The three rulers of Astraroth stood together beforethe gathering of symbols that would be used to bring forth a greatspirit. Its name was Isgiss. During his lifetime he had been a greatprophet and still was in the afterlife. Many fear summoning spirits,but these three didn't care so long as they found out about theirbrothers killer. These three each ruled a part of Astraroth andwithout their brother one section of their land had been taken. Nowthey watched as the symbols reacted and the atmosphere changed.
Lightning darted to and fro. The symbols spunclockwise and both counter clockwise as the temperature in the roomincreased the three rulers started to look nervous. Then with a largeexplosion that sent the three flying and blew part of the room torubble which left a large hole in the wall; However, through the holeyou could see the brilliant hue's of the sky that seemed to collidewith the mountains on the horizon, yet it looked like it stretched onforever.
Standing in the center of the room was a man with abluish color to him. Like he somehow didn't belong, yet his hair wascut short and he was wearing a robe that had a variety of symbolsthat did and meant many things. This man was Isgiss. He struck fearinto the three men; however, the men were more worried about theirland to care what happened now. Isgiss turned to them and scoffedturning to look out the hole he had made with his appearance.
The three men each stepped forward and the eldestsaid "My name is Valix, and these are my brothers Vore, andKail. We require your services my dear spiritual friend." Isgissroared with laughter and hunched over holding his sides, and stayedlike that for another minute. "Remember this boys, I will killyou in the blink of an eye. Oh, and we're not friends and never willbe."
Valix looked shocked and appalled for a second beforea sly grin slowly encumbered his face. "Well then you give us nochoice but to imprison you till we get what we need. Vore, Kail now!"Valix yelled as his brothers cut their hands with their daggersstaining them with blood. The brother then proceeded to slappingtheir blood covered hands onto the nearest symbols and startedchanting.
The symbols seemed to crawl across the floor andeventually encircled Isgiss trapping him in a red dome. Valixchuckled and admired their handywork. "Now tell us all you knowabout Qwuan... Slave" Valix said in a arrogant tone.
Isgiss shrugged his shoulders before saying "Wellall you had to do was ask. It all started like this..." He saidas he continued looking out at the horizon through the barrier thatmade him feel detached and also obscured his view.
It was a stormy night yet the dark gray color of the clouds aslightning streaked through it was calming. People slept in their bedrolls looking up at the sky. This was a usual occurrence In thevillage of Baralith. Its always looked like it was going to storm yetit never did. Strangely this night it actually rained and manyconsidered this as the gods weeping, yet no one knew why.
ch.1
Qwuanlaid in a open field on a bedroll made for two. He was expecting thewomen of his dreams who was known as Anissia. Anissia was a girl ofuncommon wealth in the village. Many people always told Qwuan that hewas foolish to think that he stood a chance, and to just give up.Even his best friends adyn, and nilaj told him to just find another.Ever since the age of 7 when Qwuan met Anissia as him and his friendshad been walking through the village, but while they walked Qwuanhappened to. Have bumped into a girl knocking her over not knowingwho she was. Before he could apologize her bodyguards grabbed Qwuanby the scruff of his tunic. The girl stood dusting herself off, andtold the guards to drop Qwuan. The guards listened like brainwashedsubjects. "I'm sorry for my bodyguards. They are quitebothersome. I'm Anissia, may I inquire your name?"
After stuttering and biting his tongue like a foolQwuan came to his senses, and said "I'm Qwuan. Its nice to meetyou." Anissia couldn't help but laugh at the phrases Qwuan hadwent through, and as one of her guards coughed she said "I'llsee you later," ever since then her and Qwuan have carried onhanging out with each other in secret; However on this forsaken nightQwuan felt betrayed by her, and rolled up his bed roll beforestomping off. From the field in anger. "Leave me there aloneshall she! This is ridiculous! Maybe Adyn and Nilaj were right. Iguess a relationship with Anissia wasn't meant to be!" Qwuanyelled at no one in particular, but he did attract a few stares. Hewalked home arms hanging limp at his sides, and as the raindropsstung his skin they also washed the tears from his sunken cheeks. Itwas almost impossible to tell he was crying though as he skulkedthrough the shadows. His deep ebony skin making him blend in greatly.All others saw were the whites of his eyes, and many continued pastshooting disturbed glances in that direction.
AsQwuan walked up to his door and seemed as if he thought something wasamiss. Then a look of fear overtook his face, but he then scoldedhimself. "What type of 18 year old is scared to go into his ownhome." Qwuan asked no one in particular. He opened the door andthe sight that greeted him could. Probably horrify the toughest ofmen. Blood was splattered across the walls, and on the ground was adead body. Looking down Qwuan dropped to his knees before the body,and on his left a few feet away was his little brothers head.Lifeless eyes staring onwards, yet they still carried the look offear that he must have had at his time of death. Qwuan bent overvomiting all over the floor and still continued to gag off the smellof blood. He stood, and used the wall to keep his balance as hecontinued walking. His eyes seeming to become teary, and as he walkedinto the kitchen the sight he was dreading stared him straight in theface. His mother was leaned against the wall a clean slice wasvisible other neck, while blood stained her dress and a puddle welledup on the floor under her. Qwuan burst into tears and ran next to hismothers body hugging her, and shaking her. "Please ma wake up"Qwuan asked yet surely he knew that he would get no answer. Qwuanbowed his head, and when he stood it seemed as if he had a new vibeto him. He seemed darker, and he grabbed a knife, and walked out ofthe kitchen and started through the living room seeing his babysister mutilated, and on the stair he saw his other brothers brokenform. "I will kill who did this" Qwuan continually mutteredto himself, and as he approached his room he grabbed the knifetighter, and kicked the door open. Inside was his dads body, but thebody slumped over and crashed to the ground with a loud thump. Hisfather had a large stain appearing on his stomach, and was chokingoff his own blood. His last sight was his son watching him die. Qwuanlooked at the killer and yelled "I will kill you and haverevenge for what you have done to my family!"
Qwuanrushed the, but was greeted with a knee to the stomach followed by afist to the face. He flew across the room and out into the hallwaypast the broke down door. He landed on the ground, and groaned inpain as the killer said "back down son. Before you end up likethe rest of your family, or maybe you need some initiative." Theassassin said as he reached into the corner yanking Anissia out byher arm. Her eyes were red and a giant bruise stained one of hercheeks. "Now your gonna stay here. Or else she dies. You know Ithink today’s my lucky day. She just showed up while I was takingcare of business."
"PleaseI'll do anything. Just leave her alone." Qwuan said as moretears streamed from his face.
Chucklingthe assassin laughed at Qwuan, and replied with "good, you shallstay here as the guards arrive and let them arrest you. You will takeall the blame for what has happened here today. Oh, and she's comingwith me." The assassin said nodding at Anissia for emphasis andas he grabbed her, they jumped out the window, but by the time Qwuanhad approached it they both had disappeared.
Suddenlythe sound of thundering hooves crashed like waves into Qwuan’sears, and he started to search the room erratically. Most likely fora place to hide. Then a thunderous boom reverberated through thehouse from the door. It sounded as though it would fly off thehinges.
"Openthis door! By order of the guard captain! " one of the guardsyelled in a deep monotone voice.
Qwuanflinched and ran into the living room, and instead of jumping out ofthe window of his bedroom he proceeded to the living rooms. Qwuanducked just in time as a guard walked by the window. Breathing hardhe leaned against the wall.
"Youhave five seconds to open this door, or we're breaking it down!"The captain yelled.
Qwuanlooked as if he had given up as he walked to the door slowly seemingto regret every step. Finally, he opened the door to see five guardsall with their swords drawn, who all dawned shiny silver armor. Thecrest that blazed, and had a bloody red color to it was worn proudlyon each one of their breast. Embroidered on it was a horse and a birdwho many claimed to be fighting.
Qwuan held his arms out as the guards slapped largeiron clamps onto his skinny wrists. "I didn't do it" hesaid in a low voice as the guards dragged him behind them.
"We'lllet the court officials decide that." one of the guards behindQwuan said jabbing Qwuan lightly with the tip of the sword. Yet abead of blood welled up on his back, and then leaked down his shirtleaving a large stain. That crawled down the back of his shirt.
Theguards led Qwuan out of the village through the rain, and past manyof the villagers who looked unto him with wide eyes and amusedglances. Whispers escaped the crowds and flew towards Qwuan. Avariety of things were said ranging from "is that Qwuan? What'swrong with him, he couldn't have done anything wrong." To thenegative ones who said "I knew he was a good for nothing bum.He'll never be good enough for Anissia. "
Qwuanbowed his head, but many would think that there was a hint of shameon his face, yet it was anger and a deep hatred that his eyescarried. Maybe towards the assassin who had ruined his life. Howeverthis incident might have only solidified his resolve.
