Chapter 1: Tremors from Below
The yellow light of the Sun flashed across the vast ocean, bouncing of the whitewashed walls of the many houses. As a new day rose, so did the residents of Lith Harbour. Fishermen cast their ropes and set sail at the crack of dawn, eager to catch the best fishing spot. As the rays of the sun stretched over the waking town, shouts were heard. From the misty horizon, the large shape of a ship approached. It did not come from the sea, but instead, descended from the sky. Men scrambled around to prepare for its docking. Ropes were tossed overboard, and the men on the ground quickly tied it down. It's magical sails, the source of its flying powers, slowly closed, and the ship descended into its port.
A large plank dropped from an open door, and a new wave of young men and women poured out into the city, eager to start their lives in the new island. New to the city, they scattered around, creating a din wherever they went. On the second floor of a house, a window opened, and throwing star shot out, narrowly missing one of the newcomers. Shocked, he looked up at the window, and saw a man standing there, still rubbing his eyes. "What did you do that for? You almost hit me!" the newcomer shouted. "Damn, looks like I missed you…" he replied. Just as the newcomer was about to start shouting back, the man leaped out of his window, jumping off the walls and heading towards the forest beyond the city. The newcomer was stunned, and thought to himself, "Wow, an assassin. I want to be just like him!" And with that, he quickly ran after the man, in hope of learning some of his skills, and probably getting some of his old equipment, but by now, the man had disappeared into the foliage.
Snickering to himself, the assassin leaped through the trees, avoiding the monsters below him. His name was Kiltan, feared assassin of Victoria Island. His speed and agility could not be matched, and no monster he faced had gotten past him alive. In his hands, he carried the legendary Ilbi stars, made from the metals found only within the deepest mines of Ossyria, cut with the precision of a legendary craftsman. With a deadly combination of Kiltan's skill and the gleaming cutting edge of the shuriken, a single star could cut through bones, penetrating deep into the flesh of his enemies. With a massive leap, he jumped through the trees, and landed in the town of Henesys.
Here was the town of the archers, master marksmen and deadly from the distance. Kiltan almost never ever visited this city, for it was not his type of environment. He thrived in dark alleys and high-rise buildings, much like his home town of Kerning City. But in Henesys, there was a much brighter mood, a happy place, filled with laughing children and a welcoming city for the newcomers. Joy and merry making was not what he enjoyed, and he stepped quickly to side as a group of newcomers rushed by, awing at the beauty of the town. He saw the newcomer that he had attacked from Lith among the group, and he tried to hide in the shadows of the trees. But the newcomer recognized the high ranking armor that Kiltan wore, and in a second, Kiltan was swarmed by a group of young people eager to touch him. They all screamed his name and begged him to spare them some cash, but he was all too used to this type of treatment, and he knew what to do. In a flash, he suddenly disappeared, and the newcomers fell into the hollow center where Kiltan was standing. With a puzzled look on their faces, they started to disperse and continue with what they were doing. None noticed the leaves that rustled with the footsteps that silently ran away under the cloak of a shadow.
He ran towards where he needed to go. Sitting on a bench, he spotted a familiar face. Heera the archer, wielding a mighty glowing bow, was sitting on a bench, her eyes downcast in deep thought. Kiltan slowly approached her, but she said "There's no need for that. I could hear you the moment you ran away from those newcomers." Kiltan stepped out from the shadows and walked towards her. She stood up and kissed him, and then, they stepped off into the wilderness. Heera was Kiltan's girlfriend. They had met a long time ago, when Victoria Island was still under reconstruction from the attack of the beast. They had hunted together, and now were highly respected amongst the ranks of their kind.
