Chapter 5 - Beginnings of the here and now. -by Jex A young Jared, still a child. He was hanging around the blacksmith, watching from the sidelines, as blow after blow from the hammer shaped the dull red lump of metal into something. Excitement filled the air, abuzz, abounding everywhere. For today one of the town's boys would become a man. In such a small town, that was always cause for occasion, and today was no exception. Festival music and brightly colored blankets and strings floated around, people were dancing and drinking, the children were playing. The person of honor, Naoki, was with Jared, watching the blacksmith shape the sword that would be given to Naoki as recognization of his manhood, whence complete. Young Jared looked up at Naoki. "Hey, when do I get mine?" Naoki looked down, tousling the younger ones hair. "Patience, sprout. Patience." "Aw! But I want my sword now!" He mimed various swings with an imaginary sword. "So cute when they're young, aren't they?" said Naoki to noone in particular. "Go on, go play with your friends. Quit bothering us, okay?" "Okay!" ----------- [Several years later] The small group of men watched the gate intently. The air was nervous and quiet. Noone spoke, pounding the silence into everyone watching. They had been that way for some hours, after Jared had left to attempt the Trial of Manhood, the tension and nervousness growing thicker and heavier, as he became increasingly late on his expected arrival time. The Trial of Manhood consisted of leaving the village for three days, and returning with a bear. One who undertook this trial was expected to be able to make his own weapons, survive in the wilderness on his own, and hunt and kill a full grown bear on his own. The earliest one was allowed to take this trial was at sixteen years of age. Jared had been gone for five days. As per the trial's conditions, none were allowed to search for him until a fortnight had passed. Even accidental help was avoided, as hunting parties were forbidden to go near the appointed area. The night fell, and Jared did not return, six days now passed. ------------ [That night] A rustling of leaves gave way to a soft crash in Selinas room, where she was sleeping lightly. At the noise, she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes awake. "Mwa... who's there?" "Sshhh. Don't tell anyone, okay? It's me, Jared," said the intruder softly. "Ja-" Selina started to shout, then lowered her voice. "Jared?" she continued, in a lower voice. "What are you doing here? Why haven't you come back yet?" Jared laughed quietly. "Because I'm an irrestistable show-off. I'm gonna break the record, and bring back 5 bears!" "You idiot. A magic sword isn't worth it. What if you get hurt?" "Then I get hurt. But I'm gonna get the magic sword made for me." "Idiot," reprimanded Selina. They both turned their heads to her door, hearing her father wake up. "That's my cue to leave. I'll be back eventually, don't worry about me!" said Jared, then jumped through the window. Surprisingly, he landed on the other side with no sound. Selina's door opened, light from the hallway flooding in. "Selina dear, are you okay? I heard some noise." Selina sighed. "It's okay. Just couldn't sleep. I'm worried about Jared," she lied, holding the blanket closer to her. Her dad sighed. "It's okay. We all are. Try to get some sleep, okay?" ----------------- [12 days later] The whole town had a depressed feel to it, an overlay that downed everyone but Selina. Jared still hadn't returned, now 18 days into his Trial. Everybody feared the worst. His parents were feeling it the most acutely, and Selina had taken to visiting there a lot to try and console them. "I'm sure he's okay. You know how stupid he can be. He's probably trying to break the record and get a magic sword." "I wish he'd of told us, his -parents.- I fear he's bitten off more than he can chew." "Really, that blockhead is okay. I can feel it." "It's nice of you to care Selina, but we're adults. ... You don't need to try and cheer us up." Time passed, and Selina found herself at the gate. Despite the fact that he had said he was gonna try and break the record, she was beginning to lose the faith that he was alright. It had been too long... It was just starting to get dark, when his parents joined her. They took their places near the wall silently, hugging each other consolingly. "Dammit, you blockhead! Get back here! I'm tired of waiting for you!" Selina cried angrily. She ignored the glances from others, ignored the whispers that he wasn't coming back. "If you don't hurry up, I'm gonna go after you, rules or no! Don't make me get kicked out, hurry up and get back!" she further cried. She sighed, letting her gaze drift to the ground. A murmer caught her ears, 'Jared.' She looked up, as it spread. She could make a figure out in the distance, moving slowly. The murmers grew to spoken words, as more of the watchers spied it. "Jared!?" she cried, running to the gate. Her cry echoed across the distance, and she could of swore the figure waved. "Jared!" she cried again, happily, breaking into a run. The appointed watchers followed her, as did all the other who were waiting. The wind whistled by as she ran, waving like an idiot, almost tripping a couple of times in the dark, before she got close enough to