Worth Redemption
(c) 2010 Joshua G.
Hello all! Some of you seemed to approve of my craft, and I made a promise to you, that I would go ahead and make more. I said something about middle ages this morning when I hi-jacked this profile, well here it is!
It's not incredibly long, like my other story.. leans to short, actually, but there's mystery, action, and a tad bit of humor that I managed to work in. I'm not exactly a history scholar here, so if there are technicalities that stick out and bug you, oh well, I tried. It does have humans in it, as the tags state, and there is blood, violence and death. I'm just warning you now if you're squeamish.
If this one is as well received as the other, I have plans to continue it. Now, I hope you all enjoy!
Worth Redemption
The Dark Ages. These were times when the world as humanity knew it was coming to an abrupt end. The Roman Empire had recently collapsed, the world was plagued by famine and epidemic-scale diseases, and many once-honest men turned to thievery. Once virtuous souls now corrupt, once powerful politicians and leaders, now the victims of the savage, blood-thirsty public they themselves drove into ruin. These times were dark indeed, but there was one, secretive species that had not succumed to the plagues now ravaging all of Europe. These people would rarely, if ever make themselves known, and recounts of their existance could be found throughout Eastern and African history; not that the mighty Europeans cared about other civilizations. They would also leave their mark in future civlizations. In Europe, however, nothing was known of their existance.
Europe, being the very religiously-driven continent that it was, was a collection of likewise closed-minded individuals. The very core of its development as a society, and also the cause of much of its pain and misery, wars and suffering.. religion played a central role in the very age 'the civilized world' now suffered. With such arrogance to blindly drive towards their own destruction, the hidden race saw little need to show themselves. Besides being a very spiteful and self-destroying people, these were also people that feared anything different. If they could not accept other human beings of a different skin color, then could they possibly understand that humanity is not the only species evolution smiled upon? Were these people ready for their wisdom, or perhaps, would they never be...
But there are many stories about this corrupted, confused people; this is a tale about a young individual belonging to one such tribe of these sentient beasts. A youth, the equivelent of a young adult or older teenager, and a cousin to his Alpha's daughter...
= = =
A young, healthy European wolf-boy gracefully traced his way through thick pines and evergreens, ever-vigilant and aware of his surroundings should he need to vanish. Strapped to his back was a large, lidded wooden bucket with a looped, screw-in plug at the bottom to allow or stop water-flow. His heading was a rapidly flowing river, and his trip involved a fair bit of climbing and scaling. He had to trace the waterfalls that ran near his village to their source. Silently, he wished they could have just built their home somewhere closer to the river... however, he did suppose there was sound logic to lower lands flooding easier, and that with water can come unwanted visitors. Speaking of just such a thing, his nose caught a distinct scent. The youth made his way up a nearby tree with relative ease, and he searched first by sight. Seeing nothing, he closed his eyes to focus on the scent and swiveled his ears for any sounds acompanying it, and very soon he found the source of the vaguely familiar smell.
Not too far off, probably four, five kilometers away, he saw a faint trail of black smoke rising over a clearing in the distance. He lowered his ears and slowly shook his head, whining subconsciously for the sheer foolishness he knew that must mean. It was probably some human robbing another too old or weak to defend themselves.. or maybe some powerful dictator's lackeys, terrorizing a broken household that dares not fight back in fear of the consequences. Whatever the cause of it was, he wanted so desperately to go to their aid, despite what edict and creeds he'd been taught to hold. He turned away from the scene with a heavy heart and continued on his way North-Northeast, up the river for fresh water and fish.
= = =
"Now? Of all times, you choose NOW?!" Exclaimed an arctic male wolf-man. He stared in utter disbelief to his mate, the alpha female of their tribe.
"Dear, if we don't do something, I fear these people will destroy themselves." She spoke smooth, calmly, in a way that reflected her shimmering, umber-brown and wavey pelt. She walked up behind her lover and wrapped her thin, dainty arms around one of his larger, heavily muscled arms. "They need our guidance, or else they may destroy more than just themselves.. Sanha, please.."
