Blueberry!” Nira sprung right into action. In times like these, you only had two choices. 

One: Ask the merchant nicely.

Two: Punch the shit out of them.

Easiest decision of her life.

“Grit your teeth, market man. This might sting a little.” She hurled the charm towards the merchant at breakneck speed. 

God’s Grip, a charmed artifact that could pull the user towards its location faster than any man could blink. As long as it remained within one’s line of sight, that is. A walk in the park for Nira. A true prodigy in almost anything she put her mind to (or forced to), Nira’s prowess allowed her to take this concept a step further. If she could visualize the charm’s location… She could activate it all the same. A trick not even her mentor had accomplished.

“Don’t want to get in? Well, too b—Ugh!” Nira’s right fist crashed into the bearded bastard’s jaw. All the momentum from the charm’s pull enhanced Nira’s strength. The merchant not only lost consciousness instantly, but he also lost the rest of his teeth (to be fair he only had three left). A glorious sight to behold.

“Don’t you dare hurt my bird!” The merchant flew across the marketplace before crash-landing on a jeweler’s stand. She held back somewhat. Nira picked up Blueberry and brought him in close for an embrace.

“Are you okay?”

“Squawk!”

“You’re such a good sport! You didn’t transform just like I taught you. I’ll get you a treat once we get Mr. Kook’s money.” With Blueberry now safe, they could make their way to Ina but Nira wasn’t about to ignore the dozens of other poor animals stuck in cages. They were harmless, mostly, and they didn’t deserve to be put into a metal box so a grimy sales crook could make a few coins off of them.

“Lio could make quick wo—OH MY GOD!” Lio’s dagger flew across her face. She almost failed to stop herself before the dagger deepened her scar or worse, flew right into her skull.

The blade moved on its own, slashing every lock open with relative ease before returning itself to Lio’s holster.

“Way ahead of you.”

“How did you find me?”

“Not a lot of hooded women punching merchants to a pulp in Meriun. We need to hurry to Ina since you put that slimy bastard in a coma and a target on our back. The guards will be after us any second and Meriun isn’t exactly tolerant of criminals. Less so of ones with a Hain-made arm.”

“You heard her. Take us away, Blueberry!” Blueberry nodded in agreement. The bird took to the skies and grew. His claws sharpened like daggers and the cyan sheen on his feathers darkened to a deep navy like that of the sky during the early tidings of dusk. The once small, frail bird transformed into a beast at least thirty times its original size. This was the nature of Blueberry, a rare creature that could alter its size at will.

“See ya later, Meriun!”

Nira, Lio, and Blueberry took to the skies. The guards arrived a moment too late, and pointed their weapons, flailing about like children on a playground.

“I almost forgot to ask, but you made sure Mr. Kook could pay us right?”

“Of course I did.” A lie that Nira feared Lio would call her out on. Mr. Kook promised a big payout… And if all else failed they could take his gear as payment. Self-proclaimed or not, the old man crafted impressive weaponry.

“Of course you did…” Nira and Lio rode Blueberry westward in search of the Temple of Jarr.

THE JUNGLE DESERT OF INA—EARLY EVENING

A few hours west of Meriun, they reached Ina, a coastline region. Named after the race of Giants that once prospered in the land, now it was a little more than a graveyard of a civilization lost to civil war. Nira admired the few stories she’d heard of the Ina, mostly from Lio, as they carried a warrior spirit akin to her own.

“This is crazy… I can’t believe it’s even real.” Lio interjected.

Nira snapped back to the present. “It’s unbelievable up close. I prefer the Sky Islands though.”

“I don’t. It took weeks for the zombie lizard stench to go away.” She shivered.

“True, but still I can’t deny it looks beautiful.” If there was one place with no equal, it was the Jungle-Desert of Ina. A sprawling landmass that changed its entire topography as the sun fell. During the day, a scorching blanket of sand known for its poisonous “mirage pools” that masqueraded as water sanctuaries. Being near them injected hallucinations into the brain, and for those brave, and ignorant enough to take a sip… A quick, yet excruciating death would follow.

