Wander stabbed his sword of light into the Colossuses head one final time and blood burst from the fifth hole is its head like a stream. The colossus had one final roar before it became limp. Wander out of experience jumped off the now dead and turning black colossus. The black tendrils poured out the body surrounded each other before following and hitting Wander in the chest. Before he hit the ground he stopped and levitated before being lifted and turned into a ball of light that sped right back to the temple.
Wander awoke and realised he felt like shit. He looked up to find Emon and several soldiers around him with crossbows and sheathed swords and behind him laid Mona, the person he sacrificed everything for. For some reason he could see her like a hawk and could see her chest rise and lower. Pure relief entered him as his hard work had finally paid off. He got up ignoring Emon and his rant about him being tainted, he walked up to where his love lay when suddenly a great pain entered his leg. An arrow, he pulled it out and glared at his assaulter.
I have fought beasts ten times the size of these men, they know I have, yet they try to stop me.
He reached for his sheath and soon realised there was no hilt coming from it. He looked around and found it stabbed to the ground. His head hurt, he examined it with his hands and soon found out there was horns coming out and they were still coming out. He would it consider after he dealt with Emon and his men. He got up and ran for the blade, however one soldier raced to him with a blade held out ready to cut him.
He ducked the slash grabbed the mans arm and pulled it from its socket. The man screamed in agony and Wander was surprised by his own strength. The curse, it must be the curse. Wander ran and just as he was about to reach and grab the sword of light, it came to him instead, and into his hand. He was surprised by this but his increased senses told him someone was behind him. He quickly shoved his blade behind him into a soldiers leg. Wander turned around and punched him with such force it launched him away. Wander held his arm out and the sword freed itself from the soldiers leg and came to his hand. As soon as he caught the blade he turned to the whizzing sound and brought his blade to block the arrow. Four men had their crossbows drawn. Wander reached into his cloak pulling out a ball of paper, he threw it at them, they soon realised it was rune bomb all to late and were engulfed in the green flames of the rune bomb.
He turned to Emon who was very surprised.
Kill him!
What, no
But he wishes you dead
Exactly but I'm not like him.
"Go, Emon, leave me and Mona alone…or else" He told him
Emon ran before shouting back
"you and your cursed body will be slain!"
Cursed body, not soul
The other soldiers who were still alive which was all, since Wander used a rune bomb which is used for moving things not killing.
Wander turned to Mona who, to his surprise, was awake, probably thanks to the bomb. The two stared at each other for awhile. Mona started to make her way to him but fell over. She was dead for awhile so it was not surprising if her body still had to wake up from her deep sleep. Mona crawled over to him. He collapsed onto his behind and watched her.
She stared more deeply at him.
"W-Wander?" She asked
He just stared at her, he picked up his blade and looked at himself. His eyes were just ocean glowing blue with horns coming from his head that curved forward.
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He clasped his hands together and started to pray out loud for more effect. Soon he felt hands clasp round his, soft, silky warm hands which no doubt belonged to Mona and then he heard her say the same words he was saying but diferent to be directed to a person. They finished the pray. Wander opened his eyes and looked at his sword. His eyes were back to normal but his horns were still there.
"W-wander…why" she asked
She knew what he did and wanted to know why. Wander looked at the ground. True, he loved her but he never said she loved him. She was the first to notice and talk to him. He was a boy who had great skill and intelligence. Recognised but not respected thanks to his lineage and his fathers past. She was a holy mother who were rare. Holy mothers could give birth in two months and would never age but would die after 500 years. During this time they were well protected because they could have thousands of children and if the Kingdom was destroyed along with its people then a holy mother could repopulate it in about ten years. Only one out of every child from the holy mother is going to be a holy mother. That is why Mona lived with her mother until she died using a healing spell to her dead brother to bring him back and that meant she was cursed and would die soon.
Mona was being constantly being offered men's hands but she denied them, she only just turned 17 and was still learning. She also tried to protect horned children that were cursed thanks to Dormin. Even princes offered their hand to her but she was always kind and friendly to Wander. Since he was the only male she really talked to he was often beaten up or there was attempts at his life. However Wander was skilful and intelligent, he would kill the assassins and let the men beat him up to avoid further conflict. He was very good with spells, however, since he was on forbidden ground he did not use them encase they back fired. Wander looked into her eyes and opened his mouth to say.
