xerxixez

[xerxixez]

Chapter 11

"Let me explain." Dvärg began "The Gudastyrka is similar to you humans and your Reiki accept that until now i have never heard of a human haveing it. We dwarfs are the only ones to have this ability. I myself have the Gudastyrka and amongst the dwarves my abilities are considered among the strongest. " "The Gudastyrka is the ability to enhance your senses. All dwarfs have the ability to use it, atleast to one extent or another. My Gudastyrka is mainly enhanced within physical strength. That is why i am a blacksmith. There was a rumor of it being found in a single human ohh hundred and fifty or so years agao, but i did not think it was true." Dvärg  put a hand on Zack's shoulder and smiled "The old man here came to us 2 years ago to have us look at Nick here but no one would listen. Today he arrived again with the crushed skull of a Camazotz and we had to look into the matter. The council sent me to investigate" Silence fell over the table. After a long moment of silence Zack looked at the soldier "What is your name soldier and why have you come?" The soldier stared "Sir Zack i am Captain Caleb Crimson i am second in charge of the Elite Forward Calvary headed by General Jeremy Zarian. We were sent into battle to take back Kalin from the Camarilians. We were informed the area had been abandoned. The plan was to establish a base behind enemylines so we could flank them and force them to fight on two fronts. The intel was bad and we were ambushed. Only three of us survived out of four thousand. Myself, my brother-in-law, and General Zarian." Captain Crimson let his head droop as he looked down at his plate of food he had not even began to touch. His heart was low and did not want to continue. He did not want to bring pain to these people who saved his life and took him in. "Continue Captain." Zack instructed Reluctantly the Captain went on. "After nearly two years of torture and beatings there was a chance for escape. General Zarian had found an old well that was below the floor boards of the bassement we had been imprisoned in. One night we lowered the general down to see if there was any chance of escape. He found that the well went into a cave system. The next night after guard check we lowered him back down." "He was gone. The next day when the guards came looking and he was missing we got beat so bad my brother-in-law couldnt even stand on his own accord. That night the general appeared at the cell door and unlocked it. The cave had led out of town to the countryside. He had killed two guards to rescue us." Captain Crimson took a deep breath and paused for what seemed like minutes. "He came back for us and was discovered. My brother-in-law could not run. The general had been injured in the fighting to save us. Only i was able to run. He told me to find his kids, find his father and let them know that he was still alive. In the last two years he had told us about his family and how proud he was of you all, and how great his father was." Putting his hand on his head to attempt to steady his headache Captain Crimson went on."I first went to your home, but no one knew were you had gone. I then decided to seek out the war hero and father of General Zarian. It has been nearly four months sense the escape, and i hate myself everyday for getting out and them being left behind." Nathan noticeing the captains pain put a hand on his shoulder and let a small amount of Reiki leave his finger tips and enter the captains mind to help relieve the pain. "Why didnt you go to the King?" Sara demanded "Surely they would do what was needed to save him!" "I did go to the King but he insist that he can not spare the lives of his men for the lives of only two that might not even be alive when they finally get there to save them. Or to not even be there anymore." The captain seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. "The only thing i could think of was to come here to you guys and atleast inform you that he is still alive, or atleast was the last time i saw him." "We must do something to save him!" Sara insisted Looking at Nick with a smile Zack began,  "Nick my boy, you will need to be able to harness your powers well beyond what you currently can muster. I know that you have the ability to be so much more powerful than you are. In the morning when Dvärg leaves for his homeland u will be acompanying him to train." Nick began to interject but was cut off by his grandfather "There is no other living human being that has the abilities that you have. Remember when i gave you that coin two years ago?" Nick nodded "That coin belonged to my grandfather. It is only given to those that the dwarves train. It is proof of your liniage. Your great great great  grandfather was a dwarf and his wife was a human. That ability of yours was passed down through the years, and that coin is proof that you are part Dwarvish and they will train you." Sara interjected "That is not an option! Nick is not going to leave us just when we get news of our father." pointing at the soldier she continued "This man wears the insgnia of the calvary unit our father, YOUR SON, was in charge of! We were told they had all died!" Sara was getting heated and starting to get loud "They lied to us! This man is proof of the Kings lies!! If we are to save our father we will need his powers to do so!! Or do you plan on letting him rot in that prison cell?" "Sara calm down. No one said we were going to leave him to rot. We will rescue him, if i have to do so myself, but we need everyone to be at there best. There is also more danger comeing from the North very soon that we must also be prepared for. Nick will need to be ready for true battle if we are to survive what is comeing." Zack picked up his fork and knife  cut a piece of ham and put it in his mouth. "Just give me time to think" Dumbfounded everyone began to eat. There was alot for them to take in. Their father was still alive, or was four months ago. The King left him to die and refused to attempt a rescue. Pops wanted to send Nick off to train. How were they to do anything with out Nicks strengths? How long would this training take? Danger to the north? Theres nothing past the mountains. Was there danger comeing from the dwarves? The table stayed silent as everyone ate there fill. Dvärg truly could eat. He had filled his plate four times before he seemed to be ready to slow down. "It is settled." Zack splurted out suddenly "Nick u will go train with the dwarves, Captain Crimson you will show me back to where u were imprisoned. Sara you will come with me and Nathan u will stay here and care for the homestead so it is here and safe and ready for us upon our return with your father."

[xerxixez]

