Summer, 28th, Year 503 While everyone settled in to their evening rituals around the house, closing front doors, bringing in the last goods from a stall or preparing for dinner, Ereck was busy doing something completely different. For him, evening rituals meant waking up, pretending to shave and getting ready for work. He had checked up on his father first, making sure he was asleep and well. While his father had no memory of his son or himself, it seemed that day and night and awake and sleep did still work for him and he went to bed every night and remained their until the sun came up the next morning. While he prepared himself for work, sticking his arms through the sleeves of his black shirt and pulling it over his head. He tied the rope around his waist that doubled as his belt and the scabbard for his weapon, making sure his pants wouldn't slip down to his knees on the way to work. The black haired young man leaned over the single chest in the entire house and opened the lid slowly, carefully, almost as if whatever lied within could jump out and attack him. With a flickering glint in his eyes, Ereck reached for the weapon he had gotten from his father. The handle was bound with leather strips to ease the grip. The blade was sharpened just last night. The weight was polished. The individual links in the chain had been oiled, which had cost the young man a fortune to get. He stuck the sickle in his rope-belt and wrapped the long chain around his waist and finished with hooking the weight behind the chain. He had arrived on time at the place of work, slightly early even, as people were still working to load everything into the building. It was owned by a group of merchants who kept their goods in the location together and paid for the guards together. From what Ereck could see from the outside it looked like the building was divided into four compartments, loosely split up by wooden boards between them. The merchants must have trusted each other quite a bit for them to accept such an arrangement. While he waited for them to finish, the other night guard swaggered around the corner deeper down the street and made his way over. It was clear from his swaying course that he was drunk again. For a month now, Ereck had been working with the same man, guarding the same building. While at first it had been hard to stay awake in the deeper parts of the night, his partner had had no trouble with the job. He came in tipsy or drunk, never sober, sat himself in the single box that was placed outside the front door, put his boots on the edge of the glassless window, leaned his chair back and started snoring soon after. Ereck had not wanted that for himself and he had done his best to stay awake and patrol, actually guarding the place. Neither of them had a key to go inside but they guarded the area around the building and the low wall surrounding the building. Between the building and the wall was enough space for a man to walk through with his arms outstretched. The building and wall both were, like most locations in Sunberth, made out of wood and provided only the basic shelter for whatever was inside them. The structure was sound enough and wouldn't topple down with a kick. Neither were there any access points besides the two warehouse doors in front, which could be rolled aside. Now they were anchored down and chained together. The padlock on the chain was quite impressive in size, almost the same as Ereck's outstretched hand. All in all, the whole thing looked like a good target for dedicated thieves. Ereck was surprised by the fact that they hadn't even seen a thief around the building in the season since he got the job. While it would make others proud, Ereck was smart enough to know that it was neither because of his battle prowess nor his intimidating looks that the thieves had left them alone for so long. The merchants probably paid money to several gangs operating around the area, keeping their goods safe with money. The guards were only there for the occasional stray thief. The key in the padlock turned and the merchant pulled on the lock, testing it's effectiveness. Seemingly happy with everything, the merchant walked over to the young guard and greeted him politely. Ereck nodded towards him before the man passed him by on the way home. Evening rituals. Ereck's partner walked towards the guard box near the door and almost ran into it as his drunken gait headed him straight for it. He mumbled to the box, talking to it or even cursing it out, Ereck didn't care. Finally he managed to get into the box and sit down on the chair, barely minutes before his snoring started. Ereck pushed himself off from the wooden wall he had been leaning against opposite the front doors of the warehouse and uncrossed his arms, letting them hang down his sides as he crossed the road. He ignored the guard's box and turned left. As he turned the corner, Ereck started unwinding the chain of his weapon and wielded the hand scythe as his father had taught him all those years ago. The thought still brought a lump to the young man's throat. His father had shown him for the first time when he had been very young, explaining the parts of the weapon and showing off with it. At the time, Ereck had been very impressed by his father's skill. While he had the basics under control of the weapon, he still had not caught up to his father in the ten years he had been practicing now. With the scythe in his left hand, holding the weapon in reverse, Ereck