Asthe guards escorted Qwuan to his cell he slumped in-between them noteven trying to carry himself anymore. The dungeons of Baralith wereoutside of the village and in a cave guarded my twenty guards, andreinforced with towers sporting archers. The guards released him intohis room, and he gasped and stumbled into it slumping to the coldstone floor. He curled into a ball continuing to cry saying in ahushed tone "I didn't do it" Qwuan continued saying thatthe rest of the night. Eventually falling into a horrible sleepdreading tomorrow’s unknown occurrences.
Thenext morning the sun shined brightly; however, from his cell Qwuanwas not blessed with this light. The guards had finally came back thenext morning to take Qwuan to see the court officials who woulddecide his fate. Word had spread through the village about what hadhappened yet this theory was tainted, and only Qwuan knew the truth.As he walked with guards flanking each side of him Qwuan was ledoutside into the bright sun. He looked up towards the sky taking adeep breath of the clean air. Compared to what he had to breathe inhis cell Qwuan was blessed. His eyes squinted as him and the guardsreentered the village and the sun seemed to be shining brighter. Theycontinued on through the village and when they reached the townsquare all the shops were open, and flowers were blooming, but peoplewere more focused on Qwuan. Most looked on with disapproving looks,and shot stairs as cold as ice. If only they knew the truth of whathad happened they would cry their eyes out for the poor man who hadbeen unjustly arrested and accused.
Thewalk took forever as they walked through the towns square. Once theyreached the edge of it, they had made it to the bottom of one of thethree staircases that led to the stadium where the court judgedeveryone and carried out some sentences. In the stadium seatsstretched all around except for the three thrones set aside for theofficials. Many usually came for all around to watch the proceedingsthat took place here. Today though it was more packed than it hadever been, as people came, and seemed to multiply.
Qwuanlooked on in horror, one that most kids had when they knew they werein trouble. Yet Qwuan did not resist the guards, but walked ahead ofthem with his head held high. The sun seemed to shine only on him asid he was the great prophet himself. The stairs had started to wearon his legs but he continued on with very little wobbling. All thenight before he had prepared himself for today, and knew he wasn'tguilty. To bad nobody else thought so.
OnceQwuan reached the top of the stairs, he walked into the center of thestadium and looked up spotting the three judges who looked down athim with disapproving eyes. The three each wore red robes, and has tobe at least in their sixties but they each carried their own airabout them. Then one to the left had a large beard that covered mostof his face and fell into his lap while also wearing his hood up.While the one in the middle had no hair on his face or head at all.He also had beady eyes like a rat that seemed to pear into peoplessouls. The last one on the right was hard to describe as all thatpeople saw of him were the thin dreads that fell into his facecovering it from view.
"Wehereby call this court session to order" the judge on the leftsaid in a squeaky voice which made some of the people in the stadiumslaugh. "Please tell us why this prisoner is here with us today,captain."
Thecaptain stepped forward removing his helmet letting his long blondhair flow into his face. "This man slaughtered his family, andis also held responsible for the disappearance of mistress Anissia."The people in the crowd gasped in horror and shock starting to mutteramong themselves. Which was stopped by the judge on the left as hespoke in one of the deepest booming voices ever heard by many."Silence you all or leave, me and my fellow court officials willconvene on these accusations, and look over the evidence."
Allthe court officials turned to each other and started to whisperamongst themselves. Everyone in the stadium squirmed withanticipation at what would possibly happen. Many looked down atQwuan, and it was completely visible that his earlier confidence hadbeen destroyed. His eyes darted back and forth scanning everyone, andhis legs shook making him seem as if he were about to collapse.
Ittook the court officials a total of five seconds to make theirdecision, but they just whispered about other things the rest of thetime. They had wasted ten minutes talking about what they had plannedfor the evening, which ranged from sleeping to going to a picnic.Qwuan started to breath harder and sweat darted his forehead. Hisblack eyes changed a variety of colors yet no one seemed to noticeit. At the end of the ten minutes the officials all looked down atQwuan with their eyes which shot fear into almost everyone.
"QwuanWalker! You are guilty for the murder of your family, and for thekidnapping of mistress Anissia. Me and my fellow officials havesentenced you to death on the day of the eclipse, which may I remindyou is in three days. Do you have any objections or statements tomake before the guards return you to your cell?" The middleofficial asked in a voice so bland that it would put a hyper activechild to sleep.
"Y'allcan't do this! I didn't do anything! Y'all have to believe me!"Qwuan said hurriedly making his childish voice sound worse. Hepractically was begging the crowds around him. "Please most ofyou have known me for years, do you really think I could ever dothese things?"
Peoplestarted to mutter in agreement but a loud bang came from the officialin the middle. "Qwuan all your saying is invalid. Guards takehim away" he said waving his hand.
Theguards quickly seized Qwuan and started to pull him down the stairsbefore he started a riot. Whoever would have looked at Qwuan’s eyeswould have saw the hope deteriorate from his face. Before noon theguards had returned Qwuan to his cell and there were only a fewminutes before the inmates were to have lunch.
Theinmates all were released into a room that had been mined out yearsago by the past prisoners, and was still being expanded by thecurrent inmates. The room was as big as the town square and had along booth set up with food spread across it. The prisoners here allrespected each other, and the inmates varied from men to women, andhumans to anthros. Many were there for their own reasons. Not all ofthe inmates were proud of what they had done, but there were plentythat were.
Qwuanwas released from hid cell and hesitantly walked in the wave of otherinmates. He followed the other inmates lead lining up behind them,and grabbing a cold steel tray, and spoon. As he walked through theline his plate was loaded with food by the cafeteria workers. Yetnone of the food looked appetizing, most of the food looked like ithad at one time been a solid and had turned into a chunky liquid. Agreenish slab of what the inmates called muck sat in one section ofthe tray, while in another was a slab of brown chunky stuff which hadyet been given a name. The only things that looked like they wouldsatisfy anyone was the loaf of bread and mug of water that theinmates were given at every meal.
Qwuanwalked off sitting in a corner all by his lonesome giving the food adisgusted look before taking a bite from his bread. A few secondslater a man sat across from him, who looked to have been in hissixties, and had freckles all over his face, with a pair of thekindest eyes Qwuan had beheld. "Hey there son. What ya in for?"The man asked in a bit of a upbeat tone that was rare for anyone ofhis age.
Qwuanacknowledged the man with a nod, and said "You haven't heard? Iapparently murdered my family, and helped someone kidnap my onlylove. By the way my names Qwuan."
"Oh.Rumors of you have been spreadin but I don't believe em. My namesK'nie. Yet my boy all ya can do is prove your innocence. Trust me Iknow. I was accused of killing one of the court officials, and I waslocked up here for forty years, never bein able to see my family.Still don't know who kilt the old court official, but I really don'tcare anymore. I've made family here." The man said as he ate hisfood without even flinching.
"WellI feel tired now. See ya son." The man said as he stoodpreparing to walk off.
"Thanksfor the talk K'nie. I feel a bit better now. Can we talk againtomorrow?" The old man smiled and carried a glint that showedhis happiness in his eyes which also crinkled on the edges. "Weshall see. Talk to ya latar" K'nie said as he walked off.
Forthe next two days Qwuan had met K'nie every lunch and dinner as theyshared stories and played board games together. K'nie had gottenQwuan out of his depressed state and then one night when K'nie didn'tshow up to dinner Qwuan had went looking for him to find K'nie deadin his sleep with a smile on his face. Qwuan yet again went into hisbroken state mourning K'nie all that night not even fearing hisexecution the next morning.
"Comeon inmate up an at em. Time for ya to meet your fate. How does itfeel you piece of shit?" The guard asked with mocking laughterin his voice, yet none of it bother Qwuan as he allowed them to chainhim up and start leading him from the prison. Today he would meet hisunknown fate.
ch.2
Itwas early morning as the guards led Qwuan to the stadium where hisexecution was to be held. Many things seemed the same as the day whenhe had went and dot his sentence. Except this time the sun wasn'tshining, and Qwuan didn't have the confidence that he had controlledthat short time ago. As he walked up the steps the sky roared withthe sound of thunder that made the ground shake, and lightning dancedthrough the sky. It was as if the planet itself was protestingQwuan's fate.
