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Dust Warrior - Chapter 1

Luciola Forest

By Nikky Affolder-WalkerPublished 2 years ago 18 min read
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Dust Warrior - Chapter 1
Photo by Sebastian Unrau on Unsplash

 Nikawa Fleetfoot was excited to start this grand adventure of becoming a Dust Warrior. She had heard so many amazing stories and she wanted to be the subject of those stories. The honor and glory that would be given to her clan as a result was incredibly important to her. In the land of Ogawa, the Fleetfoot clan were not at the bottom of the social totem pole, but they also were far from the top. That kind of social climbing would benefit her clan in so many ways. Thinking of all the riches and glory to come she walks into the forest leaving a rather obvious trail with her large clunky boots. They weren't elegant, but they got her where she needed to go so, she wouldn't complain. She wondered though if perhaps her name should be Thunderfoot instead of Fleetfoot. Chuckling at her own jest she continued looking for the "dreaded" Wignow, honestly how difficult could it be to defeat the little puffball. Sure, she had little to no experience but some of the monsters she had heard about seemed silly and easily defeated. She felt confident in her abilities and in her desire to travel and get out of Ogawa. She not only wanted to bring honor to her clan, but she also longed for the ability to travel wherever she wanted and to have grand adventures like she used to read about Sagantha Woods from the Wild-Elf Woods series. It was amazing to think that she was finally on her way. Stopping for a moment she scanned her surroundings and wondered where in the world she would find a Wignow. As she walked, she noticed the forest becoming more dense and the light more dappled. Slowly it began to get truly dark as she traveled into the depths of the forest beneath great high Margo Monstera trees. They had large green leaves that had what appeared to be tears and holes in them, but it's just how the leaves grow. It isn't damage of any kind. Stopping she stared up at the nearest Margo Monstera and reached as high as she could to pluck a leaf and study it more closely. As she did, she heard a rustling in the underbrush ahead of her and stopped. Her eyes strained into the shadows trying to determine what might be lurking there. The rustling became louder followed by some grunts and Nikawa felt her heart begin to beat fast. Suddenly when she felt she could take it no longer a smallish green ball of leaves came flying out of the bush.

