Elemental Fury

And the story begins...........

Prologue:
Title Pending

It was dark. The planet seemed to have a life of its own as shadows danced upon shadows with the illumination of the three moons. In the shadows a man was lying in wait. His left hand was pitch-black, and his hand tensed with anxiety as he stood in the shadows. His eyes pieced the darkness as an arrow would pierce its target, he could see everything. He stepped out of the shadows to confront his rival.
“I wasn’t expecting you here so early, Jahno?” The man asked, clenching his fists.
Jahno threw back his head and laughed. He pulled out his bow and shot the shadows at the man’s feet. Jahno smiled as he watched the shadows writhe and contract, becoming smaller and smaller until the shadows rose from the ground. “Is this what you brought to fight me with? You’re more pathetic than I thought!”
“Pathetic? Quite the opposite you screw up! They will kill you within the blink of an eye, just you watch.” The man stuck his hands inside the shadows and began to shape them into beasts. Their arms were stretched thin and had blades protruding from their elbows. Their faces were so twisted that it was impossible to tell what their expression was.
Jahno put his bow across his back and unsheathed a blade that glowed with a brilliant light. As he ran his fingers across the blade, it began to glow bright red. Jahno grinned as sparks shot off the weapon. When his fingers ceased contact with the sword, it returned to shine a pale white. Jahno returned his gaze back to the man.
The beasts had become fully morphed. Their fingers lanced out from their hands and their shoulders were covered in spikes. Their legs were muscular and their knees bent both directions. The beasts were nearly impossible to see in the shadows because their bodies faded into the colors of the darkness around them.
Jahno watched each one carefully before making his move. He watched one of them begin to sway to its left so he lunged at them and struck at its right side. The blade passed through the body of the creature without any resistance. Jahno put his hand on the blade again and watched it glow bright red. He quickly jabbed at the second creature.
The beast dodged the strike. It jumped into the trees and disappeared from sight.
Jahno turned in slow circles, trying to monitor its movement.
“Having trouble fighting it, aren’t you?” The man asked Jahno. “I thought that I might just let you know that the longer you fight them, the harder they are to kill.”
“Shut up!” Jahno yelled. “Save your breath for when you fight me. You will need every ounce of stamina that you have to even have a chance of tiring me out.”
The man walked towards Jahno and whispered into his ear. “That’s what the Shnogle is for.”
Jahno became filled with fear. “I’m fighting a Shnogle?”
“Of course you are!” The man leaned against a tree and smiled. “Now fight for your life!”
Jahno listened to branches cracking behind him. He turned around to find that the Shnogle had become nearly transparent. He put his right hand into the air, holding the blade with his left. Jahno closed his eye and focused on his right hand. Jahno returned his gaze to the beast and smiled. “Die!” He yelled.
The beast began to turn away from Jahno, but it was too late. It caught on fire. It began to run around to try and calm the flame, but it only became more intense. The Shnogle let out a hideous roar as it burst into flames, causing the forest around him to turn to ash in an instant.
“There you go, Stelzare…” Jahno spit. “It’s dead.”
“How did you figure out my name?” Stelzare asked. “It’s not like I told you my name.”
“You told me that I was fighting Shnogles. Most shadow masters only call them slaves.”
“Ah, so my beasts are that famous are they?” Stelzare sounded pleased. “Then I guess you will become famous, too, for being the first master that will be killed.”
“Death has a tendency to elude my grasp, Stelzare. I doubt that you will even be able to help.”
“Just watch me!” Stelzare replied. He stepped into the shadows around him and began to fuse with them. “You will see.” Stelzare sunk into the shadows and became invisible.
“What an old trick.” Jahno said. “You’re making this too easy!” Jahno sheathed his blade and clasped his hands together. His eyes shifted from side to side, watching the shadows mutate and swirl. He quickly opened his arms, causing there to be an explosion in front of him. Jahno rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword and bent the fingers of his right hand. He focused on the explosion in front of him and made a fist with his right hand. The fire from the explosion withdrew into his grasp and made his hand glow.
“How much more pathetic can you be, Jahno?” Stelzare said, his voice seemed to come from all directions. “You shouldn’t be taking that much time to do something as simple as that.”
