Right, well basically this just the beginning of a story that I started writing in the hopes that I'd get back my creativity for Darkness Of Destruction, I liked it so I decided to post the first couple of chapters on here. Go harsh on them please but do take into account that these aren't serious so don't be wanting a lot more. If I keep liking it I'll probably continue it.
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Prelude.
It was a cold, hard night on the plains of Falnor. The area was filled with large rocks and many trees were scattered along the plains. In the far off distance a massive, threatening tower loomed on top of Ramin mountain. The tower was unbelievably tall and dark, it was beautiful yet it made you fearful. There were no windows that you could see from the plains. Rain drizzled down from the dark, foreboding clouds, creating a metallic sound as it fell upon the small group of warriors armour. There was only seven of them. They were hidden by the dark and the large rock they were next to. Usually there were monsters roaming the plains but the rain had forced them into their hidden shelters, something of which the group was grateful for.
The warriors all seemed to be waiting for something, they were all looking towards a single man. Seemingly the leader, he had medium length dark hair and strange golden eyes. He was average height and seemed only slightly well-built. He could easily look like a plain old eighteen year old but in actual fact he must have at least been in his early thirties. He was quite handsome but that was not usually what drew people’s attention. He wore silver armour over a tight red stop and armour-plated leggings along with dark brown gloves on his hands. On his waist was a long sharp, decorative blade. The hilt was dark blue with an emerald set into the hilt. He was knelt beside the large rock, waiting for something. Around him the other warriors began to stir.
“How long my lord?” One of the warriors asked. He was slightly taller than the man but seemed to be just as well respected. In fact, all of the men around them were close friends and allies. The one who spoke had long black hair and blue eyes, he wore a simple leather vest on top of a blue shirt and simple green trousers. On his back was a large bow along side a quiver of arrows and on his waist was a simple short sword. He looked as though he was proficient at both.
The rest of the group was just as diverse. One of the men wore a simple vest on top of his bulging muscles. He was extremely tall and had an unbelievably huge sword on his back, so huge that it would seem as though he were the only one to be able to wield it. He had buzz cut white hair and his black skin accentuated the long, white, jagged scar going across his face from the top right of his forward all the way to the left corner of his mouth. Only one of his eyes was open and it was a dark blue colour, filled with strength and compassion.
Next to him was a woman, small in comparison with long vividly red hair. She wore a decorative silver plate mail and similar leggings. She looked young but it was nigh on impossible to tell. She wore brown boots and on her waist was two long silver rapiers. She had on a straight face, showing how nervous but ready she was. Her eyes were the most strangest feature of her face, they were blood red, a trait which is extremely uncommon in the human world. It did not seem to bother anyone in the group however.
Stood off to the side, looking out from the other side of the rock was a young man in his early twenties, he wore a simple green garb over his shirt and light brown trousers. He was clearly not a fighter. He had long dark hair and green, compassionate eyes, he wore glasses. He was average in height and weight and nothing seemed irregular about him. On his back was a long oaken staff kept on by a simple strap that could easily be pulled off for an emergency.
The two other people were a lot smaller than the rest of the group, possibly twins. They were only fourteen years old. The boy wore a bandanna on his head, keeping his blonde hair slicked back so it was not in his face and owned a set of startlingly blue eyes. He wore a dark green jacket over a dark blue top, simple jeans and green fingerless gloves. He wore a dagger on the right side of his waist and on the back of his belt was a small pack, filled with things like smoke bombs and stun grenades. He preferred not to kill.
Next to him was his sister, she wore a simple white jacket with a hood and white loose trousers. On her back was a decorated white staff and a small backpack to hold some items she owned. She had long, curled blonde and startling blue eyes like her brothers.
The six warriors shifted as they awaited the answer to the man’s question. The long, dark haired man waited as the rain continued to fall. It was several long, agonizing moments before the leader replied. “Not long Mateus, our scout is back already.” The man named Mateus looked around, trying to see where the scout was but knew it would be impossible. There was a quiet thump of feet landing on the wet grass.
“Remaj.” The leader stated, as his scout returned. “I trust your reconnaissance went well?”
“Yes my lord.” The man stated. It was impossible to see his face. He wore a tight sort of garb around his head so only his eyes were visible and matching overalls. “The patrols are light tonight, it is the optimum time to attack.”
“Thank you. Fall back and await our return at the camp.” The warrior told Remaj. The ninja bowed his head and disappeared into the darkness. The group stirred as they heard the news that there were barely any patrols and there were several smiling faces.
“What’s the plan sir?” Mateus asked. He looked around at the other people and noticed that they all wore determined looks on their faces despite the huge danger they would soon be facing. Mateus knew that it was an inevitable thing that some of them may die, but they all knew that and had accepted it.
“Okay, listen up.” The warrior said in an authoritive manner. “Jin, Tina.” The twins looked up at the man expectantly. “You will go with Petu,” The man with glasses looked up and smiled sweetly at the twins, “And Felix.” The large black man looked up and smirked at the kids who smiled back happily. “You will go through the eastern entrance and deal with any resistance as you head up the tower. As soon as you get to the top destroy the pulsator and get on the radio to the military to move in their air support. “Understood.”
“Yeah!” The male twin shouted, pumping his fist into the air. His voice had a cocky sound to it and wasn’t that deep
“Alright!” The female twin yelled happily alongside her brother. Her voice was light and happy.
“Understood sir.” Felix and Petu said in their respective voices. Felix had a deep, monotone voice whilst Petu had a light, sensitive tone.
“Myself, Mateus and Zeria will infiltrate the central entrance and find him.” He emphasized the word “him” and they all understood. Zeria looked up at the two men she would be with a nodded her head.
“When do we leave?” She asked in a light, beautiful tone. She straightened up and began to walk towards the man with her arms crossed.
“As soon as. Get ready everyone.”
“Yes sir!” Everyone except Zeria and Mateus shouted. The four others all began to prepare themselves, making sure they had adequate medical supplies.
“We shouldn’t be sending those childing into a war zone.” Zeria stated bluntly, making sure to say it under her breath so they wouldn’t hear. She glared the man deep in the eyes.
“I know that Zeria, but they are strong fighters and they will have Felix and Petu with them, so please, do not worry about their safety.” The man smiled his smile and she looked away angrily.
“Fine. Mateus, get ready.” Zeria told him, he nodded his head and began to check his bow. “Leon, if one of those children die, I will personally kill you myself.”
Leon looked at her worryingly, knowing that she actually would kill him. “They will survive, I know it.” The group had gotten ready and Leon looked at the carefully. “All of you, listen carefully.” He said to them, gaining their immediate attention. “What we are about to do will be excessively dangerous, but remember this: If we win now, we will have surely won this war and there will be no more senseless bloodshed. We must win this! No matter what the cost! Agreed!”
“YEAH!” They all shouted simultaneously. The group of four turned and ran away, heading towards their infiltration point. The other three waited as they left their sights and began on their way to the main entrance.
“Let do this. My friends.” The man named Leon said as the group began to climb the steep hill to Yengay Tower.
Chapter One: The Boy.
There was a loud groan from underneath the thick blanket as the alarm clock rang on the bedside cabinet. It continued to ring until an automatic cut-off came on and it abruptly became quiet. There was a sharp knock on the door as a voice was heard throughout the room. “Rene! It’s time to get up!” A woman’s voice shouted from the other side of the door. “You know what’ll happen if you don’t get up before Damon gets here!” With this the boy named Rene groaned even more loudly than before and he could hear the woman chuckle slightly outside the door. She turned on her heels and began to walk away.
It was several more minutes before the seventeen year old decided to get up. He threw the blanket off of him and sat up, letting his medium length, dark brown hair fall down his face. He brushed the strands from his face and stretched. He wore nothing except a pair of bottoms and yawned loudly. He had dark blue eyes and very handsome features, he was Caucasian but had a slightly tanned look to him. He was quite well-built and tall. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his body once more.
