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sins-legacy · 2 years

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Special side chapter!

Special side chapter to keep you at bay while the second book is being written. Art @byallen. Hope you enjoy

Chapter 20aLincoln,

Direwind

Londandria street

Year 2990 AM

Every flame is born from a spark, they grow wildly until they consume or encompass whatever surrounds them, like a virus or an army until they eventually diminish. In the streets of Lincoln, Direwind the people once knew this and prided themselves in the warmth of flames as they harboured one of the few remaining fire elemental families on the continent. The Lanix family. Currently the streets of Direwind lay destitute after years of neglect and impoverishment, its owners failing to spread the wealth of their country wide enough to look after its entirety. Lincoln was one of the many cities in Direwind that found itself struggling to maintain what structure it held and over the years found itself ravished by criminality and violence, an image that when viewed by neighbouring countries left Direwind looking incapable and ripe for the taking. These facts were known by its citizens who had resigned themselves to the bleak existence that they held. A country without hope for better days can be like a sky without a sun, vulnerable to the torrents of the weather, and this country hasn't had hope for years. Ken Lanix, a child of ten who was small for his age, with blonde hair that ran down his back and covered his face, leaving a golden glow spattered across it as the weak sunbeams forced their way through it was currently walking down Lincolns dirt streets on his way home after a day of meandering about. Contemplating what the point was after a morning of self-training. In his ten years of life he hadn't witnessed anything that had stuck out to him as a reason to live, wherever he looked he could only see desolation and lethargy; be it in the buildings that had decayed over the years, that yearned to be renovated but had resigned themselves to their rotten visage or the people who lived around him who had succumb to the grey atmosphere that hung over the civilian consciousness. The more Ken wondered about what purpose was and if he or his country had one he couldn't help but rue the news of revolution in the neighbouring country of Faltochi that had happened years before. A revolution that seemingly catapulted the country out of subjugation and into modernisation and prosperity, a revolution born of strength and cunning yet opposing the exact same things. 'How bright their sky must be.' Ken thought to himself as he gazed upwards to the grey clouds that had blanketed his own sky. Lost in thought, Ken hadn't realised that he had made his way back home. Home being a modest, two building estate that housed his family. His mother and father were home, dilly-dallying around the house until his uncle returned from his training. His uncle Zanuma; who was a fighter by trade; was training in preparation for an upcoming fight that he had booked later in the week. In Lincoln and Direwind as a whole ignited fights or 'Ig-fights' were the main source of entertainment for the masses, an unregulated and unsafe pass time that hundreds across the country partook in. It acted as one of societies biggest cultural interests as well as the financial backbone for many who lived in the country. When it came to Ig-fighting Ken's uncle Zanuma was one of the best in his city, their family's specialisation of fire manipulation was rare nowadays and had helped Zanuma progress through the pre-existing ranks which awarded its winners with battle profits that kept his family out of poverty. Ken had distanced himself from Ig-fighting as a way to distance himself from his uncle but would still find himself training, bettering himself and his fire manipulation. These times of practice were the only times that Ken felt truly free, released from the arid life that his family and city assume he wanted to share. “Ken, did you see your uncle on the way back? He should be heading home soon and he'll probably be tired from training... It'd probably be best if you went to your room before he gets back”, Cammie-Li, Ken's mother said to him as he walked through the door. Ken's mother was a tall woman, her hair and features were lovely, and her presence was known as soon as she entered whatever the situation was. Being the youngest daughter of the Lanix family she was hoped to be a great asset to the family but when she failed to ignite in her formative years the family poured all of its attention into her brother, leading her to lack belief in her own worth; which Ken thought was very obvious; as she became an attendant to Zanuma and later to Ken's father, another unignited who specialised in tapestries and textiles. A slender man with pretty facial features that were distorted by his gaunt image, his visage formed over many years of living within his brother by partnerships shadow. Ken looked passively over as his mother and father waited, inactive until their 'sun' returned. Zanuma had ensnared Ken's parents with his strength, a strength that Ken doubted every second that he had lived. Listening to his mother; mainly as a way to appease her obvious worry over an argument erupting between the nephew an uncle; Ken made his way through the small living room, walking over the beautiful maroon and orange coloured rug that his father had made; its pattern resembling many smaller flames gathered round a larger flame; towards the stairs before he went up to his bedroom. “Apparently, a stranger has been asking around the town for a strong flame wielder.”, Ken heard his mother say to his father -“A stranger, it's not often we get anybody new in these parts.” his father replied, a slight interest rising in his voice, “Well, if he's looking for a fire wielder, I'd say the only one around would be Zanuma right? Unless he thinks you're up to the job.” his mother continued, laughing as she finished her remark. Ken's father, Balryu Lanix who had joined the Lanix family when he swore a partnership with Cammie-Li, was a skilled designer and his tapestries were wonderful, but in this country where people couldn't afford food for their families, decorative materials weren't in high demand and the few he did manage to sell didn't bring in that many marts which lead them to rely on Zanuma as the family head, a position that left Ken's father suffering in a state of inadequacy from which Ken could see him crumble under every now and again. Ken didn't pity his parents or have any sort of disdain for their shortcomings, he simply didn't understand why they accepted such a life in the first place. Even with his uncle being a successful Ig-fighter, Ken couldn't see him as much more than a large fish in a small pond who enjoyed using his flame to burn and subdue others, a practice that Ken doesn't appreciate as much as the crowds of fans that attend the battles that his uncle thrives in. His own flame that he had nurtured into structures and armour seemed more practical as well as being in accordance with his family's lineage. 