"End of an Era - Chapter 2"

Deikon
A new day was born with the sweet songs of the birds and the warm glow of the sun bathing the land below. It seemed like there was a wonderful day ahead waiting to be freed, but that wasn’t so true with Deikon. The night before was restless for the memories of his brother’s death still haunted him. He could not understand why they have recently returned. For the past few years he had been fine. He knew something was wrong. There was a great disturbance within himself and new problems elsewhere.

So many questions without answers, so many pieces that did not fit together. Deikon was becoming confused. The nightmares had returned the previous night and he needed to find out what they meant.

There was only one man he trusted to help him search for these answers. An old friend that helped him through his early years as a Shin Pao warrior in training. He was a hermit that lived in a small cottage in a remote area near the Twin Rivers. Deikon knew this was the only man he could trust and the only man that could truly help.

Deikon rose from his bed, still covered in the cold sweat from the visions he had the night before. He made his way to the bathroom, still weary eyed and unable to keep a sturdy foot due to the restless night. Slowly, he opened the door, supporting himself by the door frame then eventually made his way in front of the mirror that sat on the wall.

Deikon placed his hand over his scarred eye. Even more pain shot through him as he remembered the very day he fought and struck down his brother. The day that his brother slashed him across the face, permanently making him blind in the one eye. For so long Deikon has seen the world from a different perspective. He then quickly washed his face then placed his eye patch on which sported the symbol of Shin Pao.

For the past few days he had spent most of his time training the young boy, Jaydrick. The last few days have been some of the busiest days in his whole life. Stroking his beard, he realized he hadn’t trimmed it in quite a while now. Taking some gnomish trimmers, he shortened the beard that coated his face. Now he had a more rugged look which he enjoyed. He always thought it made him look tougher.

Suddenly, as Deikon was putting away the trimmers, loud snapping sounds could be heard from outside. He made his way to the window, picking up some clothes on the way, to see the young boy, Jaydrick, practicing so early in the morning. A small grin found its way to Deikon’s face as he looked upon the boy, training so hard under the day’s young morning sun. Quickly, he got on his clothes then made his way down to the courtyard.

The boy had been training for at least a couple hours now. Signs of fatigue started to show as the sweat continued to roll down his face. He started to pant and his attacks became weaker with each blow.

Deikon continued to watch the boy attack the beating bag, staying far enough not to let the boy notice him. He was rather pleased at how Jaydrick was holding up. He was unlike any other boy his age. He could take quite a beating and could go on non stop for a few hours. Being distracted by watching the boy practice, he didn’t notice the gash on Jaydrick’s leg right away, still flowing with fresh blood.

“So, how’d you hurt your leg?” Deikon asked, startling the young boy.

“Geeze! How long have you been standing there?” Jaydrick wiped the sweat from his forehead the limped closer to Deikon.

“Not long. I’d say only a couple minutes. So, what’s up with the leg?” Deikon asked a second time.

“Nothing big. I--” Jaydrick paused and looked at the ground, knowing that Deikon wasn’t going to be pleased with his answer, “I tried using one of those wooden dolls. It kinda broke and cut me across the leg.”

Deikon suddenly became more disappointed in Jaydrick. However, he saw this as an opportunity to practice on another Shin Pao skill. “If you want to become the best of the best, you’re going to have to follow the rules. Now, I am going to attempt to teach you a healing technique that can be very useful in cases like this.” Deikon guided the young boy to a nearby bench then helped him sit down.

He knelt down beside Jaydrick then began to explain, “Now, what you must try and do is focus your inner energy onto the wound. This will then close up and heal the gash on you leg. Be careful, though. You aren’t suppose to be learning this quite yet but it’s best to train em while they’re young, eh?” He grinned then placed his hands on the boy’s leg to try and help him out a bit.

“Ok, here I go!” The boy closed his eyes then tried to concentrate his inner energy. It looked more like he was straining instead of focusing on the wound itself. All of a sudden, a slight ripping sound was heard and the boy’s wound became larger.

“Ow! Is it suppose to do that?!” The boy strained even more and his eyes began to tear up.