“Damn… What time is it?” Rene murmured as he grabbed his clock and noted down the time. It was almost nine in the morning. Rene stood up, placing the clock back on the cabinet and made his way to his en-suite bathroom. He jumped into the shower after quickly removing his bottoms and switched it on, letting the hot stream fall onto his bare skin. He sighed as he washed himself, thinking of what he’d be doing today. His older friend, Damon, had just returned from the capital after finishing his tour of duty within the Republic Army and was now on leave, he had arrived late last night and Rene never had a chance to seem him, but he was going to be here today meaning Rene had to put up with him. He enjoyed his company except that Damon could be a bit too… energetic in the morning.
He quickly dried himself after washing and threw on some clothes. He wore a light blue short underneath a dark brown, sleeveless jacket and brown trousers. He quickly put on his trainers and opened his bedroom door. The smell of breakfast hit him suddenly and filled him with sudden ravenous hunger. He quickly went downstairs and literally slid into the kitchen along the polished floor. He came to an abrupt halt as he saw who was sat next to his mother.
Damon Roughley sat on a simple dining room chair, wolfing down a full plate of bacon, eggs and the sort. He had long black hair and green eyes and a wide smirk on his face. He swallowed his food and looked at Rene. “S’up sleepy head? I was just about to go and kick your ass outta bed.” He was slightly taller than Rene but weighed a lot less, due to his unbelievably high metabolism. Rene’s mother giggled at the thought of Rene being kicked out of bed and Rene glared at her, making her stop immediately. Rene’s mom was only a small thing, she had long, curly brown hair and cute blue eyes. She wore a light shirt and trousers and was the most important thing in Rene’s life.
“Like you could kick my ass Day.” Rene smirked, grabbing a plate of food for himself and setting himself down on a chair. Damon grinned at him as the pair ate their food, often jabbing each other with jokes or plain old insults. Rene’s mother finally had enough and stood up.
“I wish you two would grow up.” She sighed, trying to hide the slight grin on her face. “I’m going to the market so is there anything you’d like me to pick up?”
“Nah, you’re okay Mrs. S” Damon smirked, she knew that Rene’s answer would be along the same lines and just nodded her head as she turned away and left the room. “So Skylar, what’s on the agenda today hmm?”
Rene smirked as his friend called him by his last name. “I dunno, what do you want to do? It’s your leave remember.”
“Yeah, I guess. Hmm… We could always try and score some babes.” He grinned at Rene who was rolling his eyes.
“You ain’t changed a bit have you?” Rene smirked at Damon, who nodded his head happily. Rene stood up and put his dish into the sink. Damon did the same abd leaned against the counter.
“So. How’re things around here since I left?” Damon asked. He had left the town over a year ago. His parents had died from an illness and Damon just went to bits, eventually he decided to get away from the place all together and joined the Republic Army.
“Not much has changed to be honest. Mark left to join the healer’s guild in the city.” Rene told him. Damon nodded his head at Rene.
“Yeah I already knew that, he’s in the healing division of the army as well.” Damon told him, Rene figured that the two would probably meet up at some point.
“How is he?” Rene asked, thinking of their friend. He was a superb healer and was well missed by the town.
“He’s on the frontline now, keeping as many men alive as possible.” Damon told him. The frontline, Rene thought to himself as Damon continued to speak about Mark. So even Mark is involved in the war now.
“Have I missed anything else?” Damon asked, Rene’s attention immediately went to him and he shook his head. Rene walked to the door and looked at Damon.
“Nah, not much has changed round here.” Rene told him, he opened the front door and felt the warm sun against his face. “Fancy goin’ for a walk?”
“Sure why not?” Damon smirked as he walked ahead of Rene. The sun was bright today but there was still a slight chill in the air from the rain last night. “Where do ya fancy goin’ mate?”
“Dunno, can’t we just walk for a bit?” Rene muttered, he was still groggy from his night’s sleep and was beginning to get annoyed by Damon’s energy. They had begun to walk down the steep hill towards the town. The surrounding area was filled with green wildlife, tall trees surrounded the area and down the hill the large town of Emeres could be seen. The town was small but modern, cars could be seen but at this distance they may as well have been little dots on the map.
Puffs of smoke billowed out of chimneys and several building lit up like Christmas lights, despite it being so early. Rene could see the market from here and smiled as he could tell that it was already beginning to get busy and would soon enough be filled with peddlars and stalls etcetera. Rene yawned lously as they continued down the hill.
“Jeez, you’re still not a morning person huh?” Damon smirked, Rene ignored him completely and just continued walking.
“So what’s it like in the army?” Rene asked after several minutes of silence. Damon grinned as he stopped and sat on a nearby boulder.
“What do ya wanna know?” He asked happily.
“What do YOU do?” Rene asked Damon, smirking slightly. Damon grinned at the question and rocked backwards and forwards as he thought of the best way to descibe what he did.
“Well in a way, I’m both a strategist and a fighter. When I’m not in battle I usually read maps of the battlefield to find out the best possible vantage points, infiltration points and of course: Escape routes.” Damon told him as he pulled back his long hair and tied it into a ponytail with a rubber band.
“And when you are on the battlefield?” Rene asked, smirking at the thought of Damon fighting in the battlefield. Damon went silent as he thought about what to say. After several long moments he finally spoke.
“The battlefield is… The most dangerous place a person can ever be.” Damon stated bluntly. “You have arrows whizzing by you, missing you by sometimes less than an inch. Your comrades fall all about you but at the same time, you’re there. Fighting for your country. I’ll admit Rene, I’ve killed people. I wish I didn’t have to but yeah, I’ve killed people before.”
“What do you fight with?” Rene asked, looking at Damon sadly. He looked as though he had seen a lot in one short year.
“Believe it or not I use a double edged broadsword.” Damon smirked, suddenly Rene burst into laughter, just the thought of Damon holding such a huge sword cracked him up.
“I’ll believe that when I see it bro’.” Rene smirked. Damon smirked back as he jumped off the boulder and landed nimbly on his feet.
“It don’t matter anyway man, I prefer to use my brains than my brawn.” Damon laughed as the pair continued to walk down the hill.
The walk took about half an hour before they reached the outskirts of the town. The two guards at the gate recognized the pair and allowed them access. They walked through the gate and made their way through the seemingly deserted streets. Everyone in town was most likely at the market like every other Saturday and this was fine with Rene.
The pair sat down in the park and leaned back to look at the clouds. It was several moments till Damon broke the silence. “Hey remember when you were twelve and I was sixteen? We’d just come here and watch the clouds.”
“Jeez man, stop making this sound like some reunion of lovers.” Rene smirked at his friend. Damon looked at his and laughed slightly. “Anyway, you were saying?”
“Well, we used to sit here and talk about our day and shit. I really miss when we were kids.” Damon sighed. Rene noticed that he had changed a lot since joining the army. He seemed darker and cooler but at the same time, retained everything he had from old Damon.
“Yeah, I miss being a kid too.” Rene sighed. All of Rene’s friends had left the town, going to places like the city to take further studies, joining a guild or even the army just as Damon had. He knew that he himself would soon have to make a choice of what to do and was definitely dreading it.
“Hey, wanna go camping like we used to when we were kids? I’m only here till next Friday so I was thinking maybe we should go tonight?” Damon smirked, Rene knew that if he agreed to this Damon would just constantly go on about some sexy woman he pulled in the city. Despite this Rene just sighed and reluctantly agreed.
“All right!” Damon whooped as he heard Rene’s response. “What do ya wanna do in the meantime?”
