"Heero!"

The sword stopped in mid-swing; the ghostly apparition beneath it shuddered and vanished.

"Heero, what are you doing?" The old man shuffled into the courtyard of the house, squinting through his strange eyeglasses. His cane clunked dully against the pavement stones and the right sleeve of his coat fell limp where his missing arm had been.

The young man wielding the sword stood up straight to face his mentor. His shock-blue eyes glared silently but accusingly at the old man. "Master J."

"Oh, scared away your conjured sword partner, have I?" he half laughed in a raspy voice. "Well, those spells are fragile, you can’t expect them to last very long."

Heero continued to stare at him.

Master J ignored the glare, undisturbed by it, and turned again to the cool inner shadows of the house. "Come with me, Heero, I want to show you something."

Heero followed after his mentor, still holding the sword, through the colonnade and then into a dark room littered with boxes and shelves of books.

"I’ve been having visions again," the old man said. Heero followed him and stood respectfully as he shifted through a stack of books.

"Not good," Master J muttered, still shifting through the volumes. "I just hope that – oh, here it is."

He lifted up a thin blue-bound journal for Heero to see. "This is how I channel my visions," he said. He shuffled and thumped his way over to a desk that rose out of the clutter, and laid the book upon the aged wood, open to a blank page. Sitting down in a rickety chair before it, he picked up a quill and dipped it in an ink well before him. Looking up at Heero, he said, "Watch carefully."

Heero laid his sword down on top of a pile of books and peered intently over the old man’s shoulder at the empty page. Master J closed his eyes, and slowly, just noticeably, the quill in his hang began to quiver. The old man’s lips moved in some silent incantation, and then the quill jumped to life and lines began coming together on the page. Heero studied the sketch as the pen jerked across the paper. Two men. One slightly taller than the other, composed, military uniform. The other with a long coat, long hair, and a strange mask covering his face….

Then the pen jerked in long strokes from the top of the page to the bottom, and over the drawing of the two men a sword began to take shape, with a strange horned hilt.

Finally Master J stopped and let the pen drop from his fingers. He sat with his eyes closed for a moment, and Heero waited respectfully. Finally the old man opened his eyes and studied the page in front of him.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Well, this much I expected."

He stood slowly, taking his cane in his hand, and faced Heero. He glanced at the sword Heero had put down on top of the pile of books, then began moving slowly past him. "I have something to give you now."

The old man moved to a corner of the room where a long wooden box had been leaned against the wall. He motioned to it with his cane. "I have been keeping this here because I knew you would be needing it soon." He waved his cane at it. "Open it."

Heero knelt beside the box, laying it flat on the dusty floorboards, and lifted off the top. Inside was a black cloth, and when Heero removed this, he saw a long, wide-bladed sword, the blood channels carved into its blade leafed in gold and the hilt braided in dark leather straps, with strange horned metal pieces on the ends of the crosshilt.

"You must begin practicing with this," Master J said. "That crude weapon you have been using is not befitting a young warrior-apprentice such as yourself."

Heero looked at the other blade, dull and unadorned. "It was my father’s."

"Yes, and a fine weapon it is," said Master J. "But this is the sword for you."

"What is it called?"

Master J looked at the beautiful weapon with a glint of pride in his eyes. "It is called Epyon of Ironblood. It is the weapon of our clan, and now it is yours. But beware, you must be strong to use it. The magic inside of it is strange and ancient, and sometimes, if its master is not careful, it can control the hand of the one who wields it."

Heero lifted the sword from the box and swung it a few times, around his head, then thrust it into the air in front of him. The dust particles floating in shafts of sunlight parted and swirled as the glimmering blade passed through them. "It is heavy," said Heero.

"You will be able to use it," Master J answered. "I have never known a challenge that you did not rise to meet bravely and strongly."

Heero put the sword down in the box again. "And what is this test you speak of? Why have you need to give me this now?" He looked to the journal, still lying open on the desk. "And who are those two men in your vision?"

Master J nodded seriously. "So many questions, but they can all be answered simply." He paused. "The Book of Meteors."

Heero looked at his mentor. "They have found the Book of Meteors?"

Master J nodded. "Yes. I do not know where they could have found it, it has been missing for nearly a hundred years, but that is the only explanation for what I have seen in my visions." He shook his head. "You know that once they have the book…."

"They can enter the minds and hearts of the people," Heero finished. He looked up. "What do they plan to use it for?"

"To weaken the people, I assume," Master J answered. "They could make the people their slaves, or their soldiers, or simply kill them all, but I do not know what their ultimate goal is, so I cannot tell which spell they are going to use."

