Sythious: Paths Interlock

By Brandon Edmonds
Enter the lands of Sythious, where Draphious, Emeraldia, Animia, and the Golden
Empire coexist. Draphious has invaded Animia and killed all of the Dragon lords who control it,
but they've missed one. A young warrior named Soarin survived the invasion and has started a
rebellion against the Draphions. The Iron Guild, a guild of adventurers, has taken interest in the
conflict, and has dispatched a team consisting of one runaway slave, an exile, a disgrace, and a
demigod to investigate what has happened to the last dragon lord and to recruit new members
for the guild. How will these events play out?

Chapter one
Grace are you sure you're OK! A teenage boy with brown hair shouted.
The boy wore a plain black shirt, a black combat vest with a half dozen or so knives on
it, and brown boots. He had two black and red feathered wings growing out of his back. His left
was curled up to his side. Blood dripped from the curled wing. The boy started speed walking
toward Grace.
It hurts to much Soarin, She said. She had an arrow sticking out of her calf coming in
from the back and half of it was coming out the other way. She limped forward trying to get over
to Soarin, but she tripped over a trees root that arched out of the ground. Soarin caught her as
she fell. He pulled her back up and put his arm around her shoulder while she did the same to
him. Soarins wounded wing stretched out and wrapped itself around her back to keep her from
falling over again. They walked like that for awhile trying to catch up with the others they were
fleeing with.
Grace limped forward with Soarin when they heard the screams of the other survivors
ahead and the sound of horses galloping. They turned left and came out of the trees unto a dirt
path. The path was littered with decaying orange leaves that made a cracking sound as the duo
stepped on them. As they followed the trail the screams stopped and the galloping started to
fade away. With those sounds gone all that was heard was bird chirping, cracking of leaves, and
their own breathing. Graces breath felt warm on Soarins shoulder. He knew he had to find
shelter soon or they would both die.
After a hour of walking Soarin came across an old abandoned cabin that had half of its
ceiling collapsed. On the still upright side there was a window and a doorway with the door lying
broken in two on the ground in front of it. A thick layer of moss had laid itself on the top of the
cabin and fell over the edges as if the cabin was wearing a dark green wig. Soarin dragged
Grace into the shack and laid her sideways onto the floor. He walked outside and found a large
stick and a heavy rock, while Grace drifted away into a dazed dream. He carried the rock inside
and rested Grace's foot on it and gave the stick to Grace who had woken up when he had put
her foot on the stone.
Grace put the stick in her mouth. Soarin put his hand on the end of the arrow and started
to push the arrow out of her calf. Blood squirted out landing on the floor in dark red drops. Grace
screamed in agony. Soarin gave one last push and the arrow was now only pointing out the
front of her calf. He grabbed the arrows head and began pulling it out this time. It came out with
one last pull. Now blood didn't trickle out, it flowed out. Soarin took off his shirt and started tieing