Theguard who had taunted Qwuan walked close behind with a brilliantsmile on his face, and looked as if he was proud of what he wasdoing. His slicked back black hair, and over sized nose just made theman seem even more obnoxious. "You see son, I hope you enjoyeddoing what you did... Oh wait I forgot you didn't do it did you? Butsince you will be dying soon I might as well tell you that I was theone who helped the assassin escape. I want you to remember, that IRalir Max is the one who played a hand in your death."
Thismade Qwuan freeze in his steps as he turned and looked at Ralir, butwas pushed ahead by another guard that snickered. The look Qwuan nowcarried in his eye was one of pure hate, that would make the deadfearful of Qwuan.
Onceat the top of the stairs and in the stadium the same three officialssat in their thrones, and the stadium was so packed that people werestarting to pile upon the stairs. Qwuan was led to the center of thestadium, and found his legs being kicked from behind by Ralir. Qwuanfell to his knees, and noticed a new man standing next to Ralir. Thisman had a hooked nose and small beady eyes that were as blue as thesea itself. The man looked down at Qwuan and smiled before whisperingin his ear "Don't worry, I will make this as painful aspossible. Or maybe I can fake your death, and you could be my testsubject. How's that sound?"
Qwuanlooked the man square in his beady eyes, and that looked of hate inQwuan’s eyes made the man cringe, making Qwuan smile insatisfaction. The man did not appreciate the gesture so he lifted uphis thick boots and kicked Qwuan in the face, busting his lip. "Showsome respect boy or I will rip your intestines out and feed them toyou."
Qwuanlaughed in the mans face, spitting a glob of spit that landed in themans face, but before the man could strike again he was stop by thesqueaky voiced official cleared his throat that came out more like asqueak. "Please Xanbar quit badgering the inmate, and let's geton with the execution. Me and my fellow officials have plans today."
"Asyou wish my liege" Xanbar said before staring once more at Qwuanand wiping the spit from his face. Turning towards the people he said"My fellow citizens of Baralith we are all gathered here on thisday to punish, and extinguish a great threat to our society. Thisthreats name is Qwuan Walker. This man murdered his entire family,and was an accomplice in the kidnapping in our fellow mistressAnissia. We shall condemn this man to eternity of torture on this dayof the eclipse. Here and now this monster will cease to exist in theworld of the living!"with every word that Xanbar spoke lightningflashed, and thunder boomed when he took a breath.
Qwuanlooked straight up into the eclipse as the sun and the moon aligned.He had nothing left to do or say. He just planned on taking thispunishment and prayed that one day the truth would be revealed. "Timeto start!" The officials yelled simultaneously, as thunderexploded through the skies.
"Yessirs." Xanbar said as he put up his hood covering his bluishblack hair. The black robe seemed to absorb what little light therewas but Qwuan paid no heed to it anymore. "Ansa vai cons variscorca navir alv!" Xanbar chanted. As he kept repeating thelines red tentacles started to escape the earth, and wrap aroundQwuan's well toned body. Wherever they touched they caused great painmaking Qwuan feel as if he was on fire. He screamed loudly trying tomove, yet he couldn't and had to deal with the pain as the tentaclesreached his waist. "Nooooooo!" Someone out in the crowdyelled, yet Qwuan still did not hear it over the pain he wasexperiencing.
Everyonein the crowd gasped in horror and some screamed, while others coveredtheir children’s eyes from what was taking place.; However the "no"had started to die down and turned into a mighty and fierce roar.This made civilians flee in terror, many fled down the stairs yet apath opened down the middle which if you looked into past thecivilians you would see a large pair of cat like eyes which glared atthe guards. Suddenly they both disappeared and seemed to reappear atrandom places throughout the crowd, and next thing the guards knew aover sized lion jumped out of the crowd over loads of civilians andlanded in the middle of the stairs leading to the stadium.
Theguards at disposal all lined up on the stairs to block the lionspath. Yet this lion was three times the size of a regular one, andwas also two times faster. There were a total of ten guards that wereat disposal at this current time. Three of them were archers whilethe rest had their swords and shields drawn prepared for battle. Noneof the precautions scared or even made the lion bat an eye. The lionreleased a low growl which was unnerving, and a warning for theguards to retreat. Yet they didn't and instead ran at it with theirweapons raised and yelling valiant war cries. The first soldierapproached recklessly, and without a care, when he swung nothing wasthere, and in the blink of an eye there was a scream that escaped themans throat, and in the next blood was splattered everywhere. Hisintestines spread across the stairs and three claw marks were visibleshowing where he had been cut. The other guards all froze lookingtowards Ralir for guidance, and it took a minute for him to wipe theface that was a mix of horror, and stupidity. "Don't look at meyou fools! Kill that damn lion!"
Thisseemed to give the soldiers a new vigor as all the ones that wieldedswords and shields rushed the lion making it constantly dodge theflurry of blades. When one of the guards swung the lion did a backflip into the air, but had gotten penetrated by a arrow as soon as hedid. It fell out of the sky landing gracefully, and when itlooked up a volley of arrows peppered the sky all aimed for him. Thelion started to run dodging the first few arrows and pouncing intothe air doing a spin evading the rest. There ahead of it stood twosoldiers with their weapons drawn prepared to engage him, but with asweep of his paws the soldiers both stopped moving. Across theirchest claw marks stretched and they both fell dead before they hitthe ground. The lion ran and engaged the other guards up close usinghis tail to strangle one of them and keeping the others away with itsextremely sharp claws. Fierce and filled with anger Ralir yelled "Youmotherfucking archers get up there and fight the lion!"
Thistime Ralir drew his broadsword, and ran forward the archers followinghim closely. This was a fatal mistake for them all as the lion roaredblasting them all off their feet. Some plunged to their deaths whileothers were knocked unconscious from the shear power of the roar. Nowonly two beings were left conscious on the stairs, and one of themwas the lion, and the other was Ralir. "You abomination! Youshall not live!" Ralir yelled as he approached the lion swinginghis blade wildly yet skillfully. He incorporated spins, and pouncesto help him fight the lion which helped him little as the lion battedaway his sword sending it spiraling off the stairs. Pouncing uponRalir the lion growled and raised its paw. "I dare you to do ityou son of a bit-" and those were Ralir's last words cause thelion had brought its paw down decapitating Ralir. His head wentflying off the stairs still holding that look of anger. Blood sprayedfrom the body coating the lion in it.
Duringthe outbreak of violence the court officials had escaped, but Xanbarhad stayed continuing on with the ritual. If he didn't finish it hislife would be lost instead. Of Qwuan's. The tentacles had reachedQwuan's mouth now, and started to creep inside of it searing histhroat, and stopping his screaming. The lion barreled up the stairswith supernatural speed, and jumped over Qwuan tackling Xanbar sendhim flying like a rag doll. As Xanbar hit one of the thrones heslumped to the ground coughing blood. The lion pounced onto of him,but Xanbar had drew his dagger and had plunged it into the liondrawing out a roar, and Xanbar yelled along with it. Neither of themrealized the tentacles leaving Qwuan's body and sinking back into theground ; however the tentacles reappeared under Xanbar searing hisback turning his yell into a scream. The lion silenced this as hegrabbed Xanbar's neck in its mouth ripping his throat out causingblood to splatter the thrones, and across the stadium floor.
Qwuannow laid face down on the cold stone ground of the stadium breathingheavily, and had watched the affair in-between Xanbar and the lion.The tentacles now completely engulfed Xanbar's body pulling it intothe ground with them. The lion then started to transform roaringloudly as his bones visually shifted beneath its fur, and it grewsmaller starting to stand on two legs. Who stood in its place was aman with eternally tanned skin, and long curly hair, with a muscularbody that most men envied. It was none other than Qwuan’s friendAdyn.
Thetwo friends eyes met and shined as bright as the sun. "Adyn!"Qwuan cried our as he stood and walked forward opening his arms in agesture offering a embrace. Quickly Qwuan closed his arms and yelledout "Adyn! Put on some clothes!"
Adynroared with laughter, before replying "its been two years sincewe've last seen each other and that's all u can think about? Plus isthat anyway to thank me for saving your life?"
Qwuanstood there looking at Adyn, and shrugged his shoulders. "It iswhen they try to hug you while there naked! So switching subjects.Now! Where have you been the past two years, and what are you doinghere?" Qwuan asked, but was interuppted by loud footsteps, andclomping. Qwuan and Adyn both scanned the village, and spotted noless then thirty guards heading to their way.