“If I have to take that much time to do something so small, doesn’t that mean that I am more powerful than you?” Jahno retorted. “If some thing simple needs to be made complex, then you would not want to see what I can do without putting any thought into my actions.”
“I would be much obliged to see that. In fact, I want to see it.” Stelzare came out of the shadows and faced Jahno. Stelzare raised his arms into the air and then turned around and climbed up a tree.
Jahno released his grip on the flames and watched them spread around the forest. He stood still and watched as hundreds of Shnogles began to emerge from the shadows around him. Jahno smiled as the beasts converged on him.
Every Shnogle was more twisted than the last. They all walked as though they were drunk. Stelzare looked on as Jahno did nothing.
Jahno lifted his leg into the air. He stayed still, balancing himself on one leg as the Shnogles got ready to strike. He brought his foot down to the ground and caused the earth around him to instantly turn into lava while simultaneously incinerating the forest within a hundred feet of where he stood. Jahno unsheathed his sword and watched as Stelzare ran away through the forest. He looked around himself and saw that the Shnogles had melted.
Stelzare was running for his life, his heart was beating through his chest as he picked up speed. “What… was… that?” He asked himself, not believing what he just saw. He was nearing the edge of the forest when somebody called out to him.
“Turn around and fight him!” The voice ordered. “Kill him before he gets away!”
“I can’t. I can’t kill him!” Stelzare put his hands over his face and dropped to his knees. “That would be suicide!”
“Is it not also suicide to disobey me?”
Stelzare removed his hands from his face and stood up. He had gone completely pale. “Yes. Yes, it is suicide to disobey you.” Stelzare was petrified that he had no choice but to die. “I will go and fight him.”
“Then go!” As the voice faded off into the distance, a dark aura began to emanate from Stelzare’s body.
Stelzare turned around and ran back towards Jahno, giving no regard to the gift he had just received.
“I see the coward returns.” Jahno told himself, watching as Stelzare came sprinting towards him. He jabbed the sword into the lava around him and watched as the molten rock was sucked up into the sword. “I wonder what gave him the courage.”
Stelzare began to gain speed when he saw Jahno; his adrenaline was pushing his body to its limit. His vision became so clear that it seemed as if it was midday instead night. He was within fifty feet of Jahno when he clasped his hands tightly together. Stelzare jumped over the pool of lava that surrounded Jahno and pulled a black sword out of thin air.
Jahno stepped back and blocked the strike with his sword, which was now colored a deep red. Jahno pushed Stelzare away and began to attack.
Their blades collided countless times within seconds as they struck at each other’s bodies, attempting to decapitate one another. Jahno was being pushed back as Stelzare increased in intensity, striking faster and faster as the battle raged on.
Jahno jumped back and shot a fireball at Stelzare. He watched as it was sent off into space Stelzare. Stelzare charged at Jahno, and then stopped within five feet of him.
“What are you doing now?” Jahno asked, perplexed as to why Stelzare wouldn’t follow through with his attack.
“I’m not doing anything.” Stelzare replied. He grinned and released his grip on the blade. He watched as the sword floated up to eye level with Jahno. “However, I do believe that it wants to fight you.”
“The sword wants to fight me?” Jahno questioned. He shifted his stance and got ready to fight.
“The sword isn’t going to fight you! You must be kidding me!” Stelzare taunted. He fell onto his back and began laughing. “That’s impossible!”
Jahno’s face turned red. Humiliation on the battlefield was not what he had expected. He pointed his blade towards the sky. “Die!” Jahno turned the sword towards the ground and shoved it deep into the dirt.
Stelzare ceased laughing and stared in awe as Jahno’s entire body began to burn. Stelzare grabbed his sword and threw it at Jahno, but the blade disintegrated the instant it made contact with the flames.
Jahno began to lose control of the fire. He began to panic when he realized that he was about to kill himself. “I’m going to Hell now, Stelzare.” He said calmly. “And I want you to join me!”
“I’m not going to die just yet!” Stelzare yelled. He began to summon thousands of Shnogles and had them all circle around Jahno. Stelzare walked into the shadows and began to sink into the darkness. “Good luck trying to kill me now.” Stelzare finished as he disappeared into the shadows.
Jahno began to scream as he completely lost control of the fire. The flames burst into the sky and engulfed the entire forest for miles around. He attempted to protect himself from the blaze, but was unable to guard himself because he has used all of his strength to summon the fire in the first place.
Jahno began to cry. His tears evaporated as the heat caused him to disintegrate into the air.