Chapter 10

Several hours had passed. Sara was not sure how long it had been. But dinner was almost complete. The pig that was slaughtered last month was further depleted than she had intially thought. There was but one ham left. She had to have Nathan slaughter the turkey instead of the chickens as to make up for the lack of pork. Luckily they had caught two wild turkeys the day after they had returned with the injured man, and had  clipped their wings and put them in the coup with the chickens.   If it wasnt for the turkey he would have had to kill a third chicken, but he had returned with the ham before slaughtering the fouls and Sara had instructed him to slaughter the turkey instead. She had made mashed potatoes, with diced sauteed onions mixed in. Gravy for the potatoes, and a salad to go with the turkey and ham she prepared. It wasnt anything fancy but it was what she could muster up in such a short time. The Injured man had awoken several times throughout the day but Nathan used his abilities to coax the man back to sleep. Currently he was wakeing up and seemed less groggy. Nathan was helping him wake up with some mundane concoction he made from some tealeaves and roots. Sara had told him that the next he was to awaken to let him wake up some for dinner. She wanted him to be awake enough to answer any questions Pops allowed her to ask. She couldnt remember the last time anyone was over for dinner. The first month they had arrived at her grandfathers a man from the capital had come out to investigate where Sara and her brothers had gone off to. He had not known that they were at there grandfathers, but instead thought he might know where they had gone. To his surprise they were there. He stayed for dinner and left the next day. Sara supposed that was probably the last time anyone was at the house other than the four of them. As Sara was removeing the turkey from the spit Nathan looked at her "Pops is almost here, i can hear him, he will be here in about a minute." Even after all this time she still was amazed at her brothers ability to hear things from so far off. But at times it seemed as though he couldnt hear anything. She supposed he could turn it on and off as he wished. Like she could with her elemental abilities. Zack walked threw the door almost exactly a minute later. With him was a short burly man.He was bout two full heads shorter than Zack, but looked to be as strong as an ox. His huge arms were as big around as Sara's legs and he carried a large two handed war hammer on his back along with a pack.The man, if it even was a man, wore simple leather armor with metal plates attached in locations that looked strategicly placed. Some of the metal plates looked to be damaged from spear points hitting it hard but not penetrateing through. On the plates and in the leather that wasnt covered were symbols that she could not understand. The short man looked around the room with an intense yet, happy look. "Something smells amazeing!" He announced "I brought ale for those with the stomach." He turned around and grabbed a barrel half his size with ease and threw it over his shoulder. "Where would u like me to place it old man" He asked looking at Zack. "Just over there in the corner we will get to it after the food." Zack looked genuinly happy and in good spirit. "Sara my dear, our friend here Dvärg," he said poiting at the burly man "is utterly correct it does smell amazeing in here. Thank you for seeing to my request I gave Nathan before I left. I apologize for the sudden departure earlier today but i was in a hurry and needed to make it North fast." Sara just nodded and set the table for six. The table was barely large enough to fit the six of them much less the food so she opted to leave the food on the counter to save space at the table. She began to prep the plates with food. As everyone made there way to the table Dvärg set the barrel in the corner and produced a wooden mug from his pack filling it with ale and made his way to the table. Zack was helping the soldier to the table. He seemed to be moveing alot easier than Sara had expected. Apparently her grandfathers healing abilities were not exagerated. All the plates were piled with food and divided around the table to all six people, and finally Sara could sit down here self and rest. She was famished and could not wait to eat, but her manners would not allow her to do so until everyone else had begun to eat and she was certain that no one else needed anything. As she was dividing the plates Nathan had decided to get beverage for everyone that did not have drink. "So as you may already have figured out this here is Dvärg" Zack waved his hand nonchalantly at Dvärg, "He is a Dwarf of the Kalidar mountains to the north," Zack layed his hand on the dwarfs shoulder, "he is a great friend, and a fearless ally in battle." Dvärg stood and took a bow. Sitting back down with a smile he added "But not as fearless as the old man here, I know personaly his abilities in battle, and am only alive due to his prowess in war!" "A dwarf?" questioned Sara. "Dwarves are not real. There just made up stories to keep children entertained. You dont honestly expect us to believe this Dvärg is from a mythical race of people that do not exist. Do you?" Dvärg  stopped with his mug halfway to his lips, sighed, and set his mug back down. "Little miss, if i am not real then how do i sit infront of you now?" Sara rolled her eyes "I did not say you were not real i said you are not a Dwarf. Sure you look different than most people i have seen but that does not make you a person of a mythological race." Looking at Zack and then to Nick, Dvärg gestured "Is this him? The strong one? He looks to be stout." Nodding Zack commented "Stronger than most dwarves ive ever met maybe even stronger than Dvärg the Blacksmith." With a smurk that was somewhat comforting Dvärg looked at Nick "So would u like to put your Strength to the test? I belive if i could prove my strength here and now little miss there" pointing at Sara " might belive what i am saying. For no human alive could match the strength of a dwarf. If im not mistaken that is the belief of you humans, am i wrong?" Knowing that there was no way this man nor another was able to surpass her brothers strength Sara felt confident that this Dvärg  was getting himself into more than he could handle just gave a knowing smile. "How about it Nick? An arm wrestle? A tug-o-war? Would u be willing to test Dvärg's strength to your own?" Zack questioned looking nathan right in the eyes with a smurk on his face. Nick simply stood up removed everything from the table that his grandfather and brother had used to hold the bandages and medicines next to the soldiers bed, and set it next to Dvärg and placeing his chair at the small table. Nathan put his elbow on the surface of the table and opened his hand showing that he was willing to test this so called dwarves strength. "Dont hold back my boy. Dvärg can handle his own. If you do he will not and u will sorely regrett it. Understood?" Zack said with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice. Smileing Dvärg  swung around backwards on his chair and classped hands with Nick. As soon as there hands met Nick could feel the strength in the dwarfs grip. Eyes widening and a smirk on his face Nick prepared for what he was now sure would be the best test of his abilities for as long as he could remember. Dvärg counted to three in the language of his people "Ett, Två, Tre." As Dvärg said the final word both mens muscles tensed and the battle had begone. It was a deadlock. Neither Nick nor Dvärg were gaining ground. Small movements from side to side as one or the other gave sudden bursts of strenght is all that could be seen. Sara could not believe this man was holding Nick and giveing him a run for his strength. Sweat began to bead on the heads of the two men as the stuggle continued on, hitting one minute in deadlock then two. "Nick u got this theres no way you can let him win" Nathan gasped with such amazement that he could barely get the words out. Dvärg resituated his legs slightly and with a groan and started to slowly overpower Nicks ability to hold his arm up upright. The force being applied to the table was so emence that cracks started to form under there elbows. As Nicks arm came to a fourty-five degree angle he stretched his fingers one at a time untill his hand was fully open. With a sudden burst of strenght that would have shattered any other mans arm Nick put his all into the one on one battle he was fighting. Closeing his hand he strained like he had never had to before and pushed back against the dwarves onslaught. Slowly he pushed back reaching the apex of the arc and continueing on till Dvärg's hand was but a mere inch from the table. There they sat for what seemed like an hour but was truly but a few seconds when Dvärg could no longer hold it and lost his will to fight on. The force released from Nick's counter push was so strong the table splintered into a heap of wood as the back of  Dvärg's hand smacked the table. Panting and sweating profusely Nick looked up at the dwarf with such amazement. Never in his wildest dreams did he believe another man could hold his own as this one had in a test of strength against him. Nick had won but it was the hardest faught battle of strength he had ever been in. Sara could not believe her eyes. There is no way a normal human could have done that. The amount of force that was excerted onto that table was so emince that she could feel the thump in her chest as the air rushed out from under the back of Dvärg's had as it smacked the table. In astonishment Dvärg stood up panting and covered in sweat. He looked at Zack then back to Nick "The old man was right. You do have the Gudastyrka. I did not believe that was possible in a human." Confused, everyone includeing the soldier who was just starting to come out of his daze, looked at Dvärg. Everyone but Zack who knew what he was talking about.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 9

"Pops hes awake!!! Hes awake!!!" Nathan came running out the house nearly falling as he came threw the threshold of the door. It had been nearly 4 days sense his sister and brother had arrived with the gravely injured soldier. Nick looked unconcearned, but Sara jumped to her feet instantly. Zack inhaled a deep breath and stood up slowly as his knees and back popped from the effort. Looking at the other three he pointed a finger at each as he spoke "None of you are to ask him a single question untill i say so. I must know the extent of his injuries and mental capacity before you three berate him with questions. Do you understand?" Looseing some of her anxiousness and slumpling slightly Sara nodded. Nick sat back where he was with out saying a single word, Nathan looked dumbfounded and unable to speak. He had been talking with the others sense they got back and had found out he was part of their fathers calvary unit. Nathan had so many questions, so many things he just HAD to know. "Nathan you come with me incase i need your help with any other injuries that we are unaware of." Pointing at the other two Zack continuted " And you two stay here for now. If he is ok and everything is fine then we can talk to him after dinner. Understood?" Sara turned around and walked off the porch into the woods, something she did often when she was about to loose her patience and give an attitude. Nick stood slowly nodded to his grandfather and went out to make sure Sara was going to be ok, and try to calm her down. Zack marveled at the fact that Nick seemed to be the only one who could bring Sara to her senses. As Zack stepped threw the threshold of the house he could hear the man grunting. Looking at the bed they had put in the living room against the wall for the man to lay upon he saw the man was already trying to sit up but seemed to be a bit unsteady. Walking over to the bed Zack put his hand on the mans shoulder "Take it easy friend, you may be awake and you may be safe, but you are not fully healed." Shakily the man found his balance and got his bottom under him as he swayed just a little and sat up. Looking at Zack slightly crosseyed and with a slur "Thank you for the help Sir but i must be going. I have an urgent message for a very important man that lives in the old Kalis area." "And who would this very important man be?" Zack inquired "He is known as the Great Healer, the Mad Man, the Bringer of Life, Zed the Mad, Caregiver, or simply as Zackariah Zed Zarian, and i must get to him now it is urgent." Slured the man with a voice reminiscent of a drunk. "You must get to a man that you are already speaking to? Lay back friend as i have said you are safe but you are not fully healed. We can speak later of your urgent message but for now you are to lay back and rest, atleast until dinner." said Zack. The man layed back with Zack's help murmuring something that was indistinguishable from the grunts of pain. "Stay with him for now Nathan if he needs anything see to his needs.  If you sister and brother come back tell them i had to go to a friends house, and will be back for dinner. We will have one extra person for dinner. Have your sister make what ever for dinner but to be certain there is enough for three extra people. Our special guest that will be comeing for dinner eats more than most." Zack sighed and walked to the door. "Oh friend." Zack said, as he walked out the door. " I go by Zack or Caregiver if u must, but do not call me anything else, you understand?" The man nodded and muttered a "Yes Sir Zack" as he lost consciousness once again. Nathan sat there not knowing what to think. He had never heard any of those names, besides of course his grandfathers real name, but even then he did not know his middle name. He could understand the names of "The Great Healer", "The Bringer of Life", and "Caregiver" from what his sister had told him she read from his jounals. But why would he be known as "The Mad Man" or "Zed The Mad"? Neither of those described his grandfather at all. Pops has always been the most careing and loveing man he had ever met. Nathan decided to grab the last journal he had been reading and continued where he left off. Maybe there would be something in there that might give a clue to the names the injured soldier had given for his grandfather. He had gotten threw only a page or two when his siblings walked threw the door. "Where has he gone off to in such a hurry? He completely ignored me and walked off in to the woods to the North." Sara insisted from her younger brother. "I am not sure. He said something about going to a friends house and that he will be back in time for dinner but that you should cook something. He would be bringing a guest but to make enough for three extra people." Nathan said with a bit of confusion in his voice. "Three extra people? Hes bringing three more people for dinner? I didnt know he even had any friends, much less three of them." Sara didnt remember him ever speaking of another person, and to the north? She thought her grandfather was the only person that lived this far North. There was no other house to her knowledge to the North. "No only one person, but that they eat alot. So make enough for three extra people." Nathan looked just as lost as Sara. Nick only went to the cold cellar to start grabbing some potatoes. If there was to be that much food made certainly there would be potatotes involved, and ohh did Nick love his potatoes. Sara just sighed and went to the kitchen to start a fire in the wood stove to beginning cooking. It was already a hour or so past mid day and dinner would be in four or five hours. That much food was going to take time to prepare and cook. Nick reapeared with some onions, potatoes, and a few seasoning that they had dried and stored from the garden such as garlic and rosemary and the sorts. Setting them on the table he looked at Sara and awaited instructions. "If we are to make dinner for eight we will need more meat than we currently have at our disposal. Nick will you please go get what we have left of the pig we slaughtered last month and get two chickens from the pen? Slaughter and butcher them for me and bring them back to me while i prepare the vegetables." Sara went about starting the food prepartions "Nathan will you please clean the cast iron and the dishes and prepare the table for food prep. We dont have enough room at the counter to prep everything." Nick stepped out the door to do as he was asked, and Nathan set down his book and began the task of cleaning the cast iron.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 8

