Winter Savior
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Note: This is something a did along with the One Shot a year and a half ago. It's set some two thousand years before the events in the story I am currently working on, AlterOne.
Kokazai [Co-kay-zeye] hears a noise in the night; he keeps his eyes shut, not wanting the intruder to know he is awake. Koka lies motionless on his mat, keeping his breathing steady and slow. From the vibrations given off by his steps, Koka notes that the person is not very good on stealth, likely an untrained or poorly trained grunt trying to get the bounty. The vibrations coming through the ground give Koka the man’s position, north-west at 1 o’clock, coming out of the trees no more than 20 yards away. He slowly slides his right hand to his end, out of view of the intruder. Now only a few feet away, the sound of a sword being unsheathed can be heard in the night. Kokazai swiftly rolls onto his left side and shoots a blast at the dark figure a yard away. The man lets out a cry of surprise as he is knocked off of his feet and sent sprawling onto the dirt a ways away. Koka gets to his feet and slowly walks over to his would be assassin, kicking the fallen shortsword out of the way. The man rolls onto his stomach and tries to get to his feet, holding his midsection as he, stooped over, tries to run away. He gets a few feet before falling beside a tree. Kokazai walks over to the man, who gets into a sitting position, leaning with his back against the tree. Matted hair, with a beard that’s gone unshaven a few days, and; he seems to be in his mid 30s; Koka notices, from his clothes and the weapon he planned to kill him with that the man was likely a petty soldier, from the land of Amron apparently. He is breathing heavily as he holds his shredded bleeding torso with his left hand, looking up at Koka with fear in his eyes. Koka squats down to become eye level with the man, he looks into his eyes, and the man shifts his gaze to the ground, not daring to return Koka’s concentrated gaze.
“Did you really think you could kill me?” Kokazai mocks
The man, still looking down, replies “No.”
“Of course not,” Koka says with disgust in his voice, “to think that you could kill me, even with your attempt at a night attack. You failed, and now you cannot even look me in the eyes. Pitiful.”
Kokazai moves in closer and the man jerks away, wincing in pain as he aggravates his wounds. Koka looks down at the wound and frowns.
“Used too much energy on that one.” he speaks to the man again, “What’s your name?”
The man, eyes shut as he succumbs to the pain, “Does it matter?”
“No, I guess not.” he brings his end forward, pointing it under the man‘s chin “Who sent you?”
The man, eyes wide now replies with a stammering nervousness “No--Nobody! Nobody sent me; I did this alone. Nobody sent me.”
Kokazai smirks, “Then I guess Nobody is going to miss you tonight eh?”
The forest lights up in a flash of purple light, illuminating the darkness for a brief moment. Kokazai goes over to his mat and begins gathering his things, he won’t be able to sleep anymore as he sees the first signs of dawn approaching on the horizon.
Setting out at daybreak, Kokazai gets back on the trail and continues his travels. As the sun begins to rise higher into the sky, Koka begins to notice shadows to match the sounds he has been hearing since he first came out of the clearing at daybreak. He sees a crossroads up ahead; the vibrations seem to be getting closer. As he nears the crossroads, a lone stranger walks out from the trees and blocks his path. Clean cut, well groomed brown hair and clad in a white tunic and warrior’s pants and boots, tied with leather where the boot met the pants. Another Amrite, Koka says to himself; but unlike the first, this one has the essence of a learned fighter. The man smiles at Koka and calls out as if to an old friend.
“Are you the feared Kokazai the Manslayer?”
“I don’t know,” Koka says, “Are you afraid?”
“They say you’ve killed a hundred men with a single blast from your end.” the man continues
Amused, Koka replies, “Do they also say I’m seven feet tall and can shoot lightning from my ass?”
The man’s smile leaves his face, replaced by a frown, “You killed one of my men.”
He takes a step forward, and men come from the trees, surrounding Koka. He does not look around but he can sense that there are thirteen men surrounding him on all sides. There seems to be a mixed essence of well trained and untrained men in this bunch.
“We have you surrounded.” the leader says, “Come quietly and you will not be harmed.”
“I believe that if I don’t come quietly I will still be unharmed.” Koka replies
“That’s where you’re wrong.” the man says
“Do you really think you and your men can beat me?”
The man smirks, “I can’t speak for my men, but I am sure that I can beat you.”
“Strong words for an Amrite.”
“Just because we have no magical powers or can shoot fire from our mouths or move mountains with our hands does not mean we are not a force to be reckoned with.” he retorts, “I’d think a former Veldt such as yourself would know such a thing, your boys have all the intel on everyone I hear.”
“They’re not my boys anymore; otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to turn me in.”
“True.” he takes another step forward, “Now enough talk; face me.” Koka begins to draw his levid sword, “Without the sword, or your magic. Hand to hand combat.”
