The largest farm in the wind region was only worked by four people. Three, if you wanted to be specific. They worked knee deep in grains of wheat, and rice. Picking corn from the towering fields that stretched for miles. They had small fields of indigo and cotton. Anything that could be grown was on the farm. Everyone wondered how a family of four could work an entire farm by themselves. Most would say it was their advanced technology but if you asked the farmers, they'd say family.
Mathias pushed a wheelbarrow along a dirt path. He was moving the weeds and rocks from the fields to the house for recycling.
Attached to the side of the house was a large wheel, with water dripping off the algae coated sides. A canal was dug out to bring the water to the farm instead of living next to the lake.
Passing the kitchen, a wonderful smell wafted through the air. "Whatcha cooking, Emil?" He exaggerated the syllables. Mathias stretched his neck and peered into the window. Emil was mixing together a frothing pot of vegetables and minced meat. His hair platinum hair pulled out of His purple eyes."Food." Emil kept his eye on the meal, trying his best to ignore the Dane. "Well it smells delicious! Can I have a taste test?" Mathias tilted his head the side and threw in his irresistible face. Emil shook his head and scraped the meat into the pot. It seemed Mathias's irresistible face wasn't irresistible. "Mathias, back to work!" A tall, stoic man called from the rice fields. Cheerful laughter followed the call from across the corn field. "Alright, Berwald, I'm going." Mathias marched to the south side of the house, He dumped the rocks and weeds into a pile, collecting like trash.
After the weeds and rocks were , he returned to a empty field and started plowing the land. Each person in the family had specific fields they worked on. Well, everyone except Emil. They rotated the crops each year. Mathias enjoyed the rotation of the crops because it made life less full and repetitive. He hated when things kept to the same schedule. He enjoyed the little changes, like having soup one night and pork the next. Mathias had a strong sense of adventure but his family held him in place . He would die for his family.
"Mathias! Tino! Berwald! Foods ready!" Emil called from the house. The three working finished their work and cleaned up. Emil set the table as Mathias, Tino and Berwald sat down. "I still don't understand why I can't work the fields." Emil grumbled passing around a basket full of steamy bread. "Y'r St'll a Ch'ld." Berwald dug into the meal. "I'm sixteen!" Emil yelled, earning surprised faces from the farmers. "That's pretty young, Little Bro." Mathias said, patting Emil's head. "Fine, at least let me do something other than cook and clean." Starting the next week Emil would handle selling the extra crops to nearby towns. This would work out better for everyone. It gave the others more time to work and it kept Emil busy. Unfortunately, the teen wouldn't make it until the next week.
"Good night, Little Brother!" Mathias yelled blowing out the candle in Emil's room. "Night, Mathias." Mathias said goodnight to every member then headed to his own bed. The four children all grew up in the same orphanage. When Mathias turned thirteen he got a job at a small farm. He asked the farmer if he and his family could move into his barn. Instead the Farmer rebuilt his house and added rooms for each children. When the farmer died he gave the farm to Matthias's family and they worked to expand it. Three years ago Berwald and Tino married, luckily for Mathias they never left the farm.
Late into the night, Mathias woke up to terrified screeching and loud angry yelling. A soft whistling, like wind chimes, echoed through the house. It played an airy tune, masked with impending doom.
Recognizing the sounds of a whisper, Mathias jumped out of bed and ran to Emil's room. Emil huddled under his blanket, shaking with fear. "Mathias, it took Tino." He whispered. Distant, distressed yelling could heard from the fields. "Berwald!" Mathias yelled. He glanced out the Windows. Berwald stood in the middle of a corn field, following a blurry grey blob. The blob had a screaming Tino clapped between its jaws. The whisper moved to fast for the human eye to see, with made whispers hard to track. "Behind you Berwald!" Mathias watched the Swedish man get dragged off by a whisper. "Emil, stay here and lock the door." Matthias grabbed his face from the storage closet and marched to the corn field.
He could see the stocks sway as the whispers surrounded him. Mathias swung his axe blindly, wacking a couple until the yback off. The sound of smashing glass echoed. Turning his head, Matthias saw Emil get dragged into the night, by a whistling, grey blob. "Big brother help me!" Emil never called him big brother. Mathias dropped the axe and charged after Emil. His clothes flapped against the wind. It restricted his movement.
He had raised the teen since Emil showed up at the orphanage. Mathias never let the workers touch Emil. Emil had followed Mathias around for years, never leaving the older. He was clingy, but Mathias loved it.
