A gentle breeze stirred the tops of old oaks and pines and the light brown hair of a young man. He pushed the wild strands back with one gloved hand and looked about with amber eyes, scanning the wild forests for any sign of intruders. A few more winds pushed his tunic and cloak around. The horse under him pawed the ground impatiently and threw it's head, wild gold mane shimmering. The young man looked into the dark eyes of his companion and smiled.
"You're bored, aren't you?" The horse snorted. "Don't worry. As soon as Yohji gets here, we can leave."
"That's SIR Yohji to you," said an adult's voice from several yards away, on the other side of the hill. Shortly a man appeared on a dark brown horse, dressed in light armor, his white outfit under the armor contrasting with his horse's dark fur. He reined the horse up next to the first one.
"Your horse seems to have put on weight, SIR Yohji. Have you been giving him too much to eat?"
"He's as thin as yours is, Omi." Yohji's horse stuck it's nose in Omi's white leather pocket. Omi snickered.
"Yet he can smell my uneaten lunch. Honestly." Omi pulled the small bag of smoked meat out of his pocket and put it in his opposite pocket. Yohji looked reproachful.
"Any horse can smell better than a human. Anyway, I came to get you. Ken's been looking for you." Omi raised an eyebrow.
"Ken? Why? He knows I'm out here at this time every day."
"Yeah, well, he forgets sometimes." Yohji waved an arm carelessly in the air. "So we should head back." The two of them steered their horses back in the direction Yohji had come from.
"So are there any new orders from Lord Aya yet?" Omi asked as they crossed a bridge. Yohji slumped in his saddle.
"No. None at all. I think he's still trying to get more men into the army by the 'Either join or die a pathetic death' type of offer." Omi laughed.
"He should just send us out to recruit men from the more remote villages." Yohji shrugged.
"Meh. It's his desicion." The two continued on in silence for awhile. They listened to the sound of their horses' hooves on the rock-dirt ground, the wind in the leaves, the sounds of the birds and the animals around them, the faint sound of people working in the fields, and, way off in the distance, the sound of forges working on making weapons for an army. Omi sniffed the air.
"I smell smoke."
"There's always smoke in the air. It's from the forges." Omi's eyebrows drew together.
"But this doesn't smell like smoke from a forge. It smells like wood burning."
Suddenly, both Omi's and Yohji's horses stopped moving and staggered back, snorting and throwing their heads. Yohji's horse whinnied. It sounded alarmed. Both men pulled their horses to a calm state of mind just as a third man came racing down the path on the back of a palimino. He managed to stop it's gallop before he slammed into the other two.
"Ken! What's wrong?" asked Omi, worried. Ken pulled himself upright, not caring if his hair fell in his eyes and blocked his vision.
"There's a fire, a huge fire, at one of the farms! We're having trouble putting it out, and we need the mages, all three of them!" Yohji stared at Ken incredulously.
"A fire? But I left ten minutes ago!" Ken hurridly brushed his hair back behind on ear.
"Yeah, I know, it was really weird, one minute everything was ok, the next, it was like, BAM! Come on! We need to get the mages!" Omi and Yohji nodded, and they both set off, led by Ken, down the path.
Omi bolted down the left path, Ken the right, and Yohji the left-center as they reached the four-way fork in the road. There were four mages, but one was too old to preform anything but Seeing; so they only went to get the mages who could summon up water.
Gaia, Omi's horse, was moving with speed only seen when one is in extreme danger. Omi leaned into the wind, his skin being cut slightly by the suddenly penetrated magic aura that surrounded the mage's home. He pulled Gaia to a sharp stop outside the small stone tower.
"Kala! We need you!" A man with long dark hair and a dark beard came out, dressed in dark red robes and holding a long wooden staff with a blood red stone in it.
Blade, Ken's palimino horse, bolted beyond physical speed down the path, leaving three foot spaces between his hoofmarks. Ken winced a bit as his skin prickled and stung when he passed through the magic shield that surrounded the now black stone tower ahead of him. He reined Blade in.
