The Prodigies: The Return of Equinox

Chapter Four - Arrows

The best thing, and the worst, about rangers is that when you ask for one, you don't truly know what you're going to get. The great rangers of the country Aviagard come in all shapes and sizes. There was the first female ranger who could move more stealthily than any other, or the great ranger of the east who went by the name of Pierce for being able to shoot a man behind a wooden wall. Each of the great rangers that the common folk knew of were great in their own regard, though not even the best would be able to match up with the worst of the Ranger Prodigies.

The Ranger aspect Prodigies were as varied as their normal counterparts, but that is where their similarities fell off. Some would train in a desert, learning to live off of the bare necessities. Others would train to kill animals weighing in on around a half-ton without long range weapons for a warm up. Most importantly, Rangers never stayed in a single environment for very long. They trained to learn to survive in any situation that would pit them against nature herself. In the simplest sense the ranger Prodigies were trained to survive against odds that no normal human would be able survive in. This, the order said, would allow them to more easily use a surrounding area to the utmost advantage for the fight against Equinox. They didn't really know where Equinox would arrive, nor did they know if Equinox had the power to change an environment. They were essentially a trump card if all things went wrong.

There is one Prodigy that falls into the myth of the far west of the kingdom. This hero, as he is known, is said to allow equal opportunity for all people within his domain. The poor would experience riches and the rich would feel poverty, even if it only lasted a moment. There are but only two nobles within his domain at any given time. Even though this hero disliked disparity he understands the need for some sort of control over people.

The boy named himself Jasper after the rock that he had worn as a necklace since before he could remember. The boy held plenty of freedoms in the west near the frontier where the laws weren't so constricting. More freedoms than most Prodigies. To Jasper though, it seemed as though he was jailed, tied down, chained and locked away. Jasper used to be part of the KoR, or Kingdom of Rogues. A very large gang that was the epitome of criminal conspiring. He has a very peculiar scar on his back, something that one would dismiss as an accident if glanced at. The scar – upon closer inspection you could see it was made from a brand – was the rogue rune for the word "Talent." Ever since he was forcefully recruited into the Prodigy order he has been under a strict training regime that pushed him to his very limits every day.

It was morning, though just barely. The forest creatures were just getting up and the sun's golden rays were just hidden behind the horizon. Jasper laid in his makeshift bed created from bark and leaves waiting for something. He didn't know what, just that he was waiting. He held the small red Jasper necklace close to his face. Studying the small rock, its smooth surface, its brecciated pattern, and simplicity. It called on memories he couldn't normally recall having. He couldn't recall them until he looked at the stone. He remembered his mother, and how she always encouraged him to be an adventurer. He remembered leaving home and never returning. As he observed his memories he could taste them as fresh as a new experience. He remembered fighting for survival, and the poverty he endured. He remembered finding salvation with the KoR. He remembered getting kidnapped by the other Prodigies, and being mentored by one of his kidnappers. It didn't matter though, he mostly wanted to save his own skin. He was in trouble when they kidnapped him. They were more friend than foe at the moment they tried to capture him.

Jasper only had the slightest hint of the thing coming at him. It was sharp, fast, silent, and lethal. It was an arrow. He caught it without taking his focus off of the Jasper in his hands. He snapped it without a second thought. Another came. Another catch. He had caught a total of ten arrows each coming from different directions before he grew annoyed.