That week Mathias worked the farm during the day and search for his family at night. He didn't get any sleep and ate hardly anything. Too much to do, he thought. Mathias didn't have time to relax or eat. His family was out there, ready for saving. And if Mathias didn't work faster, the whisper would eat them. The only people to come back from a whisper attack arrive in coffins. Their clothes were in shreds and the meat on their bones sucked clean off. Determined to save his family, Mathias ignored anyone who told him his family was dead.
Mathias hauled a barrel of corn to a nearby market. Their was a poster telling about a person's plan to travel to the mountains. To find out why the monsters were leaving. Mathias ripped the poster down. He folded it and placed it in a pocket. "That kid is an idiot and anyone signing up for that death mission is one too." The market owner growled, lighting the and of a cigarette. "Yeah, Lars, That's why I'm taking the poster. So no stupid little kids decide to go." That was a lie, Mathias thought. Lying was bad. "The mountains are dangerous." Lars nodded, pressing the butt of his cigarette into the dirt. "How are you holding up, Mathias? With your family and all."
He held a cigarette out to Mathias, who graciously took the cancer stick. "I'll be fine, I actually came to find some people willing to work on my farm." Mathias lit the cigarette and leaned against the wall. "I'm going to take a small vacation." He laughed. "God knows I need one." Lars told Mathias about a few people who need work. "They're not coming back you know." The owner said before he paid Mathias for the corn. Without another word, Lars pointed the Dane in the direction where he could get employees.
O~O
Yào Wáng worked as a wealthy merchant, from a long line of rich upper class citizens. His number one goal in life was to please his family, no matter the cause. He's kill a man for his family. Yào would kill himself for his family.
His family's main line of business was in the textile industry. They also sold furniture, horses, mules, coal and a few other products. The Wáng family's success came from it's cheap and mass produced products. Yào himself sold coal and expensive fabric. He usually worked with foreign buyers, from every region.
"Andy! Hurry up and get the fabrics out of the rain and up the hills before it floods!" Yào carried a large boxed, packed to the brim with a rainbow of soft spiky fabrics. Many of Yào workers were hustling around. Trying to get all the fabrics to the top of a hill. The water region had many rivers and was prone to their banks overflowing and flooding the land. The Wáng family was building a levee in front of the house. In the meantime, they had to transfer their products to a nearby hill incase.
When it rained, people locked their door and hide inside for protection. Not from the rain or the flooding, but from the monsters that lurked in any puddle of water. They could bend it to their will and travel through it like portals. An Inch deep puddle could turn into a mile deep lake into the world of a Sairy. They bring clouds of mist and confusion. Hallucinations of victims worst fears. They lured people in with loved ones mimicked voices. Sairies looked like a siren morphed with a fairy. Sairies were anything but beautiful.
"Kiku, We lost a few men last week during the storm." Yào reported to Kiku, the man in charge of the Wáng family business. Kiku files the report, then turned to Yào. "Quit or attacks." "Attacks." Not only was the loss of life depressing, but it also affected the economic growth of the company.
The Wang business had lost half its workers in two years due to the Sairy attacks. While some died, most workers left for the safety of their family. The remaining workers had to work twice as long and get paid less. And as one can assume, they were not happy and some even quit. "You know Kiku, that ice region kid's leading a team of people to the mountains. I could join the group and find out about the attacks."
Yào knew he could die, but he wanted to serve his family. After all, there was always the possibility of death. It hung over everyone's head, like a fishing line. You wouldn't die until you reached up and tugged, but It was always there. Waiting for you to take the bait.
Most people didn't understand Yào's loyalty to his family. They didn't understand why he would die for them. If his family's company was in danger, then his family was in danger. Yao saw this as a reasonable excuse to risk his life. For the greater good, of course.
"Yào, you will die." Kiku didn't betray any emotion. "As much as we need the monsters to leave, you can't risk your life for your job. That would be stupid."
"It's not for my job it's for my family" Yào smiled, putting the last of the files up. "You really want to do this?" Even Kiku didn't understand Yào.
Why would he risk his life for something as stupid as money? As a company. It didn't make sense to anyone but Yào.
"Of course."
Yào doubted anyone would understand him, but his family learned to trust Yào. His motives may never make sense to them, but they all know Yào is wise.
"Very well, Yào Wáng. Please come back." Kiku dismissed Yào. Kiku would have to inform the rest of the family of Yào's suicide mission.
O~O
Arthur Kirkland was the local doctor. He in a reclusive town deep inside the earth region, with his little brother, Peter, and his mother, Amanda. "Alright, . You should be rid of your ailments in about a week, if you take the elixher twice a day." Arthur handed the elderly lady a bottle full of a green liquid. Mrs. Hudson shoved the bottle in her shackle. She passed Arthur a small bag of coins with a shaky hand. Then Mrs. Hudson gathered her things and hobbled out the door.
