Untold Odyssey 1: Introductions

[cdf]

*( here's something i wrote, the first episode will take about 12 parts to fully submit. sorry for a lack of tact in choosing where to break the story up )*

In the lonely void of time and space unnoticed events are constant in their hidden isolation. Just as energy can't be created or destroyed a planets destruction is only the reminder of a planets birth, and as a life is extinguished another is brought into play. In this incomprehensible darkness lies a newborn world waiting to see its surface played on by the numerous empires to rise and fall, in a quest for the living to be immortal in glory or shame. On this rock half buried in water and wrapped in a sky of blue and pulsing with magic lies a number of powers.

In a strange arrangement of isolated terrains the sun scorches the deserts of the north leaving the south to freeze in darkness. South of the burning sands is a wall of mountains before reaching the thick jungles of Thun. Moving along the various rivers and canyons passing the vast forest of Evergreen is the prosperous lands of Greild before sloshing through the marsh and swamps of Dracule where you finally hit the mighty ocean that isolates Iceburg.

The northern deserts sport tribes of ruthless criminals and savages banished from their homelands, separated from the world by the mountains.

The mighty cogar Mountaineers are some of the most nimble and sturdy collection of fighters and acrobats you can find and sport the grandest of large structures.

The mysterious Thunians are rarely seen or heard of, masters of the night they avoid a region without concealment and have an adept craft at traps and strange disappearances.

Evergreen Rangers are more known than their Thunian counterparts as they like to showboat their hunting and marksmanship talents in public. Though sudden reminders from Thunians that they aren't all that haunt their society they do have a fair connection in some border regions as traders and students.

The vast fields and plains of Greild see more excitement and wealth than most. Torn by constant conflict this flat land of prosperity offers no protection and massive fortresses have to be erected in retort. Modern metropolises of the medieval era intellects enjoy the fine weather and supply of sun light to study their writings and practice their fighting skills.

The wet and groggy "shitholes" of Dracule give rise to a more troubled folk. Living a simple life of half land half water they have to rely on strange inventions and technological genius in hopes of making their lives more comfortable and rewarding. With no creature suitable to boast as their warhorse they have to use natural elements and magical might to maneuver with ease.

The beaches of Norman claim home to the defenders of divinity. The self righteous paladins of fierce magical powers who insist the heavenly land of promise lie across the waves where the golden light sleeps.

In the frozen waste where the few champions of god have quested their life to reach rest the bitter tribes of magical masters who delve into dark hatreds contemplating only the most lethal and destructive method of sorcery.

But back in the Greildian territories lays a massive fortress surrounded by flowers and trees atop its hill. The great castle Aerotos is home to one of the greatest events of all time. Every few years the world is invited to send its finest champions to compete in the Tournament of Warlords, to decide who is the greatest. Though unexceptional when it comes to warriors of its own the greatest heroes enter and leave its walls constantly and the largest library in known existence claims house to the champion record books, where registered fighters are logged and immortalized. Inside the arena walls is a massive field of all battles, obstacles strewn throughout the field accommodate all fighters while allowing the elevated crowd to see everything. Walls lined with pegs and holsters to be filled with weapons donated by the greatest weapon makers around in hopes of advertising their skill.

Though intended for fighters, businessmen of every craft hope to make an appearance to the global market and boost their sales.

In the chambers of King Andrew an assembly of peons in bright uniforms and the castle flag stand ready for the big event. In a loud voice the king declared, "In accordance with a tradition of five generations, let the game be announced!"

In an excited cheer the group paraded down the street drawing the eyes of all around. The drawbridge dropped and they flooded out into the fields spreading in all directions to give word to many major cities. The horses rushed to the farthest reaches of the world while the closers headed out on foot. In a few months it would happen. There were only room for 112 fighters in the tournament, but thousands would show up for their chance to compete.

In the Tenshu fortress Drake Alphonse Tenshu, prince to the Tenshu throne and leader of the Tenshu Legion, glided through the streets on his proud horse of brilliant white. A falcon clung confidently to his forearm he was going to meet up with his old time friend for a hunt. He passed through the kill box where streamers flew back and forth across the walls as the Legionnaires practiced dodging arrows, a skill Drake felt invaluable with the change in warfare. He trotted across the bridge as a horse approached behind him followed by a fleet of dogs, "Fine day today."

"Perfect for a hunt."

"At this hour we best start by the stream."

"Agreed." And they moved down the path into the woods.

"You're the only guy I know who travels without guards."

"Where's yours?"

"I decided I'd be fearless like you for a change."

The dogs swept through the forest with the two horses in close pursuit. "Isn't it about time for the tournament?"

Drake laughed, "You ask that every time."

He smiled lightly, "I'm certain the messenger will get here soon. And I'm going to win."

"I don't understand why you're so interested in that."

"Winning makes you a global champion! What greater honor is there!?"

"On this, I don't" the dogs took off disrupting his sentence. A buck dashed away and they both drew arms. The arrows whisked through the branches impacting the target stumbling it to the ground. Drake took off on horse as his friend let off a desperate shot. He bound over a log releasing the wooden shaft to bounce off the dirt driving out the top of the prey’s skull. His friend came up from behind. "An excellent demonstration of horseback archery, legendary to your family's name my friend."

"I'm surprised you're so quick to the shot. Practicing no doubt."

"Can't allow you to completely surpass me."

The sun stood tall as they agreed to end an enjoyable morning of hunt with a meal. They moved out the wood line as a bent back branch lashed out across their path. Drake guided his steed into an immediate bound as his ally went down. A rattle in the trees as an arrow flew at him. He caught glimpse of a snapped twig guiding his eye to the attack knocking it away with a stomp of the boot. The dogs rushed into the woods and the falcon flew into the sky. He hopped off the horse ordering it home and it raced to the castle. His ally sent a round into the woods touching backs with each other in defense stance to fight. The dogs entered combat and another shot came, he ducked and his friend followed his movement letting the attack pass overhead. A snap of the bow and the target dropped with a strike to the chest. The rest ran away and the dogs returned while the falcon feasted on a lacerated victim. They relaxed their battle stance a bit looking at each other with a satisfied smirk over the shoulder. A wet splash on Drake's back span him around to catch his wounded friend. His friend lost strength falling in Drakes lap forcing a smile to hide the pain. "I guess I'm not as sharp as you yet."

"Don't talk! I'll get you to a doctor!"

The legionnaires showed up with a medical litter, the last dog returned with blood soaked teeth.

The doctor finished changing the bandage and closed a jar of pepper. He looked at Drake with a saddened shake of the head; an intruder at the door grabbed their attention. The brightly dressed messenger announced the invitation before leaving. With a smile and raspy voice he called out from the bed, "Drake..."

He rushed to his friends aid, "Don't talk, you'll only waste your strength. You can tell me when you're better."

"No, I'm not going to make it."

"Don't talk like that! It's not that serious, just a scratch is all! You're going to be fine." He held his hand as tears began to slowly soak into the sheets.

"Drake. Grant me my last wish."

"I'm listening."

"Fight for me. Win for me. Please, old friend."

"Don't worry about that, you'll be ready to fight for yourself next tournament!"

"If you say so, you always were right. Never lied to me before."

"Get your rest; we can talk more tomorrow over breakfast." Drake kissed his forehead, releasing his friends hand two hours later after the doctor covered his face with a sheet and placed two gold coins on his eyes.

He exited his personal ceremony and, clad in his fallen companions armor and weapons, he set out on his horse. His friend’s father stopped him at the gate. "I figured you of all people would stay for the funeral."

Those words struck a heavy blow, "I'm sorry sir. There's no time to stay."

"It'll take months for the farthest reaches to get here; it's only a few days journey to Aerotos."

"Slots for the tournament are awarded by region; distance doesn't matter as you race only those near you."

"I see, so you're going to fight then."

"It was his last wish."

"Are you going to win?"

"Of course!"

[cdf]

"Then win with this!" He un-wrapped a massive broadsword. "This is our family sword that won us these lands years before my time. He had the greatest swordsman of all called in to restore it with intent to use it in the tournament." The old man bowed extending the blade. "You, great warrior fighting on be-half of my fallen son, will you grant my family the honor of winning with this blade that's never tasted defeat?"

He exchanged the swords letting the magnificent blade bathe in the golden sun light. "With this sword I will avenge your son by bringing your family immortal honor."

"Thank you Drake, I am in your debt."

He exited the protection of his walls to find all his legionnaires on line. "What are you doing?"

"We are ready to take you to the tournament lord."

"No need for that. I know my way."

"We are guards not guides."

"I have no use for them either." He was directly next to his top leader.

"Requesting permission

Denied." Drake reached into a pouch with a smile. "I expected you would though, here." He handed over a booklet bound by fine silk. "Those are my words to be spoken at his funeral; would you do me the honor of speaking on my behalf?"

He gently took the booklet. "Good luck." With a salute he called to the men and returned to the castle. One horse stayed behind.

"What are you doing? Get going!"

A gentle voice came from under the helmet. "I'm sorry but I can't do that."

"Figures it'd be you Amy."

She removed her helmet. "I agreed to dedicate my life to protecting you from all enemies, not attend funerals. I'm staying with you."

"Experience tells me you’re too stubborn to negotiate with when you're right. Is it possible to change your mind?"

"No, it's not." She smiled. He started down the road and she followed next to him.

The forest glowed with green and gentle rays shown visibly through the holes of the natural ceiling. It was a good 300 meters to the river from his position in the tree, balancing carefully on the branch. He held the arrow drawn back to full length causing the frame to bend so sharply as to look as if it were to snap in half. His arms fully extended and body bent in a crouch on that branch he stared out to the river. He watched the rabbit curiously sip at the water before spiking it to the tree with his arrow.

He stepped onto the platform and began pulling the rope raising himself to the catwalks above. Before getting three feet up a dead elk was dropped onto the platform making it to heavy for him to lift. "Just take off without me why don't you!"

The annoyed anger he had quickly melted away as he helped pull the guy up. "Sorry Lance, didn't notice you were back so soon."

"Yeah, got me a good one today! Won't have to go out again for a week!" He looked at his friend’s collection of rabbits. "Why is it you only hunt rabbits? Your whole life that's all you've hunted."

"They're small, fast, alert, and hard to see. The perfect prey to improve my shot. They reproduce so damned fast there's plenty of em too."

"It's inefficient. It's a much harder target to hit, and with one shot I have a week worth of food. With your five difficult shots you have a day or two at best."

"But I'm the greatest marksman alive because of it."

"Oh yeah? Gonna prove it at the games?"

"Damned right! I'm not only going to win marksmanship but the tournament!"

He burst into laughter, "Soon the trees will sing the tale of great Lake Berry Redwood, champion of the world, on its winds."

"You'll see."

They reached the top as the platform locked into position. A voice cried from afar, "There he is!"

Lake looked to his friend who just shrugged pointing back at him.

"Hurry up Lake, get over here double time!"

"Well, I'll see you later."

He jogged over with his food slung over his shoulder. "What?"

"Hurry up! Come on!"

He was dragged across the catwalks in a sprint from tree top to tree top till they finally stopped against the balcony rail overlooking the clearing used as the town square. Surprised by the crowd, but more so by their waiting on him, he went down stepping onto the stage standing before the mayor.

The mayor motioned a small group of people forward who extended several wrapped items. "Here." He started unwrapping and handing over the items one by one while explaining their purpose. "These boots were crafted by the finest skins, lined with the warmest furs, and enchanted with the most durable barriers to defend it from all that weather has to offer. These undergarments are fabricated to support the weight of your loads while allowing full range of movement. The leggings of the rock are rich in history for supporting a fighter’s stance without fatigue for weeks on end. The tunic of persistence is capable of absorbing most magic’s and blunt weapons matched against it. The gloves of tranquility relax the shakiest of hands and have managed to turn panicked woodsmen into surgeons with their precise movements. The bandana of immunity protects from all common disease as well as resists loose consciousness and attacks aimed to disorient your focus. The short sword of the wolf is capable of quickly lashing out at vital weak points with ease while avoiding and resisting attacks with much confidence, and finally." Lake was only slightly impressed until this point, but as soon as the next cloth of the next group of items came off he was beaming with delight. "The longbow of Bale, known to pierce two inches of refined stone from 100 meters in the past, restored by the greatest bow smith in existence to fit your height. The quiver of Bale, recovered from the pits of his crypt with the seals and curses removed it is the only quiver capable of transforming arrows into the arrows of the Bale and unlock the bows potential. We present these to you in anticipation of your victory at the tournament."

He held the bow with pure delight as he opened the lid of the quiver drawing one of the sturdy shafts from the compartment. He marveled at its design, the dip at the end to multiply his grip and the notch for the string to slip into. The most interesting thing was there were no fins. He'd heard such great things about its accuracy, how could it be true without them? He looked to the mayor who nodded and pointed at a stone statue at the far end of the clearing. He strung the arrow and drew back the bow that wrapped around his arm, creaking as its frame was broken in. A loud gentle hum and the arrow stopped halfway through a tree trunk, he smiled at the clean cut hole through the center of the stone target. The crowd laughed and cheered in celebration as he graciously thanked the group.