“Ok ok, stop! Don’t do anything. Relax or you’ll just make it worse. This is why we usually don’t try and teach the really young ones.” Deikon quickly reached into his pack and pulled out a few bandages. Wrapping the bandage around once, he placed his hand where the wound was to apply pressure then continued to wrap the bandage all the way around. “I want you to take it easy now. Stick to punches and keep your weight off your one leg for now until it gets a bit better.” The boy nodded in acknowledgment and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“So, how long will I have to stay off of it?” The boy asked.

“Shouldn’t be too long. You’re a tough kid. Although, I must be leaving shortly. I am going to be leaving town for a short bit.” Deikon packed his things then stood up, putting his arm out to help the boy up. “I don’t want you to do anything crazy while I’m gone. Stay within these walls and don’t even think about trying to use one of the dolls again.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Jaydrick replied with a smile. Deikon nodded to the boy then made his way over the fortress walls. “I won’t get into too much trouble at least.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“All right men! Let’s move out!” A small platoon of Shou Xing Dai troops began their march out of the fortress that sat atop Dead Man’s Peak. Led by a Shou Xing Dai Elite, they made their way down the slopes. They were to set up camp along a nearby road to stop any who passed by in hopes to find some information on the one who sought to return the light to Shin Pao.

The man who led this rough bunch was one that someone would not want to mess with. He was a bald man with a large build. The dirt that stained his face and his toothless grin gave a more vulgar look to his appearance. Being one of the more quiet ones of the Shou Xing Dai Elite, no one knew his real name. Everyone knew him by the name Bear by his large size and rugged looks.

After about an hour of traveling, they finally made it to their destination. The roads twisted and turned at this point, which several large rocks scattered about. The area was rather wide open with a few trees here and there so it was easy to spot anyone that may be approaching at a decent distance.

“Camp here.” Bear said, juggling a small stick like object in his hand. It seemed like a weapon of some sort, although it only ranged about a foot in length. Also, it didn’t seem very lethal, it looked as if it was the handle to something. The only thing special about it was that it sported the symbols of the Shou Xing Dai.

“I hope this punk shows his face soon.” Said one of the troopers that sat atop a large rock. “I don’t plan on sitting here very long. Personally, I think this is a waste of time.”

“You got that right.” A second trooper replied, spitting the head of a small rat he had just caught onto the ground.

“Damn, that’s nasty, ya know that? That thing’s probably infested with diseases.” A third trooper said turning away from the wretched sight.

“Hey, ya gotta eat sometime,” The second trooper replied, “Besides, I’m immune to disease. Been like that ever since I was a kid. It’s one of my unique qualities.”

“Yeah well shut up, it’s still nasty!”

* * * * * * * * * *

Shortly after Deikon left, Jaydrick checked around to make sure the coast was clear then made his way over the walls that led into the town area of Arx Draconis. Many merchants from all around the world made their way to the commercial land of Arx Draconis. People from all over the world also came to Arx Draconis to do their shopping. This part of the island was open to the public so, even though it was enforced by The Syndicate, problems still arose from time to time.

The day was still young yet business was booming. Jaydrick awed at the sights he saw. >From left to right, there were many stores that sold a variety of goods from gems to food, from clothes to weapons. Anything could be bought within the walls of Arx Draconis.

It was almost impossible to see very far down the large roads due to the amount of people that were roaming, buying their goods. Jaydrick couldn’t imagine how crowded it would be during peak hours.

After several minutes of just wandering the streets checking out the stores, he saw a kid near his own age checking out the stores as well. Although, he was more suspicious looking for his eyes seemed rather sly and he approached each store cautiously, looking right and left making sure no one was eyeing him.

All of a sudden the boy reached up and took a couple pieces of fruit from a nearby stand, stuffed them in his tunic, then wandered off. Jaydrick continued to watch the boy as he made his way into an alley. After several seconds the boy returned to the streets looking for another stand to do his dirty work.

Jaydrick ran up to the boy and lightly tapped him on the shoulders. He tried to be as non-threatening as possible yet it still startled the boy. “Hi! I’m Jaydrick! What’s your name?”

