Rain: A Manifesto
Right Direction, Wrong Decision
Now restocked on supplies, I obtained directions and a map from a townsperson. I was on my way out of Kanyon Oasis first thing in the morning. I chose to continue up the hill in which the settlement rested on. It was a long and tiring trip up. The rocks were pointed and it was difficult to get a hand on them without cutting myself. The climate was growing cold and the air was becoming thin.
Despite the harsh climb, I eventually hit the top of the sandy and rocky summit after an all day climb. The sun was just setting, and it was stupendously exquisite from that height. I sat down on top of the hill panting away like a wild pig. I could see for miles and miles. It was a beautiful view. I looked in all directions to see what lay in each possible path. The east was where I had just come from; the west seemed to be all desert and plains; the north looked mountainous and frozen; and all I could see in the south was a swamp, spanning as far as the eye can see. I examined the map for many hours. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that if I went west, I would eventually end up in the core convergence point of Outworld. North would lead me to where it looked like it would lead me; a never ending blizzard. The map wasn't very clear on where I would end up if I went south. Most of the map seemed to be blank of labels in the southern vicinity of Outworld, as if it was mostly unoccupied and unexplored.
I munched down a few crackers, had some sips of warm water and decided it would probably be best to head West into Outworld's center. But as I finished my thought, a strong wind was blowing from all directions. I was being rocked around heavily and I held on to a large stone to keep myself from falling off the hilltop.
"Your reasoning is deficient." I heard a powerful voice roar as the wind died.
I hopped to my feet and turned towards the shadow that spoke to me. "Who are you?" I said prepared to summon a storm upon this figure speaking to me.
"Collect yourself, vernal one." The man said tranquilly. "West is not where your interests lie."
I dropped my arms and relaxed myself. "What do you mean not where I want to go…WAIT…HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT…?" I yelled as I realized I had never even spoken my thoughts.
"Your will is very easy to read, Rain." He promptly answered as he stepped into the light. His eyes had no color. They were simply all white. His skin was of a tan color and was lucidly stretched as his muscle was popping out from underneath. He was soaring, leaning over me by at least five or six inches, and his clothing was of a royal maroon silk, finished off with a heavy gold belt and long silver ponytail. "You have no skill in fighting at all. You are not ready to face what lies in Outworld's core." The man said as he stood tall with his arms crossed.
I was still astounded by the man's voice, which sounded like it was coming from the power of a thousand soldiers, and his guise which was that of a king. "I… I can fight." I said without really thinking, with my mind still glued to the man's appearance of pure fortitude.
The man sighed, and raised his arms into a fighting position. "Come on then." He said boastfully. I summoned a lightning bolt from the sky, but the man literally flew out of the way and landed behind me. I hurled a blind punch at him, but he grabbed my arm and tossed me to the ground.
I turned to the side, and grabbed my back to make sure it wasn't broken. He offered me a hand as I lay in pain. I quickly accepted and he brought me to my feet as a quiet gust of wind blew through his long hair.
"Who are you?" I asked tensely as I scratched my neck.
"I am Fujin, God of Wind." The man said as he bowed his head. "I have been following you closely, ever since your Edenian childhood and you are an extraordinary living soul. Although my jurisdiction is only in earthrealm, I must sometimes concern myself with the occurrences of other realms. This time, that occurrence is you."
My first dilemma was comprehending exactly what was happening to me at this moment. Was I really speaking to a god? Could he be lying? No, he couldn't be lying. He read my thoughts, knew my name, and he knew events of my past. I knew in my soul that I was actually speaking to a god.
"Lord Fujin, I am at your command." I uttered as I bowed my head to waste level.
"I ask not for idolization, only for immersion." Fujin asserted with his vigorous, yet placid voice.
"Yes, Lord Fujin." I said as I came back to my feet.
"Before you drag yourself into the heart of conflict, you must attain knowledge of the great art of kombat. You must combine the skill of a warrior with your endowment from those who reside in The Void."
"Then which way am I to go?"
