Matthew Wolf [Wolf - Legends

LEGENDS
A Ronin Saga Short Story
Matthew Wolf

2019 Matthew Wolf
All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the authors imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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MATTHEW WOLF

LEGENDS

A RONIN SAGA SHORT STORY

Contents

Legends

362 D.L.
362 Years into the Lieon, The Great War, the Last True Council

Kail felt the crust of blood crack and flake off of him as they stormed through the halls in the city of wind. With every step his pace quickened to the councils chambers. They had been betrayed. But they would find the culprit and seek their vengeance, or all the world would fall.

Flanking him were the other Ronin. Eight heroes who echoed his urgency. As always, Omni, Ronin of sun, and Maris, Ronin of leaf, were the nearest twohis closest companions. The others were not far behind. Water, fire, stone, moon, sun, leaf, metal, flesh. Together including him, they were the nine elemental guardians of the world and the supposed protectors of Farhaven. Yet here they were, destined to fail mankind in its final hour.

Kail wouldnt let it end this way

As they moved, guards, servants, and couriers stared at their bloodied clothes and pressed against the wall as they passed, watching them like angels of death.

On his right, the dawning sun shone through the column of pillars. The hallway was open to the elements, revealing a city to rival all citiesthe legendary Morrow, city of wind. Clouds floated by, and he caught glimpses of the rest of the city: dozens of behemoth floating rocks suspended in midair by rising winds. Each held a tiny city, connected by elaborate bridges. On each floating rock and adorning the cityscape were thousands of windmills utilizing the ever-present gusts to power the Great Kingdom.

Even from here, Kail felt it the wind. It rushed up from all angles, flowing over the columns and rising like tiny white snakes vanishing into the air. If anyone peered down into that rushing wind, they would see the giant updrafts of air supported a thing of miracleswhole cities, floating on islands of rock, suspended in midair by the rising winds.

But despite the wind that spiked his senses, feeding his ire and powerthe grandeur of the Great Kingdom was far from his mind.

They reached the council chambers metal-strapped doors flanked by two hulking guards. The guards moved for the handles. Kail didnt slow. He nodded to Baro, the giant Ronin of Metal. An arsenal of weapons bristled from Baros hulking frame. It was truly a sight, even from one legend to another. Heavy armor adorned the man from head to toe. Plate upon his arms, legs, dark metal rivets of forged from Yronia on his joints. At any seeming crack, was a thin veneer of scale mail, tiny bright metal plates. There was not an inch of the man, aside from his face, that wasnt covered in metal. Though his weapons was what made most balk in fear.

Baro bore two swords on his back, hammers, daggers, a spiked morningstar, and even a metal crossbow peaked above his shoulder. Each he had mastered, making mortal men who trained for years with blade or bow seem sluggish and awkward by comparison. At Kails gesture, Baro grunted in affirmation and raised a hand. Immediately, threading the flow, the metal hinges sizzled and fell into molten puddles making the heavy doors groan, now unsupported. Without slowing, Kail whisked a finger and summoned his own power of the flow, the essence of all life and the power of the Ronin.

Each had their strengths: Omnis sun had vast, devastating force and accuracy, Aurelious flesh for its healing abilities and unique conjuration, Aundevorias stone for its protection, Seths fire for its unbridled, wanton destruction, Dareds moon for its stealth and guile, Hirons water for its creative applications, Maris leaf for its cunning and power to restore the lands, Baros metal for its talent at dissolving the world of mans creations, and for his skill with a blade. Yet wind was something else.

As wind and air were everywhere, Kail was the most powerful of all.

The flick of his finger was more than enough. A colossal surge of air smashed into the door, sending it sprawling across the marble floor. Ah, good, I never understood why that door was there anyway, Maris remarked as the nine Ronin stepped over it, and slid past the guards who cowered against the wall.

As they entered the chambers, heated voices cut short, fancifully dressed men and women turned from a stone slab piled high with maps.

Inside, if he cared for such things, he would have gawked at the grandeur of the chambers. The Hall of Wind was breathtaking.

A large round floor was where the assembly stood. Ringing them was a series of nine round pedestals, topped by glass cases hard as steel. Each of the cases held one of the nine stones. Water, moon, stone, metal, fleshthey swirled with power and their respective element, but none dare touch them. The stones, powerful relics kept under lock and key upon penalty of death at all times, were perhaps the only objects they had kept away from the dark legions.

Aside from the stones, thick pillars held up an arched ceiling carved with an elaborate scene. Kail knew the fresco. He had even seen it commissioned on his seven-hundred and eighth birthday. It was the Legend of the Ronin, their origin, as told by the city of wind. It was just a storyeach Great Kingdom had built their own over the long years. Yet he couldnt deny the image was wondrous.

The paintings central figure depicted a wizened old man descending on a glowing cloud. Nine others were beside him. Silver and gold clouds roiled as if the very heavens were their entourage . The wizened old man was God, or what man thought of as God. He had other names too. Among them were: the Creator, Lightbringer, Waterbringer, Master or Mistress of Shadows, Windbringer, The Great Spirit, and more. Each Great Kingdom had their own story for the origin of the Ronin. At their heart, they were the same. Each told of a figure leading nine apostles, or demi-gods, to the world of mortals to save humanity from itself. Yet the image was wrong. Kail wasnt a demigod, nor was he immortal, and most undeniably, he could not save mankind.

Beyond the pillars was an impossible drop. With no walls, the room known as the Hall of Wind seemed perched upon a cloud, overlooking the world. The air was thin and hard to breathe. They were too high for most birds to fly. For a moment, his ire waned, in a strange reverie As if consumed by a thought that wasnt his own, and yet it was Birds. Kail had always marveled at birds and their power of flight. They, above all, were light and free. Boundless, even, he thought enviously. Often he wondered what it would take to fly. Despite nearly a thousand years of life and the ability to wield one of the nine great elements, no thread he had ever woven could accomplish the feat. To attempt it truly would require a death wish, a desire to end it all and see what waited on the other side.