see the figure clearly. It was Jared. Dirty, smelly, and gripping a rope tightly over his shoulder, each step slow and forced. She ran up to him, stopping to catch her breath. "Selina...? What are you do-" That was all the time she needed to recover, and punch him in the jaw. Jared reeled to the ground from the unexpected blow. "You IDIOT! What do you think you were doing, worrying everyone like that?! Worrying -me- like that? For some stupid sword, no less!" The rest of the watchers caught up, stopping to stare at Selina. Then the five bears tied to one another on the rope he was dragging was spotted, and the focus of attention was shifted to Jared. Jared got to his feet, rubbing his jaw. "Ow. You pack a mean right hook, for a girl," he teased. "Oh yeah? Well have another, then!" yelled Selina, bringing back her fist, and hitting him in the jaw again. Jared grinned, shifting his position to take the blow on his shoulder. "Selina! Thats enough!" called out Jared's dad. "Oh, Selina. I got this for you," said Jared after a moment, dropping the rope and walking the the lead bear. Grabbing something stowed on it, he walked back to Selina, and offered the item. It was an apple, with petals of different colors glued onto it. A spiral of red petals ran along it from top to bottom, with greens and blues and yellows in there too. Selina stared at it dumbly, then looked back up at Jared. "Well, if you don't want it, I'm kinda hungry," said Jared sheepishly. Selina snatched it from his grasp. "Gimme that, you blockhead," she said, not quite as meanly. Jared glanced at the others around. "Hey, gimme some help. I'm hungry, and I wanna eat!" The other men took up positions along the rope, his father taking the spot right behind Jared. Jared picked it back up, and started dragging it along, the others helping out. One of them struck up an old tune, and the others picked it up. The trip back to the town was a lively and cheerful one. o/~ Hi ho, the hunter has come. o/~ Once a boy now a man. o/~ Hi ho the hunter has come. o/~ Returned with riches abound. o/~ Hi ho the hunter has come. o/~ He fought a bear an' won. ---------------------- "Selina was right. You are an idiot. You risk your life and worry everyone to try and break a record just so the town will foot the bill to make you a magic sword instead of a normal sword for your recognization on manhood?" Jared grinned sheepishly. "Something like that." His dad sighed. "Arrogant kid." His tone shifted, as he looked lovingly down at him. "You got away with it though, rascal," he continued, his grin changing to a a roguish grin that matched Jared's own. "So son. Anything you wanna tell me before the feast starts? You've got a bit. Five bears are gonna take a while to cook." "Yeah. That was the most fun I've had in my life!" ------------------- A young boy, still a child. He was hanging around the blacksmith, watching from the sidelines, as blow after blow from the hammer shaped the dull red lump of metal into something. Excitement filled the air, abuzz, abounding everywhere. For today one of the town's boys would become a man. In such a small town, that was always cause for occasion, and today was no exception. Festival music and brightly colored blankets and strings floated around, people were dancing and drinking, the children were playing. The person of honor, Jared, was watching the blacksmith shape the sword that would be given to him as recognization of his manhood, whence complete. A blue-robed mage sat nearby, watching the smithing as well, his task to enchant it when the time came. He heart beat with elation at each hammer strike. He watched the little boy hanging around, idly remembered he had done the same thing at each previous festival. "Hey, kid. Whatcha doing?" "Watching the sword guy. I want one too." Jared chuckled. "Patience, kid. Just stick with it." He knelt down on both knees, and tousled the kids hair. "Go on now, scram. Your parents are probably looking for you." The kid nodded eagerly. "Okay!," he said, then ran off. Selina grabbed him from behind, clutching one of his arms to her. "So cute when they're young, aren't they?" Jared nodded, not taking his gaze off the sword-in-progress. "Yeah. Wouldn't mind having one of my own someday." Selina squeezed his arm. "You mean that?" "Yeah," he said, turning his head to face her. "With you, of course." Selina blushed. "I ..err. well..." Jared looked at her knowingly. "My place, tonight?" Selina blushed further, eyes widening and looking at the floor. ".... okay." She looked up at him, and let go of him arm, after a final squeeze, then scurried off. To noone in particular, he said, "I love my life." --------------------- Jared of the here and now gripped his sword tighter. "Hey, brat." "Huh?" the sleepy girl said. "Wake up." He reinforced the words with a none-too-gentle nudge from his boot. "I'm waking up... gimme a minute..." Jared sighed, humming to himself. "Hi ho the hunter has come. Fought a demon and won." Angie sat up, crudely brushing her hair with her fingers. "I'm up. What?" Her eyes were haunted, from what, Jared could easily guess. He wondered how she could experience such things and still remain so cheery. "On the hunt once again. It's close. We should reach it by today." Angie nodded in acknowledgement. "This is going to be