Rain sat down looking at the dull alleyway as Maron came to sit beside him. "It's been a few days now… words probably got out that Jinx isn't here anymore." She said quietly looking over at him. "Why does it matter that he left? What do they gain from trying to take over our territory?" He asked his mind abuzz with thoughts.
"You're kidding right? The Rucks territory is Stoa. I mean it is inside the Kingdoms walls but only the beggars and poor live there. It's not a good place to pick pockets. Besides they don't even have a school there. So all the kids who live there will always be poor. It's like they're trapped in a cage. And since we lost our leader then… there's a power gap. If they can take Mark's here they won't go hungry anymore…" She said wistfully watching as the sun set over the sky. "So why don't they just join us?" He asked as if it was the simplest question in the world.
She turned and looked at him hard for a moment. "We can't support that many people and even if we could they wouldn't give everything up to follow us. Not to mention the guards." She said quietly.
He lifted his head staring into the sky. "So we have to fight then…" He still had reservations about this fight but it couldn't be avoided. "Listen… I'm here for you… We'll all fight by your side." She said playing with a dagger turning it side to side in the last light of the evening sun.
He shook his head. "No. This won't be a fight you and the others can help with. When they come I'll face them alone." He sighed as she sat there in silence.
A few days passed and word of an upcoming fight between two rival gangs spread like wildfire. "Didya hear them kids gonna have a big scuffle here soon wit dem from Stoa." One old man said as he drank talking to a guard in the tavern.
The guard rolled his eyes and downed his pint. "Those little bastards are more trouble than they're worth. Lieutenant says we gotta corral em but I say if the bloody bastards wanna kill each other over a few silver pieces we should let em." He spewed his words followed by a burp.
The turf war became the talk of the two regions of Magnolia and even reached the ears of Leanne Draven. But she had no idea that the one leading the charge for this was the little boy her husband was supposed to be watching.
Most people just ignored it while others placed bets in the taverns on which side would kill out the other first or how many guards it'd take to end the fight.
But the night finally came when the Rucks came knocking. As dusk fell on the market streets young faces popped out of the shadows. Wrapped in dull blue rags they came in pairs setting small fires around the market.
"If they don't wanna come out we'll smoke em out." One of the boys said. He had messy blonde hair that looked like it hadn't been washed since he was born and his face was coated in dirt making it hard to see the smirk on his face.
Just as they came they melted back into the shadows before the guards could get to the scene. Before they left they dropped a clue to where they would be. It was a small card. Insignificant in the eyes of the coppers but the Dragons would know what it meant.
Just as they left a young girl with dark red hair popped up. "I can't believe they set fire to the market… are they stupid or…?" She looked over and saw the little card and without a second thought she grabbed it and disappeared.
"Rain!" Maron shot through the Halls of the hideout and woke him up. "What? What's wrong?" He asked, nearly jumping at the sound of her voice.
She showed him the card. "They lit the market on fire… Even if we didn't fight them the guards aren't just gonna let that go." She whimpered quietly worrying about everyone. "Stay here… if I don't come back then don't let anyone go out for a while… wait till everything cools off." He said trying to think of the best way to keep everyone safe. 'I will not lose my family again.' He thought to himself.
He took a deep a breath and picked up his sword positioning it on his back then looked at Maron. He looked at her as if it was the last time he would see her. Just like that he left vanishing into the night.
He made his way to a small field by the river running from the markets into Stoa. There he saw a group of about sixteen people all around his age waiting for a fight. None of them expected that their opponent would be a single boy.
Rain stepped out into the clearing from the shadows and hefted his sword from its strap. "Are you the leader of the Rucks?" He asked one boy who was a bit older than the others.
"What if I am? Where's the rest ya crew? Don't tell me the Dragons is so full of 'emselves they only sent a single kid." The boy said eliciting laughter from his comrades.
Rain didn't enjoy this so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Just me. I am Rain Alister, the new Dragon Lord." He spoke calmly as he moved forward.
"They swore 'llegiance to a punk like you? This'll be easier than I thought." He said, walking forward with swagger. He pulled two daggers out from his waist as the others crowded around but no one stepped forward to interfere.
"Alright, my name is Jax." As soon as the words left his mouth he lunged at Rain trying to get his daggers inside the range of the boy's sword. Rain pulled down and smacked the boy in the face with the pommel of his sword.
As Jax staggered backwards the others started jumping in. The fight didn't last very long with Rain standing tall above the others laying unconscious on the ground and his blade held against Jax's throat.
"Get your friends, go home. And don't ever step foot in my turf again." Rain forced himself to sound as ruthless as possible. Jax got up as Rain turned around to leave. "You're not going to off us then?" He shouted to Rain.
Without looking back Rain responded. "You're not worth killing." And with that he melted into the night. As he was hurrying away he heard the sound of footsteps and the clinking of the guards armor.
"Let's go! They gotta be out this way!" A voice shouted as the guards came upon the clearing. Rain watched from afar for a moment before slipping off to get home unnoticed.
Word spread quickly after the guard caught three of the injured street runners.
"Did you hear that a single kid fought the entire Rucks gang? Said he was like a whirlwind carving them up with his giant sword." One man said talking about the fight that took place only a few days ago.
"Yeah I heard about that. That kid, whoever he is, is pretty strong." The other guy said. The first man swishes his beer about in his glass. "A few people claimed to see the fight. Said he was no older than fourteen with deadly green eyes and pitch black hair. But they said his sword was bigger than his body." As the nearly drunk man spit out the details someone in the Tavern looked up with concerned eyes. "You said a sword bigger than his body?" The voice came from the man who just looked up. The man known as Eric Draven.