The Kaikan BY Wolf Fang

Book: one Flora

Chapter one: Dead at Night

It is a late night at the Templar Headquarters in Newport city. A high-ranking templar is Reporting to the grand council for his next assignment. The Templar just got back from a trading assignment. The Templars had to trade a Kaikan warrior for one of their own. The templars are at war with the Kaikans and another tribe called the Bastins. The templars have been winning the war for the last eighty years and have been winning ever since. The templar counsel is asking one of there best to go on an assassination mission, to kill the leader of the Kaikan people. Trace Casey is that templar. Trace is the best of the templars; some say that they cannot win the war without him. Trace Casey is a twenty-five year old boy; who joined the templars at the age of thirteen; he is five feet and eleven inches tall and weights one hundred an eighty-five pounds. The Kaikans are tribe of people who live on the southern end of Centin. The Kaikans have short fangs, claws and they are able to use magic, they are not the fighting type, but when the war started they learn from the Bastins how to fight, mostly to defend their selves from the Templar's that are making them slaves. The Bastins are a tribe of people that also have fangs, and magic. They learn magic from the Kaikan. They also have past perfect sight and there hearing is the best in the region. The Bastins live on an unknown island called Kenton in the ocean of Kirond. The Bastins have token over the western part of Centin. The magic works though the aura of the Kaikan. The Bastins are able to control their aura, but barley able to keep it without killing themselves. The humans can't control the aura, when they do the power over whelms them and takes controls; they will die from the energy of the aura. There is some case where humans can control magic, but it is rare. The war between them has been going on for one hundred and twenty years. The council is meeting with Trace Casey.

"We have your next mission Trace." said the Council

"What's the mission?" said Trace

"We want you to infiltrate the Kaikan main camp and assassinate the king." said the Council

"Yes sir. I will get it done right away." said Trace

"Go home and report here tomorrow for more details." said the council.

"Yes sir." said Trace

"Hail the Templar Empire!" said the Council

"Hail the Templar Empire!" said Trace

Trace Casey left the HQ and headed home. It was a clear and quiet night in Newport city. The sky is clear and the ocean was quiet and peaceful under the night time stars, the bright moon glaring off the oceans water and the sound of the waves over lapping against the rocks that is separating Trace from the cold ocean water. Trace stared at the dark blue water remembering his past from his childhood when he played in the water with friends during the hot summer. Trace loved to swim and build castles on the beach. Anytime when he is on the beach, it is for a mission or a meet up with an agent. Tonight was a peaceful night.

"It has been a long time since I looked out into the ocean or the sky. The sky is clear and beautiful, the moon is big and the stars are bright, and the ocean is clear and claim, some day I wish I never join the templars, but the pay is good and the missions are challenging (sometimes) I wish just wish tha..."

"That what Trace?"

"Oh general sir I did not see you there."

"Please call me Marx. We are off duty."

"Ok Marx. What can I do you for?"

"I am just wondering what you were saying. That you wish what?"

"Just that the war was over and there was peace between the Kaikans and the Bastins" "We all do, but the war is still going and as long as there are Kaikans and Bastin. Trace you know why we are at war?"

"No sir I don't"

"Well Trace let me tell you, the war stared one hundred and twenty years ago. The Kaikans, Bastins and the humans were at peace, but one day the Bastins attack the Kaikans and they blamed the death of the Kaikan people on the humans. The templars were born five years after the war started. After a while the Kaikans found out that the Bastin attack them, not the humans, so they surrender to the templars. They thought we will make peace with them, but after fighting for eighteen years the templars did not want peace, they wanted justice. We made the Kaikans into slaves for the humans, which made the Kaikans angry. Two years after they surrendered they went to the Bastins to seek help. At the same time the Bastins were starting to lose the war, they knew the Kaikans were a help to the war, but not as much as they thought. When the Kaikans came to the Bastins, the Bastins helped the Kaikan form a rebellion to fight the Templars right away. This helps the war for the Bastins and the Kaikans, but the templars were still winning. Today we are still winning the war, but at a slow pace"

"Why do we want to kill the Kaikan and the Bastins sir?"

"They are a menace to our kind and to our way of life! They are scavengers with no law for other life, but there own. They cause war and death in our life. They must be killed, you got that Trace."

"Yes sir."

"Good. I will see you tomorrow Trace good night."

"Good night sir."

While the general walked away Trace turn back to look out at the ocean and he saw a three mast ship out in the ocean. He is wounding whom the ship belonged to for there were no ships schedule to dock tonight. The ship had three black mast with three red flags, on each of the flags were an image, but the ship is too far to see what the images is on the flag.

"It is supply ship from the Bastin's fleet. It is going to their homeland of Kenton"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Eric Johnson. I just joined the templars a month ago"

"Oh ok. My name is Trace Ca...."

"Casey I know how you are. You are one of the most well known templar in the Centin region."

"Well I won't say that, but thanks. So what are you doing over there?"

"I am walking home. It is over by the radio station near the main gate to the city."

