"Kei…"
"Kei~"
"Hey Kei, wake up!"
I sat abruptly and wiped the sleep out of my eyes. Before me is a grassy meadow; this is just by the outskirts of our village. The sun is shining brightly in the sky; it must be past noontime. As my vision focused, I saw my dear sister, Mana in front of me. Her caramel hair tied into a bun gleaming beautifully, which complement her green eyes. She's a slender teenage girl with toned muscles, most likely because of her aptitude in the arts of the spear. She's wearing her favorite red shirt that says "Pacemia Village" and black trousers, the typical training outfit we use in our village. On her back is her trusty spear, Endo, made from the sacred tree Anthretika, or so we were told by some scholars. The blade is reinforced with steel and iron. Not only that, but there is also an obsidian stone fitted in the middle of the metal pointed head itself. She looked at me sternly as I stretched and laid down again, "You shouldn't be sleeping while on guard duty you know! Besides, it's 4 in the afternoon, your shift ended an hour ago."
I smiled apologetically, "Whoa, I didn't notice the time. It flew by so fast."
She sighed then sat down beside me, putting her spear down, "You're hopeless, brother."
I just laughed as we enjoyed the springtime breeze. She looked at me and stifled a giggle, "You really do have bad taste in clothes, dear brother. You look like a hobo."
I sat up and looked at my clothes: a black shirt that reaches my forearms, a blue sash is tied around my waste and forehead (to complement my blue eyes), and black breeches.
I touched my dark brown hair and realized they were in shambles. I shrugged and said, "Who asked you anyway?!"
She giggled then said, "Oh yeah, the chief wants to see you."
I stood up and stretched, "Probably to train the new recruits or to order me around. Well then, I'll be leaving you then."
She smiled, "Sure thing."
I picked up my sword and helmet then started walking. After a few minutes, Mana came running towards me and gave me a hilt of a sword, a bit of the blade protruding from it; it's actually my lucky charm. It's one of the things that our parents gave us, so it's like a family heirloom. I thanked her then bid her good-bye. Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Kei Hawthorne, I'm the nephew of the chief in this village; so is Mana. I'm 18 years old and I'm actually a bit of an air head and irresponsible, but in spite of that, I do my best to be of use to everybody. After all, if it weren't for them, my sister and I wouldn't be here right now. Back there is my sister Mana, she's very strong and brave and she's a year younger than me. She's the type of person who never gives up. The chief took us in when our parents died during the war against the demons. There were five races that fought off the demons; there were humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and sea-dwellers. There were also mystical creatures like fairies, centaurs, and even dragons. Despite the union of the five races, and also with the help of the other mystical creatures, they barely held their own against the demons. The dispute between these races waged on for 100 years. But with a twist of fate, they were able to force the demons back into their realm and seal them away for all eternity. They were all sealed away 15 years ago, the same time their parents left them. According to the story the chief told us, our parents died during the final raid in a hold packed with demons and fiends of sorts, the demon king was there as well. They were able to get rid of them all but our parents died in the process. "They're heroes", our uncle would say. Now, the chief trained us to protect ourselves from any trouble we may face. Our village, Pacemia, is considered the most peaceful village in the continent, as it is in between two large mountains, and people barely venture through here. But now, all sorts of demons and monsters prowl the world. We never had to post a guard back then, even when we were at war; trouble never entered the village at all. But times are dire now, which is why we're training all capable villagers to fight. I can hear sounds of shields bashing and swords clashing as I got near the training courtyard. There are many people here; all of them are wearing their training gear: a helmet, dummy weapons for battle, and leather garments. Most of them are watching a burly warrior fighting another man who looked rather small against his opponent. Looking at the scene before me, it resembles the battle between David and Goliath. That big man is the chief of our village, and also my uncle. His name is Burgh, but the villagers call him "chief". He has black shaggy hair; which makes him look like a barbarian. He has large and ripped muscles; he could probably split a large boulder in half with his bare hands. Though he has a very stern face, he's actually a gentle and kindhearted person. He also has this huge scar across his face, but that's a story for next time. Anyway, his opponent clumsily lunged at him, so Burgh turns to his side then hits the helmet of his opponent with the pommel of his sword. His opponent fell down then everybody around them sighed. Burgh stood in front of them and said, "Come on! You won't be able to defend yourselves against those monsters out there with lousy moves like that!"