Now, as night fell, and the moonlight beamed down on the desert sand, the spontaneous growth of all kinds of fauna transformed the sandy dunes into a dense jungle scape. Unlike most plants in Mara, the ones in Ina gathered their sustenance from moonlight. To see this occur in real time was like witnessing a shooting star, a fleeting yet unforgettable moment.

“It’s almost as stunning as the crystal shrine back home.” Lio said.

“It is…” With the sun out of the way, she could relax in the safety of night and take off her hood. Finally. Her silken black locks lay slicked back alongside a braided pattern she learned from her mother. Lio noted that it looked like a lion’s mane, but less graceful. It was a simple style, not that it mattered to Nira what it looked like. All she cared about was that it helped her hair stay put.

“Right… We should find a good place to land.”

“What do you mean? We’re not even close to the tem—” She raised a hand acknowledging her blunder. “Shut it. I got it.”

“Very good. Very good. The answer is…”

“It wouldn’t be as fun.” Lio said in monotone.

Nira nudged Lio’s shoulder with glee. “Take us down, Blueberry!”

They descended into the depths of the Jungle, much to Lio’s dismay. Nira had to push Lio’s buttons, or else they’d be stuck taking the safe way in every job they took. Not the most exciting way to go about things.

The inside of the jungle was thick with trees, vines, bugs, and pretty much every other standard feature you’d find in any other jungle in Mara... Except for one tiny difference. 

“AAGHHHHH!!!!” A man yelled from a distance.

“And so it begins, the tale of how Lio died an early death following a danger-obsessed freak.” Lio unmounted from Blueberry.

“Weird, not many people come out to Ina… On purpose, anyway. An ignorant tourist, maybe?” Nira said.

“Whoever they are, it sounds like they’re in trouble. Let’s check it out.”

Lio’s strong sense of altruism never ceased to annoy Nira. Although she tried her best to hide it. Getting involved with others only complicates things. Jobs and requests aside, Nira tried her hardest to avoid this as one could never tell people’s true intentions, friend or otherwise. Between arguing with Lio or keeping her mouth shut, she decided to put aside her reservations and pursued the echoes of the man’s screams.

They nestled into a patch of greens, where they saw a man with messy black hair fighting against an absolute unit of a baboon monkey. The baboon wielded a wooden club and a rank set of rotten teeth. Mr. Kook would be right at home. 

“What the fuck is that?!” Lio shouted.

The baboon riled itself with a battle cry.

“Our first battle, come on. Let’s take it down.”

Nira flipped her charm and grinned at Lio. “Are you ready?”

In times like these, a sword came in handy. It was fortunate then that her Hain arm served more functions than that of a shiny metal prosthetic. With the press of a button, Nira had access to several forms, each with its own set of perks. Her favorite? A cleaver-like blade perfect for chopping up monsters, blood-thirsty baboons included.

“Can’t say I’m fully ready given the size of the thing, but sure.”

“We’ll work on your confidence later. Let’s go!”

***

The man’s struggle with the ape continued and not in his favor. The beast smacked his weapon aside and snuck a crushing fist into his stomach. He gasped for air that would not come. 

Shit! 

The giant ape’s blade dragged through the air itself, inching ever closer to sever his neck.

“Move to your left!” A woman’s voice called out to him.

He thought it was impossible. The pain, the shock, his will devoid of any fighting spirit… And yet somehow, he mustered the will to move out of the way at the last second. His head would survive another day attached to his neck.

A dagger flew past him and struck the ape in its sword-wielding arm. The beast hollered in pain. It tried to reach for the dagger, but it escaped from its grasp just as quickly as it had pierced its skin.

“Not quick enough, you brute!” She smirked. “You okay?”

He gestured at his beat-up self. “Could be better.”

“Good e—Watch out!” The elf-woman grabbed his arm and dove out of the way to evade the ape’s fierce swing. The giant ape stomped its feet on the ground and pounded its chest.

“You have good reflexes. You can relax now, Nira’s gonna end this quick.”

