Okay, here we go. Hi guys! I'm very proud to present the very first chapter of my very first fanfiction! Being a first, I'm bound to have made a few spelling errors and some misplaced commas. Also, some parts may seem a bit rushed as well. If so, be sure to leave it in a review.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ Chapter 1: The Wolf and the Lion ^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Despite his view being obstructed by pine branches, despite the fact he put up black sheets over the branches and even going so far as to put a blindfold on his face, the sun still rose in the sky. The light filtered through the cracks in the boy's defense, awakening him.
Why do the nights seem to last only seconds? Refusing to succumb to the light, the boy turned over, his armor clanked in annoyance. A sigh escaped his lips as he lay face down, the sun now out of sight.
The victory was short lived before the sun, the mocking ball of flame, rose higher in the sky, beckoning him to his feet.
Alright! Alright! I'm getting up! The boy sat up, the blanket sliding off his chest. He wanted to glare at the sun, give it the evil eye, but he knew it was useless. The sun was an object, not a person, meaning that the attempt would have no effect. Besides, staring at the sun would cause him to go blind, and then where would he be in his Life!
The adolescent sighed, then gathered up the sheets and pillows in his arms. He crouched down and gathered the bed items under the branch of a pine tree.
He turned away from the now hidden items and pulled back the branches, emerging from the pine onto the cobblestone street. His day started the same way, the trip to the plaza. The plaza was always an important part of his Life, for all Lives.
Taking another step into the open street, the boy glanced around warily, then directed his attention back to the pine trees. The sheets and blankets he used were remarkably hidden from view. The boy smiled slightly. Hiding items had always been a specialty.
"Hey!"
The adolescent hung his head and groaned. As good as he was at hiding objects, hiding himself? Not so much...
Reluctantly, the boy turned to the voice. "What do you-"
He never finished his question, but concluding it would've been unnecessary. The one who called kept yelling, but it took the boy a few minutes to realize it wasn't directed to him.
He watched as another boy ran past him, yelling the occasional "Hey!" down the streets. He watched the shouter run down the street, where he caught sight of his armor and red clothing. It was the sight of the claymore at his back that made the boy sigh in relief.
Just a mercenary. He thought as his sapphire eyes dropped toward the longsword in the scabbard. Close, but not quite.
With a turn of his cape, the paladin started back toward the plaza.
Epic. To many, the word was used to describe something extreme or unforgettable. To him, it was known as his name.
Epic slept on a wooden bed, the blankets tossed carelessly aside in a bird's nest. A roof lay over the young one's head, preventing the sun from being the cause of his wake.
"Hey! Epic!"
Immediately, Epic woke at the sound of his friend's voice. Two mahogany eyes pried open as the mercenary took in the surroundings of the upstairs room.
"C'mon! I know you're awake!"
The chestnut haired boy leaped off the bed, eagerly. Two hands lifted the glass window which allowed morning light to pour through. Below him, he saw a mercenary, Jude, waving up to him. Jude immediately caught sight of Epic.
"What are you going to do? Sleep in all day? Come on down! The Board must have been updated!"
The Board. A wooden bulletin board located in the plaza that the citizens of Castele used to post requests. It was a very essential piece for all forms of Life.
Nodding down to Jude, Epic turned and opened the wardrobe located across the room. From there, he withdrew mercenary armor and and a claymore still sheathed. Once he dressed himself in the uniform, he directed his feet to run downstairs and out the door toward the plaza.
The East Grassy Plains, an ocean of green sweeping strands. Along that emerald surface lay dots of milky white flowers. Jutting out along the perimeter lay brown craggy mountains along Mt. Snowpeak. Along the northwest, the horizon was dense with the foliage of the Elderwood. All in all, it was a beautiful place!
But Epic knew better. As a mercenary in training, he knew the truth.
Sure, the grass was pretty, but it served as concealment to some of the most fearsome being in the area, mainly bandit groups. Not only that, the flowers housed worker bees and the craggy mountains were home to sandzards. Then when night fell, the canines came out. Stalking throughout the fields with their wicked faces where they hoped to snag the unsuspecting wanderer for-
"AUUUUUGGH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"
Then there were the carrottys, carrots that had mutated into vicious monsters. They mostly spent their time soaking up the sun or rolling in mud. In short, they were harmless, unless provoked. Unfortunately, Jude was the type to swing his sword at anything that moved. Might explain why there was a carroty hanging onto Jude's arm as he spun in circles.
"Don't just stand there! Help!". The coward shouted. His partner just rolled their eyes.
"Just hit it with the claymore!" Epic said. Jude stopped spinning and started shaking his arm up and down, attempting to shake the carrotty off. Instead, the vegetable held on, its face forming a smile. The image made Epic easily think of it shouting, "WHEEEEEEEEE!"
Once he visualized it, it was all over. Epic fell down and laughed wildly.
