FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (7 page)

     Ray and Spirit turned away and began walking out of the alley. Lance, though his face was bruised and swollen, ran out towards them.

     “Master Iddell, could you teach me
?
” asked Lance.

     “Teach _ of what do you request me to do of this
?
” replied Ray as he turned around.

     “Teach me how to be an Elementhar. Teach me Elemental Sorcery
!
” answered Lance.

     “Elemental Sorcery _ to learn of this is not an easy task, as it requires commitment, discipline and perseverance; and why would you require such knowledge anyway
?
” enquired Ray further.

     Lance was silent for a while. Then he looked at Ray with the most honest expression that he could muster.

     “A demon killed my family,
my entire
family
!
  I’ve no one left. I’ve nothing left. That
thing
took everything away from me
!
I don’t want the same fate to befall anyone else. I want to dedicate my entire life to hunting and eliminating these evil things. So I need you to teach me. Please, sir
!
I beg of you, teach me so that I can cleanse this realm of all demons,” explained Lance.

     “Opportunity _ of this, I shall give to you, but only one; should you waste it, there will
not
be another, do you understand
?
” stressed Ray.

     “I understand completely, sir,” confirmed Lance.

     “Possessions _ gather all yours of these and meet me in front of the town hall in an hour, we shall be leaving this place,” instructed Ray.

     “That’s not necessary, sir. The only possession I have left is here with me. My grandfather’s sword and a few clothing items, that’s all that I have to my name. We can leave now, if you wish,” said Lance.

     “Leave _ then we shall do of this now,” said Ray.

     Ray, Spirit and their new found travelling companion walk down the main road and follow it out of Greentown. Lance turns his head and glances behind, looking at the town for one last time. Overhead, the clouds begins to thicken, ensuring another evening of torrential downpour that is so characteristic of Wet Season.

THE JOURNEY EASTWARDS

     Howling winds drown the ambient noises on this gloomy night, the
Second Night of Second Month of Wet Season
. Torrential rain lashes against every available surface in Eastern Falls Province. In a small cave not too far off the main road leading out of Greentown, three figures sit solemnly around a small bonfire. The dancing flames create a play of shadows on their faces. Master Elementhar Ray Iddell stares blankly into the flames. Novice Elementhar Lance Arman, as he is now known, stares up into the sky in deep thought. Spirit the White Wolf, looks ahead, his ears twitching ever so slightly at the faintest of sounds.

     The trio had been travelling on the main road in an easterly direction since they left Greentown and every night they were forced to seek shelter from the lashing rains and freezing winds. During these moments of rest and refuge, Lance was taught the basic concepts of Elemental Sorcery. He had learned of the origins of Elementhars, Ordered Elementhars and Elemental Sorcery. He had also learned of the five orders that formed the Grand Order of Elementhars, which was administrated by the High Council of Elementhars; and a brief description of each Elemental Sorcery discipline that these orders practiced. He was told that most Elementhars mastered only one of the disciplines, with the rare gifted ones mastering two at best. Each discipline took a lifetime to truly master. The mastering of more than two disciplines was forbidden, for this was the law that was set down by Pioneer Elementhar Nova Vanguard who founded the Grand Order 700 years prior.

     “Master Iddell, why is it that Pioneer Vanguard has set the law that forbids any Elementhar to master more than two of the disciplines
?
” enquired Lance.

     “Law _ the reason why she had set of this was to ensure that no Elementhar becomes too powerful lest he turns renegade and uses his powers for tyranny, domination and other such evils,” explained Ray.

     Lance nodded his head to signify that he understood. He remembered his grandfather saying that power was like a double edged sword, in the sense that it gave one the ability to do things but it could also corrupt and destroy one at the same time. In this example, if there was an Elementhar who became too powerful, he would be tempted to abuse his power and enslave the common people for his own pleasure. After all, if he was so powerful, who could possibly stop him
?
So at first, the corrupt Elementhar would succeed. But his corruption and tyranny would lead to rebellion and retribution against that very Elementhar himself, and this would, in the end, lead to his own destruction.

     A question came to Lance’s mind based on a curiosity that occurred when he had first met Ray and Spirit.

     “Master Iddell, why do you speak in a different way from others
?
” asked Lance.

     “Speaking _ our way of this is the ways of the Elementhars, so as to pay tribute to Pioneer Vanguard and our seniors; and to keep our tradition alive and to honour our history of 700 years,” said Ray.

