Tydn's Fate: Sun and Moon: Chapter 1: RD

Orbs of color danced through his vision as he leaped aside. He stumbled as he hit a wooden obstacle in his daze. Shaking his head, he alerted himself just in time to see another flash of light coming at him.

Wooden trunks with multiple cuts on them stood throughout the room. Windows put up in no particular pattern allowed light in, making the floor spots it hit feel warm to the touch. Along the wall there were many weapon racks, helping to define the room as the training hall.

Quickly as he could, he jumped onto the logs that made the four walls around him and his attacker. The light sphere hit underneath him as he bounced off the wall onto the floor. He landed gracefully on his hands and knees. A war cry was screamed behind him and he glanced over his shoulder. A large man charged at him, angling his sword to strike.

He rolled aside. Unlike before, the sword followed him as he slipped away instead of simply hitting the ground. He heard the whistling of the metal racing through the air seconds before it clipped his shoulder.

His roll turned into a sloppy tumble as the blow destroyed his balance. He lay on his back gasping once the motion stopped. He could see a small splotch of blood growing through his ragged linen shirt. Pushing himself up, he faced his opponent once again, mentally preparing his next dodge.

The man straightened and flicked the blood off his weapon, looking at it thoughtfully. He shook his head in disappointment. “You dodging skills are good,” he grumbled, “but you still fail to have any kind of offence.” The boy remained silent. “If you have any hopes of rising in our society, you must unlock your powers.”

The boy stared at his booted feet, feeling the shame creep into him. If only he could tell the man that he really had discovered his powers. Whenever he tried to explain this, a doubt nagged at the back of his mind, What if they don’t approve.

While the people of his village retained a white or yellow holy like smoke when they summoned their abilities, his smoke was black. He attempted on multiple occasions to ask if something like that mattered, but his parents or the elders dismissed him immediately. They never even wanted to talk about their own powers, which confused him.

His eyes widened as the steel came rushing at him again. Removing himself from his thoughts, he stumbled back to avoid another injury. “You must focus, Kotimbr!” his trainer scolded. “Were I a real enemy, I would not give you time to think!”

The spar went on for some time, the same routine repeating itself. The man prompted him to try and summon his abilities more and more. Bursts of light continued to fly across the room, putting gashes into the walls. Kotimbr jumped into the air as one was aimed at his legs. He was forced to twist in the air to dodge a second one, causing him to land awkwardly. As he tried to regain his balance, he felt a blade against his throat. His eyes traveled up the cold metal to the man holding it. “Caught,” the man said.

The two looked up as a woman with blonde curly hair barged into the training hall. Grays hairs and sagging muscles deceived her age, but she was not weak by any means. Her pale dress billowed around her as she strode to her son with purpose. Fear ran through him when he saw the look on her face. “Kotimbr, why are you still here?” she demanded. “I told you to come home before midday!”

Kotimbr had completely forgotten his promise with his mother. He was so caught up in training, it had not occurred to him how late it might be. He stood up silently and walked over to her. He stood taller than her by several inches and his black hair made them appear unrelated.

She turned to the trainer, “I apologize, battle master, but my son will live just fine here without any powers at all. Now come, boy!” She headed for the two large, wooden doors that were embroidered with vines and weapons of all kinds. His favorite was the daggers. The other weapons were bound by the vines, but the daggers could slip through them with ease. He thought of himself when he saw them. In the whole scene, they all appeared to be dancing with each other as if people were holding the weapons. She thrust them open like a giant that just stomped onto the battle field causing havoc.

On the other side, Kotimbr squinted against the sunlight. He had not realized how long he had been in there. He searched the area, curious if something had happened while he was training.

Several small shacks encircled the area, defining the center of the village. He could see the farms further back in open fields. Some people wandered about, making deliveries or going to buy something at the few stores they had. He noticed they all seemed to give him and his mother a wide birth, not that it surprised him.
When his eyes returned to his mother, he saw she was far ahead of him. He rushed to catch up to her, his boots sticking to the spring mud that coated the ground of their village.

They stopped in front of a building that was slightly larger than the rest. There were no decorations like in the training hall, but the food inside emanated to him where he stood. “Stay here,” she said sternly and disappeared inside.

He waited patiently for his mother to return with whatever she needed him to do. He leaned up against their house, watching the scene around him. He saw the elders’ house towering over the other buildings as usual. Clangs of metal rung out as his uncle worked on his forge. It was rare for them to need to, but everyone in the town knew how to fight, even the women.

He spotted a small group of people in front of the butcher’s house. Kotimbr listened carefully to their conversation, curious about them.

“I wonder if he’s figured it out yet,” a woman’s voice worried.

A large man replied, “He can’t have. The boy can’t be that smart!”

“I heard he hasn’t even discovered his powers yet, how can he do anything at his age?” Another woman said.

Kotimbr knew immediately that they were speaking of him. He was like a plague parents scared their children with. Their village was small and very few outsiders ever came, so word spread quickly of any events.

“At this rate, I bet he’ll end up like that Occultus,” the man continued.

The first woman spoke again, “You’re right. They are cousins after all. I wonder which side of the family it came from.”

“If they aren’t stopped, they could infest the whole town!” the second woman fretted.

Kotimbr refused to listen past that. He did not want to know what horrible thing he and his cousin carried. He and Occultus had once been as close as brothers, but then he was taken away. Apparently, he had to go to a “war” that no one else could help with. Then he died in battle, or so the note said. Kotimbr had not questioned it before, seeing as it had happened a few years ago, but the conversation made him suspicious.

He jumped as something was dropped onto his chest, forcing him to catch it. He stared down at a basket full of loaves of bread. His mother’s blue dress billowed as she returned to the house. “You know who to give them to,” she called over her shoulder.