The boy scratched his head and continued to eye his surroundings cautiously. “H--Hi. My name is Tekken.” The boy paused and took a few deep breaths, “I--I gotta be going now. I’ve got things to do.”

“Wait!” Jaydrick halted the boy, “What are you doing? I saw you take some fruit. I’ve always been told that is bad.”

“My dad and I have little money. And well...we have to do this to survive. It’s just what we do.” The boy rubbed his dirt stained face then started to make his way to another stand but stopped and continued to stand before Jaydrick.

“Oh, I see. So--” Jaydrick was suddenly interrupted as an obese man carrying a bottle that seemed to be filled with an alcoholic liquid emerged from the alleyway.

“Tekken, what the hell are you doing? Why aren’t you doing what you’re suppose to? And who the hell is this kid?” The man said angrily.

“H--Hi dad!” The boy replied, obviously afraid of the large man. “This is just a friend. His name is Jaydrick. I--I was just off to go get some more things.”

“I see,” The large man bent down to Jaydrick’s level and grabbed the boy by the collar. “Hey little punk, you be distractin’ my boy. He suppose to be doin’ a job for me. You know what I do to people who stall my lil boy?” The stench of the man’s breath forced Jaydrick to squint his eyes.

“Oh, you’ll find out all right.” The large man began to raise his hand as if he was about to hit Jaydrick.

“Dad! NO!!” Tekken shouted.

Jaydrick quickly pulled back his own fist and let it fly, making a swift sound before connecting to the large man’s chin forcing him to fall back into a sitting position. “Take that blubber butt!”

“Oh that’s it kid! You’re dead!” The large man got up quickly and began pursuit on the young boy. They both ran through the large crowd, dodging and maneuvering through maze of bodies. Jaydrick had the advantage as he was smaller and could swing around anyone that got in his way. The large man chasing him had a bit more trouble although he ended up pushing anyone that got in his way.

The chase seemed like it lasted for several minutes until Jaydrick crashed into a man of medium build, suited in bright plate mail armor. He knew he was safe now for the man bared the symbol of the burning palm on his suit.

“What seems to be the problem young man?” The man said with a smile on his face.

“That man!” Jaydrick replied, swinging around behind the man pointing ahead of him, Tekken’s father still pushing through the crowd approaching the two.

“Where the hell is he?” The obese man looked left and right with sweat and drool dripping from his face that burned with anger. Looking down he saw the boy, crouched behind the plated man’s legs. “There ye are!”

“Halt!” The knight said just as Tekken’s father went to bend down towards Jaydrick, “What seems to be the problem sir?”

“This kid! Now lemme at him!” Tekken’s father began to motion towards the boy with hostile force but was halted as the knight stopped the man in his tracks with a bright blue aura that made it impossible for the man to move an inch.

“I’m sorry sir, but I’m going to have to detain you unless you turn around and leave immediately.” The plated man was calm every moment of the situation while Tekken’s father burned with fury.

“Piece of--All right fine. Better watch your ass next time punk!” The stout man turned around and made his way back to the alleyway in which he previously came from. The warrior’s plate mail gleamed in the morning’s sun as he turned and knelt before the young boy, “You all right there, young man?”

“Yeah, I’ll be all right.” Jaydrick wiped his eyes of the tears that had formed just recently, “Hey, that symbol on your shoulder. I know that symbol. Deikon has one on his tunic.”

“Yes, it’s the symbol of The Syndicate,” The man replied, “I’ve been with them for quite some time now. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Lorin. Lorin Darkbane. I’m a Holy Warrior and protector of all. I serve Mithaniel Marr and hope to bring light to these plagued lands during such a dark time. To be more brief, I’m a paladin.” The man smiled and put out his hand, shaking Jaydrick’s hand in greeting.

“I--I’m Jaydrick. I’m a kid that it being trained to beat stuff up. Pleased to meet you.”

Lorin stifled a small laugh, “So, you know Deikon, eh? Where is he at the moment?” Lorin asked.

“He’s off to meet with some guy to help him answer some questions or something like that. Not really sure.” Jaydrick replied.

“I see,” Lorin stood back up and looked down at the boy with a curious eye, “And are you suppose to be in the streets alone?”

