Chapter 1 - Without Warrior Agility

Some people were not destined for greatness, life was complicated enough without fate stepping in and causing trouble. Up until today, Zak had been one of such people. Six foot, short brown hair and dark brown eyes, his father had been the protector of Nibelheim – a local hero! But this hero-status had not been passed down. In fact, it was past midday and he was still in bed, through the window a small patch of sunlight was reflecting off a picture of him and his father. To Zak, the small patch of sunlight felt more like a beam of molten daggers burning into his sleep-filled eyes. A long, pale arm reached out of bed but ended up being too short. Zak groaned and pulled the duvet over his head. Not that this worked. He simply heated up. Eventually, life got the better of him. Grumbling like a good 'un, Zak rolled out of bed and headed to his en suite – time to face the day!

Zak flicked on the shower and waited a few minutes for the room to fill with steam. Moments later he stepped into the shower only with a cry he stumbled back out, managing to keep his balance by grabbing a hold of the sink. Having forgotten to equalize the temperature he had inadvertently just dived into a scorching hot shower. It was acts like this that had made his father realise that hero-status would never be a family trait; it was amazing that Zak had actually leant to feed himself.

In the shower the minutes just flew by, aided by the torrent of warm water that created artificial rivers down his body before reaching the floor and escaping into the wider drains of Nibelheim. Zak made no massive attempt to wash – by his maths, being in a shower guaranteed freshness throughout the day.

Post-shower, Zak got himself dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before throwing open his curtains and squinting at the panoramic view – today, he vowed, was the day! Grabbing his father sabre from under the bed and attaching it to his belt – Zak grabbed a quick breakfast and headed for the mountains.

The plan that Zak followed most days, was if he kept to this side of the bridge then all the fiends he encountered would be relatively weak; allowing him plenty of training. If he crossed the bridge he knew that he would be out of his league. Unfortunately, he didn't get that far as he crossed the main square, a large coyote dived from behind the old car knocking him clean off his feet and skidding along the dirt path. Zak had never expected this; fiends rarely ventured into the village as many of the occupants had rifles and the coyotes had learnt not to cross them; who said memories weren't genetic? The coyote growled as Zak got back to his feet drawing the sabre.
This training is as good as any! Zak mused.

Zak looked around, it was cold outside and so no one had ventured out; surely someone must have heard the trouble? Zak cursed and looked back at the coyote, he would have to fight alone.
He bolted forward; as did the coyote. The coyote dodged his blade and dived, downing the human a second time. This time the sabre was knocked clear of Zak's reach and he was sent crashing onto a pile of discarded rock from a garden excavation, bits of slate dug into his back. The coyote dived pinning him beneath its massive bulk. Zak managed to grab its jaws to stop it eating him.
"Get off!" he managed to shout punching it, but Coyote's, Zak was learning, were actually pretty tough. The coyote cut Zak with its claws. Zak released one hand and patted around for some sort of weapon. His other hand was coming loose on the coyote and he was moments from certain death when his hand found a particularly nasty piece of slate. Zak roared and ran it home between two of the coyote's ribs and then twisted, causing it to splinter. Dark blood coated Zak's shirt and jeans but he was alive. Zak kicked the coyote sending it crashing against into the path. Zak jumped to his feet but the coyote was still combat ready, driven by a primal need to eat, again it dived forwards sending Zak crashing into a fence of upright slate. Zak caught the coyote by the throat this time but it took both hands to hold it in place.
The slate didn't phase it! Zak thought in both anger and shock. Suddenly the slates behind them shifted and they both slipped landing back on the ground, the coyote rolled out of the way to avoid Zak attacking.
"Zak!" shouted a girl his age throwing who came bolting across the square. The sound distracted the Coyote just enough for Zak to kick it away from him and run. The girl scooped up his Sabre and threw it at Zak, just as the coyote got to its feet and gave chase.
"Behind you!" she pointed – although Zak pretty much knew where he was about to get attacked from. His fingers closed around the sabre as it twirled through the air. Turning on his feet, Zak brought the sword to bare, only to be surprised at how close the coyote was.
As it happened, fate was watching and for her plan to come to bare, something special had to happen. In a stroke of luck like no other, the sabres blade was flat in the air, the Coyote slid right onto it like butter driving Zak backwards but still victorious. The girl, Sapphire, laughed as she looked over Zak's shoulder at the heap of dead dog on the floor.
"Nice kill," she said. Sapphire was named exactly that because of her hair colour, sapphire of course, and the fact that she only wore blue. Zak brushed the dirt and dust off him and re-sheathed the sabre.
"I didn't expect it to be that strong" said Zak running a hand gingerly over the wounds on his back.
"We all get surprised," she said
"I'm just not used to it," said Zak, completely ignoring the fact that he had killed a beast that weighed in at the same weight as himself although armed with claws as standard which means he had plenty of warriors bragging rights.
"Want to patrol together?" Sapphire asked.
"Sure," said Zak knowing that Sapphire was as good a swordsman as himself "Let me just go get changed." He looked down at his bloody clothes – he looked cool as a warrior but also looked like he would smell a bit if he stayed out in the sun too long.

After an entire day of patrolling and talking they found no other fiends, which was quite a disappointment. "Night," said Sapphire hugging Zak and walking away towards her home. Zak turned and walked back to his, time for another long sleep after an especially standard day. Regardless, he missed his bed so much; just the fight with the coyote had threatened to put him out for a whole week.
Crashing into bed, Zak was quickly asleep, with no idea that tomorrow, the fate that had thrown the coyote at him, was preparing an even greater curve-ball.