Heero’s eyes were stony. "When you say ‘them’…."

"I mean those two men," he answered. "The one with the mask is obviously a magician of the black arts; he must be the one who deciphered the book. And the other is a military commander, so there is definitely fighting ahead."

Heero grunted. "What do you plan to do?"

"I have already summoned the other Four and their apprentices," Master J said. He turned away and began shuffling back towards the sunlight of the courtyard. "I have a vague plan in mind, but I will wait until the others arrive before explaining the quest to you." He paused in the doorway. "In the meantime, I suggest you re-summon your sword partner and practice with the Epyon."

He shuffled out into the sunlight, leaving Heero standing alone in the dusty shadows, looking down at the shining blade in the box.

Heero’s eyes opened. Squinting through the darkness, he could make out the figure of Master J making his way slowly to Heero’s bed, his cane clunking heavily on the wood floor. Heero sat up, and Master J stopped.

"Heero, come quickly, they’ve arrived sooner than I expected."

"Who?" Heero was already climbing out of his bed. "The other Four?"

"No, the ones from my vision, they’re coming quickly…."

"What about the townspeople?"

"They’re leaving. Do you have the sword?"

Heero grunted and went to get the box from the corner of the room.

"Leave the box," Master J said urgently. "Take the sword and hurry."

"But the house–"

"We can’t stay here, there are more important things we must see to. Quickly now…."

Heero followed after the old man, and the two figures made their way slowly out of the house and into the open field that surrounded the village. Rustling through the grass behind his mentor, Heero raised the sword to watch it glint in the moonlight. He could indeed feel the powerful magic Master J had spoken of emanating from the pristine blade. He swung the sword at the tall grass around him; it sang and hissed through the air and the tops of the dry shafts fluttered silently to the ground.

When they reached the woods at the edge of the field, Master J pointed through the trees. "I’ve sent the men to wait over there. The women and children are farther back in the trees, and if any of the attackers find their way over here, you and the others need to stop them. Understood?"

Heero nodded shortly and dashed off into the trees. He sprinted like a wild creature, the moonlight fairly lancing off his skin as he darted between the trees, through the silent spaces between shadows, a silent shadow himself. Finally he reached the edge of the woods where the men had gathered, and they all looked up and raised their swords at his approach.

"Heero," one of them sighed.

Heero crept in among them and squatted, watching the village across the silvery field. The sky was cloudless, and every star shone down upon the silent scene. Heero tilted the blade of his sword so that the tiny points were reflected in its shimmering surface, and for a moment let himself fall into that dark void of blackness; his senses spread out across the surface of the Earth and he was searching… searching….

"They’re here," he whispered. The men around him glanced at him, but a few seconds later their attentions were turned elsewhere. Shouts began rising from the village, echoing cries of confusion and frustration as the raiding party discovered that the people of the village were gone. Not long after a blazing light sprung up among the thatched roofs – the houses had been torched.

The men squatted in the dust and watched, wide-eyed and silent, as their homes were swept away in a furry of crimson walls of fire. The dry houses fell quickly to the flames, and the attackers’ shouts seemed to rally the blaze on to greater destruction. It was not long before the angry redness shrank to a sickly glow in the embers of the ravaged town.

Dark shadows began to emerge now, crawling out of the darkness left by the flames like demons from some fiery pit, large, rolling shapes. The men held their breaths as the figures moved away from the village, out into the field. Heero squinted deeper into the heavy darkness and saw that the figures were men on horseback, but laden with many stolen goods from the town.

One of the men hissed beside Heero. "Thieving dogs…."

Suddenly the men’s attention was diverted from their destroyed town to one lone figure, which was lurching away from the others. He held something aloft in one hand and laughing loudly. One of the other figures called after him, sarcastically asking him if he’d found more houses.

"He’s drunk," one of the townsmen said. The drunken rider lurched closer, tugging his reins from side to side, confusing his mount.

Heero dug his heels into the dirt and gripped the hilt of his sword. "Leave him to me."

The men looked at him. "We all can surely take him together," one said. "Let us help–"

"You’ll make too much noise," Heero said. "Go warn the women and children. Leave him to me."

"But–"

"Leave him to me." Heero looked at them, and they saw the razor steel reflected in his ice-blue eyes. Slowly they nodded and moved off, stealthily, into the woods.

When they had gone, Heero lowered his head and closed his eyes. Slowly, the senses came, he could feel movement… a grasshopper, a field mouse at his feet… closer….

The drunken man pulled on his reins, and his horse snorted in protest.

Twigs snapped as the drunk came to edge of the trees….