“No, no I’m not.” Jaydrick replied, looking down towards the ground.

“Ok then, let’s get you back to somewhere safer.” Lorin said with a grin. He took Jaydrick’s hand and led him back to the fortress that stared down upon the small town of Arx Draconis.

* * * * * * * * * *

After a few hours of walking, Deikon finally made it to his destination. Not far from where he was standing, he could see the small cottage positioned on the side of the river. Not far from where the small shelter stood, a small waterfall flowed fresh water that cooled the surrounding air. The water continued up stream until it reached a split where it separated into two rivers, one heading east and one heading west.

Deikon brushed his hand through his dark brown hair, collecting the sweat that had formed due to the hot afternoon’s sun. It wasn’t long before he would find out the answers he seeked. Although, he knew that this visit had risks. He could just as well end up getting more questions without answers. It was a risk he was willing to take. He made his way down the descending dirt road that led to the house of the man that would help him through these tough times.

Deikon approached the cottage rather hastily, eager to have his problems solved. He knocked on the door several times before it opened, almost by magic. Stepping inside it seemed rather dull at first. The fireplace near the corner of the room burned bright. Several furs lined the floors making the place look fit for a barbarian. Deikon was rather surprised at the new look of his old friend’s abode.

Deikon took a small stroll around the dimly lit room. It seemed too quiet and he began to become more curious as to where his friend may have run off to with each step he took.

“Hey! Anyone home?” Deikon hollered. He started to become disappointed and was almost about to turn around and return to his quarters at Arx Draconis before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his leg.

“Hey hey hey! Don’t you be messin’ up me home now!” A short grumpy looking old gnome stood behind Deikon, poking him with his small staff which seemed more like a twig to someone of Deikon’s proportion.

“Damn! You startled me old man!” Deikon went to sat down in a chair to ease himself but found himself rather uncomfortable due to the diminutive size of the furniture the gnome owned.

“Old, yes! Man, yes! But old man! Never!” The gnome replied. “You’d think you’d remember by now. It’s Fumpus! Ya got that big guy? Fumpus! And I am great! I know all! What is it you’ve come for this time?” The small gnome approached Deikon with haste, wobbling as he tried to use the support of his staff to keep straight.

Deikon placed his hands over his face, unable to know where to begin, “I just don’t know what I’ve come for, really. There is so much to figure out. Can’t you get out your little tome and just cast some spells? Then you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

Fumpus looked upon Deikon with curious eye. He knew something was rather odd about Deikon. Something was definitely not right and so Fumpus agreed to help the warrior to the best of his ability.

“All right, I’ll see what I can do. However, understand this. With my spells I can only go so deep. Only you can tell me everything that is bothering you. Only I can see the icing on the cake. You gotta show me the poofy inside.” The gnome walked over to one of the animal skin carpets that blanketed the hard wood floor and threw it to the side. He revealed what seemed like a trap door of some sort, yet it had no handle. Fumpus tapped the door several times with his staff repeating a few lines of an arcane tongue and by magic, the door flung open violently. If opened by hand with the same force, the door may have broken right off and flew right through the wall.

With the door now open, a set of stairs had been revealed which led to an underground passage that seemed as if it belonged to a dungeon. Fumpus and Deikon walked down the damp stairwell to enter a brightly lit room filled with magical potions, artifacts, books, and several other instruments Fumpus used in his magical experiments.

The room was glowing with a magical aura that gave off both a peaceful and hostile feeling all at once. Deikon didn’t know if he was suppose to be happy, sad, scared, or surprised. The magical aura seemed to be playing with Deikon’s emotions. This was a feeling he could never get used to. Fumpus, on the other hand, was completely fine with the awkward emotion rush.

“Kinda feels like ya ate too many magic mushroom, eh?” Fumpus joked. Deikon stifled a small laugh yet he failed to find the humor in Fumpus’s comment. The aura effected him too much for him to really care. All he cared about was getting the answers he came for.

Fumpus set down his staff up against the small table that sat in the middle of the room. Several glowing potions and open books filled with mystical script littered the table top. An obvious working place for the gnome and his various magical spells.

