Chapter 3 - Bears can't talk

Everything was dark, and only the snapping and popping of the fire pierced the shadows. Soon, Yu located the fire and stared into it, feeling its warmth on his face. He was so tired.

A female voice emanated from the darkness. "He's in here." she said. Yu heard a door creak closed, but he could see nothing but the fire.

A deep and calming voice responded "And where did you find this one?" It asked. Its voice also had a playful tone, almost aloof. Yu could make out the shape of a creature walking towards the fire. Its outline was only slightly visible.

A blue sprite leapt from the flames, and hovered beside the fire. It was a fairy. Fairies were creatures of legend. Few even believed that they existed. "One of our fishers found him by the river. We're not sure where he came from. We've never seen this one around here before." The sprite said. Yu figured out that the female voice belonged to the sprite, but to whom did the male voice belong?

"The river? Could've washed down stream I suppose. Not likely that he'd live through the falls to the north though." The deep voice drew closer and as it came into range of the fire its outline took form. It was a bear. A huge brown bear was walking straight towards Yu. This wasn't right, Yu thought. Bears can't talk. He tried to open his mouth to voice his protest of the situation, but he found that he could not speak. No doubt the fairy had put a spell on him. Perhaps the fairy had put a spell on the bear as well. Yes, that makes sense.

"He seems to need your services more than my own, why call me?" The bear said.

"He was carrying this." The fairy said. She opened her hand and a flame darted out of it and formed a flaming bird that hovered just above her palm. "When I heard that you were passing through, I thought that you may find that interesting."

"Indeed I do." The bear said. "This little one was carrying that? Interesting indeed. I wonder how he came upon it." The bear was getting closer to Yu and seemed to be examining him. Yu didn't care for this arrangement at all. He hadn't ever met a bear before, but he had heard that they were bad news, and he didn't want one close to him, not even a calming talking one. He attempted to move, tried to get farther away from the creature, but he found that he was immobilized. The fairy must have cast more than just a silencing spell on him.

"He was clutching it in his hand, so hard that it left an imprint in his palm." The fairy said.

"Hmmm, and he was just lying there, in the river? How long has he been like this?" The bear was only a few feet from Yu now and Yu smelled the sweet smoke of pipe tobacco. Was the bear smoking a pipe? This was madness.

"Three days since we've found him. Who knows how long prior to that. I've tried to treat him, but he hasn't responded to anything. I don't know what to make of it." The fairy spoke softly, seemingly ashamed of her lack of ability.

The bear let out a puff of smoke and turned to Yu and stared for a moment. This was too much. There were talking bears, silly sprites, fire birds, and darkness. Talking bears? Smoking talking bears? "It doesn't make any sense at all and I'll not stand for it!" Yu thought to himself. He stared at the bear and tried with everything he had to speak. He opened his mouth and let 3 weak words escape. "Bears can't talk" he said. Aha! He had broken the fairy's spell, soon he'd figure out how to move.

"Hmmm?" the bear said, as he paced towards Yu, bringing his massive snout close to Yu's face. He stared at Yu and seemed to smile. "Of course they can't, and if they could, they certainly wouldn't have anything of importance to say." The bear seemed pleased with the irony of the situation. "Of course importance is subjective, and I suppose a bear might find another bear's banter quite pleasing, don't you suppose?"

The bear's logic was spot on, but Yu wouldn't accept it. He mustered everything he had and said once more "Bears can't talk!" He was louder this time, but still only a bit above a whisper. Yu tried hard to move and managed to wiggle a little bit.

"He seems to be coming around." The bear said. "Muttering something about talking bears."

Yu realized that he was in the process of waking up from what seemed to be a dream, but he was aware of the sounds around him, and his mind must have struggled to make sense of them and created the scene in his dreams. He slowly opened his eyes squinting as the bright sunlight hit him. He was in a room with a fireplace and a large window that was facing the direction of the sun. He didn't know what time it was, but it was bright outside. There were two people in the room other than him. One was a woman slightly younger than Yu's mother, and the other was a tall and slender man. Yu identified the two as the sources of the voices that he had heard.

The man was standing over Yu, and to his surprise the man was dressed like Nameless, but his robe was a deep blue color trimmed in silver and gold. Yu had never met a Suun monk before, and now he had met two. Amazing. The man's head was covered with a hood, but in the daylight, Yu could make out his face beneath the hood. He was bald, and seemed to have runes tattooed on his forehead. The lines formed an intricate pattern on his face. Yu thought of the runes on Nameless' arms and realized that these tattoos were probably also magical runes.

"Where is everyone at?" Yu asked. "Where are my mother and father, and Tom?"

"We're wondering the same thing. We found you out by the river. Where are you from?"

"What do you mean? I'm from here, I'm from Stone's Crossing." Yu responded. The question was silly.

"Stone's Crossing?" The man said. "That's 100 miles from here. How did you get here?"

"Where are my mother and father? Where is Tom?" Yu asked. Suddenly, Yu remembered what had happened. It had seemed like a dream. The skeletons, Nameless, Commander Tigh, and that man...that vampire. He burst into tears.

"You're upsetting him!" The woman said.

"I didn't do anything but ask him how he came to be here." The monk said.