He turned his gaze down his shoulder, staring with stern contempt of his thought into the gorgeous, bright-yellow gaze that met his own crystal-blue. His expression softened, and he took a deep breath with closed eyes to clear his mind. His right paw cupped under her muzzle, and he leaned in to nose her. "Geane, I know you have only the best intentions, but.. dear, have you looked at the way they treat their own kind? Do they deserve our mercy?"
"Dear, all of God's creation deserves a chance at its existance... even those that have fallen so far." She continued to plead with him, however vain she knew her efforts to be.
"Geane, dear.. I love you, very deeply I do... so I cannot take such a risk, nor should any of our kind. They don't know we even exist, and they would be much better off in their ignorance. They slay our wild cousins for sport, you know? They fear even what is familiar to them, and not even our wild bretheren dare to show their presence around them. Can you really think there is anything worth saving in this scourge to the planet?" His right paw moved from her chin down his arm, to break her hold of him and he turned to face her in a step, his paws coming to rest on her shoulders. "Please, just trust my judgement on this, honey.. I do this for the survival of our species, and most importantly, you."
"Sanha, they are not only a threat to themselves and wildlife.. they threaten the whole of the world. I fear that if they do not learn to appreciate the delicate balance of life, both sentient and none, then we'll all be doomed. Can't you see from where my concern comes? They have already destroyed most of our beautiful forests, and we are confined to this..." She reached her paw out and gestured towards their secluded, though quite sizeable grotto. "How much more will they take from us before we make a stand?"
Sanha stared deep into his lover's eyes, and he did not need to search to know what she stated as fact. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered, themselves, but he lacked the courage to face this plague. He once again looked to the ground, then back into her eyes with stern resolve. "Then, love, if it comes down to that, we shall fight, move on and do what all other animals do: adapt." With that, he turned away from her and walked out to survey their make-shift society.
"Dear, please!" She reached out to grab one of his paws, but he spun around and flung it from her own. He stared hard at her but she continued in spite. "If we don't do this, then who will?"
"One of the other tribes will see to it eventually, I'm sure. There's the horse tribes, the fox tribes, other wolf packs.. we don't need to be getting our own necks endangered in fool's affairs.. I won't have it!" Without paying heed to another word, he made his way outside.
= = =
'She shouldn't be so damn worried about them. They'll bring about their own demise, and then we'll all be better off.' Sanha laid flat on his stomach and peered over their small civilization. There were dewllings of bamboo and large palm leaves, collected from costal regions and near bodies of water. Others chose to make their homes of pitch-sticks and fabric. Near some of these shelters were firepits, and riddled throughout the celing were collections of small holes that opened up to the flat ground above. This ensured that they would not smother from smoke, and aided better filtration. It also allowed them to enjoy a symblance of rain and sunshine. Rain, though, would eventually run down the ground into the small, unpure lake further back in their cliff-side residince. At night, they may boil water from it to bathe, or maybe cook or even drink.. though most in the pack preferred the cool water of the rapids for consumption.
He looked back at his own residince, etched and carved by his father's leadership at his and the hands of their more skilled landscapers and designers at the time. Accessible by ladder only, it was a sizeable chamber carved into one of the walls of this cavern; a central common area, with halls that branched off into four seperate rooms. It was the residince of he, his wife and daughter, and because sickness left him an orphan, his nephew, Idan. It was a cozy place where he and his great, great grandfather's pack currently resided, but he had a dream that it would only be temporary. In his heart, he knew that his wife was right, that the only hope for their species, as well as mankind was to exchange knowledge and co-exist with one another. He KNEW she was right, but how could they, when their survival meant isolation from any lands that humanity would frequent? He didn't know.. he just did not know. What he did know, however, was that the wind carried him a familiar scent... Idan was nearby.
Sanha slid down the ladder and slowly made his way to the mouth of the cavern, greeting those in kind that addressed him. By the time he reached the mouth, he saw a young, roundly fit black, brown and white camaflouged wolf with a goofy grin on his muzzle walking casually towards him. The alpha smiled and waved a welcome to his nephew, and when he saw the wave returned, turned his shoulder and started back into the cavern. As he was nearing the ladder to their chambers, he noted the youth draining the bucket's water into a large urn, and immediately empty the assorted large fish into a covered water-pit. Enough food and water to hold them through the next couple of days.. he made a mental note of this as the mature cub approached him. Idan walked along side him the way back to their quarters and struck up conversation.