the last time we meet it," he said coldly. "I'm tired of chasing after this one demon." "Right, so you can get more money off other bounties because you'll only take one job at a time," remarked Angie dryly. "You're learning," commented Jared with a touch of enthusiasm. "Jackass," returned Angie. Jared ignored the last comment, and leaned against a nearby tree. "Whenever you're ready." "I'm ready." She finished up rolling up the sheet, with all her stuff in it. "Good. Let's go." Not waiting for her to respond, he took up a quick pace, walking down the road. -------------------- Sometime later in the day, just when it was starting to get dark, Jared held up a hand. "Very close." He withdrew his sword, and planted it into the ground, pointy end first. The jewel on the pommel was a vibrant blue, occasionally pulsing. Angie frowned, looking at it. Mumbling softly to herself, then uttering the word, 'Gigvnex,' her right hand starts glowing a soft silver. She waved her hand around, before settling on a direction. "That way," she said softly, pointing where her palm had been facing. Jared nodded silently, and retreived his sword. Keeping it out and at the ready, he advanced into the underbrush, Angie following. As they did so, it became unnaturally darker, and areas of shining blackness were seen. They became more frequent as they advanced, until they came across an empty clearing. The reason it was empty didn't appear to be natural, as the entire area was imbued with the shining blackness, and there were occasional half-melted remains that indicated something had been there. In the center was the demon. Intelligent blue eyes, wickedly sharp claws on the hands and feet, and it's skin a shiny inky black. It was hard to see it visually, as the unnatural darkness and the similarly-colored surroundings concealed it quite well. Jared's aura sprung to life instinctively, as he stepped out into the open. "You've been waiting for us," he said flatly. "Yesszzs," said the demon just as flatly. "Isszzz szzszhheee zhzere?" "It dosen't matter. You're going to die here." "Izz saidzzs befzore... Youzz will znotz be thze one to," the demon paused momentarily, "Dzzestroyyy me." "Sure I will. I'm the best. And I'll do anything to win." The demon broke out into a hoarse laugh. "Youzzss wizzlz nozt do what," it said, pausing again, "it takez to deszzstzzroyzz meee." "We'll see." "Szzshhee wwwiilzzzl," it said, pointing one clawed finger at Angie. Jared blinked. So much for him taking the focus of attention to give Angie a clean shot. "Enough talking. Die." That said, Jared walked to the demon, sword out, aura flaring. The demon appeared to vanish as he got close, and he instintively put on a burst of speed to get there, sword lashing out at where it was. It missed, cutting a swath into the ground, gobbling up the darkness imbued within it, and he jumped back, avoiding the clawed hand seeking to tear his face off. "Hera'lo!", cried Angie from her spot, and a plume of silvery flame erupted from her hands, burning away the darkness where it touched it, and counteracting the unnnatural darkness. The demon hissed, shifting it's attention to Angie, blurring to her. Jared took off in pursuit after it, a split second behind. Angie shifted her aim, chanting something quietly. The demon jumped over the silvery flames still erupting from her hands, landing behind her. A motion as fast as quicksilver, a clawed hand to rake across her neck, interupted by Jared slamming into Angie heavily, which in turn slammed her into the demon. Jared gave a feral grin to Angie, ignoring the smell of the silvery flame burning him, landing on his feet where the other two didn't. The demon pushed Angie off, leaping to it's feet, facing Jared. Jared rushed at it, striking heavily with his blade. The demon dodged, throwing itself back and rebounding off the trees, but Jared was expecting that, jumping up and grabbing a leg. "Silventia Harbinger!" cried Angie, recovered. A solid silver beam shot out from one hand, but missed as Jared slammed the demon into the ground heavily, with a solid whump. The impact dented the purifified ground, the demon sinking into it a good foot. Quickly letting go, he spun his sword to get the right angle, and then shoved it forcibly thought the demon's chest, into the ground beneath. A loud, ear piercing shriek was heard from it as it was impaled. Then it stopped. The sword pulsed vibrantly, eagerly lapping up the blackness in thick waves. Jared's eyes widened, as it grabbed the sword by the blade. 