《The Descendant》
The Descendant: Prologue
*Woosh Woosh Woosh*
Fluctuations in the air could be heard as a silhouette was seen running through the wind.
The man''s feet seemed like if they were gliding above the ground as he made his way past trees, until he spotted an open spot in the valley at the base of a mountain.
¡°This will do¡±, thought the man.
Although his face was pale and arms were slightly shaking, he made his way into the clearing and looked down towards his chest.
There lay a little baby who was wrapped in an originally white rag, which was now dyed red with blood coming from the wound on the man''s chest. A deep cut 2 inches wide ran the length of the man''s torso starting from the left shoulder and ending near his right hip.
Putting the baby gently on the ground, he quickly ran his hand across the injury on his chest. His hand emitted faint heat as the wound slowly closed up while a crisp noise was heard. Disregarding the pain caused from melting his flesh back together, he made his way across the clearing to where there was a small lake. The man put his face over the clear lake to see his reflection.
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His face lacked color. His eyes devoid of life.
A single tear ran down his face as it caused a ripple in the water while he muttered quietly the codes which were passed down from generations, the sacred codes which he and everyone in his clan lives by or ¡®lived¡¯ by¡
¡°Never bow, never fear¡±
¡°You are powerless, when the end is near¡±
¡°Tzaar is living, within us all¡±
¡°When you rise¡±
¡°They will fall¡±
The ripple in the lake settled down as the face of the man was seen again, yet this time his eyes were filled with completely different emotions.
Anger, pain, frustration but most importantly, a new found purpose.
His figure disappeared from near the lake and reappeared next to the baby.
Looking into those young brown eyes of the, unexpectedly, calm baby; the man spoke in a hopeful tone, ¡°Forgive me for being useless and giving you these burdens but you must overcome the shortcomings of your father and bring us to light again, Warrick.¡±
The Descendant- Chapter 1
This is my first story so some feedback would be really helpful!(:
¡°Ahhhh!¡±
A loud cry of pain was heard as it echoed throughout the valley.
¡°Again¡±, yelled a Robust looking man.
A young boy around the age of seven got off the ground and wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth. Maintaining eye contact with the man in front of him he cautiously picked up the wooden sword on the ground and transitioned into a lunge with the sword thrusting straight towards the man''s chest. As it was closing in on its target, the man that was standing motionless till now raised his hand and smacked the sword away, as the impact occurred, the force of the collision caused the surroundings to become unsettled.
The impact caused the wooden sword in the boy''s hand to be suddenly thrown in a different direction feeling as it had hit been hit by a mountain instead. The boy used all his strength to keep his hand on the sword, he had learned his lesson time and time again, day after day yet keeping his grip was no easy task.
Having gotten control of his sword again he grimaced in pain as he looked down at his hands, these weren''t the hands of a young boy but rather those of a warrior, the skin had regrown countless times already but it was still painful no matter how many times he went through this.
After re-affirming his grip he attacked the man again yet this time from a different angle. The result was the same as the last collision. The boy carried on these attacks ferociously without reserve---slashes, thrusts, lunges but again and again he would be sent back until eventually he could take no more and the wooden sword, which till this point he was barely hanging on to, finally flew out of his hand.
The young boy dropped to one knee and started panting rapidly due to the exhaustion while his hands slightly shook.
¡°The weapon is your life, without it you are worthless, no matter what you must never drop your weapon¡±, said the man.
Although his voice was stern and face was expressionless his eyes carried a hint of approval
¡°He has grown a lot,¡± thought the man, as he stared into the boy''s dark brown eyes what he found was a steady gaze staring right back at him. This was not the look of a normal seven year old, this was the look that a man acquired after countless years on the blood field.
Secretly approving this look, the man opened his mouth to give further instructions, ¡°What you need to¡¡±, before he could finish, he spat out a mouthful of blood and he suddenly fell to the ground.
While touching his chest the man thought to himself, ¡° Hmm it seems like it''s almost time for me to part from this world¡±.
¡°Father!¡±, the young boy came running across the field and helped the man up.
¡°Father, it''s your injury right?¡± he asked in a worried voice. Although his relationship with his father, Therol, wasn''t intimate he was still the only family he had known since he was little.
¡°No need to worry about it, go and get supper ready,¡± replied Therol in a detached voice.
¡°Father, if you keep pushing yourself like this day after day then your condition is going to get worse!¡±, said the boy.
¡°I said go and get supper ready, don''t worry yourself about my health!¡±
Therol had no choice but to stay detached from his son, knowing that he was eventually going to die soon he couldn''t afford to be intimate with him.
Giving Therol a resigned look, the boy turned around and slowly moved towards the forest.
¡°The world is a cruel place as it is and he''s going to have to walk a tough path, my death would cause too much of an impact on his emotional state¡± Therol mused to himself.
Although he was forced to mature beyond his actual age, he was still a kid at heart.
¡°With my injury acting up recently i doubt i have more than a month, i think it''s time i finish the preparations. Warrick, my son, i as your father have failed you miserably. You must be a better man than i until you have the power to avenge our family. Avenge me. Avenge your mother.¡± Therol whispered to himself not daring to say these words out loud.
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Warrick walked out of the woods with a beast about 3 foot tall slung over his shoulder, he walked back towards the clearing in the valley while watching the sunset.
This was what he did everyday, although he didn¡¯t like killing wild beasts, he understood that it was a necessity in this world, what he did like though was watching the sunset , it would calm his heart after his and his father training session.
