A door burst open on a young handsome muscular man who smiled at the angry man staring at him in anger. "We need to talk, but first I need to cut something first."
A chill went through him as he jumped out of the bedroom window and landed on a market stall roof. He then jumped and rolled off onto the sandy road of the street. He stood up and looked up at the window he had jumped from glancing at the nearby merchant with a smile on his face. The merchant shook their head at him while smiling. "Youth."
He ran a hand through his brown slightly curled hair and smiled at the merchant."Youth need to listen to their heart sir."
"Hahaha."
He heard the merchant laugh as a woman leaned out of the window with barely any clothes on smiling at him. He looked up at her, bowed and winked."My love, until I see you again."
The woman smiled and waved, moments later the door burst open, causing him to look surprised.
"Sorry my love, it seems we must part quickly." He started to run down the street towards the middle of the town.
"Boy, you should stop running and face me like a man!"
He looked back to the middle-aged muscular man started to run after him. He smiled as he dodged bricks, fruit and the occasional knife. A mischievous smile appeared on his face as he stopped running and called out.
"I wanted to leave last night but your daughter, she stole my pants, and she didn't give them back until this morning. And even then, you have no idea how difficult it was to get them back!"
He smiled at the older man and ducked as a large brick hit the wall behind where he was previously standing and rolled out of the way and started running again. He could hear the father cursing loudly, he laughed and ran faster. He turned a corner and slowed down as something caught his eye.
He walked up to a fruit stall and smiled at the seller. "Would you touch my arm, so that I can tell my friends that I was touched by a beautiful angel of the creator?"
He leaned forward towards the beautiful fruit seller with her long dark curly hair and whispered in her ear. "I'm a little busy at the moment beautiful, may we meet for dinner tonight and maybe we can do some exercise later?" He leaned back and smiled at the fruit seller who laughed shyly at him and nodded.
He could hear the cursing of the father and grabbed the fruit seller ducking as a piece of fruit flew over their heads. He picked her back up, took a step back and winked, "pick you up tonight." and started to run away.
He ran a few steps, stopped and grabbed the fruit sellers hand kissing it while staring into her eyes. "How I wish I could spend my morning with you, but you know duties and responsibilities and all those sorts of boring things." He looked at the older man who was getting closer and ran out of the market square.
He laughed as he heard the father curse after him. "When I get you boy, I'm going to be putting this pole in a place where the sun doesn't shine from. It's going to hurt you so much that the creator will have to manifest and heal you from my wrath!"
The young man laughed loudly and called back."You should talk to your daughter about that. She taught me a few things about putting things where the sun doesn't shine!"
He ran and turned down a small alleyway smiling as another brick hit the wall behind him. He jumped up onto the roof and hid with a smile on his face waiting for the father to approach.
"Boy that was a bad decision, there's no exit down there, you're now mine to play with." From his hiding spot he watched the father stand at the entrance to the alleyway with both of his hands around the wooden pole squeezing it slightly causing it to bend slightly.
He frowned slightly. "He is strong, but strength isn't everything."
He smiled as the father cursed loudly and stepped into the alleyway.
"Boy come out and take this like a man If you take this well, you'll then go to the dome and marry my daughter."
He jumped down from the roof and landed at the entrance of the alleyway. "I don't think your daughter wants to be married, she has so many notches on her belt, she would have to marry almost everyone!"
He ran off laughing as he heard the father yelling and screaming for his blood. He climbed a building and started to run over the rooftops jumping over streets laughing to himself as he heard the dome bells chiming, he cursed to himself.
"She is going to try and kill me again."
"I've should've lost him by now, I need to change and hurry before she knows I'm not there yet."
He jumped down from the roofs onto the road and ran into a small quiet alleyway. "I'm lucky that I've prepared for this." He smiled as he opened a barrel which had a change of clothes. He changed his clothes and put on the robe of the creator and walked back out on the street and towards the dome of the creator.
"Finally… I'm here." He crossed the creators square mixing in with the crowds of people making their way to the dome of the creator. He looked up at the dome and saw a large picture of Red.
"Big Red from the Eternia circus was to be buried today." He sighed.
"Today, I can't be late. She is already going to punish me severely, but the Supreme will be here soon."
He hastened his pace. He got to the large sandstone steps of the creator and started climbing them making his way through the mass of crying and mourning crowd. Another bell started ringing which made him curse. He looked at the people around him stare at him in horror, he ignored them and ran up the final few steps.
He stopped to catch his breath quickly as he reached the top of the steps next to the large open wooden doors. He glanced at their engravings detailing the story of the Creator. He walked into the dome and made his way along the edges avoiding the crowds as they filled the seats in the middle. He looked up at the paintings on the roof of the dome and smiled. "This artwork is as beautiful as the fruit seller."
He reached the front of the dome where a statue of the creator touched the roof and bowed placing his fist over his heart and then walked to a small door on the side of the statue.
A firm hand grabbed his shoulder and he felt his heart sink to his stomach. "Late again are we Drummen?" He cringed, turned and bowed. "Lord Daikish, I apologize for my lateness… There was a woman who wanted a private conversation about the Creator."
He watched as Daikish leaned towards him and smelled the air and sighed scratching her nose and looking serious at Drummen.
"It seems that private conversation happened in a tavern somewhere followed by someone's bed. Does that sound correct?"
Drummen nodded silently. He lowered his head to avoid her piercing gaze. "You know your prayers and you also know the punishment, so I hope to see you in the stalls this evening."