Chapter 1

Esnle was in the forest surrounded by bushes and trees. He darted from bush to bush to hide himself. He found a tree across a stream and pulled out his bow and tied a string to an arrow and shot it at the tree.
Four men grabbed the string and slid down to where Esnle was positioned. They all ducked and rolled into a bush when they landed.
Esnle unstrung his bow and took out his sword. He was their leader and had hand picked them to follow him into uncharted lands as he pulled out a map he pointed to a blank area and pointed to one of the others.
That man nodded and equipped his shield. As soon as that one left another followed him and when they were both in position they signaled for the rest to follow.
There seemed to be no one in the forest around them. The trees were shaking from a strong wind and the animals were deathly quiet. Everything was covered in small droplets from when it had rained earlier that day. Clouds had begun to gather in a dark circle above their heads as they went into the clearing.
“There were at least ten of them,” One of the men said.
“Nice work, Zikkar,” Esnle told him, and then he turned to a shorter man on his left and pointed at a patch of grass, “Sculfult can you tell what destroyed the grass.”
“Of course,” Sculfult answered.
“Lasinadrin,” Esnle called, “When did they pass by here?”
“Oh, it has been weeks since they came by here,” Lasinadrin answered.
“Can we still follow their trail through the pass?” Esnle asked.
“It is a very slim chance, but they may have been killed on their way there,” Lasinadrin replied, “There is also a chance that they might have gained reinforcements here.”
“Why would they have been killed?”
“Look around you, Esnle! You may be leading us into a trap; look at where we are standing. There isn’t any help for miles and all of the trees have had numerous braches cut off. Most likely they have a team of archers with them, or had to fight someone else,” Lasinadrin said.
“Then what are we supposed to do? We should kill them while they are on the run!”
“Don’t you remember? We came out here to collect information on where they had gone, not to get revenge on them because they murdered your parents!” Lasinadrin found himself screaming in Esnle’s face and spoke in a quieter voice, “I’m sorry, Esnle, but you can’t just lead an assault on an enemy you know nothing about. Your parents died nine years ago. Our soldiers have already killed them, but these are just their followers.”
“I understand, Lasinadrin,” Esnle pointed at Zikkar, “I want you to relay my orders to Zikkar and then head back to the village: ready the militia for an assault from the north and to send our army south to Doisep. I will return tomorrow with information for the navigator when I return.”
“Of course, Esnle,” Lasinadrin replied with a grin, he knew what Esnle was planning.
“Sculfult get your bow and be ready to fire in a moments notice,” Zikkar called, he had been staring at the Cajat mountains since they entered the clearing, “We are going to need an extra man at each watch tonight.”
“Are they coming back?” Lasinadrin asked.
“No, but somebody else is,” Zikkar replied.
“Who is?” Sculfult added.
“The Vers,” Zikkar answered in an incredulous tone.
“They must be coming back for their tax,” Esnle said, “Let’s return to the city before they try to kill us all again.”
“Aye,” Lasinadrin replied, “However, Zikkar, you are going to stay back here and have Sculfult relay their positions to us.”
“What about him?” Sculfult asked pointing to the man that was staring at the surrounding area.
“Opicsus,” Esnle called, “Did you find their tracks?”
“Actually,” Opicsus began, “they came by here two weeks before us and there were five of them. One must have been wearing full armor, judging by the depth of the marks, and the rest must have been archers, as Lasinadrin pointed out,” He paused to take a breath, “They came by here to get wood for their arrows, because of all of the branches are missing and they are not in a rush since it must have taken at least three days to cut off the branches.”
“Where are they now?” Lasinadrin asked in an incredulous tone.
“Five leagues from here, heading for the center of the mountains, and they should be reaching the open area between the foothills and the Cajats within the hour,” Opicsus’s eyes were drifting across the foothills to see where the Vers were moving at the moment, “Also, the Vers will reach our city within five days at their current pace.”
