[PG-13(Moderate Violence)] To Make A Sacrifice*Story Abandoned*

[The King of James]

Chapter 1 – The Nation of Strength and Strategy:

 

It was raining. The echoing of raindrops thundered, covering all the meek noises – footsteps, whispers, mice, and many others were silenced by the torrential downpour. A pale man with silver hair and topaz eyes stood on a small hill, staring into the distant skies, which were completely overcast by storm clouds. A younger man approached the man from behind and slapped a palm on his shoulder. The pale man’s reflexes almost caused him to hit the man as he pivoted to face the man, but he stopped his fist mere millimeters from his friend’s head.

 

“Don’t do that, Ovaran. I could have killed you.” Spoke the pale man in a harsh tone. “Nah, I would have dodged if I sensed killing intent behind that strike. So, how are ya, Xak?” Ovaran retorted, checking the pale man for injuries. “It’s nothing serious. I sent most of them to the hospital, but accidentally killed the one that got the drop on me in the first place. And call me Xakori, not Xak.” Xakori replied. Ovaran laughed. “Will the rest of them be alright? Or did you put them in critical condition?” Ovaran questioned, knowing Xakori’s troubles were only about to begin.

 

“I left most of them only minor injuries, and none of their lives are in danger. However, the same can’t be said for the first one. He shouldn’t have initiated an attack on me when my guard wasn’t up, because I can’t guarantee the safety of an adversary when I use strikes instead of blocks and tosses to defend myself. The rest of them I simply threw around and kicked down until they couldn’t stand up anymore.” Xakori explained, showing little regret for his actions with his expression. “If I didn’t know you were hurting inside, I wouldn’t be able to tell if you were human or demon.” Replied Ovaran as he examined the surrounding area carefully.

 

Two sets of bright lights began shining, and moved in a way nearby as if they were searching. “Show yourself, Xakori Navir! You are a wanted fugitive and a murderer, and you will be prosecuted! Resistance will only heighten your crimes!” Shouted a voice through a megaphone, obviously coming from the local law enforcement. “I guess I’ll be a distraction. You slip away while I keep their attention, Xak.” Ovaran proclaimed, running toward the nearest spotlight. Xakori nodded. “I will return for you someday.” Xakori swore to himself before running away, avoiding the spotlights along the way.

 

He eventually made it into a forest, and followed a narrow path to a clearing. He knew he couldn’t stay for long, so he decided to eat a small portion of the food he carried on him before continuing to run. He had a goal in mind – In this nation, where physical violence is forbidden even in the pretense of self-defense, he had committed the ultimate taboo – he had taken the life of another person. Playing by the law, he would have had a friendly duel with his adversaries, to decide the outcome of the battle.

 

The men who attacked him would surely also be prosecuted, but would not receive the death penalty – they would simply be imprisoned, treated as beasts or demons for the rest of their lives. Xakori knew he couldn’t live like that, and he wouldn’t allow his friends to either – he would return one day, to destroy the chain of corruption in this nation, but for now, he must flee to the neighboring nation of Zyraxim, a nation where although violence runs rampant, no one is prosecuted. He could live there and survive until the day he returned to change his homeland, because unlike most people from his nation, he was an exceptional fighter.

 

Zyraxim was a nation that had two forms of conflict, both of which are sanctioned by law – physical conflict, even if it results in death, and strategic conflict, which was carried out by playing a game called “duel monsters”. When a duel has started, no one is allowed by law to so much as touch the duelists participating until the end, and the winner has diplomatic immunity for that day, and anyone that tries to fight or injure them will be put to death at first chance. Master strategists, however, also had to be skilled in fighting, because as soon as the day is over, surely, many foes that hate them will attack to kill.

 

Xakori continued to run for a while, perhaps about an hour, before his stamina reached its limits. He sat down to rest near a waterfall, knowing that crossing the rapid river that separates his homeland from Zyraxim will require every bit of his energy to be recovered. He drank some water from the rapid river, remembering that the rocks filter contaminants and so it was safe to drink. After becoming rehydrated, he sat down again and began to cut his remaining food into smaller portions, leaving the larger portion for immediately after he crosses the river, in order to heat his body so that he doesn’t get hypothermia.

 

Xakori scouts the other side of the river with his eyes, spotting fallen branches, and many leaves, those of which can be made into a makeshift shelter for the night. After he crosses the river, he will need sleep. He has been awake for several days already, on the run, and once he is in Zyraxim, he will be able to rest for a short while, because the law won’t be able to touch him in an enemy nation. To Zyraximians, the nation you came from doesn’t matter so long as you’re an exceptional combatant and competent strategist, both of which were traits Xakori possessed.

 

However, as he was cutting his food rations, the police blew a whistle nearby. It seems he was out of time, and so he packed his food, and threw it over the river. It landed safely on the other shore, and Xakori jumped into the rapid-moving river, swimming with the current but angling his body so that he wil reach the other shore in about a minute of swimming. After he surfaced, he ran to check on his food. Someone was poking the pack with a stick. “Hey! Back away from that, now!” Xakori shouted as he jumped over and snatched his food back.