'Surely life isn't this restrained', Ken thought to himself. The door to the estate quickly slammed open as Ken was lost in his thoughts at the bottom of the stairs, the noise startling him as Ken immediately sensed his uncle walk in before he turned his head to see him. Zanuma Lanix was a tall, well built-man whose attitude and confidence could be felt across the room, with short red hair and a weathered face, his presence engrossed the people around him until they were forced to subdue to his warmth and revolve around him as they got caught up in his orbit. “Cammie, I got this from the centre.”, Zanuma stated as he threw down a beast leg onto the table, “Burn it while I get some rest.” he continued, before shooting a glance towards Balryu who was sat at the head of the table. “Brother Zan, sit here whilst you wait.” Ken's father muttered as he scuttled out of his chair and went to help with the food preparations. Zanuma grunted as he sat down and began to rest his eyes, leaning back on the chair, pushing it back making its legs drag, pulling at the flame carpet underneath, ripping it as it did. Ken watched for a second as his parents were waiting on his uncle, embarrassment crept up into his chest but was quickly quelled by his understanding, Ken knew why his parents succumb to Zanuma's heat as he understood that power isn't bestowed upon everyone and that the weak usually cater to the strong, it was their patience and continued acceptance of the fact that he didn't understand. How could a country like Faltochi revolt against their whole existence but his parents couldn't rebel against one man? He would ask himself this constantly but would often fall short of an answer. Resigning himself once again to ignore his family's fealty Ken began to make his way up the stairs before he heard his uncle's voice. “Heading to bed already? You should be out training like me, unless you want to grow up to be a weakling like your father.”. The words hung in the air for a second and Ken looked towards his father who had pretended he hadn't heard what was said, anger bubbling in his chest he was about to turn before he heard his mother reply. “Well not everyone can be as strong as you brother, Ken will probably follow in his father footsteps you've seen how he cowers from the flames when you spar.”. His mother said, in what he thought might've been a misguided defence for him and his father, but the words burnt more than his uncles had previously and as his uncle grunted in acceptance to his mother's words Ken continued up the stairs .As he arrived in his room Ken's heart felt heavy, he looked around to see that his room reflected who he felt he was, the walls patterned with pages from books he had read; displaying images of people from faraway lands living carefree; stuck beside large tapestries of flame like patterns, a mixture of beauty and passion parading as a bright flame posturing with confidence whilst lacking any actual independent identity. Ken began to wonder what strength was, who it was for and what its purpose was. He didn't feel that it was for subduing others or for the entertainment of others like how his uncle used it or that it was for personal gain over the detriment of others. Ken kept finding himself falling into the selfish belief that strength was for oneself, and that it was purely for helping yourself to live the best life you could, to attain whatever you wanted and to protect whatever you wished to hold dear but these thoughts felt superficial the more he pondered them. Hours passed and he began to hear his uncle and mother talking downstairs, something about how his father wasn't bringing enough marts into the estate but before he could hear any more Ken was already climbing out of his bedroom window and with a flicker of energy, he jumped down onto a small block of flame that had been solidified and from there he jumped down onto the street in front of his house. This practice of energy manipulation was an example of the Lanix family's speciality in fire manipulation being that of structural and armament manipulation, a practice that Ken had near perfected in secret, hidden within the alleys of Lincoln due to fear that his mastery would fuel a jealousy in his uncle that he hadn't had to confront since he stopped sparring with him seasons ago. These thoughts spurring him to get as far away from the estate as possible he conjured up another bout of energy infused flames and formed it into the shape of a board hoisted by small wheels that lifted it inches off of the floor, a board that Ken stepped onto and with a slight burst of energy, localised in his feet, he propelled the board forward down the street. Cruising down the street at high speeds Ken felt free as the wind brushed past his face, blowing his hair backwards, allowing cold air to reach parts of his head that it rarely ventured, cooling him down as his energy forced his body to heat up, especially his shoulders which burnt with scalding heat whenever he manipulated his energy causing him to often burn through his tops. Looking around, Ken lamented as he saw the setting of his city, awash with the brightness of his own flames but still hampered by the depressing smog that spanned throughout the streets and alleys. As he got to the end of the street Ken balanced his weight into his back leg, using his front foot to lightly turn the board before he bent down, pressing it to ground and with a spin pushed off the floor whilst changing direction and turning the corner of the street. The tricks he performed whilst on his board gave him the feeling of control and of being free at same time which Ken thought was contradicting, a thought not enough to diminish the pleasure it gave him. After turning the corner of the street, before he could continue observing his cities state he was tickled by a light brush of energy which caused him to stop and upon inspection he caught glimpse of some dust on the ground being blown away from him and when he looked back up there was a tall man standing in front of him. The tall man stood in front of him, looming over as he leant side to side observing Ken and his board. “You got a problem?” Ken asked the man, his green eyes tracing Ken's entire image and after a few moments the man replied. “You wouldn't happen to be Zanuma Lanix would you?”. The question instantly aggravating Ken, he quickly dispersed his energy and his board fizzled into the atmosphere before Ken replied. “No, I'm not, why? How come you're looking for Zanuma?”. The man's eyes sunk a little when he heard Ken's reply which Ken didn't really understand at first but believed was disappointment. “Well, I've been asking around town because there's rumour of an impressive fire manipulator in these parts. A lovely lady a couple of streets down swore that it had to be Zanuma Lanix and shortly after I picked up on your energy and came to check it out. You sure you're not Zanuma?”. The second time of asking Ken's frustration got the better of him as he replied, in a slightly raised voice-“I told you I'm not him! And if you're looking for a strong fire wielder, you're better off looking somewhere else-” Ken told him but was cut off by the man's quick reply. “I said impressive, not strong. And the Lanix family are the only fire manipulators around so I doubt somewhere else would be good. You know him right...? Zanuma?”. Ken stopped for a second before he replied, calming himself whilst attempting to gauge the man who was stood in front of him. A man who stood taller than most with dark skin, seemingly washed in the sun's splendour, his long black hair sheening like silk in its sparse rays. As he was doing this, he could feel the man was doing the same to him.“I know him, but he's not strong he's just loud... and rude.”, Ken explained but as the words left his mouth, he saw a light flicker in the man's eyes as the sides of his mouth curved into a slight smile. “I knew you knew him, you're a Lanix as well, right? You, his son? Bro-”, “I am not his son!”, Ken said sternly, cutting the man off mid-sentence. A couple of seconds passed as the defiant response hung in the air before the man continued. “Okay not his son, but definitely his family, right? So, you could introduce me? I'm looking for an impressive fire manipulator to help out my company with... Let's call it image assurance.”, the man let out a chuckle as he finished. Ken remembered his mother's words earlier mentioning a man looking for a strong fire wielder, this man must be him, but Ken didn't want to connect this man with his uncle if it meant that he would shower him with more prosperity, so he repeated. “I told you he's not strong he's just lou-”, but before he could finish the man responded- “How strong are you then?”, his eyes wide and a smirk on his face as he asked. Ken could feel the man's eyes engulf him, accepting his response but challenging him with his own. The words stirring up confidence within Ken that he hadn't felt before, a confidence that egged him to face the man's challenge head on and with bolster in his voice he replied. “I'm strong, or skilled either way I'm better than my uncle...”, the provocation bringing forth all of the frustration that Ken had felt towards his uncle, parents and city, causing it all to flood out of him as he vented-“His strength's shallow, used only for force and combat... my fire's more than that, it's free, able to take the form of anything I want it to and hot enough to protect against anything that would attempt to quell it. This city, my uncle, my parents they aren't warm enough to break themselves out of this lethargy but me, I'm hotter than the sun.”