"I...I don't remember." Yu said. "The skeletons, and the vampire...they were attacking, Commander Tigh...and the monk!"

"You're not making any sense boy. What is this about skeletons and vampires?" The man asked.

"They attacked stone's crossing. They killed Commander Tigh, and a monk, like you." Yu said.

"I'm not a monk, boy. I am Carrath, the high priest of The Order of Suun. What was this monk's name?" Carrath asked.

"He said that he didn't have a name. He called himself Nameless."

"Ah, the monk without a name named himself Nameless. Even a man named Nameless has a name, regardless of his position on the matter. Where is Nameless now?"

"I told you...the vampire killed him...they killed everybody."

"Almost everyone...it would seem. How did you come to have this?" Carrath asked. He dangled the Nameless' amulet from his hand.

"Nameless gave it to me. He said it would protect me." Yu said.

Carrath laughed. Not the kind of laugh that that followed humor, but the kind of laugh that followed irony. He seemed to turn inward, muttering to himself. "Is that what is is then? A high price to pay indeed." The priest's tone had turned cold as he seemed to struggle with something internally.

"I knew Nameless. He was a good friend of mine. Tell me more about his end." Carrath said.

"That's quite enough!" The woman interrupted. "He's been through quite enough, don't you think? Don't press him for details on whatever it was that sent him into a slumber for 3 days!"

"I'm sorry miss. Its important that I know what happened." Carrath snapped back.

"You...you priests, don't you already know what happened. Why don't you ask your dragon what happened? Shouldn't you have known it was going to happen before it happened?" The woman said defensively.

"Yes." Carrath said quietly. "I should have. I didn't understand it at the time. I need to find out more." Carrath repeated the question to Yu. "Tell me what happened there in Stone's Crossing."

Yu recounted the story of the day, stopping at points when it became hard. He fought through tears to tell the story, but he managed to tell it all. Yu told everything from Nameless' arrival, to the dead horseman, and the skeleton's assault on Stone's Crossing.

"Boy, you're in Plains End. 100 miles north of Stone's Crossing at the edge of the Southern plains of Quaal. I don't know how you got here, or why you were spared from the destruction." Carrath said.

"The amulet..." Yu started.

"The amulet has no power, its just a symbol of our order. Nameless probably gave it to you to make you feel safer." Carrath said.

"Then...why?" Yu asked.

"I don't know. I need to meditate about this at the temple." Carrath started to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Yu yelled. "Take me with you, I want to be a Suun monk. I want to be like Nameless. He saved my life! I don't have anything to give. I can give my name! Like nameless did! Please, take me with you."

Carrath turned. "You've given quite enough. You'll come with me, don't worry about that. I need to inform the king, have him send soldiers to see if there are any survivors to the south. If your parents or friends are there, the king will not leave them." Carrath turned to the woman. "I need to make preparations to travel back to Gariste. I only have supplies for one. Take care of the boy until I return." He tossed Nameless' amulet to Yu. "I believe that this belongs to you now." He said as he left the room.

Two days passed as Yu sat and waited patiently for Carrath to return. The woman was kind to Yu. He had learned that her name was Lanna. She kept him well fed and brought him clean clothing, and also provided light conversation on the subject of life in the village. A fisherman or farmers life sounded very different from the lives of the traders in Stone's Crossing.

Yu didn't seem to have any physical wounds, but he would often wake up screaming from a nightmare about the night at Stone's Crossing. The vampire filled his thoughts. The cold eyes and darkness that seemed to surround him chilled Yu to the bones. He hoped that he would never see that creature again.

On the third day, Yu felt well enough to get out of bed and he took the time to wander about the village with Lanna. The plains were beautiful. He thought back to Tom's description of the plains. "They just go on forever, they're nothing special." Tom used to say. Indeed, they stretched forever to the south. Yu could see the mountains rising in the distance, but he couldn't make out where the Ulmach pass was. The mountains seemed so small from where he was. They seemed so far away. He wished that he could be back there, sparring with Tom outside of the gates. He missed his mother, and his father, and everything he knew.

Carrath came for him on the fourth day. He had bought supplies for the trip to Gariste, and he had bought a horse for Yu to ride. "Gariste is 150 miles to the north along the river." Carrath explained. "It will take about a week to get there if we ride slowly. Do you feel like you're up for the ride?"

"I'm ready." Yu said.

Yu said his farewells to Lanna and thanked her for her kindness and then Carrath helped him onto his horse. Yu had never ridden a horse before, but he had seen the riders passing through Stone's Crossing do it. He kicked his heals into the horse's side and the horse took off. Yu struggled to hold on, but lost his grip and fell off the horse. Carrath chuckled at the boy's folly.

"Maybe more like two weeks." He joked.

Chapter 2 - Last Rites

Evening turned to nightfall and the wind died down. The snow fall had stopped, but it was significantly colder without the sun shining through the gap in the mountains. The gates of Stone's Crossing were closed at night, and manned by watchmen working on 4 hour shifts. The streets of Stone's Crossing were nearly empty; there was a bit of a bustle at the tavern, but most folk were asleep. Yu's house was at the end of a row of houses leading up to the southern gate's courtyard. Light flickered through his window from the watchmen's torches. He lay awake, staring at the shadows dancing on his wall.

