Ra' van (Book Three of the Items Trilogy)

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  As they waited, one of the men stood up and began walking towards the wagon with supplies. He casually looked around the area. Alex watched as the man looked right past where he and Shade waited in darkness and his heart stopped as the man did a double-take and looked directly at them. They were fully cloaked in darkness, but the man stopped suddenly and continued staring at them.

  The man let out a warning yell and pointed in their direction “Boys! We have company!”

  There wasn’t any way they could have been spotted, but then a yellowish flash caught Alex’s attention. Just like the wary Shadow Fang was spotted by their camp, Shade’s large eyes practically glowed from reflecting the firelight.

  A flurry of activity rose from the camp as they came to the man’s side and saw what he did. Their surprise came to a end as the five weapon’s class warriors raised or drew their items. One had a sling. Three carried bladed items and one held a heavy crossbow.

  Immediately a bolt loosed and would have speared Shade through the eye if not for Alex deflecting it with his forearm. A spark from the bolt's connection to the bracer revealed the attack had been thwarted.

  Sensing they were fully discovered Shade no longer crouched on the ground and stood to his full height and even at the distance between them he could see the men paling at recognition of what they shot at.

  They were used to normal Shadow Fangs, not a seven foot lord.

  Together Shade and Alex stepped towards the thirteen men and all they could witness were the large eyes of a lord's and the firelight glinting of two forearm protectors and a naked sword.

  A whistling came from the man with a sling as he wound the slug in his item in preparation for lunching the projectile while his partner reset the crossbow to fire again. Keeping them at a distance.

  “If you launch your weapon you will be the first to fall.” Alex warned the slinger while walking beside his brother. Ava glided overhead and would intervene only if necessary.

  The slinger stopped, as did any sounds from the other men.

  “Who’s there and how did you come here?” One man with a completely blue trowel voiced.

  “Someone who will tell you to put down your weapons or risk serious injury.”

  “Kill the fool.”

  A whistle came from behind and struck the speaker in the back of his head. His cry was all that halted the attack for the moment. “You heard him, drop the weapons!” Marlin said clearly from the shadows and drew the weighted bobber back to the tip of his russet item, remaining just out of sight.

  The men hesitated for a moment and gasped as Alex’s and Shade’s form became more distinct in the outer reaches of the firelight. Still they approached and strode without fear.

  “Wh… What do you want?” Another person asked with a hint of fear.

  “I will not repeat myself again.”

  Feeling brave, one of the middle aged men let out a primal cry and rushed Alex with an arm’s length sword that forked at the end like a pair of shears. The man wasn’t new to being a swordsman, but revealed himself to be far too rigid in his movements and nowhere near the caliber of many of the warriors he’s faced. Without using any of his inherent item’s abilities at all, Alex parried the blade and when the man was thrown off balance he kicked him in the side of the head. The man fell flat on his back and remained there. All that gave signs he lived was the rise and fall of his chest.

  Act and react is the code of fighting, no matter the scale of the confrontation. As another man with a simple blade threw it unerringly at Alex he didn't count on two possibilities. First that nighttime held zero liability compared to others and secondly that Alex's sword effortlessly flipped and knocked the weapon aside as easily as a fly to a swatter.

  “Anyone else want to try their hand or will you do as commanded?” Alex asked calmly, putting further fear into the others.

  Some remained frozen and indecisive while three fled, but in their fear one younger man wasn’t watching where he fled and it led him in the direction of the open pit. In the darkness a normal person had difficulty seeing, it was no different for the young man.

  One of the older man yelled “SON! STOP!” but already voiced it too late.

  The boy tried jumping, but it was too far to reach the other end safely and they finished placing spikes earlier in the day.

  Seeing the dilemma, Alex flared his body into action and powered his legs to their limit. In a second he reached the pit and jumped. The world seemed slow as he jumped over the young man and just before being impaled by the stakes Alex’s free hand snaked out and grabbed his belt. Using his top speed and momentum to carry them Alex jerked the other person to safety. Upon landing he threw the man effortlessly back to the frozen group, toppling many of them to the ground.

  Shade rounded the other two and forced them back into a group.

  Slowly Alex returned to Shade’s side and carefully observed as the others warily watched his movements.

  As all became silent the boy’s father said “For the life of by boy I’m indebted.”

  “If that is the case then you and all here and your descendants will never poach on these lands again. You are trespassing and I do not take kindly to either of these disturbances. This land has been clearly marked yet you still enter and kill needlessly.”

  “We do not!” The crossbowman yelled. “These lands are uninhabited and we need the fur to warm our families and sell for our livelihood. Who are you to demand we stop?”

  One of the older trappers suddenly asked after looking between the man and Shadow Fang lord “Sir? Are you by any chance Alex of the Blood Mist?”

  “I am.”

  Some gasped while others whispered in growing fear. Eventually the trapper turned to Alex and said “We have heard of your exploits in the battle between Alluan and the Royal Guard during the summer. It is said you are a ruthless warrior who will stop at nothing until you claim all lands for your own. It is also said you give no quarter to anyone who crossed you and always put your enemies to the sword. Some even have said when angered you kill even your own men. Is this true?”