The blade sliced upward through the moonlight and stopped, dripping, glinting in the darkness. The body slid to the ground with a small thud and a rustle of leaves.

All was silence once more. But before Heero could calm the beast, the horse reared up in alarm and galloped away, back into the field.

Heero cursed softly under his breath as the departing figures turned, startled to see the lone mount without its rider. They beckoned to each other, turned to the woods, and rode in with swords drawn.

Heero cursed again and dug his heels into the dirt. He raised the blade to the side of his head, sighting along the metal edge at the approaching riders. He would take that one first, then that one…. There were too many. He would fight as hard as he knew how – but he doubted this was the death Master J had in mind for him….

One rider wheeled, waved his sword arm at his comrades, shouting them forward… and then his horse was suddenly riding, barebacked, and shying away from the woods. Heero raised his head. What…?

Then another rider was down, and his horse wheeling and whinnying in surprise.

Heero stood up. There were about a score of men left in the field; they slowed their horses, looking around. The one closest to Heero gave a sudden choked cry and toppled from his horse.

Heero jerked his head up. There was a presence there, someone had materialized in front of him. Although he strained his eyes to see the man, he could only make out the edges of the figure before him. He leapt to his feet, sword raised to defend against the stranger. The figure did not move, though, and Heero peered into the darkness, trying to judge his strength. Not much larger than himself, it seemed. His sword didn’t appear to be drawn….

"Hey, Heero, long time no see! Thought you could use some help with those guys."

Heero sighed and lowered his sword. The dark figure stepped forward and became lighter. Heero saw his long braided hair moving in the light wind, and his dark robes, a strange, deep-hued material, hung to his ankles.

"Duo," Heero addressed his fellow apprentice. He nodded over the other boy’s shoulder. "They’ve spotted us."

"No problem," said Duo, turning. Heero saw that his sword wasn’t drawn. In fact, he didn’t seem to have a sword at all.

"Duo, where’s your weapon?"

"Forget the weapon!" Duo replied, spreading his feet in anticipation of the approaching figures. "Watch and learn."

As the first rider drew close, sword raised and mouth open in a battle cry, Duo raised both of his hands, palms outward, towards him. Suddenly, the young apprentice was gone, disappearing back into the darkness, and Heero could barely sense the other boy’s movements. Before he could even pinpoint Duo’s exact location, the rider gave a loud oof and fell from his horse onto the ground. The frightened animal galloped away. The other riders, confused, stopped in their tracks and stared at the fallen man.

Duo reappeared by Heero’s side, grinning. "Now that’s how you take someone down," he said.

"I’ll stick to the sword," said Heero. Duo laughed. Heero looked at him. "What kind of spell was that?"

"Well," Duo said, smiling that Heero had taken an interest in his trick, "The disappearing’s not so hard, it’s just a matter of camouflage." He shook his arm, and Heero watched as the strange fabric of the robe glistened and seemed to disappear in the moonlight. Duo continued, "But knocking the rider from his horse? A simple blast spell will do that just fine."

Heero almost smiled. Then he said, "How are we going to take the rest? There are too many."

"Not a problem," Duo said, and putting two fingers in his mouth, he whistled loudly; the sound echoed off the trees and into the night.

Suddenly Heero was aware of a rustling sound around him; he felt new presences approaching.

"What’s that?" he asked.

"Backup," Duo answered.

As Heero stared into the darkness, three figures detached themselves from the shadows and moved closer. He recognized them quickly. The first, a tall, slender figure, long brown bangs obscuring his face; the second, of moderate height, with pale blond hair and a pair of soft turquoise eyes; and the last, dark hair pulled back behind his head, a grim expression on his face.

"Trowa, Quatre, Wufei." Heero nodded to the three magicians, and they nodded back; there was no time for elaborate greetings now, for the riders were on the move again.

"Do you think we can take ‘em?" Duo asked, the smile apparent in his voice even as he disappeared into the black night.

"Of course," Quatre replied, and then the riders were upon them.

The first attacker screamed and fell from his mount before he even reached the second tree, but the next was close behind him, and Duo was not fast enough to catch him. "Heero!" the magician’s voice echoed from the shadows.

The rider opened his mouth in a cry as he came at Heero, leaning over the side of his horse with his sword poised for a deadly sweep. Heero braced his feet firmly apart, ready to meet the oncoming rider, but an instant before they clashed, the man on the horse grabbed at his chest with a gurgling sound and toppled to the ground. Heero stared down at the arrow embedded in the man’s back, and then looked at Quatre, whose bow was still raised from the shot.