The other trainees helped their comrade up just when Burgh saw me. "Ah! There you are. I've been looking for you."
I left my stuff at a nearby stall before walking up to him, "Sorry, I was on guard duty."
He patted me on the back and introduced me to the trainees, "Okay, line-up! I'm pretty sure you guys know this person, but I'll introduce him anyway. This is my nephew Kei, one of our best fighters in our village."
He then walked towards the armory to retrieve a wooden sword, which he then threw at me. I caught it and swung it around, testing the weight.
He then offered me a shield, but I declined, "You know me uncle, I don't use shields."
He shrugged, "No hard feelings when I beat you up, okay?"
He walked a few feet away from me. Afterwards, he then held his shield low and his axe high. I chuckled then hefted the sword on my shoulder, "Bring it on!"
I lunged at him, aiming for his chest. He smacked my sword away with his shield, then he swung wide with his axe. I ducked and made a low sweep kick but he nimbly skipped away. For a big guy, he sure moves fast. I smiled as I slowly got up, "Not bad, uncle."
He laughed as he posed for battle, "Now, now, no talking in the midst of battle."
Unexpectedly, he took one big step forward and brought down the axe on me. I rolled to my left, missing the blade by a few inches. I then quickly got up but his shield was waiting for me; he knocked me a few meters away with a quick smack. A plan formed inside my head as I slowly stood. I charged towards him, aiming for a kick to his chest. But his shield was waiting for it, just as I expected him to do. When my boot met his shield, I then used that as leverage to jump high and strike him from above. He tried to block the incoming attack but he was too late. I hit him on his left shoulder and landed deftly in front of him. Everyone around us were silent for a while, even Burgh was quiet. I straightened myself and wiped off the sweat trickling down my forehead, "I win, uncle."
He laughed as he dropped his axe and shield, "Good job, Kei! I wasn't expecting that!"
Everybody around us cheered. Burgh picked up his axe and told his assistant to tell everyone to pack up and rest. I picked up my stuff and we started walking towards our house. I stared at the skies as I walk. The sky is burning with hues of yellow and red, it's almost sundown. Wow, Can't believe it's almost night time. Burgh caught up to me and congratulated me again. I chuckled, "Oh please, you did that on purpose!"
He grinned at me, "Of course not, you won fair and square. Besides, that gave you quite a few points with the girl trainees."
We both laughed as we reached our house, a delicious smell wafted from inside. Our house isn't all that fancy, but it is quite big compared to the other houses in our village. Well, Burgh is the chief after all, so I guess this is only right. As we entered, we saw his wife, Aunt Serena, and my sister cooking. Aunt Serena somewhat resembles my sister; she is, after all, the sister of our mother. She also has caramel hair, but she is a bit plump. Her very presence exudes the feeling of joy, as if she is the embodiment of happiness itself. She always has a smile on her face and she cares about us a lot. She doesn't approve of us fighting against monsters though. I looked at Mana, "Oh, hey sis. Did you miss me?"
She rolled her eyes whilst cutting vegetables, "In your dreams. What took you guys so long though?"
I left my stuff on a small table and proceeded to wash my face and hands, "Well, we were putting up a show for the trainees."
Mana put the cut vegetables into the pot before answering, "So, who won this time?"
Burgh put his axe on a shelf with his other axes, "Kei won, he got the best of me."
I laughed, "Yeah, yeah. I totally overpowered you."
He sat at the head of the table, "I wonder how you'll fair against your sister though."
I looked at Mana while I set the table, "She'll probably win. Anyway, what's the standing now?"
She answered whilst cooking, "8-7, Kei's leading by one point."
I seated myself on Burgh's left side, "Great! That's great!"
Aunt Serena looked at me while she put the food on the table, heaving a sigh, "Do be careful, dearies. I don't want any of you going home looking bruised and injured. Got that?"
I smiled at her, "Yes, ma'am!"
She smiled and opened the pot before us, "Dinner is served."
She then sat on Burgh's right side while Mana sat next to me. After a short prayer, we started eating. Burgh turned to Mana, "So, anything out of the ordinary today?"
Mana smiled mischievously towards me, "Oh, you won't believe who I found sleeping on the job, uncle."
I choked on the soup I was eating. Oh man, she's gonna pay for that. Burgh looked at me sternly, "You were sleeping on the job?! What if monsters got in while you were sleeping?!"
I sank on my chair, "Sorry uncle, I won't do it again. I promise you though, no monster came."
