fangs-blade

C H A P T E R 1

Earth, the term home we call our planet. But that was before the darkness took over.

Peace, the term of feeling relaxed and knowing that there is nothing to fear. But that was before the darkness took over.

The list goes on. So many meanings to these words have been changed because of one thing. The rising of the darkness. It first began when a prophet, by the name of Orcryn (pronounced: OR-KER-REN) who had found the Lore. It is no ordinary lore, which is why it has gained its title of the Lore. Gained from when lightening had struck a rock and engraved writings on it, it gained, not only respect, but also marvel. For it had read that soon darkness was going to rise and bring down the planet. It was going to corrupt the world and the people in it.

But at the end, in a tiny scribble, it reads of a hope, just as small as the little writing, which will prevail and win all, or die trying. The hope referred to the Lost ones, whom were called lost by the people after they had disappeared from the face of the planet. Fearing evil, Orcryn began to tell and cry out to the people. He went from many cities, to many counties.

People came when he came, wanting to listen to what he might have to say. The Lore, which had now been transferred onto paper (the rock was smashed, it was far too heavy to carry), was copied into millions, so that people may try to interpret what the last two lines meant.

“And should the world fall to its feet, the last breath of all shall be her feat.”

Rin was having the weirdest dream ever.

She was on a plain, and stretching out of her was the land. Everywhere she walked, more grass and prairie dogs formed. She tried to run, but no matter where she stepped, grass would burst out with an occasional jackrabbit, but it was mostly a prairie dog. She stopped for a moment, her head spinning, and she took quick in-takes of breath, to stop herself from hyperventilating.

She walked around some more, not even caring about the grass now, when in the corner of her eyes she saw something other than the plain.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she whispered all of sudden as she stared out into the open. The animals of the plain were all forming into one, one with themselves and one with the earth, and they all became one huge white bear. It was so big, and it looked menacing. Rin tried to run away from the bear before it noticed her, but to her dismay, every step only added to the bear, making it inevitably stronger.

The bear rose on its hind legs, and Rin didn’t even dare to move any longer. It sniffed the air loudly and she could swear that its expression changed into one of disgust. It smelled her. She was done for.

Rin took a step back, away from the bear, but that seemed to make her more noticeable. The beast lazily lumbered over her way. It was teasing her, she observed. The freaking bear was teasing her.

Groaning quietly, she looked for a way away from the bear. But where she stood was a plain, there was nothing to hide behind of. She cursed her luck. There had to be one way to get rid of the morphed animal. There was no way she could kill that beast with her state right now, nor was there any place to hide.

Not knowing reality from dream, Rin thought for sure that she was going to die. The bear walked over faster now, which caused her to step away from it. Her breath hitched when she saw its teeth. They were pearly white and were sharp. She wasn’t dumb, she knew of bears’ teeth being sharp. However, she didn’t realize it was to that extent. Just barely tapping her could rip her to shreds. Not to even mention the claws that looked like they could rip a person apart as easily as its teeth.

Rin was done for.

She faced the bear, walking backwards every millisecond. The beast was now pretty close; it could just jog and still catch up to her. Rin couldn’t move. Her nerves made her immobile so that she coudln't move as much as she would like to. She could feel the end coming soon. She wouldn’t be able to walk away forever, she knows that.

The bear snarled as it rose up to its hind legs again. It drew back its lips and roared a mighty one. Saliva dripped down the bear’s mouth onto its beautiful white fur, but it seemed not to care. It was looking right at Rin. She closed her eyes.

Half of her just wanted to run away, half wanted to just give up. However, the other half of her wanting to survive proved to be much stronger. She held her place, and stood there. She beckoned to the beast to come at her.

If she was to die this way, so be it.

The bear let out once more a mighty roar before it shot into the air. Rin closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come. However, it never did.

A thud was heard behind her and she quickly turned around. Her mouth opened ajar as she saw the white bear clash with a darker one. They were both equally matched in strength, regardless of size. By size, the darker bear was far superior. It was the size of six cars stacked on one another. The white bear, only half its size. But still, they were hand in hand, er should I say jaw in jaw, with each other.

Rin stayed put and watch from a far, however she couldn’t believe it. So the bear was actually snarling at the black bear and not at it.

Did it just save her?

Why?

The white bear seemed to read her mind for he turned his head and looked at her. When it opened its mouth and spoke, Rin was shocked. “Help.”

For a second, she thought she misheard. Her eyes widened slightly. The bear growled in frustration, and with a swipe of his arms, he pushed the black bear’s head away from snapping at him. “Go and find the Lost. Go!”

The bear roared once more, except much louder than before, and Rin felt air rush at her. It knocked her to the ground, scraping her arm leaving a nasty cut.

She rose to her feet. She ran.