Stepping into the wilderness, monsters fled on sight of the two, and they would have it no other way. Not wanting to waste their time on petty monsters, they hopped past the training grounds and approached the center on the island. Here, a dark shadow blocked out the sun. Rising high above their sights, a massive tree stood firmly planted. It has stood its ground since the island was discovered, and stood as a testimony of the powers of nature. Powerful creatures live within the tree, but the forces of men broke through, and they have long since established a foothold in the tree caves. It served as a resting spot. They called it Sleepywood, and shamans came to study the natural surroundings of the tree, and a resting spa was built to aid the need of tired travelers. Further past Sleepywood, in an ancient cave, lay creatures that few dared to face. It once served as a stronghold for men against attacks that came from creatures that roamed the wilds, but with the attack that came a century ago, it had long since fallen to the clutches of the beast that lay within.
But even the strength of the undead creatures that lay within the walls of cave could not deter Kiltan and Heera, for their powers in combat far surpassed the creatures that stood in their way. Easily breaking through barriers of creatures, they ventured past the few men that dared to come into this place, and finally stepped into their regular training area. It pulsated with a blue light that seeped from crystals in the wall, and powerful ice geysers shot out from the ground. The bones of fallen heroes littered the ground, a sign of the carnivorous creatures that lay within. The two slowly stepped forward, feet crunching on the bones of an unknown soldier. Heera quickly jumped away from it, and the sound of her feet echoed through the walls on the cave.
A snarl was heard, and Kiltan turned his gaze towards the source of the sound. From the shadows, a pair of eyes stared at them. Bones crunched below it as its paws stepped forward, slowly approaching them. This creature was unlike others, for it did not fear these humans. The beast was covered in purple fur; teeth dripped red with the blood of a past meal, and eyes glittering like a gem. It looked like a dog, but its size had absolutely no similarity to that of a normal household animal. Towering over the humans that faced it, it let out a massive howl that shook the walls of the cave. The beast, a cargo, pet of the demon, stood now before the two humans. No man had survived its attack, and it was not about to let these people get away. With another roar, it charged.
With lightning quick movement and accuracy, Heera loaded an arrow and fired. The speed of the arrow slashed through the darkness, and with a blinding light, struck the beast on the head. It had penetrated its skin, but the cargo was much more powerful then that, and would not fall easily. Blood streaming from the wound, it was undeterred and slashed at Heera. But blessed with the lightning speed of Kiltan, she leaped away unharmed. Never having faced such foes, the cargo grew enraged, and kept swiping at Heera. But with its attention on her, Kiltan held in his hand his deadly star, and with the precision that earned his reputation, he flung the two stars simultaneously at the beast. The strength of the Ilbi star was unmatched, and it sliced through the hide of the cargo. With a howl of pain, it now turned to Kiltan. Leaping into the air, Kiltan continued to fire throwing stars at the beast. With multiple shots that slashed through its hide, its fur was now matted with blood. From behind, more arrows pierced into its skin, and mortally wounded, it started to retreat into the darkness. But Kiltan was not about to let his kill get away. He prepared to fire the last shot into the heart of the beast, when the ground started to shake.
Kiltan fell to the ground, as rock from above started to crumble. He rolled away just as a bolder smashed into the ground besides him. He looked for Heera, but he could not find her through the ruble. Calling out her name, he stumbled past the falling rocks to where he last saw her. The trembling of the ground ceased, and Kiltan dug through the rubble, continuing to shout Heera's name. Finally, a hand reached out from under the dust, and Kiltan pulled her out. But the tremor had wounded her. A stone had fell onto her, and a deep gash ran along her leg. She was in need of medical attention, and they had to return back to Sleepywood. Pulling out a scroll from his pocket, he rolled it open, and chanting a few magical words, the power of the scroll enveloped them in a white light. Just before they were transported back to Sleepywood, Kiltan threw a glance at the cargo that he had intended to kill. It now stood in the shadows, blood dripping from its fur. But it knew that a time would come when they would meet again, and its staring eyes glimmered from the shadows, as if mocking him. And then, slowly it retreated back into the darkness, never taking its eyes off Kiltan. And then, in a final burst of light, Kiltan and Heera were gone.