finished the corner and peered down the length to the next corner. Between the house and the wall, the space seemed darker than the rest to the young man. He uncoiled the chain and held it near the weight. The rest of the chain moved from his hand around his back to the end of the scythe. He started moving his right hand, spinning the weight in small circles as he let more of the chain slip through his fingers, one loop at a time. The spinning of the weight pulled the chain through his fingers more and more until he gripped down on the chain, leaving about an arm length of chain between his fingers and the weight. By now the weight was making whirring sounds through the night air as it cut over and over again through the air. The sound settled the young man's nerves. Darkness was nobody's friend and Ereck felt comforted by the sound of the chain as it spun around in his hand. He crossed the length to the next corner through the dark, seeing nothing suspicious. On his way over he flexed his fingers around the leatherbound grip of the hand scythe. He weighed the weapon in his hand, finding the weight almost as comfortable as the whirring of the chain and weight. Behind the building a single candle inside a lantern flickered and provided light. This was Ereck's post officially. No box, nothing to protect him from wind nor rain and nothing to do. In the light of the candle, Ereck held the scythe up and inspected it. Holding the scythe still in reverse he lifted his hand above his head. The scythe stuck out downward out of his hand. A few rounds of leather strips could be seen below his hand and then the steel of the weapon started. Straight down for more than the young man's forearm length, probably as long as his father's forearm, the steel stuck out, smooth, round and reflecting the flickering candle light. He turned his hand downward, lifting the hand scythe upwards before tilting his hand so that the scythe was almost parallel to his own arm. The point where the neck of the weapon made the hook was past his elbow but once again Ereck was sure that it would be almost right on his father's elbow. From there the weapon made a hook of about 45 degrees away from the potential enemy, creating a gap for catching weapons. And then from the hook started the actual blade of the scythe which was about Ereck's own forearm in length. All in all, the weapon had been impressive when the boy had first seen it and it still kept its mysterious draw on the young man. He tightened his grip on the weapon and made a quick slash towards the air in front of him. His fist traveled a little up and across, almost to his right shoulder, as the blade cut through the air, taking an arm and a head from his airy opponent. While his father had shown him mostly normal wielded strikes and blocks, Ereck had found that the reverse grip on the weapon felt more natural to him and had practiced with it ever since his father had succumbed to his disease. He had create a style all on his own, basing it entirely on what his father had taught him. Every bit of advice he remembered, every trick, every tip he had used and implemented. He had swung the scythe a hundred times as day, thrown the weight a hundred times a day and used the chain a hundred times a day to wrap around tree branches or wooden planks from a distance, pulling them to him. And now he found himself rather capable with the weapon. He knew that a lot of people would easily beat him in a fight even with his skills but there was a point where cutting air just doesn't do it anymore. Ereck hadn't yet used the blade in a real fight. The one time before that he had drawn it to fight off an intruder in his own home, the thief had turned and run at the sight of him awake at night. His father had slept peacefully through it all. Ereck grinned at the air in front of him as he slashed again, cutting through an invisible throat. After some pacing back and forth, from corner to corner, the young man headed to his right and turned the corner there, making his way once again through the darkness to the front of the warehouse. The weight and chain whirred through the night as he walked, scythe in hand. He peeked in the box and saw his partner fast asleep, head dropping down and drool moving from the corner of his mouth to his chin. Ereck put the hand scythe in the box and tipped softly against the drunk's noise. He grumbled and waved one hand before going back to sleep. Ereck shook his head and turned away from the box, letting his eyes scan over the street. Night had fallen completely and the streets were empty aside from a drunk or two staggering home. Only to a Sunberthian they were not. In the different alleys shapes were moving and on the streets drunkards were not drunk but staking out locations to loot. With one guard asleep in his box, Ereck remained out front for a while, pacing back and forth, spinning his weight and chain. The whirring sound kept him company in the night, where others slept or planned in secret, while he guarded goods that belonged to others. The shapes faded away and the drunks staggered on through the street. The place was sufficiently guarded for them to give up, for now at least. Everyone knew guards were weakest near dawn and that striking then was preferable. For normal people, of which Ereck was not a part, night was the shortest moment of their lives. They went to bed, closed their eyes and when they opened them again the next day had begun already and night was