Eyes opened, body lurched forward, and sweat glistened on her forehead. Rin’s chest heaved up and down as she tried to comprehend what just happened. “It was all just a dream,” she breathed out. It felt so real however, and she couldn’t take help, but to have a feeling that she had to go find the Lost.

Who knows why the bear had chosen her… But if she had to find the Lost for the bear, she would do it. It had saved her life, after all. Had not the bear attacked the black one, she would have walked right into the black bear’s clutches.

Her head hurt, her body hurt.

She rubbed her arm unconsciously, only drawing back in surprise when she felt it was red. She put the injured arm to the light and she gasped when she saw it was scratched just like in her dream. It was on the same place and the same length.

Rin fell down to her feet. Cold sweat went up and down her body making her shiver. Literally, it gave her the chills. The dream was real.

It was all real. The bear had asked her to find the Lost.

She couldn’t comprehend everything. How? Why? She had to ask her father. He was the best at interpreting these kinds of things after all.

She changed out of her sweat-drenched clothes and took a shower. Changing to newer clothes, she slipped out of her bedroom and trudged downstairs to where her father was looking at something.

“Dad,” she said softly.

He didn’t hear her at first, but the second time he jumped up and turned around. “Oh, you’re up?” He had a faint crease on his forehead that showed that he was frowning. And he also wiped his tears from his eyes, and though he tried to cover it, Rin saw it all. “What’s going on, sweetie?” He noticed something drip on the floor and he just blinked his eyes.

It seemed to take a moment for him to realize that it was blood. “Are you bleeding? Did you cut yourself? Oh, God, please no! You’re bleeding!” He rushed forward to her and looked at her wound. “What do I need? God, we are out of band aids and disinfects. But we can’t leave it like this, can we?”

He shook his head, as if he was debating by himself.

“Dad,” she said, still using her soft voice. Ever since her mom had died, he wasn’t the same. He never was… Most of the days, just like today, she caught him looking at mom’s last picture and everyday it broke her heart. She missed mom too, but she moved on.

She only wished that her father could move on also.

He looked up into her eyes, questions were in his eyes, but also worry. Her dad bottled so many emotions, it was now visible and obvious of how he was feeling at the moment. “I’m fine, this little scratch isn’t going to kill me. But I need you to interpret something.”

“I-interpret?” His voice squeaked, giving away his fear. He had always been afraid of the word interpret. It made him, and her, think about the past again. About mom… He cleared his voice, “What do I need to i-interpret?”

His voice again gave away from the word interpret, but there was determination in his eyes. Rin carefully told him about her dream, leaving out only what the white bear had spoken to her.

Her father’s face twisted when he heard of the two bears. When Rin had finished, he was silent. All throughout, he didn’t speak one word. He took a deep breath, a shaky one, but still regardless a deep breath, and he said. “What I know for sure is that you cannot run away from this dream. Just like how you were running away from the white bear in the beginning, you cannot dodge your destiny, which in this case is the bear.”

Rin nodded carefully, fully understanding.

“The white bear is the hope of the world. It is there whenever danger lurks around. The black bear respectively is the danger that causes the white bear to exist. And if you described accurately and it is true that the darkness is bigger than the hope, we are in trouble.”

Rin cut in before her father could say more. “But the white bear and the black bear were equal in strength, dad.”

“I know, dear. However, how long do you think that is going to be like that? Evil is a tricky thing. When good is strong, evil is also as strong.”

Her father stopped and rubbed the crease on his forehead. “But when darkness is strong, that doesn’t necessarily mean that good is just as strong.”

“That’s not fair!” she exclaimed, wincing when pain shot through her arm. Her father shook his head, “No it is not, but since when was the world fair?”

Rin nodded her head, defeated. So the white bear is going to lose… Darkness will win? That didn’t sound right to her. How could evil win? “Dad, there is something else I need to tell you… Something I left out.”

“What is it?” He licked his lips nervously, as if already knowing what was going to come out of her mouth.

“The white bear needs my help…” She said, ever so softly. “It asked me to find the Lost.”

“Bull!” her father cried out. “That is definitely bull! You’re only 19 now! How are you supposed to bring back the Lost? Who knows where they are now! They could be in another world by now.” He shook his head. “My father, your grandpa, looked for them his whole entire life because of that stupid Lore, and he wasted it! Making me interpret things,” he grumbled. “As if that did any good! That only made your mother die!”

“Mom didn’t die because of your interpretations, dad!” Rin couldn’t stand it anymore. She was getting annoyed by her father. “Okay, so Grandpa Orcryn couldn’t find the Lost ones. That doesn’t mean I can’t. Did any omen come to grandpa while he was searching for them?”

Her father nodded. “Well he did find the Lore, didn’t he?”

