Road of Darkness

[Karino]

Prologue

The harsh sun was in the middle of the sky.   It had taken its toll on the desert; other than the occasional caravan or bandit gang, it was uninhabited.

The leader of a group of bandits, Alfen Desertwhisper, had just recieved news of a caravan, going through the desert.  As with the rest of the place, he was sunburned and weatherbeaten.   At least a score of small canvassed wagons pulled by horses.

By horses!

It was exciting news.   None but the richest were able to afford horses.  Completely confident that his band could handle whatever guard it might have, he gave the order for all able to prepare to fight.
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The caravan...

Inside the largest wagon, a circel of dark-robed people stood.  Silver lines showed a smaller circle inside, with lines extending from it to the robed enchanters.   A ninth man stood inside the circle.   Talien Alsiphus was his name.   Sweeat beaded his brow as he listened to the chanting of his comrades.

He would sacrifice his body for the coming of his Master.   It was his given duty.   He would do his duty with pride.   His only regret was that his twin sister did not see things as he did.   But when the Master was Master of the Known Land, he would change the beliefs of the entire world.   The first of Talien's eyes turned red.   He could feel himself turning to red mush as pain coursed through his body.

He was swirling in a void, tumbling in his tumultous surroundings.   Then his thoughts vanished as the red mush took a form.   It was the shape of a demon, but nothing could be made out before the blue-haired youth reappeared.   He had a single yellow eye.

The other was red.

Without warning, he collapsed on the ground.

"Do not worry," a sinister voice said, "he simply needs time to adjust to his new body."
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Alfen led twoscore bandits  to a large sand dune.   "Now," he said, "we take this caravan."   His soldiers cheered and charged to where the caravan was, footsteps thudding in the sand.

The sides of nineteen of the caravans opened.  Inside each stood a dozen archers and a single mage.

Before the bandits could slow their advance, a hail of arrows sliced into their ranks, killing a dozen of them.   A glob of acid slammed into an unfortunate bandit, which then proceeded to explode into flames and engulf three others.

Before Alfen could order a retreat, three arrows struck him.  The first two pierced his leg; the last slammed into his throat, and he toppled off his horse.

The bandits started to run.

Arrows blotted out the sun and descended like hunting hawks.
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How was it?  Also, I am accepting characters.   By that I mean that if you want to be in the story (all writing will be handled by me, sorry) then tell me what you want the character's name to be, and I will be happy to oblige.

[Karino]

"I hate the desert."

"Well, then, why did you decide to wander around in it?"

"I'm not wandering, you're my guide."

"Ugh," responded Rylien, an accomplished ranger from the Ranger HQ.   He had brown hair that constantly stuck up, no matter what anyone did.   He wore light armor, and a sword at his right hip.   A quiver was on his back, and an unstrung bow resided in that.  He appeared tired, annoyed, and harrassed.

The reason for this could be seen behind him.   She had blue hair down to her shoulderblades, and grey eyes that always seemed to sparkle.   She wore blue robes, and always carried a tome in her hand ("Just in case," she said).   Constantly criticizing and talking, Tiela Alsiphus got on Rylien's nerves.  She had a guard named Karino, who appeared used to it, but annoyed at the sun, for he was wearing heavy armor and riding a horse.

In fact, all three were mounted.

The horses were a uniform brown, except for Rylien's horse, which had a white spot on its forehead.

"Do you hear something?" Karino asked.

"No," responded Rylien, "She's talking to loud.  With this noise, I couldn't hear a dragon!"

"Well, excuse me for having a life."

"That's not life.   That's incessant chatterism."

"What the heck is that?" Karino asked, forgetting about the explosion he had heard.

"It's when one talks a LOT," Rylien responded.

"Lady Tiela fits that description," Karino responded, nodded.

"She is no lady," responded Rylien.

"How dare you two talk to me like that?!   I'll have you know that I'm--"

"Tiela Alsiphus, daughter of Grey Alsiphus, apprentice to Lady Oustrain of Galoria," finished Rylien.

"Wow, how did you know?" asked Tiela.

"You talk in you sleep," both Karino and Rylien said at once.

"Plus, she's said it to me fifty times."

"You counted?"

"I was exaggerating."

"I counted.   Lady Tiela said that 75 times to you."

"I did not!"

"Hey, guys, I see something," Rylien interrupted.

"Who cares, I want to see my brother," Tiera responded.

"Oh, so now twoscore bandits lying dead in the desert is no big deal?"  Rylien asked.
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Chapter Two is over.

[Karino]

None of the bandits had any pulse.

"The bodies are still warm," called Karino.   Tiela, disgusted with bloody corpses, stood off to the side.

"Scorch marks!"   Rylien yelled.

"What could those be from?"  Karino asked Rylien, who was busy examining a body.

"I'd say an Acid Fireball.   This body's corroded; three people around him were burned.   Judging from the angle of some of the shots, I'd say that it was from where those caravan tracks are."

Karino passed over a man with two arrows in his leg and one in his throat.   His eyes were glazed over with death, and a horse had died next to him.

"They were trying to run away," Karino breathed, then shouted it.

Rylien nodded grimly.   The Desertwhisper bandits, for Rylien had known them, were the most merciful of the bandits.   They took only what they needed to survive in the huge desert.   Each of them had a wife or husband, along with children in the nearby town.

