Rogue Light

By Bryan Nyaude

Rid is not your average thief, he was once a proud and arrogant prince of a nation called Rogue. However, Rid lost everything he held dear when his step brother framed him for a heinous crime, causing him to get banished far away into the outside cruel world. Thanks to two new friends he makes on the way, he learns to become deceitful, lying, dirty minded, and cunning as a way to survive his new environment. On a fateful day, the three ambush a merchant caravan carrying three sacred and powerful weapons, only to fall into a dangerous trap. Rid’s friends get captured by an evil tyrant woman named Katarina Fox and he must venture into oblivion to rescue them. Legions among legions of terrible monsters, evil humans, and treacherous cities await him, threatening to engulf him completely. Despite his many flaws, destiny has chosen him to be the one to shed light into his dark and madness consumed world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryan Nyaude
• Release date: Feb 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311449498

Book preview

Rogue Light

Destined Legends

Bryan Nyaude

All rights Reserved. The characters, events, and settings of the story are all a work of fiction and a product of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Bryan Nyaude

ISBN-13: 9781311449498

LCCN: 2014920990

Smashwords.com

Cover Design by Shutterstock.com

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my family and friends who supported me and believed in my dreams. Thank you for your patience and loving support, you are the inspiration and the motivation that keeps me writing.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Prologue

The castle lay in ruins, torn asunder by the might of my allies. In every direction, our enemies fell, lying helplessly in the debris of the fallen towers. We had finally done the impossible; however, the worst was soon upon us.

Hold your ground, I yelled to them, trying to keep them from falling apart in spirit. Do not let her escape us.

The sky roared above us, thundering with rage of oblivion. We looked up and finally saw it, our looming demise. An army of monstrous beasts accompanied by a swarm of serpents was descending down towards us from the heavens themselves.

This is the end, one of my allies cried, falling to his knees.

No, it’s not, I assured them, raising my sword into the air. It is over when we can no longer lift our weapons.

The very earth beneath our feet shook violently as a shriek echoed above us.

No, it is the end, a voice spoke, hidden within the clouds.

This voice, I knew it too well. Looking up, my heart shattered, jolted with unspeakable fear. How could this be? The creature lingered a bit in the clouds before descending down towards us too, behind the other creatures. It was just as I feared, this was her true form beneath the cloak.

1

It’s here, guys, Paul whispered with excitement and uncontrolled joy.

One of the merchant caravans we had been waiting for had finally appeared from the city. We were hiding in one of the tall trees surrounding the great city of Yogo, completely out of sight, waiting to ambush. I wasn’t too sure it was the smart thing we were about to do in broad daylight. Even though we had planned it all out weeks before, it still didn’t feel right.

Come on, Rid, Tye growled at me, unsheathing his sword slowly. His eyes widened with suppressed anger as he glared at me with utter distaste. There is no backing out of this one, okay?

We were going to rob one of the Rainku’s merchant caravans and escape to a neighboring country. Everyone in the world feared the Rainku. They were monsters with extraordinary fighting skills and weapons of great powers that were unrivaled by anything. Their presence in our world had only brought pain and destruction. None of them had a sense of humanity or mercy within their hearts. So many great heroes and kings all over the world had fallen because of them. Due to this, most the world fell into turmoil and calamity. Even the most powerful warriors left dared not raise a finger against them. What were we thinking? Robbing monstrous humans was a thing only a stupid idiot would do, and that clearly put us in that category.

Are you sure about this, guys? I asked them in a trembling voice. We really don’t have to do this.

Why not? Tye replied me rudely. We’ve been through this several times already. It’s just one merchant caravan, and after that, we will flee Yogo and leave this business for good. Don’t you think it’s time we finally found happiness and start living like everyone else? Now get it together, Rid, the merchant caravan is getting close.