"Mona I did it because you were my only friend and your mother pleaded I go and save you." he said
Mona looked at the ground then back up at him.
"but look at the damage" she said
"It was worth it." He said with a small smile
"But your cursed" she said
"No, you just helped me" he replied
She shook her head
"that was a low level sealing for curses and will only last…three days the most. I need my potions and equipment to even think about sealing it" she explained
He looked away for a second
"but at least you can stop it" he said
"It will only stay in effect by your will and can open up if you don't have the will to keep it down." she said
Clop, clop-clop, clop, clop-clop
Both turned around to find Agro limp up into the temple. Wander got up and sprinted with unmatchable speed to Argos. A tear rolled down his eye as he petted the horse then hugged it. Mona came over and preformed a healing spell on the injured leg. Agro stood straight and licked Wander who only laughed at Agro.
"What do we do now?" Mona asked
Wander started to consider her words
"I-I never really thought things would go like this. I'm wanted no, cursed an outcast like the horned children…the horned children!" He said with an idea formulating in his head
"What?" She asked
"The horned children are born with this curse and are known to do inhuman things. There must be one who knows the answer to the curse or at least knows something close to it that we can figure out." He said glancing out
"I can figure out" he said
"I can also help you" She said
He just looked at her, her innocence
"No, you're a holy mother plus I promised your mother and lastly if you are seen around me then you will be classed in the same position I myself are in." He told her
"W-well, you did save my life and I wouldn't be much of a friend if I did leave you…no I couldn't live if I knew you were out there fighting on your own with only Agro with you." She argued
He was silent
"Good, now lets hurry, maybe I can sneak in and find my belongings and my horse Siren." she said holding her hand out.
Wander blinked before taking it and helping her to climb onto Agro. He mounted with ease behind her and ushered for Agro to leave. They went to the end of the bridge and stopped. Wander dismounted and walked near to where the path started. He pulled his sword out and stabbed it deeply into the earth. The whole bridge was engulfed in light before blowing up but then being sucked into nothing.
Agro didn't seem affected neither did Wander which surprised Mona. They left into the woods, they reached a waterfall.
"Stop" Mona said
Agro stopped by his own will. Mona dismounted and pulled out a large towel from the bag on Agro. She walked to the waterfall with Agro following. She put her bare foot in the water, she turned to wander and stared at him. He stared back slightly confused, she shuffled the towel a bit. Wander soon realised and dismounted and walked off to a tree and sat behind it out of view. She watched him for awhile before she was satisfied he wouldn't look.
She disrobed and walked under the weak waterfall and began to bathe. Wander sat down and thought of his next step. For all his life he knew the cursed children were killed, enslaved, sacrificed and raped, They were hated or feared and the average age of the horned children to stop growing is the age of 21 or 12. The kingdom he and Mona came from had no horned children because they were always sent to another village because the caring mothers were always worried for their Childs well being and the Sermon kingdom was no place to live if you were horned.
It would be best to head to the Kingdom since all his equipment along with his fathers legendary rune armour was at his sisters place. his eyes started to droop it had been weeks since he had proper sleep and now was better then any regardless of his will.
Later…
Wander awoke with his head resting on Agro. He sat up to find he was on a mountain overlooking sermon.
How did we get here, Mona?
He looked around and saw her fully dressed and eating a apple. She looked at him, smiled and through him a apple. He caught it and took a bite, they ate silently for awhile until wander broke it.
"Sorry but how are you going to get in unnoticed." he asked
"I know a secret way in and out of Sermon…what about your self." she returned with a question
"I always liked to venture out of sermon so I know how to get in and out without being spotted." He answered
He looked at the setting sun. he turned to Agro.
"go, my friend to where the forest thickens and the stones sharpen and await me there." he said to Agro patting his side and Agro quickly galloped away.
"This is where we split up…meet me at the opposite end of sermon." He informed her.
