Pure Fury
Part 1
By Rarstarr
The sun slowly rose, framing the mountains. The red orb silhouetted the
young lady standing atop the crag, bathing her in its fiery glow. She
stood staring outwards as the winds plucked at her robes and sent her
hair streaming to the side. In her hands she confidently held the long
shaft of her weapon, the light glinting off the wicked blade at its top.
Beside the girl stood a young man, a companion who'd spent his childhood
learning beside her. He too watched the beautiful sight before them,
although no light gleamed from his armour, painted white as it was, or
his weapon, the sword which lay in it's sheath at his hip.
The girl turned to her companion. "This is what I got up extra early
for?" she demanded of him incredulously.
Her companion collapsed to the ground in shock.
*****
The old man watched the pair of youths trudging up the road towards his
dojo. Like himself Jun's features marked her as Salan, Olive skin and
almond shaped eyes. Unusual for his people was the girl's height and hair
colour. Obviously one of her parents had been from the Kingdom of Lania,
few of the people from the Empire had red hair or challenged the height
of the males of the Kingdom. Often he had wondered if maybe her parentage
had been why she had been abandoned so soon after birth.
As always besides her walked the youngest of the Lionbane children.
Often the old man wondered if the gods had planned the two of them
together and somehow mixed up some of the details. Where Jun was tall but
should be short Cain was short instead of tall, which made him somewhat
the black sheep of the family. However the rest of the boy's features
were those of a Lanian, blonde, blue eyed and fair skin. Most of all he
had the customary love of metal, as was shown by his choice of garments
for the pair's tramp that morning. While Jun had gone out in a simple set
of robes Cain had worn a suit of armour the made him look like a walking
iron works, which he had, of course, carried without breaking a sweat.
The pair turned into the gates of the dojo and walked up to the old man.
Stopping before him they placed their hands together and bowed in
respect.
"Good morning Master Yo," the paired chorused as they straightened.
Yo smiled at the pair. "Come inside, I have a meal prepared for you, you
must be hungry from your long trek."
Inside Yo and Jun waited while Cain removed his armour, placing it in a
closet by the door. Yo appraised his adopted daughter, she stood with a
bored look on her face, but trying to look patient.
"Tell me young Lionbane, why have you worn this armour?" Yo inquired.
Cain paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Family tradition," he
answered.
Yo laughed. "I'm sure, however I meant this morning."
Cain smiled in answer and went back to removing his armour. "Endurance
training, if you can't travel in your armour there's no point in wearing
it."
Jun snorted in derision. "So why wear it at all, _I_ prefer to not be
hit."
Yo gave her one of those smiles. "Ah, but there are some weapons which
Cain can simply ignore."
Cain pulled off his metal boots. "Like a bow. Of course without the
light weight metals I'd be joining you with the speed training, that
armour's heavy enough as is." He jumped to his feet. "Shall we eat?"
The trio moved through the house to the dinning room where three plates
of steaming food sat upon the table. They enjoyed the early lunch, making
light conversation.
When they had all finished Yo turned his gaze upon each of them. "So
then students, what did your trek this morning teach you?"
"If a man falls in armour he makes much noise," Jun replied sagely.
"Don't facefault in full plate," Cain smiled.
"That is not what I sent you out there to find," Yo scolded them.
"No master Yo, you sent us out there to observe a beautiful natural
event so that we may appreciate just what it means to be alive," Cain
told him.
"You've been spending way too much time reading books Cain, you're
starting to spout poetry," Jun teased.
"And you felt no such inspiration daughter?" Yo inquired.
"Inspired, by a large ball of fire coming up from behind mountains?
You've got to be joking!"
Yo sighed. "I suppose the world needs people who see just what is there
and does not allow themselves to draw the parallels, but it is a shame.
Still the exercise did you good, speaking of which you should both get
into the dojo and back to your practice."
*****
Jun dove forward, the blade on her halbard blurring as it shredded the
practice mannequin. She immediately pulled away, returning the pole arm
to a ready stance.