He was right; we did deserve to be happy, all three of us, but the price of this happiness was something that could come at a heavy price. I had a gut feeling that told me to run, but I couldn’t. Tye’s words had got the best of me and I was also tired of eating from the dumpsters every day. I had known happiness once, and it seemed like it was only yesterday. It’s hard to believe that I had once been the proud and arrogant prince of Rogue. However, my cunning stepbrother bested me and I was framed for a crime I didn’t commit. Because of that, I was banished far away from Rogue to ever wonder the world as an outcast. It was terrible and sometimes I cried being all alone so far away from home. If only they had given me a fair trial, I would have been able to prove my innocence. Well, I could’ve tried somehow. But unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The kingdom of Rogue didn’t have too many bright people to begin with. We were easy to anger and the only thing we understood more than eating was fighting. Somehow, I had escaped my country’s curse, but in exchange, I had been made into more of a coward. Along my solo traveling, I met Tye and Paul, who ambushed me and tried to rob me. Mysteriously, we became friends after a serious fight and they were the ones who introduced me to stealing. They taught me every secret to the business, and even taught me the most secret code of thieves.

It went something like this: You only steal what you can get away with. If you get caught, you never turn your partners in crime in under any circumstances. Failure to follow the code will result in death─yada yada yada!

I really hated this way of life, but it was the only way to survive in the harsh and cruel world.

Now, Tye said, jumping from the tree onto the caravan.

Paul did the same and hell broke loose. It was too late to stop them, and I just couldn’t abandon my friends at such a critical time. I jumped onto the caravan too, only to trip and fall hard to the ground below. I was clumsy at times or rather it just a bad habit of misfortunes that haunted me? Looking up, all I saw was chaos as people were in the midst of a fight. There were about a dozen soldiers who came quickly out of the caravan fighting my two friends. Fortunately, Paul and Tye were experienced fighters. They thrived well in the heat of violence, even against many adversaries. I heard the frenzy cry of metal as swords clashed followed by yelping screams. It was an all out brawl to the death, which seemed to put my two friends at a big disadvantage. I stood up slowly, patting the sore spot on my head. No one seemed to be aware of my presence, which I found rather peculiar. My objective was not to join the fight, but to infiltrate the caravan and steal the valuable contents. I stealthy made my way towards the horses and hid behind them, untying them free. I did this to buy time for us to escape, once the ambush was done. The horses let out a mild noise while remaining stationary. Luckily, the soldiers were too distracted to notice me, a blunder I gladly welcomed to sneak into their caravan quickly.

Was this a trap? Not even one guard seemed to be guarding the caravan, a rather strange and yet bold tactic. It was unusual to find this many soldiers travelling with one caravan outside Yogo in broad daylight. That only meant one thing—the contents inside had to be priceless and very valuable.

It was very dark inside and quite spacious. There was a strong smell of cinnamon chocolate inside that made my stomach growl. My mouth shivered as I licked my dry lips firmly. It had been two days since I last ate real food, so I was really starving. I hadn’t come for a quick meal; however, the strong smell of food was just too much to resist. Quickly, I searched through their belongings and found some food which I stashed in my pockets.

Is this really it?

There wasn’t much treasure, except for some pair of silver gloves, a shiny steel shield, and a golden arm gauntlet. They all looked pretty useless to me, but I took them anyway and sneaked out of the caravan unnoticed. Tye and Paul were not going to be happy with these trinkets, I thought.

The sun reflected brightly against the metal shield, blinding me for a bit. I could hear battle cries, and the sheer clash of raw steel piercing through smooth flesh. I gazed and noticed Paul and Tye slowly backing away, the skirmish taking a toll on their bodies. The plan had gone off smoothly, a little too smoothly, but who cared as long as it worked. After making sure Paul and Tye were okay, I ran a distance and stopped, when I was a good bit far away from the caravan. With my body hidden behind a tree, I signaled Tye and Paul, using our secret bird call and waited. There was a long ominous silence for some minutes, and then I heard footsteps and screams heading in my direction. Cautiously, I peeped out to see who was approaching. It was Tye and Paul and they were running very fast. Excited, I ran towards them to tell them the good news, but they didn’t stop. Wondering why, I stopped, only to see them. It was the creatures of fierce aggression and brutality. The Rainku treasure dogs were on our tail.

They could have at least given me some warning before they ran past me, I yelped, turning around to flee.