“Nira?”

Another woman, Nira he assumed, appeared above the creature with a sword for an arm pointed downwards at its skull.

“I’m feeling jealous, monkey man. Why don’t you spare a glance my way too?”

He doubted if he remained conscious or had gone under long ago. Hardly anything made much if any sense anymore. It all happened too fast to keep up with.

How did she get up there?

The creature lifted its blade to counter her attack. This did not work. Nira parried the blade and landed on the creature’s shoulders.

GASH!

Nira’s sword plunged straight through the giant monkey’s neck. As the final embers of life left its body, it slumped down to the ground and Nira dislodged her blade.

“That was… Surprisingly easy.” She sighed.

“Just be grateful it was. Who knows what’s waiting in that forsaken temple…”

He stared in awe at the two women who had saved his life. He’d never seen two people, let alone a human and an elf together, fight with such confidence. “Who are you two?”

“I’m Lio, an elf. Obvious enough, I’m sure.” She pointed at her ears.

“The barbarian that killed the giant monkey is my best friend, Nira.”

“Barbarian?!” Nira gasped.

“I’m Gayne. Thank you for saving me.” He grimaced.

“Why are you in Ina? Not a lot here except for giant monkeys, ruins, and death.” Lio helped him sit down.

“An old man commissioned me to find a sword for coin…”

“Mr. Kook, that senile conman! That’s the last time I help an old man in Meriun.” Nira pressed something on sword, and it transformed back into an arm. Hain tech.

“He mentioned others were on the job as well… He figured he would increase his chances by asking others.” Gayne glanced at Nira’s arm. While her violet eyes rejected a Hain heritage, that arm raised suspicion. He did not deem this the right moment to ask.

“I’m not Hain.” She stated, picking up on his unrest.

“No, I know… I just… It’s nothing. Thank you, again. Although, I’m afraid it was for naught.”

Of course, there had to be a catch. Gayne suffered a large wound on his stomach. He didn’t register it earlier during battle, but the large blood pooling in his undershirt proved enough evidence. A cruel joke, he thought. He didn’t even reach the damn temple and already death waved at him from beyond the mortal realm.

“I can’t die here… Shit.”

“And you won’t.” Lio nudged Nira.

Nira groaned. Gayne sympathized with her hesitance. If their roles were reversed, he doubted he would’ve bothered helping them fight at all. However, what kind of help they could provide, left him at wit’s end. The nearest city was a full day’s walk, and he’d be lucky to last even half as long as that.

“Fine. Blueberry will take you to the nearest town, but you’re on your own from there.” A cyan-feathered bird perched on her shoulder. The bird chirped in delight with her gentle pets.

“Blueberry? The bird, you mean?” 

“Yes, and not just a bird. He’s my friend.” Nira’s cold stare sent shivers down his spine. This woman… Who is she? A darkness lingered beneath her words, one that he understood more than most. Related to the Hain? He thought. As a stranger, however, Gayne knew better than to ask. Whatever the reason for it, he figured Nira fought her demons every day much like he did his own.

“Make sure Blueberry comes back unscathed, Gayne. I don’t want to scour across the continent to kill a stranger.”

CHAPTER ONE END.

TRANSMISSION START

OPERATION “CAPTIVE SUN”

TRANSMISSION LOG #10

DATE: 2000 A.S.

MERIUN CITY AT 1600 HOURS

ZEPPEN MORAN - RECON DIVISION AGENT 2ND RANK.

Target is unaware of our surveillance, or at the very least they have not confronted me if they have noticed my presence. Today they caused havoc in the city, assaulting an exotic animal dealer in broad daylight. Typical aggressive behavior for the target. Based on the intel I was able to gather, they seem to be headed to Ina to recover a rumored blade slumbering in a temple.

Lastly, I should note that as I’ve mentioned in all previous reports, they exhibit no desire to use their abilities.

END OF TRANSMISION.

Author's Note:

First chapter done! Some more questions and not a lot of answers... For now! What was your favorite moment of chapter one?

Let me know in the comments below!

- Juan