• Silverhand Chronicles: The Blade of Eshatter - Cold Mornings

    The sun lowly crept up the horizon and cast its rays upon a chilly mountain side. A pale white mansion surrounded by pine trees welcomed the sun's rays as it melted the ice that formed overnight at the roof shingles. A man, sleeping on the porch lazily woke up and stretched his arms and neck while he faced the rising sun. He clutched his right shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. A faint whistling sound could be heard from his shoulder.

    "Mmmm... Better get up and cook the lil' lady something to chow down on" he murmured.

    He got up and faced the entered the mansion and headed straight for the kitchen. Once there, he took out knives, a chopping board, pans and pots and ingredients. He went to the pantry and took some eggs, meat and loaves of bread along with some lemons. And after a few minutes, he furnished the dining table with an exquisite breakfast.

    "Now, to wake the little lady..."

    He quietly climbed up the stairs to a white door and slowly opened it. He qietly walked in and went beside the bed where a girl slept peacefully.

    "Hemera. Wake up, its time for breakfast" he whispered

    The little girl rose from her bed and saw the man beside her. Her first reaction was an embrace that she gave to the man.

    "Thank goodness... I had a dream. In my dream, you left me here all alone, Zack" she said

    Zack smiled and placed a hand on her head.

    "If I left you then you wouldn't be hugging me right now, would you? Now let's go downstairs. I made your favorite."

    Zack’s stay in Gotrin Mansion has been extended, as of late. Or, rather, he is having difficulty in leaving, not because he is not permitted to leave, but he feels conflicted to leave Hemera all alone again after having someone that she can lean on. Zack felt that kind of pain, the pain of having grow up into a cruel world, all alone. During his stay, Zack spent his free time training, pondering and keeping Hemera company. Although Zack may not admit it, Hemera resembles Stephanie; Zack’s long lost sister, which was the reason for his deserting of the Trilogance Armies. Part of Zack wants to leave and continue the search for Stephanie, while another part, has even lost hope and is trying to focus on taking care of Hemera.

    When they were eating, Hemera asked Zack a question.

    “Zack, how exactly did you end up here? I mean, not “here” literally, but in you current situation.”

    Zack stopped eating and put down his spoon. A long silence followed while Zack had his head down.

    “It’s alright, If you do not want to tell me” added Hemera

    “No. I have to tell you. I am freeloading off you. Its the least I can do.” Zack set aside his plate and began narrating.