"It's not funny!" Jude exclaimed, still shaking the carroty.
The chestnut mercenary still laughed maniacally, beating the ground with his fists.
"Stop!" The mercenary yelled. "Get. It. OFF!"
Epic forced himself to stop laughing. "Fine," he said as he got back up. The boy wrapped his fingers around the claymore, then he started toward Jude.
Jude's eyes widened in terror as he saw the bronze sword. "AIIIIEEEEEEEE!" he shrieked. The coward immediately turned tail and started running. The carroty fell off by the sudden movement. Seizing his chance, Epic swung the claymore, causing the carroty to fly across the plains.
The mercenary turned to his companion, who was huddled up in a bush with his hands covering his head.
"It's gone now, you can get up." he said.
Jude poked his head out of the bush and looked both ways nervously. After the coast was clear, he stepped out of the foliage. The navy haired boy brushed off his armor, then fist pumped.
"Y-yeah! Although if I didn't weaken it, you wouldn't have stood a chance!" He exclaimed.
The chestnut rolled his eyes. You didn't do anything...idiot. He mentally criticized.
Shaking his head in annoyance, Epic turned toward his friend. "Well consider that carroty a warm-up," he said. "You do remember what we're really after."
Jude looked down, eyes locked on the earth. Then, his eyes widened as he looked at Epic.
"Y-Y-You don't mean...can't w-we let the paladins handle them?" He stammered.
Epic shook his head. "They already have a lot to handle. Besides, I want to become an Apprentice ASAP."
The boy sheathed his claymore, then started down the hill. "C'mon," he called as Jude started down the hill after him. Pretty soon, the navy mercenary was walking right beside his companion.
"Hey," he whispered to Epic. "What's ASAP?"
The chestnut shrugged. "Don't know. It just sounded cool."
Focus. That was all on the boy's mind. With a sword in his left hand and a shield covering his right, the paladin took a peak at his soon-to-be adversaries. Two bandits and a leader, the lesser folk wielding daggers and the tyrant with a gigantic hammer.
The boy shook his head. With such flashy outfits they stood out among the grass easily, ruining their stealth. What was stealth though compared to strength and deadly weapons? Most would cower at such a sight, even beginner mercs.
The boy wasn't one to cower. Instead, he held his head high and positioned his sword perfectly. He inhaled, exhaled, then charged toward them.
The bandit to the left was the first to notice the armor clad boy. The boy saw the bandit draw his dagger. He's too close to the leader, I'll take care of him later. Immediately, the paladin shifted to the right.
He lowered his sheild as he made a vertical swing at the other bandit, hitting him perfectly. He was about to make another assault when he noticed a shadow looming over him. White blurred on green grass as the boy narrowly avoided the hammer, but was scraped by one of the bandit's weapons.
Now a distance away, he regained his defenses and took to appraisal. And now the leaders noticed me. That's just great, now I'll have to be extra careful. Sapphire eyes met the yellow slits in the bandit's hoods. Said eyes narrowed in intense focus.
Take out the bandits first. It'll be better if they don't swarm me as I attack the leader. His planning was cut as a shock wave erupted from the ground. The paladin quickly put up his shield to deflect the blow.
That leader will be a problem while attacking its minions. I'll have to withdraw my shield so it won't slow me down. Withdrawing the bronze guard to his back, the boy turned to his blade, and charged the two bandits.
Swinging the blade horizontally, both bandits were dealt a critical blow and had a similar attack from another swing. The paladin sidestepped before the hammer was brought down once again.
Thank goodness blunt weapons are slow. He remarked. He noted his distance from the tyrant and how close the bandits were to him. He smiled at the favorable positioning, swung, and positioned the blade behind his back.
Concentrate... His focus was on his sword, which was powered as he prepared to strike. His eyes flared as he released his blade on the hooded hooligans, delivering a powerful spin attack. One of them let out an anguished cry before falling to the ground. The remaining bandit turned to face his fallen partner but met the same fate as the boy delivered another blow.
The boy looked up at the bandit leader who was dumbfounded by the defeat of his men.
"Not so mighty now!" The fledgling yelled as he took his shield and charged forward.
He felt his feet rush toward the towering figure, the wind blowing back his blond hair. He saw the shadow of the hammer loom, but knew the attempt was useless. He would dodge, maybe even counterattack.
The minions were his downfall. The way to accomplishment isn't to be a social lion. He thought, avoiding the colossal hammer. Now on the being's side, the boy raised his blade.
"My name is Arch, and I am a lone wolf!"
Have to admit, for a first chapter, that wasn't bad. It was a little long though even if I cut some stuff from the rough draft. Anyway, be sure to leave a Fav/Follow if your the least bit interested and make sure to review.
Arse: If you review, we'll give you 10000000000 digital cookies! :D
That's... a lot of sugar...