The Shadow Hunter

2. Rylon

     I was taking my daily stroll along the River of Blood when I saw a group of street thieves surround a kid about my age.

     "Sucker." I thought.

     However, something I saw caught my eye and I stopped in my tracks. The kid wasn't from Thilius or Urinia. His clothing didn't match the ones that the villagers wore. They seemed different, like a...

     "He's a Luxilian!" I gasped.

     I immediately shut my mouth. Good thing I was by the banks of the river, no one heard me. I looked over, and my jaw dropped. His hands were up, trying to protect his face, but there was no need. Tendrils made of shadows had wrapped around the bandits and pulled them to the ground, tying them there.

     I thought I was the only one. I didn't think anyone else had control over the shadows. Especially not someone from Luxilia. I shook it off as I was seeing things.

     I looked around and saw people start to gather around them. I quickly ran over and grabbed his arm and stuff and bolted to a little ledge just under a cliff hanging over the river. I shoved him inside the cavern that I had taken shelter in, and made the shadows camouflage the entrance to look like the rest of the cliff-side. It was one of the tricks I had learned during my first days on the surface. Very handy.

     I stared at him.

     "Who are you?" He questioned; he sounded like he was accusing me of something.

     "I think I should be the one asking questions here," I remarked. "What are you doing in these parts Luxilian?"

     He looked away.

     "Come on, I just rescued you from a mob in the forming." I returned his cold shoulder. "What do you want in return for an answer?"

     His eyes narrowed onto the bag I was holding.

     I tossed it back to him and finally got an answer.

     "My dad's the head of Luxilia and my mom's one of the treaty forgers of the council."

     Of course they are. Why would they not be, he's a Luxilian and one that almost got robbed at that. That doesn't explain the shadow tendrils though.

     "That doesn't answer my question." I challenged.

     He went silent after that.

     "Here, we'll talk again tomorrow, I'll go find some food and we can have dinner." I said.

     He shrugged and I left.

     As I hiked to the top, I looked back at the entrance, a normal person wouldn't be able to figure out it lead to a cavern. I thought about that boy. Could he possibly be able to control the shadows as well? If so, there might be others. That would mean I'm not alone.

     With this thought in mind, I leapt into the forest before anyone from the village could spot me.

     Before long, I found one of the beasts that roamed these parts of the forest. I willed the shadows to wrap around its neck and tighten. It let out a constrained cry for a couple minutes before finally dying. I quickly got my knife and cut off pieces of its flesh and stuffed it into a pocket of solidified shadows. Another neat trick I had learned.

     "Quick, I think the sound came from here!" Someone behind me shouted.

     I went and hid behind a tree before anyone spotted me and camouflaged myself within the darkness.

     A group of the villagers arrived holding swords, daggers, and the sort. A couple of the lower level elementalists followed them. I silently slid deeper into the trees' shadows and quickly hurried back to the cavern.

     I reached the entrance and went in. I found the boy sleeping on the bed of hay bales I had set up in my earlier days. He used his bag as a pillow and one of his shirts as a cover. I sighed and went over to my dead fire-pit.

     I got a couple pieces of branches that I had picked up earlier and started a fire. I pierced two pieces of the flesh and set them over the fire to roast. I then got a wooden bowl I had carved out and went to get water.

     The water from the river may have been a little salty, but it was the best we could have. I held it over the fire to boil the water clean. I then set the bowl on the ground to cool down and shifted my focus to the meat.

     It was done after a bit and I set it on a stand to cool down.

     I looked over at him. I still didn't know his name. I walked over and decided to wake him up.

     "Lecion, leave me alone." He groaned.

     "I'm not Lecion, my name is Rylon." I chuckled.

     He shot up and his face went red.

     "Dinners ready." I declared.

     His eyes trailed around the cavern and settled on one of the pieces of meat. He was there in seconds and hungrily scoffing it down. He almost choked in his hurry.

     "There's water in the bowl." I mused, walking over.

     He grabbed the bowl and took a big gulp, chocking a bit.

     "Finish up and get some rest. You have some explaining to do tomorrow." I announced, starting on my share.

     He nodded his head and finished his chunk.

     I continued with my dinner and watched as he fell back asleep on the makeshift bed.

     I've been at this for 4 years since my parents kicked me out at the age of 9. All because wherever I went, everything seemed to get dimmer. As well as my lack of power over the earth.

     I had spent my days alone or sitting at the bottom by the river, wondering why I was like this. A good number of days ago, Vulnier, the Avatar of Earth, visited me in my dreams. We had a little chat, and I had many questions, but he wasn't able to answer any of them. He just muttered something about Necronus and Shadows and Darkness. Made no sense to me, but I feel like my shadow powers have something to do with whoever this Necronus is. I had snuck into one of the village libraries to see if I could find anything, but I came up with nothing.

     I cleaned up and went to lay down on the cold stone floor. It wasn't the same as cooled rooms back home, but it was something. I made sure to stay by the fire for a bit of warmth and fell asleep.

     I woke up the next day, and sat up, staring at the other boy's sleeping form. He seems so much more at peace when sleeping, not as guarded as when he's awake.

     I have a sneaky suspicion that he was kicked out, just like me, but more recently.