Well, this is my first story for this site. I'm hoping to do as well as I did on fanficiton, though it worries me that it looks like more people post than review. I hope I'm wrong, so when you finish reading this, please review! I want to actually get published someday so any and all constructive criticism is welcome. Btw, the main character's name being Lotus doesn't have anything to do with my account name. I started this story long before I got an account. Just though I'd mention that. : )

It arose in the night, like the creature of darkness it was. It coveted the skies, blocking the light of the dim, little stars and the moon. Intrigued by its bestial appearance, I was. Even through only the minute shimmer of my lantern, I could see the undeniable shine of its extravagant fangs and claws. Its dark fur stiffened as it stopped its flight and breathed in heavily through its thick nostrils. The beast smelled a trace of what it was after.

Risen from the lore of old, legend had it to be a pernicious beast, bereft of all characteristics that made earthly creatures of the living. Before then, the legends had been mere fireside myths as they had been for every child, but its vendetta I could no longer disavow. I had seen it take flight from the chasm. All those stories that were told to frighten the village children had become real, yet I was undaunted. Its very existence vexed me. I wanted to know more of it.

Every time it roared, it bared those grand, dagger-like fangs. I wondered if the entirety of the lore was plausible. Everyone else seemed to believe so. When the beast cried out, so did the villagers cry out. Where so ever it began to tread, did they flee in all opposing directions. Then again, nobody fancied the idea of meeting their end at the mercies of that beast.

Watching it take flight, I remembered the tale fully. It's every detail matched the words passed down from my forefathers. It lead me to believe the rest was valid as well. Then there was no hope. Our village had sealed it and it sought revenge. We were damned the minute the crevice had appeared in mother's earth's rock.

Almost 200 years had passed, it was said, since the beast that rose before us had roamed as a free beast. Nobody, even then, knew of its origin. All that was certain was that it came in twilight and gave birth to the demons which plagued our people. Back then, we were a most defenseless mass. The beast and its minions reeked havoc all over, destroying most of what it came in contact with. Shaman gathered from all around, using all the magic they had ever acquired in an attempt to allay it of its evil energy, but to no avail. In the end, many of our leaders sacrificed their beings to see that the beast was merely sealed away. It rose again and as the direct descendants of those shaman, it was our burden to bear its vengeance.

I felt the terror in my heart. All I could hear from anywhere around me were the piercing cries and screams of people abandoning hope and fleeing while they were still felt they could. Yet I remained erect. Many would consider it contradicting, but though I felt terror I knew no fear. I imagined what I experienced to be a miniscule version of hell. The demon run rampant, the cries of horror filled the shrill, autumn air, and all was engulfed in darkness. Maybe the reason most attributing to my natural aloofness to the situation was my acceptance of helplessness. If hell had really risen above the earth, then what it sought had no chance of salvation. If it were I it wished to devour and drag to its homeland's depths, I had not the resources to avoid it and were it that it searched for another, panic would be a waste of energy. I watched it intently as it flew in circles around our small settlement. It only came down occasionally, as if to observe its surroundings closer, then it took to the skies once more. It never took a victim. No, it was searching for one in particular and the rest of us were to remain unscathed until it felt it was time for otherwise.

All that was nearly a year ago, but not a day passes that I fail to recall the glory of the beast. The beast of which, still burdens our world today. It goes without saying that the survivors of our original establishment had fled. Perhaps I should adumbrate more on the matter. The one it searched for happened to be our leader, a shaman of the highest order. And it did indeed leave us unscathed until it caught him. Then it showed no prejudice. Whatever lay in its path fell victim to it and its band of demonly followers.

When the creature first raised from the bowels of the earth, it was but one solitary beast, but as it felt it had claimed the most important aspect of its revenge, it began summoning more and more grotesque beings to aid it in its destruction. As more and more responded to the call of war, I was no longer contented to watch the beast's wonder, but flee far from the evil's grasp. I had to see little bloodshed around me before I realized it was no longer a targeted assault, but a free-for-all.

Our village was but the first to fall. Later on, many met with the same demise. Survivors from all about gathered in the place where I live now. That is how our new settlement began. Shielded by the power of light, we barricade our village in a protective veil to keep it hidden from the darkness' eye. We have formed a council of strong, spiritual members. Still, as advisor to the head councilmen, I cannot full heartedly put my faith in this to protect our village forevermore. When the beast runs out of defenseless victims, it will search more vigilantly for us and by then it will have become too powerful for any mortal to oppose. We need to seal it away, as was done in the original massacre.