It was easier to pull it out the direction it was traveling rather than the opposite of how it entered, but it was clear to him he wasn't supposed to remove it at all when it broke in the process. He examined the remains of the metallic rod to discover the secret to its accuracy.

"Pretty neat isn't it?"

He looked at the speaker; it was the bow smith himself. "Thank you."

"I had to resize the bow and arrows to match you. Most people can only stretch a bow about an arms length, but you get a remarkable full stretch. You have an incredible upper body so an arrow of two arms length plus some chest had to be made. Of course the quiver had to be redone as well. These aren't REALLY restorations but entirely new works of highest caliber made just for you. We simply transferred and improved the magical powers of the originals over. We decided they would keep their curses."

"You did an amazing job."

"The amazing thing is what that quiver does to the arrows. You probably noticed the obvious stuff. Did you know in passing over the guide ledge a trigger is flipped which causes a jacket to slip over the grip releasing the fins to fold out from the front? On top of that they fold back in on impact so it can go through the target without distraction."

"You think it came from the south?"

"I don't know what to think, maybe there is a crafter better than myself to the distant south. My place isn't to go searching for the answer."

"You have anything you want to show at the games?"

"You're advertisement enough, now go. A caravan awaits you."

He waved happy goodbyes as the fleet of traders and craftsmen departed to the tournament.

She loved a good job, and this one didn't get much better. She was lost in a daze on the roof remembering her conversation with the client.

"I hear you like power, to be the best. Well, let's just say I know of a special something to make you better than all else. But for the info, you have to do a favor for me."

[Leader Desslock]

EDIT: Added to main index.

My Feedback:

Good start. I can feel you starting out in a sort of grand epic tradition of fantasy and science fiction.

I think you need to break this up a bit. The first obvious break is between the introduction and the actual narrative, where there's an abrupt shift in tense:

Though unexceptional when it comes to warriors of its own the greatest heroes enter and leave its walls constantly and the largest library in known existence claims house...

In the chambers of King Andrew an assembly of peons in bright uniforms and the castle flag stand ready for the big event. - BREAK HERE - In a loud voice the king declared, "In accordance with a tradition of five generations, let the game be announced!"


If I had to visually represent the way this introduction sounds, it starts in low orbit over a planet with geography lines and symbols superimposed over the terrain, with your text added as a voiceover. The view zooms in closer and closer to the world, eventually zooming in through a castle window to see the King Andrew holding court.

That works in screenplay format, but for your narrative, I think you need to break it up. Have the Grand View to put King Andrew's court in perspective in the world, then break scene. Start the next scene with King Andrew as a person in a scene. once the scene has changed, the narrative tense can change.

From what I can tell, you have several separate scenes here, which I'd recommend separating:

1. Introduction
2. Drake & Friend At The Hunt
3. Drake and Father's Friend at Gate / Addresses Legionnaires / Sets Out
4. Lake's Introduction

Without these breaks, it's actually harder to follow the narrative. In a live-action film, you'd be able to see the location and character changes, but you don't have those visual cues here, so you have to do something to make up for them.


Pacing seems good so far for a draft; you've established context, had the initial conflict and now you're introducing the characters. once you've got it completed, you could go back and tweak it either way, depending on how you want it to flow. I'm going to guess you'll end up expanding on this section a bit, but maybe not.


Given the department store that Lake is carrying around on his person, I'm guessing that this is going to turn into a "tactical action/combat" type of story? Like... the way Naruto is about pitting different people with different fighting styles and abilities against each other people with other styles and abilities? I gather that Lake is one of the characters whose buildup you'll see, then they'll all meet for the Battle Royale at the end? Is that where you're going (oversimplified) with the story generally? Just curious.

Keep up the good work! I look forward to reading more installments.

[cdf]

thanks for the feedback, the entire episode has been up for display on deviant for close to i think three or four months now and it hasnt received as much as a single view so you're the first person to actually comment on it even if its only the first part or two. i imagine the shere size of it was what created the lack of motivation for readers

as far as the story goes this was part of my "go with it" period while pulling guard duty and the story is pretty much unlike my usual writing where i sit down and plan out every detail of it before i ever start writing ( i was highly interested in actually writing something and finishing it, as apose to my previous projects that get lost in short attention span and procrastination )

its not until about episode three that i actually begin to plan out the story, theres a severe depression part of the first episode where i simply didn't know what to write so i just stumbled over a bunch of words for a few paragraphs until i picked up whiff of an idea and got back on track. episode two had good inertia with it but kinda lost it all at the end of the episode and episode three was when i realized that not a damn person on earth has as much as read it so i lost all motivation to continue the series and pretty much had to force it out... deleting and re-writing everything from scratch about two times including one massive shift in story line and plot until i finally got the end product that i have posted on my deviantart page now

but at least i'm starting to get some feedback, i'll take your thoughts into concideration when writing episode four and theres even a chance that if i ever go back to touch up the earlier episodes i'll see about squeezing in some better breaks and such ( then again, my writing tends to be like a sudoku puzzle. once i go back to try and fix a mistake i pretty much have to do the whole thing over again as it just points out every other mistake )

once again, thanks for the feedback ( and actual feedback too not just "w007 this r0x0r5!!" or "omg you suck noob!". very impressive indeed ^_- )

p.s: sorry for not putting it in the correct section. i concidered putting it in the fan fiction section but it seemed like it was for fan fiction twoard anime and this one was just fiction and wasn't related to any show i've ever seen or heard of so i put it in the off topic section

[cdf]

Dropping her blade from his throat to listen had better be worth it. "You know the frozen waste to the south? Well, word has it power casters of dark magic’s reside there. These masters used to live on the ocean shores allegedly. A curious story is of a brotherly couple who were torn into combat by opposing ideals. One was banished to suffer in the deserts north of here while the other traveled south to the ice lands." She clenched the blade in boredom. "Patience. The one that went south was corrupted with lost faith and crafted an object to save his brother. A cloak that absorbs light. While during the day a lightless figure of black is all but inconspicuous, imagine what it would do for you at night. Even spotlights would be powerless. This item is on route and you can seize it. But before I tell you where, I need something in return. Get the cloak and use it to steal the book of summonings from the Aerotos library. Then return to me and I'll remove the curse from the cloak."

She pondered as to what curse he might be talking about. A bit of hesitation existed within her but a quest for power completely drove her to it. She saw it, the single horse and rider traveling along the crude path. Stealing it would have been much simpler if he wasn't sitting on the package. She had to think quickly how to do it, she figured there would be guards or something similar but he was alone. The idea accrued to her that the guards were hidden. She searched for them but found nothing. In a hasty panic she fought herself for whether or not she should attack or if she was missing something. To late, she looked surprised watching it disappear down the path. She followed, the rocks were much easier for her to move on than it and keeping pace was no problem. All night she followed him up the mountain and all night she refused to believe it would be unguarded. Morning came and they were still on the move, she was tired and clumsy slipping her foot on the uneven rock face causing a rock to fall down. The horse stopped and she froze, could he see her? Of course not it had to be to dark still, but it wouldn't last long. He extended his arm directly at her, was he a magician?

She dashed down the hillside drawing her chain letting the bolt bounce off the rocks. She was fortunate crossbows had only one shot but was amazed he could see in the dark. No matter, she was behind him now, the battle was hers. She threw the chain back extending it before whipping it forward at the target. He rolled off the horse, he's ****ing fast! She flicked her wrist deflecting the throwing knife and pulling herself some slack in the line.

She lashed forward twisting the chain launching a spiral wave at him. He seized his chance charging through the center of the chain whipping out a long sword and slashing at her with one hand! She raised her chain wrapping it around the handle and slipping behind him. She adjusted her grip and tightened the wrap cutting into his hand.

She clenched her shoulder to stop the bleeding as the crimson spray landed on the ground reflecting the morning light. The chain and sword fell to the ground. Where the hell did he get another sword? What kind of person will rip their own hand off to slash a shoulder!?

She stayed on her knees trying not to cry as he stepped closer. She closed her eyes as her head slammed against the ground and he put his foot back on the ground, if he’s going to kill her that's fine but to violate her as well? His sword clicked into its hidden holster as he grabbed her by the shirt lifting her into the air. "Sorry pal, they don’t rip off easily."

He didn't look amused by her insinuation. He moved his head closer and she was so disgusted at the thought she lashed at his face with an instinctive scratch. Her hand tore away at the cloth of his hood revealing his face to the light. He dropped her to the ground screaming, his pure white face sizzled at the light as he tried to get his hood back on writhing in pain.

She looked on stunned for a moment before remembering the old tales told to scare her as a child, "Vampire eh?" She charged him tackling him to the ground grabbing hold of his cloak. Using a flint spark and a dab of oil from her inventory she lit fire to the cloth and backed off watching his slow death.

It was only then could her nightmares be haunted by his voice. "I was trying to protect you, I was trying to save you, I'm sorry, I failed." His body completely burned away leaving only the flaming ash of his clothes.

She un-wrapped the cloak of pure black as the black steed snorted in boredom. "Looks like your brother won’t be saved now." She hopped onto the horse, "Let’s go." She tried every command she knew to get it to move. "Geeze, can't even kneel? Are you a horse or a mule!?" She sighed. "Looks like I'm walking to Aerotos." The horse snorted turning around and headed toward the tournament.

The girls face lit up with excitement as she lifted the package. "Wow! Thank you so much!"

"You haven't even opened it yet!"

"I've always wanted Neo Pardins Collection of Physics Lectures!"

"Who told you!?" He looked around the room at the confused faces.

"Nobody told me." She cuddled the package to her face.

"Then how'd you know?"

"The cover of the book is a weather-proofed cloth. So based off the weight and thickness the paper came from the northern marshes. Being exactly 2946 pages thick and constructed of this fashion with these materials means only two possible books. But the smell is of Ryo publishing ink meaning it has to be Neo Pardins Collection of Physics Lectures!"

The crowd of the room only nodded in withdrawn agreement. She blushed looking down, "I know, I'm weird."

"Don’t apologize to them. I think it’s wonderful you’re so enthused about your hobby!"

She turned to the doorway, "Hey sis! Look at all my new books! Math, anatomy, physics, philosophy, even magic!"

She looked at the book on magic confident she'd already read it and completely uninterested. Her mouth dropped open, "You got Introduction to Golems by Richard Golem himself!?"

The old women smiled from the crowd, "That old thing has been sitting in the attic for so long. I was hoping you'd take better care of it. It was all dusty and worn."

"No way! I can't believe I'm seeing this!"

"Is that book good sis?"

"Are you kidding me!?" She held it up on proud display. "This book was written by THE Richard Golem, inventor of the Golem and modern magical puppetry. It teaches people the basics of molecular construction and magical animation of inanimate beings that don't require a constant power source! He wrote only one copy and submitted it to the Aerotos library for mass storage and production but it was refused as an incomprehensible rambling until he won the tournament of champions with a golem he made! Sense then people have been questing their lives in search of this lost book! Do you know how much this book is worth!?"

"Then you can have it."

"What?" She lowered the book. "No, I can't take it from you. It's your birthday gift."

"I don't understand magic, you do."

She smiled. "Tell you what; I'll copy the book for you. I'll even write it so you can read it. Okay?"

The young girl smiled brightly. "Okay!"

She set down the book and hugged her younger sister, "Happy birthday sis."

"Thank you."

The party was over and the guest gone, she sat on the couch copying the pages onto a fresh stack of paper. The dishes floated to their place in the kitchen as everything cleaned and organized itself. Over the years of her studies she gave everything enchantments to make them self operational, but they required her to be nearby. The door opened before she even knocked, "Your house is the only one that does that."

"Come in."

"Heard your little sister had a birthday today."

"Yup."

"How old is she now?"

"She's thirteen Beaverly."

"Thank you, Jessica." She sat on the couch. "Copying a book?"

"Yeah, it'll take a while."

"How many pages?"

"5000."

"How many have you done?"

"About twelve."

"Normally your sister takes good care of her books."

"She does, but this was giver to her like this."

"You can't just clap your hands and it's copied?"

"I'm also writing it so she can understand it."

"It's about Golems?"

"Yup."

"So if you read it first, could you then make golems to write it so she could understand it?"

She sighed, "I wish. That'd make it a lot easier."

"How long will it take?"

"Weeks? Months?"

"You serious!?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, good luck."

"Where you going?"

"Gonna go see if anyone wants to help."

The waves washed back and forth on the shore. She took a deep breathe preparing to focus her energy. She closed her eyes and with a deep exhale the sand in front of her started to sink into the ground. The bottom of the hole rose up taking a human form before shrinking into a regular sized sand-brown golem. She slowly opened her eyes at the naked genderless form standing in front of her. She stood up off the pile of clothes she was sitting on and handed them to the creature. It put them on and she made some quick adjustments to make it more believable before walking home with it, leaving the hole behind.

Beaverly was a little surprised, "He's a golem?"

"Yeah! I made him at the beach!"

She walked around looking at it. "How long does it last?"

"It's my first one, so maybe a few months." She yawned. "But I can un-summon him and re-summon at full strength anytime. I control it with my thoughts like looking through the eyes of another person."