“I dunno. Old warehouse?” Rene asked, speaking of the old, abandoned warehouse on the far eastern side of the town.
“Depends, we gonna go check out the old tunnels?” Damon asked.
“Sure why not?”
“Meh, I guess we could go.” Damon sighed, he still shivered from the memories of when they used to go exploring in the old tunnels underneath the warehouse.
~~~~~~~~
It took them at least an hour to make their way through the labyrinth like town to get to the old warehouse. Rene struggled with the huge door of the warehouse. Damon began to help and eventually the door began to open slowly. As soon as it opened enough to fit them, they slid through and looked around the old warehouse. The area was dimly lit, with only a few flickering light bulbs still alive. “Wow, those long-lasting bulbs really do last a while…” Damon smirked at Rene who smirked back.
“Let’s see if the hatch will still open.” Rene said to Damon as they looked as the outline of a metal hatch. There was no handle to open it with but Rene and Damon already knew the answer to that. Damon headed over to an office on the opposite side of the warehouse and opened the rusted door forcefully. Damon looked around as he tried to remember where the switch he was looking for was. He quickly remember that it was underneath the desk and felt for it. He clicked it once but nothing happened. He clicked it several more times until a loud buzzing was heard and the hatch opened slightly.
Before it had the chance to fall back down Rene caught the edge with his hands and held it. He slowly began to lift up the heavy weight before throwing it open so it was on the floor. He puffed slightly as Damon made his way towards him and patted him on the back.
So you can open it yourself now huh?” Damon smirked, remembering when Rene could only hold it and he would need his help to open it fully.
“I’m a lot stronger than I used to be bro’” Rene huffed as Damon jumped down the hole. A quiet thud was heard and then a whistle, signalling that it was okay for Rene to jump down. He did so and quickly found himself landing nimbly on an old tattered mattress. “It’s still here.”
“Yup, guess the nasties down here didn’t eat it.” Damon smirked as Rene got off the mattress. “Uhh… You lead the way, I can’t remember the way to the old hideout.” Damon lied blatantly, Rene knew that Damon still hated being underground but shrugged it off, he was used to his fears.
They walked for several hours as they navigated the huge labyrinth of the underground tunnels. The paint they had used so long ago to mark the way to their little hideout had worn off so now they had to attempt to navigate using just their memories. They had little success but eventually managed to find the tunnel leading to their hideout.
Unlike the tunnels, this room was quite large, it was too dark to see properly so Rene took out a box of matches and lit one. He quickly found a candle and lit it, he lit some more and spread them around until they could finally see properly. “Wow, it ain’t changed a bit.” Damon whistled as he looked around the hideout. A couch and several armchairs were scattered across the room along with a pool table in the corner, a generator in the other alongside a TV and games console.
“Wonder if this has still got some power.” Rene said as he walked towards the generator. He pulled on the cord several times before a quiet sound began to emanate from it. After several moments the lights overhead came and the TV turned on to static. Damon blew out the candle and sat down on the couch next to a small cabinet with a lamp and photo frame with a photo in it. Damon spotted the photo and grinned as he picked it up. In the picture was a ground of ten kids, all of varying ages.
“What’s that you got there?” Rene asked as he sat down and was given the photo. He look startled for a few moments before realising that he was looking at a picture of him with a load of other people when he was thirteen years old. The picture was in black and white but it was clear. “Wow, this is real old.”
“Yeah, remember any of those kids?” Damon asked him as he looked at the picture once more.
“Only a few, the girl next to me was called Julie, she left a few months ago to join the white mage association.” Rene told him.
“Oh yeah, she was always good with magic. Anyone else?”
“The guy on your left.” Rene said pointing at the seventeen year old Damon’s side. A tall eighteen year old stood on Damon’s left and the current Damon’s eyes sparked up in recognising.
“That’s Rico Harriet, right?” Damon smirked as he remembered the man. “The only guy I can think of who was more of a perve than me.” Rene burst into laughter as he remembered Rico.
“I don’t remember the rest of these guys.” Rene told him, giving back the picture. Damon looked at it for a few more moments before settling it down. He sighed as he leant back on the couch.
“What do ya wanna do now?”
Rene smirked at the question, for once he actually had an answer. “Wanna go camping?
Chapter Two: The Night Life
It had been several hours since Rene and Damon had left the tunnels, they had immediately gone to Rene’s house to grab the camping gear. Rene threw on a better attire which consisted of a loose, short-sleeved, light green jacket on top of a simple white top and dark blue jeans. He put on some black fingerless gloves and quickly wrote a note to him mother explaining where he was. As he stuck it to the fridge in the kitchen Damon burst in carrying a load of camping stuff.
He was grinning like a little kid which made Rene chuckle under his breath. He noticed that there was a large case on his back and looked at Damon weirdly. “What the heck is that?” He asked, cocking his eyebrow slightly in question.
“That my friend, is something you will see later, but for now… Help me with this bloody camping crap! It’s heavy as hell!” Damon shouted, half-joking, half-serious. Rene recognised the tone and grabbed the package with the tent inside and several smaller bags with camping gear in. Damon huffed as he set down his bags and stretched his arms. “Hey, your mom gonna be okay with us just going out like this?”
“Of course she would thicko, I left her a note explaining and she trusts us both so I guess she wouldn’t mind. She’s been wanting to have the house to herself for a while anyway.” Rene told him, smiling crookedly at Damon. “I packed some snacks for us to eat in case we don’t feel like hunting okay?”
“Yeah, no problems here!” Damon grinned as he picked up his bags again and kicked open the door leading onto a path on the side of the house. “How far we gonna go into the forest this time?”
“I don’t feel like hiking for hours so let’s just stay along the edge.” Rene said, not really bothered about where they go. Damon grinned at him like he knew what he was thinking and nodded his head. “Let’s go bro’.”
The pair left the house, holding tons of equipment and supplies to last them for a week, they always did this, not really knowing if they would come back the next day or stay a little longer. They quickly found the edge of the forest and walked in, immediately surrounded by wildlife and creatures big and small.
“Daaaamn, this place sure hasn’t changed a bit…” Damon whistled as he looked around the familiar scenery, as per usual you couldn’t hear anything other than the chirping of birds or the sounds of an animal walking through the undergrowth. This area was one of the only areas throughout the world that did not have a monster population, something of which made it very popular for camping trips. No one knew why there was no monsters here. Most people blamed it on the fact that there had not been a single battle in this village for over five centuries.
“Let’s set up camp here yeah?” Rene said as they entered a medium-sized clearing. Damon nodded his head, something which made the ponytail on the back of his head jump up and down. Rene had to stifle a laugh at his friends girl-like hair. Damon had put on a pair of glasses and had opened the bag with the tent in. For several minutes the pair worked diligently as they constructed the tent. After many groans and shouts they finally managed to build the tent properly. “Jeez, that took longer than usual.” Rene remarked, his tent building skills had certainly rusted seeing as he had not been camping in a long while. He looked at Damon with a slight smirk. “Don’t you army folks have to build tents all the time? You had quite a bit of trouble.”
Damon glared at Rene who simply stared back with a slight grin. Eventually Damon smirked at him and shook his head. “Normally I arrive after they’ve been built. It can be very annoying when called to different places that are many miles away.” He sighed as he looked up through the trees above and into the cloudless sky. “It’s gonna be a nice day.”
“Yeah, but it’s gonna be frigging freezing in the morning.” Rene told him. Damon looked at him with a smirk on his face and Rene groaned, he knew what was going to come next.
“I guess we could always cuddle up eh Bro’.?” Damon laughed at Rene’s face of horror and took several steps back to avoid Rene swinging for him. “Nah, we’ll just make a fire or something yeah? You go collect some firewood bro’.”
“Why me?” Rene demanded, it was quite warm in the clearing already but he knew that a fire would also be useful in keeping away the larger predators in the forest.