Arriving at the clearing in the valley, Warrick got to work on preparing his meal for himself and his father. This had been his home for the past seven years, two wooden houses one for him and one for his father and a small fire pit for him cook food on, It wasn''t much but it was enough for him.
After he finished preparing the food he took some and gave it to his father, who as resting in his own house. They both ate in silence as was the routine.
Tomorrow would be a new day.
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Warrick was up and about before sunrise. For him the day started early. His everyday training consisted of three segments which were training, learning, and sparring. His training was carried out alone by himself while the later two were done with his father.
Warrick never enjoyed his training at first but now he welcomed it because it made him feel alive in his usually static life.
He made his way to the waterfall which was located near the mountain wall. He looked up to the very top and said in a determined voice, ¡°I will conquer you soon and see the world beyond¡±.
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According to his father this was the only entrance and exit of the valley. The walls of the mountains were smooth as a granite slab. Usually this wouldn''t pose a problem to climb but do to the smoothness of the mountain there were no crevices in which to get a firm hold on making it virtually impossible.
The only part which had these crevices was the mountain wall that the waterfall ran down. The waterfall stood over 290 feet tall, the height itself didn''t phase Warrick but it was the water pressure that made it a difficult climb.
Warrick put down his wooden sword, removed his shirt and dove into the water making his way towards the waterfall, the water was freezing cold yet refreshing, as soon as Warrick got under the waterfall the pressure from the water fell on to his body while making a loud ¡®Bang¡¯ noise. The pressure made his knees buckle instantly as his chest similarly started dropping towards the ground but after years of going through this training he had gotten used to this and the next instant he straightened his body.
¡°The pressure feels less and less everyday¡±, he thought.
The pressure from a roughly 300 foot drop would normally be enough to crush any normal person but his body had always been strong since a young age, for what reason he had no idea, but since the only other person he had known since birth his father who was way stronger than he was, Warrick believed that this was the strength of a average individual.
Without fear of injury Warrick jumped up and grabbed the first crevice and slowly made his way up, the fissures in the rocks were on average two to three feet apart from each other, with great difficulty he made his way from crevice to crevice.
¡°I have to keep going!¡±, was the only thought going through his head at this point. His stamina was decreasing every time he moved up but he kept on persevering through the fatigue.
¡°10,11,12¡.¡± , groaned Warrick, making sure to keep count of the amount of fissures he already scaled.
The most he had gotten to this day was 27 which was around 80 feet.
After climbing for a while he reached the 27th fissure which was his limit thus far.
¡°One more, just one more!¡± Warrick consoled himself as he looked up, the reason he had been stuck here for a while was because the distance to the next crevice was 6 feet and was not something that he could reach by normal methods but instead, he had to to throw himself up which was seemingly impossible with the rapids crashing on his body yet his desire for the world beyond the valley had been the fuel to fire all these years.
Taking a deep breath Warrick looked down, let out a sigh, then turned upwards towards his objective at hand, he leaned forward, bent his legs and moved his chest closer to the mountain wall getting into a leaping position then let out a faint cry as he threw himself upwards.
¡°Arrhhgg!¡±
Time seemingly slowed down for him as his narrowed his focused on the fissure barely a foot away from him, his pupils dilated and at this point his ears were void of noise except for that of his heartbeat.
¡°Just a little more!¡±, he yelled out loud, his right shoulder reached further to the point that it felt like it was going to pop out of place until he finally felt his fingers digging into the opening.
He had finally reached it, after countless amount of tries he had ultimately reached it in the end. This was the biggest obstacle which was in his way to the world above and at this moment he knew with a bit more training he could eventually conquer the waterfall.
¡°I..did it, i really did it haha!¡±, Warrick let out a rare laugh and was losing himself in excitement until suddenly his expression froze. He had forgot to reaffirm his grip on the holding and his fingers slipped out of the crevice, with his mouth still wide open from his laughter the rapid water filled that opening and shot him back towards the bottom of the river. Due to the sudden change in events Warrick had a sudden flashback memory of an important lesson his father had taught him a while ago.
------
¡°In this world Warrick there are valiant heroes and sinister villains and a large number of people in between. In your life you will set upon a path which is unique to you and you only, in which i have no say in it, yet there is one thing which you must never be¡± Therol spoke these words solemnly.
Listening intently Warrick lifted his chest and straightened his back as he waited patiently for his father''s next words.
¡°You must never and i mean never...be a fool¡±
-------
Warrick dragged himself to shore and looked off into the distance and remembered the words his father spoke of. At the time he didn''t understand but everything was clear now. He hadn''t even set out into the word yet had already failed his father. Looking off into the distance he narrowed his eyes and tightly pressed his lips together.
¡°On this day I, Warrick, proclaim to never be a fool again for as long as i live¡±
Warrick had said these words seriously yet on a mountain across the waterfall Therol let out a long series of laughter, he hadn''t laughed like this in seven years. Maybe it was because of how innocently his son had said these words or because he wanted to enjoy the little time he had left, nevertheless, it felt good to let loose.
¡°The child is yet but a child¡±
The one ¡®pleasure¡¯ Therol had throughout these past years was to watch Warrick train, he would overlook his training everyday from a distance to see his progress. Although he never personally intervened he didn''t want any serious injuries to befall his son and he thoroughly enjoyed watching his son be unrestrained during his exercises.
After composing himself he went into a train of thought as he recalled the earlier events.