over. They had not the problem of trying to battle against the natural commands of the body. Ereck on the other hand could feel it starting already. It was earlier than usual. He blinked his eyes trying to unblur his sight. He opened his eyes wide as he stifled a yawn. The wood against his back felt nice and the flickering light of the torch drew only made it worse. The shadows danced in front of him, creating a play of their movements, hypnotizing the young man and drawing him deeper into sleep. The moment his chin touched against his chest, Ereck knew it was time to do something about it. He jerked upright from the wall and started walking around the building once again. It was already much later now, past midnight, and Sunberth had quieted down considerably. Even thieves were sleeping now, except the hardcore ones. They were working just as hard as Ereck now. He shook his head strongly and started swinging his arms back and forth. He had to try and stay awake, fight off the sleep with movement. There was nobody to talk to to help him stay awake either, as his partner continued to snore on. Jerk. Ereck kicked the guard box, which did nothing but hurt his toes. The next best thing to social contact, Ereck had discovered, was physical exercise. It helped his heart to beat and pumped his blood, waking his body up again. He let his eyes shift lazily over the wall surrounding the building. Almost completely open at the front, the wall only blocked off three sides of the building. And the wall was good practice. Ereck walked to where the wall started and put his fingers on the top of it and hoisted himself up. The wall itself was about a thumb thick, nothing more than wood planks supported by a few thicker bars at random intervals. His knees shaking, his arms waving about trying to keep him steady, Ereck balanced himself on the wall. The first few steps were always difficult, putting the body into motion on such a thin edge was never easy, but once he got going, things always became easy. Ereck moved his right foot up, using both arms to balance himself. He swayed left and right, his hands moving up and down to counter balance himself. The tip of his right foot brushed past the side of the wall, making sure he didn't step into nothingness. He placed his foot ahead and drew up his left foot, once again tracing the side of the wall with the tip of his boot. Step by step, Ereck moved along the wall. Sleep had long vanished from his mind. Step after step, Ereck moved along the wall. Once he got into the motion it became easier and his concentration lowered, leaving more chance to look around and scout. The darkness was black and empty on both sides of the wall, the flickering of the torch coming from around the next corner. Coated in darkness, Ereck found himself relaxed, even somewhat peaceful as ridiculous as such a feeling was in Sunberth. He continued to walk along on top of the wall. As he reached the flickering light of the torch, he took a far step on the wall and jumped off. As he sailed through the air he pulled his knees up to his chin, giving him more air time. He sailed almost a third the width of the house before he had to stretch out his legs, landing firmly on the ground. The moment he touched, Ereck leaned forward and his momentum took him down to the ground. He tucked his head in and tried his best to broaden his shoulders as they touched the ground, rolling over into his back and further down. The young man rolled through the dirt and ended up on the floor. He smiled at the open sky above him before he pushed himself up on his feet and dusted off. His mind was awake again, his stomach still tingling with the flash of weightlessness. The sleep defeated for now, Ereck went once more for the chain of his weapon. The whizzing of the chain past his ear started quick enough as he moved his right hand in tiny circles. It was amazing how the small movement of his hand could create the large circle the chain formed with its movements. In the dead of night, with nobody company but himself, Ereck started to play around with his weapon. He always kept a serious face in front of others but now, with everyone asleep and nobody to see him in his little guard post between the wall and the house, Ereck let himself go. He spun the weight around faster and faster, the whirring becoming louder and louder in his ears. A grin set on his lips as he leaned away from the spinning weight to his right as the muscles in his arm and wrist tensed under the exertion. As the wielder of the chain and weight, he could sort of detect where the weight was at any given time and, as he slowed down some, he started focusing on it. Up, down, up, down. The moment the weight passed by his feet he jerked his right hand across to his left side, the chain following and pulling the weight with it. For a moment he held his breath, ready to get knocked unconscious by his own maneuver. But the knock never came. On his left side the weight continued to spin around as he kept it going. Once again, he focused on the weight and let it pass by his feet, switching sides again. He grinned at the spinning weight. Like most young people his age, Ereck felt the need to push further every time something interesting came along. In this case, Ereck found the new motion interesting and, in a way, it felt exhilarating. The danger of getting hit by his own weapon overpowered the reasoning in his mind that told him it was stupid to continue. Once more he focused on