Lifeless
Chapter 2 - Spring 4 Year 1
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Jake hated humans. That was a known fact, and one he projected fiercely every second of every day. Stupid humans. They were frail, dimwitted, and constantly took advantage of things that weren’t theirs to take advantage of. They pillaged the land and slaughtered the innocent, blindly pushing forth to their own destruction.
And of course, whenever he announced these facts there was always some stupid human who knew him that would mock his sneer and say: “But aren’t you half human yourself?”
Well, he had a comeback for that. He was an elf. He heard and understood the land. He was stronger, faster, and more resistant to harm than any human. He was superior to them in every way that was of importance. It was not like his human half mattered anyway. He could live without it. He would prefer it if it didn’t exist at all.
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“Mmmmm…” Kyle groaned, stretching in the morning sunrise outside the door to the farmhouse. It was going to be a nice day, he could just tell. The sky was clear, and the sunrise contained no red; just a warm yellow glow as it rose to start the day. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle caught a shock of green moving around on the far end of the field. Now, normally, a bit of green on a farm wouldn’t be anything to take note of, creating green (and various other colors) is what it’s for. But this particular green just so happened to be attached to a boy, who was digging holes in a corner of the field.
“Uh…. Roy, what are you doing?” Kyle deadpanned when he reached him, causing him to jump. Roy turned around, flushing red.
“Hello, Kyle… I was just looking for some things of mine.” Roy said, scratching his head nervously. “I buried some of my treasures out here a while ago for safe-keeping, but now you’re going to be using this field, so I thought I’d go and get them before you found them unexpectedly.” He smiled, looking worried that he was getting in trouble.
“Oh, okay.” Kyle said calmly. “That’s fine; just make sure you fill your holes back up.” He smiled brightly, causing Roy to relax and smile back. “You’re basically just tilling the land for me, so go ahead.”
“Okay, sure!” He said, continuing to dig. As Roy searched for his treasures, Kyle went to work; pulling weeds and unwanted grasses, smashing up rocks, and cutting up branches.
“So, how do you like Alvarna so far?” Roy asked enthusiastically, filling in a hole as he moved on to dig another.
“It’s nice here. Everyone is very kind.” Kyle grunted, chopping at a particularly stubborn stump.
“Have you gone into any of the dungeons yet?”
Kyle paused, wiping his brow. “Yeah, I poked around a little bit. Douglas was telling me how the dungeons stay one season all year round, so I could plant crops there no matter the season in town, but I saw a whole lot of monsters running about so I didn’t stay long.” He replied, absentmindedly swinging his axe over his shoulder. “I should really get a good sword, just in case…”
“Oh, you want a sword? Why didn’t you say so before?” Roy beamed, standing up in a rush and running to the stone bridge spanning the small river that cut between the farm and the town. Spinning around, he beckoned Kyle to come. “You should come to my house! My mom runs a blacksmith shop; she’s really good at that kind of stuff.”
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“Jake! Pay attention to the furnace, you’re letting it cool down too much! Put more wood in it!” Tanya shouted from the railing, leaning over so she could see the dial on the side of the large furnace they used for blacksmithing.
“Hn,” Jake grunted, walking off to the back of the room to grab another pile of wood. He grabbed as many as his arms could carry, straining slightly under the large load before he dumped them next to the furnace door. Carefully he unlatched it, backing off and grimacing at the huge amount of heat that escaped. Quickly he threw the logs in, one by one, blowing more air into it as he went to fan the flames even hotter.
It was hard work, his training as a blacksmith. He had to constantly run back and forth between the furnace and the woodpile, carrying the lumber to keep the flames and heat going. He had to watch the metal inside so that it didn’t heat up too much or too fast, then pound it into the right shape. It took a lot of dexterity and strength, and a lot of guts too—it was a very dangerous job. But he loved it all the same. Fighting was his passion, so weapons were too. Oh the many nights he had spent dreaming about going to the capital to find a worthy opponent… That was his goal, his dream; to fight someone strong for real, one on one, no holds barred. No one in town would do that with him—they were all too much of a chicken, or were too far above or below his skill level. He had asked Tanya several times, and she had agreed, but never seemed to have the time. She’d always tell him “Sure, I’ll fight you! Don’t expect me to go easy on you, though!” and then she would never agree to any plans.