¡°He seems to have stimulated his inheritance, although it was for a bit. Nonetheless it is about time to teach him¡±
The Descendant- Chapter 2(Inheritance)
I''m going to make it a goal to at least release once a week, i will have more time when summer starts for me. Also i would appreciate some feedback if possible to help me out as a new writer. Enjoy(:
Chapter 2
¡°Seven years ago you assured us that the last of their clan was dead, so why is it that we still can''t bloodbind their damn Inheritance Dammit!!¡± a large unruly man slammed his fist on the table shattering the wood into bits and pieces.
¡°Only for their Inheritance did we seek to collaborate against them and you useless bastards couldn''t even kill the last one!¡±
Having heard enough a hooded man in the back stepped forward, ¡° Varc you weren''t the only one there that day, i lost a brother and...¡±
¡° And i lost a son!,¡± without letting him finish Varc stepped forward and pointed at the hooded,
¡°We all lost kin on that day but what did we gain? We gained shit! We cannot access their Inheritance unless there is no one of their bloodline left to inherit it and we let one get away, you let one get away Tallon, it''s a bloody shame i ever trusted you and that brother of yours to begin with¡±
¡°Dont cross the line Varc, there are some things you say that you can never take back, especially if you''re dead, ¡° Tallon pointed the palms of his hands towards the ground as the earth started rumble.
Seeing these actions as a clear threat Varc drew the enormous broadsword from his back as he stared at Tallon and smirked, ¡°If you and that worthless brother of yours couldn''t even end Therol, then what chance do you think you have to end me?¡±
¡°Say another thing about my brother and i guess we''ll find out soon enough¡±
The tension in the room started to increase as the followers of the two men reached for their weapons, waiting for someone to make the first move.
Aside from the two men arguing against each other there was another person in this room who, until this point, had been sitting and listening to the conversation intently, seeing the situation worsen he spoke in a calm voice.
¡°Cease this useless bickering, there is a problem at hand and we are here to solve it, not to cause more of them. From what we know, Talon, your brother destroyed his own Inheritance in an attempt to kill Therol, is that correct?¡±
Hearing the old man finally talk both Tallon and Varc had both stopped their actions and turned towards him with their heads bowed. A clear gesture of submission.
¡°That is correct Imperator, seeing the waves of their clansmen blocking us to allow Therol to escape, my brother alone got through their blockage but at a cost of many injuries, then in his fight with Therol, knowing he would lose he heroically chose to forcefully destroy his Inheritance in order to kill him, in which he fell short, nonetheless the wound he left him is not something he can recover and will eventually die, it''s just a matter of time now¡± After replying Tallon glanced at Varc who was similarly looking back at him, their expressions full of hostility.
¡°An Inheritance isn''t a play thing of a child, even with one of your clans caliber that brother of yours couldn''t take Therols life, who was right next to him, worthless¡± Varc looked at a imperator
¡°Imperator, allow me to send my armies through the lesser kingdoms, it is the only place where he could go¡±
¡°I implore the Imperator to wait some time, my brothers sacrifice was not in vain, Therol is a dead man waking, merely searching for a suitable grave¡±
They both made their cases and waited for a favorable response.
The old man they referred to as ¡®Imperator¡¯ stood up, ¡°Therol will eventually die and we don''t have to leisure of sending armies out to search for him. We wait¡±
------
¡°Inheritance? What is that father?¡±asked a confused Warrick.
¡°The blood that runs through me was passed down to you, likewise i got my blood from my father, so on and so forth. Within the blood that is passed down is something we call a Inheritance, a blessing given by the gods. According to the records this wasn''t always the case,as i have told you before Warrick Twenty-four hundred years ago there was an incident in which the world around us turned into turned to ash devoid of life, or...so we thought. The only piece of land which remained untouched was our continent.¡±
Warrick already knew of this event as it was something that had left him speechless when he first learned about it.
¡°Along with the destruction came rewards, unknown stones spread out throughout the land ranging in size, the bigger ones being more powerful than the smaller ones. The stones brought with them unique abilities which gave people power on par, even exceeding, naturalists.The stones, once obtained, would become hereditary and the only way for someone else to obtain that power is to kill all the people which spawned from the original possessors blood¡±
. Therol spoke these words with pain throbbing in his heart, even thinking about what happened in the past was enough to give him shivers.
What good is this power of mine if i can''t use it to protect my loved ones? There are hundreds of thousand people out there slaughtering families to obtain a power, those godforsaken stones, which will bring upon nothing but destruction
¡°Why are you suddenly telling me this father?¡± although this information was extremely shocking, it only increased Warricks desire to see the world above and at the same time confused him due to the seriousness in which his father had told him this.
¡°Earlier today you awakened your Inheritance for a brief moment ¡°
Shock appeared upon Warricks face as he stared at his father motionlessly. I have a Inheritance?
Warrick got lost in thought as he tried to remember when such a incident had occurred, and recalled when he was at the 27th and 28th juncture time had seemingly slowed down for him, which in turn had allowed him to somehow reach the 28th fissure.
¡°For the next month besides the bare necessities we will indulge in training where i will teach you how to wield this power¡±.
¡°Yes father¡± Warrick replied after recovering from his initial shock, his father had always been clouded by mystery and seeing him talk about something personal he knew this wasn''t the time for questions.