"WellI guess that story will have to wait till another day. Prepareyourself! We shall split them evenly. I take fifteen, and you takethe other fifteen." Adyn said as walked down the steps toRalir's headless corpse. Stripping the man of his weapons, butleaving the armor untouched Adyn returned to Qwuan's side.
"Um...how about I take one of the guards, and you take the othertwenty-nine?" Qwuan asked as he looked around for any spareweapons. Bellowing with laughter Adyn stood and walked towards Qwuanplacing a hand on his shoulder, and placed a small dagger in Qwuan'shand. "Its good to hear your jokes again. How I've missed them,but now its time for us to get serious."
"Iam being serious Adyn, I'm not a great fighter. Like I said beforethe best you might get out of me is one guard." Qwuan said, butby the time the last word exited his mouth the guards had reached thebottom of the steps.
Smackinghis hand into his face Adyn groaned, and ground his teeth. "Justmore work for me in the long run I suppose." The soldiers werenow halfway up the stairs, and heading for Adyn, and Qwuan. These menand women all had a fierce passion at the moment, and that waskilling. "Well Qwuan it was nice knowing you." Adyn said indespair that his voice carried. "But we will not die without afight!" Adyn yelled sounding closer to a animal then human.
Aloud caw stretched through the sky causing all the noise, andcommotion come to a halt. Everyone looked up, even Qwuan and Adyn.All that could be seen was a small black speck in the sky thatgetting bigger, and bigger. Eventually most realized it was a raven;however none paid attention to its size till it swooped into them.The raven was the size of two horses, and it exploded releasinghundreds of smaller ravens. Which flew through the guards causingmass chaos. The guards swung their swords trying to kill the birds,but hit, and killed each other.
Suddenlya stranger clad in a all purple assassin's garb landed next to Adyn.His green eyes shining brightly from in-between the small opening inthe cowl. He whistled loudly, and all the ravens flew from messingwith the guards, and landed behind the newcomer fusing together tillthe over sized raven was back. "Qwuan get behind Razzen."The stranger said nodding his head at the raven.
Qwuanimmediately complied with this order not giving it a second thought,but kept thinking of where he could have heard that semi high voicebefore. It was still lower then his, but was still high compared toothers. Making sure Qwuan had followed directions the newcomer lookedback at Razzen nodding his head, before looking at Adyn. "Youshall fight by my side, and neither of us shall die. Oh, and by theway here's a present." The stranger said as he unsheathed thelarge sword from his back. The hilt had gems imbedded in it, and theblade was as wide as Adyn himself. He then tossed it to Adyn whocaught it, and gave a nod of gratitude. Adyn tested the blade whichwould have been to much for a regular man to wield. Even with twohands, but to Adyn it might have well have been a short sword.Holding the sword in his left hand Adyn nodded his head showing hewas prepared for battle. So the stranger drew his scimitar shapeddaggers, and took on a crouched stance.
Theguards had regained their composure, and started their mad rush yetagain, but this time they were at the top of the steps, and soonafterwards inside the stadium. They all rushed Adyn and the newcomerin their anger, but what happened next was inconceivable. The twofought as if they had trained together for centuries. A deadly duothat could not be matched. Any guards that approached Adyn were cutdown as if they were parchment. His skill with the large blade wasextraordinary as he chopped through the soldiers. Yet the newcomerhad a more tactical approach to his fighting as he dodged and weavedthrough the crowd slicing, and stabbing. By the time any of thesoldiers realized they had been cut they had already bled to death.As corpses started to pile around Adyn, and the stranger blood floweddown the stairs as if a river. Finally as there were only six guardsleft, three started to jump Adyn, and the other three stood in acircle, to fend off the stranger and keep him busy.
Oneof the soldiers fighting Adyn plunged his sword into the back of hisleg, while another stabbed him right below the ribs with a spear. Thelast raised his sword as if to behead Adyn, but the stranger sawthis. "No!" The stranger yelled as he threw one of hisdaggers that collided with the sword sending them both into the air.The stranger jumped over the other five guards, and while in the aircaught his dagger again, and tackled the guard who was going tobehead Adyn. Landing in a roll the stranger stood plunging a daggerinto the guards skull. Withdrawing the blade he turned towards theothers.
Theother guards now had fear on their face, but rushed the stranger. Thestranger took a few steps forward, and threw his two daggers whichplunged themselves into two of the guards chest who were dead beforethey hit the ground. Adyn looked up, and saw the stranger, and theguards about to surround him, gasping in horror. Adyn reached downgrabbing his sword and threw it. The sword flew true to its path asthe stranger caught it. The stranger spun while holding onto theblade in one hand and released it at one of the guards. The bladeimpaled the guard lifting her off the ground, and landing with asolid thump next to Adyn.
Thestranger ran forward and went into a slide on his knees dodging aswing from a sword, and stopping right in front of the spear hat wasaimed at him. Dodging the attempted stabs be stood, and started tofight the soldiers with his hands. Strikes landing places on theirbodies pushing them back. One of the guards stabbed with his sword,but found his arm caught and soon broken by the stranger. His bonevisible the guard continued on fighting. Soon after a few strikes tothe chest and one to the bottom of his throat the man dropped chokingoff his own blood. The last guard with the spear swung it wildly andwent in for a stab which the stranger dodged by spinning and grabbingthe shaft breaking it as if it was a twig. The guards backed away, infear and tripped over one of his peers bodies. The stranger chucklednow standing above him, and grabbed the man by his throat picking himup by it. Reaching one arm back, and pushing it forward the strangerplunged his arm into the mans chest, and pulled out the mans heartletting them both drop to the ground.
Thestranger collected the weapons, and helped Adyn to the large ravenplacing him on his back. Next was Qwuan who had a worried look on hisface, most likely for Adyn. Last aboard was the stranger who pattedRazzen on his beak. Razzen started to flap his gigantic wings, andsoon they were in flight. Nothing, but a black speck was visible toanyone in the village of Baralith.
Ch.3
Thetrio plus the little raven who was now perched on a stool, sat in acirle around the fire piteating bean, and some venison which Avir hadwent out and hunted, It was late afternoon now, as the sun started tomeet the horizon and sink below it. Yet the warehouse was still litby candles that Qwuan had found earlier. “Well I guess its time toget your training underway” Adyn said as he stood stretching noteven seeming to be in pain anymore.
“Waitwhat do you mean by training?” Qwuan asked in a tired and drearyvoice as if he were about to dose off.
“Wellif you haven’t noticed you just escaped your excecution, the empireis probably hunting for you, and you have no clue how to fight them.Or even fight at all. No offense” As he exited the room they werein entering the warroom. The walls mmade of stone and wood thenstarted to shake raining dirt ontop of everyone, causing them to stopand look around shocked. “That has never happened before.” Adynsaid but then shrugged his shoulders reaching into a cabinet andpulling out a rolled up rug. Unfurling the rug on the table Adynrevealed numerous weapons which glowed in the candlelight looking asif forged by the gods. Avir then went to sit down and watch whatwould occur a Razzen came and sat on his shoulder.
Qwuanapproached the table with a worried look on his face “Look Adyn I’mnot the fighting type, I try to avoid it.”
“Welleven if you aren’t you should still want revenge for what happenedto your family! If you don’t you are nothing to me anymore andshould just leave.” Adyn yelled slamming his beefy hands onto thetable making it crack under the sudden pressure and putting it on theverge of breaking.
Qwuanlooked into nothingness and tears welled up in his eyes “Fine I’mready. Where do we start?”
“Weshall start with you picking a weapon you are compatible with, and wewill continue on from there.” Adyn said as Qwuan browsed though theassortment of weapons finally settling on a thin blade that wasperfectly balanced and was made for slashing more than stabbing.“Well now that you have a weapon… Defend yourself!” Adyn yelledswinging his blade at Qwuan with lightning speed. Qwuan lifted hisblade just in time to parry the blow, but when he did the sheer forceof Adyn’s strength sent him flying into the wall. Wind was knockedfrom his lungs on impact, and as he fell to his knees he looked up intime to see Adyns blade coming towards him. “Dear lord calm downAdyn! Calm down!” Qwuan yelled as he rolled to the left dodging theblade which still caught his shirt ripping through it like butter.“Not till you know how to defend yourself!” Adyn yelled swinginghis blade at Qwuan.
