Random - Chapter 1

There was a glint of sunlight on metal in the fringes of the glade. A green eye, the other shut, sighted along a narrow shaft of wood, never leaving its target. A hand was holding the arrow steady against the taunt string of the bow.

A rabbit continued to feed in the clearing, unsuspecting of its fate.

The hand let go. The arrow shot towards the feeding mammal with unerring accuracy. Suddenly aware something was amiss, the rabbit looked up to see a gleam of silver...

There was a soft thud of metal meeting bone, and all was still.

A soft clicking, and from the surrounding trees emerged a grey stallion. It bore a rider on its back. A wiry young man, roughly about twenty years of age and wearing simple clothing of tan. A large bow was held in his hand while the other was resting on the shoulder of his mount. His brown hair was tied with a crude band, but didn't stop his fringes from falling into his emerald green eyes which regarded the dead rabbit dispassionately.

He dismounted from the horse easily, considering it stood at over sixteen hands and he was merely five foot eight. He picked the rabbit up and jerked the arrow from the skull, slipping it back into his quiver before heading back to his steed and tying it up with three other rabbit carcasses.

Hauling himself back up on the horse, he took one last look around. Apparently satisfied with everything, he clicked once more to the steed. Snorting, it plunged forwards, instantly breaking into a gallop and disappearing under the covers of the trees.
Somewhere far above, floating on unseen currents and terminals, wheeled a blue silvery shape which observed everything.

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Ryu Kajiki had just finished skinning what was to be his dinner. Strolling over to the nearby stream, he snapped a vine from a nearby tree and looped it around the piece of meat which was essentially still rabbit, before dropping it into the water of the stream; made ice-cold from the melting ice high above.

'That'll keep it fresh till nightfall', he figured.

Gazing upstream, he saw the grey stallion grazing peacefully. Technically, the horse was still wild, never before felt the bite of a halter nor the weight of a saddle. It had taken him over a year and a half to get it used to him, as the mountain horses were suspicious, cunning creatures. Another half year to let it allow him to ride it. Though other mounts were available from the nearby villages, his preference ran towards the wild, proud animals. Steadfast, tough, surefooted; he needed these qualities if he was to preform his duty.

The grey was aware of Ryu's scrutiny and lifted its head questioningly. Ryu had the strange feeling that once it noticed he wasn't set to go anywhere, it shrugged to itself and continued feeding.

Ryu took a seat on a nearby rock, where he could re-examine his weapons as well as keep an eye on the chilled meat. Drawing his sword from its sheathe, he wetted a rock and laid it against the metal, running it along with long continuous sweeps.

Flash.
Ryu was suspended in air, his world, his domain. Golden sunlight flashed as it met with silver and white scales, breaking the light into its seven pure colours. His vision spanned the mountains, the countryside. He could see everything; every individual blade of grass bending to the wind, every single grain of sand in the river bed. His ear-reach allowed him to hear and identify every single sound; the soft bubbling of creaks, the leaves falling to the earth...

He had power, immense power stored in every single cell of his body. Control over every single muscle. One adjustment and a flick of his barbed tail, he plunged earthwards so fast, he was but a streak of lightning. Gossamer thin wings then snapped open, fully stretched to catch the passing breeze, he needed no effort to spiral up to the heavens. He could feel the breeze of the past fly past him, the flame of the present flow through him, the waves of the future beckoning him.

Life burned through him...

Something moved down below, and there was the presence of something passing him by just inches. It started him, shocking him into a pause.

A floating target of silver and blue...

Ryu suddenly found himself staring at his sharpening stone blankly. His senses felt dimmed now, and he felt empty. But he set it all aside, standing up and sheathing his sword. "Kumo!", he yelled. The grey tossed its head at the call but came up to him. Without a pause, Ryu vaulted onto the stallion's back. His sense of urgently was transferred to the steed, which whinnied and, planting its hindlegs deep into the earth, bolted forwards.

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'Hurry, hurry, hurry'. Ryu didn't need to urge Kumo much; the horse knew as well as he did what would happen if they didn't arrive to the scene on time.

The sound of hooves thundering down the hill slope was deafening, clods of earth flying behind them. Rocks and pebbles skittered everywhere from under Kumo's hooves, causing the great horse to snort as it sped across the woods and meadows.

Ryu hung on like grim death, his eyes scanning the landscape feverishly. Kumo didn't need guidance, knowing where the danger was and heading towards it while ignoring all obstacles.

Finally, he spotted it. A group of men, some of whom were armed with large bows and arrows, all of whom were carrying swords. He dismissed them for the moment for something else caught his attention. There was a large wooden cage set on a cart and inside was a figure; possibly one his own height. It flashed silver and blue.

A growl rose in Ryu's throat, and his sword appeared almost instantly in his hand. He leaned into Kumo's mane, and the only thought in his head was, 'kill'.

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The men looked up at the sound of hoof-beats. "It's him", a man stated, obviously the leader. He drew out his weapon, a signal for the others to do the same.

"Keep yer wits about" another man cautioned, "Remember, he's just a kid".

Yet another, who had been observing the rapidly approaching figure, said, "You know, he's not going to make that jump...".
To the onlookers, the horse was heading in a straight line towards them which meant passing the natural thorny thicket which lined the steam. They all knew it was a five foot high, five feet across jump. They watched as the horse charged steadily, and then, just before the stream, leapt... .

And landed safely across without a break in stride.

