Blizzard

Chapter 1: A Storm is Brewing

It was a calm morning. The Spring wind softly blowing through the village as wives started preparing breakfast for their families, and husbands went to hunt and gather lumber. As usual, most of the children were waking up ready to play or work. 15 year old Enar would usually be woken up by his little brother, Eske, who was only 6 years younger than him. However He was probably still tired from yesterday's work. They had been working hard recently and his brother was most likely too sore. Enar eventually woke up to a small thud. He looked up to see his best friend, Gunther, peering through the window with a wide grin.

"Hurry Hurry! Brian and Brandr are about to fght down at the pit!"
Enar was sluggish at first, and could barely hear him through the window. However, once the words processed, his eyes widened and he quickly sprang up out of his hide covers and off of his bed. He draped his small brown leather cloak over his shoulders and ran out of his room door and towards the front door.

Brian and Brandr were two of the strongest boys in the village. They were the only children of the blacksmith, Brondi. They ran till they got to the "Battle Pit", or pit, as most of the kids called it. It was really just a dugout with sticks surrounding it.

The two brothers stood guard up, gazing at eachother by the time the boys arrived. Brian was the first to swing, rearing his arm back for a split second before hitting. Brandr had apparently seen this coming, because he instantly dodged under his arm and punched him in the stomach. Brian took the hit and, not letting his brother escape, smashed Brandr down with his elbow. Cheering released from the excited crowd. Brandr got back up, and the two squared off again. They went a couple more rounds, each winning about the same amount. Enar lost count. Eventually they both left the pit, satisfied with their fight. Some people started suggesting people to fight next.

Gunther jumped down before any negotiations were made. No one seemed to have a problem with this, Gunther was known for his rash decisions. Enar looked over to see who his friend's opponent would be. He turned pale when he saw a tall orange haired boy that he had never seen before, jump down into the pit. He smiled as he saw Gunther, then looked up at Enar. It wasn't a threatening smile, almost like a warm familiar smile. The boy looked strong, his muscles bulging. He might have even been stronger than the blacksmith brothers. Gunther didn't seem the slightest bit disturbed by his appearance. This relieved Enar, however, His relief would be short lived. The mysterious boy was almost double Gunther's size, and he appeared much older as well. He very well could pass as a grown man. Gunther stood straight up, his curly dirty blonde hair shaking in the breeze. The tall boy had frizzled, dirty hair. It almost looked like he just came tumbling off a tree branch, or maybe down a cliffside.

Gunther readied an offensive stance and sprang towards him. The mysterious boy just stood there ominously. At the last second Gunther feinted his attack and instead went down to elbow him in the stomach. That was a mistake. The boy dodged the hit and put Gunther in a chokehold. He held him in the hold for a while before kicking him away. The crowd was silent. Gunther was a quirky and funny person. To see him get beaten up wasn't excatly pleasing. Gunther again ran at the redhead, just to get thrown down. This repeated for a while. Gunther was scratched and bruise while his opponent was left unscathed.

Enar looked down at him with pain and anguish. They had known eachother for as long as they could remember, had stood by eachother's side through thick and thin. You couldn't seperate them, so how could he sit there and watch his friend suffer like this? He jumped down and pulled Gunther out of the way. Gasps were heard all around. He practically just defied tradition by interfering.

"That's enough!" He screamed. The wind began to blow harder and it seemed to get colder. Only seconds later it started to snow heavily. Everyone began to look up. How had the weather changed so quickly during Spring? A storm was brewing, and people began to quickly clear out. The air had become thick with snow. Enar pulled Gunther up and began to walk towards his house, Gunther leaning on him for support. The strange boy had disappeared, almost as if he was never there.

"You... shouldn't have helped me" Gunther moaned.
"Maybe, but I did" Enar responded. "Get over it."
"But thats dishonerable."
"Sometimes we must abandon honor for passion"
"You should stop caring so much about me and start caring about yourself. You're the chief's son! You have a reputation to uphold!"
"Does a chief leave his people to suffer?"
"No... but..."
"There, end of conversation."
Gunther looked at him for a moment, but didn't say anything. They walked home in silence.