“Excellent work, Opicsus,” Esnle said, “That settles it, then. All of us will head back to the village and ready the militia for a perimeter defense.”
Esnle led Lasinadrin, Opicsus, Zikkar, and Sculfult back to their last stop where they had set up camp for the night and grabbed all of their leftover supplies to set up a new camp one league back. Esnle and Sculfult took the first watch.
Lasinadrin made sure that a decoy camp was set up so the Vers wouldn’t attack them unprepared. He had built a decent sized fire in the decoy grounds and built a short wall to disguise the camp with a small amount of camouflage.
Zikkar decided to set up small beds using leaves and sifted dirt to make soft bedding. He also made the beds set five inches into the ground to hide whoever was sleeping there from anyone searching ground level for them.
Opicsus left the camp to gather water and used Lasinadrin’s decoy fire to cook a small meal for everyone. When he offered Zikkar his portion of the food Zikkar just grabbed it and went to his bed. When Opicsus laid himself on the ground he noticed that his bed wasn’t nearly as deep as anyone else’s, but he gave hardly any thought to it and went to sleep to be well rested for his watch.
Esnle saw movement in the distant shrubs and told Sculfult that he was going to search their surrounding area for any scouts that might be coming near their camp.
Sculfult decided to wake up Opicsus to help him guard the opposite end of the camp until Esnle came back. When Sculfult arrived at the camp he found Zikkar approaching Opicsus with a knife ready to slit his throat. Opicsus was still asleep.
Zikkar was about to attack when Esnle jumped out of the bushes behind him and ripped the knife out of Zikkar’s hands as he unsheathed his own. Zikkar grabbed Esnle’s sword and his arm began to turn black.
Lasinadrin woke up when he heard Esnle scream. He jumped out of his bed and grabbed his stiletto and he ran over towards the area where Esnle was.
Esnle was on the ground with a black sword penetrating his stomach and had nearly bled to death. He turned towards Lasinadrin and pointed at the area near the decoy camp.
Lasinadrin nodded and ran over to the decoy camp and found Opicsus and Zikkar fighting with their bare hands. He was about to move in when he remembered that Esnle never told him which one to attack, so he just stood in a battle stance until he figured out which one needed to be killed.
Opicsus swung his fist upwards at Zikkar’s jaw, expecting his punch to break it. However, Zikkar put one foot back, dodging the punch, and kicked at Opicsus’s jaw, as soon as Opicsus hit the ground he lifted one arm and held it with the other. Zikkar’s eyes turned red and he began to cry drops of blood as his arm darkened.
Lasinadrin sprang into action as soon as he saw Zikkar’s arm begin to turn black. He had leaped towards Zikkar in an attempt to stab him, but was only halfway to him before his arm changed shape.
Zikkar allowed a malevolent smile to play across his lips as he spun towards Lasinadrin and stabbed him in the same place that he had stabbed Esnle. When Lasinadrin did not fall Zikkar was dumbfounded. “How can you still-“
“Stand,” Lasinadrin finished, “Because I protected my organs. If you had actually hit one of them, I might have fallen.”
Zikkar smiled when he saw how hard it was for his opponent to speak, “Yes, you must be a good fighter, otherwise you might have actually fallen because of the intense pain,” Zikkar said as he tried to pull his arm back out of Lasinadrin’s abdomen, but found that his arm was stuck, “And you would not have held my weapon inside yourself for so long.”
“Your right, Zikkar, and I would have never taken this opportunity to kill you!” Lasinadrin turned to his left so quickly that he had ripped Zikkar’s arm off and used it as a weapon.
Zikkar jumped backwards, only to have Opicsus seize him and twist his head until his neck snapped.
Esnle dragged himself into view to see Zikkar’s corpse slump onto the ground and disintegrate into nothing within a few seconds. He smiled at their success before he passed out.
Lasinadrin and Opicsus gathered their supplies and had retreated west, towards Tajatenkup. They had also sent Sculfult ahead to warn their employers of their return.