Slightly dumbstruck, he investigated the bread. Each family requested different kinds, all of which he memorized when he was younger. Just as he turned around to leave, a large man bumped into him.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. A grunt responded to him and he realized who he had run into.

A shadow towered over him as the man stared down at his son. His golden eyes searched him, as if looking for something wrong. He walked by him, leaving Kotimbr behind.

He shuddered, thankful his father had no desire to talk right now, not that he usually did. The last time they actually said words to each other, Kotimbr was yelled at for not training hard enough. His mother had intervened before anything happened.

Removing the memory from his mind, he walked to the nearest house. Mold was growing around the base, giving the house a gross atmosphere. He tentatively knocked on the door several time before someone poked around a small gap she opened.

“Wha- What do you want?” she stuttered. Normally Kotimbr would ignore her fear of him, but it bothered him today for a reason he could not explain.

“I’m just here to deliver bread,” he said politely as possible through gritted teeth.

“Just leave it there,” she pointed to a spot next to the door. Her hand was trembling.

“What about payment?” he asked while putting the loaf down.

“Here, now please leave,” she whimpered.

Scowling, he took the money and turned away. He could feel her gaze boring into his back, making him self- conscious.

He headed to the outskirts of the village next. Around the central part of the town, which was rather small, the houses grew vary sparse. The land between them was all for farming of some kind. Cows bellowed at him as he walked past, alerting the dogs. They started off barking at him, but left him alone when he threw them a loaf to eat. His mother wouldn’t notice if the day’s profits were light.

As the day wore on, people became curter and more frightened of him, making his hair prickle. He fought the urge to yell at them as hard as he could.

The sun was nearly down when he finished. The town was quiet, almost peaceful if the tavern wasn’t bustling. He paused in front of his home, debating whether to go in or not. People had made it blatantly obvious he was not welcome; he figured his parents felt the same. It would not be the first time they wanted him gone, perhaps he should grant their wishes. It would make everyone happier.

Abandoning the basket, he ran. It took him a moment to realize where his legs were carrying him. His mouth spread into a grin as he headed to the dreaded Prau Woods

The forest was feared by all but him and his cousin. There were hundreds of rumors about deadly creatures that hunted at night for people. He was terrified once too, but Occultus showed him it was safe. He even taught Kotimbr how to climb the ancient trees. With their branches so high up, it was difficult unless you knew how to navigate up them.

He dashed past the towering structures, hopping over logs or bushes when need be. A group of deer ran past him when he neared them. His ears picked up the noises of many frogs croaking as the sun went down.

He ran deeper and deeper into the forest until he reached the river. It rushed by, overflowing at high speeds because of spring. White foam frothed near the pointed stones that were scattered in the rapids. When he was near the edge, he could feel the spray against his face.

He knelt down and tried clean the cut on his shoulder. It stopped stopped bleeding a while ago but still stung horribly. Normally it would have been healed by his mother by now, but she hadn’t noticed before.

He shivered as the icy water ran down his arm, just now realizing the gravity of what he did. Tears began to run down his face. Why am I crying? He thought. This is better for everyone. I just need to find a new home.

He backed away from the river, wiping his face. He looked up at a tree. Another trick Occultus had taught him was how to really listen. They would sit together in the trees and listen for fun. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how similar he and Occultus really were.

Kotimbr strolled up to one of the giant oaks. He found a hand hold and began to climb. He was breathing heavily by the time he reached the first branch. His shoulder was throbbing, making him wince. Heaving himself onto the wooden pole, he sat with his back against the trunk to catch his breath.

Carefully, he hung himself between two branches with his legs over one and his back on the other. He closed his grey eyes and listened.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves that were growing back. They rustled, as if whispering to him, calling him. Had he climbed higher up, he knew he would be able to feel the tree swaying, but he had no desire to. Above him, the night sky hovered. The moon was almost full again. The thought was appealing to him. In the distance, a wolf gave a melody like howl. Kotimbr had no reason to worry; though, since he was in the tree. Without realizing it, he fell asleep.


Voices resonated in his ears before his eyes opened. A wool blanket was wrapped around him, keeping him warm in his small room. He rolled over, enjoying the comfort of his hay bed.

His eyes snapped open. How did I get here?! He asked himself frantically. He leaped out of bed and followed the sound of the voices. His feet thudded on the wooden floor as he dashed through the hall ways of his house. He wore the same plain shirt and leather pants as before, but his boots were gone. He shoved them on before rushing outside.

On the other side of the door stood his parents with several of the town’s elders. The moon was low in the sky, but it was still night. His mother was crying while his father’s expression remained unreadable. He wore a stern look, but in his eyes, Kotimbr thought he saw shame. What he heard shocked him.

"The boy is a curse you brought to us,” one elder scolded. “He must be dealt with.” The others nodded in consent.

“I understand,” his father said in a gruff voice. “I will dispose of him like my brother did with his own son. We made a grave error in risking the passing on of our mother’s genes.”

“No!” his mother screeched. “You can’t! You can’t! He’s done nothing wrong!” She sobbed onto one of the elder’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but his existence is a crime against our laws,” he said. His gaze went up as he spotted Kotimbr by the door. His eyes narrowed, “It is time.”

Kotimbr backed away in horror. “You’re going… to kill me?” he could hardly believe the words as they came out of his mouth. “But why? What did I do? Why did you kill Occultus?!”

The elder sighed. “It had to be done. You two do not belong in our realm.” Kotimbr backed away. He began to tremble as he looked between his two parents.

Another elder spoke, “Show us your powers boy. We all know you have them. See for yourself why the two of you had to be killed.”
Unsure of any other way out, he obeyed. The group gasped. Above his hand hovered black smoke instead of white.