“Because you’re the younger one so get to it.” Damon snapped at him, pretending to give orders like a military officer. Rene groaned but obliged anyway. It took him only a few minutes to gather the wood needed before returning with it, Damon had already made a ring of rocks and Rene placed the firewood inside of it. He sat down as Damon did something Rene did not expect.
Instead of using a tinderbox like Rene would have done, Damon crossed his right hand over his left and placed it several inches over the firewood. He closed his eyes and looked like he was concentrating. Rene smirked at his friend, who at the time looked like an idiot, but was suddenly amazed as the top of Damon’s right hand suddenly had a circle of red on it. The palm of Damon’s left hand glowed red and suddenly a flame burst from his palm, striking the firewood. The glow stopped and nothing happened when suddenly the firewood burst into flame and began to crackle loudly.
Damon huffed, he looked up at Rene’s amazed face and grinned. “Didn’t tell you I could use Magic now did I?” Creating the fire wouldn’t have taken so long normally but he lengthened the procedure to allow Rene to fully realise what he was doing.
“Wow Day, veeery unexpected.” Rene said, gob smacked. He quickly regained his composure and looked Damon in the eyes. “Guess you’ve changed quite a bit huh?” He said to Damon who nodded knowingly. He noted that Damon’s eyes had a slight red shade to them after using the magic but quickly returned to their normal green colour.
“Thanks bro’. I’ve been studying at the royal academy in my free time. I’m getting pretty good.” Damon told him, he grabbed a backpack from next to the tent and opened the flap. “We get loads of homework to do though…” Inside the bag was books, all with some sort of magical symbol on. Damon took one out and showed off his magic again.
“These books are impossible to open unless you can use magic. Here you try.” Damon said, handing Rene the book. Rene looked at the book for a few moments before attempting to open it. Despite the lightness of the book, no matter how hard Rene pulled on the front cover it simply would not open. He huffed in anger as Damon took the book back and placed his right hand on the cover. A green symbol appeared on Damon’s hand suddenly the same symbol appeared on the book. Damon lifted his hand slowly and with it the cover began to open, despite Damon no longer touching the book.
Damon released the magic and the book was now open. Rene reached forward to look at the book and Damon pulled away just before Rene touched it. “Trust me when I say: You do not want to do that.” Damon told him, closing the book. The green symbol reappeared on the book, showing that it had once more been locked with magic. “If you touched that book you’d most likely have been paralyzed for the rest of the day.”
Rene smirked and sat back. “Anything else you wanna show off? Or even tell me?”
“Yeah, don’t make me do fire magic again please. It’s not my element so it’s really hard for me to use, it’s practically the opposite of my element.”
“Water?”
“It’s connected in a way. I’m a nature-mage. I can practically control nature.” Damon told him, he was looking quite tired now and Rene understood just how bad it was for him to use fire-magic. “I’m pretty exhausted, but how about I show you my sword now?”
“Huh? You brought it?” Rene asked, he quickly remembered the large case Damon had brought with him and smirked. “Oh, so that’s what was in the case huh?”
Damon smirked as he stood up and grabbed the huge case. He flipped open the latches and took out an extremely large sword. It was around a metre and thirty centimetres long and roughly five inches thick. It looked unbelievably heavy yet Damon lifted it with such ease. He spun it gently in his hand and suddenly gripped the handle. He charged forward with the blade out-front and stabbed it into the tree. He pulled the blade out and Rene simply gasped at the space where it had been. The only thing holding up the tree was two thin slices of back where the sword had not cut. Damon spun round as he pulled back his blade and kicked the tree harshly just above where he had stabbed his sword. The tree suddenly fell forwards, creating a loud boom as it smashed against the earth below.
Damon turned towards Rene and spun the blade in his hand. He placed it on his back and smirked as he placed it into the sheathe. Rene hadn’t even noticed that he put it on.
“Woah.” This was all Rene could say.
~~~~~~
It was night now. The fire Damon had made earlier on was still crackling and the warm glow filled the clearing. Rene was laying on his back, leaning his head against a large log they had dragged into the clearing earlier whilst Damon polished his blade and kept an eye over the meat that was cooking over the fire. Many things were going through Rene’s mind at the time. Things such as, what the heck am I gonna do with my life? All my friends have left, even Damon is doing pretty well in the army and here I am, still living in the same old village day after day.
Rene sighed as these thought kept going through his head. He had been sat here for about ten minutes now, just lazing about like every other day. Damon had noticed this of course and had a worried look on his face. Rene was like a little brother to him and he was worried about how Rene was doing.
“Hey Rene.” Damon said as he took the meat off the fire and placed it on a plate to cool down. “I got a question for ya.”
“Yeah?” Rene asked, looking up at Damon and feeling his stomach rumble at the smell of food.
Damon sat opposite Rene and crossed his legs as he looked at his friend. “Why don’t you come to the city with me? Enrol in University or join a guild maybe?”
Rene sat up immediately and looked at Damon harshly. “No.” He told Damon bluntly. Damon was taken aback by the sudden hostility and suddenly raised his voice.
“What the heck is wrong with you dammit!” Damon blurted out angrily, “You’re seventeen years old for Christ’s sake! At least when I was your age I got a job in town instead of lazing about my house all day!”
“Shut up Damon!” Rene shouted, standing up. “I don’t want to go to the damned city! I have a life here! I have to take care of my mom!”
“She can take care of herself! She wants what’s best for you!” Damon pleaded with Rene. Rene stomped his foot on the ground and spun on his heels.
“I’m gonna go for a walk.” Rene told him quietly. He began to walk into the forest and quickly found himself in the dark. He sat down on the dry grass and sighed, holding his head in his hands. He could hear crickets chirping all around him and smiled.
Rene sat there until it was pitch black before he stood up to return. He quickly realized he could not even see the fire from the camp and figured that he walked further than he meant to. “Shit.” He swore as he looked around to try and find his trail. He took out his matchbox and lit one, trying to see better. The small flame illuminated only a portion of the area and Rene sighed. He’d just have to be lucky and hope Damon saw the match of something.
He wandered through the forest, not knowing if he was getting closer or even further from the camp. He swore silently as he began to break into a run and tried to find an exit. If he got lost now then it was mostly likely that he would die here. He tripped up and hit the cold floor hard, making him dizzy. He lay there for several minutes before hearing a rustling noise and cursing his luck that he had to run into a predator now. He hoped it would be a Tiger Cat which would end his life quickly instead of dragging it out and torturing him.
The rustling got closer and suddenly Rene heard a chuckle. “Want a hand bro’?” Damon’s familiar voice said as he picked Rene up by the scruff of his jacket and put him on his feet.
“Damon, I’m so sorry for being as ass.” Rene muttered in apology. Damon smirked as he accepted the apology. “It’s just that, Mom’s been sick lately and I’ve had to take care of her and it’s been driving me insane and I just do-”
“Shut up.” Damon ordered him, Rene immediately went quiet and looked at Damon worriedly. “Can you hear that?”
“Hear what? I can’t hear anything.” Rene stated. He then realised the problem. He couldn’t hear anything. It was too quiet, even the crickets were no longer chirping. “What the heck’s goin’ on?”
“Quick, we better get back to the house.” Damon told him, he began to run off and Rene followed, making sure he could still see him. They continued to run for several more minutes before finally breaking out of the forest. They arrived on a ledge overlooking the town and Rene gasped. Even from this distance Rene could hear the screams of people being attacked.
Fires blazed across the village and Rene could see many people killing the innocent civilians. Rene couldn’t tell from this distance but made a guess none the less.
“Bandits!?” Rene shouted in horror. He looked over at Damon’s still face and noticed the anger blazing in his eyes.
