The Warrior

The Warrior gave chase. His prey would have been all too easy to catch were it not running on a fuel both unnatural and inhuman, Kai kept low in the long grass, working hard not to draw too much attention to himself. His crouch slowed him down, but the last thing he needed was for the beast to see him, should it do so and accelerate it would be impossible to catch, or track for that matter. Careful not to make too much noise he drew his long bow out from its position on his back and half nooked a phoenix feather arrow.

The beast had paused on its journey, sitting by the rushing river that separated two great cities, greedily lapping at the clear crystalline water. Kai crept forwards. Shaking back his hair, he raised his bow and took aim. The creature barely stirred. Were it not so malicious in nature perhaps Kai might have felt mercy; but he had long since shucked such emotions towards the creatures of the North. With the swift motion of a practiced hand he shot an arrow into the air. It fell true in a wide graceful arc, one horrified shriek later and the demonic creature fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Kai, knowing his phoenix arrow had served him well, left his well concealed hiding place and ran forwards to retrieve his arrow. He reached the creature in time to see white smoke issuing from its motionless mouth, its warped almost human features starred up at him in a sinister revenge glare. The spelled arrow had done its job however and the beast moved no more. Kai drew his sword from its scabbard and raised it above his head, bringing it down in an arc which severed the very bone at the creature’s neck, banishing its spirit from ever returning. He spoke a simple spell and watched as flesh and bone deteriorated to dust and ash.

His work done Kai extracted his arrow and sword from the debris and put both away before leaving the sorry mess that had once been man, and then beast behind.

Kai had been working under the king’s court now for some time. He was a useful member of the guard and a fantastic hunter of anything, human or otherwise that threatened the careful quiet of the kingdom. It wasn’t a job he enjoyed, just one he had grown to tolerate. Trespassing like this by the creatures from beyond the northern boundaries was becoming more and more frequent, a reality that played on Kai’s mind. Something was stirring in the mountains, he could feel it, some great evil as yet unknown and he was not about to sit at home and wait for it to hit. Kai set off at a run back to the palace to relay his concerns to his masters and stir up a response.