The Travels of Chrono Aero

Epilogue

"Bowmen! Fire!" cried the General of the Eagle Eye's Army. Looking out over the battlefield he saw thousands of arrows find their mark in the infantrymen of the Raven Wing. "Cavalry! Ready Arms!" he then took place at the head of the line, a metallic ringing sounded was heard as he pulled his sword free of its scabbard followed by the sounds of tens of thousands of men readying themselves for battle. "Charge!" he cried as those men raced full speed out to the arrow-ridden meadow that is quickly becoming a battlefield.

Behind them stands Castle Eagle Eye, an ancient and massive structure that has been homage to centuries of Clan Eagle Eye family members. On one of the many balconies stood a young man; he is tall, blonde, and thin yet he travels with the grace of a rapier, King Argus, pacing in wait for an answer. In the other room the King could hear cries of pain as his wife gave birth to the heir of Clan Eagle Eye. If impatiently, he followed the midwives instructions to wait outside. Turning back to the battle at hand he watched as both sides were dealt massive damage to their ranks. The King felt that the turning of this battle also controlled the outcome of the birth at hand.

"Would my lord like anything, a refreshment maybe?" asked a servant that stepped out from a corridor to the Kings left. Waiting patiently for the answer he knew to keep his head down and stay where he has entered. Absent-mindedly King Argus waved him away, from the corridor opposite the servants entered a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with long dark brown hair with dark eyes, upon looking into those eyes any man in his right mind would know that this woman has wisdom beyond her years.
"A glass of wine would be nice," she said before the servant could disappear. Walking quietly over to the Kings side with the grace of a swan she turned her flawless face out to the grave scene playing before them. "Time is a terrible thing to waste, your majesty. It would be wise of you to leave this matter up to those women," she said, turning away to face the King.

"My mind knows this, my Mistress of the Skies, but my heart keeps me rooted to the spot. I must know where my wife stands before I move on!" he said as he started to pace again, "What would I have left to fight for if the woman I loved died and my son or daughter along with her?" This Mistress of the Skies, began to giggle which slowly grew into out-right laughter.

"Ah, youth is wasted on the young," she said before laughing openly yet again. Jumping into the air the Mistress floated down to seat herself on the ramparts, "Your son will be fine, but only if you join the little fray that is taking place in front of you." When the young King looked up at the dark-haired beauty he could see that there was a hint of a smile still upon her face.

"Something tells me that all you have done, m'lady, has been to improve yourself and not to get me king," he said as he turned away and headed down to the stables yelling, "Ready my horse!"

When the servant returned baring the Mistress of the Skies' wine she was still sitting on her rampart, "Ah, what trouble our little puppet is becoming," she said seemingly to no one.

"Why must we cause these mortals grief, Sierra?" asked the servant who transformed into a being like the mistress. This man has dark hair with amber eyes, he has a strong build, like that of a blacksmith, but he also has an air of mystery surrounding him.

"The answer to that question is simple, young Darc. The son of this boy that I have carefully manipulated shall bring us the power that we so rightly deserve." With one last smile, the Mistress Sierra seemed to wipe away something in the air and almost immediately both her and Darc began to fade away.

As the King reached the stables he was happy to find that his horse was ready as he commanded and his squires were ready to dress him for battle. When his armor was set he mounted his chestnut stallion and headed for the battlefield. With a broadsword on his back and two daggers in plain sight, he was ready to meet his foe. As he entered the battlefield he was attacked right away. Still young, King Argus was a skilled fighter and veteran in battle. Sadly even the most skilled warriors are destroyed when shier numbers overwhelm.

At the same moment that his son was born, King Argus was given a mortal wound, and died on the battlefield. After this the Eagle Eye's Army lost all moral and was easily defeated. In their bloated ego, the Raven's Wing Army stormed Eagle Eye Castle and killed servants and nobles alike wanting to obliterate the Eagle Eye Clan from existence. The newborn babe was whisked away by the mistress and her mysterious servant. Leaving his homeland of Avius, the three headed east to the lands of medicine men and struggle, not of strength and numbers, but of wit and intelligence.

It was in this new land that the last Eagle Eye was to be raised, his name, Chrono Aero. The Mistress left him in one of the many temples that were abound in the area, and with him she left instructions, "Teach him, give him not only knowledge but skill and strength that will allow him to make something of himself in any land."

Chapter 1

"And that, young children is where I end my tale for tonight" said an old man sitting in the corner of the Twisted Branch Tavern. As one the group of fifteen or so children whined, "Awwwwww." One was even brave enough to ask, "Will you please continue?" The old man laughed as he replied, "Ah, yes, of course! I shall tell you more at the same time tomorrow."

The old man's companion, who had been sitting near by listening to his old friends well said story-telling, stood and walked over to say, "Must you tell my story everywhere we go, Cyrus?"