"How big is he?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know."

"I didn't give him one, pervert."

"Aww, poor guy."

"I'm gonna go get some rest, I'm tired."

[cdf]

The next day the brightly dressed messenger arrived. She pushed through the streets with her new friend trying to get to the arcane shop. "Hey you!" She turned to look. "Yeah, you with the tan! You look pretty tough! Want a chance to compete in the tournament! Step right up!" The crowd did the stepping for both of them as the golem found itself shoved into a cheap street ring. "Ladies and gentlemen, a new possible champion from our lands wishes to compete for a chance at the tournament. Should he win, he will be taken to the city of Aerotos to become legend. She was interested, a free trip to the greatest library on the planet? Maybe she could better her craft with golems, hers couldn't even talk. The fight started as the giant fighter swayed closer dancing on his toes. She had advantage with her third person perspective. She identified the fake punch and the real kick with ease. Duck, lunge, spin, jump. She'd never been in a fight before, always hated the idea of getting hurt, but now she was excited and having fun. A low punch to the stomach, the golem wasn't fast enough. The fist connected with a smash and a quick yelp.

"Incredible folks! This young lad is so chizzled and fit he has a stomach like stone!" The crowd went wild as the martial artist reconsidered his attack plan. He bursted forward with a kick to the leg shattering the knee into pieces. The stone fist cracked across his skull and the heavy body collapsed onto the warrior literally like a ton of bricks. He lay unconscious and buried under the broken pile of stone leaving the crowd stunned. "What is that thing?"

"A monster?"

"A demon."

She pushed into the ring shaking off her restrainers. "Don't go, it might be dangerous!"

The stone figure moved as she climbed under it lifting it to its only remaining leg. "Great, now I have to fix you!"

The organizer stepped forward. "Excuse me young miss, do you know this creature?"

She looked at him for a second before smiling. "Of course! I summoned him after all! This is my golem."

The crowd was amazed. "I know she was good but when did she learn that?"

"I thought she only did fireworks and enchantments?"

"Wasn't she a healer?"

The organizer settled the crowd. "Alright Jessica, what's going on here? To which school of magic do you belong anyways?"

"All of them, I'm mastering all of it."

"Well, you won the fight. You going to go to the tournament for us?"

"I'd love to!"

The crowd clapped unsure to celebrate or just forget the whole thing. It cost her to loose some motivation.

"But I can't live alone!"

Jessica closed her pack. "You won’t be alone. Golem is here and he'll help you. In fact, sense I control him, it's like I never left."

"Will it work from that far away?"

"It should."

"What if he breaks?"

"You don't need me. You're a big girl. You can do fine. It'll only be a month or two at best." She kissed her sister on the forehead climbing into the chariot waving out the window.

He skid to a stop kicking some rocks over the side, the pursuit wasn't far behind. He looked over the waterfall and it was a long way down. An arrow whisked over head in threat as the shouts from his pursuers drew closer. He relaxed putting his hands behind his head waiting for them.

The horse stopped and the archer took aim, "You have nowhere to run, on your knees and admit defeat."

Pean looked up, "Why are you chasing me again?"

"You were trespassing, and you're accused of hunting without license."

"Will I get a fair trial in front of a jury and everything?"

"What nonsense do you speak of? Bow!"

"Wrong answer." With a twist and lean he fell over the edge.

"Hmph, makes no difference to me." The horse turned around and walked off.

The water froze into a gentle slope, sliding out into the flow of the water before splashing into the speed of the current. The ramp collapsed and shattered to slowly melt in the relatively warm water. He surfaced his head, "Wonder where this goes."

He stumbled onto the shore attracting every rock, leaf, and twig to his feet from the moisture. Looking around he noticed the vast flatlands he was in. The only thing that stuck out was the small hut in the distance. He sighed in disappointment taking off his clothes and brushing them off. "Might not be too good to walk up dirty."

He got closer to the house passing by a fenced garden noticing a movement among the wall of corn. The figure stepped out in front of him and smiled at the girl, "Yo!"

She stopped and looked at him for a moment before setting down her basket of food. She took off running to the house screaming not worrying about her large sun-hat blowing off in the wind. He watched her run away curiously.

With food and hat in hand he stepped lightly through the soft dirt close to the house. He approached the door extending his hand to knock when it opened suddenly and he started walking backwards away from the sword in his face. The arrow didn't pierce far into the dirt but the boy on the roof didn't look discouraged. Inside the house he saw the girl and an older women watching. He finally examined the scar covered man with the sword in his face, stopping a few feet away from the edge of the porch. The child was almost ready to fire again by now and with his arm fully extended the man was no threat, but it was easy to tell he knew how to fight. Pean reached up pointing at the girl with his hand. "She

You're not allowed to talk or point at her!" He slapped Pean's hand down with the sword. "We won't pay and we won't leave!"

He raised the food basket. "She dropped these; I'm here to return them." He extended the items to the man who stared for a moment before putting away his sword and accepting the items. "I'm not here to collect money or anything else. I'm just lost and would like to know where I am."

The man had already walked inside and handed over the goods, sending the women away to cook dinner. The boy had grown lazy and dropped his stance. The man stared over his shoulder before motioning him in. "Cook one more, we have a guest tonight."

"You don't have to trouble yourself if you don't want. I require no nourishment."

"It's no trouble."

The room was quiet as he sat with the boy and the man. "Sorry, there's not much to say about myself. My name is Pean but there are some that call me Fish."

The boy laughed, "Why Fish?"

"You a good swimmer or something?"

"Yes, and it's easy to remember, hear, and say. I also am very fond of water and seafood."

"Are you from the coast?"

So there WAS a coast. "Yes, I was wondering if you could guide me back. I've gotten rather lost."

The man was curious. "You're pretty far away from here. I've never been that far south myself. Don't know how you got THAT lost."

"It was a long trip and I hit my head." Not a complete lie at least.

"Well, I don't have any maps for that far. Maybe they do in town."

"How do I get there?"

The door opened and an older man stepped inside. Younger than the old man but older than the boy. The guy walked over. "Hey dad, who's this?"

"This is..." Fish WAS easy to remember, "Fish. A drifter that showed up today." He turned back to Pean. "This is my son Deric. You've already met my other son David, my wife Michelle and my daughter Kitty. Tomorrow Kitty and Deric are going in to town to sell some of the harvest. If you want you can help them, in return you're welcome to stay."

Now that all the faces were clicked into place he was a little more relaxed. "Thank you very much."

The man nodded, "My name is Jet, and it’s no trouble."

The four men sat waiting for dinner when Pean shifted uncomfortably in the silence. "I'm going to go help with dinner." The three stared in confused shock as he walked into the kitchen.

The girls shifted around the room as the mother tried to teach her while making something extra special. He entered and they stopped. "Can we get you something?"

"No, I'm here to help. What do you need?"

They were at a complete loss for words, men don't cook. "Well, the fire could use some wood."

The mother glared at the girl. "Don't mind her, we're fine in here. Go rest."

He looked to the girl. "What else?"

She was timid but satisfied to see her mother back down. "The meat is heavy, if you could bring it in for us."

"And?"

The father peeked through the door. "If you could stir the rice and make sure it doesn't burn..." She felt she had said too much.

The father came in the room. "What's going on?"

The mother was so stressed tears formed in her eyes. Pean turned to the group that just entered. "Good, you're just in time to help! Jet, you can cut wood for the fire. You two can bring in the meat."

The room was silent, Jet burst. "Who do you think you are!? We will do no such thing!"

"Like hell you won't! You three are sitting on your *** while they do all the work! You can either do nothing and wait an hour to eat or help out and be eating in five minutes giving you an extra hour to sleep!"

They were silent again. Do a women’s job? Though he was hungry and tired. "Five minutes you say?"

"Five minutes."

He thought about it for a second before letting out a sigh. "Okay." He turned to his sons. "Go; bring in the meat for your mother."

Pean stirred the rice and Jet cut wood, his wife hiding in the corner. Pean looked to her, "Once they get the meat in here show them how to cut it into eatable slices. Once Jet is done have him tend to the stew. Then you do the bread and Kitty will guide me through cooking the meat." The mother nodded in submissive compliance moving over to guide her sons. Kitty stood next to Pean cutting her basket of vegetables for the stew with a smile. She looked at him out the corner of her eye before whispering. "Thank you."

He hummed in happy gratitude. "Rice is done."

[cdf]

Everything fell into place. Jet finished the wood and got the water to boil as Kitty finished the vegetables. He tended to the stew and any meat that couldn't be turned into plentiful slices was to cut to chunks and added to the stew. Pean and Kitty fried the steaks and the mother put the break in to bake.

David looked to Deric, "That was fun. Now what?"

Deric looked to Michelle. "Hey mom, what next?"

She looked at them. "That's all."

Deric stood disappointed and lost, David walked over to her. "What you doing?"

"Making rice balls."

"Can I help?"

Deric walked over and she taught them how to prepare them.

Fifteen minutes later dinner was ready, but nobody said anything about it taking longer than promised.

The dinner was set on the table and without the usual array of half-hot half-cold dishes the family was used to. The preparation of the meal was an entirely new concept and consumed all of the discussion.

There was still enough light outside to see but they didn't have much time with it. Kitty glanced at Pean, "Sorry for before."

"Don't worry about it, I've seen stranger."

"I thought you were the tax collector, I've never seen him myself. We always drop off payment at the office downtown."

"Why would the tax collector scare you so much?"

She sighed, "Because of his son."

"His son?"

"Yes. He was making me uncomfortable last time we were in town and I shoved him away. He tried to hit me but my father beat him in front of everybody. He said he was telling his father and ran off."

"And you thought I was him?"

"Or someone that works for the tax office."

"Why?"

"You're tall, clean, dressed well, stand straight, confident and speak intelligent and firmly. Not the traits of a peon like myself, you can tell you're different by looking."

"You have a lot of those traits yourself."

She giggled before looking down. "They say they're going to take our home from us and it's my fault."

"How are they going to take it?"

"I don't know. We pay again tomorrow, might happen then."

A tear rolled down her cheek and he wrapped an arm around her pulling her against him. She rested into his body a little surprised. "Don't worry then. I'll be there tomorrow."

The town was full of life as the covered wagon rolled down the street. Pean rested on a pile of corn next to Kitty while Deric steered the transport. The surrounding people were interested when a conversation came up nearby and the wagon stopped, he peered out to see the guy with a blackened eye on his horse. "Must be the tax collector's son."

She peeked out quickly, "Yes, that's him."

She quickly sat down as he started to glance over and Pean moved out of sight in response. It wasn't long until he was behind the wagon, the obvious look of lust in his eyes made even Pean uncomfortable. "Kitty my love, there you are. I've missed you. Did you miss me?" He glared hungrily waiting for a response and she refused to look at him.

Pean tapped on the wagon, "Oi Deric! Let's go already!" He smiled in the back of his mind knowing he struck a nerve.

The tax collectors son drew a sword pointing it at Pean. "You! Get out now!"

Pean laughed at him mockingly. "Why would I do that, won't get there faster that way."

He put up his sword and pulled a crossbow. "Get out now!"

He climbed out of the vehicle standing in front of the crossbow staring him down. "What now?"

He was surprised to see how tall this guy was, he wasn't expecting him to be chest height when he was mounted. "Get on your knees!" Pean walked around to the side and he shoved the weapon in his face. "Do you have hearing problems!? On your knees!"

Pean swatted the crossbow away twisting his wrist and grabbed hold of the guy’s sleeve. With a strong yank he ripped the man off the horse throwing him to the ground. "Drawing a ranged weapon in a crowded public area against an opponent with no arms, how can you call yourself a gentleman!?"

"You'll pay with your life for this insult!" The guy dashed forward drawing his sword and immediately lashing out in a vertical slice. Pean stepped to the side stomping onto the blade twisting it off its edge and trapping it to the ground. He grabbed the guy’s wrist and breaking his grip with a twist raised his arm into the air. The guy reached around to strike him with his free hand only to have it captured as well. A quick spin and shift of the feet and Pean was behind the target with his arms restrained. "Damn you're tall." Pean smiled in reply kicking the back of his knees dropping him to the ground and shoving his face in the dirt.

Pean pinned him to the ground with his heel on the spine. "Leave us alone, she doesn't like you and never will. Got it?"

"You son of a AHHH!"

Pean drove his heel into the guy’s spine with a twist. "Wrong answer."

"I give I give!"

"I asked if you understood me!"

"I do I do!!"

Pean got off and the guy stayed on the ground. He climbed to his knees in pain to watch then ride off with his weapons and pride. He snarled with hate at the surrounding spectators. "What the hell are you all looking at!?"

Deric had the wagon set up as a vendor stand with Kitty on advertisement. Pean hid in the shadows getting a jist for how it all worked before stepping in.

The guy looked over the food before turning to Deric. "How much for four?"

Deric thought for a second, "Five."

The guy paused. "And for ten?"

"Hmmm.... fifteen."

The guy reached for his money, stopping suddenly when Pean’s voice reached him, "You're really going to pay that much?"

The guy looked at Pean then to Deric, "Is it too much?"