“Worse.” Damon stated as he grabbed the hilt of the blade on his back. “They’re soldiers. Soldiers from the Eternia Empire.”
~~~~~~
Eternal Light
Prelude.
It was a cold, hard night on the plains of Falnor. The area was filled with large rocks and many trees were scattered along the plains. In the far off distance a massive, threatening tower loomed on top of Ramin mountain. The tower was unbelievably tall and dark, it was beautiful yet it made you fearful. There were no windows that you could see from the plains. Rain drizzled down from the dark, foreboding clouds, creating a metallic sound as it fell upon the small group of warriors armour. There was only seven of them. They were hidden by the dark and the large rock they were next to. Usually there were monsters roaming the plains but the rain had forced them into their hidden shelters, something of which the group was grateful for.
The warriors all seemed to be waiting for something, they were all looking towards a single man. Seemingly the leader, he had medium length dark hair and strange golden eyes. He was average height and seemed only slightly well-built. He could easily look like a plain old eighteen year old but in actual fact he must have at least been in his early thirties. He was quite handsome but that was not usually what drew people’s attention. He wore silver armour over a tight red stop and armour-plated leggings along with dark brown gloves on his hands. On his waist was a long sharp, decorative blade. The hilt was dark blue with an emerald set into the hilt. He was knelt beside the large rock, waiting for something. Around him the other warriors began to stir.
“How long my lord?” One of the warriors asked. He was slightly taller than the man but seemed to be just as well respected. In fact, all of the men around them were close friends and allies. The one who spoke had long black hair and blue eyes, he wore a simple leather vest on top of a blue shirt and simple green trousers. On his back was a large bow along side a quiver of arrows and on his waist was a simple short sword. He looked as though he was proficient at both.
The rest of the group was just as diverse. One of the men wore a simple vest on top of his bulging muscles. He was extremely tall and had an unbelievably huge sword on his back, so huge that it would seem as though he were the only one to be able to wield it. He had buzz cut white hair and his black skin accentuated the long, white, jagged scar going across his face from the top right of his forward all the way to the left corner of his mouth. Only one of his eyes was open and it was a dark blue colour, filled with strength and compassion.
Next to him was a woman, small in comparison with long vividly red hair. She wore a decorative silver plate mail and similar leggings. She looked young but it was nigh on impossible to tell. She wore brown boots and on her waist was two long silver rapiers. She had on a straight face, showing how nervous but ready she was. Her eyes were the most strangest feature of her face, they were blood red, a trait which is extremely uncommon in the human world. It did not seem to bother anyone in the group however.
Stood off to the side, looking out from the other side of the rock was a young man in his early twenties, he wore a simple green garb over his shirt and light brown trousers. He was clearly not a fighter. He had long dark hair and green, compassionate eyes, he wore glasses. He was average in height and weight and nothing seemed irregular about him. On his back was a long oaken staff kept on by a simple strap that could easily be pulled off for an emergency.
The two other people were a lot smaller than the rest of the group, possibly twins. They were only fourteen years old. The boy wore a bandanna on his head, keeping his blonde hair slicked back so it was not in his face and owned a set of startlingly blue eyes. He wore a dark green jacket over a dark blue top, simple jeans and green fingerless gloves. He wore a dagger on the right side of his waist and on the back of his belt was a small pack, filled with things like smoke bombs and stun grenades. He preferred not to kill.
Next to him was his sister, she wore a simple white jacket with a hood and white loose trousers. On her back was a decorated white staff and a small backpack to hold some items she owned. She had long, curled blonde and startling blue eyes like her brothers.
The six warriors shifted as they awaited the answer to the man’s question. The long, dark haired man waited as the rain continued to fall. It was several long, agonizing moments before the leader replied. “Not long Mateus, our scout is back already.” The man named Mateus looked around, trying to see where the scout was but knew it would be impossible. There was a quiet thump of feet landing on the wet grass.
“Remaj.” The leader stated, as his scout returned. “I trust your reconnaissance went well?”
“Yes my lord.” The man stated. It was impossible to see his face. He wore a tight sort of garb around his head so only his eyes were visible and matching overalls. “The patrols are light tonight, it is the optimum time to attack.”
“Thank you. Fall back and await our return at the camp.” The warrior told Remaj. The ninja bowed his head and disappeared into the darkness. The group stirred as they heard the news that there were barely any patrols and there were several smiling faces.
“What’s the plan sir?” Mateus asked. He looked around at the other people and noticed that they all wore determined looks on their faces despite the huge danger they would soon be facing. Mateus knew that it was an inevitable thing that some of them may die, but they all knew that and had accepted it.
“Okay, listen up.” The warrior said in an authoritive manner. “Jin, Tina.” The twins looked up at the man expectantly. “You will go with Petu,” The man with glasses looked up and smiled sweetly at the twins, “And Felix.” The large black man looked up and smirked at the kids who smiled back happily. “You will go through the eastern entrance and deal with any resistance as you head up the tower. As soon as you get to the top destroy the pulsator and get on the radio to the military to move in their air support. “Understood.”
“Yeah!” The male twin shouted, pumping his fist into the air. His voice had a cocky sound to it and wasn’t that deep
“Alright!” The female twin yelled happily alongside her brother. Her voice was light and happy.
“Understood sir.” Felix and Petu said in their respective voices. Felix had a deep, monotone voice whilst Petu had a light, sensitive tone.
“Myself, Mateus and Zeria will infiltrate the central entrance and find him.” He emphasized the word “him” and they all understood. Zeria looked up at the two men she would be with a nodded her head.
“When do we leave?” She asked in a light, beautiful tone. She straightened up and began to walk towards the man with her arms crossed.
“As soon as. Get ready everyone.”
“Yes sir!” Everyone except Zeria and Mateus shouted. The four others all began to prepare themselves, making sure they had adequate medical supplies.
“We shouldn’t be sending those childing into a war zone.” Zeria stated bluntly, making sure to say it under her breath so they wouldn’t hear. She glared the man deep in the eyes.
“I know that Zeria, but they are strong fighters and they will have Felix and Petu with them, so please, do not worry about their safety.” The man smiled his smile and she looked away angrily.
“Fine. Mateus, get ready.” Zeria told him, he nodded his head and began to check his bow. “Leon, if one of those children die, I will personally kill you myself.”
Leon looked at her worryingly, knowing that she actually would kill him. “They will survive, I know it.” The group had gotten ready and Leon looked at the carefully. “All of you, listen carefully.” He said to them, gaining their immediate attention. “What we are about to do will be excessively dangerous, but remember this: If we win now, we will have surely won this war and there will be no more senseless bloodshed. We must win this! No matter what the cost! Agreed!”
“YEAH!” They all shouted simultaneously. The group of four turned and ran away, heading towards their infiltration point. The other three waited as they left their sights and began on their way to the main entrance.
“Let do this. My friends.” The man named Leon said as the group began to climb the steep hill to Yengay Tower.
Chapter One: The Boy.
There was a loud groan from underneath the thick blanket as the alarm clock rang on the bedside cabinet. It continued to ring until an automatic cut-off came on and it abruptly became quiet. There was a sharp knock on the door as a voice was heard throughout the room. “Rene! It’s time to get up!” A woman’s voice shouted from the other side of the door. “You know what’ll happen if you don’t get up before Damon gets here!” With this the boy named Rene groaned even more loudly than before and he could hear the woman chuckle slightly outside the door. She turned on her heels and began to walk away.
It was several more minutes before the seventeen year old decided to get up. He threw the blanket off of him and sat up, letting his medium length, dark brown hair fall down his face. He brushed the strands from his face and stretched. He wore nothing except a pair of bottoms and yawned loudly. He had dark blue eyes and very handsome features, he was Caucasian but had a slightly tanned look to him. He was quite well-built and tall. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his body once more.