. The words lifting a weight from his chest as they left his mouth Ken could feel his energy coursing through his body and the smile of confidence that had spread across his face. His wondering about what strength was revealing itself to be a shackle he had entertained, distracting himself from feeling and expressing his own belief in his own fire. His own strength.The man who had just ignited this confidence stood with a grin on his face and Ken couldn't figure out if it was a grin of entertainment or belief which immediately caused his newfound confidence to waver and after a few moments the man replied.“Well take me to your uncle then and I'll be able to tell if you are stronger. I'm Yin Malik by the way what's your name?”. The name Yin Malik instantly sounding familiar in Ken's mind as he realised that this was the great revolutionary from Faltochi, the man who had saved a country from its despair, the man who Ken knew would understand his lamentations. Realising that he hadn't replied Ken forced the words out of his mouth and could feel his lips part as he introduced himself.“I'm Ken, Ken Lanix.”, another chuckle from Yin before he replied with.“Okay Ken let's go see your uncle, I wanna see if he's emblazoned with passion like you are or if your strength truly is that of the sun, I guess they'd call you the Sun knight if it were.”. The words hitting Ken like a wall he let out a small laugh as he muttered the words back to himself.“Sun knight, I like the sound of that.”.The two walked back to Ken's house in near silence, Ken stealing looks at Yin as they travelled, he noticed that he was constantly observing the area they passed through, his eyes alight with energy tracing every inch of the environment, his presence oozing out of him dominating the space as he passively walked down the alleys beside Ken. It didn't take them long to get back to Ken's house and even though they had barely spoken Ken felt comfortable beside Yin, so much so that he forgot the anxiety he usually felt before entering his home when he knew Zanuma was there. As the door opened Ken heard his mother's voice begin to lecture him -“Kenny, I've told you not to leave the house out of your window, you're gonna end up falling one of these -”, but before she could finish, she noticed the man who was standing beside Ken as they walked through the door. Zanuma; who was still sat at the head of the table; also seemed to notice as his energy flared in response to Yin entering and his eyes had crept open, now fixed on the revolutionary who after shooting a look of amusement at Ken in response to his mother's nickname began to greet the house.“Hi, I'm Yin Malik director of Sin industries. Kenny here was just helping me; you see I'm looking for Zanuma Lanix.”. His words clear and annunciated, Ken twitched at the use of the name Kenny but felt that Yin's words lacked a playfulness that he had when talking to Ken before and that his stance was firmer than before, as he noticed this, he heard his uncle begin to reply,“Sin industries... They don't have much standing here, what does the Faltochi army want with me?”, Zanuma said as he began to sit upright on his chair, his eyes set upon Yin who was meeting his gaze.“Sin industries isn't a part of the Faltochi army, no Sin industries is an independent group with one goal. The defence against the inevitable demon invasion.”. The words settled for a moment before Zanuma smiled, Ken hadn't heard much of demons other than the few attacks that had happened whilst he was growing up, the beasts that were wild around the cities and towns of Direwind seemed more of a problem to him. “Okay so you want me to fight off demons, does it pay well?”, Zanuma grunted in reply, his voice showing a disregard to whatever position Yin held, a disregard that was noticed by both Ken and Yin evident by the tone in Yin's voice as he replied.“Oh no, you wouldn't last a second against a demon.”. He said with a cool confidence that Ken couldn't help but admire-“I'm simply here to see if your fire manipulation will help Sin towards its goal. But as much as I've heard that you're strong I've heard some contrasting beliefs as well “, he continued, flashing a glance at Ken as he finished his statement. A glance that was mimicked by Zanuma who shot up at the challenge towards his strength.“If you want to see how strong I am I'd be happy to show you, let's step outside.”, the aggravation stark in his words, words to be received by a calm, confident smile as Yin agreed and began to walk out of the house, Zanuma following behind and passing Ken, grunting with an attempt to barge him as he did only to be dodged. The two men now stood in front of the Lanix estate, the streets were empty but Ken could see people looking out of their windows to spy what was happening. Even the unignited folks could feel the pressure building in the atmosphere, the dormant energy in the space lightly sparking to life, ready to be utilised in combat. Zanuma, who stood across from Yin smirked as he removed his top to reveal his body, forged in many battles it was layered in muscles and patterned with scars which the women of the city were amazed by, but Yin didn't seem phased.“So, we gonna go a few rounds then? First to land a hit win or something?”, Zanuma asked, his confidence apparent as he did. Yin, whose confident smile hadn't faltered furrowed his brow for a second before replying.“You want to go a few rounds with me? Oh, that's not a good idea.”, he said chuckling after the words left his mouth, a chuckle that Zanuma took great offence to which he showed by flaring his energy, light flames appearing to flicker off of his body only to be subdued by a heavy ceiling of energy forced pressure quashing his animosity followed by another smile from Yin.“See, not a good idea. Instead, how about this...?” Yin started as he began to raise his hand and seconds later a large shield was formed from the dust and dirt around him, standing as tall as a person and with a heavy compression that sent a small shock wave thudding through the air it stood finished in front of him “Destroy this shield and tag me, you can do anything and utilise your energy in whatever way you see possible, but you must go through the shield.”.Zanuma was silent for a second before he snickered to himself, sizing up the shield that stood in front of him. Ken could feel the energy emanating from his uncle and before he knew it Zanuma had dashed forward, his arm sparking a fire that coated it as he did and inches before the shield he stopped, his momentum causing him to slide for a second before he throw his punch toward the shield. The flames burning bright around his forearm and fist before colliding with the shield creating a blast that nearly reached the estate and houses across the street, singeing the roof edges and flinging dirt into the air.As the dust settled and the flames dispersed Ken didn't notice the shields condition but first saw his uncle's face, which was still alight with aggression but now had a slight look of defeat on it which was due to the fact that when Ken looked toward the shield, he saw that it stood undamaged from the strike, only being ashened by the flames. A moment passed before Zanuma began striking again and again at the shield, his confidence slowly morphing into desperation with each strike as Yin stood safely behind the shield his face unchanged in response to Zanuma's attempts. After minutes of trying Cammie-Li grabbed onto Ken's shoulder as she asked Zanuma to stop, slightly hiding herself behind her own son as she did so in fear of his retaliation only to be screamed at.