The Rangers and the Camp

Somehow, the woman intimidated me more than the huge man beside her. Though she wasn't, she might as well have been the largest one there. The sheer command she had with the way she stood alone was immense. She had leather armour on her right arm, torso, and legs. It was all form-fitting, and the cuirass had a symbol pressed on it that looked like a crescent moon in the shape of a bow with a string drawn for a nocked arrow tipped with a smaller crescent moon. She had a cloak on like everyone else but, rather than keeping it all in the back, she let it cover her unarmoured left arm. The man had armour, but not as much. He had bracers for his forearms, greaves for his legs, and a cuirass for his torso holding the same symbol. Guess it's hard to get armour when you're that size. He stood stoic and tall like he had mountains of patience behind his eyes.

The woman spoke. "Are you gonna answer me or not. I don't have all day, kid."

Suddenly, I remembered her question. "I-I was told to find the Midnight Rangers. To find Sen."

Though I didn't know why, everyone in the crowd gasped at what I said.

"Only my closest friends and family call me Sen. My regular friends call me Senna. My rangers call me Captain or Captain Felror. Tell me: why is it that I don't know you or even recognize your face, yet you call me Sen . . . kid?"

It seemed like a cold anger was brewing in her eyes; an anger waiting to fully show itself depending on how I answered. It made me feel like I was placed on a thin rope—forced to walk and hope I don't fall off.

"Uhm… Abraxas sent me. Told me to find you."

"I see. You're his kid." She waved backward. "Come. If you want to be a ranger, you'll come with us to camp."

The crowd let out a sigh of relief as I felt I just dodged an arrow.

She turned back to the crowd of rangers. "What are you looking at? You all have stuff to do, do you not? Do I need to remind you all?"

Quickly, the crowd dispersed to finish their various tasks while only four remained in standby: the red and black woman, the man who helped her, the man who first came down, and Yara.

The captain looked back at me. "What's your name, kid?"

"L-Ladon."

"Can you walk a couple miles, Ladon?"

"I think so."

"Good. Then we'll walk to camp." She gestured to her right where the massive man stood. "Oh, and this is vice captain Soras Femren."

"You can call me Soras."

"Okay."

We began walking. The four rangers followed in a square around us. I noticed as time went on that the red one was staring at me from behind. I looked back at her to see her just smiling. I looked away quickly, not knowing how to react to her. After that, I felt eyes above me. They were following us so I looked up to see if I could see them.

The captain spoke. "They're following in the trees to make sure we get to camp safely. I'm surprised you noticed us each time you did. What gave us away?"

"I don't know. You all were well hidden, I couldn't see you or anything. I just felt your presence. I don't really know how to explain it."

Soras interjected. "Must be a demidragon trait then. Or maybe your subconscious is more keen with your senses than yourself."

"Would've been nice if you guys jumped down sooner."

The captain answered. "Sorry about that."

"Why didn't you?"

"To be honest, I wanted to see if you could scare them off first. To be perfectly honest, you and your food were perfect bait. Once I knew they weren't giving up on you, I knew we could come in and kill almost all of them before they could scatter. I never would've let them kill you."

Soras interjected. "We've been on the hunt, trying to get them for weeks. If we jumped in earlier, they would've ran away and we would've had to watch a village or two for a month. Shadow wolves love to go after villages."

"I see."

After an hour of walking, we finally made it to camp. I saw many rangers walking about; some training and sparring, some talking and playing games, and some doing maintenance on their belongings. There were tons of tents around, most of which were small as they looked large enough for two people. Some were larger.

As we walked past one of the smaller tents, I heard a female's voice yell, "Her?! Really?! Get out!"

Just then, I saw a boy, maybe my age and tan like me, with wellkept, jaw-length blonde hair get shoved out of the tent wearing only his pants.

"It's not what you think! You don't really mean this, do you?"

Suddenly, his boots and shirt were thrown out of the tent at him. Seconds later, a belt with two small sheaths was thrown at him.

