Kandril awoke to the smell of burned bread- his father's specialty. "He did it again, didn't he?" Kandril groaned. He stretched as he swung his legs over the side of his mat in the attic. Sighing, he quickly dressed for another day of being holed up inside the cottage as the icy wind raged a ferocious battle against the old cedar walls. "I should hurry before he burns the whole house down," Kandril said with a yawn. Meanwhile, his father, Jevisath, was trying to build the fire back up after drenching it in water when the bread caught fire. Kandril crawled down the ladder to his father's room and strode to the kitchen. "My, you're up later than usual," Jevisath said with a grin. "With dawn coming so late and this storm blocking my view of the sun, who can blame me?" Kandril replied. "So what's for breakfast? Burned toast again?" His father laughed. "If you couldn't cook, we would starve!" "That's very true, Dad." The pair laughed and ate breakfast peacefully.

Kandril went through his normal winter morning routine of braving the blizzard and fighting his way to the barn to feed the two pigs, three sheep, six chickens and one cow that father-son duo kept year round. The cow must be milked, and the milk quickly taken to the cottage for fear of it freezing. Making sure that the barn door was securely closed and that the barn was warm enough for the animal's water not to turn to ice, he scrambled back to the cottage and quickly put the pail of milk inside the front door. Running quickly to the other side, he knocked on the door. "If I have to do this one more time today, I seriously might turn to ice myself," Kandril said as he shivered. When Jevisath unbolted the back door for him to enter, he asked "Son, you have seen the meat we have left from your last hunting trip- do you think that you need to go hunting again?" Jevisath enquired. "Frankly, I think we will need to stock up in case this storm takes a turn for the worse. If that happens and I can't go hunting, then we will be in a serious mess." "Alright, here's your bow and quiver. Don't go too far, only as far as you need to, and try to be back before sunset." Jevisath waved him off, not knowing that his son would not return the same.

Breathing heavily, Kandril followed the fresh fox tracks that he had discovered upon entering the forest. After going a ways, he saw the dull amber of a fox that had not yet shed its summer coat to turn white with the landscape; he silently drew his bow and crept behind a tree. Bare, with snow and ice as its leaves, the tree did not offer much of a hiding place. With a sharp 'twang!" the arrow hit the fox at the base of its neck. It hit the snowy ground with a dull thud as crimson blood stained the snow. "I thank you, fox, for giving your life to sustain my family," Kandril sighed as he searched for more prey. After a few hours our hero had managed to kill a brace of foxes. He turned to go back to the cottage, but soon he felt a strong urge to follow a barely visible path slightly to his left.

He thought perhaps his hunter's instinct was what led him to go that way in search of bigger prey, like deer. He followed the path, using his intuition as a guide. He was going farther into the forest than he had planned, but he thought that somehow this path was familiar- he saw a tree that forked into a "Y" shape in the middle of a clearing, and he suddenly remembered "A woman with gorgeous chestnut hair picked him up and swung him around as a breeze that smelled of cherry blossoms drifted past him. He looked over and saw a handsome golden-haired man laugh- a joyous sound, one that made his brown eyes twinkle merrily. The woman put him down, and the man said 'Kandril, come to me.' I took a step forward," With a start, he realized that this was the very center of the forest, a clearing that he had come to often when he was young. The beautiful woman with blue-green eyes must have been his mother, who he remembered seldomly as she had come to pick berries in the forest one day when he was young and never returned. The man must have been his father then, with those deep brown eyes. He had never returned to the clearing, and when he asked his father what had happened to his mother, he refused to say anything and simply said "She has become one with the forest, as always was her wish." Kandril did not understand what that meant at the time, but even now he assumed she had died, and was buried here, but the cause was still unknown to him. He took a few steps forward, and realized that under the shelter of the cherry tree little snow had been blown into the clearing. A small tombstone was at the base of the tree. Kandril walked forward and knelt to read the inscription. It read: "For my dear Adrian: You have become one with your beloved forest, and that final wish has come true. May you live forever on in the legacy of your son Kandril." He sobbed as memories washed over him of sunny days with clear skies as his mother walked through the forest holding his hand and smiling brightly. He remembered that she was never happier than when she was in the forest, and that she reveled in all of its life. The woodland animals never feared her, and approached calmly. His tears were starting to freeze on his cheeks; he wiped them with a part of the soft leather glove. As he turned to go back to the cottage, a strange glowing light to the right of the tombstone caught his attention. He turned around to investigate, and a glowing white sword with an icy blue hilt appeared before him! A deep resonant voice echoed through the clearing- Kandril realized it was coming from the sword itself! "You have been chosen as the first Champion of this age, Kandril. This sword is now yours." With a flash of blue light, the sword floated down into his hand. Icy shocks ran through his palm from the hilt, and marks began to appear. The resonant voice echoed one last time as it said: "Rise, Champion. Before you lies your future, your destiny as a hero. Take it if you wish." With that, the marks blazed silver, and the sword now looked like an extension of his arm. The weight balanced perfectly, and the hilt matched his hand. He swung it experimentally, and the air whined as if it had been split. The snow that the blade had touched turned to ice and fell to the ground as the wind from the swing roared with power. The sword seemed to say "See, I have chosen a worthy Champion." A voice like a soft summer breeze floated through the barren, ice covered boughs of the great cherry tree and whispered "Its name is Akuna or Oni Hametsu- literally Demon's Bane. Guard it well, for this sword is forever intertwined with your fate." Kandril tried to see where the source of the voice was, but he had no luck. He sighed. "What a day! It started out relatively normal, and now I've found my mother's grave along with an awesome-looking sword that talks to me!" Kandril wrapped up Akuna Hametsu in a spare cloth, leaving inspection of the blade for later when he was safe (and warm!) at home.