“Beside from that,” she snapped. “Dad, I’m not a kid anymore… I know what I’m doing.”

“Then how?” He said finally, his voice chocked. “How are you going to find them?” Rin blinked. “I… I don’t know up to that far, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”

“This! This is why I can’t let you go!” He swore, banging on the wall. “You don’t think you are a kid, but you still are! You didn’t even plan out things! How are you going to eat? Where are you going to sleep?”

“I have money, you know,” she said. “In fact, you do too! Grandpa Orcryn left a fortune! And you’re asking me how I’m going to eat?”

Her father swore again, tears streaming down his face. “Why?”

Rin softened. “Dad… I know you’re scared that you’re going to lose me like you lost mom… But you need to let me go. If what you said before is true, Hope needs me… It needs me to find the Lost to help strengthen it just like the darkness is.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Darkness always grow. When Hope grows, it’ll grow just as much. Darkness feeds on Hope!”

“But there still is a chance, isn’t there? There still is a chance for Hope to defeat the evil and the darkness.”

Her father stayed quiet. She saw the remorse on his face, how much she meant to him, how much he loved his daughter. His mouth struggled to move, before a single word was coughed out.

“Go.”

Rin couldn’t stop her tears from falling either. “I’ll come back, dad… I’ll definitely come back.”

He merely nodded. He thought however, What good is it if you come back dead?

Rin packed her things, tightly fitting it inside one sack. If she wanted to find the Lost quickly, she would have to be ready to be quick. First thing first, she needed to go to the Mercenaries. There was no way she could do this journey by herself.

She didn’t care how much she had to spend, she was going to get an A-Class mercenary.

Throwing the sack over her shoulder and carrying it by the string, she was just about to leave silently, when somebody blocked her door.

“This is madness, Rin! You think you can find the Lost? You?”

Rin turned around, not wanting to face the man. “Thanks for being such a believing friend,” she sneered. “I thought you of all people would understand.”

“But… There is no way you can find the Lost! They were gone for three hundred years now!”

She whipped her head and face the man behind her. 

"What do you want me to do then?" She placed her hands on her hips, her eyebrows
curled upwards in a defiant manner. "I'm not going to wait for the Lost to take their time."

"But that doesn't mean you have to take this on yourself! This is madness," the man exclaimed,
as he grabbed her by her shoulders. "You know how dangerous it is out there."

For a split second, he noticed her expression change. And although it was short, he was
able to understand that she knew the consequences. He also knew that she needed to go.

“Fine…”

She sighed. “Sorry… But I really have to go, Seungri.” He nodded, clenching his aw and moving to the side for her to go through. She looked around her room once more before walking away.

She didn’t go far however, when two arms hugged her from the back. “Be safe.”

She laughed.

“You know me. Safe is my middle name.” She could imagine him making a face behind her. She felt herself softening, and she rolled her eyes. She was such an emotionist.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

Seungri let go of her. “Come back soon, okay?” She smiled and nodded.

He sighed, going through his hair with his one hand. She had to admit, he was looking better than when he was a kid. He was always fat as a kid. Now he looks built..

“If you come back… When you come back, I have something to tell you.”

She scrunched her nose. “What is it? Tell me now, why wait?” Seungri shook his head. “No, I’ll tell you when you come back. Just come back soon, okay?”

“I already said okay,” she muttered, but regardless laughing. “I’ll only be gone one week tops.”

She quickly gave him a hug, before smiling. “See you later.”

She left him besides her room and as she came down, she saw her father. Once he saw her, he walked over quickly, giving her a big hug.

He placed in her hand two daggers. They both looked beautiful. One even had a blade that looked like a tail stand along the hilt. (x) “What are these?” She looked into his eyes and saw that they were already blood-shot.

“Use these to defend yourself. Evil is definitely rising. You aren’t going to be safe anymore. The only reason you never saw more than one fey or dwarf a year was because of your mother’s help. Now that you aren’t protected, as the protection only occurs here in the house, you are going to need these. I wish I could teach you to use them…” Her father shook his head. “You probably are going to the mercenaries, am I right?”

She nodded her head.

“Ask one of them to teach you then.” He sighed. “That’s all I could do for you, Rin. Sorry for being such a horrible father… Should I go with you? I could do that,” he coughed suddenly and she shook her head quickly.

“Dad, I got this. It’s my mission, and my mission alone. Else, I would have brought Seungri along.”

He nodded his head.

Rin took the daggers from her father and attached it to her belt. “I’ll be going then. Bye, dad.”

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P R O L O G U E

Screams rang in the air as fear tinted the dark night. He crouched in the shadows, waiting for the moment of his victory. His eyes peered the path along the way to Flâm and with careful precautions, he quickly formulated a plan in his head.