'Just like before,' he thought, recalling their last fight. It started lifting it out of the ground. "What the... what the hell are you, demon?" he asked incredously. The demon withdrew it fully, and tossed it aside. "Trazzzpzzed. Nozzts frzzee." It lunged at Jared, swiping at him with both hands. He ducked both swipes, landing a punch to the gut as it passed by. He swiveled around on his heel, blocking another swipe with his armored forearm, still spinning, and landed an elbow to it's face. He didn't intercept the clawed feet raking across his feet and lower legs, though. The pain caushed him to pause long enough for it to land a spin-kick with it's clawed feet, raking across his armored chest. "Jared!" cried Angie suddenly. She let her aura extend, the silvery light of it illuminating the area. The demon clawed Jared's upper arms, then shoved him away, and turned to Angie. "Come and get me, you big ugly thing!" she taunted, her eyes following Jared as he landed heavily on the ground. His legs and arms were bleeding, and so was his chest. She just hoped she'd be enough of a distraction for him to get back up. "Barai!" she cried. The silver burst almost hit the advancing demon, which seemed to dissapear momentarilly right when it was about to hit. "Wha...?" Her pondering on how it had done that was interupted by her frantically dodging a swipe from the demon, rolling between it's legs. "Silventia Harbi-" she started to say, before she had to frantically dodge again. The swipe was followed by a trip, and she fall flat on her back. The demon loomed over her, and she nearly had a heart attack from fright. It leaned down, blood still dripping off it's claws, ever so slowly. Her awareness of it was infinitely high, its breathing, every tiny flex of its muscles, ever minor flux in its aura, the way its tongue moved, and the way its eyes shone. It grabbed her by the throat, strongly, and lifted her up. In her panic-stricken state, she futiley clawed at its hands with hers, trying to break free. And then they were eye to eye. Flashbacks from last time she had locked gazes with it came back, when she had frozen in terror, how she had recognized it. The grip around her throat was stronger now, threatening to break it if it got much stronger. Then it's mouth started to open, it's jaw stretching and widening. It continued to widen, wider and wider, till it was as big as her head. "Frzzreee...." it mumbled in it's hoarse voice. Angie suddenly fell to the ground, the arm that was attached to the hand choking her falling off, severed at the shoulder. "FRRZZRREEEEE!" it hissed, Jared swinging the sword over his head in a overhead strike, cleaving right through it. "Damn fool demon," he said calmly. "Didn't I say I was going to kill you?" Angie sat up slowly, eyes unglossing. She turned her gaze slowly to the arm still attached to her throat, and gently pried it off. She dropped the arm dejectedly, looking at the upper torso of the demon. It was still moving, mewing pitifully. Its tortured eyes reached out for Angie's, and made contact. She could see... finally. The tortured gaze was that of a person, that of her fathers. She suddenly recalled some of the principles behind her spells, of her fathers and grandfathers spells, and realized Jared could never kill it. Her father was a practicioner of the anti-demon magic, before whatever had happened to him. If she guessed right, then a dark force couldn't destroy his essence. It had to be a untainted source from a blood relative. "Jared.... step back, please," she said softly. Her eyes were starting to water, tears forming. Jared looked at Angie curiously. "Sure," he said, complying. Angie took a deep breath. "By the silver light of infinite stars, I call upon the pact of blood to drive away the darkness," she said softly, quietly, intoning each word reverently. "Ingis efferuut jus'ti'shial. Fan'ey, diaten. Lintensen oh farraye, silvent ignis." She paused again, looking at the eyes of the demon through a blur of tears. "Harash'la Exode," she intoned. The word rung true, and a silver orb formed around it. It slowly shrunk, burning away the flesh of the demon where it touched it. The demon started screaming in pain, unable to hold it in. The orb compressed to nothing in two slow, agonizingly long minutes. The demon was screaming the whole time, and Angie's gaze never left it in the slightest. It wasn't out of a morbid curiosity, or making sure it died. It was a gaze of pity and sorrow, meeting the gaze that said it was sorry it couldn't read her bedtime stories anymore, that it couldn't be there for her anymore, that it couldn't tuck her in anymore or make her feel better when she was down. Her gaze continued there, made blurry by freely flowing tears, even after it was gone and no more. "Dad....," she murmered softly. She couldn't recall if she had said it or thought it. 'Dad. Oh, father. How did this happen to you?' "Come on, brat. Let's go. The damned demon's finally dead. More bounties await, more demons exist that must be slain!" Jared earned a vicous kick to his bloodied shin as a result. Jared grinned. The effect was to make him look kind of insane, as he was bleeding all over. "Hi ho, the hunters have come. They fought a demon an' won." Angie grumbled. "Damned masochist." She looked up at the breaking darkness, where moonlight was starting to seep in. The light streamed down, casting a soft glow to her curly black hair and tear-stained face. For a moment, the impact of what she had done threatened to drown her in sorrow, but it passed, holding on to happier memories of her dad and grandpa, reassuring herself that what she had done was for the best. She wiped the face free of tears with the back of one hand, and smiled. "Come on, Jared. Let's go." ----------------------- Jared: Did we -have- to expose my past to the readers? I was perfectly happy forgetting about it. Angie: Aww, but you were cute as a young'un! And hot as a teenager. Jared: Shutup, brat. Angie: We finally got the demon. Jared: Alright! Killed that sonnuvabitch! Angie: ....... I'll kill you. Jared: What?