  Stuttering thoughts plagued Alex at this news, but one came out past his lips. “Nay, I'm no tyrant... Who has spread this baseless rumor?”

  “The few Royal Guard stationed in our village.” Then the man saw the doubt and anger filling Alex’s expression. “I mean no disrespect and plead you allow me and my friends to live, but are the rumors true?”

  “Nay!” Alex growled while slamming his sword into its sheath, nearly allowing his rage to take control. “Aye, I have fought against many and killed more than my share, but not for the reasons you stated. It has never been my intention to rule all the lands, only free the land’s from the oppressive government my uncle has established by either force, bribe or coercion. My uncle has distorted the truth of the world and I’m only trying to set it right.” Looking at all the men he saw the doubt in them, but fear still dominated their features. “It doesn’t matter if you believe me, I’m doing this to show everyone there is a better way to live.” Then he looked at the wagon full of dead creatures. “For example you have taken the lives of creatures solely for their fur and left their carcasses to rot. They didn’t have a chance yet you think it a right to take their lives solely because you think yours is more valuable. There are other means to stay warm in the winter, make coins and not take the lives you have.

  “Use cotton or shear a sheep. It might take more effort than skinning a living, breathing creature, but at least they will retain their life.” He then met every eye. “I’m going off topic for my reasons in coming here tonight. From this point onward you will never enter these lands for the sake of hunting and poaching…"

  "Who are you to judge how we live?" A man with a yellow glove demanded, clearly stressed beyond anything he has ever been through before. "We do as we must and the fur from beasts will fetch a reasonable price. None care where they came from as long as they are in good condition."

  One word irked
Alex, beasts. At that he rushed forward and glared down at the middle aged man, startling him at such feats of speed. Grey piercing eyes entranced the man and an insubstantial weight pressed firmly down upon him, forcing submission to this wild man. Dominance clearly saturated the area and not one being moved or could disregard the effect. Beyond the physical, Dominance was the most subtle and profound technique to be had. None could disobey or ever forget his words when this unique air of command comes into being. According to his grandfather, Gerieg said that Alex was the youngest to ever harness the technique at such a young age. He is a prodigy.

  In a cool tone of terror Alex asked the withering man "Do you truly believe your life is worth more than a beasts' as you so kindly call them?"

  "I... I do." He answered honestly because he couldn't fight the weight or lie.

  Alex eased his technique before anyone could faint, in one of his trials to hone the Dominance skill during the voyage some fainted when he focused too hard. Instantly everyone took a shaky breath, but remained stationary. If not for this skill Alex knew the eleven conscious men would try to attack since he stood in their midst. It wasn't a problem for all the skills he had had prepared him for far worse circumstances.

  "Do any of you disagree with what he has said? That your life is better than the creatures who's very skin fills your wagon?" He demanded of the others.

  Not one man could deny, even if they tried.

  This ignorant realization caused Alex to sigh, but not weaken Dominance.

  One sad look from Alex was all that Shade needed to understand. He reared his snout to the sky and howled to all creatures who would listen. In the howls to follow he explained of the unfortunate death and betrayal and asked for any who wished, to come join him in mourning the fate of those at the ignorant hands of these men.

  "What is happening?" A man at the furthest reaches of Alex's dominance mustered enough to ask.

  "I am showing you what you have wrought by becoming trappers. Watch the effect that you created in your ignorance. Predators have a code. Kill only what you need to survive. What you fail to understand is that your deeds make you worthless in the eyes of the world. Watch and understand."

  Bucks and does carefully entered the clearing first, not being as shy as they naturally are. The sincerity in the mourning call was all the animals needed to understand that they would be safe. The older man who's son was rescued from being skewered gasped as he noticed the creatures coming. He pointed them out.

  Next to find their way in was a pack of wolves, numbering six. They didn't even reach Shade's elbow, but their appearance wasn't surprising. Their scent saturated the area. Boar and sows came in at great speeds. Squirrels and other forest creatures also answered the call and came to witness.

  Then from the shadows came the rarest and most surprising guest. A Frox appeared to be a part of those to witnesses. The Frox species were once kin to a fox before the Ancient's gave the Gift. Still a predator, but as the rarest of the documented fiends this Frox stood in equal size to the pureblooded wolf, but still retained a mostly reddish coat with a white chest, alert and pointed ears and its fluffy tail alone was legendarily sought after. What made their race so unique was the fact that they could seemingly disappear before ones very eyes, but from the book Gambit gave to Alex told of how they bend light around themselves to escape and hunt. No one person alive knew of their actual population size because of how well they are at disappearing.

  It was the first time Alex has ever seen a Frox before, but the stories told about this exotic fiend were told many times around a campfire, sometimes they were true sightings but most tales were pure fiction.

  Shade acknowledged the Frox with a rumble from his large chest for coming and was acknowledged by a sly grin.