"Go South, through the Outworld swamps. That path will eventually lead to patches of grassland and tall mountains. There are several towns within these mountain passes. Within some of these towns are masters of martial arts. Find these masters and show them your abilities. They will teach you."
"I will do so, Lord Fujin." I said again with another bow.
"One more thing," he said as I raised myself to a standing position. "Beware of the shadows lurking within the regions in which you are walking. They are quick and cunning. If they see you wandering their lands, they will attack you and they will do it swiftly."
"Thank you for the guidance, my lord." I said with one more bow.
"Farewell, Rain. Volition is yours. Hold it strong." Fujin replied as he bowed in return.
Fujin stretched his arms away from his body. Very quickly, a tornado formed around him, and swept the god into the air. Within seconds, Fujin faded into the distance before my eyes. A god had found interest in me. I felt very impressed with myself at that moment in time.
Shortly after my encounter with the god, I decided to get some rest before I continued my travels. After a few hours of rest, I was up and ready to go before daybreak.
I gathered my belongings, and prepared for my journey south. I slid down the tall hill steadily and cautiously. It wasn't as steep as the other side, so it made the way down rather easy and quick.
When I reached the bottom, all that stood in front of me was fog. The haze was so thick that when I extended my hand in front of me, it was no longer visible to my eyes. The laid back feeling of going down the hill had ever so quickly turned into eeriness and uneasiness as I stood in the fog.
Although unsure and panicked, I relaxed myself and began to walk forward, trotting my way through the mist, looking for some kind of path. After several minutes, one of my feet splashed into shallow water. I had found the swamps. I walked slowly along the barely visible line between the water and the land until I found a natural pathway, leading across the swamp.
The pathway seemed to be less foggy for some reason, so I could at least slightly see where I was walking. There was hardly any greenery, and every step I took, all I heard was either the cracking of dead grass, or the echo of loose stones. I walked forward, carefully, and evenly as I didn't want to lose either my sense of direction or my footing on the unreliable pathway.
It was around midday, when I started hearing slight splashes in the water. I grew anxious, and decided I would take a break from walking the path. I put a stick on the ground so I could remember which way to go. I then started a small fire and sat in front of it to stay warm in the cold depths of this glade.
After about an hour, I could no longer hear the odd splashes, and the mist somewhat started to clear. I gathered my sack of food and supplies and continued to walk down the swamp area.
Walking through the swamp seemed almost like a meaningless and chilling hallucination. There was nothing new in any step I took. It felt as if I wasn't gaining any ground. Everything on the path seemed similar to what I had just passed. Too similar in fact. I eventually realized a pattern. Bolder, grassland, stump, moss, grassland, bolder, moss, bolder.
"Am I going in circles?" I asked myself. 'How?' I thought in response. I was going in a straight line the whole time. Could the swamp be playing some kind of mind trick on me? But why wouldn't Fujin have warned me about that?
As I continued walking and asking myself questions, an impulsive answer came to my head. What if the shadows that Fujin was referring to was magic created by the swamp? It was a possibility, so I chose to sprint as fast as I could, attempting to outrun this "spell." After only a few minutes, I could finally see the end of the swamps in the distance. "Oh, pleasant land," I said to myself as I sank back to a walking pace. "Shadows? No challenge." I bragged to myself as I yawned.
No more than an hour later, I was getting very close to dry land. I had a slight smirk, as I felt I had handled this part of my quest flawlessly. But, how wrong can a living consciousness be?
I heard footsteps. However, I couldn't tell where they were coming from. I dropped my travel sack, and put my arms up, ready for an attack. I started strafing around, looking for the source of these fast moving steps. They were however, untraceable.
I continued to turn my head as the steps were getting louder and closer. My spine tingled and cold sweat dripped from my forehead. I created an orb of water in the palm of my hand, slowly letting it expand.
Moments later, the footsteps suddenly stopped. I stayed in my spot, waiting for whatever was surrounding me to show itself. As a whistling wind blew through my face, the steps started again. Getting louder, and louder, and louder. It was then that they appeared. Three figures, dressed in dark garments with their mouths covered, running toward me at full flight.
