Hooves of horses thundered as they pursued a woman through the forest hills of the territory of twin rivers. "we got her now " the lead rider called to his 4 fellow riders. the men closed in on her as she ran. At the last second with unnatural agility the woman turned right and dived into the thick undergrowth narrowly escaping the mounted hunters. She weaved between the trees until the forest gave way to a narrow, yet long, strip of plains with more thick birch and oak forests on 3 sides with a wide river separating the stretch of plains from the more expansive pains to the west that rose into large hills then mountains of the territory of Rising Flight.
She followed the forest to the other side of the plains then went deeper into the trees. she walked for almost 2 hours on high alert in case those blasted bounty hunters caught her scent thanks to that wolf. The trees thinned out then stopped giving way to a wide and deep river that split into two. paced between these twin rivers was the largest village in the territory, Kale's Gulch. the woman sighed "welcome home." as she pulled down her hood uncovering her messy dark brown hair which she had pulled back into two buns, as well as her black fox-like ears that had a few chunks missing in them from battle.
She sat down and checked the bundle of gray cloth she had been carrying. inside was a small child, only about 4 months old, her daughter. The child had long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. like her mother, the child also had black fox ears as well as a fluffy tail ,though the child's was a cloudy gray whale her mother's was a dark rusted color. The woman stroked the child's tail for a few minutes then stood up and pulled her hood back over her head. She couldn't afford for someone to recognize her here, that would be the death of her and the child.
She managed to sneak around kales gulch's exterior protective wall fairly easily as the watch guards changed shifts. The hooded woman got around to a unguarded gate that had been boarded up when the new hospital additions were built. She slipped between 2 loose boards and sat down behind the wooden hospital and placed the child on the ground. "hopefully your father isn't still a huge bitch… good luck little pup" she whispered as she placed one hand on the building. a red aura formed around her hand as she wiped a tear from her fire red eyes. The aura turned into flame and the flame turned into a wildfire that spread over the hospital. When the sounds of terrified screams and sounds of evacuation of the hospital sounded the woman used this fire aura to create a shield around the child and then she turned and ran away.
This is the story of an exile….. let it begin.
chapter 1:
eyes that reflect fire
"Everyone get out of here!" the deputy of the Territory of Twin Rivers yelled as he kicked open a door. Smoke rolled out of the room as two girls fled from a empty patient's room , they were cleaning after someone had left when the fire started. Training apprentices were quickly put to work getting buckets of water to try to extinguish the fire. "Rift. the top floor has been cleared!" a large man called from the entrance of the smoke filled room. Rift replied "Thanks Alder. Get those kids to help anyone who needs it. let this place burn." Alder soluted him "yes sir!"
"Draco keep up!" a boy about 13 years old called to his brother as they ran from the quickly spreading fire on the 2nd floor. Draco ran as his twin brother Ketzil dragged him along. the brothers made it to the stairwell and ran down it almost falling in the process. they arrived on the first floor and passed the military commander Alder. "we have orders to clear out and let it burn." he called after them. "yes sir!" they called back as the boys ran down the last stairwell and outside. Once in fresh smoke free air Ketzil allowed Draco to fall to his knees and breath. He had been used to being a archer he let himself get slow in running. They soon met up with the rest of their class and watched the newly finished hospital burn. A hand grasped Draco's shoulder making him jump. He turned to see their leader Keto standing beside him. "you did good kids." he said.
"Ketzil where's your uniform jacket?" Keto asked as he looked down on Draco. All children in the territory had to go through a 2 year training program to learn basic first aid and fighting skills after that they can choose to go into the military or not. but either way the cadets and trainees had to have a uniform. The uniform was just a jacket though. dark gray and went a little past the chest. Though the aces and commander Alder had trench coats that went to their knees. "it got snagged and tore so i left it behind." Draco replied as he brushed some ash out of his black hair. "and im Draco sir. thats Ketzil over there." he pointed to his brother who was talking to a girl in their class named Lanie. Lanie was crying for she was in the building when it caught fire visiting her sick mother. Aparently Draco and Ketzil looked alike though he never saw how. The Twins both had black hair yes, but Draco kept his slightly longer than most boys did and Ketzil had his slightly long in the back but his also spiked in the front. Both brothers had the same amber eyes but the one thing that set them apart was their personalities and the wolf-like ears and tail they inherited from their father. Ketzil's where golden whale Draco's where dark gray.
"its a shame to see such a important building burn sir." Draco said.
