Chapter 1 A Tale of Souls and Swords: Courage Unbound
The city was set ablaze, the beautiful structures, ruined, and the streets were dead. And amidst this chaos, lay a young, small man. The man wore a dark green tunic with chainmail underneath. He had a gauntlet on his left arm, and wore light brown long pants and knee-high boots. His hair was dark blonde and he sported a long green cap. Another thing he sported were a pair of pointed ears. He also carried a one-handed sword and an ornate shield. And he was lying down on the ground, with the burning building on his right. The man's eyes were starting to twitch open, feeling the heat and sensing the light from the fire. When the man opened his eyes, he immediately shut them tight. The brightness and heat might as well have melted his vision. The man then rolled to the side so he could lie on his back. Soon realizing that was a big mistake with his weapon and shield on said back. So he then continued rolling to his left to avoid the heat and sparks until he finally stopped to lay on his right side. He then took a deep breath, several deep breaths in fact. But then the man winced and curled up. He felt a sharp, stinging pain on his lower right abdomen. And the reason why was clearly visible. There was small, thin splinter that had bored its way in. The man then stopped curling up but couldn't find the energy to pick himself up. He then said one thing,
"What I would give to still be asleep right about now." But then, loud screeching and growling came from the streets behind the man, and they were growing louder and louder. The man knew that if he stayed here, he'd be very dead. So he finally found the strength to pick himself up from the dirty ground and started to walk in the opposite direction from the unpleasant noises.
I'll have to deal with this splinter later. The man thought to himself. If I can find some shelter that is hidden and cool, I can be safe from these monsters. And so the young man trudged along, thankfully the growls had dimmed down. Whatever's keeping those monsters off of me is not gonna last long. I need to find someplace to hide. The man thought, "AHHGGG!" The man grunted, This splinter's getting worse. Maybe I should find someone to help me, fast. The man had walked through the empty streets for about a quarter hour before he finally found something that could help him.
Oh great. A giant building. And it's intact. The man thought. He was standing in front of a large, cathedral like building. It had two towers at the front and it seemed to have two stories to it. The front had two massive wooden doors that looked heavy. They looked very heavy. Oh, come on. I have to deal with these big doors but I also have to deal with the stairs too? The man complained in his mind. He then walked up the steps, which is easier said than done with a splinter through one's side. With every step, the man winced in pain. He could feel the tiny splinter move around the injury, scraping off the flesh and potentially moving deeper in. The man finally reached the giant wooden doors, deciding to lean against them for a short while before moving inside. Unfortunately, the urgency of the current situation wouldn't have allowed it, for the screeching came back.
Oh, okay. That's how you want to play the game? The man thought, Fine then, just try and catch me. He silently challenged. He then placed all his strength into his arms as he attempted to open the massive doors. Growling and cringing at the pain from the splinter and from the weight of the doors. With all his strength, the doors merely a few inches. The man then changed priorities and used his entire body to push at only one of the doors. This time the door moved slightly more easily, yet it was not enough. He still had more to go before he could even squeeze his way through. But then, the man looked back, and what he saw, made his blood run cold, and his body, wet with sweat. He saw massive shadows, moving very quickly along the wall. And it did not look human.
Damn it! The man cursed internally. This is bad!" The small gap between the doors, wasn't growing any bigger, and the man felt his strength fade quickly. The man then attempted to squeeze his way through the tiny gap. He felt himself getting stuck, and he immediately pulled himself out. He then removed his shield and scabbard from his back and slid them through the gap. Once that was done, the man had another go at squeezing through the doors. He felt he was moving through much more easily, but the gap still wasn't big enough.
"Oh, come on!" The man shouted out. Damnit, why did I do that?" He asked himself. Well, I've got nothing to lose now!" He thought as he then attempted to push the door some more. Somehow, the noises and shadows haven't gotten any closer, giving the man some time to widen the gap. When he was done, he quickly rushed through the doors and quickly attempted to close the door. It was no easier than when he was opening it.
What's keeping those things off of me? The man asked as he finally closed the massive doors. Well, whoever- or whatever's holding them off is still alright. The man then turned to see what building he just entered. There were bookshelves everywhere. Rows and rows of tables filled the first floor. There was a spiral staircase in the back leading to the second floor. The second floor consisted of long balcony like structures on all sides, with bridges connecting the two long sides.
