Secret of the Wastes: Prologue

Prologue
To the City of Kinter



         Serah clutched the bundle of rags to her chest as she trudged through the desert sands. She glanced behind her to see if those monsters were still following her. Thankful that there was nothing there, she continued on her way. She needed to find another living being, she was out of food and water in the middle of a desert, while carrying a baby. At the sound of footsteps behind her she turned around, ready with one of her long knives. A tall fiery haired man in a simple dark red shirt and breeches was running towards her while continuously glancing over his shoulder.
         “Korlifian!” Serah exclaimed excitedly. “Where have you been? Did you find anything?” Serah looked at him expectantly.
         “I’m sorry Serah, I found no extra food or water, but I did find a city.” The man kept on looking over his shoulders as if to make sure that no one was following him. “I want you to go there and leave the baby for someone else to raise.”
         “Why, I thought we could raise him . I don’t what to leave my baby in the hands of someone that I don’t know!” Serah looked completely horrified over the idea of leaving her only child in the hands of a stranger.
         “I’m sorry Serah, but they know you, and they know me, they will kill you to get the baby and through him, manipulate me. However, they don’t know the baby, so he will be safe with strangers.” Korlifian was now trying to look everywhere at once, as if expecting attack.
         “Okay then, where is this city? I will give the baby to someone there.” Serah still looked doubtful, but she would do it.
         Korlifian smiled faintly, that smile did not reach his eyes. “It is about five miles that way.” He pointed East. “Take my food and water, you should reach it today, when I get there I will find you, now go!” Korlifian gently pushed her in the cities direction. He spun around in a circle to see if there was any movement. Serah took the supplies and started running.
         
         Korlifian knew that they were coming, but he had to wait a few minuets before he saw them. The shadowy monsters that were called creatures of the dread were running towards him. They probably hoped to overpower him and force him to surrender and tell them where the baby was. He took the short amount of time it took them to cover the distance between them to draw his hand and a half sword and enter his waiting stance, his feet apart and the sword at a fort five degree angle from the ground and studied his opponents. These creatures were looked like eight feet tall men, they each had a black sword and bright yellow eyes staring out of a face that promised death. It looked like there were thirty of the creatures in that group. The creatures appeared to actually be made of shadows, and they certainly seemed to make the air around them seem darker. Suddenly they split into three different groups of ten, each heading in a different direction in hopes to surround him. As he watched, they surrounded him and started to close in on him.
         Korlifian raised his sword to battle position, the sword was now eye level and parallel to the ground, and marked where his enemies were in his head. Then he flowed from where he stood to the closest one and slashed it in half and stabbed a second through the chest. He easily danced through ten of them before they realized what was happening. They started to fight back, the next one he faced met him head on. He danced with it for a few minuets, at least, until he heard a second one sneaking up on him. He waited until he was sure that the second one was about to attack, then he leapt to one side as the first one cut off the second one’s head as the second one impaled the first. Korlifian turned just in time to block an attack from another creature, they might just overwhelm him. He managed to cut off that one’s head and he resumed his dance, killing the rest with one blow each. He danced his way to the officer of this squad. The officer charged towards him, attacking his chest mostly. Korlifian knew from the start that this duel would not be won, it would be lost. He waited for his opponent to make a fatal mistake, and his patience was awarded. The officer tried to attack him with an overhead attack, Korlifian blocked it using one hand and with the other he drew his short sword hidden in his shirt, and stabbed the officer in the throat. Korlifian made the rounds and made sure that all of them were really dead. When he was satisfied that they were all dead Korlifian started walking in the direction his wife had gone.

         Serah saw the city in the distance, she had made it! She started thinking about what she would ask when she talked to the people about taking care of the baby. As she walked up to the gate she saw the guards, guards normally meant a big city. The city itself was surrounded by a large wall, the gate was guarded by five men, each wearing a breastplate with a raven holding a Kinterland blade in its talons. The breastplates marked them as members of the raven guard, the elite military force of Kinterland, the raven guard’s base was Kinterland’s capital, the city of Kinter. Because the raven guard was here, this city was probably Kinter, the raven guard did not like to guard cities other than their own. The guards let her pass, she wore no visible weapons and she did not look like a criminal. As she walked through the city she stared in amazement, this would be her first time in an actual city. The wide streets were full of people trying to go about their business, wagons rolling slowly through the streets, store owners shouting what they were selling to the crowds, beggars were begging for money, and squads of the raven guard were patrolling the streets. She looked around for a house that seemed likely to take in a baby and treat it as there own. She had to walk through quite a few streets before she found a likely house. She knocked on the door for a while before deciding that they were out. She tried quite a few more houses after that one, one had too many children, one didn’t want any children, one saw her and slammed the door in her face after muttering something about beggars, and the others were empty. After pushing through a lot of people, and through a lot of streets, she found a house with someone in it.
         “Hello.” a short woman said at the door.
         “Hi.” Serah said timidly. “I was wondering if you had room to raise my child, I can’t raise him myself.” Serah prepared herself for another no.
         “I’m sorry dear, but I barely have enough money to support myself.” The woman gave her a sad smile.
         “Ok.”  Serah started to go when the woman grabbed her shoulder.
         “I do know of a school that also works as an orphanage though.” The woman gave her directions to the place.
         “Thank you, thank you thank you thank you!” Serah thrust her hand into her pocket and gave the woman a fistful of coins, then she rushed as fast as someone can rush through those crowded streets.
         “No, thank you!” The woman took another amazed look into her handful of gold and gave a cry of joy.
         Serah found the orphanage where the woman had said it would be. She gave them the baby, saying she couldn’t afford to have a baby right now. Serah squatted in an alleyway, watching the orphanage and waiting for Korlifian. She heard a step behind her, had it been Korlifian he would have announced himself, and spun with both of her long knives ready in her hands. From the dark alleyway five shadowy shapes emerged, each eight feet tall with yellow eyes and black swords, they were the monsters hunting her son.
         “Where is the child?” One of the things asked in a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
         “You can’t have him!” Serah snarled and flung herself at them. She stabbed two of them in the throat. The other three scrambled back, out of her slash range, she threw her knives and impaled two of them, they clawed at the knives that had suddenly in their throats. The last one rushed over and stabbed her in the chest before she could draw another knife.
         
         When Korlifian reached the city later that day he found the dead body of his wife, after asking around about her, and the fast disintegrating bodies of four dread creatures. He left the city in a fury, determined to kill his wife’s murderer, he had a pretty good idea of where to start, dread assassin groups consisted of five creatures.