Koka sheaths his sword and the two men walk forward. The sun is reaching its highest point as noon approaches. The men on the trail have begun to slouch, not really at tentative, Koka makes note of this, they will be slow to ready themselves. Standing only a foot away now, the man extends his hand for the traditional show of respect. This man obviously holds some name in Amron, otherwise he’d have attacked first. Koka extends his hand and shakes with the man. He feels the guys muscles beginning to tighten before they even do so he is ready when the left leg comes sweeping from the side. Still holding onto the hand, Koka leaps into the air and lets go, flipping backwards in the air and landing a few feet away. His opponent gets back upright and runs forward, Koka easily dodges his charge, sidestepping him and sending his left elbow into the back of the man’s neck. He falls to the dirt, but quickly scrambles back to his feet. Again he charges, bringing forward a right hand, which Koka blocks with his left arm, but catches a knee to the gut that takes him off his feet, followed by the man’s own elbow into his back. Koka goes to his knees as the men around him begin cheering on their leader with words of encouragement. Rolling out of the way to avoid a head kick, Koka then picks himself up. This time, he charges first, too fast to dodge, he brings out his left leg and kicks the Amrite’s legs from under him. At the same moment, he leaps and spins in the air, bringing his right leg around for a leaping spin kick. Surprisingly, the Amrite turns as he is falling and brings his arms up to block the attack, but the force still sends him skidding in the dirt, causing a small cloud of dirt to shroud the scene. Movement from behind Koka tells him that the others have decided to jump into the fray. Fluidly drawing his sword as he dodges being impaled by an ax, he brings his sword under the attacker and thrusts upward, through the chest. The dust clears quickly and the men are rushing forward. He dodges a headshot from an arrow, catching the arrow mid-flight and spinning on his heel, throwing it back at the sender. The arrow pierces through his midsection and the force sends the man flying into a tree, pinning him Koka ducks a sword swing and sweeps the man’s legs, jumping forward out of the sweep onto another man, tackling him to the ground. He rolls from atop the man just as another one is bringing a sword down on him, now accidentally striking his own. Not inclined to waste time today, Koka leaps into a tree and points his levid sword down at the men.
“Abut Iflatu!”
A powerful orangish-red blast shoots from his sword and lands in the middle of the group. The men are blown away by the attack, flying into the trees man of them. Though three took a direct hit as they can be seen where the blast struck, the flesh burned from much of their bodies. A few of the men are still on the trail, alive, barely. Koka jumps down from the trees, walking amid the bodies.
“Best keep my trail clean, for the most part.” he says to himself
He goes through the area, killing those remaining with his levid sword. Once finished, he notices that their leader was not among the dead.
“He got away.” Koka smirks, “This should be interesting.”
Meeting at a Crossroads
Kokazai [Co-kay-zeye] hears a noise in the night; he keeps his eyes shut, not wanting the intruder to know he is awake. Koka lies motionless on his mat, keeping his breathing steady and slow. From the vibrations given off by his steps, Koka notes that the person is not very good on stealth, likely an untrained or poorly trained grunt trying to get the bounty. The vibrations coming through the ground give Koka the man’s position, north-west at 1 o’clock, coming out of the trees no more than 20 yards away. He slowly slides his right hand to his end, out of view of the intruder. Now only a few feet away, the sound of a sword being unsheathed can be heard in the night. Kokazai swiftly rolls onto his left side and shoots a blast at the dark figure a yard away. The man lets out a cry of surprise as he is knocked off of his feet and sent sprawling onto the dirt a ways away. Koka gets to his feet and slowly walks over to his would be assassin, kicking the fallen shortsword out of the way. The man rolls onto his stomach and tries to get to his feet, holding his midsection as he, stooped over, tries to run away. He gets a few feet before falling beside a tree. Kokazai walks over to the man, who gets into a sitting position, leaning with his back against the tree. Matted hair, with a beard that’s gone unshaven a few days, and; he seems to be in his mid 30s; Koka notices, from his clothes and the weapon he planned to kill him with that the man was likely a petty soldier, from the land of Amron apparently. He is breathing heavily as he holds his shredded bleeding torso with his left hand, looking up at Koka with fear in his eyes. Koka squats down to become eye level with the man, he looks into his eyes, and the man shifts his gaze to the ground, not daring to return Koka’s concentrated gaze.
“Did you really think you could kill me?” Kokazai mocks
The man, still looking down, replies “No.”
“Of course not,” Koka says with disgust in his voice, “to think that you could kill me, even with your attempt at a night attack. You failed, and now you cannot even look me in the eyes. Pitiful.”
Kokazai moves in closer and the man jerks away, wincing in pain as he aggravates his wounds. Koka looks down at the wound and frowns.
“Used too much energy on that one.” he speaks to the man again, “What’s your name?”
The man, eyes shut as he succumbs to the pain, “Does it matter?”
“No, I guess not.” he brings his end forward, pointing it under the man‘s chin “Who sent you?”
The man, eyes wide now replies with a stammering nervousness “No--Nobody! Nobody sent me; I did this alone. Nobody sent me.”
Kokazai smirks, “Then I guess Nobody is going to miss you tonight eh?”