"Thanks," Heero called as he raised his sword again and ran to meet the next rider. The man had seen his companions fall from Duo’s invisible blows, and was afraid to enter the woods. He hesitated just a moment at the edge of the trees, but that small pause was all Heero needed. The dead form of the man slouched over his horse’s neck, and the animal turned and ran in panic, the body still in its saddle. The oncoming horses stopped their approach at the sight of the panicking animal, but their riders urged them forward, and soon the remaining dozen or so were bearing down upon the five magicians.

Heero suddenly became aware of a voice behind him, and turning, he saw Wufei, his hands pressed tightly together, his eyes closed and head down, muttering a spell under his breath. The words stopped, and he stood silently for a moment. Then he suddenly raised his head and said, "Move, Heero."

Heero dove out of the path of the spell just as it was released from Wufei’s hands. The powerful sweeping light flashed forward and half of the approaching men toppled from their horses, their bodies smoking. The ones who had avoided the blast stopped short for a second, and soon two more had been knocked from their horses. Duo’s voice called out of thin air, "Great, Wufei, but next time, warn me when you’re gonna do something like that! You almost fried my butt!"

A rustling sound in the branches at the edge of the woods made Heero look up. A few leaves fell to the ground as something moved among them. As the next two riders entered the trees, a slim figure dropped down through the branches, sword flashing, and landed with one foot on each horse. Trowa did a flip through the air and landed on the ground as the horses turned and dashed away.

Heero looked out into the field and saw that there were only three horsemen left, bearing down on them. It suddenly occurred to him to wonder why they kept coming and didn’t try to escape with their lives. He remembered Master J’s voice: the Book of Meteors. Even as Heero watched, two of them fell, one to Duo’s silent blast spell, the other to one of Quatre’s arrows. Someone was controlling them. Those two men from the visions….

Heero suddenly realized that the one remaining man was still coming towards him, closing in quickly. Heero raised his sword to meet him, but as the man raised his own weapon, a twinge of dread tugged at Heero’s stomach. He was using a bow and arrow, and was aiming straight for Heero’s heart.

He drew back his arm; the bowstring went taut–

There was a cry from behind Heero, a flash of light, and then the rider was on the ground, his horse wheeling from the spell.

Heero turned. Behind him in the shadows were five new figures. He recognized the one in the middle as Master J.

"We thought you could use some help," Master J said, sounding slightly amused with himself. "But it seems you’ve done quite a fine job on your own."

The other four apprentices moved forward out of the shadows to greet their masters.

"The Book of Meteors? Where could they have found it?"

Master J shook his head at Quatre. "I do not know, but now I am certain they must have it. Those men… they were being forced to ride to their deaths."

The figures around the campfire lowered their heads. The fire leaped and spit sparks towards the sky, as though trying to burn the stars. Heero looked away from the circle of magicians to the other side of the camp. The refugees from the village were sitting together, quietly, around their own fires. He heard a child crying; she was hungry.

"You will leave first thing in the morning," Master J was saying. "It is imperative that you travel as quickly and as quietly as you can; you must not be caught."

"Where are we going?" asked Quatre.

"Very far way," answered Master H, Quatre’s instructor. "All the way to the far colonies."

"The colonies?" repeated Duo. "What could possibly be there that could help us?"

Master J lowered his head in reverence. "The only person who can help us."

Quatre’s eyes widened. "Do you mean–?"

"Yes." Master J looked around at the faces in the firelight. "The queen of all the spirits, Queen Relena."

All was silent for a moment, then Heero said, "But she lives in the spirit realm. How could she help us?"

"The entrance to the spirit realm is in the far colonies, in the mountains," replied Master J. "There are no maps to mark the entrance, so you will have to find it on you own; we can only point you in the right direction."

"How are we supposed to find it on our own?" put in Duo angrily. "Are we supposed to wander around in the mountains looking for it while these… well, whoever they are, destroy the countryside?"

"The fairies can help you," Master J said. "They will know where to find the entrance. But you must hurry. Queen Relena is the most powerful of all the guardians of this world, and she will have the compassion to help us."

Heero nodded. "We will leave at sunrise."

Master J nodded. "Good." He turned to Heero. "You must take good care of the sword, Heero. It’s magic is strong, but it must be guarded carefully."

"I will," replied Heero. He looked over at the huddled refugees. "You will take care of them?"

"Of course we will," said Master J. "Now get some rest, all of you. The sun rises in a few hours, and you have a long, hard journey ahead of you."

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Ironblood

Next Time: When Zechs discovers the magicians’ quest, he is ordered by Treize to do something about it. And Heero isn’t protecting Epyon of Ironblood as well as he should be….