Running normally wasn’t going to elude these dogs, as they were bred to chase and feed on treasure thieves. I dashed quickly as fast as my legs could extend without looking back. Wished I had listened to my gut feeling the first time, but I didn’t, I thought. My legs felt numb, as my arms tensed uncontrollably, trying to revoke anymore movements. It felt like my head was going to explode, with all the blood rushing to my brains. Within seconds, I had caught up to Paul and Tye as they were slowing down.

Something isn’t right, Tye panted, looking us both in the eye, his hands flailing like a rogue flag.

What gave it away, genius? I rattled in anger. I bet it’s those giant dogs chasing after us.

Quit it, Rid, Paul interrupted us completely. He barely looked like he broke a sweat at all. Tye is right. I think we fell into a trap.

Obviously and I don’t think we can outrun them, I concluded, taking a glance back at creatures quickly before looking straight ahead.

It doesn’t make sense. Are they after us or something else? Paul asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

It doesn’t matter now, okay? Tye roared, gaining a few more steps ahead of us. Just keep running and don’t stop.

There was a long silence for a minute. All we could do at the moment was keep running without any sense of where we were going.

We have to split up. Tye said, finally breaking off the silence.

Are you out of your mind? I yelled at him. No, let’s stick together.

That was crazy talk. In the back of my mind, I knew he was absolutely right. There were only two treasure dogs hunting the three of us. One of us had a chance of making it out of this alive.

Darn! Okay, you win, I finally spoke, agreeing with Tye. This was all I could grab from the caravan that seemed of value.

Seriously, Rid, this junk looks worthless, Paul shrieked, shaking his head. He looked rather disappointed with me.

Well, my good sir, if it’s not good enough, you can always go back and get some more, I commented sarcastically.

I handed Tye the shield and gave Paul the gloves. It was a tough decision, but necessary nonetheless.

See you guys in Okaya, Paul said, giving us the nod, vanishing in a different direction.

Tye hated saying good-bye, but before he left, he mumbled, don’t die.

I smiled, as I kept running. I knew this wasn’t the end, and we would all meet soon in Okaya.

I ran a good bit far, headed in the north-east direction without a moment’s spare. It was then I heard the terrifying barks of the great, fierce monstrosities and looked back. The two treasure dogs from before were still chasing me viciously. Why me? I thought. It seemed they had been attracted to the sweet smell of meat and chocolate that I had in my pants. Either they had a sweet tooth, or it was the gauntlet they were truly after.

I grew weary from exhaustion, and my body alarmed me that I had pushed it pasts its normal limits. My only problem at the moment was the dogs. I had to lose these beasts some way, but how? Not in a million years had I thought I would ever leave Rogue. And yet here I was, running for my life, far away from home. The dogs drew closer, their barks echoing tremendously through the thicket. Extreme fatigue made my legs feel numb, and my head ached terribly. I wanted to rest so badly—it made me wish I had taken the gloves, or left the food back in the caravan.

Leave me alone, you stupid mutts, I growled at them with words of utter distaste.

I think they understood me because they started to run even faster.

Yikes, I yelped and proceeded to run even more aggressively without a clear direction. Despite my panic, I felt uneasy about something. If the dogs wanted to, they could have caught and killed me minutes ago. Yet all they did was pursue me while keeping a slight distance.

Oh well! I thought. It was good fortune that I was still alive and saw no use in thinking about it anymore. The vegetation surrounding Yogo was so thick and dense that I could barely see any end to the dark, treacherous forest. An ominous presence lingered deep in the abyss, like something else was stalking from the shadows. It made the pit of my stomach tighten—and the hairs on my neck stand.

Nothing was going according to our original plan. If we had known that treasure dogs were guarding the merchant caravan from the shadows, we would have reconsidered and fled the scene. I looked around, whilst running, trying to find a safe passage out of this labyrinth of nature. Aside from the barking dogs, all was quiet and almost ominous for dear comfort. Honestly, it seemed like I had been running for hours. Sheer desperation and absolute fear was the only thinking keeping me on my feet. I caught a glimpse of the sun as it was setting beyond the horizon amazingly. Would I survive this day? I was definitely in a troublesome situation.