Qwuanconstantly parried Adyn’s attacks, his arms becoming more numb andheavier with every passing second. Qwuan had even switched fromwielding his sword with one hand to two. His arms now feeling likelead as Adyn swung one last time disarming Qwuan. Soaked in sweatQwuan breathed heavily his chest heaving up and down, “That wasgood mate. I’m surprised you hadn’t collapsed or given upearlier.” Adyn said, but as soon as he did
Lightning darted to and fro. The symbols spunclockwise and both counter clockwise as the temperature in the roomincreased the three rulers started to look nervous. Then with a largeexplosion that sent the three flying and blew part of the room torubble which left a large hole in the wall; However, through the holeyou could see the brilliant hue's of the sky that seemed to collidewith the mountains on the horizon, yet it looked like it stretched onforever.
Standing in the center of the room was a man with abluish color to him. Like he somehow didn't belong, yet his hair wascut short and he was wearing a robe that had a variety of symbolsthat did and meant many things. This man was Isgiss. He struck fearinto the three men; however, the men were more worried about theirland to care what happened now. Isgiss turned to them and scoffedturning to look out the hole he had made with his appearance.
The three men each stepped forward and the eldestsaid "My name is Valix, and these are my brothers Vore, andKail. We require your services my dear spiritual friend." Isgissroared with laughter and hunched over holding his sides, and stayedlike that for another minute. "Remember this boys, I will killyou in the blink of an eye. Oh, and we're not friends and never willbe."
Valix looked shocked and appalled for a second beforea sly grin slowly encumbered his face. "Well then you give us nochoice but to imprison you till we get what we need. Vore, Kail now!"Valix yelled as his brothers cut their hands with their daggersstaining them with blood. The brother then proceeded to slappingtheir blood covered hands onto the nearest symbols and startedchanting.
The symbols seemed to crawl across the floor andeventually encircled Isgiss trapping him in a red dome. Valixchuckled and admired their handywork. "Now tell us all you knowabout Qwuan... Slave" Valix said in a arrogant tone.
Isgiss shrugged his shoulders before saying "Wellall you had to do was ask. It all started like this..." He saidas he continued looking out at the horizon through the barrier thatmade him feel detached and also obscured his view.
It was a stormy night yet the dark gray color of the clouds aslightning streaked through it was calming. People slept in their bedrolls looking up at the sky. This was a usual occurrence In thevillage of Baralith. Its always looked like it was going to storm yetit never did. Strangely this night it actually rained and manyconsidered this as the gods weeping, yet no one knew why.
ch.1
Qwuanlaid in a open field on a bedroll made for two. He was expecting thewomen of his dreams who was known as Anissia. Anissia was a girl ofuncommon wealth in the village. Many people always told Qwuan that hewas foolish to think that he stood a chance, and to just give up.Even his best friends adyn, and nilaj told him to just find another.Ever since the age of 7 when Qwuan met Anissia as him and his friendshad been walking through the village, but while they walked Qwuanhappened to. Have bumped into a girl knocking her over not knowingwho she was. Before he could apologize her bodyguards grabbed Qwuanby the scruff of his tunic. The girl stood dusting herself off, andtold the guards to drop Qwuan. The guards listened like brainwashedsubjects. "I'm sorry for my bodyguards. They are quitebothersome. I'm Anissia, may I inquire your name?"
After stuttering and biting his tongue like a foolQwuan came to his senses, and said "I'm Qwuan. Its nice to meetyou." Anissia couldn't help but laugh at the phrases Qwuan hadwent through, and as one of her guards coughed she said "I'llsee you later," ever since then her and Qwuan have carried onhanging out with each other in secret; However on this forsaken nightQwuan felt betrayed by her, and rolled up his bed roll beforestomping off. From the field in anger. "Leave me there aloneshall she! This is ridiculous! Maybe Adyn and Nilaj were right. Iguess a relationship with Anissia wasn't meant to be!" Qwuanyelled at no one in particular, but he did attract a few stares. Hewalked home arms hanging limp at his sides, and as the raindropsstung his skin they also washed the tears from his sunken cheeks. Itwas almost impossible to tell he was crying though as he skulkedthrough the shadows. His deep ebony skin making him blend in greatly.All others saw were the whites of his eyes, and many continued pastshooting disturbed glances in that direction.
AsQwuan walked up to his door and seemed as if he thought something wasamiss. Then a look of fear overtook his face, but he then scoldedhimself. "What type of 18 year old is scared to go into his ownhome." Qwuan asked no one in particular. He opened the door andthe sight that greeted him could. Probably horrify the toughest ofmen. Blood was splattered across the walls, and on the ground was adead body. Looking down Qwuan dropped to his knees before the body,and on his left a few feet away was his little brothers head.Lifeless eyes staring onwards, yet they still carried the look offear that he must have had at his time of death. Qwuan bent overvomiting all over the floor and still continued to gag off the smellof blood. He stood, and used the wall to keep his balance as hecontinued walking. His eyes seeming to become teary, and as he walkedinto the kitchen the sight he was dreading stared him straight in theface. His mother was leaned against the wall a clean slice wasvisible other neck, while blood stained her dress and a puddle welledup on the floor under her. Qwuan burst into tears and ran next to hismothers body hugging her, and shaking her. "Please ma wake up"Qwuan asked yet surely he knew that he would get no answer. Qwuanbowed his head, and when he stood it seemed as if he had a new vibeto him. He seemed darker, and he grabbed a knife, and walked out ofthe kitchen and started through the living room seeing his babysister mutilated, and on the stair he saw his other brothers brokenform. "I will kill who did this" Qwuan continually mutteredto himself, and as he approached his room he grabbed the knifetighter, and kicked the door open. Inside was his dads body, but thebody slumped over and crashed to the ground with a loud thump. Hisfather had a large stain appearing on his stomach, and was chokingoff his own blood. His last sight was his son watching him die. Qwuanlooked at the killer and yelled "I will kill you and haverevenge for what you have done to my family!"
Qwuanrushed the, but was greeted with a knee to the stomach followed by afist to the face. He flew across the room and out into the hallwaypast the broke down door. He landed on the ground, and groaned inpain as the killer said "back down son. Before you end up likethe rest of your family, or maybe you need some initiative." Theassassin said as he reached into the corner yanking Anissia out byher arm. Her eyes were red and a giant bruise stained one of hercheeks. "Now your gonna stay here. Or else she dies. You know Ithink today’s my lucky day. She just showed up while I was takingcare of business."
"PleaseI'll do anything. Just leave her alone." Qwuan said as moretears streamed from his face.
Chucklingthe assassin laughed at Qwuan, and replied with "good, you shallstay here as the guards arrive and let them arrest you. You will takeall the blame for what has happened here today. Oh, and she's comingwith me." The assassin said nodding at Anissia for emphasis andas he grabbed her, they jumped out the window, but by the time Qwuanhad approached it they both had disappeared.
Suddenlythe sound of thundering hooves crashed like waves into Qwuan’sears, and he started to search the room erratically. Most likely fora place to hide. Then a thunderous boom reverberated through thehouse from the door. It sounded as though it would fly off thehinges.
"Openthis door! By order of the guard captain! " one of the guardsyelled in a deep monotone voice.
Qwuanflinched and ran into the living room, and instead of jumping out ofthe window of his bedroom he proceeded to the living rooms. Qwuanducked just in time as a guard walked by the window. Breathing hardhe leaned against the wall.
"Youhave five seconds to open this door, or we're breaking it down!"The captain yelled.
Qwuanlooked as if he had given up as he walked to the door slowly seemingto regret every step. Finally, he opened the door to see five guardsall with their swords drawn, who all dawned shiny silver armor. Thecrest that blazed, and had a bloody red color to it was worn proudlyon each one of their breast. Embroidered on it was a horse and a birdwho many claimed to be fighting.
Qwuan held his arms out as the guards slapped largeiron clamps onto his skinny wrists. "I didn't do it" hesaid in a low voice as the guards dragged him behind them.
"We'lllet the court officials decide that." one of the guards behindQwuan said jabbing Qwuan lightly with the tip of the sword. Yet abead of blood welled up on his back, and then leaked down his shirtleaving a large stain. That crawled down the back of his shirt.
Theguards led Qwuan out of the village through the rain, and past manyof the villagers who looked unto him with wide eyes and amusedglances. Whispers escaped the crowds and flew towards Qwuan. Avariety of things were said ranging from "is that Qwuan? What'swrong with him, he couldn't have done anything wrong." To thenegative ones who said "I knew he was a good for nothing bum.He'll never be good enough for Anissia. "
Qwuanbowed his head, but many would think that there was a hint of shameon his face, yet it was anger and a deep hatred that his eyescarried. Maybe towards the assassin who had ruined his life. Howeverthis incident might have only solidified his resolve.