"Sure is but it can be built again. This is why the herb garden and medicine storage are separate from the actual infermeres…" Keto shrugged then walked over to a rock and stood up on it. his light brown hair waved in the breeze and his brown eyes shined in the light of the fire. He raised his hand and yelled "alright everyone we are letting it burn! apprentices go find your mentors and go home! trainees go back to the base and get some rest this will not postpone your classes! Cadets you wait here for Commander Alder's instructions! everyone else go home ill have warriors watching the fire and preventing its spread! clear out!"
The following day Draco woke from his bunk in Kales Gulch's military training base located to the west of the village just outside the walls. he rolled out of his bunk and climbed up the ladder to his brother's bunk above his own. "Ketzil wake up." hi said quietly as he gently shook his brother. "Draco shut up im trying to sleep." he replied wierly. "fine ill check the placement board in the hall for you whale you wake up. Just remember i wont be there for you when we graduate."
Draco changed into a white shirt and navy blue pants and his uniform jacket then left the dimly lit bunk house to go to the gathering hall where all the cadets and trainees ate and got their assignments for the day. Draco walked down the gravel roads until he came to the hall. He pushed open one of the double doors and went inside. The hall was mostly empty except for a few cadets finishing up a breakfast of mushroom stew and potatoes. he found his name and his brothers on the assignment board at the back of the hall. They both where on salvage duty. The job description explained that they, along with 15 others, where to look for any still useable objects in what is remaining of the seared building before they demolish it the next day. they were to look for bodies for burial, useable equipment and any files or books that they can get their hands on.
Upon return to trainee bunk house 1-3 he found that his brother was awake as well as all the other remaining trainees. Draco told his brother his assignment and they made their way out of the base and to the gates of Kales. "that fire seemed strange to me." Draco confessed as they walked on the path through the trees "same. i talked to Luke. he said they were not using any heat treatments on herbs or patients" Ketzil reported. "so either someone shorted the lights or-" Draco stopped and looked into the trees turning his ears in every direction listening for sounds "or someone purposefully started that fire." Ketzil stopped as well and scanned the trees. Someone was nearby. "agreed but you better not say that too loud or we could start panic." Ketzil worned as they continued.
They entered the gates and followed the smell of smoldering wood to the remains of the hospital. the 2nd floor had fallen into the first and debris and ash lay scattered around the building. They met up with Lanie and Alder at the fountain in front of the hospital. "Ketzil, Draco, you're with me. we are going inside to look for records and books." Alder called from the fountain that they were getting water from last night. Commander Alder looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep, his brown eyes were dull his light brown hair unbrushed his clothes still had ash and soot on them.
Alder led the boys into the seared hospital leaving Lanie alone outside. the rooms and hallways they could get to easily where dark except for the occasional sunlight from a broken window or gap in the boards. they moved ash covered wood to look inside bookshelves and desks for any documents that survived the blaze. so far they found only one book and several partially burned papers as well as a folder that was untouched by fire or smoke. the folder was marked with a red stamp that read "Exiled" on the front. Alder then told Draco that that folder contained information on Exile WildFire, who was exiled when the commander was 10 years old.
Draco was shifting through some burned shelves in a back room when he heard a small cry. He abandon his place and searched for the source of the cry. he slipped under a gap in a wall caused by the 2nd floor collapse that led outside where a small part of the wall had been taken out with the building. the cry sounded louder out here. Draco moved anything he could lift in search of the cry's owner until it literally bit him in the exposed part of his lower leg. a small child had sunk it's sharp teeth into his flesh and was not letting go. He yelled out in pain and Alder followed by Ketzil came running to see. "what the hell is that?!" ketzil yelled as he saw the child. "what the hell is it doing here?" Alder asked outloud. "nevermind that just get it off me!" Draco yelled in pain as blood ran from the bite. it was the Commander who finally got the child to release Draco's leg.
Alder lifted the child from the ashes and examined her. she smiled and kicked her tiney legs and laughed, a little of Draco's blood trickled from her mouth. The small girl wore a little gray rag dress and small boots made from animal hides. Though the thing that caught his attention the most was the baby's black fox-like ears and her fluffy gray tail. "Draco, run go get Keto. Ketzil make yourself useful and get Luke from the base will ya?" Alder instructed as he moved the baby to a cradled position in his arms. "yes sir!" they shouted and ran off. Alder looked into the girl's eyes as he moved a rogue hair from her face. He saw a flicker of red that grew into a fire in her gaze then disappeared almost as if her eyes reflected a nonexistent fire.