¡°Bring your sword and meet me by the waterfall¡± after finishing Therol disappeared from from sight.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.After picking up his sword Warrick made his way down to the waterfall to the beautiful scenery which he was all too familiar with, he made way his way towards his father who was standing next to the waterfall.
¡°A power inherited is fundamentally different from a naturalist, instead of drawing power from nature we draw it from our blood, there are many mysteries that lie within inherited blood which we do not know of¡±, Therol motioned Warrick over to the waterfall ¡°Look at the platform beneath the waterfall and try to cancel out all unnecessary noise.¡±
This was easier said than done, the waterfall was constantly crashing against the rock platform constantly making ear wrecking noises making it hard to even hear his father.
Yet thinking back to the events in which he had, according to his father, briefly awakened his inheritance he remembered that at that time noise around him had been canceled out and his sight had been abnormally focused.
¡°The most basic aspect of our Inheritance is called Heasing, if perfected, it allows our perception to focus in a target and by doing so one''s hearing will cancel out any extraneous noises and eyes will focus on a specific object blocking out any peripheral movements.¡±
Warrick nodded to show that he was listening, now understanding that getting to the 28th fissure was due to this phenomenon, by putting all your attention on a single object it would allow you to block out any unnecessary movements or obstacles and by heightening your senses your corresponding strength would increase for as long as you were in this trance.
¡°You will stay here and focus on this platform until you reach this trance, this is something that cannot be taught and must be comprehended by yourself. Only after you are capable of reaching this state will we proceed.¡± after he was done taking, Therol took his leave.
While listening to his father, Warrick had already started to focus on the platform yet couldn''t figure out how to enter this state. He took both his hands and covered them over his ears,
¡°Maybe if i can physically block the noise i could focus more¡±.
After a few moments Warrick abandoned this idea due to the sheer deafening noise of the waterfall which his hands couldn''t hope to block.
¡®Perhaps the water could help me concentrate¡¯, he got up and dove into water, after 30 minutes he exited the water with a dejected look.
¡®That just made things harder and adding on to that...I''m now wet, that''s just great but at least it got my blood pumping¡¯. Warrick returned his attention back to the platform and focused his eyes
¡®Wait that''s it! Blood, father said that a inheritance is activated by blood and i remember hearing my own heartbeat when i was climbing¡¯.
Warrick immediately focused his attention onto his own body trying to hear his own heartbeat, slowly the noise of his heart beating became louder and the noise of the waterfall decreased eventually getting to the point of being nonexistent. Although the noise was drowned out, his sight still had much work to be done on it, no matter how much he tried to narrow his eyes and focus his vision, he was still perceiving the surroundings of the rock platform.
¡®It''s gonna take some work but now that i know the basics i have a way of training this.¡¯
The hearing part of the Heasing level was relatively simple to obtain yet the sight aspect of it was a bit difficult, so in order to train his vision Warrick sat as close to the rock platform he could so he vision was limited to only that and slowly made distance to improve his focus. 3 days went by in a flash when undergoing this process, Warrick now sat 100 feet away from the platform.
¡®Lets try this again.¡¯
Warrick let out a sigh and listened for the noise of his heartbeat ¡°Dum, Dum,Dum¡± the noise was now much louder that it was a few days ago due to his training, his pupils dilated as he focused his eyes upon the platform, the surroundings turned into a blur and the platform which was 100 feet away seemed as if it was within his grasp, all the fine details were now easily visible, some which he would have a hard time finding even if he was on the platform. Warrick averted his gaze to test this ¡°Heasing¡± ability on other objects, he focused in on the waterfall and found out that when using this ability on animate objects it seemed as if they were moving a bit slower than reality.
While his focus was on the waterfall he felt a sharp pain inside his head and immediately lost focus.
¡®It seems that focusing in on moving objects can only be done for so long¡¯ the pain in his head eventually subsided as he walked back to the wooden houses.
Arriving at his father''s house he noticed, to his surprise, that there was no one in there so he
headed over to their usual sparring area which was the only other place his father would be at.
Along the way he saw hints on blood on the ground, although they were only traces of blood Warricks perception had somewhat improved over the past several days so he managed to notice them, he sighed inwardly as continued walking, no matter what he said, his father wouldn''t listen to him when it came to his health and for the past couple months every time he saw his father''s injury flare up he had a foreboding which he couldn''t seem to shake off.
Warrick arrived at the location and saw his father sitting on the ground cross-legged with his eyes shut.
Sensing his presence Therol asked, ¡°Have you managed to enter a Heasing trance?¡±
¡°Yes.¡± replied Warrick
Hearing this Therol was a bit surprised, it had only taken him 3 days to recreate that trance, due to his injury acting up frequently now he wasn''t able to keep watch over Warrick all the time.
¡®All my remaining strength and time will be spent on helping you train your Inheritance¡¯ he slightly smiled and picked up a rock the size of a palm.
¡°Good,Then let''s begin¡±
The Descendant-Chapter3(Breaking point)
"Hey guys it''s the 3rd chapter and I''m starting to get thehang of it. Still a lot of improvements needed so please let me know the areas in which I can improve (:
Chapter 3
"Good, let''s Begin¡±
Therol, whose back was originally facing Warrick turned around and threw the stone in his hand at his son.
Caught off guard Warrick struggled to raise his sword up in time as the stone hit his abdomen which in turn caused his head to drop. He grimaced in pain as he raised his eyes to look up, his gaze turned sharp as he saw his father ready to throw another stone. He raised his wooden swor to block. He was ready this time, yet the speed of this stone was faster than the last one and hit him in the same spot as he fell to the ground this time, the pain a bit too much to handle.
