a girl to be exact. She wore the same as everyone else, a rag draped over her body, she also had red messy hair that contrasted the surroundings.


    ¡°You give him his stone back right this instant! You big farty face!¡± She snatched another rock and threw it harder, it surprisingly just bounced off of his chest. I was surprised she even attempted another throw because Blitus was too big for anybody to mess with him. He held the top rank out of all the orphan slave workers. I could barely comprehend what was going on between the two, a small frail girl I had never seen before was standing up to the big monster, because he was taking my stone.


    ¡°Ha ha ha, a little girl dinks she can beat Blitus?¡± Blitus snorted and punched me perfectly right in my eye. ¡°Ya see girl, if Kai can''t fight me, what makes you think you can?¡± Blitus laughed and walked off.


    ¡°I''m sorry he hit you. He¡¯s just a big bully, I''ll show you something cool to cheer you up.¡± She leaned over and flipped me onto my back, only to find that my face was swollen and blood seeped from my nose, she then wiped the snot and blood from my face with a small corner of her rag.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Thanks uhh, what''s your name?¡± I couldn''t help but blush at her beautiful amber orange eyes. I also couldn¡¯t make much more of any other detail, but she was kinda cute, if not for this place and my swollen face. ¡°I''m Reatha, but most people call me Rea.¡± She smiled down at me with a toothy grin and started to walk away, ¡°You comin¡¯?¡± suddenly she stood up and held out her hand. Without a second to spare I grabbed her smaller hand in mine. As we ran through the sparsely lit cave, we saw and heard all sorts of things, from ragged pickers smashing at the wall furiously in pursuit of dinner to the blue crystals and their soothing hum. We trudged through black sludge and jumped over obstacles for nearly an hour before reatha finally came to a stop at a dead end.


    ¡°This is it, I think, follow me.¡± Reatha propped her hand ahead of her and felt the wall as she walked. Eventually, she melded into the blackness. I freaked out and reached out for her hand.


    When I found out she wasn''t there, I called out to her, only to receive the silent hum of the crystals. I then thought of the moment she fought for me and slipped into the darkness after her. The next thing I felt was the world slipping from beneath my feet as I fell.


    --Xerin¡¯s Journey--


    In the far back of the caravan, there were many platoons from the noble factions following Xerin¡¯s men to the wall. Most of the soldiers were second rate warriors who were to be used as cannon fodder to slow the demon advances.


    ¡°Aye, it has been days as since we have been out here! I can''t stand it.¡± A soldier yawned as he marched on foot toward the walls.


    ¡°We''ve only just begun! Sharpen up you idiot. We have two more months before we reach the wall and were just 2 days away from the closest town.¡±


    Another soldier slapped his friends back. ¡°Yea, but it''s not fair at all! We have to walk like pigs yet the honor guard gets to ride horses!. ¡°


    The first soldier pouted even more. ¡°Don''t worry once we get into StoneHorn it will all be worth it! I''ll pay for your first girl, how ¡®bout it?¡±


    The second guard pulled out a purse and jiggled it up and down showing off how much money he had.¡°Ha ha ha, you got me there, brother!¡± both of the guards ran even faster trying to catch up to the honor guard.


    Far up in the caravan sat Xerin atop his battle horse. A battle horse was raised with magic and muscle enhancing food from birth so they would one day be ridden by the strongest of warriors across the land. Not many people could afford these horses, they were deadly and cost too much for their handling.


    ¡°Lord commander Xerin!¡± A group of scouts sent ahead earlier rode back calling out to Xerin. Each scout wore a face of distress as they rode toward him. ¡°Sir, the men and I rode for a few hours and we found a bandit army ahead, they number in the hundreds!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Xerin couldn''t believe bandits would camp that close to the wall. To attack the honor guard marching to defend the walls, it would be dangerous. Nearly everyone in the kingdom knew that, but these bandits seem to not know any better. They only had a simple thought process, ¡°Allow the demons to march into our lands or gather gold.¡± they pondered.


    ¡°Sir, some of our men got caught and are being dragged away by the bandits as we left. We know not of what happened to them, please save them!¡± The scouts pleaded for their friend''s lives.


    ¡°We must hurry then if our men truly lie in peril.¡± Xerin begins to shout over the crowd of men ¡°Attention, this is the commander guard speaking, bandits have camped near the wall and have imprisoned our fellow men, we must advance with posthaste.¡± Xerin, along with his caravan increased their speed. All of the caravans now trailed toward the bandit camp.