He sighed, "Good. But next time, don't sleep while you're on guard duty."
"Yes sir!"
Mana gave me one of her annoying smug looks. She is so dead.
As we started to clean up, someone knocked on the door. When Burgh opened it, a knight in bronze armor, carrying a lantern, is standing outside. The night sky is littered with stars; it enhanced the details in the knight's armor. The knight saluted then said, "Are you Burgh, the chief of this village?"
Burgh nodded. The knight continued, "King Raul Caine requests you and your nephews' presence tomorrow afternoon at the kingdom of Magenia."
Burgh crossed his arms, "What does the king need of us?"
The knight shrugged, "You were the leading commander in the front lines back during the war. He probably needs you back at the army."
Burgh sighed; I've witnessed him decline to return to the army many times, he must be really annoyed with the constant badgering, "Why bring the kids then?"
"To know more information about the keepsakes they inherited from their parents. A sage brings new knowledge about the said items."
Burgh nodded, "I see. We'll get ready for tomorrow then, thank you."
The knight bid good-bye then left. Burgh closed the door then told us to get ready for tomorrow. I sighed, "They want to examine them again? I don't think they'll find anything else new."
Mana agreed, "Yeah, unless they think these things can save the world or something."
Burgh laughed, "Nonetheless, we were summoned. We shouldn't decline the invitation."
My sister and I started getting ready for tomorrow, since our uncle wants us to train with the army so as not to waste the trip. Mana looked at me, "So, any idea what the king will find out about my spear and your hilt?"
I shrugged as I put the necessities inside a rucksack, "They're probably imbued with magic?"
She climbed to her bed and tucked herself in, "Or maybe, these can actually blow stuff up!"
I stood up and climbed to my bed as well, wondering what the king might discover with our keepsakes. I took out my lucky charm out of the dresser. It looked like any other hilt; protruding from it is a small bit of a blade. The only thing eye catching about it is the obsidian stone in the middle of the handle. This and my sister's spear are the only things our parents left us. Of all the things to leave us, why these? Well, thinking about this will only get me restless, so I tucked myself in and went to sleep.
At the dead of night, someone knocked loudly downstairs. Mana and I groggily got up and went down. We saw Burgh opening the door while Aunt Serena stood behind him. Outside the door was a guard, he looked badly wounded. He tried to talk, "Big demon in the meadow… So strong…"
He then collapsed on the ground. Burgh told us to get ready for battle. We ran upstairs and wore our battle outfits: a helmet and a light-weight chainmail. Mana picked up Endo while I took one of the swords in our closet; I also picked up my lucky charm, it might help. We ran outside as fast as we can towards the meadow while Aunt Serena tended the guard's wounds.
It's very unusual outside, it felt very hot despite the cold night. We arrived at the meadow after a few minutes; Burgh was already issuing orders to the guards. He's wearing his trademark red armor and on his right hand is his favorite double-edged axe; the length is almost as long as him, and the blade's width is almost just as wide. It was made especially for him during the demon war. Over the horizon, a big demon, the size of a two-storey structure, is slowly walking towards us, leaving craters with each step it took. It would seem like this is the one causing the heat. It has a lion's head; its mane is burning blue. It had snakes for arms, an upper body of a bull, and the hind legs of a wolf. It stares at us with its blood-red eyes; most of the guards around us are shivering in fear. The demon discharged pillars of flame from its snake-hands, burning the grass around it, "I am Kachuseus (I think it pronounced it as "Ka-Khuu-Si-yus"), the Destroyer. I have come here to devour you worthless scums!"
Burgh ordered one of the guards to evacuate the entire village, "We'll buy you guys some time, hurry!"
The guard saluted then hurried off while we prepare for battle. Burgh stood in front of everyone, "This isn't anything like we've faced before. Stand firm and be strong. Defend Pacemia at all costs!"
It is evident that the guards are afraid, nonetheless, they shouted with conviction.
Burgh then looked up at the demon, which slowly got near the meadow. Kachuseus gave a sinister smile and said, "Pitiful humans, what could you possibly do to stop me?"
Burgh gripped his axe firmly and said, "I was the general of the army when we took down your race, what's one more? I'll kill you even at the cost of my own life!"
He raised his axe and charged towards the demon; we did the same. Kachuseus let out a mighty roar as it charged towards us. This'll be one heck of a battle.