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Mar: A World at War

Chapter 1: Krath

As Krath stirred awake in his tiny back alley that was known as his home, the 17 year old's stomach spoke with need as it always did every morning. Krath was tired of this, tired of living in such a way during this time of so called "peace" when everyone else around him was living in their greatest times and here he was; fighting everyday for his very right to exist, speaking of which...

"Hey bedrock on your feet!"

...

He had to say it, that word to us humans was an insult that spurred our very fury and with my breathing ragged my fists clenched I began my charge intent on ending him. My roar began, as my ears could hear nothing but the thumps of my feet, I grew closer and then closed my eyes to rely on my true line of sight. As my eyes came to a close the view of the world in my mind had become lit with a pale blue and I laid witness to all around me...four men, the leader armed with a crude spike of a blade the other three held nothing...the alley was too small for me to take them all on by my self, my only alternative was to force them into the street. The mouth pulled his knife and flipped it to a downward angle as he started laughing; I was soon enough in front of him.

As soon as his knife plunged, I shifted my neck to the left and pulled my head up completely avoiding his stab. I waited until the full motion was past my extremity and just then I clenched his wrist and elbow then continued the motion, I pushed the knife further and further until the blade devoured it's way into his leg until finally it was hilted. Only then did I rip it back lacerating even more of his leg...and again...and again all the while my shoulder was pushing him into the street. At the same time my mind's eye watching on while my physical eyes remained dormant.

I pushed and pushed until I was finally in the street the mouth had lost a lot of blood, enough for him to lose consciousness, so with a huff I threw him into a patch of grass; the fight was over.

"This is so boring" I said with a sigh while giving my head a scratch, "I'm finished with this...any other day I probably would've killed you, but not today, just don't feel like it."

As I was about to return to my pitiful alley, I felt this white hot pang in the back of my head, then all things sifted to darkness. I awoke to a very strange place with numerous cots and nightstands all of which were empty, mainly because their inhabitants' eyes were all latched onto me, surrounding me with their curiosity. I slowly sat up with a dull pain in the back of my head but, as I reached for it, my hand was held in place; the bony but warm fingers put my hand back to the cot and then continued to do the same to my head.

"Wouldn't want that to open up now would we?"

I looked to see what person had such a high voice; it was almost screechy but was just low enough to sound soothing. I was expecting an old woman from the feel of her hands but what I found was anything but. This being was definitely not human, but was wearing a hat with a red cross sewed in, upon seeing this woman I flailed around wildly trying to get away from the weird lady with the red cross on her hat, she screeched and squawked while flinging her wings up in surprise...I had never seen a bird woman before...her feathers flying around, all the kids running away screaming while I scrambled to silently do the same.

She stood just like a normal human the only real difference was that she was covered in feathers; she was a little less than pudgy but that appearance might just have been her white feathers. Her face how ever was not white in color, it was red, red down to her neck which preceded to go further down to mix with the white in squiggles, her eyes were highlighted in white and her mouth...err...beak was a touch too small, she looked like a piece of artwork, and her clothing suggested that the next action she would take would be to pull out a syringe.

"What the hell are you?" I screamed with horror.

"Hmmm...Me?" the woman asked pointing at the underside of her nose, dumbfounded.

"Nooo...I was asking the wall!" I retorted incredulously.

"Ohhh...well the wall can't speak...ya dork" She said while placing her talons at her sides.

"You...you actually thought I was asking _ the wall _...?" I said with the flattest look and tone I could give her but all I could manage was a twitchy eyebrow and an angled mouth finding it amusing that she thought I was serious.

"Well that is what you said" she said in a manner 'ofactly way.

"Grrrrrr...I was asking you feathers, I was just being sarcastic about the wall!!"

"Sar-cas-tic oh...what's that?" she asked.

I couldn't tell if she was being honest or just infuriating, nevertheless I annoyingly explained what sarcasm was for her but just when I was about done explaining this cold chill ran over my body and when the chill finally crept over my entirety I saw her. A old hag if ever there was one, she stood around six feet tall with an extremely slender frame that was punctuated with her black suit, with hair that was just as black as her suit just barely reaching her shoulders.

"And just what is going on here Amily?"

"L-Lady Loretta!"

"Who's the old lady?" I asked.

When those words left my mouth, I then saw a deafening glare from the bird lady; Amily, obviously, I had done something wrong but did not know it at the time.

"Young man..." she started while straightening her tie.

"I do believe you are confused" the old woman had started walking toward me with nothing but despondence.

The kids in the corner of the room started to cringe up and hide their heads.

"I am Madam Loretta, you will refer to me as My Lady or Madam Loretta do, I make myself clear?"

She was walking towards me, almost pacing.

"Why are you telling me this? It's not like I live here."

"You were homeless weren't you..." she paused visibly thinking.

"Yes I was bu-"

"Then it's settled...what was you name?"

"Krath, but-"

"Krath...you will live here at The Little Orphan, and Amily?"

"My lady?"

"See to it that...Krath is made healthy and then inform him on the daily schedule".

"Yes ma'am."