Only a monster would do this.

"The caravan tracks are fresh," Tiela called, for she had wandered off to escape the smell.

"We need to follow it," Rylien responded.
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The caravan, was, in fact, only a few miles away.   It appeared again like a harmless thing, but in fact, a mile away, a town was burning, children were screaming, and parents were dying in the flames.

Inside, the Master was still sleeping.

God knows for how long.

[Karino]

Rylien led the way into the town.   His jaw dropped and he shouted in surprise.

The Vulture Gang was there.

They were picking items off corpses.

The corpses of townspeople.

Rylien's mind snapped audibly, pure rage showing on his young features.   He charged, drawing his sword, and the Vultures, thinking they could stop him, charged as well.

He cut up, down, right, left, in a flurry of blades.   Beneath him, a Vulture fell.   Karino, dismounting, charged into the fray, a huge juggernaut of heavy armor and a huge axe, immedietly drawing all fire.   The arrows broke on his armors, but the mages were unable to take aim at him, for suddenly a firebally, hissing and spitting, charred one to pieces.  Even as the Vultures turned to face the new threat, Rylien again made his presence known.

He dismounted and charged again, while his horse moved over to a building.   Time slowed around him, the Vultures moving slower than a crawl.   To them, his blade was a blur of pain and death, and they noticed that no matter what they did, no attacks hit him.   He darted forward, and a vulture fell to pieces behind him.

Karino slammed his axe down upon a swordsman, whose skull was crushed instantly as he faded into the darkest of darkness.   Although he moved considerably slowly, his axe rained death upon all who opposed him.

The last remaining mage was mind-battling with Tiela, but suddenly she won and he toppled backwards off of his roof.   With the three extremely skilled warriors fighting them, the Vulture's bravery dissapeared and they ran as fast as the could into the desert.

"No..." muttered Rylien, pain flashing across his face, as he viewed the ruin of the once happy town.   "Why..."

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[Karino]

Without another word, Rylien walked into the only stone building, remembering that there was something of interest in there.   He walked out with a statuette in his hands, in the shape of a dragon.   He didn't touch it directly, with cloth between him and the statue.   "I have a question," he stated.  "Would you guys mind another person on the quest?"

"No," Tiela responded.   "Why?"

"Okay then..."   Rylien said, removing the cloth.  As soon as the dragon was touched by human hands, it glowed blue, then turned into a large blue egg.

"What?!"  Karino shouted, stepping back.

"Hey, you never said you minded."

"YOU DIDN'T SAY IT WOULD BE A DRAGON!"

"Oh well.  We win some, we lose some.  In this case, I won."

"Why, you!"
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The girl watched them from up on a roof top, her calclating eyes watching them intently.   She had brown hair that fell past her shoulders, and green eyes.   A sword was strapped to her back, and she wore normal clothing for someone who wandered in the desert.   "Siding with them might be a good choice..." she mused.

Her eyes widened as a statue suddenly turned into an egg and the heavily armored person started to shout at the Ranger, who responded calmly.

"Now there's something you don't see every day," she murmured, and began to think that perhaps siding with them might be a really good idea.

It would get her to maybe be friends with a dragon, and with heroes like these as her companions, what need would she have to fear bandits?

She made her decision quickly, and jumped off the roof.
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Rylien and Karino were still arguing when a sudden thud drew Tiela's attention to a building as a girl suddenly jumped from it.   "What on earth?" she whispered, then rode over to see this girl.

"Hello," the girl said.  "I survived the attack, and I was wondering if you would let me travel with you."

"I, uh... sure, I guess," responded Tiela.   "I'm sure the others won't mind, and it would be good to have a really fast person on our team.  What's your name?"

"Valentina," Valentina responded.   "Seeing as you only have three horses...  who do I ride with?"

"Not Karino, his armor is a burden for the horse.   So that leaves me or Rylien."

Instantly deducing that Rylien was the ranger guy, Valentina decided.   "I'll ride with you.  The ranger guy is seriously weird."

"Isn't he?"

"Yeah, he really is."

The two began walking towards the others.

Karino sighed as yet another new addition joined.   "Yay," he muttered, "now we have yet another unexpected group member."

[Karino]

"And thus, the flame of life shall never be extinguished.   Love will always prevail, and those who live for what they do will always prevail.   There is no do, only try."

Tiela turned to Rylien.   "Isn't that amazing?   He is soooo smart!"

Rylien responded with a short grunt, and then continued with a "No.   Absolutely not," before trying to fall asleep again.

"What about you, Karino?   Are you as grumpy as mister Ryl?"

"If you say so, it must be true, milady."

"Awww, you're so sweet!"

"That makes me feel so happy."

Valentina cut in, saying, "I think he's being sarcastic."

"Of course not!   Karino is so nice!"

Karino sighed and did a facepalm to himself.   Rylien could relate.   The church was so boring.   It was full of boring people wearing boring clothing.   The reverend stood in the back of the church, talking and watching the faces of his listeners.  He waved his hands and gestured wildly.   Dozens of people in his audience were noticeably nodding in agreement to his words.   The church was past the desert, and Rylien was almost sad to leave the desert behind, if it meant listening to Tiela talk about church.