 Finding something special P2

    --reathas perspective--


    After spending a few years in the mines, I''ve come across a boy who is interesting, to say the least. He has a knack for staying out of trouble, always keeping his head down, like a wuss. He¡¯s skinny and his hair is pitch black. His face is pale and it looks like a half dead fish. He¡¯s so filled with the idea that his life has ended already. Today, I''ll show him something amazing, I''ll show him the cave I found.


    Most of the time when we head off to the mines, instead of hammering at the walls in search of stones, I play around. I Skip over puddles of nasty worms, pretending as if they were puddles of lava! Sometimes I climb on the light crystals, using them as monkey bars. When it''s time for dinner, I give the guards the stones I find when wandering around. Their eyes would bulge out of their skulls when I brought one out. In return, they would give me a lot of food! Even soft bread and warm soup! I think everyone should try to live a life of fun and games, Instead of working their lives away and look dead all the time.


    On the day I was going to look for the skinny kid I found him getting his hands clasped together by Blitus, a big ugly poop head. The boy then dropped a rock, most likely his dinner token. ¡°Hey YOU! GIVE IT BACK TO HIM!¡± Quickly I picked up a rock and threw it at him. *tink* damn it, it fell short. When I threw it their way Blitus turned just to laugh at me and pick up the stone the skinny boy dropped.


    ¡°HAhahah a little girl dinks she can beat me?¡±In his stupid voice, Blitus snorted at me. He soon turned and smacked the kid with his meaty hands. Ouch.. that looked like it hurt.


    ¡°See girl, if Kai can''t fight me what makes you think you can?¡± The fatty just turned around and left after taking kais stone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry he hurt you. He¡¯s a bully just forgit about him. I''ll show you somethin cool.¡± Running over to Kai, I flipped him over just to see his face, his nose was smashed in and brown eyes that sparkled in the blue luminescence. I realized I was staring at him for too long, so I pulled on the tip of my rag to wipe his snot and blood off his face.


    ¡°Thanks uhh what''s your name?¡± his voice shot up at me.


    ¡°I''m Reatha but most people call me Rea,¡± I responded giving him a smile. Soon we were off, traveling through the cave. This time I didn''t care to play, I just walked around and talked with Kai. Taking my time to loop him around in circles before we got to where I wanted, just so I could spend more time with him.


    When we reached the place I let go of his hand and slipped into the crevasse within the rock. Staring down into the darkness with a smile on my face, I began to plummet along with Kai.


    --kais perspective--


    I fell for a short period before I broke the surface of the water. When I opened my eyes deep in the water I saw something I never had before. Sure the crystals in the cave were a sight, but this took my breath away!


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Looking deeper into the clear water I found more crystals humming and extending their dark blue light into the pool. Illuminating all the fish in the pond. When I rose my face, I saw that what was usually the ceiling of a dark cave, to actually be an expanse of crystal filled sky.


    I made my way to the shores with Reatha, I found the ground scrape filled with trees and grass. Many different kinds of animals that shouldn''t be in caves walked around. This place was a pocket of life in the earth.


    I saw rabbit-like creatures and a few trees made of crystals. Not far off there was a pile of stones that was as large as a fist, the same stones we traded for food.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± I simply couldn''t hold back my curiosity. I went limp falling to my knees. In the past 12 years of my life, I''ve been drained of all, my feelings and my body. Tortured to no end and starving most of the nights.


    ¡°Ha, I dunno. Found it when playing in the caves.¡± Reatha simply looked at me as I took in the sights.


    As we approached the stone pile, it began to rise, huge hulking feet lifted, causing debris to fly everywhere, the rocks created a large golem. Blue runes ran down its skin, to its dull stony face and connected to its large rocky fists.


    ¡°Who dares to trespass in my realm?!¡± The golem yelled in a grinding echo. His stone eyebrows raise as he stares us down.


    ¡°We come from above.¡± reatha grips my hand and I notice her legs shaking with fear and nervousness.


    ¡°I KNOW THAT!¡± his voice thundered over us. ¡°Tell me your name children and why you come to my home.¡± the golem bashed his fist into the dirt, uprooting many plants and demolishing the grass floor.


    ¡°My name is Kai and this is Reatha. We have come here for some stone, so we can trade it for food upstairs.¡± I stood in front of reatha and pushed her behind me.


