Kazan – Shadow Warriors (Part 2)

Part 2

First Stage

          “You summoned me and you do not know what I am? I am a Shadow Warrior,” the figure said.

          “A Kazan!” the girl said, surprised.

          “Indeed,” the figure said with a bow.

          “At least she understands what Shadow Warriors are,” Namic noted.

          “Let her be,” Ranin said. “She certainly did not come here intentionally.”

          “Then why was she here?” Namic asked.

          “Maybe she’s lost,” Ranin proposed.

          “I will serve you from now on,” Sworder continued.

          “I,” the girl stumbled over her words. “I don’t need a servant.”

          Sworder’s brow furrowed. “You don’t understand do you,” he said. “This is binding on both of us. I am bound to be your servant. You are bound to be my master.”

          “What!” The girl said, confused.

          “It was all explained on the sealing stone, did you not read it?” he asked suspiciously.

          “No!” the girl said. “I did not know it was there till I put my hand on it.”

          “Well, it is too late to change your mind,” Sworder said. “I will be at your side anytime you have need of me.”

          “You mean you will be standing next to me forever?” the girl asked, worried.

          “No,” Sworder amended. “Simply if you do need me I will be there.”

          “Well,” the girl said. “I am stuck here.”

          “Let me see.” Sworder said, looking up at the two openings in the roof.

          Sworder drew the short sword at his waist and leaped up far higher than any person could. Striking the blade deep into the wall, he pulled himself and stood on the sword’s handle.

          “They are too small,” he called down before removing his sword and landing loudly on the floor.

          The girl gasped as he landed, but then realized he was unharmed.

          “Come now,” he said. “We will have to find another way out.”

          He led her through a doorway and down the underground corridors, disarming traps as he went.

          “He takes his duty rather seriously,” Namic noted.

          “What else is he to do?” Ranin asked.

          “This is indeed true,” Namic admitted. “But it is interesting nonetheless.”

          What will happen next?” Ranin asked excitedly.

          “I can not tell,” Namic said as the girl and Sworder emerged from the ruins, “but I wonder if he may bring her misfortune.”

          “What were you doing in there, anyway?” Sworder asked.

          “Well, I just stumbled across the entrance and wanted to investigate,” the girl said.

          “And why are you so far in the forest?” Sworder asked.

          “Well,” the girl said almost as if she was trying to make something up.

          “Will she tell the truth?” Ranin asked.

          “No matter what she has to say, it will always be good to stay honest,” Namic said.

          “I ran away from home,” the girl relented.

          “Do you think that wise?” Sworder asked.

          “I’m an orphan,” she said. “I have nothing of my own. I have no family; no home.”

          She tried to wipe away the tears as she spoke.

          “Maybe we should go back,” Sworder proposed.

          “Why? What’s for me there?” the girl said, struggling to control herself.

          “And what is for you here?” Sworder asked.

          “I could live here,” the girl said, mustering up courage.

          “Any life is dangerous if untrained for it,” Sworder said.

          A low growl came from deep within the trees, and Sworder’s hand immediately sunk to his sword.

          “What is it?” Ranin asked.

          “It’s a Galacian Panther,” Namic said.

          “What is it doing so far south?” Ranin asked.

          “It’s here and they must deal with it,” Namic responded.

          The cat lowered itself, preparing to pounce.

          “Galacian Panthers are notoriously violent, slaughtering anything smaller then itself,” Namic said.

          “Get back,” Sworder commanded the girl as he drew his sword, but as she started to back away the panther pounced.

          Sworder threw himself at the panther blocking its path to the girl. The panther staggered for a moment but soon leapt onto Sworder. Sworder used his sword to stop the panther’s jaws from biting his head off. The panther writhed and clawed at him, but Sworder kept his sword firmly in place.

          After seeing its attempts useless, the panther started to claw with its back legs shredding Sworder’s lower body.

          The girl shrieked when the panther attacked but Sworder barely even gave a single grunt of pain through the entire encounter. But now the girl stood paralyzed as the panther crouched in preparation to pounce again.

          “No!” Sworder said, and suddenly a glow encompassed him obscuring him from view.

          “He is Staging,” Namic said, fascinated by the phenomenon.

          “What will be the outcome?” Ranin said, peering closer.

          The glow seemed to last for just a second. Then, as the panther sprung at the girl, its claws swiping at a deadly trajectory, an axe came from where Sworder had been lying, goring the panther and slicing open its side. It was over in a moment. The panther writhed in mid-air before slamming to the ground, spraying blood around it. There it lay still.

          “Sworder!” the girl cried as she ran to where he had been laying. “Are you all right?”

          But Sworder was not there. In his place lay a different figure nearly a head taller then Sworder. His coat was thicker and brown, not the gray Sworder had. He had a reinforced leather helmet and a large axe instead of a short sword.

          “Where’s Sworder?” the girl asked confused at the change.

          “Does she know anything?” Namic asked.

          “Apparently not,” Ranin replied.

          “He is here,” the new figure said, responding to the girl’s question, “But in this form I am called the Vassal of Earth.”

          “Sworder?” she said surprised.

          “At your service,” the Vassal of Earth said.

          “What happened to you?” the girl asked.

          The Vassal of Earth looked at her for a moment, not understanding the question. “I assume you know nothing about Shadow Warriors?” he finally asked. When the girl responded in the negative, the Vassal sighed before continuing, “I believe it was once called Staging; where a Shadow Warrior would take on a new form more powerful then the last, but it is more tiring to retain.”

          The girl nodded uncertainly.

          “An apt description,” Namic said. “Kazan’s are creatures without bodies. Shadow Warriors can cast themselves and affect their surrounding like shadows, without substance but real affects. These affects can be changed to be more powerful but are also more difficult to maintain.”

          “Shadow Warriors can take on many forms,” Ranin agreed. “But those forms are shaped by who they are.”

          The Vassal of Earth stared to rise but faltered.

          “Your legs,” the girl said shocked, looking at the shredded legs. The skin was scarred and gored but no blood flowed from the wounds.

          The Vassal of Earth looked at them before speaking, “That will slow our progress. They will probably be healed in a day.”

          “A day!” the girl said confused. “They could not be healed in just a day. We have to bandage them.”

          “That will be unnecessary,” the Vassal said.

          The Vassal of Earth tried to stand again; this time succeeding.

          “See,” he said. “Better already.”

          The girl looked sad and doubtful, but walked with the injured Kazan as he used his axe as a walking stick. Soon, they bedded down for the night.

          “It seems nothing too interesting will occur for a little bit,” Ranin said.

          “True,” Namic said. “But it maybe wise to keep an eye on them.”