it around her calf. He then tightened it to keep pressure on the wound. Grace laid on the floor
and passed out.
He looked at the blood which had begun to seep through the cracks in the old oak
floorboards. He thought of his lessons with Master Atnom. If it wasn't for his lessons on quick
medical care, Grace would be dead and I would be all alone.
Soarin got up, walked outside, and started to look for herbs he could grind up and make
into some sort of medicine for her. After a hour or so he had enough herbs. Next he looked for
something to grind them with. He walked to the back of the cabin and found a decent sized
stone he could carry in his hands. Sure enough he found a stone, but not what he was
expecting. A huge slab of marble, the size of a table, surrounded by dozens of smaller ones lay
in the center of the over grown backyard with a dragon's emblem embedded in the marble.
Soarin reached for a stone. When doing so he cut his finger on the marble slab. His blood
dripped on the ground next to the slab, and he swore he had seen a flame burn the ground and
then snuff itself out. Maybe he was seeing things, or the stress of his day was catching up to
him. The sun was sinking into the horizon, lettin the night flood its darkness over the land.
Soarin stepped inside the cabin and laid himself next to Grace. He laid down on his face
allowing Grace to use his right wing as a blanket. Soarin whispered to Grace. Don't worry
Grace we'll make it through this. As Soarin was speaking the last rays of light disappeared and
the moon took full control over the skies.
Soarin awoke from his slumber to find that Grace had cuddled up to him. Her face was
only a few inches from his. He could smell her breath which wasn't all that good of a smell.
Ehh! He pulled back his head to escape from her breath. He stood up and gazed at her. She
was laying on her right side using her hand as a pillow. Two cat ears poked out of the top of her
head along with a tail above her behind. She wore a blue shirt with a brown vest over it, blue
jeans, and brown hide shoes. She had ash and dirt on her face, hands, and her dirty blond hair
which was now way more dirty.
The ash reminded him of what had happened less than twenty-four hours ago. Grace,
Soarin, and the other kids of their class where listening to their master(Master Atnom) on how to
counter attacks when unarmed. It was normal for them because their village was between two
rival countries the Golden Empire, and Draphious. As the day continued a guard came in the
room and asked Atnom to come with him, and handed him a note. He read it and looked
towards the class. Okay class everyone up we're going to have an evacuation drill. Everyone
started to get up from their desks and a majority pulled out combat vest which all had various
weapons such as Hatchets, and knives while the others pulled out satchels which carried
various medical supplies from bandages to needles and strings. The kids slipped them on and
started to form a single file line. The line followed the teacher and three guards through the
school to the back exit. Once out of the door the teacher told them not to turn around or to
panic. As they stepped out into the afternoon air Soarin of course being a trained warrior could
smell smoke in the air and took a glance toward his left shoulder. He saw a column of smoke
rising into the air just past the school, but an old oak tree blocked his view. Soarin was behind
Grace who was only a year younger than him. She didn't have a vest on, but a satchel because
she was a mage not a warrior.
Soarin looked at Atnom and asked, What's going on Master why do I smell smoke in the
air?

Ah, good question Soarin. Its probably a small fire from the bakery, and it wouldnt be
the first time old lady Hachured has burned that place down.
What if it is an attack? Grace joined in.
I assure you that even if we were under attack Soarins uncle would deal with it. As if
in response to what Atnom had said, a huge blue dragon flew overhead slicing through the air
like a bullet. The oak tree by the school was sliced in two by the dragon's razor sharp wings. As
everyone watched in aw as the dragon flew away toward the fire Soarin noticed shimmers in the
sky above but he couldnt tell what they were.
Soarin heard numerous thuds and several of the kids fell to the ground along with Grace
and a guard with arrows imbedded in them. Everyone one else ducked while the teacher
summoned a magic shield the size of three horse drawn carriages and made it hover about ten
feet off the ground blocking anymore volleys of arrows. A few of the mages started healing the
fallen like they had been trained while everyone else panicked. One kid, obviously a new
student, freaked out and ran off only to have an arrow go straight through his head. His body
slumped over and fell to the ground. Soarin started to access the situation. Okay, first the
smoke, then a dragon, and then the arrows. Soarin glanced at the boy had run off his body now
laid in a puddle of its own blood. What about the others? He spoke out loud.
Grace had started to cast a sealing spell to temporarily stop the bleeding. Blue and gold
particles of magic danced around the wound like they were playing ring-around-the-rosy. Once
she was done Soarin walked to her and helped her up. The teachers shield started to dissolve
its bark blue turning to a light red. Atnom shouted for everyone to get up and run toward the tree
line. Grace and a few other mages lagged behind because they were maintaining their spells
while fleeing. Soarin slowed his pace and looked up towards the sky. He saw another volley of
arrows arching towards them at high speeds. Soarin counted fifteen arrows in all. He threw his
knives at only the ones that he had calculated would hit anyone, because he was protecting
everyone else he didn't care for the arrow heading for him for he didn't have enough time. It ran
straight through his left wing. Pain surged in his wing. It sent him spiraling out of control landing
on his back. Grace saw him fall and ran over to help him up. The only reason why was because
he had helped her when she had got struck by an arrow, and partly because of his social status.
She slid to his side and sat on her knees. She examined his wing, the wing was a mess
blood soaked over his feathers and the arrow had hit an artery. Grace put her hands over the
hole and cast a healing spell and then switched to a sealing spell to seal the artery and bind the
flesh together like invisible stitches, but blue and made of magic. Soarin screamed in agony as
the spell was being cast. After a minute or so the spell was finished and Soarin was able to get
back up as if he had not just been struck by an arrow flying at high speeds, but it wasnt fully
healed blood still trickled out. Graces own sealing spell started to waver. Soarin didnt notice
though. He knew now it must have been Draphious that were attacking them, because the
arrows had come from the west toward the Draphious borders. Soarin and Grace both felt as if
they had a target on their backs as they jogged toward the eastern forest line. Ash had now
begun to drift down toward the ground laying itself down like a crisp black blanket. They had to
get out of range of the archers, and then try to find somewhere to hide. Once they got to the
forest line Graces spell finally broke and sent blue sparkles of magic flying into the air. She
winced as she stepped forward, and that was when she fell, Soarin had caught her, and they
had found this cabin.

