The darkness of the night covered the Winterdome mountain. The wind was strong and when it hit the rock formations it caused a sound that resembled a whistle or a whisper. The wolves had gone out of the caves and were howling at the huge full moon that filled the starry sky.
At the top of the mountain there was a light shining in the darkness, it was the College of War. Within its walls people walked the streets returning to their lodgings. In the Master Initiator tower two people were sitting in the living room. The room was square shaped and was the first room you saw upon entering the tower. On the side opposite to the entrance door was a staircase which lead to the top floor. At the right side of the room there was a door leading to the kitchen. In the left there was a fireplace with a fire burning and close to it there were six wooden armchairs, sitting in two of them were Cain and Heirloc.
The only sound that could be heard in the room was the hearth fire clicking. Then Heirloc began speaking.
"Well Cain, to tell this story I'll have to explain how my Lineage works. As I had said before the Faun Lineage holders can connect with animals and acquire some of their characteristics. But by doing that one loses a bit of his way of thinking as a human, increasingly becoming animalistic. Usually a person of my clan can only make connection with one or two animals before losing his humanity completely, but some people are stronger and therefore can master more animal characteristics without losing control" said the Master Initiator.
"And you Heirloc? How many characteristics do you have?" asked Cain curiously.
"Well I've always been considered a genius, so it's no great surprise that I dominate five animal features, one of which is from a celestial beast" replied Heirloc.
"A celestial beast?" asked Cain.
"Celestial Beast is the name we from the Finit clan give to the creatures that have the ability to think like humans. Usually it is dangerous to make a connection with one of them because they can also get some human characteristics when they connect with us. So, it is always required that after the connection you kill the beast, so it cannot bring danger to humanity" said the black man in a serious tone.
"Then why you would make a connection with a celestial beast?" asked Cain intrigued.
"The celestial beasts are rare; therefore, it is hard to find them. But when you connect to one of them the characteristics you can get are much stronger than any that you might receive from common animals. So, when a person of the Finit clan completes 20 years of age he or she will begin to wander in search of these fantastic animals. For this reason, we are seen as a nomadic clan" said Heirloc.
"Now I understand. What characteristics do you own?" The boy asked. His eyes were shining.
"I have the strength of a bear, the agility of a gazelle, the elasticity of a snake, the reflexes of a wolf and the characteristic I got from the celestial beast I will not tell you. Throughout history you will discover it. I think it is more interesting this way" said the man with a smile.
"You had to hide the best one?" replied the boy whining.
"I think now I can start the story. One day..."
**********
A wagon drawn by a horse was walking by a small and irregular dirt road. Some leafy trees lined, but their leaves were not enough to block the sun's rays. It was very hot, and the lack of wind was making it even more intense.
There was a beautiful black horse carrying the wagon and mounting it was a small man. He wore a hat that covered part of his face, but one could identify that it was a white man with blond hair. His features showed clear signs of fatigue and irritation. His name was Kaleb.
As bad as the situation appeared to be Kaleb could not stop his journey. The road was on the threshold of the mountains that closed the border of the Forbidden Lands. It was a notoriously dangerous area, especially for a merchant like him. Given its proximity to the Forbidden Lands few people walked through the site, so it became frequented by many looters who made their camps in the mountains.
Suddenly a trunk fell in front of the horse, the animal was frightened and gave a buck that made the man fall from the saddle. While Kaleb tried to compose himself, a trio of man appeared from behind a near tree. The three were tall and strong, wore worn clothes and heavy leather boots and wore short black hair. They walked in no hurry toward the wagon. They seemed to have fun and then one of them started talking.
"What are you doing alone on this road? You did not hear about how dangerous it is? Lucky for you that you found us, we will protect you to the next town. All that we ask as payment for our work is your merchandise. It's a good deal, is it not?" said the man who was in the middle of the three while laughing, in his hands he carried a large ax.
"I thank you for your kindness, but I do not need protection to go to the city" said Kaleb with a smile as he stood up from the ground.
"Let's finish this charade. We want your cart, if you give it to us without reacting you can leave here with your life" said the man on the left in an intimidating tone, he had a bow in hand and a quiver full of arrows on his back.
The man standing on the right approached Kaleb and threw him against one of the trees nearby and stood there watching the merchant while his teammates were going to search the wagon. When the two men were going to open the wagon a muscular black man who had long dreadlocks on his hair emerged from it.
"Can you guys stop with the noise? You woke me, damn it!" said the man.
"Shut your damn mouth, if you are smart like your little friend you will be quiet while we take the wagon" said the man with the ax.
"Oh, this is a robbery? Damn I thought there would be no more interruptions till we reach the city of Kuga" said the black man.
"If you want to get to Kuga alive you better get out of my way and go stand there next to your friend" screamed the assailant.
"Why you don't try to force me? That would be interesting" said the black man smiling.
The robber with an ax attacked the black man, striking his weapon in a vertical movement. The man easily dodged the blow and knocked the robber down with a kick in his legs, causing his ax to drop from his hands. Then the black man stepped on the assailant's chest and stared at him as he spoke.