For some reason, I looked back and saw the dogs no more than a few feet from me, catching up fast. I admired their persistence, although rather annoying.

Up ahead was a dangerous river named after Dohn Claf. He was an infamous murderer and thief, who did a lot of terrible stuff when he was still alive. His body was thrown into the river after he was executed, and some say it still haunted the waters to this day. But the river itself had gained its reputation because it had also claimed so many lives of men, women, and children in the past and present, long before Dohn Claf. What made this river worrisome was what lay beneath it. A series of uncontrolled tidal bores, long, sharp stones, and of course the infamous sand piranhas. Such was my fate, to be trapped in oblivion with only one path ahead. In my eyes, the only choice I had was to cross the river. It was the only way to lose the dogs. There was no other option in the matter. Two other slight problems to add: I despised water and disliked piranhas more than anything else. And now I was going to jump into such a dangerous river. What luck, I thought.

The chances of me crossing safely were very unfavorable. And the chances of me getting eaten by the dogs or piranhas were quite high. Clearly, fortune was not in my favor. However, there was nothing I could do about it, but try. I felt my body tense as I got closer towards the bank of the river. Without delay, I slowed down and discarded the red meat in my pockets. Throwing it further away from my reach, as I had no use for such uncooked meat. It only served to attract the sand piranha towards me—the moment I got into the river. Soldiers eating half cooked meat—it just didn’t make sense, but didn’t matter at the moment. To my surprise, the dogs stopped in their tracks and stomped towards the red meat. They sniffed it for a second before proceeding to eat it. They were well mannered and took their time to eat it, as they watched me curiously. Their eyes were dark and gloomy, showing no signs of compassion in them. And fur raised and dark as a moonless night. I shivered at the thought of them attacking without warning. Oddly enough, all they did was watch me as they ate their spoils. In their mind—I was cornered. Clearly they didn’t think I had the guts to cross old Dohn at such a time as this.

The more I thought about it, the more it looked like a bad idea. The rapid waves were surging strongly that it looked impossible to cross even with a boat. In those few minutes the dogs had stopped to chow down, I had rested and caught my breath a little. Although, not enough for what I was about to do next. Crossing this river was going to be the toughest thing I had ever attempted. A great fit worthy of legend, if I survived, of course. I felt a sense of danger arising as the dogs were finishing the last of the half-cooked meat. Desperately, I ate the cinnamon chocolate to replenish my strength and backed away slowly. The gauntlet was a problem—not going to be easy to cross the river with it in my hands. I came up with a witty idea and wore the gauntlet onto my right arm. What in the world? I gasped.

The gauntlet had sunk deep into my hand, completely merging with my flesh. I was spooked out by this sudden development, as my eyes almost popped out of my head in disbelief. The dogs began to gnarl as they were done eating, moving closer to me with each step. I took my mind off the gauntlet and looked towards the threat. There was no way I could fend off these dogs, in my current state. I had no weapon on me. My only option was to jump into the river and swim to the other side. If possible, I wanted to avoid this option at all cost. Turning around, I rushed into the river and began my attempt to swim roughly through it. The dogs didn’t even move. I could have sworn they were laughing at me struggle to swim this impossible river. Strangely, I didn’t feel tired or weary at all, as if some of my strength had been rekindled back into me.

Regardless of admirable attempts, the rapid waves were infuriating as they seemed to keep pushing me back. Still, I didn’t give up. Something was pushing me ahead, more than my willpower. To be exact, more like someone else. Whenever difficult situation emerged, the person I thought of the most was Daphne. Seeing her fair face in my mind was the only thing that kept me going through all the hardships and struggles. I yearned to see her more than anything else in this world. There was nothing I wasn’t willing to do to bring that reality to pass. She was the one person I missed most when I got banished from Rogue—aside from my mother and father of course. All the times we had spent together meant more to me than the treasures and jewels of this world. Would I ever see her again? I had to, I thought. There was no way I was going to leave things as they were or be an outcast for the rest of my life.

