The Legend of the Master Ranger - Chapter One: Mirror
One day, Farren Kutter, the Master Ranger of the Rangers of Yliakum, was sitting on a piece of stone from a pillar of some sort that had fallen long ago. He was pondering ways in which he could improve his faction of rangers and how he could reorganize it. If you know Farren, you'll know that he is a stubborn Dermorian, very stubborn. He never really gives up on the rangers, though he often gets frustrated with how little of them there are, and fewer still that are learned enough to teach and train younger and newer members. He had recently split the guild up into three groups, warriors, mages, and healers. Each had a leader, the Warleader of course leading the warriors, the Archmage leading the mages, and the Head Healer leading the healers. It was a basic set up, but it would have to do. Suddenly, Farren heard footsteps from somewhere nearby in the sewers. He gets up and quietly walks to the opening in the bars that acts as a door to his home and headquarters. He watches from there, his groffel, named Druzult Ryden, following him and doing the same. He and the groffel had grown quite close, Druzult being Farren's main company in the lonely sewers. The footsteps had stopped for a second, a pause that left the sewers silent but for the pipes creaking and water dripping every so often. Farren strained his ears and picked up the breathing of a creature. From the footsteps, the Master Ranger had discerned that the creature was definitely a biped, and from the breathing, was quite sure it was a Ylian. The footsteps started again shortly after they had stopped, indicating that whoever it was had paused to listen for something or to decide or determine which way to go in the maze-like sewers of Hydlaa. The Ylian, also known now to be male from a closer observation, was walking towards the room which the ranger had made his home and his faction's headquarters.
Deciding that it might be best if he didn't wait at the doorway for the Ylian, Farren silently went back to the broken pillar where he had been sitting before and laid down, putting his hands back behind his head and laying it on the rock, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep, releasing all tension on all of his muscles, his face wiped clear of the normal confidence he shows, now looking very calm and relaxed, looking his true age as he usually does as he sleeps, younger than most might think from his confident battle-hardened expression. He mapped out the small area of the sewers around the room, trying to determine about where the Ylian was and to track him as he walked. After about five seconds, he had a rough image of where he was, and he happened to be just rounding the corner to the short length of tunnel that leads to the ranger's home. Again, the footsteps stopped. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a medium pitched Ylian voice said, "Hello, Farren Kutter." Now, the reason this was so unexpected for Farren is that the voice was only about four feet away. The footsteps had ended about thirty feet away, meaning that this stranger had been intentionally making enough noise to be heard, tracked, and identified for what he seemed to be. Farren, at the words, snapped out of his fake sleep and flipped out of his laying position to a standing position on top of the fallen pillar. "What is it that you want?" asked Farren. The Ylian was a medium-built man, his muscles highly toned. He had short black hair, penetrating ice blue eyes, and a perfectly formed face. He might have been handsome had his expression not shown such evil. The man's clothes were dark and close fitting. At his sides were two scabbards, a longsword in each.
In reply to Farren's question, the Ylian promptly said, "My name is Cerientos. As for what I want, that is easy. All I ever want is money and power." Farren's confident face had returned the instant he had snapped out of his fake sleep, and he stared into the other man's eyes. "Well, I'll tell you now, I have very little money, and probably even less power." At this the Ylian laughed. It was an evil sort of laugh, but not the kind that are often over exaggerated, but a truly cold laugh that could pierce one's soul. "Dear Farren, I am not here to get money and power from you. But to get it from those who can give it to me, I must destroy you. Now, you can choose to die easily and..." He never finished the sentence because at that moment Farren moved to his normal fighting stance, his twin longswords in his hands. His body was slightly turned, his right shoulder to the front a little bit, and his right foot out a little to the front. His right blade was held up to his front, mostly horizontal with a slight upward tilt, and his left foot was a little to the side, and his left blade crossing slightly with his mind focused and ready for any movements the assassin might make. He says as he readies himself, "I think I'll take the hard way." The assassin laughs and replies. "Your choice ranger. Ready yourself for death, for it comes swiftly to you." With this, the assassin leaps forward at the ranger, his blades flashing out of their scabbards, his right-hand blade aimed for a slash at Farren's throat, the left slashing for his stomach. The Master Ranger easily parries the assassin's attacks with his own blades, thrusting his left blade up and his right blade down, moving both outward and then bringing both in for a counter attack at the unsurprised assassin's stomach. The assassin, his arms and blades thrown wide, brings his blades swiftly up and then down, both blades vertical, pointing down, and then splits them a little, blocking the ranger's attack, and then back-flipping away. "You're quick, ranger, but that was just the hair on the back of the ulbernaut. Get ready, for I will show you no mercy." Again, the assassin leapt forward, much faster this time, and proceeded to rapidly slash at Farren.