"Jun, that's the third one you've turned to confetti today," Cain, once
more in his armour, complained as he readied himself to attack a dummy
of his own. "You could try pulling out at the last second, it saves
money."
"I don't know why we bother, this isn't practice, we need some real
opponents," Jun complained, stepping back to watch him.
Cain shook his head, then focused on his bastard sword. He dived
forward, his blade flashing. He pulled away as the dummy fell into three
pieces as a wedge shaped section slid out from the middle.
"What happened to saving the dummies?" Jun inquired.
"Couldn't be bothered," Cain shrugged. "You know we can't just go out
and find sparring partners, we're students of one of the deadliest arts
in the world."
Suddenly the light coming through the window darkened. Jun and Cain
glanced towards each other then dashed to the door. Floating above the
dojo, in fact floating over the entire town, blocking out the sun was a
massive vehicle. Their revere was broken by an explosion on the opposite
side of the main house.
"Father!" Jun cried, running towards the back door. She sprinted through
the ruins of the front door and skidded to a halt.
Four black clad warriors followed behind a gold armoured warrior towards
a beam of light shining from the ship above. Two of them dragged an
unconscious Master Yo between them.
"Hey, uglies, drop my father!" Jun cried as Cain clanked up behind her.
The golden warrior turned to face them. He towered over the four
warriors, who weren't themselves short. The helmet's visor was down,
blocking the view of the man's face. "Yo has a daughter, I doubt that
very much. Who are you girl?" His voice reverberated with a metal ring.
"I am Gekijou Jun, and Yo _is_ my father!" Jun declared.
"I'm sure. You two," he gestured to the two free warriors, "kill them!"
He turned and stepped into the beam and was immediately whisked into the
heavens. The two ninja carried Master Yo into the beam as the remaining
pair turned to face Jun and Cain.
Jun sneered at her opponents and shifted into a fighting stance. Beside
her Cain drew his sword and held it in both hands and looked across the
point towards the ninja. Focusing on their enemies the pair reached for
their inner strengths. Blue flames flared around Cain's sword while Jun
was surrounded by a soft red light.
The ninja's drew their own swords and leapt forward to attack the
teenagers. Jun blurred forward trailing red streaks of light behind her,
her halbard sweeping up to slash at the villain. Cain's weapon clashed
loudly as he parried his opponent's blow, then delivered a mailed fist
into the ninja's face. Twisting in mid air the ninja almost dodged Jun's
blow, receiving a slash along his side. The other ninja fell backwards
from the impact of the punch, then rolled once more to his feet.
Cain's sword arced through the air, leaving blue after images behind it,
slicing towards his foe. Jun thrust forward, the blade of halbard
blurring. They struck at the same time, the force of the blows sending
the bodies flying away.
Cain let his aura fall as the two corpses struck the ground, but Jun
dashed forward at her augmented speed towards the beam from the ship.
Just as she reached it the light vanished, leaving the pair to watch
helplessly as the large vehicle roared up into the sky and vanished.
"Damn damn damn damn damn!" cursed Jun, throwing her halbard to the
ground.
Cain still gazed up at the sky, searching for any sign of the large
ship. "So what do we do now?" he asked.
"We go to castle Lionbane, your father will help," she snatched up her
halbard, then stalked back into the house.
*****
Castle Lionbane and the village Yo and Jun had called home were a four
hour trek apart at the pace the young warriors were capable of. It was a
trip Cain knew well, he'd been walked it and back once a week for the
last ten years of his life. It was a fairly safe trip, neither bandits
nor monsters were to be found, the Lionbane family had seen to that for
generations, normally however it didn't end at smoking ruins.
"My home!" Cain cried and hurried ahead, clanking in his armour.
Jun stood watching him for a few moments before releasing a string of
curses that would have earned her a scolding from Master Yo. "Gods, why
do you hate us?" she demanded of the sky.
