Opening Harmonic

XIII

The sun shone through the bright, azure sky. Glorious beams of light and warmth poured onto the ground below. The brilliant orb was both harsh and gentle; its rays scorched and burned, warming the harsh nether regions of the world. Yet, those same gentle rays warmed the skin and fed the plants and animals. The giver of both life and death - without it, there would be nothing, and with it there could be great pain. What an interesting paradox. That small note, though, was not on the minds of any in the suburb below.

The city was large and modern; at night, the skyline glowed with electric lights, drowning out the stars. Buildings cast massive shadows across open spaces, the interweaving shadows forming a jungle-like darkness characterized by a slightly cooler temperature. As one left the heart of the city, though, the buildings thinned. Fifty-floor skyscrapers were replaced by thirty-floors, then twenty-floors, then ten. Finally, the buildings turned into suburbs - quiet towns at the outskirts, away from the city lights and sounds. Smaller shops, houses, and halls gave a refreshing change to the city denizens. During the winter, these towns could disappear under blankets of snow. The laughter of playing children, conversation of adults, and pleasant greetings all around faded, muted by the cold and damp. That laughter, those conversations, and those greetings moved indoors, to be shared around cozy fireplaces. But now, during the summertime, they were free to stretch through the skies, creating a crescendo of harmony. That was the harmony that two particular children were enjoying, dashing through the streets towards the large fields and hidden forests outside of their suburban paradise.

"You're so slow, Raif," shouted one, grinning and sprinting even faster than before. He was tall boy, thin yet strong; his eyes were a brilliantly rare red, and his hair was a matching flame, falling down to his shoulders. Fashionably dressed, he wore a pair of blue, loose pants and a white t-shirt, with a cream-colored jacket. The jacket was obviously and purposely too small; it reached down to his navel, while the sleeves cut off at his elbows. A pair of sandals adorned his feet, yet he was still outpacing his friend.

The boy behind him rolled his eyes at the comment, "You keep kidding yourself. We'll just have to go head-to-head in the races."

This boy was slightly shorter than his friend; not short, but medium height. His hair was black, falling over his forehead, yet still much shorter than his friend's. Eyes of sincere blue, deep and comforting, blazed underneath a broad forehead. His features were boyish, and yet delicate; they held a rare form of the word "handsome" that might be replaced with "beautiful" under the right circumstances. He lagged behind his friend slightly, weighted down by the two packages he carried, wrapped in brown paper. Though his friend was stylish, he was significantly less so; his pants were a baggy black, while his shirt was a mix of blue, black, and white, each color spiking vertically into a layer of the next - black, blue, then white, then small blue tips near the top. No doubt, though, he was a bit slower than his friend; he wore a pair of old running shoes rather than sandals, and still was behind.

As the two raced towards the outskirts of their home, two other figures materialized out of the heat haze. They were standing by the town gates, which connected to four-foot stone walls and encircled the suburb. The gate, currently, was open and revealed a large expanse of green pastures, forests, and rivers. The two by the gate laughed as they watched the race, cheering for the red-haired boy. From the distance, their features were indistinct. As the two boys drew closer, though, they could be seen clearly.

One was a tall boy; he was thin, obviously not used to much physical strain, and had clear, ice-blue eyes. His blonde hair was short and spiky, and he was dressed in dark blue pants, and a shirt with mixed patches of blue and white. Across his back was a blue guitar, obviously a cherished possession considering how it shined. Meyd was his name, and he grinned widely as the two approached. The fourth member of the group was a girl named Neyda. She wore a red sundress, which contrasted sharply with her bright green eyes and brown hair. She was the first to speak when the two boys arrived, both panting for breath.

"It's about time you guys showed up," she said jokingly, hiding a light giggle with her hand, "I was starting to worry you wouldn't make it."

"So have 'ya got them, dude?" spoke up Meyd, glancing towards the boy named Raif. The black-haired boy nodded, tapping the two wrapped packages he carried. This elicited a loud response from his friend, "Righteous! I don't know how got the money for that one, man. Guess Lae helped a bit, huh?"

"You know it," shot the red-haired boy - his name was Laenar, but he went by Lae, which sounded shorter and cooler to his ear, "I'll bet Raif wouldn't've even gotten half the cash he needed without me, right?"

"Gimme a break, guys," replied Raif lightheartedly, grinning with his friends, "I could've gotten it 100 - no problem!"

"Right. And I'm the mayor's son," shot back Meyd, eliciting laughter from the entire group.

"So what's this big secret anyway? You guys hiding something from me?" spoke Neyda, amused by her three friends antics, but curious as to what was in the packages.