"Galo! We need your help!" he cried. The horse danced nervously, throwing his body this way and that. A man with long silver hair and a silver beard, dressed in red robes and holding a long wooden staff with a blood red stone in it, came out.
Silver, Yohji's horse, moved like a flash of light across the now stony path. Yohji hardly noticed the sharp feeling when he passed through the shield to reach the small gray tower at the edge of the forest. Silver needed no help to stop moving.
"Shimayo! Hurry!" A man with long gold-blonde hair and a gold-blonde beared wearing red robes and holding a long wooden staff with a blood red stone in it came out without hesitation.
All three horsemen waited for the mage they were fetching to get on the horse, then tore down the path, leaving clouds of dust behind them. They met at the fork and raced their horses across the grassy plain, seeing the fire, fearing for the lives of the villagers, and wondering who did this.
As they reached the edge of the fire, they pulled their horses to a stop, and the mages got off. All three mages began summoning water. Dark clouds gathered above the blaze, and a downpour began. Torrents of water splashed onto the fire, and within moments the blaze was out.
Omi, Ken, and Yohji watched all this from horseback. A few guards ran up to them.
"I wonder...who did this?" asked Yohji. Omi shook his head.
"Whoever did it is sick." One of the guards held up a bloody arrow with a note tied to it. Ken, being nearest, grabbed it, and pulled the note off it.
"We found this in the back of one of the men nearby," said the guard who had brought it. Omi and Yohji leaned in to read what was on the note. Omi frowned, Ken snarled, and Yohji pulled out his sword and cut an invisible enemy in half.
"Damn! That bastard..!!!" Omi looked up as Ken folded the note.
"We should bring this to Lord Aya." All three nodded gravely and turned their horses to face the main city, surrounded by a large wall, and the castle beyond it. None of them really liked the prospect of what would happen when they presented the note to Lord Aya because of what was written on the bloody piece of parchment.
Lord Aya was, at the time, sitting on his throne and brooding. The room was virtually empty, save him, a few guards, and one of his advisors. She had long, curled red hair, and was leaning calmly against his throne.
"You could just send your knights to go find more men," she said softly.
Aya growled. The woman glanced at him, then examined her nails.
"If you insist on being so dead set on your plans - which aren't working, by the way - then be that way." Aya's violet eyes moved up to glare at the woman next to him.
"If you insist on being so dead set on changing my plans, Manx, then would you leave the room?" Man glared down at him. For a moment they matched gazes, then Manx stood upright and stalked out of the room. Her red dress followed her out of the room, and Aya heard the door shut. He sighed. Peace and quiet at last.
It was interrupted, however, by the sudden arrival of his three knights, Omi, Ken, and Yohji. Yohji was leading them, holding something tightly in his hand. All three approached Aya and fell to one knee.
"Lord Aya."
"Rise." All three stood. Yohji approached him and held out the hand with a piece of parchment in it.
"One of the farms was attacked only a few minutes ago, and this was found tied around an arrow which had struck a man." Aya stared at the paper, then took it. He opened it and looked at the words, which were written in red ink. Blood.
Fight me all you want
Send armies of your might
But I think it's plain to see
The noose is getting tight.
One day I'll charge your castle
And slay all those within
Your sister, among those first to die
And you'll suffer instant sin.
Aya's hand clenched around the note, crushing it in extreme rage. His breath was released in hissing sounds through his teeth. His eyes were narrowed with anger. Yohji, Omi, and Ken were shifting nervously in place.
"Who did it?" All three whipped their gazes to Aya. Yohji looked at Ken, then Omi. Then he looked back to Aya and sighed.
"We think it was Crawford."
"I know he wrote the note." Aya raised his shaking violet gaze to the three men in front of him. "Who lit the fire?"
"Probably Farfello." Aya growled. Of course.
"Scout the forests and look for him. Anybody." The men nodded, and left the room.
Aya unclenched his hand and looked at the crumpled note. For a moment, he stared, and hesitated. Then he threw the note to the ground and stormed out of the room, out the same way Manx had gone, calling his closest advisors. He was going to have a little 'war talk' with them.