“Damn… What time is it?” Rene murmured as he grabbed his clock and noted down the time. It was almost nine in the morning. Rene stood up, placing the clock back on the cabinet and made his way to his en-suite bathroom. He jumped into the shower after quickly removing his bottoms and switched it on, letting the hot stream fall onto his bare skin. He sighed as he washed himself, thinking of what he’d be doing today. His older friend, Damon, had just returned from the capital after finishing his tour of duty within the Republic Army and was now on leave, he had arrived late last night and Rene never had a chance to seem him, but he was going to be here today meaning Rene had to put up with him. He enjoyed his company except that Damon could be a bit too… energetic in the morning.
He quickly dried himself after washing and threw on some clothes. He wore a light blue short underneath a dark brown, sleeveless jacket and brown trousers. He quickly put on his trainers and opened his bedroom door. The smell of breakfast hit him suddenly and filled him with sudden ravenous hunger. He quickly went downstairs and literally slid into the kitchen along the polished floor. He came to an abrupt halt as he saw who was sat next to his mother.
Damon Roughley sat on a simple dining room chair, wolfing down a full plate of bacon, eggs and the sort. He had long black hair and green eyes and a wide smirk on his face. He swallowed his food and looked at Rene. “S’up sleepy head? I was just about to go and kick your ass outta bed.” He was slightly taller than Rene but weighed a lot less, due to his unbelievably high metabolism. Rene’s mother giggled at the thought of Rene being kicked out of bed and Rene glared at her, making her stop immediately. Rene’s mom was only a small thing, she had long, curly brown hair and cute blue eyes. She wore a light shirt and trousers and was the most important thing in Rene’s life.
“Like you could kick my ass Day.” Rene smirked, grabbing a plate of food for himself and setting himself down on a chair. Damon grinned at him as the pair ate their food, often jabbing each other with jokes or plain old insults. Rene’s mother finally had enough and stood up.
“I wish you two would grow up.” She sighed, trying to hide the slight grin on her face. “I’m going to the market so is there anything you’d like me to pick up?”
“Nah, you’re okay Mrs. S” Damon smirked, she knew that Rene’s answer would be along the same lines and just nodded her head as she turned away and left the room. “So Skylar, what’s on the agenda today hmm?”
Rene smirked as his friend called him by his last name. “I dunno, what do you want to do? It’s your leave remember.”
“Yeah, I guess. Hmm… We could always try and score some babes.” He grinned at Rene who was rolling his eyes.
“You ain’t changed a bit have you?” Rene smirked at Damon, who nodded his head happily. Rene stood up and put his dish into the sink. Damon did the same abd leaned against the counter.
“So. How’re things around here since I left?” Damon asked. He had left the town over a year ago. His parents had died from an illness and Damon just went to bits, eventually he decided to get away from the place all together and joined the Republic Army.
“Not much has changed to be honest. Mark left to join the healer’s guild in the city.” Rene told him. Damon nodded his head at Rene.
“Yeah I already knew that, he’s in the healing division of the army as well.” Damon told him, Rene figured that the two would probably meet up at some point.
“How is he?” Rene asked, thinking of their friend. He was a superb healer and was well missed by the town.
“He’s on the frontline now, keeping as many men alive as possible.” Damon told him. The frontline, Rene thought to himself as Damon continued to speak about Mark. So even Mark is involved in the war now.
“Have I missed anything else?” Damon asked, Rene’s attention immediately went to him and he shook his head. Rene walked to the door and looked at Damon.
“Nah, not much has changed round here.” Rene told him, he opened the front door and felt the warm sun against his face. “Fancy goin’ for a walk?”
“Sure why not?” Damon smirked as he walked ahead of Rene. The sun was bright today but there was still a slight chill in the air from the rain last night. “Where do ya fancy goin’ mate?”
“Dunno, can’t we just walk for a bit?” Rene muttered, he was still groggy from his night’s sleep and was beginning to get annoyed by Damon’s energy. They had begun to walk down the steep hill towards the town. The surrounding area was filled with green wildlife, tall trees surrounded the area and down the hill the large town of Emeres could be seen. The town was small but modern, cars could be seen but at this distance they may as well have been little dots on the map.
Puffs of smoke billowed out of chimneys and several building lit up like Christmas lights, despite it being so early. Rene could see the market from here and smiled as he could tell that it was already beginning to get busy and would soon enough be filled with peddlars and stalls etcetera. Rene yawned lously as they continued down the hill.
“Jeez, you’re still not a morning person huh?” Damon smirked, Rene ignored him completely and just continued walking.
“So what’s it like in the army?” Rene asked after several minutes of silence. Damon grinned as he stopped and sat on a nearby boulder.
“What do ya wanna know?” He asked happily.
“What do YOU do?” Rene asked Damon, smirking slightly. Damon grinned at the question and rocked backwards and forwards as he thought of the best way to descibe what he did.
“Well in a way, I’m both a strategist and a fighter. When I’m not in battle I usually read maps of the battlefield to find out the best possible vantage points, infiltration points and of course: Escape routes.” Damon told him as he pulled back his long hair and tied it into a ponytail with a rubber band.
“And when you are on the battlefield?” Rene asked, smirking at the thought of Damon fighting in the battlefield. Damon went silent as he thought about what to say. After several long moments he finally spoke.
“The battlefield is… The most dangerous place a person can ever be.” Damon stated bluntly. “You have arrows whizzing by you, missing you by sometimes less than an inch. Your comrades fall all about you but at the same time, you’re there. Fighting for your country. I’ll admit Rene, I’ve killed people. I wish I didn’t have to but yeah, I’ve killed people before.”
“What do you fight with?” Rene asked, looking at Damon sadly. He looked as though he had seen a lot in one short year.
“Believe it or not I use a double edged broadsword.” Damon smirked, suddenly Rene burst into laughter, just the thought of Damon holding such a huge sword cracked him up.
“I’ll believe that when I see it bro’.” Rene smirked. Damon smirked back as he jumped off the boulder and landed nimbly on his feet.
“It don’t matter anyway man, I prefer to use my brains than my brawn.” Damon laughed as the pair continued to walk down the hill.
The walk took about half an hour before they reached the outskirts of the town. The two guards at the gate recognized the pair and allowed them access. They walked through the gate and made their way through the seemingly deserted streets. Everyone in town was most likely at the market like every other Saturday and this was fine with Rene.
The pair sat down in the park and leaned back to look at the clouds. It was several moments till Damon broke the silence. “Hey remember when you were twelve and I was sixteen? We’d just come here and watch the clouds.”
“Jeez man, stop making this sound like some reunion of lovers.” Rene smirked at his friend. Damon looked at his and laughed slightly. “Anyway, you were saying?”
“Well, we used to sit here and talk about our day and shit. I really miss when we were kids.” Damon sighed. Rene noticed that he had changed a lot since joining the army. He seemed darker and cooler but at the same time, retained everything he had from old Damon.
“Yeah, I miss being a kid too.” Rene sighed. All of Rene’s friends had left the town, going to places like the city to take further studies, joining a guild or even the army just as Damon had. He knew that he himself would soon have to make a choice of what to do and was definitely dreading it.
“Hey, wanna go camping like we used to when we were kids? I’m only here till next Friday so I was thinking maybe we should go tonight?” Damon smirked, Rene knew that if he agreed to this Damon would just constantly go on about some sexy woman he pulled in the city. Despite this Rene just sighed and reluctantly agreed.
“All right!” Damon whooped as he heard Rene’s response. “What do ya wanna do in the meantime?”
“I dunno. Old warehouse?” Rene asked, speaking of the old, abandoned warehouse on the far eastern side of the town.
“Depends, we gonna go check out the old tunnels?” Damon asked.
“Sure why not?”