With that motivation in my heart, I forced my body past the pain and swum hard in attempt to get to the other side. Yes, I caught a glimpse of the other river bank and it was getting closer. I was doing the impossible; my once futile attempt was finally paying off. I heard the dogs start to bark as my feet touched the ground beneath the shallow water. I had done it—I had crossed the river.

Serves them right, I snickered, looking up in the sky, as I got out of the river, my whole body wet and cold.

The air was freezing cold and windy, the sun almost gone from the sky. I shivered for a second as I tried to warm up. Honestly, what I had just done was impressive. Not a lot of people could cross this deadly river and come out unscathed. If only someone had been here to witness this fit of worthy of being written in legends. Although, a little too amazing even for my taste. I sensed another presence helping me, although it was just me being paranoid as usual. But why had I not hit any rocks or encountered piranhas while crossing old Dohn? It was indeed unusual for me to be this lucky—this many times.

I coughed out some water, as I sat down to really rest my fatigued body. The dogs ran west to the shallow end of Old Dohn which gave me a few hours head start. By the time they got here, I would be long gone, or so I thought. Somehow they weren’t like normal dogs; their intelligence was beyond me and that was a bad thing. Three to six hours at best wasn’t enough for me to rest and find a safe place to hide from the dogs. I felt a slight tingle in my right arm and raised it up for a closer look. Indeed, the gauntlet had really merged with my body. Was this a good or bad thing? Something about this object made me feel uneasy. This is truly unsettling, I thought. On other side of my arm, I saw something surprising and quite unexpected.

When did I get tattoo markings?

It was freaking me out more than the fact that two very big, vicious dogs were after me. The tattoos resembled two flintlocks and I didn’t remember ever getting them at all, which was the crazy part. Perhaps, I had obtained the tattoo in a drunken stupor, but I don’t think the mystery of this strange tattoo would be that easy to decipher. True enough, I had been a slobbering drunk in the past. I wasn’t going to deny that. But I think I would have definitely remembered something as important as a tattoo.

The sound of water hitting the shore distracted me from my misfortune, knocking me back to my senses. I closed my eyes and faintly slept by a bark of a hidden tree.

2

The screeching noise of the night creatures woke me violently. I got up to my feet quickly and realized I had slept past the night. How could I have been so careless? With a duo of treasure dogs on my tail, I had to keep moving. The only problem is that I was lost. I scratched my head a little bit, confused and tired like a slave. My body had not yet fully recovered from my recent encounter. I felt my muscles stiffen up, whenever I moved my legs. Every part of my body was screaming in agonizing pain. I pried my mind away from it and focused on my surroundings. Where was I to be precise?

At night, even the most experienced huntsmen could get lost through the deep forests of Yogo. But it was dawn now, so it wasn’t as bad to see what was around me. Dragging my feet, I began to move east, in the direction of the rising sun, at a slow and steady pace. My head felt like a watermelon and it throbbed very hard frequently. I wanted to stop and rest; however, I couldn’t. As long as the dogs were after me, I couldn’t afford to relax and sleep. By now, Paul and Tye were halfway to Okaya, waiting for me somewhere along the way. I smiled at the thought of us reunited and saying stupid jokes to each other. Thinking back, I really wished I had voiced my opinion and stopped them from going forward with their plan to rob the caravan. No doubt, our actions were going to change our future—in a good or bad way. I halted and looked up. Was I going still heading east? I had lost sight of the sun above me, so I was definitely lost and possibly going in circles.

The trees all looked the same in every direction I looked. Nonetheless, I had to keep moving until I reached Okaya and met up with my friends. Finally, I came to the end of the dark forest and gazed further along the road. A band of caravans were approaching steadily across the road headed in the east direction. What great fortune, I thought out loud.

Limping and dizzy, I proceeded towards them only to fall down before I could reach them. There were so close and yet so far. I had to yell in order to get their attention. Oddly enough, they weren’t normal nomads I was accustomed to. More like soldiers and merchants guarding something very priceless and valuable. What could it be? What were they guarding? There were quite a few dozen of them and all heavily armed with swords, crossbows, and long spears. In my current condition, I couldn’t afford to ambush them since I needed their aid.

