Ch. 1-The Battle for Life (revised)

It was dark that night, aside from the explosions that is. A bomb knocked him off his feet as He ran through the creek that covers the side of the village. He had all he needed, a sword, a bow, a quiver of arrows, and fire. Although he did not quite know it, he could use fire better than anyone. His name is Michael. Michael is a young man of about twenty, the youngest in his village. He was very tan, although he wasn’t in the sun more often then normal. Tonight he wore his brown cotton pants, black shirt and dark green cloak. He was rather tall with toned muscles. He had light brown hair, and his face was clean shaven. He was also a fast runner, and tonight he ran faster than ever before. As Michael ran through the woods he heard voices.

"Do you hear that?" said a man of about thirty (judging by his voice).

"No. It's just your imagination," said another man, "The raid has all the men spooked."

I can't begin to describe how much Michael wanted to teach those men a lesson, but that's beside the point. The point is that rogue soldiers had been raiding villages for weeks. Michael's village was one of many in his area. He had prepared for the raid the day before and planned to leave that night. Tonight was the night he fought back.

Michael could be very quiet when he wanted to. The soldier camp was empty. They were all at the raid.

"This is to easy." thought Michael.

He was too right. As soon as he entered the camp, the lights went out. Michael was surrounded by Roheris, Light-Eaters in the tongue of man. The Roheris are the fastest, most deadly creatures ever to emerge from the black depths of Mount Ravensnest. These foul beasts drain the light from anything. If they attack a human, the unfortunate soul will go blind and become like a ghost. The only way to stop them is to force them to become so full of light that they are washed away by the light like a shadow at dawn. Michael summoned all the fire he could and compressed it into a ball of light. Naturally, the Roheris were drawn to it like a moth to the flame. Their black shapeless forms surrounded the glowing orb. It then grew darker than the blackest night. Then, out of the Roheris, came a ray of light. The ray grew wider and wider until it engulfed the Roheris completely. Out of nowhere, Michael felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, then things went dark and he fell to the ground.

Michael awoke the next morning on a feather bed. He quickly reached for the dagger hidden in the sole of his shoe (I did not list the dagger in the things he packed because it was natural to have one, but no hidden in the sole of your shoe.) As swift as a wolf, he leaped out of bed and ran down the hall. He then saw a window and opened it. He discovered that he was in a great house; he knew that because he was on the third floor. The house was filled with light and it was very elegant. While running down the halls and stairs he ran into a girl his own age, give or take a few months. The girl was about his height, slightly shorter, with short cut hair worn in a bun. She was wearing a red dress, though it was torn, like it was caught on a bush.

"Who are you and where am I?" said Michael, with his dagger aimed at his possible kidnapper.

"I am Ashley, this is my brother's house and here is a question for you. Are you going to kill me after I saved your skin last night?"

Michael's face was as red as the shirt he was wearing. He noticed that the clothes he was wearing were not his own.

"Do these belong to your bother?" said Michael, pointing to the odd clothes.

"Yes," replied Ashley, "He left them for you and you must have put them on in your sleep."

"Well," said Michael, "I would very much like to meet this Good Samaritan, but first, what did you mean? Saved my skin? I was taking pretty good care of myself!"

Later that day at lunch, Michael met Ashley's brother, Damian. Damian was about fifteen years older than Ashley, who was in fact only a month older than Michael. Damian had black hair and a small beard. He was very tall and toned from tending to the Lawn surrounding the house. Being a very professional man, Damian always wore a suit, except when he was working outside. Damian worked for a ship building company and made a lot of money doing so.

Ashley then began to explain how she was also trying to enter the camp when she saw Michael kill the Roheris. In the flash of light she saw an archer take aim at Michael, so she threw a rock at Michael to make him drop to the ground (without revealing her hiding spot in the brush). Then she hit the archer with her dagger, (she was an excellent knife thrower) and discovered that she threw the rock too hard and put Michael out cold! Damian asked to see a demonstration of Michael's peculiar ability to summon fire. Michael got up from the table and held out his hand. Then, a flame appeared in the center of his palm. He allowed the flame to grow into a small fire, then into a pillar of flame, then the flame went out and he fell to the floor. A minute later, he regained consciousness.

"Sometimes that happens." said Michael. "I have a ring from my father that helps me to stay awake."

Ashley and Damian saw the ring on the chain around Michael's neck.

"The ruby in the center was polished in an inferno and cut by the flames of a dragon." said Michael, "My father was skilled in the art of fire and he taught me before he left to go across the sea."

"I'm so sorry." said Ashley, "Our father went south and never returned. We hope he is still alive, but we aren't sure."

Then the room grew silent for several minutes.

"Where will you go from here Michael?" said Damian.

"I hope to go east in search of adventure. I grow weary of the troubles of the Westlands." said Michael.

"As do I." said Ashley, "Might I journey with you?"

"It would be my honor." said Michael.

That evening, Damian gave Ashley her mother's gold gagger, and her father's sword. The dagger had a golden hilt, inlaid with small gems, and a silver blade. Her father’s sword was very elegant, with a broad blade, and a silver hilt, with a blue sapphire pummel. He also gave them food and supplies for their long journey. Then they set out to the east and found many adventures which I will tell you about in the time to come.

That is the story of how Ashley and Michael met and began their adventures together.