The shades around him rustled nervously as they craned their heads towards where he was looking at. He chuckled silently, how foolish were these necromancers? They were useless. Their mere existence were meaningless. They were made to serve and that was all. In the distant, an owl screeched as it dove for a mouse. The Yyardis eyed the owl as it emerged with a mouse in its claws. It flapped its wings and was gone in seconds.

Some shades close to him suddenly hissed as they pointed a far to a group of riders. They were hidden well, but from where he sat, the Yyardis was able to see everything. His tongue darted out of his mouth as it wetted the dry crevices on it. There were seven riders in total and they were fast. He cursed quietly as he saw that they were riding on Tetburas, which were literally demon frogs. Tetburas were known for their ability to travel over 1900 yards in one hop, which is a great deal.

“Get the archers,” the Yyardis ordered, “Now!”

The shades dispersed in a hurry, none wanting to be the center of his anger. Once he saw archers fall into their ranks, he motioned for them to move along the shadow with him. Sliding down the small mount he hid on, he was able to reach the bottom in no time.

Silently, the archers also slid down and they shuffled forward to station just in front of him. He could already see the riders getting closer by the minute. Out of instinct, the Yyardis grasped his sword. His sword was purely black, like his heart, and was thin. It was made to slide into the holes of one’s armor, but to be sturdy enough to penetrate through the heart.

He raised his sword up, and the archers all cocked an arrow and drew back the strings. Tension was thick in the air and the faint, but surely louder, sounds of the Tetburas shadow-hopping. The Yyardis held his sword steady in the air; he controlled his breathing. He licked his dry lips again, and his mouth curved into a devious grin. This was all too easy.

Three… Two… One… Now is the time to strike! The black sword fell down like a flash, and with it a volley of arrows followed. The Yyardis rose up from his position and quickly dashed towards the already fleeing Tetburas. He was able to take down three of the seven demonic frogs and the rest would be just as easy.

With easy swipes, he blocked the blows from his victims and was able to slide his sword into their bodies. With powerful strikes, the Yyardis quickly went through the three riders on the Tetburas. A strong stench entered his nose and he felt giddy.

Humans.

He shot forward with inhumane speed, dodging past trees and boulders. He jumped high in the air and let out a whoop. He looked back and saw the shades also letting out cheers. Facing back to the four remaining riders, he hurtled at them. He caught up to the last one, slicing the legs of the Tetbura. It fell with a heavy sound and brought the rider down with it.

The Yyardis was about to kill the rider, but it had already died. Hovering over it was an animal yokai, tearing at the neck. He nodded his head at the yokai, thinking of rewarding the shade that brought forth it.

The three other Tetburas all skidded to a stop, and they faced him. The riders on the demon frogs jumped off and they faced him. He raised his eyebrow.

“What is a Dwarf, Elf, and a human doing together,” he asked. “Something dangerous?” He laughed at his joke before wiping his bloody sword against his jeans. “Doesn’t this feel like old times? Times when we fought for survival?” He laughed again, however there was a slight threat in his voice.

The one Elf in the middle took off her hood and she glared at him. Ignoring his questions, she asked him warily, “And what business is it to you, filth of the underworld?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just… We can’t let you interrupt our lord from his awakening, can we?” He was amused at these trio. What did his lord see in them? What kind of threat could they be?

The shortest of them all also took off his hood. He spat on the ground, his eyes wild with anger. “Oh for dear sakes, let’s just fight. Talking makes me want to kill you even faster.” The Dwarf cracked his knuckles. Nimble for a Dwarf, he swung his axe with dead precision and if it weren’t for the Yyardis’s speed, he would have been dead already.

The Yyardis put a hand to his cheek, which was slightly bleeding from meeting the axe. He hissed as he dashed forward. He met the Dwarf in midair and they exchanged blows and parries. The Dwarf was amazingly good with the axe, hacking through any attack the snake-man could think of.

He drew back from the fight and jumped a couple yards backwards. If he couldn’t beat even one of them in physical confronts, he would have to beat them in magical ways. Sheathing his sword, he muttered under his breath an ancient spell. In his hand, a dark void was growing.

The She-Elf was the first to react. She began to mutter incantations of evil-warding spirits to come and aid them. The Yyardis watched the elf in amusement. She was trying so hard to beat his spell. He saw her mouth move frantically. She growled at him, “Darkness will not prevail, Deyanir. It will end. It says so in the Lores. Darkness will end. Always.”

He figured enough time has passed by.

“Amour Lavëna!”

Darkness screamed happily as it began to devour the three companions. It filled the area, causing a huge dome shape to appear. Once one touched it, they would be sucked in and killed by the darkness.

The Yyardis laughed. 

“But you are wrong, Sorin. Darkness has just begun.”