“I'll do this! Just stand and watch as I burn the smirk right off of this guy's face!”, he stated but Ken could see that his once eruptive energy was now diminished, his breathing was unsteady, and his strength was on display for everybody to see and Ken couldn't help but allow a smile to creep across his face. Seemingly also noticing his uncle's fatigue Yin poked his head around the shield,“I think that's enough...”, he began; Ken expected his uncle to bark in response but before he could Yin carried on.“You know it as well, right? You're not strong enough to break through this shield no matter how long I give you?”. His green eyes piercing Zanuma as he asked and after a few moments Ken saw something that he didn't think he'd ever see, the unwarranted confidence that puffed up his uncle's shoulders had deflated as he saw his uncle's head slightly nod in agreement, succumbing to the authority Yin had displayed in his last words.“Good. Now it's your turn.”, Yin stated as his gaze snapped across to Ken, his demeanour changing rapidly as he did so.“What? No. You're not going to embarrass this family anymore”, Cammie-Li began but her words fell upon deaf ears as Yin continued to look at Ken who was currently dealing with the excitement and anxiety he felt towards the challenge. This was the opportunity that he had wanted, a chance to show that his uncle's way of using his fire wasn't as great as everybody believed, a chance to test his own flame and a shot at avenging his family who had been enamoured by an inflated flame parading as a sun, a chance to prove that he was a star himself. These feeling mixed with the encouraging look from Yin spurred Ken to walk forward but as he approached the shield his uncle stood in his way.“You really think you can do it? Your flames are weak, you can't properly project and your physical strength alone isn't enough to break through that.”, he stated as he pointed to the shield that was now only a few inches away from the two of them. It was now that Ken noticed that the shield was slightly cracked, damage from his uncle's continuous attacks had built up and left a small crevice just off centre on the shield. Ken swore he saw Yin grin as he noticed this and continued past his uncle to stand in front of the shield, he knew that his strikes weren't enough to destroy the shield and that his uncle was right, he couldn't project a fire strong enough to blast through it either, but he could feel it, his desire to succeed and prevail where his uncle had failed. A desire to be free from the shadow of his uncle and as he stared at the shield, he caught glimpse of his father who was watching from the window in the estate. His eyes filled with hope, hope that he had never seen in his father's eyes before which fuelled Ken's confidence and desire as he walked toward the shield stopping inches in front of it. Placing his hand on the shield, covering the small crack that he had noticed Ken began to whir the energy inside himself into a frenzy, resulting in small flickers of fire to begin covering his body which grew into large flames and within seconds his arms and shoulders were coated in raging flames. All the while Ken was focussing, his eyes closed, trying to garner control over the inferno that he had sparked to life in his plea of freedom and once he felt that it was all under his control his eyes opened and he forced the fire into the small crack. Pushing it forward into the shield causing a flood of flames to spill back towards him defiantly as the shield stood strong. Bathed in flames Ken could feel his own warmth balance out the burning heat from his fire, his energy instinctively reinforcing himself in defence and with this brief moment of balance Ken realised what he needed to do. As his uncle and mother watched in disbelief and panic as Ken stood covered in a blanket of flames they felt a shift in energy as the blanket suddenly dispersed and was sucked into the wall before exploding into a large cube structure that blew away the shield from the inside, the explosion letting of small flames, one of which licked Yin's cheeks as it passed him by, before slowly fizzling away into the atmosphere leaving Ken and Yin standing face to face.“So, this is how strong you are?”, Yin said in a friendly voice, a light smile on his face.“This is nothing, I'm as strong as sun don't forget.”, Ken replied, returning the smile only his was filled with confidence mixed with a slight fatigue.“Okay Kenny, I'll take your word for it.”. Yin said playfully before he turned and walked towards Cammie-Li.“This is abrupt but he's the Lanix I was looking for-”, Yin stated, pointing towards Ken with Zanuma's disapproval radiating into the air only inches away from the conversation.“So, the offer is I take him and train him, he'll be looked after and you can even come visit if you want, Sin is welcome to everybody. We could even use a weavers work if you and your partner would be interested, I'll have my friend Harvey contact you with some designs and ideas?”. There was a silence in the air for a moment before Balryu walked out of the estate towards Yin before taking his hand and bowing his head.“Thank you, that would be an honour. Look after him, he's a lot and his radiance was more than we could ever nourish. I look forward to working with you but please just guide him well.”.Ken heard his father's words and faltered for a second, a wave of anguish flooded inside of him for a moment before he looked at his father, whose eyes were fixed on him partnered with a smile that communicated everything that needed to be said and with that Ken steeled his resolve.“So, I'm going with you then? Let me grab some things and I'll be ready as quick as possible.”, he said, his excitement apparent in his voice as he rushed into the house to begin packing his things. The encroaching freedom exciting him more than he had ever been before causing him to stuff his belongings and decorations into his bags and a singular box as he could hear Yin appeasing his mother who was contesting the decision but when he returned downstairs he could see that his father and Yin had managed to win her over. His uncle had now scuttled away after his embarrassment. Ken imagined he had run away to one of his training centres to refuel his confidence with the praise of others who knew no better.“Come on then Flame boy.”, he heard Yin say as he was thinking of his uncle's departure.“I'd prefer Sun knight over Flame boy thanks.”, Ken replied as he went to his mother and father, hugging them both and squeezing his father a little tighter than he ever had before and then broke into a slight jog to catch up to Yin who had begun walking down the street already.“Okay Kenny, Sun knight it is.”. Yin said as the two began walking side by side-“What's Faltochi like? What does Sin even do? Are there any other fire wielders?”, Ken asked as his excitement began to get the better of him which caused Yin to snigger before he replied.“Faltochi is a work in progress, and we have some flame manipulators, but they aren't really combatants. We'll work on the Sin stuff later but if Free asks you want to join, okay?”.“Who's Free?”-“Somebody who I'm sure will understand my acquisition of another stray”.“I'm not a stray. I'm free.”, Ken replied, as the clouds that had covered Lincoln's sky began to disperse, revealing the sun shining bright in the distance.