The next few days were spent mainly outside for Sara and Nick as Zach spent the majority of the time trying to save the soldier from his wounds. The man had needed to have a broken claw removed from his shoulder that had nicked a main blood vessel, and said blood vessel repaired, two broken ribs on his left side and one on his right which had punctured his lung filling it with blood, a broke right hand and left leg were the extent of his major injuries along with a few smaller cuts and bruises. He was lucky to be alive. Zach spent every wakeing moment at his side tending to him not only with mundain healing measures but with his Reiki as well. Nathans Reiki had run out a few hours in on the first day. He could do no more and had been in the bed for nearly two days from the weakness of expending his Reiki to such an extent in such a short time. Sara had to force her grandfather to stop and take a break to eat and sleep. Threw out those days Sara kept herself busy reading her grandfathers old journals. She had no idea as to the extent of his healing knowledge. Aparently back in the days of the Twelve Year War, when her father had made his name in the calvary, her grandfather was makeing his name in the medic tents. In the first five years of the war he had lost three patients due to injuries so extensive that he couldnt save them, and lost not one more for the rest of the war. He was a hero. Thousands of soldiers owed there lives to him. She knew that he was gifted in the art of healing but would have never guessed he was so acomplished. Sara had also found old letters from colleagues mentioning his amazeing abilities to heal wounds that should have taken the lives of soilders. Sara tried to remember as much as she could about the Twelve Year War. It happened dureing a time of drought for Kalis, a country that no longer exists and was located in the very territory in which they currently lived. Kalis had asked the neighboring nations to help them in there time of need and all of them sent food besides Shinaru. Shinaru was also experienceing the same drought and could barely feed there own people. After Kalis had recieved help from other nations they had decided that Shinaru needed to be taught a lesson for not helping them. Kalis attacked on the eve of the kings birthday with an assasination that took not only the life of the king but also the life of his wife and two oldest sons leaving his youngest son Tuin in charge of the nation. The now youngest King ever to rule Shinaru had to make the decision to either let it go or counterattack Kalis. King Tuin was only seventeen at the time but was not an insubstatial person to irritate. King Tuin demanded retribution from Kalis, demanding that the kings three sons and one daughter be delivered to Shinaru to be imprisoned for 30 years. The king of Kalis refused and the war began. King Tuin proved his worth and gained his trust from his soldiers threw his exploits on the battlefield. He  was  a force to be reckoned with and slew enemies  by the hundreds with the help of his Reiki. He had a very unique ablity that hadnt been seen in many generations. He could harden his own body to be able to take the hit of a sword with out leaving a scratch. He was given the alias of Steel Skin by his soldiers. Kalis put up a strong defense and faught long and hard, but after twelve years an unconditional surrender was given. The entire ruleing family was hung for there atrocities and the country was annexed by Shinaru makeing up the most northern territory of the nation. The war had ended, her father moved home and married a Kalis woman who had given birth to Sara not 2 years later.  Her name was Caralin and she had died giveing birth to nathan. Sara wiped a tear away as she thought about how much she missed her mother and went back to reading her grandfathers journals.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 7