The forest lights up in a flash of purple light, illuminating the darkness for a brief moment. Kokazai goes over to his mat and begins gathering his things, he won’t be able to sleep anymore as he sees the first signs of dawn approaching on the horizon.
Setting out at daybreak, Kokazai gets back on the trail and continues his travels. As the sun begins to rise higher into the sky, Koka begins to notice shadows to match the sounds he has been hearing since he first came out of the clearing at daybreak. He sees a crossroads up ahead; the vibrations seem to be getting closer. As he nears the crossroads, a lone stranger walks out from the trees and blocks his path. Clean cut, well groomed brown hair and clad in a white tunic and warrior’s pants and boots, tied with leather where the boot met the pants. Another Amrite, Koka says to himself; but unlike the first, this one has the essence of a learned fighter. The man smiles at Koka and calls out as if to an old friend.
“Are you the feared Kokazai the Manslayer?”
“I don’t know,” Koka says, “Are you afraid?”
“They say you’ve killed a hundred men with a single blast from your end.” the man continues
Amused, Koka replies, “Do they also say I’m seven feet tall and can shoot lightning from my ass?”
The man’s smile leaves his face, replaced by a frown, “You killed one of my men.”
He takes a step forward, and men come from the trees, surrounding Koka. He does not look around but he can sense that there are thirteen men surrounding him on all sides. There seems to be a mixed essence of well trained and untrained men in this bunch.
“We have you surrounded.” the leader says, “Come quietly and you will not be harmed.”
“I believe that if I don’t come quietly I will still be unharmed.” Koka replies
“That’s where you’re wrong.” the man says
“Do you really think you and your men can beat me?”
The man smirks, “I can’t speak for my men, but I am sure that I can beat you.”
“Strong words for an Amrite.”
“Just because we have no magical powers or can shoot fire from our mouths or move mountains with our hands does not mean we are not a force to be reckoned with.” he retorts, “I’d think a former Veldt such as yourself would know such a thing, your boys have all the intel on everyone I hear.”
“They’re not my boys anymore; otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to turn me in.”
“True.” he takes another step forward, “Now enough talk; face me.” Koka begins to draw his levid sword, “Without the sword, or your magic. Hand to hand combat.”
Koka sheaths his sword and the two men walk forward. The sun is reaching its highest point as noon approaches. The men on the trail have begun to slouch, not really at tentative, Koka makes note of this, they will be slow to ready themselves. Standing only a foot away now, the man extends his hand for the traditional show of respect. This man obviously holds some name in Amron, otherwise he’d have attacked first. Koka extends his hand and shakes with the man. He feels the guys muscles beginning to tighten before they even do so he is ready when the left leg comes sweeping from the side. Still holding onto the hand, Koka leaps into the air and lets go, flipping backwards in the air and landing a few feet away. His opponent gets back upright and runs forward, Koka easily dodges his charge, sidestepping him and sending his left elbow into the back of the man’s neck. He falls to the dirt, but quickly scrambles back to his feet. Again he charges, bringing forward a right hand, which Koka blocks with his left arm, but catches a knee to the gut that takes him off his feet, followed by the man’s own elbow into his back. Koka goes to his knees as the men around him begin cheering on their leader with words of encouragement. Rolling out of the way to avoid a head kick, Koka then picks himself up. This time, he charges first, too fast to dodge, he brings out his left leg and kicks the Amrite’s legs from under him. At the same moment, he leaps and spins in the air, bringing his right leg around for a leaping spin kick. Surprisingly, the Amrite turns as he is falling and brings his arms up to block the attack, but the force still sends him skidding in the dirt, causing a small cloud of dirt to shroud the scene. Movement from behind Koka tells him that the others have decided to jump into the fray. Fluidly drawing his sword as he dodges being impaled by an ax, he brings his sword under the attacker and thrusts upward, through the chest. The dust clears quickly and the men are rushing forward. He dodges a headshot from an arrow, catching the arrow mid-flight and spinning on his heel, throwing it back at the sender. The arrow pierces through his midsection and the force sends the man flying into a tree, pinning him Koka ducks a sword swing and sweeps the man’s legs, jumping forward out of the sweep onto another man, tackling him to the ground. He rolls from atop the man just as another one is bringing a sword down on him, now accidentally striking his own. Not inclined to waste time today, Koka leaps into a tree and points his levid sword down at the men.
“Abut Iflatu!”
A powerful orangish-red blast shoots from his sword and lands in the middle of the group. The men are blown away by the attack, flying into the trees man of them. Though three took a direct hit as they can be seen where the blast struck, the flesh burned from much of their bodies. A few of the men are still on the trail, alive, barely. Koka jumps down from the trees, walking amid the bodies.
“Best keep my trail clean, for the most part.” he says to himself
He goes through the area, killing those remaining with his levid sword. Once finished, he notices that their leader was not among the dead.
“He got away.” Koka smirks, “This should be interesting.”