"Of course, my boy! How else does a bard make a living if not by telling tales? Besides, I haven't even reached the best part!" replied Cyrus as he waved down a waitress for another mug of ale, "Why else are we on this journey?"

Chrono walked over to Cyrus' side and sat down next to him letting the fire from the hearth warm him and show his long red hair, tied at the nape of his neck forming a loose ponytail, bright eyes the color of a summer twilight, red, orange, purple, and black all mixed into one. He has a structured yet thin build, of one who knows his strength, yet his calloused hands show that he has worked with those hands for most of his life. Chrono carries no weapon yet looks as lethal as a drawn sword. "We aren't. You are a tag-along while I try to find why I, the last of my clan, was spared to live." he said as he looked around the room trying to see if there is anything worth noticing. As his eyes reached the door a quickly cut off cry of surprise met his ears. Turning to where it emanated he found one of the younger female attendants, a fairly good looking girl with dirty blonde hair, a moderately strong build for her size, and bright green eyes, was being hassled by a robust balding man, who even from the other side of the room looked like he hadn't bathed in weeks.

"Well, well what do we have here, boys?" said the man to his fellow drinkers who were slowly closing in on the girl. Scanning the room to see where she was headed Chrono saw that a customer who was sitting near the far wall was getting slightly annoyed but made no move to help the girl. Her eyes moved from one face to another, Chrono was surprised to see fear in them. 'I would of thought that girl would be able to handle herself?' he contemplated to himself as he quietly made his way over to them.

"Oi, Chrono what are you doing? Get back over here that is none of our concern!" whispered Cyrus. Chrono didn't even look back but silenced him with a hand. Mumbling to himself Cyrus said, "That boy never learns. One day his peace-keeping is going to get both of us killed." That said Cyrus turned back to the warm fire in front of him.

"Ex-excuse me, please, gentlemen." she said as she tried to squeeze between them but was blocked, she almost dropped her tray of drinks. Again the fear flashed across her face. Getting a little upset that the men couldn't take a hint, Chrono coughed once to try to get the men's attention. Not one man turned to face him. Once again he coughed but received the same response.

"I beg your pardon sirs, but I believe that the lady is trying to get through," he said with the eloquence of a noble. After doing so he gently, yet with strength pushed one of the men out of the way, "Here you are, m'lady." With out saying a word the girl walked over and sat the tray on the man who was sitting near the walls table. Turning back to the men Chrono said, "Well that wasn't so hard was it? Excuse me, barkeep? Would you-"

"Oi," Being interrupted Chrono turned back to the men, it was the balding man, apparently the leader of the group, "Who do you think you are, breaking up are fun like that?" As the man said this all of his buddies jumped up from their stools and surrounded the two men.

As the balding man advanced Chrono said, "Sir, I only wished to stop a predicament from erupting. I'm sorry if I caused you an inconvenience." By the stupefied expression on the man's face Chrono knew he had confounded the man beyond comprehension. "Sir, if you wish I will explain further outside."

"Now Chrono," jumped in Cyrus, "I told you that you must not go turning peoples ways of life into a quarrel!" He was over to the counter in a matter of seconds, very quick for a man who looked like he was in his mid-sixties.

"There is no quarrel here my old friend," replied Chrono as he shifted his body slightly, unnoticeable to all but Cyrus, who lifted a brow to try to stop him. Out of the corner of his eye, Chrono saw the movement of the balding man, a fist. With one fluid movement Chrono stepped back but left his foot sitting where the man would trip sending him sprawling into two of the other men. This little ruckus caught the attention of the entire tavern. Even the man in the corner who was minding his own business looked up at the commotion.

That was the spark that set the forest ablaze, the robust man and the two others he fell on got up red-faced and ready to fight. Seeing things were about to get ugly, Chrono put up his hands up saying that he didn't want to fight. The three gentlemen, in a semi-drunk stupor didn't care and charged at Chrono anyway. Right before they reached him Chrono dropped to the floor and punched the knees of the balding man and a less fat but just as dirty fellow, who compared to the others looked like a weasel. Both the men fell to the floor howling in pain. The other man, slightly larger then even the balding man and with stronger looking arms was apparently dumber then a clam. He just stood their looking around until the weasel said, "You dolt he's on the floor!" between howls of pain. When the dolt looked down Chrono was lying on his back with his hands behind his head. The dolt began to reach down to pull him up when Chrono rolled onto the ball of his back and pushed of the ground with his hands landing a swift kick to the dolts nose, you heard a cracking sound and the dolt grabbed his nose roaring with pain. Standing back up he turned to the others who slowly started backing away.

During all the commotion Cyrus had turned around and walked back to get his things. He tossed a few gold coins to the bar keep for the damage and the drinks. As Chrono stood up Cyrus had begun walking back with Chrono's read cloak in hand. As one they turned and headed for the door with no rush. After they had left, the waitress returned to the fellow in the corner only to find him gone with a coin sitting on the table.