FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

"So what exactly was that?" Brian asked as he and Aisuru neared the village. The pain had subsided, so he could walk without her assistance now. He kept his distance from the strange girl simply for fear of the strange dragon she possessed that the monster they encountered was no match for.

"I told you, it was a monster." Aisuru said, stopping and turning to face him. "There are a lot of them here, but they don't attack villages like ours. Most of the time, at least, they stay away."

"Where did it come from?" Brian asked.

"I can't say for sure." Aisuru said. "Some monsters just seem to appear randomly. Others come into being when a soul tries to seek magical powers they can't handle."

"What do you mean?" Brian said, becoming more confused.

"There are magical crystals scattered about that hold great power." Aisuru explained. "Some are more powerful than others, and they come in various types. Regardless of this, absorbing power from crystals has... consequences. Take me, for instance. I'm half Snow Leopard because of the crystals. But I'm not a monster yet. Crystals corrupt your body and your mind. I've managed to stay sane, but not everyone remains that way."

"Like the monster we saw back in the forest." Brian said, beginning to understand.

"Exactly like that monster." Aisuru said. "It wasn't all too powerful, though. It must have been corrupted to the point that it simply was overcome by instinct, no longer able to use the power it gained."

"But some can overcome that?" Brian said. Aisuru nodded in response.

"If they have a stronger mind, they can resist the corruption." Aisuru explained. "Eventually, anyone can succumb to the crystals, but the stronger monsters still have enough sanity to use the power they gained."

"And what do these crystals look like?" Brian asked.

"You have one." Aisuru said, indicating the crystal on Brian's necklace. "I'd avoid using it for now. I've never seen one like that, though. Normally the crystals are grey, red, or green, but yours is golden. I wonder why that is."

"What do the different colors mean?" Brian asked, looking at the necklace.

"The color indicates the nature of the magic it grants." Aisuru said, shrugging. "Powers vary from user to user, but you can tell the crystal's general nature from its color. Anyway, you'll find more out about this later. Let's keep go-" Aisuru was cut off by a loud rumble, which was followed by screaming.

"What was that?!" Brian asked, looking for the source of the noise. Aisuru didn't answer, but ran off in the direction of her village, Brian doing his best to keep up with her.

The village was in turmoil. Flames lapped at the houses, and blood was spattered all over the ground. Very few corpses were found, the majority of them human, while others were of monsters. Hordes of monsters were attacking the village, dragging away the villagers and killing the ones who tried to fight. Aisuru and Brian, seeing this, were stunned. Brian looked at Aisuru, expecting her shadow to rear up as a dragon again. It didn't. Aisuru simply stood there, eyes wide in shock, rooted to the ground for a moment before she ran into the village. Brian followed her, wondering what to do, as he knew he couldn't handle the monsters unarmed. Three monsters nearly identical to the one encountered in the forest took notice of Aisuru, turning to face her and snarling.

Aisuru ran at the monsters, dodging the claws of one as it tried to strike her. A swift kick to the jaw knocked it flat on its back, stunned. The second monster ran at her, attempting to gore her with its tusks, but Aisuru jumped over its head. The monster kept going, its tusks ripping through the stomach of the third, killing it. Aisuru landed behind the monster, kicking it in the back of the knee. The monster fell to the ground, and Aisuru knocked it unconscious with a swift kick to the skull. By this time, the first monster had scrambled to its feet and was running at her from behind. Before it could strike, Aisuru grabbed its paw, flipping it over her back and impaling it on a sharp edge from the wreckage of a home. She then proceeded to snap the neck of the only living monster, ensuring that it would never regain consciousness. Brian followed after her as she kept running, grateful that he wasn't Aisuru's enemy. However, trying to navigate through the destroyed village was difficult, and soon Brian lost sight of Aisuru among the smoke and fire. It was then that Brian realized he had been followed by another monster.

This monster was different from the ones previously encountered. Resembling an anthropomorphic lizard, it was covered in light blue scales. Crimson eyes glared at Brian as the monster's forked tongue snaked its way out of its jaws, licking its lips. He caught a glimpse of the monster's fangs, but his eyes were distracted by the monster's clawed hands, which held a long katana. It wore a loincloth made from tiger fur, and looked at Brian as if he were its next meal. In reality, that was probably true. Brian, seeing the situation he was in, did the only thing he could think of to protect himself. Grabbing the crystal attached to his necklace, he broke the string that kept it attached to the necklace, the actual necklace remaining unharmed. Looking at the crystal in his palm, Brian realized he didn't know exactly how to absorb power from the crystal. Clenching his hand into a fist angrily, he felt warmth seeping out of the crystal, a golden glow shining from it. His hand began to glow golden, spreading to his arm and then his entire body, the warmth filling him up and power surging through him. The glow faded after only a second, and Brian's eyes met those of his foe.

