Chapter 6

  Doron stared slack jawed at the young boy who had just spoken. He looked towards Maria, who seemed to be more concerned about her grandmother than anything, then towards the large… wolf? “The Guardian?” he muttered to himself. But then who was this boy?

  Doron thought back to the questions the captain had been asking Nora. He had spoken about a Shard, some magical artifact that would let the village live near the Deep Forest safely. “Was that the secret of God’s Grove?” Doron wondered to himself as he looked back at the boy. A magical artifact, used by this boy to control the Guardian? Doron had never seen the boy before but knew the priestesses regularly left food at the grove. If that was the truth of it, the villages safety suddenly made sense.

  But… Doron looked back at the Guardian. It certainly looked fierce, and its speed was impressive, but was it enough? A wolf the size of a horse was certainly frightening, but it was still a wolf. The knights were well equipped, with solid plate armor, well-made swords and shields, and were most likely trained to handle Beasts.

  Even worse, more of them had since turned up, a scouting party of eight. Meaning that even without the five men that Nora said chased after Maria, there were still fifteen heavily armed knights to deal with the Guardian.

  Doron looked around, trying to catch the eyes of some of the other men of the village. The Guardian probably couldn’t win on its own, but if things turned bad, they might have a fighting chance if Doron and a few others could grab some weapons. As Doron tried to signal some of the other village men, the captain finally spoke.

  “Arrogant aren’t you boy?” The Captain said. Tirr looked surprised, and then angry at the words. “You must be the Shard user” The Captain turned from him to the wolf. “An impressive strength, controlling such a powerful Beast. But don’t be a fool, my men and I have plenty of experience cutting down such creatures. Surrender and show me to the Shard, and your village will be spared.”

  Tirr’s fury grew with each word, before he smiled, looking pleased at himself. “Ah, I understand… Being from such an insignificant part of my Empire, you probably can’t recognize the majestic face of your ruler. No worries, since I am a kind and forgiving god, I will introduce myself.” The boy put on his arrogant look one more time, pulling himself up as tall as he could. “I am Tirr! Ruler and mighty god of this land. You may now kneel and beg for forgiveness. I’ll still allow you a peaceful death.”

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  The knight’s Captain just shook his head. “The world isn’t as small as you think it is boy.” He said as he started to remove one of his gauntlets. “You think you’re a god just because you have a Shard, one I bet you can barely use…” The Captain lifted his now bare hand showing it to Tirr. On the back of his hand, set in the skin at the center of pulsing veins, was a small red crystal.

  Tirr’s smile slowly faded away as he looked at the hand. As it did, the Captain smiled instead. A wisp of flame flickered out from the crystal, growing as it circled. Soon a ball of flame covered the Captain’s fist. Tirr’s expression was now grim, and he clenched his hands as he slowly looked down, visibly shaking.

  The Captain seemed pleased with the change. “Now you understand boy, give me the…”

  “Mutt…” Tirr whispered as he looked up. The voice somehow carried across the village center, forcing everyone to quiet as they felt a chill. There was no expression on Tirr’s face as he slowly took one step, and then another… moving closer to the captain with dead eyes.

  The Captain’s senses were screaming that he was in danger. He shouted to his men. “Surround the beast! Spears to the front!”

  Tirr continued to step towards him. “Kill the rest…” He ordered the Guardian, his eyes locked on the Captain as he walked. The Guardian sprang forward in an instant. Before the knights could react one of them was sent flying, his body broken as he crashed through a nearby house. The rest quickly tried to surround the Beast.

  “Why, do you have my Blessing?” Tirr’s voice spread through the village center again.

  The Captain couldn’t look away from the boy’s eyes. They were… Alien. Not the eyes of a human being, not the eyes of any living creature. The Captain shuddered, feeling as if he had just woken up. He raised his fist again, fire collecting around it and his arm, before casting it out at Tirr. “You’ll burn then boy, you and this whole village!”

  The ball of fire rushed forward, striking the ground in front of Tirr and exploding. It covered him and the surrounding area in fire and smoke. The Captain stared at the result for a second before laughing.

  “This is what happens when you’re too cocky boy!” The Captain’s relief flooding him with a moment of giddiness. He turned back to the rest of the villagers who had watched the scene in horror. “This is the result of your God.” He focused on his hand and more flames sprang up. “I’ll find the Shard myself…” He raised his hands towards the villagers, but a voice cut him off once again.

  “Stop playing around mutt…”

  Screams came from behind the Captain after the words. He slowly turned around in dread. The first thing he saw was the Beast. It was no longer the size of a horse. It was the size of a large house… he watched as the top half of one of his men fell from its jaws. The others tried to stop the creature, but their spears couldn’t pierce its thick fur. By the time the Captain had fully turned around another three were dead as the creature whirled, teeth flashing. The Captain ignored them, staring at the smoke still rising from his attack.

  “I asked you…” Tirr growled as he stepped out. His skin was a burnt mess, revealing damaged muscles and bones. But as the captain watched, it all regrew, and Tirr soon looked like nothing had happened.

  “Why. Do. You. Have. My. Blessing?”