After the flashback he walked outside looked toward the tree line that surrounded the
cabin and saw a shape coming out of the darkness of the forests shade. As the figure came out
into the light Soarins eyes widened, and he almost puked. His master Master Atnom that had
taught them since they were kids was there in front of him. He had a dagger stabbed into his left
arm, a massive burn covering half of his face, his right ankle was twisted to far to the left, the
purple and blue robes he wore were stained with either his blood of someone else's, and he had
tears streaming down his face. Run Soarin they're coming, Atnom said as he fell on his face
dead. Soarin heard loud shouts and an arrow whizzed by his face cutting his ear. He turned
toward the cabin and bolted away. As he dove into the doorway Grace jolted up in a daze she
looked at Soarin and panicked. She grabbed the arrow on the floor and held it like it was a
dagger. They took cover behind the wall as arrows flew at the cabin. Six knights in dark green
metal armour rushed forward with swords at the ready and bows and quivers on their back.
Soarin looked toward Grace and said, You wait here, I got this.
Soarin darted out of the door and pulled out two of his knives ready to fight. The first
knight to reach him swung a steel sword towards Soarins head, but Soarin ducked under the
swing and pushed his left knife into the space between the plating of the knights helmet and
chest piece. The knight dropped his sword, grabbed his neck which had blood gushing from it,
and fell to his knees gasping for air to no avail. The rest of the knights slowed to a rest. Two to
his left and three to his right. The two to his left rushed forward while the rest stayed their
distance. Soarin threw his right knife at the guy on the left who then stumbled back screaming
as he put his hands to his right eye. The second guy waved his war axe into the air ready to split
Soarin in half, but Soarin action rolled forward and grabbed the sword the first knight had
dropped. He blocked the blow, but he fell unto his back with the knight on top of him. Soarin
kicked his legs into the guy's chest. The man fell backwards onto his back as Soarin rolled
backwards, and stood up. Soarin flapped his wings to fly into the air. He winced in pain as his
wound from earlier had reopened sending him falling into the ground. The three other knights
rushed forward. One kicked Soarin as he was trying to get up. The second one dug his blade
into his right shoulder as the third stomped onto Soarins wounded wing.
As their barrage continued flames started to to incircle Soarin and the knights. The
flames blew into the air creating a wall of flames. The knights stopped their attack and looked
around scared. Soarins body started to shift and morph. Red spikes pointed out of his back
along his spine arching backwards, his torso bubbled up and formed a huge black scaly body
about teen feet long, his arms became pure scales, his fingers morphed into razor sharp claws
that extended out a foot or so, the legs did the same, his mouth joined together to form a snout,
his eyes sharpened and turned from a light blue to a blood red, his wings grew ten times their
original size the feathers falling off to show a skin that stretched between his wings bones, and
a tail grew from his lower back with the length of twelve feet long. The knights looked in horror
as the kid they had just been beating turned into a full grown DRAGON!
Soarin roared and chopped on the closest knight splitting him in half like breaking a doll
in half. He swallowed the knight whole without chewing. The two other knights backed up right
next to the flames. Soarin started to inhale the flames. The knights free from the fire wall fled.
Soarin blew the flames at the knights boiling them up in their own armor. He turned toward the
knight with the war axe and saw that he wasnt there anymore. The knight with the knife in his
eye was also gone.