Chapter 2

“Where are they?”
“About seven leagues from here,” Sculfult said. He was exhausted from such a prompt return, but held his head high and smiled to show his employers that there was no trouble.
“Will they be returning today or tomorrow?”
“Most likely today,” Sculfult replied.
“And they sent you ahead because?”
“When Esnle returns, there may not be enough time for them to finish their transactions with you until next month.”
“Why?”
“That is not to be discussed without Esnle’s presence,” Sculfult turned and looked out the window to see the first droplets of the springtime rains fall on his hometown.
“How…loyal of you to speak so highly of your orders, Sculfult,” The man conversing with Sculfult had followed his gaze into the darkened skies that hovered ominously above their city, “Are you sure he will not be able to speak with me?”
“I am sure, Mr. Sgec,” Sculfult quietly repeated the name as if it were a curse, “He has other important matters to attend to that might change the way people look at him.”
“Does it involve me?”
“Of course not, he only needs to talk with two others; that is all.”
“Then may I take your leave now?”
“Only when you want me to, Mr. Sgec.”
“Then this meeting is dismissed,” Mr. Sgec spoke the words in as low a voice as possible to make it sound like an official dismissal.
Sculfult turned and left without a moment’s notice. He walked down the stairwell and threw open the doors to find Opicsus walking into a weapon shop. Sculfult had pulled his coat high up on his shoulders to ward off the morning chill and walked over to the shop. His shoes made hard claps that echoed throughout the empty streets. He was halfway through the street when Opicsus had exited the shop with a new blade strapped to his back.
Opicsus had turned towards Sculfult and nodded before he turned the other way and walked out the village gates as twenty militiamen lined up behind him. Opicsus had unsheathed the sword and allowed Sculfult to catch a glimpse of it before he disappeared behind the anxious militiamen.
Sculfult had to fight the urge to give chase when he saw that Opicsus had grabbed the Ol blade. He had wondered why the soldiers had hesitated when Opicsus had unsheathed the Ol. He just sighed and walked into the shop to see who its previous owner was.
When he entered the shop he was greeted by two gargantuan statues depicting the infamous rivalry between Jahno and Mazlor. The further he went in the more of the world he saw. He walked from the island of Quarniska to the wooded lands of Xxin and up across the Vislen and Enguavu pass back to Tajatenkup. He was so caught up in the decorations that he did not even notice the store’s owner staring straight at him. Sculfult accidentally bumped into the counter and fell over.
“So yer one of ‘em ain’t ye?” The owner said in a strange tone.
“The one of the who?” Sculfult asked, startled that the owner never said anything before.
“Ya meanin’ that you never fought a fight?”
“What…Oh, you’re talking about me being a part of the militia?”
“’Course me do.”
“Yes, I am, but I’ve only been in small skirmishes where the odds were largely in our favor,” Sculfult looked at the ground before continuing, “My friend came in here a few minutes ago and bought the Ol.”
“Yer darn’ spittin’ he did, and it cost him a pretty mique,” The owner smiled and showed a full mouth of rotten teeth, “But are ye to ask me of the reason?”
“Yes!” Sculfult yelled, “Do you have any idea what could happen to him if he charges into battle?”
“Yup, he could die.”
“Then why did you let him purchase it?”
“It was purely bus’n me lad. Now if yer not buyin’ nothin’ leave,” The owner waved his hand as if to signal Sculfult’s departure.
Sculfult whirled around and walked towards the door, but as he neared it he asked, “What is your name?”
“It be Belsterks.”
Upon hearing the name Sculfult threw the doors open and ran towards the nearest infirmary. Belsterks, Belsterks! I’ve heard that somewhere before. Esnle must know, he usually does. Lasinadrin was going to stay by his side, he might know. Belsterks, I can’t let Opicsus die... Oh, Esnle, why doesn’t he know? Sculfult was in plain view of the hospital when he saw the doors open for their visiting hours.
Opicsus had turned around to collect his emergency provisions when he saw Sculfult walking towards the infirmary. He wanted to tell Sculfult about his new weapon, but decided otherwise.

