The Pride of Nola

[Deity]

((Another Story. Well, please don't post any feedback here. I will get around to posting a feedback thread soon. In fact, *goes to make*))

The Pride of Nola

Series 1: The New Foes

They were all elite warriors, seasoned veterans of the art of fighting and killing. They came from all angles of the continent and were simply known as the Hand of *Kahn. ((*Name used for a Nolan God))

The people that knew them also referred to them as the traveling death dealers, because that is basically what they did. They traveled the continent in search of work and most of the time dealt death to their enemies by doing so.

They called no land home, and yet any place where night caught up to them was as good a home as any. Just like this very day was about to be. It was darkening slowly and the leader of the group had given the order to his colleagues to stop, dismount, and prepare camp.

The leader was a six footer known as Sean Storm. He had short, blonde hair and a slim yet strong body. He covered himself with a slim, silver chest plate and several silver padding on his legs and arms. He was not a knight, rather he saw himself as a sword-master.

Eight was the total number of warriors in the group, and five of these were young men no more than twenty one years of age. The other three were young girls who could fight as well as the men could.

Rad Quetz, second in command, saw one of these girls approaching him. It was none other than Gen Hui, his beloved girlfriend, who had dismounted her horse and was now leading it to a place where it could spend the night close by.

Gen was the shortest of the group. Her hair was long and dark, with a purple bang up front. Her light brown eyes were what made Rad smile every time he caught a glimpse of them. To him, there was no other set of eyes as dreamy and beautiful as Gen’s.

“About time we stopped.” Gen seemed relieved. For one thing, Rad knew that his girlfriend did not like riding that much. Since she was covered in thick, dark armor, Rad knew that the trips got very tiring for her rather quickly. So, hearing her say that, Rad was not surprised.

“The journey is long, Gem,” he told her as he accompanied her, leading his own horse on. Rad had a thing for gems and valuable stones, and knowing that his girlfriend’s name rhymed with gem, well, he had decided to call her Gem instead of Gen. “Sean just wanted to put as much land behind us and make it to Nola as fast as we can.”

“We still have to ride a ship there,” Gen told him, grabbing his free hand, “So what is the big hurry?“

Rad glanced at her and responded, “I think Sean just wants to get there as soon as possible. After all, Alexis is very ill.”

Gen gasped, unbelieving what her boyfriend had just related to her. She had not known that Sean’s girlfriend was ill. All she had been told by Rad was that they were to make a trip to the land of Nola, where the leader was from.

“Why didn’t you say so, Radamanthys Quetzalcoatl?”

“I did not want to trouble you,” Rad said, his voice as calm as ever and ignoring his girlfriend calling him by his full name. She only did that when she got annoyed over something, though she was fast to let go of her anger.

Edited March 10, 2009 by Deity

[Deity]

Rad was short in stature. He was strong and his hair long and of a white color. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black and he wore some sort of small crown on his forehead, a crown that had the form of a headband. It was obviously valuable, for all around it, assorted colored stones that went from sapphire to rubies and gems decorated it.

The couple left the horses tied around the branches of large trees and then hurried to search for twigs for the fire that would keep them warm that night.

“You go that way I’ll go this way,” Rad proposed to Gen. They always did this sort of thing, so the Asakian born was fast to nod and smile at him. Asaki was a realm to the west where folk with small, slanted eyes resided. It was an exotic land, full of friendly people and many things to see. Rad had fallen in love with that land upon his first ever visit, and there too, he had fallen in love with Gen.

Moments later, they were back together with the rest of the hand. They set the twigs they had gathered close by where others from the group had also left some.

Everyone in the group had tasks to do. One of Gen’s friends, a short gal that went by the name of Kilvas, was the cook. She was good with culinary objects and she was a fine archer as well. She could fight well with a sword too, but she preferred bows. This night, as Rad found a place for him and his girlfriend, he noticed that the cook was nowhere to be seen. He glanced off to the side and found her four-wheeled wagon, where she kept her culinary stuff and some weapons that were of use to the group.

“And Kilvas?” Rad asked to anyone who would respond to him.

“Ah, mate, she went to take care of womanly business,” laughed the leader, glancing at him and his girlfriend as they sat down on the ground to his right.

“I see,” Rad understood and his eyes went to a young lad who was now preparing to light up the fire right in the middle of the circle they had created. To be honest, Rad had noticed something weird going on with Kilvas earlier that day. The pretty girl had seemed sad, full of anguish, her face darkened as if the whole world of Phydoria was coming to an end. When Rad had asked her if she was okay, Kilvas had nodded at him and had left his presence rather quicker than other times.

“Hurry up lighting that fire, Ether.” a girlish voice was heard, disrupting Rad‘s thoughts. The voice belonged to Freohr Datia, the other girl in the group. She was not related to anyone in the group whatsoever, and she was rather nice and shy. Lately though, something was going on with her. Rad had noticed this when Freohr seemed to get edgy over nothing. She had always been the quiet type, and rightfully so. Her past was as obscure as the current night in front of Rad’s eyes. The second in command had played a role in her past life, so he knew quite a bit about her.

