Zunery is in the woods on a narrow road not yet able to see the city up ahead. He starts to smell the stench of burning buildings and then, even worse, flesh. Getting up from his vehicle, he taps something, then flings open the door and begins to run towards an opening in the trees. A wind blows against him as he is nearly overcome by the foul smell of burning death. As he quickens his pace, he sees it. There it is, the dark creature he was told about. Zunery stops, in horrified shock and awe.
The misshapen darkness just stood at the edge of the flames, staring as if it enjoyed something about a town of commons burning to death. It’s eyes seemed to just float on the surface of its face, glowing a distinct, but deep blue. It almost seemed friendly as it met Zunery’s gaze as if it was smiling. He couldn’t see a face, nor could he tell if it was human or beast, or the devil himself staring back at him. Neither seemed to blink for what felt to Zunery like hours. Then, he felt warmth fill him, an evil creepy cold warmth. He could feel the creatures breath on his neck as if he were much, much closer. Two hearts beat in his chest, as he stared on. Darkness stared on, but Zunery blinked. Fear, shame, and shadow, filled his soul. Then he heard it, from his own mouth,
“I am your demon, Zunery. I know who you are, and I know you think to kill me. This world must unravel, and you cannot stop me from undoing it, and none shall escape Chaos.”
Zunery disgusted from saying words that were not his own, came to his senses quickly as the haunting experience left him. Looking forward he realizes the creature is gone. No it was right there! He draws his sword, a second too late. The creature opens its jaws and bites his arm. He drops his sword. Throwing it to the ground he frees his hand, just enough to step back and grab his gun. Blam… Blam, Blam. He hit the creature nearly point blank as black goo squirts from its shoulder. Whimpering it quickly withdraws into the fire and smoke. Silence fills the air, as all that can be heard is the occasional crackle and pop of rubble burning and shifting.
In a daze from his first battle in years with anyone or anything, Zunery stands and stares at where the creature disappeared into the flames. Completely unaware that nearby a large man pulls a teenage boy out from under part of a collapsed wall.
“Are you okay bro?” The older one asks the younger one.
“Yeah, I’m just scraped up real bad, but my leg will be fine,” he answers. “Who’s that over there?”
“I don’t recognize him either bro.”
“Did you see that thing he just chased away? It looked really disgusting.”
“No, I didn’t,” he answered, as they both dusted themselves off. Then turning, they start to walk cautiously towards Zunery.
“It looked like the night sky threw up a giant lobster.”
“Ueh, thanks for that image,” the older brother said.
“Blaine, bro, I think that’s Zunery.”
“Is that the super hero dad, um, tells, uh, told you stories about? Blaine asked, as he realized his father didn’t make it out of the house. Seeing that his brother was still very much distracted with the stranger, he didn’t want to make things worse by bringing up those they had just lost, as quickly as he just had.
“Uhm, yeh, that’s the one,” the younger one responded, noticing his brother’s hesitancy about their father. Knowing it must be hard on his brother as well to lose both parents in the space of a year, he continued toward Zunery, saying nothing more.
Upon reaching the stranger, they realize he is still staring at the burning city, his eyes seem to be pale blue, and his face almost completely drained of color.
“Sir, sir?” the younger one asked. Ignoring the bite mark on his sleeve he tugged on his shirt. “Are, are you Zunery?”
“Bro, don’t be jumpin to anything too quick,” Blaine almost whispered to his sibling.
“Aww, leave me alone. I wasn’t talking to you. Sir, are you? Are you Zunery?”
“I, uh, didn’t know anyone knew my name this far out,” Zunery said to cover up how startled he really was, by the creature, and also by them.
“See? See, bro he is!”
“Okay, okay. It was a lucky guess. So, Z-man what’s your thing? And who was that?” he asked having never even seen anything for himself.
“I don’t know who or what that was. It ran from my gun, but was not afraid of the flames,” Zunery responds. He then realizes he’s still holding his gun, and that his arm is bleeding enough to be noticeable. Putting his gun away he starts walking to his sword, away from Blaine and his brother.
“Do you, erh, was this your home?” Zunery asked them both.
Blaine, standing a few feet away, looks at the ground and kicks a rock, then looks up at Zunery. “Yeah, it sure was. I don’t know what we will do now, looks like everything could burn for days.”
“Well, you’re a strong looking fellow, I could use your help. I have plenty of money, I could pay you for your trouble. What‘s your name?”
“Blaine. Help? What with?” Blaine asked in pure confusion. “The young one over there is my kid brother, Blades.” Blades had wandered off quickly and was digging in the rubble of his home a good distance from where the two if them were standing.
“Well, that creature has killed others. I think it might be related to the Guild’s return.”
“The Guild? No, impossible, we can’t have another civil war like that.” Blaine said sorrowfully. “Wait, those stories, you’re the one that stopped them years ago?”
“Exactly, I’m attempting to stop them again, this time before anything big happens.”
“And I thought it was just some glorified story. Well, I’m no fighter. My dad tried to teach me to use a sword, but I might as well be swinging a hammer.”
“We can work on that as we travel. My transport can’t handle most of the terrain south of here, so we will have to just make camp here and there, and when we do I can train you.”
“Well, you’re awfully generous. I guess if you were gonna kill us you woulda already finished the job.” Blaine says as he looks at Zunery‘s sword and awkwardly large hand gun. “I accept.”
“Let’s see is there anything we can do to keep this fire from spreading through the forest?” Zunery questioned aloud.
“I don’t… wait, where’s my bro?” Blaine had looked in the direction of his house, and could see only a pile of rocks stacked about foot high where his brother had be sitting.
Racing to where they had last seen Blades, Blaine frantically calls for his brother. Upon reaching the pile of rubble, Blaine stops and bends over to pick up a small sharp knife.