"What about my daggers?" he asked as he leaned against a tree while putting on his boots.

Suddenly, a dagger flew out of the tent missing his ear by a centimeter as it pierced into the tree. Less than a second after, a second dagger flew out missing his crotch by a shorter margin.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

The female voice yelled back, "Talk to me again and I won't miss!"

Picking up his things, he turned to his right to see me and the rangers I was with. His face immediately turned red, probably because he realized the captain and vice captain saw all that. His blue eyes locked with mine for a moment before he quickly walked to me.

Smiling with all the confidence in the world, he reached out his hand. "So, we got a newbie today, huh? Hi, I'm Dannas. It's nice to meet you."

Looking at his hand while taking a step back, I answered, "Ladon."

Yara joined in. "Don't mind him, Ladon. Let's get you to the medical tent."

Right after, the captain said, "Once Ladon is treated, show him to the mess tent, Yara. I'm sure he's starving." She turned to Dannas. "After that, show him around camp, Dannas."

At the same time, Yara and Dannas answered, "Yes, Captain."

Both the captain and vice captain walked away. The rest of the rangers that came with us walked away as well, though the red one waved and smiled as she did.

Yara adjusted her pack. "Let's go."

Once we were in the medical tent, Yara got out her tools and stiching thread.

"Alright, let's see that wound again."

I put my things down, saw Dannas look at my arm with a curious horror written all over his face while I sat on the long wooden table. I then took my shirt off so Yara could examine my back.

Dannas's eyes widened. "By the gods! What happened to your arm?"

"Fire."

"Well, duh. What I meant was, like, how did it happen?"

"Stop bothering Ladon. He just fended off a pack of shadow wol—"

"Shadow wolves?! Did you get them? How many did you kill?"

"It's not a good time to talk about that stuff right now. Besides, I'm trying to examine his wounds."

"Four. The captain and a bunch of the rangers saved me."

"How'd you do it?"

Yara interrupted. "What did I just say, Dannas?"

Dannas fell silent, looking somewhat embarrassed. After a couple minutes, Yara finished examining my back.

"Well, to my surprise, it seems you won't be needing any stitches today afterall. It seems your wounds healed quickly enough to not need 'em. Your back still needs to heal plenty, but it doesn't look like you're going to scar either. I still need to rebandage you, but it looks like you're all good."

"It'll probably finish healing tonight then."

Dannas chimmed in again "How'd you heal that fast?"

"I'm a demidragon."

Yara, now bandaging up my back again, asked, "Are you going to ask him about his whole life, Dannas?"

"Well, excuuuse me for being curious. I've never met a demidragon before." He looked back at me. "How old are you?"

Growing a bit annoyed, I answered, "Sixteen."

"Me too! If we're the same age, we can get along well."

Yara finished bandaging me up. "Alright, I've finished. You're free to go. The mess tent is out this tent to the right and down the path a little ways."

While putting my ruined shirt back on, I turned to Yara. "Thank you, Yara. I appreciate your help."

She smiled lightly. "No problem. It's my job to do just that."

"Yes, yes, we're all grateful. Let's get some dinner, Ladon."

I walked with Dannas to the mess tent. Unlike the medical tent, it lacked any walls. It was just poles and a roof. There were a few cooks with some pots and pans on top of fires cooking, heating, and serving food.

Dannas and I got in line. "The food here's not the best, but it's not bad either." Just when he said that, a brown-haired girl with a freckle-covered face walked up to him. "Ah . . . Suzy?"

Just after he said that, she slapped him and walked away in a huff.

He froze for a moment. "I probably deserved that."

We grabbed our food and found a place to sit down and eat.

"So. Tell me about yourself, Ladon."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I mean we're sitting together, so we might as well talk, you know? I can start. I grew up in an orphanage. I didn't know my parents; never found them either. But the rangers found me so I can't complain there."