the weight, letting it pass by several times before switching sides. This time, however, he didn't wait and switched again before completing a full circle. But it wasn't enough for the young man. On his right side he let the weight spin and switched sides again, pulling with his right hand the chain to the left side, formed a half circle and pulled to the right again completing a half circle as well and moving back to the left. His hand moved left and right several times, the weight constantly spinning in the air as it criss-crossed the air in front of him, forming a defensive X in the air. While he had neither the skill nor the speed, the motion he completed here could one day be mastered as a form of shielding for ranged attacks. He pulled the chain to the right again, felt the air in front of him cut by the weight before slowing down, letting the spinning motion slow until the it became but a swinging motion and finally stopped. Ereck found that he had been holding his breath throughout his new discovery and took a deep breath of air. He had a smile on his face even though he was panting slightly. The exertion had his blood pumping and his chest moved with his breaths. For a while he leaned against the wooden back of the warehouse, watching the shadows dance in the light of the dying torch. Ereck reached down and took up the second torch, left there for his convenience. He lit the torch and replaced the dying one. With the light of the dying torch in one hand, his hand scythe in the other, he moved around the entire building once more, making sure there was nobody there. Once back behind the building, Ereck dropped the dead torch to the side, making sure there was no possibility of it turning the house or the wall into ashes. For a long time he simple stood leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his mind wandering through thoughts and memories. The moon had passed its peak and was starting its decent already. Light would be there soon, his partner would wake up and they would both be relieved by the workers and the day guards. Time was almost up. There was still enough time for a bit more practice, Ereck figured and tightened his grip on his scythe. The reverse grip still felt the most comfortable to the young man as he held the hand scythe as such. He placed his feet apart and bent his knees somewhat. While he held the weight in his right hand, simply holding it still, his left hand held onto the weapon. His fingers flexed each in turn before suddenly lashing out with the weapon. He cut the air neatly and followed with a kick into nothingness. He stood up straight and relaxed his body, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers again. He ran the blade through the air a few times, loosening the muscles in his left arm before bending through his knees again, lowering himself. His feet spread apart, the weapon held in front of him, protecting his arm and himself from imagined attacks. The chain and weight were wrapped around his right arm, leaving enough free to move easily but keeping the weight in place. The fingers of his right hand were spread open, ready to catch and hold onto his opponents weapon or wrist when possible. He repeated the first cut a few times, aiming at different heights and cutting different parts of the body. The neck was favorable but required a higher aim and left more of the body open to attacks. The body was a neutral attack, of course, easy to defend with and attack with. The legs were always good as well, crippling the enemy but, much like the neck, although to a lesser extent, it left the upper body open to attacks while not necessarily taking a life. The words of his father flowed through his mind, lessons he had repeated over and over again whenever he could. Getting hurt was not the problem, making sure you returned equal or more damage at the same time was what the problem. Give blood take flesh. Give flesh take life. Ereck spoke the words softly to the air in front of him. Then, out of nowhere, he exploded with motion. His right leg kicked his opponent in the side and pulled back before the air could retaliate. As the leg returned back to its position, the rest of his body spun to the right. His left hand lashed out as he started to turn full circle, cutting through the chest of the air before spinning away from his opponent. The motion ended with an increased distance between him and his opponent, his opponent suffering from bruised or broken ribs and a cut over his chest, possibly deadly depending on the amount of metal between the blade and the air's flesh. Ereck stepped forward and went through it again. Right kick, chest cut and spin away creating distance between him and the opponent. For several chimes he repeated the motion. Then he stopped and relaxed himself again. He could feel the muscles on the back of his hand straining from his grip. While he told himself to relax, his fingers loosened from around the hilt of the weapon, letting it relax in his hand, rather than grip onto it. The air in front of him shimmered with imagination as one opponent became two and three, spaced out behind one another, leaving Ereck a path between them. The motions once again started, more exotic and difficult than before. He stepped across his opponent, moving from his opponent's right to his left, towards the second one, cutting across his chest and putting his knee in the man's groin. As the air collapsed, Ereck moved to the second opponent and placed a