Kandril sat by the warm fire drying off his coat. The brace of foxes was in the storeroom with the other meat, thawing for skinning and gutting. "You should take off your coat so it will dry, Kandril," his father said. "In a minute, Dad." "What if he sees my marks? Even I haven't seen them yet. How will I show him Akuna Hametsu?" Kandril pondered his situation. He decided to just go ahead and show him the marks and to tell him what happened. He slowly took off his shirt- it was soaked through from the coat down because of the time spent outside, and it needed to dry anyway. Blue-silver marks like ice trailed from his palm to his shoulder in fascinating patterns. His father gasped. "What are those? What happened out there?" "I was claimed as the new champion." His father's scowl deepened. "No son of mine is going to join those scoundrels!" "Dad, I didn't exactly have a choice. Akuna Hametsu spoke to me at Mother's grave." "You what?‼?" "I followed a trail that seemed to be familiar, and I found the clearing. Then the sword…" (Kandril explains what happened.) "Well tomorrow you will take that sword to where you found it, without fail. We do not need Champions or destiny in this family." His father turned on his heel and strode outside, grabbing his coat. "I am going to feed the animals. Find out how to get rid of those marks, Kandril."

As I sat in my room, I found out that the marks would not wash off. I scrubbed, and did everything I could, but to no avail. "Dad is going to kill me," I sighed. I finally lay in silence, but my thoughts were anything but. A cacophony of memories swirled around in my head, but when I tried to concentrate on one, they always eluded my grasp. Suddenly a memory washed over me. "I sit by the fire, Vodeld sitting across pouring some tea. 'Remember these stories, Kandril. They are your legacy. I sense great power in you, waiting to be released; an aura of strength surrounds you.' I sat in silence, pondering these same words then, wondering the possible meaning." Vodeld always told me whatever I wanted to know about any subject I brought up. That day however, the topic was more serious than usual. He had told me of the Champions, and the powerful swords they wielded. He told me how only when the Seven Guardians (as the swords were called) were gathered and when the Champions united once more, then, and only then, the Black Angel Family- Angelo Tenshi- would fall. I didn't know what being a Champion really meant. Then, I decided that I would take the sword back to the clearing the next day and let it "rot in peace" as my dad called it, until someone who knew what to do with it found it instead. I carefully uncovered the sword, the blade gleaming in the soft candlelight, and read the strange runes carved into it. Vodeld had taught me some of the elven runes used for inscriptions on sacred blades- I knew just enough to read "Demon's Bane" I looked at the marks on my arm, and marveled at the smooth continuation of sword to arm until I fell asleep.

The next day, I arose early to take Akuna Hametsu back to the grave. I walked quickly and quietly, stopping only to kneel and pay respects at my mother's grave before unwrapping my sword and laying it down to the right of it, just as I had found it. As I turned to leave, the marks started to burn, and I heard a familiar voice, a deep resonating one that I had heard only twice before, when the sword claimed me. "Do not ignore your destiny, Kandril. Your father is wise on many things, but in this he is being a fool. Take up your weapon, and find the other Champions to reclaim your homeland!" In that instant, my fate was decided. I took up Akuna, and claimed my destiny as a Champion! Of course, that wasn't the end of the journey. I had a whole life waiting for me, so I left the farm to travel and train with Vodeld, who turned out to be the previous Ice Champion. Father let me decide what I wanted to do, and left me with this advice: "Live out our legacy, Kandril. Follow your own path, and always remember who you are." And that's how it all began.

NOTE: This was revised into a short story from a chapter. I am going to make this into a novel, and more books will come later. If you liked this, please tell me why and how I can improve. I will add characters if I think they are good suggestions, and I REALLY need an editor, so any experienced writers please speak up so that I can make this better! Thanks all,

Victoriana

^_^ hope you liked, have a great day!