"Hey, Uncle San! How have you been today? I noticed you were still in your chambers by the time I went out for my week's hunt."
"Good morning, Idan.. and don't call me that. It's Sanha, and you know full well. And no, I was just being lazy.. old bones need rest, and all. I was just out stretching my legs, and I scented you on a breeze, so I figured I'd welcome you home since I missed you this morning." Sanha placed a paw on his shoulder and gave it a gentle pat, then he turned his eyes to the youth. "Your Aunt Geane.. she has this strange notion in her head, though... it brings me to great concern."
Idan's ears perked at this and eyes widened slightly. He had a pretty good idea he knew where this conversation was headed, but he took the bait regardless. "Yeah? What is it?"
"She's got these strange ideas.. you know about humans, that other sentient species we avoid, right?"
This time he turned to meet his Uncle's gaze. "Yeah? The ones that propogate and wastefully abuse the gifts of the planet.. what about them?"
"She's got this idea in her head that she can save them. I've tried to talk some sense into her, but she's convinced we can get them to listen to us. Apparently, now that they're in dire straights, she thinks that they might be more open-minded to alternative, more conservative means of living with the land.." He trailed off, stopping just in front of the ladder into the alcove, and he turned around to face Idan with his paws up and open. "She thinks, maybe, we might even gain worship here like others of our kind in distant lands." He looked to Idan for support on his views, but when he saw a blank expression, he opted to just continue up the ladder.
"Wow... that sounds like a pretty far reach.." He knew where Sanha stood, and he didn't like this topic because he could never speak his views of them. It was not his place to judge, but he wasn't going to take a side, either. His views were much the same as his Aunt's, except he wondered about more than simply co-existing with them.. Left on his own, he followed shortly after up the ladder and wondered a curious question again: Are they capable of positive emotions?
By the time he'd made his way to the common room, the Alpha was already roasting skewered meat over a fire. He couldn't tell from shape, and keeping it on salt masked the scent, but it appeared to be a cut of pork. "Have any more of that, Unc? Pork sounds pretty damn good right now..."
"'s Not pork, lad, it's lamb. You wouldn't be able to handle it anyway. Leaves a funny after-taste." He said this while pulling a face.
"Erm... oookay, never mind then. I really do wonder, though.. what if there are some among them who are capable of empathy?"
The large, snow-white arctic started at the boy like he was mad. He stared for a moment, then he laughed and shook his head "You aren't serious, are you, boy? You sound like my wife, with her crazy tales. Look, I don't know what these beings are capable of, but I know this much: I've seen enough of it that I know I don't want to know more.. You can have whatever views you want, but trust me, boy... if you do anything that could endanger our family, it won't be the least merciful of them you have to deal with.. now, let's hurry up and eat here."
Idan slowly nodded and sighed in defeat. He knew there would be no changing this old dog's mind, for when an animal is set in its ways, it sticks by them to the grave. This is a common law of nature.
= = =
Later that evening, after spending a bit of time mingling with the tribe and a bit of time with his relatives, Idan retreated to his room and spent much time contemplating what it would be like to meet one of these 'humans.' He knew they could speak, as the language his people adapted originated loosely from one of their own. He also knew that they nurtured their young, and had thick family bonds. Idan laced his claws behind his head and ran them through his fur while he thought. Maybe, he hoped.. just maybe, if he could bring his Uncle a human that did not freak at the idea of another sentient species, he might be more level-headed and see eye-to-eye.
He wanted to be certain that there was no room for doubt on this mission, so he decided to scheme a plan with his Aunt. Out of the whole tribe, she'd be the most likely to help this endeavor.