The mercenary glanced briefly her way and noticed that she was sitting with her arms crossed and in a foul mood. Her dark, long, wavy hair fell to cover her entire chest area. When Freohr caught him looking on, Rad simply took his stare away.

Edited March 10, 2009 by Deity

[Deity]

The mercenary turned his stare to one of the other guys in the group, this one a broad looking fellow with a mature looking face, though he was as young as Rad at eighteen. His hair was of a dark brown hue and he was known as Gatrie Gatling. Seeing Rad’s puzzled expression over Freohr’s unusual behavior made Gatrie shrug his broad shoulders at the second in command. Rad noticed Gatrie held a bottle of fire-water, a beverage that would surely knock out anyone who drunk too much from it. What Rad knew from spending two years with Gatrie in the gang was that the fellow killed his pains and dark past with the beverage. He was not a drunk bastard like the many one would find in small towns and flea-infested villages. Gatrie knew how to keep himself in control at all times. Rad turned away from him after Gatrie took a sip from the bottle.

“You know what, Rad?” Sean said, making Rad stare at him and nod.

“Yo, what’s up, boss?”

“Kilvas is taking too long,” Sean related, glancing at him. “You might want to send Django and Freohr out looking for her.”

He spoke loudly, so Gen and the other gal over heard him. Rad did not even have to say anything, Gen and Freohr were up in an instant and away. One of the guidelines within the gang was that every member had to watch all other members’ backs.

Rad was about to follow them with his eyes, though the fire was lit at that instant and it caught his attention.

“Good job, Ether,” Rad was quick to compliment the lad when the flames appeared bigger.

“Thanks,” Ether, Rad’s own pupil, smiled at his master and headed to take a seat. Ether owned what he was to Rad Quetz. Rad had rescued him from the streets of a poor village that was nothing but poverty. Had Rad not given him the chance to become what he was today, Ether knew he would of surely died of starvation. And that is why he was very grateful with the man who had saved him.

The last of the males appeared moments later, bringing in some twigs he had fetched as well. This one was a short youngster that went by the name of Adam. He was a wind-mage, the only magic user in the gang. His looks were that of a pampered noble and he was very bright.

Seeing that the stack of twigs were many, Adam said as he tossed the twigs on it, “The more the better, eh?”

“You betcha,” Gatrie chirped from his place and took another hearty swig from his bottle. The leader saw his friend take a drink from the bottle and decided that he too would drink a bottle. After all, it appeared that dinner would take quite a while this time around.

“I’m going to drink a bottle, myself. You want one, guys?” Sean asked as he got up and headed away to one of the other wagons that the group carried along with them in which they carried provisions and clothing for the entire clan.

“No thanks,” Rad said quickly and Ether smiled just by hearing him say no in a hurry. Rad never drunk stupefying beverages.

“Ether, Adam, you guys want one?” the lads heard the leader fumbling with the bottles.

“No, not now,” Ether said, glancing at Rad, who nodded at him. Adam, though, accepted, making everyone else stare at him in surprise.

“Oh, come on,” Adam smiled after he noticed the others looking at him. “It’s just a drink. One a year will do me no harm.”

“I toast to that,” Gatrie spat, and took another swig from his bottle, this one a long one that got the bottle down to half.

“Tell me, Adam,” Rad said, eyeing the mage. “Did you by any chance see Kilvas out there?”

Adam shook his head right away. “No, I saw nobody, Rad. I went north, took a leak and then started gathering wood up. I came back here as soon as I could.”

Rad nodded at him and in that instant, Sean went by carrying a bottle for Adam, who took it right away and came back to Rad with a question.

“Is she gone missing?”

“Naw,” Rad said, calmly. “Probably just taking her time.” Sean went by him again, saying “excuse me” as he went.

Moments later, as the group was more into talking, they heard heavy footsteps approaching from beyond the wagon that was to Rad‘s left. And when Rad heard Gen’s desperate voice calling out for him, he quickly stood up from his place, beating all the others with his quick reactions.

“Rad! Rad!”

“What happened?” Rad received his dear girlfriend in his arms. He grabbed her by her shoulders and wanted nothing more than to be told what was going on.

Gen was gasping for air. Apparently, the gal had run quite a distance from where she had been to here.

“What is it, Django?” Sean Storm asked as the others calmly stood behind Rad and his girlfriend.

“It’s Kilvas,” finally the Asakian told them, glancing at them one by one. “She’s...She’s...”

“What?” They all asked in unison, Rad even shook her by the shoulders.

“Is she dead?” Rad wanted to know, almost fearing that that would turn out to be the case. He suddenly felt sad and an urgent, gut-wrenching feeling he had felt before started to take over him.

“No, she is not dead,” Gen said, relieving Rad’s anguish. “She’s...Well, you have to come and see for yourselves to believe it.”

--xox--

Edited March 10, 2009 by Deity