Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Dreamers & Legends ❯ Burdened Memories and the Hardened Wills ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"So Kitan, Where we goin?" Axel said as they continued down the path.

"You mean to tell me that a mysterious woman shows up, tells you everything you want to hear,like what you need to know to kill us, and you don't even need know where your prey was heading?" She said rolling her eyes. "Man were you on the sucky end of THAT deal."

He shot a look her way and said "I MISCALCULATED your strength. That and I am too honorable to break a deal, no matter what I do in life I will never break a deal."

She watched his face, with such a piercing look it was as if she was looking into her soul. She looked away and continued down the moountain trail. Kitan jogged to catch up to her and Axel brought up the rear with a steady pace he quickened when he got tired of walking by himself. The three of them came upon a man sitting on an arch overlooking the exit of the trail and out onto the Lunar Plains. He had his spear, which from Kitan's sight was a finely crafted red wood with an intricate rabbits tail at the base of it.

"Hey you up there..." Axel yelled trying to get his attention.

"He's meditating" Rebecca said "They do that so they can strengthen their minds. It helps when in battle and you have only moments to come up with a strategy."

"Whatever, I would rather destroy them by sheer force, you know, don't give em time to go on the offensive if they are always on the defensive right?" Axel replied smiling.

She rolled her eyes and walked towards the meditating monk. "Excuse me sir, are you here waiting for--" was all she got out. The monk had suddenly broke his meditation and had lunged at Rebecca. Luckily for her, her reflexes were of the highest Kitan had seen. In the instant it took for him to make contact with her, she had drawn her weapon and used it to parry his attack.

"Aww, I applaude you on parrying my attack, I may seem slow and unattached to the going on of the things around me, but I assure you if you do not take me more seriously" he said then locking gazes with her "I will kill you."

Kitan rushed to step in and take over but she yelled to him "Don't, stay back I want this one. You had the last two and I don't want to get all rusty for the tournament in Dralgo."

So she knew about that too, I guess its a bigger thing than I imagined. It just means that she is one more person he has to go through, regardless if they are traveling companions. Kitan thought to himself.

"If you think you're strong enough to enter that than you MUST defeat me. For I am, an Eliminator" the monk said falling back on his left foot, causing her to lose her balance. He then pivoted and twisted his body like a ballerina and struck her in the side. She pushed him away from her long enough for her to put a hand on her side and look at it. She was bleeding.

"You see, an Eliminator, chosen people like me, are hand-selected by His Majesty" He said waiting for her to clean herself up. "We are chosen because of our skills. We survived the many battles that took place during the Great Divide. We band together to challenge the next generation, the ones that will take over for us when we pass on. He calls on us for things like competitions, marriages, or other political matters that need a somewhat more... special touch of attention to detail. Do you understand?" He asked her as she finished wrapping her side.

"So you Eliminators are the surviving warriors of old, and if I want to enter the tournament I have to beat you?"

He nodded "yes, your friend there has qualified because he defeated my fellow comrade gaurding the entrance. The other man I do not know" He then began talking to Axel, while still keeping his eyes on Rebecca. "Please tell me what has happened to the monk gaurding the northeastern pass?"

Axel looked towards the sky and put one hand around his stomach, his other rested on that hand while clutching his chin "lets see...oh yeah, he's sleeping with the fishes."

"So you killed him, impressive if a little more than was necessary."

"What? No I met him near the river, he was in his boat fishing when he attacked me for no good reason, I had to defend myself. I beat him and left him unconscious, drifting down river in his boat. I'm not a cold-blooded killer, I just... do whats needed to be done."

"oh, the big bad tamer of Falic doesn't have it in him to kill. I thought you said you would do anything to bring your lady friend back?" Rebecca said taunting him.

He shot her an angry look. Then sighed and walked off and laid down at the base of a nearby tree. "Wake me when its over I probably will have to step in just before she gets her butt handed to her."

Rebecca, keeping her eyes on her opponent replied to Axel "don't get comfortable, this will be over in minutes. I bet you twenty silver chirpins I can end this in ten moves."

Axel laughed "your on little girl, this will be the easiest twenty tirpins I ever got" then laughed again and rolled over.

Rebecca then spoke to her opponent "good sir, where were we?"

"I believe we were about to finish our fight and decide if your all worthy of entering His Majesty's tournament, for the strong and the worthy."

She nodded and held up her hand, then motioned for him to make his move. He smiled and lunged for her. The monk immediately went on the offensive, not giving her a chance to defend herself. Rebecca was beginning to get annoyed. At this rate she wouldn't be able to cash in on her bet. Suddenly as he was trying to slash at her left side, he tripped over something. It threw him off and he was left open. This was her chance, she drew the blade she held hidden in her sleeve and threw it at his upper thigh, he dodged and in moments had broke through her defenses. He quickly struck her side with his spear and removed the tip. He followed up with a series of devastating punches that forced her to take a knee. As she desperately tried to regain the strength to stand when he thrust her spear towards her heart. In a flash the spear had been parried with yet another blade she had hidden. The blade she had in her left hand was in his chest and the one in her right was holding the tip of the spear just inches from her chest. Kitan finally got a good look at the knives. The blade was made of a silver material with a small etching of something he couldn't see, and the blade was seperated down the middle with about a couple inches apart. That was how she was holding the spear inches from her, she caught the blade in the space and used her other blade to attack. A defensive and offensive move, with very little chance of avoiding unless...