Asthe guards escorted Qwuan to his cell he slumped in-between them noteven trying to carry himself anymore. The dungeons of Baralith wereoutside of the village and in a cave guarded my twenty guards, andreinforced with towers sporting archers. The guards released him intohis room, and he gasped and stumbled into it slumping to the coldstone floor. He curled into a ball continuing to cry saying in ahushed tone "I didn't do it" Qwuan continued saying thatthe rest of the night. Eventually falling into a horrible sleepdreading tomorrow’s unknown occurrences.
Thenext morning the sun shined brightly; however, from his cell Qwuanwas not blessed with this light. The guards had finally came back thenext morning to take Qwuan to see the court officials who woulddecide his fate. Word had spread through the village about what hadhappened yet this theory was tainted, and only Qwuan knew the truth.As he walked with guards flanking each side of him Qwuan was ledoutside into the bright sun. He looked up towards the sky taking adeep breath of the clean air. Compared to what he had to breathe inhis cell Qwuan was blessed. His eyes squinted as him and the guardsreentered the village and the sun seemed to be shining brighter. Theycontinued on through the village and when they reached the townsquare all the shops were open, and flowers were blooming, but peoplewere more focused on Qwuan. Most looked on with disapproving looks,and shot stairs as cold as ice. If only they knew the truth of whathad happened they would cry their eyes out for the poor man who hadbeen unjustly arrested and accused.
Thewalk took forever as they walked through the towns square. Once theyreached the edge of it, they had made it to the bottom of one of thethree staircases that led to the stadium where the court judgedeveryone and carried out some sentences. In the stadium seatsstretched all around except for the three thrones set aside for theofficials. Many usually came for all around to watch the proceedingsthat took place here. Today though it was more packed than it hadever been, as people came, and seemed to multiply.
Qwuanlooked on in horror, one that most kids had when they knew they werein trouble. Yet Qwuan did not resist the guards, but walked ahead ofthem with his head held high. The sun seemed to shine only on him asid he was the great prophet himself. The stairs had started to wearon his legs but he continued on with very little wobbling. All thenight before he had prepared himself for today, and knew he wasn'tguilty. To bad nobody else thought so.
OnceQwuan reached the top of the stairs, he walked into the center of thestadium and looked up spotting the three judges who looked down athim with disapproving eyes. The three each wore red robes, and has tobe at least in their sixties but they each carried their own airabout them. Then one to the left had a large beard that covered mostof his face and fell into his lap while also wearing his hood up.While the one in the middle had no hair on his face or head at all.He also had beady eyes like a rat that seemed to pear into peoplessouls. The last one on the right was hard to describe as all thatpeople saw of him were the thin dreads that fell into his facecovering it from view.
"Wehereby call this court session to order" the judge on the leftsaid in a squeaky voice which made some of the people in the stadiumslaugh. "Please tell us why this prisoner is here with us today,captain."
Thecaptain stepped forward removing his helmet letting his long blondhair flow into his face. "This man slaughtered his family, andis also held responsible for the disappearance of mistress Anissia."The people in the crowd gasped in horror and shock starting to mutteramong themselves. Which was stopped by the judge on the left as hespoke in one of the deepest booming voices ever heard by many."Silence you all or leave, me and my fellow court officials willconvene on these accusations, and look over the evidence."
Allthe court officials turned to each other and started to whisperamongst themselves. Everyone in the stadium squirmed withanticipation at what would possibly happen. Many looked down atQwuan, and it was completely visible that his earlier confidence hadbeen destroyed. His eyes darted back and forth scanning everyone, andhis legs shook making him seem as if he were about to collapse.
Ittook the court officials a total of five seconds to make theirdecision, but they just whispered about other things the rest of thetime. They had wasted ten minutes talking about what they had plannedfor the evening, which ranged from sleeping to going to a picnic.Qwuan started to breath harder and sweat darted his forehead. Hisblack eyes changed a variety of colors yet no one seemed to noticeit. At the end of the ten minutes the officials all looked down atQwuan with their eyes which shot fear into almost everyone.
"QwuanWalker! You are guilty for the murder of your family, and for thekidnapping of mistress Anissia. Me and my fellow officials havesentenced you to death on the day of the eclipse, which may I remindyou is in three days. Do you have any objections or statements tomake before the guards return you to your cell?" The middleofficial asked in a voice so bland that it would put a hyper activechild to sleep.
"Y'allcan't do this! I didn't do anything! Y'all have to believe me!"Qwuan said hurriedly making his childish voice sound worse. Hepractically was begging the crowds around him. "Please most ofyou have known me for years, do you really think I could ever dothese things?"
Peoplestarted to mutter in agreement but a loud bang came from the officialin the middle. "Qwuan all your saying is invalid. Guards takehim away" he said waving his hand.
Theguards quickly seized Qwuan and started to pull him down the stairsbefore he started a riot. Whoever would have looked at Qwuan’s eyeswould have saw the hope deteriorate from his face. Before noon theguards had returned Qwuan to his cell and there were only a fewminutes before the inmates were to have lunch.
Theinmates all were released into a room that had been mined out yearsago by the past prisoners, and was still being expanded by thecurrent inmates. The room was as big as the town square and had along booth set up with food spread across it. The prisoners here allrespected each other, and the inmates varied from men to women, andhumans to anthros. Many were there for their own reasons. Not all ofthe inmates were proud of what they had done, but there were plentythat were.
Qwuanwas released from hid cell and hesitantly walked in the wave of otherinmates. He followed the other inmates lead lining up behind them,and grabbing a cold steel tray, and spoon. As he walked through theline his plate was loaded with food by the cafeteria workers. Yetnone of the food looked appetizing, most of the food looked like ithad at one time been a solid and had turned into a chunky liquid. Agreenish slab of what the inmates called muck sat in one section ofthe tray, while in another was a slab of brown chunky stuff which hadyet been given a name. The only things that looked like they wouldsatisfy anyone was the loaf of bread and mug of water that theinmates were given at every meal.
Qwuanwalked off sitting in a corner all by his lonesome giving the food adisgusted look before taking a bite from his bread. A few secondslater a man sat across from him, who looked to have been in hissixties, and had freckles all over his face, with a pair of thekindest eyes Qwuan had beheld. "Hey there son. What ya in for?"The man asked in a bit of a upbeat tone that was rare for anyone ofhis age.
Qwuanacknowledged the man with a nod, and said "You haven't heard? Iapparently murdered my family, and helped someone kidnap my onlylove. By the way my names Qwuan."
"Oh.Rumors of you have been spreadin but I don't believe em. My namesK'nie. Yet my boy all ya can do is prove your innocence. Trust me Iknow. I was accused of killing one of the court officials, and I waslocked up here for forty years, never bein able to see my family.Still don't know who kilt the old court official, but I really don'tcare anymore. I've made family here." The man said as he ate hisfood without even flinching.
"WellI feel tired now. See ya son." The man said as he stoodpreparing to walk off.
"Thanksfor the talk K'nie. I feel a bit better now. Can we talk againtomorrow?" The old man smiled and carried a glint that showedhis happiness in his eyes which also crinkled on the edges. "Weshall see. Talk to ya latar" K'nie said as he walked off.
Forthe next two days Qwuan had met K'nie every lunch and dinner as theyshared stories and played board games together. K'nie had gottenQwuan out of his depressed state and then one night when K'nie didn'tshow up to dinner Qwuan had went looking for him to find K'nie deadin his sleep with a smile on his face. Qwuan yet again went into hisbroken state mourning K'nie all that night not even fearing hisexecution the next morning.
"Comeon inmate up an at em. Time for ya to meet your fate. How does itfeel you piece of shit?" The guard asked with mocking laughterin his voice, yet none of it bother Qwuan as he allowed them to chainhim up and start leading him from the prison. Today he would meet hisunknown fate.
ch.2
Itwas early morning as the guards led Qwuan to the stadium where hisexecution was to be held. Many things seemed the same as the day whenhe had went and dot his sentence. Except this time the sun wasn'tshining, and Qwuan didn't have the confidence that he had controlledthat short time ago. As he walked up the steps the sky roared withthe sound of thunder that made the ground shake, and lightning dancedthrough the sky. It was as if the planet itself was protestingQwuan's fate.