"Uhmm ohh. Ok, I will walk with you, I live in mild city in the Star Blaze hotel. You walk right by it on the way to your house. You can stop in for some coffee if you want too."

"Sure thanks. I would like that. Thanks.

"No problem. Let's walk and talk."

"Ok"

"So you started a month ago. How is it going so far? Do you like the templar creed?"

"In order. Yes. It's going great the other members are friendly and even the higher rank members are helping me out."

"During war time we templars have to help each other out just in case of emergency, but we help the new guys as much as we can. What about the creed?"

"It's ok, I not sure why we fight Bastins and the Kaikans."

"I'm not sure either, but we do what we are told by the council. If you ask General Marx he would tell you why we fight."

"I think I'm going to ask......."

"Come on a Kaikan escape the slave ship. We must go retrieve her." said a templar soldier

"She escaped into the Shadow Forest." Said another templar soldier

"Let's go and get some backup!!!!!" said a templar soldier

"Should we go help them?" said Eric

"No they can handle it, they been trained for this." said Trace

"Are you sure we shouldn't help them."

"You can if you want to, but I am going home."

"I will stay with you. I'll like to talk to someone on the way home. It goes faster."

"...... It does. I can see the hotel from here."

"So what made you join the templar's?"

"It's a long story. I don't like to talk about it."

There was a long silence as Trace started thinking to himself. He started thinking why he joined the creed. He joined the creed twelve years ago. His father was in the creed and got killed on a mission trying to find the Kenton region when he was five years old. His mother was the one who took care of him. He heard stories about is father when he was in the creed. He was brave and loyal to the templar creed. Trace always wanted to follow in the father footsteps. His mother was against him joining the creed. His father died in the war when he was five. His father death is something Trace never talks about. This is why he joined the templar's.

When war started the templar's had to change the age limit from sixteen to thirteen. The recruits were not able to fight in the war, but they were able to help with training and weapons cleaning. Upon turning fifteen years old, recruits were able to start learning how to fight. The training was hard for us. We were not as strong and fast as some of the eighteen years old. They had time to practice and build up their strength. We had to try to compete with some of the older students in our class. A lot of us did not make it because they were older, wiser, and stronger. When we tried hard they tries harder they had it in them to beat us because, we were younger and weaker. A few of us were fast and strong enough to past the training they were given to us. We did graduate at the younger age then the people who joined at the age of sixteen. By the end of the training we were all equal in strength and wisdom. The older students who passed the training had a new respect for the younger ones. When all was finish his would father respect me even more then before he left.

"Are you ok Trace?" said Johnson

"Yes I am fine just thinking" said Trace

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing. We are here I live on the top floor.

"Nice lets go"

As the two templar got in to the elevator Trace Casey pressed the button to his room. The elevator goes straight to Trace's room. Trace must put a key in the elevator to be able to go to his room. There is also a bell that goes off in Trace's room when the button is press to his room and when the doors open to his room. In the past there were attacks on him for his past actions against the Kaikan's and the Bastin's. This is just one security system used in his hotel room.

When the elevator door open the bell went off, the two templar's went inside and Trace Casey made some coffee after a while of talking about past missions and childhood memories Eric Johnson left the room back to his own place. On the way down Trace saw Eric talking into a radio before turning the counter out of sight of Trace. It was about one o'clock when Trace checked his room put his bow and quiver on the rack above his bed, he put his hand and a half sword in the sheath by his bed hanging next to him for emergency and his revolver under his pillow. The revolver his new to the Templars it has six rounds in the revolving chamber and has good accuracy at close range. The templars are the only ones who use the revolvers as far as they know. The revolver is one of the security measures that Trace uses to defend himself. Trace looked around his room one more time. He looked out the window and it was raining. The windows were locked, the security cameras were turned on, and the room looked secured.

When Trace falls asleep, he started dreaming of what is going to happen next in the life. Three hours later the power went out in the Star Blaze hotel. Trace was already fast asleep. Trace's window stared to open slowly. The figure pulls out a hallow tube and a dart. The dart was loaded into the tube and struck Trace on the arm. Trace woke up with the revolver in hand, right when the dart hit Trace in the arm. The figure leaped at Trace, but Trace moved out of the way. When Trace turned on the light he found that everything was fuzzy, he pulled the dart out of his arm trying to find out who have do this to him. Trace saw a dark man in the shadow he knew who it was.

"Why are you here!!?"

Trace felt another dart hit him in the neck. This time Trace fall to the ground. The figure move to Trace gradually. The figure check Trace's pulse it was moving slowly, Trace was asleep. The figure took the dart out of Trace and put it in the trash.

"He is asleep sir." Said the figure in his radio

"Leave the note and come back to HQ." said the man in the radio.

"Yes sir."

He turned off the radio and placed the note on the table. The man turned off the lights and proceeded to the window.

"Good night Trace Casey and see you will soon." said the figure

It was almost morning as the figure leaves the hotel in the rain, going back to this HQ.