The reptilian creature ran at Brian, slashing at him with the katana. Brian jumped backwards, managing to avoid the strike. Without knowing why, he slammed his palm to the ground, feeling his power fill his hand and go into the ground. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, as Brian was about to pull his hand up, the ground around his palm started to glow. Cracks formed in the ground around him, spreading outward and growing larger. The monster backed up hastily, moving away from the cracks as they combined to form a large scar in the earth directly in front of Brian. The scar opened up into a fissure, which was filled with a golden glow. The fissure began to grow towards Brian, a circle of ground falling away beneath him into the glowing depths. To his surprise, Brian did not follow the ground, simply standing there in midair as the glow rose up and enveloped him. It subsided after a brief moment, the fissure closing and the cracks disappearing. Nothing seemed to have changed, leaving Brian and the monster quite confused. The monster slowly began approaching Brian, and yet again he was compelled to do something for no discernible reason.

"Shine with holy light, Crusader!" Brian shouted, holding his hand out. A golden glow shot out from it, forming into a double-bladed sword. On Brian's back, a sheath formed in a similar light, obviously for the new sword. The steel blade gleamed, reflecting the flames behind Brian as he gripped it in both hands. The sword had a leather-bound grip and crosstree hilt, and gave off a gentle golden light of its own. The pommel was adorned with a strange golden gem, which also glowed slightly. Brian felt as if holding this blade was natural, though he didn't know why, and the sword was weighted just perfectly for him to wield. This was his sword now, Crusader.

The monster had almost been forgotten during this time. It stood there, trying to make sense of what it had just witnessed. Eventually it gave up and decided that this boy would still make a good meal, and would be much more fun to kill now. It ran at Brian, jumping upwards so that it would land just in front of him as it slashed downwards with its sword. Brian easily dodged the strike by jumping aside, slashing at the reptilian monster with Crusader. The monster managed to block the strike with its own sword. It then attempted to strike Brian with its claws, but to no avail; Brian jumped backwards out of its reach before the attack could connect. The monster ran at Brian again, slashing horizontally with its katana. Brian blocked the attack with Crusader, but the monster continued by biting down on Brian's arm. As its teeth sunk into his flesh, Brian stabbed the lizard creature through the chest with Crusader, killing it. He then ripped off a section of its loincloth, wrapping it around his wound in place of a bandage. Brian sheathed Crusader, leaving the scene.

Hurrying onward, Brian found a trail of dead monsters and their black blood. He followed it, knowing it would lead him to Aisuru. He was correct in this prediction, but he wasn't aware of what else he would find. In front of her stood a man whose face bore a striking resemblance to hers. His emerald green eyes were much colder than hers, containing arrogance that made it seem like human emotions were beneath him. His nose was long, almost like a beak, and his long red-brown hair reminded Brian of the feathers of a hawk or eagle. The man wore no shirt for some reason, displaying his muscular chest that was covered in black tattoos that resembled feathers. His arms were covered in reddish-brown feathers, looking as if they were functional wings, which, in fact, they were. He had a plume of tail feathers of the same color as well. His legs were covered by his black pants, but Brian knew they also bore feather tattoos like the rest of his body.

"So, dear Aisuru, have you come to see the error of your ways yet?" The man said in a cold voice. The lack of emotion in it disturbed Brian, and he didn't dare get any closer.

"I'm not the one who's wrong!" Aisuru hissed, her tail swishing angrily. Her cat ears were flat against her head, and fury flashed through her eyes along with sorrow.

"You're as stubborn as ever, Aisuru." The man said as he turned around and began to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Aisuru growled. The man didn't respond, instead jumping high into the air and flying off using the wings attached to his arms. Brian then walked over to Aisuru, who appeared to be crying.

"Who was that?" Brian said, almost forgetting about their situation.

"That was my brother, Enkei." Aisuru said, starting to find a way out of the burning village. "He and I sought the power contained in those crystals. He succumbed to their evil, unlike me. We used to live here together before he left. I had hoped he wouldn't return, but he did while I was in the forest with you." Brian said nothing as he and Aisuru escaped the flames, sitting to rest atop a grassy hill upwind of the smoke.

"What now?" Brian asked. Aisuru sighed, thinking for a few minutes before answering.

"We go after my brother, of course." She said. "If you'll help me, that is."

"Of course I will." Brian said. He wasn't sure why, but he felt as if he needed to. Aisuru stood up, looking off in the direction Enkei had gone, and then shook her head.

"It's late." Aisuru said. "We'll find someplace safe to rest for the night and go after him in the morning. I know where he's headed anyway."