Every flame is born from a spark, the flames strong enough to warm the world sometimes need a little help to ignite them before they can nurture future sparks.

End.

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sins-legacy · 3 years

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Sin’s Legacy

A wise man meets a legacy. Word count - 4988

Full book available to buy on Amazon and Kindle platforms.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09SBPXLR7/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_JN2NDWJKJCVSA4Y3M91R

Chapter One.

Desert, west of Faltochi.

Year 2993 AM.

Yin Malik had been wandering around the desert for days after being dropped off at the border of Faltochi, along the outskirts of a desert that covered a large amount of the continent, one that also served as an entry-way to one of the continents high energy zones. Having received reports of a large energy signal coming from the desert Yin departed, leaving the many jobs that he still had left to do at his office in pursuit of what could potentially be a threat. Mainly Yin wanted to explore the desert and partake in a slight respite from his work; work that had recently been taking the shape of more mundane political tasks that after a few days he couldn't stand; the desert was barren, the wide stretches of land varied only by dunes protruding out of the flat base making the horizon blur out of shape, the intense heat added a shimmering wave over the terrain, an environment which made holding ones bearing all the more difficult. Yin had been travelling for days now, only stopping to rest and investigate any energy readings that tingled his senses, but with no success. He had come to investigate a large energy reading that was still dominating the area but was washed over the large environment, making it hard to pin point the exact position. Lack of scanning technology was one of the things that Yin had wanted to look into developing but the technology wasn't available yet and would become a larger scale project than his company could currently handle. So they had to rely on officers with an affinity for sensory energy and would, after being stationed nearby, if able give a general idea of where the source of any reading would be.

Yin continued through the desert taking in the environment and realising that he hadn't travelled this far from Faltochi in a while, he had been busy with setting up the social and economical structure back home and had let his adventurous side rest so that he could focus on the growth of his newly freed country. As he was reminiscing of home a wind blew across the desert, causing the loose sand to be picked up with the breeze and perform spectacles that distracted and entertained Yin from his monotonous travels, a distraction that wasn't welcome as it would only delay his purpose. Raising his hand Yin began focusing his internal energy from within his core through his arm and down into his hand, releasing it, creating a barely visible shell cladding around the outside of his arm stopping all debris from hitting him.

This appeared as if the particles of sand and dirt had hit an opaque shell beside Yin's raised hand subsequently falling to the floor due to the loss of momentum.

The clarity gained from not having the sand and dust perverting his vision allowed Yin to see what he believed to be a small wall or ledge in the distance, it was hard to tell with the emptiness that filled the area distorting his vision and depth perception but the slight possibility of an encampment could lead to him finding the source of energy that had brought him to this glorified sand pit, so he proceeded to walk towards the potential wall in hopes of a discovery.

As he grew closer he noticed that the form was indeed a wall and that it spread across at least fifty feet but began to corner round itself, the wall consisted of piled together marble blocks which had over time began to smooth out due to the sand brushing against them with heavy winds, and looked to encompass a small dwelling. The sand; blisteringly hot underneath Yin’s feet even with his heavy leather soled boots; had dominated this areas ecosystem and was ingrained within the very existence of the land but still within the ocean of sand a small village was slowly becoming visible behind the wall. The closer that Yin got to the potential village the more he could feel the energy density in the air and throughout the area increasing.

‘How could anybody survive out here?’ Yin questioned as throughout his travels he hadn't seen any signs of water or oasis', the only life he had run into were small long snouted beasts, known as Vermilin, that seemed to be struggling to maintain their own life cycle, so the existence of this village did inspire intrigue within Yin.

Manipulating the energy within himself upwards towards his eyes so he could activate an ocular ability which enhanced his visual perception; allowing him to perceive energy signals and view the environment in greater depth and detail than usual; this ability was commonly knows as scan back in Faltochi and within Sin industries; the military defence group that Yin directed;. The scan was an attempt to zero in on the large energy source he was investigating but as a fish can't see the water for the ocean Yin found himself wrapped within the energy and unable to decipher a source.

The scan did, however reveal a wide periphery of the village behind the wall revealing four buildings that could have potentially been houses but where now decrepit and weathered to the point where the walls; which where made out of what seemed to be limestone; had crumbled and degraded over time into a state of decay.