The scene inside the courtyard was one of horror. Sir Lionbane, his four
sons and the castle guard had made their final stand here. The large
gates, made from the strongest woods available and reinforced heavily,
simply no longer existed other than as splinters attached to the hinges.
The bodies of the fallen soldiers were all charred and still arrayed in
formation. Some had been cut in two.
Cain knelt over the body of his father. A number of holes had been cut
clear through both armour and man, it was Jun's guess that the invaders
had orders to take him down quickly and a number had done so. Cain's four
brothers had similar holes blasted through them, although only one each.
Surprisingly the soldiers around them had received less damage, though
they had dropped pretty much where they had been standing. A few of the
soldiers at the back of the formation had managed to turn and take a few
steps in a run to the inside of the castle.
Jun stood listening intently. The only sounds she could hear were Cain's
quiet sobbing and the nervous shuffling of the horses in the nearby
stables, all else was silent.
"Ho, the castle, does anyone remain?!" Jun cried, startling Cain.
"Are you crazy?!" Cain cried. "They could still be around!"
"Whoever did this is long gone, this was a surgical strike. I figure
they killed everyone here then visited us to kidnap Master Yo. They had
no reason to leave behind anyone." She looked around at the destroyed
castle.
"You think the same people who took Master Yo did this?"
"This isn't magic, too much was used, so obviously our friends used
technology. There's nothing like this in southern Lania, so we can safely
connect the two events." Jun frowned. "That doesn't help us decide what
to do next."
"We travel to Lania Tor, the king needs to know," Cain declared.
Jun nodded in agreement. "Then let's raid the castle for whatever we can
find."
They spent the rest of that day searching through the rubble, finding
more dead inside the castle proper. Cain discovered his father's shield
had not only survived the battle but didn't have a scratch on it. All the
castle's horses had been left alone, including Sir Lionbane's warhorse,
and the pair decided to take the six beasts with them. Thankfully both
the castle's stores and treasure chamber had been left untouched, and
Cain of course knew where the latter was hidden. The trip to Lania Tor
would take a few weeks by horse, but with a castle full of resources the
pair could easily outfit themselves.
*****
The journey to the capital of the Kingdom of Lania was somewhat eventful
for the pair, although nothing they couldn't handle, just three bandit
raids and a number of monster attacks. As they travelled they found
themselves encountering the trappings of technology more and more.
Kirinus county had been a somewhat backwards area, but heading north the
oil filled street lamps became electric and houses became more
artificial.
The pair joined the queue for horses and carts heading through the gates
into the large city of Lania Tor. The walled city sprawled across the
plains, but the King's castle could be seen even from the edges, it's
towers standing tall over the city.
Once inside the city, the pair of warriors headed along the main road
way towards the castle gates. Their provincial appearance of the train of
six horses made them look like easy marks until the first thief almost
lost a hand to Jun's casually swung halbard. After that the local
criminals seemed less interested in their supplies.
The castle gate guard, however, was less helpful. "What business do you
have here?" he demanded, stepping in front of the pair.
Cain, who'd been taught etiquette by his father, regarded the man with
mild surprise. It had been stressed to him many times that anyone bearing
the family crest would be greatly welcomed at the castle of Lania Tor.
"I asked you what your business is!" the guard repeated.
Cain angled his shield so it directly faced the guard. "Do you
recognised this, it's the Lionbane family crest."
"So?" the man demanded. "Should I care about some provincial noble
family?"
Cain shared a glance with Jun before leaning forward. "I pity you," he
told the man quietly, waving his guantleted hand at another guardsman
hurrying towards them from the guardhouse.
The guard turned and immediately saluted the running man. "Lieutenant,
these people..." he started.
"Shut up!" the Lieutenant hissed. He immediately turned to Cain and
bowed. "My apologises, Lord Lionbane, this man is new to service. One of
your august family is always welcome at Lania Tor."
"I am not Lord Lionbane," Cain told him.
