It had been almost 30 years since Toro Amaniwen, the bringer of ash, had gone to confront the dragon.
Many of the people of the kingdom of Norea had hoped that he would return successful; many had hoped that he would bring back the last sword of Bamono, the mythical dragon that was said to live in a cave at the foot of the eternal volcano Kimonija.
The reason for his quest to retrieve the sword was simple: to free Norea and the vast majority of the entire continent of Amfua from the hands of the Braunian Empire, a strange people who had come from beyond the sea in strange metal boats wielding strange sticks that produced fire and ash. For more than 100 years, they waged war against the people of the Amfua continent, conquering many kingdoms and claiming large amounts of land and territory, slowly erasing the culture and values of the people of the Amfua continent with their own cultures and values. Even though many tribes of the continent had possessed magic and special abilities in the olden days, it still remained a mystery as to how the Braunian Empire and their strange technologies had been able to successfully subdue and defeat the mages and warriors of the old Norean kingdom.
No one could truly know now; it had been so long ago that most of the history had virtually been wiped out, and most of the old traditions forgotten. Barely anyone believed in magic nowadays, and the few that did and claimed to possess the blood of the dragon were considered crazy and even sometimes persecuted by the empire.
But something everyone agreed on was that the Braunian Empire's oppressive rule had to end, and if there was a magic solution somewhere, it was better to go and find it than to sit back and do nothing.
And that was the justification of the great warrior Toro Amaniwen, but no one had seen or heard of him since.
The vast majority had lost hope, and many others had embraced the Braunian ways and customs, claiming they did not need magic.
But if ever there was someone who needed magic, it would be Orvae, son of Bokili.
As he carried the limp, unconscious body of his friend bravae on the damp forest floor of the great darron forests outside the town of deiamy.
Orvae and his friend bravae had participated in the nefarious act of trying to steal a box of gold from the braunian Empire's castle, a task that had proven to be catastrophic despite all preparations that they had made earlier.
they had succeeded in securing the box of gold but just as they were about to escape, they were caught in what resulted to a hot chase and pursuit from the braunian soldiers, unfortunately bravae had been shot thus prompting orvae to dump the gold and secure his friend.
He had successfully stopped the bleeding by tying a dry cloth around Bravae's thigh.
But Bravae had already lost a lot of blood.
And he was worried that his friend would not make it, but he still had hope regardless. he felt his knees buckle under the weight of bravae as he ran across the forest floor.
He didn't really know where he was going; the forest paths confused him, and he could still hear the many footsteps and shouts of the Braunian soldiers in the distance.
"They're gaining on me. I need to hide," Orvae said. Noticing that he was getting significantly weaker. So after some time he paused and looked around him to observe his surroundings for potential hiding spots.
One particular tree called out to him eerily; it was an old redwood tree with a large trunk. The tree looked dead, and the trunk of the tree had a hollow spot that lay conspicuously at its base above the roots.
Orvae deemed it to be the perfect spot to hide.
So he pushed Bravae's body into the hole and slid through himself. The hole was dark, damp, and smelled of wet earth, insects, and bugs.
It scared Orvae a bit because he had no idea what else might be lurking inside the hole, but this was the only place that could offer him the refuge that he desired.
He could feel Bravae moving slowly beside him. So he held him and said,.
"Relax, friend. We're going to be fine."
Orvae sighed, took off his mask, and threw it on the floor of the hole.
The sounds of the soldiers boots could now be heard audibly around.
"Keep searching the area; they can't be far off!" A voice could be heard saying something in Braunian language.
"I think they're gone, Commander," said another voice.
"They can't be gone; the trail of blood only stopped about a mile back, and I've been following it since it began at the castle. They couldn't have gone that far. They are still in the area, I'm sure of it," the first voice said with a tone of assertion.
Orvae's heart Beat rapidly as he could hear the sounds of soldiers all around him.
He put his hand over Bravae's mouth to prevent him from making any sounds.
After about a minute another soldier said again in Braunian.
"They are not here. I think they are gone."