“Meh, I guess we could go.” Damon sighed, he still shivered from the memories of when they used to go exploring in the old tunnels underneath the warehouse.
~~~~~~~~
It took them at least an hour to make their way through the labyrinth like town to get to the old warehouse. Rene struggled with the huge door of the warehouse. Damon began to help and eventually the door began to open slowly. As soon as it opened enough to fit them, they slid through and looked around the old warehouse. The area was dimly lit, with only a few flickering light bulbs still alive. “Wow, those long-lasting bulbs really do last a while…” Damon smirked at Rene who smirked back.
“Let’s see if the hatch will still open.” Rene said to Damon as they looked as the outline of a metal hatch. There was no handle to open it with but Rene and Damon already knew the answer to that. Damon headed over to an office on the opposite side of the warehouse and opened the rusted door forcefully. Damon looked around as he tried to remember where the switch he was looking for was. He quickly remember that it was underneath the desk and felt for it. He clicked it once but nothing happened. He clicked it several more times until a loud buzzing was heard and the hatch opened slightly.
Before it had the chance to fall back down Rene caught the edge with his hands and held it. He slowly began to lift up the heavy weight before throwing it open so it was on the floor. He puffed slightly as Damon made his way towards him and patted him on the back.
So you can open it yourself now huh?” Damon smirked, remembering when Rene could only hold it and he would need his help to open it fully.
“I’m a lot stronger than I used to be bro’” Rene huffed as Damon jumped down the hole. A quiet thud was heard and then a whistle, signalling that it was okay for Rene to jump down. He did so and quickly found himself landing nimbly on an old tattered mattress. “It’s still here.”
“Yup, guess the nasties down here didn’t eat it.” Damon smirked as Rene got off the mattress. “Uhh… You lead the way, I can’t remember the way to the old hideout.” Damon lied blatantly, Rene knew that Damon still hated being underground but shrugged it off, he was used to his fears.
They walked for several hours as they navigated the huge labyrinth of the underground tunnels. The paint they had used so long ago to mark the way to their little hideout had worn off so now they had to attempt to navigate using just their memories. They had little success but eventually managed to find the tunnel leading to their hideout.
Unlike the tunnels, this room was quite large, it was too dark to see properly so Rene took out a box of matches and lit one. He quickly found a candle and lit it, he lit some more and spread them around until they could finally see properly. “Wow, it ain’t changed a bit.” Damon whistled as he looked around the hideout. A couch and several armchairs were scattered across the room along with a pool table in the corner, a generator in the other alongside a TV and games console.
“Wonder if this has still got some power.” Rene said as he walked towards the generator. He pulled on the cord several times before a quiet sound began to emanate from it. After several moments the lights overhead came and the TV turned on to static. Damon blew out the candle and sat down on the couch next to a small cabinet with a lamp and photo frame with a photo in it. Damon spotted the photo and grinned as he picked it up. In the picture was a ground of ten kids, all of varying ages.
“What’s that you got there?” Rene asked as he sat down and was given the photo. He look startled for a few moments before realising that he was looking at a picture of him with a load of other people when he was thirteen years old. The picture was in black and white but it was clear. “Wow, this is real old.”
“Yeah, remember any of those kids?” Damon asked him as he looked at the picture once more.
“Only a few, the girl next to me was called Julie, she left a few months ago to join the white mage association.” Rene told him.
“Oh yeah, she was always good with magic. Anyone else?”
“The guy on your left.” Rene said pointing at the seventeen year old Damon’s side. A tall eighteen year old stood on Damon’s left and the current Damon’s eyes sparked up in recognising.
“That’s Rico Harriet, right?” Damon smirked as he remembered the man. “The only guy I can think of who was more of a perve than me.” Rene burst into laughter as he remembered Rico.
“I don’t remember the rest of these guys.” Rene told him, giving back the picture. Damon looked at it for a few more moments before settling it down. He sighed as he leant back on the couch.
“What do ya wanna do now?”
Rene smirked at the question, for once he actually had an answer. “Wanna go camping?
Chapter Two: The Night Life
It had been several hours since Rene and Damon had left the tunnels, they had immediately gone to Rene’s house to grab the camping gear. Rene threw on a better attire which consisted of a loose, short-sleeved, light green jacket on top of a simple white top and dark blue jeans. He put on some black fingerless gloves and quickly wrote a note to him mother explaining where he was. As he stuck it to the fridge in the kitchen Damon burst in carrying a load of camping stuff.
He was grinning like a little kid which made Rene chuckle under his breath. He noticed that there was a large case on his back and looked at Damon weirdly. “What the heck is that?” He asked, cocking his eyebrow slightly in question.
“That my friend, is something you will see later, but for now… Help me with this bloody camping crap! It’s heavy as hell!” Damon shouted, half-joking, half-serious. Rene recognised the tone and grabbed the package with the tent inside and several smaller bags with camping gear in. Damon huffed as he set down his bags and stretched his arms. “Hey, your mom gonna be okay with us just going out like this?”
“Of course she would thicko, I left her a note explaining and she trusts us both so I guess she wouldn’t mind. She’s been wanting to have the house to herself for a while anyway.” Rene told him, smiling crookedly at Damon. “I packed some snacks for us to eat in case we don’t feel like hunting okay?”
“Yeah, no problems here!” Damon grinned as he picked up his bags again and kicked open the door leading onto a path on the side of the house. “How far we gonna go into the forest this time?”
“I don’t feel like hiking for hours so let’s just stay along the edge.” Rene said, not really bothered about where they go. Damon grinned at him like he knew what he was thinking and nodded his head. “Let’s go bro’.”
The pair left the house, holding tons of equipment and supplies to last them for a week, they always did this, not really knowing if they would come back the next day or stay a little longer. They quickly found the edge of the forest and walked in, immediately surrounded by wildlife and creatures big and small.
“Daaaamn, this place sure hasn’t changed a bit…” Damon whistled as he looked around the familiar scenery, as per usual you couldn’t hear anything other than the chirping of birds or the sounds of an animal walking through the undergrowth. This area was one of the only areas throughout the world that did not have a monster population, something of which made it very popular for camping trips. No one knew why there was no monsters here. Most people blamed it on the fact that there had not been a single battle in this village for over five centuries.
“Let’s set up camp here yeah?” Rene said as they entered a medium-sized clearing. Damon nodded his head, something which made the ponytail on the back of his head jump up and down. Rene had to stifle a laugh at his friends girl-like hair. Damon had put on a pair of glasses and had opened the bag with the tent in. For several minutes the pair worked diligently as they constructed the tent. After many groans and shouts they finally managed to build the tent properly. “Jeez, that took longer than usual.” Rene remarked, his tent building skills had certainly rusted seeing as he had not been camping in a long while. He looked at Damon with a slight smirk. “Don’t you army folks have to build tents all the time? You had quite a bit of trouble.”
Damon glared at Rene who simply stared back with a slight grin. Eventually Damon smirked at him and shook his head. “Normally I arrive after they’ve been built. It can be very annoying when called to different places that are many miles away.” He sighed as he looked up through the trees above and into the cloudless sky. “It’s gonna be a nice day.”
“Yeah, but it’s gonna be frigging freezing in the morning.” Rene told him. Damon looked at him with a smirk on his face and Rene groaned, he knew what was going to come next.
“I guess we could always cuddle up eh Bro’.?” Damon laughed at Rene’s face of horror and took several steps back to avoid Rene swinging for him. “Nah, we’ll just make a fire or something yeah? You go collect some firewood bro’.”
“Why me?” Rene demanded, it was quite warm in the clearing already but he knew that a fire would also be useful in keeping away the larger predators in the forest.