"It’s a real Suun monk." He thought. "He was amazing! I wonder if he'd show me his swords if I asked." He wondered to himself.

Suun monks carried two matching swords called Sharkta blades. The blades were hand crafted by a master blacksmith in the imperial capitol city of Gariste. They were made from a silver called true silver. The metal was blessed by the priests of Suun and then enchanted by the high priest of Suun. The blades would never dull, nor would they break under stress. The hilt of the blades we're made from a rare blue marble, carved and smoothed to fit the hand of the monk that would wield them. The last step of the crafting of Sharkta blades was done by the monk himself. He would meditate for hours channeling the power of Suun into the blades. Not only was this the last step of crafting the blades, but it was also the rite of passage that would finally allow a monk apprentice into the ranks of the adept monks. Successful meditation would result in blue magic glyphs appearing on the blade, the glyphs were said to be a message directly from the dragon Suun to the monk, a message that only the monk could read and understand. Through these glyphs, the blades were eternally linked to the monk.

A loud creak broke through the night, shattering Yu's thoughts of the monk. He heard a bit of commotion outside and ran to his window to see what he could see. The head watchman had come out of his tower and signaled for the gate to be opened, and he was having a conversation with a courier in the courtyard. The courtyard was empty, and the voices travelled well, well enough for Yu to make out the gist of the conversation.

"Go wake Commander Tigh, tell him an injured scout is riding in on horseback, and that he should come to the gate immediately. Could be nothing, could be something. After you wake the commander, go to Dr. Laen's house and bring him to the gate. Tell him to bring his things for healing." The watchmen said hurriedly.

"Aye Sir!" The courier ran off towards the house of Cyris Tigh.

Yu climbed out of his window and scurried down to the courtyard to get a better look at what was going on. He found a pile of crates stacked against a wall and hid behind them. He struggled to find a crack in the boxes that would give him a good view of the scene. He could see the gate opening slowly, that must have been the creaking sound he heard. The watchman was standing atop the wall, staring into the night. He hadn't seen Yu cross the courtyard as his job was not to keep watch on the inside of the fort. Yu heard the faint thundering of a horse's hooves approaching the gate. His heart pulsed with nervous fear. This was exciting; he couldn't wait to tell Tom about it tomorrow!

A few moments passed before an older man sprinted across the courtyard towards the tower steps. He was an older man, his hair had grayed and he wore rugged facial hair that could be more described as scruffle than a beard. His scarlet shirt shimmered in the torchlight coming from the fort's wall, the emblem of Quaal, a dragon claw clutching a scimitar, was embroidered in gold thread over his breast. His own scimitar hung from his leather belt and bounced softly against his black trousers as he trotted towards the gatehouse. He disappeared into the gatehouse as his leather boots trod softly on the steps leading up to the wall. He reappeared a moment later on top of the wall, standing next to the watchman.

"What is it soldier?" Tigh said gruffly. Tigh was an old man, but his voice carried strength. He was a grumpy old man who cared of nothing but protecting Quaal from invaders. His post was the most important thing that he had, and he took it seriously. He was the third most powerful man in the Quaal military, the first being King Enus Jovan Sulis, and the second being the King's most trusted advisor, Thilesred Finicon. Commander Tigh had started from nothing, a poor soldier's son destined for greatness. The fort's soldiers looked up to Tigh with respect, and all of them felt fortunate to serve with such a man. Men like Tigh reminded the soldiers that if they tried hard enough, they too could achieve greatness. That was pure rubbish, greatness was a result of destiny, and destiny was decided by dragons.

"Our scout seems to be returning Sir, but best that I can tell he's injured. Slumped over on his horse, he is. Have a look." The watchman handed a crude telescope to Tigh.

Tigh took up the telescope and looked out into the darkness. "I say you're right. Has the doctor been summoned?" Tigh asked.

"Yes Sir! The same courier that was sent for you was sent for the doctor as well." The watchman replied, taking pride in his foresight.

"Good man. Go and send another courier to the barracks. Have the archers take the wall, wake the infantry and have them dressed for battle, but have them remain in their barracks until they hear word. As for the archers, make sure they take the tunnels to the wall. We don't need to alarm the civilians just yet. When that horse draws within 100 yards, start closing the gate. If he's being followed, we don't want that gate open. Those are my orders." Tigh said.

The watchman was stunned. All he could think to do at the sight of trouble was to send for Tigh and the doctor, but Tigh had it all figured out. He had a plan ready and in place within moments of knowing about trouble. Tigh was an exceptional leader; he was battle hardened, and what physical prowess he had lost in his age, he more than made up for in experience and skill. He was a master with a blade, seemingly able to sit in his opponent's mind and read their thoughts anticipating their next move.

"What are you doing standing around, do as I say!" Tigh barked.

"Y..Yes Sir!" The watchman said, realizing that he was lost in wonder. He took off down the stairs to carry out his orders.

Yu watched the whole scene with excitement. Moments later, Dr. Laen ambled into the courtyard followed by the Suun monk. Dr. Laen was wearing a white tunic and carrying his bag, normally filled with potions and other items used for doctoring. The monk walked past the doctor and yelled up to Tigh, "Anything I can do?" He asked. Tigh turned and looked at the monk and the doctor and sprinted down the stairs to meet them.