"'Course not! We just wanted to pick something up to make sure you'd be well guarded, princess," spoke Lae with a scoff. He was oblivious to Neyda's blush, distracted by Raif, who had placed the packages on the ground and unrolled them. Two gleaming swords shone. They weren't of high quality; in fact, they were rather old and short. There was no doubt that they'd be fairly useless in a real fight. But to these teenagers, the swords inspired images of knights and maidens, dragons and mighty warriors. Raif chose one, while Lae took the other, holding it up to the sun. The sword shone, for a moment looking like fire in the red-haired boy's hand. Then, he dropped his arm, testing the sword with an experimental sweep; it made a satisfying hum as it sang through the air.

"Sweet-ness! Raif, dude, that is awesome," piped up Meyd, admiring the glinting pieces of metal. However, he shook his head to decline when Raif offered the sword to him, explaining with a simple, "Not my thing, dude."

"Well... what are we waiting for?" asking Neyda suddenly, turning dramatically towards the gate, "We've got a long ways to go! Have you got the supplies, Lae?"

"Right here," replied the handsome boy, patting first the sack he carried over a shoulder and then a large pocket of his pants, "And you're right; we should get going."

Reaching a consensus, the four teenagers stepped through the gate, glancing around at the field surrounding the dirt path before walking on. Their destination? It's doubtful that they even knew. But the sun was blazing, the sky was clear, and their minds were set. And so they went, off to trek through the countryside, led by Lae and Raif. Their journey began there; four teenagers, Lae, Raif, Meyd, and Neyda. This was the ordinary. The next step was the fantastic.

XIII

The dark knight laughed sinisterly, towering over the cowed princess. Wide, green eyes were full of fear as she lay tied to a stump in the dark forest. The evil swordsman held aloft his shining blade, as if to call out someone to challenge him for supremacy over the woods and princess. The mottled sunlight cast his shadow across the forest clearing, distinguished as slightly darker than the rest of the shadows that littered the ground. A harsh breeze blew through the clearing, whipping the princess's hair to and fro. She was sure that a dragon had roared in the distance. But as the distant roar quieted, a figure emerged from the darkened woods – this one a knight of the light.

"Unhand the princess, evil one!" he shouted, brandishing his own blade and pointing it towards his opponent. His eyes were narrow and determined, yet confident in his own authority. However, his comment only earned him a bitter laugh.

"You'll have to take her from me, Oh-Mighty-One," scoffed the dark knight, rolling his eyes and exaggerating his voice. However, his intention was clear by the fighting stance he had taken, "A test of the blades, perhaps?"

His opponent prepared himself, taking an aggressive stance and getting ready to charge. As the two faced off in the glen, neither giving away any of the nervousness they both felt, a sense of foreboding prevailed; it was as though two titans were about to clash, destroying anyone and anything in their path. The princess glanced at each one, wondering who would win. The look on her face was almost conflicted. And then, the moment of peace had passed. The two rushed forward, each sweeping his blade at the other. The dark knight missed his mark, quickly parrying his opponents attack. The light warrior recovered from the parry, stepping back and then lunging forward. The fight continued like a dance, neither opponent actually hitting the other, but both coming close. Finally, the light knight gained the upper hand. Knocking his enemy's sword away, he swept his own weapon sideways, the flat of the blade hitting the dark knight in the chest. The antihero quickly fell with a grunt, hand flying to the area where the sword had made contact. After a moment, he looked up at the other knight, a mixture of amusement and annoyance on his face.

"That really hurt, Lae," he stated simply, pushing himself off the ground and standing up to his full height. He glanced around for his sword as an idle hand ran through his jet black hair. Seeing the weapon lying a few feet away, he quickly retrieved it. In the meantime, the other "knight" was busy untying the princess.

"Hey, Raif," she said in a joking voice, "Try not to tie me up so tight next time – I think I lost my hands." When this was answered with a quick, sincere apology, she laughed, "I was only joking, silly."

"You're getting better, Lae," the black haired boy commented, glancing at his friend. It was the truth; it used to be that Raif could beat Lae easily; though more athletic in most areas, Lae had always lacked precision and dexterity in his fighting. However, he had improved quite a bit recently. Raif's comment earned him a grin; the redhead looked as though he would respond, but was interrupted by a light stream of guitar music. The three listened to the melody for a moment, a complex and twisting piece, but were surprised when it cut off, followed by a loud curse. The three friends laughed; Meyd, ever the artist, had been trying to perfect the song for ages with little success. He said it would be, "the most righteous thing," any of them had ever heard, and they didn't doubt it – he was an excellent guitarist. However, it seemed like his dream song was still giving him difficulty.

"So what now?" asked Lae, having finished untying Neyda. Walking several steps away, he plopped down onto the thick forest grass, stretching out and gazing up at the sky between the branches of the trees. Raif and Neyda joined him, Raif sitting to one side, leaning back on his hands while Neyda sat with her arms curled around her knees.