¡°Get up now!¡± Therol roared.
¡°Do you think on the bloodfield your enemy is going to let you sulk on the ground while patiently waiting for you to get up? The world is not that kind. People are not that kind. One mistake and you can lose your life or cause those around you to lose theirs¡±
Therol gave Warrick time to gather himself before getting another stone ready to throw it.
¡®I can''t be careless here, i need to activate Heasing in order to block these¡¯
He lifted up his wooden sword and entered into a trance as Therol threw the stone.The speed at which he threw it seemed to slow down but it was still too fast for Warrick to block.
The result being the same as the previous two, he felt his abdomen swell up but this time paid no heed to it. His eyes were locked onto the man in front of him, at this moment he no longer considered him his father, but an enemy.
His focus reached an extreme as he eyes were glued to the man''s hand waiting for his move, which came soon at that exact moment. He knew that to locate the stone itself was to difficult so instead, Warrick stared at the trajectory of the hand, as soon Therol released the stone was going to be the time to block.
¡®Now!¡¯
He lifted his wooden sword and swung it right in front of his stomach. That was the location the previous three stones had left their mark, yet this time the stone hit him square in the chest.The impact pushed him back 3 feet but wasn''t enough to knock him down.
¡°Don''t think predicting the trajectory will help you, there are forces in this world which defy gravity itself, you must see in order to block¡±
Gritting his teeth Warrick once again focused on the man in front of him
¡®Calm down, calm down i have to focus¡¯
The 5th stone was thrown by Therol, its speed slower than the ones before.
¡®There i see it!¡¯
Warrick saw the stone coming at him much slower than he expected, he lifted his sword and went to parry the stone but what he hit was nothing but air. The stone hit him square in the chest and sent back 5 feet causing him to lose his balance and fall down.
Warrick was utterly shocked and mumbled to himself.
¡°I..I clearly saw it, why is it that i didn''t hit it?!¡±
The usually calm and collected young boy was losing his temper, bit by bit,as he couldn''t wrap his head around what was currently occurring. Every time he felt like he was going to strike the stone it would suddenly hit him, it didn''t make sense to him.
Therol saw this dilemma and instead of consoling him he took a complete different approach.
¡°If this has been the results of your training then don''t ever think about leaving this valley, the performance you displayed here today was utterly pathetic, we will resume with this beating tomorrow as i don''t dare to call it ¡®training¡¯ anymore.¡±
After speaking Therol disappeared from the spot as if he was never there.
Warrick remained motionless as he was on all fours staring at the ground with his eyes wide open. He had never suffered humiliation before today, it would have been fine if he didn''t have the ability to block these stones, in that case he would have trained harder. But he did. He had the ability yet still couldn''t. He wanted answers but didn''t know where he could get them. For the most part he had a timid nature since birth but the anger swelling up within him was too much to contain.
He wanted to lash out at something, anything. He wanted to yell yet couldn''t find the voice too. The words of his father replayed in his head over and over again, a peaceful life in the valley truly had took a effect on him which in turn formed his timid nature. Although the training was rigorous and living conditions sub-par, he had never been in danger before. He believed the world above would be a sight to behold but never had he dared believe it was filled with brutality.
The lesson today had opened his eyes, ¡®the ruthless live free while the weak cower¡¯ these words had been repeatedly recited to him by his father as were the words following, ¡®yet if you have the power, the world will be in your hand¡¯. The reason he had aimlessly trained so hard was to be ready when left this nest to see the unknown but at this moment he realized it was not enough.
His knowledge wasn''t enough. His experience wouldn''t be sufficient. The only thing which could make up for these factors was strength. This sudden revelation was a turning point in young Warricks life.The anger which dwelled within him subsided as he picked up his wooden sword and went to the nearest tree.
¡®Thrust, slash, lunge, stab, draw¡.¡¯
¡®Thrust, slash, lunge, stab, draw¡.¡¯
He repeated these moves throughout the remainder of the day until sundown. With sweat covering his body he made his way down to the river and took a quick bath. As he was exiting the river he noticed the wounds caused by the stone littered over his body. Although they would eventually heal they would leave a small scar behind.
¡°I could heal these wounds with some herbs in the forest¡± he started moving towards the forest until he suddenly stopped in his tracks, ¡°No, let this be a reminder, a reminder of the embarrassment i suffered today¡±
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There was a slight breeze blowing through the valley. Warricks hair was seemingly dancing as the breeze passed by. He lay on the ground unable to move a finger. This was the 7th day yet he was beaten again, his chest a complete mess from all the wounds he suffered.
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¡°We are done with this training.¡± spoke Therol, ¡°It is a complete waste of time¡±
Therol turned around and started walking away.
¡°Wait!¡± yelled Warrick as he slowly stood up, ¡°Once again, just one more!¡±
These past seven days, his level of Heasing had increased tenfold yet that still wasn''t enough to block these stones. He believed in order to achieve a higher level he needed to calm his heart yet, much to his discontent, it was absolutely useless. Warrick, a young boy creeping upon his 8th birth year could only take so much. His anger had reached a level he didn''t seem possible and he needed to vent. He would put his all into the next attack.
Across the field, Therol, who was already leaving sensed the anger in Warrick''s voice and thought to himself, ¡®The time is right¡¯.
