Incidental Padding

A year had passed since Askarus and Sallos had crossed swords.  The wounds of many battles had healed, and Askarus finally felt at peace.  Sitting upon the soft grass which overlooked the fields of wheat below, Askarus slowly smoked his pipe as his wife Cyress skipped around in the fields.  This past year with her had been like none other, and Askarus felt a chill run up his back as he thought of her

Cyress was a beautiful gypsy; her dark hair reflected the sunshine as she ran through the fields.  Her eyes were deep and pacific, as if all the answers to the mysteries of this life were somehow locked away behind them. This woman had done something nobody else had.  She had found the one weakness of Askarus, the protector of mankind.  Cyress had been the only person Askarus has let his guard down for.  Only she could rest her hands upon him, and not feel the strain of muscles, ready to pounce.  This woman was like no other, she was his true love.

Over the mountains, far and wide,

Over the river and the tide,

Through the valleys and through the shire,

Ever onward towards home.

Many a sight I there did see,

Rare be the person believing me.

Dragons of fire, goblins flesh and bone,

Men and elves feasting on their thrones.

Wonderful laddies did I there meet,

Charming of words and light of feet,

No match for looks in all the dell.

Why can't I find lads that good here, as well?

The days had been growing darker around Lenore.  Askarus was sitting on Cyress's roof smoking a pipe full of tobacco, easing his nerves.  As he laid his head back against the hay roof, his mind wandered to another time and place.  Askarus found himself in a giant wheat field stretching for miles.  Across the field, Askarus could see two figures walking on top of the wheat as if floating.  Moving closer and gripping his katana, Askarus noticed that the two were his parents, now long dead.  Creeping toward them, Askarus spoke softly.

"I'm dreaming..." he said to them as they continued to stare off into the sky.  "What does all this mean?"   Suddenly, Askarus's father began to speak, but not in his voice.  It was the voice of the old man. 

"You are not dreaming protector.  This is the fields of AlDur in which you must find that which you will need most to defeat Lord Salos and end the war."  Askarus looked around as the wheat began to rustle.  His parents disappeared as Askarus spun around, swinging his sword low to the ground.  From under the wheat, a series of animal screams echoed in his ears as four dog sized spiders cracked open and died at his feet.

It was late December and Askarus lay in a deep sleep.  Several months had passed since the war with the hates, and Askarus had constructed crude shelter and a small harvest deep in the woods near the village of Lenore.  He had been working odd jobs for the people of the village, earning a bit of money to repair his armor and blades.  But each night he would lie awake thinking about the woman named Cyress, the gypsy that he had encountered the day of his arrival.  She was beautiful; the deepest eyes, an enchanting smile and the most amazing body.  Nothing could take his mind off of her as she haunted his dreams each and every night.

On this particular evening, Askarus was ripped out of his deep slumber to a blinding flash.  When the light dimmed, Askarus found himself in The Corridoio dei guerrieri, wrapped in his sheets on the floor of the great hall.  From behind him, the old man appeared, startling Askarus as he spoke;

"My son, the time has come once again for you to help those who need it most."

On the way back from Grantchester,
I had much to think about,
With the road winding on before me,
Ruts worn into the countryside
By countless wagons and other travelers having passed
Through this same, dreary grey landscape,
The evening settling down about me, around me,
Like the cloak draped over my shoulders
That hides the world from me-that I
Don't know exists save for seeing it-

I was standing under the tree alone, watching the ground shake as though it was inside a child's plaything. Pebbles rattled against the drought-blasted soil, and I smiled to see the pale shoots wither and turn brown before me. Leaves came down in great clots like hail, and I remained there, dying slowly on the inside, as the tree died on the outside, so much faster...

In the beginning there was no hate, only happiness.  Each family raised their children well and there was no sorrow or suffering.  This was the way for hundreds of years, but there can be no good without evil, even if that evil has not yet shown itself. 

Jersola was a small time merchant in the town of Gubio.  He didn’t make much, but his family got by.  His only child, Askarus was but nine years old at this time.  He was young, energetic and eager to explore the world around him.  Jersola knew that Gubio was safe, but nobody, including him knew what kind of evil lurked in the shadows. 

Reigha sat in the utter darkness waiting for the faintest movement. She had been posted outside the noblewoman’s mansion for three nights now. Thus far she had been undetected, even by the mages. She was lucky enough that she naturally blended with the environment. Her physical attributes had nothing to do with it. Her pale skin and ice blue eyes would have given her away almost immediately in her dark surroundings if there weren’t something special about her.

A wicked wind blows through the lands,

Hatred peers onto the plains.

The sky despairs with the sights it bears,

And dark clouds cannot cover the shame.