"We could always… Explore further into the woods?" the girl suggested, glancing through the trees. The forest itself grew thick from this point onward; none of the children from the town had even ventured past this clearing. It was rumored that there were wolves further in. At the suggestion, her two friends exchanged looks of doubt, before shaking their heads.

"Nah. That'd get old after a while," replied Laenar, belaying the fact that he was honestly afraid of the darker depths of the forest. Raif recognized his friend's tough façade for what it was, though Neyda and Meyd didn't. He and Raif had known each other since they were only a few years old. Laenar was the son of a wealthy businessman in the town; Lae's father owned several research labs. Raif, on the other hand, was an orphan. His parents had died when he was young, traveling in another country. Now, they were just a vague memory – a blurry, handsome face with intense blue eyes, and a kinder face that held a knowing smile. Raif had been brought up as somewhat of a mascot of the town; many felt sorry for him, so he often was treated with kindness and pity. Laenar had probably been the first person to see past his dead parents and just see the lonely child that was Raif; as such, the two had become close friends. By the time they met Neyda, the daughter of a hair stylist in the city, and Meyd, who had moved to their suburb from another small town, they were already very close. Sometimes, Raif wondered if Neyda and Meyd felt left out, "Plus, it's starting to get dark. Maybe we should set up a camp."

The four young teens had decided on this trip together. They had always wanted to go on a long trek through the countryside. While this was only for a few days, they still wanted to make the most out of it; camping in the woods, trekking through the fields, and running down the dusty, beaten paths – it was something they had been planning for a long time. The spring holiday had given them the perfect time to start, for their school was over for two weeks. Three days into the holiday now, they had been eager to start earlier that day. They hadn't walked that far to reach the forest. Meyd had guessed about seven miles; because they had gone slow, it had taken them most of the day. Every twenty minutes or so, they would stop to investigate some new feature of the surrounding landscape. By the time they reached the woods, the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.

At the flame haired boy's suggestion, Raif and Neyda glanced around, choosing a good spot to set up. As they did so, Laenar retrieved his backpack from where he had placed it, in the shadow of a large elm tree. Opening the pack, he removed four small sleeping bags and a large tarp. It was too warm for a tent, but there was still a good chance of rain; thus, Lae had thought ahead to bring the plastic sheet and a groundcover. By this time, Raif had found a good spot; located roughly between four trees, a large open spot was canopied by branches. Two lower limbs criss-crossed over the spot, just low enough to drape the tarp over. Raif helped Lae with this before grabbing the ground cover. In the meantime, Neyda tied the four corners of the tarp securely to the four trees. After spreading the ground cover, the red haired boy placed his pack under the tree, leaving the sleeping bags out. The three stepped back to admire their handiwork as Meyd returned, carrying his guitar in one hand and its case in the other.

"Nice digs; could'a called if you needed help," he joked, lightly punching Lae in the shoulder as he passed. The taller boy shot him a roguish grin in response, tossing out a standard comeback before turning to the other two.

"Well… what now?" he asked, looking a bit bored. While he loved the adventuring and trekking part of their journey, the evening seemed a bit dull. The only thing to do, really, was sit around and talk while sharing a meal, then go to sleep. None of them would be able to sleep, though, so they would stay up late into the night chatting quietly. At some point, Raif and him might get bored enough to sneak off and scout ahead for the next day. But, honestly, Laenar was tired of talking. Though he loved his friends dearly, he yearned for adventure and excitement. The same old routine had been dragging him down; it was the reason why he had pushed so hard for this trip.

"I dunno," replied Raif automatically; though his friend was the natural leader of the group, the reality was that the raven haired boy often ended up making decisions, or at least contributing a great deal to the process. There was a moment of silence as the three stared at the camp, preoccupied with their own thoughts. The quiet was broken by Raif's stomach and his subsequent statement, "I'm starving, though."

"Aren't you always?" Lae replied, eliciting laughs from all four. That did much to end the quiet moment. The four moved under the tarp, setting up their sleeping bags. Meyd took a moment to get that evening's meal out before moving towards his own bed. Pine needles and soft grass under the ground cover made for a soft, natural mattress; they couldn't have picked a better spot to set up. As the sun sank below the horizon, the four friends laughed and joked together. Tomorrow would bring a new sun and new adventures, and the happy glow of their smiles would burn on.

Next Time:

The four friends meet three unpleasant rivals. Looks like trouble!

Raif and Laenar share a philosophical moment.

Meyd works on his song.

Neyda wonders why men are so thickheaded.

And something sinister begins to unfold…

Be ready for surprising twists, spills, and turns; you've seen the Opening Harmonic. The Second Chord is on its way!

Keep on singing until next time!

Greylocke