He swept his hand across his chest where fresh blood was pouring out. That was one of the reasons he had turned to leave. He didn''t want Warrick to firsthand see him on his very last legs. The amount of strength required to throw those stones at a fast speed was no simple task, especially with the kind of injury he bore. He put some effort into sealing the wound again, most likely for the last time. He turned around and faced his son.
¡°You don''t have the ability to block these stones, stay down¡±
¡°I said one more!¡± Warrick took deep breathes and steadied his stance. His face flushed red due to his anger.
Therol chucked the stone again at a speed exceeding those he had thrown before.
¡®Concentrate.Focus.¡¯
The stone was getting closer but Warricks sword was still at his side. As the stone was a foot away Warrick lifted his sword slightly with no intention of blocking just yet.
¡°Heasing!¡±
The stone''s speed appeared to slow down more than he imagined possible and that was when he noticed something odd.
¡®The stone curves!¡¯
When the stone was a foot away from him it curved off of its previous trajectory. ¡°How is that possible¡± thought Warrick. Without wasting time he swung his sword as quickly as possible to intercept the stone and he heard a loud thud noise. A noise that he had been dieing to hear.
¡°Why isn''t this stopping?¡±
The stone which he thought had just been parried was still pushing against his sword. He dug his feet into the ground as the force of the stone was increasing steadily.
¡°This power was handed down to us by our forefather. It is a sacred.¡± spoke Therol, ¡°Yet it is a shame its true power will die with me, in your hand it is worthless. You treat this as a game, a child such as you is unworthy of such a sacred power¡±. Therol increased the pressure of the stone.
These words stabbed deep into Warricks heart. He put his left hand on top of the wooden sword while his right was still firmly on the grip as he attempted to push back.
¡°My whole family died to protect this power. Your whole family died so that you could live. Your
Uncles and Aunts died and so did their children, you cousins. They all died to save you. They
had a hope that you could avenge them. They thought that you would have the power. They thought wrong¡±.
What his father had just said caused his mind to go blank. This was the first time his father had spoken of their family. Yet they were dead, they were all dead and they died protecting him.
¡°Their hopes and dreams rest on your shoulders but all of that is in vain now¡±
¡°S..Stop!¡±
¡°Your mother, Mizra, died to protect you. How will you avenge her?!¡±
¡°Please...stop¡±
This sudden information was too much for Warrick to process as he felt his mind go numb. His whole life he wanted to go to the world above, the main reason being,to search for his mother.
But she was dead. He felt tears streaming out of his eyes as he was getting pushed back. His grip on the sword gradually weakening.
¡°Look at me!!¡± roared Therol.
Warrick made a weak effort to lift his head.
¡°Let out the anger inside you. Think of the people that caused our family to perish and let the anger out. Think of the pain and frustration inside you, produced over the past week. And let it all out.¡±
Therols words fell upon empty ears. Warrick couldn''t hear anything at this point. All his concentration was on the stone. The pressure pushing on his sword ceased. He dropped his sword to the side. The stone was now levitating in the air, struggling as two different forces were pushing upon it from opposite sides. He took half a step forward, pointed both hands at the stone and yelled at the top of his lungs.
¡°Move!¡±
The stone that was at a standstill till now, disintegrated into nothingness as the opposing forces were too great. Warrick had let out everything welled up within him, including all of his energy.
He had one thought in his mind as he began to lose consciousnesses.
¡°Mother..¡±
On the other side of the field Therol wasn''t in any better shape then Warrick was. The backlash he suffered from the last attack was above his expectations. He had never expected his son contained such power within him. He saw a glimmer of hope. No, more than a glimmer. He saw a shining light.
The reason he had pushed his son so harshly over this past week was to get him to this point. He was in pain while doing this but it was his only choice. It was necessary. The only way to comprehend the second stage in such a short time and at such a young age, was to reach a mental breaking point. A point which Warrick had just reached.
With blood flowing out of his mouth, he walked over to where Warrick lay.
¡°You did well son, you did well¡±, said Therol as he gently caressed his hair. He picked him up and walked to the wooden houses where he put him down on his bed.
After treating Warricks injuries Therol took off his ring and put it on Warricks finger.
¡°My enemies will soon come looking for me. I can''t allow them to find you, my son.¡±
Therol took out a piece of parchment and wrote down some instructions on the. He took one last look at his son then disappeared from sight.
The Descendant- Chapter4 (The Fall)
Let me know what you guys think.(:
Chapter 4
¡°A good place to die as any.¡±
Therol let out a dry laugh as he struggled to keep his eyes open. They would come, soon. He had tried to keep going further, but the limits within his body had long since surpassed.
He took a seat with his back leaning against a tree as the lakes breeze sent shivers running through his body, the good kind of shivers. It made him reminiscent of his home. He had wanted to return but didn''t have the energy to do so nor the courage.
Reliving those horrors was not something he could handle even if he was in peak condition.His eyes felt heavy as he slowly closed them. Lost in reflection he remembered the blissful moments in life.
The times he spent with his family. Him meeting his wife; and lastly when he found out he was a father.
¡°He should be fine. He has to.¡±
Before long three silhouettes made their way to the man sitting on the ground. Sensing their presence
Therol opened his eyes.
¡°For what do i owe the pleasure?¡± he said with a smile.