= = =
A fairly tall man - at least, tall for this time period: 5'10 - crawled up the edge of a hill to the sound of clanking metal on metal. "Lucas! Hey, Luke, come check this out, I've found some more.." he whispered to his companion. He was also unusually dressed for the era, wearing loose, white linnens and matching material beige trunks that hung on his lean frame. His shoulder-length blonde hair was also tied back
"What is it, Reg? Bandits? Or are they remenants of the imperial guard?" A peculiar man crawled up next to him, dressed in a variety of adornments, most of it pilfered from past raids. He wore a distinguishing bronze and red-felt topped helmet, trademark of a Roman Legionaire over his jet-black short hair. He peered over the edge next to his cohort and examined the rolling meadow, spotting a platoon of soldiers wearing unusual garments. He didn't recognize them, or their insignia. "Say, Reg.. where do you suppose those guys come from?"
"I've got no idea, Luke.. I can tell you this, though: They're loaded. Take a good look at those trimmings." He pointed to the skirting of their adornments, tracing a design over them with his finger.
Lucas followed the finger with his eyes, then looked slowly out to the guard. His mouth hung open when he noticed precious metal embroided through the hemming, then he made the connection: that wasn't brass in their armor. "Holy shit! What the hell kind of faction do those men belong to?? Not even Rome has that kind of wealth these days!"
"My bet is some blue-blood ascended to Lordship somewhere around here. He probably just jumped into the role of commanding officer when these men had no king to bow down to. You know how these politicians and simple grunts are; tell them you'll hand them the world, their greed does the rest.." He put his right hand to his brow and squinted to survey their heading, and he felt the blonde hair down his spine and every limb of his body rise with a sharp explicative. He immediately ducked his head and pulled his startled companion down with. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. When he peeked over the edge of the hill, he saw two of the infantry heading in their direction, and he hastily army-crawled to a neadby corn field, gesturing his friend to follow.
By the time they made it deep enough in the stalks to vanish from sight, the infantry men's eyes were rising the crest of the hill. Once at the top, they each took a different direction to examine for signs of life, but spotting nothing, soon returned to the platoon. "Jeez that was close... Luke, they're heading towards our village!! We'll have no base for spoils if they get away!"
"What?!" Luke damn near spoke loud enough to give them away again, but a smack on the head quietened him down. "Sorry! What the hell are we going to do, Reginald?? They'll loot the place clean and probably kill people!"
"Hold on, maybe not.. what about all those things you've collected from bandits and other swindlers? Surely there's gotta be something of use in your house..."
"Yeah, there's all sorts of weapons.. but how will we get there without being spotted? Didn't you see, there were at least twenty of them, probably more!"
"A well dressed army doesn't always mean a well-trained army. We won't know unless we try. Weigh the options, is the alternative really better?? THINK, Lucas, we have to find a way in there!"
"Well, we could... um... OH! I've got it! We could sneak back into the village, but when they get there, we use the buildings for cover and sneak into the back of my house! Would that work?"
Reginald squinted and raked his fingernails through his chinstrap beard, weighing the options, but he couldn't come up with any improvements, given the current situation and the time they had to act. "It'll have to do. Come on, let's hurry before we're too late!"
= = =
By the time they managed to catch up to the platoon, they were already entering the village, so the two made a slight alteration to their plan. Rather than sneak in on foot, they had to crawl a portion of the way into Luke's back yard. They had a couple of close encounters from one soldier with good periphial sight, and a startled dog that barked in their direction until Reginald tossed a chunk of his food for the day, a half-eaten loaf of bread. By the time they'd made it into Lucas's house, the invading militia was gathering everyone in the village, luckily, working from the opposite end of Luke's home.
Reginald peeked out the bottom of a window to observe these 'soldiers' on the job. These men were sloppy: many of them chattered amongst each other, few seemed to take the work seriously, and only a pair of them were checking the homes, one house at a time. He could only hope that this was a sign that he was right about their combat experience. He lowered back into a crouch and examined the walls, shelves, crates and all other measures of the home. "And here, I thought it was all supposed to go back to the people... Good lord, Luke, what do you have here, half of Rome's armory??"