Help, I screamed at the top of my voice, unable to move from the ground

They noticed me and stopped. At first they were reluctant to approach me because to them a possibility it was a trap were great. Very smart, in my opinion!

I gazed up at them and smiled, hoping to prove to them that I wasn’t a threat. There was no response to my gesture for a few seconds. It was then, one is them approached and poked me with a spear.

Hey, you buffoon, I growled.

That really hurt more than the fatigue that I was feeling. What kind of response was this? Didn’t they consider me a human or did they think I was just playing dead?

He is still alive, the man with the spear yelled to the others.

Of course I am, you fool. I snapped at him.

How else could I have called out to them like I had? There was a lot of commotion between the men as they were deciding my fate.

Please someone save me from these idiots, I whispered silently.

They were well organized and armed, but certainly looked like imbeciles to me. I got a frightening chill at the thought of putting my life into their hands. What was to become of me?

Put him with the others, one of the men said. He looked like the squadron commander, or more like a head guard in charge. For some reason, he had a whip in his hands and was sitting on a chair, with four people holding the end of each leg. Wait a minute!

A whip, people chained down, and multiple guards?

It took me a short second to put the pieces together and figure out exactly who these people were. As soon as I did, I tried to make a run for it, but my body was too weak to move anymore. These people were not nomads, but slave traders coming from a country called Danku. They captured people and sold them for labor, entertainment and even food. How could I have been so stupid? I had to leave somehow before I became one of their thousands of victims. Beyond a doubt, an impossible task to accomplish at the moment. It was through sheer will-power that I could keep my eyes open at all. Every part of my body had gone numb and stiff from pain. Two men approached me and raised me up roughly, dragging me towards their caravan. They opened a huge caged caravan barred with steel and iron and threw me inside, without any mercy or remorse, and closed it shut tight. There was hardly any room inside, but that all didn’t matter to me. In that moment they put me down, I instantly fell asleep. It was uncomfortable and yet peaceful.

(6 years ago) ****

Riyo, come quickly at once, my mother said.

She was faintly smiling like usual, as she grabbed my curtains and opened them to let the light in.

Groaning out loud, I pulled away my silk sheets, my eyes still half open. I followed behind my mother, in my gold and silver sleeping garments.

Your father wishes to see you, she muttered, fixing my clothes.

What was this all about—early in the morning—that demanded my presence? I was arrogant and didn’t do anything unless I was asked to by either my father or mother. They were the only people I listened to. Everyone else was just amusement for my pleasure. I sighed out loud and put on my shoes slowly. For father to call me, it must have been really serious. Quickly, I moved through the castle, headed outside to meet my father. So early in the morning, everything around me was barely visible. There was an ominous fog surrounding the castle, limiting my gaze beyond what was in front of me. I yawned out loud as I thought of just retreating back to my bed, and pretending like my mother had not informed me. Wait, something was hidden in the mist. It was a feeling I had in my stomach. I tensed my body down and looked in every direction, in sheer anticipation. All of sudden, a short combat blade appeared out of nowhere coming towards me from the left side. Someone had thrown it, aiming for my chest. Thanks to my harsh training, I barely managed to avoid a fatal hit, as I ducked and rolled out of its way. I couldn’t see who had thrown it and why so early in the morning.

You call yourself the future King of Rogue? a voice spoke from within the mist.

It was one person I disliked the most who would do such a thing against me. I could recognize this voice even from miles away, literally speaking of course.

Hello, James, I replied, sounding calm as I brushed dirt off my chest. Yes, I am the future king of Rogue, something that you will never be, not in a million years.

Well, Riyo, I will let you in on a secret. The future is unpredictable. You might become the king or you might not. If I were you, I would watch my every step from now on carefully.

Is that a threat, James?

No, Riyo, just a bit of brotherly advice. Take it any way you see fit.