"yes, please be careful and try not to hurt anyone." she said
"Yes, you be careful as well." He said before frightening her greatly by jumping down the mountain. She ran to the edge and watched as he descended, hit the ground stay crouched for two seconds and then running off.
She made her way to the left of the mountain. She climbed down many slopes until she got to a wall that had black marks here and there, she placed her hand on the wall, whispered some words and the black marks glowed blue before forming a rune. The wall vanished and she walked through into a well lit cavern.
She walked to a gate and started to pray, the doors parted and led to a pure white hall with women going from one room to another. They all stopped as they saw her, some dropped what they were carrying with a smash. They huddled around her and pushed her towards a big room with runes hear and there and in the middle sat a elegant women with pure black hair, silk milk white skin and black silk covering her eyes, she was in the process of feeding a baby and gasped as she looked or felt the familiar presence that was lost to her. One destined to die, one who had asked one boy who had seemed to prevail and bring her one pure daughter to her.
"Mona" She asked in disbelief
"Mother" Mona said in slight spite.
To the women who led Wander into gripping a double edged sword and lied to him and in a sense cursed him.
Wander, I hope your doing better than me.
Wander was currently sneaking around a pub. He had manage to get past the guards and now was trying to reach his sisters. He went into the alley and jumped onto some boxes then he jumped onto the roof.
"I guess fighting those Colossus is really starting to pay off…and the power I received as well." He said jumping to another roof.
He continued to jump from roof to roof, occasionally stopping from the odd person passing by. He made his way to his sisters house. He was happy to have thought ahead and bring his key. He went through the back door of the small house. He was weary.
His sister was very skilled fighter and was very high ranked while he was low ranked but he was still known for his skills and ability to adapt and to always never waste a move. He sneaked, all his senses were at high which was 3 times more effective then any animal. He suddenly ducked as a dagger flew over his head, he burst though the dinning room door as another blade whizzed by.
He somersaulted backwards which was new to him but he did it anyway to avoid another dagger. Another dagger came at him which he caught and threw it back at the person who just came through the door. She had brown red hair, blue eyes and pale skin like Wander however, his hair was now and probably always be black. She threw another dagger and he caught that one, however, she wasn't going to give him a chance to breath. She pulled out her sword, she slashed and he parried her slash with the dagger, she jumped back but he threw the dagger at her. She parried it away but was surprised because as soon as her blade and the dagger left contact his light sword was against her blade. All of this was during her jumped and he pushed his blade with unrivalled force and a grunt which launched her into the wall, denting and breaking it in.
He's strong
As soon as that thought hit Icaris' mind she was rolling away from a kick that could of blasted her ribs to pieces. Icaris decided to go on offensive but that was put to the grave as she preformed an over head sown slash, he simply stopped and grabbed the blade before it could enter his flesh. She just stopped in mid air, he threw away her sword and palmed her in the chest sending her flying and crashing into the table.
"Why did you have to attack?" he said with a sigh
She pulled herself from the broken table and walked to a chair and sat down on it.
"I was ordered to" Was all she said
He remained silent
"Now I know how it was possible for you to beat a colossus let alone sixteen of them." she said rubbing her armour which had an hand imprint on it.
"I need fathers armour…the black one" he said
She slowly looked up at him.
"Are you out of your mind…forget the pun" she said
"No, I'm going to find the cure for the curse, I'm going to take any horned person with me." he said
"I-I can't, I was ordered to kill you not help you" She said
"I don't care what your ordered, me and Mo- your going to help me" he said almost mentioning Mona
"By the Gods your taking the holy mother with you aren't you" she said
He frowned
"Just show me where the armour is" he said
She got up and walked to the middle of the room, moved the carpet out the way and opened the hatch to the basement. They walked down and all the way to the armour. The armour was coloured black with ruby trimmings. There was no helmet the gloves and gauntlets were gold. It was light armour but was as strong as iron thanks to the runes on the inside of the armour. Chains were wrapped around the armour and there was a lock that the chains ended into.
Knowing what to do, Wander bit into his thumb and rubbed the bleeding thumb onto the lock.