It was a Camazotz. Its seven foot tall frame looked like a giant bat, with a nearly eight foot wing span tipped with claws so sharp it could rip threw plate mail in a single swipe. There head is that of a giant vampire bat with teeth so sharp that the act of closing there mouth causes there gums to bleed leaving them with the constant taste of blood in there mouths. There mouth, of which was so large it looked as if there head was made up of nothing but teeth, are always covered in blood as there saliva will not allow blood to congeal. They are known to bite there victims injecting them with there saliva that would thin their victims blood causing them to bleed profusely. Once the bitten is weak they would swoop in and suck them dry leaving them nothing more than a mummy like husk. They are intelligent and believed to have been officers in the Caretakers army. For there tireless obedience to there master the Caretaker would allow them to the over-world to feed, not only as a prize but also to save her army from taking massive casualties from the unsatable hunger of the Camazotz. Nick had only seen one, and that was almost a year ago. Out on a hunt with Nathan they had found only one set of tracks all day and it was almost time to head back to the homestead but Nathan had insisted they could catch the deer and take it home if they tracked it just another few minutes as the animal was already bleeding bad and couldn't last much longer. Unwillingly Nathan agreed and went on with him. Less than five minutes later they come across a gruesome scene of a giant bat sucking the deer dry. With in seconds the creature had dropped the husk of the deer and flew off. Nathan and swooped up Nick and ran as fast as he could home. When he arrived he explained to Pops what had happened and there grandfather had explained what they had seen.  Nathan could never forget that sweet unique smell of syrup mixing with old blood. That was the only way he could explain the stench that had come off the thing. As the Camazotz dropped the husk of the horse and turned towards the man that was knocked to the ground from atop it Nathan reacted. He was only ten or so paces from the creature, charging in he pulled his battle ax from his side and swung. The Camazotz was to fast and dodged the attack, side stepped and hit Nathan along the side of his head with a backhand from his massive claws throwing him nearly seven foot back landing on his side and loosing his battle ax in the flight. Standing and ignoring the blood streaming from his head Nathan pulled his two tomahawks out of there sheaths, he would not allow this creature to kill this unknown man while he still had the will to fight. As he readied his self for the next attack an arrow flew inches from his ear and into the creatures right shoulder. Smiling, knowing his sister had his back, adrenaline pumping, he charged onward. The Camazotz swung his huge wing like a blade tipped with barbs at Nicks head. Ducking at just the last second nick got under the wing and slid past the creature lodging one of the tomahawks in the hip of the creature while slicing threw the wing with the other. As he come to a slow he pulled one of his daggers to replace his lost tomahawk and gripped it in a reverse grip ready to counter anything this ungodly creature did in retaliation for the interruption of its meal. Another arrow flew at the creature but was easily knocked aside by its giant wings as it was expecting it this time. Nick new that if he did not keep its attention it was going to charge at his sister. There was no way she could withstand the strength of this creature if it was to get its hold on her. The Camazotz turned to launch towards Sara but its ripped wing left it unsteady and it barely kept its self from falling. Knowing that it was possibly the stupidest idea he had ever had Nick lunged stabbing the dagger all the way up to its hilt in the chest of the beast and out the back while burying the tomahawk in his other hand into the same shoulder that the arrow had punctured moments before. With the strength and force of the charge both Nick and the beast hit the ground in a flurry of mud, blood, and wings. Sara sent another arrow into the creatures back as the two on the ground rolled over in battle. Nick found purchase as the arrow made the Camazotz scream in agony as the arrow had punctured its lung. With out thinking Nick grabbed its head and squeezed. With his unnatural strength he could feel the bones in its head begin to crack under the pressure of his massive hands. With a soft pop the creature went limp as its head imploded. Nick slowly stood up breathing massively harder than he has in many years. He was bleeding from the head, the shoulder, and the leg. Sara could not remember the creature hitting home in any attack on him sense the initial hit that sent him flying, but apparently it had happened so fast that she had missed it. As Nick collected his weapons Sara ran forward and saw that the man that had fallen off his horse was wearing a military uniform of Shinaru and a Calvary regiment patch. This was a soldier and that patch was that of her fathers elite Calvary regiment. What was he doing out here? Has the war turned to this direction? None of that mattered this man was unconscious and bleeding profusely from a bite wound on his left leg. Nick found his war ax lodged into a dead aspen tree to the south of the trail. As he came back within sight of Sara he noticed the uniform of the man he had saved and the condition he was in. "Nick we have to save him, we have to get him to Pops if he has any chance of living and we have to do it fast. I will use as much earth magic as i can to make a sled and put him on it i will get on your back and attach the sled to my self with the bow string you need to run like u have never run before back to Pops. This man must be saved he might know something about father, that is fathers regiment on this uniform." Sara said as fast as she could Nick gave her a look of disbelief knowing she was not very good with earth magic "I know i know, get a bunch of sticks together" she insisted Nick did as he was told and went to the job of finding sticks. As her brother gathered the sticks and twigs Sara bandaged the man as best she could with cloth she ripped from her shirt. Within minutes nick had a pile of wood and was looking at Sara with doubt in his eyes. Sara arranged them into a sled that would be easily dragged with a body on it. She took a deep breath and visualized how she wanted the wood to fuse together to make it sturdy and strong. As she focused she put every bit of her will into the magic and let it flow from her hands into the wood in front of her. After a few moments she opened her eyes and to her surprise it had worked. She had never been able to do such a thing before, even simple bindings of earth magic she had almost always failed on. In disbelief she stood up and kicked it to see if it would fall apart. It moved as if it was one single piece of wood. In surprise she poked Nick in the arm " Come on Nick grab him and put him on the sled while i destring my bow to use as a rope. " In moments Nick had situated the man on the sled and Sara had connected the bow string and her spare bow string she liked to keep on hand "just in case" together and tied one end to the sled and the other to the belt around Nicks waist, realizing that if she tied it to her self she would be pulled off Nicks back. Sara climbed up onto her brothers back and squeezed tight around his waist with her legs and told him to go. 

Slow at first with uncomfortable movement he started off, but within moments he was able to get a good rhythm that wouldn't cause him to knock the man off the sled and still gain some speed. They went as fast as they could having to stop once or twice to re-situate the man on the sled so he didn't fall off but was able to get back to the house in just over an hour and a half. "Pops!! Pops!!" Sara screamed as they come into hearing sound of the house "Someone is hurt real bad and needs your healing, Pops get out here!!" As they got to the front porch Zack stepped out the door and saw the man "Get him in the house on the table now! What happened?" "A Camazotz" Nick answered "How did he survive and how do you know it was a Camazotz?" Zack asked as he collected supplies and herbs to stop the bleeding. The man was turning blue from loss of blood and beginning to go into shock. "He killed it!" Sara pointed at Nick "OK, OK, get out now so i can focus. Nathan u stay you could be of help, Sara, Nick go clean up and wait outside till i'm done here. The two of them walked out the door with out complaint knowing there grandfather would hear none of it.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 6

Over the next few days the boys helped Zack fall trees as he magically shaped the logs to make them fit together so tight that air could not pass threw the joints, and in less than a week the house had expanded to almost four times the original size. There were now four bedrooms and a proper sized kitchen, two out houses and two fireplaces, one on each side of the house. Zack informed them that now that the house was big enough for them that it was time to start with there education. Over the next few months each of them learned to read and write in the native tongue of Shinaru, training with weapons began as well. As time  went by the boys started to bulk up and began to look as much of a woodsman as there grandfather. In the first year Zack had made there schedules so strenuous that none of them had any time to explore any farther than the immediate half mile around the property. Nathan had learned to fish and farm so well that there was always fresh food for dinner. Nick had become so stealthy that he could sneak up on a dear and kill it with his bare hands before it had a chance to bolt. Sara had went from a nineteen year old girl to a twenty year old woman, learning to speak three languages. Zack believed that part of Sara's gift must be the ability to speak multiple languages. She had learned three languages fluently in the time it took him to learn one well enough to carry on a conversation. Zack began to allow Sara, with Nick in toe, to go into town. It was a three day round trip to get there and back including time spent in town. Sara kept track of the outside world as best as she was able to. The war had progressed and  Farion had been taken by the Camarils. Salisor had butchered every man and boy in the city and enslaved every woman and girl into his endless brothels and whore houses. King Tuin had lost nearly a quarter of the nation to Salisor. Their were rumors that the Camarils had found some ancient technology and learned to use it, but that they only used it under dire needs as they were in fear of it. King Tuin's army had tripled in size due to the conscription act forcing any man under the age of forty and over the age of twenty with a son to carry on his name to join the army. The war was at a stand still with no land lost or gained in over four months. Sara was afraid that the war would come to them but it seemed as though the battles and war lines were heading away from them. After taking Farion, Salisor set his eyes on Corinth to the east and that is where King Tuin had put a halt to his advancing enemy. Salisor had dug in and would not be pushed back, nor would King Tuin be routed from his position.  The war looked as thought it would be at a stand still for a long time. In the spring of 2995, nearly two years from the time they arrived at there grandfathers, Sara and Nick were on there way back from town only about four hours from there homestead it had just started to get dark when they came across the tracks of the largest horse either of them had ever seen. While pointing at the blood on the ground next to the horse print Nick put his other finger to his lips making sure that Sara knew to be quiet. As Nick examined the trail of blood he realized the rider of this magnificent horse must be severely injured and dieing, for there was a steady trail of blood going down the trail. Nick motioned to his sister that he was going to go on ahead and scout, that she was to not speak but keep moving down the trail as normal. Sara tried to object, that it was to dangerous for him to go on ahead on his own but she knew it was fruitless. That no one other  than Nick could move so silently and quickly threw the woods. Over the last two years all three of them had become very efficient in weapons. Sara had her bow and quiver, throwing knives, and daggers. She was more than capable of holding her own if anyone wanted to come upon her. She also had learned to use her powers to a much higher level of aptitude. She had mastered the basic spells of wind, fire, and water, but was having trouble with earth. She could easily create a wind wall or a fireball or manipulate the water in the stream next to the path to protect herself. She was no wheres close being able to do any of the more advanced spells or the spells that combined elements but she doubted anyone out here could do that either, so she figured she should be fine on her own. Nick had be come efficient with any and all bladed weapons. He woke up in the morning and donned two short swords in an X across his back and a one long clay-more style sword down the middle of his back. He had a war ax strapped to his right side and two tomahawks to his left. Strapped to his side at all times was two knives the length of his hand and another two daggers the length of his forearm on this other side. The truly looked a force to be reckoned with. When he walked into town the way he looked everyone would keep a large girth around him, until they got to know him and realized he would never hurt anyone or anything that didn't deserve it. Everyone in town loved him. Nathan had become a master of blunt weapons. He kept a staff, and a set of tonfas on him at all times. One could not find Nathan with out his tonfas, though he kept them hidden well and no one would know he had them unless he let them. He never went anywhere with out his staff. He had even unarmed Nick before using that staff of his, a feat that should not be taken lightly. Nathan would not be any help in this situation though sense he was back at the cabin with her grandfather in whom Sara had eventually become comfortable calling Pops as he had requested. Sara nodded informing Nick that she understood and donned her bow and set an arrow. Nick stealthily stepped into the woods and was gone from Sara's view in moments. He had realized by the look of the blood that it was still fresh, ten minutes old at the most. As he darted from tree to tree he was feeling a rush he had not felt sense the day they were being chased by the hell hounds so long ago. He knew now what that feeling was. Excitement. Excitement that life made sense. Excitement that life was simple again. It was fight or die. A feeling that he new was right. A feeling that seemed as though it was what he lived for. He was  a fighter, and a fight  must be ahead. He knew there was more than just his lone rider. He saw no tracks, heard no sounds, yet he knew there was something else in the area. Something  dangerous, something unknown. There would be blood on his blade today. Sara kept up pretty well on the main trail, she was only twenty or so paces behind Nick. As he came up to the turn and heard the sound of the magnificent horse screeching for the last time as its life was ripped from its existence he knew what it was. He could smell it. As he come around the corner the scene his eyes beheld assured him he was right.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 5