"Damned mountain horses", the leader muttered. Then, with a manic grin, "Kill him, but leave the steed for me!".

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Ryu pointed Kumo towards the group of six men. They scattered as the grey approached, but wheeling the stallion around, Ryu brought his sword down in a swipe that caught a man in the back of the neck, slicing cleanly across the spine.

Leaping off the mount, Ryu slaughtered two more men as he whirled past them, crippling another in the process. Kumo knew the routine well and galloped towards the horse pulling the cart. Snapping and kicking at it, the stallion drove the bay gelding, as well as the invaluable prize, away from the fighting.

'Four down, two to go', Ryu thought, all previous emotion fleeing from his mind. There were no other thoughts, except for fighting.

Duck, dodge, spin, strike...

Now there was only one left, and he focused his full attention on him.

'It's just a kid' the leader told himself, his grip on the sword tightening. He couldn't help, however, a glance around. His throat tightened. Two men, with gashes as wide a his arm, lay dead with pools of blood forming around them. One decapitated, one moaning in pain because his legs were sliced across. Another, gutted.

Suddenly, there was a stab of pain. He looked downwards to see a sword glistening with dark blood protruding from his chest. He looked up and found the youth's eyes looking into his. Cold, emotionless, emerald eyes.

"You...", was all he managed. The sword had punctured his lung as well as his heart. In a half-hearted attempt, he brought his own sword up. Though he had managed to nick the youth's thigh, there was still no change in the apathetic eyes. Not a flicker of anything.

At that moment, the leader realised that, though this was merely a kid to him, this kid truly knew and understood the word kill. For the first time in a long time, he felt fear.

The youth's lips twitched slightly in what might be called a smile. Then he thrust the sword through, running it clean through the leader's body. There was a choked gasp of pain, and another as the sword was twisted deftly.
The body slumped to the ground, all life driven away.

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Ryu drew his sword out, breathing heavily as he always did after a fight. All battle-lust had disappeared then, and there was nothing but a hollow feeling in him. Taking a step back, there was a sickening softness and he realised to his horror he had stepped onto the decapitated head.

Trying to shake the feeling of death away, he placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled.
Kumo appeared and took him swiftly to the cage.

Ryu loosened the rope tied around the bars and swung the door wide open. Large, silver eyes sought his, and there was a nicker of recognition. "Come out here so I can examine you" he coaxed.

At first, a head emerged. It was vaguely serpentine. Three white horns lined down from its forehead, and long blade-like extensions protruded from the sides of its head. The body, which was definitely reptilian, was covered by blue and silver scales which caught the light in a brilliant effect. Two miniature arms, to which were attached long claws appeared just below the large leathery wings, which seemed to be thin and each tipped by a silver claw. Then came the tail, barbed and deadly.

The men drugged it, Ryu realised as he noted the dragon's clumsy movements, they must've shot it with tranquillising poisons. And it was walking too... dragons of the air did not usually walk, unless...

He gently took hold of a wing and opened it. The creature whimpered and wrapped its tail around Ryu's leg for comfort. Ryu sucked his breath in.

The fragile skin was torn, the delicate bones broken in twos and threes, rendering the right wing useless. The dragon tried to flap its wings to determine for itself the extent of its damage and whined pitifully as it realised it wasn't able to fly.

"Relax, little friend", Ryu said reassuringly, "I'll get you some help. Then we'll get you to Kyilat".

Upon hearing the name, the creature brightened up. It was of Lightning, the race which Ryu had sworn to protect. Thus, he was the one human tolerated by Kyilat, dam of all Lightning Dragons. He had even forged a bond with her.

"Come now", he held an arm outstretched, "The sooner we get there, the better". It hopped on and settled on his shoulder looking like an overgrown reptilian version of an eagle. Ryu hauled himself on Kumo, saying to the dragon, "Mount Kilnaga is some distance away, so we're gonna stock up on provisions in the village".

The dragon bobbed its head as though it understood every single word.

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"Tori!".

A girl looked up, her violet eyes open wide at the urgency of the call, "What is it?" she asked.

A little boy appeared, wheezing. It was apparent that he had been running fast and hard. "Ryu is here" he panted, "With one of Kyilat's...".

He stopped then, for she had given a little cry upon hearing Ryu's name, whirled around to grab something and practically flew outside without waiting to hear the rest of his sentence.

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"And that will be all that I need", Ryu finished.

The storekeeper had a worried look on his face, "But... Ryu, it's a long journey to Kilnaga. It will take many weeks to arrive there. Are you sure that it's enough? There's still food to think of, as well as weapons. Not to mention...".

"I will hunt my food", Ryu informed him, "And a friend of mine will arrange the...".

A voice exclaimed from the doorway suddenly, interrupting him, "Ryu! You're hurt!". He shrugged, not at all surprised at the sudden outburst. A slim girl stepped in, her facial features showing concern, "You're bleeding".

"It will stop", he told her indifferently, "It always has".

"One day it won't", she pointed out, dropping a knapsack from her back and rummaging through it.

"Tori", his tone was commanding, and caused her to look up in surprise. He continued, "I don't require tending to. However, there is a dragonet of Kyilat and its left wing is torn. I want you to do the best you can for it".

"Another one?!" she asked, incredulous, "The hunters are getting bolder and bolder".

He did not reply to that, turning back to the shopkeeper to continue negotiations. It was a sign that she had been dismissed. Sighing to herself, and casting a last wistful look at Ryu, she headed back outside.