"I lived in an orphanage too."

His eyes opened wide in excitement. "Oh really? Where?"

"I don't know. Had to run when I was kid."

"Why'd you have to run?"

"I'm a demidragon, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

We awkwardly finished our food. Once we were done, he showed me around camp. There were campfires around where people would sit around and talk. One section was for all the two-person tents where they all sleep. To the right of the medical tent was the captain's tent and next to that was the vice captain's tent. It was larger than the vice captain's, which was somewhat larger than the medical. In this line of tents also sat a somewhat large tent for the bowyer. He showed me the forging area that seemed mostly out of use at the moment, the transport section where all the horses and carts were, then lastly the training area that had dull weapons, an archery range, dummies, and plenty of space. Eventually, by the time we were done, the sun met its horizon and he led me to my tent.

He opened the tent to show two spots for sleeping. They were piles of hay with a cushiony mat on top and a bed roll on top of that. The one on the right had animal skins and cushions that the left didn't. In between were two baskets, and a center pole an unlit lantern hung from.

"My spot is on the right. Yours is on the left. The baskets are for whatever you want them to be for."

"Are we sharing a tent?"

"Yup! It used to be just mine but that's alright."

"Okay."

"Oh!" Dannas rushed into his basket, pulled out a shirt, and threw it at me. "Here. For you. I noticed yours is kinda destroyed and covered in dried blood and mud and all that."

" . . . Thanks."

"No problem, friend."

I put on the new shirt, put my tools in my basket, then hung my cloak from the pole on the opposite side of the lantern.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a spare cloak to give you too." Dannas got comfortable in his bed roll. "You're gonna need your sleep for tomorrow. But before you do, I gotta know: how'd your arm get like that?"

I sighed a heavy sigh as I got in my sleeping bag. "There was a fire. It burned my arm."

"Fine, fine. If you don't want to tell me, that's alright."

"I'm going to bed now."

"Alright. Goodnight, Ladon."

"Night."

I spent about twenty to thirty minutes thinking about my day to help myself fall asleep. I thought about the huge shadow wolves and the rangers. I bet if those wolves were more tame, I could ride one. Even the smallest one was at least as big as a horse. The rangers are incredibly skilled. I wonder what I'm going to do tomorrow. I wonder what I'm going to learn. I hope I don't see Lon again. I hope I can get as skilled as them. Eventually, my thoughts carried me to sleep.

In a quick flash, I saw the smoldering, ruined orphanage. Before I could get a good look, I got shunted backward faster than I could tell. I bounced off my back, repeatedly hitting each side of my body against the ground as my speed felt no friction to slow. As soon as I felt like I could do something to take control, my body was pulled to the ground as I moved through a doorway into a room that was being put together piece by piece incredibly fast until I was suddenly under my familiar bunk looking at a familiar bedroom. I blinked and suddenly that room was on fire—my friends and everyone else dying just outside of my thin saftey. After another blink, I was now on cold, smooth ground inside an unwavering darkness. I stood up to see absolutely nothing. Suddenly, I remembered this darkness. I've seen this. I need to tell Abraxas.

A distant, omnipresent, ever-shifting voice sounding like mine but mixed with someone else's ground-rumbling, deep voice spoke. "You, child. You need to listen carefully. Your time here is limited."

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"I said listen, boy. You are doomed if you don't prepare. Train diligently, do as they say, and follow your gut. If you do, you might have a chance. Do not tell Abraxas yet—it has to wait."

"How do you know Abraxas? How do you know me? How are you talking to me?"

Suddenly, an ever-shifting mixture of two female voices, one powerful, dignified, and wise, and the other weak, soft, and physically dry, joined in. "Please . . . listen . . . to him."

Just after that, a singular, somewhat old adult male voice faintly seeped through, feeling as if it came from the same source as hers. "What did you say?"

After a short silence, it became clear that the female voice and the man's would not return.