"Look, what is the going rate per item?" They looked at him oddly. "If five gets you four then you divide five by four to get one and a quarter. So if each one cost one and a quarter and you want ten then multiplication says ten cost twelve and a half not fifteen."

Kitty dragged him away, "Let's go!"

"Go where!?"

"I need you to come with me!"

They walked through the streets for some time. "What were you talking about?"

"Just simple math."

"You're really smart; I heard you're all like that down south."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, we're not very smart up here but down there, I've heard stories."

"Can you read and write?"

"I can read a little bit, and I can write my signature." She looked at him. "Can you?"

"Yeah, in more than one language even."

"Wow, you must be some sort of genius!"

They opened the door stepping into the empty tax office. He looked around studying the room, Kitty walked up to the counter displaying the coins. "I'm here to pay for my family."

The person at the counter began sifting through the coins adding them up with an accubus. They scribbled something into the book in front of them and smiled to Kitty, "Thank you."

She turned to walk away when Pean grabbed the book. The person stood up, "Hey! You can't do that!"

He put the book down. "Show me. Show me how you got this answer, this price, and logged it."

Kitty stood next to him hanging onto his arm. "Come on, don't be difficult."

He smiled at her, "I'm not being difficult, I'm being safe."

The person sat down. "This coin is one, this one ten, this one 100 and this equals 1000." Pean shifted his hand over the pile sorting the coins. "Now you just add them and you get this number." The clerk pointed at the book.

"You said this one is 1000?"

"Yes."

He tapped at each coin he counted sliding it away and pronouncing the math as he did it until each coin was counted. "So how did you get a number 283 short?"

The drop of sweat landed on the desk off the clerks chin, "I must have miscounted."

"Is it your job to miscount?" They stared at each other for some time. "Where did that number come from?"

"The king."

"How did he get that number?"

"He said that was the number so it is."

"Where's the official order? Show me."

With slight hesitation the clerk went in the back and retrieved a stack of paper. "These are all the king's official orders."

Pean grabbed the top one and glanced over it. Kitty peered over his shoulder. "What does it say?"

He ran his finger over the sentences. "This is the part that says its from the king, here’s who it effects, when it takes effect, what changes, and here’s who wrote this note."

She nodded her head slowly, "So what's it say?"

He set it down. "The price is right." A sharp glare at the clerk. "How do you record it?"

"They come in and pay, I count it, write down who, how much, and when."

"Then what?"

"At the end of the day the roster is turned into the tax collector or his son who check it. At the end of the month he turns in a summary to the prince."

"He checks it? How?"

"He adds up the total amount and makes sure it's all there."

"And if something is missing?"

"Somebody didn't pay."

Pean glared, that didn't sound too promising. "I want a receipt."

The two looked at him. "A what?"

"A receipt. Give me a blank sheet of paper." He grabbed a sheet of paper and began writing. They were both slightly impressed by his speed with the pen. "Okay, this is a receipt. Here is the name of the payer, here is the recipient, here’s the fee, here’s the payment, the difference, the service or item purchased in return, the date, and the approving authority. What this will do is say she paid you all the taxes owed for taxes on this date. Just sign here."

The clerk read the paper over before looking at Pean. "Who keeps it?"

"She does. You have your record of the transaction, and she has hers."

[mecegirl]

I like it so far although it is kinda hard to tell when the story shifts from one scene to the next. Try indenting that way it is less confusing.

[cdf]

yes, it definitely is something that needs improvement

[mecegirl]

btw I like your reference to Greek mythology in the first segment. Coins over the eyes classic. :naughty:

[cdf]

of course, gotta pay heritage to the era. despite being an alien planet it does have to obey the laws of the land

i'm getting annoyed at seeing all these "knights and horses" midevil movies and stuff where the towns are filled with attractive tall people and the beautiful princess is thin as a super model. back in the day people were like 4 feet tall and the fatter you were the more beautiful you were sense you were able to afford to eat so much, and soap hadn't even been invented yet.

but for the purpose of this alien parralell, no short fat ugly people...

[cdf]

The clerk signed with a smirk, "You're pretty smart. Want a job?"

"Thanks but I decline, thank you for your help." And they left.

"Where do I find maps?"

"That's right." She looked around. "I think it's this way." She guided them down a less traveled path deeper into the city.

The tax collectors son walked into the office grabbing the roster. "Ha! They've already paid have they?"

"Yes sir, I was just bagging it up now."

The tax collectors son grabbed the pouch of coins and scratched their name off the roster putting the coins in his pocket. The clerk opened his mouth to speak, "You shut up and don't tell anyone or I'll have you brought up on charges against all that extra money you've been making!" And he stormed out the room.

"But there's another copy..."

They wandered lost through the streets. "I could have sworn it was over here."

"Can't find it?"

"Too many people." She yelped when she was suddenly lifted into the air. She eventually looked around pointing in an excited cheer. "There it is!" He gently lowered her down and they headed off.

Deric sat at the wagon thinking about it in the back of his mind. "So if each one cost a coin, then having one is like having a coin. So if I have two I have two coins, if I have five I have five coins." He jumped up. "I get it now!"

He looked over all the maps. The map vendor watched him. "Where you goin?"

"The southern shores."

The map vendor grabbed various maps. "Here’s the world." He displayed a map with various icons on it for major cities and monsters. It was square and Pean felt it wasn’t great for trusting. Not that he was looking for grid coordinates or anything. The map vendor unrolled several more. "This is the city you're in, this one is the path through the jungle, this one is various trade routes through the forest, this one is of some of the major castles of the plains, this map takes you from here to Aerotos and is very popular no matter what city you're tryin to get there from!"

"Every city has their own version of this map?"

"All the major ones, it's a very popular travel spot."

"So would it be safe to assume that if everybody has a map to Aerotos, Aerotos has a map to everybody somewhere in it?"

The vendor thought about it, "I suppose that might work."

"I'll take this one then."

IT cost most of the extra money saved from the tax dispute but it came with a travel tube and seemed well worth it. There spirits were high until Deric was being arrested by the prince himself. Kitty rushed over, "Deric!"

"Stay back!"

"Shut up you!"

"Arrest her!"

Things got out of hand too fast for Pean's taste. The guards advanced on him. "Be careful! That's the one who attacked me!" They drew their weapons.

Pean raised his hands walking forward, the guards circling him. "He's just a kid, doesn't look so tough."

Pean smiled to Kitty, "It'll be okay."

"On your knees!" The guard swung the hilt of his sword at Pean from behind, it didn't take long to find himself short of breathe on his back. The other guard prepared to rush in and help but Pean calmly dropped to his knees with his hands behind his head.

The prince waved the guards to ease. "For failure to pay your due taxes I have to put you under arrest. Do you have the money?"

Deric hung his head, "No." He looked in disappointment at Kitty.

She shouted emotionally, "We paid! We did! Ask the clerk!"

Pean calmed her down, "We paid and have proof."

The prince was emotionless, "I checked the book and you're not in it."

"Our proof is not the book or the clerk."

"Oh?" His interest grew, "What is it?"

He retrieved the receipt from Kitty presenting it forward. The prince read it carefully. "This document DOES have all the required information and is acceptable. But where is the money?"

"That's not our concern; the document said we paid so you should be looking at the employees. Hell, maybe that guy took it!" He pointed to the tax collectors son. The prince looked at him.

Sweat fell from the collector's son's face; the prince grew more suspicious with every drop on the ground. "Did you take it?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you won’t mind emptying your pockets."

He hesitated, glancing at the group of people staring at him waiting for response. He reached to his side into his pocket grasping the coins; he failed to figure out how to hide them. He slipped his hand out grasping a dagger at his side; he burst forward charging at Pean. "I'll kill you!"

The guard lashed out taking his leg off and the coins spilled from his pocket. The prince was disgusted. "Take him to the dungeon! Those three are free to go!" They dragged his body through the town streets by a rope leaving a trail of blood all the way to the dungeon.

"How'd you know he had the coins?"

He had no idea! Kitty chimed in before he could speak, "Because he's a genius! We're lucky to have him around!"

The entire family sat after dinner enjoying the story Kitty told. "Then he re-did the math and found the clerk was stealing!"

Jet was honestly surprised, "The tax clerk? From us!?"

"I know! I couldn't believe it! So he got our money back and made sure there were no more tricks. After that he got a recipe."

"Receipt."

"Yeah! One of those!"

They listened to her tale with much interest until they were completely up to speed on the events of the day. Pean sat on the front porch with Jet. "Sorry about before, guess we got off to a bad start."

"Don't worry about it."

"You were only here for a day but you've changed this family for the better. We're a stronger, smarter family than yesterday." Pean hummed happily. "But I feel I must ask, who are you really?"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't come from the south, where did you come from?"

"Sorry, I honestly don't know. I just woke up one day and I was lost."

"What do your memories show you?"

"The ocean, a vast land of blue."

"I see, so that's why you're going huh?" He didn't answer. Jet reached to his side and tossed a bag of coins. "That should help, if anyone asks I lost it teaching you some sword moves in the field. If you need a blade, just ask."

"Do you have a knife?"

Jet reached down to the side of his boot and pulled out a double-edged throwing knife with ah ole at the end of the handle and jagged teeth near the base. "Here, old war trinket from a great opponent. Saw it kill many men, it's very reliable in combat and survival." Pean slipped it into his sleeve. "Need anything else?"

"No thank you, you're too kind."

The sky was bright and rain seemed impossible. It was time to say goodbye. Deric made some marks on the map and some notes on the back. "I've been to Aerotos before. These people should be helpful should you need it."

David gave him a small bow. "It's not much, but it works against simple things. Don’t pull to hard or it'll break." Though small it was a generous gift and much appreciated.

Michelle gave him a backpack of food and drink. "It's not much for taste but it won't spoil quick and should last a while."

Kitty gave him another bag. "It's got pen, ink, and paper. I'll learn to read and write if you promise to send me a message when you get a chance?" He smiled brightly; it was an often overlooked gift.

Last was Jet, he had no gifts but a handshake. Pean grasped his hand and they had a close word, Jet gave a simple nod to Kitty identifying the subject. "I've noticed a strong connection between you two." Pean smiled. "You fond of my girl?"

"She is a wonderful and beautiful person."

"She likes you, I like you. Once you feel you've had enough adventure in your life and you're ready to settle down. You come back for her alright?"

"That won't be for a time too long, sorry."

"I see, the offer remains, no charge. Just make it back in time alright?"

He backed off with a squeeze and release of the hand. Pean started to walk off when Kitty chased after him. He turned to wait for her and she stopped just before reaching him. "Umm... I forgot." He waited curiously. "To give you this..." She extended her straw sun hat letting her long hair shine in the morning light. He took it and put it on his head.

She stood there for a while before turning to leave. "Hey Kitty!" She stopped and looked at him shyly. "I love you too." She turned red smiling, rushing him with a hug. She ran back to her family and he disappeared down the empty road into the distance.

[mecegirl]

of course, gotta pay heritage to the era. despite being an alien planet it does have to obey the laws of the land

i'm getting annoyed at seeing all these "knights and horses" midevil movies and stuff where the towns are filled with attractive tall people and the beautiful princess is thin as a super model. back in the day people were like 4 feet tall and the fatter you were the more beautiful you were sense you were able to afford to eat so much, and soap hadn't even been invented yet.

but for the purpose of this alien parralell, no short fat ugly people...

lol. So they were all hobbits.

Good chapter.

[cdf]

indeed they were. I've actually played out in my mind the story of my character finding himself in an actual midevil era, where his six foot tall clean appearance landed him a position as a general commander figure in a military force and he reconstructed his unit to reflect more modern combat techniques of surpression and flanking apose to blind rush charges

[cdf]

The rain came in heavy layers covering the ground in a thick mud slowing their progress. The horses stuttered with each step sinking into the mud. The lightning flashed lighting up the fields and shaking the ground. It was difficult for Drake to see clearly with the constant flow of water off his visor but there seemed to be someone on the path up ahead. The lightning flashed again and it was certain now, he caught a glimpse of the person looking over their shoulder. He definitely thought it strange for someone to be traveling in this weather but could only laugh at himself.

The lightning flicked in the background and they came to a stop behind the man who stood in the center of the path. Drake had to shout over the rain. "Are you alright?"

The man was quiet as he just stood there. Drake looked at Amy who just shrugged, with a nod they edged forward to pass the man. The man flung a sword out from under his sleeve blocking Drakes path, they both drew steel in response backing up a step or two. The man looked back over his shoulder. "You going to the tournament?"

Drake was very assertive in his tone maintaining stance. "Yes, do you need transport?"

"Do you plan to compete?"

"Yes, I do."

The man turned around taking up a fighting stance. "Then I, Josh Armstrong, challenge you to a duel! The price is the right to compete in the tournament!"

Drake dismounted the horse giving control to Amy. Drake placed his hand on the hilt. "What are the rules?"

"Blade vs. blade, no shields or armor, can't step off the road or pass your friend or the marker I placed behind me." He pointed to the arrow in the ground with a ribbon tied to it.

"I refuse to take off my armor and we fight to first blood."

"First strike and you can keep your armor."

