Chapter two: The Son of Sauron

Kiarton was angry. He was angry at his father and all four of his over-bearing brothers. "Why did they have to send me to get their stupid horse shoes?" He ranted as he trudged up the hill. "They didn't even give me a horse!" Kiarton was bored and naturally when he saw a strange group of people over by a tree talking he went over to greet them. He tied his flaming red hair back and brushed off the dust from his simple clothes. "Hello there, strangers. I am Kiarton." He was never good with strangers but he tried his best to be amiable, though they were preoccupied with something on the ground and did not seem to notice his arrival.

"Hiranneth, I have heard of this one," Kiran said as he observed the cat which had just jumped down from the tree. "They say he is a bounty hunter, a very dangerous man." His hand lingered on the hilt of his sword, but he knew it would be of no use. "How grand to have met him," he said dryly.

Hiranneth was, however, not paying attention to the cat. She was preoccupied by the leather wrap she held in her hands. It was calling to her somehow, telling her to open it. As she began to do so, she watched in awe as a map appeared on it. It seemed to be a hand written map of the region, the forest nearby, a river, and to the south through the forest what looked to be some sort of secret valley. The forest village had the name of Hunvel. Strong heart, Hiranneth somehow knew it meant. Seeing some sort of trail beginning to form through the forest, she traced it with her finger to Hunvel, a curious smile on her face.

Ahéawan gasped quietly as the creature jumped from the tree and landed in the form of a cat. However, her sword still did not appear.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" taunted the cat.
Ahéawan was now becoming slightly nervous. "Well, I...," she searched for something to say. "My blade! Return it to me!"
The cat did not move. Ahéawan spared a glance back at Hiranneth, who was entranced by the roll of leather that seemed to be...glowing? How curious, she thought. However, Ahéawan scarcely had time to ponder this, for the cat crouching in front of her abruptly sprang into action.

Fly lept onto the shoulder of the girl with the map and began to purr. "What is this?" he asked.

Ahéawan scowled at the cat as it leapt onto Hiranneth's shoulder and became very interested in the roll of leather that she still gazed at.
"You stay away from her!" Ahéawan warned. This creature was certainly dangerous, and the last thing she wanted was for it to possess the strange thing that had come from the ashes of the town it had just destroyed.

Fly looked at the older woman. The cat's golden eyes seemed to turn into licks of flame. His voice deepened. "What is this, that it is so important?"

Taking advantage of the 'cat's' distraction as he looked at Ahéawan, Kiran reached back and knocked the feline off of Hiranneth's shoulder. Not much to his suprise, the cat landed on its feet. "You will stay away from her," Kiran said, his voice fierce. He maneuvered Dune around and looked the creature in its fiery eyes. He drew his sword gallantly, the blade glinting brightly in the light.

Fly the cat smiled. "You seem yourself so brave...facing me in this wee creature of miniscule powers. But what would you say if you fought the son of Sauron in all his power?"

Snapped out of her trance-like state when the cat was flung off her shoulder, Hiranneth listened angrily as the cat threatened Kiran. A dagger strapped onto Kiran's horse caught the girl's eye, and she reached for it, feeling the cold steel in her trembling hand.
"Listen, demon of Darkness! You have gone too far, whether by my death or yours, you shall not go unchallenged. You killed my family!" she seethed. With fiery anger she leapt upon the creature and stabbed his leg.

Ahéawan watched the encounter in wonder. The son of Sauron...? But she knew she was nothing without her blade. Clutching her knife tightly, she moved toward the cat, but suddenly Hiranneth sprang into action, stabbing the creature in the leg.
"Hiranneth, no!" she called. She pushed the young girl aside and looked up in fear at the creature that was clearly no longer a cat.

Fly hissed in anger as he returned to his normal form. "I have powers unlike any of you have ever seen." His words came like the hiss of snakes. "You shall choose! To let me do as I please, and I shall not harm you. Or to challenge me, and I swear none of you shall pass unscathed."

Hiranneth pulled back and droped her knife, the blood on the knife hissing as it dissolved the steel blade, leaving just the hilt in her grasp.
She looked into the eyes of the newly formed son of Sauron and fell to her knees, again a lowly girl, no longer a warrior with a noble cause. She faintly saw out of the corner of her eye another stranger, a boy with red hair, but took little notice of it; the impending danger ahead of her consumed all of her attention, and she felt nothing but fear.

Ahéawan looked fearfully up at the beast that stood before them, then to her companions. She certainly didn't want to be a coward and surrender from a fight, but neither could she bear the thought of the son of Sauron harming Hiranneth or the two lads. However, still not possessing her blade, Ahéawan realized sadly she could do nothing.