Sunlight filtered through the window, alerting Arthur that his working day was up. He packed up his supplies into a brown briefcase, shoving all his materials inside. Even if he looked the part, Arthur wasn't organized. Scattered across the one room building were his medicines and files.
He walked down the quiet dirt path. The trees around the path swirled up and twisted together, creating an arch. Flower vines curled around the trees and hung down from the top like a chandler. Arthur liked walking the path because it was a direct route to Peter's school and nobody ever walked on it. Arthur would do anything to avoid human contact. The school was a little wooden house at the top of a hill. Since the town was small, there wasn't a lot of children and they didn't need a big school. "Hello, , Here to pick up Peter?" Emerald Long, the teacher, asked, resting her elbows on a desk. Arthur nodded, shifting his briefcase. "Have you found a nice young lady or man yet, ?" Emerald asked, batting her eyes. Emerald was notorious for hitting on the single men and woman in the town. She could usually pick up a few travelers with her curving body, rather large breasts and curly red hair. "Um, No. B-But, I haven't been looking so." Arthur looked through the schoolhouse door and gulped. "Hurry up Peter, We don't have all day." Emerald moved a little closer, much too close for Arthur. "You know, . If you want you could always take me out," Arthur stepped back.
Arthur always made it his goal to be polite to the Ladies in his town, Chivalry. Even if he had to polite to the most pushy female he had ever met. Of course Arthur was an ass to the men in the town. "I'm sorry, but Peter and I have chores to do so we must be off." Arthur grabbed the collar of his brother's shirt and dragged him down the path. "You know Artie, She'll stop pining after you if you're mean to her." Peter suggested. Arthur glared at Peter as he straighten his coat. "It's against my moral code," Peter drew his eyebrows together and glared up at Arthur. "Well fuck your moral code, Emerald is a creep," Arthur smacked the side of Peter's head. "Don't curse!" Peter laughed and started marching down the path. "Wait for me you little twit." Arthur ran after his giggling brother, grumbling even though he enjoyed these moments.
When Peter turned the corner he giggling stop. Peter froze, staring down the path. Hanging from the vines was hissing monster. It uncurled it's tail and dropped onto the ground. "Arthur!" He screeched, "There's a Parasnake over here!" Arthur's blood drain from his face and he bolted towards his brother. Inches away from Peter was a viney snake like creature with rose thorns woven around it's body. It had a colorful crown of rainbow feathers wrapped around it's head. The same colorful array of feathers coated the tip of its tail. The Parasnake hissed, swaying as it slithered closer. "Peter, whatever you, don't move." Arthur slowly bent down and picked a rock the size of his palm. He coiled his arm and chucked the rock at the snake. The smashed against the Parasnake's head, crumbling to pieces. It snapped its head in Arthur's direction, but continued to slither towards Peter. "B-Big Broth-ther." The Parasnake opened, it's fangs dripping with a slimy green poison. "Peter, Run!" Peter darted toward Arthur. He grabbed Arthur's hand and they both ran forward. Parasnake lunged forward, wrapping itself around Peter's ankle and yanked the two back. Vines sprang from the ground grabbing Arthur and pulling him against a tree. Another set of vines wrapped around Peter's wrist. The brothers struggled in their bindings. Parasnake swayed closer to Peter, its mouth gaping open. "Someone help us!" Arthur screeched, twisting in the vines.
The monster lunged forward and sank it's teeth into the blond twelve year old. All in an instant, a group of people bursted through the forest. The parasnake hissed and slithered away. The parasnake hissed and slithered away. The vines disappeared and Peter dropped to the ground. He felt a sharp pain from the fangs breaking skin. A burning sensation filled his blood streams and blocked his airways. He couldn't breath. A green tint color his veins and spread through his body. He writhed on the ground, gasping for breath. "Peter. Peter can you hear me?" Arthur knelt down, the child nodded. "You're gonna be alright, Alright." The Poison of a Parasnake was fast acting and deadly. Within minutes, Peter's mind had calmed and his perception had distorted. He couldn't think. He stopped writhing and finally relaxing. At last his heart stopped and his blood turned cold. All under ten minutes. Arthur's face was blank as he lifted his little brother up and carried him home. "Goodbye little brother,"
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. More characters will appear in the future.
My editor was Hannah. If you review I'll start writing chapter two. Chapter One and Two Were Split and the paragraphs were separated due to a helpful comment By Willow Breeze the first. I hope it is easier to read. And a couple words were changed due to a request by TheSilentLilac. Thank Ya'll