The Master Ranger matched each slash with a parry, and also made his own attacks at the assassin. This went on for several minutes, each combatant trying to move around and gain an upper hand on the other, trying to find a break in the other's defenses, to find an opening in which to land an attack. Suddenly, both of them came together with a clash of metal on metal as their blades crossed each other all at the same point, putting them in a lock, each trying to push the other back, to push his opponent off balance in order to make an opportunity to attack. "Farren, give it up. You can't win against me!" At this, Farren pulled the craziest move he had ever thought of and jumped up a little, his blades still locked with the assassin's, and, in the same motion, kicked forward at his opponent's stomach and knocked Cerientos backwards to the ground and propelling himself backwards, executing a back-flip as he kicks off, landing softly on his feet and in position to jet himself forward. As Cerientos falls back, he somersaults backwards and rolls out of the fall on his feet into a low crouch, his blades held to either side. Farren launches himself forward, as does the assassin, and both of them clash together once again, their blades clanging together with a high pitched ring. They both jump away from each other at the same time. Both of them come in for a slash with their right-hand blades to their opponent's stomach, but instead they hit each others' attacks. They again pull back away from each other, and again attacked at exactly the same time, this time, their left blades clanging together high and their rights in the middle. Again they pull away.
As soon as he is finished with his jump backwards, Cerientos launches himself forward again with his blades slashing at Farren. But right as he launched himself forward, Farren jumped and flipped over the assassin, slashing both of the Ylian's shoulders as he goes overhead, and he twists himself in mid-air to land facing his opponent's back, and he launches himself forward again. The assassin hears Farren launch himself forward and instantly back-flips and lands behind the Master Ranger. Farren spins as he sees his opponent fly overhead and readies himself for another attack. "You're good ranger, there's no denying that. But you'll never defeat me!" The assassin, wild with rage, his adrenaline coursing through his body, leaps forward, his right-hand blade stabbing for Farren's stomach, his left going for the ranger's blades to attempt to keep them at least slightly off of his stab. Farren turns sideways, Cerientos' right-hand blade going straight past his stomach, and blocks the Ylian's other blade with his own right, dropping his own left to rip the other's right straight from its wielder's hand. An astonished Cerientos has an expression of complete amazement and signs of fear on his face. But he instantly comes back to his senses, his face contorted with rage and loathing for the ranger. He jumps backwards as Farren slashes for his chest and switches his left-hand blade to his right hand. "This is impossible. First you block every attack I throw at you, even countering, then we mirror each others' attacks exactly, and now you disarm me? It's impossible! You can't win!"
In a rush of blind rage, the assassin launches forward faster than ever, a small tear that was on his eyes mixing in with the beads of sweat rolling down his face. They'd been fighting for over half an hour, no rests, just continuous fighting. As he rushes forward, he rolls on the ground under a slash from Farren, picks up Farren's dropped blade and comes out of the roll on his feet, his back turned to Farren who had turned with the swing of his blade the instant Cerientos had rolled under his attack. Cerientos spun right as Farren leapt at him, and parried both of the ranger's attacks, and once again they started the mirror fighting again, only this time they were moving much faster. The slightest mistake from either of them would be fatal. Both were weakening now, Cerientos more so from his wound, but Farren as well from the continual swinging of his blades. They matched each other slash for slash, their swords clanging together so fast that there was a constant ring vibrating in the air. The groffel, Druzult, was hiding in a corner whimpering from the sight of his friend in such a vigorous and grueling battle. Suddenly Farren got a slash in and hit the assassin's right arm, causing him to drop his weapon. The Ylian screamed out in pain and anger, astonished at how the ranger could beat him "NO!! This can't be! How could you have defeated me?! I'll kill you ranger, I swear I'll kill you someday!" The Master Ranger was exhausted, extremely so, but he refused to let his pain show. He had gotten minor nicks and small slashes on his body, his clothes cut in many places, and even shredded in one or two. Fortunately for Cerientos, Farren was on the outside in comparison to the room, and was at the back, facing towards the door out. The assassin, arrogant, brave, but also smart, launched himself backwards, spun and sprinted as fast as his wounded and exhausted body could handle, and jumped down a small hole. Farren, dead tired and close to collapsing, wasn't in much of a condition to chase the assassin.
Druzult, coming out of the corner to see if his friend is hurt, sees Farren drop his swords and fall to the ground. Luckily, it is a soft part of the ground, covered in dirt. Farren is unconscious for a long time until a wanderer of the sewers happens to see him and the groffel and takes him up to the city. Farren spends a few days being healed, but he has many scars from the battle, including many slashes on his chest and stomach, even more small cuts on his arms and legs, and also a small slash on his cheek. After recovering, Farren returns to his sewer home, more cautious now than ever, always on his guard for the silent footsteps of the assassin Cerientos.