"Who is Shira?" Nathan spurted out" Zack put his head in his hands and shook it " Shira is "The Mother" the largest of the moons in the night sky, the blue goddess, you cant seriously tell me you dont know who Shira is can you?" Sara shrugged "Father did not speak of such things, they are simply the three moons we see every night that is all i did not know that they were named." Zack slowly lifted his head and looked at the three " Shira i have already explained, Shora is known as "The Father" and is the second largest moon, he is also known as the "Gray Father". The smallest moon is Shern known as "The Child" or "Red God"

"Legend has it that when the planet was young there were only two moons, Shira and Shora. They were in love and wanted children. The creator knowing that they were lonely formed the planet from the dust left over from the creation of Shira and Shora. On this planet he created plants, animals, and lastly he created we humans for the two love birds Shira and Shora to look after. As we grew as a people and started to spread around the land Shira and Shora burst with pride at what the creator had made for them." "A few thousand or so years ago there was a great war, our technology had become so great that we thought we could rule the world our selves. We became greedy and started to believe that we didn't need Shira or Shora to protect us anymore. We used our technology to try and destroy the two moons. We launched these huge explosives at the moons. When they hit each moon a chunk fell off of each moon and hurled back at the planet. Shira and Shora were not happy with us you see. They had spent several million years protecting us just for us to try and destroy them." "When the Mother and the Father retaliated it sent the world into an extreme state of shock some sources call it a nuclear winter, many billions of people had died. In the wake of the retaliation of the Mother and Father we lost all of our technology and we degraded back to sticks and stones and living in caves. The sky was so blocked with dirt and debris that we could not see the night sky for over fifty years." "The population of the world dropped well below a hundred thousand people and those who survived started to manifest some minor powers. For example some could create water from the moisture of the air, others could make a fire appear by drawing heat from there own body. Reiki was discovered and we started to learn to control these powers." "When the air finally cleared and we were able to see the night sky once again there was a third moon much smaller only about a quarter of the size of The Mother. This moon was reddish, and became known as "The Child" or the "Red God". Not only was there a new moon but the original moons had changed colors. The Mother was now blue, and became known as the "Blue Goddess" and The Father Had turned a dark gray and became known as the "Gray Father"." "Our ancestors believed that the new moon was the reason for their miraculous powers they had acquired. They now feared Shira and Shora and had named there baby moon Shern. It has been two-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-three years sense the sky cleared. Legend has it that we were given a thousand years per moon to learn from our mistakes and to find a way to work together to better our selves or the Red God would rain fire upon us and end our world." Nick seemed to not really care for the story, while Nathan and Sara were slack jawed in disbelief. "BUT THAT'S ONLY SEVEN YEARS AWAY!" Nathan screamed in fear. Smacking Nathan in the back of the head for yelling Sara inquired "Is all this true? I mean i know there is ancient cities with really tall buildings all over the planet, that there are old pieces of technology out there and some kind of wagons that required no horses out there i have seen some of them. They are rare and few, but could all that honestly be true." "I don't know." Zack responded nonchalantly "I am only telling you the legends as i heard them. There is no way of knowing for sure, but i do know it explains a lot about this world we live in. Like why there are huge ancient cities and amazing ancient technology that we see or find but have no way of using or understanding." "It is also said that before the great war with the moons. There were no hell hounds, or Borks, or magical creatures of any kinds. They all seemed to appear after the war, around the same time we started to manifest these strange powers." Zack pointed out. "That's scary." Nathan shivered "Enough of this Pops you can tell us more later the sun will only be up for so long and there is a lot of work to do. You three, " Sara said pointing at the three of them " have some trees to chop and a house to expand, i will clean up in here and make sure there will be food for you when your ready. I will rest as i can but i will help you three when i am healed i will not sit idle while you three do all the hard work." With a smile Zack nodded "Well put, come on boys lets get to work, you boys head out ill grab the axes." Nathan and Nick stood up and headed out the door  with out word. As the door shut Zack looked at Sara " You rest, take it easy, you used so much of your reiki that you shouldn't be alive. I honestly don't know how you are still standing much less breathing. Take it easy and we will do the hard work. It will be a few days for you before you feel back to normal." Sara nodded in agreement. Zack grabbed the axes from under the bed and walked out the door. It didn't take long before Sara had to lay down and take a nap on the bed.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 5