"I heard a monk had arrived today. I don't know what might happen tonight, but having you around will sure to be a blessing. Maybe you can ask Suun what evil the night holds for us?" Tigh asked, directing his question at the monk.

"Sorry, monks don't do that. Only priests gain insight from Suun regarding the future. I can help in battle though. You, you're commander Tigh? You’re a legend in central Quaal." He said.

"Aye, I'm Tigh alright. Legends are for fools. If I were to believe every legend I heard, they'd have me believing that you could defeat my entire army without lifting a finger. I've heard tale that I received this scar while fighting a dragon, can you believe it? Ha, Legend indeed." Tigh said humbly, rubbing the scar on his face that ran from his forehead across the crown of his head disappearing above his right ear.

"Fools indeed." The monk said. "Where did you get it anyway? The scar that is."

"Doesn't matter where it came from, only what it means." Tigh said.

"And..." The monk started, but was quickly cut off by Tigh.

"And it means that I wasn't a good enough swordsman." Tigh said jokingly. "I got better."

"I see." The monk chuckled at Tigh's joke.

The two men were interrupted by a horse bursting through the gate. The gate creaked shut seconds later. The horse was wild and out of control. The monk leapt at the horse grabbing the reigns and pulling it backwards, attempting to settle the startled animal. It took a moment to calm the horse; something had spooked it. Tigh pulled the scout off of the horse and lay him on the courtyard. "Doctor!" He barked. The doctor rushed over and kneeled before the man. He was dead. Quite dead.

"Nothing I can do for this one. He's long gone. Horse must've come back this way by instinct. Only way I see it." The doctor said.

"What killed him?" He said to the doctor, and in the same breath turned to the man standing on the wall, "Anything coming?" He shouted.

"Nothing Sir!" The watchman replied. The walls were covered with archers now, they had rushed through the tunnels under the fort and taken their post as Tigh had ordered.

Dr. Laen looked up at commander Tigh, "Starved to death I say."

"Starved to death? Are you mad? He's only been gone for two days; nobody starves to death in two days. Some doctor you are, you...you crackpot." Tigh said.

"Crackpot? Oh, I see, I'm a crackpot because your man died on his horse? Starvation, that's how I see it, that's how I call it. The man starved, look at him you old goat. See for yourself!" The doctor quipped back. The two men began to argue back and forth over who was a crackpot and who was an old goat, and who's eyes were better or worse.

The monk avoided the confrontation and walked over to the body of the man and looked down at it. His eyes were filled with blood, as if the blood vessels inside of them burst, and he did look emaciated, but not starved. His flesh was pale green, sunken in at his face and wrinkled elsewhere. The monk grabbed his arm noting that it was bruised and broken at the wrist. A single word left his mouth and caught the wind, floating upwards to land in the ears of the two arguing men, the small boy hiding behind the boxes, and seemingly every archer standing on the wall. "Vampires." He whispered.

"Wh...what was that monk?" Tigh said, turning his attention away from the doctor.

"Seems he was killed by a vampire. He wasn't starved, though it seems that way. His life force was drained. Must've been a scuffle too, because his wrist is broken. My guess is that he got a hand on the beast." The monk said.

"Those creatures don't leave their swamp. What business would he have killing this man?" Tigh asked.

"S'pose you'll have to ask him that. One thing I know though, if one's come out of the swamp, you can bet that he means no good." The monk said.

"Sir!" A voice called from the wall. "There's movement in the trees, lots of movement! Something is coming!"

Clattering could be heard drifting in from the night outside of the gates, the clattering of bones, and the clumsy footsteps of dead things. Skeletons and there were a lot of them. It was no lost being wandering the night. It sounded like an army of the beasts, hundreds of them. The noise was unbearable. This was an attack! The monk turned and ran towards the Inn.

"Where are you going?" Tigh Shouted.

"I'm going to put my armor on and prepare for battle. You'd do well to do the same Tigh. Evil is on us this night!" The monk yelled. He started off, but caught the sight of Yu cowering behind his stack of boxes. The boy's eyes were filled with tears; he was frightened beyond belief, terrified by the noise outside and the sight of the dead man. What must he have thought of the conversation about vampires? The monk turned and walked towards the boy, crouching down on one knee and looking into his eyes. Although his face was veiled in shadow by his hood, it was comforting. "What is it boy? Why do you cry?" The monk said. His voice was calm, and steady; it sounded as peaceful as a waterfall, and as safe as his mother's arms.

"I'm...I'm scared. Vampires, what, why? What is that noise, what's going on?" The boy looked for words, but found only stuttered fragments.

"What's your name young one?" The monk asked calmly.

"My...my name is Yu. Yu Hitori, and I'm going to be a Suun monk!" He exclaimed.

"I saw you fighting with that other boy today. Being a monk isn't about the fighting; it’s about protecting the ones you love. It’s about protecting the people that you can, for as long as you can. Do you understand that?" The monk asked.

"Uh...Uh-huh...sure. What's your name?" Yu said weakly.