Lord Daikish turned and started to walk away as Drummen could only nod and follow her through the dome and the crowds in silence. He watched her stop and look at him with a smile that showed she was going to enjoy watching him suffer.
"Drummen you'll be in the stalls with the animals until the next full moon, and you'll be carrying the water on your shoulders, use of batterys will be forbidden, unless you want to go for another full moon..."
Drummen could only nod and accept his punishment. He waited until she had turned around before cursing under his breath. "She is scary, why does she love punishing me so much?" He followed her in sullen silence.
They walked out of the dome and stood on the steps facing the creator's courtyard with Drummen standing a few steps behind her. She turned and faced him.
"Soon the Supreme will arrive for the funeral, be on your best behavior and do not embarrass the dome or the people that are in it, especially me."
Drummen nodded as Lord Daikish smiled. "Also, the Supreme will be watching the duels, again do me proud, or I'll make your life a living hell." She smiled again causing his heart to beat quickly. "That smile could freeze fire…" He watched her turn and walk a few steps joining in conversations with the other lords. He turned away and joined the small group of apprentices. "Why did she choose me? She's a nightmare…"
One of the apprentices leaned over towards Drummen and whispered, "I heard about this morning, if that was me, Lord Giesh would have me castrated. You're lucky you have the beautiful Daikish looking after you."
He turned and looked at the young apprentice. "You're the lucky one. Daikish has some strange fetish about torture and she gets excited and passionate about torturing me in new and fantastic ways." He turned to face the other apprentices who were also listening. "You should see what she made me do last time." He lifted his sleeve showing the bruises from the staff that Daikish hit him with previously.
"That was because my stance was not low enough, and I have many on my legs because they were not high enough or spread apart enough. You don't want to see the other ones I have, or that will give you nightmares for life." He sighed quietly, as the apprentices looked at Daikish in fear. "She's so beautiful, but actually she's a demoness in disguise."
His body shook as Lord Daikish turned around and stared at Drummen with a smile that caused the blood in Drummen to freeze over and no longer opened his mouth.
He watched as the crowds of people started to become less as they were finding their way into the dome. "All that we're waiting for is the Supreme and his group."
"Here come the Fireguards, the Supreme is not far away now…" He turned his head in the direction of the apprentice who spoke up and watched the square as soldiers started to march their way into the square. He watched as the soldiers formed and took positions around the square and others as they climbed the steps.
"Now that is some armor…"
He stared at the Fireguards red leather armor. "It looks like it is on fire and constantly moving." An apprentice looked at him. "That's because it is formed from their strange fire energy techniques." The apprentice puffed up his chest while looking at Drummen.
"My father told me that Fireguards don't need to use batterys, but can use their own energy, making them walking fire batterys."
Drummen whistled quietly and looked at the Fireguards closest to him. He suddenly felt the icy killing intent from Lord Daikish staring at him and stopped looking at the guards, straightening his back in silence until the glare of Lord Daikish faded.
"Phhhewwww." He let out a deep breath and watched as the Supremes' transport arrived. He looked around the square in confusion. "It's like this whole square has suddenly gone silent… I can't even hear the sound of the transport or the wind…"
He watched as the ornate transport slowed to a stop in front of the steps. "Why am I holding my breath?" He looked at himself in confusion.
The door to the transport opened and a man in strange green armor stepped out and looked around briefly then looked in the transport and nodded.He watched as a middle-aged man stepped out of the transport and looked up at the dome frowning. Drummen wiped his forehead removing the sweat that had appeared and shook his head in amazement.
"I'm still far from him, but there is something on him that is pushing me back." He frowned as he focused on his breathing and watched the lords bow towards the Supreme. His mouth became parched as the Supreme walked up the stairs followed by the lords in silence.
"Aaarrgh."
He watched as several apprentices next to him paled and fell onto the step they were standing on. "This pressure is frightening. I can't stop focusing on my breathing or I'll fall on the ground as well…" He took a deep breath wiping the sweat from his face with the arm of his robe and watched the procession slowly make their way up the stairs to the door of the dome.
"Is this the power of the supreme?" He wondered as he bowed silently trying to keep himself standing. "Daikish's glare is nothing compared to this..." He clenched his jaw together as he tried to stay on his feet.
"This must be what Daikish was talking about when I can't make her look bad…" He glanced up and noticed the group of lords looking at their apprentices with some of them shaking their heads. He saw Daikish staring at him and shivered when she smiled at him. He glanced behind him and noticed he was the only one still standing.
Panting heavily, he heard the door of the dome open. "Hurry up go inside…" He glanced up and noticed the man in green armor looking at him. He heard the music start as the Supremes' procession made their way inside. He felt the pressure disappear from his body and fell to his knees panting heavily.
"I need… to … get into position… or… Daikish…"
He slowly stood up, wiping the sweat from his face and made his way to the door listening to the sound of music become louder. He leaned against the door to catch his breath and then walked to the rear of the dome trying not to look exhausted.
" I made it… now I wait for her."
He watched Lord Daikish walk to the front and stood at the podium of the creator below the statue with the other Lords.
"I bet she had to do something to convince the other geezers to let her open the service."
He briefly smiled and watched as the other apprentices arrived pale face standing next to him in silence.
Lord Daikish's voice filled the dome.
"Supreme, guards, ladies and gentlemen, and to the people of Athlos watching via vision boxes and light batterys we're all here to honor and celebrate the loss of one of our shining lights in Athlos, Red or Big Red as he was known to by many."