Zack slowly lifted his head and looked at the three " Shira i have already explained, Shora is known as "The Father" and is the second largest moon, he is also known as the "Gray Father". The smallest moon is Shern known as "The Child" or "Red God" "Legend has it that when the planet was young there were only two moons, Shira and Shora. They were in love and wanted children. The creator knowing that they were lonely formed the planet from the dust left over from the creation of Shira and Shora. On this planet he created plants, animals, and lastly he created we humans for the two love birds Shira and Shora to look after. As we grew as a people and started to spread around the land Shira and Shora burst with pride at what the creator had made for them." "A few thousand or so years ago there was a great war, our technology had become so great that we thought we could rule the world our selves. We became greedy and started to believe that we didn't need Shira or Shora to protect us anymore. We used our technology to try and destroy the two moons. We launched these huge explosives at the moons. When they hit each moon a chunk fell off of each moon and hurled back at the planet. Shira and Shora were not happy with us you see. They had spent several million years protecting us just for us to try and destroy them." "When the Mother and the Father retaliated it sent the world into an extreme state of shock some sources call it a nuclear winter, many billions of people had died. In the wake of the retaliation of the Mother and Father we lost all of our technology and we degraded back to sticks and stones and living in caves. The sky was so blocked with dirt and debris that we could not see the night sky for over fifty years." "The population of the world dropped well below a hundred thousand people and those who survived started to manifest some minor powers. For example some could create water from the moisture of the air, others could make a fire appear by drawing heat from there own body. Reiki was discovered and we started to learn to control these powers." "When the air finally cleared and we were able to see the night sky once again there was a third moon much smaller only about a quarter of the size of The Mother. This moon was reddish, and became known as "The Child" or the "Red God". Not only was there a new moon but the original moons had changed colors. The Mother was now blue, and became known as the "Blue Goddess" and The Father Had turned a dark gray and became known as the "Gray Father"." "Our ancestors believed that the new moon was the reason for their miraculous powers they had acquired. They now feared Shira and Shora and had named there baby moon Shern. It has been two-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-three years sense the sky cleared. Legend has it that we were given a thousand years per moon to learn from our mistakes and to find a way to work together to better our selves or the Red God would rain fire upon us and end our world." Nick seemed to not really care for the story, while Nathan and Sara were slack jawed in disbelief. "BUT THAT'S ONLY SEVEN YEARS AWAY!" Nathan screamed in fear. Smacking Nathan in the back of the head for yelling Sara inquired "Is all this true? I mean i know there is ancient cities with really tall buildings all over the planet, that there are old pieces of technology out there and some kind of wagons that required no horses out there i have seen some of them. They are rare and few, but could all that honestly be true." "I don't know." Zack responded nonchalantly "I am only telling you the legends as i heard them. There is no way of knowing for sure, but i do know it explains a lot about this world we live in. Like why there are huge ancient cities and amazing ancient technology that we see or find but have no way of using or understanding." "It is also said that before the great war with the moons. There were no hell hounds, or Borks, or magical creatures of any kinds. They all seemed to appear after the war, around the same time we started to manifest these strange powers." Zack pointed out. "That's scary." Nathan shivered "Enough of this Pops you can tell us more later the sun will only be up for so long and there is a lot of work to do. You three, " Sara said pointing at the three of them " have some trees to chop and a house to expand, i will clean up in here and make sure there will be food for you when your ready. I will rest as i can but i will help you three when i am healed i will not sit idle while you three do all the hard work." With a smile Zack nodded "Well put, come on boys lets get to work, you boys head out ill grab the axes." Nathan and Nick stood up and headed out the door  with out word. As the door shut Zack looked at Sara " You rest, take it easy, you used so much of your reiki that you shouldn't be alive. I honestly don't know how you are still standing much less breathing. Take it easy and we will do the hard work. It will be a few days for you before you feel back to normal." Sara nodded in agreement. Zack grabbed the axes from under the bed and walked out the door. It didn't take long before Sara had to lay down and take a nap on the bed.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 4

Sara awoke still slightly groggy with the feeling of sand in the corners of her eyes. She realized it was daylight but by the way the sun showed threw the windows it couldn't have been much more than an hour or two past dawn. She slowly sat up and saw that her grandfather was sitting at the table reading a book with intensity she had never seen in his eyes before. Nick was still asleep and she realized he had been more tired and sleeping longer and longer as of late. Nathan was sitting at the table to the side of grandfather whittling away at a piece of wood with an old fixed blade knife not much larger than the palm of his eight year old hand. She yawned slightly as she stood up and walked to the table to see what her grandfather was reading. "Grandfather, what are" is all she got out before she was interrupted "Dont call me that girl, whats wrong with you? Do you truly wish me to feel that old? my name is Zack, not grandfather!" She stood there a little off balance not knowing what to think, "Well i cant just call you by your name you are my grandparent, calling you by your name is disrespectful. What am i supposed to call you then?" Zack never looked up at Sara, never even took his eyes off his book, but simply said, " Pops you can call me Pops that will do for me." "Pops then," she said with a snarl not liking the sound of it but conceding that it was his prerogative to be called as he wished, " what is it you are reading?" "Ohh just a bit of studying. He has me confused and i'm trying to figure something out." Zack said jestering towards Nick. " I don't understand Pops." Sara quietly said trying to keep quite so that Nick would not be awoken. She pulled out the chair directly in front of Zack spinning it around so that the back of the chair was facing the table and sat down facing her grandfather laying her chin on her forearms that were crossed across the top of the back of the chair. She looked at Zack waiting for him to explain some more. Zack looked up at her closing his book with a loud slam causing Nick to jolt upright and look around, "It doesn't matter lets talk, i wish to know where your father is and why you three are here in this place with me alone with out him" Nathan never looked up or even flinched but simply said in a mono toned voice of indifference, " Hes dead, he died for nothing and will never come home." The floor creaked ever so slightly as Nick sat up and stared at the fire. Sara looked at Nathan with incredulity, still having trouble believing that Nathan could be so nonchalant about their fathers death. "He was called by the baron to go to war, we received letter nearly four months ago that he was missing presumed dead. We were to no longer receive any money for his military services. We knew that we would all starve to death if we didn't find somewhere else to live, and we figured u were the only family we had left. So we headed out once we got everything ready and here we are" Zack some how seemed to look more confused than she knew one individual could possibly look. "War? What war? Sense when have we been at war?" "When was the last time you went to town grand... Pops?" she questioned him not believing that he truly had no idea about the war that had ben waging for nearly two and a half years now. Zack tapped his fingers on his left hand on the table as he thought. When was the last time? He wasn't sure, he had everything he needed here. What he didn't have he either didn't need or could make. Now that he thought about it, the last time he had been in town was when his goat had died and he needed to get another one, and that was what? Maybe three years ago. "I suppose it has been close to three years now." Zack responded "So you have no idea what is going on in the world right now do you?" Sara questioned Zack simply  shrugged his shoulders and sipped from his coffee cup in front of him. "Well this might take a few minutes to explain then" Sara said as her grandfather nodded and motioned for her to continue on. "Where to start" She murmured under her breath as she thought "Well about the time you decided to remove yourself from the world three years ago or so a warlord appeared out of nowhere and united all eleven tribes of Camarilia. He is called Salisor after the last warlord of Camarilia who's death two thousand years ago ushered in the Camarilian wars that lasted almost fifty years and ended with the dissolution of the empire and broke the empire up into its eleven tribes." "Six months after the reunification of Camarilia the son of Salisor disappeared. Apparently Salisor believed he was abducted by King Tuin. Of course the King denied the accusations yet Salisor did not believe him and attacked the town of Kalin. King Tuin would never allow any nation to attack his kingdom but wished not for war. He responded by sending an emissary to the Camarilians requesting them to leave the nation of Shinaru immediately. Salisor responded by sending the emissary back strapped to his horse without a head." "King Tuin attacked and the war has been raging for nearly two and a half years now." "And with your fathers military background the Baron made sure to put him in charge of the cavalry didn't he?" Zack asked knowingly Sara nodded "Do we know who is in charge of the army?" Zack wondered Sara shook her head, her father had only said that he was requested on the front line with the cavalry. Zack took a deep breath and sighed heavily "Where is the war front right now?" "Farion" Nathan shouted out being so happy to be able to put himself into the conversation finally. "Farion?! That's only  a weeks walk from here, and u think its safe for you three to travel here?" Zack looked at Sara in disbelief "We had no where else to go Pops" Sara spurted out. Nick grabbed a split log from beside the hearth and tossed a it into the fire place causing little glowing embers to erupt from the dieing coals. As he stood up and walked over to join everyone at the table he swayed a small amount from his sleepiness. Zack nodded "Well your all here and to be honest i could use some help around here." Zack looked around the small shack " But i don't think that this place is big enough to fit all of us comfortably. After breakfast the boys and I will begin to remedy that problem and we should be done with that in a few days." "Alright boys do you know how to use an ax?" Zack asked Nathan replied "We chopped a lot of logs at dads house to keep the house warm if that is what you mean." Holding back a slight giggle Zack chuckled "Well that is close enough i have several axes and between your muscle and my magic we can expand this house pretty fast." "You my girl will not be able to help us your reiki needs to replenish, you nearly drained it completely. Coincidentally you are exactly what is needed around here." pointing at Sara Zack continued "Look at this place it has no woman's touch, you my girl are the first female to walk threw that door sense your grandmother passed away nearly fifteen years ago." Zack slowly pointed at each of them in turn as he continued "Each one of you will be taking classes and learning to use your reiki if you are to stay here. I will not have a non educated person in my house. Each of you will learn more than one language, and each of you will learn to read and write in those languages along with our native tongue.  Is that understood?" Nathan, Nick and Sara all looked at each other and back to there grandfather and nodded unable to speak due to there shock. They had not expected this. Their grandfather  had never truly been in there life much and they were unaware that he was so learned. "Good, and one last thing." Zack smirked " Each of you will learn to defend your selves physically. Each of you will learn to use blunt, ranged, and edged weapons of all kinds. There are a lot of things in these woods," he twirled his finger above his head " that could kill any of you until your able to protect yourselves you will not leave the immediate area surrounding this house. Those hell hounds you encountered were just babies, harmless in comparison to an adult hell hound, and one of the least dangerous creatures in these woods. I live in these woods for multiple reasons." He counted off each on his fingers as he went " One, no one and i mean no one has the gall to wander these woods so they are unlikely to ever find this house on there own, how you guys found your way so close to here must of been the act of Shira herself looking out for you. Two, these woods are the outer boundaries, north of us is the mountains of Kalidar, we are at the edge of the world so people can only come from one direction to get to us, South. And Three, the best apples known to man grow wild everywhere around here. Mostly because of the apples." "Questions?" He asked