"I don't agree; we have to keep searching, and we have to find them and retrieve the gold. I can't imagine what the general will say if he finds out about this."
Another voice replied.
"Goddammit! Alright, spread out. Let's find them," the first voice said.
And the soldiers continued their search further into the forest.
By now Brave was regaining consciousness again; he was dizzy and groggy. And he wondered why he was surrounded. By darkness, he didn't quite remember what had happened previously.
"Where am I?" he muttered groggily into the darkness.
"Hey, relax, the Braunians are still after us," Orvae said in a low tone.
"Huh? Braunians? What are you talking about? Who are you?" Bravae, managed to utter.
"It's okay; I'll get you to safety soon." Orvae said, patting him on the chest.
"Water, I need water, bring me some water," Bravae said.
Orvae ransacked his bag for his drinking gourd, but it was empty.
He thought for a second he had passed a small spring just a few hundred feet away from where he was, which contained plenty of fresh water.
He thought about it for a second a weighed the risk against the reward he didn't want to go but he had to keep bravae alive so finally he said to Bravae.
"Okay, bravae, stay here and wait for me. I'm going to find you some water.
So slowly he crawled out of the hole and peeped headfirst to check his surroundings for danger. Seeing no one in sight, he climbed out and made his way slowly towards the spring. When he got there, he brought out his gourd and put it into the water to fetch some. Immediately he heard a familiar clicking sound behind him, which made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand in unison.
"Get down on the ground," the soldier cried this time in his native norean tongue.
Orvae froze and dropped his gourd on the floor before kneeling down.
"Put your hands up where I can see them!" The soldier commanded again.
So Orvae lifted up his hands in surrender.
"Hey, I think I found one of them!" He cried into the forest this time in Braunian.
And with the sound of his voice followed the many footsteps of more Braunian soldiers still in the area; soon about 15 of them surrounded Orvae with their rifles all pointed at him.
One of them grabbed him by his wrists and pulled him up while another simultaneously delivered a powerful, gut-wrecking punch into his stomach, making him cough out blood.
"Where is the gold?" The first soldier asked him in norean.
"What are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about," Orvae managed to say.
The soldier laughed, a wicked, dry, and mirthless laugh.
He pulled out his sword and pierced Orvae slowly by his side.
Orvae Let out a shrieking cry that scared all the birds and creatures of the night away.
"Now do you know what I'm talking about?"
The soldier thundered again.
"I'm just a farmer. I came here to find seeds. I promise I don't know what you're…." Orvae tried to say it again, but the soldier pierced him a little deeper again with the sword, which made him cry harder.
"Show us where the gold is if you want to live," the soldier said to him.
"Okay, okay, I'll show you; please stop!" Orvae begged.
"Alright, lead the way," the soldier said, pushing him forward whilst the other soldiers followed behind him in a single file.
Meanwhile, Bravae was still in a state of shock; his body felt cold and hot at the same time. His leg felt as though it had been cut off from his body; he was now beginning to slowly recollect the events of the evening. He rolled around in the damp hole; he couldn't even breathe properly. He tried to move, but all he could feel was pain. He wondered why Orvae had not returned.
He began to hear footsteps again. He could hear screams again too. It sounded like orvae to him. He gnashed his teeth in frustration; the Braunians must have gotten to him. Which meant that he had to move.
But he couldn't move; he tried crawling forwards, but it was to no avail. Since he couldn't use his left leg. He turned his head around; something caught his attention. It glowed red in the dark. He didn't know what it was, but it lay deeper in the hole.
With all the strength he could muster, he turned his body around towards it. As he got closer, he noticed the object began to glow brighter, from red to a bright orange.
Something about its eerie glow drew him to it, almost as if it gave him a new strength to crawl forward. As he crawled forward, he could hear many voices emanating from it, whispering strange things in a strange language. And singing strange songs, it was almost as though he was in a trance.
When he got very close to it, he noticed that the object looked like a handle for a sword or some weapon.
He took a breath and grabbed on to it. What happened next was spectacular.