"It would seem...you were able to defeat me...I app" the man said as he fell to the ground, coughing blood "here...this will...let you three..tournament..." he took out something but fell forward. Letting the last bit of life from his body be released.

She moved closer and took his hand "You were valiant to the end, brave warrior...I will remember you, and all you have shown me." She opened his hand and in his palm was a necklace. It was a normal necklace made of string, on it though was a small opal.

"Is it over?" Axel said drowsily, "did she win or is it my turn?"

"I won, and by the way you owe me twenty turpins. Now lets get out of here, if we head down this road we should get there by the time the tournament starts" She looked towards Axel "that is if someone doesn't slow us down."

He ignored the remarked and started down the trail. Kitan went over to help Rebecca up. She hobbled over behind a large boulder, a few moments later she walked back out pulling her shirt down around her hips.

"Alright lets go Kitan, we gotta make sure Axel doesn't leave us behind. knowing him he'd" She shouted to him as she walked away from him, her voice fading into the wind. This certainly is going to be an 'interesting' trip but its worth it....I will avenge him...I will become...stronger...I will, at any cost.

The three of them marched off into the sunset. For the next week on the trail towards Dralgo was pleasant, boring and uneventful, but pleasant nonetheless. On the tenth day they were just coming to the top of one of the many hills that the trail was created on, when they saw the outer walls of Dralgo.

"Hey! Its Dralgo, we made it finally!" Rebecca said overjoyed. The sounds of the bustling marketplace of fine armor and weapons could be heard faintly from where they were standing.

"Well lets go, if my memory serves right then today is the last day we have to enter the tournament" Axel said rubbing his shoulder.

"How are we going to enter the tournament? They didn't exactly hand out sign up forms in the last inn you know" Kitan said.

Rebecca reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace she got from the monk. "I think this is how we enter. We show the judges that we have this necklace and then we're in."

They nodded and continued towards Dralgo. As they came closer to the walls they felt the full effects of the height the walls really had. The walls stones were a mixture of mud, clay from the mines of the surrounding mountains, and water from the rivers. The walls looked like they went on forever but in actaulilty they were only as tall as a six story building. As they approached the gates, the gaurds held up their spears.

"Halt. What business do you have in Dralgo?"

"We are here to enter the tournament so back off and let us pass" Axel said pushing past the gaurds. They replied by pointing the tips at him. He backed up slowly with his hands held up. "Dedicated to their jobs aren't they?"

"What business do you have?" the other said, there was a hint of anger in this ones voice.

"Its as he said" Rebecca said holding up the necklace. They looked at it and withdrew their spears.

"You may pass"

"Man that things like a all access grant from the king" Axel said looking intently at it "You mind if I borrow--"

"No! We need this and you're not going to use this for your own gain" Kitan said grabbing the necklace from her and putting it around his neck. "Now lets go register."

Kitan walked past the gaurds, followed by Rebecca, then a sulking Axel. The other side of the wall seemed like a whole other world. There were people from all across Thuron. The market place contained so many things that were new to Kitan. The people's clothes were no exception. They wore things like fine silk, to tattered rags with small colorful squares that was supposed to be 'artistic.' This place made Kitan feel small, feeble, and insignificant. I'm gonna change that. He thought, when he won the tournament.

"I think the registration is this way" a voice said. The face was buried in a parchment, most likely someone who was stupid enough to buy a map of Dralgo.

"No the person on the way here said it would be near the center of the city, next to the fountain, that obviously leads to the south exit of the city" the person next to the headless voice said.

The person looking at the map raised her head but it was too late. Kitan and her collided. They ran into each other but she was the only one that went down, she hit the ground so hard she lost her grip on the map and it flew off in the wind.

"Great, now how are we going to find our way around?" she said.

"Sorry about that" Kitan said "We were actually going to register too, if you'd like we can all go together?"

"I guess" suddenly remembering she forgot to introduce herself or her companion. "Oh I am sorry, my name is Nanao, this here is Aaron. We come from the village of Heiraken. Its a little ways off to the west of Kushu. We were lucky to about the tournament from a traveling merchant, we headed out with two others but..."

"Its alright" Aaron said comforting Nanao. "we left with her brother and a friend of mine, but they were killed by people called Eliminators. They appeared out of nowhere and attacked us. Her brother took one of them with him on the Frosted Tundra. My friend wasn't as lucky. He was killed in his sleep in an inn about three days west. I avenged him though so maybe he can rest in peace" Aaron said clenching his fist "We took these necklaces as compensation for the losses we took." They held up identical necklaces but with a different stone in the middle.

"That settles it, these are how we register" Kitan showed them theirs.

"How come you only got one?" Nanao asked "and why is your stone different from ours?"

"I guess the stone color decides who we fight" Kitan said looking at the stone. He tucked it back in his shirt after a few seconds.

"Well lets go, I want to be rid of luggage I don't need" Axel said

The five of them set off to register. Unbeknownst to them a familiar figure was watching them from the rooftop of a nearby house.

"Yes, Thats it...Stronger...become stronger, and we will surely meet again, the question is, when?"





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