    “My early life was kind of lighthearted and blissful. I was born in a military base where my mother and father were stationed. The military gave them permission to leave and they did. They went to Saria, my mother’s home town. It was a nice place, people cared for each other and helped each other in times of need. It was nestled deep between some ravines which protected it from sandstorms and kept it hidden. Although it was a desert village, the people’s hard work made it green and full of life. It was a haven in the middle of the desert. That was where I grew up, along with some other kids. I had a very good time living there with my parents. Some years later, my mom gave birth to my sister, Stephanie. We grew up with our mom and dad watching over us, teaching us to be nice people and I protected her from anyone and anything that would harm her. One time when we were out playing n the dunes, a lone dune ripper had wandered into the ravines and saw us. We tried out best to drive it off, but mere sticks and stones couldn’t do the job. We ran. We ran and ran and ran. But it caught up with us. I had to do something. I told Stephanie to hide in a small crevice while I draw the creature away. It worked out as I planned. I drew the ripper away and Stephanie was safe. That was when I lost my arm. I was running as fast as I could. It pounced at me and pinned me down. Then it sank its teeth on my shoulder and tore it clean off the socket, it even took some of my ribs with it. Luckily, it seemed that the taste of my flesh was displeasing for the ripper and left after tearing off my arm. It was already night when the other villagers found us. Somehow, I was still alive even after I lost a lot of blood. I passed out when they took us back to the village. When I came to, I was lying on a hospital bed and my arm was, or what was left of it, was now only a stub. I lived for the next few years with my right arm missing. Even after that accident, things didn’t change much, although my mom and dad chewed me out when they found out what happened. Stephanie kept apologizing to me, but I said it was alright. Still, she kept on doing it. It was still a nice life even if I was missing one arm. Until that day, that day which I cursed myself, for not having enough power to protect Stephanie, and the village. Raiders had found our village and laid waste to it immediately. The villagers, along with our parents stood up to protect the village and fought back. But the raiders were too many and they were overwhelmed. Almost all the villages were killed. Me, Stephanie and some other kids were escaping when we discovered. Raiders ran after us and caught us. I fought back even if I was missing an arm but they knocked me out cold. By the time I came to, the entire village was reduced to nothing. Bodies were everywhere. I was still dizzy then and I looked around the village, or what used to be the village. I found some survivors then. All of us, kids, all wounded and in the middle of nowhere. We salvaged what we could. Rations, canned food, cured meat and fruits. Then we made a decision, should we stay here, or make for the neighboring village of Maku, 18 miles away. Most of them were against the thought of leaving since the desert was crawling with predators, not to mention sand storms that will peel the flesh from your bone, but what choice do we have? We would either stay here and wait until our food supplies ran out or until the raiders come back or some beasts found us, or we could risk going 8 miles to get to safety. I was in favor of leaving since I knew the beasts would definitely come because of the scent of the bodies, and I had to find Stephanie. But I also wanted to get everyone to safety. But I didn’t want to force them, so we split up. My group immediately left, leaving the other group that was confident in their choice to stay. So there we were, 7 kids, walking under the hot sun on a scorching desert overrun with savage predators. Luckily enough, we stumbled onto an abandoned skiff and used it to get out of the desert quickly. But I was concerned about the group that wanted to be left behind. When we reached Maku, I told the other kids to make their own way. After we said our goodbyes, I jumped onto the skiff and rode as fast as I can back to Saria. But I was too late. By the time I got there, they were already being feasted upon by rippers. I went back to Maku with a disturbed conscience. I kept thinking, “what if I forced them to come with us?” Things might have ended differently. When I got back to Maku, I sold the skiff for as much as I could get and made my own way. Luckily, someone accepted me as a laborer despite my being one armed. After a hard day’s work, I’d stop by this café and get what I needed to and slept on the streets. Unfortunately, days passed, weeks, months, but I never found Stephanie. My instincts told me that she was out there somewhere, still alive, hoping and waiting for me to come and save her. I had to do something, anything. Desperate, I tried to sign up for the military, but they rejected me because I was missing an arm. Luckily, my mom and dad found me one day. They escaped the raider attack and they were looking for us along with the other villagers. I told my parents what had happened. Mom and dad weren't exactly thrilled and immediately contacted the nearest military outpost to spread the word of Stephanie. My mom and dad trained me to fight to a level that I could effortlessly defeat a skilled military officer, even if I was missing an arm. I spent the next two years with my mom and dad, looking for Stephanie and training. One day, my dad took me along with him to a city called Ferus. He told me that we were going to visit a colleague who was a prodigy in machines and circuitry and anything that had gears and wires in it. When we arrived, my dad talked to him about some things. I was looking around some of his works when he suddenly grabbed me by my right shoulder and took a look at my stub of a right arm. Little did I know, I was in for the greatest frigging painful ride of my life. Next thing I knew, I was strapped to a cold table with a light over my head. Knives and scalpels and other freakish surgery equipment that I won't tell you. And the worst part was, he wasn't a doctor, so he doesn't have any anesthesia to even cut the pain. Let's just say that, after those hellish hours, I finally had a new arm. After that, I finally proceeded to more training. Unfortunately, my parents got killed during an assignment. I was all alone again. Things started to stray away from how I planned it. Some whacked up captain took me in and took me to the Evehold Mountain, where strangely, the planet's gravitational pull was at its strongest. We arrived at a base on the summit of the mountain where I saw other kids. There were three things that I noticed that me and the other kids had in common, we were all orphaned by warfare, and we all had one part of our bodies that were mechanically augmented. We all spent the next years enduring horrifying extremes of training. Mere standing straight was already a workout, but we had to do pull ups, push ups, and hike for miles and miles. Most regrettable was, most of the other kids died along the way. They couldn't handle the training. We spent five more years on top of that mountain, training and learning ways of war. We learned how to make bombs out of ground plants, lethal combat techniques, ways on how to handle weapons with insane precision and skill. In other words, we were being taught how to kill on a level that would make average soldiers look like kinder garden. Finally, after seven long years, the training was over. Only five of us were left from the original 35 kids. Those that were left were brought to a military base to be inaugurated into the military. That was when my old unit, Silverhand was formed. Five insanely skilled teenagers sent to do the impossible. Assassinations, corporate pressuring and other things that I’m not allowed to tell a civilian.”