Ahhhhh, he heard Grace scream.

He turned toward the cabin and saw the knight holding Grace as a shield with his war
axe against her neck. Its sharp steel pressing against her skin ready to slice through it like
butter. The guys hands were trembling. Soarin and the knight had a brief staring contest before
the knight dropped his axe on the ground, and held his hands up as a gesture of his surrender.
Please, dont kill me, the knights voice sounded muffled with a slight hint of fear. I'm
just following my orders nothing personal man!
Nothing personal, huh, Soarins voice was as deep as the ocean and the world around
him became a tunnel, his voice echoing off of everything. Youve murdered our people and
have disgraced our land with your barbaric ways. How will you atone for your savagery?
Ill tell no-one of your location. He pleaded.
I have a better idea.
Soarin was conjuring up another fire ball like the one he had used before. As he readied
it, Grace jumped in front of his massive jaw. He swallowed his fire ball with a big gulp. She
looked at him with a stream of tears rolling down her face merging together at her chin and
dropping to the ground at her feet. Nooo! Soarin you can't kill him! She shouted through her
tears.
What do you mean! He could have killed you! Soarin raged back at her.
Thats the point, he could have killed me but didn't.
Soarin glanced between her and the knight to the axe that now sat in a patch of grass
several feet from the knight who at this point was backing up toward the tree line. You can go
as long as you tell your superiors that what they have done will not go unavenged. With those
final words the knight turned tail and bolted as fast as he could in the opposite direction of
Soarin. Soarin heard a crack of a stick behind him and saw the Knight that he had forgotten
about with a bow drawn. He released the string and the arrow flew through the air and found its
target. Soarins left eye now had an arrow attached to it. His eye became a water hose with dark
crimson blood spraying out of it.Soarin tumbled back into the old cabin. The cabin caved in as
the several hundred pound dragon crushed it.
Grace stared at the knight not in shock but in anger. She cast a light blue spark spell that
swirled around both her hands. She stuck her hands out and forced the spell to rush forward
toward the now defenceless knight. He tried to shield himself by crossing his arms in an X
shape, but it didn't help him at all. The sparks like lightning bolts spread themselves up his arms
and throughout his whole body. He fell to the ground shaking like he was having a seizure. After
a couple of seconds he stopped moving completely, and that was the first time Grace had killed
someone and it wouldnt be the last. She looked down at her hands which were know numb and
started to freak. She shook her head left to right clearing her mind. She rushed over toward the
cabin where Soarin had falling. He now lay there in his animan form, but his wings were no
longer feathered they had shed their feathers to reveal a red leathery skin that formed between
three sharp bones. He now looked like a true half dragon. He also still had his clothes on of
course.
She hauled him off of the ground and started walking south toward a snowcapped
mountain which would be their home for the next year while Draphion forces took over the rest
of the Animias territories. Now with the ever growing conflict in the Animia territories will anyone
be able to stop the Draphions and their rampages through the land know as Sythious. Maybe

greater forces are at work trying to stop them or will a neighboring country like the Golden
Empire have to step in, and try to calm things down. Well well have to see in due time.