The four buildings situated within the walls, lay two side by side and two in front. The front houses were only a few steps away from the entry; potentially housing lookouts or guards when this village was active; the two houses behind were facing one another and were slightly smaller than the ones in front giving off a more homely feel.

A pathway leading from the entry point lead straight down past the houses and as he was walking Yin began to noticed that between the two houses on his left was what seemed to be a well, which upon closer inspection he found was empty, a realisation that would have been clear had he seen the bucket that once would have been lowered to collect water that now lies broken behind it.

Yin continued to inspect the village but found nothing of note, he believed that the village was once active but had been abandoned for some time now, as he inspected the houses he noticed the front two, facing forward out of the village, had been emptied and now stood as mere shells of buildings, their only purpose seeming to be blocking the back two house's from the wind or potentially a frontal assault.

The back two houses maintained their structure and still had potential to be homes. They both had small objects and trinkets dotted around inside of them; books varying between early learning and story books, the words inside broken down as if the books were educational; rags that may pass as clothing but over time had become sun dyed and had been beaten by the wind, ripped by the sand and passing debris as well as some wooden block toys suggesting that a family had previously lived here.

After examining the houses Yin stood in the centre of the miniature village noticing a vacant spot at the end of the path where a space lay between the back houses and the wall where the marble had circled round. Yin decided to scan the area again, this time focusing on the empty space in front of him, he noticed that the sand on top was layered and slightly risen on what looked like a small door, a discovery which only increased his curiosity.

Yin had lived an exciting life with many trials and tribulations in which he had developed a thick skin and would rarely give in to feelings of fear or anxiety but even so he found himself standing ahead the empty space sensing a foreboding he hadn't felt before. The source of the energy could be hidden underneath this door but Yin was hesitating, dilly-dallying, he sniggered to himself thinking about how his friends would react seeing him like this, the thought mustered the courage he needed to reach down. He began to brush away the sand revealing a wooden door with a round metal handle and as Yin went to grasp it -

"Who are you?"

Yin stopped, it had been years since somebody had been able to sneak up on him especially given the fact that he had used scan twice thus revealing the whole area around him and was still blind sided. The voice was clear with a certain playfulness hidden within it, the high pitch hinted that it was a child and the words were spoken in an accent that Yin didn't recognise. Maintaining his composure Yin focused and began to stir his energy, igniting his core in case he had to confront the person behind him as he slowly turned around revealing a young boy.

The young boy looked between eight and ten years of age with dark skin; darker than Yin’s; with long black hair, thick and shaggy oppose to Yin’s thin and smooth hair, with bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce through to the soul. Dressed in cloth that wrapped around him, similar to the rags seen in the back buildings, with thick dirt layered around his feet and joints hinting that he hadn't bathed in a while. The child stood about three feet away from Yin who had turned and was now facing the boy whose face was warped with a look of confusion.

"Who are you?" the child repeated, his voice raising slightly.

Yin began to inch closer but as soon as he moved the child hopped back and edged himself to one of the back houses, nearer the middle of the village.

"Don't worry." Yin said as he tried to crack a smile to show that he meant no harm.

Yin knew he wasn't the best at handling children but the smile seemed to work as the child slowly stepped away from the house and returned to his original spot,

"I'm Yin Malik, Director of Sin industries I'm here"-

"I don't know what that is."

The child interrupted, reminding Yin why he struggles with children, their lack of knowledge and understanding makes it difficult to communicate especially for somebody like Yin who doesn't enjoy having to simplify the information he communicates.

Pausing as he began thinking of a way to explain to the child who seemed to be inspecting Yin just and much as he was the child, he couldn't help but think that Freesia, his partner, would be a valuable asset right now as she excels when it come to children or people in general.

"Are you a beast?" the child asked, his tone becoming slightly impatient, his face beginning to show his adversity and with a stamp of his foot he declared,

"This is my land, you shouldn't be here, but you seem pretty lost... so I guess it's okay. The exit is that way." he explained as he turned and pointed toward the entry way that Yin had previously come through, the child then began to pace around raising his hands and placing them behind his head as he walked. Yin was intrigued by how relaxed the child seemed, almost as if he was confident of his safety,

"I'm not a beast." - Yin stated - "I'm human just like you, I'm from a place called Faltochi which is not so far away from here. Wh”-

"Faltochi? What's a Faltochi? Yeah you're talking so you're definitely not a beast" The child appearing happy with his deduction.

“I just said I wasn't a beast." Yin replied, slowly becoming irritated, reminding him of his friend Harvey who would consistently interrupt his explanations when they were younger.

His irritation getting the better of him Yin began quick firing questions "Who are you? Where is everybody? Is there an adult near by?" Hoping there was an adult so that he wouldn't have to continue conversing with this rude child who continued to pace around, circling Yin looking him up and down, possibly attempting to intimidate him.

"There's nobody else here, it’s only me.”, The child stopped pacing, "Just me. All this belongs to me." the child now stood in the middle of the pathway in front of Yin, both arms raised with an innocent belief in his eyes, a belief that he could hold the whole village in his arms if he wanted to.

Perplexed, Yin began to look around only to reaffirm that he couldn't sense anybody else in the area then looked back at the child,

"Where are you from then? Here?".

There was a slight pause before the child; now with a confused look on his face replied;

"I'm from here... This is my land." -

"Then how can you talk? Are you alone? You seem pretty well spoken for someday who's alone in a sand village."

Yin began to ramble on with questions before he realised that he had lost the child’s focus by getting ahead of himself, he stopped and took in a slow breath and then locked eyes with the child bending his knees as to be on the same level then extended his hand out for a handshake.

"I'm sorry, I'm Yin Malik a visitor here in your land, what's your name?"

Yin spoke clearly so that the child could take in what he was saying but still the child stood with a glazed look over his face, looking Yin in the eye and noticing the extended hand but ignoring it seeming not to realise its purpose. After a second of what appeared to be mental deliberation a smile grew across his face and the child took a breath as if mimicking what Yin had just done.