A pause
The chains and the lock fell to the ground. He moved to the armour but his sister picked it up.
"Hurry and remove your outer clothes." she said
He did so and put on the armour with the help of his sister, the straps glowed and strapped themselves onto him. He picked up his special rune garment that he always wore. There was no other like it and every time someone else put it on it would glow purple and started to rip the life force right out of the person. He put it on over the armour. She stepped back and looked him over him in awe.
"Thank you" He said
"don't, after this…I will probably have to kill you" Icaris said
He sighed wondering how Mona was doing.
Mona was sitting with her mother next to a big shallow swimming area for bathing babies. Right now she was helping her mother wash three of her newborns.
"Mother why did you lie and tell Wander that he should use the spell." Mona asked
"I never lied, I said there would be consequences but he didn't care and said he would do what ever it takes." She said tickling the baby into laughter
"But now he is cursed and…and I'm going to help him find the other horned children and find the cure." she said
"…I won't stop you but I will ask you to reconsider, many kings are asking for your hand and it's bad imaging for your father." She said
"I don't care what is good or bad for my…the king, all I want is to help others who…really need it. Surely as a holy mother you know what I mean." Mona said washing the baby's back
She sighed
"Yes but I was to late to act and now all of this has happened and those poor children…what do you need" Her mother asked
Mona smiled while drying the baby
"Books, a lot of spell books. Also for my horse to be armoured and supplied. I need the dragons crest and all the books on sealing. I will need health potions and a few maps." she said seriously
"O-okay, it will be done and your presence here will be hid. Now go, you are four months late for your cleansing in the holy water." Her mother said
Mona handed the giggling baby to her mother. Mona then made her way to a chamber where a pool of white was located immediately women came and began to disrobe her and she entered the water and let it clean her heart mind and soul. Soon others came in and helped her, once she dried and put on fresh clean clothes, she left to where the stables were. She entered to find her white stallion waiting for her, armoured and holding supplies. Another maiden helped her onto the horse as her mother approached with a big bag full of books.
"be careful and you must have a child once you turn 22 or else you will never be able to have them" her mother warned while giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek and then a hug.
"I will miss you mother, don't forget me" she said as her horse flow galloped away to the other end of the tunnel which would lead to where Wander awaited her.
"Goodbye my daughter" her mother whispered as tears came from her eyes while her daughters hugged her to comfort her.
Wander was edgy, he looked left and right wondering where she was, his enhanced hearing picked up the trots of hoofs and he prepared his home made bow with a arrow. Mona came round the corner on flow, however, she rid right past him, he jumped onto Agro and the horse wasted no time catching up to the other horse.
Wander wondered why she did not stop until he picked up a thunderous sound behind him created by dozens of hoofs. He made Agro go behind flow, he pulled out his bow and arrows, prepared four arrows and set his bow horizontal. Three soldiers appeared on horses and wander let the arrows fly, impaling all three and they fell dead from the arrows or from the horses hoofs. One arrow came at him which he caught and another one pinged of Argos' Armour which had been put on before Mona came.
15 horses appeared with riders wielding crossbows. Wander started to whisper to himself and soon his hate, rage, anger and sadness boiled up. He looked at the horsemen and yelled as loud as he could. A huge black mist which took the form of a face screaming with red eyes appeared and the horses naiad while the men didn't seem to bothered but the horses were and soon toppled over themselves. This ensured Mona and Wanders escape from Sermon as they travelled to their next destination called Regan which was not too far and had a couple of horned children.
In Regan
Six women wee gathered in a room discussing daily life when suddenly another rushed in through the door.
"What is wrong" One women asked
The women closed the door and sat down
"I-I think I know a way to get the horned children away from here" the women said
The women gasped curious. Nine children from the age of 12 to the age of 19 lived in this village, motherless.