A boy with black hair and red sidelines came out of the shadow. As usual, he had a mean face that would scare most people. To my father, he was the ideal figure for a Rogue king. There was something sinister about my stepbrother I noticed since we had become siblings. My father had married again and had two wives, my mother and his. Even though we had stayed together for a decade, we had never gotten along not even once. However, there was one thing we both shared in common and that was to win Daphne’s affection. James tried to kill me not once, but numerous times when he saw me walking with Daphne. She was the daughter of the chief of arms in Rogue, and the only girl our age allowed in the palace. The servant girls were too old for us and a bit boring, if you would ask me. Daphne was different. I enjoyed being in her company even though half the time I didn’t know what she was talking about. She would sometimes zone out and just stare into the sky, whenever you were in a middle of a conversation. And like the rest of Rogue, she had an anger management problem. When she snapped, no one was safe.

Riyo, what were you doing? my father spoke to me from inside the fog. You can’t allow yourself to be caught off guard by anyone, not even in the comfort of your own dwelling.

So early in the morning I didn’t feel like using any part of my brain to do anything mentally challenging and definitely physically straining.

Come on, father, it’s too early in the morning and I don’t feel like working up a sweat, I whined out loud, yawning at the same time. Can we do the charade another day?

Suddenly, I felt a rage build up from within the fog. Father seemed angry with me. I could tell without having to see his face. It was followed by a loud growl that almost shook the sky apart. I moved away, sensing the impending danger slowly. My father was the most dangerous man in Rogue, when angered. His wrath brought forth destruction of catastrophic proportions and it seemed I had seriously angered him.

The next time I wish for a son, someone please give me a sword instead, my father yelled at the top of his lungs.

Okay! That really hurt. I think everyone in Rogue heard that remark. James was laughing in tears which really bothered me. As the fog cleared up, I could now see my father’s face clearly. His eyes were glowing red with anger like he had finally lost his sanity. In Rogue when people snapped, it was best to just run and avoid death at all cost. My father pulled out his short sword and came out after me. He moved in fast with his sword raised up high. My eyes almost popped out in shock. I quickly turned around and started to flee. Father chased me all over the palace and into the inner-city. It was nice to be finally outside the palace walls, but what soiled my joyful nature was my father’s intent to kill, and him also calling me an ungrateful son in public.

****

Wake up, someone growled, shaking me violently.

The voice belonged to one of the slave traders. I opened my eyes and saw that I was still in the crowded caravan and I had been shackled. My neck and muscles felt stiff like I hadn’t moved in days, while my stomach growled painfully. Just how long had I been asleep? It now seemed my past life was beginning to resurface in forms of dreams, whenever I closed my eyes to sleep. Almost every night for the past few weeks, I relived every part of my past life, detail for detail, and it tormented me deeply. Maybe I really did miss home. I truly wished there was a way I could turn back time and make everything right. Yes, if there was a way, I would find it. I was not about to give up, despite the obstacles that lay ahead of me. Putting my thoughts aside, I turned my head sideways and looked around at my new surroundings. The sun on my left side was about to set beyond the horizon as it lit a colorful pattern throughout the sky.

Where are we? I asked one of the slaves who was next to me. I rubbed my left wrist constantly, to ease the itching pain, my eyes dotting in every direction.

The cold chains were so tight they were peeling our skins off. The slave next to me was an old man. He was in his ripe old age, and he looked like he was suffering from a bad case of malnutrition. Not just him, but almost all of them. I could see the shape of their bones; there was hardly any meat on them. It seemed like they hadn’t eaten in weeks.

This is Rigudaya, the city next to Okaya, the old man said.