Nikawa jumped back with a small scream of fright. She felt a bit silly when she realized it was indeed a small Wignow. Drawing her blade, she slowly approached the little beastie. Talking softly, she said little inane things simply to lull it into feeling safe. As she got closer the small creature blinked up at her with large innocent eyes. Even its fangs were small and cute. Suddenly she wondered if she could bring herself to kill such a sweet little creature. As she leaned forward to touch it, the entire time trembling slightly, the little monster came flying at er snapping at her hands. She stumbled back and the Wignow was upon her! She felt a fang scratch her right shoulder as the creature tried to bite her. Using all her strength she threw the creature from her and jumped to her feet blade ready. As the creature came rushing back at her, faster than she would've thought those little legs could go, she swung her sword and cleaved the Wignow in half! She stood panting over the green bushy body watching as the "leaves" covering its body turned brown. The entire thing was over in minutes, but it had felt like hours to her. Taking a few steps away from the corpse she plopped down on a moss-covered stump and worked to slow her breathing. She was glad to have finally found one and to know that they are more than they seem. She couldn't believe though that it had been so misleading. It looked cute and it looked as if it would've made a darling little pet. She knew better now and wouldn't let herself become complacent ever again. As she sat regaining her breath, she pulled a large velvety leaf from off a nearby bush and used it to clean her blade. She was frankly in awe of this leaf. It had an amazing texture and it smelled good. She wondered if this leaf might've been mentioned in the book she had been given by old Olive Hesslebush, the clan healer. Sheathing her small sword, she pulled the book out of her pack and began to review some of the different herbs and plants that were contained within to determine if there were any other uses for the plant. Finally, she found it, and apparently the colors ranged from red to purple mostly with a few rare orange varieties. As she sat reading, she became aware of someone watching her. The hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. Raising her eyes only slightly she looked left to right quickly to see if she could ascertain where this feeling was coming from. With a start she realized that straight ahead there were strange jewel-like eyes staring out at her from within another bush. She didn't recognize the look of the creature until it crept forward slowly. It was a Vi! She had heard of them; they were said to test one's endurance as were the more advanced version of this predator. The Vi looked cute, but from what she'd been told and her experience with the supposedly sweet looking Wignow had taught her to put more faith in the stories that she had been told. Standing slowly, she again drew her blade. The Vi pulled back seeming hesitant to move forward anymore. Looking down it stared at the remains of the Wignow. Slowly the lips pulled back in what Nikawa first thought might be a smile, until she realized that it was in fact a snarl. Standing ready she waited to see if the Vi would attack. She didn't have to wait long before it was upon her. The creature was fleet of foot and because it was small it was hard to hit and slipped between her legs easily. It launched itself at the stump she had been sitting on then turned and leapt at her back, clinging to the back of her leather jerkin. Nikawa squealed and swung her sword behind her to dislodge the creature. With a howl it fell to the ground bleeding profusely where the blade and separated its hand from its body. Looking on in horror Nikawa watched as the creature howled again and then turned to scurry off into the forest. She collected her things into her backpack and decided she had better follow the Vi to make sure it was actually going to die. She didn't know much about the Vi and their larger more magical cousins, but she knew they often were found near each other, and she was fairly certain that one of the creatures had some kind of healing magic. Wanting to avoid any additional drama from the Vi, Viyu or Viyusa she followed the bloody trail the Vi had left. She kept her blade out just in case, and she tried to move as quietly as her large boots and the forest floor would allow. She heard another howl and ducked back when the answering growl sounded like it came from something much larger. She slowly moved around the rock she had ducked behind and stared out into a clearing with a circle of stones. It reminded her of the common area at home, where the people would all sit to listen to the Elder stories about the world. Could it be that the Vi species weren't much different than she and her own kind? It didn't seem likely, but then again what did she really know about them. She found the smaller howling Vi as it shivered before a larger Viyu that growled and made strange clacking sounds. The Viyu reached out its arms and Nikawa thought that perhaps it was a hug to comfort the Vi. It certainly seemed like it. The Vi burrowed its head into the chest of the Viyu and cried piteously. As Nikawa squatted down watching them she saw a much larger creature come into the clearing. It had a similar look but was twice the size of the Viyu and more menacing. It had an air of nobility she thought and then shook her head incredulously, 'nobility? really you are too much sometimes!' This must be a Viyusa. It came closer and bent down to look more closely at the Vi's injured arm. The face rippled and Nikawa blinked rapidly trying to comprehend what she was seeing. She had seen her own face for a moment reflected there in the Viyusa. She shivered as the face that was not quite hers looked up and their eyes met. Where her eyes were golden, the Viyusa's eyes were red as flame. Nikawa gasped and fell back behind the rock. She had better get out of there as quickly as possible. The air around her began to fill with howls one after another, putting her to mind of alarm bells. Her heart pounding, she took off at a dead run. She could hear something, or perhaps multiple somethings crashing through the brush behind her. Her arms and legs pumping she ran faster than she ever remembered running and cursed her short legs for not being able to make long bounding strides to outpace her pursuers more easily. As she leapt a fallen tree she landed in a small hole and tripped over a branch sticking off the far side of the tree. She went flying her arms windmilling trying to stop her forward momentum, but it didn't help, and she hit the ground hard rolling away and skidding over a small overhang. She landed hard the wind knocked from her lungs and pressed herself back against the shallow cave wall hoping that whatever chased her would not find her. She saw three Wignows and another larger beast. She thought it was perhaps an Awa with a Vi astride, but she wasn't sure as it went by so quickly. After a few minutes of sitting, she heard snuffling nearby. Something was coming out of the bushes to the left of her shelter. She pulled the hammer from her belt and prepared herself for what was to come. It was two of the Wignows! She leapt forward as she heard a snarl erupt from the larger of the two. Swinging the hammer, she brought it down on its head just as the third Wignow appeared. Cursing again she wondered if the Vi and Awa would be along soon or perhaps, if she was lucky, they had gone a different way. She hoped they had. With another hard swing she knocked the second Wignow to the side. It whimpered and the third Wignow rushed to its side. It almost sounded as if they were talking, albeit in a language she could not fathom. The first Wignow that had taken the blow right above its eyes was laying before her in a crumpled heap with a viscous golden liquid spilling out of its broken body. There was no light in the eyes, so it was dead, and somehow seeing the other two she felt bad. The one was whimpering and dragging a broken leg while the other Wignow stared at the larger of their comrades, lying dead in a pool of its own fluids. With a sudden snarl and almost human like cry the third Wignow launched itself at her. It was the size of the second Wignow but much quicker. It moved like a whirlwind spinning this way and that raking sharp claws across her body whenever possible. Twice the Wignow’s efforts paid off. One of the blows landed on her back, and thankfully her Jerkin protected her. She had three streaks across her left forearm and a slash at the shoulder where the jerkin did not cover. She continued to swing her hammer at the beast but it was just too quick for her to hit it, so she drew her blade and lunged at the creature to make an end of it. As her blade pierced the center of its bushy chest the injured Wignow set to wailing and crying, almost screaming with its loss and pain. Unable to bear the sound and not wanting the Awa and Vi to come back for her she moved quickly forward and stabbed the beast through and heard the shriek turn to a murmuring gurgle. It sounded like perhaps she had hit the lungs. She watched its mouth moving as if gasping for air and she felt her heart moved by its suffering. This time she took aim in the center of the body, and it stilled abruptly.

