~ Patronus Fatali~
As the youth of the village chased each other around the fire, a gentle breeze went by unnoticed. Vithos smiled as he entered the village, equally unnoticed, despite the way the wind blew his cloak and hair in a mesmerizing manner. It was impossible to make a dramatic entrance if no one was watching. He walked into the village, and sat by the fire. A little girl, with bright red hair in two giant pigtails was the first to notice him.
“Feefooooos!” cried the girl and ran to him and gave him a hug. Vithos gave a chuckle at the girl, and the nickname that had stuck ever since she was a toddler and was first learning how to speak. The other children all gave squeal of surprise and ran over to him.
“How are you doing, Evanina?” he asked the girl.
“I’m good, things have been going well in the town lately…oh, but won’t you sing us a song?” asked the girl. The other children echoed her question, almost pleading.
“I would, but I don’t have my lute with me…it’s broken.” He said sadly.
“What happened to it?” asked the children. Vithos’ mind flashed back to being surrounded by the ravenous wolves, their claws digging into his skin, his lute smashed against their bodies in his narrow escape with his life.
“Never mind about that…the fact of the matter is, I can’t sing you a song today.” The children all got quiet, disappointment filling their young faces.
“What about a story?” asked a shy boy from the back in a quiet voice. Vithos thought about it.
“A story…would anyone else like to hear a story?” They all responded loudly, jumping up and down, until Vithos calmed them down.
“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you a story…the story of Lord Sekeyor and his Patronus Fatali.”
Under King Tristan the Third’s rule, many people were called to action, allured by the grandeur of wealth, prestige, and adventure. Yet as these individuals went into the world, they developed powers, such powers that even the King had not even dreamt about their sheer force. Strength, magic, heightened reflexes and senses, speed, grace, dark arts and divinity that the world had never seen. Yet, when people had discovered these powers, they did not see the need for a King’s rule, and left to establish their own way of living. Yet the Kingship could not withstand it, for if some did not follow him, the rest wouldn’t either. Seeking his trust companion, Lord Sekeyor, he asked Lord Sekeyor to set up a fight against those those that left. One such group he entitled the Patronus Fatali, to find those that rebelled against the king, and to bring them to justice. The public began to fear the lost ones, and kept to their cities, their life ruled by the fear. Yet they were always intrigued by the adventure that came in bringing about justice.
The Patronus Fatali, when in the outside world, had no leader, as Lord Sekeyor didn’t travel with them. Usually they relied on Verrian, a stalker that was one with nature and a natural beauty she, to find the lost ones. However, Clara, their sneaky rogue got them into and out of various kinds of adventure, especially in towns. Their fight was lead by Cordia, a well-trained knight. Many adversaries had made the fatal assumption that such a stunning woman could not fight with such skill as she did. The ever-present Terram and Tenrai supported her. Terram, a wizard of the high court, was a master of elements, while Tenrai, a priest, had achieve a divine calm and could protect and heal, as well as usually holy judgment against their foes.
One of those most infamous battles was when they had found one of the original lost ones, a faithful champion named Faytni. He had grown to a ridiculous amount of strength…the first punch he threw left a permanent dent in Cordia’s armour and sent her flying. Verrian sent flying a fiery downpour of arrows while Clara charged forward, jumping back and forth, dodging Faytni’s attacks. Tenrai sat beside Cordia’s body, ripping off her armour that was now piercing her lungs. Terram, glancing back, realized what was going on. He waved his staff around him, causing a vibrant green force to come forth and push him into the air. Faytni grabbed Clara by the neck, raising her high into the air while choking her. Clara clawed desperately at his hand to no avail, as her lungs screamed in pain. Faytni looked up to see Terram in the air, green forces surging around him. His smirked as he threw Clara, and stared into Terram’s blue eyes, testing him. Clara hit a tree, and fell to the ground, gasping for breath but barely conscious. Faytni took a couple slow steps towards Terram, and then leapt into a charge into him. Just as Faytni hit Terram, a white blast hit Faytni and held him in place. Looking to the source of the light, he saw Tenrai walking towards him, her right palm outstretched. He tried to move, but it was like he was in thick water. The more he moved, the more tired he got, and the farther back he went. He closed his eyes, and a sudden explosion of force was felt. He could move easier, and saw Tenrai sink to one knee. She then brought forth her other hand, adding to the force, and Faytni screamed out in pain. He heard a dark chuckle, and looked into Terram’s eyes. He slowly raised his palms, pushing himself and Faytni upwards as he stared into Faytni’s soul. The pure intensity of Terram’s power was too much for Faytni to handle, and he started to scream. Yet high they rose, and suddenly Terram forcefully kicked Faytni in the chest, flipping himself backwards. With a final scream, Faytni disappeared, and Terram hit the ground, exhausted from the exertion.
“But, Vithos, that could never happen!” whined Evanina.
“No?” Vithos looked into the fireplace, lost in thoughts.
“Yeah! People like that couldn’t exist…and if they did, they definitely wouldn’t get along! You know how people fight these days! We just can’t get along”. She said flatly.
“No, I suppose you’re right. Those people could never exist. But it’s an exciting story, isn’t?” he said with a smile, and the children looked at his puzzled before running off. An exotic dancer came into the village, and sat beside Vithos.
“Telling the kids a story?” she asked. Vithos nodded.
“But they don’t believe that they could exist, Ashlaan.” He said sadly.
“Who?” she asked.
“Us.”