"Striking with the blade is only credible strike, not hilt or anything else."

"Agreed, now draw."

Drake drew the monstrous blade taking stance. "Ready?"

They stare at each other for a while. The lightning flashed, Drake shifted his feet on top of the mud and Josh rushed forward. Drake stepped back getting his footing in the thick mud, the first strike was coming low. Josh hovered his body off the ground slashing into the sky putting his body behind the blade. Drake lunged back preparing to charge. His sword was too heavy and slow to move; Josh had put his foot forward and was already coming down with another attack. Drake sent a counter slash blowing the sword away, it should buy him enough time. Josh responded with a twist adding more strength to the slice coming at him again. Drake dropped under the blade and leaped back out of attack range. Josh smiled and Amy grew nervous, "you only have about ten more feet!"

Drake ignored her, Josh didn't. "Stay out of it women!" Josh dug his feet into the mud, Drake lashed out. Josh didn't know the sword was so heavy; this guy was waving it around like nothing! He was knocked back by the blow but his feet were stuck in the mud. He hopped up to free his feet and danced on his toes for balance. Drake knew he had him, spinning in circles sending lash after slash at Josh pushing him further and further. Josh was loosing balance quickly and decided he had one chance. He dropped to a knee below the attack and whipped out with his sword. Drake leveled the tip of his blade to Josh's nose. Josh's sword stabbed into the ground whisking under the mud with a splash. Josh laughed at the scratch on the side of Drakes armor.

Drake pointed his sword down at Josh's foot, and then pointed to the side of the road. A flash of lightning and the ribbon waved in the stormy wind, "You stepped out before I was struck. I win."

Josh punched the mud, "That's ********!"

"Your rule not mine." Drake walked away.

"I trained my life to lose like this!?" Drake ignored him, knowing he'd call a re-match. Josh rushed forward pulling his sword from the mud. Drake wanted to counter but he wasn't fast enough. He turned around just in time to see the arrow fly through Josh's throat and the body fall at his feet.

Amy put her bow away, "Can we go now?"

Drake smiled at her, "Alright, let’s go."

It was some time until they spoke again, she laughed, "That was pretty close. You sure you can win?"

"You're tellin me? I would have been pissed if I lost to a scratch!"

Lake sat in peaceful contempt on the back of the wagon. The driver shouted back, "We're gettin close! One hour or so!"

Lake was very surprised, they haven't been traveling but for a few days. "Already at Aerotos?"

The man across from him laughed. "Aerotos? You must have slept too long. We're only at the river springs proving grounds."

Lake obviously wasn't used to the tournament. "Why are we going there?"

"It's just for simplicity sake. In Aerotos final positions are decided in a small arena, not nearly enough for fine archers such as ourselves. So an agreement was made that all contenders stop at the river springs proving grounds to decide who goes, we're allowed more than one person so don't worry about that to much when you get there. It's also a way for us to merge the caravan but not everyone goes. We select a massive group of all the finest goods to sell, wagons to use, horses to take. You know how it goes."

Lake looked out the back. "I guess."

The announcer got onto the stage; various podiums were set up in the crowd for other announcers to relay the message like speakers at a concert. Lake was surprised to see so many people, all of which must have some confidence in their skills. "Welcome to another series of ranged trials. This will focus on several events to test the various aspects of marksmanship. The events will be accuracy, speed, distance, penetration, reflex, and firing from a moving position or on a moving target. Each event will be worth points, and the person with the most points at the end wins. Those who are matched for first will settle it with a competition we call, 'The Hunt.' Are you ready? Let's get started!"

Lake distanced himself from the screaming crowd. He was curious as to how this would work out. The people were being guided to a mass of people recording names and distributing numbers. He made his way to the front and was given his number. He sat on the back of his wagon looking at the crude token. "This place is a zoo."

He waded through the crowd to get to his firing point, the targets were set up and ready for use. There were five set up at different distances. The announcers got the signal from the judges to proceed. "Alright shooters! This is the test of accuracy! There are five targets ranging from fifty feet to 1000! Shoot only the target I call and only your target! Bulls-eye gets you ten, connecting ring gets you eight, the ring outside that one gets you four, the next one and anything else gets you nothing! First target, fifty feet!" Everybody on the seemingly endless line of firers ripped back on their bows sending a shot dead center of the target, there were probably a few somewhere far out of sight of Lake that missed but from what he saw he was surrounded by expert hunters and proficient shooters. He went through the event shooting target after target. fifty feet, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 250, 1000, 100, 500, and fifty again. He completed the exercise taking a deep breathe and checking back with the judge for his score. Ninety-eight points, just shy of perfect. If there was one thing he was satisfied with it was his accuracy, especially with this new arsenal of equipment he had been granted. It was a shame he was still adjusting to the lack of arch to his rounds and tended to aim a little high or expect it to fall short.

The next firing line went up and he returned to rest, the next event was hours from now and he wouldn't be sleeping then.

He stood ready at the firing line. The rules for the speed event were simple, a target rest 100 feet away and you have to put more shots in the target than the people around you in a set time. There was a mass of arrows surrounding him, it was impossible to run out of ammo in such a short time. The start of the event sounded and he drew his arrow, he released the string before it was set completely and the shot was slapped wildly into the target. He reached down grabbing them as fast as he could putting rounds center mass, he couldn't help but be accurate at that range. The guys next to him had three times the arrows on target than he did! He watched out the corner of the eye as they fired another buckshot of seven rounds and only three stuck to the target, but that's still two more than he was putting out. He grabbed a handful trying to fit them on the string sending a wild burst in every direction. The announcer called time and some of them snuffed at Lakes poor display. It was obvious he had failed this event, his only strength was marksmanship and these games were going to test him well. No wonder all the winners at the tournament are so far behind his ability, they have to go through all this!

He returned to his wagon to rest, and remove the splinters dug into his hands. He couldn't remember the last time he got a splinter from shooting; it sort of gave him a sense of nostalgia from growing up.

[mecegirl]

Nice chapter but it is still hard to tell when the story changes to another character. Try putting a divider.
**************************************** ***
somthing like that

[cdf]

The next event was distance. All you have to do is point up and shoot right? It seemed far too simple, surely a contest of pure strength. The event started and he pulled back to shoot but yanked his shot off the bow letting the string snap harshly forward. Only a few shots whisked through the air, what the hell was everybody else waiting for? He'd be damned if he was the only idiot shooting, they obviously knew something he didn't. He watched the waves in the distant grass until it hit him as to what they were waiting for. He shouted happily, "They're waiting on the wind!" Some of the people looked at him with a laugh or snicker, the wind he almost fired against brisked past and he waited for his opening. An hour later a dead zone came and he fired his shot with the few others. After recording the distance he was allowed to leave. It was very quiet, too quiet. Not that he was complaining, a good sleep was much enjoyed.

He woke up in a panic the next morning. "Crap! I slept all day AND night! I must have missed an event!" He rushed to the range as a few arrows were sent into the air. "They're still on distance..." He heard the shouts of the announcer clearing the firing line. "Took them long enough."

He waited for the next event, until he heard "Firing line number two, step forward."

He woke up again and decided it was impossible to sleep. He decided to check out the vendors. He traveled the numerous caravans to find only a few shops like medicine and food open. All the others were working the trials. It was rather disappointing, he was completely bored. He thought in the back of his mind about the next event, penetration. With his bow and plenty of ammo in hand he practiced shooting various materials all day.

He stood on the line ready, a day of training behind him he was ready for the penetration trials! The announcer got on stage, "And now for our next event... Reflexive fire!"

"WHAT!?"

Everybody looked at him strangely, "I said, R E F L E X I V E F I R E. In this event targets will pop up and down all over! Whoever hits the most at the end wins the event!"

He hovered his hand over the assortment of arrows. If he grabbed about three or so he should be alright. The event started and he snatched five drawing back his bow, power was no issue just hit the target. One, three, five, reload. He grabbed another handful firing off the rounds one at a time in rapid succession. He missed a target and another and barely struck one. He remained confident and kept shooting, one moved out of the way while another moved into the shot. He got a feel for the pattern only to have the exercise ended. He got second place, behind one of those multi-shooters. But it was an addition to his points. He returned to his wagon anxious for the next event, he enjoyed that method of shooting.

Only a few hours wait until the penetration competition, and it went by so fast. He was confused by the course. He had practiced on just targets, these were slanted, crooked, and of all sorts of designs. "And now our next event! Shooters must locate and strike weak points in the targets to cause the most damage!"

He was baffled by the range of targets. A circle bull’s-eye with a wood fence in front, an arrow pointing down behind a pile of hay, and all sorts of devious devices. He had to shoot through objects to hit the targets. He took aim at a tree with a target on the other side. He whisked it into the bull’s-eye without touching the branches. He wedged his second shot between the wood fence barely making it to the bull’s-eye. Three shots left the pile of hay had him confused, where was the target? He looked to the shadows, comparing it to the other objects. He fired at the lower left of the hay stack striking just outside the bull’s-eye. The exercise ended with a decent score. The champions of the event weren't shooting at the targets but lobbying rounds into the air over the obstacles, bouncing them off things and finding ways AROUND the obstacles. He felt he was learning a lot about thinking outside the box from these trials.

The last event was the moving range. This was an interesting event for sure as he climbed onto the back of the wagon. He was a little behind on the points and needed an event to exceed at, if he didn't do spectacular he'd surely loose. The carts started moving through the course and his leggings and gloves did all the work. Even with all the bumps and vibrations of the ride he was still steady as a rock! The first targets came along and he took a shot to have it miss entirely. He needed to learn how to lead his shots and fast, target after target he shot and shot making adjustments to his leads trying to perfect the art. The route was over and the targets counted. At the end of the day everybody from each line was gathered for the final results. 300 names were called and he was one of them. The true final event was about to begin...

It was an early morning after a night with no sleep. He was to go head to head against 299 other people. Everybody would be here; the quick, the multi-shots, the trick shooters, the artillery, all the masters were about to have a showdown. He thought about it for a while, he was the sniper and he had to fight like one if he wanted to win. Wouldn't be easy but not impossible either. There were other snipers out there, only a few inches off at 1000 feet and that's not enough to miss striking him.

He was guided to a small campfire. He looked around, this was his starting point. It was a simple way of doing things; all the starting points have a campfire. One person starts their fire when they get there, once you see the person to your left light theirs you light yours, when the circle is complete the game starts.

He waited for a few hours insuring his fire was healthy for entertainment. He watched the pillars of smoke slowly rise one by one until finally the circle was complete. The fires also marked boundaries, so he proceeded inwards.

He moved low and slow through the forest. He was both seeking and hiding. It made no difference if he was in the trees or on the ground, he was fighting his own and they were just as crafty. His interest was a hiding spot, a place to lay low. He also needed to stay within sight of his fire, if it goes out for ANY reason he's out of the game. He was sure someone would come to put it out. He also considered a spot in view of the sky so he could keep track of who's in and who's out.

He walked through the woods before climbing a tree. He climbed higher and higher crawling out onto the thin branches trusting his leggings to keep him standing. He moved some branches out of his way looking down at his camp. It was only about thirty minutes until someone walked into the clearing, walking up to his fire. He raised his boot to stomp out the flame when a powdered shot smacked him in the neck. "SON OF A *****!" Two more struck him from different directions. "I'M ALREADY OUT YOU ****ERS! STOP SHOOTING ME!" Lake looked around for the source. The fight broke out between the two and he waited for his chance. Buck shots were traded back and forth amongst the two. One was struck in the leg and the other one the face and they walked back to their camps to put out their fires.

His fire would only last about another hour; he looked around carefully as he descended to the ground floor. He slowly walked a circle around his perimeter before moving in to add more fuel. He tossed wood, leaves, and branches into the pit moving back to the wood line. A rustle in the forest and he took off sprinting, a spray of arrows surrounded him. He dashed through the forest diving onto the ground and crawling behind cover. A few more rounds showered around him and he tried to be hidden knowing it was a lost cause. He stayed quiet for a moment peeking up to see the enemy going after his fire. He couldn't get a shot from where he was and had to get closer. He leapt up running forward for a couple seconds before dropping behind cover. His opponent spun around drawing an arrow to fire but couldn't see him. He waited for him to loose interest once more before moving again, he was extra cautious getting to his feet. He gently pulled back on the string just enough. The guy stomped on the fire with a flare of embers when a round dropped on his shoulder bouncing off pathetically. He looked at it in insulted shock long enough for his leg to catch fire. He reached down tossing his belt away and jumped out of his pants leaving them as fuel for the fire.

It had been an entire day, this was taking too long. He had tossed a large pile of damp wood onto the fire and set up a cage to keep people out. The wood would have to dry before it would burn making it last longer. He set out to become the hunter at long last.