"What a pity, it seems that you are not strong enough to make me do it" he said with a smile.
With a superhuman reflex the black man suddenly turned his body with all the speed and caught and arrow with his right hand, the arrow was coming towards his head.
"Hey be careful with this! Someone might get hurt" the man said.
The assailant with the bow could not believe it. He had shot the arrow while the man had his back turned to him. He had never seen someone get an arrow with his bare hands and the man still had it done after turning his body at an unbelievable speed. No matter how you looked at it, what the black man had just done was impossible.
Suddenly the assailant who was watching Kaleb came around the wagon and attacked the man from behind with a thrust of his sword. The man dodged the blow by jumping to the right to the surprise of the robbers.
"Oh, you really will force me to use my sword? You guys are sure we cannot end it all peacefully?" said the man still with a smile.
"You're a dead man, you damned fucker!" said the assailant who was on the floor as he lifted off the ground and picked his ax.
The assailants then began their attack. The one that used the bow and arrow began to shoot his arrows against the black man while the other two were running to corner him.
The man drew his sword that he carried on his waist and with impressive speed, dodged all the arrows and cut off the heads of the two robbers who ran toward him with two horizontal movements. The black man's movements were so fast that the remaining assailant was still trying to understand what had happened. In an instant his companions were running towards the man, and in the other their bodies lay on the floor, separated from their heads.
"What have you done, you bastard?" asked the robber still confused.
"I told you it was better to settle things peacefully. Look at this! Now my sword and my clothes are all dirty with blood and I will still have to endure the smell until I reach Kuga" said the black man with a worried expression as he looked down at his clothes.
"You fucker. I recorded your face, no matter how long it takes I will avenge my comrades" said the assailant.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to run away now that you promised to hunt me" the man replied.
Suddenly the assailant's body fell to the ground. There was a dagger stuck in the middle of his forehead. At that moment Kaleb started talking.
"I tried to warn them that I did not need protection to get to the city. After all I'm giving a ride to one of the candidates to become the next King of Battle" Kaleb said while laughing.
Kaleb started walking towards his wagon.
"And you, no matter how many times I see you fighting, you always seem to be a monster. I could barely see that dagger you threw" Kaleb said now turning to the man.
"I do not believe that I messed my sword with the blood of people so weak. That's what you get for being close to the Forbidden Lands! Kaleb we will continue the travel, I want to get to Kuga before dark, I don't want to sleep on the road again" said the man.
"Okay, but you have not told me what you are going to do in that city. In recent years people just escape from there. I only know the city because it is in one of my trade routes, but if people continue to get out of there soon Kuga will be a ghost town" Kaleb said while he got up on the horse.
"The city of Kuga, as you know is located at the foot of the mountains surrounding the entrance to the Forbidden Lands. In recent years a demon is disturbing the city residents asking for tributes not to kill everyone. The residents were paying it, but they asked for help to the Council of Clans. A small army was dispatched to kill the demon five years ago, but he killed all the soldiers. So, the villagers are fleeing from the city" the man replied.
"I know it all, but what you have to do with it?" asked Kaleb.
"Last year one of the Kings of Battle died because of a disease and his position became vacant. The Council of Clans last year declared that the one who kill this demon could take the title" said the black man.
"But if it was announced last year why no one has tried to defeat this demon?" asked Kaleb intrigued.
"Who said no one tried? Many have tried and so far, almost all died. Only one person came back alive. According to him the demon has a spell that causes the person to lose their senses of sight, hearing and smell for a period of time" replied the man fascinated.
"If he can take your senses what makes you believe that you will be able to defeat him?" Kaleb asked curiously.
"I have a secret weapon" the man said with a laugh.
The two continued their journey on the road. There were no further interruptions and they arrived at Kuga on the sunset.
"Well, this is where we say goodbye. I must continue my journey to the next town. It's a shame that I will lose my security guard so soon" Kaleb said a little sad.
"Do not worry. The nearby town is not far from here and it's not like you're helpless" said the man seriously.
"I know, but fighting is too tiresome. Anyways no use complaining about it. The last time I was in Kuga I lodged at an inn called "The Deer". It was not the best, but at least you'll be able to sleep at night without being attacked by mosquitoes" Kaleb said with an expression that indicated he was serious.
"For me it is enough. Thank you for the ride Kaleb, I hope we meet again" said the man.
"It was nothing, good luck in the fight against the demon. Goodbye Heirloc" said Kaleb.
Heirloc asked one of the locals where was the inn that Kaleb had indicated and walked till he reached it. Upon arriving he paid in advance to stay for a week and asked the owner to prepare a hot bath.
After Heirloc took his bath he went to his room. The room was small, and the only illumination was from the moonlight that entered the room through the small window that was on the wall contrary to the door. There was a single bed in one of the sides of the room and in the other there was a table and a wooden chair. Heirloc put his travel bag on the table and went to bed. When he laid down on the bed he looked at the stars through the small window.
'A demon, right? Looks like I'm finally going to have fun again' he thought.