"You are you know," Jun pointed out.
Cain looked at her for a second, pain in his eyes, then nodded and
turned back to the lieutenant. "We have urgent business with the King."
"Of course m'lord, I'll have your horses taken care of and your
equipment taken to your families apartments. If you care to follow me,
I'll take you to his majesty's chamberlain." The lieutenant bowed once
more.
While the pair dismounted and Jun pulled her weapon from it's harness
the lieutenant gave orders to a stablehand. He then led them through the
castles to a richly appointed office. An overweight and nervous looking
man sat behind a desk piled with paper. As the lieutenant led Jun and
Cain in he looked up, annoyed.
"Lord Chamberlain, these two need to see the King," the lieutenant told
him,
"Them, why? Do they have an appointment? Who do they represent? I'm
afraid I can't just let them in, I mean they haven't even bathed." The
man fussed.
"Gods, two in one day," Jun groaned. Stepping forward she reached over
the desk and wrapped her free hand around his shirt collar. First she
lifted him to his feet, then off them. "Listen to me little man, he is
the son of the King's knight Sir Lionbane, he bears dire news for the
king. I on the other hand have absolutely no noble blood, have just spent
a couple of weeks on horse back, really want that bath you mentioned, and
am currently carrying a halbard. Can you let us see the king now?"
The man in Jun's hands blanched visibly, while Cain and the lieutenant
both tried to suppress grins. "Okay, okay," the Chamberlain squeaked.
"I'll go tell the king your here. Ah, can you put me down now."
Jun released the man, who immediately picked himself up and hurried from
the room. The lieutenant moments later made his excuses and left them to
wait.
It was sometime before the Chamberlain returned to lead them to the
king's audience chambers. The pair of ornately garbed guards at the
hall's doors pushed them open for the three.
"Cain Lionbane, son of Sir Sonnre Lionbane, and companion," the
Chamberlain announced.
A number of courtiers and functionaries turned to watch the pair strode
down the hall, Cain's boots and the butt of Jun's halbard clicking on the
marble floor. Tapestries hung on the walls, depicting ancient or
legendary battles. A quite whispering could be heard as the occupants of
the room quietly discussed matters of some import. The King and Queen sat
upon thrones atop a raised dais at the end of the hall. As they
approached the dais the King stood, smiling broadly. The King was a large
man and the years had been good to him, his black hair was just starting
to turn grey, but he was still in good shape.
"Ah, welcome young Cain. So what brings the youngest son of my old dear
friend so far from home?" The King's inquiry was jovial, obviously he had
received only part of their message.
Cain was silent for a moment. "Your majesty, I bare the news that my
father, my brothers and all who resided at Lionbane castle have been
murdered."
A silence fell upon the hall as the meaning of Cain's words reached his
audience. "Clear the court!" the King ordered. The pair waited as the
room was emptied. "Who did this?" The large man demanded as soon the
doors were closed.
"We're not sure sir, but shortly before that Master Yo was kidnapped..."
"Yo was what?!" The King demanded loudly.
Cain was taken aback, how did the King know Master Yo? "He was kidnapped
sir. We arrived in time to see him being dragged away by a golden plated
warrior in a large airship. We then returned to Lionbane castle, to find
it in ruins and everyone dead. We believe that both events were
perpetrated by the same people."
The King started pacing. "You're probably right there." He stopped and
looked at Jun. "You must be the young woman who scared my Chamberlain,
what part in do you play in this?"
"I am Gekijou Jun, Yo was my father," Jun replied simply.
The King looked at her for a few seconds. "I think I remember Lionbane
writing something about Yo adopting a daughter." He went back to pacing.
"I suppose you both wish to aid in bringing the villains to justice."
Both nodded resolutely. After a few seconds the king stopped pacing.
"We'll discuss this more tomorrow, why don't the two of you settle into
Lionbane's rooms." He turned away, then back. "Oh there's a ball on
tonight, you're both invited as my guests."
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