    ¡°What? You mean to steal my life stones? The putrid bandits atop who run your so called mines are only stealing snippets of my stones yet you, Kai wishes to directly take them from me? It takes years to produce my kind of enchanted stones and you think I''ll allow you to take them when you ravage my true home? LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE.¡± The golem began to thrash and send rocks flying at us. Reatha gripped my arm and we both rushed away quickly, not waiting for him to kill us.


    She led me back into a small hole in the wall and we hurriedly scampered up it. Space was so tight we begin to crawl and climb up at a slow pace. The golem chased us all the way to the edge of the hole before he began hammering on the surface of the wall. The caves shook and rocks began falling from the ceiling.


    Once we reached the top of the overhang, that was when it all went horribly wrong. I placed my hand over reaching for Reatha¡¯s arms to find her not even climbing anymore. ¡°Reatha! Where are you?¡± I called down into the abyss, seeing if she was there, not a single trace of her was down there. My concentration was failing, I reached further toward the overhang, the rocks above me began to give way and the cave collapsed. Rocks came tumbling down and as the light was closed off to me I fell backward further into the dark hole. All I could feel was a terrible pain on my right arm where a jagged rock impaled itself into me.


    --Xerin¡¯s War--


    ¡°Hold fast men! Don''t let the bandits beat you!¡± I stood tall atop a wooden makeshift tower. Yelling orders into the crowds of men. A wall of shields and spears faced the bandits who were armed with swords and axes. For days this battle has been going on only to slow my advance to the walls. ¡°We don''t have time for this!¡± I ran towards my tent and I picked up my twin swords. Now then, I will have to show these belligerent outlaws who they''re truly dealing with.


    I ran into the front lines ready with swords in hand. ¡°Honor guard move! Legions move! I will clear a path down the center and we will split their forces apart!¡± I yelled while approaching.


    Everyone quickly cleared the path as I took to the field. Everyone on the kingdoms side knew how deadly it was to stand in my way. But the bandits, they could only laugh thinking as if one soldier couldn''t change the tides of battle. This was their final mistake.


    I thrust my blades into the air and channeled my aura. All the bandits began to flee. ¡°White Obliteration - stance one¡± I pierced my swords into the ground, the world around me turned white, blinding those who looked. For miles, one could hear the sounds of air tearing and the ground being torn asunder. When the flash was gone, none stood. There was a huge gash in a straight line ahead of Xerin.


    ¡°Honor guard, legion''s, ADVANCE! CUT THEM DOWN!¡± I shouted as I sheathed my blades.


    Soon the groove in the soil was filled with the boots of soldiers, the bandits were past forgiveness. With a single attack from the commander and a few maneuvers the battle had finally been won. It was now a matter of gathering the few stragglers and capturing the bandit stronghold. As for what I might find inside? I had no clue.

 unwavering will

    It was very dark, there were shadows in my head and the world spun around in circles. When I tried to lift my right arm it stung with a sharp pain and wouldn¡¯t move. I slowly lifted my left hand and moved it to my right trying to find out what was wrong. I should have felt flesh or skin but there was a rocky surface instead. Following the rock, I had found it had impaled my arm and pinned me to the floor. I knew I shouldn''t panic, but I was laying in a pool of sticky fluid in the pitch black.


    When I attempted to pull out the rock spike a pain unlike any other rocked my arm. Moving the rock a few centimeters caused a spray of blood to gush onto my face. I quickly moved, working on freeing myself from the ground. As time ticked past I could only think of what happened to Rea. Everything from the time I met her to the point I lost her. I may have only known her for a few moments, but to me, one who has had a life of solitude since it was two, it meant the world to me.


    ¡°DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT, screw this!¡± With a last ditch effort to pull out the stone from my frail body, it did not move whatsoever. Pain erupted once again and I fell into a black sleep.


    A few hours later I woke up. I looked around to find the same darkness from my dreams, once again I was reminded of Reas face, that messy red hair and her amber orange eyes. Scouring my memories I looked for a way to save her. I searched for something that could help.


    ¡°Anything, c¡¯mon you worthless son!¡± In the back of my mind, I remembered what my mother had told me: ¡°Never give up and never give in.¡± Finding fragments of my past and placing them together I had found what I wanted, the only spell my mother had taught me.


    Moving my left hand and writing white symbols into the air I created a script. Once that would rewrite my flesh, but before I could do that I had to get rid of the jagged rock within my skin.