The river looked like a promising path to travel down; he jumped into the water letting the current wash him away. He was pleased to find his weather-proof clothing kept all the water out, he never considered the annoyance of wet feet had they not. He saw another hunter on a rock and drew his bow to shoot. He couldn't support himself without his arms and went under the surface; the hunter looked back at the river seeing nothing. Lake's feet struck the bank and he climbed out of the water enough to draw a shot. He let it fly but the powdered bag had absorbed too much water and fell short creating a colorless splash against the rock. He dropped under the water and the hunter watched suspiciously, drawing a shot the hunter waited for him to surface. Lake planted his feet into the ground and charged back his bow. The hunter watched when the water exploded and a round came rocketing at his face. He released the shot and the two rounds collided in a burst of colored powder painting the hunter his own color. Lake crawled onto the shore up to the hunter’s feet. The hunter reached down helping him up.

[cdf]

He regained his breathe and the water soaked into the dirt at his feet. "You have a hell of an arm." He smiled at the compliment. "Can only imagine how strong that blast is above water, I doubt I could have made it to shore. That was definitely impressive."

He looked around for any other targets. "Thanks."

"The exercise is over." He pointed to the dozen or so smoke pillars. "Looks like you and I are going to the tournament. My defeat will be our little secret okay?"

Lake looked at him. "My name is Lake."

"Mine's Pond, Pond Cherry Pine."

"Lake Berry Redwood."

"Alright then Mr. Redwood, let us go to the party."

"Sure thing Mr. Pine." The party lasted all night letting him sleep well on the trip out.

She refused to take it off. Even though it was the middle of the day she won't take off the light devouring cloak. Her face, hands, and entire body remained covered at all times. She hated the light. The horse knew where it was going so she kept her eyes closed but it was still too bright. She could even see where she was going a bit through her eyelids. Her head was throbbing with pain and she was starving. Her teeth hurt and she didn't know what was wrong. She had tried to eat but failed each attempt. She killed rabbits, birds, whatever for food. But every time she cooked it she lost all interest. She forced herself to eat it anyways, and it was disgusting and tore her stomach apart. She went through hot flashes and was crippled with pain from it. It was like poison. She tried it raw but only managed to swish it around in her mouth a bit before spitting it out. Fruits and other plants only made her vomit; it was disturbing that all food in the forest was tainted.

She opened her eyes at sunset and her headache was mostly gone by nightfall. She decided at night she should travel and sleep during the day. Her teeth still hurt and she was still hungry. She uncovered her head and hands and loosened up her clothing a bit. She was melting all day! The seasons down south were hell; she figured it'd be cooler to the south.

She played with the sharp edge of her front teeth. When she hit the ground did she chip them? Why would it only just now take form? A scent caught her nose, blood. She checked her mouth, her nose, and her clothes. Was she bleeding? Couldn't be, THAT was only two weeks ago and she wasn't injured. Her shoulder was already healed except for a small scar, must have been just a scratch after all. No, the blood wasn't coming from her, someone out in the forest was bleeding badly, and it was making her hungry. Her stomach growled and the horse stopped.

It all made sense to her now. The light, the teeth, the hunger, she was a ****ing vampire! She felt her neck for the holes, she remembered everything that happened a few days ago perfectly and he did NOT bite her. Then how, why is she a vampire? Was she bitten by a vampire in her sleep perhaps? She remembered the conversation with the strange client, particularly the bit about the curse of the cloak. Was this the cloaks doing? It was! This cloak has turned her into a vampire! She growled with hunger searching for the source. The horse stalked through the forest until she found the stream and the young girl bathing in the waters. Her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled; food... She remembered the tales; those who are bitten die and come back as vampires. She didn't want a student or follower, so the simple solution is to kill her first.

She dismounted the horse trusting it to wait. She had to get closer, she had no ranged weapons. It would be suspicious to enter with clothes on, she dropped her cloak and undressed completely possessed by her hunger. The girl watched her from the water, "Oh my god, you scared me half to death! The water is warm after cooking in the sun all day."

How was she to sneak a weapon in naked, she wasn't going to put it there. She'll just have to deal with the body later. She stepped into the water wading over to the girl.

The girl finished soaking her hair looking at the new guest. "Hi, my name is River Wolf Sequoia."

What was the naming rule for these forest people? Body of water, edible plant, tree? "My name is Stream Blueberry Pineapple."

The girl giggled, "Blueberry? That's a weird name for a girl."

Oh, that's right. Boys are plants, girls are animals. "Yeah, can you wash my back for me?"

"Only if you wash mine." The girl floated over putting her hands on her shoulders.

She tried to relax while the girl rubbed her back, she was so hungry! All she had to do was wait a little more; the girl took her hands off her waist. "Alright, my turn." They turned around and she put her hands on the girls back rubbing to her shoulder blades. The girl lifted her hair out of the way showing her neck, it looked so delicious! But she wouldn't get a good bite from behind; the girl was a little nervous, "Is everything alright back there?" She giggled a bit to hide her strange thoughts. She rubbed the girl’s shoulders but was gentle in her touch. The girl got uncomfortable but her hands were on her hips. "What are you doing!?" She was spun around and moaned when the fingers slipped between her legs.

This girl was too easy, just a little bit more until the feast. The girl dropped her head back in pleasure giggling at the tongue playing across her jugular. The girl clenched her hair with an erotic scream when the fangs sunk into her neck.

She dragged the body to dry land as she slurped the last drop of blood from the vein. She pulled her teeth out with a satisfied gulp, it was so delicious! She felt like she could go a week without eating again, it was so filling!

The dead girl lay on the ground with that look of pure pleasure on her face. She almost envied her for a moment, what an interesting way to die. Better than dieing in pain, but now she couldn't allow the body to rise. Should she cut the head off? Steak the heart? Would that work? She didn't know anything about vampires; she might not rise at all. But she had to be sure. She picked up the body carrying it with her; it wasn't too heavy with her new strength. A two handed weapon with only one, no problem.

She dropped the body next to the horse. It was weird, this horse. Before it was impossible to control, now it seemed to read her thoughts. Maybe it could understand her through body language? No matter, the horse nodded and began trampling the body into mush.

She needed to know more about vampires, she had to understand. And perhaps there was information on it in the Aerotos library. Could he still lift the curse?

Drake grunted in discomfort grabbing Amy's attention. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah, this sword is ****ing heavy. And I'm going to melt in this armor."

"Awww, poor baby. Want your bottle?"

"Shut up." The castle was finally in sight. "That trip only took forever."

She trotted up next to him. "Come on, let's race!"

He looked at her. "How would that be fair? I'm too heavy."

"Don’t you EVER stop complaining?"

"I don't want to race."

"Then I'll just meet you there." She took off into a gallop, he shouted before charging in pursuit.

The advantage to living so close was all the vacancy at the local inns, even though there were a few that would reserve their business for the late comers for various reasons. The only thing there was to worry about were the secret fights, the numerous fighters that failed to meet the cutoff wandering to challenge those for their right to fight. The small ring designed for this purpose, though popular, was rarely used compared to the numerous underground fights that take place. It was also about this time the city saw a rise in murders, they'd have to be careful.

[cdf]

Though inside the castle walls they weren't HIS walls so he couldn't help but be uncomfortable. He walked the street with Amy by his side; the hotel was around here somewhere. A little bit more down the road they saw the hotel, they walked a little faster. A shadow moved from the side and stepped in front of them. Both groups stopped and looked at each other, no words were needed they already knew. Amy walked to the side out of the way and they just looked at each other. A figure exited the hotel passing in front of the light, in the shadows flicker he swatted the dart away with his steel glove dashing off to the side. Another came and he ducked under it drawing his weapon. The second sword was drawn and they raced for each other. He was too slow to react to a parry; he would have to launch the counter. Neither were launching an attack about to collide which was fine with him, he had the weight advantage and would blow him over. He leaned in with the shoulder for a smash; he ducked under swiping with his sword, he swing around his sword having to use a double fault. He broke his attack off to get out of the path of the massive broadsword, Drake span around performing a twist in the air and they completed the position exchange. They resumed staring at each other, their stances at the vertical blade. This guy was able to watch him pretty well, what was his strength? What's his weakness? He was annoyed, how should he attack? A crowd remained quiet watching the illegal brawl. The guy bursted forward charging left and right, dipping and ducking, swinging the sword around switching hands and creating as much random movement as he could. Where was he going and what was his move? Drake shifted his feet backing slowly; this attack was crazy and hard to follow. Five feet and the blade was coming from the far left, the enemy was locked into a dedicated attack! The blade lashed around, Drake spun his sword in the air releasing it to move forward and spin around. The enemy moved from the slash into a swipe across at Drake. Drake recovered his sword from flight and put his weight into the handle crashing it down on the enemy. It turned into a battle of weight vs. momentum and Drake smashed through the sword breaking his enemies grip and plowing him into the ground.

A brilliant flash of sparks sprinkled onto the road as the fighter looked at Drake. "Nobody has countered the prankster slash before, that was an impressive maneuver tossing your sword to move fast enough to react. Congratulations." The guy closed his eyes and lowered himself to the ground giving in to his concussion, Drake slipped his sword into the sheathe smiling back at Amy.

Lake was impressed by the size of the castle, the city was huge and wrapped in a shield of stone and steel it was no surprise the entire thing was swarming with soldiers and weapon wielding town folk. He looked at the ditches that ran along side the roads curiously. "What are those for?"

Pond laughed, "First time in a castle eh? Those are drainage ditches for the rain. Keeps the city from flooding." He nodded in understanding, the city was designed much different from theirs but equally effective. Pond slapped him on the shoulder. "This is called a market, vendors line up here to sell their goods. We're going to set up a Bazaar at a festival square further inside the city."

"What's the difference?"

"Markets line the main street, Bazaars are more enclosed in an opening or similar area." He pointed out a fight in an alley. "Look! A challenge fight! These people settle who deserves to fight with random battles all over the city, unlike us who used those games from before. Different ways of doin the same thing, really shows you the world has more than two colors don't it?"

He nodded again, he'd like to say their way was better and this was all non-sense. But was it really?

Pond guided him through the street. "We better hurry if we want to get a room!"

They passed inn after inn, "Why not any of these!?"

"These are all full; it takes us longer to get here than other castles so they all fill up before we get here!"

"How do you know where we're going isn't full?"

"Because where we're going is run by a family who only deals with our kind this time."

"Oh..." Our kind? Were they treated differently around here?

They walked out disappointed. "****, I didn't know they sold the place. Come on, let's go."

"Where now?"

"This place used to be nice, but there are others that reserve rooms for us. Problem is they charge more. But there aint NO way I'm sleepin in an unprotected wagon in this place!"

The door opened and the view was good. "Man am I lucky to have you. My wallet would be crying if I had to pay for this alone." Pond locked the door pouncing onto the bed. "Got to hand it to these castle cats, these beds are the way to go!"

Lake looked out the window; the city looked a lot different from the top floor. It sort of reminded him of the tree tops. "This place is a stone forest."

"What?"

He waved his hand at Pond shaking his head, "nothing, just thinking out loud is all."

"Tomorrow I'll show you around, so get plenty of sleep. This stone forest will hurt your feet after walking on it all day."

Jessica looked up from her book, "Why are we stopping?"

He looked back, "We're here."

She looked out the window at the city streets finally realized the sounds and smells of a modern area like she's never seen before. She looked at the building next to her. "Where are we?"

"The tournament registration center, you're on your own from here. I'm headed back tomorrow morning."

"What!? You can't just leave me here!"

"Should have read the fine print, goodbye miss!" And he ran off leaving her and her things behind.

She stared in confusion and surprise, gazing over at the building with a sigh. "I guess."

She wandered the streets in unsatisfied discomfort trying to carry all her stuff. She stopped to rest at the fountain checking over the map before looking behind her at the water. She looked at her personal things then at the water again. She stood up with a determined huff pressing her hands together tightly. She closed her eyes gathering her strength preparing to cast a multiply mass spell causing the loose fluffs of her dress and shirt to be gently drawn toward her hands. She pushed her hands into the water and exhaled with a short shout. The water level climbed and began to overflow and spill into the courtyard as the water got larger and larger. The entire area was flooded up to her knees and she readied to cast the next spell. She took a deep breathe closing her eyes and relaxing her body as limp as she could get it. A ripple spread in front of her followed a few seconds later by a gentle wave. The water began to spin and collapse at that point falling into the spiral. The small spiral got wider and wider sucking in the flood. An orb of water bubbled out the center churning and warping as it continued to rise. The curve flatted and a bump rose, tubes pushed out the side and it started to take a human form. The humanoid water creature continued to grow larger and larger standing up slowly. The last of the flooded water soaked into the bottom of its foot and it straightened its neck. The crowd of people stared in shock and awe, some people drawing weapons ready to defend the city. The summon throbbed ready to burst as it slowly began shrinking. It became smaller and smaller throbbing the whole way down before being sealed in a solid ice body at the height of the girl. She opened her eyes with a slow exhale stepping backwards down to the ground trying to straighten her mind. The crowd clapped completely amazed when the golem gathered her things and handed her the map. People surrounded them with questions and comments; she was dizzy and found it hard to understand all of what people were saying. She smiled trying to agree with them and recover from the cast.

She finally resumed logical thought in the chair sipping a cup of tea. She looked at the man sitting on the far end of the table curiously, "Who are you?"