    A long pause followed Zack’s story. Hemera was confounded about Zack’s life.

    “How long has it been since then?” asked Hemera

    “Seven or six years, give or take. Anyway, it’s ok now."

    As the two continued eating, they were disturbed by an explosion outside the house. Zack's senses immediately told him that it could be trouble and warned Hemera.

    "Hemera, go hide upstairs. I have a bad feeling about this..." said Zack

    Hemera ran to her room upstairs and Zack took out a gun from his weapons belt and took a little peep outside a window.

    There was a small crater outside, smoke rising out from it. For a moment there was nothing to be seen, until Zack spotted movement. A woman with long flowing blue hair wearing a white suit and a peculiar white, metallic visor stepped out from the smoke and looked at the mansion.

    "Your target should be in that mansion. Engage with caution. Remember, we need the target alive" a voice instructed the woman from her visor. The woman began walking toward the mansion at a menacing pace. Zack then walked out of the door and the woman stopped abruptly.

    "Host, unknown individual spotted near target's premises. What are your orders?" the woman spoke to her com-link.

    "What? Give me a scan ordered the "Host"

    "Hey there, ma'am. You lost or something?" Zack said to the woman, hiding his gun behind him

    The woman then assumed a stately posture and spoke, "Why, no. I am looking for a girl named Hemera. Does she live here?" the woman replied.

    "Yeah, she does. What business do you have with her?"

    "I am her aunt and I wish to visit her"

    Zack's brow twitched at such an obviously wrong answer, "Funny, you don't look like her aunt."

    Unknown to Zack, while they were exchanging words the woman's visor had taken pictures of Zack and have sent them to the woman's "Host."

    "...! What in the world? Hm, this is unexpected, but a welcome surprise..." said the "Host"

    The woman's long pause gave away her true intentions and Zack pointed a gun at her.

    "Alright lady, Give up the act. What do you want?"

    "Host, cover has been blown, shall I engage?" the woman asked the "Host"

    "Yes. Engage with extreme prejudice. But also take extreme caution; your opponent is not to be underestimated. I'm adding another objective to your mission: Neutralize Zack Braveheart!

    In a flash, the woman dashed towards Zack and threw him through the mansion's front door. Zack recovered and landed on his feet and took out his swords and rushed to Hemera's room on the upper floor. At Hemera's room, Zack found Hemera hiding beside her bed.

    Zack approached Hemera and Hemera saw Zack's tattered clothes and was shocked.

    "Zack? What happened to you?" Hemera asked Zack

    "No time to explain! Hemera, I want you to go out the back and get away as far and as fast as you can from here, do you understand?"

    "But...but, Zack!"

    "GO! My ship, Rosewood, will be waiting for you if you keep heading north from here. Go, now!"

    Bullets then started raining from outside. Zack bent over Hemera to prevent her from getting hit. Zack carried Hemera downstairs to the back door and kicked it open and laid Hemera down.

    "Keep heading north. Run as fast as you can. Once you reach the Rosewood, lock the blast doors and a girl named Magdalene will take care of the rest."

    "Zack! I don't want to leave you!"

    "You don't have a choice! Now go!!!"

    Hemera then turned and ran towards north, leaving Zack to face the woman alone.