"What has happened" another asked
"There was a message from Sermon saying Wander succeeded in saving Mona the holy mother but was cursed with the horn curse directly by killing SIXTEEN colossus and now is headed over here to try and get cursed children to help him find a cure or make a place to live with the horned children" She said
The women looked at each other, wide eyed
"When will they arrive?" A women asked
"Sometime tonight…but they are wanted but he does have the holy mother and besides they keep using their abilities more frequently and I fear their hideout will be discovered." the women said referring to their children
The women nodded
"Well, it's better out there looking for a cure rather than here, look at Sinda, she was raped" The women said with regret
"Then, I think you all agree" another said and they all nodded
The women got up and moved to a basement which led to a tunnel, they went through it and climbed up a ladder at the end. Inside teens with horns from the age of 12-17 played, jumping off walls jumping 15 meters running at 17 miles per hour and doing acrobatics that no normal human could do.
One of the women clapped her hands a few times to gain their attention. The teens stopped what they were doing and sat down except one, a girl with pink white tipped hair and blue eyes, Sinda who was sitting on a boulder.
"Everyone we want you to get ready to leave" she said
All the teens except Sinda who huffed gasped and panicked, thinking their mothers going to abandon them.
"I don't want to be sacraficed" A boy with brown hair and eyes said
"I know Tie but do you know what, Wander saved the holy mother and is cursed like you but directly and is coming here with the holy mother to take all the horned children with him to find a cure for the curse." She said
The teens started to talk about these events and Sinda looked surprised.
"So, hurry, prepare your horses and your swords bows and arrows, he comes tonight after supper." she said
They looked confused, saddened, happy. They all went to their chests and opened them to retrieve their bows and arrows, their swords and daggers. They started to prepare their horses. After awhile they were called for dinner, chicken soup and bread.
"Hey, Sinda, are you nervous" Troy a black haired boy with green eyes asked.
"No" Was all she said before biting into her bread
"Hey, Ia, what about you?" he asked a brown haired girl with blue eyes.
"A bit nervous but if it means that we might get happiness then I'll do it" she said
The others nodded. The women were tearing up and one hugged her Ia and the rest soon followed, Sinda looked away but was soon hugged and kissed by three women and all she could do was accept it.
"Now, go mount your horses in the stables, quickly" A mother said and they all left in brown cloaks with their swords in sheaths tied around their waists. The Children said their goodbyes and the women did the same with tears.
Wander was over looking the small village that was well patrolled.
"How are you going to get in" Mona asked
"I'm going to ride in and find them, they must have gotten word that I was coming but it all depends on them…I'm not going to take them if they do not wish to follow." he said
"But can you make our escape secure, I need you to do something while I and the others go up the hill and need something to ensure our escape." He said
She thought for awhile before nodding.
"I have just the thing" she said making her way around the village.
"Ready Agro" He asked his companion
The horse huffed and they sped down the hill down to the village. He rode to the gate and one man blew his horn to warn the village.
"Incendia flatus" He shouted
He held out his arm and a fireball shot from his hand and blew up the gate. Agro had seen this many times and was not effected and ran right through the burning gate. wander rode on as arrows hit off his and Argos' armour he was in no mood to kill anyone so he pulled his bow out and aim for arms legs and any none vital part of the body. He looked around constantly.
The stables where The horned were was further on and they watched as he took on arrows blocking them with his blade and shooting back with ease. He jumped high into the air and started to fire arrows from his bow in rapid succession that would put a bowman to shame and was dodging all the arrows coming at him at well. He landed on Agro and all twenty shots his their designated targets.
The horned children knew they could do some of the things he did put he was in another league, all their life they were always told never do anything that no one else could not do and so they were bursting to see what they could do. Agro was coming up to the stables and wander almost laughed as nine horses came out with horned riders.
Agro slowed down to let the other horses keep up with him. The children could feel strength coming from him and helping them, they watched as he turned around and fired at anyone who shot at them. Agro was going where he was supposed to go and they followed him.
The place started to rumble and Wander smiled.
"Single line! Single line!" he shouted
His voice was soft yet strong and even if they didn't do what he said at first but their horses did it for them. Boulders came crashing from the hill they were going up, right past them and hitting their chasers. It soon stopped and they reached the top. Out of nowhere a white horse came from nowhere with a black haired maiden riding it, they all felt comfort by her presence. They all knew one thing.
Their adventure had now began.
I enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading this. I re-write some of this