He laughed. "So, you're finally back! That was one hell of a show you put on back there." She was looking around and he leaned back in the chair. "My name is Santa Wright; I am in charge of records at the main library. This is the dining room of my house, I live alone. Your golem is wherever you had him."

She looked at him, her golem washing dishes in another room. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you here from the town. Your stuff is in the guest room upstairs, feel free to stay."

"Why would you do that?"

"I'm impressed by your use of such a long lost skill. Is that by chance a golem?"

She nodded, "Yes, it is."

He made a sketch onto some paper. "Didn't know the book existed."

"Turns out it was sitting in the attic of same old women." He made another sketch. "But now that you know, why am I still here?"

"I was hoping you could show me a little more of what you can do, and the things it can do." He smiled. "I want to do an article on you in the news bulletin."

She looked at him, failing to fight off a yawn. "Can I rest first?"

"Of course, feel free to eat and rest as much as you need."

"Thank you."

[cdf]

*( p.s: to all my lost fans out there. i've decided to go back and do a touch up on the story [ more so i need a catalog of charactors, names, and sigacts to referance to later on in case i want to know the name of the paperboy back in episode one or somethin ] and i'll see if i can't re-write those confusing battle / transition scenes so that they make more sense. concidering i know longer have that creative spark for writing this episode, i should be reading it for the most part the same as you. )*

[cdf]

Pean yanked on the string bringing the weight into the boat; making some numbers on the map he placed an icon in the river on the map. He glanced up looking around. "It's not the most accurate thing in the world, but I'll have to make due." He started counting the moments till the next checkpoint. He threw the weight into the water again, counting how long the string took to reach the end of the boat. He pulled the weight into the boat and jotted down his speed, comparing that to the time sense his last check he marked his new location on the map. He should be within fifty meters of his transfer point. He grabbed the oar paddling the boat to the shore. He tossed it on his shoulder and jogged through the woods until he reached another waterway. It didn't take him long to deploy into the water, navigating down the left fork into the gentle rapids. He recalculated his speed. "I'm making much better time, should be there by the end of the day at this pace." He glanced over his highlighted route through the network of rivers and large streams that would take him all the way to Aerotos. The water was faster than a running horse, though indirect.

The sun started to set, and it was almost time for her to wake up. The horse was impatient and made an effort to wake her. She opened her eyes stepping out into the dieing light. She decided a tan would help and dropped back her hood feeling the warm glow of the hiding sun. Even her eyes had lost color. She took a sip of water, it lost a lot of its taste but it didn't tear her stomach apart, so she still bothered to drink it when she felt it necessary.

She looked at her reflection in the water, her brilliant white teeth, red lips, pale face, and pure black eyes. She didn't look to gain much mass with the extra strength but she did notice an increase in curves. She placed a hand on her chest and another on her waist with a smile; it was like being a little girl again. She might even get used to having long hair and nails.

She looked up stream as the wind brought that wonderful smell to her nose. She put the cloak back on watching the small boat, Pean passed her with a wave, "Yo."

She watched the man float away in the boat, "He... Saw me?" She couldn't even see herself with the cloak on. She shook the feeling and continued toward Aerotos, she should be close by now.

The city was quiet, but the gate was to remain open given the amount of traffic that arrives at night during this time. She passed through the streets finding the candle light didn't hurt her at all. Perhaps she could get a room.

The smell found her again and made her hungry, it had been a while sense dinner. How long ago was it sense the girl? Two, three days? She was in the mood for something to eat, where was this meal? She flung the hood of her cloak over her head disappearing into the shadows searching for her meal. She passed close to someone exiting an inn, it wasn't him. She slipped his room key and continued to search for her food. Turning into an alley she saw him, the boat guy sitting against the wall. He waved at her again.

She stood in front of him taking off her hood, "You can see me."

He nodded, "especially now."

She stared at him in hungered interest. She finally decided eating him would be better than a conversation, but she'd allow him to possibly rise from the dead. "Why are you out here in the cold?"

"Don't have anywhere else to be."

She extended a hand. "Come on, I can't let you freeze." There were too many people here for her to have enough time to fully enjoy her meal without being caught.

He stood up. "I'm fine, no need to go out of your way."

She re-assured him taking him inside to the room she stole with the acquired key. He stood inside letting her pull him to the bed looking at her curiously. She leaned closer and he leaned back. They stared at each other some more. She placed a hand on his leg trying again only to get the same result. She wrinkled her nose agitated standing up.

She returned to the bed a few minutes later in her underwear to find him wrapped in the blankets. She lifted the bottom crawling on top of him holding his hands down. She nuzzled his nose turning his head to the side and exposing his neck.

She pushed her fangs into his throat compressing their bodies together stabilizing his sudden flinch. She refused to swallow backing off quickly and spitting the clear fluid onto he floor. She gagged and coughed while he touched his neck with an amused smirk. He tried to move but she continued to hold him down. "What the hell, where's your blood?"

"Well, you just spit some of it on the floor, the rest is inside me."

She looked at him. "You're not human either?" She leaned in with a sniff. "It's on your clothes." She slid her hands under his robe turning a brighter shade of red. "Where's your clothes?"

"On top of your hands now." He smiled at her, "you're strange."

She glared at him, "What do you mean strange?"

"You were all over me before, now you're blushing from just that."

She climbed off him. "Well, before you were just food now you're something else." She closed her eyes. "And if you're going to sleep here you have to do something with those clothes, the smell is going to drive me crazy."

He took them off tossing them to the farthest corner. "Better?"

She smiled, "Yes." She lay down against him placing her nose to his collar. They both looked up when the door shook, it burst open and the guy was standing there pissed. She seemed rather uninterested with a hint of surprise, "Oh, it's the person I stole the room key from."

He walked over shouting all sorts of threats and rude comments grabbing her hair. She lashed out striking him between the legs throwing him onto the bed; in no more than an instant she had her teeth in his neck. Pean watched her with slight interest, her eyes were closed and hint of a smile was on her face. He smirked at the fact she looked completely peaceful and gentle while she drained him of his blood. He slid around her placing his cheek to hers running his hands along her stomach. She pulled her teeth out of the mans neck moaning and twisting onto her back, wrapping her body around Pean. She rubbed up against him erotically licking the bit of blood off her teeth. "Are you full yet?"

She smiled at him, "I have room for dessert if you're serving." She pressed into his crotch.

He smiled, "I was just curious if you had to kill him?"

She pulled him in closer trying to decide between lust and conversation. The body rolled off the bead having a seizure on the ground giving her room to roll on top of him. "If I don't, won't he rise as a vampire?"

"I don't know, will he?"

"I don't know either." She looked over her shoulder. "The cloak turned me into a vampire."

"Well, you might as well finish him. He's gone into hypovolemic shock."

She slithered onto the floor and continued eating. He curled up in the blankets snuggling into the pillows, it was very quiet. He stared at the ceiling for a while, looking over when she sat up with a gasp tossing her hair back and licking the blood off her lip. "My name is Pean by the way; you can call me Fish if you want."

She smiled at him with a giggle, "Fish? That's cute. You can call me Elena, or Nin Ji." She crawled into his arms snuggling against him. "It's almost morning, goodnight." He snuggled into her waiting for her to fall asleep.

The band blared the kings theme and the crowd went wild, it was time for the first of the games. Lake observed the weak shooting range that was built into the obstacle course. The task was simple, complete the course, defeat the targets, and remember the sequence of numbers. It was set up to be run in groups of five, the winner of the course gets a free night at the castles party complete with meal and lodging. Considering how expensive everything was, that was no small offer.

Drake had his time to run; he would run with the armor on. The event started and they took off. One contender lashed out with nightsticks that bounced harmlessly off the armor, Drake smashed the guys face with his elbow and jumped onto the ladder. He was competing with one other, while the others feuded in the rear, grabbing the hilt of his sword. With a powerful swing he scared his foe off the ladder dragging himself to the top. He destroyed all five ladders and took off, they'd catch up so he had to make best of his time, destroying as many paths as he could. Across the balance beams, and up the rope ladder. He cut the ropes and ran the course with a victory stride; the only thing holding him back now was the possibility of falling. It only took him fifteen minutes to run the entire course. He got to the end with a cheer; the others were fighting about three-fourths of the way through. The course master stood in front of him. "What's the sequence?"

He looked at him for a moment; there were no numbers on the course. Unless they weren't written. He decided to try a different set of numbers. "Three, one, two, five."

The course master looked at him, "What is that?"

"The timing between the swinging blades."

The course master looked at the course before raising a hand into the air attracting an overwhelming cry from the crowd. "Congratulations." Drake nodded and walked away.

Lake was ready to run, Pond was to his left and Jessica to his right. They got the go and took off; he whipped out his short sword against Jessica who moved out of the way thumping his chest with a fireball that startled him just enough to fall behind. "What the hell was that!?" He tried to catch up getting to the ladder. The girl was already at the top!? Even Pond was only just reaching halfway. It took him no time at all to get to the top, but his hand was stuck to the ground. "That witch! What'd she do!?"

[cdf]

Jessica raced on, "That glue spell should work for a while." She gave herself a boost in speed with a gust of wind to her heels, but she still wasn't much used to this stuff. The rope ladder she didn't know how to handle, she grabbed onto the rope and started shrinking it taking herself to the top. She stumbled away hitting the ropes with flame bolts so they'd light. Lake was right on her tail, he had just enough time to climb it. It snapped at the top, he grabbed the ledge at the last second and leapt onto the platform. He charged a shot striking her heel while she moved across the spinning logs. She fell grabbing onto it for dear life. He took off to catch up, she closed her eyes and the logs span her on top locking in place. She stepped off and he ran across drawing his sword, the logs span fiercely knocking him on his *** and down into the pit. His sword caught in a crack in the woodwork holding him up. She recovered from her casting and ran to finish the course. Lake muttered something profane as he climbed out of the hole. Another competitor dropping into it.

A half hour after the start Lake and Jessica raced down the final stretch slapping and kicking at each other all the way to the finish. Pond rushed by at the last moment taking the lead and winning in speed. He was asked the sequence and failed to provide as much as one number. He walked off with a kick in the dirt and wave to Lake; Lake was asked next and called off a series of random numbers but couldn't explain their meaning. Jessica thought for a moment, "Three, one, four, two." She smiled nervously, "that's how long it took." The course master raised his hand in approval and she walked off satisfied, rubbing her shoulder trying not to whimper in pain too loud.

The competitions continued all day long including everything from sprints to Kendo. By time night came the city was tired and relaxed, Elena woke up to start her night. "You're still here?"

Pean smiled, "Where else would I be?"

"Don't you have a life or something?"

"Not really." She climbed out of bed getting dressed. "Let's go, he smells bad."

She opened the door looking back. "You coming?"

They walked down the empty street. "So where are you going?"

"I need to get a book from the library."

"Oh? I need a map from there myself." She glared at him. "If you don't mind company."

"You're cute and all, but I don't know if I can trust you to help the job. I'm not planning on using an open door."

He smiled, "Guess you'll just have to test me and find out."

She picked the lock stepping inside, he twisted the handle putting the door in place and slowly let it seal. They split up to find what they were looking for, each aware of the others desire. Pean collected a large assortment of maps cluttering a table and comparing information. He drew out a grid system on a large blank sheet and started copying over a representation of the common features.

She found him drawing the map and glanced over his shoulder. "Making a map?" She didn't recognize any of it. "Where you going?"

He shrugged, "To the beach I guess, figure it's a good place to start."

"Start what?"

"A new life perhaps?" It only made sense she didn't understand his motive, even he didn't. "What you got there?"

She looked at the books she was holding. "These are books about vampires." She sat down and started reading.

He stopped looking at her. "You didn't find it did you?" She didn't say anything. "Neither did I, guess we have to come back in the day to investigate this further."

She glared at him. "I can't come back during the day."

"Why not? Hurts your eyes? Come with me." He rolled up his rough sketches and she set her books down.

She tried on the next pair. "I don't know."

"Aww, come on. Those are cute!" He handed her a smaller pair. "Try these."

She giggled, "I like these."

He melted the ink and carefully smeared it across the lens; he made certain to get a good coating on the lens' that was perfectly even before handing them to her. "There, sun gl*****. Protect your eyes." She put them on curiously. "Now for some new clothes."

"Only if I get to dress you also." She flashed her fangs at him with a grin.

He pulled the shirt over her, "There!"

She looked at herself in the mirror. "I don't want to wear a skirt." She took it off grabbing a pair of pants and his leg. "Put this on you."

[cdf]

"I need underwear first." She jerked his leg and they fell onto the large pile of clothes. She pulled the pants on him dragging her hand between his legs. "There, much better."

"They're too tight." He squirmed uncomfortably.

"Well they'd be fine if you weren't so big."

"Not my fault. But sense you don't have that problem you put em on then."

"Maybe I will." She undressed him slipping them onto herself, "These are a perfect fit, I don't know what you're complaining about."

"Maybe for you."

"What do you want to wear then?"

"My robe."

"You have to wear more than a robe!"

"Why?"

She sat on him before stripping naked. "If you don't have to wear all this **** then neither do I." She wrapped her cloak around her."

"Your features stick out too much like that."

"Jealous?"

"You'll draw too much attention to yourself."

