It has been this way for decades, centuries even. No one's ever questioned it. It's just the way things go. The "Hunter", they call it, wakes once every year on the same night to feast on souls of Barians for three days. The people were terrified. It walked amongst the streets, killing all who cross it's path and devoured them. The king, Zastor, not wanting to see his soldiers die, told them to never confront it. They tried to keep everyone hidden, but the Hunter would destroy the villages and kill everyone within. To add to the trouble, the land was battle torn. The war with Astral World was raging, showing no signs of ending anytime soon. They couldn't afford losing anymore soldiers to the Hunter, so Zastor came up with an idea. Feed all who cannot fight to the beast. The idea was greatly disliked, but the king insisted it was the only way. Since Barians lived a long time, there weren't many elders, so most of the sacrifices were children younger than 10. Over the centuries, the idea became normal, no longer horrifying nor revolting. Not everyone agreed, but no one spoke against it. Not until now. One simple child gains a revenge that is strong enough to lead him to seek out the darkest of secrets, one's that are cloaked in such mystery people will kill to keep them hidden.
It was 5 days away from the Night of the Hunter. Two siblings were crowded under a tree like structure formed by crystals and rock. The thunder storm raged outside their small shelter, which did little to keep them warm or dry.
The male had attempted using his sword on a piece of rock to make a fire, but hadn't been able to even get a spark.
They were outcasts. Homeless and rejected. After their parents had died, they were thrown out of their village, sacrifices to the Hunter. The female had been too young to even stand at the time, so the male had taken care of her. They had lived under the tree-structure for 2 years now.
But they weren't alone. They had an older brother as well, though he did little to protect them and often beat them.
The male continued trying to start a fire, and gasped in surprise and happiness when he got a spark. He quickly tried to give the ember strength, but it soon died, leaving him cursing in frustration.
"Vector, let me try. You've been at it all night and you're tired."
Vector looked at her, then nodded and handed her the sword.
She started striking at the rock with the blade, and after a few minutes, got a spark. She tended to it gently, causing it to grow in size. Vector sighed in relief. He didn't want to think of what would have happened if they hadn't gotten a fire.
"See? I might be younger, but I know what I'm doing." Violet said.
"Whatever." Vector replied, yawning.
Lightning flashed, outlining everything outside in a silvery glow. Boom! Thunder split the steady beating of rain with it's harsh explosion of sound. Vector thought things were
finally going their way, when the wind direction changed. Rain fell into their small shelter, drowning the fire.
"No!" Vector yelled, trying to block the water from hitting the fragile flames.
But it was too late. The fire had already went out completely.
"Now what will we do? He said he wanted us to make a fire..." Violet said quietly, but there was nothing they could do.
Not 5 minutes later, Valen crawled down under the tree crystal.
"I thought I told you to have a fire going." He growled menacingly.
Violet looked up at him. "We did, but the rain got in and -"
"Did I ask for excuses?" Valen spat.
"N-No..." She answered.
"That's what I thought."
Vector curled up as small as he could and tried to sleep, but it was hard whenever Valen was around. He always had a bad feeling that he wouldn't wake up if he fell asleep in the same room as him.
Violet soon curled against him so they could share body heat. The thunder and lightening continued relentlessly threw the night, making sleep difficult with all the noise.
Somehow, despite his fears of Valen, Vector let himself be lulled into a sleep by the steady rain and Violet's warmth.