"Down with him!" One of them yelled with a blood thirsty battle cry.
I raised my orb of water and prepared it for release. When the attackers were at the appropriate distance, I launched the orb from my grip, and the impact sent one of my attackers spiraling into the swamp.
The other two charged at me and executed very perfect combinations attacks on my upper body. I fell to the ground in pain. But it had to be ignored, as one of them attempted to stomp on my face. I rolled to the side just before impact would have hit. I hopped back to my feet and backed away from the warriors. They then once again attacked me as a team. I couldn't take both of them, so I jumped to the side before they executed another strike.
They then attempted another attack, but I jumped backwards, nearly landing in the swamp. It was then that I realized that my kombatants were using a one-two combination system. The first fighter to attack was the diversion, while the second was the one that delivered the devastating blows.
When the warriors attacked again, I slid out of the way of the first attacker, and landed a powerful roundhouse kick on the second attacker. He lay; weary on the ground, squirming for consciousness.
It was now just I and my last enemy facing each other off now. I noticed he had gold marks on his garments that the other two men didn't have.
"You cannot win, boy." Said the man as he circled me. "Surrender, and I will kill you with mercy."
I didn't respond to his words, and simply singled him to try to attack me. He flipped high in the air, and executed a flying kick that was aimed toward my face. Although I raised my arms to block, the impact still knocked my back off my balance. This man was obviously far more skilled than me as far as fighting. I would have to out smart him.
He charged again, this time with two elbows, and a kick to the head. All landed, and blood began to leak from my skin. I had to think fast, so I raised water out from under my feet and flew toward the warrior. My attack landed on his chest, but it had minimal effect on his pain senses. I tried a sweep kick down low, but he grabbed my leg and through me over his back.
I picked myself up and looked for some kind of weapon I could use against him. I picked up a small rock, and threw it at him. But he simply caught it and tossed it to the side. I raised myself to my feet and prepared for his next move. He unexpectedly slid in close to me, using the mud on the path. He grabbed my neck with one hand and held me above the ground.
"Weakness is a horrible crime." Grumbled the man through his mask as his eyes turned red with rage. "Would you like to confess?" He rhetorically asked as he drew a blade from his belt.
I kicked him in the stomach with force, and managed to loosen his grip on me just enough for me to slip free.
"Why confess to a guilty jury?" I screamed as I unleashed a powerful lightning bolt upon the attacker and he came flying up above me, before smacking the ground with a crunch. He gasped a few short breaths, and they would indeed be his last as he tilted his head back and life left his body.
My victory was short lived, as the other two who I had previously incapacitated were now awake and ready for vengeance. I was completely out of energy. From the unnecessary sprint earlier and the fight I was just in. I was pretty banged up as well. I had to think of something fast.
I tried to release another water orb, but they were expecting it this time and moved out of the way. Just before they struck, I released another lightning bolt, only skimming one of them, but enough to keep him on the ground for a few seconds. The other warrior and I began to fight. He wasn't nearly as strong as the one I had killed moments ago. I was able to block his combinations with ease. Eventually, he grew impatient and threw a bad punch at me. I managed to maneuver away from it, and deliver an elbow to his head.
I had two of them down and one of them dead. But, once again, my victory never managed to cross my mind. A fist flew into my jaw and my blood came spilling onto the ground. I looked up, looking for a fourth bandit, but I could see none. Another fist hit me, this time in the ribs. Then four more in the ribs. Next were two kicks to the head that knocked me flat out to the ground.
My vision was getting blurred, as I saw a figure standing above me appearing out of thin air slowly, changing colors as he became more visible. The other two appeared next to him. My vision was getting dull and my hearing was fading. All I heard was:
"Well, let's kill him!" One of the attackers said.
"NO!" Said the one who overpowered me while he was invisible. "He killed Baidon. We're taking him to the grand master. He will be… interested."
My consciousness then faded into darkness.