The Half Breed Bandit

Chapter 2

When I exited my cave, I seen a huge bonfire in the middle of the canyon. Everyone was singing, laughing and drinking, just having a good time. It was a send off party for the 7 leaving in the morning and also a goodbye gathering for those of us who knew Raizen. This further symbolized why I call them my family. I stood watching the merriment a few minutes then headed for the exit.

The only way in or out of the canyon was four large boulders that ranged in sizes small to gigantic and served as stairs to the top of the gorge. I quickly jumped them and set my sights Northwest toward the tower that he never left for 7 centuries. I loved any chance I was able to run long distances and I planned to run the whole trip. I didn't need to stop and rest thanks to my "gift" as it's been called. I call it an abomination. I shook the thought from my head.

This isn't the time to focus on me, this is for Raizen.

I took a deep breath and threw my bag on my back. I could already see his domain in my mind's eye and steadied my emotions when I realized his cocky smile would not be there for me to see this time. I already decided there would be no tears until I was taken to his final resting place. I still would not completely believe he was gone until I seen it with my own eyes. Without another reason to stay rooted to my spot any longer, I took off running full speed to my destination.

The landscape in Raizen's territory was not picked out for its beautiful scenery. It was filled with barren plateaus, rock formations that varied across the land and desert fields. One could see for miles in any direction. It was easy to spot travellers or trespassers from a distance, or maybe demon battalions coming to attempt to overthrow the king. It was the perfect place for a war god strategizing to keep his monarchy.

I ran until I came to what I call the halfway mark between my home and his city. It was a particular gigantic rock formation that had a cave protected by one of my barriers. This was the first cave I ever created and it served quite a few purposes over the years, but mainly as a spot for me to be alone. I decided to stop here a moment and pass some time since I was ahead of schedule. Hokushin was not expecting me until later tonight.

Quickly, I jumped up to the edge of the cliff and faced the cave. Unsurprisingly, I found that it had been empty since the last time I was here. No one has ever broken one of my barriers. I sat down facing the entrance and had a clear view of the crimson sky. I could sense it was sometime in the afternoon and the dark clouds were building up another lightning storm.

This demon plane was notorious for all the massive demon energy thickening the air. It causes random pop-up lightning that shakes the ground when it strikes. It's one of the many things I love about demon world.

As I sat enjoying the view, my mind took me back to when I first made the cave and why. The ice apparition my father impregnated left for her village to birth the child in case something happened to it since she was ice and it was fire. She said the elders there had dealt with births like this before so she would go there then return with the child. About five days later father suddenly had two tears roll down his face that hardened into Firestones when they hit the ground. We were both shocked that not just one child, but two were born.

We set off immediately to find this ice village, but before we even got a half days journey in, an old haggard looking ice demon appeared before us. She told us there was a twin birth, one boy and one girl. The boy was of fire and a curse so he was destroyed. The girl was of ice and she was spared. She said the mother and child are staying in the ice village and have no desire to ever return to us. Then the old woman vanished.

Father was devastated. We returned to the campsite and father asked all of the bandits for information on this ice village, but none knew anything about it. Father returned to our tent and sat down with his head in his hands. I suggested we leave and search every corner of demon world until we found that cursed village, but father shook his head sadly and said for us to just sit and wait to see what happens.