Theguard who had taunted Qwuan walked close behind with a brilliantsmile on his face, and looked as if he was proud of what he wasdoing. His slicked back black hair, and over sized nose just made theman seem even more obnoxious. "You see son, I hope you enjoyeddoing what you did... Oh wait I forgot you didn't do it did you? Butsince you will be dying soon I might as well tell you that I was theone who helped the assassin escape. I want you to remember, that IRalir Max is the one who played a hand in your death."
Thismade Qwuan freeze in his steps as he turned and looked at Ralir, butwas pushed ahead by another guard that snickered. The look Qwuan nowcarried in his eye was one of pure hate, that would make the deadfearful of Qwuan.
Onceat the top of the stairs and in the stadium the same three officialssat in their thrones, and the stadium was so packed that people werestarting to pile upon the stairs. Qwuan was led to the center of thestadium, and found his legs being kicked from behind by Ralir. Qwuanfell to his knees, and noticed a new man standing next to Ralir. Thisman had a hooked nose and small beady eyes that were as blue as thesea itself. The man looked down at Qwuan and smiled before whisperingin his ear "Don't worry, I will make this as painful aspossible. Or maybe I can fake your death, and you could be my testsubject. How's that sound?"
Qwuanlooked the man square in his beady eyes, and that looked of hate inQwuan’s eyes made the man cringe, making Qwuan smile insatisfaction. The man did not appreciate the gesture so he lifted uphis thick boots and kicked Qwuan in the face, busting his lip. "Showsome respect boy or I will rip your intestines out and feed them toyou."
Qwuanlaughed in the mans face, spitting a glob of spit that landed in themans face, but before the man could strike again he was stop by thesqueaky voiced official cleared his throat that came out more like asqueak. "Please Xanbar quit badgering the inmate, and let's geton with the execution. Me and my fellow officials have plans today."
"Asyou wish my liege" Xanbar said before staring once more at Qwuanand wiping the spit from his face. Turning towards the people he said"My fellow citizens of Baralith we are all gathered here on thisday to punish, and extinguish a great threat to our society. Thisthreats name is Qwuan Walker. This man murdered his entire family,and was an accomplice in the kidnapping in our fellow mistressAnissia. We shall condemn this man to eternity of torture on this dayof the eclipse. Here and now this monster will cease to exist in theworld of the living!"with every word that Xanbar spoke lightningflashed, and thunder boomed when he took a breath.
Qwuanlooked straight up into the eclipse as the sun and the moon aligned.He had nothing left to do or say. He just planned on taking thispunishment and prayed that one day the truth would be revealed. "Timeto start!" The officials yelled simultaneously, as thunderexploded through the skies.
"Yessirs." Xanbar said as he put up his hood covering his bluishblack hair. The black robe seemed to absorb what little light therewas but Qwuan paid no heed to it anymore. "Ansa vai cons variscorca navir alv!" Xanbar chanted. As he kept repeating thelines red tentacles started to escape the earth, and wrap aroundQwuan's well toned body. Wherever they touched they caused great painmaking Qwuan feel as if he was on fire. He screamed loudly trying tomove, yet he couldn't and had to deal with the pain as the tentaclesreached his waist. "Nooooooo!" Someone out in the crowdyelled, yet Qwuan still did not hear it over the pain he wasexperiencing.
Everyonein the crowd gasped in horror and some screamed, while others coveredtheir children’s eyes from what was taking place.; However the "no"had started to die down and turned into a mighty and fierce roar.This made civilians flee in terror, many fled down the stairs yet apath opened down the middle which if you looked into past thecivilians you would see a large pair of cat like eyes which glared atthe guards. Suddenly they both disappeared and seemed to reappear atrandom places throughout the crowd, and next thing the guards knew aover sized lion jumped out of the crowd over loads of civilians andlanded in the middle of the stairs leading to the stadium.
Theguards at disposal all lined up on the stairs to block the lionspath. Yet this lion was three times the size of a regular one, andwas also two times faster. There were a total of ten guards that wereat disposal at this current time. Three of them were archers whilethe rest had their swords and shields drawn prepared for battle. Noneof the precautions scared or even made the lion bat an eye. The lionreleased a low growl which was unnerving, and a warning for theguards to retreat. Yet they didn't and instead ran at it with theirweapons raised and yelling valiant war cries. The first soldierapproached recklessly, and without a care, when he swung nothing wasthere, and in the blink of an eye there was a scream that escaped themans throat, and in the next blood was splattered everywhere. Hisintestines spread across the stairs and three claw marks were visibleshowing where he had been cut. The other guards all froze lookingtowards Ralir for guidance, and it took a minute for him to wipe theface that was a mix of horror, and stupidity. "Don't look at meyou fools! Kill that damn lion!"
Thisseemed to give the soldiers a new vigor as all the ones that wieldedswords and shields rushed the lion making it constantly dodge theflurry of blades. When one of the guards swung the lion did a backflip into the air, but had gotten penetrated by a arrow as soon as hedid. It fell out of the sky landing gracefully, and when itlooked up a volley of arrows peppered the sky all aimed for him. Thelion started to run dodging the first few arrows and pouncing intothe air doing a spin evading the rest. There ahead of it stood twosoldiers with their weapons drawn prepared to engage him, but with asweep of his paws the soldiers both stopped moving. Across theirchest claw marks stretched and they both fell dead before they hitthe ground. The lion ran and engaged the other guards up close usinghis tail to strangle one of them and keeping the others away with itsextremely sharp claws. Fierce and filled with anger Ralir yelled "Youmotherfucking archers get up there and fight the lion!"
Thistime Ralir drew his broadsword, and ran forward the archers followinghim closely. This was a fatal mistake for them all as the lion roaredblasting them all off their feet. Some plunged to their deaths whileothers were knocked unconscious from the shear power of the roar. Nowonly two beings were left conscious on the stairs, and one of themwas the lion, and the other was Ralir. "You abomination! Youshall not live!" Ralir yelled as he approached the lion swinginghis blade wildly yet skillfully. He incorporated spins, and pouncesto help him fight the lion which helped him little as the lion battedaway his sword sending it spiraling off the stairs. Pouncing uponRalir the lion growled and raised its paw. "I dare you to do ityou son of a bit-" and those were Ralir's last words cause thelion had brought its paw down decapitating Ralir. His head wentflying off the stairs still holding that look of anger. Blood sprayedfrom the body coating the lion in it.
Duringthe outbreak of violence the court officials had escaped, but Xanbarhad stayed continuing on with the ritual. If he didn't finish it hislife would be lost instead. Of Qwuan's. The tentacles had reachedQwuan's mouth now, and started to creep inside of it searing histhroat, and stopping his screaming. The lion barreled up the stairswith supernatural speed, and jumped over Qwuan tackling Xanbar sendhim flying like a rag doll. As Xanbar hit one of the thrones heslumped to the ground coughing blood. The lion pounced onto of him,but Xanbar had drew his dagger and had plunged it into the liondrawing out a roar, and Xanbar yelled along with it. Neither of themrealized the tentacles leaving Qwuan's body and sinking back into theground ; however the tentacles reappeared under Xanbar searing hisback turning his yell into a scream. The lion silenced this as hegrabbed Xanbar's neck in its mouth ripping his throat out causingblood to splatter the thrones, and across the stadium floor.
Qwuannow laid face down on the cold stone ground of the stadium breathingheavily, and had watched the affair in-between Xanbar and the lion.The tentacles now completely engulfed Xanbar's body pulling it intothe ground with them. The lion then started to transform roaringloudly as his bones visually shifted beneath its fur, and it grewsmaller starting to stand on two legs. Who stood in its place was aman with eternally tanned skin, and long curly hair, with a muscularbody that most men envied. It was none other than Qwuan’s friendAdyn.
Thetwo friends eyes met and shined as bright as the sun. "Adyn!"Qwuan cried our as he stood and walked forward opening his arms in agesture offering a embrace. Quickly Qwuan closed his arms and yelledout "Adyn! Put on some clothes!"
Adynroared with laughter, before replying "its been two years sincewe've last seen each other and that's all u can think about? Plus isthat anyway to thank me for saving your life?"
Qwuanstood there looking at Adyn, and shrugged his shoulders. "It iswhen they try to hug you while there naked! So switching subjects.Now! Where have you been the past two years, and what are you doinghere?" Qwuan asked, but was interuppted by loud footsteps, andclomping. Qwuan and Adyn both scanned the village, and spotted noless then thirty guards heading to their way.
"WellI guess that story will have to wait till another day. Prepareyourself! We shall split them evenly. I take fifteen, and you takethe other fifteen." Adyn said as walked down the steps toRalir's headless corpse. Stripping the man of his weapons, butleaving the armor untouched Adyn returned to Qwuan's side.