With that, I had a place to call home, besides a roof over my head not much changed as the other kids had all grown to dislike me although I was guessing because of the age difference; I was near a decade older than everyone else. Loretta, on the other hand, was never really around unless there was a problem that needed to be fixed so the only one to show any kindness to me was Amily. During the three months that I was there, I had been given bathing water, fresh clothes, food, schooling, and thanks to Amily, love.

It started small, with a glance here and a smile there but after a while I had learned much about her; she was the same age as me(at least in the way she explained it, born in the light realm during the summer, and she had come to the air realm to study medicine inorder to help as many people as she could, the Air Realm was the obvious choice because even though the Light Realm was the leading scientific land in mar nearly all of their learning was by book drastically different than the Air realm's teachings which were almost all hands-on.

We had done little more than talked and shared stories, and when she told me of her dream of helping as many people as she could and that to do it she would open a clinic. I had told her of mine; that when I got older I wanted to join The Guard and protect; she always smiled when I told her that, going on to say while she would shelter and heal the ones in need I would be the one to protect her clinic.

Then came the day when I had found a book the town's library that was all about swords, swordsmanship and sword making, I loved it, never before had I seen a weapon handled with such graceful deadliness and without hesitation I brought the book back to the orphanage and showed Amily and after hours of excited chattering I fell asleep with the book still in my hands and my head on her feathery lap. When I woke, my head was placed on Amily's gifted handmade pillow along with a warm blanket snugly tucked round my body. However, the book was gone, frantically I started to search for it, and almost as soon as I started looking, I found it; it was in the hands of another kid.

"Heh, good read isn't it?" I asked hoping not to startle him.

The kid appeared to be around five years old and as he heard me, he looked at me frowning, then the book and finally he dropped his head in shame while handing it to me saying

"Sorry, it's just Loretta never lets us read anything cool like that, with weapons and stuff...says were too young, here's your book back."

As I took the book back I couldn't help but feel sorry for accepting it, so I placed in front of him and assured that as long as Loretta didn't find out he would be able to read it as much as he wanted.

"REALLY?" The small boy exclaimed with glee.

I nodded.

"Wow, thanks Krath, you sure you don't mind me holding onto it?"

I shook my head assuring him I didn't, smiling.

He started to laugh with joy, his expression had gone from somber and disappointment to elated joy and happiness.

The day continued quite slowly after that until right around noon when Amily had asked me to visit her room, of course, I looked forward to a quiet sharing with her but when I arrived in her room I was even more pleased to find that decorations were hung and Amily shouting;

"SURPRISE!"

"What's all this for?" I asked.

"Its a little party celebrating the anniversary of you living at The Little Orphan" I swear she almost chirped as she spoke.

"How long has it been?"

"Exactly three months, and guess what?"

"What?"

"I have another surprise for you, but you gotta close you eyes first." she said in sing song.

"All right, what is it?" I asked while closing my eyes, making sure not to cheat with my true vision.

"Hold out your hands..."

I did, and then I felt a heavy box being given to me.

"Ok, open 'em." She said excitedly.

"Whoa!" I said while starting to laugh.

"Well? Open it!" She exclaimed with jittery emotion.

I looked at the rainbow colored wrapping paper with wide eyes and then started to rip and tear at it until I uncovered a mahogany case that wasn't nearly as wide as it was long.

"Wow it's beautiful" I complemented with my hand feeling the perfectly smooth case. Although this moment was wonderful, I had to ask the one question that would inevitably spoil it all.

"How much did you spend on this, Amily?" I asked with worry, hoping that she would not respond how I feared she would.

"Ah ah ah, you don't get to know that it's a secret." Amily teased.

Even with the brightness in her eyes and smile in her beak, I couldn't allow Amily to do this for me so I again pressed for the information:

"Amily...please, how much did you spend?" I could feel the melancholy in the room.

Her smile slowly started to fade just as the shimmer in her eyes did.

"Ok Krath...I-I spent it all" her body language had changed drastically, just a few moments ago she was happy, jittery even, glowing with pride and excitement but now all of that was gone, and what remained wasn't as near as bright.

"Now I know what that money was for but when I saw that..." she pointed to the large, heavy box.

"I had to get it for you, this is about your dream, please don't say no to it."

"My dream...what about your dream Amily" It wasn't anger that was in my voice, I never felt any anger toward Amily at all, it was just concern.

"Don't worry, I'll have enough money in another year, it's really no problem"

She was trying her best to be assuring but I could tell, I could always tell if Amily was unnerved in any way. I walked slowly over to her then raised her chin with the lightest touch I was able.

"If you don't build your clinic...then what am I supposed to guard?" I gently pondered.

She giggled at this then began to say:

"You're too good to me...you know that?" She placed her hand on my cheek.

"I'm too good to you? ...so I guess that means-"

I was interrupted, but not by the sound of her voice, not by the worldly inhabitants of the orphanage, not by anything but her kiss. Her small beak finding my lips and as the entire world faded into one light bathed in black a pale blue illuminating only her and me, this kiss being the first true display of affection ever shown toward me, and being shown by none other than the most beautiful...well most would say creature but not Amily she was nothing less than the meaning of beauty itself.

...