Luke smiled with pride and puffed out his chest. "Only a small collection of goods from anyone who's ever tried to sneak into this town. But... some of it does come from rome... like this piece." He moved to a painted, wooden contraption that resembled a lizard-snake beast. The tool had a metal rod protruding from what appeared to be the beast's mouth. "This, is something special. You might remember when we fled Rome a couple of years back, I left your side and soon returned with two large sacks over my shoulders?"
"How could I forget? You forced me to carry one until we found an unoccupied ox-cart. Not only that, you looked like you were wearing an entire arsenal and didn't bring a damn thing for me! I'm still mad at you for that!"
"Aww, well don't be! Trust me, the loot was worth it. See, I saw a private guard of the Caesar use one of these, once.. See, there's a button right here.." He rotated the device in his hands and pulled on a short lever on one of the creature's feet. "And flame shot out of it for at least five meters! But I don't think I have all of it.. they used some flammable water."
Reginald stared at him with a face that was a cross of questioning and disbelief, then he shook his head and laughed. "Really?"
"Honest to the Father in Heaven, I ain't lying!"
"Yeah, and I'm Caesar's long lost cousin. Come on, what do you have here that's actually useful?" He was rummaging through one of the crates, when he found a collection of spheres with long, pointy spokes and a fuse sticking out of it. "What on Earth..?" He picked up one and began to examine it, and Luke went bug-eyed, lunging to take it from him.
"Don't touch that! Be very careful with it.. you light the fuse, then you throw it. It explodes and sends those spikes everywhere."
"Yeah, I'll bet. Do you have any arrows for this bow?"
"This is serious! We could use these to shock them and gain the advantage, maybe even take down a couple. You wanted an edge, you just found it." Reginald simply stared at him, wanting to believe it, but still very skeptical. "The Romans developed these as well close to their end.. they would use them to surpress mobs and to take down fleeing individuals or groups."
"Wow... and you're certain we can use these to the same effect now?"
"Yes, absolutely! All we need to do is light the fuse."
"Great, these will do nicely." He reached into the crate and snagged a few, dropping all but one into his waist pouch. After, he grabbed a curved, serrated blade he had admired earlier and pulled the fuse straight, pinned it to the wall with his thumb, then smashed the butt of the hilt against the end to spark the fuse. He kicked the door open to grab the platoon's attention. "Hey assholes! Think fast!" The second he hurled the grenade at them, he began to charge headlong. He rushed left palm open and forward with elbow bent to channel shock, right hand closed loose but secure on the hilt of his sword held blade-up, spine over head.
The resulting explosion took him off guard. A ball of fire approximately three meters in diameter sent shards everywhere, and the group of men that stopped to look at it all laid where they once stood, their armor riddled and pools of their own blood growing into one. Reginald screeched to a halt and stared in awe at the brutal effectiveness of the tool, and thought he might hold onto the rest for a rainy day. A firce battle-cry from the same guard that searched for him, and again spotted him earlier pulled him back to the task at hand. He rushed up to the man, sword held up by the hilt and palm to the spine to block the guard's blow. He parried and flung down the swing with a serration of his blade and in the roll, moved to the side, extending the blade when he stopped to the man's left. He skewed what he supposed was their superior officer up and into the left side of his chest, between his armor's fastenings.
The fifteen remaining men charged, when none too late, Lucas came rushing out of the house. Dropping to one knee and holding a bow horizontally, drew back the string with three arrows in fist, and let them fly into the swarm. His shots injured one in the calf and dropped two by the throat and the heart, and he readied and let fly another pull as Reginald charged in the confusion. Noticing another about to sneak up behind Reg, he required something faster than bow and arrow. He threw aside a flap of his coat, and in the instant he produced, let fly a long, hook-barbed dagger, and nailed the solder right below the helmet. He saw that his assistance was not needed, for as the body stumbled towards him, Reginald spun to decapitate the soldier and palm-thrust his corpse aside in a single motion, immediately returning to the fight. Lucas decided to take a break and watch the action, observing from a safe distance.