"I don't have a name. It was all I had to give to Suun for accepting me as a student many years ago. I gave him my name when I swore service to him. They call me nameless". The monk replied. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a onyx medallion attached to a leather strap which had the emblem of Suun etched in gold at its center. He opened the boy's hand and placed the medallion in his palm. "This will protect you tonight. No matter what happens, Suun will see to your safety. Now run along and gather your mother and father. Protect them tonight, but don't worry, this is a mere rabble of skeletons, it should be only a slight disruption in the night." The monk said peacefully, and then walked off towards the inn.

Tigh was shouting off orders to any man that he could see that wasn't moving. "You there, go and tell the archers to light their fires, flaming arrows only! You! Get men in the alcoves on the wall; shoot at anything that moves out there! Hey! You! Get over there and wake the civilians, gather them together at the north gate! Over there, go get the infantry, have half the barracks here protecting this gate, and send the other half to protect the civilians. And you! What are you doing there, get moving! Someone ring that damned alarm bell!"

The peaceful night had turned to chaos, and the chaos was being organized and directed by commander Tigh. Even in chaos, he seemed to be able to create order. Flaming arrows light up the night sky, and the clattering of bones could be heard outside the gates. Archers shouted ranging information to each other from atop the walls. Yu ran off to warn his mother, for his father was surely already in the barracks preparing for battle. All of the sudden a loud bell began clanging in the night. It was the alarm bell, the warning to the fort that attack was imminent. He clutched the onyx medallion in his and and did not let it go. A soldier was already at his house telling his mother to proceed to the north gate for protection.

Tigh had climbed back onto the wall to watch the battle progress. He peered out into the darkness and noticed the many flaming arrows stuck in the ground lighting up the night. Volley after volley of arrows rained down on the snowy ground outside. The skeletons were advancing slowly, and in formation. "Formation?" Tigh thought. Skeletons weren't organized enough to form an attack like this. "How is this possible?" He wondered. He noticed a column of skeletons branching off to flank to the left, and another column branching to the right. A line of beasts continued marching forward toward the gate ahead. "What are they thinking, they can't breach the gate, and they certainly can't make it over the walls. This is madness." He thought. "Archers! Columns flanking, thin them out, don't worry about the gate force! They'll not breach our walls tonight!"

The column advancing towards the gate split, and formed two columns, while the flanking columns drew their bows and began firing arrows back towards the archers. Arrows clacked off of the walls and a few archers dropped with shots in their chests. Between the gate columns a man dressed in black darted forward, moving faster than he should be able to and dashed towards the gate. "Archers! Bring him down! Kill him!" Tigh shouted, gesturing towards the man in black, but it was too late; the man had gotten below their cover. There was a loud crash below as the gate buckled and cracked inward. Standing behind the splintered remains of the door was the man in black, his hand outstretched and glowing with a black light. The man was wearing a dark cloak that was tattered like rags. His skin was pale, and his eyes were dark; his black hair draped over his pointed ears and rested on his shoulders. "Attack!" He hissed. "Attack!" He reached his arm up and grabbed the hilt of a giant curved great sword that hung on his back. He brought it into ready position and rushed towards the infantry standing in the courtyard. His movements were swift and deadly as he heaved the heavy sword effortlessly at the defenders.

Tigh leapt off of the wall, landing and rolling to his feet. Skeletons were pouring through the splintered gate. The archers were doing their best to thin their numbers, but there were too many of them, and once they mixed with the infantry, it was too dangerous to fire into the fray. "Fall back to the north gate!" Tigh shouted. "We can't hold them here! Where is that damned monk?" The infantry fell back, rushing to join the other half of their ranks defending the civilians at the north gate. The archers remained on the wall taking shots at the skeletons as they followed behind.

As the column of soldiers formed up with the infantry guarding the civilians at the north gate, Tigh barked off orders to his men. "Form up, hold your ground. Kill anything that's not alive, and for the love of Suun, protect those civilians. Where the hell is that monk?" The battle was going poorly, but Tigh would not show any weakness to his men. He stepped up into the mess of skeletons and began swinging his sword with ruthless efficiency. It seemed that every time he moved a skeleton would fall to pieces, sometimes two or three at a time. Watching him fight was entrancing. Skeletons were advancing from all sides now. The infantry had its hands full, but it was soon bolstered by the archers who had taken the tunnels under the fort and arrived on top of the north wall to fire at the advancing skeletons within the fort. It was an odd feeling for them to be firing into the fort, for it had never been breached by invaders in all of Tigh's time as commander.

Nameless emerged from the inn that sat on the north wall. He was now wearing plate mail bracers on his wrists, and a plate mail chest piece that bore the emblem of Suun. His head was still cloaked, but this time it was cloaked by a true silver chain mail coif that hung over his shoulders. His Sharkta blades were visible hanging from the blue sash around his waist. He had put on plate mail boots to cover his shins and calves to avoid blows to his hamstrings that would leave him immobile. His arms were bare from the shoulder to the elbow. They were covered with blue magic runes that looked like tattoos of magical glyphs. His true musculature showed now. He was a menacing man indeed. He surveyed the battle field for a moment, analyzing the surge and determining where he was most needed. Tigh stood in the middle of the invaders, cutting down foe after foe in a series of deft moves. The left flank of the encampment was well defended by the infantry who were doing a fine job of holding their own against the skeletons. The right flank seemed to be doing its job of holding back the enemy. Volley after volley of flaming arrows were raining down behind the main force, and then he caught the black eyes of the vampire advancing to the right flank.