frontal kick in the man's stomach. As he doubled over, Ereck jumped forward and rolled over his back, landing on his feet behind him. To complete the motion he had hooked the blade under the man's chin. The weapon's odd shape lend itself perfectly to such an endeavor. As he landed on his feet, the blade followed and cut through the man's neck, finishing it. The leader of the three, the last opponent, was more skilled than his friends. As Ereck landed on his feet, the air's blade headed for him and he parried the blow to his right, the leader following through the motion and passing him by. Ereck dropped into his stance, the weapon in front of him, his knees bent slightly and ready for his opponent. The air attacked again with an upward slice, trying to cut him open from the stomach up. The hand scythe flashed down and blocked the strike. Using the momentum of the upwards push, Ereck spun on his left foot, lifting his right one to kick at his opponent, hitting him in the helmet. Dazed, the air backed down and Ereck followed, slicing once and twice to his opponent, who managed to come away unscathed. For a moment they stared at each other and Ereck stood up straight, turning around. The space he had had run out and the wall was within arms length. Once he had turned around, there was plenty of space to continue again. The air turned back into the swordsman leader and Ereck dropped into his stance. He lunged for the swords, air, man's head with a high cut but the man reacted with another upward slice. Ereck's blade changed course in mid air, suddenly heading down and clashing with the sword. In a moment of brilliant stupidity, Ereck saw the move unfold before his mind and he followed it. He cut diagonally upwards across his opponents neck, the air-blood spurting upwards in a geyser of red. But it wasn't enough for the young man. As the weapon rushed upwards, Ereck kicked his left foot in the same motion, kicking through the air next to his air-opponent as he spun his body. With his right foot he kicked up from the ground, jumping as the slash and the kick pulled his body into a spin. His entire body entered into the mid air spin as he moved across the air. It all ended in a big dust cloud. Halfway through his spin, his face looking down at the ground, gravity had decided to intervene and reality came crashing down together with Ereck's body. The scythe clattered just out of reach on the ground together with Ereck. The impact pushed the air out of his lungs and for a moment he was coughing, trying to breath. Perhaps he had overdone it a little. His opponent had been dead already but he had felt like the spin had been necessary. When he was finally able to breath again, he couldn't help but smile at himself. The rest of the night past by in a rather quiet fashion, which Ereck had started to come to expect from the job. Nothing happened at three or four in the morning because all the smart people were asleep. Ereck stifled a yawn as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. A sudden grunt followed by a soft thud reached his ears and his eyes shot open. Instantly alert, Ereck knew that something was happening. There hadn't been any sound for the entire night, except those made by Ereck's little antics. And now this. His first act was to take the torch of the wall, drop it on the ground and start kicking sand and dirt on it to douse the fire. The entire backside of the warehouse plunged in sudden darkness as the young man crouched down and started untangling the chain from around his belt. For the longest time there was nothing but the clinking of chain links as he made sure his weapon was ready. The scythe in his left hand, held in reverse, the chain passing between his hands, leaving about a third of its length to swing and attack with. As quietly as possible, the young man started for the corner. Unlike others would have, Ereck took a wide corner around the corner, rather than taking the immediate turn. This allowed the chain of his weapon to remain useful. The alley to the front was empty and Ereck crept on. He could hear scratching, like metal on metal as he moved closer. The blade of the scythe brushed against the wood of the wall, creating soft scratching noise as he moved ahead. He ignored the sound and tried to focus on the metal scratching that came from ahead. The sound had stopped and suddenly there was the sound of running feet. Ereck jumped forward and turned the corner at a run, trying to catch the thief. The front was empty. His partner was still sitting in his booth, feet up on the open window, head hanging backwards. The only thing different was the torch that had gone out, leaving the front in darkness as well. Ereck wondered if he hadn't just imagined things as he walked to the lock on the front door. He looked closely at the it but couldn't see anything wrong with it. He must have imagined it. Ereck let out his breath as he reprimanded himself for letting his imagination get the better of him. But it had been a boring night. Ereck pushed himself back up on his feet and walked over to the guard box, where he planted a firm foot under his partner's legs, trying to wake him up. It didn't go quite as expected. Instead of the sudden burst of confusion and the wild looks and drooling, his partner didn't stir. His legs flopped to the ground and the rest of his body followed out of the darkness of the booth and into the starlight. In what little light was provided, Ereck could clearly see the