Bandits I

In all his three decades, Renly had never been so flushed with rage that his finger dug so hard into his flesh it bled. Blood rushed to his head as he shouted, " Bastard!" about to point his staff at Zariel. He froze: This was a child. A child. A boy not even in his first decade of life, he told himself, lowering his staff. Though his heart seethed, he held himself back. 

"Violence… isn't the motto of the Golden Stag," He said, clutching the sigil of his school house. He closed his eyes and opened them with a calm that wasn't there before. He looked on at the angry village and ushered them away before he, too, took his leave. 

"What an unexpected end." Zariel racked back and forth in his chair when he heard the door open again. "Done running, are we?" He said to Aurelia, who found a seat next to him, curling up into a ball as she rocked. 

"Is… is Aurelia nasty?" 

Brows lifting, Zariel eyed her queerly. "You've got a nasty habit of forgetting to brush your teeth sometimes, but you're all good in my book." 

"Aurelia brushes her teeth, Dumb-Dumb, hehe. I just tell you otherwise to get you angry." 

"Say what now?" 

She laughed, feeling a bit better watching his response. "Can we keep training?" 

Zariel thought for a bit, smiling. " how about I teach you a mental exercise?" He leaned back into his chair, relaxing his body. "It ought to help with those demons of yours." 

"My demons?" Aurelia looked confused. " What demons?"

"Everyone has things they fear, whether it be people, goals, loved ones, objects or… places."

"Even you?" She asked, rocking a bit faster in her chair.

"Especially me," he whispered dryly. " So… I created a technique to guard against pesky astral attacks and other types of mental prisons and so on. Though I'm hesitant gifting you such an ability." 

"Because Aurelia is so awesome, right?" 

The boy looked at her nonplus, wondering if she was alright in the head, and flicked her between the brow. Aurelia yelped, clutching the tender blemish, and glared as if she had been wronged. 

"The minds of every child and god alike are quite similar. They need to experience things as a person." He told somewhat reminiscent of the soul he tempered through the Hells, broken though it might be, it burned brighter than any Lord or Sovergin of the Twelve Realms. "The Soul of the Indomitable shields you from many things, and that can sometimes include experiences." Candilly, he eyed the girl, clipping her head. "Everything in his Myriad Realm of ours comes at a price. Whether you see it or not. It exists. And it might just end up killing your innocence." 

Aurelia didn't quite understand but was very excited. "Teach! Teach!" she exclaimed. 

Silvery embers gather over the boy's finger, shimmering like dancing flames. He pushed her hands off her forehead and tapped between the brows. 

Aurelia made an 'oh' sound before every muscle, tendon, and ligament tensed up at the sudden intricate Rune that emerged within her Astral Sea. It quivered, and from its runic light, a jolt of Information regarding Runic Symbols, Spirits, Soul Flames, Astral Sea, and more came like a great wave cascading over her young mind until her vision cut to black. She toppled back into her chair, faint, before the pain could arrive. 

Zariel doubted she'd be able to understand everything, but the information would remain in her mind so long as the Rune was not damaged or touched. Psionic Touch, some called it. Requiring the arcanist to conjure their spirit into the corporeal realm by using runes. It was a low-grade skill but required a deep understanding of one's soul and spirit. Though, it did take a toll on his near-shattered Soul Flame, mutilated and shattered beyond recognition.

He paled, feeling a sense of drain unlike anything he faced since he returned. His soul ached. 

"Maybe ten years from now, it'll be healed. But right now. I should stay away from anything soul-related." He mused to himself, allowing the darkness to swallow him for the second time since he descended. 

He slept.

***

For the next few months, as the seasons came and went, silvery sheens of snow blanketed the Redwoods in a vast cloak of white. It was mid-summer, but the snow kept on. 

"Our garden died," said Aurelia mournfully. She had put on quite a bit of weight these past eight months. Flesh no longer clung to her bones but rested over her muscles. In comparison, her cheeks began to gather baby fat, much like the other girls her age. 

Zariel, who'd been relaxing rocking back and forth, glanced over, studying the withered blueberry tries. There hadn't been much he could do. Element magic wasn't his focus on account he'd been cursed by some unknown God. The element did not heed his call, no matter how proficient he might be. 

"I guess no more blueberries," He said dryly. 

"Think the village is facing the same issue?" Aurelia asked, garnering a nod. She sighed. "The elements are cruel."

"Or are humans just weak?" Zariel stood up. " Let's head to the village. I want to buy a map. After which, we can leave." 

Aurelia grew stunned. " You want to leave, Four Rivers?" She said, "Isn't that dangerous? Undead prowl the regions you know, cryptids the size of bears are—" 

"Suck it up," He said uncaringly. As if any of that ever mattered to him. 