"You are jealous."

He snorted to the side. She lay out on top of him wrapping her cloak around him and pulling him inside against her. "Cold?"

She blushed lightly, "You know, I've never been this close to a man before."

He sighed, "Wouldn't you rather loose your virginity someplace romantic?"

"Like where?"

"The beach, field of flowers, bedroom of a small cabin in the winter woods."

"You know of one nearby?"

"Well... no."

"Then this will have to do for now." She pressed down onto him pinning him to the ground and forced her tongue into his mouth.

The day had come, the tournament was about to start. 112 fighters would be turned into a single champion. Drake contemplated the situation; he'd have to go through seven fighters to make it to the top. Lake was finally about to use live rounds, he was growing tired of bag tipped non-lethal rounds that limited his bows performance.

The shopkeeper looked at the pile of clothes on the floor in complete surprise, who broke into the store to make a mess? He reached down to start cleaning uncovering Pean's head. What he was shouting was un-important compared to the fact he was grabbing a battle axe. They grabbed their clothes and ran for the door, the edge of a tomahawk stabbing through the wood immediately following the click of the knob. She made some quick adjustments to her appearance here and there and bust up laughing, "That was fun!"

He looked at her tying the robe shut. "Yeah, let's go."

By time the shopkeeper got the door open they were long gone and no-where to be seen. She jumped onto the next roof landing with a roll looking back. "You CAN keep up right?"

He hit the roof rolling into a handless summersault over her head standing behind her. "Is that a challenge?"

She took off toward the library leaping across the rooftops as if the gaps weren't even there. She glanced back and didn't see him, was he following? She slowed down a little to see if she could find him. It wasn't like her to be worried about someone, but she found herself wondering if he had fallen and needed help. She stopped to think about it for a moment. She eventually continued after deciding she could wait for him at the library.

Drake didn't see why he needed to be so far away from his opponent. The fight started and they didn't even move, where they planning on tiring him out with a run over there? He decided to start walking; it would take longer but work out better for him. The crowd wasn't too thrilled by this and something had to be done about it. A gate opened to the side and a hellhound rushed into the arena. A second peeled off behind it and charged toward Drake. Drake tracked all three targets waiting for the move. The hellhound spat a burst of flame at Drake, he side stepped it lowering his sword for the strike. The hellhound was airborne and he quickly dropped spinning onto his back with a strike from below. He was barely heavy enough to move it throwing it to the side. He got back to his feet, if his weapon couldn't hurt it how does he defeat it? It was revealed to him that he wasn't supposed to fight the creatures when the sword swiped over his head. He put his sword behind him to block the second strike. A blast of fire came from in front and he rolled out to the left. His foe jumped out of the way and was swatted out of the sky by Drakes sword, the hellhounds circled him like sharks until the fight was called and they ran back to the cage. He laughed, what a weird place.

Jessica was ready, but her enemy had a good charge. The fight started and he started a spell, she dissolved the ground beneath her into energy standing in her new formed crater. He fired a heat beam at her, she cast up a reflective barrier launching it into the air, it bounced off another and was coming down on top of him. He absorbed it into his hand tossing it at her. She rushed in with her golem blocking the explosion. A vacuum of air and growing crater as he charged to fire again. She launched herself into the air while her golem rushed in on foot. The beam came at her and she knocked it aside with another barrier, she channeled the barrier into an energy blade coming down on him. He countered with one of his own in a brilliant flash of light. She broke through it striking him with the anti-magic barrier sword depleting his battery in a devastating blast. Her golem tackled him to the ground and she won. The crowd went wild and she was completely surprised, the adrenaline wore off and it was as if she had just woken up from a dream. "I won?"

Lake was fortunate enough to be in the obstacle course. The fight started and he rushed to the ladder of the tower. He climbed it with ease, rushing into good view of the arena. A fireball flew past his head and he quickly returned fire. A second and third but he couldn't see the shooter. He returned fire time and time again with no luck, where was his enemy? He dodged another catching a movement to the side; he fired a shot and readied another. He kept sight on the target getting a sense for the timing. It became a game of numbers and counting the seconds between attacks, the target entered a clearing and lost his foot, then his hand, and a third into the ground next to his head close enough to line the edge of the arrowhead with blood. Lake jumped from the tower while it collapsed in flame and rolled across the ground away from the flaming debris. He climbed to a knee looking at his enemy, the fight ended and he stood up. "Time delay attacks? Good idea."

She got to the library taking a rest in the shade; she was melting in all those clothes but didn't want to just leave. He wrapped his arms around her, "What took you so long?"

She jolted so fast she nearly leapt out of her skin, swinging her fist at his face only to be pressed up against the wall. She was glad he couldn't see her blush, "I was worried about you."

"No need for that, let's go." They entered the building and she squirmed uncomfortably. He went to approach the desk when she pulled him to the side. She led them upstairs and all around until they stopped in a broom closet. She untied her cloak, "watch the door." He pressed against the door gently watching with a rather curious gaze. She dropped her clothes and pulled her face mask off with a gasp. "I'm melting!"

"You going to be alright?"

"Give me a moment." She sat on the pile of cloth relaxing; he slunk down sitting against the door. They just looked at each other for some time.

She let out a sigh and he continued to watch her, "You need anything?"

"Go get the information, come back when you have it."

"Is that all?" She shook her head and he tapped a short rhythm on the floor. "That’s my sign, don't let anyone else in." He peeked out the door before quickly sliding through the gap opening it only as much as needed. She scowled at the beam of light entering the room before relaxing in the complete darkness.

The desk was crowded as people were giving heavily simplified directions to the picture book section. It took him some time to get to the desk and they started giving him directions, he smiled interrupting. "No no, I'm sorry. I was actually wondering if you knew about the book of summonings?" They stared at him confused; he tilted his head a bit. "You don't have it?"

They seemed rather offended. "Why even ask? Of course we have it, but it's only given to people with a clearance."

"Well, how do I go about getting one of those? I'm not from around here."

"That only makes it harder for you. You'd have to be on the king’s staff or military, not that they accept children."

He glared at the clerk. "Do you know where the book is?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to tell you. Not that you could steal it if you tried."

"Steal!? How dare you accuse me of being a thief!?"

"I've never seen you around here before, you probably are."

"I see how it is. You don't know. You accidentally loaned it to some punk friend who didn't return it and instead of admitting the loss you came up with this classified thing and accuse all interested in the book of being thieves. Well screw you too jerk!"

"I know exactly where it is!"

"Then where is it? Oh, wait. That's right. You don't know! Your loser buddy ran off with it!"

"General Gumar is not a punk or a loser!" The words echoed throughout the building. "You..."

Pean smiled, "No. You. Now, I'd like to check out some other books if you don't mind."

The clerk stared at him, Pean walked off when the guards arrived. He knocked on the door and found her sleeping on the floor. He knelt next to her, her cloak pulled close to her body. He stroked her face gently waking her. "Get dressed, let's go." She stretched arching her body with a yawn. "Quit being sexy and hurry up."

[cdf]

She smiled crawling into his lap with a prolonged moan, "Let's stay here until night fall."

"What are we going to do until then in here?" She opened his robe sliding inside with another moan. "Oh, that. Aren't you tired?"

"I just had a nap; I need you to wear me out again."

It was time for Drakes fourth fight today, he was a little tired but ready. His armor was covered in dents and scratches from previous fights. He even had a large burn mark on the back plate. He charged over the obstacle, ducking under the bolt. Two more shots came but missed just the same, the course was broken into ruins making it seem more appropriate for fighting. Drake grabbed a pole hurling it at the target throwing him off stance for the next attack. Drake smashed him with the side of his sword crushing him aside and dropped to a knee pulling the dart out his shoulder with a wince. The enemy got up collecting his weapon when his throwing dart was returned to his spine. He collapsed to the ground again and Drake stood in victory. Was all this really worth it?

Jessica had the fighter outnumbered but he was still ready for the challenge. She took the initiative splitting in both directions. The fighter backed up trying to avoid being surrounded. He rushed forward and she matched his move keeping him in the center. He chose her as his victim racing forward; she brought up a barrier charging into his attack. They collided into a face-off, the golem lashed out and the fighter flipped out of the way. It turned into Jessica vs. the golem and he was coming around from the side. She angled her barrier deflecting the golems strike to the side and boosting it with the barrier. The fighter dropped and Jessica opened her eyes, the sword was trapped in the golem’s torso who held its fist out frozen in a pose. She sighed with relief dropping her barrier and giving a wave to the crowd.

Lake fired again and again, the target dashed in and out of the obstacles at such high speed. He grabbed a handful loading a five round spray and the target took to the sky. The arrows flew wild and the target landed behind him. A slash came from the side, Lake dropped down letting the blade whisk over his head. He drew his sword with a swipe at the target and thrust it behind him. A spray of blood shot from the opponent’s armpit as he slowly slipped off the sword in his chest. He fell to the ground and blood flowed from his pale body. Lake looked at the stained blade covered in red stepping away when the blood reached his boots. The crowd roared with excitement and shouted his name in praise. He leaned next to the man holding his hand, wiping a tear from his cheek. His lips moved slightly and Lake leaned in closer to hear what he was saying, "Congratulations murderer." He apologized looking at the crowd for a moment before gently letting the hand down closing his foes eyes. He stood up raising his sword antagonizing a roar of applause while the blood drained down his arm. If he won the fight why did he feel so bad about it?

Pean gently pet her, running his fingers through the full length of her hair. She was wrapped up against him sleeping peacefully. He slipped a finger down her back feeling every bone along the way; she squirmed with a smile to his touch resting her fangs on his collar. He smiled back, having always been amazed by the body and all that is nature. He’s wasted many a day just staring at his hand and it's still as fascinating as always. He wasn't nearly as interested in sex as he was in just playing with the body and testing its various responses to different stimulation. Some call it foreplay, he calls it fun. How long had they waited there? One hour? Two? Maybe more than that even, but it didn't matter to him. He continued to pet her, it was peaceful and he was happy.

The final fight, a four way free for all. They stood in their respected zones waiting for the start. There were no obstacles, just a flat cratered field covered in trash, ash, and splinters. The fight started, Jessica hurled some mana bombs in rapid succession at Lake who fired back with his arrows ignoring the random explosions all around. Energy burst flew to one side with glittering streams while arrows flew in the other streaking past, Drake and the last warrior charged each other head-on down the center. Jessica put up her barrier blocking the direct attacks and tossed her energy grenades at the target. Lake side stepped the dangerous ones trying to drop a shot on top of her. Drake clashed with the enemy dressed in a full armor suite. He kept a loose glance at the sorceress to his right and the archer to his left. They were going at it like crazy. The enemy in front of him was pretty good, he had to admit. They traded blows back and forth flattening the ground with their constant shuffling. Drake slashed down and he knocked the sword aside, he lashed out with a counter, Drake stepped back moving out of the way swinging his sword around for another attack, Drake stepped forward as he stepped back deflecting his next strike and thrusting at his enemy. They danced back and forth traveling no more than five feet either way ignoring the constant volley being sent all around them.

Jessica was getting tired, Lake took his chance. He out stepped the next volley of blast charging back his bow firing a shot that kicked up a stream of dust as it raced above the ground. Drake and his foe stopped to watch the round collide with her barrier smashing it with a violent boom. He charged another for firing. Drake leapt back out of the way, the round slicing straight through his opponent’s legs with a stream of red fluid and not even the slightest stutter. It raced past her sounding bells in her ear when it punched a hole through her golem. She gave up and left the arena quickly leaving Drake to fight the human cannon head on. Drake was nervous but his armor hid it well, they stared each other down.

Drake took off running, Lake fired and Drake took a dive. It flew just over him and he was sprinting again almost as soon as he touched ground. Lake found he couldn't pivot that far in that direction and had to change his stance. He took more rapid shots only to have them knocked away by the charging Drake. He fired a multi-shot burst but it was dodged as easy as a single round. He fell back onto the only attack that could faze the warrior charging his bow for another cannon blast at point-blank range. They collided onto the ground, and the shot flew wild into the darkening sky. A pull of the bow and thrust of the sword when it all stopped instantly.

Drake held his sword just over Lakes heart, who had his arrow ready to fly out the back of Drakes throat. The crowd went wild and mixed cheers filled their ears. It seemed like forever they lay on the ground staring at each other, Drake knew what would happen when the crowd got bored.

A horn blared and pillars of smoke rose into the air, the cheers were drowned by the cries of war in the distance. A wall of fire rose into the sunset sky raining onto the city around them. Drake took off running pulling Lake along with him. A massive ball of fire tore through a distant tower slamming into the center of the stadium sending a wall of dust and debree at them. A barrier glowed with hundreds of light pulses deflecting the shrapnel. Jessica shouted at them, "Come on!" They rushed over to her and took shelter in her shield. "What's going on?"

Elena sat at Pean's feet on the side of the library tower overlooking the city watching the wave of soldiers rushing the castle, a shower of arrows and artillery pelting the entire fortress in front of them. Elena licked her lips, "That's a lot of food."

Pean rests his hand on the top of her head. "Something tells me this will change everything, prepare to make history."