    Crunching down on my teeth and grinning with pain, I pulled, yanked, and tore. Finally freeing my hand and illuminating the cave with my script I saw a mangled limb. Torn from the rock and my struggle to free it. The blood stopped flowing as dirt and dried blood covered up the injury.


    Dipping my ravaged hand through and past the script, the flesh became whole. I could see each and every strand of meat knit itself together again. Twirling itself up my bone, soon my whole body began to tingle, but I ignored it, I was just happy that my arm was healing.


    When I was mostly healed I walked back toward the rocky cliff, only to find the way I came in was blocked by clusters of rocks that formed a wall. Falling to my knees I wept, covering my eyes with my hand.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Once again I¡¯m useless!¡± Raising my fist to pound on the walls I stopped, ¡°Never give up.¡± I whispered this line to myself.


    Standing with my fist clenched I walked leaving behind the cave and deciding I would find a way to save her. Bring back Reatha and leave this place.


    Walking back up to the orphanage I noticed it was too quiet. None of the workers were picking at the walls and I was all alone within the mines. Trudging past abandoned picks and minecarts I was grabbed.


    ¡°What do we have here? Were you hiding the whole time captain Xerin was looking over all the slave workers?¡± A man clad in iron and golden threads lifted me into the air.


    ¡°Wait! Put me down! I don''t know anything about some Xerin!¡± I began to thrash around in his arms.


    ¡°Calm down boy! I''m not going to hurt you. But how do you not know what happened? The entire honor guard rode in here and slaughtered all the bandits.¡± The man then threw me under his arm and marched onward.


    What''s going on? How long was I out? I began throwing questions at myself. If there was enough time for a large battle to happen up top, then for how long was Reatha getting chased by that golem then? The man quickly brought me up the stairs, as we walked I saw Max¡¯s lifeless body leaned against a wall. His head had been cut clean off. Whoever these guards were, they were not ones to be messing around. We traveled around a few corners before reaching Max¡¯s office. There were more guards in the same attire that was carrying me like luggage.


    ¡°Xerin I found someone lingering within the caves, now look at his eyes!¡± the guard carrying me exclaimed. Wait, what happened to my eyes? Finally breaking free from his arms I ran over to the cracked mirror near the corner of the room. Peering in between the cracks I found my once brown eyes had now grown white with small specks of brown and red running laps around a dragon-like iris.


    ¡°What happened to me?¡± I turned around asking the guards.


    ¡°Ha ha ha ha! I think I found him Kai, is that you?¡± the man who seemed to be the leader stepped forward.


    ¡°Who are you? Why do you know my name?¡± I took a few steps back, bumping into the wall.


    ¡°I''m Xerin, your father told me to find you.¡± He kneeled down and took his helmet off, placing it on his knees.


    --Xerin¡¯s Raid--


    We finally reached the mines where the bandits had shelled up in.


    ¡°Captain! The guards are ready to enter, say the word when you¡¯re ready.¡± A man clad in iron armor and golden threads stepped up to my side.


    ¡°Alright, let''s move men!¡± I and the royal guards rushed forward and slashed the doors open. As I marched forward toward the main room I met many simple minded bandits ahead. Slicing them to bits with my twin swords as I walked past.


    Upon entering the main office, I found a man wielding a club and torch. I slashed at him with both my swords, slices that would easily cut a man half, but his body proved to be stronger than the other bandits. ¡°Arghh! What was that?¡± I took another strike, this time he was aware of it. The man tried to block my right sword but instead my blade chopped all of his fingers on his club-wielding hand. I took my other sword and sliced into both of his thighs. His support now leaned towards my body, so I front kicked his chest outward and left him crawling on the floor. ¡°Ya bloody bastard! If ya didn¡¯t sneak up on me, ya wouldn¡¯t be the one standing!¡± The man was a sight for sore eyes and a whistle in my ear, so I grabbed him by his metal collar and severed his head straight off. Not knowing what to do next I decided his body wasn¡¯t useful, so I threw his body back out into the hallway to relieve some of my stress.


    ¡°Gather up all the workers, we need to have a little talk.¡± All the guards split off to find every slave worker in the mines. As they returned he sent them off to find food and shelter with the soldiers outside.


    Where is that boy? Back at the castle, Darius told me to look for Kai, another dragon. Was he still here? Or had he been moved?