"What about Sura? She's—"

"A grown-ass woman." The boy finished, dusting snow off his hair and shoulders. " Now come along." 

Protesting as she followed, Aurelia felt a little bothered by the idea of leaving. She didn't fear the outside, but rather, she liked the way they lived now. It was peaceful…. And warm. No humans to bother her or her Dumb-Dumb. Though, Zariel didn't seem to care. And while he hadn't planned to leave until he created his core, watching Aurelia's pleading face had brought much amusement on their journey to the village. 

The Village of Four Rivers had been buried beneath nearly four feet of snow. Men, Women, and Children stood shoveling snow just to leave their homes, dressed in large fur coats. They were all pale, and many of them, especially the children, were gaunt. Withered down to the bone. 

"They look terrible, " said Aurelia, frowning looking around. "Can't they hunt?" 

"You think everyone has animal-like Instincts like you? These hunters probably can't find food as easily as we can," Zariel said, heading toward the Mayor's cottage. He entered his courtyard and approached his door as voices began to echo. 

"So it's the lightning that fell last year," said Old Mar, wheezing to breathe. 

"Yes, from our readings, the sheer power helps forever change the region, " said Sura bitterly. She sounded sad. "This usefully only happens when Magus takes the field; it's rare for it to be… natural occurrence." 

"Natural!" Old Mar coughed horribly. "The bolt fell without clouds, m'Lady. Seven Days and Seven nights, the skies burned. And you say it's natural! I—"

Zariel entered, then dusting the snow off as he entered alongside Aurelia. He closed the door, ignoring Old Mar's flushed expression as he spoke. 

"I need a Map of the Region." 

"Malos we…" 

"Are not done talking," said Old Mar sharply, nearly forgetting who stood before him. But he was angry, unsure how many would survive this endless winter. Men, women, and children were dying by the day, and he had no patience left. 

"Is there nothing you can do, m'lady?" He continued. "Surely the Arcanist of—" 

"I need a map," said Zariel, and when old Mar snapped his eyes to meet his, the roar he held turned to ash upon his tongue. 

Fear slithered down his spine down to his knees that began to buckle like a newborn fawn, trembling before the lion. He collapsed, looking up at the face cold as a devil. 

"you know you've done fucked up, right?" Zariel wanted to say but held himself back. Sheathing his spirit, he clapped. "Now then… my map." 

Old Mar practically shot to his feet to retrieve his map. 

"You're kind of a dick." Said Sura. 

Zariel shrugged. "It's not like you could have helped him. Could you?"

"Well… no, but—"

"But nothing." 

Sura scratched at her hair, unsure what to make of the boy. "You're leaving?" 

"Maybe in ten years when I'm fifteen or sixteen." The boy responded, and Aurelia squealed

"Dumb-Dumb, you bastard! Why didn't you tell me that? I thought we were leaving in a few days!" 

"You sure?" Sura cut in. "Where about to leave as well? We're heading to Salem. We've business with the Castilian there." 

Zariel looked a bit excited. " do they have manors to purchase?" 

"ehhh~ so we're really leaving," Shouted Aurelia. 

"Oh, stop being so dramatic it's—" 

A sudden horn thundered, followed by the cries and shouts of the villagers. Children were screaming for their mothers and fathers. Women shrieked, and men roared. 

Zariel ignored it, but Aurelia and Sura both had hearts and ran outside with panic-stricken faces. There, they saw nearly twenty bandits on horseback, galloping through the village, slashing and piercing through whatever caught their eye. 

Children howled at the top of their lungs, watching their mothers then from off their feet from the bandits as they screamed for help. But most of the men were off hunting to help feed their families. Of those that remained behind that could fight were few in numbers. 

"Take the woman and kids!" Shouted one of the bandits that bore a gold tooth, carting off a woman and her babe still suckling at her tit. 

The roar of the bandits came hard and loud. 

Aurelia took in the sight, watching as a spear drove through a baker's eye, exploding out the back, staining the snow a vibrant pink. 

Trevor, she believed his name was.

Down the road, blanketed by snow, she saw four spearmen fighting back, flailing their blades wildly, shouting, "Back! Back! Back I say!" but eight bandits were circling them on horseback, moving too fast for them to land a clean blow. They were screaming when one of the bandits drove his pike through one of the spearmen's groins. They laughed wildly, watching as the spearman dropped and began foaming at the mouth, blood racing down his trousers as the snow consumed it.

"Looks like we're gonna have fresh meat today," snarled a one-eyed Bandit, lifting a little girl about the size of Aurelia by the foot. She was screaming, crying for her mother, who lay still in the snow with an arrow in her eye. 

"Just my luck. So it looks like it's a two-week trip on foot. Damn. I wonder if we can get some horses," Zariel said, walking outside with his head buried in the map. He peeped up past the petrified Aurelia and grinned. "Oh… Nevermind."