He settled for fighting the monsters in the dungeons on his days off, but that never could be a good substitute. The monsters were too stupid, too easily tricked and outsmarted. They weren’t fast enough or strong enough to prove to be much of a match, and he despised having to fight them. None of them were strong enough anymore, and hadn’t been for years.
He growled quietly in frustration, flipping the door to the furnace shut again and locking the latch. The dial had risen back to the appropriate temperature, and he busied himself with collecting the proper tools to pull the lengths of metal out so they could be tempered.
The ring of the bell over the door distracted him, pulling his attention to the doorway. He scowled—it was that annoying little human spawn of Tanya’s pulling along the new human from the other day, the one he met in the bath house. Kyle was standing awkwardly in the doorway, looking around the room hesitantly while Roy bounced around, yelling and pointing out random things. Finally his eyes landed on him, and it took all of Jake’s power not to suck in a breath. He quickly looked away, turning back to the furnace.
What was that? He just had the oddest feeling when their eyes met… there was something strange in those eyes. He couldn’t quite place it, but… there was definitely something different about Kyle. When their eyes met, he was hit with a jolt, like someone had delivered him a shock of static electricity down his spine. There was something inherently different about him… he had felt it when they met in the bath house, that feeling of being natural, of being connected to the land. But that was miniscule compared to what he had felt just now… Just what was he? It wasn’t anything he had ever experienced before from a human…or anything else, for that matter.
Jake shook his head minutely, ignoring Kyle and Roy in favor of picking the large heat – resistant tongs back up so he could start working. Whatever he felt from Kyle was not important – he was still a human.
“Mooom! I brought Kyle over!” Roy shouted, running to the railing where she stood.
“Hello, welcome!” Tanya shouted from above them, leaning over the railing on the landing. She waved, smiling at their arrival.
“Hello.” Kyle greeted back, glancing one more time at Jake before strolling over to where Tanya stood. She extended a hand, and Kyle took it.
“Ah, Kyle, was it? Douglas was telling me about you, you’re the one taking care of Misty Farm now, correct? It’s nice to finally meet you, love. I’m Tanya, and I run this little shop.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Kyle returned, watching as she gestured proudly to all the racks and shelves of weaponry and armor. Jake finished pulling out a length of metal from the furnace, setting it on the anvil with a clang and a hiss.
“I’m gonna go back outside, okay? Good luck with getting what you need, Kyle!” Roy said quickly, running back out the door like a small tornado. Kyle chuckled as he watched him go, and Jake flinched.
“Well, if you’re here, you must be looking for a weapon!” Tanya continued, bringing Kyle’s attention back to her. “What are you interested in? A quick sword? A heavy hammer? A hefty axe? A nice, sharp spear? What strikes your fancy?” She walked around, gesturing to various racks and shelves, all of which held as many sharp objects as would fit in them. The sharp clanging sound of metal on metal filled the room as Jake began pounding the metal into the shape of a long sword, mostly ignoring the exchange going on above him.
“Uh… I don’t know… I can’t recall ever using a weapon before, so I don’t know what I could use.” Kyle admitted, biting his lip as he timidly scanned the shelves.
“Ah, that’s right, I remember Roy mentioning that you don’t recall anything before coming here. That’s too bad.”
That attracted Jake’s attention; previously he had only been half-listening to their exchange in favor of hefting a length of metal out of the furnace and fashioning it into a sword. Kyle didn’t remember anything? Nothing at all? He had no memories of anything from before he came to this town, no family, no friends?