It's a library. The man confirmed with himself. I thought this was a shrine. His then interrupted his own thoughts as he tried to find something.
I gotta find something to block that door. He thought. The man walked up to a table and attempted to pull it towards the two doors that caused him so much trouble just mere moments before. The man then noticed that the ceiling had a rather massive hole. He quickly ignored it and continued to slowly pull his table. Once the table was near the doors, the man then flipped the table at the shorter edge, laying it on the door like a ladder.
Let's just hope that'll be enough for the night. The man thought. He then turned to another table, with multiple chairs nearby. He sat down at the chair nearest to said table. Then, he attended to his wound. He then pinched the wound trying to squeeze the splinter out. Needless to say, it was very painful. The man felt the splinter rubbing and poking against the sides of the wound. He cringed at every sensation, but he pushed through. Finally, the man could see the splinter more clearly. But he knew that removing it now would result in more blood loss than he can afford. The man then turned to find anything that could be used as a bandage. That's when he noticed several small bones on a small plate on the table next to him. The man stood up and trudged his way to said table. When he arrived, the man saw that the bones were rather freshly picked. And the plate was still rather greasy, too much grease if it wasn't fresh.
"What the..." The man said. But then, he heard something, something akin to the flapping of large wings. "What!?" He looked up at the hole in the ceiling and saw something dark zip by. The man then reached for his back to unsheathe his weapon and shield. Only to realize that his weapons were on the table near the door. He hadn't picked them up when he was blocking the door. The man then ran towards them, ignoring the searing pain and slide on the ground to quickly grab his weapons. He placed his scabbard on his back and kept his shield on his right hand. The man then finally unsheathed his sword, a one-handed, blue sword, and he enter a combat stance. And just in time too, as something crashed through the ceiling hole. It had bright, orange, and scaly skin, a shark-like body and a head like that of an iguana. It stood on two legs and wore a dark brown armor and looked to be 6 feet tall. It also wielded two duel axes.
"Two axes, huh?" The man said, "Well, come on then. Come and get me, lizard-man!" He yelled. The creature snarled and glared its teeth, before charging at the man with an unsettling speed. The man held his ground and held up his shield to cover his face, as the creature jumped up and brought its two axes down on the man. The man was knocked down as the hard blow was too much for his weak legs. The creature then bombarded the man with his axes as the man desperately tried to counter through the blows. The creature then jumped up again, but this time, he expanded what appeared to be large, feathered wings. The man saw what was happening and rolled to his left. The creature then dive-bombed to where the man was before hitting its snout on the hard, wooden floor, just missing the man and breaking its own nose. The creature screeched in pain as it grabbed the bleeding nose, dropping both of its axes. The man then ran with all his strength, and with sword in hand, gored the creature in its abdomen. It shrieked and tried to slash at its would-be killer. The man lost his grip on his sword as he narrowly avoided the sharp claws. The man was quick in his dodges, but his injury caught up to him, and he almost immediately lost his mobility. And unfortunately for the man, the creature caught on. A quick, but strong slash cut through the man's chest. He screamed in pain, as he grabbed his wound. The man was breathing heavily, and he felt his blood run through his fingers. The creature then laughed as its mouth twisted, as if it was smirking. The man winced as he eyed his sword, still lodged in the monster.
It's all or nothing! The man said to himself. He then charged at the monster before yanking out his sword. The creature was too hopelessly confused to react or even comprehend what was happening. But before he could understand what was happening, the man swiftly stabbed the stomach of the creature, before swiftly yanking it out again. The creature screeched in pain, grabbing its stomach where blood was spilling through its finger tips. It then kneeled down, before looking up, seeing the man, standing triumphantly in front of it. The monster snarled, glaring its teeth while glaring into the eyes of this, this boy. But then the man pulled his sword behind his head. He then looked into the eyes of the monster, filled with anger and hate at him. But that didn't stop the man from forming one, small smile on his face.
"Sorry, but I'm not dying today." The man said, before swiftly slitting the throat of the monster. As blood spilled from the cut, the creature took one last breath, before gagging on its own blood, and gazing at what killed it. The creature then growled through the blood before finally collapsing with its eyes looking forward, into nothingness. The man took a large breath, taking the now tainted air with one large sigh, before dropping his sword and shield, and collapse along with the now dead lizard-man. He laid on the wooden ground, struggling to keep his eyes open, but eventually, his strength left him, and he shut his eyes before his vision turned black with emptiness.
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