The small man struggled to walk over to a large book shelf which carried hundreds of books from all over the world. Books filled with languages from all over the world could be found within the covers of the tomes that sat atop the dust covered shelves. From common day languages still used to this day to languages that spoke their last word centuries ago. They all found home on the wooden shelves of Fumpus’ study room.

Once the gnome found sturdy ground, he quickly glanced at each book title, skimming through the shelves left and right. He finally came across the tome he was searching for and snapped his fingers. A sparkling green glow began to emit from the man’s gnarly finger tips. It slowly approached the tome that sat atop the highest shelf and then grabbed it by its magical claws. The book slowly moved out of its place and floated over towards the table where it opened by magic and its pages turned wildly back and forth before it stopped on a page with several arcane symbols which made no sense whatsoever to Deikon.

Fumpus walked back to the large table and hopped up onto the chair that sat in front of the large book. “Take a seat.” Fumpus motioned Deikon over to a small chair on the other side of the table. Deikon shrugged and sat down on chair that made him seem like a giant. All Deikon could do was grin.

“Now then! Let’s get busy!” The gnome closed his eyes and motioned his hands over the tome. Magically, the arcane symbols that were written across the aged pages began to glow with a bright blue aura. The seemed to float off the page and circle Fumpus with great speeds. It was almost as if Fumpus was reading them at an alarming rate. For several seconds the symbols continued to circle around Fumpus before the silence was broken with a loud cracking noise and a bright flash of light.

“I can see it now.” The gnome said, his eyes continued to remain closed yet it seemed as if he could see right through his eyelids into an alternate world where the answers kept pouring in. “You train a boy, do you not?”

“Yes, I do.” Deikon replied. “What do you see of him?”

“You should fear him.” Fumpus cautioned Deikon, “If you plan to continue to train him, I suggest you train him under the utmost care. If he were to turn over to the wrong hands or if he were to get seriously hurt, your people will be doomed.”

“My people? Fear him? What are you saying? That he is a threat to the people of Shin Pao?” Just as Deikon had thought, the risks were high with meeting the great Fumpus. So many more questions without answers started to come into play.

“You feel as if you are the last hope.” Fumpus continued, “But in reality, you are to walk another path. The path you understand that you are walking is but the path of another. The path you walk is the path of the young boy. This is why you must keep this boy safe. You must guide him down the path you walk. This path will then split and you must walk a separate path with the boy continuing down your previous path.”

Deikon became more and more confused with each word that exited the gnome’s mouth, “Path this, path that. Ok, so what you are saying is that what I think my purpose is now is really the boy’s path? And I won’t find my path until later on?”

Fumpus smiled, “Yes, that is quite correct. You’re rather good at this aren’t you?”

A stern look flowed across Deikon’s face. Some answers began to fit with the questions yet he was still confused, “Ok, let me get this straight. When I first came to you, I found out that I was a Child of Shin Pao. Now, their purpose is to bring back the life into the powers of Shin Pao. My purpose was to bring back Shin Pao back into the world and now you are telling me that I have some completely different job?” The signs of frustration began to form as Deikon began to realize that he had been looking towards his false purpose, “And now you say that this boy is suppose to be the last hope of Shin Pao? Is he even a Child of Shin Pao?”

“Is it so hard to believe?” Fumpus replied, slowly opening his eyes.

“So, he is the eighth Child of Shin Pao? Geeze, I didn’t even think more than one Child of Shin Pao could exist at once.” Deikon shaked his head in disbelief, “This is insane!”

Fumpus sat back and relaxed, ready and eager to tell Deikon the last half of the story, “There is another.”

“What? Another what?” Even more questions began to flow through Deikon. He didn’t think he could take any more of this.

“Another one of you. Another Child of Shin Pao. There are three of you that exist on this planet this very minute.”

“Oh great! Now there’s a ninth?” The frustration became more intense with Deikon, “What the hell is with this? Oh, send in an eighth Child cause I’m gonna fail! Wait no! Send in a ninth cause the kid is gonna fail!”