Chapter 3

One man and a child wrapped in cloaks that had been soaked by the previous night’s rain approached a village. The man was carrying a long sword and was concealing countless daggers in his belt; he was limping because of a cut that followed from his left hip down to his foot. The child had a red blade strapped to his back that was giving off an excruciating heat that was preventing the skin on his back from splitting; he was hunched over from the weight of it, even though he could easily carry the blade in his hands. They were dragging a small wagon that was covered by a large sheet that was filled with blood stains and holes. They had come upon the village gates and found there was no one there to stand watch, not even the gate was locked. They pushed it open, cringing at how loudly it creaked, and looked in to find the village frozen in time.
There was no wind and, even though it was after sundown, the town was bathed in a glorious evening light. Children were frozen in the motion of swinging plastic swords, mothers were trapped while scolding the children, men had been frozen while bartering with merchants, and the animals that had been tied to posts or kept in pens were stuck in eternal hibernation. The entire village was covered in an ominous hue of green, black, and purple.
They had begun walking through the village when one of them had noticed movement in on of the houses.
“Go on leave quickly, I am going to handle this,” The man said.
“No, I can’t leave you! You’ll be killed!” The child replied.
“I said leave! Go save yourself.”
“Galnik, I can’t let you kill yourself, I can help.”
“He would kill us both! That’s why I need to stall him so you can get the shadow before the whole planet goes up in flames.”
“Fine,” The child moaned, and then he hunched his back, grabbed the wagon, and hurried out of the village and once outside was a half mile away before he even turned around to look for Galnik.
Galnik began walking towards the movement and dropped his cloak to reveal a cut that followed from his left cheek to the right side of his lower back, “Just to let you know,” He yelled into the open air, “that I am the apocalypse!” He unsheathed one of his daggers and moved five steps before hearing a sound behind him. Galnik turned around just fast enough to see a man encased in red armor launch a fireball at him. He threw his dagger into the fire, but the dagger melted in an instant. The force of the blast launched Galnik through one building and into the next, splintering wood and crushing furniture as the explosion ripped through them. When he landed the house was on fire and had a hole blown through the middle of it.
“Powerful isn’t it?” the knight asked.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Jahno,” Galnik said barely avoiding landing inside a furnace. “You fool there’s no stopping it, they will kill us all. Instead of fighting about the past we should worry about the future before it no longer exists I have five armies at my disposal that won’t stop at anything to destroy you, which is just what he wants. Why not spare me and let me help you?”
“Because, help is for the weak, which I am not, unless…” Jahno said, allowing his voice to echo through the village. Then he began building the energy in his left palm and, as soon as veins were pulsing by his temples, a red glow appeared around it he howled in agonizing pain as he unleashed a blazing fire, that was directed at Galnik, and exploded on them both splintering houses under the great flame, consuming anything in its path with an ever-growing hunger for pain and misery, leaving nothing but piles of ash, debris, and countless pools of hot blood. “Now for his ally,” Jahno said, laughing, “Unless he scurried off and went for help,” But when he turned around, the child was still there!
The child had unwrapped his blade, pointed it at Jahno, and said “Cowardice is not my way of dealing with my problems Jahno!” he then swung the blade and made a quarter turn to face east, “My way of dealing with my problems is feeling the joy of watching the pitiful cause of it try to run away, only to have me tear it to shreds with this blade.” The child turned his face to look at Jahno and smiled at the fear in his eyes. He walked closer. His eyes began to change colors and darkened. His blade shone with a blinding red light.
Jahno was not thinking. He couldn’t move his legs. His fear forced him into his own trap, the child’s gaze transfixing him. As he fought to move he spread his hands wide and clapped them together, each hand grabbing the other, and slammed them into the ground to create and explosion that engulfed the wilderness for miles around, transforming it into a barren wasteland within seconds.
The child had headed east as quickly as he could as soon as Jahno had stopped moving, he dragged the wagon to the edge of the forest, and left it there. Scenery was flying by as he ran as quickly as he could through the forest, dodging trees, trudging through mud, and jumping over rivers. He was exhausted when a bear was two yards from him. He turned to run, but tripped and had to spin to face the bear. It was eight feet tall and had one arm missing; its eyes were filled with rage that was directed at him. The child had to sheathe his sword and attack the bear. He threw punches and kicks and missed countless times until one swing hit a tree and he lost his balance. He pulled out a knife and threw it, getting a direct hit on the bear’s throat, but it was still alive!
The bear had pulled the knife out of its throat and ran towards the oncoming explosion until it was being consumed by the fire. Within seconds the child grabbed his sword and ran, leaving the area as soon as the fire engulfed the bear.
The child was nearly blinded by the ash as the fire was getting nearer and nearer, forcing him into a full sprint. The fire was singeing the hem of his cloak and making it catch fire. He was nearly exhausted as the fire stopped. He was losing his focus and ran into a tree and fell backward to find Jahno walking out of the flames. He could see that Jahno had used nearly all of his spare energy to conduct the explosion.
“Well if it isn’t Esnle, I thought you were dead you demon!” Jahno’s face was turning red with frustration, “I had been paid ten thousand miques for your death. That could last me the rest of my life! Do you want to die or will I have to die chasing you?”
“But, Jahno, couldn’t you just go back home and make a living as a farmer?” Esnle replied with a smirk on his face.
“No, if I go back without killing you I will be killed!” Jahno stripped off his armor to show Esnle that he had countless burns, bruises, and cuts, he was wearing pants and a tunic, his hands were missing two fingers, and there was an arrowhead protruding from his chest.
Esnle had unsheathed the blade and charged at Jahno, swinging the weapon and losing his balance. Jahno took a step back to dodge the strike and stuck his knee under Esnle’s chest and hit him on the head to break his neck. He then put Esnle inside his armor and sealed it with a small flame to trap him inside.