"I'm Gavougin Timoko and this is G-Land!" the child stated as he span around, his arms in the air indicating that the small village was called G-Land; a name that Yin found whimsically immature but decided to accept given the situation;.

Yin stood as Gavougin spun, his arms in the air, trying to take in the information that had just been presented but found himself amused as he giggled, muttering to himself "G-Land." under his breath before he stood up to once again to look around this newly named village.

“So you say it Ga-vu-gin? Right?” Yin asked as he attempted to find any signs of other inhabitants, noticing again how desolate it looked, he began to furrow his brow as more questions arose within his mind.

Yin stared back at Gavougin, looking down on him, now more relaxed.

"So you live here?" -

"I rule here" interrupted Gavougin, which Yin was now getting accustomed to, letting the interruption pass as he carried on.

"So you rule here by yourself?", Yin leant forward to see Gavougin’s face and reaction as he asked, "So who taught you to talk? Or was there people here before?”.

Gavougin’s posture sank, his face which was previously brimming with confidence and intrigue had fallen into a sulk.

"They're gone, they left years ago they're de-- they've stopped" … A tenseness filled the air. Yin realised that he had upset Gavougin but didn't know how to make it better; once again forcing him to re-evaluate how he was handling the situation. Gavougin began walking towards one of the back houses,

"I read the books in there, they were left … I guess it was so I could learn to talk in case anybody ever came to invade". A wind blew through the village as Gavougin entered the broken down house, as he followed Yin noticed that some of the books that he had seen previously had been used recently and that the house that he before mistook as desolate did in fact show some signs of life.

It wasn't like Yin to make mistakes like this, he began to wonder why he seemed so unfocused and presumed that he had been struggling to fully focus due to the large energy source making the energy in the area denser and thus harder to decipher which, with the arrival of Gavougin, Yin had let slip his mind.

Gavougin who was now placing the books on the table asked,

"So why are you here? Are you an invader? Are you after G-Land? Because it's mine and you can't just have it." Gavougins fist clenched as he placed the last book down on the table.

"No I-" Yin stopped himself, realising that the explanation he was about to give wouldn't bare any fruit and instead decided to scan the room Gavougin included, causing Yin to fall silent which seemed to throw Gavougin off.

A basic understand of energy in the world is that energy is stored within all living beings, residing mainly in the central core; an organ found near the heart; when scanning an individual the central core will appear as a collection of light encased inside an illuminated sphere. Depending on the persons individual strength the energy can appear as small as the energy core itself or in some cases can be seen encasing the whole body or can even project itself outside of the body forming a dome around the individual.

With this knowledge Yin scanned the area and upon activating the ocular ability he saw the child standing by the table and noticed the blinding light that was Gavougin’s energy core. He tried to focus enough to see the child’s energy capacity but quickly realised that the dense energy that had consumed the whole village and the area around it was Gavougin’s energy, projecting itself around him as if it where protecting him from the outside environment.

Taking a step back Yin tried to comprehend what he had just seen, throughout his life he had witnessed beings with an external energy sphere larger than themselves and even beings who had an energy sphere large enough to cover entire towns but they where all adults of renown or royalty from different species. He had never witnessed a child having such a large energy sphere, who was also able to function normally whilst his energy was active on such a large scale.

Gavougin seemed confused at the sudden silence that had overcome his new visitor and began to walk out of the house, passing Yin on the way out.

"You're being strange." Gavougin quipped as he left the house and stood back onto the outside pathway, "If you're here to invade sorry, but G-Land's mine!".

Gavougin declared again as he grabbed the wood that would have been the door to the house, but was now just a few planks barely hanging onto the rusted hinges hammered into the wall, and slammed it shut with enough force that the wood flew through the house and smashed into the back wall, whizzing by Yin and sending a shock wave around the small room, forcing him to brace his stance so that he wouldn't be knocked back.

Yin looked at the wood that was previously a door as it now lay on the ground in pieces, then back toward Gavougin who had a severe look on his face, eyes focused with a glint of light showing the energy coursing through his body. Yin could feel Gavougin’s energy swelling as he was beginning to perceive Yin as a threat, this prompted him to slowly raise his arms out in front of him.

"No need to get violent.", he reassured in a soft voice as he crept toward to entrance of the house, knowing that if he was going to handle a child with such large energy he couldn't do it within the close quarters the tiny broken down house provided without taking a hit or two.

Having made his way to the entrance of the house leaving inches between them both, Yin continued.

"You've been alone all this time?" He paused to look into Gavougin’s eyes, the animosity slowly fading, as he attempted to be more friendly asking,

"That must've sucked, where did everyone go?" Gavougin remained silent but glanced over towards the door at the end of the pathway where they had originally met.

"What's down there?" Yin asked, walking past Gavougin as he slowly approached the door.

"There's nothing down there." Gavougin replied quickly, his voice quivering slightly betraying the confident persona that Yin was slowly becoming accustom to.

Now standing above the door Yin bent down to grab the handle noticing Gavougin flinch as he clasped it and pulled upwards; the hinges cracking as it opened, the sand falling off the sides into the darkness which was slowly being illuminated by the beams of the now setting sun; revealing a set of marble stairs descending into darkness.

"What's down there?" Yin asked Gavougin who was slowly inching closer to the door whilst still remaining silent, his eyes focused on the darkness below. The fluctuation in the surrounding energy was probably resonating with Gavougin’s own energy, who seemed panicked at the thought of descending. Yin wasn't the type of person to let other peoples fear stop him from learning something that he wanted to, it also didn't help that he was adverse to not knowing things, it went against the persona he had built for himself over the years. With that thought Yin steeled his resolve, took one more look at Gavougin, smiled and began descending down the stairs into the darkness

"A ruler can't be afraid of his own land!" Yin shouted as he walked down, his words appearing to prick at Gavougin, spurring him, convincing him to follow.