     “I understand, master. I shall… um... I mean… Speak _ I shall do of this in the same way also, so that I too may pay tribute to Pioneer Vanguard and the seniors; and also to continue the tradition and if possible, to add to the honour of this history of 700 years,” declared Lance.

     Ray nodded in approval.

     Lance was in deep thought again. He was thinking of what Ray had told him earlier. In the beginning of time there were only animals (including the human species) and plants in Farhayven; then in the Year 200 of the Known Era, the first demon appeared. This demon, Lord Desolator, was categorised by the Elementhars as a Prime Demon and was deemed to be the most powerful of demonkind. The Prime Demon caused unimaginable destruction to human society, killing many and converting the rare few into Secondary Demons. These Secondary Demons were not as powerful, but were still very evil and almost as destructive. Lance was glad that only one Prime Demon had existed in the past, for if there had been more, human society may not have survived. Those who had been converted by Secondary Demons became known as Tertiary Demons. These demons were significantly weaker than Secondary Demons and were not limited by conversions from humankind; they included conversions from other animal kind as well. The demon that had slaughtered Lance’s family was a Tertiary Demon and it was destructive enough, how had the people in the past survived the terror of the Prime Demon
?

     Lance massaged his arms absentmindedly. His arms were sore and painful, as were the rest of his body. He had been practising martial arts every evening since they left Greentown. He had learned that martial arts training was required of all Elementhars as their Elemental Sorcery powers were not limitless. These powers could easily be depleted if their usage was not properly managed. Therefore, in between clear opportunities to attack their opponents with Elemental Sorcery, Elementhars would have to sustain the battle with their martial arts skills.

     The first thing in martial arts that Lance had learned was how to stand in the various stances. Ray had explained that the various stances existed so that the exponent could choose the level of mobility versus stability that he needed in any given situation.

     Then Lance was taught the various movement techniques, called ‘footwork’, which were used for distance management. The term ‘sliding’ meant moving without changing the direction that the torso was facing. This was done when standing in a side-facing stance by moving the front leg first and ‘dragging’ the back leg after it if one was moving forward and moving the back leg first and dragging the front leg after it if one was moving backwards. The term ‘stepping’ meant moving with the changing of the direction that the torso was facing. So in a side-facing stance, the back leg would move forward if one was moving forward, thus turning the torso at the same time, and the front leg would move backward if one intended to move backwards which would also cause the torso to turn.

     Then came the blocks. The Low Block was done by moving the fist of the blocking hand up to the opposite side at jaw level, with the elbow bent and the palm of the fist facing the face while the non-blocking hand was crossed over to the hip of the blocking side; and then the blocking hand would be swung hard downward and outward towards its own side while the non-blocking hand would be simultaneously retracted to the waist. The wrist of the blocking hand would then be twisted at the last moment to stop the momentum of the swing, with the fist stopping in front of the knee and the palm facing down. The High Block was executed by way of moving the fist of the blocking hand to the opposite shoulder with the elbow bent and the palm facing upward while the non-blocking hand was raised to the blocking side shoulder with the elbow bent, forming a slightly slanted cross; and then the blocking hand would be raised up snappily while retracting the non-blocking hand to the waist. The movement would be ended by the twisting of the blocking hand wrist, with the fist stopped slightly above the head and forward of the opposite eye, and with the elbow still bent. The Inner Block required one to place the blocking arm at the opposite side of the torso with the fist just below the rib level, the palm facing down and the elbow bent while the non-blocking arm was brought up to the blocking side shoulder and with the elbow bent; and then the blocking hand would then be swung hard upwards and back towards its own side while the non-blocking hand would be retracted to the waist on its respective side. The ending twist of the blocking wrist would then result in the palm facing toward the torso in the end and the elbow was to be kept bent. The Outer Block was performed by raising the blocking fist to the back of the ear on the same side with the elbow bent and the palm facing forward while the non-blocking arm was raised in front with the elbow bent; and then the blocking arm would then be swung in a slightly downward arc across the front of the face while the non-blocking hand would be retracted to the waist. The movement ended with the twisting of the fist, whereby the fist would be stopped in front of the opposite shoulder and the palm of the fist would be facing the face and the elbow was to be kept bent.