"To the right then." He thought. The glyphs on his arms glowed brightly, and the matching glyphs on his blades shared their intensity. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the blades began to hover next to him, floating silently in the air. He opened his eyes and ran towards the right flank, his blades flying off in front of him and hewing down skeletons that stood in his path. Torch light flickered on the silver blades as they flashed through the night. Behind them, Nameless was fighting the skeletons with his hands, crushing their skulls and breaking their bones with each move. As one approached from his backside, he turned and threw his hand out in front of him and opened his fist. The skeleton flew back 10 feet and smashed against the side of a building.

Yu was hiding behind a wagon, shaking with fear, but he couldn't take his eyes off the battle. He hadn't seem Tom yet, but he imagined that he was somewhere with his mother. The battle seemed to be going well now. The defenders were holding back the skeletons and it seemed as if everything was going to be ok. The night was riddled with the screams of dying men, the light of flaming arrows, and the cackling of skeletons as they attacked mercilessly. He was shifting his attention between the monk, and Commander Tigh. Both were tremendous warriors. The monk seemed to be controlling his swords with his mind, while still fighting with his hands and throwing the foes around with magic. It was an amazing sight. He thumbed the medallion that the monk had given him and thought that everything was going to be ok.

Nameless crushed the skull of a skeleton, just as the vampire stepped in front of him. The large blade of the beast swung at Nameless' head, but his own silver blade caught it in mid air as he lunged forward punching the beast in the stomach and following it with a spinning kick to where his head should have been. The beast was fast, and had already moved out of the way. "Why are you doing this?" The monk asked.

"There is something here my master wants, and I suppose, there is something I want as well." The creature hissed. His voice was cold and hollow, like it was an echo from the grave. He seemed to blink out of existence, appearing behind Nameless, and struck at his back. Again, the monk's blade caught the blow, and he slid in close driving his knee into the creature's groin, as his other blade flashed forward for a killing strike at its neck. The vampire disappeared again, and appeared a few feet back.

"I fight with the power of Suun, vermin! You can't win tonight!" Nameless shouted, commanding one of his blades to shatter a skeleton that had come to close to him.

"Ah, you fight with his power, but not with his protection. Tell me, where is your amulet fool?" The vampire hissed.

"I don't need it to take care of the likes of you." He darted forward, striking again at the creature’s chest. It was so fast, faster than the monk, stronger too.

"You made a grave mistake monk. Entering into a fight you cannot win, without the protection of your dragon, on a night that you are doomed to die." A smile cracked on the creatures face. "I see." He said. "I understand, what is your name monk? I am Sillik?"

"I have no name, but it won't matter to you soon." He responded.

Commander Tigh smashed skeleton after skeleton. He had grabbed a rusty blade off of one of the creatures and was now fighting with both blades. More creatures kept appearing out of the night. Where were they all coming from? How were there so many? How could they survive such an attack? An arrow pierced the night striking Tigh in the chest. He fell to his knees, but got up quickly, parrying the blow of a skeleton, but it would be his last parry, for another of the creatures struck him in the back with its spear, and thus, Commander Cyris Tigh resigned his post as the commander of Stone's Crossing.

Yu gasped as Tigh fell to his knees, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The soldiers seemed to loose a bit of their fight when the man died. Panic ensued, and the soldiers lost their organization. The flanks fell and the skeletons began to pour in to the camp on the north wall. The men grabbed what they could and rushed to repel the attack, but it was too much for mere civilians. Yu looked over at the monk who was locked in combat with the man in black. Their fight was happening almost too fast for Yu's eyes to follow. Clang, smash, whoosh! The swords were flying through the air parrying the beast's attacks as the creature phased in and out of existence appearing around the monk and striking ruthlessly at him. Yu let out a shout as the giant blade of the creature pierced through the monk’s chest and ripped through the back of his cuirass. His silver blades fell to the ground, and the glyphs dulled to darkness. The nameless monk had died.

Everything fell apart, the day seemed so normal, but the night...the night had been terrible. His whole life had been destroyed by that man in black. The monk was dead, commander Tigh was dead, and the skeletons were slaughtering the civilians. It was too much for Yu. The world faded to black as he passed out.

Stone's Crossing had fallen.

Chapter 1 - The mountain pass

Snow was falling outside the gates of Stone's crossing. It was mid-summer, but Stone's Crossing rested high in the Ulmach Mountains, where the weather was normally cold. A warmer breeze was blowing through the Ulmach pass from the north, carrying with it the smell of the great southern plains of Quaal. This was fortunate, for a southern breeze would carry with it the odor of the Ulmach swamp which sat at the base of the Ulmach mountains, just south of Stone's Crossing. Stone's Crossing was a border trading post between the northern province of Quaal, and the southern province of San Rael. It served as the safest passage through the Ulmach Mountains, and was heavily guarded by the Quaal military. The safety of the pass served its purpose well, as weary travelers would often stop here to rest, even if they weren't passing through the mountains. During the summer months, the trading post was the most active, with traders coming from all over the continent to sell their wares.

