Chapter 1

15 years later

Aaron blocked another blow and retuned it in equal fashion. Sweat dribbled down in beads from his head as him and his enemy exchanged blows. The afternoon was hot, and he and his opponent had been sparring for the past hour. Both boys were at the edge of their strength. Neither one was able to get a finishing blow in.

The other boy, Jaron, brought his sword around in a side sweep. Aaron swiftly jumped high in the air, avoiding the sword and flying over Jaron. While arching over Aaron thumped Jaron on the head with his sword. Thankfully the swords were wooden or Jaron would most likely be dead. As Aaron landed on the ground, he twisted his body around, bringing his sword around and hitting Jaron on the arm with the hilt of his wooden sword, disarming him at once. Jaron, still standing even from the whack on the head, was now disarmed. Jaron raised his arms in defeat, a somber look crossing his face. They stood facing each other, until Aaron broke the silence with a small smile.

"That's 27 wins for you, and 423 wins for me." Aaron said, as he expertly swung his wooden sword in artistic fashion.

"Oh come on" Jaron said while laughing. "At least 54 of those wins don't count, you cheated."

Jaron and Aaron had been sparing like this every day for almost the past two years. They would fight under the big spruce tree that sat atop the hill on the east side of the small village of Duran. The village was located in a small clearing in the deep forests on the Doman Islands. The Island was home to many villages, but Aaron had never strayed from the village of Duran. It had been is home, and there was no reason to leave it.

" Well, I figure we should probably head back home now" Jaron said as he packed up his stuff. "Our Moms will kill us if we are late for dinner."

Aaron quickly packed up his stuff, and when Jaron had finished, they raced down the hill. The sun was already setting in the sky, and by the time they reached the village it cast an orange glow over the treetops and houses.

"See you tomorrow then" Jaron exclaimed as he headed to his house, which was located near the center of the village.

Aaron lived on the western outskirts of town near the edge of the forest. As he entered his home his parents, Michael and Elizabeth, were preparing dinner. Although he had lived with them his entire life, they were not actually his parents. Elizabeth had told him that one night while they were sleeping they awoke to find a baby situated at the foot of their bed. They had taken care of Aaron ever since. The couple was infertile, and had always wanted a child of their own. Aaron considered Elizabeth and Michael to be his parents, even though they were not. The way he figured, they must be better then his deadbeat parents that abandoned him. When Aaron entered the door, Elizabeth came up and wrapped him in his arms, giving him a big hug. Elizabeth was not a small woman, and towered over all other women in Duran.

"And how was your day son?" Elizabeth chimed. "I have made your favorite for dinner, steamed venison with dried mushrooms!"

"It was good mom." Aaron replied, suffocating under his mothers hug. " I did some work at the armory for some money, and sparred with Jaron again."

" Oh you boys are always going at it," said Elizabeth, finally relinquishing Aaron from her hold. "One of these days one of you is going to get an eye poked out."

Aaron signed. "Were are fine mom, we make sure to avoid hitting each other in the face."

Michael, sitting in the chair next to the fireplace, let out a large huff. "Well I hope you haven't made any plans for tomorrow son, because I am going need some help chopping some wood."

Michael was a scruffy, well built man who was known for being one of the strongest in the village. He had first showed Aaron to fight, and because of him Aaron was stronger then any boy is age with a sword. Unlike Elizabeth, Michael could be stern, and required Aaron to help him with vigorous tasks around the house. He owned the village butchery, which required a lot of extra care.

"Don't worry father, Jaron and I are going to hike to the spring tomorrow to go swimming, but I am free in the morning."

"Good" Michael responded as he got to his feet. "Now I do believe it is time for dinner."

The dinner that night was delicious, and as Elizabeth had said, Aarons favorite. The family sat around the table and discussed the comings and goings of the village. Elizabeth reveled some of the village gossip while Aaron listened intently. Michael, the quite type, sat quietly and ate his dinner. After dinner was over Aaron helped his mother with the dishes while Michael brewed a fire to heat the house for the night. When the dishes had all been cleaned, Aaron went to bed early, in preparation for the work that that must be done tomorrow.