"Lotus, why wander so far? Are you lost in one of your endless dazes again?"

"Elroy? Why have you come so far from the barrier?! You know it is unsafe!"

"But you did!"

"That is different. I am older than you and much more capable of defending myself should something occur."

"If you were strong enough to defeat that lion bird monster everyone is afraid of, then none of us would have to worry about staying in the barrier at all. But that would be impossible."

"Yes, you are right." I grinned softly at him. "Come, if I return to the inside of the village walls, will you follow?"

"Yes, of course!"

Elroy was an orphaned child that a scout found collapsed during a mission some month ago. We bore no relation, nor any real common ground, but still I took a liking to him as he did I. Though nobody charged me with the task of looking after him, I took it upon myself to care for him as best as one with my disposition could. With him, I shared a hut and in return, he shared my chores. He was typically a pleasant child, if not a bit mischievous.

"Did any success come from your fishing?" I asked him.

"Naw. No fish to be caught."

"Well, that is to be expected. We all fish from the same segment of stream. We would be foolish to expect an endless supply."

"Could you not take me to a waterway outside the village? Then we could have more than enough…It would not take very long at all!"

"Do you know why we stay within the barrier? It I because it conceals us from the beast and its band. Outside the barrier, we are completely visible. And we still have meat from when Aaron went out hunting. He already risked himself so we have no need to."

"All he brought back was deer! You suggest that we rely on him for food as long as we live? Do you want to eat only deer every single day?"

"Hush now. It was very kind of him to think to give us some and deer meat is very practical. It keeps well. You will have your chance to catch fish. You just have to get to the stream quicker."

"What difference would it make? The older one will only push me aside."

"Remind them that you live with the advisor of the head councilman , who could have them cast out to become demon gruel. I can guarantee you they would leave you be to whatever extent you desired."

"You said the first time you saw the beast, you were unafraid of it. Why are you such a coward now?"

"I was unafraid because it was not after me. I would think you would be more threatened by it yourself."

"The world is big What is the likeliness of it coming while we happen to be away?"

"You are willing to take the chances?"

"Come on!" Normally Elroy gave up his arguments by this point. For some odd reason, this day he continued to persist. "I still have my pole with me! In an area with a lot of fish, I could catch a bunch easily after how I had to grow used to getting them before! And they would be so much bigger! Only the smallest fish live in the streams."

"Fine." I gave in.

"What?"

"Fine. Come along and keep pace. I know a lake perfectly suited for what you look for."

"You honestly will take me?" He seemed so surprised.

"Yes, because truth be told, I, too, am quite sick of deer meat."

"Thank you! So where is it? It has been a long while since I have been any real distance away from the village. Is it far?"

"A fair distance, but nothing that we cannot walk to."

"All right! I will catch the biggest fish you ever will see! Just wait!"

"Let us go then. We do want to be back in the village borders before nightfall."

He ran ahead of me, a callow act. It was like he failed to realize he knew not of where he was going. Still, it was his child-like naiveté that possessed me to look after his joy. There are few people I truly care for in this world, but it was almost instant for him. For those reasons, I was taking him. With or without permission, he would have went off somewhere. I may as well be there to protect him. He was blissfully unaware of how numerous and callous those creatures were. I hoped I had the power to defeat the ones I knew we would encounter.

"Have you been to this place before?" He asked me."I must have. I know where it is, do I not?"

"I used to always fish. Back in my old village we were seaside, so there was always many to be caught."

"You fished by yourself?"

"Uh-huh! Do you really think that my lout of a foster father would help me? I learned all by myself and I did just fine!"

"Impressive. I never had a hand for fishing nor hunting. I have a weakness of the heart for animals, so it was never to my tastes."He smirked. "It is once they lie on the table!"

"That is true. One cannot help what is already dead. It may as well not go to waste."

"Lotus?"

"What is it?"

"Why have you never spoken of anyone from your old village? I mean, you told me of your first encounter with the beast, but never of anything else. You must have had some family or friends. There must have been something you lost."

"I lost many things but it shows the extent of my cold heart to say I miss none of it. I had no sentimental attachment to anything I left behind, nor the people who died."

"You cannot honestly mean that! Everyone has something they care for!"

"I care for you, do I not? Is that not enough?"

"But before! There must have been someone you were relatively fond of!""No, I cannot say there was."

"Then what did you get up for in the morning? Everyone has some type of motivation. There had to be something you cared for! You just wish not to admit it."