Esnle woke up to a morning chill that made him recall where he was. He sat up and looked at his hands: they were shaking, “It was just a bad dream,” he said, relieved. As he got out of bed he slipped on his clothes and sat down by a desk he had asked to be brought in. On the desk there were countless maps describing numerous trade routes and trails. He picked up a pencil and began to draw a new trail that went through a nearby town. The trail had come out of his village and crossed the Yver Lake and went through Yidnba to get to the Kigat Plains. He sat there for a few moments. He examined the map and found and area devoid of any trails, lakes, or forests: the only feature that it did contain was a river and a flag. As he stared at the flag he remembered that he had drawn flags on the areas of the map that he had been paid to explore.
“You always had to finish the job?” Lasinadrin said to Esnle, “Your persistence might bring you to an untimely demise.”
“My plans are to finish the job with the least amount of casualties to others; emphasis on others, Lasinadrin,” Esnle began to laugh, “But you always have to torture me after I become hospitalized, don’t you?”
“I always had to keep you aware of what you were doing to yourself.”
“Yes, I would have died if you hadn’t created the spare medicine for the Centic Argul… That was the worst experience of my life,” Esnle’s eyes began to well up with tears as the painful memories of his past surfaced.
“I will never forget that man. He injected the concentrated poison into your bloodstream to make you vulnerable to the disease; even the original cures were obsolete. Those were the most dreadful seven days of my life,” Lasinadrin put a hand on Esnle’s back to comfort him, “I can never forget how many times I panicked when my cures had no effect on you.”
“That truly was an amazing medicine, Lasinadrin.”
“Yes, that… Sculfult, I thought the visiting hours began in another hour, correct?”
“Wrong this time, Lasinadrin, but could you explain the effects that the Ol blade causes, would you?”
“Why, yes… You do mean the real Ol blade, don’t you?”
“Yes, the sword that Opicsus was carrying.”
“Did he already leave? Who sold it to him? Does he know what it does?”
“Alright,” Sculfult took a deep breath, “In order, yes he has left and Belsterks sold it to him and I am not sure what it does.”
“Belsterks sold it to him?” Esnle asked turning to Sculfult as he made his first comment, “Lasinadrin, go after Opicsus before he gets killed.”
Lasinadrin nodded and ran out the door without another word.
“Yes, Belsterks did sell the curse to him.”
“Do you know who Belsterks really is?”
“No, that is why I came here. I need to know who Belsterks is.”
“Sculfult, Opicsus won’t die, I can tell you that much.”
“Then, who is Belsterks? I need to know who the culprit is; I’ve heard you and he used to be friends.”
“That is true. We used to be friends.”
“Could you tell me why you two aren’t friends anymore?”
“Alright, but I will begin after our friendship was established twenty years ago. When we were friends Belsterks was a mastermind, he could take ordinary objects and fashion them into weapons in a matter of seconds. This was a truly amazing quality for any ordinary human; however he was not any ordinary human; he could make all types of metallic utensils bend to his will. He would bring a block of steel with us on our hunting trips for convenience,” Esnle smiled as he saw the look of disbelief spread across Sculfult’s face, “He would shape that block into a sword within a second; those weapons weighed less than a feather. He would kill one animal then transform that sword into a spear and launch it into a deer.
“Within one day… we would have gotten enough food for our entire village, we were considered heroes. His name was known throughout our neighboring villages. In our village, we were known as the liberators of life, the bearers of benevolence, and the suppliers of sustenance, until…there was a raid on our town by a band of brigands known as the Vers…
“The Vers, how did he survive?” Sculfult interrupted.
“Don’t cut me off!” Esnle yelled, “Anyways, the Vers had come for Belsterks, but he… He threw me out to them, screaming that the savior must be sold. He bore a grin of terrible malevolence as I was taken away from my home. That day I vowed to get my vengeance. He never deserved to be saved from their torture.”
“How long were you tortured?”
“Six years I was held inside a cell where I was forced to give them my knowledge of how to control metal, even though I never knew how to control it.”
“How did you escape?” Sculfult asked.
“I didn’t; at the end of the six years they finally gave up and when I was nearly dead they threw me into a creek when the water was high from a recent rain, they wanted me to drown in the current. I had nearly drowned before I was rescued.”
“Who saved you?”
“It was Lasinadrin.”