 

But the one poking at it was just a little girl, and she seemed frightened. “Mister, please don’t hurt me! I got here on accident! I never wanted to be here!” the girl cried. Xakori sighed. “Sorry I frightened you. It’s dark, and I thought you were someone hostile. I’m Xakori, I’m not from around here. Do you know the area?” Xakori asked, trying to put her at ease. The girl nodded, wiping her tears and sniffling. “Yes, but not much. It’s big and scary in the forest, so I don’t go far…” the girl explained, still a little shaken up.

 

Xakori nodded, then turned to survey the area. “This place is dangerous. I recommend you go home as soon as possible.” Xakori retorted as he picked up a few branches for his shelter. “My… home? My parents live over there.” The girl spoke, pointing back to the other side of the river. Xakori knew that if he was fully recovered, he could cross the river alone, but not if he had to carry a child. “Darn it! Why is this happening to me...?” Xakori shouted, kicking the nearest tree. “Mister, are you okay?” the girl asked, with a concerned expression.

 

Xakori turned toward the waterfall. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m guessing you fell down that waterfall and found yourself lucky to be alive?” he questioned, curious of how a little girl crossed the river. “No, some bad men threw me in, and I swam over here to get away…” she replied. Xakori turned to the girl, surprised by her claim. “You didn’t get swept away by the currents?! How?!” Xakori interrogated, examining the girl’s arm and leg muscles. It didn’t seem like he muscles were really developed in any way, and so the mystery of her claim remained.

 

“I prayed to the creator, and he let me live! It’s how I’ve always lived!” the girl shouted angrily, apparently offended that Xakori doubted her ability to make it across. Xakori slapped a palm over his face, believing that religion was a big hoax to instill fear and order in people. He knew that if this girl were left alone, she’d get herself into serious trouble, and he couldn’t face her parents and tell them he could have protected her but didn’t, so he decided to take the girl with him until he could find a safe place to leave her behind.

 

“Alright, that’s fine. Thank the creator for your life, but I won’t let you risk your life foolishly like that again. We are going to rest here for the night, and then we will travel together until I find a safe place with some nice people to leave you with.” Xakori explained as he tied several branches together with locks cut from his own hair. He finished the framework for the shelter and stuck each corned about half a meter into the ground. The girl nodded. “I know a lot about plants! I can find some edible fruits from the forest.” She claimed.

 

Xakori gave the girl a suspicious glance. “Will you be alright alone? I think I better—” Xakori started, but the girl ran off into the forest. Xakori shrugged, and then continued to build the shelter. He gathered some leaves, and arranged them so that they stuck together and covered the framework. He was nearly finished, when he heard a scream from the forest. Xakori dropped everything and followed the sound of the scream into the forest. “I knew I should have gone with!” Xakori uttered as he dashed into the clearing he heard the scream from.

 

An abnormally muscular man held the girl off the ground by her neck, and was choking her. “STOP!” Xakori yelled at the top of his lungs as he simultaneously kicked the man in the face and tripped him. Xakori grabbed the girl and ran her to the edge of the clearing. She was unconscious, so he set her down gently against a tree. The muscle-man brushed off his pants with loud pats, nearly as loud as claps, and grinned deviously. “You’re awfully young to be fighting with the big men, boy.” The muscle man sneered. Xakori laughed. “Aren’t you a little old to be picking on little girls? Shame on you” Xakori retorted with a smile, aiming to provoke the man into losing his temper.

 

It worked wonders. The man’s eyes went bloodshot, and his expression showed he was absolutely livid. “I’ll show you, brat! In this country, not age, race, or gender matter! I’ll put you in your place, boy! Then, you’ll be my slave!” The muscle-man shouted, charging Xakori. Xakori jumped on the man’s shoulders and used his knees to grab the man’s neck, and threw the man over with ease. “Don’t underestimate brats, old man. By the way, I’m 21 years of age, not that you’d be able to tell.” Xakori jeered at the now-unconscious man.

 

The little girl had already awakened, and came running over to Xakori. “You saved me, mister! Thanks!” she cheered, expressing her gratitude. Xakori nodded with a dead-serious face. “Don’t go anywhere without me, got it?! You could have been killed! What would I tell you parents…?” Xakori scolded, trying to make the girl understand her predicament. The girl frowned, looking sorry, although Xakori wasn’t so sure about that. “I’m sorry, mister. I won’t leave you again.” The girl said, pouting. Xakori sighed, calming down. “As long as you understand, it’s fine. Let’s go back, I’m going to make a fire soon, so that we can warm up. We don’t want to catch hypothermia.” Xakori spoke.

 

They went back to the edge of the river where Xakori was setting up camp, and noticed that Xakori’s shelter had been stripped of its leaves, and a figure was running off with them. “Should we chase him, mister?” the girl asked. Xakori shook his head. “There are plenty of extra leaves around. There are times to fight, and times to let it be. This time, we let it be.” Xakori explained. Then, Xakori remembered something he had forgotten to ask. “Your name.” he spoke. “Huh? My name?” the girl asked. “I meant, what’s your name?” Xakori inquired. The girl looks at him quizzically. “Name? What’s that…?” the girl asked. Could it be that the girl had no name at all…?

 

<NEXT CHAPTER - THOSE WITHOUT NAMES>

 

Author's Note: I lack inspiration to continue this story, and so you can call it the end of this book now.