Last Sky

Prologue

Ten Years Earlier

Despite all their hard work in covering their tracks, how could they have been found so easily, so quickly and without warning? Just what had happened that they'd been discovered?

"Mainha, we have to go! Quickly!" The man had a sword strapped to his side and a light coloured tunic. He had some stubble on his chin and obviously needed a shave, but he was too panicked to think of such trivial matters. He was holding the door closed, his shoulder pressed against the wood.

"Yes, I'm coming Akihide!" Mainha stuffed a few more possessions into a small bag and grabbed the small child beside her, who was staring at her with worried blue eyes.

"Open up, in the name of the King!" cried a voice outside. It was followed by a loud thump against the door, like several men were slamming themselves into it. Which they were trying to do, but failing.

"Mother, what's wrong?" he asked, pulling at her skirts.

Mainha stroked his ebony black hair and grabbed his small hand. "We have to go somewhere different, honey," she said, and stuffed another thing into her bag.

"Mainha!" Akihide called, just as the door burst open. Akihide was thrust to the side as soldiers poured into their humble home, swords and spears out.

"In the name of his Royal Highness, Jost Vergas, and the leaders of the Water Clan, stand down!" yelled the leader. "We have right to kill if necessary. Stand down if you value your life!"

But Akihide would have none of it. He slipped out his sword and charged, yelling a guttural cry as he thrust his sword into the gut of the leader. The soldier gasped, then fell to the side like a ragdoll, soaking Akihide's blade in a gleaming crimson. The other soldiers faltered for a second, as they saw their leader fall, then charged with fury in their eyes. But Akihide was a devilish whirlwind of fury amongst them, and after several long minutes, the soldiers lay littered about the ground, and Akihide was covered in blood.

"Akihide, are you hurt?" Mainha cried, rushing to him. Akihide shook his head.

"We need to go, now," he said taking her hand and his son's in the other. He closed his eyes to concentrate, and just as he was finished imagining the teleportation magic, an arrow whooshed out of nowhere and hit Mainha squarely, striking deep into her chest.

"No!" Akihide cried, just as the magic took effect. The house was no longer there, rather it was replaced with trees and bushes of a dense forest. City lights were faint, but noticeable from the trees.

Akihide cared not about the serene city view, only of his wife dying in his arms. Their son was sitting next to his mother's side, crying pitifully.

"Mother!" The boy cried, and sobbed beside her, tears streaming from his blue eyes. "Mother, you'll be fine, right?" he pleaded, but received no reassurance from the stricken woman.

Mainha coughed. "Be a good boy, Rin. Be strong." She whispered, a glistening tear leaking from her eye like dew dripping from a leaf.

"Mainha. I'll take you to see a healer," Akihide rambled frantically, initiating a healing earth magic to close the wound. But blood was pouring out at a frightening rate, and Akihide's hands, putting pressure on the wound, were covered in dark red in seconds.

Mainha shook her head pitifully. "There's too much damage," she said faintly, and painfully reached out an arm to brush away Akihide's tears. "Raise Rin well. You be strong, too." Mainha gave one last painful, shuddering cough, and muttered, "I love you."

Akihide stared shocked as Mainha's hand fell away, leaving long streaks of blood on his cheek, that stung as if he'd been stabbed by a thousand swords. He Whispered a 'no' that echoed in his mind, a chant that was unending. He couldn't believe that his wife, who just seconds ago had ran her fingers through his hair, was dead.

But Akihide knew from the blank look in Mainha's eyes, empty and void of life, that she wouldn't rise, would never embrace him again, would never give him that soft kiss as gentle as the summer wind.

And he roared his grief and fury into the darkness of the woods, a long unending howl of pain and sorrow.

**********

Author's note: What do you think of the story so far? Can you distinguish the main character for the rest of the book? I admit that this prologue is an afterthought, a means to rectify the coming chapters that are decided more boring in comparison. However, the story does pick up, once you begin to learn of the character's backgrounds. In the future, I plan to completely edit the first parts, probably redoing the entire thing and renaming the chapters.

Don't forget to vote and comment! And sorry for the long blurb. Enjoy the rest!