He frowned, scolding himself. What did he care? That was the human’s problem. He was obviously idiotic (or accident prone) enough to lose his memory, so what did it matter to him? He looked back at his sword – it was nearly done. He continued pounding.
“Well, then we’ll just have to start from the beginning! Don’t worry, I’ll get you just what you need, love. If there’s something you need to know about weaponry, I’m the girl to go to!” she laughed, smiling proudly. Kyle nodded back.
“Thanks, I will.”
“I just love swords, they’re my favorite type of weapon. Depending on the kind you get, you can be quick and fierce, or a an immobile wall of power. You know, many people call me obsessed. I don’t deny it, haha! I mean, look at this!” she sauntered over to a rack, carefully removing a sword which glimmered in the lamplight. It was a long zweihander; and the handle was made of gold with a ruby in the center, wrapped in a purple cloth. “Isn’t it beautiful? The way the metal shines and reflects the light? The razor – sharp edge? The carefully balanced and excellently crafted hilt? It’s incredible!” she exclaimed, fawning over the blade, running her hands along its gleaming razor sharp edge.
Jake rolled his eyes, returning his nearly – finished sword to the furnace to heat back up again. She was on another rant again…
He looked up while he waited, and was surprised to see that Kyle was watching him, an unsure look on his face, as if he was perplexed by how Tanya was acting and trying to ask if she acted like this often without saying anything. Jake smirked despite himself, turning his attention back to pulling his sword out again. He was in her clutches now, and he had no interest in distracting her.
“But, I think this sword might be a little out of your skill range, so how about we start from the beginning? A short sword is a good place to start, I think. Here!” Tanya continued, leading Kyle across the room to another shelf, reaching in and plucking one out. It was maybe about 5 inches long, with a plain bronze hilt. She placed it in his hand gently.
“Short swords are quick and easy to use, you can get a lot of hits in before your opponent has a chance to attack. But don’t think that you should just stick to this since it’s so quick – it doesn’t have a whole lot of power. When you get better, you should move up to bigger weapons. They swing slower, but pack a lot more punch!” Kyle nodded, weighing the sword in his hand experimentally. The sharp metallic repetitive bang of metal on metal sounded again as Jake began the finishing touches on his claymore.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Kyle looked up, and both he and Jake watched as Tanya scurried across the room, rifling through a drawer filled to the top with items tossed in there in a mess.
“Swords aren’t all there is to fighting. You can’t forget about skill seals! There’s a variety of kinds you can choose from, you just have to find them.” She pulled out a small green disk with a picture of a short sword emblazoned on it in silver. “This one in particular sends a shockwave of electricity at your opponent. It’s very handy, since it allows you to fight from a distance, and often stuns the opponent, so you can get in there without running the risk of getting hurt. You can have it for free, if you’d like.”
“Uh, sure. Thank you.” Kyle replied, taking the seal from her hand and looking it over before pocketing it.
“All right! I think we’ve got you all settled for today, love.” She clapped, grinning. “Just pay for that short sword there, and go out and have some fun! I hardly ever get the chance to go out and fight monsters, and none of them dare to come into town. It’s so boring~” she continued talking, even as Kyle counted out his gold and handed it to her.
“You be careful, now. Those monsters can be tricky sometimes, so watch your back!”
“I will. Thanks for all your help.” Kyle replied, putting away his new short sword.
“Anytime, love! Have a good time!” Tanya called as he walked down the steps toward the door. Jake ignored him in favor of pulling his nearly-finished claymore out of the furnace again, and after a few minutes of pounding he heard the bell over the door chime as Kyle left.
I wonder if I’ll go out there later and have to scrape him off the ground, Jake mused, throwing water on his finished blade. It hissed and sizzled, quickly turning into steam and swirling to the skies.
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Author’s Note: Chapter 2, complete! 8D Finally~ This is absolutely terrible, but I hope you guys were at least mildly entertained. XD
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