Chapter 4


Opicsus had been running for hours and had decided to stop for a moment’s rest when his exhaustion finally caught up to him. The soldiers following him were nearly falling over because their legs couldn’t support them any longer. They were taking off their armor to reduce the amount of weight that they were carrying; some of them were even throwing their armor around their resting site because they were so infuriated that it weighed so much.
“They can’t take much more of this!” Lasinadrin yelled.
“They will go through this, they have to endure it!”
Lasinadrin grabbed Opicsus and threw him to the ground, “I told you, they cannot take much more of this.”
“Ah, the usual Lasinadrin hello, as always,” Opicsus just smiled and unsheathed his blade, “That is going to cost you.”
Lasinadrin just stepped back and his body seemed to blink in and out of existence. Within that same instant, his hands had acquired a large amount of blood on them.
“How did you…” Opicsus whispered as he fell.
Lasinadrin called out for the nearest militiaman and said, “You have just been promoted.”
“I have?” The man said, not believing what he had just heard.
“Yes, you have. Your duty as captain is to lead these men on a suicide mission to slow down the Vers before they reach Tajatenkup.”
“I am supposed to lead them on a suicide mission?” The man could not believe his ears. Him-of all people-to lead an army on a suicidal attack on the Vers, even if it was just to slow them down.
“You heard me!” Lasinadrin screamed at the new captain, “I will know if you failed because I will see you as soon as you return.” His malevolent smile completely drained the man of all emotions, all, except for fear.
The man waved his sword-the signal to charge-and ran off into the depths of the woods, not caring for his or anyone else’s safety.
Lasinadrin disappeared behind the charge and dragged Opicsus and the Ol blade back towards the town.
The charge had barely run over a mile before they saw the Vers’ army. It spread over a mile in either direction. It was so big that there was no way to see past it to spot how far back it stretched.
The militia looked at themselves and began to turn around.
“Stop, nobody run,” Their newly appointed captain yelled, “This may be suicide, but at least we can buy time for our reinforcements to show up. If we do not fight, then our families will live in fear of the Vers for the rest of eternity! If we run, our chances of retreat later on will rise, but our chances to win will be eliminated. We must bear our swords with honor, and play our role in society to protect those we love. Stay and fight!”
The soldiers just stared at their captain. Could he really have just been promoted a few moments ago? They looked at each other quizzically and turned towards their adversaries.
Their captain smiled, I have done it! He thought to himself, I’ve convinced them!
One of the militiamen shoved his sword into a tree and used it as a step to climb into the branches. He stared down at everyone else and just smiled, and then he just slowly walked from the branches of one tree to the next until he had found the perfect position for a surprise strike.
“Half of you, climb the trees, we should be able to cause more casualties to them if we do,” He watched as about thirty men followed the example of the first, “I am going to fall back to give you better orders, because I will have a better view of the battlefield.” As soon as he finished speaking the rest of the militiamen spread out amongst the forest. Fools! He thought, You’re all fools!

(just added on)

As the Vers neared their vantage point, the militiamen were able to see that the army didn’t stretch as far as they thought. They saw that the Vers had made their soldiers stand with three feet of space between them and each other; which made their force seem larger than it really was. As their adversaries neared, the taskforce had shifted their positions slightly when they saw the Vers had no center; the entire bulk of their army was not there! The militia’s scouts were smiling at the fact that they actually had a chance.
“Veer left!” Somebody in the Vers’ army had called out.
The militiamen has begun to lose all of their newfound hope when they saw that the bulk of their opponents had been placed on the sides; which was now going heading straight towards their vantage point.
“Yes, the fools!” The captain of the militia shouted as he ran back towards the town, “This wasn’t as hard as the master said it would be.”
The captain smiled as he turned around and saw that the militia had fallen. “What a quick strike!” He sneered, “That was over before I could gain any ground.”
The Vers’ army just recollected itself in the center of the forest and began their march towards Tajatenkup. Their task force was so large that it was nigh impossible to count their men.
Lasinadrin was exhausted from dragging Opicsus for so long. He was able to manage eluding the scouts that were performing their rounds. Lasinadrin grinned at how easily he had slipped in unnoticed. He dropped Opicsus by the gates as soon as he reached Tajatenkup. As he entered the gates he noticed that something was amiss. He checked all the local bars, broke into every house, burned down the town hall, and pillaged the few shops that had left behind something f worth to him. The city had been abandoned!

This is pretty good. Nice prologue. Keep this up. I look forward to reading the rest of your story.

I am going to be COMPLETELY redoing the prologue... I might even be redoing the chapters or eliminating them entirely...

I have a few ideas as to what I can put into my fic, but they are for later chapters and I need to edit what it happening now to get there.

Remember, if you wish for me to beta-read them, I'll gladly do it.