"You are but 10. I would not expect you to understand yet. You are the first person in a long while that I felt a connection to."

"What about your parents?"

"They died when I was young. Younger than you. Like yourself, I was then raised by a pair of foster parents that were less than pleasant."

"What happened to them?"

"They died when I was fifteen. Needless to say, I was hardly displeased."

His head tilted. It mattered not what I said, he was not going to comprehend. "You must have been slightly attached to them. I mean, they did raise you."

"Raise me? Hardly! They were contented to let me roam the streets!"

"It did not sadden you at all? Were they really that bad?"

"As I said, I never really grew close to people. It was just two less people to burden my existence."

"I never got along with the people who took care of me, neither, but I still felt bad when they died."

"And that is the difference between you and I. Personally, I lost the need to share a close connection with my heart, but that leaves no mention that you should follow."

"I wonder what it is like the be like that…." Only he would be curious of such things.

"After a while, you cannot even distinguish yourself as feeling any different from those around you." It was natural to me. What was there to describe to him?

The area I led him to was heavily blanketed under a canopy of trees. It was a cast lake, but I was confident I could keep him safe from any demon as long as we had the brush and the shade to shield us. I was prepared to fight if necessary. If there was no option of running. For that reason, I knew I could not allow him into the bare open. I could only hope that he would be cooperative.

"Can we go to a different part of the lake? The leaves and the mud make it difficult to move."

"We need to stay in this location. Should something appear, it will be less likely to notice us if we can hide ourselves."

"Nothing will come! What are the chances?"

"Better than you believe. And the odds will only multiply as night befalls us, so preferably do not waste time complaining. I did not have to do this thing, but I did as a favor to you."

"All right. I will stay here if that is what you so insist upon. I only hope my line does not get caught in the brush."

"If it does, we can untangle it. That we can risk."

He sat along that bank a long time, behind those bushes, just casting his line and pulling out more fish than we could ever ingest. I quite admired his skill, especially for someone so young. It was a trivial task for him and he continued not out of necessity but pure enjoyment. Again I envied him. Everything was a chore to me but to him, when he added that subliminal child-like innocence, it became a pleasure. For some reason, through his pleasure, I began to feel a little of my own.

It was a warm day. A day so warm, in fact, that it was almost unheard of to exist in the pit of fall. I rested limply against one of the tall trees. I should never had felt at ease outside of the village, but the severity of the heat was lessened by the abundant shade, just so that it laid upon my face as a blanket and I grew weary. It had been far too long since I had felt the caress of such a comfort….

"Lotus! Wake up! Something is approaching! I cannot recognize it at all!"

I sprung up upon Elroy's alarm, forgetting all that my careless slumber had brought me. Looking into the distance, I could see what he spoke of. Wolf men, three of them, sagacious and blood hungry, sniffing the air with their long, sensitive snouts. They were fully cloaked in a sheathe of heavy fur. They would be impervious to any physical damage. Only the strongest of blades drawn by the mightiest of arms could pierce a demon so protected.

I pulled Elroy behind me, observing the creatures closer. They meandered about, raising snout to air, howling in call and response, but they never acknowledged us. They faced us, they looked straight at us from in the field, but still they were trying to find our scent. I realized it then. They were blind.

"What are those things?!" He shrieked in the manner that a child would.

"Hush now!" I hissed. "Keep your voice down 'lest you want them to hear us. Those are demons I spoke of."

"What?! We have--"

"Luckily for us, they happen to be blind. They smell something strange, but are having difficulty separating our scent from that of the water and the flora. Come now, we must flee before they deduce where we are."

"This is the perfect situation! Kill them! If they cannot see, kill them!"

"My sword would never cut through those coats. Not to mention if I get too near, they would smell me in an instant."

"Then use something other than your sword! You are the advisor of the chief councilman! You have the second strongest abilities in light magic in all our village! Destroy them!"

"It would be a waste of energy. Now come along, Elroy."

"A waste? Those monsters will kill anyone they meet! All those lives could be saved…."

"Do you think the barrier in our village comes at no cost? Everyday we pour our soul's energy into it, that it may stay intact. I do not have the energy to waste."

"Saving lives is a waste?"

"It would save no one. Once the beast noticed some of its minions were missing, it would just summon more to take their place. Now stop being so naïve and come!"

I grabbed his wrist, pulling him back along the trail from which we came. I hoped they had not began to follow us. If they gave chase, we had no hope of outrunning them. But if they were free to roam from the pack, more demons drew near. We were lucky to have escaped their search party. I had to report this event.

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