Chapter 2

Ean tells tales of his childhood before leaving his home town.

    "I think I'll begin the tale by telling you about the way I grew up. I lived in Nauune until I was fifteen years of age. My father had been stolen from me and my mother when I was just a baby. We were broke. As plain as that just broke. But I liked my life, I had friends, and I had her. But Dead'Rovas was one thing, yes thing, I didn't like. Implementing all these laws even though he wasn't even rightfully a king. A false monarch. But he still had the right to lop your head clean off your shoulders for being caught out past curfew? Around my fourteenth year my mother told me the true story of what had happened to my father. Or so I thought. My mind had been flipped on like a switch of sorts it seemed. A year flew past, my mind always running. I was constantly thinking of things I could do that could help the people survive a creature such as Dead'Rovas.

    "On the birthday of my fifteenth year. Me and four of my friends had gone into old town to mess around in celebration. I can still remember when I first saw it, I thought I was dreaming. An apple tree! A real apple tree just sitting there wanting us to eat the fruit it bore. To relieve it's weary arms of the loads of shiny red and yellow jewels dangling from them." Ean paused and took a drink of his ale before speaking agian. "I don't think any of you grew up within a family of wealth, no offense to ya, I only mean to say that I think you all understand how precious this tree was and how unique. I don't think I could have imagined a more amazing birthday then.

    We spent the majority of the day tucked away in the run down warehouse, gorging ourselves on apples and climbing the walls and all the old crates left barren. We had forgotten one very importent rule though. Never break curfew! When we finely tired and went to look at the sun to see how long we had left, the sun had all but vanished behind the horizon. My friends were lucky at that moment, they lived on the side of town closest to the warehouse.

    We sprinted for home. Breaking off one by one. Until I was left alone running through the streets of Nauune. Fate decided to wear masks of many colors that day. I was spotted by one of the Nightswatch not two hundred feet from home. I had no choice now but to change directions. I coudln't take him home to my mother, a poor dinner guest he would be.

    So I changed my pace to turn I bolted down an alleyway to escape the gaurd. First left then right, then right, and left again. A dead end is what I was rewarded with, then it assaulted me the sound of his heavy leather boots striking the ground. His stride long and heavy. There was no where to hide, I thought for sure that was it for me.

    I thought for sure that was it for me, so why not try one last little trick. Clim the brick wall at the back of the alley. Brilliance? Not at all. I got half way up and fell right onto my a*s. The footsteps had stopped and been replaced with a moronic chuckling. I only had to turn slightly to see the guard. He stood head and shoulders over me, and the whole of him was covered by his leather suit. All of the guards wore the same outfit, but the outfit never retired if a guard died they just stiched it and dyed it grey again.

    "Thought you could outrun a guard did you?" The guard taunted spitting at me "All you peasents are so stupid that's why you can't be guards." Shaking his head he walked up to me and kicked out at my stomach, I leaped back to avoid it and hit my head on the wall. It felt as if it had been split open. I couldn't even see strait. And vertigo began rapidly taking over my body making me nauseous.

    "Are you really so ignorant as to believe everything he says? You're pawns! Puddy in his vindictive hands. You can't even see it, can you? Have you even once wondered why you're not allowed into his speaches when he comes into town?" The guard's face quickly turned to that of twisted rage he responded by punching me in the face. I fell back into the wall and slid down.

   "How dare you!" He bellowed at me. "The master loves us. I don't know what you're trying to say but it doesn't sound good. Now be silent before I end you!"

    "He's using you! You arrogant moron." Spitting blood on the ground at his feet I stood up and continued. "You're peons. Mindless drones to him." I began to use hand gestures puting more of myself into attempting desperately to find an out. "The reason you're not allowed into the speaches isn't that he doesn't think we'll attack him. It's that he doesn't want you to hear what he has to say. He tells us that you're nothin to him. That he wishes we could govern ourselves. But we can't because we actually think for ourselves. And are prone to doing something we'd later regret. Like starting a rebellion, something your minds could never comprehend. You eat. S**t. Piss. And die all at a word for him, you are nothing." He'd heard enough at that point. He drew back and punched me again this time hard enough to knock me strait to the ground.