Chapter two: Recruitment

Listen here, the examiner yelled. He was a hardened man, who marched
around like he had a stick up his ass. The guy yelled into the ears of many of the
applicants. Applicants for what? Well, just ask this guy. He would absolutely love you
to ask him a question. Actually dont, someone already asked that, and let's just say
that he lost some blood. What I mean is that the examiner threw a knife into the
guy's foot. Hey, son can I ask you a question?
Sure, I guess I responded a little caught off guard.
Can you fucking hear me with your goddamn bloodshot ears!
Finely man.
This made the mans blood boil. His face turned mad red. He pulled back his
fist to strike me, but another man grabbed his arm before he could. He said, Ive
got this bunch. You can go evaluate the older applicants. Ok?

The enraged man stomped away. The man that had stopped him was an old
man. The man must of been sixty, or seventy years old. He wore a huge cape that
barely touched the ground, a sleek black suit, and walked with a staff. The elder hit
me on the head with his staff. Listen well, for I'm Master Forged, and I will be
evaluating all of you when you take your test. Dont worry it's not a written one. You
will all go against a member of the guild that has been chosen based off of the skills
and tools you all have brought before me. You, you, and you will be fighting a
swordsman.
He had pointed at me, a guy in a ninja outfit, and another guy who wore a
villager's clothes. I wore a long sleeved black tailcoat with the flaps of the coat
ending behind my knees, my coat also has a red lined collar, two short swords are
sheathed on the back of my waist, two throwing knives are strapped to both of my
ankles, another two pairs of knives are tucked inside my coat, black with secondary
red combat gloves, and black combat boots. My black hair is long, and ends at my
shoulders, but half of it covers my left eye. Im about five feet and a half, and I
weigh about 190lb. I didnt bring my katana, but my short swords should be
enough.I have crimson eyes, and my left pupil is shaped like a trapezoid. Which is
how I got the nickname Demon Eye. My actual name is Zach Slayer of the
Slayer clan.
Ever since I had left my clan, Ive been wondering around completing
bounties and other small jobs, but that business doesnt fit me. Once I heard of the
guild try outs, I signed up almost instantly. A bounty hunter turned guild member.
Now thats something. The Iron Guild is part of an alliance with eleven other guilds
that all care for eachother. The Iron Guild controls most of the border between
Animia and itself. Theyre are in charge of dealing with foreign affairs for all the
guilds.
Master Forged lead us down a few flight of stairs to a large chamber filled
with an eerie light fog that blocked most of my vision. I turned toward the guy in the
ninja outfit, Hey, do you know whats going on.
No, I think its the trial, but Im not sure, he responded in a deep rash voice.
Where is the village dude?! We both looked around wildly looking for any
trace of the villager. A few clangs of metal and a loud thud were heard several feet
away from us. I know combat when I hear it, I said as i pulled both short swords
out of their sheaths, and held them in a X formation.
The ninja pulled out a scroll and summoned a small blue ball that looked
almost like a marble. It rose from the page of the scroll and hovered a little till he
graved it. A large gush of wind blew all around us. The fog receded to the corners of
the room, and drew back into the cracks on the walls. Both of our gazes fell upon
the villager. He lay crumpled against the wall not less than twenty feet away. His
attacker stood towering above him. It was a man about seven feet tall who wore a
heavy trench coat and combat boots with a full black tactical combat suit. He
carried a large sword slung across his back. He stepped toward us like a menacing
tower of death. I could sense a large amount of slayen souls clinging to his body.

I will not retreat, I will not surrender, I will never stop slaying, I repeated the
Slayer clans chant several times in my head as my companion drew two daggers.
All of a sudden, the man rushed forward bulldozing me out of the way. I grabbed his
shoulders and pulled myself over him doing a backflip while doing so. I landed on
my feet as he turned to face me. I rushed him this time. He drew his sword in a flash
blocking my attack. His second hand slammed against my chest sending me sliding
across the floor.