Stone's crossing was an ancient military post, built by the San Rael army centuries ago. It was the most well defended post in all of San Rael until Quaal overtook it in the Great War over 100 years ago. Because San Rael was the aggressor in that war, Quaal insisted that the fort remain under its control to prevent continued hostility. San Rael reluctantly agreed, adding in only a provision that its civilian citizens would never be harassed while traversing the pass. The fort sat in the narrowest point of Ulmach pass, and had a 12 foot stone wall on each entry, with thick wooden gates. The canyon walls outside of the fort had alcoves cut into them where archers could be posted to fire at invading forces. Any army that braved that gauntlet would still have to climb the fort walls to mount a successful attack. Its defenses were near impenetrable, at least without mass loss of human life.

The military presence was nothing more than a formal show of force, although they did have to repel the occasional bandit attack; for the most part these were times of peace. The gates to the fort remained open much of the time, and it was common to see children playing in the courtyard, and the wild lands outside of the gate. The Ulmach mountains were a dangerous place, populated with wyvrens, various wild predators, and even the occasional wandering spirit or undead being, but around Stone's Crossing, heavy military patrols kept the civilians safe, for the most part.

Outside the gates, two young boys exchanged menacing blows with small branches that had fallen from the trees outside the fort. They were innocent enough, just the child's play of soldier's children. Yu was the younger of the two boys, at barely 8 years old, he had spent his entire life living at the fort, as his father had always been stationed there for the past 10 years. His mother was a seamstress in the fort, her colorful clothing was well regarded within the provinces. The older boy was Tom, the grandson of the fort commander, Commander Cyris Tigh. The two boys would often pretend to be fighting with swords outside the gates; both boys had dreams of becoming great soldiers within the King's army. Back and forth, the small branches clacked together. Yu swiped at Tom's head leaving Tom barely enough time to duck the blow, but he recovered quickly, taking a quick strike at Yu's feet. Yu fell backwards, knocked off balance, and recovered quickly, lunging forward with a blow to Tom's chest. Tom parried the blow and stepped aside, whacking Yu on the back with his branch.

"Ouch! You don't have to hit so hard Tom!" Yu Gasped.

"I got you again Yu! You're getting harder to trick though. Soon enough, I think I'll be no match for you!" Tom said. He was just poking fun at the boy, Tom's skills far outmatched Yu's, as he was trained by Tigh, and Tigh was one of the greatest swordsmen in the Kingdom.

"I'll get you one day Tom. I promise!" Yu Retorted.

"Haha, we'll see about that! Lets go see what's for dinner at the inn! I'll race you!" Tom said. He dashed off through the fort gate towards the inn laughing.

"Hey, no fair!" Yu Yelled, "I'll get you!"

The two boys darted back and forth, dodging traders and their patrons in the streets. Tom leapt over a barrel of water that sat in front of the inn. Yu tried to follow, but pulled up at the last minute, falling hard on his shoulder and sliding into the boot of a trader that was leaving the Inn.

"Watch yourself boy, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself before you got to eat dinner! Doctor Laen is slower than a one legged mountain goat; you'd hate to be sitting in his house with an empty stomach!" The man let out a hearty laugh and pulled the boy up by his belt. "Go get yourself a bite to eat Yu! You need to keep that energy up!"

"Thanks Henson! I'll stop by your shop when I get my allowance next week to take a look at your toys! I can't wait to see what the summer tradesmen brought in!" Yu said with bright eyes. Henson was the fort's supplier of toys and other items for children.

Henson bent over and stared the boy in the eyes. His voice got quiet and his brow furled a bit. He said to Yu, as if it was the greatest secret that the world had to offer, "Indeed boy, I've gotten toy swords and shields carved from cured tangle root, straight from the Ulmach swamp."

Yu gasped, "I can't wait!"

"Run along now, Tom's probably got half of your dinner eaten already!"

Yu's smile dropped into a frown and he looked over his shoulder, "Tom! You stay away from my food you scoundrel!" He ran off into the inn to save his dinner.

Life was simple in Stone's Crossing for the boys. They had lessons each day with the other children where they learned about history, writing and science. In their free time, they played with each other, practicing wrestling and swordplay. It was the kind of life that every boy would want.

Yu sat down at the bench across from Tom, who had gravy smeared on his cheek. The daily special was some sort of bird, cooked with a gravy sauce and potatoes, with a hunk of bread. It was a hearty meal indeed. Tom had a smirk on his face, and he was clearly trying to hold back telling Yu something of great importance.

"I heard something today." Said Tom.

"Me too." Yu Replied. "A secret and I'm not telling you!" He said, referring to the news about the tangle wood toys at Henson's.

"Well, I was going to tell you, but forget it. I'll leave you to find out for yourself." Tom got up and walked towards the exit of the inn.

"Wait! I was just kidding, what is it? tell me! Tell me!" Yu was following close behind Tom.

"No." Tom said shortly.

"But, but you have to! I need to k...k...know..." Yu said, his voice trailing off.