[xerxixez]

Chapter 3

Nicks eyes flew open at a sound that had reached his ears while he slumbered. He wasn't sure what it was but new that it was familiar to him. After what seemed to be three to four minutes the door slowly creaked open. He looked over and saw it was his grandfather stepping threw the door. As his grandfather made his way threw the house messing with this and that on the table Nick realized what the sound was he had heard. It was the sound of his grandfathers robes ruffling as he walked. It only confused him he didn't understand, how could he had heard the robes ruffling  minutes before he even came in the house, and threw the sound of the blizzard blowing outside the door. He figured he must have been hearing things and it was just a coincidence, for there was no way he would have been able to hear that. His father always said he had the strength of his from the Magic of the body, but that would not allow him to hear from so far a distance that's not how it worked. He would only have the strength, if he had the magic at all. None that he had ever heard of had more than one magic of the body. Nick sat up as his grandfather threw a log in the fire. His grandfather seemed to not notice him at all, but then spoke and turned to him. "I see she ate two bowls" he said quietly. Nick only nodded. "You don't speak much do you? Do you know why you don't speak much or do u just know u don't?" Nick shrugged  his shoulders and stood up and walked to the table, and sat where Sara had been eating, the bowl still sitting there in which she had ate out of. His grandfather made his way to the table stepping over Nathan and Sara on the way. He was an older man with little to no muscle, standing at what Nick believed to be about four inches shorter than him. His long grey hair was in a pony tail that swayed from side to side as he walked. His face was cleanly shaven, with very few wrinkles for his age and a thin but long scar that went at an angle from the outer corner of his right eyebrow across his nose and stopping just shy of reaching his upper lip. It looked as if a very sharp blade was pulled across his face. The scar was so thin it was not very visible, but its thinness did not deduct from the obviousness that the injury to cause the scar was very deep and life threatening. It all gave his face a very distinctively soft yet wise look about him. He sat down at the table next to Nick and reached for his hand opening it and place a small trinket in it before closing it back making him ball his hand up like a fist around the object. Nick looked down at his hand then back up at his grandfather with out opening his hand. With out looking at it he knew what its shape was. He didn't know what it meant or what it was called, but he could somehow picture it in his mind with out even so much as seeing it. It was small maybe half an inch.  Smooth but made of wood and metal. it was pointed on 3 sides with round pieces connecting the points. Like a triangle inside of a circle, with the circle being metal and the triangle being wood. carved into the circle on both sides was words he did not know in a language he did not understand. He didn't understand how he knew all of this just from feeling it in his hand but knew without a doubt that the words where there and that it was in a language he did not understand. "Don't look at it, Can you feel it can feel what it is?" his grandfather asked him. Nick nodded his head. "Are you able to tell me the words?" Nick thought for a second and responded with a simple shake of his head. "Is it the language or the lack of knowing there are words on it?" Nick realized he was gripping it so hard that his knuckles were starting to turn white. " I don't understand the language" he reluctantly responded not being able to think of any other way of answering with out speaking. "That is an ancient language very few understand and i will not tell u what it means or speak the language to you, but this is my gift to you to keep for all time so that it may one day have significance to you." His grandfather said with so much enthusiasm that Nick was not sure if it would wake the others or not. He put it in his pocket with out even looking. "Do you know how you can tell by the feel all those things when no other can do it?" Nick shook his head no but wondered himself. "You have what is called the Body Magic. Not to be confused with the Magic of the Body. They are very different yet very much alike. I have known one other to ever have it. That trinket i gave u belonged to him. He was my great grandfather." Nick looked confused so his grandfather went on. "You see magic of the body pertains to one thing about your body that is enhanced. You can control that one thing and use it when you wish. For example if your sense of feel is your power then u can feel a horse trotting by outside if u choose to, yet if u choose not to u wont feel the vibrations in the floor. In using your abilities your magic will tear away at your physical form causing extreme pain. Yet if u have the Body Magic then you can use your enhanced feelings with out causing damage because your body is better suited for the magic. Whats more is that u don't have just one of them but you have all. Strength, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. Some will be so strong that u do things with out trying. Others will be so weak that its just barely above average. Three will be strong and two will be week. Have i lost you yet?" Nick understood and simply shook his head. He was beginning to be very intrigued by the subject. It was starting to make a little sense to him. He had never heard of this before. "So do you know which 3 are your strong and which 2 are your weak?" his grandfather  queried. Nick sat deep in thought for a few minutes. He knew that he was with out a doubt physically stronger than anyone his size had the right to be {or even  anyone three times his size for the matter} so he figured that was without a doubt one of the strong ones. He also knew that his sense of touch was more sensitive than anyone he had ever met, but he had no idea if the other three were any stronger or weaker than the average person. After all he didn't actually have any basis to compare it to. After a few moments more of thought he shook his head and grandfather went on, " Well we already know that you touch is better than most and your strength is far superior, but what of the rest?" Nick only shrugged not sure what else to do. "Are the rest pretty much equal?" He nodded as he yawned. The conversation was getting interesting but he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. "Well that would mean that only 2 of your 3 have awakened. So you have not fully awakened." His grandfather scratched his chin while lifting the corner of his mouth causing his left eye to squint a little, a look that showed obvious confusion. "I figured u would have awoken all three by now, your what?" He looked up into Nicks green eyes "15?" Nick shook his head and pointed to the ceiling and held up one more finger" "16 then?" He nodded "Well most awaken completely by the time they are 14, i find it odd that you haven't." Grandfather could tell that his grandson was beginning to have trouble keeping his eyes open. "Go lay down for now and we will all talk more in the morning" Yawning again and with eyes barely open Nick nodded and went back to his spot of rest and closed his eyes for the rest of the night.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 2