The earth-rumbling voice continued. "I do not know how I'm talking to you, nor how I know what I know. But I know you, child. I have known you for a short while. And I know my life. Do as I have told you to do. Waste not a single moment if you can."

Suddenly, faster than I could fully comprehend, I fell to the ground, saw the flaming room, normal room, flew through it as it all deconstructed, smacked the ground several times, then saw the ruined orphanage. And in a flash, I rose up in my sleeping bag. Sweating and breathing heavily, my eyes fell on the tent wall, letting me know I was awake. I looked to my left to see Dannas completely unbothered in his slumber. Knowing that sleep was now unobtainable, I unwrapped my back and placed my hand where the wound was to find my regular skin. After that, I put my new shirt on, grabbed the unlit lantern, and walked outside.

The camp was blanketed in a refreshingly cool, light mist. There were plenty of rangers about doing their various tasks, although it seemed like most of the camp was still asleep. I sat down just outside the tent and placed the lantern on the ground. Time for some practice. I put my hand near its opening and created a cozy warmth. This much is getting easy. However, just like all the times before, when I tried to increase the heat, it got out of control. This time, I pulled my hand away before an accident could befall the lantern. Ever so gradually, I lowered the heat until it extinguished. Shit! I still can't do it.

Just before I could put it back and move on from my frustration, a woman spoke from behind, in a tone I couldn't tell between persuasive and seductive. "Having trouble controlling it, Ladon?"

I turned around to see the red and black woman. She was standing comfortably, smiling as she waited for a response.

"Uh, w-what?"

"The fire. The heat. I can see you're having a hard time controlling it."

"Y-yes. I only learned how to do it recently. It always gets out of control."

"Hmmmm . . . I have an idea. Make the heat, build it up, then try bringing it back down."

"I never thought about that."

I lifted my hand a little bit so the back of it would face the ground. I created the heat then tried building it up. Eventually, before it got out of hand, I imagined the heat becoming as it started. The buildup quickly slowed until the heat started to cool down. I could see as the air above my hand, which was now distorted, lost that distortion as the heat lowered. Over time, it became the cozy warmth I always started with.

"Very good . . . for your first time. I'm certain, if you continue practicing, your control over it will enhance greatly."

I stood up and looked into her void-black eyes. "Thank you. If I may, how did you know my name?"

"Which answer do you want?"

"The . . . truthful one?"

She smiled. "Well, they're both truthful."

"I guess both then."

"I heard you give it to a few people. Before that, I heard it from your mind."

"W-what?"

"I hear from everyone's minds. A blessing and a curse granted to Cambions."

"Cambion?"

"Much like you, I'm half human. Unlike you, my other half is demonic in nature. The term was made before they started using demi for all halfbloods."

"Is that where your magic comes from? Like what you did to that wolf."

"Indeed it is. We inherit many . . . dark magical abilities. What you witnessed was puppeteering."

"I see. Well—"

Suddenly, Dannas walked out, looked at me with his ever-positive look, then saw the red and black woman I was with. Immediately his face turned to one of shock and fear. "Ah. This is where you w-went, Ladon. I see you've met Ardat Lili"

She held her hand out to me. "Please, call me Lili"

As I shook her hand and looked into her ever-confident eyes, I heard her voice in my head, her tone no different from how it's been. "You are very interesting, Ladon. An odd air flows around you. I can't quite place it. Have you yet seen the darkness?"

I pulled back, mostly out of shock from what just happened and fear of what she said. "How'd you know?"

"I must apologize. I didn't intend to . . . freak you out. I heard your mind and saw your soul. Maybe it's time."

"What's she talking about?" Dannas asked.

Perplexed by this whole exchange, I said nothing.

"I will take my leave." She winked before continuing. "See you soon, Ladon."

What does she mean by time? What does that have to do with the darkness? I stood in silence, lost in thought while watching her walk away.

"Yeah, she always kinda scared me too," Dannas said.

I walked forward. "Let's just get some food.