As the two boys walked out of the inn, Yu saw the man standing in the street, talking to one of the soldiers. The sight of the man took his breath away. It was a Suun monk, a real live Suun monk! Suun monks rarely made it this far south. Normally, they stayed close to their temple in central Quaal. Yu had heard of the monks, but had never seen one with his own eyes. The man was tall and seemed muscular, but his body was covered by a white hooded cloak that bore the symbol of Suun over the left breast embroidered in silver and gold thread. The cloak itself was trimmed with silver and gold at its edges as well. Its hood was drawn over the face of the monk, as Suun monks were not permitted to show their faces outside of the temple of Suun. It was a restriction placed on them by the order to ensure that their deeds were reflective of the Order of Suun, and not the individual monks who did them. Yu moved closer to see if he could hear what the two were talking about, but he could only catch a part of the conversation.

"No sir," the soldier said, "Haven't seen any of you Suun folk pass this way in many years. S'been a long time to tell you the truth. I think I'd remember a priest passing through anyway. S'pecially one fitting that description."

"I see." The monk replied. "Its unfortunate, I had heard that he travelled south and I thought he might have passed this way."

"Sorry, you can check around to be sure, or enjoy your stay if you will. You're welcome to stay as long as you please. We'll always have a bed for a Suun monk at the inn." The soldier said respectfully.

"Thank you, I may take leave here for a few days. Its been a long journey." The monk bowed his head and walked away towards the inn.

Suun monks were respected among the greatest warriors in the known world. Their prowess with blades and magic was unmatched by normal humans. Their magic was a gift from the lesser dragon Suun. It enhanced their speed and strength, as well as giving them telekinetic abilities. Stories were told of master Suun monks controlling a hundred swords with their minds while still fighting hand to hand with foes on the battle field. Of course these stories were probably exaggerated, as most legends were, but they were great campfire tales for children.

Tom turned to Yu, "I heard a Suun monk arrived this morning. That was my secret, what was yours?"

"I'm not telling!" Yu said, and he ran off towards the gate yelling, "I'll beat you this time!" He was so excited by the sight of the monk that he had forgotten all about his lunch and his hunger.

"Tell me! I told you Yu! You have to tell me!" Tom said, running after Yu.

Yu was clearly enjoying his momentary position of strength. He would hold on to it as long as he could, because he didn't often have the upper hand against the older boy. "I'm going to be a Suun monk!" Yu squealed as he ran towards the gate.

"You're not even going to make it into the army with your skills!" Tom yelled.

"I don't have to be in the army! I'm going to the temple of Suun! Ha ha!" Yu replied as he crossed back through the gate. When he came to the edge of the tree line, he picked up two branches, placing one in each hand. "C'mon Tom, lets see what you can do!"

Tom chuckled and grabbed a thick and long branch from the ground and grasped it with both hands as if he were holding a giant two handed sword. "If I win, you'll tell me!" Tom bargained with Yu.

"I'll tell you if you win, I Promise." Yu replied, holding one of his hands over his heart. "Monk's honor!"

"Monk's honor eh? I'm not holding back!"

Tom rushed towards Yu holding his great sword across his body. From this position it would be easy to raise the sword for a strike or a quick parry. His blow would be weaker, but it ensured that he'd be ready for Yu's first move. Since he had decided to rush the boy, he was putting himself at a disadvantage. Yu held his ground, adjusting his feet so he could easily step to either side to avoid Tom's first strike. When Tom got into striking distance, his eyes twitched and he pulled up on the hilt of his sword and took a strike at Yu's side. Tom expected the boy to sidestep, and when he did, he would slide a leg over to trip the boy while he was in motion, and off balance, but to Tom's surprise, Yu held his ground and brought one of his dual blades across his body to parry the great sword. There was a loud clang as the blades met, and Yu was knocked off balance, but he dropped his back foot to absorb some of the blow and pushed back with his other blade striking at the side of Tom. Surprised, Tom jerked backwards, just getting out of range of the strike, but he was off balance and stepping backwards. Just then, Yu hurled his off hand sword at Tom's chest. The blade flew through the air, striking Tom in the shoulder before clanging to the ground. Tom was stunned at this maneuver, so stunned that he didn't even notice Yu following behind the blade. Yu lowered his shoulder and hit Tom in the stomach, causing him to buckle over, but he was able to step to the side and avoid most of the younger boy's momentum. With that, he whirled his great blade around and struck Yu in the back of the knee, causing him to trip and fall. Then he rested his blade on the back of Yu's neck.

"I win!" Tom said, removing his battered branch from the back of Yu's neck. "You surprised me there for a moment, but you're still not strong enough."

Yu got up, brushed himself off and muttered "Henson got a shipment of tangle wood swords made from wood straight from the Ulmach swamp. That's my secret." Yu dropped his branches, kept his eyes on the ground and sulked towards the city gate. He had thought he won the fight this time, his aggressive attack should have beaten Tom, but Tom had him figured out, he made it look so easy.

"Where are you going? Wait up! Don't be mad, I already knew about Henson's!" Tom yelled, following behind Yu. "Lets play some more! C'mon, wait up!"

Yu grumbled "Its getting dark, the gate will be closed soon, we should get back."