¡°Therol, you''re a hard man to find¡±
¡°Finding me wouldn''t have been a problem for you, Imperator, its seem as if you were giving me time to live. Is it because of the guilt? Betrayal is a hard pill to swallow you know.¡±
¡°Spout nonsense again and i''ll have your tongue!¡± Varc made a gesture to his sword. The Imperator gave him a sideways glace. ¡°You will not speak again.¡± Then returned his attention back to the man in front of him.
¡°Therol, you don''t know what the title i hold means. People depend on me. Kingdom''s depend on me. Some say i''m a god. Sacrifices are necessary for..¡±
¡°For the greater good?¡± Therol finished his sentence for him.
¡°You slaughtered my clan for a damn stone and you have the nerve to say it was for the greater good.¡± Therols voice surprisingly calm.
¡°You had our trust, if you would have asked us for help, we would of had men ready in minutes. It was our fault for trusting a Fiend. But i must say, you wear that mask perfectly. Your acting skills are truly remarkable. For a stone, all that for a stone.¡±
Brushing asides the sarcastic remarks the Imperator continued.
¡°You know as well as i do, the Inheritance cannot be passed down passed down until the original blood is purged, what was done was necessary. The power within your origin stone is not something you can handle.You cannot comprehend its true power. It''s something which we need.¡±
¡°Haha, well you will be disappointed ¡®Imperator¡¯¡±. Therol said in a sarcastic tone, ¡°Killing me won''t do a damn thing for you. You wont be able to access that power even after my death.¡±
Therol knew that they would soon find out that there was someone else from his clan alive left after his death. He spoke these words himself so he could see the wretched look on their faces; he considered it a parting gift.
¡°You spent these past seven years looking for me believing i was the last of our line haha, what a joke, truly what a joke¡± his gaze turned sharp as he beamed into the eyes of the Imperator, ¡°You thought you killed us all, after all that planning you came to the conclusion that i was the last one. You have made a grave mistake. Your downfall will come, and revenge will be taken in blood.¡±
The three men stood their shocked as they tried to remember if anyone else had escaped that day and all three came to the same conclusion. No one escaped.
¡°The power which you speak of, Imperator, the one which ¡®we cannot comprehend¡¯ has long since been known to our clan; it has been our secret. There will be a day where it will awaken, the true power of Tzaar.¡± After speaking Therol turned his gaze back to the lake and a smile emerged on his face. He had said his piece.
¡®I have done all i could, the rest is up to you¡¯
¡°You tell lies¡± yelled Varc, ¡°We made sure to kill everyone that day, no one was spared!¡±
¡°We will know if he is lieing soon enough, Tallon, if you will¡±, the Imperator motioned to towards Therol.
It could be said Tallon had the most hatred for Therol out of any of them. His brother had died at his hands yet he was still alive for all these years; he couldn''t accept that.
He walked over to Therol with a jagged sword he had obtained earlier, for this very occasion. He had easier ways to kill him but chose the most brutal one.
¡°For Zial.¡±
He drove the sword slowly into Therols heart waiting for cries of pain, none came. To his shock Therol was already dead. He died with a smile on his face.
¡°Damn you bastard!¡± not satisfied with this ending, Tallon shot flames out of his hand which quickly engulfed Therols body and burnt it till nothing was left, not even a trace.
Meanwhile the Imperator was staring at a stone that stood over 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide.
After the disappearance of the original blood the light within the stone would fade away; making it possessable for a new blood. Yet much to his dismay, the light was still there.
¡°Therols words held truth in them.¡±
He looked over at Varc and said in a grave voice, ¡°Send men to search this whole area, bring me anyone who isn''t originally from around this place. We must find the last Descendant; the sooner the better.¡±
____________________________________________________________________________
5 years later
¡°Don''t let them get away!¡±
Five men covered in blazing red armored pursued two figures who were running in front of them. The leader threw his spear ahead of the two people causing a hitch in their step. The little distraction was enough, the men caught up to their prey but stopped as they were about to grab them. They had arrived at waterfall which was at the edge of the cliff.
¡°Surround them¡± the leader of the five men said.
The armored men quickly made a half circle around the two people.
With the waterfall behind them and the enemy in front, one of the two stepped forward with a sword in his hand. A boy seemingly around the age of twelve. He turned towards his sister who was now behind him.
¡°Run while i distract them.¡± He rushed towards the leader of the group and swung his sword towards his head. Taking it as a joke the leader casually lifted up his spear to block the attack.
The weight of the attack was more than expected and the spear fell downward. The man stood shocked for a moment before the shock turned into frustration. This was humiliating for him. He took his spear and whipped it at an angle towards the boy''s stomach.
¡®A chance¡¯.
Having predicted this attack the boy put his sword to the side to intercept this attack while jumping in the air. The force behind the attack was more than he expected as he heard a slight cracking noise in his abdominal area.
A few broken ribs at least. The attack threw him sideways at a fast speed towards one of the armored men keeping containment. Having the two kids outnumbered and trapped, the men were not very vigilant.
Before he could make an attempt to block, the man felt a cold sensation in his neck before his life left him. Just like that the count was down to four. The sudden death of their comrade caused the rest to be furious yet vigilant. The young boy which they thought to be harmless, had skill.
But would it be enough?
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The girl made use of this opening and made a sprint for it. The leader of the group saw her intentions and personally moved to grab her.
"You three deal with him, ill grab the girl."
The young boy made haste in order to intercept him but the other men moved in on him, limiting his movement.
¡°You stay right where you are boy¡±
Although he killed one of the men, it was mostly due him being unprepared, he wasn''t confident of his prospect when taking on three simultaneously. But he had to try. He would die either way. He focused his breathing and got in a low stance; waiting for movement.
