Moon Scythe - Chapter 1
#2 of Moon Scythe Series
Caseel wandered through the woods again, skipping the school his father insisted on sending him to Just because he can afford it, I should be working the forges with Father all day instead of sitting in a room listening to an old man. The twenty year old raven wound his way through the woods back to his father's forge, and stopped to listen. I don't hear his hammer Caseel slowly crept in into the forge, and not seeing his father he shrugged and went to work on the nails that farmer Clyde had ordered for a new stall he was building.
He placed His Ingot into the furnace, and pumped the bellows, as the fire stoked he began to lose himself in it; the coals became red hot and Seemed to whisper to him. He continued to pump the bellows, his muscles not even feeling the strain they were so used to this work. He loved the forge, and working in it, but most of all he loved the fire.
Once the metal was white hot Caseel removed it and used his tools to separate the ingot into thinner pieces and began to fold the metal over on itself; once, twice, three... he lost tract of how many times he folded the metal, letting his senses tell him when each nail was ready. When he was done with the folding, he had a pile of thin pieces of metal next to him, he took each one separately and heated it to a dull red, then using his nail header, Gave each one its head.
As he finished up the last of the nails he turned... and saw his father and his teacher in the doorway of the Forge. "That is nice work son... but not what you were supposed to be doing today." His father was enormous A raven standing 6'1" to Caseel's 5'9", His father was all muscle, built from a lifetime of working the forge. Caseel's beak dropped his eyes widened, and panic set it.
"Calm down young man," His aging panther instructor said to him, "we watched you the whole time, you lost yourself in this work; the way I wished you did with your studies. This is obviously your calling, not my school. Your father and I have discussed it and you will work here with him; Working his craft." The aging panther Smiled with that.
"And you won't be skipping work like you did school or I will tan your feathered hide." His father said with a smirk on his beak. Walking forward and slapping his son on the shoulder as he picked up an ingot of iron and went to work on one of his projects.
Caseel was in shock, this is not what he was expecting. He mindlessly assisted his father for the rest of the day. Going to bed tired and numb both mentally and physically. He couldn't believe his lucky turn of events, No school, he gets to work in the forge, and his father wasn't angry with him.
Caseel awoke to someone shaking him violently, "Caseel GET UP NOW!!!" Caseel's eyes shot open to see the figure of his father over him, "Time to go," and his father was dragging him from the house, in only his trousers. As his senses came to him, he could hear the bell in town square ringing, quickly silenced with a loud crash, then he could hear people screaming. His father continued to half drag him as they ran to the woods.
They breathlessly made it to the woods and hid behind a fallen log, and watched. Shapes moved quickly around the burning village, running from house to house. Caseel looked at his father His beak dropped in shock, "Lizard men," his father whispered. "They come from Henital across the sea. They will enslave the men they catch and breed the women they catch." Caseel looked back, appalled. He stared into the village, the fires starting to burn higher, and with them his temper. He had heard of these creatures in school, but they were supposed to be locked away on their continent after the Great War. He watched the scene before him and began to hear the whispers.
The whispers began to grow into a full strength voice in his head, the voice saying calmly to him, use me, you are ready. Feed me and I will serve you. The chant repeated within him as the screams began to grow from the village. Caseel closed his eyes yes was all he thought and he felt himself grow warm, could feel the fire like an extension of himself. Caseel opened his eyes, and bolted from their hiding place and ran towards the village, his father screaming and running after him.
As he ran closer to the village he was spotted by one of the Lizardmen and was quickly surrounded by ten of them. He looked at them standing around him, with ropes and Gaff hooks, Heard his father struggling from behind him as he was tackled. I feed you with them! His eyes burned and the flames that danced on the buildings around stopped, seemingly frozen in time; and then the flames leapt on the Lizardmen like it was alive I accept your offering of blood and flesh and will serve you ever more. He could feel the voice bow within his mind, and Caseel began to laugh as the Lizardmen began to scream. Their screams filled the air, underscored by the laughter o Caseel. The smell of burnt wood was quickly drowned out by that of burning flesh; and when the screaming stopped, the laughter continued. Until it was silenced by a blow to the head.
Standing over the unconscious form of his son, Caseel's father wept. Falling to his knees and holding his son as his lap, knowing what the penalty for the use of magic was. His son would die, and likely the Magisters were already on their way. If the village didn't surrender Caseel to them upon demand, they would all be slaughtered..... Is that hoof beats I hear? Standing, Holding his son to his chest, He began to walk towards the growing dust cloud surrounded by the rising sun.
To be continued.