     As for the kicks, Lance had managed to learn several basic ones. The Front Horse Kick was done by raising the knee up in front and snap-extending the lower leg upwards. The Front Alligator Kick was executed by way of raising the knee up, and then pivoting the body to the opposite side on the ball of the foot on the standing leg and simultaneously snapping the lower leg of the kicking leg in a horizontal arc. The Side Horse Kick required one to raise the kicking knee towards the opposite hip while pivoting the body forward and in the same direction of the movement of the raised knee. The pivoting action was to be done on the ball of the standing foot. Then the kicking leg would be thrust out straight at the intended target. The Back Horse Kick was performed by turning the torso towards the back, bending and then lifting up the kicking knee to the back and thrusting the kicking leg straight out at the opponent torso. The Axe Kick was done by swinging the kicking leg straight up high and then slamming the heel downwards at the opponent’s head. Finally, The Reverse Alligator Kick was done by spinning the torso towards the back, lifting the kicking leg and swinging it out and backwards in a horizontal arc.

     Lance had also learned an assortment of hand techniques which included punches, jabs, Back-fist Strikes, Elbow Strikes and Knife-hand Strikes. A punch was a fisted strike that originated from the waist or the mid rib level and was executed using the fist that was further away from the opponent while a jab was a similar strike but was done using the closer fist. The Back-fist Strike looked like a total opposite of a slap, and used the back of the fist and the top portion of the knuckles to hit instead of the palm. For this technique, the fist was closed tight just like it was for a punch. The Elbow Strikes were strikes using the elbow that were employed at a variety of angles. The Knife-hand Strikes were strikes that use the side of the palm to hit the opponent but the fingers were kept straightened out with a slight curve at the tips, much like how the blade of a knife looked. Lance had to practise all these movements over and over again until he got them right, and he had to keep practising them over and over again to keep them right, every evening.

     Spirit lay on his belly, his eyes gazed lazily into the flickering flames. Ray was already asleep. But sleep came hard for Lance. He relived the horror of his family’s death in his dreams night after night, waking up with tears in his eyes. After a long struggle, he finally dozed off. The howling wind had died down to a gentle whispering breeze, a fitting serenade to the three wearisome travellers fast asleep in this dimly lit cave.

     The next morning the trio woke up to the harmonic chirping of birds. The bonfire had burnt to ashes and the sun was just rising over the distant mountain tops. Their usual routine began. They freshened up at a nearby stream. The icy cold water jolted their senses to life. Breakfast consisted of some wild fruits and vegetables they had found in the forest the evening before, in addition to the supplies that Ray had bought earlier in Greentown. Then there was nothing left to do but to walk, and walk they did. Everyday, they walked and walked so that they could get to the next town. But Lance sensed that there was more to this nomadic travelling than just moving from town to town hunting demons for rewards, yet he was too polite to ask. He was sure he would find out when the time was right.

     The morning was cool due to the heavy downpour the night before. A gentle breeze soothed their skins as the trio walked down the lonely road heading eastward. Ray stared straight ahead, immersed in heavy thought as he walked. Something was troubling him, yet he was not sure what it was. Lance was taking in the sights of his surroundings as he walked. He had never been out of the Greentown area before and the forest that they were now travelling through held mystery and excitement for him. Strange looking butterflies, rhythmic chirping of birds and the occasional monkey swinging from tree to tree enthralled him. Lance was used to the green of plants, but unlike his father’s farm, these were wild and disorganised; somehow chaotic yet calming at the same time.  Spirit moved along beside them. He was neither in deep thought like Ray nor fascinated with the forest like Lance. His state of mind was one of alertness, both for prey and for predator. His eyes were wide and his ears erect, waiting and searching for signs that only the hunter-survivalist instinct in him could understand.

     The strangest thing happened
!
They felt dizzy and disorientated. They lost their footing. Both Ray and Lance fell. Ray managed to land in a one-kneed kneeling position while Lance ended up flat on the ground. Spirit staggered wildly but did not fall. Low-pitched, loud rumbling noises deafened their senses. Lance turned questioningly to Ray.

     “Earthquake,” said Ray.

     Then the rumbling stopped. The dizziness and disorientation took a few moments longer to subside. Lance had never experienced an earthquake before and from the look of confusion in the white wolf’s face, neither had Spirit. Ray had experienced it only once before, a long time prior. All around them there was just silence. Then the birds started chirping again.