'I think I may need to do more studying to learn the anatomy of these creatures. Understanding how they work would help me to dispatch them quickly and with less pain.' She knew they weren't her own kind and they were considered monsters, but there was something there that tugged at her heart. As she moved forward, she went slowly and tried to be as quiet as she could. She knew that if the Vi and Awa were anywhere near, they would have heard the commotion. She was just thinking how she didn't want to run into them unexpectedly when she began to climb through a tangle of tree limbs and brush that had grown thickly together. As she cleared the obstacle, she let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding and looked up into the cold jewel like eyes of a Vi astride a purple horned Awa. Nikawa leapt backwards into the bramble to avoid a swipe of the Awa's tail which appeared to be tipped with armor like spines. Scrambling away she put some distance between them while the Vi screamed at her in rage. Picking up a rock that fit nicely in her palm she pulled out the hammer and took aim. She tossed the rock up and swung with all her might connecting the rock with the hammer in a loud THWACK! The stone split in two and went flying towards the Vi, one stone sliced across its cheek and the other went into the eye. The Vi screamed and fell backwards off the Awa. Stunned Nikawa just stood there staring while the frightened Awa reared and trumpeted a loud call. It turned to flee and as it did, its front hoof came down on the Vi's leg and it screeched in pain sending the Awa flying. Nikawa approached the Vi carefully and saw that this one had been dressed differently, more like a warrior whereas the first Vi seemed to have simply been wondering about and had wondered into the wrong place at the wrong time. The Vi that lay before her stared at her out of the one good eye and spoke in a low growling voice. While it was rough, it sounded like "Cursed" in the common tongue. With a frown Nikawa asked "Cursed?" and as she watched the light left those jewel-like eyes and the Vi went limp. Cautiously she moved towards the body, she reached out with her sword tip to prod it. There was no response so she pushed it over and decided she would inspect it and see what she could learn. As she leaned over the body of the fallen Vi she marveled at the coloring. Bright hues of purple, pink and blue. The eye that had been damaged oozed a purplish liquid that she took to be the creature’s blood. She realized as she watched it that the beast was clothed. That seemed like an unlikely situation for a monster to be wearing clothes. In fact, this looked like rough riding gear.