    "I'll kill you for that you little brat!" Drawing his sword he rose up to bring it down upon me.  I scampered back to the wall to try and get away from him but there was no use.

    The sword was swinging down towards my head with impossible strength.

    I exhaled as one of the shards struck me along the cheek. I had somehow ended up behind the guard leaving the wall as the only place for the sword to go, the wall won that match. I was almost as confused as the guard, but I recovered quicker picking up a lid from a nearby garbage bin I charged. In a second I was at his face with the lid driving him into the wall!

   I didn't stop to think, I turned an ran. I was home faster then I had thought possible. My mother was waiting for me of course. 

   "Where have you been? You idiot! You could have been caught and you just stand there give me blank stares?" my mother was livid! Her voice had become so shrill that I could barely even hear what she was sayin and to be completely truthfull I'm pretty sure I heard a few dogs start barkin.

    "I’ve been out, I didn’t get caught that should be enough for you but no now that I’m back and unharmed you have to stand there and insult me? God this world has gone to the dogs!"

    "Gone to the dogs? When has it belonged to anyone else?"

   A smirk crept across my lips "Didn’t know you were capable of insulting the law mother, you’re always can’t do that it’s the law, we should do this it’s the law."

   "The law is what keeps this society out of anarchy, it's there to keep us safe I follow these rules and regulations, as did my mother."

    "And look where that landed us, dirt broke and arguing constantly, ya fat load of good that did us let me tell you."

    "Now you listen here, you arrogant s**t." my mother snarled at me."I work damn hard to keep this family going and what do I get from you? Insults! Snarls! Disrespect! You don't listen to a thing I say do you?"

    "Honestly? I prefer not too."

    BANG!

    BANG!

    BANG!

    The entire house seemed to be shaking, bouncing out of it's very foundation. I glanced over at my mom curiously, she shrugged and shook her head not knowing what to say. I crept over to the door cautiously callin out "Who's there?"

     "Open the door Ean, it's past curfew. Don't you think it's rude to leave us out here waiting?" an unfamiliar voice called out.

    "Ha! Says the guy trying to break down my door!" I called back, stepping a few steps away from the door.

    "He's got you bested there Rellik." chuckled another unfamiliar voice from the far side of the door. "Ean, please let us in we wish to speak with you." called out the new man.

   "I suppose you can come in." I called back to them, as I unlatched the door I feared I had made a grave mistake. The man called Rellik apeared to be a giant, standing at least eight feet high and he was as wide as six of me. "Hi.." was all I managed to stutter out.

   A smaller man, stepped out from behind him "Hello Ean, I am Xailen. This is Rellik. And thank you for allowing us into your home." He wasn't exactly small himself, standing slightly over six feet Xailen was an impressive man as well with broad shoulders and scarred arms he was not someone I would have wanted to get on the foul side of. He had vibrant blue eyes that almost seemed as though they could see strait through you and his head was covered in tribal tatoos but no hair.

   "GET OUT!!!" My mother shreiked from behind me. "OUT! OUT! OUT!" she started towards Xailen her finger pointing towards his chest "You can't have Ean! You already stole Sparrow! You can't have him." The mention of my father shocked me, she had told me that he had just stayed out past curfew and that's why he was stolen from us, she made no mention of strange men.

   "What do you mean they "stole" my father?!" I yelled turning on her.

   "Sparrow chose to come to us Alie. What happened was unfortunate. But he was a good man who wanted to create a better society to have his son raised it. Can you honestly blame him for that? He left you with enough to get along and raise him without ever having to go without food on the table. And you know I extended my hand offering aid should you ever need it." Xailen said calmly taking a step toward her. "Ean, has every right to fight if he wants the same, we're taking some new students and everyone on the council believes Ean should be aloud a position if he so desires it. I know he's your son. But he can do this. He can make a difference."

   "What are you all talking about? I'm lost here."

   "Ean I am on the Dark Dawn's leading council, we would like for you to join us in our fight against Dead'Rovas