“No, it is not like that.” Fumpus continued, “The third Child of Shin Pao that lives this very minute is actually the seventh Child of Shin Pao. He’s been around much longer than you have, Deikon. He recently returned to this world by reviving himself. He has returned to stop you Deikon. To stop you and the boy from bringing back the light side of Shin Pao. He has come to revive the dark side that will terrorize the world if you don’t stop him.”

“Ah yes, the ability to revive. I like that little feature that comes with the job of being a Child of Shin Pao. And now things are getting worse with this seventh guy coming back to try and stop both me and the kid that stole my job as a Child of Shin Pao!” Deikon recalled the first time he met with Fumpus and how he explained how a Child of Shin Pao could revive themselves a limited amount of times. The advantage to this was that they became more powerful than they were before they were killed. Therefore, this seventh Child of Shin Pao was going to be a rather powerful fighter.

“The boy did not take your job, Deikon.” Fumpus explain, “He is just taking the real path of the Children of Shin Pao. Your job is more unique. I hate to tell you this but--” Fumpus paused for several seconds thinking about how Deikon was going to take the news, “You are going to be the most powerful Shin Pao warrior on the planet. Maybe even in the universe. At least you will if you continue to train under strong conditions and keep up with your studies.”

Deikon’s face immediately lit up with joy, “Yeah!! I’ll be unstoppable! This is going to be great! Deikon the Invincible! I like the sound of that.”

“It’s not like that,” Fumpus continued, “You won’t be invincible. You may be ageless but you will not be invincible. You will still be able to be killed. Your job will be to keep the people of Shin Pao alive and fight off any threats that may try to eliminate Shin Pao.”

Deikon’s face filled with anger as he slammed his fist on the wooden table, nearly breaking off the corner, “Aggropolotis! I knew it! He returns in thirteen years! Damn, it’s almost been 4000 years already since the extinction of Shin Pao. So you expect me to fight this guy off? He’s immortal! And I won’t be! How the hell does that work?”

“You will find a way when the time is right.” Fumpus closed his book and with a wave of his hand the sparkling green aura returned the book to its rightful place.

“Wait!” Deikon halted, “There is still one last thing. Just days ago it was the fifth anniversary of my brother’s death. Since then I’ve been having some rather unusual visions.” Deikon forced himself to try and not remember any of the dreaded sights he saw the night before. “There was a cloaked man that I saw right before I woke. It looked as if he had his armed reaching out towards me. Could you tell me anything of this?”

“No, I cannot.” Fumpus replied, “But I know of a way that may help you. Have you ever heard of a type of deep meditation the ancient Gu Lao Monks used?”

“Yes, a type of meditation which made their visions a reality. Where they could step into their mind.” Deikon replied. “But you aren’t suggesting I try it, are you? I mean, some of those guys died trying that procedure!”

Fumpus stopped at the bottom of the stairwell and turned to Deikon, “You have a strong soul, my friend. I suggest you try it. It will help you find the answers you seek. Now, if you don’t mind, my favourite vision is coming on.”

Deikon was rather disappointed in his last visit with his old friend. However, he left with more answers than he had originally thought he would leave with. He gathered his things and began his trek back to The Syndicate’s fortress, Arx Draconis.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Shou Xing Dai troops started to become restless. They had sat at their post for a few hours now with no action. It was a quiet day today and several of them didn’t feel as though they were going to get anywhere.

“Man, this pisses me off! We’re sitting here in this hot sun doing nothing whatsoever! I’m burning my ass off here and watching this guy eat live animals! It’s nasty!” A trooper said, the second grinning at him with a piece of animal fur hanging out the side of his mouth.

“Stay few more minutes.” Bear replied just as a figure in the distance began to turn the bend, slowly approaching the vile looking group.

“All right! We got company!” One of the troopers said. Several of the troopers picked up their blunt weapons and started to get into position. Bear’s toothless grin showed an urge for battle and a hatred to those who opposed him, that being the man who approached on the dirt road.

Some of the troopers were eager to mess with the man that walked slowly in their direction. Others felt the need to charge at the man and strike him down on the spot. Little did they know what was to happen in the following few minutes. From that distance all they could see was the sun glaring off the shining symbol that was embedded on the approaching man’s eye patch.