  While the area continued growing in numbers both large and tiny, predator and prey, fiend and animal alike, a heavy atmosphere grew stronger, keeping everyone from not doing much more than breathe, even that became difficult. During the gathering of woodland creatures Marlin could not hold back any further and came closer. When he felt an odd sensation he and Clift both came to a stop. It was all he could do to take a single back-step before falling under Alex's influence. He looked around and saw that all creatures avoided the area under Alex's Dominance, but the men were clearly unable to do anything except what Alex told them.

  In the course of ten minutes the dark clearing filled with thousands of beings who answered the howls.

  "It is time!" Alex growled to Shade.

  Shade nodded and slowly walked towards the wagon of death and grabbed the pelt of his kind. The Shadow Fang fur pulled free from the wagon and Shade clamped on the fallen warriors prized coat and carried it to the pit. He then parted his teeth and allowed the coat to fall into the hole. A single tear trickled from an eye as he faced everyone, especially the humans, with a look of sorrow, shame and regret.

  Then one of the boar grabbed a coarse coat of an old friend and also deposited it in.

  Soon every present creature had grabbed a comrade and laid their flesh to rest. Silence remained a dominant, lasting effect of the area until the last piece of stolen skins dropped into the pit.

  Without a command of any kind the horde of animals and fiends began covering the trap for all time.

  While the hole quickly filled in by the many Alex asked "Do you believe now just how much misery your actions caused. Life is precious to everything from an ant to a human and to take that away for something as petty as receiving a few coins is horrifying. Life and death live with each of us every day and to kill isn't pleasant and unavoidable, but to poach and kill just to fatten a purse will only tip the scales in destruction."

  "I never knew." The man at the edge said and the despair in his tone made proved that his eyes had been opened.

  Alex smiled grimly, but felt a hint of satisfaction in showing someone what the world looks like through his eyes. "I hope you can now begin to comprehend the pain that you've created. Is this the world you love? Is this what you want your children to see, upset and distraught Beasts?" He said in a derogatory manner. "If this is the legacy you want to leave for future generations we are better off buried like the skin you stole from another being." When no answers were forthcoming he knew the reason and weakened the Dominance to the point for them to speak honestly and remain in place.

  The young man Alex saved was the first to speak, but remained focused on the hole being filled. "I just had a son not long ago, but after all that happened here I know that the family tradition will end."

  "What?" His father asked in an awkward tone, but the son understood.

  "Father, what if we were animals and it were us in their stead? We will find another way to clothe our family and earn a living without needlessly killing." Then the lad turned to the man who saved him. "I won't trap, but should my family be in danger I won't hesitate to defend them."

  "That will not be a problem, but remember this land is no longer allowed for human kind. You have no alternative for no matter how hard you try you men are now incapable of returning here." Then he layered his words with that of Dominance to end this night. "After you see me leave you will all remember me till your deathbed, but will be unable to speak or give any indication to anyone of who I am or where I am at this moment. When I leave you may eat but like before you will not be able to speak of me, not even to each other. You will pack tonight and by dawn I expect you all to return home and tell others that the forest is off limits and should any dare try to disregard this tell them any human caught in these lands have forfeited their lives. Also remember, do not resort to killing for simply a creature's skin. If you hunt, use all of your prey's being."

  Just as the unbreakable laws were placed the pit had been filled.

  "Well gentlemen, I'll be off. Enjoy your lives and that of other beings." With that he canceled Dominance completely.

  With all ended Marlin mounted Clift while Alex did the same for Shade. By the time he was seated Alex noticed the clea
ring was growing silent as the creature's left to return to their lives. Even the Frox had disappeared.

  As Shade disappeared into the cloak of night Alex turned to see the men gathering around the fire sat in silence and their expressions ranged, but they all wished to talk about what had transpired, but the laws prevented them of ever speaking of this memorable experience ever again.

  After a minute into the trees Ava flew overhead and said she'd watch them at a distance and come back when they leave, just to be safe.

  Returning to camp was far from exciting, but at least it was quicker since they didn't have to worry about sneaking up on the others. Shade simply followed his own scent back. It turned out to be a quiet return for everyone, but since Marlin could understand what the men had said it was all too easy to guess why Alex seemed withdrawn, even after succeeding in this endeavor.

  Light from camp was a welcome sight and it wasn't long before they entered the clearing to be met by both Crest and Lily. "Well?" Crest and Lily both asked.

  If not for the previous situation Alex would have laughed because despite the language barrier both females were on the same wavelength.

  Pride seemed to find a hole in Alex and had left him empty. He simply dismounted, found a tall tree and climbed it to the highest branch that could support his weight. For a time silence was all that followed the strange behavior.

  "Lily," Marlin eventually gained her attention. "it would be best if I tell everyone at one time what happened."

  She nodded once and cast one more glance at her husband.

  Marlin noticed that the campfire had been moved closer to the large and oblivious lump of fur, Crush. The unconscious fiend lord remained blissfully unaware to the return of the four, but Leera remained by his side and looked more relieved than earlier. Marlin guessed it was that her mate received the best treatment. Niranene and Krum both remained a discrete distance from the pair, but close enough should there be a complication. Jakz quietly tended the fire and offered Marlin and Shade a plate of roasted tubers that he said Leera was kind enough to show where a patch grew.