Perspiration soaked Aaron's shirt as he brought the ax down on the block of wood. It was the middle of summer, and the sun blazed down upon the town of Duran. He had been chopping wood for the past 4 hours, and a pile almost as tall as his house was piled next to him. Aaron was used to this type of grueling work, but the hot summer conditions made the work harder . His muscles rippled as he heaved the ax up, catching the eyes of several girls across the forest. Arron was shy and had trouble trying to make conversations with the girls from the village, no matter how much he fancied them. The girls walked by, giggling as he chopped block after block.

When he finally finished with his last piece of wood, he set in up against the wall, ran inside to fetch his belongings, and ran to meet up with Jaron at the armory. Jarons dad owned he armory, and Aaron would often take work at he armory as a side job to make extra money. He was becoming quite found of ironwork, and could now make basic weapons. The town was small and not many of its inhabitants required weapons, but visitors from across the island would come to buy the legendary weapons from Jarons family. By the time Aaron arrived at the armory, his friend was already waiting for him. Together, they left town through the north exit, heading deep into the trail in the forest that traveled to the local springs. It was not a grueling hike, and they arrived in the springs after two hours of walking. The canopy of the forest cast a jaded shadow on the small hot spring built into mountains. The thermal vents underneath the water heated the water just enough that it was comfortable enough to swim in. If one continued east around the mountain range, there was a trail to several other towns and finally the ocean. This particular hot spring was not often visited, by the other townsfolk, so the boys were often alone when they came.

As they approached the spring Jaron let out a wild roar and ran for the water, arms flailing. He entered the water creating a large splash. Aaron soon entered the water behind him, creating a splash of almost equal size. They spent the rest of the afternoon swimming with his friend up down the small spring, enjoying the warm water. Towards the end of the afternoon they decided to call it quits, and eat some fruit from the local bushes. As they sat and enjoyed their meal, they discussed their plans for the following week. Much of it would be spent working, but there would be some time for play.

"Well this has been fun." Jaron said" "but we need to go somewhere more exciting, get out of this town.

"Well" Aaron thought, "My dad doesn't need anymore help with the shop next weekend. We could always hike up to the Tremolo Mountains next weekend. There's plenty of good hunting, and the weather is perfect this time of year. We could bring a tent and…"

He ended his sentence abruptly as he heard a snap of twigs from the forest behind him. They where not alone. Aaron wheeled around in the air, searching for what had made the noise in the forest.

"What was that?" Jaron whispered, fear trembling in his voice.

Aaron didn't respond but slowly picked up the wooden sparring sword he had brought with him. His friend did the same. Slowly they made their way towards the bushes they had heard the sound from. The only sound that could be heard was the steady sound of their footsteps. They entered the forest with caution. The forest was dark amber under the setting suns rays. The two walked beside each other, scanning in all direction. A shadow exploded out of the bush to Aarons right and jolted through the forest.

"Wait!" Aaron shouted as he chased after the shadow.

The shadow would not slow down as Aaron ran after it. Trees and boulders flew by him, leaving scrape marks on his clothes. He had lost Jaron long ago. Aaron was one of the most athletic men in the village, and he quickly gained ground on the shadowed individual. He noticed the shadow was slowly turning to the north, and Aaron took the opportunity to try and surround the shadow. He quickly jolted around the trees right in the path of the incoming shadow, only to notice it was gone. Aaron stood, dumbfounded as to what had happened. He was right behind the man, there was no way he could have escaped into the forest that fast. A branch in the tree above Aaron gave a slight wobble. Aaron looked up to see a man perched on the branch like a bird, staring down at him.

He wore gray and a red bandana covered his eyes. The man's pitch-black hair blended in with the night. "wh-who are you" Aaron stammered raising his wooden sword in the air. The man did not reply. Instead, he raised the bandana covering his eyes. What stared back where a pair of blood red eyes. Aaron could see the veins pulsing in them as he stared back. The mysterious man leapt from the branch into the air, and with a few waves of his hands he disappeared in the air above. Aaron had heard of cantations before. Some traveling magicians had come to the village to perform cantations in the past. He had however, never seen anything of such great power. Jaron came jolting through the trees to the left of Aaron. He collapsed on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

"Where…where did he go." He asked, his voice coming out in short breaths.

Aaron stared into the forest behind where the man had disappeared. The man had not tried to harm him in any way, but judging by the look in the man's eyes Aaron knew that he was lucky to be alive.

Those were the eyes of a killer.