He started panting heavily after saying that. Clearly, he didn’t even have a lot of energy left to even speak. What horrible monsters these slave traders were. Why was such an atrocity left unchecked and allowed to continue? The bad things that happened in Danku were among some of the other heinous things to happen after the appearance of the Rainku. The world was descending into turmoil and those monsters were to blame for all of this. I could only hope one day, someone powerful enough would rise up and stop those fiends before it was too late. A noise distracted me and I turned my head back to look behind. Rigudaya seemed to be a very busy city from what I could see. Merchants and traders from all over the world were gathered to buy, sell, and trade stuff. There was also a horrible stench in the air all over Rigudaya. I tried to close my nose, but the smell was just too strong. I overheard one of the merchants say that there was a terrible accident that had befallen the city mine a day before we had arrived. A lot of people had died and some had claimed to have gotten strange powers while others claimed mental hallucinations. According to another miner who claimed he was down there, the Rainku had opened the white water mist in effort to attain great power. However, things had not gone according to their plan. Which might explain this terrible stench engulfing the city and spreading fast everywhere. They were fools, in my eyes. My whole world was filled with them. There were even instructions, from ancient times, warning people not to temper with the mist and yet they had ignored them. I noticed some of the merchants leaving as the strong smell of the mist began to thicken heavily everywhere. This was not good for any of us at all. It seemed to also contain a poison too inside because a few of the captives alongside me were collapsing from being exposed to it. I was affected too, but fortunately I didn’t collapse like the others.

Everyone, try to hold your breath, the old man next to me whispered to the other captives. What madness, I thought. Those words seemed pretty vain to me. It was futile to hold our breath because there was no telling when the mist would disappear.

Trust me on this, he reassured us.

I still didn’t listen to him. In my mind, I had already given up hope and realized that I was going to die here. All of sudden, a wormhole, or black abyss as we called it, opened right close to our position in the center of the city. It was the size of a small pond and growing in size and power slowly. I had never seen one up so close, only in books and stories. It swallowed down everything around it and we seemed to be on its next list of fatalities. I doubted that this wormhole was on a strict diet, so that meant we had to act fast to save ourselves. The guards who were stationed near the door of the caravan fled, giving us a chance to get out of the crowded caravan. Some of the captives, who could still move, grabbed the ones who had fallen unconsciousness and dragged them out of the caravan, to seek refuge away from the strong winds.

What on earth was going on? Something like this was very unusual and just downright creepy. Without warning, I felt my eyes become itchy and painful, a kind of sensation that deserved my utmost attention. One problem—my mobility was limited due to the shackles binding me. I wanted to rub them, but couldn’t, not unless I could somehow break away these chains of slavery. I could barely see now, as it seemed something was affecting my sight. Although, there was one good thing happening in our favor—the strange mist. It was weakening due to the effects of the dangerous wormhole close to our location. Still, our situation did not improve one bit. We were in trouble because the wormhole kept getting bigger and stronger. Its destructive power unrivaled, none of us could do anything but hold on tightly for dear life. It was embarrassing enough that I had managed to get myself caught by slave traders without putting up a fight, but now I had regained my strength and still I wasn’t putting up a fight. The thought of it all only further angered me into remorse. A wail of a scream swooshed near my left ear, and I looked up to see who it belonged to. It was then I noticed some of the slave traders being swept away into the dark, bottomless hole. A frightening sight and fate that awaited us all, unless a miracle occurred. Were we going to survive this?

Everyone, keep holding on and don’t let go, the old man yelled.

I felt sorry for him. He must have been fatigued from all that yelling. His strength was failing him and yet he did not stop caring for his fellow captives, even though we all barely knew each other. I had to trust in him; I didn’t see any option other than do what he said. We kept hanging on for more than half an hour. A few objects came our way like swords, shields, guards and even house windows. Somehow, we all managed to evade them, thanks to the old man’s instructions. I think he could see into the future or something like that, and I was really sure of it. On second thought, if he could see into the future, how in his right mind had he gotten himself caught by these Danku slave traders?

As the dark clouds cleared, the strong winds started to disappear into the air slowly. It appeared as if the wormhole was losing its power and vanishing. I could not explain what just had happened and asking others about this seemed somewhat stupid. I mean, who could explain any of this? Not me, that’s for sure.

To be honest, I don’t think I wanted to know the truth in the matter—it seemed rather knotty. Finally, I released my grasp from the poll I had held onto for dear life and stood straight up. The others followed suit, gathering what they could from the wreckage. The city looked deserted now. Not a plain merchant or citizen in sight. The remainders were slaves and guards who had failed to escape in time. I walked closer to the guards and noticed that