Leaving the Vi behind Nikawa decided it was probably best that she head back to town to report to Tesven on her successful quest completion. He had ordered that she kill 4 Wignow, she had done so but had also added one Vi to the death toll and a second Vi was severely injured. She thought Tesven might then take her seriously. Looking around Nikawa realized she was in an area of the forest she wasn't familiar with. It was lighter, but it still wasn't bright and there were strange thick ropes strung between the trees. One of those ropes hung down and walking up to inspect it she noticed it glistened slightly in the sunlight that passed across it as leaves swayed in the breeze. Reaching out she touched it and found that it was rather sticky, when she tried to pull her hand back the sticky rope clung to her. She tugged again, but still her hand was stuck. She felt a quivering vibration along the vine; looking up she found to her horror an Aracni descending towards her! That's all she needed was to become a giant spider's lunch. Tugging harder she was almost free and the Aracni sensing the escape of her prey descended even more swiftly. Finally, her hand pulled away with a moist sucking sound and she toppled backwards head over heels. Using that momentum, she stopped in a crouch and drew both her sword and her hammer. The Aracni was big. Bigger than she had realized. She had heard that they were large, but this was almost half her size! She looked at the spindly legs and the orange gem like globes glistening on its back and shivered. The beast scuttled forwards it's pincher mouth clacking loudly. As it came nearer, she could see her reflection in the many mirror-like eyes. She lunged towards it and swung her sword lopping off a front leg at the joint. The spider reared up making a strange sound that was somewhere between a growl and a scream. She moved quickly landing a glancing blow off the spider's side, she had been aiming for the underbelly, but the spider had turned aside at the last moment. The beast still had several legs and they each ended in a sharp claw. The spider swiped at her and using her hammer she deflected the blow, but not without the claw catching on her sleeve and tearing it. She was relieved it hadn't broken the skin. She knew their bite was venomous, but she wasn't sure if the claws also contained venom. This was a failure to prepare on her part. She started to back away and the Aracni rushed her. Swinging the sword in her left hand she managed to remove part of another leg and as the spider tipped off balance, she brought the hammer around for a crushing blow to the head. The Aracni crumpled in a heap at her feet the legs twitching. She surveyed her surroundings for more of the creepy crawlers but saw none. When the spider finally stopped twitching, she moved forward to collect what she could from it.

A little while and a lot of sweat later she picked up her now bulging backpack and the sack she had fashioned out of Margo Monstera leaves and reviewed the pocket map she had. She realized that she was traveling in the wrong direction and cursed quietly. With a sigh she began to pick a somewhat circuitous route to avoid entering the Vi territory. As she began to skirt that area she came across a lone Awa. It was crying piteously, and she could see a small saddle on its back. This must've been the Vi's steed! Feeling somewhat sorry for the beast she tried to approach slowly speaking in a soft voice and holding out her hand to be sniffed. The beast tensed as she got closer and then bared its teeth and growled menacingly at her. She watched as a ridge of fur along it's back stood on end in tiny spikes. She stopped moving and just stared at it. They weren't really that big and resembled somewhat the weasels she knew in Ogawa. The weasels were quick and could be vicious if provoked. Slowly she took a step back and the Awa advanced still growling. As she continued to move away, she realized that it had a feral kind of intelligence. Perhaps it recognized her smell from earlier. She pulled out her sword prepared to fend it off when suddenly down from the trees came another Aracni! She watched as it snatched up the Awa winding it tight in its sticky thread and began to feed. Nikawa felt sick watching it. She was also a bit concerned there were other Aracni around and as tired as she was, she didn't think she could take on another one. She took off at a run, her pack and makeshift bag bouncing along with her. She ran for what felt like hours finally bursting out of the trees at the edge of the village. Finally she could stop and breath. She placed her hands on her knees and bent over blowing hard. She hadn't run like that in quite some time and while she was in good shape the rigors of multiple monster battles along with the run had done her in. Giving herself a once over she decided her injuries were minor, mostly scratches and a few abrasions so she could skip the healer. Picking her bag back up she made her way to Tesven's home on the other side of the village. 

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About the Creator

Nikky Affolder-Walker

I am a wife, a mother of 3, a pet mom & I have a B.A. in Psychology & Womens Studies. For many years I've put off my dream of writing to take care of my family & I'm grateful to have found Vocal. It's never too late to live your dream.

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