He felt a tremendous but comforting heat course through his body from the point his hand made contact to the tip of his toes. He tried to pull his hand away but couldn't. The handle grew brighter and brighter until soon the entire cave was illuminated.
The soil around started to get loose, revealing the rest of the sword, which glowed bright orange, producing such heat that everything around seemed to melt.
Bravae felt power like he had never felt in his entire life; he felt like the sun and the moon, the beginning and the end.
All the strength he had lost was returned to him; he drew the sword and raised it above his head. A powerful explosion occurred, and incredible energy burst out from him. Burning the tree and all other objects around
The soldiers and orvae who were slowly making their way towards the tree also saw the explosion, and they froze in fear.
"What is that? one soldier cried in surprise.
"I dunno, I think it was a bomb," another soldier cried, a Braunian.
"Bomb? No one has access to bombs in this area; the only bombs around are the ones in headquarters, or did they take them too?" Another soldier said.
"Wait, what's that?" Someone said.
From the smoke and ashes produced from the explosion, a fiery orange figure emerged holding a very wide and long sword that shone in the same color.
Many of the soldiers gasped in shock; they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Bravae?" Orvae gasped.
The figure held the sword forward in a threatening manner.
"It looks hostile; open fire," the first soldier said.
And all the Braunian soldiers started to fire at the figure; after a couple of barrages, they stopped.
But the figure still stood there, unperturbed by their attacks.
The figure Charged forwards with extreme speed, attacking the soldiers one by one, it was fast but precise with its slashes as it cut through soldier after soldier as if it were hacking through forest wood. in a truly spectacular sight that left blood flying everywhere.
It rushed forward to the another soldier. Slashing him across the face and kicking his body a couple of meters into a tree.
Everyone responded in shock, and they began to shoot at it again.
It responded by attacking two soldiers by the side, slashing their feet off, and delivering powerful blows that sent them flying.
In a matter of seconds it had killed five soldiers.
The other soldiers kept firing, but its attack was relentless, its speed was blinding, and the heat it produced gave everyone nearby 3rd-degree burns.
"Retreat! The commanding soldier shouted, and the rest of the soldiers ran back, leaving Orvae behind, who ducked down behind some bushes to take cover.
But the figure wasn't done yet; it burst forward once more, bringing the heat with it, and slashed two more soldiers to bits.
The other soldiers ran back as fast as they could, with some even still firing in a futile effort.
The figure Ran faster behind them and jumped up very high into the air, almost as if it was flying; whilst in midair, it raised its sword up high in the air, and as it came back down, it planted the sword on the ground firmly with 2 hands, which released another explosion that burned everything around within a 60-meter radius. Killing almost every single soldier but one, who barely escaped, running as fast as he could into the forest back toward the castle.
Bravae collapsed on the sword. It had finally stopped glowing. And he had stopped glowing too.
His shorts and underwear were almost completely burnt out, leaving him practically naked.
All around him was ash and smoke; all the trees, grass, and flowers had been reduced to ash. And the earth around him was completely scorched, leaving a very large ring of ash and scorched earth.
Orvae came out of his hiding place and rushed through the smoke towards its center point, where he found Bravae. He covered his nose with a cloth because of the smoke.
When he got there, Bravae was still kneeling down in front of the sword.
He wondered what had happened to Bravae and where he had gotten the sword.
But he didn't have time to solicit for an explanation, so he simply asked.
"Bravae, are you okay?"
"Bravae managed to nod his head."
"Can you stand?" Orvae asked".
"Yeah, I think I can," Brave said, getting up and using the sword to support himself.
He staggered and almost fell back down.
"It's okay, let me help you," Orvae said, throwing Bravae's hand over his shoulder in support.
Bravae then dragged the large black sword out of the earth.
And said:
"Orvae Where is the gold?"
"I dumped it in a cluster of thorn bushes about a mile back, do you think we should go and find it?" orvae replied
"no Let's go, they will be back."
Orvae looked at him from head to toe still shocked at what he had just witnessed.
So slowly they made their way back to the village, following the path ahead. Leaving behind the large ring of burnt trees and ash that the sword explosion had created.
It was a night that would change their lives forever.