His movement was smooth like silk, fluid like water, but it also possessed lethal efficiency. He had the teachings of a strange, wandering man with beady eyes and long hair and a cane to thank for the knowledge that turned his body into a lethal force. In a single motion, he would both parry and counter an attack, while simultaneously moving onto another target. If one swung a blow too mighty for his guard, he would simply roll to the side, or hop back, then lunge onto his prey. He was slaughtering them, but this would soon cost him, as one of the soldiers attempted to flee. Rather than pursue a coward, he decided to finish dealing with the rest of this scum...
That coward that fled, however, was merely biding his time. In his ruse of fleeing, he had managed to sneak around the back of the village, and onto the land of the home that this monster and his friend emerged from. He saw that the back door was still open, and there was no front, so he just snuck his way up behind the dimwit. As he tried to do this, however, he noticed that fucking bastard swordsman take out the last of his comrades, and this fumed him with anger. He would have to wait, now, lest he be discovered; no one who fights like that lacks a sharp eye. He decided to press his back against a wall and wait for his moment to strike.
Lucas clapped his hands with a suttle laugh at his blood-soaked accomplace. "Good show, mate!"
"Screw you, too! Why didn't you come in there and help me more?" He shouted while flinging blood off of his blade and sheathing it.
"Looked to me like you had everything under control, buddy.. besides, I DID help! I got three of them."
"Got two, injured one, almost got another. I saw you sitting here, taking it easy and just watching me struggle. How could you do that? Some friend you are.." He walked past him and back into the house in an agitated huff.
Lucas hurried to catch up to him, trying to apologize. "Hey, I'm sorry! I wasn't totally useless, at least... Reg-"
That was the last he spoke, for behind him the grizzly officer pulled Lucas to his chest, right hand on his mouth and dagger in his left, held to his chest. He was frantic, and very wild in his demeanor and expression. This man was one that had nothing left to lose, and one could see it by looking at him. "You fucking bastard! You killed all my men, my best one first! I can't believe you could do something like that.. but now, you'll see what it's like to lose someone you hold dear."
"DON'T!" He barely finished the word before the blade slowly sunk into Luke's chest. He froze and dropped to a knee, the hand he intended to stop this with trembling and slightly withdrawing as he saw the blade slide down to his side at an angle. The last expression he saw on Luke's face was shocked terror, then acceptance, then slowly, those wide, terrified eyes closed. He couldn't save him, and he couldn't take back those last words. They haunted him, and he heard them over and over in his head. When the lifeless body that was once his friend dropped into a heap and pooled onto the floor, he looked back up to his murderer. There was a smug satisfaction on his face, and this lit the fuse to his rage.
"There, isn't such a whoop from the other side, is it, hotshot?" He bellowed out a gruff laugh, and stopped abruptly when this lanky man let out a loud, thundering yell - and this wasn't a scream, or a shriek... it was a YELL. "YEAH?! Now you see how -I- feel right now! Come on!"
In an instant, the meter gap between them closed, and Reginald's palm rose in the private militiaman's stomach with enough force to dent, and even crack his armor. The impact sent him reeling back while holding his stomach, and he nearly passed out from having the wind so knocked from him. His smug confidince had now faded. To his mind jumped the slaughter he had witness just outside this door, and his bloodlust settled, he now realized the mess he had gotten himself into. He was ready for death, and he laughed. "Yes, reunite me with my friends.."
"REEAAAGH!" Reginald's iron fist smashed into this laughing buffoon's throat, seizing his laugh instantly. When the man's eyes buldged out and he fell to his knees clawing at his throat with one hand, reaching up with the other, Reginald merely stared to him with contempt, then walked outside to let him suffer. He made a promise to himself that day: No matter what life throws at him, or what the situation may be, he will never do, say or think anything he may live to regret. He scanned the town, the women shunning and shielding their children from him, the men cursing his name, the elderly looking at him and trembling with terror. There were few in the village still sane enough to know gratitude for what he'd done, but he didn't care. He was done with this place. He made his way out of the village to, hopefully, greener pastures. As he was leaving, he smelled something burning. He turned back to see that they were burning down Luke's house. 'Good...' he thought. 'Better than having to visit his grave...'