blood gushing from the man's cut throat, staining his shirt and now the dirt underneath as well. A small puddle of blood was quickly forming. The moment it occured to him fully what had happened, Ereck turned around and strained his eyes to see across the street to the alleys, scouting for movement. His fingers gripped tightly on his weapon and he could feel the palms of his hands getting clammy. Someone had killed his partner and had tried to get in the house, had tried to steal. Ereck turned and ran quickly to the next corner, looking around it. At the end he could see something flash in darkness before it disappeared around the corner. Ereck rushed after it. As he reached the corner and turned it, he saw once more the dark shape cut the corner ahead of him. He called out in the dark but there was no answer. In his young mind, Ereck hatched a simple plan that would help him catch who he was chasing. It had worked plenty of times when he had been younger playing with stray dogs or other children. He ran to the corner and cut it, seeing the dark shape disappear, and turned back, running at full speed to cut the previous corner before his prey did. He stood dead silent in the darkness and watched the thief turn the corner ahead of him and turn around to listen to Ereck following from the same direction. When he couldn't hear anything, he started to sneak down the alley right towards Ereck, who still hadn't moved. The darkness kept him safe from eyes as the thief walked right to him. In a blur of motion, Ereck exploded into action. His scythe cut towards the thief and tried to repay him for what he had done to his partner. The thief jumped back with a shout, surprised to find Ereck right in front of him. In what little starlight reached the dark alley, Ereck saw the glistening of a dagger as the thief moved it about, ready to defend himself. But instead of a strike, there came words. "Wait! I didn't... I didn't mean to. I just wanted something to eat. Or something to sell for food. I have a family, man. A wife and a child. I can't feed them unless I find something to eat or to sell. Please, man, you have to believe me. I don't want to do this but I don't see any other way. They have so much stuff in there, I've seen it. They won't miss it. I'll give you some, man. I'm sorry about your friend. He... He struggled and I... I don't know... my blade just cut him. And he started bleeding and died." As the man spoke, Ereck started spinning the weight around. But the more the man talked, the more Ereck felt believing him was the right thing to do. The spinning slowed as the tenseness started to flow out of Ereck, relaxing in front of the stranger. What happened next would turn Ereck's life around forever. It happened so fast that Ereck would never really be able to tell what happened exactly. Noticing Ereck's more relaxed stance, the man lunged forward, his blade ready to stab into Ereck's unprotected chest. "Fool. Never trust a thief." He had an evil smile on his face as he tried to cross the distance. Surprised by the sudden attack, Ereck stepped back and almost let go of his weapon. What would have been a final mistake for others was guided by the Gods to become a lucky hit. The spinning weight, normally kept in check by his fingers holding onto the chain and keeping it at the same length, found that the resistance was gone. The spinning motion caused the weight to pull more chain through Ereck's right hand, increasing its range. Combined with the thief's sudden lunge forward it brought the man within range of the weapon. And ended the fight with a single hit. As the thief dove forward to strike, he had stretched out his neck and head forward as well, a rookie mistake. The weight, pulling more chain through Ereck's finger and increasing it's range, started to spin downward and crashed the full weight of its attack onto the man's head. A sickening crack and a soft sigh later the man was lying dead on the ground, his knife just out of range from his dead fingers. Ereck blinked and blinked again. A moment ago, he had been afraid and surprised and almost dead and now he was the victor, the killer. Life had been ended so easily, it almost felt like a waste. Almost. Ereck's mind trailed off in the opposite direction. He had ended a life so easily, by mistake even. He wondered where the rush of sickness was, the feeling of loss as the kill took part of his soul, the trembling hands and the unsteady legs. All aspects he had heard from his father. Things that were required after the first few kills. Or so his father had said. But none of those happened. Ereck simply looked at the dead man in front of him. What an idiot. When the smell of the man's death started to fill the alley, Ereck stepped back and turned away, walking out to the front. Coiling his chain to his belt he let the weapon dangle from his side. With two hands and his entire weight put into it, Ereck grabbed hold of his partner's dead wrist and started pulling, dragging him around the guard box and into the alley, out of sight of the early risers. His boss would know what to do with him or make a decision. It wasn't Ereck's problem. With his boot he stirred the dirt and sand in front of the building and covered the blood left behind by his partner. He passed a last glance along the alleys across the street and noted a few shapes disappearing into start of the morning light. Ereck sat himself in the guard booth and planted his boots on the edge of the open window. |