Kiarton watched dumbfounded as the harsh conversation turned into a fight. The town is destroyed? he wondered. This would mean his family, his friends, his home…gone. Kiarton was temporarily winded by this new information. It was all too much to take in at once. Suddenly he felt very alone. To think that only a few minutes ago he had been complaining about his brothers who were now…he could not bring himself to finish the thought.

Kiran dismounted his steed and walked to Hiranneth's side, his sword still drawn and held proudly in his hand. He was eager to run his sword through this fellow, eager as he had never been before. He had always protected life, but this one, he could not stand the thought of him living for another moment. Still, he knew he could not beat him even were it a fair fight.

Fly was satisfied as they shrank back in fear. They would not attempt to harm him, that was enough. He sat down and stretched his long legs, relaxing. He could have killed them all with the flick of a finger, but, like most teenagers, he wanted things when he wanted them, at the opportune moment. He thought he might as well have some fun with this bunch too. "I'm glad we all understand each other," he said with a smug smile.

Ahéawan let out her breath, though unaware that she had been holding it, as the creature seemed to relax. She sighed, but her caution remained. "Well. Now what is it you want with us, son of Sauron? Of you I might desire a name, and my blade back if you would, please." She seemed more confident then she truly felt, but she hoped to be done with this creature and be on her way. Dark and dangerous magic ones of this kind were best left alone, especially when they had just maliciously destroyed a town out of cold blood.

Without moving a muscle the woman's blade reappeared and was thrown to the ground. "I have no name, though the few friends I have call me Fly." He laughed coldly. "That was before they knew. Had they been more careful they would still be alive now."

Ahéawan retrieved her blade and sheathed it carefully, feeling complete now with its weight at her side. As the son of Sauron-Fly-spoke, she glared at him. This demon was certainly of dark origin, and no good could come of conversing with him. But Ahéawan did not know what to do just yet.
"Yes, I would suppose demons wouldn't make the best of friends," she said dryly, though not particularly to anyone.

"Trust me, they don't." Fly pulled two apples out of his pack and began to eat one, holding out the other. "Care for one?" he asked with a small chuckle. When he received no reply, he shrugged and took another bite of his apple.

Hiranneth watched the creature with heightened interest. She was inspecting him carefully, thinking of some way she might be able to escape him, along with her newfound companions. But how? The map she held suddenly came to mind. She pulled it out and examined it. Writing itself along the edges was some sort of unintelligible script. Squinting, Hiranneth tried to read it, but her efforts were in vain. She looked to the others, wondering if they might know how to read this strange writing.

Forgetting Fly and the other boy for a moment, Kiran sheathed his sword and went over to where Hiranneth was studying the map. Looking over her shoulder at the parchment, he studied the script curling gracefully along the edges.
"The writing there," he said, "it must be Elvish. But I can't translate it. It must be a very old dialect. Do you know where this place is?"

Hiranneth looked very closely at the writing. It seemed to form in front of her eyes and it began to make sense. It said to her as it glimmered like fire on the page, Stab the son of Sauron, then run toward the woods. Make in hast, do not waste, for Sauron's wrath will be unfurled.
She read this many times and looked at her companions. Did they see what she saw? She wasn't sure. But whether they saw it or not, she knew this wasn't by accident that this was so. Hiranneth looked into the eyes of the relaxing Fly, and with quickness and speed of an elf maiden, she ran at him and stabbed him in the chest.

Kiarton drew back as the girl stabbed Fly. He ran to the map and looked down, and for some reason the words made sense. "Run." It stated in large curly letters. He turned to the other boy, Kiran, who's face showed that he too had read the map.

"Run! Run!" she yelled as she left her dagger lodged in Fly's chest. Hiranneth ran toward the woods and looked back to see that Kiran and Kiarton ran after her. But where was Ahéawan?
Her feet hit hard on the forest floor; she felt as if fire now followed her, and like a deer, she needed to flee. Her cloak whipped wildly behind her and her hair was blown like a running horse. How strange she felt, the map was now neatly tucked under her arm and a new power seemed to rise within her. Perhaps they could use the map to find the secret village and maybe someone there could help. Her speed became more like flying now. She now had a purpose.

"Run! Run!" Ahéawan heard someone call, but she couldn't. Her legs were paralyzed and her heart was stopped. She had never been so afraid in her life.
Her brown horse whinnied in fright and fled into the woods. Ahéawan ached to go after it but she could not move. Fear gripped her like a thousand ropes binding her, like a thousand knives all wretching through her body, and all the while her mind was screaming Run! But she could not move. The sight before her held her prisoner to her fear.

The wrath of Sauron had begun.