“Because you’re the younger one so get to it.” Damon snapped at him, pretending to give orders like a military officer. Rene groaned but obliged anyway. It took him only a few minutes to gather the wood needed before returning with it, Damon had already made a ring of rocks and Rene placed the firewood inside of it. He sat down as Damon did something Rene did not expect.
Instead of using a tinderbox like Rene would have done, Damon crossed his right hand over his left and placed it several inches over the firewood. He closed his eyes and looked like he was concentrating. Rene smirked at his friend, who at the time looked like an idiot, but was suddenly amazed as the top of Damon’s right hand suddenly had a circle of red on it. The palm of Damon’s left hand glowed red and suddenly a flame burst from his palm, striking the firewood. The glow stopped and nothing happened when suddenly the firewood burst into flame and began to crackle loudly.
Damon huffed, he looked up at Rene’s amazed face and grinned. “Didn’t tell you I could use Magic now did I?” Creating the fire wouldn’t have taken so long normally but he lengthened the procedure to allow Rene to fully realise what he was doing.
“Wow Day, veeery unexpected.” Rene said, gob smacked. He quickly regained his composure and looked Damon in the eyes. “Guess you’ve changed quite a bit huh?” He said to Damon who nodded knowingly. He noted that Damon’s eyes had a slight red shade to them after using the magic but quickly returned to their normal green colour.
“Thanks bro’. I’ve been studying at the royal academy in my free time. I’m getting pretty good.” Damon told him, he grabbed a backpack from next to the tent and opened the flap. “We get loads of homework to do though…” Inside the bag was books, all with some sort of magical symbol on. Damon took one out and showed off his magic again.
“These books are impossible to open unless you can use magic. Here you try.” Damon said, handing Rene the book. Rene looked at the book for a few moments before attempting to open it. Despite the lightness of the book, no matter how hard Rene pulled on the front cover it simply would not open. He huffed in anger as Damon took the book back and placed his right hand on the cover. A green symbol appeared on Damon’s hand suddenly the same symbol appeared on the book. Damon lifted his hand slowly and with it the cover began to open, despite Damon no longer touching the book.
Damon released the magic and the book was now open. Rene reached forward to look at the book and Damon pulled away just before Rene touched it. “Trust me when I say: You do not want to do that.” Damon told him, closing the book. The green symbol reappeared on the book, showing that it had once more been locked with magic. “If you touched that book you’d most likely have been paralyzed for the rest of the day.”
Rene smirked and sat back. “Anything else you wanna show off? Or even tell me?”
“Yeah, don’t make me do fire magic again please. It’s not my element so it’s really hard for me to use, it’s practically the opposite of my element.”
“Water?”
“It’s connected in a way. I’m a nature-mage. I can practically control nature.” Damon told him, he was looking quite tired now and Rene understood just how bad it was for him to use fire-magic. “I’m pretty exhausted, but how about I show you my sword now?”
“Huh? You brought it?” Rene asked, he quickly remembered the large case Damon had brought with him and smirked. “Oh, so that’s what was in the case huh?”
Damon smirked as he stood up and grabbed the huge case. He flipped open the latches and took out an extremely large sword. It was around a metre and thirty centimetres long and roughly five inches thick. It looked unbelievably heavy yet Damon lifted it with such ease. He spun it gently in his hand and suddenly gripped the handle. He charged forward with the blade out-front and stabbed it into the tree. He pulled the blade out and Rene simply gasped at the space where it had been. The only thing holding up the tree was two thin slices of back where the sword had not cut. Damon spun round as he pulled back his blade and kicked the tree harshly just above where he had stabbed his sword. The tree suddenly fell forwards, creating a loud boom as it smashed against the earth below.
Damon turned towards Rene and spun the blade in his hand. He placed it on his back and smirked as he placed it into the sheathe. Rene hadn’t even noticed that he put it on.
“Woah.” This was all Rene could say.
~~~~~~
It was night now. The fire Damon had made earlier on was still crackling and the warm glow filled the clearing. Rene was laying on his back, leaning his head against a large log they had dragged into the clearing earlier whilst Damon polished his blade and kept an eye over the meat that was cooking over the fire. Many things were going through Rene’s mind at the time. Things such as, what the heck am I gonna do with my life? All my friends have left, even Damon is doing pretty well in the army and here I am, still living in the same old village day after day.
Rene sighed as these thought kept going through his head. He had been sat here for about ten minutes now, just lazing about like every other day. Damon had noticed this of course and had a worried look on his face. Rene was like a little brother to him and he was worried about how Rene was doing.
“Hey Rene.” Damon said as he took the meat off the fire and placed it on a plate to cool down. “I got a question for ya.”
“Yeah?” Rene asked, looking up at Damon and feeling his stomach rumble at the smell of food.
Damon sat opposite Rene and crossed his legs as he looked at his friend. “Why don’t you come to the city with me? Enrol in University or join a guild maybe?”
Rene sat up immediately and looked at Damon harshly. “No.” He told Damon bluntly. Damon was taken aback by the sudden hostility and suddenly raised his voice.
“What the heck is wrong with you dammit!” Damon blurted out angrily, “You’re seventeen years old for Christ’s sake! At least when I was your age I got a job in town instead of lazing about my house all day!”
“Shut up Damon!” Rene shouted, standing up. “I don’t want to go to the damned city! I have a life here! I have to take care of my mom!”
“She can take care of herself! She wants what’s best for you!” Damon pleaded with Rene. Rene stomped his foot on the ground and spun on his heels.
“I’m gonna go for a walk.” Rene told him quietly. He began to walk into the forest and quickly found himself in the dark. He sat down on the dry grass and sighed, holding his head in his hands. He could hear crickets chirping all around him and smiled.
Rene sat there until it was pitch black before he stood up to return. He quickly realized he could not even see the fire from the camp and figured that he walked further than he meant to. “Shit.” He swore as he looked around to try and find his trail. He took out his matchbox and lit one, trying to see better. The small flame illuminated only a portion of the area and Rene sighed. He’d just have to be lucky and hope Damon saw the match of something.
He wandered through the forest, not knowing if he was getting closer or even further from the camp. He swore silently as he began to break into a run and tried to find an exit. If he got lost now then it was mostly likely that he would die here. He tripped up and hit the cold floor hard, making him dizzy. He lay there for several minutes before hearing a rustling noise and cursing his luck that he had to run into a predator now. He hoped it would be a Tiger Cat which would end his life quickly instead of dragging it out and torturing him.
The rustling got closer and suddenly Rene heard a chuckle. “Want a hand bro’?” Damon’s familiar voice said as he picked Rene up by the scruff of his jacket and put him on his feet.
“Damon, I’m so sorry for being as ass.” Rene muttered in apology. Damon smirked as he accepted the apology. “It’s just that, Mom’s been sick lately and I’ve had to take care of her and it’s been driving me insane and I just do-”
“Shut up.” Damon ordered him, Rene immediately went quiet and looked at Damon worriedly. “Can you hear that?”
“Hear what? I can’t hear anything.” Rene stated. He then realised the problem. He couldn’t hear anything. It was too quiet, even the crickets were no longer chirping. “What the heck’s goin’ on?”
“Quick, we better get back to the house.” Damon told him, he began to run off and Rene followed, making sure he could still see him. They continued to run for several more minutes before finally breaking out of the forest. They arrived on a ledge overlooking the town and Rene gasped. Even from this distance Rene could hear the screams of people being attacked.
Fires blazed across the village and Rene could see many people killing the innocent civilians. Rene couldn’t tell from this distance but made a guess none the less.
“Bandits!?” Rene shouted in horror. He looked over at Damon’s still face and noticed the anger blazing in his eyes.
“Worse.” Damon stated as he grabbed the hilt of the blade on his back. “They’re soldiers. Soldiers from the Eternia Empire.”
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And I'm writing but next chappy prolly won't be up till after christmas