The stairs went on for a short while; about one or two floors worth but Yin couldn't confirm whilst walking and focusing on his footing, he realised that there wasn’t a source of light wherever these stairs lead and if there was one it was currently out of view leaving the two in darkness.

Yin stopped abruptly on his step causing Gavougin to bump into his back reassuring Yin of both of their positions, he raised his arm with an open palm and focused his energy into his hand, projecting a small energy sphere in his palm which illuminated the stairs. Yin looked to see Gavougin’s reaction and was pleasantly surprised to see that his eyes had widened, confirming that this was the first time the child had witnessed energy projection, continuing down the stairs Yin finally reached the bottom and with both feet planted he lowered his hand leaving the energy sphere in place hovering to his right. With the small amount of energy Yin had used to create the sphere it was unable to fill the area with light so Yin proceeded to create two more energy spheres placing them around himself allowing them to hover freely.

Now fully lit revealing the small cave structure that they had descended into, with a mass of skeletons piled up against the walls with a small pathway between two piles leading toward an empty pedestal, the air was stagnant and dust hovered in the air.

Beginning to inspect the bones Yin saw that Gavougin was still stood still at the bottom of the stairs "Do you know who these are?" Yin asked, to no reply so he continued to examine, finding that there were enough bones here to form a good number of human skeletons; twelve at least.

The bones, that were hollowed out with age were bunched together in what once could've been clothing but now appeared to be just pieces of cloth singed and burnt in places.

"This is where everyone is, they just stay here... stopped." Gavougin’s words intrigued Yin, the wording was flawed, he looked to see and noticed Gavougin was standing firm, tensed up with a clenched jaw his eyes locked on to the empty pedestal as to avoid looking at the bones.

Yin began to walk down the small pathway and towards the pedestal which only took a few steps, once again activating his scan ability he noticed small fragments of crystal dust scattered across the pedestal, which he suspected could’ve been crystallized energy, a practice that hasn't been heard of since one of the past Rulers had experimented with it in an attempt at immortality, perishing in the process.

‘If these were crystallized energy fragments then where was the energy crystal?’ Yin thought to himself and if the pedestal in front of him once held a crystal, then to fill a pedestal of this size it would need to be a crystal larger than anything Yin had heard of.

The idea of crystallising energy was archaic and even when in practice the crystals formed where the size of a fist at most, but this pedestal could hold a crystal the size of a small animal or child, larger than any of the ones Yin had read about.

So it begged the question, where did it go?

Yin pondered on this for a second and then saw some writing carved into the front of the pedestal, beckoning one of the energy spheres closer towards the writing so that he could decipher what it said he bent down to be on eye level with the text. With the light from the energy sphere the writing was clear enough to read.

'GAVOUGIN TIMOKO'

the words carved across the front of the podium in block capitals.

Yin instinctively looked back towards Gavougin slowly connecting the dots but unable to create a solid picture,

"What happened here?" Yin asked, his voice growing louder than he would usually allow when talking to a child but his excitement was dragging him along at this point, the unknown factors kept piling up and Yin who was usually quick to put things together was struggling for the first time in a while. Gavougin shrugged and Yin realised that he wasn't handling the situation as delicately as he probably needed to, he heard Freesia's voice in the back of his head-

“You’re being rude." - so Yin stood up and walked towards Gavougin placing his hands on his shoulders asking again, this time in a calm voice.

"It's okay..." He paused and locked eyes with Gavougin - "What happened here?"

Gavougin whose face had loosened up and now looked up towards Yin's face shrugged again

"I don't know," - his voice was soft - " They've always just been here... I woke up there, in front of that". Gavougin pointed toward the pedestal-

"And they were there, as they are now. Still. Stopped."

A loud bang from the top of the stairs cut Gavougin off and startled them both causing the energy spheres to flicker along with the light provided by them.

"Maybe it's time we went back up." suggested Yin as he began to walk up the stairs checking behind him to make sure Gavougin was following.

The bang was caused by the door being blown shut by the wind which Yin realised as he had gotten to the top. They both exited the staircase and stood on the pathway in front of the back houses, Gavougin crouched, visibly shaken from the sights down below, he began playing with some rocks that were on the floor as Yin paced up and down the pathway.

Yin had been come to investigate the large energy source coming from the desert which turned out to be the child, Gavougin who has been living in this village by himself for some time. Knowing this Yin was curious and wanted to continue investigating but noticed that the sun had set and anything he'd want to do would require a more meticulous form of investigation. More than he could currently perform with the lack of equipment he brought; previously believing this energy source would be natural he had brought sampling equipment with him so that he could return to Faltochi and examine anything he found at the Sin industry HQ.

After deliberating with himself Yin began perusing the village and carefully put some of the soil and rocks from the houses into small glass containers that he had brought with him, he then turned away with his back to Gavougin.

"This was swell, but I've got what I needed so I'm going to head back.", Gavougin’s head shot up and was now arched looking up to face Yin.

"You can stay here in, what was is again? G"-

"G-Land!" Gavougin completed as he began looking around the small village,

"Oh yeah G-land..." Yin paused and then turned on the balls of his feet to face the child,

"Or... you can come back with me? It’s not much but I can promise it's better than a few broken down houses".

Yin offered a smile, his face trying its hardest to appear welcoming, Gavougin stood up

"This is my land!" the child declared, Yin smirked.

"And I'm saying it could be better, like my land, Faltochi.", there was beat of silence,

"If you don't like it I'll bring you back and you can live your life here, forever." Yin offered and stood in place anticipating a reply but realised that Gavougin had turned away from him which he could only take as a rejection. Yin slowly turned and began to walk away

"Well, if you're going to be like that then this is goodbye I guess." he lamented as he walked but after a few paces he heard the light steps of Gavougin slowly walking behind him and his small voice rang.

"I'm an invader, I'll take your land if it's so good."

Yin laughed.

"If you’re an invader you might want to try not announcing it, and if you think you can go ahead. How do you think I got it?".

Yin let out a light laugh and they both walked out of the broken village leaving G-Land behind.

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