Sara awoke groggy with the stringent stench of something in the pot over the fire in the hearth. She slowly sat up and looked around, as her eyes started to focus she realizes she was in a small one room cabin. The windowless door was directly across from the bed in which she was now sitting. Three rough looking chairs sat around a small round table with two good legs and one leg with a splintered bottom broken off about a foot from the floor with a fire log under it leaving the table a little off balance, sat between her and the door. To the right of the door a small table about knee high sat between two rickety chairs that looked as if they were made in a rush haphazardly just to have a spot to sit. The hearth on the left wall had a make shift mantel holding a few dusty things she could not make out and a few books looking to have been thrown on there at random. The whole place just had a dilapidated feel to it. Her brothers sat in front of the hearth eating something out of wooden bowls. As she slid of the bed onto the floor she realized that she had no shoes on. The rough looking floor was a lot smoother than she had imagined. It felt as if it was as smooth as a marble, but looked like it was  as rough the bark on an oak tree. "Sara your awake, i was so scared" Nathan said as he spun around to the sound of the beds soft ruffle it made as she stood. "Where are we? And where is grandpa?" she asked as she started to step towards them. She lost her footing and realized she was not ready yet to be on her feet but it was too late, but Nick was there to catch her before she could hit the floor. He took her weight easily as if she weighed nothing. Nick was always exceedingly strong. Around six foot tall he wasn't much taller than anyone else if not average height and his build was no more than that of the average mason. Yet his strength was well beyond that of any man she had ever seen. Her father insisted it was his form of magic but she wasn't sure. Magic's of the body were extremely rare and almost always resulted in a lot pain, and nick was never in pain. Now that she thought about it she wasn't sure she had ever seen him even wince in pain before. He helped her to one of the chairs at the table. As she sat down Nathan grabbed a bowl and filled it with the awful smelling brownish-red looking liquid that was in the pot over the fire and set it down in front of her with a smile. She looked down at it and her stomach felt queasy. "Gramps says you need to eat it to heal your reiki." Nathan casually added as he sat down in one of the chairs. Sara looked at Nick. He smiled with a nod confirming that is what he had said. She wasn't sure what reiki was but her grandfather used words she didn't understand all the time. Nathan twisted his face to show his displeasure of having to smell it, "I'm just glad i'm not you. It doesn't exactly seem to smell all that great. I think its awfully bad smelling." Sara picked up the bowl and took a sip of it. She wasn't prepared for the thick sweet apple flavor that hit her pallet. It actually tasted pretty good, even if it had the texture of sand soaked in molasses. "Where is grampa?" she repeated hopeing they would answer this time. "I'm not sure, he said something about disposing of the bodies of the hounds before it was dark and it drew out the Borks looking for blood." Nathan picked at a small gash in the table were it looked as if a knife was once slammed into the table in anger. " I don't know what a Bork is but i don't like the way it sounds. I hope they don't find there way here. He said with it being so close to the house it wasn't safe to leave the bodies." Sara knew what the Borks were. They were beings of night. It was believed they were once humans that were tortured in the darkness of the underworld by the Caretaker herself millions of years ago. She ruled the underworld until the true owner came back, but no one knew of who the true owner was only that the Caretaker was just as ruthless as he. The Borks had skin of leather that was grayish blue, and was said to burn in the light. They were said to have long arms that dragged the ground, and were extremely strong for looking as if they were nothing but a skeleton with  skin draped over it. It was believed that after they were tortured she turned them into her own personal assassins, those who would not do her bidding for her were exiled to the over-world. Where the darkness only lasted a short time every day. Very few ever lived to talk of them, so few that most believed them to be a myth. She had seen one kill and eat a goat once, she knew they were no myth. She took another sip as she stared out the only window in the house. She didn't understand why you would put your bed under the only window, but figured maybe he liked to look at the stars at night. She realized then that it was already dark. The wind beating the snow against the window made it sound as if something was trying to break threw the glass to get them. The bowl was empty before she realized. Her stomach was still growling from the small ration of food she had allotted herself during the three month long journey to her grandfathers. "Is there anymore? I'm still hungry and it actually doesn't taste to bad." she handed the wooden bowl to Nick. He took it and filled it from the pot and brought it back to her with a look of confusion and handed it back. As she sipped away at the concoction in the bowl Nathan told her about how they were only an hour or so away from the house when she had fainted. There grandfather had Nick carry her while he led the way with Nathan at toe. He told her about the beautiful scenery that you could see just outside the door, but made sure to mention that with the weather like it was it would not be a good idea for her to try to see it. As she finished the bowl a second time she was not sure she could fit anymore in her stomach. Nick had already gotten up and laid on the floor starring at the ceiling. Nathan still hadn't stopped blabbing on and on about this and that. He never did stop talking. Nick rarely ever said anything. He spoke only when it was important or if asked a question he deemed worthy of answering, which was very rare. Sara rarely ever payed to much attention to what Nathan said. She realized along time ago that he rarely spoke of anything of importance. "Time to lay down grandpa will be home when he sees fit, nothing to be worried about. We will all make beds on the floor." she interrupted in the middle of  a sentence. Nathan was saying something about a flower that could be used to heal. She didn't really know what he was talking bout. Nathan got up and laid in the makeshift bed he had already made in the floor next to his brother while Nick grabbed some blankets and pillows out of the corner and made Sara a bed next to theirs. He helped her to the bed and threw another log on the fire before laying down himself. Before long they were all asleep.

[xerxixez]

Chapter 1

She ran as fast as she could without tripping or falling. There's no way she could ever outrun these beasts. Not with there powerful legs propelling them onward, towards what ever it is they hunger for, but she had no choice, its either run or die. As she looked back to see if her brothers was keeping up, she realized how close the beasts were. Lips snarled and fangs dripping with saliva, she could almost smell the scent of decaying meat from there breath. There crimson red eyes with no pupils looked to be as if it was made up of nothing but blood, but there was no doubt in her mind what they were looking at with such lust. There dark black fur looked as if it was a coat of armor with how tight it was clumped to there flesh, it barely moved as they flexed the strong muscles in there four lean legs as they ran forward. These hell hounds will only stop when what they are lusting for is helplessly being devoured alive. Nick was keeping up but seemed to be close to his end, and Nathan wasn't doing too well at all. "Come on, come on, we cant die now!" she screamed. She had to think of something quick or they were going to be dead. She turned around just in time to duck beneath a low lying branch of a pine tree without being knocked over, but lost her footing in the fresh winter snow and almost fell. If it weren't for the ceder tree she grabbed a hold of, she would have crashed face first in to the foot deep snow. Heart pounding, as she ran across a frozen creek, a blood curling scream  had brought her to a stop and turned her around. Nathan was on the ground not ten feet behind her and the hell hounds weren't even five feet behind him. She didn't have time to think as she sent up a basic air shield. Just a simple spell that makes the air as thick as mud during the spring rains. There's no way she can stop them with her magic ability diminished like this, maybe, but just maybe, she could slow them, enough at least to give them a chance. Nick was grabbing Nathan and forcing him up as the beasts slammed in to the shield. They hurtled in to it at full speed, she could hear the invisible shield give way as they crashed threw, only slowing them for a few mere seconds. Nick and Nathan were already running for there lives and past her before she could turn and run. Now she was in the rear with them in front. She would rather be killed to let them live than for it to be any other way, if anyone was going to die it was going to be her, that was the way she preferred it. She had promised her father before he went off to the war that she would take care of her two younger brothers. Her mother had died giving birth to Nathan eight years ago, leaving her to care for her family as the woman of the house at the young age of eleven. That was not at all a burden she would have done it either way if it was needed, after all family is the only thing in life that is guaranteed to always be there for you, and are the ones that will love you no matter what you do. After she had received word that her father was killed in the war it devastated them all, but she had to be strong for her two younger brothers. She never let them see her cry. She had decided that they would be better off at her grandfathers and that is what had put her in this predicament that she was in. The four hell hounds were gaining on them by the second when all of a sudden there was a loud whoosh to the air as bright yellowish lightning flew past them and slammed into the first hell hound flipping him head over tail threw  a tree. She could feel the intense heat of the magic as it had whizzed only a mere inch or two over top of her head. Before the first one hit the ground there was another crackle in the air as two more bolts of yellowish lighting slammed into the other three hell hounds. One of them was ripped completely in half as the magic ripped threw it, knocking the one directly behind it threw a tree and and ripping of one of its hind legs. As the magic ripped the head off the last hell hound off she looked up and saw her grandfather come over the crest of the hill. Nathan was hunched over coughing trying to catch his breath looking down at her from atop the hill next to there grandfather. Nick stood there as if he hadn't even walked a step. The world was spinning and Sara's stomach was churning as her body went limp and slammed into the snow. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the snow covered barren trees looming over her head. The sound of her grandfathers knee sinking into the snow next to her was the last thing she heard before the world disappeared in a blur.

[xerxixez]

The reason for starting this Blog

I am trying to write a story... It has been many years... I feel like if i can get some feedback from others then i will be more motivated to continue and keep the project comeing. Know that the text is a rough draft and will not be done spell checked or grammer or punctuation checked it is a ROUGH draft just typeing away as my brain pushes words to my fingers... Please let me know if you like or dislike but please be respectful!! Thank you  and i hope you enjoy!!!