"Um...how about I take one of the guards, and you take the othertwenty-nine?" Qwuan asked as he looked around for any spareweapons. Bellowing with laughter Adyn stood and walked towards Qwuanplacing a hand on his shoulder, and placed a small dagger in Qwuan'shand. "Its good to hear your jokes again. How I've missed them,but now its time for us to get serious."
"Iam being serious Adyn, I'm not a great fighter. Like I said beforethe best you might get out of me is one guard." Qwuan said, butby the time the last word exited his mouth the guards had reached thebottom of the steps.
Smackinghis hand into his face Adyn groaned, and ground his teeth. "Justmore work for me in the long run I suppose." The soldiers werenow halfway up the stairs, and heading for Adyn, and Qwuan. These menand women all had a fierce passion at the moment, and that waskilling. "Well Qwuan it was nice knowing you." Adyn said indespair that his voice carried. "But we will not die without afight!" Adyn yelled sounding closer to a animal then human.
Aloud caw stretched through the sky causing all the noise, andcommotion come to a halt. Everyone looked up, even Qwuan and Adyn.All that could be seen was a small black speck in the sky thatgetting bigger, and bigger. Eventually most realized it was a raven;however none paid attention to its size till it swooped into them.The raven was the size of two horses, and it exploded releasinghundreds of smaller ravens. Which flew through the guards causingmass chaos. The guards swung their swords trying to kill the birds,but hit, and killed each other.
Suddenlya stranger clad in a all purple assassin's garb landed next to Adyn.His green eyes shining brightly from in-between the small opening inthe cowl. He whistled loudly, and all the ravens flew from messingwith the guards, and landed behind the newcomer fusing together tillthe over sized raven was back. "Qwuan get behind Razzen."The stranger said nodding his head at the raven.
Qwuanimmediately complied with this order not giving it a second thought,but kept thinking of where he could have heard that semi high voicebefore. It was still lower then his, but was still high compared toothers. Making sure Qwuan had followed directions the newcomer lookedback at Razzen nodding his head, before looking at Adyn. "Youshall fight by my side, and neither of us shall die. Oh, and by theway here's a present." The stranger said as he unsheathed thelarge sword from his back. The hilt had gems imbedded in it, and theblade was as wide as Adyn himself. He then tossed it to Adyn whocaught it, and gave a nod of gratitude. Adyn tested the blade whichwould have been to much for a regular man to wield. Even with twohands, but to Adyn it might have well have been a short sword.Holding the sword in his left hand Adyn nodded his head showing hewas prepared for battle. So the stranger drew his scimitar shapeddaggers, and took on a crouched stance.
Theguards had regained their composure, and started their mad rush yetagain, but this time they were at the top of the steps, and soonafterwards inside the stadium. They all rushed Adyn and the newcomerin their anger, but what happened next was inconceivable. The twofought as if they had trained together for centuries. A deadly duothat could not be matched. Any guards that approached Adyn were cutdown as if they were parchment. His skill with the large blade wasextraordinary as he chopped through the soldiers. Yet the newcomerhad a more tactical approach to his fighting as he dodged and weavedthrough the crowd slicing, and stabbing. By the time any of thesoldiers realized they had been cut they had already bled to death.As corpses started to pile around Adyn, and the stranger blood floweddown the stairs as if a river. Finally as there were only six guardsleft, three started to jump Adyn, and the other three stood in acircle, to fend off the stranger and keep him busy.
Oneof the soldiers fighting Adyn plunged his sword into the back of hisleg, while another stabbed him right below the ribs with a spear. Thelast raised his sword as if to behead Adyn, but the stranger sawthis. "No!" The stranger yelled as he threw one of hisdaggers that collided with the sword sending them both into the air.The stranger jumped over the other five guards, and while in the aircaught his dagger again, and tackled the guard who was going tobehead Adyn. Landing in a roll the stranger stood plunging a daggerinto the guards skull. Withdrawing the blade he turned towards theothers.
Theother guards now had fear on their face, but rushed the stranger. Thestranger took a few steps forward, and threw his two daggers whichplunged themselves into two of the guards chest who were dead beforethey hit the ground. Adyn looked up, and saw the stranger, and theguards about to surround him, gasping in horror. Adyn reached downgrabbing his sword and threw it. The sword flew true to its path asthe stranger caught it. The stranger spun while holding onto theblade in one hand and released it at one of the guards. The bladeimpaled the guard lifting her off the ground, and landing with asolid thump next to Adyn.
Thestranger ran forward and went into a slide on his knees dodging aswing from a sword, and stopping right in front of the spear hat wasaimed at him. Dodging the attempted stabs be stood, and started tofight the soldiers with his hands. Strikes landing places on theirbodies pushing them back. One of the guards stabbed with his sword,but found his arm caught and soon broken by the stranger. His bonevisible the guard continued on fighting. Soon after a few strikes tothe chest and one to the bottom of his throat the man dropped chokingoff his own blood. The last guard with the spear swung it wildly andwent in for a stab which the stranger dodged by spinning and grabbingthe shaft breaking it as if it was a twig. The guards backed away, infear and tripped over one of his peers bodies. The stranger chucklednow standing above him, and grabbed the man by his throat picking himup by it. Reaching one arm back, and pushing it forward the strangerplunged his arm into the mans chest, and pulled out the mans heartletting them both drop to the ground.
Thestranger collected the weapons, and helped Adyn to the large ravenplacing him on his back. Next was Qwuan who had a worried look on hisface, most likely for Adyn. Last aboard was the stranger who pattedRazzen on his beak. Razzen started to flap his gigantic wings, andsoon they were in flight. Nothing, but a black speck was visible toanyone in the village of Baralith.
Ch.3
Thetrio plus the little raven who was now perched on a stool, sat in acirle around the fire piteating bean, and some venison which Avir hadwent out and hunted, It was late afternoon now, as the sun started tomeet the horizon and sink below it. Yet the warehouse was still litby candles that Qwuan had found earlier. “Well I guess its time toget your training underway” Adyn said as he stood stretching noteven seeming to be in pain anymore.
“Waitwhat do you mean by training?” Qwuan asked in a tired and drearyvoice as if he were about to dose off.
“Wellif you haven’t noticed you just escaped your excecution, the empireis probably hunting for you, and you have no clue how to fight them.Or even fight at all. No offense” As he exited the room they werein entering the warroom. The walls mmade of stone and wood thenstarted to shake raining dirt ontop of everyone, causing them to stopand look around shocked. “That has never happened before.” Adynsaid but then shrugged his shoulders reaching into a cabinet andpulling out a rolled up rug. Unfurling the rug on the table Adynrevealed numerous weapons which glowed in the candlelight looking asif forged by the gods. Avir then went to sit down and watch whatwould occur a Razzen came and sat on his shoulder.
Qwuanapproached the table with a worried look on his face “Look Adyn I’mnot the fighting type, I try to avoid it.”
“Welleven if you aren’t you should still want revenge for what happenedto your family! If you don’t you are nothing to me anymore andshould just leave.” Adyn yelled slamming his beefy hands onto thetable making it crack under the sudden pressure and putting it on theverge of breaking.
Qwuanlooked into nothingness and tears welled up in his eyes “Fine I’mready. Where do we start?”
“Weshall start with you picking a weapon you are compatible with, and wewill continue on from there.” Adyn said as Qwuan browsed though theassortment of weapons finally settling on a thin blade that wasperfectly balanced and was made for slashing more than stabbing.“Well now that you have a weapon… Defend yourself!” Adyn yelledswinging his blade at Qwuan with lightning speed. Qwuan lifted hisblade just in time to parry the blow, but when he did the sheer forceof Adyn’s strength sent him flying into the wall. Wind was knockedfrom his lungs on impact, and as he fell to his knees he looked up intime to see Adyns blade coming towards him. “Dear lord calm downAdyn! Calm down!” Qwuan yelled as he rolled to the left dodging theblade which still caught his shirt ripping through it like butter.“Not till you know how to defend yourself!” Adyn yelled swinginghis blade at Qwuan.
Qwuanconstantly parried Adyn’s attacks, his arms becoming more numb andheavier with every passing second. Qwuan had even switched fromwielding his sword with one hand to two. His arms now feeling likelead as Adyn swung one last time disarming Qwuan. Soaked in sweatQwuan breathed heavily his chest heaving up and down, “That wasgood mate. I’m surprised you hadn’t collapsed or given upearlier.” Adyn said, but as soon as he did