“He was getting his collection. Ha, he probably wanted to show them off to you.” Still hunched over, Blaine looks around and calls again for his brother. Dusting off the blade, he carefully puts it into his belt and stands up.
Aren’t you worried?” Zunery wondered.
“Naw, he’s been acting kinda dazed ever since our mom got sick last year. He would want me to keep this safe,” pointing to the knife in his belt. “Dad gave him a set of these. My father was part of Centaur years ago, back in the days of that guild war you were in. He was a spy mostly, liked to take people out with a set of knives similar to these. He never trusted a gun, or magic and he loved weapons like my bro does. Guess he passed it on to him. It‘s why we call him Blades.”
“I wondered, but I didn’t want to ask.”
“Blades!” he called again. “He’s wandered off a couple times before, gets lost in the woods like he was still five. Didn’t used to get lost so easily. I suppose he just has a hard time with it all.”
“Well, yeah, but what about you? I mean you just lost your father and your home in that destruction didn’t you?”
“I’m a tough guy, I can handle a few emotions. Me and my Dad weren’t as close as the two of them were. Didn’t get along as much or see each other as often.” Blaine excused himself and attempted to minimize his vulnerability in front of Zunery.
“You have family? Blades!” he shouted quickly before Zunery started talking again.
“Well, no not really. But I’d be a little more distressed if I was in your shoes right now than you seem to be.”
“Eh, don’t lecture me, everybody dies eventually, just gotta move forward. Ok, well Blades doesn’t seem to want to come back so for now let‘s cut the chit chat, and go find my brother before he gets too lost.”
“Sure.”
They cross the road that is the only open space between the city and the trees, and enter the dark woods. Zunery thinks back through the past few moments and questions the sanity of Blaine. Did he really not care? Could someone be that calm about death? Then, a dark image surfaces in his head with glowing blue eyes. He tries to shake it, but it won’t go away, at least not easily.
* * *
It was only early afternoon, yet it was dark from the smoke. It gave the woods an eerie light to wander in. One moment it looked like day, the next like night, but in general it was dark with some lighter patches of smog letting in just streaks of light. The only reason it wasn’t smothering was the wind which was just as constant as the smell it carried.
Zunery then sees an open field. It was full of the dead. The smell of death was ever so strong. Small fires pocketed the barren ground. Swords were mangled in bodies, and bodies onto swords. Guns lay bleeding their last jolt of energy, as bodies the same. He wasn’t alone, there were a few others still on their legs ready for the final fight of their lives. A face could be seen afar off, it was him, the guild leader. There were hundreds with him, but it was apparent he was their leader. Maybe it was something in his gait, or the smug face he wore, or maybe it was the fear all the others had for him as they kept a more comfortable distance from him. Maybe… And with that thought the memory faded back into the sight of smoky woods.
“Do you know where he may have gone?” he asked Blaine.
“Yeah, he’s probably somewhere close to the river, that’s where I’ve always found him in the past. It’s peaceful there.”
“If it weren’t for this smoke I can imagine this whole forest as beautiful.”
“Oh, it is. There’s always a breeze up here, makes everything smell good in the spring. You can smell every flower and blossom for hours on end.”
“So how far is the river?”
“It’s a bit of a walk. Especially for me ‘cause I don’t know every path or downed tree like Blades does. So do you have any idea why the guild would want to burn down Mongara?”
“No, if anything it seems completely out of their way. Their old hiding spots were mystical places, like the marsh near the eastern cliffs.”
“If you can tell, what really was the Civil war about? I mean so many things get said, and well, my dad always kept quiet about it.”
Well, he probably never knew, most people don’t know about the Tree.”
“Tree?”
“Exactly, ever heard of enchanted weaponry?”
“Yeah, so?”
“It’s done by the fruit of the Tree.”
“That doesn’t sound logical,” Blaine wore a slightly more confused face than his usual confused look.
“It isn’t, but I just visited it before I came this way. Place burns with power. Nothing can grow around it cause it dries up. Ever heard of Dark Ruby?”
“Yeah, but that just all religious hocus pocus. Right?”
“Well, she was a queen a few generations back, I guess it depends on what you call hocus pocus. I mean there’s plenty of commons that are part of rokri and other sects.”
“I don’t believe any of it, I stay away from all of ‘em.”
“Well, even I’m a user, Blaine. It’s the only way to survive anymore. Even on Zosa the only thing we can trust is our energy transports getting in and out on time. Trust in anything more than that, and you might as well have a knife in your back.”
“So, how do you know the stories of Her?”
“Ever since the War, I’ve gone around collecting books, anything from a data entry to a journal. I dare say I have the best library among The Planets. I mean the smartest scholar would be astonished to learn that we made one of the suns, up th… well you know what I mean.”
“What? How?” Curious by nature, Blaine wanted to sink his teeth into this one.
“I’m not exactly positive myself, but I guess that’s why I feel it’s important to know. I mean what if we had knowledge of every piece of history, with no holes?”
“There’s too many sects, there will always be disagreements, I mean it’s great if you can find a log on the origin of the stars, but who is to say it’s not just your religious views?”
“Because I find books from all the planets, few of the religionists of the past centuries had followers on every planet, even now the rokri stay mostly to Zeirth.”
“I guess that is a decent point. So, I want to hear about that old queen, but uh, I think you were right about worrying earlier. ‘Cause that’s the river over there, and that’s the spot my bro is usually at, and he ain’t there.”
“You said earlier your brother gets lost in the woods?” Zunery questioned if Blaine was one to be trusted after having been led into the woods so deep. He was well aware that the only weapon Blaine had was the blade at his belt.
“Well, he always finds his way here, but he never seems to be able to retrace his steps.”