The three enemy men closed their triangular containment step by step with extreme caution. During battle the slightest hiccup could lead to death. The man that was positioned behind the boy thrust his sword forward in an attempt to catch him off guard.
Seeing this, the boy made haste in order to get out of his way. The spearhead sliced through his leather armor and his skin leaving behind a long cut.
¡®Thankfully it isn''t deep¡¯
The spear man pulled his spear back in an effort to attack again but to his surprise it was being held by the boy.
¡°Strong!¡± thought the spear men.
The boy pulled the spear towards him with all the strength he could muster up. The spear men realized this and let go of his spear and stumbled forward. A bad move.
You never abandon your weapon in a fight.
The two men standing idle saw this opportunity as they jabbed their spear toward the boys back, who was now facing away from them. Their confidence in taking him head on had diminished. They could care less about their comrade; actually it was a blessing for them that they weren''t on the receiving end.
The boy grabbed the stumbling man and instead of killing him turned him around and put him in front of his body like a shield. It was just in time; the two spears pierced through the man''s body with the spearhead going clear through.
Blood spurted out of the man''s neck as he attempted to say something, but in the next moment his body stopped moving. Dead.
Now there were two left.
He dropped the dead body and scurried near the waterfall; carefully watching the remaining two men.
Taking deep breaths the boy put his hand over the wound caused by the spear.. He was losing blood quickly and his movements were aggravating his injury.
The soldiers slowly backed away bit by bit, neither having the confidence to attack.
¡®I have to finish them quickly, hopefully i am not too late¡¯
As the boy was about to make a move he heard a loud voice coming from a distance away. He turned to look and saw the leader carrying his sister over.
¡®Oh no¡¡¯
The worst situation he could imagine had come to occur.
¡°Drop your sword. You wouldn''t want your pretty little sister''s face ruined, now would ya?¡±
Seeing their leader arrive the two men were relieved.
¡°Don''t you dare touch her!¡±
The boy lost heart as he saw a knife placed near his sister''s face.
The terrified look on his sister''s face made his heart sink.
¡°Please don''t hurt her¡± said the boy.
¡°Put your sword down and get on your knees¡±
The boy complied to these orders and got on his knees as he threw his sword to the side.
The leader looked at his subordinates corpse on the side and his face sank.
¡°You killed two of my men. You have skill kid, I''ll give you that. But the penalty for defiance is death¡±. He looked toward on of his men and said, ¡°Grab me the kids sword¡±.
Seeing her brother in such a situation the girl yelled out.
¡°No! Please don''t kill my brother, I¡¯ll do anything, please!¡±
¡°Mirza!¡± yelled the boy, his voice containing anger. ¡°We don''t bow to the enemy, warriors, don''t bow to enemies. Death is absolute, i will have mine with dignity.¡±
The twelve year old boys word didn''t match his age. Such resolution was rare even in grown men let alone such a young boy.
¡°No,no,no!¡± His words didn''t stop her wailing, ¡°It''s my fault, it''s all my fault. Brother you can''t die!¡±
¡°Shut up!¡±. Having heard enough the enemy leader slapped her across the face. The slap left a big handprint on the innocent little girls face. Seeing this, the young boy anger swelled up then just as quickly died down.
The leader was doing this on purpose, one wrong step and he would hurt his sister.
Seeing the boy restrain himself he stopped his little games and approached him.
He playfully threw the boys sword between his hand and said : ¡°Any last words to your sister, now is the time to say them¡±.
The boy looked over at his sister who was crying on the ground and struggled to form a smile.
He wanted to comfort her in some way, anyway possible.
The girl who was sprawled on the floor looked up and met her brother''s gaze. The protective older brother that she had always admired, the brother who had never let a single bad thing happen to her was going to die; and it was because of her. Her mind went numb as she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.
If she spoke again she would get hit again, and one thing her brother couldn''t stand was her being harmed. She swallowed her words and stared at her brother who had a warm smile drawn upon his face.
She pressed her lips together to stop her sobbing, but the tears...no,she couldn''t stop the tears.
The boy saw these actions and had a satisfied expression and he spoke his final words, ¡°Mizra, no matter, you must¡¡±.
Before he could finish he felt a object pass through his stomach causing his word to stop in their track. His eyes bulged as he saw a sword embedded in his abdomen, his own sword. The leader knelt down and grabbed the boy''s hair.
He positioned his mouth next to the kids¡¯ ear and said in a devilish tone, ¡°Just kidding¡±.
¡°NOO!!! Brother!¡±
Seeing these sudden events transpire the girl yelled at the top of her lungs as she made an attempt to run towards him but was soon restrained by the leader. He hit her in the neck causing her to pass out then slung her over his shoulder. He looked toward his subordinates and said.
¡°Throw him into the fall.¡±
Losing two men had left a bitter taste in his mouth; especially when attempting to subdue two children. He had long since decided the kids¡¯ death wouldn''t be a graceful one.
The two men grabbed the boy''s arms and dragged him towards the waterfall. A large trail of blood stained the ground wherever his body passed.
Reaching the waterfall the the two men picked up the boy and threw his lifeless body into the the water.
The group of three men, originally five then similarly picked up the two dead bodies of their comrades and threw them into the raging rapids.
The boy, who was now falling down the waterfall was struggling to finish his sentence as he gasped for air.
¡°You..you must be strong¡±.